#seeing gabriel in my girl's rightful place was hard enough but when they put a**clown there... i nearly punched a hole through the screen 🤬

[beastsovrevelation]

Archangel Michael in Good Omens (2.02)

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 2

Chapter 1 || Next

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Until a trip to Gotham came knocking on the front doors

“I can’t believe Lie-la of all people managed to somehow get us the trip to Gotham!” Mari moaned with a mixed expression on her face.

Adrien, who was walking next to them, showed absolute disgust. “Technically, It was my father and I that did the heavy lifting. She really wanted to go to the Wayne Gala and…”

“What Lie-la wants, Lie-la gets.” The three finished in unison before laughing a bit. 

“Don’t worry Mari-bear. I can promise you that this no good liar won’t get to ruin your return home.” Chloe pulled her best friend closer. Best friend. Much better than a servant. Who would’ve thought? “And we can even try to find your mom on free Saturday.”

“Yeah…” The girl with black-blue hair didn’t seem particularly cheerful at that. 

“Now I refuse to have you making sad faces throughout the whole flight. You cheer up right this moment and that’s an order!” The blonde commanded. 

“Yes, Maman-bear.” Mari giggled.

The three of them finally arrived at the rest of the class, who were already gathered around madame Bustier. Of course, Lila was bragging about a million different things, but the three paid her no mind. Adrien did his best to hide behind the girls, cherishing the last moments of freedom. Finally, Mari and Chloe had to step forward for their tickets. The blonde got hers without any problem, but for Mari there turned out to be none.

“I’m so so sorry Marinette!” Lila said with fake regret. “I must have accidentally miscounted the number of students… It must’ve been when I was helping those poor orphans. You know, at…”

“Sure…” Mari didn’t even try to act as if she believed her for a moment. When Lila scowled, realizing that it didn’t affect the girl, she smiled. “I guess Chlo, Adrien and I will have to go with the contingency plan number 1.” 

“What?!” The sausage-hair shouted.

“Of course my Daddy would not send us to travel like peasants. We have tickets for the first class.” Chloe supplied, looking smugly. “We did plan to maybe sit with the rest of the class. What a shame…”

“Yeah, My dad also didn’t want me to travel anything less, but I convinced him to let me stay with my friends. Guess he will get what he wanted in the end.” For his part, Adrien at least tried to look apologetic. He didn’t try hard at all, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

“But… But…” Lila tried to come up with something, likely a lie, to counter it. She didn’t have time as the trio handed their teacher the filled forms from their parents/guardians/Nathalie and proceeded to the plane. The tickets were personal, so she couldn’t do anything. The Italian girl came up with a lie to tell to the class, but it would do no good until they landed. 

--------

“Did you see her face?” Plagg was rolling in the air while holding a giant roll of camembert. 

“You were amazing my queen.” Pollen complimented. 

“I still can’t believe your dad just… bought out the whole first class!” Marinette sighed. 

“Phi! Daddy always gives me only the best. You should know it by now, Mari-bear.”

“Okay. Mari. You are the Gotham expert here. Any advice?” Adrien asked a bit more seriously. 

“Gotham survival guide is probably unlike any other city.” She started. “The first rule is, believe it or not, run away if a person laughs too much or smiles too widely. The downside of living in the same city as the Joker is that most people don’t laugh in public. Secondly, never show that you are lost. Wherever you are, it’s exactly where you wanted to be. Finally, the third is to never flaunt your wealth.” She looked critically at Chloe before taking away her purse and lipstick in a golden case. “This,” She then pulled a mobile phone in a ridiculously sparkly case and popped it out of the cover, “this,” finally, she detached the golden chain on which the purse was supposed to be suspended and replaced it with a pre-prepared white one with copper clips, “and this must all go away.” 

“Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! Now it will totally clash with my comb!” Chloe complained.

“Oh no! How will you ever survive that?” Mari deadpanned. All three of them had another burst of laughter. After they calmed, Adrien started.

“Do you think it’s wrong that I want to bet which rule will Lila break first?”

“Ten macaroons she will say out-loud about money.” Mari threw. 

“I raise, four tea parties she will start by asking for direction.” Chloe had a grin on her face

“Are you sure?” Adrien asked. When the blonde nodded, he shrugged. “Movie night and double popcorn bowl refill that she will do both in one conversation.”

“Hi, could you be so kind to point me to my exclusive hotel? You know, I’m staying at the penthouse of this luxurious new one.” Mari gave a quite good parody of Lilia. 

“So to sum up, the pool is now ten Macaroons, Four Tea parties, and movie night with triple popcorn?” Chloe asked. When they nodded, she quickly noted it on her phone. 

“Now, who wants a movie? I think they have the newest Thomas Astruck one.” Adrien pulled a disc from the container next to his seat.

“Good for me!/Go!” The girls said. Chloe, who was in the middle loaded it and the other two leaned onto her to watch together. The three were happy. Faintly in the background, there was knocking on the doors to their part, but nobody paid attention to very angry Liela and some classmates. For some reason, the doors were stuck and the blinder rolled down. Later if someone asked, Pollen would deny everything. 

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When the plane landed, the class was practically kicked out. The team walked calmly down the stairs, all of them having smug expressions. Lila wanted to comment, but a glare from Mme. Bustier shut her up quickly. Mari and co. would later try to guess, what got the crew so pissed at their classmates.

Once everyone was accounted for, the class made its way to the customs to retrieve their luggage. There was a small problem with Mari’s travel bag as it was apparently misplaced to the flight to Timbuktu, but luckily her true suitcase, which had her things inside, arrived safely. She giggled at the thought of custom office in Timbuktu receiving a bag full of Adrien’s old socks that smelled camembert. 

Overall, the airport went mostly unproblematic. At least until they found themselves cleared and gathered in one place while Mme Bustier left to check on their bus. One of the men, wearing a dark blue suit started to laugh almost maniacally. Everybody immediately cleared away from him, out of sheer self-preservation. Lila must’ve decided that a show of kindness was a good way to regain class’ good grace. She was confidently approaching the man before suddenly Mari grabbed her and pulled her away. The designer might’ve despised the liar, but Joker… you don’t mess with Joker. 

Of course, Lila used the chance. She faked falling on the ground and started crying crocodile tears. “Marinette?! How can you be so heartless? I wanted *sniff* to check on the man and you trip me?” Lila sniffled, eyes watering with crocodile tears.

“I might have saved your life genius!” Mari snapped. Joker was a really touchy subject with her. “Does the world Killer Clown mean something?”

“Don’t invent things, you bully!” Alya shouted. That seemed to break the dam and at once the class started to say awful things to Mari. A year ago, it would hurt her. Half a year ago, she would be sad. Now? Now she pitied them. Chloe didn’t, and she was ready to jump to protect her best friend. 

“Ridiculous! Do you like… share a single brain cell? What if that man was…” she didn’t get to finish because Mme. Bustier returned. The commotion immediately calmed. By now the man stopped laughing and returned to talking with his friends.

“The bus is waiting. Come on children. Follow me.”

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

Arriving at the hotel, the class was split into different rooms. Of course, Lila tried to lie her way into some privilege, but Mari was too dead inside to care. The Jet Lag was killing her. At least she got some sleep on the plane. From the rumors she heard from the class, they didn’t because of Lila’s drama with the staff. 

“Now I want you all to be ready here at eight a.m. sharp. A Wayne Enterprises representative will come here to explain the details of internships.” Mme. Bustier instructed them. This, for some reason, caused outrage in students.

“What do you mean internships?!”

“Wayne Enterprises?”

“Shouldn’t we be preparing to go to Gotham Academy or something?”

The terrible trio in the back had trouble holding back laugher. Adrien warned the girls about what his father planned, so they could all prepare. Gabriel Agreste, devious as he is, decided to punish Lila and teach Adrien something about running a company at the same time and using his connections to put the class up for an internship at WE. He did send the liar all the details, but she must have skimmed over the corporate jargon because the class was fed overexaggerated stories about what they would and wouldn’t do during two months trip. 

Most parents were more than happy to send their children away from Paris for two months, especially since the Internship was free and the employment rate after it was quite high. WE kept quite a lot of the interns, if only out of habit. But perhaps it was mostly because the class has become a go-to place for the Akuma. Only Mr. Pidgeon and perhaps Gigantitan were akumatized more often. Mari actually picked up to cleansing their class weekly through a ritual she learned, otherwise there would be enough residual dark energy to power a demon portal. Not something one would want in the middle of a classroom.

“I was told you’ve all read the brochure provided and Lila summarised it for you.”

“I did!” The sausage hair defended. “Marinette must have told them some imaginary story about the trip!”

Immediately, several other people started to nod and confirm this. Chloe actually started to walk toward the liar almost red, but Mari grabbed the back of her blazer and held her in place. All the while she had a completely deadpan expression like it was normal for her (it was).

Mme. Bustier sighed. “Well, In that case, I will…”

“Excuse me, but shouldn’t we be going to sleep today already? We don’t want to be late tomorrow.” Adrien asked with an innocent expression, but there was some satisfaction hidden there too.

“Well… um… I…”

“We will be going then.” Chloe grabbed the key and led Mari to their room. Calline didn’t even question it. She wanted a pay raise after this. 

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The next morning, Mari was woken by a frantic Chloe

“Mari-bear! It’s already late! You don’t want to be late for your first day of Internship girl! It would be utterly Ridiculous!” 

At first, the girl mumbled something, but once she finally processed everything she leaped out of her bed and started getting ready in record time. She was brushing her teeth, packing her purse, and tossing clothes at her best friend all at once. Once she had everything, she turned to see Chloe on the ground tied with a gray blazer. Mari just burst out laughing.

“How…”

“Ridiculous!” Chloe shook her head. “I demand you untie me this instant! We don’t have time for this!”

Once they dressed and did their hair, both girls were ready. Chloe now had a black button-down shirt, deep red blazer, and a matching pencil skirt. Mari also made her wear smart black stilettos (instead of her usual that were slightly more extravagant). The look was completed by a tablet in leather flip-over cover. Mari had a similar outfit, except her shirt was white and the suit was in dark blue. She opted for flat shoes to spare the embarrassment that was Marigold on heels.

“Ready to rock Gotham City?”

“Like you have to ask.” Mari smiled. There was something about the city of crime that made her feel safe and open up more. Maybe being on home turf gave her the much-needed confidence boost. 

When Chloe tried to open the doors, she found them stuck. She was about to go on a rant about poor quality when Mari casually grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. There was a faint creaking sound as the mechanism gave.

“Um…”

“It must’ve been old,” Chloe said with a devious grin. “Nothing happened. Don’t you worry! I will deal with it.”

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

When the doors to the elevator opened and two girls strode into the lobby, their class was already pushing toward the exit. Adrien looked very much uncomfortable with Lila hanging off his arm, literally sinking her claws into him. He mouthed them a muted ‘later’. Alya stared at the girls with loathing. 

“Ah, you are here.” Mme. Bustier spoke. “Lila said…”

“Whatever.” Chloe dismissed their teacher. “Aren’t we in rush?” The blonde practically seethed the last word. 

“Yes, good to see that someone is responsible.” The teacher gave Mari a pointed look. Apparently, she still didn’t get over the fact that she resigned from the class rep position. 

“But…”

“Drop it. She is not worth it.” Chloe whispered. “Daddy will take care of that once we are done.”

Mari just nodded. She knew Chloe was preparing a lawsuit against the school, but their hands were tied until they graduated or Damocles could try and undermine it. Both girls knew that no adult would help them with the lawsuit beyond Chloe’s father signing whatever dotted line she asked him to. That man was more whipped than a fresh can of whipped cream. 

The ride to the WE was short and uneventful. Girls took up to gossiping in English, effectively limiting any eavesdropping. Mari spent most of the time tearing down the outfits of all the villains. She started with Riddler, more as a joke than actual rant, but then she somehow got onto this new guy Anarky. From there, she just kept on, smoothly sailing from one to the next. Even her mom got some shots. Mari still couldn’t stand how skimpy it was. Her rant carried over when they exited the bus and entered the WE. Security led them to a conference room, where they were told to take seats. 

Mari guessed that it wouldn’t be Lila if she didn’t immediately start sputtering lies about how well she knew the building already because of her Damiboo giving her private tours (All while clutching Adrien like a leech). She didn’t have enough ducks left to give to try to expose Lila about several facts. Such as that Damian Wayne definitely wasn’t living with Bruce when he was five. Any Gothamite could tell her that. Bored, she returned to her rant. 

She was nearing the end of the list and was very much engaged in complimenting Harley Queen for her recent change in wardrobe. She still considered it a disaster, but at least it was somehow human. 

“Ekhm…” A voice broke her out of the rant. “Good morning. My name is Richard Grayson. You are the french class chosen for the internship program, correct?” When people nodded, he continued. Idly, Mari noted that Alya and Lila stiffened and suddenly stopped talking at all. “We reviewed the individual profiles and appointed each of you a mentor that will help you settle into your roles. As I read the names, please come forward so I can update your badges. Do carry them on your person all the time or we will have to take you to our human cloning facility.”

People stared at him. 

“Okaaay… That’s that about jokes…” He sighed. “The rules will be explained by individual departments. Now, who’s up for a tour?” 

People started to cheer at that and Dick smiled. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad?

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

It was that bad. Even worse. He knew from the background check that the class was both insanely talented… and borderline criminal. It was like someone de-aged the Rogues and put them in one class. The report called them Akuma class, which (if google is to be believed) meant demons. He questioned how they got accepted into the internship. 

They only toured two floors when Dick wanted to tear half of them to shreds. He noted immediately that they were bullying the girl with black (slightly blue? Maybe it was dyed?) hair. What surprised him was that the teacher didn’t react. If he was to be honest, the girl and her friend slightly irritated him too. They kept talking and seemed to ignore him. It was not because they kept tearing down each and every bats’ fashion choices. Definitely not that. When they brought up Discowing he had enough. 

“Ekhm. Excuse me, girls,” he stared at them. Both immediately stopped talking and looked at him. “Could you pay attention? I wouldn’t want any of you to waste your internship lost on our maze-testing floor.”

“There is no maze-testing floor in this building.” The blonde pointed out.

“And besides, we memorized all you’ve said.”

“Care to recall?” He heard several people groan at his pun.

“The first floor is most representative, where guests are welcome and low-level meetings happen. There is a separate kitchen for employers there that is always fresh on fruits. Don’t use the coffee machine there as it was only patched up and there is a high chance it will set itself on fire again. The…”

“Fine. You’re good. Still, I don’t appreciate the chatter.”

“They are always trouble!” A girl in bright pink colors shouted. 

“Yeah! Why do you have to ruin this trip for Lila!?”

“You’re just jealous of her boyfriend!”

More voices like this came from the crowd of kids. Dick started to feel bad that he singled the girls out. It definitely gave the class a reason to gang up on them. And the teacher still did nothing! He sighed. What did HR think when they accepted them. He would have to look into it later.

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

Mari decided that she didn’t like Dick. Everyone in their class kept talking, but for some reason, he singled them out. For the rest of the trip, she made sure to pay as much attention as she could. There was this silent determination on her face. Chloe wisely also kept silent. 

After the trip class was led back to the conference room where another employer handed out the identificators and folders containing their assignments. 

“Keep the IDs on you at all times. As opposed to the ones you received, this won’t expire and are synched with your jobs, so you will have access to anything you might need. They are also mandatory to receive lunch in our canteen. When you get acquainted with your tasks, you can go to the level specified at the end of sheet one. Your mentor will meet you there.” With that, he left. Dick really needed to do some in-depth research on this class. Something kept icking his detective sense.

“Well, I’m going to the law department. Apparently whoever made the assignments knew my well.” Chloe bragged to her friend after opening the folder. 

Timidly, Mari also opened her folder. She skimmed over what was inside and groaned. “Apparently, I’m interning as personal assistant to one Tim Drake.”

“They actually assigned you to the sleep-deprived coffee addict?” Chloe asked in disbelief.

“You know him?” She asked in surprise

“He and his brother ruined my daddy’s parties two years ago. They got into an argument that ended up with them wrestling over a cake. It took me weeks to get the cake out of my hair! Weeks!” The blonde summarized.

“oh…” Mari tried to hold back the giggles.

“Don’t laugh! It’s a serious matter! Do you have any idea how much work it takes to have such a perfect hair?!”

“Of course… cakehead.” The girl couldn’t stop herself.

“Ugh, you… you… plant leg.” Chloe said.

“Really?” Mari raised an eyebrow. “That’s the best you can come with?”

“Well, I usually have better things to do than thinking about good insults.” Still, Chloe hugged her best friend. “Be careful. I wouldn’t put it past The Liar to try and sabotage you somehow.”

“I’ll be careful. Wish me luck.”

-----

The elevator took Mari all the way to the highest floor. When the doors opened, she stepped int a large room with one desk. As soon as the doors closed, the woman who was standing there rushed toward her. The girl tensed for a moment but she reminded herself that there is no real threat.

“Oh finally! I was asking them to hire someone else for months!” She had a messed bun of red hair on her head and looked like she didn’t sleep in a week.

“But… I’m just an intern madame!” Mari tried to explain.

“An intern?” The woman paused her packing and stared at the girl with wide eyes.

“Um… Madame Sarah Jackson?” 

“Yes. An intern…” She said in a disappointed voice to herself. “Ah! That’s no problem at all!” She started to tap on her Waynetech Tablet and after a moment she smiled. “There! You’re hired!”

“Wha…?!” Mari shouted, but was interrupted when Sarah pushed the tablet into her hand, followed by a large box full of documents and a small mug with a coffee bean pointing a gun at the reader and words ‘Your Coffee or your life!’.

“They are your problem now! Everything you need is in the box. I left detail about ongoing stuff and whatever you might need. Don’t call. I’m outta here!” She shouted before grabbing her personal belonging and leaping into the elevator.

“But…! But…!?” Mari shouted after the closing doors. She could hear a cheerful shout as the elevator left the level. 

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Next

[mikauzoran]

LuXY/Lukadrien/Lukadrienette: Welcome to La-La Land: Chapter Five

@luxyweek

Welcome to La-La Land: Chapter Five: Style Swap Part One

Adrien was still used to getting up at an ungodly hour from his modeling days, so he woke before Luka and hopped in the shower.

He’d brought his own clothes for the weekend in his overnight bag, but he raided Luka’s closet for a hoodie just for fun. He missed Marinette—currently in Milan on business—and the comforting scent of Luka’s clothes did wonders to calm his separation anxiety.

Adrien stopped to poke his head into the guestroom on his way to the kitchen. Technically, it was Luka’s music room, but they’d put a bed for Hugo in between the harp and the drum set so that their son could easily sleep over without advanced planning.

Hugo was sound asleep, his deep breaths audible from Adrien’s position in the doorway.

Satisfied that all was well, Adrien continued to the kitchen where he cut up some of the fruit that they’d bought together at the market they’d taken Hugo to the day before. Next, he set about preparing four slices of egg in the basket like he’d learned years ago from Anarka.

He divided the slices between two plates and partitioned the fruit salad into two bowls. He loaded it all up onto a tray along with cups of water and juice as well as a generous chunk of Edam for Plagg before carrying it all back to Luka’s bedroom to serve his lover breakfast in bed.

“You’re amazing,” Luka chuckled, running a hand through his already thoroughly tussled hair.

“I know,” Adrien snickered, leaning in for a kiss. “When I’m not busy being a heartthrob actor, I’m a good little househusband.”

“I wish you were my househusband,” Luka sighed.

“I could be,” Adrien hummed as he snuggled up next to Luka. “…if you would just move in with us already.”

Luka shook his head. “Marinette’s too worried about her public image. She thinks openly being in a polyamorous relationship would damage her career, and, honestly, I can’t say that she’s wrong.”

Adrien clicked his tongue. “She’s not right either. There are plenty of queer people in fashion. Maybe a little scandal would even help get her name out there more. I just…I want my family under the same roof. Whatever the media makes of it, we’ll deal with it together. It’ll be fine.”

“Maybe,” Luka agreed halfheartedly, imagining the simultaneous paradise and hell of being with Marinette and Adrien all the time.

Yes, he’d be with the two people he loved most, but he’d also be reminded of how much more they loved each other than they loved him all the more too, and he’d have nowhere to go to escape.

That wasn’t even taking into account the XY situation. Luka had been making out with the pop star with increasing frequency for three months, and he was afraid that he’d somehow caught serious feelings for XY.

Adrien deflated, seeing that he wasn’t going to win the war that day. “Think about it,” he pleaded softly. “I really want this, and if you think that it’s something you want too, I’ll talk Marinette into it.”

Luka didn’t respond right away, and Adrien took that as a rejection of the idea.

He sighed.

Luka leaned in, depositing a feather-light kiss on Adrien’s lips and nuzzling his hair. “I’ll think about it,” he promised, already knowing what the answer would be.

 After breakfast, they got Hugo up and fed, and then Luka headed for the shower while Hugo and Adrien watched Les Aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir in the front room.

Hugo was curled up on the seat of the couch next to Adrien, asleep again before they’d gotten five minutes into the episode, but Adrien let the show keep playing for background noise in the otherwise quiet flat.

They’d just gotten to the part where legally-distinct-Nino got akumatized over legally-distinct-Gabriel not allowing legally-distinct-Adrienne to have a quinceañera (…because apparently Adrienne’s mother was from Mexico, so that was a thing…because artistic license? Adrien didn’t really mind. He looked gorgeous as a girl, and a quinceañera was just the kind of quirky thing Émilie would have done. She adored learning about other cultures and celebrating holidays Adrien had never heard of until she’d taught him) when there was a knock at the door.

Adrien frowned, pausing the TV and carefully getting up so as not to disturb Hugo. He peeked through the peephole and had to stifle a groan.

The other man was out in the hallway.

Adrien took a deep breath, pasted on his most agreeable smile, and opened the door.

“Good Morning. It’s Xavier-Yves, isn’t it? I’ve heard so much about you from Luka. I’m Adrien Agreste-Dupain-Cheng. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

XY stared at the other blonde dumbly, not taking the proffered hand to shake.

“It’s XY. What the hell are you doing here?” he finally growled.

Adrien contemplated slamming the door in XY’s stupid face, but ultimately decided to play nice for Luka and the children’s sake. “Marinette—my wife—is working out of town for the weekend, so Hugo and I—Hugo is my son—are staying with Luka.”

XY’s fingers curled into trembling fists, and his lips drew back to expose snarling teeth. “I know who Hugo is, and he’s not your son,” he snapped savagely, catching Adrien by surprise and momentarily knocking the pleasant smile off of his face.

Adrien quickly recovered, slapping his friendly expression back on. “I think I’ve changed enough diapers and cleaned up enough vomit and kissed enough boo-boos to consider myself a father, but thank you very much for your opinion,” he replied with false joviality through gritted teeth. “Would you like to come in?”

“This isn’t your house,” XY retorted indignantly.

Adrien almost said, “Is it not? Oh, gosh. How silly of me. I guess I can’t invite you in, then. Have fun waiting in the hall” before gleefully shutting the door with a vengeance.

But he controlled his temper and held his tongue, feeling very much like he had all those years dealing with his father’s moratorium on showing negative emotions.

“No, but Luka’s in the shower right now, so he won’t be coming to the door anytime soon,” he informed saccharinely, repeating, “Would you like to come in?”

XY pushed past Adrien, storming into the living room without a reply.

Adrien took a moment locking up behind him to regain his composure and wonder what on earth Luka saw in this brutish buffoon.

He turned around to find XY staring at Hugo, still asleep on the seat of the couch. There was a soft, gentle expression on XY’s face, a tender warmth and affection in his eyes as he looked at Adrien’s son…Luka’s son.

Adrien took a deep inhale and slowly let it out.

Okay.

If Xavier-Yves looked at Luka with even half that much love, maybe there was something there after all.

“May I get you something to drink?” Adrien offered quietly so as not to disturb Hugo.

“I can get it myself,” XY shot back in a hiss of a whisper.

Adrien put his hands up in surrender, going back to sit next to Hugo. “Go right ahead.”

XY did so, just to spite Adrien. He came back from the kitchen a minute later with a glass of water and slumped into the armchair cattycorner from the couch.

“Great. Now what?” Adrien wondered, mentally willing Luka to shower and dress quickly.

“Your son doesn’t look much like you,” XY remarked icily.

Adrien forced himself to keep his amiable façade in place. “He has my smile, my charisma. Other than that, no, but I view that as a good thing. I’d much rather my child resemble the two people I love most.”

XY snorted rudely, setting down his glass of water on a coaster on the side table and crossing his arms with a grunt.

Adrien sighed, letting the act drop. “You know, I’m trying really hard to like you, but you’re not making this easy.”

XY gave an amused bark of laughter. “I don’t give a rat’s—” He looked to Hugo and then back to Adrien. “—behind if you like me or not. You’re just some pretty rich boy. I don’t care what the—” He glanced at Hugo again. “—hell you think.”

Adrien’s mouth pulled into a tight, serpentine smile. “Awesome. Well, since we have some time while Luka’s in the shower, why don’t we chat and get to know one another? Let’s start with how we met Luka,” Adrien suggested, tone chipper and buoyant. “I was classmates with his sisters Rose and Juleka, and I came over to the Liberty for the annual music festival. I tripped on some wires and totally faceplanted. Luka helped me up, and our hands touched, our eyes met, and it was just like something out of a fairytale. Luka told me a few years later that it was love at first sight for him,” Adrien added cheerfully.

XY’s face was red with fury, and Adrien couldn’t help but think that if this had been five years prior, he would have been dealing with an akuma by this point.

Still, he pressed, fed up with XY’s attitude. “How did you and Luka meet?—Oh wait! I remember,” he laughed in a “silly me” sort of way. “You and your father ripped off his music, threatened my wife, and got Luka akumatized. Wow. What an interesting story to tell the kids, right?”

XY gave a soft growl. “You think you’re so great, Agreste, but you’re really not.”

Adrien was taken aback at the vehemence of the anger and bitterness in XY’s voice.

“You have no idea,” XY continued, “how often you and Marinette make Luka feel alone and unloved. You two don’t truly appreciate him, and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of watching you break his heart. News flash, Agreste: he doesn’t need you anymore. He’s with me now, and I’m going to treat him how he deserves to be treated. He’s not even going to miss you.”

Adrien’s expression went glacial, and, suddenly, XY could tell without a doubt that Adrien was Gabriel Agreste’s son.

A cruel frost settled into Adrien’s eyes as he replied coolly, “Listen here, you homewrecking clown. I am not going anywhere. Luka and I have been together for eight years. Years. You’ve been making out with him for, what? A couple months? And you think you have this great bond with him, that you’re the one who understands him?”

XY had gone into the confrontation feeling confident, but now he felt very small and very squishable.

Adrien laughed, the noise raking XY’s self-esteem like a jaguar’s claws. “Luka and I have a child together,” Adrien rubbed it in. “Which of us do you think really knows him? Because Luka and I spent our adolescence together. We supported each other and helped each other to grow into adults. I’ve been there for him during some of his darkest times just like he’s been there for me. You think you know Luka? You don’t know anything. You can’t take Luka away from me; I’m a part of who Luka is.”

Adrien waited a beat, letting that sink in. “…Now…if Luka really were seeking you out to fill some kind of void in his relationship with Marinette and me…wouldn’t that mean you were just a stand-in for someone else?”

XY paled, looking down at the arm of the chair, unable to respond.

“Hm,” Adrien patronized. “I wonder…. I’m willing to share, XY, if that truly makes Luka happy, but you are never going to steal Luka from me. It’s better if you get that through your head now. Marinette, Luka, Hugo, and I are a family, and decent people don’t just go around breaking families up. If Luka wants you to join us, fine, but drop the attitude, you uncouth swine.”

XY didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond.

It was like Adrien had taken a scalpel and cut out his larynx, taking away his power to defend himself. It was just like when XY’s father yelled at him, harsh words cutting through him as if he were made of paper, leaving him helpless.

Adrien’s words flooded XY with doubt.

“Daddy, you paused Ladybug,” Hugo noted sleepily, waking to find the show was no longer playing.

“Because you fell asleep, My Sweet One,” Adrien cooed, voice warm and kind once more as he ruffled his son’s hair.

“Daddy, who’s dat?”

XY looked up to see familiar blue eyes gazing at him with curiosity. Hugo wasn’t an exact copy of Luka by any stretch, but the shade of the eyes, some of the gently angular facial features, and the feathery hair were there.

Adrien got up and shepherded Hugo over to XY, saying, “Come meet Papa’s friend.”

XY stood, whispering, “I’m not your friend.”

Adrien rolled his eyes and hissed back, “I’m not ‘Papa’. What do you want him to call you?”

“Uh…XY is fine,” XY replied, a little thrown.

Adrien crouched down to Hugo’s level. “Gogo, this is Papa’s best friend, XY. What do you say?”

Hugo stared the long way up at XY and looked slightly intimidated.

XY copied Adrien, crouching down to be at eye-level with the two-year-old.

Hugo took a deep breath and recited, “Hello. My name is Hugo Agreste-Dupain-Cheng. Enchanted to meet you, Monsieur XY.”

“Awesome job, Gogo,” Adrien whispered, giving his son an encouraging pat on the back. “That was perfect.”

XY took Hugo’s outstretched hand and shook it carefully. “Hello, Hugo. It’s nice to meet you. You can just call me XY. My real name is Xavier-Yves. I’m…uh…I’m a friend of your papa.”

Hugo’s face lit up. “Xavier-Yves? Papa talked about you,” he announced proudly, happy to feel like he was in the loop.

XY’s mouth dropped open. “O-Oh? He did? Really?”

Hugo nodded. “You like cars! Wanna pway cars with me?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” XY agreed with a shrug, not yet certain what to make of the fact that Luka had told his son about XY. Surely that was a good thing, right?

Hugo ran over to the corner where a child-sized backpack sat on top of the large plastic tub that usually occupied that spot. Hugo wrapped both arms around the backpack and toddled back over to XY.

XY wondered if he should offer to help the little guy, but Adrien didn’t seem concerned as he got up and took a seat back on the couch, watching the scene play out.

Hugo set the backpack down and carefully emptied the contents onto the floor.

Out spilled nearly thirty little toy cars in all different makes and models.

XY’s eyes went wide.

Hugo grinned. “Papa and Daddy don’t know about cars, but Papa said you did. He said you could pwobably tell me about my cars. Like this one.” Hugo held up a red racecar, a Ford GT40 with the number fifty-five stamped on its sides and hood. “This one’s my favourite because it’s got my name on it.” He pointed to the fifty-five. “In Japanese, ‘five’ is ‘go’, so you can write my name as ‘five-five’. Gogo.”

XY nodded slowly. “You’re gonna be scary smart like your papa, aren’t you?” he chuckled.

“Mmhm!” Hugo beamed, glowing with pride. “I’m pwecocious.”

XY shifted from his crouch to take a seat on the floor by the pile of cars. “And you want me to tell you about the cars while we play?”

Hugo nodded enthusiastically, eyes going wide and hopeful. “Pwease!”

“Okay,” XY acquiesced. “Sounds like fun.”

Adrien watched as his son and his partner’s boyfriend wheeled the cars around the floor, making appropriate sound effects. Periodically, XY would mention some fact about one of the cars they were playing with, its name, its year, something about the way it was built or the parts, what made it special.

Every other minute, Hugo would stop playing to ask XY a question, holding up a car and asking his new friend to, “Tell me about dis one!”

Adrien was legitimately impressed. It was obvious that XY knew a lot about cars on a very technical level, but the vocabulary he used was very age-appropriate, his explanations simple, and Adrien could tell that Hugo was actually absorbing much of what XY said.

Maybe the “other man” wasn’t all bad after all.

Adrien could forgive many personal slights if a guy was patient and kind to Hugo. Adrien could tell it wasn’t just for show either. XY genuinely seemed to be having fun pushing cars around and making them do somersaults in the air while sharing facts about the cars and producing silly car noises.

They just needed to do something about XY’s jealousy and poor attitude. Adrien didn’t have the mental energy to deal with a repeat of their conversation prior to Hugo waking up and redeeming XY.

…Maybe Adrien needed to do something about his own jealousy and poor attitude as well…but XY had definitely started it.

…They obviously had some work to do if this was going to be a long-term thing.

“Hey, Adrien,” Luka called as he walked into the living room with a towel slung around his hips. “Have you seen my—Xavier-Yves! Uhhh…”

Luka stared in horror at his lover, son, and the guy he was making out with all in the same room.

XY raised a hand unenthusiastically in greeting. “Surprised? I was too.”

Luka sucked in a breath and let out a whispered curse in what XY assumed was Russian.

“I’m not supposed to repeat dat,” Hugo reported conspiratorially to XY.

Despite himself, XY laughed, though, it came out sounding a little miserable.

“Orpheus, you should probably go put some clothes on,” Adrien advised, and XY bristled at the nickname.

He’d forgotten for almost fifteen minutes that Adrien was even there, but, then, of course, Adrien had to find some way to rub in how close he was with Luka, how much history there was between the two of them.

“Right,” Luka sighed, spinning on his heel. “Sorry. Back in five.”

Luka had never dressed so fast in his life. He came back two minutes later and was greeted by Adrien saying something in Russian that XY couldn’t understand.

Where did pretty boy learn Russian? Did all smart people know Russian? XY obviously needed to learn if Luka and Adrien were going to be having secret conversations that should be held behind XY’s back in front of his face like this.

Luka replied to whatever Adrien had said tiredly, sounding like he was lightly scolding.

XY felt like a pane of glass had been lowered between them, firmly placing Luka and Adrien on one side and XY on the other.

He looked at Hugo and whispered, “You don’t know what they’re saying, do you?”

Hugo shook his head. “Daddy said something mean, and Papa told him to be nice.”

XY quirked an eyebrow at the incredibly sharp young boy. “How do you know that?”

In the background, Adrien was shooting off a long, indignant string of Russian at Luka, pointing accusatorily at XY, and then crossing his arms.

Luka paled, muttering a disjointed apology.

Hugo shrugged. “Papa and Daddy talk Russian when they don’t want people to understand. I hear them talk Russian, and I ask what they said. Uncle Victor teaches me too.”

XY nodded slowly. “Cool. So…what did your daddy say? More mean things?”

Hugo shook his head. “He said you were mean to him. Why were you mean to Daddy?”

XY winced, searching for some kind of answer that a two-year-old could understand. “We both want the same thing, but only one of us can have it.”

Hugo frowned at this. “You can’t share?”

“Gogo,” Adrien called gently, distracting the boy. “Let’s get your toys cleaned up. You and I are going for a walk.”

Hugo stuck out his bottom lip. “But Xavier-Yves and I are pwaying.”

“You can play some more when we get back from our walk. We’ll only be gone thirty minutes,” Adrien cajoled, kneeling down on the floor and starting to return the cars to the backpack.

Hugo pursed his lips and looked like he might protest or cry but then seemed to decide against it. Reluctantly, he started to help his father put away the cars. “Are we going to the Bois de Bouwogne?”

“That’s right,” Adrien confirmed.

“Can Papa and Xavier-Yves and Pwagg come with us?” Hugo inquired, looking up at Adrien hopefully.

“Plagg can come, but Papa and XY are staying here. They have to take care of some adult business,” Adrien explained.

Hugo did not look satisfied with this answer. “Do you have any cheese for Pwagg? Pwagg will get hungry if we’re gone a long time.”

“I’ll go get some out of the fridge,” Adrien assured, zipping up the bookbag and taking it back over to the corner. “You go get your shoes on, okay?”

Hugo nodded, pushing himself to his feet and toddler-running over to the door to get his shoes.

XY stood as well, looking to Luka and whispering, “Who’s Plagg?”

Luka smiled sheepishly. “Uh…Plagg is a flying, talking, magical entity who looks like a black cat. He was Adrien’s friend growing up, and now Plagg and Hugo are friends. Plagg likes cheese. A lot.”

XY nodded, taking this in stride. “I had imaginary friends growing up too, but all of mine were people.”

Luka nodded agreeably, thanking his lucky stars that he didn’t actually have to explain Plagg.

“Okay. I got some Cheddar for Plagg to snack on,” Adrien reported as he came back into the living room. “Ready to go, Gogo?”

Hugo frowned. “Cheddar isn’t his favourite. He thinks it’s boring.”

Adrien grimaced. “I know, Sweetie, but sometimes he just has to make do. He can’t have Camembert all the time.” He held out his hands to Hugo, and Hugo obediently came over to be picked up.

Adrien turned back to Luka, eyes bypassing XY. “We’ll be back in thirty.”

Luka nodded and gave a little wave.

The door closed behind Adrien and Hugo, leaving the flat in a state of intense silence.

[creepykingdom]

“Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark” Review

By Kayla Caldwell

To preface this review, let me just tell you I had high hopes for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I have fond memories from childhood of being at slumber parties with friends, sitting in a circle, holding a flashlight, and taking turns reading scary stories from the Alvin Schwartz book, literally in the dark.

The Stephen Gammell images - which were removed in re-releases for being too scary - were haunting. So haunting, in fact, that when I recorded a recent episode of my podcast, High Crime, two of my friends recalled the terrifying visage of the woman from a story called “The Haunted House,” nearly 20 years later.

Any time Hollywood takes on a beloved story from childhood, it’s hard not to become a little nervous that they’re going to ruin it. (Looking at you, The Golden Compass). But I’m here to say - they did Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark right.

It’s not exactly surprising, seeing as Guillermo del Toro wrote the screenplay and acted as a producer for the film. The man knows how to make a good monster. And lucky me, del Toro even stopped by the screening, along with director André Øvredal, to introduce the film.

He called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark a “gateway movie” for those who are not quite horror buffs, “like us.” And, he noted, laughing and gesturing to director Øvredal, “It’s creepy, because Norwegians are creepy.” Øvredal kept it short and sweet, saying that he hoped everyone saw the film as a “horror movie that has a heart and a sense of fun.” And I believe it did.

Now, let’s get into the story. It takes place in Mill Valley, Pennsylvania in 1968. The protagonist is a shy, aspiring writer named Stella (Zoe Margaret Colleti), who has a flair for the macabre. On Halloween, she and her friends - nerd, Auggie (Gabriel Rush), and goofball Chuck (Austin Zajur) - invited town newcomer Ramón (Michael Garza) to check out a local haunted house.

Not haunted house in the theme park attraction, clowns holding chainsaws, Universal Studios way - but an old, abandoned house that had its own local legend. See, the once beautiful manor was home to the Bellows family, who started the paper mill that brought the town to life, and filled their pockets with money.

But the family had a nasty secret: their unwanted daughter Sarah. Rumor had it that there was something wrong with Sarah, something that made the family want to keep her hidden in the basement where no one would ever lay eyes on her. But, as they say, curiosity kills - and so the children of the town would come to the house to hear Sarah tell scary stories through the wall… and then they would never be heard from again. * Spoiler alert ahead *

But those were just stories, right? I mean, how could Sarah have killed anyone when she was trapped behind those walls? The group was about to find out, because, in their exploration of the house, Stella and Ramón stumbled upon Sarah’s old bedroom, and her book of stories. Auggie and Chuck - who was so spot-on as the smart aleck sidekick that if this had been filmed in the 80s, he would have been played by Corey Feldman - warned Stella not to touch the book, but it was all for naught.

Not only did Stella touch the book, but she opened it, ran her fingers along the pages, and as if summoning her by some unknown spell, softly spoke the words, “Sarah Bellows, tell me a story.” In a move very reminiscent of Labyrinth, the words held more power than Stella realized. The book came to life and brought Sarah’s evil spirit with it. It wouldn’t be long before children would start disappearing as their stories were scrawled on the old tome’s pages in blood.

This movie was a lot darker than I thought it’d be. For some reason, I didn’t imagine anyone would actually die, since it was being marketed as sort of a “kid’s movie.” But I was wrong. Town delinquent Tommy goes down in spectacular fashion, with a pitchfork to the gut that turned him, gasping and gagging, into his own grotesque scarecrow.

And there were some real jump scares. I found myself hesitantly averting my eyes here and there, bracing for the moment of terror, while I noticed the woman in the seat next to me jumped at least three times. Of course, as a bit of an arachnophobic myself, I found “The Red Spot” to be the most horrific part of the film. Watching the one twitching leg poke out of pore Ruth’s (Natalie Ganzhorn) face was not only painful, but a little traumatizing, too, as I inadvertently spent the rest of the movie swiping imaginary spiders off of my legs and arms.

But Ruth wasn’t the only one to get the Scary Stories treatment. Tapping into everyone’s childhood fear of a bogeyman under the bed, Auggie got dragged away, leaving cringe-inducing scratch marks along the floor.

And Chuck, well, Chuck’s disappearance was troubling. He was captured by the “pale lady,” an impeccable recreation of the haunting Stephen Gammell image from the book’s tale, “The Dream.” This strange and unsettling monster seemingly hugged Chuck to death, pulling him into her grotesque form until he disappeared.

But by far, the most generally scary monster, reminiscent of something you’d see in typical horror fare, was “the Jangly man.” Now, having just re-read all three of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books, I can tell you that there is no story dedicated to him. He appears to be a combination of “What Do You Come For?” - which is about a lonely, old woman whose wish for some company was nefariously answered in the form of rotted body parts falling down her chimney and putting themselves together to form a “great, gangling man” who danced about her living room - and “Me Tie Dough-ty Walker!”

It’s interesting, because that was always one of my least favorite stories, because it’s completely nonsensical, with a disembodied head yelling gibberish at a scared, young boy for no apparent reason. But in this iteration, it definitely has the capacity to haunt your nightmares.

This might be a strange thing to notice, but the font in the Sarah Bellow’s book was perfect. An eerily beautiful script, it was still legible enough to creep you out on those close-up shots of the pages.

Sarah’s favorite song was “The Hearse Song,” a ghostly number with lyrics like, “Don't you ever laugh as the hearse goes by / For you may be the next one to die… The worms crawl in / the worms crawl out / The worms play pinochle on your snout.” It played throughout the movie, but especially when something bad was about to happen. It’s amazingly unsettling, like a dark lullaby.

Much like The Ring, and other such horror films, there’s a dark story behind Sarah’s madness. But I won’t spoil it for you, as it’s almost certainly not what you’re expecting.

But Sarah was not the only weaver of tales in this flick, as there was an offhand comment about one of Stella’s works, which involved a boy named Sam, whose new dog turned out to be sewer rat - not unlike, “Sam’s New Pet,” from the third installment of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Then again, Stella is just another “lonely girl who’s good at telling scary stories.”

Though the setting is the late 60s, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark gave me all the 90s nostalgia vibes, conjuring memories of Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark? marathons. And, it doesn’t end there. Guillermo del Toro himself said he’d be happy to make all three films, and the conclusion of this movie definitely set up a sequel.

As Stella, her father (Dean Norris), and Ruth drove off, the former repeated the phrase from the beginning, “Stories hurt. Stories heal,” before promising to never stop looking for her missing friends, Chuck and Auggie.

Time will tell which stories del Toro and Øvredal choose to bring to life next - if any. But I do know one thing: if they’re anything like what I just saw on the big screen, I’ll surely be there to watch.

IMAGES: CBS FILMS

[achildoftheivy-blog]

Chapter 11: Flower Moon

The morning after your first Vampire Weekend concert is an amazing feeling.  If you’re not familiar with Vampire Weekend, they are a rock band from New York, forming in 2006. They are heavily influenced by African and World music with some nice Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel vibes. I’ve been avidly listening to them since 2006 and last night was the first time I was able to see them live. It was also their first time performing in Charlotte. Suffice to say, they don’t come to my neck of the woods that much.

So for them being one of my bucket list bands, I was entirely prepared to not even go see them. When the fan club presale tickets went on sale a handful of months ago, I had them in my cart, but for whatever reason I said no and didn’t buy them. I must have been in a mood and the steep price didn’t sway me. BUT this is a bucket list band! A list that incorporates bands I’ve mostly been listening since their formation and have made an incredible impact on my life. How could I just pass this opportunity up?

That’s what I asked myself on Friday morning, the day before the concert. They had just released some more tickets in the PIT section, my favorite section right up on the stage. I also saw where they were playing in Raleigh Friday night, so I could have gone there also. I had an opportunity in front of me to experience a potentially good time and I’ve been trying to put more of an effort to chase those experiences.

I bit the bullet and bought the Charlotte PIT ticket along with a Fast Pass ticket. FYI, if you can purchase a Fast Pass ticket and you are in a situation where the concert is first come, first serve on standing position, it’s no doubt worth every extra penny to get one.

So yay, I got the ticket and I was looking forward to a nice time. I felt I should have been more hyped, but maybe it was because I saw the weather forecast and it was calling for severe storms. 

I’m about sick of these storms lately. They postponed my Lord Huron concert, we got a rain shortened Day 2 Gears and Guitar Music Festival, and it put a damper on my Asheville hiking excursion. The rain just needs to chill. 

It’s already difficult enough to go to a concert by yourself. You kind of have to mentally pumped yourself up knowing that it’s just going to be you. You don’t have the luxury of someone saving your spot, going on a beer run, or just having that amazing shared experience with someone. It’s even more difficult when you are dealing with that and you are driving through dark clouds and heavy rains towards the concert. I was fighting myself to not bail on the show and just hang out in concord mills instead. But I continued forward and I was determined to go through with it and make the most of it.

I’m going to be honest with you all right now, I’m not a person who believes in destiny, karma, or stuff happens for a reason. I think life is inexplicably chaotic, unfair, and it is what it is. I believe if you rely on life or the universe to give you or someone else their karma or comeuppance you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment. Having said that though, there is something to be said for last night, that is just a unique series of events that just made me think. 

So the rain is now at a constant hard drizzle and I go to my parking lot that I’m familiar with at this venue in Charlotte. Although now, it’s not free parking it’s paid and I have to go up to the attendant. The guy is says it’s $10 and I’m thinking no problem. I was pretty sure I had around $15 on me. I open my wallet and there is a 5 and four 1′s. 

Damn.

Must’ve been a girl to take my other $6 - they tend to do that.

I’m doing my best at holding up the line as I’m scrounging for change. I find .75 real quick and then I pull apart some interior and I find a another quarter. I’m in. PHEW.

I park and I grab what I now discover is the world LARGEST XL poncho. I’m in one of the trendiest parts of Charlotte and I’m looking like a damn fool in my over sized clown poncho.

Whatever, I make my way towards the amphitheater to get in line. Now, when I have PIT tickets, I try to get to the venue an hour before the doors open so I get be one of the first ones in to get a spot up front. I was about 75 minutes early and thinking it’s all good. I get to the entrance and the fast pass line is completely lined up. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m thinking to myself, “WTF is a Fast Pass good for if everyone has gotten a Fast Pass?!?” It ruins the whole purpose of it!!!!

I’m moping hella far back in line, in the rain, inside a family tent converted poncho, and alone. I don’t want to be here. I want to leave. 

Then things start to turn. 

When the attendants where going through the line make sure everyone was in fact a fast pass holder, there was a commotion!!! Apparently a whole group of people were at the wrong venue. There is like 3 different music venues within the same block. A crow of people in front of me left. I was back up in line in a more manageable position!

I eventually get into the venue and I go looking for the PIT area. Of course, I make a wrong turn and by the time I find out where I need to go, I’m about 10 people farther back in line than what I was when entering the PIT. I see that all the up front spots are taken, but I continue to the other side and there is a section open, but it’s a couple of security guards leaning up against the rail and no one else there. I go there and ask if this is open and they are like yeah, have it. So I ended up getting a pretty damn good spot up front and I’m able to lean against the rail. Apparently people though it was a security section, which is why people weren’t standing there. 

I got my spot, but now here lies the problem with going to a show solo. If I were to leave it and get a drink or go to the bathroom, someone else could take it. So I was hoping whoever ended up next to me could be cool enough to help me out. So that person arrives......it was the most Type A couple there could be. Loud, in your face, and just immediately not the people I would generally get along with. They were asking people to slide down and trying to get into spots that were being saved. But, I tried to feel them out a bit as I was planning my move. Eventually I just had to get a drink and I started a conversation with them and they saved my spot as I went to get a $13.50 beer!!!

They turned out to be really cool concert neighbors and it’s way more common to get bad ones in my experience. Also around this time the rain stopped, so I ditched the industrial tarp and it was all sun’s out guns out!

Now the show has begun and the one main aspect that I love about seeing my favorite bands live is that I get to hear songs that I’ve heard millions of times under a different light. I may hear an instrument I never was able to pick up on a studio recording, they may play an extended version of a song, or a lyric will hit you in different way and change your life. The entire night was like that and it was for one song in particular. I’ll get to that a little later. 

Vampire Weekend ended up playing around a 2 and a half hour set with all my favorite songs. That is a hefty set time, more than you would usually get at a concert. And looking at the Raleigh set list the night before, this was definitely catered just for me. I don’t know if I could have asked for a more perfectly suited set list for me. The crowd was full of energy and the band totally fed off of it. There is always a chance that a band you like could totally suck live. I’ve experienced that before and it’s a bummer. But this concert was everything I had hoped for it to be! Truly a memorable experience.

The concert has now ended and I’m starving. I hadn’t eaten for 11.5 hours and I have a couple beers in me. I needed some sustenance if I were to make it back home. All the little food places around the venue were packed with the post concert crowd. So I decided to escape the parking lot and grab something quick and unhealthy on the road. Whatever is still open at midnight. I was looking for a Taco Bell to get my protein burrito, but apparently those are few and far between on this stretch of highway. So I was going to settle on a McDonalds too. I get to an exit that had both a Taco Bell and a McDonalds. I start to get on the exit and it hits me. This is a bullshit exit that I remember that I went off on a while back. I know that taco bell was trash and 3 miles off the exit. I was going to do that again. I then saw the Mickey D’s right off the exit so I just decided to give in and go there. I was getting woozy. 

I get in live at the drive thru and I could look inside to see that it’s only ONE PERSON handles the orders and making the food!!!!!!

I legit was going to just leave, but I that point I was trapped inside the drive thru curb and the line. It was so slow and I was stuck with my dumb McDonalds decision. Then I noticed two huge pick up trucks hauling these immense trailers. They pull to the side of the parking lot and a few people get out. After a bit a dude comes walking towards my car and knocks on the passenger side window. I sighed because I don’t want to deal with people, but because of the person I am, I tiredly rolled down my window with the help of a healthy UUGGGHHHH.

He tells me that they won’t be able to get their vehicles through the drive thru to order and that If I was to order for them he would pay for my meal too. I’m a super nice person, so I obviously said yes. I was also not thinking and I probably would have said yes to most things. 

So here I am in my car finally ordering and the are on the other side of my car telling me want they want as I relay the order to the cashier. It took around 40 minutes from when I get stuck in line to when I finally got the order. I gave the food to the people and they told me to keep the change on top of paying for my meal. So I made out with a little over $10! Pretty sweet. 

Now I’ve been thinking about everything that has transpired during this evening. The push to fight myself through the storm to get to a very important experience. Being on the spot to come up with money last second. Going out in public looking like a fool. Disappointment in showing up early and still being disappointed, Dealing with making wrong turns and setting yourself back and having to interact with people you normally wouldn’t get a long with. Being in a position to open yourself up to helping people when your not fully 100% yourself. And having to make the best of what you got with instances you can’t control, like the weather. 

Last night, everything happened for a reason. Despite the bumps and annoyances in the road, I had an amazing night. And all those issues are just little irritations. I don’t think I could have handled last night as well without going through those same situations on a much larger scale the past year. Everything I have been through has allowed me to handle the same circumstances that I went through last night. And last night taught me that maybe, just maybe there might be a tiny bit of room to accept that things MIGHT happen for a reason, sometimes. Because everything that happened last night put me in a a position to have an incredible and rewarding time. 

Within the time frame of one night, it’s easier to see that concept.  It’s a lot more difficult to see that things happen for a reason when you are waiting months or years. I guess that is just something I have to be better at looking forward to.  

Now to get back to what I mentioned before about a song hitting me a different way. The song is called Flower Moon and you can listen to it below. They opened the show with this song and the lyrics just set the whole tone for just the night, the past couple weeks, and just me in this current moment in time.

“Flower moon cursed the night 

If the sun don't make things right 

Then it's gonna take a year”

“It was the right place, wrong time 

Another night at the borderline

Another night in the sway of the flower moon 

It was the right week on a cursed day 

Another chapter was underway”

“A shift in weight 

A simple twist of fate 

Suddenly, it's much too late 

The rising tide's already lapping at the gate”

[twelveunitsshy-blog]

Hearsay

Admittedly, there are parts in this story that could've been left out, but I left them in anyway.  Also, maybe it might have a continuation possibly?  It ends in a bad spot and in a bad way.  So, I don't know.

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Genre: Romance Pairing(s): Jack/Gabriel aka Reaper76 Rating: PG13 Summary: In high school, there was a rumor going around about Gabriel and of course, his best friend Jack is the last to know.

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Notes: Yep, a high school AU.  Also featuring random OCs.  

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Hearsay

Jack began having suspicions that something was wrong when Gabriel would be late coming out of the school building.  They always walked home together and normally it was Gabriel who had to wait for Jack to catch up.  Now he just watched as his dark-skinned friend came marching out murmuring angrily to himself.

"Let's go," Gabriel said harshly as he walked right past Jack.

"Hold on a minute, Gabe.  Did something happen?" Jack asked.  He had to jog a bit to catch up to him.  After his friend remained silent and kept walking, Jack finally spoke again.  "Gabe, say something."

"Nothing happened.  Let's just go home," Gabriel said.

Well, Jack knew that something had pissed him off.  A teacher must have kept him for detention.  But if that were the case, that was the shortest detention Jack had ever heard of.

"We've got that test tomorrow.  Wanna come to my place and study?" Gabriel asked as if there had been no prior attempts at conversation.

"Yeah, but something's bothering you and I wanna know what it is," Jack insisted.

"Don't be stupid, Jack.  I said it was nothing, so let's just leave it at that."

Well, it seemed as though Jack were causing Gabriel to become even more upset by asking him about it.  That was the last thing he wanted to do.  "Yeah.  Alright."

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

They'd stopped at a convenience store for sodas before they quietly made their way to Gabriel's house.  No one was at home, as usual.  Gabriel's parents worked the late shift and Gabriel often spent his nights at Jack's house.  But they would have more quiet studying at Gabriel's house.

"You know, Gabe.  This probably wasn't a good idea," Jack began.

Gabriel sighed.  "What do you mean?"

"We're studying together, but neither of us is even slightly good at math.  It's like a camel trying to teach a tuna how to fly," Jack told him.

The darker teen snorted.  "That doesn't even make any sense."

"Yeah.  Just like the two of us trying to study math together."

"Well, what were we supposed to do?  Drag home one of the nerds or something?"

Jack shrugged.  "Maybe.  That one girl with the freckles and the huge rack who sits in the back of the classroom coulda helped us out.  She's really smart.  What's her name again?  Zoe?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes.  "It's Sadie.  And my parents don't want me to have girls over while they're not here."

Jack grinned and nudged his buddy.  "How are they gonna know if they're not here?  Come on.  You've probably had hundreds of girls over."

"Of course not, idiot.  You're always here, remember?"

Jack nodded thoughtfully.  "Hey!  Then why don't we both invite girls over here?"

"Aren't we getting a little off topic?"

"Not at all.  I'm just saying that Sadie could come over and bring one of her friends or something and we can all 'study' together," Jack said, being sure to emphasize the word study.

Jack already knew that Gabriel knew that he wasn't talking about studying at all.  "Can we focus a little here?  It's already gonna be hard enough to understand this stuff without you thinking with your dick."

The blond couldn't help noticing that Gabriel seemed a little upset.  "What's the matter with you?  Do you like Sadie or something?  You already knew who I was talking about and you knew her name and every—"

Gabriel cut him off with an abrupt, "No."

Jack looked at Gabriel for a long time.  He was even crankier than usual.  They always joked about everything and Gabriel rarely took him seriously.  What was up with him?

He watched as Gabriel opened his math book to the section they were working on in class.  So, he relented and joined his friend in an attempt to study.

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

It was a pretty good attempt.  The next day, they both received C's for their effort.  At least they didn't fail like on the last couple of tests.

As Jack was gathering his books after his last class of the day, he spotted Gabriel hurrying down the hall.  This was a good chance for Jack to find out why Gabriel was always late meeting up with him after school.

Jack hoisted his backpack up on his back and trotted after his best friend, making sure not to make too much noise.  He watched as Gabriel hurried into the boys' bathroom near their classroom and before Jack could follow him inside, Gabriel came right back out and hurried on down the hall.  Thankfully, his dark-skinned friend didn't think to look in his direction.

The blond followed Gabriel on down the hall until he darted into the next restroom.  Jack thought that Gabriel might come right back out like last time, so he waited around a bit.  But when he didn't come out, Jack slowly opened the door to see Gabriel hurriedly scrubbing the wall.

What in the world was he doing?

The sound of the main door closing obviously startled Gabriel.  When Gabriel turned to see who was there, he quickly tried to cover up what he was doing.

"What's going on, Gabe?" Jack asked.

"Don't look," was all Gabriel said.

Jack was completely confused until he saw what Gabriel was trying to cover up.  There was a hastily scribbled statement on the wall: Reyes puts the GAY in Gabriel.

The first thing that came to jack's mind was that his best friend was being bullied.  "Who did this?" the blond asked.

"It's nothing," Gabriel told him, still trying to hide what Jack had already seen.

"If someone's bullying you, we should tell someone.  A teacher maybe."

"It's nothing.  Just...."

"Or I could help you deal with them personally," Jack added, jabbing his fist into his palm for emphasis.

Gabriel looked surprised.  "What?  No.  You can't do that.  You'd get in trouble."

"I don't care.  You're my best friend.  Nobody messes with my friends."

"No, Jack.  You have a reputation as a good kid.  Don't mess that up," Gabriel told him sadly.  He began cleaning the wall again and was surprised when Jack joined him.

"Well, the least I could do is help you."

The two were quiet for a while, but Jack became curious.  Not only did he wonder who was saying such things about his best friend, but why?

He looked at Gabriel, who made it a point not to look back at him.

"Does this person write random rumors about you every day?  Is that why you're always late meeting me after school?" Jack asked.

Gabriel sighed.  "Looks like we're done here.  Let's head home.  I'm allowed to order pizza."

As soon as Jack heard the word pizza, he lost all focus.  "Well let's not wait around this place.  Let's go."

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

On their way to Gabriel's house, they spent the whole time disagreeing on what toppings to get on their pizza.  They finally settled on pepperoni, onions and mushrooms.  The onions were a compromise.  Gabriel had wanted olives while Jack had wanted peppers.

As they sat and enjoyed their pizza, Jack frowned as he chewed.  "I still can't believe that someone would bully you."

"You know how teenagers are.  Just drop it," Gabriel said between bites.

"I just wanna know who it is so I can knock his teeth in one good time."

"Let it go, Jack."

"How long has this been going on?"

Gabriel was quiet for a while.  "About a month."

At least he answered that.  "So what exactly has he been doing?" Jack went on.

Gabriel glared at him for a while, then sighed and said, "It's like a game to him.  A scavenger hunt, I guess.  He writes stuff on bathroom walls after school and I 'm supposed to find them.  If I don't, they'll be there for everyone to see the next day."

Jack groaned, aggravated.  "Doesn't this clown have anything better to do than make up lies about people?"

Gabriel averted his eyes.

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

The next day, the two of them were walking to school behind a group of girls.  Those girls were looking back at them and whispering and giggling among themselves.

Jack was feeling pretty confident that he and his buddy were the topic of their conversation.  Especially since they kept looking back at them.

"Which one do you like?" Jack whispered.  But when he looked at his friend, he didn't seem to be paying attention to what was going on.

"Huh?"

"Those girls," Jack whispered.  "Which one would you go for?"

"I don't know.  The blond one, I guess."

Jack laughed.  "No way.  What about the little exotic looking one?  I like her way better."

"From what you were saying the other day, I thought you were into girls with freckles," Gabriel said, sounding a little bitter.

"Well, I like to stay open-minded in my tastes."

"Hey, Gabriel.  You two are really close, huh?" one of the girls finally said.

Gabriel rolled his eyes.  "Just shut up, Amanda."

The girls went back to giggling with each other and Jack looked confused.  "What was that all about?" he asked.

"It's nothing," Gabriel said.  "Don't pay attention to them.  It's what they want you to do."

Jack chuckled.  "Fine.  But maybe we should get you that blond's phone number."

Gabriel rolled his eyes yet again.

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

Having a reputation as a 'good kid' had its advantages.  Jack left his last class early so he could keep his eyes open for any unusual activity regarding writing on boys' bathroom walls.

He was in luck.  Jack spotted a suspicious looking kid rushing down the hall and into the bathroom nearest his last class.  Whether or not the kid saw him, he wasn't sure.  Nor did he care.

Jack walked into the bathroom and sure enough, the kid was writing something on the wall.  'Gabriel luvs....' and then a horizontal line that could have been the beginning of the letter T.

"Hey!" Jack said, interrupting what the guy was doing.  Upon closer inspection, Jack realized that he did recognize the kid.  His name was Dustin and he was in Gabriel's last class.  "You're the one who's bullying Gabriel?"

"Bullying?  Of course not," the one by the name of Dustin said.  "There's nothin' wrong with—"

"Hey!" Jack heard Gabriel say behind him.

"I'm glad you're here, Gabe.  This has gone on long enough.  Let's teach this guy a lesson," Jack said as he rolled up his sleeves.  He had to admit, though, that he felt a little bad.  This Dustin kid was way shorter and smaller than both he and Gabriel.  Why was Gabriel allowing himself to be bullied by this little punk?

"We're not teaching anybody anything," Gabriel said to Jack.

"You're right.  This has gone on long enough.  I'll put a stop to it," the kid said.  "But only if you let him see the inside of your locker, Gabriel."

Jack looked at them both strangely and he noticed that Gabriel's dark skin seemed to become flushed.  And now that he thought about it, Jack had never seen the inside of Gabriel's locker.  He'd never even been over there.

"Come on, Gabriel.  You do this and I won't write on the walls anymore," Dustin told him.

"Fine.  It's not really a big deal anyway," Gabriel said.

Jack was completely confused, but he followed the two teens to the lockers on their end of the hall.  When Gabriel opened his locker, Jack saw that there were tons of pictures all over the insides of it.  And they were all pictures of Jack.

"He's my best friend.  Of course I have pictures of him everywhere," Gabriel said quietly.

Jack was flattered, but he also felt bad because he didn't have any pictures of Gabriel in his locker.  "Wow.  What a friend.  Thanks, Gabe."

Dustin looked utterly astounded.  "You always were slow on the uptake, huh, Jack?"

"Shut up, Dustin.  Don't say that about him.  You got what you wanted.  Now, don't go around writing weird stuff on the walls anymore," Gabriel said.  "Or I might start playing by my own rules.  Got it?"

"Alright!" Dustin said.  He was about to leave, but as he was passing by, he stood close to Jack and whispered, "The only reason someone keeps that many pictures of a person in their locker is if that person's a boyfriend, girlfriend or crush.  Think about it."

With that, the weird kid left and Jack watched as Gabriel hurriedly shut his locker.  The darker teen's face had become even more flushed, but he looked relieved.  "Glad that's over.  I'm gonna go clean that wall and then we can head home."

Of course Jack quietly went along to help Gabriel.

It took Jack a few minutes to put all the pieces together.  When he thought about the first message he'd seen—'Reyes puts the GAY in Gabriel'—and the second message he'd seen—'Gabriel luvs', which was a partial message—and all the pictures of him in Gabriel's locker, he couldn't help making the connection.

Jack began feeling heat spread all over his face and up to his ears.  "Gabe, can I ask you something?" he asked as they finished cleaning the wall.

"What is it?" Gabriel asked slowly, making sure not to look at his blond friend.

"Do...do you have a crush on me?" Jack asked.

"I don't know what that guy said to you, but are you really gonna believe everything you hear, Jack?" Gabriel asked, still not looking at him.

Jack quickly shook his head and laughed uncomfortably.  "No, of course not.  Besides, we've still gotta get that blond's phone number for you."

Part 2

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Dating a trickster

A/N: smut and angst 

Words: 2,376

Summary: She loved Gabriel…loved him beyond measure. When he died her world stopped. When he returns from the dead Gabriel is going to have some explaining to do but will it be enough to fix the wrong?

________________________________

Standing in a closet Priscilla clutched the stake in her hand closet to her body. She wondered where Sam and Dean were. How long did it take someone to lure some vampires. It had been almost an hour and normally she would have been out of this closet along time ago.

Priscilla sighed checking her watch before letting her eyes fall to the ring on her third finger of her right hand. Her heart hurt immediately thinking of Gabriel. He had given her the ring the day before he had gone off to face Lucifer. Her lover died trying to do the right thing and died at the hands of his own brother.

It had been almost a year since Gabriel had been gone and it still felt like yesterday. Every morning she awoke to an empty bed. She could no longer pray to Gabriel when she was in trouble and he would rush into save her. She had prayed many times begging if he was out out there or alive to please come to her but there was nothing.

Priscilla knew thinking about Gabriel right now wasn’t smart. She needed to keep her head in the ball game. Thinking about how much she loved and missed Gabriel was doing her no favors but she couldn’t help it. She missed everything about him. She missed his childish jokes and his little tricks he would do to make her smile. He was like a tornado at points making messes worse than a child. One of his charming smiles however, would make her forgive him of any wrong doings. Priscilla wouldn’t admit it but she missed the way he would call her “Prissy Priscilla” when she would get short with him.

There was the physical aspects missing him too. Her body ached for his touch. He was the first to touch her. Having an angel for your first lover set the bar a little high for mortal men to meet. Between what he could do with his grace and his hands no man could please her like Gabriel did.

A loud crash brought Priscilla back into reality. She jumped out of the closet right as two vampires walked in minus Sam and Dean. They both looked surprised to see a mortal just jump out at them. Both exchanged smiles before looking back to Priscilla.

“Well well what have we here?”

“Obviously I didn’t plan that to well. Oh well, doesn’t matter. Now do you both want to just come quietly and let me stake you or do you want to make this difficult?”

Priscilla asked with a smirk pushing her dark red hair out of her face. She hoped they would buy her self confidence. The last thing she wanted them to know was that inside she was screaming FUCK at the top of her lungs.

“Come quietly?”

One inquired with a casual smirk. The other walked slowly behind Priscilla breathing in her honey like scent.

“Who are you darling?”

He asked sweetly. Priscilla watched him carefully.

“Certainly not Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.”

Priscilla said with a sneer. The vampires rolled their eyes. The one closest to Priscilla looked to his buddy.

“What a sense of humor. She will be fun to drain.”

“Oh I don’t think so fruitcake.”

Priscilla said coldly as she turned to stab the vampire in his chest however, she wasn’t quick enough. The vampire reached out pulling her against him effortlessly.

“Now now none of that.”

When the vampire went to bite he shrieked dropping Priscilla to the ground before bursting into flame. Priscilla landed on the ground hard! She lay a moment before noting a set of feet in front of her. Taking a deep breath she looked up to see the champagne eyes she missed more than anything in the world.

“Gabriel?”

She manged to get up as he reached down pulling her up effortlessly.

“Hello princess….isn’t playing with vampires a tad dangerous? Please tell me you have some better friends than these clowns? If not I’m sorry to say I just killed your Twilight buddies.”

Priscilla stared at him with wide eyes. How was he here? She couldn’t believe it! Was he real or was this just someone playing a cold mean trick on her?

“I’m real sugartits.”

That was all the confirmation she needed! As much as she was happy, Priscilla was pissed! How could he do this to her? First he dies now here he is? Was it all a joke? One of his tricks? It was sure looking that way!

With a growl she reached out smacking Gabriel as hard as she could! Gabriel was clearly shocked as his had flew up to his cheek holding the place before grabbing his lover pulling her flush against his body

“What was that for? I just saved your life?! Plus I’m alive! Woo?”

Priscilla ripped herself out of his arms.

“So all of this was one of your tricks?! Just another Gabriel the trickster special?! You’ve lied to me this whole time! How could you do something so cruel? I thought you loved me you lying bag of dicks!”

Gabriel looked a little surprised when she used his line.

“That was my line! I do love you! I love you more than anything that is why I left. I wanted to give you a normal life. A life without demons or angels so you could be normal. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and that’s why I came back. I’ve been worried you were going to put a fork in a toaster or something.”

Priscilla rolled her eyes.

“How thoughtful of you! You do realize that my best friends are Sam and Dean Winchester right? Normal is out of my vocabulary and how is it your decision to say I don’t need angels in my life! What I do in my life is my choice and I wanted you! You lied to me Gabriel!”

He ran a hand through his hair taking on his more authoritative angel tone.

“It was with good intent.”

“Fucked up intent.”

Priscilla said coldly. Gabriel looked at her a moment cocking his head to the side reminding her of Castiel. He stood a moment before walking to her pulling her into a tight embrace.

“Now now. How about you just enjoy that fact I am back and we can be together. Hell we can play house. We can go make us a baby. You’ll play mommy and I’ll play daddy. We can live happily ever after. I threw some Disneyfacation in there to make it even more magical.”

Priscilla glowered at him.

“I’m not letting you knock me up. Fuck you Gabriel you aren’t touching me.”

Gabriel sighed rolling his eyes before pressing a kiss to her lips. Priscilla didn’t kiss back for a moment but soon her self control began to vanish. She knew she would hate herself for giving in but feeling Gabriel’s lips on hers she could no longer control herself. Her strong will was depleting as she began to kiss back letting the archangel touch her.

“There’s daddy’s good girl.”

He cooed when his lips pulled away from hers. Priscilla sighed against his lips not fighting this time as Gabriel nuzzled his face against hers as he kissed her forehead.

“Why don’t we get out of here and go somewhere more special?”

Gabriel snapped his fingers and the next thing Priscilla knew she was in a nice hotel room. She looked around a moment knowing what Gabriel wanted and at the moment she was willing to let him have his way. Of course she would probably hate herself in the morning and Gabriel would have hell to pay but at the moment she had her angel back.

“Look at this.”

He said in his childishly happy voice as he looked around the room.

“Its the hotel we made love in the first time. Remember that princess?”

Priscilla nodded. How could she forget? Gabriel walked back Priscilla pushing her carefully against the wall. He tilted her head to the side pressing a series of kisses down her neck gently nipping at her tender flesh.

“Gabriel”

She whimpered as he began to rocking his hips against her body.

“That’s it baby. Say my name.”

Gabriel whispered his voice deepening a few octaves. He smirked reaching down cupping her breasts.

“Mm I have missed this princess. We’re wearing far too much clothes.”

Gabriel said snapping his fingers leaving both him and Priscilla nude. He snapped his fingers again this time putting them in the bed. Priscilla whimpered as she looked up at Gabriel who was laying between her legs looking down at her with a smirk on his handsome face.

“I missed my little princess.”

He said in that deep angel voice that he would take on whenever we wanted to make love. He looked down at her nude body with a smile.

“Has anyone else touched you since I have been away?”

Priscilla shook her head.

“Of course not. They couldn’t match up to you anyway.”

Gabriel grinned looking like he had won the trickster crazy ass angel lottery. He frowned as he sniffed the air between them.

“I sense you have had a lot of orgasms though.”

Priscilla rolled her eyes for like the thousandth time.

“I have fingers.”

“What else?”

Gabriel asked innocently but lowered one hand to circle her clit.

“Tell me what my naughty girl has been using to pleasure that greedy hole of hers?”

Priscilla whimpered when he began to use his grace to stimulate her like they were having sex. Gabriel raised an eye brow before lowered his lips to her right breast suckling a few times. He lowered himself down her body the whole time keeping their eyes locked making her watch his moves. When he was practically drooling over her clit her looked up again.

“Tell me princess…what did you use to satisfy that sex drive of yours if it wasn’t another lover? You better tell me now because I will find out and buddy boy of yours won’t be in such a lovely state when I am through with him.”

Priscilla tried to move her hands to run through Gabriel’s hair but his grace was holding her in place. Gabriel chuckled licking between her folds. He groaned against her tender flesh finally able to be pleased.

“A vibrator! It was a vibrator.”

She manged to squeak out. Gabriel stopped his grace from fucking her any further as he placed his thick cock at her entrance.

“That’s a good girl. See it isn’t hard to tell me things is it.”

When he pushed in Priscilla cried out at the feelings of being torn open. It had been so long since she had taken Gabriel it was almost as though her body had forgotten how thick he was. Gabriel growled as he began to pump into her in a steady pace.

“Never leaving you again.”

He managed to get out as he began to fuck her into the mattress. Priscilla tried to hold onto what sanity she had left. She felt bad for the people in the rooms next to and below them for having to listen to the lewd sounds coming from their hotel room.

“Gabe I can’t…”

His champagne eyes locked on her green ones.

“Come for me then. Let me feel that tightness of yours. Push me over the edge.”

He said in that cooing trickster tone. It didn’t take much longer until she was crying his name and Gabriel was spilling into her. Neither moved for a moment. Priscilla didn’t want to lose the connection and Gabriel didn’t want to lose the close safe feeling that had washed over him. When he was finally able to move Gabriel pulled Priscilla into his arms kissing her tenderly.

“Sleep darling.”

He whispered pressing his index and middle finger to her forehead lulling her into the most restful sleep she had in over a year.

The next morning Priscilla awoke to an empty bed. She sat up looking around the room. There was no sign of Gabriel anywhere. His clothes were off the floor and out of sight. She stood quickly as a note on the bedside table caught her attention.

“Princess, I have gone to help my brother with something. Be back soon.”

Priscilla walked back to the bed sitting down. She was peaceful for a moment until the memories of the past year crept into her mind. Would Gabriel come back or was this just another one of this tricks? Did he need some pussy so bad that he would come to torture her a bit?

She tried to put those thoughts out of her head. She knew Gabriel was a bit of a manwhore when they first got together but he turned himself around and was a good boyfriend. Priscilla had never even seen him check out another woman when they were together.

“I can’t do this again!”

An hour later Gabriel walked back into the hotel room with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Sugar tits, I’m home. Daddy needs some lovin.”

He frowned not seeing Priscilla in bed like he expected. Gabriel walked to the bathroom wondering if she was in the shower.

“Princess?”

Gabriel walked back in the bedroom when something shining in the morning sunlight got his attention. Walking to the bed Gabriel looked on his pillow where the ring he had given Priscilla lay on top of a note. Picking it up Gabriel wanted to yell.

“Gabriel,

   I’m sorry but I had to leave. I can’t do this. I can’t trust you. You have broken my heart once and I know you will do it again. I love you so much and I have from the moment we met but love won’t save us. Thank you for at least giving me some closure.

Priscilla”

@greenappleeyes