#like its wild having someone who handled me having a nervous breakdown and running away by telling me she shouldve killed me
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other thing thats pissing me off is the way she goes about insisting i find happiness where we are. sure, i'd love it if i had local friends just so that i wouldn't have to spend so much time alone, but it's the fact that whenever i say "i miss [insert friend name]" all she says is "just make new friends." like i love meeting new people and making new connections, but it's the fact that she uses it as a way to dismiss my pain that bothers me. because she also says it in ways that fundamentally misunderstand who i am and what i'm looking for. like she consistently undervalues or overvalues the people in my life. when one of my best friends punched me at a party because i had rejected his advances in high school, all she said was "maybe he was going through something. i've always liked him and dont understand why you never went out with him." when i came crying to her because someone i loved had found someone else, she offered me no comfort and said i should just find someone else because he "gave her a bad vibe" (she had never met him and was only saying this because he had dropped acid once, which is something she has also done and that my brother has done IN THE HOUSE). it just feels like she doesn't care about my experience, she just wants to reshape it into something she can understand. and now with this neighbor who she was SO insistent could be my "new friend in the area." i knew going in that this lady is an alcoholic w serious problems. doesnt take a genius to see that. but she was so kind to me in my moment of crisis and helped me so much and now that my mom has seen her at a lowpoint she's not letting her come around the house?? am i just supposed to live in a padded cell of only people my mom has vetted for me?? i'm not even that invested in being friends with this lady, she's just done me a huge favor so i'm returning it by helping her find a counsellor. i don't understand why that's such a big issue, i'm not property and i know how to take care of myself in complex social situations
#like its wild having someone who handled me having a nervous breakdown and running away by telling me she shouldve killed me#try to give me advice on how to handle social situations. especially when i've successfully talked people down from killing themselves#other than being older than me what makes you the expert on what i need to be doing
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What about Jon, crying frustrated tears back either pre Canon or in S1 and Tim comforting him and helping out until the breakdown has passed, contrasted with Jon, crying frustrated tears either from being so overwhelmed or from something Tim did in seasons 2/3????
https://archiveofourown.org/works/27581069
Finally! Sorry it took so long!! <3
It was cold. Of course it was, it had to be to protect the documents packed in boxes floor to ceiling all around and everywhere he looked there were more and there was no way he could do this!
Inhale, exhale. Calm down.
Heâd have to remember to bring a spare jumper so he could work because as it was now his fingers were too numb to work properly and when he tucked them under his arms it only made him feel worse. Made him feel small and alone. Reminded him of a lonely childhood.
Stop it.
But Jon didnât know where to begin. He could pretend. He could keep his assistants busy with real work, that wasnât a problem but what was he to do? What did an Archivist do, really? Archive? Organize? How? When everything was a giant, muddled mess filed, a generous term, in no real order or catalogue heâd been able to understand. It was all just.
Overwhelming.
A splash of wet warmth collided with his wrist and embarrassed, Jon scrubbed hastily at the tears streaming down his cheeks. This was, he was stupid. Stupid. He should be able to handle this. At the end of the day, wasnât it just shuffling papers around? Putting them in some semblance of order that only had to make sense to him? It had certainly worked for Gertrude. The sorrow and frustration came anyway, falling from his eyes and heating his skin and he was so caught up in his own discomfort that by the time he processed someone entering his office, it was too late to hide.
He tried anyway.
âOh, Tim. Yes. Whâwhat can I do for you?â It was a useless misdirection; Tim was sharp eyed and protective and honestly, it was a relief to see him because if Jon was going to continue crying (and it didnât seem like he would be stopping anytime soon) there was no one better.
âJon? Whatâs wrong? Whatâs happened?â And the tears which heâd managed to slow, came back full force and Jon tucked his chin to his chest and shook. âAh, hey now, canât be as bad as all that.â Gentle, Tim tugged him close, holding him around his shoulders and allowing him to bury his hot face in his stomach. âYouâre alright. Whatever it is, weâll help, okay, Boss?â A palm swept up and down the seam of his spine. âWeâre a team! We can do anything if weâre together.â Jon pulled in a hitched and shuddery breath, nodding resolutely. Tim allowed him a few more quiet moments before ushering him out of his office where Martin and Sasha were certainly not waiting for them. Martin approached first, compassion shining clear in his expression, and took up his hands.
âYou're freezing! Here, come with me. Iâll make you some tea and get you warmed up straight away.â Martin would hear nothing of his protests, pulling him gently away to the breakroom, warm fingers curled around his own. Just this once, Jon would let it happen, the reassuring glow of being surrounded by friends soothing the remnants of panic that had overwhelmed him so thoroughly before Tim found him. They were speaking easily around him about nothing important and Jon let himself drift in the current of their familiar voices.
It was cold down here. And dark, though Jon could See just fine, like he couldnât hear them but Knew they were searching and feared the worst, that heâd gone hunting in the streets for first-hand accounts of terror. He welcomed the chill seeping its way beneath his skin, numbing his fingers and toes. It meant some part of him was at least close to human.
He reveled in the weird, sharp hunger that gnawed on tender nerves, appreciated the gravity of it and let himself sink into the deep, syrupy ache. He's on the brink. Can feel it in the heavy throbbing in his chest, behind his heart, taking up every empty space and making it difficult to breathe. The weight of his mistakes he supposed, a breadcrumb path he could follow all the way back, beginning with accepting the Head Archivist position instead of walking away. Then again, heâd never known when to stop and that didnât seem like it was going to change anytime soon; that need for answers, to understand, to connect every dot, to soothe the sting of losing all his friends in favor of embracing a monster.
But Lord he missed them and they were right there. They just werenât there for him anymore and he had only himself to blame.
Jon doesnât ask for comfort, heâd be the first to admit he didnât deserve any and is...content he thinks is the word, to wait until Tim and Martin and Melanie and Daisy and Basira decide heâs suffered enough to prove his worth and let him back in. It was cold down here. It was colder alone and the temptation to give in was so strong if only because heâd be warm again and heâs so, so tired of being lonely.
But he could get something nearly as good. Recognition that something happened to him, that he was still here, still Jon even if he was unwanted, there was enough of him left to hate. He knew how to be that. He'd always been that. Static, now always a low, persistent hum in the back of his mind, shoved forward suddenly with the Knowledge that Tim had decided to look in the tunnels.
Tim wanted to hurt him and he wanted to be hurt. To let it assuage the guilt even for a moment.
Jon already Knows he's spoiling for a fight.
Of course he was the one who would find Jon. Arse is mere meters down the tunnel and leaning with his back against the wall, arms hanging loose over knobby knees and looking for all the world like someone had kicked his puppy.
And what right did he have when he was the cause of all this fear and paranoia and death.
âTim.â Bland recognition and it sent a shiver racing up his spine because it wasnât like he had to turn and check, not with his spooky powers. No. He just knew everything now, didnât he? How convenient. Tim could barely reconcile the figure in front of him with the friend who used to work with him in Research. This Jon was a slip of a man. An intruder he didnât know and didnât want to know. This Jon was lies and secrets and silvery scars mapping out the tragedy heâd led them all into willingly in his search for more and more and more. Damn the consequences, never content to let things be. No. This Jon was disorder and disarray, wild curls and no tie and the buttons leading up to his rust stained collar undone. There was dirt caked under the nails of his unbandaged hand and cobweb mingling with the premature grey in his hair and the nervous, twitching energy, the inability to stay still, conspicuously absent.
This Jon was a stranger who didnât care who he harmed.
This Jon threw them all away like they were less than rubbish and the only way Tim could stomach interacting with him was behind a mask of contempt and hostility.
âThought youâd be out looking for victims.â Involuntarily his lips curled up in a sneer.
âSorry to disappoint.â Meticulously enunciated and condescending, strange eyes fixed to the wall in front of him. It angered him that Jon wouldnât look at him. He could at least have the decency to look him in the face when he lied to him.
âWhy are you down here anyway? Hiding? Plotting?â Jon snarled in response, low and dark, brows knitted in scorn.
âAnd what business is that of yours?â Bare more than a keen hiss and all Tim heard was an invitation to the party because it was so much easier on his conscience to paint Jon as deserving rather than admit he might be as much a victim here as the rest of them. Such a convenient target to aim at, to focus the knife edged anger and rage and agony at and Jon is so good at pushing every button. It was like he wanted this. Wanted to fight.
âSomeone has to keep track of you and your secrets! Your lies!â Tim closed his eyes and tugged on his hair. âTheyâre killing us and you donât even care!â
âYou donât know that.â Well now he had his attention and the flash of unnatural viridian had to be a trick, a reflection.
âI donât need supernatural powers to know you!â He saw the hit land in the way Jonâs expression slipped and Tim felt good, the rush of adrenaline flooding his veins was heady and strong. âYouâre running. From everything. And it all started when you began running from us.â
âIâm not.â At this point, Tim wasnât sure Jon was capable of standing because surely he wouldnât take this sitting in the dust and he didnât care. This was the most heâd felt since this all began. He didnât want to give it up. Not yet. Not before heâd made Jon understand.
âYou're not even trying!â He spat, watching his shaking hands curl into fists, watching shadows soak into the bandages. âYou just let things happen to you--â
âOh yes, Tim!â Hurling his name like a curse, Jon stared up at him, narrow chest heaving fast. âI just let the Circus have me. I just let Daisy beat me unconscious and threaten to put me down.â For a moment, Tim thought he saw tears glittering on his face. âWhat do you know about how hard I'm trying?â The whole of him was shaking now, trembling as he sucked down noisy breaths. âAlways sulking about this place! Maybe if youâd been paying better attention youâd have noticed Sasha was gone!â He collapsed against the wall, lazy grin carving up his face. Like heâd won the game. Landed the finished blow. âYou may claim to know me. But clearly, you never knew her.â Lunging with a hoarse cry, Tim snatched him up by his collar, so close to the healing slash crusted with old blood bisecting his throat.
He only smiled wider. Manic. Frantic. Fingers grasping automatically at his wrists and Tim could feel sticky warmth marking his arm.
"Go on then! I know you want to.â Jon was whispering, words tripping over themselves in his haste to spit them out. âYou can't stand me. Just like Daisy can't stand me. You want this. I Know yo--"
An echoing crack followed after the back of Timâs hand collided with Jonâs mouth.
Replaced soon after by blessed quiet broken only by Jonâs harsh and strangled panting.
Tim dropped him back to the floor. Shaken. Disgusted. He didnât know with whom. Maybe both of them.
"You never shut up."
Jon tongued the cut on his lip while Tim watched a bead of ruby so dark it was almost black roll down his chin and drip down onto the white fabric of his rumpled dress shirt where it would dry and age and match the rest that was there before whatever this was. He didnât bother wiping it away.
âFeel better?â
âYou know I donât.â
Shaking out his hand, Tim collapsed beside him in silence, staring resolutely ahead, lips pressed thin until Jonâs head tipped slowly forward, chin coming to rest on his collarbone and smudging more red. Even in his peripheral vision Tim recognized it for what it was and knew if he looked properly heâd see tears steadily falling from his damned eyes despite how hushed he remained. He peeked anyway, witnessed him cave in and bring arms up to hug himself in a desperate bid to hold his pieces together. But he doesn't look at Tim. Doesn't reach for him like he used to.
"I am trying." He whispered, voice immeasurably limned with exhaustion.
Like a switch had been flipped, he was Jon again. Tired and drawn. Overwhelmed and lost and isolated. Tipped so far over the edge he goaded Tim into striking him because it was the best he could expect. Because at least he had Tim's full attention for a moment. And Tim walked right into it, led easily like a moth to a flame.
What a pair they made here at what might be the end of all things.
Troubled, Tim pulled him roughly into his side, hardening his heart against the whimper of pain and the stiffening of his entire body. Jon was skin and bone. Had dropped at least two stone he couldn't afford to lose. Tim had watched it happen and done nothing.
There were no apologies exchanged and when Tim dragged him stumbling into the light of the Archives, no one commented on the split lip or the new bruise or the blood dried and flaking that traced his jaw.
Jon was just a stranger.
No one cared if he'd been harmed.
#TMA#the magnus archives#jon sims#tim stoker#depression#anxiety#bad mental health#self harm#in the way of asking for it#tim slaps him#angst#Emotional Hurt/Comfort#jon is in a bad way#he doesn't know what to do about it
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CHAPTER 4
My keys rattled in the door as it locked it behind me. It clicked shut and I rested my head on the door, hair tangling over my ears. Thank fuck that was over. Being a slave to the wage crushes your soul, some more days than others.
Now I was home. My sanctuary. A place where I was safe from the anger of the public, complexity of the world and could batten down the hatches with my favourite human before I had to once more put on my armour and head back into battle.
âWhat are you doingâ said Jamie from the kitchen, who could see me resting my head on the front door, sighing in my zombie like state.
âI donât knowâ I muttered into the wood. I straightened my back and walked through the to living room, kicking my shoes off and flinging myself onto a chair.
I took my socks off a wriggled my toes above the carpet. Thereâs something about bare feet thatâs so rebellious. Being completely naked, free from the constraint of polyblend, gives you the pleasure of freedom but is also attractive and conventional. Feet were meant to be covered. They can be ugly, toes utterly offensive and fragile so they must be protected and hidden. For them to be naked feels so audacious, to feel carpet fibres beneath was so unruly and these small rebellions got me through the day.
âHereâ said Jamie, entering the room and grabbing my naked big toe as he walked past and placed a mug on the table.
âIs that for me?â I said perking up.
âWell I donât drink teaâ he answered, not looking but gesturing with one hand and scrolling through his phone with the other.
âOkay, what do you want?â I asked, raising one eyebrow and looking at him with a wry smile.
âJust drink itâ he said laughing.
We both looked at each other and smiled and I felt my heart skip a beat.
There had been a lot of heartache but then there was Jamie.
In my life there have been many boys, many girls, many people and subsequently much loss and sorrow.
My last boyfriend cheated on me. One minute he was one the phone telling me he loved me and the next he was snapped in an incriminating photo with someone else.
It was early morning when I saw the photograph online. I hadnât been able to sleep, i was scrolling through my phone under the sheets when I saw his hand on her thigh, my eyes widening in the glow of the screen. A series of incidents flashed in my head; the missed calls, his phone vibrating accompanied by shifty glances, disappearing from the room to take a phone calls, whispering in secrecy, always carefully placing his phone face down on the cabinet, me touching my hand on his and him recoiling, leaving me cold. All these images flickering, falling on top each other like dominos until the last one dropped- heâs cheating on me.
My confrontation was subtle. âIt looks like youâre having a good time haha I miss youâ I text hoping my agony and urgency would feed through the phone.
No reply. Message read. No reply.
Hours passed as I laid in bed staring at the ceiling until the light of dawn rolled over the walls, White noise humming in my ears.
I went to work that day and I smiled, drank tea and did my job but I wasnât there. I was on a autopilot. I was trapped in my mind, those images flittering past, unable to escape like a slideshow I could not take my eyes off. The pieces of a puzzle were falling into place, my head putting them together and I was lost in my thoughts, nipping and clawing at me through the day. My stomach tight and head spinning.
That evening I was staring into the TV set, blind to the screen and still arguing with myself. I was paranoid. Yes I was paranoid. This isnât real. The words all muddling together and stacking on top of each other until it just became noise.
Suddenly a text.
âIâm sorryâ
My world crashed around me. I felt my hands tightly grip onto each other and my tears fall in slow motion.
âWhy?â I cried softy.
A numbness fell over my entire body and I collapsed onto the sofa, my tears running down the tip of my nose and staining the cushion.
After a while the numbness wore off and was replaced by pain. A sharp slice from neck to stomach not visible to the naked eyes but real to my nervous system. I didnât eat. I didnât sleep. I was just an exposed nerve; open with excruciating pain.
Weeks passed and I was still spiralling into oblivion. I was in trouble at work for mistakes and absence. I was worrying my family and friends but even that wasnât enough to stop me slipping into the black hole. The dark pit of depression is all consuming and once you are stuck in the tar, you sink further down, you gasp for air until thereâs no return.
âWhat a bastardâ everyone said
âWhat a loser. His loss!â They chanted
And they were right of course. However this did not help me. I loved him. Somehow he subconsciously became my whole world and now I was lost. Lost and isolated in my loneliness but I knew I had to stop. This wasnât healthy behaviour.
Grief has a timescale. Death can be a lifetime but the breakdown of a relationship? You are limited. You have the get on with it. You have to bare your teeth and show the world how strong you are. You have to prove to others that you are leaving it behind and if you arenât moving on? You are weak and you canât show weakness. You canât be the one to lose.
So I moved on. I washed, I put clothes on and pushed myself back into life. I had an amazing few months embarking on journeys and weekends away by reconnecting with my lost friends. I immersed myself in live music, healing my soul with the beauty of beats and sound with pilgrimages to gigs and festivals. Wild, drunk nights in the sun building hundreds of memories to last a lifetime. The evidence consisted of a mosaic of Polaroids pinned around my desk: my favourite a muddy photo of me grinning ear to ear, hands in the air which screamed look at me! Iâm living life!
When I talked to people I laughed. When I looked at people I smiled.
But every night I still cried in the shower.
Later I found out the girl that in the photo was his ex. They have a child together now. In the end it was all for the best but that still doesnât stop that painful twinge whenever it crosses my mind.
Every time you are hurt a part of your heart breaks and creates a gap. Tiny shards splinter off and disintegrate into tears. You heal, you recover and you fight but thereâs now a hole there that will never close up.
Once I am hurt, I am hurt forever.
He wasnât the first but he was the last one who took a sledgehammer to my heart and shattered the remaining pieces. With the fragments I had left I swore I would never do it again, that I wouldnât open up because I could cope, the pain would kill me. From then on I lived my life as half a person. Content but never allowing myself to fully feel. I was comfortable in my solitude but always empty.
That was until I met Jamie.
After lounging around the living room for a while I heard my stomach rumble.
âIâll make teaâ I said stretching. I got up and padded through to the kitchen.
I laughed as I heard him yelling at the tv. I know the match was on and I loved how passionate he was; the same amount he showed about everything in his life, including me.
I opened the cupboards and reached for the pan on the top shelf. I stood on my tiptoes, unbalanced and stretching, my fingers fumbling on the tip of the handle. Just as I felt my hand grip the handle they all came crashing down. Metal clanged onto the worktop, thundered to the floor and onto my bare feet.
I didnât even make a noise, I just bit my lip and fell to the floor.
âWhatâs happening?â Yelled Jamie running into the room, seeing me rolling around on the kitchen floor.
âOw! Sorryâ I laughed but still grimacing in pain.
âYouâre an idiotâ he laughed
âI knowââ I said rubbing my toes and frowning.
âItâs not funnyâ he snapped, his tone angrier than before. âI keep telling you to be careful. Youâre so stupid. We were having such a nice time and now youâve done thisâ
For a moment he stood over me, towering and serious with disappointment. I felt so small looking up at him and feeling shame wash over me.
âIâm really sorry, its been a long dayââ I replied, looking at my feet in remorse.
He helped me up and marched me back to the living room in silence. I sat down on the sofa, raising my injured foot and resting it on the table. Jamie sat down on the other side, his attention brought back to the match.
Iâve always been clumsy. Bruises, broken bones and bangs peppered my childhood memories followed by reckless behaviour as an adult. He was right I needed to be more careful. He was only stern because he cared.
I turned my head towards him but he was still fixed on the tv, unwavering and stoic. I looked down at my feet and felt tears well up in my eyes.
There hadnât been any trauma, no life changes and nothing worthy to make me unhappy but recently Iâd started to feel a weight press down on me. My head had began to feel heavy as tiny bits of stress had started to drip on me and one by one it was building up. I was starting to feel cold and disconnected. Sometimes Iâd suddenly freeze in time, stare at the wall, feeling like I was floating away until a friendly face asked if I was okay and brought me back down to earth. I was finding it hard to fall asleep and sometimes I was waking up with a bolt in the night, sweating after a bad dream and then worrying about insignificant things until my alarm called me to work. The other day it rained and I didnât feel it. I saw the rain fall and land on my face but I didnât sense it dripping down and onto my collar. I couldnât feel anything anymore.
It was just a few bad days and I was being dramatic.
I sucked the tears back into my eyes and reached for the cold cup of tea on the table.
Things will get better soon.
#booklover#bookaddict#bookshelf#bipolar disorder#bipolar#mentalheathawareness#mentally ill#mental health#writer#writerscommunity#writing#writerslife#heartbreak#heartache#living with bpd#bpd problems#borderline personality problems#borderline personality disorder
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Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 2
Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC
Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.
Word Count: 6,462
PREVIOUS CHAPTERÂ ||Â NEXT CHAPTER
Credit for super frigginâ cute and super frigginâ amazing cover art goes to the super frigginâ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!
The first thought I had when I woke up wasâŠ
 ...who the heck painted my ceiling green?!
Because last I checked, it was a midnight blue⊠or maybe more of a cobalt blue? Azure, possibly�
Whatever it was, it was most definitely not green.
I narrowed my eyes up at it groggily before deciding I didnât care and rolled over in bed, curling onto my side. Which led me to my second questionâŠ
...where had this frigging baby crib next to my nightstand come from and what the actual frick was it doing in my room?
No⊠forget the crib⊠what was the deal with the absolute mountain of Huggies boxes stacked up behind it?
Either this had to be just one of the weirdest, dumbest, not to mention lamest pranks Anna had ever pulled on me orâŠ
...or this wasnât my room.
I shot up in bed, wide eyes darting about. Yup, definitely not my room. Not unless I had decided to do a few home improvements in my sleep and say, I donât know, move my door to the total opposite wall. Or how about the entirely different furniture, complete with a giant shelf packed tight with more baby books than a person could possibly ever need in one lifetime? Then of course there was that heaping pile of toys and stuffed animals stacked in one corner. Did I mention the sheer amount of Huggies? Because dear god, the HuggiesâŠ
I was going to have nightmares about drowning in an endless sea of them, mark my word.
It was as I was shuddering at that mental image that it finally all came rushing back to me and I gasped - my wedding! My escape! My shoplifting! My breakdown on Rayneâs doorstep! My-
Wait, wait, go back⊠Rayne!
...thatâs probably where I was. Still in her apartment. But⊠I didnât remember this room⊠not walking into it, not even so much as a glimpse of it, just⊠not at all...
Placing a cool hand to my forehead, I searched my muddled brain some more for the details of what happened last night. Or, seemingly last night anyway, if the early morning light streaming in through the window curtains was any clue. I remembered⊠her inviting me in⊠discovering she was married and expecting, which would somewhat explain the almost disturbing amount of diapers⊠and then Iâd-
Oh dear lord, I had utterly and one hundred percent lost my absolute marbles. Oh gosh, what must she think of meâŠ
I couldnât remember much after that. Nothing, in fact. My memories just abruptly stopped. Had I... fainted?
Well I wasnât going to get any answers if I kept hiding in here. Even less so if I curled up into a ball under the covers and waited for the earth to swallow me and my shame up whole, as lovely and tempting a thought as that sounded.
Sighing, I put one bare foot on the carpet, then the other and reluctantly arose. I spotted my⊠well... âmyâ ankle boots tucked neatly next to one of the bedpost legs, prompting me to look down at myself to see that I was still in the, ermâŠÂ borrowed sundress, now thoroughly wrinkled. My hair was still in its braid, though calling it that would have been generous as it was now more just one big frazzled knot. Tossing it back over my shoulder with a sigh, I approached the door, reaching a hand out towards it. My fingers hovered over the knob, hesitating for a split second before twisting it open and stepping out.
A rapid click-clack filled the air as I quietly stepped into the familiar living room from the night before. It didnât take long to spot the source. Rayne was seated at the table in the dining space, fingers quickly tapping away at her laptop keys. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed, still in pyjamas and her hair thrown into a loose, messy bun at the nape of her neck. She had a pencil tucked behind one ear and the light from the screen reflected off the lenses of her black-rimmed glasses, her entire focus trained on her work.Â
âMorning, sunshine,â she chirped, not looking up nor putting the brakes on her typing. âBe with ya in just a sec.â
âTake your time,â I murmured, not wanting to interrupt whatever she was in the middle of. I figured it was the very least I could do after having a total core meltdown in her living room yesterday.
Not quite sure what to do with myself in the meantime, I once more reached for the tangled-mess-formerly-known-as-braid that was my hair, idly toying with it as I glanced around. It didnât seem like there was much more to the apartment than what Iâd already seen. To my right, there was a short hallway with three more doors, each closed. Presumably one another bedroom where the happy couple slept, one a restroom, which would make the third aâŠ?
Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I stretched a hand out towards the nearest mystery door to take a quick peek.
âI wouldnât do that if I were you,â Rayne sing-songed while otherwise still fully engrossed in her laptop.
I froze, fingertips brushing the doorknob as I turned my head to blink at her. Then I pursed my lips to one side. â...closet bursting full of baby diapers?â
Her typing abruptly silenced and she directed an eyebrow quirk my way. âActually, yes. How did you know?â
âWild guess,â I said dryly. âIâm sorry, did you say you were having a baby or a litter?â
âShush, you, Iâm nesting,â she harrumphed, fingers blurring across the keyboard once more.
For now, maybe itâd be better if I kept my hands to myself. Who knew what other potential death traps Macguyvered out of baby paraphernalia lurked about this place? Hugging myself, I trudged over to the dining table, took a seat opposite of Rayne and waited.
Hardly another minute ticked by before she gave a satisfied final tap to the laptop. âAnnnnnnd done!â she beamed, clicking the device shut. She then leaned forward, resting her elbows atop the table and propping her chin on her interlaced fingers as she regarded me. âSoâŠâ
âSoâŠâ I fidgeted some more with my frazzled knot, averting my gaze. â...on a scale of one to off-my-rocker, how crazy did I sound last night?â
She closed her eyes with a bright grin. âOh, you were batshit, sweetpea.â
I winced. âThatâs... what I thought. Sorry.â
âDonât be!â she brushed it off with a flick of her hand. âIt was the most excitement Iâve had in weeks, so actually Iâm a little grateful.â
My mouth twisted into a wry grin. âWell then⊠youâre welcome, I guess. Iâm glad my neurotic episode could brighten an otherwise dull moment in your life.â
âOh hush, you know I love you.â Crossing her arms, she leaned back in her chair with a sigh. âNow it was a bit hard to keep up, but let me see if I got the gist here. You,â she struck up a finger, âwere going to get marriedâŠâ
I hung my head, âYeah.â
Another digit rose. â...but realized you didnât love himâŠâ
My shoulders slouched as I sunk down in my seat, my voice getting smaller as I said, â...yeah.â
Up went the third. â...that you never loved himâŠâ
Grimacing, I slumped forward, pressing my face into the table, âUh huhâŠâ
â...and so you dumped him at the altar.â
I groaned, banging my forehead against the hard, wooden surface. âI am the worst.â
âAw, sweetheart, no.â The scraping of her chair against the floor could be heard as she scooched around the table closer to me before I felt her hand rubbing light circles against my back. âYou⊠just got scared is all, and you panicked⊠I mean, really? You did the right thing.â I turned my head, resting my cheek against the table now as I gave her a dull stare. She pressed on hastily, âNo, seriously! If youâd had stayed, you wouldnât have been happy.  He wouldnât have been happy. It would have been a terrible marriage, your lives would have been miserable⊠really, you did him a favor! I mean, sure, could you have handled the break up a bit better?â Her face scrunched up slightly before she flung her hands up in the air with a shrug. â...Maybe?â
âUgh!â I full on faceplanted into table once more. âThe absolute worst! I deserve to be locked in a tiny, cramped box filled with spiders and worms and dung beetles and moldy, rotten eggs and, and anchovies and-â
âSweetie, sweetie, youâre spiraling again,â she cut me off gently, taking hold of my shoulder and pulling me back to sit up straight once more and look her in the eye. âThe point is, Iâm sure heâll understand.â My eyelids drooped at her. âEventually! Iâm sure heâll understand eventually. Just⊠give him some time, let this whole thing blow over, then you two can talk. Get some closure. Okay?â
I looked down at my lap with a sigh and just gave a weak, noncommittal shrug.
âOkay then. Now,â she hesitated, gnawing her lower lip. â...can I ask⊠when you made a run for it, why of all places did you come to my apartment? Iâm always, always here for you, you know I am, but itâs been⊠god, I donât even know how longâŠÂ years since we even last spoke. You didnât have someone else, any other friends or anyone you could have turned to?â
I swallowed hard and slowly shook my head. âI donât⊠have any friends. Not really. Itâs⊠always been hard for me to make them. Iâve just never been good with people. You remember how I was as a child back when we were at summer camp, all nervous and awkward and hardly able to string two words together.â
She gave me a small smile. âYeah, and all the other kids didnât even give you a chance, just figured you were some snooty, rich brat who thought yourself better than them and couldnât see you were just shy.â Her grin turned a touch wicked. âI pummeled them good though and made them regret ever picking on you.â
One corner of my mouth twitched upward and I nodded. âI was always so thankful for your friendship. Iâm⊠sorry we drifted apart over the years.â
âSâokay,â she waved a dismissive hand. âWe lived so far apart from each other, only seeing each other every summer. Itâs just something that happens sometimes as people grow older, I suppose. But hey⊠looks like weâre not quite done with each other yet.â
âGuess not,â I chuckled softly before my face sunk into a frown once more. âI never did get any better at making friends. Everyone I know now⊠theyâre all my parentâs friends⊠or they're his friendsâŠâ
She tipped her head to one side. âHis?â
I gave her a pointed look. âHim.â
âOh. The dumpee. Right.â
âTheyâre all just⊠theyâre not people I really know, theyâreâŠÂ acquaintances, you know? And theyâre all from munny, theyâre all from that world, they were all at the wedding, they⊠none of them would have understood. Except for Anna, but she still lives with Mother and Father, so best she could do was help me escape. But after that?â I fell silent, shaking my head.
Her brow furrowed. âWhat about your home? Couldnât you have gone there?â
I gave a derisive snort. âWith what munny? I fled in my wedding dress, so I didnât even have my phone on me, much less my wallet, so itâs not exactly like I could've called an Uber. Besides, even if I could have, thatâd have been the last place I went. My parents pay for my condo and after what Iâve done, I canât face them. Not ever again. Iâm never going back⊠Mother, Father, my old life, all of it... itâs the past now.â My face hardened as I murmured, âThe past is in the past.â
She blinked at me a couple times. âDonât you think youâre maybe being a bit over dramatic? Itâs your parents. They love you, no matter what. I mean, sure, maybe theyâll be a lil pissed, but-â
âNo, you donât understand,â I shook my head with a scowl. âWhat Iâve done⊠I did it in front of all their friends, their colleagues, their⊠Iâve embarrassed them in front of so many important people. And donât even get me started on how much they spent on the wedding that I didnât even show up to,â I grimaced, now squeezing the giant knot that was my hair. âI had a⊠we hadâŠÂ they had a plan for me, for my whole future, and I just⊠blew it all up and threw it back in their faces. So no, they wonât just be pissed, theyâll be furious⊠weâre talking yelling, screaming, weâre talking Hulk smash, weâre talking end of days, wrath raining down from the heavens kind of mad here. Theyâre going to cut me off andâŠâ I gulped, slumping down further into my chair, eyes downcast as I whispered, â...and disown me.â
Rayne placed a hand on top of one of mine and I glanced up at her again as she said, âYou should call them. But maybe⊠just give them a little time to cool off first? In the meantime, itâs a good thing you found me again.â She smiled and I couldnât help a tiny one of my own in return. With a couple pats to my hand, she added, âWhat luck you chose my town to get hitched in, huh? Talk about coincidence! What would you have even done if youâd decided to pull your lil disappearing act in a whole other city?â
âActually, we were deciding between a few venues in different cities to host the ceremony in.â I frowned thoughtfully. âBut something kept pulling me back to Radiant Garden in Twilight Town. I think⊠it was because of you. Subconsciously, I was already planning an escape route weeks ago. You were already my way out, my rope made of blankets hanging out a window, it just... took me a while to realize it, I suppose.â
âWell, happy to be your blanket rope any day, boo,â she tapped my nose with a grin. âA lil warning next time would be nice though, kay? Ya know, just a quick heads up, something like, âhey, Iâm planning on making like a banana and splitting from my own wedding and need a place to crashâ will do.â
I breathed a short laugh. âNoted, though I donât really plan on making a habit of this.â
âSpeaking of plans, any ideas what your next stepâll be? What exactly is your plan here?â
âUgh, donât get me started,â I rolled my eyes. âAlready had this talk with my reflection yesterday and trust me, she was totally useless.â Rayne stared at me blankly and I cocked my head at her. âWhat?â
â...context, sweetie.â
âOh, right.â I suppose there were still a few dots that I needed to connect for her. âWell⊠after Anna helped me escape, I needed a change of clothes. If I kept parading around town in my wedding gown, it probably wouldnât have been long before my parents tracked me down. Luckily, first store I stumbled across was a used clothing shop. After I changed into this,â I gestured towards the crinkled mess of a sundress I was wearing, âright then and there in the dressing room is when my panic attack went into full swing and I sort of got into a lively debate with the mirror about where my future was heading. That was about as effective as you might imagine,â I grumbled the last part. âBut then I thought of you and asked the person working there for a phone book.â
âAh.â She looked past me to the coffee table in the living room, where the White Pages had been left, still rumpled but now dried of my tears. âThat explains that, I guess. But⊠itâs a phone book, why didnât you just call-â She paused abruptly, eyes lighting up as it clicked. â...busted phone?â
I nodded. âBusted phone.â
Her eyebrows knit together now, voice quaking with hardly contained laughter as she asked, âSo the next logical step to you was to steal the phone book?â
My eyes darted to the left. â...yeah.â
âAs opposed to, ya know, borrowing a pencil and jotting down the addresses on a scrap of paper? Like a sane person?â
I huffed out a soft growl, wrenching at my tangled knot once more. âHi, have you met me? Not good with people, remember? My brain just shuts down and I get all, I dunno⊠chicken with its head cut off. And being on the lam after going rogue on my wedding day? Did not help matters when it came to thinking straight, believe me.â
She snerked, ruffling my bangs. âOh you poor, sweet, socially inept weirdo you! If it makes you feel any better, youâre in good company. As you might recall, I myself am about as eloquent as a potato.â
âBut twice as pretty,â a third voice chimed in and we looked over just as Riku used his foot to shut the front door behind him, smirk in place and bearing a styrofoam cup carrier tray with three steaming drinks in it.
âRude,â Rayne deadpanned, removing the pencil from behind her ear to flick it at him.
He sidestepped it without breaking stride, lips twitching wider. âNot even. You know how pretty I think potatoes are.â
âDork,â she shook her head as he came to a stop next to her and planted a kiss atop her forehead, depositing one of the drinks on the table in front of her.Â
These two? Actually kind of adorable.
But also⊠ugh. Love. Gross.
She smiled, bringing the cup up to her nose with a curious sniff. âMmmmm, pumpkin spice? How did you manage to swing that this time of year?â
âAqua,â he said, making his way over towards me now but eyes still on his wife. âSheâs squirreled away a secret stash in the back just for you.â
âBless that woman, sheâs an absolute angel,â she sighed happily, blowing on the beverage before taking a cautious sip.
He gave the two remaining cups a quick glance before handing one to me with a friendly grin. âA little birdie told me youâre a fan of peppermint.â
âYou remembered,â my eyes crinkled as I looked to Rayne, who merely winked at me. I felt the pleasant warmth from the cup seep into my fingers as I inhaled the aroma deeply. Sure enough, it was some sort of minty mocha blend. I gazed up at Riku, managing a shy, tiny smile. âThank you. Iâll pay you back.â
âDonât even worry about it,â he brushed off. âBy the way, we havenât officially been introduced yet. Iâm-â
âRiku,â I nodded. âThat much at least managed to slip past the fog of crazy and reach my brain yesterday⊠nice to meet you. Looks like you already know me by now,â I held up the drink heâd gifted me, pointing to where Elsa was scrawled in sharpie across it. Then I grimaced somewhat as I put it down on the table, fingers playing with the coffee sleeve wrapped around the cup. It had a grinning feline face printed on it with the words Lucky Cat CafĂ©Â printed underneath. â...sorry by the way... about last night.â
âDonât be. You have nothing to be sorry for. Sounds like you were in a tough spot and needed a friend.â He stood beside Rayne once more, resting a tender hand on her back as she leaned into him a bit. âAnd any friend of Rayâs is a friend of mine. Happy to help in whatever way we can.â
âThanksâŠâ I murmured, still staring hard at my to-go cup. The side opposite of the logo had a small blurb of a story recanting how before it became a chain, the first Lucky Cat was a humble little shop in San Fransokyo run by a woman and her two nephews. â...youâre both too kind, reallyâŠâ I paused with a sigh and a shake of my head, âbut Iâve imposed on you both too much already. Thank you so much for letting me stay the night, but I couldnât possibly ask for anything more from either of you. In fact, I should just go. Just⊠give me a few minutes to get myself together and then Iâll leave you both in peace again.â
Rayne narrowed her eyes at me. âYou will do no such thing!â
I rose from my chair, âNo, seriously, itâs okay. You donât have to worry about me, Iâll be fine. Iâll figure something out.â
What though? Good question. Was still working on that part.
Her eyelids drooped as she set an elbow on the table and leaned forward. âCorrect me if Iâm wrong, but you still have a bit of a munny problem, as in you donât have any.â
I gave a weak laugh and shrugged, âPsh, details.â
She quirked an eyebrow. âAnd just where do you think youâll sleep while youâre broke off your ass?â
âI have⊠prospectsâŠâ
â...that wouldnât have anything to do with the box you mentioned yesterday?â
My eyes shifted. âAnd Carol, canât forget about her.â
Somehow, Rayne did not look reassured. âAnd Carol would be?â
Boy, were my fingers really getting tangled in my frazzled knot now. âA⊠a cockroach?â
âA cockroach,â she repeated, voice flat.
âA hypothetical cockroach,â I clarified with a nod.
âThat doesnât make it better,â she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. âLook, thereâs no way Iâm letting my friend live in a box-â
âNot just any box! A Rolex box,â I interjected hastily. The silence stretched and I floundered a bit under her unamused stare. âSo⊠you know, like⊠a really nice box.â
She scoffed. âYeah, no. Not happening. Youâre staying with us.â
I shook my head, waving my hands back and forth in front of me. âOh no, I couldnât possibly! I donât want to be any more of a burden than Iâve already been and besides, you donât have any space for me, not with the baby on the way and-â
âThe jellybean wonât be here for another six months at least,â she cut in, looking down to place a gentle hand on her belly. âWe were going to turn the spare room into a nursery, but we can clear all the baby stuff out for now and you can use it at least until the kiddo arrives. If you need it for longer, well then, weâll figure it out at that time.â
âBut-â
âOof!â Riku grunted as Rayne shoved him forward with a smack to his rear. Rubbing his posterior, he looked from her to me. âWe, er⊠we ask that you-â He hissed in pain as she pinched his arm, narrowing her gaze up at him. âI mean, we insist,â he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, whispering, âinsist, right?â She gave a firm nod. Clearing his throat, he continued, âWe insist that you stay with us. We, uh⊠wonât take no for an answer.â
Well⊠when one makes such a super sweet and super coerced offer like that, how could I possibly refuse?
Still I hesitated, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. âI suppose...only if it wonât be too much of a bother⊠and thisâll of course only be until I can find a more permanent solu-â
âThen itâs settled!â Rayne leapt up from her chair and I staggered as she tackled me in a death-grip hug. âWelcome to your new home, roomie!â
I couldnât resist a small smile at that. It was fleeting however as the corners of my mouth turned down once more. âThatâs only one problem solved though, what about the million others? Thereâs still my parents, my ex, my- oh gosh, I have an ex now. My first ex. How weird is that? What am I supposed to even do with an ex?! Like what, do I⊠send him cards now? Like around Christmas? Or is that too impersonal? Maybe this is more of a fruit basket situation... Oh! And munny! I have to figure out what Iâm going to do about that now, not to mention my whole life and future and-â
âStop,â she put a finger to my lips, silencing my babbling. âBreathe. Why do I get the feeling Iâm going to be reminding you to do that a lot now?â she huffed softly. âJust⊠baby steps, okay? I know it all seems like a lot right now, everything is one big fat question mark, but itâll all get figured out. Youâve already made a little progress already.â
I blinked. â...I have?â
âYes! For starters, youâre not homeless! But also, think about it⊠youâre already doing better than you were last night. I mean, at least youâre no longer a complete basket case.â
âI suppose thatâs true,â I muttered, absently wringing my hands together. Not a complete basket case⊠now I was only like twelve percent of one.
Okay, fine, more like sixty percent.
âSee? Itâs still scary, yes, but not as scary and overwhelming as it was yesterday! All you needed was a little space along with a good nightâs rest to gain some perspective.â
I slowly eased back down into the chair. âI guess youâre right⊠things donât seem as bad today. Still bad, very, very bad, but⊠not as much as last night. Heh⊠itâs funny how some distance can make everything seem small.â
âAnd itâll just keep getting easier, believe me,â Rayne rubbed my shoulder as she too took a seat once more. âJust look at this as a new beginning.â
My eyebrows knit together. âA new beginning?â
She nodded. âYeah, like⊠okay, what was your life like before? Before you flew the coop, before this whole mess when everything was all status quo, what was it like with your parents?â
A low hum escaped me. âWell, I guess I always just did as I was told. I got the grades my parents wanted me to get, socialized with the groups my parents wanted me to socialize with, went to the university my parents wanted me to go to, dated the guy I thought my parents would want me to date⊠never did any wrong, always followed the rules⊠I was always just the good girl I felt I had to be. Being their eldest child, I felt I had an image to maintain, that I must always do what was expected of me, that I owed it to Mother, to Father, to the family name.â
âOkay, sure, but now all of that?â She smirked at me. âYou can just forget about it! No more right or wrong and you can take those stupid, stuffy rules and just throw them out the window! This is a new start for you. Now you get to decide what you want for yourself, no one else. Youâre free!â
I stiffened at that, blinking a couple times as her words sunk in.
...no right, no wrong⊠no rules for me?
Iâm⊠free?
That⊠actually sounded kind of amazing.
But also totally and utterly terrifying.
Whereâs a rock to hide under when you need it?
âEarth to Elsa, come in please.â Rayne snapped her fingers in front of my face and I flinched, wide eyes focusing on her once more. âSorry, I could just already see you drifting off into worrywort mode so figured I had to reel ya back in quick. Look, I get it. Going from life as practically royalty in a gilded cage to being thrust penniless and clueless into the real world would sound scary and daunting to anyone. But you donât have to do it alone.â She wrapped her arms around her husbandâs waist, hugging him close. âYou have Riku and me. Just consider us your Real World for Dummies book!â
That⊠was actually super comforting to hear. I could already feel the anxiety beginning to ebb a bit. âThanks, I⊠that means a lot to me,â I smiled faintly before breathing a small sigh. âOkay then, where should this dummy start?â
âAlright, lesson one,â she struck up a finger. âEverything costs munny. Solution? Get a job.â
One eyebrow shot up my forehead. âA job?â
âYup! I mean, youâre gonna have to pay for rent somehow!â
My other eyebrow rose to join the first. âR-rent?â
Okay, anxiety back now, and cranked up to a thousand!
âOf course. What, did you think this was gonna be a free ride? Pft, please. Iâm your friend, not Mother Teresa. Itâs for your own good, youâre going to need to learn how to provide for and take care of yourself. But donât worry, you wonât owe us anything until you land an actual job.â
âOh⊠okay.â That didnât sound too bad, I suppose. However⊠âJust one question: how do I do that?â
Her head tilted to the left. âDo what? You mean⊠get a job?â
âYeah,â I nodded vigorously, âthat.â
âYouâre kidding me, right? Have you never had a job before?â You could almost hear the non-existent crickets as I just stared owlishly back at her. Finally she facepalmed. âWhat am I saying, of course youâve never had a job. Why would you? You have enough munny to make Tony Stark look like chump change⊠er, rather, you had. Oi, this might be harder than I thought,â she grumbled, rubbing the nape of her neck.
âWhat were you going to do?â Riku piped up.
I looked up at him with a frown. âWhat was IâŠ?â
He crossed his arms over his chest, âYou know, as in your career? What were your goals, your ambitions, your plans for the future?â
My fingers were back at it again, getting ensnared in my bedraggled knot. I really needed to see about disentangling the stupid thing. âWell, I⊠I guess I never really thought about itâŠâ
âWhat?!â Rayneâs head rocked back at that. âHow could you not?! Didnât you say last night you just graduated? What were you going to do now that you were out of school?â
âI was going to get married!â
Were these people even listening to a word I'd said?!
Riku rubbed his chin, âLetâs try a slightly different angle here. What about your major? What were you studying?â
Here I cringed a bit. âArt History.â
Rayne clapped her hands together once, âWell then, there you go! You can apply to a museum or something.â
âBut I hated it. Another thing I did only because my parents encouraged me to. I donât want to work at a museum or sell art or teach it or have anything to do with it!â And once again, I was slumping forward. Hello table, my old friend. Donât mind me, Iâll just be banging my forehead against you a few times. âUgh, why did I have to waste four years of my life on that?! Stupid, useless major!â
âItâs okay, itâs okay,â she tugged on my knot, forcing me to sit back up once more. âItâs not that bad, really!â
âNot that bad? I have no skills, no experience, nothing! No oneâs going to want to hire me, Iâm about as qualified as a frigging kumquat! Scratch that, the kumquat is more qualified because at least it can be made into a smoothie. Can I be made into a smoothie? No! I can't do anything!â
She puffed out a breath, âCalm down, thereâs plenty you can do! Youâll definitely figure this out.â
I tucked in my lower lip as I looked down, mulling it over for a second. Then I glanced back up at them hopefully. â...what do you two do for a living? Would either of you maybe be able to get me a job?â
âUniversity professor,â Riku said, jerking a thumb into his chest. âMy field is astronomy, not that that helps you one way or another. You said teaching was out.âÂ
âAnd Iâm a reporter for Meteor Publishing.â Rayne looked away with a low growl, âThough lately Iâve been relegated to online editing work from home because somebody thought it would be a good idea to put me under house arrest ever since we discovered I was pregnant.â
Riku held his hands up in a placating gesture. âHey now, it wasnât just me. Vyv agreed with me.â
She scoffed. âStupid useless boss. In any case, I canât really be of assistance either, Iâm afraid. You kind of need the experience and background to work in journalism. You got anything like that? A course you took for fun in college? Wrote for your high school paper? Anything?â
âIâve never even so much as kept a personal dairy,â I sighed, eyes downcast once more. âItâs hopeless!â
âNo, sweetie, itâs not hopeless! Thereâs still plenty out there for you! Lotâs of entry-level jobs thatâd be willing to train you. It probably wonât be anything glamorous, but you gotta start somewhere! Not gonna lie though, itâll probably be retail. You know... customer service.â
âMeaningâŠ?â
Looking me dead in the eye, she intoned one single, solitary word that rang out like a funeral toll. âPeople.â
I blanched.
Okay, this was it.
My nightmare.
She cupped my hands in hers and when she spoke, her voice was gentle. âSorry, but thereâs just no way around it. Itâs either that or putting that Art History bachelorâs of yours to work. Pick your poison.â
If you hadnât gotten the memo by now, me and people? Did not go together. Something about being around them caused my muscles to lock, my heart to freeze to ice, my insides to shrivel, and my soul to exit my body. If it were up to me, Iâd have become a hermit a long time ago. But Iâd never be able to pull it off... I couldnât grow that iconic beard that was basically required hermit dress code. Bleh, being a hermit was such a male dominated field, it really wasnât fair.
All that said, howeverâŠ
âIf I were to go the Art History route,â I began slowly, âit would be kind of like I was still letting my parents dictate my life since theyâre the reason I majored in it. No⊠I want nothing to do with that stupid degree.â My expression hardened. âSo, customer service it is then. Iâm going to make it on my own, this is just something I have to do. It⊠will be good for me.â Despite myself, my tone lost some of its edge as I asked, â...right?â
Rayne grinned big at me. âAbsolutely! Besides, itâll only be temporary, just something to give you time to land on your feet and figure out what you really want to do with your life. And remember, we got your back every step of the way. I can help you with the job search and filling out applications. Rikuâs definitely more of the social butterfly, so he can prep you for interviews.â
My back stiffened. âInterviews?â
Riku gave a light snort. âYou know, as in the thing that will actually land you a job? Resumes and job forms are great for getting your foot in the door, but theyâre not enough on their own. Employers actually want to meet you, see if youâll be a good fit, get a feel for who you are, stuff like that.â
Oh dearâŠ
Was it too late to backtrack and get married?
Zip it, brain, I donât want to hear that kind of talk! Stay strong, girl!
âWhy donât you give her a bit of a trial run right now, hun?â Rayne suggested, standing up and offering him her chair. âGive her an idea of some of the questions she might be asked.â
âAlright,â he took a seat across from me, scooting forward slightly and plastering on a blinding smile. âHi, Iâm Riku, Iâll be interviewing you for the position weâre hiring for.â He offered me his hand and I twitched back from it slightly. Blank stare darting back and forth between his outstretched palm and his face a few times, I at last tentatively took it to shake. He cleared his throat, looking at me expectantly. I blinked at him. He sighed, â...and you would be?â
âOh! Um⊠Elsa⊠pleasure, to uh⊠to make your acquaintance?â I ventured.
âLikewise,â his hands folded in his lap. âNow tell me, why do you want this job?â
I straightened up, âOh, this oneâs easy. For munny.â
Riku spluttered and coughed into his fist. Choking back a laugh, Rayne said, âTact, sweetheart. Try not to be so blunt.â
âOh.â
This whole interview thing was sounding harder and harder by the second.
Having regained some composure, Riku tried again. âWhat would you say is your greatest weakness?â
My gaze shifted to the right as my fingers fiddled with my knot once more. âOh gosh, I have so many, itâs hard to pick just one.â
He gave me a dull stare. âMaybe consider⊠honesty is not always the best policy.â
âAlso remind me later that we really need to boost that self confidence of yours,â Rayne muttered behind him.
âAlright,â Riku lifted his chin, âWhere do you see yourself in five to ten years?â
Was he joking? âI donât even know where I see myself in five to ten minutes, let alone years!â
He smacked himself in the face, dragging his hand down. âWe⊠have our work cut out for us.â
And so it went. Riku tried a few more questions on me, but the rest of my answers continued to go about as well as you might expect. As he and Rayne did their best to prepare me for the real thing, I had to keep telling myself that despite my fears and doubts, this was what was best for me. Sure, it was going to be hard but in a way, that was good. My life had been too easy so far, with everyone making decisions for me. Everyone, that is, except for myself. I had been limiting myself and taking the easy way out this whole time, never realizing my full potential. But not anymore. It was time to see what I could do, to test those limits and break through. This was going to be the new me, not that old fake persona Iâd always put on because it was what my parents had wanted. It was time to learn who I really was. And above all, I just needed to keep reminding myself that nowâŠ
...Iâm free.Â
Authorâs note: Whew, answered a lotta questions this chapter and we're done with the setup for the most part! Please just bear with me a little longer and I promise things will start to pick up and heat up more by the end of next chapter! You probably noticed a few not so subtle drops both this and last chapter of lyrics from Let It Go sprinkled in. I'm just a dork who's doing her best to parallel the whole running away/Let It Go scene from the movie with Elsa nopedy-noping outta her wedding in this story xD Also, not sure if it sounds weird for Elsa to say "frigging" or "frick" (she's gonna do it semi-regularly-ish) but trust me, there's a reason she does! There's always a method to my madness, I swear! âŠand sometimes those methods are stupid, but still, what matters is that there IS IN FACT a method xD
Anyway! Next chapter, Elsa gets a job (take a wild stab in the dark as to where, given that the story title, summary, and cover art are NOT subtle), she meets a CERTAIN someone (well, she's gonna be meeting a LOT of new someones, but there's one in particular we've all been waiting for, you know who :3) and at last the true fun, adventure and mayhem can really begin! Thank you so much for reading, and an extra BIG thank you to those of you out there who liked and reblogged last chapter, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!
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#kingdom hearts#frozen#elsa#axel#fanfiction#lea#fanfic#kingdom hearts fanfiction#frozen fanfiction#kh fanfiction#kh fanfic#frozen fanfic#kingdom hearts fanfic#axelsa#fluff#romcom#snark#kh3#my writing#ice cream and fire oven pizza#rare pair#crossover pairing#slow burn
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