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misspelledwordswizard · 3 months ago

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Misunderstanding

Legend x Reader

Summary: Where two idiots in love refuse to accept their feelings and end up suffering from their lack of communication.

It had been two days since we had passed through a portal that took us to an unknown time. We were currently searching for a nearby village where we could seek information, but night was approaching and there were no signs of civilization so close, which led us to the decision to set up camp. Murmurs of complaints about tiredness were heard, having been walking through the trees and sleeping under the stars for days on end, but there was not much to do; we should keep moving forward.

The group quickly split up, everyone already accustomed to their respective tasks so that everything could be organized as quickly and efficiently as possible. Already knowing my position in this math, I hurried to collect firewood and help Wild with the food. Everyone seemed discouraged and without energy lately. I wish I could do something to change that. Maybe preparing something different for the meal would be a good way to start.

I was quick to collect dry branches that could be used in the fire. These recent times that I was traveling with Chain ended up training me for this type of activity. I didn't have the habit of camping before, but now it has become part of my daily life, my routine, I had to learn to like it and adapt, but it's not so bad. At least I have good company.

I went to Wild with what I could get and he arranged to light the fire in his unique but quick way. With that arranged, we analyzed what we had in stock to choose the ideal recipe. Thanks to the Sheikah Slate, the ingredients were well preserved and we usually had a large stock of things. The problem is that with such a large group it was necessary to replenish frequently, and it had been a while since we had done that. The variety of vegetables was low, but we still had mushrooms and some meat, which needed to be replenished urgently tomorrow.

We decided to use all the remaining rice to make beef curry and mushroom onigiri, which we could store to eat tomorrow as well. With that decided, we set off to prepare. Wild took charge of the curry while I made the rice, which I would need a lot of water to wash, so I decided to start preparing it at the lake near where we camped. I grabbed what I would need and started to walk away from the camp. It wasn't very far, depending on where you looked, you could still see the clearing we were in next to it.

On the way there, I came across Veteran, who was returning from his own search for water for everyone to drink during the night. It's been a while since I've been able to talk to him. No matter what I do, something always happens that prevents me from starting a conversation or keeping it going for very long. I wonder if he's avoiding me for some reason, always dodging my questions, always avoiding looking at me. Maybe, even after all this time with me in the group, he still doesn't trust me, or he just doesn't want to get close.

This idea alone makes me sad. I would like to get along with everyone in the Chain, of course, but especially with him. There were few times when we could really interact, alone, but they were precious moments for me. Even without that intention, he managed to turn bad days into good days, just by talking about some nonsense with me or telling me about something from one of his adventures. I thought we were getting closer, but then what could have happened for him to avoid me? Maybe I said something stupid.

Seeing this opportunity to try to talk to him, I felt a smile form on my lips as I opened my mouth to say something nice and every day, just to test the waters, but I didn't even have time to do so. Legend walked past me, quickening his pace and leaving me behind, without even looking me in the eyes, remaining focused on his destination. Maybe this wasn't the best time, or maybe he just didn't want to talk. I hope so.

I made my way to the lake, trying to take my mind off it, I crouched down at the edge of the water and began the delicate work. It was an easy task, but not so quick, so I gave myself time to think. No matter how hard I tried, for some reason this boy just wouldn't leave my thoughts, surrounding my mind with all the possibilities of what could have happened, making my heart tighten melancholically, blaming myself for something I don't even know what it is.

I pushed these thoughts away when I finished the task, collecting the used things and returning the way I had come here. Trying to focus on how I would prepare the meal, I managed to distract myself enough, but that only made me realize how hungry I was. I approached the Cook, showing him my work and putting the pot on the fire, careful not to burn the only rice we had left. Still disturbed by those thoughts, I gathered the courage to approach the subject with the hero next to me, who might be able to shed some light on all of this.

— Do you think the Veteran has been acting strange lately? – I asked, trying to find out if it was really something related to me.

— Strange? Not that I noticed, he even seems a little excited. – Wild replied, confirming my suspicions, making me wilted.

— Then it must be with me. I feel like he's avoiding me, but I don't know what I could have done wrong?

— Avoiding you? I don't think that's it. Oh, unless you did something really bad, he's not mad, you can be sure. After all, if that complainer was mad at someone, you can be sure everyone would know! – He joked, making me laugh thinking about how dramatic the Vet could be sometimes, it was comical, kind of adorable.

That was good enough to calm my anxiety, for now. I would still like to know the real reason for it, but I don't want to pressure him, so I'll keep quiet for now. With that thought, I managed to calm down enough to focus on the food I was preparing and not burn what we would have for dinner.

◇

It was around noon, and we had been walking since sunrise, but to our lucky luck, we finally saw signs of a nearby village, which we should reach in less than an hour. Still unable to identify the area, we had no idea what time it was, but it was already clear that this was not the Hyrule of any of us, or else we would have known by now.

Wind had been telling me and the Blacksmith about one of his adventures on the high seas the whole way, in his usual lively manner, to which I tried to pay as much attention as possible, which was difficult considering that my main thought was showing my tiredness and hunger. The onigiri prepared yesterday had not even lasted an hour since we started walking, it was basically breakfast, but it was not enough to sustain everyone for that long, so I imagine the others are in a situation similar to mine.

I'll make sure the first place we go when we get to the village is a restaurant. That was the main thought going through my mind right now, but between the internal complaints of hunger and leg pain, I held on tight, listening to the Sailor's story and trying to be as involved as possible.

The sun was shining hotly in the sky, but it was a welcome warmth compared to the cold winds that were biting us. There was plenty of nature around here, but the trail we were on was through the middle of the forest, which made me think that all this nature might be a bit too much for me. There were times when branches and plants brushed against my legs, scaring me because I thought it was some insect. The boys must think I'm crazy because of the occasional muffled screams I would let out because of it.

I'm thankful for having heavy leather boots that were great for this type of terrain. I can handle monsters, but I definitely don't have the head to deal with small, poisonous creatures that can approach me without me noticing. Which is terrible considering my obvious lack of attention to my surroundings.

The rest of the way was a bit easier, the trail was more open, which allowed us to pass through peacefully until we reached the entrance of the village, where we were greeted politely by the locals. This seemed like a very welcoming place, accustomed to tourists, it was a relatively large village, so I imagine it must have been a long time ago from the Traveler. The locals who welcomed us answered our questions pleasantly and I was quick to ask where the nearest restaurant was, which luckily wasn't too far away.

Everyone agreed that we would eat first and explore later, we would need to divide the group into different tasks, such as getting information, staying, and restocking food. We followed the path that had been explained to us and soon came across the establishment mentioned above. It was a large restaurant with a rustic wooden look, very pretty, and it seemed like a comfortable place to be. None of us were against having lunch there, so we all went in, famished.

Time had to make sure everyone stayed in control and didn't cause a ruckus and end up getting kicked out. We had to wait a while until we found a table that would fit the ten of us, but soon we were all sitting down, chatting and thinking about what we would order to eat. Even with the Old Man and myself trying to control everyone, the table soon became a blur of animated simultaneous conversations, which I couldn't resist joining in on.

— I want a risotto! – Wind chose, excited to be able to eat something different.

— Wait a minute, we haven't even been served yet. – I replied, laughing at his excitement.

— Oh, I wish I could try a little bit of everything. – Wild commented, almost drooling over the menu.

— You can try a little bit of what each of us orders. – Hyrule suggested, receiving disapproving looks from his brothers who were not so willing to share their food.

— No way! – Four replied, not at all in favor of this possibility.

The conversation continued while everyone debated what they would order, I settled for a seafood fried rice, which looked simple but very good. So, we started to wait to be able to order, conversations were still circulating around the table, but at a relatively lower level than before. It was then that a beautiful young woman, a restaurant employee, approached our table, ready to take our order.

She was truly a slender, tall, and beautiful woman. She looked like a princess even though she was hiding in such ordinary clothes. Her long, wavy golden hair looked angelic, and her deep brown eyes showed a certain maturity. The others didn't seem to care much, but I know she must have received looks, which were totally justified given her level of beauty.

Soon we were waiting for the food in a pleasant atmosphere. The last few days had been peaceful, without any problems, while we tried to get to the village, which made everyone relaxed and was a relief. The food arrived and ran out almost as quickly. Everything was very tasty, and on top of that, the place was beautiful and cozy. It was truly a find. I would like to come back here before we leave this village.

It took about an hour and a half, from the time we arrived until everyone finished eating, paid, and went out to explore the city. Warriors divided us into small groups. Twilight and Wild would be in charge of hunting, Hyrule and Four would buy other food that was missing. Sky and I were responsible for finding a guesthouse and booking rooms while the rest of us split up to explore and get information.

◇

Sky walked beside me through the quiet streets, some locals who passed by greeted us kindly, which we reciprocated. After walking for a few minutes, we decided it would be best to ask someone where there was a guesthouse; this village was quite large and the last thing we needed was to get lost. Not to mention that, of course, we were desperate to rest soon.

After following the proper directions, we arrived at a large residence, with a very clear sign indicating it was the guesthouse. It was easy to find, it was the largest building in the area, which was mostly residential. We went in and Sky offered to make the reservation and request the rooms, getting five rooms with two beds each. I helped him get the keys, which we would have to distribute among the others later, but for now, we chose our own rooms to take a look at the quality of them – and to take a nap.

Entering the room, I was surprised by a beautiful view from the window. We were on the top floor, the third, and the view from here was very beautiful, not only that, but there was also a small balcony. The room was very clean and organized, the two single beds had large, heavy white duvets and two fluffy pillows for each bed. A small bedside table made of white and wood gave a charming air to the place, which in itself had a wonderful smell of perfume and cleanliness.

I felt like I could cry with happiness at finally being able to sleep in a comfortable bed and in a clean place without bugs climbing on me or grass biting me. I may be getting used to this adventurous life, but deep down I was still a homebody who loves a rainy day, being indoors, under the covers drinking hot tea and reading a good book.

I threw myself on the bed closest to the window, my muscles relaxing and a sigh of relief escaping my lips as I stretched out in bed. I stayed there for a few minutes, just feeling my body relax as I gathered the courage to get up. The receptionist told us that we could use the bathroom as much as we wanted, that the bathtub would always have hot water for a bath, and I would love to take one after all this time.

A little more rested, I lazily got out of bed, grabbed a towel also provided by the inn and headed out of the room, walking down the hallway to the end, where the bathroom door was. Entering the place, it was very simple, with a large bathtub in the center and some wooden buckets on the side. The bathtub was full and steam was coming out of the water. Great, I'm dying for a bath that will burn my soul.

I undressed and got in, feeling my skin sensitive to the heat and my muscles relax with it. I lost track of time there, but I must have stayed there for at least twenty minutes before I realized it and finished bathing. My mind, clouded by the good feeling, didn't allow me to have complex thoughts at that moment, and that was what I wanted most.

After drying myself and putting on clean clothes, I felt refreshed and ready for anything. With the towel wrapped around my hair and my dirty clothes in hand, I returned to my room, leaving my belongings in their proper places and hanging the damp towel on the balcony to dry. I could see how beautiful the day was outside through the large window, and that was enough to motivate me to go for a walk.

I left the inn quickly, taking nothing more than the bare necessities with me, my purse and wallet, because I don't know if I can resist the urge to buy a souvenir from this lovely village. Or a sweet treat at the bakery, that would be nice too. Walking through the streets bathed in the golden rays of the sun, I found myself lost in the comforting harmony that was there. It must be a good place to live, in a peaceful time.

I walked a little, about two blocks, before I heard two familiar voices talking nearby. Instinctively, I approached them, cautiously. I could recognize the voices of the Veteran and the Traveler, both having a conversation that I soon realized was personal, so I thought it best not to show myself and move away, but something about what they were talking about caught my attention, leading me to do something I'm not proud of.

— You don't have to lie to me, my brother, it's obvious that you like her. – Hyrule's words made me freeze in place, preventing me from leaving their private conversation, keeping me out of sight.

— I don't like her! You're all crazy if you think that, she means nothing to me. – Legend replied stubbornly, but even I, who haven't known him for that long, know that this was a big lie. Which made me go over it in my mind and think about who they were talking about.

— Oh, Vet, please! I saw the way you look at her, as if she were the most precious thing in the world, your eyes even shine. – The Traveler continued, sounding somewhat provocative.

— No way, you're seeing things that don't exist. – The grumpy boy replied, while I struggled to think about who they were referring to. The only viable option was the girl from the restaurant, she was the only woman we had come across in a long time.

— You can deny it all you want, but you two are the only ones who don't see it. – The other hero continued. – Believe me, walking away and denying it will only create more problems.

I couldn't hear the other's answer, because I left as quickly as I could, considering that I had already heard much more than I should have. Knowing that Legend was in love, and with a woman he had just met, is too much for me. I felt discomfort in my chest, probably because I had heard more than I should have, now I feel guilty and I don't know what to do. Maybe I should confess my sins to him, but then he would hate me even more than I believe he does.

I took a deep breath as I considered that I had distanced myself enough. Okay, I need to think on the positive side, I can use this to my advantage. I can do something for him so that he forgives whatever wrong I did, that way we can be friends again and he won't avoid me anymore! Well, then I believe I have a plan.

◇ ◇ ◇

I walked away from Hyrule when we arrived at the inn, which had already been reserved for our group. All this talk of crushes only served to make me angry, he's wrong, I would know if I liked her, and I don't. Speaking of which, it's likely that she's at the inn right now just like Sky, and I definitely didn't need to see her right now, not after all this nonsense I'd had to listen to. Trying to avoid this terrible encounter, I finally headed in the opposite direction of the inn, alone, to try to distance my mind from these thoughts.

It's been a few days since I last spoke to her, but hey, it's not my fault. I've been having some nice moments with the new girl over the past few weeks, and I was happy, until there was that fight against a group of monsters, in which I was so distracted by the good memories of our conversations, by her contagious laugh, her smile that I couldn't perform well in the battle, almost getting hurt several times because my gaze kept guiding me to her to make sure she was okay. Well, it's all her fault for needing help in the battles.

After that, I considered that it would be better to avoid her at all costs, just for this strange feeling to pass and I could concentrate like before. But man, this has been hell. Even in a short time I got used to her presence in our group, and then, less than a day without us talking and I was already torturing myself, every single thing that happened to me, my first thought was to tell her, so I had to scold myself for such a thought.

Seeing her talking to the others while I had to keep my distance was even worse, those lucky ones don't have to worry about getting distracted in battle. But maybe that's my fault, I was weak for not being able to stay focused, because apart from that my situation is the same as my brothers, isn't it?

I have to admit, she has become an important friend to me, but the Traveler is crazy if he thinks it's anything more than that, I mean, it's the same thing they feel for her too, nothing more! And now I not only have to distance myself to keep my sanity, but because I don't have the courage to talk to her, I know I must have hurt her by avoiding her, and I feel ashamed of it. But I can't say it, not yet.

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a blow on my back, turning angrily to the person who hit me, only to completely falter to see the one I had been thinking about all this time, smiling at me like a silly child.

— Legend, I found you! Do you want to have dinner with me at that same restaurant? I really wanted to go there again. – The girl smiled excitedly.

— What? Did Team say we should eat there again? – Without much way to avoid this conversation, I just acted as if I hadn't exchanged words with my dear friend in days.

— Oh, no, I'm thinking of just the two of us going. – She answered, surprising me and making me more nervous than I would like to admit.

— Going to dinner, at a restaurant, just with you? – I said awkwardly, feeling my heart race pathetically for no reason. I had to look away, unable to look her in the eyes, probably because I had been so rude all this time.

— Yes, please! – She answered me and I felt forced to look at her again, only to see the look of an abandoned dog, begging for it, hitting all my weak points.

— Geez, okay, I'll go. – I agreed, feigning irritation to hide my nervousness.

She seemed satisfied with this, starting to walk in the direction of the restaurant and I saw no other option but to follow her. We weren't very far away, and since I had been walking around all day we didn't get lost either, so we were soon at the door of the establishment.

We entered together, and there was already a movement in the place, but we managed to get a table for two easily, it seems she had already booked it before. This makes me wonder if she had been planning this, a dinner, just the two of us, for a long time. I shook my head to get those thoughts out of my head and focused my attention on the menu in front of me. From what I understood, she wanted to come back here to try different dishes, so I would go for it.

My decision was interrupted when I saw her suddenly stand up, saying she was going to the bathroom or "something like that" and that I could order. She left, going into one of the corridors of the place and disappearing. I sighed tiredly, feeling my face heat up, I hadn't realized how being alone with her made me so nervous, at least this distance was able to give me time to think. Thinking about how all of this is making me feel strange, it was different from the guilt I thought I was feeling, it's much stronger. At the same time that I feel so awkward in this woman's presence, I can't see myself away from her, because this thought makes my heart ache.

— Would the handsome man like to propose? — A blonde woman, an employee of the place, asked me, with a suggestive tone in her voice, which made me frown in disgust.

— Hm, no, I'm waiting for someone.

— Oh, there's no need to be shy, I know you're interested. — She continued, too bold for my taste.

— I don't know where you got that from, but you're wrong, I already like someone else. — I answered, admitting what I had noticed a few minutes ago without a hint of regret.

— Hm, really? But your friend said you had a crush on me, sweetie.

— What? — I asked a little incredulous, and then I looked in the direction the woman was pointing, and, through the window, I could see the beautiful eyes that I had fallen for spying on us both, and hiding when they realized they had been noticed.

I sighed, holding back a laugh and at the same time frustrated. What did she do?

◇◇◇

I hid as fast as I could, moving away from the window, hoping I wouldn't be noticed. I had a plan, and it was a great plan, okay? I talked to the blonde girl, Amy, and told her that my friend had a crush on her, and if she couldn't give him a chance. God, she was arrogant, conceited and looked me up and down as if to say "Of course he liked me and not you!" I wanted to kill myself for going ahead with that idea, but it was for Legend, I wanted to see him happy.

So, I swallowed all my pride, and all the heartache I was feeling, and went after the girl to continue with my fake cupid plan. I guess it's kind of shitty when Cupid is in love with you, and yes, I admitted to myself, the reason this grumpy boy is in my thoughts all the time, the reason I always want to fight for his attention, for his smile, I ended up developing a crush on him. And I torture myself for it.

The restaurant door opened, revealing the aforementioned guy, coming out with a not very happy expression, he didn't say anything, he just grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away from the place. My heart raced nervously, he must be furious with me right now and I didn't know what to say, it was all my fault to begin with. But I thought she would at least give him a chance.

— What are you-

— Please, I'm sorry about that! I overheard your conversation with Rulie and found out that you had a crush on that girl and since you've been avoiding me lately I thought you might be mad at me, so I thought that by helping you with her maybe you'd forgive me for whatever I did and then you'd talk to me again, because I miss talking to you and you're very important to me and I just wanted to see you happy! – I said everything quickly, without even taking a breath, looking away for fear of how he would react.

Then, a silence, which lasted for a while, the only thing that made me look at him again was the sun of his sweet laugh reaching my ears.

— What are you talking about? I don't like that woman, I don't even know who she is! You got it all wrong, the woman I fell for was you, idiot. – Legend said, leaving me speechless, my brain struggling to process what he said.

My cheeks heated up when I finally began to understand what he was talking about, my heart in turn seemed to have gone faster in this regard, accelerating even before I understood the situation. I felt breathless, forgetting to breathe due to so much surprise, my thoughts meandering through all the events, replaying each one of them, but now with this additional information that made everything make sense, that took a great weight off my shoulders and the anguish from my chest.

— Oh, Hylia, thank goodness, I was dying of jealousy while I was doing that, I just didn't want to admit it! – It was the first thing that came out of my lips, while I sighed in relief, only then did I realize that this wasn't what I should say in a situation like this. – I mean...

— You really are an idiot, you know that? – Link interrupted me, approaching me and touching my face gently, pulling me closer so he could place a soft, warm kiss on my lips, which took me by surprise. I was initially lost, but soon I was returning the gesture happily, I felt on cloud nine being in his arms and my heart was pounding, happier than ever. – My idiot.

#link x reader #linked universe x reader #lu x reader #x reader #lu legend x reader #legend of zelda #linked universe #linked universe fanfic #tloz #my first one shot hehe #I don't think this is very good sorry #I have a lot to improve

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mirage-aera · 10 months ago

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•°. *࿐ Pool noodles || JH86

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Latch - Disclosure, Sam Smith

Jack Hughes x Reader

Synopsis: A trip to the local grocery store to stock up on food and other necessities, turns into a play fight with foam sticks.

Word count: 1.002

Masterlist

A little different from my usual fandoms that I write in. But I wanted to dabble a little in here since I wanted to write a little for my favourite hockey boys :)

You and Jack are on a mission. It’s off-season, meaning it’s time to relax and recharge during the long summer and spend some good quality time together. In previous years you would always go to the family’s lake house, to spend some time with family and friends. This year it won’t be any different. Except this time, you’ll be there together with Jack a lot earlier than the others. They’ll be arriving a few weeks later. This means you get Hughes Michigan’s summer home for yourselves. At first, it seems like a great thing. You get to spend time alone with Jack, without any nosy brothers or friends to tease you both. That was until you looked in the fridge, almost completely empty. Clearly whoever’s been here last hasn’t refilled the fridge, or other necessities for that matter. Which leaves that task to the two of you, much to Jack’s dismay.

You find yourself at the local grocery store. Jack’s pushing the cart like the gentleman he is. Except, he’s slouched over as he pushes it. “Are we done yet?” You don’t even know how many times you’ve heard him utter that in the past 15 minutes. You sigh as you look at the grocery list you’ve made on your phone. “Jack. I love you, but please. You’re worse than a cranky hormonal teenager.” You retort. He looks at you, almost as if he’s offended by what you said. “I’m not a cranky hormonal teenager.” He mutters under his breath. You bite back a laugh. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say hon.” You quip while you put the last of the fruits and vegetables in the shopping cart. He opens his mouth, probably to say something full of sass back. You shush him by placing your finger over his lips. “Come on. We’re done here.” He huffs in response. “Finally.” He mumbles. You give him a pointed look before moving on to the next part of your shopping list. You walk over to the meats and fish. Jack trails behind you, begrudgingly pushing the cart.

You glance over the various fish and meats they have. “What do you want to eat for the time being?” He points to the steak, chicken, and salmon. You nod, pick a few that look good, and toss them into the cart. He groans when he sees it messes up the organized cart. “Baby, please. Everything has a place in the cart. You know this.” He scolds lightly while fixing the mess you made. You grin sheepishly. “Sorry sorry, won’t do it again.” He shakes his head but smiles. You both know this won’t be the last time, not by a long shot.

You cross off meat and fish on the list and make your way to the dairy products. While you grab a carton of milk, Jack grabs some yogurt and puts it neatly in the cart. He takes the carton of milk from you and puts it next to the yogurt. You grab some eggs that lie nearby and move on to get the rest of the list.

You stock up on some toilet paper and other necessities. You also remember to grab some pretzels for him, knowing he likes to snack on them. Jack’s still trailing behind you with the cart that’s gradually getting fuller. As you walk around like a busy bee, you walk past some pool noodles. You look at them for a solid minute. Jack raises an eyebrow. “Do you want them?” He asks curiously. You think about it for a moment. You grab one and look it up and down. You glance over at Jack. Without warning, you smack his arm with it. It doesn’t hurt, it’s made out of foam. He flinches and rubs his arm. “What was that for?” He asks. You shrug and smirk. “Just wanted to test it out.” He scoffs and laughs. “Really? Just wanted to test it out?” He repeats. He grabs one as well and hits you back. He smirks, “it does work well. Don’t you think?” He teases you. You roll your eyes but smile. You swing to hit him again. He blocks it with his own noodle. You’re locked into a stare-down with him. “Noodle fight?” You challenge him. “Noodle fight.” He takes the bait. You look around to make sure no one is paying attention to you both. When you see no one’s looking at you, all hell breaks loose.

You start relentlessly swinging. He blocks most of your ‘attacks’, even if they hit, he doesn’t feel a thing. The aisle gets filled with your combined laughter and the faint sound of foam being smacked around.

He gets a few good hits on you. Your face scrunches up every time he lands one on you. His heart melts at the sight of you. You could be doing the most mundane tasks together, yet you’ll still find a way to bring a smile to his face. You know how to make doing chores fun. Maybe he’s just completely in love with you. Whenever people make fun of him for being completely whipped for you, he would usually give them sass back. But if someone were to do it right now, he would most likely agree with them. Nothing is certain, especially in his life. However, there is one thing for certain. He wants to marry you one day, he simply doesn’t see a future without you and your signature laugh in his life.

You let out a boisterous laugh when you smack him across the face with the piece of foam. He can’t help but let out a laugh himself. Yeah, this is the girl he wants to marry and have a future with. And he doesn’t want it any other way. The velvet box is already sitting underneath all of his old hockey gear. Waiting to be presented to you. All he has to do is plan the perfect proposal for you. He simply can’t wait to make you his, until death do you part.

#hockey #nhl #nhl fic #nhl hockey #nhl players #nhl x reader #jack hughes #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes one shot #jack hughes imagine #jh86 #new jersey devils #nj devils #blurb #drabble #fluff

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anonymousbardd · 8 months ago

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꒰ ☕ ꒱ ┊: Personal Chef

↳ Gun x FemReader

"How could you say no to such an adorable face like mine? You can't! So go and make Japanese food for dinner! Pretty please~..?"

Gun couldn't say a word, he was tired, exhausted, and irritated. He didn't want to run extra errands after a long tiresome day. Besides, he's Gun Park, everyone is scared of him, so he could easily intimidate the person who made such a request.

But why the fuck did he find himself waiting in line to pay for all of the ingredients for a big ol' dinner?!

Gun sighed as he patiently waited in line, his cart was filled with a lot of stuff such as noodles, dried seaweed, sticky rice, and other Japanese ingredients.

He was fortunate enough to live in a nearby grocery store that has a lot of native Japanese goodies. His mind lingered back to what happened that lead him in this situation.

It's simple.

He's a big softy for his wife! When she asked for him for Japanese food due to missing her home country, he couldn't say no.

If he did, he'd not only be facing a sad looking puppy, but the wrath of the three headed dog Cerberus.

Gun looked at the time, it was 4:30pm.

He wanted to get dinner started as soon as he could. Once he got home, he was met by his dear wife, "Welcome back~..!" She giggled as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hello, my love, can you please help me out and take some of these bags to the kitchen?"

The young woman happily helped Gun with the groceries and began to prepare the things he would need in order to cook her desired food.

Gun then came to the kitchen and put on his apron, he washed his hands and smiled at the organized utensils and pots he would be using.

He then neatly arranged the ingredients for the first thing he was going to make, Miso soup.

After Gun had finished preparing everything, he began to start with the other dishes that he had planned for his wife.

While he was cooking, (F/n) snuck into the kitchen and surprised him by hugging him from behind, "Ohh~, honey, that smells delicious!" She exclaimed with excitement, Gun chuckles and keeps cooking.

"Prepare the table, love, I'm almost finished," he said.

(F/n) hurriedly began to neatly prepare the table for Gun, she then helped bring the food to the dining table.

"Itadakimasu!" They both say in union once they finally took their seats, (F/n) filled her bowl with noodles and other delicious cuisine that Gun had prepared.

With a satisfied grin, (F/n) looked at Gun and giggled, "Thank you, my love, the baby and I are enjoying the food you made!" She said.

Gun smiled and nodded, "You're welco-... Wait you're pregnant?!"

(F/n) giggled and rubbed her belly, Gun looked at his wife dumbfounded, "No wonder your appetite is bigger than usual..."

#x reader #lookism #lookismoneshot #fanfic #oneshot #gun park oneshot #lookisim fanfic #gun park x femreader #gun park lookism #gun park x reader #lookism webtoon #gun park

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ms-demeanor · 1 year ago

Note

You seem like a good sort of person to ask; how does one go about building up a good spice rack? Not only just having the spices, but knowing what they are and how to use them, when and in what quantities, and developing a wider spice palette in general? I grew up in white suburbia and my mother has no idea how to use anything other than salt and ground black pepper, and I want to start making my foods more flavorful. I am tired of utterly flavorless dry roast pork! But I have no idea where to begin lol.

I'd say to start by trying a lot of foods that use a lot of different spice profiles and seeing what you like. If you like Thai food, look into Thai spices and try cooking a few recipes. If you like Indian food, try Indian recipes. If you don't know if you like a particular kind of food, go out and try it and see if you do.

I think the best way to build up your spice rack is to do so slowly over time as you familiarize yourself with different flavors. Don't go out and buy a ton of stuff, go out and buy cumin and make a rice recipe that calls for cumin and see if you like it, then next time maybe add another spice like cayenne pepper to the recipe and see if you like it.

Spices can be really expensive, but they can also be really cheap if you're looking in the right places. Try to avoid the shiny organic spice jars, and see if there are packets of spices in the various "ethnic" food sections of your grocery store (in California it's pretty common to have a Mexican food section and an Asian food section in the store and you'll often find stuff like a packet of cumin for 70 cents that's got the same amount of spice as the organic jar that costs five bucks in the spice aisle).

Once you've got some basics down, start branching out and seeing if you've got any good markets nearby that have more unusual spices. Large Bastard and I get most of our bulk spices from a Middle Eastern market around the corner from our house or at an Indian market a few miles away because it's WAY cheaper to get allspice or turmeric or garam masala from those stores than it would be from the grocery store.

And if you're starting at the basic-basics, like how to season a simple pork roast, check recipe blogs. Find different bloggers and test their recipes until you find someone you trust, then follow their recipes. One good place to start is with Chef John and Food Wishes - he has a wide variety of cuisines that use a lot of different spices and has recipes that range from very simple to very complex.

youtube

Large Bastard really likes Food Wishes and trying recipes from Chef John - he cooks less than I do and has less of a sense of what to add to a pot to get something to taste the way he wants it to, but he's gotten very good at taking Food Wishes recipes and tweaking them or adjusting them and figuring out how to mix and match flavors.

Just cooking - finding a recipe that looks interesting and following it - is a really good way to get better at this kind of thing.

That's actually one of the reasons that I think meal kit boxes like blue apron can be worth it for people who want to learn how to cook - they give you recipes you wouldn't have thought to look for and provide small amounts of the required ingredients so you can sample them and figure out if you like them. My dad and sister got blue apron for like two years and it has significantly improved their cooking skills and ability to mix and match flavors.

It just takes time and money and trial and error. Easy, right? (It isn't, but there's also no way to make it faster other than doing more experiments. Thankfully there are ways to make it cheaper, and yeah looking at local specialty markets is a good way to save on spices)

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punkshort · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter warnings: language, violence, m masturbation, smut

Chapter Eight

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

Back in your apartment, the two of you set to work quietly organizing everything spread out on the living room floor that you could think of to pack. The biggest section was food. Luckily you were still used to a dorm room diet, so you had tons of useful items to take on the go. You had focused on the cans with protein like tuna, chicken and beans, then moved on to granola and protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, ramen noodles, cereal, instant rice and easy mac. Joel packed each of you a flashlight with extra batteries, and handfuls of matches and lighters he had found rummaging through your floor. Justin's camping equipment came with a canteen, plate, bowl, and foldable silverware for each, and a small first aid kit, which Joel significantly bolstered after raiding all the bathrooms on the floor.

He told you to only pack one or two extra sets of clothes, that you would have to break into houses or stores along the way if you needed more. He didn't want to waste the space in your packs that could be used for food and medicine.

You both set to work filling your bags with as much stuff as you could. Joel slipped a map into his pack that he had picked up from a kitchen drawer down the hall, and you had snuck in an unopened box of tampons and a folded up picture of your parents in yours when he wasn't looking.

It was around midday when you were all set to go, making sure to eat something left behind in your cupboards one last time.

You closed the door behind you, but you didn't lock it in case someone came along and needed something. Then sadly, you turned and gripped your baseball bat, following Joel down the long hallway, down the stairs and to the lobby.

Before Joel pushed the lobby door open to the outside, he turned to you.

"Which way's the subway?"

You pointed down the street to the right.

"It's about 3 blocks that way, not far. It's mostly all apartment buildings and a few stores on the corners."

Joel nodded, cracking the door open to listen for any sign of trouble. It sounded clear, so he ventured out to confirm before pulling you out behind him.

"We gotta be quick, but not too quick. Don't want to accidentally sneak up on somethin' out here," Joel explained in a hushed tone. "If you hear anythin', stop and don't make a sound. And you tell me if you see anythin' at all, understand?" You walked closely next to him as he was speaking, the whole time looking all around you frantically, your senses in overdrive, and your heart hammering in your chest. All you did was nod, not wanting to risk making too much noise.

The streets were quiet. Joel peeked around the corner and made sure no soldiers or infected were nearby before ushering you across the open street and back behind the safety of a building. One block down.

The two of you trotted down the sidewalk, swiveling your head around every few feet to see if there was anyone behind you. You almost made it to the next corner when Joel swung out his arm to stop you. You held your breath, heart racing as you focused on the noise he heard. It was the slow rumbling of an engine that reminded you of the FEDRA truck you heard patrolling outside your apartment last night. Joel must have figured that out, too, because he grabbed your arm and pulled you over to hide behind a dumpster that was sticking out of a narrow alley. You both crouched down and waited for the truck to pass. Fortunately, it didn't turn down the street you were on, where you would have been exposed.

Once the noise faded, Joel stood up slowly before motioning for you to follow. Again, he poked his head around the corner and took extra time to make sure no one was around before dragging you across the street once more. One more block to go.

You were halfway down the block as you passed a pawn shop, windows smashed in and the place ransacked. You grabbed Joel's arm and his head whipped around in a panic. You shook your head to tell him nothing was wrong and pointed into the pawn shop.

"Weapons?" you mouthed.

He hesitated a moment, trying to decide if you should press on or see if there was something useful in there before ultimately deciding to check it out. If the subway had infected in it, it would be better if there was more than just one knife between you. Joel stepped through the broken glass door carefully, glancing around at the small shop before holding his hand out to guide you through the opening. You both took a quick look around, noticing anything valuable was long gone, and most of the knives were picked over, but you did find a decent sized switchblade for yourself. You tucked it into your jeans pocket, and you carried on down the street towards the subway entrance.

You had a long way to go down the dark tunnel, but so far it had been quiet and uneventful. Your flashlight beams bounced off the brick walls as you walked in silence, trying to stay focused on your surroundings. Your anxiety spiked with every new subway station you passed, reminding you of just how much deeper into the city you were getting. From what the soldiers had said, more densely populated areas were worse off, and so far in your limited experience that had proven to be true.

You were two stations away from the one you stopped at for work when you first saw people. It was just two families, huddled together on the platform. They had seen your flashlights long before you saw them, so trying to sneak by was useless. They seemed like they were just innocent survivors, so Joel kept walking, holding his head up. He made eye contact with two of the men in the group and gave them each a firm nod, hoping to convey you were just passing through and not looking for trouble. They nodded back wordlessly, and you carried on your way.

The next station had more people who had sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and lanterns. It looked like they were trying to wait it out underground long-term. A few of the men approached the end of the platform to address Joel.

"You soldiers?" one of them asked.

"No, just passin' through, tryin' to stay off the streets, sorry to disturb you all," Joel replied. He paused for a moment, and looked back at the men who were still watching you carefully. "Any of you see any infected down here?"

One of the men shook his head. "Nah, man, that's why we're sitting tight down here. Soldiers must be keeping them busy up top."

Joel nodded. "Thanks... good luck to you."

Finally, you approached your stop for work and found the platform to be filled with people, just like the previous one. They were kind and immediately helped you both up off the tracks. You introduced yourselves and explained you were headed to Joel's apartment not too far from there. One of the women, Josie, warned you the closer you got to the heart of the city, the worse it was.

"We heard, thank you. Once we get up top it won't be a long walk," you said, swiping the back of your hand across your forehead to clear the sweat collecting there. "We've been walking for hours. Joel?" You turned to him, interrupting a conversation he was having with Josie's husband, Peter. "Can we rest here for a bit?" Joel turned back to Peter.

"That ok with you folks?" he asked. Peter and Josie nodded, seemingly the leaders of the small group of strangers huddled on the platform.

The two of you slunk down against the tiled wall, pulling out protein bars and your canteens after sitting down. You shut your eyes for a few minutes, leaning the back of your head against the wall, chewing and grateful to be taking a break.

"You holdin' up alright?" Joel asked softly beside you. You nodded, keeping your eyes closed.

"I'm just tired," you replied, taking another bite of your protein bar without looking.

"It ain't much further, once we get on the street it's another few blocks. We should be able to get there before - "

Joel's sentence was cut short by screaming, and your eyes flew open in surprise as you dropped your protein bar and grabbed your bat while fumbling around in your pocket for the switchblade. Joel was already standing, gripping his bat and trying to locate the source of the scream in the group. One of the men, who looked asleep when you arrived, was snarling and had his teeth clamped down into the shoulder of an older man, blood pouring down his arm and soaking both of their shirts. Peter and another man jumped into action to pull the infected off the poor man screaming in agony, struggling to pin it to the ground.

Joel charged forward before you could stop him, your hands desperately clawing at his t-shirt, but he was already throwing himself into the group to help. You watched in horror as the three men struggled to hold it down, and just as Joel was getting ready to bash its skull in with the baseball bat, it lunged forward, knocking Peter and the other man off to the side and pushing Joel onto his back.

Joel held the infected up by its shoulders as it pinned him down, snapping and growling inches from his face. Joel's jaw was clenched tight, his eyes flashed with rage as he summoned all the strength he could manage and pushed it off him, making it stumble backwards. It was just enough time for Joel to reach to his side for his hunting knife and plunged it into the infected’s skull with a guttural yell.

The infected went limp immediately and fell to the floor. Joel stood over the body, tense, covered in blood, and panting heavily with the knife still clutched in his hand. Peter and the other man rushed to join the rest of the group helping the one who was bit in the shoulder, but you raced straight to Joel, wrapping your arms around him tightly. Surprised, he lifted one arm to place it reassuringly on your back, the other still clutching his knife.

You let him go, tears threatening to spill down your cheeks as you frowned at him angrily. He looked down at you, the adrenaline wearing off, and saw the anguish on your face. He reached his hand out to you, but you slapped it away and instead shoved his chest heatedly, making him stumble just a bit in surprise.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" you seethed, narrowing your eyes at him and fighting to keep the tears from falling. "You could have gotten killed!"

Joel stared at you, still panting slightly, then put the knife back in its holder. He couldn't gauge your reaction. Were you upset he would be killed because then you would be alone, or upset because of something else? He sighed and reached out to you again. This time, you didn't shove him, but you didn't go to him, either.

Josie approached you, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Thank you, Joel, for saving my husband," she said, clutching his outstretched hand in her own, then turned to you. "Don't be mad at your boyfriend, dear, he just saved us all."

Your mouth fell open, and before you could correct her, she went back to Peter and hugged him tightly. Joel cleared his throat beside you, seemingly pleased with himself.

"You heard her," he winked at you. "Can't stay mad at me." You scowled back at him, and with a more serious tone, he added, "us or them, remember?"

You sighed, relaxing your brow. You knew he was right, but you were still pissed off. You turned on your heel and headed back to your abandoned protein bar, effectively ending the conversation.

Joel joined you and watched as the group deliberated quietly on how to deal with the man who was bit. You had learned he likely only had a few hours before he turned, based on the location of his bite. Ultimately, Peter volunteered, and he quickly and privately put the man out of his misery with a kitchen knife. You winced when you heard the squelch of blood from across the platform, burying your face in your shoulder.

You didn't stay much longer after that. Once Joel had gotten his strength back, you picked up your belongings and gave your farewells. Josie and Peter thanked Joel again, and you headed up to the familiar street corner, dusk fast approaching.

It took you both an hour to walk to Joel's apartment, which normally would have taken ten minutes, but he insisted on going slow and being careful at every turn. When you approached his building, you had to crane your neck all the way back to take in the full height. His building definitely used to have a doorman: it was fancy. You walked into the ornate lobby and turned around in a slow circle, taking in everything from the detailed crown molding to the beautiful, tiled floor that looked more like a piece of art. You almost felt bad for stepping on it. Even the ceiling was vaulted and decorated in tiny, intricate squares with gilded chandeliers hanging from it. Finally, you looked straight ahead and saw an arched window that overlooked a private garden.

"Shit," you whispered, "I almost got an apartment in this building."

Joel turned back to you, surprised, then realized you were being sarcastic when he saw your grin. He smiled to himself and shook his head, leading you down the hallway towards the stairwell door.

"I take it you're not on the second floor?" you asked him quietly as you began to climb the stairs.

"No, little higher than that," he replied. "30th floor."

You stopped dead in your tracks, which made him stop and turn back to you questioningly. He could tell what the problem was when he saw the pained expression on your face without you even having to speak.

"I know, it's gonna take us a while, but we can stop and rest whenever you need to." You sighed and hung your head, continuing your journey up the stairs.

You made it to the halfway point before you had to take a break, sitting on a step, panting and chugging water from your canteen while Joel leaned against the wall across from you, sipping his own water. The sun was going down, so you each dug your flashlights out of your packs before continuing.

"Not much further," Joel panted, turning the corner of another staircase, "then we can rest. No point in diggin' around in the dark, it's been a long day." You nodded, choosing not to speak to conserve your energy, and focused on the flashlight beam ahead of you.

You weren't sure how long it took, but finally you climbed the last step to face the door marked with a big, red "30". That's when you looked up and noticed you were on the top floor. Of course he lives on the top floor.

Joel pushed the door open a crack and peeked down the hall, which was very short and only had two doors and an elevator at the other end. He held the door open for you to walk through, then gently closed it. You frowned, looking back and forth at the two doors, puzzled.

Joel looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight when he saw your confusion, before mumbling, "It's a penthouse," and brushed past you to unlock his door.

You had never seen a penthouse before, but you knew they were for people who were really rich, especially in New York City. He opened the door, locking it behind you. You couldn't really see much other than what your flashlight exposed, but you could tell the room you were standing in was massive. You briefly flicked your light around, taking in some couches, bookcases, a fireplace and some other furniture. You stopped when you noticed the entire wall was top to bottom windows with a balcony attached, and covered your flashlight quickly. Joel kicked off his sneakers, and noticing the dimmer light, turned his flashlight to shine on you questioningly.

"Can't people see in? Like, the lights moving?" you asked. He shook his head.

"Privacy windows," he explained, then turned and headed towards another room. You quickly kicked your own shoes off, skittering after him, sticking close. The place was so huge you were afraid you'd get lost, and the darkness mixed with the eerie silence from lack of power and road noise made the hairs on your arm stand up. As you walked, you shined your flashlight on everything around you, baffled by how far the apartment seemed to stretch. You were so engrossed in your surroundings that you bumped into him when he had stopped walking.

"Oops, sorry," you whispered.

"Why are you whispering? We're safe here," he replied at full volume. You shrugged.

"I don't know, this place is huge, Joel, give me a minute - oh my god, is this your kitchen?!" you exclaimed as your jaw dropped, noticing the kitchen island in front of you that must have seated ten people. On one side. Easily. The island, made of marble or quartz, was white with silver and black specks. You noticed the counter was the same all over the kitchen, even on the built in bar in the corner. The cupboards were a light oak that was soft against your fingertips as you gently trailed them against the wood, wandering around his kitchen in amazement.

Joel watched you as you walked around his kitchen, gently touching the handles of the knives in the block and running your fingers along the countertop. You looked like you had never seen anything like this before, and his chest ached when he wondered what would have happened that night if you agreed to come home with him. You could have seen this place in a whole different light. He could have made you a drink from the bar and played you some music over the sound system. If he was lucky, he could have laid you down on the kitchen island you were so currently fascinated with, your fingers gripping the edges as he slipped his fingers inside your underwear to explore your soaking wet folds, pushing one finger inside you, and then another, slowly teasing you until you begged him for more.

Having you in his place was clouding his mind, he needed to focus. He cleared his throat before heading towards the pantry door. You eagerly followed closely behind and when you realized the pantry was a room as big as your own kitchen, you moaned with envy, causing his eyes to flutter shut momentarily.

"This place is amazing," you told him, sifting through the food on his shelves. You grabbed some peanut butter and crackers, turned and headed back to the kitchen.

"Where's the silverware?" you asked over your shoulder.

"Drawer next to the sink," he replied, and watched as you grabbed a butter knife. He picked up a can of Beefaroni off the shelf and opened the drawer in the kitchen with the can opener after picking a fork out from the silverware drawer you left open in your haste to eat.

He sat across from you at the island, eating his cold Beefaroni out of the can while you slathered crackers with peanut butter and popped them in your mouth. You smirked at his choice of food.

"Chef Boyardee?" you asked curiously, eyebrows raised. "I'm sure your private chef could have made you the real thing from scratch." Joel chuckled.

"Alright, I ain't got a private chef. Besides, this is the real thing. Nothin' beats it."

You smiled, fascinated that a man who lived in such a lavish apartment would have Beefaroni as his guilty pleasure. Feeling full and sleepy, you twisted the top of the peanut butter jar closed, and out of habit ran your tongue along the butter knife to clean it. You didn't even realize how that looked until you heard Joel's breath hitch and he looked down to study the empty can in front of him. Your cheeks felt warm from embarrassment, but luckily, he couldn't see it under the cover of darkness. You cleaned the knife (with a sponge, this time) and Joel's fork, putting them back in the drawer.

"Alright, let's get some shut eye. We should try to get an early start tomorrow, I want to get out of this city as soon as we can," Joel said, grabbing his pack he had set down when you walked in, and headed further down the hallway.

You followed him nervously, looking at the expensive-looking art on the walls and even a few statues on pedestals before reaching his bedroom. He pushed the door open, and your flashlights bounced around the room to illuminate the corners the moonlight hid from view. As expected, his bedroom was spacious with a bathroom and two walk-in closets attached. You noticed one of the closets was void of any clothes, and the other was packed to the brim. You poked your head in his bathroom, sighing enviously when you saw the huge, glass walk-in shower and built in vanity. You turned around to find Joel had dug out a couple lanterns from his closet and placed one on each end table so you could conserve your flashlight batteries. You clicked it off and walked over awkwardly, not sure what the sleeping arrangements should be. Unlike you, he has couches more than big enough to accommodate a grown adult, but the thought of being alone in the living room of this huge apartment made you nervous.

It hadn't even been a question in Joel's mind.

"Hop in and make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back," and he left the bedroom, back down the hallway to double check the locks. You rummaged in your pack for some more comfortable clothes to sleep in, and quickly changed before he returned, nestled under the covers on the most comfortable mattress you had ever been on in your life.

When Joel reentered the bedroom, his thoughts didn't even have time to catch up with how fast he felt the blood rushing to his cock. He squeezed his eyes shut as he blindly walked right to his closet and shut the door so he could change into his pajamas, willing his erection away. He groaned quietly, leaning his head against the wall of the closet, frustrated with how distracted he's been. If he doesn't stop, it could get you or him killed. He would have to do something about it before heading out tomorrow. He was lucky so far, you've had relatively safe places to hole up in, but that was going to end.

When he finally got himself under control, he exited the closet and got into the other side of the bed. You already had your lantern off and you were laying on your side with your eyes closed, exhausted from all the walking and events of the day. His bed was much larger than yours, and he hoped the extra space would help him get his mind out of the gutter. He turned his lantern off, and leaned back into the familiar pillow and sheets, closing his eyes. It was silent for a few minutes before you spoke.

"Joel?" you squeaked.

"Hm?" he replied, keeping his eyes closed.

"This is the nicest apartment I've ever seen, how long have you lived here?"

"About six years or so," he said, shifting a little under the covers. "But I like your place more," he admitted.

"My place?!" you said, outraged. "You could fit my entire apartment into this bedroom, you're crazy."

"Yeah, well, your place felt more..." he trailed off, trying to find the right word. "Like a home. This place feels like a museum."

"I'm sure you could make this place feel just as cozy," you yawned before adding, "this bed, for instance, is the most comfortable thing I've ever laid on." Joel smiled.

"Glad you like it." Sweetheart.

He waited until he was sure you were sleeping deeply enough before he locked himself into his bathroom and pulled his sweatpants down just far enough to free his throbbing cock, stroking it steadily with one hand while the other propped him up against the wall, eyes screwed shut. His thoughts picked up where he left off in the kitchen, his fingers deep in your pussy, but then he would add his thumb to your swollen clit, making your back arch off the cold counter and gasp his name. His thumb would pick up the pace, keeping up with your moans, rubbing tight circles and flexing and thrusting his fingers inside of you until your body finally stilled under him, whimpering his name as you came.

He imagined you gazing up at him hazily, the same way you looked at him last week outside the bar, but now you would reach out and grab the waist of his jeans, pulling him closer and whisper hoarsely to him, "Please, Joel, I need you, I need more..."

He imagined what it would feel like to slide inside you, your cunt soft and warm, so welcoming and taking him inch by inch. He would grasp your hips, his feet firmly on the ground and your legs wrapped tightly around his waist, one of your hands lost in your own hair and the other firmly holding onto his wrist, eyes rolled towards the back of your head, moaning, as he stretched you out. When he would start moving, he would go slow at first and enjoy the way your tits bounced gently along with his movements. He would do his best to take his time, but he imagined you asking him - begging him - to fuck you harder. Of course, he would give you what you wanted. He would slam into you, over and over, groaning as he would feel your cunt squeezing around him, warning him you were close. His thumb would travel down to your clit once again, pressing firmly from side to side until you were screaming his name and he felt your warm release spill over his cock.

"Fuck!" Joel grunted out into the darkness, as he shot thick ropes of cum over his hand and onto the tile floor, completely losing himself and forgetting to grab a tissue. He stood there a few minutes, catching his breath, his forehead pressed against the bathroom wall. Finally, he pushed himself away and cleaned up his mess carefully, using his flashlight to make sure he didn't miss anything. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He hoped that would help keep him sharp and focused for tomorrow.

He opened the bathroom door quietly, relieved to see you hadn't moved a muscle since he left. You were still sleeping peacefully, facing his side of the bed with your lips slightly parted. He smiled at the sight, setting his flashlight down and about to slide back into bed when he heard a noise coming from down the hall. He froze, listening intently, trying to figure out the source. He glanced down at you once more to confirm you were still asleep and headed quietly out the bedroom door, carefully closing it behind him.

He walked down the hallway, now on high alert, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He walked by a statue, grabbing it and turning it upside down so the square base was upright in his hand. He gripped it tightly as he neared the kitchen, now hearing rustling and seeing a beam of light coming from the pantry. He glanced around the room before peering around the open pantry door, seeing someone crouched on the floor and rifling through his food, but all Joel could focus on was the revolver on the floor next to him, shining in the moonlight. Shooting one more glance over his shoulder, Joel stepped inside, silently placing the statue down on the floor, and then lunged forward, quickly wrapping his arm around the intruder’s neck, and using his other hand to lock his arm in place. Joel yanked them both up to a standing position, putting his foot over the revolver and shoving it under the shelves in the pantry, out of arms reach. The intruder slapped wildly at Joel's arms, then tried clawing at his face, desperate to loosen his grip so he could breathe, but Joel didn't budge, his grip strong and unmoving, his face contorted in a fury and a heat he never felt before. It didn't take long before the man passed out, but Joel held on a few minutes longer to make sure the air didn't revive him.

Once he was satisfied he was dead, Joel laid him gently on the pantry floor, frantically trying to catch his breath. He slowly picked the statue back up, temporarily forgetting about the gun, and then closed his eyes a moment as his breathing began to stabilize. He reopened them, nostrils flared, and jaw clenched. He needed to make sure the man was alone, and you were safe.

He left the pantry, glancing around the room once again before stepping forward. He was about to enter the hallway to head back towards the living room when something hard hit him across the chest, sending him crashing loudly back into the kitchen, dropping the statue. Joel gasped for air in the darkness, scrambling backwards and reaching around blindly to try to find his statue, but the other intruder kicked it away and pinned Joel down with his own baseball bat. The bat was being pressed to his throat, and Joel struggled to push against the man's weight.

"Who else is here with you?" the intruder sneered. Joel was barely able to make out his face in the darkness.

"No one," he gasped and shook his head, pushing back harder now that he was reminded of you sleeping sweetly in his bed, hoping and praying you stayed in there.

"Bullshit," the man spit. "I saw the shoes by the door. Maybe I'll have a little fun with her after I kill - "

Suddenly, the pressure was gone, and Joel coughed, holding his throat. He whipped around frantically, trying to find anything to use as a weapon, when he heard wet thumping over and over. He stood up, desperately trying to make his eyes adjust to the shadows. Remembering the flashlight, he scrambled back in the pantry and snatched it up, casting the beam of light over the scuffle.

You were bent over and brutally caving in the skull of the man who almost killed him.

Over and over, you aimed the corner of the statue at the man's disfigured face, beating him to a bloody pulp, the squishing sound of blood echoing in your ears. Joel calling your name and grabbing you around the waist was the only thing that stopped you. You dropped the statue and looked him in the eye, like a wild animal cornered and ready to strike. He grabbed your face, repeating your name until your eyes focused back on him. The enormity of what you did hit you in an instant: you just killed a man.

Tears welled up in your eyes and your lips trembled as you continued to stare into Joel’s eyes. He shook his head when he saw the emotion on your face.

“No. No, no, no, no. C’mere,” he said, pulling you into his embrace, and it was then you let the tears flow as you sobbed uncontrollably into his chest, gripping his t-shirt in your fist like a lifeline. He snaked his arm up your back, so his hand rested at the crown of your head, and his other arm tightly squeezed you around the ribs. You both slunk to the floor of his kitchen, holding onto each other for dear life, the horror of the world around you finally making its mark on you both.

Chapter Nine

#joel miller fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fic #joel the last of us #tlou hbo #the last of us hbo #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller series #joel x reader #joel x reader smut #joel miller angst #joel miller fluff #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us game #the way we were joel miller fic

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sopiao · 2 years ago

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ghost “hating” pda, any kind of physical touch or sweet gesture.

pretends to be annoyed with pda, holding hands when walking to the nearby convenience store for late night snacks, quick pecks on the lips or cheeks before either of you leave for work, little side hugs when you two wait for the crosswalk sign to light up.

eww he hates all that cute and lovey dovey couple shit *wink, wink*

always rolls his eyes and sighs when he feels you wrap your farther arm around him while the hand closer to his interlocks fingers.

but internally he’s screaming and clenching at his heart.

scoffs and grunts in annoyance when you wrap your arms around him as he holds a grocery basket full of food, to show the girl eyeing him from a distance that he’s yours.

but really, he’s loving it, loves it when you show off that he belongs to you.

loves that you’re not afraid to show him off or to put others in their place.

acts like he hates it when you start to play and fidget with his hand when you get bored or distracted, his heart doing somersaults in his chest.

doesn’t even acknowledge it when you rest your head on his shoulder or chest when you start to get drowsy on the subway.

but after you fall deeper into sleep, he makes sure your comfortable.

wrapping an arm around your shoulders and resting his hand on top of your head, covering your legs with his jacket, away from creeper’s eyes, sweeping hair stray away from your face that could bother you in your slumber.

and dare he? hold your hand? 🤯

pretends to be annoyed, waving you off like you’re distracting him from his show or his work, when you leaned down to kiss him on the forehead before you leave for a hangout with your friends.

rolls his eyes and sighs like an angsty teen when you call out to him at the doorway from the kitchen, having to pull him down by the chest of his shirt and pushing yourself up on your tippy toes before leaving a small kiss on his stubbled jaw.

trying his best to make his blush go unknown as you run back into the kitchen, stumbling back with a kid-like metal lunch box in their hands.

really? his cute little wife? made him lunch? how completely, and adorably, bothersome.

this sweet act almost made him break his cool and stoic demeanor, never did he want more than to wrap his wife up in his bear arms and spin you around, peppering kissing all over your face and neck.

that was a surprise hangout day, organized by Soap of course (who else?) and his wife somehow convinced him to go, therefore an excuse to make him a lunch.

you have no idea how you have him wrapped around your finger with such a small but charming gesture.

when it’s lunch time, Gaz suggests a pizza place, but no matter how much his comrades try to get him to eat, he refuses. takes out his kiddy metal lunchbox with the ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ logo on it. His heart almost jumps out of his chest and his face flushed red with tears of his eyes when he sees the BLT sandwich in a ziploc bag, made just how you know he likes it, a little plastic container of cut up fruits, a pack of Welsh’s fruit gummies, and a thermos filled with iced tea.

and not once did he ever feel embarrassed. never embarrassed of his wife and your cute and sweet acts of affection.

the only and first time you’ve ever seen him give you some kind of affection, aside from your wedding day where he literally cried the second he saw you and his hands never leaving you, is when you first dropped him off at the airport when he had to take his first leave during your relationship.

before he left you wrapped him in a tight hug, arms barely touching from his large physique. tears threatening to fall from your eyes as you looked up at him, still smiling, trying to keep your peppy and cheery demeanor.

and for the first time since he’s joined the force, he felt regretful and guilty for leaving, hugging you back even tighter, almost tighter than the way he held you on your first official kiss as a married couple.

holding your face and wiping tears away from your cheeks with his thumbs, and he left one last kiss on your forehead, which made you laugh out of surprise since he’s almost never this affectionate.

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ranchstoryblog · 22 days ago

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Beyond the Farm: A Dramatic Martial Arts Detective Life Sim?

Long, long ago; in the year 1999, the term "life sim" wasn't used as often or understood as well as it is today. Boku no Natsuyasumi wouldn't release for another year, Animal Crossing was two years away, and reviewers were struggling to determine what a game like Harvest Moon 64 was. Often, instead of putting it alongside simulation games, choosing to place it among RPGs instead.

At this time, one of the biggest game developers in the industry had everything to prove for their next generation console. One of their most legendary creators was putting together something that could influence the entire gaming landscape, building systems modern games would take for granted from scratch. A game that sought to simulate real life as closely as possible.

youtube

Positing itself as an epic kung fu saga, most of Shenmue's promotional material focuses on action and adventure that happened to have an impressive world to explore. Upon release, players would quickly find it was almost the exact opposite. A world to live in, one day at a time, with a kung fu adventure somewhere in the backdrop. So, 25 years later, let's look at it through the lens of a life sim.

Living in Shenmue

Though the game opens with a dramatic set-up, your father murdered before your eyes by a mysterious man belonging to a foreign crime organization for reasons unknown, the first gameplay element introduced to you isn't how to throw a punch or a kick. Instead, upon exiting your home for the first time, you encounter a little girl taking care of an orphan kitten, and being pretty ill-prepared for it.

If the player chooses to visit this kitten every single day, using their small 500 yen daily allowance on cat food instead of toys, video games, or candy, they can watch the kitten recover over the next few weeks. Starting from barely being able to stand or eat, shivering in a cardboard box, to eventually exploring freely and climbing to the top of the nearby shrine, triumphant over its adversity.

This entirely optional side-quest is more or less an introduction to one of the main ways to play the game. While following your trail of clues to find your father's killer is one thing, establishing a daily routine that helps work towards tangible goals or experience new things is just as important. Some of these activities improve the protagonist's skills, like practicing martial arts in an empty lot to level-up and evolve moves, while others will challenge the player's skill, like getting good at motorcycle racing game "Hang On" so that a later challenge where you're driving a real motorcycle is a bit easier.

Contemporary games in the simulation genre tended to saddle you with a routine-focused task from the outset, such as a business to run or a field to plow, so it was certainly novel to simply be a jobless teenager trying to find a way to fill your days as seemingly every new step in your main goal required you to wait for someone else before moving forward.

Shenmue's Inhabitants

Of course, it's not just the player involving themselves with a daily routine. Hundreds of NPCs populate the world, each one with distinct personalities, backstories, and full voice-over. If you want, you can follow someone leaving their home in the morning, watch them open their store, walk in, examine every little thing on their shelves, and then pester them all day with questions about if any local gangsters with tattoos have stopped by their antique china shop lately.

On the rare occasions where you don't have any leads to follow, you can actually get to hear more about what they're thinking about. Some of them are familiar with the protagonist and ask how he's doing, or even visit him at home if they're worried, and others will just let you in on their personal life, like relationship troubles. Maybe try to teach you some Italian. If you forget to say hi while exploring town, maybe pick up the phone and call them in the evening.

Unfortunately, it's somewhat rare to get much insight in-game. Perhaps due to the technological hurdles of having everyone voiced and simply not having enough room for that many unique sound files, but the initial release of the game did also come with an online enabled companion disc called "Shenmue Passport." In it, every character in the game, including the dogs and cats, has a bio that includes a paragraph or two about their lives and various stats like birth dates and blood type. Though the feature has gone offline since then, fans have recreated it with a mobile app called "Suka Pass."

The Nature of Shenmue

While most of Shenmue's gameplay occurs in urban environments, plenty of attention was given to the nature the player experiences as well. When it rains, mud and puddles form; when it snows, you can hear it crunching beneath your feet, and tire tracks line the streets. Though you can easily complete the game before the end of December, ignoring the story until as far as April lets you experience the world turning greener, cherry blossoms blooming, and dandelions sprouting up. For some extra verisimilitude, you can even use the real life weather data from 1986/1987 Yokosuka to have the in-game weather match. Pretty impressive stuff for 1999.

However, one of the most memorable moments in the series comes from the end of Shenmue 2. On the fourth disc of the game, where one might normally expect there to be grand spectacle, action, or conquest, there's something else entirely: A chance encounter where you meet someone who's going the same way you're going, followed by a two-day walk and talk where you get to know one another. There are no wolves chasing you, dangerous decisions to make, or villains with chainsaws. There are, however, some colza blossoms that just bloomed. You have to take a detour to see them, but doesn't it sound nice? Why not, since we're here.

More than any action scene, sprawling city street, or technological advancement for the medium, this is the moment that defines what Shenmue is. A mundane world that exists all around you, and feels like it could go on forever if you suspend your disbelief for just a moment. If there's one thing I think any life sim should try to replicate from Shenmue, it's this. The grandeur of this slow walk through the woods where you get to ask a stranger dozens of questions, and answer dozens in return. The more common "two minute event where you can pick the good choice or the bad choice" can't compare.

Only 3.6% of you asked for more posts about life sims that aren't Story of Seasons, but I didn't want to leave those of you who wanted it out to dry. I might still do another one at some point, something more "typical" like Fields of Mistria, but I hope this was interesting for you. While it wasn't one of the more popular requests, and it requires a lot more work than a meme, or just more of the same, it's worth doing so long as someone enjoys it.

#Shenmue #life sim #cozy games #sega #dreamcast #i hope that “nature” double meaning seems clever #the weird feeling that this article isn't new information or useful to the type of person who would actually search “Shenmue"#but this is a Story of Seasons blog so like #yeah and stuff #hope it makes you interested in the game

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fangirlwriting-stories · 3 months ago

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Early Bird

Summary: Relativity/Reunion Falls AU, Mabel wakes up the first morning Ford is staying with them to find him already awake.

Masterlist

...

Mabel is admittedly a little surprised when she finds Stanford up and sweeping around in the store first thing in the morning.

“Stanford?” she says around a yawn. Stanford jumps and turns to face her. “Kiddo, how long have you been up?”

“A couple hours,” Stanford says, sounding like he’s attempting to sound awake and excited. “I told you I’d make myself useful! I reorganized your stock in alphabetical order while taking into account what kind of supplies it is, wrote down the new setup here so it’s easy to understand and learn on top of being better organized—” here he shoves a piece of laminated paper at her— “laminated the page, obviously, and dusted and swept everything! Well, I’m almost done with the sweeping, anyway. Next I’m gonna—”

“Woah, woah, kid,” Mabe says, holding her hands out. “You gotta slow down. I haven’t even had my Mabel Juice yet.”

Stanford blinks at her. “But—”

“Look, that’s all very impressive, and thank you, but for now, why don’t you just come have some breakfast. It’s your first morning here, I’m gonna make pancakes.”

Stanford’s eyes widen at the mention of pancakes, and he sets the broom down and follows Mabel into the kitchen.

He sits at the table, and folds his gloved hands together in front of him, and Mabel’s heart melts a little at the sight. She hides a smile as she turns to open the cabinet above the stove, but as soon as she does she groans.

“Jeff!” she snaps, and reaches inside to snatch the gnome up. “Just because I gave you edible glitter one time does not mean you can eat all the food in my cabinets! We’ve talked about this!”

“Mabel, you don’t understand what you’ve done to us,” Jeff says, reaching desperately towards her face. “The black market, it’s gotten out of hand. Every gnome around wants edible glitter. It has to be added to your pies or you lose the bake-off automatically! I can’t lose to Jason again, Mabel, I can’t!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got my own glitter addiction to support, bub,” Mabel says. She carries Jeff, who’s still squirming, over towards the window and drops him out of it. “Try the fairies’ neck of the woods.”

“Wait, Mabel, please!”

Mabel slams the window in Jeff’s face and rolls her eyes, turning back to the cabinet.

“Sorry about him,” she says to Stanford, pulling the pancake mix out. “It didn’t feel like a good time to tell you yesterday, but you’re gonna learn pretty quick that Gravity Falls is—”

When she turns around again, Stanford is staring at the window with wide eyes, but rather than being shocked or confused, he looks ecstatic.

“Uh, Stanford?” Mabel asks.

“That— what was that?” Stanford asks, a light sparking in his eyes. “It’s so weird.”

He says ‘weird’ like it’s the answer to everything he’s been looking for. Mabel raises an eyebrow. “Usually people have a different reaction,” she says. “I have to calm visitors down most of the time.”

“But he talks!” Stanford says, turning his wide eyes back to Mabel. “Can I talk to him? I have so many questions!”

“I’d be careful with that if I were you,” Mabel says. “If you invite a gnome inside once they never leave. As was just shown.”

“But— but—” Stanford looks so crestfallen in the next second that Mabel can’t help but wince.

“Look, bud, don’t worry about it,” she says, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table next to him. “If you stay here even a week there’s gonna be way weirder things than that to find.”

Stanford looks up at her like she just said they’re gonna have ice cream for dinner every night. “Really?”

Mabel chuckles. “Tell you what,” she says. “After I close the store this evening, we can go exploring. I know a place nearby where we can find eye bats. They’re one of Stanley’s favorite creatures. He sneaks off to try to ride them when he thinks I’m not looking.”

Stanford continues to stare at her like that’s the greatest thing he’s ever heard. “Can I bring a notebook?” he asks. “To write down everything we see?”

Mabel can’t help but laugh and ruffle his hair. “Sure, kiddo. You can pick one from the store.”

Stanford grins, and Mabel smiles back. The kid’s gonna fit right in in Gravity Falls. It’s similar enough to someone else she knows that it makes Mabel’s heart twinge a bit, but for now she just ignores it and turns to make pancakes. She’s got to make extra this morning, after all.

#gravity falls #mabel pines #ford pines #relativity falls au #reunion falls au #my fic

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gard3nias · 4 months ago

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14| From five to ten

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wc: 11.44k

date: 21/09/2024

mdi // masterlist // playlist

—Now playing: Nobody by Jeon Soyeon, Winter, Liz (IVE) ��

The air was fresh and the environment peaceful. The gym doors were slammed closed as they went to the gates that soon opened when the bell rang and pierced through the silence.

Since the weather was gradually getting chillier, hoodies became thicker. Daphne was wearing an oversized pebble-coloured one, dropping almost to mid-thigh and covering most of her hands. Her legs were clad in the jean material of her pants which got wider as they inched closer to her ankles. Her feet, in a pair of old sneakers and her hair, loosely flowing with the wind. She had something slightly more colourful underneath the hoodie but it was too fresh outside and, with it on, her outfit matched her mood so well.

The classes were officially over for the day and students were soon flocking around town going home or hanging out. Daphne and her friends didn’t stop at the terminal to wait for the bus nor was any of their parents there to pick them up. Their first stop was the nearby mall.

The day was very bright thanks to the reflection of the sun's rays through the white clouds. The five friends fully occupied the sidewalk as they approached their destination. Daphne and Cleo were walking right behind Asher with their arms linked and tailing them were Nick and James. Asher was leading the way. Cleo, Nick and James were playing around as usual, trying to include Daphne but she was rather silent, occasionally smiling very lightly. They noticed that but what could they really do?

Soon they were turning on their right to a wide opening where escalators were placed one next to the other. Some went upstairs, others went downstairs. Following Asher’s lead, they went downstairs to the supermarket. To follow through with the boy’s plan, they had to get themselves everything needed for a picnic for which he quickly created a list as they made their way there.

Unlike two months ago, when the sliding doors of the mall opened, the air inside wasn’t noticeably colder but rather the same. Ceiling lights reflected on the tiles and music played through speakers. The mall wasn’t too crowded so the teenagers soon moved to walking on the same line. James, next to Asher and Nick, next to Cleo. Daphne was in the middle subtly feeling out of place.

“Hey, do you think I’m missing anything?” Asher was speaking directly to James, placing his phone in his view. The first word on the list was ‘picnic blanket’. Then came all the ingredients needed to make sandwiches which Asher explained were better because they couldn’t buy hot food like pizza. The list went on with other things and James ended up not adding anything so Asher moved the question to the others.

“We’re going for a picnic?” Daphne’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. This wasn’t the hang-out she was convinced to have agreed to. She was expecting something more… lowkey.

“Do y’all want anything else?” Asher ignored her question and insisted. Cleo simply stated they’d eventually remember everything as they shopped.

As they did so, Daphne tried to wrap her head around how easily her friends were adjusting to Asher’s hang-out idea not knowing it was all a plan. Maybe she was just an overthinker but never in her life would she be able to organize a picnic for five in such a short time.

Her friends were going up and down the store with the little trolley picking food and other necessities, all unfazed so she decided to loosen up and go with the flow. The test didn’t go well for any of them so she couldn’t go on acting like she was the only one hurt—she could do that at home. Now, as they stated, the picnic is supposed to take her mind off it.

“I’m taking this Bluetooth speaker because, without it, it’d seem we’re at a funeral. Music is important, guys,” To Daphne’s surprise—mainly because she wasn’t focused for most of the time—her friends all had a trolley each that they were filling up so her head quickly spun around, hoping she’d just find an empty one abandoned in a corner.

“Y’all? What type of board games should I take?” James called, poking his head into the aisle his friends were in. “Impress me—”

“No, don’t. Just get some cards,” Asher immediately objected to Nick’s words and both the boys chuckled before moving on. Daphne obviously failed at finding an empty trolley so she had to share with Cleo who wasn’t bothered but rather excited. “I have this crazy idea. What if we bought the ingredients for sandwiches and then each of us prepared a customised one dedicated to the other? Creative, ain’t it?”

“Customised?” Cleo nodded, eyes glittering. Daphne just shrugged her shoulders, agreeing with her because she never would’ve come up with it anyway. And, why not?

“Okay then. You get the ingredients and I get the napkins and stuff.”

By the time they were done and at the cashier, the hour hand was minutes away from pointing at three. Knowing that Asher would be the one paying, they didn’t go overboard and all kept a tight budget in mind hence the refusal to buy extra bags for them to carry their goods. As the cashier handed the products out, they replaced them in the trolley and once done paying, they moved aside to place them in their school bags. Cleo ended up putting her things in Daphne’s backpack so hers could contain what they bought and the boys had to squeeze in a few in theirs.

Eventually, Cleo had to give her bag to the guys despite how confident she was about being able to carry it. The walk to the train station wasn’t too long, as calculated by Asher, and it did well for Daphne. Ever since she moved here, she’d never heard of a train station, let alone of going to it.

Minutes in, they were already walking out of the noisy town centre along a peaceful wide road. It wasn’t too busy allowing their eardrums to relax and vibrate less. The road seemed to trail in between the hills. Greenland was everywhere around them but there were just fields. Barely any trees in view.

A few more minutes passed before a familiar sound caught Daphne’s attention. Her friends were too distracted chit-chatting and even if they weren’t, it wouldn’t have bothered them as much since it’s not their first time. Daphne has already travelled by train a few times. Was very familiar with subways but she believed she wouldn’t see a train again unless she went to the city.

A train had just left from its platform heading to its next stop. The sound rumbled through the air, fading the farther it went. The station didn’t look new or as modern as some in the city nor was it not taken care of. It was cute, she thought. As cute and cosy as a countryside train station could be. It didn’t have steam trains obviously—too old—but it also didn’t have bullet-like trains that move at high speeds. Also, it wasn’t too busy, almost silent. Seemed like there was never a moment in the day when it couldn’t be.

“How many stops exactly?” Cleo’s question called for Daphne’s attention, pausing her little sightseeing moment. The station barely had any shelter in the form of a room. Had many glass doors and windows. One of the many forms of shelters was the one above their heads as they went up to a machine and bought their tickets.

Platform number two. Since they couldn’t do much to have her talk and put an end to the nerve-wracking silent show she’s been putting up, her friends proceeded, leading the way as they had their little conversation. Daphne didn’t mind at all because it allowed her to resume her previous activity. There were a few people at other platforms waiting for their train. Some were sitting, others were standing. She checked and, for the time being, there was no incoming train. Quickly, she focused on what was ahead of her so she wouldn’t roll down the stairs, pushing her friends to the same fate. The path leading to their platform crossed the railing from under the ground so they were soon climbing up another set of stairs.

The floor followed a brick pattern and was decorated with various drawings in different colours—the classic warning yellow line, for example. The majority of the platform was sheltered, with pillars shattered here and there along with a few street lamps.

They didn’t notice but the noise running across the station at the moment was from them. Only outsiders could. Exactly, when their train arrived, they boarded and left, the environment fell back into its normal state of silence.

They succeeded and made it to a seat before the train started moving. Three of them sat together in a set of four seats, face-to-face. Daphne sat next to the window. Asher on her right. She didn’t want to be mean but she was happy that he was the one sitting next to her because she knew that her silence would’ve killed Cleo who would’ve done anything to get her to speak or just react. With Asher sitting next to her, having a completely different personality from her curly-headed friend, she could proceed and observe her surroundings without feeling obliged to engage in any conversation for the sake of making someone feel good.

Indeed though, the view outside was very pretty. Stunning for someone like Daphne. While Cleo could only see the good in people, Daphne could see the good in nature. Appreciates every little thing it had—except insects. From this part of town, the sky seemed to have taken a different shape. The clouds were more scattered and seemed to have a firmer structure, crunchy. Right underneath them were chains of mountains in the distance crowned at the bottom by rows of trees, starting by being dense only to thin out and barely be present in the wide field through which the train drove. The railing next to their train was empty as no other one was passing by yet.

They weren’t running at full speed and the noise coming from the vehicle wasn’t bothering Daphne. It was rather calming, the type she’d gladly read to or even sleep to if she was on a long journey. She wasn’t though. According to Asher, they had to ride three stops to their destination but it wasn’t just that. They had to trek up to the hill where the exact spot was.

The seats in front of them welcomed two giggling friends, Cleo and Nick who were trying to hold back from laughing loudly like trumpets. Facing them was James and the seat next to him was occupied by all their bags. Daphne didn’t know how long it would take them to reach the first stop nor did she think about it too much when she dozed off to sleep, head slumping onto her friend’s shoulder. He didn’t mind, earphones plugged in to live an experience similar to the peacefulness of sleep—but also to not hear his noisy friends in the front.

—Now playing: Acquamarina by Ana Mena, Guè ✫

The day was sending messages. Signs here and there. Daphne didn’t know how far away she was from home. It was just far. The sky was different. The clouds weren’t compact but rather thick and dispersed around. The sky was a blend of cerulean and sapphire. The mountains were accordingly arranged: brown or green peaks in the forefront and white peaks in the back. At their feet were green valleys embellished by trees. Leaves moved and danced to the rhythm of the breeze along with the teenagers' hair and clothes.

The train had left, presenting to them a beautiful valley of green life behind it. The students didn’t pay it much mind, at least not as much as Daphne. Asher was on his phone again since he was the leader in the journey. James and Nick ran up to him and soon Cleo joined. Daphne was still in a corner, printing the image before her eyes in her memory, too lazy to take her phone out at the moment.

Once Asher had understood the map, he gestured for them to follow him and they did. Heavy bags on their backs and excitement in their guts. It seemed like they had travelled to a neighbouring town. The train station was even emptier than the one they came from. There was no one but them. Silence was the only welcoming element. They didn’t go down or up any staircase since the exit was on the same floor.

Once out, they were walking along an empty and wide tarmac road that slid through grassland. As they progressed further, the silence started wavering. They were approaching farms. The green field on their right was momentarily interrupted by a long fence while their eardrums vibrated to the bell ringing on a sheep’s neck. Another long fence before they found wide farmland occupied by a handful of horses munching at the grass. Daphne’s eyes sparkled when she recognized a foal amongst them. This time, her laziness didn’t get in her way as she reached for her phone and started taking pics. No one bothered or was bothered by her since she was the last in line. On her left was a two-story rural home. Right next to it, a little workshop and a little tractor.

After taking the pictures, she ran to catch up with her friends and they went on for another few minutes before they had to turn left onto a little path running through the grass. According to Asher’s guidelines, their destination was on a hill so it didn’t surprise her when they changed direction. In fact, she was happy because she saw a few pretty flowers on her way and encapsulated them in a picture with her phone.

For the time being, that disgusting red number in the top corner of her test wasn’t in her mind but happily replaced by a very pretty Daphne Odora peeking from someone’s compound.

The path wasn’t anything official, just a place where people walk on a regular basis. On their right was a wood fence, colour washed out from the atmospheric agents, running through a short bush of overgrown grass farmers couldn’t trim out with tractors. On their left were other green bushes causing them to be extra careful of where they placed their feet. Thankfully, it’s been quite long since it last rained and, since the path wasn’t of stone or muddy, it wasn’t dangerous.

They weren’t talking as much. Still made jokes but weren’t as loud, the calm environment wearing off on them. Daphne was still the last in the line, one hand on the shoulder strap of her bag and the other holding her phone, ready to take pictures. The more they went up, the more it got windy. Her curtain bangs were soon flying out of her face exposing her forehead further.

“We’re almost there,” Asher notified his friends, encouraging them not to give up. Behind the wood fence on their right was a flock of sheep. The animals were scattered around the wide field at their disposal. Some were munching at the grass, others were walking around and only a few noticed their presence, heads turning.

Peeking out a little, Daphne watched ahead of herself and checked how far they still had to go. She happily found out that the top of the hill was closer and, therefore, they were minutes, if not seconds, away from their destination.

“It’s right here!” Asher was gesturing in front of himself with a hand securing the strap of his backpack. Nick and James leaned further to look at where their friend was pointing. Cleo soon did the same, turning around to see what Daphne was up to. “Nice, ain’t it?” she asked her friend. Her friends’s eager nods were more than enough to answer her question. She stopped in her tracks, waiting for Daphne to walk up to her and, once she linked arms with her, they proceeded together.

“Like… where are we exactly?” Daphne immediately verbalised her curiosity. Her head spun around, eyes moving in all directions trying to catch every little detail in her surroundings. Cleo casually explained that they were in a little neighbouring village composed mainly of farms, as they could see. It was the right place to find some peace and calm. As she answered, she noticed her friend’s face morph into a little smile with almost sparkling eyes.

“You like it?” she asked. In the meantime, they had made it to the top of the hill.

“Yeah.” Daphne’s voice was soft and gentle, almost as much as the feeling seething into her bones as the breeze blew through her hair and the leaves whistled to the wind.

The chosen spot was marvellous, she thought to herself. It gave them a very great view of the little village. They could see the flock of sheep they passed by minutes earlier, how the path they’d just walked on harmoniously swirled through the green land up to the road from where they entered, where the sky ended and the mountains began and how valleys decorated the neighbouring hills.

“This place is really nice. How did you discover it?” Her backpack was sitting on the grass, easing her shoulders of its weight. She wasn’t sitting yet because Nick and James were still spreading the picnic blanket. Her question was addressed to Asher who was busy rummaging through his bag. “I come here sometimes with my family. Yeah… it’s really nice.” He was glad that she appreciated it. Glad that her face showed a different emotion. Glad that she didn’t have a rainy cloud above her head anymore pouring down on her hair, soaking her hair, her clothes and her shoes making everything feel as soggy as her mood used to be.

Daphne was still nodding her head in agreement as she stretched her body to ease her muscles of the uncomfortable contracted feeling. The weather wasn’t as chilly here so when the zip of her hoodie slipped down on its own, she didn’t feel the need to pull it up enjoying the soft and almost inexistent feeling of the breeze hitting her skin.

James and Nick were soon done placing the little blanket properly, securing the corners with their bags. Once instructed to take their shoes off before going on the cloth, they finally settled down. Groans and sighs of exhaustion glided along with the breeze.

“Wow!” Cleo was laying flat on the blanket, head on James’s lap and feet squeezed under Daphne’s thigh. “Asher, how long have you been coming here?” she questioned. The respondent calmly explained that it was a spot he’d just recently discovered with his family but it was still enough for his friends to accuse him of gatekeeping beautiful things from them. He rolled his eyes. They laughed, Daphne included. “How many more things do you know you ain’t telling us?” Nick began, “No, I’m just asking ‘cause maybe the next thing we know is that you have a secret garden of sweets or a chocolate fountain in the backyard, I don’t know.” The teenagers laughed while Asher jokingly promised to tell them whenever that would happen.

—Now playing: Glue Song by Beabadoobee ✫

James’s rumbling stomach brought him back to reality as he called for them to bring out the food. “I’m famished, not gonna lie.” Cleo immediately sat up and she quickly proceeded to express the idea she’d shared with Daphne at the mall. In the meantime, the friend made herself comfortable, bringing her legs up against her chest, arms secured around them and her chin resting on her knees.

“Cool!” James applauded the idea. Nick was silent and focused on understanding. Asher already did and soon complied. “But hey! Before y’all do anything, better wash your dirty and filthy hands!” Cleo’s warning was clear but not the way of going about it.

“Ooh, yeah. You’re so right and correct,” Asher’s tone was sarcastic. Cleo knew this but she didn’t know why he was sarcastic to begin with. “What?” her question was answered with the same question. Asher was confused as to why she didn’t understand what he was referring to.

“What ‘what’?” she insisted, brows almost meeting in the centre of her glabella. He rolled his eyes and proceeded to explain: “You said ‘dirty’ and ‘filthy’ which mean the same thing as if you were saying ‘dirty and dirty hands’. You know what I mean—”

“No, Asher. What the fuck?” James and Daphne were laughing at Cleo’s expression of bewilderment because she obviously didn’t think anyone would’ve ever pointed out something like that. “Since you said that, I tried to make you understand your little mistake—”

“Asher!” Her friends were wholeheartedly laughing, finding them both hilarious. The guy for pointing out such a meaningless mistake—if one could even call it a mistake at all—and the girl for having such an iconic reaction—she looked like a mother in distress after a long day taking care of her naughty toddlers. “I’m too mentally exhausted for this shit, Asher.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just wanted to let you know—”

“I don’t care! Let me speak however I want. I could even speak gibberish for all I care. It’s called freewill Mr Know-It-All,” Asher couldn’t take his friend seriously since it wasn’t the first time he was teasing her like that by pointing out insignificant mistakes like this. All of them just like seeing her reactions.

“And anyways… One is just an exaggeration of the other,” she proudly returned to the topic, thinking of her statement as a great way to shut her friend up. “Still doesn’t make sense because it’d mean someone could say ‘bad‘ and ‘worst’ in the same sentence just because the latter is an exaggeration—”

“Okay, okay. Shut up. I get it. All I wanted to say was for y’all to wash your hands. Sorry if the message came across wrongly.” The words came out through gritted teeth to a giggling Asher. Daphne had just recently joined this preexistent group of friends and every living moment she spent with it brought her to discover new things about each of the components and she loved it. Loved how they made her catch up on all those years spent without a friend before Margot. All those years spent without a real friend. Within a month, she felt like she’d lived multiple lives, not just days. Not just simple and friendly hangouts but lifelong experiences and golden memories to secure in a box with a padlock and a key.

“How the fuck would we wash our hands?” James’s question came once he realized there was no fountain around them to supply them with natural water.

“I don’t know. We could use some out of the ones we bought.” Cleo’s suggestion made Nick’s eyes bulge out as he firmly stated he was so against the use of drinkable water in such way. Cleo just rolled her eyes, claiming it not to be a big deal—especially after her little teasing with Asher. Nick insisted they didn’t but Cleo didn’t want to eat with filthy hands so their banter went on till Daphne stepped in and suggested they wash their hands with the water in her personal bottle. The two friends quieted down thinking about the proposal. Nick wanted to object again because it was still drinkable water but once Daphne explained it was a bit old and she hadn’t drank even a drop of it that day, they both complied and they washed hands with the water.

“You see? I won,” Cleo boasted as she washed her hands. Asher held the bottle for her, chuckling. Could she ever lose? Nick squinted his eyes, annoyed. He had already washed his hands and while he was looking for a way to dry them off, a thought crossed his mind. He immediately acted to it and sprinkled water on Cleo’s proud face. She squealed, cussed him out and called him a sore loser while he just ran off, laughing.

They gave each other some time and started preparing the custom-made sandwiches as Cleo had proposed. They didn’t have a huge bank of ingredients to choose from but just a range going from cheese to ham. They bought two types of cheese: Alpine-style, the classic yellow cheese from ‘Tom and Jerry’, and creamy cheese. The ham, or better, the meat, was of various types—the only field where they went in large: baked and raw ham, sausage, salami and mortadella. The last range of ingredients was the veggies where one could find cucumbers, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes and onions. The ingredients were few so they didn’t have enough time to give each ingredient a hidden meaning behind it but it didn’t bother them, especially someone like Cleo who started shaping some in certain ways, almost to impersonate the person the sandwich is dedicated to.

Nick and James were the first to finish and soon Asher joined them. Daphne and Cleo, especially the latter, were getting creative with it. The first one was thinking about the hidden meanings while the second was manipulating the sandwiches. In the meantime, the three boys spent agonizing minutes looking at the preparation of their lunch but the more time passed, the more it seemed the sandwiches would never get in between their teeth.

Before any of them could complain, Daphne was done with her sandwiches and joined the train of people waiting for their lunch. Cleo looked up for a split second and chuckled seeing all of them look at her like she was withholding their freedom.

“Like… when do you intend to finish?” The first question was laid out by James. Asher joined right after promising she could get all creative at his place since they could recreate it with cookies. She agreed and wanted to get into details about what they could do if they actually baked cookies but her friends immediately interrupted her so she could quickly finish the sandwiches. Don’t play with hungry people, they say.

After more agonizing minutes of James and Nick praying for Cleo to wrap it up, Asher sighing in one corner and Daphne laughing in the other, Cleo was finally done, excited to explain the meanings to them.

“Oh, shit. You’ve got! To be kidding me! We also have to explain the meaning?” Nick was on the brink of tears. “Yeah. Why do you think they’re custom-made?” James was baffled, Daphne was laughing and Asher seemed out of it. Nick was still on the brink of tears.

“I’ll start!” Asher raised his hand and brought his creations forward, four distinct sandwiches. “Make it quick.”

“This one is for Daphne. Tomatoes, Alpine-style cheese, lettuce, mortadella and cucumbers. Nothing too extra or complicated because I think you’re a simple person with simple needs. I don’t mean it in any bad way. I just think you’re simple with a lot to offer just like the taste of this awesome sandwich.” He explained, smiling and winking. Daphne mirrored his expression, accepting the sandwich in her hands and thanking him.

“This one is for Mr Bigback. The ingredients are self-explanatory.” The sandwich he handed to Nick was on the brink of collapsing as it was stuffed with every single ingredient they’d bought. Nick didn’t complain but rather joyfully welcomed the food in his hands, pupils expanding and stomach rumbling in preparation. “One bite from this and I’ll see heaven. When can we start eating—”

“When we all have our food. Don’t you know the etiquette?”

“Cleo, I’m so sorry. I must have missed where it said that one has to make customised sandwiches for her friends and watch them die of hunger!” Cleo laughed and playfully hit his shoulder but he didn’t budge neither did his eyes from the sandwich.

“This one is for James. A regular fat sandwich with fewer ingredients than Nick’s but the spreadable cheese is important because while you seem like a normal extroverted kid, there’s a little shiness to you that one can’t notice unless they look a bit more carefully just like the barely noticeable cheese on the bread.” James was confused. Was smiling still but was confused nonetheless. Even in ten years to come, sick or with Alzhemeir, he would never define himself as shy even in the slightest. He didn’t question it though, assuming it was just Asher being Asher. Daphne, on the other end, understood where the reasoning came from.

“And, purposely kept for last…”

“Oh, fuck you—”

“Cuss me out and you ain’t eating.” He warned, Cleo’s eyes rolling to the sky as a response. “I put only warm-coloured ingredients because it’s the tone of colours that suit you, look and personality-wise.” Cleo smiled, cheeks swelling as she took the sandwich and placed it on her plate.

The next person up, voluntarily offering himself since his friends were feeling shy and ignorant that his stomach was brewing gastric juices waiting to consume his food but was now consuming his insides, was Nick. His explanations were quick: he dedicated to Daphne a sandwich made with avocado, lettuce, Alpine-style cheese and baked ham believing that, judging by the cover, avocado and lettuce aren’t a great choice and so was Daphne's apparent boring lifestyle but, just like the avocado enriches one’s body, so does Daphne’s love for reading and studying enrich her and the people around her. Cleo’s sandwich was similar to Asher’s but he made a happy face with the cheese, the tomatoes and the lettuce inspired by the friend’s constant smile. His sandwich for Asher was filled with onions and avocado and very little meat mirroring how annoying Asher could get sometimes. It dragged a laugh out of everyone. James’s sandwich was filled with meat and very little spreadable cheese which didn’t hold the same meaning Asher had conveyed into it with his but still spiked James’s curiosity.

Cleo’s customised sandwiches were self-explanatory since she didn’t opt for hidden meanings behind the ingredients but let her creativity run free as she forged a little thing with the food. In fact, she made a little daisy with lettuce and the alpine-style cheese.

James’s sandwiches were the laziest-looking ones. He barely put any thought behind them because he was starving and wanted to get it over it. He filled up Nick’s sandwich because he had to. It’s Nick’s. Cleo’s sandwich was his favourite sandwich recipe: tomatoes, spreadable cheese, baked ham and lettuce. He believed those ingredients together merged and created a very delicious taste he equated to Cleo’s lovely and bubbly personality. They didn’t know but Asher and Daphne shared a few glances recalling the conversation they had at Cleo’s place. He too gave great importance to onions when making Asher’s sandwich: almost as if he wanted to get back at it for something, he filled the sandwich with onions and cucumbers and just a thin slice of Alpine-style cheese to show his love for his friend. Asher simply shrugged, claiming he was just eating healthy.

Lastly, came Daphne. “This one is for Cleo. I put lots of tomatoes because they’re fruits which grow during summer—”

“Tomatoes are fruits?” James’s whisper interrupted her and she rolled her eyes when Asher smacked his friend to shut up. “They grow during summer and I think you shine as bright as the sun in that season but, other than that, I think tomatoes have a sweet undertone that we don’t necessarily notice unless we’re specifically eating small tomatoes and that goes to symbolise how you notice the good where common people can’t. It’s a peculiarity that makes you stand out. That’s what I believe.” As her sentence inched closer to its end so did the volume of her voice because she grew shy at the utter silence surrounding her. They were all looking at her, listening to every word slipping out of her mouth. She could feel her cheeks gaining a temperature of their own, higher than her body’s but she couldn’t see if they were also getting redder. She hoped they didn’t and pushed through.

Her voice was still tender and low when she began describing the next sandwich. “The next sandwich is Asher’s. I know. At first, it looks plain and it’s not a way to get back at you for the one you made for me. I’m not even offended in the slightest nor was it even made to make me feel like that. I just think that you're strict and follow the rules, word for word so this sandwich is what came to my mind: lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and baked ham. A traditional sandwich recipe, a classic. Almost a rule everyone follows. The first sandwich that pops in your head, y’know.” Silence was still sitting there with them. Maybe leaning its head on Nick’s or James’s shoulder. They didn’t know. They couldn’t see it, just hear it.

“This one is for Nick. I think you have a very common personality and I’m trying to shame you because of that. I believe, though, that there’s a little twist to you for which the onions stand in contrast to the classic ingredients of a sandwich. You’re very outgoing and extroverted and that is what makes you ‘common’ but, just like in Cleo’s case, one thing does make you stand out, a little light that doesn’t shine too bright so it’s hard to notice it. It’s there, just a little hidden.” Daphne was looking at the sandwich before her as she described it so she couldn’t see how shy Nick got to her words. She couldn’t see that he’d just proven her words right. She, as well, was too shy but that everybody could see.

“I didn’t leave you for last for any evil reason. I ain’t like Asher,” she joked to ease the mood and have them make even the littlest noise so she wouldn’t start burning up wholly in timidity. “James, this one is yours. I think you’re the craziest out of us all hence the choice of ingredients. Onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce,” she checked the sandwich as she listed the ingredients, “Avocado, cheese and salami sound crazy at first, especially considered as a whole and that is where your craziness lies. But, despite all that, once you’re done exploring and coming out of your comfort zone, you still seek a form of familiarity, something that will allow you to step back into yourself, not fully but rather as a new version of yourself and that is why I added the salami. Can never go wrong with that, can you?” she softly chuckled at the rhetorical question unaware that James had mentally answered her question, agreeing.

“And that’s all.” She concluded and finally mustered up enough courage to look at her friends. Awkwardly laughing, she brought them out of their apparent trance and thanks to James’s cries for food, they gave in and ate.

—Now playing: Void by The Neighbourhood ✫

They didn’t check the time either when they arrived or when they started eating. The day had slowly changed and resembled a summer afternoon. Temperatures surprisingly went up allowing them to take off a few layers and stay in their short-sleeved shirts.

Her pebble-coloured hoodie was set aside on the blanket while Daphne lied down on it, writing in her journal. Not being a big fan of high-waisted pants, she was wearing a pair of mid-rise jeans and a moss baby tee with pine-coloured sleeves. Her movement was limited because Cleo rested her head on the back of her thigh, peacefully relaxing and feeling her lungs with the fresh and natural air of the environment. Her sweater sat next to Daphne’s and only a brown tank top and a pair of high-waisted black jeans dressed her. Toes clad in the soft cloth of her socks. Right beside them was Asher’s sleeping figure. It wasn’t a deep sleep, just a quick power nap. Away from them, with a hand in their pockets, were Nick and James having their break in a different: while Cleo filled her lungs with good air, they were polluting theirs with cigarettes. All this happened to the soft rhythm of a song playing from their Bluetooth speaker.

“So far so good, huh?” James spoke softly before drawing toxic air from the cigarette. At first, Nick was confused but he soon got the cue and agreed, nodding his head. Their position was strategic in order for the breeze to not blow the smell of cigarettes upon their resting friends a few feet away.

“I feel like she’s good. She’s journaling. The sandwich idea of Cleo went well. Yeah… I believe she’s feeling better.” They remained in silence for a bit, eyes unconsciously closing to the comfortable feeling the environment placed into them.

“Man, I felt so bad when she took that paper. If I remember clearly, I think she literally paled up a bit—”

“Yeah and when she asked to go to the bathroom, her voice sounded almost robotic. Only God knows what happened in the bathroom. I hope she just cried and didn’t have… like… I don’t know… a panic attack or maybe threw up.” James was being sincere with his words. He, just like the rest of them, saw how dedicated Daphne was to her studies. It literally explained why Cleo kept telling them she was very smart when she newly came. He admired her and her discipline, wishing to be similar even just a bit. He’s self-diagnosed himself with ADHD because of his lack of focus but it was a wrong diagnosis because he wasn’t fidgety or restless. He just looked having fun and had a very low attention span. But he also diagnosed Daphne with slight OCD when it came to school. Yeah, his type of fun was observing people whenever he wasn’t busy playing or going crazy and connecting their main personality features to a psychological diagnosis.

He strongly believed that with a determination like Daphne’s one could never fail. He didn’t perform well academically. Scratch that! He sucked at school and he was fully aware. The fault was fully on him and his lack of self-discipline and concentration but he couldn’t help it. He’d be lying if he said Daphne wasn’t washing off on him bit by bit just as Asher had claimed before.

He’d seen it happen to Cleo, the person around her the most. Having Daphne being so studious and always busy educating herself made the friend want to do the same. At first, he believed it was something entirely depending on Cleo and her need to always have something in common with her friends but when it started happening to him, especially after the school project they worked on together, he realised it was all Daphne.

So when he saw her face that morning as she collected that cursed piece of paper from Mr Keeley, his guts dropped to his feet too. Firstly, if the best person in class fails the test, a lacklustre student like him is doomed. Secondly, because of all the effort he saw Daphne put into her studies in order to achieve a good mark, such a result cleared everyone off their feet. He’d heard how well she was repeating the topic to Asher and he was a hundred per cent convinced she would’ve aced the test. He literally was waiting for the entrance of someone who’d clear Asher off his self-made throne but that didn’t happen and he wanted to know why. More specifically, he wanted to know how come. What happened?

For those questions to have their corresponding answers, he’d have to speak with Daphne but he’d rather see her happy and peaceful right now than dead-looking like in the morning.

“I don’t think so. At least, that’s what I believe but let’s just forget about it right now.” Nick was calm. Had finished smoking his cigarette—James, right after—and felt in need to drink some water. As they approached the blanket, the music got louder. Daphne was still journaling, Cleo lying with her eyes closed and Asher was asleep.

“Y’all finally done?” Cleo spoke without opening her eyes. Nick answered with a rhetorical question once he was done drinking and purposely sprinkled water on her face when she cussed him out for his sarcasm.

“Guys, come on,” Daphne whined, checking if water drops had stained her journal. On the other side, James was explaining that the sole culprit was Nick so there was no need for plurals.

“Cleo, let’s get revenge.” Asher was still lying on the blanket but his sleep was disturbed because of Nick’s unfunny prank. Without needing to be told twice, Cleo got up and started wearing her shoes. “Guys! I said that the sole fucking culprit is dickhead-Nick—”

“Hey, who the fuck are you calling a dickhead—”

“Shut the fuck up. Cleo’s crazy and even crazier when there��s Asher. Hey, brother,” he referred to Asher, “I love you.”

“Oh, my God. Are you coming out to us, James? That’s so lovely—”

“Daph shut the fuck up!” the girl was laughing at her friend’s frustration, finding it hilarious how scared he seemed. The relationship between her friends exceeded a normal friendship. They behaved like siblings. “Asher, we’ve been friends for…” he tried recalling the years and failed, “...ages. You know I would never do shit like this—”

“Oh, my God. It’s just water—”

“Daphne!” he screamed before continuing. Daphne laughed even harder. “I. Would. Never! I know what you like and don’t like—” Daphne couldn’t keep her laughing at bay and wondered how Asher really was when he wanted to ‘get revenge’ on her stubborn and naughty friends. Out of all of them, he was the most composed, almost had a fatherly figure in the group so seeing him behaving out of character was one hell of a show.

“But you would make me a sandwich with just onions and stink up my mouth.” He had made up his mind: his revenge would surely fall on James. “Bro, first, you had the choice to eat it or not—”

“The fuck are you saying? You’re not saving yourself that way.” Asher’s feet were secured in his shoes while Cleo was already running after Nick to whom James desperately pointed showing how the real culprit was already paying for their sins. “Asher! Come on, man.”

Daphne was laughing hard now, face into her journal and body softly shaking. She’d occasionally stop to look up and listen to their confrontation until Asher had had enough and started pursuing James who was ready and booked it.

Without noticing, they were soon playing hide and seek, giving Daphne more happy memories to encapsulate in letters in her journal. She sat up, crossed her legs and pinned a few of her strands to the back in order to write more comfortably. From time to time, a scream or a running figure past her would rip her attention off the journal.

She quickly tapped on the screen of her phone and checked the time seeing that the sun was already heading to set, painting the sky with warm colours like it was a painting from the Romantic Age, specifically William Turner’s ‘Sunset’. While in the painting, heaven and Earth seemed to merge into one continuous and colourful surface, the sky in front of her was the only uniform and colourful surface before the chain of mountains. The sun seemed to have lost every shape and melted into a simple soft scarlet stain. Those which were once its outlines had faded into lighter colours going from vermilion to coral to orange. Ultimately, the cold colours of the sky melted with the peach colours of the incoming sunset.

This view was so spectacular that Daphne regretted not having any coloured pencil with her to give life to the drawing sitting in the centre of her page. After trying to perfect her drawing skills, but lacking in the field, she finally closed the journal and set it aside. Her friends were still running around and the Bluetooth speaker was still playing music so she crawled to Nick’s phone which was connected to the device and screamed for him to tell her the pin so she could change the music.

Unfortunately, the answer she sought didn’t come so she had to simply skip songs till she found one she liked: ‘Void’ by The Neighbourhood. Eyes closed, arms resting along her sides, she swayed her head to the beat revelling in the fulfilling part of the song, the chorus.

A scream startled her and her eyes opened to look for the source. Before her, the tables had turned and who was once the seeker was now the fugitive: Nick had caught up to Cleo and he had her in a back hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning around causing the girl to scream louder and plead for him to drop her or, at least, stop spinning. Daphne smiled, deciding not to look into it too much despite finding it very cute.

“Daphne!” Someone yelled her name from beside her but before she could turn and see who it was, James threw himself on her like a child running away from an imaginary monster at night which, in his case, was Asher who was laughing very hard. The last time she saw him like that was at Cleo’s place after Nick’s extraordinary burp. So she decided to play the part.

“Oh, no. What happened?” she spoke with the tone of a loving mother. James insistedly pointed at Asher like a kid, whining and accusing him of attempted murder by tickling. Daphne tried to hold her laugh and proceeded: “Oh, no. That’s so bad. You’re ticklish?” she asked. James, still lying against her and caged in her arms, nodded as in answer, “Where?” and he pointed at his side and his tummy without knowing that she wasn’t so different from who he was running away from.

“Daphne!” he screamed, trying to run away from her grasp but Asher caught him before he could succeed and his friends started bombarding him with tickles. At some point, he was confident he’d die but they stopped before anything as dramatic could happen. James slumped his body on Daphne's thighs like that of a fallen soldier and tried to catch his breath. Asher was doing the same beside him. “Never thought you’d betray me,” he huffed, addressing Daphne. She laughed again, leaning backwards on her hands.

“Shut up. Don’t try to accuse her but be thankful she was the same person who advised me to stop else I would’ve gone on till you shit your fucking pants.” James swiftly smacked Asher and he struck him back. Daphne, in between trying to break the fight between the two toddlers.

—Now playing: White Mustang by Lana Del Rey ✫

“Hey! Nobody is allowed to blow nasty raspberries in my presence!” she warned her childish friends. “Let’s change the music.” James got serious and grabbed Nick’s phone. Since he already knew the passcode, he opened it and looked for his desired song. “Put this one.” Daphne hurriedly pressed on the song against James’s wish and snatched the phone before he could change it. Her friend was confused because he barely had the time to register everything, especially when Daphne ran off making his head slump onto the blanket.

“Oh, come on. What’s this slow song?” he asked. Daphne gasped, feeling offended at his remark. “Hey! Have some respect! I love this song so fucking much.” Nick’s phone, tightly clutched in her hands.

“Yeah but I can’t dance to this,” he replied in an almost whiny voice. “Huh, you dance?” she laughed almost mockingly and he now was the one to gasp, “Hey, you have some respect! I got a few nice moves here,” and he got up and started break-dancing to the song, making Daphne and Asher burst in a fit of laughter. “Oh, my God. He’s not seriously break-dancing to Lana Del Rey, is he?” Asher laughed while Daphne was already recording the whole thing with Nick’s phone. Only later would James regret not stopping her when Nick would upload the video on his stories.

Nick and Cleo came out of their little world and soon the boy hopped in, promising he could dance worse. Exactly, he started dancing salsa… to Lana Del Rey. Asher soon joined them, giving in to the little competitivity within him and hit the DJ Khaled meme dance… to Lana Del Rey! Cleo walked up to Daphne and watched as she recorded everything, both laughing like it was peak comedy.

Soon having enough of recording, Daphne turned the phone off and dragged Cleo in so they could dance as well. So now, dancing upon the hill, was a group of five friends: one was break-dancing like a novice, the other was messily dancing to salsa, the other impersonated DJ Khaled and the girls were jumping up and down as though they were in a club and techno music was playing. As they hopped around, they couldn’t help but laugh at how comical everything was.

They were all laughing. Until they weren’t.

—Now playing: Always Forever by Cults ✫

Daphne had accidentally pushed Cleo too hard and sent her rolling down the hill. Initially, Cleo screamed in terror but, by the time she started laughing, she was too far away for her friends to hear her. They were just frozen, looking at her in fright and worry.

“Oh, my God. What did you do—” Nick broke the silence.

“I didn’t mean to. It was accidental—”

“You sure she’s okay—”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know? She’s still rolling—” Daphne’s frustration grew stronger.

“Guys, shut up,” Asher called for their attention. Cleo had stopped rolling around, reaching the bottom of the hill, but, instead of immediately getting up, she decided to pull a little prank on her friends and lie there for a little bit more—mostly because she felt comfortable. They started freaking out.

“Oh, my fucking God—”

“Daph?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose—” she was on the edge of sobbing.

“She’s fucking hurt! What the fuck?!”

“I’m sorry!” Cleo could hear her friends in distress. Could hear Nick and Daphne's screams. If she was looking in their direction, she would’ve seen James holding his hands upon his head and Asher looking at her attentively.

“Let’s fucking go check on her. Bruh, what the fuck—”

“Guys!” They all froze, heads snapping in the direction of the voice. “I’m fine. Calm your tits, jeez,” Cleo laughed, sitting up and adjusting her hair but her friends were still silent, blinking to know if they were hallucinating or not. “Yoo-hoo?” she called them. “Earth to fucking lovely shitfaces?” still utter silence and just four teenagers staring at her.

She couldn’t hear James when he whispered: “She’s— She’s alive—”

“Of fucking course she is—” Asher whispered back

“Oh, my God, I was so scared—” Daphne’s voice wavered as she sighed in relief.

“Not as much as I was—” Nick yelled.

“Nick, this ain’t a fucking competition—”

“Shut up! You should join her and go check on her. You’re the one who pushed her—”

“It was never my intention— James!” before Daphne could finish speaking, James lifted her off the ground and walked closer to the end of the hill. All the while, smiling brightly but Daphne didn’t know this. She was shitting her pants—figuratively.

“Ain’t we friends?” she asked, genuinely scared. “I really didn’t mean to.” Her friends noticed the change in her voice and James dropped her.

“Hey, we’re just playing around, Daphn. It’s nothing serious”

“You okay? We’re just joking.” Her friends tried comforting her and she didn’t know if to continue sulking around because of the shock or to think about how easily they went back to joking after believing a friend of theirs was hurt. “How can y’all be joking right now?” she questioned, eyebrows almost meeting each other.

“Exactly!” Asher shared the same idea. “We don’t like feeling sad for too long, y’know—”

“Be fucking for real—”

“Okay, you’re talking too much.” She couldn’t even reply to him before he pushed her rolling down. Her screams, a source of entertainment to her friends. At the bottom of the hill, a smiling Cleo was patiently waiting for company unaware of the little dispute they just had. “Fuck you!” she managed to scream as she rolled down and the boys laughed wholeheartedly.

“Okay. Who’s next?” James questioned while Cleo welcomed Daphne. “What the fuck do you mean by ‘next’?” Asher backed up, slightly annoyed at them. “Who’s next?” repeating himself and moving closer to his retreating friends.

“Don’t make another move. Y’all can’t be all happy and jolly after something like this.”

“I suspected already that it was a prank—”

“And that’s sick Nick. And let’s not talk about how you were the loudest so that’s bullshit—”

“Yeah, Nick. It makes no sense. You wanted to combust Daphne with your eyes back there!” At the bottom of the hill was Cleo helping Daphne get rid of any grass in her hair.

“Okay, I got a little scared—” James immediately grabbed Nick, ready to lift him even in bridal style just to get him rolling down the hill.

“Yo! Yo! James, ain’t we like brothers? Why are you betraying me like this? James!” Nick plead. “Asher! Hey, wait, wait!” The girls were laughing looking up and watching their friends struggle. Indeed, they could move from very serious to completely childish in a split second. “Means trauma wouldn’t way on them, right?” Daphne thought to herself.

Nick was in James’s arms and Asher was helping to push them both down the hill but Nick understood and ratted him out to James who didn’t have enough time to react before he was pushed off with his friend still in his arms. Asher was convinced to have won but Nick grabbed onto his T-shirt and dragged him with them so now the three boys were rolling down the hill, screaming, yelping and cussing everything out.

“Oh, my God. They’re so stupid.” Daphne calmly spoke sitting next to an agreeing Cleo as they both observed their friends roll down the hill like bags of potatoes. “Indeed, stupid.”

Once the boys reached the bottom, they immediately sprung up adjusting their hair, clothes and composure to come off as unbothered. Exactly, they did all that hurriedly and simultaneously posed when done causing the girls to laugh like two gossipers.

“Okay, okay. Enough. We look ridiculous. No need to laugh.” Asher was the first to give up while his friends side-eyed him for ruining the play. Tired, Asher slumped down next to Cleo and flicked her head for pulling such an ugly prank on them earlier which reminded everyone of it: James and Nick almost jumped on her with tickles. Asher and Daphne joined in right after.

Most likely, Cleo had to plead with all living beings, including Greek, Christian, Hinduist and Buddhist gods before they let her go and allowed her to catch her breath.

“Yeah but jokes apart, that prank was nasty. Nick was already hating me—”

“That’s not true—”

“Fuck yeah it is—”

“Guys, you all collectively panicked and didn’t think of rushing down to check on me—”

“I told Daphne she was the one who’d have to do that—”

“I’m sorry. I was scared I’d see something too traumatic—”

“Okay. Silence… and let’s go back up.” James was the one to interrupt the banter as he got up. Slowly, all of them followed meekly and started climbing up the hill, hands on their thighs and backs bent to help against the slope. Nick noticed it’d take too much time like that and they all looked like old goats so he decided to spice it up because it’s the only way he functions. “Who gets to the top last is gay!”

“What the fuck?—”

“No worries. I’ve already come out before confessing eternal love for Asher so you all can go on. I’ll take the fall for y’all.” James dramatically explained, making all of them laugh.

By the time they were at the top, there was a different song playing, one Cleo started singing to. Daphne and everyone gradually joined in.

“You and me, always forever! We could stay alone together! You and me always forever! Say you’ll stay never be separate!”

The sky now was very similar to Turner’s ‘Sunset’. The sun was lower, gradually going into hiding behind the mountain leaving traces of warm-coloured rays behind. The breeze had faded away at the moment and the air was mildly warm for it to be October but with the sun exiting the stage, the environment wasn’t as warm as before and a few of them decided it was right for them to grab their hoodies before joining the group and sitting down on the grass to look at the sunset, singing to the song.

“You know you got me in your pocket! You don’t just have to wait around! You know I keep you in my pocket! Just come here and we can settle down!”

—Now playing: Sweet by Cigarettes After Sex ✫

While the sky before the five rolling friends faded from blue to orange, forming an almost invisible line of dull green where the colours met, outside Taehyung’s window, it simply went from a darker to a lighter tone of blue. He didn’t feel as hungry that evening so his leftovers from lunch were more than enough. His homework was done and perfectly placed into his backpack. His body felt fresh after having a quick but nice and warm shower. The house was mildly silent: his mom and grandmother had finished eating. He didn’t know what they were up to but he suspected they’d retired to their bedrooms. Silently lying on his rug was his little dog lounging in a sea of tiredness, waiting for sleep to take its body to the abyss.

Taehyung was drained as well but, while Christians would read the bible or pray before going to sleep, he had to stalk his crush’s Instagram profile—no creepy intentions behind it obviously. The hour hand was midway into the last quarter of the clock. Lauri had updated both her stories and her feed: a new post and lots of stories. He clicked on the five-picture slideshow.

The first picture displayed a picnic blanket lying on a green field and decorated with plates of food and beverages. In the background, he could see someone’s legs, a pair of shows laid aside, school bags and, at the bottom corner, were the legs of who he believed to be Daphne. The second picture was a selfie. Again, something he has noticed, she rarely shows her full face online and, in this case, only her cheek was in view. It was slightly swollen meaning she was smiling as she held a plate of four sandwiches next to her face.

The third slide captured a picture of a flower he couldn’t recognise but still found beautiful—especially because she surely found it pretty enough to take a picture and post it which means she likes it… which implies he loves it.

The following slide was another selfie and this time, she was lying on her stomach. Against her leg was Cleo and, right beside them both, a boy. The same familiar guy whose name he couldn’t remember. Looking at the picture, one could tell they were resting. Again, of Daphne, he could see only the outline of her head and her hair.

The last picture of the post was another selfie. This time around, Daphne’s face was fully visible. She was standing in a train station. The sky was dark and behind her, in a line, were her friends: Cleo, James, Nick and the familiar nameless guy. They were all smiling and funnily posing. It looked exactly like the last picture one takes before their journey comes to an end.

The post had a peaceful vibe and matched her feed. Taehyung fought against the need to like the post and proceeded to her stories.

The first story was a picture taken on the train, a motion-blurred picture. The following story was a repost from Cleo’s story who recorded her friends as they walked along an empty road. Daphne was in the background taking pics. Next up was a repost from James’s, a short video capturing him and his friends—James was standing and his friends were preparing the picnic blanket.

As Taehyung proceeded, on his screen appeared a selfie reposted from Cleo’s. She was posing with Daphne as they bit on their sandwich—he just didn’t know that Daphne was biting on the sandwich Cleo prepared for her and the other way around.

Taehyung forgot to adjust the volume of his phone so he got startled when he moved on to watching the next story because, unlike the previous videos, this one was loud, a repost from Nick’s: Daphne was the one recording and the focus was on her guy friends funnily dancing to a slow song he recognised was from Lana Del Rey. Hilarious. In contrast to the music were Cleo and Daphne’s laughs.

Tapping on the screen, he moved on to the next story, another video. This time around, there was barely any loud sound just the focus starting from a journal, a sunset drawing to be exact, and ending up on the view before the cameraman. Daphne decided to make a little video comparing her drawing with the source of inspiration and it was enough for Taehyung to place his attention on it more than he did with anything else. “She’s also talented,” he thought to himself, admiring her drawing and developing a greater interest in her. “She’s also talented.”

Daphne would disagree, especially when the field in question is drawing. She’s pretty good at writing but she still wouldn’t fully claim to be ‘talented’. The only thing she could full-heartedly state of herself was that she was weak. Took her nothing to give in to anxiety during the test and took her nothing for all the picnic’s happiness to leave as soon as her mother asked her about her day when she got home. She burst into tears as soon as she went down her memory lane. She explained to her mother that all her efforts were in vain so that is what the woman believes. She was unaware that the main reasons behind those tears were guilt and regret. All connected to Anxiety.

Unlike herself, her mother worked magic with her words when it came down to comforting a person so in a split second, she was already blowing out her nose, clearing her tears away and getting into the shower for a warm bones-and-muscle relaxation.

Just like that day, after the library with her friends, she stared into her reflection to look for any traces of her mental breakdown, wondering what she looked like throughout the day. After slipping into her PJs and checking her homework, she dropped onto her bed, the softener scent filling her lungs.

Loki and Luke were sleepy and both lying on the rug, next to her bed. Behind the curtains and outside her window, the sky was darker in one corner and lighter in the other as the moon shone brightly through. The windows were closed, so was her bedroom door. The only light in her room came from the lamp on her nightstand so the environment was warmly dim.

Yes, it is unhealthy and yes, she had it in her hands right at that moment. Before going to sleep, she turned her phone on as she got under the covers. She had uploaded everything from today while on the train but still felt unfulfilled because she still hadn’t had the chance to stalk her crush’s Instagram. Yeah. Obviously. It became part of her night routine. You know how they say… New home, new life. Didn’t it go like that?

If, by chance, her mother’s comforting didn’t work and rewatching her Instagram updates about the picnic wasn’t enough, surely checking on her crush would’ve helped her—only if he actually posted something. She had to postpone her plans when she noticed a new account started following her. The name ended with the initials of her school’s name meaning it had something to do with it. The profile followed a green theme and belonged to one of the teams running in the campaign—didn’t take her long to realise.

What surprised her was finding familiar faces in the posts. First, it was Jungkook. Then came Jimin, Taehyung, the blonde friend and the pretty brunette. They were running in the campaign. A little smirk changed her facial expression when she thought about how they had secured a vote from her because of Taehyung. The blondie’s name was Adrielle—pretty name she thought. The next post presented Taehyung and his role in the group—if Adrielle was the president, he was the vice. Then came Jimin, an assistant of both, Avyanna, in charge of the upcoming cheerleader team and last, but not least, was Jungkook, in charge of ‘the fun’, as stated in the post. Along with their roles, in the centre of the picture was the tag to their profile.

‘Temptation’. The desire to do something, especially something wrong and unwise. The word comes from the Latin word ‘temptare’ which means ‘handle’, ‘try’, ‘test’. According to the Bible, it has three sources: the world, the flesh and the devil. Surely, she had nothing to do with the devil at that moment. What she was pursuing was her love interest, the pretty boy to whom the profile displayed on her screen belonged. Never felt so tempted. Never felt it so strong but before giving in—since Temptation wasn’t being as strong as Anxiety—she thought about all the possible consequences.

What would happen if she started following him from her main? Would it come off weird? No, because he’s not aware of her interest and she thinks is weird just because she likes him. Would he follow back? Holy shit, if he actually did, she’d go bananas. It wouldn’t be seen as stalking, right? No, why? Why would it? Oh, God. She’s going crazy. If she started following him right now, it would make sense because his team started following her first which would mean she’d have to follow everyone in the team. Yeah, yeah! She could totally do that.

And that’s what she did. She pressed on the blue follow button and now the stalking wouldn’t objectively look creepy. It just moved on to a different level. Now, she was indirectly closer to him which makes no sense because the other day, she was sitting a seat away from him in the bus and didn’t have the balls to even look in his direction. Better than nothing, though since it’s been long since she’d last seen him on the bus in the morning.

With that done, she turned the phone off and retired to sleep. Taehyung, on the other hand, was just about to go to bed. Had just eased himself in the bathroom and gave his notifications one last check before going under the covers but he stopped in his tracks. His eyes bulged out of their sockets when he saw a very familiar account start following him. He swallowed hard and unlocked the device.

Yes, she indeed started following him and he had to fight various boxing matches against his will not to follow back immediately. Temptation.

He really wanted to but he felt like it would be weird. The main reason behind her follow was his team’s Instagram profile. He was sure because right below the notification of her follow was the one from his team’s account. It would’ve been crazy if she actually started following him out of the blue. He would’ve jumped out and on his bed, rolled on the floor, happily laughed and sang, waking up his dog, his family and probably the neighbours in the process.

A win is a win though. He still felt excited because he knew it wouldn’t stop there. He’d go crazy if he didn’t at least try. The only time it would be over is if she told him she wasn’t interested point blank. He hoped that would never happen.

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