#shout out to both my mom and grandma walking into my room every 15 minutes so I can’t do anything

[crowcryptid]

Today was supposed to be the beginning of learning 3d sculpting

It didn’t happen

[andaleduardo]

How to Break Your Heart and Make Sure It Stays Broken

Read the 1st chapter on ao3

Summary:  In which 15-year-old Richie confesses his feelings for Eddie on New Year’s Eve and they don’t talk about it for the next 4 years.

31st December 2010, Friday

 “Would you put that thing down for one second?”

Richie looks up from the phone screen to his mother’s eyes. “Mom, this is the future. Do you want me to put the future down?”

“I want you to get off that sofa and help us serve the champagne.”

“Don’t make us regret giving you the future, Richie.” His father added as he entered the living room with a bottle of champagne on one hand and one of sparkling apple juice in the other.

“Fine.” He pockets the phone as he gets up to clean up the dinner plates. “But I gotta text the losers at midnight, we have a group chat on Facebook now-”

“Yes, son, we know. That’s all you’ve been talking about lately.” Wentworth interrupts while fumbling with the cork on the sparkling juice bottle.

“One day I’ll figure out why adults hate technology!” Richie shouts as he enters the kitchen. He places the plates on the sink and grabs three champagne glasses from the special collection his mom owns before going back to the living room. These things look like they’ll break if you so much as breathe in their direction.

“We don’t hate technology.” Maggie complains as she tries to rub away a stain in the tablecloth. “You kids just love it too much.”

That makes Richie laugh. “You don’t even let dad teach you how to use his comput-

The juice bottle’s cork comes off with a loud POP! that startles Richie and sends one of the glasses tumbling down onto the carpeted floor. It shatters into a million pieces despite the soft surface.

“Richie!” His mom cries out loud.

“I’m sorry!” Quickly, he places down the two survivor glasses. He can hear his dad trying not to laugh.

“Your grandma gifted these to us after we got married…” She laments as she looks at the sparkling shards at their feet.

“I’ll clean this up, you two be careful not to step on it.” Went adds before going to get the vacuum cleaner from the bottom of the pantry.

“I am sorry.”

With a sigh, Maggie hugs him sideways. “It’s okay, I guess we’ll never have 10 people over at the same time.”

“Yeah, we probably won’t.”

 Once the carpet is clean, the champagne and false champagne are served and there’s only 5 minutes left till midnight, Richie takes his phone out and opens Eddie’s contact. He stares at the text he wrote probably 4 hours ago and reads it over and over again just to really make sure there’s no mistakes.

The thing is, tonight, Richie is going to fuck up his entire life. Or, at least that’s what it feels like.

You see, Eddie was the last of the group to get a phone. He got it on Christmas as a gift from his uncle, and needless to say Sonia didn’t like the idea. She only gave it to him one or two days ago after she figured out how to make it as “safe” as possible for his son. That means Eddie has exactly 3 numbers on his contact list. The number to his house, the number to Bill’s house, and Bill’s number. Because, apparently, that’s the only friend of Eddie’s Sonia trusts.

Stan’s Jewish, Mike is home-schooled (and black, although Sonia never admits that’s the real reason she doesn’t like the boy), Ben moved into town not so long ago, Bev is a girl, and Richie is Richie.

Bill’s family goes to church every Sunday and they’ve known each other ever since both boys were little. Hence why Eddie’s contact list is sadder than the life of their math teacher.

But Richie is weirdly thankful for this because that means Eddie doesn’t have his number. However, Bill texted them Eddie’s contact yesterday, saying they probably shouldn’t send him anything before school starts because Sonia will most likely check his phone.

Well, Sonia can go to hell because Richie is about to do something very stupid.

He’s a true romantic at heart, alright? Plus, he’s been in love with Eddie since he was twelve (or at least he realized it when he was twelve) and this secret is starting to claw up at his insides as if he had swallowed a dysfunctional cat.

In other words, it’s driving him crazy and he has to do something about it.

Now, he’s not mental. He’s not going to confess his feelings or anything. Right, as if. He’s simply going to become a secret admirer or something cheesy like that.

Yesterday, he sneaked into his dad’s computer while both his parents were taking an afternoon nap and searched for “romantic quotes” on Google. He typed down the one he liked the most, deleted the history, and then tried to convince himself this wasn’t the worst plan of his entire life.

It seemed like a very clever plan the closer to midnight it got.

“Alright, my loves.” Maggie gives everyone their respective glass. The non-alcoholic, sad-looking one for Richie, and the fun-looking ones for the adults. Bullshit, if you ask him.

“How come I never get to drink the real thing?”

“Well, you hate it.” Maggie shrugs. “You’ve said so the past two years that we’ve let you had one sip for the toast.”

“But I’m older now, I can handle it.”

“You can try it again after you finish that.” Went tips his cup in the direction of Richie’s. Naturally, Richie throws his head back and drinks the apple juice in one gulp, almost cutting his lip in the process. Seriously, these things are that thin.

“Done.” He announces as he fills the cup with champagne. “Now we can have a real toast.”

Both adults laugh and soon the countdown begins. Richie screams the numbers along with his parents, keeping his thumb over the ‘send’ button at the same time.

“Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!”

He presses down, the text is sent, and he pockets his phone once again to click his fragile cup against his parents’. As expected, it tastes just as awful as he remembers. He spits it out much like last year, and they all go outside to see the fireworks.

  00:00 To: Spaghetti <3

And I just wanted to say that your smile reminds me that not all art is created with a pencil and a paintbrush.

  His phone vibrates at exactly 00:49, which means Richie is already in his bedroom because that’s how New Year works in his family. They stay home, celebrate till the fireworks die down, and then part ways at the end of the hallway.

He interrupts Charlie the goldfish’s dinner and checks his phone only to let the little container of fish’s food fall off his hand. Thankfully, it was closed.

 00:49 From: Spaghetti <3

Richie?

Did you steal that from your mom’s poetry collection, asshole? :P

 Charlie the goldfish fades out from his peripheral vision. Richie sits down before he collapses and bursts through the floor right onto their cold, lifeless basement.

 What the fuck?

Seriously.

What the actual fuck?

 With shaky hands, he types out a reply.

 Richie: what makes you think it’s richie?

 Spaghetti <3: Bill gave me everyone’s numbers

Spaghetti <3: I don’t have them saved yet because of my mom, though

Spaghetti <3: Why? Is this not Richie? Did Bill give me the wrong number?

 Fucking Bill. Now, Richie’s pacing the entire floor of his bedroom, knowing he’d walk right up to the celling if he could. He keeps staring at the small screen, wondering if he could save his ass by turning this shitty device off. His mom is right, technology sucks.

 Spaghetti <3: Hello??

 Shit.

 Richie: hahaha you got me Eds

Richie: c’est moi

 Then he hesitates for a second.

 Richie: sooo, are we good?

Spaghetti <3: Yeah, of course

Spaghetti <3: Why shouldn’t we be?

 Oh. Oh. So, Eddie didn’t take him seriously. He took it as one of his weird jokes.

Here’s a getaway, Richie. You can play it off as prank, Richie. You can still walk away from this without completely ruining a friendship, Richie. Please take the opportunity, Richie.

 Richie: you don’t get it

 Shut the fuck up, Richie.

 Spaghetti <3: What?

 Richie: well

Richie: actually

Richie: you see

Spaghetti <3: Richie, spit it out you’re stressing me

Richie: right

Richie: you see

Spaghetti <3: You’ve said that before

Richie: correct I see your point Eds

Spaghetti <3: Not my name

Richie: the thing is

Richie: jesus I hope you forgive me

Richie: okay so

Richie: i don’t have a crush on you

Richie: i’m pretty sure that I love you

 There’s about a million smooth ways to say that you love someone. But Richie doesn’t choose one of those. Fitting.

It takes a few minutes before Eddie says something back. In those minutes, Richie starts crying.

 Spaghetti <3: Oh

It’s as vague as it can get, but one can take the hint.

Richie: i’m sorry

Spaghetti <3: You don’t have to apologize

Spaghetti <3: How long..?

 Richie: uh, since March?

 Which is a lie.

 Spaghetti <3: That’s a long time…

 Richie wants to laugh, then scream, then he wants to be able to stop crying.

 Spaghetti <3: Can we still be friends?

 On second thought, he doesn’t want to laugh.

 Richie: only if you still want to Spaghetti <3: Of course I want to Rich

Spaghetti <3: Don’t even say that

 Well, that’s good.

Richie: well that’s good

Richie: i’m sorry Eddie

Spaghetti <3: Don’t apologize asshole

Spaghetti <3: It’s fine I swear

 And then a few more minutes.

 Spaghetti <3: Happy new year

  The phone gets thrown, landing somewhere along the end of the bed. The blurry digital clock on his bedside table says it’s already 1:13 a.m. and by its side lays Charlie the goldfish’s tank.

It’s small, but it’s not a fishbowl. Richie learnt that lesson with his first goldfish, Oli. Poor her.

He follows Charlie’s swimming around a rock. A fish’s life seems peaceful and blissful and delightful and wonderful and many other adjectives ending in ‘ful’. Except for Oli’s life, of course. At this moment Richie’s life feels pretty much like Oli’s.

He sighs through another wet sob.

“Happy fucking new year, Charlie.”

perma taglist:  @constantreaderfool   @mrs-vh  @eds-trashmouth @girasol-eddie  @reddieforlove @madi-personal  @cheekaspbrak​

Let me know if you want to be tagged for this!

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 8 - Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Carolyn was shaken awake by Janet, “It’s time to get up honey. The family will be here in a couple hours and I need everyone’s help this morning.” Janet was already showered and wearing dress clothes. Her hair was done up in a twist, and she looked beautiful. Carolyn groaned slightly, then sat up in bed. Janet was having a harder time waking Sam up, but eventually she was able to get the young boy up. Carolyn got up and checked the bathroom. Seeing that it was empty, she grabbed her shower stuff and headed to the bathroom. About a half hour later, Carolyn emerged from the bathroom in a towel, carrying her pajamas. Carolyn stopped in her tracks when she saw Adrian emerge from the boy’s bathroom, also wearing only a towel. He turned, saw Carolyn, then blushed.

“Good morning Carolyn. Ready for Turkey day?” Adrian asked, regaining confidence. Carolyn was unable to speak. Instead, she nodded her head emphatically, then headed to her room. She heard a soft chuckle from Adrian as she walked away.

She got dressed, then went down to the kitchen to help Janet. The rest of the morning was filled with the family following Janet’s orders so that the house could be put together before the rest of the family arrived. Since there would be about 40 people there, there was one extremely long table made of various folding tables. They snaked through the house; starting in the dining room, through the study, and into the living room. Carolyn had been asked to count the chairs, twice, and she counted 42 both times. 

Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best, and they all looked dashing. Brad was even there the entire morning, being very helpful and present. It was about an hour before they expected the family when there was a knock at the front door, then the front door opened. “Hello! Is anyone home?” A deep voice rang through the house.

“John!” Exclaimed Brittany, then she and Trixie both ran to the front door to hug their eldest brother. The rest of the family met John Brudowski in the entrance, with Carolyn and Sam hanging back. Carolyn had met John only once, and very briefly. Even when he did live in the Brudowski home, he was seldom present. Vera had told Carolyn and Sallie that he spent almost every night out with his friends, and had been busted by his parents several times for drinking. John was tall, just like the rest of his brothers, had dark brown hair, and had a coarse beard. Everyone was hugging John, as it was his first time home since he started at U of I. When John eventually got to Carolyn and Sam, he stooped down and hugged Sam, introducing himself, then he hugged Carolyn. “My mom filled me in with what happened, I am so sorry.” John said to Carolyn, then quickly moved onto chatting with the rest of the family. 

Soon enough, the doorbell rang again and the house started filling with relatives. Carolyn and Sam hung around Janet, as she ostensibly had to explain to each of her siblings why these kids were here at their family gathering. Carolyn shook and hugged so many strangers, she definitely couldn’t keep any of them straight. The entryway and sitting room were full of chattering family. Carolyn found herself ping-ponging from relative to relative, each of them giving her their condolences. She was definitely tired of listening to people she barely knew tell them they were sorry her father killed himself. She tried to keep a brave face, and thankfully she was pretty good at plastering on a convincing smile. 

Janet spent most of the early gathering in the kitchen, getting everything ready for the meal. Her sisters, sisters-in-law, and mother were also in the kitchen helping. Although, it really seemed like Janet’s mother was berating Janet for seemingly minor things, while the other women weren’t really coming to her rescue. There were about 15 children that were Sam’s age or younger, and they were mainly in the living room bouncing around. Then there were another 10 or so teens, who were chatting with the rest of the Brudowski kids, minus Sam and Brittany. The men all had beers in hand, and were chatting easily about various topics like the day’s football match or what was going on at work. 

Eventually, Brad let out a perfect dad-whistle to quiet everyone down. He explained that everyone should find their place card and sit at their spot, as dinner would be starting soon. Janet had prepared the kitchen so that the meal could be served buffet style. Countless dishes lined the counter, and the turkey had just been carved, ready to go. Everyone shuffled to their seats, then Brad explained that they should get up table-by-table so everyone isn’t waiting in line for a long time. The teens were placed in the study, between the ‘adult’ table and the table full of the younger kids. Carolyn was sitting in the middle of the table next to Vera, with Jaret on her left, and Adrian sitting directly across from her. They got up and went to the kitchen as soon as most of the adults had sat down, then they piled their plates high with delicious food. They all sat down, and Carolyn remained relatively silent throughout the meal. 

The meal went smoothly, so at this point Carolyn was wondering why everyone had called Janet’s family crazy. After everyone finished eating, they remained at the tables chatting. Carolyn was listening to Vera talk to her cousin about school and how dumb it was, then she would switch and listen to Jaret talk to his cousin about video games. Every so often, she would look across the table and make eye contact with Adrian, but he mainly was chatting with other cousins about various topics. 

A couple minutes later, Carolyn noticed a hush fall over the adult table. She turned her attention and saw most of the adults staring down at their empty plates. The teens soon fell quiet and were paying attention to what was going on with the adults. Then, one of Janet’s sisters spoke, “I don’t know why you’re criticizing me, mom. I’ve spent my whole life trying to please you. I married the man you wanted, had children like you wanted, stayed home like you wanted, but nothing is ever good enough, is it? Why don’t you lay some of your criticism on some of your other children, huh? Or maybe even consider giving them some love.” The woman had stood up and was shouting at the older woman. Janet’s mother’s face remained cold, seemingly unaffected by the outburst.

“Well, Diana, I wouldn’t criticize you so much if you actually followed the word of god. You are a lying whore. Everyone knows that you and your husband haven’t slept together in years because you’re having relations with another man! Mind you, a black man.” The grandmother said, seemingly not caring about airing the couple’s dirty laundry. 

“Is this true, Diana?” A man, who Carolyn assumed was Diana’s husband, said as he stood up from the table as well. Diana was then in tears. 

“How could you say that, mom? Of course that’s not true. Why would you lie like that?” Diana asked hysterically.

“We all know it’s true, Diana. How could you be so naive, Daniel? It is your job to know what goes on in your home.” The grandmother added coldly. The man glared across the table at his wife.

“Tell me the truth Diana.” He said through gritted teeth.

After a few beats, Diana responded, “Yes, it’s true. But you’ve been gone so much lately!” The woman was sobbing and reached out to her husband. 

“You whore!” Daniel roared, then he reached across the table and slapped Diana across the face. The woman gasped, as did the rest of the table. Then Diana ran out of the room. Daniel sat back down at the table, clearly fuming. 

Vera leaned over to Carolyn and whispered, “See?” Carolyn turned to Vera, who looked completely unphased. 

“What the hell just happened?” Carolyn whispered back.

“And this is just two glasses of wine in. You’ll see some real shit happen after 4 glasses. Grandma is a real bitch.” Vera casually explained. Carolyn sat back in her seat, flabbergasted. 

Eventually the chatter started back up again, filtering from the kids, who really never stopped talking, up through the teens, and finally the adults started talking. About 30 minutes later, Brad signalled to the Brudowski kids that they should start clearing the tables. They all got up and helped clear the innumerable dishes. Brittany lead the kid group down into the basement, as most of the adults were happy having them run around away from the rest of them. The twins helped pull down some of the tables in the living room, then brought several of the folding chairs in so there would be enough space for everyone to sit. 

Carolyn was stacking the last couple of plates in the kitchen when she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned around, but already knew whose familiar hand was grasping her wrist. “Follow me,” Adrian said, pulling Carolyn quickly from the kitchen and upstairs. He sat at the top of the staircase, and Carolyn sat next to him. Her heart pounded as she felt her side against Adrian’s side. 

“What is it?” Carolyn turned and looked at Adrian’s handsome face.

“Oh, nothing. I figured you needed a breather from the lovely Nowak family.” Nowak was Janet’s maiden name. Adrian looked into Carolyn’s eyes, and this made Carolyn melt. 

“Thank you.” Carolyn smiled. She rested her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. Adrian then rested his large hand on top of Carolyn’s hand, and Carolyn leaned to rest her head against Adrian’s shoulder. They sat in silence like that for the next five minutes. 

Eventually Adrian went back downstairs; Carolyn went to the bathroom, then joined the rest of the family in the living room. The rest of the night alternated between people chatting pleasantly, and some drama surfacing with random people of the family screaming at each other. Carolyn sat silently for basically the whole evening, afraid to say anything in case she would offend someone. Finally around 10 p.m., the various parents would go downstairs and bring up small children, then say goodbye to the rest of the family members. The family took about an hour to leave, and the Brudowski family was clearly exhausted by the end of the day.

Tag list: @the-mockingbird-of-neverland

[agent-alexandradanvers-blog]

forever a family: Scott x Hope

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15727164

Cassie had taken her dad’s phone, noticing that he was prepping the ingredients for their dinner. She and her dad had decided on a movie earlier, which was Tangled, one that they both had not watched. Cassie scrolled through the phone, looking at the apps, before deciding that she it would be way more fun to watch the movie with her dad’s girlfriend Hope. So, she set out on a mission, looking for Hope’s contact. With her experience calling her dad using FaceTime every other night, she decided to FaceTime Hope.

On the other side of San Francisco, Hope’s phone rung and rung, echoing throughout the house. She was currently working on an upgrade for her Wasp suit that her mom had pitched in, and her dad and her were working on it to get it up and running as fast as possible.

“Jellybean, your phone’s ringing! It’s from Scott!” shouted Janet Van Dyne from the living room. She was playing around with her iPhone, something that she didn’t have pre-Quantum Realm. To Janet, emojis were the funniest thing ever, and she loved to use them in reply to the texts that Hank or Hope would send to her.

Noticing that she didn’t get a reply, Janet got up from the sofa, picking up the phone from the sofa table to go downstairs to the lab where her husband and daughter were working hard. She clicked on the answer button, and was surprised to see an adorable little girl holding the other phone.

“Hi Grandma Janet!” greeted Cassie, glad that someone had finally picked up the phone.

“Hi sweetie, is your dad looking for Hope?” asked Janet, confused that the little girl had called instead of Scott.

Cassie shook her head. “No, I am. I wanted to invite her over to watch a movie with me.” clarified Cassie.

“Oh, I see. Well, Hope is downstairs, I’m bringing the phone to her right now,” said Janet, walking down the stairs that led to the basement.

“Ok Grandma Janet! Thank you!”

Hope was so focused on working on the upgrade, that she didn’t notice her mom standing in front of her, behind the laptops that were scattered around the table top, all working different things all at once.

Janet cleared her throat.

“Jellybean?” she tried again to get her hardworking daughter’s attention.

“Mom? What is it?” asked Hope, not even looking up from her laptop.

“Bye Cassie!” said Janet, waving bye to the little girl.

“Bye Grandma Janet!” Cassie waved back.

“Cassie’s looking for you.” said the older woman, handing her daughter’s phone to her, before she went back up to the living room.

“Hi Hope!”

“Hi Cassie, what’s up? Where’s your Dad?” asked Hope, as this was the first time Cassie had ever called Hope without Scott there.

“Could you come over to watch Tangled with me?” Cassie completely ignored the question about her dad, noted Hope.

“Cass, what about your dad? You know he loves the daddy daughter time you guys have,”

“Yeah, but it’d be cool if you were there too!”

Cassie could hear her dad yelling at himself for messing something up in the macaroni recipe  

“Plus, he made mac and cheese.” She tried her very best to make puppy eyes, knowing Hope would give in.

“Okay then,” said Hope, giving in to Cassie’s adorable puppy eyes. “I’ll swing by later, in maybe 20 minutes? I need to finish some things up over here.”

“Yes!” exclaimed Cassie, pumping her fist in the air. “You’re the best, Hope! See you later!” Cassie blew a kiss at the camera, waving bye, before clicking the screen to end the call.

Hope’s heart swelled from how sweet the little girl was, and waving bye to her, she went to finish her work as quickly as she could.

In 15 minutes, she knocked on Scott’s door, one hand holding a bag of huge marshmallows that she had picked up from the store. She had showered and changed into something more comfortable, sporting a black sweater to match the breezy San Francisco weather, as well as a pair of well worn skinny jeans. Her hair was pulled into a loose braid.

Scott, wore a blue apron with food smudges down the middle, opened the door, his mouth dropping slightly, shocked that Hope would just turn up without telling him. Cassie spotted the pair from the kitchen, jumping up from her spot, running to the doorway.

“Hi Hope!”

“Hey Cassie, you didn’t tell your dad that you invited me over?” asked Hope, leaning down a bit to face the running girl.

Scott pivoted on his foot, to face his daughter, mouth wide open. It wasn’t like Cassie to invite his friends. But he had noticed the way that Cassie looked up to Hope and the way that it made Hope more relaxed whenever they would hangout together. And Cassie was thrilled that someone like Hope was watching her dad’s back. Maybe it was because Hope and himself were both superheroes, he thought.

Cassie leaped into Hope’s arms, her little legs wrapping around her waist. Hope stumbled back slightly, stepping back to even out the added weight.

“No,” Cassie said, shaking her head. “I wanted to keep it a surprise! Hope’s gonna watch Tangled with me!” she continued, facing her dad, as Hope carried her.

The marshmallow bag had started slipping from Hope’s grasp, and she flicked her hand upwards, and thankfully, Scott’s reflexes were enough to catch the bag before it fell to the ground.

Scott stared at her, wide-eyed. In Scott’s mind, there was no way that Hope, who was all about healthy eating and working out, would voluntarily bring marshmallows to his house.

Cassie, psyched for marshmallows, threw her arms around Hope again. She leaned back, arms still around Hope’s neck, to face both Hope and her dad.

“We could do the chubby bunny challenge!” exclaimed Cassie.

“The chubby what challenge?” asked Hope.

“The chubby bunny challenge!” repeated Scott, in the exact same tone and pitch his daughter used moments before. Still sensing that Hope was confused, he clarified: “You know, where you stuff as many marshmallows in your mouth as you can and try to beat the other players.”

Hope nodded slowly.

Sharp beeps travelled from the kitchen to the doorway, signalling that something had overflowed onto the stovetop.

“Crap, that’s the macaroni. I’ll be back. Okay, Peanut, behave.” said Scott, mentally kicking himself, before turning to run back into the kitchen to clean up the mess he made.

Hope stepped through the doorway, and gently put Cassie down on the floor. Cassie held onto Hope’s hand, leading her into the living room. Scattered across the floor were some lego buildings, some half built and some in pieces. It was supposed to come together as a replica of San Francisco, but Hope suspected that Scott only worked on it when Cassie was there, which was why it still wasn’t built even if Scott had bought it 7 months ago.

“Hope? Could you help me tidy up? Dad says we have to tidy up before we eat dinner. And we have the chubby bunny challenge and the movie after.”

“Of course Cassie, just tell me where I need to put the stuff.”

Together, they put the blocks that belonged together into the same ziplock bag, placed them in a big container, carried it back to Cassie’s room, and slid it under her bed.

“Mac and Cheese!” yelled Scott from the kitchen.

“Race you!” challenged Cassie, sprinting out of her room as fast as her legs could carry her.

Hope followed suit, right behind Cassie, their footsteps making a thump thump sound on the creaky floorboard.

Scott produced three identical bowls of Mac and Cheese, sliding it across the table to each of their designated spots. Lastly, he placed a steaming pot full with macaroni and cheese, smack dab in the centre of the countertop.

Cassie ran into the kitchen, jumping up to peck her dad on the cheek. The lightbulbs that hung above the countertop flickered and illuminated a soft glow on the walls.

“Thanks for the dinner, Dad!“ said Cassie, sitting down on her spot, waiting for Hope and Scott to sit down so she could dig in. Cassie usually sat on the left hand side, and her dad at the head. However, when Hope came over, Hope and her dad would sit on the right and left side of the counter, leaving her the middle spot. Scott took of his apron, leaving it on the side counter.

“Peanut? Do you want a juice box or something?” asked Scott.

“Orange juice please!” answered the little girl.

Scott opened the fridge door, getting 3 orange juice boxes. He put them next to their bowls, went to sit down next to Cassie. His back faced the doorway, leaving the spot opposite of him for Hope.

Hope walked in moments later, her braid barely holding in place. She leaned down to kiss Scott on the cheek, silently thanking him for the dinner. A blush crept up Scott’s neck, causing Cassie to burst into fits of laughter.

Now with Hope sitting down, Cassie started digging into her food. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, eating their food.

“Oh my god Scott.” said Hope, covering her mouth as she chewed her mac and cheese. He definitely improved since the last time he cooked. If she wasn’t so pissed at him for getting mixed up with the Avengers, she would say the 2 years on house arrest paid off.

“What? Is it bad? Is it too salty? Too cheesy?” asked Scott, scared that he’d down something wrong.

“No actually,” said Hope, laughing as she wiped her mouth. “It’s amazing. Better than my dad’s.”

“No way. Better than the Hank Pym. Could you repeat that again?”

“Scott.” Hope arched her eyebrow. “Don’t push it.” she said jokingly.

After bowl after bowl of mac and cheese, they cleared their dishes and placed them on the counter next to the dishwasher.

“I’m full now. Thanks!” said Cassie.

“You’re welcome, Peanut. But if you’re so full, do you still want to play the Chubby Bunny challenge with Hope?” asked Scott, teasing his daughter.

“You bet!”

Cassie opened the cabinet, revealing the pack of huge marshmallows that Hope had brought. She ripped the packaging open, letting the contents spill over the countertop.

“Okay, Hope. So the Chubby Bunny challenge is to get as many marshmallows as you can in your mouth. After I take one and put it in my mouth, I have to say Chubby Bunny. Got it?” said Cassie, demonstrating by putting one in her mouth. “Chubby Bunny.”

“I think so....” said Hope, nodding her head.

“And you’re not allowed to swallow. Or chew. Or cheat like daddy always does.” she continued on, glaring at her father, earning a laugh from Hope.

“What?” He put his hands up in mock surrender, sending innocent looks to both Cassie and Hope, who simultaneously rolled their eyes.

Cassie went first, placing one marshmallow into her mouth. “Chubby Bunny.”

Hope went next, following what Cassie did. “Chubby Bunny.”

Scott picked one up, flinging it towards the ceiling, opening his mouth, allowing the marshmallow to fall into his mouth. With a triumphant look on his face, he said: “Chubby Bunny.”

The game went on and on, until Cassie had 5 stuffed into her mouth, and she couldn’t say Chubby Bunny without choking. She spit out 2, and chewed the rest. “Yes! 2 more than last time! High Score!” She high fived her dad, who couldn’t look more proud.

Now the competition was between Hope and Scott. Hope, determined to win, since she literally kicked his ass every time they had training. Scott, also determined to win, since this was something he actually had a shot at beating Hope at.

Hope had managed to put 7 in her mouth, before having to spit them out.

“Yes! I w—in!” came the muffled victorious yell of one Scott Lang.

Cassie shook her head. “Dad, you still need to say Chubby Bunny.”

“Chu—“ He put his hand out, pausing so he could shift the marshmallows in his mouth.

“—bby Bunny.” In less than 2 seconds, Scott managed to chew and swallow the 7 marshmallows in his mouth.

A few drinks of water later, Cassie decided to go watch the movie. Scott had placed his arm around Hope’s waist while she leaned into his side. She grabbed her dad’s hand, guiding him to the living room.

Together, they went to watch Tangled. Cassie got the remote, then flipped through the Netflix profiles until she reached the kids one, and quickly found Tangled. All three of them sat on the couch, Scott sat in the middle while Cassie sat on his lap. Hope leaned against Scott’s left side, tucked her legs under her, with his arm wrapped around her. Cassie held her bunny in her hands, occasionally played with it’s ears.

At the end of the movie, Cassie’s head lay on Hope’s lap, her feet in her dad’s lap. Scott gently moved his daughter’s feet off his lap and shuffled to the kitchen to load the dishes into the dishwasher. He motioned to Hope to carry Cassie to bed.

“Please,” He mouthed from across the room and pouted like a six year old kid.

Hope, tempted to roll her eyes, but she nods in response and her attention went back to Cassie. The eight year old’s eyes flutter shut, as she tried her very best to keep them open, as well being worn out from the day. Hope turned to the clock on the wall, and the clock hits 11:45.

Hope watches her sleep peacefully for a few moments, before remembering that she needed to bring Cassie to bed. Carefully, Hope puts one hand around her back, and lifted the little girl into her arms. Cassie’s hands automatically loop around Hope’s neck and Hope carried her up the few steps up the staircase and into her bedroom. She closed the door slightly so a little sliver of light shines in the room.

Hope tucked Cassie in bed, gently placed so she’s under her butterfly-themed comforter. Cassie brought the bunny into the crook of her arm, and hugged the bunny tighter.

“Goodnight sweetie,” said Hope and kissed Cassie gently on the forehead.

“Hope?”

“Yeah sweetie?” replied Hope.

“Could I tell you something?” asked the little Lang.

“Of course hon,” Hope said, as she sat down again on the edge of Cassie’s bed. She used her hands to push Cassie’s hair that had fallen near her eyes, and tucked it behind the little girl’s ear.

“You remind me of Rapunzel. And Daddy reminds me of Flynn. Or you know, Eugene.” said Cassie, noting the parallels between the movie and her dad’s life.

“It’s like people think he’s a bad man for going to jail, but really, he isn’t,” clarified Cassie, who noticed Hope’s slight confusion. “And he’s funny. Like daddy.” giggled Cassie.

Hope smiled at the little girl, and admired how bright and charming she was, just like her dad (well, not the bright part).

“And what about me?” asked Hope, referring to the connection that Cassie made between herself and Rapunzel.

“Well......” Cassie started off, thinking about the movie she just watched. “You’re brave, like Rapunzel. Adventurous, pretty, nice, and she can beat Flynn’s butt. Just like you beat daddy’s butt all the time. And that’s why Tangled is my new favourite movie,” smiled Cassie, who looked up at the older woman. “It reminds me of you and daddy!”

Hope, speechless as the compliments spill out of Scott’s young daughter, and lightly pinched Cassie’s adorable cheeks, smiling at her. Tears threaten to spill out and over her cheeks, but she willed them to stay in place.

She imagines the version of her 3 years ago would have shaken her head, wondering why she would be sentimental just because of some compliment a little girl gave her. She would have convinced herself that she was still the stone cold bitch that had her walls up, guarded, protecting the mess that was inside. Something clicks inside of her, and she knows, that she’ll love Scott and Cassie forever, no matter what.

“Hope?” asked Cassie, noticing that Hope’s eyes were watering.

“Yeah?” Hope wipeed her eyes, the tears blurring her vision.

“Are you crying?”

“No,” Hope denied, though the tears said otherwise.

“Are they happy tears? Or sad tears?” asked Cassie, and sat upright to face Hope.

“Happy tears, Cass, happy ones.” answered Hope, smiling once more, as more tears stream down her face.

Cassie puts her hands on Hope’s shoulders, kissing both her cheeks and lastly her nose. Hope recognised it, something she’d seen Scott do countless times to Cassie. She’s amazed by how much a small gesture can make her feel, and she’s content and happy and proud. Proud of Cassie, for being a caring, supportive, amazing daughter to Scott, proud of Scott, to have raised a wonderful, brave, and welcoming person even if he had decided to take on the job of a “modern day robin hood”.

“Hope?” said Cassie again, and caught the older woman’s attention. ”Will you be my new mommy?”

The question caught Hope off guard, and she’s stunned for a few seconds. She’s not sure how to answer. She contemplates between two answers, and finally settling on one that she hopes Cassie understands.

“If you want me to be,” answered Hope.

“Of course!” squealed Cassie, throwing her arms around Hope.

Hope smiled against Cassie’s dark brown hair, and whispered: “I love you, Cassie. Goodnight sweetie.”

“Goodnight Hope,�� whispered Cassie back at Hope. “I love you too.” Cassie snuggled back underneath her bed, and hugged her bunny to sleep. Hope got up, leaving Cassie’s bedside to find Scott.

[not-another-imagine-blog]

More American than Apple Pie (William Nylander)

Anonymous said:

Hey hi hello could you do a William nylander imagine about thanksgiving with your family in Boston (I know Canada and the US have different thanksgivings) and he's nervous because he hasn't met them yet and because they're all huge bruins fans and clearly he's not a bruin lol thank you doll

Word count: 1678

Author’s note: I know that I haven’t been going in order of when I received my requests lately and I’m sorry, but sometimes inspiration strikes me for different stories at different times. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving wasn’t a holiday you had expected to share with William. For starters, American Thanksgiving is far more different from the day of thanks celebrated in Canada, and William’s from Sweden, where they don’t celebrate any sort of holiday that’s anywhere near the gluttonous fourth Thursday of November. The NHL also doesn’t take any breaks except for Christmas and All-Star. These were the reasons why you only bought one plane ticket home.

What you weren’t expecting was the Leafs to not have any games Thanksgiving day or the following day. You had thought that William would want to rest and enjoy his days off, but he instead begged to come home with you. You had resisted at first, but his argument was extremely passionate, and you just couldn’t say no to your boyfriend. This led to the present: You and William sitting in the rental car as you drive the familiar streets to your childhood home.

“Don’t be nervous.” You say for the third time in as many minutes.

“I’m not nervous.” William insists once again. “You know, at this point it seems like you’re trying to reassure yourself more than you are me.”

“I’m just letting you know that there’s nothing to worry about.” William gives you a knowing look as you smile at him. “Alright, maybe I am trying to reassure myself.”

“What are you so nervous about? I’ve met your parents before, and we got along just fine!”

“Thanksgiving isn’t just my parents, though, and I’m just trying to prepare you. My extended family’s a little…” You trail off, trying to find a word to describe your family that’s not too harsh. “Intense.” You finish.

“Intense?” William questions right as you turn on the road to your home. Yellow and black adorns every yard, with the occasional splash of blue and red. You nervously laugh when William whips around towards you, suddenly becoming very nervous. “The Bruins?” He accuses, addressing you almost as if you’ve committed a crime.

“What, I’ve never mentioned that my family’s die-hard Bruins fans?” William scoffs.

“No, I don’t believe you have.” William groans when he looks down at his shirt. “I’m wearing my Leafs hoodie! You let me wear my Leafs hoodie!”

“It has your name and jersey number on it, Willy, it’ll be fine.”

“Fine? I think I’m going to get mugged when I step out of the car.” William’s calm demeanor has melted away at this point as he grips the seat of the car, his knuckles going white.

“Willy, they’re not going to hate you for playing for the Leafs.”

“They know I play hockey?” You shrug.

“My family’s asked who I’m dating, and I’ve said ‘William Nylander.’ I guess I’ve just assumed that people who watch hockey as voraciously as they would know the name.” You pull the car to the car and park, suddenly grimacing at just how decorated the house is. “Are you ready? You know that we don’t have to do this, right? We can leave; I’ll say that you got sick on the way over or something like that.” William shakes his head, opening the car door slightly.

“No, we’ve come this far. I’m gonna meet your family and they’re gonna be blown away by how awesome I am.” You smile and pat William’s hand.

“That’s the spirit, Willy.” William opens the rear door and grabs the pie that you had picked up from the store last night after you landed while you join him at the other side of the car. You both look at each other, silently daring each other to make the first move.

“Are you ready?” William finally speaks after a moment.

“I’m ready if you are.” You grab William’s hand then, locking your fingers together and walking towards the door. You don’t bother knocking, you just open the door. At William’s inquisitive gaze, you smile. “My house was constantly full of the neighborhood kids. I don’t think I’ve ever even heard the doorbell.”

“(Y/N)? Is that you?” A voice shouts from inside the house. Grinning, you tug William over the threshold.

“Come on! They don’t bite.” You joke while William rolls his eyes. “Anybody home?” You yell back in response. At this, your mom comes out of the kitchen, a dish towel slung over her shoulder and her hair pulled back in a loose bun. She immediately envelops you in a hug before noticing William.

“William! (Y/N) didn’t tell me you were coming!” Your mom abandons you to hug William instead as you’re left holding the pie that your mom almost crushed in her haste.

“The schedule fell just right, no games for us today or tomorrow. It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. (Y/L/N).” Your mom blushes at William’s insistence on calling her a name so formal.

“I’ve told you before to call me (Y/M/N), William.” You roll your eyes quickly as your mom turns to you, not wanting to get caught doing something so childish. “Everyone’s already here, so be prepared-” Your mom can barely get out her warning before you hear a bunch of children screaming and the pounding of footsteps down the stairs. Around the corner comes various cousins and siblings; they all look the same, so when they’re all running together it’s difficult to tell the 15 or so apart.

“(Y/N)!” You’re tackled in a flurry of hugs as you stumble back, attempting to gather everyone in your arms. They tumble back in a mass of arms and legs, staring at William in awe. William shyly waves to them, uncharacteristically blushing.

“You’re William Nylander.” One of your male cousins says almost questioningly.

“He is, and if you guys stop staring at him like he’s a zoo exhibit maybe he’ll actually answer some questions.” You say firmly. As the oldest ‘kid’ in the family, you’ve always been the one to let them know when they’ve screwed up.

“What’s it like playing with Auston Matthews?” Your cousin Marie shyly speaks, using her teddy bear as a shield between her and the world. William can’t help but smile as he steps up to Marie, bending down to her level.

“Ah, so you’re an Auston fan, huh?” Marie nods exuberantly.

“Uh-huh! For my birthday, (Y/N) got me a Matthews jersey!” William glances up at you as you shrug.

“I tried to get her a Nylander one, but she wouldn’t budge.” You joke.

“Playing with Auston’s pretty great,” William starts, getting back to his starstruck audience. “But he’s even better off the ice.”

“Come on Marie, we don’t care about the Leafs!” Your cousin Henry groans as Marie sticks her tongue out at the young boy. “What’s it like being smashed against the boards by Chara?” You laugh loudly as William winces at the thought.

“It hurts. Some say that they see their lives flash before their eyes when they get checked by Chara. I’ve literally never been more scared before.” Everyone starts to pelt questions at William before they’re all interrupted by your uncle calling everyone into the kitchen for dinner. The kids all trample ahead, yelling about who gets to go first, while William stands and smiles at you, kissing you quickly.

“See? Nothing to be nervous about.” You say.

“Who the hell is this?” A deep voice booms as you go white.

“Oh no.” You mutter before turning and smiling. “Uncle Brandon! How are you?” You wrap him in a hug while simultaneously tightening your grip on William’s hand, who has suddenly tried to back up.

“Just great, (Y/N/N), but don’t change the subject. Who’s this?” You pull William right next to you, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

“This is my boyfriend, William....Nylander.” You mutter the last part, knowing that this might not go nearly as well.

“Maple Leafs William Nylander?” You uncle questions as you nod. For a long moment, your uncle glares at the both of you before grinning. “I guess I can make an exception to my hatred of the Leafs. (Y/N)’s never brought a guy home before.” He jokes as you groan.

“Just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” You joke, lightly shoving your uncle as he laughs and shakes William’s hand.

“Come on, kids, plenty of good food in the kitchen.”

Thankfully, dinner passes by uneventfully, with only one inflammatory statement made by your great-grandmother. Afterwards, you do what every New England family does; settle in to watch the Patriots. The living room’s packed, with you and William ending up on the floor. You sit in between William’s legs as William lays his head on top of yours. Not being from America, he doesn’t really understand football, but he tries, yelling and cheering when you guys all do the same.

“HOW THE HELL WAS THAT PASS INTERFERENCE?” The living room explodes with a variety of curses and yells. You huff and look up at William, who’s smiling down at you.

“Sorry. We get a little crazy when it comes to football.” You’re stating the obvious, but this is one of those perfect family moments that you don’t want to ruin.

“I don’t mind at all.”

“So how did you like your first American Thanksgiving?” You ask.

“That’s more food than I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never seen an 85 year old woman with dentures eat a turkey leg so fast before.” You both laugh at the thought of your great-grandma demolishing her meal. “But it was fantastic. Thank you for letting me tag along.” Marie chooses this moment to whine about how she wants to sit with William. You move besides him, allowing Marie to occupy your former spot as William makes a show of making sure she’s comfy.

“I think that you’ll be tagging along for the next few years, Willy. You’re kind of stuck with this family.”

“There’s no other family I’d rather be stuck with. Happy Thanksgiving, (Y/N).” William leans in to kiss you as you kiss back, ignoring Marie’s complaints about how gross it is.

“Happy Thanksgiving to yo-TOUCHDOWN!”

[ms-horrortales]

In Honor of Friday the 13th: Real People Share Their Creepiest, Can't-Be-Explained Stories

Warning to the Easily Creeped Out – you should probably avoid this, especially on Friday the 13th.

After reading these 15 stories from Reddit users who had creepy, unexplainable, possibly paranormal things happen to them, you may start sleeping with the lights on.

1. “My grandma lives in a very stereotypical horror movie house – small Midwest town, white and old looking home, on a farm. She even has a chipped wooden Mary nativity in the front yard. She also has a cemetery about a half mile down the road. I used to sleep in the room in the corner on the top floor (my aunt’s room) and it had a wooden rocking chair in it. When I was younger I would wake up because I thought I heard it rocking, to the point where I would wake up my grandma and have to stay in her room. About ten years later my mom, aunt and I were talking about how creepy my grandma’s house was. My aunt goes on to talk about how when she was younger the reason my mom and her ended up sharing a room was because she thought her room was haunted. She said she woke up one morning and the rocking chair was about two feet closer to her bed, and after that night, it would start rocking on a nightly basis at midnight.”

2. “Until a few years ago I still had a flip phone phone. One day I got a random call asking for some girl named Sarah. I told them they had the wrong number and they hung up. For the next few months, I would get these calls asking for Sarah about once or twice a week, coming from different number and different sounding people. Sometimes these calls came at three in the morning. One day I got a call and, like usual, I said I didn’t know Sarah. After they hung up I went to my contacts and hit redial; the answering machine said that number did not exist. I went back through my call history trying to call some other people that had called me with the same result, a machine telling me the number did not exist. Every time I would get these calls I would redial the number and still got the machine. I googled the numbers but all I learned was that were coming from North Dakota, Montana, basically everywhere in the Midwest. The next time I got a call asking for Sarah, I said, ‘Oh yeah, she is right here’ and the other person on the other end said ‘No she isn’t’ and hung up. Things started getting weird when I started getting calls from ‘unknown’ numbers calling me. Whoever or whatever on the other end hung up the second I said hello. Once I got a call where they didn’t hang up after I said ‘hello’ and I could hear someone was on the other end just listening but they didn’t say anything, just something really uneasy about it.”

3. “I was staying in the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas (oldest property on the strip with a sordid mob history). In the middle of the night, I woke and saw a dark figure moving around the foot of my bed and coming up the gap between the twin beds. I hit the light, and there was a full figure of a man in a ’60s sports blazer with blood all over his face. I yelled ‘Go away!’ and start flinging my arm in his direction. Just like that he disappeared. I woke my friends in the other bed and my buddy said ‘What the hell you swatting at?!’ I told them and they laughed at me. The following morning, my buddy said after I had fallen asleep water was dripping on his head, but there was no leak on the ceiling and was convinced we may have shared a paranormal encounter.”

4. “I had a black cat called Casper. We adopted her after she ran away from the previous owner. She was missing for days before the previous owner found her in the bushes, skittish and frightened. After carrying her home, the owner discovered she was allergic to cats when her arm broke out with rashes. She put out a call for a new home, which was answered by my animal-loving family. For ages, she was scared to come near anyone and was totally averse to being petted. Eventually, she turned into a total ham, never missing the chance to jump on you and lie with you. We loved her, and I loved her heaps. Then one day she lost the use of her back legs. Not long after, she passed away. I was having a rough time then, and she was a big comforter. Point is: my parents and I were sad. A few days after, I’m sitting on my front step having a smoke, and I gear a meowing sound identical to Casper. I look out front and there, at the gate, was a cat meowing at me, that looked just like Casper. I went over, and it ran away. I looked down the street after it, and it was gone. I mentioned it to my parents. They both said the same thing happened to each of them separately, which was a surprise to them, too. Now it could have been a similar cat from the neighborhood, but it only happened once to each of us then was never seen again.”

5. “When I was 16, I was riding horses with my friend in the field beside her house. The horse threw me and I hit my head, HARD. The next thing I know, I’m on my back in incredible pain staring up at my friend, who is frantically screaming at me. Dazed, my gaze shifted and then refocused on her friend behind her, a tall, thin man wearing a black suit and an old-fashioned, wide-brimmed hat. He was staring unblinking into my eyes over my friend’s shoulder. Days later she came to visit me in the hospital, and I asked her about the man I’d seen. I thought it was the new boyfriend she’d recently told me about. She told me there was no one there but me and her.”

6. “This past year, I went to bed on a normal night, and in mid-dream, everything stops and a voice says, ‘The fire alarm is about to go off.’ I wake up about five minutes later when the fire alarm starts in our building. I asked my roommates the next day if anyone said that, and I just happened to hear it, but they said the alarm went off around 4 a.m. and they were all sleeping prior to it going off. Plus, none of us knew they were testing the alarm beforehand. I was weirded out after.”

7. “Back in 2005, I was in a band that toured the country in a 15-passenger van with a trailer. We were on the way from Columbus, Ohio to Erie, PA. The show had been cancelled in Ohio due to a power outage, so we decided to get on the road early as we had friends in Erie who were taking us in for the night. I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life. We were all having a conversation; there were eight of us total in the van when the driver and passenger both shouted simultaneously, ‘What the was that?!’ I’m getting goosebumps on my arms right now just remembering the event. I was sitting being the driver with my back against the window, and I didn’t see anything but we heard a ‘whooshing’ noise as if something flew right over the van. My friend who was sitting next to me looked like he had just seen a ghost. We wound up pulling over on the side of the road because everyone was freaking out, thinking we hit something. Nothing was found. Both the passenger and driver said they saw a tall black figure lunge at the van from the shoulder of the left lane; my friend who was sitting next to me said the same thing. The next day we inspected the van in daylight and noticed there were streak marks across the roof of the van.”

8. “When I was about 11, I was walking home and an old guy who was pushing a stroller out of the blue put his hand over my eyes for about a second as he was passing by. I have no idea why I still remember this.”

9. “When I was 7, I suddenly awoke in the middle of the night to a young child kneeling near my bed praying. At first I thought it was my younger brother, so I asked him what he was doing. After I asked, he slowly looked at me and stood up and started running, so I hopped out of bed and followed him down my stairs and out my front door. We had a long driveway, and I followed him all the way to the end and then he simply vanished. I went back to my room and nothing like that has happened since.”

10. “When I was about 14, I was staying up way too late on the computer. It was about 2 in the morning, and everyone else was asleep. I got thirsty, and wandered down the hallway to get a drink. I didn’t bother to turn on any lights since there was a nightlight in the hallway, and there was enough light to get by. I’m walking back to the bedroom when I get this weird feeling like someone is watching me, and turn around. There is this big white mist just floating right behind me. I immediately turned around and went back into the safe bright room. The thing is, there were no windows facing that hallway, and I hadn’t passed the nightlight yet, so it definitely wasn’t a trick of the light. All the doors leading to the hallway were also closed. A few years later when I was moved to the small room closest to that spot, I got the heebie jeebies and couldn’t sleep without a lamp on. It wasn’t until some time later after the sighting that I learned that in the ’80s, a guy was renting out the house. He was arrested for the kidnap, rape, and disappearance of a bunch of kids in the area, and for the suspected murder of his wife. They never found her, and she supposedly ran away, according to him. Cadaver dogs went over the farm, but they never found anything. The cops must not have done a good job though because when they moved in, my mom found a pair of boy’s underwear in the toilet tank. The missing wife was never found, and he died in prison about a decade ago. I think she’s still there, though.”

11. “I went to bed one night after watching a bunch of spooky paranormal videos and was thoroughly on edge. I was ridiculously paranoid about ghosts even though I had never had anything ghost in the house at all, nor has anything bad happened in it that I know of. Then at around 3 a.m., still not asleep because of fear, the band on my boxer briefs snapped as if someone pulled on them then let go.”

12. “This happened when I was just about 4-years-old. We lived in a really small apartment that had two rooms. When you enter our room, you could just see the kitchen and there’s a doorway on the left which is our bedroom. I was playing in the bedroom and got my slipper stuck under the bed. I can’t seem to get it since there’s only a 2-inch gap under the bed. I don’t know what got into me, but I started chanting something like ‘Slipper, get out now,’ over and over again. Then I got this feeling of dread and I got scared, so I ran away.  After a few minutes, I sneaked to the bedroom and found my slipper a foot away from the bed. I ran inside to get it and got out as fast as I can. I don’t know how it could have happened. As a little girl with an overactive imagination, I just assumed a rat passed by, heard me and just pushed my slipper out of there.”

13. “I was home alone and in the bath, but I had closed the door so that my dogs wouldn’t run in and try to jump into the bath too. I was in there for a good 45-50 minutes and when I climbed out and opened the door, there had been a table moved right in front of the door, I never heard a thing while it was happening, never even heard my dogs bark and they bark for anything, and they were playing outside which is so strange for them.”

14. “When my boyfriend was about four years old, he would talk to a man he saw in the mirror. Naturally, his parents were curious about his behavior, and asked him questions about the man. He told his parents details about the man including his appearance, hobbies, and how he died. It turns out that one of the former owners of the house was a man who had committed suicide in the house, and he matched the descriptions of the man my boyfriend saw in the mirror. When his parents found out, they moved out of the house a month later.”

15. “I was visiting my dad last summer and trying to fall asleep when suddenly I felt a hand grab my ankle. I kicked furiously at whatever was grabbing me, jumped out of bed and screamed. There was nothing there. My dad came running into the room and found me sitting on the floor facing the bed. He asked me what was wrong and didn’t believe me when I said nothing, that I thought something grabbed me, and even checked the closet. I immediately felt embarrassed but it felt so real. I’ve never had something like that happen before or since.”

[iamwritinghere-blog1]

One Day in The Summer

     It was the summer of 2011. The summer transition for me from grade 6 to grade 7. It was a regular summer for any kid my age at the time. Staying home, playing video games, going out for the occasional water fight with my cousins. It was the summer we got a dog and it was the summer my grandma from the Philippines came to stay with us. It was the summer that I was introduced to the morbid reality of our mortality. My naïve, innocent views on life, changed, due to one day in the summer.      I remember the day in an blurry haze. I had just woken up and I could hear my brother watching Boyz n the Hood in the living room. From my bedroom window, I could see my mom in the backyard, tending to the garden. It started off like any regular day. Like most days that summer, I started my day by turning on my Xbox 360 and playing Ghost Recon.      Shortly after, my mom came in from the backyard and went to the washroom, which is right next to my room. Next thing I know, she is stepping out of the washroom, yelling, “What is that smell?!” I thought nothing of it at the time. She asked again, more anger in her voice, “I said, what is that smell!?” Still no reply from me, nor my brother. So she calls me over from the washroom, asking me, “Do you smell that?” I didn’t know what I was supposed to be smelling for, so I shook my head. She pulled me into the washroom, to look into the toilet bowl. “What is that, huh?” She asked me. There was a bunch of tiny, little black specks floating around in the water. I had no clue. She dismissed me and I went back to playing my game. She called my brother over and asked the same questions. She had found her suspect. Their conversation was background noise to my TV, but I could hear the guilt in my brother’s voice. He had been smoking marijuana in the bathroom and attempted to flush the ashes down the toilet.      I had heard about it in movies and TV shows before, but for it to be happening in my household was a very foreign concept to me. I would’ve never thought my brother was one to partake in those activities at the time. There were some nights, where I would notice something peculiar and irregular about him, but I could never really place my finger on it. Now I know what it was. My brother was going into his second year of high school at this time. So, I guess like everyone in high school, he had been exposed to the world of drugs.      I could hear my mom scolding my brother in the living room all the way from my room. I walked over to observe the situation. My brother, eyes glazed, staring blankly into space as my mom unleashed a flurry of words at him, Boyz n the Hood still playing on the TV, it was an alluring sight. Watching the whole thing unravel was like watching a train wreck; wanting to look away but unable to move your eyes from holy mess presenting itself right in front of you. She finally finished and checked the clock. It was time for her to pick up my dad from work. She sent my brother to his room and left to get my dad. Leaving in the house, my brother, my grandma and me.

     My grandma stayed in the basement during her time living with us. She was quiet and odd. This frail, little Filipino woman. She had short, black hair with touches of gray. It was difficult to get along with her. Besides my dad, I don’t think anyone in my family genuinely liked her. Even before her arrival to Canada, I would overhear stories about her. Never anything nice, to be completely honest. My mom told me she spent a lot of time in Switzerland as a housekeeper. Meaning she wasn’t really there for my dad and his brother in their younger years, leaving their grandparents to raise them.

     About 20 minutes after my mom left, I went to play videogames on the desktop computer in our living room and my brother was still in his room. More time passes and my grandma comes upstairs from the basement. I hear her go into the kitchen and open a drawer, then close it shut. She walks over to me as I’m on the computer, her eyes focused on the front door. She turns to me and says, “I’m just going for a walk,” with a vacancy in her voice. Without looking up at her, I respond with, “ok.” Rather than going through the front, I hear her go back down the stairs to exit through the back door. I continued with my computer games.

     Back when she was in the Philippines, she used to send me chocolate treats that were in ladybug wrapping and I always enjoyed getting them. They were reminders of her existence as she rarely crossed my mind due to her absence for a majority of my childhood. She would occasionally call, but no one ever really wanted to answer. We would let it ring and ring until either my mom or dad picked it up. We would try to end our conversations as quickly as we could, passing it on to the next person. Whenever the phone got to me, my dad would tell me to sing a song for her. I was reluctant and always resorted to reciting the ABCs or a nursery rhyme. As time passed and I became older, I grew to loathe these calls.

     My mom arrived back home with my dad about 15 minutes later. My dad ringing the doorbell frantically. I open the door and I notice this look on his face. He’s panicking. His eyes wide-open. He yells, “Did you not see your grandmother?!” He runs into the house and grabs the phone, dialing only three digits. 9-1-1. I look to see what’s happened outside. I see my grandma sat down, leaning on the front steps, a bloodied knife lying beside her and my mom holding her hands. My dad hands my mom the phone, she starts explaining to the operator, “Hello, my mother-in-law just stabbed herself in the stomach…” I see my dad’s face, filled with dread. In all my years, I have never seen my own dad so terrified. My grandma, in shock, begins reaching for her wound, picking away at body fat. My dad grabs her hands, shouting with a pain and frustration in his voice, “STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” My grandma, dozing off, mumbling, “Just let me die.”

     During all of this, I didn’t feel sad or scared. I didn’t feel anything significant. I remember thinking to myself, “she isn’t going to die. She didn’t cut deep enough.” I didn’t cry. After the hundreds of times I’ve replayed this moment in my head, I always wondered, why didn’t I cry? Was I supposed to cry? I don’t even remember it as a bad memory. It’s just a memory of something that happened to me. A memory of my grandma.

     The paramedic services station is 2 minutes away from my house, so they arrived on the scene almost immediately and the police came soon after. I ran into the house to tell my brother what happened and he came out onto the porch to watch with me. Several of our neighbours were standing on the street, just before our driveway. They watched as the paramedics lifted my grandma onto a gurney and placed her in the back of the ambulance. My dad got in as well. After the ambulance left, the police came to talk to my mom and they searched our house, checking each room.      My grandma spent nearly a month in the hospital after that. She was depressed and having suicidal thoughts. My mom told me later on, that my dad was crying in the hospital room. It was an unusual image to picture in my mind. I don’t think I have ever seen my dad cry. I think everyone, including my dad, thought the weeks she wasn’t in the house were some of the better weeks that summer. I never went to go visit her in the hospital. It never crossed my mind.

      Love and hate are both fairly strong words to use. They’re thrown around far too often. I don’t love my grandma. I don’t hate her either. It’s hard to describe my feelings towards her. I think sometimes, about what it must be like in her shoes. Does she know? When she finally passes, will she be happy? My heart sinks whenever I think about it. We still have the same knife she used in the same drawer. Everyone in the house knows what it is. No one touches it. Every time I see it, I’m reminded of that one day in the summer.

[opepin]

june: week one

29: we had lunch reservations at legal harborside so i woke up at like 9:45 am and exercised, kevin got up after that, i showered, and then we ate leftover fried rice (omg the buttered fried rice from osaka <3) and then we headed out. we were gonna be late so we let the fam know and then we took the train to south station. we stopped by the tea party museum shop and got his mom a tea set and his dad the tie. then we rushed to the restaurant. i think we were 10 to 15 minutes late, but everything was fine and our server was great! he was an oyster geek and gave us like a lesson oysters haha. he also gave great drink recommendations. jess and i got red sangrias and kevin got the white sangria. we got poppa chen a white wine to pair with the seafood. jess did most of the ordering. we got a dozen local and maine oysters, lobster mac and cheese, shrimp scampi, two clam chowders, and a lobster bisque. everything was delicious and i ate everything even though most things contained dairy because it was too good to not eat. lol. our server gave us chocolate espresso cheesecake on the house because he saw that we were having a reunion and he was was best server ever <33333 shout out to chad at legal harborside! oh, their bread was hot and fresh and was delicious.

after lunch, we chilled at the hotel and i watched some pbs kids with jess while kevin read fanfic and the parents listened in and read stuff on their phone. after everyone used the bathroom, we took the train back to the apartment and had another meal LOL. we cooked all of the food momma chen brought and i made banana bread. we had family tea and some chicken nuggets as well. :P yum. we ate, talked, and then the chen fam did their tradition of playing card games with each other haha. i just waited for the banana bread to bake and then everyone ate it and enjoyed it, which made me happy :D then we drove jess to south station. her train was leaving at 6:45 pm so we dropped her off and said our goodbyes. then we drove the parents to the hotel and said goodbye to them too. they’re so sweet. wait, did i mention that they got us electronic toothbrushes?! LOL i’m crying. then we drove back. i think kevin and i napped for a bit, talked to hillary for a bit, exercised after, kevin washed all of the dishes and got the suitcases from storage (thank youuuu so muchhh!) and then i wrote down what to pack before hitting the hay at like 11:45 pm... this week will be super long ahha. i miss the fam already though...

30: i was really tired when i woke up today... lol. i didn’t do my best doing my hiit workout in the morning but i got through it. i gave myself a bit too much cereal and had to throw some out because it was too sweet x_x then i trained to work and booked a conference room. i had some time to myself in the morning before mathew came in so i just did some internet errands. vivian was going to sleep over today because both of us were flying back to chicago :O LOL what a coincidence? haha. it was a full on brainstorming day so we went into the conference room and talked and then took a short break for lunch before hopping on stand up. we got dave to join in for a bit and got a pretty good foundation. then mathew and i finished up some things and called it a day at around 4 pm. i messaged vivian and she couldn’t drop off the uhaul in quincy so she decided to stay at the airport until her flight. lol kevin and i were so confused. so then i said goodbye to everyone until monday and then i took the train home. i ate a ton of my banana bread and the few speculoos cookies left. then i waited for kevin to get home. i watched some youtube videos. we cuddled and was thankful for the rest we were getting for a bit before eating leftovers and packing. i exercised and then showered and kevin ate dinner while i packed. then we did a bit of apartment cleaning and then kevin packed and it was like 11:30 pm or something when i slept. kevin played a bit of games before he went to sleep. zzzz. we had to get up at 4 am for the flight.

31: waking up at 4 am wasn’t too bad. we changed, brushed, and got everything we needed and took an uber to the airport. the airport wasn’t packed but it wasn’t empty either. we got past tsa about 15-20 minutes before boarding time so i got an interesting “ombre pink drink” (made with a bit of lime?) and kevin got a breakfast burrito from currito. we made it just in time to eat and line up for group ‘b.’ i tried looking for vivian but i couldn’t find her. when we were all boarded, i messaged her and she told me she was at gate a22 LOLOL. we were so close! i dozed in and out on the flight and i kept twitching every time i fell asleep -__-” kevin was out like a light bulb. he played some pokemon too. we got off, my dad was waiting at the baggage claim for us, we got our bags, and my dad drove us through about 1 to 1 hour and 30 minutes of morning traffic back home. me and kevin ko’d in the car. well, kevin ko’d and i dozed in and out again. we took a small nap and then ate whatever was in the fridge. then my uncle tony and my grandma came (to meet kevin LOL) and drop off food. hehe. i also talked to my uncle prior to this to make sure what time he was getting here. good times with my uncle tony~

i did some testing for work and then hopped on the stand up. after the stand up, i talked with phil about another thing we had to address. then i worked on that for the rest of the evening. i got on another call with him after and we figured something out. then kevin and i headed to 527 cafe to get dinner with nluu, ashley, and ryan. i got the popcorn chicken salad (didn’t taste as good as before hmm) and kevin got pork with rice. it was nice catching up with all of them. we shared shaved ice at the end of the meal and we were so full. i also got a really random milk tea with coconut, jasmine tea, mango, and lychee? lololol it tasted good to me tbh. then nluu, kevin, and i went to first ascent. they climbed while i waited for the yoga class to end and digest my food. when the class cleared out, i went in and used the studio. my video kept pausing and buffering so i did an extra long leg workout. my legs were jelly after. we left right when they closed at 11 pm and then we got back home and got ready for bed. i was so tired. i showered and then ko’d even before kevin finished showering LOL. 

jun01: i got up early to work out, shower, and eat a banana before kevin drove us to chinatown so i could get my teeth cleaned. he went to an asian bakery to wait for me. i thought it would take forever but i actually was done at like 11:40 am or something (i got there at 11 am). then we drove to cafe orient 33 to pick up lunch. we got popcorn chicken and bibimbap. we ate and then i got on stand up and he got on another meeting. my stomach didn’t feel too good again so i ended up doing a bit of work before i just laid on the couch on took a nap. my stomach still felt a bit unsettled when hillary came over. my mom cut us some fruit and my stomach felt fine then. i got to catch up and talk with hillary and then kevin went to visit ryan’s apartment before we headed to sumi for dinner! we got a ton of appetizers and only a bit of meat but it’s okay haha. we were so full by the end of dinner. we noticed that the service hasn’t been as A+ as before but the chef is always great. we got our orders mixed up this time but the food was still amazing. they had orange vanilla kakigori again -- we’ll come back in july if they have the pineapple flavored one. i have so much respect and admiration for chef gene kato at sumi. this will always be a special place for me and kevin :) we drove back with super full bellies and then took a walk around my neighborhood at like 10 pm LOL. then we got ready for bed and i felt jkfnsdkjfnsd again in my stomach so i was a bit grumpy. we went to sleep at like 1 am. i think i’ve been eating way too much so i need to cut back so i don’t feel this way.

jun02: i had my alarm set to 8:45 am but i woke up at 8 am to do my workout, shower, and then hop on a 9 am call. that call didn’t happen so i just got my stuff together to go to daniel’s to wfh but actually work from daniel’s... kevin and i ate leftovers for breakfast real quick and then kevin dropped me off and he went to go climbing with ryan and nluu. i had to go in through the back while daniel was on a call so i felt like i was like a robber or something x_x his house is so nice! the renovations look real good :) we both worked a bit and actually got on calls at the same time. mathew gave me the option of taking it easy today and/or working on the new stuff he planned out. daniel and i split a combo platter from shawarma inn and i ate while on my stand up. my stand up went on for a bit too long so i had to ask kevin to pick me up so that daniel could work. it was nice spending time with this one in his newly renovated house LOL. but in general, it was nice to hang out with daniel one on one. he looks like he’s doing good for himself right now.

kevin picked me up, he quickly showered, and we headed to northwestern. we parked and then hurriedly walked to the garage. it was a bit awkward when we entered and then haoqi introduced kevin to his students and then we talked to sarah and got her to demo her project for us. haoqi came back and we had a sumi moment together (excluding sarah LOL -- i’m sorry). apparently, haoqi was at sumi yesterday when we were and he was sitting outside! we saw their food being sent out! it was crazy. if we chose to sit outside, we would have seen him! lol, haoqi kept interrupting sarah to say “omg, i can’t believe it.” good times. we got there too late to see any other demos but kevin caught up with people and we ended up talking to haoqi and others after. there is a peeled in the garage so then kevin and i split that and then drove back home. haoqi invited me to their dinner at the pecking pig but i wanted to stay behind to exercise and spend time with hillary. i think kevin and i ko’d for a bit and then we went downstairs to cool down (a/c in my house was not on yet). i exercised and then kevin headed out to dinner. i rushed to shower because hillary was outside of my house and then i chilled with her for the rest of the evening.

i sorted through old clothes and stuff while hillary was there and then she offered to drive me to yeowoosai. i was the first one there and it was late so it was a bit shady. thank god daniel got there a few minutes later. we got a table and ordered the seafood pancake and waited for everyone to come. ryan stopped by with ashley, peter came with friends and his friends left to go to the bar, and then nluu and honglin came. we ordered mango soju and it was awesome. i would get that again. then we ordered popcorn chicken and kimchi fried rice. the fried rice was so spicy. kevin came after his dinner stuff and ordered yogurt makkoli and ate some food too. then ryan, ashley, and daniel left before we headed over to karaoke. it was nice catching up with all of the guys and spending time with them <3 so i was the only girl in this group and honglin is still the best at karaoke. we sang until our throats hurt and left at around 2 am. nluu kindly drove us all home. thank you! lol my stomach didn’t feel so good and i felt grouchy. i didn’t want to sleep in my hot room so i just went downstairs and slept there. kevin was ko’d on my bed. i think we went to sleep at around 3 am @_@;

jun03: my stomach was still killing me in the morning, but i got up from the basement and into the bedroom just as my parents were waking up. i apologized to kevin for my mood last night and then we drove over to firecakes so i could see hen and get doughnuts! hen didn’t see me until i got to the head of the line and she gasped ahahha. i asked her to give me the best half dozen doughnuts and kevin got a rhubarb fritter, which was delicious. the shop was busy so i could only say hi and give her a big hug before leaving. i’ll definitely see her in july because she was one of the people i couldn’t see this time. she’s so precious <3 oh, while in line, we had a weird saic reunion with another alum LOL. he recognized me and i kind of recognized him and then all three of us were like, “woah” haha. the thing is that he was also visiting from boston for the weekend?! he lives in cambridge and works at harvard. that’s crazy!!!

then kevin and i went to peeled to get another acai bowl! haha. we were feeling grody from eating so much food. the line was kind of long but we waited. he dropped me off at victoria’s and then drove over to ryan’s after taking a few bites of my bowl. i chilled with victoria and did some pokemon things with her while waiting for ashley. oh, it was a christmas miracle because the asian snack package was delivered today! i got it on my way out the door in the morning~ so victoria and i did a sort of unboxing and then ashley came and we tried some snacks all together. lol, we ate so much sugar in one sitting. then we walked over to patissiere coralie and ashley and i split macarons and a salmon and avocado sandwich. i also got their herbal berry iced tea! it was tart but refreshing. we went back to victoria’s, ate more, talked, and sugar coma’d on her couch. victoria told us her funny cheesecake story and then basically kicked us out for laughing at her (LOL, jk. she had to leave a buy dessert though). ashley and i called an uber and got stuck in pretty bad traffic. we both dozed off though. ugh, chicago has endless and large amounts of construction going on right now. x__x;

we got to ryan’s and then called all three of the guys (kevin, ryan, and nluu). nluu was the last and only person to pick up before kevin got us at the door, LOL. they were playing hanabi and they didn’t want to forget their cards. ashley and i chilled while they finished their game. ryan and terence’s place is super nice. i love the view and i really love their kitchen stove floor cushion and the empty space in front of the kitchen that they have right now. i did a good amount of walking around and then we all decided to go get dinner at pho 888. i went with nluu to re-park his car and then we all hopped in my car and went to argyle. i got my bun thit nuong cha gio as usual and kevin ate some of my food because mine was better than his egg noodles, lulz. i also got tofu spring rolls because i needed veggies... kevin and i boxed our meals and then found parking in ryan’s neighborhood. then we got back, used the bathroom, and took a while for kevin and nluu to give into taking a walk around montrose park.

it was a nice and fun walk! we got kevin to third wheel ashley and ryan LOL and then we started copying what ryan does when he walks ahahaha. we also mistook a child for a dog... we walked around the water and saw ducks on a date and the guys threw around a frisbee. it was pretty much summer feels all over again. if only we still played pokemon go, it would have been exactly like last summer haha. lol we also watched and stared at a chauffeur who was trying to park his gigantic car in front of ryan’s... he parked on the curb and left i think. then we saw a soccer player fall after throwing the ball back on to the field. lol we were the peanut gallery this evening. we walked back, the guys played hanabi to redeem themselves from last round, and ashley and i chileld and appreciated the view and the weather and the calming hip hop instrumentals we were streaming on youtube. it was a very nice setting to end the day. kevin and i left at around 10 pm, hugged everyone, dropped nluu off at his car, and then drove back home. i got pretty grr at packing and just all of the stress from this trip devoured me in that instance so i got mad at kevin too. we ended the night on a pretty sour note but i slept in the bed as well because i was too tired and we were getting up in a few hours as well.

jun04: i was dead when we woke up at 5:30 am. kevin was still mad at me but i was really tired (i mean both of us were) so we just dealt with it. my parents drove us to the airport and then we waited in a long ass long to check in our bags x__x; tsa was really quick though and we had enough time for kevin to get a breakfast croissant and then we waited to board. we both ko’d during the flight and kevin woke me up so i could get my complimentary free drink LOL. i got my red tea and they gave us belvita oat cookies again. i ate a few and then went back to sleep. the flight was less than 2 hours and we landed about 20-30 minutes earlier than expected, woot! we got our bags from baggage claim and then took the bus and train home. i apologized when we got back and kinda broke down. i think i was bottling up a lot of stress during my trip, which i felt wasn’t too fun honestly. kevin also apologized and we just spent some time cuddling in bed to recover from our trip. then we ate the leftovers from dinner for lunch and ate some zong zi. then we unpacked everything and i started doing laundry. kevin did the meal planning and i got to relax and catch up on youtube videos.

then we headed to kam man, good fortune, roche bros, and bj’s for groceries. kevin was so happy to drive bb again and he had to get used to the easy steering ;P good fortune was selling 18 boxes of raspberries for $3?! or something crazy like that. we ended up getting like 3 for $1 but i was tempted to get an entire box... we stopped by bj’s to get detergent and fabric softener because we’re finally out :O we got back, unpacked, and we snacked a little. ooo we also got life cereal and ate a bit of that. kevin went to game and i watched more videos and looked at everlane’s modern point flats. i got my size 7.5 rothy’s in the mail and tried them on only to find out that they’re too wide :( i tested my 7′s again during grocery shopping time and they didn’t cut me like last time. maybe i’ll keep these? or should i invest in real leather flats? hmm. i could get both if i saved up too. idk, i fell asleep reading everlane reviews LOL. i was supposed to fold clothes... i woke up an hour later and i remember kevin teasing me about falling asleep because i said that i didn’t need to nap earlier.

i woke up and then put the sheets in the dryer (i might have left them in the washer too long) and folded clothes. then i exercised because i wanted to test new exercise videos and i also felt pretty bad for eating junk food and fried foods during my trip. blech Dx i don’t know if i’ll ever casually drink again...it always ends up hurting my stomach, sigh. i’ll try to stick to that but if me and kevin go to a new restaurant or something, i’ll definitely try a drink or sip from his. anyway, i did a kickboxing video, full body workout, and an intense cardio video while kevin made us a quick dinner. we ate and then had raspberries for dessert. then it was shower time and i got to wash my hair~ it was late but i felt so nasty from the hot chicago weather, the airport, etc. i stayed up until 12:30 am or something looking at stuff on my phone and then fell asleep. back to work tomorrow :)