#like at this point fine. you can think eli is “tan” if you want. live in denial.

[voidsaber]

#3 you can (not) redo

[darth-mendax]

Mendax and the Wolffe: One-shot Fic

A/N: Yes, I made this a while ago, yes it’s dirty, and yes I did it for my enjoyment. I am sorry for making this.

WARNING: It’s a dirty fic, man. You know what you gotta watch for. Stay safe bois. Also, the clones are being nasty lil boys, especially Wolffe being feral

Word Count: 5k-ish

Pairing: Darth Mendax x Commander Wolffe, OC x Wolffe

Ahsoka, Maul and his new, previously Jedi love Eli, weren’t resting on the random forest planet when evening was approaching. Eli had decided to try and save a few new clones from the wrath of this new Empire born from Sidious. Cody was their first target, and were going to supposedly deliver him to Kenobi. I felt it wasn’t wise to bring Maul on that adventure, but Eli argued against my opinion. Wherever Eli went, Maul followed. Now, I was stuck sitting near a growing campfire and surrounded by a couple clones and their downed ships acting more as shelter. I’d only learned their names when we first got here a few days ago.

The clones were relatively easy to tell apart, thank the Maker. The only blonde there was Rex, formerly Captain of the 501st. He had a blonde buzzcut, a clean shave but stubble was close to growing in, and his legs looked like they could kick her head clean off.

 Next was a brash clone of the 501st named Fives, easy to pick out from the tattoo of the number five on his temple. He had short hair like Rex, only he had black hair, as well and a goatee like beard. He’d been injured badly, but he was healing relatively fast.

 Jesse was next, almost like a child of the 501st group (based on personality). He was playfully flirty to me at times, but overall, was like sunshine after rain. He had a large tattoo of the previous Galactic Republic on his bald head, and a 5 o'clock shadow. Like Fives, he was injured badly but was healing. 

Gregor, one of the few who survived relatively unscathed and a republic commando, was a bit shorter than his brothers. He had longer black hair that was neatly styled, and stubble growing in like Jesse. Rumor had it that his hair was much longer once. He was built like a boulder though, with large shoulders and seeming a bit thicker in build than his other brothers. His gentle nature contrasted his look greatly. 

Kix was probably the most average looking of all the clones, and their medic. Once in cryo after some mystery mission, got rescued by pirates a good while ago, now helping the injured that survived the Order. He had a short sort of haircut with black hair, and friendly brown eyes like the rest of his brothers. Only, his eyes seemed to be able to comfort anyone and managed to speak in the calmest voices possible. 

Echo had a messy sort of story, and his appearance made that possible. His skin was slightly lighter than the deep tan of his brothers, and he had darkened eye sockets, like he was constantly sick (though he was perfectly healthy). Multiple scars could be seen on his head in a particular pattern, and black hair was coming in like the crew cuts of Rex and Fives. He had a handprint on his armor, which made him stand out. He was also practically stuck by Fives’ side at all times, including around the campfire. 

The last one was Wolffe, the one clone I knew before the mess Order 66 had caused. He was very different from his brothers. He had a pink scar going over right eye, and in the eye socket was a white cybernetic eye (it made him almost seem like he was blind on that side). He had short black hair like many of his brothers there, but it looked most similar to Kix. He was probably the tallest, even if it was by little over an inch. He had a stubble shadow, like Jesse and Gregor. Like the wolves on Lothal, he was built to fight and it showed. His biceps were certainly the second largest, outranked by Gregor, and thighs able to crush skulls (if he wanted). Without his top half of armor on and relaxing in his blacks, there was the clear outline of abs on his waist. I wasn’t sure I picked that detail up. He nearly killed me when I first arrived with Maul, Eli, and Ahsoka. My eyes remained focused on the fire in front of me, memories flooding my brain.

It was done, the Order initiated and finished in only what seemed like an hour. My clothes were dirtied by dust and almost ratty. Maul was in his usual sith robe attire, minus the usual cloak that hid away his features. We were sitting at a small table in what was like a casual living room. Eli and Ahsoka were whispering to each other nearby, wiping away a few stray tears. This Order had killed many of their friends, and clones alike. Families were shattered and Sidious was to blame, me and Maul knew that for sure. Ahsoka nodded to Eli, and then walked up to the bridge of the ship. Eli fixed her neutral colored Jedi robes and turned to Maul. 

“Lucky for us, our ship is arriving at the safety rendezvous soon. I’d be wary of a few clones, they may think you’re against them so. . . don’t act too aggressive.” Maul leaned on the heel of his hand and gave an expression similar to someone raising an eyebrow. “Eli my dear, I’m constantly fueled by anger, driven by spite and revenge for years. Being aggressive is my personality.” I didn’t care to speak or include themselves in conversation. I simply hid in the hood of my Sith robe and remained silent. Eli turned to me, “Hey Mendax, there’s one guy who you’ll know once we arrive. Though I’m not sure he’d be the most happy to see you. Not the biggest fan of Sith still.”

“Don’t humor me. I’m not looking to make friends.” 

Eli scoffed, then rolled their eyes. “Alright, fine, sit and brood. But you better not say anything that will make you end up with blaster holes.” I chuckled, then looked Eli in the eye, “If that were to happen, I’d consider it a mercy.” The Jedi turned away and went to join Ahsoka Tano on the bridge. Maul sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I know you’re still hurting, I can sense it. . .”

“I just don’t understand. . . It feels cruel to live. To live in such darkness as overpowering as this. All the death he brought, to us, to the Jedi-”

“I know that’s not the real reason you’re upset, Mendax. . . Savage would want you to live on. He loved you, so dearly.” I was silent, then leaned on Maul’s shoulder. Maul slowly placed a gloved hand on my head. He wasn’t one to regularly give comforting touch, but this. . . this was nice. 

“Things will change now, and we’ll move past Sidious’ plans.”

When we were introduced, almost all the clones had aimed their guns at us. Wolffe seemed a bit hesitant to aim at me though, instead aiming at Maul. A few good sassy remarks were thrown, but we all agreed no more killing was needed. Wolffe still kept a close eye on me as days went on, however.

Jesse’s laughter tore me from my thoughts and into his conversation. All of the clones seemed happy, or amused. I glared at them and asked, “What’s so funny, boys?”

“Oh, nothing Mendax. We’re comparing body count and the comments made about us.” Body count? Was this a sick count of all the enemies killed? Fives made an impression of what sounded like a moan, then said, “Oh Fives, you know just how to please me!”

“No way! There’s no way you can please a woman with as rough as a hand like yours!” Nope, definitely not an enemy body count. 

My face felt a little hot once I’d realized. I guess I should’ve known that soldiers like clones had needs. They weren’t Jedi so sexual acts were more. . . allowed? Wolffe was the only one who wasn’t talking about who fucked the best or how many men or women they spent a night of pleasure with. Feeling a little bothered plus warmed by the fire, I removed the cloak from around my body. 

Fives was the first to try and get Wolffe to join in. “Hey, Wolffe! What’s your body count, hmm? I bet it’s a high one, what with the ‘rugged charm’ I’ve heard some women say about you.”

 Wolffe grunted, taking a drink from a small cup he held in one of his hands. Fives went on, “Grunting is not usually an acceptable answer to a question, Wolffe.” 

“It is now,” Wolffe replied, eyes landing on me as I sat across from him by the firepit. His gaze seemed to soften, and then he went back to staring at the contents in his cup. Fives decided not to push further, but rather turn to me. “And what about you, Mendax? Did the great Sith lord ever get any love?~”

“As much as I admire the Sith and their passions, we never really see many who use passion in a sense that they fight for someone. Most use passion more as ambition, seeking power and their way.”

“I asked if you had a boyfriend once, not your philosophies,” Fives said, rolling his eyes. I scoffed, and glared at him, “No, does that satisfy your curiosity? I had no one. All I had was Maul to oversee my progress and Savage to. . . to make me feel less lonely.”

“Define less lonely. . .” 

Jesse shoved Fives, “Shut up. She’s obviously never had a boyfriend.” Wolffe turned his gaze to me again; I couldn’t tell what emotion was behind his eyes. A few of the brothers muttered to each other, then turned to Wolffe. He caught on to the staring and sneered, “What?”

“So are you going to tell her, or. . .?” Wolffe gave a low growl at Kix. He practically barked at him, “Know your place, soldier. And stop your insane claims.” Kix held his arms up in surrender, and smiled, “Just saying, Commander.” Rex rolled his eyes, then lightly shook his head. Clearly, the captain was getting just as annoyed as Wolffe was at his men. I couldn’t really blame him. Darkness was swallowing the forest around us; Rex added more logs to keep the fire burning. 

“So, what’s the sleeping situation, boys? Since the generals and Maul are gone?” Gregor had asked, his meek voice coming through with the brief silence. Echo wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “I already figured it out for you.” He pointed at one of the ships, the largest one of them all. “That one will hold me, Fives, and Rex,” he said. Echo then pointed to the smaller ship next to it, saying, “That one there will be for you, Jesse, and Kix.” The smallest ship there was a simple cruiser, but good enough for a few people to live on, and it was the one Echo pointed to next. “That ship there is where Wolffe and Mendax will be,” he concluded. Rex started to snicker to himself, and tried to cover it with one of his gloved hands. “Something funny, Captain?” Wolffe asked. Rex replied, “No no, it’s nothing. Just laughing at the arrangements.”

“And why is that?”

“You’ll have a ship alone with Mendax. And I don’t want to ruin the moment for the two virgins.” 

Wolffe growled loudly at Rex’s comment, clenching the cup tightly in his hand. His voice lowered dangerously low, “How about you shut it, Captain? I’m sure you men would hate to see their leader suddenly get a black eye and busted lip.” Rex squinted at Wolffe, “You think your strength could save you there? You believe that you can take on the Captain of the 501st in a fist fight?” 

“Oh, I know it would. My squadron regularly fights in the dirt, so what makes you think this will end with you winning against me.” The two brothers got up and stood in front of each other, Wolffe glaring slightly down at Rex and teeth bared. Rex seemed relatively calm, but a sneer was forming on his features. “How about you prove it, Commander?” Rex challenged. Wolffe stiffened and clenched his fists tight. The two of them raised their fits, ready to fight then and there. Hearing enough banter, I got up and decided to stop the impending fight.

“SILENCE! If you keep bickering, I’ll give you all a good reason to shut up!” The flames of the fire flared, and burned bright for a few moments. Silence followed my shout, besides the cracking of the firewood.

 All the clones looked at me in shock, Jesse’s, Kix’s and Fives’ faces all slowly turned to smiles as they looked at Wolffe. He was staring at me, eyes wide and blinking as if he was processing what had happened. I could only imagine that my eyes changed, a little side effect of being Sith. If I was angry enough, they looked just like Maul’s. Rex sat down next to his men, “Sorry Sir.” I huffed, calming down and rubbing the back of my neck. Wolffe made a rumbly noise in the back of his throat, before stomping off. Gregor called out to him, “Where are you going, Wolffe?!” 

“To relax! And hit the refresher!” The rest of the clones made attempts to bring Wolffe back, but it was in vain. He’d already entered the ship, and disappeared from view. I sat back down by the fire, hearing the clones burst into some sort of shanty, and had their arms around each other’s shoulders. It was touching, to see them still act like family even after everything. It was almost like Order 66 didn’t happen. But it did. 

The moons of the planet were well in the sky, and it’d been nearly an hour since Wolffe went into the ship he and I would supposedly share. The fire was dying, as was the nightly commotion. There was less energy, less blood flowing through the clones’ veins. Growing restless of being quiet while the clones talked amongst themselves, I got up and put my cloak on. I mumbled, “Heading in for the night. . .” before trudging over to the shared ship. I stretched my limbs and back, beginning my walk towards the beds. There were at least five rooms, each one with a decently sized space and bed. Making my way down the hall, I passed by the way leading to the refresher. I paused, hearing that it was still on. “Wolffe must like long hot showers,” I thought to myself. I was about to walk on, when I heard quiet grunting, then what sounded like mumbling. 

“Mendax-” I heard, barely heard over the water running in the refresher. A few curses followed, and I felt a bit of panic. Did he hurt himself? Did he know I was here? I slowly walked through the small locker room, seeing Wolffe’s armor and blacks resting on a bench. Moving past them, I peeked into the refresher room.

 It was a line of refreshers in glass stalls on the opposite wall from the entrance. The floor was tile, leading into the locker room. Only one of the refreshers had their door closed, somewhat clouded up with steam. The amount of steam in the room made the air humid, and I was sure that my hair was starting to puff up with it. There was a towel on a hook nearby said refresher. Moving closer, but out of view, my face heated up as I looked at what was in front of me. 

Wolffe was still in the refresher, but certainly not injured. His eyes were screwed shut, brow furrowed and biting his bottom lip. He was naked of course, water washing over him and moving down his body. Leaning against one of the tile walls of the refresher, one of his arms rested against the wall he leaned against, and his other was in front of him. He had hair on his chest, leading down to a nice trimmed happy trail leading down to his cock, where his hand was a bit. . . busy. He groaned again, his hand wrapped around his cock and moving faster. Wolffe’s head leaned back against the tile, his mouth slightly open now as a soft moan past his lips. He was close, very close.

“Fuck- Mendax~, I want you so bad~. . . Make me feel so good.” Wolffe’s voice was lower by an octave or two, rumbling and lustful. 

I’d be lying if that didn’t cause some sort of feeling between my legs. He was so vulnerable, and definitely not bad to look at. We had had our differences before and were becoming something of friends, but this? It was a little unexpected. 

Scrambling to get away, I made the mistake of kicking his helmet. It made a clatter that echoed through the whole of the locker room. Ashamed that I’d be caught. I hid behind the small wall of lockers in the middle of the changing room. The noise of the refresher being on stopped, and there was silence. Very tense silence. I heard the sound of bare feet walking on the tile, moving to where Wolffe’s armor was. They stopped, and the silence returned. He was behind the lockers, where I was hiding. Suddenly the footsteps sounded like they moved away and out to the hallway. I quietly breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Slowly, I moved around closer to the refresher room and towards the edge of the locker wall. I peeked around, and looked for Wolffe. He wasn’t there, but his armor was still on the bench. That was odd. . . I turned back and collided with something solid and damp. 

I pulled away and found myself staring into a pair of eyes, one an amber like brown, and the other a pale cybernetic white. I froze, and felt immensely flustered. Wolffe had a towel wrapped low around his hips, the happy trail disappearing under the soft white cloth. A few droplets were still moving down Wolffe’s body, and he felt very warm, even just by being so close to him. His cheeks were reddened, and a blank expression on his face. I gulped, swallowing down my nervousness and composing myself. 

“What are you doing in here?” Wolffe asked, his voice low and rumbly like he was in the refresher. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms, “Was wondering why you were taking so long in the refresher.” Wolffe didn’t seem to buy my reasoning. He leaned down, trapping me with his hands on either side of my head. 

“Really? And you didn’t hear anything?” I shook my head, not bearing to look Wolffe in the eyes. “Liar,” he growled out. He knew, of course he knew. One of his hands grabbed my jaw and forced me to face him. 

“Look at me in the eye.” My eyes moved back to lock on Wolffe’s. His human eye was blown with lust, brown being swallowed by inky, hungry black. I found myself looking at his lips, and the feeling between my legs returned. Wolffe tilted my chin up, “I’ll be honest with you. When you said you’d give us a reason to shut up, my mind went to. ..  less than innocent ideas. And I couldn’t sit with them all when you were right there and looking so . . . delicious.” I let out an exhale through my nose, and dared to ask, “Like what? Hmm?”

Wolffe let out a guttural growl, and the hand holding my chin moved down to my neck. He gave a light squeeze as his lips moved to whisper in my ear. “I want you to shut me up and kiss me until I forget my fucking name. . . I want to swallow all of your moans into my mouth, know the taste of your lips. I want to feel your tongue, and maybe stop your snark for once.” My thighs were twitching with his words; he didn’t even stutter. My hands found their way on his back, and I raked my nails down the muscle. “Would you like that? Would you like to have me?” he asked. I quietly replied, “I’ve never wanted anything more than that right now. . . but I don’t know what to do. . .” 

“Then I’ll show you. . .” Wolffe’s hands found their way to my thighs and he picked me up with ease. He carried me down into the hallway and opened one of the doors leading to a bedroom. I was carried right to the bed, and the door closed behind him. It was doubtful that anyone would come barging in, so there was not much reason to lock it. He was already trying to take off my robes as he carried me, rushed kisses being pressed to my jawline. Wolffe was desperate, and the desire coursing through him was infectious.

His lips crashed against mine once my back hit the bed, and my legs were wrapped around his hips. They were softer than I anticipated, and much more intoxicating than I believed kisses should be. I felt drunk, limp as Wolffe pushed his tongue into my mouth and hands explored under my now messy robes. He made quick work of the top half of my clothing, almost ripped them in the process. Wolffe’s lips moved down to my neck; my head moved to the side so he had better access. A rumbling noise went through his chest like a building growl and  he bit down into the flesh of my neck. He bit hard enough that I whined at the pinching pain. My feeble attempts of squirming were stopped by the weight of Wolffe moving on top of me: one of his thighs between mine, and hands pinning my wrists down. The gesture of biting and leaving dark bruises on my neck was repeated until my neck and collarbones were littered with the marks like a night sky, varying in size and color. Taking his time and kissing back up to my mouth, Wolffe gave me a tender, sweet kiss.

When he pulled away, I felt cold and my lips felt like they were buzzing.  “I’ve wanted to do this for a while, in honesty. . .” Wolffe muttered, eyes looking over my face and his handiwork. His hands cradled my face lightly, like a feather caressing my skin. The innocence and purity of the gesture was lost when his thumb brushed over my lips and lightly tugged my bottom lip down. I opened my mouth and he pushed his thumb in, groaning as it was coated in my saliva. “Such a pretty little mouth,” he mumbled. 

Wolffe pulled his hand away, then moved to pull off my pants. He started breathing heavily once he had a glance at the mess between my legs. “Fuck, you’re soaking,” was what he said. Without another word, he pulled me to the edge of the bed and knelt between my legs. Moving them so they rested on his shoulders, Wolffe began to mark up my thighs just like my neck. The feeling between my legs was starting to become unbearable, and I was aching to be touched. “You know, you could stop teasing and get to the point,” I grumbled. Wolffe responded by a smack on my thigh, looking up at me. The scene in front of me was sinful, and I thought it was all a dream since it seemed too good to be true. 

“You want me to get to the point?” I nodded. 

“Then I won’t stop til you’re begging,” he replied before moving his head down. 

The feeling was heavenly, Wolffe’s tongue working through my folds and up to my clit. My hands found their way into his thick hair, tugging on his short black locks. He groaned at the action, then focused on working my clit. My body was twitching, and my back began to arch off of the bed. “Fuck- Oh Maker- Wolffe~!” were just a few of the words that spilled from my mouth out of pleasure. I tried to push him even closer, digging my heels into his muscular back and my thighs squeezing his head. It was almost embarrassingly fast how close I got in a matter of seconds, and my orgasm came with little warning. The pleasure was white hot, I felt like I was floating and my moans filled the room. Wolffe worked through it, and even a moment after I’d come down from the blissful high. My legs were twitching, and in the pale dim lights that were on in the room, I saw Wolffe look up at me with a smug look and my wetness on his chin. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, and hummed, “My assumption was correct, you do taste delicious.” I sighed and flopped back against the bed to catch my breath. 

“Maker above, that was nice. . .” Wolffe chuckled at my comment.

“It’ll get better.”

“Hm?” I looked down to see Wolffe taking off his towel and his cock ready for attention. He was big, as far as I could tell. Moving himself closer, Wolffe held onto my legs and I felt him nudge my core. “I’ll go slow, ok?” His voice was quiet and gentle again. I pulled him down into a quick kiss, and gave a soft smile. “I know you won’t hurt me,” I said. Wolffe gave a short nod and held onto my waist. He pushed himself in slowly, and his jaw clenched tightly as he did. A struggling groan came from his mouth, and was joined by a weak moan of mine. Once fully in, he was panting and practically laying on top of me. Wolffe was cursing under his breath, resting his forehead against mine. “This feels- mm fuck- way better than I imagined. . . Fuck me, you’re killing me over here,” he managed to rasp out. As if I wasn’t aroused enough, his praise pushed me even further. 

I held his face in my hands, watching as he looked at me with a half-lidded, dazed gaze. “You can move now,” I said. He didn’t move at first, and I was about to tell him again until he interrupted me. 

With a voice lowering a good few octaves, he asked, “You want me to move, pretty girl?”

“Y-yes.” My impatience was getting to me.

Wolffe gave a grin, “Then beg.” 

I could only assume I made a somewhat amusing shocked expression, because Wolffe chuckled. “You heard me, beg for me to move,” he said. I didn’t want to, at first. After all, I was a Sith and he was just a clone. I could’ve overpowered him and take control easily, yet I didn’t. My desire was getting the best of me, and I could barely move from underneath him. So I begged for Wolffe.

“Please- Please move, I need you.”

“Please who? What do you call me, sweetheart?” This was near torture at this point, but I went along.

“Please Sir. . . Please move~.” He smiled again, and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

“There’s my good girl~.”

 Wolffe moved slowly, but Maker did it feel great. The slow drag of him against my walls was enough to make me start digging my nails into his shoulders. He wasn’t patient though; soon he was sitting up and setting a brutal pace. I was moaning, loud enough to probably end up being heard from the hallway. Wolffe’s brow was furrowed, but the smug grin on his face told me that he was enjoying having power over me. “Moaning like a bitch for me, and I’m the only one who can do that, right?~ Only I can make you moan and desperately beg~.” I tried to growl at him, to try and show that I didn’t like the degradation. My body betrayed me, and I could only moan and try to move in response instead. He was growling and panting, keeping his pace and his gaze staying on me. “Look at you, covered in my marks and bites. Kriffing beautiful and all mine to look at~. All fucking mine~.” Given that biting seemed to be the way he showed his affection, it was no surprise that it came with possessiveness as well. When one of his hands came down to rub my clit, I was already close again.

“Maker- Wolffe, Sir- I’m so fucking close-”

“You close? You wanna make a mess all over my cock? You wanna beg for me to make you finish?” 

All of the pride and dignity I had was long gone by then, and of course I begged. Of course I said, “Yes, please! Please, Sir!” I was glad he was so merciful. He replied, “Now, you can finish.” And I did, shaking and grabbing at the sheets. I heard myself almost yelling, and I’m pretty sure I screamed out Wolffe’s name too. Wolffe’s pace stuttered, and began to get sloppy. Not a few moments later, he finished as well, spilling himself inside of me and throwing his head back in bliss. He made what sounded like a groan, or maybe he was biting back a moan. Either way, we were both very satisfied by the end. 

In a dazed and half awake state, we managed to fix ourselves under the sheets and get comfortable. I found myself clinging to Wolffe’s side, resting my head on his chest as his arm was wrapped around me. His thumb traced small circles into my back. A realization came to me that night; I’d fallen for him. Badly. I didn’t have the heart to tell him then, but I knew I would when the time was right. With fatigue pulling at my eyelids, I curled up next to Wolffe and slept soundly for the first time in a good while. 

Bonus:

The clones were heading to their ships for the night, but they made a decision to just crowd the ship farthest away from Mendax and Wolffe. In a crowded and simple room with bunks, the clones whispered to each other. “I told you it would happen, now pay up!” Fives whisper-yelled to Echo. Echo begrudgingly handed him a few credits, and huffed. Jesse was also passing credits in the dimness. Rex sat up slightly and rubbed his eyes, “Men, what are you doing?” Fives gave a half-hearted laugh, “I’m surprised you slept through it. Wolffe and Mendax just did the deed. I made a bet that they would do it tonight, so now the boys owe me. Well, except you and Gregor.” Fives looked over to Gregor, who was busy hiding his head under his pillow. “I think he’s scarred for life,” Jesse added. Kix interrupted, “Yeah yeah, you won. Now can we sleep?” “They should be done now,” Fives replied. Rex rolled his eyes and went back to sleep. 

“Go to bed, boys.”

“. . . Yes Sir.” 

There was a brief silence, and a moment of peace.

“. . . Should we tell them we heard?”

“No way, Jesse. They’d kill us.”

“. . . What if we told Maul and Eli when they get back, Fives?”

“They’d kill them, well, Maul would.”

Another silence.

“. . . Who do you think started it?”

“GO TO BED, BOYS!”

“Sorry, Rex. . .”

[shookethbrooketh]

Church Boy - Chapter 4

Other than the bizarre bell schedule, the new school didn’t seem anywhere near as bad as he’d expected. In fact, as he waved goodbye to Phil and started the trek to where he remembered he’d shown him his fourth period to be, he began to think it might even be a hell of a lot better as his old school. In fact, it might even be the place he’d finally find happiness.

Description: Phil’s lived in the same town and gone to the same church his entire life. But when his pastor leaves, a new one comes in, with his teenage son Dan in tow. He’s broken; real broken. And he thinks Phil’s just another church boy that’s going to hate him just as much as everyone else he’s ever met, but maybe he’s just going to be the one that can fix all his broken parts.

Genre: AU, High School, Strangers to Lovers

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Homophobia/Transphobia

Fic Warnings (Not Final!): Heavy Speak of Religion, Heavy Homophobia, Swearing, Discussion of Sex, Fighting with Family

Chapter Word Count: 2.5k Total Word Count: 8.8k

Read it on Ao3! Read it on Wattpad! Fic Masterlist

Dan stepped into the room and took it in. There were cheesy math posters all around the room, hung a consistent few inches from the ceiling. A few were peeling, but they still looked as pristine as cheesy math posters could. The room appeared to be intensely cleaned and organized, yet it gave off a calming vibe due to the darkness, as the only light in the room was the sunlight from the windows. There was a bellwork problem projected on the board, and a few kids were sitting sparsely in desks working on it. A few gave glances to Dan, but nobody could bother to address him; they were too busy frantically trying to finish their bellwork before the bell rang. 

“I sit here,” Phil said. “Right under the fan.” He looked as if snatching a chair under the ceiling fan at the beginning of the year was the one event in his life he took the most pride in. Dan cocked his neck up to look at the violently rotating fan, and he couldn’t quite blame him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there was no air conditioning in that room, and it must have gotten hot as hell at the beginning of the school year. “Nobody sits there,” he added, pointing to the chair to his left. “You can just sit there for now.” 

Dan slipped into the chair and pulled his notebook out of his binder to start copying the bellwork, and he was suddenly overwhelmed. He had started Precalc at his old school, but they hadn’t yet done the problem on the board or even anything like it. And that’s when it struck him that he hadn’t even started Chemistry. Both of those were honors classes, and they both built on what they had already learned, and Dan hadn’t a clue what he had missed. 

Dan’s breathing had begun to get heavy when he found a tall, dark-haired woman towering over him. “You must be the new student. Is everything going alright here?” 

“No, actually,” he let out, trying to calm himself. “I took Precalc in my old school, but we hadn’t gotten here yet.” 

In the split second before she answered, he could hear her telling him to go change his schedule because she couldn’t have him behind. He could already feel himself losing the one class he had with Phil. 

“That’s okay!” she said, and Dan’s eyes popped out of his head. 

“It is?” 

“Of course. You couldn’t be too far behind, so I can give you some worksheets and lessons to catch you up. You should be totally fine by next week. We’re currently about to start a totally new unit, so you should be able to follow along just fine.” 

“Thank you!” Dan said, a smile crossing his face as all his anxiety, about that particular class, at least, dissipated. He decided to give up on the bellwork and looked towards Phil, who was sitting and staring off into the distance, having already finished the problem. 

“You’re right; this school really isn’t half bad,” he whispered over to him. 

“I told you!” Phil said back in a bit more than a whisper, which earned them a less menacing than Dan would have expected glance from the teacher. “It’s gonna be fine,” he said with a smile as the bell rang. 

“Have a great day, and be thinking about who you want your partner to be!” 

The words were no use, as the entire class was already out the door the second the bell rang. “How the hell are we doing a project in math?” Dan asked, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. 

“Don’t ask me!” Phil said, glancing over at Dan. It was obvious what he was thinking. “By the way, you can be my partner.” 

Phil immediately saw Dan’s face brighten. “Who says I wanna be your partner?” 

Phil grinned, biting his lip a bit. “Well, I can find someone else, if that’s what you’d prefer.” 

“You know, it’s your lucky day; I think I’ll take the partnership.” 

“Great.” 

They had made their way halfway down the hall when Phil stopped at his next class, Dan walking on ahead of him. “Dan, wait!” he shouted, and Dan’s head snapped back. “This is my next class.” 

“Oh,” he said, seeming a bit disappointed. 

“You remember where your second is, right?” 

“I got it. If worst comes to worst I’ll be late.”

“Alright. Good luck, and have fun!” he called out as he started to walk into the room. 

“If you say so,” Dan laughed out as he walked in the opposite direction. 

Phil was a bit concerned about Dan being alone on his first day; he wasn’t sure why, but he was. He was sixteen; he could handle himself. For some reason, though, Phil couldn’t help but worry about him. All through his second he was distracted, thinking about Dan downstairs and hoping his class was going well. 

He was finally jolted from his trance when the bell rang; he hadn’t managed to copy a word of the notes for the last half hour of class. Hopefully he’d think to pick them up from someone eventually. When he slipped out the door, he was far too anxious to try and find Dan; he checked his phone and saw no texts from him, so he tried to convince himself that meant he was alright and headed to his third. 

Somehow, Phil managed to pay even less attention in third than he did in second. He couldn’t even focus on his friends beside him being absolute dumbasses (as per usual). All he could ever focus on was the ticking clock, inching closer minute by minute to when he could finally meet Dan for lunch. 

After yet another class of missing the entire lecture, Phil was the first one out the door towards the lunchroom. He had already memorized the fact that Dan had chemistry third, so he made sure to head straight there first. 

The students were just beginning to pour out of the classroom when he got there; he’d plowed his way down the hall. He hadn’t realized it, but all the kids he nearly knocked over definitely did. Phil watched a bunch of kids in his class give him a confused glance as they walked past him; after all, it probably wasn’t the most normal thing on the planet to see someone panting outside their classroom. Finally, Dan filed out of the room, a weary smile on his face. “Hey, Phil!”

“Hey, Dan!” A smile crossed his face as he realized lunch was definitely going to be the best part of his day. 

Dan couldn’t help but smile as he saw Phil waiting in the doorway; he had been so overexcited to see him that he had obviously literally ran, and Dan found that fucking adorable. 

“How were your last two classes?” Phil asked him.

He frowned a bit. “Eh, they were alright. Spanish wasn’t too bad; apparently Spanish at my old school was a lot more intense. The teachers here don’t really know how to control their classes.” He flashed back to screaming freshmen that he didn’t even know how got in to Spanish 3. Those voices would haunt him for a long, long time. 

Phil chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me.” 

“Chemistry kinda sucked. I had it next semester in my old school, so I just walked in halfway through the class and I’m completely lost. I’m going to have to have the teacher catch me up, but I’ll get it eventually, I guess. It’s just...” he sighed, trailing off. “a lot of work.”

“I get that,” Phil said. “Playing catch up is the worst.” 

Dan smiled, but he was a bit angry that Dan didn’t really get it. He’d never had to pick up and move before. Well, maybe he had, but that didn’t seem like what he meant. Getting the flu was different from missing half of a semester, especially of Chemistry. 

“Lunch?” Phil asked. 

It was just then that Dan realized how hungry he was. He had been so stressed the entire morning that he hadn’t even thought about food, but he was starving. Third lunch was terrifyingly late, and Dan ate half his lunch in class at his old school where he had lunch an hour earlier. Now that he thought about it, he was starving. “Definitely.” 

They were about to start walking when a two boys and a girl walked up behind Phil. “There you are, dude! You literally took off running there,” said the boy on the right. Suddenly all their eyes seemed to fall on Dan at once, and he could almost feel them all staring into his soul. “Who’s this?” 

“Oh, guys, meet Dan! He’s new here.” 

“Hi,” Dan said inwardly. 

“Dan, this is James,” Phil said. James was the boy on the far left; he was tall, but not too lanky, with tan skin and brown hair. He looked a bit like a surfer, except it was evident that he’d never surfed before in his life. He did a bit of an awkward wave and let his hand fall at his side. “Eli,” the boy on the right had pure blonde hair, and he was a few inches shorter than James, as well as a bit more heavyset. The first word that came to Dan’s mind to describe him was ‘adorable’, but something told him the boy was anything but adorable and innocent. He said a quick “hey” and raised his hand to indicate his existence. “and Nora.” Nora was the only girl of the group, and she was standing in the middle of the other two. She had short, brown hair, about the same shade as his, and she was about the same height as Eli. She wore a dirty, black hoodie and jeans even though it was an uncharacteristically hot day for October. She simply gave him some finger guns. They seemed like nice kids, but that didn’t stop Dan from thinking they were staring into his soul. “They’re my closest friends. They may be hella weird sometimes,” he said, glaring at all three of them. “But I love them, and I think you’ll like them too.” 

“Rad,” was all Dan said. 

The five of them made their way down the stairs to the lunchroom, where Phil’s friends headed to what Dan assumed was their group’s table. There were already a couple kids sitting there, who they each greeted with a “hey” and sat down. Dan stood awkwardly for a moment at the head of the table before Phil patted the seat beside him and he scurried off to sit down. Most of the other kids didn’t notice him. 

“So, today in history, I was working with James, Eli, and Ben, and we made an entire page of Vines on our project,” Phil said. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Phil, this is the fifth one this semester!” Nora exclaimed, overwhelmed but obviously a bit intrigued. 

“Oh?” Dan asked, he himself also quite intrigued. He didn’t know that much about Phil or his group, but as much as he felt like the outsider he was definitely interested in their antics. “

“Well, at the beginning of the year we wrote about Waluigi...” 

To Dan, something about the ten-minute story that appeared to be Phil’s favorite felt like an induction to the group, because by the time he finished they were on their way to hang out in the library, Dan in tow laughing. He didn’t even feel like an outsider anymore; sure, he didn’t get their inside jokes, but he felt included in the conversations and even in the group. He had only managed to eat half his lunch, but he figured he’d finish it in his fourth. He knew to eat before lunch the next day, so he’d be fine. 

Dan entered the library with Phil, Nora, Eli, James, and who he assumed to be Ben. He deduced that the library was where they usually went when they finished up in the cafeteria, even though none of them appeared to be avid readers. Instead they made their way into a corner and began laughing at something Dan couldn’t even comprehend. Within thirty seconds, Dan, Phil, and Nora were leaning up against a bookcase watching Ben, Eli, and James in a standing pileup. Ben was in James’s arms, and Eli was simply laughing so hard he was about to fall into the other two. Phil and Nora were roaring with laughter as well, and Dan couldn’t help but to join in.

“Is this normal?” he asked his two companions. 

“Oh, definitely,” said Nora. “They literally do this every day. Before school, during lunch, sometimes even after school. Literally everyone here is gay.”

Dan cackled. “Really?” 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Phil piped in. “They might not actually be gay, but they sure act like it. We’re all just waiting for it to actually happen. It’s a pretty good life, to be honest.” 

“Damn right,” Dan responded. They stood in silence for a moment, the three boys still poking at each other, before Dan’s curiosity finally got the best of him. “Are there really that many gays in this school?” 

“Eh, there aren’t too many,” Phil said, shrugging. “All three of us are, any number of them might be, and there’s a good few more circulating. It’s really not as bad as you’d think.” 

“Yeah, I would have expected at least one redneck to mock me for some gay mannerism by now,” Dan said, half joking. 

“I had a trans friend they called ‘it’ for a while, but that’s about as bad as it got. They can sometimes get ugly with the slurs, but we don’t really notice it much. It’s actually pretty chill here, for the most part,” Nora added, as if she’d discussed the topic many a time. Both Nora and Phil seemed completely accustomed to the environment they’d found themselves in, from its best to its worst. 

“Oh, yeah. They’re not the worst. They might just be oblivious though,” Phil said, throwing one strap off his backpack and slinging it over his chest so it faced Dan. “You see this?” he asked, pointing to a Hot Topic pin with a rainbow flag on it. “I’ve had this since freshman year, and not a single one of them has noticed. In fact, most of them still think I’m straight, despite my constant closet jokes. In reality, they just don’t give a shit about anything or anyone around it, and I’m not mad about taking advantage of it.” 

Dan shrugged. “Fair.” 

The bell rang, and Phil slung his backpack back over his shoulder. Dan glanced at the clock, reading 1:24. That school had the weirdest bell schedule Dan had ever seen, and he wasn’t excited to get used to it, but he’d live. Other than the bizarre bell schedule, the new school didn’t seem anywhere near as bad as he’d expected. In fact, as he waved goodbye to Phil and started the trek to where he remembered he’d shown him his fourth period to be, he began to think it might even be a hell of a lot better as his old school. In fact, it might even be the place he’d finally find happiness. 

[eserenityyyy]

The Same Old Lily

A/N: Another one of my older fics...

Ao3 Link

Rating: General Audiences

Fandom: Love Live! School Idol Project

Pairings: Nozomi Toujou/Eli Ayase, Nico Yazawa/Maki Nishikino, Alisa Ayase/Yukiho Kousaka

Words: 2008

Summary: Maki finds a letter in her parents’ bedroom.

Maki was contented with her life. She was a successful doctor and a part-time musician too. Though she barely had any time for herself, she was happy.

One night, when she was walking home, she received a call.

Hello, Maki-chan? It was Yukiho, wife of her mother’s sister.

“Yukiho-san? What can I help you with at this time? It’s already past 11 pm”

Just wanted to check if you’re fine. I knew you would go home this late. So, how are you doing?

“I’m perfectly fine, don’t worry about me.” Her voice had a hint of tiredness in it.

Your voice tells me otherwise though.

While still holding her phone, she opened the door of her house with her free hand. She removed her shoes and proceeded to the living room. She slumped on her couch and put down her bag.

“I’m just tired from work Yukiho-san”

If you say so. Just be sure to take care of yourself alright?

“Yes, yes. Is that all?”

Actually… I have news for you.

“What is it?

It’s about your mom. Her condition’s not getting any better. We’re convincing her to stay at a hospital but she doesn’t really want to. She said she wants you to be the one to check her. She wants you to be the one to cure her… so I was hoping if you could make time to visit Eli-san? You’re the one she really needs right now.

At this point, Maki started to tremble and tears fell down from her tired eyes.

Maki was contented with her life. She was a successful doctor and a part-time musician too. Though she barely had any time for herself, she was happy.

But how could she forget her mother? Eli, her mother, who was the reason why she wanted to be a doctor. Eli, her mother, who moved to Alisa and Yukiho’s house so she wouldn’t be a burden to her while she was studying. Eli, her mother, who she promised to cure when she becomes a doctor. Eli, her mother, who was dying.

Maki-chan? Are you still there?

“Damn it, how could I forget her… I hate myself.”

Don’t hate yourself Maki-chan, Eli-san understands your busy schedule... I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.

“Please tell her I’m sorry. I’ll be going there in a few days. I need to complete my research about her condition first. Tell her I love her too…”

Alright. Then see you Maki-chan! We need to get rest now.

“Okay, thank you Yukiho-san”

Maki didn’t sleep a wink that night. She spent her time finishing her research about Eli’s rare condition. She was hurrying. She was running out of time.

She was breaking down. She hated herself for forgetting her mother. She became so absorbed in becoming a doctor that she forgot why she was doing it in the first place.

She went to her parents’ old room. Their things were still in there. It still smelt of Eli. She inhaled and relished the soothing smell as she walked to the bed. She sat there, clutching her mother’s pillow. She cried. She cried her heart out. She was missing her mother so much. She was missing her calming voice, her comforting smile.

She tilted her head to the side to breathe and something caught her eyes. On the bedside table was a baby blue envelope. She took and turned it around. Two words were beautifully handwritten,

My Love

She recognized the neat handwriting, it was her mother’s.

She opened the envelope and found a purple card folded in half. She opened it and read the letter.

My darling Non-tan,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m missing you so much.

Do you remember the time when we first met? Yes, it was that time after school, at the staircase. You called out to me out of nowhere and introduced yourself. Back then, I thought you were just like the others who fussed over me because of my hair and eyes. But as the days passed by, you proved me wrong. You were different. You became the best friend I ever had. You told me I never have to be alone anymore, and yes, you made sure I wasn’t alone. You were always there for me.

Do you remember the time when I found out that you were living alone? Yes, it was some time before the end of our first year in high school. You insisted that you were fine, but I didn’t think so. Ever since then, I regularly came over to visit you.

Do you remember the time when we first got together? Yes, it was the day that we were proclaimed as the student council president and vice president. After my speech, you dragged me into the student council room. You told me you have something to talk about and I was alarmed. I was worried. I thought you’ll have to move away again to live with your parents. Then you held my hand and said, What’s with that look, Elichi? I’m not going anywhere. I was in awe. It was like you were reading my mind. Oh, but it has always been like that hasn’t it? You knew me like an open book. You understood me. You intertwined our fingers and whispered your love to me. I was so flustered and surprised that I wasn’t able to say anything back, and I embraced you instead. You accepted the embrace and we were like that for a while, until you pulled away. That’s not a proper answer, Elichi. You pouted. I fell in love with you more. I leaned on you and put my forehead on yours and said, I love you too for the first time. But it really wasn’t the first, was it? I made sure to tell you I love you in my own little ways, in my actions. Ever since then, I would always give you a lily to represent my love.

Do you remember the time when you gave me five more people to love? Yes, it was the day that we joined Muse. I was really happy. I enjoyed every minute with them. Of course, with you too. Being in Muse brought me to a lot of places I’ve never been in. Being with Muse made me experience all sorts of things that I won’t be able to if you didn’t push me to join. I love everyone in Muse, but I love you the most.

Do you remember the time when we first moved in together? Yes, it was our first year in college. You often laughed at me every time we went to grocery because of all the chocolates I get. I just couldn’t help it, you know? Being with you under the same roof was a whole new experience again. I got to see your face the moment I open my eyes every morning, and every night before I close my eyes to sleep. It was a dream come true, you could say, to be living together with a goddess as beautiful as you. But it wasn’t enough.

Do you remember the time when I asked you to marry me? Yes, it was that night when your parents came home to visit you. I asked you to marry me in front of them. I pushed through, despite of the embarrassment that I felt. I almost cried when you weren’t saying anything, until you broke down. I held you in my arms, and felt tears rushing out of your eyes as you mumbled yes. I held you tighter, never wanting to let you go.

Do you remember the time when we were made as one? Yes, it was our wedding day. I was in tears, seeing my goddess walking down the aisle with the happiest expression she ever had. You were holding a bouquet of lilies almost as beautiful as you. It was then that I told myself that I won’t ever let you go. I will love you endlessly.

Do you remember the time when our little family of two became three? Yes, it was the day when you gave birth to our Maki. We were the happiest couple. We made sure to take good care of her. We made sure that she’d always feel loved. We made sure that she would never have to be alone. We love her so much.

Do you remember the time when you told me you were going home from work? Yes, it was the day before your birthday. I was with Maki at home, helping her with her homework. You called me to say you were going home... but you didn't.

Next thing I knew, I was carrying Maki in my arms, holding a bouquet of lilies, and you were going down the ground.

I was frustrated, why did you have to leave me that early? We promised to grow old together, didn’t we? How am I supposed to take care of our daughter alone? I was breaking down. Would I be able to live without you?

But I guess everything happens for a reason.

I took care of Maki. It was hard. There were times that I felt like giving up. But I became strong for her, because I knew that you were always watching over us. I made sure she feels our love, just like we promised. She’s all grown up now. She just became a successful doctor. I am very much proud of her, and I’m sure you are too. I heard she’s even courting a girl named Nico too. I heard she always gives her flowers, and guess what kind of flower? Yes, it’s the same old lily.

Do you remember the time when you told me I never have to be alone anymore? I guess it’s time to return the favor. I’ll see you soon, my love. I love you so much.

Yours forever,

Eli

Tears fell like waterfalls from Maki’s eyes. She loved her parents so much, even though she could barely remember Nozomi. Eli would always tell her stories though, and she loved every minute of it.

She got up and rushed out of her house, her parents’ house. She ran to Alisa and Yukiho’s, where her mother was. There were no trains or cabs anymore so she had no choice. She didn’t even care that she was only wearing a t-shirt and pants in the cold weather. She didn’t even care that she had no shoes on. All she could think about was her mother.

She arrived at their house.

But she was a bit too late.

Eli passed away just minutes ago.

Maki came to her and embraced her. She held onto her as tightly as she could. She whispered ‘mom’ over and over again, like doing so would make her alive.

She buried her face into Eli’s shoulder. “I’m sorry mom, I’m so sorry…”

It was then that she felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see who it was. It was Alisa. She gave her a piece of dark pink paper.

“Onee-chan wrote this for you before she passed away. I think you shouldn’t be sorry, she’s happy now with Nozomi-san.”

She read the letter.

My dearest Maki,

By the time you read this, I may have already passed away. And knowing you, you must’ve been feeling guilty. Don’t be sorry, my daughter. I understand your reasons for not being able to be with me in my last breaths. I want to say I am so proud of you and I love you so much.

Don’t worry about me too, I’ll be with your mama in a short while. I’m sorry I couldn’t wait for you before I pass away. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I miss her so much. Just remember that we’ll always love you, Maki, and we’ll always be watching over you.

Eli

PS. Make sure to give lilies to your girl, it’ll keep her to you. It worked with your mom.

[noblessewerewolfloner-blog]

Loner~A Noblesse Fanfiction Characters.

New Characters~

     In Chapter 8, you met some new characters. Wyn and Gulia are a couple of them, while the blonde haired boy remained unnamed, despite seemingly to be the leader. I just wanted to post a bit about them here.

     Alright, first off is Wesley, (WYN). He has shaggy black hair, black eyes, some of the longest ears ever- a trait of being part Forest Elf, but instead of being point, it’s a bit round and slants downwards, like a Dark Elf. On the back his ears are furry, like a werewolves’, but the fact remains that all werewolves are part human, so the fur is unable to grow in the front. He’s a bit scrawny, for a 15 year old boy, but with a bit of workout he could get toned biceps and an 8 pack easy. He’s a bit tanned, due to working in the sun, forced by Jacqueline, but he has learned some gardening skills from Jaden, who is not as evil as Matthew seems to think. (Sorry, a bit of a spoiler.....) Wesley’s usually outfit is a black vest over his brown shirt, black jeans, and black basketball shoes. Personality: Shy, can be brave at times, but usually hesitant. Will develop over time as the story progresses more.

     Next up is Gulia, (GLV) the little girl with dirty blonde hair and aquamarine eyes. She’s half Light Elf, half human. Her father was a black haired man, but he died of a disease a few weeks after Gulia was born. Soon, Gulia was captured, but luckily that was on the day after the explosion, so she didn’t get hurt from it, and Markus didn’t have time to experiment on her. (Granted, Jacqueline probably would have hogged her for being “cute” to dress her up and treat her like a doll, but that’s better than what Matthew went through, right?) Currently her outfit is a cute small pair of jeans, pink shoes, and a blue shirt with daisies all over it. Oh, and a beret in her hair, along with small pigtails, but she still has most of her hair loose. 6 years old.

     Next up is the blonde haired boy, whom I’ve decided to name Kevin, (KEV). His hair is shaggy, like Wyn, but in a more “hot”, sort of way, (as the fangirls would call it). He has aqua blue eyes, like Gulia, and has the same blonde haired mother as her, a Light Elf. Their mother was a friend of Matthew, just like Kevin’s father, who is also a Light Elf. A while before Kevin was captured, his parents went missing, and on the way to looking for them, Kevin got captured by Markus and became his toy. However, Kevin benefited from the experiments, getting stronger over time, his pain endurance greatly improving. He also got a few powers that normally Light Elves don’t get, although they’re not as strong as the other Elves’ powers would be, (e.g. fire; Fire Elves are exceptional at it, making him look like an amateur). Haven’t decided on the outfit for him yet, if anyone wants to try to draw an outfit I most likely will accept it, (85% chance). Has the quality of an exceptional leader, brave, bold, willing to risk his life for his friends. 18 years old.

     Alright, time to go on with the last 7 characters, whom I haven’t named or described yet. Cameron may seem to be only a boy’s name, but turns out, it’s a unisex name!! (CAM) This red haired girl with a brown streak in her hair has brown eyes with a red tint to it, showing that she’s 75% Fire Elf but 25% human. Both her purebred Fire Elf father, (who was actually the prince of the Fire Elves!) and her half human, half Fire Elf mother were also friends of Matthew, who helped bring them together. When they disappeared, Cameron went searching for them, and shortly after she got captured by Markus. She met Kevin, and they became good friends. Her nickname is “Beta”, because, well, their leader is Kevin, who would be “Alpha”, if he felt comfortable with being called that. Cameron is fine with people giving her nickname-better than (CAM) for sure. Her outfit is usually a dress, but not one that’s girly. I don’t have a clear description in my head, so if someone were to draw one that fits this description, I’ll probably accept it, (Or maybe something with jeans and just a long shirt, if you want). 17 years old.

     The next 2 characters are actually Cameron’s younger siblings; twins, named Kiley and Kenneth, (KLY)(KEN). Unlike most twins, Kenneth doesn’t act like he’s older by 5 years when he’s really older than Kiley by 5 minutes. They work together, loyal to their older sister, Cameron, and their Alpha, Kevin, (While silently shipping them, like most fangirls and fanboys.....eheheheheheheheheheh.....) They also have red hair, but with little mini streaks of brown instead of one, bit, jagged one, with brown eyes and a red tint to them. They have a couple scars on each of their pinkies, but they see it as the same as a friendship bracelet. When Cameron didn’t came back for a month-after leaving to go look for their parents-they set off on their own expedition. When they got captured, they were reunited with Cameron, and met Kevin, along with a green hair girl and her glasses. Currently 12 years old each.

     Looks like I’m going to be talking about the green haired girl now, who has streaks of turquoise in her hair was well. She has hazelnut eyes, and wears dark green glasses. Her name is Elisha, (ELI). She’s a gamer, jock, and nerd, who loves magic, science, basketball, and archery. Her weapons are a staff, bow and arrow, and a basketball with loads of added features. She’s 93.75% Forest Elf, 6.25% human, due to a long time ago when a half Forest Elf married the purebred Forest Elf princess, Alanna the IV. Their offspring kept on marrying more and more For Elves, until it got to Elisha. Don’t have an outfit yet, if you want to draw one for her, try one that would suit her personality, (Kind of serious, kind of not.) Got captured a day after Cameron, looking for her missing parents. 16 years old.

      Vulmar is 74% wolf, 26% human, (VLR). This jacked up werewolf is a totally athlete, but he may be mostly brawn, he still has some brains. Close to Kevin and Cameron, he actually got captured for a different reason than “missing parents”. His parents died a long time ago, you see, and he swore revenge on the people that killed them. When he actually found the people that murdered his parents, well, they overpowered him and put him with Kevin and the others, (everyone above except Gulia and Wesley, as well as the next person I’m going to describe). Everyone was astounded by his strength, just like he was astounded by the fact Elves were still around. He fit in the group pretty easily-he may be strong, but he’s the nicest guy you can meet, when he’s not fighting that is. When they realized that Wesley was missing, Vulmar broke everyone’s chains, gave Gulia to Kevin, and sniffed out the way Matthew went. Gulia fell through a hole that teleported her to the caves before Matthew got there, and they hurried down the trail, realizing that trouble was going to brew. 19 years old, almost 18. Brown hair, brown eyes.

     The next person is Tasha, the 6th person to get captured, (TSH). 12.5% human, she’s 87.5% Dark Elf, but being over 10% human helps with fighting your evil instincts. Elisha had to help her when she was about to go crazy from the experiments, about to go and destroy the world. Now Tasha has a reason for living, and always hang around the serious Elf. She wears jeans, boots, a tucked in black no-sleeve shirt, and an earring Elisha made to help her fight her instincts-well, four actually, all over her left ear, all with different purposes. Has a scar on her right eye that makes her unable to use it, but she has no problem with people seeing it. Turned 17 a month before Matthew rescued Wesley. Black hair and black eyes.

     The last person I’m going to describe is Devdan, the 8th person to get captured, (DEV). He has longish purple hair in a ponytail, and violet eyes. His hybrid type is kind of a morphed Sea Elf and River Elf hybrid, since the two live in different places. It was because of the two that the elves almost went extinct, battling constantly over territory. It was a wonder that humans didn’t find out about the two kingdoms. Their parents had a forbidden child; Devdan, so they hid him, before disappearing. Soon, Devdan decided to go look for his parents, but you can probably guess what happened next. Markus found him, and captured him. Devdan is a good hacker though, before he went looking for his parents, he used to be on his laptop ALL THE TIME. 

      There were 90 others that got captured as well, but they all died. Now, there is a new dawn arising. 2 shall fall, revealing the darkness ahead of them. But 2 new shall arise, helping pull the group together. The weak shall become strong, and the strong will conquer. This is the new prophecy that leads the way to the sunrise.

[sassmill]

answer ALL those questions BIH 1-97 or however many there are

Great panini Michelle... every damn time...1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged?Uhhhhhhhh yeah2. You talked to an ex today, correct?Idk I guess technically?3. Have you taken someones virginity?Lmao nope4. Is trust a big issue for you?YEAH WHOO BOY YEAH I have a lot of issues and trust is a huge one5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently?Yes yup I definitely did. She told me I looked pretty and it was the first time I've ever been sure she was flirting with me. 6. What are you excited for?Going back to school holy shit. I've had a countdown going. I move back in at the end of the month. I can't fuckening wait. 7. What happened tonight?I told myself I was going to shower and clean my room but instead I'm sat here watching dan and Phil games videos?8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?I don't think it's disgusting I just worry for their safety. I'm the mom friend that takes care of the lightweights. 9. Is confidence cute?Hell yeah10. What is the last beverage you had?Brisk iced tea with lemon 11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust?I wanna say like three. I don't have an exact count because I've managed to direct my daily life to have very few males and I can only think of three men I regularly interact with. 12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans?Yeah and my fuckin thighs are wearing a HOLE IN THEM which means I need to order a new pair but they're EXPENSIVE and I hate CAPITALISM 13. What are you gonna do Saturday night?That's a good fucking question. I have nothing planned, nothing to do within walking distance, and no license. Probably masturbate in all honesty. 14. What are you going to spend money on next?Well I just spent like $150 on an old navy order today so probably not clothes Oh you know what I need a new bookbag so probably that. IKEA has some good ones. 15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed?The only person I've kissed was for a scene in acting class so no. I had a really elaborate dream the other night where I was kissing my crush but alas also no. 16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months?Oh for sure. 17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything?Honestly???? Reese. 18. The last time you felt broken?This is more or less a weekly to daily occurrence but the most intense instance I can recall was Saturday night at my cousin's wedding! Being most likely the only gay person out of a group of 300 people made up of mostly married couples with children was absolutely horrific because as soon as one cousin gets married the aunts start placing bets on who's next and each time I'm closer to the top of the list. Combine that with varied intrusive thoughts and you've got a lovely shitstorm of self loathing!!!19. Have you had sex today?Not ever m'dude20. Are you starting to realize anything?That if I want to be less anxious when shopping for clothing, I need to only shop at places that actually cater to my body type aka I've just accepted that I have a mom body and will always look better in well made and sort of pricey old navy clothes over cheap shitty forever 21 clothes. 21. Are you in a good mood?I'm kind of eh. All I've done today is watch the MSNBC news cycle for hours on end and that was really depressing and anxiety inducing but I've isolated myself in my room for a bit since then and had a nice salami sandwich so I've mellowed. 22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks?Hell yeah. Sharks are nowhere as violent as media portrays them and need to be protected like any other species. Also I went to the aquarium yesterday. 23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s?Yes between my parents I got pretty much all of my father's genetics and it's really funny. 24. What do you want right this second?Someone to cuddle with because I realized when I was staying at a hotel that I literally can't sleep unless I'm holding something and every single night my body pillow is a little bit more pathetic. 25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy?Fuckin jokes on you she's married 26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color?Technically no. I mean I am a natural blonde but currently I am several shades blonder because my natural shade is on the darker end of the blonde spectrum and I'm so pale that I need to lighten and warm it up from time to time so I don't look like a less stylish Addams child. 27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh?That's a hard fuckin pass m828. What was the last thing that made you laugh?I answered this before but I've laughed again since then soS A N D R A29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now?Yes. 30. Does everyone deserve a second chance?Yes, as long as they are actually willing to modify their behavior/habits/what have you. Life is a learning curve. I believe in third chances too, under the same conditions. At some point, however, you have to acknowledge that some people just will not change and it isn't worth the energy you're investing to try and force it. Then it's time to cut bitches off lmao. 31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to?My brother is walking a fine line right now. He's a shit head but I don't hate him. 32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do?I think so. 33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda?Cherry Pepsi flows through my veins. 34. Listening to?I've honestly been listening to the original London cast recording of The Witches of Eastwick the musical on repeat for like a week? That and the original cast recording of Sunset Boulevard. Which reminds me, I downloaded Dangerous Liaisons...35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore?Yeah... do people like... stop writing in pencil at some point? Y'all hate erasers????36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is?Probably somewhere in Pennsylvania where I left her. 37. Do you believe in love at first sight?Maybe chemistry at first sight? I think you have to know a person before you can love them. Chemistry doesn't have to be romantic either, I think it's just a significant reaction. I'm a fan of hate to lover arcs in fiction. Cough cough swan queen. 38. Who did you last call?Probably my brother to tell him to preheat the oven. 39. Who was the last person you danced with?My aunt when she was trying to convince me not to leave the wedding reception even though I was dead on my feet and dissociating so hard I felt like I wasn't in my body40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed?Because that's how Phyllis Nagy wrote the script. 41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake?The wedding reception. It didn't have frosting because my brother brought me a fucking cupcake without frosting. 42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today?No43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush?Countless times! I'm strong but clumsy so when she asks me to move things for her it's like a 50/50 chance I'll drop it. She never makes fun of me though. 44. Do you tan in the nude?I don't tan period because I am pasty and extremely at risk for skin cancer *finger guns*45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss?If by take back you mean literally take it back by purchasing the full play to read it 46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night?I usually do47. Who was the last person to call you?Idk probably my dad to tell me to preheat the oven. 48. Do you sing in the shower?Am I even showering if I'm not singing49. Do you dance in the car?I'm generally pretty cramped in most cars so no50. Ever used a bow and arrow?Yes! I'm a pretty decent archer. 51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?Probably my headshots that I got when I was doing my dance photo shoot senior year. 52. Do you think musicals are cheesy?I'm a theatre major what fucking kind of question is this. In this house we respect triple threats. And have a healthy fear of the wrath of patti lupone 53. Is Christmas stressful?Half my family is EXTREMELY Roman Catholic and a quarter is Jewish so if it's not stressful it's definitely complicated 54. Ever eat a pierogi?Fuck yes holy shit we had a cooking unit at camp and they'd make staff lunch and they made pierogies from scratch like dough potatoes and all and I swear I nutted. 55. Favorite type of fruit pie?Lemon meringue. Oh fuck elies mom made such good pie last year. 56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?Forensic examiner! I wanted to do autopsies! Like deadass I wanted to be Doctor Jan Garavaglia from the discovery channel. Also retrospectively definitely had a crush on her. That was when I was in like elementary school though. In middle school I wanted nothing more than to be an Imagineer and design attractions for Disney. 57. Do you believe in ghosts?I'm from New England. Next question. 58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?Yeah holy shit I see stuff from my dreams a lot. 59. Take a vitamin daily?These strawberry flavored fuckers for hair skin and nails they're so good!60. Wear slippers?Not so much at home but at school I practically live in them because our dorm is always disgusting 61. Wear a bath robe?Yes I have a super fluffy long one62. What do you wear to bed?Ideally nothing but I have to wear clothes because my room gets too hot to sleep with the door shut so normally a t shirt and underwear and then I keep shorts or sweatpants by my bed so I can put them on quickly if I have to leave my room. Plus I have a roommate at school so no naked napping there either. 63. First concert?Probably one of the free concerts Eight to the Bar used to do in my mom's hometown64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?Target I'm a loyal Pinterest mom65. Nike or Adidas?Neither. Whatever is on clearance at Kohls. 66. Cheetos Or Fritos?Cheetos. I'm not a fucking heathen. 67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?No. Cashews. 68. Favorite Taylor Swift song?LOVE STORY (The og country version) IS THE REALEST BOP IVE EVER HEARD69. Ever take dance lessons?Hahaha only 16 years of them70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?Something creative. Strongly probably theatre related. 71. Can you curl your tongue?Yeah72. Ever won a spelling bee?No but I performed a song from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?Short answer yes. Long answer: please see my post on Tired Thesbian about Indecent directed by Rebecca Taichman and written by Paula Vogel 74. What is your favorite book?To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf75. Do you study better with or without music?With, but it has to be instrumental. I really like film scores; Cracks, The Hours, and the Mildred Pierce miniseries are my favorites. Honorable mention for Carol. 76. Regularly burn incense?Not allowed to. 77. Ever been in love?Yes. 78. Who would you like to see in concert?Fleetwood Mac/Stevie, Celtic Woman, Dolly Parton, Florence + The Machine. That's the non showtune half of my music taste. Isn't it an unsettling combination. 79. What was the last concert you saw?I don't really go to music concerts but I went to the so you think you can dance tour a couple years ago. 80. Hot tea or cold tea?Porque no los dos 81. Tea or coffee?Porque no los dos 82. Favorite type of cookie?I'm a slut for shortbread but that's more of a biscuit soooooo Oreos. 83. Can you swim well?I've never drowned 84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?People can't do that?85. Are you patient?I guess so86. DJ or band, at a wedding?Dj BRUH 87. Ever won a contest?I won a writing contest in eighth grade!88. Ever have plastic surgery?No but I'd love to get some for various reasons. And when it comes down to it, we really shouldn't judge others cosmetic choices be they hair color or plastic surgery. Insert Dolly Parton. 89. Which are better black or green olives?Olives are evil and I was once locked out of my dorm room over this argument90. Opinions on sex before marriage?Holy fuck heterosexual culture is wild isn't it91. Best room for a fireplace?Already answered 92. Do you want to get married?Maybe not married but certainly in a committed long term relationship. To quote Lily Tomlin, I'm not particularly keen on imitating heterosexuals. Holy fuvk that took like a full hour

[maximumhellyeah]

All the numbers.

1.Who was the last person you held hands with? @zombiexblood2. Are you outgoing or shy? Outgoing, got to be, with this job.3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? Already tagged him above, so Eli.4. Are you easy to get along with? I like to think I am.5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? He does, frequently.6. What kind of people are you attracted to? Good people.7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? I sincerely fucking hope so.8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? My sister.9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Nope.10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Ryan, I think.11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? ‘C'est le milieu de la nuit, je vous rappellerai plus tard.’ Which is: ‘It’s the middle of the night, I’ll call you back later.’12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? 

Hollywood Undead - Gansta Sexy

Set It Off - Upside Down

Motionless In White - LOUD (Fuck It)

Bring Me The Horizon - Throne

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? Fuck yes.

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Sometimes.15. What good thing happened this summer? Recording in Tennessee.16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Of course.17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Probably.18. Do you still talk to your first crush? No.19. Do you like bubble baths? Sometimes.20. Do you like your neighbors? I don’t think I’ve met them.21. What are you bad habits? I chew my nails, fidget constantly, and drum my fingers on pretty much anything.22. Where would you like to travel? Not many places I haven’t seen yet... I think Iceland would be cool.23. Do you have trust issues? Not really, I guess.24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Those ten minutes alone after a show, where everything’s quiet and still, and I just get to unwind.25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? My torso, it’s got a shit load of ugly scars.26. What do you do when you wake up? Complain and attempt to fall asleep again.27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? No.28. Who are you most comfortable around? Eli, again.29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Kind of, but not really.30. Do you ever want to get married? Obviously.31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? Not quite yet.32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? David Beckham and Chris Evans.33. Spell your name with your chin. kjhpoidscghj34. Do you play sports? What sports? Does 5-a-side count.35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV, easy.36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Probably, we were all 14 once.37. What do you say during awkward silences? Did you know cows have best friends?38. Describe your dream girl/guy? Eli, but home more often.39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? None, I fucking hate shopping.40. What do you want to do after high school? Be an astronaut.41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Yes.42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? I’m tired, I’m angry, or I’m just not in the mood to talk.43. Do you smile at strangers? Yep.44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Outer space, the shit at the bottom of the ocean freaks me the fuck out.45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? Harley, usually.46. What are you paranoid about? Lots of things.47. Have you ever been high? Yep.48. Have you ever been drunk? Yep.49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? Yep.50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Black.51. Ever wished you were someone else? Sometimes, but not lately.52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? My weird earlobes.53. Favourite makeup brand? Meh.54. Favourite store? Nope.55. Favourite blog? Don’t have a favourite.56. Favourite colour? Blue.57. Favourite food? Red velvet cake.58. Last thing you ate? Pizza.59. First thing you ate this morning? Again, pizza.60. Ever won a competition? For what? Do the Kerrang! Awards count?61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? Suspended a few times, can’t remember what for.62. Been arrested? For what? Nope.63. Ever been in love?  Of course.64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? I was about 14, we were in the park, right after I kissed her, I told her I was gay, she slapped me and left crying.65. Are you hungry right now? Kinda.66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? They’re mostly the same thing, at this point.67. Facebook or Twitter? Twitter.68. Twitter or Tumblr? Tumblr.69. Are you watching tv right now? Nope.70. Names of your bestfriends? Max, Chris, Matt, and Dan.71. Craving something? What? Yeah, not sure what though.72. What colour are your towels? None of my towels match.72. How many pillows do you sleep with? One.73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? No.74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? Only the ones I buy Harley.75. Favourite animal? Probably tigers.76. What colour is your underwear? Black.77. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate.78. Favourite ice cream flavour? Phish food.79. What colour shirt are you wearing? Grey.80. What colour pants? Dark blue.81. Favourite tv show? Black Mirror.82. Favourite movie? Nightmare On Elm Street.83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? Mean Girls.84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? Mean Girls.85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? Damian is my spirit animal.86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? Mr. Ray.87. First person you talked to today? Ricky, I think.88. Last person you talked to today? Ghost, Devin, whatever the fuck we’re calling him today.89. Name a person you hate? Let’s not go there.90. Name a person you love? My mummy.91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? Not really.92. In a fight with someone? I wouldn’t call it a fight, exactly, but things ain’t good.93. How many sweatpants do you have? Why would I count them?94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? Billions.95. Last movie you watched? Beetlejuice.96. Favourite actress? Jennifer Lawrence.97. Favourite actor? Chris Pratt.98. Do you tan a lot? A bit, yeah.99. Have any pets? A French bulldog, Harley.100. How are you feeling? Alright, I guess.101. Do you type fast? At a decent enough speed.102. Do you regret anything from your past? A few things.103. Can you spell well? I think yes, spellcheck says no.104. Do you miss anyone from your past? Not really.105. Ever been to a bonfire party? Yep.106. Ever broken someone’s heart? Yes, unfortunately.107. Have you ever been on a horse? Yep.108. What should you be doing? Writing, probably.109. Is something irritating you right now? The humidity.110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? Yep.111. Do you have trust issues? Was this not a question already? I’m sure it was.112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? Depends on whether or not it counts if they didn’t know I was crying. If it does, then Ryan, if not, then Chris.113. What was your childhood nickname? Jazzy Josh.114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? More times than I can count.115. Do you play the Wii? Not really. We’ve usually got one on the bus, but it’s more Max and Matt’s thing.116. Are you listening to music right now? Yep, Hollywood Undead.117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? Meat is murder.118. Do you like Chinese food? Yep.119. Favourite book? Do I have to chose one? I love them all.120. Are you afraid of the dark? Nope.121. Are you mean? I don’t think so. I hope not.122. Is cheating ever okay? Fuck no. Never.123. Can you keep white shoes clean? Hell no.124. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes.125. Do you believe in true love? Yes.126. Are you currently bored? Nah.127. What makes you happy? Lots of things.128. Would you change your name? One of my middle names, but the rest of it’s cool.129. What your zodiac sign? Leo130. Do you like subway? I loves it, I does.131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? Gently remind them I’m gay.132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? Also a repeat, answer’s still Ryan.133. Favourite lyrics right now? ‘My name ain’t dick so keep it out of your mouth.134. Can you count to one million? Doubt it.135. Dumbest lie you ever told? ‘It’s nothing, I’m fine.’136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? Open.137. How tall are you? 6′1″138. Curly or Straight hair? Straight.139. Brunette or Blonde? Either.140. Summer or Winter? Summer.141. Night or Day? Night.142. Favourite month? October.143. Are you a vegetarian? Yep.144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? Dark.145. Tea or Coffee? Tea.146. Was today a good day? Pretty good, yeah.147. Mars or Snickers? Neither.148. What’s your favourite quote? ‘Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, then it’s not the end.’149. Do you believe in ghosts? Kinda.150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line It’s in the other room and I can’t be bothered getting up.

[unpopcorned]

.

.

“Hey, ‘Sika, you seen my headphones?”

“I’ve been home - like, six minutes and you’re already asking.”

“Y’seen ‘em or not?”

Masika shrugs a shoulder, pulls a lavender shirt from her suitcase and tosses it onto the bed, “In the living room. By the recliner.”

“Thanks,” Even with her telling him, Sam still lingers in the doorway of her old room, eyeing her. He’s gone through another growth spurt, a little over six feet now. It looks like he hasn’t really gotten used to it - hands and feet still a little too big. She can’t help but wondering when he’ll stop shooting up, he’s twenty now, “You like it out there?”

“Out where?”

“In the city. All those people. College.”

She shrugs again, nonplussed, “Yeah. Why? You thinking about it?”

“Maybe,” he’s never been the decisive type, he bites at his upper lip uncertainly. He looks like dad when he makes that face, “Ma’s been on my ass ‘bout it.”

“You sit around all day, I don’t blame her.”

“I don’t sit around all day. I got a job.”

“Doin’ what?”

“Burger place. Darius hooked me up.”

Her hands slow - carefully, she continues folding the pair of jeans in her hands, looking up to meet his eyes, “Darius? You been hanging out with Darius?”

“Not really. Andre and Steph lemme come around though,” He leans against her doorway. Masika knows her brother well - he’s a little more introverted than her and Kurt, she can’t imagine him around someone as loud as Andre. But she doesn’t say that, she’s not the older sibling here, even if she may feel as though she is sometimes, “They cool.”

“You like the job?”

“Nah, not really.”

“Mmm,” Masika nods, folds another shirt onto the bed - she’s planning to move the pile into the dresser soon, “You should start lookin’ online. If you wait around for somethin’ to happen, you’re gonna end up like Gran.”

“Y’say that all the time.”

“Because it’s true.”

“Yeah, yeah,” He’s already waving her off, leaving her bedroom to go and search what he came for in the first place. Masika exhales, pushes curly hair from her forehead - her room had always been the most stuffy, the heat blowing at full wasn’t helping any. Sometimes, she doesn’t understand Sam. No initiative, no motivation, she doesn’t know where it came from. There’s only so much she can do or say, he seems like the type that would be comfortable where he is now for the rest of his life.

She supposes nothing is wrong with that. At least, for him. Sometimes, she has a hard time believing they’re brother and sister.

Masika does a slow once over of her old bedroom - it still looks the same. Purple wallpaper with butterflies, matching dresser and tan carpet. A few posters and awards here and there. Mostly for academics. And then she spots her graduation picture on the far wall - her smiling face, Andre next to her, along with his ex-girlfriend and her classmate Dondria. Seems like a long time ago now.

By the time she leaves her room, the sun is already setting. She’d hoped to be out of the house much sooner, at least before her father got home. When she enters the kitchen, the first person she spots is her mother finishing up her homemade casserole, Uncle Eli was sitting at the table, a piece of half-eaten garlic bread in front of him. Masika passes by the couch in the living room, Sam is sitting there with his headphones in his ears, laptop in front of him ( Masika doesn’t know how that thing still manages to run ).

“You’re finished? Already?” Her mother asks when she gets close enough. Masika tries to reach over and swipe some food, it results in a swift pop to the back of her hand, “You better not have left any clothes laying around.”

“I didn’t,” Masika grouses, rubs at her finger.

“Good,” She looks back towards Elijah, “Are you going to stay for dinner?”

He shrugs, exchanging a look with his niece, “I should start headin’ back. Got lots of paperwork to finish.”

“You’re always workin’. Stay and eat. What would Mama say?” He looks close to rolling his eyes, and Tatiana glances at Masika, “Go and wash up for dinner. Your dad will be home in a minute.”

Masika’s shoulders tense up, “Actually...I was gonna go eat somewhere else.”

“Oh, yeah? Where?” Her mother’s thin eyebrows have picked up high on her forehead.

Masika avoids her eyes, “Darius’.”

“Ohhhh,” Obviously, Sam’s earplugs must’ve not been very high, he pulls one from his ear, grinning in their direction, “You still tryin’ to get with Darius? Outta your league, sis.”

“More like the other way around,” Her mother mutters, to which Elijah shrugs at, “That boy still at his mama’s house.”

“So is Sam,” Masika points out, irritated, “You don’t nag at him.”

“Sam is a child.”

“He’s older than me!”

Speaking of her brother, he’s entered the kitchen now, carefully balancing his laptop with one hand. Hopefully, it doesn’t fall - Masika doubts their parents will buy another one, “You liiiiike Darius. You like Dariiiuus. You wanna kiiiiiss him, you wanna fuuuuck him--”

“Samuel!”

“My bad, ma’.”

Masika swats at her brother’s shoulder, he skillfully dodges, “Shut up.”

“Good comeback, sis. You ain’t denyin’ it though.”

“I do not like Darius.”

“Good,” Elijah grunts from the table, “You could do better.”

Before Masika can protest, her mother is already speaking up, “What happened to that cute boy from your school? What was his name - Tyler?”

Masika’s nose wrinkles up, immediately she shakes her head, “He didn’t like my music.”

“Means he’s got good tastes,” Masika tries to hit her brother again, he sticks garlic bread into his mouth and flees back to the living room, “You missed!”

“Don’t you think you’re a little too concerned with that, Masika? It’s a pattern here, baby. First, Jermaine, then Gregory, Len, now Tyler--”

“Which one is Jermaine?” Elijah has looked up from his watch, which he’d been checking randomly, “Did you bring him home?”

“I never bring any of them home. You know why? ‘Cause they’re--” She catches the look her mother gives her, “‘cause they’re jerks.”

“You gotta put all your attention on a man. If you don’t, you ain’t gonna keep one.”

“Tati, don’t tell her no bullshit like that--”

“It ain’t! It’s the truth. Put yourself out there, sweetheart. One-hundred percent. You putting music over finding a good man ain’t gonna do any good for you...”

By then, Masika has already tuned them out. She nods subconsciously along with her mother’s words, it’s turned into ( “blah blah blah blah blah and another thing, blah blah” ) before Masika finally speaks up again, “Ma’, I’m gonna be late.”

“Fine, fine. You’re missin’ out though. Be back by ten.”

“Sure.” Maybe even later, if it meant not seeing her father’s face. She’d prefer to avoid him at all costs. There’s a chilling breeze when she makes it outside, Masika shrugs on her thick jacket, down the stairs of the porch and walking past Uncle Eli’s old car. Each stone on the sidewalk is different - some chipped at the ends, some with graffiti, some with chalk drawings, a line of them with a faded hopscotch board, Masika half-assed does it, nearly trips on the last one. 

“Masika! Sweetie, is that you?” 

It’s a familiar voice, Masika turns her head in its direction, lighting up when she sees Old Miss Patricia sitting on her porch, rocking back and forth on her old chair. Masika walks over, lingers by the steps, the elder woman watches her, bright brown eyes and all. Even with her husband passing away a few years ago, she still manages a smile. 

“Hey, Mrs. G,” Masika stops on the second porch step, “You doin’ alright?” 

The woman nods, she’s smiling down at her, “Mhmm. Diabetes messin’ up a little, but I’m good. Real good. Better seein’ you, baby. How’re you?” 

“I’m great,” she replies, “Can’t complain, you know?” 

“You gotten so big...” She’s staring at her, a fond look in her eyes, “I just saw Sam the other day, I remember when he was this big,” She makes a vague gesture with her thin hand, a few inches from the ground, “And that - that boy that used to come around here...” 

“Andre?” 

“No, no...that boy - that boy needs to learn some manners, Andre,” She shakes her head, “Always walkin’ around with a new girl, every time I see him.” 

“You gotta stop spying out your window, Mrs. G. It’ll just make you angry.” 

“Mmm...but - that boy. That used to come around here. Devin...DeQuan...” 

“Darius?” 

“Yes! HIm. I saw him and we were talking. Such a sweet boy. He’s gotten so big too. I told him - he needs to do somethin’ about that hair. I never seen a boy with so much hair...” 

“Yeah,” Masika’s smiling, looking down to her shoes and then back to Mrs. G, “You’re taking care of yourself, right? I’m here for a couple weeks, I can come around and help you clean the house.” 

“I’m fine, baby. Thank you. Your mama comes over here all the time. She’s trying to make me fat.” 

With how much weight she has lost, Masika doesn’t blame her. But still, she keeps her smile. They only talk for a few moments longer, Masika makes a mental note to stop by again and help how she could, whether Mrs. G wanted it or not, “Mrs. G, don’t stay out here all night, okay? It’s gonna get cold.” 

The elder woman only waves her off. So, Masika will be sure to check on her when she’s heading home later. Darius’ house is a few blocks away - farther than it was before since her parents had recently moved into a house with better plumbing. On her way there, she spots a police car slowly making its way down the street, graffiti on the wall of an old store, a group of men lingering outside of a liquor place. 

As much as she’d missed home, it’s a little easy not to miss it as well.

A knock on the door, she hears muffled voices from inside - probably the television. Mrs. Jordan looks as pretty as ever when she answers the door. Pretty, but still very tired. The bags under her eyes never seem to disappear, no matter how many years pass. 

“Masika?” Her expression lifts, she looks surprised and then beyond happy. She opens the door quickly, taking Masika into an almost too-tight hug, “Hey, baby girl! You look - I mean...” She holds Masika at arms’ length to get a better look at her, “How long it’s been, hm?” 

“Few months,” Masika is practically beaming - Mrs. Jordan was definitely like a second mother to her, there was no denying that, “How’re you?”

“Good, I’m doing good. Still got a full house,” she drops her hands, looks at Masika in slight awe before she twists her mouth lightly to the side, “Y’know, you always show up at the most terrible times, girl. I got called into work, late shift. But we need to catch up.”

“My mom is having Sunday dinner this weekend. If you wanna come--” 

“Of course. I’ll be there. I’ll bring the boys--Oh! Hurry up and come inside before it gets cold,” She pulls Masika inside of the house, and Masika quickly disposes of her shoes and jacket. The smell is homey, brings back old memories of crayons and running until you’re out of breath and cooking late at night, “Had to drop the boys off at my mother’s for the weekend, peace and quiet. Finally.” 

Masika steps further into the room, spots someone moving out of the kitchen. 

Mrs. Jordan puts her hands on her hips, “Darius! Come and say hi, boy.” 

Darius looks the same, just like the last time she’d seen him. A couple times, she’d came to see him out of worry, after the funeral. Masika shifts in spot, looks at him expectantly. He doesn’t disappoint, as soon as he sees her, this cheesy grin comes to her face - a familiar smile, a bittersweet smile - and he’s stepping forward to hug her tight, rocking them both side to side. 

“’Ey, Miss College.” 

“Oh, ha-ha,” When he pulls away slightly, Masika grips his shoulders, looking him up and down, “You getting taller?” 

“Nah, nah,” he looks close to laughing and he does - he’s gained some of his weight back, she can tell, “Your brother like a pole, though.”

“Uh-huh.” 

“Maybe you gettin’ shorter.” 

“Yeah? I’m gettin’ shorter.”

“Your hair’s all big - tryin’ to create an illusion and everythin’.”

“Boy--” 

“Look at you two, hm?” Mrs. Jordan hasn’t left yet, she’s standing off to the side, watching them, “Remember when you guys used to build forts all over the room with the covers and--” 

“Maaaaaa’,” Darius lightly complains, leaning his head back and looking at the ceiling. 

“I’m just sayin’! You two are so cute--Lemme get my camera real quick--” 

“You gonna be late,” Darius tells her, almost laughing, “Ma’, c’mon.” 

“Okay, okay,” His mother is already grabbing her purse and jacket. She gives both Masika and Darius kisses to the cheek, “I’ll be back later, okay? Love you.”

“Love you, too, ma’.” Darius watches her leave, closes the door after her. Masika begins to look around - things are still the same. A laundry basket in the corner, the same couch, TV in front of it, shoes almost everywhere. His mother still keeps things as clean as possible, even with four boys. It’s kind of amazing, “How long you in town for?” 

Masika turns to face him, he’s making his way slowly over to her side, hands deep in his pockets. She shrugs a shoulder, “Mom wants me to stay a couple weeks. Might not.” 

Darius eyes her for a few seconds, “'Cause your pops?” 

“Yeah.” It’s nothing new - her dad wasn’t her favorite person in the world. She places her bag on the end of the couch, glancing towards a particularly photo on the wall - it’s of Darius, maybe around seven or eight, standing over a birthday cake, his mother looks younger in the photo. Younger, but still very tired, “You...doing okay?” 

Their eyes meet, Darius stares at her. Then snorts some, thumbs at the corner of his mouth, “You ain’t--” A pause, “You ain’t gotta ask me that.” She remains silent, licks at her lips, “You ain’t gotta treat me like - y’know.” 

“I know,” She tells him, her voice has quieted, “Sorry I haven’t been around.” 

“It’s cool. Y’busy, Masika,” he moves past her, and she turns around to follow his every movement. He sits onto the couch, putting a notebook on the end table beside him. 

“What if I say I’m not too busy for you?” She’s teasing, coming to his right to sit next to him. The couch dips slightly under her weight - the springs are so old. 

He looks at her again, amused, “Yeah, you funny. Got jokes.” 

She gets comfortable beside him, leaning the side of her head into her palm, “Mrs. G was talkin’ about you today.” 

“Yeah, I be goin’ over there to help with her yard. She always outside. Her daughter was there the other day--” 

“Diamond?”

He nods, “Talking about moving her into a home.” 

Masika frowns, leans forward slightly, “Really?” 

“Yeah, sucks.” He’s quiet for a moment, “You gone by Andre’s?” 

Masika almost rolls her eyes, “Why? Has he done something?” 

“Messin’ around with Lexi, from down the street.” 

“Alexis Mitchell? The one with--” 

“Yeah, yeah, her. Sayin’ she pregnant and shit. Andre been duckin’ and dodgin’ at different people’s house. Watch out for him.” Darius looks as if he’s about to laugh, the white of his teeth is stark against his skin.

“First of all, she’s tripping. You know how many times Lex has said she’s pregnant? Please. Why is Andre even with her? Wasn’t his friend with her a few months ago?” 

“Jared? Yeah. I don’t get mixed up in all of it. Andre stay wilding out, man.” They talk for a little while longer, darting from subject to subject, no limits to what could and couldn’t be spoken over. Masika crosses her legs underneath her, leaning closer to try and grab the notebook on the other side of him. He catches her upper body before she can, one hand on her shoulder and the other on her sternum, “No touchin’.” 

“I won’t touch it if you show me,” Masika tells him, feigning innocence when he gives her a look, “C’moooooon, you’ve had that for years. Lemme see!” 

“You nosy,” he says, but he doesn’t seem annoyed by it, “Personal shit in there.” 

“Mhmmm,” she manages to get a hold of it, twists her body away when he tries to half-hearted snatch it from her grip. Masika opens the notebook - the pages are frayed at the ends, old and worn, some had dog-ear bookmark on the corners, some words crossed out and replaced, entire pages filled with scribbled writing over and over again. She has to keep leaning away from Darius, he tries to round her side and take it from her again, but she’s quicker. 

It takes a few minutes, she manages to skim through the majority of it. Some words stand out, she’s whispering quietly to herself as she reads. 

“Darius...this is--” 

“It ain’t nothin’--”

“--so good!” She turns to him in one energetic movement, he has to move back to avoid getting hit with her hair, “You wrote all these, right? Are they songs--” She inhales sharply, “Poems? Oh, my god, why didn’t you ever show me this?” 

“Ain’t a big deal, come on,” he tries to take it again, she holds it away quickly. He shifts underneath her look, almost looks nervous, “It’s not like - it’s worth showin’ or some shit.” 

“That’s what you think?” She stares up at him, brown eyes bright, “It’s worth seeing. And more than that, you should publish stuff like this.” 

He smiles some, turns his face away so she can’t see it fully, “Stop messin’ around. Niggas don’t do shit like that.” 

“They don’t do shit like that because they don’t use their heads, Darius. You do. Take advantage,” He still looks unsure, hands are back in his pockets, he’s not trying to take it from her anymore, “I don’t blame you for writing, you know. With everything that’s happened, makes things more easier.” 

He looks towards her again, and she stands from the couch, right in front of him, holding out the notebook to him. Darius takes it, pressing his lips together briefly, keeps his head ducked but meets her eyes. 

“When I started writing, my dad kept throwing out all my notebooks. Even if I hid them,” she says quietly, “and whenever I went out and bought more, he’d take out his belt and yell. Said singing should only be in the church...Point is, I didn’t need him to believe in me or nothin’. I did it myself.” 

Darius smiles again, looks a bit bashful and amused, “Yeah? Y’takin’ public speaking at that school too?” 

“What would you know about public speaking?” 

“Know it’s a class.” 

She watches him, seems to be thinking for a few seconds before she suddenly lights up, “Come to my Spoken Word show tomorrow night. It’s for the November Poetry Slam. Downtown.” 

He’s almost immediate with his response, “What time? I’ll come--” 

“And perform?” 

“Masika--” 

“Please, please, pleeeeeease, it’ll be so much fun, Darius! You’ll love it!”

He shakes his head while she speaks, “Not my thing. I wanna watch you though, you fly with it.” 

“Pleeeease, c’mon. You can’t say no. You can’t say no or I’ll get mad--” 

“Mad?” 

“Yeah!” He’s trying to hold her away when she pulls teasingly on one of his braids, gripping her thin wrists in his hands, and she’s smiling, stumbling towards him clumsily, almost bumping chests. The difference in height is apparent, she has to tilt her head up to look at him, and he’s smiling too - face close to hers. Her smile falls once she notices the proximity, “Yeah...I’ll get...mad...” 

Her words are trailed off, really quiet. 

He’s staring at her, the smile has fallen, “...missed havin’ you around.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” A pause, “Weird - I mean, you not bein’ here. It’s weird.” 

“Sorry.”

“You ain’t gotta apologize, Masi--” 

The door opens, sound of boots hitting the floor, Andre stops when he sees them, eyebrows high on his head. It takes a moment, but Masika gets the look - jerking backwards when she notices how close she is to Darius. Darius, on the other hand, looks annoyed, jams his hands into his jean pockets.

“Y’don’t know how to knock, nigga? Y’hands broke?” 

“Nah,” Andre is grinning, making his way over to him, “You know what kinda neighborhood this is, don’t leave y’door unlocked.” And then his eyes are back on her, “What’s up, ‘Sika? When you get back?”

“This mornin’,” She crosses her arms over her chest, fixing him with a look, “And I heard about Lexi.” 

Immediately, his smile is gone, he throws an accusatory glance at Darius, “Why you goin’ and telling everybody for?” 

“It ain’t everybody. It’s Masika,” Darius sits back onto the couch, leaning back, placing his notebook back where it belongs. 

“Man, that hoe ain’t shit. She been chasin’ me around, saying she pregnant for weeks now. Ain’t no baby, ain’t no stomach,” Andre argues, annoyed. 

“Some women don’t start showing until at least three to five months,” Masika tells him offhandedly, “Why’re you even messing with her like that? I thought you and Drea were working it out.” 

“Fuck her, too. She’s crazy - callin’ my mama’s house and hanging up all the time. She’s bugging.” Then he shrugs, “Females be all over me once they get a taste, you already know--” 

“Man, shut y’corny ass up.” Darius says from the couch.

“Fuck you,” He flips him off, “Just mad ‘cause you ain’t pullin’ any. Ain’t like Miss Christian College over here offerin’ anything.” He gestures towards Masika lazily. 

Before she can say anything, Darius lobs a couch pillow at him, hitting Andre square in the head, “Fuck you. Don’t talk ‘bout her like that.” It reminds her of when they were kids - Darius more of the leader in their group, Andre always joking around and playing subtle pranks until he got in trouble, Masika following both of them blindly ( the youngest of the group ). 

“Alright, alright. Chill, damn,” Andre catches the pillow, grumbling under his breath. He looks towards Masika again, “You kickin’ it tonight?” 

“No, gotta head home soon. Eat dinner.” 

“You talkin’ to your dad?” Andre asks, curious. 

“No,” Masika and Darius answer at the same time, she continues speaking, “But I can’t keep avoiding him.” As she talks, she grabs her bag from the couch, glancing at Darius, “Tomorrow night, eight.” 

“Yeah, I got it, I’ll be there.” 

“And you will perform--” 

“Nah.” 

“Darius.”

“Masika.” He uses the same tone as her, grinning briefly when she shoots him an irritated look, “I’ll be there. I ain’t seen you sing in awhile.” 

She blows out air, rolls her eyes, “Fine. Bring your notebook.” Masika moves past Andre, he’s curiously watching their exchange, he follows after her, watching as she slips on her shoes, “What?” 

“Spot me a twenty.” 

“What - no. Ask Darius to give you some cash.” 

“I already said no,” Darius says from the front room, Andre glares back in his direction, “Man, take y’begging ass home.” 

“And take care of Alexis, if word gets to your mom, you’re going to be in trouble.” Masika says to him, narrowing her eyes at his surprised look, “I’ll tell her myself.” 

“Don’t! Don’t, okay? I’ll handle it.” 

“Good,” She leans around him, calling out briefly, “Darius, see you tomorrow.” She hears his reply, muffled - he probably went to the kitchen or bathroom, and she leaves Andre there in the doorway. 

.

.

Masika rolls over in bed when she hears steps heading in the direction of her room, pulls the covers up to nearly cover her head. Like she expects, the door opens - she can see the familiar shadow cast across the length of the wall. 

“...Masika?” 

It’s her father’s voice. She hadn’t gotten the chance to see him, purposely roamed outside just so she wouldn’t make it back in time for dinner. Everyone was already in bed by time she’d arrived.

“Are you awake?” 

She curls up tighter, forcibly closes her eyes. It’s silence for a few seconds. And then the door closes. Masika listens as his steps get further and further away. 

.

.

“Waiting for someone?” 

Masika looks up at the voice, spots Craig standing there, pulling out his earphones when he gets close enough to her. She gives a half-hearted smile, toys with the cross-necklace around her neck, “Uh, yeah. I am.” 

“A...guy, maybe?” He shifts closer, settles along the wall. 

Masika continues to look at the door, more people file in - but not who she was looking for, “Yeah. Best friend.” 

“Best friend? The one you talked about before.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Darius, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You sure he’s comin’?” 

She looks up at this, away from the door. Frowning lightly up at him, she says, “Yes. He is. He always comes.” Craig backs off slightly at her tone, both of them only looking up when Masika hears a call of her name, “Frankie, you made it.” 

“Of course I did, girl,” She hugs Masika, lightly bumping Craig out of the way in the process. In her ear, she whispers, “Is he bothering you again?” 

“Nope,” Masika’s voice is just as quiet as hers, only raising in volume when Frankie pulls away, “You auditioning for a nineties movie?” She tilts her head, motioning to Frankie’s long braids. 

“Look, not everyone can have curly white girl hair like you,” Frankie tells her, “Plus, work been killin’ my ass.” 

“I’ll get my mom to do your hair.” 

“With her heavy hand? Hell no, girl.” 

Craig leans over in their conversation more, “’Sika, you gotta be up in a second. Think they’re about to close the doors.” 

She blinks, looks up, “Wait. No. Do not close the doors yet. Fifteen more minutes.” Craig looks incredulous, but he doesn’t have time to argue with her, she’s already pulling Frankie towards the stage with her - fluffing out her own hair and fixing her shirt, “Darius isn’t here yet.” 

“Which one? The Jordan’s? Jesus, how many kids she got?” Frankie mumbles, helping Masika with her hair, “Too many.” 

“Four boys,” Masika proclaims, “I don’t think there’s such a thing as too many.” 

“Yeah, says the girl that wants like fifty kids. You gonna live in a shoe, bitch? Psh, puh-lease,” She finishes quickly, glances at the curtains, and then back to Masika. The crowd has already formed - Masika can smell the smoke, the coffee, leather from the old seats, soft music playing, “Ready?” 

“Make sure they don’t close the doors, okay?” Masika begs, “Not yet.” 

“Masika, you know they close ‘em at nine.” 

“Please. Pretty please, Francesca.” 

Frankie makes a face, “Never say my full name again and we got a deal.” 

“Thanks a bunch,” Masika kisses her cheek before she gets on stage, before people get too bored with Craig’s long list of dad jokes he seems to have ( even though he’s twenty one and doesn’t have any kids ). Even in the short amount of time she has back in her home town, she still managed to get booked for the opening act for the show. 

Her mother could not make it. Sam wasn’t interested. Kurt was out of the country. Elijah was working. Her father - well, everyone knows how that conversation would’ve went. But even so - she still sings to her heart’s content, there isn’t much that can stop her. She’d learned that a long time ago. 

Most of the time, when she does sing, her eyes are closed. Towards the bridge of the song, she opens them - and she finds Darius there, towards the back of the club, along the wall and away from the crowd. He makes this half-shrug at her as a hello.

Masika smiles through the rest of her song. 

.

.

“You. Were. Late.” 

She punctuates every one of her words with pokes to his arm. Darius grins, facing her. The club is relatively empty by now, besides Craig speaking to the supervisor. Frankie had left earlier - right in the middle of the poetry portion of the show. She’d mostly come to hear Masika sing and for support, so she wasn’t bothered by it. 

“Yeah. Got held up at work. My bad.” 

“I’m kidding,” Masika breathes, “It’s fine. Really. I’m just glad you came. You know how weird it is performing on campus and you’re not there? It’s like I’m missing something.” 

“You did good,” He pauses, looks down at the table they’re occupying, “...missed hearin’ you sing.” 

A smile blooms across her face slowly, “Really?” 

“Yeah, ‘course. It’s like what you said - somethin’ missing, you know?” She does know. Watches him, one elbow on the table, hand balancing her head. When he notices her staring, he looks at her again, “Wha’cha lookin’ at?” 

“You. Waiting.” 

“For?” 

She nudges her head towards the empty stage, giving a smile when he immediately begin to shake his head, “Please, Darius. I would die happy.” 

“Why you pressin’ me about this?” 

“‘Cause you’re good. So good. And I know that from just lookin’ through your notebook for two seconds,” When he makes a light scoffing noise, she leans closer, “Just - try it. I promise it’ll feel much better coming out. It’s one thing to write it; another thing to say it out loud.” 

“That’s why I write it. So I don’t gotta say it.” 

“Darius,” She’s staring at him again, expression soft and open, “...for me?” Darius visibly hesitates, picks at the napkin in front of him; steadily tearing it into little pieces throughout the conversation. He looks around - as if he’s looking for anyone he knows, anyone that might say something to him or stare for too long. 

It takes awhile. Maybe six minutes of coaxing, he doesn’t go to the stage, but it’s a step in the right direction. He clears his throat, picks at the napkin scraps more, “Can it be somethin’ - old or whatever? Wrote it a long time ago.” 

“Yeah,” she nods fast, continuing to watch him, “Whatever you want.” 

He looks at her again, as if searching for something, so she reaches over and touches the back of his hand with her fingers, soon clasping their hands together. It’s a slow process, he can’t really look at her - she can tell - and he stares at the wall across the room, then drops his eyes to their hands. 

Inhales. And finally, his mouth opens. 

.

.