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adverb-slut · 5 years ago

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To Be Human (Fanfiction) Part 4/?

I know I said that every chapter would begin with a Celestial Realm Michael scene, but as I was writing this fast (totally forgot to update my fics), I couldn't think of a good scene to write, so, unfortunately, I shall skip this chapter's initial Celestial Realm scene; I apologize! As per the usual, this chapter is available on AO3 here!

Title:

To Be Human

Summary:

When a mysterious force attacks the Devildom and destroys it, the brothers are forced to turn to their Father in the Celestial Realm for answers and assistance. However, the Almighty is still miffed at the seven due to their involvement in the Great Celestial War, and sends them to seek asylum in the one place they have yet to make their mark—the Human World.

Without the help of their beloved MC, the brothers must learn to assimilate into this strange new world, all while trying to figure out who is responsible for the destruction of the Devildom and take back their home.

Rating:

Word Count:

3446

Previous Chapter:

Read Chapter 3 here!

Satan raised his eyebrow at the establishment before them. “Wal-Mart,” he read aloud.

“You think it’s like the old War-Mart retail chain back in the Devildom?” Belphie wondered.

Satan stroked his chin. If this store was anything like the store at home, it would be an adequate location in which to shop for groceries, especially on a budget as they were forced to do now. As the seven brothers had originally been dubbed the “Seven Rulers of Hell” and were very wealthy, they never had a need to frequent War-Mart, but Satan had heard of the store from one of his less-fortunate friends.

He nodded. “I believe so.” It wasn’t as if they had any other choice; Belphie and he had wandered the streets within a mile-radius from their new home, and this was the only store that they had seen. “Let’s go in.”

Belphegor followed his brother, grumbling under his breath, “It’s just like Lucifer to put us two on shopping duty.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I’d rather be out here shopping than cooped inside that hovel with the others.”

“I guess.” Belphie shrugged. “You have the grocery list, right?” He pat his pockets. “I have the debit card from Simeon.”

Satan bobbed his head. “Yes.” He unfurled the paper in his hand and read aloud the angel’s loopy handwriting, “Here are some economical foods from the Human World I’d thought you’d like!” Underneath were written about forty different items, twenty-five of which Lucifer had taken the liberty of circling in red, for they were foods that were also found in the Devildom.

As the pair walked into Wal-Mart, Satan did a double-take. Humans flooded every corner of the store, pushing around metal carts piled high with not just foodstuffs, but other household items, as well. He raised an eyebrow as several people stopped to stare at the two demons who stood in the entryway.

Belphegor leaned closer to him and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, “Satan … why are they staring at us?”

He remembered their new human names and hissed, “Call me,” he gagged, “Nathan. And I don’t know … ‘Eigh.’”

“Don’t call me ‘Eigh,’” Belphie snapped back. He turned to the left to scan the various products that sat at the entryway to immediately grab customers’ attention. His eyes lingered on a box of toilet paper, reading the brand name. “Call me ‘Scott.’”

Satan wrinkled his nose at the name, intent on chastising his brother for such an idiotic choice, but before he could say a word, the brothers’ attention was diverted by the sound of a camera flash. Their heads whipped in the direction of the noise, and they stared accusingly at the culprit, who gave herself away with her raised phone.

“Damn it,” the woman cursed, pocketing her phone and hurrying away. “Forgot to turn off the ringer.”

With this, a crowd began to form in front of the demons—a crowd who whispered furiously amongst themselves loudly, saying “They’re so hot—they must be celebrities!” and “I swear that I’ve seen them on TikTok before!” and “I wanna take a picture with them and post it on Instagram!” Someone even ventured to mutter, “Wonder if they’d be interested in a threesome …”

“Belphegor,” Satan muttered under his breath, momentarily forgetting his brother’s human pseudonym, “we can’t shop here.”

“What choice do we have?” Belphie replied, backing away as the crowd drew closer and closer. “There are no other stores around.”

Satan pursed his lips as more people began to whip out their phones and snap pictures of the handsome duo. Getting photographed was not in their definition of “lying low,” and although he knew that this debacle would piss his eldest brother off to no end, the idea of self-preservation quelled even his most devious side. “We have to put a stop to this.”

“You don’t think we should use our powers, do you?” Belphegor asked.

“And cause this to be an even bigger scene than it already is?” demanded Satan. He raised an eyebrow. “No. I have an idea. Just play along.” He gagged inwardly at the thought that had taken formation in his mind, but he knew it had to be done if he and Belphie were to shop in peace. Satan puckered his lips, closed his eyes, and leaned toward the seventhborn demon.

“Sat—Nathan, what’re you—” was all Belphie could ask before his lips met his brother’s.

Satan could feel his mouth fill with bile (He! Was! Kissing! His! Brother! How! Disgusting!), but he swallowed it down as he saw from the corner of his eye that the crowd began to yell shouts of aversion and start to disperse. Some of the teenage girls stayed to ogle at the “scandalous” PDA and video-record the scene before they were yanked away by what he could only assume were their small-minded parents.

As soon as he saw that the group had gone, he ripped his lips off of Belphie, scrubbing them voraciously with his forearm, while Belphegor dry heaved several times and covered his mouth.

“That was disgusting,” Belphie decided. He scowled at his brother. “Never do that again.”

Satan reassured, “I don’t plan to. And besides, at least we got everyone to leave.” He revealed the crumpled grocery list in his hand. “Now we can shop peacefully.”

Belphegor continued to mutter obscenities under his breath as he followed Satan to get a cart.

The fourthborn scanned the grocery list as he pushed the cart down the aisle. They had five hundred American dollars to spend on food and they had to buy enough to satiate all seven brothers, including the gluttonous Beel; they had to be economical. The first item on the list that Simeon had given them was “apples,” so Satan reached for a bag of the cheapest kind and placed it into the cart.

“Lucifer likes apples, doesn’t he?” mused Belphie.

Satan nodded. “His favorite food are Princess’ Poison Apples.”

Belphie smiled strangely and lifted the bag of apples out and threw them back on the shelf. “I’m going to guess he wouldn’t be too happy if we came home without his favorite food.”

Satan raised an eyebrow. “In case you forgot, I like apples, too; apple pie is my favorite, but … I suppose I’ll make a sacrifice this once.” He rubbed his chin pensively. “And that gives me an idea.” He showed the list to Belphie and nodded, smirking. “Let’s use this opportunity to torture Lucifer and skip everything on this list that we think he’d like.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Meanwhile, Lucifer scanned the list of prospective jobs that Simeon had given him.

The angel had warned them that since none of the demons had college degrees, it might be harder for them to get any “serious” jobs—therefore, most of the jobs on the list simply called for “unskilled labor.” Perusing the list caused Lucifer to wonder what humans considered “unskilled” for all of the possible jobs on the sheet still seemed to require prodigious talent and dedication.

He had already marked that he would work at the local War-Mart—although in the Human World it was called “Wal-Mart—” and he figured that Satan would like to work at the Cedar Bridge Public Library. Levi, who had whined himself to sleep when he found out that there were no Ruri-chan merchandise stores nearby, had already called working at GameStop, hoping that his salary would allow him to finally buy a gaming computer to use instead of the ancient laptop that had come along with the house. Lucifer had no idea what kind of job would be fit for Belphegor, so he decided to hold off on choosing something for him until he returned from shopping with Satan.

That left Mammon, Asmo, and Beel’s prospective careers to look into.

… And therein lie the headache.

“Beel, you can’t work at any kind of establishment that serves food,” repeated Lucifer, holding the bridge of his nose. “Maybe in the Devildom it was okay for you to constantly munch on the food being served—no one would reprimand you because you were one of the Seven Rulers of Hell, but you can’t do that here.” He stared at the sixthborn demon firmly. “I will not have you work anywhere near food since I can’t trust you not to give in to temptation.”

“Yeah,” Mammon agreed, shrugging. “If ya eat any of the food, they’ll prob’ly make you pay for it, and y’know we’re broke as fuck up here.”

Beelzebub twiddled his fingers, looking down. “Fine, I won’t take the McDonald’s job, then.” He peered over Lucifer’s shoulder at the sheet. “Or the Wendy’s job. Or the Chick-fil-a one. Or the one at Burger King.”

“Wow, it seems that Simeon marked a lot of these jobs as ‘foodservice,’” Asmo observed. He smiled. “Good thing my job has nothing to do with it!” He poked his chin cutely. “Although I suppose they serve food sometimes in strip clubs.”

Another headache.

“Asmodeus,” Lucifer bellowed, staring at the fifthborn. “I already told you: you are not going to become a stripper. That’s final.”

Asmo frowned and held up a fist. “What is your problem, Lucifer? I’ve done it before in the Devildom tons of times.”

The other demons raised an eyebrow at “tons of times,” and Lucifer rolled his eyes. “You can strip as much as you want in the Devildom; it’s not frowned upon there, but Simeon expressly told me that it is here. We are not going to be known as the family where one of the members is a stripper. Think of all the negative attention it’ll draw.”

“That’s bullshit!” Asmo growled. A black miasma began to surround the fifthborn. Horns started to sprout out of his head and wings burst forth out of his back. But before his demon transformation was complete, Mammon put his hands on his shoulders and gave him a good shake.

“Calm down, ya idiot! You can’t transform here of all places. People’ll see us through the windows!” Mammon gestured toward Beel, who rushed to cover the closest window with his large form, for the brothers had yet to purchase any curtains. He wrestled off Asmo’s arms as the younger demon tried to shove him off and said, “Come on. I’m plannin’ on going into modeling down here like I did in the Devildom. You like that kinda thing don’t ya? We can both do it, y’know.”

Asmo glared at Mammon, finally succeeding in ripping his hands off of his shoulders. He wheeled toward Lucifer. “And that’s another thing! How come you’re okay with Mammon going into something as prestigious as modeling, which will no doubt draw attention, but you’re worried about the attention I’ll bring if I become a stripper?”

Lucifer massaged his temple. This actually was the first he was hearing of Mammon’s interest in Human World modeling, but he supposed that it was an appropriate career path for him, for looking pretty was one of the secondborn’s least annoying skills.

“The difference is,” Lucifer began, “that here, modeling convoys positive attention while stripping brings the opposite, for humans are small-minded, as you are aware. While I’d rather draw as little attention as possible, I can see where that could be seen as suspicious, so positive attention is all I’ll condone.” He turned toward Mammon and nodded. “But yes, both of you feel free to take up a modeling job.”

“On Simeon’s list here, it says that there’s only one position that they're looking to fill in the modeling agency he recommended,” Beelzebub observed, reading off the prospective jobs.

Mammon and Asmo exchanged glances, before simultaneously shouting, “I’ll take it!”

“People will actually want to see my beautiful face instead of your ugly mug!” Asmodeus yelled.

“Oh, yeah? Well, I ain’t got no other talents ‘sides modeling, so I actually need this job!” Mammon yelled back.

His fervor never waning, Asmo spat, “You have other talents!”

“No, I don’t!”

“You’re a very talented individual, Mammon!”

“Yeah, well, so are you!”

“You should take the modeling job!”

“Nah, you do it!”

Lucifer sighed at the pair, whose voices rose with every sentence. He held the bridge of his nose, as he said, “You both can call the number for the modeling agency and see which one of you two they like better. We’ll find another job for whoever doesn’t end up getting it.”

He was also going to have to call to see if he could get jobs for his other brothers and himself, and Simeon had graciously provided numbers for them to call. However … there was still the matter of figuring out if the Celestial Realm had tapped their phones and were also looking through their Internet searches. To mitigate any trouble, Lucifer had forbidden anyone from using the phone or laptop until they could get solid information regarding the issue, unless it was for something important, like getting a job.

Speaking of jobs, he realized that now with Mammon and Asmo battling on who would be the model of the family, that left Beel (and Belphie) in dire need of work.

He turned toward the sixthborn. “Any idea of a non-food-related job, Beel?”

“I don’t think so …” Beel muttered, still perusing through Simeon’s list of jobs. He raised an eyebrow a moment later. “Wait … it says here that there are some people close by looking for tutors in basic math for their kids. You think I should do that?”

Lucifer nodded. “Good idea. Give them a call later, actually—I’m sure Belphie won’t mind doing that job, too, provided he’s doing it with you—see if they’d be willing to hire two tutors.”

Beel nodded obediently. “So, I guess that’s it. Everyone has a job, now.”

“Yeah. Problem is,” realized Mammon, “that all of you guys who work close by have it easy. Then there’s some of us who’ve gotta find a way to hitch a ride to our jobs.”

Asmo pursed his lips. “He’s right. We don’t have a car, not to mention licenses to drive.”

Lucifer sunk into one of the understuffed dining room chairs, running a hand through his hair. “One problem at a time, Asmo. One problem at a time.”

“I just wanna say,” Mammon announced, twirling a limp spaghetti noodle on his fork, “I think I understand why Solomon’s food tastes like crap.” He dropped his utensil back onto his chipped plate. “‘Cause all Human World food tastes like crap!”

Leviathan, who had just been relieved from his Ruri-chan-filled dreams a few moments ago, blinked sleepily and said, “MC was from the Human World and made good food.”

“Maybe stop criticizing my cooking and just eat your dinner,” Lucifer snapped.

He blithely spun his noodles across the plate, secretly admitting that the Human World fare of spaghetti and tomato sauce that he had prepared for dinner paled in comparison to their usual supper courses of Scorpion Thermidor and Havoc Devil Crown Roast. In his defense, he had never prepared meals with food from this world and had just used the recipe on the back of the box of bargain-bin spaghetti that Satan and Belphie had brought home.

Beelzebub grinned, eating his pasta straight from the massive stockpot that the Junior Guardian Angels had magnanimously purchased for them. The other brothers had already taken their servings and the remaining thirty-two were left for Beel. “I think you made a really tasty meal considering you just used two ingredients.”

“There’s no seasoning,” complained Asmo. “And it's not even pretty enough to post online.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow in irritation. “You can always go to bed without dinner.”

“And you’d miss dessert!” Beel gasped. “Although … there’d be more for me, then.”

“Speakin’ of dessert,” Mammon said, “what’re we havin’?”

Lucifer grimaced. He had been intent on trying to make an apple pie, but since some demons had thought it funny to not bring home any apples, he’d been forced to be a little more … creative, thinking carefully of foods that the two mischief-makers despised to incorporate into the dessert.

“We don’t have a large variety of ingredients to work with, so I modified a simple Devildom recipe for venom-infused vanilla mousse and made White Chocolate Mousse with white chocolate, heavy cream, and sugar.” He looked directly at Satan and Belphie as he said this, for it was no secret that the pair didn’t take a liking to oversweet desserts.

Belphegor blanched at the statement, and Satan frowned, snapping, “That sounds completely unpalatable.”

All Lucifer could do was smirk as he went back to the miniature kitchen to get the mousse from the fridge. He passed out the dessert, and turned to Mammon, saying, “Hearing you speak of Solomon earlier got me thinking on whether or not we should contact him. I know I said not to bother MC while we’re in the Human World for their own protection, but Solomon’s a sorcerer, so perhaps he could be of service.”

“Yeah, he might even be able to help us figure out how information was stolen from Father’s omniscience,” added Leviathan, gagging as the mousse slid down his throat because frankly, Lucifer was not an exceptional chef.

Lucifer, who noticed this, mentally vowed to put Levi on cooking duty next for his insolence. “Asmo, you were the one closest to Solomon. Have you any means to contact him?”

“Ever since the exchange program ended, we kind of fell out of touch,” the fifthborn admitted sadly, shaking his head. He tapped his chin. “I think I remember his number, though.”

Lucifer grimaced. He really didn’t want to use the phone unless it was absolutely necessary, but Solomon seemed to be their best bet in unraveling this mystery regarding their Father. “Call him then. Put him on speaker.”

Picking up his cup of mousse, Asmo meandered over to the landline. He picked up the phone and clicked the speaker button, which was covered in a layer of dust, for he was the first of the brothers to use the phone in the Human World. To their surprise, there was no dial tone and an automated female voice spoke out from the device.

“Welcome to the Celestial Realm Cellular Service and Internet Provider, ” the voice said. “This machine is preloaded with three contact numbers by Simeon the Gatekeeper for your convenience. If you would like to hear them, press one. If you would like to dial a different number, press two. If you would like to speak to His Majesty, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Great I Am, the Good Shepherd—”

“Sorry, I just pressed one,” Asmo said, rolling his eyes. “She didn’t sound like she was going to stop listing titles any time soon.”

“The three contacts saved to your device are as follows: press one if you would like to call Simeon the Gatekeeper, press two if you would like to call Luke the Junior Guardian Angel, press three if you would like to call his Imperial Majesty, King Solomon of Israel.”

Lucifer did a double-take. It couldn’t be … could it? Could that Solomon that visited the Devildom be the one and the same King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, from the Bible? He shook his head to clear it of such foolish thoughts … it had been millennia since King Solomon had ruled over ancient Israel, and the exchange student Solomon was a youthful young man.

“Wait a second—that can’t be our Solomon, can it?” asked Mammon, echoing Lucifer’s thoughts. “I haven’t read the Bible in like, three thousand years, but I’m pretty damn sure that King Solomon died a long time ago.”

The group was silent for a moment before Satan snapped his fingers, his eyes widening. “The pacts.”

“What about them?” asked Belphegor.

Satan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “We know the exchange student Solomon made hundreds and hundreds of pacts with demons. Isn’t it possible that that was the same Solomon from the Bible, only he’s retained his youthful looks and even gained immortality, perhaps, with the aid of demons?”

“Only one way to find out, I suppose.” Asmodeus shrugged. He pressed the number three on the keypad.

“Calling his Imperial Majesty, King Solomon of Israel,” the automated voice chirped.

Lucifer’s blood ran cold as the phone rang for a mere two seconds before a voice flooded the room.

“May I ask who this is?” Solomon’s voice was overlaid with static, but the brothers could still very much recognize the low baritone of the former exchange student.

“So Solomon really is King Solomon from the Bible,” Levi gasped. “Roll infinity for ‘Did Not See That Coming.’”

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ellohcee · 4 years ago

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Do you have any vice/guilty pleasure headcanons for the Camp Camp crew? Like, what do you think they secretly enjoy a lot?

Personally, I think Daniel ends up really, really enjoying fast food, if say, Jasper or Gwen introduced him to it after finding out he never ever had McDonald's/BK/Wendy's/etc. Like he has this "ultra health nut, juice cleanse" vibe but any given day, you can catch him at Mc D's with a Double Quarter Pounder and a Large Fry & Coke.

MMmm not that I can think of off the top of my head. The only existing one I have is the same topic of food, David has a secret taste for fast food but it’s a very rare occasion, as a pick-me-up and/or with a friend. I’ve touched on it a few times and it’s always when he’s upset and JAsper’s like “YO let’s get a slice of pizza” or burgers or something, cause it’s comfort food.

And I say secretly because in one fic where David’s adopted Max, Jasper picks him up from school one day because David’s not feeling well. Jasper suggests fast food for dinner, and MAx is like “he doesn’t like fast food” That was a big fat lie because he wants to set healthy habits for Max but Jasper outs him “now that I’m here I can be the rule breaker and we all win”

#ellotalks #i can't think of anything on the spot right now but there's that one at least #Anonymous

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homo-sex-shoe-whale · 6 years ago

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As a foreigner, what shocked you about America when you first came here (if you've visited?)

Oh my there's a lot

Unlimited refills. Like... in Brazil, if you buy one cup of a drink, you will have only the drink that is in that cup. Very few restaurants I've been to at home did free refills, let alone unlimited ones.

How some obese people get around in those little carts. I mean... what? I'd never even seen those carts before. I initially thought they were for disabled people and was like: oh, modern wheelchairs! But nope. Just obese. And there's SO MANY of them. It was striking to see how many people are obese in the USA.

Guns. EVERYWHERE. It was terrifying. I walked into a Walmart to get a snack and there were guns sitting on the shelves! In Brazil (for the meantime and while I was growing up), the only people who own guns are cops, those who live out in the wilderness, and criminals.

FLAG FUCKING BONANZA. Why is the US flag plastered everywhere? It's unnecessary. We all know what the flag looks like.

How little Americans know about the rest of the world. An American thought it was crazy we spoke Portuguese in Brazil, even after I explained that we were colonised by Portugal and it's not that crazy. An American girl also asked me if we had buildings and houses in Brazil. I was like, "Umm... where do you think we live?" and she deadass said "Huts." She was flabbergasted to hear we also have shopping malls, cell phones, and cars.

The food portions are so large... and yet are virtually flavourless. As a Latin Person™️, I feel obligated to tell you that just dunking chicken in hot sauce and calling it a day isn't properly spicing food. I went to an Italian restaurant in San Diego and ordered chicken with pasta. The food looked fine when it arrived, but I thought it appeared a bit bland. When I actually tried it... I'd never tasted so much of nothing before. To stay alive, my family and I resorted to dining at Mexican and Peruvian restaurants during our stay.

On the topic of flavour, the fact that I never saw spiced rice blew my mind. Whenever my family gets together, we add so many things to rice that you can barely tell it was white. Paprika, bell pepper, corn, garlic, walnuts, sauce... anything. All I ever saw in the US was bland white rice (excluding ethnic restaurants and etc). It was kind of sad.

The fruit variety!! It's disappointing. In any supermarket in Brazil, you'll find passion fruits, dragon fruits, cashews, and fruits that don't even have names in English. All the fruit looks and tastes very fresh too. In the US, all the fruit looked fake. And when I tried it, it wasn't that refreshing flavour... it tasted processed, even though it grew from the earth.

The amount of fast food chains. In Brazil we only have Mc Donald's, Burger King, and a few KFC's. In the US I couldn't even keep track of all the chains. WTF is a Jack In The Box? Wendy's?

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televinita · 5 years ago

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Books Read in 2019: The Why

In a tradition I accidentally started for myself and now quite enjoy, at the end of the year I look back at my reading list and answer the question, why did you read this particular book?

Below, the books are split into groups by target readership age, plus nonfiction at the end. This year I have added the category “how I heard of it” as well, because I just think that info is neat.

FICTION

The Visitor - K.L. Slater. 2018. Read because: Ten episodes of The Good Cop weren't enough, so I tried to find something w/ similar characters, and this looked kinda like "TJ as a slightly more withdrawn weirdo." By the time I realized it wouldn't work due to being British, I was too excited by the prospect of a thriller to stop.

How I heard of it: Googling keywords

Like the Red Panda - Andrea Seigel. 2004. The back cover and first few pages reminded me of a friend I had once.

How I heard of it: Library

The Lost Vintage - Ann Mah. 2018. What's that? You've got some secret family history/a mystery from the past to be solved using old personal papers, including a diary? My jams.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls (4th ed.) - Emilie Autumn. 2017. I googled for books that promised unique formatting/art design, and Emilie Autumn has always been an intriguing enigma to me.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name - Margaret Craven. 1967. I know this title, but not why -- when I tripped over it in the teen* section and saw how tiny it was, I decided to find out what it was about. (*it's there because it's often taught in schools. It's here because its intended audience is adult.)

Escape - Barbara Delinsky. 2011. Went looking for an audiobook -- the cover with a woman standing on a small bridge amidst the woods drew me in (I can't find that cover on the internet though), and the idea of abandoning responsibility and driving off to a small town sounded like my dream.

How I heard of it: Library

Saul and Patsy - Charles Baxter. 2003. Another search result from my attempt to cast Josh Groban in a novel -- Midwestern-set and a man very much in love with his wife, no worries about the relationship being wrecked? Sweet! (though ultimately, I had to mentally recast)

How I heard of it: Googling

California - Edan Lepucki. 2014. Needed an audiobook. The title and green forest cover caught my eye, and the off-the-grid life + promise of a mysterious and possibly suspicious settler community described in the plot appealed to me.

How I heard of it: Library

The Lost Queen of Crocker County - Elizabeth Leiknes. 2018. Woman moves back home to rural Iowa in a book described as a "love letter to the Midwest"? Look at all these good choices.

How I heard of it: Library

All The Things You Are - Declan Hughs. 2014. Was looking for a different book w/ this title, but saw Spooky Dark House cover + wild summary and wanted to know how that could possibly happen / what the explanation was.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

Tumbledown Manor - Helen Brown. 2016. Cover love. A book about restoring a historic family manor?? BRING ME THERE.

How I heard of it: Library

The War Bride's Scrapbook - Caroline Preston. 2017. IT'S LITERALLY A SCRAPBOOK. I loved her other one like this.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day - Winifred Watson. 1938. Rewatched the movie and needed to relive an alternate take immediately (especially for more Michael).

How I heard of it: special features on the DVD

April & Oliver - Tess Callahan. 2009. This just screamed "(slightly less storybook) Ned/Chuck AU!!" [Pushing Daisies] at me. There was semi-platonic comfort-spooning in the second chapter, COME ON.

How I heard of it: Half Price Books

A Short Walk to the Bookshop - Aleksandra Drake. 2019. This looked like an even more solid Ned/Chuck AU, missing only the childhood connection/age similarity, with bonus fave keywords anxiety, widower, bookshop and dog.

How I heard of it: Googling

Girl Last Seen - Nina Laurin. 2017. Recently watched "Captive" and wanted a story of the aftermath from the captive's perspective.

How I heard of it: Goodreads (specifically, I looked up an older book by this title intending to check out related recs, but this came up first)

The Road to Enchantment - Kaya McLaren. 2017. Gorgeous cover/title + "single [pregnant] woman inherits late mother's ranch" = an alternate life I want to try on.

How I heard of it: Library

From Sand and Ash - Amy Harmon. 2016. Love between childhood best friends who can’t (well, aren’t supposed to) touch? Sounds like a Ned/Chuck AU to me!

How I heard of it: a book blog post

My Oxford Year - Julia Whelan. 2018. Always here for age-appropriate student/teacher romances -- I had this one saved for a while -- but read now specifically to cast David Tennant.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond - Jaime Jo Wright. 2018. There's a mystery from the past being solved in the present. Also, "inherited hoarder's trailer" made me v. curious about what was inside.

How I heard of it: a book blog post

My Husband the Stranger - Rebecca Done. 2017. It's Find Books That Remind Me Of David Tennant's Roles Month, and this was my crack at "Recovery."

How I heard of it: Googling

The House on Foster Hill - Jaime Jo Wright. 2017. Fixing up a spooky abandoned historic house + solving a mystery from the past in the present!

How I heard of it: a book blog post

Broadchurch - Erin Kelly. 2014. Fell in love with the show, had to immediately relive it in text form.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Vanishing - Wendy Webb. 2014. Spooky historic mansion from a reliable author for the spookening season.

How I heard of it: looking up the author’s back catalog

The Scholar - Dervla McTiernan. 2019. The Ruin - Dervla McTiernan. 2018. "Hmmm looks kind of like (Irish) Broadchurch but where the detective character has a girlfriend to fuss over and worry about. Nice." Read out of order because the second one had more girlfriend content, and enjoyed it enough to go back for book 1.

How I heard of it: Googling

The Day She Died - Catriona McPherson. 2014. The cover looked perfect for the Spook Season/gloomy weather. Sign me up for insta-families and murder mysteries w/ MCs in possible danger any day.

How I heard of it: library (literally because it was right next to McTiernan)

Still Missing - Chevy Stevens. 2010. Collecting base material for when I play this scenario (abduction/prolonged captivity and its aftermath) out w/ TV characters I like.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone. 2019. It sounded EXACTLY like a (genderbent) Doctor/Master or Crowley/Aziraphale relationship.

How I heard of it: a book blog post

The Tale of Halcyon Crane - Wendy Webb. 2010. Wanted an audiobook and I like this author (esp. for spook season).

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

The Child Garden - Catriona McPherson. 2015. I liked her previous book and this setting looked even spookier and more atmospheric.

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Quiet Neighbors - Catriona McPherson. 2016. One last dip into this author...because what part of "woman gets a job organizing the books in 'the oldest bookshop in a town full of bookshops' + an old cottage to stay in" does not sound like my dream life?

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Doctor Who: The Nightmare of Black Island - Mike Tucker. 2006. After 2.5 months in a Ten/Rose spiral, the time was nigh to pluck one of their novels I didn’t get around to reading back in my original fandom heyday.

How I heard of it: can't remember

Misery - Stephen King. 1987. I just woke up one day and decided I was in the mood to try this infamous mother of all literary whumps.

How I heard of it: can’t remember

The Whisper Man - Alex North. 2019. Went looking for books that would remind me of the father/son dynamic in "The Escape Artist."

How I heard of it: Googling

Open Your Eyes - Paula Daly. 2018. Second crack at a "Recovery"-shaped novel (it failed instantly because I didn’t take the possibility of diversity into account, but suspense is still a good genre regardless).

How I heard of it: Googling

The Last - Hanna Jameson. 2019. "Dystopian psychological thriller" + the gorgeous hotel on the cover.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

------------------

YOUNG ADULT

Blood Wounds - Susan Beth Pfeffer. 2011. Established quality author + (what I thought was a) thriller premise.

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Beware That Girl - Teresa Totten. 2016. I wanted an audiobook, and contemporary YA options are limited at the library. The mystery/thriller aspect sounded good enough to spend 8+ hours with.

How I heard of it: library

Trafficked - Kim Purcell. 2012. I am mystified/intrigued by domestic/non-sexual slavery, and have not seen the topic covered in YA.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Wild Bird - Wendelin Van Draanen. 2017. I have long been fascinated by teen reform camps for girls in the wilderness.

How I heard of it: library

The Year of Luminous Love - Lurlene McDaniel. 2013. The Year of Chasing Dreams - Lurlene McDaniel. 2014.

The library didn't have Girl With the Broken Heart, but it did have a fat duology featuring similar elements of horses + tragic illness, and a trio of friends that called to mind Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

The Pull of Gravity - Gae Polisner. 2011. I was looking for quality male friendships, but the male/female friendship + road trip in this search result sounded like I could cast them as teen versions of Survivor contestants. I forget which ones.

How I heard of it: Googling

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) - Amy Spalding. 2018. Established quality author + bright cover, cool title, burger quest, MC's love of fashion and job in a clothing store, and summer in L.A. setting

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Tiger Eyes - Judy Blume. 1981. Found out Amy Jo Johnson was the mom in the movie version, decided to read the book as prep since once again, I knew the title, but not why I knew it.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay - Adib Khorram. 2018. I turned the internet upside down in search of books with quality male friendships, and was pointed here.

How I heard of it: Googling

Big Doc's Girl - Mary Medearis. 1941. Went looking for vintage stories of simple country girls who reminded me of Katharine McPhee's character in The House Bunny. (spoiler alert: this was not it even a little bit, why did I think it was)

How I heard of it: Googling

With Malice - Eileen Cook. 2016. Always here for random teen thrillers, including a fictionalized version of Amanda Knox.

How I heard of it: library

The Girls of No Return - Erin Saldin. 2012. Like I said, I'm big on girls reform camps in the wilderness.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Hope Was Here - Joan Bauer. 2000. Needed an audiobook. This one was short and by a proven quality author.

How I heard of it: library

Rules of the Road - Joan Bauer. 1998. Best Foot Forward - Joan Bauer. 2006. Bought the first super-cheap a while ago because of the cover/road trip aspect/fascinating first few pages; read NOW to keep the Bauer train rolling, followed immediately by its sequel.

How I heard of it: Goodwill/Goodreads

Now Is Everything - Amy Giles. 2017. Interesting format, sympathetic-sounding main character (edit: What Makes You Beautiful - Ha Ha Ha version.mp3), potential for a sweet and protective romance.

How I heard of it: library

Radical - E.M. Kokie. 2016. Survivalist/prepper teen? Intriguing and underrepresented concept in YA.

How I heard of it: library

Hit the Road - Caroline B. Cooney. 2006. “It's spring, which means it's time to think about road trips.” Plus I just read a fun teen + old lady on the road book (Rules of the Road). It's thematic.

How I heard of it: library

I Am Still Alive - Kate Alice Marshall. 2018. I dig survival stories, especially in the wilderness, and this one was well recced.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Caged Graves - Dianne K. Salerni. 2013. Spook cover!! I MUST KNOW WHY THERE ARE CAGES OVER THESE GRAVES.

How I heard of it: library

Fancy Free - Betty Cavanna. 1961. Found cheap and will read this author always.

How I heard of it: antique store

Once And For All - Sarah Dessen. 2017. Stubborn determination to complete this author's canon and literally no other reasons.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Wired Man and Other Freaks of Nature - Sashi Kaufman. 2016. People in the Goodreads reviews were mad that the guys were so close yet not gay for each other. That's the very specific male friendship wheelhouse I've been looking for! Plus I know this author can write teen boys in a way I can tolerate.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Field Notes on Love - Jennifer E. Smith. 2019. Needed an audiobook and this was on display at the library; it looked cute and fluffy and I was ready for an antidote to the Dessen book.

How I heard of it: library

Midnight Sun - Trish Cook. 2017. Needed an audiobook and sick!lit seemed the most reliable of my options, given that previews for the movie had looked okay and it was real short.

How I heard of it: library

9 Days and 9 Nights - Katie Cotugno. 2018. Sequel to a book that drove me insane, but where I loved the writing style and was frustratingly fond of the characters so I Had 2 Know what happened next.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Your Destination Is On The Left - Lauren Spieller. 2018. Attractive cover + keywords like "nomadic RV lifestyle," Santa Fe, post-high-school YA, and internship

How I heard of it: library

Weird Girl and What's His Name - Meagan Brothers. 2015. X-Philes?? In MY modern-day YA fiction?? (with a side of inappropriate age-mismatched relationship?) My interest is more likely than you'd think!

How I heard of it: library

All Out of Pretty - Ingrid Palmer. 2018. Attractive design + arresting first page piqued my curiosity

How I heard of it: library

Hitchhike - Isabelle Holland. 1977. Vintage book w/ a puppy on the cover, by an author I like.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Send No Blessings - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. 1990. Reread from high school after it came up on the What's The Name of That Book? discussion group; felt a strong pull of positive feelings but couldn't remember much.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Year of the Gopher - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. 1987 Wanted better understanding of the source material before reading an essay about this book and the above in Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature.

How I heard of it: another book

Up In Seth's Room - Norma Fox Mazer. 1979 There was an essay about this in Lost Masterworks too. I had read it a long time ago and remembered NOT liking it, but figured I might as well revisit it to review on Goodreads.

How I heard of it: library

Blizzard's Wake - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. 2002. Happened to be on the shelf when I checked to see what non-Alice books of hers the library had in stock, and figured as long I'm on a Naylor kick, this might as well happen. Mainly ‘cause I saw "deadly blizzard" on the back and was like "WOW this seems useful for my hurt/comfort scenario stockpile."

How I heard of it: library

A Whole New World - Liz Braswell. 2015. Seeing the new Aladdin trailer blew up my heart with FEELINGS for the original, so I went looking for a YA retelling. Can't believe I found an actual Disney-based retelling.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

After the Dancing Days - Margaret I. Rostkowski. 1986. The connection between Roy and the little girl in The Fall reminded me of this book, so I reread it specifically to visualize Andrew as Lee Pace.

How I heard of it: Library

There's Someone Inside Your House - Stephanie Perkins. 2017. I'll read most any teen thriller you throw at me. The more murders the better.

How I heard of it: Library

All the Forever Things - Jolene Perry. 2017. Loved the author's writing style on a previous book, but couldn't stomach the love triangle. Wanted to give her another chance.

How I heard of it: Library

Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz. 2012. Been on my TBR for a while because quality male friendship; read it now to see if I should keep or get rid of the dollar store copy I bought. (answer: get rid of. it's good but not amazing to me personally)

How I heard of it: Goodreads

The Hollow Girl - Hillary Monahan. 2017. Violent revenge fantasy against rapists? Especially to save the life of a guy you like who was brutally beaten during your assault? Heck yeah.

How I heard of it: Library

The Opposite of Love - Sarah Lynn Scheerger. 2014. The hurt/comfort potential was off the charts and it vaguely reminded me of Ryan/Marissa (the O.C.).

How I heard of it: Library

Sophomore Year is Greek to Me - Meredith Zeitlin. 2015. It just looked light and cute, like summer.

How I heard of it: Library

Girl Online On Tour - Zoe Sugg. 2015. Girl Online Going Solo - Zoe Sugg. 2016. Two sequels to a book I enjoyed.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Plague Land - Alex Scarrow. 2017. Plague Land Reborn - Alex Scarrow. 2018. Always here for illness-based apocalypse/dystopia. Would have finished the trilogy but library doesn’t have book 3 yet.

How I heard of it: Library

Pretty Fierce - Kieran Scott. 2017. Spy daughter of spies running for her life along w/ doting boyfriend (named Oliver, a name that has never let me down in fiction)? The ship radar is sounding OFF.

How I heard of it: Library

The Leaving - Lynn Hall. 1980. Will read any LH book, but this one was small and easy to take on an overnight trip plus everything about the summary and first couple of pages drew me in.

How I heard of it: author’s back catalog

Speed of Life - J.M. Kelly. 2016. Beautiful cover, blue collar family, unusual premise (twin sisters co-parenting the baby one of them had, no dad in sight), and I love stories where teens are (essentially) head of household.

How I heard of it: Thrift Books

Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters - Meredith Zeitlin. 2012. Looked light and cute, because it's back-to-school time and lately I've been enjoying study blogs from people just starting high school.

How I heard of it: Library

The Land of 10,000 Madonnas - Kate Hattemer. 2016. Unsupervised teens a-wanderin' through Europe? Sign me up for that vicarious wanderlust.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

A Thousand Boy Kisses - Tillie Cole. 2016. A romance w/ astronomical hurt/comfort potential. (spoiler alert it’s too sickly saccharine even for me)

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Hooked - Catherine Greenman. 2011. Random reread of a book I had come to believe should have been 4 stars rather than 3, but couldn’t remember well enough to feel confident in changing the rating without checking first.

How I heard of it: Library

Appaloosa Summer - Tudor Robins. 2014. Horsey YA + after years of it being on my TBR, the author saw me post about this fact and offered to send me a free paperback copy for review.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I Stop Somewhere - T.E. Carter. 2018. I too identified as a girl my classmates would never notice was missing (moreso in college, but still). Plus it's getting close to Halloween, so time for spooky/true-crime-esque reads.

How I heard of it: library

What Waits in the Woods - Kieran Scott. 2015. An ideal spook setting for the spook season!

How I heard of it: Library

Illuminae - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. 2015. The formatting/art design just sounded cool and unique.

How I heard of it: a book blog post

Boot Camp - Todd Strasser. 2006. I went to the library to check out a different book of his, but this caught my eye because WHUMPITY WHUMP (with a side of pining for the teacher he had previously been in a relationship with).

The Last Trip of the Magi - Michael Lorinser. 2012. Picked up cheap at a book sale for the struggling-to-survive-a-winter-night-outside aspect.

A List of Cages - Robin Roe. 2017. Male friendship loaded with hurt/comfort.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

-------

MIDDLE GRADE

Sparrow Road - Sheila O'Connor. 2011. The setting -- an artist's retreat at an old mansion on sprawling estate grounds formerly used as an orphanage -- captivated me.

How I heard of it: a Little Free Library (outside of a mansion repurposed as an art council's center, actually)

Annie's Life in Lists - Kristin Mahoney. 2018. I LOVE LISTS.

How I heard of it: library

Hope is a Ferris Wheel - Robin Herrera. 2014. Still grinding my teeth over Dessen's Once and For All, I was desperate for a sweet middle grade story to refresh my palate. Gimme that bright cover. Ooh, and a trailer park kid?

How I heard of it: Library

The Education of Ivy Blake - Ellen Airgood. 2015. Prairie Evers - Ellen Airgood. 2012. Also intended as a Dessen antidote, I picked up the sequel first due to the incredibly charming excerpt on the back, and then fell so in love with the character and writing style I needed more of her world.

How I heard of it: Library

When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead. 2009. Rave reviews from friends; mystery aspect sounded intriguing.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Counting By 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan. 2013. Picked up cheap at a fundraiser garage sale I wanted to support; seemed easily readable.

Summerlost - Ally Condie. 2016. Young!Ned/Chuck AU?? (spoiler alert: maybe if it wasn't so boring)

How I heard of it: Googling

Where The Heart Is - Jo Knowles. 2019. "Country girl taking care of the animals at a hobby farm across the road" = the childhood dream and also I wanted to ignore the summary and hope I could still get a Young!Ned/Chuck AU. How I heard of it: Library

The Wizards of Once - Cressida Cowell. 2017. Twice Magic - Cressida Cowell. 2018. First one: David Tennant reads the audiobook, and literally no other reasons.

Second one: Ah heck turns out I kind of loved how David Tennant read that audiobook and want more.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece - Annabel Pitcher. 2011. David Tennant reads the audiobook, and literally no other reasons.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

----------

NONFICTION

Seinology: The Sociology of Seinfeld - Tim Delaney. 2006. It's sociology, it's Seinfeld, what's not to love?

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Survivor: The Ultimate Game - Mark Burnett. 2000. At the beginning of the year I was obsessed w/ this show like never before, so a detailed recap of one of its seasons seemed like the ticket to complement that.

How I heard of it: Googling

Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival - Yossi Ghinsberg. 1985. Loved the movie, wanted to relive it in text form.

How I heard of it: special features on the DVD

Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature - ed. Connie Zitlow. 2002. There was an essay about Send No Blessings in here. If that's the kind of book this book is about, I wanna hear all about it.

How I heard of it: Library catalog

Animals in Young Adult Fiction - Walter Hogan. 2009. From the same publishing line as the above, which I loved, I figured this was even MORE my specialized reading niche.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Phantoms of the Hudson Valley - Monica Randall. 1996. When I have I ever NOT wanted to read about grand mansions of yesteryear -- especially if some are abandoned ruins?

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Seven Cats and the Art of Living - Jo Coudert. 1996. Picked up cheap at a library sale because cats (and the cute author-illustrated cover painting).

Psychic Pets and Spirit Animals: True Stories From The Files of Fate Magazine. 1996. Random reread of a childhood favorite.

How I heard of it: B. Dalton's (THAT’S how long I’ve had this book, y’all).

Extreme Couponing - Joni Meyer-Crothers with Beth Adelman. 2013. Who doesn't love saving money? But I am not very coupon-savvy and wanted to learn.

How I heard of it: Library

Cabin Lessons: A Tale of 2x4s, Blisters and Love - Spike Carlsen. 2015. Having the money/skill to build my own cabin on MN's north shore is a fun daydream.

How I heard of it: Library

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book - Wendy Welch. 2012. Opening a used bookstore is my impractical dream too.

How I heard of it: Library

Belonging: A German Reckons With History and Home - Nora Krug. 2018. Illustrated memoirs are always awesome.

How I heard of it: Library

The Astor Orphan: A Memoir - Alexandra Aldrich. 2013.

Rokeby was one of the estates that fascinated me in Phantoms of the Hudson Valley, and the content of this one took place around the same era that book was written.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

I'll Be There For You: The One About Friends - Kelsey Miller. 2018. Am I going to turn down "a retrospective" about one of my favorite shows?? I am not.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB & UPN. 2007. Recommended after the above because I love hearing how network TV stations are built in terms of programming decisions.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of 80s and 90s Teen Fiction - Gabrielle Moss. 2018. Take how I reacted to Lost Masterworks of Young Adult Literature, and multiply it by "fully illustrated with brightly colored pages." These are the kind of books I’m familiar with and always down to talk/hear about, but hardly anyone else is.

How I heard of it: Goodreads

#why i read #queued

4 notes · View notes

westfrosts · 6 years ago

Text

Accidents and Proposals - Colt x MC

A/N: hey it’s wzkdj here from instagram, a.k.a Khadijah! ! y’all may recognise me from the previous fic Ifraah and I posted on this account ( Apple Pies )

side note: we agreed on Y/N / MC being too cringey and wattpad-y so we settled on a name for our MC: Zafira

this fic is in the same universe as the previous one, Apple Pies :)

this came from the idea: MC vomiting on Colt LMAO, excuse how long it is and how extra the entire first half is hehe the word count is around 6100

also, we have a few cameos from our choices group, Justine, Ifraah, Mics and I, Khadijah all make our cameos with our faves bc i was feeling it and thought it would be funny lmaooo so be on the lookout for those :)

Tag List: for all the Colt lovers hehe, if y’all don’t want to be tagged just let me know and if you do then just throw us a comment or sumn! @tabithacarlisle @lifeof314universe @flowerpowell @lady-dianelewis @confessionsofabrokegirl @drakewalkerdrunk @zeniamiii @i-am-clementine @gayplaychoices @marcela13mars @ladymarquess @claudevonstruke @stillafictosexual @wolfmckenzie @emomoustache @inkandfables @thegardendiety @akrenich @ckanekos @coltkaneko @pixelburied

“Damn, I thought we were going to a five-star restaurant.” Riya almost whined, pouting as she sat down beside Darius opposite Zafira.

“Sorry, Babe, but not everyone has Jonas Brothers’ type of money.” Darius said with a shrug. Zafira burst out laughing and lifted her hand for a high five. Darius grinned and slapped her hand right as a waitress came up to their table.

“Hey guys, my name’s Justine!” she said enthusiastically, before she gestured to her name tag which had ‘Justine’ written on it. Zafira didn’t miss the bright jingling silver bracelet that had ‘BUCKET’ written in caps before a big red heart. “I’ll be your waitress for today. Here are your menus, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything,” she said with a smile, “Oh, and I should let you know, we currently have the meal deal on the Grilled Chicken Sandwich if you happen to be interested in a free cookie by any chance…” she winked.

The three of them gasped in unison as the waitress walked off to tend to another table and looked at each other. “Free cookie?!” Zafira said in amazement, as she watched Darius and Riya mirror her expression.

“We have got to get that meal deal.” Darius practically demanded, with a slap of his fist on the table, none of them paying any attention to the three menus that jumped up and almost fell off.

“I can’t believe we’re giving in so easily to capitalism.” Zafira said sadly, sighing in dismay. “Wendy’s 1, Karl Marx 0. I’m sorry, Marx, we have failed you.” Riya and Darius burst out laughing at her remark and eventually Zafira was guffawing along with them.

…

Soon enough, Justine was bringing out a tray with the orders on and Zafira couldn’t help but rub her hands together in excitement. “Chicken Sandwich, get in my belly! Y’all have no idea how long it’s been since I last ate a burger, my stomach can no longer recall the sweet taste of that seeded bun.” Zafira shook her head sadly as her eyes widened upon the tray placed down on their table.

“Here are 3 Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with those free cookies I promised. Enjoy your meal, guys!” Justine said with a smile, laughing at the faces the three of them made.

“Thank you!” They chorused, almost salivating at the sight in front of them. Justine grinned as she walked away and Zafira and Darius couldn’t dig into their burgers any faster.

“Guys! Wait, I’ve gotta get a pic to put on my IG or Snap! Guys, c’mon, don’t finish the burgers already!” Riya exclaimed in a panic, shooing away their hands and pulling out her phone as fast as she could. Darius and Zafira exchanged glances and rolled their eyes before moving away from the table and crossing their arms in unison.

Riya finally took the picture and settled back into her seat with a smile. “You can dig in now, guys, go on. Oh my gosh, it looks so good, look at those crinkle cut chips! Mmmm…” She murmured as she rubbed her hands together.

“Finally!” Zafira groaned, before she quickly scooped up the burger and took a bite. Her eyes widened and rivalled Darius’ own expression of wonder.

“Oh… My…” Darius whispered, and even Riya looked shocked, something they didn’t often see at a fast food restaurant.

“This is…” Zafira mumbled, staring at her burger in amazement.

“...Art.” Riya finished off. The three of them nodded in agreement before diving back into their meals.

“Truly, no one does Grilled Sandwich like Wendy’s do.” Zafira said around a mouthful, “These chips! They’re so soft and potato-ey! I could eat these forever.” She moaned, washing everything down with a swig of her drink. She let out a loud, garbled burp and Darius and Riya looked up at her in surprise. They shared a funny look before they were once again roaring out in laughter. All of the customers around them looked at them weirdly and a girl sat at the far end of the outdoor eating area rolled her eyes. “High schoolers… just wait until you get into college, y’all won’t have much to laugh about then.” She shook her head, adjusting her headscarf and glasses before going back to using her laptop, labelled with an ‘Ifraah hearts Hayden Young’ sticker.

By the time they were finished with their meals, Zafira sat with her hands on her belly and a weird feeling inside her stomach. “Guys, is it me or are you feeling a bit nauseous too? This burger has done a number on me,” she groaned, “What did they even put in there?”

Darius and Riya sat back looking very content. “It must be you, that burger was…” Darius trailed off, kissing his fingers and throwing them in the air, “Simply beautiful!”

“Yeah, who cares about five-star restaurants anymore?!” Riya stated passionately.

…

It was only half an hour later when the trio had finished revelling in the aftermath of the food and that sumptuous free cookie, that Zafira felt the first gurgle in her stomach. “Uh oh…” She trailed off, eyes widening as her hands reached for her stomach in slow motion.

“What? What is it?” Riya asked, frowning at Zafira’s now sweaty face. “Are you OK? You look really hot…”

Zafira shook her head, hands flying to her mouth as she got up and raced towards the entrance of the diner.

“Zafira!” Darius called out after her. He exchanged a bewildered look with Riya. “What the heck?!”

Inside the diner, the Mercy Park Crew felt a sudden breeze as a blurry figure that looked an awful lot like Zafira rushed past them. “The hell?” Mona said, perplexed. Toby and Ximena watched the figure dart into the ladies’ bathroom and glanced at each other before shrugging and going back to what they were doing. Mona realised that the person looked awfully familiar and even Logan and Colt looked after the figure in surprise.

Zafira, however, paid no attention to her surroundings, and threw the closest stall door open before doubling over and emptying the contents of her stomach in a toilet. Damn, she thought, maybe Wendy’s really isn’t the one. Her stomach clenched once more before she was gripping each side of stall, desperate to not make any contact with the toilet bowl itself lest she contracted something even worse. The acid burned in her throat as sweat and tears rolled off her face. “Bloody… hell…” she coughed out, hastily pulling on the toilet roll to wipe her mouth, “I swear, if I vomit again, I’m gonna scre—” she dry heaved, slapping a hand over her mouth and squeezing her eyes shut. Zafira turned and leaned against the stall wall, breathing heavily. “I definitely have to sue these witches, what the hell did I eat?!” She grumbled.

As she walked over to the sinks, she caught sight of her reflection and groaned. Her face was red with dried tear tracks and her hair looked like a complete mess, “Great!” she mumbled, before washing out her mouth and cupping water in her hands to throw over her face.

Another lady came out of a stall further down and walked hesitantly towards the sinks. “Hey, are you, uh, OK? I heard someone retching their insides out…” She trailed off, as she began washing her hands, watching Zafira carefully in the mirror. Zafira couldn’t help but notice her large hoop earrings that had ‘Hamid’ written in the middle with a heart around the text.

“And you can only assume it was me because of how I look?”

The stranger gaped and blushed, looking down at their hands and scrubbing away furiously.

Zafira laughed. “I’m just kidding, don’t worry. Yeah, it was me. That dumb Grilled Chicken Sandwich must’ve been made with poison or something,” she groused.

“Oh no! Damn, maybe you should sue Wendy’s or something! Can I get you anything, though? A tissue, some water... a lawyer perhaps?” she added with a giggle, “I’m Mics.” She smiled, holding out her hand towards Zafira to shake. Zafira lifted her own hand towards hers but hesitated upon finding them both wet.

She looked up at Mics, “Wet handshake?”

“Wet handshake,” she confirmed, as they laughed.

Meanwhile, in the main section of the diner, Darius and Riya were fretting over Zafira and trying to figure out what to do after rushing after her. “Should we call an ambulance?!” Riya asked, fumbling over her phone and hastily trying to put in her pass code.

“No!” Darius exclaimed, throwing a hand over her phone screen, “...At least, not yet.”

“OK, let’s… take her home? Give her water, a blanket, put her in front of the fireplace, warm her up, but with a cold towel on her head, Netflix in one hand, popcorn in the oth—” Riya began listing off rapidly, marking them off on her fingers.

“I don’t think she needs all of that just yet, Babe. Let’s focus on making sure she’s alive first, and then take her home… Wait, how are we gonna take her home? We walked it here and probably didn’t bring enough money for a taxi or the bus home! Shit.” Darius groaned, rubbing his hands over his face beneath his glasses.

“Those driving lessons would’ve come in real handy, huh?” Riya said sadly, “Hang on, is that Logan over there? We can just ask him, right? I mean, he’s pretty much in love with Zafira, he’d do anything to make sure she was OK, wouldn’t he?”

Darius looked at his girlfriend weirdly, “Really? Like that wouldn’t be overstepping any boundaries at all?”

Riya threw her hands up in defense, “Like all boundaries weren’t dropped when he showed up outside school for Zafira?” she countered, looking at him pointedly.

“...Good point… weird and stalkerish point, but still…” Darius sighed, folding one arm and holding his chin with the other, scrutinising Logan.

Ximena looked up in that moment and noticed the two facing their table, looking at Logan specifically. “Hey, Logan, are those your friends or just some… creepy kids?” She asked, jutting her chin towards the two, confused. Neither of them seemed to notice, too lost in their inner turmoil.

Logan looked in their direction and frowned, “Those are… Zafira’s friends? What are they doing here?”

Riya snapped out of her reverie and noticed the entire table now looking towards them. “Crap!” she hissed under her breath, before shoving Darius towards the crew.

Darius made some incoherent noises in dispute but by the time he was done, he was in front of Logan with Riya’s hand firm on his back. He looked over his shoulder at her, widening his eyes with irritation while Riya gestured towards Logan with her eyes. Darius let out a long breath, pinching the bridge of his nose while turning towards the table. By then, they had all stopped eating and instead focused on the weird pair stood in front of them.

“Hey, uh… Logan, Riya here, is… proposing...” Darius trailed off, trying to figure out which of his eyes to look into and instead focusing on a spot between them. There was a long silence while everyone stared at Darius, waiting for him to continue, including Riya who was watching him with the most bewildered look.

“...Proposing? To Logan? That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!” Colt broke the silence with a scoff, before he threw his head back, dissolving into laughter, “Who’d want to be with this loser, he’d probably smother you with his teen angst before you could get another word in!” He cackled, shaking his head while wiping at the corner of his eyes, “Damn, that was a good one, I haven’t laughed like that in a long while.”

Mona pressed her lips together to avoid laughing herself and Toby and Ximena side-eyed one another before turning away with smirks on their face. Logan narrowed his eyes at each of them before turning to Colt, “Are you done yet?”

Colt grinned cheekily, “By all means, go ahead.”

Logan rolled his eyes, turning back to Darius, “Go on.”

“Riya… wants-you-to-drive-Zafira-home-because-she’s-sick-and-probably-dying-in-the-bathroom-like-none-of-us-can-drive-and-you’re-just-sat-here-so-like-yeah-anyway-like-I-said-she’s-probably-dying-so-she-needs-to-go-home-you-know-to-get-better-and-recover-from-whatever-the-hell-just-happened-wouldn’t-you-rather-she-die-at-home-instead-of-in-a-Wendy’s-bathroom-like-c’mon-a-Wendy’s-bathroom-of-all-places-how-sad-like-wouldn’t-it-be-a-lot-nicer-if-she-died-at-home-or-something-not-that-I-want-her-to-die-but… yeah. So yeah.” Darius said as quickly as he could in one breath. He coughed into his fist and put his hands on his hips. “Right, my job here is done.” He stated with a nod of his head before turning around and marching resolutely into the ladies’ bathroom. Logan stared after him with his mouth agape, along with everyone else at the table. Riya stared at the swinging door of the bathroom before turning back towards Logan.

Toby looked between the now still door of the bathroom and Riya, “Did he just walk into the—”

“Ladies’ bathroom? Yeah.” Riya interrupted with a sheepish smile. “Sorry if we’re overstepping, but, like, we really wouldn’t be asking unless it was completely necessary, like, Zafira was literally about to die, like, you should’ve seen her face, you know what, she could actually be on the floor right now, drowning in her own vomit.”

Once again, there was complete silence at the table as they all stared at Riya. Mona raised a sharp eyebrow at her, “You know, saying Zafira’s drowning in her own vomit doesn’t make us any more likely to put her in our cars? It does the opposite. No matter how cute she is, I’m really not trying to get my seats stained in Wendy’s… Though, I would be willing to make an exception for Zafira, you know, I don’t want her to die in her own vomit, that would just be too tragic.” She mulled, twirling her straw around in a milkshake.

Before anyone could get another word in, the crew’s phones all pinged simultaneously and they exchanged a tense look before Ximena picked up her phone first. “It’s from Kaneko…” she trailed off.

“Need 4 of you at the garage in 10 mins, got 5 potential buyers lined up for a range of Mercedez-Benz 190 SL roadsters…” Mona started.

“Let me guess, I’m not included in that ‘4’, huh?” Colt rolled his eyes, slouching in his seat while sipping his drink.

“Colt, it’s the same gang we dealt with last time in the Mall, the ones that brought guns, so I don’t want you around them. Come back when the deal is done, until then, I don’t know, go hang out with that girl that you, Logan and Mona can’t seem to stop fighting over.” Toby finished with a shocked expression, “Is that, Boss, poking fun and bantering around? I never thought I’d see the day.” Toby whispered in amazement, adjusting his glasses and rereading the text message. Ximena grinned and looked at the three in question.

Colt seemed shocked upon the last part of the message, his expression not going unmissed by the rest of the gang. Logan and Mona raised an eyebrow, looking at Colt with intrigue before he quickly schooled his features and turned away, clearing his throat. “I could’ve done those deals just as well as the next person,” he grumbled.

“You should count yourself lucky, your dad’s trying to keep you safe and instead sending us into the line of fire,” Logan said with a shake of his head, “Thank your lucky stars.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll count them when I see ‘em.” Colt rolled his eyes.

“Really? Well, considering you’re going to be the one driving Zafira back, you should be getting ready to count them when you see her.” Mona said slyly with a smirk.

In that moment, Riya realised that they were all somehow acquainted with Zafira, making a mental note to ask her about them later.

Colt gaped at Mona as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said dismissively, choosing to stuff a handful of chips in his mouth to avoid more conversation.

“Sure.”

Colt narrowed his eyes at her as the rest of the crew stood up, getting ready to leave. Riya stood there watching them leave, confused as to what was going on.

Logan turned towards her and offered a sheepish smile, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it, I’ve gotta head back,” he said while rubbing the back of his neck, “looks like Colt will be the one driving her back, is that OK? You know, if you really want me to take her I can—“

“No, no! It’s fine, wouldn’t want you to get into trouble with your, uh, boss or anything…” Riya said quickly.

“Let us know how Zafira feels, Colt.” Ximena said, patting his shoulder. The crew began walking out, minus Colt, who was left in the booth staring into his drink absentmindedly.

“Yeah, if she’s not feeling any better, maybe we can drop by with some fancy meds and a gift basket or something,” said Toby, raising his eyebrows in excitement, as he slipped into Ximena’s car.

“OK, first of all, I don’t know why you’re excited about that, second of all, great idea, let’s just, us, the Mercy Park Crew, drop by Zafira’s house, where a cop resides.” Mona said sarcastically, as she unlocked the door of her own car.

Toby pouted, “Damn, I forgot about that.”

“C’mon, we’ll have to worry about Zafira later, it’s already been 5 minutes and you know how Kaneko hates it when someone’s late.” Logan said, sliding into his seat and sticking the keys in the ignition.

Back in the ladies’ bathroom, Zafira was surprised to see Darius walk in, who quickly threw his hands over his eyes. “Zafira, you in here? Look if you’re dying on the floor, drowning in your own vomit, then let me know, otherwise I’m keeping my hands on my eyes because I’d hate to look like a pervert or something, ya know?”

Zafira gaped at him before she let out a confused laugh, “Uh, Darius, what are you doing in here?”

“I came to see how you were feeling but also because I just told Logan that he should take you home because you’re not feeling well… so, let’s go, I’d hate for you to to meet your ending here in the bathroom.”

“Wait, what? You asked Logan? Why would you do that? Where did he even come from? I don’t need him to take me home, I can just wal—“ Zafira cut off with a heave, slapping her hand over her mouth and gripping the edge of the sink.

Darius removed his hands and quickly stood next to her, placing a hand on her back. “...You were saying? Look, just let him take you home and then you complain all you want back there, sound good?”

Zafira nodded her head miserably as Darius guided her out of the bathroom.

Thankfully for Riya, she saw Darius and Zafira make their way out of the bathroom before she felt the need to initiate small talk with the brooding Colt.

Darius steered Zafira to the table while she sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

“Hang on, where’d everyone go? Where’s Logan?” Darius asked, looking around the diner confused.

“Colt? ...Don’t tell me the entire gang was here and we didn’t even know.” Zafira said with a laugh.

“...Wow. You look like you’ve been through hell.” Colt stated, looking at Zafira with slightly veiled worry.

“Thanks, it was really hot back there.” Zafira deadpanned.

Colt laughed and stood up. “C’mon, let’s get you home before you vomit all over my shoes.”

Zafira raised a brow and then leaned forward towards Colt, faking a dry heaving sound.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not on the shoes! Not the shoes!” Colt yelled, jumping back onto the booth and backing away.

Zafira moved back before she burst out laughing, slapping her thigh. “Your face! Phew, that was a classic!” She wiped at the corners of her eyes as her giggles died down.

“You little…” Colt shook his head, folding his arms while glaring at Zafira. The waitress walked over and gave Colt a look.

“Could you please get off the booth, people sit in those.” Justine said before putting a hand on her hip, “I’d hate to have to call my manager out for this.”

Colt quickly jumped down and brushed himself off. “Sorry about that,” he said, coughing into his fist awkwardly, “Right, let’s go.”

He speed walked out of the diner and the trio quickly followed. On their way out, they passed a couple that were sat in the outdoor eating area, with one of them feeding the other that had their eyes closed. “Damien!” The lady called out, laughing while putting her hand over his eyes, “You’re supposed to guess by the taste, stop trying to peek! Stop trying to smell it too!”

“Khadi,” the man called Damien complained, placing his hand over hers and trying to pull it away, “this is too hard, let me be the one feeding you and you’ll see how hard it is!” He laughed, finally managing to free his eyes. He gasped upon seeing the piece in Khadi’s hand. “See! I knew it was a cookie!”

“Yeah, obviously! But you didn’t know which one, so your punishment is not getting the rest of it.” She stated proudly, popping the rest of it in her mouth while Damien watched in horror.

Zafira smiled to herself. Cute, she thought. But her smile dropped when she saw Colt’s motorbike. “Hang on, you’re taking me home on that?” She paled, placing a hand on her stomach, “That doesn’t sound like a such a good idea…”

Darius and Riya watched her with worry, and even Colt frowned.

“I would love to indulge in your car fantasies, which, on any other day, I would absolutely hate, but seeing as we have no other way of getting you home, the bike is the only option… Unless you want me to carry you all the way home.” Colt said, raising an eyebrow at Zafira.

Zafira furrowed her brow and sighed, “Fine, motorbike it is,” she turned to her friends, “I take it you’ll walk it?” she asked.

Darius and Riya nodded, “Don’t worry about us, you just focus on getting home in one piece.” Darius said sympathetically, patting Zafira’s shoulder.

“Yeah, in one piece that isn’t covered in vomit, please.” Colt added, swinging his leg over the bike and pulling his helmet on.

Zafira rolled her eyes and waved her friends off, “See ya later, yeah?” She jumped onto the bike behind Colt, taking the spare helmet from his hands and strapping herself in. “Hey, Colt, pull over to the side of the road when I give you a sign, unless you want chicken sandwich all the way down your back.” She laughed.

Colt rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time even though Zafira couldn’t see. “...You’re, OK though, right? Not thinking about dying anytime soon?” He asked hesitantly.

“Why? Would you miss me?” Zafira teased.

“Of course.” Colt said, without missing a beat.

Zafira’s eyes widened as she slid her arms around his waist, feeling the bike start up. She stared at the back of his helmet in shock, waiting for him to continue.

“Who else would talk shit about Logan with me?” Colt said. Zafira could practically hear the smile in his voice.

There it is, she thought while shaking her head, what were you hoping for, you fool.

Colt began driving out of the diner and down the path he knew a little too well now, trying not to pay attention to how Zafira’s arms were wrapped around him.

It was only halfway through the journey when Colt felt a few rapid taps on his shoulder. He frowned, before realising this was one of Zafira’s ‘signs’ and quickly looked for an opportunity to pull up to the side of the road.

As soon as he’d found a spot, Zafira was all but jumping off the bike and unfastening her helmet. She knew she’d hate to vomit all over someone’s lawn or a public walkway in general, so she pressed her lips together and couldn’t help but thank her lucky stars when she saw a bin sitting a few yards away, running over to the poor, unsuspecting thing.

As she hurled more of her meal out, Colt hurriedly parked the bike and rushed over to Zafira’s side. He blanked once he got to her and decided he would hold her hair back instead of standing around like a lamppost.

With his free hand, he poked about in his pockets looking for any tissues or anything else that would help the situation but fell short and instead chose to rub her back instead.

“Better out than in, am I right?” He said halfheartedly, frowning as she began taking deep breaths.

“Right, you’re probably not in the best position to be speaking right now, I’ll just let you vomit to your heart’s content.” He winced as she heaved once more and then stood up straight.

Thankfully, Zafira had managed to nab some napkins before she’d left so she managed to clean herself up as best she could. “What the fuck was in that burger that’s making me so cough up my insides so violently?! Do I need to sue these little shits.” Zafira exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and blowing some hair out of her face.

Colt couldn’t help but smile and zone out for a second. How cute.

“Hello? Earth to Colt? Are you in there?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about how cute you look, you know, all sweaty, hair a mess, red in the face.”

Zafira gaped at him, “I… wha—?”

Colt smirked at her, “Cat got your tongue?”

Zafira narrowed her eyes, “You just wait until you catch me on a good day, ‘cute’ won’t even cover how good I look, and the cat will have your tongue.” She said, flipping her hair as best as she could over her shoulder.

Now it was Colt’s turn to gape at her, but he managed to recover enough to raise an eyebrow and have his charms back intact, “Well then, it’s a good thing that every other day is your good day, huh? Maybe that’s why I’m always so speechless whenever I first see you.” Colt slid his hands into his pockets, pinning her with that mesmerising look.

Zafira’s mouth opened and soon enough a bright pink blush had made its way onto her face. She stared into his dark eyes and found herself captivated, unable to break the gaze. “Are you… flirting with me right now?”

“Maybe.”

“Unbelievable.”

Colt managed to snap out of whatever he was preoccupied with and stared at her, somewhat confused.

“You’re really trying to charm a girl when she’s at her most vulnerable state, right after she vomited up a Wendy’s, knowing that she’ll have no choice but to get back on that bike with you, and have you drive her home where you’ll probably hint at wanting to be invited in.”

Colt gawked at Zafira, rendered speechless. “What?! I never—“

“I can’t believe you, Colt,” Zafira put her hands on her hips, “You’re an incorrigible flirt, just who do you think you are?”

“Whoa, hang on a minute! You’ve got the wrong end of the stick—“

Zafira gasped in horror, her hands flying up to her mouth, “You were trying to give me your stick?!” She almost screeched.

Colt threw his hands up in defence, taking a step back as his mouth dropped open in shock. Then he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms again. “You’re fucking around with me, aren’t you?”

Zafira presses her lips together, a snort coming out against her will. “Sorry, you’re just too easy to play around with.” She burst out in full blown laughter, smacking her thigh.

Colt sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “What am I gonna do with you?”

“I can think of a few things.” Zafira smiled coyly.

It was Colt’s turn to blush as his expression went slack. “You’re gonna be the death of me, you know that?”

Zafira laughed, “C’mon, Lover Boy, you still need to take me home.”

…

It was when they were outside the Wheeler residence that Zafira once again felt that familiar lurching feeling in her stomach, “Oh no…” she moaned, unfastening the helmet as fast as she could for a second time that day. This time, Colt was slightly more prepared and he’d already parked the bike and dismounted it.

“Let’s get you inside, I don’t think anyone wants to see a girl projectile vomiting right about now.” Colt chuckled, wrapping one arm around her back and ushering her inside. But it was too late, Zafira felt the familiar burning of the acid in her throat and was heaving out small neutral coloured bits onto Colt’s shoes faster than she could tell Colt where the keys were.

There was a silence after Zafira had stopped hurling out her meal or rather, what was left of it.

“...” Colt blinked a couple of times, almost unseeingly.

“...Guess you no longer want to come in and give me your stick, huh?” Zafira said for no reason, with a weak laugh. She straightened up and pressed her hand to her face, trying to wipe away whatever had stained her mouth.

Colt stared at her for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Zafira was shocked and slowly joined in, not caring how they must’ve looked to passersby.

“I can’t… I can’t believe you just... brought up the stick again... after you just threw up on me.” Colt said in between laughs.

Zafira’s laughter dissolved away and all she could do was stare at Colt’s shoes sympathetically, rather embarrassed.

“Those shoes, they didn’t cost much did they? This is awful, I’m so sorry.” She moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and dropping her head back.

“It’s fine, nothing that sweet, illegal money can’t fix.” Colt joked with a wink.

“Colt!” Zafira gasped, looking around furtively, “You can’t just say stuff like that out loud!”

“Why, will your dad appear out of nowhere if I say ‘illegal’ three times? No wait, maybe I should rub a briefcase full of a couple million dollars and then say it.” He wondered, putting his free hand on his chin and rubbing it thoughtfully.

Zafira shook her head and laughed, “Will you shut up?”

He grinned as they stared at each other again. It’s really quite easy to get lost in those eyes, Zafira thought, damn.

Zafira cleared her throat and looked away, fiddling around in her pockets to pull out the keys, but not without Colt catching that lovely pink blush on her face again. He smiled contently.

“Is your dad home?”

“No…why, you tryna give me some of that stick action?” Zafira wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

Colt pressed his lips together to avoid laughing. “We’re never gonna let that one go, are we?”

“Nope.” Zafira grinned.

Colt shook his head, “I was asking because I was looking forward to stealing that apple pie.”

Zafira sighed dramatically, “Even in a cop’s household, you can’t let go of your criminal behaviour.”

Colt narrowed his eyes, “You know, for the daughter of a cop, you’re awfully close to us criminals.”

“What can I say? I’m attracted to the dark side.” She joked, removing herself from his hold and guiding them inside. She took off her shoes and suddenly stopped, remembering Colt’s burger covered shoes. “Right, uh, give me your shoes, wait, and your jeans, I think I got those covered too.”

“Wow, you like to move fast, huh?”

“Shut up!” she slapped his shoulder, “You know what I mean!”

“Do I, though? Do I really?”

Zafira put her hands on her hips, “Hand over your things before I decide to shower you in chicken bits.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Colt grinned cheekily, as he kicked off his shoes and moved to unbuckle his belt, all while maintaining eye contact.

Zafira’s eyes widened, and she rapidly began turning pink once again, “I’ll, uh, go find some trousers while you, uh, yeah.”

“Oh, so now you’re shy. What happened to wanting the stick?” He teased.

“Not another word out of you, Colt.” She pointed at him, with narrowed eyes as she walked backwards. Colt saluted her with a wink.

Once Zafira was no longer within his sight and safely in the bathroom with a change of clothes, she placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath in. What the hell is going on?! She shook her head and quickly washed up, throwing her clothes in the hamper and changing into a tank top and sweats. She looked at herself in the mirror and halfheartedly tied her hair up in a bun. “Yeah, this is fine. I’m not making an effort for no one, this is… fine.” She tried to reassure herself, dusting herself off absentmindedly.

“Hey, uh, Zafira? Are you really finding me some clothes right now or was this just part of your ulterior motive to get me half naked in the middle of your living room?” Colt yelled.

Zafira’s eyes widened and she hurried out of the bathroom into her father’s room, grabbing the first pair of combat trousers she saw. “Wow,” she scoffed, “how fitting.”

She raced back into the living room with one hand over her eyes. “I’m here, I’m here! Don’t be doing any weird half-naked things!”

Zafira held the trousers out in front of her, keeping her other hand firm over her eyes. When she felt him grab them from her hand, she spun around, giving him her back.

“Let me know when you’re done.”

“You scared of seeing a little thigh, Zafira?”

“No,” she said firmly, “I’m giving you privacy, you know, because I have manners?”

Colt laughed and after some more rustling sounds, he called out to her.

“Are you sure? I don’t trust you…” said Zafira.

“Yes, I’m sure. Why don’t you come over here and check?”

Zafira turned around with her eyes still closed. She slowly opened one and then the other, relieved to find him fully clothed. “Right, I’ll just, throw these in the washer and get them back to you as fast as I can. I don’t know about those shoes though…” She trailed off, looking concerned at the now chicken covered shoes.

“Relax,” Colt chuckled, “I’ll just, wash them… and then… donate them or recycle them somehow. Yeah. Maybe I’ll keep them, you know, as your first gift to me, Zafira vomit.”

Zafira scrunched up her nose, “Ew! No! Don’t do that… wait, what do you mean ‘first gift’?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Were you not inviting me back here to tell me you have a huge crush on me?”

Zafira’s jaw dropped, “I do not have a huge crush on you!”

“Oh, my bad,” Colt frowned, “it’s just a small crush then?”

Zafira pinched the bridge of her nose, “What am I gonna do with you?”

Colt grinned, “This is beginning to feel a lot like déjà vu, don’t you think?”

Zafira shook her head with a small smile as she gingerly picked up the trousers and went to the utility room after dropping by the hamper. Once she’d started the wash, she slowly walked out into the living room where Colt was now gazing at her family photos. “You’re still here?”

Colt looked up at the sound, “Where else would I go?”

Zafira shrugged, looking out of the window to find the sky bathed in a warm orange, “I don’t know, home.”

“This place feels more like home to me right now…” he murmured.

Zafira bit her lip and looked around, desperate for a distraction of some sort. “Well, what better time to watch movies illegally than with a criminal by your side, right?”

She bounded over to the couch and pulled out her laptop from under some books as Colt watched her, amused. He slowly walked over and sat down next to her, wondering how he got so lucky to have someone like her in his life.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Zafira asked, turning her head to him.

“Well, for cleaning me up I guess,” he laughed quietly, “but also for giving me… a home of sorts. I can’t believe I’ve felt more love in this household than I have in my entire 20 years of living as Kaneko’s son. Is your dad looking to adopt any time soon?” Colt joked halfheartedly.

“Well, if you stick around, maybe he’ll take you in as his son-in-law.” Zafira said, turning back to the laptop with a small smile on her face.

Colt’s face warmed as his mouth opened in shock, “Was that... an indirect proposal just now?”

“Maybe.” She winked at him, focusing on picking a movie and smirking at his red, shell shocked face.

FIN.

Written by: @wzkdj (Instagram)

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