#my parents response to this was They wont get you high you should lick a poisonous frog instead

[siramory]

OH ACTUALLY I DO JAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. i almost ate a pokeweed berry earlier ☝️

[yinses]

ethereal lullaby 

| days, months, years… it didn’t matter. you were willing to wait a lifetime.|

siren!gojo satoru

rating: T ( yeah i know, surprised myself) 

a/n: not going to talk about me accepting this without understanding what a siren was. thank you to new friends for helping me not look like an idiot. took the friends to lovers approach because simp vibes. amen. i might do a sequel just to up the rating a bit because this already got so long. we’ll see. 

thanks to @kinbari14​ for the hc. it was a fun challenge. 

your parents tried to highlight the positives- how could they not after dragging their fifteen year old away from home. you were in the middle of your teenage years, just starting to hone confidence in your social skills. they told you it would be exciting. 

r_ight next to the ocean_, they coaxed as if you’d ever cared to swim.

sitting on the shores now with your toes curled in the sand, you wondered if your friends were missing you as much as you missed them. 

the moon full and bright, high enough to signal that it was well past your curfew. but your parents were more lenient this summer, trying anyway they could to smooth your transition. it was a brief allowance that you would take advantage of while you could. 

collecting the shoes at your feet, you sighed heavily, deciding that it was time to head back for the night. the more effort you made the easier it would pass through.

your back had just turned to the shores when you heard the sound- soft, melodic as it seemed to warm your ears. 

it sounded like a song, but you’d never heard anyone on the radio sound this good. the voice tickled your consciousness and you shook your head to fight away the haze. yet the cloud lingered, drifting down to your feet this time. 

it felt like you were walking on cotton candy, a jovial step, knocking your knees together as you put more distance between yourself and the house. a tinge of fear cooled your spine but the sensation wasn’t strong enough to sway the superior force. 

the closer you got the more you came to recognize the sound. not able to tie it to a specific person but certain that it was a person. it reminded you of the choir melodies from your old school but not even the star could compare. 

you were able to register the shift from sand to rocky gravel but not the sharp pinch as rocks dug into your feet. the song still carried you closer, around the bend and towards the mouth of a cave. 

despite every strand of common sense warning you not to, you crossed the threshold. the cavern played a devil’s advocate- enticing you with mystery while amplifying the the lyrics you still couldn’t place. 

the effort to figure it out didn’t seem worth it, nothing superseded the call. 

all too quick you reached the wide pool that spread out at the end and suddenly the song stopped. the splash of water at your feet was enough to startle your system, sending you reeling back as you tripped against the damp ground. 

something too intense to call an emotion trampled your ability to move as you were left frozen to watch as a figure pulled itself to the edge. 

the first thing you took in was the shock of white hair but that was nothing compared to the two turquoise pearls blinking up at you. 

“huh… you’re what i caught?”

 it almost sounded bored. 

the shrill of your scream drowned out the slow drawl of condescension. the- boy? hissed and shrank back, hand coming up to cover his ears. 

“no, no! stop. goddess that hurts.”

you instinctively go to kick back, but he is faster, something wet and slimly curling around your ankle. the grip draws you closer, uncaring of the way the unforgiving ground bit into your back. 

your lips part to scream again but the sound gets stuck at the sharp glare you receive. water continued to drip from the strands of his hair, the drops that met your skin were ice cold. he was close enough now that you could smell the salt from the sea against his skin. near enough that you almost lost yourself in the bright pools taking you in equally. 

his eyes track the motion as you lick your lips. “who are you?”

the hand that still ensnared you loosened to a soft caress as his fingertips traced your skin. as he did, you came to note that his wasn’t quite as smooth- something akin to glossy ridges.

you didn’t like when he hummed. not because the sound was unbearing, but because of the opposite. the pull wasn’t as powerful as before but there was no denying the source. 

“who are you?” he echoed back. 

when your eyes narrow, he shoots you a wicked grin full of sharp teeth. 

unable to do much else, you offer you name and find yourself surprised when he returns the gesture. 

“satoru.”

you try the name for yourself. neither of you can deny that it doesn’t fall quite the same from your lips. your gaze cuts down as he shifts again, revealing the bareness that stopped just short of his waistline. cheeks warming, you decided that his eyes were the lesser evil. 

“aren’t you cold?”

satoru’s head tilts at the question. “no … are you?” as if he could check, his thumb brushes against the sensitive side of your ankle. you can’t resist another kick, but he’s more than prepared. 

this time however, he doesn’t just hold it down, instead lifting it closer as he inspected your heel. 

“these were always peculiar to me. so many little appendages, yet too small to do much.”

these?

as if you enunciate your curiosity, your toes wiggle in response. the action prompts melodious laughter.

“what, and yours are better?”

the old battle of boys vs girls somehow melds into the bizarre situation. as if catching on to the challenge something akin to glee lights up in his eyes as he draws closer. but before he could accept the provocation, another voice breaks into the conversation. 

the voice is urgent, worried and carrying your name. 

astonished, satoru’s grip loosens enough for you to wiggle out as you scramble to your feet. his eyes narrow as he realizes this and he his arm shoots out to reclaim his prize. this time you’re faster though and step back. 

you don’t like the way he rises to this new dare as if he as prepared to intervene if necessary. 

“that’s my dad,” you explain, not sure if you should even be telling him this. “ i need to go.”

“no.”

your mind halts at the intensity behind command.

‘’what do you mean no? i’ll get in trouble. i’m already in trouble.”

the waters shift violently behind the boy as he raises onto his elbows as if to present a greater turbulence should you not heed. 

troubled, you bit your lips as your father’s voice carries near. it was only a hunch, but something told you that their meeting wouldn’t be a good thing. quickly you scramble for an alternative. 

“if you let me go now, i’ll come back and bring you something. its summertime so i have more freedom.”

though you felt your privileges dwindling the longer you lingered. 

satoru took too long to consider your offer and you began to question your chances of just running for it. 

“fine, but you better be back.”

relief filled your chest as you already turned towards the mouth of the cave. 

“yes! i promise. sooner than today though, i wont be able to be out this late again.”

you tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it wasn’t returned. there was distrust in his eyes but he didnt pursue. 

“when the sun sets then.” he adjured. and you were but a humble servant on the prince’s shores. 

“sunset,” you agreed as you broke into a run. 

the moment you broke free of the grotto you crashed into your father’s arms. the relief on his face was evident.

“there you are! why didn’t you answer, we were worried.”

his arms come around you and you realize you’re shaking. 

“jesus, you must be freezing. let’s get back before your mother sends out a search party.”

your arms encircle his waist as you let him drag you away. in one ear, you hear him start up a conversation about the neighborhood you had yet to explore to its fullest, tacking on a few names of children who belonged to some of his new coworkers. 

in the other, you heard the beginnings of a new song, one that didn’t seem to reach your father. and you didnt know what to do with that information.

sunset came all too soon the next day, the sun lowering just as dinner came to a close. you lingered close to your mother as you finished the last of the dishes. the tasks were dragging longer than needed, but no one would ever complain about them being extra clean. 

as you ran a rag over the porcelain you wondered what would happen if you didn’t show up. you couldn’t get the image of those teeth at of your head, the sharp glint gnawing into your dreams last night. they came off as an obvious threat but surely he couldn’t hurt you. 

then your mind drifted to that song. the same nameless lyrics that put you in the predicament in the first place. there was no denying that there was something going on there as well. just avoiding the cave wouldn’t be enough. 

all that was left was your curiosity, left to simmer under the plague of ‘what if’. the mysterious surrounding satoru wouldn’t leave you until you made good on your promise. the vow becoming something of a vice. 

with your mind made up, you turned to your mother. 

“do we have any mochi left?”

your parents hesitantly let you out with a curfew. you’d mentioned that you were held up late by a friend last time- to which your father questioned why you hadn’t mentioned it until now. they were obviously worried about your lack of agreeableness to reach out to the other kids so this initiative helped to ease their weariness. 

clutching the small container of sweet mango filled dough to your chest, you made your way back to the little cave. the distance traveled was kinder to you this time with shoes as you made haste down the gravel banks. 

uncertainty slowed your steps as you approached the widening curve of the stillness pool. depending on how you gauged the sun, you weren’t terribly late. it was technically still sunset. 

a mix of disappointment and relief swam in your gut as you came to the conclusion that your new acquaintance hadn’t met their own end of the deal. maybe his parents had also got onto him about being so late. 

it was probably for the best anyway. 

“what’s that?”

the volume of your scream made even you wince as the tupperware toppled to the ground. turning on your heel, you came face to face with satoru. you never heard the water part at his entrance. 

he wore a bored expression but there was a hint of a smile to his lips. this time he didnt scold you for shrieking, too interested in the container that had toppled near the shore. 

bringing your hand to your chest, you reasoned that scolding him would be useless. “its mochi.”

for once, it was his tongue that made the words sound off. apparently the rounded desserts werent part of his vocabulary. 

carefully easing onto the ground, you brought the container into your lap. 

“it’s my surprise. i hope you’re hungry.”

as you cracked the top, satoru move closer, nose twitching as the smell of mango drifted out. your mother had been all too happy to pack all the extras for you to share. 

you offered one.

satoru took it carefully, bringing it to his nose for another cautious sniff. you took in the point of his nails as he split the soft dough. he collected the orange the oozed out and brought it to his mouth. 

in the span of seconds, he devoured the entire bun in one bite and snatched the remaining from your hands. 

“this is good! i’ll excuse your lateness, this time.”

without the weight in your lap, you drew your knees to your chest as you watched on as he greedily ate one after the other. you considered warning him of the stomachache he would endure if he held the pace, but you decided that it would only fall on deaf ears. 

instead you ask,” so about those toes?”

it seemed like such a weird question to ask. equally as strange to satoru as he brow pinched. he brought his fingers to his mouth to clear away the stickiness. 

“what are those?”

an age old meme resonated within you and you waited with baited breath for him to carry the joke, but only silence drenched the space between you. 

pursing your lips, you shake your foot in reminder. “remember? apparently yours were better?”

“oh.” satoru’s lips smacked audibly as he polished off another bun. and as if it was the most natural thing in the world he shifted back, a bright blue tail that matched his eyes broke the surface. 

if you were sure before, you were certain he was going to eat you this time.

because you screamed again. 

satoru demanded that you bring him mochi everyday from then on for hurting his ears again. 

yes, everyday. 

there would be multiple days to instil the notion that you had met a mythical creature. you were still trying to assure yourself that you have been awake the whole time.

your parents no longer needed to worry about you making friends, because apparently you’d managed to befriend a merman. 

siren, satoru had hissed after bitting into a blueberry mochi. asking your mother to make mochi only worked for the first few visits. eventually her curiosity to win and lead you down a path you weren’t ready to accept yet. 

the trail leading to the acceptance that you were conversing with a fishman- boy.

lounging on your blanket, you had come to store little things for comfort around the cave. sunset rolled back a few hours to afternoon and before you knew it you were spending the majority of your days with satoru. 

“don’t your parents ever worry about you being gone so long?”

as usual, satoru was eating. he’d already finished the dango you had brought and moved on to the squid you’d turned down with barely restrained disgust. undeterred, he’d only shrugged and proceeded to gnaw off one of the tentacles. 

“no.” 

and that was that.

so instead you quizzed him on the mythical world you had and most humans were blind to. he talked about submerged cities, described aquatic creatures you could have never dreamed of if you tried and dissuaded your worst fears.

“so you don’t eat humans?”

“no we do. but i don’t want to eat you.”

you waited for the yet but it never came. satoru seemed content consuming whatever sugary treat you brought and sated the rest with whatever he caught swimming by. 

Eventually you let go of the imagery of ariel and her seaside romance and began to soak your free time in legends of beautiful sirens of the sea who took pleasure in drowning their victims. every story warned land dwellers from entering the waters, something you had never shown interest in doing nor had satoru pressured you.

“how old are you satoru?”

“how old are you?”

he always did this, answering questions with his own. it came to you that he might just be remaining within your boundaries to keep you from screaming at him again. a fair assumptions, but you were genuinely curious. 

“fifteen,” you offered, prepared to have the same response thrown back at you.

“sixteen.”

satoru raised a brow at your suspicion of disbelief. “i think i know how old i am.” 

and you couldn’t fault him for that. you just weren’t expecting him to be so young. sure he looked like he could have been a boy at your school aside from the freckled scales and obvious tail. 

“i beat you again, by the way.”

his words draw you from your thoughts. “huh?”

he swallows the remainder of a melon bun. 

“i’m older. so i win again.”

you roll your eyes. 

tail or not, apparently some things are the same. 

two weeks have passed before you realize he hasn’t sung for you since that day. the two of you often meet in the morning now, break for lunch and resume in the late evening. as far as your parents are concerned, you’re on the way to making a new best friend which will only be promising for when you start school. 

“you act all funny when i sing. its not meant for your pleasure anyway,” he adds. 

for once he’s not eating. he’s lying closer to you, tail still dipped under the water but more of his top half is lain out on the shore. when you try to give him a blanket to lie on to put something between himself and the rocks he gives you a funny look but concedes. now watching as he nuzzles into the the fabric of your cotton blanket, you hide a knowing grin. 

“but it sounds pretty, toru.”

when you had first tried out the nickname, you had hesitantly rushed it into a sentence. you were growing comfortable with the siren but the dangers were still present. like most things, it didn’t get past him and he grinned smugly but didn’t tease you further than that. 

you were grateful for that as it allowed you to become more comfortable with its usage, likely his intention. 

he hums in agreement, eyes sliding close as he readjusts. his tail follows the movement lowly, making small ripples. 

“can’t you sing in a way that wont affect me?”

satoru’s eyes flash up to you suddenly and your breath catches in your throat at the sudden shift in the mood. 

“no, because then it would be bad for me. if i cant control you then i cant drown you.”

you dont bring up how that would also be bad for you. 

you dont bring up his singing again. 

summer is edging near completion and your parents start to curb your outings. 

“you’ll see them more when school starts. if you dont start to getting to bed earlier now you’ll just make it worse for you.”

there is no way for you to explain how it will be harder to approach your situation to satoru. you were knowingly wedging yourself deeper with him. the first day you met him had marked a streak of possessiveness that kept drawing you back in. 

you weren’t just his friend. 

you were his. 

the thing he looked forward to each morning and regretted parting with each afternoon. you knew this for a fact, because you felt it too. 

“okay, i’m going to go a little earlier today. then”

your mother lets you go with a short kiss to your temple and a promise that you’ll return for lunch. 

satoru took the news about as well as you would expect. 

“you can’t go.”

letting your head fall back on your shoulders, you stared up at the small break in the grotto above. “i have to go to school, toru. if i dont go then ill get in trouble and if that happens then i definitely cant come back.”

you know he knows this too. satoru was smart. a species like his didnt survive this long unknown without intelligence. 

but then again, he let you in on the secret and it was too early to gauge the genius in that. 

you were more comfortable around each other now, legs bare as your feet dipped into the water. satoru still resumed his post on the shore, arms crossed by your hip as the white of his hair brushed against your thighs. 

he seemed to still be digesting the news which gave you the opportunity to probe again.

��i mean, surely you have stuff to do as well. what did you do before you met me?”

satoru deflected the question, head lolling to the side to rest against your skin. the slippery surface of the scales littering his cheek always felt like ice chips. 

“ate more stupid people.”

you’d asked about this of course. probably worrying your parents when you brought up with questions of drowning in the area. they seemed unsure before your father assured you that they wouldn’t have let you venture so close to the shore if that was a problem. 

so if satoru was indeed eating people like he said, it wasn’t from around here. 

part of you still felt like there was a bit of myth still lodged in his truth.

“so you can only meet me at sunset again?”

you make a noise of affirmation, hand raising as it hovers over his head. you had never actually touched it before but as it tickled the inside of your thigh the curiosity grew. before you talked yourself out of it, your hand dropped. 

his hair was silky, still damp but drying at a reasonable pace. his head moved under the weight of your hand, but it wasn’t to shake it off. you accepted the invitation and weaved your fingers further. 

“on most days. with homework i wont be able to everyday like this either.”

his loud groan rumbles against your leg and he slowly slinks back into the water. your hand clenches around the absence. 

“for every extra day you’re not here, you better bring me something great.”

its probably time for you to be going anyway. 

you go about collecting your things and tucking away what you could. when you finally stand, you trying to shake way the numbness that had settled. 

“we should probably figure out days, so you’re not always just here-”

“no need.”

satoru swam on his back for about half a meter, showing off his full length before his slipped under and reemerged at your feet. 

“when you come back i’ll be here.”

the two of you managed to meet a few more times before the first day of classes started. satoru was noticeably nicer to you, or atleast as pleasant as he could be. after finally realizing that you had no interest in dead aquatic animals, he began corralling live ones for you to view.

you realized that the two worlds had different names for a lot of things as he listed off various species and colors. you took a few of them with your phone before the idea hit you.

“hey, toru can i take a picture of you?”

he made a face like he might disagree. there was no need to explain the device as you’d already done plenty of show and tell. one of the earlier showings leaving you to soak your phone in rice for two whole days. 

eventually he shrugs and you snap a photo immediately after. 

the night sky begets a short flash, one that he winces at and moans in protest. but the picture is worth the complaint. 

he looks almost like a human boy wading in a pool- aside of the assortment of blueish scales to his cheeks. your only regret in that he’d closed one eye in reaction to the sudden light. there was a light frown to his face too but that was as genuine as it got. 

“let me take one of you.”

you were too surprised to deny him, wordlessly handing off your phone with less worry than you probably should have had. he handles it carefully though, biding by your instructions before you too were wincing away from the flash. 

the smile you get from him was better than anything you could have captured. 

“can i keep it?”

you laugh, “no, toru. but i can make you something you can.”

highschool was hard enough transitioning up with your junior classmates, the challenges of tackling your first year without out them met your expectations but not the worst of them. you learned quickly who to avoid and who you could be amicable with. 

being the new girl was an easier pill to swallow when you came equipped with a few stories from your past home. it gained the interest of a few which made a way from conversation to acquaintanceship. 

nothing was quite as exciting as your meeting with satoru but that was to be anticipated. 

satoru … unfortunately was seen less and less as the weeks went by. your parents were keen on you making a good first impression which meant a heavy emphasis on your school work. 

you mother had offered for you to invite your ‘friend’ over more than once, and invitation that had spanned since your early meeting. but the only thing harder than trying to explain that your satoru was a fish was to add that he was also a boy. 

your father might actually overlook the former in favor of the latter. 

so you were left to visit him on the weekends and thus compiled your allowance to purchase bigger treats and delicacies alike. 

his introduction to cake had a been a messy occurrence. naturally he would forgo the fork you brought to dig in with his fingers. 

satoru surprised you by asking about your schooling.

“what? it’s not like ive ever been around that many human before. sounds smelly.”

you laugh, because he’s not wrong. you go into detail about your different teachers and classmates, offering vivid retellings that you hadn't even shared with your parents. 

satoru hung onto every words, though not without crass comments and frequent jokes, his attention sent something new aflutter within you. 

“i can’t believe the year is almost over, toru.”

your hair is getting wet but you can’t be bothered to care. the two of you are resting from opposite directions with your heads on the bank. your eyes are trained on the pink hues above but your cognitive of satoru’s warmth and the feeling of his breath fanning against your cheek. 

it was nearing a year. a full eight months at your new school and a solid nine of knowing satoru. you were already planning something for your year anniversary. 

friends did that, right? it wasn’t weird just because he was a boy. 

speaking of boy, it didnt escape your knowledge that he was changing as time passed as well. he still held onto his boyish features but there was something different. 

“did i miss your birthday?”

“huh?” the question surprises even him as he tilts his head to look at you. 

time has made you better about not getting lost in his eyes, but it doesnt stop you from looking. not even the night sky can dim the ethereal shine. 

your shoulder shrugs against him, “you know, when you get a year older? you told me you were sixteen so obviously those add up.”

he blinks,”oh, yeah i’m already seventeen.”

you dont expect the shock to be painful. when you sudden sit up, satoru makes a sound of protest but you ignore it in favor of leaning over him. 

“you had a birthday and you didnt tell me?”

“i was here, you werent.”

he said it so matter of factly, as if it didnt pierce your heart with another blade. 

you dont notice the tears until the first drop meets his cheek. satoru recoils immediately face pulled in confusion. 

“why are you crying? you were at school.”

you knew you were a blubbering mess, snot slinging as you rub the back of your hand against your face uselessly. why was he so indifferent about it? did he not want you to celebrate with him?

“that doesn’t mean that i wouldn’t want to celebrate with you? am i not your friend, toru?”

satoru sits up at your question, rising to a height taller even as you sat side by side. you feel the gravel crumbling away from his palm before the skin of his hand. he doesnt seem to care about the wetness as his hand combs back to tuck away your hair. 

“youre my everything.”

it feels like it should be taken more seriously but the moment is cut short when he pulls away, huffing as he rinses his hand off in the water. 

“if you want to make it up to me, bring me something you’ve never brought me before.”

and then he smiles and your heart grows three times bigger.

you beg your parents to take you back home to sendai that weekend under the precipice of seeing your old friends. 

the next day you bring back kikufuku.

satoru says he’ll forgives you for the next five birthdays. 

you can only hope for more. 

as summer approaches again, so does your birthday. your parents had conveniently waited until two weeks after before laying out the news of your move. last year you celebrated with old friends, and this year some new. 

you still received some gifts from sendai. a plethora of little plushies and memories from the past. your new friendships here offered to throw you a small party, all gathered on your porch as you mother cut the cake.

you leaned into the kiss she life at the crown of your head, thanking her again for all the arrangements. 

“i wish your summer friend could have come.”

“i plan to meet them later so it’s okay!”

after seeing your distress about birthdays, satoru had made a note to take them more seriously this time. he didn’t care if you had school, demanding that you come to the grotto before the day ended. 

with a laugh you assured him that you were free and would meet at your usual time. it felt selfish to accept all your gifts and still crave whatever satoru had in store for you. much like you offered him, he promised to give you something new as well. 

he gave you plenty of things over the past few months, aside from knowledge, an exchange of different shells and things lost at sea. you were growing a nice little collection in your room. 

before leaving that evening after seeing off your friends, you took the time to make room on your shelf, prepared to add your new edition when you got home. 

a late additional gift from your parents was a reprieve on your curfew, as long as you didn’t push the limits too far. 

equipped with the best day ever that was only going to get better, you dashed towards the cave.

satoru had already drug out one of your blankets and spread it out for you. 

“had a good day?”

with a giddy grin, you plopped down next to him. “the best!”

he smiles back, hand reaching out to caresses your cheek. you lean into the touch without prompting. there was no doubt that he could feel the light buzz of anticipation under your skin. the sound of his laughter confirmed it. 

you bit your lips to try to contain it better as he took his time easing out of the water. you watched as the scales of his tail shimmered as he brought himself to sit next to you. for awhile the two of you just sat there as the sun dipped lower into the horizon. 

and then satoru parted his lips. 

and sang. 

you dont know anything about siren songs or have any hymn books to follow but there was something different about this song. satoru was always hesitant to speak about the songs, not at all interested in delving into the history. 

you were starting to wonder if this was why. 

there was no longer a sensation of compulsion. the strings that had tugged you to his doorstep all those months ago. this song dipped into your veins and soaked you in everything that was satoru but also a bit of yourself. this wordless song felt like a mixture of you both. 

it was both of you. 

“toru…”

the song didnt stop as his face neared. his nosed brushed along the curve of your jaw and your head tilts up on instinct. its an invitation that he accepts full heartily as he continues to mouth the sound against the column of your throat. 

the warmth under your skin felt as though it was burning when it came in contact with his constrasting temperature. 

for the first time, his song was audible. the a single word as his lips brushed against yours. 

your name.

the sensation of his chilled lips against yours prompted goosebumps- but the good kind you decided as you leaned in. 

[tomdiddlyumptious]

Tom Holland x black reader getting caught fucking in his childhood bed and his parents making reader and Tom talk about it in a family meeting 💀💀

Oop-

Summary: que?

Warnings: smut and an awkward situation. Cringy smut of course, yelling ar new borns- LaNgUaGe

T.H| I’m Sorry You Said What?

You and tom rode in the car, bumping to something random on the radio as you both made your way back to his old home. Youve been there before but it was nice to come back after a while.

“Y/n?” “What?” You asked looking at him. “I love you” “ewwwww” you stuck out your tongue, he rolled his eyes and smacked his lips while you giggled.

“Im sorryyyyyy” “no your rude” tom shook his head unbuckling himself. “It was a simple joke! Its not my fault you couldnt take it!” He glared at you “you suck” “you swallow” “you choke” “i- i do” you admit making him laugh “ i wont lie” you shrugged and hopped out the car, closing the door behind you.

You both walked to the door and he held on your waist pressing a kiss to your forehead. He knocked and was met immediately with his father with a bib on. “Whats the bib for?” “Im trying to online teach kids how to eat neatly” “they must be newborns for that-“ you bud in.

“Exactly- its to mad in there” “they dont even know theyre moving how do you expect them to know how to raise a fork” nikki asked making you all laugh as dom shrugged but opened the door more inviting you both in. Tom stepped in after you both and you shared hugs before he pulled you into his room. “Thomas is this your room?” “Yes” “why is there a one direction poster?” “I love Niall Horan” he shrugged and shut the door.

Your eyebrows furrowed at him in confusion “I would take you as more of a zayn fan” “well there goes something new, and I know about your obsession with Harry styles already, do NOT rub it in” he demanded making you giggle, you took off your shoes and laid in his bed, which was comfy, not firm like yours used to be, but as long as you had a roof over your head everything was goddamn fine🙄.

Thomas decided to lay down next to you and you still looked around “I’m supprised you don’t have twilight in here” you giggled “shut up” he chuckled and laid his head in your breast, you played with his hair and tugged it a bit making him let out a small groan “Thomas don’t-“ “you tugged my hair!” “This is your childhood room for heaven sakes” “let’s make more memories then!” He suggested. “You get on my nerves’ you smacked your lips as he reached up to kiss your neck and slowly make his way to your sweet spot. “I want youuuu” he sung.

“But I dontttt” “yes you doooo” “okay maybeeee” “I’m gonna take off your clothessss” “go aheadddd”you moaned a little bit from his nibble on your sweet spot as he trailed his hands down your stomach giving you goosebumps. Your turned your head to meet his lips, “did I ever tell you how amazing you look today?” “No”

“Well-“ he cut himself off, you just love to ruin the mood all the time. “Ay don’t blame me if anything you did because were in your childhood bed right now” “I’m gonna fuck you and that’ll make you be quiet, won’t it?” You just sighed at his words, but letting the blood flow south.

“Actually it won’t, I’d make you scream and let everyone hear- (this is your family for heaven sakes😭)” he mumbled, playing with the hem of your underwear and you let out a low moan. “Yeah i know youd like that, naughty girl (😭😭 i cant)”

He gently rubbed your pearl over your paintes while you unbuckled his pants, palming him through his jeans feeling his hard. He let out a groan and pressed harder on your clit making you whine and buck your hips onto his hands.

“AH” you both jumped and looked at the door seeing it was still shut you sighed in relief. “NO NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP THE FORK DOESNT GO ALL THE WAY DOWN YOUR THROAT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW- IM TELLING YOUR MOM- WHAT WHAT- DONT CRY PLEASE STOP ILL GET IN SO MUCH TROUBLE”

Tom groaned by the buzzkill of his father, but let out laughs in your neck. “Just make it quick tom” you whispered against his forehead kissing it, he nodded and got up, walking to the door and you stood to, taking off your pants while he made sure it was locked, when he looked back he saw you struggling and tripping over your shoes making him chucke before walking over and making yiu stand straight, right before pinning you to the wall.

He took your hands and yanked them over your head making you clench your legs together. “Open up” he demaned softly, putting his knee in between your legs and opening them before looking at you. “Your so beautiful baby girl” he kissed you, biting your lip. “Dont move your hands? Hear me?”

“But it will start to hurt” you pleaded but he only tsked at you and told you to follow his orders before pulling down his pants and boxers a bit to pull himself out, you both still had clothes on, well you didnt have your jeans on (which is so fuckin unfair) and your shoes but he kept his on.

He took his hands and pressed his chest against your to keep you in place before he lifted your legs around his hips and used a single hand to pull your panties to the side. He spit in the tip of his fingers before runnjng them through your folds “oh- your already soaked” he said before coning cocky “i didnt even do anything yet” “please fuck me already” you begged and he smiled, watching as he slipped himself in, a moan leaving both of your lips.

He started to fill himself in you while you struggled to keep your hands in place. He groaned pumping in you, fucking you against the wall, he hooked his hands under your knees and pushed them closer to the walls to open you up. “Fuck tommy” you gasped, your head leaning back against the wall and he took the chance to lick and suck on your sweet spot, to hot in the moment to remember where he is.

“Fuck y/n your so tight- shit-“ he felt you clench, he started to harder but slow, the sound bouncing off the wall as you swallowed your moans. “Shit- tommy” your back arched off the wall, your arms to tired and heavy so they went around his shoulders and your head in his neck. “You tired baby?“

“UMMMMM” nikki said, both of your heads whipping around. “MOM-“ she slammed the door closed before anything else could happen.

“Dinner is in 15 minutes- uhhhh dont be late. Make sure to clean up” she said leaning up against the door “and please dont ya know-“ she nervously chuckled “finish” “IT WASNT LIKE THAT I SWEAR”

“Thomas it’s obvious” you glared at him, when he pulled out of you a sigh left your lips. “I swear i locked the door” he said putting himself back, watching you as you got yourself together. “Does it really matter now?” He only shrugged in response.

Toms cheeks were scarlet while you tried to get yourself to stop shaking so much. “It cant be that bad, right?” You held onto his arm for strength. “I mean it should all be fine cuz like- they did it to have me!” “Yeahyeahyeah” you nodded, kinda getting confident. “Lets just go” you pulled his arm to the dinning room, meeting a pair of 2 eyes starring at you both.

You all just sat there in silence, all of your movements halt as you made eye contact with nikki and tom made eye contact with his dad. “Dont be shy now, its only dinner” nikki said, placing the plates infront of the seat.

You looked at tom and he did a small nod walking right behind you to sit in the seats right next to each other.

“If you couldnt already tell we are having- erm spaghetti” she smiled trying to ease the tension but it was to thick.

After everyone took a couple bites you sipped the water. “Would you care to explain what happened-“ you choked on the water at doms words, the water shooting out of your nose while everyone looked at you. “I drank it to fast- haha” you faked a laugh, cleaning yourself up with the napkin.

“I didnt know you could do that....” tom said before looking at his dad. “We uhhh had ya know” tom looked away, feeling his ears start to burn up. “Ya know???” Nikki comments.

“You knowwwww like uhmmm” “clearly child” dom said glarring at him. “Who had the idea?” “I think we both know who”

You lifted your arms up in defense “it wasnt me” tom smaced his lips at you and you looked at him shrugging “it wasnt!” “You told me to make it quick!-“

“THOMAS” “whaaaat?! Its true!” “You still started it!”

Nikki and don watched the fued between as you to continued to complain and fight. “You were clearly being to loud thats why we got caught!-“

“Actually i heard thuds against the wall soooo” nikki spaced off as you glarred at him. “Who was making to much noise?” You lifted an eyebrow before he rolled his eyes and turned his chair a bit to not look at you.

“Did you use protection?” Dom asked. “Uhhh no” tom said. “Why not?” Nikki butted in. He only shrugged. “You need to use protection” “no we dont”

Nikki tapped behind her ear “what did you say?” “We will use protection” tom changed his mind. “Aha and how did you get that mark on your neck” nikki turned to you.

“I-uh burned my neck with the curling iron!” “Your hair isnt in curls” you bit your lip at her words “yeah welp i gave up after and dumped my hair in water” dom tried to read toms face and body language “it looks like a bruise, how high was the temperature?” Nikki asked, slightly concerned. “I have no idea”

“Just- why here?” Tom starred at nikki “i dont know i was just caught in the moment~” “dont you only say that when your a virgin doing it-“ “y/n we are supposed to be a team!” “Im just saying!”

“Before you both argue again.....” nikki said stopping the pot from boiling. “I just want to say that i hope your both happy and no longer sexually aroused”

“Nikki!” “What?! I have to say that Dominic!” “No you didnt, but if you dont mind i have to be leaving now, i have to teach the babies how to read” dom stood and took his plate to the kitchen, soon everyone done with their meal as you sat in silence washing dishes with nikki.

“Are you planning on making me a grandma?” She whispered, handing you the wet dish. “No not really” you sighef, drying the dish. “That sucks” “yep”

“But like why not!” “Toms busy with work and all do i dont want him to feel to responsible” “i have to agree on that one, barely wants to wipe his ass” “nikki!” You whisper yelled as she giggled, passing you anothet plate as you put the old one back.

“I know how it feels- dom cant keep his hands off of me” she winked as your eyes widened at her. “What! Im old not dead y/n” “you are not old nikki and plus i dont wanna know that!” “Hey im just letting you know” she shrugged.

“Dad she isnt pregnant and wont be anytime soon” “just bring me the babies! I will teach them how to cook, clean, eat-“ “thats our job dad”

“Well its better then these babies- WHO WONT STOP CHEWING ON THE BOOK-“

“WAAAAAAA”

“OH GOD PLEASE STOP CRYINGGG BLOODY HELL” dom said, snatching the ipad. “But please dont have sex in my house, thomas” dom glared at him while tom aggressively nodded his head.

“S-seth”

“THATS A NO NO WORD- STOP SAYING THAT” dom yelled again, stressing himself out. “WHY ARE YOU EVEN DOING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?” Nikki yelled from the kitchen, walking infront of you into the livingroom.

“BECAUSE THESE BABIES ARE GONNA BE VERY SMART- IF THEY COULD FECKING LISTON (i did that on purpose)”

“f-fe-“

“Dont you even” he pointed at the new born through the ipad.

“Seth!”

“DOMINIC!”

[skz-thunderous-stays]

Okay so I wrote this last night and was encouraged by the lovely @roger-drummerboy-taylor to post it so here it is! My first proper piece of writing in three years. A Meet the Robinsons ficlet with my OC Bella Framagucci. Enjoy! Xx

Bella sighed as she slammed the door to her bedroom closed, leaning against it as she closed her eyes. All she wanted to do was to spend some time with her family and her dad but she couldn't beceue she was scared of leaving her room and it was all because of her fear of contamination OCD. It hadn't been that bad up until now but now it made her scared to go outside and it made her scared to spend time with her family just incase she ran into her Uncle Cornelius. She loved Uncle Cornelius with all her heart but her OCD made it hard. She was terrified if anything that could harm her such ad chemicals and well with Uncle Cornelius being a scientist and spending a lot of time in his lab, well it sent her fear into overdrive. She would only leave her room and socialise when her uncle was on business trips but now with him being back for a while, she knew she wouldnt be leaving her room for a while and while it wasn't ideal, she could live with it. She had an en suite bathroom (like most of the bedrooms in the house) and she had plenty of things to keep her occupied and she was sure she would be able to get Carl to being her meals up for her.

Bella flicked the lock on her door before she made her way to her bed, grabbing her phone off the bedside table before she flipped down on her bed, unlocking it and immediatley a message popped up from her cousin..well one of her many. The Robinsons were a large family.

[From: Laszlo. {Hey, what's up? Uncle C gets back and you immediately lock yourself in your room until he leaves}]

Bella sighed as she tried to think of a response. She couldn't leave him on read or she would have him at her door before she could even blink.

[From: Bella. {I'm fine, Laz. It's just a bit hard to explain it when I'm trying to find a way to explain it to my dad before I tell anyone else in the family. Once I've told dad then I'll tell everyone else. I promise. I'm fine though x Just let uncle Cornelius know that I love him and it's nothing person x }]

Bella sighed as she put her phone down beside her. She thought it was stupid that Bella Framagucci was scared of chemicals when her Uncle was a well known scientist. It never bothered her when she was little but it had started whe she got into secondary school and gradually got worse from there. Whenever she had science class as soon as she got home she threw her clothes in the trash and had showers that could take up to an hour. It was the only way her mind could calm down but at least she didnt have to worry about science class for 3 months since she was summer break and then she only had two years left when she could finish high school at 18. She just had to survive 2 more years and she was hoping she would be able to drop science when she went back.

"You know you cant hide this forever right?" Carl spoke as he walked into Bella's room with her evening meal.

"Yes. Thank you Carl. I know that. Everyone keeps reminding me about that" Kim groaned as Carl put her meal and her dessert down on her table before he walked over and placed a cold metallic hand on her shoulder which caused the 16 year old girl to look up.

"Everyone is just worried. You lock yourself up for days and then act like nothing is wrong and you wont tell your dad what's wrong and he's extremely worried.." Carl trailed off and Bella nodded. Gaston Framagucci, Bella's dad, was one of the nicest people alive (he entire family were nice), he never lost his temper, was eccentric just like everyone in their family was, competitive bit extremely loving and caring and would do anything to protect those he loved a d he was slightly protective of Bella ever since her mum died when Bella was only 4 years old and as she grew she resembled her dad is some many ways with the same black hair with the family cow lick, brown eyes and slightly pointed nose with her mom's dimples.

"I know Carl..I'm just trying to figure out a way to tell everyone" That was true but she was also putting it off. She knew her family would be understanding, except maybe Aunt Petunia but she was always cranky and temperamental and Bella had grown used to it. She knew her family would make changes to make sure she wasnt triggered but she didn't want to bother them with that.

"Whatever you say, whatever it is, you know they are going to support you"

"I know Carl and thanks for that little talk and for bringing my food up"

"Well I couldn't have you starving now could I?" Carl laughed as he made his way to the door while Bella laughed.

"Wow Carl, you're so kind" Bella chuckled as she waved goodbye to Carl, then she was once again alone in her room. As Bella walked over to her desk , it hit her how badly she missed sitting at the large table, large enough to sit 13, with her family members while hearing Frankie the frog singing and even form her room, she could hear the mumbled conversation from the dining room.

She missed it so much but she just couldn't risk it. She wouldnt even be able to leave the room if she wanted her, her fear just didnt make it possible. She sat down as her desk, eating her dinner alone as she played music to drown out the conversation from downstairs.

"Any word from her?" Franny asked as Carl walked back into the dining room and all eyes turned to look at the robot who just shook his head in response. Gaston's usual goofy smile instantly fell and Franny noticed her brothers expression and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"She'll tell us when she's ready Gaston..its just important that we don't push her" Franny spoke softly in attempts to calm her brother. She hated seeing him in distress. She had only seen him like this once before and that was after his wife died and it crushed her back then.

"Maybe you should go to her and talk to her after dinner?" Billie suggested and Gaston looked up to look at Billie.

"I know Franny said wait but darling, it tears us apart to see you this worried and upset." Lucille spoke up with the motherly smile on her face and Gaston was so thankful for his mother in law at that moment.

"You really think I should?" Gaston asked and a chorus of agreements welcomed him.

"If we wait for her to tell us then she might never tell us" Corenlius sent a quick smile to his brother in law and he was more than happy to see Gastin return the smile. It was strange to see Gaston without a smile, even when he was injured from his stunts, he was always smiling.

Gasto jogged up the stairs to his daughters room, taking them two at a time. He wouldn't force her to tell him anything but he just wanted to let her know that she could tell him anything and he wouldn't be mad but as a Dad he just hoped that it wasn't anything to serious. As a parent, you just wanted to keep children safe and he couldn't keep his wife safe..he had to protect Bella.

Gaston walked up to his daughters door and knocked on the door, hearing the music playing in her room. He heard movement from behind the door, footsteps getting closer to the door. Relief flowing through him when Bella opened the doors even though it was just a crack.

"Dad?" Bella asked softly as she opened the door all the way.

"Hey sweetie, can we talk?" Gaston asked and he didn't miss the way Bella seemed to tense up but she nodded none the less, moving aside so Gaston could walk in. Gaston walked into his daughters room, looking around at how she redecorated it. Light red walls, her double bed pushed up against the wall with black bedding and black pillows, just like her dads outfit, her bookcase overflowing with books, notebooks stacked up on her writing desk, her clothes hung neatly on the clothes racks she had insisted on, pictures of her family in little and large frames all around her room. The photo of the family on Christmas morning from last year in the large frame on her writing desk, positioned so she would be looking at it when she woke up and he smiled as his eyes focused on it. Bella laughing as she was pulled into a hug by Laszlo and Tallulah, Wilbur sat in front of her as Bella pulled him into a hug with the family laughing and smiling but Gaston couldn't miss the two small photo frames on her bedside table. One of them held the picture from the day she wa born, Gaston and his wife, looking st a sleeping Bella who lay in her mom's arms and the other one was from Bella's third birthday with her mom kissing her right cheek while Gaston kissed her left cheek as Bella was clapping over the cake in front of her. Gaston smiled softly at that picture, feeling tears build up in his eyes.

"Dad..you okay?" Bella asked softly, bringing her dad out of his thoughts as he nodded.

"I'm fine, my little cannonball" Gaston smiled as he sat down on her bed and Bella grinned as she sat down next to him, loving his nickname for her. Dad always did love canonballs.

"So what's up?" Bella asked softly.

"Sweetie, I'm not going to push you to say anything and I am going to support you no matter what..I just want to know what's going on in that little head of yours that makes you hide from us"

Bella tried to keep it in but she couldn't as she burst into tears, the stress, the fear and the isolation finally getting to her. She explained it all to her dad as he held her close, wrapped tightly in his arms as she poured her heart out to him. Gaston knew the family were down the hall, listening to every word but he could only focus on his daughter.

"Bella, why didnt you say anything? You know we would of done anything to help you.." Gaston whispered to his daughter as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We love you.."

"I didn't want to bother anyone.." Bella spoke, tears still rolling down her face.

"You could never bother us" Came a voice from the doorway and Bella and Gaston looked over to see Uncle Art (Gaston and Franny's brother) stood in the doorway with the rest of the family, including Cornelius who looked freshly showered and dressed in something that wasnt his work clothes (so Bella would feel comfortable around him).

"We love you" Uncle Fritz spoke up with a smile, Petunia on his hand as always.

"And we would do anything to make you feel comfortable" Grandpa Bud joined in as Grandma Lucille nodded.

"And we'll get through this together" Laszlo smiled at his cousin, an arm slightly around his sister's shoulders as he wasnt hovering for once. Tallulah nodded at what her brother said.

"You aren't alone" She added.

"You got us" Wilbur grinned at his cousin.

Bella got up and walked over to her family who had now migrated into her room. She stood in front of Cornelius and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you.." She spoke, her voice muffled by his sweater, her shoulders shaking as she cried happy tears. Cornelius hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead.

"Anything for you Bella" He whispered into her as he pair fell to their knees, hugging and within a minute, the hug turned into the Robinson family hug.

With this family, Bella knew she would be alright. She was a Robinson and a Robinson just kept moving forward. As she looked at her family, she let herself smile as she closed her eyes, relaxing into the hug. She would be okay.

[wellmeaningshutin]

Short Story #54: Favors.

Written: 3/1/2017

Okay, I’ll admit it, it was my fault, I fucked up big time. My anger should’ve been kept in check, and I should’ve attempted to cool off instead of decided to stew in it, letting it fester and boil until I did something stupid. Sure, it was reasonable to be upset that he cheated on me, but I should have just kicked him out, thrown all of his shit onto the front lawn and told him to find a new place to stay, and that he shouldn’t call me or even try to talk to me, because there would be no chance that we would even get back together. When he was blubbering as he told me the story of his adultery, I should’ve told him that it was my right to be crying, and that he was being a manipulative and controlling asshole by trying to take the role of the victim away from me. I should’ve told him that it wasn’t a genuine mistake if it was premeditated, it was cheating in the first degree. I should of said any of that, instead of letting him make his pitiful racket, while I carried on with an imaginary argument in my head, letting all of the rage build up inside of me instead of venting it out on him, like a healthy person would do. Hell, I should of, at the very least, used that golf club to smash in his car windows, headlights, side mirrors, hood, fender, trunk, any of that instead of using it to bash in his pathetic face.

But I guess hindsight is 20/20, so what was the point in worrying about what I should’ve done? He was just a bloody lump on my favorite rug, without even a face for me to hate, since red paste, teeth, brains, and a tongue had replaced the look of fear he had only a couple minutes before. Even though I did something really awful, you could still say that I’m a better person than him because when he cheated on me, and killed our relationship, it was premeditated, but when I caved his face in it was just in the heat of the moment. And in a way, he worked very hard at bringing that evil out of me, since I would never even consider doing that to somebody unprovoked. Although, I still have to admit blame, I’m the one who killed him, it was no fault but mine.. And my parents who constantly fought in front of me, which lead me to develop inappropriate anger management skills that, when combined with the events of that night-

Shit, I’m doing it again. My fault, my fault, my fault.

Its really important for me to accept the blame, because it gives me a sense of moral superiority that I desperately need. I need to know that I’m a good enough person to understand that I’ve done something wrong, but not only that, I also feel bad about it, and not in a forced way to make people like me. These are real tears I’m crying. Okay, well, I’m not crying now, but I think I’ve run out of tears, or my eyes are exhausted. He, the man without a face, would never accept blame for anything he did, which was explicitly clear when he was on his knees, crying crocodile tears, telling me how he didn’t mean to download that dating app, meet a girl with drinks at a bar, and then go back to her place where they had gross, unprotected.. Well, you know. The only reason he was crying for forgiveness was because one of his friends told me. Asshole. Plus, none of my neighbors would ever accept guilt for the shit that they’ve done, they always say shit like “Well, if I don’t do it then somebody else will”, “This is the way its supposed to be, they’re all wrong”, or “I’m being reasonable here, it her who is confused”, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

So, that night, I had to get rid of the body somehow. Now, if it went to court and stuff I could maybe explain how it was heat of the moment, and argue temporary insanity or something, but then I would have to live in jail for a while, then everyone would know what I did, they’d think of me differently, court would drag on forever and I would lose a ton of cash if I wanted somebody decent to represent me, and what happens if I lost? I live in prison for a while? Really, it just seemed much more reasonable to just bury him and pretend like he never came home or something. Might as well try to avoid all of the unnecessary hurdles of the legal system, and the point of prison, anyways, is to correct bad behaviors, and its not like I’m somebody who decided to do this, and this was the only scenario where I would do something like that. Bad luck, that’s all it was. Plus, if Christianity turns out to be right, I’m going to hell anyways, and isn’t that enough punishment?

The easiest way, to get rid of the faceless lump, was to bury it in my backyard, in the space where I already planned to have a tree planted the next day. If I dug deep enough, then the.. What are people who work with trees called? Arbor day is for trees, right? So would they be arborigines? If I dug deep enough, the arborigine wouldn’t even notice that the body, and then the tree would cover him up and not only would my problems go away, but I would also be taking steps to help the environment. Win win! Yet, I have pretty weak arms, and digging a hole that deep was taking way too long. On top of that, I was pretty frantic and wasn’t really thinking straight-you try killing somebody and then acting calm and reasonable afterwards-so I decided to keep the body out there with me, rolled up in what used to be my favorite rug, for an easy measure to see if the hole was deep enough. It didn’t take very long for a nosy neighbor to pop his head over the fence and see me trying to bury a body.

“Watcha doin’ over there? Burying some guy?”

How do you react to that question, especially when its asked so casually? I had no idea of what to do, so I just motioned my dirt encrusted hands in circles, while I mumbled and tried to find a good response. I couldn’t think of one, so I just stood there looking like an asshole.

“Hey, Betty, come check this out.”

“What, what? You know its late, whats so important?”

“She’s digging a hole over there, it looks like she’s burying some guy.”

“Oh, is he dead?”

“Sure seems like it.”

Next thing I know, my elderly neighbor is now poking her head out over the fence, staring at me, the bloody rug, and the hole I’ve tried to dig. I would’ve been worried about getting arrested if they weren’t so amused by the whole situation. Not knowing how to react, I just kept digging. “If you keep working at it like that, you’re going to be digging until the sun comes up, then you’ll have to worry about birds eating the poor fella. We already have too many birds in this neighborhood, probably because Dolorous moved out some time ago and took all of her cats with her, so without those cats you have too many birds, which wont be good with that man laying around. You might as well put up a sign saying you’re giving free lunches to hungry birds, but that would just lead to too many handouts, we have so many of those already, don’t we Betty?”

“Nobody’s working because of welfare. You get paid thousands of dollars to sit on your rear and do drugs, its a shame.”

“Yes, a shame indeed. Now, why don’t I walk over there and help you out with that hole situation? I used to dig holes back in the day, trenches in fact, back when I was in a world war one reenactment. That was about last year, but I think I still have some of the know how.” And without waiting for an answer, he walked around, out of his back yard and into mine, shovel in hand, helping me dig that hole. His wife, Betty, went inside of their home to start making snacks and drinks for us, since we were doing all sorts of hard work.

Then, while we’re half way through the hole, Betty comes over with a large tray sandwiches and a glass pitcher of lemonade, and behind her is some thirty year old guy carrying a fresh pie with oven mitts on, since the thing is steaming hot. Her explanation was, “I needed somebody to help me carry everything, and he seemed like a nice fellow. Plus, with the fight I could hear you having, I assumed that your boyfriend is the man in the rug, so you must be on the market again.”

All the guy had to say was, “Oh, I’m sort of seeing somebody already, I’m not interested. I live down the street by the way, but I only go there to sleep so you’ve probably never noticed me. You guys digging a hole? I could lend a hand with that.” Then he took my shovel, and I’m sitting there with Betty, eating finger sandwiches and talking about the ways that the neighborhood has been changing.

Suddenly, I heard somebody open the gate into my backyard, their footsteps were easily heard on the gravel path, and they announced, “Mm, mm, mm! Is that one of Betty’s famous boysenberry pies? I could smell that from three houses down, and you know I can’t sleep when the smell of pies are in the air.” All of the sudden, Luann, another older neighbor of mine, appears and takes a slice of the pie, and she’s so focused on eating that it takes until she’s licked the filling off of her fingers to even realize what’s happening. “Oh, are you guys burying a body? Whose the poor guy?”

“Its her boyfriend,” Betty says pointing at me, and the men are still digging away, in the hole that is currently waist high. “She’s single now, so if you know anybody-”

“Girl, if I knew anybody that was single, I’d take them for myself.” ==============================================================

Sometime in the afternoon of the next day, the arborigine comes by and plants the tree, right where my favorite rug is buried, and it seems like all of my problems are starting to melt away. I was lucky that he didn’t drive, and relied on the bus to get around, because then I’d have to deal with the hassle of getting rid of a car, but my problems were pretty limited.

Time moved on, and the police eventually started to look into his disappearance, but I just told them that I heard from a friend that he was out with some other girl, then he just never came home. He was a shitty boyfriend in the first place, so I just assumed it was over and he didn’t bother saying anything. I was pretty lucky that he had a reputation for ghosting people, so nothing in the way I acted seemed suspicious to them. On top of that, when they decided to check with the neighbors, just to be extra thorough, they said they never saw him come to my place, and the house had been completely quiet. There was nothing to connect me to the awful thing that I had done, and life was just moving forwards.

It really seemed like I was free. I even started volunteering at soup kitchens, just to start building up some positive karma, giving back to the world to make up what I took away from it. In a way, the whole ordeal, even if it was wicked, made me into a better person, and if the Christian god was real, it seemed like I might actually get into heaven.

What I didn’t know, was that time of peace was really just a honeymoon period in my relationship with evil, which would prove to be much worse than anything that faceless guy had put me through. ==============================================================

One day, about a month later from the whole ordeal, I get home from yoga, which meant that I was exhausted and ready to lounge around for a little while before I had to get to the kitchen. That was usually my favorite moment of the day, where I could watch bad television shows and eat peanut butter. However, when I was putting my key into the lock, I could feel somebody breathing onto the back of my neck. Startled, I turned around to see one of my neighbors who helped me dig the whole, the guy that Betty tried to set me up with. Something was on his mind, but he was clearly having trouble saying it, so he just stared down at his hands which he was wringing together, breath sour and heavy.

“You remember when I helped you out that night?” He spat out after one of the longest minutes of my life.

“Yeah, thanks again for that.” This was said as I was trying to unlock my door and get into the house. The guy was starting to freak me out, but he grabbed my wrist before I could get the door open.

“I need you to return the favor. I helped you out, and now I need you to help me.”

Preparing to stab him with my keys if he asked what I assumed he was ask, I guardedly replied. “What are you asking?”

“Well, its not very much, but there’s.. There’s this girl, and I know that I love her, and its clear that she loves me because she used to say that she would love me forever, but now she’s just confused..”

“Confused?”

“Confused, thinking that she doesn’t love me anymore, but I know she does, because forever isn’t over yet.” Oh god, that awkward laugh. “But, she gave me this,” he fished some crumpled documents out of his pocket, “a-and now I might get into some legal trouble if I get to close to her, which doesn’t make sense because I can clear all of this up really easy if I just got the chance to talk to her. I just need to talk to her for a little bit, just to remind her how she used to feel about me, and then we’ll be in love again.” My facial expression probably expressed what I was thinking, because he had to explain,”I know what it seems like, but it really is just her lawyers who got her all twisted up. I don’t even think she wants this, and I don’t need much for you.” I still stared at him, “Fine. If you don’t help me, I’ll probably get unfairly arrested, but if I do then I might have to give them some information to stay out of trouble…”

So, a half hour later, I’m driving into some apartment complex with the creep in the trunk of my car. Apparently he knows the code to open the gates, but the security has a picture of him, and will stop him if they catch him on any of their cameras, which there are plenty of. All I have to do is drive in, park in front of her apartment, and then let him out of the trunk. After that I can leave and we would be considered even, and in a way I guess he really was true to his word.

The chore really did go as easily as he made it out to be, so he must have really done his homework. Still, it was awful to see, the next day, news reports about the murder suicide that happened in the complex. ==============================================================

So, now my mental health is starting to plummet, now that I have that poor girl’s blood on my hands. The faceless jerk was no problem, but this…

I had trouble sleeping, eating, functioning in general really, and I started to understand what it was like to have anxiety. Charity, yoga, and socializing had taken up less and less of my time, and I considered to take up smoking pot to fill that time. Anything to get me to stop thinking about what I helped accomplish.

One of my old high school friends, that I was in irregular contact with, was a weed dealer who delivered, so in a way they were a life saver. I was so antsy to get that first ounce-I didn’t understand how much was normal to buy, or how little I would have to smoke since I had no tolerance, but I wanted to get enough to last-and spend a half hour sitting in a dining chair, staring at my front door, waiting for the knock, which turned out to be a ring of my doorbell. And when I answered, instead of seeing my dealer, I saw Luann.

Having to text my dealer, telling them that they had to wait a couple hours to come by, was like a blow to my self esteem. Not only because I had to wait for the relief I desperately needed, but also due to the fact that I had to do it in a truck that reeked of cigarettes, and had several containers of gasoline in the back. The whole time the older woman is preaching to me, about how “Modern day churches have become their own religion, and now real Christianity has fallen behind, and goes worshiped”, or,”There are so many places of worship out there that all interpret the bible in their own ways, saying this or that is the real meaning of the text, when really they’re furthering their own gains. Look at one of the big things that Jesus did: he pointed out how the churches were all wrong, and misinterpreted things. He had to come back to Earth to clear things up.” The weirdest part about the ride was when she claimed that she had never read the bible, but knew its true contents because the lord spoke directly to her, and wanted things cleared up.

Getting high and forgetting about that poor girl would’ve been nice, but instead I had to spend it acting as a lookout while that bat-shit insane woman doused the outside of my parent’s church in gasoline, used newspapers as kindling, and.. Well.. A burning church isn’t really something that you can get out of your mind, and on top of that its most likely a one way ticket to hell. Lets just hope that the Christians are wrong. ==============================================================

Things weren’t really too bad after that, because I never had to think about them since I spent so much time slowly thinking about stuff that didn’t matter. It turned out that drugs were really great for getting past personal issues, and it made a lot of sense why so many people with drug problems have come from shitty lives. Its amazing too be out of your head, if your head is full of shit. Its amazing how I can listen to the same album over and over, but every time it feels like I’m hearing it for the first time.

All it takes is a knock on my door to take that paradise away from me, and then again I’m whisked away to something else that I don’t want to be involved in. You know, for a sweet, elderly couple they can’t really ask me to do anything too bad. Before I opened that door, I was expecting them to implore me to join them in their love making, some sort of swinger arrangement, but that wouldn’t be as bad as what I already did, and I was already stoned out of my mind anyways.

The world always finds a way to surprise you.

I’ve been free and clear since that last time I had to help one of my neighbor’s, but I’ve had to invest a lot of my money in psychiatry, and at least I was finally able to find an anti-depressant that didn’t make me suicidal. If I can say anything about that last favor, which I don’t like to think about, I would say this:

If I wasn’t stoned, I don’t think I could’ve been able to do what they asked me. I was lucky that repetitive tasks were so easy under that drug, because there was no way that I would have been able to calmly, and orderly, take all of those balloons out of those poor, poor girls who had their bags burst, which, after a serious of decisions, left them cut open in that garage, with me to do what I was asked to do.