#older brother mack cars

[roe-and-memory]

at 17, during the 2005 dinoco grand national series (xfinity) season, lightning is invited by harv to a meeting he really has no business being at.

its to discuss lightnings future, how rusteze plans on closing their dgns team and reopening it under the piston cup series, and what that’ll look like. the only people who really need to be there are rusty, dusty, and harv — but lightning, and therefore mack as well, get invited along for the ride.

however, its over a game of golf.

lightning has never played golf before as his dad wasnt a huge golf fan — and even if he was, the man wasnt a big lightning fan either, so it wouldn’t have even mattered.

mack parks in the overflow parking lot with the truck the night prior, informs harv of their whereabouts, and locks it down for the night. the next morning, the man is banging on the truck door at first light, and when lightning inevitably answers (after mack doesnt get up off the top bunk, continuing to snore away) harv thrusts a nice, red, rusteze polo into his hands, and points at the bag of golf clubs on the tarmac below.

“tee time is 7:30, meet us at the clubhouse before then. youre looking to impress them today.” he says, and hes off.

lightning wakes up mack and gets ready for the day, taking fashion advice from his brother-figure, because theres no doubt that mack has golfed before, and soon enough the group is down at the clubhouse with the bag slung over his shoulder and his stance as uncomfortable as ever.

lightning learns pretty quickly that theres a reason he’s a racecar driver and not a golfer.

he leaves divots in the ground, he cant hit the ball any farther than ten feet away from the tee box, and the entire time harv is glaring daggers into him.

lightning has no place in the adults conversation, he knows that — harv trained him well enough to know that he doesnt interrupt or speak, just put on a good enough show that rusty and dusty will be impressed and more inclined to give him his dream — but what harv left out is that lightning also has to be a god at golf.

the agent ends up pulling him aside while rusty and dusty walk back to their cart after putting. he looks him in the eyes and in a low voice hisses that he’s not impressing them by acting like an idiot, and another assortment of verbal reprimands for not being perfect. lightning is trying his best, but with the confirmation that hes supposedly disappointing the people who have his future in their hands, he starts trying his very best to be the best damn golfer they’ve ever seen.

it doesnt work. he still can hardly hit the ball. by the 15th hole hes given up on hitting and just sits in the drivers seat of his and harv’s golf cart, awaiting the mans return and chauffeuring him to his ball or the greens or the next hole.. its discouraging, and harv gives him shit every time for lacking the talent and skill to just suck it up and be a good influence on their opinions.

by the end, rusty and dusty are proud to announce their new cup team with 17 year old lightning mcqueen as the driver for them, harv has drilled it into his head that it’s only his “expert” negotiating skills that got lightning this, and lightning had dislocated one of his shoulders trying to swing as hard as he could and ended up making contact with the ground instead, spending the rest of the night sprawled across his bunk, masking that pain until mack figured it out after.

[argumentativeaxolotl]

More Cars(humanized) headcannons bc the Formula 1 race is tomorrow and there’s something wrong with me‼️‼️‼️

This is gonna be more on like family headcannons lol

Lightning McQueen:

- he was raised in an orphanage, bouncing from home to home in Florida where he grew up

- he never really had a family growing up nor did he have close friends because he was constantly moving

- Mater was his first real best friend

- He’s abominable socially(he’s jus a little bit too much like meeeee. Yes that is a Marina & the Diamonds reference sue me)

- Doc was his first ever good, permanent father figure

- Mack is 100% Lightning’s older brother figure

- Lightning is very awkward in every familial situation you can think of since he doesn’t have too much experience. The folks in Radiator Springs claim him as their’s.

- Lightning thinks of Luigi and Guido as fun, foreign uncles

- He thinks of Flo and Ramone as the cool aunt and uncle

- Sheriff is another uncle-figure

- he sees Strip as a father figure as well

- Sarge and Fillmore are 100% the warring brothers/bickering older couple due to their varying lifestyles

- Lizzie is seen as the absolutely ancient grandmother

- He sees some of his friends as brothers(Cal, Bobby, Junior, etc)

- Red is seen as a cousin to Lightning

Chick Hicks:

- His father is a right dickhead(this is canon)

- he had a brother who used to race, but died on the track leaving Chick as the only heir of the Hicks racing legacy

- His father is an alcoholic

- His mother died while giving birth to him, yet she loved him anyways

- his mother was in the army or marines at some point and the only thing he has left are a few dated photos and her dog tags

- He was raised by his older brother, yet because of his father’s horrendous tendencies Chick grew to be more like him than his brother

- Chick’s dad is a failed racer who never made it big and was known for crashing his cars. He cared very little for Chick, blaming him and believing that Chick was the reason his wife died

- He sees his Pit Crew as his close associates and friends(his Pit Crew see him as their brother/son)

Strip Weathers:

- His brother and sister-in-law(Cal’s parents) died in a car accident leaving a 11-12-year-old Cal with Strip and Lynda

- Strip adores Cal, sees him as his own son

- He kind of sees Lightning(and Bobby) as a surrogate son too. Especially since Lightning and Cal are friends

- He comes from an extremely wealthy family with two very long lines of racing dating back decades

- Despite being rich, he and his parents had a strained relationship at best(Strip was more of a rebellious kid back in his teens and younger years) so his parents pulled a Prince Naveen and cut him off from his wealth to teach him a lesson. This is when Strip picked up racing and began to make a name for himself

- Neither he nor Lynda ever wanted kids and then Cal came into their lives and they were like “he’s our son and if anybody says otherwise they will feel the fury of GOD.”

- Tex is like a brother to him and they met in high school then went to the same college and even lived together at one point. They are the bros of all time

Doc Hudson:

- He has no living relatives left except maybe like a random cousin or something

- Lightning is his son and he will fight anyone who says otherwise

- Sally is like a daughter to him

- He adores all the residents within Radiator Springs and treats them all as his family

- He came from an extremely poor family and started off as a mechanic under his dad’s wing then he started to race and he was really good

- his dad scraped enough money for Doc to go to his first race, gaining the attention for several well-known sponsors at the time

[heartstringsbloom]

Cars x Into The Woods (wanted to try something new!)

I was listening to the prologue from Into The Woods and it’s so good at tying everyone together while setting the plot into motion. Also the performances are gorgeous. I have not seen the entire show, my best impression of it is through this number and other brief clips, so for now here’s some of the song interpreted with humanized Lightning, Flo, and Ramone ^^ this was a lot of fun to write

(TW: brief allude to death, as it is mentioned outright in the og song. It is not directly stated in this interpretation, but is inferred)

The path to the bakery is rocky but straight. Monty was taught to stay the path straight. If he did so, he would always know his way. Mack could be a bit overprotective, but Monty owes his safety to keeping his older’s brother’s wisdom. So he always kept the path he was told. Even if he often wondered what else there was to see.

He knocks twice, red cloak fluttering to stillness as he meets his stop. The door opens to a woman and her warm smile. She has a fluffy white hat that tops her short, loose curls. Monty figures her to be the Baker.

“Why come in, honey!”

Monty nods. “I wish—” He sweeps into the bakery, restless as always. He nearly continues before remembering that this lady had never met him prior. He turns to the kind woman.

“It’s not for me; it’s for my granny, in the woods.”

The woman nods, ushers him into the kitchen where someone is kneading dough. The floppy, uniquely decorated white hat gives away another baker, but the ring on his finger gives away a husband.

“A loaf of bread, please?” He faces the sweet lady fully, sure to articulate his urgency. “To bring my poor old hungry granny in the woods. . .”

His gaze trails to a batch of pies fresh out of the oven, held carefully in the man’s hands. Monty’s eyes glow in delight.

“Just a loaf of bread. . .” He feels eyes on him. The woman is hiding amusement behind her hand, shares a look with the other baker. Monty’s eyes dip and his face warms.

“Please.”

The man jots down his request, to which Monty nods, then hastily thanks him upon remembering his manners. His feet shuffle, itching to be on his way. But his attention keeps returning to the treats.

“And perhaps a sticky bun.” He smiles at the basket. As he reaches for one his stomach growls, eliciting laughter from the other two. Monty clears his throat, ripping his hands from the basket as he fights the urge to draw his hood.

“Or, four. . .?”

The woman holds out the basketful, eyes sparkling. Quick as Lightning he takes one, takes a few. She doesn’t seem to mind, and when he’s not looking, he feels her adjust his armful so nothing falls. He’s too busy stuffing his face to thank her.

A pleasantly warm smell reminds him of the other treat he had been eyeing.

Mouth full, he says, “and a few of those pies, please,” but it sounds more like a muffled question as he gestures vaguely to the pies with his already stuffed arms. The woman laughs, thankfully, and Monty is relieved that his weakness to sweets hasn’t gotten him kicked out.

But then he remembers again why he’s there. As soon as he swallows the bun his quest pours out of him.

“Into the woods, it’s time to go—ah, I hate to leave, I have to, though.” His eyes squeeze shut the way they do when he stumbles over his words. “Into the woods, it’s time, and so I must begin my journey.”

The Baker nods, something worrying between her brows as she looks him over. He feels one of the treats threaten to slip his grasp.

“Into the woods and through the trees,” he rushes, pinning a bright smile to his face, “to where I am expected, ma’am. Into the woods to grandmother’s house—!”

He rushes for the loaf of bread before they can finish wrapping it, gasping as something falls off of his pile when he catches sight of the cookies. The Baker’s husband is swift in catching it and rolls his eyes. Monty eyes the discarded treat longingly.

“Into the woods to grandmother’s house. . .”

The woman shakes her head fondly, asking warmly, “You’re certain of your way?” To which Monty nods, perking up with new determination.

“The way is clear; the light is good.” He scoffs in dismissive confidence. “I have no fear, nor no one should.”

Mack’s voice echos in his mind as he reaches for his brother’s advice, reaches for cookie after cookie because he just could not stop ogling them. “The woods are just trees; the trees are just wood. I—“ he struggles to grab the last cookie from the tray, his sweet tooth too much to be contained. His voice comes out meek chuckle“—sort of hate to ask it, but do you have a basket?”

He receives one just in time to dump the bread and buns, more relieved nothing will fall than he is to have his arms back. Except for the cookies, that is.

“Don’t stray and be late,” the Baker’s husband drawls. She swats him playfully and adjusts the basket so Monty can place the cookies one by one. Her husband takes it instead, secretly hands her everything that’s placed inside. All the while she simply fills a second basket, hiding her smile.

“Save some of those treats for granny, honey,” she winks. The young man laughs sheepishly.

While Monty steadily empties his pockets into the basket (he had forgotten about stuffing them before), his eyes trail the ceiling as he muses over what he’s been taught.

“Into the woods and down the dell. The path is straight, I know it well,” he hums, distracted by all the sweets he’s acquired. Though that basket doesn’t seem as full as it should be. “Into the woods and who can tell what’s waiting on the journey?”

Mack had told him to he careful, to make sure he turned right back home after visiting grandma. Monty wondered what would happen if he lingered on the path. What would happen if he strayed?

He shakes himself of that curiosity, knowing that he should know better. “Into the woods to bring some bread to granny who is sick in bed,” he continues solemnly, worrying creeping into his heart. His peripheral catches the woman frown. “Never can tell what lies ahead.” He sniffles, realizes something that makes his voice rise. “For all that I know, she’s already—!“

He gasps as he’s enveloped in a hug. Gentle fingers run through his golden-rose curls, and he’s met with whispered reassurances. He doesn’t know what else to do but slump into the embrace. She smells like honey and warm cookies.

After a while Monty gathers himself and pulls away, trying to ignore the wet stickiness of his eyes. “But into the woods.”

“Into the woods?” The woman asks gently, eyes letting him know that he’s okay. He’s strengthened by them.

“Into the woods,” he confirms, now moving towards the door with his basket, unaware of when the sweet woman empties the other into his. He catches sight of the pies he’s had yet to acquire. Something eager and slightly mischievous curls up in his tummy. The Baker seems to notice because he straightens, flickers between Monty and the tray.

“To grandmother’s house. . .”

The two stand on either side of the tray, stuck in suspense as they anticipate one another’s move. Monty’s eyes flick to the tray before his hand does, faking the guy out. The Baker’s narrow, but his smirk betrays him, infecting Monty.

“And home before dark!”

He snatches one of the pies and bolts, laughing around his mouthful as the kind woman’s own mirth echoes behind him.

[cleoluvrr]

The Last Days of Summer VII (Rafe Cameron x Heyward!OC)

Warnings: violence, underage drinking, drug use, verbal abuse, jealousy, forbidden relationship, enemies to lovers, gaslighting + manipulation

Synopsis: Stuck in a situation she never dreamed of, Neriah Heyward blurs the line between Kook and Pogue; Rafe Cameron a witness.

masterlist

word count: 2.4k+

↠━ღ◆ღ━↞

The later half of the humid, North Carolina evening was spent with Londyn, once again. Her parents were away on the mainland to visit her older brother, leaving her home alone. She hates when they go but refuses to leave the island if I can’t come with her.

Sometimes I wonder if she has some serious codependency issues, her blatant refusal to go anywhere if we aren’t attached at the hip worries me deeply. 

However, I don’t think about it tonight, needing a distraction from the earlier events of today.

“It’s not that I can’t leave the island, I just don’t want to.” She refutes, flopping down dramatically onto the bed next to me. “I’d be bored and lonely and hanging out with old people all day. Plus, you’d miss me too much and would probably die without me.”

“That’s what phone calls are for.” I chuckle. 

“But it’s not the same!” She whines, rolling over to lie on my back. “I need to be in a ten-mile radius of you or else my body starts slowly shutting down.”

“You are such a drama queen.” 

The two of us go down to the kitchen to grab something to eat. The taller girl watches the popcorn in the microwave closely as I stare out the large windows behind the sink. Suddenly I hear sirens in the distance, and only a few moments later a bunch of police cars speed down the road. 

I hum in curiosity, not thinking anything of the situation. That is until my friend says something that makes my heart drop.

“Oh my God!” Londyn says, stopping the microwave before rushing up to me. “Kelce just texted me. He said he found John B in his house!”

“What?” I say, standing so fast that the stool I was seated on almost topples over.

“Yeah, the police are on their way there right now.”

“John Booker Routledge? That John B?” She nods. “Shit.”

I rush out of the house, Londyn hot on my tail as I grab one of the bikes in her garage. She does the same, the two of us hauling ass to their location. I spot the red and blue lights of police cars in the distance after a few minutes, speeding up my pedaling as Londyn calls my name from behind me. 

My thighs burn, legs wobbly as I jump off my bike and run to the crowd with it in tow. I watch as the police run out of the house, saying something about a creek as they speed off in their cars. The crowd of Kooks follow, and so do I.

I stop abruptly before I get too far, wondering where John B could have possibly gone with the entire town looking for him. I search every corner of my mind, nothing surfacing. I ignore the sound of Londyn calling my name as I rake my brain as fast as I can.  That’s when I hear the sound of a bell, my ears perking up immediately.

The church.

John B took me there once when we were a few years younger. My brother doesn’t know this, and never will, but his dear friend was my first kiss. John B has an unreciprocated crush on me in middle school, right before I left for the kook academy. He took me into the woods one day, showing me the chapel when my brother was out with my dad working on something. 

It was something neither of us could tell the rest of the Pogues. JJ would tease him to no end, Kie would go on and on about “Pogue-on-Pogue macking,” and my brother would definitely kill him and lock me away in a tower.

I start pedaling my bike again, steering it in the direction of the rundown building. I see the tip of the cross in the distance amongst the green of the trees and speed up as much as I can on the dirt floor of the woods. My legs burn with exhaustion and my heart tightens with anxiety. I throw my bike onto the ground when I get close enough, running towards the church.

I don’t even notice the footsteps behind me, the sound hidden by the soft dirt beneath our feet.

“Woah, princess.” I hear, a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and stop me from going any further. “What do you think you’re doing out here?”

“Let go of me, Rafe!” I fight against his hold, arms held tightly against my chest by his.

“Hm, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He tuts, leaning down to speak lowly into my ear. “I asked you what you’re doing out here.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, me?” He feigns innocence. “I’m just being a good citizen and helping get a criminal off the streets.” I hear the smile he has on his face and I shiver. 

“He’s not a criminal. He would never kill someone.” I say still pushing against his arms.

“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think you do?”

“He’s not a murderer!” Blood rushes to my ears, the sound similar to that of white noise.

“Well then, who killed Pertekin?” I don’t answer, chest heaving as he speaks into my ear.

“He’s innocent, Rafe.”

“This is why I don’t want you near those Pogues, princess.” He tuts and shakes his head in disapproval. “First they corrupted my baby sister, now they’ve brainwashed you too. We just can’t have that, can we?”

“Nobody has ‘brainwashed me.’ You sound like a crazy person.” He chuckles darkly into my ear, the sound giving me goosebumps.

“If John B didn’t kill Peterkin, then why is he running? Hm? Are you calling my father a liar?”

“Because there’s a bounty on his head!” I don’t answer his second question because he wouldn’t like what I have to say. “You guys are chasing him down like a wild animal! Of course he’s running.”

“Well maybe that’s what he is. A fucking animal that needs to be put down.”

“Rafe, let me go.” I say, tears welling in my eyes ready to spill over. 

“I can’t do that.” He lifts his head away from my ear, motioning Kelce over to the two of us. “I need to make sure you’re safe and not getting into things you shouldn’t. It’s a dangerous place with killers on the loose.”

I start to smell smoke, the strong scent filling my nose causing my face to scrunch up in disgust. I look up in the direction of the church, watching as the wooden structure slowly lights up the dark woods. The building is slowly eaten away by fire, the orange-colored flames traveling up the base of the chapel.

“What did you do?” My voice is quiet, only loud enough for the boy next to my face to hear. He chuckles, grabbing my bicep firmly before dragging me toward the front of the church.

I hear the police pull up in the front of the old church, the mob close behind. My heart drops.

I fight against him but he doesn’t relent. I almost forget about my friend until I hear her voice speaking in a hushed tone, asking Kelce what’s going on. He tells her not to worry about it and she doesn’t push any further. The fire grows, the smoke thick in the air and flames flying out of the windows as they climb higher and higher.

“Behave yourself.” Rafe says when we reach the front, the gaggle of police and Figure 8 residents appearing before us. He lets go of my arm, opting for a firm arm around my waist.

“What are you kids doing out here?” Shoupe asks when he spots us, suspicion heavy in his tone.

“We found them walking through the woods, sir.” Rafe answers, his tone drenched in false worry. He looks down at me as he feigns a look of deep concern. “They had no idea there’s a murderer running around here. I would just hate myself if something terrible happened to them on our watch.”

“Okay, son.” Shoupe says nodding in understanding. “Hey, you’re Heyward’s girl, right?” The officer asks when he notices who I am.

“Yes sir.” I answer lowly.

“Your brother is friends with John B?” I nod. “You have any idea where he might be hiding?” Rafe digs his fingers into my side as a warning. I shake my head side to side.

“No sir.” I don’t look up at him, sight firmly set on my own shoes. “I don’t really know him very well.”

Shoupe stays silent for a moment and I can feel him watching me, his gaze heavy on my frame. I look up finally, our eyes catching each other. I give him my best doe-eyed frightened look, trying my best to make him less suspicious of me.

“Alright. Officer Leon!” He calls out, motioning a large black man over to us. “Will you take these young ladies home?” The officer nods, prompting Londyn and I towards a car a few yards away.

I turn my head to face Rafe as I walk away and lock eyes with him. He looks at me smugly, waving before turning back to the burning building. My neck throbs, the phantom feeling of his hand wrapped around it returning as I get into the backseat of the patrol car.

“Shit, boy, get in the house!” I hear my father say, swiping at the gas canister Pope held in his hands.

My brother showed up this morning on a bike, his loud arrival waking me out of my not so peaceful slumber. I stumbled outside after a couple minutes, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Heyward beat me to it, already outside having a confrontation with his son.

“I’m walking out of here with these damn cans and you’re not getting in my way.” Pope states standing chest to chest with our dad. His face is hard, set firm in his decision to defy the man before him.

“Oh, I’m getting in your way.” Dad says, stepping closer to the boy. “And one day, you might be able to whoop my ass, but it ain’t today.” He pushes him back and Pope stumbles, dropping the cans.

Pope shoves him back, much harder than our dad did. The man stumbles back a few feet as well. The two of them start getting physical, pushing at each other in an attempt to prove their dominance. I almost go back inside, letting them work out their issues alone, but watching Pope land a fist on Heyward’s face stops me in my tracks.

“Pope! Dad! What the hell?” I yell, trying to get their attention. They ignore my voice.

“Oh, yeah! It’s gonna take a little more than that.” My father says as he gets in Pope’s face again. “Try again.”

Pope raises his fist, breathing heavily as he gears up to punch him again. He hesitates.

“C’mon. You wanna hit your daddy?” Dad taunts, encouraging him to land another one. “Try it again. You wanna hit me?”

Pope drops his fists and backs away, leaning down to place the gas canisters in his hands once again. He looks up at our dad angrily before speaking.

“I don’t have time for this, I gotta help my friend.” He storms off, leaving my father to stand alone. 

“Yeh, you just go ahead!” Heyward shots after him, following a bit behind. “Yeah, you take everything, son.”

Pope doesn’t look back, just keeps walking away without sparing my father a glance. 

He turns his head towards me for a brief moment, catching my eyes as I look at him disappointedly. There are tears in his eyes that he tries to fight back, ready to spill over onto his dirty face.

“You’re an ungrateful son of a bitch, Pope.” Is the last thing my dad says to him, leaving the both of us in silence as we watch him walk away.

Pope’s back gets smaller and smaller as he retreats back to wherever he came from. My own face is emotionless, eyes dry of tears and body still. 

A dangerously quiet rage fills my body as I stand outside with my father.

Angry with John B, angry with his friends. Angry at Pope for ditching his own family for days at a time like we mean nothing to him. Angry for making me have to console our mother when he vanishes without a word, trying to convince her that her son isn’t dead when I don’t even know myself. Angry with him for doing stupid shit that only lands him in trouble.

Angry with myself for still caring about what happens to him when he clearly doesn’t care himself.

“If your brother comes back here, don’t let him in.” My father instructs me as he walks into the shop. “He can sleep on the streets since he’d rather be there than home.”

My parents got a call later that night from the police informing them that they needed to pick up Pope. They almost had a heart attack, rushing out of the house before the officer could even hang up the phone. 

I was in my bedroom when they returned, the sound of the door opening and shutting the only indication that they arrived.

I rushed into the living room to spot a wet, disheveled Pope in a bloody t-shirt, his face drenched in rain and tears. I look between the three of them in confusion, the atmosphere of the home suddenly filled with despair and sadness. 

My dad walks up to me while our mom holds my brother in her arms tightly as he shakes with sobs.

“John B…didn’t make it.” He tells me sadly, his own face is tired and sad. I knit my eyebrows together, mind not allowing me to comprehend what I was just told.

“What do you mean he didn’t make it?” I ask, looking between my mom and dad once again. “Didn’t make it where?” My question is answered with a tense silence, dread filling my stomach as my heart drops to my feet. I swallow dryly, nodding my head as I walk back to my room. 

Shutting the door quietly, I slide down the wooden frame, body racked with silent sobs of my own.

I hear Pope enter his own room a few minutes later, door shutting loudly with a thud. I listen to his pained screams and sobs through the wall, heart tightening at the sound. 

I feel my brother’s grief in the air of the house, my parents speaking in hushed voices in the living room. I hear him destroying his room, throwing objects at the door and assaulting the walls with his body.

I am angry again. Angry for my brother. Angry for his friends. Angry for John B.

Eventually he stops, crying himself to sleep after being restless for hours. I didn't fall asleep that night, mind racing and stomach churning with grief.

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @contemporarybardess, @realmackross TIMING: Sometime in the spring SUMMARY: Elora & Mack have a Twilight themed date night where some secrets are revealed... WARNINGS: Just a soft thread with a sire and a zombie! ♥

It had been a while since Mackenzie had gotten to do anything just fun and cute with Elora. In fact, it had felt like it had been months. And she knew it probably had to do something with the fact that the two still didn’t live together, but Mack just wasn’t ready. The one year anniversary of Brody’s death had literally just passed, and she still couldn’t bring herself to fully commit every part of her life to Elora; though she clearly wasn’t going to tell Elora that. She loved the woman with most of her heart, but moving on still felt wrong.

However, tonight, she was going to make it a point to spend time with her girlfriend, and she knew just the place to go…

“I really hope you like sparkly vampires. It’s the only thing showing, and I thought that if we got bored of seeing Robert Pattison’s sparkling peeled potato skin, we could just make out.” Mackenzie looked over at Elora with a hopeful grin as she shut off the engine on her Mini Cooper. The first movie hadn’t quite started yet, so there was still time for concessions, bathroom breaks, and finding a spot in the grass up front with the blankets she brought, if Elora didn’t want to stay in the car the whole time.

—

Finally, just a cozy date night watching a cheesy vampire movie with her girlfriend. No violence. No cosmic bullshit cutting in. Just Elora and Mackenzie…and the other people watching the Twilight marathon, of course. While she always got butterflies whenever she saw her still, quality alone time that wasn’t interrupted was rare. They both had very…busy and eventful lives after all. 

“Well I used to have a crush on that sparkly potato skin when I was younger. But I’d never turn down a makeout session, you know that.” It was a bit embarrassing to admit she was a recovering Twihard, but she also knew pretty much every girl went through that phase at one point or another. 

“Y’know, I was expecting a better turnout” she said, looking out at the crowd of people. The turnout seemed decent, but definitely didn’t seem to match the fervor the online petition had implied would be present. “I guess not everyone can tough it out through all the movies, eh? Can’t blame them, I’m not so sure we’ll make it either.” She was hoping that they’d get too tired to give Mack an excuse to spend the night at Elora’s place. Or for Elora to spend the night at Mack’s. Either way, they hadn’t had much time co-habitating and she definitely wanted to make it happen. It just felt more cozy and couple-y.

—

When Mack had heard that Elora had a crush on Edward Cullen, a wide grin spread across her cheeks, “Wait…what? Were you a Twihard, Elora Spiros?” Mackenzie had never really gotten the appeal of the movies, at least not when they had first released, considering she was only ten years old. But by the time she had turned thirteen, it was all she could talk about. She had caught the tail end of the obsession, but it didn’t matter. The pasty sparkly vampires and werewolf who wore jorts had their hooks in her heart, and she wanted more. It would take another year or so for her to actually grow out of it, but rumor has it, there’s still some of Mackenzie Ross’s (TwihardGirlie98) fanfic still floating around the internet today.

“I…Okay, I’ll admit it. I was a Twihard, too. But like at the tailend of the hype, because I was ten when the first movie came out, and my parents wouldn’t let me read the books until I was a little older…” If she could blush, she would, “Who was your favorite character?” This date was already so telling, but she loved it. It made her feel so much closer to Elora. Something she needed out of fear that they might have been drifting apart.

“You know, I’m surprised too, but it’s probably because everyone and their mother and brother own all the movies and don’t want to be bothered by sitting in a car for three years just to see Edward Cullen sparkle and brood on the big screen.” Mack laughed softly. “Besides, I would rather us not make it…if you catch my drift…” She grinned coyly at Elora.

—

With mock embarrassment, Elora put her hands up and said “Guilty as charged! Me and pretty much everyone else I went to middle school with.” She then caught herself, as she technically didn’t go to school with any of them. “Well, the girls who were the same age as me, I should say. It was like some hive mind virus that targeted tween girls specifically. It was sort of some weird fever dream we all woke up out of years later.” All of her Twilight merch was long gone now, burned up with pretty much everything else, but she hung on to a lot of her New Moon T-shirts until well after her teenage years. Those times were fun to look back on, even if they did make her cringe more than anything. 

“I knew it! You totally seem like the type! No offense, of course. Nobody’s immune from the Twilight phenomenon, not even the infallible Ms. Mackenzie Ross.” She thought about Mack’s question for a little while. There were so many characters, but not many that were particularly good or likable. “I like the dad. What was his name? Charlie? He had a good head on his shoulders and only wanted what was best for Bella. Took the whole existence of vampires and werewolves surprisingly well. I mean, mildly freaked out of course, but didn’t get hung up on it too much! The real question is…Team Jacob or Team Edward?”

“I wouldn’t mind cutting out early either” Elora said, knowing fully well what her girlfriend had in mind. It had been a while since they had a chill night just to themselves, and while watching bad vampire romance was a good date night it wasn’t quite what Elora had wanted. “Let’s at least make it to the baseball scene from the first movie. After that everything goes downhill anyway”.

—

Mack laughed at Elora. She knew exactly what the other woman was talking about though, because she had witnessed its phenomena, even growing up on movie sets. She could remember the adults on set talking about it and trying to ask them what they were talking about. Even some of her younger co-stars had been allowed to bask in the glory of its success, but Mack had been left on the sidelines, until she wasn’t anymore and her room was plastered from head-to-toe. But the real height of her obsession came, when she was allowed to attend the Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 premiere. She hadn’t recalled the memory until now, sitting next to her girlfriend while having this conversation, and she honestly wasn’t quite sure if she had wanted to admit it out of the fear of being teased for eternity by Elora, “Yeah, yeah…the dad was cool. Nice guy in real life too. And you’re right. He did keep a pretty level head. You know…he kind of reminds me of Kaden. Have you two met? He wouldn’t get the reference, but if you ever meet him, tell me he doesn’t remind you of Charlie.”

Mackenzie was trying to stall, but it was getting harder and harder, because even she wanted to laugh at herself and the situation, “Oh come on…why did you have to ask me that?” She paused thinking, before finally giving the redhead an answer, “So I was Team Edward all the way growing up, but there is some bias because I had worked on a movie with Robert before, but now that I’m an actual member of the undead, I’m gonna have to go Team Jacob. Who wouldn’t love a nice, warm fuzzy werewolf to snuggle up to on cold, winter nights. Any chance you might be able to grow some fur? Perpetually cold dead girl over here.” She let out a snort, before playfully nudging her girlfriend to let her know she was kidding.

“Totally fine with waiting for the baseball scene. It’s like the best part of the movie, but I have a tiny bit of embarrassing information to share, and I don’t know if it will make you want to cut out sooner or not leave at all…” Mackenzie forced down the nerves that had formed in her throat as she pulled out her phone and searched online for something. When she finally found it, she quickly handed off her phone to Elora and turned away from the window. It was a video of a little Mackenzie at the Breaking Dawn Part 1 premiere answering everybody’s favorite question – the one Elora had just asked. And as she heard her voice fill the car, she couldn’t help but put her head down in embarrassment.

—

She wasn’t sure why, but Elora’s eyes widened a bit when Mack mentioned Charlie being a nice guy in real life as well as on screen. Sure, she was a major celebrity who had met pretty much all of the huge A-listers already, but did she really mean to tell her she’d met the Charlie Swan?

“Man, I’ll never get over you just knowing people. It must be so cool to know what people are like off camera. Well…the ones who are nice at least” She had heard talk of a Kaden in town, but had never gotten the pleasure of actually meeting him. “Nah, I’ve never met him. Nice guy then, I’m assuming? It’s nice to see decent guys around here, they aren’t super common.” It was true. There a lot of shady folks hanging around here, so knowing who was friend or foe was very important information to have. 

“Well I’m glad you finally came around to the side of reason! Jacob was so much better for her, I can’t believe she went with the crusty vampire man instead.” She laughed a bit at the fur comment, knowing that feathers just wouldn’t fill the same purpose for her. “I mean, there technically is a way I can make myself warm, it would just be very painful for me and probably burn you to a crisp. So…sorry but your dreams of a furnace girlfriend are going to have to be put on the back burner.”

She couldn’t help but crack a smile as she saw a young Mack, fully human and full of life, giving her interview. She was so young then, she always found it interesting seeing people she met as adults when they were children. “That’s adorable! You were so excited for the sparkly man! Also…really puts into perspective how long you’ve been a star for. I guess being a fan girl is a little different when you know the people personally, huh?”

—

Mackenzie had learned early on that celebrities were just people. It had come after an embarrassing moment on one of the first sets she had worked on, when she had gotten so nervous to be around one of the leading stars that she started to cry. It had stopped production, but the person she was working with had been patient with her and had spoken to her in a way that reassured her that everything was okay, and to remember that even the biggest Hollywood stars were just people and this was just a job, and at the end of the day they were all just friends having fun together. Of course, that worked until Mack grew older and started to realize that not all actors felt the same way; some who thought they hung the moon. But at the end of the day, Mack had learned to be kind and humble, and whenever there was someone feeling nervous, she was going to treat them with the same respect she had learned as a child, “At the end of the day, they’re all just people. Even the ones who think they’re God’s greatest gift to man.” She smiled warmly at Elora, before changing the subject to Kaden, “But yeah, if you want me to introduce you to him sometime, just let me know.”

Elora’s comment about Edward and Jacob made Mack laugh, “Crusty vampire man. That’s so accurate it hurts though. That’s why there’s fanfiction. So all your literary and movie dreams come true, when the plot doesn’t go the way you want it to.” She couldn’t believe she had just admitted that either. This trip to Twilight was proving to be more embarrassing for Mack than anything else, but she wouldn’t have it any other way, “You know, that's a shame though that you’d burn me to a crisp. I guess I’ll just stick with my fifteen heated blankets.” She was being serious too. “You heard me.”

It was a relief when the video was over, and Mack could put her phone away. If Elora wanted more, she could google it for herself, “Yeah…mention that, and I’ll disown you, Elora Spiros.” She was joking of course. “I mean, I’ll be honest – despite what I told you earlier, I still bragged to the few friends that I had that I knew Edward Cullen. I couldn’t help myself though. I was young and dumb.”

Looking up, Mackenzie noticed the movie was about to start, “Did you want anything, before this thing starts?” She was honestly looking forward more to the makeout sesh and what might follow then watching a movie about sparkly vampires.

—

“Yeah, everyone’s just another person. It’s just that some people need to be reminded that they’re only people.” Elora knew all too well what some members of the rich and powerful thought of themselves. Some people thought themselves to be gods of some degree, and demanded they be treated as such. “I’d like that. The more friends the better in this town, that’s for sure.” 

Elora knew about fanfiction all too well. She had written some herself, mostly when she was a teenager through her early 20s. It’s not a phase of her life she’s proud of, but if Mack was willing to show an embarrassing moment from her past then Elora figured she should be too. “Well, since we’re sharing. I know quite a bit about fanfiction and writing the ending I want. I actually used to post on AO3 a lot…I kind of had a problem actually. I just had a lot of my own ideas on what the canon should be so I wrote it into existence!” She knew there were a lot of fanfiction writers out there so saying she wrote wasn’t the most embarrassing thing in the world. However, she would fight tooth and nail to stop Mack from actually reading what she wrote. Her screenname wasn’t exactly easy to guess. 

“How could you NOT brag?! I don’t care how famous you are, every girl that age had the hots for Mr. Pattinson. And now he’s off being Batman, times really have changed.” She thought, thinking about how his acting skills really did have a huge glow up after the Twilight movies wrapped. He was a good actor when he wasn’t sparkling like a diamond. 

“We can just share some popcorn. I don’t want to eat too much, especially if we have…y’know…plans for after this.” The baseball scene couldn’t come fast enough. Although Elora had to admit she’d probably genuinely enjoy watching the movie up until that point.

—

“I’m not like that am I?” Mackenzie looked at Elora. She had come to this town hoping and praying she wouldn’t be recognized, but knew she probably would. Of course, the mansion out on World’s End Isle probably didn’t make her seem very humble or down-to-Earth, but Mackenzie tried to be. She really did. “I just…I don’t want to be perceived as an asshole.” Now, she was paranoid. Did Elora ever think of her that way?

Mack’s smile had dropped as she worried, until Elora had brought up AO3 and fanfiction, “Wait…what?! You wrote fanfiction? I want to read it! I showed you my embarrassing red carpet video, and look, I’ll even tell you my screenname, because I’m sure my stuff is still out there, if you tell me yours or at least share some of your fanfiction!” Her sad face turned to one of a puppy dog pout, she wanted to see this fanfiction dammit!

“I mean, I guess you have a point, and he really did glow up, didn’t he. Now, he’s got a kid. Good for him, you know? But if you think this is going to take my mind off of you admitting that you wrote fanfiction, you’re wrong.” It was hard talking about anything else now. “Look, I’ll go get the popcorn and soda…” She paused thinking on Elora’s words with a grin, “And nothing else…and while I’m gone, you can pull up AO3…accidentally leave your phone on the dash, and I can be all…whoops! What is this?!” Mackenzie put the puppy dog pout on and stared at her girlfriend.

—

 Elora felt her heart stop for a moment at Mack’s question. In truth, she was one of the realest and most down to earth people she had ever met. “Not at all!” She blurted out quickly. “Quite the opposite, actually. I’ve met some fairly well recognized bands and artists and there’s just so many pompous douches in the entertainment industry.” She then grabbed hold of Mack’s hand and looked into her eyes. “But not you. Never you.” 

Elora’s panic soon gave way to embarrassment as it seemed Mack wouldn’t let her off the hook about her fanfic days. She wouldn’t mind sharing if it was any good. But making a fic where the Cullen clan enter the World Series of Poker and titling it “High Stakes” isn’t exactly the peak of literature. Still, Mack did have a point. If she could see a mildly embarrassing red carpet video, they could cringe at some bad fics together

“Fiiine, you win. But be nice! I was a teenager. I think…maybe early 20s. Either way, I’m a much better writer now!” She begrudgingly opened up to her old screenname on AO3 and set her phone on the dash, resigning herself to her fate. If she can love me after reading these she’ll love me through anything, she thought to herself with a smirk. She was starting to get peckish and hoped she’d come back with their popcorn soon.

—

Mackenzie had immediately felt relief at Elora’s words in regards to her fame and the way she had treated people. There had easily been the exceptions, like Jade. But even with Jade, Mack had originally tried to be nice. But the loving grip Elora had on Mack’s hand solidified just how right she had gotten it when she had chosen to start falling in love with this woman. Someone who had chosen to see the real Mackenzie Ross for more than just a celebrity.

A giddiness had taken over the young actress though when Elora finally agreed to let Mack see the fanfic, and like a child excited on Christmas morning, Mackenzie hurried off to get the popcorn.

And just like that she was back in a flash and right back in her seat next to Elora, “Here’s your popcorn. Now gimme gimme gimme!” She was impatient like a child until she noticed the phone sitting on the dash, and quickly pulled it back. For the next hour, Mackenzie was going to sit and read the beautiful works of art that her girlfriend had gifted to the world, while the inspiration for such works played in the background.

—

As her girlfriend scrolled through some of the worst fanfiction she can remember reading in a very long time, Elora simply tried to focus on the movie. It actually wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, there were some genuine sweet and entertaining moments. Nevertheless, it was still Twilight. The cheesiness would always be there to stop it from being more than just a guilty pleasure watch. 

At long last the fated baseball scene ran its course, and the pair shot each other a knowing look as their deadline had finally arrived. 

“Well,” Elora began, “Shall we head back to my place for a little night cap? Maybe we can do something less embarrassing than reading my old fics.”

—

Mackenzie had squealed with delight, throwing Elora a glance of genuine enjoyment every now and then, sometimes just stopping to catch the redhead in a moment of intrigue. God, she’s beautiful. The way the light from the screen accented the silhouette of her face and more had easily made Mackenzie ready to leave, and when the time had finally come, and Elora spoke, the zombie was in full agreement with the idea, “Babe, I might take inspiration from your old fics.”

Leaning over to give Elora her phone back, Mackenzie snuck in a quick kiss, before starting the engine of her Mini Cooper. Giving Edward and his ragtag team of vampires one last look, she peeled out of the parking lot with her girlfriend ready to go home and make a little magic of their own and the fifty things of glitter Mackenzie kept stashed in her bathroom for special occasions.

[lanaactuallyabanana]

Okay- Okay- Okay! Soooo, hear me out on this one!

Headcannons or a oneshot of...

Reader, gn or fem, I don't mind which, is the older sibling of Ranboo. So obviously, being the cool asf and totally straight sibling that reader is, they randomly show up at Ranboo's apartment one day with a ton of baked goods cause they run a little Bakery back in California. Ranboo doesn't know this, and they're playing a horror game so any noises of doors opening or closing just seem like apart of the game they are playing. So reader naturally scares Ranboo by sneaking up behind him. So that leads to two things. One, reader getting whacked in the face due to Ranboo's reflexes. Two, that leads to a ton of questions from chat on who the heck Reader is.

Take your time on this one! Make sure to eat, drink, and take all the time you need on this!!

-Mackenzieeeee :))))))

omg kenzie. all hail kenzie for their amazing asks wtf ur filling my inbox with beauty and i cannot repay for it ily so fucking much holy shit ur so cool @catswithroses (also is this header cutesies or what oml) also lana is back in her writing actual fics and not just headcanons everyone yippee!!!!! AND BEFORE A BITCH SAYS SOMETHING, MACARON IS PRONOUCED MACK-UH-RON. NOT MACK-UH-ROON. WRONG FUCKING DESERT.

ranboo x fem!reader (platonic, sibling dymanic)

, smelling something sweet !!

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

Ran and Y/n have always had a dynamic as siblings. See, when you typically hear about siblings in a novella such as this, you most likely think of young kids fighting and arguing with one another over the most silliest of things. But, to your dismay, these two never had such a duo like that. They were simple but yet so unique as siblings. And that's what made them special.

Y/n was constantly in touch with Ran, she felt a need as an older sister to check up on them, as would any sister do. Ran had previously lived in another part of the world, England, for a little while, but had moved back to California not so long ago. They lived in a smaller apartment (a shit one, according to Ranboo themselves), and Y/n quite liked to visit them every once in a while. It was an easy thing for Y/n to do, as she owned a bakery around 30 minutes away from his place. Y/n had closed early for the day, deciding to visit and deliver her most popular and desired treat (one that Ran couldn't resist), elderflower and rose macarons. She packed her deserts in a purple tupperware container, and placed them in the passenger seat of her car.

Soon enough, she arrived at his place. She entered through the door using the spare key he had given her, and looked around his place. It was surprisingly clean, he must have had a friend come over and help him clean. As she was admiring his polaroid's on the kitchen wall, she heard her brother yell. Her eyes widened in confused, and checked her phone.

RanbooLive is now streaming! "WOOO HORROR GAME LETS GO"

She laughed at herself. No wonder why he was yelling. She opened up the stream and saw his setup, facecam was on and he was playing some horror game that she didn't recognize. She noticed on his facecam that she would have a perfect entry for them not to hear her, considering he also had headphones on. Y/n smirked deviously. She placed her phone in her pocket, and held the baked goods in her arms tightly. She slowly creeped towards the office door.

See, reader, Ranboo was in their own state. They were unable to truly focus around anything around them (which is most likely a hazard) due to how realistic the game seemed. Footsteps, wood creaking, whispers, and rumbles were just all part of the game.

Now that you know that, Y/n quietly snuck behind Ranboo, seeing herself in the facecam. She paused for a second, looking at the chat.

mcytfan765_ : erm

ilovedinosaurs474: who is that??

biolevded: ranboo has stalked confirmed

Y/n giggled to herself at the chats. She waved and smiled quietly at the camera. Ranboo, somehow, is still entirely clueless and very focused to one singular monitor that has the game on it.

Ranboo turns his head to the side in confusion slowly, but still remains focused to the game. "Guys, I swear this game has a placebo or whatever you call it cause I'm smelling something sweet right now."

Y/n took that as her cue, and screamed.

Ran's eye's widened and they fell off their chair entirely.

Let's just say we got a clip-worthy moment between the two siblings.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

hehehe i love this fic its so silly!! its also short n' sweet but i love it!!

tysm to @catswithroses for the wonderful request, both jackie and kenzie feeding me with these asks yum yum

if you liked this, please support me by liking, reblogging, commenting and following me!!

requests are open!

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Decided to watch the Emmerdale episode...

Imagine how much more impactful all of this would be if these teens were actually developed as real characters. Now yes, Cathy has been more. We've seen her bully April and have crushes on older boys and have her messy pmdd story. So she has a sort of character. Not a very likable one but sure. But Heath and Angelica? These kids are less than nothing other than that Heath played the guitar and was Cathy's twin. Angelica is even worse.

Heath was in 29 episodes this year. Mostly showing up as a background character in Cathy's story or I guess being there in the lead up to this. In past years his stats are 2019 - 8 episodes, 2020 - 3 episodes, 2021 - 21 episodes, 2022 - 8 episodes. That's just not enough to build a character in any way.

Angelica was in 15 episodes in 2023. Her stats for past years, 2019 - 24 episodes, 2020 - 4 episodes, 2021 - 6 episodes, 2022 - 6 episodes. Again, not enough to even slightly build her character.

If they want us to care about these teen characters, they have to try harder and give them actual screen time now and then. And sure, they could use this story to finally develop Angelica's character and build on Cathy's character more. But I sort of feel like this is going to end up being an exit story for Cathy. I guess she could be more serious about acting than her brother and want to stay but I just kind of see them as a set so I feel like she might just end up in prison for reckless driving and manslaughter or something.

Speaking of which, if I was actually watching regularly, I would be dreading listening to all of these people dealing with Heath's death, especially since they never made even an ounce of effort to make me care about Heath or his relationships with any of these people.

Also, I'm sure Angelica will barely feature yet again.

Prove me wrong Emmerdale!

As for the rest of the episode....

Aaron and Mack stealing cars is already boring.

The party scenes were pretty manic, but I guess that was to contrast the tragedy. Still, it was kind of nice to see bigger gatherings of characters with extras. In a post covid soap world, that's still a rarity.

I wish Belle and Tom were just going to get to be happy and they weren't doing this engagement just to make the inevitable domestic abuse story more tragic.

I still fail to understand why they did any of this with Amit. Unless there's more to his involvement in Rishi's death, what is even the point of any of this??

Always having to drag Ryan into the pub so four people can wish him happy birthday always just feels so pathetic. I once again really wish they had never made him a secret Dingle.

This Tracy/Caleb affair continues to be the worst because they absolutely refuse to give me a reason why these people actually might want each other. Or even what Tracy and Nate's supposed "blip" could even be about.

Slightly intrigued by the idea of Mary and Suzy. At least that's a relationship that we've actually seen develop. And I'd rather that than her getting back with Vanessa when she returns.

I don't know that I particularly care about Baby Ivy other than that I wish they'd just call her Ivy instead of "little Ivy" all the time. It's annoying. Also, eventually Rhona and Marlon are just going to end up raising her anyway so let's get on with it.

Overall, not a terrible episode but could have been soooo much better if these producers didn't suck.

[w1steriawr1tings]

|| Commission ||

For: @caffeinatedreese

ISWM! Mack x Oc

Words: 10000

The old house, with its wildly overgrown garden, was silent, secretive.

Rhys scowled as they were driven up to it, rubbing their arms in an anxious manner. It was so… not them. They didn’t even know this distant Great Aunt Amelia! Why on earth had she left it to them of all people?! It could’ve been to her wife Tiana or their adoptive kids, but nope, it went to them, the ladies grand nibling whom she’d never even met before.

Riley glanced over at them and sighed with a chuckle at their pouting. He kissed them on the cheek and ruffled their hair.

“Come on, it’ll be fine! You said to yourself you wanted to get out of mine and Al’s basement, and this is it!”

“I wish it was less creepy though…” Sighed Rhys, with a huff as they swung their legs to the side to get out of the truck and help their older brother unload everything out of the truck.

Standing waiting outside the home was Tiana, the old lady giving the pair a kind wave as they got out of the car.

Riley gently nudged his sibling to greet her, as well as get the keys she seemed to hold.

“Hi. Aunt Tiana.” Waved Rhys, shyly as they walked up the creaky steps to see the lady.

“Hello dear, I have the keys for you.” Smiled Tiana, placing the keys into their hands.

Rhys tensed up a little as her hands seemed to close around theirs, a gust of wind going by as she did so. They blinked out of pure instinct and she was suddenly gone.

“What the-“

“Rhys! You got the keys from the porch!?” Shouted Riley, from his truck.

Rhys spun around to see him obviously standing waiting for them, raising an eyebrow.

They gulped.

“Uh yeah! Coming!” They nodded frantically descending back down the steps, which no longer creaked as they did so. Almost like something had oiled up the nails as they’d been standing talking- No uh- Hallucinating they assumed?

They let it fade to the back of their mind as Riley worked on lifting boxes out of his truck.

Rhys didn’t want to make him do all the work, so they scurried over and got to helping. Then carrying out a box of cleaning supplies Al had gifted them from the front seat.

Riley helped move all the boxes into the lobby and looked at Rhys with a fond smile.

“Good luck with this little sib. You sure you don’t want me to stick around and help?” He asked, nervously.

“Yeah.” Assured Rhys. “You ain’t too far away and I know Georgie and Jackie have school tomorrow, so it’s best you get back.”

Riley nodded at this and pulled them into a hug.

“You better call me when you start making this place look all nice and such!” He teased gently.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it so quirky.” Retorted Rhys, playfully, reciprocating the hug. The pair chuckled gently and separated.

“The furniture company will be here at 10am sharp, okay! So don’t stay up too late!” Reminded Riley, walking towards the door.

“I know!” Mused Rhys. “I’ll set an alarm! Don’t wanna wake up to movers in my pyjamas.”

Riley snickered at this.

“Night Rhys.”

“Night Night Riley.”

“I love you!”

“I love you too!!”

Rhys scurried over to the front window to watch Riley drive away in his truck, waiting until he was out of sight to turn back to their boxes and carefully get to work on moving them to the respective rooms.

2 Boxes for the kitchen.

3 Boxes for the living room.

1 Box for the dining room.

4 Boxes for the office.

5 Boxes for the bedroom.

1 Box for the bathroom.

There weren't a lot of items inside said boxes but it was all Rhys had until the furniture arrived tomorrow, so it was enough.

They took the boxes to their bedroom and unpacked a sleeping bag, a set of pyjamas, clean clothes for tomorrow, their phone charger and a sketchbook with some pencils. Al had sent them off with a large dinner, so they were too full to have to worry about eating tonight which was a nice thought.

“Can’t believe I’ll have to wake up tomorrow without coffee.” They groaned to themselves quietly as they laid out the sleeping bag on the floor.

The silence of the house was a little creepy, especially with the occasional creaking that occurred but Rhys’ found their emotions for the day caught up with them and they were soon passed out asleep.

Then to rudely be awakened at 7am by loud creaking.

“What the fuck..?” They muttered to themselves sitting up and running a hand through their hair. The creaking had sounded so close, so they instinctively looked around their room. The door was slightly agape, which they honestly expected with the old house. The fresh cup of coffee on the floor next to them however, was a surprise.

They scrambled up and looked at the cup intensely, picking it up. It was a mug Riley had bought them a while back for their 19th birthday and they’d treasured the cat littered mug ever since. For whatever reason though it was now out of the box they'd packed it in and up here. It didn’t feel smart but they sniffed at the drink.

“Yup. Definitely my coffee too.” They frowned, reluctantly taking a sip. They needed to wake up a little more if they wanted to investigate this, okay?!

Rhys got up and chucked on the jacket they’d planned to wear that day, carefully holding the mug as they went down the carpeted halls and stairs to the kitchen.

All the boxes were opened. All their mugs sat in rows on the floor, like someone had been judging the best one to use. Their coffee machine was sitting on the floor, plugged into the wall with freshly used pods lying next to the new boxes of coffee pods they’d bought in celebration of their new place.

“What the hell…” Mumbled Rhys, walking over to inspect the scene.

They spotted something twinkling inside one of the cups and found an old bracelet made of bronze flowers and old but strong string.

“This house is so weird…” They whispered, taking the bracelet and putting it on, shaking it as it twinkled against their wrist. They considered packing up and telling Riley they changed their mind about the house. They could sell it for a lot of money and look into renting an apartment instead!

“But landlords are often so bitchy nowadays…” They grimaced.

Guess they were staying.

They got to unpacking the food for that morning from their boxes in the kitchen, snacking on a variety of long lasting foods as they just kind of looked at the stray coffee items on their floor, now sitting on their counter.

Once they finished doing so, they gently got to placing all the items in the cupboards now that they might as well. It was around 8:52am when they finished doing so, now heading back upstairs to finish getting dressed.

Luckily, nothing had touched their things since they’d been downstairs.

“Hey uh, creatures that live here?” They spoke loudly, attempting to sound confident. “I assume- Just uh assume- That if you plan to hurt me you kind would’ve already- But like if that may be a future plan? I’d prefer if that didn’t happen- So just keep doing what you're doing- Just like don’t hurt me I guess..?”

Expectedly, they got no answer in reply.

The Caretaker rolled his eyes at the array of tiny friends he had as the group sat under the stairs together.

“I hate small spaces.” Pouted Cei, a fairy who specialised in book based magic.

“That’s too bad, tiny.” Mused Gunther, a fairy who specialised in earth magic.

“Gunther, we agreed no more bullying Cei because of their size.” Reminded Ashe, a fairy who specialised in mechanical magic.

“Yup.” Nodded Burt in agreement, a fairy who specialised in music based magic.

“I’ll shut you in the freezer again, that’s a promise babe.” Giggled Celci, a fairy who worked with both frozen and water magic.

“And I won’t go warming you up this time.” Said Mark, a fairy who specialised in fire magic. “Can't have you being mean to my partner Mr!”

Cei wiggled smugly at this with a glare in Gunther’s direction.

“Can’t believe you’d all let my wings freeze off cause I teased Cei.” Scoffed Gunther, playfully.

“Can all quiet down please? The ringing of your bickering hurts my ears.” Groaned The Caretaker, rubbing at his pointy ears with a sigh. “This just keeps getting worse and worse..”

“How so?” Grinned Gunther, fluttering up to stand on his shoulder. “If I was your height and a cutie moved into my home, which I am the caretaker of, I’d be pretty happy.”

“I’ll let Peter know you said that.” Scoffed The Caretaker, leaning back against the wall. “I’d much rather be left alone.”

“Awww.” Pouted Cei, who was currently sitting on the beings knee, wings wilting slightly at his words.

The Caretaker sighed and gently stroked under their chin, which got a giggle and twinkle from the fairy.

“You're the most tolerable, don’t worry.”

“Didn’t realise C.T played favourites.” Pouted Mark, jokingly.

“You and both know I do-“

Rhys held the door open for the varying movers that came in through the door, bringing in various furniture for their new home that they’d ordered with Al, Georgie and Jackie a few weeks back. The movers went by Sage, Sam, Danny and Ethan, who were more than happy to have Rhys direct them to which room with the correct furniture and put it in the right spots. Rhys watched longingly as the creepy place they inherited slowly began to resemble a home they’d always dreamed of. It was still a slow process though.

They thanked the movers and tipped them respectively, then walked into their office to begin unpacking their writing and art material so that they could get back to working on their newest book. It was looking to be a children’s book but they still had no idea who the protagonist could be or what the main story and plot of it could be. They wanted it to be a moral book but they had no idea what to do, so they reluctantly shut the files with a sigh and turned over to start working on their online art commissions.

They had three pieces that they were currently walking on and decided to choose the animal piece for that day. The buyer wanted an image of all their friends as different dogs and cats but still in the clothes they’d provided Rhys with as references which they found frankly adorable and manageable enough to charge at a discount for the fact this order was going to be a gift for the buyer's friend. They got up to have a break, being unable to work on the head shape of a dog which was starting to frustrate them.

The Caretaker gently peaked into the now fully furnished office, spotting a large glowy device that had been left on the centre of the desk. He hadn’t been able to leave this place before so he had no idea what this could be and he doubted the fairy crew did either, because with their small size they too liked to stay on the house grounds.

He tentatively walked over to it and looked down to see what looked to be art of human dressed animals. Cats and dogs to be exact.

“That’s not right.” He frowned, looking at one of the dogs. He traced his finger along the line. “Wrong shape.”

He traced his finger along it again in the right direction, a line appearing along with it.

“Fixed.” He nodded happily to himself, disappearing back into the house to nap now that the fairy crew had left him be.

Rhys stood in the kitchen, stirring a cup of hot chocolate, hoping to work through this funk they found themselves in with their art.

They’d moved over to the side to grab some marshmallows but jumped as a splash sounded out.

They glanced over to their mug and found it had spilled. Rhys carefully walked over and peered inside, finding a shivering pouting fairy with brown hair and purple wings, sniffling inside with twinkling noises.

They cooed at the sight gently and scooped them up.

“Oh dear.. Don’t worry, it’s okay. I’m not upset, let’s dry you off.” They spoke gently to the creature, walking to the bathroom for a flannel as they cradled the being in their hands. They got a noise of a bell ringing in reply.

Rhys opened up the bathroom door and gently placed the fairy on the sink as they grabbed one of the new fluffy flannels they’d bought. They were expensive but may as well used one to help out the fairy.

They placed it down on the counter.

“Here you go, dry yourself off.”

They watched amused as the fairy just rolled around on the flannel with little bell-like noises in exclamation of its happiness.

“How about you keep this, Hm?” They offered.

The being looked up at them with wide eyes and a cock of their head.

“It’ll be useful for you and friends.” Hummed Rhys. “I assume you have friends, because I don’t think little old you could do what you did to my kitchen, Hm?”

The fairy seemed to giggle sheepishly at this, rubbing their feet together which made Rhys chuckle again.

“Okay, how about I leave it out for you and you can use it whenever you want, sound like a deal?”

The fairy nodded at this with a little happy jump. They fluttered up to Rhys’ face and hugged their cheek in thanks before going back to their normal routine.

“I’ll see you around lil Violet!” Called Rhys, choosing the nickname for the colour of the fairies wings.

They decided to grab a little basket for fruit they’d bought and leave the flannel in it like a bed.

They then went back to their office to continue work and found the lines they’d been working on and struggling with already completed, they grinned fondly at the idea of the fairies doing this for them. They didn’t live in a haunted house it seemed, more like a fairytale one.

They continued work on the piece and eventually finished it in time to work on dinner, sending it off to their client whilst they ate to see if they liked it and got the rest of their payment. The piece was a definite success and in the transmission Rhys found they’d been tipped. How sweet!

Not long after that they headed to bed, happy to now have a proper bed to sleep in. They’d work on the rest of the boxes tomorrow.

It was a good day.

The next morning Rhys walked into the kitchen to the sound of gently twinkling in the tune of snoring, finding what looked to be a flock of tiny fairies lounging in the makeshift bed they’d left out for lil Violet. They grinned at this quietly, spotting said fairy in the dogpile between a green haired fairy and a black haired fairy.

They then got to making their breakfast and coffee for the day, then deciding to work on sorting out the rest of the house.

The dining room was easy, just sorting through the small array of cutlery they had as well as memorabilia they had to put up on the shelves. They stool they had didn’t even seem to shake as they stood on it like it usually did, but anytime they checked to see if someone was holding it, like one of the fairies, no one was in sight. They did feel the breeze on one occasion though, so they knew something was helping them. They just didn’t know what.

Rhys then got to work on the living room. Laying out pillows and blankets they had in the correct spaces on the couch. They remember one minute a cushion in a box they had had a hole in the corner but the next they found it on the couch repaired with bronze thread. It was kinda cute!

Sorting out the bathroom was rather boring, so they worked through it quickly. Putting the correct soaps and washes on the shelves, as well as folding up their towels and hanging the purple fluffy dressing gown on the back of the door.

They then plucked up the courage to look at the garden.

They did however not expect to find a mythical looking man sitting in the flower bed of macks.

“Uh… Hi?” They spoke, watching him.

“I see you’ve found me.” He replied.

“…Who are you?”

“I’m The Caretaker.”

“What’s your name?”

“I just said it-“

“So- Your name is The Caretaker?”

“Uh huh.”

“And it’s also your job?”

“Yes.”

“Right-“

Rhys just looked at him for a second, shuffling on their feet.

“What do you take care of?”

“I am The Caretaker, guardian of the house.”

“I see- And uh your friends?”

“Fairies who master one small aspect of the house.”

“Okay- Well- I’m going to look at the garden-“

“Would you like me to join you?”

“You want to?”

“Mhm, I love the garden very much. It’s the only taste of the outside world I get.”

“You can’t leave this place?”

“No, I only live to protect and care for this house.”

“That must be lonely.”

“It is, but I am used to being alone.”

“Well… If you want too, I would love to be your friend- That way we can be less lonely together!”

The Caretaker seemed to pause and think about this for a few moments.

“Alright.”

“Yes!” Grinned Rhys, with a happy clap as the pair continued walking.

The Caretaker began to point out different plants to them and their names.

“Which one is your favourite?” They asked him eventually, the pair sat on the porch together now as it gently began to rain.

The Caretaker paused and looked across the garden, eventually settling on the macks and pointing to them.

“I’ll call you Mack then, it’s a little iffy to have you be a caretaker and also be called caretaker.” Offered Rhys, with a shy smile.

“Okay.”

“ASSHOLEEEE!” Called Mark, pouting as the fairy crew stood hiding from the rain on a nearby tree.

“Looks like none of us won that bet.” Mused Ashe.

“Yup.” Agreed Burt.

“Knew he’d come to like that human cutie.” Chuckled Gunther.

“Stop calling them cutie-“ Pouted Celci.

“Hey, your cuter sweetheart~”

“Stop flirting in public Ew-“ Said Cei.

“Hey guys?” Spoke up Burt.

“Yes dear?” Nodded Celci.

“It’s raining.”

“Mhm.”

“And our wings don’t like water-“

“Shit-“ Muttered Mark.

“Ha-“ Began Celci, playfully.

Rhys sat back down on the couch, looking at the caretaker curiously. He stood by the window, looking at the rain.

“What things do you like?” They asked, curiously to the being.

“Flowers: all kinds of them, Reading: Mystery and Detective Novels, Baking: anything sweet, Decorating: just anything I can get my hands on, Space: specifically the stars and my favourite colour is blue.” He replied, still watching out the window.

Rhys nodded at this with a hum, making note of all this. Mack had explained earlier he often found himself very bored, having read all the books that had been left behind in this place.

It was getting late so Rhys planned to head out tomorrow and buy the guy something to keep him entertained. Maybe also getting some items for the fairies too. Not that they knew where they were-

“Hey?”

“Mhm?”

“Where are the fairies?”

“Outside.”

“…Don’t they dislike the rain?”

“Mhm.”

“Do they need h e l p??”

“Most likely, but I like the quiet with them outside.”

Not long after that Rhys helped the fairy crew inside with no casualties and went inside to start dinner for themselves. Then it was an early bedtime so they could get up early the next day and catch the bus to town.

That next day Rhys did hurriedly get their belongings for the day and make it out the house unspotted by any of their fantasy roommates they now found themselves with. They walked down to the bus stop and caught the 10am bus into town, making sure to arrive just as the shops were all beginning to open up for the day. First stop was the bakery.

“Excuse me, Marie, got a minute?” Smiled Rhys, walking into the shop with a chime of the bell. The eldest daughter, Marie, was out front of the bakery, stocking some cookies as Rhys walked in.

“Of course Rhys! What’s up?” Smiled the girl.

“Well, I have this friend who loves baking but he can’t ever really have time to get ingredients for it and he’s getting bored of his recipes that he has.” They explained.

“I see! Well, that sounds like a order for Mama, she’s in the back.” Replied Marie, gesturing to the back of the shop.

Rhys nodded at this and walked back their.

“Mama Elena?” They called, looking around.

“Up here dear!” Called a familiar voice, stood half way up a ladder as she sorted through ingredients for the day.

Rhys’ eyes widened at this and they run forward to hold the ladder as the older lady shuffled around on it to sort out ingredients.

“What is it you need dear? I assume Marie sent you back here?” Hummed Elena.

Rhys relayed the same information to Mama Garcia as they’d done with Marie, the lady nodding along as they spoke.

“Well, I’ll send you home with some of my recipes and a mass ingredients bundle with your friend, how does that sound?” She offered with a nod, looking down at Rhys as they held the ladder.

“That sounds wonderful Elena, thank you.” Grinned Rhys, earnestly. “Though- I don’t know how I’ll carry it.”

“I’ll send Gale with you, that boy may be fast but he does not like to help out here, dios mio!”

Rhys snickered at this but nodded.

“Okay, thank you.”

“Gale! Come here and assist me with Rhys Williams!” Shouted Elena.

“COMING MAMA!” Came the voice of Bolt also known as Gale to his mother.

He jumped downstairs and Mama Garcia relayed the information from Rhys to him. He nodded along, happy to help Rhys as well.

“Sounds good Mama!” He grinned, bouncing on his feet.

“Just make sure you're back before dinner, you know your sister hasn’t been feeling well and I’ll need your help.” Reminded Elena.

“Of course Mama.” Assured Bolt.

Rhys watched curiously as the Garcia’s wandered around the back storage, getting the ingredients ready for them. It was an interesting process because the clink of the scales and different ingredients played nicely on Rhys’ brain with each movement. Especially the clips as each item was bagged up securely and placed into a basket that Bolt continued to test he could hold as he picked it up in between each item. Elena reminded him to take breaks if he needed and to be a help instead of a hindrance towards Rhys. He nodded at this vigorously, taking all her words onboard. Or Rhys hoped he did. The trio then went back to the front where Rhys waved to Marie again who waved in return as she snacked on a cupcake.

“She’s having cravings for sweets.” Whispered Bolt to Rhys with a shrug.

Mama Garcia grabbed her recipe book and a notepad, flicking through the pages carefully and noting down recipes as she went. Rhys watched as she noted down ten different varying recipes for Mack to try out. She gently put them in a ziplock bag for safe keeping and handed them over to Rhys.

“Remember, recipes are for family only, so they stay with you only.” She smiled gently with a wink at Rhys. “Your friend can use them anytime though.”

“Yes Mama Elena.” Nodded Rhys, softly. Then looking over to Marie.

“I think Al will probably be over with the twins again, so look out for that. Thank you guys so much!”

Elena clapped happily at this and after Rhys paid they continued on with their mission, now joined by Bolt.

Next they went over to the local library. They had Bolt sit outside on a bench with the basket so he could rest. Rhys then went inside and walked up to the front desk.

“Excuse me?” They whispered to the lady at the front desk.

“How can I help you Rhys?” Smiled Steph, looking up from a book on biology she’d been looking at.

“Can I set up an account on behalf of my friend?” They asked.

“Of course, what’s your friends name?”

“Mack.”

“Age?”

“…same age as me.”

“So 24, yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“Gotcha, will he be using this card?”

“I’ll be using it on his behalf, he doesn’t like getting out much but he loves reading. So, I figured i should sort him out a library card so I can get him new books when he finishes reading the old ones.”

“I see, smart!”

Rhys nodded at this.

“Since this is a new card you can take out five books today, would you like to do that?”

“I would.”

“Great, choose out the books and return here! I’ll sign them out.” Instructed Steph.

Rhys nodded at this and hurried off into the rows of bookshelves, looking out for some specific themes that Mack had mentioned liking. It took a few moments but they eventually found the mystery section and picked out five books that weren't in the array Mack had read. They’d pestered him greatly with curious questions over dinner, trying to figure out what it was he had read already. They found that Mack wasn’t really a suspicious man, so he didn’t question the pestering for anything more than genuine curiosity. Rhys kept on looking though, taking out a notebook they had in their side bag to take note of other books he may enjoy to take out of the library in the future. There was a large collection of all kinds of books, ones that could definitely get Mack to read because of the mystery but then ease him into other genres of books. They were wanting to get an array but decided to go on the safe side and pick out books that met Mack’s current specifications. They could ask in the future if he wanted to get into other books! And if not that's fine- Rhys could always read them themselves.

They eventually returned to Steph with a selection of five books to take out in Mack’s name.

“What a wonderful and intriguing selection! Your friend sure does have taste.” Beamed Steph, beginning to scan the books out.

“Yeah, I really hope he likes them because they meet his specifications.” Nodded Rhys, shyly as they wrung their hands together.

Steph nodded at this assuringly with a wink in Rhys’ direction to help boost their confidence.

“He’ll love them, I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks Steph.”

“No problem, happy to help.”

“Just remember either yourself or your friend have got to get this back at the end of the month, okay?”

“You got it Steph, I’ll let him know to read them all before then.”

“If he hasn’t then he can always bring them back for an extension, just means he’ll have one less different book to take out when he does.”

“Got it- Actually- Can you write all this down-“

Steph giggled at this and nodded.

“Sure, one moment.”

She rang a bell on her desk and out from the back of the library walked Katherine.

“You called?” She smiled.

“Yeah, can you write something out for me?”

“Course!”

Rhys handed Katherine the notepad and pen, grateful for the help. They weren’t sure if they could keep up with Steph’s fast talking and writing simultaneously. Luckily their friends were aware of such and made choices to help them out with these kinds of situations when they could. It was easier on Rhys’ brain that way which meant more fun for everyone involved.

“Hello Mack,

This is Steph from the Smalkton Library. These are the five books that Rhys picked out for you. Rebecca. Girl On The Train. In Cold Blood. Sharp Objects. The Alienist. You are free to use these books for reading for the month but you must return them at the end of the month or risk being fined! Don’t worry, if you haven’t finished reading a book you can extend the time for another month and keep on reading! I know how important finding the end of the story is, trust me!!! I hope you enjoy this books.” Spoke aloud Steph as Katherine wrote it all down.

Rhys beamed at this thankfully and put the books in their bag along with the note too.

“Thank you both so much, you're always wonderful!”

“We try!”

“Thanks Rhys!”

“Byeeee!!!”

“See you again soon!”

Rhys smiled to themselves softly as they cradled the bag to their chest, holding the books to their chest as a warm flurry feeling began to form in their heart at Mack's probable excitement from all the items they were going to get him. When had they ever dedicated so much time and money and effort to a guy?! Though… Mack was special. They could feel it. He may be cold and quiet and stubborn but Rhys knew it was because he was lonely and misunderstood. They’d been like it themselves once. That’s why they were determined to help him and be his friend. They quietly paused with a flush as they put a hand on the spinny door, leading to where Bolt was sitting waiting for them on a bench outside in the cold morning sun. Maybe even more than a friend? The thought made them giggle to themselves a little, giddy at the thought but they didn’t deny it. They made sure to clear up the flush on their face as they returned to Bolt, saving that though for another time.

“Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack, Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Mack. Macky Moo. Mack a llama ding dong?”

“What the fuck is up Mark?” Scowled Mack, rolling his eyes and glaring at the stubborn fairy sat up on the shelf.

“Why’d you let the human give you a name?! We’ve been offering good ones for years!” He huffed.

“None of yours are good.”

“Aw- What do you have against Stanky?”

“Everything. I have everything against Stanky.”

Mark snickered at this.

“Okay Mackey.”

Cei fluttered over and sat on Mack’s shoulder, nuzzling into his shirt.

“Just ignore him.”

“I’m trying to.”

“He’ll get bored eventually.”

“It won’t come soon enough.”

“Just chill. You and I both know his attention span is awful.”

Mack snickered at this gently.

“Anyways, so Rhys?”

“What about them?”

“You like them.”

“They’re nice.”

“Cool.”

“And handsome.”

“Mhm.”

“I also didn’t know humans did third party genders just yet, but I am glad to see them indulging in the Nonbinary gender like yourself.”

“It is very cool! Isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

“Your attracted to Nonbinary people, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Just checking.”

“No.”

“What?”

“You want me to ask them out.”

“Hehehe-“

“Cei- I haven’t even known them that long! So what if their nice and kind and handsome and smart and listen to me and talk to me and indulge in what I have to say and make me feel less lonely and have cool ideas and even cooler skills and great ideas for stories on their notes and even cooler stories that they’ve published and a family that they care about and loads of friends that are just like us who’d be super cool to meet and likes to spend time with us and leave nice things out for us- and Jesus Christ stop me from talking I think I like them-“

Cei giggled at this with a wiggle.

“I guessed so.”

Mack groaned at this.

“Hhhhhh-“

“It’ll be fine! I’m sure they’ll understand our time spans are a little different to ours and I’m sure they’ll like you too even if you have to wait a little time for their crush to set in!”

“Mmmmm.”

“Besides, if they reject you they can’t exactly make you leave.”

“This is true-“

“They’re also too nice to make you feel bad for having a crush on them!”

“This is also true information.”

“See?!”

“It’ll be fine!”

“Uh huh.”

“Listen, I won’t even tell the others that’s how fine it’ll be. That way you don’t have to worry about all the teasing.”

“Thanks Cei.”

“No problem!”

“Do you want to go out to the garden?”

“Mhm! I’ve sorted out all my work for today.”

“Great.”

“Yeah! I’m getting better at it.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Sure! So, you see I’ve been using my magic to help repair all the papers and books and now I’m using words to help repair small repairs on other things like how you do with your bronze magic. You make things and repair things and leave a little tint of bronze in everything you do! That’s what I’m working on doing.”

“I see. That’s very clever.”

“Thanks!”

“Glad to see you making progress. Maybe you’ll have your own place to take care of one day.”

“Oh I don’t know about that-“

“It’ll happen, I know it.”

“I don’t wanna leave Ashe and Mark-“

“Just get a big enough home and you can take them with you.”

“I guess so-“

“Then I’ll get to hear about all the caretaker kids you have-“

“Mack!”

He chucked at this.

“I swear you’re like an annoying older brother sometimes!”

“That’s because you’d like my tolerable little sibling.”

“Uh huh.”

Mack snickered again.

“You just think your sooo funny!”

“It’s true I am.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“You’re insufferable.”

“No, I’m Mack.”

“Stop.”

“Never.”

“Let’s just go to the garden already!”

Mack followed amused as Cei fluttered along to the garden happily with a huff and twinkle as they did so. He snickered again and followed after them, the pair spending a content hour looking through at the health of the garden's flowers. Cei would look down in the crevices for them and Mack would heal them once Cei pointed them out. As he’d told Rhys he loved gardening. It was so cool! The only reason he’d wanted to leave this place was so he could see more flowers and plants and learn about how to care for them with his magic. It’d be a cool experience in his honest option, but alas the magic of his world left him tied to this lonesome wonderful house. At least he had someone new to talk with now. As he’d said to see Rhys was great and everything new he’d wanted to see from the outside world in one person, he didn’t care if Rhys didn’t reciprocate him romantically. If they didn’t, that was all well and dandy with him as long as they stuck around and continued to be friends with him and listened to his thoughts in the honest and intriguing way that they did. If they turned out to be a meanie? Mack may as well just let himself fade away. The prospect of losing a friendship with such an individual was too much for his heart to handle, so fading was probably the best option should it happen. He really hoped it would happen. He had a hunch it wouldn’t but you never know.

Next Rhys went with Bolt over to the craft shop, stepping inside with a content nod to the man who went back to waiting outside again. They walked through the varying isles of items and selected themed craft item after themed craft item. They figured whilst they couldn’t really let Mack go free reign on decorating the house, he could enjoy decorating some trinkets which Rhys could then put up. They spent a long while sorting through all the items, enjoying the air conditioning and the quiet atmosphere and vibes of the shop. They settled on about $50 pounds worth of colouring books, pencils, crayons, paint, stickers, tape, paper and many other different craft items that they could remember enjoying when they were younger. It was all things Mack probably wouldn’t have seen before so they knew once he warmed up to them he’d enjoy them immensely. They made their way up to the till and waved to the new lad who sat at the till. His name was Satoru.

“Good Morning Rhys.” He nodded gently with a nervous smile. He hadn’t been holding the job very long, it was his first one whilst he worked on getting into medical school, so he wanted to do things right!

“Good Morning Satoru. How’s today been for you?” Asked Rhys in return with a smile of their own.

“Oh you know- Quiet like always. It's what I like about the place.”

“Me too!”

“Glad to see we agree on that then.”

“Indeed. What are you getting today?”

“Just some crafts for a friend. He likes being creative to the point he looks like he wants to draw on my walls-“

“Oh dear-“

“-Yeah, so I’m getting him some things to exert that mass of creative energy he seems to feel all the time.”

“That’s smart.”

“I thought so, also means you’ll see a lot more of me, when I need to restock.”

“Coolio! It’ll be great to see more of you Rhys.”

“Mhm, and with my knees I’ll probably have someone come down to help me carry the things.”

“Uh huh?”

Rhys nodded to the window where Bolt was sitting outside waiting for them.

“It’s your lover boy.”

Satoru flushed at this intensely and hid his face in his hands.

“Shushhhh, he’s not my lover boy Rhys!”

“From the way you two talk to one another that doesn’t look like the case Sat-“

“He’s cute okay- But he don’t like like me-“

“Yeah- He love love you-“

“Shushhhhhh!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”

“Thanks-“

“I know how much you wanna tell him yourself-“

“Stop this-“

Rhys giggled to themselves as Satoru flusteredly scanned all their items and put them in a bag for them with little grumbles as he did so.

“Hey Sat, don’t worry, I wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t think you were worrying for nothing. I do think he likes you back and I think you should take the chance to talk to him before either of you set off into the big wide world and forget about one another until it’s too late. You and I both know how much that kid is raring to go all the time, that’s why his Mama’s got him helping little old me out today! So just try and talk to him okay? If not for me then for his poor Mama and sister who need him out of the house and bakery more often. He’d just love to come and sit and fuss over you whilst you work-“

“Okay! Okay! I got it!” Blushed Satoru, holding Rhys’ bag of supplies out to them, extremely pink in the face.

Rhys chuckled at this.

“It’s just a thought.”

Satoru nodded at this quickly, Rhys then paid and went back out to Bolt, adding the items to their bag.

“Hey uh Rhys?” Spoke up Bolt.

“What’s up?” Replied Rhys.

“Can I-“ He asked, pointing to the door of Satoru’s workplace.

Rhys chuckled but nodded.

“Alright, but don’t take too long. I don’t have all day!” They teased gently. Bolt nodded quickly at this, a light flush growing on his face before he quickly walked over and into the building.

Rhys sat down on the bench, going over their mental list and casually scrolling on their phone to see what Al and the twins were up to today. They’d promised the family an invite to their new house when it was all sorted and they were settled after all!

Bolt wrung his hands together and walked over to Satoru’s counter where he was reading a book.

“Hey Sat- Just thought I’d come say hi.” Waved Bolt.

Satoru looked up from his book, an intense flush still on his face.

“Hi Bolt- Thanks. Are you doing okay?”

“Mhm.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah. What about you?”

“I’m good too- Just Y’know earning some light cash!”

“That’s great, I heard you plan to go to medical school, that’s cool!”

“Mhm. I wanna be a doctor!”

“Cool!”

“Yeah.”

The pair were silent for a moment.

“Guess I’ll see you around then! Got to go back to helping Rhys.” Said Bolt.

“Yeah- Okay-“ Nodded Satoru, shyly, thinking.

“See ya Sat-“

“Wait!”

Rhys looked up as Bolt exited the shop, the boy having a flushed but dopey grin on his face.

“That go well then?” They mused with a gentle tease in his direction.

“I got a date!” Exclaimed Bolt. “With the prettiest boy I know!”

“Naw, ain’t that just cute?”

“Totally!”

And the pair continued on. Rhys listened as Bolt talked animatedly to them about all the ideas he had for dates between him and Satoru. Rhys was happy for them both and maybe they could always steal a few ideas for dates from the animated boy- Mack looked like he deserved a date too- It was nice though at least. They opted to just tuck the other ideas to the back of their mind again and just focus on their task at hand. It was always something to think about in the future. First they needed to figure out if Mack liked them back in a romantic sense first and who knows how long that would take!

The last stop from the trip was the flower and gardening shop! Rhys planned to get a bunch of seeds that could grow in their garden that Mack could plant throughout the different seasons and learn about. That way he always had some kind of plant to hyperfixate on no matter what season or time it was. To Rhys it was the perfect plan! They now just needed to ask about seeds-

They walked into the shop, leaving Bolt outside again and went up to the till. They waved to a young person named Kenzy who stood behind the till with his girlfriend Emelie who also waved at Rhys.

“Heya Rhys! How can we help you today?” Beamed Kenzy, leaning forward to rest on the desk to see what Rhys needed.

“I just need a bunch of seeds for plants and flowers of interesting variety that can grow through various seasons.” Explained Rhys, sheepishly, rubbing the back of their head. “Sorry if that’s complicated-“ They missed.

“Nah- Nah- You just keep talking to Kenz, I’ll grab the things!” Assured Emelie with a smile and nod stepping out from behind the desk to the rows of plants and seeds in front of her.

Rhys nodded at this and turned back to Kenzy.

“So, assume this is all for your new garden?” Asked Kenzy.

“Mhm, I have a friend who’s interested in plants and flowers of all sorts who wants to take care of it for me.” Explained Rhys. “So I figured I’d get him the supplies!”

“Got it, don’t worry Emmy will pick out a nice selection for you. Trust me, she’s got an eye for this stuff. Anyways, anything else interesting going on?”

“Not really, you know, just the same old same old. Getting my house sorted out so hopefully I can have the family over sooner rather than later.”

“I gotcha. I imagine the twins are itching to come over and see it all.”

“No kidding, I’ve been getting some very cute videos of pouty babies from Riley over the last few days.”

“Oh dear.”

“Mhm, but they know I need my space, so as pouty as they are they’re willing to wait it out.”

“Sweet, is anything else interesting happening?”

“…I may have met a guy-“

“Ooooo, damn! What’s his name?”

“Mack.”

“What’s he like?”

“Anti social but so cute and smart and just caring. I don’t know if it’s love love but I’m you know crushing!” Explained Rhys, with a giggle at themselves.

“Ah no I get ya, just remember don’t worry about what it is or isn’t, just enjoy it!” Hummed Kenzy, playfully nudging Rhys. “You’ve got this man.”

“Thanks Kenzy, I really hope he likes me as much as I like him.”

“He’d be a fool not to be! You're as sweet as Rhysie.”

“Aw- You're too kind.”

“Just telling the truth.”

“Mmm, whatever you say!”

“I do say actually.”

“Mmmm. You're not the first.”

“I know, that’s why it’s the truth bitch boy.”

“Whatever you say asshat.”

“Are you two playing nice?” Called Emelie, in a playful manner.

“Of course Emmy! Why wouldn’t we be?” Retorted Kenzy, with a hum.

“Don’t want you scaring off my customers Kenny, that’s all.”

“Hey!”

Rhys and Emelie giggled at this. She eventually strolled back out to the front and handed over the seeds to Rhys with a content hum.

“Those look good?”

“They look fabulous, thank you so much Emelie.”

“No problem!”

“Aight, scanning time then?” Asked Kenzy.

“Of course, here you go SirMa’am.” Saluted Rhys, playfully with a playful roll of the eyes from Kenzy as he took the set of seeds and began to scan them onto the till for Rhys’ total.

“Anything else today Rhys?”

Rhys paused.

“Get me a beginners gardening tool pack pretty please!”

“I’m on it!” Grinned Kenzy, jumping the desk to grab one for them.

Emelie caught the scanner and rolled her eyes fondly at her partner's antics.

It took a few minutes but Rhys eventually returned with a set in blue and handed it over for Rhys who then handed it over to Emelie so she could scan it.

“That’s everything.” Confirmed Rhys, who then paid and began to put the items in their bag.

“What an excellent haul you have today, Rhys.” Mused Emelie, gently.

“Indeed, gonna have lots to do at the new house for sure.” Agreed Kenzy.

“It’s gonna be a blast!” Beamed Rhys, who then bid the pair goodbye and headed back out to Bolt who’d just frantically stuffed something pink in the ingredients basket. He gave Rhys an innocent smile.

“What did you do-“

“It’s just an apron- For your friend- It’s a gift-“

“I see-“

Bolt giggled at this mischievously as Rhys set down their bag to take a curious look at the apron. They picked up the item and held it out, looking at a medium sized pink apron with frills on it. They snorted.

“I’m sure it’ll look wonderful on him-“

“Right! That’s what I thought dude!”

“Uh huh-“

“That’s the truth.”

“Sure, definitely not a prank.”

“Uh huh just a present.”

“Mmmmm.”

“It is!”

“You know Bolt, for some reason I don’t really believe that coming from you of all people-“

“Well excuse me for trying to be nice-“

“You are excused.”

“H e y-“

“What’s up?”

“Y o u a r e m e a n.”

“Say who?”

“S a y s m e!”

“Your talking weird-“

“T r y a n d s t o p m e-“

“I’m kind of scared now.”

“As you should be!”

“There we go.”

“Goddamn it-“

“Pffft, knew you’d stop focusing on it eventually.”

“You always spoil the fun in everything Rhysie!”

“Says who?”

“I’m not starting that shit again Rhys it hurt my ducking throat-“

Rhys snorted at this.

“Okay, okay, let’s go already-“

Rhys then decided to head home and gift the items to Mack. They walked into the house with the selection, Bolt putting the items on the counter before heading home himself to get back to his Mama and sister.

“Mack?” Called out Rhys. “I have some things for you!”

It took a few moments but Mack soon appeared and walked into the room.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“Supplies for you, so you aren’t always so bored!” Beamed Rhys.

Mack blinked at this just staring at the items. He gently walked over to them, subconsciously grabbing their hand to comfort himself as he processed the fact he was getting a gift. Rhys gave him an assuring smile in return and squeezed his hand comfortingly, watching as he took in the items. He sorted through the items carefully, laying them out on the side as he went, tugging Rhys along with him as he inspected them all, longingly. He sniffled happily with a content shuffle, shooting Rhys a smile as he looked at it all.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“You didn’t have to do this..”

“I know but I wanted to.”

“Why?”

“Cause you're pretty cool if you ask me.”

Mack flushed at this a little and looked back to the items.

“I see.”

“Figured I could join in on the action too occasionally, get to know your talents and such. If you’ll have me that is.”

“I’d love that!” Replied Mack, flushing at how quickly he responded. “Sorry-“

“Don’t be, it was cute.” Mused Rhys, resting to lean their head on his shoulder.

“Ugh- Sorry- This is just so cool but also really very overwhelming-“ He admitted sheepishly.

“Mmm, well if you want too, we could snuggle?” Offered Rhys, shyly. “That helps me feel less overwhelmed a lot of the time and it may help you too. It’s just an idea and an offer though so don’t like feel forced too if you don’t want to-“

“No no- I’d uh love to do that-“ Beamed Mack, gently, tugging Rhys to stand closer to him which made them flush. The pair wandered over to the living room and flopped down on one of the couches together, Rhys sat in between Mack’s legs with their head on his chest. Both parties were extremely flustered but enjoying the closeness.

“Hey Mack?”

“Yeah Rhys?”

“What do you think of Nonbinary people?”

“They’re very cool.”

“Would you date one?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you date me?”

Silence.

Rhys sat up going to apologise but Mack’s flustered face then continued.

“I would your like super cool and I know this is sudden and such but like I’ve never felt this compulsion to care for someone so much before so quickly and you just bought me so many interesting things which was is honestly kinda attractive because no one’s ever really cared for me before in this way so sorry if this makes things weird or uncomfortable or you don’t want to be my friend anymore but yes I would date you- I’d like to date you- I’d love to date yo-“

Mack was cut off by a giggly Rhys kissing him on the lips. He leaned into the kiss and reciprocated it, resting a hand on their cheek. The kiss went on for a few minutes as the two leaned into the comforting touch of one another, only breaking apart to breathe and then passionately going back to kissing one another again. Mack ran a gentle comforting hand through Rhys’ brown soft hair which he played with in between his fingers as he did so. Rhys knew what this was as soon as it began to happen. This was love and they could feel it in their entire soul. They wanted to stay with him forever and they wanted to be held by him and they wanted to love him in one form or another in every life that they ever got to live with him as long as they existed. It was a sudden overwhelming ocean of emotions for both of them but they cling onto one another with gentle but loving patience and passion and they would survive this together, looking forward to waking up together as a healthy couple the next day. But for now the night was young and as was their love for one another, so they’d lie on this couch together and share soft affections with one another as the fairy crew slept upstairs in their usual dog-pile unaware of the dynamic changes that would come to the house soon. It was one that they all saw coming but not one so soon. Neither Mack or Rhys carried what they thought anyways, this was theirs and they were going to live in it to the best and last of their days, no matter how long that would be. Mack would enjoy the silence and drift his mind away from the potential teasing that would come tomorrow that next morning. Rhys would look forward to the chaos of the next day as they could shout out to the world that they loved someone and he loved them in return in the same way and strength and sweetness and courage that they did when it came to their ideals of love. If this was a dream they never wanted to wake up. He was everything to them now and they planned on making sure he knew that everyday of his long life. Mack didn’t expect this to be how his day turned out to be but he wouldn’t change it for anything else in the world. If you asked him too, he’d honestly do everything he could to knock you dead. You can ask him. I confirmed. He leaned into their touch as they began to fall asleep, cuddling them protectively with his body, ears twitching happily at the feel of them against him as their soothing breaths began to lull him to sleep too. Mack couldn’t wait for this to be his sight that he woke up too tomorrow. He couldn’t wait for this to be his sight that he woke up too for all the future tomorrows. For all the tomorrows.

This truly was love and both reciprocants of it were feeling it.

The next morning Rhys gently got up with a sleepy Mack clinging to their back grumpily as they snickered at him and made breakfast. They dragged him upstairs to the bed which he snuggled into their side as soon as they sat down, drinking their coffee. They’d decided today would be a lazy day with all the chaos the fairy crew would bring.

“GUYS THEY ARE DATING NOW-“

“OH MY GODDDDDD.”

“MACKKKKK.”

“I CALLED IT.”

“YUP-“

“HA SIMP LOOK AT HIM WHAT A S I M P GUYS-“

“You say that as if you aren’t a Simp-“

“Shut up-“

Now, if we skip a few years into the future I could tell you that Rhys and Mack have gotten married at this point, the ceremony being held in the beautiful garden that Mack and Rhys had worked so hard to care for over the years along with the fairy crew. Said fairy crew had all reached their full capacity but had yet to opt into full growth since they wanted to stick around and see Rhys and Mack and Greyson still! Greyson was Mack and Rhys’ newly born son. He’s an utter sweetheart and the perfect picture of them both! Georgie and Jackie are very protective of their cousin! It was very cute. Riley and Al were introduced to the fairy crew and Mack too and Rhys was happy to find the group all got along well. They were very happy at this because now their family was complete and full and so very warm. It was all they’d ever wanted and they’d finally gotten it. Out of the fairy crew, Ashe, Mark and Cei had gotten married! As had Burt, Gunther, Celci and Peter. The groups were two very happy Polycule couples. Rhys enjoyed sewing together tiny wedding outfits for them all for all the main events. They also figured out what to write for their next book. It was about a little girl named Lisa who had something in her house who kept cleaning things up. It was a story that told kids that they may not always know how things happen but to be grateful for them happening anyways! It was looking to be another best seller for them, which they were very happy to hear. It meant they could treat Mack to some takeout which was his current favourite food since Rhys could just order it to the house and they didn’t have to leave. It also meant they could treat Greyson, Georgie and Jackie to some treats like the good Papa and Uncle they were. It was all looking to be a good life for Rhys now, they were glad to have it every single day.

“Rhys?” Spoke up Mack, gently one evening as he walked into their bedroom. He found them standing in front of the mirror, fiddling with their contacts as they took them out.

“What’s up honey?” Cooed Rhys with a grin, leaning into his arms.

“I’ve been thinking about things.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, when I first met you I told you that my job was to take care of this place.”

“Mhm?”

“It’s not anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s to take care of you now. Because I love you.”

Rhys flushed at this with a giggle, sighing contently at his words and leaning into him.

“I love you too darling, honestly your words are so sweet just all the time.”

“Only for you my love.”

“I know and I love that awfully.”

“That’s why I keep saying it.”

Mack scooped them up once Rhys finished with their contacts and carried them over to bed, snuggling into them like he’d done that first time all those years before. Rhys sighed contently at this and ran a hand through his hair. It was another soft but content moment between the pair that had often repeated itself throughout the years as their relationship grew. They both cuddled into one another and fell asleep to the gentle rhythm of one another’s breathing and heartbeats. Once again Mack protectively curled around Rhys as they slept except this time the fairies weren’t asleep. They stood in the rafters of the room watching the couple with fond teasing and quiet bickering as they listened out for the calls of a crying baby, waiting on guard to sooth him if need be and let his lovely parents (and maybe their parents too but don’t let Mack and Rhys know that) continue to sleep because with his hard the both of them worked? After all this time? They definitely deserved it. Rhys hummed happily in their sleep wiggling closer to Mack who pulled them closer to him as they did so, the pair seemingly subconsciously cocooning themselves in the blanket together and clinging onto one another’s pyjamas as they slept. It was a habit they’d both slowly developed as they liked the feeling of one another’s weight on each other. It was a certain level of endearing that Cei found sweet. The others not so much, but they tolerated it. Just like Mack did with them. Because he loved them, even if he didn’t admit it aloud.

The next morning the large crowd of a family would awaken and they’d go about their normal routine, co-existing and just enjoying their time with one another whilst they could. It was just their way of life and none of them would change it for the world.

If this was love it was theirs.

If this was life it was theirs.

If this was passion it was theirs.

If this was rich it was theirs.

If Mack existed Rhys was his and his only.

If Rhys existed Mack was theirs and their only.

Maybe next time they inherited a creepy house, this life would remind them not to be so grumpy about it.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Hate on Your Dial

Episode Recap #59: Hate on Your Dial Original Airdate: November 18, 1989

Starring: Louise Robey as Micki Foster Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura (as Steven Monarque) Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Michael Rhoades as Ray Pierce Vlasta Vrana as Sheriff Robert A. Silverman as Archie Pierce (as Robert Silverman) Melanie Miller as Margaret Pierce Martin Doyle as Steve Pierce Henry Czerny as Joe Nelson Richard Mills as Elliot Marc Gomes as Henry Emmett Gene Mack as Ben Wilten Jackie Richardson as Frances Jan Taylor Hendricks as Waitress / Edna (as Jan Waterhouse) Jamie Near as Young Archie

Written by Nancy Ann Miller Directed by Allan Eastman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is night time and we are at a modest home. Mr. Sandman on the radio. Two men in a garage cleaning an old car. They are brothers, Ray and Archie. Ray appears to be older and have special needs. His brother teases him. Their old mother comes into the garage with coffee. She doesn't like them reminiscing and leaves. Archie reads the date (May 17, 1954) on the photo, and Ray says it was "Black Monday" when "white folks got in trouble" and their daddy had "no choice."

Just then a little boy named Elliot shows up, admiring the car. Archie is happy to see him, but racist Ray reacts badly, knocking the fundraising candy out of the boy's hands. He pulls a screwdriver on Elliot, then shoves him, causing his engine parts to scatter. Ray gets even madder and pulls a shotgun off the wall, to frighten Elliot, who runs off. Ray says he'll get him another time.

Cut to credits.

Curious Goods, and a woman has brought a box of old items to the store for an appraisal. Johnny doesn't know what to offer, but they settle on $25 for the box. She leaves as Archie enters. He is browsing for a gift for his brother. Johnny takes a car radio out of the box he just bought and Archie identifies it as from a '54 Chevy. He says him and Ray have their daddy's '54 Chevy and Ray is always working on it. He wants to buy the radio, but he doesn't think he can afford it. Johnny gives him a good deal on it.

Next we are back in the garage, and Ray is finishing installing the radio his brother gifted him, saying it will now be just like when their daddy had it. But Archie says their father never drove it much, he went away cause he killed a man. Ray says the man was a "colored sharecropper" and thinks a black lawyer who got some mystery witness was the reason their dad got executed. Archie tells Ray he doesn't like how racist he is, especially to his friend Elliot. Ray says Archie may be slow, but he doesn't have to be stupid. He pulls out a photo album of their father in full KKK gear, and crosses they had burned. Ray obviously idolizes this time in history and his father's role in it.

At the store, Johnny is cleaning when Micki comes in. She says Jack's flight has been delayed a couple of hours. Johnny tells her about the car radio he bought and then quickly sold. Micki, already anticipating the answer, asks if he checked the manifest first. As she checks she finds a '54 Chevy radio listed. Johnny can't believe it and Micki seems to cut him some slack, but then Jack arrives home. From the looks on their faces, he knows it's bad news. Johnny says what he did, and Jack is frustrated at him. But Johnny remembers the car wash logo on Archie's shirt. Johnny and Micki head out, but Johnny stops to apologize again to Jack, who is clearly ticked off.

Next, we see Elliot playing alone at a basketball court. Ray pulls up in the old Chevy, clearly drinking as well. He gets out with his bottle, taunting Elliot, who doesn't trust him. Ray pulls a gun and shoots the hoop, then at Elliot's feet. Ray continues his racist rant, scaring Elliot as he waves his gun, shooting. Elliot is panicked and falls as Ray shoots again, this time hitting the kid. Ray touches him, gets blood on his hand and at the sound of police sirens, takes off.

Driving away, he is nervous and goes to turn on the car radio, getting Elliot's blood on the dials. This activates the curse, and the radio glows, then it envelops the car in a blinding light. Suddenly, Ray and the Chevy are in black and white, having traveled back in time. The radio says it is night in Mississippi as Ray cruises the streets, surprised. He stops the car and checks a newspaper, happy to realize where and when he is.

He goes in to a diner. He asks about his parents, and as the waitress gives directions, the place falls silent as a black man enters. He just wants to buy a loaf of bread, but the racist waitress refuses, telling him to go. He makes the mistake of grabbing her arm, and a man stands up, calling him "boy". He confronts the man, continuing the racist bull, even slapping the man. Fed up, the black man picks up the other and slams him in to a table, but the other man present gang up on him. Ray, who is loving all of this, hits the man himself until the sheriff arrives and pulls him off. He tells the black man to go, and merely chastises the group, Ray included. Another man introduces himself to Ray and buy him a shake.

Jack is still researching the radio when Micki and Johnny come back. They found where Archie works, but he won't be back until Monday. They also learned his name and that he has a brother, which further irritates Jack. Johnny tells him to rip his head off, but Jack is still snippy. Micki is shocked, Johnny says he look for it himself, but Jack calls out. He says he isn't angry with Johnny, just their situation, and that they done the same thing he did. Johnny says it all just keeps on happening.

Back to the past and Ray and his new friend are walking. Ray loves how "pure" the place feels and warns the other man things will change, going into yet another racist rant. He takes Ray to a meeting of men at a house. These men are already mad about the Supreme Court decision and think "their" colored people aren't unhappy and know their place. Ray realizes the man is his father when his wife comes in and recognizes his mother, pregnant with himself. Archie is there too, a young boy. Ray is introduced to his father and told what happened in the diner. He's invited along on their mission that night.

In the present, Johnny and Micki arrive and see Archie with his mother. Johnny says he wants to buy back the radio, but Archie says it's already in the car, and their mom says he's out driving and sometimes isn't back for days. They leave their card with Archie and leave, but decide to wait outside for Ray to return.

In the past, the men are in full KKK robes and burning a cross and an effigy of a judge to protest the end of segregation. They head off to teach the black man a lesson. Ray realizes what is about to happen is what got his father executed and tries to warn the men. But they say they'll kill the lawyer, too. Ray says they have to make sure they kill the woman who was a witness, too. The men agree, too amped up to understand what Ray's saying.

Later, they are dragging the black man, Ben Wilten, to a barn, his hands tied up and hooked up so they can beat him and lash him with a whip, just for touching the waitress. His hands get loose and he is able to hit the mask off, revealing the face of one man, and he is beaten more for that. He collapses and is whipped again.

Jack arrives at Micki and Johnny's stakeout with some food. He says he found some clippings Lewis had from 1954, and is thinking time travel.

Back in '54, the men are all hyped up from their attack, Ray included. He thinks maybe he changed things in his father's favor. They all drive off. As Ray drives, he notices Elliot's blood still on the radio. He wipes it off and him and the car are transported back to the present. Micki and the guys see his happen. Ray is pissed, pulling into his garage. Jack thinks Ray just came from the past.

Inside, Ray tells Archie to be quiet and asks his mother where his father is, hoping he changed things. But she says Mississippi hung him. Jack eavesdrops while Micki and Johnny attempt to slip into the garage. Ray says there was no witness back then, but he can't understand why their daddy didn't survive. Ray looks in the old album to see what the lawyer from back then looked like, so he can try again to change the past. Archie tries to talk to his brother, but Ray heads outside.

Micki sees Ray coming and her and Johnny hide. Archie keeps trying to get his brother's attention, but Ray ignores him and heads into the garage, saying he needs to kill another of his little black friends, shoving Archie, who realizes his brother killed Elliot. He grabs a hammer, but Ray takes it. Johnny and Micki try to get in as Ray beats his brother with the hammer. Johnny and Jack try to stop Ray as Micki goes to Archie. Ray jumps in the Chevy and wipes his brother's blood on the radio. It begins to glow and is transported back to Mississippi in 1954, this time with Ray, Johnny and Jack. Ray speeds off, leaving them in the road.

Ray goes to his parent's house, trying to warn his father to get out of town. His mother and Archie are their, and she listens as Ray tells them about the judge and what's going to happen. As Ray continues to try and get through to his father, Archie starts repeating over and over "Daddy killed a Negro." Ray tells his father this all going to ruin him unless they get the clan together to kill the lawyer. The man agrees and Ray goes to find the lawyer. Archie continues ranting and his father hits him hard, his mother too late to help.

Jack and Johnny are shocked to be in 1954, but Jack thinks Ray wants to change his father's fate. They see a commotion at the courthouse, townsfolk angry about the lawyer here to get justice for the murder of the sharecropper, Ben Wilton. The sheriff arrives to break things up. The lawyer, Henry Emmet, and he wants the sheriff to arrest the clan. But the sheriff wants him to have some witness or there is no case, but then goes on to threaten this supposed witness. Things break up, Johnny is shocked by this, but Jack says the present isn't much better.

Jack goes to speak to the lawyer, but the man and his friends are understandably wary. Jack tries to warn them about the men in town, and that his life is in jeopardy. But Emmet thinks Jack's warnings are really veiled threats. Jack is speechless.

In the present, Micki is telling the cops as much as she is able about Ray's disappearance after killing Archie. She tries to comfort the mother, who says she knew something like this would happen.

In the past, we see the mother comforting a hurt Archie. Ray arrives looking for his father, but she says he's at work. He is happy to have found the lawyer, but she isn't happy. She doesn't seem to carry the racism like her husband, and Ray. He asks what's up with Archie and she says his daddy hits him, and one day it will be too much.

Jack finds Johnny, who says he'll need a screwdriver to get the radio out. Jack says no, it is their only way home. They need to stop Ray before heading back. Johnny has the album from the car, and Jack recognizes some of the men from town. He takes off.

Later, after having shown the sheriff the album and identifying the man who killed Ben, Jack is surprised the sheriff doesn't head right off to arrest him. Jack then sees the clan dragging the lawyer into a car and goes to help, but is tossed into the car, too. The clan speed off.

In a field, with another cross on fire, the men in robes arrive and drag Jack and Emmet out. The grand dragon tells the others they also have a spy in their midst, who has been lying to them about helping. Johnny slips out of the trunk of Ray's Chevy. The spy is identified as Ray, who the man thinks is their to turn them in to the FBI. Ray is tied up as he protests.

Johnny hotwires the Chevy, turns it on and drives toward the group, causing them to scatter. He jumps out and shoots off the shotgun, and Jack tells Emmet they need to get in the car. Johnny again shoots the gun, stopping one of the men so they can drive off. The clan decides to deal with things here first, and tie up Ray and his friend from the diner, thinking they are traitors. They light the men on fire as Ray begs his daddy for help. As Ray burns, his father realizes the witness must be his wife.

After dropping Emmet off, Johnny and Jack drive the Chevy to where they arrived in the past. Johnny wipes the blood off the radio. The car glows and they go back to the present, appearing in front of Micki and the mother of Archie and Ray, who realizes both her sons are gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts:

Heavy, to say the least. I wrote a huge summary because it felt wrong to leave off details here. But I hated writing so much of Ray's racist nonsense. Just felt so skeevy doing it. I can't fathom how a person could think that way about other people.

But Jack is right. Johnny calls the past bad, Jack says the present isn't much better, and here we are another 30 something years even from that and there are still monsters among us.

The time travel radio is cool, but the usage is so dark. Poor Elliot. Kid did literally nothing wrong, and Ray hated him. Sad, to say the least.

And Archie, too. I'm actually surprised his mother let Ray stay with them, when we find out she was the one who told about her husband in the past. I guess she ended up relying on Ray, but I'm surprised she didn't snap before then.

Weird how Ray's prophetic information was just laughed at by the clan. I would think the other men would have thought he was insane. And how shocked was the sheriff by the album when Jack brought it in. And who was taking the photos at those clan burnings?

I like how Micki was easy to cut Johnny some slack about the radio. Her and Ryan sold a ton of antiques when they first got to the store. But it made sense that Jack would be ticked off, at least at first. Johnny learned a lesson here, for sure.

Near the end, when the father had the thought of his wife being the witness, I thought we were going to see that the future had changed, but it apparently went no where. Odd to include that, then.

Dark episode. But kudos for the show in taking it on.

Next week: Night Prey

[callme-harris]

“The bitter taste on my tongue.Too many holes, the damage done”

Welcome to Aurora Bay, [RHETT HARRIS]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [LEWIS PULLMAN]. You must be the [TWENTY-SIX ] year old [BOUNCER at OASIS NIGHTCLUB]. Word is you’re [PROTECTIVE] but can also be a bit [HOTHEADED] and your favorite song is [BITTER TASTE by BILLY IDOL]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [SEABROOK QUARTER]. I’m sure you’ll love it

[tw:car accident, depression, cancer, and fighting ]

Family

William Harris- Father

Cynthia Harris- Mother

NPC Harris- Sister

Carter Harris- Brother

Wanted Connections

Ex Girlfriend/former bandmate: UTP

Former bandmates: Rina Cicero(NPC), Mack Montgomery,

Ex: Sterling Levin

Friends: Imani Linh, Mack Montgomery, Wes Evans, Liza Levin, Sterling Levin,

Girlfriend: Gwen Moreno

Former Hookup:

Enemies:

Bio

For Harris family had always meant everything. Whether it was his biological family or those he had considered family; Harris believed that there were ties that bound people together forever. As he’s gotten older he realized that he may have been wrong about a few things.

His family had lived in Aurora Bay almost since the formation of the town and the family name was well known for being the kind of people you could count on for anything. His father was the kind of man to believe that hard work would get you everything you wanted. He was also the kind of man that would fix any problem thrown his way. Due to his father‘s reputation, many believed that the entire family was the same and in several ways they were.

The oldest of three siblings; Harris always felt like a the position of protector fell on him. He seemed like he had it all, a good family, a good home, good grades; it all seemed like everything was perfect. The truth was though that Harris wanted more than what Aurora Bay could offer. Though he was excelling in athletics and academics, his true passion was music. An avid drummer; Harris began his musical aspirations at a young age and was hoping to follow them into a full time career. While his parents believe that their sons success would be found in different fields, they still supported him, because it was what made him happy.

By the time he was in college, Harris found a band that had a lot of potential, however they were missing a very important member; a lead singer. After searching the town for someone who fit, the band came across a singer that not only clicked with the groups vibe but also had Harris instantly smitten. They became the classic rock band couple who would write together and whose chemistry could be felt from the audience. It seemed that Harris’ dreams of musical success were within reach. Luck was on their side again when the band had been scouted and offered a tour and contract. It all seemed too good to be true, and for Harris it was. Just when things seemed perfect; tragedy struck.

On his way home after a late night rehearsal Harris was caught in a devastating car accident that left him in the hospital with an arm and both legs broken among other injuries. The bands tour had to be postponed till their drummer was back on his feet. However, what seemed like a couple months was closing in on a year and Harris was still dealing with nerve damage, the possibility he would never walk again, and the fear that he may never leave the hospital room. Realizing her window of opportunity might come to a close, the bands lead singer and the love of his life packed her bags and left Harris without more than a goodbye note. Harris’ world shattered that day and the hole left in his heart from her began to grow into a bitter pit. He started to withdraw from others and argue with those who were trying to help him. Harris was on his way to alienating everyone in his life and burning every bridge in his path. The only thing he hadn’t completely abandoned was his recovery; which he started to put more time into till he was back in his feet and feeling like he could start to drum again. The nerve damage in his left hand was still a problem, but he didn’t want to let his love of music fade away into nothing.

A few years later, tragedy struck again when Harris’ mother had begun to feel unwell. Her condition started to get worse over time and was later revealed to be cancer. The family unit needed to be close by to try to make the most of the situation, so Harris felt like he had to to stick around and help take care of his mom. While his younger brother was in college and his sister wasn’t coping with the diagnosis well, Harris felt like things fell on him and his fathers shoulders. As much as he wanted to find a way out of town, he couldn’t leave again. His parents supported him his whole life and he felt it was his duty to do the same.

Since then, he’s been trying to not let what has happened in his life make him bitter, but it’s been easier said than done. He’s still mad over what his ex had done, he’s sad over how his mother is in poor health, and he’s frustrated and the lingering pain from his accident. It was all of these emotions that led him to his current job. While having a drink at the Oasis Nightclub, a fight broke out and Harris felt the need to step in. Despite the pain he felt in his body on his worst days, on a good day the former drummer knew how to throw a mean punch. He had started boxing in an attempt to help try to recapture some of his athleticism and it came in handy that night. After throwing the guy out of the club he had been offered a job on the spot.

His life isn’t what he hoped it to be and it frustrates him to feel both so stuck and powerless but he’s trying his best to do something with his life in Aurora Bay. Perhaps maybe happiness isn’t to be found in running away but in sticking around and falling in love with his hometown again.

[roe-and-memory]

MACK HEADCANONS PLZZZ

OF COURSE!!

mack is seriously one of my favourite side characters. i literally adore him SO much

- i think mack has like. 5 sisters. and hes the oldest and only boy of all of the siblings. this is a hc roe and i have had for a while, he just has such oldest brother of the family vibes but also like hes so gentle as if he grew up with sisters. i can imagine him, 17, the second oldest being somewhere around 11 or 12, and theyve convinced him to bake cupcakes with him. hes got his mothers pink apron on, hes doing all the work, while his sisters are hanging off of him and playing with their toys all over the kitchen floor. he couldnt bake for shit, but anything for his baby sisters

- adding onto above, i dont think he did too much in school. his mother worked two jobs and his father was away a lot on business trips, so he very willingly and very happily took care of his younger sisters 24/7. and im not saying his parents were neglectful - not at all. i think his parents worked hard to take them on trips and keep them afloat. the did family trips as many times a year as they had the chance to and their parents made sure the kids knew they were loved.

- AMAZING driver. hes been driving since he was young, and he can maneuver his hauler better than most other drivers. both his parents contributed to teaching him how to drive, and they both gave him their separate tips and tricks, so he is quite literally the collective bunch of his parents driving habits all in one.

- he left to work for rusteze as a truck driver when he was around 22/23, when the second oldest sibling was old enough to hold down the fort. a lot of his extra cash went to his family back home, but he stayed on the road.

- not too interested in relationships, he’s always been kind of held down and its nothing against his family but now he likes the freedom of home being on the road

- his truck (1985 mack superliner) was his grandfathers cab. he bought it brand new and never used it much, trucking ran in his family (even his father was a trucker before he met macks mother and settled down), so his grandfather gave him the cab for free as a gift one year and he’s used it and kept it in tip-top shape ever since

- lightning is like that little brother he never had. he found the kid at a truck stop, a distressed fifteen year old looking to get out of town (he was running away from home) and saved him from getting his shit rocked by some pissed off old guy because he’d asked for two dollars for chips and the guy took a personal offence to it. mack literally felt sick at the idea that this kid was out this far from the city alone. lightning had WALKED from henderson to vegas to see the race, and then just decided he wasnt going home. mack was so heartbroken because the thought of one of his sisters ever being in the situation that this kid is in right now made his stomach churn. the kid had begged to go with him, and mack felt so guilty he said yes. he initially tried to take the kid somewhere safe, like a home for kids or something, but lightning was quite content to stay, and it felt like having a little brother around and it was Different (mack checked the news every day for any missing child reports and Nobody reported lightning missing. it literally destroyed mack emotionally because How do u not report ur own child missing when he leaves and doesnt return.)

- his truck has bunk beds since its a sleeper cab and he let lightning decorate his bunk with posters and those glow in the dark stars and literally anything the kid wanted he could plaster on the walls and mack did not care. this also included a bunch of stickers, because oh Lord that boy is obsessed with little stickers

- mack had no idea how to bond with lightning considering he himself had grown up being forced to play barbies with his little sisters (they would try to make him be evil ken but then they’d get mad because he was too nice. he got to play as the dollhouse dog instead) whereas lightning grew up with Nothing. lightning didnt really know how to interact with toys without feeling ridiculous because he’d been conditioned to believe toys were for Babies. mack eventually gave up trying to guess what lightning liked and just took him to a toys r us, where lightning Immediately found a stuffed dinosaur he liked and got like 2 hot wheels cars and then proceeded to profusely apologize for wasting macks money on such stupid stuff. mack did not give af, as long as his little brother was happy he was ok

- he gave lightning his first ever hug. before that not a Single person had ever hugged that child and mack was so sad to learn it because how do parents go 15 years without ever hugging ur own flesh and blood

- he taught lightning how to drive in a field with the truck during break days, and realized the kid’s potential and signed him up for late model stock races after a bit of talking. rusty and dusty also took an interest in racing at this point, and allowed mack to carry the kids late model stock car in the truck (they figured out a way for him to get both product and the car in the truck, and conveniently every delivery was for the city lightnings next race was in)

- hes kept all of lightnings late model stock trophies, the kid was a real good winner even back then and he’s even got photos that photographers had taken of the wins when little 15 year old lightning mcqueen was standing on the roof of his car holding his trophy above his head with the biggest smile in the world plastered on his face (those wins were like the proudest big brother moments ever until he got into the piston cup)

- hes a MASSIVE harv hater but hes too nice to say it. when doc starts expressing his own dislike for harv, mack starts talking to him about it and they bond over the fact they hate that man so fucking much that they end up managing to get him fired

- during the piston cup off season he goes back to delivering product for rusteze

- even though lightnings older now he still sees him as a younger brother

i think this is it.. THANK U FOR THE ASK!!! i love talking about mack :3

[ladylooch]

Bones - Part 11 [Mack x David]

A/N: First and foremost, please read the warnings below. This chapter is heavy. It is also one of my favorite chapters written in this series. Not because of the things that have happened, but because we learn so much more about David and his upbringing. How despite all of that, he is who he is now. It's an incredible tip of the cap to his character. I also am in love with the courage and strength shown by Mack in this chapter. Would love to hear your thoughts on this one, if you're willing to share 😘

Word Count: 7.2k

Warnings: scenes of violence, mentions of abuse, guns, death, grieving, drug use, trauma discussions.

(David)

The first time David can remember getting smacked by his older brother, Tommy, was at their hometown grocery store.

David was 5 and had gone into town with his dad and brothers to drop his mom off at bingo. His dad didn’t know how to cook, so on nights his mom went to bingo, they stopped at the grocery store and split buckets of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. His dad would even let David have a full can of Coke.

On this particular day, David has been salivating over the bucket of Dum Dums from the Customer Service counter. His dad was buying cigarettes- Marlboro Reds as always. David had gone on his tip toes when the clerk reached for the white bucket. He made the mistake of reaching into the bucket first and Tommy, the second oldest had smacked David upside the head so hard his ears started ringing. 

“Wait your turn, Turd!” A 13 year old Tommy had barked. His dad had watched the whole exchange and tiredly told Tommy to knock it off. When David got home, he cried in his mom’s arms about it. He shouldn’t have. The next day Tommy gave David a black eye for snitching and knocked the wind out of him with a kick to the stomach. David learned to keep those things to himself after that. 

He generally avoided Tommy growing up those next few years. It got easier when Tommy ran off with some of his buddies to the South, convinced they could get rich on fixing up old cars and hanging around NASCAR tracks. Instead, all Tommy found was drugs.

David will never forget the first time Tommy showed to the farm high on meth. He hadn’t looked right, swerving up the driveway in his beater. David had been by the barn, bottle feeding a new calf, when his mom had called his dad back from the field. Their daddy cocked that shotgun and Tommy was off. The following afternoon, Tommy was waiting outside David’s high school hockey practice. He grabbed David and threw him against the arena wall, demanding his wallet. David had $100 in there. Tommy stole it then knocked a right hook into David’s cheek. When he got home, he told his mom he got punched at practice. She almost made him quit hockey after that.

Coach had to talk her out of it. 

For the next few months, off and on, Tommy waited outside of practice for David. Sometimes he was high. Sometimes he wasn’t. David preferred when he was. When he was sober, he would cry and hug David. Lie to him that he needed this money to get back onto his feet. Then the next time David saw him he would be high, itchy and shakey- wild eyes that threatened at every movement David made. Until one day David came out of practice to see Tommy being led away with handcuffs.

“How could you do this to me!?” He had screamed. “You’re supposed to be my brother!!!!”

David wasn’t the one who called the police. Although it was never admitted to, he suspected it was his coach. 

That same hockey rink still sits across the street from where him and Mack are walking into the grocery store now. The inside of the store has changed a lot since David was 5- more modern and clean, but the memory still lingers at that customer service counter. 

“Okay, so what are we getting?” Mack asks him. David clears his throat, pulling himself out of the past and into the present with his beautiful wife. 

“Burgers and pasta salad and some potatoes. Maybe ice cream for dessert?”

“Mmm I’m so excited for this meal. Okay, do you want veggies for your burger? Like tomatoes, onions, lettuce?” 

“Yeah. You head over there. I’ll grab a cart.” He kisses her temple then they veer off in different directions. David looks out towards the parking lot seeing a familiar, beat up Ram truck. Rust has eaten away at the wheel wells, leaving the body of the truck edgy and rough. David pauses with a hand on a cart. 

It’s probably not the one he is thinking of. Last he heard Tommy hadn’t been in town since March. At least that’s the last time he was on the farm trying to push Felix around. The only thing that made him go away was Felix and his shot gun. Some things never change with Tommy.

David and Mack arrived back into town yesterday after a few weeks in Switzerland. They fell into bed, exhausted from the time change, but with no food in the house, they had to fight their jet lag and head to the store for an early dinner. David wheels the cart with one hand, seeing Mack over by the tomatoes. As he is walking, he glances up, looking towards the familiar customer service counter. There, he does a double take. 

“Fuck.” David mutters, holding his breath. He glances back to Mack. She holds a tomato up, inspecting it every which way before plopping it into a produce bag. She ties the bag off then heads towards the onions.

Internally, David struggles. Mack has not had to interact with his brothers in any of her prior visits to Iowa and he wants to keep that streak going. Knowing Tommy, he’s here for cigarettes and not groceries. So his time in the store should be short lived. David wheels the cart close to Mack, bringing her into his chest to keep his body between her and where he last saw Tommy.

“Have you ever grown onions?” Mack asks him, putting a white one into a bag then dropping the two bags into their cart.

“I’ve grown green onions.”

“We should try next year. I feel like we should come here first and get a garden going next year, then go to Switzerland.”

“You don’t trust Felix to do it?”

“Babe, he can’t do everything for the farm and grow our personal garden.” Mack chuckles. “Give the guy a break. And a raise.”

“He hates breaks.” David reasons. “What’s next?”

“Lettuce.” She cheers, going to the back aisle of the produce section. She filters through the different options with her typical measured calculations, then points to the butter lettuce. “That okay?”

“Mhm.” David doesn’t give a crap what lettuce they have. He’s going to eat it begrudgingly anyway.

His eyes lift over his shoulder, scanning the customer service counter. He breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes Tommy is gone. Good. He wraps an arm around Mack’s back, pulling her into his body and giving her a sweet, soft smooch. She awakens in his arms and when they pull away, her look can’t be mistaken.

She wants him to bend her over when they get home. He hopes she will get handsy with him on the way home too. He can see her now, tucking her hair into the collar of her t-shirt so she can take his di-

“Wow, look who decided to come home from the big city finally.” David’s shoulders tighten when he hears Tommy’s smug voice call from behind them. David puts his hands on Mack’s hip, steering her into the cart so she’s locked in by his body.

Her fierce brown gaze squints ever so slightly. God, he loves her fiery attitude.

“Aren’t you gonna introduce me to your pretty girl, little brother?”

Ice runs through David’s veins, then a white hot rush of anger. Before he can think better of it, he’s mouthing off.

“Fuck off.”

“Oooo whoa. Is that any way to treat family?” David laughs without humor.

“Don’t fucking lecture me about how to treat family. Look in the mirror.” 

Tommy walks to the end of the cart, keeping David from creeping forward. He puts his hands on the end of the coated metal, peering in at their limited groceries.

“This is why you’re so scronnie. What you eating vegetables only now?”

It’s laughable that David could ever be considered slim or thin or weak. David rubs at the pounding thud in the middle of his forehead, then backs the cart out of Tommy’s grasp. He lets Mack slide out from his arms. She stands at David’s side, gaze watchful and guarded.

“Tommy.” He extends his hand to her. 

“Mack.” She responds, but doesn’t take his hand.

“Polite.” Tommy grumbles them brings his piercing blue eyes back to his brother. David resists the urge to shove the cart forward and knock Tommy on his back. He has to keep his cool. He can’t go flying off the handle whenever he is around. That just eggs Tommy on.

“Heard you’re married. Guess my invite got lost in the mail. But of course Felix was there. It’s so fucking disgusting that you treat Felix like he was part of our family. He wasn’t. He is a bitch boy and you better not be giving him any profits on our-"

Staying calm is no longer an option.

“Shut the fuck up!” David yells. Mack steps back, visibly surprised at the tone of David’s voice. Other people look. The whole store seems to go quiet. David rounds the cart, pressing Mack back behind him so there is distance between them and her. Then he gets right in Tommy’s face, careful not to touch him. This asshole would be one to claim assault and try to sue David for his next round of drug money.

“Leave us alone, Tommy. And I’m not just talking about today. Leave us alone for good. We are here for the summer minding our own damn business. You better do the same.”

“Oooooo.” Tommy jokingly feigns being afraid. “Little brother is so tough now. They teach you that in the big city?”

“You know where I fucking learned how to beat your ass.” David spits. “Go.” He waves him away. Something about the look in David’s eyes has Tommy choosing to heed his advice.

Tommy does turn and leave while hissing out the mocking laugh that still makes David’s blood turn cold in his veins. 

Mack slides her hand up David’s arm but he flinches and pulls away from her touch.

David tries to recover, wrapping her hand in his, but Mack’s face reflects her worry back to him She doesn’t press and they continue on through the store. David can’t help looking over his shoulder as they leave the parking lot, even after he see’s Tommy’s truck is gone.

Something in the back of David’s mind nags at him. A part of him that knows this is far from the last interaction they’ll have with Tommy.

So much for home being their summer oasis. 

- - - & - - -

(Mack)

The silence in the house creates the perfect amplifier for the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen. Mack and David sit together in the living room after dinner, desperately trying to fight off their jet lag. It’s almost 8pm, which is the time they set for themselves before going to sleep for the night. 

Although, judging by the harsh, set line of David’s jaw, she isn’t sure if he will be going to bed anyway. 

If Mack hadn’t liked David’s sister, Denise, she isn’t sure what she would call her feelings about the interaction with his older brother at the store. David had turned into something dark and mean. He yelled. She thought she was going to have to jump between both the men but at the last second, David got himself under control. It was unnerving for Mack to see her husband that way. Sure, he’s fought on the ice, but that is all superficial. Nothing like what she saw in David earlier. 

Mack yawns loudly as she tosses her book, stretching her arms above her head. David does the same with his magazine, then rubs at his eyes tiredly. He stands wordlessly, pulling Mack up from her spot on the couch. He goes into the kitchen, opening up the dishwasher to let the clean dishes air dry, then grabs himself and Mack a glass of water for bed.

After they both get settled beneath the comforter, David pulls Mack in close. Her pajama shorts smooth against the bare skin of his thighs.

“I don’t want to scare you but I need you to listen to what I’m gonna tell ya, honey.” He runs his fingers through her hair. “Tommy isn’t welcome here. And he isn’t to be anywhere near you, okay? He’s all messed up on drugs again and he gets mean when he’s like this. If he shows up here when I’m out in the field, call me or Felix.”

Mack nods silently. He nods curtly, then turns out the light like their discussion is done. Mack has never seen David so serious before. His voice holds this edge of protection and his eyes have lost the sparkle they had when they arrived in Iowa a few days ago. 

“You’re safe.” He reminds her. “But you need to know he can’t be trusted.”

Mack nods again, then clears her throat to speak so he knows her answer through the darkness.

“Okay.”

Mack eventually falls into a restless sleep. She wakes in the early hours of the morning, hearing quiet voices talking down the hall. She puts on a sweatshirt, adjusting her pajama shorts back down her thighs then opens the door. She pauses, hearing David’s quiet, soothing voice talking to someone.

“How do you think we handle this with the staff?” David inquires.

“I think we tell them if they see him or his truck to let one of us know. You and I are the only ones who should be dealing with him.” Felix answers. “What about Mack?”

“She’s fine.”

A long pause happens.

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. You think I’d gamble with her?”

“He seems worse.”

“Yeah. He’s using again. Could see it in his eyes when he looked at us.” Another sigh from David. “I want you carrying. I will too.”

“Hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Well, it’s the only thing that gets a response from him.”

Mack’s eyebrows furrow. Carry? Like a gun? To her knowledge, David doesn’t have guns. Mack pushes the door open, letting the hinges squeak so they know she is coming. David greets her with a soft smile.

“Good morning.” He opens his arms for her to climb into his lap. She does, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He kisses her forehead as Felix rises.

“I’ll get the groups divided up and started. Have a good day, Mrs. Mackenzie.” Felix tips his cowboy hat at her, then heads to the front door.

“Is he ever going to call me Mack?”

“Probably not.” David chuckles. “He always called mama Mrs. Carlson.” 

Mack brushes his drying hair back from his forehead. The strands cling together as his hand grips her hip. She brings her eyes to his. 

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just letting Felix know about Tommy. I want him to be aware.”

“Okay.” She nods. He tucks a chunk of her hair back behind her ear. His fingers linger lovingly on her cheek, drinking her in.

“What are you up to today?”

“I need to work. Time to write up some of our travels in Europe.”

“Mmm, nice. You’re staying here then?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll be close to the house today, in the first pasture. Come out and you can watch me cut some grass.”

“Tempting.” She widens her eyes sarcastically. “But you probably won’t see me.”

“Okay.” He pats her butt for her to stand.

His boots hit the wood floor heavily as he goes to grab himself some coffee in his thermos. Mack watches him walk to the fridge. He grabs a mason jar with the overnight oats she made him last night. When he turns back to grab his thermos, she sees a leather holster attached to his belt. 

“What’s that??”

“For my gun.” He says simply, grabbing a spoon from the silverware drawer.

“What??” She questions, sitting up straight in the chair. “David, you just told me last night that we are safe and now you’re wearing a gun to work?

“It’s not unusual here, babe.” He tries to soothe her.

“You didn’t have that at all when I have been here. Not once, David. Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid.”

David grabs the pot of coffee, pouring himself some into a white Michigan Hockey mug. He wipes his thumb under his nose, sniffing. He turns his butt to the counter, leaning against it as she stares him down, waiting for an explanation. He finally sighs.

“I take my job of protecting you seriously. I don’t trust my brother on crack. This gives me peace of mind.”

Mack’s head is spinning, not comprehending what’s going on at all. She wasn’t even aware there were guns on the property. David has never mentioned it in present tense. Sure, she knows he has hunted in the past, but he never mentioned he had hand guns. 

“I-I’m not comfortable with guns.” Mack swallows hard, grabbing the sleeves of her sweatshirt into her hands. David frowns, rubbing at his face and neck. 

“Okay. I respect that. We can talk more about that tonight, but I gotta get going right now, okay?” Mack can hear the roar of the farm equipment starting up. He grabs his thermos, then comes to her chair. He kisses her. “Have a good day, honey.” 

Mack watches from the table as he opens up the front closet. He works a few stray jackets to the side, exposing a large safe. He punches in a few numbers, then the mechanical locks twist and click. David turns the handle to reveal a large quantity of guns. He grabs one from the top shelf, double checking something on it, then pushing it into his holster. He shuts the door, then waves at her before opening up the front door. When it shuts behind him, Mack closes her eyes with a sigh.

Through out the day, Mack tries to work but can’t. Her focus keeps being pulled to the front closet where that tall, black safe sits. Her eyes continuously pull to the closed door, wondering what else is in there. The same mantra loops in her brain: that safe is big. Tall too. Like what else is in there?

By the time David comes home for the day, she’s got herself all sorts of worked up. He’s sweaty when he comes through the front door, bringing with him the hot, sticky summer air. He already has his dirty hat and shirt off. He tosses them onto the bench as he lays down on his back for a second.

“Uh, fuck, I’m tired.”

Mack nods in acknowledgement, keeping her gaze on her computer. She quietly types away, continuing to work on her outline. She nudges her blue light glasses back up her nose as David kicks off his boots and socks. Eventually, he peels himself off the floor, then goes to take a shower. When he comes out he grills brats and they eat dinner at the kitchen table together.

“How was your day?” He asks.

Mack doesn’t respond but she does look towards the front closet again. She turns her gaze back to him with a wrinkle in her nose.

“How many guns do you have?” She asks quickly, ignoring his question.

“10.” He answers immediately. “They’re all registered. They’re always locked up unless they’re on me. I take firearm safety classes regularly. Been shooting since I was 8.”

“Okay.” She nods. “Can I have the combination?” She asks.

“Sure, after you take a firearm safety class.” He tells her around a bite of salad. Mack pauses. Something unpleasant and unnerving rips through her. It chills her body and locks her spine up. Slowly, she puts her fork down. 

“I’m really weirded out that you have a safe full of guns that only you have the combination to. I feel…” She trails off. Because how does she tell him that it makes her feel unsafe now? “Unsure.” She settles on.

“Okay. I can have Felix take the safe tomorrow. What would you like to do for tonight?”

“Oh.” She says quietly. “I didn’t mean… um.”

“This is your home too, honey. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable. But I can’t give you that combination. I have to keep you safe from things both inside and outside this house.”

Mack swallows hard. She is starting to feel really shakey and emotional. They have only been in Iowa for three days, but she is becoming overwhelmed with how different this stay has begun, and how much anxiety she is experiencing in the current moment.

“I think I’m gonna go lay down,” She says, standing up fast. Her chair skids across the floor, almost falling back behind her. David stands too, slower, concerned, but Mack backs away when he walks forward to comfort her. He stops immediately, staring at her.

“Go ahead, baby. I’ll stay here.” He encourages, hands slightly up in surrender to her.

Mack quietly turns and goes to their bedroom. She closes the door, then sits cross legged on the bed before bursting into tears. She’s really confused and blindsided by what is going on. Then on top of it, David is acting weird, which is making her more uncomfortable. All of a sudden he’s yelling in grocery stores and has a gun on him? That’s a whole different side of him Mack has never seen. Almost like he is a completely different person.

She didn’t grow up around guns or shooting like him. He didn’t talk to her about this safe or his unstable brother before he got here. She hasn’t shared with him the why behind guns making her uncomfortable because she didn’t think she had to. Now, she’s here, in a place she still doesn’t know very well, having to deal with heavy topics while completely out of her element. 

Mack remains in their room by herself, taking some time to calm down alone. She can hear David cleaning up dinner. The dishwasher starts then a soft thump of the front door closing, meaning David is outside. She relaxes her shoulders, trying to untense her body.

Mack’s head begins to pound. She disappears into the bathroom to grab some medicine then lays down under the covers, curled up into a comma, reminding herself that she is safe. She falls asleep like that quickly, arms wrapped around herself too.

When she awakens, it’s dark outside and the clock next to the bed says 12:39 am. She sits up, looking around the room. David’s side of the bed is still made. The door is still shut. No light comes in from beneath the door. She can hear the crickets whispering outside the bedroom windows. Within these small four walls, Mack feels like the only one in the Iowa country side tonight.

Hair on the back of her neck sticks up. Her eyes begin to tear as a lump forms in her throat. She is really scared. Like she can’t breathe. Her chest heaves. She grips at her throat with her fingers then slides out of the bed. She rushes across the room, throwing the door open. The house is so dark. There are no illuminating streetlights this far out from a bigger city, so Mack stumbles down the hallway, gripping at the wall to lead herself toward the main area.

“David?” She calls through chattering teeth.

Mack can hear every octave of her shuddered breaths.

“David!” She sobs when there is no answer. Her fingers hit a picture frame, sliding it off the nail on accident. It crashes to the floor, jolting her fear to a higher level.

She begins to full on panic, sobbing, dropping to her knees. She can’t hear David calling to her. She is paralyzed in the hallway.

Then, “Mack. It’s me. I’m going to touch you.” David taps her knee then runs his fingers up her thigh to her back, fully enclosing her. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”

David leans back into the wall, pulling her body completely into his. He cradles her softly, gently murmuring to her that she is safe. Mack continues to sob, big quaking shudders that smear tears across his bare chest.

David reaches for his phone, turning on the flashlight, so he can see her face. Then he cups her chin in his hand. Her amber eyes are squeezed shut, lips warped from her cries. Eventually, with David’s touch and steady assurance, Mack calms down. She stares down at the floor, silent tears still falling.

“I-I tho-ought y-you le-e-eft.”

“Oh, baby. No. I stayed out here to give you space. I’m right here. Not going anywhere.”

Mack starts to cry again in relief and exhaustion and probably a lot of other ways. But what matters is David picks her up and takes her to bed. He pulls the covers over them and holds her as tight as he can. She’s smooshed into his bare chest. Her wet tears sink into his skin.

David is able to get Mack back to sleep. When his alarm goes off at 5, he turns it off fast. The room illuminates from David’s screen as he sends Felix a text to let him know he’s in charge. With everything going on between him and Mack, he can’t work safely today. Finally, he pulls Mack in tight again and falls back to sleep.

Hours later, they wake up like that together.

David rubs Mack’s back to help her wake up, then stretches out his legs and lower back which hurt from falling asleep on the couch. Mack is shy but doesn’t pull away from him.

“I’m so sorry. About everything that happened yesterday. I have not handled this well at all. I don’t think I could have done worse than this, babe.” His voice is a tentative, apologetic whisper.

Mack nods, then rubs at her gritty and swollen eyes.

“If you want to go back to New York, I understand.”

She shakes her head no.

“Mack, babe, I’m trying to be patient here but I’m really worried you’re falling outta love with me right now, so can you give me something?”

“I’m more in love with you than I’ve ever been.” She assures him. “I have some things I haven’t told you before and they came up yesterday. It wasn’t only about what was happening here, now.”

The kiss David lays on her has Mack curling into his body tighter. His lips suck her up, then his tongue. His hands alternate between gripping and rubbing her. She cups his jaw when they pull apart for air.

“My family was robbed once.” Mack blurts.

David stills. His eyebrows pull together and Mack can feel his jaw tighten under her hand.

“My mom was pregnant with me at the time. They cased our house. Waiting for my dad to be gone then broke in with guns. They put a gun to my mom’s head and tied her up while Lucie was upstairs sleeping.” David tenseness moves from his jaw throughout the rest of his body.

“The last thing he wanted to take were her wedding rings. My mom fought back. He knocked her over and broke her collar bone, then threatened to come back and teach her a lesson when my dad was out of town next.”

“What the fuck.” He hisses.

“Yeah. We moved after that. They caught him and he was convicted, did some jail time but he’s still out there in the world now, with the sense of home and security he stole from all of us that night.”

She pauses, pulling in a deep breath to settle her discomfort.

“So yeah. Guns make me uncomfortable. And give me panic attacks. And turn sweet men into scary, unknown people.” She whispers the last part. He needs to know how he made her feel yesterday.

“Baby, I would never hurt you.” He whispers, swallowing his wounded pride to make sure she knows he means it

“I know, David. But that feeling I have in my chest is never going to go away. Whether you’re holding the gun or someone else. It’s trauma.”

“I understand. What do you need me to do so you feel safe?”

“I want us to do other things than just have you walking around with a gun on the farm. That is not the solution to this.”

“Okay.” David nods. 

When they’re ready to rise from bed and greet the world, they have a plan. The gun safe is being moved to Felix’s until Mack gets more comfortable. Their plan also includes a new security system with cameras at the front gate, barn, and house. They get new, more sophisticates locks and stop doing their country tendencies of leaving the doors unlocked. 

After a few days of self-reflection, Mack signs up for a firearm safety class and after that, she gets the combination to the safe, exactly as he promised he would. Mack doesn’t feel the need to continue more after that, but learning how to use it and be safe, took away a lot of her fear around it.

The guns move back in the house and Mack’s attention goes back to normal things like work, the upcoming country fair, and her husband’s steady hand in hers.

- - - & - - -

Weeks later, Mack and David are driving the truck back from their sunflower patch. David’s hand is on Mack’s thigh, tapping along to the beat of a country song flowing through the old speakers. It’s a bit crackly, but Mack loves this old truck. Her and David had been out watching the sunset and making love in the truck bed.

The truck rolls up the hill from the pasture back onto the gravel road. Mack then lays her head on David’s shoulder. The cool blue of the night makes the white house they pull up to stark. The truck rounds the corner and David slows down almost to a stop. Mack lifts her head, seeing a blue, beat down truck in front of the house. Every muscle in David’s body coils up. He parks the truck in it’s spot by the barn. Mack sits up, watching as the person gets out of the driver’s side door.

It’s Tommy.

“David?”

He reaches around her to the glove box, pulling out a handgun Mack didn’t know was in there.

“Go straight inside, honey.”

“David.” Mack worriedly whispers this time.

“Baby, don’t fight me. I can tell he has been using. Get inside the house.” David shakes his head sternly. He tucks the gun in the waistband of his pants at the small of his back. David walks around the truck, then opens Mack’s door.

“Should I call…” She trails off because David isn’t listening to her. She swallows hard as he forces her forward to the house with a firm hand on her back. He doesn’t release her until her foot hits the first step of the porch. Mack hustles inside, quickly shutting the door behind her. 

“You’re not welcome here and you’re trespassing on my land.” David reminds him.

Mack watches from inside the house. She begins to tremble from fear and adrenaline. 

“Your land?” Tommy spits out with a laugh, then starts walking around the truck to David. David doesn’t move, hands loosely on his hips.

“Oh shit.” Mack mutters watching as Tommy shoves David. 

“This isn’t yours. It’s ours.”

“It’s fucking mine now. You got your cut, now fuck off.”

“Daddy would whip you with his belt if he heard you talking to me like that.”

“He wouldn’t. This land is still in Carlson hands because of me. He’d be proud of that. There have been some hard years since he died and I’m the one who made sure this farm survived. Not you. Not Charlie. Not Denise. Me.” David’s voice begins to raise. “How fucking dare you come here and say that to me.”

Tommy scoffs and shakes his head. He turns to look out towards the driveway then suddenly lunges at David out of nowhere. Even if Tommy was in great physical shape, he wouldn’t stand a chance against David. But still, Mack gasps and clutches her throat. She digs in her back pocket for her phone, fumbling with it as David flips Tommy onto his back.

Mack can feel the thud of his body on the dirt vibrate through her chest. Tommy struggles to breathe after. David gets down and says something quietly to him. Then he stands back on his feet and waits for Tommy to get back in his truck to leave. It takes Tommy a minute to get his bearings again, then he stumbles along to the driver’s side door. 

“You’ll get yours, little brother.” Tommy hisses out. Fear slices through to Mack’s core. 

After Tommy leaves in a whirl of dirt, David picks up his old Rangers hat that fell off during the altercation. He comes up the porch with heavy steps. Mack greets him in the entry way with tears on her cheeks.

“It’s okay, honey. C’mere.” He brings her into his chest with a hand on the back of her head. Mack sobs into his body. “We are safe. Don’t worry. I’m not going to let him hurt us.” 

Mack can’t help but think what that cost could be to them. He won’t let anyone hurt them, but what will he have to do to prevent the harm?

Call it fate, or maybe Devine intervention, but that night is the last time Mack and David ever see Tommy.

Two weeks later, as Mack and David are sharing coffee on the front porch, a sheriff’s car slowly rolls up into the driveway. It is David’s good friend, Trevor.

“Hey Trev.” David waves, scratching his chest hair with his other hand. 

“David, Mack.” He nods to them both, then takes off his green sheriff’s hat.

Sensing Trevor’s seriousness, David sits up in his chair, dropping both his feet back to the ground. Mack stands, getting off his lap so David can greet Trevor more formally. The two men shake hands, then Trevor says, “We had a drug raid early this morning off Aspen.”

“That green house on the corner?”

“Yeah.”

“That place should have been condemned long ago.” David sighs.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Not as simple as when your daddy was mayor.” David nods in agreement. 

“The world is different. What’s that house got to do with us?”

“Well, in our sweep of the house, we found Tommy there.” Mack’s blood goes cold at the way David stills. “He wasn’t responsive. We transported him to Pella Regional, but it was too late, Dave.” David stares down at Trevor, hands on his hips in disbelief. Mack’s fingers shake over her mouth as she looks at her husband. She blinks tears she didn’t know had formed down her cheeks. 

“Are you serious?” David whispers to Trevor.

“Yes, sir. I am so sorry.” David licks his lips, then looks away from Trevor, staring up at the bright blue sky him and Mack had just been appreciating. “We need next of kin to come identify the body. I thought about going to Charlie but…” Trevor trails off. Everyone on that porch knows Charlie would have waved them away to disappear into the bottle, and made David do it anyway.

“Um, yeah. I’ll go change and meet you up there.” 

“Sure.” Trevor nods. “Are you okay to drive?”

“Yeah, Trev.” 

“Okay. I’ll see you at the station. Ask for me; I’ll take you.” The two men share a look of old friends, who understand each other and this circumstance. Trevor being the one to take David is a man trying to be the best friend he can be in an ugly life moment. Trevor puts his hat back on his head and gets back into his car. David watches the rocks kick up from the dirt road after the SUV, creating a plum of smoke like haze that blurs his view with his tears.

Mack carefully walks over to him. She pastes herself to his back, pushing her forehead into the deep valley of his spine. Her fingers grip as much of him as they can. She has no words. No amount of scrambling of her brain can come up with what to say to him. 

“I guess I gotta go. I can make pancakes when I get back.” Mack winces. Then grabs at him to turn him to look at her.

“Are you…” She stops herself. Of course he isn’t okay. “I’ll go with you.”

“No. Please don’t.” Mack purses her lips, trying not to feel hurt. This isn’t about her.

“Okay.” She whispers back as he walks around her. The screen door slams behind him. She hears David sigh heavily then inhale sharply like he is sobbing. She turns, watching him hit his knees in the living room. Then a gut wrenching wail rips through the house. Mack starts to sob in response. She walks into the house, collecting his big body into her arms. She buries her nose and a hand into his hair, collecting his tears and snot on her shirt. 

“I didn’t want this to happen to him!” He wails to Mack. “I just wanted him to leave us alone!”

“I know, baby. It’s not your fault.” Mack digs her finger prints deeper into his back, trying to hold him tight enough.

“Why does this keep happening to me?” He rocks forward, almost sending Mack to her back. She tightens her core to keep them both upright. “What did I do wrong?!”

“Nothing, baby. Nothing. You don’t deserve this. I’m so sorry.” 

It’s not enough. 

How could any words be when someone lost their life last night?

- - - & - - -

David doesn’t hold a funeral for his brother, there is no otherwise celebration of life. His other siblings don’t even acknowledge the loss of Tommy. Charlie rolls out of town again without a word, disappearing to roam along the West with some girl he met at a bar up in Des Moines. Denise and her family stay in Texas because “it’s just too hard”. So David takes days off from the farm over the next few weeks to settle Tommy’s affairs. He closes out his debts. Sells off the little items he had, including the run down trailer he was living in. He calls their extended family to let them know. No one is surprised. They all hope he has found peace in the next stage of existence. 

It’s Mack who suggests that David bury Tommy’s cremated remains by their parents. David stared blankly across the room at her then gave a single nod. He picked up the phone again and made a few more calls.

They buried Tommy on a Sunday morning. A local preacher from the church David’s mom loved when the kids were growing up stops by to say a few words. David doesn’t cry a single tear. He looks down at the torn up ground with an empty look. Mack folds their fingers together as they walk back up to the house. David stands at the bottom of the porch steps. Mack steps up, then turns back to look at him. 

“I want to leave.”

“Okay. Where should we go?”

“Back to New York. I’m sick of this fucking place.” Mack bites her lip worriedly then nods. 

“When?”

“Tomorrow.” 

“David.” Mack sighs, rubbing his palm. “We need to give Felix more time.” She reminds him. 

“I can’t.” He shakes his head. “I’ve gotta get outta here.” 

Mack understands. He knows she does because in a different way, she has felt the same ache he has complained about in his chest since Trevor showed up in the driveway. 

“Okay. Go. I’ll take care of the house, close it up for us and do what needs to be done here.” David nods, then walks around her into the house. 

The next day, Mack drops David off at the airport. He flies to New York and disappears there  alone. Mack takes three weeks to close up the farm. She could have been done in four days, but she knew David needed that time alone in New York. He went on long motorcycle rides. He grieved. He called her and cried on the phone at 2 am several nights. He got another tattoo. He started seeing the team psychologist to work through his grief- of the brother he had and the one he wished he did. But David got through it in the way he needed to. 

When Mack returned to New York, he was better, more himself than she had seen him since that first interaction with Tommy. Having her back with him healed him more. He started to laugh again, joke around with Woody, and build legos with Stella. He even went out for a beer with Lio and caught a Mets game with him. By the time the season started, David found himself in a good place with everything. 

He tells her as much on their last non-hockey morning together, sipping coffee.

“I’m feeling at peace with what happened this summer.”

“Yeah?” She murmurs, closing the book she had been reading.

“Yeah. I felt bad for awhile that I… like… felt relieved that he was gone? I didn’t have to worry about what he was doing anymore. He really had me on edge when we were back in Iowa. I felt violent and you sensed that the day I pulled the gun out of the safe.” Mack contemplates, then nods in agreement. “I don’t feel that way anymore. Yeah, Charlie is around town still, but he flows in and out like a breeze. Tommy was always around. Always threatening a run in or showing up and hollering at Felix when he knew I came back to New York. Not having to worry about that anymore is a relief.”

“I bet.” Mack nods assuringly. She reaches for his hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m sorry that… his death is so much more complicated than it should have been. You should have been able to grieve this a different way.” David shifts closer to her on the couch then pulls her into a strong, loving hug.

“You’ve been so amazing with me through this. Thank you. I can’t imagine how I would have gotten through all of this without you. It’s like.. I shifted so much but you never took it personally. You stepped in and did whatever I needed and figured it all out. Thank you.”

“I like taking care of you.” She responds quietly.

“You’re good at it too.” 

Yeah. She is. 

And that’s something Mack didn’t realize until now. How good she can be at taking care of her people. 

That realization will nudge and change her life in a way she’ll never see coming. 

[thistleandthorn-rpg]

Mack's new character!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias: Mack Preferred pronoun: She/Her Age: 35+ Timezone/Country: CST/US RP Experience: Like a decade at this point Activity Level: On everyday to every other

IC INFORMATION:

Name: Stacey Evans Designation: submissive Age: 23 Birthdate: August 15, 2000 Faceclaim: Sabrina Carpenter Orientation: Pansexual Kinks: bratting, bondage, roleplay, orgies, threesomes, anal, breath play, exhibition Anti-Kinks: Scat, ageplay, petplay

Key Points:

 - Princess attitude   - Family oriented; loves her brothers dearly and is very loyal   - Loves to be the center of attention, whether good or bad.    - Hopeless romantic   - Loves to make videos and animated cartoons - the only time she prefers to be behind the scenes. 

BIO 

Stacey Evans is the epitome of "princess." Living her entire adolescence with a mess of older brothers (plus two twins) set things in motion very early. She had always been well loved and well protected by hardworking parents and older brothers who would do absolutely anything for her. This quickly led to her little princess lifestyle. Her family worked hard to always keep a roof over their head, even when times got really hard for the family. Being one of the youngest, Stacey wasn't one of the siblings who had to or could get a job to help keep things afloat, so she was left to reap the spoils of their hard work. It did, unfortunately, leave her to her own devices on occasion and she spent most of her time doodling and sketching. When she learned she could make these sketches come to life, she became obsessed with making her little cartoons. 

The car accident effected all of them, and Stacey would not be exempt from this. Losing Scotty broke her heart in ways she could never imagine, and watching how it affected Sky made her never want to leave his side. Her cartoons went dark for a while, and she quickly discovered a very dark sense of humor as a way to cope with her heartbreak and pain. She held a little tighter to her remaining brothers, desperate to never feel that pain again. 

As she grew up, Dallas left for school, and a few years later the older boys went their separate ways. Stacey dove head first into her cartoons and drawings, eventually finding a full scholarship to art school. She was all alone at that school, her family spread to the winds at that point, but she was finding her own ways to bring in attention. Her cartoons and videos got a lot of attention, for the dark satire that ended up being more thought provoking than she had planned. People began paying attention and begging her for more, the excitement filling her with attention and seratonin on the regular, and she couldn't get enough. She started finding new ways to grab the attention of others, often finding herself in the middle of groups of students friends, even a teacher or two. She basked in it and found herself always wanting more. 

When word had gotten to her that most of her favorite people ended up in Lima, she knew it was time to get the rest of her life under control. She made her way to Stonewall Prep, was marked submissive, and was ready to move on with the rest of her life. 

BIO QUESTIONS:

What are your feelings about the mark you have received?    - It's fine. I mean, I wasn't overly hoping for a mark in any direction. I'm kind of used to people taking care of me, so it probably tracks, honestly. 

How do your feelings on the system compare to your parents’ feelings on it?   - They support it - i think? I mean, at least mostly. They don't really fight against it or anything at least. But it also wasn't really a big deal in my house either. It just kinda...was? At any rate, I see it the same way. it's important, sure, and I get that, but I don't think I'm ever going to be that obedient submissive. 

Where do you see yourself after you graduate?     - At a big time animation firm somewhere. Or maybe working from home, making cartoons and videos and watching how much everyone loves them. 

How do you feel about authority?   - Meh. I mean, I get that people have authority. I wish it was more earned than it seems to be. But, I guess life doesn't really care what I have to say. 

[makkisnothere]

⏤͟͟͞͞★ 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔 𝘿𝙐𝙈𝙋𝙄𝙉𝙂!! ツ

ʀᴛs ( ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ ᴛᴇxᴛ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ )

sᴛᴀᴛᴜs : ᴏɴ ɢᴏɪɴɢ 

ɢᴇɴʀᴇ : ᴄᴏᴍᴇᴅʏ,  ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ, ʟɢʙᴛ+

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⚠ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ

➢ ɪғ ʟɢʙᴛ+ ɪsɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴏғ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴏʀ ɢᴇɴʀᴇ, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ sᴋɪᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ!

➢ ᴛʜɪs sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏғ ᴄʀɪɴɢᴇ ᴀɴᴅ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ʜᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴍʙᴀʀʀᴀssᴍᴇɴᴛs, sᴏ ʙᴇᴡᴀʀᴇ!

➢ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴs ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏғ ᴄᴜss

➢ ᴇɴɢʟɪsʜ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ᴍʏ ғɪʀsᴛ ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ, ʙᴇ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ᴏɴ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ɢʀᴀᴍᴍᴀʀ (｡´-д-)

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➩ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪᴛs ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ/s ɪғ ɴᴇᴇᴅᴇᴅ

➩ ᴛʜɪs sᴛᴏʀʏ ɪs ᴏᴘᴇɴ ғᴏʀ ᴊᴜᴅɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ, ᴅᴡ ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ sᴇʀɪᴏᴜsʟʏ, ɪ ᴄᴏɴsɪᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴀʏ ᴏғ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ :)

➩ ɪғ ʏ'ᴀʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀɴʏ ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛ/s ᴏʀ sᴜɢɢᴇsᴛɪᴏɴ/s ғᴇᴇʟ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴇʟʟ!

➩ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ/s ᴍᴀʏ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴ ᴍɪsᴛᴀᴋᴇs, ᴀᴍ ᴛᴏᴏ ʟᴀᴢʏ ᴛᴏ ғɪx ᴛʜᴇᴍᴍᴍ

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›[ Mackenzie's POV ]‹

I'm a 27 year old business CEO of my father's company.. and right now I'm dealin with crisis.

"Right. Thanks kai.. I'm close, tell them to wait for a few more minutes" I said and drove fast because of a business meeting. I sighed in disappointment after forgetting to set my alarm yesterday.. And now here I am, late again.

"Fucking drive faster!!"

I yelled out towards the other cars in front of me.. it's not like they can hear me anyway. And thank god a few minutes later, I had finally arrived to our building and was greeted by a panicking sister in law.

"Mack hurry up! Your dad and the others are waiting for you already"

"I know I know I'm going now" I told violette the girlfriend of my cousin, and headed inside the elevator.. I sighed entering the room as I saw dad's worried face.

"good morning everybody, pardon me if I'm late.. shall we start the meeting now?" I asked as they all nodded.

30 minutes later..

The meeting is now over and dad's lecturing me again because of what happened earlier..

"Princess you can't just be late as always! You're the CEO and the future handler of this company soon!" I cringed out of my dad's way of calling me, and his unending lecture making me scoff in irritation.

"Dad.. Why can't you just ask Jade?"

"Mackenzie you must understand that jade is already married and is now busy with her husband, as well as your older brother. You're the only one left to inherit this business and make it all grow"

"Kai's there though.. why don't you ask him instead, if Jade's already busy with her husband?"

"Mackenzie are you serious?" Kai looked at me unimpressed of what I said.

"Do I look like I'm kidding kai?" I said as I rolled my eyes in annoyance.. I heard my dad sigh, making me glance up again at him.

"Mack.. I know you don't like the thought of handling our business, but at least do this as a little life time help for your father instead.. " My dad said disappointed, walking out of the room..

After a few minutes I stood up and was about to leave the room, when suddenly my cousin stopped me.

"Stop being stubborn for once Mackenzie! This business will benefit you!" He yelled pissing me off, making me turn to look at him with a glare.

"Do you fucking think I want those benefits kai? No. You can fucking get them instead, I can live on my own without this business."

"stop being arrogant and ignorant for once!! at least help your dad as a return of raising you!"

Kai said that made me chuckle sarcastically and glared at him..

"...raised me? was he there when I was getting hit by my fucking stupid stepmother..? No Kai.. so stop fucking telling me what to do because you don't even know half of me nor half of my story.." I said as I continued walking out of the room, And immediately went inside the elevator to the ground floor.

I drove back to my condominium, layed down on my mattress and took my phone out..

I was busy scrolling through Instagram when suddenly *Ding* and saw a notification message from an unknown number.

❛❛ New notification from Unknown number : Aye bestie bitch! Where the fuck are you already!? >:P ❜❜

I looked at the new notification with disbelief, is this for me? Can't be. I don't have friends. Also damn.. what a weird way to text someone with childish emoticons.. It wouldn't be bad to text back, right?

Yeah i guess so..

ꨄ ____________________________________ ꨄ

𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 : Aye bestie bitch, where the fuck are you already? >:P

Mackenzie : I think you texted the wrong person..

𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 : Huh? Wdym?

Mackenzie : you saw it right weirdo, tryna check the number you sent a text to..

𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 : eh- EHH?? I'm sorry³ I guess I miss typed nica's number ;^;

Mackenzie : that's alright,may I know who you are..?

𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 : Oh- Daphne!! But please do call me Sunny instead :3

Mackenzie : Sunny? Why that if you could just use your name?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : Oh uhm– it's nothing serious! I'm just more used to that nickname..

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙙.

Mackenzie : Ah is that so.. well then can I know the reason why? It's alright if you wouldn't tell me.

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : welllll my grandfather with Alzheimer used to call me sunny.. He said it fits my personality, but actually he just forgot who I was.

Mackenzie : Ahh understandable..

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : Hbu? What's YOUR name stranger? C:

Mackenzie : Mackenzie but do call me mack instead. Or whatever.

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : ooh- i see, welp I gtg now!! chat you later or tmr or whenever.. buh bye!! :33

Mackenzie : Yep, bye

« 𝙀𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 »

ꨄ ____________________________________ ꨄ

Damn she's weird.. maybe she's a kid or something? Ahh whatever.. Let's just sleep

I thought to myself as I changed clothes to a comfy ones and slept.

[ 6:30am in the morning ]

I just woke up and got up to do my usual routine.. after finishing, I headed downstairs with my phone as I put it down on the kitchen counter and made myself a breakfast.

That's fucking weird.. I couldn't forget about the weird kid.. Dang- curiosity kills the cat Mackenzie..

I thought to myself and continued cooking. After finishing a few minutes I sat down on my chair and started eating peacefully.

I couldn't focus on my food and kept staring at my phone.. when suddenly it made a sound, initiating that I have a new notification.

I quickly sat my utensils down and quickly checked my phone as I groaned in annoyance and disappointment.

❛❛ New notification from Dumbass: hey mack, there's an unexpected guest later.. Sharp 10, Don't be late. ❜❜

I read the notification before sighing heavily, as i put my phone down again on the table.

"why am I even expecting for that kid to message me again..? Aghh whatever.. She's just so.. Suspicious "

I said, sighing again and quickly shook my thoughts off and continued eating my breakfast before going upstairs to get ready for the meeting.

_____

I sat there in front of the meeting table as i tried focusing on what the guests were saying, but my thoughts seemed to be flooded by the thoughts about the kid I had texted yesterday.

Is she really a kid..? Though who the fuck would let kids cuss and randomly go out with friends without a guide? Probably some careless parents.. Or maybe teens?

I sighed my thoughts off and focused on the meeting, leaning forward on the table to show some 'interests' on what they were talking even if I'm not interested at all.

My little leaning action caught the people off guard, even my father had a small smile in his face after I seemed to show a little appreciation in the meeting.

Hah Bitches. Keep dreaming. As if I'd actually enjoy these shits

After half an hour of hell, the meeting had finally come to an end making me sigh in relief and mutter a 'finally' under my breath quietly for them not to hear.

"That's a good improvement Mack, probably got out from your senses?" Kai said making me chuckle sarcastically.

"Fuck off" i responded as I glared at my cousin, and walking pass them and my father before he even says something.

I quickly head and walked down the stairs knowing people will probably use the elevator, and fuck them I don't even wanna be in a place with them.

Shoving all off my negative thoughts aside, i hurriedly walked towards my car and just sat there while the air conditioner is on. My back resting on the seat as i just sat there in silence when suddenly my phone made a noise indicating i have a new notification again.

Groaning in annoyance at the thought of my cousin telling me nonsense again, yet still i grudgingly tried reaching for my phone in my pocket and opened it up to check the notification.

My eyes widened up as I sat properly, a small stupid smile formed in my lips as I saw the kid texted me.

❛❛ New notification from weird kid: hello mack, i was told to apologize to you because of yesterday's event :33 ❜❜

━━━━━━

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : hello Mack, i was told to apologize to you because of yesterday's event :33

Mackenzie : Ah i see, told huh? btw I've got a question.

Is it good to ask about it now? Would it offend her? Nevermind. Fuck it.

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : ooh what is it?

Mackenzie : how old are you?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : I'm 23 :)

Mackenzie : I'm serious, how old really are you?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : I'm not joking dummy, I'm actually 23 :))

Mackenzie : proof?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : Hmm where do you live? Maybe we can meet at a cafe or maybe restaurant if you're near! Or maybe a call instead if we're far apart ;)

This person is fishy.. should I give my house address? Of course not I'm not that stupid.. I'll give her my old condo address instead

I thought to myself feeling quite smart at my idea.

Mackenzie : I live in --- condominium, why?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : whaaaat? Reaaaally?

Mackenzie: yeah seriously, why?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : Lucky coincidence! Nica lives there too! Second floor condo! And there's a cat cafe near there riiiiiiight?

Maybe she isn't lying? She knows the cafe there..

Mackenzie : Yeah there is, why?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : maybe we could meet there!

Mackenzie: ahh alright then, but when?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : hmm..

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : oh how about tomorrow afternoon? At 12:30pm before I go to the vet clinic if you're available!

Mackenzie : you work at a vet clinic?

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : Yeppp >:33

Mackenzie : yeah right, I might as well need a proof on that kid.

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : you have some trust issues huh? But alright I'll give you a proof once we meet tomorrow!!

Trust issues? More like just being careful! Okay– maybe she's right.

Mackenzie : Aight, cya tomorrow then.

𝘿𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 : cyaaaa >:3

━━━━━━

I feel like this is a scam.. I'll just bring my pocket knife with me then, just in case I need it..

I sighed softly as i finally decide to drive off to my house to finish my shitty papers.

ꨄ ____________________________________ ꨄ

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

First chapter complete!!

[fuckyeahmackenzieboyd]

No-one Comes Close - Robron Reunion fic

Description: Aaron gets way more than he bargained for when Mack persuades him to meet a client for the scrapyard. 

***

"Look, Aaron it'll be worth your while, I promise."

"Mack.."

"Look I know you don't trust me, I get that but I'd never knowingly send you out into danger. I thought you knew me better than that."

"So what exactly am I collecting and where am I meeting this guy IF I decide to take you up on your offer."

"Ok so he wasn't exactly clear on the goods, but he assures me it's straight, nothing dodgy. His name is Rory and you're to meet him at the lay-by just outside the village at 2pm. Trust me, Aaron.. You don't want to let this opportunity pass you by." Mack winked.

****

Aaron stood in the cold lay-by, stamping the ground and rubbing his hands together, desperate to keep warm. He didn't appreciate this. Little bits of information from Mack about who he was meeting and no number to contact the alleged supplier and a freezing cold day to boot.

"Mackenzie Boyd I swear to God if this is another ruse for you to get your clothes off again I'll kill you."

Aaron sighed as he looked at his watch. 2.15pm. He'd fallen for it again, hook, line and sinker. He should have known better than to trust Mackenzie or any of his dodgy mates.

A car came out of the distance and Aaron stepped back from the road. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as the car stopped beside him.

"Great. I'm gonna get murdered now. This is definitely a bad guy car.." Aaron sighed.

A tall, slim figure got out of the car, his dirty hair scraped backwards into a raggy ponytail. 

"Sorry I'm late, mate. Had to make a pit stop."

"Yeah, whatever. Can we just get on with this you've wasted enough of my time." Aaron snapped, not recognising the voice of the older man.

"We've got all the time you could possibly want, Aaron." The man replied, spinning around. "If you want it, that is?"

"Robert!" Aaron couldn't stop himself and threw himself into the older man's arms.

"Glad to see me, then?"

Aaron pulled away and wiped his eyes. "I'm not dreaming this, right? You're here? For real, you haven't escaped and they're after you and I'm gonna lose you again?"

"No I didn't escape" Robert smiled "I appealed. You know when that new evidence came forward about Lee's brother. I didn't want to say because I didn't want to get your hopes up in case it didn’t work. They looked back through the post mortem, could tell from blood patterns and bruising patterns or something that I didn't cause the injury that killed Lee, I just kinda.. sped things up a bit. They agreed with time served and good behaviour that I could be released. Luckily I had a friend on the outside who was willing to help me out."

Aaron smiled and shook his head. "Mackenzie."

"Yeah. Known him quite a while. Couldn't believe it when I rang him and he told me he was living in Emmerdale now. I had no idea he was Moira's brother, either! And when he told me everything that had happened after I left.. with Liv.. I'm so sorry, Aaron."

"Don't talk to me about her. I washed my hands of her a long time ago. I've gone most of my life being manipulated and I wasn't going to let her do that to me again. I'm glad she's getting help now, but it doesn't mean I forgive her for what she did."

Robert nodded his head. "I know a lovely little cottage in France that we could stay in for a while, if you like?"

"Just a while?" Aaron smiled, cuddling into Robert again. "Are we getting in the car then? I'm freezing my bits off here for you, Mr Sugden-Dingle."

A tear rolled down Robert's cheek as he pressed a kiss to Aaron's head. "God I love you. I've got one more surprise for you.." Robert smiled, pointing to the back seat window.

Aaron peered through the tinted glass as best he could and saw a little boy, fast asleep in his car seat, clutching a very worn but recognisable cuddly giraffe.

"Seb! Robert how did you-.."

"I'll explain on the way. I've missed you, Mr Sugden-Dingle."

"I've missed you too. Don't you ever leave me like that again."

"Never." Robert smiled, kissing Aaron softly. "God I've missed that."

"Shall we get going?" Aaron asked, opening the car door and climbing in.

"You're sure? I don't want to come between you and your family." Robert replied nervously, following Aaron to the car and climbing in.

"Two years ago, I told my Mum that I choose you over them. That still stands. YOU'RE my family. You and that little monster." Aaron smiled, glancing back at Seb. "I know you wanted to leave me with them because you didn't want me to be away from them, away from Liv, but honestly It was the worst decision I made, or rather that you made for me. It's always going to be you, Robert. No-one comes close."

Robert smiled and started the car engine as Aaron pulled his phone out of his pocket. He quickly sent a "Thank you" to Mackenzie and threw his phone out of the window. He was finally free to be the man he wanted to be, with the man he wanted to be with. He sighed contently as he looked out of the back window, seeing Emmerdale Village disappear from view.

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

A Sense of Closure

December 17, 2022

Prompt - Home

Notes - Part two, baby! This part was originally something I planned on using as either the third part or a one-shot, but I changed the plot around to fit as a middle piece and it worked out pretty well. If you'd like to see the original plot, I would love to write it out after I'm done with my next project.

Despite the many flights that Miles had been on going to and from New Hampshire where his nerves stayed minimal and he could get by with listening to music or watching a movie, the nearly three-hour flight to his hometown of Myrtle Beach had Miles worrying that he’d be scrubbing his lunch out of the expensively upholstered seats. Carrie’s words or reassurance did little to quell the rollercoaster of emotions inside of him, but the grip she had on his hand and the gentle circles she pressed into his skin distracted him at least a little. Every now and then, he would spare a glance at his siblings and their friend, watching the trio gab on and on about something he couldn’t hear over the plane’s engines and the thumping of his heart in his ears. As soon as the pilot announced they were landing in Myrtle Beach, time seemed to slow down for Miles. Why had he agreed to join them? Why did he think he would be able to do this? He wasn’t ready for this!

Autopilot kicked in and Miles followed everyone off the plane, taking his bag of things he didn’t even remember packing and making sure his brothers were following him before stepping out of the plane and onto the tarmac. The ride from the airport was spent listening to everyone else talk as Miles looked out the window, trying to pinpoint where they were in relation to their old house. The city he knew had changed drastically in the sixty years since he had last been there, but certain buildings looked familiar. As they pulled to a stop at a red light, Miles felt a tug on his hoodie that roused him from his thoughtless ride.

Royce released Miles’ shirt once his older brother turned to face him, a small smile appearing on the teenager’s face as he pointed at the small store on their left and said, “Look, it’s the Circle K you used to work at.”

Miles raised an eyebrow as he turned to look out the window next to Carrie, but sure enough, the little gas station was still there. It had certainly changed a bit - the building had gotten larger, the pumps had gone from two to four, and the price of gas per gallon had gone from thirty-one cents to almost three dollars, but Miles still remembered the days of him and his brothers hanging out behind the counter, getting their homework done and playing blackjack between customers. They would walk home with barely enough money to buy food for the night only to have it confiscated once they walked in the door. If they didn’t hand over the money, chances were Miles would have a black eye the next morning at work, telling the kind old man who ran the shop that he’d been roughed up by people on the way home.

“Can we stop for drinks?” Bentley asked, oblivious to Miles’ thought process.

“Sure,” Mack said with a smile, flicking on her blinker and pulling into the parking lot of the gas station once the line began moving. As soon as the car was parked and people began piling out, Miles slowly slid his way out of the car and sighed. They weren’t even a ten minute walk from their old house.

Vivien huffed as she leaned against the side of the car, pulling her hoodie off over her head and tying it around her waist. “This must be cool for you guys,” she said, turning to Miles with a grin. 

“How so?” he asked in return, faintly hoping he didn’t sound nearly as cold as he thought he did.

Vivien shrugged, “It must be nice to go back to a place you used to live and see how much has changed.”

Miles scanned the intersection as cars flew by in all directions, “Yeah, well, I don’t exactly remember this place all that fondly.” 

“Why not?” the girl asked. “I mean, it’s so close to the beach.”

Miles stilled, looking at the girl with an eyebrow raised. “Did the boys never tell you why we left?”

“Royce hardly ever talks about anything that happened before you guys moved,” Vivien replied with a small chuckle as she turned toward Miles. “I’ve always wondered, though. Why? What happened?”

Vivien’s cheerful gaze dropped as Miles said, “Our dad happened. He was a drunken asshole and we ran away to escape him.”

“Oh,” Vivien muttered, all semblance of curiosity withering away like the petals of a dying flower.

“We used to live just down the road,” Miles continued. “I worked here just to have money for food and lunch money and our dad would take it as soon as he knew I had money. He’d get wasted and throw punches like he was down at the bar.”

Vivien’s eyes widened as she softly asked, “He hit you guys?” 

Miles' nonchalant shrug told Vivien that it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, “Mostly me. I know RJ said it happened to him after I left, but I doubt he ever hit Ben more than once if he ever did in the first place.”

As Vivien slouched against the car, her usually bright eyes glued to the ground, Miles was sure the conversation was over, but as soon as Royce came back to the car and was wrapped in a hug by his girlfriend, he asked his older brother, “What happened?”

With yet another nonchalant shrug, Miles said “We were talking about Dad, that’s all.”

Royce nodded and allowed Vivien to hold him close before whispering to her, “It’s alright.”

Vivien leaned back, taking Royce’s face in her hands before pressing her forehead to his, “He hit you guys. That’s not okay.”

“We’re not there anymore and he’s not around to bother us,” Royce replied. “We’re safe now.”

“He probably doesn’t even exist in this world,” Miles added with a shrug.

“Probably not,” Bentley said as he joined them. “I wonder if our old house is in this world.”

“One way to find out,” Vivien mentioned, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her jeans and unlocking it before opening her map. “What’s the address?” Pulling their old, Duffy Street address out of the deep recesses of their brains, the three Murphy brothers recited it in unison, allowing Vivien to type it in as everyone else came out to the car with snacks and drinks in hand. “This says that the address exists, but it doesn’t show what it looks like.”

“Really?” Bentley asked.

“What are you looking for?” Mick questioned.

“Our old place,” Royce answered. “Viv’s phone says that it’s still there.”

To Miles’ dismay, Brady suggested, “Why don’t we drive by and see if anything has changed? Hotel check-in isn’t until three and Vivien doesn’t have to meet her family at the rink for another hour or so.”

Bentley was quick to agree, making his two older brothers reluctantly agree to keep his excitement at bay. Once everyone was piled into the car, Miles gave the instructions as to how to get to their old house and, within a few minutes, they were stopped across the street from their old house. However, it looked different than any of them expected. Grass and weeds cracked through the walkway leading up to the front door, the numbers above the porch that used to showcase their address were long gone, and the once pristine, olive green paint that colored the house was faded and peeling away. Overall, it looked… abandoned.

Brady threw the car in park, allowing the brothers to file out of the car, staring at their old home in shock. Their parents, especially their mother, had designed the house and had it built before Miles was born and took care of it as though it was another one of their children up until their mom’s death. Even though they hadn’t had too many pleasant memories in the house after their dad’s personality did a one-eighty, it still hurt to see the building their mom loved so much looking so decrepit.

As a few of the others followed the brothers out of the car, they took in the crumbling foundation and the overall look of the house with worry. While it was true that the Murphy brothers hadn’t actually grown up in that specific house, the three pairs of eyes filled with sorrow were enough to make the others present feel just as remorseful. Oddly enough, Miles was the first to break away from the group, venturing across the empty street to the house he used to call home. Bentley latched onto Royce’s hand before dragging him across the street, Royce’s free hand taking hold of Vivien's sleeve as they walked.

While some of the others followed them to the house, Vivien’s gaze flickered over the dusty windows and weathered brickwork that formed the front porch. “It’s definitely abandoned,” she spoke as she stepped onto the porch behind the brothers.

Miles sighed, “I never thought I’d see it like this.”

Bentley attempted to peek into the house through the picture window next to the door, but the dust that had settled on the window mingled with the fact that the curtains were blocking any prospective peepers, he couldn’t see much of anything. “I can’t tell what it looks like inside.”

With a hum, Royce tapped a thoughtful finger to his lips, “I wonder if any of the windows are open. Maybe one of us could climb inside and unlock the door.”

As the three brothers began devising a plan to break into their family home, Vivien took one look at the front door and snickered, rolling her eyes as she tapped the flimsy, plastic, doggy door with the toe of her sneaker. “Rookies,” she sighed under her breath. Vivien pulled her hoodie away from her waist and knelt on the porch, placing her hoodie on the wooden floor just beyond the heavy, oak door before climbing inside the house through the significantly smaller, plastic door. Once Vivien was inside the house, she dusted herself off with a sigh, grabbing her hoodie from the floor and wrapping it around her waist once more before sparing a look around the house. 

Looking around the house was like stepping back in time. Vivien had only experienced the sixties over the last summer, but the furniture and overall aesthetic of the house made the brunette feel as though she had somehow stepped through a portal and ended up back in the beach-side, Florida town. Bright colors accented the otherwise cream-colored room, mid-century style decorations made the room feel dated but also welcoming, and hand-painted artwork still clinging to the walls by little pieces of tape and thumbtacks gave the house a lived-in feel, but the colder temperature and almost damp smell were an obvious tell that nobody had lived in the house in years, perhaps even decades.

Vivien’s nose crinkled as she looked around, but a thump on the door dragged her out of her thoughts. Twisting the deadbolt and unlocking the handle, Vivien pulled open the door and sent the three awaiting men a hesitant look. “This place was abandoned ages ago. Are you sure you want to come in?”

Bentley turned to Royce who, in turn, glanced at Miles. The oldest of the brothers took in a deep breath and nodded, “Let’s do it.”

With a small nod, Vivien held the door open and stepped aside, allowing the brothers into the old abode. Once everyone was inside, Vivien closed the door, watching as everyone seemed to linger in the living room. Bentley was the first to truly begin examining the house, pointing out how the house looked in comparison to how he’d last seen it. While Miles and Royce seemed more hesitant to explore the place that looked so similar to the house they had run away from, they eventually split off to look around. Vivien wandered the house in wonder, looking around the closest thing to her boyfriend’s old home that she would ever get to see. The house’s style was certainly outdated, but it suited the time period they were from. 

Upon exploring the kitchen, Vivien was mildly surprised to find lines of old, glass, alcohol bottles had been placed across the counter with a thick layer of dust settled on them. Perhaps whoever had lived in the house suffered from the same addiction the Murphy brothers' father had. The refrigerator still had childlike artwork clinging to it by little magnets, the signature in the bottom corners too faded for Vivien to read, but the art itself still vibrantly present. As Vivien circled the dining table, emerald eyes caught a glimpse of a thick envelope tucked underneath a piece of folded leather. The seventeen-year-old’s experience investigating abandoned buildings told her to leave well enough alone and to ignore the items, but her curiosity over where they were and the connection her friends had to the building won over as she picked up the peeling leather wallet.

Vivien only intended to check for any information as to who the wallet belonged to, but the thickness of the back fold led her to discover a thick stack of cash in varying amounts. The brunette glanced around, making sure nobody else could see the wallet as she closed it and set it back down on the table, taking the envelope instead. After wiping the front of the envelope against her jeans to rid it of the dust, Vivien’s eyes widened at what was scrawled across the white paper faded, rigid letters. It couldn’t possibly be right. She pulled her glasses off and swiped the lenses across her shirt before placing them back on the bridge of her nose. Nope, it was still there. It didn’t make sense! How on earth was it possible? By all accounts, it shouldn’t have been possible, yet there it was, staring her in the face. Seven words in faded pencil that, if they were real, had probably been written long before she was even born. 

‘To my sons, Miles, Royce, and Bentley.’

Vivien debated on what to do, but eventually came to the conclusion that she had to tell her boyfriend and his brothers. Vivien tapped the envelope against her fingertips before taking a deep breath and heading toward the living room. The only person there was Butchy who was busy examining the books on the shelves. Glancing past the couch to where the boys had gathered in another room that must have been one of their bedrooms, Vivien crossed the living room and tapped on Butch’s arm. Butchy smiled at the younger girl, “There’s the little criminal. You know, breaking and entering is a jailable offense.”

“Maybe,” Vivien agreed, “but just entering isn’t.”

“I’ll give you that,” Butchy chuckled. Glancing at the envelope grasped in the girl’s trembling fingers, Butchy sent Vivien a quizzical look, “What’s that?”

Vivien glanced over her shoulder before lowering her voice and holding out the old envelope, “I found it on the kitchen table with a wallet, but I didn’t want to open it.”

Taking the white package from the teenager, Butchy opened it to find a thick stack of paper. At the bottom of the last page was a signature he doubted the Murphy brothers wanted to see. “Did you tell them yet?”

With a shake of her head, Vivien said, “I just found it. Do you think we should give it to them?”

Folding the papers back up and putting them back into the envelope, Butchy peered over Vivien’s shoulder at where Miles was sitting on the end of a bed, an old notebook in hand as he showed Carrie and Mick what was in it. Bentley and Royce were too busy showing Lela things they had found to notice the stare directed their way, but Miles was quick to sense the pair of eyes focused on him. As soon as Miles’ confused gaze met Butchy’s, the older biker gestured for him to come out to the living room.

“We don’t have much of a choice now,” Butchy muttered, bringing an arm around Vivien’s shoulders as Miles approached them, his hands tucked into his pockets.

“What’s going on?” Miles asked the pair, the small smile on his face disappearing as he took in their expressions. “Is everything okay?”

Butchy held the envelope out for Miles to take as Vivien said, “I found this on the kitchen table. It says it’s for you, Royce, and Bentley.”

Icy blue eyes flickered between the envelope and the other two people in the room before Miles accepted the papers. On the front was a style of writing Miles knew all too well after years of forging the signature for field trips and checks he had to send out in the mail so the gas company wouldn’t shut off their hot water. “It’s our father’s handwriting.”

Seeing the hesitant, almost wary look in Miles’ eyes, Butchy asked, “Are you sure you want to read it?”

Miles shook his head, “No, but I should.”

“I can read it for you, if you want,” Butchy offered, placing a hand on Miles’ arm. Miles contemplated the idea for a while before handing the envelope back to Butchy. Butchy nodded slowly, nudging Miles toward the couch as he said, “Alright. Do you want the boys to hear it too?” Miles was quick to shake his head. He didn’t want them to know what their father had written until he knew there was nothing in the letters that he should keep from them. “Okay. Go sit down. I’ll be over in a minute.”

As Miles wordlessly headed toward the kitchen, making his way through the living room with practiced ease, Butchy turned his attention to Vivien who watched Miles with concern. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked in a whisper.

“He'll be fine.”

Although Vivien desperately wanted to believe the older man’s words, she wasn’t even sure if he believed them himself. Green eyes met brown as Vivien crossed an arm around herself, the other playing with the chain of her necklace. “I should’ve hidden that letter and left everything alone.”

Butchy sighed, placing his hands on the girl’s shoulders as he moved in front of her, “Don’t beat yourself up, Vivien. This might be something he needs to hear.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“We’ll be there for him and the boys.” Butchy watched Vivien’s gaze flicker toward the room everyone else had congregated in. “For now, go keep them occupied. I’ll handle this with Miles and then I’ll let you know when the coast is clear, alright?”

Reluctantly, Vivien nodded, her eyes flicking between Butchy, the kitchen, and the other room as Butchy stepped aside. Butchy watched Vivien disappear into the other room, hearing her instantly get pulled into a conversation as he took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen. Miles was already sitting at the dining table, presumably in the same spot he always took growing up and, as Butchy dropped into the chair next to him, the younger biker met his friend’s gaze. “Thanks for doing this, Butch.”

“I told you from the beginning that I’m here for you no matter what,” Butchy replied. “You need me, I’m there.”

Miles nodded, more to himself than to Butchy. “What if I want to stop at some point?”

“Then we stop, simple as that.”

Taking in a deep, prolonged breath, Miles glanced at the letter before muttering, “Let’s start before I change my mind, then.”

Butchy grinned, placing a hand on Miles’ back for a moment before pulling out the letters and beginning to read, “‘Boys, in the off-chance that you’ve come back home, I wanted to leave you this letter so you know everything I never got the chance to say.’”

“He didn’t say much at all when he was hammered,” Miles scoffed.

Ignoring Miles’ statement, Butchy continued, “‘I wasn’t the father you three deserved, especially after what happened with your Mama. You three lost a mother that day and I lost the love of my life, but you three handled it with the grace only she could’ve given you. I broke and turned into a beast.’” Another scoff from Miles interrupted Butchy’s reading, but it didn’t stop him from continuing, “‘Your mother gave me the best gifts in the world and I treated you all so horribly. I didn’t deserve you boys and you didn’t deserve me as a father. I know I should have let you stay with your grandparents or with Thomas when they asked, but I had already lost your mother and I couldn’t imagine losing you three too.’”

Butchy spared Miles a glance, watching the brunette drive his hands into his hair as he breathed, “We could’ve lived with our mom’s family and he didn’t let us?”

“I know you don’t want to, but try to think of it from his perspective,” Butchy attempted as he placed the first page down on the table. “His wife had passed away and you three were all he had. It was probably something they offered early on and he was scared of losing you three.”

Miles’ gaze followed the faded scuff marks on the kitchen table as he thought over Butchy’s words. Instead of commenting further, he closed his eyes, shook his head, and said, “Let’s just keep going.”

Butchy shook his head and sighed, “Alright.” After clearing his throat, he read, “'I know this won’t mean much to you now, but I’ve been seeking advice on my drinking since just after Miles left home. It worked a little at first, but I was so far down the path that it was hard to turn back. Even though it didn’t look like it, I started getting serious about quitting. I was at a meeting the day Royce and Bentley took off. I came home to their note on the coffee table the same day I came back with my five-month sobriety chip.’”

“Oh, yeah?” Miles scoffed rhetorically. “Wonder where he was hiding those.”

Butchy’s eyes scanned the paper he was holding before he set the few papers down and reached for the wallet on the table, opening the flap in the front and dumping the coins out. There weren’t many, but the furthest along was two years. As Miles examined the cheaply made coins, Butchy scanned over the rest of the papers that had been left in the envelope. He skimmed a few pages and set some aside before getting to the more personal messages that had been left. 

“‘Bentley, I hope that you become an artist of some kind. You certainly don’t get that talent from me, but I know how great you are, even though you’re so young. You’ll far exceed everyone’s expectations. As for Royce, I’m sure you’ll be a famous novelist someday. You boys got a lot from your mother’s side of the family and your way with words is definitely not from me, so take pride in it. I have no doubt you boys will be great regardless of what you do in life. Like your mother used to say: if you follow your heart, you’ll fly further than the moon.’”

Miles eyed the paper, a barely noticeable grin appearing on his face as he said, “I still tell the boys that.”

“I’m sure they appreciate that,” Butchy said.

“I know they do,” Miles replied with a nod, the tension in his shoulders releasing as he took in a deep breath. “You can keep going.”

Butchy smiled and began reading again, glad that Miles was more open to the words now that he knew how positive they had been, “‘Miles, I hope you’re taking good care of yourself and the boys. Show them the love that I wish I had. I will forever be proud of you for stepping up and taking charge when I failed to do so. You would have made a great soldier, but I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone, especially one of my boys. Take a different path than I did. Find someone who makes you as happy as your mother made me, pop out a few kids or get a couple dogs, and love them more than anything. Just make sure that you’re happy. You deserve it after all the shit I put you through.’”

Miles took in a long breath, his eyes locked on the paper in Butchy’s hands, following every word on the page as it was said. Butchy paused in his reading, keeping an eye on Miles as the younger man slowly sat straighter and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Butchy placed the paper down, only one page remaining in his hands. “This is it. You want me to read it?”

Miles shrugged, “We’ve come this far.”

“Alright,” Butchy said softly, returning his gaze to the paper. “‘You three always had each other’s backs, even when I didn’t. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish you three would walk back through the front door, but that day will probably only come when I’m no longer here. I’ve come to terms with that. I’ve come to terms with my death. It’s inevitable at this point. Even though I stopped drinking a long time ago, that doesn’t cure every other illness that comes along. Liver failure is a bitch, but I’ll go on my own terms. I left money for you in my wallet. It’s all of the money I would have spent on alcohol since I quit. You were the reason I quit, so it only makes sense for me to give it to you now. Maybe someday I’ll be able to see you again, watch over you just like your mother does. I’ll be with her soon enough. Your mom and I will be proud of you three no matter what happens. Take care of yourselves and remember to never let anything drive you apart. I love you, boys. Always.'”

Once Butchy set the papers down and restacked them, Miles pulled them to him and slid them back into the envelope they had been in. For a while, they sat in silence, Miles staring off into space while Butchy tried to gauge his friend’s reaction. Then, to break the silence they had created, Butchy put a hand on Miles’ shoulder and asked, “Are you alright?”

Instead of answering immediately, a lie rolling off his tongue with relative ease, Miles seemed to genuinely think before answering, “No, but I will be.” Finally meeting Butchy’s gaze, Miles smiled, “It’s nice to hear even though it’s not coming from my dad. I mean, I guess it is, in a way, but it just doesn’t feel like it is... I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

Butchy chuckled, “It does.”

As the pair rose from their chairs and Miles tucked the envelope into the pocket of his jean jacket, a head of blonde hair poked around the corner. Bentley’s smile beamed brighter than any lightbulb as he declared, “RJ and I found Mama’s art set!”

“That’s great, Ben,” Miles claimed with a smile. “Are you keeping it?”

“I was just going to ask if I could,” Bentley laughed. “Does that mean I can?”

“If you can fit it in the van.”

A mischievous giggle was the only response Miles got as Bentley took off for the other room. Butchy shook his head, “I think you’ve enabled a monster.”

“I think you’re right.”

Leaning against the kitchen counters as Miles pocketed the wallet from the table, Butchy asked, “Are you sure you’re alright, Miles?”

“I think I just need time to register it all,” Miles decided with a shrug, turning to Butchy and tucking his hands in his pockets. “Then, when the time comes, I’ll tell the boys and let them read it for themselves.”

“And if you need help-”

“You’ll be there like you always are,” Miles interrupted with a grin. 

Butchy hummed in agreement as Carrie entered the kitchen with a sigh, “You guys might want to stop them before they shove the whole house into the back end of the car.”

“That bad, huh?” Butchy chuckled.

Carrie glanced over her shoulder before turning back to the men with a hesitant chuckle, “Let’s just say that, if they bring out much more, we’re gonna have to walk to the hotel.”

Mick, one of the supposed “adults” in the house, cackled maniacally in the other room, “Take all of the photo albums! We can use them as blackmail!”

Miles turned to Butchy with a grin, “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Butchy agreed, allowing Miles to lead the way out of the kitchen.

Later rather than sooner, they managed to get everyone out of the house and into the van. Things they didn’t really need, yet wanted to take home had been piled into the trunk and shoved into the gaps between seats, forming a problem they would have to solve when they met up with Vivien’s parents at the sports center. Miles slid the door shut after making sure everyone had their belongings, staring out the window at the house across the street that had, at one point been his home. Although he wouldn’t be returning to it for a long time in any world, he was almost glad to have seen it one last time. It was a sense of closure he didn’t know he was missing. All too soon, the van’s engine roared to life and, within moments, they were leaving Duffy Street and Miles watched his old home fade into the distance for the last time.