#no one has ever been nice to me for no reason says bill

[the-barefoot-hatter]

Relationship: Bill Cipher & Stan Pines

Characters: Bill Cipher, Stan Pines

Additional Tags: Blind Bill Cipher, Handyman Bill Cipher, Bill Cipher is Trying, Bill Cipher is Scared, Stan Pines is Trying, Stan Pines is Bad at Feelings, Stan Pines is a Good Person, Not Friends, but maybe not mortal enemies, Trust Issues, Stan Pines being Nice in the most threatening way possible, why are you being nice to me right now, no one has ever been nice to me for no reason says bill, stan provides better treatment than the theraprism, tbh not a high bar, self reflection is for mirrors, projection works both ways

Summary:

Things are actually going pretty ok with the whole Bill-living-slash-working-at-the-Shack thing. Except for one big problem, that's only getting worse... AKA, Bill and Stan make a deal. (blind bill handyman AU)

[audisive]

♪ BROOKLYN BABY. (💌) – previous part

౨ৎ simon 'ghost' riley | reader

synopsis: the 141 believes the scot now.

tags: fluff, romance, soft!simon, you're basically their mom atp lol, bickering, there's a bet between gaz n soap, gaz secretly wants you shh, ooc characters, not proofread, price being the gentleman he is, he's seriously just watching everything unfold

       It's not always that Ghost is willing to let the 141 stay at his house for their traditions – which is just drinking beer and watching sports, really. In fact, he's always said something about his place being empty, so they always settled on someone else's. They stop asking after a year, and in turn, he stops having reasons.

It's not until Soap pops the question again when everyone else's houses are unavailable for a variety of reasons, his being that he left his faucet on and now his shitty apartment is flooded. You can only imagine the suspicion and shock when Ghost agrees (or, rather, simply grunts).

The drive is long, nothing short of 5 hours, and Soap spends the better half of it bickering with either Gaz or Ghost. He falls asleep by the next half, and when he awakes, he gawks at the lovely looking house before their car. There's two stories to it, a balcony, a front porch, and there's no doubt that there's a backyard.

Contrary to popular belief, no, it is not all black or plain at all. It's all equally surprising to them. The Brit isn't the type to care about the appearance and state of a house, usually. They do envision him in a mostly empty apartment with only a bed and a bathroom, though.

There's a delicate touch to where a rough man lives; the smell is almost heavenly when they enter the house. It's homely, the scent of newly washed sheets and lingering smell of food; there's a cat perched on the living room table that Ghost scratches the head of lovingly in a way that's so casual and natural. It's like they're at the gates of–

"Simon!" Heaven's bells ring in their ears, luring them into the doorway of the living room, and the sound of feet padding against the cold floor. There comes a soft-looking thing running into Ghost's arms, completely engulfing you.

You only notice the three familiar faces of your boyfriend's team members – though you know he considers them family if anything – when you pull away. An angel clad in only a cami top, shorts, and Simon's hand around your waist, you turn to look at the group with a surprised look on your pretty – Soap thinks that God, you're so pretty – face. "Oh, hi," you smile sweetly, obviously awkward at the silence and the staring.

"It's been a while," Ever the gentleman, the gruff voice is the first to speak up with your name uttered, the only who's actually met you – John Price. Soap is too enamored with the way you hold yourself and the fact that, holy fuck, even your name's pretty. Gaz raises a brow at the captain's greeting.

You smile once more – a genuine one now. "Nice to see you again, John."

"'S rude to stare, Johnny." Simon speaks out, a smirk under the mask. "Please excuse him, miss," Gaz adds, this beautiful man, and offers a charming smile.

"You must be Gaz," you hold your hand out, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine," Kyle forgets that a hand could be this soft and gentle, "and please, call me Kyle." He barely stops himself from turning your hand in his to kiss the back of it like one should to a lady so fair; his lieutenant has good taste in women, he'll give him that. And when you're out of the area, Soap is sure to rub it in Gaz's face. I told ye so! LT wis hidin' somethin' from us. A pretty something, that is. You don't miss the way he slips a twenty-dollar bill into the Scottish man's hand.

"Glad tae meet ye," Soap finally says, winking. "Understand why he wis hidin' a bonnie lass like ye from us." There's a mischievous glint in his eye, almost naturally so.

"A'm hurt, LT, but whit can I do? After all, we're just a couple o' brutes, arenae we?"

Simon watches in amusement, "you'll live." Soap is quick to move to your side as you lead the small group of hulking men through your shared home after that.

Simon is visibly more relaxed with you around. He's comfortable, that much is a given, with the way he's taking up most of the thankfully large couch with his manspreading. So is the 141. They're pampered like spoiled children (or pets, really) through the whole day.

Instead of just beer and faucet water, they're offered a variety of drinks in the kitchen that's enough to be considered a private bar. Instead of an empty belly unhealthily stuffed with beer and a mix of mediocre takeout, they're met with warm homecooked meals. They lose track of time quickly; the night falls by the time they've tired themselves out, and they've had not one, but two meals thanks to you.

(They're sure to commend your cooking skills and think of how lucky this tall brute of a man is blessed with a woman so soft and pliant and wonderful and– while Price is the one to be the most grateful, Soap compliments you the most. "A can practically taste the love." You laugh in turn.)

Gaz is the first to speak after a meal so lovely, they could simply just sleep on the floor comfortably and wake to the same smell of home. "It's a bit late, love, we should probably go."

"Thank you for having us," Price smiles down at you kindly.

"Ye've been lovely, bonnie." He wants to stay some more.

"Wait," you stop them, looking up at Simon for further approval. He's already looking at you with a reassuring brush of his thumb on the side of your hip and a nod. You turn your eyes back at them. "It's already late, you three should stay the night. We have enough room for everyone."

There comes, "we don't wanna intrude," then, "we can take care of ourselves, it's alright."

"Please, I insist." Your smile brightens, "I'll even cook breakfast before you leave."

The mohawk moves with a sigh, "now tha's just no' fair, lass. How are we gonna say no tae that?" You giggle. Only then do they find themselves tucked away in the guest room, and boy, you were right when you said it could fit them all if not more.

On the way to the bathroom in the late hours of the night, Soap catches a glimpse of light through the crack of your bedroom door to see his oh-so strong lieutenant, vulnerable in your arms. There's something natural about the way you cradle the large man and kiss his hair like it's part of your DNA, like you're programmed to do that 'cause Soap thinks you're simply unreal.

He's proud of his lieutenant, this lucky bastard. He turns another blind eye once more, but he's paid in full with another fulfilling meal by the morning.

[oddballwriter]

Calling Them your Husband

Warnings: nothing really 

Author’s Snip: I just wanted to make some tooth-rotting fluff so enjoy

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Steven Grant

When you call him your husband, it was originally a joke, sort of

Your friend called you while you were out doing errands with Steven and they asked what you were doing, to which you said "I'm out with my husband getting stuff done."

Steven just blushes and does that goofy little smile he does because he's never heard you say that but now he wants to hear it all the time now

You guys are in a long committed relationship together and you two have been living together for some time now but he's been too anxious to ask about possibly getting married some day. Not knowing if that's something you want or if you just want to cohabitate as a couple instead

But now that he heard you refer to him as your husband (even if it was a little joke) he wants to marry you in a heartbeat so that you can actually call him your husband and he can call you his wife/husband/spouse

He just thinks about it the whole day but doesn't say anything to see if you will call him that again in case pointing it out will cause you to stop. He is a bit more affectionate though, sneaking in a pick on the cheek or something and secretly making goo-goo eyes at you

When you get home and you aren't in range of seeing it Steven starts looking up engagement rings and prices to see which one would look nice on you and try and save up money

Steven also starts to subtly, at least as subtle as he can be, ask you about if you want to get married someday

He's such a dork though, bless his soul, in his brain he's just kicking his feet and giggling. He's looking at prices for venues and planners already.

Marc Spector

Marc has it in him to get married, we know that

But in his mind he doesn't really see himself as "husband material". He thinks that he's got too much baggage that you'd have to deal with if you were married

He acts like you two haven't been living together and splitting the bills and stuff, which is sometimes what marriage is, in the most domestic way possible

To him, he can't really see himself being able to do the whole marriage thing all over again

That was until some drunk creep was hitting on you while you and him were on a date and you told the guy "I'm with my husband" which warded that guy off

For some reason you calling him your husband while you locked your arm with his just washed those feelings of doubt out. Something about it just made him feel so confident

Like "Yeah I'm their husband! Back off!"

After that Marc was more open with himself about the idea of letting that title back into his life and getting to call you his spouse too

He more so likes the ability to call you his spouse. Possessiveness is in him and by god does getting to call you his spouse feed it

Marc will ask about the idea of marriage sometime after that just to see if you like it

If you want to get married then he's on board. But if you think cohabitating suits you better then he's fine with that too

So long as you're there together and you love him then he's content and happy

Jake Lockley

Damn right he's your husband

Honestly ever since you two got serious with your relationship, became committed to each other, and moved in he's just been like "We are married now" in his head

He's never said that out loud but he knows that the feeling is there with you too

It wasn't until you semi-jokingly called him your husband when some girls were checking him out and you huffed and puffed about it

"What's the matter? I wasn't flirting back." "Well, excuse me for not wanting some giggling college girls to be eyeing up my husband."

And that just... made him feel something, in his heart and in his pants

No but seriously. After that night cohabitating and acting like a married couple wasn't enough. He needs to put a ring on you and vice versa

He will go down to town hall and get those damn papers and buy the rings right now

Jake was originally just going to wait until you said that you wanted to get officially married, but he just can't anymore

In the morning you guys are going to buy rings, get the papers filled out, and planning the wedding

He's got the wedding planner on speed dial and a house with a picket fence in the nice part of town ready to go, just say "I do" please

Honestly at this point he never wants to hear his name come out of your mouth ever again. To you, it's either "hun" "hunny" "dear" or "sweetheart"

Light of his life, air in his lungs, fire in his loins

Taglist: @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

[cheolhub]

sarrrrrrr🩷 happy bday to cheolhub!!! you are fr one of my favourite accounts on here. i always get so happy seeing ur name pop up on the dash whdjshsjs, i hope you’re doing well & drinking your water & looking after yourself 🫶

coulddddd i possibly req ❛ let me come in you, please. i want to fill you up. ❜ & precious vernon for your event? 🫶

8:01 p.m. – hansol vernon chwe

prompt. “let me come in you, please. i want to fill you up.”

wc. 2k+ 

warnings. unprotected sex for the first time, creampie, saying ‘i love you’ during sex, pet names [baby], a very needy couple ^^!!! — MINORS DNI 18+

note. j u are too sweet im gonna cry !!! thank you thank you thank you !!! i love u sm, i hope u like this >< i’ve been wanting to write vernon a lot recently so i went a little bit overboard with this one,,,, and it’s not my best so i apologize bsgsgs [not proofread, kinda rushed]

⇢ ˗ˏˋ join the birthday bash!  ࿐ྂ

hansol vernon chwe has never been one for public displays of affection. any type of affection– kissing, hugging, holding hands, etc. it’s just awkward. it always is and he’d rather keep it to himself. keep you to himself.

and vernon is usually so patient when it comes to his hunger for you. he’s so virtuous and so composed. it’s admirable, really. but there are nights, like this one in particular, where he just wants to sink his teeth into you and mercilessly fuck you into the mattress. 

these nights don’t come by very often. they rarely ever do, honestly. he only thinks tonight is different because he hasn’t touched you in over a week. there was no real reason for it, you just kept missing each other due to your taxing schedules. 

so you planned a date on a night that you knew you were both free. something nice, giving you an excuse to doll yourself up for your boyfriend. 

you did exactly that and vernon’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he picked you up from your apartment. he thought you looked so fucking pretty. you looked so pretty gazing out the window in the passenger seat of his car. you looked so fucking pretty when you kindly laughed at the waiters joke (that wasn’t the slightest bit funny). you look so fucking pretty when you asked him, “are you okay, baby?” 

he wasn’t. how could he be okay when all he wanted was to put his hands on you and inhale the scent of your seductive perfume? how could he be okay when his cock was straining in his pants begging to be inside of you? how the fuck could he be okay when he needed you so fucking bad?  

of course, you could tell he was anything but fine. your boyfriend was stoic sometimes, but he always wears his emotions all over his pretty face. his carnal desire became obvious when he placed his hand on your thigh, squeezing at your flesh. and even more obvious when he pressed a few kisses to your jaw. and then blatantly obvious when he pressed his lips to the shell of your ear and said, “i’d rather eat something else.”

so you ate half your meal, paid the bill, and got the hell out of there because, if you were being completely transparent, you missed the way his cock felt inside of you. you missed tugging at his hair and marking his skin and the messy, messy kisses you always share. you missed him and a week apart from your lover was 5 days way too long. 

he’s already pressing his lips to the back of your neck by the time you get up to your apartment’s door, leaving wet kisses on your scolding hot skin. it’s distracting and your hands keep fumbling the keys, but you eventually get the two of you in. you lock the door and he practically chases you to your room, both of you breathily giggling. 

upon arrival, his hands are grasping and pulling at the clothing on your body in attempts to rip them off while yours do the same with his.

“need you so bad, baby.” he mumbles during his conquest, pulling almost everything off of you. 

when he sees the pretty set underneath your date outfit, he’s left breathless. shocked. and it’s not because he’s never seen you in something this pretty, but it’s that he’s right about to bust a load in his jeans. 

he groans, “fuck, i think i’m gonna cum.” 

“you’re cute.” you smile cheekily, pulling him on the bed with you. “better not be before i get to feel you, though.” 

“i’ll try,” he grunts, his cock twitching and throbbing in what feels like the world’s tightest boxers. 

you lay against your plush pillows, slipping your panties off and throwing them to the side, exposing your soaked pussy to the cool air that circulates through your room. you suck in through your teeth, spreading your legs open. “condom?” you ask expectantly.

he furrows his brows. “you don’t have any?”

you crack a grin at the frown that appears on his face when you shake your head. “you’re the one with a dick here! you should always keep one on you for emergencies. this would’ve been the perfect emergency.” 

“baby, we used all my emergency condoms and i forgot to buy more.” he huffs in frustration. “i can just run to the market and grab some. it’s not that big of a deal.” 

it is a big deal. his cock is aching.

you look at him in awe, “you’re that desperate? you’re gonna go all the way to the store and buy condoms, hansol?”

not that you’re any less desperate the way you clench around nothing and ruin the sheets under you.

he deadpans at your subtle teasing, “yes.” 

you hum, stomach twisting in anticipation at a vulgar thought that pops into your head. 

he could… just not use one.

he could fuck you raw and you could feel everything. “what if…” you shudder before you can even get the thought out. “what if we don’t use one?”

you think his face drains of color. “w-what?” he stutters, unsure if he heard you correctly. “baby… what did you say?”

you bite your lip for a second, feeling heat spread like wildfire through your entire body. “we can do it… without the condom. if you want?”

vernon is going to cum– untouched, in fact–  just at the mere thought of it. of-fucking-course he wants to, what kind of idiot would pass that up? (read: someone who isn’t actually an idiot)

“what about…” he trails off as his wide eyes look at your tummy. 

“i started birth control a while ago, baby, don’t worry.” you whisper. “it’s only if you're comfortable… but i’m okay with it… i trust you. and i wanna feel you.”

his heart pounds erratically and he’s tugging his boxers down before he can even form a proper response. his hard, leaky cock slaps against his abdomen and all either of you can think about is how it’ll feel without the latex barrier. 

he breathes out his words, as he presses against your drooling hole. “i’ll pull out.” 

“okay, baby.” you pant, hands already gripping at the sheets in preparation. 

though, you fear there was nothing you could do to prepare for this moment. feeling vernon’s cock— all of it— is amazing. heavenly… hot. you find yourself wishing you would’ve done this a lot earlier. you can’t believe how much of a difference there is.

you feel all the heat, all the veins that trace through his gorgeous cock, all the delicious friction and you’re fucking addicted to it. 

“fuck, fuck, fuck,” vernon moans, jaw going slack and his face pinching in euphoric pleasure. “baby, fuck, you’re so tight— feels so good.”

vernon has never felt anything so perfect in all his years. he feels your walls flutter around his bare cock as he bottoms out, finally buried deep inside of you. 

you wrap your arms around his neck and bring him down to press his mouth against yours. the entirety of the kiss is intense and passionate and you can’t think of a time you’ve felt this close to a man during sex. you can’t even recall a time you were this in love with a man.

you break, whining against his lips and tightly clenching around him. “move, please. need you to move.” 

he nods hotly, pulling his hips back and pushing them back against yours. he does this a few times, slowly thrusting into you until he builds a steady, consistent speed. the bulbous tip of his cock rams into your sweet spot with every shove. you can’t help the cry that bubbles in your chest or the way your legs wrap around his waist tightly.

“hansol,” you mewl, one of your hands snaking between your bodies and rubbing at your clit. “i-i love you.” 

he delivers a sharp thrust upon hearing your words. “i love you more, baby.” he responds with a wavered voice. “i missed you.”

you nod in agreement, clamping around him again, ultimately making vernon hiss. “me more,” you declare on a whine. 

“not a chance.” he grunts out but it falls on deaf ears. his words are practically silenced by the lewd squelching and your cute sounds that bounce off the four walls. 

and it’s all because vernon fucks you like his life depends on it. he feels your walls tightening around him with every thrust but there isn’t a single ounce of vigilance in his body. he wants to memorize every single second of this. burn all of this into his head. he wants to be able to recall the way your blunt fingernails dig into the smooth skin of his shoulders, your moans that sound even prettier in this moment, how your velvety walls flutter and pulse and grip around him as your cunt swallows him up.

his abdomen tightens, balls drawing up as he nears his desired release. before he can warn you, your breathing alarmingly picks up. your chest rises and falls rapidly, your whines and mewls get louder, you trap his cock in a tight grip, refusing to let him go, all the telltale signs of your impending orgasm. 

“vern–vernon, baby,” you gasp, back arching off the bed and heels of your feet digging into his back. “baby, ‘m-m gonna cum. keep fucking me like that,” you plead, eyebrows coming together in gratification. 

he obliges, snapping his hips against yours over and over till the tightrope in your tummy snaps. you come undone choking on a dry sob as your body seizes underneath his. you’re panting unevenly as you go lax, limp body weakly clinging to his as you attempt to come down from your high.

your orgasm is almost too much. too overstimulating for how high strung vernon is. he’s just about ready to explode, but he can’t bear to leave your spasming cunt. 

“baby, i— god, i-i know it’s not safe— fuck—“ he babbles, anxiously panting out his words. “i know… know it’s not safe—but let me cum in you, please. i want to fill you up.” 

you cry, nodding your head and weakly clamping around him at the thought of his warm seed flooding your cunt. “y-yes, fuck yes. please fill me up, ‘sollie!” 

he curses under his breath, his cock twitching and brain fogging over at your permission. he gives you a few sloppy thrusts before he groans noisily, stilling and spilling his cum inside of you. 

he twitches ceaselessly above you as his orgasm washes over him, head digging into the crook of your neck so he can drown out all of his throaty moans. they still echo throughout the room with your whiny pants. 

the sensation of his release has your entire body surging with warmth. it has you feeling nothing but bliss and pure exhilaration— you’re on cloud nine. 

“sorry,” he murmurs into your neck as his body collapses on top of yours. “couldn’t help it.”

your hand comes to thread through his hair, scratching at his head. “‘s okay, ‘sol.”  you mumble back. “felt really good. don’t worry.”

“do you need a plan b?”

you snort, shaking your head. “no, i don’t think so, baby. told you i’m on the pill now.” 

he lets out a breath— probably one of relief— followed by a muffled, “then… can we do this again soon?”

you smile, “yeah, babe, we can do this again soon.” 

© cheolhub — all rights reserved, please refrain from copying, reposting, modifying or translating my work on any platform.

[shanastoryteller]

HAPPY WINTER SOLACE SHANA HELL YEAH I MADE IT IN TIME!!! CAN I GET ME SOME TONKS AND PERCY AS A BIRTHDAY TREAT? 👉🏻👈🏻 (My birthday is the 22nd) HAVE AN AWESOME HOLIDAY! 🎄🎄🎄

 Percy is supposed to focusing on these reports that he technically shouldn’t have taken out of the office, but technically Crouch is supposed to be handling these, so.

While his absolute piece of shit apartment usually holds no more appeal than being stuck in the office overnight, it currently has Tonks resting with her head on his thigh “resting her eyes” since she refuses to go to bed before him because she believes in blackmail and manipulation. Which he can’t reasonably say he’s surprised by, considering, but it is a little inconvenient.

His work is important or he wouldn’t be doing it, but if he falls asleep at work the worst that happens is he embarrasses himself. If Tonks goes out on a call without getting proper rest, she could be putting herself in danger. Leveraging her own safety to get him to sleep is underhanded and irresponsible.

She’s going to do exceptionally well working under Shackbolt. He’d plucked her out from the other trainees from the beginning. It has nothing to do with him, but he can’t help the smug furl of pride anyway.

He clears his throat and her eyes flutter open. She has to blink a couple times for them to settle to her natural dark brown, cycling through several shades of blue and yellow. He wonders what she was dreaming about. “Bill has a meeting at Gringott’s on Thursday. He’s going to come by the office after and we’re going to go to the cafeteria to catch up.”

“That sounds nice,” she says, turning to press her face into his stomach and rubbing her nose against his sweater. He makes a mental note to try and talk to the landlord about doing something about the heating system, or at least refreshing the charms himself, but he’s not good enough to make them last long. Maybe Bill wouldn’t mind doing it before he returns to Egypt? “Are you done going through the Russian reports?”

No. Translation charms are imperfect and it takes him forever to parse through and figure out what’s actually being described. If Crouch wasn’t such a dick to them, they’d submit in English. “Do you want to join us? If you can. It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

That gets her attention. “Really? I mean, sure. I’m pretty sure I’ve spoke to Bill twice ever. One time he gave me detention.”

His lips twitch. Bill remembers that. “Thank you. He wants to meet my girlfriend. Or re-meet, technically.”

She beams, so pleased whenever he calls her that. She’s been calling herself his girlfriend for a months, but it still makes him warm to see how pleased she is with the title. He’d really though he was just a passing interest, a distraction while she was desk bound, but she’s still here. “Yeah, of course. It’ll be fun!”

He hums in agreement, the sound interrupted midway with a yawn.

“Come on,” she says, pushing herself to her feet then tugging him up after her. “We both need sleep. That’ll all still be there in the morning.”

That’s the problem. But he says, “Alright,” and lets her maneuver him as she likes.

Giving in to Tonks doesn’t sting like it does with other people. It’s always a relief and a pleasure to see her satisfied and happy.

[eyesxxyou]

that's what they all say

↳ ❝ [dbf!miguel o'hara x black!reader] ¡! ❞

rating. mature

word count. 4k

synopsis. you and miguel have had tension from the very first moment you met. the only problem is that miguel is your dad's best friend. what happens when you two finally find yourselves alone?

or

you and miguel take your chance to fuck while your dad is sleeping

warnings. big age gap (20 years. reader is 22 and Miguel is 42), exhibitionalism kinda, oral (m receiving), piv sex, unprotected sex, size kink, size difference, google translate pet names (IM SORRY), kinda awkward and uncomfortable towards the end, angst, kinda bad ending. let me know if I missed anything.

It started with a glance. Just a glance was all it took. Miguel O’Hara has not been in your life for very long. You were 21 at the time and visiting your father for the afternoon. You had dropped in unexpectedly, not expecting your father to have a friend over. He was lounging on the couch with your father, sharing some beers together. “Oh– Y/N, I didn’t expect you. This is a friend from work, Dr. Miguel O’Hara.”

The first thing you noticed was how startlingly large he was, the fact only punctuated when he stood up to shake your hand. He towered over you, his huge frame intimidating you to no end. He offered his hand to you, a hand a big as your face, and looked down at you. “Nice to meet you. Your father talks all about you.”

The second thing you noticed was how handsome he was. Presuming he was around your father’s age—twice your own— he was sharp and handsome. Tan skin, high, prominent cheekbones, a strong jaw, and the softest looking hair you’ve ever seen. If you looked closer, you could see a few stray gray hairs but not nearly as many as your father. He was gorgeous all things considered.

From then, you’d get to see Miguel here and there, dropping something off for your father, visiting him at home. You and Miguel got along just fine, a joke here and there. There was always something unspoken there that your father never caught on to and the two of you never really infringed upon.

But that changed with a single glance.

You were out at dinner with them. Miguel and your father had just won an award for their research in genetic editing and wanted to celebrate. You offered them dinner and how could they possibly refuse? The only condition was that you would not be paying for it. ‘We’re two grown men. Would be pretty shitty if we let you pay for our food.” Miguel shook his head with disapproval at the thought of it, his large hand reaching out to open the door ahead of you. “F/N, back me up here.”

Your father shook his head and raised his hands up. “I’m not a part of this.” He wasn’t one to place himself in situations that hadn’t involved him to begin with. Miguel was stubborn but so were you, maybe even more so. “Are you trying to say I’m not grown?” His smile was patronizing. “I thought I was grown too when I was your age. Either way, it has nothing to do with your age. It’s mine.”

The two of you argued over this the entire dinner and when the bill came, Miguel snatched it up before you could, settling the matter then and there. You were pouty, crossing your arms over your chest in a way that only pronounced the shape of them. Miguel almost felt like a pervert looking at you. Not only a friend and colleague’s daughter, but a woman half his age. He had every reason to brush you off and leave everything as is.

You caught him in the act, stealing looks at your breast when your father was distracted. His jaw working as he chewed the inside of his cheek. Then he glanced up and his eyes caught yours. This one look changed everything. Everything you both thought the other was completely unaware of, the lustful little glances the two of you would toss back and forth without the other one knowing— unfolded right there.

Miguel immediately looked away, his hand coming to rub his chin stressfully, his brows furrowed as he nodded along to what your father was saying. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he was flustered. You caught him and everything you both had been pushing away with all the reasons you shouldn’t want each other are now broken down. Why not go all the way with it?

Miguel felt your foot against his leg, pushing up the leg of his pants to feel his skin against yours. He glanced back at you to find you were already looking at him with eyes questioning what he would do about your indiscretion.

Nothing. The answer was nothing. There wasn’t much he could do in the moment.

Getting your father home was the hard part. He didn’t drink alcohol too often but when he did, he drank a lot. Plus tonight was a celebration, you all had a few drinks but neither of you were as drunk as him. Miguel could handle him on his own but the only way you were getting home was by way of Miguel himself. You had all carpooled to the restaurant meaning you would all have to do the same back.

“Do you need help getting him in?” Miguel asks as you get into your father’s home, ready to take him to bed. You look back at him. “Why? You think I can’t do it on my own.” He rolls his eyes at you as you walk off, supporting your father’s weight over your shoulder. It wasn’t an easy job but you managed to get him into bed to which he completely passed out upon his head hitting the pillow, snoring as he always did since you were a child.

You came back out with a heavy sigh, dragging your hand down your face. When you opened your eyes, you found Miguel looking at a few photos your father had hanging up of you. He was staring a one in particular, you at your college graduation. Your smile was shining and proud, yet exhausted.

“You majored in…”

“Cybersecurity.” You finish for him, slowly making your way closer to him. It was clear you two were trying to figure out where to go from here. You both know now. So do you act on it? Do you pretend it isn’t there until they go away? There’s a lot of reasons why you both shouldn’t, why you should just leave it alone, but in a situation like this—with the desire you two have for each other—reason doesn’t matter. “So watch what your say to me or I’ll absolutely fuck up your home security system and your AI.”

“You talk such big game for a spoiled brat.”

“So do you for a perverted old man who likes to stare at the tits of a girl half your age.” You shoot back quickly before you can bite your tongue. Miguel turns his head away, his ears turning blush pink. Who knew he got so flustered so easily? Why not push it a little further?

"How long have you been wanting to fuck me, Miguel? When we first met?" You tease, approaching even further. "Did you take one look at me and think about what you would do to me if you had that chance?"

"Y/N…" Miguel still didn't look at you but his voice dripped with warning. His tone told you to tread carefully because you might not like what comes next but you were sure that much wasn't true.

"I did." You admit to him, your hand now against the curve of his back. His muscles were firm and well-built. "I saw you and could only think about how much I wanted you to break me in half."

Miguel grabbed you suddenly by the throat and at a moment's notice had his lips against yours. His hand was so big, he could have broken your neck right then and there if he wanted to. He had to lean over to kiss you, he was so much larger than you. He kissed you with the fever and passion of someone who's desperate, who's been wanting to do this for a long, long time.

Something parallel to a growl erupted from his throat as he kissed you, licked the inside of your lips as you opened up for him and let him have his way. Your hands wrap around his wrist as his fingers squeeze softly at the sides of your throat, leaving you lightheaded and delirious but that could also be from the fact that you finally know what his lips taste like.

"Miguel." You murmur against his lips. "Miguel, please."

"Shh, mía carina. You don't want your father to hear you." His tongue traced your bottom lip languidly before sinking his teeth into your supple flesh. You placed your tongue against his, wanting nothing more than to have his saliva in your mouth, taste him for all he had to offer. "Or would you? Wouldn't that be something? I wonder who he'd be more upset at."

You wanted his cock in any way you could take it. You were hungry for it, desperate for it. Your hands grabbed at the hem of his shirt before teasing at his belt buckle. "Please." You whispered and looked up at him with innocent eyes that belied the intent of your plea. You didn't wait for an answer as you undid his belt, taking it upon yourself to answer for him.

Miguel didn't protest, though he did glance up towards the stairs knowing your father was only a few dozen feet away. He looked back down at you. "You have no shame, do you?" He placed his hand on your head and began to push you down until you were on your knees in front of him.

You were salivating at just the thought of having him in your mouth, licking your lips and you continued to undo his pants. Just the outline of him was enough to leave you shuddering with anticipation. Miguel was petting your head, letting you take your time with it all.

You’re startled by the size of him but what were you expecting. Everything about him was huge, brom his shoulders to his hands which crept this veins from his forearms. A slightly darker brown and riddled with veins that pulsed with the blood rushing to his length. You liked his happy trail that led to the neatly trimmed hair at the base of his cock. You wondered how you might fit him in your mouth, better yet how you would fit him in your pussy. The thought made you entrance squeeze, him trying to bully his cock into you without regard.

Miguel wrapped a hand around himself and stroked a few times, squeezing out pearly beads of precum. He tapped the tip against your plush lips, smearing his precum against your lips, leaving them shiny and sticky. “Open up for me, muñeca.” You wanted to deny him, make things difficult for him because you liked the way his control seemed to slip, but you’d be denying yourself this honor and you weren’t sure how long this might last.

You opened your mouth and let your tongue rest against your bottom lip. You looked up at Miguel from hooded eyes as he slapped his weeping tip on your soft muscle. He shuddered softly as he slipped his cock into your mouth and the wet cavity of your mouth engulfed him. "That's it– mhn. Just relax." He eased his way further but you could only take a fraction of his length before he hit the back of your throat.

His hand was on the back of your head, holding your hair in a makeshift ponytail. "Go ahead and take it." What you couldn't fit in your mouth, you wrapped your hand around and began to stroke, using your saliva as lube, while your free hand slid between your legs to touch yourself. Your panties were soaked with arousal and you circled your fingers over your clit, using the fabric as friction.

It was sloppy. Your spit coated the length of his shaft and dripped from the corners of your mouth. You kept your jaw slack and let Miguel use your mouth as he pleased. His hands held your head in place, one in your hair and the other under your jaw against your neck to feel the way his dick created its own space in your throat.

You looked so pretty with your mouth stuffed with him, tears making your mascara run down your cheeks as you choked on his cock. You were taking it so well, your tongue tracing the slit of his head in a way that makes Miguel nearly double over. “Fuck, mía carina. Fuck, fuck, fuck—” he presses his pelvis forward a little move. He liked the way you sounded sucking his cock, the wetness, the gurgling and choking, the way you whined on it.

Just because he wasn’t pushing himself all the way in didn’t mean he was being easy or kind on you. “Imagine how disappointed your dad would be knowing his little girl sucks dick like a champ.” He fucked your mouth like it was his own personal fleshlight, cooing about how pretty you were. “Look at you, baby. My pretty girl. You can take more, I know you can.” Miguel forced you down further and you gagged and choked, more tears streaming down your cheeks. Your hand tightens around the rest of his cock. He held you there for a moment, watching as you struggled before letting you go.

You fell back onto the feels of your feet, gasping for air. A string of saliva kept you connected until it thinned and soon broke. As soon as you caught your breath, you kissed his tip before doing the same down the underside of your length in more sloppy, wet kisses. Miguel continued to pet your head with a sly smile. “Good little cock slut, aren’t you?”

You kiss him everywhere, down his happy trail, leaving red marks against his warm brown naval, destined to blossom into roses of purple and blue, against his length, his balls. You take him into your mouth again and bob your head in fast, fluid motions. You're too good at this, Miguel thinks and the thought of you on someone else’s dick besides his own pisses him off. He knows it shouldn’t, that the two of you shouldn’t be doing this to begin with, but god, he can’t help it.

“Fuck, you’re gonna make me cum, muñeca.” Miguel groaned softly. "And you're gonna take it, aren't you?" He could feel it, his orgasm creating over the horizon. His muscles contracted and his grip on your hair tightened. You stroked his sensitive tip with your tongue, tracing the underside of the head and up to the tip. You wanted it so bad and Miguel could tell, more than happy to give it to you.

You watch in delight as his eyes closed and he bit his lip to stop himself from being too loud, sniffling his groan. He shivered one last time before his seed coated the inside of your mouth in thick spurts of white. You swallowed quickly in fear of choking and left yourself no time to savor his taste.

You lick him clean, suckling on his head a little because you liked the way he had to place his hand on the wall to keep himself stable. When you were done, Miguel grabbed you by the chin and forced you to look up at him. You knew you looked like a sloppy whore with your streaking mascara, drool making your lips and chin, and his cum gathered at the corners of your lips.

He used the rough pad of his thumb to wipe up the cum and push it back into your mouth, weighing the digit against your tongue. He was still hard, angrily so, and the only way to satiate his hunger was to have you, right here, right now. Damn if you father hears you, damn if he comes down, damn if he kills Miguel.

“Get up.” Miguel makes you stand on your feet. His hands grasp at every inch of you clad in your little dress. You don’t have much time to process before you’re in front of a vanity littered in old family pictures. You should feel some sort of shame, but Miguel tugging at the hem of your dress is rather distracting.

He shoved it up to your waist and pulled your panties to the side to expose your soaking pussy as you brace your hands against the edge of the table. You whimper at the way he dragged the tip of his cock between the puffy lips of your pussy, from front to back to front again, his head taking turns stroking your clit and your gushing entrance.

“You think it’ll fit?” Miguel glanced between you and your pretty pussy as he guided his tip into you. You inhaled sharply, biting your lip to contain the whine that threatened to wake your father upstairs. He gave you no moment of rest as he pushed inch after excruciating inch into you and you could do absolutely nothing about it except take it. He stretched you to size, forced himself a space in your body that no one else would be able to fill. Every vein was felt dragging against your walls.

You let out a strangled moan that might have been a little too loud. Miguel placed his hand over your mouth and paused for a moment, listening. Your father’s obnoxious snoring could still be heard from upstairs.

“Keep quiet now. You’re gonna get us in trouble.” Miguel thrusted his hips towards you, pushing the rest of his length into you until his pelvis was pressed flush against you as some sort of sick punishment. You cry out against his hand, back arching.

Miguel drew his hips back at a slow, torturous pace. “Look at me, muñeca.” He panted into your ear. He waited for you to raise your gaze to meet his before shoving his cock right back into you without a single ounce of mercy in his eyes. He wanted to make it as hard as possible to keep quiet. Maybe the risk of being caught was what made this all the better, the illicitness of your actions. Everyone wants so desperately for what they cannot have.

“Don’t take your eyes off of me, pretty girl. Keep looking at me, just-” he grunted as he fucked into you harder. “Just… let me fuck this little pussy. Just once.” If once was all he would get, then so be it. But he knew himself, he should have never started in the first place because now, all he would think about was the next time he could get you alone.

He pounded your pussy like no other, like you had done him wrong, like you owed him this, like it belonged to him. The cloth of his jeans kept the sounds of your lewd actions muffled, the wet creamy sound that expelled from you every time he claimed you as his own.

He muttered obscenities into your ear. “So— mmh…fuck—so fucking good. God, this pussy is mine now, you got that?” His fingers grasped your hips so hard you had no doubt in your mind they would leave bruises in the morning. You can see in the mirror the way his eyes flutter but you, you were seeing stars.

Your family pictures clattered around you, making you flinch at each and every last one, but Miguel didn’t seem to care. “Look at that.” He nods down between your bodies. You follow suit, watch the way you hole stretches to accommodate his eyes with each stroke of his cock. He pauses for a moment you adjust your position, slipping his arms beneath your knees before lifting you up completely as an impressive show of strength. You wrap your arms around his neck to keep yourself up and somehow, the close proximity made this all the more intimate.

Miguel fucked you like he meant it, like this wasn’t just a one time thing, like this was anything more than lust and sexual infatuation. You buried your face in the crook of his neck to muffle your cries of divine pleasure. “Miguel, Miguel, Miguel.” His name was a sacred prayer on your lips as you pleaded for his mercy. “I’m so close.” You whispered before leaning back to look him in the eyes.

It was then that Miguel realized just how young you were. You’re eyes held that youthful glow of someone who had everything going for them. What the fuck was he doing? He had already lived his life. Why was he trying to take the rest of yours away from you?

You held on to him so tightly as you came, your fingers in his hair, a slight sob from your lips as the feeling was so overwhelming that you simply had to cry. Miguel held on to you too, pet your head softly and told you that everything was okay. He held you through it because that’s what you needed right now despite all his regrets.

You two had no time to just sit in this, the mess you’ve made. You two pere quick to make yourselves decent again just in case your father woke up at some point. You were busy putting the picture frames back in their rightful place when Migeul finally broke the long stretch of silence between you two.

“We shouldn’t have-”

“I know.” You speak quickly.

“It has nothing to do with you.”

You roll your eyes and finally turn to look at him. “Yeah, that’s what they all say.”

Miguel rubbed his temple stressfully. There are reasons boundaries are in place so that lines like this don’t get blurred. “I’m 20 years older than you, Y/N. I have a daughter of my own.” You shake your head. “Bold move to bring up your daughter after you just got done banging your friend’s daugh-”

“My point—” He’s quick to interrupt you before you can go any further down that road. No father wants to think of things like that. “My point is that you have your whole life ahead of you and you’re too young for me. I’m too old for you. This can’t happen again.” His voice tells you that the decision is finally, the period to end the sentencing. You don’t like that.

“I’m a grown woman who can make my own decisions. I get to decide who’s too old for me and it’s not you. So what if you have a kid? Majority of the population does.”

“And your dad?” How would that possibly go over with him? He finds out his best friend if fucking his daughter and he’ll flip like any good father would. “This can only end in disaster, Y/N. You know it, I know it. Why are we even humoring this idea? This is it. No more of this. We got it out of our system so we can move on.” He didn’t want to raise his voice. He definitely didn’t want to use that voice. The dad voice, the same one he uses when he tells Gabriella to go finish her homework. Makes him feel like more of a creep than he already does.

You’d be a dead liar if you said you weren’t hurt. You knew he was right, that nothing about this was right or okay and the only outcome to any of this was absolute disaster, but that didn’t soothe any of the pain in the slightest. You cross your arms over your chest and cast your eyes down at your feet to hide the tears swelling at your lash line. “If you just wanted to get your dick wet, you could have just said that.”

“This is what I mean. You’re immature. That’s not what I said.”

“Could you just fucking leave already?” You snap at him with a biting venom that stings. Your eyes are already growing puffy and red. “Just go for fucks sake. You got what you wanted so leave.”

Miguel opened his mouth to say something, anything to come in his own defense or to even comfort you. He didn’t want any of this to happen. What was there to say? Anything he let leave his lips would find away to sound bad to your ears. It was better to just do as you asked.

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Fuck you.”

Miguel sighed and grabbed his eyes out of his pocket to leave.

What the fuck did you two do?

[sweetbottletops]

Who allowed them to grow up?! Now they're going to have to deal with what? Communication issues AND bills?

Go on, go on, just walk away Go on, go on, your choice is made Go on, go on, and disappear Go on, go on away from here... The Cure - In Between Days

ch 107

When serious work needs to be done in the shop the significant others get invited. Not sure if Joe knows something is up, but it's nice to see Aya-chan is automatically included along with Kanna. It's going to take a village at this rate.

So this has been stressing Mitsuki out too, huh. Is that going to be about their relationship, Prom, Hime's house invite? The list is growing.

"Ah...for now, I guess I'll just help out at the store. Why?"

So at that point she wasn't hatching her own plan to invite Aya after all? Maybe she didn't know about Prom at this point.

It is nice to see Hime-chan was being really official with her invitation. Business card and everything. And it's actually nice her dad is just inviting her to a curated event instead of like corning her himself. She can network on her own timeline perhaps.

If Mitsuki had green eyed interest at the time....

...Aya is absolutely irradiated.

It doesn't seem like Aya had overheard all the details about the hallway invitation back then. Just that she didn't get to Mitsuki first for the 25th. I don't think she'd be this good at faking surprise.

Meanwhile Kanna has been quietly starring in her own romcom this whole time. Agu, please write them an omake when everything is is said and done.

It's interesting that Mitsuki is the one who brings up Prom and acting upset to miss it. Maybe you should have asked her to Prom yourself, silly.

I wonder if she's already decided Aya's the one so she skipped a few mental steps (that Aya needs) to make that clear they are a forever pair. Even if Aya backed out of asking there was no reason Mitsuki couldn't have just asked herself.

Joe recognized Aloud Records immediately. Must be big time then.

"But, it's on the 25th..." OMG MITSUKI. Did she really think it went without saying that they'd just be going to Prom? Without ever asking Aya?

"Who cares?! What Prom." Yup. Aya has killed her emotions dead already.

She is not going to do anything to impose on Mitsuki. She was really close to it last chapter, but from her POV she already missed her last chance. Now she's just going to be a cheerful supporter. Nobody can take being her first fan away from her. And good fans don't get in the way of the rise of their oshi.

Liar. She spared no thought to her family when she saw that Prom poster. She's going to go home that night and have a private meltdown. It's in her schedule at this point.

Look at Aya go! Best fan anyone could ever want. Not over compensating at all. Everything is FINE. Just like with their failed game of catch.

Dang, they are looking older in the face now.

"I guess this means we made up..." - Mitsuki Koga

No, it means she's given up on her romantic feelings in order to at least have this much.

And spare a thought for Narita. He'll possibly fail his tests because he spent his time setting up a Prom for these two idiots. Neither of which will be attending as it stands now. A true Olympian of yuri enjoyers.

Since I missed their faces and need the pick-me-up here's some Joe/Kanna (Joanna? JoKa?). At least things seem to be turning around for Joe a bit.

[automaticpizzahologram]

I'm not German or speak German so sorry if I translate it wrong just blame Google translate

Both bill and the reader are 16

" Hallo i-ich bin y/n" ( hello I'm y/n).

I say, well try to say. I'm trying to learn German by myself just for something to do. I don't think I will ever need it but it's gonna be awesome to say I can speak more than one language and that's German, plus German people have amazing accents that make them sound fantastic.

I sit on the swings staring down and the miniature sized book in my hands . Even though I'm swinging slightly the swing still  screeches . It's not the best park, it has a broken roundabout that barely spins, the slide gives kids burns no matter what you wear. The over flowing bin thats full of beer bottles and other stuff I probably don't want to know about.

Everything in the park has worn out, dull paint on it. It looks like no one has been in for years and that's kinda true ever since the new park was added all the younger kids go there, it's in the nicer part of town as well.

It seems as though only drug addictics, drunkes and some teens go to this park now which is normally at night so sometimes I get this place all to myself.

My eyes quickly skim the page.

"alright so they pronounce their 'w' 's as v' s. So wine would be vine?" I look up to the clear blue sky and sigh. Closing the book I put it on the floor. I pick up my phone from the ground and skip my music till I find a more upbeat song, I place my phone back on to the floor then I start to swing getting higher and higher.

I sit swinging for about 45 minutes being in my own little world while listening to music watching the world go by. I slowly slow down draging my feet on the gravel and pull myself to a stop. I slip off my headphones and place them around my neck. Jumping of of the swing I bend down and pick up my book, phone and my bottle of water, I place my phone into my Jeans pocket. I start to head out of the park when I drop my waterbottle . I reach down stretching my arm out ready to grab the bottle when another hand beats me to it. I look up at the person ready to say thank you and I'm met with a really pretty, tall, skinny boy with longish black hair. 

" Thanks, you didn't have to do that but I appreciate it"

"Don't worry, it was no problem. I'm Bill" the German accent catching my attention. Bill holds my bottle out and I reach to get it.

" Thanks" I say again "I'm y/n" grabbing the waterbottle.

Bill steps to the side  slightly and that's when I notice another boy with dreadlocks.

"This is my brother Tom."

" it's nice to meet you but I probably should be going. Have a nice day" I say and continue to walk out of the park and along the path heading home. I turn to look back at the park and catch bill still looking at me, he doesn't turn away quickly as I thought he would, he just continues to look. I turn back around and continue my way home.

~~~~~~~°°~~~~~~~°°~~~~~~~°°~~~~~~

I kick my shoes of at the door and set down my book and waterbottle on the bench. I look at my waterbottle thinking back to the boy in the park and his brother, they looked about my age.

I open the snack cupboard and take out a pack of sour patch kids I grab my book and water and head up to my room.

Closing the door I chuck the sour patch kids on my bed as well as my waterbottle .

My room isn't very big. It has light gray walls with windows on both the front and the back of my room. My beds near the front of the room, my conserlation bedding make my room look more  neater for some odd reason. I have about fifty thousand plants dotted around in different coloured plant pots. My room doesn't really have a theme it's just random.

For a small room I have a lot of stuff and I don't even need it. I don't use the things so there's no point in having them but it's the fact that most of the stuff is gifts and things that I might in the future, who knows.

I walk over to my bed and  get on. lying on my stomach I reach to my right and put my book on my book shelf that has far to many books for it, and if I'm being honest I have 4 books on the go that need finishing.

I open the bag of sour patch and start scrolling on Instagram.

After about 15 minutes I get bored. I chuck my phone to the side and get up from my bed streching as I do so.

I hear the door open and close from my mum coming in from work.

"I'M BACK " she shouts. My mums pretty chill, just don't get on her bad side.

"OK" I shout back

"is your sister In?"

"no, she's staying at jasmine's tonight"

" should we order in tonight then"

I run out of my room and down the stairs into the sitting room. Not only is my room small every rooms small. My mum's sitting on the sofa scrolling through what I'm guessing is a takeaway menu.

"how does Chinese sound?"  mum says looking up from the menu on her phone.

"yeah that sounds great"

We normally order in if maddison is out because she doesn't like eating fatty foods, she says its going to ruin her skin and figure . I mean when I was 14 i had okay skin a few spots every now and then  but I didn't stop eating stuff  because of it. The acne has gone now thankfully, and I'm happy about how I look because I relised that unless I get plastic surgery, which is hella expensive, I can't change the way I look.

About 12 minutes later mom gets a phone call.

I don't pay attention until I hear my name being mentioned, I turn my head towards mum now interested in the conversation that mums having.

"No, I'm sure she'll be fine with going, one sec, I'll tell her"

"y/n, sweetheart, maddison wants to go to this concert thing with jasmine in 2 or 3 weeks, apparently they have vip tickets or what ever you call them. And they want you to go are you okay with that" she says looking over to me

"yeah, sure, I don't mind"  mum turns back to facing forward again.

" your sister says yes she'll go with you"

"Okay, bye love you" mum hangs up the phone and turns back towards me.

" Are you sure you're okay with going?"

"yeah I need to get out anyway, did she say who we're going to see"

"no I don't think so, only that they have back stage passes, apparently jasmine's parents bought them for her and accidently bought 3 instead of two without knowing. You know how rich people are"

Hi everyone thanks so much for reading.

I have no clue what happens at a concert cause I have never been to one never mind back stage so please bare with me. I'll try and update as much as I can.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

do you have heretical thoughts on mudugnus fletcher? i never understood the point of his character.

I do have heretical thoughts about pointless characters.

Name Me a Character Who Has a Fucking Purpose in Harry Potter

Singling out Mundungus is kind of weird when we have equally pointless (yet sometimes treated as extremely important) characters who have either negligible influence on the plot or could have been replaced easily by someone else.

What's the point of Fred and George? In the story they only act as a) funny b) Deus ex Machina on several notable occasions c) Weasley brothers d) a tragic death we can all cry about (where it doesn't even fucking matter which one kicked it.)

Take a look at Charlie, he's even worse, we barely see him to the point where his personality is... earring? Or Bill for that matter, yes he gets to marry Fleur and get mauled by werewolf and work in Gringotts but... does he have any personality?

Does Ginny have any point besides "hot validation girlfriend" for Harry? (I'm not saying that wouldn't be nice, I'm asking if she was written in such a way that she does, because we see her in book two having to be rescued and then... she sort of shows up in book six for a few chapters to be Harry's girlfriend only to be broken up with immediately).

Honestly, I could even point to Ron and Hermione. Do they ever grow as people? Do they, in and of themselves, ever have a large influence on the greater plot or are they there to be Harry's cheerleaders or the friend he's mad at today? Is Ron just "funny friend" and Hermione "smart friend"?

It's just, I agree there's no point to Mundungus, but that's pretty much every fucking character even some of the main ones.

(Is the purpose of Tonks just to be "cool girl" then die tragically off screen after having given birth to godson for Harry?)

That Said...

All of the above isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it's actually quite good in some ways. People love the diverse cast of HP characters and all the zany people we meet along the way even if we only see them for two seconds.

If HP was a video game, I'd give JKR an A+ for side quests and funny NPCs who tell us all about their weird life stories while doing crazy things.

It's one of the things people really like about HP as a series.

But, that does mean pointing out Mundungus is pointless is kind of silly.

"So is everyone."

Thoughts on Mundungus

My spicy thoughts are "whoa, Harry, did you really have to strangle the guy out of nowhere like that?" and "... Huh, we just... never touched on that strangling incident again, did we? We really just let that simmer, didn't even question it, but I guess it's no worse than we let the Cruciatus Curse simmer/having absolutely no comment on that incident, so... in character."

Otherwise, Mundungus does seem to have an alcohol problem, he definitely has a pilfering problem and is known as such, he seems to be in the Order much for the reason a lot of people are in the Order, to round out their numbers for... purposes...

Even if that's a bit ridiculous when they ask him to do things he actually doesn't want to do (see him getting dragged into the Battle of Seven Potters and Moody ending up dead because of it).

As much as this isn't a "guess the author's intent" blog, I think JKR intended for him to be the scapegoat, of sorts, she needed shit to go wrong with the Order now and then (Harry getting attacked by Dementors in Little Whinging and no one noticing, Moody dying, the locket being sold off, etc.) and rather than spread the love among Order members we're supposed to like/think are incredibly competent, it all piles onto Mundungus.

[starrykirsche]

im so obsessed with your theme and your writing woah

could you maybe do a tom kaulitz x fem!reader and like how they met and how he started catching feelings and confessed

it can be headcanons or an imagine it really doesnt matter, but just something along those lines like maybe she went to their school or something

up to you love!!

Thank you for the req anon!! I had soo much fun writing this ^.^

Tom’s Confession

Tom Kaulitz fluff imagine + mini fic

when you first meet, you definitely do something that catches his attention other than just being attractive

maybe you offer to give him the answers to the homework without him even asking, or you compliment a new piece of clothing he got

whatever it is that you do, he will not stop talking about it to Bill.

“Can you believe that she did that? Oh and she’s so beautiful too! And smart, I bet she gets really good grades.”

subconsciously stops paying/giving any attention to other girls since he met you

he’ll talk about you glancing at him in the hallway for weeks.

eventually, Bill will get so tired of him constantly talking about you and he’ll ask why Tom has such a big crush on you.

“Wait— What? I don’t have a crush on her,”

“Yes you do dude, she’s all you ever talk about anymore.”

it takes Tom a minor argument with his brother to realize he’s completely head over heels for you, but once he does he’s always trying to impress you

raises his hand in class to answer the teacher, and gets it wrong confidently. you chuckle at him and he gets so flustered.

overworks himself in gym class to try to impress you, but his face is all red and he’s so sweaty when he tries to talk to you afterwards.

you see him defending Bill from a few bullies and the next time you see him you tell him that was a really nice thing for him to do for his brother

“Oh! Yeah of course, I mean, Bill’s my brother— and my best friend— how could I not?”

he’s so fidgety talking to you, and after Bill teases him for not being his usual confident self around you

even his bodyguard knows about you because he talks about you so much

when you guys are in class together he literally watches you the whole time

one time, he asked you for a pencil and you forgot to ask for it back and he’s treasured it ever since

Bill subtly trips him in front of you to tease Tom and then calls Tom a fumble foot when talking to you later on

he’s always “accidentally” bumping into you between classes but it’s so obvious it wasn’t accidental at all

learns your schedule so that he can awkwardly wave at you in the halls

during your last period of class, one that you share with Tom, a teacher asks if anyone will volunteer to sort some papers for her. you volunteer, and Tom decides that this is his time.

The final bell of the day rings and all the kids shuffle out. The teacher thanks you again for your help and disappears out of the room too. Tom and Bill are leaving the school together when Tom stops his brother and their bodyguard.

“Oh, I think I forgot my notebook in class,” He says nervously, “I’ll go grab that real quick,”

Bill shoots him a speculative look but after a beat, just nods in agreement.

Tom begins to walk back towards the school doors and yells back: “Pull the limo back around for me, okay?”

As Tom’s footsteps echo through the empty hallways, he finds himself more and more anxious. He tongues at the metal ring that decorates his bottom lip and clears his throat, going over his “lines”. Mouthing the words that he’s sure he’s going to say to you. He’s never been one to be nervous around girls, but for some reason you flip that switch in his brain. He makes it to the doorway of the classroom and peaks in. He sees you there, and his heart is in his throat. Letting out one last deep breath, he nods to himself.

He knocks on the door frame. You turn around, a stack of papers in your hand, and smile. “Oh, hey stranger.” She says warmly, “Forget something?”

He clears his throat and steps into the room, twiddling his thumbs. “No, actually. I was hoping I could talk to you.” Tom finally looks up at you and your eyes meet for a moment.

You set down the stack of papers and lean your hip on a desk, “Sure, what’s up?”

He sighs and walks a bit closer to you. “So.. um…” Hesitation laces his voice, his unsureness now bubbling up. But he looks at you again, and he’s sure he has to do this. “I’ve had this… feeling.. about you for quite some time,” Chewing on his bottom lip, he tries to figure out how to articulate this unfamiliar feeling of, well, adoration.

He winces and continues to speak, “I just think that you’re so wonderful, it’s not just your beauty, but- but your kindness and um…” He clears his throat and looks at you nervously. Your eyes are slightly wide and you slowly nod your head.

“I really like you.” He finally says. It feels like a great weight has been lifted off of him by this admission, and now all he can worry about is whether or not you reciprocate.

You sigh and let out an exasperated chuckle, “Really?” You ask. It seems to good to be true. A rockstar really likes you? I mean he’s been particularly friendly to you so far but this is… a touch more than friendly.

He nods his head nervously, thinking the worst from your reaction. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same,” He chokes out, rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes.

“I do.” You say softly. His face lights up and he looks at you with full eyes, “You do?” With a small smile you nod. He beams and places his hands on your shoulders, shaking you by them, “You do!” Excitement paints his face and you can’t help but chuckle in return.

You two stand there for a moment, just giggling. Suddenly, he gasps and looks at the doorway, “The limo!” He says nervously, “They’re waiting on me!”

He turns back to you and leans down to kiss your cheek, “See ya tomorrow!” He shouts back as he makes a break for the limousine.

When he finally slams the door to long black vehicle, Bill’s looking at him with an unimpressed expression. Tom’s cheeks are flushed and he’s out of breath.

“Did she say yes?” Bill asks nonchalantly, crossing his arms.

A moment of silence hangs between them before Tom smiles wide, “She said yes.” Bill’s unimpressed expression breaks and he smiles.

“Dude I’m so proud of you!” Bill says excitedly as he raises his hand up for a high-five. Tom slaps his hand against Bill’s and squeals like a school girl.

“And I kissed her cheek!” Tom gushes.

Bill chuckles and shakes his head, “Good for you, Tomi.”

Tom hadn’t been this happy in a while, he couldn’t be any more glad that he had finally confessed to his favorite girl.

deine, kirsche. ✮

[sgiandubh]

Welcome to the shitshow

We have:

A ✈ sighting. No pics.

The MPC live, scarce details. No rings. Spartan decor. Suntan and out of Bonnie Scotland. No further details on destination, which might or might not be the same as the flight. Mark me, I think it is - he is in Gran Canaria and for a very precise reason: keeping his part of the deal and his Onlies on tenterhooks.

C is seen in Marseille, hullaballoo ensues. We pinpoint some coincidental details. I was expecting the shite to hit the fan in 4, 3, 2, 1...

And it did. With both sopranos hinting at the same person, but only one brave (or rather foolish enough) to push a name out there. Disingenuous, to say the least - but oh, how convenient for any given agenda. Because it's too easy, when you give out a name to a thirsty crowd to say: 'well, of course it's because of the shippers! They did this or that (sky is the limit)! They are to blame!' (excuse me?) and 'well, of course they won't say a word, now' (how convenient if the thing does not stick, eventually).

That was, IMHO, a strategic mistake and the petticoat is showing across the pond.

Around the same time, I started to get a different kind of Anon, day after day after day. Very brutal. Foul-mouthed. And...with some intel. I answered the first, but then when things started to 'happen', the coin dropped very quickly that: a) I did hit a nerve and b) someone or some people wanted me to push this particular agenda - remember when...?

For reference:

And then today, just in time for the long, boring, chilly and even snowy (depending on your location) week-end, the bomb dropped and the cargo was juicy:

A name. A woman. A gym. Not one, but three suspicious videos: the one with the leg, the one with the clear voice (unmistakably S!) and the one with the dog (and more S voiceover). How nicely connected. How fucking perfect.

An Airbnb close to the gym. What would a single woman traveler do in a three-bedroom gargantuan villa all by herself, when you are in Winterbird Central with a bajillion other accommodation options, is beyond any logic. So easily and lazily - OMG, date!

Unless...

Unless you conveniently forget some details:

Not one, but three different promos/endorsements, with a discount code to boot - 10% off, how nice!

The one that has been discussed by just about everyone:

The one that provided the discount code for new subscribers: Gymshark, a fitness attire manufacturer (https://eu.gymshark.com/).

And the most important one, hiding behind a humble hashtag: #metcon. Now I don't know you, but I'd rather digress about tea parlors and bookstores, and so had no fucking idea Metcon was, in fact...

Yup. Nike. A very recent model - expensive and sure, in need of immediate product placement/promo:

And so, for tax reasons, she just had to (mandatorily) include the #ad (as in advertisement, lest we'd not have naive Anons again!) hashtag.

Also, this, posted along the short reel with S's voice (but who cared, all 👂were there and only there):

That woman was working. She has, after all, 450k Insta followers. If she and S met at a gym in a winter destination very sought after by Scots should be none of our business. If they met again or have a regular training schedule does not mean they fuck or that we're going to look out for Remarkable Week-end 2.0. If they met in Hyrox GLA - so what? What is this, I beg your pardon, Gilead? People just can't hang out, like ever, I mean men and women?

🙄

But.. but... the gargantuan villa...?

Och. Sure enough, the place is correctly identified. You can check chez Marple. I am not posting it, because I do not want to and by now, I trust just about everyone has seen those pics. But this time, I am not going there. The name of that villa, even, made me laugh like a drain. I mean how more in your face can they be?

Who footed the bill of this rather comfy PR shitshow, reminiscing of Ha-wa-wee, 🐰 and whatever else you could think of? SRH?

Perhaps. But what if Nike did, as a freebie to a very good promoter? They sure can spare the dime and, to be honest, as we speak, there is no sign S and her share anything else than a gym schedule. What tells us with absolute certainty, at least at this moment in time, she is not there with friends, family or even a group of fellow promoters, Avon-style?

Oh, and the world is definitely a handkerchief, especially in GLA, it would seem. Wanna know who also follows her on Insta?

Paul Donnelly. Nope, not the chef. This Paul Donnelly:

The one who literally owes S a shitload of cash. A post that earned me a report (I was just explaining, if I remember correctly, that S would have been wise to legally secure that hefty loan, nothing more).

And now you know what? That post is gone, vanished, poof and I have no idea why. I surely did not take it down, I never do this.

And surely enough, just before I started writing, Filthy Anon came back and warned me there was more (pics, 👅👄) about McFitness. Surely enough, the same info (albeit toned down) was picked up by *urv in her comments' thread, about twenty minutes after Anon dropped by.

Agenda, anyone? God forbid!

You draw your own conclusions. I can only very honestly say:

Welcome to the Shitshow - the Winter Edition!

This page is not going to follow blindly your script, whoever you are. This page simply hopes to cleverly hit a nerve every time it considers necessary. Other than that, big effing deal, really. Ship on.

Sorry for the length. I was never good at summing up.

[jacksonleavesthe0nly138472]

sleepyhead

Pov: Ford

Fidds and me shut down the portal, he explained to me that I had a terrible head injury that must be why I don't remember anything. We were walking to the bedroom I notice that here is a weird number of triangles in the house, so I ask why, he said that he really didn't know why he loved triangles so much.

Suddenly we stop at the bed room he explained "okay ford here is only one bedroom in the house, which means one of us has to sleep on the couch" I look at him confused "oh wouldn't I have an apartment or house somewhere?" He took a minute to respond "Um your head injury is really bad, not bad enough to go to the doctors but I advice you to stay" okay that made sense, I got a strange thought in my head, for some reason made my head feel heated "you know it could be a good idea if, you and I sleep in the same bed, you could watch over me if my head injury becomes a problem"

His face went a dark red "well Stanford I think that's an brilliant idea" I love it when he says my name.

We're in bed together, is it a normal thing for two friends to sleep in the same bed, now that I'm thinking it over, actually have a crush on Fiddleford, I mean it makes sense why I feel all hot when it's winter, and how want him as close as physically possible to me. That makes me think, have I told him of this before, and was he not interested in me. Tomorrow I will ask him this and many more questions.

Finally I went to sleep instead of over thinking about our relationship, it was quite a weird dream, I was in a place were there was books and papers floating everywhere, in the hole place was scattered with stars and math equations in the background. Randomly a triangle popped out of nowhere, he looked very dapper with his bow tie and top hat.

"Hey ya sixer how's the portal going" what the heck the weird triangle thing can speak? "Oh hi dapper trian" he rudely interrupted me "MY NAME IS BILL, you idiots" "jess I didn't know your name before and before you rudely interrupted me, I was going to" again HE INTERRUPTED ME "what the hell IQ, you KNOWN me for years, are you playing a stupid game on ME" jessus this triangle man is so rude "no I AM NOT PLAYING A GAME, if you'd just let me talk, maybe you won't be so confused" "okay then talk Fordy, because this is really frustrating you know" I pause for moment than starting talking "so to put it briefly, I suffered a head injury and now I have amnesia and can't remember anything"

Instead of been understanding this bill character, he literally turned red when he got angry and thrown an temper tantrum. "WHERE THE EVER LIVING HELL IS ALL YOUR MEMORIES" I round my eyes "it's not like I just told you" predictably got more frustrated "IF YOU GOT AMNESIA YOU WOULD STILL HAVE ALL YOUR MEMORIES" I was about to say something but than he just disappeared.

Woke up with me laying on Fidds chest, don't know how I got in this position but I don't care it's nice, especially after that annoying dream guy. Gosh I'm so lucky that I forgot about that guy, the fact that I knew that man before must be annoyance to my past self. I know Fidds like triangles but he can't like this guy, plus he's not even real, what is 'bill the triangle guy' going to do if I talk trash about him. Was kind of sad that Fiddleford woke up he looks so cute asleep, "hey ya Ford we got a busy day today, haven't we, got to dismantle the portal and than get your memories back"

Oh forgot that "alright, business is good, keeps the mind busy hahahah" Fidds looks at me in a compassionate manner "gosh somethings never change" if that was someone else saying that I would of thought it was a rude remark. "Hey um I have something to tell you before we get started" he looked a bit irritated now "yes ford what is it" "well I know this is going to sound weird, but I saw a triangle named Bill in my dreams" okay now I'm thinking it over it was a stupid idea to bring it. He just looks so annoyed now "REALLY STANFORD, I thought that you would know that dreams can be weird, and WHY WOULD I NEED TO KNOW THIS?"

I felt like a complete idiot now "sorry I shouldn't of said anything, let's just get back what we were doing"

Note: did a quick drawing, I want you guys opinion on me doing a drawing on most chapters, should I do it no or yes

[cherrie-garden]

So I've been listening to this cover of IDOL and a lot of the lyrics in the song HEAVILY remind me of Gojo so guess who's making his very first JJK au!!!

Rather than being the strongest jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo is a well-known performer and idol. He sings, he dances, he models, he plays in shows and movies, anything and everything that would remind you of idols and celebrities that so many admire and get their inspiration from. This is the life Gojo has lived for as long as he can remember; he's always had these gifts, and has always been encouraged to use them.

Having been in the business for so long, Gojo knows what his audience wants. He knows the perfect way to act to keep everyone fawning over him as they have been for years. The people like him when he's charming, and they love him when his confidence is highest. His audience views him as being strong and untouchable, and that's exactly how he'll keep it (even during times where he wishes he didn't need to put on an act).

Gojo meets Megumi and Nobara through the modeling business, and meets Yuji through acting. He sees the talent and passion these younger stars have, and decides to take them under his wing. He teaches them anything they're willing to learn, though Nobara and Yuji seem to struggle with more musical aspects of idol-hood. They're both wonderful dancers, however, unlike Megumi. Gojo doesn't pay it any mind, focusing on each of their strengths to make sure they'll be flawless in whatever field they choose.

Enough with the cute and happy shit cuz now it's time for Geto to come into play!!

Geto is an indie artist, and he dabbles in a lot of different genres of music. While he isn't vastly well-known, he does have a decent following and plays enough gigs to keep bills paid. Frankly, that's more than he ever expected to get out of his career. As far as his musical skillset, Geto can play any instrument you'd associate with bands (guitars, drums, keyboard, etc) and is quick to learn various other instruments as well. One of his favorite instruments to play is clarinet, though he doesn't have a chance to play it often.

Geto and Gojo meet at an event that's essentially a party for any celebrities, musicians, and actors that get personally invited. Gojo was invited for obvious reasons, and Geto managed to get an invite through Shoko, who's a producer. Their first meeting was a little.. rough, to put it lightly. Geto immediately wasn't a fan of Gojo, viewing his charming persona as a tactic to play with people's feelings and avoid taking accountability for his actions. Even though there wasn't really any basis for these assumptions, it made both of their first impressions of each other a bit messy. Gojo could already tell that Geto didn't like him, but brushing it off and acting nice for the sake of pleasantries didn't seem to help in the slightest.

Geto ended up gaining some popularity through the event, and later on down the line was asked about doing a collaboration with, you guessed it, Gojo. Well, it wasn't a collaboration with just Gojo. Megumi and Yuji were said to be involved, though Geto didn't pay much attention to that. "Forming friendships with other people in the industry is the best way to advance your career," his manager said. "It'll be a nice change of pace," his manager said.

Meanwhile Gojo was a bit excited for this collab. Despite Geto not liking Gojo at all, Gojo found a strange interest in him. Shoko did say he had a nice personality under his rough edges. Maybe Gojo could get Geto to warm up to him!

For the sake of not spiraling into turning this overview into a straight up fic, I'll stop here. Tbh I'm loving this concept so much that I might make a full fic with it soon

[nonbinarypirat]

I’m catching up on Bungou Stray Dogs and I got to chapter 39 and wow… what a bad chapter. Or I should say, I VERY purely written, mishandled chapter. So I wanted to talk about why I hate this so much (even though so many people have probably talked about this here and other platforms.) Get ready for a rare known Iruma breakdown. But also I’m so mad about this chapter so this is going to be more of an unhinged rant then a well written post. Warning: child violence, abuse, abusive cycles, and sympathizing an abuser

This chapter is somehow a thousand times worse than what the anime did? I wonder if the people in charge of the anime also didn’t like this part and decided to cut it short and get through it as soon as possible and move on. Though it could also just because of how fucked up it is. No matter the reason, I went into this chapter hoping that maybe there was some context lost from the anime to manga but nope! In fact the manga goes further with trying to make you sympathize with a literal child torturer? It honestly makes me appreciate the episode just a tiny bit more for not including his oh so tragic backstory 🙄. Look, no matter what you have gone through, you don’t get the right to abuse a child. Plain and simple. Just because you were abused doesn’t give you the right to do it to someone. I get that the abuse cycle is not easy to break but once you fall down the same path you are ALSO a fucked up person! And you deserve to suffer for your actions. I wished he got a worse death than a car accident tbh 🤷.

Anyway, I hate how every character in this chapter acted like Atsushi was being irrational about not wanting to know why the headmaster was around? That’s his torturer, the man that literally made his life hell? If he doesn’t want to know, don’t force him. Like, could it give him closure, I guess. But he should be the one seeking that out. Quite frankly, once it was found out the headmaster was involved Atsushi should have been pulled from the case. Give him some distance to process everything rather having to learn about his abuser’s life story or whatever. Like I said, if he wanted to learn that info he should but only if he wanted. Idk why it treated him not wanting to know as acting irrational. I feel like every character treated him like this, from Tanizaki to Akutagawa to Dazai. Instead of comforting him in this difficult time they just… didn’t do anything? Obviously Akutagawa wouldn’t but why didn’t the other two do anything to make him feel better? Only Dazai did really and it was shitty. Full stop bad.

Which leads me into the crutch of it, I hate how they made the headmaster out to be a father figure or mentor. He’s not?? What the fuck are you on about. Like, I could see it if there was fake comfort, subtle or advert manipulation by being nice sometimes. Then it would have been a situation of, he’s the only father figure I ever had but he hurt me in the worst ways. And that’s where the ending could be. Not to say it would still be a well written depiction of abuse, it still tries to get you to empathize with the man, however, I could get where all the complication in Atsushi would lie. But this man was literally the worst human being to walk the face of the Earth the entire time we see him in the manga. So it makes ZERO SENSE. I guess that’s the angle they were going for, he’s the only adult man I know but it does NOT work at all. How is he a “mentor.” Just because he said to hate me not yourself? Fuck that shit, Atsushi does not need to feel bad for that man just because he was trying to make him strong or whatever bs excuse he has. Oh wow, he got him flowers. How ‘bout you pay for his therapy bills?!

If they really wanted to have some nuance, instead I feel like the conflict should have centered around Atsushi still not feeling safe or like he isn’t really dead. Like he can’t allow himself to relax despite the fact that he knows the facts. Especially since the headmaster was a big threat throughout his life, having him suddenly die would be a large shock to the system and go into denial mode. Thus, Dazai or someone else could help him move on and he could finally breath a sigh of relief. Or maybe he’s scared that other workers of the orphanage will try to find him. Maybe he tries to go back to normal, doesn’t give himself time to process, and it all comes crashing down and he has to grapple with the fact that he will never know WHY the headmaster treated him like this. Honestly, not having it answered would have been better because often people don’t get an answer why abusers act the way they do. This idea could add another reason why Atsushi is conflicted between happy and deeply upset because the headmaster is gone but now he’ll never understand why he was treated so horribly. And grappling with the idea that maybe he will never know or understand. Which is tragic but would be a better written and understandable conclusion.

BSD just really dropped the ball with that chapter. It had a great opportunity to bring a nuanced perspective onto why Atsushi may not be elated with his death and get further perspective on him as a character. But instead it focused too much effort on making a child abuser sympathetic because he also faced abuse in an orphanage and some people died and so he tried to make Atsushi strong or whatever. Atsushi deserved a better end in than chapter that Dazai calling that gross piece of shit his father.

Edit: I wanted to add that as much as I hate this chapter I liked the parts where we got to see how bad Atsushi’s life really was at the orphanage. I mean, it hurt for sure but getting to see this put into perspective fully why Atsushi has a hard time pushing through his trauma and past. Like, PTSD is no joke and that was reason enough, but seeing how far it got really showed that. Which makes me mad when people imply he should have gotten over it already or similar statements. Like, dude if that was me I wouldn’t have made it to 18. It’s actually impressive his resolve to live despite everything. Kind of wished we saw that in the anime as dark as it was but once again, I think it was not included specifically because of how poorly it handled this topic. Not gonna lie, it would piss me off enough to not finish the show (not that it’s too much of an improvement but it at least is like, bad writing but a pass).

[emojellyace08]

Hola its me Daniel's simp! Am sorry if am annoying u or anything!! Can we just have Daniel reaction of..reader just being down bad for him. Like When I say down bad I mean it like Xufdfiodpiydoy HOW CAN WE NOT BE DOWN BAD FOR THIS MAN 😭 LIKE SOMETIMES HE'S THE REASON I GET UP EVERY MORNING DIYODIPYIDYDIY..sorry about that. Idk wtf am saying nor doing sorry if am being weird! Also gave a nice day/afternoon/evening or night! ❤

Daniel Park x Reader (Being a simp for him)

𝐀/𝐍: 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐝𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞!: 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐥. (𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐥. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝. 𝐓𝐲! :)

If you ever met this man on middle school when he's being bullied. You're lucky. Y'know that Daniel has lots of trust issues and anxiety especially in this era. So you gotta be nice to him ;).

I don't know, but at first he just seemed to be REALLY hesitant at making friends at first and warming up because of his past trauma. But once you accepted each other's strengths and flaws he'll definitely become more open about what makes him happy and upset.

(Maybe it's just me that I love the friends to lovers trope more than enemies to lovers trope? HAHAHAHHA). But he's such a gentleman. He's often polite, respectful, yet have that fun and chaotic side of him that will make you MELT. If you like softie guys while still having that balance of masculinity you will like him a lot.

I think Daniel knows and loves to ride a bike. And if you don't know how to (like me), he'll happy to teach you out! Y'know those cheesy romantic scenes in love stories? That's what I am talking about he'll definitely push you to learn (but if you're uncomfortable he will stop of course) and once you mastered it he'll ask you out for a biking race at the sunset as long as it's safe and there's not many vehicles moving on the road.

Jamming in his apartment while his mom is out, listening to your favorite music while dancing around like idiots, eating at your favorite food places while comically arguing who's going to pay the bill, doing other silly things, and opening up to him are the most fun activities to do with him in my opinion. You know this guy is very empathetic and a very good listener since he's been through tough challenges in his life. Being friends with him is not just about spending your time and creating fun memories. It's about opening up to him as he does to you since you trust each other. I think that's one out of the many factors you're going down bad for him man. If you tell a sad story in your life, he'll cry. If you tell about an embarrassing and cringy memory on your school, he'll laugh his ass out yet with a gentle giggle. Same goes to his second body. The taller male is so similar to him that you almost feel like he's Little Daniel. They're both so humble yet so fun to hang out with. I don't know I'm word spilling rn but I just love him so much.

He may not realize it but he also dresses well in any fashion like KL:HDLK:HLAHSLA:. He might ask for help for fashion advices!

This man used to have those issues about opening up so be prepared when he's gatekeeping so if you are helping him out whole-heartedly in his issues he'll definitely fall in love with you.

He's really surprised and GETS REALLY NERVOUS when you suddenly jump on his back for a piggy-back or when you hug him from behind. And he would hide his face with his hand while he's blushing (especially when you compliment him not only about his looks but when he does a great job at something). He really also likes your company so once his feelings developed more into something deeper, he'll be more awkward around you (in a good way he's so anxious that he'll mess up lol).

He may be the type to ask your friends that knows that you're crushing on both Daniels. He may have that 0_0 face all the time because of how thick and weird the atmosphere is while your friends have that ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) face because they can see how nervous you are around him. It may take a while for the both of you to confess but you'll be both blushing once you both found out that you're crushing on each other the whole time. Once he's courting you he'll give you your favorite flowers and chocolates before going out on a movie or cafe date or just plain cuddling at your or his place. Or if that sounds too cliché for you, he'll luckily listen and accept your date ideas as long as both of you are safe, it's affordable, and both of you will have fun. And the rest is history.

Bonus!

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐲-𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲.

"𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. "𝐘𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚." 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭. "𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐜𝐞𝐥." 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

"𝐎𝐢 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐙𝐨𝐞, 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚, 𝐉𝐚𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐇𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟑-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.

"𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐘/𝐍." 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 (𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲) 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬? 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?" 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡��� 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐲-𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚.

"𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥, 𝐘/𝐍 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠!" 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬. "𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞."

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲. "𝐒𝐨, 𝐡𝐨𝐰'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲?" 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. "𝐈-𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞. "𝐈 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫- 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥. "𝐍𝐨! 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭… 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨…" 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦. "𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠…" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲. "𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡." "𝐇𝐮𝐡?" "𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞." 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. "𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫? 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥? 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. "𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐮𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐲, 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩���� 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫."

"𝐀𝐡, 𝐈'𝐌 𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐘!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭. "𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫. "𝐈'𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰." 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. "𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥?" 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. "𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚?" "𝐔𝐡𝐡𝐡 𝐧𝐨, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧." "𝐎𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡… 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢��𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 (𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡). 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐙𝐨𝐞!" "𝐍𝐨! 𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝." "𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘, 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐙𝐎𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄!" "𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞." "𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲?" "𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞…" "𝐉𝐨𝐲?!" "𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞." "𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥?" "𝐌𝐞𝐡, 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬." "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?" "𝐔𝐡, 𝐧𝐨. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞."

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 (𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬) 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. "𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭?!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐲𝐞𝐭. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡!" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧. "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡." 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. "𝐘𝐞𝐩. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬." 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐲𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫. "𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥." "𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦." "𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐨?"

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 (𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥) 𝐚𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬. "𝐘/𝐍! 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥! 𝐖𝐞'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. "𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐒!" "𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐕𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓!" "𝐒𝐡, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬." 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬. "𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬, 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞." "𝐍𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚." 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭. "𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞-" "𝐘/𝐍!" 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞. "𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞? 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞." 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. "𝐘/𝐍 𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐌 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐈 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒!" 𝐙𝐨𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝, "𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨! 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐊𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬!" 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐙𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫.

𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

"𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥." 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟/𝐜 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬. "𝐈-𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈-" "𝐎𝐢, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭?" 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲."

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭/𝐬 (𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧/𝐬) 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝?!

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥'𝐬 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞.

"𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐘/𝐍, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐘/𝐍. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝. 𝐀𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐀𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨! 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐘/𝐍, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭."

-𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 :)

Feedbacks would be appreciated!

Other requests will be done! (I'll make a smut version of this and the other Gojo Fem! reader)

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 @𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐚𝐜𝐞𝟎𝟖. 𝐑𝐞-𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐲!

[eliotquillon]

Drabble req- Chase and Cameron placing bets on how long Foreman would last in the pilot.

this is super dialogue heavy. Soz!!

“Two weeks,” Chase says, waving a fifty-dollar bill at Cameron with one hand and passing her a fresh cup of coffee with another. “You on?”

“You’re mean,” Cameron mutters, but she has a not-quite smile nudging around the corners of her lipsticked mouth. “I like him.”

“You do not,” Chase scoffs; Foreman had been more interested in her, sure, had offered Cameron the kind of pleasantries that Chase didn’t get, but Cameron isn’t stupid. It’s what made him ever-so cautious of her, those first few months they work together—Cameron likes to read people. She sees it too: the smug arrogance shimmering around the edge of every word that comes out of Foreman’s mouth. It’s why he keeps pushing: “Ten, then, if you won’t do fifty.”

“That he’ll quit?” Cameron raises an eyebrow. “Or that House’ll fire him?”

“See, you don’t like him,” Chase points at her. “If you did, you wouldn’t think—“

“I’m just getting the terms laid out,” Cameron says evenly, taking a long sip of her coffee and catching his eye. “You should’ve seen him breaking into Rebecca’s apartment. He’s good. Wouldn’t have solved the case without him checking her fridge.” Her voice is just a little too-serious; she’s not lying, but she is teasing him. Just a bit. Still, Chase doesn’t bother trying to rise above it.

“Yeah, to make a sandwich,” Chase rolls his eyes. “What else did he say to you in there? More nuggets of wisdom from first year medical school?”

“That’s the only reason you think he won’t last two weeks?” Cameron asks, amused. She leans back to examine him, eyes narrowed in challenge, and adds, “Nothing to do with the fact that you don’t like the guy?”

“He started it,” Chase protests, and Cameron laughs, loud and clear and obviously at his expense. “He did!”

“Nice logic,” she grins. “I’ll take your bet. Shouldn’t be hard to beat a five year old.”

“I’ve worked here longer than you have,” Chase points out.

“Yeah, and between us, I’ve won more bets than you have,” Cameron returns. “I think my money is safe.”

“How long do you think he’s gonna last, then?” Chase asks, throwing himself down in the chair next to her at the conference table. “All two years?”

Cameron laughs again. “No,” she says, after a long moment of consideration. “Six months, maybe. Then his ego blows up and he quits.”

Chase opens his mouth to disagree—four months, he’s about to say, and then wave another set of dollar bills at her, just to see if she’ll keep smiling at him—

“Hey,” Foreman pops his head in through the conference room door, “I’m about to head out. Now that the case is over, you two wanna grab drinks, or something?”

“Would love to,” Cameron says smoothly, shooting Chase a look that says behave. She waves her coffee mug at him in apology and adds, “Let me just finish this. Meet you outside?”

“Sure thing,” Foreman says. He’s still on that first-week-on-the-job charm offensive; he offers Cameron a benevolent smile, and nods at Chase before he heads out. Chase swivels on Cameron.

“Six months?” he mocks. Cameron raises a finger at him in warning.

“Or your money back,” she says. “Come on. Let’s give the guy a chance.”