#my mum hit my fucking cat with her car and decided not to tell me for years

[roxyco-deliverygirl]

Hi delivery girlie mild crisis

[rachelsnotebook]

See ya, 2023. You were... a lot.

I'm equal parts delighted and horrified that this year is coming to a close. To be honest, I'm still mentally trapped in late August-September...

2023 was a huge year of change:

The Baxter dlc wrapped and launched early in the year.

People assumed I was under 18 the entire day I was celebrating my 30th birthday. It was insane. Culminated with the friendly's waitress asking if I wanted the children's menu and my friend nearly hit the floor laughing.

My scared of heights ass got on an airplane for the first time! I only had a mild wave of panic once.

I went on an incredible trip with two of my most dear and important friends and we all experienced Chicago for the first time together.

And we saw Fall Out Boy kick off their tour at Wrigley Field. It was an extra special show too:

I was in the audience for episode 1 of AEW Collison.

I went back to my seasonal job from before the pandemic and helped my boss with projects she couldn't juggle on her own.

My mum's car officially broke for good. The body was so rusted and fragile that the steering was severed. And since I don't know how to drive and rely on that car... we were fucked. For months. And by that, I mean that we had to still use that car to get groceries, medicine, appointments. Not fun...

Our cat, Petey, just made it to his 21st birthday at the end of September. He began to decline at the end of August and his heart simply gave out. He was loved dearly, and treated like a king. He was happy and full of personality up until the very end.

I'm yet again reminded of these silly drawings of him <3

I bought my mum a car! It's a clunker that was new in 2005, but it runs and passed inspection! So we are back and legal on the road again.

Though, it took the majority of my bank account... so after taxes I'm expecting to be rebuilding my savings from scratch in the New Year.

There's a family member that caused a lot grief this year and I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm done with them. There are actions I refuse to let pass by. I'm deeply hurt and I will not forget this feeling.

I finally pushed through my doubts and fears, and opened up more in game dev spaces online. Imposter syndrome was horrifically strong, but I love all the new people I've been able to connect with. I'm growing more confident (some days), and I can't wait to see how these friendships grow.

There are exciting projects in the works that I can't wait to not shut up about!!!

I gave editing scripts a shot this year, and I love it a lot!

I participated in two game jams and I'm so proud of both teams.

My website went through several updates. I finally decided to move the blog aspect to tumblr. It feels so much better than what I was fighting with before! I ended up removing this part of my About Me page... shortly after Petey passed. It's still saved on a hidden page. I just needed to move it while I process life without him.

If the clock was turned back to this time last year, I can tell you for a fact that I couldn't have predicted any of this. This year has been a mixed bag.

I wish I was stronger. There are too many instances where I dropped the ball, and I still am. All I can do is try. And I do. Every day.

And I'm so proud of every good moment and success. I hope 2024 is a kinder year. For me, and my loved ones.

My Current 2024 Goals:

Read more books.

Laugh harder.

Turn any of my rough ideas/concepts into something.

Join more game jams!

Build back some of my move out money.

Keep working on my website: I want to try out a testimonial page. Maybe? I'm still somewhat embarrassed by that thought, but it could be beneficial for applying to jobs. If... when that comes up. I also just want a reason to slip in this comment from one of my friends:

I want to make a better writing portfolio and craft an editing one too!

I might look into if there's any interest in doing more editing & proofreading work for smaller game projects in exchange for a few dollars. And figure out real rates for projects with actual budgets. (For game jams, please just ask if I have time because more than likely I'll be thrilled to volunteer some hours!)

Learn to drive a car. Maybe this year I won't feel terribly paranoid behind the wheel...

I can't thank the incredible people in my life enough for their kindness, wisdom, strength, and support over the course of 2023. I wouldn't be here without any of you.

And a huge thank you to all the new people 2023 brought into my life. I hope our friendships grow, or at the very least pass with only good memories attached. I hope many of us are able to make many wonderful games in the future!

So goodbye, goodnight, and have a Happy New Year!!!

[leporellian]

my thoughts. verdi told me all this btw

azucena: i feel like azucena’s taste in music is way calmer than one would think…. she’s a huge sucker for simon and garfunkel (particularly paul simon) and played it constantly in the car when manrico was little which definitely had an Effect on the latter. also i feel like she’d really like aretha franklin for some reason. manrico recently introduced her to mac demarco’s music and she absolutely loves it. also one time when she was in highschool she got shitfaced at a they might be giants concert and she tells manrico this as casually as possible bc azucena’s life is a variety of complete nonsequitur viginettes that are impossible to piece together chronologically

ferrando: he SAYS he likes classical music and honestly he like… does (he’s particularly fond of beethoven) but 1) he’s way more of a jazz fan in reality and 2) really he listens to a lot of weird shit that he tries to cover up. really into steely dan for some reason (at one point he and manrico were at a club totally grooving to steely dan together until they realized who each other was and chased each other out of the club) (by the way has a secret thing for clubbing). probably the only person who not only likes temporary secretary but listens to it on repeat. has a secret love for funk.

manrico: music taste varies from genuinely well thought out and introspective to like… the lumineers. inherited the love for simon and garfunkel (and aretha franklin) from his mum and can sing the entirety of the graceland album on command. he’s in a band of his own also (he’s the acoustic guitarist and singer natch, but he’s very insistent he isn’t the head of the band and it’s a group operation). insists that every mumford and sons song DOES sound different and they DON’T all sound the same, also has little lion man claimed as “his” song. also likes mac demarco as hinted above. has a weird thing for that early 2010s stomp clap indie music genre (you had to be there). much of his taste in music, when not early 2010s stomp clap indie mysic (which is thankfully most of the time), feels like stoner music but he isn’t a stoner. (most of his friends are though. also azucena does weed too.)

di luna: fucking bonkers ass insane shit. hyperpop girlie (gen neutral) through and through. once listened to stupid horse by 100 gecs on repeat for 5 straight days, like he’d wake up and start playing it and then fall asleep that night/morning while it was STILL repeating. (ferrando was dealt various psychic damages which is funny bc ferrando also insists on playing fucking temporary secretary over and over which di luna finds to be insane behavior.) absolutely into nightcore but he thinks it’s still called “alvin and the chipmunks versions” (again you had to be there). there was a large stretch of time in which his favorite song was a bass boosted nightcore remix of the angry birds theme song. he used to listen to lemon demon but then he decided tiktok made it cringe (he still listens to it in secret)

leonora: you know that post where the guy mentions that they only grew up listening to church hymns so they would imagine warrior cats amvs to that as a kid? Yeah. only listened to really churchy music as a kid due to overprotective parents so everything else makes her LOSE her Goddamned Mind. she’s a huge fan of that particular Brand of 2000s rock music (can you imagine a 2009 warrior cats amv to it? Then Yes she likes it). manrico recently exposed her to mr brightside and she has been absolutely fucking crazy about it ever since. she’s developing a taste and it will either be the greatest taste in music the world has ever seen or absolute “radio top 20 hits” ass, we have yet to see which one it is

using my dramaturgical credentials to figure out what music the characters in il trovatore would like

[dreamescapeswriting]

Friendly Neighbourhood Boy ~ MYG [Request]

WORD COUNT: 2k

GENRE: Superhero AU, fictional universe, marvel characters mentioned, mentions of blood and angst

PAIRING: Yoongi x Reader

A/N: I made this take part in Hell’s Kitchen so I hope this is okay for you my love! Also Yes I know I’ve probably done a huge no no by mixing multiple marvel universes together lmao (Also yes NeighboUrhood cause I’m British 😅😂)

The walk from your apartment to the local corner shop seemed to be taking a lot longer than it normally would all of the roadblocks that were around the city were the ones to blame. 

"Excuse me," You mumbled as you made your way past Josie's bar, ignoring the catcalls from the drunk men that were finally picking themselves up from the bar and heading home for the day. Hell's Kitchen wasn't so bad as long as you knew how to look after yourself and stay out of the way of the wrong people. Keeping your head down you finally made it into the corner store, smiling as the small bell above the door sounded to let Yoongi know that you were there.

"Good morning Yoongi," You called out as you walk around, glancing over at him when you saw him sitting there with his eyes glued onto the screen anxiously. He was a 5''9 boy with dark black hair, always doing the same thing every day you went in there. Sitting on his laptop writing away or watching the news since it was the only channel the TV seemed to get. You didn't blame him for watching this morning though. There had been some bank robbery happening further into the city, the robbery was in the line of so many more that had been happening that week. The whole investigation had everyone on the edge of their seats, no one knew who was the one behind the bank robberies. Just that, whoever it was left everyone alive but not being able to remember anything. 

"Crazy isn't it?" You questioned after grabbing your usual cat food and bringing it to the counter, watching as Yoongi scanned it without taking his eyes off the screen. It was as if he didn't even know you were there, you giggled softly as you waited for him to realise someone was talking to him.

"Yoongles," As soon as your nickname for him caught his attention he turned to look at you and began stuttering, 

"I-I what?- I-I wasn't-" You giggled which made him blush deeply, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to come up with some excuse as to why he had ignored you. 

"I said, it's crazy isn't it?" You nodded at the TV and he began nodding his head, turning it down so that he could talk to you about it. Over the years of living in Hell's Kitchen, you'd gotten to know Yoongi a lot and considered him to be one of your best friends. Whenever you worked a nightshift down the road he would always come back to walk you home, not wanting you to walk around Hell's kitchen at night by yourself. Everyone knew what on around here, it was no secret that people had "abilities" in and around Hell's kitchen. Even around the whole world. Half of the things you'd seen people would call you crazy for, a woman shorter than you beating someone up, ten times her size and putting him through a wall? You'd learnt to keep your mouth shut about the things you'd seen around you, easier than trying to explain anything to a policeman who didn't care. 

"Wanna know what I think?" You asked, jumping onto the counter and staring at the screen with Yoongi as you watched a reporter talking to the camera about the information the police had...Which was nothing. 

"What do you think?" Yoongi chuckled, sitting down on the counter beside you and handing you one of your favourite chocolate bars. You looked at him out of the corner of your eye and smiled, 

"Someone with special abilities has to be doing it, think about it...They always forget what happened, whoever it is that does this is in and out quickly...It's the only explanation." You waited to see if he would react to it, you'd known about Yoongi's powers for a while but you never said anything to him. If he really wanted you to know then he would have told you but there was one other thing you knew about him that no one else did. There was a local "hero" that went around at night saving people. Moved so quickly it was like a blur to everyone around him, you'd never have seen him if he hadn't stopped you from getting hit by a car on a walk home once. 

"Luke, I'm fine," You laughed as you drunkenly stumbled out of Josie's bar, ignoring the owner who was trying to convince you to let him take you home. If he did that you would have to make everyone else in the bar leave and you weren't going to ruin the fun. 

"Look-" You stood up straight and walked in a straight line, holding eye contact with Luke as you smiled proving to him that you were fine to walk home on your own and that you were at least...A little sober. 

"Fine. Text me when you're home," He grumbled in a thick deep voice and you nodded your head. 

"Yes, Father!" You rolled your eyes as you began to walk home. Deciding to take the main roads instead of all the alleyways where the cameras couldn't see you. At least this way if you were mugged or taken the cameras would be able to see what happened to you. 

"Hey, do you have a light?" A woman asked as she jumped from an alley, holding up an unlit cigarette staring at you as she repeated the question to you again but you shook your head. Feeling soberer now that she's practically scared the life out of you, 

"N-No I don't smoke-"

"LYING WHORE!" She lashed out, jumping at you and making you jump back into the road, everything happened so fast you could barely think about anything. There was a loud horn blaring out with bright lights shining in your eyes, you threw your hands up in front of your face bracing yourself for the impact that never came. 

"Y/n?" You heard a voice call out before you opened your eyes to see Yoongi standing beside you and smiling at you, 

"What-What?" You stuttered out as you turned around, the lady that had scared you was on the other side of the road to you and you and Yoongi were standing together. His arm around your waist as he looked at you, eyebrows raised as he smiled. 

"What's wrong?" He questioned innocently, pretending as though he hadn't just raced over to stop you from getting hit by an oncoming taxi and zooming you onto the other side of the road.

"I thought I was just-" You turned to look over the road again but Yoongi pulled you in the direction of your apartment, reminding you of how drunk you were and that he'd been walking with you the whole time. 

You knew the next day as soon as you saw Luke and he told you that you'd been alone when he saw you. Slowly things with Yoongi began to make sense, like how he would abruptly leave the store unattended sometimes whenever there was something on the news. Only for a boy, his height, his build with his hair to appear on the screens having saved the day from whatever it was this time. As Yoongi heard your theory you watched the colour drain from his face and he began shaking his head at you,

"N-No, not everyone with abilities is bad...It might just be some scum bag," You smirked to yourself as you paid for the can of cat food getting ready to leave when sirens went screaming past the shop. Yoongi's eyes lit up as he turned the volume up on the TV, 

"Police are in a high-speed chase with the suspect, everyone is warned to stay inside as he is believed to be armed and dangerous," Yoongi began bouncing his leg up and down as he tried to come up with some kind of fake excuse to give to you as to why he had to leave the shop. 

"I have to go make sure mum is safe at home-"

"I'll watch the shop, go." You cut him off, he smiled at you before walking out of the shop as calmly as possible but you knew as soon as he was out of sight he would be using his super-speed to get out of the streets and after the car.

"Make sure his mum is safe, who does he think I am?" You mumbled to yourself, sliding down off the counter and looking around for something that needed doing but settling for a magazine instead.

It was pitch black outside, you'd shut the shutters when Yoongi would normally close up and then locked the door, pulling the final shutter down and waiting inside for Yoongi to come back. The lights were all off except for a lamp in the office you were using to do a crossword in one of the newspapers. 

"Six letter word for Liar," You bit down on the pen as you began writing out Yoongi's name in the space and smirking to yourself, 

"Pretty good," You giggled to yourself stopping as soon as you heard a huge crash coming from the basement, you stood up and grabbed the bat that was inside of the office. Clutching onto it for dear life as you waiting for something else to happen, the door to the office swung open and Yoongi stood there. Drenched in sweat and blood as he moaned out, throwing himself down onto the chair not noticing you in the room. 

"Fuck sake Yoongi," You whined out, dropping the bat and grabbing the first aid kit right away. Yoongi's eyes widened as he stared at you, wide eyes as you began sitting down in front of him and cleaning him up without a word. 

"A-Aren't you going to ask how?" He stuttered out an hour later as he watched you burning the bloody bandages and tissues and then turning to look at him.

"I already know-how, you went after the bank robber didn't you, quicksilver?" You smirked as you said his name that the tabloids had given to him recently, giggling when you saw a huge blush appear on his face and he began to stumble over his words. 

"I wasn't as drunk as you thought that night you stopped me getting hit by a cab...Thank you by the way," You smiled at him as he began to get ready to leave the shop with you, shutting and locking the back entrance door as you both headed out into the alleyway. 

"If you knew why didn't you tell me?" You shook your head at him and shrugged your shoulders, 

"I figured if you wanted me to know, you would have told me Yoongi." You both began walking out of the alleyway and in the direction of your apartment building,

"Why did you think I was always so welcoming to look after the shop? You had big hero things to do," You giggled to him as you began to quiz him on everything he could tell you about his life. 

When you reached your apartment door you turned to look at him,

"I don't know how I'm going to make it up to you for keeping my secret and helping with the shop," You smiled at his comment and shook your head at him, 

"Well, there's one thing..." You started slowly as he turned his head to look at you, nodding along. 

"Make it up to me...Over dinner? This weekend?" You smirked as soon as you saw Yoongi blushing and he began nodding his head vigorously, 

"Y-Yeah yeah! That sounds-" He bumped into a table in the hallway knocking over a glass vase but he caught it, 

"That sounds great! I'll pick you up! I'll see you Saturday," You giggled as you watched him trying to walk away from the hall but kept bumping into stuff. 

"Hey, Yoongi?" He turned around as he reached the elevators and you giggled once again, 

"I'll see you in the morning when I come in for my cat food." He blushed once again and you giggled watching as he got into the elevator, never taking his eyes off you.

Tagline: @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @rjsmochii @fan-ati--c @kneel-begyourpardon @taestannie​ @bisexualmess007​ @sweeneyblue1​ @sw33tnight​ @jin-from-the-block​

[werezmastarbucks]

Whitmore Guy - xenomorph

Whitmore Guy masterlist 

word count: 3076

warnings: things get serious

Four days later Y/N decided she should visit Mal and see how he is. Lord knows how he’s going to cope with all this. Elena suggested, in a flare of her classical empathy stroke, to help out with compelling if they find out the guy’s not doing good. Y/N went chilly inside upon imagining a sociopath derived of feelings, forgetting why there’s a whole in his mind.

Before showing up on his doorstep, she dropped by at the shop and bought him some ice cream. She didn’t recall talking about ice cream with Mal, which was strange, but she put all her faith in that bubble gum flavor would do good. It was her favorite, and the two of them had it all similar, plus, Mal was really into chemical, artificial stuff to put in his mouth. A big bucket of bright blue frozen mass held neatly under her arms, she entered the block of flats and got to the fourth floor. Just as she was about to knock on the door, it swung open, so energetically, as usual, like there was a tornado behind it.

Mal let his scruff grow, and now he looked about five years older, and even more handsome. His hands still had dark small cuts from the debris of the table.

“Oh my god!” he exclaimed. Y/N eyed him carefully. The dude was wearing his jean jacket and sweatpants, and he looked smashing, but also, not pale enough. He didn’t even have swollen eyes or grey bruises around them. He looked perfectly healthy, mature, and happy to see her.

“Y/N, are you reading my mind?” he took the ice cream bucket from her and pushed the door, letting her in.

She entered his place with curiosity. Y/N hasn’t been inside yet; should she happen to give him a lift, she usually let him out of the car outside and drove away.

It was messy as hell, like a normal dude’s apartment. The only neatly organized space was kitchen, where all the cutting boards, knives and plates lay in their places, all the ketlery seemingly kept in one color palette.

His room, though, was an expression of his temper. Bed was full of candy packages, and his clothes, his pastel and black hoodies, jeans and t-shirts scattered around the floor. He wasn’t completely mental though: his jackets and coats were hung in the closet, on hangers. The big TV was on, prepped against the wall right opposite his bed; Netflix was paused indicating that he’s been watching Alien.

“This is perfect”, he puffed, pulling his jacket off and throwing in onto a chair. “I was just about to go out for the ice cream, and there you are, like a little fairy, granting my deepest desires”.

He crashed back on bed, his lively black eyes fixated on her. Y/N stood above it, unsure what to do.

“Are you doing okay, Mal?”

He opened his mouth, looking at her, while he lay in his bed, stomach up, like a cat.

“Yeah, what do you mean?”

Two seconds passed until a bulb lit up in the depths of his brain.

“Oh, yes, of course. Martha’s dead. Love of my life is gone and I will never see her again. But I’m fine”.

Y/N took off her leather jacket and threw it on the same chair, to pair it with Mal’s. Thing was, she didn’t mind mess much as long as it wasn’t completely biologically hazardous. Clean kitchen did that for her.

“Care to elaborate? How did you manage to cope with it in four days? I thought you’d need a lot of support, quite frankly”.

She put the bucket on the nighstand and opened it with her nails.

“Do you have a spoon?”

Mal looked down his bed and then put his arm under the pillow, looked around the room and finally spotted a spoon on the stand under the TV. Y/N took it and stabbed the stone-frozen blue stuff. She sat on the bed, thanking heavens that Mal thought to move to give her some space. He took the bucket from her and unpaused the movie.

“You’ve seen this?”

“You kidding?”

She prepped herself against the pillow and sat comfortably.

“I had such a big crush on Sigourney Weaver when it first came out…” there were traces of tenderness in Mal’s voice.

“Repeat that, slower”, Y/N eyed him as he took a spoonful in his mouth.

“Well, obviously, I mean when it came out, like, for me. Don’t pick on my words, I’m mourning”.

“You don’t look like you are”.

“God, you’re lucky you’re cute and bring me food, lady”, Mal shook his head slowly, never looking away from the TV. “Hold on, he’s gonna start feeding now”.

They both allowed all their concentration into the movie. To be honest, Y/N loved that one.

“I love him so much”, she whispered under her breath as the Xenomorph jumped down from the ceiling, sweeping a guy away so fast it was almost like when vampires did it.

“Yeah?” Mal smiled. “You want some?”

Y/N nodded and took the spoon.

“He’s fast, and he’s perfect. He never talks too much, he just feeds and kills, you know. Even Predators admitted that Aliens were the best hunting prey and that they had a kind of respect for them because how awesome they are. Look at him. He’s so stealthy and pitch black, he’s flawless”.

“You wanna fuck a Xenomorph?” he asked with uncertainty.

“I guess I like all things terrible”.

Mal nodded with understanding.

The plot went on as they were slowly consuming ice cream, like a couple of disgruntled schoolchildren, only, they were both way too adult to be dramatic.

“So, what have you been doing here these days?” Y/N took another swing at trying to open him up.

Mal sighed.

“You know, stuff. Cried a little, cooked, ate a lot, slept. Then I remembered our conversation about movies and how you once said that you watch stuff that makes you happy when you’re down”.

“So, you decided to go with Alien”.

“Nah, sorry, monster fucker, but cenobites are my all-time favorites. I started with Hellraiser, yesterday. Rewatched all parts”.

“Damn it”.

“What?”

“I should’ve come yesterday. What are you going to do now?”

“Uh, Alien franchise?” he eyed her with confusion as he shoved the spoon in his mouth. He was eating it like a bear, without even looking, like it was soup. Mal had incredible stomach for sure, made of titan or such.

“No, I mean, you’ll have to return to work eventually. And live on”.

“Come on, it’s been four days. Give me a break. Plus, I don’t have to return to work – I moved in here because of my girlfriend, and now she’s dead, so technically I don’t have to work”.

“Fair enough”.

Y/N shivered at the thought of never seeing him at the college again. After nearly two months of being as thick as thieves she couldn’t imagine going on completely alone in that madhouse.

Was it weird that Mal seemed so indifferent? Yes and no. Y/N learned not to question the weird long time ago. She was surrounded by them. She was just alarmed at what he might do or feel when it finally hits him that Martha is really gone.

She left it alone. Y/N slid down a little, shook her head negatively when Mal tried to feed her; by the end of the first part they were spread on the bed like two starfish. The second chapter of Ripley’s blood freezing adventures began at about Five PM, and Y/N only realized she was almost drifting away when her phone rang.

“Hey”, she hung from Mal’s bed and grabbed her phone. It was Damon.

“Is he alive?”

“Yep”.

“Is he raging?”

“No, everything’s fine”.

She looked around and looked at the guy; the bucket in his hands was half-empty. Her eyebrows went up.

“Although I think he’s a bit suicidal”.

“Cool, hit me up if anything”.

Damon hung up.

“Who was it?”

“Mal, you shouldn’t eat it all at once, you’ll poison yourself”.

“I’m fine. Was it Damon?”

Mal embraced his bucket in case she tries to pull it away from him.

“No”.

His eyes narrowed.

“Why are you lying?”

Y/N clicked her tongue, falling back and crossing her legs.

“Because I don’t want you to think about him”.

Mal stared at her, thinking about something. Y/N looked at the birth mark on his neck and thought to herself that she lost completely. She couldn’t resist it anymore, the urge to be close to him, to hear what he says, gain the little smiles as she mused out loud. Her inner guts warmed up as she looked at this young man, and there was nothing she could do about this unyielding attraction, about the sheer feeling of liberty she experienced under his testing glance.

“You wanna see her pictures?” he asked suddenly.

“I thought you deleted them all”.

“No, I wanted to do it, but…” he shrugged, “you know how it is, I got really soft over the years we’ve been together”.

Y/N ran her hand through her hair.

“Sure”.

He took his phone, putting the bucket between their thighs. Y/N tried to snatch it away, but Mal caught her wrist.

“I’m eating it”.

“Mal, it’s really bad for you”.

“I know what I’m doing, mum”.

The film was going on, but they leaned to each other, looking at the screen of his smartphone. Mal didn’t delete shit, she thought, and discovered, she was angry. For heaven’s sake, Y/N, she thought, the girl’s died four days ago.

“That’s us in Carolina. We rented a little house”.

Martha was standing in the kitchen in a pretty dress, much like one Y/N had herself. But then again, it was a very fashionable model one summer, so a lot of girls had it. Think rationally.

“You travelled a lot?”

“Yeah, well, mainly in America”.

“And you’re from Ohio?”

“Uh-huh”.

Y/N looked at their picture in which they were sitting on the bank of a river.

“Where is it?”

“New Orleans. She loved that city, Martha. Tried to get me to move in there”.

“She’s got a good taste. Architecture in New Orleans is amazing”.

“She was also very much into home interiors. You know, sinks, bath tubs. I’ve never met a person before, who’d be so interested in fucking acrylic”.

Y/N looked up and they met eyes. Mal looked very serious.

“She was also very kind. You couldn’t tell at first, people used to say she was wicked. But compared to me, she was an angel. Maybe not the most people’s person, but she sure was unique”.

He blinked slowly, and his gaze went blank. Uh-oh, Y/N gathered, there it goes. Well, her arms are attached and she’s capable of holding him for as long as he needed.

“Have you ever been in love so hard it annoyed the hell out of you?” he asked.

Y/N tried to think of all the times she has been in love. In truth, she didn’t fall for somebody too often and easily, and the way this black-eyed boy made her feel was rather unusual.

She’s been in love with her classmate, Ashton, for about seven years, in and out. Never approached him. Never let him know. It was a simple teenage crush, with all the teenage drama, while Ashton was dating other girls.

She’s been in love with Damon so helplessly, so fully, it was painful. There was a time in her life when she thought she never needed anything else, that she could grab the whole bunch of the planet and throw it away, just to be with him. But he was unreachable, unimaginable. He was a titan, and she was a girl in a brown dress. She loved him loyally and openly, and he never budged, because Damon Salvatore, to his honor, only loved one woman in his very long life. And it wasn’t Y/N.

“I’ve been hurt”, she said, “and I’ve been rejected, but not annoyed, I don’t think so”.

Mal nodded coyly, his straight thin nose diving down as he looked at his phone laying in her palm.

“I was never supposed to get into that trap. I’m not the kind of person who is capable of…” he winced, as if remembering something, “loving, caring, all the human things. That was always bad for me. I never even had the urge. And then it turned out she was crafted for me, and I hoped, I – for her. All the things I thought I knew were just crashed, my brain couldn’t even cope. You know, Martha had a stamina, because those first months we’ve got together for real I hurt her a lot”.

Y/N stiffened a little.

“I confused everything I felt. I wanted to hold her, and squeezed her so hard she had bruises. I had this eerie feeling like I was crumbling down in pieces, and then realized it was my guards falling down. She completely destroyed the portrait of the person I thought I was”.

“Who did you think you were?”

Mal looked at her and said in such a tone as if it was obvious,

“A mistake”.

There were people at some point so vile that they completely convinced this pretty boy that he was unwanted, that he was supposed to be unmade. How do you fuck your child up so bad? Y/N wanted to ask what mental issues his parents must have had, and then decided she didn’t have the emotional capacity for it.

She considered it a little and then put her hand on Mal’s head, covering his left ear with her palm.

“Look at them”.

They both turned to the screen. There stood a Xenomorph, its jet black skin glistening like oil, slender flexible limbs standing firmly, elongated head and exquisitely made spine, like a handle of a harp.

“He’s perfect. And so are you, Mal”.

He bit his lower lip and suddenly dropped his head, bursting into giggles.

His large hands encircled her waist and pulled her close. Mal smelled like ice cream, and his skin, having its own scent, was warm under his soft shirt. Y/N couldn’t fight him as he sat back on the pillows, cradling her in his arms and putting his chin onto the top of her head.

“I know, Y/N. Now I know, I’m just saying, there was a time when I really believed all that crap my dad fed me. But Martha came along and, grossly, saved my dirty, black, violent soul”.

She put her head on Mal’s shoulder and outstretched her legs, feeling so cozy it threatened to put her to sleep again. Mal sighed, and his chest went up and down, and she rolled her eyes, savoring these moments, because she knew she couldn’t keep going.

“But then, of course, Damon took my girlfriend away”, he added.

She sat up so harshly he lifted both his hands for a second.

“Mal. You know it was someone else, right? She attacked him, but somebody had turned her before, and compelled her to try and kill Damon”.

Mal did it again. A second ago he was as fluffy as a bear, and now there was poison in the very air he exhaled from his nostrils.

“But it was him who ripped her heart out of her chest, right? Or are you going to tell me I should ignore it, too, like I did with her parents?”

“We need to find that… vampire who’s behind all these killings first”.

“I don’t care about them”, Mal waved his hand, “people die every day. In packs. My girl and what Damon did to her – that’s my focus. Are you going to stop me?”

They looked at each other, worms stirring in Y/N’s belly.

“You really don’t understand what’s wrong with this plan, do you?”

“I really think you keep trying to protect him because you still have feelings for him”.

She fell back on the pillows with a swing – and ceiling swayed for a moment. She could feel Mal’s eyes following her, drilling into her face.

“I really don’t”.

“You’re lying to yourself”.

His voice was dry like sand. Then he took the bucket from the stand and continued to eat, as if nothing happened.

By the end of Aliens Y/N fell asleep and woke up again when it was already dark. Mal turned on a night shade, and was still watching movies.

She opened her eyes and adjusted them, staring into the TV while laying on her side. Having completely come to her senses, she sat up, causing Mal to turn his head to her.

“You really blacked out”, he said with deep admiration.

She rubbed her neck and face, feeling even heavier than before.

“Oh god, why did you let me sleep… how long has it been?”

“A movie and a half”.

“I have to go”.

“Okay”.

Her glance travelled around the room and stopped at the empty bucket.

“You mental patient”, she hissed, “you really wanna kill yourself?”

He just smirked.

She got up from the bed, stretching her limbs and back, and yawned.

“You know, I think I will return to work”, Mal said.

“That’s a good idea, Mal. You’ll keep busy and won’t have to think about anything”.

He nodded.

Mal didn’t get up to close the door after her, so she had to “just bang it harder” herself. As she left the building, the warm summer air started to put things in order in her mind.

She drove to her house and was standing in front of the mirror in her room in thirty minutes. Her hand lay on her throat as she was examining herself. She wasn’t going crazy, was she? She remembered putting on her necklace that morning, a pretty one, wrapping tightly around her neck. Now, it wasn’t on her desk, and it wasn’t on her, so? She took off her shirt and checked for any kinds of marks on her skin. There was nothing. All the things with Mal were so intense, so sexual and strange, she couldn’t put her mind to rest. She didn’t know why she didn’t phone him right away, and she didn’t know why she wouldn’t believe his deeply sad eyes even after he showed her their pictures with Martha.

She also didn’t remember ever telling him about the movies that make her feel happy.

[themostexpensiveboningknife]

2020

Failed party, money in drawer, communicate, move house, move boxes, drive in van, walk to shops, buy noodles, think it’s the end, see whole bus of soldiers in Beijing, new area, walk in darkness, think about leaving, leave, think its temporary, in taxi, post stupid photos, check and check again phone, think people with goggles on my plane are over reacting, take off my mask to eat, keep taking off to loosen, arrive back in London. Tube. Cold. Pub. Party at WeWork. Exhibition at Dulwich Gallery. Farringdon. Drugs and drinks. Brockley, South east London. DJ. Ethiopian food. Morley’s Peckham. Walking on the River. Photographer friend’s house. Canal cycle. National Gallery. Car crash, Dalston. Omar Souleyman. Corsica Studios. Meet girl, back to my friends, back to hers, sex. Morning up to mum’s best friends birthday, Covent Garden restaurant. In a van, Sunday roast. Chisenhale Gallery. arebyte Gallery. Getting worse in China, seems nice and easy and calm in England. Camberwell beers and more. Second-hand book shops, Charing Cross Road. Courtauld. Leafed through a book about a man who lived his entire 86.5 years in East London. Still talking to the same girl back in China. Both believe I’ll be back soon. Chicken wings. West London, meal. South London pub. DJing somewhere inside. Kent, see grandma. Rave, Bermondsey. Friends from Israel and Germany arrive. More drinks, more drugs. Mixing friends. Gay bar in Bethnal Green for old friend’s birthday. Acid, confused and hilarious. Tate Britain. Serpentine. Cranes on the bridge. Liverpool Street film screening. Feels shallow, but good. Begin regular E Pellici sojourns. Primrose Hill with Dad. Beer festival with Keaton and co. Peckham, school friend’s house, bad vibe. More drinks, more drugs. Working on first music compilation with Slowcook and Fafa. Begin watching all of the Studio Ghibli movies. Watching Breaking Bad. At some point have huge argument with my brother, it went like this: He came home from work and I was sitting watching Breaking Bad, he asks, “Have you been like that all day?” I either took it in the wrong way or picked up on a sly dig. It was probably me, but at this point I was pretty self-conscious and worried about going back to China and whether or not I would have a job back there. Was getting surprisingly pissed off with my brother mentioning his work, felt like an affront to me. Weird. He goes crazy (he has a short fuse), punching a wall, ready to fight me. My mum is pretty upset. A few days later I go into his room and try to patch things up. Turns into a deeper chat. He feels like I haven’t been a good brother to him, he gives the example of not looking out for him on his first days of school. I say I’m sorry, it’s because I’m a bit scared and insecure. In retrospect I regret a little laying so much weakness on the table, seems his interactions/ways of acting around me have changed a bit. Still not sure how I feel about it all. Considered getting a gold tooth with Matthew. Play with cats, enjoying them more and more. Rave in Dalston, good music from Asia and beyond. Looking at magazines. Not doing much work at all. Being out and about instead. Go to Norfolk. It’s beautiful, but get way too drunk on first night, sick everywhere, wake up naked in sick. Massive fucking shitshow. Majority of people there have no choice but to act weirdly around me now, which is understandable. Still some nice aspects. One girl there surely hates me a lot. Tate Modern. Art stuff by self is good. Corsica Studios, semi-art, semi-music event. Mr. Bao for first time of many. Radio in Tottenham. Take drugs. Pubs. Drive to Asda with brother to stock up on food. It’s March and the reality of the pandemic is hitting. More canal cycling. First and only group chat on Zoom. BH Funk. Probably have taken cocaine and messaged one of three or four girls numerous times by now. If there’s one, in the cold light of day, horrible and disgusting thing I’ve done too much this year it’s this. Incessant messaging of poor girls that I know will react (although increasingly they don’t, I manage to alienate even close friends in this way). Southbank and The Mall with Nick. Reading about Wuhan. List of good texts. Continuing to do some writing. Making WeChat posts for guī WeChat, including mix series and miniessays. Greenwich park with Matthew. Grime quiz online. Delivering food regularly for my mum’s school. Hackney Marshes with Luan. Epping Forest with Mum and Dad. By this point probably have woken up feeling sorry for myself in Ludo’s flat, after untold amounts of alcohol and cocaine. Online rave. Beijing artists only mix. Go to Switzerland, pass through Italy on the way. Its breath taking, the mountains, the expanse of scenery, not used to it. Climbing up mountains with no one around. Rolo and Patrick and Rita smoke too much weed. I really, really, really still hate smoking it. Feel a bit annoyed how long we spend sitting around while they smoke, but this is way outbalanced by the uniqueness of where we are and the beauty all around. Producing more and more, actually getting somewhere. Cooking more and more food. Reading more and more, like: Black and British, The Corrections, Real Fast Food, Bass, Mids, Tops, Zadie Smith, Olivia Lang, Graham Greene, JG Ballard, Monica Ali, Mo Yan, Jenny Zhang, John le Carre, Naked Lunch, Nabokov, Bukowski, Zora Neale Hurston, Wiley, Bitcoin, Murakami, Judith E. Butler, The Painter of Modern Life, Maupassant, Chekov, Video Art, Gravity’s Rainbow (couldn’t finish), Anaïs Nin, The Net Delusion (couldn’t finish), The Establishment and how they got away with it (couldn’t finish), Roddy Doyle, The Secret of Scent, General Intellects, Women In Love, The Intelligent Investor, Lyndon Johnson. Victoria Park more often than I can remember. To Chrissy’s house. Mile End Park. Very regularly sitting on the river in Wapping. Bring the chessboard and play Ludo sometimes, people smile and look at you differently when you’re playing chess and drinking beers versus just sitting and drinking beer. I May Destroy You. Industry. The beautiful wide expanse of Hackney Marshes. My incessant quest to reach 1000 followers in Instagram. More cycling, and I hate to say it but it really was: Here there and everywhere. Margate with my Dad to see my grandma in hospital and saw the Turner Prize exhibition. Light blue like scrubs, the sky and sun felt eternal. Swimming in dirty water. Make a DJ mix of old 2000s Road Rap. Eat cheese in Peckham. Cycle along the canal north, keep going and going through Tottenham, past Enfield keep going, it’s mad how quickly it becomes quiet fields on all sides, arrive to some kind of lake, swim and then back to the centre of town. Outside a Hawksmoor church in Shadwell ate chicken with Karim and Ludo. DJing. From my bedroom window saw a big crane in the middle of the night sitting on the canal. Begin developing the second DCCY compilation this time with BULLY magazine. Go to a house in an old school in Camberwell. Discover new secret riverside spots in East London. Finally give up my apartment in Beijing. Mile End park. Cycle further and further East to a pedestrian bridge I didn’t know existed. Get onto the beach and into the Thames water. Interview Akito. Begin writing more, after few months of wiling away the summertime. My friend Emmy gets married in Rwanda, I give him some money as a wedding gift which he tells me he used to buy his wife’s dress. Protests in HK always on TV. Get more into finances, crypto and trading, and just saving in general. Had sex with an old friend. Now meeting a girl I first knew years ago in Beijing. More secret river spots. Keaton has his baby, Noah. More times on Hackney Marshes. Barbican conservatory. Watching more films, try to watch all the films of some directors including: Jia Zhangke, Bong Joon-ho, Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Decide to watch all of the infamous lauded series, go through Breaking Bad, The Wire and The Sopranos. Go to the seaside for a few days, camping also. Henry Wu album launch in a car park in Bermondsey. Go to visit Keaton’s baby for the first time. Good photography exhibition at Photographer’s Gallery. Go to Wallace Collection again. August. Go to Berlin. Swimming in Berlin lakes until I get an ear infection. It makes me drowsy and lethargic, but still seems to spend all my time cycling around the city. On one night cycle for hours to a rave on the outskirts of the city. Like a lot the abandoned airport in Berlin. Oh yeah, vaping. Found a dead bumble bee. Speak with Nevin about projects. Write a piece about the future of the art world for a magazine being started by Nevin’s friend in Canada. Go to Lithuania. Walk around Vilnius, get too drunk by myself. Get to the Curonian Spit and Nida, beaches and new friends. For the Nightlife Residency project. For a short while life is like on a desert island of new food, new people, new locations, quiet and new meaning. Go to the Russian border on the beach. Cycle to the road boarder and get stopped by the police. Go nude on the beach for the first time. Sauna, sand dunes and forests. DJ out for the first time in ages, this time with Nono. To Kaunus and try nice and stodgy Georgian food for the first time. Hackney Wick back for party. Meet a ginger girl online and go on a date. Wallace Collection again. Free beer and pizza. White Cube. National Gallery, Titian. On BBC Radio London with my Dad. Riverside beers. Saw a lost swan near my front door. Meet Keaton near his work, one of many times. Making more and more music, getting better. Decide I need more organisation and clarity, put everything I’ve done on a blog. More or less long since given up on my job at M Woods. But don’t really begin looking for anything new because it’s still sunny. At some point I start getting benefits money. Go to see La Haine in the cinema. Someone blocks me on WeChat because of me. Some pub somewhere. Sunday walks and breakfast with my parents. Go to an exhibition in Woolworth Road with Muzi. Realise how nice it is to run to Victoria Park along the canal. Vicky Park in general. Dinners at friends’ houses. Museum of London. Walking with Michael in some countryside near London, surprising how quickly things turn green. Break onto a pier in Wapping with Jack. Battersea Park. Tate, Bruce Nauman. Old Street Weatherspoon’s with Keaton, drugs. Central London cemetery. Chinese in Camberwell. Chinese in Aldgate. Italian in Camberwell. More and more exercise, running, weights and yoga with my brother. Sadie Coles. Nick, Central London. Gucci Mane. Hampstead Heath more because Ludo and his flatmates are nearby. Ludo’s now house more for days and nights of you guessed it. Borough Market more, with Emma. Alexandra Palace walk and famous sandwiches after. Tate Britian new lights. More time at Muzi’s. Signing up for cycle courier. LYL Radio show. Shave head. Take acid and it hurts my stomach. Camden Arts Centre with Muzi. Christmas party with friends. Birthday. Cake with Muzi, presents and Indian takeaway from family, walk in Vicky Park with Ludo and Karim plus battered sausage and chips. Christmas at home nice and warming meal. Evening to Ludo’s place with more friends. Boxing day with Matthew, pints and then more at his house in Peckham all night long. Next day is tough! Giant turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey curry. Buy first NFTs. New Year’s Eve stay in at Muzi’s, one drink and a cake.

[nat-20s]

Please, tell me more about Donna’s “Wild Past Before Doctor” I, like you, can spend all my time discussing these two dumbasses til my dying breath

Listen LISTEN Donna was not a chaotic smart dumbass because she was friends with ten, she was friends with ten because she was ALREADY a chaotic smart dumbass. She snuck onto a train to Scotland at age SIX like what do you expect her to do? be boring? i have to laugh

Some things I personally think Donna did pre-doctor:

-got really into “urban exploring” (fancy trespassing) for like three months and thus has been to SO MANY haunted locations

-stole her mum’s car at age 13 to get some chicken nuggets

-glitter bombed a church and thus has been banned for life

-gotten about halfway through 3 different bachelors before getting bored and deciding this was not for her

-successfully hid a pet mouse in her dorm room for a year and a half

-once bought  ducks from a farm off of craigs list and snuck them into a movie theater for the express purpose of getting a photo with the theme of “getting your ducks into a row”

-placed a brick in one of the back doors of a planetarium on a school trip so that she could later sneak into said planetarium after hours. got a stern talking to by a night security guard, but also got surprisingly far into playing with the controls before she got caught

-gone on SO MANY road trips

-Got her actual scuba diving certification only to immediately go underwater cave diving, which you need a separate set of classes for

-has not used the Buddy system on many occasions that she was supposed to use the buddy system

-such as underwater cave diving

-had 4 distinct near death experiences that she is aware of

-helped smuggle an incredibly tiny wiener dog into a birthday party at an amusement park

-was an employee of said amusement park

-had many brushes with aliens without knowing it, including a blind date. it was FAR from the worst first date she’s ever had

-gotten arrested for disturbing the peace at a bachelorette party

-been actually fired on 6 occasions: 4 times for mouthing off at the boss, 1 time due to genuinely fucking up the job, and once on a bet to see just how much she could get away with

-took a tourist trap tour of the usa, specifically hitting only the tackiest of locations. The kind of museums that cost 4 bucks to get into, ya know?

-spent an entire night with every book of spells she could find in the library trying to perform witchcraft because hey at least it was something to do

-had a temp job as a ghost tour host. told a group of teenagers about how she made up SOOOO much shit. Did meet one ghost during her stint, but it was during her commute rather than on the job

-got an entire bar on new year’s to sing auld lang syne, but instead of lyrics was just “blah blah blah blah BLAH blaaah blah blah”

- set off professional fireworks during a camping trip

-dumped rocket fuel into the camp fire on the same trip

-drowned a minivans engine trying to drive through three feet of water on the SAME TRIP

-entered a blood pact with Nerys such that if any of them try to actually end the contentious friendship it will result in mutually assured destruction

-acquired a fake ID at age 16 not to get drunk but instead to adopt a cat without her mum’s permission. She named it “Wilf 2″ :)

[niall-is-my-dream]

Lost Without You - Part Six

2660 words

At 10am the following Monday morning you received a call from Foundation Interior Designs.  Your hands were trembling as you answered the call and you could hardly contain the squeals that were threatening to escape when they offered you the job.

After working your arse off for three years at University you had finally landed one of your dream roles. A few months working in Paris before settling back in London to start your career.

You first called Niall, probably should have been your parents or Jess and Hannah but he was the first person you thought off. Niall as you expected was so excited and told you that he knew you would get it. Asking him to thank Willie for the interview advice, you told him you were going to call your parents and that you would speak to him later. He was about to go into a meeting anyway, so said he would call you when it finished.

Your parents were ecstatic at the news, offering to treat you to lunch when they came down from Nottingham the next day. Your dad had hired a van and they were going to help you move and buy your furniture for the flat above The Cosy Coffee Corner. Although you would be leaving the flat for a few months, you would need it when you got back from Paris in December.

After firing off a message on your group chat with Jess and Hannah asking them to meet you at the cafe in half an hour, you grabbed your purse and headed out. You were excited to tell Audrey your news, she had become an unexpected agony Aunt while you had lived here. Jess and Hannah said they'd meet you there and as you pushed open the door to the cafe you spotted Audrey straight away.

 "Morning Emma, how are you? All set for tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yes my parents are coming down to help. And I got some great news about a job!" 

"Well???!!!" She said eagerly.

"I got the internship in Paris and if that goes well it will extend to the London office as well!"

Audrey went crazy, clapping and cheering as she rounded the counter and pulled you into a hug.

"I knew you could do it, didn't I tell you? Oh Paris!! Think of all the coffee and pastries you can try!"

Typical Audrey thinking about coffee and baked goods, however she had a point. You'd probably have to take up running when you got there. 

You chatted with her about the job and your plans for the flat. Audrey offered to keep an eye on the flat for you while you were gone and to cover the bills for you, but you declined her offer. She had been more than generous when it came to the flat. It was a two bedroom place and she wasn't taking any deposit from you, hadn't made you sign any tenancy agreement and only wanted you to cover the bills, with the rent she had asked for was the same as the studio flats you had been looking at. She had even updated the kitchen and bathroom and put new carpet throughout.

Audrey stayed and chatted with you until Hannah and Jess arrived, excusing herself when they sat down offering to bring some coffees over for you. It was at this point that you decided you wanted to do something special for Audrey. Something to show her that you appreciated having her in your life. You would have to have a think about how to repay her for her kindness. Maybe you could invite her to Paris for the weekend when you were there?

Hannah soon pulled you from your thoughts and you began discussing the job.

"So have you told Niall yet?" She asked.

"Yeah I did, he was really happy for me."

"Where does this leave you guys then?" Jess asked.

"Well we talked on the phone for like two hours Saturday night after I finished work. He is wanting to make us exclusive and wants to see how we go."

"And what do you think, because your face isn't convincing me." Hannah replied.

"Honestly, I thought he was going to end things when he asked to talk to me."

"Do you want to end things with him, because I'm not convinced you want that either."

It was then that Audrey came over with your coffees and some pastries, you swear she was trying to fatten you all up. She left you all to it, sensing that you were in deep conversation about something.

"I'm so confused about everything." You admitted to them. "He's so ridiculously perfect for me but I'm worried about us being apart and getting my heart broken. Should I get out now and save myself or do I risk it and I could end up with something amazing?"

"Do you want me to be honest?" Hannah asked you.

"Yes, tell me what you think. Because I'm so conflicted."

"I was shocked when you said you'd applied for jobs that took you abroad, I was shocked when you started seeing Niall. As badass as I think you are, you are not a risk taker. Going to Paris is completely out of your comfort zone but look how amazing it is going to be. You will learn so much and have an experience to talk to your grandkids about. So take the risk with Niall, see how you go. Your heart can be fixed if it doesn't work out, but I think you'd be fucking stupid to let him go."

You sat there looking at Hannah, someone you had been best friends with for three years and took in the words she had just said.

"What about you Jess?" You asked turning to her.

"Agree with Hannah, take the risk with him. Even if you were staying in London and he wasn't doing all this promo over the world, being with him would still be hard. I think he's worth it, you've been so ridiculously happy since you met him it's sickening." She replied smirking. "And anyway, he's rich you can fly to each other whenever you want."

"I don't want to be seen as using him for money though, I don't expect that sort of thing." 

"He won't think that, that's not you at all!" Hannah replied quickly.

"Ok, well looks like we will be having a long distance relationship." You said.

"It does, doesn't it. I might be too, we should compare notes." Jess added, taking a sip of her coffee.

You tilted your head and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Care to explain?" You asked her smiling.

"Conor and I have been talking since we went to his gig the other week."

"How in the hell have you kept that a secret?!" Hannah almost screeched across the table at her.

"You never keep anything a secret when it comes to guys!" You added.

"Just been texting and getting to know each other slowly. They're in Europe at the moment but are back next week and he's taking me to dinner."

You could tell by her face that she had been desperate to tell you both, but you understood her need to keep it quiet. While Wild Youth weren't as big in the celebrity world as Niall was, they were still well known musicians. 

"Great, I'll be the one alone at home with all her cats while you two are out walking the red carpet at some fancy celebrity award show." Hannah said her forehead pressing into a frown.

You all burst out laughing then, the thought of that seeming ridiculous.

"Niall has some cute friends, I'll play matchmaker if you like?!"

"No, don't want to seem too desperate." She replied.

"Sounds like you are though." Jess added and laughing at the ridiculousness of the conversation.

**********

Building flat pack furniture really was a chore. Your parents had driven down from Nottingham early this morning, collected you from your dorm before heading to Ikea.  You had brought a bed, wardrobes, drawers, a dining table and chairs and a sofa. Your Gran had given you some money and along with some gifted from your parents you had got everything you needed. Everything had been brought back to the flat above The Cosy Coffee Corner, with the sofa and bed being delivered the next day.

After heading into Audreys and getting some take away sandwiches and drinks, you headed up to the flat to eat and begin assembling the furniture. Your Mum was in the kitchen putting away some of the new plates and cutlery when your phone rang. 

"Who's Niall?! He's calling by the way!" She called out to you. "And he's incredibly attractive!" She added, clearly seeing the picture of you both that you had as his caller id.

"He's someone I've been spending time with." You admitted, as you made your way from the bedroom where you'd been building furniture. The call rang out as you hadn't been quick enough to answer it.

"Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?!" She replied.

"Because I'm a terrible daughter!" You laughed as you hit the call button to call him back.

You left the kitchen, choosing to speak to Niall without your Mum listening in. With your Dad busy building the wardrobe in your bedroom, you went into the living room and closed the door.

"Hi Emma." Niall said as he answered the call.

"Hi Niall, sorry I missed your call. I was in the other room building flat packed furniture." You replied smiling.

"How's it going?"

"Pretty good actually. Getting through it all quite quickly."

"I'm done with my meetings so wondered if you wanted me to come over and help?" He asked you.

"You don't have to do that. Go enjoy the rest of your day off."

"I'd enjoy my day better if I was with you."

"If you come over you'd have to meet my parents." You said, your voice low. 

"I don't mind that, unless you don't want me to."

"It's up to you if you want to meet my crazy mother." You replied, making sure she wasn't listening.

"She can't be that bad. You wait till you meet mine!" He said, and you smiled at the thought that he wanted to introduce you to his Mum. "I just really want to see you if I'm honest. I've missed you."

You'd not seen him since he'd left the pub on Friday evening. He had been busy over the weekend and you'd had work and had spent some time packing in preparation for your move today. 

"I've missed you too."

"So, can I come over?"

"Of course, but you'll be set to work if you're not careful."

"I don't mind that, happy to help."

Half an hour later and you saw from the bedroom window Niall's car appear in the car park at the back of the cafe. He looked cute in his shorts and t-shirt, you loved it when he was all casual and comfy. Something about it was so attractive and you weren't sure why.

You could feel your mother's eyes burning into the back of your head as you answered the door to Niall. He smiled and kissed your cheek as he came across the threshold, very tame for him but he had clearly seen your Mum behind you. He offered her a small wave and a greeting as you closed the door.

Niall was a natural with your parents, you could tell that he met new people frequently. He knew exactly what to say to charm your Mum and soon got into helping your Dad finish off building your wardrobe. You could hear them talking about Derby County from the living room and it made you smile. With the furniture built your Mum started to hoover around the flat, tidying up as she went and you went with Niall and your Dad to your dorm.

It felt a bit sad to be loading up the van your Dad had driven down in. In went your desk, your bedside cabinet and your comfy armchair. Along with numerous boxes and bags of clothes. You had already cleaned the bathroom and kitchenette so didn't need to come back anymore to do anything else.

So many memories had been had in this room, from getting ready to go out to the student union with Jess and Hannah. To cramming in all the revision and working on all the projects for your degree. And then there was the time you'd spent with Niall, laying in your bed talking and getting to know one another. The next chapter in your life was going to be scary but you knew it was worth the risk.

**********

Your time with Niall was like a ticking time bomb.

As the first few weeks of August slipped away, you knew it was only a matter of weeks before you would both go your separate ways for 3.5 months.

And you were dreading it.

You had just finished working your last shift in the cafe, your last shift in the pub had been last night. Deciding to give yourself a few weeks off to spend with Niall and your family before you went away. Since your parents and Gran had given you money for your furniture and Audrey hadn't taken a deposit you had some leave way with money and could afford to do it.

The doorbell to your flat sounded a few minutes after you got back and you left the bag half packed as you went to answer it. Jess and Hannah were stood at the entrance with massive grins on their faces.

"I love your boyfriend!" Jess declared.

"I'm aware of that!" You smiled as you ushered them in, their suitcases being pulled along behind them.

When Niall had added you to a WhatsApp group at the beginning of last week, that consisted of him, his cousins and some of his friends you were confused. Until he requested that you add Jess and Hannah. You found out he had booked a ten bedroom villa in Italy, complete with large pool and countryside views and he wanted everyone to be ready Saturday night for a flight.

Jess and Hannah of course had called you screaming and asking if it was a joke. Apparently it wasn't, with him being away for a few months he had wanted to get everyone together for a 5 day break to end the summer. Niall knew he wouldn't see any of them until probably Christmas time, so wanted to spend some quality time with everyone he cared about. He wanted to get to know Hannah and Jess better considering he hadn't even met them yet and he also wanted you to have some company. Niall had said there was no way he would've gone away without you.

Having got about an hour before you needed to be ready to be picked up it surprised you to see the girls here early. Both were incredibly excited and grateful to have been included in the plans. Niall had said it was a no brainer to invite them, the more the merrier and it gave you all an opportunity to celebrate finishing University.

After having a shower, you dressed and finished packing your case. You were nervous to say the least.

When you finally got picked up the lads were full of it, singing songs in the back of the minibus to get into the spirit. The nerves were still there even though Niall had been holding your hand the entire journey to the airport and got significantly worse when you saw the private jet on the run way.

Niall Horan was a truly amazing guy and you were lucky to be able to call him your boyfriend. You couldn't wait to spend some time with him and your friends. 

Part Seven

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/188004275828/lost-without-you-part-seven

[lolabean1998]

This Better Work Part 5

Sweet Pea X OC

Summery; Hey guys, not sure how well this is going to go but I originally put it on Wattpad so its way long, but hopefully its not horrendous. Let me know what you think! So, it follows the story line kind of, it’s not exact but I have tried and it follows my OC Ali as she navigates through the hell that is Riverdale. Whilst struggling with financial, social and romantic difficulties, she has the added pressure of keeping up with school work and bonus of being thrown into the frightening world of the criminal underground.

Side Note; None of the gifs or pictures I use are mine, I’m not talented or smart enough to even begin an attempt at making my own. Thank you to those who have such abilities and if you don’t want me using them then please let me know so I can remove them for you. 

Word Count; 4,392 (Give or Take)

Ali woke earlier than usual the next morning, when her phone began frantically buzzing on the night stand. A message from an unknown number lighting up the screen that read; 'Rise and shine princess, gotta look your best when we win the race... and you!' Ali scowled at her phone in disgust.

"The fuck is going on here. Since when did I become someone's prize?!" She demanded to the empty room. 

"So much for my lie in! I'm awake now, may as well get up and ready." Ali complained climbing out of bed and making her way over to her closet to choose an outfit for the drag race. 

"Unbelievable, they have the audacity to label me as an object but don't have the courtesy to tell me who they are! Great now I'm thinking about it!" Ali muttered to herself.

"And talking to yourself like a crazy person." Izzy added casually from the doorway. Sending Ali cat leaping into her wardrobe.

"Dear god! IZZY WHAT THE FUCK?! You scared the crap out of me!" Ali cried climbing back out of her wardrobe placing the coat hanger she had grabbed as a weapon back on its rail making Izzy laugh.

"Were you going to attack me with a coat hanger?" Izzy howled, tears rolling down her cheeks as she buckled over laughing to the point where she was struggling to breath.

"I will Hang You like a Coat!" Ali claimed confidently, doing her best knight of the round table pose, holding her coat hanger high with pride making Izzy laugh even more. 

Ali chuckled at her sister turning back to pull out a pair of navy blue high waisted shorts with 6 brass buttons leading up the front in 2 parallel lines of three. Grabbing a sleeveless white shirt tying it just below the wire of her bra so her stomach was on show. Pairing it off with a red bandana and black suede heels that finished just above her ankles. Letting Izzy put her hair in two fishtail braids whilst she did her makeup. Adding a touch of mascara and putting on her favourite red lipstick to match the bandana wrapped neatly around her head. 

"Aliii." Izzy dragged out. She wanted something. Ali was sure of it. "Is there a REASON you're getting all dressed up for a turf war drag race? Say perhaps to impress a particular person." Izzy hinted finishing off the last braid.

"Eew gross why would I try to impress Reggie he's a creep." Ali cringed looking at her sister in disgusted confusion. Izzy was a little taken a back at Ali's reaction. She couldn't possibly be that oblivious.

"Eew what makes you think I'm talking about HIM?" Izzy questioned, now staring heavily at her sister in utter disbelief.

"Well he's the only possible candidate. It's obviously going to be a guy because as hot as Cheryl is. I don't do girls. Believe me I've tried. Jug and Arch are taken. Kev and Fangs are gay, obviously. The other Bulldogs are all too scared of me to bother. I don't know any other Serpents well enough to judge. Malachi and the Ghoulies are self-explanatory and Sweet Pea has the emotional range of a self-absorbed teaspoon with a temper. The only guy left is Reggie who hits on me relentlessly but is basically a walking STD so that’s a no." Ali listed off as they made their way down stairs and into the kitchen for family breakfast. 

"Mum Ali's being stupid again!" Izzy whined as they entered.

"You mean there was a point she stopped? Why didn't you call me Isabelle I would've grabbed my camera!" Rosie exclaimed. Her tone was serious, but her face was playful.

"I hate you both!" Ali scowled poking her tongue out playfully at the pair.

"When you made the deal, you didn't offer up any Serpent territory did you?" Ali questioned keeping her voice low so others wouldn't hear.

"The Wyrm and Sunnyside, I had no choice why?" He answered looking at Ali worriedly.

"Doesn't matter, just don't you dare lose. I'm not sharing the bar with a bunch of cannibalistic junkies with an attitude problem." Ali blew it off like it was nothing. She didn't want to put Jughead under any more stress. Jughead nodded moving back to continue his conversation with Archie. 

"Something tells me these were the wrong shoes to wear today!" Ali muttered making her way over to Toni and Fangs.

"Why's that princess?" The blonde-haired serpent that had grabbed Ali the night of the open house drawled. His gaze wandering all over Ali's body like she was a piece of meat.

"Because if I get blood on them when I turn you into a snake skin purse, It's going to take forever to get out." Ali spat, glaring coldly at the boy before her. 

"HEY! What did I tell you?! WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY!" Sweet Pea bellowed scowling menacingly at the Serpent. 

"Looks like I'm not the only one you pissed off." Ali sneered, chuckling when the boy shuffled uneasily on the spot avoiding looking at Ali all together. Ali's phone pinged with a new message that read; 'You did as you're told that’s a good girl. Time to finish what I started!' Ali's stomach churned when she realized who the messages were from. Malachi's second in command. 

"That weasel!" Ali hissed to herself spinning on her heels and strolling casually over to Malachi who was laughing and joking with one of his Muppets. 

"You lying rat! You sold me out! What the fuck Malachi?!" Ali hissed trying to hide the fear creeping up her throat.

"You really think I'd actually protect you? You're dumber than you look, good job you're cute otherwise we'd have messed up that pretty face of yours a long time ago." Malachi sneered turning to face Ali. A terrifying, bone shaking grin plastered on his pale face. "And this time, I'm coming to play too." 

"Over my dead body!" Ali spat stepping backwards and moving back to the safety of her friends. Unaware of the pair of eyes that had been glued to her since she arrived.

"Dude if you stare any harder your eyes will explode!" Toni muttered to Sweet Pea.

"What was she talking to HIM about and why does she look like she's about to throw up or pass out!" Sweet Pea quizzed just as Tall Boy strolled over calling for the race to start.

"If it bothers you That much, ask her." Toni instructed making her way over to start the race. Sweet Pea shook his head at his friends instructions. There's no way she'd talk to me. He thought turning to Fangs.

"Whatever it is I'm not doing it. You and Ali use me for your dirty work all the time. I'm putting my foot Down." Fangs insisted putting his hand up to silence Sweet Pea before he said anything.

"You get replaced Cha Cha?" Ali teased catching up with Toni as Cheryl took her place to start the race.

"She's a preppy snob but DAMN she's hot!" Toni replied cheering as the race began. The blood thirsty roars of engines that filled the air disappearing rapidly as the cars charged down the road.

"I know. If Only she liked girls too." Ali sighed sarcastically, winking at Toni as they walked over to where the other Serpents were gathering again. The girls stopped by Sweet Pea leaning either side of him for a moment before Ali decided she wanted to sit on the bonnet of the truck. 

"Watch yourself Fangs I'm swinging up." Ali warned giving Fangs enough time to move out the way before jumping up effortlessly and settling comfortably on the hood of the truck. Unaware that Sweet Pea had used this as an opportunity to swipe her phone from her pocket and start going through it. Guessing her password in one try. Izzy's birthday, how predictable. Sweet Pea thought as he began reading the messages from the unknown number.

"For Fuck Sakes Jones." Sweet Pea growled under his breath, but he wasn't quiet enough. He had attracted the attention of Ali who was now leaning forwards. Intrigued by what Jughead had done this time to rattle the tall Serpent.

"What's up Buttercup?" Ali chirped resting her head on Sweet Pea's shoulder, biting her lip when a waft of his cologne filled her nostrils. This is stupid since when did we notice things like peoples smell? Come on Ali pull yourself together! She thought frowning at herself. Turning her attention back to the familiar phone in front of her. Pausing a moment before realizing that it was her own phone she was looking at. 

"Um, Sweet Pea. Why do you have my phone? And why are you reading through my messages?" She questioned tilting her head to the side and frowning a little.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Sweet Pea growled turning to face Ali his face laced with concern and fury.

"I don't know what you're talking about Petal." Ali replied doing her best to sound as sincere as possible.

"Don't play games Ali. Why didn't you tell Jones about the messages?" Sweet Pea growled again his hands holding Ali's knees possessively as his gaze poured into Ali's eyes. Worry and rage turning his eyes a deadly shade of black that Ali was all too familiar with.

"It wouldn't have made a difference. I'm not a Serpent so it's not his concern." Ali shrugged looking warmly into his eye's. Her gaze alone was enough to both calm him down and scare the hell out of him at the same time. He couldn't let something so pure get destroyed by something as cruel and evil as the Ghoulies. 

"You know that's not true. Jones wouldn't have gone through with the race if he knew what was at stake. And what do they mean by that last message? Finish what they started?" Sweet Pea interrogated but they were interrupted before Ali got the chance to answer when a voice shouted from the crowd. Immediately sending the crowd scattering in a mad panic. Ali bolted to her bike throwing on her helmet and leaping onto her trusted Harley.

"Ali, My Trailer!" Fangs commanded flying past her at speed in the passenger seat of Toni's truck. Shortly followed by several Serpents on Bikes. Ali didn't waste any time kicking off and catching up with the group. Turning off to take a different route to Fangs' trailer. 

"Balls! This can't be good." Ali muttered spotting two ghoulies in her mirrors. She knew she couldn't bring them back to the trailer. That would just be utter mayhem. Fuck it! Quarry we go! Ali decided making a sharp U-turn doubling back on herself and tanking it towards the quarry, not noticing the Serpent trailing the ghoulies. 

Ali swiftly hid her bike behind a large tree trunk before two nasty looking Ghoulie cars pulled up blocking her escape. 

"Oh, Bugger and Balls there is a lot more than two of you! Come on lads this is hardly fair. There's like ten of you and these are my favourite heels. I'm hardly dressed for the occasion!" Ali whined, trying to bargain her way out of the inevitable fight that was about unfold. 

"Nice try Princess, we've got orders." A tall blonde snarled stepping menacingly towards Ali.

"Look. The boss is most definitely in a jail cell by now and won't be out for months. So why not just leave it for a bit. At least wait until I'm wearing my scruffs. I really don't want to get blood on my clothes." Ali bargained, a pleading smile resting on her gentle features.

"Why delay the inevitable?" The Ghoulie sneered, smiling wickedly as the boys behind him fell into step.

"Think about it logically. You have your orders yes? But Malachi is going to be far more pissed when he finally gets out, realizing that his opportunity to finish what his goon started, has been taken away because you bunch of myrmidons didn't think ahead. Think how pleased he'll be to be welcomed back with a perfect revenge plan. He's obviously already working on and a bonus prize." Ali continued, slowly trying to persuade the blood thirsty group to change their plans. 

"If you let me go today, I'll continue with my daily routine. Falling straight back into my happy bubble. The bubble dearest darling Malachi so desperately wants to pop, himself." Ali's manipulation technique slowly taking effect.

"She's got a point. As much as it pains me to say it. I agree with the Northsider. Why get her now when you can preserve her in her perfect preppy little Northsider form ready for when the boss gets out. I mean that's what I would do if it were me!" A voice agreed from behind the Ghoulies making everyone jump and turn. Revealing an overly laid-back Sweet Pea leaning against a beaten-up old truck. Clearly stolen by the ghoulies when they ditched their own cars.

"See, I can't believe I'm about to say this but even the snake has a brain and moderate sense of self preservation. All though that could use some improvement." Ali nodded pointing to the smug Serpent in agreement. 

"Please don't tell anyone I said the snake has a brain. It would be so humiliating." She added giving Sweet Pea a cheeky wink, edging towards him slyly. 

"I mean, we all know Serpents are probably one of the top ten dumbest creatures on Earth so to name your gang after them is just shameful really." Ali waffled as she slowly began backing up to Sweet Pea. Watching from the corner of her eye as he prepared himself to make a run to his bike.

"It could be worse I suppose." She paused hoping the blonde-haired boy would take the bait. He did.

"Oh? And how's that Princess?" The boy questioned mockingly.

"They could have called themselves Ghoulies!" She quipped quickly before turning tail and leaping onto the back of Sweet Peas bike. Heaving a sigh of relief as they made a break for it charging straight to Fangs place for back up.

"GOD DAMN IT ALI WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Sweet Pea roared the moment they arrived at Fangs' trailer. Scaring the hell out of everyone within a 10-mile radius. Sending Ali flying off the end of the bike. 

"YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT FOR 1 MINUTE CAN YOU? IF I HADN'T SHOWN UP WHEN I DID, THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!" Sweet Pea now fuming. His face red with rage and frustration.

"You can shut up! You helped! You AGREED!" Ali retorted scowling at the enraged giant.

"I HELPED YOU TALK YOUR WAY OUT OF IT. I DID NOT HOWEVER, AGREE TO YOU MAKING IT FUCKING WORSE! THAT COMMENT AT THE END ABOUT CALLING THEMSELVES GHOULIES!" Sweet Pea thundered making Ali chuckle. She was proud of that last comment. Which of course only made Sweet Pea even more furious.

"Oh, nip it bean pole. I didn't ask for your help. There's no law saying you have to help me or even be nice to me. So, save yourself the struggle and give it up. Pretending to care is clearly too difficult and painful for you. So stop. No ones buying the act anyway." Ali snapped. 

"I've told you before. I don't need a knight in shining armour and if I did it most definitely would Not. Be. You." Ali spat. How dare he assume she needed saving. 

Fangs and the rest of the troops stood speechless at these words, staring at his best friend. Sweet Pea held his furious glare on Ali, remaining to the outside world the same angry, hot headed, giant he had always appeared to be. But Fangs could see what was happening inside. The shatter of his friends heart. It was like Ali was the Bull and Sweet Pea was the china shop. Whilst the appearance was as stable and solid as always, the inside was a mess of broken shards and splinters. 

"FINE, DON'T COME RUNNING TO ME WHEN YOU GET YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU!" Sweet Pea barked, glaring down at Ali.

"NEVER HAVE, NEVER WILL." Ali thundered, her voice deep with rage. Her face crumpled into a stone cold, stubborn rage. Suddenly flicking back to her usual happy smile. All signs of rage and aggression gone like the flick of a switch. Blowing away her anger like blowing dust off an old book. 

"After all, where I come from. They don't send boys to do a Woman's job." She smiled brushing past him gently, walking back towards the road. 

"Ali, where are you going?" Fangs called worriedly, it was too soon for her to be wandering around on her own. Especially after her encounter with the Ghoulies.

"Home, I have bread to make!" Ali called before setting off at a jog, disappearing behind a trailer. Fangs leapt forwards to catch up with her, but Sweet Pea stuck his hand out stopping him.

"Leave her. She made her bed, let her sleep in it." He growled coldly, all signs of hope and light that had been slowly growing in his eyes after meeting Ali had gone. Leaving his eyes colder and darker than before. This terrified Fangs. This was not good.

Ali set off at a jog that rapidly turned into a rage fuelled sprint. Her eyes welling up as her legs carried her down the winding roads leading home. The muscles in her legs burnt with a monstrous fire and her lungs felt as though they were about to burst. By the time she arrived home she was dripping head to toe in sweat. Her favourite heels now in desperate need of TLC and her entire body felt as though it was being flooded with Molten Lava. Rosie and Izzy had gone out for the day, running errands and finishing off paperwork so Ali had the house to herself. She quickly threw off her shoes and clothes, jumping in the shower to cool off before throwing on a sports bra and yoga shorts. She made her way into the kitchen throwing her hair up in a lazy plait so she could start making bread without it getting in the way. 

Fangs froze, he knew he needed to be there to comfort his friend. But Ali needed a friend too. He also knew that she was too stubborn to admit it. Jones will know what to do. He thought pulling out his phone and texting a quick message that read; 'Ali nearly got jumped by ghoulies - send BFF'. Turning to look at Sweet Pea once the message had sent. He looked angry and broken. 

"Beer?" Fangs offered in an attempt to raise his spirits. But he was in the mood for something much stronger. Sweet Pea grunted in response swinging back onto his bike and speeding towards the Wyrm. 

"This can't be good." Fangs muttered following in quick pursuit after him on his own bike.

"He's been here an hour and almost drunk us dry. Played practically everyone here and hit on like 3 girls. What the hell happened?" Toni demanded watching as Sweet Pea began making a move on a tall brunette who looked as though she had forgotten to get dressed this morning. 

"Ali snapped and basically told him to fuck off. Said he'd never be her knight in shining armour and that he didn't care about her." Fangs reported watching as his broken friend disappeared out the door followed by the overly flirty brunette. 

"It isn't good Toni, his eyes turned to stone. Its like staring into the abyss." 

"You stare into his eyes a lot then do you Fangs?" Toni asked tilting her head to the side and smirking.

"Shut up Topaz." Fangs scoffed grabbing his beer and making his way to the pool table leaving Toni working behind the bar.

Ali was half way through pummelling her second ball of bread dough, tears threatening to spring from her eyes and turn into a small-scale version on Niagara Falls, when she heard the familiar singing call of her best friend. 

"Honey I'm Home!" Cheryl sang bursting through the door carrying 2 large bottles of wine and a stack of chipped white plates. 

"Thought you could use one these and all of these!" Cheryl smiled pouring Ali a large glass of red wine and dumping the pile of plates on the stand by the back door. 

"I also brought my bow and arrow." She added pouring herself a glass and rolling her sleeves up.

"How in the hell did you know?" Ali asked, a mixture of humour and seriousness in her voice. 

"Hobo and Nancy Drew told me. Come on, lets smash some plates and you can tell me what happened." She smiled dragging Ali away from her station and shoving a very large glass of wine into her hands. 

"He was so condescending and sexist. Do I look like someone who needs to be protected? Like some freaking glass flower that needs to be guarded at all times? How DARE he treat me like a damsel in distress. He acted like I'd break a leg if I was to walk on my own! Misogynistic. Sexist. Condescending. Pig Headed. Serpent Boy Scout!" Ali ranted her voice getting louder with each word until she was practically screaming. Cheryl had never seen one person rattle her so much, except Nick St. Clair of course. Plates smashing left right and centre as Ali vented all her aggression and pent up rage.

"Should've brought more plates!" Cheryl observed as the large pile of china shattered in the space of ten minutes. 

Ali spent the next couple of weeks filling her time with work, cheerleading practice and tutoring. Leaving no time for outside socializing. Her weekends were spent in the garage picking up as many jobs as she could. Izzy would've felt left out if Ali hadn't spent every Sunday teaching her everything she knew.

"Hey Ali, I need to talk to you. It's about Penny Peabody." Uncle Gary called, his voice shaken with worry and shame. His gaze fixed on the ground in front of him as he fiddled with the beanie in his hands.

"The lawyer? What about her?" Ali inquired rolling out from under a black SUV, peering up at her Uncle in concern.

"She pulled us out of a jam a few months back. They said not to go to her, but she was the only one I could trust since not everything is by the book. And now she's calling in on her favour." He admitted sheepishly, shame wearing heavy on his face.

"Oh god! She's already got Juggie under her thumb. It was only yesterday that I had to go and rescue the boys from a flat tire at some unsightly time in the morning." Ali grumbled, but she could see how much it pained her uncle to come to her for help. 

"What am I getting up to tonight then?" She asked brightly.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you Ali but I don't know where else to turn." Uncle Gary began with a heavy sigh. "I need you to break into Penny's office and wipe the computer clean. She has a video of me doing something outside the law-" 

"Dropping off drugs." Ali interrupted casually. 

"Sorry, carry on." Ali added apologetically when her uncle heaved an annoyed sigh at her.

"As I was saying, I need you to get rid of the footage." Gary finished. 

"Sounds like fun. There's a computer virus I've been wanting to try out that is perfect for the job. Simple in and out job, in the lair of a Snake Charming drug pusher. What could go wrong?" Ali replied positively. 

"I'll head over tonight after dark. So much for staying away from sin huh" Ali joked sliding back under the SUV to continue her work.

That night Ali threw on her old all black outfit of, skinny jeans, skin tight hooded jacket, hat, leather gloves, combat boots and a bandana to cover her face. It was scary how prepared she was for breaking and entering. Fastening her thigh knife holsters and grabbing the infected USB stick before creeping down stairs. Only to find Izzy and Rosie stood at the foot of the stairs each holding a pair of throwing knives out for her. 

"Don't. Even. Bother." Rosie said firmly. She was clearly very annoyed with how her brother in law was using his niece like this. But it wasn't the first time Ali had stepped outside the realms of the law.

"Better to be prepared Ali-Cat." Izzy reminded her as Ali slide the knives into their slots in the holster. Smiling when her mum handed her a small pale blue lock picking set. 

"We also think it would be best if you don't break the doors." Izzy added when Ali accepted the set placing it in the breast pocket of her leather jacket.

"I'll be fine mum. I promise. Peabody's out on a drug run so there’s no way she'll catch me." Ali reassured before disappearing out the door into the deadly silence of the night.

"It's not her I'm worried about, it's the Black Hood. Your Uncle would ask this of her tonight of all nights, wouldn't he?" Rosie muttered worriedly, watching as the tail lights of Ali's trusty Harley disappeared into the thick black ocean of uncertainty.

[rorybergstrom]

 hello, it’s swamp witch nora again…. hitting u with a tiny baby boy who is also terrible (sometimes).  musical softboi who loves karl marx and hates children dying in cobalt mines to make smart phones. as is tradition, here’s the pinterest board, have a peruse x

「 timothee chalamet. cismale. 」have you seen rory bergström around yet? i hear he’s decided to be in AUDAX for their JUNIOR year as a MUSIC TECHNOLOGY major. the 23 year old SHEEP is known to be fanatical, eccentric, nitpicky and dogmatic. ➨ the muse is written by nora, she/her, 23, gmt.

aesthetics.

bed hair from a permanent state of slumber, calloused fingertips from strumming bass into the early hours and djing into the blacklit night, self-help books thumbed once and thrown beneath your bed, battered copies of choose your own adventure books, spliffs passed half-arsed across rooftops while light pollution obscures low-hanging stars, marxist literature in stacks against your bedroom walls, a burner phone twice-shattered and a stash of replacement sim cards.

tw ocd, anxiety, drugs

half-swedish, half-british. the swedish is on his mother’s side. he’s bilingual but thinks in english. only really speaks swedish around his mother. only child, and kinda put a lot of pressure on himself to be the Perfect Kid when he was young, but his parents are honestly, quite decent? and just want him to have a nice life, they don’t care if he isn’t successful or rich or anything, they’re honestly rather solid. (wow imagine having Nice Parents, a first for all my characters, im literally this meme)

grew up in peckham, a suburb of london. growing up, his mum was a model / actress / waitress who later retrained as a speech therapist and his dad worked in her majesty’s service at buckingham palace. his dad wasn’t allowed to tell his family what his job entailed but rory suspects it’s probably very boring and just involves a lot of…. logistics n security.

was bullied a lot at school. [cole sprouse voice] he didn’t fIT iN AND HE DIDN’T wANT TO fIT iN. unironically wore a trenchcoat to school every day of his life. spent most of his lunchtimes in the library because it was his Safe Space. as a result he knows…. loads of useless information because 30% of his school years were spent reading anthologies on space and the vikings etc. would be good on a game show. obsessively recorded every episode of university challenge as a child.

middle-class and lowkey quite wealthy but rarely talks about money, one of those well-off people who still wears really old shitty shoes and only spends money if they absolutely have to

virgin who can’t drive

into star wars, not into the big bang theory. feminist. can’t watch horror movies

favourite film is where the wild things are. also loves the florida project. thinks kids are the sweetest thing and can’t wait to be a dad to some

has been musical for as long as they can remember. first picked up guitar because he thought it would make this girl esther who he was in love with like him, but he just ended up falling in love with music instead.

formulated several different bands as a kid but ultimately had to give it up cos he was quite controlling and got fixated on making a certain sound so it wasn’t really fun for the others. got into electronic music because it was something he could do basically on his own and keep tweaking until he got it perfect

always drumming their fingers or strumming invisible guitar strings. tends to avoid parties bc he has quite has specific tastes when it comes to music and doesn’t like listening to r&b for eight hours while people throw up into plastic cups.

a techno connoisseur. has been making electronic music since he was about twelve.

after his parents divorce, when he was fourteen, rory & his mother moved to run-down suburban neighbourhood, pittsfield, massachussets.

big into photography. he mostly uses a canon 35mm camera, but occasionally uses disposable ones when he wants that more rustic feel.

moving to the states, their photography became more focused on suburban neighborhoods and are often quite dark and cinematic (think gregory crewsden). here are some shots of pittsfield i really like which rory has on his wall [1] [2] [3]

falls in love 12 times a day. never had a girlfriend or boyfriend. gets sweaty when someone cute looks at him. flirting?? what?? would prefer to idealise them from a distance

gender??? hm. doesn’t really know where he fits yet, sometimes he feels like a guy and sometimes they dont feel like anything at all. isn’t really bothered, cos they think it’s a social construct anyway. uses he/they pronouns interchangeably, but feels like ‘he’ is more fitting. won’t necessarily pull anyone up on it cos he knows having an identity that’s constantly…. in flux.. can be annoying for others … and doesn’t want to be a burden EVEN THO it isn’t at all?? rory internalises guilt

everything is socially constructed. mirrors let you move through time. the whole thing’s a metaphor. he thinks he’s got free will but really he’s trapped in a maze. in a system. all he can do is consume. people think it’s a happy game. it’s not a happy game — it’s a fucking nightmare world, and the worst thing is, it’s real and we live in it

has ocd. tries to let it affect his life as little as possible, but obviously it’s incredibly hard to control a compulsive disorder. was teased for it at school when other kids started to notice. he was obsessed with the number five, would wash his hands five times, count stairs i groups of five, he could only use the corridors in one direction and always had to keep his hands busy. it manifests itself in hyper-fixations (trains when he was a child – specifically steam engines – then later he became obsessed with space and the patterns of constellations, and now he’s obsessed with synthesizers) and repetitive behaviours like counting stairs. doesn’t really affect his social life at all, he can jst get a bit locked-on n hyper-focused sometimes.

has insomnia. barely ever sleeps. finds it hard to switch off from work / writing / gaming / whatever’s preoccupying him in that moment. he’s always awake at 5am and quite often sleeps in through classes but still gets really good grades because he’s very good at his course. rarely attends classes. prefers to work independently. doesn’t really trust his tutors are intelligent enough to be teaching him, and is particularly suspicious of the lockwood tutors. a music snob tbh

secretly a small-scale drug dealer, only does weed n some party pills. rollerskates around campus dealing cos they dnt have a car

long haired, aesthetic is like… timmy in lady bird n beautiful boy

aesthetics: bed hair from a permanent state of slumber, calloused fingertips from strumming bass into the early hours and drumming into blacklit night, self-help books thumbed once and thrown beneath your bed, watching vine compilations until your eyes turn square, battered copies of choose your own adventure books, spliffs passed half-arsed across rooftops while light pollution obscures low-hanging stars

likes: techno, the webpage cats on synthesizers in space, allen ginsberg, vintage gramophones,  floating points, lcd soundsystem, marijuana, soft dogs that let you pet them, late-night strolls talking about the universe, independent films, cigarettes, herbal tea, gallows humour, long showers, brown eyes, tchaikovsky, dr. seuss, constellations, photography, late night jazz, vintage game boys and girls who could rip his still-beating heart out of his chest and use it as an ashtray. dislikes:  weddings, funerals, formality, button-up shirts that people actually button-up, bananas, hot coffee, social media, people who watch and play sports, rap music – especially of the misogynistic variety, indie wankers in wire-framed glasses that play ed sheeran songs at open mic nights.

plot ! with ! me ! i’d say all the usual “exes fwb hookups spiel” but rory… has never hooked up with anyone… i feel like a deer in the headlights of love……. so give me

study buddies,

people who are also into techno and are music snobs about it,

people who love all kinds of music,

people who are in bands that maybe rory’s recorded and produced stuff for,

people he actually jams with (he plays bass and synth),

unrequited crushes!!

someone they met at a knitting club in freshman year and have remained friends with despite no longer going to it

people rory knows from open mic nights and gigs

library girlfriends / boyfriends that he stares at longingly while paging through leatherbound volumes

gamers !!! social recluses !!! hermits !!

people he deals weed to on his rollerskates (why r all my characters obsessed with rollerskates)

skaters. rory is really shit at skateboarding. like really shit. help the smol

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

Second Chance at Forever - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of this year’s entry for the @dwsecretsanta, my present to @wordsintimeandspace!  Beta’d by the always-kind @stupidsatsuma​

@doctorroseprompts​ and @timepetalscollective​ as an AU fic

General warnings for: alcohol use, cursing, discussions of sexual activities

Masterlist

AO3

Summary

Once upon a time, a boy and girl met at a bar and fell in love - until he ghosted her.

Five years later Rose Tyler’s best friend Mickey is getting married, and arranges a dinner for her to meet the groomsman she’ll be walking with - unaware that the two already know each other.

John Noble’s not sure how his friend and mentee managed to connive with the Universe to bring the One Who Got Away back into his life; all he knows it carefully built and maintained walls are crashing to the ground with no warning.

“Welcome home!”  Rose cried, already opening the boot of the car to stow her parents’ luggage.

“Oh, I missed you!” her mother grabbed her, hugging her tight.  “How was your week?  Was Tony good?”

“We had lots of fun, didn’t we?” Rose said, and Tony was practically bouncing through the roof, still strapped into his car seat but twisting around to see his parents through the boot.

“Yeah, lots!  Mummy can I live with Rose all the time?”

“It’s nice to be missed,” their father sighed, kissing Rose’s cheek as soon as his wife let her go.  “Thanks for getting us, love.”

“Happy to,” Rose reassured, making sure all the luggage was safely away before making for the driver’s seat.  Pete settled next to her while Jackie climbed in the back, showering kisses over her baby.  “How was your trip?”

The drive to her parents’ house flew by as they chatted, mostly about the ten days of sun and sand Jackie had relished.  The trip had been a surprise for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, travelling to an all-inclusive resort on Aruba, and her mother hadn’t known where they were going until on her way to the airport.

Rose was pleased to note the tension between her parents had eased; the trip had been her suggestion a few months earlier after Tony had mentioned in passing that they’d been fighting more.  They looked happy and in love again, and it soothed her aching heart to see that.  At the end of the day she believed in love, and her parents were a major part of that.  If they couldn’t make it work, what hope did she have?

After a hearty lunch courtesy of the chef, Rose was finally alone with her mother once Tony dragged their father away to show him all the arts and crafts he and Rose had done.  Settling together in the family room with mugs of tea, Rose looked carefully at her mother.

“Right, just us know.  How was your trip?”

“Oh, Rose, it was wonderful,” Jackie sighed happily.  “I thought it might be a nightmare, us being alone together for so much time, but in truth it was just what we needed.  Away from everyone and everything, no work, no chores-” Rose snorted at that; a veritable army of maids meant the only ‘chores’ in the house were Tony cleaning up his toy room, “-and I don’t mean we didn’t miss you, but… we got to be just us against the world again, like when you was a baby.  And we talked.  Really talked, about important stuff and nothing at all.  I have to admit I’ve been worried, lately, but… it was still there, Rose, the spark.  Oh sweetheart, you ever find someone you can’t stand to lose, don’t you let them go, all right?”

Unbidden, John’s face popped to mind, but Rose forcefully pushed the thought away.  “I’m glad you were able to reconnect.”

“We were.”  Her mother looked soft and peaceful, a stark contrast to the last few months.  “It helped, not having Tony around, climbing into our bed at all hours of the night.  God, we had so much sex…”

“We had a good week too,” Rose interrupted with a blush, scowling as her mother laughed.  “He was really good.  Missed you, obviously, but I was able to hold him just to our evening calls, and I’m glad I did from the sounds of it.  Went to different children-friendly museums, did the bus tour, that sort of thing.  Fair warning, he’s decided he wants to be king when he grows up – so if he plans a rebellion, here’s your warning sign.”

“Thanks,” Jackie rolled her eyes, “appreciate that, really.  How was work?”

“Fine.  Had a couple client meetings, went well.  All together a quiet week – I mostly worked from home at night after he went to bed.”

“What’d you do with him while you were in meetings?”

“My assistant, God bless her, was happy to watch him, and you know he loves her.  ‘Rosie, she has red hair like I do!’  The worst he behaved was when he wanted to go home with her and not me on Tuesday, so overall, not bad.”

“That’s good.  So, no dates or nothing?”

“Mum!  How was I supposed to go on a date while babysitting, yeah?  Course not.  I did have dinner with Mickey and Martha, though – I’m sure Tony’ll tell you all about it.”

“Oh really?  Just them?”

Rose bit her lip, trying to be nonchalant as she added, “Well, and the groomsman I’m supposed to walk with.  And Tony.”

“Is he cute?”

“So cute, though he hated his suit til I said Mickey was wearing one too.  That kid is something else,” she deliberately misunderstood, sending her mother a warning look.

“Speaking of cute-”

“You brought it up.”

“-I’ve got a date set up for you.”

“What?  Mum, no!  We’ve talked about this!”

“Oh, relax,” Jackie soothed, “it’s not a society friend.  Sort of.  I’ve learned my lesson there.  No, it’s a perfectly respectable gentleman I think you’d really like.  Tuesday at 7.  Look sexy.”

“Mum, I don’t wanna,” she whined, burrowing down into the couch with a glare.  “Stop setting me up.”

“Then find someone yourself, so I won’t have to,” her mother shot back.  “I won’t live forever you know, I’d like to see my grandkids some day.”

“You’re forty-five, not eighty,” Rose retorted.  “I’ve plenty of time.”

Jackie grew uncharacteristically serious, grabbing Rose’s arm.  “Listen to me.  I know it seems like that, but you don’t.  You keep thinking like that, and the next twenty years will fly by before you know it and you won’t.  I just want you to be happy, sweetheart.”

“I am happy,” she argued quietly.  “And I don’t need a man to make me moreso.”

“If you say so.”

Tuesday at five-thirty found Rose wrapped in a towel staring into her closet.  “I don’t want to go,” she informed her cat Tardis, who simply yawned and kneaded the carpet beneath her.  “Now I’m talking to you.  Well, as long as you don’t reply…”

Starting at the beginning again, she rifled through her dresses.  Too long.  Too short.  Too grandma.  Too slutty.  Too… ugh.  Too fancy.  Too casual.  How can I have so many dresses that aren’t appropriate?!

One hidden in the back caught her eye, and she pulled it out, staring at it with a grimace.  She’d only worn it once- the night John ghosted her.  She’d bought it for him, standing in the fitting room imagining him taking it off her.

She’d come home that night and cried, throwing it into a corner.  When she moved she had it cleaned and pressed, then hung at the very back, never again to see the light of day but unable to part with it.

On some level she recognized she’d been saving it for him – but that wasn’t ever going to happen, so she pulled it off the hanger and put it on with her best underwear, needing the emotional support it would provide.  She had no intention of letting this blind date see her knickers, but knowing she was sexy underneath helped her feel sexy on the outside.

An hour later she kissed her cat goodbye, looking forward to this date now and what it meant.  Halfway through doing her hair she realized she didn’t want to turn into a crazy cat lady, and while she doubted this setup would go anywhere, it was time for her to start again, putting herself out there and being open to a new relationship.

With the confidence of a woman who looked good and knew it, she stuck her hand in the air.  “Taxi!”

Walking into the restaurant, she stepped up to the maître d’.  “Hi, I’m supposed to be meeting someone here – my name’s Rose Tyler?”

The man’s eyes lit up, clearly recognizing the name, and she fought a grimace.  “Yes, of course!  Please, come this way.  We’re delighted to have you join us this evening, Miss Tyler.  If there’s anything you need, anything at all, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.”

“Thank you,” she said graciously, biting her lip as she was led to a table set for two in the very middle of the bustling restaurant.  Her date was already there, back to her, and it gave her a chance to observe him from behind.  Hang on…

Her chair was pulled out for her, and she settled easily as the maître d’ draped her napkin across her lap.  “Please, have a wonderful evening,” he gushed, bowing slightly before backing away.

Rose watched him go with a tense smile, unable to bear looking at her dinner partner.  Pulling out her phone, she shot Mickey a simple text.

I’m gonna kill you.

After adjusting her napkin and straightening her place setting, she ran out of ways to stall and looked up, sighing.  “I’m sorry, was my ‘no’ not clear enough?  I know men sometimes have difficulty comprehending the meaning of the word when a woman says it.”

John glared right back, arms folded on the table in front of him.  “This wasn’t me,” he protested, “though I should’ve guessed – Jack doesn’t usually try to set me up anymore.”

Rose wanted desperately to leave, to just stand up and walk out, but she couldn’t; she’d been recognized, and if she tried, it would be all over the internet before she even hit the door.  “Why can’t you leave me alone?  You’ve already proven capable of that, considering how easily you disappeared from my life.”

He recoiled slightly at that.  “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, are you?  Perfect, then everything’s fine.  Want to fuck in the bathroom?” she asked sarcastically, keeping her voice low.  To her frustration, her body at least seemed to be on board with that plan, already reacting to his presence, heat pooling low in her belly.

“Rose-”

“How dare you.  First you- you- you dump me without so much as a goodbye, then when we do stumble across each other again, you could’ve tried to look just a little less horrified!”

“I-”

“Not to mention how creepy you were being!”

“Creepy?!”

“Yes, creepy!  You kept staring at my brother like you’d never seen a child before!  What is wrong with you?”

John’s eyes went very wide, arms falling to his sides as his jaw dropped.  “He’s your brother?”

“No, I kidnapped the first cute child I saw,” she snapped.  “Yes, he’s my brother, who did you think he was?”

“Your son.”  He looked like he’d walked face first into a glass door, absolutely gobsmacked.  “My son.”

Rose stared at him in shock for a very long minute, before she began to laugh.  All of her tension and frustration boiled off, and it came out as a sobbing laugh.  Her shoulders shook, belly aching, as she buried her face in her hands to try to contain the sound.  She knew she was attracting attention, but the relief coursing through her didn’t allow her to care.  “What?” she finally managed to gasp, reaching for her water and drinking greedily, trying to control herself.

John just looked embarrassed now, his ire having faded to shame and sheepishness.  “I thought- I mean, he’s the right age- I thought…”

“You thought I’d gotten pregnant and kept it from you,” Rose finished, lips twitching.  “That’s barely a step up from assuming I’m a prostitute.”

He winced, likely at the memory from their first night together.  “I’m sorry,” he repeated lamely.

“Tony’s my brother, my parent’s accidental twentieth wedding anniversary present to each other,” she said dryly.  “They went away for their anniversary last week, so he stayed with me.”

“But… he called you Mummy,” John protested.

“No, he was probably starting to say some variation of ‘Mummy said-’ and I just cut him off.  He doesn’t like following the rules, but heaven help you if he catches you not doing so.”

“Right,” he agreed faintly, still looking like the tiniest feather could knock him straight over.  “Okay.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Rose suggested, waiting until he nodded to look around, easily spotting a waiter.  He was loitering helplessly a few feet away, pretending to be busy at the bussing stand and sending them anxious looks.  Nodding her head slightly she gestured for him to approach.

She needed a drink.

[skamfairy]

Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone Movie - Thoughts after watching for the first time

AHHHH I FINALLY WATCHED IT, this is hella long so i’m gonna jump right in but also if you are curious but can’t be bothered to read this much just scroll down to the end to read a short paragraph on my overall thoughts ashjhjsa HERE WE GO

OKAY SO opening credits are rolling and i’m FINE but then THIS SHOT opens the movie and i’m losing my shit

I legit started giggling uncontrollably and my heart started racing because it finally hit me THAT I WAS FINALLY SEEING IT ALL ON SCREEN like it’s happening and the vibe really hit me right then THE PRIVET DRIVE SIGN THE OWL ALL OF IT this opening felt SO GOOD it felt so right because the first sentence in the book is about the dursley’s living on privet drive and the owl and the music just give it that instant ominous magic vibe i love it i love it 

and then we get this bloody shot of cat McGonagall

and we watch Miss McGonagall LITERALLY TRANSFORM FROM CAT TO WOMAN THROUGH THE SHADOW ON THE WALL

AND it’s honestly the coolest thing i’ve ever seen i seriously loved this and i’m SO SO SO GLAD THEY KEPT THIS IN IT REALLY KICKS OF THE MAGIC like for me this really made me go “YES YES YES YES YES WE’RE HERE WE’RE DOING THIS” and from an artsy POV, it was just honestly a beautiful and cool shot. 

THEN THE TITLE

i’m sorry but I’VE GOT to talk about this right now so i don’t have to address it again but like THIS TITLE REALLY FUCKING HYPES YOU UP seriously, the music the lightning ALL OF IT it’s so loud and compelling and it makes you so excited. if you aren’t one to get hyped up by street signs and cats turning into women like me, then THIS will hype you up GURANTEED i’m in love with it i felt the chill go through my body RAIN STARTED POURING OUT MY WINDOW!! (i’m not lying you can ask my friend as my witness she knows cos i bragged about it several times during the stream sahsahj) anyway just saying IT MAKES YOU READY FOR MAGIC

I’m gonna put a keep reading here because we’re just getting started and this is gonna be long as hell so enjoy if you keep reading and bye angel! if you’re not shjjhas

anyway the light of our lives wakes up in his closet and i am THIS close to calling child protective services and get him outta there but,,,,,,,you know, we got a movie to watch. 

Dudley is bloody horrible, but then his dad literally threatens harry with car keys so we’ve got bigger fish to complain about i guess

WE GO TO THE ZOOO! (YAAAAY)

and can i just say my fave part of this isn’t just the fact that the snake NODS when harry starts talking to it (although it’s high up there) but when instead of freaking out and going hOLY SHIT I CAN TALK TO SNAKES??? WHATS THAT ABOUT??? he just says very thoughtfully “i’ve never talked to a snake before” sjhashjasjh i love this kid i swear i’m sahjhjsa best kid to find out he’s a wizard honestly. he doesn’t blink an eyelid shashjahjs 

Dudley gets thrown overboard into the enclosure and when the snake says thanks to harry as he slithers on by, harry replies with a sly “anytime” like sure just call me whenever you need me to throw my cousin into an inhabited enclosure at the zoo, mate, i’m your man. sjhahjsah i love this i just,,,,,i really love this kid.

HARRY GETS HIS LETTER! (i love this shot)

and uncle vernon loses the plot and can i just say, how bloody boring you’ve got to be to hate magic? like can you imagine? i think harry seems to agree with me, judging by his cold hard side eye at uncle vernon nailing the mail box shut

seriously i love him so much (drink everytime i gush about harry, ya gonna get hammered ;) ) 

finally Harry makes a wish on his birthday and in return he gets a hagrid breaking down his door and telling him he’s a wizard.

IM A WHAT

Hagrid and harry hit up diagon alley and please let me spend a second to GUSH over the beauty of this set?? i’m just WOW like it amazes me how much work must have gone into this movie and it truly paid off. like it’s so so so gorgeous and not just the set, but the music in this scene and the whole vibe of it is so positive and magical and it truly gave me such a warm feeling in my belly im just im so in awe. okay okay i’ll shut up sahjsajh 

Harry finds out he’s rich, gets traumatised by the man giving him his wand which i must say WAS SUCH A COOL SCENE LIKE IT WAS SO FUN SEEING HIM TRY OUT THE DIFFERENT WANDS AND THEN HOW HE LITERALLY LIGHTS UP AND THE WIND BLOWS WHEN HE FINDS HIS BROTHER WAND IM it was sooooo cool AND he gets given hedwig by hagrid ❤️ YAY

im sorry i’m literally crying sajhhjsa at hagrid deadass abandoning harry at the train station it’s so funny sahjjhsa poor harry THANKFULLY he finds my fave family in the world because Mrs Weasley is basically shouting MUGGLES ashjahsj (best way to spot a wizard asjhasjh) and then I LOSE MY SHIT BECAUSE

FRED AND GEORGE FRED AND GEORGE FRED AND GEORGE IM LIVING I LOVE THEM SO MUCH “he’s not fred! I AM” “honestly woman you call yourself our mother” “I’m only joking, i am fred” sahjsahjhjsahjas ICONIC THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY IM SO HAPPY TO SEE THEM HELP IM SO ASHJSAJHHJASHJAS you guys know how i feel about them im just AHHHH

also i need to add that I LOVE MRS WEASLEY!!!! she’s casted SO SO SO WELL so much better than i would have ever imagined this actress is so warm and motherly and she’s just perfect she’s truly perfect for mrs weasley im so so so happy with her ❤️

WE GET TO THE TRAIN

love this shot, so beautiful and magical and poignant i’m feeling so many things right now 

RON AND HARRY MEET AND I LOVE THEM they are so pure my angels 💖 hermione shows up and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER like all three of them play it so so so well its so funny and watching it gives me nothing but warm feels THEY ARE SO CUTE and the facial expressions all around are amazing im in love with the trio 💖

Draco tries to befriend harry and harry SASSES HIM and it’s glorious, dumbledore welcomes us to hogwarts and tells the kids that they’ll die a painful death if they go the the third corridor and this is their response

sajhshjsajhasjh 

sorting happens, its AWESOME but not in alphabetical order ashjsajh seriously its such a fun scene i love (every scene is fun) the hat barely touches dracos head and says he’s slytherin and snape makes harry’s scar hurt. when he winces ron asks “what’s wrong” and harry replies “Nothing, im fine” 

prepare for this to be a theme for the series. 

OKAY but imagine if harry was put into slytherin after rejecting draco like that sahjsajh how awkward. anyway

THE GHOSTS AND THE PAINTINGS ARE SO COOL AND THE COMMON ROOM !! 

This shot here is the most purest thing you will ever lay eyes on 💖 im genuinely tearing up. i want to stare at this forever

CLASSES START, transfiguration is awesome, potions is not. 

SNAPE GETS MAD AT HARRY FOR TAKING NOTES??? he was so excited to learn about potions and snape just ruins that excitement im sad. 

at dinner seamus, a 11 year old.....is trying to turn water into rum.....asjhahjahjs

THE MAIL SHOT IS STUNNING

GORGEOUS 

when ron gets hit in the face by his broom harry laughs and ron says in the most cute fond voice ohhhh shut up haaaaryyyy AND ITS SO PURE I LOVE

HARRY MAKES THE QUIDDITCH TEAM, i continue to fall in love with mcgonagall AND WOOD I LOVE HIM AND HIS ACCENT 

harry learns his dad also played quidditch 

and this is the part where my friend allie starting yelling CHASER HE WAS A CHASER hjshjsahjsahj 

we meet fluffy and he’s adorable!!!

im crying at theo just blowing up his feather shjjsahjhsa

ron hurts hemione’s feelings, the trolls gets out they save her life and BOOM BESTIES that scene was awesome!!! and so funny to watch i love them but the real star of this whole thing is dracos face

i LOVE DRACO SO MUCH jhshjsaajhs (i’ll focus more on my love for this kid in chamber of secrets) 

MY FAVE THING about the quidditch scene is when harry is nervous and oliver tries to comfort him but then he’s like I TOOK A BLUDGER TO THE HEAD AND WAS IN HOSPITAL FOR TWO WEEKS FIRST TIME I PLAYED hashsja i can’t

hermione sets a teacher on FIRE hjsahsaj and harry wins the match whoop 

I LOVEEEEE the trio interrogating hagrid its so funny ahjshjs

CHRISTMAS AT HOGWARTS IS PURE

THE INVISIBILITY CLOAK IS HERE !!! i don’t think i’ve said it before but i love how important the cloak is and we use it in every book and then we find out in the last book that it’s actually so much bigger than we ever realised <3 i love 

harry finds the mirror 

and this is by far my fave scene in the whole film. i cried during this. it was so so so beautiful and so heartbreaking. the music was gorgeous and the way harry touched his should where his mum’s hand was and everything just :(( SAD

and then when he’s sitting down just staring at it for hours

and dumbledore explains it to him and tells him the dwell on dreams quote that i love so much just ❤️ i adore this whole thing so much it made me so sad but it was also so beautiful and important. i love. one of my faves in the book and movie

NORBET THE DRAGON IS SO CUTE, all three of them plus draco get detention and dumbledore sends norbet off to romania himself :(( 

Draco is amazing during this whole scene shhsaj i love him

they see this horror

and draco’s slytherin self preservation kicks in and he MAKES A RUN FOR IT he’s so smart sahjhsajjahs harry just sits back and waits to die asshjajah until he is saved ofc shjjsah

HARRY RON AND HERMIONE MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH and they try to tell dumbles but he’s not there so they decide to take care of saving the stone themselves cos you know,,,,it’s totally an eleven year old’s job. 

after getting past fluffy the trio get stuck in devil’s snare and MY FAVE part is when ron is like “lucky we didn’t panic” ashjsajhashj

i love this kid

HARRY uses his flying skills and gets the flying key AFTER being hyped up by ron!!! so pure, this was also SO SO cool 

BUT NOT AS COOL AS THE CHESS PART literally so brilliant im in love with this scene

RON WAS AMAZING i seriously love it when ron gets to shine and he really truly shines ❤️

OKAY SLIGHT CRITICISM but i am sad the potion part was cut and i don’t think they mentioned that each part was made by one of the teachers because i loved seeing what each part says about each teacher when we find out what they created and the potion thing was so cool but that’s just a small thing and i get that you can’t add everything so it’s fine!! sahjjash 

WE GET TO THE MIRROR AND QUIRREL!!! and oh my god when he takes off his turban, voldy on his head is SO CREEPY

i’ve been anticipating to see this since i read about it and im shjsahjhas ITS SO DISTURBING WELL DONE MOVIE SAJHSAJHAH

anyway harry saves the day !!! and straight up kills quirrell 

dumbledore visits harry in hospital and i have to say i love this dumbles a lot he’s so kind and gentle and he seems to genuinely care about harry i love it. i love their convo so much it makes me tear up ajahshsa im a baby

Slytherin’s success gets totally blindsided at the feast when dumbles awards the golden trio and neville with NEW POINTS that makes gryffindor win sasajjasjh

savage shjsahjhjas

the film ends with harry leaving and hagrid saying goodbye and it’s the purest thing and the music is so beautiful im gonna cry im just ashjsajhhjas

OKAY OVERALL THOUGHTS 

i LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS MOVIE the music, the scenery, the design, the magical vibe, THE CHARACTERS. every single bit of this gave me so many feelings and i want to rewatch this a million times like i can’t stop thinking about it i just wanna keep rewatching it sahjjsha i feel so sajhshja I FEEL SO MUCH im so in love with this film and this story im i feel like im becoming more and more of a fan and it’s scary ashjas how much im falling for this fandom. i can’t think of anything else and this movie put all of it on screen for me and im in love. it’s perfect. 

THIS WAS SO LONG so if you read it all wow ashjsahjhajs im genuinely impressed and thank you 💖 i don’t think the other recaps are gonna be like this but i was just so excited COS ITS THE BEGINNING i got carried away and it turned into a beast. shajjhsahjas i can’t wait to talk about chamber of secrets tho IT SHOOK ME 

thank you so much for reading angels asjashj

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

COTW 18 - Full. Another chapter in which it was getting too long

Stress induced nosebleed, followed stress induced nosebleed over the next few days. Eren's nose had a mind of its own, though thankfully none of the subsequent breeds had been as bad as the first one. His omega had had his physical examination, coming out of that to one heading straight to the bathroom throw up, before refusing to talk about what happened in there. Levi hadn't met the police departments social worker before, but being an alpha didn't help the woman's case, despite her kind if not overly professional nature. While it was true that Eren's fear of male alpha's had grown so much better, the scents released by the woman in question were so strong to his omegas sensitive nose, that the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd flinched away. With only 3 full days left until the trial started and with two of them being the weekend, it was too late to find another social worker. He was worried enough for his omega, that he'd forgotten things could go from bad to worse with his mates mental state. Once again, he wasn't allowed to join Eren for his appointment in case he impacted on Eren's results, or tried to influence his mate's decisions. Nuzzling and kissing Eren's cheek, his mate was hesitant to let him go. Despite the fact he was dressed in one of Levi overly large shirts and his Paramedic jacket. When Eren was led away, it felt more like his mate was being torn from his grip. Eren was only gone from his sight for a short time before the social worker was opening the door and calling him down. Jogging down the hall, the woman stepped forward to stop him rushing into the room "We need a medic. I can't leave..." "I am a medic" Pushing past the woman, Eren was curled into a ball in the far corner of the sparse room. The examination was being held at the police station, already throwing Eren was out of his comfort zone, and the concrete walls of room were much like the rest of the station. Designed to be alienating and cause feelings of discomfort. Rushing over to his mate, his growl silenced the therapist and the social worker who were both whispering furiously over the examination "What the fuck did you do to him?" Whimpering and whining, Eren was continuing to attempt an escape "Eren. Eren its Levi. I need you to breathe for me" "You're not supposed to be in here!" The examiner was so fucking lucky he had his hands full with Eren. Placing his hands on Eren's face, his fiancée gave out a pained cry. His lips were moving, but nothing was coming out as he silently cried for help "Eren. You're ok. You're safe. They can't hurt you. I'm here. Listen to my voice" Kicking out at him, Levi copped it to the shin. Releasing the left side of Eren's face, he moved his mate's leg aside to kneel between them. With the way he was breathing, his mate was on his way to passing out, rather than calming down "I'm here. I need you to focus on me. Breathe for me. Come on. In through your nose" He wasn't getting through at all. Leaning in, he guided Eren to his neck. His omega trying to shove against him, while Levi held him firm "Shhhhh. You're safe. You're in a safe place... shhh, I've got you. I've got you, brat. No ones going to hurt you... I've got you" Rocking Eren, his mate let out a strangled kind of whine before his whole body went through the motions of sobbing, without the sound. His breaths falling as a whimpering pant of pain. Crooning softly, Levi rubbed his mate's back "I'm here. I'm here, my omega" He failed to anchor Eren and calm him down, his mate slumping in his hold and falling still. Repositioning Eren into his lap, he tapped his face gently. Yeah, there was no way the examination was continuing today "Mr Ackerman?" "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Depression. Anxiety. Not only that, he's 5 months pregnant. I know both of you are trained to recognise the symptoms of the onset of a panic attack. How could you let things get this bad so fast? The moment he started exhibiting symptoms, you should have paused the evaluation. What did you say to him? What could possibly so important that you needed to push him to the point he couldn't respond?" Glaring daggers at the pair of morons who'd done this to his mate, he snapped when they took too long to answer "Well!? What do you have to say for yourselves?" "Eren became non-responsive during questioning over his childhood" "Non-responsive. Non-reposive or non-verbal? There's a big difference between the two of them" The therapist in charge of the examination let out long breath. Like the man was doing anything strenuous enough to warrant breathing "He was able to provide clear answers to the initial questions over his identity, however once we moved to establishing his childhood, he became agitated, before signing your name. Explaining to him that you couldn't be present due to the nature of this appointment, I felt it was fine to continue with the line of questioning" "You were warned about his health when we arrived here" "The specifics of which were withheld for a clear and fair assessment of his mental state" "Well here's what you wanted, he watched his father kill his mother. He watched two alpha's he thought he could trust kill his brother, after they had their way with him. He had a complicated first pregnancy, and even more complicated one this time around. This is why the social worker was supposed to be on his side to prevent something like this happening" In his arms, Eren let out a low gasp, his mate struggling slightly before burying his face against Levi's chest "L...Lee?" "I'm here. I've got you. You're safe" Letting out a low whine, Levi moved to gather him up. Now the social worker decided to look appropriately worried "Has he come too?" "Yes, and now I'm taking him home. He's not able to answer any of your questions like this" "I've called for an ambulance..." "He doesn't need an ambulance" "For our records, he needs to be seen" "You do realise I work with, or know, whom ever it is that is going to respond. They will the same thing I am saying. He needs to go home and he needs to rest! Oh... fuck" Eren's nose was starting to bleed again... "Eren, I'm going to move you up to sit in the chair. I'm not leaving you, ok? I'm right here" Sitting Eren up, his mate wouldn't look him in the eye. With a wad of substandard paper against his nose, he kept his gaze at his feet. Floch was now hovering, as they waited for the paramedics. The medical officer assigned to the police station knew him, declaring himself useless as Levi had the situation in control, before kindly fucking off like Levi wished the others would. Erwin was the one to take the call, shadowed by two of his students. It wasn't how he wanted Eren to meet his students, not that he wanted them to meet him at all. It was hardly impartial, Erwin having them write up Eren's stats and patient form, while hovering in the corner with his arms crossed. The only variation on his diagnosis and treatment of Eren's panic attack, was that they recommended a trip to hospital given his pregnancy. Eren declined with a shake of his head, the students turned to Erwin for confirmation. Erwin agreed with them, but left the decision to Levi, who decided it was time for Eren to go home and rest where he felt safe. Carrying Eren out, his mate kept sighing every few steps. Letting out an even louder sigh as Levi opened the car door for him. Sighing back, Eren frowned at him "Are you going to talk to me, or keep sighing?" Eren huffed "The silent treatment... I see how it is" Settling his mate down, Eren shook his head "Oh... you know you can use your words. You can tell me anything, Eren" Shaking his head, Eren started to sign at him "I don't think I can do this" "Hey. You can" "They wanted to know about dad" "Yeah. He said as much" "It hit me all at once. And..." He waved his hand at his throat "Alright. I understand. You just rest, when we get home, I'll run you a bath with all the oils and salts you want" "Don't you have work?" "I start at 7. It's overnight to night" "You're still not talking to Erwin?" "I'm not ready to" "I think you should" Leaning in, Levi kissed Eren's forehead "We'll talk about it when we get home" "Lee. You don't have many friends. I don't have the energy to stay mad. I'm going to slap him..." Eren's hand movements increased. He hadn't realised his mate had put time into learning more sign language along the line "Slow down. I'm rusty here" "I'm going to slap him. But I want you to make up with him" "What are you, my mum?" "I'm just your mate" "There's no just about it. You're my mate and I'm sorry you had to go through that" "Take me home. I want to cuddle" "And you're not going to tell me the rest of what happened in there, are you?" "No. It was just dad" "Ok. Next stop is the apartment" Eren fell asleep on the drive home, his mate's face still too pale for his liking. Carrying his lover up to their apartment, he couldn't help but be angry over what had happened. Yes. Grisha was a piece of shit who'd turned tail over some bullshit about protecting Eren and Zeke, but Eren hadn't known anything about it. He'd thought his father had just abused him and abandoned him. Grisha was sure to come up in the trial, but there had to have been a way bringing it up much more gently. Letting them in, he narrowly missed knocking Eren's head on the doorframe. Hanji was looking after Viren, and would be dropping him and Anna home on her way in to work, leaving them with the whole apartment to themselves... and Titan. The cat in question was laying on his back on the sofa, snoring his head off and not giving two shits that they could be breaking in. Kicking the door closed behind him, his efforts to leave Eren sleeping were ruined by the sound of door slamming slightly. Whining at him, confused eyes met his "You fell asleep during the drive. I didn't mean to wake you" Closing his eyes again, Eren was adorable as he nuzzled into him "Let's get you into that bath. I can wash your hair for you" Nodding, Eren gave a sleepy purr. He didn't expect a purr, but he'd take it and the feelings behind the sound. A snuggly Eren was a nice change from an Eren so stressed he was jumping over everything. Getting them stripped and into the bath, he washed Eren down before starting to fill the tub. His omega so tired he'd wet himself when Levi had set him down on the toilet. Climbing in behind him, he wrapped his legs around Eren's, pulling his mate down so his head rested on his shoulder. Nuzzling Eren's hair, he let his hands slide over Eren's swollen belly. Their next ultrasound was coming all too soon. Floch had said the witnesses would be testifying before the evidence was presented, with the idea being that the witness testimony would be forgotten by the jurors. Moaning softy, Eren placed his own hands over Levi's "Don't worry. I won't do anything, but I love the feel of your skin beneath my fingers, and I love this stomach of yours. I know things are shit at the moment, but this makes me so proud. You. Beautiful and pregnant like this as we make our family bigger. No matter what happens, you're my mate. No matter what anyone says or does, you're my omega. And the mother to our pups. The only mother they could ever want or need. You're so amazing, Eren. You might have had a tiny set back today, but now you're laying here and letting me hold you. I love you" Reaching up, Eren bopped him on the nose, before cupping his right cheek so he could kiss the left one "I know. I'm an old softy. If you sit forward, I'll wash your hair" Wriggling forward, Eren whined at him when he moved his hands off the omega's swell. Kissing along the curve of Eren's neck, his omega whined at him "Ok. Ok. I'll wash your hair. You're such a brat" Eren purred up a storm as Levi washed his hair for him. Relaxing back against him, kisses were pressed to his cheek as his hands were moved back to Eren's stomach "More belly rubs? I can't wait to start feeling them... I wish I could right now" Drawing on the back of his hand, Eren traced out the word "soon" "Yeah. We should probably finally look at what needs to be done in your old room to make it Viren safe, and move your things into mine. It's going to be awfully crowded in here. You. Me. Viren. These two little ones, and Titan. It's going to be a very full house" Wriggling away from him, water was sent everywhere as Eren turned to look at him "Safe" "What do you mean? Are you wondering if it's going to be safe? Or you want to stay here because it's safe?" "Here is safe" "I know. I was just thinking out loud" "Do you want to leave?" "Leave?" "Here?" "Not at this very moment. But I'd be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind about the lack of space here. Come back here, you don't need to worry about it. That's what I'm here for" Eren's frown deepened, he mate moving further away. Grabbing his arm, he pulled back to him "When you get old, all you seem to do is think. Things are fine the way they are, and I want you in my room... our room. I can see if we can get the doors swapped, so you'll be able to lock the door to our room when you need to... and we can make space to move all your things back in... and turn our bed into a nest... with all the blankets you want" He may be slightly scrambling to un-upset his mate. Eren still not looking happy "We can start when we get out. I promise" Huffing, his mate signed at him "I don't want to think about leaving this place" "I know you love it. I didn't mean to upset you" "I'm sorry. I think I need a nap or something" "Eren, you don't need to be sorry. I was just... I was thinking out loud. I should have kept my mouth shut" "No" "Yes. You're upset enough as it was. I let your purring go to my head. I've missed the sound of your happiness" God. He was going from bad to worse. Eren looked ready to cry "Not that you're not happy! No. I'm fucking this right up. What I'm trying to say is, I'm a shitty alpha. We were supposed to be cuddling and relaxing, and I fucked it up. God. Ok, I'm going to shut up now" Leaning in, he thought Eren was going to hit him. Instead his mate kissed him, before flicking him in the middle of the forehead "I deserved that" Nodding, Eren made towards getting out. Letting his mate figure out the best way to get out without slipping, Eren held his hand out to him once he was out "I'm allowed out?" Rolling his eyes, he shook his hand, Levi taking it "I don't deserve you" From the bath, Eren let him wrap him up in a thick green towel. Covering himself, he took his mate's hand again, supporting him across the wet floor and to their room. Drying his omega down, he grabbed Eren some sweats and shirt. Ignoring the shirt, his mate wiggled his way into his sweats before claiming Levi's side of the bed for himself. It only took a few moments before Eren was asleep, Levi sighing to himself quietly as he covered his mate with the closest blanket. He didn't know if he was supposed to stay? Or if he was supposed to go now that Eren was dressed and sleeping... He had a bathroom to clean, but Eren would probably be plagued by nightmares... and he had a shift to get ready for. Despite having just fallen asleep, Eren came padding out their bedroom half an hour later. Levi sitting on the sofa with Titan as his mate walked over to him. Sinking down, Eren wrapped his arms around him, dissolving into tears as he did "Nightmare?" Shaking his head, Eren pulled back enough to sign "I'm sorry we fought" "Oh, brat. That wasn't a fight, and it's not worth these tears" "Please don't leave me" "I'm not leaving you alone. Think about it, in just over a week, I'll be home all the time. I'll be around so much you'll be sick of me" "Dad left" "Eren, the only good thing that man ever did was creating you. He was a coward who's lies cost people dearly. You're strong and you have a strong sense of justice. I'm not leaving you" "I feel like worse is coming" "I don't know. But we've got each other, and Viren" "He's going to hate me" "He's not going to hate you" "I can't speak" "Eren, we both know it's not permanent. You're stressed, and tired, and exhausted, and you smell like you're trying to go into heat again. It's all a bit much right now, but with a good nights sleep, you'll feel better. By the time Hanji drops the kids off, it'll be bed time. Which means, I want you to sleep. I'll be fine at work. I always am" Eren had been sopping wet with slick as they'd bathed, but the smell of fear and distress had covered the scent of heat. With that washed away, his natural scent was overriding the scents of jasmine and strawberries from the bath salts. He really shouldn't be surprised. It'd been Grisha and Zeke who'd taught Eren heats were wrong. Yet it was Grisha who'd really instilled the fear over being an omega... If Eren couldn't find his voice before the trial started, he'd ridiculed over his silence "Erwin?" Pulled from his thoughts, he pushed down his jealousy over Eren mentioning Erwin "No. He's on a different shift rotation" "You should talk to him" Reaching out, Levi wiped at Eren's tears "You worry too much. I want you to be selfish. I want you to put you and our pups first. I want you tell me what you need" "You" "You already have me, and you don't need to worry. I was never mad at you. It wasn't a fight. It's time to go back to bed" "I don't want to go. I want to stay with you" "We have time before Hanji drops the kids off. I'll stay until she does" "And then I'll close my eyes and when I wake up, you'll be gone" "I'll be back just before 8 tomorrow morning. Then we can go out? We can go have breakfast?" "I..." Eren bit his lip, before looking away "You don't want to leave the apartment?" "It's stupid" "It's like you said. It all hit you hard. I'll bring home breakfast. I'll even buy you one of those ridiculous concoctions people try to pass off as coffee. With all the cream and sprinkles you want" "You don't need to buy me anything. I don't deserve anything" "Hey. I'll get myself the same thing, so this could be your only opportunity for revenge" "I don't want revenge" "Think about it. I'll pick up whatever you want" "Anna likes muffins, but Viren prefers cupcakes" "You're thinking about the kids. I asked what you want" "I want you to come home safe" "I'm going to do just that. I'll be waiting for your answer" "Ok" "Good. My sweet omega... that reminds me, I need to check the mail on the way out" Eren raised an eyebrow at him "What's that for? Are you expecting something?" Eren nodded at him. That wasn't all that surprising. Eren had become adept at online shopping which was perfect. He had the independence of going shopping and buying the things he liked, even on the days his anxieties were giving him hell "Well, I'm sure it'll still be there when I head down to the lobby. Now, its bed time" He felt like he was talking to Viren. Viren didn't love bed time, unless their son was absolutely exhausted before hand, it meant a dozen trips back to his bed, to get him to stay in bed. Now Eren was pulling the same stunt. They were running out of time, when the trial started, rest would be the furtherest thing on Eren's mind. * Eren was still frustratingly mute as the weekend passed. He'd tried to find his words, yet each thought of facing Nick and discussing his relationship with his father, left him feeling like his throat was wrapped in thorns. It felt as if they'd stitched his vocal cords closed, so that he'd never utter a words against them. His lungs felt like they were stuffed with dead flowers, unable to take a full breath, they seemed to creak and crackle if he tried. Floch was furious at him over it, and Levi furious at Floch. An interpreter had to be sought out, though they were appointed by the court, so things shouldn't be too hard in that respect. He didn't know, but he didn't have to go into the courtroom and listen to the opening stuff. Witnesses weren't allowed into the trial until after they'd given evidence, even then, he was sure he didn't want to be there. He didn't want Nick to get away with anything, but how was he supposed to hold his fear back? Floch had pretty much stated that his breakdown with the therapist was a blow to their case. It made him seem childish and sullen. He didn't want to be childish and sullen. He wanted to be strong like Levi was. Sitting on their bed, he was staring down the gift he'd ordered for Levi. It was two wolves, or their heads at least, that were on necklaces. It was some cheap thing, make from a cheap metal, but when he'd seen the interlocking necklace he'd wanted it. Levi was his alpha, while he was the omega. Two parts that were supposed to come together to make a whole "What are you looking at?" Dropping half the necklace on the floor as he jumped, he stupidly lunged for it, forgetting about his swollen belly. Squashing his stomach, and straining his back, he was no where near reaching the necklace half when Levi calmly walked over and picked it up "It's a wolf. Did you buy this?" Nodding at his alpha, he held his hand out so Levi could drop the pendant back into his hand. Placing it on his left hand, he aligned the second piece "That's pretty cool" Tapping on the silver wolf, he then pointed to Levi "It... sorry, I don't get it" Placing both pendants on his knees, he signed "I bought them thinking of us" "You bought them for us?" Levi sounded unsure "You're my alpha. Like an alpha wolf. Alpha and omega" Levi reached out and ruffled his hair "They're great. Which ones mine?" "Silver. Like your eyes" "And bronze like your skin?" Eren nodded at him "Do you mind?" It was Eren's turn to be confused. Picking up the bronze wolf, Levi unclipped the parrot clip "Could you lift your hair?" Oh. Oh. His mate actually liked his gift? He was worried Levi would find it stupid. Lifting his hair, Levi slipped the necklace around his neck, clipping it in place "I can't be up there on the stand with you, but think of this wolf, and think of those rings on your finger, and know I'm right there with you" Kissing the top of his head, Levi gave him a gentle smile as he took his own necklace and put it on "I should get us another set chains for these. I don't want to risk losing it. There. Does it look ok?" Eren nodded quickly. The silver wolf was the perfect choice for his alpha "Good. I wasn't sure about them" "Eren, they're perfect. You're perfect. I know you're scared about today, but everything will be over before you know it" "I feel stupid that my voice didn't come back" "Eren, it's ok. They have your statements. It's been entered into evidence. The jurors will read your words. They well see what those shitty arseholes put you through. They're going to know and they're going to make the right decision. You've done the right thing. You haven't said anything on social media. You haven't caused a scene or made a huge fuss out of it. You tried to get on with your life and was dragged back into the because a shit for brain pig had a little power and thought he could lie his way out of this. Now, I'm going to get dressed and then we'll head down there" "I don't know if I can do this. I feel like I want to scream, or vomit, or faint..." "I wouldn't recommend doing any of that. I'm leaving my phone home, are you?" "Yeah. I don't want anyone taking it off me. I've got stuff on there that can't be replaced" Photos and videos of Levi and Viren together. Photos with the kids. Photos and videos of Viren's birthday. Videos of him and Levi not wanting to get out of bed. All his other photos were in boxes at Hanji's still. Viren had gotten into them and damaged more than just a couple, so for now, they were safer at her house "Everything's going to be ok, Eren. Don't forgot that" * The courthouse was huge and smelt of stale water. It was the kind of huge that felt pointlessly so, yet, people were everywhere. All doing all different things he'd never be able to imagine, and things he'd never be smart enough to do. Floch had met them at the front of the courthouse, talking at them a million miles an hour until Eren wasn't sure which way was up. He felt nauseous beyond belief, and way under dressed. None of his nice dress shirts covered his stomach properly, so he'd been forced to wear an overly feminine shirt that mean him feel emasculated. It felt like he was hiding behind his dynamic, but he hadn't even thought about trying to find a suitable shirt for court. Separated from Levi, he was lead to a small room. With a guard at the doorway, he was too nervous to even ask if he could go to the bathroom. Floch had said if he didn't fuck things up, he wouldn't have to come back unless there was a need for it. All this stress for one afternoon was insane... Without a clock in the room or his phone, he had no idea how long he'd been left there for before he retrieved... and confusingly led back to Levi. He hadn't even had to take the stand and he felt like he'd run a marathon. Standing next to him, Floch looked annoyed "It's alright. They've had to move witness statements to tomorrow morning..." That wasn't alright at all... moving to Levi's side, his mate wrapped his free arm around him. Kissing his cheek before continuing "... something about paperwork or something" Nodding, he wondered why the fuck he'd been left alone for so long "I think it's time we head home for now. Floch, is there any reason I can't take him home?" "No. You'll need to be here by 8am tomorrow morning. If you approach the front reception, they'll direct you to where you need to be. Let's pray that you've found your voice again by tomorrow" Even if Floch was angry, he didn't have to take it out on him "Eren, let's go" Leaning heavily on Levi, he was blinded by camera flashed as the slipped out the courthouse. Knocked back into the closest glass window, he yelped at the painful elbow blow he'd taken. Clutching his stomach, he hunched over in pain, the shock greater than the radiating throb. Dropping his head, he felt like he was the one to blame for small accident "Hey! What where you're going!" Looking up, he found himself gazing into the cold eyes of Nick. The piece of shit he was supposed to be testifying again "Sir, we need to go" Nick looked him up and down, his top lip raising into a sneer "Watch where you're going, you disgusting waste of space" Walking away from them, Eren was shaking from the incident as Levi tried to take his attention from the man "Eren?! Eren, what's wrong?" Shaking his head, he needed a moment. The pups were going crazy, they'd been doing so all morning "Eren?" Holding up a hand, Levi stopped questioning him as Eren slowly realised there was no way it could have been an accident. The man had elbowed him straight in the stomach. They were clear of the doorway, nearly at the edge the top step. He'd stumbled back... Nick knew who he was and he'd intentionally "attacked" him. He'd tried to rattle him. If Levi knew, he'd lose it at him. Dragging himself up, he rubbed as his stomach "Eren? You ok?" Nodding, he let Levi pull him back against him. Opening his mouth, he tried to make the words work, but nothing wanted to come out "Did you trip? Or did someone knock into you?" He shook his head, then nodded "Someone knocked into you?" Nodding again, Levi let out a low growl "That's it. We're going home. I'm sorry I didn't notice it happen" Levi had his hands filled with Viren as it was. He didn't blame his mate for not noticing. Guided away from the swarm around Nick, Eren couldn't breathe. He kept vomiting into his mouth. His body was covered in a fine layer of sweat, and keeping upright after seeing Nick delighting in his pain, was hard work. He had no idea how he was supposed to take the stand tomorrow. Or how he was supposed to make his ultrasound appointment. This ultrasound was supposed to a little cooler than the normal ones as it would make an actual model of their pups. He could see their tiny faces and fingers... and it'd been hard to make an appointment for it. He doubted they'd just let him get up and leave mid-testimony. Even if he was stuck mute at the moment. Especially when Nick was more than happy to come after him, in front of the media and the police. Any number of cameras could have caught the exchange, and he was lucky the man didn't have any kind of weaponry on him, or he'd be dying on the pavement rather than being in Levi's arms. He'd known this trial would be dangerous... Looking to Viren in Levi's arms, tears rushed to fill his eyes and spill down his cheeks. There was nothing stopping them from coming after his boy. Nothing stopping them from taking him away. Ignoring the pain, he reached for Viren. Lifting his son into his hold and burying his face against his hair. He smelt so much like Levi, that he himself believe the boy would be an alpha. He was fierce and brave when he wanted to be, or so very soft and timid that he was almost a different child. His laughter was infectious, as was his cheeky smile. He didn't want him mixed up in this. He didn't want that smile to fade and his little heart to be broken. Or, even worse, he didn't want his son to be broken and hurt. Reaching the car, he fussed over getting Viren into his car seat, before climbing up to sit in the back. If he Levi had asked, he wouldn't have been able to find the right words over how much he needed Viren right then. Luckily, Levi didn't ask. His mate not burdening his already thinning frame with burden of guilt. In all actuality, Levi probably hadn't even thought twice about it, his alpha being able to read him like a book. This whole case was about omegas and their children... like him, and Viren was his son. He wouldn't let Nick have his way, and he wouldn't let Viren carry the weight of his sins, like Grisha had done to him.

[darkfanfic]

KNOCKOUT - chapter 10 (part 2A)

“Sure.”

Harry’s flat is in walking distance of the gym. They decide to take the scenic route, through the pretty wooded park and past an almost empty playground until the pair hit a main drag. It’s car horns and traffic lights for a good five minutes before the city quietens upon making a right.

They turn down a quiet street off the busy main road and the chill that whistles between them has Bo wish she’d brought something a little warmer. It was a mistake to take her hair down after the class as now it’s stinging her cheeks. She steps closer to Harry as they pass a dog walker before they come to a complete stop outside a gate.

Heavy dark clouds loom, gobbling up the twinkle of stars as night descends in a hurry. She’s busy watching the sky transform, head tilted back until her name is called.

“Bo.”

Harry’s made the short journey from gate down to the front door and he waits for her to meet him at the bottom. The hand he raises in invite has her moving towards him through a thought once lost, legs walking a muscle memory. It would be hopeless to think she’d react in any other way but to go to him, to take his hand and let him lead her inside.

It’s warm, is the first impression Bo gets of the garden flat. A disorganised muddle of shoes is left just inside the door, and Bo adds to it as she toes hers off. She dumps her bag where harry leaves his before she’s free in her visual assessment. There’s peeling wallpaper, nicks of paint missing from the skirting board and original door frames with stiff brass handles. And Bo instantly loves it.

It’s disorderly and incomplete in a charming sort of way, which makes his previous flat pale in comparison. A sourness seems to fill her mouth upon remembering just how awful his conditions were before, no room to breathe with misery creeping in from every corner.

But here, it’s an easy sort of living space, one that he’s made home by just being there. It already smells of him, like this little flat has accepted Harry and approved of his occupancy.

There’s not much occupying the first room in the way of furniture, just cardboard boxes of varying sizes that Bo has a suspicion he’s let become a permanent fixture through simply being bone idle.

An old fashioned radiator is tucked into one of the alcoves opposite the door, a heavyset one that will throw out heat throughout the basement flat in the winter.

“There’s not much to see, but this is the front room. The kitchen is just through there and my bedroom and bathroom are across the hall.”

It’s almost as if he’s waiting for some sort of approval, standing off to the side as he nibbles at his bottom lip.

“It’s a great place.”

Despite its quirky flaws, this would have been Bo’s first choice for a place of her own.

He grins.

“I have a garden, too. It’s not much but my mum and sister are going to help with doing it up a bit. Even if it’s just finding the patio under all the weeds.”

Bo had never thought in all the time she’d known him, Harry would ever get excited over a scrap of lawn and some crazy-paving. But she gradually comes to understand the fascination as he rambles about having his niece over and his plans for one of those fancy fire bowls. She makes a mental note of the possible gift for his new home. Well, more of a garden-warming present if you’re being fussy.

They stay within the living room so Bo can explore a little more. And with that inquisitive feeing harnessed, she sets about unpacking a box containing two lamps, a pack of brand new coasters (courtesy of Harry’s sister) and a small elephant ornament selected especially by his niece for the coffee table.

Harry chats as she fights with the sticky tab sealing the coaster box. But after a few short seconds it’s neglected because there’s a record player placed on the floor in a wall alcove, just to the left of some boxes overspilling with disks.

“It’s a bit hipsterish for you, isn’t it?” Bo teases, nodding towards the musical mess.

Her nose crinkles as she grins at Harry over her shoulder before dropping to her knees in front of the boxes. There’s a few records propped up against the peeling paint, music which Bo guesses were some of the first to christen Harry’s new place.

“Can I have a look?” she asks.

“Couse,” he continues. “It was a ‘congrats on your new home’ gift from my mum. Those old records are from the loft, I’ve not sorted through them yet.”

Bo’s fingers flick through the ageing sleeves; evidence of how they were used and adored very much apparent on the worn cardboard cover, a contrast to the unscathed disk.

“You’ve got some good ones.”

Harry’s mum was feisty. Straying away from the popular, more documented, trends in music and delving into bands and genres Bo’s never heard of. She flips a disk over to study the song listings.

“Just some?”

Bo hears the amusement in his voice but the pride on his mouth is out of her line of sight.

“I don’t know most of them,” she admits, running her fingers over another mysterious album title.

“My mum had an eclectic taste, still does.”

“Well, I think it’s safe to say she was a fan of Rod Stewart,” she comments, flicking through five consecutive albums.

“If you want my body and you think I’m sexy.” The gravelly tone is enough of a musical interlude to cease her movement through the disks. Bo bursts out laughing, falling back on her butt and turning to witness Harry’s little performance.

“Come on, sugar, let me know.”

His deep bow finishes the ensemble and Bo almost feels like she should applaud. And that’s what she does as Harry dramatically basks in the praise.

  “Good job I actually know that song, or I’d have thought you were coming on to me.”

“The night’s still young,” he counters and it’s to Bo’s surprise that she’s the recipient of a cheeky wink.

The gesture is enough to have her blushing cheeks think she’s being flirted with. A harmless game Bo thought she had become immune to, after hearing cheesy icebreakers in bars and no longer laughing at them.

Her face still feels warm with playful atmosphere when she lifts her head and finds Harry’s hand outstretched. She takes it without hesitation, allowing herself to be hoisted upright into the perimeter of Harry’s body. Too close to be considered casual and torturous on Bo’s senses.

With a smile like a siren song and stormy, green ocean eyes to match, it’s somehow  difficult for Bo to try and find her sea legs.

“Alright?” he murmurs.

And that about does it. With a couple of adamant nods Bo pulls away before something ridiculous happens, like her telling him she misses the way his mouth fit with hers.

“What colour are you painting it in here?” Bo asks, fingers grazing the sofa arm, heart positively thundering as she meanders to the other side of the room.

She’s glad to see Harry provide some distance, taking the temptation away as now she’d have to volt the back of the couch to jump his bones. It isn’t the sofa from the old flat, this one is a bit ostentatious in the pattern with scuffed wooden feet. And as Bo sits, it’s like falling into a marshmallow, squishy, soft and the perfect place to take a nap.

“A mate sold it to me for cheap,” Harry answers her unasked question, watching as Bo takes to her feet again before rearranging the cushions. “As for the colour, I was just going to leave it as is.”

Bo frowns, swivelling to look at him, still with fringed cushion in hand.

“Why?”

“It’s rented, I’m not sure my landlord would want me slapping paint on the walls. I’m hoping he’ll let me buy it when I get the funds together.”

Harry stands leaning against the doorframe, watching as Bo investigates his new living room. There’s not much in the way of furniture at the moment, but Harry had made sure the first items unpacked were framed photos of his mum, sister and niece.

“I’d have it a really soft green.”

Bo hums as if imagining the transformation of the room with a new splash of colour.

“Yeah?”

The wooden floor creaks slightly with her movement as she gravitates to a focal point.

“Mmm, and I’d make that into a proper window seat so you could wake up with a cup of tea and just sit,” Bo nods at her plan. “Oh, it could be a reading window!”

“I don’t really read,” Harry admits, her face softening. “I listen to audio books now.”

The atmosphere quietens and Bo feels silly for raising the subject. That is until Harry opens his mouth again.

“Or hey, it would be a nice spot for a quickie.”

Bo rounds so fast she nearly stumbles into one of the many unpacked boxes by her feet. She stables herself with an outstretched hand to the wall.

“What?” she chokes.

He wanders over to the window, pressing his palms flat to the wooden sill to test its weight capacity.

“Well,” Harry makes a pained face, “if you’re both like olympic gymnasts or something.”

The space in nowhere near his full arm span, a measure he frowns at when trying to swing his feet up. They end up propped against the wall with his back pressed opposite, Harry folds himself into an unnatural position for someone of his height. He looks like a giant dog trying to squeeze begrudgingly into a cat bed.

“Get some cushions or something, it’d be perfect.”

“It’s the window though,” Bo admonishes, worrying her bottom lip and trying not to smile.

“Below street level.” Harry’s counter challenge is coupled with a shrug.

“Yes, but still a window,” she presses.

“My neighbours are old and fucking nosey, would give’em something to gossip about at their neighbourhood watch meetings.”

He makes quite the scene unravelling to stand at his full height before moving away from the sex-seat to the doorway, where he disappears through it moments after.

Bo’s left in a whirlwind contemplation before Harry pops his head back through.

  “Are you hungry?”

“Sure,” she agrees, still fighting the smile curling the corners of her mouth as the conversation snappily changes from sex to food.

“I’ve not really had time to food shop,” Harry calls through from the kitchen. “Are you alright with a take-away? I think I have a leaflet somewhere.”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me,” Bo responds, weaving her way towards his voice.

Harry’s busy with riffling through take-out phablets when she reaches him. The kitchen is small but manageable with the window opening out onto a decreasingly gloomy garden. He sorts the menus from the addressed post before turning to Bo stood in the doorway.

“Are you alright? You look a bit pink in the cheeks.”

With her mind still dwelling on Harry’s idea of a window seat, it’s the only way she’ll be able to settle her thoughts.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Despite the nod to his head, Bo thinks he looks a little reluctant to hear her what she has to ask.

“When was the last time you were with someone?”

The immediate response she receives is a crinkled brow and full assessing gaze.

“I saw Matt from the gym the other day, we went to the pub just down -“

“No, I mean - romantically,” Bo attempts to delicately approach the subject, despite the tightness in her stomach and dampness of her palms. And once again, she receives a nonverbal, cryptic answer through somewhat of a pained facial expression. “Sex, Harry,” she blurts. “I mean when did you last have sex?”

“Shit.”

Eyes wide, he takes a few seconds to ground himself and try to decide the best approach. He clears his throat like he’s not just chocked at her question. “We’re just diving right in then?”

“You don’t have to tell me, I jus-“

“It’s been a while,” Harry interrupts. “Long time,” he swallows. “You want Chinese or Indian?”

“It’s just, what you said in the living room,” she aimlessly thumbs back through the doorway.

“It was a joke.”

He’s a little firm with his reply and it makes Bo feel guilty for asking.

“Oh, ok.”

“Did you want pizza, I think I have a app?”

Harry turns away to pick up his phone and Bo’s left trying to decipher what defines a ‘long time’. Not that it should really matter, they haven’t been together for nearly four years and she’s not entitled to the information anyway.

As if trying to shake her from her thoughts, Harry pulls up the app before waving it enticingly. She huffs a laugh before grazing his left side and standing with him to scroll through choices.

“The meat tastes weird on those pizzas,” Bo informs him, scrunching her nose. “If we share and go half and half, I want mine margarita. If we order the chicken, you get a free dip.”

Harry’s head is bobbing like a nodding dog on a car dashboard. The lights are on, but Bo can be pretty sure that nobody’s home at the moment.

“How long for you?”

“Huh?”

“Since you slept with someone.”

Oh.

Bo’s eyes shoot to the ceiling as if performing maths off the top of her head. Stupidly, she hadn’t expected this, hadn’t begun to think that his thoughts might stray to her bedroom antics.

“Umm, well,” she begins.

Harry pockets his phone, the prospect of food instantly forgotten as his full attention gravitates to Bo and her inability to hold his eye contact. She feels flushed for a second, checking to see if the window is open.

“You told me you’d never had sex with James.”

“It wasn’t James. It was only the once.”

He moves closer, stumped by the look on his face, Bo isn’t quite sure how this conversation will pan out. All she can hope is that it ends quickly without any emotional casualties.

“With whom?”

Of course he’d ask, but why should it matter? Why should she have to explain her sleeping arrangements to a man she hasn’t had a relationship with in years. Heat prickles at the back of Bo’s neck as Harry stands waiting for an answer. But it’s not a demand, it’s more of a concern for him.

“Someone from my course. It was really early on in first year before we saw each other again.”

“Did you like it?”

Harry backs up a little after the words leave his mouth, shying away from the potentially hurtful answer as he bites the inside of his cheek. He knows it was a mistake to ask. Nevertheless, the question makes Bo’s stomach squirm because they’re both fully aware that the only experience she has to compare it with was with Harry. And wasn’t that the full experience package.

If Bo’s being honest, the guy was a pretty lousy lay. There wasn’t particularly anything special about the evening and the whole thing was wrapped up in under ten minutes. Apparently Harry had spoilt her when they were together.

“No complaints,” Bo replies, testing the waters.

“Was he at your graduation?”

It’s almost as if she can see him straining to remember faces from the crowds of graduates. And as he does so, the subtle inclination of his body towards hers is duly noted, as if trying to shelter but not stifle her.

“What’s with all the questions?”

“Just asking,” he clips, jaw drawing taut.

“He might have been, I didn’t talk to him though.”

It’s cruel to push him further, but she’s rather delighted in the physical reaction it’s provoking. There’s no joy in making him angry, but to tease. It might be fun.

“You may have seen him. Huge guy with blond hair and as tall as the doorframe, biceps the size of my thighs. I think he’s a little bit older, too.”

“Yeah?” Harry grunts.

Bo hums. His expression is tight as he mulls over the information and comes to a conclusion she will admit she wasn’t expecting.

“Sounds like you shagged Thor.”

Bo can’t prevent the smile from creeping up on her, cheeks tinted a light shade of pink.

“I didn’t like it.”

There’s concern plastered on Harry’s face upon hearing her confession.

“No, I just didn’t enjoy it,” she pauses. “It wasn’t - I’ve had better,” Bo admits before she can really process the meaning behind the words. Had better.

She’s a little mortified by the knowing tug at the corner of Harry’s mouth. And before she can say anything else he’s displaying a full on smirk.

“Piss off,” Bo thumps his arm and he takes the hit with a dramatic stagger away. “You know what I mean. He was shit, I didn’t enjoy it and it was really awkward afterwards seeing him in lectures and stuff. It didn’t go any further.”

A few seconds more and the spirited exchange takes a nosedive.

“What about us?” Harry carefully asks from across the kitchen table.  

“I don’t think it was the right time for us then.”

In the months post their reconciliation, Bo had exams to prepare for and lecturers to impress with heavily researched essays. All on top of social expectations and a house search for second year which was a steep learning curve. Finding anything half decent, which didn’t once have a zoo in the back garden or actually had a properly functioning electric meter was practically a miracle.

And during that time, Harry was in no man’s land, between stages of his life that felt like the odd, uncertain few days between Christmas and new year. He was on the brink of a fresh start but was teetering on the edge just waiting for the push. Bo couldn’t have known at the time, but she was the catalyst; a WhatsApp message of,

“I made too many pancakes for pudding because I was thinking of you. Tiff ate yours. I miss you.”

“And now?” Harry asks, turning the silver ring on his index.

“Well now,” Bo starts, worrying her lip with if what she’ll say will be a push too far. “Now, I want you to kiss me.”

“Right now?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

They both jolt when Harry’s foot catches the chair leg, his stride determined before he comes to stand in front of her. Bo peers at him, head tilted back slightly to assess any emotions he lets slip through the crease between his brows or the pout he used to try and hide when something was amiss. As it is, he’s not giving her much to work with.

The disappointment she feels settles heavy in her stomach when a kiss is instead pressed to her forehead. A feeling that soon edges to mortification and shame that she’d pushed him too far, cornered him into a situation he isn’t ready for.

“Harry, I’m sor-“

The apology is stolen from her lips by the softness of his as another sweet kiss is placed high on her right cheek. Then proceeds a series of kisses, the last pressed to the tip of her nose which entices a giddy sort of smile, especially when he rubs his nose to hers.

“I’ve missed you.”

- 

All credits go to han-rawr

[elleberquist6]

Stray Cat - chapter one

Rating: Mature Word Count: 2608 Warnings: Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut Summary: Phil Lester believes that if he does good things then good things will happen to him, so on one of the worst days of his life he invites a rain-soaked Neko boy named Dan into his home. Phil has never met a Neko before and he knows nothing about the dark system that has molded Dan. Dan is part of a repressed population with few rights, and as Phil gets to know him he can’t understand why – Dan is the most amazing person he has ever met. --- Phil was a positive person – it was just how he was raised. Always look on the bright side. If he broke a shoe lace, his mum would encourage him to think about the cool laces he could replace them with. If he dropped a snack on the pavement, think of the hungry squirrel that would enjoy it. As a 22-year-old man, he still found himself trying see the world in this way, though it was hard to see the silver lining in his current situation. 

Phil tried to stop rubbing his eye, knowing that would make it hurt worse. He already had to take out his contacts and put on his glasses because he couldn’t leave his eye alone. While he was distracted, someone slipped into the booth beside him; he was sitting at his favorite seat in Starbucks. He looked up in surprise when she made a sound in the back of her throat to get his attention. “Linda!”

She gave a slight smile. “Hello, Phil. I almost didn’t recognize you in your glasses. Sorry I’m late.”

“No worries,” he said, though he’d been waiting for 30 minutes, and he hadn’t gotten a drink while waiting to be polite. She hadn’t responded to his texts either, but he pushed that thought out of his mind, melting in the warmth of her presence. Not that she was a very warm person – Phil would have loved to reach out and touch her, but he knew she would pull away, saying he was in her ‘personal bubble’. Still, he enjoyed being around her, or just anyone at the moment, because he’d had a truly awful day and he needed some comfort.

Linda had picked up their usual drinks on her way in, and she pushed his closer to him. He took a grateful sip of the caramel macchiato while she looked at him. She leaned closer, examining his face, and he inhaled, trying to catch the scent of her strawberry shampoo, but he couldn’t smell her over the overpowering aroma of coffee beans in the Starbucks. She leaned away after getting a good look at his eye. “Are you okay? How did you get a black eye?”

“It happened at work,” he explained, mentioning the stationary store. “I was on the register today and this customer went nuts on me. He tried to cut in line, saying he was in a hurry, and when I wouldn’t let him he grabbed a Terry’s chocolate orange off a display and threw it at my face.”

Her eyebrows knit together with concern, and the sight warmed his heart because he was very easy to please. “Poor baby. What happened next?”

Phil felt his cheeks get hot. “I might have sworn. Like, really. I cussed him out properly.”

“Oh,” she said, and he could tell from her expression that she’d figured out this wasn’t just an anecdote and that there might be some serious news coming. Linda asked, “Well, your manager understood, right? Anyone would swear at a customer under those circumstances.”

Phil frowned and broke eye contact. Unfortunately, Phil didn’t have an understanding manager and he wasn’t the best employee. While he was always cheerful and on time, he was naturally clumsy and he had knocked down so many displays that his manager had lost all patience with him. Also, this wasn’t just any customer. Phil explained, “No, Linda, I’m sorry. It didn’t go that way. This guy spends a lot of money in the shop, so when my manager came out of the back, things didn’t go well. The customer said I’d provoked him, and I admitted that I’d sworn at him…”

Linda sighed in disappointment. “Shit, Phil. Why do you never stand up for yourself?”

“I’m really sorry.” He tried to meet her eyes, but this time she looked away.

“You’re sorry because you were fired, aren’t you?” She sighed again.

He and Linda had been going out for about 6 months now, and Linda complained about her small apartment so often that they had recently started talking about her moving in, but the issue was that Phil could barely afford rent and Linda was still a full-time student. When he talked about living together, Linda said it wouldn’t make sense for her to move in when his finances were so unstable. He always assured her that it would be fine… it looked like Linda had been right. Knowing her answer, Phil insisted, “This doesn’t have to change anything. I’ll find another job. I’d still like you to move in.”

She shook her head. “Phil, do you even have anything in your savings right now?”

He bit his bottom lip before going on. “No. And actually…” He looks at the drink in his hands. He and Linda had an agreement: the person who arrives last at Starbucks picks up their drinks, and usually that was Linda. Since she was his girlfriend, he always handed her the cash for their drinks and whatever pastries they got while on their lunch date. Phil looked up, trying to be brave. “Actually, I don’t really have the money for even this. Could you please?”

Linda had been sipping her ice tea, but at his words she choked. Waving away his concern, she said, “Y-you’ve got to be kidding me!”

He blushed again. He remembered what she said earlier about sticking up for himself, and he wanted to remind her about how he paid to repair her car last month, about the concert tickets he’d bought her, and the restaurants he’d taken her to when he’d have been happy with pizza. Phil wasn’t bad with money, and he had enough to get by before he met Linda, but he stopped himself from saying this. He didn’t want to fight with her – he wanted her to make him feel better, so he said, “I’m really sorry.”

She gave her loudest sigh yet and shook her head. “I just don’t see how this is… I don’t see how we are…”

“What?” He asked. “What about us?”

“Phil, what happens next? With us? You’re seriously still talking about having a place together, but I’m picturing the next couple weeks. What if you can’t find another job? What do we do next?”

He shrugged. “Well, we won’t be able to go out to eat. I don’t want you to worry about me – I’ve lived off ramen noodles before. It’s going to be okay, Linda. As long as we have each other, I know it will be fine.”

“No.”

“What?”

She shook her head. “No, we won’t have each other. Phil, I can’t do this anymore.”

He spoke slowly, trying to process the situation. “You’re leaving me… because I’m broke?”

They stared at each other, and Phil thought that they must both be thinking about the same thing: how all she had to do was point at something at a shop window, and he would always buy it for her. She didn’t ask, but he would offer and she would accept. If love could be bought, that was what he had been desperately trying to do throughout their relationship, and she had been letting him try. This time, her cheeks were the ones that filled with a blush. “Are you calling me a whore who only was interested in your money?”

He just blinked.

“Fuck you,” she snapped, and before he saw her move he was hit in the face with her ice tea.

Phil spluttered in surprise as he tried to look at her, but the lenses of his glasses were wet and he could only tell that she had stood and was gathering her purse. “Linda, wait. I want to talk.”

“No. Maybe we’ll talk when you have you’re shit together, but until then leave me alone.” Before he could say anything else, he heard the bell on the door and he knew that she left.

He tried to clean his glasses with the napkins on the table, but the sugary tea was leaving a residue on the lenses. As Phil was debating going to the bathroom to clean his glasses, he heard a boom of thunder that was so loud it caused the glass in the window beside him to resonate with it. Looking out the window at the darkening view, he said under his breath, “Shi…ine a light.” After all, he’d caused enough trouble by swearing today.

Deciding to run for it before the rain started, Phil left the Starbucks after giving the busboy a quick apology for the mess that he and Linda made of the booth with the ice tea. Phil didn’t drive a car, so he would have to run the five blocks to his apartment.

He only made it three blocks before it started raining heavily. It was cold, and he had already been shivering from the ice tea that was soaking his t-shirt and pants. He was wearing a jacket, but it was thin and did not retain much warmth. Since his face was soaked, he didn’t realize he was crying until his chest started hitching with sobs. Phil looked around until he spotted a patch of dry pavement, which was under the awning of a restaurant that closed last month. They had taken their outdoor dining tables and chairs with them when they closed, so Phil slid to the ground and shivered, hoping that the rain would stop soon.

He wondered where Linda was now; probably warm at home since she had a car. He thought about what she said, how he should contact her once he had his life together, but Phil pushed the idea from his head. Today had been awful, and Linda didn’t help, so he wasn’t sure that he wanted her back, even if he did find a job and became financially stable like she wanted. He wanted warmth right now, and not just the lack of physical warmth that was making him tremble. He wanted someone to hold him, tell him that the awful things that happened today had happened for a reason, and that tomorrow would be better because he was a good person and he hadn’t done anything to deserve to feel like this.

“W-wow,” he said to himself, stuttering in the cold. He was hugging his knees to his chest as he tried to stop shaking. “I-I don’t miss Linda because wasn’t nice… and I’m comparing her to my mum. I-I should call… myself Oedipus.” Phil looked up. He liked making people laugh, and he forgot for a moment that he was alone and that no one was there to laugh at his stupid joke, but when he looked to his right he saw a boy sitting nearby. He hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Holy s—”

The boy, who had been smiling at him, flinched at Phil’s shocked exclamation. He looked skittish and like he wanted to run, but he let Phil take in his appearance. Phil noticed first that this wasn’t an ordinary boy, and for a moment he was tempted to wipe his rain-streaked glasses to see if he was seeing correctly, but no. His vision was fine. The boy had a long brown tail that was wrapped around his ankles – he was sitting with his knees pulled to his chest like Phil – and he had pointed brown cat ears that were prominently on display on his head, since his brown hair was sopping wet. Though Phil had never seen a Neko in real life, he knew this boy had to be one. They were very rare and he never expected to see one randomly in the street.

Nekos didn’t have the same rights as ordinary people, and as far as Phil knew all Nekos had owners or people who looked after them. Phil blinked for a moment at the Neko, expecting a person to materialize in a moment and claim him, but there was no one else around and the Neko just blinked solemnly back at him. Phil noticed a few more things during this silent exchange: the boy was young – a teenager maybe – and he was soaking wet. He had obviously been in the rain longer than Phil and his wet t-shirt was clinging to his thin frame.

Phil shifted to take off his damp jacket, and the Neko flinched again, and this time he seemed like he might run. His ears went flat against his head. “No, wait!” Phil said, extending the jacket. “Here, I just wanted to give you this.”

The Neko did not move to take it, and Phil wondered if he didn’t understand. He barely knew anything about Nekos, but he was pretty sure they could talk and understand speech. Then, he saw something in the boy’s chocolate-brown eyes. He was intelligent and he understood Phil, but he was suspicious. Phil extended the jacket further. “Please, take it. You’ll be helping me if you do. My mum told me that good things happen to people who do good things. I could use some good things about now, so you have to let me do this good deed.”

A slight smile returned to the Neko’s lips, and he accepted the jacket. He pulled it on and zipped it up to his chin, though he continued to shiver. His ears, which had been pushed back, shifted slightly forward. Then he closed his eyes, sagging against the wall and looking exhausted.

Phil looked at the sky to see that the rain was slowing and he was tempted to start walking home again, but he looked back to the Neko. “Hey, are you lost?” When the Neko just opened his eyes to blink at him, he asked, “Do you need help?”

Instead of answering, the boy shut his eyes again and he ignored Phil.

Phil frowned, unsure. He would like to help by offering more than a jacket, but he couldn’t force the boy to go with him. With a sigh, he got up, and the sound of his shoes on the pavement startled the Neko who suddenly looked very small as he huddled on the ground, trying to warm himself. “The rain is slowing down,” Phil said lamely with a gesture. “I’m… just going to go home now.”

The Neko continued to stare at him, but something had shifted in his eyes. He didn’t look so indifferent anymore; he looked scared. Phil got the feeling that the boy didn’t want to be alone.

Phil didn’t want to be alone, either. “I don’t live far from here. I hate the idea of going inside out of the rain and leaving you out here… I have food if you’re hungry.”

The Neko didn’t respond, but he looked pensive as he rubbed the fabric at the cuff of Phil’s jacket between his fingertips. His ears swiveled and twitched. There was no sound but the pattering of the rain on the pavement.

Finally, Phil looked away. He was shivering so badly without his jacket and he just wanted to get warm. Without continuing the one-sided conversation, he turned and started for home. He hadn’t gone a block when he turned at the sound of footsteps behind him and he saw that he was being followed by the hunched form of the Neko boy, and Phil smiled at him.

Continuing home, Phil worried that it was a bit dangerous to invite a stranger into his house, but then he pushed the thought away. This wasn’t the same as inviting a person in, since the boy wasn’t completely human. No, this was more like being followed home by a stray cat, and that wasn’t so scary.

[prorevenge]

Tried to give shitty neighbour a taste of his own medicine. Ended up getting him some hefty fines.

My initial plan should have resulted in an @petty-revenge-stories worthy post, but I inadvertently ended up going a lot further. (long story: tl;dr at the end)

Some background:

My neighbour, let's call him Dave, is a twat. Literally everyone on the street hates him. The previous owners of our house left because of him: we gave them a lowball offer on the house which they accepted straight away because Dave drove them crazy. We initially didn't pay much mind because, for 10/12 years that we've lived here he's been pretty courteous, even very helpful. His attitude changed over the past 2 years. He's started complaining about the volume of my guitar playing even though his dog is yapping away 24/7 - bear in mind this is a dog which he doesn't even let out of the house. He forced us to reposition our CCTV cameras so they didn't look into his gardens, then put up his own which look into ours claiming it's his property so he can do what he wants. Some craftsmen came to do work on our roof, and he complained about them to the council on a small technicality with their scaffolding, causing them to get fined.

But the problem at hand here is about parking. Dave works for a local utility so he has a big pickup truck supplied by his work that he parks in such a way that half of it takes up space in front of our house. You see, for a long time, we had a old banger Toyota as the family car, and his parking was not an issue as we only had the one car in the driveway. Dave also loved to take the piss out of this car. He was the kind of guy who would buy a 4x4 in the winter then sell it in the summer for a convertible. Two years ago, the banger was complemented with a shiny new Toyota, and that too for me. Not only did he not have anything witty to say about our new car, his much cherished truck's parking space was at threat. So, he buys a van, parks it in front of his house, then parks the entirety of his pickup truck in front of our house, so much so that his truck's trailer hitch would be over the exit to our driveway. Unfortunately, as much of a dick move as this is, he's perfectly entitled to do that as it's a public road. Any requests to ask him to move and he'd say that he'd been parking there since before we moved, and that he needs to keep his driveway clear wide to get his other cars out as the people opposite park a car outside their house. When I pointed out that we have the same issue, he said I "need the practice cause I'm a new driver". Thankfully the people on our other side and across the road (both having a long standing hatred of Dave) suggested we park my dad's car outside their houses if there was space - mine lived in the drive for insurance reasons.

Luckily for Dave, my dad got a new job abroad so he had to sell the banger, and I got an internship at a big company halfway across the country so my car wouldn't be there. However, my dad purchased another shiny new Toyota for my mum as she'd have to drive herself around (and his new job was a pretty big promotion). This is the situation until last Sunday.

Now starts the real bullshit. Because of Eid, so I took a week off work to spend it with my mum. When I arrived home after the long journey, I was in luck: Dave was still at work and his other van wasn't there. I guess he'd sold it now that he didn't need an excuse to occupy the front of our house. Thus, I parked squarely in front of our house, with about a metre between the front of my car and the imaginary line between our house and Dave's. Later that night, I go out to throw the trash and I see that this fucker has parked his truck under 2 inches away from my car. This is an issue for me because we're on a hill, and I drive a manual so there's a good chance of my car rolling into his trailer hitch unless I'm really careful. The next day, I actually saw him park in the same way. From my window it looked like he'd actually hit my car so I decided to go out and have a look. As I kneeled down to check the front bumper he goes "what do you think you're looking at?". I said "Oh, it seemed to me you've parked really close, I was just checking to see if you've it my car". His reply was "I've got parking sensors so get the hell back inside".

Now, I read @petty-revenge-stories a bit so I thought I'd give Dave a taste of his own medicine. After a day out with the mates, I saw that he was at work, so I decided to park outside his house, being very considerate, following the Highway Code and leaving a wide berth for the car in the driveway to exit. I just thought I'd fuck with him a little, piss him off and then move the car after a few hours just to see how quickly he runs out to park his truck in the usual spot again. What I didn't expect was that he'd be a stubborn cunt.

Dave flips his shit as soon as he arrives. He parks inches away from my car with the bay of his truck over our driveway, throws the gate open right into the bumper of my mum's car and nearly bangs the door off its hinges. He demands that I move my car "right fucking now". The lovely Irish guy opposite us, Mick (not actually being racist, that's his real name), saw him open the gate into my mum's car and takes this moment to come and tell us what Dave did. I take a look while Dave keeps shoving me and shouting at me: he's left a dent and scratched the paint. My mum goes ballistic at this point. Seeing as all 5'1" of her is about to deck Dave at this point, I tell him, calmly, that I'm perfectly entitled to park where I currently am, and that I'd very much appreciate it if he would pay for the repair to my mum's car and go park his truck somewhere else in the meantime. He blatantly refuses and says he wont pay shit, calling us pakis, terrorists, ungrateful cunts, and all kinds of lovely compliments before storming back inside, telling us he'd like to see what we can do.

So, I hit up the non-emergency police hotline, with some traffic cops coming over about an hour later. Remember the CCTV cameras he had us reposition? They captured a lovely 1080p/60fps rendition of the gate bouncing off my mum's car and Dave shoving me. Unfortunately there was no sound, but Mick and the family to our other side basically told the traffic cops what was said to me and my mum. As luck would have it, Dave had gone out for the night with his girlfriend. Because they couldn't contact him, his blocking of our driveway, and me and my mum saying we needed to go out that night, the cops had his truck towed. Along with the fine and collection information which they posted through his door, they also left a note saying possible charges could be pressed for assault, anti-social behaviour, hate speech and vandalism.

The police called earlier today to say that his workplace had left them with insurance information for a claim for the repairs. Off the record, they said that, although the company would foot the bill for the tow, the fine and the repairs, Dave would be paying those out of his own pocket and would be penalised even more heavily for his conduct and making the company look bad.

No fully happy ending though: now I'm afraid he might do some shit to my mum while I'm away for work... I'll take what I can get for now...

TL;DR - Neighbour parks like a twat. I give him a taste of his own medicine to troll him. End up getting his work truck towed.

Edit: I might as well add some more context here.

Re. the family on our other side: he's wolfwhistled at their underage daughter, and fought hard against their new extension claiming some bullshit - the council overturned his objections on account of there being a whole house (i.e. ours) between Dave and the other neighbours.

Re. the pensioners (Mick and his wife) opposite: he's been a general cunt to them for about 20 years, apparently. I'm pretty sure he's shot their windows with a BB gun - bragged about his air rifle when we complained to him about the neighbourhood cats shitting in our garden. Hell, one of the families even came up to us and asked us if we knew who injured their cat. Unfortunately we were still on good terms with Dave then so we didn't want to throw accusations around without being sure.

One of my aunties is a social worker who deals with a family on our street who adopts a lot of kids. Apparently the family and the kids all complained about Dave to her.

Edit2: well quite a lot of interest in this story. Just had a quick skin through the comments, so here's what's going on:

pressing charges fully: according to the police, the utility company is looking to compensate us for all the shit Dave pulled, and should be contacting us soon. As this incident involves their vehicle and their employee, they'd rather it not get taken to court. We have some relatives who are lawyers and they suggest also taking an offer from the company, especially as bringing hate speech accusations against someone without sufficient proof is dangerous: other people's testimony is probably not enough. Our family members are all over the place, and we're all far too busy with work at the moment.

we must have pissed Dave off for him to change after 10 years: Yes we did, by repeatedly asking him to park his truck in such a way that he doesn't have his truck almost across our driveway while most of the front of his house remains clean.

Edit3: Anticlimactic ending to the story. He just knocked and apologized. Said he got a bollocking at work and regrets saying all that stuff to me and my mum. Also did he didn't actually think we'd call the police, and that if we did nothing would have happened. Still, we're staying vigilant, but I guess it's a happy ish ending?

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