#it's rare so it's super special when he hops on the bed to wake me up by saying wroorooaroowoo

[somystark]

he's my everything 🤎💙

[lilliagradiewrites]

surprise? (jj maybank)

Summary: You’re John B’s sister, and you’ve been dating JJ in secret for months. What happens when John B sees a hickey on your neck, and realizes his best friend has been making on his little sister?

WC: 2.7k

WARNINGS: Hickey/ mentions of sexy time, cursing, mentions of violence

A/N: Another JJ one shot! This one has been sitting half-finished in my collection for a while now, so tonight I decided to complete it! I’m such a sucker for a brother’s best friend moment, so I knew I had to write a JJ x Routledge! reader fic. i hope you all like it!

PS: Thank you so much for all the love on evermore, my last fic!! It was so well received, and has gotten more recognition than anything else I've ever uploaded. I’m so thankful!!

I love you all so so much, and I hope you enjoy!!

LET’S DO IT!

~~~~~~

Neither you nor JJ could pinpoint the exact moment it began.

Being John B’s younger sister, you had known the blonde boy for basically your entire life. In seventh grade, you had developed a slight crush on JJ. He was the older, popular boy that cracked funny jokes; how could you not like him? You had always thought he was cute, but you started seeing him in a different light around the age of twelve.

The crush quickly faded away, and you found yourself with many boyfriends and flings over the years. Looking back on it now, you don’t think your feelings JJ ever truly went away… you had just forced yourself to forget them.

For JJ, the feelings developed around his sophomore year, when you were a freshman. For the vast majority of his life, he’d seen you every day when he inevitably made his way to the chateau. He’d cared about you, of course, but no more than a ‘I care about her because she’s my best friends little sister’ kind of way.

He has a vivid memory of you, the morning after he’d had a sleepover with your brother. He was sitting on the couch with John B, having a conversation about some stupid guy thing he couldn’t even recall now. He remembers seeing you walk out of your room, having just woken up, wearing an oversized t-shirt. Your hair was in a messy bun, and you didn’t have on any makeup.

He couldn’t explain why, but you looked so damn beautiful to him that day. You never noticed him staring at you, but John B did. JJ remembers his friend’s brows furrowing.

“What the hell are you staring at?” After following JJ’s gaze, his eyes widened. “Are you looking at my sister, man? Cut that shit out.”

“No, of course I wasn’t. I was looking out the window. Chill, bro.” JJ had quickly denied the claims of his friend, who didn’t entirely believe him but chose not to say anything else on the topic. After that day, JJ tried his best to avoid staring at you, but it was always hard for him.

Within a month after that incident, you began hanging out with the Pogues more and more. They quickly became your best friends, and you loved them all more than anything. They all helped you and John B through the disappearance of your father, and you were eternally grateful.

Naturally, you found yourself growing the closest with Kie. Being the only two girls, it made the most sense for the two of you to be very close. Kiara was like a sister and a best friend all in one, and you loved her very much.

Pope was always great. He kept you and the rest of the pogues in check, making sure you remained safe and made smart decisions. John B, of course, was your older brother, and you were very close with him. You had your frustrations with the brunette, however. One thing that always pissed you off about John B was how insanely protective he was. He would threaten any guy whose eyes lingered too long on you at a party, and it took years of convincing to allow him to let you go on a date. You loved him, of course, and knew he was always trying to keep you safe, but you couldn’t help but be frustrated with him sometimes.

And then there was JJ. You didn’t even know what to think when it comes to the blonde boy. You had always noticed something special about him, and felt slightly different towards JJ then all the other boys. For some reason, the both of you kept your distance from each other. Maybe, you both knew in the back of your mind that if you got too close, there’d be no pulling you apart.

One night at a party, you had gotten absolutely wasted. Kiara had gone home with some girl, Pope’s dad didn’t let him come, and John B was nowhere in sight, meaning it was up to JJ to take care of you. He brought you home, cleaned you up, and put you into bed. In your intoxicated state, you let your walls fall down. You told Jj how you felt about him, too drunk to worry about the consequences.

Fortunately for you, the feelings were reciprocated. JJ said that he felt the same way, and he’d been keeping his distance from you because of strict commands from John B. “Anytime I’d get close to you, or even be ‘too friendly’ towards you, I’d get the whole ‘my sister is off limits’ lecture, I was tired of hearing it, and I didn’t think you felt the same anyways.”

That night was the beginning of a long journey. He kissed you, and you were happier than you’d ever been. He ask you to be his girlfriend, and you happily said yes. There was only one issue with the whole situation.

Your stupid, overdramatic, overprotective brother.

“Maybe we shouldn’t tell him for a while?” Jj suggested after much contemplation on both of your parts. “See where this goes. If it gets super serious, we’ll obviously tell him, but it’s probably best to keep it on the down low for now.”

Though hesitant, you eventually agreed, deciding it was the best decision for now. You hated lying to your brother, but it’s not like you had any other choice.

Six months passed after that night. You and JJ’s relationship grew stronger and more serious with each passing day, but neither of you had the guts to tell your brother. So, you kept dating in secret, the relationship only between the two of you.

Oh, right. And Kie.

JJ had gotten into a habit of sneaking into your bedroom window late at night. He rarely got any time with just the two of you, and even when you hung out with your friends, he wasn’t able to be as affectionate as he wished he could be. One morning, Kiara arrived at the chateau earlier than usual, bursting into your room to find you asleep, wrapped in your boyfriend's arms.

The brunette woke the two of you up with a loud exclamation of “What the fuck?”

JJ kissed you goodbye and scrambled out the window before John B heard anything, and you sat Kie down and explained the whole situation, making her promise not to tell anyone.

Especially not John B.

Kiara, being the amazing person she is, swore secrecy and squealed about how happy she was for the two of you.

Kie’s knowledge of the relationship is part of the reason she insists on waking you up one morning at the chateau. She and Pope had stayed the night, as well as JJ. JJ was nowhere to be found, but the group just assumed that he had run home to grab spare clothes or something.

Well, the boys assumed that.

Kie knew better.

Her suspicions were completely confirmed when she entered your room to find you and JJ cuddled together, just like all those months ago when she had first found out.

“Wake up, guys! JB and Pope are awake. JJ, hop out the window and pretend you went to get clothes from your house. You don’t have a lot of time.”

Immediately, you and your boyfriend were launching up out of the bed. He followed his usual routine of kissing you goodbye and then jumping out of the window. You thanked Kie before beginning to search for your swimsuit.

“You’re welcome, babes. And by the way, I’d make sure to cover up that fatass hickey on your neck before walking out of this room.”

Kie gives you a wink before walking out of the room and closing the door, leaving you there with red cheeks and wide eyes.

You moved immediately to your mirror, and examined the left side of your neck. Sure enough, there it was: a large bruise that JJ had taken his sweet time on the night before. You huffed, recalling when he was giving it to you.

“JJ, don’t.” You breathed, lightly pushing him off you. “You can’t leave marks, everyone will see.”

“Let them see.” He lifted his lips off your neck to look you in the eyes. “I’m tired of hiding that you’re mine. I want everyone to know that you’re taken, by me. Let them see, babe, I don’t care.”

For a moment, he had you agreeing with him. Who cares if everyone finds out? They’d just find out eventually anyways. What’s the difference if they find out sooner rather than later?

But, you eventually cam to your senses. “I’m tired of hiding too, J. We’ll tell them soon, but I don’t want my brother to find out I’m with his best friend by seeing the hickey his best friend gave me.”

JJ paused his movements for the second time, breathing and thinking for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you're right.” He bites your earlobe, then leans in to whisper in your ear.

“I’ll make it small. I still want my mark on you.”

Clearly, JJ had lied. The bruise on your neck was absolutely massive, and you’d have your work cut out for you when it came to covering it up. Sighing, you reached for your makeup bag, pulling out some color corrector and concealer.

A good thirty minutes later, the bruise was covered enough to go unnoticed, and you were outside on the dock, dressed in a pink swimsuit and a pair of shorts. John B and Pope were on the boat, preparing it for you day on the water. Kie was inside shoving snacks, water bottles, and beer into a small cooler. JJ, who had just finished rolling a few blunts, came walking out of the house. You heard him approaching behind you, and whipped around to face him.

“I have a bone to pick with you, Maybank.” You glared, crossing your arms over your chest. Your boyfriend looked nervous, his smiling face immediately shifting to a concerned one.

“What’s wrong, babe?” He said quietly, making sure that the other pogues were out of earshot before using the nickname. JJ knew you well, and any term of endearment made you melt for him. He always used them, but was particularly heavy on the nicknames when you were upset with him.

“Last night, I told you not to leave marks. But you insisted, and you told me you’d leave a small one.”

“Yes, that happened. So why are you upset with me?”

“Because the hickey I woke up to this morning was anything but small. It took me twenty minutes and half my concealer to cover that shit up! Are you fucking crazy? Are you trying to get us caught?”

JJ moved towards you, probably to take you in his arms, but caught himself just before he did it, glancing up at the boys on the boat.

“I’m sorry, love. I couldn’t help myself. You look so fucking hot with my marks on your neck. It’s too hard to resist. Believe me, I tried.”

“Then try fucking harder, Maybank! Do I need to remind you that your ass is on the line here, way more than mine? Birdie’s not gonna beat my ass if he finds a hickey on my neck, he’s gonna beat yours! And then I get to have a screaming match with my brother after patching you up in the bathroom. I don’t know about you, but that is not the way I want anybody to find out about our relationship.”

JJ opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again with a sigh. He knew you were right.

“You’re right, baby. I’m sorry. I need to gain better self control. It won’t happen again, I’ll listen to you next time. I’m sorry angel, really. Forgive me?”

He was giving you those puppy dog eyes that he knew you couldn’t resist. After a moment of staring into them, you finally gave in. “yes, bebs, I forgive you. But don’t do that shit again, or so help me God…”

Your boyfriend broke out in an ear to ear grin. You could tell that he wanted nothing more than to kiss you and take you in his arms, but he obviously couldn’t. “Thank you! I love you, angel.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, allowing a smile to creep onto your face. “You’re lucky I love you, too. Now come on, I think they have the boat ready to go.”

------

A few hours later, everyone is lounging on the boat. You’d been out on the marsh for a good four hours, and the whole group was beginning to grow tired. The late afternoon sun bared down relentlessly on you, warming your skin and causing your body to overheat, despite the fact that you’d been swimming in the cool water for the past hour.

“God, it’s so damn hot out here. Can the sun chill the hell out for a second?” You complained, taking a swig of your beer.

The rest of the group murmured their agreement from various places on the boat. Absentmindedly, you gather your wet hair in your hand, holding it up on the back of your head to try and relieve the heat on your neck.

Big, big mistake.

Unknowingly, you’d exposed the massive hickey on the side of your neck for the entire boat to see.

The makeup you’d piled on that morning had apparently faded while you swam. Your hair covering it was the only thing keeping you from exposing yourself, and now it was revealed.

“What the HELL is that, Y/N?” Your brother was speaking, pointing at your now exposed hickey.

You looked immediately at JJ, whose eyes had gone wide and cheeks were pink.

“Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Birdie.” You replied quickly, not knowing what else to do.

“Is that a fucking hickey?” John B was walking towards you now, and your eyes were wide. You backed away from him, but you could only go so far on the small boat. He reached you eventually, pushing the hair from the side of your neck to reveal the bruise once again.

For a moment, your brother was silent. Strangely, this made you even more nervous then if he was screaming and shouting. You knew your brother well enough to know he was composing himself.

So that he wouldn’t strangle somebody.

“Who did it?” he said quietly. His voice was shaking with anger.

“Did what?” Your voice was shaking as well, but with fear for your boyfriend’s life instead.

“Who gave you the fucking hickey, Y/N! Stop playing dumb! Who did that to your neck.”

Panicking, you glanced over at JJ.

Yet another big, big mistake.

This glance was enough for John B to realize what the answer to his question was. You watched the pieces slowly connect in his mind, and then he was speaking again.

“It was YOU?” He rounded on the blonde boy near the edge of the boat. “You’re messing with my baby sister? Are you fucking kidding me, JJ?”

“Calm down, bird! It’s not what you think.” You were immediately at your brother’s side, trying to calm him down before your boyfriend’s body ended up at the bottom of marsh.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Y/N! I think this is exactly what it looks like! It looks like this dickhead has a screwing around with my sister when I specifically told him not to!”

“We’re not just screwing around, John B!” JJ said in defense.

“Really? What the fuck else are you doing that would end with my baby sister having a hickey on her neck?”

“We’re dating!” You burst out. “We’ve been dating. For six months now.”

John B turned towards you immediately after your statement. He looked completely dumbfounded, as if he couldn’t possibly process the information he had just been given.

“Six months?” he echoed, and you nodded.

John B turned back to JJ.

“Surprise?” The blonde boy, hoping to lighten the mood.

Obviously, he was unsuccessful.

“You’ve been messing with my sister for SIX MONTHS, and I’m JUST NOW finding out? What the hell is wrong with you? I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

Before anyone could do anything to stop him, John B was lunging at JJ.

As if he’d been preparing to do so, JJ jumped off the side of the boat, landing cleanly in the water.

John B stood over the side of the boat screaming at him.

You mad eye contact with Kie,who was giggling slightly at the whole situation. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

This was going to be a long night.

~~~~~ A/N: Anddddd there’s the end! I really hope you guys liked this!

All notes and reblogs are highly appreciated!

ALSO: SEND REQUESTS!!

I love you guys so much,and Happy Holidays!!!!!

[nabesthetics]

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable?

Who gives the most kisses?

What is their favourite non-sexual activity?

Who snores?

If both do, who snores the loudest?

Who talks in their sleep?

Who hogs the sheets?

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? 

I'm sorry if this is a lot but i really like Alastor/Lucio 🥺 if you feel it's too much you're free to exclude some :3

Friend, I will likely go off and just try and answer 50% of the whole list at some point, this is 10/10, I just had the shortest 2-hour train ride of my life because I spent it typing this out + staring into the void, contemplating details. 

So here are some hcs for Lucio, Alastor, and the Dragoat ship :v

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable?

Well...

You heard the man.

Okay, so I won't count that labyrinth scene, because one of them was sleeping. So if we're talking mutual, full-attention snuggles, then they're more of a "multiple short cuddle sessions throughout the day" kind of couple, a few minutes to recharge the affection gauge and keep doing… whatever they were doing. Comfort cuddles are one of the most common exceptions, those can last 10-15 minutes depending on the reason (often it's nightmares on either side).

The "sitting on partner's lap while doing something else" kind of cuddles though... well, it depends. Alastor isn't a fan of cuddles while he's working on something, like doing research or drawing. While it can work with Muriel or Asra, Lucio can't NOT be a distraction and talk if he's close and/or isn't busy with something else; this does become a source of arguments sometimes.

What does work, however, is settling like that in front of a campfire/in bed and Alastor reading out loud. Yes, the mad lizard is determined, and tracks down a book Lucio isn’t bored by… it's probably an adventure novel of some sorts - more importantly, it has spicy elements in it, so if anything, he enjoys the way his magician starts blushing and stuttering when reading the saucy parts. THOSE cuddle sessions can last for a while, but eventually end with Lucio getting, uh, affectionate :'B

Who gives the most kisses?

uh

......yeah I think it’s safe to say that Lucio wins this one, lbr he probably does the Gomez Addams thing, with the trail of kisses leading from fingers all the way to the shoulder.

Oh don't get me wrong, Alastor initiates kisses as well, but nowhere near the same amount, and he's way less likely to do it in public. Al's more of a "gentle touches and nuzzles" person though. Unless it's dragon kisses, you know how it is.

What is their favourite non-sexual activity?

Honestly, I'm having troubles settling on just one. The list includes: exploring, playing with M&M, baking (oh it's chaos, but it's fun chaos); later they definitely get a specially designed dragon saddle, and you can add flying into the list.

Who snores?  If both do, who snores the loudest?

It’s both, and Lucio is louder - not super loud, he doesn't attract all the predators in the nearest vicinity while they're camping or anything, but it's there.

Alastor snores softly & not every time, but weirdly enough, only does it in human form: the half-dragon is quiet, and full dragon breathes accordingly to his size, but doesn't snore. It's a mystery.

Who talks in their sleep?

Lucio likely talks when having nightmares. It's rarely very coherent, but the distress is obvious enough, especially with the "no"s and "please"s clearly thrown in there. Thrashes, too, so it's real hard to miss. Alastor, however, is quiet, even with the nightmares: he just clenches his jaw, eyebrows furrowed, nearly curls into a ball, shaking a bit if it's especially bad. Which isn’t great news, because he often ends up going through the whole nightmare, jerking awake, and then being met with the dilemma of waking Lucio up or dealing with things by himself. Sometimes M&M notice though, and wake one or both of them up. They get better at it over time, too :з

Aside from those bad night, both can mutter something incoherent in their sleep sometimes, but not much beyond that.

Who hogs the sheets?

Lucio hogs the sheets, then throws them off the bed ghcbhvmh Honestly, with all the tossing, he's a bit of a nightmare to sleep next to (pun intended) until he gets used to sleeping with a partner, and both bad dreams and general moving around gradually subside.

Which... might be a faster process with Alastor, actually? He doesn't hog the sheets. He clings to his partner, and sometimes gets on top of them right in his sleep, too - thankfully he’s not very heavy, so that just grounds the Goatman a bit. Most often Al just clings to the partner’s arm, though - and there has been a couple of cases when Lucio had to get out of bed in the middle of the night, so he just kinda. deattached the arm, if he fell asleep with it and the dragon “seized” it.

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up?

Alastor is one of those weird-ass people who can just hop out of bed in the morning (or evening, or 2am, sleeping schedules are for the weak) and operate normally after a few minutes from waking up. So, assuming that he got enough sleep, he’s not grumpy at all.

Lucio, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly strike me as a morning person. The epilogue pretty much had the evidence that he’d much rather stay in bed for a while longer (that’s another scenario of long cuddles, by the way, haaaa), so I’m guessing he can get pretty grumpy, especially if someone just gets out of bed at 7 am on a day off, Alastor.

[acraftedmistake]

A Person Who Has Never Played MCSM Writes A Story About MCSM Chp 10

AAAAAH IT’S SUPER LATE HERE BUT IT IS C O M P L E T E D 

Hope you guys like it!!!

“Alright, that should do it.” Lukas said, closing the saddlebag and giving the dark bay horse a few pats.

He turned around to face his friends who stood under the arch of Obsidian Town’s entrance. Lukas won’t be seeing them for a while, and seeing their smiles--and Stella fanning her eyes--was making the idea of leaving the town a whole lot harder.

Lukas didn’t want to leave. He truly didn’t. He wanted to stay here and train with Maya, enjoy Gill’s hot meals, visit Petra with Cassie Rose, help Stella with her planning or Olivia with her contraptions, or sit on the balcony and write a story as Jesse would spitball ideas while Aiden poked fun at him for being ‘cheesy’. But he offered to help. North Wind City needed as much help as they could get after The Awakening summoned their lava monstrosity that Lukas and the others defeated. It tore apart their barrier, crushed people’s homes, it wasn’t going to be easy but the city needed to be pieced back together.

He gave his friends a warm smile and adjusted his goggles, “I’ll see you guys soon?”

“We’ll miss you!” Olivia grinned, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to keep herself warm in the crisp cold of the early morning.

North Wind City was quite the distance from Obsidian Town, on horseback alone the journey would take a couple of hours, plus the possible detours when he’ll run into the enormous ravines. Lukas wanted to leave before sunrise, yes, he might get drowsy while traveling, but he wouldn’t be wandering in the dark.

“You’re gonna send letters, right? Won’tcha?” Gill asked with a cracking but enthusiastic voice.

“As long as you promise to write me back.” Lukas responded.

Gill nodded, “Ya--Of course! Of course I will!”

“Oh, I’m going to miss you so much--!” Stella exclaimed, failing to keep the tears back. Maya and Cassie gave her comforting pats on the back.

“He’s not going away forever, don’t worry.” Cassie tried to reassure Stella. Cassie changed the topic to distract the both of them from their sadness, “Maybe we could uh… Plan his welcome back party.”

“Yeah, he’ll be back before we know it!” Gill added.

“They’re right.” Lukas agreed, approaching his tearful friend and giving her a hug, letting her sob into his leather jacket.

“You guys will be focused on fixing Obsidian Town, you won’t even notice I’m gone.” Lukas said while Olivia carefully pryed Stella off of the blond. Stella leaned on Olivia’s shoulders to wipe away her running mascara as she nodded to Lukas’ statement.

“Be safe.” Maya said.

“Yeah, and try not to bore the town too much with your little stories.” Aiden chimed in, a playful smirk on his face.

“Only if you promise not to forget everything and ruin the town.” Lukas rolled his eyes.

“Alright, you know what?” Aiden went over and hoisted Lukas over his shoulders, taking him back to his steed.

“You should head off now, don’t wanna keep the people waiting.” He said as Lukas kept hitting Aiden’s back, demanding to be put down through laughs, lighting the mood.

Aiden set his friend next to the horse and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’m kidding. I’m sure they’ll love you. And your writing.”

The group wasn’t going to feel whole without Lukas for the next several months. It was definitely a surprise to them when he offered to set off to another place by himself, everyone had known Lukas as the writer who wanted nothing more than to stay home with his friends, writing in his journal.

“Yeah.” Lukas grinned, “You guys will do great. I know it.”

Lukas made sure his bags were secured before hopping onto the horse. He turned his head to face his friends, “Tell Radar I said goodbye!”

His eyes landed on the quietest of the bunch, Jesse, who wore a small, weak smile. Lukas knew how much Jesse hated goodbyes, how could he possibly leave his friend on a sorrowful note?  

“Jesse!” Lukas called out. Jesse jumped and lifted his head.

“Make sure these guys don’t kill each other.” He grinned, “I’m counting on you!”

Jesse’s smile grew, becoming more genuine as he nodded, “I will.”

Lukas stared at his friends for a moment longer. ‘If anything ever happens,’ Olivia’s words from last night rang through his head, ‘You know who to go to.’

Yes, he’d be far, but he wasn’t going to be alone. He had people to turn to. That’s what’s important.

He gave the horse a light kick to start a steady pace, hoping to speed up once he passed the larger ravines. Lukas heard his friends’ goodbyes, Stella’s tearful “Love you!”, Aiden jokingly telling him not to fall off the horse as Olivia shushed him. Lukas couldn’t bring himself to glance back at his friends, fearful his mind would change.

Jesse watched as Lukas got farther and farther, his friends soon stopped their waving and talked amongst themselves. Olivia and Gill were still comforting Stella--who was much calmer than she was a few minutes ago--while the others discussed how they would help Radar, who had helped with planning of reconstructing Obsidian Town.

Jesse couldn’t tear his eyes off of his distancing friend, his heart was pumping, he felt his hands shake, his eyes welled with tears. This shouldn’t be tearing at him as much as it is, but he hated how awful the goodbye felt. He hated himself for not saying more.

“You okay?” Gill asked.

Jesse faced his concerned friend and wiped away his tears, nodding.

“Yea… Yeah. I’m just… I need to--” Without Jesse’s command, his body took off running after Lukas. He heard his friends' confused shouts grow fainter as he kept getting closer and closer to Lukas. The tall grass, the distant trees, the bright flowers, the dusty orange sky, everything was blurring together into incoherent chaos, but his eyes remained on Lukas, who was nothing but a blob of colors.

“LUKAS!” Jesse shouted, reaching his hand out.

Lukas jolted and stopped his horse, whipping his head around to see a crying, winded Jesse approach him.

When Jesse’s hand was in reach, Lukas grabbed it and held onto it. He was shaking. They were both shaking.

“I’m sorry, I--” Jesse began, rubbing the tears off his face with the sleeve of his other arm. “I’m… I’m gonna miss you. You know that, right?”

This was such an overreaction. Such an overreaction. He had rarely ever held someone’s hand, but he didn’t want to let Lukas go. He didn’t want Lukas to leave. Jesse knew he was coming back, but a special, unignorable pain accompanied the view--the mere thought--of watching your childhood friend leave. This wasn’t like when the both of you would set off, knowing you’d see each other tomorrow, knowing you’d be the same person tomorrow as you were today. This was counting down the days until your reunion, hoping neither of you had changed into a complete stranger.

Lukas’ mouth hung open for a moment.

He swallowed and kept a strong face for Jesse, “Of course I do. How about this:” Lukas’ eyes brightened, “The minute I come back, we’ll go to the Coal Cafe together, we’ll share stories and everything. That’s a promise.”

“A promise?” Repeating those words warmed him. Comforted him. It was going to be okay.

Jesse took a deep breath, “Okay,”

He squeezed Lukas’ hand for the last time, “Be safe.”

“Always.” Lukas said, slipping his hand out of Jesse’s grasp and continuing the journey.

Jesse stood in the open field, watching his friend leave. He was at ease.

Olivia ran to his side, “Are you going to be alright? You know we’re here if you need anything.”

“Yeah. Thank you.” He turned to Olivia and was surprised to see her hunched over, catching her breath. Had he really run that far?

The others quickly caught up--Aiden ruffled Jesse’s hair for making them chase after him--and all expressed how they’ll also miss Lukas, comforting Jesse further.

Jesse watched the Sun rise as his friends chattered. Morning was coming, the sky’s colors were growing, and Jesse was drained. They were all going to be horribly busy these upcoming months.

Jesse couldn’t wait to go to bed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The group was still getting used to Lukas’ absence throughout the past few weeks, Aiden being the worst of the bunch. Every afternoon he’d ask “Lukas still sleeping?”, or before they’d head out he’d run towards the stairs to make sure Lukas wouldn’t be left behind, only for one of his friends to correct him, or for Aiden to stop himself and do the walk of shame when he’d remember what had happened. Cassie would sometimes poke fun at him; Jesse was guilty of making little comments as well.

Stella was used to waking up early and meeting Lukas, the only other member of the group who also had a decent sleep schedule, at the kitchen where they’d ramble about whatever or planned the schedule for the day.

Olivia enjoyed his company whenever she’d work on any of her inventions, Gill missed his presence when he’d attend Hadrian and Mevia’s lessons--Lukas used what he learned as inspiration for his stories--and Maya missed the mid-morning training they’d do every couple of days to help improve his fighting.  

Though they were all anticipating the day of his return, everyone was fine and continued their days as they normally would. Even Jesse.

Everybody had been occupied with cleaning the debris, filling the giant cracks in the town’s streets, and repairing or entirely rebuilding citizens’ houses and stores. Compared to the other towns surrounding them, the damage here wasn’t too severe.

Gill, Aiden, Maya, and sometimes Jesse would focus on the heavier workload while Stella, Radar, Cassie, and Olivia helped search for and craft the needed materials.

Both Stella and Olivia were back home, finally taking a much needed late-lunch break. They had grabbed Gill’s premade sandwiches from the fridge and had finally sat down after a long day of running around. Stella was eating, listening to Olivia, who hadn’t touched her food yet.

“...Then I saw the obsidian had been broken into big pieces, meaning we could find a way to put them back together instead of going through the hassle of wasting materials to create new obsidian--” She took a swig from her cup of water before continuing, “But Radar pointed out we had nothing strong enough to keep the pieces in place. I suggested slime, but with all the weight that’d be put on top of them, I’m not sure how long they’d last.”

She quickly adjusted her green, aviator hat before putting her hands on her head to take a breather.

“Sorry, I’m rambling.” Olivia said through quick breaths.

Stella swallowed her food, “Don’t be!”

She set her sandwich aside, “You know, when I help prepare The Impossible Festival, we create this weird, glue-like… Substance with slime.” Her face scrunched when recalling it’s sticky texture, “We use it to keep any heavy structures in place. It’s a bit of a hassle to make, but it is tremendous! Resistant against water, handles extreme pressure, I can show you how to make it.”

Olivia perked up, “Really?”

Stella was about to add on when the front door suddenly swung open. In came Aiden and Jesse who brought only chaos along with them. Aiden was walking backwards, a smirk on his face with an envelope he held high into the air while Jesse kept reaching and jumping for it.

“Finders keepers.” Aiden said as he watched Jesse attempt to nab the letter once again.

“You wouldn’t have known about the letter if I hadn’t reminded you to check the mailbox!” Jesse grunted.

“I still saw it first.”

Stella spun on her barstool to face the commotion, “What are you two bickering about this time?”

Aiden waved the envelope while fending off Jesse, “Letter from Lukas!”

Both of the girls’ faces lit up.

“Gill, Aiden’s distracted, get him!” Jesse shouted at the wide open door.

“Wha--” Before Aiden had the chance to react, Gill came charging into the house and tackled Aiden to the floor. The letter flew out of Aiden’s grasp and the two crashed into the wall. Gill spotted the floating letter and quickly nabbed it.

“Got it!” Gill beamed, holding it high and proud. He could hear Jesse’s quiet “Yes!”

Cassie Rose and Maya walked into the house and beheld the scene before them.

Cassie saw Aiden groaning on the floor with Gill still on top of him.

“Is he dead?” Cassie asked without batting an eye.

“No. Just crushed.” Aiden replied.

Maya looked at Stella and Olivia, “They tell you about the letter?”

“Sloppily, but yes.” Olivia answered happily, yoinking the letter from Gill’s hands. She nor Stella no longer trusted either of the boys with the paper in their grasp. On the front she saw the neat, right-leaning handwriting that belonged to the one and only Lukas.

She opened the envelope, carefully pulled out the letter, and unfolded it.

She read the contents aloud, “Hello everyone, I hope you guys are doing well! North Wind City has been wonderful so far, the people here have kept a pretty positive attitude while working, and they surprisingly recognized me the moment I walked in! They wanted me to tell you they’re thankful for our bravery against The Awakening, they truly are grateful. I haven’t been able to write as much, a majority of this city is in absolute ruins, I’ve only been able to take breaks at a small cafe. It’s okay compared to the Coal Cafe. I’ve been working hard these last several days, and I know you guys have been as well. Don’t overwork yourselves! Can’t wait to see you guys again!”

Olivia’s eyes would go over the letter again and again, it was refreshing to see his written voice.

“Glad to know North Wind is being kind to him.” said Stella, who was reading over Olivia’s shoulder. The others nodded and chatted about the letter’s contents.

“Who wouldn’t be?” Asked Gill as he helped Aiden up.

Gill turned to the girls, “Can I write the letter back, please? I promised him!”

“You don’t have to ask for permission, silly. Make sure to proofread!” Stella reminded him.

“Right!” Gill turned to Jesse, “Jesse, yer gonna be m’proofreader!”  

“Oh, oka--” Before Jesse could finish his sentence, Gill had already ran up the stairs, happily cheering how he was going to tell Lukas everything. Jesse chased after him.

Cassie Rose followed behind, “Tell him about how Stella burnt the pasta last night!”

Stella jumped and ran after the trio, “Do NOT tell him about how Stella burnt the pasta!”

After Stella disappeared, loud crashing and thrashing could be heard from the second floor, causing Olivia to cringe. The noise went on for another second before the house fell deathly quiet.

“Welp,” Aiden started walking to the stairs, “Better go make sure they aren’t dead.”

“Sounds good to me.” Said Maya, following behind.

Olivia chuckled and joined them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse sat on one of the couches in the living room, body spread out over the cushions, trying to get as comfortable as possible. His legs were sore, no--his legs and arms were sore--actually, everything was sore. The last couple of months had been exhausting. Him and the others had finally finished filling in the cracks of the town, meaning they could walk on the streets and repair any buildings on the road safely. Most of the houses were as good as new and the town was getting more lively each night. Exhausting or not, it was rewarding to see the progress.

Jesse promised to help Radar move the heavy items with Aiden and Maya, but that wasn’t until the early day. His friends were still out working, but Jesse wanted to rest. Just for a little bit.

He heard footsteps coming from behind. He didn’t have enough energy to turn his head, so he laid it on the back of the couch to get an upside view of who was approaching.

It was Gill. He was holding a letter.

“S’okay if I sit?” Gill tilted his head. Jesse gave him a nod and scooted his body over, giving Gill room.

He sat beside Jesse, looked at the letter, then back to Jesse.

“I was bout to send this off but…” Gill stared at what he had written, “I was wonderin’ if you wanted to add anythin’?”

Lukas had been sending letters at an inconsistent rate throughout the months; one week they’d receive two letters, then the next two weeks they wouldn’t get a thing. Luckily, his letters had been nothing but positive. Jesse and the others understood he was busy helping a city, so writing wouldn’t be his top priority.

The group would take turns writing to Lukas so no one would fight. This time it was Gill’s turn.

“Hm…” Jesse thought for a moment, recalling what Lukas had written. He mainly remembered Lukas talking about the apartment he was temporarily living in, how there was a small balcony, and how he could see the thick, vibrant forest--reminding him of their trips to Petra’s--whenever he looked out.

“Tell him I hope he’s been able to get some writing in.” He said with a weak smile.

Gill blinked a couple of times, studying Jesse’s expression, “Ya miss him?”

“Ah,” Jesse waved his hand, “It’s alright.”

They both sat silently for a few seconds.

“I miss him too.” Gill said, “But hey--Maybe we could visit him. Surprise visit!”

“Oh, no. No, it’s okay.” Jesse let out a chuckle, “Thanks though.”

If they did want to walk to North Wind City, they’d have to travel by foot, as neither of them had horses to rely on. Horses were difficult to find and extremely expensive if you happened to run into someone who sold them. The only reason Lukas got a horse for his travels was because a woman in Obsidian Town lent it to him for saving the town. Jesse appreciated the thought, however.

Gill got off the couch and approached the shelves along the living room’s wall. He reached for a small, wooden basket filled with envelopes, stamps, and pens.

As he finished writing the letter, he turned to Jesse, “Maya ‘n I are gonna train tomorrow, ya wanna join? Stella’ll be there too.”

Jesse’s body was telling him ‘No’. He was already aching enough, he’d have to wake up early, get all sweaty, feel even more sore… But honestly? Jesse didn’t care. He’d love to do something with his friends that didn’t require manual labor for once.

Jesse gave Gill a grin, “Sounds good to me.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The town was nearly finished, the workload was getting smaller and smaller, everything was beginning to feel normal once again.

Everyone was mostly lounging around in the living room or kitchen, they had finished dinner and were talking about their day or what they had planned for tomorrow.

Olivia was sharing the couch with Jesse, who sat stiffly with his hands in his lap.

“...Then Maya said ‘Alright, if you say so.’ And handed Radar the block of cement and he collapsed--!” Olivia told Jesse through laughter.

“It was pretty funny.” Maya grinned as she finished washing the remainder of the dishes.

Olivia wiped a tear away, “Oh, you should’ve seen his poor face.”

Olivia’s smile faded when she noticed the lack of reaction from her friend. Jesse was always the one to crack up at the little things, but his lips were pressed together and his eyes were focused elsewhere.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

He glanced at her worried expression before shifting away, “... Lukas hasn’t written back in a while.”

It's been a few months.

“I’m just--” Jesse gripped the fabric of his pants, “It’s stupid, but I’ve been afraid. What if he’s forgotten about us? Or found other people? What if something terrible happened to him?”

She scooted closer to him, “Oh, Jesse--”

“I know it’s dumb, I know he can handle himself, but--”

“No, I understand.” She breathed in, “I feel the same way.”

“I think we all feel that way.” Stella chimed in, approaching the two and leaning against the back of the couch. “It’s a normal feeling to have. Granted, it’s an awful feeling, but it’s normal.”

“Yeah, it sucks, but this is Lukas we’re talking about. He’s not gonna forget us.” Added Cassie Rose, who was slumped in the arm chair.

“Exactly!” Spoke Gill. He slid over to Jesse and Olivia.

“D’ya really think he’d forget his own friends? Or the guy he had to help who got stabbed in the arm multiple times?” Gill asked, pointing at himself with a big smile on his face. Jesse found himself chuckling to Gill’s addition.

How weird was this. Everyone in this room wanted Lukas back, they wanted to be whole again, they should feel miserable. But they didn’t. Instead, Jesse felt a smile form and remain. He wasn’t the only one feeling this way. It was normal. It’s okay.

“He’s helping a pretty large city, that sorta thing doesn’t take a few months. He’s probably caught up on the work and too exhausted to write anything. Stuff happens, you know?” Said Aiden; he was sitting at the bar with Maya, who nodded along.

Jesse had been telling himself the same thing for the last couple of weeks and was beginning to second guess his own thoughts, but hearing them aloud by Aiden was the reassurance he needed.

Suddenly, there was knocking at their door.

Aiden pushed himself off the barstool and made his way to the door.

“Did Radar say he was stopping by?” He asked Maya.

Maya thought to herself for a moment, trying to recall if Radar had ever mentioned visiting. “Don’t think so?”

Aiden opened the door and was surprised to see one of the guards of Obsidian Town. He stood tall, wearing his ash-colored armor with pride. Most of his skin had been covered by his uniform, his hair hidden underneath his hat, gloves hiding his hands, leaving only his tan face and neck visible.

“Mornin’. Everything okay?” Aiden asked.

The guard nodded and reached into his pocket, “A letter from North Wind City.”

He handed Aiden the letter.

“Alright, thanks.” Aiden said as he held the letter firmly. The guard nodded, told Aiden to have a good day, then left.

Aiden closed the door and took a look at the envelope while the others watched him. It was completely blank. No sender’s address, no stamp, nothing.

“Did Lukas finally write us back?” Asked Rose, trying to get into a comfortable position.

Aiden opened the letter, “I’m… Not sure?”

The handwriting was small and tidy. Aiden began reading.

“To the friends of Lukas, it seems the unthinkable has happened to us during our time of recovery. Over the last few days, Lukas has not been seen outside, many people claimed he went to his apartment and hadn’t come out. We had sent guards to check on him, only to find he had disappeared without a trace. No one is certain what had happened to him, nor where he might’ve gone to, but a search party has formed and is hard at work. We would appreciate any and all help, we truly need it.”

No one reacted. No one emoted. They couldn’t. It was as if everyone’s mind was unable to process what they’ve been told, and had shut down completely.

Aiden kept skimming the letter over and over again, making sure he had truly read everything correctly, hoping he had skipped over the section where it said ‘False alarm!’, and it was just a stupid joke to scare them. But the more he kept reading, the bigger the pit in his stomach grew. He held the letter tightly, crinkling it.

“Lukas is missing?” Jesse asked quietly, breaking the silence.

The others were still rigid and wide eyed.

“That… Can’t be right.” Said Stella slowly. She walked over to Aiden, who handed her the letter. She scanned it thoroughly. Aiden hadn’t skipped a word, this was real. The realization shot through her like an arrow, her hands trembled and she blinked back tears.

Her head darted around the room, seeing everyone’s increasingly worried and fearful expressions was making her heart race. She could hardly swallow.

She put her free hand on her hair, tugging on strands as she read through the letter again.

“We don’t know what day he went missing,” Stella began, “Nor who he last interacted with--”

“This has to be The Awakening!” Jesse said with a loud, wavering voice. He got off the couch and ran to Stella and Aiden to see the letter as well.

“We can’t point fingers at them yet!” Olivia started, “With so many newly formed ravines, along with the quakes, maybe he…”

She was no longer on board with where her train of thought was going, “... Fell in?”

“Fell in, kidnapped, lost--Whatever!” Cassie leapt off the chair, “We gotta do something!”

“She’s right.” Maya nodded, “We’re not gonna find him by freaking out. What’s the plan?”

“We’re gonna find him.” Gill answered without hesitation, “We will find him.”

‘Lukas’ disappearance was recent.’ Jesse thought to himself, holding onto the letter. ‘If we start searching now, we’d have a higher chance of finding him sooner.”

Stella could no longer remain still, she darted to the stairs. Her quick footsteps could be heard from the second floor, followed by a door opening.

“Some of us should go to North Wind while the rest try to see if Lukas had mentioned anything weird in his letters.” Aiden said, “Maybe a weird person, a strange place, anything!”

“What could we do at North Wind?” Cassie questioned, “They said he disappeared without a trace!”

“No one just… Disappears into thin air.” Maya said.

“Exactly.” Aiden made his way to the chests against the living room wall, “There’s gotta be something in his apartment, or any of the places he’s been to that’ll help.”

He took out a diamond sword, “We’ll ask anyone who looks suspicious, and if they act up? I won’t hesitate giving them a piece of my mind.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Maya cracked her knuckles.

“Who’s going to go to North Wind?” Asked Olivia, “You can’t go by yourself, Aiden. Lukas might’ve been--I’m not saying he was, but--he might’ve been targeted because he was alone. I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”

“He’s not gonna be alone.” Maya stood beside him, “I’m going with him.”

“I’m comin’ too!” Gill added, “The more th’ merrier!”

Cassie Rose got out of her seat, “Same here. I’ll bring my axes, might come in handy.”

“What can I do?” Jesse asked everyone.

“Do you need an extra set of hands?” He asked Aiden and the others, “Or--or could I--”

“Actually,” Olivia began, “Would you be willing to help me analyze the letters Lukas has sent us? I could use the extra set of eyes.”

“Of course!” Jesse said, ready to do anything and everything to help out.

Stella ran down the stairs, holding onto a thin, blue folder with.

“I’m back!” She sputtered, almost dropping the folder.

She quickly opened it, revealing a group photo, and pointed at the smiling Lukas in it.

“I’m going to make missing posters with Radar, this is the best quality photo we have of him!” She ran to the door, “We’ll make a bunch of copies to hand out and tape everywhere!” She explained in one breath and slammed the door behind her.

Everyone watched Stella rush through the streets, when they could no longer see her, they continued talking.

“I’d recommend heading off tomorrow.” Olivia suggested, “You’d be energized and have enough time to prepare. Plus I think Stella would want you to take some posters along.”

“It’s going to be a long walk.” Jesse mentioned, giving the four a worried look.

Maya lifted her head up, “It’s alright, we’ve walked longer.”

“Nothing we can’t handle.” Aiden assured him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Of course when everything was finally calming down, when lives were returning to normal, when everyone could finally be at ease, the universe snatched the hope and happiness of the group and dangled it on a stick, taking great pleasure in watching them struggle.

Yes, reconstruction of his hometown was tiresome and--at times--painful, but at least Jesse was able to rest. These past few days, however? He didn’t sleep. He couldn’t sleep. No one did. Aiden, Maya, Gill, and Cassie went to North Wind first thing in the afternoon, packing the essentials along with Stella handing them the missing posters, telling them to please write to her the minute they reached the city. The four only took a break once they had finally reached their destination to prepare themselves for the long days ahead.

Before Olivia and Jesse could begin studying the letters, they had to inform the town of their friend’s--and one of the town’s hero’s--disappearance. They were prepared for the people’s panics and had assured them they were already hard at work searching, but any help would be wonderful. Whenever a citizen would see Jesse, Olivia, or Stella, they’d give them their sympathy and tell them they hoped for the best. And though Radar was also friends with Lukas, he wasn’t as close to him as the others were, and not too many people knew of their relationship. Not that Radar mind, he was too busy helping the trio.

When Aiden, Maya, Gill, and Cassie Rose began their investigation in North Wind City, they were overwhelmed with how much bigger everything was. All apartment complexes were the same shade of tawny brown, only their light blue windows prevented them from merging all together, the brick roads--the worn down clashing with the newly filled gaps--were so wide they managed to balance out the enormous, surrounding, brown buildings. Towering, almost intimidating windmills could be seen everywhere, some breaking the clouds, and had propellers moving slowly and steadily. The population was also huge, large groups of people were everywhere, which could make searching for clues easier or harder.

The four first went to find Lukas’ apartment, which they were able to find thanks to Maya remembering the address, and were allowed inside. Most places were closing--or had closed--since it was early morning, so they decided to see what the apartment had to offer as they waited for a new night to come. To their surprise, the place looked untouched. No signs of a fight, struggle, nothing. In fact, the room looked tidy in typical Lukas-fashion. The bed was made, the kitchen was cleaned and organized, papers were in neat stacks on a small, dark brown table in the middle of the living room.

Gill sat on the brown couch and carefully looked through the papers, discovering some were unfinished letters for them. Him, Maya, and Cassie skimmed through them, hoping to find anything to point them to the right direction, but they all contained the usual updates of his life.

Gill looked around the room, “I don’ see his goggles anywhere.”

The others stopped what they were doing and scanned the apartment. He was right. Lukas had always kept his goggles on his head, around his neck, or in the pockets of his jacket. If he wasn’t wearing them, he’d place them within reach--or at least somewhere easy to find--so he could grab them and go.

“He could’ve gone missing while he was on his way home. Or when he was leaving it.” Maya suggested.

Cassie put her hand on her head, “This place is huge, he could be anywhere!”

“Exactly!” Gill agreed, though his tone was optimistic. “It IS huge, someone had to have seen ‘im!”

Gill turned his head to the window, peering into the blue-skied world, “I bet it’s real hard to do somethin’ here without someone seein’ ya.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Aiden folded his arms. He took out the letter informing them of Lukas’ disappearance--which he had slipped back into it’s blank envelope--and said they should find out who had sent it first thing tomorrow. Everyone agreed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I just remembered I promised to write Stella a letter once we reached North Wind.” Aiden said, his head drooped as he rested against the rails of Lukas’ small balcony.

“That would’ve been good to know a month ago.” Maya said, watching the sun rise past the thick forest.

“I’m sorry, I--”

“Don’t be. We’re all stressed. Stuff slips the mind.” She assured him. She was usually the one to remind Aiden of information, but had completely forgotten about writing the letter as well. The only thing on her mind the second she left Obsidian town and the second she stepped foot in North Wind was “Find Lukas”.

“She probably thinks we’re dead now.” The two heard Cassie comment. She was resting on the couch with Gill, who had fallen asleep. They’ve been running around this monstrous city for nearly two months, they have hardly gotten any time to rest.

It was difficult to decide whether or not they’ve progressed during their time here. They found out the blank envelope had been sent by the mayor of North Wind herself, Isa, who explained when upon hearing the news, she frantically wrote the letter and requested one of her guards to send it to their town immediately. She was so focused on alerting Aiden and the others that she had completely forgotten about putting her own address, a stamp, and the other insignificant details.

They visited the places Lukas would talk about often, the city’s cafe, it’s library, the park, and spoke to the people who worked there as they hung up missing posters. They asked the people if Lukas acted out of character, and they all said he was being his usual, cheerful self. They asked if anyone suspicious had been near or following him, no one could recall any figures near Lukas. The people who were a part of the city’s reconstruction group--along with the guards--had said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and they hadn’t spotted any odd character.

The four were ready to turn in for the day, but Gill was set on wanting to talk to a small group of people who were hanging around a construction site. While the others were tired, they knew Gill would be told what they’ve already heard a million times, so it’d only be a few minute wait. When Gill returned, he looked excited. The group of people had worked with Lukas multiple times on the far west end of town, and had shown Lukas a ‘scenic route’ through the west gate that led back to his apartment. It was through the forest which Lukas’ balcony looked over. One man said he would see Lukas occasionally walk this path from the window of his room, and suggested something might’ve happened to him there.

When they had entered the forest, they were disheartened to see almost nothing. Sure, the forest was peaceful compared to the city’s ruckus, the earthy and subtle floral scent was nice, the plants were colorful, but there were no signs of anything happening here. No scraps of clothes or a broken weapon in sight. The only thing they did find was a large, gaping ravine who’s bottom could not be seen. Olivia’s words rang through their heads, “Maybe he fell in.”

Aiden volunteered to explore the ravine tomorrow, and he was either going to find nothing, or the corpse of one of his closest friends.

For once, throughout this entire mess, Cassie Rose was hoping they’d find nothing. The thought of Lukas’ limp body plagued her mind, it was an idea she didn’t want to become reality.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stella and Radar had hung the posters around town, while Jesse and Olivia had read and reread every letter Lukas had sent. None of them had even a tiny sliver of anything that could be labeled ‘suspicious’. They only talked about the city, his life, and how much he missed them.

Mevia and Hadrian had been of tremendous help. When hearing of Lukas’ disappearance, they pulled out a number of old maps which showed the locations of ancient, forgotten shrines of The Awakening’s built around both Obsidian Town and North Wind. They suggested the group should explore the abandoned shrines to see if The Awakening had retreated to any of them. Jesse was on board, ready to put himself at risk if it meant finding Lukas faster, but Stella, Olivia, and Radar refused. If they did find The Awakening, they’d have to go against the hundreds of members, not to mention a number of the shrines were hazardous and falling apart.

Radar wanted to make himself as useful as possible. When the three would rest, he’d continue to question citizens, guards, and anyone who they hadn’t spoken to yet. He’d use what knowledge he had of The Awakening to help create theories as to what they could’ve done, or what might’ve happened to Lukas.

As they continued their work, Aiden and the others finally wrote back. They had saved Stella from a heart attack, but had only brought bad news. No luck. The only positive was Gill, who managed to keep the spirits of his friends high during their time in the city. They had found Lukas’ horse--unharmed--as well, and were going to return it to the lady. As for Lukas himself, they’ve searched North Wind, the horrid ravines surrounding it, and they’ve found nothing. No body, no signs of his presence, it was truly as if he had disappeared from thin air.

In the letter, Aiden said they were planning on returning home in--roughly--a week. By then, it’d mark four months of them losing Lukas. What a horrible pill to swallow.

Olivia, as much as she didn’t want to, suggested they needed to take a break once the others came back. Even if it only lasted a week, they needed time to think. Maybe an idea would pop into their heads, maybe someone will spot Lukas, who knows. But they were all deteriorating. Their sleep had been butchered, their diets ruined, and the stress was ripping them limb from limb.

They weren’t progressing. Obsidian town offered nothing, North Wind offered nothing, what else could they possibly do?

Jesse didn’t want to rest. He wanted to keep looking. He wanted to. He really wanted to.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The week-long break lasted a month, everyone was more worn out than they realized. The break was needed, but everything felt forced. Their conversations, their moments of lounging around, everything felt unnatural. How could you live out a normal day with your friend’s missing poster plastered everywhere? Knowing he could still be saved, that he could still be out there, lost, hurt, confused. Knowing he might be dead.

Everyone was weighed down with these thoughts and feelings, while Aiden and Jesse were being crushed by them. They couldn’t put their minds to rest, their bodies couldn’t take remaining in one place with Lukas still out there. Their friends understood their anger and eagerness all too well, and had barely convinced the two to rest.

The end of the month was nearing, Radar was visiting the group, and they had finished dinner not too long ago. Aiden, Jesse, and Gill were having a conversation in the kitchen about what their next plan was, while the girls--and Radar--were upstairs in their rooms, rambling about whatever.

Suddenly, there was knocking at the door. Three, heavy, slow knocks.

The boys stared at the door for a moment, unsure if they truly wanted to open it.

“... Guess I’ll get it?” Jesse said quietly, getting off the barstool and approaching the door. He peered through the doorhole and saw no one.

He opened the door and looked around, seeing no signs of whoever had knocked.

His eyes fell to the stairs of the front door and he froze. Reality began to unravel, this wasn’t real. This wasn’t real. It wasn’t.

He crouched down to look at Lukas’ goggles who sat atop his journal. Jesse had almost convinced himself he was seeing things, that his brain was so desperate for anything it had resorted to making hopeful hallucinations.

Jesse was afraid to touch them. What if they broke? What if they disappeared?

He carefully reached one hand out and let his finger barely touch the lens of the goggles. It was real. It was Lukas’.

He warily picked up the goggles and held them close, seeing his reflection in the tinted lens. The strap was damp.

“Jesse, who’s--” Aiden stopped in his tracks and saw what his friend was craddeling. Aiden couldn’t say anything, all he did was stare. He kept staring and staring, his hand curled into a fist and he punched the wall, shaking the house.

It had been nearly a year. Almost an entire, damn year of nothing, yet someone too vile to be considered human had left these at their steps to take pleasure in their misery and failures.

Gill had run upstairs to tell the others what appeared as the two remained in place. They knew who was at fault. There was no question about it now.

When the rest of the group came downstairs, everyone had to see the items for themselves. Olivia was reading the last pages of his journal, hoping to find any bit of information as the others discussed what could’ve happened.

“I already know what happened.” Aiden growled, “We all do.”

“It was The Awakening!” Jesse exclaimed, he was fuming. “We’ve looked through our town and the city, we’ve asked everyone, we can’t keep avoiding what’s in front of our faces!”

“Yes, but--” Olivia started but was immediately cut off by Jesse.

“But WHAT? How can you say ‘but’?! Our friend’s been taken and we’ve done nothing--”

“What if you’re wrong.” Maya said sternly. Her arms were crossed.

“It’s not that we believe The Awakening is innocent,” Olivia kept her eyes on the journal’s pages to avoid her friends’ hurt expressions, “it’s that we don’t have enough evidence.”

“Enough evidence?!” Aiden repeated, his voice was rising.

“This--!” He grabbed the goggles from Jesse’s grasp, “Is enough evidence! They obviously did something to him!”

Jesse continued ranting, “Lukas was far away from the rest of us, none of us were with him, why WOULDN’T The Awakening take advantage of one of us finally being alone?! We need to--”

“We need to think about this realistically.” said Olivia, hugging the journal. “Let’s say you do find The Awakening… What’ll you do if you find out they never took Lukas? You’ll be outnumbered, in danger, and you’d spark more conflict.”

“Then we’ll do what we did last time!” Jesse answered, “Fight them!”

Aiden nodded once.

“The two of you against the hundreds of cult members?” Maya tilted her head.

“Don’t mean to interrupt,” Cassie cut in, “but does anyone else find it weird the minute Radar joined our group, Lukas went missing?”

Radar jumped, his pupils shrunk, “I beg your pardon?!”

“What are you getting at, Cass?” Maya asked, leaning towards the red head, her brow creasing.

“Maybe we’ve been set up from the start!” She shot at both Maya and Radar.

An argument erupted. Everyone was shouting at one another, talking over each other, the yelling getting louder and louder.

Stella’s shouting at Aiden had thankfully been voluminous enough to silence the entire room, “We are NOT hunting down The Awakening! That is FINAL.”

“So we’re gonna give up!?” Aiden yelled. Jesse brought himself closer to Aiden’s side, equally enraged.

“We’re not--! I never sai--”

“Whatever.” Aiden stormed off to his room, Jesse followed. The door slammed and shook the house.

Everyone stood still, silent and miserable.

Gill finally looked at his friends,

“Is there really nothin’ we can do?” He asked quietly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the fight from a few days ago, along with receiving what remained of Lukas, everyone had been staying in their rooms, distancing themselves from one another. They were only together when they ate dinner, but even then they hardly spoke to each other.

Aiden, Jesse, and Gill had been absent, neither of them had been seen in the house or their rooms. The girls didn’t comment on their vanishment, they assumed the three of them wanted time away.

On the third day, when everyone was awake and eating whatever they found for breakfast, Olivia spoke up.

“We can’t keep quiet forever, guys.” She mumbled, “This isn’t going to bring Lukas back.”

Just like her last attempts at conversing, she was met with nothing. She looked around to see all her friends, Cassie, Maya, Stella, facing away from each other, staring at the floor, and remaining silent. Olivia went back to her breakfast, all she could eat was a small bowl of fruit, but it tasted sour. Her stomach was sour. The room was sour.

She rested her head on the kitchen table and pushed the bowl away. Olivia saw the bowl tremble and let out a groan. A quake. Perfect. Just what they needed.

They all held onto whatever they were close to. The house shook, the dishes chattered, the ground let out a low rumble before everything settled down again.

Everything went quiet for another minute.

Maya inhaled, tossed her empty plate onto the counter, and walked over to the table. She pulled out a chair and sat next to Olivia.

“This sucks.” Maya slouched and rested her head on her hand. Olivia peered over at her friend.

“Things were finally getting better.” Maya let out a tired sigh. Bags hung under her eyes and tear streaks stained her face.

Someone was finally talking, but Olivia didn’t know what to say. She inched her hand closer to Maya’s, and offered to hold it. Maya stared at the hand for a moment before grabbing and holding it carefully. Olivia’s hand was much smaller than her’s, but it didn’t make any difference. She needed this. They needed this.

“Yea… Yeah. Everything’s just falling apart all over again.” Cassie Rose added with a cracking voice. She struggled to keep her face together.

“We can’t find Lukas,” She sat on the table and pushed up her glasses, drying her eyes with her sleeve before tears formed, “I--I said a bunch of dumb stuff. And I’m--I’m sorry, you know? I feel awful. About everything.”

“It’s a normal feeling.” Said Stella, who had been staring into her cup of tea, only able to watch it get cold.

She turned to her friends, her eyes were puffy and tears were still running down her face, yet her expression appeared content. She wore a sad, small smile.

“And it’s an awful feeling.” She left the counter and sat across from Olivia.

Once again, the room became quiet. But this silence was comforting compared to what had overtaken the room before.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gill bursted through the doors only an hour later. He was frantic, sweating, eyes darting everywhere, looking for any sign of his friends.

Olivia ran downstairs and gasped, she was about to ask him where he had been, and where Aiden and Jesse were, but Gill couldn’t wait another second.

“Aiden’s hurt!” He blurted.

Olivia froze, “Wha--”

“We were--We went to some shrines, I know ya said not too but Aiden ‘n Jesse wanted to go, ‘n--! The quake happened, part of th’ceiling fell apart, landed on his arm, ‘n he was bleedin’--Come on!” Gill ran out the door.

Cassie, Maya, and Stella had heard the commotion, Olivia didn’t have time to explain but she quickly told them the boys needed help. The three rushed after Gill, following him past the town’s entrance and to the start of the northwest forest’s trail. Through the trees they could make out a sluggish Aiden, who was refusing any of Jesse’s assistance.

They got Aiden home; he had a bloody, gaping gash on his right arm. The three of them had been searching through a number of old shrines without resting in hopes of finding either their friend or the cult. Originally, only Jesse and Aiden were going to explore the shrines, but the two of them managed to convince Gill they needed his strength while exploring. They felt awful for dragging him into the mess, but if he hadn’t joined, he wouldn’t have been there to push the rubble off of Aiden’s arm. It could’ve gotten uglier.

When they got to the house, Aiden and Jesse were expecting the usual teasing from Rose about their mess ups and bad planning, or Stella’s criticism for being so careless, but they received nothing.

Rose was tending Aiden’s wound as he sat on her bed. Everyone one else was in the room too, listening to Jesse explain what had happened over the past few days.

“Why’d you go to the shrines?” Rose asked Aiden with a flat tone as she was wrapping a bandage around his arm.

Aiden thought the answer was obvious, but he answered anyway.

“Wanted to find Lukas.”

She glanced at his face then back to the wound, “You got hurt anywhere else?”

Aiden let out a groan, “Who cares about me, we--”

“I care.” Rose growled as she tightened the bandage, causing Aiden to wince. “We all care.”

She breathed in and continued wrapping the wound. Aiden turned his head slightly to look elsewhere.

Jesse was sitting on the window ledge, surrounded by his other friends.

“Sorry we ran off.” He apologized again, he pressed himself against the glass.

“Just glad you’re in one piece.” Maya replied with her hands shoved into her pockets.

“Yeah, we already lost Lukas.” Olivia sat beside Jesse, “We don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Ah,” Jesse said tiredly, “We’ll find him, won’t we?”

He glanced at his friends faces, all tainted with tear streaks and tired, defeated eyes.

Jesse landed on his last hope, Gill, for reassurance, but all he received was a pair of sad, scared eyes.

“Lukas is gone.” Gill croaked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It felt like the world had played a cruel joke on the day of Lukas’ memorial service. The skies were blue, clouds decorated the skies, there was a light breeze, it was the sort of day Lukas would stay up for, claiming the morning was too beautiful to sleep through, and it’d be a crime not to write.

It felt wrong to mourn for somebody they’ve yet to--and never will--find.

Jesse, Olivia, Aiden, Gill, Maya, Cassie Rose, and Stella all stood before the small memorial they had built together for their friend. A blackstone, squared base with three, thin, polished andesite columns on the front and back, with two columns on each side, and a top made of smooth, stone slabs. Lukas’ picture hung from the middle of the front-center column, surrounded by hundreds of flowers and candles.

They had expected many citizens of their town to attend, but were surprised to see people from other cities--including North Wind--to appear. People came to pay their respects, to thank him, to sympathize, and to apologize. Everyone listened to the eulogy delivered by Stella, who had to pause a couple of times thanks to her cracking voice, while the rest of Lukas’ friends shared stories and fond memories, or had only enough strength to say they’ll miss him.

No one was sure how long the service had lasted; their sadness had made it feel like an eternity, yet it somehow felt too short to do Lukas justice.

The crowd began to dwindle as the sun lowered. Cassie, Olivia, Gill, Stella, and Maya had gone home to finally sleep, leaving only Aiden and Jesse by themselves.

Jesse kept staring at the memorial, he kept taking sharp, quick breaths, sounding as if he were about to cry again, but he could no longer produce any more tears even if he wanted to. He was exhausted, his legs were sore from standing, he had held his hands together tightly for so long they were numb, yet he refused to leave.

Jesse felt Aiden’s arm wrap around and pull him close. Jesse had never been too fond of receiving hugs, Aiden was never fond of giving them, but for once, they did.

They needed to.

Aiden held him close.

“The second The Awakening slips up…” He whispered through gritted teeth, “We’re gonna give them Hell.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“... Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left. He needed time to be alone with Lukas.” Aiden finished. He leaned against the bookshelf and took a minute to rest.

Despite Lukas’ disappearance being one of the few moments in his life that had stuck with him, that had been ingrained into his brain and haunted him, he kept the few belongings to him out. He never wants to forget him. Never.

Jess was sitting on the chair by the cluttered desk, holding the poster in his hand. This was all surreal. Wrong. A piece of a terrible nightmare. It didn’t matter whether it was his Lukas or not, this was his missing poster. He was still gone. Pairing his familiar, smiling face with what he had heard caused a twisted, gut wrenching feeling.

“I’m…” Jess finally tore his eyes from the poster, “I’m sorry.”

There was so much he wanted to say, but that was all he could say. Hearing the story was awful enough, he couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like to experience it.

“Don’t be.” Aiden walked over and held his hand out. Jess gave him the poster.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now.” He lifted Lukas’ journal up and carefully slid the poster underneath.

Aiden placed his hand on top of the journal and paused.

He took a deep breath and turned to Jess, “We still need to find the rest of those items, right?”

“Let’s get working on that.” He said, forcing a happy tone of voice with no smile to accompany it.

Jess nodded. He pushed the chair in and followed Aiden out the room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left.”

“Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left.”

“Jesse stayed at the memorial for a while after I left.”

‘I need to go home.’ Jesse thought to himself, still standing in front of the memorial. It was like he had been rooted into the ground, he knew he should go back inside, yet his mind refused to let his body move.

Standing here wasn’t going to revive Lukas, neither would tears and false hope. A part of him was praying he’d wake up tomorrow and see Lukas downstairs finishing his breakfast, or sitting outside of the house writing in his journal.

But Jesse wouldn’t, and he never will.

He’s gone.

Jesse inhaled, preparing himself to finally step away, when he heard footsteps and an unfamiliar voice.

“Hi, Jesse.” The voice was low and somewhat raspy.

He turned and saw a woman approaching him. Her skin was ivory, her hair was wavy, blonde, and ended a bit past her shoulders. She wore a scarlet red shirt with an open, dark gray, two-buttoned jacket with pants the same color.

Jesse had seen her before, she had given her condolences to him and his friends earlier at the service.

“Is… This a bad time?” She asked. Her blue eyes were soft.

“No, not at all…”

“Nell.” Nell said.

Jesse nodded. Nell stood beside him.

She clasped her hands and remained quiet for a moment, “I know the service ended but… Something inside me told me to go back, you know?”

Nell stared at the memorial.

“I’m so sorry, again. I wasn’t as close to him as you, but I knew he was a good person.”

Jesse mouthed the word ‘Yeah’, and pushed the hair out of his face. A lump was forming in his throat again, along with a strange, burning feeling in his stomach, but he remained in place. Though he couldn’t bring himself to talk, he was thankful for the sympathy.

“I--” Nell closed her eyes and breathed in, “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”

Jesse peered at her from the corner of his eye.

“It’s awful. It hurts, but… Jesse, I want to let you know you’re not alone.” She wrapped her arms around her body, hugging herself.

Jesse lifted his head more as Nell continued.

“I went to this support group and they really helped me through my darkest times.”

Something felt off.  

“You’re lucky to have your friends with you, but… Would you give the group a chance? It’s a lot of people, but they’re mostly from here and… And they’re so understanding. Maybe you’d like it.” She gave Jesse a warm smile.

Jesse couldn’t take his eyes off her as thousands of alarms blared through his head and clashed with his pounding heart. His stomach felt as if it were being torn to shreds, and he repressed the urge to run away or vomit.

She didn’t have to use their name, Jesse knew what she was trying to do. He needs to go home, he needs to tell the others, they need to know. But maybe, just maybe, he would learn more of Lukas’ disappearance if he joined.

[justkurotingz]

take on me (macriley)

@multi-fandomshipper101​ @moodypetrichorlove​ @canary-warrior​ @shutupshanti i hope i did this SUPER ADORABLE suggestion justice :)) <3

word count: 761 words

“uhhh.” riley’s eyes fluttered open with a tired yawn. somehow, she had managed to wake up before mac, so she swung her feet out of bed, hopping to the shower to freshen up.

after a quick shower, she dried her hair and stepped into the kitchen, surprised mac was still sleeping soundly in bed. a smirk found its way on her face as she realized this would be the perfect opportunity to make breakfast while enjoying her favorite songs, something she rarely did after moving into their super secret codex apartment.

it wasn’t a bad life, not by a long shot. in fact, if she could ignore the fact they had betrayed all their friends and went against everything humanity stood for, riley was enjoying herself. she led codex’s specialized hacking team, and mac worked closely with gwen. it had only been a week, but they were quickly adjusting to their new lives.

pushing aside all thoughts of codex and phoenix, she settled on something lighter. mac. switching on the stove and reaching for the eggs in the fridge, riley realized something she had been afraid to admit to herself for a while. she truly, really was in love with mac.

it wasn’t just a fling, it wasn’t stupid or invalid feelings, it was that connection between them, the way mac always knew what she was thinking before she even knew. the way riley understood mac’s emotions and soothed them in a way only she could. 

she dug out her phone from her sweats and quickly shuffled her playlist, pressing play. one of her all time favorite songs, take on me, started playing, filling the kitchen with her upbeat music. humming to herself, riley cracked the eggs and started to scramble them.

before she even really knew what she was doing, she was singing along to the song, letting herself go to the music. “in a day or twoooooooo.” she sang happily, nodding her head to the music and shaking her body to the beat as she plated the eggs and started on the bacon, unaware someone was watching behind her.

if mac was being honest, he hadn’t really sorted out his feelings about riley yet. but as he watched her dance and sing so carelessly, the smile on her face made mac’s heart flip. he loved her, he realized. he’s loved her for forever. with a smile on his face, the blonde genius approached his best friend, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“mac!” riley almost dropped the plate, but managed to steady herself, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. “you’re up late.” “i’m glad. or else i wouldn’t have seen you in my shirt, dancing like that.” he teased, his deep morning voice sending butterflies to riley’s stomach. “uh, well, breakfast’s ready. let’s eat.” “lets.” he chuckled, still teasing her, and riley knew he was never going to let her live it down. 

but somehow, it didn’t bother her. she looked forward to mac teasing her about this morning. they ate in comfortable silence, with both of them sneaking glances when the other wasn’t looking. eventually, the probability of them meeting eyes won, and riley laughed, making mac chuckle.

“you’re such a good cook riles.” he downed his orange juice and grabbed her plate, placing them both in the sink. now or never riley. it’s now or never. “hey mac?” “yeah?” he said easily, grinning at her, and riley’s heart fluttered. “i-” she trailed off, suddenly put on the spot.

“me too riles. i feel the exact same way.” he drew her closer, and when their lips touched, it was like fireworks going off in riley’s body. his lips were warm, soft and gently as they captured hers in a sweet kiss. “you know, it wasn’t until today that i realized i loved you.” he teased her and riley laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “if i’d have known this was all it took for one incredible blonde genius to fall for me, i’d have embarrassed myself way before we even found out about codex.” mac laughed, kissing her again. “you’re so cute riles.” “shut up.” riley muttered, collapsing next to him on the couch, snuggling into his side so they could watch tv together.

“i love you.” those three words brought mac’s blinding smile out. “love you too riles. no matter what, we’re doing this together. i promise.” he brought her closer, and they spent the rest of the day doing nothing but enjoying each others company, feeling complete in the middle of the end of world.

[james-thewintersoldier]

The Best Birthday Gift

Supernatural Fanfic

Summary: You and Dean have had a friends with benefit relationship for about a year now. You had a crush on him before it, but now you’ve completely fallen for him. Now, it’s you birthday and you can’t help but be sad about your relationship with Dean, but will your birthday change it all?

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 1,690

Warnings: Implied smut, some angst, quite a lot of fluff

Square filled: friends with benefits relationship (for @spnfluffbingo2019)

A/N: Credit to gif creator.

The sunlight peeked through the musty motel curtains, the shimmering light awakening you from your peaceful slumber. You slowly opened your eyes, adjusting to the sudden brightness. You lightly groaned, sleep still leaving your system. Enough left your system to recognize the feeling of smooth skin underneath your fingertips. It felt like you were touching the edges of heaven, your heaven.

A soft smile graced your features as your mind replayed the memories of last night, the biggest part of the memories clinging onto you at the moment. Dean Winchester. His lips were pressed gently against your neck as his head rested in the crook of it. His arm was wrapped firmly around your waist as the melody of his soft breathing repeated in your left ear like a whisper in the wind. His smooth skin was pressed against yours, both your bodies nude.

You couldn’t think of, or imagine, a place where you felt more content then in the arms of the eldest Winchester.

You smiled at the thoughts, but the realization of having to pee snapped you out of it. You gently and slowly moved yourself out of Dean's arms, careful not to wake him. You almost grimaced when he moved and made a small noise, but he hadn't woken up. You let out a small breath of relief as you made your way to the bathroom. Once the bathroom door clicked behind her, you turned to look in the mirror. Your Y/H was a frizzy mess, and your skin was littered with a few bruises and hickeys from last night’s activities. But you didn’t care. Your lips formed into a smile at the thought of who caused all these disturbances to your body. In that moment, you felt truly happy. That was rare for you, being a hunter. Never being able to catch a break, take a breath. Unless you were with Dean, alone. He made you feel free, like you were both the only people in the world when you were both together. But, you’re smile faltered and then fell.

There was only one problem with your relationship with Dean. The relationship wasn’t romantic, it was purely friendship and sex. You were both best friends. But one night when you were both too drunk to make very good decisions, you both stripped your clothes and tangled in the sheets together. While you were both drunk, neither of you could possibly forget the oasis the bed had become that night. Eventually, Dean made a proposal. You both stay best friends, but sex was now in the question. Slowly, you both started having sex more and more. You never felt happier and more content than when you were with Dean. But the more time you spent with Dean, especially in the extremely intimate moments, you fell for him, hard. You already had a crush on him before this friends with benefits relationship started, and now? You were deeply in love with him.

You pondered your relationship with Dean as you stared in the mirror. It was nice, really it was. But you wanted more. You craved for more. But you would never get more. Dean Winchester was not a one woman man. Dean cared about you, you knew that, but you were just another notch in his belt. He only wanted intimacy in the sex department. Dean didn’t want a romantic relationship, and if he ever did, he certainly didn't want it with you. You were only ever going to be the best friend in his eyes.

You tore your eyes away from the mirror, and turned on the shower. As the hot water ran down your body, you were hoping it would wash away the sadness of not being with Dean completely. It was a special day after all. One that you knew you’re definitely not supposed to be sad on, nor did you want to be.

After spending a good twenty minutes in the shower, you hopped out and quickly dried your body. You pulled on a pair of black jeans, and a tank top with a flannel on top. You quickly blow dried your hair, and then opened the bathroom door.

You exited the bathroom to find Dean wide awake and dressed, throwing his jacket on. He turned to you when he heard the door open, his lips widening into a smile once his eyes met you. You couldn’t help the small smile that found its way onto your lips.

“Mornin’, sweetheart.” You couldn’t stop your heart from fluttering. You just loved it when he called you ‘sweetheart.’

Your smile widened. “Morning, Dean. Are you going somewhere?” Noticing his coat was on, your eyebrows furrowing.

“No. We’re going somewhere. Come on, birthday breakfast, on me.” He motioned towards the door.

“You remembered.” You said quietly.

His head snapped towards you, confusion on his face. “What are you talking about, sweetheart? Of course I remembered. It’s you.” The last part was said in a way that you could only describe as endearment, and you were pretty sure you forgot how to breathe.

“Well, yeah, I know. I just- we’ve never gone out for breakfast on my birthday before.”

“Yeah, well, we are today.” He smiled before leaving the motel room, you following behind after grabbing your coat.

Dean didn’t take you to a dinner like he normally would. He took you to a much nicer cafe for breakfast. It wasn’t super fancy, but it was definitely a step or two up. It was the best breakfast you’d had in awhile. Then, after breakfast, Dean took you to the movies. To say you were surprised would be an understatement.

“The movies?” You asked him incredulously.

“Yup. The movies.” Dean said.

“It’s just, you’re not the type of guy to sit and watch a movie in a theater.”

“Well, you’ve been wanting to see this movie for a month now, but with hunting we usually can’t do stuff like this. But this hunt is over, and I told Sam we’re staying an extra day because I wanted this birthday to be special for you.” He smiled at you sweetly.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but your heart fluttered nonetheless. “I don’t understand though, Dean. It’s not like I’m turning some special age, ya know? I’m just turning 32.”

“You’ll see.” He winked at you and headed into the movie theater, leaving you behind confused before you followed him in.

The movie was just as good as you hoped it would be, and to your surprise Dean actually liked it too. You started to piece together he had more planned for the day.

When you both walked out of theater, your eyes widened as Dean’s hand found yours, and laced your fingers together. You didn’t dare move, too shocked to do so. You quickly glanced at Dean’s face, him not even acknowledging what he just did, but you knew he knew exactly what he was doing. You didn’t bother moving your hand, his hand holding yours feeling too perfect. Holding Dean’s hand, nothing had felt more right.

The rest of the day was just spent wandering around the downtown area of the small town. You both wandered into whichever stores looked interesting. You actually ended up buying a few things.

You had never been so happy. This had been one of the best days of your life. But, you still didn’t know why Dean was acting so sweet. He was always nice to you, but today more so than usual. Yeah, it was your birthday, but on every other birthday you had that Dean was around for he was never this nice. He was acting like your boyfriend for crying out loud. And it hurt. It hurt knowing that he wasn’t your boyfriend, that this day would end, and you would go back to being best friends with benefits.

Sadly, the enjoyment filled day came to a close. You and Dean entered your motel room, Dean closing the door behind you. You walked to the table and set down the couple of shopping bags you had. “Thank you for today, Dean. It was really amazing.” You turn around to find Dean only a foot away from you, a small gasp escaping your lips.

“No problem, Y/N.” He smiled.

“I just don’t understand why you went all out?” You ask him.

He looks down. “Because you deserve the best, Y/N.” Dean looks up at you, a look in his eyes that you couldn’t describe. “I wanted this day to be special because you mean so much to me, Y/N. I wanted you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. That’s what I want for us.” Your eyebrows furrowed at the ‘us.’ “I know we have this whole friends with benefits thing going on, but I want more than that. I’ve wanted more than that for awhile now. So, I figured if you didn’t feel the same you wouldn’t be that mad cause I did all this stuff fo you today.” He joked, a small chuckle coming out, but you could see how scared and vulnerable he really was.

You couldn't speak. You didn’t know what you could possibly say. So instead you grabbed his jacket and pulled his lips to yours. He responded immediately, his hands falling to your waist and bringing you as close as possible. You hands moved to his hair, relishing in the feeling of his soft locks. This kiss wasn’t like any other you’d shared with Dean before. It was hungry, and passionate. All the feelings you’d both been holding back were being released though the kiss.

You both pulled back, the need for air too much. His forehead rests on yours. “I’m in love with you too, you big idiot.” He smiles, not just because of you words, but because you knew that he was in love with you without him saying the actual words. Dean Winchester was never that good with words.

He pulled you close again, kissing you like a starving man. And for the first time, you fell in bed together as more than friends.

Hope you enjoyed! Feedback is always appreciated :)

[stressedspidergirlsfandomblog]

Pt17

(Conversations around consent, sexual activity, and descriptions of torture and attempted suicide. I will put a little - before a paragraph with torture/assault and another - when its over. May or may not also include implied consensual activity. We'll see where this goes.)

Curtis wakes up to soft little regular whimper-moans from behind him. Unsure if his lover is dreaming of torture, or if it's a happy kind of dream, he shifts back a bit, pressing into Takashi to check. Smiling a little in relief it's definitely not torture. Sighing a little, he's awake now. And hungry. They didn't eat dinner last night. They'd gone to bed. Worth the missed meal in Curtis' opinion. However, he's ravenous.

Digging through the cupboards he finds oatmeal, spices, and dried fruit. Surprised to find so many seasonings in the cabinets of a man who rarely cooks, Curtis wonders if it's a holdover from living with Adam. Especially considering Takashi doesn't even buy himself proper self grooming products. Probably just habit to keep the spices around.

The fridge has a few flavors of almond milk. Some non dairy creamers, and not much else in it. Overall the food choices are somewhat depressing. There's more in the freezer, thankfully. Frozen meat, vegetables, and fruit. Shaking his head a little, he sighs.

But another look through the pantry shows plenty of rice, beans, potatoes...cereal. He's feeding himself.

Finding a flat pan, he starts some of the last of the bacon. Whisks some eggs in a bowl. And adds vanilla almond milk to the oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, and fruit. It can sit until Takashi wakes up.

Curtis likes the simple ritual of preparing food. He doesn't mind doing this. Although once they live together he figures if he cooks, Takashi can do the shopping. He usually already does the cleaning up.

Some time later he hears a weird noise somewhere between "blech" and "ugh" accompanied by soft but vehement cursing.

"You okay?" Curtis calls when the swearing doesn't stop but he hears water running. "Did your dream not have a happy ending?" He asks, heading into the bedroom.

"If you can call it that," Shiro snaps back, voice cracking.

Takashi is naked from the waist down and he throws the washcloth into the sink as Curtis comes in. His face is red and his eyes are full of tears.

"What's wrong? You okay?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?" He gently thumbs a tear off Takashi's cheek.

"I don't know. My body never did this. I was, I was finally feeling like I was in my own skin and then this happens!"

"What, as a teen you didn't get wet dreams? God you were lucky." Stroking back Takashi's hair he gently kisses his cheek.

"I didn't even know this was possible," he protests.

"It is," Curtis assures him. "It happens. Not super common, I don't think. But yeah. It's normal."

"Not for me," Shiro protests. "Maybe the clone?"

"You had his memories and he thought he was you, right? Do you remember that happening?"

"No."

"This makes sense to me, love, I'm sorry. It's been years, right? And you have been so stressed, and so anxious, and so sick... You got a little last night... And your body wants more. Is that so awful? Years and years without any.... What'd you dream about anyway?"

Shiro turns red again, scar livid across his face. "You." He swallows. "Us."

"Oh yeah? You wanna tell me what we did that rocked your world so hard it made you come in your sleep?"

Ducking his head down, the tips of his ears are red, too. His silvery hair just makes the blush look even brighter.

"Is it embarrassing?" Curtis asks gently. "Or are you just shy about this stuff?"

"I never really talked about it with anyone. My family was.... Traditional. It was really hard to get used to the idea I liked guys at all. Adam... Had to be patient for a long time. I came out because of him. I admitted to myself... Who I was. I get to be with you because of that," he says softly. "But ... I'm not as... Blase about it as you."

"Am I allowed to ask you about it? Or tease you if it's just us? Will you be okay talking about stuff? 'Cause I'm... I'm not comfortable sleeping with you until we hash out do's and dont's." He meets Takashi's eyes. "I can wait. It's no rush. Nothing like that."

"We can talk about it," Shiro mumbles, leaning into Curtis. "I was dreaming about...us. You were um, your mouth...I think that time we talked about it has been in the back of my head this whole time."

Curtis smiles and kisses his temple. "The real thing will be a lot better," he promises. "Put some pants on, breakfast is almost ready." He slips away to make sure nothing's burning and to heat the oatmeal mix.

Shiro comes out in different sweats, still embarrassed. Still he's done worse in front of Curtis. Such as thrown up on himself in his sleep back on the Atlas. One of the first nights Curtis started checking on him. He hadn't even really woken up, either. Curtis had had to help him clean up. Change the sheets. He'd brought tea to help with his stomach. And never said a word to anyone about it. Not once.

They eat relatively quietly, seated at the counter with their knees touching.

"What time is it anyway?" Curtis mumbles, mostly to himself. Glancing at his watch he blinks. "We woke up early."

"Hm?"

"Its 0600. I usually get up closer to 0700. Guess I have time to lie around." He smiles a little.

"What'd'ya want me to pick up at the store?" Shiro mumbles. Already trying to decide on what kind of grooming products he needs. He knows most of Curtis' favorite snacks already. The man has a sweet tooth.

"Something not frozen or dried...how long am I staying?"

Turning red he shrugs. "We haven't really had a chance to talk and I don't want to do that before work if that's okay."

"Fine by me," Curtis agrees.

Done with his food he hops up, taking the now empty dishes and heading to the sink. He cleans up automatically, glad to have something to do. For all it's a hair harder with just one hand. He has to set the dish down to swab it out. Then he loads them into the dishwasher.

Curtis contentedly watches him move around the kitchen. They've only been together a few months as a couple now. But this feels right. He loves this man. Scars and all. And he knows Takashi feels the same way. After all he's been through, it's nice to let himself again. It's nice to be loved. It's nice to know the person he's letting himself be with is worthy of it. After his partner had died, Curtis had had a string of one offs and bad decisions. And he'd treated them and himself like trash.

One of the absolute best things about Takashi is that he makes Curtis feel so loved. So wanted. So incredibly safe and special and like he matters more than anything else in the world. Takashi has this special way of focusing on him that makes him feel like he's the only other person in the world.

"If I go in early I can leave early," Curtis says, and Takashi nods a little. "Gives us more time tonight?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." He smiles a little.

It seems a little forced but they've been through a lot. "Hey how's your back feeling?"

Blinking in surprise, he stretches a little, his hand on the small of his back. "Good."

"Lemme feel," Curtis smiles. When Takashi comes around the counter and leans over to present as much of his back as possible to his partner.

"Hey look, still not purple," Curtis teases, running his fingertips up and down Takashi's back. He laughs when Takashi arches under his touch, just like a cat. "I love you so much," he says affectionately.

"I love you, too. Please don't stop," he adds.

"Well. I will have to eventually. I can't be late." But all the same he scratches up and down his partner's back. He enjoys the way Takashi shifts under his hand. Deciding that both hands might be best in this situation he shifts on the stool to make it easier to give scratches.

Eventually it's time to go. They kiss goodbye and head out together, but part ways outside the building.

Shiro sends Keith a message.

Stuck going to the store. You need anything?

0645

Probably should grab some basics. Meet you at the store?

0647

Sounds good. No plants.

0648

Mom says you should bring 'your mate' a gift. Yes plants. Apparently. Or the skulls of your enemies. But that seems excessive.

0650

That would not match his decor, no.

0650

See you in 10.

0651

Keith finds Shiro in the personal grooming section of the store.

He looks up when he notices the Red Paladin. "Curtis also has a problem with my taste in body wash."

"I see."

"Problem is I have no idea what to pick," Shiro shrugs.

Keith peers over in the basket. It looks like Shiro has managed to pick up fruit, vegetables, and some kind of meat in the time it took him to wait for a train to pass. "Sorry I'm late, by the way."

"Stuck at the tracks?"

"Yeah. Slowest train I've ever seen. Couldn't have been going much over 80."

"Disappointing."

"Seems like you're mostly done."

"Still need snacks. And candy of some kind. Curtis is an addict."

"Where's your protein crap you always used to get?"

"I always hated it. And medical says I'm healthy now... So. I didn't buy any."

Keith looks over at Shiro and notices some things that disturb him. For one, every time he reaches out to maybe pick a bottle, there's some kind of tremor in his hand. Two, he's sweating and the store is chilly. Three, he's a little flushed. Four, his eyes seem glassy. Getting in closer, he lightly squeezes Shiro's shoulder and hides his expression. Shirt is damp. He's been distressed for a while.

"What about pine? You always had some weird thing for forest scented crap."

"No, that was Adam. I was the one who liked spearmint and wintergreen."

"So why did you always smell like-.... ? Ah."

Shiro turns red. "I know Curtis likes cinnamon. But I don't see that here."

"There's stuff that's kinda minty," Keith points out. "You can buy whatever you want." Personally he thinks having to change your scent to please your partner is ridiculous. Probably why he's not much for dating. "See this one?" He cracks the lid to sniff and then hands it over, watching Shiro's hand like a hawk.

The shaking is still there. He's still beading sweat around his hairline and his hair is starting to stick to his face.

"That's kind of the problem," Shiro mutters, sniffing the bottle. It smells nice. Shampoo. Okay. So now just body wash. Maybe something for dry skin? He's been itchy lately and Curtis is probably right. He's probably drying his skin out. He can take care of himself a little better for Curtis. "Is there matching body wash?" He asks, trying to read labels without giving away the entire aisle is swimming. He's so stressed out. Which is how he ended up just grabbing a random bottle and bailing the first time around.

Keith looks at him and back at the shelf quizzically before picking it up from right in front of Shiro and handing it to him. "Says ultra cleansing. Isn't that code for: will dry your skin out?"

"Oh. Maybe I should pick something else."

Unsure of what to make of this, he shrugs. "You could just get the same brand you used to, and pick a different scent."

Shiro shifts uncomfortably. "I can't remember what it was," he admits. "I'm missing a lot here and there," he tugs absently on his bangs. Remembering how his skull had been cracked open.

"It's this stuff in the red bottles. It's got some stupid names, though." He tries to keep his expression neutral. He knew Shiro had issues remembering everything that happened while he was enslaved as a gladiator. He had no idea Shiro had also lost any time before then.

"Whatever's there is fine."

"Maybe Lance would be more helpful," Keith suggests. Then they both look at each other and laugh. "Okay so definitely not. But hey there's only four options, so."

They test out each bottle, Shiro hates the first. Keith the second. The third and fourth take a while to decide between. Shiro just picks up the matching shampoo and dumps it in.

"Do you think I need more clothes?" He asks hesitantly.

Keith kind of stares. "Judging by your apartment? Probably." Watching Shiro looking over at something on the other end of the men's care aisle, he realizes he doesn't want to help shop for the next thing. "What kind of candy? I'll grab that while you finish up here."

Realizing Keith figured it out, he turns red. "Uh. He'll eat pretty much anything that isn't black licorice. But he's kinda partial to anything sour and then chocolate with almonds or peanuts."

"Got it."

"Thanks." Shiro wanders down to the other end of the men's aisle. There's an overwhelming amount of things and he's realizing he's not sure if Curtis has preferences. And his personal comm is off at work. And Shiro isn't going to call him about condom brands on a Garrison line. They're all recorded. While he's not sure if it will be days, weeks, or months until they need any supplies he'd rather have them on hand.

Thinking about what he's used before, he doesn't see any familiar packaging and the aisle blurs in and out of his vision for a minute. There, he grabs a few things. He's not into anything all that interesting, and looking at some of the grocery-store approved toys makes him feel uncomfortable. A few things look like something the Galra would have found a way to weaponize and use and while he's sure before all this he would have been game... Now he isn't. He realizes he doesn't even really want Curtis on top of him, either. Or at least, not inside him.

-

He can still feel the blood running down the inside of his thighs. Sometimes just dripping steadily down without touching his body at all. They'd ripped him open in a new way. Trying to find some other way to torture and scare him. He has no idea how they guessed that, or if it was half accidental. They hadn't realized that human joints really weren't that flexible when they broke his elbow. Just testing his limits.

Shuddering he's terrified of the scarring ripping open again. Of just anything tearing into him.

Trying to imagine if he could go down on Curtis his throat tightens and he swallows hard against a gag. What if it feels like the feeding tube they'd forced down his throat? He'd been refusing to eat after. Had tried to hide the bleeding. When it stopped he'd been so depressed he'd given up hope and reopened the wound. Tore skin. Hadn't cared. He'd wanted to bleed to death. They'd stapled the wound shut, drugged him with a paralytic that did nothing about the fact he couldn't sleep, shoved a tube down his throat, and chained him spread eagle so he couldn't move so much as an inch and inflict more damage.

-

Keith finally can't spend more time in candy and goes back to find Shiro. He's worried. He recognizes the stricken look he sees and gently takes Shiro's hand and pulls him away. "You can't get pregnant anyway, you don't need those."

Blinking and coming to, "school really failed you, didn't it?" He asks absently.

"You're cleared of any and all diseases and so's he. Nothing he can give you or vice versa."

"Maybe he doesn't like to swallow," Shiro says conversationally, still shaky. He knows Keith hates when he talks bluntly about this kind of stuff. So it'll stop the conversation in its tracks.

Keith makes a face. "Let's go find you a shirt that isn't black or grey?" He suggests.

"I look good in those colors."

"Yeah Shiro everyone does. What colors does Curtis like?"

Everything, Shiro wants to say. Curtis is full of life and color in spite of everything. "Purple. Galaxy purple like in those hubble telescope photos..." He says softly, thinking of the prints he's seen in Curtis' apartment. "Dark blue..." His bedroom.

"Great. There you go."

"Black and grey used to bring out my eyes..." Shiro teases, fluttering his eyelashes and trying to recover from earlier.

"And match your hair." Keith just shrugs and smiles blandly.

They wander over to the clothing section and browse. Shiro ends up with a simple deep purple henley, a dark navy vneck sweater, and Keith convinces him to try a maroon vneck tee and deep green henley, too. "Add some color old man."

They drop the groceries off, Shiro throws the meat and some seasoning into the crock pot. He can't bake to save his life but he can dump things in a pot and walk away. While he's busy Keith discovers Shiro's battered running shoes. After lecturing the other man about his knees and feet taking unnecessary damage he forces Shiro back out to get new shoes.

Then he drags him to get some nicer towels, a second set of sheets, and some actual jeans, and some nice button ups so Shiro can dress up a little without going full uniform. Shiro only has 2 pairs of black pants and Keith feels odd realizing what they're doing. Maybe he he should have let Curtis do this. But Shiro started on his own. Keith just helped him finish. And made sure he had more than just the absolute bare minimum cheapest crap he could pick in two seconds.

When they get back Keith helps him load all the fabric into the wash so it'll be ready before Curtis gets back. He has a feeling the other man will appreciate all the changes. Looking at the clock he's surprised its only a little after 1400 hours.

He notices Shiro never really stops shaking, and he seems uncomfortable the whole time. Not unwilling just not himself, either. "Do you remember forcing me to pick out clothes?" He asks suddenly.

"Yeah you were a real shithead."

"Thanks for not returning the favor."

"Wouldn't know how to be that obnoxious even if I tried," Shiro smiles.

"So magnanimous."

Shiro shakes his head a little. He flops tiredly onto the couch unsure what to make of all of it.

Keith lets Shiro sleep, fear mounting in his chest cavity. He switches the laundry into the dryer. He's not sure what to do to help Shiro. But at least the man has food. Nice sheets, soft towels. New, clean clothes. The food smells good, and Keith finds himself puttering around looking for things to do, because he's afraid to leave Shiro alone.

Eventually he settles on the couch, putting a hand on Shiro's chest to feel his heartbeat. It seems steady. Normal. Healthy. But the tremors, the sweating, the indecision... It's all so concerning.

Eventually the dryer dings softly. Keith gets up and finds himself remaking the bed, folding clothes and more or less pacing around again. Somewhat amused he's the one taking care of Shiro for a change, he settles back down on the couch when the housekeeping is done, watching him sleep.

He dozes off eventually, and wakes up to the door sliding open.

Curtis smiles as Keith hastily exits, and sniffs the air appreciatively.

Kneeling down by the couch he presses a gentle kiss on Takashi's forehead. "Hey handsome," he smiles gently. "Wake up, love."

Takashi blinks awake, and smiles when he sees Curtis. Curtis gently strokes his cheek and kisses him.

"You hungry?" He asks gently. "Food smells good, what is it?"

"Brisket, and I have veggie salad in the fridge. Just needs dressing."

"Sounds good to me, you ready?"

"Yeah. Keith ran me ragged."

"I can see that. Once we eat do you just wanna go back to bed?"

"No, we should talk."

"Okay," Curtis agrees. Kissing his forehead again he stands up. Watches Takashi shift an arm under himself and sit up, and ease his body off the couch. He seems like he's moving easier. Less stiff.

Takashi quietly gets out plates and silverware, still half asleep. Pulling the salad out he has 2 choices for dressing and lets Curtis pick. Dumping food onto his plate, he settles at the counter and waits for Curtis to do the same.

When he's done serving himself, he unbuttons his uniform, and settles the jacket across the back of his chair. "Thanks for dinner."

"Of course," Takashi smiles back. They bump knees as they eat. He's happy to eat quietly, the hustle and bustle of running errands and dealing with people has him drained. The nap helps but just sitting there with his leg against Curtis' makes him feel better. That and not being required to talk around the food.

Half wondering if they should have talked first, in case he made himself sick, he breathes out a sigh through his nose.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I didn't mean to wear myself out so badly, though. Sorry."

Curtis nudges his leg, "it's fine."

When he finishes he rinses off his dishes and loads them.

"You cooked, I would have cleaned up."

"You do most of the hard work in our relationship, I think," Shiro smiles. "I can handle some dishes."

Curtis frowns a bit, but decides that can be part of their conversation later. He's absolutely not going to let that slide. Their needs just look different. He smiles when Takashi pulls out a sack of candy. And then laughs when he realizes how full it is. "Trying to fatten me up?"

"I just... There'll always be some here for you."

Holding out his hand he takes Takashi's gently as he comes around the counter and tugs him in close, between his legs. Tipping his face up they kiss for a few moments. Soft and gentle. They pull away and smile. Takashi is a little pink and Curtis smiles. Seems like everything works fine now.

[lynccycling]

Humpday got you feeling down? In an uninspired funk and can’t get out? Not feeling motivated to chase your goals? We feel you, it happens. Which is why each LYNC instructor has tools to stay focused & on their game. Take a scroll down motivation lane and maybe pick up a tip or two to get you back on track.

Becca

I loooovvvvveeee taking Teddy on a walk or run (whatever Ted is feeling that day) and leaving my phone at home to be in my own headspace and one with nature if we go through Arbor Hills! I also love to listen to one of my new fav podcast “The Last Podcast on the Left” which is about anything from conspiracy theories to true crime or historical facts (history has ALWAYS been my fav subject) while cooking or cleaning around the house! Maybe its the Mexi in me but cleaning is a huge reliever for me! Clean house = happy lil becky!

Our favorite cleaning products? Mrs. Meyers infused with essential oils.

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Grace

I LOVE getting in my kitchen and cooking a yummy meal. I always start with a trip to the grocery store (probs Trader Joes) to pick up the ingredients.. I'm one of those weird humans that find grocery shopping SO therapeutic. I am currently OBSESSED with Alex from the Defined Dish, who just so happens to be a Dallas gal!  One of my favorites right now is her Shrimp Remoulade Lettuce Cups recipe! Of course, finishing it off with some healthy sweet treats, like this Banana Bread! 

This all happens while I'm listening to one of my favorite light hearted podcasts,  The Lady Gang.  When things get off track, a good belly laugh and a great healthy meal is always a great reset!

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Avery

I start my day with quiet time every morning accompanied by my devotional (@jesuscalling) and podcasts The Porch.

After quiet time, I take about 5-10 minutes every hour at work to listen to a few songs that make me happy (no shocker that Jess Glynne and Betty Who are at the top for me rn)

After work, I love walks on the Katy Trail or White Rock Lake, wine bars (leelas always) and cooking meals with my friends (favorite food blogger is definitely skinny taste). At night I try my hardest to unplug and focus on friends/family as much as possible.

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Andrew

This music definitely isn’t everyone’s thing, but the band August Burns Red has picked me up when I’m down, pushed my butt through tough workouts, gotten me focused at work, you name it, more times than I can count. Their lyrics are really powerful, and they wrote one of my all time favorites:

“Don’t excuse yourself from life today on the pretense of your past.” Let that sink in.

Alt response: I pet my dog or take him for a walk if he’s nearby, or just look at pictures of him on my phone because he’s stinking cute and it’s a good reminder that I need to keep it together for the people who love me and doggos that depend on me.

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Ashleigh

One of my favorite things to do (other than a good sweat sesh on the bike) is surfing. I used to go out to California and surf at San Clemente beach all the time when I was younger. It was a great way to slow down my mind and be focused on the present moment. HOWEVER there aren’t many beaches in d-town so I usually hop into a pool and swim it out or roll out my yoga mat at Hot Body Yoga. It’s a great way to control my breathing and something about being under water is relaxing to me.

When I need to get sh!t done, one of My favorite coffee shops is Global Peace. You can usually find me there writing or emailing with a cappuccino in hand. Also I LOVE coffee. Oh did I say love, I meant I’m addicted. Same thing right?

I’m also a BIG fan of live music and on the weekend if anyone is in town playing I try to make an effort to go out and support. It helps me get out of my head and is a good excuse to just sit back and enjoy some of my favorite tunes. My must see bands are: night riots, jet black alley cat, band Camino, State champs, Greta Van Fleet and Marianas Trench.

Look up concerts near you. One of our favorite venues? Granada theater!

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Liz

I love, and wish I did it more, putting my phone away when I’m home and being in the moment with my family (but of course grabbing it to document Noah dance parties and special memories). Five minutes with my son (if he is napped and fed 🙈) can cure five bad days. 

Between teaching/training clients/and all the hustle I also really enjoy silence. I rarely listen to music while driving nowadays because I’ve found that my mind tries to start programming and/or choreographing whenever a song is playing- so having quiet time to disconnect is important. I also love to jump in a class and go into student mode.

Check out 10 apps to help you put down your phone and get back to the moment.

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Jaz

When the weather is nice, I love doing outdoor activities and being near water! Paddle boarding, swimming, and BBQing are my go-to day-off favs. I also enjoy a homemade coffee in the morning to kick start my day and going out back to wake up and check on my pepper plants and succulents. Planting is very peaceful to me. I love watching things grow.

Check out this 101 on starting your own herb garden.

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Sydney

Outside of teaching, I love group fitness and enjoy taking classes at LYNC and around Dallas to let out nervous energy. I like to decompress by reading, listening to podcasts, and listening to LANY and John Mayer.

I listen to The Morning Toast and The Lady Gang - totally light hearted, but makes me bust out laughing in the car and puts me in a good mood before teaching.

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Kayla

To stay motivated, I read... a lot. I read everything from nonfiction true crime stories and self development books to fiction novels to self-published articles on Medium. You can catch me searching my inbox at the Barnes & Noble check-out line for a coupon for a new book or sitting at Mudleaf Coffee shop (a super cool space in Plano) with headphones in listening to Audible.

My go-to read is anything by Brené Brown (Daring Greatly is my fave). She is a vulnerability researcher, specializing in shame. (wow, couldn’t we all dive a little deeper into that?) 

I also love to listen to Gary Vee’s Podcast to keep me focused in the business world. He touches on marketing tactics, struggles in business and life, leadership development and more–and TBH he’s just brutally honest and sometimes I just need a good kick in the ass and for someone to tell it to me straight.

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Shannon

I like to take 10-15 minutes out of my morning to meditate to help level set me at the beginning of my day. My favorite app is “10% Happier” because it has courses, guided and unguided meditations and you can customize the time to whatever fits your schedule!

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Kelsey

I love a good story. I’m old school and really enjoy going to the bookstore and getting a physical copy. Lately my favorites have been ‘This Is How It Always Is’ and ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’. Put it with quiet time outside in the sun or snuggled with coffee and my puppy in the morning - foolproof feel good.

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Olivia

I love going to Title Boxing to punch out all of my feelings. Whether I need a release or am excited and want to celebrate an hour of hard work–gallons of sweat at Title is always the move for me. 

I also love to take long walks on the weekends with my fave gal pals, Allison, Leina, Izzy, and Madeline to La La Land Kind Cafe or Bird Bakery. We almost always indulge in a sweet treat which for me is the perfect way to celebrate a week well done.

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Izzy

The main thing I do at the moment to recharge is get a good nights sleep. Being in bed by 9pm really excites me, haha!

Also, getting some vitamin D and tanning by the pool on the weekends always puts me in a good mood. I usually end up falling asleep there too lol.

Catch this guided sleep meditation for a little shut eye to keep your mind right and our favorite SPF to lay out in the sun.

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Lindsey

I’d say personal time is the best way to recharge for me! I love walking the Katy Trail while getting out for some sunshine or hot yoga. Hot yoga is such a release for me because It not only calms the mind but gives me a good stretch! My favorite hot Yoga is at Core Power.

I’ve recently been loving EVERY recipe from The Defined Dish who makes clean/easy/whole30 approved meals. Her meals are so tasty and simple to make! Feel good guilty treat that is guaranteed to make any day better is ice cream!

Calling my family always lifts me up and keeps me rooted!  I also really try to put my phone down while at home for 30 minutes at the end of the day and engage in something other than scrolling mindlessly on social media which helps me reconnect with myself and surroundings.\

[bullymagnet]

DAY SEVEN: Hallways

WELL... i’m a little late on this one. but whatever! 

FINAL DAY! EXCEPT NOT REALLY! a story about a world where soulmates are connected through their dreams by hallways. soulmates can pass through these hallways, but to their mates, they’ll always appear invisible in this dreaming world unless they’ve met once in the waking world. max and johnny are in this one.

               This idiot’s found a hallway into your dreams again.

               That’s the only commentary your mind makes as a mid-sized sedan goes floating lazily past your head, slow enough for you to pick out the graffiti written on its side: “EAT QUARTERS DAILY.”

               … You’re sure that said something meaningful at one point, like “EAT A BUTT,” or “xxx-xxxx CALL ME,” but you’ve “known” them for years and your… friend doesn’t seem to get that writing in dreams changes like the wind and you’ve almost never been able to read one of their messages as they intended.

               Over what sounds like an intercom across the city streets you’ve found yourself in, a bootleg MIDI rendition of Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up begins to play.

               … Then again. That’s probably not very important to them.

               “Son of a mother,” you whisper, rubbing your temples in attempt not to completely lose it. “You have rick rolled me for the last time.”

               Kicking and punching your way through a spontaneously manifested pile of packing-peanut filled boxes blocking the sidewalk, you take a moment to give a scoff of fatigued laughter about your situation.

               Hallways into each other’s dreams, they all say.

              If you have a soulmate, then you’ll have these hallways. The appear through doors, windows, mirrors, swimming pools, Looney Tunes-esque holes- just about any classical or non-classical means of going through could potentially lead to a hallway into the sleeping mind of your soulmate.

               Even though there’s a hallway in every dream you have, they can be hard to find, so it’s pretty rare that you bother seeking them out and slipping in to visit your soulmate. Not nearly as often as they come through your side.

               You’ve never seen or heard them- that’s just how the connection works. If you meet them in the real world at least once, you’ll be able to. But if that doesn’t happen, the only dream traces of your soulmate when they come through the hallway are the colored footprints they leave…

               And the stupid things they do.  

               You bust through into an unpopulated storefront after being up to your ankles in ball-pit balls outside. It’s dim inside and mostly empty, but this is the place you’ve decided houses the controls for the intercom system. You briskly walk across the music-room-esque carpet and hop the counter to the computer, shutting off the grating music echoing through the streets as quickly as possible.

               Now… Well, they can’t hear your voice, so yelling over the intercom would do nothing. Sighing, you just type out a message for them on the keyboard. It follows:

               HEY IDIOT. WHY DON’T YOU MAKE LIKE A TREE AND FIND THE NEAREST DOOR, GET YOUR BUTT BACK THROUGH THAT HALLWAY AND GET OUT OF MY DREAMS. I’M IN A NEW TOWN, TOMORROW IS MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, AND I HAVE A LOT ON MY PLATE AS IT IS. HUGS AND KISSES, YOUR SOULMATE. PS STOP RICK ROLLING ME AND FIND A NEW MEME.

               You press enter, and you can hear the echoing voice of Microsoft Sam reading your message back to you out in the streets.

              You cross your arms and lean back. But the moment you relax, you hear a door swing open behind you. You turn to face it, and see a quick-fading trail of red footprints come through. The prankster themself.

               They stop for a moment, probably disoriented by the storefront you made up about three seconds ago, and probably by you. They take a step toward you, pause, and then a CD case materializes in front of where you imagine their face would be. It clatters to the floor, and they dash, leaving a hand print on the front desk as they book it toward the front doors.

               The doors swing open, and then close, and about five seconds later, a massive pile of snow comes down from the heavens, effectively snowing you in.

               God you hate them.

              You begrudgingly note, with a strange feeling in your heart, that you know you won’t, eventually, because that’s… also how this works. But for now. Yes.

               You turn around, shaking your head, and go to check out the CD case they left for you. You can’t make it out in the dark, so you scoop it up and squint down on it.

              On it is a terribly drawn spiky-haired smiling character that you sometimes see them draw, and an incomprehensible jumble of words that now says, “∞ SONGS?!???? ASTLEY.? beeb”  and must have at one point said something along the lines of, “RICK ASTLEY’S GREATEST HIT, BUT A LOT” because all else that’s on the CD case is a photo of Astley himself, winking sagely up at you.

               You wearily look up, studying the wall.

               You Cannot Imagine What Is On This CD.

               Your next morning is terrible.

               Apart from landing on a jerk’s face on your way to your first day of school, you woke up super late, you fell down the stairs a little, and you’re pretty sure all you managed to grab for breakfast was a can of soup and a bag of Pomegranate Thangs.

               But hey let’s get back to that landing on a jerk’s face thing right that part sounds interesting.

               The aforementioned jerk stands in front of you on the cracked sidewalk, miraculously alive and with a face covered in what you would assume was a tire track if you didn’t know it was the distinct imprint of your very own scooter, having indented his face not a minute ago. … Listen, you were texting while scooting, there’s a lot of ledges in this town… it’s actually a lot easier to accomplish than you’d think. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Well, you’re not, you feel pretty alright, but—

               “Okay kid,” the strange boy begins. “Listen up.” And you mutter under your breath that your name isn’t kid, it’s Max, but he doesn’t seem like the listening type.

              “You just landed on a very important face. Johnny’s face,” he goes on, and your brain takes special note of his name like it’s marking it off a grocery list. “My face.”

               He just keeps right on talking after that, but you kind of zone out to take him in. You’re probably not missing much. You’re pretty sure he fits right into the Bully character archetype.

               His hair is red. Bright red, and you’d say that it seemed kind of familiar, but you’re not psychic apart from the fact that your subconscious mind is forever linked to another human being’s. Your gay little brain says he’s handsome and you figure that’s true but would be more true if he wasn’t being so immediately intolerable in this moment. But it’s not that he’s drop-dead gorgeous or that he’s the most interesting man in the world, it’s something that you don’t quite knowingly notice but the narrative does. That you’re experiencing a kind of déjà vu that isn’t dizzying or vexing like it typically should be.

               That the moment you saw Johnny, you felt something unlock in your subconscious.

               … You think he just said he’s going to beat you up if you don’t give him 50 cents.

               It’s a strange two days that follows. You don’t get to sleep in the night that connects them.

              This school, this town- it’s like their culture, their social nuance, their infrastructure is just a few pixels askew from the lineart layer of reality. And in your first two round days here, you feel yourself sinking into the swamp of madness that is Mayview.

              Just about everyone you meet fits right into that madness, even the few “friends” that you make. But none of them seem to take quite as much utter glee out of being an agent of chaos as that Johnny.

              He does end up beating you up. Well, after an entire day of running away from him, you rise to his challenge… and then quickly un-rise. He beats you into the ground, essentially. That Bully archetype came with some pretty brute strength.

              He does give you a “life lesson” afterward, though.

              “Why take the maze,” he energetically asks, with shining eyes, as you wonder how many bruises you’ll be left with. “When you can bust on through the walls?”

              And it’s that lesson, his praise of your deciding to roll up your sleeves and accept his challenge to get beat up by him, and the special language of game-breaking logic that he seems to write and live by… that all seem intimately familiar to you. You’re not sure why.

              You think that’s probably because you’re already resigning yourself to a very long and very tiring fight-avoiding school year.

              He also breaks your scooter.

              The bulk of your second day goes off with about the level of interesting content you would expect in and that would likely be discussed at length had this story been a different medium and genre and universe.

              Though extracurriculars don’t hold you up until twilight like they did the first day, and housekeeping doesn’t hold you up indefinitely like the first night, you’re a pretty popular dude, and it’s not until about 3 AM that you manage to get the opportunity to sleep.

              But once you do, you’re out like a light.

               The vineyard you find yourself on is surrounded on all sides by thick, coniferous forest that seems to go on forever, but you can still taste the salt water in the air, and you can hear the waves and the seagulls of a beach that doesn’t seem to exist. You’re quick to realize it’s a dream.

               You get to your feet and brush the sand off your clothes, ducking under a low-hanging grape vine. You can see a beach house up ahead, and without much else to do but wander the acre of grape trellises sticking up out of the sand, you head toward it.

               The front door is unlocked when you reach the porch, so you walk into the house. Inside, the lights are off but it’s illuminated just fine by the daylight streaming in.

               You meander through the nautical-themed building. Nobody’s home. It’s not typical for you to be swarmed with dream characters in lucid dreams anyways. For now, you see what kind of interesting stuff is around here.

               After several rooms of treasure chests and seashell-covered guest beds alike, you walk by a rose-colored open door with a gaping wardrobe in the room inside. The wardrobe wouldn’t be so remarkable, though, without the homage that lies inside its open maw. There’s a hallway in there that breaks the laws of space. Your soulmate’s hallway. And so obvious, too.

               You cautiously walk into the room. Apart from the wardrobe and a screen door leading out onto the beach house’s back deck, it seems to be pretty empty. You approach the hallway wardrobe and peer inside. The wood floor is waxed and the tacky wallpaper is the same the whole way to the end. And there, down about twenty or thirty feet, is the open door of your soulmate’s mind. Green sky and yellow clouds.

               You can’t help but smile a bit and snort. Oh boy. They’ve been through here. Prepare for trouble.

               Turning around, you breathe to nobody in particular, “Guess I have…”

               You trail off. Turns out you failed a perception check and the room isn’t quite as empty as you thought it was. In the other half of the room, standing awkwardly in the middle of the dusty floor holding a boombox, is Johnny.

               “… Guests,” you lamely finish.

              He’s dressed in boxers and a Superman shirt, and he’s staring unblinkingly at you. He drops the boombox in his arms and it fizzles out of existence. He is very still.

              “Oh, great,” you mutter, bemused. Make it double. “Like I needed a Johnny on top of this.”

              He furrows his brows and breathes something, a one word question that you can’t make out from across the room. Wow, you’ve never seen the real him think this hard. The way he looks at you… it’s strange.

               Whatever. Dream characters are always weird. Johnny is extra weird.

               Deciding to clear the area before things kick off, you make a casual beeline for the screen door and the deck beyond it. From the corner of your eye, the dream Johnny tenses up the moment you begin taking steps again.

               “H-Hey. Hey!” You glance back. He steps toward you hesitantly. His eyes are locked on you and the ground behind you like homing missiles or something. “Max… Who’s dreamin’ about you?!”

               “No one’s dreaming about me,” you sigh, almost automatically. “I’m dreaming.”

               And you keep walking.

               And you stop walking.

               That question. That’s a really specific question. You pause in front of the door for a moment, just thinking, before looking over at him. He’s still gaping at you. His eyes are as wide as saucers and intense. You turn to face him fully, and squint.

               There on the floor, where he’d just taken a few steps toward you, are several fading red footprints.

               Nope. No way.

               Your thoughts are racing, but your words come out almost calm, however firm. “Johnny… are you a dream character?”

               His eye twitches. He sort of absentmindedly grabs the sides of his boxers in his fists. “Wh-what’s that mean?”

               You inhale and exhale.

               “Johnny,” you begin again, very slowly and very carefully. You take a few steps toward him. “Where did you come from.”

               Bit by bit, like his body is lagging behind his mind, he raises his arm and gestures over your shoulder with his finger, pointing toward the rose-motif wardrobe and the plain, stretching hallway within.

               And he says, confused and mystified like he’s unraveling a riddle and as his wide eyes seem to take the whole of you in like this, right here, is the first time he’s actually seeing you, “The hallway.”

               The hallway.

               Johnny, the boy you met by nearly concussing with a metal scooter. Johnny, who chased you three blocks down Mayview trying to beat the snot out of you, one as a member of a human totem pole. Who later beat the snot out of you (not as a member of a human totem pole). Who not only gave you change for the money he extorted and advice after he beat the snot out of you, but advice that you employed. Who is vexingly somehow the most irritating being you think you’ve met to date, but whose powers of frustration never stopped you from considering him handsome. Johnny, the energetic boy with the loud gang and the loud red hair and the fictionally golden eyes and the devious smile who may as well be the human equivalent of a far-too-hyper inferno.

              Johnny came through the hallway.

              Johnny’s your soulmate.

              You’ve gotta be kidding you.

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

Longview - Chapter 2

[Ch 1]

Some actual interesting stuff!!

CW: cutting hand (not SH but still happens), stabbing, whumpee with healing powers, implied kidnapping, drugging,    

Nick laid awake that night. He didn't know what to think. Nick turned onto his side. Maybe I didn't really cut myself. Maybe it didn't really happen. Nick turned to his other side, going over his thoughts over and over again. He laid in his bed for what felt hours. Something must be wrong. It can't be true, can it? Nick sat up and turned on his bedside lamp. He held out his hand and looked it over carefully. His palm seemed normal, there wasn't even a scar. He hadn't told his aunt what happened, how could he? Nick pushed a on his palm where the knife had fallen. It felt normal. Maybe it was just that one time. 

Or, I could... He reached into his drawer and pulled out his Swiss Army knife. This is nuts. I shouldn't do this. He started to put it away, but he wanted to know. Nick very lightly scratched the front of his hand. He grit his teeth, watching the scratch very closely. Slowly, the tiny cut smoothed over and disappeared. Nick breathed deeper and tried again, but cutting deeper. It hurt his hand, but healed even quicker. Something is very wrong. Nick couldn't get back to sleep that night, and was groggy at school that day. Sitting in history class, he couldn't pay attention and doodled all over his third period notebook. This day was turning into one of those long dull days.

"New kid!" yelled Jake. This is the last thing that I need now, thought Nick. He turned around to face him, and was hit in the face with a spitball. Nick wiped the sticky gob from his face and turned around to walk away. Two more hit him in the back of his head. Nick pulled himself through the day, making it out until Mr. Scott stopped him, again.

"Nick?" He called from his office as the ending bell rung. Nick groaned and veered into the room. Mr. Scott seemed different today though, more alert. Unlike me, thought Nick.

"How's life? Anything weird happening?" Nick sat up taller. Yes, things had been getting strange, but how would Mr. Scott know that?

"Umm. Not really, no. Can I go?" Nick stuttered. He felt the grey eyes drilling into him, looking thought him.

"You can tell me anything, no matter how strange." Nick began to feel very uncomfortable.

"I think I should go," said Nick bluntly. Maybe I should tell him. He could help. Or he would send me to a mental hospital. I think I'll stay with a secret.

"Nick, you-" said Mr. Scott. He was walking over to his desk, and Nick saw an opening. He got up and dashed for the door. Nick had left his backpack in Mr. Scott's office, so he just started for home. This is too strange, he thought. A light blue, chipped, beat up pick-up truck watched him leave his school. Nick didn't see it, and kept walking away from the school as fast as he could. When Nick was out of site from the school, a man stepped in front Nick, stopping him.

"Hey, kid." Nick froze up.

"What do you want?" he said stiffly. The man was tall, with light short hair, wearing jeans and a tee-shirt.

"I think you know, but you might just not be done yet," he said mysteriously.

"What-" The man grabbed Nick's hand, pulled out a knife, and stabbed it through. Nick cried out and tried to pull away from the man, but he held his wrist tight. Nick pulled and tugged, but he held him firm. His hand throbbed with pain, the knife still sticking through it. If I couldn't heal once, it would be great if this was the time. Sadly, the man pulled out the knife, and the hole closed itself up. Nick tried to make a dash for it again, but the man caught him. Still saying nothing, he used a towel and wiped away the blood. Nick's hand was completely healed. He man smiled sickly, and let go. Eerily silent, he walked away. Nick gasped and ran home as fast as he could, not looking back. If Nick had looked back, he would have seen the man leaning up against his truck, an old, beat-up light blue pick-up. He would have seen him dial his phone, and start a conversation.

"He's ready." 

Nick hadn’t known that he had been day dreaming as he walked, but soon he was back at his Aunt’s house and he didn’t remember walking there. He was there

Nick got to his front porch, out of breath, and out of bravery. Aunt Jenny was sitting out on the swing, waiting for him.

"Oh! There you are!" She said with a wave, "You forgot your backpack at school, so one of your teacher's came by and dropped it off! How nice of him." Nick left his backpack in the kitchen and ran up to his room. He shut the door behind him and pulled his bed over the door. Sitting on his bed, he was finally able to catch his breath. He closed his eyes, hopping that all of this was just a bad dream. He would wake with his mom in the kitchen making pancakes, his dad reading the paper, in Dallas, with everything normal once more. He jumped at a knock at the door.

"Honey? You forgot your backpack." Nick sighed and pulled his bed away from the door. Opening it slowly, he saw his aunt holding it, with a worried look on her face.

"Nick are you okay? Did anything happen on your way home?" Nick grabbed the backpack from her, and slammed the door. He leaned up against it and felt terrible. What am I supposed to say? He thought. Oh, yeah Aunt Jenny, a man came up and stabbed me, but I'm fine now, have any ice cream? Maybe he could learn more about what was happening. Maybe it was some sort of disease. Nick got out his laptop and started to research healing. There was no disease that created accelerated healing, most did the opposite. Nick made a decision to use hand sanitizer for the rest of his life after looking at some of these web sites. He was getting nothing on the medical side, so he started going to some conspiracy websites. Nick had looked for hours, finding nothing, until he found an article on how the body could do amazing things, like replicating cells, quickly. Nick started to have a small amount of hope again. The article was by some doctor guy, with many letters behind his name.

In special cases, the body changes in the stages of adolescents, the cells of the individual, can mutate into different abilities. These mutations can happen to anyone, and there are different degrees that the mutations take. There are many different ways that these cells can mutate, including abilities like mental power, flame, speed, physic powers, the ability to control elements, and in very rare cases, regeneration. Some mutations could be so powerful that the subject does not survive the first few years of life. There has been cases that the mutations have overpower the natural development of the human brain, causing mental illness.

 So that's what's wrong with me, thought Nick. My cells are changing and whatnot. He skimmed through the rest of the article, but he had trouble to understand most of it. Regeneration, that sounds way cooler than healing. Does this mean that I am a super hero? I hope not. Ugh, why does everything always change?

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Nick? Are you okay?" asked Aunt Jenny through the door. Nick closed his laptop and opened the door.

"I'm okay. Sorry about closing the door in your face." He said quietly.

"What's wrong? Is something happening at school? Is someone bothering you?" she asked.

"I just feel alone." Nick was surprised. He didn't mean to say that, but it just kind of came out. His aunt smiled.

"You know," she said, walking into the room and sitting on Nick's bed, "when your uncle died, I started to travel. I was afraid that I was going to be alone in this house, so I stayed as far away from it as I could. I thought that the more people that I knew, and the more places that I went, I wouldn't feel so lonely. I was wrong. I was lonely until I came back home. It was hard, but I after it was over, I felt much better." Nick smiled slightly. His aunt met his smile with one of hers. We are talking bout two completely different things. How could she understand? Aunt Jenny tried to connect to Nick the best way that she knew.

"Would you like some ice cream?" Nick smiled and nodded. He pulled himself through the next day, much like he did yesterday. He tried to pay more attention in biology, but it was about plant cells and didn't help much. Jake hit him with more spit balls, and everyone else ignored him. 

Nick was sitting in math, and doodling again on his notebook. He looked up to see if there was any notes, and saw Mr. Scott standing outside the door of the classroom. Nick blinked, and he was gone. Nick rubbed his eyes, but Mr. Scott was still gone. After class got out, Nick walked into hall, looking for the strange counselor. Nick passed by his office a little slower, but he wasn't stopped. Mr. Scott had stopped him everyday since Nick came to Reading. 

He got into the library, sat down at his desk, but he couldn't concentrate. This is useless. There are way bigger things happening to me now than the square root of 73. Slowly, he gave up on his homework and started to look around the library. After browsing for awhile, Nick walked back to the computers and looked up a book about cell mutation. There was a few books about cell mutation, but they were complicated, and not helpful. Nick closed the last book and bit his lip. 

Where else could he find information on the freaky stuff that was happening? There was a little boy a bit over in the children's section of the library. He was reading a superhero comic. Nick snorted quietly. Want to trade? He thought jokingly. Nick stopped. What could it hurt? He picked up his stack of boring, thick books and put on the cart for re-shelving. He went back to the computers, thinking that he might have gotten a decent idea. He searched; Real superheros, Real-life Power, and Science Superheros. The first two came up with nothing, but science superheros did. The Real Science of Superheros. Nick's hope raised, and he looked for the isle. Then the hope fell. It wasn't at his library, it had to be ordered. Nick sighed and hit the link to order it. It would take two to three days, so Nick packed up his things and left. It had gotten colder, and he pulled his jacket close around his neck. Looking beyond his breath that hung in the air, he scanned the area very carefully. Nick wasn't about to let anyone sneak up on him again. He pushed his hands farther into his pockets. His aunt's house was directly in front of him, but something was different. Nick couldn't tell, but something was wrong at home.

~

Nick started to walk into the house as quickly as he could. He couldn't tell what was wrong, but something was.

"Aunt Jenny!" called out Nick, the door slamming behind him. The kitchen was a mess, and it never was.

"Aunt Jenny!" Nick called again, this time more franticly.

"Nick? What's the matter?" called down Aunt Jenny. Nick let out a sigh of relief. Must have just been all in my head. His aunt was coming down the stairs, with Nick's suitcase. His heart started to race again.

"Am I going somewhere?" he asked shakily. His aunt didn't look right, her eyes where all glazed over and her was hair all over her face. Aunt Jenny kept her hair in a tight bun on the top of her head for as long as Nick could remember.

"Oh yes! I didn't tell you! You won a scholarship to Longview High. Isn't that great?! You leave in three hours." She said cheerfully. Nick's eyes widened.

"I didn't enter a drawing for a scholarship.'' said Nick. Aunt Jenny smiled very stiffly.

"Of course you didn't silly," she said coming down the rest of the stairs, "Your parents did. Here, have a brochure." Aunt Jenny put down his suitcase and handed him a little pamphlet.

Come and Join us at Longview High! We have special classes for people with special abilities! We are an accredited boarding school located in New Jersey, with various famous alumni.

"Longview High helped me find my true potential. The people there were so nice and caring. Now I'm best friends with my roommate for life! Thanks Longview High!" -Alumni Nikkie Bedet

 "Longview High was a great place to learn and grow. The teachers were kind and there were classes that I was interested in. Me and my roommate got along swimmingly! Longview High, you're the greatest!" -Alumni Taylor Ceday.

 "Longview High taught me to just be me. The other people there were friendly, and the teachers really knew their stuff. I still keep in contact with my roommate, we just clicked. Longview High is wonderful!" Alumni Trey Nummer.

 Come join the family!

 Nick re-read all of the information. All of the recommendations sound the same... On the  back, it talked more about the facilities and how Nick would be flying to New Jersey in the school's private jet. Cool. Thought Nick. Aunt Jenny seemed fine with it, so he helped her pack up his stuff.

Soon enough, a suitcase was packed for him, and they would ship the rest later. There wasn't an airport in Reading, so they had to drive to St. Paul. Aunt Jenny didn't want to talk on the way to the airport, which was a little strange for her, but Nick didn't notice. They got through the ticket booth easy enough, and saw the jet. It was huge, and looked very nice. Nick was getting nervous, but Aunt Jenny rushed him through security and to the gate. 

Something was bothering him, his parents had said nothing about signing him up for a scholarship. He thought that they had been going to a high school reunion. Aunt Jenny really knew her way around airports from her years of traveling, and before Nick really knew what he was doing, they were at the gate and she was gone. No "have a good time Nick", no "be good at school Nick", not even a goodbye, she just left. Nick stomach turned and he started to feel uncomfortable. He looked around again to see if she had just stepped away for a moment. There was a hand on his shoulder and he sighed. He was just being silly, of course she hadn't left. Nick thought that was kinda funny, so he turned to tell his aunt. The hand on his shoulder was not Aunt Jenny's. It was the hand of a friendly flight stewardess. Nick tensed up again at the fake smile plastered on her face.

"Do, do you know where my aunt went to?" he asked cautiously. The stewardess smiled more.

"Oh, she just left. Boarding is now." She said, steering him into the gate. There was no one else on the plane, and it was nice, first class. There was a thick carpet on the floor, and only a few big leather arm chairs. There was many TVs and windows, and tables. Nick forgot about how nervous he was and looked around the plane. The stewardess motioned to one of the black leather chairs off to the side. Nick sank down into it, looked out the window onto the runway. When he flew to Reading, he had been in coach, and was stuck in-between two large men. First class on a private jet was much better. Soon they were in the air, and Nick was watching the tiny world go by. The stewardess came back around, and brought him a snack and a cup of soda. Nick watched the windows for a while, and drank the coke. This is the life. Thought Nick. He started to fell drowsy, and reclined his chair. He was out in a moment. The stewardess walked over and put the table. She made eye contact with the other steward, and he picked up a walkie.

"He's out. Take us home." The plane turned sharply to the left.  

~ Raccoon Notes ~ 

Omg a spitball?? Did he go to school in the 90’s omfg

“He said mysteriously” yeah no SHIT 

“There was no disease that created accelerated healing, most did the opposite” AGAIN NO SHIT

“Does this mean that I am a super hero? I hope not. Ugh, why does everything always change?” OH MY GOD. I’m nOt LikE oTHeR boYS

The names of the personal Experiences review where 3 of my friends at the time but with different last names. 

He accepted that…. So fast. Just “oh. Cool”

[itshummelswitch]

KURTBASTIAN | Date night.

WHEN: March 25th, 2020

WHERE: Kurt Hummel’s townhouse, and then around town.

WHO: Sebastian Smythe & Kurt Hummel | @markedswitchsmythe

EVENT: Kurtbastian’s first date.

Sebastian hopped up the stairs to Kurt's place two at a time, already dressed in a navy blue suit that fitted him to a T and a black V-neck shirt underneath it.  He twirled a rose between his fingers as he lifted a hand up to knock on the door a few times before he dropped it back to his side as he rocked back and forth on his feet for a moment.  The last time he'd seen Kurt he'd been...well, drunk. So you know, it was a little bit of a drunk situation. The whole thing had been cute rather than a disaster though,  and he was still rather eager for the whole date night thing.  Even if it was something he'd never do at home off the island  but...well, this place tended to have him wanting to try new things.  Hell, Kurt made him want to try new things.  He'd booked the nicest place for dinner in an attempt to be romantic...hopefully it was enough.

It was a date. Something romantic. Which he didn't exactly peg Sebastian for, not entirely anyway. But he wanted it. Wanted it bad. It had been almost a year since he had last gone on one, and he missed it. The feeling special to someone enough to want to spend time with them, get to know them, on a calm and more intimate level. Sure, he was all for the kinky sex in bed with this guy too, but of course he wanted something more. And this was it. Snapping the elastic waistband of the promised panties under the black pants, he adjusted them and did up the black belt that easily faded into the choice of the bottom half of his outfit. A blue button up layered with a black vest, sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms at least. A comb through the back of his hair and a touch up of hairspray, and he was ready to go. Right on time too, judging by the knock, which brought him to jogging to the door and pulling it open. Grin immediately brightening his face, before he shakes it and clears his throat, playing surprised. "Oh! Sebastian! Hi!" Placing a hand to his chest, playing it up. "My, my, you look so handsome tonight don't you?"

"Never let it be said I can't pull it off when I try." Sebastian teased with a charming little wink before his eyes flicked over Kurt's outfit choice with a bright smile.  " You look amazing, as well always, Kurt." He added with a bright smile as he held up the single rose, twirling it between his fingers for a moment before holding it out. "For you, of course. Kitten." Sebastian easily slipped that pet name in there as his teeth nipped into his bottom lip.   God he hoped he could just go with his gut tonight and pull off some insanely romantic night.  Even if he was going to temper his more..hornier impulses for at least part of the night. A hand reached out for the other man to take as Sebastian took one step back. "Come on,  I thought we could walk along the beach before he hit the restaurant."  It wasn't hard to see why.  There was something pretty about the moon floating over the dark waves as they hit the shore.

"Unless you'd rather go right there?" There's that hint of uncertainty in Sebastian's voice because...well, he's flying blind here.

Accepting the rose, he feels his face go hot. And his ears. Thanking the good imaginary lord that it was at least dark outside and any other possible blushing indications wouldn't be visible. Even if he knew it didn't matter and would usually pull a compliment out of his date for the evening. Giving the flower a short whiff, he can't help but laugh while stepping back into his place to put the rose somewhere safe before grabbing a cardigan from a hanging rack, and stepping out into the night, his hand in Sebastian's. "Oh, a moonlight walk along the beach sounds lovely. I definitely want to do that first." He gives Sebastian's hand an encouraging squeeze, pulling him closer to give a greeting kiss. Something they skipped upon the door being opened, which should've been a sin. "Relax. It's me. I'm going to love anything you planned for tonight, in any order." Walking his fingers with his free hand up the French man's chest, he grins. "So long as it ends with us fucking in your bed that is."

It was cute to see the other blush, it was something it was hard to hide with Kurt's skin tone and hell, Sebastian was taking it as a compliment and a hint he was, at least a little, doing this thing right in a simple way.  His hand squeezed the others back as he felt it slip into his,  and it certainly helped him feel a lot confident about the whole situation.  He was about to take a step away from the others place when he was tugged into that kiss.  A smile dancing along his lips as he sank into that kiss a little longer, nipping slightly at the others lips as he bathed in that free affection.   "Yeah? Cool." He said simply, grinning over at the other. "Promises, promises."  Though it did certainly make him take everything he had planned with a little more confidence.  " Lucky me for planning such a good night that it can happen in any order then."  His head tilts back to meet the others eyes as his grin grew a bit more wicked. "I can promise you,  it'll end up with us fucking. Though it so doesn't have to be the bed, if you don't want it to be." He teased as he leaned forward to steal another kiss from the switch before he moved away, gently stepping down the stairs before he nodding back to the water. "Come on, I'll lead the way, Kitten."

"Stealing my lines," Kurt scoffs, easily following in step down the stairs and away from the house itself. Fingers tightly laced with the others, reveling in just being able to hold this man's hand out in public. On a date. A word his inner-conscious kept repeating, as if he was going to wake up from it at any point. But he didn't. He was still there, hand-in-hand, moving towards the beach. Glad he didn't wear super fancy shoes when his feet sunk into the soft mounds of sand, he only takes a moment to pause, bending over - accidentally on purpose in eye sight of Sebastian - to remove his shoes and socks. If he was going to be walking on sand, he didn't need sand getting in his shoes and socks. "So do I get to know what you're planning? Or is it all a secret?"

"You know what they say, steal from the best." Sebastian countered easily with a twinkle in his eye.  There was something to be said about the simple act of holding someone's hand,  back off the island he would have battered the hand away but here?  He was enjoying the feeling of his fingers linked with Kurt and the connection between them.  There were still fireworks dancing though his body, though, less intense than when they kissed but an undefinable spark between the two boys.

Sebastian easily walked the short way towards the beach before the other paused and bent over, his eyes dropping to Kurt's perfect ass with a bite of his cheek.  God.  It was divine and more than a little distracting before the other stood back up and moved onto the sand.  "That depends, would you like to know what I'm planning? Or do you prefer me to wisk you off from one adventure to the next?" Sebastian teased as he simply left his shoes on as he stepped into the sand and moved towards the shoreline, his hand taking Kurt's again. " You know,  even with all this places flaws...I have to thank it for...letting me meet you."  Sebastian said lightly,  the rare honesty dropping from his lips.

Enjoying the soft feeling of the cool sand under his feet, his fingers linking again with Sebastian's as they move closer to the shoreline. "You know, part of me wants to know, but the other part is curious to to be surprised by whatever you have planned." Honestly knowing Sebastian had actually planned anything was enough to keep his expectations high. A lot of ideas were floating through his head on what everything else could possibly go down. Dinner was an obvious decision, but it was just a matter of where. How fancy it would be. And if it would drive him to give his appreciation for Sebastian going all out by under the table. "There's that charm," his face goes hot again, bumping his forehead against Sebastian's shoulder with a soft laugh. And there his stomach was going with the flipping. "I can agree with that. I'm glad you're in my life." He takes a deep breath. "I may always go back and forth on my comfort level of this place, but I can give this island that much. I met a lot of amazing people, who I can't imagine not being in my life now."

"So you can't pick?" Sebastian chuckled as he felt that warm island air danced around them, even under the moonlight it just felt like...paradise .  "Just relax and enjoy the ride, I promise you you'll have fun." Sebastian added with a little wink as they walked along the beach. towards their eventual end, though it was a little further away.  His head turns to watch the other drop his head against his shoulder and he smiles,  sucking on the inside of his cheek for a moment to hide just how big it might have gotten at the affectionate touch. "Yeah. You got me there. At the very least there are people here I don't know if I could ever forget.  You are top of the list.." Sebastian said simply, his hand squeezing Kurt's as they finally moved up towards the restaurant,  the fanciest restaurant on the island.  Italian but it was certainly quite nice, dark red rooms, candle lights, a very romantic place by all accounts.

"Stop one." Sebastian said, giving a little wave at the place.  Someone owed him a favor at the club and he managed to get the nicest table so...win win.

[canaryatlaw]

Well today was pretty good, despite the fact that I had to wake up early lol (I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow if you couldn't tell). But I got up at 7, got ready and hopped on the bus on my way to work! The lady who did our training and takes the same bus as I do showed up pretty soon, so it was cool to see her. Arrived right on time, and the receptionist apparently was told I was coming but nobody else was? Lol. The lady who handles the law clerk program and such wasn't in today but she sent me an email telling me to ask for this guy at the front desk so I did, and there was some short confusion as to where I was going but it was resolved within minutes haha. Sadly I do not get to keep my old office being that the calendar I'm on now is on the completely other side of the office from where I was last semester, and that would be really inconvenient for getting files and speaking with other attorneys. My new office has a lot of random field in it, but that is the case with most of them. And this one has a trash can!! Lol, I can't even tell you how annoyed I'd get last semester that my office didn't have a trash can, I would have to collect my trash all day to throw out when I left and it irritated me so much lol. So I hung out till like 9:30 and then headed down to court with my supervisor guy. He told me that one of the attorneys on our calendar is out indefinitely with some sort of leg injury, so they're basically gonna give me all her cases as soon as my 711 goes through and like. That's kind of terrifying?? I mean it's totally awesome and exciting, but also pretty scary that I could be in front of a judge and speaking on the record next week. I mean, juvenile court is a good place to start I guess because there's never a jury and the proceedings are closed to the public so the people inside the courtroom is limited and the potential for embarrassment minimal (though I'm sure at some point or another I'll find a way to fuck it up). But it is cool! So for today we just went to court and watched things. Pretty typical day, nothing really in the morning was that good. At one point my supervisor had me read an unfounded DCP packet and tell him what I thought, which I'd done a ton of last semester so it was super easy, and when I finished and told him there was no real issue he was like "good, that's the right answer" and I was thinking oh, this was a test?? Lol, a pretty easy one though. Went to the office for lunch and chilled for a while (read: read CC fanfiction on my computer) before heading back down to court for the afternoon, which is where things really got interesting. Of course due to the nature of the cases I'll keep the information limited, but basically there were allegations of sexual abuse by the father, who has been MIA from DCFS and the cops ever since, and has thus defaulted on the case. The victim is now living with her paternal grandparents, who have apparently been subtly discouraging her from cooperating with DCFS (assumedly to protect their son) sooooo that's a bit of a conflict of interest. The kicker though is the grandpa shows up for the adjudication this afternoon with a criminal defense attorney who's been hired by the dad- the dad who is literally on the run, sent a criminal defense attorney to family court. Can I even tell you how absurd that is???? Unless they are a specialized juvenile court lawyer, a private attorney isn't gonna know shit upon stepping into the building and that was quite apparent here. The thing is because the dad hasn't show up to any of the court dates he's been defaulted from the case and is essentially no longer a party. And there's the fact that this guy didn't even file an appearance (which is like lawyering 101) to represent the dad, he just shows up with the grandpa and wants to step in. Like, no, that's not how the law works ffs. So the ASA makes a motion to exclude the lawyer (aka kick him out of the courtroom) and the judge goes on this whole thing about how he believes the statute gives him discretion on who he can let stay in the courtroom and he really tries to let anyone in a family's support network stay (and I really thought he was gonna deny the motion at that point) but then goes "but I don't find you to fit into any of those categories, so I'm granting the motion" and oh, this guy is PISSED. He like, storms out of the courtroom and is yelling like "what is even going on in there??" and it was just so funny because he was so clearly out of league and was made to look like an idiot because of it. So that was my small dose of humor for the day. There are very few private attorneys that aren't bar attorneys (private attys hired by the court specifically to work for a fixed fee, like one step up from a PD basically) that can walk into court and not make themselves look like complete idiots. It's just that it's so rare for someone to get brought into juvenile court that doesn't actually qualify for a PD (make of that what you will of how child abuse and neglect is reported in this country) that there has never really been a need for private attorneys to have any idea how any of that works. So, moral of the story, if you ever higher an attorney for something, make sure they actually know what they are doing in that exact context and aren't just flying by the seat of their pants (because I'd be willing to bet a good amount of them are). Anyway, court went down for the afternoon and we went upstairs, I located some files quickly and then retreated to my office to read some of the juvenile court act before we reached 5 o clock, at which point of course I headed out. So this was the first time I was going straight from one courthouse to another, which is gonna be the norm this semester because I'm working Tuesdays and Thursdays and Tuesdays I'll have trial ad and Thursdays I'll have mock trial practice (for now at least) that are both located at the other courthouse. So I took the bus to the train, shoving a sandwich down my throat while on the train to make sure I didn't starve to death, and trying to ignore the guy who looks like Jimmy Olsen (ala supergirl) who is talking to the girl next to him but keeps looking at me (although idk how much I actually ignored him). Reached the courthouse my 5:30, which gave me enough time to hang out for a few before class started. So for class this week we had to write up a bunch of directs and crosses for different fact patterns, and we'd get picked to do certain ones, and sure enough, I get picked to do cross on the first one. The girl doing direct is a 3L, and she gets interrupted a lot by the judge who's pointing things out left and right and encouraging me to object to things (which I wasn't trying to do on my own really because I didn't want to be an asshole). But then it was my turn and I didn't get interrupted at all, save the other girl trying to make an objection but the judge overruling it, and then she called my cross "excellent" and only had minor feedback, so that was cool. It was basically the same case when I did the direct later on another problem, same comment which she only directed towards me (everyone else just got "very good") so that fed my ego nicely lol. I'm sure I have an advantage here because of mock trial and this isn't my first time doing stuff like this, in fact I've done it a number of times, but it's still nice to hear you did good. So that was a good class period, definitely much more engaging and infinitely preferable to sitting in a lecture hall. After class I headed home, getting here by like 9:40 but being that I can sleep in tomorrow I wasn't too worried about getting right to bed so I stayed up a bit and watched some more of a series of unfortunate events, which I continue to have mixed feelings on. I was like halfway through the second episode where I picked up, and then all of a sudden things to a bit more than vaguely pedophilic turn which I found a fair amount disturbing??? Like, um, this just got pretty creepy pretty quickly. But I kept watching, and I actually liked the third episode much better as it was free of pedophilic behavior and physical child abuse. I'm quite fond of Sunny I must say, probably because of my general fondness for babies and my big sister feels (seeing Violet carry her around everywhere makes my heart swell for when my sister was that little) but I do quite appreciate the little girl. The other two child actors are quite good as well. So I watched through episodes 3 and 4, and I think I'll continue for now at least. They're on good footing for now as far as I'm concerned, but we'll see what's to come. And yeah, that was my day and it's almost 2 am and my eyes would like to be closed now so I think that is what I will do. Goodnight babes. Sweet dreams.