#only had a vodka cranberry and a rum and coke

[agoddamnednerd]

Also

Fun Fact! Alcohol makes human interaction much easier!

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Learning bartending is so fun

[kaleldobrev]

Once Mine

Pairing: Apocalypseverse!Michael x Apocalypseverse Fem!Reader | Michael!Dean (Dean Winchester) x Fem!Reader

Summary: Michael thinks him possessing Dean can be a win-win for the both of you

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Michael not taking no for an answer

Authors Note: Flashbacks are in italics | Yes, I really did call the Archangel Michael “Mike” | If you liked this, don’t forget to like & reblog. I really appreciate it! Feedback is always welcome ♡

Apocalypse World

Y/N was sitting cross-legged on her usual chair reading through a book she has read through hundreds of times. That was one of the things she had missed most pre-apocalypse: books, and having access to them. Since the apocalypse happened, she still had access to them but they were scarce; a lot of them had been burned to ash and she salvaged all she could.

She closed the book she was currently reading, her eyes starting to get tired looking at the text. As soon as she placed her book down, the door opened, and a smile formed on her face — it was as if he knew she had been done with reading. “Hey Mike,” she said.

He rolled his eyes at her. “You know how I hate when you call me that,” he stated, his voice stern.

“But yet, you never correct me,” she said, getting up from her spot on the chair and walking over to him.

As soon as she met him, her arms instantly wrapped around his waist, and he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around hers. “True,” he stated. “Don’t let the other angels hear you, cause they’ll start calling me Mike.”

“I’m sure they’ve heard me plenty of times,” she stated. “Particularly moaning it,” she grinned, whispering.

“True. You aren’t particularly quiet,” he grinned back.

“I love you, you know that?” She said, her hands moving to wrapping around his neck now.

He nodded. “And you know I love you too right?”

“I sure do,” she answered, their lips finally meeting.

Main Universe

Michael looked at you, sitting on the couch across from him — a coffee table was the only thing separating the two of you. The way you held your hands he knew you were nervous and he honestly didn’t know why, as nervous was the last thing that you should be.

Michael got up, and he couldn’t help but notice your eyes move as he walked; your heart beating rapid fire. “Want a drink?” He asked you, as he found his way behind the bar, taking out two whiskey glasses.

You shook your head. “I’m good thanks,” you stated, your voice meek.

“You sure? I know you like whiskey,” he said, starting to pour the amber colored liquid into his glass.

You looked at him, slight confusion on your face. “Um, I don’t actually,” you confessed. Oh yeah, my Y/N liked whiskey, he thought, not Dean’s Y/N. “Sorry,” you apologized.

“No need, must of misremembered,” he lied. He never misremembers. “It’s Dean that likes whiskey, not you.”

You nodded in agreement. “I don’t like beer either,” you said, your voice still meek sounding but it started to become more comfortable at the same time.

“So what do you drink?” He asked, genuinely curious. It slightly amazed him how different you were compared to the version of you in his world. Although you were an exact copy, you were still very different in every single way.

“Rum and coke, wine, vodka cranberries,” you said, naming a few. “I guess I like drinks that don’t really taste like alcohol. Dean he would…” you sighed sadly, starting to pick at the skin around your nails. “He would always jokingly of course, make fun of me for my quote on quote girly drinks.”

“How would you like a rum and coke?” He asked you.

“I’m honestly okay,” you responded. You didn’t know why he was being so nice to you given the situation. He had taken complete and total control over your boyfriend and he was acting like nothing was remotely wrong. You weren’t sure how to feel right now: nervous, scared, or both.

“Alright,” he said, drink in hand as he sat back down. He looked at you for a moment, admiring your face, a face that he hadn’t seen in quite some time; in person anyway, as he did have several pictures of you…of Y/N and him together from his world, from his other vessel.

“So why am I here?” You asked. “You clearly have what you want. You have Dean. Why do you need me here?”

“I feel that we can make this a win, win for the us both,” he stated. “You see, although there was no Dean in my world, there was a you there,” he began, taking a sip of his drink. “Her and I well…the way you feel about Dean is the same way her and I felt about each other.”

“You were in love with her,” you stated, and he nodding confirming. “So why aren’t you there with her? I mean, wouldn’t she…I don’t know, be confused with this new vessel of yours.”

“Well, based on yourself, if she were still alive, she’d have absolutely no problem with my current vessel,” he grinned. “Sorry about that by the way. This must be…hard for you.”

“That’s an understatement,” you slightly snapped, choosing to ignore his comment about the other you being deceased. “You mentioned there being a win, win. How can there be a win win when you have complete control over the man I love?”

“You see, we can both get what we want here if you agree to stay by my side,” he began. “My Y/N was killed by my brother, and there is no replacing her she was…perfect in every single way but, you’ll have to do despite being the downgraded version.” Ouch. “But, as long as I’m controlling Dean here, he can’t die. So, you’ll never lose him.”

“I already have,” your tone still snappish. “As soon as you took control I lost him.” Dean might of as well as been good as dead once Michael took control of him, as you knew you’d never be able to actually talk to Dean again. Yes, you’d still technically see him, but you weren’t actually seeing him. The look behind his eyes weren’t the same, the way he talked wasn’t the same, and the way he moved wasn’t the same. He may of looked exactly like your Dean but he wasn’t your Dean anymore.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a day or two to think it over,” he stated, starting to get up from his chair. “I think you’ll find I can be…very persuasive.”

“And if I still say no?” You asked.

He grinned at you, a grin that had made you uncomfortable. “Let’s hope it won’t have to come to that.”

Apocalypse World

“I need you to promise me something,” Y/N said, looking Michael in the eyes.

“Anything,” he said.

“When I die —” she began.

“You won’t,” he interrupted.

“Mike, you have to be realistic. I’m not going to live forever. I’m just human,” she said, her tone shifting.

“I can get an angel to possess you, but make sure you still have complete control,” he suggested.

“Mike, you know I don’t want that,” she said. “I know you’re afraid of the aspect of me dying but, it’s going to happen one day. And I need you to promise me something.”

He looked at her, not wanting to hear her, but he knew deep down that she was right. She one day was no longer going to be here and he needed to be prepared for that. She was human, which meant she was one of the most fragile beings, the simplest thing could kill her or take her out, especially now in the current world. “Okay,” he finally said, his tone changing.

“When you find someone that makes you happy, don’t force it, and don’t try to make them me,” she said. “Because I know you Mike, I know you’ll do that. I know you’ll try and turn them into me, but…no one is exactly like me okay? You gotta remember that.” Y/N knew him far too well, knew that he was going to do the exact opposite of what she had told him when she ultimately passed. He loved her too damn much to want to be with anyone but her; he loved her too damn much to want to let her go.

“I promise,” he said, unsure if he was lying or telling the truth.

Tag List: @roseblue373 @beansproutmafia @queenie32 @deanwanddamons @missy420-0 @jackles010378 @mrsjenniferwinchester @syrma-sensei @k-slla @justletmereadfanfic @deans-daydream If you'd like to be added to a tag list, let me know!

[tlou-reid]

˚₊‧꒰აmarias bday slumber party໒꒱ ‧₊˚

you are cordially invited to celebrate my twenty second birthday with me!

i will be hosting a birthday sleepover on saturday, march 16th to celebrate and i really hope you can make it!

below is a drink menu consisting of 22 of my favorite alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, with prompts to choose from, and list of other guests who will be attending! select your drink and a character, and will write a blurb for you!

today, monday, march 11th is my birthday, so you can start submitting your selections now to guarantee a spot for saturday! you can send them in here.

i hope to see you this weekend!

alcoholic drinks!

𖥔 orange crush: someone had a nightmare, and needs company to feel safe enough to go back to sleep

𖥔 vodka cranberry: surprising the other with flowers just because; no occasion and no reason needed

𖥔 amaretto sour: going in as if they're just innocently fiddling with the other's fingers, then trapping them about thirty seconds later

𖥔 mango margarita: unintentionally caressing each other

𖥔 black cherry white claw: searching for them in the crowd, and they're looking right at you with the fondest of smiles

𖥔 mike’s hard lemonade: unbuttoning their shirt, pressed against the wall

𖥔 malibu and pineapple: talking all night but barely interacting in real life/in front of other people

𖥔 rum and coke: hands desperately clutching at one another, gasping into each other’s mouths as if you were starved of one another

𖥔 peach twisted tea: stopping their play fight every now and again to kiss each other

𖥔 pink lemonade beatbox: kisses trailing down your chin, leaving love bites on your neck, chest, and all the shyness in between

𖥔 byob: create your own and send it in!

non alcoholic drinks!

✩ mango lemonade: “quit going easy on me.

✩ extra sweet tea: “i’m yours. only yours.”

✩ ice cold water: “you are breathtaking.”

✩ coconut berry redbull: “i’ll keep you safe.”

✩ blue raspberry calypso: “of course I came for you.”

✩ iced coffee: “we never speak of this again, understand?”

✩ peach tea: “someone’s needy.”

✩ cream soda: “it’s okay to cry.”

✩ blueberry lemonade: “i like it when you say my name like that.”

✩ orange juice: “i’m really nervous.”

✩ vanilla root beer: “what if I kissed you right now?”

characters!

𖦹 spencer reid

𖦹 aaron hotchner

𖦹 luke alvez

𖦹 emily prentiss

𖦹 joel miller

𖦹 ellie williams

𖦹 abby anderson

𖦹 felix catton

𖦹 farleigh start

[hairstevington]

i wanna cut to the feeling

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Summary: Robin drags her best friend to a Corroded Coffin show. How were they to know sparks would fly between Steve and a member of the band? (aka, the fic where Steve fixes Eddie's hair before a show and falls in love immediately)

Word Count: 3.2K.

Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ continued on Ao3 (linked here)

Warnings: Language, drinking, Hairstylist!Steve, Rockstar!Eddie, nothing crazy yet but I reserve the right to get crazy later

A/N: This is inspired by a tiktok I saw of Joe Keery talking about how he put curlers in a costars hair every night for three months and got really good at it. Also I wrote all of this today so if there are mistakes please go easy on me <3

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

“Steve, you’re coming out with me, and nothing you say will change my mind.” 

Steve watched from the desk as Robin got ready in front of her bedroom mirror. She had called him in for hair advice, which he gladly provided, but if he’d known it was all a ploy to get him to leave the apartment, he would have been more resistant. 

“I’m just so exhausted from work this week,” he complained.

“That’s what you say every week,” Robin countered. She turned to him, her look now finished. “Please, for me?”

“That’s what you say every week,” Steve responded. It was true, Steve’s social life had gotten a  bit boring recently. Ever since he’d been promoted to manager at the salon, he was working over forty hours a week, and it was hard to imagine going out after that. But maybe, just maybe, he had enough energy tonight to actually do something. 

“Yeah, but this week is special!” she said. “Corroded Coffin is doing a free show at the bar down the street from us, and you know that’s never going to happen again, so you might as well get dressed because we’re going.” 

She was right. Corroded Coffin was this up and coming band that Robin was obsessed with. Steve had listened to their music before, and they were pretty good. 

“Fine, I’ll go,” he sighed. “But I’m not staying out all night.” Robin squealed, then ran to him to pull him into a hug. 

“Yes! Okay, be fast, I wanna get there early so we get a good spot.” Steve thought about reminding her that it probably wouldn’t be that crowded, considering they weren’t that popular of a band, but he didn’t want to dampen her spirits. 

Since he was crunched on time, he mainly focused on making sure his hair was acceptable, then swapped out his work shirt with a nicer one. Before he knew it, he was off with Robin, walking down their street. 

They didn’t live in the nicest part of town, but their apartment was affordable and had a dishwasher, so they figured as long as they stuck together they’d be alright. Steve wasn’t ever too concerned, in fact he would be quick to fight anyone who tried to break in, but Robin insisted they install extra locks on the doors anyway. It was a good system. 

“I’m surprised you like this band so much, considering they’re all men,” Steve teased. Robin rolled her eyes in fake annoyance. 

“People don’t only like bands because they’re attracted to the members, Steve.” She flipped her hair, then smiled once the bar was in sight. “Besides, if a band is entirely composed of dudes, who do you think the fans are?” Steve noticed a group of beautiful women walking into the bar, and then laughed at the realization.

“Damn. You’re diabolical, Buckley.” 

Once they got into the bar, they each bought a drink. Robin ordered a vodka cranberry, and Steve ordered a rum and coke. It was their standard when they went to bars together, even though they ordered different things when out with other people. 

It was still an hour before the show, and the bar was mainly empty - as they typically were at 6pm. Robin, eager as ever, made her way to the spot closest to the stage, dragging Steve by the hand with her. It was a small venue, but he imagined by showtime it would probably be somewhat full. They sipped their drinks and chatted, as Robin told Steve about her most annoying customers and he told her about his most entertaining clients. Once he’d finished his drink, he excused himself, saying he had to go to the bathroom - but really he went outside to smoke a cigarette.

He knew this bar pretty well, considering it was down the street from his apartment, which meant he knew that there was an alley leading to the back of the building that nobody ever went to. Steve tended to prefer privacy at this point in his life - especially when it came to hiding the fact he smoked. Robin would probably kill him if she found out. 

He lit up, enjoying the moment to himself, but it was short lived. A door a few yards down burst open.

“Fuck, man. I fucked up. I really fucked up.” Steve watched as a frazzled man paced back and forth, talking to someone on the phone. “I don’t know why, okay! I just, I thought I could just - Yes, I realize I have a personal stylist for that.”

The man looked vaguely familiar, but Steve couldn’t place from where. Then through context clues, he put it together - He was in the band. 

It’s not like he’d ever seen pictures of the guys in Corroded Coffin - Their album cover didn’t have their faces on it. The man continued to argue with the person on the phone, until he said one final biting remark, I’ll fix it, and then hung up with a groan.

“You alright there, man?” Steve asked. 

“Shit! Didn’t see you there,” he replied. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He took out his own cigarette and lit it, stressed. 

“Sounds like you’re having a hair emergency.”

“Don’t be a dick.”

“Oh, I’m not,” Steve said, defensively. “I never kid about hair emergencies.” The man continued to look at him, perplexed. Steve finished his cigarette and stomped it out on the concrete. “I’m a hairstylist. Been doing it for years now. Maybe I could help you?”

“Shit, really? Yeah, that would be great.” He looked at the cigarette in his hand and considered putting it out, despite him only having just lit it.

“Don’t waste it,” Steve insisted. “Tell me what happened first.”

“Uh, okay. Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve gotten a haircut and my bangs kinda grew out, so I tried to…”

“Ah,” Steve said, immediately understanding. “Happens all the time.” 

“How bad is it?” he asked, nervously. 

“Hard to tell since it’s so dark out. Here -” Steve took out his phone to use the flashlight, then noticed a text from Robin.

Dude, did you go full Elvis and die on the toilet or something?

He shook his head, then responded,

All good here, one of the band members needs hair help.

Steve turned the flashlight on and pointed it towards the man’s hair, and that’s when he got a decent look at him for the first time. 

He was the kind of guy that probably would be completely intimidating, had he not been an anxious mess over attempting to cut his own bangs. It was a weirdly vulnerable way to be introduced to someone, but it was a way Steve had become used to at the salon. He didn’t like seeing people upset, but he liked knowing he could fix whatever was upsetting them. 

Steve was barely taking in the bombardment of texts Robin was sending, because he was so focused on the hair - and the guy wearing the hair. 

WHAT

WHAT??

Which one??

Steve

Steve

Steven.

Please respond to me.

STEVE

“Who’s blowing up your phone, dude?” the man asked, amused. Scrolling through his texts, Steve chuckled, and figured he’d answer at least one of her questions.

“It’s just Robin,” Steve answered, vaguely. “What’s your name?”

“Eddie,” he answered. Steve replied to Robin’s text accordingly, then put his phone away. He’d seen what he needed to. “So, what’s the verdict?”

“Completely fixable,” Steve responded. “Do you have scissors or should I go grab mine?”

“You mean to tell me that you don’t keep extra scissors in your pocket for situations like this?” Eddie teased.

“They’re in my other jacket,” Steve responded. Eddie laughed, but it wasn’t a joke. “I live just down the road, I’ll be back in five minutes, okay?” 

“Nah, no need,” Eddie dismissed. “I have some in the dressing room. The murder weapon, if you will.” He gestured for Steve to follow him into the building through the back door. 

Steve had never seen this part of the bar before. It wasn’t anything terribly fancy, just a small room with some mirrors where the rest of the band was hanging out. They all seemed to ignore Eddie and Steve’s arrival, focused on their own insecurities. 

Eddie fetched the scissors from a pile of his things on the table, then turned to hand them to Steve. When he saw Steve in the full light of the dressing room, something in his face shifted. 

“What?” Steve asked, confused. Eddie didn’t respond. Instead, he just shrugged, then sat down so Steve could work his magic.

“I’m really trusting you here, ya know,” Eddie said, sternly. “I don’t let anyone other than Crissy near me with scissors, usually.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m really good at my job,” Steve assured him. The fluorescent lights gave him a better idea of what he was working with, and it still wasn’t so bad. Eddie had enough hair that the pieces he’d trimmed unevenly could be easily hidden in a pinch. “I barely will have to do anything, I promise.” 

“I’m kinda weird about my hair,” Eddie admitted.

“Believe me, I understand.” Steve smirked, then used his fingers to untangle some of Eddie’s curls. 

“I know you do. The only reason I’m not freaking out right now is because your hair is cool as hell.”

“I’m sorry, this is you not freaking out?” Steve teased, measuring out the strands of Eddie’s bangs on either side of his forehead. Eddie rolled his eyes, but kept his head still. “Thanks, by the way. Good hair has always kinda been my thing.”

“Yeah, I know,” Eddie responded, casually. The comment caused Steve to freeze.

“You know?”

“Uh, yeah. Steve Harrington, right? We went to Hawkins High together.” Steve continued to look at Eddie, puzzled. “And you obviously don’t remember me, which is unsurprising.” 

“Uh, sorry, I don’t.” Steve resumed what he was doing, expertly making his first cut. “I have to get kinda close to you for this next part.” 

“I don’t bite, Harrington,” Eddie said, absentmindedly playing with the rings on his hand. Steve chuckled, then pulled up a chair and sat in it.

Steve had worked with hundreds of clients, and boundaries were always super important when it came to this sort of thing. Hairstylists are destined to be up close and personal, so it’s part of the job to make sure the other person feels comfortable. Eddie seemed entirely unfazed by Steve’s proximity, which is why it was especially strange that Steve didn’t share that sentiment. 

Just a couple more snips, that’s all, Steve thought to himself. But in order to get the precision he wanted, he’d have to get closer. He scooched the chair forward until his knees were pressed to Eddies, then felt his stomach drop when Eddie parted his legs so Steve could move even closer.

With their legs slotted between one another, Steve had no trouble evening out the last few strands.

“Almost done,” he said, trying desperately to make his voice not sound shaky. The fact that he was so thrown off by this was incredibly unprofessional. Steve was up close to people all day every day, and yet they never made him feel quite like Eddie did. For example, he never found himself wanting to stare at a client's lips quite so much before. He made his final cut, then fluffed out the final product. “Voila.”

His gaze met Eddie’s, a moment that lingered perhaps a second too long. Steve scooted the chair backwards, exhaling. Sometimes, with clients, he found himself focusing so much, he forgot to breathe - but it was quite obvious this time around that he had been doing that for a different reason. 

Eddie swiveled in his chair to look at himself in the mirror, then broke out into a huge smile.

“Damn, you can barely tell anything happened,” he said, incredulously.

“See? Crisis averted.” Steve stood up and put his hands in his pockets, trying to seem as casual as possible despite the fact that he was losing his shit a little bit. He had to get out of there, immediately. His fingers grazed the smooth surface of his cell phone, which gave him the perfect out. He took his phone out, seeing another bunch of messages from Robin, each one more aggressive than the last. “Shit, I should get back out to my friend.”

“Yeah, and I gotta start setting up out there,” Eddie replied. “Thanks again man.” He rested a hand on Steve’s shoulder in gratitude, and it took everything in him not to jump at the physical contact. 

“Yeah, no problem. Glad I could help.” He nodded, giving a close-mouthed smile. 

“Uh, so we’re probably gonna go out after this,” Eddie said. Steve stopped himself from saying, What? We are?? Instead, allowing Eddie to continue. “So if you and your friend - uh, Robin - if you guys wanna come with, find us after the show. Least I can do is buy you a drink, right?” 

“Sounds good,” Steve responded without thinking. It did sound good, spending more time with Eddie. But he wasn’t even planning on being at this show in the first place, and now he was going to hang out with the band after? It was all completely batshit insane. Robin was going to freak. “Okay, break a leg out there, Eddie.” 

“Oh, I plan to, Steve.” 

Steve made his way back into the bar where he’d left Robin. The room had filled in quite a bit since he’d last seen it, but he could still spot his best friend from a mile away. When she saw him, she looked pissed.

“I am going to murder you, Harrington.” She punched him playfully. “Tell me everything.” 

“Uh, okay, well.” Steve wasn’t sure how much detail he wanted to give Robin about his interaction with Eddie, particularly the sexual tension he felt that absolutely could not have been reciprocated. Steve was openly out as bisexual, and even before that the closet he lived in was basically glass considering he was a hairstylist with a lesbian best friend. Still, it felt weird to tell Robin he was attracted to Eddie. Maybe it was because he knew she’d get all smug about it. 

“Come on, before the show starts!” she prodded. Steve thought she might punch him again, so he continued. 

“Eddie was freaking out because he tried to cut his own bangs, and I told him I could fix them, so I did. Not much else to tell.”

“You know I know when you’re hiding something from me, right?” It was true, Robin always saw right through Steve. 

“Oh, he um. He invited us both to go out with him and the band after the show.” Her eyes widened, bigger than Steve had ever seen them.

“Holy shit. Holy shit, are you serious? Both of us as in you and me? Robin and Steve? With Corroded Coffin?” Steve nodded. “OH MY GOD!” 

He couldn’t help but smirk at her excitement. It would have been a bit embarrassing had the house lights not gone down at that exact moment, her cheering mingling with the crowd’s. 

Then, Eddie walked out on stage, and it was at that moment Steve realized just how close to the band he and Robin would be, thanks to their early arrival and her determination to get a good spot. Steve couldn’t help but admire his work as Eddie’s hair moved with each step. It was impossible to tell there had ever been an issue in the first place. 

Steve had never seen Corroded Coffin  live before, obviously. He’d heard their music in the apartment quite a bit - enough to know the words to their most popular song, at least. He tried his best to act completely natural during the show, and not as if he was thirsting over the guitarist, but at least he wasn’t the only one. It seemed like most people in the audience shared a love for Eddie Munson. Steve heard several girls around him muttering to one another about how badly they wanted him, and Steve smirked at the knowledge that they wouldn’t be having drinks with Eddie later, while Steve would be. Eddie knew how hot he was up there, and he really leaned into it. It was maddening. Meanwhile, Robin was enjoying herself to the fullest, completely oblivious to Steve’s internal conflict. 

He knew what would fix this. Alcohol! 

He tapped Robin on the shoulder and mimed a drinking motion. She gave him a thumbs up in response, so he headed towards the bar, where he ordered a whiskey - double. He pounded it down, then asked for a beer to go, just so he had something to hold in his hand. Being at a concert or a party and having a drink in his hand always felt to Steve like having an umbrella in the rain - without one, he was miserable. 

He returned to Robin swiftly, already feeling the effects of the liquor. In his tipsy state, it was a lot easier to keep himself from overthinking. After that, he was able to enjoy the show along with everyone else around him. Eddie had been looking out past Steve and Robin the whole night, so he felt invisible in a way - like maybe, the lights were arranged so that they were hidden and Eddie couldn’t see them. From then on, he cheered like a maniac with everyone else, egging on the guitarist who was way too full of himself already, and hollering when he took his jacket off on stage. 

Steve wasn’t sure why he was so freaked out by his attraction to Eddie in the first place. It’s not like he’d never had a crush on a guy before. He chalked it up to just being weirded out by it happening while he was cutting his hair, and shrugged all the other weird vibes away. Thank God for alcohol, right?

The band's final song was Steve’s favorite - the one he knew all the words to. Robin used to use it as a rickroll of sorts, until Steve finally admitted he liked it. After that, they sang along to it in the car almost every time they rode anywhere. 

Robin started singing, and grabbed Steve’s hand to encourage him to do the same. He was tipsy and giddy with the energy from the audience, so he obliged, delirious. 

He’d grown so accustomed to his feeling of invisibility, he’d almost forgotten he wasn’t actually invisible. This became abundantly clear when Eddie’s eyes locked in on Steve, whose voice immediately cut out at the attention. Eddie continued to sing, staring down Steve like he knew exactly what he was thinking.

Then, the motherfucker smirked. 

Steve looking up at Eddie on stage like that, close enough to see the beads of sweat on his forehead, was the sweetest kind of torture. Eddie’s fingers moved along the fretboard of his guitar with ease, and when he’d flip his hair? Yes, it was dramatic, but it also was probably the hottest thing Steve had ever seen. Oh, sweet Jesus, he thought to himself. Robin is never going to let me hear the end of this.

(next chapter)

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

Taglist: @ofherscarlettwitchways @livvyshmiv @paintballkid711 @abraca-fxckyou @allbimyself26 @jellybabiesforall @allbymyselfexceptformycactus @justaloadofgarbage-blog

[thexserpentsxclub]

Kinktober (In Spring) Prompt 1

Pegging

KInktober list by @randomestfandoms-ocs

I can see a domme from a mile away in fog and low lighting. 

Something in me is just drawn to them. Like some people have a gaydar, I have a Dommedar and it's never failed me before. 

Which is how I knew tonight was going to go the moment I saw her. She was gorgeous, This woman was the love of my night. 

Her dark hair was pulled back, the curls a little wild. She had curves that made my mouth water and her skin was smooth and flawless. She wore a tight black latex vest for a shirt and her black pants seemed to be painted on. I ordered my shot, downed it as soon as it arrived, and headed to the dance floor. 

It wasn't difficult to make my way over to her. I just danced partner to partner until I managed to get across the floor, finding myself face-to-face with her. I simply slipped in between her and the man she was currently dancing with. He didn't deserve her. He was off rhythm with the music, a beat behind, sometimes two. 

"You're bold." She commented, but she didn't stop dancing, even when I felt the man behind me walk away. 

"I am." I agreed, stepping up closer to her, when she didn't try to step away, I reached out, my hands running over her body. She turned, giving me her back, her body grinding against mine. 

Oh yes, this was my kind of woman. 

We danced for what felt like hours, In a club with no window and certainly no clocks, the only way to tell time was passing was by the songs we danced to, and quite frankly, those didn't matter to me. 

"Buy me a drink." She requested and I nodded, letting her lead me off the dance floor and to the bar. She ordered a rum and coke, I got a vodka cranberry. "I'm Dahlia." It was at this point that I realized, she had an accent, she was American. That was interesting, I'd never been with an American before. 

"Alistair," I responded. It did occur to me that Dahlia might not be her real name but what did I care? After tonight I was probably never going to see her again. I didn't need a real name. We got our drinks and neither of us really pretended to have an interest in the other's life, we spoke about music, this club and if we'd been here before. She had. I hadn't. I was doing research, trying out many different clubs, and taking bits and pieces that I liked for a project that I was very excited about. 

When our drinks were drained, I ordered a second round of the same. 

"Dance?" She asked. I shook my head and glanced in the direction of the exit. 

"I had a few other ideas," I smirked. She looked thoughtful, but then slid down off the barstool, letting me lead her away. 

I rarely brought people back to my home, back to the Castle. There were a few reasons for this, the first one being that I didn't need everyone to know where I actually lived.

On top of that, it was easier to sneak out if they weren't at my house. If they aren't in my space. Also, on top of even that, I've had far too many people see the castle and get stars, and money signs, in their eyes. 

So instead I had an apartment, one that my mother had no idea about, she'd probably lose her mind at the idea of a Mulciber living anywhere but our castle. Men of my caliber were not meant for shitty apartments. 

Shitty of course, being in the eye of the beholder. Most of the partners I brought here were amazed at the size and how nicely decorated it was. That was all me. I studied interior design and feng shui when I was twelve and thought that the thing wrong with my house was how it was decorated. Turned out it was so much more than that. But I did learn a lot about balance in decorating. I'd helped Theodore and his wife decorate their house as well. All for free, because that's the kind of friend I am. 

I unlocked the door and flicked the light on, the woman let out a hum of interest, turning about the room. I had a large cream-colored couch, and a nice light coffee table, my rug was where I brought in the color. I had a gorgeous Moroccan-style rug laid out that I had imported. 

There were pictures around the apartment so I didn't seem creepy, but no one needed to know that I didn't know who the people in the pictures were. There was even one of a dog. I'd never owned a dog. I was, actually, allergic to dogs. But when designing this apartment, I imagined an Alistair who'd had a dog that he had to leave behind when he moved out. A dog that was waiting for him when he went home. At least that seemed like a nice aesthetic when I saw it on muggle TV shows. 

that was something else the apartment had, cable television. a neighbor had come by once and asked why I didn't have TV and then helped me get it set up. I got away with it by acting like just a dumb kid who thought it came with the apartment. 

It worked. 

"Nice place," Dahlia commented. "Where's the bedroom?"

Oh, I liked her. 

"Right this way, darling," I smirked and led the way, slipping out of my jacket. I tossed it over the couch and led the way into my bedroom. 

There was a massive difference between my room and the living room. This room was painted a dark gray, my bed done up in Egyptian cotton sheets. Someone once asked me why I didn't get silk- I tried. I slid all over the place, it was awful. The bedding was, of course, all black, and against the far wall was a cabinet. Not filled with clothes like one might think, but with possibilities. 

"You live like this?" Dahlia asked, fingering one of the ties I left attached to the bed, before stripping off her jacket. 

"I do," I answered. "If you keep it handy, it's far more likely to get used." I pointed out. She quirked an eyebrow but didn't argue. 

"So then what else do you have around here?" She asked. I could hear the curiosity in her tone. I smirked, that's exactly what I wanted. 

"Depends on your taste," I answered, wandering over to the cabinet. I unlocked it, then gestured for her to open it. She crossed the room and did just that, her eyes widening at what waited inside. 

It was quite the collection. I had different pieces for bondage, ropes, silk, metal cuffs. I had cock rings, I had dildos, I had butt plugs, but what she reached for was something I hadn't had nearly as much experience in, She reached out and grabbed the base of a strap-on that I had bought on a whim a couple months ago. 

It was 7 inches long- nice and thick. 

And of course, it was bright pink. 

If I was going to get one, It was going to be amusing to me. 

"you'd let me use this on you? Or is it for threesomes?" She asked curiously, I could see the interest in her eyes. 

"I'd let you use it on me. That's what it's meant for, darling." I answered. She ran her fingers along the length and smirked. 

"Lube?"

"In that drawer." I nodded at the cabinet again. She slid the top drawer open and sure enough I had a collection of different kinds, as well as a ton of different condoms, but that wasn't an issue for us at this moment. Of course, it probably would be later. I wasn't about to let her just fuck me and not leave properly satisfied.

"Well then." She smirked, and I could see when she finally stepped into the Domme role she was meant for, She stood a little straighter, crossing the room and plopping down in the chair, "Let me see what you're working with, Alistair." She ordered. 

All it took was the change in her tone to get me hard as a rock, desperate for her to take what she wanted from me. I stripped for her, slowly taking everything off for her, by the time I was stepping out of my briefs, she was biting on her lip, a hunger in her eyes. 

Dahlia stood, moving slowly closer to me as I reached down and gripped the base of my cock, slowly stroking. She didn't stop me from doing so- not right away. Instead, she slowly circled me, taking in every inch of my body. Her eyes grew dark with desire. 

" On the bed." She ordered, "On your hands and knees, face forward." I hurried to do as she said, I was dying to look back, to see what I was getting, but I was good, I kept my face forward, only hearing as she stripped off articles of clothing, dropping them to the ground with mine. And I got no warning when she drippled the cold lube down my asscrack, one finger slowly teasing my asshole. 

"Tell me how badly you want it." She encouraged. I groaned softly, clenching around her finger. 

"I don't just want it, I need it, I won't survive without it," I informed her. "I need to feel your fingers, feel your cock." She let out a chuckle, a second finger joining the first. 

Her fingers were thin, but they were long and I could feel every inch as they slid slowly in and out, When the third finger joined in, finally properly stretching me, I moaned. 

"Such a greedy boy, aren't you, Alistair?" She asked her other hand slowly caressing my asscheek. 

"Yes, fuck- yes." I agreed, resisting the urge to bury my face into the pillow. 

"Do you think you deserve my cock?" She asked, her fingers pulled out and I could feel the head of the strap-on running up and down my crack

"I do, I definitely deserve it. I haven't looked back once." I reminded her. I didn't mention that the picture frame on the bedside table was mirrored, and I could see her, She stood tall, the strap on already strapped, the large pink cock jutting out, bobbing a little every time she moved. my mouth watered. 

She looked like a fucking goddess standing there behind me and I was ready to worship at her temple. 

"That's because you are a greedy boy, but a good one." She reached out, her fingers tangling in my hair. She tugged my head back and I let her, my eyes rolling back. "Aren't you?"

"Such a good boy." I agreed. 

She smirked and let go of my hair, instead of feeling the head of the cock against my ass, she walked around the bed. Fuck, she looked even better straight on, instead of through the reflection. 

"I want to see you suck my cock, Alistair." I scrambled to turn so I could do so, facing her off the side of the bed. She gripped my hair again as I took the head of the toy into my mouth. 

I focused on what I was doing, taking my time, making sure it was nice and lubed up, my hand rested on her hip, my thumb slowly stroking her soft, smooth skin under the strap. 

"So, so good." She encouraged. My hand moved, slowly trailing from her hip down between her legs. She was soaking wet, I could smell her arousal; my fingers barely managed to graze her cunt before she was slapping my hand away. "Not yet." She shook her head. "You have to earn that privilege." 

I pouted but went back to giving the cock the best blow job I could, until she stopped me, moving around to the other side of the bed, moving behind me. I could see her in the large mirror on the wall and I knew that she knew I could see her. She smirked at me through the mirror, the head of the cock pressing up against my hole for just a moment, before slipping in. 

"Fuck-" I groaned as the cock stretched me further than her fingers had been able to. She kept it slow, letting my body adjust. She was good at this, she could see when my body relaxed- the point when she picked up the speed, knowing I could take it. 

"Harder," I begged. She slapped my ass and I nearly buried my face in the bed. She had no idea I got off on pain, but fuck- she was going to make me explode far too soon. 

"I'll take you as hard as I want, Alistair." She chided, but her hips did slow a touch, just so she could hit harder. 

"Fuck- I'm close. I'm so close." I admitted. 

"Cum for me baby, I want you to make a mess of this bed." Dahlia encouraged, her fingers dug into my hips, I could only hope hard enough to leave bruises for me to admire tomorrow. 

I cried out as she hit my prostate- once- twice- three times- the last one did it, I came, hard. My cum painting the sheets, my leg muscles tightening almost painfully so until I had completely spent my load. 

"So, so good." Dahlia pulled out, carefully moving so I could roll over onto my back, looking up at her. "Wanna know a secret, Alistair?"

"I do," I answered, catching my breath. 

"I know exactly who you are." I tensed up at that, trying to push myself to sit, but my body still felt like jelly. "I knew before you even actually opened your mouth." She admitted, getting up off the bed, and taking off the toy. She placed it in the small bin at the bottom of the cabinet, guessing correctly that it was meant for things that needed cleaning. 

"Really?"

"Yes, everyone knows the Mulciber family- and we went to school together." She revealed. 

"Okay?" I was starting to piece together that this wasn't about revenge or extortion. Honestly, she couldn't do that even if she wanted to. I'd be fine admitting on the front page of the Daily Prophet that I enjoyed a good pegging. 

"And I heard you had a new business venture in mind." She picked up her clothing, piece by piece, redressing. By now I could get up, I just didn't really have the urge to. She obviously wasn't going to hurt me, and if she tried, I was close enough to my pants, where my wand was, that I was confident I could reach it before she could actually kill me. "And I want to help."

"You... want to help?"

"Yes. I specialize in arithmancy, I think I could be an asset. I've... struggled with work since getting out of school..."

"Because?"

"The why doesn't matter. all that matters is that I want a job, you're going to need someone in accounting, and I could be your girl." 

I thought about it, sitting up and looking her up and down. 

"You don't even know what kind of business I'm wanting to get into." I pointed out. She shrugged, now fully dressed. She placed her hands on her hips. 

"I don't care. I'm in."

I hmm'd for a minute then nodded. 

"Alright, if you say so. You're in."

[something-tofightfor]

Get to know  me with 5 different drinks!

Thank you for the tags @wildemaven and @littlemisspascal

Iced coffee. I will drink an iced coffee when it’s -10 and blizzarding out over a hot coffee. The darker the roast, the better. I prefer Dunkin’ to trash ass Starbucks, and my typical order is a large cold brew with double cream and caramel or french vanilla. My seasonal order is the same, but replace the flavor with pumpkin, and if I get peppermint mocha, I don’t get cream.  Dunkin’s smoked vanilla flavoring was AMAZING, and I’m mad they got rid of it. 

Lemon Lime Four Loko - but ONLY the ones from 2010 that got banned because they were dangerous. We had a Christmas party at my dad’s house that year, and he was friends with someone that worked at a gas station and got his hands on a case of those and a case of the watermelon ones before they pulled them from shelves, and we were basically running a Four Loko black market for a couple months because we were the ONLY ones that had them. I was Very Sad the day I cracked the last one open, and I haven’t found a shitty, too sweet, dirt cheap alcoholic drink to replace it in over a decade. 

Coca-Cola (specifically Cherry Vanilla Coca-Cola) - Is Pepsi ok? No, it is not, and it never will be. Friends of mine didn’t believe me that I would be able to tell the difference between Coke, Pepsi, RC, Sam’s Choice and whatever the Sheetz cola is, and BOY WERE THEY SHOCKED when not only was I able to tell, I was able to tell with both regular and diet. 

Vodka. Vodka is my liquor of choice (whiskey is my dark liquor of choice), and while there are a couple kinds I can and will drink straight or on the rocks (Ciroc, Tito’s, Ketel One), I usually prefer it in a mixed drink - cranberry juice, lemonade, occasionally sparkling water ... it all depends on where I am and what I’m doing. 

Apple juice. There’s something so damn refreshing about a huge glass of ice cold apple juice, and I can’t even put my finger on it. I love most fruit juices, but apple is just super easy to drink... and it’s even better as apple cider (both hot and cold). Yes I know they’re not the same thing, but they’re close enough. I’m not a fan of hot drinks (especially tea) but if you give me a steaming mug of cinnamon apple cider, or even mulled apple cider? I’ll love you forever and ask for seconds. 

Honorable mentions: 

- Baja Blast, Eggnog (nonalcoholic), Mojitos (but only made with fresh Bahamian rum), LiquidIV Pineapple Yuzu flavor, Monster Ultra Gold (pineapple flavor) and RedLine energy drink, which I shit you not, I shotgunned a bottle of while skiing once and was able to ski for 10 hours on a really messed up ACL with absolutely no pain whatsoever. 

If anyone wants to play, please feel free to do so and to tag me. I’d love to see your answers! 

[silverhallow]

Hello, please could I request benophie where Sophie is out with the Bridgerton girls for girls night but runs into Rosamond who spikes her drink because she's a jealous cow and Benedict comes to get her and is instantly super protective ❤️

So we’re gonna go into the WWWY AU here..:

Let me fast forward a few years and let me set the scene. Sophie’s 20, Kate’s about to turn 21 and both are in really good relationships with both Bridgerton Brother’s. Kate’s in her last year of Uni and Anthony’s talked her into a girls night with Sophie, Beatrix, Roger’s girlfriend Lily, Alice, Lucy and Gen are all out…and they spot someone who, if Sophie sees… will ruin their night.

Im gonna post this on ao3 as well as it’s like 5k long 😂

“Oh no!” Lucy said, turning her back quickly from a crowd of girls who had just walked in.

Gen slipped an arm around her girlfriend's waist. “what is it?”

“The wicked witch's apprentice…” Lucy said in a low voice so that only the girls in their group could hear them.

Sophie had gone to the toilet with Beatrix so hadn’t seen and wouldn’t hear the conversation.

“Who…?” Lily asked and Kate, blanching as she spotted the tall blonde looking around the room with her nose in the air like she owned the place, quickly filled Lily in.

Lily looked horrified as Alice glared over the shoulders of the girls. She and Kate were two of the tallest of the group and found it easy to spot her.

“We have to keep Soph away from her.” Lucy said

“Maybe we should call Ben?” Gen suggested

“Only if it’s an emergency. He’ll only cause a scene being protective and she might not even… fuck!” Kate said “she’s seen me…”

Kate had been looking around the room and Rosamund’s eyes had fallen on Kate and widened when she saw her.

“God!” Came Sophie’s voice as she fought her way through the crowd to the girls “honestly, it’s insane in the loos… what… what’s wrong?!” She said looking around the group of women around her

“Nothing!” They all said immediately and closed in around Sophie a little to shield her.

Despite being 20 Sophie was still a lot shorter than the rest of the girls.

Lucy was the closest to her in height and she was a good 2 inches taller than her, Beatrix looked at the girls with a weary curiosity and she saw Kate’s eyes move in a weird direction and Beatrix turned her head slightly as Lucy distracted Sophie asking her a question about her Veterinary course and spotted what caused the girls to turn into a pack of lioness’ protecting their cub.

Beatrix’s nostrils flared and Kate’s tiny shake of her head both went unnoticed by Sophie who was happily explaining that she’d been learning more about surgery on animals.

“Shall we move to the otherside of the bar where it’s a bit quieter?” Kate asked as nonchalantly as possible and Sophie just shrugged as the other girls agreed and they all moved through to the other room away from the danger.

Or so they thought.

It was an hour later when the girls were making their way through the third of their chosen drinks and Sophie had been the first to finish “shall I go get the round in?” she smiled happily at her friends and, having thought they had seen Rosamund leave a few minutes earlier, all relaxed and figured there was no harm in leaving Sophie to go to the bar.

Lily followed her to help her carry the drinks over and Sophie was completely oblivious to the girl standing next to her at the bar and Lily, having never met Rosamund, had no idea that she hadn’t actually left but was standing next to another tall ginger girl at the bar.

Sophie was just chatting happily away to Lily about their course and neither girl was paying much attention. “So we’ve got the Beer for Kate and Alice… You’ve got your Vodka and Coke, Gen’s got her Rum and Coke, Lucy’s Vodka and Cranberry… and they’re just making my Gin and Tonic” Sophie said looking at the glasses “do you wanna take these over, i’ll pass you yours and Lucy’s whilst he’s finishing mine and i’ll pay?”

Lily nodded and grabbed a few of the drinks and turned around and walked over to the girls, gave them their drinks and made her way back to Sophie who was watching the man adding the tonic to her Gin. “Hey Soph” Lily said, putting her hand on Sophie’s shoulder and Sophie beamed and turned around, completely turning her back on her drink, as she handed Lily the last two drinks.

The barman had gone to put the money that Sophie had handed over and as she turned back, she had no idea that Rosamund, who had now slipped away, had just poured something into her drink.

Sophie took her change, beamed at the barman and headed back to her friends, drink in hand with no idea of what had happened.

Kate had spotted Rosamund once again whilst they were waiting and was a little frantic as she watched her coming away from the bar but seeing the smile on Sophie’s face made her visibly relax “all good?”

“Yeah, the barman was really nice. Doubled all the drinks up for free, though I’ve stuck with the single. I’ve got stuff to do tomorrow so need a clearish head” Sophie smiled.

“This is why I love drinking with you girls, we get excellent freebies” Kate laughed as she raised her bottle to the group.

“We get more when Gen and Lucy start making out in front of them” Alice laughed.

Gen and Lucy laughed “oh man I know, remember the Wings we got when Kate dragged us to watch the rugby?” Lucy asked

Sophie giggled “oh man, that poor man had no idea where to look”

“It is a blessed relief to not have to watch a cousin making out with their girlfriends” Beatrix laughed

“The joys of such large families” Kate grinned “and such a close group of friends”

“I know, can you believe that we’ve friends for what… 10 years??” Lucy said

“Well…” Lily said

“Oh come on, you and Soph became friends instantly and it’s like you’ve always been part of the group” Alice beamed at her

“And me and Soph had been friends for like 20 years…”

“God we are getting old!”

“We’ll be at weddings for one another soon and babies…”

“Kate’ll be first!” Sophie giggled as she swayed a little on the spot, her half drunk drink in her hand.

“Excuse me! I think it’ll be Alice or Bea first! They’ve been with their boyfriends for years!” Kate said and frowned at Sophie “are you okay?”

“Yes! Yes! I’m…” Sophie said blinking a bit “maybe he did give me the double… smell this…” she said giving it to Lily.

Lily worked as a barmaid in their first year before Sophie got her a job at Crabtree’s with her “nah, that doesn’t smell like a double…”

“Oh…” Sophie said “oh well” she giggled before turning her attention to Alice and started talking but it barely made any sense.

Lily just watched and felt a horrible sinking sensation in her stomach “i…” she turned to Kate and whispered “I think we need to get that drink off Sophie…”

“Why…” Kate asked as she watched Lily rummaging in her bag.

“Just do it” she hissed at her urgently.

Sophie was swaying a bit on the spot like she’d had too much to drink. Kate walked over and took Sophie’s drink off her and Sophie didn't even realise her hand was now empty.

Lily grabbed the test in her bag and Kate blinked “is that…”

“Yes… Sophie shouldn’t be drink. She’s drinking Gordon’s and only Gordon’s. I know it takes 8 singles before she’s drunk… she’s had 4… My Brother got me these, he’s in the police…” She said as she used Sophie’s straw to drop two drops onto the little test strip she had in her hand and Kate and Lily held their breath as Beatrix walked over.

“Has someone given Sophie tequila???” She asked “she’s… barely… Oh… fuck” Beatrix said as she saw the little patches turn from Pink to Blue. “Oh no…”

“What?” Kate asked “i’m guessing this isn’t good…”

“Sophie’s been spiked.” Lily said

“Everyone, stop drinking your drinks…” Beatrix said immediately “and hand them over. Alice. Can you take Sophie to sit down please and DO not take your eyes off her” she said, taking over the situation as Lily got more tests out and started testing the drinks.

Everyone’s drink was fine expect Sophie’s

“Rosamund… she must… but how…” Kate said furious.

“Sophie listed the drinks at the to make sure she had everyone’s… she must have been nearby… we… we need to call someone” Lily said

Gen walked over “what is going on… Sophie’s struggling to sit still on the chair, Lucy and Alice have had to push her up but it’s like she’s hammered…”

“She’s been spiked…”

“Fuck… you don’t think…”

“If it was all of us… then i’d think it was the barman but I think… I think it’s just…”

“We need to get Ben, we need to call Ben and get him to come get Sophie… she needs to go to the hospital, probably need to call Uncle Nick… and probably my Dad…”

“Oh god, Uncle Richard is going to go fucking APESHIT if he finds out it was Rosamund…” Kate sighed “but I’ll go ring Ben and Ant… can, can someone go tell the barman, Gen can you do it? Given the Rosamund’s description and just say we’re going to have to go to the police”

Gen nodded and walked off, she whispered in Lucy and Alice’s ear and their faces were set. Lily turned to Beatrix “shall I call my dad? Or do you think…?”

“Mine’s closer… I could call Tom, probably more like to be calmer than my dad…” Beatrix sighed as she grabbed her phone “keep an eye on her please?” she said gesturing to Sophie who seemed to be confused now “just… keep her there”

Lily nodded and made her way over to Alice and Lucy who were standing with Sophie and keeping her as calm as they could as Sophie had no idea what was going on and was a little frightened now.

Kate made her way outside and felt anxiety in her stomach as she took a deep breath and called Benedict.

“Hey Kate!” came the cheery voice at the end of the phone “everything ok? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you all for a few hours yet?”

Benedict had offered to pick the girls up and bring them home as he had a rowing competition the next morning and couldn’t have a beer.

“There… there’s been a bit of an incident and I need you to come get us. I’ll explain it when you get here okay, everything’s okay… sort of but just… get here soon we’re at the Slug and Lettuce were you dropped us off” Kate explained.

There was no way she was telling him that Sophie's been spiked before he drove over, he’d crash his car and it wouldn’t help anyone.

“Kate…” Benedict said a little bit of panic in his voice.

“Just get here quickly please Ben… please… are you with Ant?” she asked

“Yeah”

“Put him on please…” Kate asked

“Okay… Ant… Kate wants you” Benedict said quietly into the phone and the next think Kate heard was the sound of her own boyfriend

“Hey Babe what's up…?” Anthony asked

“Have you had a beer yet?”

“Nah was about to…”

“Follow Ben over to us please. We’re gonna need two cars, Ben’s gonna have to take Sophie to the hospital…”

“What has happened???” he asked, though quietly, he knew Kate well enough to know that there was no way she’d have told him what was going on and the confused look on his brother’s face as he went to get his shoes, coat and keys had said enough.

“Rosa was here…”

“WHAT?!” he yelled

“Will you be quiet!” Kate hissed “she didn’t say anything but Sophie’s been spiked. Bea’s calling her dad or her brother not sure which one. The girls are with her… but she’s gonna need a full test and what not…”

“Oh he’s gonna go fucking spare…” Anthony scowled “do you think… Do you think she knew you were out?”

“Nah, she looked surprised when she saw us but Sophie was talking loudly about Ben before with Bea and I think Rosa just… saw an opportunity and took it… just hurry up please?” Kate begged

“Of course, we’ll be like 20 minutes, it shouldn’t be busy” Anthony said “just… stay with her and be careful…” he said “i’ll call when we’re here”

“Will do and don’t say anything to him… Love you” Kate replied as she hung up.

Kate groaned, this was not how she envisaged spending her 21st birthday but Sophie’s safety was paramount and she was determined to ensure her best friend was safe, as she made her way back in she saw Beatrix.

“Tom’s going to come over and get our statements, he’s on duty tonight thankfully, he said he’d speak to his boss and ask if he can deal with it and explain the connection and check the security cameras” Beatrix explained.

“We’re going to have to call Uncle Rich aren’t we?”

“Probably, if he hears from Dad or Tom…”

“Maybe wait til Ben and Soph are at the hospital….”

“You didn’t…”

“God no, he’d crash the car with rage if he found out before he got here. Once he’s here and he knows Sophie will be his priority and getting her the care she needs…” Kate sighed.

“Good. Honestly, when she broke her wrist last year and we called him to say she’d taken a tumble… I thought he was going to have a stroke…”

“You would be the one to know with the medical degree” Kate grinned.

They popped back inside to make sure Sophie was okay and no one had told Sophie what was going on and she was just slurring her words and was struggling like no one had seen before and they made her drink some water and just kept her still, it was about 20 minutes later when Kate felt her phone buzz and Anthony had messaged to say there were then and she was about to call when Sophie yelled

“BENNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII”

“Fucking hell what’s the matter with her?!” Benedict asked looking furious at the group of friends “how much has she had to drink?” he asked.

He had driven over in a bit of a panic with no idea what was going on, only that Anthony had been asked to come and his face was set with rage.

“She… she’s been spiked…” Lily explained and Benedict’s legs nearly gave way as he looked at his girlfriend in horror

“She… she…”

“Not sure which drug but you need to get her to the hospital” Lily explained

“How… who…”

“Rosamund. We think”

“WHAT???? I’M GOING TO…”

“No” Anthony said, putting a calming hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Bea’s called Tom, Tom’s rung me, they’re coming to get the statements and evidence. You’re going to take Sophie to the hospital as she’s your girlfriend and she needs you to take care of her… we will ensure Rosamund is taken care of”

“Benni benni benni” Sophie was saying over and over again. “I don’t feel so good” she whined as she swayed again as she went to reach for Benedict and Benedict made a quick, surprisingly graceful move and grabbed her before she toppled off the chair as she vomited and threw up on him.

Under normal circumstances Benedict would have been sick himself, the sight of sickness or blood from anyone but Sophie seemed to trigger Benedict to throw up himself but with Sophie, his protective nature kicked in and nothing phased him and it seemed to jerk him into action.

“Right. I’m taking Sophie to the hospital. Lily, do you wanna come with me? You can call Peter… he is with Henry but he’ll wanna know what’s going on and someone needs to show the test to the hospital…” Benedict said as he held Sophie to him as she was looking around wildly asking what was going on, completely confused and her skin a horrible white and green colour as she clung to Benedict like he was a lifeline.

Peter, Sophie and Lily had shared a flat in the first year of Uni and since he had been unable to swap to Cambridge until next year when he finished is Undergraduate Degree, Peter and Sophie had continued to flat share but Henry and Benedict had shared a place and usually just ended up swapping places over the weekends.

“We’ll ring you as soon as we’re done with Tom and we’ll come over tomorrow. Are you bringing Sophie back to yours?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, be safer and I’ll call her dad, don’t worry about any of you doing it… just ask Tom not to tell his dad until he’s heard from me… if he’s on duty with Will, ask them not to say anything to Uncle George either… If I talk to Uncle Richard, he will understand, he’ll be furious but i’ll call him when I’m back at home with her, once she’s taken care of” Benedict explained and he saw all the girls physically relax. He knew they wouldn’t want to call Sophie’s dad and have to tell him what happened.

If he called after the fact and told Richard everything and gave him the report details for the Police, as Sophie’s dad and lawyer, Rosamund, if it was indeed her that spiked Sophie, would be in for a world of trouble.

“Help me with Soph to the car…” Benedict said “anyone got a bag or something in case she needs to throw up?”

Beatrix just laughed “have you looked in Sophie’s bag? She’s usually the one with the sick bags for the taxi home… she’s such a mum”

Benedict opened Sophie’s handbag and sure enough… “why…”

“Kate throwing up on her shoes… and it cost them £60 to valet the taxi…” Alice laughed.

Kate just shrugged “it’s why they banned me from drinking sambuca, but please just keep me in the loop about Sissy please”

“Of course,” Benedict said as he effortlessly picked Sophie up on his arms and then turned to Kate “If you happen to see her again…”

Gen and Lucy snarled “oh don’t worry, if we see her, she will wish she was never born” Gen growled.

The girls were all a really close knit group and had been, even after Gen and Ben’s dating disaster, it was Gen who helped Sophie see some sense when everything had happened between them.

Lucy was the one who pointed out to her brother and Benedict that Peter and Sophie weren’t in love with one another… but them.

Alice was like the mum of the group along with Sophie when they all went out. Sophie usually had early classes so was usually the most sober one of the girls whenever they went out and it was usually the two of them helping with the rest of them when they couldn’t stand.

Benedict had never been more grateful that his girlfriend had such a good group of friends and Lily had fit in so effortlessly with them and she didn’t take any of Roger’s shit and on Sophie’s course with her and with her father being a policeman as well meant they were always well looked after.

“Thanks” Benedict said to Lily as she helped Sophie into the back of his car and Lily climbed in next to her and held her up, keeping a sick bag near Sophie’s mouth just incase.

“You don’t have to thank me. Sophie stopped me from being spiked during Freshers week… she’s my best friend Ben… so of course I want to help… I just wish i’d seen it to stop it” Lily sighed

“Don’t blame yourself, Rosamund is a vile vile creature and Sophie’s dad is going to go wild and ensure she’s charged…” Benedict said getting in the car

“Well if we can prove it was her, there is a 10 year prison sentence for drugging someone” Lily said as they sped off towards the hospital.

Lily went in before Benedict when they arrived and explained the situation to the reception desk as Benedict carried Sophie who was now struggling to stay awake, the vomit had dried on his top and he looked a mess but he didn’t care.

Georgiana was at work and she’d been walking past when she heard Lily say Sophie’s name and stopped on the spot and looked over and recognised Lily from Sophie’s 20th birthday and her heart sank and she saw her Nephew walking in with Sophie slung over his shoulder and she turned to the receptionist

“It’s okay i’ll take them in now…” she said and called Benedict over and she saw the relief on his face as he spotted his aunt.

“Oh thank god” he said as he followed Georgiana into the room and Lily began explaining everything to Georgiana and handed her the test.

“Okay so there isn’t much we can do, i’ll take some blood to confirm which drug it is so we know what we’re gonna be dealing with but it’s one of those where it has to just… leave her system, did she drink the whole drink?”

“No only about half” Lily explained “we were talking and thankfully Sophie’s not one to drink quickly so it was about half hour and she started to slur her words and she’d been sticking to singles and one Gin so I knew she couldn’t be drunk so me and Kate took her drink off her and Dad gave me loads of these tests after my close shave in first year…”

Georgiana nodded “the drink’s been kept for the police?”

“Yes, Bea called Tom rather than her dad… seen as he’d tell Richard and then London would end up on fire…” Benedict said

Georgiana chuckled “you’re not wrong, though i’m surprised you’re so calm…” she said to her nephew. “You were wild when Sophie broke her arm… again”

“Kate and the girls have the police side under control. Sophie’s my main concern here… she’s my girlfriend and I need to be calm. Lily knows what happened but that’s not to say if I come across Rosamund before the girls do I won’t tear her limbs apart”

Georgiana chuckled “far enough. Okay, let’s do this. Are you going to be okay to watch?”

“Sophie’s puked on me Gee… i’ve not been sick, not passed out… it’s Sophie, weirdly, if she’s the one in pain or hurting none of this bothers me” Benedict grinned

“That's because you love her.” she grinned at getting the equipment out to carry out the tests. Sophie had passed out by this point and Georgiana hadn’t been concerned as it was one of the side effects and she’d explained she assumed it was GHB rather than Ketamine as this was the usual result of GHB but as she was safe, she’d sleep it off and more than likely feel like she’d been hit by a bus for a few days.

Benedict called his coach whilst Lily waited with Sophie in the room and Georgiana went to have the tests and bloods run.

He explained the situation to his coach and whilst he was disappointed that Benedict was going to miss the first races of the season he understood that his girlfriend’s health came first.

When Benedict went back in Georgiana followed him in “Okay so as suspected it’s GHB, given her size, it’s probably a good job she didn’t drink it all as it could have caused to to OD on it… given the strength of what was in there” Georgiana explained and Benedict looked sick and murderous at the same time as Lily gasped.

“Thank god I got Kate to take it off her” Lily sighed

Benedict just grunted, completely unable to articulate his words because if Sophie had been killed by that evil witch, he would not have been able to cope.

“Yeah so she’ll sleep it off but she’s in for a rough few days after this as she comes down from it, the levels in her blood work suggest it’s going to be like the world's worst hangover, shivers, throwing up… the lot” Georgiana said “she’ll not be able to be left alone for long because she’ll be tired and she might be sick so need to make sure she doesn’t choke”

Benedict nodded “I'm gonna bring her back to mine and I don’t have classes until Tuesday and if I have to miss them… Henry can bring me the work” he said

Georgiana nodded “the other thing is that she’s got a low iron count which won’t help, she needs to get some red meat into her otherwise she’s gonna have fun if you guys ever decide to have kids” she grinned at her nephew who went bright red instantly.

Lily laughed at him “Oh your face…”

“Do not say that in front of Richard please. He might kill me” Benedict said

Georgiana bit her lip to avoid telling him of the bet that his father had with Sophie’s father and just smiled “fair enough but come on, by the time your Mum and Dad were your age, they had you and Ant already” she teased

“Auntie Gee do you have to…” he grimaced and Georgiana laughed

“I’ll stop, but i’ve got a prescription for some Iron Tablets and some stuff that will help her Nausea that she’ll feel tomorrow” Georgiana explained “and i’m not working tomorrow or Monday if you need help or any advice and don’t wanna bring her back. Nick is off Tuesday-Thursday”

“Thank you” Benedict said

“And i’ve got copies of everything for the police so when they call i’ll had it over” she said

Lily nodded “they might be able to bump the charges based on what you’ve told us about the dose”

Benedict just growled and decided not to say anything because if he did he’d lose his temper and Sophie just started whimpering and woke up.

Benedict reassured his girlfriend she was okay and kissed her sweat-laded brow as he looked to Georgiana “how long til we can go?”

“I just need to get the prescriptions made, then you can get her home and into bed and you can call her dad,” Georgiana said, getting up and leaving the room.

Lily looked at Benedict and Sophie and sighed “I swear i never knew this girl but she’s a fucking awful piece of work. I mean… Sophie’s like a puppy…”

“Honestly Lils. don’t get me started. Ask Roge what she was like in school…” Benedict sighed as he stroked Sophie’s hair.

“I will. I’ll make some chicken soup for Soph tomorrow and bring it over. Pete said Henry will crash at our place so you can have the flat to yourself to help Sophie recover” Lily said as she checked her phone.

Benedict nodded, he knew his best mate and Sophie’s best mate wouldn’t have an issue with it because they’d do the same for them. “Bea’s spoken to Tom, they’ve got all the drink and stuff and the CCTV from the bar and she said she’ll pop around with Matty tomorrow to fill you in. Sophie wont remember any of the events so the police won’t really ask her much”

Benedict nodded again “i guess there isn’t much we can do but hope it’s on the CCTV that she’s the one doing it”

“Well given how close the CCTV is to the bars for the security of the staff, it should show something… it only needs to pick up Rosamund near the drink and her hand near it as well and it should be enough with her past… they can get the records from school about her bullying Sophie so…” Lily explained

“You know, i’m so fucking pleased your Dad is a Policeman. I mean i know Sophie’s uncle is and Bea’s brother’s are but you’re just so switched on about it all”

“Yeah, dad’s told me enough horror stories to last a lifetime…” Lily sighed “but I think its good to have an understanding and it’s meant little hassle and hopefully be all sorted soon”

Benedict thanked Lily again and they waited for Georgiana to come back in with the prescription and promised to keep in touch with Benedict in case anything changed before they left.

Benedict dropped Lily off back at the flat she shared with Pete and Sophie. Roger was waiting with Pete and Henry and they all came to check on Sophie who had fallen asleep again in the car.

Pete had packed a bag for Sophie to take to Ben’s, though she had some clothes she left there, he packed a few of her personal items, like the stuffed dog version of Sophie's old beloved pet dog Bernie and Mr Snuggles for additional comfort.

They all implored Benedict to keep them in the loop and Benedict promised as he hugged all his friends and his cousin before departing with Sophie.

It wasn’t that far a drive from her place to his, especially given the time of night, it was a 40 minute drive rather than the usual hour and he got Sophie into the flat without any issue and got her changed and placed her into his bed.

He knew he’d have to call Richard in the morning, as it was nearly 3am when he settled himself into the bed next to Sophie, he knew it was pointless to call now as he’d have a heart attack if he called now.

He sighed as he looked down at his tiny girlfriend, sleeping peacefully unaware that she was going to wake in 2 hours time violently throwing up and feeling like she’d been hit by a bus.

He hated that the vile witch had managed to get her again and he just hoped it didn’t knock her confidence in the way it had when she was 15, it had taken so long to get her to the confident woman she was growing into and whilst he loved her no matter what, and he would love her no matter what, he knew that the news about Rosamund’s attack would be out of the blue and wouldn’t go down well but he vowed he would protect her.

He felt like he had failed tonight, Rosamund had gotten to her and it was only through the quick thinking of their friends that Sophie was still alive and it made him feel physically sick at the thought he might have lost her.

He knew he would spend the rest of his life with Sophie, he knew he wanted to marry her and he had been working with Gen to design an engagement ring for when she graduated but the events of the night made him even more determined, he would not lose Sophie and he knew, once he explained all to Richard whilst Sophie was sleeping, they would ensure Rosamund would rue the day she messed with Sophie and would ensure that she spent a large chunk of the next 10-20 years behind bars.

[bahorell]

Les Amis (& co) & their go-to cocktails (some of these might not be like… well known cocktails just cocktails that I have had)

Enjolras: Angel Face - gin, apple brandy, and apricot liquor. Stir.

He isn’t as much of a prude about drinking as people think he is, he just knows nothing about alcohol so he kinda avoids it because there’s so much variance and he honestly can’t keep up. Grantaire ordered him this drink once (because of course) when the whole group went out for drinks. He liked it enough that it’s his go to now. Plus the smile Grantaire gives him when he orders it is well worth it.

Combeferre: Single Malt Scotch Whiskey (not a cocktail but idc)

He’s a bit of a connoisseur. He doesn’t like super sweet stuff and he’s not big on shots. He’s one of those guys that’s like “if I’m gonna drink I want it to be top shelf”. He did a week long tour of Scotland and Ireland just to go to different distilleries.

Courfeyrac: Blue Lagoon - vodka, blue curaçao, and lemonade. Shaken and garnished with a cherry and orange slice.

He loves that this is a simple cocktail bc he gets an upset tummy pretty easily. But it looks like a super fancy cocktail! It’s served in a hurricane glass and it has a fancy garnish. He’ll get up from his seat after he’s served it and walk in front of the mirrors along the wall in the bar to see himself walking around with a blue drink in a fancy glass.

Joly: White Russian - vodka, half & half, and kahlua. Combine ingredients in a glass.

He likes these because they taste good but also he’s a light weight and figures if he drinks too much that he throws up the dairy will neutralize his stomach acid and it won’t burn his throat when it comes up. He falls asleep way before he’s ever drank enough to test this hypothesis however.

Jehan: Lemon drop martini - vodka, Cointreau, simple syrup, lemon juice. Shaken.

Loves lemons so much. They’ll order this drink as a cocktail but they’ll also order the version of it that’s a shot if the group wants to do a round of shots. If they make it at home they’ll add a spoonful of creme de violette to the top of it. It doesn’t change the flavor at all but they love how it looks with this tiny band of purple along the top. Bousset:  Cosmopolitan - vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and lime juice. Shaken.

This man is addicted to cranberry. Any juice he buys is like pineapple cranberry juice, mango cranberry juice, apple cranberry juice. Musichetta thinks he’s weird for being able to chug cranberry juice because of how bitter and tart it is but Joly loves it bc of how healthy Bousset’s urinary tract must be. He won’t order drinks that dont have cranberry juice or at least some sort of berry juice/syrup/flavor. Plus he likes the little martini glass they come in. If they have it he’ll ask for cranberry vodka when he orders this too.

Feuilly: Spruce Collins - gin, lemon juice, spruce tip simple syrup. Shaken.

Feuilly’s favorite liquor is gin. He likes trees so much he wants his alcohol to taste like one. He likes to make this drink for himself all the time but he has to make his own simple syrup for it and usually he forgets about it in the back of the fridge and it gets moldy and Bahorel scolds him.

Bahorel: Blue Hawaiian - rum, pineapple juice, blue curaçao, and creme of coconut. Shaken.

This man is tropical and he wants everything he consumes to be tropical. His favorite fruit is pineapple and he always adds a little too much when he makes this drink himself. Also when he makes it at home he likes it blended but he really isn’t that picky.

Grantaire: Tequila shots (also not a cocktail).

He doesn’t really understand the point of drinking without at least getting tipsy. He usually will order something else to sip on in between shots bc he’s gotten a lot better at managing his consumption and doesn’t want to get totally blasted before his friends are even feeling a little tipsy.

Marius: Beer or Cider

Doesn’t like cocktails. He’s a bit like Enj in that he has no idea what anything is. Had no idea there were different colors for liquors like he assumed all tequila was clear until he saw Combeferre order and fancy expensive glass of Muy Añejo tequila to sip on. Alcohol upsets his stomach pretty easily so he can’t drink anything hard which is fine because he hasn’t found anything he really likes the taste of very much.  

Eponine: Mai Tai - white rum, lime juice, orange curaçao, orgeat syrup, dark rum - Shaken. (orgeat syrup is made from almonds, sugar and rose water or orange flower water)

This girl loves her rum so much. She really only likes liquor that isn’t clear (with the exception of white rum). She likes it because it’s not in your face fruity and obnoxious like the drinks Baz and Courf order but it still has citrus and isn’t woody like what Ferre orders.

Cosette: Long Island Iced Tea - vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola. Combine ingredients in glass.

Her dad never really let her have alcohol so she doesn’t have very good taste. Combeferre thinks it’s disgusting she can drink something like this and enjoy it but Cosette likes to get tipsy!!!! She doesn’t care about how it tastes! But she doesn’t like shots so this is perfect for her. Sometimes she’ll ask for a glass of coke with it and she’ll chase sips of her drink with coke.

Musichetta: Tequila shots WITH TRAINING WHEELS BECAUSE THEY “ENHANCE THE FLAVOR” (“training wheels” is lime and salt) (not reeeeeeaallllllly a cocktail but one could say it’s a very gross deconstructed cocktail)

She’s a bit like Combeferre in that she really only likes to drink top shelf stuff. The tequila that she orders is different than the tequila that R orders bc he’ll buy a shot that’s like $5 or $6 but she’ll spend $13 on a shot. She works at a bar so she knows which companies are good and which ones are shit and always asks for liquor from local distilleries when she’s asked if she has a preference on what she wants to drink.

[mookie--jam]

Chapter 19 (Part 1): Black (Empty Canvas)

“Lola, thank God you made it”, Johnny shouts at me so his voice will be heard over the music booming through The Vogue. He gives me a quick hug, finding it much more important to sip his Vodka Cranberry at that moment.

“Of course I made, though it was a bitch to get in. Where’s Corrine?” I ask as I try to signal one of the bartenders in the hopes of getting a drink. 

“She’s still backstage with the guys, though she promised to come and watch the show here with us. So she’ll be here in a few minutes”, Johnny tells me and I nod in response as I order myself a rum and coke. Tonight is Mookie Blaylock’s second show ever. At first I didn’t want to come because every time I see Eddie it hurts like a motherfucker. But then Stone, Jeff and Mike kept telling me how excited they were for this gig. Mike even dropped by my job at the hotel to beg me to come to the gig. Apparently there’s a few guys from a record label in the crowd tonight interested in signing them. I couldn’t not come. That would make me a fucking horrible friend and I couldn’t do that to the guys. Also I still needed to thank Eddie for the flowers he sent me for my birthday. It had been two weeks and I hadn’t yet been able to muster up the courage to call him on the phone. I wonder if he’s okay. I hope his stage fright isn’t getting the best of him. 

“Are you okay Johnny? You seem awfully quiet today”, I tell after a few moments of silence spent between us, which is a very rare occurrence. He’s aggressively stirring around the ice in his cup with a straw.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to go to the doctor tomorrow for a routine check up, but I know he’ll have to take blood and I just hate fucking needles”, Johnny tells me, sounding traumatized by the thought of it alone. 

“Oh you big baby”, I chuckle and wrap an arm around his shoulders, gently squeezing the top of his arm.

“You’ll be fine, trust me”, I say and Johnny lets out a half whine besides me. I’m about to tell him that he doesn’t need to fucking worry but at that point Corrine appears in front of us and wraps her arms around both Johnny and I giving us a group hug. 

“Hey, how are the guys? Are they nervous?” I ask Corrine and even though I say guys, I only care about one name. I’ve seen the other perform at least a hundred times and they’re always fine. It’s Eddie that I worry about.

“Most of them are okay. You know the normal preshow jitters”, Corrine tells me and I already feel that something else is coming. 

“Eddie on the other hand. The poor guy is on the verge of a nervous break down”, Corrine tells me and my heart drops. 

“That’s why I’m here. I know you guys to be on speaking terms and the last time you were able to calm him down. There’s a lot riding on this performance and the other guys are getting worried, because he’s nearly catatonic. Would you just please go and talk to him”, she continues. She practically begging me. 

“Corrine, I don’t know…” I say. It could work and I could calm him down. Though the last time I did that was through kissing him, which isn’t and option now. But maybe I could be able to calm him down again. But maybe I could make him more stressed out and panicked than he already was. 

“Please, Lola, I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t necessary”, Coco says. I know I could calm him down, I just need to trust my instincts. 

“Okay, I’ll go. But I can’t promise anything”, I tell her and I start making my way through the crowd to get to the backstage. 

“You’re a saint”, I hear Corrine shout. I shake my head at her commentary and continue to push my way through the crowd at The Vogue. The place is packed to mass capacity and there a bunch more people outside trying to get in. Most of them are here for Alice in Chains, that’s a fact. But over the last few weeks the Seattle Music scene has been buzzing with talk about Mookie. They’ve been working on a project with Chris and it’s already set to release in April of next year. So everyone is really fucking curious. Also because some of the old Mother Love Bone and Green River fanbase didn’t hear in time about Mookie’s first show. So even though people are here mainly to see the Alice guys, there’s more than a little curiosity towards the Mookie guys. I eventually manage to get to the back stage door. 

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” a guy asks me as I open the door. I turn around to look at him, judging from his clothes he looks like he could be part of the security crew. 

“My name is Lola Carmichael. I’m here to see Eddie Vedder of Mookie Blaylock”, I tell the guy quite confidently. It’s something I picked up when I was dating Andy and needed to get backstage; just act like you belong her, because you do. So don’t be fucking nervous and stutter. The security guy however is not really having it. 

“Why haven’t I heard your name mentioned before?”, he asks me and I practically want to roll my eyes, because for a hot second I think I’m gonna have to explain the whole fucking situation between Eddie and I and why I need to get backstage, preferably before they have to go on stage. But I’m saved by someone pulling me through the half open stage door. 

“She belongs with us, it’s cool”, Stone tells the security guy who just shrugs, but I can’t help but give him a somewhat smug smile. Something along the lines of: told ya, motherfucker. 

“Thank God you came”, Stone tells me as soon as he closes the door. He wraps me up in a hug that nearly squishes all the air from my body. 

“You’re not the first one to say that tonight”, I mumble against his chest. Eventually he finally releases me from his grip and I’m able to breathe once again. 

“So, where is he?” I ask him, wanting to get down to business. Also because I’m worried for him. I need to know that he’s doing okay. Because when Andy couldn’t handle stress in the past, he reached for fucking dope and that’s not what I ever want Eddie to do. 

“He’s locked himself in the restroom”, Stone tells me sounding hopeless. I’ve been backstage at The Vogue before so I know where the restroom is. Without saying another word to Stone I make my way over to said restroom. I find Jeff in front of the door, softly knocking on it, though his voice isn’t exactly soft. 

“Ed, get the fuck out here”, he mutters angrily. I shake my head and push Jeff aside. Jeff gives me a surprised look.

“That’s not gonna fucking work. He’s never gonna get out of that restroom out of free will”, I tell him and I rummage through my black satchel bag for something that will help the situation. 

“Oh, and what do you intend to do then?” Jeff asks me. Oh Ament, you know me longer than today. you know I have a way of working around these things. Eventually I find a quarter at the bottom of my bag. I put it in the outside groove of the toilet door lock and turn it around, effectively unlocking the restroom door. I open it and give Jeff a look that says something along the lines of: I told you, never underestimate me. After that I close the door behind me and lock it again. I hear an aggravated moan from the outside, but decide to ignore it. The restroom is a bit bigger than a one person stall, but not much. Eddie is sitting on the toilet (thankfully he’s put down the seat and the cover and is very clearly using it as chair, rather than something else). He hasn’t even moved or flinched since I entered the room. 

I kneel down in front of him and take his hands, which are in his lap, in mine. I use my thumbs to stroke the back of his hands. 

“Eddie”, I softly say his name and nearly sigh out in relief when he slowly lifts his head to look at me. 

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask him, not knowing what else to ask him at this point. He stays quiet for a second and I’m worried that Corrine wasn’t exaggerating when she said that he was nearly catatonic. 

“Not really”, he eventually says. Good I’m making progress. My current plan of action is to keep asking him question so he’ll come out of his slightly catatonic state to then switch to a subject that always makes him happy and somewhat excited so that he’ll have the right energy to go on stage. 

“What’s the matter? Why are you so nervous?” I ask him, making sure to speak calmly and softly because the last thing I need is for him to have a panic attack. 

“There’s a lot riding on this show. There’s people from Epic records that are coming to see us, so it’s important we play well. And… I’m just scared to fuck up”, he tells me. I nod. I knew it was something along these lines. But I have a feeling there’s still some things that he’s holding back. But I know better than to try and get it from him all at once.

“I haven’t had the chance to thank you yet for those flowers you gave me on my birthday. They were absolutely beautiful. So thank you”, I tell him, trying to change the subject a bit and also because I really needed to thank him for them. 

“You liked them?” he asks me, somewhat shyly. It always confuses me when he acts shy around me. I thought we were past shyness, but I guess when we came to the conclusion that we could never be together that it set us back in our friendship as well. So Eddie sometimes is shy around me now. I don’t get why, but I do find it really endearing. 

“I loved them, thank you so much”, I tell him and I can’t help but lean over and give him a peck on his cheek as a sign of gratitude. He gives me a small smile.

“Come here”, he mutters, somewhat shyly, somewhat pleading and gestures to his lap. I’m in doubt  of about exactly 0.3 seconds before I oblige to his order and straddle his lap. I take his head in my hands and place a soft kiss on his forehead, stroking his hair in the process. Eddie wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer. For the first time in a long time I feel good again. Why does this always happen? Why do I feel incomplete until I’m in his arms again? 

“I’ve been such a fuck up lately. I just assume that this will go wrong as well”, he says, resting his head against my chest as I play with his hair. Oh my love, you weren’t the one to fuck up, I was. 

“Eddie, would you look at me?” I ask him and he slowly raises his head until his baby blues meet my eyes. 

“You’ll be fine. Because I’ve heard you sing many many times before and not once did you ever fuck up”, I tell him and I see a small smile form on his lips. Oh how I want to kiss him again.

“And if you get too nervous up there, just look in the crowd. Johnny, Corrine and I will be front row”, I continue. 

“But there’s also about 300 other people and the guys from the record company. Those are the ones that get on my nerves”, he says somewhat hopelessly. 

“Whenever it gets too much, just look at me. And imagine that you’re in the basement of the gallery, with just me there following rehearsal, like I’ve done before”, I try to reassure him. 

“I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything”, he eventually says and I give him a little smile. He’s out of his catatonic state and just seems really nervous now. But it’s the kind of nervousness that he should be able to handle. 

“Lola…” he says my name and is about to say something else when we’re interrupted by someone banging on the door. 

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE GET OUT OF THERE! WE NEED TO GO ON IN FIVE!” Jeff shouts from the other side of the door. We both turn our heads towards the door. Eddie lets out a sigh. 

“I guess it’s now or never”, he mutters and I turn my head back around to face him. I can’t help it, and tuck a strand of his hair behind his air. 

“You’ll be okay, right?” I ask him, now more nervous than he seems. He is such a talented musician and so are the other guys. The though that they might miss out on an opportunity like this is nerve wrecking. Eddie’s voice needs to be heard. Heard by more people than all clubs in Seattle could hold and this could be his shot. 

“I think so. And if I get too nervous I look for you in the crowd”, he says and I nod, shooting him another small smile. 

“I’ll be there”, I tell him. Jeff is still banging on the door. He really needs to get out of here. I get off his lap and he gets up from the toilet as well. I’m about to turn around and open the door when Eddie pulls me in tight for another hug. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close as well. Jeff is still knocking on the door. 

“Come one guys, this isn’t funny anymore”, Jeff says helplessly from the other side of the door. I gently force a bit more distance between Eddie and I, even though I don’t want to. I don’t want to leave his arms ever again. 

“Eddie, we have to go”, I tell him and I notice how dangerously close our lips are. One kiss and he’d be so much calmer already. But I can’t. We can’t. We’re not those people anymore. Eddie nods and loosens his grip on me completely. I turn around and open the restroom door. 

Jeff’s arms were still on automatic pilot and he could barely stop himself in time so he didn’t hit me in the face. 

“Finally”, he sighs out very much relieved. He gives Eddie a scolding look immediately, but stops it as soon as he sees the look on my face. We awkwardly stand there for a few seconds. The backstage has become more busy. People are running around, trying to find their instruments, tech guys running around with cords, the stage manager yelling that they have two more minutes. 

“Well, I’ll see you guys after the show”, I tell them and give Jeff a quick hug. I then turn to Eddie and pull him tight one last time, hoping to let him know that everything will be alright. 

“You’ll be great”, I whisper in his ear and before he can say anything in response, I remove myself from his arms and start making my way towards the backstage door again. 

I walk back into the crowd and soon enough I’m able to find Johnny and Corrine again. They’re front row already and I manage to snake my way through the crowd until I get to them. 

“And? Did it work?” Corrine asks me eager to know. Knowing her the suspense of it all has been killing her ever since I left for the backstage. She holding on to her her glass -what I assume to be rum and coke- for dear life. It’s surprising the thing hasn’t shattered under the pressure yet. 

“He’s talking now, so I guess I did something right”, I tell her as I squeeze in between her and Johnny to secure my place in the crowd. I promised him I’d be front row if he needed me, so here I am.

“God bless your beautiful soul”, she shouts out and wraps her arms around me so aggressively I nearly get tackled to the ground. 

“Corrine, you should thank her. Not fucking kill her”, Johnny tells her and I nod in agreement. He gives Corrine a push at her shoulder and eventually she does let me go. Why do I always take breathing for granted? Especially with the friends I have, who see near suffocation as a sign of affection. 

At that point we hear the mike switch on and the MC comes to to announce the guys. I hold my breath the moment they walk out on stage. Eddie is the last one to walk on. He seems okay, somewhat hesitant, but okay. He makes his way to the mike and looks around him, checking if the guys are ready. They all nod or give a thumbs up. Now it all lies in Eddie’s hands. His eyes are still screwed shut, but eventually he opens them and scans the first row. His eyes lock with mine and I give him a small wave. It’s just us in the rehearsal space of the gallery, or just you and me in bed when you used tot sing me to sleep. It’s just us.

“One, two, three…” he softly says into the mike and behind him the band begins the first tune. I recognize it as Release. I’ve heard them rehearse it many times. I recall when it was written. It was in the week that Eddie slept on the couch of the gallery. One day after rehearsal he came upstairs to quickly take a shower. I remember opening the door to see a puffy eyed and runny nosed Eddie on the other side. He told me it was nothing and I decided to let it go, not wanting to intrude. But after everything that he told me during Thanksgiving, the meaning of the song is so much clearer to me. If his dad could see him now, he’d be so fucking proud. By the end of the song there are tears in the corners of my eyes and I quickly wipe them away before anyone else can see them. 

After that they launch themselves into a setlist consisting out of uptempo, high energy songs. First Once, followed by Alive, Why Go, Even Flow, Alone and Porch. The set is going very well and Eddie is crawling more and more out his shell. There is more audacity in his voice and in his presence. He even manages to look into the crowd instead of keeping his eyes shut. Every now and then his eyes still find me and I give him some form of reassurance; wether it’s a smile or a thumbs up. 

“So… Uhm… This is our last song”, Eddie says after Porch. Honestly, I’m so sad their set is already over. I could watch them for hours and hours on end. The crowd isn’t too happy that it’s over already either. 

“But that means that Alice will be out in a few moments”, he continues and the crowd cheers. Knowing Jerry Cantrell, he’s probably grinning ear to ear back stage right now. 

“But we have one more song to go. It was written in a dark hour, hence the title Black”, and with those words the band kicks in behind him. I’ve never heard them play this before. I can immediately tell it’s a more slow song, and I’m excited. I love their high energy stuff, but in my humble opinion you can only get to know the core of an artist in their calmer works, where the emotions are able to come to the surface. 

I’m mesmerized by the beauty of his voice once again. I’m so entranced that I’m only vaguely listening to the lyrics. But then Johnny and Corrine start tapping my shoulders at the same time. They share a knowing look and I’m completely and utterly confused. What? I mouth at Corrine, not wanting my voice to was out Eddie’s.

“I think he wrote this about you”, Corrine says and a chill runs down my spine. What? That can’t be? Oh please don’t let it be so. But when Eddie gets to the final part of the song I know Corrine is right. 

“I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky. But why, why, why can't it be, can't it be mine?” Eddie sings and for the first time during the song he opens his eyes and they immediately find mine. The pain in his eyes knocks the wind out of me. 

They finish up the song and take their bows. In that moment I don’t think about what I do. I start to push my way through the crowd again. I hear Johnny and Corrine call my name, but I ignore them. The fastest way it is through the backstage and then through the emergency exit. I make my way to the backstage door. Luckily this time the security guy doesn’t stop me and lets me right through.

The moment I get into the backstage the Mookie guys are getting off stage. So I decide to make a run for it. 

I hear Stone shout my name but I just ignore him as I run around the labyrinth that is the backstage trying to find the emergency exit. 

Another person shouts my name. I know who it is. It’s the one person I can’t face right now. I can’t see him right now. I take a sharp turn around the corner and eventually see the emergency exit right in front of it. I push it open and run through it in one swift motion. Even though I’m impressed by my successful run so far, Eddie is by far faster. I’ve only been able to run a few yards when Eddie’s hand catches on my wrist, stopping me in my running and pulling me back. 

“What?” I shout at him, only to realize my voice is cracking because of tears. 

[footballcloud]

Like Old Times - Anyone You’d Like

this is the first thing I’ve written in about a year now, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I’m not sure how frequently I’ll post things and some might be longer than other. Happy reading my lovelies! Tell me who you imagined it with! xx

"I don't understand how someone could be on 'good terms' with an ex", your friend piped up, putting the phrase 'good terms' in air quotations, when the topic of your most recent relationship popped up in conversation. You playfully rolled your eyes given that she'd told you that a billion times already, along with several other people, but it wasn’t like the break up was messy. You two were still civil, there wasn’t any tension between you. So why couldn’t the two of you stay friends? "I don't feel the need to make an enemy out of every ex I have", you replied, earning a laugh from the other girls as you threw a wink her way since she had a reputation to be a bit of a firecracker, and everyone knew it.

"If this cocktail wasn't so damn expensive, you'd be wearing it", she retorted as you shot her a look as if to say 'yeah right'. She wasn't wrong about you still getting on with your ex though. He was still very much a part of your life. You'd text him good luck occasionally on a match day if it was a particularly big game, or if he'd scored, you even had notifications for his team turned on on your phone to see how they were getting on. His parents even sent you a card a bouquet of flowers for your birthday a few weeks ago. He became integrated into part of your routine and you didn't want to offset it. Clearly your girls were against it though, they were never a huge fan of his in the first place. Saying you could do better. Saying he wasn't the one. Saying that whilst keeping little rituals like that in your life was lovely and all, that you'd never get over him - but you were over him. Definitely. Nevertheless, they supported you through the breakup as if they'd never said a bad word about him. Although, you couldn't miss the unimpressed faces they pulled when he walked into the club with his a couple of teammates.

"What's he doing here?" One of them were quick to comment as he made his way in the direction of the bar to get in a round of drinks. "Probably come to celebrate the win", you struggled and diverted your eyes away from him in a desperate attempt to avoid eye contact, that was the last thing you needed to throw you off the flow of a good night. "Of course you'd know", another one of your girls piped up and elbowed you in the ribbed mockingly, making your group laugh once again.

"I think it's mine turn to get drinks in, who wants what?" You slid out of the booth and grabbed your clutch from beside you. Your friends weren’t stupid, they knew exactly why you were so eager to get the drinks in but there was only so many times they could tell you that you weren’t right for each other.

"Passion fruit martini please" "Make that two!" "Vodka cranberry" "I think I'll pass this time, thanks" "Mines a rum and coke"

You nodded in an attempt to look like you'd remember what they'd just told you, but the second you properly laid eyes on him at the bar, their orders fell out your head almost instantly. He looked as good as he did the day you two broke it off. Dark ripped jeans, dark shirt with the top few buttons undone and sleeves cuffed a couple of times to show his arms that were glazed with a rich tan from his Dubai holiday that you'd seen plastered across his social media a few week ago, paired with silver watch that he'd bought himself last Christmas on his left wrist and grey trainers with hair styled neatly like it always was.

'Jesus Christ, keep your shit together', you scolded yourself for staring for too long but before you could tear your gaze away from him, he'd caught you in the act.

"You haven't change a bit, darling", a smug grin appeared on his face, using your pet name that you hadn't heard in months, as he rested a hand on your back, making you suddenly deeply regret your choice to wear a backless dress when you jolted under his warm touch. "Looking gorgeous, as ever", he added and leaned down a little further meaning you could smell the familiar scent of his cologne and fabric softer of his shirt when you inhaled heavily to compose yourself. You’d intended on going over to him, but the thought process hadn’t got as far as to what you were going to say to him, nor did you know why you felt the need to interrupt your girls night out to see him.

"Thank you, congrats on the win this afternoon", you replied, thanking him for his compliment that could have easily been mistaken for a flirty comment. ‘You haven’t changed either’, you thought when his arms tenced slightly when he leaned against the bar, allowing yourself a subtle glance over him - but eager to not fall for his charm a second time so changed the topic of conversation quickly. "Thanks, darling. How have you been?" You made polite conversation for a while, just like old times. With the drinks order for your group of friends long forgotten and presumably the same for him, you made your way outside with him as he guided you through a back exit, his hand still on your back.

"Seeing anyone new?" He asked out of the blue, initiating a conversation that you really didn't want to discuss with him and it confused you as to why he'd brought up the topic all of a sudden. "Nope, not been seeing anyone for months", you popped the 'p' on nope. Your response made him raise his eyebrows at you, pulling an expression that, even after an 18 month long relationship, you couldn't read what it meant. You weren’t going to tell him that he was in fact the last person you’d seen as that might give off the wrong message that you weren’t over him.

"What about you? Surely you've had girls practically throwing themselves at you?" You scoff involuntarily, sounding overly bitter. Yuck.  Clearly your comment caught him off guard because it was one of the few times his cool, calm demeanour had flaked away, resulting in you looking flustered. "No one actually, how could I when I see pictures on your Instagram of you looking that good". He eyed you up and down, shamelessly flirting with you, passing the flustered feeling over to you as you shifted under his gaze for a second as he took in your appearance better than he could when you were in the club. Strappy heels that he knew hurt your feet but made your legs look incredible, that short backless dress that he'd be thinking of taking off you since the second he laid eyes on you, hair curled at the ends so it bounced below your shoulders blades and light makeup, because you had no one to impress - or so you thought when you left your apartment.

"If you didn't like it, you know where the unfollow button is", you told him, trying not to sound defensive. "Who said I didn't like it?" He was quick to throw back his response with his signature smile plastered on his face, the same smile that had you falling for him the first time. Whilst you mustered up something to say, he began to lean in closer again allowing you to inhale the same familiar mixture of scents that intoxicated you less than an hour ago. You watched his eyes flutter shut with parted lips as his head tilted to the side, it was a natural reaction of yours to mirror his actions as you leaned in closer too. His hand on your back pressed more firmly against it to pull you closer whilst one of yours instinctively went to run through his hair and then settle on the back of his neck. The kiss was tentative, neither of you really wanted to take control in fear of losing the other one again.

“I’ve missed this”, he said as he continued to move his lips against yours, snaking his hand round to rest on your waist. You pulled away from his abruptly after that and leant your forehead on his. “Don’t say or do anything you might regret. It’s the alcohol talking”, you stated and looked at him, lips almost touching again. “You saw me walk in, I’ve not had a drink all night”, he told you and pulled away so the warmth of his body no longer comforted you as the atmosphere around you both suddenly became heavy. He was right though. You were the only one that was intoxicated after a few shots and two cocktails.

“I want you back”, he confirmed bluntly and tried to make eye contact with you but you denied him. “Okay - but we need to talk about this, not here”, you gestured to him, he nodded in agreement as a group of people stumbled out of the door, after clearly consuming more alcohol than they could handle. It had also started to drizzle slightly, the moisture weighing down the loose curls in your hair. “Come back to mine? Please?” His gaze still on you when you met his eyes but were deep in thought given his invitation. You weren’t prepared to let him smooth talk you into his bed like you knew he was capable of doing, and catch feelings again, only resulting in you tearing yourself apart again when he dips out of your life. Over the months that you’d been apart, you’d learnt your own worth - he wasn’t going to have you that easily.

“Okay”, you nodded as a grin appeared on his face. “But only to talk”, you added making him laugh and sling an arm round your shoulder. “Of course, babe. What else?” He raised an eyebrow at you and threw you a cheek wink before knocking on the window of a taxi that was parked nearby. “Have I told you how good you look in that dress?” You jabbed him in the ribs and rolled yours eyes, hoping that the dim streetlights would hide your blushes. “Don’t you dare say what I know you going to!” You warned him, knowing he was going to make a comment about how he thought the dress would look better on his bed room floor. He threw his head back as a laugh left his lips whilst a hand casually fell onto your thigh when he sat down next to you, just like it had done hundreds of times before. You laced your fingers over his, content with the company you were in.

[whatusernamex3000]

So I know it's a niche ship but Komelle has always been a sweet little pairing I've loved since I watched voltron. I just wish they did more to further the two of them together (romantically or friendship idk just wanted more).

Anyways here's and unfinished fic from two years ago when I started writing. Just wanted to put more Komelle into the world.

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

Keith was on a mission to reconnect with his estranged mom. Feeling rejected by his friends, he set off on a solo road trip across the country to meet her.

The last thing he imagined was that on the trip back, he would end up being happy for the first time in his life. All it took was his mom, a mutt, and a goofball hitchhiker.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Keith sat in silence with his newly found mother, Krolia, he learned her name was. When he set out to find her, he was at an all time low in his life. And at twenty one years old, that was saying a lot.

He'd made mistakes before, but he'd never meant to burn bridges. He never meant to throw away everything he had worked so hard to build. But things just didn't go his way. He had no idea what to do next, so he finally decided that he was going to set out to talk to his estranged mother.

The woman who had left him when he was born with just his father. The woman who didn't seek him out when his father died. The woman who didn't want him, didn't need him.

But he packed as much as he could into his rusty pickup truck and said enough with California, and drove to Portland, Maine where he discovered she lived.

After he mustered the courage to knock on the door, things went rather well from him. He was prepared to give her a piece of his mind and tell her off, but when the time came, he couldn't. Keith was just so happy to have found her. And she was nothing like the terrible monster he had created in his head. Krolia for all her faults and mistakes in her youth, was willing to be a part of his life. She wanted to find Keith after she found out his father died but she had heard too late and he was already with the Shiroganes.

While Keith wanted to say that it was no excuse, he couldn't imagine his life without growing up with Shiro and his family. They treated him as their own, and he considered himself a part of their family even if he knew it wasn't true.

The trip back was filled with awkward silence as the two tried to learn more about each other. He'd learned that his mother was a total badass, and a surprisingly great cook. She never married, or had other children, and all around was a great woman. While she couldn't get back the time she'd missed, she wanted him to know that from that point on, she was going to be there.

Somewhere around Indiana they hit a snafu. More specifically, Keith nearly hit a dog. The damn thing sprinted in front of his truck causing him to swerve out of the way and drive straight into a ditch. There they had to get it towed to replace the destroyed tire. Keith could've done it himself had the ruined tire not already been the spare.

Next door there was a local dive bar that Krolia suggested that they check out while they wait for the truck to be fixed. Leaving the shop Keith noticed the dog that had caused this fiasco sitting patiently as if it were waiting for them. "Go away you mutt!" He shouted but it had no effect on the dog. It sat patiently waiting for God knows what.

Forgetting about the dog, Keith followed his mother into the dive bar. Needless to say it was exactly what he expected. Loud drunken local hillbilly types, a bartender that was too pretty to be there, and a few out of place strangers. But one stood out among the rest.

A cute blonde who looked to nervous to be at a place like this. Krolia seemingly sensing Keith's wandering eyes chose to have them sit next to the pretty blonde girl. "Do you mind? These seats aren't taken are they?" She kindly asked the girl.

She shook her head. Krolia sat down and had Keith sit between her and the girl. "What would you like Keith?"

"Ummm a rum and coke," he replied. Krolia chuckled, "just like your father." But as soon as she said it, she realized how much of a mistake it was. They were far to soon in their relationship to talk about him. Keith excused himself for a minute leaving Krolia alone. She let out a large sigh, snagging the lonely girls attention.

"Is everything okay ma'am?" She kindly asked. She had a slight British accent if Krolia was placing it correctly. "No. I'm stuck with my estranged son who hates me. I haven't been part of his life in over twenty years, and now I am. And it's a bit much. For both of us."

"But you're trying right?"

Krolia let out another sigh, "I'm trying harder at this than anything I've ever tried before. But I don't think it's going to be enough."

"Well I think it should be. You have motherly eyes," the girl pointed out and offered Krolia a kind and friendly smile.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. I'm sure that the last thing you wanted was for some stranger to confide in you. Especially something like this," Krolia laughed a bit.

"Nonsense, I asked you. I'm Romelle," the girl said offering her hand.

"Krolia."

"So Krolia why are you and your son here in the middle of Indiana?"

Krolia filled her in on her and Keith's story. From meeting in Portland, Maine, to hitting the ditch just a few miles down the road.

"It was Kosmo," Romelle said. Krolia looked at her with a confused look. "What's cosmic?"

"No the dog that ran in front of your truck. His name is Kosmo. He's like the towns friendly neighborhood dog. He doesn't have an owner," she explained. By this point, Romelle had taken Keith's seat and drink, due to Krolia's offer.

"He was probably trying to chase a rabbit," she explained, polishing off the last of Keith's rum and coke. "And he was probably trying to apologize to your son when you saw him outside."

"Speaking of Keith," Krolia swiveled in there seat to survey the rest of the bar. "I don't see him."

Krolia paid for the drinks and her and Romelle walked towards the exit in search of Keith.

Much to their surprise, Keith was playing fetch with Kosmo. "Would you look at that," Krolia teased. "I thought you didn't like that mutt."

Keith smiled as Kosmo returned with the stick. Keith bent down to pet his face. "He's a mutt alright. Half amazing, half terrific."

"Parks n Rec," Romelle shouted. "I love that show."

Keith awkwardly smiled at her. "Uhhh hi. I'm Keith."

"Oh I know all about you," Romelle playfully teased. Keith's face started to turn red, thankfully, Krolia stepped in.

"Actually Keith, I was about to buy Romelle here a drink for listening to me ramble on about you. But why don't you do that while I talk to the mechanic." She gave her newfound son a smile and surprisingly he returned it.

"Uhhh yeah sure." He responded as Krolia walked towards him to give him some money. "Play nice, she seems like a sweet girl," she whispered as she handed him the money.

Keith and Rlomelle sat there awkwardly sipping on their respective drinks. A rum and Coke for him, and a vodka cranberry for her. It wasn't the fanciest of bars, but the pretty bartender definitely did make killer drinks. "You're mom's nice," Romelle finally said, breaking the silence between them. He couldn't help but notice her misplaced accent. Certainly foreign.

He awkwardly laughed, "you probably know her better than I do at this point."

"Because you met her a few days ago yeah?"

Keith nearly choked on his own drink. He looked over and saw her with a concerned look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. It's just that she told me, and i… I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay. It's just… I don't actually know what I'm doing," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. He ordered them both another round, Indiana had very cheap alcohol compared to California. Once the bartender returned with their drinks, he turned his attention back to Romelle. This time he took all of her in. She had beautiful blonde hair that she kept neat and straight with pigtails but not really pigtails, if Keith knew anything about hair other than to wash and occasionally comb it, he would've been able to pinpoint her hair style. But regardless of what style it actually was, he thought she looked beautiful with it. It flowed all the way down to her just above her waist, but it was hard to tell while she was sitting. And while her blonde hair was eye catching, it was the piercing violet eyes that pulled him in. She was truly beautiful.

"I just feel like I should forgive her," he continued once he found his voice again. He was nervous that he may never be able to speak properly in front of her again now that he noticed just how stunning she looked. "But I don't know if I should. She had a chance to find me, but thought it was best to leave me with the family that took me in… that I wasn't good enough." He finished in a whisper, struggling to keep the tears at bay.

Normally he would've called up Allura by this point, telling her everything. If he were still back home in California, he would've driven to Acxa's. She was never one for sharing heart to hearts, but hanging out with her always put his mind at ease. With her, he was able to forget temporarily and just be himself. Hell, he would've called Lance or any of his friends by now, but in typical Keith fashion he blew up at all of them and promptly left the next morning without a word. Some time during the night he mistakenly and drunkenly blocked and deleted all of their contacts, the only thing that kept him in touch with them. He didn't have snapchat, or twitter, or even Instagram. That was all of them. He preferred things the old fashioned way, face to face. That didn't mean he wasn't on Instagram. All his friends had decided to create a hashtag for him under #keithkogane. He loved and missed his friends, but they weren't here. And yet somehow here, in the middle of nowhere Indiana, in some rundown bar, he found himself pouring his soul out to a beautiful girl he just met.

Romelle wasn't too sure what to say. Keith looked completely devastated, and she refused to believe that this man she just met was anything but good enough. Suddenly, the dj started playing a song she's recently started listening to religiously, and an idea came to mind. "I love this song let's dance," she grabbed his arm, not allowing him to say no.

"I don't dance," Keith tried to refute, but the look in Romelle's eyes told him that he was going to lose this fight ten out of ten times. The first few songs weren't that bad, considering they were a variation of country music. Romelle tried to teach him to two step, but in the end he proved that he doesn't dance because he can't. But still, Keith was thoroughly enjoying himself; watching the way Romelle moved with the rhythm, the way she laughed as she was spun around. It wasn't until the latest song had ended that they found themselves back in each other's arms. His smile was much more genuine than when they started. Suddenly the lights dimmed and the beat slowed. (A/N Golden Hour - Kasey Musgraves)

"Surely you can slow dance?" She teased, giving him an out if he wanted. He hadn't slow danced since the senior prom with his date Acxa, and he was so awkward (thankfully, Acxa was just as awkward) that he swore off slow dancing forever. But now, not slow dancing with Romelle was just about the last thing he wanted. Dancing the past hour or so had completely taken his mind off of his situation. For the first time since he left his friends a week and a half ago, he was having fun. And it was all because of her.

Keith pulled Romelle close and they slowly swayed to the soothing beat. Her head rested on his chest as they kept swaying. "I know what you did… And thank you," he whispered into her ear.

"For what?" Romelle asked, obviously playing dumb.

He did his best not to laugh. "The dancing. It's helped. I really appreciate it. You didn't have to do this for a stranger."

"How about a friend?"

Keith didn't respond, instead just closed his eyes and let the music take over. Something about this felt right, and if he wasn't stuck here, he would've been willing to explore this feeling further. "Thirsty?" He heard her ask, and he opened his eyes to look down at her and just stared into her eyes, getting lost in their reflection. It was right then and there that Keith wished more than anything that this was just a dream. If it was, he wouldn't have to leave her so soon.

"That'd be great."

Two more drinks later, courtesy of the bartender who liked Romelle's "sunshiney attitude", Keith finally decided that despite knowing that he would most likely never see this girl again, he wanted to enjoy his time with her. Not wallow in self pity due to their limited time. "So tell me about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?" She asked between sips of her apple Martini.

"What brings you here?" It was the wrong question, he realized too late. The pain in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was running from something. "I… sorry. You don't need to talk about it."

She smiled, sliding her hand over his. "Thank you."

"So where are you going?" Based on her face, this was a difficult question as well, but not for the reason he thought.

She sighed, "I don't know. I've just been drifting from place to place. But I've been here for about three weeks. I don't know why but something was keeping here and honestly I wasn't sure what it was… until today."

It took Keith by surprise, and he almost pulled his hand away. Instead he switched so his hand rest on top of hers and he gave it a squeeze. "I hope you're right."

Krolia reappeared to a sight that made her smile. He saw the look the two young adults were sharing… comfort and hope. It as perfect picture, in fact she took out her phone and took one. She had decided that she was going to catalog their entire journey back with Keith. She wasn't sure if her son had Instagram, so instead she just used a simple hashtag with his name. And to her surprise, she wasn't the only one that had used that tag. Suddenly she was staring at hundreds of images of her son with his friends. It made her heart melt that despite all his struggles, there were people that cared about him. The most tags came from two girls named Allura and Acxa, and a man named Takashi. Clearly these were three of his closest friends, and she hoped that she could meet them.

She stared at the photo she just took and debated on whether or not to add it to the four other photos she had posted under the hashtag. But she decided against it, this was a private moment between the two of them.

Feeling eyes on them, they snapped out of their reverie and turned to look at who was staring. Keith had forgotten that his mom was even with him, and all of a sudden all his feelings came pouring back in. But seeing the look on her face made them slowly vanish. She was smiling… his mom was smiling at him.

Maybe it was the alcohol finally taking effect, but he swore that he had never been more at peace.

[everybodyscupoftea]

What about pike Jj, Cody and Tyler fighting over who gets to match reader on Halloween and she ends up playing them where they end up matching each other or something like that lol

okay, i had an idea for this today on my drive home from work! so let’s say we kinda combine requests and have some fun. jealous pike jj and group costume and costume contest!

ft. zach, cody, tyler, and brooke 

-

“so are you and zach planning on matching?” cody asked, laid back on the bed next to you.

you hummed, “maybe. i was actually thinking about a group costume.”

“with who?” tyler sat up, sounding curious.

“well, with you guys actually.”

“oooh,” cody started, intrigued, “whatcha got in mind?”

“well i was thinking that you guys kinda look like the guys in teen wolf, thought it would be fun if we did that. everyone loves a good werewolf look.”

“i get to be isaac,” cody raised his hand.

rolling your eyes, you squeezed his shoulder, “sorry bud, but you’re scott.”

you invested in fake teeth, contacts, and beacon hills lacross merch for the boys, fully dedicated to winning the competition. you took the excuse to buy a new outfit for lydia even though you had plenty in your closet already.

“i still think you should’ve been derek,” cody told you as he stood in front of the mirror trying to put the contacts in.

“well, i wanted a new outfit and to match zach.”

“technically, you made out with me too,” he wiggled his eyebrows at you, red contacts in.

you shuddered dramatically, “that was season one, please.”

tyler gently punched his shoulder, “bro, she’d never actually go for you, it was all for jackson.”

cody rolled his eyes, “yeah, whatever. it still happened.”

“i’m not kissing you for...multiple reasons.”

“baby, you could only dream of being so lucky,” he cooed, throwing an arm around your shoulder.

“fuck off,” you complained, straightening the shirt collar he messed up. 

“what’s up boys?” you heard zach call from the hallway before he walked into the room. his hair looked shaggier than usual and he did a little spin to show off his outfit.

“sorry guys,” you told cody and tyler, “he looks much better than you chumps.”

“zach is hot,” tyler nodded, “i can live with that.”

zach winked at tyler, “good, hate for us to have to break up.”

“never, babe,” tyler blew him a kiss.

zach laughed and bent down to press a kiss to your forehead, “looking great tonight. stiles was a lucky man.”

you grinned, “thank you, sir.”

“ready to go, team?” cody asked, pocketing his wallet.

“born ready,” you cheered, bumping your fist with tyler’s outstretched one as the four of you walked toward the door. 

“i’ve got the uber,” zach volunteered, “we’re just going downtown right?”

“yep, thanks man,” cody responded cheerfully.

“no prob, thanks for letting me crash the group costume,” zach responded, locking his phone.

“i think we should be telling you that,” tyler told him, wry smile on his face.

“ty, i’m not sure if anything will ever be better than hermione.”

tyler shrugged, “probably not, but this will do.”

the uber arrived not too long after the four of you made it outside to stand on the sidewalk.

“you know,” you told them as the four of you climbed in the car, “this is maybe my favorite costume so far.”

tyler cooed loudly and pinched your cheek as the driver pulled away from the curb. you slapped his hand away and the driver asked, “what are you guys?”

“teen wolf, bro,” cody, who was in the front seat, told him.

“my sister watched that i think.”

“great show,” zach told him from your right, “i’d recommend.”

“dude, are you zach davis?”

blinking a few times, zach nodded slowly, “yeah.”

“dude, you’re incredible! you gonna try and go mlb next year?”

he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, “thanks man, um, i think so, yeah. but for right now, i’m focused on finishing up here.”

“yeah, definitely, i just. wow, my roommate is going to be so jealous.”

“hey, thanks for the support.”

you were trying really hard to stifle your laughter, but tyler was less successful. a few snorts escaped his mouth before he managed to hide his face in his shoulder. nudging him harshly, you tried to avoid making eye contact with the driver in the mirror.

luckily the drive downtown was short and you were able to hold it until he’d pulled away from the curve. as soon as he was gone, you and tyler lost it, bent over with belly laughs while zach stood above the two of you, unamused look on his face.

“fucking hell,” you muttered, wiping your eyes, “zach, i didn’t know you had a fan club.”

“you and me both,” he slung an arm over your shoulder as the four of you started walking toward the bar. the line was short and it didn’t take long to get in. 

holding on to zach’s hand, you let him pull you to the bar, cody and tyler close on your heels. 

“you’re buying right?” you asked tyler.

he sighed, “yeah, i lost fair and square.”

“elite, i’ll start with a vodka cranberry,” you told the bartender, “triple shot please.”

tyler sighed and motioned for the rest of the group to order, “on me.”

“why?” zach whispered in your ear after ordering rum and coke.

“he lost our weekly game night, which means he buys all alcohol on our next outing.”

“i didn’t participate,” zach’s eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

“yeah, but you’re my plus one. and don’t worry about him going broke, he had a ton of customers for his laptop repair side business last month, he’s good for it.”

zach looked impressed, “okay i do feel a little better now.”

“going to sign our names on the contest sheet,” cody yelled over the music, beer in hand.

“good, thanks!” you yelled back, taking your drink off the bar where he’d slid it.

“dance?” you asked zach when he grabbed his drink. he took your arm with a smile and you held the other one out for tyler, “you too?”

tyler grinned, “fuck yeah!”

the three of you moved toward the dance floor, grabbing cody along the way and started jumping around with everyone else. the costumes you could see were pretty good, but you thought your friends and you had a real shot at winning.

“when’s the judging?” you yelled at cody.

“11,” he told you before throwing an arm over your shoulder, “saw maybank and brooke!”

“in costume?”

“yeah, guess what as?”

“what?”

just as the song slowed down and started to change, he loudly answered, “scarecrow and dorothy from the wizard of oz.”

everyone in the vicinity turned to look at him. cody blushed, stilling, and waved at them all, “hey, a, b conversation.”

“who’s dressed like that?” tyler asked him, looking around.

“maybank and brooke.”

“ew,” you muttered, “whose idea was that?”

“i highly doubt it was jj’s,” zach laughed and the rest of you nodded because, yeah, that had brooke written all over it.

-

by the time judging rolled around, you were sufficiently tipsy and heavily leaning on zach. jj had been avoiding your eye all night whenever you tried to catch it and you were over it, content to just focus on your friends and boyfriend.

“you know,” you slurred at them, “whatever happens here, it’s been an honor and a pleasure, boys.”

zach snorted, arm wrapping around your waist, “aye aye, ma’am.”

tyler saluted sloppily, “yeah, boys, way to go.”

cody was leaning on him, grinning, “we’re gonna win. i bribed the judges.”

“you didn’t,” you shoved him, “don’t even joke.”

“i didn’t. or did i? imagine if we win, you’ll never actually know.”

“this man doesn’t have a dollar to his name,” tyler reassured, trying to pat your shoulder and missing.

“hey!” cody protested, “i have at least five dollars.”

you laughed just as they announced third place, second place, and then, “and for first, we’ve got teen wolf.”

“fuck yeah!” tyler yelled, throwing his hands up.

cody howled, very in character, and you couldn’t stop the grin from creeping on your face at their antics. zach laughed as they chest bumped and dragged you and him to the makeshift stage where they were passing out prizes.

tyler leaned on the table as they handed out the free drink vouchers and t-shirts. as the four of you walked away, he leaned in, “bro.”

you winced at the smell of vodka on his breath, “what?”

“guess how many votes we got?”

“how many?”

“so many.”

your eyebrows shot up, “actually?”

“mhmm,” he grinned cheekily, “guess how many maybank got?”

“less?”

“one.”

“what?!”

he cackled, “a whole one.”

“it’s what he deserves,” cody nodded seriously.

“what’s going on?” zach asked, having missed most of the conversation while he was trying to call another uber.

“maybank getting his just desserts.”

“desserts,” cody interrupted, “should we go trick or treating?”

“literally where?” you asked, “we live in a city.”

“i’m sure we could find somewhere.”

zach shook his head, “no, dude, we’ll just go back to mine, i have oreos.”

“oh fuck,” cody groaned, “i could kiss you right now, bro.”

zach blew him an air kiss playfully and cody caught it, bringing it to his heart. you laughed at their antics, an arm around each of their waists, “love you guys.”

“love you too,” they all chorused back. your boys.

[d-dixonimagines]

Hiii I’ve never requested before, so I don’t know if I’m doing this correctly. But I can’t get this imagine out of my head. Maybe young Daryl and y/n tip toeing around each other. They’re like fresh out of high school, and they really like each other but don’t know how to confess. Thank you!

This is absolutely perfect! I’ve only done a couple young Daryl AU’s and they’re always fun to do, this is such a cute idea! I hope you see it and I do this justice!

Song Inspiration!   - Your Song by Kate Walsh 

WARNING: Underage drinking 

Parties were never really your thing, but seeing as you had just graduated high school, you felt there was good reason to celebrate; even if that did leave you lingering around mostly by yourself.  You had a lot of thoughts about high school.  How it was stupid whenever you had someone tell you that high school was going to be the best four years of your life.  

You had friends, sure, but it sure wasn’t the best four years of your life.  With grouchy teachers who hated being there just as much as you did, students who always stopped in the middle of the hallway right in front of you to talk to their friends, how they hollered in your ear to catch someone else’s attention.  It was aggravating and you couldn’t wait to get out of there.   You weren’t exactly a morning person, either.  It was proven that students benefited more with learning after ten, so why school at the start so early was beyond you.  The only thing that really saved you from going completely crazy was seeing Daryl every day.  A shy boy you had been drawn to since your freshman year.  

He was a bit rowdy with his friends outside of class, but during, in the few that you both shared, he was quiet, mostly sticking to the back of the room.  Never raised his hand to answer questions or put himself forward to participate.  In your junior year, you got partnered with each other to work on a class project, which consisted of awkward-but-not-so-awkward moments where you just worked quietly amongst yourselves unless you needed to discuss some part so that you were both still on the same page.  You weren’t sure how he felt about it all, but you were just happy to get to work and interact with him.   Since then, you both kept your distance, seeing each other around campus, making eye contact that lingered maybe a little too long before continuing on your way.  You weren’t sure if you would see him at the party, but you went with the hope that maybe you would.   The conversations were light as you made your way through, finally hiding in the kitchen where all the drinks were. It was a shame there wasn’t a dog anywhere to help keep you company, but drinks were the next best thing. Looking over the selection, you padded your fingers against the classic red plastic cup as you tried to make your decision.  “Rum and coke is always a nice choice,” you were startled out of your thoughts when you heard a voice come behind you.  Quickly turning, your gaze met soft blue eyes and a soft smile that played at the corner of his mouth, maybe amused at the fact that he startled you.  “Really?”  It was the only thing you could think to say while trying to get over your surprise to see Daryl.   He nodded and walked past to stand beside you at the counter, grabbing his own cup and mixing up his suggestion.  “Maybe you’re more of a vodka type? It’s not as heavy as rum.”  Like you had any experience with alcohol.  You were honestly contemplating on what kind of juice you wanted.  “No, I mean... rum is cool.”  Your hand instinctively grabbed the ends of your hair as you started messing with it, something you did when you were nervous.  

He just smiled.  “I could.. make something for you, if you want.”  Your gaze lingered a bit too long again as you smiled lightly before finally giving a nod.  “Ok, sure.”  You handed him your cup and watched him do his magic.  He moved his back to your, hiding what he was doing as he peeked over his shoulder in a playful manner before looking back at what he was doing.  A couple minutes later he turned to face you and handed your cup back, watching for your reaction.   You smelled it a bit at first, the scent of cranberry lingering a bit as you took a sip, nodding your head in approval.  “It’s delicious, what is it?”  Daryl picked his drink back up and took a quick gulp.  “Nothin’ too fancy, just cranberry vodka.  I figured it would’a been the safest bet for your first drink.”  He smirked, causing you to blush just slightly.  “You got me,” you laughed.  “I’ve never really been much of a party-goer.”  “That’s alright, I won’t tell anyone.”  He leaned up against the counter, sliding a bit closer to you as you leaned against the counter as well, biting at the lip of the cup before taking another drink.  

It wasn’t long before you started to feel your cheeks start to warm up, the affects of the alcohol starting to take over.  Conversation moved more smoothly, and you found yourself standing a lot closer to him than you were from the start.  There had been a lot of moments where you felt like you could have confessed to him how you felt.  A lot of moments where you opened your mouth to say it, but nothing came out.   Who knew what was going to happen after this night.  If you’d ever see each other again.  If you just told him how you felt, got it off your chest instead of holding on to the secret that you carried for four years, it would be enough.  Daryl had the same kind of fear.  The same secret he carried for four years, so many opportunities where he could have told you how he felt but held back.  

You both stood there silently, eyes locked on one another as you both tried to figure out what you were going to say.  “You’re really pretty,” you blurted out in almost a whisper, the feeling of internal embarrassment taking over your body, you were sure your face was red.  When he didn’t really react, your let your face drop on your hand.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”  

You felt him move closer to you, his body lightly touching yours as his hand lifted your head so you’d look at him.  Not saying anything, he leaned in and pressed his lips against yours. It was slow, but the contact was brief as he looked at you again, maybe waiting to see if he’d get slapped or if you’d storm out.  But when you opened your eyes to meet his gaze, you didn’t do anything, not for a long moment.  

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” He broke the silence, his tone quieter now than it had been.  It seemed surreal that this was happening.  “You have?”  You weren’t sure if this moment was real or not.  Scenarios like this played in your mind all the time, maybe it was just another figment of your imagination.  But he placed his hand on yours, running his thumb slowly back and forth against the back of your hand.  “I hope it’s ok that I did.”  “It was more than ok. I’ve... honestly always hoped you would.”  You bit the inside of your lip, watching as he smiled.  “Is it ok if I do it again?”   This whole experience made wonder what would have happened if this all happened sooner.  If you had the courage to tell him how you felt. Would you have been together? Would he have still felt the same way?  Instead of staying stuck in your mind, you acknowledged his question with a nod and met him half way.  The contact was more firm this time, a real kiss.   When you parted, you both opened your eyes about the same time, staring into each others gaze, both just smiling.  Happy to discover that your feelings were mutual.  Feeling bashful, you dropped your eyes as you let your head fall against his chest briefly, letting out a deep breath in a way of letting go of your nerves.  “I’m glad you decided to come.”  He spoke finally, getting you to look at him again.  “I am too.  Very glad I did.”  

[pantless-thundergoose]

'Twas an early Friday evening, the bar and grill where my dad and I met for dinner wasn't quite busy yet, which was good for those of us who still observe Covid protocols. Having finished our meal, Dad and I decided to have one more after dinner drink before the crowd got too big for comfort. We chose to sit at the bar so we could watch the hockey game while we chatted and not take up table space. The only other occupant of the bar area was an employee still in uniform from the casino across the street. Judging by his thousand yard stare, he has just gotten off shift. It occurred to me then that it was Memorial Day weekend, and most Covid restrictions in our area had been lifted. I have great sympathy for this fellow.

I was two sips into my amber ale when I felt a disturbance in the force. Suddenly, a pack of four white DudeBros appeared out of nowhere and converged on the bar. These were not just any DudeBros either. They were the oft lamented sub-type, the Entitled-My Parents Have Money-Never Learned What Consequences Are- Frat Boy type. It's what those of us in the service and security industry call A Problem.

The bartender was immediately alarmed, both by their sudden appearance, and the fact that, despite one whole side of the bar being empty, they chose to congregate in the space between my dad and I, and our casino worker compatriot. This violation of proper distancing did not register with the pack. Before the bartender could muster up a greeting, a harried looking waiter appeared and politely asked, through gritted teeth and forced smile,

"Good evening gentleman. Did you change your minds about the table? We'd be happy to serve you at the bar if you prefer."

Judging by the glare the bartender gave the waiter, he would not be happy about this at all.

"No, we want the table, but we want drinks right now," replied one with a tone that bordered on petulant.

It is prudent to note that the hostess had just showed them to the table. Didn't even sit down, just went straight to the bar.

"Well, I'll be happy to take your drink orders at the table and get them while you look over the menu," said our intrepid waiter.

The DudeBros seemed confused at first, but eventually one of them remembered a shred of long forgotten manners and nodded, leading the pack back to the table.

A tense minute passed as bartender, casino employee, Dad and I watched them depart. Problem seemingly averted, I went back to my beer. A few pleasant minutes passed before the waiter returned to the bar.

His stricken face put us on immediate alert. He gave a small forced laugh, the kind of laugh you only hear from the condemned on their way to the executioner. He tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace as he looked the bartender dead in the eye and said, "I'm so sorry."

The order was as follows (remember, there are only four DudeBros):

5 Jaeger Bombs (not sure who the 5th one was for)

4 Tequila Sunrises

4 Cranberry vodkas

2 rum and cokes

1 Long Island Iced Tea

1 shot of Crown Royal whiskey

All drinks are to be served at the same time.

I watched the bartender die inside. The waiter hung his head in defeat. By the entry, I could see the hostess begin to question every life decision that led up to this moment. Dad and I cringed and decided we should finish our drinks and beat a hasty retreat before the shenanigans began.

The casino employee across the bar shook his head, reached into his pocket, removed two $10 bills, and gave one to the bartender and one to the waiter.

"Good luck," he said with a solemn nod before departing.

Dad and I put down our own tips, conveyed our condolences with with a small wave, and walked out into warm evening air, free of the epic idiocy that would surely take place.

Godspeed, my friends.

[techmomma]

So! You not really an alcohol drinker, or maybe you don’t like the stuff, but you’re out somewhere and trying to decide how to have some and not absolutely hate your drink either. Maybe you’d like to actually enjoy the taste of your drink! Even if you’re not looking to get drunk or even tipsy. Maybe you’re just social drinking once in a blue moon.

But being a newbie, or having only had terrible-tasting alcohol, you have NO idea what to get. Steph is here to help for newbies! Or people who don’t give a damn and just want to have a nice drink that actually tastes good for once, and not in a “oh this very bitter and tart wine is so sweet” way. I am myself now very sensitive to alcohol as a flavor, so the majority of these have Steph’s seal of “shouldn’t taste like trying to stomach down cold medicine and should actually be tasty to normal people who don’t drink alcohol”. 

Please note to use this advice responsibly. This is not to help you get drunk, only to help you find a drink you probably won’t have to gag down and can thus enjoy the rest of your night if you’re choosing to partake in alcohol. Imbibing alcohol is a responsibility, and not one to take lightly.

“Girly drinks” are your friends. If you’re young or you don’t drink very much, your tastebuds are probably going to be oriented more toward sweet flavors and less toward bitter flavors. You’re looking for high sugar content baby. (And if you ARE looking to get drunk, this will get you drunk much faster than a whiskey, no matter what your hillbilly uncle says otherwise. that is the entire point of “girly drinks.”)

Most bars, pubs, restaurants and other places often have house drinks or cocktails in their drink menu that they make most often. You’re looking for drinks with ingredients like sweet fruits, like cherries, apricots, watermelon, mango, blue raspberry, lemonade, or novelty things like chocolate or butterscotch or cake or whatever. If anything, just ask the bartender or server if they’re not busy! The bartender will for sure know if it’s sweet, and can probably point you in the right direction if you tell them the flavors you usually like, or what you’re looking for. Yes, you’ll look like a newbie. That’s not the point. The point is to get a drink you’re not gonna gag on and that’s the price you pay.

Only somewhat related, but if you’ve never ordered drinks from a place with a bar, they’ll ask if you want to put it on a tab. That just means, “Do you want me to keep your order open so you can add more drinks later, or is this a one-time deal?” They’ll probably ask for a name then. If your friend’s paying, you give their name.

Typically, stay away from beer. Some rare people enjoy the taste of beer from the start, most do not. If you smell a glass and it smells putrid, steer clear of it. You ain’t gonna like it no matter what you put in it.

Most wines will also not be your friend. To those who do not regularly drink wine, it’s going to be impossibly bitter and feel like it’s drying your throat out despite being a liquid. (That’s the “dry” quality they talk about.)

On the contrary, however, wine spritzers, mixers, and punches? Those are your FRIENDS. These are legit going to taste like juice or soda or punch. They also tend to be lighter on alcoholic content (hence why commonly used for parties), and big on sugar. Spritzers are wine and soda, mixers are wine and some kind of liquor (usually a very sweet or fruity kind like a lemon or strawberry vodka), and wine punches can be as sweet or sour or fruity or tropical as you want. You’ll usually see them referred to as white or red sangrias.

Note: this is sort of why these can actually be MORE dangerous than like having straight-up liquor. These types of drinks with low alcohol and heavy sugar make it very, very easy to drink a lot of them, and have some extra surprise drunk times sneak up on you later because you drank more than you realized. 

My rule for safe drinking? One drink per hour, follow with water. You will typically not get more than buzzed, and will stay sufficiently hydrated.

Spritzers, mixers, and punches are part of a larger group called cocktails. Cocktails being just “non-alcoholic drink + alcohol of some kind.” Rum and coke? Cocktail. Bellini? Cocktail.

Champagne cocktails are very often sweet, bubbly drinks. They are Steph’s fave for a reason. Mimosas are perhaps the most famous champagne cocktail. Those are made with orange juice and champagne. Can be surprisingly potent.

When getting cocktails with liquors/spirits, like vodka, rum, and so forth, you will want to stay away from particular ones that are known for very bitter tastes and hard kicks. A bunch also uh, in general taste like the inside of a barrel. 

Typically, whiskey, gin, and tequilas are going to be very bitter and gross, and overpower whatever they’re put in. If you like really sour though, tequila goes well with margaritas, which are a lime drink that mostly covers the tequila taste. 

Vodka and Rum are typically going to be stomached better, vodka usually being the easiest of all. Both tend to mix well with fruity girly drinks, the kind you’re looking for. Very potent, so imbibe carefully. In most drinks though, you’re still going to get that “cold medicine aftertaste” that clears your sinuses and sometimes it’s just too powerful for the drink. You can usually smell these pretty strongly before you actually drink, and that’ll give you a pretty good idea of the burn you’re gonna feel in a moment. Both are also good in sweet minty drinks, if you like those. 

Surprisingly good drink for newbies: mead. It can be a little difficult to get a hold of, but it’s getting more popular. It’s made from honey, so it’s gonna be sweet usually by default. Peach mead? Hell yeah. Peach and honey taste.

Absinthe is actually very tasty, and no it will not make you hallucinate. It actually tastes a lot like licorice candy. Comes in fun colors, and with a sugar cube you dissolve into it on a special spoon. VERY hard to get in the US though, only a few bars sell it as a drink. Like I think it’s literally just a handful of bars across the entire fifty states that have absinthe and absinthe cocktails. If you’ve already tasted Jaegermeister, it tastes like that. I wouldn’t call it a newbie drink, but imo you’ll still enjoy your drink if George just feel like being special today.

Hard ciders have also been hailed as great for newbies, and usually very sweet. They’ve always been hit or miss with me; sometimes, yeah, they’re delicious, and other times they just taste like vaguely-fruity beer. Which is not great.

Beer, to me, tastes like old socks. So y’know, vaguely fruity old socks.

Stay away from most shots. This is usually pure liquor, and it is not pleasant. Especially if you have a small mouth like mine and sometimes can’t do shots in one go. Exceptions are novelty mixers, like those weird cake shots. 

Cake-flavored vodka is not as good as you think it sounds.

So here’s some drinks that, as someone who’s tasted a bunch, I can tell you they’ll probably be easier to stomach. Some I actually enjoy as drinks.

Rumchata is horchata with rum in it, so a milky, cinnamon-y kind of drink. Good for newbies. 

Kahlua & cream: coffee and cream drink

Mudslide: coffee and cream and irish liqueur; honestly best as a mudslide milkshake. holy shit. that’s heaven.

Bourbon milkshake: honestly if any place sells milkshakes and has a bar, you can ask to get a shot of bourbon added to your milkshake. VERY yummy flavor pair, especially vanilla milkshakes with bourbon.

White russian: kahlua and cream and add vodka

Red russian: vodka with cherry liquor

Dirty Shirley: grenadine (if this is listed as an ingredient that usually means a very sweet drink), soda, maraschino cherries, vodka

Bellini (bars that know what this is are sort of rare, you’ll probably have to explain it): peach juice and champagne

Mimosa: orange juice and champagne (acceptable for breakfast parties!)

Sangria (you usually can’t order this one from bars unless it’s like a special sangria night; this drink is usually found more at parties and social functions): fruit punch + wine + soda if the hosts are younger

Strawberry lemonade vodka: strawberry lemonade and vodka

Malibu cocktail: rum (usually Malibu Rum, hence the name), cranberry juice, pineapple juice.

Blue hawaiian: coconut creme liqueur, pineapple juice, white rum, blue curacao (blue-colored orange liqueur; it’s very fun to mix and also usually means a very sweet drink).

Mojito: rum, soda, lime juice, mint

Mai tai: pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, grenadine, white and dark rum

Lemon drop martini: vodka, triple sec (another orange liqueur), sugar and fresh lemon juice

Pina Colada: blended slushy drink made with creme de coconut, rum, and ice

Chocolate martinis: irish cream liqueur, chocolate liqueur, and vodka

Frozen daiquiris: slushy frozen drinks made with fruit juice and rum

Irish coffee: the one place where you actually might enjoy whiskey for those who don’t like it. It’s just that: coffee and usually a whiskey liqueur, like baileys. Creamy, warm, good for cold nights.

Peppermint schnapps hot chocolate: hot chocolate with a peppermint zip. If making yourself, make a big mug first and only add like a capful of peppermint schnapps, it can very easily overpower the chocolate taste. Also creamy and yummy for cold nights. 

Hot buttered rum: an intensive recipe, but a very yummy, creamy, warm, butterscotchy drink that you stick a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of. Hard to get tastier than that. I’m very certain Butterbeer was originally based off of this.

There were a bunch of drinks that are typically considered “girly” for high sugar contents, but having had them before, they were just not sweet. Martinis are usually very dry and bitter no matter the fruit, long island iced teas only taste good if you like iced tea, cosmopolitans (cosmos) are heavy on the vodka flavor, as are watermelon vodkas and alcohol-infused watermelons, and a number of colorful, blended ice drinks that are usually listed are heavy on the alcohol burn, enough to drown out the flavor.

Hope this was helpful! Remember, yes, you might look like a newbie, but the bartender wants to help you find a drink just for you! Ask them questions (when they’re not busy), and they can totally help you out (most just like to help, but at the very least, helping you might mean some extra money at the end of the night). And if they’re real nice they might give you little samples so that you can have a taste for yourself before buying the whole drink.