#remember earlier this morning when i used to be a chad.....

[casspurrjoybell-26]

💖Sweet Revenge💖 - Chapter 13

*Warning Adult Content*

Aaron Keene

Blake's green and tawny eyes are wide with surprise.

Then a crooked grin stretches his mouth, catching adorably on his one snaggle tooth.

I know I just basically told him to fuck off until further notice but I feel like that notice is already in the mail.

The thing is, until I sort my feelings out, it's not fair to either of us for this to go any further.

He waits while I shave and dress and then we leave my apartment together and walk down the street to the little diner at the corner.

I notice that he's still favoring his leg and keep my pace deliberately slow.

The diner's always busy on the weekends but we're lucky and get a small table near the back.

I look over the menu, keeping my eyes off Blake with an effort.

The memory of his lips on mine and the promises in the hard strength and solid heat of his body, are making me warm and it's too early for that kind of discomfort.

I need something to distract me.

When the waitress comes by, I order the huevos rancheros, extra hot.

Inexplicably, he blushes.

"No. I can't really endure it."

I can't figure out why he looks so embarrassed and then I remember the 'hot truffle' I gave him.

Then I make myself another mental note to re-think that name.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I always ask people about the nuts but I didn't even think about that. I'm sorry."

He lifts one shoulder.

"It hurt but I liked it."

A lady at the next booth turns to look at us.

I replay our exchange in my mind and my coffee goes down the wrong pipe.

When I'm done choking, I look up to find Blake watching me with that crooked grin.

I can't help but return it.

Then I feel the smile slip slowly from my face, like paint washed away in the rain and I look away.

I realize that what he did was out of fear and what I did was out of thoughtlessness... his pain lasted minutes and mine... if I'm honest... is still with me but I also realize that both hurts were equally unintentional. 

When I look back up at him, I see that his smile is gone, too.

"I'm sorry," I say again, quietly.

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," he replies and I can see in his eyes he's right with me.

"I know you didn't."

People hurt each other without meaning to all the time and then they have to live with it.

Holding it against them only keeps the wound open longer.

Not that people shouldn't be held accountable.

"The guy who hit you... the drunk driver... did you forgive him?" I ask.

He looks up at something about four feet above my head.

"Yeah... eventually," he says.

"What happened to him?"

His eyes drop back down to mine.

"He's in jail."

"Good," I say, and offer him a shadow of my earlier grin.

Then I tell him what he wants to know.

~♡~

The day after I gave Blake and his team the fudge... Valentine's Day.... I walk to school along my normal route.

It takes me down an old track through the woods that comes out on the back of campus.

Running is too much for me but walking is fine and I enjoy it.

The mile and a half each way gives me a chance to wind myself up for school in the morning and wind down from it in the afternoon.

As I walk along the slightly raised track beneath the bare branches of trees on the cusp of a spring bloom, I let myself get lost in my own thoughts.

I'd woken up with black and purple bruises marking my face and torso and my heart still broken but like my bruises, I feel hopeful that, eventually, it will heal.

About halfway to school, that hope is torn from me like the wings of a butterfly ripped off by the cruel and curious fingers of children.

Chad, Brad and Owen 'as I now knew, thanks to Blake' step out from behind the thick trunks of hoary old trees, grins lighting their faces in expectation of some fun.

I freeze for a second and then my instincts kicked in 'fight' is out of the question, so I flee back the way I've come.

Who am I kidding?

Asthmatic kid vs. track team.

Place your bets.

They catch me right in the middle of the old bridge that spanned the disused railroad tracks running along the bottom of a narrow ravine.

Chad grabs the back of my pack and drags me to the ground like a dog on a fox.

"Hey. Let me go... let me go," my voice breaks with fear as Chad throws me to Brad, who wrestles the pack from my shoulders and tosses it to Owen.

"Give me back my... back-pack," I yell.

My most prized possession is in there.

Actually, it isn't even mine and I can't let anything happen to it.

No matter what.

Brad pushes me to Owen who throws my pack to Chad, and then pins my arms behind my back and forces me to my knees.

I throw my head back and almost manage to crush his balls but he skips backward, releasing me briefly before catching me again.

"Hey... hold him," Chad scolds Owen, who grunts.

Owen reminded me of Jaws from those old James Bond movies.

He's tall and weird-looking, doesn't say much and grins like a creep.

Brad snatches the beanie from my head, ruffles my over-long hair and cups my bruised jaw in his hand.

"Hey, he's got a pretty face. I could almost imagine he's a girl," he says.

"Yeah, close your eyes and it's all the same," Chad laughs.

He opens my back-pack and dumps the contents out on the ground.

"Stop."

I struggle against Owen's grip like a fish on the end of a line.

"Don't touch my stuff."

"Oh? What is it? Your secret love letters in here or something?"

He rifles through my textbooks, my five-star notebook and my binder.

Then he finds my Grandma's recipe book.

"Oh-ho-ho? What's this? Favorite fudge? Best brownies?"

He dissolves in a fit of giggles.

"This is so fuckin' gay."

"DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF," I scream.

Chad turns to me and nods to Owen.

"Hey... let him go."

Owen releases me and I drop to my hands and knees, gasping for air.

I need my inhaler but I need my Grandma's notebook more.

"Tell you what," Chad smirks.

"You suck us off and we'll let you go."

"Gross," Brad objects, grimacing.

"He's got braces. Plus he's a dude. What're you on, bro?"

"Like I said, close your eyes and it's all the same."

The sneer never leaves his lips but Chad's eyes go shifty.

It seems like Brad's reaction tells him he's strayed onto dangerous ground.

I'm shaking so bad I can hardly speak and my breath is barely making it past the back of my throat.

"Fuck . . . you," I spit, wheezing through my teeth.

Chad scowls.

"No. You know what? Fuck you, fag. You want your precious book? Go get it."

He tosses it over the edge of the bridge.

I don't even think.

I just react.

I scramble to my feet and leap.

I catch it and for a moment, I feel like my Dad would be proud.

I feel like the quarterback who just made the winning touchdown.

Chad's eyes go wide in surprise.

Then I fall.

It's only a twenty-five foot drop but it's far enough.

Something crunches when I land and it's not the gravel.

I have a sensation of tingling, like a thousand bees crawling over my skin and then they sting and I scream and then I faint.

It turns out that, despite everything, Chad, Brad and Owen have at least a shred of decency between them.

Someone calls 911 but they report it as attempted suicide.

Some kid jumped off a bridge.

Fucking shit.

If I was going to jump off a bridge, I'd choose one that was at least high enough to kill me.

[clowncrush]

𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪.

[daydreaming-in-letters]

In a week

Chapter 5

07/26/2022

Pairing: Andrew (Hozier) x Clara (OFC)

Word Count: 4,316

Warnings: rpf, au, language, poor try at using Irish slang words, angst, talk about infidelity, lots of feelings, fingering, unprotected sex, fluff

Summary: It's the last night at the beach house and both Clara and Andrew are very reluctant to let go of each other.

A/N: Obviously the poem Andrew recites is not my own. The rest is. Apart from a few hints and nods to Hozier's lyrics that I sneaked into every chapter of this story.

Picture by Klemen Vrankar via Unsplash (cropped and text added)

If you like my story, you are very welcome to like, comment or reblog. No permission is given to copy, repost or share my work on other platforms.

Hozier - Shrike

Bare feet silently ascended the stairs, growing heavier with every step she took. Clara had felt it all day, the bittersweet gloom of their nearing goodbye hanging above her like an inky cloud. He must have felt it too, at least that was the only way she could explain to herself what had happened in the pool earlier. Absentmindedly her fingers drifted over her lips, recalling the urgency in his kiss, the taste of his tongue as it had met hers, and she shivered. 

It was likely this would not happen again. Andrew didn’t want a relationship, he had made that very clear the other night. And yet he had refused to let go, his arm wrapped around her middle so tightly that she could still feel it, holding her safe, claiming her. Or probably just the usual reluctance of letting go of what he had gotten used to over the last week. Clara had simply become a regularity to him, a habit, nothing more. 

A tiny chuckle escaped her throat and echoed from the high walls of the staircase when she remembered the way he had looked in the pool this morning. Fully dressed, soaked to the bone, his wet hair sticking to his face like reaped kelp, he had resembled a freshly baptised Jesus more than she would ever admit to that fucker Chad. But it had been his eyes that had almost killed her, dark green pools filled with a terror she had never seen in anyone’s eyes before, at least not on her behalf. He had actually feared for her life, surely that had to mean something, didn’t it?

She pushed that thought aside as soon as his familiar form came into view. Sprawled out on the extravagant lounging area that could easily fit ten people, even someone as tall as him looked tiny. A book in hand, he lay on his back, facing the massive skylight that would have allowed him to gaze up at the myriads of sparkling stars above him, but whatever world the words on the darkened paper created seemed far more interesting than all the beauty that surrounded him. 

“Hey,” she greeted softly, afraid she might startle him.

“Hi, love.”

For a moment that seemed endless to her, he just kept on reading and Clara was already thinking about leaving him to his diversion, when he slowly set the book aside after all and granted her his full attention. Awkwardly she stood at the head of the stairs, her fingers fiddling with the light fabric of her summer dress. 

“Finished packing already?”

A nod was all she could muster as all the words she had wanted to say to him were bubbling up inside her at once, clogging her throat very effectively.

“Would you like to join me then?”

She felt herself nod again, still mute as a maggot, but at least her feet seemed to have decided to obey her and carried her over to him. With every step she took towards him, the sweetest of smiles grew on his lips as he rolled over onto his side, his head propped up on his hand. Clara mimicked his posture, her hands reaching for the volume cased in pink fabric that lay between them, eager to find out what he had been so absorbed in. She twisted and turned the book in her hand, but neither the cover nor the back held any information on the title or author.

“It’s the book that would have been yours for the week if we hadn’t—”

He stopped himself before he could finish that thought, his smile dying away instantly when he realised what he had done. 

“Will you read to me?”

He stared at the book she held out to him as if he had never seen one in his life, but as soon as he took it from her, his fingers grazing hers for a moment so short she might have just as well imagined it, the soft smile gradually returned to his pink lips.

“With pleasure.”

It took him a while to settle on a poem, time Clara used to get a little more comfortable. Resting her head on one of the many cushions, she watched him flicking through the pages, his long fingers working frantically until the veins on his forearms seemed to pop out even more than they usually did. Clara felt the strong urge to withdraw the book from his hands just so they would still and she could run her fingers along those tempting blood vessels, maybe even trace them with her lips and tongue for a while, or use her teeth to pull the obligatory hair tie he always carried from his delicate wrist. 

“Ah, here it is,” he cut the thread of her indecent thoughts, “It’s among his more popular ones, I guess, but I find it very fitting.

Blackberry-Picking Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots. Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills We trekked and picked until the cans were full, Until the tinkling bottom had been covered With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard’s.”

There was something utterly magic about Andrew reading a poem. The way his lips moved, pointedly, ardent on accentuating the lush imagery, gently breathing life to the words as they sat amidst his beard that had grown so wonderfully thick in the time they had spent together. A sea of dark ginger, crowned with a hint of grey here and there. The warm light of the dimmed lamps overhead only added to the play of colours, in his beard, his hair, on his skin. She could be wrong, but it seemed his once pale skin now held a faint tan and one certainly couldn’t deny the powdery rose that had returned to his cheeks. 

She tried so hard not to stare, to focus on his words instead, but every time she thought she had finally managed to shift her focus, his fingers flew up to his face again, taking her attention with them. It seemed to be a habit of his, to touch his face constantly while he was reading, his digits mostly pressing to his temple. Sometimes his pinky would glide along the sensitive spot, his other fingers pointing awkwardly to the sky like gnarled twigs. Or he rubbed along his temple with his thumbnail, pulling it all the way down to his cheekbone, drawing her eyes to the groundless abyss of green that awaited close by and was so exquisitely lined by his impossibly long lashes. Every now and then, his fingers would find his hair instead, vanishing in between the messy brown curls to pull them away from his face or tug them behind his ear. A seemingly impossible task which Clara would have all too much liked to do for him. 

“We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre. But when the bath was filled we found a fur, A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache. The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour. I always felt like crying. It wasn't fair That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot. Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.”

Along with his voice, the spell his words had cast died away, slowly giving way to the painful truth they held and that Andrew had so graciously veiled from her with this tender delivery.

He was watching her, the weight of the expectation his eyes held almost too much to bear. If only she knew what exactly he was waiting for. But that would mean she was able to figure out why he had decided to read this specific poem to her. He had said that he found it fitting. Fitting what, or whom? Had it reminded him of Chad and her, or Catherine and him? Or was he hinting at the way he felt about her? That he thought whatever it was that had grown between them was something to be enjoyed in the moment and would inevitably rot with time?

Her heart turning into lead, tears were rising inside of her, slowly but inevitably. Those salty traitors. And before they could flow and in turn ruin their last night together, she hurried to reach for the switch and kill the lights. 

“Thank you,” she whispered as she lay back down beside him, a little closer than before, her head now turned to the twinkling dots that covered the night sky. She feared he might protest and scold her for her rude behaviour, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he rolled onto his back as well so they could watch the stars in silence together. And although nobody moved, she could feel him next to her. The length of his arm against her own, radiating a comforting heat that seeped into her skin, the back of his hand resting against hers, careful fingers slowly drifting between her own, almost imperceptibly and Clara didn’t even realise what was happening until they were tightly woven together. 

“Can I tell you something?”

His question seemed pretty harmless in itself, but Clara was more than afraid what revelation her consent might lead to in the end. Nevertheless she heard herself answer in the affirmative.

“There is this one thing about that night in March that just keeps coming back to me over and over again.”

“And whatever might that be?”

The fact that he hesitated before elaborating on a topic that he himself had brought up didn’t exactly do anything for Clara’s nerves.

“You know, during that godawful dinner back at the convention, I just couldn’t make sense of it all, of who you were, to be precise. You seemed so different to me, so controlled, taking the humiliation as if it meant nothing to you. I almost convinced myself that you must be an entirely different person than the one I had met that night. It just didn’t add up and I couldn’t stop asking myself what had happened to the fierce amazon who had claimed me with her kiss in the street outside a pub and demanded I’d pleasure her right there and then.”

Clara thought about her answer for a moment.

“Oh, she was there all right. But I always kept her on a tight leash whenever Chad was around.”

There was no need to look at him to know her words had made him smile. 

“I’m honoured you allowed me a glimpse of her then.”

“It’s just…” She wasn’t sure whether to go on, but then his fingers moved within hers, giving her all the assurance she needed. “You make me feel so safe. Safe to think. Safe to feel. Safe to speak my mind and express my desires. Just safe.” 

Clara rolled over, covering half his body with her own, her head bedded on his chest. Andrew couldn’t help himself. Maybe it was the magic of the moment, or the overwhelming feeling of the silent reciprocity that connected them, whatever it was, he needed to secure her touch, the soothing weight of her body upon his, and so his fingers cupped her cheek, his lips pressing the softest of kisses to her fragrant hair.

“Did you know about the affair the night we met?” It wouldn’t really make a difference what her answer to that was because ultimately it had brought them here, and to him that was all that mattered.

“I did. In fact, I had just found out about it that day. But until the convention I had no idea it was Catherine he was sleeping with.”

Andrew hummed, his thumb tenderly gliding along her velvety skin. “Same here.”

“Why did you take her back?”

Clara could feel him shrug underneath her.

“Hope, I guess. And the fear that whatever was waiting for me at the end of that relationship would be even worse than forgiving her and staying. And you?”

She sighed, hugging him a little tighter and he felt guilty for asking.

“I think in all those years I had been with Chad, I became really good at pretending. Pretending he didn’t degrade me because it satisfied him but because he cared and wanted me to do better, pretending he didn’t act strange or that it was normal to work nightshift after nightshift at the hospital, pretending he truly loved me and not the advantages our relationship brought him with his career. And after a while, I became so good at it that the lines between my actual life and the life I imagined blurred completely. So thoroughly that I began to fool myself someday and believed that this was exactly the life I wanted. You know, sometimes I think I was like a bird that flew into its cage willingly. I was fine with it most of the time, glad for the false security it provided, but there were still moments I remembered what it was like to fly.”

“What held you back?”

“Fear, I think. After all this time, I had become afraid of the world that awaited outside the safety of my cage.”

He had feared as much, but now that the words had been uttered, his suspicion confirmed, rage bubbled up inside of him. He had to tighten his grip and pull her closer to keep it at bay. Chad, that bleedin’ shitehawk. Of all the things he had done, this was probably what Andrew hated him most for. 

“We really should have known better about the two of them from the very beginning,” he mumbled more to himself than to her.

“Huh?”

“I mean, Chad, that name already sounds like a villain and Catherine isn’t much better either.”

“What’s wrong with Catherine? I had a friend in preschool called Catherine and she was the sweetest thing.”

“Come on. Really?” Andrew cleared his throat before he croaked in flawless Vincent Price manner, “Catherine.”

Clara had never needed to force down a laugh so hard and it seemed like a miracle that she managed to stay serious as she propped herself up on one elbow to look down at him.

“Oh, you can do every name in a voice. Andrew,” she drew out his name, rolling it on her tongue like the most gruesome word her mouth had ever formed. “See, sounds pretty shady to me.”

“Who says I’m not?” 

His playful wink made her stomach flutter, but Clara remained serious. And as her hand rose to his cheek, her heart rose to her tongue in unison. 

“Darling, you are the sweetest and purest soul I’ve met in a very long time. Please don’t ever let this brutal world change you.” Slowly her head lowered towards his, drawn to him, and she wouldn’t stop until her lips found his for a butterfly’s kiss, fragile and fleeting, afraid of the chain of events it might ensue. But no matter how much she tried to fight her desire, she needed to feel and to be felt, the way only he could feel her, united in the beautiful depths they had created. She didn’t care any longer what tomorrow would bring, she had stayed in shallow waters for far too long and even if they were only granted one night at the deep end, she craved this moment of genuine intimacy more than she had ever craved anything in her life. “Look, I know we both want different things.” She heard him draw in a breath, but her fingers flew to his lips to silence him. “No, let me finish, please. It’s our last night together. And when the sun rises tomorrow morning, this will all be over. We will be forced to face the ruins of our lives that we escaped from for this blink of time. So why not stop time altogether? Only for a night. Why not, after pretending for so long, pretend one more night. Pretend that we both—“

Now it was him who stopped her. With the same urgency she had found in his touch this morning, he pulled her down against his lips again. His contented moan was maddening, and with a sigh she opened up to him, allowing him to taste her honeyed tongue while she melted in his arms. He was met with no resistance when he took control and rolled her onto her back, because what he didn’t know was that she ached to feel his weight on top of her, hungered for the sensation of his bare skin against hers. But she couldn’t hide her need when her fingers fisted the hem of his T-shirt and began to pull, and even though he loathed losing the touch of her lips if only for one single second, he allowed her to pull it over his head and toss it aside. Andrew reeled in the soft sounds of desire she breathed into his mouth as her fingers found his bared chest, running through his chest hair and sparking the same ardent wish deep inside of him to feel more of her. 

She shivered, her breath stuttering the moment his fingers found the supple flesh of her thigh. Another moan rolled over her tongue, and another with every inch he ventured farther underneath her dress, still she didn’t break away from his lips until he reached the thin line of lace that kept her smouldering heat hidden from him. 

“May I touch you, doll?”

It didn’t take longer than the blink of an eye before she nodded her consent and still it was almost impossible to bear. 

“Yes,” she moaned, her voice thick with desire, “please. Please touch—”

The expletive that fell from her mouth as his fingers slithered in between her folds made him chuckle. How anyone could be this adorable and at the same time so unbelievably enticing was completely beyond him. He wanted to protect her, satisfy her, be anything she needed him to be all at once until her hunger was thoroughly sated, her body spent and floating in perfect bliss. 

His free arm cradled her head, pulling her closer while he worked her, slowly, steadily, watching her tremble and writhe before him to ascertain what she enjoyed most and it didn’t take long until she needed to let go of his chest and grab his hand to cope with all the pleasure he made her feel. 

She was so beautiful, her cheeks flushed, plump lips parted, gasping for air, eye lids falling shut whenever passion threatened to overwhelm her. How ravishing would she be when he finally made her come? Eager to find out, two of his fingers followed the ever-growing slick heat south, filling her carefully, inch by inch. His name fell from her lips, sending a wave of desire through him that made him halt for a moment, and with the still of his fingers inside her, she stilled as well. 

The silent plea in her eyes was pure agony, but he needed a minute to compose himself. For now, this was solely about her, there would be plenty of time to give in to his yearning later, to have her, to devour her, to make her his. But now he wanted to feel her come apart on his fingers. And so he moved, slowly at first, falling into rhythm with her moans and whimpers that soon grew more rapid until he pumped into her deep and hard. 

Not long now, he thought, her sweet release already within reach. His head dipped down into the tiny space between his shoulder and her cheek, his beard scratching along her sensitive skin. 

“Andrew.”

“I’m here, sweet one. Right here,” he whispered softly. “Just let go. Don’t hold back.”

He hadn’t even finished his words when his thumb pushed down on the tiny bundle of nerves and she cried out in ecstasy. Her back arching off the mattress, her silky walls tightening around his fingers, her grip on his hand painfully tight, she did as he had asked of her and let go. And he had been right. She was a sight to behold at the peak of her rapture. He had never witnessed innocence this pure, a scene so utterly divine and yet so deeply human that it made him freeze in awe of the revelation that unfolded right here in his arms.

A confession burning on his tongue, he swallowed hard to push it back. This wasn’t the moment to tell her. There would come better ones, calmer ones, when the fevered frenzy had settled and her mind was able to grasp the sincerity of his declaration. So instead, his lips pressed to her forehead in an affectionate kiss and he let them remain there until her breathing had evened out and he felt her body relax against his own. 

Despite the dim starlight that illuminated their passion play, a shadow that covered her face made her eyes fall open at last and the breathtaking sight that awaited made her still pulsing walls flutter with resurfacing desire. He stood in front of the glistening night sky, every last inch of his body disclosed to her view, unashamed of her gaze. God, she wanted him, so much, more than she had ever thought it possible to want someone. 

“Come here.” 

He took the hand that was reaching out for him, lying down behind her and she was about to protest when his hands set to work and freed her from the fabric that still shielded her from him. She couldn’t help but gasp helplessly the second he pulled her back against his chest and she could finally feel him. All of him. 

Gladly she sank down on the arm he offered as a pillow, her hand snaking around his neck to pull him down with her. She could taste his growing desire on his tongue, feel it twitch in anticipation against her behind, and when she lifted her leg in a silent invitation, he yielded. 

His head flew back as he slowly pushed in, throwing him right into the battle between urge and reason, voiced by a groan so sinful it shook her to the very core. But instead of moving, he allowed himself a moment to enjoy her body. Languidly his fingers glided along her smooth skin, trailing up her stomach, squeezing her ample breasts where they remained until he had tended to the two lush globes to both his and her satisfaction. Briefly his hand found her throat on its way to her cheek and Clara couldn’t hold back the moan it coaxed from her lungs. 

“Oh, you would like me to take your breath away, little amazon?” He still chuckled when his lips met hers again for a passionate kiss. “I think there are better ways to draw the air from your lungs than choking you.”

And before her brain had even managed to make sense of his words, he withdrew and drove home again, sheathing himself to the hilt inside of her. Clara’s mouth flew open in a silent cry from feeling him so deep, her nails leaving little crescent dents at the nape of his neck. 

“Told you,” he mumbled against her shoulder, his breath heavy on her skin, teasing her even more than his words did. She was tempted to sass him back, but she didn’t even have the time to stitch together a saucy reply when his hips rolled against her behind again, erasing the will to get back at him immediately. 

Andrew wasn’t set on teasing her any longer, however much he enjoyed it. He was making love to her now, driving into her in drawn out, deep strokes, a hand on her hip gently pulling her back to meet his thrusts. Their bodies rocking against each other in perfect harmony, the world slowly became insignificant, shrinking down to the tiny space that contained only the two of them, skin to skin, mouth to mouth, their hearts beating in the same sweet rhythm. 

Carefully his hand let go of her hip to find the juncture of their bodies and Clara broke their kiss with a gasp. He missed her lips instantly, but before he could regret his decision, she moaned his name again, her voice lower, darker, needier than ever before, a sound he could never get enough of, and so he satisfied his desire to taste her elsewhere. The exquisite aroma of salted honey rolled over his tongue as he licked her neck, swirling the skilful muscle along her skin until she moaned his name again, and then again, her walls fluttering and clenching suspiciously around his length. 

“I think I…I’m gonna come again.”

But her warning came too late to brace himself against the vigorous approach of her second high. 

“Oh god,” he groaned, caught in her tight grip, “please do. Come as much as you like.”

He could never get enough of seeing her lose herself in complete ecstasy. And when the wave broke, it took him away as well. They held on to each other for dear life, their bodies quivering, shaking, writhing as the sheer power of their shared rhapsody surged through them. It was all-consuming, filling every last bit of them with the sensation of the other until they were one beyond recall.

Chapter 6

[andtheydontstopwriting]

𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 -【Rodrick Heffley x F!Reader】- One-Shot

rating: pg

word count: 6.2k

summary: [y/n], daughter from a wealthy family from New York City, has been keeping her relationship with rodrick heffley a secret from her parents, though what happens if it’s brought up and her parents want to meet the secret boyfriend?

author’s note: here it is! hope you guys all enjoy it!! though i did want to let you know that i wrote this originally as a piece of work for my original character, which is why it is in third person! if you want to request anything feel free to!! once again, thank you for reading it!

keys: [y/nn] - your nickname

“I didn’t mean to tell them, [Y/NN].” Caleb spoke in hushed tones, as he attempted to prevent any outburst that he doubted would come from his younger sister, but it was still something that he felt that needed to be stopped, “But I’m sure neither you or Rodrick would exactly be thrilled if you ended up going to homecoming with David or Chad, and you know how dad-.”

 “Listens to you, yes, I do know that, Caleb,” [Y/N] began, though her train of thought was shooting off in a million different directions, “And I do appreciate you trying to stick up for my happiness, but now we have to deal with what comes with doing that.”

 It did not take long for Caleb to know what [Y/N] meant, because their father did bring it up in the conversation that started this whole situation. 

 “Father and Mother want to meet him.”

 “And I don’t know if I can teach Rodrick to have the manners and social know-how that we and whoever Father believes would be more acceptable.”

 “Maybe it’s for the best that’s the case, [Y/NN],” Caleb pointed out, placing a gentle hand on his 

sister’s shoulder, “Give yourself the chance to step out of the spotlight for once, your happiness is what’s important.”

 [Y/N] merely just nodded, because she knew that the standards their father placed on both of them were vastly different. Caleb could afford some level of security in the notion of not being worried about what their father thinks, because he does not have to work so hard to make their father happy. 

 This was something the teenager always had to grapple with growing up. Eventually, coming to terms with since she was the youngest, her future compared to her older brother’s was uncertain, unclear, and too many factors were up in the air: where was she going to college? What would her major be? What would her future career be? What sort of family would she have? Who would she marry?

 Whereas Caleb had his future planned from the moment he was born: attend an ivy league for business then take over the family company, marry a family friend/one of the daughters of their father’s business associates or a family that would be useful to merge with and have a family. It was always clear and never questioned, even when they were kids. It took little effort on his part to make their father happy, because the expectations were clear as day and never took a moment of thought to figure out.

 It was her burden to bear, and never had the strength in her to expect anyone to understand the judging gaze always cast her way, as if waiting for her to mess up or make a mistake to remind her of her failures no matter how perfect she appeared to the public eye. To her own boyfriend, even.

 And part of her subconscious wished it would remain that way forever. But life has a funny way of working out in the end.

 Her parents at dinner the same night her and Caleb conferred, they brought up having this mystery boy their daughter had been seeing secret over for dinner so they could have a chance to finally meet. [Y/N] had little say in the matter and the Saturday before Homecoming was agreed upon.

 As soon as she returned to her bedroom for the night, [Y/N] knew she had to bring it up to Rodrick as soon as she could if they were to have any chance of staying together after that Saturday. The week they just about had was not going to be enough, but [Y/N] still felt she had to put the effort into trying to teach Rodrick at least table manners her parents would expect. But perhaps even that was pushing it.

:~+~:

“Your parents want to meet me?”

 “Well, they did say they want to meet you, but I don’t think it’s because they know it’s you, Rodrick.” 

 Perhaps on their near nightly phone call was not the ideal place to tell Rodrick about the dinner, but it was the first instance she could get it out without her anxiety getting the better of her about telling him in the first place. It saved her having to tell him in person and save herself from seeing how he reacted in real time. 

 “And dinner was the best place for that to happen?” Rodrick questioned after a brief moment of silence and a familiar squeak of some springs faintly resounded into the speaker on his end. He must have 

 “With my family, yes,” The blonde confirmed, “With all things considered, with the holidays too far away and Homecoming approaching sooner, and they specifically said they wanted to meet you before the dance, a dinner is the only way.” 

 “Okay…” Rodrick trailed off, going silent for a moment, “When is dinner anyway?”

 “Next Saturday,” [Y/N] replied, though quickly added before her boyfriend could speak, “We’re gonna have to have etiquette lessons, Rod, so I can teach you everything that you’re gonna need if you’re gonna make it through the night.”

 “What do you mean etiquette, babe?” 

 “Like how to sit at a table, which fork and spoon to use and when to use them, what you can and can’t say, that sort of stuff. The basics.” 

 “Do you think a week is enough time to teach me all that junk?”

 “Luckily for you, you have a great teacher and someone who has been taught this stuff her whole life, I think something will stick.”

 “Alright, whatever you say babe,”

 “I’ll even help you get ready,” [Y/N] promised, though had to amend it with, “I’ll try to, anyway, I'll at least come over to make sure you have an appropriate outfit because t-shirts won’t cut it.”

 There was a clear groan of annoyance on the other end of the line before the teenager spoke, “You know I hate wearing ties, [Y/N], and I’m already pushin’ wearing it for Homecoming and not to church.” 

 “I know, I know,” [Y/N] sighed as she brought a hand up to her face as she stood from her bed to start pacing her room, “But it’s just for one more night than normal, Rodrick, I promise.”

 “And what do I get in return, huh?”

 “A girlfriend?”

 “Okay, yeah, that’s a pretty solid deal.”

 “So lessons start tomorrow, okay?”

 “After the band practice,”

 “After the band practice then.” [Y/N] confirmed as she sat on her bed once more, “Good night, sweetheart.”

 “Night, babe.” 

:~+~:

Okay, so the lessons did not go great, but they went about as well as [Y/N] expected. Teaching Rodrick how to behave and act as closely to the way she and her brother had grown up being taught was like pulling teeth, and much like chemistry, it was looking like nothing was sticking. And if anything was sticking, it was gone by the next day and they had to start over.

Meaning, come that fateful Saturday, [Y/N] could only hope that her very quick rundown of the basics, the true basics of what Rodrick needed to know the night before when she went over the Heffley’s house the previous night to get possible outfit choices ready and wrinkle free knowing the state of his bedroom and how clothes could be just...existing on the floor and if it was a process for her to find clean t-shirts of his to steal, then she figured the dressier clothes he owned were living the same way.

“What’s troubling you, little bird?” Her mother asked her daughter, as she had noticed that [Y/N] had been a little distracted in chopping the vegetables up. Not only that, she had been on edge since had left her bedroom that morning.

 “I’m worried about dinner tonight, Mother,” [Y/N] answered, shaking her head a bit to refocus her attention on chopping the vegetables.

 “I’m sure your Father will be on his best behavior, there’s no reason to be worried.” Helena spoke softly, reassuring her daughter with the soothing tones and having set the spoon down beside the stove top to go over and gently brush [Y/N]’s hair back, “Everything will be fine, little bird.”

 As much as [Y/N] wanted to believe her mother was right, that things would be fine and everything would go smoothly,she also had to remind herself of her father’s constant attempts to control her life, and everything in her life. That included who she dates and there had been plenty of failed attempts in the past because of this meddling, and [Y/N], for once, just wanted to be free of the constant puppet strings attached to her that her father controlled. 

 “Father’s best behavior is turbulent, Mother, you know this,” [Y/N] pointed out with a sigh, “Rodrick isn’t exactly what Father believes to be best for me, and I’m afraid if Rodrick says one thing he doesn’t like, that's it, we’re through.” 

 “Your father’s opinion does not always matter, remember that his say is not final-”

 “It’s been final before.” [Y/N] interjected, “Remember he wouldn’t let me try out for the cheer team?”

 “He’s just looking out for what's best for you, that’s all.” 

 After that, the kitchen was silent save for the sounds of cooking, because once more [Y/N]’s anxiety took over and Helena simply did not know how to comfort her daughter anymore. It was easiest to just finish dinner and then go get ready for it, adn say nothing else on the matter for fear of making things worse.

 However, just as [Y/N] was finishing up getting ready when she heard the familiar sound of an engine rumbling up the driveway. And gazing out of one of her bedroom windows that overlooked the front of the house, she saw the familiar van park in front of the garage.

 So that is a good thing, Rodrick managed to remember to get there early as she insisted numerous times upon. Not that much earlier than the time she said dinner would start, but it was something, at least. 

 Next came the issue of watching Rodrick getting out of the van. While he did dress the part, the part was also distracting her that she kept her eyes trained on him before he disappeared under the roof that covered the front porch. It was indeed a rare instance for [Y/N] to see her boyfriend dressed up, considering she never exactly went with the Heffley family to church on Sundays. 

 So it was easy to understand as to why she had zoned out, nearly daydreaming and ogling over what she saw from a distance what her boyfriend was wearing. Though before she could fully dive into the daydream, the echoing sound of the ring of the doorbell echoed across the house and it was enough to snap [Y/N] out of her head and she was quick to stand from her vanity, hoping to make it to the front door before her parents or brother could open the door.

 However, her attempts were in vain because of the delay it took her to stand and began the mad dash to the front of the house and the size of the home itself, and by the time she had reached the top of the stairs, she saw her mother already at the front door and as [Y/N] made her descent down the staircase, she heard what was spoken.

 “Ah, so you must Rodrick,” Helena spoke, though [Y/N] could get a hint of confusion from the tone used, which [Y/N] assumed was because her mother had recognized Rodrick from the couple times she had seen him before when she first started to tutor the boy, but that was not brought up when Helen added, “Come in, come in.”

 “Uh, thank you, Mrs. Clemens.” [Y/N] heard Rodrick speak as she continued her descent down the staircase, smiling to herself because at least something else stuck: always use formalities, never call my parents by their actual names. 

 As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was met with a beat of silence and then Rodrick saying without much hesitation, “You look beautiful,” 

 A dust of pink appeared on her cheeks and she briefly looked towards her mother away from Rodrick, who looked between the teenagers before taking the steps towards the dining room, allowing the young couple a moment alone before the dinner began.

 “I have to admit, I know you hate getting all dressed up,” [Y/N] spoke as she neared Rodrick, reaching up to gently adjust the tie around his neck, “But I wouldn’t be opposed to you dressing up more often.”

 “There isn’t a chance of that happening, babe, you know that.” Rodrick pointed out, though a teasing smile graced his face, which [Y/N] mirrored.

 “A girl can dream, can’t she?” 

 Just as Rodrick was about to lean down to give [Y/N] a quick peck on the lips, he froze in his movements as he both heard a voice from down the hall echo around them and the fact he felt [Y/N] slightly tense up.

 “Ah, [Y/N], dinner is about to start, I expected you to be in the dining room already.”

 [Y/N] took a deep breath as she began to speak as she stepped to stand beside Rodrick instead, “Father, we were just heading there n-”

 “This must be the secret boyfriend, then, Rodrick, wasn’t it?” Charlie interrupted, which was something [Y/N] was used to by then, and held a hand out to Rodrick (another thing [Y/N] could see right through--the charm of a businessman), “Charles.”

 “Yeah, that’s me,” Rodrick said as he briefly glanced at his girlfriend to see what to do, before [Y/N] replied with a glance down to her father’s extended hand, which Rodrick took with a little too much fervor, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Clemens.”

 The energy behind Rodrick’s hand shake with her father was something that would not be much of an issue, but [Y/N] never had a how to shake a hand lesson herself, so it was overlooked when she was teaching her boyfriend what he would need to know. She was a girl, and the only thing she ever got on the subject matter was to be light and certain in the handshake, and that was all. So one look at her father’s face said all that she needed to know.

 It was already off to a bad start and they had not even sat down for dinner yet.

 Luckily her mother had called them into the dinning room before much more could already add to the poor outcome [Y/N] could start to sense coming already, no matter the words that echoed to counter the notion, hoping that things would look up from there forward.

 And for the first part of dinner, it was as her mind had hoped it would be, as everything went smoothly. Any questions her parents asked to Rodrick, it took a moment, but he was always to pull something out that also did not make him nor his family look bad. The looks shared between the Clemens siblings were a mix of relief and happiness as the dinner progressed, because the lessons and seemingly did in the end stick with Rodrick more than [Y/N] previously had suspected they did. 

 “So, what is it you want to do with your life after you finish up high school, Rodrick?”

 That was the question she was dreading, and one she was hoping for once her father would overlook and just accept that fact, move on that the future did not matter as much as the happiness of his children. 

 And the question must have also thrown Rodrick off for some reason, as he glanced once more at [Y/N] and in turn [Y/N] glanced at Caleb, a look of panic settling on her face.

 “I think the team has a good chance of winning the game next week.” Caleb brought up, “So Homecoming may be a celebration for that win, too.”

 “The football team has won every year the past several years, Caleb,” Charles pointed out, sighing as he set his fork down on the plate before him, “But that is not what we are talking about now, my boy.” 

 “The marching band is probably the best we’ve had in years, Father,” [Y/N] quickly added, clearly buying Rodrick enough time to try and find an answer to Charles’ question, “It’ll be worth going to the game for more than just the football team this year.”

 “[Y/N], I believed I asked Rodrick a question, so I would appreciate it if you would allow him to answer.” Charles said, his tone rising from calm coolness, to slight agitation as he took a deep breath to calm down once more, “Now, Rodrick, what do you want to do with your future?”

 “To be a musician.” 

 “Oh, a musician,” Helena tried to express some happiness in the discovery, “Are you in the school orchestra with [Y/N]?”

 “N-no, Mrs. Clemens,” Rodrick realized his mistake of bringing up the fact he wanted to be a musician, but at the same time, if he said he didn’t know, he was sure he and [Y/N] would be over then and there, “I’m in a band with some of my friends.”

 “What type of music do you play then?” Charles asked and [Y/N] and Caleb once more exchanged looks before [Y/N] looked to Rodrick once again. A look that said there was no point in lying about it now.

 “Heavy metal.”

 “Oh…” Charles began, glancing between [Y/N] and Rodrick, before his eyes landed once again on Rodrick, “That’s an interesting choice, have you not considered going to college or another career path?”

 “Charles,” Helena interjected, giving her husband a look from across the table, “Now is not the time.”

 “What?” Charles asked, clearly confused as to what his wife could mean, “What’s so wrong about getting to know the boy who my little princess is dating?”

 From there, Helena merely just shook her head and dinner continued in silence, The only sound was the clatter of utensils as they hit the plate. [Y/N] kept her gaze down at the plate in front of her, merely just pushing what food was left around on her plate. Though, at some point, under the table, she reached over to gently grab a hold of Rodrick’s hand. To which, Rodrick merely just briefly looked over to [Y/N] and the only thing he could really do in reaction to it, was to let go of the tension in his shoulders before attempting to finish the meal before him.

 As expected, her mother announced that she would go and get dessert not too long after, but it would be a few minutes to warm it up once again. So as [Y/N] stood to start clearing the table, her father also stood.

 “[Y/N], could I speak to you for a moment?” Was all he said before he started his way towards the office he had at home.

 [Y/N] knew what would come from this conversation, and she had to try to be strong this time. She knew that this conversation would be her dad trying to get [Y/N] to break things off with Rodrick--something she knew was going to happen as soon as her father brought up the question of what Rodrick wanted to do with the future. His dream was not to be anything her father expected the man [Y/N] to be with. And it was time for her to take her own life into her own hands after so long of being looked down upon and controlled by the plan her father had for her.

 “What is it you see in that boy, [Y/N]?” Charles questioned as soon as the door to the office was shut behind [Y/N].

 “I can assure you that Rodrick is someone with more than meets the eye, Father.” [Y/N] answered clearly as she rose to stand up a little straighter.

 “But you are aware that he is not ideal, don’t you?” Her father spoke as he folded his arms behind his back, taking the strides to stand in front of his daughter, “You should be with someone like Edward Vill or Chad Danford. Not someone who you met tutoring, and someone who believes his heavy metal band will take off.” 

 He waited a moment for [Y/N] to speak, but all she did instead was lower her head and folded her hands at her front, so Charles continued, “All you have to do is end things with Rodrick and your future already looks brighter, my princess.”

 “That’s your plan for my life, though,” [Y/N] pointed out, her tone quieter than she wanted it to come out, but she soon found her confidence once more as she added, “For once I want to do things my way, so with all due respect father, I don’t think I will break things off with Rodrick no matter what your standards are for me.”

 “The standards I hold for you are meant to ensure you have a future.” Charles began, using a variation of the same speech [Y/N] heard time and time again, “As you know, your brother will take over the company, so I just want to make sure your foundation is strong in whatever ways I can provide. You’re young, you know little of how the world works.”

 “Have you not realized that in trying to live up to your expectations, I’m putting my own happiness at stake?”

 “The real world knows nothing of individual happiness, [Y/N], success is the only thing that will cultivate any sense of the word.”

 “I’m doing my best as I am right now, and then some, trying to gain the success you wish from me,” [Y/N] finally lifted her gaze up, though the tears starting to well in her eyes as soon as she did, looking at the man she called father, but had not felt like one in years, “But even with all that I have accomplished and juggled since we moved, you still think I’m a failure, and nothing I ever do is right.”

 “There’s always more, you never have to stop working and aiming high.” Charles’s voice began to rise once again, “And being with that boy is going to prevent you from doing such.” 

 [Y/N] shook her head just as the tears started to fall from her eyes, “I’m done trying to be what you think I am, because I’ll never be good enough for you.”

 “Young lady, you listen-” Charles began, but [Y/N] was quick to interrupt for once.

 “No, I’m done listening and following whatever it is you say for me to do, I’m choosing my happiness for once, which means I am not breaking up with Rodrick just because you do not approve of him.”

 And while Charles attempted to persuade [Y/N] otherwise, he did try to get her to understand why he does what he does, but [Y/N] was not having it. And despite his efforts to also get her to stay, [Y/N] was quick to make her leave, knowing if she stayed any longer it would turn out uglier than it had already become. And they did not need that to happen.

 Instead, [Y/N] tried her best to compose herself, keep herself together, as she went back into the dining room to get Rodrick. She did not need her brother or her boyfriend doting on her immediately, and she had to stay strong as she left the family home because she could not afford any more signs of weakness. 

 Though the soft hand on Rodrick’s shoulder and her quiet yet slightly quivering voice as [Y/N] asked, “Can we leave now?” was all Rodrick needed to have to know things did not go well when she talked with her dad, but he didn’t know what was discussed. 

 “See you around, Caleb,” Rodrick said before he stood from the dining table and [Y/N] was quick to grab a hold of his hand to walk out of the house. 

 “Young lady, you stay in this house or you’ll be grounded for the rest of your life!” She heard her father call out as he was approaching the foyer, but Helena was quick to hold him back.

“Charles, let her go,” She tried to reason with her fuming husband, “You two need some space right now,”

 [Y/N] shot a quick apologetic look to her mother as she grabbed her purse hanging by the front door before opening the large wooden door and stepped outside.

 “Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Clemens, it was real good!” Rodrick felt like he needed to say something before he shut the door behind him, and that was what happened to come out. Perhaps it was nerves talking and not filtering his thoughts that were not filled with concern for his girlfriend. And when they cleared the steps of the front porch, the boy was quick to make the steps to walk side by side, gently squeezing [Y/N]’s hand as they got to the van.

 As soon as everything was unlocked, and both were in their respective spots, Rodrick turned the noisy van on, backed up, and began the drive down the long driveway and back onto the street. [Y/N], meanwhile, just leaned her head against the window, staring mindlessly out the side view mirror and watched as the house she had started to call home grew smaller and smaller as they moved away from it, and she could see two figures standing on the porch but soon as they turned the corner onto the street, they were out of sight. 

:~+~:

Rodrick did not know what [Y/N] wanted to do, and she had been silent since asking him to leave her house. So he assumed it best to play it safe and drive around town as she calmed down enough to tell him what she wanted to do, or at least, he felt like she could answer when asked what she wanted to do. He knew by then to not push [Y/N], let her do things at her own time, because of his experience during finals last year and how she got so stressed out she shut down for a few hours. 

 Though after an hour of driving, from the corner of his eye, Rodrick could see that [Y/N] made an effort to lift her head off of the window and that was the sign that she was calming down and he made the choice to ask a question.

 “Wanna hit up the convenience store since we bailed on dessert?”

 There was a moment of silence, then two, then three, before Rodrick heard the defeated voice of his girlfriend come from her mouth, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

 And with that guidance and direction on what to do next, Rodrick complied and drove to the nearest convenience store. 

 The next thirty minutes or so of the evening for the young couple were spent attempting to rid themselves of the pain and sorrow of the evening that had happened earlier. Trying to be young once more without any burdens or cares. And with this attempt to change how the night progressed, came the night chill and while Rodrick was fine, [Y/N] was not. Luckily, or unluckily, Rodrick had left one of his sweatshirts in the back of the van--which was the unlucky part, because it was found in the back of the van and who knows when it was last washed. But it was better than nothing, so [Y/N] accepted it and was grateful it at least smelled of him--the cologne he started to wear more frequently, that is. Once inside the shop, they moved through the snack and candy aisles with careful thought and consideration of what they wanted, with [Y/N] clinging onto Rodrick’s arm, her head resting upon his upper arm as they moved through the aisles and made their decisions of what felt appropriate for the evening--for Rodrick, a bag of chips and for [Y/N] a bag of sour gummy candy, as well as a bag of chocolate to share between them, and went to check out. 

 They chose to just sit and eat in the back of the van, still parked in the parking lot of the convenience store, as it was easier than finding somewhere else to go. They also sat in considerable silence once again, the only sounds this time were the bags crinkling and the sound of the crunch of the chip whenever Rodrick ate one, side by side as close as they could be and eat with ease at the same time. 

 “I’m tired of trying to be good enough,” [Y/N] suddenly spoke, breaking the silence that fell over them once she had decided she had finished with her candy for now. 

 Rodrick, who had been in the middle of eating a chip when [Y/N] decided to speak up, was grateful that he had something in his mouth as it allowed him the time to process what his girlfriend just said and figure out what he was going to say in return. In the meantime, he set aside his bag of chips and shifted enough to reach out and grab a hold of [Y/N]’s hand.

 “I’m tired of tryin’, too,” Was what he apparently settled with, having never exactly been good at the whole comforting thing, “So we can be tired of it together.”

 There was no verbal response from [Y/N], but she responded to this statement by gently rolling her head onto his shoulder, her other hand also came up to start playing with his fingers after setting the bag of candy down. So Rodrick took this that she was listening to what he was saying, but wasn’t sure in what way.

 “Buuuut, one of the smartest girls I know taught me once that having two negatives together ends up canceling out the other, so we can just be tired together, instead.”

 With this addition, a breathy laugh was heard in his ears and a proud little half smile appeared on his face as he heard her voice once again not being plagued by anxiety, but simply by sleepiness.

 “I don’t think you understood that full lesson, sweetheart, remember how you almost flopped that test because you didn’t?”

 With her statement being made, Rodrick’s smile grew into a full one before he tilted his head to place a gentle but loving kiss to the top of her head, before he murmured against her hair, “But I would have totally failed without you, babe.”

 “We can just be tired together, Rodrick,” [Y/N] confirmed after a moment of quiet enjoyment of the moment, “And deal with all the teenage bullshit together.”

“Wow, did you just swear, babe?” Rodrick said in joking disbelief as he leaned away to look at [Y/N] head on.

 “It’s been a long night, sweetheart.”

 “My place?”

 “I don’t think either of our parents would appreciate us sleeping in the back of your van, so yes, your place.”

:~+~:

“Where have you two been?” Was what they were greeted with as soon as they arrived at the Heffley family home, “We’ve been worried sick!”

 “Sorry, mom,” Rodrick began, stepping in front of [Y/N] as he added, “We just went on a drive and stopped to get snacks, that’s all.”

 “Your mother called, [Y/N], and she was worried when I said you weren’t here, but I’ll go call her to come get you, okay?”

 “N-no,” [Y/N] began, the stammer in her voice stopped Susan from going to the phone in the living room, and Frank just looked at her confused, “I, uh, don’t want to go back home tonight, can I please stay?”

 “What happened at the dinner that made you not want to go home?” Frank questioned.

 “Just some family stuff,” [Y/N] covered easily, though she took a step to stand closer to Rodrick as she continued, “...Didn’t leave on the best of terms.” 

 “Oh, then of course you can stay, and we can figure this all out tomorrow, but I am going to call your mom back and let her know you’re safe, okay?” Susan said with a gentle smile and [Y/N] reciprocated the smile with a quiet, thank you, before Mrs. Heffley added, “You can sleep on the couch, after I make the call I’ll go get you a blanket,”

 “Can she actually sleep in my room?” Rodrick brought up, his tone rushed, to which both his parents gave him a stern look but before his mom could even get the answer of no out, he added, “I don’t want her to be alone after what happened, is all.”

 Susan and Frank gave each other a look, before they looked at Rodrick and [Y/N], and they caught the young couple glancing at each other and they saw the softest expression on Rodrick’s face they have ever seen on their son and once more looked back at each other.

 “On an air mattress.” Frank said, pointing a finger at the both of them, to which the pair nodded before Mr. Heffley turned to go get the air mattress from the basement. 

:~+~:

So [Y/N] never ended up sleeping on the air mattress. 

 She started out there, trying to do right by Rodrick’s parents since they allowed her to sleep in their son’s bedroom, which she could not be in past 8:30 on a school night usually. But sleeping in some of Rodrick’s clothes and with him only feet away, she was crawling in right beside him not even five minutes in of trying to fall asleep.

 When she awoke the next morning, [Y/N] felt a weight on her chest, and not the emotional kind. No, it was almost the entire dead weight of her sound asleep boyfriend sleeping over top of her, his head resting on her shoulder, his wild bed hair tickling her neck. She did not move him off or attempt anything, instead choosing to bask in this moment they rarely got to have and enjoy a quiet Rodrick for once, a version of him totally at peace. Gently, she started to run her fingers along his back through the t-shirt he was wearing, before the fingers of her other hand started to gently card through his hair, which only settled the sleeping teenager deeper into her.

 When he settled a little deeper into rest, this was when she had a slight struggle with breathing, and [Y/N] knew that she had to do what was usually impossible: waking Rodrick up.

 But luckily for her, she knew a solid weak point that often got him up if he ended up falling asleep before one of their tutoring sessions: tickling his sides.

 The action did not shoot him straight awake, but it was enough to shock his brain into making him open his eyes, and groggily lift his head up. 

 At first, it was clear he was about to settle back into the sleep he just awoke from, but before his eyes fully shut, they opened once more as he processed he was not laying on his mattress, but instead his girlfriend and the sleepy grin that appeared as he lifted his head once more and gazed down at her with half-lidded eyes was a sight [Y/N] would never get used to no matter how much she saw it. 

 “Good mornin’ babe…” Rodrick mumbled as he began to lean down to give her a good morning kiss too, before he was promptly pushed away with a gentle hand.

 “Your morning breath is atrocious, sweetheart,” [Y/N] pointed out with a quiet laugh, “It could kill.”

 “C’mon, you know I would never kill you, babe.” Rodrick pouted, “Now c’mon and give me a good morning kiss.”

 Rodrick instead kissed all over her face as [Y/N] kept moving her head to avoid Rodrick meeting her lips, but their playfulness was cut short as they heard Susan’s voice from down the staircase calling up to them: 

 “Rodrick! [Y/N]! It’s time for breakfast!” 

 And fearing that Susan would come in to check on things, the pair moved--Rodrick faster than he ever had in the morning--to get [Y/N] into the air mattress. It was a bit of a scramble and [Y/N] nearly tripped getting off the twin bed, but she had slipped under the throw blanket on the air mattress just as Susan began her descent up the staircase, and the teenagers pretended to be asleep.

 Until they heard the sigh and Susan making her way back down the stairs, their eyes were shut but the moment she heard his mother’s voice away from the attic door, [Y/N] quietly slipped off the air mattress and made her way back to Rodrick’s bed, where she leaned down to give his a soft kiss on the lips.

 “We should probably go down stairs soon, sweetheart.”

 Rodrick opened his eyes at the feeling and smiled up at [Y/N], who smiled down at him in return. 

 “I hate it when you’re right, babe.”

 It was this moment they both realized something very important, very pivotal.

 They both loved the other, and it was a somewhat scary yet exciting thought.

[roseprincessarts]

ShadowSilver (Cuphead Universe)

Hello y'all! Here is my OC ShadowSilver in the Cuphead universe (probably y'all think it wouldn't because the way she looks, but here's the description about her to explain it in this universe ^^)

Name: ShadowSilver

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Relatives: Her first parents (✝️), her adoptive parents (revealed soon to be OC's or so ^^)

Friends: Cuphead, Mugman, Elder Kettle, The Devil (to a degree), Henchman (depending on his shy behavior ^^;), King Dice (lover), Croaks, Ribby, and Chalice

Enemies: The Devil

Love Interest: King Dice

Appearance: slender and beautiful

Personality: kind, calm, caring, loving, stubborn (sometimes), and emotional

Likes: roses, coffee, sweets, cold drinks, pizza, some protein foods, dancing, instruments, singing (when no one is around or to close people), dresses, drawing, the ball parties, cakes, ice cream, milkshakes, candy shops, hanging out with the cup brothers, King Dice, and tranquility.

Dislikes: sour foods (not from sweets, she wouldn't mind sweet-and-sour), sickness, the Devil's schemes of taking Cuphead's soul, feeling tormented, kidnapping, the cup brothers fighting, seeing people's souls taken away, and darkness.

Nicknames: Shads, Sil, Silv, Silvy, Princess, Your Highness, Your Grace, Lovely (by the Devil and King Dice), Child (By The Devil) My Sweet (By King Dice), My Beauty (By King Dice), Beautiful (By King Dice), My Love (By King Dice), and Pretty Lady (by Cuphead, Mugman, Elder Kettle, Croaks and Ribby)

Probably won't be much information, but will be in the future. ShadowSilver was born with her real parents, but the day after she was born, she and her parents are on a month voyage to another country, and the storm happened at the sea. ShadowSilver was sent away with her real mother's necklace to remember her family. Her parents sent her away to only save their child, sacrificing themselves when the ship failed and everyone fell into the ocean, pronouncing passengers, including ShadowSilver's parents dead

ShadowSilver arrives that morning to Inkwell Isles and soon was adopted by (whoever will be soon ;)). Everyone at Inkwell Isles thought ShadowSilver was a beautiful child and a pure soul. Years passed as ShadowSilver is grown, blessed as people decided that they want her to rule Inkwell Isles as princess. She was the first human in Inkwell Isles. Her parents were loving, and deciding for her to rule for what's best for everyone due to her kindness and wanting to see the good in people. She meets all kinds of people, Cuphead, Mugman, Elder Kettle, Chalice and others. Until she was kidnapped by The Devil as he threatens Cuphead to let him take his soul or he keeps the princess hostage. ShadowSilver became emotional and wasn't able to stand up to The Devil. She meets his Henchman and King Dice, who she is close friends with. Her and King Dice became close and enjoyed his entertainment, and she taught him to dance, until they had feelings and were in love. When ShadowSilver was rescued by Cuphead and Mugman, Devil became berserk, until King Dice convinced him that he wouldn't take ShadowSilver's soul as well. Until then, she and King Dice developed a loving relationship as his princess.

Took awhile to write ^^;

Crunchyroll's FreakAngels was good ^^,, and also, I had a bit of a headache earlier.

And again, the game version, but it wouldn't matter to the show and/or game ^^;

What y'all think?

Cuphead ©Chad Moldenhaur, Jared Moldenhaur, and Studio MDHR

The Cuphead Show! ©Sara Jane Sherman, Chad Moldenhaur, Jared Moldenhaur, Studio MDHR, King Features Syndicate and Netflix

ShadowSilver and artwork ©SuperShadowSilver

No copyright infringement is intended

Used: mechanical pencil, Cra-Z-Art colored pencils, and 48 pack colored pencils

[thiswasinevitableid]

for the meet uglies, sternclay 60 sfw? OwO

Here you go!

60 Sterncly SFW. we’re both on a reality show (like the queer bachelor) where we’re told to be friends but the first time we met, you were incredibly rude and judgmental and I don’t know if I can do this for the damn cameras

“So, Barclay, now that we’re a few days in, what’s your impression of the other contestants?”

“They, uh, they all seem like great guys. We come from a lot of different backgrounds, so that’s kind of interesting to be around but, uh, I live in a place that’s like a big, chosen family, so being in a house with a bunch of types of personalities is kinda, uh, homey.”

“There’s no one you think you’ll struggle with?”

“Uh. Well. I, uh, I don’t like Joseph too much. He came in and he’s so, like, phony from all the years in the FBI. It’s like he’s trying to be polite and charming but really he thinks we’re all idiots for being here. Which, like, buddy, last I checked you signed up for this the same as the rest of us.”

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

“Joseph, any worries about the other contestants?”

“No. I mean, we’re competitors on a dating show, not enemies. I think we’re all trying to show Vincent the best versions of ourselves.”

“There’s no one you’ve had conflicts with?”

“........I, um, Barclay and I got into a small argument earlier about the house rules. But I’m sure if we both stick around long enough we’ll come to an understanding.”

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

“Gentlemen, this cannot continue.” Ned, the producer, sits on the couch across from them. Barclay glares at Joseph, but the other man keeps a cool demeanor. Great, he’s making Barclay look like the big, angry mountain even off camera.

“I thought reality shows needed conflict to thrive.” Joseph cocks an eyebrow.

“They do, but about big things, like love and rivalry. Not how to properly load a dishwasher.”

“I’m just trying to be efficient.”

“My way is perfectly fine.” Barclay snaps, “jesus, I worked in kitchens for years, I know how to get clean plates.”

“That doesn’t make it optimal.”

“Do you have to be right about everything?”

“Gentlemen, you recall we have a housekeeping staff, right?”

“It doesn’t matter” Barclay doesn’t take his eyes off Ned, “we’re supposed to all get along, not all try and prove we’re the smartest guy in the room.”

“See, this is your problem, you need everyone to like you, to see you like a big brother, but you’re missing the fact that at least three of them have decided your gentle giant persona is a threat and they’re trying to oust you.”

“It’s not a persona, it’s just how I am. We aren’t all government shams disguised as men.”

Joseph’s facade cracks for a moment, blue eyes trying to light Barclay on fire.

“Enough.” Ned shakes his head, “you may despise each other as much as you please behind the scenes. In front of the cameras, please try to act as if you’re not ten seconds away from coming to blows. Agreed?”

They trade a final, furious look.

“Agreed.”

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

They’re a little over three weeks in; Vincent is still doing lots and lots of short, individual dates between the group outings, so the contestants have ample time to hang around the house and get on each others nerves.

Case in point: Joseph was right when he warned Barclay that others saw him as a threat. Chad, Alex, Nico, and Rich have all decided to go after him. Just this morning he’s been told he’s not man enough for Vincent (he shooed a wolf spider out of the kitchen with a broom instead of squishing it), too girly (he offered to make cupcakes if people wanted), and too big (who'd want to fuck a six foot tall puppy).

His mood is not helped by Joseph chatting away on the couch about his former job with the FBI. Barclay swears it’s all the asshole knows how to talk about. Maybe it’s time for Barclay to play a game of his own.

“Hey, Joseph.”

The other man turns, black hair perfectly slicked back like he thinks he’s some kind of movie star.

“I bet you ten bucks you can’t make it until eight tonight without talking about your job.”

The other contestants in the room snicker, several even giving Barclay a thumbs up.

Joseph adjusts his shirt sleeves, “You’re on.”

Ten hours later, Barclay is forced to get his wallet. The other man never mentioned the FBI once. In fact, he did Barclay an even bigger favor; he didn’t talk at all.

He finds the agent sitting on the back steps leading into the garden. Stays standing as he holds out the cash, “you win fair and square.”

Joseph looks at the money, then looks away, “I did it to show I could, not for the bet.”

“I mean, you didn’t have to go, uh, quite so hard on the silence thing.”

“I didn’t mean to. But, um, every time I was going to open my mouth, I realized it was somehow related to work. So I kept quiet.” He sighs, stretches out his legs. He’s in slacks, because of course he is, “I must have been so tedious to listen to, no wonder I was driving you up the wall.”

“Joseph-”

“I really am married to my career. I guess it’s not surprising my last chance for love is on a T.V show.”

“Hey, I get it.” Barclay sits down next to him, “when I was first working in commercial kitchens my hours were crazy; I barely saw my apartment, my friends, my boyfriend who pretty quickly became my ex. But it was what I needed to do to build the career I wanted for myself. To do what I loved.”

Only the crickets and the distant waves reply. Then, “You said you were a private chef now, right? Along with writing cookbooks?”

“Yeah. Kinda surprised you remembered.”

“Listening is a major skill in my profession. Besides, it’s polite to pay attention to what people tell you.”

“What’s your job now? You only ever talk about the FBI stuff?”

“Paranormal investigation. I never bring it up because people assume I’m out chasing Bigfoot with a shaky-cam or trying to communicate with haunted dolls.”

“So...what is it instead?”

“Helping people figure out they’re homes aren’t haunted or the monster on their property is just some owls. I like the challenge of solving the mystery, and I like helping people feel safe in they’re homes.”

Loud voices form inside; the caterers must have refilled the bar. He doesn’t really want to go in. It’s too nice out here.

“You wanna hear about the restaurant my coworkers swore was haunted?”

Joseph perks up, turning to face him, “Yes, please.”

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

He’d been really looking forward to beach day. Six guys are already gone, and Vincent has taken his fleet of suitors to the sunny San Diego shores. Barclay is dismayed to find all but three of the other guys have waxed their chests. Joseph hasn’t, but his happy trail is nothing compared to fucking black forest on Barclays torso. Nico’s gotten half the guys to call Barclay “bigfoot.”It makes him feel like he’s back in high school P.E freshman year, and his body image is rapidly sliding into that of a shy fourteen year old.

“Barclay!” Joseph comes jogging out of the surf towards the towels they lay down side by side when they arrived, “you should come in, it’s really the perfect weather for swimming.” He drops onto his towel, black hair a bit mussed. The swim-shorts that he thought were blue with green spots turn out to have not dots, but tiny UFOs on them.

“I, uh, I’m good. I, uh, I burn easily and I don’t think anyone wants to rub sunscreen on my hairy back.”

“Hey, Bigfoot, what’s wrong? Scared of what’ll happen if the cameras get a load of your gut?”

Barclay growls, stares at his toes. Joseph tracks Nico as he finishes jogging by. Then he calmly picks up a frisbee, aims a throw, and knocks his snapback off his head. He’s sitting down before the other man can work out who threw it. Barclay chuckles, but doesn’t get up.

“Bigfoot’s my favorite cryptid.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“And who gives a shit if you have a stomach.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re cut.”

Joseph grabs his sunglasses, “because I like that for my body. I happen to like yours just as much. Um I, I mean, it seems like Vincent likes it.” He tips his head towards the Bachelor, who gives them both a long once-over.

“...Will you do my back?”

“Of course, big guy.” The nickname sounds so right on his tongue it makes Barclay want to set his head in his lap and ask him to pet it.

It’s late afternoon when Ned herds them all onto a boat which promptly steers towards some cliffs. Joseph stays close to Barclay, pleasant expression noticeably tightening the closer they get to the rocks.

“I’ve been dreading this. Cliff diving is not something I’d pick to do on my own.”

“Heights?”

He shakes his head, “Deep water. I know it’s not rational, and I even checked to be sure there hadn’t been large shark sightings in the area, but I can never shake the feeling there’s something waiting just out of sight, ready to surge up and eat me.”

They all climb up together, Vincent staying on the boat to watch them jump (this is technically a friendly competition to show off how brave they are). As they’re turns get closer, Barclay sees Joseph doing deep breathing exercises.

They hit the edge. The agent freezes.

“Shit. I don’t think I can do this.”

“C’mon, where’s my daring special agent?”

Joseph still doesn’t move.

“You, uh, you wanna jump together? Maybe the megaladon or whatever will eat me instead.”

“Megalodons are extinct; we’d know if they weren’t, same as we know Whale Sharks aren’t.”

“They you are.” Barclay murmurs, smiling.

Joseph manages a smile back, “On three?”

“Yep. One, two” he grabs Joseph’s hand “three”

The water rises to swallow them with terrifying speed, but nothing is waiting for them except one very startled fish. They surface together, Joseph laughing triumphantly, hair plaster to his head and sun shining in his ocean eyes.

If Vincent doesn’t pick him, he’s out of his mind.

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

“Ohmylord, we have to play this.” Joseph cannot believe his luck; he figured the barcade group date would mean a lot of solo time, but here’s his favorite game in the whole wide world.

“Monster Hunt?” Barclay laughs as he lets himself be lovingly shoved down into the seat of a cut-out Jeep, “very on brand.”

“They had this at the bowling alley near my house. I’d play when my parents had league night but couldn't get a sitter. I never could beat the Mothman level without a player two.”

He doesn’t have that problem tonight, even with Barclay distractingly delighted and handsome in the seat beside him. After that, they make it their mission to find every two-player game in the thrum of flashing colors and tinny music. He finds they both like the Bowser Bourbon Smash, and somewhere around their fourth, heated game of air hockey they each polish of one too many of them to stay upright without the support of a game, a helpful show staff member, or each other.

When they get back to the house (their fellow contestants all in a similar state to themselves) they manage to make it to Joseph’s room before collapsing into a giggling heap on the bed.

“That, hic, that was fun. Games are, hic, fun.” Barclay blinks at him, “what’re you laughing, hic, at.”

“You, you got the hiccups. S’funny because you’re so big, like, like watching a, a pitbull with a, um, a” he makes a squeezing motion that his sober self would recognize as “squeaky toy.”

“M’not big” Barclay pouts, “I, hic, maybe everyone else is, hic, just small. Ever think of th--hic--at.”

“S’not a bad thing.” Joseph shifts so they’re facing each other, “like how big you are. Makes you sexy.”

Barclay blushes, “you’re, hic, one to, to talk. You’re hot, so, hic, so fucking out. Got, got those eyes. That, hic, that face” He touches Joseph’s cheek, “love your face.”

“Love yours too.” Joseph says, stroking his beard. Then they’re moving in inelegant tandem, grabbing at each others shoulders and faces as their mouths find each other. Barclay is so warm, whimpering when Joseph rolls him on top, nipping his lips and pawing at him like a puppy hoping for a treat. Joseph is going to hold him close and let him have it.

A clatter from below, one of the other men knocking something over in the kitchen, breaks the spell.

“Wait, wait” Joseph reluctantly slides his hands of Barclays ass, “we, drunk, we’re drunk, too drunk.”

Barclay blinks down at him, pouting a little even as he groans “fuck, you’re, you’re right. Wanna, gotta remember this. Don’t wanna” he yawns, “regret it.” The instant he flops onto his back Joseph climbs into his arms and falls asleep to the slow rhythm of his breathing.

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

After that night, they agree to be more careful; they’re here for Vincent, to see if one of them is his true love. That’s what the contract they signed says.

“More careful” turns out to mean watching their alcohol intake around each other and only touching platonically (including falling asleep on the couch together. They wake up to cameras recording their nap. Barclay isn’t sure what Joseph threatens Ned with, but the footage never sees the light of day).

But unless they’re on a solo date with Vincent, they’re by each others side. Barclay teaches Joseph dominoes and how to make biscuits. Joseph introduces him to terrible old horror movies that they watch on his laptop and compliments his cooking every chance he gets.

They must be doing something right, because they move to the next round week after week, Vincent clearly enamored with both of them. Barclay certainly understands the feeling. Just not for the person who he’s supposed to.

“Joseph? If, uh, if neither of us win, what are you gonna do after this.”

“Go back to work. Maybe pitch my book about U.S cryptids.” Joseph’s smile goes shy for a moment before recovering, “but I wouldn’t worry, big guy; I think you’re the front runner for sure.”

Barclay knows for a fact that Joseph is a fan favorite and the suitor most people think will win. Which is why, when Vincent selects his final four, he’s not surprised Joseph gets the first rose. Then everyone but Barclay is holding one and Vincent is touching his shoulder.

“Barclay, please don’t take this as a sign I’m not deeply fond of you. This wasn’t an easy choice but I, well, I feel like your heart may not be in this anymore.”

He takes Vincent’s hand and squeezes it, “It’s okay. It was wonderful just to get to know you. All of you.” He looks at the final four, at Joseph’s calm, polite expression. He meets blue eyes as he says, “I hope you find someone who makes you happy.”

With that he turns, all too aware of the cameras tracking his exit, his face, how he’ll have to do a final interview and not reveal that he’ll hate Vincent forever but not blame him in the slightest if he marries Joseph.

“Wait!”

Every eye, lensed or no, turns back to the gazebo. Joseph is at the edge of the steps, poised to run. When he sees Barclay stop, he turns to Vincent.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this.” He hands the bachelor the rose, “I hope you understand.”

There’s no soundtrack on set, but strings swell in his ears all the same as Joseph descends the stairs and leaps into his arms, kissing him so hard he still has stars in his eyes when he opens them.

“It’s not a marriage proposal” Joseph whispers, kissing his cheek, “but I do have a question for you.” He pulls back, all cameras on them but his attention for Barclay alone, “would you like to be my boyfriend, big guy?”

Barclay rests their foreheads together, “Yeah, babe, I really, really would.”

[ashtraythief]

I remember Jensen concocted that plan to steal art from Jared because he said if he just hooked up with him at a club or in some other basic, not life threatening way, Jared would hook up with him and not pursue a relationship. Would that have been true, if they met at a club? Or would Jared have tried to date him after? I want an AU of this but I know you’re working on the end haha

Hi nonnie, sorry for the late reply. First it was work, then it was whatever the last two days were. Anyway.

Ha, yeah, I’m actively stopping myself from thinking about this, because I don’t have time for this :D I think that maybe, if Jensen had played his cards right, if he’d hooked up with Jared casually enough but managed to get enough conversation time to show him who he was, maybe Jared would have been a little bit more intrigued. But I don’t think one night would have been enough to get Jared out of his usual routine. 

Maybe, if Jensen had managed to hang around, tell Jared he’s in town for a while for a longer job, Jared might have gone for the repeat performances because he knew it was a limited time thing with no expectations and Jensen’s mouth was the prettiest Jared ever had. And maybe, if they were hooking up for a few weeks and Jensen casually, grumpily hung around for breakfast while ragging on Jared for being an early riser and he needed his beauty sleep and Jared would just grin and Jensen would slap him and tell him that was his cue to tell Jensen he’s always beautiful and Jared would grin and say fishing for compliments doesn’t suit him and Jensen would huff and leave and Jared would say that he’ll see him at the Nine anyway. Maybe, if Jensen had casually bonded with the dogs, showing Jared his softer side that he usually hid under sharp flirting and sarcastic remarks, and Jared had been a little intrigued. Maybe if he’d gotten up early one morning, earlier than Jared and Jared had come downstairs to find Jensen throwing tennis balls for Harley in the yard or taking a swim in the pool, like he belonged there, like it was completely normal for Jensen to part of Jared’s homelife and when Jensen climbed out of the pool in nothing but his dark boxer briefs (“didn’t want to give your housekeeper a heart attack,” he said with a crooked smile) Jared didn’t think about how he usually didn’t like strangers intruding on his homelife like that, he just thought about getting naked and fucking Jensen in the pool. Maybe Jensen would have blown off Jared once or twice (“I have a job, I’m not one of your usual bed bunnies at your beck and call, asshole”) and Jared would be pissed and intrigued because he knew Jensen wanted him, could see it every time they fucked in the arch of Jensen’s back and the beautiful way he eventually begged for harderfastermore, but Jensen still prioritized his job, was maybe a little harried, a little worried, a little—not scared exactly, but something—and Jared wanted to know, needed to know, but no matter how freely Jensen gave his body, he kept his life hidden from Jared. And Jared shouldn’t care, there was no reason, really, he was just—curious, that was all. And at some point Jensen would have to leave—why was another one of Jensen’s infuriating kryptic answers—and Jared would realize how used he’d gotten to Jensen in such a short time and he’s not even noticing the blond twink making eyes at him until Chad points him out because he’s still kinda brooding over the fact that Jensen is gone and why the fuck is this bothering him so much, he’s just a flashy thief, and okay he’s probably—without a doubt—the most beautiful guy Jared’s ever seen with a mouth made to suck cock, and oh, okay that makes sense, Jared always wanted the best, the flashiest, and he’d never thought there’d be a guy like that, but there Jensen was and so that must be why he couldn’t stop thinking about Jensen, right? Right? Chad isn’t convinced because he knows what thinking with your dick looks like and that ain’t it, so Chad has Aldis look into this Campbell guy, has his people ask around, because he saw the look on Campbell’s face when he left and Chad has a hunch he might come back. And Chad’s hunches are never wrong.

Ahem.

So what I’m saying is that Jensen Ackles seriously underestimated how perfectly matched Jensen Campbell and Jared are, how easy it would be to get into bed with Jared and stay there. That of course stems from the fact that before this whole mess started, Jensen Ackles still thought Jensen Campbell was just a character he played. If he’d realized from the start that there was much more Campbell in him than he thought, maybe he wouldn’t have underestimated his pull on Jared so much. But under no circumstances am I writing an AU for that, so there.

Thanks so much for your ask, nonnie <3

[nicksreggies]

@jorian-is-my-new-obsession asked for “nick is reggie’s neighbor and is very confused as to why he’s playing his bass in the rain” from this list

tagging: @i4akane @pamesjatterson @sylphrenas @confused-theatre-puppy

anyways

Reggie wouldn’t pick up the phone.

Nick sighed as the call went to a voicemail again, glancing out of his window and trying to make out any shapes in the thundering rain.

Tire tracks graced the pavement of the street, left by Mr. Peters, who had sped out of his driveway, wheels on his car spinning, twenty minutes earlier.

The grass of the shared space between their yards was already flat and muddy, worn from countless run-overs.

Arguments were not a new experience in the Peters household.

Pacing the length of his room, Nick dialed Reggie’s number.

The sound of a dial tone filled his ear.

The blond marched downstairs and yanked a black raincoat off of a hook by the front door, pulling the hood over his head and slipping on a pair of old sneakers.

He left through the back door, wincing when his foot landed in a mud puddle and soaking his sock with squishy, cold liquid.

The space between the Peters and Danforth-Evans homes were small, but between a raging storm and the slippery lock on the gate (Nick’s father had insisted they installed it), it felt like it took Nick two hours to reach Reggie’s front door.

Nick gazed through the nearby window, fogged up from the rain, taking note of Mrs. Peters, asleep on the living room couch, empty cups stacked on the coffee table nearby and a bottle of whiskey uncapped in her hand.

Splinters of a painting laid in the hallway, an empty space on the eggshell white wall where a family portrait used to hang.

This was a bad one.

Nick’s hand drifted toward the doorknob. Perhaps Mr. Peters had left the door open in his haste to leave, and he could sneak upstairs to Reggie’s room, to check if he had barricaded himself in his bedroom.

He grasped at the metal, but before the lock could click a stream of pounding, loud bass music came bursting from the garage.

The first thing that ran through Nick’s mind when he saw him was that Reggie was going to get hypothermia.

Or an electric shock.

Either worked.

“Oh, hey, Nick.” The bassist greeted, his voice nearly drowned out by the rain.

“Don’t hey Nick me,” Nick took note of the amp, its extension cord stretching the length of the driveway, before marching over and pulling it out of the socket. “You promised you would come over if it got too bad.”

Reggie’s protests were muffled by the water, still pounding down in sheets around them as Nick reemerged from the (now quiet) garage.

“I didn’t want to bother you?” The sentence came out like a question and Nick rolled his eyes at the brunette.

He took the bass from Reggie’s outstretched palms, their fingers brushing together, warmth flowing between them before Nick dropped his arm, not missing the blush on the other’s cheeks as he turned and slipped the guitar onto its stand.

“Reg, that would never bother me. Your safety comes first, remember? That’s what we agreed on.”

It had been a quiet and rainy November night (not unlike the one they were enduring right now) when Reggie’s parents had argued for the first time, doors slamming and yells ripping from throats. 

In the dead of night, a sobbing Reggie had appeared at Nick’s front door and asked if he could sleep there, his face pale and a bag tossed over one shoulder.

Ryan and Chad, Nick’s fathers, had been quick to accept, ushering the boy into their home and into dry clothes.

Neither Nick nor his guest got any sleep that night, instead watching Captain America until the sun rose on the living room couch.

They must have downed ten bags of microwavable popcorn.

“You’ll come over if you feel unsafe again, please?” Nick asked when it was time for Reggie to leave.

Reggie promised he would.

“I know, I know.” The present-day Reggie carded his fingers through his soaked hair, following Nick to the warmth of the Danforth-Evans garage and accepting the baby blue towel his neighbor produced from a cabinet.

Nick, a towel of his own slung around his shoulders, kicked off his muddy sneakers and waited for Reggie to do the same to his boots. 

Neither of them said anything for a moment, hovering in the mudroom until Nick spoke up. “Do you...want to talk about it-”

“No, not really.”

“Okay.” Silence. “Wanna watch The First Avenger instead?”

“I would love to.”

Ten minutes later, the boys were lying on the couch while Captain America played in the background, laughing and clutching at their sides, (“Look at that twerp! He’s such a shrimp though.””Yeah, until he turns hot.””Turns hot?! NICK!”) .

Nick still didn’t know what had happened earlier that morning, and he wasn’t planning on bugging Reggie about it. Not until he was ready.

But for the time being, all he needed was this.

This was perfect.

[wiypt-writes]

Riding On

Ch4: Full Steeb Ahead

Summary: Frank is determined to get Fliss to hear him out. But will she believe him?

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 3

People talk about the guy that’s waiting on a girl. There are no holes in his shoes but a big hole in his world.

 Frank woke early the next morning, well, maybe woke was an exaggeration seeing as he probably managed about an hour of straight sleep, if that. The rest was spent in small dozing periods of twenty, maybe thirty minutes at a time.  His neck was stiff from laying on the couch, as was his back and, deciding he would give up trying to get comfortable,  he sat up, stretching his muscles out before he ran a hand down his tired face.

It was still dark outside and he reached for his phone. It had just gone six, which meant he had an hour or so before the house started to wake. Standing up, he grabbed the shirt he had discarded the night before and shoving it on he located his sneakers. Once they were on his feet he grabbed his keys and as quietly as he could let himself out of the house, locking the door behind him as he headed down the little pathway which led to the main one through their little estate.

He walked down past the harbour and the little garages which were starting to open, nodding to a few of the guys he used to see knocking around when he had worked there, continuing past the little row of bait and tackle shops, past the small café, before he reached the path that led along the rocky sea defence. He followed the sandy pathway down to the boardwalk along the beach and continued for as long as he could, his feet treading over the well-worn wooden slats, some of which were loose in places, before it ended and he hit the soft sand. He headed onto the beach, it was almost deserted apart from a few early morning dog walkers, which suited him fine.

The ocean always calmed him. He had no idea why, but it had done ever since he was a kid. He’d adored those family holidays taken before it all went to rat shit, memories of him, his father and his sister playing on the sand whilst his mother read a book shaded by a parasol, every so often looking up to observe what was going on before returning back to whatever latest theory she was reading up on.  And then at night, they would eat with a family, late walks on the beach were always a treat, watching the dark water as it lapped against the shore, his dad making up random tales about Peg Legged Pirates searching for treasure which was always buried not far from where they were stood.

He’d done the same with Mary, telling her the same tales he could remember and making up new ones when he couldn’t. She didn’t buy them anymore, she was far too old for her age, but he couldn’t wait to tell them to Bean when he or she arrived, see their little face light up as they glanced over the ocean searching for ghostly ships or dug in the sand for imaginary treasure.

He reached the water’s edge and looked out at the horizon for a few minutes taking in the detail of the sky which was lit up in hues of purple and orange as the sun hovered a few meters or so above the place where the sea hit the sky and he took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind. He was in a mess, a mess that was entirely his own doing, and he felt utterly powerless to fix it. If he couldn’t get Fliss to listen to him…well, he didn’t even want to think about that. But the more he tried not to, the more he did. He couldn’t lose her, not over some stupid misunderstanding like this. Pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ease the tension headache that was already forming behind his eyes, not helped by the lack of sleep, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to re-centre himself. He finally had everything he hadn't even realised he needed and losing it was not an option. He had to fix this. With one last deep breath he turned to take the 15 minutes or so walk back home.

The house was still quiet when he got back in but he could hear the sounds of the shower meaning Fliss was up. He headed into the bedroom, Thor raising his head from where he was led on the bed, and he bent over to give the dog a scratch behind the ear. He pulled out a clean pair of jeans, a T-shirt and a pair of boxers, tossing them down on the pale blue bed covers, his head turning to face Fliss as she walked into the room, towel wrapped around her, hair piled in a messy bun on her head. His heart gave an instant pang as he took in how tired she looked, the guilt flooding over him as he knew it was his fault.

“Where did you go?” She asked him, her voice soft. “I heard the door.”

“For a walk, just to the beach. Needed some air.”

She looked at him for a moment before she nodded and moved to the dresser to pull out her clothes for the day.

“Can we talk?” He asked her tentatively and she stopped, straightening up before she looked at him.

“I told you last night, I’ve nothing to say.”

“No, but I have.” He pressed, “Lissy please…just hear me out, let me explain.”

She licked her lips and took a deep breath before she sighed “Fine, when Mary’s gone to school. But I have clients at nine and I need to pick Rupert up so I’m leaving here at eight-fifteen no later.”

“Ok.” He nodded, giving her a small smile before he headed into the bathroom for a shower.

Breakfast was a little subdued, but he had to give Fliss her credit. She was polite and civil to him, even if she wasn’t affectionate. But it didn’t fool Mary. She asked him as he walked her down to the bus stop what was going on, and not being one to lie to her, he told her truthfully that he’d been an idiot over the weekend and needed to apologise to Fliss. At that she shot him a filthy look.

“You better fix things or I will kill you and hate you forever.” She hissed before she turned and stormed towards the waiting bus.

You and me both, Short Stack.

When he got back Fliss was waiting for him like she said she would be, sat at the table. She looked at him as he sat on the seat at the end, so he was to her right and facing her. She glanced at her watch “You got 15 minutes.” “Lissy, those photos…” Frank dove straight in, he had no time to waste and even if he did, he didn’t want to. This was eating him up inside “I know they look bad…”

“No shit, Sherlock…”

“But I swear to you, nothing happened.”

“Nothing happened.” She repeated, looking at him and he shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Then how the fuck did she end up on your knee, Frank?”

He took a deep breath “In all honestly I only know from what Simon and Greg told me.” He swallowed. “I was drunk, I’d already pushed her away earlier in the night and she came over with her friends, one of them was getting into one of the guys Jake works with and she just sat on my knee. Apparently it took me a while to realise but in the end I told her to get lost. I was quite rude to her, so they say.”

“You look fairly comfortable with her on your lap in the photo.” Fliss responded, looking down at her hand as she twirled her engagement ring round her finger, her voice quiet. The hurt in her tone made Frank feel even more like shit, as she wasn’t screaming or shouting which to be honest he was fairly sure he would have dealt with a whole lot better. “And in the other photo where you look like you’re about to kiss her.”

“Baby, I swear to you seconds after that I told her no. I’d just bumped into her and she was falling so I grabbed her to make sure she didn’t as that was the second time I’d nearly kno-“

“The second time?” Fliss looked at him and Frank closed his eyes, letting out a groan. “So you accidently nearly kissed her before.”

“No, that’s not-“ “Keep digging Frank, because that hole you’re in is getting deeper and deeper by the second.” she shook her head, looking away.

“I nearly knocked her over before.” he said, “Round the pool. I’d just finished talking to you, turned round and bumped straight into her.” “Right, and she just happened to be there in the club then after you ‘bumped’…” she framed the words with her fingers “…into her?”

“Again, full honestly, no, I don’t think she did.” He shook his head. “She was flirty with me. Made some comment or other when I said I’d watch where I was going about how she hoped not, and then we saw them on the Friday night too in one of the bars…”

Fliss looked at him and shook her head. “The irresistible Adler charm eh?” Her voice carried a note of sarcasm, and Frank shook his head.

“Honey, I’m just being honest here, telling you the truth. She was with a group on a 21st and I think they just saw a gang of guys and…” He shrugged “I dunno…they screwed Aaron, Chad and Jeff out of plenty of drinks so...” Fliss licked her lips and looked down, her hands fiddling with the now empty glass in her hands.

“Sweetheart, I get why you’re mad, I really do, and yeah, maybe I should have told her to fuck off sooner…”

“Maybe?” “Alright, not maybe, I should have but…I swear to God I didn’t kiss her, I didn’t sleep with her. Nothing happened.” He reached for her hand, his fingers gently squeezing hers “I love you, more than I can even begin to explain, and our Bean. I’d never do that to you, I don’t need anyone else and I certainly don’t want anyone else.”

She looked at him, then down at his hand which was over hers before she took a deep breath. Her head was a mash. Half of her wanted to believe him, his face and his words were so sincere and he’d never lied to her before, ever. But the other half…those damned photos. And either way, whether he had kissed her or not, he had been far too close, and she’d sat on his fucking knee long enough for someone to get a picture.

“You do believe me, right?” Frank asked, his eyes locking onto hers.

“Honestly?” she asked.

“Always.” He nodded.

“I don’t know what to believe…” she pulled her hand away and stood up, “I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

*****

“Hey Titch.” Steve greeted Fliss as she walked into the annex and instantly frowned when he saw her face “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She shrugged, not wanting to talk about what was happening anymore. She was tired. “Where’s Roo?”

“He’s out back.” Steve frowned “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit nothing.” He shot back, looking at her. She looked away as the tears filled her eyes and she turned to her brother shaking her head.

“Just Frank…and…”

“What’s he done?” Steve asked

“I don’t know.” Fliss said, her tears trickling down her face. “That’s just it…”

Steve put the coffee mug he was holding down on the side and swept his sister into his arms. “Hey, come on…”

She pressed her face into his grey t-shirt as his arms wrapped around her and she simply cried the tears she’d been holding back all morning. Eventually Steve pulled back and looked down at her, letting out a soft sigh. “What’s going on Lissy?”

She moved to take out her phone and wordlessly scrolled to the offending photos which she had saved and handed the phone to him. “There’s another one…” she said, as she saw her brother’s face darken. Steve swiped across and let out a huff through his nose.

“Okay.” he nodded “They don’t look great. What’s he got to say for himself?”

Fliss swallowed “That he was drunk, and moments after the first one he pushed the girl away and on the second one…well, he says he told her to get lost too but…” “But you don’t believe him?”

“I want to believe him.” Fliss sniffed, “I mean he’s never lied to be before, but then then there’s the message he sent me about being in someone else’s room and…”

“Hang on…someone else’s room?”

Fliss nodded and explained the whole mix up, about how he had been with Simon but even that she was having her doubts about now and Steve listened, his hand running over his beard as he took in her words.

“Have you talked to any of the other guys that were there?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Bonnie tried calling me before but, well to be honest they’re all gonna cover for him, even if he did do it aren’t they? I mean fuck…, seeing those damned photos…it was humiliating and…”

Steve sighed, handing her the phone back. “Look, Lissy, I’ve been in this position before. Some woman all over me and Sian getting the hump. Photos are a snap shot in time, they never tell the whole story…you know that as well as anyone.”

“Yeah, but the same girl is there, on his fucking lap Steve…”

“I know, and yes, regardless of what he did he shouldn’t have let that happen but…fucking hell, he was in Vegas, pissed out of his brains.” Steve sighed “I’m not excusing it, before you start, and I’m not dismissing your worry but…I dunno Liss, just don’t jump to any conclusions ok? Give it some thought.” “I can’t think about anything else.” she murmured. “God you’re just like dad.” Steve chuckled “Could be worse people to be like. Look, go to work, get your thoughts straight and if you’re adamant at the end of the day you still don’t believe him then just come here for the night and we’ll take it from there ok?”

Fliss nodded and wiped at her face “Thanks Steve.” “What are big brother’s for huh?” She smiled and then eyed him a little “You’re not gonna do anything stupid are you?” “Define stupid?” “Like go round there and punch him?” Steve shook his head “I promise, no punching.” Satisfied he was telling her the truth she whistled for both dogs who came trotting over, bid her brother goodbye and headed out to her jeep.

****** With nothing else much to do on his day off, Frank was busy scrolling the internet looking at realtor pages. Whilst things were still up in the air, it was helping him focus on being positive, because being anything else was not an option. So far nothing in particular had grabbed his eye but still, it was keeping him occupied as he tried to push the fear he was harbouring to the back of his mind.

He was pulled from his browsing by a knock to the door. Setting the laptop to one side he stood up and headed down the hallway and no sooner had he opened the door someone had gripped the collar of his shirt and shoved him harshly into the wall. It took him a split second to focus and when he realised who it was he gripped the front of them man’s shirt and pushed back. There was a little scuffle in the hallway until Frank managed to free himself from the man’s grip before he stood there, glaring at him, chest heaving.

“Fuck off Steve…” he glared at him.

“I warned you.” Steve looked at him “I told you what would happen if you hurt her Frank…”

“Yes, I remember what you said.” Frank looked at him, shaking his head.

“And yet you still did it…” “Oh get fucked, this has nothing to do with you…” “Piss off Frank, it has everything to do with me.” Steve snarled “She turned up this morning for the dog in a right state. And she showed me the photos.”

Frank sighed and hung his head. He should have expected this.

“I told her not to jump to conclusions, trying to keep her calm but I gotta admit Frank…they look pretty damning.”

“I’m aware of that, thanks.” Frank bit back “And you know what, I don’t need this. Things are enough of a mess as it is without adding a brawl with you into the equation.” he turned back to head into the living room “Close the door on your way out.”

“Look me in the eye, tell me you didn’t…” Steve said to his back and Frank stopped, shaking his head as he turned to face him.

“Of course I didn’t. I’d never do that to her.”

Frank met Steve’s glare with one of his own and he could practically see the man’s mind whirring. Eventually he took a deep breath and jerked his head in a stiff nod.

“I had to know Frank.” he said, his tone less confrontational, and Frank knew Steve well enough to understand that was as much of an apology as he was going to get. Frank didn’t say anything, simply turned away once more and headed into the lounge.

“So what happened?” Steve asked following him.

“I was shit faced, that’s what happened.” Frank sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. He turned to look at Steve once more “The girl was part of a group that we’d bumped into a few times. She was a little flirty and yeah, I talked to her, but… she was a fucking kid they were there on a 21st party.”

Steve arched an eyebrow slightly as Frank pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“She tried kissing me in the bar, I pushed her away. I don’t even know how she ended upon my lap but I told her to get lost and…” he shrugged and looked at Steve “There’s nothing more to it…”

“And the morning after when you woke up elsewhere?”

Frank let out a groan “I was in Simon’s room. I passed out…we both did. Liss called me that morning, she even heard Simon on the phone.” Steve watched him carefully as Frank simply shook his head “I’ve explained all this to her…”

“I know.” Steve said “I just wanted to hear it for myself.” He took a deep breath “Any coffee going?”

Frank looked at him and Steve gave him a small smile, causing Frank’s spirit to lift somewhat. Her brother believed him, which was the best thing he could have hoped for in the circumstances.

“Sure.” Frank nodded and headed to the kitchen, Steve following. He made them both a drink, not another word spoken until he handed him a mug and Steve took a sip, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Look, Frank, I don’t think she believes you cheated, not really. From what she said to me I think she’s more upset really about how she found out.”

“She wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for those damned photos because there is nothing to find out.” Frank shook his head.

“When she told you about John…did she ever mention his little photo stunts?” Steve looked at Frank and Frank paused, frowning a little as he racked his brains, and then a conversation one stormy night as they lay in bed suddenly flashed into his mind.

“He used to go out and deliberately let women paw at him, and instead of hiding any photo evidence he used to simply flaunt it, splash it all over Facebook. That’s why I de-activated all my social media until recently…”

“Fuck.” Frank groaned, shaking his head.

“Manipulation.” Steve’s jaw set. “He would never do anything with the girls but he made Lissy think he had and would then accuse her of being jealous, and paranoid. It was his twisted of getting her to come off social media, another way to isolate her, keep her in line.”

“She doesn’t think that’s what I was doing?” Frank looked at Steve, a horrified expression on his face.

“God, no.” Steve shook his head, “She knows you’re not that man…but Frank, as happy and as safe as she is, those scars are gonna be there for a long time.” “I know.” “And I know that the fact that ass hole could still be casting a shadow over everything you have, especially now he’s well out of the picture, is basically really shit, but…” “I should have remembered.” Frank shook his head. “But, well, to be honest I’ve never had to explain myself like that to any girl, let alone the one I want to spend my life with and I was so caught up in getting her to believe me, I didn’t even consider any of that. Looks like I just fucked things up even more.”

“She’ll come round.” Steve looked at him. “Just give her time.” “I hope you’re right.” Frank shrugged “Because if she doesn’t I’ll never forgive myself.”

****

Fliss groaned as she looked at the caller ID on her phone. It was Bonnie again.

“Fucks sake…” She grumbled, before answering, deciding to get it over and done with.

“Finally!” Bonnie said, “I’ve been so worried about you…”

“Look, Bonnie I’m really busy…”

“Just 5 minutes…hear me out, please.”

“If you’re gonna start pleading Frank’s case…”

“There’s no case to plead. Simon told me everything last night, apparently about 30 seconds after she’d perched on his knee Frank suddenly realised what was going on and told her to fuck off.” “Well he would say that, he’s his friend…”

“Oh come on Fliss…” Bonnie made an exasperated noise “First off I can tell when Simon is lying, and he wasn’t, and second off, do you really think Frank would cheat on you?”

“I’m sick of everyone telling me what I should and shouldn’t think.” Fliss practically snarled “I don’t have time for this.”

She cut the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket, her hand gently sliding over her bump.

“You know, people are only trying to help Titch.”

Fliss spun round to see her brother in the doorway to the office and she let out a groan “I thought you were over to do work…” “My meetings start tomorrow.”

“Right, well, go and find something else to do. I’m busy.”

“Don’t get shitty with me…” Steve frowned.

“Steve just fuck off!” Fliss exploded “I can’t deal with…” she stopped and shook her head “Why can’t everyone just leave me alone.” “Because they’re trying to help.” He repeated his earlier sentiment and Fliss blinked back her tears.

“Well they’re not.” she sniffed

“Titch…look at me.” Steve said gently and she raised her head to meet her brother’s eyes, her own watering with tears.  “Do you hand on heart believe he would cheat on you…seriously?”

“I didn’t.”

“So why do you now?”

“I don’t know if I do, it’s just those photos and…” “Fuck the photos.” Steve said, his voice a little sterner. Fliss swallowed as she looked at her brother, as he continued. “Do you truly think Frank is the type of man who would, after everything you two went through, jump into bed with some tramp in Vegas whilst this pregnant fiancée is at home, looking after his niece?”

Fliss looked down at the floor, her tears falling down her cheeks.

“Because I don’t, Liss.” Steve continued “Especially not now he looked me in the eye and said he hasn’t.”

At that her head jerked up and she frowned. “You went round?”

“Yeah.”

“Steve you promised not to!”

“No, I promised not to punch him. And I didn’t.” he shrugged, not a shred of apology in his tone. “I talked to him, asked him straight to explain to my face.”

“And you believe him?”

“Yeah I do believe him, completely. I think he was drunk, and at worst potentially indulged the girl a little over the days they were there, which, ok, he shouldn’t have done but at worst he’s guilty of nothing but allowing some 21 year old kid to flirt with him a little.  And if that’s a crime then, fuck, you better shoot me along with half the population now.”

Liss looked away, her brother’s words ringing in her head. Truth was they hit home. She had always been a flirty person by nature, it was just the way she was…well, had been until John beat it out of her. But Frank, well, Frank had never bothered about her talking to other men before because he knew she was his…

“Is this really about him, or is this all to do with that fucker again?” Steve asked.

Fliss gave a snort and looked up at Steve. “Can you read minds?”

“No, you just get this look on your face whenever you think about him.”

She stayed silent.

“Frank isn’t John” Steve spoke gently.

“I know that Steve…”

“So stop comparing the two.”

“I’m not.”

“Ok, really? So tell me honestly when you saw those photos your mind didn’t go to his party trick of being photographed with every girl he could manage to on a night out to rub your nose in it, whether he cheated or not?”

“I know that’s not what Frank was doing.” she shook her head. And she did, truly. Frank would never manipulate her like that but she would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it, and how shit it made her feel “I just…”

“You’re waiting for something to come along and fuck everything up for you.” Steve said, looking at her.  “Which I get, I really do Titch because of everything you’ve been through but you need to stop looking over your shoulder and worrying about what you think is gonna happen, and simply look at what is, because if you don’t then eventually you’re just going to fuck it all up for yourself.”

Fliss turned away from her brother, his words cutting her to the core. He was right. She was, whether consciously or not, constantly wondering when her happiness was going to shatter around her because all she had ever known in a relationship was pain and anger. Some days she would wake before Frank and lie there, watching his face as he slept, committing every single detail right down to those freckles that spattered his nose and cheek, unable to believe how lucky she was. Engaged to a man who asked her to marry him because he loved her and didn’t merely want to possess her. She had a home, not a house, a surrogate daughter in Mary, days filled with laugher and happiness, and a baby on the way. It was a dream for most people, including her and she was perpetually scared one day someone or something would take it all from her. Just as they always had before.

“You know, Frank told me that he’s never had to explain himself to a girl before…” Steve gave took a deep breath “He’s now petrified that being honest with you has just made things worse. Doesn’t that tell you something?” Fliss looked at her brother, taking in his words. This was all unchartered territory for Frank too. What they were building together was new. He wanted it and more importantly he wanted it with her. As that realisation washed over her so did another one, the understanding that he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise what they have. 

“Look, what the pair of you have is special. Don’t let something as stupid as this ruin it all because you both deserve better than that.”

The tears in Fliss’ eyes began to spill down her cheeks and Steve sighed, pulling her to his chest, gently rocking her to and fro, simply allowing her to cry.

****

When Fliss got home Frank wasn’t there, but there was a Pandora Gift Bag sat on the coffee table. Curiosity got the better of her and she undid the bag, opening the box inside. It was a small stroller charm and she swallowed, placing the box back in the bag. She heard the door open and turned as Frank appeared in the doorway.

“Before you ask…” Frank nodded at the bag in her hand “I didn’t buy you that as a sweetener. I got that in Vegas before any of this kicked off. It’s not supposed to be a bribe.”

“I didn’t…” she shook her head, placing it back on the table “That wasn’t what I thought.”

He gave her a nod and she studied him for a second, before Mary bounced into the room.

“Hey!” Fliss smiled at her, “You had a good day.”

“Yeah, it was okay” Mary nodded “They were all doing math today but I did some of my uni work whilst they did the times tables. Have you and Frank made up yet?”

Liss hesitated and Frank gently dropped his hand to the back of Mary’s head.

“We talked, and we still need to talk some more. Any chance you can give us some space?”

She eyed him for a moment before she shrugged “I got homework, I’ll be in my room.”

“Thanks Stack.” he smiled and she turned and headed back out of the room. Once she was out of ear shot Frank turned to Fliss.

“So I had a visit from Steve.”

“I’m sorry I told him not to.”

“He was just being a big brother.” Frank shook his head “But I’m not gonna lie, he scared the shit out of me.” “Well he came to the yard after, fighting your corner. As Bonnie has been.”

“Honey, I didn’t ask them to.”

“I know.” There was a moment of silence before she sighed. “Frank, I’m sorry…”

“Liss…”

“Let me finish, please.” She shook her head and Frank fell silent, his hands falling into the pockets of his jeans. “If I’m honest I don’t think I ever thought you’d really cheated, I guess, well I guess I saw the photos and…” she trailed off, shrugging “I’m sorry for not believing you, but I’m still pissed at you for getting yourself in that position in the first place.”

Frank hesitated for a second. He was about to protest that he was just drunk, point out that he hadn’t meant to get himself in any position at all,  but then he stopped himself. She was angry and hormonal, and he’d rather have her pissed at him for being an idiot than believing he was unfaithful.

So instead he nodded “Ok that’s fair. I get it. And I’m sorry.”

She looked at him for a moment and he stepped forward to give her a hug but she simply moved back a little and gave him a small smile “I’ll start dinner.”

“Sure…” his voice was quiet. He wanted nothing than to hold her in his arms, run his hand over the place his baby was growing, her bump seemingly even bigger than it had been that morning but he also didn’t want to push it. She hadn’t left, she believed him, but she was pissed. However, Frank knew she would get over that in time…which he understood he had to give her, and respect the boundaries she set too. So, with that in mind he took a deep breath and followed her into the kitchen.

“Do you want me to help or…”

“No, it’s only stir fry.” She shook her head. “Did you already feed Mary or…”

He frowned and looked at her, and then realised what she was referring to. They hadn’t been home when she arrived.

“Oh, no…I picked her up and then ran my suit into the dry cleaners.” He said “It had something all over the front of it. God knows what.”

She nodded. “Okay, well it won’t be too long.”

“I’ll set the table then.” he nodded. He moved around, careful not to step into her space as he gathered the various items around and carrying them into the dining room. Once he had completed that he headed out telling Fliss he was going to wash up and tell Mary to do the same.

Fliss acknowledged him and continued with cooking, when suddenly she felt a really strange sensation in her stomach. It was like a fluttering, almost as if she had bubbles inside her belly, and then she realised instantly what it was.

Their baby had moved. And she’d just felt it for the first time.

Pausing what she was doing her hand fell to her bump as the tiny little sensations flooded her and she felt a smile creeping over her face.

“Hey Bean.” She whispered, softly.

At that point Frank came back into the room and saw her, her hand on her bump, stood perfectly still, looking down at her belly and he frowned.

“Lissy?” He looked at her as she raised her head to look at him “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, I just felt Bean move!” she smiled, her eyes bright and Frank let out a grin.

“Really?” he stepped forward, his hand out but he paused. Fliss looked at him and he locked eyes with her. Fliss understood instantly, he was waiting for her to say it ok after she told him last night not to touch her.

He was asking her permission.

Instantly her heart melted towards him, she loved this man, with everything she had. And he loved her. She gently took his hand and pulled on it softly, and he closed the distance as she pressed his palm to her stomach, leaving her hand resting over his. 

“I doubt you’ll feel it…it was just like bubbles, not really a kick or anything.” She said as he looked down before he raised his eyes back to her “But they can hear you now though, according to Mary’s extensive research.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. Frank took a deep breath and knelt down, both his hands resting on the side of her belly as he grinned “Hey kid. You cooking well?”

Fliss felt the flutters again, a little stronger this time and she smiled, her hand running into Frank’s hair “They just did it again. They clearly know your voice, daddy.”

He glanced up at her, his eyes watering “I love you both so much.”

“I know.” She sniffed. “I love you too.”

Frank stood up, his hands sliding up Fliss’ thighs to her hips and as he did, hers fell from his hair to his shoulders. They both stayed still, simply looking at one another till Frank leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss.

“This doesn’t mean I’ve completely forgiven you.” She muttered against his mouth and he smiled.

“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting it did.” He shrugged “But is it at least enough to get me off the couch? My back is killing me.”

“You wanna compare back ache?” She arched an eyebrow.

“No, no, not at all, obviously yours is far worse than mine could possibly be…”

Fliss narrowed her eyes. “Is that sarcasm?”

“Absolutely not.” He told her sincerely, shaking his head. His eyes, however, told her a different story. Those azure blues she knew and loved shone with humour, utterly betraying him.

“Hmmm, well I’ll think about it.” Her hands moving to pat his chest. “Now get lost, I need to finish dinner.”

Frank turned away, a smile on his face. As he always told Mary, an I’ll think about it wasn’t a no.

**** Chapter 5

[rosyredlipstick]

guess who watched high school musical 2 and got caught up in the ryan/chad of it all: a conchell AU

this is pure 100% cheese. thats ur warning. also unbeta-ed.

Spending the entire summer at their mother’s golf resort had sounded like a dream for exactly 3 seconds, until Mitchell remembered the…. Everything about his siblings. 

When he wasn’t pulling Sebastian away from flirting with all their guests and the entire staff, he was lecturing Scarlett and Drew about taking advantage of the concierge service, making sure Stefan and Valentina weren’t spending too much time in the sun and were definitely drinking virgin cocktails, reigning in Lacey and Sophia’s pranks, and making sure Sabrina was happy in her first summer enrolled in the youth program. Oh, and he was choreographing a major number for the end of summer talent show. So. Full plate. 

Still, it was nice he had convinced Will to come along for the summer. While he was one of Mitchell’s official guests, he had quickly befriended the entire young staff in the kitchens and by the poolside. More than often, when they were on their walks around the resort, Will would no doubt be called out to or greeted by grinning teens in red and white polos. 

Mitchell, used to his friend’s sunflower attraction toward attention, smiled knowingly and let it happen without a complaint. At least Will was enjoying himself--he’d been way too stressed about his pre-med program the last few months and, with Mitchell spending most of his time at the resort trying to rein in his power-drunk sibling, he was glad his friend wasn’t spending the summer alone at the poolside. 

Of course, with all his new acquaintances, that also meant that Will’s tendency to interfere with Mitchell’s personal relationships appeared. 

“I’m telling you, you need to hang out with friends more, you’ve been busy all summer!” Will was smiling brightly. “This is the perfect opportunity!” 

“Yes, the perfect opportunity to intrude on a social gathering!” Mitchell protested, “It’ll be weird if I go. You should just go and have fun, don’t worry about me.” Mitchell sighed, “I don’t want them to be uncomfortable! This is their down time, I don’t want to ruin it by being the boss’s kid.” 

Will rolled his eyes, “It’s a baseball game, Mitchell.” 

Mitchell shook his head, final. “Sorry. But I don’t think so. Text me afterward, okay? We can grab ice cream.” Will said nothing. He peeked a look back to the other boy, “Unless there’s something else?” 

Will sighed and looked off to the side as his cheeks colored. “Okay, listen, of course I really want you there because you’re my best friend and everything but also -” 

“There’s a guy.” Mitchell guessed, bored. Will found the love of his life at least once a week. “Who is he?”

Will didn’t even put up a fight. “I’m not sure if you know him. He works in the coffee shop? Pale, dark hair, sharpest cheekbones I’ve ever seen?”

Mitchell thought for a second, “Nico?” He guessed. Nico, for the past few months, has consistently served him the best caramel macchiato he’d ever had every morning. Mitchell dreamt about that drink, on especially good nights.  

Will melted into a dreamy mess. “Yeah. Nico.” 

Mitchell blew a puff of hair up into the hair around his face, “I mean…” He grimaced, “If you need a wingman or something -”

“Yes!” Will was already celebrating, “Thank the gods, thank you! I mean, I think you’ll enjoy yourself at the game and everyone’s really cool, but yes! Okay, if you could just like, set up a really good opportunity for me and Nico to be together like, alone, I’d so appreciate it -” 

Will continued to ramble about the perfect situation Mitchell could set up, including the ideal mood lighting, when Mitchell interrupted him.

"Is Percy okay?" Percy had just rushed by, looking upset, and hopped in his mother’s car without a word to either of them--odd, as he usually offered at least a hey guys! If not a full on conversation that left Mitchell feeling like a better person for having it. It was kind of his thing. 

"Oh, he's in turmoil because he feels like he has to choose between swimming or singing with Annabeth at the talent show and he doesn’t know which to choose." 

“Oh.” 

Will wrinkled his nose, “Yeah, he’s kinda got his own thing going on right now. I saw him dancing by himself in the golf course earlier, but I thought I’d just give him some space.”

“Smart,” Mitchell commented, growing a bit uneasy as they approached the field. There was a crowd already assembled there with a smaller circle throwing a baseball back and forth. As they approached, a few people called out to Will in excitement but it wasn’t until they were faced with a smaller inner group of people that Mitchell was addressed. 

A tall, smirking guy with wild curls was the first to greet him, lightly tossing a baseball into his own mit as he spoke. “Brought a friend, Will?” 

Will smiled brightly. “Yeah! This is Mitchell.”

“Trust me, I know who Mitchell is.” His humor-filled gaze flickered to Mitchell himself. “Nice to finally meet you.” 

Mitchell’s cheeks heated. “You know me?” 

Travis let out a small disbelieving laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Travis elbowed the guy at his side, who shared similar curls and features. “And this is my brother, Connor.” 

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” Mitchell held out his hand with a smile. “I’m Mitchell. You’re on the staff, here?” 

Despite the incredibly stupid question Mitchell just asked considering Connor’s bright red LIFEGUARD tank top he still wore, Connor was kind enough to nod along with Mitchell’s obvious question, his eyes wide. Mitchell’s hand, still extended out to him, wobbled in the air. 

He was a second away from dropping his arm and shaking it off completely when Connor seemed to realize that he was waiting for a handshake in the first place and nearly dived for it. In his haste, he almost completely tripped over himself and onto Mitchell. 

“Oh, well,” Mitchell caught him before he could take them both down on the dirt field. “Are you okay? Is it too hot or something?” Connor’s face was strangely pale compared to his brother’s, despite the mid-afternoon summer sun. Mitchell resisted the urge to reach out and touch his skin for sun stroke. 

“So hot,” Connor whispered, in his arms. Mitchell stared down at him in concern.

A girl--Katie, maybe--came up beside him and physically took Connor out of his arms, a tight smile on her lips. “This is nothing, he’s just dehydrated.”

“More like thirsty.” A girl across from them muttered.

Katie continued on like no one said anything. “Let’s get some water in you, dude.” 

Will was smiling on like this interaction was completely normal. “So anyway I was wondering if Mitchell could join our game?” 

“Hmm, well this is an employee-only game.” Despite his words, the light tease in Travis’s voice kept Mitchell from getting nervous about the whole situation. “But it does raise the stakes.” 

That Mitchell could work with. His lips stretched out into a wide grin. “Yeah? What were you thinking?” 

Travis clicked his tongue, “How do you feel about being Captain? I take one team, you take the other.”

He thought it over then nodded. “That sounds fair. What’s the prize?” 

Travis shrugged, messing with the baseball in his mit as he spoke. “Any ideas?” 

Mitchell pretended to think, already knowing what he wanted. With a group this size, his choreo could really expand into something great. “If you lose, you guys have to join my dance group for the talent show.” 

“Hmm,” Travis looked to the girl at his side--Phoebe, he thought, another lifeguard. She once helped him with Sabrina’s floaties. “We’ll consider that. Guys?” The circle of employees gathered a bit closer to talk it over. Will shot him an excited look. 

Suddenly, in the midst of their talking it over, Connor burst from the huddle and pushed his way over to Mitchell. “I’ll give you fifty dollars if you let me on your dance team.” 

“Wait, no -” Travis grabbed his shoulders from behind to push him back, “Connor, we’re trying to negotiate with him!” 

“Oh,” Connor nodded seriously and turned back to where Mitchell was waiting, amused. “I’ll pay two hundred -” 

Katie slapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him back to the crowd, him protesting all the way. Travis looked back to Mitchell, tired. “Just ignore him, please.”

Mitchell watched him sink back into the crowd, something small curled at his lips. “I don’t think I can.”

“Anyway,” Katie was the one to speak now. “We talked it over, that sounds fine. If we lose, we’ll be in your show.” 

Mitchell had to resist punching the air in excitement. “Great.” 

Travis leaned back with his arms crossed, looking him over. “And what do we get if we win?” 

“Well, what do you want?” 

“Dinner and a movie,” Connor choked out, almost like he didn’t mean to.

Mitchell raised an eyebrow, “An catered employee afternoon in the movie theatre?” He thought it over, then shrugged. “I could probably arrange that.” 

Travis rubbed at his forehead, “I - sure. Yeah, that sounds fun.” 

“Alright,” Mitchell smiled with a small shrug of his shoulders. “I guess it’s game on, then.” 

...

Of course, against a batch of peers who had been playing baseball all summer, Mitchell was bound to lose. However, they didn’t lose as hard as he expected. 

After the match, when Mitchell was left aching from the game and loss but proud despite it, Will sunk down next to him at the picnic table. “Good game. I didn’t think you’d get so into it.” 

At the last moment, Mitchell had ended up diving for a ball, completely dirting up his outfit. He had caught it, and it had counted, but two players had already made it home in the meantime. Still, it was a close loss. 

Mitchell smiled slightly. “Me neither. But it was worth a shot at a full dance group.”

Will laughed softly, “Still. Great catch.” 

“It really was.” They both looked up at the new voice--Katie, from before. She’d been on Travis’s team with Connor, Jason, Leo, Annabeth and a few others. The rest of the group was mostly dispersed by now, most of them arranging rides home or plans to grab food. “We haven’t had a game that fun in a while.” 

At her arrival, Will stood and offered her his seat. Which was kind, but also definitely just a ploy to escape and run off wherever Nico was lurking. Mitchell waved him off with a roll of his eyes before returning back to the conversation. Katie took his place without a word. 

“Well, I’m happy to help. It was a good time, you guys work well together.” Mitchell shot her a knowing grin. “I’ll start working out the theatre rental. Any movie requests?” 

She shrugged, “We can take a vote on it. But we’ve also been talking.” Katie had an amused twinkle in her eye. “We’re in. We’ll still do your show, it sounds fun.” 

Mitchell sat up completely, a bolt of excitement hitting him. “Wait, really?” At her nod, he absolutely lit up. “Oh my god, it’s gonna be such a fun show, I promise!” He got to his feet in excitement and threw his arms around her shoulders in a hug, pulling away promptly. “Oh my god, wait, I’m covered in dirt I’m so sorry -” 

She waved it off but stood herself. She, too, was covered in dirt from the game so didn’t seem to care much at any additional. 

He couldn’t help but babble on. “It’s going to be so much fun. You won’t regret it.”

She smiled at him, looking like she was indulging him. “I know. Anyway, just a moment,” She disappeared for a few moments only to return, dragging Connor by the wrist. She pushed him toward Mitchell, almost bumping them into each other. “Connor will be your contact point for organizing this. Trade numbers, will you? For planning.”

“Oh, sure!” Mitchell fumbled to get his phone out and hand it over. Connor’s phone appeared under his hand faster than he thought possible. 

Katie left them alone as he punched in his own phone and name, drifting back to where Travis and a few others were waiting. He handed back Connor’s phone, suddenly closer to the other boy than he had realized. He paused. 

“You have grass in your hair.” Connor breathed out. 

“Oh,” Mitchell dipped his head in embarrassment and rubbed at his head. “Oops.” 

“I -” Connor gestured to his own temple. “Other side?” 

He tried but Connor only stepped forward slightly into his space, reaching out slowly. “Let me -” Mitchell felt a slight pull on his hair, not painful. Connor pulled away with a blade of grass in between two fingers. 

“Got it,” Connor said weakly, staring down at him. 

“My hero,” Mitchell teased. Connor nodded gravely at that, like he was accepting a mission.

Connor licked his lips before he spoke. “That was a really good catch. You’re a good player.” 

“Baseball’s just a dance of its own.” Mitchell shrugged, joking. “What can I say? I’m just that much of a star athlete.” Connor nodded, looking like he completely agreed. 

Before either of them could say anything further, Will called out to him and ran their way, grinning, with another guy at his side. “I heard the news! They’re still doing the show, that’s great!” Will was glowing, “See, coming to this was a great idea!” 

Mitchell stuck out his tongue, “You just wanted to brag that you were right.” 

“No!” Will looked behind where he had ran from and lit up, “Actually, I wanted to introduce you to Nico!” 

Nico, who trailed after him a few steps, walked up beside Will with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. Mitchell liked him already. “Next time you’re going to run off mid-conversation, can you at least give me a warning first? I’ll die before I jog after you in jeans.” 

“You’re the one who wore jeans to a baseball game!” 

“And why not? You think I’m gonna participate in this?” 

“Well, you’re an employee at an employee baseball game. Perhaps I thought you were going to play.” 

“Where would you get that idea? Have you not seen the everything about me?” 

“Hi, I’m Mitchell.” He stuck out his hand with a grin. He could sit here all day, truly, but he did have things to do. “You’re Nico?” 

“That’s me.” He raised an eyebrow. “You look familiar.

“Mitchell is one of Aphrodite’s kids. He’s a good one, don’t worry.” Will explained, shooting Mitchell a wince like he didn’t know exactly how his siblings were. 

Mitchell snorted, “On behalf of Drew and Scarlett, I can’t apologize enough.” 

“That… helps.” Nico winced. “I messed up Drew’s chai latte my first day on the job.” 

Mitchell groaned, “Again, I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to get them to act like, you know, normal people -” 

Nico cut him off. “We work at a golf club. I get more cranky boomers in an hour than an AARP meeting.” Nico shook his head, “They’re a lot, but definitely not the worst customers to have. At least they tip well.” 

He could have wilted in relief. Across from him, Will’s eyes were nearly hearts. God, he was already lovesick. 

Which reminded him --

“Actually, Connor and I were just leaving. We’ll leave you two be.” Mitchell lightly grabbed Connor’s elbow to start steering him away. “Will, can you get a ride home? I’m probably going to be staying late.” 

Next to him, Nico perked up. “Oh, I can give you a ride? If you want? I’ll have to pick up my older sister but, um, it’s not that out of the way -” 

“I would love to.” Will looked perfectly composed, despite the screaming excitement that must be running through his head. He even managed to grab onto Nico’s hand as he led them away toward the parking lot. 

“Young love,” Mitchell commented, shaking his head fondly as the other couple walked off. “Must be nice.” He stepped back and dropped his hand from Connor’s elbow. “Oh, sorry!” He laughed lightly. “Sorry, I was recruited as Will’s wingman and I wanted to give them some time alone. Cute, right?”

Connor’s throat bobbled. “So cute. Um,” Connor made a jerky movement, like he was gonna run his hand through his hair but decided not to. “So you’re, uh, staying late?” 

“Yeah,” He blew some air up into the hair hanging over his face. “If you guys are gonna join the number, I want to have the choreo adjusted for a group before we start rehearsals.” 

“Cool, cool.” Connor nodded slowly, “Cool.” 

Now that he was closer, Mitchell could almost recognize Connor from his many shifts poolside. His lifeguard chair was almost right across from where Valentina would occasionally drag him to tan in the afternoon sun. Didn’t he once help Mitchell apply sunscreen, when Valentina ran to get slushies right when he was reapplying? 

His hands were cold, Mitchell remembered, or maybe his own skin was just that hot. He shivered when Connor applied the first handful of cream on his back. Mitchell had to advise Connor to take some of the sunscreen himself, after his own skin started to stain red. 

He was kind, was the point. Or at least, that’s what Mitchell remembered. 

Mitchell gestured at his parked golf cart as they approached it. “You want a ride anywhere? I’m heading toward the main pavilion.” 

Something wobbled in Connor’s expression before he spoke. “I could, um, go with you?” He said it as a question, looking slightly nervous as he spoke. 

“Yeah, sure! The employee entrance? Did you forget something?” 

“No, no, like -” Connor made another awkward gesture toward nothing. “Like, if you need help with the number? I could come? I mean, it’s never too early to get started on learning the dance, right?” 

Mitchell smiled, “Oh, sure! Do you have experience with dance routines?” 

Connor nodded confidently. “Yes.” 

“Really?” Mitchell turned to him in excitement. “Have you been in any dance groups before?” 

“Um. No.” 

“Oh, so like private lessons or something? A club?”

“Uh. No again.” His confidence was fully wavering now. 

Mitchell raised his eyebrows, “So what experience do you have?” 

“I sometimes dance in my room?” Connor scratched at the back of his head. “I, um. I didn’t think you’d ask many questions, actually.” 

Despite his awkwardness, Mitchell was… charmed by Connor’s fumbling. 

“Um,” Mitchell bit his smiling lip, looking away then back. “Actually, I was supposed to get ice cream with Will after the game.”

Connor deflated before he could finish. “Oh. Okay, yeah.” 

“No!” Mitchell was quick to correct. “I meant like, with Will going off with Nico, I still want to get it. With you. If that’s okay?” 

Connor’s expression bloomed into something so joyful, Mitchell was almost taken back. “I would… adore that.” 

“Adore?” Mitchell couldn’t help but tease. “Why’s that?” 

“I just,” He turned to Mitchell, his eyes wide. “I just really, really like ice cream.”

Mitchell bit his lip, “Me too. I mean, I really like ice cream. Ice cream is… sweet.”

Connor huffed out a small laugh, “Yeah. I, uh, agree.” He made an awkward little motion with his arm at the golf cart. “Um, shall we go?” 

Mitchell stepped forward and looped his arm with Connor’s. “Actually, I thought we could walk?” 

“I will do literally anything you want.” 

Mitchell laughed, “I’ll hold you to that.” 

To Mitchell’s amusement, Connor’s face turned a dark, dark red. He looked away, his lips pressed together in a small excited smile. Perhaps the baseball game hasn’t been such a bad idea.

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Riding On  Ch4: Full Steeb Ahead

Summary: Frank is determined to get Fliss to hear him out. But will she believe him?

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Hopefully after this @sweater-daddiesdumbdork will stop chasing me. As always, thanks to my unofficial beta @icanfeelastormbrewing​ for the usual inputs and opinions.  Chapter Song: Man Who Can’t Be Moved by The Script

Series Masterlist //  WIYPT Masterlist

People talk about the guy that’s waiting on a girl. There are no holes in his shoes but a big hole in his world.

Frank woke early the next morning, well, maybe woke was an exaggeration seeing as he probably managed about an hour of straight sleep, if that. The rest was spent in small dozing periods of 20, maybe 30 minutes at a time.  His neck was stiff from laying on the couch, as was his back and deciding he would give up trying to get comfortable he sat up, stretching his muscles out before he ran a hand down his tired face.

It was still dark outside and he reached for his phone. It had just gone 6 am, which meant he had an hour or so before the house started to wake. Standing up, he grabbed the shirt he had discarded the night before and shoving it on he located his sneakers. Once they were on his feet he grabbed his keys and as quietly as he could let himself out of the house, locking the door behind him as he headed down the little pathway which led to the main one through their little estate.

He walked down past the harbour and the little garages which were starting to open, nodding to a few of the guys he used to see knocking around when he had worked there, continuing past the little row of bait and tackle shops, past the small café, before he reached the path that led along the rocky sea defence. He followed the sandy pathway down to the boardwalk along the beach and continued for as long as he could, his feet treading over the well-worn wooden slats, some of which were loose in places, before it ended and he hit the soft sand. He headed onto the beach, it was almost deserted apart from a few early morning dog walkers, which suited him fine.

The ocean always calmed him. He had no idea why, but it had done ever since he was a kid. He’d adored those family holidays taken before it all went to rat shit, memories of him, his father and his sister playing on the sand whilst his mother read a book shaded by a parasol, every so often looking up to observe what was going on before returning back to whatever latest theory she was reading up on.  And then at night, they would eat with a family, late walks on the beach were always a treat, watching the dark water as it lapped against the shore, his dad making up random tales about Peg Legged Pirates searching for treasure which was always buried not far from where they were stood.

He’d done the same with Mary, telling her the same tales he could remember and making up new ones when he couldn’t. She didn’t buy them anymore, she was far too old for her age, but he couldn’t wait to tell them to Bean when he or she arrived, see their little face light up as they glanced over the ocean searching for ghostly ships or dug in the sand for imaginary treasure.

He reached the water’s edge and looked out at the horizon for a few minutes taking in the detail of the sky which was lit up in hues of purple and orange as the sun hovered a few meters or so above the place where the sea hit the sky and he took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind. He was in a mess, a mess that was entirely his own doing, and he felt utterly powerless to fix it. If he couldn’t get Fliss to listen to him…well, he didn’t even want to think about that. But the more he tried not to, the more he did. He couldn’t lose her, not over some stupid misunderstanding like this. Pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ease the tension headache that was already forming behind his eyes, not helped by the lack of sleep, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to re-centre himself. He finally had everything he hadn't even realised he needed and losing it was not an option. He had to fix this. With one last deep breath he turned to take the 15 minutes or so walk back home.

The house was still quiet when he got back in but he could hear the sounds of the shower meaning Fliss was up. He headed into the bedroom, Thor raising his head from where he was led on the bed, and he bent over to give the dog a scratch behind the ear. He pulled out a clean pair of jeans, a T-shirt and a pair of boxers, tossing them down on the pale blue bed covers, his head turning to face Fliss as she walked into the room, towel wrapped around her, hair piled in a messy bun on her head. His heart gave an instant pang as he took in how tired she looked, the guilt flooding over him as he knew it was his fault.

“Where did you go?” she asked him, her voice soft. “I heard the door.”

“For a walk.” he said, “Just to the beach. Needed some air.”

She looked at him for a moment before she nodded and moved to the dresser to pull out her clothes for the day.

“Can we talk?” he asked her tentatively and she stopped, straightening up before she looked at him.

“I told you last night, I’ve nothing to say.”

“No, but I have.” he pressed, “Lissy please…just hear me out, let me explain.”

She licked her lips and took a deep breath before she sighed “Fine, when Mary’s gone to school. But I have clients at 9 and I need to pick Rupert up so I’m leaving here at 8:15 no later.”

“Ok.” he nodded, giving her a small smile before he headed into the bathroom for a shower.

Breakfast was a little subdued, but he had to give Fliss her credit. She was polite and civil to him, even if she wasn’t affectionate. But it didn’t fool Mary. She asked him as he walked her down to the bus stop what was going on, and not being one to lie to her, he told her truthfully that he’d been an idiot over the weekend and needed to apologise to Fliss. At that she shot him a filthy look.

“You better fix things or I will kill you and hate you forever.” she said before she turned and stormed towards the waiting bus.

You and me both, Short Stack.

When he got back Fliss was waiting for him like she said she would be, sat at the table. She looked at him as he sat on the seat at the end, so he was to her right and facing her. She glanced at her watch “You got 15 minutes.” “Lissy, those photos…” Frank dove straight in, he had not time to waste and even if he did, he didn’t want to. This was eating him up inside “I know they look bad…”

“No shit sherlock…”

“I swear to God, nothing happened.”

“Nothing happened.” She repeated, looking at him and he shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Then how the fuck did she end up on your knee Frank?”

He took a deep breath “In all honestly I only know from what Simon and Greg told me.” he said, “I was drunk, I’d already pushed her away earlier in the night and she came over with her friends, one of them was getting into one of the guys Jake works with and she just sat on my knee. Apparently it took me a while but in the end I told her to get lost. I was quite rude to her, so they say.”

“You look fairly comfortable with her on your lap in the photo.” Fliss said after a moment, her voice quiet. The hurt in her tone made Frank feel even more like shit, as she wasn’t screaming or shouting which to be honest he was fairly sure he would have dealt with a whole lot better. “And in the other photo where you look like you’re about to kiss her.”

“Baby, I swear to you seconds after that I told her no. I’d just bumped into her and she was falling so I grabbed her to make sure she didn’t as that was the second time I’d nearly kno-“

“The second time?” Fliss looked at him and Frank closed his eyes, letting out a groan. “So you accidently nearly kissed her before.”

“No, that’s not-“ “Keep digging Frank, because that hole you’re in is getting deeper and deeper by the second.” she shook her head, looking away.

“I nearly knocked her over before.” he said, “Round the pool. I’d just finished talking to you, turned round and bumped straight into her.” “Right, and she just happened to be there in the club then after you ‘bumped’…” she framed the words with her fingers “…into her?”

“Again, full honestly, no, I don’t think she did” he shook his head “She was flirty. Made some comment or other when I said I’d watch where I was going about how she hoped not, and then we saw them on the Friday night too in one of the bars…”

Fliss looked at him and shook her head “The irresistible Adler charm eh?” Her voice carried a note of sarcasm, and Frank shook his head.

“Baby I’m just being honest here, telling you the truth. She was with a group on a 21st and I think they just saw a gang of guys and…” he shrugged “I dunno…they screwed Aaron, Chad and Jeff out of plenty of drinks so...” Fliss licked her lips and looked down, her hands fiddling with the now empty glass in her hands.

“Sweetheart, I get why you’re mad, I really do…and maybe I should have told her to fuck off sooner…”

“Maybe?” “Alright, not maybe, I should have but…I swear to god I didn’t kiss her, I didn’t sleep with her…nothing happened” He reached for her hand, his fingers gently squeezing hers “I love you, more than I can even begin to explain, and our Bean…the thought of being with anyone else never crosses my mind.”

She looked at him, then down at his hand which was over hers before she took a deep breath. Her head was a mash. Half of her wanted to believe him, his face and his words were so sincere and he’d never lied to her before, ever. But the other half…those damned photos. And either way, whether he had kissed her or not, he had been far too close, and she’d sat on his fucking knee long enough for someone to get a picture.

“You do believe me, right?” Frank asked, his eyes locking onto hers.

“Honestly?” she asked.

“Always.” he nodded.

“I don’t know what to believe…” she said, before she pulled her hand away and stood up, “I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

*****

“Hey Titch…” Steve greeted Fliss as she walked into the annex and instantly frowned when he saw her face “You ok?”

“Yeah…I’m fine.” She shrugged, not wanting to talk about what was happening anymore. She was tired. “Where’s Roo?”

“He’s out back.” Steve frowned “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit nothing.” he said, looking at her. She looked away as the tears filled her eyes and she turned to her brother shaking her head.

“Just Frank…and…”

“What’s he done?” Steve asked

“I don’t know.” Fliss said, her tears trickling down her face. “That’s just it…”

Steve put the coffee mug he was holding down on the side and swept his sister into his arms. “Hey, come on…”

She pressed her face into his grey t-shirt as his arms wrapped around her and she simply cried the tears she’d been holding back all morning. Eventually Steve pulled back and looked down at her, letting out a soft sigh. “What’s going on Lissy?”

She moved to take out her phone and wordlessly scrolled to the offending photos which she had saved and handed the phone to him. “There’s another one…” she said, as she saw her brother’s face darken. Steve swiped across and let out a huff through his nose.

“Ok.” he nodded “They don’t look great. What’s he had to say about them?”

Fliss swallowed “That he was drunk, and moments after the first one he pushed the girl away and on the second one…well, he says he told her to get lost too but…” “But you don’t believe him?”

“I don’t know Steve, that’s the problem.” she shrugged “I want to believe him, and he’s never lied to be before…and then there’s the message he sent me about being in someone else’s room and…”

“Hang on…someone else’s room?”

Fliss nodded and explained the whole mix up, about how he had been with Simon but even that she was having her doubts about now and Steve listened, his hand running over his beard as he took in her words.

“Have you talked to any of the other guys that were there?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Bonnie tried calling me before but, well to be honest they’re all gonna cover for him, even if he did do it aren’t they? I mean fuck…, seeing those damned photos…it was humiliating and…”

Steve sighed, handing her the phone back. “Look, Lissy, I’ve been in this position before. Some woman all over me and Sian getting the hump. Photos are a snap shot in time, they never tell the whole story…you know that as well as anyone.”

“Yeah, but the same girl is there, on his fucking lap Steve…”

“I know, and yes, regardless of what he did he shouldn’t have let that happen but…fucking hell, he was in Vegas, pissed out of his brains.” Steve sighed “I’m not excusing it, before you start, and I’m not dismissing your worry but…I dunno Liss, just don’t jump to any conclusions ok? Give it some thought.” “I can’t think about anything else.” she murmured. “God you’re just like dad.” Steve chuckled “Could be worse people to be like. Look, go to work, get your thoughts straight and if you’re adamant at the end of the day you still don’t believe him then just come here for the night and we’ll take it from there ok?”

Fliss nodded and wiped at her face “Thanks Steve.” “What are big brother’s for huh?” She smiled and then eyed him a little “You’re not gonna do anything stupid are you?” “Define stupid?” “Like go round there and punch him?” Steve shook his head “I promise, no punching.” Satisfied he was telling her the truth she whistled for both dogs who came trotting over, bid her brother goodbye and headed out to her jeep.

****** With nothing else much to do on his day off, Frank was busy scrolling the internet looking at realtor pages. Whilst things were still up in the air, it was helping him focus on being positive, because being anything else was not an option. So far nothing in particular had grabbed his eye but still, it was keeping him occupied as he tried to push the fear he was harbouring to the back of his mind.

He was pulled from his browsing by a knock to the door. Setting the laptop to one side he stood up and headed down the hallway and no sooner had he opened the door someone had gripped the collar of his shirt and shoved him harshly into the wall. It took him a split second to focus and when he realised who it was he gripped the front of them man’s shirt and pushed back. There was a little scuffle in the hallway until Frank managed to free himself from the man’s grip before he stood there, glaring at him, chest heaving.

“Fuck off Steve…” he glared at him.

“I warned you.” Steve looked at him “I told you what would happen if you hurt her Frank…”

“Yes, I remember what you said.” Frank looked at him, shaking his head.

“And yet you still did it…” “Oh get fucked, this has nothing to do with you…” “Piss off Frank, it has everything to do with me.” Steve snarled “She turned up this morning for the dog in a right state. Showed me the photos.”

Frank sighed and hung his head. He should have expected this.

“I told her not to jump to conclusions, trying to keep her calm but I gotta admit Frank…they look pretty damning.”

“I’m aware of that, thanks.” Frank bit back “And you know what, I don’t need this. Things are enough of a mess as it is without adding a brawl with you into the equation.” he turned back to head into the living room “Close the door on your way out.”

“Look me in the eye, tell me you didn’t…” Steve said to his back and Frank stopped, shaking his head as he turned to face him.

“Of course I didn’t. I’d never do that to her.”

Frank met Steve’s glare with one of his own and he could practically see the man’s mind whirring. Eventually he took a deep breath and jerked his head in a stiff nod.

“I had to know Frank.” he said, his tone less confrontational, and Frank knew Steve well enough to understand that was as much of an apology as he was going to get. Frank didn’t say anything, simply turned away once more and headed into the lounge.

“So what happened?” Steve asked following him.

“I was shit faced, that’s what happened.” Frank sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. He turned to look at Steve once more “The girl was part of a group that we’d bumped into a few times. She was a little flirty and yeah, I talked to her, but… she was a fucking kid they were there on a 21st party.”

Steve arched an eyebrow slightly as Frank pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“She tried kissing me in the bar, I pushed her away. I don’t even know how she ended upon my lap but I told her to get lost and…” he shrugged and looked at Steve “There’s nothing more to it…”

“And the morning after when you woke up elsewhere?”

Frank let out a groan “I was in Simon’s room. I passed out…we both did. Liss called me that morning, she even heard Simon on the phone…” Steve watched him carefully as Frank simply shook his head “I’ve explained all this to her…”

“I know.” Steve said “I just wanted to hear it for myself.” he took a deep breath “Any coffee going?”

Frank looked at him and Steve gave him a small smile, causing Frank’s spirit to lift somewhat. Her brother believed him, which was the best thing he could have hoped for in the circumstances.

“Sure…” Frank nodded and headed to the kitchen, Steve following. He made them both a drink, not another word spoken until he handed him a mug and Steve took a sip, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Look, Frank, I don’t think she believes you cheated, not really. From what she said to me I think she’s more upset really about how she found out.”

“She wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for those damned photos because there is nothing to find out.” Frank shook his head.

“When she told you about John…did she ever mention his little photo stunts?” Steve looked at Frank and Frank paused, frowning a little as he racked his brains, and then a conversation one stormy night as they lay in bed suddenly flashed into his mind.

“He used to go out and deliberately let women paw at him, and instead of hiding any photo evidence he used to simply flaunt it, splash it all over Facebook. That’s why I de-activated all my social media until recently…”

“Fuck.” Frank groaned, shaking his head.

“Manipulation.” Steve said, his jaw set “He would never do anything with the girls but he made Lissy think he had and would then accuse her of being jealous, and paranoid. Was his twisted of getting her to come off social media, another way to isolate her, keep her in line.”

“She doesn’t think that’s what I was doing?” Frank looked at Steve, a horrified expression on his face.

“God, no.” Steve shook his head, “She knows you’re not that man…but Frank, as happy and as safe as she is, those scars are gonna be there for a long time.” “I know.” “And I know that the fact that ass hole could still be casting a shadow over everything you have, especially now he’s well out of the picture, is basically really shit, but…” “I should have remembered.” Frank shook his head. “But, well, to be honest I’ve never had to explain myself like that to any girl, let alone the one I want to spend my life with and I was so caught up in getting her to believe me, I didn’t even consider any of that. Looks like I just fucked things up even more.”

“She’ll come round.” Steve looked at him. “Just give her time.” “I hope you’re right.” Frank shrugged “Because if she doesn’t I’ll never forgive myself.”

****

Fliss groaned as she looked at the caller ID on her phone. It was Bonnie again.

“Fucks sake…” She grumbled, before answering, deciding to get it over and done with.

“Finally!” Bonnie said, “I’ve been so worried about you…”

“Look, Bonnie I’m really busy…”

“Just 5 minutes…hear me out, please.”

“If you’re gonna start pleading Frank’s case…”

“There’s no case to plead. Simon told me everything last night, apparently about 30 seconds after she’d perched on his knee Frank suddenly realised what was going on and told her to fuck off.” “Well he would say that, he’s his friend…”

“Oh come on Fliss…” Bonnie made an exasperated noise “First off I can tell when Simon is lying, and he wasn’t, and second off, do you really think Frank would cheat on you?”

“I’m sick of everyone telling me what I should and shouldn’t think.” Fliss practically snarled “I don’t have time for this.”

She cut the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket, her hand gently sliding over her bump.

“You know, people are only trying to help Titch.”

Fliss spun round to see her brother in the doorway to the office and she let out a groan “I thought you were over to do work…” “I am…meetings start tomorrow.”

“Right, well, go and find something else to do. I’m busy.”

“Don’t get shitty with me…” Steve frowned.

“Steve just…fuck off!” Fliss exploded “I can’t deal with…” she stopped and shook her head “Why can’t everyone just leave me alone.” “Because they’re trying to help.” he said softly

“Well they’re not.” she sniffed

“Titch…look at me.” Steve said gently and she raised her head to meet her brother’s eyes, her own watering with tears.  “Do you hand on heart believe he would cheat on you…seriously?”

“I didn’t…”

“So why do you now?”

“I don’t know if I do…it’s just those photos and…” “Fuck the photos.” Steve said, his voice a little sterner. “You know full well they never tell a full story.” Fliss swallowed as she looked at her brother, as he continued.

“Do you truly think Frank is the type of man who would, after everything you two went through, jump into bed with some tramp in Vegas whilst this pregnant fiancée is at home, looking after his niece?”

Fliss looked down at the floor, her tears falling down her cheeks.

“Because I don’t Liss.” Steve continued “Especially not now he looked me in the eye and said he hasn’t.”

At that her head jerked up and she frowned. “You went round?”

“Yeah.”

“Steve you promised not to!”

“No, I promised not to punch him. And I didn’t.” he shrugged, not a shred of apology in his tone. “I talked to him, asked him straight to explain to my face.”

“And you believe him?”

“Yeah I do believe him, completely. I think he was drunk, and at worst potentially indulged the girl a little over the days they were there, which, ok, he shouldn’t have done but at worst he’s guilty of nothing but allowing some 21 year old kid to flirt with him a little.  And if that’s a crime then, fuck, you better shoot me along with half the population now.”

Liss looked away, her brother’s words ringing in her head. Truth was they hit home. She had always been a flirty person by nature, it was just the way she was…well, had been until John beat it out of her. But Frank, well, Frank had never bothered about her talking to other men before because he knew she was his…

“Is this really about him, or is this all to do with that fucker again?” Steve asked.

Fliss gave a snort and looked up at Steve. “Can you read minds?”

“No, you just get this look on your face whenever you think about him.”

She stayed silent.

“Frank isn’t John” Steve spoke gently.

“I know that Steve…”

“So stop comparing the two.”

“I’m not.”

“Ok, really? So tell me honestly when you saw those photos your mind didn’t go to his party trick of being photographed with every girl he could manage to on a night out to rub your nose in it, whether he cheated or not?”

“I know that’s not what Frank was doing.” she shook her head. And she did, truly. Frank would never manipulate her like that but she would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it, and how shit it made her feel “I just…”

“You’re waiting for something to come along and fuck everything up for you.” Steve said, looking at her.  “Which I get, I really do Titch because of everything you’ve been through but you need to stop looking over your shoulder and worrying about what you think is gonna happen, and simply look at what is, because if you don’t then eventually you’re just going to fuck it all up for yourself.”

Fliss turned away from her brother, his words cutting her to the core. He was right. She was, whether consciously or not, constantly wondering when her happiness was going to shatter around her because all she had ever known in a relationship was pain and anger. Some days she would wake before Frank and lie there, watching his face as he slept, committing every single detail right down to those freckles that spattered his nose and cheek, unable to believe how lucky she was. Engaged to a man who asked her to marry him because he loved her and didn’t merely want to possess her. She had a home, not a house, a surrogate daughter in Mary, days filled with laugher and happiness, and a baby on the way. It was a dream for most people, including her and she was perpetually scared one day someone or something would take it all from her. Just as they always had before.

“You know, Frank told me that he’s never had to explain himself to a girl before…” Steve gave took a deep breath “He’s now petrified that being honest with you has just made things worse. Doesn’t that tell you something?” Fliss looked at her brother, taking in his words. This was all unchartered territory for Frank too. What they were building together was new. He wanted it and more importantly he wanted it with her. As that realisation washed over her so did another one, the understanding that he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise what they have.

“Look, what the pair of you have is special. Don’t let something as stupid as this ruin it all because you both deserve better than that.”

The tears in Fliss’ eyes began to spill down her cheeks and Steve sighed, pulling her to his chest, gently rocking her to and fro, simply allowing her to cry.

****

When Fliss got home Frank wasn’t there, but there was a Pandora Gift Bag sat on the coffee table. Curiosity got the better of her and she undid the bag, opening the box inside. It was a small stroller charm and she swallowed, placing the box back in the bag. She heard the door open and turned as Frank appeared in the doorway.

“Before you ask…” Frank nodded at the bag in her hand “I didn’t buy you that as a sweetener. I got that in Vegas before any of this kicked off.”

“I didn’t…” she shook her head, placing it back on the table “That wasn’t what I thought.”

He gave her a nod and she studied him for a second, before Mary bounced into the room.

“Hey!” Fliss smiled at her, “You had a good day.”

“Yeah, it was ok.” Mary nodded “They were all doing math today but I did some of my uni work whilst they did the times tables. Have you and Frank made up yet?”

Liss hesitated and Frank gently dropped his hand to the back of Mary’s head.

“We talked, and we still need to talk some more.” he said “Any chance you can give us some space?”

She eyed him for a moment before she shrugged “I got homework, I’ll be in my room.”

“Thanks Stack.” he smiled and she turned and headed back out of the room. Once she was out of ear shot Frank turned to Fliss.

“So I had a visit from Steve…”

“I heard.” Fliss said “I’m sorry I told him not to.”

“He was just being a big brother.” Frank shook his head “But I’m not gonna lie, he scared the shit out of me.” “Well he came to the yard after, fighting your corner. As has Bonnie…”

“Honey, I didn’t ask them to…”

“I know.” she said softly. There was a moment of silence before she sighed and shook her head. “Frank, I’m sorry…”

“Liss…”

“Let me finish, please.” she shook her head and Frank fell silent, his hands falling into the pockets of his jeans. “If I’m honest I don’t think I ever thought you’d really cheated, I guess…well I saw the photos and…” she trailed off, shrugging “I’m sorry for not believing you, but I’m still pissed at you for getting yourself in that position in the first place.”

Frank hesitated for a second. He was about to protest that he was just drunk, point out that he hadn’t meant to get himself in any position at all,  but then he stopped himself. She was angry and hormonal, and he’d rather have her pissed at him for being an idiot than believing he was unfaithful.

So instead he nodded “Ok that’s fair. I get it. And I’m sorry.”

She looked at him for a moment and he stepped forward to give her a hug but she simply moved back a little and gave him a small smile “I’ll start dinner…”

“Sure…” his voice was quiet. He wanted nothing than to hold her in his arms, run his hand over the place his baby was growing, her bump seemingly even bigger than it had been that morning but he also didn’t want to push it. She hadn’t left, she believed him, but she was pissed. However, Frank knew she would get over that in time…which he understood he had to give her, and respect the boundaries she set too. So, with that in mind he took a deep breath and followed her into the kitchen.

“Do you want me to help or…”

“No, it’s only stir fry.” she shook her head. “Did you already feed Mary or…”

He frowned and looked at her, and then realised what she was referring to. They hadn’t been home when she arrived.

“Oh, no…I picked her up and then ran my suit into the dry cleaners.” he said “It had something all over the front of it…god knows what.”

She nodded. “Ok, well it won’t be too long.”

“I’ll set the table then.” he nodded. He moved around, careful not to step into her space as he gathered the various items around and carrying them into the dining room. Once he had completed that he headed out telling Fliss he was going to wash up and tell Mary to do the same.

Fliss acknowledged him and continued with cooking, when suddenly she felt a really strange sensation in her stomach. It was like a fluttering, almost as if she had bubbles inside her belly, and then she realised instantly what it was.

Their baby had moved. And she’d just felt it for the first time.

Pausing what she was doing her hand fell to her bump as the tiny little sensations flooded her and she felt a smile creeping over her face.

“Hey Bean…” she said softly.

At that point Frank came back into the room and saw her, her hand on her bump, stood perfectly still, looking down at her belly and he frowned.

“Lissy?” he looked at her as she raised her head to look at him “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, I just felt Bean move!” she smiled, her eyes bright and Frank let out a grin.

“Really?” he stepped forward, his hand out but he paused. Fliss looked at him and he locked eyes with her. Fliss understood instantly, he was waiting for her to say it ok after she told him last night not to touch her.

He was asking her permission.

Instantly her heart melted towards him, she loved this man, with everything she had. And he loved her. She gently took his hand and pulled on it softly, and he closed the distance as she pressed his palm to her stomach, leaving her hand resting over his.

“I doubt you’ll feel it…it was just like bubbles, not really a kick or anything.” she said as he looked down before he raised his eyes back to her “But they can hear you now though, according to Mary’s extensive research.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. Frank took a deep breath and knelt down, both his hands resting on the side of her belly as he grinned “Hey kid…you cooking well?”

Fliss felt the flutters again, a little stronger this time and she smiled, her hand running into Frank’s hair “They just did it again. They clearly know your voice, daddy.”

He glanced up at her, his eyes watering “I love you both so much.”

“I know.” she sniffed “I love you too.”

Frank stood up, his hands sliding up Fliss’ thighs to her hips and as he did, hers fell from his hair to his shoulders. They both stayed still, simply looking at one another till Frank leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss.

“This doesn’t mean I’ve completely forgiven you.” she muttered against his mouth and he smiled.

“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting it did.” he shrugged “But is it at least enough to get me off the couch? My back is killing me.”

“You wanna compare back ache?” she arched an eyebrow.

“No, no, not at all, obviously yours is far worse than mine could possibly be…”

Fliss narrowed her eyes. “Is that sarcasm?”

“Absolutely not.” he told her sincerely, shaking his head. His eyes, however, told her a different story. Those azure blues she knew and loved shone with humour, utterly betraying him.

“Hmmm, well I’ll think about it.” she said, her hands moving to pat his chest. “Now get lost, I need to finish dinner.”

Frank turned away, a smile on his face. As he always told Mary, an I’ll think about it wasn’t a no.

[descendantofthesparrow]

Remember your past -Prince! Harry Hook x Chosen Knight! reader - part 2

inspired by botw

Ever since he arrived in Auradon, harry had been having…dreams, flashes of his dad and mother (whoever she was), and his sisters, but they were all dressed differently than he was used to, gold and silver, silk and high-quality fabric draping their bodies.

Uma and Gil were there too, but they also were dressed different, Uma was more dressed like the goddess she truly was, and Gil was decked out in hunting gear, golden braces that could enhance his strength and a protective magic shield.

his sister Harriet could do magic, summoning lighting when she pleased.

but the oddest thing, was a girl, with (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes, always dimmed by something, her face still and emotionless, never speaking.  a majestic sword strapped to her back, always behind him, protecting him.

Every time he would begin to speak her name in his dreams, he woke up, gasping for air, sweating profusely, “what the hell was tha’?” Harry muttered, sitting up from his soft Auradon bed.

He thought he would never be able to fall asleep on something so soft, but his body seemed to recognize it (even though he had never touched something like it) and fell asleep easily.

…

Bah never mind, Harry looked at his clock, 5 am, odd, he had been waking up earlier and earlier more often. Shaking his head, he stood up, walking into the bathroom to shower.

=

I was being chased, my breathing heavy and fast, my legs aching, glancing behind me, I saw I lost whatever was chasing me, but when I turned back around, two clan members cornered me, I collapsed to the floor, my legs giving out from fear.

“no, god no” I heard myself whisper hearing footsteps behind me, another clan member, he turned, the clan member menacingly stepping towards me, flipping his blade in hand.

He raised it high in the air, I closed my eyes, praying that it would be over quickly.

When the clash of metal startled me, I opened my eyes in a flash, seeing the clan member fall to the ground, defeated.

Gasping my eyes widened as she stepped in front of me guarding me, protecting me.

I felt my heart beat faster, but not from fear….from something else?

I opened my mouth, whispering her name

 “(̸̨̧̛̛̬͇͆̈́͐̔̀̽̔̋̉͑ỳ̸͇̝̫͔̲͎͉̏̀̒̅̾̀̊̾̓ͅ/̷̛̝̺͈̯̩̪̥̹͔̹͕̀̓̓͗̓̅̓͝n̷̛̼̊̾͐͑̀͒͊͗͒̚̕͠ͅ)̶̯̎̓̉ͅ”

 =

I cursed, falling against the wall, my head pounding as this...dream...crashed through me. “what the fuck is goin’ on!” I muttered, sticking my head under the hot stream of water, sighing in relief as the headache resided.

“I need ta talk teh uma” I murmured to myself, turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, “maybe she can stop these infernal dreams” I quickly dried my hair, wrapping a blue towel around my waist, and walking out from the steam-filled bathroom.

grabbing his clothes, he quickly changed, grabbing his iconic red jacket before leaving his room. glancing at his phone, he saw it was 5 minutes till roar training, he grinned, speeding into a run down to the fencing gym.

he dodged a (h/c) girl, not bothering to apologize as she stumbled slightly. grabbing the fencing gear, he sat in the corner watching as Lonnie kicked chad Charmings ass easily.

“valid” Jay called, Lonnie grinning victoriously as she undid her helmet. “nice one Lonnie” jay grinned as she high-fived him.

“Thanks, jay! okay, whos next?” Lonnie looked around the room, but no one stepped up, too afraid to face the skilled daughter of Mulan.

I grinned, picking up a sword and flipping it in my hands  “I’ll take a whirl” I spoke aloud, meeting Lonnie’s eyes, challenging her.

She grinned, putting her helmet back on “You’re on Harry!” She settled into her stance, drawing her sword and twitching her fingers at me.

I slid my helmet on, getting into my own fencing stance and preparing for Jay to announce the match to begin.

“Ensemble!”

Lonnie and I pointed our swords out, facing each other.

“Salute!”

I arched my sword up, the tip facing the ceiling.

“Lower the point.”

I breathed in slowly, watching Lonnie follow Jay's call.

“Enguard!”

I tensed my muscles, seeing Lonnie shake her shoulders lightly to loosen hers.

“GO!”

Lonnie leaped forward, her sword arching fast towards me, I parred and struck back, stepping to the side. I heard a gasp from my right, twirling around Lonnie, my eyes caught the (h/c) girl from earlier, leaning her head in her hands, wincing.

‘alright,’ I thought, putting my mind back on fighting Lonnie, dodging another one of her strikes.

Fighting was like second nature so dodging her attacks were simple. Blocking her strike to my chest was easy enough, but I noticed Jay walking over to the (h/c) girl, sighing I was already bored, so I ended things quickly, taking my blade and twisting it around Lonnie's, flinging it into the air and catching it with my other hand, sweeping under her feet, knocking her down to the floor, ending the match.

I dropped the swords, making eye contact with the…(e/c) eyed girl….wait what?

stop following me!

“fuck!” I yelped, dropping the helmet and pressing my palms to my forehead. I kneeled to the floor, wincing as the pounding headache returned. “Harry?” Carlos’ voice seemed far away, but I could hear him clearly enough.

“Are you okay?” I shook my head, cursing as it only made my head hurt worse. “No, shit, fuck, ass”

I could sense Carlos rolling his eyes, but he helped me up and dragged me over to a bench, calling Lonnie over to us.

“I think Harry's hurt? At least he looks like he's in pain” I hear Lonnie's footsteps trot over, stopping just in front of me.

“Oh no! Gil! Can you take him to the nurse's office?”

My behemoth, sunshine child of a friend chirped out a bright “Yeah!” and jogged over to me, picking me up princess style.

“Are yeh fuckin’ serious Gil?” I groaned letting my head drop. “Yeh couldn’t pick me up normally?”

“Nope! By the way, what's hurting?” Gil questioned, slowing walking out of the gym. “Headache, been bothering me since this morning”

I heard Lonnie speak in the background of my head.

“That’s odd, that’s what was bothering (y/n) too?”

(y/n)?

...I've heard that name before…

y̵̍͆o̵̗̊̍ụ̷͓͌ ̸͈̲͐͝m̷̼̰̈ȕ̶̝̽s̶̻̐͝ť̵̞ ̶̢̉̇͜s̶̺͆a̴̧̖̅̄v̸̫͋e̵̮̝̔ ̶̒͊͜t̸̪̗̽̍ȟ̵̹͝i̸̻̓̾s̶̰̆͆ ̷̘̩̃̑k̷̫͑ỉ̶̯͚̉n̸͙̂g̴͍̬̊̏d̷̢̀͝ọ̵̎͜m̶̪̅̀ ̸̨͠H̸̩̒̌a̴̗͈͐r̸̰͓͂r̷̞̓i̴͍͍͘s̸̙͎̀o̷̜͝n̸̖̰̒!̴̲͑

̶̢͚̔̑i̷͙͂̕t̶̯̓͋s̴̭̻̅ ̵̹͇̃f̵̤͆̀à̴̤͗t̴͓̯͋e̴͙̥̾̌ ̵̮̝̈́l̷̞͚̄í̷̥͍͆ě̶̢͆s̶̛͍̉ ̵̧̝̀ị̴̈́n̶͍̕ ̸̨̥̀̾y̴͓̓͂o̶̟̫̒͂û̴͍̖r̵̗̔ ̶͎̍͗ḥ̶̫̂̽a̸̪̚n̶̢̈́͐͜ḑ̷̪͐̚s̶͖̔̕!̷̖̙́͝ ̴̳͗̇

what...what was that voice? Fuck it was getting worse, a ringing in my ears blocking out Gil's voice, letting only that voice in my head be heard.

I̶͎͒ͅt̷̥͚̀͝ ̵͎͎͒ḯ̴̝̉s̴͇̐ ̶̲̺͂y̷͈̔͘ơ̷̪̽u̸̜͑r̷̙͕̀ ̷̰̓̈́͜d̸̖̎è̸͙̭̔s̶͜͝t̸̺̕i̷̤̠͗̒n̸̛̠̖ỹ̸̖̫̐!̵͎̐͝ ̴͜͠

D̴̢̫̯͎̝̊̓́̕̕͝O̵̢͖̯͌̈́́̒̊͋͜ ̴̣͕̒̉̇̈́̐̔N̴̩̙̞͊̍̓Ȍ̶͕̣̩̫͘T̸̆̊͛̌͋͑͜ ̷̙͕̲̈̀͋́͠F̶̖̬̺̯̒A̵̢͔̖͉̖̤̓̎̓̈̍͠I̵̘̖͛L̴͉̄̒͊ ̸̡̬͉͋̒M̴̢̢̳̤̫̱̽̽͐͋̿Ĕ̷͖̻͝ ̴̘͚̲̒B̸͉̈̈́́̓̾̂O̴̗̟̰̞͉̥͑̉͑Y̴̜̌̂͐̂̏͠ͅ

I blacked out, my fathers voice echoing in my ears.

--end of part 2--

[smittywing]

Bleach, S1:Ep4

It’s Chad Time!

I cannot lie, part of my love for Chad is that I never screw his name up.

Boss Hollow is waxing poetic about how once you taste a Soul Reaper, you always crave it, and honestly, I’ve read serial killer books less creepy than this.

Chad has saved his tiny friends and the cursed bird from Certain Death by catching a piece of I-beam on his shoulders.  He says, “Yeah, I’m fine,” as blood cascades down his face.  Damn my love for taciturn men.

Okay, bird’s name is Yuichi Shibata.  Someone tell me if I’m using up valuable gray cells remembering this name if this is the only time it appears.  (Although there was a little boy when they finally made it to Soul Society and Chad carried him around on his shoulders for a whole episode and it was adorable? Is this that kid?)

Okay, Chad has just announced that his name is Yasutora Sado, (that’s how the subtitles spelled it) and that conversation with polynya from last weekend suddenly seems a lot less shocking.  (This kind of thing is why I’m watching from the beginning.  And keeping notes.)  He also announces that he’s still 15 and I want to hate him on principle but I cannot.  His big watery eye is killing me.

Ichigo is impressed (or disappointed?hard to tell) that he’s fixed already and Rukia brags about being the best in her Kido class. In return for saving his life (or whatever) he teaches her to drink a juice box.  Which I knew about, so it’s kind of adorable to see now.  :D  Meanwhile a classmate (Mizuiro Kojima) basically tells them they’re the new high school power couple and when Ichigo tells him he’s wrong, he hits on Rukia (or Ichigo assumes he’s going to hit on Rukia before he actually does it) because she is SO MUCH OLDER.  (I am dying at the effect of the blinking SO MUCH OLDER while she stabs futilely at a juice box.)  Some other insane guy shows up and welcomes Rukia to the “garden of masculinity” which I assume is what they call the school rooftop, and finally Chad shows up.  With some band-aids.  And the bird.

Did I miss Chad running into a motorcycle and taking the rider to the hospital? Or is this just a character-building moment?  

Rukia goes blue-soul when the bird introduces himself and the insane “garden of masculinity” dude introduces himself as Keigo Asano.  He introduces himself to the bird, but not to Rukia.  Okay.

Rukia tells Ichigo that the bird is probably a lost spirit and they should perform a Konso that night.  I hope Ichigo asks what Konso is, so I can find out too.  He did not.  But he did jam a straw in Rukia’s juice box, so at least someone’s wish was fulfilled!  (Is Konso the crossing over a spirit?  Should I have picked up that word earlier?)

Chad Origin Story Flashback!  PEOPLE ARE BEATING UP ICHIGO. Didn’t I say in the first episode that this seemed to happen a lot?  For 8th grade, this is an extremely advanced beatdown with brass knuckles and a concrete block.  Then Chad (who is 12? 13?) shows up and lets a half dozen guys beat on him, one with the brass knuckles.  He doesn’t seem to fight back so maybe he just waited for them to get tired?

And Ichigo says that Chad never fights back. I considered deleting that line and then decided to save it for posterity.

I am waiting for Ichigo’s father to not be a douche.

No! Chad is hurt! And he has a big...bird footprint injury to his back.  It appears to be a burn, but Chad walks it off.  Wait, no he doesn’t.  He stands up and immediately passes out.  Rukia can tell that his injury “smells of Hollow.”  The bird looks sad.

The next morning, Karin has had bird-related nightmares and Chad is missing.  Ichigo and Rukia are in pursuit.  Rukia explains that Hollows hang out between Soul Society and "this world”, except when they become visible to “commit foul deeds.”  It took me a while to figure out the accompanying illustrations so I’m not even going to give Ichigo a hard time for being rude about them.  

Ichigo decides he’s going to follow the parakeet soul, which Rukia claims is impossible but is clearly not for Ichigo.  

Meanwhile, the bird is apologizing to Chad because everyone who owns it has bad luck.  Chad’s okay with it.  

Karin is legit sick with a cough and a sweat drop that I think it meant to indicate a fever.  

Ichigo uses Soul Cerebro to find the right soul and goes running after it.  Rukia exposits that he saw “Soul Ribbons” which only high-level Soul Reapers should be able to see.  

Chad tells the bird that being tough is his one good trait.  Aw, Chad. That’s not true. You also have an awesome tattoo.

Rukia tells Ichigo to take Karin home while she goes after Chad.  And the Hollow.  With all zero of her powers.  Okay, actually Ichigo says she hasn’t gotten enough of her powers back to fight the Hollow so maybe they’re regenerating?  Ichigo certainly doesn’t seem to be giving any back.  He tells Rukia not to take chances, which is RICH coming from him.

Karin explains that she absorbed the bird’s (well, Keigo Asana’s) strongest memory, which was seeing his mother killed before his eyes.  Poor baby bird Bruce Wayne.  

Rukia is grumbling that the physical powers of the gigai are the same as an average human being.  I am coming to the conclusion that I should stop asking questions and just WATCH THE NEXT EPISODE except that getting answers is so much fun.

Boss Hollow shows up to tell her she smells delicious.  Creeper.

Even at depleted power, Rukia decimates the guy with a knee to the teeth and then comes down with Pale Destrcution Spell 33.  It only kinda works.

Chad and his bird are on the lam until Chad doubles back to “save Rukia”.  That’s adorable.

Apparently Boss Hollow (who maybe not the boss, but the Hollow of the Week?) has killed two Soul Reapers who tried to help Keigo cross over before.  And they were delicious.  Blech.  Rukia figures he’s attached to the boy’s soul so...it’s probably a relative?

WHAT.  It’s To Be Continued?  UGH.  Guess there will be two reviews in one weekend.

[13-reasons-ideas]

Finding Peace in Another Part 17

I’m so sorry for the break you guys. Life got in the way and then I had writers block because Monty was being a cranky cranky man and not giving me any information as to what was going on in his head. This chapter went differently than I expected but it turned out really well I think. TW: discussion of the aftermath of death and suicide. Please note the ways of dealing with death in this chapter are from my personal experience and they vary from person to person. Feedback is appreciated. Much love!

Word count: 2640

I met him at home after school and we spent a relaxing hour or so making dinner, joking around with each other. It was nice that after the last few days, we were able to fall back into the lighter side of our relationship. From the way he wrapped his arms around me when I stirred the pots and pans to the soft hip checks while we prepped ingredients, we seemed to be falling back into our usual habits. Our silence was once again comfortable rather than tense and awkward as it was this morning.

I deliberated when to bring up dinner with Scott while we cooked as well as when to ask what Zach had said to him earlier. As we sat down to eat, I decided to broach the Scott topic first and deal with his temper rather than have a civil conversation and then rile his temper again. I began cutting my pork tenderloin as I again deliberated how to best broach Scott and my plans for tomorrow evening. He took another bite and I decided to take my chances at that moment, “hey so this morning Scott walked me to class and we made plans to go for dinner at Rosie’s after practice tomorrow.” I said casually. Monty coughed slightly before he took a second to ensure what he heard is in fact what I said. His face set into a blank stare.

“Why? And when exactly were these plans made?”

“Because he asked me, and I want to go. Like I said, this morning when he walked me to class. You were cooling off and talking to Zach about stuff.” I replied in a bored tone while I pushed my food around.

“Do you know why he asked you Becks? Did you consider my feelings when you agreed?”

“Uh, I guess because he can?” I replied, trying to keep my tone in check. I ignored the latter question, which he didn’t seem too pleased with.

He sighed before responding again, “Well did you? Or do you not remember when we talked about if we are exclusive?” His tone was beginning to become clipped again. Jeeze. Its dinner. Its sandwiches for crying out oud.

“I remember, yes. What I don’t remember is agreeing to not see people of the opposite sex outside of school. Which, might I add, you don’t seem to have an issue with when it’s Tony or Justin and Clay. You don’t even comment when I go to Alex’s place anymore. What makes Scott so different?” I knew I was egging him on but at this point I didn’t care.

“Because Becca, it’s Scott. He’s my best friend.” He told me, as if that explained anything.

“So? He’s my friend too. It’s just dinner Monty, it doesn’t mean anything.” I countered.

“Does he know that?” He asked, his brow arched. So that’s what this is about.

“Yes Montgomery, he does. Besides, I think he’s beginning to suspect something is going on between us. If he’s your best friend, do you really think he would make a move if he even suspected there was something going on between you and I?”

He made a noncommittal sound and was silent as he ate for a moment. His silence only intensified my annoyance. “You know, I only told you because it’s courtesy. I didn’t have to tell you at all.” I told him shortly. He dropped his fork and looked at the ceiling shaking his head.

“That’s not the point Rebecca. You really don’t think Scott has a thing for you? Because he does. We talked about you before you and I became a thing.”

“Okay? Well I have some news for you. If I was interested in Scott like that, I would be with Scott. But I’m not interested him like that. I’m interested in you Monty. I like you.” I huffed. He sighed but did not continue. “I thought you would be happy I’m trying to get to know your friends. I don’t think Scott would make a move or anything if he suspects we have a thing.”

Monty was silent for a while as we ate, the only sound was the metallic scrape of our cutlery against the tempered glass plates.

The silence was beginning to get to me, so I decided to be the bigger person and apologize first, “look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to catch you off guard and spring it on you. It’s honestly just a dinner between friends. He knows I’m not interested in being anything more than friends with him. And besides, it’s you I am coming home to at the end of the night.”

Monty didn’t look up from his plate but I caught a small smile, which he tried to hide. My man and his lack of ability to emote. He really is adorable. “Okay. I’m sorry I snapped at you. I just wasn’t expecting that. I trust you.” Woah. It was my turn to be taken aback. He had never actually said that to me before. Sure, he had done things to show that he trusted me, but he had never said it outright, in as many words. I wasn’t sure what to say so I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it a couple of times, firmly. He looked up then and smiled a very shy smile at me.

“I trust you too. Completely.”

The Scott situation now sorted; we finished our meals in a once again comfortable silence.

It wasn’t until after we were relaxing on the couch that I brought up the fight this morning and what he and Zach talked about. “Monty? Can we talk about what happened this morning? With Tyler and Zach?”

Monty sighed and I was worried I pressed too hard too soon. “We can talk I guess, yeah.”

“Okay. Do you want to tell me what the fighting was about?” I asked, moving to sit so I could face him.

“Nothing really. Like I said at lunch, I was in a bad mood.”

“So you gave Tyler and them a hard time because…?”

“They were there? I don’t know. I can’t take it out on you or the guys so I don’t know what else you expected? I go talk to Porter? I’m not sure if you have noticed, but the guy isn’t the greatest at his job.”

“No, I don’t expect you to talk to Porter. But you could have talked to me. Or Zach. Or Scott, if you left out the me being your girlfriend thing. Or hell, if it meant you would have talked to him about it, tell him about us.”

“I could have talked to you? And said what?”

“I-I don’t know Monty. That’s the thing. I don’t know what’s going on in your head. I’m trying to understand. But I can’t do that if you don’t let me in. You tell me whatever you need to tell me. I’m here for you. No matter what. You can tell me anything.”

Monty sat silently for a whole five minutes, absorbing what I was telling him. Finally, he spoke, “Okay. I guess… yesterday was a lot of information Rebeca. When I asked about a shirt that morning and you said… I just wasn’t exactly expecting that to be the situation. And I don’t want to call it a situation because that’s not what it is. I really don’t want to say the wrong thing here. And I know you’re probably sick of hearing this from everyone, but I am sorry for what happened and your loss. So trying to process and make sense of that was a lot. And then Zach just showing up kind of… set me off? I knew I couldn’t really do anything about it then, but I also knew it was only a matter of time before I snapped.”

I nodded and put my hand on his knee, urging him to continue. This is good. He’s talking. When he didn’t, I decided to speak up, “that is all fair but Montgomery, you can’t just hit people or lash out when you have an emotional response to something. It’s not healthy.”

“I know. And I am trying, I swear. It’s just hard. But anyway, I didn’t know how to react or what to say to you. And I knew you and Zach were close, I guess it just never occurred to me that you were quite that close. He has a freaking key to your house Becks. Before you say anything yes, I understand why, and you explained it well enough yesterday. That’s not the point. The point is it was a shock and I didn’t know how to process it. So yeah. I lashed out. And it just happened that Tyler and them were around and hell, they’re easy targets. The kid doesn’t fight back. So I took it out on them.”

“Alright well, I guess that makes sense. Chad said it wasn’t as bad as it normally was. Is that because of me?”

“I mean, I guess yeah. You… you make me want to be better. No one has ever made me feel this way. You make me feel so… important. I matter to you.”

I nodded, afraid that if I tried to speak that I would cry. I took a moment to collect myself before asking the question that had been plaguing my mind all day, “What did Zach say to you this morning? I saw him pull you aside after you took a breather. I wanted to ask earlier but I never got the chance.”

“Oh that. He just explained some stuff to me is all. Helped put things in perspective.” I nodded again, wondering if he would continue. “Do you really want to know what he said?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then. He told me to get my shit together first, but then he explained some of what he went through when his dad died. The closest thing I can compare your loss to is maybe when Jeff died, but even then, it’s not the same. That team is my family and he was my brother but it’s different than what you went through.”

“I’ve never said it before and I know I didn’t know him and he was before my time, but I really am sorry that he died.” I interjected, feeling a need to say something, anything to convey my feelings for him, to show him that he isn’t wrong to trust me. He smiled at me before continuing.

“Zach explained that you not telling me about Jake and what happened, wasn’t because you don’t trust me or that I did something wrong, but because you are still working through it in your own way. I knew it wasn’t an easy thing to talk to people about. He said that when you lose someone suddenly, it’s something that knocks you off kilter and you need to work harder to right yourself than when you expect it in some ways. I’m scared I’m going to say the wrong thing here so if I do, I don’t mean to but I’m just going to say it. The most experience I’ve had with,” he paused, unsure of how to continue or how to phrase his thoughts in a kind way.

“You can say it. It’s not a dirty word. It’s a fact. It was suicide.” I cut in.

“Right. I wasn’t sure. The most experience I’ve had with suicide was Hannah Baker and if I’m being honest, it didn’t really affect me that much. I didn’t like her. I didn’t care to know her when she was alive, so it was just… a thing to me. I know people deal with death in their own ways. Zach explained to me that part of how you process it and deal with it, is by not talking about it. Or when you do talk about it, you’re very blunt about it. When I asked if it was like you were moving on, he said no. You just see it as a fact that cannot be changed, so there is no need to tiptoe around it. Which is fair. Not… not that a different way of processing it is not fair as well. Just….” He stopped and looked at me, scared that he had just ruined everything.

“No, no its okay. I know what you mean. Zach is right. We have talked about it in the past and I think that’s part of why we connected and got along so well. We have both experienced tremendous and unspeakable loss, that can’t be explained or understood by other people. He lost his dad, I lost my mom and my brother. Losing her sucked but I had Jake to help me get through it. And then I lost Jake and suddenly I didn’t have my person anymore. My friends and stuff tried to understand and talk to me about it, but the only person I wanted to talk about losing Jake with was Jake. And the thing is, for Zach and you and the team, his dad and Jeff died in car wrecks. Still extremely tragic. I hate that he lost his dad and that you lost your friend and its awful. But when someone dies in a car wreck or they’re sick or anything like that, people don’t have opinions on it. But when someone commits suicide, suddenly everyone has an opinion they want to share with you. The first reaction in both situations is ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ With a wreck, the next question is ‘can I bring you a casserole?’, with a suicide, the second question or comment is along the lines of ‘the person was selfish and didn’t think about their family or friends’ or, and someone did in fact say this to me, ‘you’re better off it seems like. Now they won’t bring you down with their mood.’ As though my brother didn’t just die, and my dad didn’t just lose his son. The grief and pain you feel, gets minimized and discounted because of people’s perceptions and preconceived notions about suicide and mental health. That’s part of why I don’t tell people. Like I said last night, it’s not because you have ever made it seem like that is how you would react or anything, it’s just in my experience, that’s what happens.” I explained, hoping I conveyed my point appropriately. He nodded at me and checked his watch before standing up and leaning down to place a kiss to my lips and pull me off the couch with him.

“As much as I don’t want to leave right now, I should probably head home soon baby girl.”

“Okay.”

He pulled me into his chest and enveloped my tiny frame in his arms. He placed a gentle kiss to the top of my head.

“Thank you for explaining stuff to me today.” I spoke into his chest, my voice coming out muffled against his shirt.

“No problem. And I’m sorry for making the Scott thing such a big deal, even if I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea, I understand you have your own friends too.” Montgomery took a step back before leaning down and kissing me deeply. “I should get going before my mom sends the cavalry to find me.”

“I know. Just wish you didn’t have to. My bed is so cold without you now.”

“I know Becks.” He hugged me tightly again, before we walked to the door together. “I’ll see you in the morning. Our spot?”

“With a black coffee with your name on it, promise.” After we parted, I watched him drive down the street and got myself ready for bed, thinking of just how important the last few days were going to be to our relationship going forward.

[danrdarrenc]

5 Christmases + 1 Christmas Eve

2019

Will blinked awake to the early morning sun streaming through their window. Sonny’s arm was draped over his waist, his body a warm weight against Will’s back. Will turned carefully so as not to wake Sonny and smiled softly at his sleeping husband.

“Morning,” Sonny mumbled, half-asleep.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Will whispered.

Sonny smiled slowly and opened his eyes to look at Will. “I’m certain a little monster is going to wake us any second.”

Will huffed out a laugh and brushed his lips against Sonny’s before snuggling closer so they were nose-to-nose.

Sure enough, a minute later, the door opened and the bed bounced with the weight of a seven year-old.

“Daddies, wake up! It’s Christmas!” 

Will and Sonny laughed together and let Ari drag them out of bed and downstairs to see what Santa brought her.

* * * * * * 

2021

Sonny woke to the first rays of sunlight peeking through the slats in their bedroom shades. Will was sleeping peacefully next to him, their faces a breath away. Their legs were twined under the sheets and the hands in between them were brushing. Sonny lifted his other hand to trace lightly over Will’s face. 

This past year had been nothing short of a roller-coaster of emotions: the divorce; finding out Maggie had been the one responsible for Adrienne’s death and that Victor had framed Will for it; Will being released from prison; Will insisting that Sonny be happy with Evan (”What happened will never go away, Sonny! It doesn’t matter that I didn’t do it!”); Sonny insisting that Will not being responsible did make a difference (”Of course it matters, Will!  All the reasons you gave me for not being together don’t exist anymore!”); them getting back together on their anniversary (”Husbands for life, remember?” Sonny asked before kissing Will senseless); their third - and final! (or so Sonny hoped) - wedding in August on the anniversary of Will getting his memories back. 

And now they were here, in their own apartment, settled again, and happy.

“I can hear you thinking,” Will said, popping open an eye to look at Sonny.

“Sorry,” Sonny said with a cheeky grin. “I didn’t mean to wake you. You looked so peaceful.”

“What were you thinking about?” 

“Everything that happened this year.”

Will blinked fully awake and his hand found Sonny’s under the sheets. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They kissed lazily for a long time.

“It’s so quiet,” Will whispered.

“That’s what happens when there’s no almost nine-year old monster in the house on Christmas.”

Will grinned.  They had dropped Ari (and all the presents for her) off with Gabi and Stefan after the Horton tree trimming the night before. She had spent Christmas with them for the past few years (just Sonny, last year); she had asked to be with her mom this year and they readily obliged. 

“What do you want to do today?” Sonny asked. 

“Can we stay in? Or do we have go to your family?”

“Staying in sounds like the best Christmas ever,” Sonny answered, kissing Will again.

After sleeping another couple of hours, Sonny made them pancakes and they exchanged their gifts for each other (a new watch [Will’s was lost in the accident] and journal for Will, and new gloves [Sonny’s were hopelessly worn out] and new pages for their photo album for Sonny). 

Together they opened their families’ presents: from Eric and Nicole they received a framed photo of a quiet moment between them from their wedding that they hadn’t known he’d captured; Sami, Lucas, and EJ had jointly sent them Italian chocolates and two expensive bottles of wine; Justin had bought them season tickets to the Cubs home games; John and Marlena had bought them the stereo system they were missing; Kate gifted them a weekend at the Green Mountain Lodge; and Arianna had drawn them a picture of the three of them and a puppy (her way of telling them she wanted a dog) and bought each of them matching pens with her allowance money.

When they finished with all their presents, they settled on the couch under a fuzzy, warm blanket, with cups of hot chocolate in their hands, and spent the rest of the day watching silly Christmas movies and snacking on the Italian chocolate and popcorn.

* * * * * * *

2023

Will, Sonny, and Ari strolled through the Christmas market in Switzerland, Ari carefully cradling a cup of hot chocolate as she perused the stalls.  They’d already purchased three bags full of jewelry, tchotchkies, and various gifts for Gabi, her grandparents, and great-grandparents.

This Christmas they had decided to take Ari to visit Sami, Lucas, EJ, the twins, and Sydney, and follow through on visiting the European markets they had talked about so long ago. They were also going to stop by Carrie and Austin (who had reunited) and Noah while they were in Switzerland.  It was to be their last trip out of Salem for a while, with the babies due to be born in February.

“Daddy! Can I go on the carousel?!” Ari asked, looking up at Will. At almost eleven, she was in ways both very much a teenager and still a kid.

“Sure, Little Lady,” Will said. He still used the old endearment whenever possible, certain she wouldn’t tolerate it much longer.

She grinned, handed Sonny her empty cup, and ran to the carousel.

Sonny laughed, linked his fingers with Will’s, and together they followed Ari to the carousel to pay for her ride. 

* * * * * * * 

2024

Their first Christmas with the twins was chaotic.  It started when Ari grumbled to get out of bed early, even though she was excited to open presents (although she would never let on that she was, she was too old now).  Then it took them an extra hour to get out of the house with two ten-month olds and a pre-teen than it normally would have and they had four different places to hit before they could collapse back home.

Their first stop was the Kiriakis mansion to visit Justin, Maggie, Victor, and Sonny’s brothers who had surprised them all for coming to Salem for Christmas this year. They had planned on only staying an hour but Maggie had insisted they stay for tea.

So an hour behind schedule, they headed to the Brady Pub to visit Roman, Kayla and Steve, Stephanie, who had also come to Salem for the holidays, Hope, and Shawn, Belle, and Claire, who had been released from Bayview the previous year.  At the Pub, they ate lunch, and the twins fell asleep in their carriage.

With the twins still asleep, and bellies full, they made a pit stop at Kate’s apartment, where they made up some time, managing to stay only a half an hour with the excuse that they had dinner plans and still needed to see John and Marlena. It wasn’t a complete lie as their dinner plans were with John and Marlena, but Kate didn’t need to know that.

The babies woke up crying somewhere between Kate’s apartment and John and Marlena’s townhouse, so they lost time again as they had to stop to soothe them.  Eventually, with one baby in Ari’s arms and one in Sonny’s, and Will pushing the now empty carriage, they rang the doorbell to the townhouse.

Brady greeted them with his four-year old daughter on his hip. 

As they were pulling off their coats and scarves, Paul appeared from the kitchen with his new husband, followed by Claire, Belle, and Shawn, who had beaten them to the townhouse from the Pub.  John and Marlena appeared shortly after, hugging Will and Sonny and Ari and cooing at the babies.

An hour later, they sat down to dinner, Ari chattering away about the presents she received and loudly and pointedly about the ones she hadn’t. 

* * * * * * * *

2030

The Christmas before Ari’s nineteenth birthday she didn’t spend in Salem. Johnny, Allie, and Sydney had decided to spend the two weeks covering Christmas and New Year’s in Aruba and Ari had cajoled Will, Sonny, and Gabi into letting her go with them. Allie had promised Will that they wouldn’t let Ari drink (”Will, Dad is an alcoholic and I’ve had more than my share of days clinging to a toilet bowl.”), but he knew in his bones that Ari would have a drink at some point during the trip. 

“I have to give Ari credit though,” Sonny said after getting off the phone with her on Christmas morning.  “In all the times we’ve spoken to her, she’s never sounded even tipsy.”

“Should that worry us?” Will asked on a laugh. 

“No. I don’t think so. Ari’s a good girl. She’s not a partier,” Sonny said seriously. “I think I’m more concerned about her switching a paternity test or something.”

Will howled with laughter and the twins appeared from their bedroom to see what the commotion was.

* * * * * * * *

+ 1

2040

After Julie passed away earlier in the year, Doug already passed two years before, Jennifer had offered the Horton house to Will and Sonny. With Chad, Abby, Thomas, and Charlotte permanently living in Paris, and JJ in London, Jack and Jennifer had decided to relocate to Paris to be closer to their family.  Because the apartment was feeling crowded with two teenage boys, and because Arianna was now married with a baby on the way, Will and Sonny thanked Jennifer profusely and accepted the deed to the Horton house.

And so it was their first year hosting the annual Horton tree trimming. 

“Adam! Make sure the boxes of ornaments are down from the attic!” Will called from the kitchen where he was checking on Sonny’s cookies. 

Adam huffed and begrudgingly put down his book to trudge up the stairs to the attic.

“Chris, can you help me with the tree?” Sonny asked, struggling. Chris jumped off the couch to help position the tree in front of the window.

“How does it look?” Sonny asked Will who appeared from the kitchen. 

“Looks great,” Will said with a smile.

Chris and Sonny high-fived as Adam came back downstairs, the two boxes of ornaments in his arms.

“Thank you,” Will said, as the doorbell rang. 

“I’ll get it!” Chris announced. A minute later he came back into the room with Ari and her husband, Jake.

“Dads!”

“Ari!” “Sweetpea!” Will and Sonny exclaimed at the same time. 

“Merry Christmas, Dads,” Ari said, enveloping them both in a hug. “Merry Christmas, squirt,” she said to Adam, ruffling his hair as she passed behind the couch where he was sitting, reading again.

“Ugh!”

Ari giggled as he fixed his hair. 

“Who else is coming?” Ari asked Sonny as the doorbell announced another group of Hortons.

“Where are my favorite grandchildren?” Lucas called from the foyer. He, Sami, EJ, Johnny, Allie, and Sydney had all come in for Christmas. They were seeing Sami, EJ, Johnny, Sydney and their respective wives (Sydney had come out to the family as bisexual three years ago) at the Brady Pub tomorrow for Christmas. 

“Hi, Grandpa,” Ari said softly, who was the first to reach Lucas. “Merry Christmas, Aunt Allie.” 

“Merry Christmas,” Adam mumbled into Lucas’ hug. Allie laughed under her breath as she received the quickest hug in existence from Adam.

“Merry Christmas, Grandpa, Aunt Allie,” Chris said cheerily.

Jennifer, Jack, Abby, Chad, and the kids were the next to arrive, followed closely by Hope and Ciara.  Eli and Lani came next, toting their baby daughter, Violet, who was named for Eli’s mother who had passed away last year. Maggie and Sarah were the last to arrive just as Will was passing around Sonny’s cookies fresh out of the oven, and eggnog. 

“Before we hang the ornaments, I just want to thank everyone for coming,” Will said. “I know this year has been rough for some of us, but it’s also brought us some joy, I hope. I, um, I know living here, and hosting this party has a long tradition and is a lot to live up to. But I hope that we can do justice to Gran and to Doug and Julie, and Aunt Jennifer, of course.  So Merry Christmas and let’s decorate this tree!”

They all cheered and clinked glasses, and Will started the tree trimming by hanging Tom and Alice’s ornaments right at the top of the tree under the star.

[jawnjendes]

the truth hurts but secrets kill | shawn mendes

chapter 8/?, university au, shawn x goth oc

AN: lol the taglist didnt work on my last chapter so if you havent read but i’ll show you my teeth pls do eet. anyways this chapter is an angsty buildup full of angst. my specialty.

***let me know if you wanna be added/removed from the taglist

masterlist | playlist coming soon

"Where do you live?" Annalise asked for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Do you even think she's capable of answering?" Patrick said, his arm supporting Alessia's waist as he helped her stumble down the university road.

The Lyft to campus went without any major issue. Alessia did not puke in the car, she merely leaned against the door in the backseat. Annalise had gotten annoyingly chatty with the driver, talking about childhood trauma and the inevitability of death. She claimed it was practice for when she's a real therapist, though the driver was trying to focus on the road. Patrick left the driver a generous tip through the app.

The three of them were left just close enough to the dorms, but there was still a walk to be had, and it felt like it was taking centuries with how much Alessia slowed them down. Annalise kept looking around at the dark surroundings as they paced with her pocket knife in hand. Alessia mumbled something incoherent, her head lolling from side to side.

"I've never heard of that building, where is it?" Annalise asked her.

"Dude, you're gonna have to take her back to your place," Patrick told her. "I don't even think she knows her own name."

With a reluctant sigh, Annalise closed her pocket knife and wrapped her arm around the smaller girl's waist. They were approaching the corner where she and Patrick would typically part ways. Alessia noticed the shift and leaned all her weight into Annalise, mumbling under her rancid breath. It wasn't her first time babysitting a drunk toddler, but that doesn't mean she likes doing it.

Patrick was kind enough to walk the two girls up to Annalise's dorm. Alessia was swaying ominously in the elevator, like she wanted to be cradled like a baby. She was definitely ready for bed.

"Ya casi, mi vida," Annalise said as they stumbled down the third floor corridor.

"Why do you call her that?" Patrick asked. "’Me veeda.’ Isn't that what you would call your boyfriend?"

"It's the same thing as a waitress would call you sweetie or something," she replied. "Or the way you'd talk to a toddler. A drunk one."

She managed to pull her key from her back pocket and give it to Patrick. He unlocked the appropriate door, and the three of them were met with more people and more loud music.

Apparently, Stella hadn't planned on staying alone this Saturday night. She was on the armchair, with Camila squished in right next to her. They weren't alone, either. Shawn and Brian were on the couch, each holding a beer. All four of them stared at the two goths holding the short normie up on two feet.

"Oh my god, you're right on time!" Stella exclaimed. "Shawn's working on an EP! He's giving a us a preview! And he made another duet with Camila!"

"Este guey se puso peda," Annalise said with mild snark, gesturing to the girl on her arm. "I'm gonna put her down."

"You're gonna kill her?" Patrick asked, his blue eyes wide. "Damn, I didn't know you hated her that much!"

"Shut up, I brought her here, didn't I?"

She did not look at the guests on the couch as she carefully led Alessia to her bedroom. She ignored Patrick starting up a conversation with everyone. She had things to do, and it was hard enough with her fluffy mind racing.

"There we go, my dear," she said as she sat the intoxicated girl on the bed. "Acuestate, mija. Tomorrow's gonna suck, but you can rest now."

She patted Alessia's head before moving to take off her sneakers. Then, Annalise took her phone from her jacket pocket and plugged it into the charger on then nightstand. Before she could sigh in relief that they all made it back alive, she heard a voice at the door.

"Hey, you."

When Annalise turned to face him, it was like a million fireworks went off at once. Her entire body froze in the best way, and the air in her lungs was knocked out of her. He's even prettier in person.

"Someone have too much fun?" he asked, nodding towards the now sleeping Alessia.

Annalise could not tear her eyes away from his face long enough to think of an answer. All she wanted to do was stare at him for the rest of eternity.

Then, Patrick came up from behind Shawn, an amused grin on his face. "Bro, she's high as a kite right now."

Shawn looked confused for a moment and then turned to him. "Ann doesn't smoke."

"She used to all the fucking time last year." Patrick was still grinning. "She wanted to have fun tonight, so I gave her a hit of my pen."

"So you drugged her up, eh?"

"Bro-"

"I'm not your bro. Don't you care about her health at all? Don't you remember she was in the hospital a couple of months ago?"

The grin faded. "I care about her and her freedom. Not that I have to explain that to you." Patrick excused himself.

Annalise heard every word, but her wide eyes were still on Shawn. She was stepping towards him before she even realized, and then her arms were going around his middle. He was still warm and soft and he smelled good. It was like personified crack. Annalise smiled as her head rested on his chest. "I love you, my baby."

Shawn hesitated, but he hugged her back. "Love you too." Then he pulled back, his hands on her shoulders. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

"The couch." Annalise's fingers were gripping the back of his t-shirt.

"You sure? Wouldn't you rather come stay with me? I'm leaving soon anyway."

Annalise giggled so much her voice squeaked. But she frowned almost instantly. "Don't be like Chad."

"Who's Chad?"

"No one important. I think sober Annalise is gonna be mad at you."

"What? Why?"

She pointed to the sleeping girl on the bed. "That one told high Annalise some things. Sober Annalise might not even remember, but if she does, she'll probably talk to you on check in day. Like, actual talking this time."

"Why can't we talk now?" Shawn asked. "I think high-you will be more understanding than sober-you."

"High Annalise is stupidly in love with you. We'll get nowhere, my dear."

He chewed the inside of his cheek as he gazed down at her. "Yeah, you always call me cute names when you're on drugs. Like that time in the hospital. And all those times you got high with me. Oh wait…" he trailed off. "Every time I asked you to smoke with me you said you didn't trust me enough. But tonight you trusted somebody else, eh?"

She giggled. "I knew you'd be mad at me too. We have much to talk about, baby boy."

~

In theory, the reason for Alessia's disappearance the following morning would be that she remembered the tea she spilled upon waking up and now she wanted to avoid the wrath of the goth girlfriend. In reality, she wouldn't be entirely wrong.

Even after sleeping for twelve hours, Annalise couldn't get those bits of forbidden information out of her head. She had dreams about catching Shawn and Alessia having really loud sex, but she woke up to hear her roommate doing exactly that. Then, she had a recurring dream of Shawn admitting to cheating on her, except this time he had twelve versions of Henry the orange tabby surrounding him. The last dream she remembered having was one where she ended up back in the hospital, and that she was given no anesthesia for her surgery. She had her stomach removed, and she watched every drop of blood and guts come out of the gaping hole in her body.

She woke with a start after every one of these vivid dreams. Maybe it was the after effects of being stoned, but she felt uneasy for that whole day. She typically binged to her heart's content, but the hospital dream was still on her mind. She allowed herself to have a Lunchables, but not much else.

Then, Monday rolled around and Annalise found it difficult to act like a person. She got out of bed, had an unsatisfying breakfast. She did it, and that's the only thing that matters right? Screw all the other feelings. The paranoia she felt after the Abnormal Psych lecture about eating disorders doesn't matter. The impending embarrassing discomfort  from sitting alone at a table in Bio Lab doesn't matter either. Who cares about the sad ache in her chest after seeing Shawn and Alessia leave their class together? Who cares if they're still in high spirits even though they knew that Annalise knew? Who cares?

Annalise doesn't, that's for damn sure. She was perfectly fine. She pushed herself out of bed today even though she wanted nothing more than to induce a coma on herself. Who cares if she still felt shitty after?

Although, she was putting off the impending chat with Shawn until check in on Saturday. He had to know it was coming, why else would he just stop texting her?

Unless he's already with Alessia, and therefore playing me like a violin. Maybe Shawn was just ignoring me to make me go crazy.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Annalise whispered as she put on her headphones. She was glad she caught herself slipping, she didn't want the wide-eyed crazies on display as she walked out of the Social Studies building.

Her steps were slower and more careful as she picked a song to play from her phone. After settling for Halsey, she pulled out her black, round sunglasses and put them on. Gotta hide them nightmare eyes.

Maybe… perhaps… I need to check in earlier than normal?

"Don't be stupid," she told herself.

It wouldn't hurt though, would it? Maybe he would be happy to see me since I would be breaking my own rule. Unless, of course, he's hanging around Alessia again. Perhaps he doesn't care anymore.

The only solution Annalise had was to dump herself on the couch in the dorm and play Tetris 99 until the thoughts and feelings sorted themselves out.

When Stella came home, she knew the drill. She sat on the couch and ranted about her day. She rambled on about her fascist history professor and the lack of a GSA club on campus. Then, she mentioned a Halloween party coming up at one of the frat houses, and that she needed a hot costume.

It was the month where Annalise and all her spooky darkness was socially acceptable, and she couldn't even be excited about it. A different type of darkness was taking over, and it was stupid that it was over a boy. Why did she have to be so dramatic? Why was she so goddamn crazy?

"I'll pick your costume," she said over Stella's rambling.

She paused, her brilliant hazel eyes wide. To say she was surprised that Annalise cracked so fast would be an understatement. But she smiled. "Would you? Ooo, can I pick yours?"

"Ah, I don't think I'm gonna do anything for Halloween this year."

"What? But it's your favorite holiday! You need to come to this party with me! Buddy system, remember?"

"Is that the only reason-"

"Of course not, you dummy! We haven't spent enough time together since the semester started! Let's go find some costumes, yeah? I'll even let you dress me up as scary as you want!"

Stella's a good friend. Annalise should really try harder to spend time with her. Why didn't she try to be a good friend in return?

They went to the local costume store that Friday. It gave Annalise a wonderful excuse to not go to the gaming club meeting. She really did not want to reflect on the Bart adventure, or see just how bad she fucked up Chad's nose.

After returning to campus with a dark but still cute witch costume, Stella was summoned to Camila's dorm. She thanked Annalise for the lovely costume choice and practically abandoned her. Annalise couldn't find it in her to really care. It was only a few more hours until Saturday.

She had barely settled herself on the couch when her phone buzzed. For the first time this week, Shawn had texted her. Annalise held her phone up, staring blankly at the screen. Her heart should be pounding right now, shouldn't it?

"Hey, I know check in is tomorrow but I can't make it at our usual time. I have a gig tomorrow night. You should come and we can talk after."

The next text was the address to the lounge he would be performing at.

Any other time, Annalise would have been happy to know Shawn was performing again. But he cancelled on her, knowing that he was in trouble. Is that what it took for him to start booking shows again? Was this just an elaborate way to avoid Annalise? Perhaps this was just some form of reverse psychology so she wouldn't go to the gig.

You can't psych out a psychology major. Of course Annalise was going to this gig.

However, she had a mostly sleepless night, really unable to shake the fact that Shawn was probably avoiding her. When she finally did sleep, she slept too much. Annalise woke up in the afternoon and was late for work. She had planned to ask if she could leave early, but she didn't dare try anything now. The gig was at eight, when her shift ended. She ended up going to the lounge in her work uniform, a button up with the dealership name on, and baggy slacks. Not exactly the sexy outfit she had planned during the late hours of insomnia.

The show had already started by the time she got there. As she was showing her ID to the bouncer, she heard Shawn's voice over the mic, and she felt something for the first time in days. Her stomach felt tight as she slowly stepped into the lounge.

The turnout was decent. Every single table and bar stool was occupied, and all eyes were on the band performing on the stage. Annalise looked around for any empty space; She wasn't dressed her best but she did want to be anywhere but against the wall opposite the stage. Her eyes spotted the group of people standing directly in front of the stage.

It was the normal group of girls who swooned every time Shawn blinked, but there were also three other girls that Annalise knew all too well. They were jumping and singing along to Lost in Japan, not a single care in the world. Annalise wondered why Stella didn't tell her that she was going to this event, but the way she looked at Camila as they sang to each other said enough. Maybe they chose Alessia to be their new third wheel too. So Alessia was too embarrassed to face Annalise, but not Shawn?

Annalise always stood in the back of every one of Shawn's shows, knowing she would stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of the usual fangirls. Not that that's a bad thing, it just wasn't her usual place to be. She figured that showing up at all would be enough.

Perhaps Shawn already had enough. Three of his friends were already cheering him on, and surely he had more of them scattered in the audience. Not to mention, the people here that didn't know him were going to adore him by the end of the night. Besides, Shawn most likely invited her as a ploy to get her to turn it down. She wasn't needed here. Annalise chewed the inside of her lip as she back up towards the exit. She stepped outside, away from the people trying to get in, and she pulled her phone out. She composed a new text:

"Hey, I'm drowning in work so I won't make it to your show. I'll meet you at your place later so we can talk🖤"

_______

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