#so packing up the house for the flooring will b a huge help in preparing

[thelakeeffectkid]

okay, nearly meeting my goal for packing today! since i feel a bit better than usual, im opting to get some of our larger things packed that we can live without for a while, along with some more of our glass stuff we can pack away.

did manage to bruise my thumb under the nail thanks to the tapegun >u>;;;; and im a bit tired, but im taking a break from the packing for now, probs until tay's done streaming, since the other big thing we need to pack is in there with him

....the remotes.... i forgot to pack them...

ill put them with the gaming stuff when its time for the Final Pack, or put both of them with the one tv later tonight. depends on if i can remember for later tonight, or i realize i didnt after i seal the other box

[ohanny]

so remember how i said i'd been having ideas about a pack orgy? well.

those ideas now under the cut:

(nothing graphic but subject matter by default is somewhat nsfw)

it all starts when jeff realizes his heat is coming and is miserable about it because a) he is jeff and b) it is a miserable experience. so to soothe his instincts thus also his stupid hormones and cramps, he orders alan to build them a big “nest” in the living room (covering the floor with mattresses, and pretty much every single pillow and blanket in the house) and invites over the entire pack so they can put on some studio ghibli movies, huddle close and jeff can feel comforted by the closeness of everyone he holds dear.

except jeff might have miscalculated his cycle and underestimated the effect having his entire pack so close might have on him. so barely two movies it becomes clear his heat is a lot less pre- and a lot more actually happening right now.

everyone is like “so uh, we should probably leave you two to it” but jeff who is pretty gone already, whines like a sad puppy. he needs his pack so why is his pack trying to abandon him? sensing his distress, alan is like “no, stay” and it’s not exactly an order but also kind of is because no one is allowed to make jeff sad. and it's not a big deal. because it’s pack. when your packmate is going through their heat or rut, you help out in whatever capacity you can. that’s just how it is.

so everyone is chill about the whole heat pheromone soup and whatever bodily reactions it might cause. they are fine more or less pretending to watch the movie while alan fucks and knots jeff right there in the middle of the nest. once jeff is stuffed full and calmed down, the fussing starts. as another omega, north would curl up as close to jeff as he could. kim would worry about water and snacks and “alan, you big oaf, don’t squeeze him so tight.” jeff would be high off the feeling of it, happily purring in alan’s arms and everyone would mirror his happiness.

well. not everyone. kenta - who babe invited and kim dragged over to “socialize” - is very much not okay. kenta is freaking out.

kenta’s experiences with pack dynamics have previously been limited to “do what father says to the best of your ability or else.” in tony’s mansion going through your cycles was seen as a huge inconvenience at best and something shameful at worst. pack was a matter of forced proximity versus genuine bonding and if you got close to someone, it would be used against you. he might have tried his best with the children to offer them some kind of security but after pete left all those years ago, no one bothered to do the same for him.

also, much to his horror kenta is hard. and he’s disgusted with himself because he's in a room full of people, it's because of the pack leader’s omega and on top of all that, jeff is someone he considers to be his brother. one of those things would be enough but all three? he is totally spiraling into shame and self-hatred, inching back until he’s about to fall off the mattress, stiff and scared.

in short, he is totally bringing the vibes down, the stench of his panic spiking when he makes accidental eye contact with alan who has been looking at him. alan sighs and kenta is pretty sure this is going to be it, tensing up even more in preparation of what's to come. instead of casting him out, alan utters out a very pointed “kim” shooting a significant look in kenta’s direction and kim looks over his shoulder and goes “oh shit, on it” and means it quite literally.

because he turns around, grabs and physically pulls kenta back in and then crawls on top of him, murmuring “it’s okay, feel that?” and takes kenta’s hand, guiding it between his own legs where he is also achingly hard. “see? me too. you’re good,” he tells kenta and noses around his neck, breathing him in, “you’re really good. just relax and let me take care of you, okay?” and how could kenta say no to that? being caged in like this by kim’s everything is turning his brain to mush. when kim presses down, he arches up and oh, fuck.

for a split second he forgets where he is but then babe - who is totally being the little spoon, all wrapped up in charlie as if he was the one in heat here because of course - stretches out a hand so he can scratch the top of kenta’s head and say he’s being silly, “this is pack.”

and north will take a brief break from jeff to ninja roll to rub his cheek on kenta’s shoulder, scent marking him, and then sonic will snort and just chomp on kenta’s bicep because he totally looks like a biter and kim will playfully growl at him in a “hey, no biting what’s mine” and swat sonic’s head to which sonic will respond by snapping his teeth at kim’s fingers. north would kick sonic’s shin and tell him to “stop biting other people’s people” and sonic would fling himself at north, the two of them getting tangled up and alan’s reflexes being the only thing saving jeff from accidentally getting elbowed in the face.

that will obviously jostle the knot still connecting them and jeff will whine, grinding back in a renewed surge of sheer need and alan lives to please. and let's not pretend gremlin charlie would not take advantage of all the fertile omega pheromones mixing with babe’s own scent to go full “is mama that desperate to be bred?” on babe. and if the whole mess of kenta, kim, north and sonic gets even messier and more tangled up as the night progresses, oh well. kim is horny and kenta clearly needs way more babying than jeff does. pack is pack after all.

[p-artsypants]

Arcadia or Bust (17)

Heartstone Hall

Previously on Arcadia or Bust:

James Lake Sr. came back to Arcadia while Jim and friends were out retrieving the new Heartstone. The deadbeat not only ran away with a girl, but he’d been dealing cocaine in LA. Now he’s come back to lay low, since he owes a lot of money to some really dangerous men. He got a kilo of cocaine to try to make his profit back, only to not pick it up from the drop zone before Jim found it. Thinking it was trash, Jim ate the brick and went into an 8 hour rage, busting up the town. The US army of Area 49-B got a whiff of the destruction and came to collect Jim from the hospital. With a campaign from the town and an old friend of Walter’s, Jim is turned loose. However, he’s not out of the woods yet, as his amulet was ripped out of his chest and now he has a crater. 

—

*points in a random direction* Hey look! What’s that over there?! *Drops update* *runs*

Ao3 | FF.net

—

“It’s okay Jim, you’re going to be okay,” said Claire, as she hovered just over his face, and pressed little kisses to his cheek. “We’re going home.” 

“…For the…glory…” he muttered, before wincing and falling silent. 

“Are you taking us to the hospital?” Barbara asked as the van sped on, faster than any speed limit. 

“Nope,” said Samuel. “I think this is a Heartstone issue.” 

She nodded, knowing that would be the best. “He needs a tissue transplant, but his skin is so tough…I don’t even know what we could do for him. Get human skin and have Merlin transform it into half-troll? I hate that I don’t know what to do! I’m not a surgeon, damnit! And I’m certainly no magic expert!” 

“Stop at the McDonald’s near the edge of town,” said Toby. 

“Really? You want a Big Mac at a time like this?” 

“No! Merlin is probably there, and I bet he could fix Jim up.” 

“Wait, Merlin-Merlin? Like ‘Amulet of Merlin, Sword of Excalibur’ Merlin?” Asked Samuel.

“That’s the one!” 

Once they got into town, Samuel pulled in at the McDonalds as requested, and Toby was out the door before he stopped the car. 

“Merlin! Merlin help!” He cried, as he ran inside the restaurant. 

The employees behind the counter all looked at him, and then pointed at Merlin, who had set up shop in the corner of the store. He was surrounded by books, and other magical artifacts. 

How had management allowed this? Well actually, Merlin wouldn’t have listened to any authority, so they probably didn’t allow it. 

Toby ran to the wizard. “We got Jim back! He’s in the van, and he’s hurt really bad! We need you to heal him!” 

“What kind of injury?” Asked Merlin, calmly packing up his books. 

“They took his amulet, and there’s a huge hole in his chest! I could see his lungs!” 

Merlin screwed up his lips in thought. “Where are they taking him? To the Heartstone?”

“That’s what Samuel said!” 

Merlin didn’t ask who Samuel was, so he probably didn’t care. “I will be there shortly. I must gather the appropriate supplies. Keep him reclined and relaxed. And try not to prod the wound.” 

Toby nodded once and then ran back outside to the van. 

One of the McDonald employees calmly came over and refilled Merlin’s coffee, as he had asked to be done every hour. 

“Good lad. I’m leaving now. Here, for your trouble.” And he dropped a sizable emerald in the kid’s hand. 

The kid looked at it and shrugged. “Whatever.” It beat minimum wage at least.

—

At the canal, Claire opened up the portal to Trollmarket while Walter and Samuel started to get Jim out of the van. She ran in and called out, “Blinky! ARRRGH! Jim’s back! He’s hurt!” 

ARRRGH came running, while Blinky gathered all sorts of supplies and carried them down to the Heartstone. 

It was a mad dash then. Jim was quickly, but carefully, brought down into Heartstone Hall, and rested on his mattress on the floor. 

“…cold…” he whispered as he grasped and pulled at the blankets. 

Barbara pulled the comforter up to his stomach, and draped a smaller one over his right side. “I know you're cold, but you have a wound, and we can’t cover it yet.” 

“…water…” 

“I’m on it!” Cried Toby, running upstairs.

Jim groaned out in pain, and the Heartstone responded with a pulse of light. 

“Is that good?” Asked Claire. 

“The Heartstone is picking up on Jim’s pain, and is releasing magic to aid in his healing!” Said Blinky, with a smile. 

“Is that going to deplete the magic we put back into it?” 

“No no! Well, maybe…it shouldn’t!” 

Jim moaned out again, tensing his whole body, and craning his neck in an effort to find relief. 

“Just a little bit longer, sweetie,” said Barbara. “Merlin will be here soon.” She gnawed on her lip. “I could probably get an IV for him from the hospital. I have my phone, so call me if there’s any change!” 

“I’ll drive you, Dr. Lake,” said Samuel. 

“That’s alright, I’ll take the tunnel to my house and grab my car. That way, you don’t need to be held up here any longer. You’ve been a great help.” 

The general smiled. “It was worth it more than I thought. The Trollhunter owes me a favor now, you see. I probably won’t need to collect, but it’s always fun to have that in your back pocket. And besides, I got to see Trollmarket and the Heartstone with my own eyes.” He glanced at the orange stone. “That’s a privilege everyone in the Janus Order longed for.” Before he got too wistful, he turned to Walt. “You’ll let me know how this all turns out, right? Because I’m invested in Mr. Lake’s fate now.”

“I’ll text you updates.” 

“Fantastic.” He gave Jim a pat on the shoulder. “Hang in there, Trollhunter.”

“I’ll show you out,” said Barbara as they left together. 

Then it was just Blinky, ARRRGH, Claire, and Walt. Time ticked on in silence, as no one knew what to do or say. Only occasional groans from Jim broke the quiet atmosphere.

“What’s taking Merlin so long?” Said Claire, with irritation. 

“He’s coming?” Asked Blinky.

“We told him about what happened before we came down here. Said he had to collect ‘appropriate materials’.” 

“So he’s collecting materials,” said Walter. “It might take some time.” 

“Yeah, but he’s probably doing it at a leisurely pace. The man has no concept of time anymore. We need to get him a phone. Or at least a walkie-talkie.” 

Just then, a gallon bucket of ice and water bottles descended on a rope from the center column of the room. 

“Heads up! It’s kinda heavy!” Toby called before it hit the ground harshly. Then he nearly tumbled down the stairs himself. 

“I got a bunch because I know Jim doesn’t have running water down here yet, and I didn’t want us to run out!” He took a bottle from the bucket and put a silly straw in it so Jim could drink without having to sit up. “Sorry Jim, this is the only straw I have…it says ‘big boy’.” Toby tilted the end of the straw so it touched Jim’s lips. 

In his half conscious state, Jim felt it, took it in his mouth, and sucked, emptying half the bottle in one go. He released the straw and licked his lips. 

“Better, Jimbo?” 

“Uh huh…” Jim managed a little nod. 

“Okay. I’ll be on water duty. You just say the word, okay?” 

“…For…the glory of Merlin…” Jim tried again, before wincing hard. “Hurts to breathe…” 

Claire sat cross legged on the bed next to him, scratching his scalp lightly with her nails. “Just hang on for a little bit longer. Your mom is bringing some medicine from the hospital, and Merlin is going to fix you up.” 

His eyes flickered open ever so slightly. “Where am I?” 

“You’re in Heartstone Hall, in your bed.” 

His eyes closed again. “My amulet…gone.” 

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it right now. Just relax.” 

“Hurts…” 

“I know, babe, I know.” 

Walt stood, looking at his phone. “Barbara’s back. I’ll go help her.” And he left. 

Blinky snapped his fingers. “I think Vendal had a recipe for a burn salve up there. I can work on that. Come ARRRGH! It’s the least we can do!” 

“Yell if Jim need help,” ARRRGH added, as he followed Blinky up the stairs. 

“More water, Jimbo?” 

“Huh Uh…” 

After he drank, he winced, and a tear rolled from his eye. “I want my mom.” 

“She’s coming, Jim. She’s bringing some medicine for you.” 

“Where…am I?” 

Claire then realized that Jim was barely conscious, and wasn’t listening to much anyways. She’d end up repeating herself a lot. 

She pushed his bangs out of his face and kissed his forehead. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re nice and safe, babe.” 

Toby and Claire sat in silence as Jim continued to struggle to breathe. 

Thankfully, Barbara and Walt appeared not a minute later, with all sorts of goodies. 

“Alright kiddo, let’s get you all cleaned up. Claire, would you put on these gloves? I’d like you to clean the skin around his wound with these alcohol swabs while I set up the IV.” 

“On it Barb!” Claire got to work quickly, thankful to be able to do something to help. 

Walt set up the IV stand while Barbara prepared the needle and inserted it in Jim’s arm. 

“I hate that I have to use a thicker gauge needle, but your skin is so tough, kid.” 

Jim didn’t seem to even register what she was doing. 

Once the IV was in and taped in place, Barbara took out a thick gauze and started taping it in place on Jim’s chest. “The wound isn’t bleeding nearly as much as it should,” she stated, with a frown.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Asked Claire. 

“I’m thinking it’s because of the burns on him. They weren’t this bad at the hospital. He had been out in sunlight that day, but it was overcast and he had on long sleeves.” She taped down the gauze with medical masking tape. “No, this looks like...well, third degree on a human. Direct heat like flames or burning metal. I guess that would be a UV light for Jim.” 

“I’m going to hammer that lady into the ground,” Toby muttered.

“There, this should be good for now. I’ll bandage him again once Merlin cleans him up.” She rested a weak hand to her head. “Lord help me, I’m depending on Merlin.” 

Thankfully, news came by Claire’s phone, with an unknown number. 

“Hello?” 

“Claire? This is Douxie.” 

“Douxie! Please tell me you’re with Merlin!” 

“I am! Not that I can get his butt moving any faster. He briefed me on the situation, and I’ve been trying to rush him…but, you know how he is…” 

She could hear the old man shouting somewhere in the near distance. “Three days? Well he’ll be dead by then! No need for it by that time! You don’t have anything in stock?” 

Claire winced. “Where are you guys?” 

“At the hardware store, ummm you’re better off not knowing why for now. We’ll be at Trollmarket soon, I promise!” 

“Thank you. And thank you for calling. We were getting worried.” 

“How is he?” 

“Barely conscious. He’s on an IV with pain meds now…so he’ll be feeling a little better. He keeps trying to summon his amulet, but he doesn’t have the strength.” 

“Uh oh, he doesn’t have the amulet with him?” 

“No, the army wouldn’t give it back.” 

Douxie exhaled in a huff. “We’ll figure something out. Oh, Looks like Merlin found an alternative. We’ll be on our way soon!” 

“Great! See you!” And she ended the call. “Merlin should be coming soon!” 

“Thank goodness!” Barbara sighed. “Though it looks like Jim finally fell asleep. His pain is mostly managed…all we can do now is wait.” 

It felt like they were waiting hours. But there was not much else to do. 

Jim slept fitfully, occasionally opening his eyes to look around. It was clear he was exhausted, so he’d just close them again a moment later, and they heard his slow breathing. 

“This is torture,” said Claire. “But I can’t imagine what he’s been through.” 

“I hope that along with her discharge, that Kubritz lady does hard time in prison,” said Toby. 

“And I hope they do everything to her that she did to him,” Claire added, with venom. “If they don’t, I will.”

“I’ll back you up.” 

It was hard to share small talk, but just listening to Jim’s labored breathing and waiting felt like a terrible option. 

Finally, finally, Merlin’s horrible grating voice echoed through the Heartstone husk. “Hello? Is this where the injured Jim is?” 

“Yes!” Claire cried out. She was never so happy to hear that man’s voice. 

No really, most of the time, his appearance filled her with dread. 

Merlin and Douxie descended the stairs, arms full of plastic shopping bags. 

And it finally seemed like Merlin was done wasting time, as he spared no greetings and got busy examining Jim. He removed the blanket that covered his shoulder, and the temporary bandages Barbara applied. 

He cringed at the sight of the crater. “Yikes. That is quite the wound.” 

“Can you heal him?” Claire asked, afraid that he wasn’t up to the task. 

“Sure. No problem. Douxie, prepare the plaster.” 

“Plaster?” Barbara asked, with horror.

“Ugh, I know,” said the wizard. “Three days for expedited shipping for clay! Ridiculous! I thought the modern era was a time of immediate gratification! But no, the one time I need something quick, it’s a three day wait! Do they not know where the nearest clay deposits are?!” 

“Okay, but the plaster? What’s the deal with the plaster?!” 

“What else do you expect me to use to fill a wound in a troll?” 

“You’re going to pour plaster in his open wound?!” 

“Yes! And more!” He glanced over to the bucket Douxie was mixing in. “How’s it coming?” 

“Do you want it more watery, or thick?” 

“Thick without being too dry.” Then he turned back and leaned in close to Jim. “None of you are going to like what I’m about to do.” He pressed two fingers to Jim’s chest, and spoke, “imperium.” 

Jim’s eyes flashed open, wide, pupils expanded so the iris was just a hint of blue.

“Jim Lake Jr., summon your amulet,” Merlin commanded. 

Jim raised his hand up in the air slowly and spoke clearly, “for the glory of Merlin, daylight is mine to command.” 

Then Merlin let go, and Jim fell back into slumber, Claire having to catch his hand before it smacked him in the face. 

“What was that?” She asked. 

“I thought it was fairly obvious. A mind control spell. Very weak, only works on unconscious individuals within range.” 

“You know Mind Control?” Asked Toby, with some horror. 

“To a degree. As I said. It’s more like the power of suggestion. Morgana has learned how to fully possess someone’s mind, but I always preferred to use my natural charisma to persuade people.” 

Someone snorted. 

“The plaster is ready,” said Douxie. “Did you want to start with the strips?” 

“Yes,” he collected the tray Douxie had prepared. Mesh cloth strips sprayed with plaster, which created a base. Carefully, Merlin began to lay the strips in the hole in Jim’s chest, applying just enough pressure to adhere them and blend the edges. Once he had completely coated the inside, without filling the hole, he stopped.  

“There, now we’ll treat his burns. You said you had electricity down here?” 

“Uh, yeah. There’s an outlet on the wall next to you,” said Claire. 

“Perfect.” From his various bags, he took out a palm sander with a coarse paper on it. He plugged it in. “Now how do I work this thing?” 

“Why don’t you let me handle that while you use the file…” Douxie took the power tool away from him. “Claire, can you sit him up and lean against his back as a counter weight?”

“The file? I don’t want to use the file! I got this so you would use the file!”

“Merlin!” Barbara scolded. 

“Fine, I’ll use the file…better for fine detailing anyways.”

It was agonizing moments as Douxie buffed away the dried, burnt skin that came off like dust, while Merlin shucked off the chunks that were too thick for the sander. 

Jim, for the most part, only twitched and cried out on occasion, only when they got too close to fresh skin. 

Once he was rubbed raw and bright blue, a little bloody in some places, they stopped. 

“It’s like an extreme pumice stone,” Douxie tried to soothe, feeling guilty as Claire wiped her tears. “The skin affected by the sun, or UV lights or whatever, was solid stone and had to come  off.” 

“I know,” said Claire. “It was just…jarring.” 

“Alright, we’re almost done,” said Merlin, scrounging up some compassion. “You can recline him again, Fair Claire.” 

Gently, Claire laid him back down on the pillows. 

Merlin took the loose plaster and slopped a bit in the wound, trying to make up for the missing space. 

Then, from the stairs came a ‘plink, plunk, plink, plunk’ as the amulet rolled its way down and stopped at Merlin’s feet. “Got here faster than I anticipated. I’d love to see the damage it did on it’s way.” 

“I thought if someone stole the amulet, it wouldn’t come back?” Asked Toby. 

“Not unless it’s properly summoned. If it only chooses one Trollhunter, you think it would want to be anywhere else?” Merlin cleaned the amulet with a rag to a near mirror shine, before placing it back in its spot on Jim’s chest. 

“Can’t you just keep it out of him? What if something like this happens again?” 

“Then we’ll just have to buy more plaster,” shrugged Merlin. “Anyway, it’s better this way.” He smeared more plaster in the cracks and smoothed it with his hands, until the seam was perfectly even. 

“Now what?”

“The plaster should start to dry soon, and a chemical reaction will take place, putting off heat. Then I will start the incantation.”

“Why then?”

“Must everything I do be questioned?”

“Yes.” Said everyone, unanimously.

“Because I said so. That’s why.” He touched the plaster, careful not to jostle it, and waited for the heat to set in. “Alright, I suggest everyone stand back. You too, Claire, get behind me.” 

Claire scooted off the bed and stood back with Toby and Barbara, then they waited anxiously. 

“It’s going to look and sound painful, but a little bit of pain, and he’ll be all better.” Merlin’s hands glowed blue, interacting with the pulsing, ticking amulet. Instead of a one word spell, like he had been doing, Merlin muttered a fast string of words that sounded like nothing and everything at the same time. Lightning bolts skittered from his fingertips, and drew patterns on Jim’s flesh. 

Jim screamed and writhed as every bolt connected. They danced across the plaster, turning it to his hardened flesh as they moved. The hands on the amulet spun rapidly as the stone pulsed a violent blue. The wound from Morgana, lower on his chest, flickered orange like embers. The Heartstone glowed as well. 

Claire felt her hair stand on end and goosebumps rise to her skin. The magic in the room was deafening, blinding, and amazing.

Finally, Merlin halted, and only smoke remained. 

Jim breathed deep, quick breaths, like you would after a run. But it wasn’t labored or halted, like before. 

“Cl-Claire?” He asked, his voice stronger than it had been. 

She nearly tackled him. “Jim! Jim you’re alright!” 

He winced slightly as she collided with his raw skin, but hugged her anyway. “Where am I?” 

“You’re home!” 

“Home?” 

“It’s a long story. How do you feel?” 

“Tired, hungry…a little sore. I remember being in a lot of pain…” he looked down at his chest, touching the amulet in confusion. 

“Merlin just healed you,” she explained. “They hurt you pretty bad, huh?” 

He rolled his neck and stretched his shoulders. “No kidding.” 

“Well,” said Merlin, “my work here is done. I think I’m ready for a nap of my own.” 

“Thank you, Merlin,” Barbara said sincerely. “Thank you for saving my boy.” 

“Of course! You didn’t think I was going to leave my greatest warrior to die, did you? Oh, before I forget, I should probably give this back.” He handed a black wallet over to her. 

“Wait, whose is this?” 

“James’. I needed to pay for the sander somehow.” 

Barbara laughed. “Well, he’s not going to be happy about it, but glad to know he contributed to this too.” Then she muttered, “considering it’s all his fault in the first place.” 

By the end of the day, Jim was up. Not fully recovered, but enough to shuffle around. He was able to go to his mother’s house and take a shower, while Barbara changed the blood-stained, plaster dusted sheets. When he was all clean, he sat in the living room in his sweatpants, exhausted, and aching. 

“Blinky made you a salve, if you want me to put it on you,” Claire offered, holding up a little jar. 

“I’d love that.” 

She delicately rubbed it into his skin, like Aloe on a severe sunburn. Careful not to scratch him, but also wanting to make sure he was covered.

James walked past the room and halted. “Jim! You’re—you’re back!” 

Jim just glanced at the man. “And?”

“I just…um, look, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“I didn’t know…that you ate trash. I would have made the drop for the cocaine somewhere else. I didn’t think—that’s not something people usually have to worry about, you know?”

“Yeah. Usually.” Jim said, stone cold. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Why do you care?”

“B-because you’re my son?” 

Jim couldn’t stifle the eye roll. “So NOW you think I’m your son? Where was that mentality when you pointed a shotgun at me?”

“I was in a severe crack withdrawal when I did that.” 

“And you’re just magically better now?”

James sat in an armchair opposite him. “I’m not going to say yes, but I’m better. I’m trying to get out of your and Babs’ lives, because I brought so much hurt in the first place. But…seeing what I’m missing out on—“ 

“No!” Jim snarled, standing up. “You don’t get to be sentimental now. You don’t get to change your mind. You suck! That’s all you’ve done! Mom’s moved on, I have men that are more fatherly than you could ever be if you tried! So just—finish your business and get lost!” He tried to step towards the basement, but he crumbled, still far too physically weak to walk on his own. 

“I got you,” Claire whispered, wrapping an arm around his waist. “James,” she turned to look at him briefly. “I don’t know if you realized how crappy that thing you just said was. Don’t try to get Jim’s hopes up. He’s hurt, he’s upset, he’s vulnerable. So just stay away. If you truly want to be back in Jim’s life, don’t mention that you’re considering it. Back it up with action, or else you’ll just be disappointing us all when you go back. And as far as I know…your word is worthless.” She helped Jim walk slowly back to the basement, to the tunnel back to Trollmarket. 

“Trouble? I heard yelling,” said Draal.  

“No, no trouble. Thanks Draal,” Jim gave him a weak, affectionate punch. 

—

Many many miles away, a group of men watched the news, an old broadcast that one of them had snagged. 

“—The campaign worked perfectly! Now, hero to Arcadia, James Lake Jr. has been released from his wrongful imprisonment for his bizarre appearance, and returned home. Lake is hailed a local hero, as his acts of kindness and selflessness during a horrendous tornado in the area have become well known in the community as well as on social media. A parade in Lake’s honor is set for this weekend, as Lake has made a good progression in his recovery from captivity.”

“Okay, a kid was arrested because he looks weird. Not sure what the correlation is.” 

The leader of the pack smiled. “Oh, it’s such a subtle thing. We don’t care about the kid, or his deeds, or even the city of Arcadia really.” 

“Then…what?”

“Did you catch the boy’s name?”

“I…Lake? Like…”

“Jim Lake Jr. is what they said. Maybe a common name. But if there’s a Junior…perhaps there’s a Senior nearby.”

—

I have not seen Rise of the Titans (though I expect to watch it this weekend) but I heard it was…not good, story wise. So in this fic, I won’t be applying any of it. Probably. Unless something juicy catches my eye.

[lisaleigh713]

Weekend with Bo

I had to see Bo, my doctoral advisor Friday to ask a few questions.  We spoke for about an hour and he was extremely helpful in aiding me to prepare for a project required.  Several times during our meeting I had to remind myself, “this is campus and not my house.”  After his tutelage, I readied myself to leave and he asked; “are you doing anything this weekend except starting on your project?”  “Well, actually, I thought I would hang out by my pool and hot tub this weekend and do a bit of reading.  Did you have something else in mind?”

I could tell he was hesitant to say anything so I broached the subject.  “Would you like to come over and hang out this weekend?”  “If you would like Lisa, I would love to come over this weekend.”  My pussy was dripping wet at the thought of his cock penetrating every hole this weekend.  I grabbed my purse, walked to the door, opened the door, turned back to look at him and with a smile said, “pack a toothbrush and your vitamins.”

I walked away swaying my ass back and forth but not enough for someone else to notice.  I went home and readied my self.  I took a nice long hot bath and dressed for his impending arrival.  I left my hair down and put on smokey eye shadow and heavy eye liner.  Lips are a deep, wet red and my mani/pedi are the same, a deep, wet red color.

I put on a transparent black half cup bra and see through black thong.  I wore a black leather corset with black, seamed, silk stockings and of course a pair of black 6 inch Dorsey stilettos.  I put on my sexiest little black dress and awaited his arrival.  During my wait time I placed a tab of MDMA in my ass and then plugged it inside.  I grabbed a nice bottle of Scotch and poured myself 2 fingers on ice.

I was just about to take drink and the door bell rang.  “Oh my, who could that be,” I said aloud to myself.  All giddy, I crossed the living room, into the foyer and opened the door.  Low and behold it was Bo.  “Good evening professor, come inside please.”  I thought, “said the spider to the fly.”  He came in to the foyer where I took his jacket.  I so wanted to kiss him but decided to let him make the first move.

“Can I get you a drink,” I asked.  “Sure, whatever you are having will be just fine.”  I walked across the foyer, passed the living room and into the kitchen where I had the liquor.  I poured myself another one and prepared him one.  I was so fucking horny I could barely stand myself.  I could feel Bo standing behind me, leering at me, wanting me, desiring me.  I poured his drink and turned around slowly.

Standing there with two drinks in my hands, Bo wrapped his arms around me and kissed me long and slowly with his tongue dancing around my mouth like a fine ballet.  I began to melt and could feel my legs go weak.  He was so good at kissing.  No he was incredible!!!

He stopped and pulled away.  I handed Bo his drink and we moved to the sitting area.  We made small talk.  I asked about his kids and his ex-wife and he asked about my family.  Bo asked about my family and my deceased parents.  I advised him, the subject of my family was a rather lengthy conversation and he had better be prepared to accept.  He relented and stated we would engage that subject at another time.

We had finished out drinks and I asked if he would like another and he politely declined.  I was getting a bit hungry and asked if he was at all hungry.  He looked at me and said, “I was just thinking about that very subject.”  He said we would need to go out of town as we were danger close to our university.

I asked, “why don’t we go to Dallas, no one there would know us.”  “Lisa, it would take us 3 hours to get there and another 3 hours to get back.”  I replied, “no Bo it won’t.  We can run over to the airport near, grab a plane and fly up to Dallas,  we can be on the ground in about an hour.”  Bo looked stunned.  “Grab a plane and fly up to Dallas?”  “Yes, baby.  Out company has one and it just completed annual inspection and is topped off with fuel.”  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “okay then.”

We jumped in my Porsche and hauled but to the airport.  Got to the plane and I did my pre-flight.  I thought to myself, “I do not recall ever doing a pre-flight in 6” heels or flying anywhere in 6” stillettos.”  Oh well, there is a first time for everything.  

With pre-flight complete we exited the hanger and fired the baby up.  It was getting dark and we would be taking off directly in to the sunset.  I taxied out to the runway, called the tower and got my clearance.  I looked at Bo and asked, “are you ready baby?”  He nodded and up comes the power.  I talked us through the entire process.  “At speed annnnd rotate.  Wheels up and climbing out to 3000’.  Bo had this huge smile on his face.  We bypassed Class B airspace but called as I wanted to climb to 25,000’.  We were cleared and we began our steady climb out of Houston to Dallas.

“How did you like that,” I asked.  Bo looked at me and said, “my cock is rock hard.”  I looked at him and replied, “I will take care of that later baby.”  It just made things worse for him.  We landed in Dallas and had a limo waiting to pick us up.  I grabbed a spare tie he would need for the dinner and he put it on.  We went to a very nice, dimly lit romantic restaurant where no one knew us. 

We ate and talked and since we were flying back i declined the alcohol but did enjoy a nice dessert.  The limo picked us up and drove us back to the airport, where I did another pre-flight check before taxiing out to the runway and repeat the process.  We climb out to about 15K feet and settle in for the flight back.  Bo was just mesmerized by the whole process which made me feel  really good.  We landed, got in my car and drove back to my house.

Bo began asking questions about my family and business.  “Are you sure you want to get into this tonight, I asked?”  He assured me he did.  I began telling him my life story with all the sordid details.  I could see he was getting excited.  His cock was swelling and straining against his pants.  I leaned in to his ear and whispered.  “Does this excite you baby?”  He nodded in the affirmative.  So I continued to tell him about my life, or at least the sexual part but I did so now whispering in his ear as I slowly stroked his cock through his pants.

I told him how much I like it rough and the rougher the better.  Bo squirmed!!!  I unleashed his belt and button then unzipped his pants.  I slowly removed his cock from his boxers and then lowered my head to his cock.  He leaned back and placed his hand on the back of my head and shoved my head all the way down on his cock.  He tasted so good.  He then grabbed a handful of my hair and began moving my head up and down on his cock.

I let him do this for a few minutes but now it was time for me to undress.  I stood and removed my dress letting it fall to the floor.  I removed my panties and pulled my breasts out letting them fall over my bra and corset.  Bo rose and undressed all the way.  I grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom where I got on my knees.

I put my hands behind my back and opened my mouth.  Bo took the hint.  He grabbed my head and thrust his cock into the back of my throat.  He fucked my throat like an animal, growling and then calling me names.  “You sure have a great mouth you little bitch.  I paid for dinner and as such and am going to use you like a whore.”  All I could do was moan in the positive.

He thrusted and thrusted then withdrew his cock from my mouth.  “Come here slut!”  I rose and Bo kissed me and again I grew weak in the knees.  Once finished with his kiss Bo said, “slut, go and get me another drink.”  I did as instructed.  I walked back with a double scotch neat in one hand and my other hand behind my back.  Unbeknownst to Bo, while in the kitchen I took another MDMA and did a line of coke.

He took a drink and then slapped me across the face hard.  My pussy was dripping.  A few more slaps and I may have a nice orgasm.  “Turn around you cunt and bend over.  I want you to grab your ankles.”  Luckily I am very limber and could do such with no trouble.  I did as commanded and he slapped my ass very hard.  “Stay just like this.”  Bo went to the sitting room and retrieved his belt from his pants.  Now things were going to get extremely interesting.

He slapped my ass with his belt.  “Harder sir,” I asked.  Bo did not disappoint.  He drew all the way back this time and slapped my ass with his belt and it sent shockwaves through my body; then another and another and another before tears began to stream down my face.  He could tell I was crying and he stopped.

“Please don’t stop baby.”  Bo continued with the spanking.  After about 25 times with his belt across my ass and me shaking uncontrollably he moved behind me, withdrew the plug in my ass and shoved his turgid cock deep inside my ass.  He grabbed my hips and thrust and thrust and thrusted some more.  While fucking my ass, Bo continued to spank me but with less force due to his angle.

After a few minutes of hammering my ass Bo threw me onto my bed.  I looked at him with tears rolling down my face.  I could tell he wasn’t sure what to do next so I slithered over to him and began sucking his cock really hard.  It felt so good in my mouth.  He skull fucked me for a few minutes then rolled me over onto my hands and knees.  

Bo got behind me and shoved his hard cock deep into my ass.  He fucked me and fucked me until I started squirting all over the place.  This made him fuck me even harder.  I wasn’t long until he came as well, deep in my ass.  We both collapsed on the bed with Bo laying on top of me.

We laid there for a few minutes trying to come back to earth.  After which Bo rolled off of me.  I could barely move until he said, “go get me another drink bitch.”  I got up and started to go but Bo grabbed my arm and kissed me.  “Bend over Lisa.”  I did as instructed.  He then pushed my plug back into my ass.  “I want you to keep my cum in your ass.”  Of course that excited me again.

I made him a drink, did another line of coke and came back with his drink.  He passed out but not before I put a bit of Viagra in his drink.  He fell asleep and then got a very hard hard-on.  I jumped on top of his cock and rode him until I came again and again.  He did not cum but he would almost certainly awake with a hard on and fuck me again.

We got up Saturday afternoon and still dressed from the night before I made up something to eat for lunch.  We both sat at the table naked and talked about the previous days adventure.  Bo was getting more comfortable with my desire for rough sex.  He reached over and pinched one of my nipples very hard and pulled me down to his cock.  I moved to my knees and he rose and fucked my mouth until he came.

We decided it was time to get in the pool…The rest is a story for another time but it is Sunday morning and he just left…

Love and Kisses

Lisa

[jaeminscoffee]

Morosis.

Morosis- The stupidest of stupidities.

Pairing- Lee Haechan x reader

Genre- Fluff, Crack.

Word count- 1.81k

Warning- None but it's super random XD also note that i called Haechan a brat only for the purpose of carrying the storyline forward, irl i really want the 'Haechan annoying' agenda to come to an end :)

Summary- Haechan being his own kind of species the entire night.

Haechan is.. well Haechan. 

He's his own different kind of species. Don't take it the wrong way, he's extremely talented, down to earth, a really sweet human, and a mood maker. 

But on the other hand, he's a brat. A sassy, funny kind of brat.You need a whole lot of patience to deal with him. And you didn't have that.

 You loved him a whole lot though, the same for him with you, it's just, he makes you question your purpose of life from time to time. He loved making you angry, he found it cute, apparently. And together, the pair of you made everyone around you go crazy. 

Take for example this one time, you and Haechan along with his friends decided to have a movie night back at your place as your parents decided to go on a tiny vacation and your brother would stay over at his friends.

It was breaktime when you guys decided that it'd be fun if you all had a gathering at one spot kind of thing. So you stated that they could come over for a movie night, but made them promise not to break anything. 

You'd warned them about having a pet as Jeno was allergic to cats, or cat fur, or something along the line. And you'd recently gotten her along with your brother. 

All of you walk down the corridor towards your lockers, placing in unwanted books, taking the ones needed after the last bell rang. 

Once you are all done packing up, you meet up by the entrance of your school building, planning what you all want to watch at night. 

"So, how to train your dragon? Good choice, good choice" Haechan said, after you and Chenle decided on what movie you'd watch, it's a classic,but everyone loves it so rewatching it won't do any harm. 

"Be there, sharp at 7pm or I'm starting it without you" you exclaim looking at each one of them, double looking at Jaemin with your eyebrows raised. "Especially you." Jaemin did a solute gesture as the others laughed at the two of you.

"Okay losers, see you at Y/n's. Try coming earlier if possible" Haechan said, pulling you out the gates and onto the streets once you all said your goodbyes for then. 

Having a brother meant running out of snacks to munch on more than quarter of the time. So you and Haechan walked down the streets, talking along about how the day was and other random talking, coming across a convenience store.

You enter after playing rock, paper and scissors to see who'd pay for all the snacks. "Literally, no backing away, don't even try acting cute to get the other person to pay along with you" you said, narrowing your eyes knowing what move Haechan would pull if he'd lose. "Alright, cool with me baby just stick to your words hm?" he said, with a smug look on his face. 

Having to spend half of your allowance isn't the best feeling ever. It sucks. Especially having your own boyfriend call you boomer and walk out of the store after you'd lost, waiting beside it where there was an ice cream stand, eating when you were struggling to select which you wanted the most. 

After getting enough snacks to last throughout the night, you walk out of the store with a huge bag in your hand, the bill in the other and a grumpy look on your face. At least Haechan was kind enough to take the bag out of your hand and even brought you an ice cream after laughing at you for five solid minutes. 

"So, how's your piano lessons going?" Haechan asked you as the two of you took a turn towards the street leading to your house, it was past 6:15 pm when you actually started heading home, stopping here and then to eat from each street food stalls you'd come across, this time around, Haechan paying for it. 

"It's going good, isn't the easiest when my fingers just won't cooperate" you let out an exaggerated sigh, leaning your head against Haechan's shoulder while you walked up to the door to unlock it as he slightly nudged your head away so that you could open the door faster. 

"You'll master it, baby. It just needs time and talent" he said to which he earned a smack at the back of his head. "Shut it, dimwit" you reply, hanging the keys on the hook beside the door. 

Upon hearing the sound of the key, your cat, more precisely your four week old kitten, jumped off the tiny makeshift bed you'd made for her with comforters, making your way towards you, meowing in her tiny voice. 

Once she reached you she started rubbing herself against the material of your legging, you pick her up, "Hey bubbles! Did you miss mommy?" you speak as though you were talking to a baby. Not getting any reply, obviously you turn towards your boyfriend, who stood beside you, looking at your cat with nothing but love and affection. 

"Can I carry her..?" he asked in a cautious tone, not wanting to scare the cat. 

"Of course!" you reply, handing over bubbles to Haechan. He carried her, looking all over her before lifting her high up in the air like they did to Simba in the Lion King. 

"Babe.. Y/n..she oof-" he started, looking at the cat and then at you, "bro, your dragon looks dope" he said in an amused voice, nuzzling into bubbles' tiny fur coat. You had so much expectation for what he'd say when he started, but he's Haechan, what were you expecting. 

"Haechan.. She's literally, oh my god that's my cat. Not a dragon" you say, face palming, trying to get bubbles out of his grip, him turning away, shielding the feline from your reach. 

"I know, I'm not blind" Haechan said in an obvious tone, making his way towards the couch, settling in to play with the fur ball as you make your way towards the kitchen to place all the snacks away. 

"Then why would you call her a-..actually nevermind don't answer that question" you sigh.

Not even five minutes later you hear the doorbell ring, you look at Haechan to see if he'd open the door, to which he merely glared at the door and returned back to the cat. You make your way towards the front, opening the door to find three of your friends. "Hey guys, you're earlier than expected so come help me set the snacks" you said, not bothering to greet any of them individually, dragging Jaemin with his hands because you know he'd actually help you. 

"Babe! Who's it-oh hey Renjun" you ignore him and turn around to take a bowl to put the popcorn in, turning towards Jaemin to ask him to get the soda's "Jaem?" you call out, finding not a soul with you in the kitchen. 

You walk out of the kitchen towards the front as you hear loud noises from there. "Jaem you are supposed to be helping me-" you say with your hands over your face, rubbing it.

"You named your cat bubblebutt? That's genius!" Jeno exclaimed from beside Renjun, sneezing momentarily as the latter nodded along, all three looking at you, expecting an explanation. 

"I.. What?" you asked, confused as you could ever be. 

"You! Named your kitten bubblebutt! It suits her though" Renjun said. You look at Haechan stolidly, as he laughs at your expression. 

"Her name's bubbles" you look at them one by one "B U B B L E S, get it? Now come on Jaemin we need to get started with the movie" you look at him, he nodded and got up from the couch, making his way towards you. 

Fifteen minutes in setting up the floor, the TV, the couch, everyone had already come in and made themselves comfortable. Having Haechan introduce your feline to the rest of the boys, you having to tell them what her real name is.

"Everyone quiet down, let's do a check before we start the movie" Mark said, standing up.

"Alright all eight of us are here. Now for the snacks. Chips?" "Got it" Jisung replied.

"sodas" "check" Chenle said.

"Candies?" "Gotchu" Jaemin replied.

"Bagel bites?" Renjun did a finger gun,

"Popcorn?" "I have them!" you answer.

"Who's going to prepare ramen once we run out of pizza?" "I thought we already decided that would be me" Haechan replied from beside you, cat still in his hand.

"And me, Jeno and Jaemin are the one's paying for the pizza! Okay we're all set" Mark ended, passing the remote to you, pressing the start button. 

The movie started, everyone was indulged in the movie, the only sounds made being from speakers and that of pop cans, and other snacks..and Haechan's murmuring. 

He'd been the only one not paying attention to the screen, rubbing bubbles' stomach, scratching her fur, and even cuddling up to her to keep her warm. His excuse 'I've already watched the movie five times, and bubblebutt is way cuter than toothless'

Alright then so be it, play with the cat but he could've done it quieter. But no. 

"bubblebutt~" 

"bubble bubble bubblebuttt"

"bubble bath, bubblebutt-" "Haechan shush" you hush him in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the others.

"What? OH LOOK HICCUP'S WINNING" Haechan exclaimed as the others cheered along. It went on quiet for a while. But Haechan and quiet can never belong in the same sentence. 

"bubbles. Bubblebutt, definitely cuter"

"It even rolls out the tongue smoother, bubblebutt"

"bubblebutt, bubblebutt, don't worry, your butt will be bubblier once you grow bigger" he poked the poor cat's butt, to which she snarled, settling back in calmly as Haechan gave her scratches. 

"Bubblebuttttttt~" he sang out. 

"Haechan stop it" you whine, not being able to concentrate on the movie due to the constant buzzing sound coming from your boyfriends end

"Oh this? Bubblebutt, bubble bubble bubblebut, does this annoy you, princess?" he said, carrying the cat in his arms and hitting you softly with her. 

"Babe, i mean it, just. Stop. " you say trying not to scream. But he kept going, that's Lee Haechan. 

"Bubblebutt"

"stop"

Bubblebutt."

"Lee Haechan."

"bubbleee.. Butt?"

"Haechan I mean it, quit it. Now"

"How about a bubble. Bubble bubble bubble bubble bubble bubble but-"

"Jesus can you quit it?!" you scream out, finally losing your shit, as the boy beside you burst into a fit of laughter. 

The movie was paused, god bless, Jisung's soul. You take the cat gently from Haechan's hold, handing it over to Jaemin, who sat beside you, snickering the entire time.

"Lee Haechan you asked for it" you jump at him with your fist up in the air as the boy screeched out loud. 

"Ah shit, there they go again"

[artificialqueens]

Not Nineteen Forever (17) (Branjie/Scyvie/Ninex) - Ortega

a/n: hey angels! thank u for ur patience, here is yet another chapter of the hellscape that is n19f. as i said on my blog, u will either love this chapter or hate it. either way let me know what u think!! this is a big chunky one at 13k (ik i’m treating u during this quarantine) so grab ur snacks and settle in. lots of love, byeee!

trigger warning: a little light drinking xo

please note: this fic contains young adults often behaving in irresponsible/unadvisable ways with regards to alcohol, drugs and sex. if you are someone who feels as if they could be heavily influenced by fic and incorporate what happens in the plot into ur own life, pls steer clear!

summary: Brooke, Yvie and Nina are three flatmates who forged a friendship in their first year of university and picked up some other waifs and strays along the way. Now in their final year, there are feelings that need to be unravelled and confessions to be made whilst navigating drunk nights, hungover mornings, takeaways, group chats, library meetups, cafe gossiping, and the small matter of getting a degree.

last chapter: Scarlet celebrated her birthday by helping Nina win back Monet, a surprise party organised by her girlfriend, and a suspiciously civil Brooke and Vanjie.

this chapter: from one birthday to another, the gang heads out to the country to celebrate Brooke and Akeria’s 22nd. everyone seems back on good terms, but will the combination of hide and seek, truth or dare, a hot tub and of course a lil bit of alcohol change anything?

***

“Holiday!...da-da-da-dum-dum-daaa, Celebrate!”

Brooke rolled her eyes, unable to help herself laughing as Nina rolled her suitcase towards Monet’s car. “It’s hardly a holiday, is it, girl? Overnighter in an airbnb in the middle of buttfuck nowhere?”

“Listen, I’ll take what I can get, thank you very much,” Nina raised her eyebrows, as Monet lifted the door of the boot up and Nina heaved her case inside.

“Oh, what a compliment,” Monet quipped from beside her, Brooke making a sick noise as Nina slid her arms around her girlfriend’s waist and gave her a squeeze.

“Not with girlfriends, obviously. You’re a Tesco Finest girlfriend. Not a smartprice girlfriend,” Nina explained, Monet smiling proudly and nuzzling their noses together. Brooke already wanted to vomit and she wasn’t even car sick yet.

“Pack it in, bitches, or Monet’s uninvited,” she deadpanned, pushing herself off the wall she was currently leaning against and looking up at her bedroom window, ignoring the girls’ shouts of indignation. “Right, have you got everything, yeah?”

“Have you seen the size of this bitch’s suitcase? I think she has literally managed to pack your kitchen sink,” Monet cocked an eyebrow at Nina, who elbowed her in the ribs. Nina produced her phone from the pocket of her dungaree dress.

“Hey Google, can you divorce your girlfriend?” she asked into the speaker, Monet howling a laugh and shoving her.

“Seriously, guys, I haven’t packed enough anti-sickness tablets for this,” Brooke said dryly, making her way to the passenger door.

“Oh, are you planning on recreating the great rail replacement bus fiasco of ‘18?” came a voice, Brooke turning round and narrowing her eyes at her smug flatmate, emerging through the door with her girlfriend and a small holdall bag.

“I was sat hungover opposite the toilet on a three hour coach journey, what the hell else was I expected to do?” Brooke defended herself. Yvie sat down on the wall outside their building, Scarlet joining her.

“Hmm, all I’ll say, Monet, is that I hope you have at least three empty plastic bags in the back seat with her,” she advised smugly, Brooke wishing she was still leaning against the wall so she could shove her off it.

“When is Plastique coming for you guys? Can I arrange for you to be sitting in the middle of the road when she drives up it?”

“Hey, what the fuck did I say?!” Scarlet yelped, outraged.

“You’re a bystander, Scarlet, and a bystander is worse than a bully,” Nina remarked sagely, Monet nodding along in support.

“Besides, I’m allowed to bully Brooke. It’s part of the lease,” Yvie shrugged, fixing the huge round sunglasses that had been on the top of her head and positioning them so they were right at the bridge of her nose. The March sunshine was welcome; it made Brooke feel happy, optimistic of things to come. Even the small scrub of grass out the front of their stairwell had bright purple, yellow and white bulbs poking through it, bringing a defiant sense of beauty to their surroundings. Brooke had been so pleased with the weather when she’d opened her curtains that morning that she’d packed a bunch of clothes she usually reserved for the summer. It felt odd wearing her denim skirt without the black tights she’d clad herself in for the past three months, but it was a welcome feeling. Yvie hadn’t really seemed to get the Summery memo other than her sunglasses- a huge knitted jumper covered in holes hung off her skinny frame and a pair of thick exercise leggings kept her legs warm.

“You couldn’t spruce yourself up a bit for my birthday, bitch? I feel like any minute now you’re going to start dancing around the street moulting straw singing about how you desperately want a brain,” Brooke smirked, Yvie simpering a fake smile and giving her the finger in response.

“It’s only fifteen degrees, Brooke, it’s hardly time to crack out the Kopparberg and blast T Shirt Weather yet,” Scarlet laughed. It was a bit hypocritical, Brooke thought as she looked Scarlet’s outfit up and down- a floaty, lacey dress and a pair of white Adidas- but of course she would defend her girlfriend. It wasn’t actually fair, contemplated Brooke. Scarlet and Yvie would always team up, so would Monet and Nina. Brooke had to fight all her battles herself.

“Besides, your birthday is over! Move on, hoe,” Yvie smiled, running forward and shaking Brooke’s shoulders relentlessly as the other girls laughed uproariously in the background.  Brooke laughed and batted her away, knowing she was just joking. As she shoved her friend off of her, a familiar grey Audi drove up their street and pulled in behind Monet’s car. Plastique gave her horn a little beep, waving and rolling down her window.

“Let’s ride, bitches! I’m so ready for this weekend,” she squealed, as Yvie and Scarlet rushed to shove their bags in the boot of her car.

“I think I’ve been ready since we booked it,” Nina sighed, stretching. “Right, let’s go, girls! Dun-duun-da-na-na-dun dun.”

As Nina continued singing Shania Twain and hopped in the passenger seat of Monet’s car, Brooke passed by Plastique’s window and gave her hand a squeeze. “You know how to get there, yeah?”

“Up the motorway then off at junction 4 and then just follow all the signs for the B road. We good,” she nodded, then gave a laugh. “Kiki’ll probably end up in France somehow, you know what her sense of direction is like.”

“Yeah, but she’s got Silky and Vanj to direct her. She’ll be fine,” Brooke shrugged, thumping on Plastique’s door and making for the other car. “Right, see you ladies at the airbnb!”

Monet blasted her horn once, twice, three times as Brooke dashed into the back seat and buckled up. As Nina connected her phone to the aux cord and started blasting typically Nina-ish cheesy music, Brooke felt an excited little smile creep up on her face, slapping her hands against her thighs to the beat. The past almost-a-month had gone by quickly, and Brooke and Akeria’s shared birthday trip away had arrived before Brooke had known it. It had been booked on a whim, an excited message from Akeria on the group chat about a potential birthday night out had grown arms and legs until suddenly the girls were all transferring her money for a night in the country to jointly celebrate her and Brooke’s birthdays. They had turned 22 within ten days of each other, and the girls had all decided that the amount of money they would have spent on two big nights out- Ubers, big bottles of vodka for pres, club entry, club drinks and cheesy chips at the end of the night- probably equated to the same, if not more, than the amount they would drop on a boujie house in the country. The house they had booked was huge- five big bedrooms with floor to ceiling windows, a lounge straight out of a murder mystery drama with plush sofas, towering bookshelves and a massive roaring fire, a kitchen with a table big enough to fit them all round and an aga with what seemed to be a thousand burners- though whether anyone would know how to work the damn thing was anyone’s guess, Brooke thought with a snort. The icing on the cake of the whole place, though, was a huge section of outdoor decking with a hot tub set in the middle of it. To most of the girls it would be like living somebody else’s life for the weekend, but, Brooke thought mischievously, to Plastique it would probably seem the same as a weekend at home.

Brooke was glad they could all do something like this, go away together after what had happened. She didn’t really know what had happened to Vanessa to make her warm up to her so unexpectedly. It had all started when they were preparing for Scarlet’s birthday surprise; Brooke remembered how hard her heart had been beating that morning as she’d known it was the first time she’d be properly seeing Vanessa since they broke up, having to wipe her sweaty palms on her jeans as the door to the kitchen had opened and Vanessa, Akeria and Silky had walked in. Akeria and Silky, to their credit, had been fine and normal with Brooke, despite the amount of dragging through the mud they had probably done to her name when they’d heard the news of her and Vanessa’s breakup. Vanessa, (understandably, thought Brooke) had hugged Yvie, Plastique and Nina, but not Brooke, the obviousness of the action lost in the frenetic melee of the girls seeing each other all at once. Brooke had preferred that, though. She wouldn’t have wanted the awkwardness of reminding herself how perfectly her arms seemed to fit around Vanessa, the brief scent of the Aussie shampoo she used in her hair, her head against her chest even for just the tiniest second.

After that, Vanessa had started with the digs. Brooke had thought she’d had malicious intent at first, until she got bored and decided to fire back.

(Yvie’s voice had yelled from the hallway. “Who’s made the cupcakes yet? Anyone?”

“Well if it’s Brooke, we all dyin’ tonight.”

“At least I can make something! How much do you drop on Deliveroo in a month, like, half your student loan?”)

With each verbal sparring match, Brooke had watched as the small, sardonic snorts Vanessa had given evolved into a full-blown beaming smile, the kind she always used to shoot Brooke’s way with the perfect white teeth and the tiny dimple and the little blush that hit her cheeks. It was almost painful knowing that Brooke had given up that smile. And that had been the moment. The moment that Brooke had finally admitted to herself what she’d been wanting to deny all this time- she deeply wished she hadn’t ended things with Vanessa, that she’d fought through the ick and given it at least more of a shot than she had. Now Vanessa had moved on and she was seeing someone else and she was happy. Happy without Brooke. Why had Brooke broken up with her so quickly?

She was an idiot.

“She was an idiot.”

Brooke snapped out of her trance, blinking and trying to figure out how Monet had managed to get inside her head. “What?”

“That woman. Blue car. Completely cut me off,” Monet rolled her eyes, frowning as she inched forward in the traffic until she was almost bumper to bumper with the car in question.

“Oh M'net, don’t start a fight,” Nina sighed, resting her knees against the glovebox.

“I’m not! I’m just letting a bitch know that her misconduct was noted,” Monet growled.

“Her misconduct was noted? God, you’re such a teacher,” Nina laughed, a big chuckle with loads of heart that made Brooke smile.

“Hey, so are you!”

“Stop fucking bickering or I will take your vocal cords and strangle you with them!” Brooke cried, tiring quickly. She watched Monet smirk in the rear view mirror.

“It’s alright, Neens. Just because Brooke’s jealous of happy couples and regrets breaking it off with Vanjie-”

“Wait what? I don’t…oh, Nina, for fuck’s sake! I told you not to tell anyone!” Brooke snapped, training accusatory eyes on her friend. After Scarlet’s birthday, she’d told Nina what she’d told Yvie, just in a little more detail, and she’d been more sympathetic than her other flatmate, making her tea and nodding understandingly as Brooke vented at her. Nina was usually good with secrets, a reliable and trustworthy friend. Brooke couldn’t understand why she would-

“Ahahaha!!! BITCH! You just totally exposed yourself! Oh my God!!” Monet screeched in time with her tyres, thumping her hand against the steering wheel. Brooke was confused, her heart still thudding. “Nina ain’t told me shit but I got eyes and ears, an’ I saw you two flirting at Scarlet’s. All damn day and night. You don’t act like that with someone you just broke up with.”  

“Yeah I’m afraid you just spilled your own secret, Brooke,” Nina deadpanned from the passenger seat, giving a little laugh.

“Shit,” Brooke sighed, putting her head in her hands. “Great. Well, you probably think I’m a total asshole, Monet.”

“Hey, I’m a very chill person! You do you, girl. You wanna get with Vanessa for 3 months, break up with her for one and then get back with her again, that’s no business of mine,” Monet shrugged, a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah, I know I made a mistake, thanks,” Brooke sighed, biting her lip as she let her thoughts wash over her. Monet had a unique angle on the whole situation. She lived with Monique, of course, and that whole thing was still going on between her and Vanessa, if a message Vanessa had accidentally sent to the group chat last week was anything to go by. Brooke had wondered for days on end whether it had actually been an accident or not, the content of the message sending her crazy with jealousy as it was essentially just Vanessa begging Monique to come round and fuck her into the mattress. She’d considered whether or not it could have been deliberate, but the absolute roasting Vanessa had received afterwards from the other girls couldn’t have been worth it if it had. Brooke considered asking Monet for some inside knowledge, decided against it, and then did a U-turn as she concluded that her pride and dignity were already bruised so she might as well go the whole hog and shatter them.

“So, uh…Vanessa’s still seeing Monique.”

Monet ran her tongue over her teeth. “She’s certainly round at the flat a lot.”

“So is that, uh…I mean, do you think that’s going to turn into anything more, or…?”

“I don’t know, girl, I don’t know if it’s my place to say.”

This is like pulling teeth. “Do you think they-”

“They’re having a lot of sex.”

“Monet!” Nina burst out in a shocked laugh.

“What?! They are!”

“Excellent!” Brooke exclaimed sarcastically, staring out the window as the city around them turned into fields and the houses turned into service stations.

“C’mon, Brooke, you have to admit you do kinda deserve this a lil’ bit,” Monet laughed, Brooke rolling her eyes from the back seat.

“Right, both of you shut up. I’m officially banning any conversations about pining or relationships until we get to the house. We sing, we eat snacks, occasionally we play I Spy. That’s it,” Nina scolded them, turning around in her seat and staring Brooke down. Brooke had never felt more like a disgraced teenager in her life.

“Ughhhh, fine, Mom,” Monet groaned, changing up into fifth as they hit the motorway, the weekend becoming more real and making Brooke tingle with excitement despite the news she hadn’t wanted to hear.

Just as Nina had ordered them, the three girls spent the rest of the journey singing at the top of their lungs to Vengaboys, B*Witched and Cascada, Brooke on crisp duty as she passed the cavernous bag of barbecue rib McCoys forward every five minutes or so, Monet making hurried grabs at crinkle cut crisps in between changing gears. Brooke managed to avoid the dreaded travel-sickness that had plagued her since she was about six years old, much to Monet and Nina’s delight. The sun didn’t let up, and it still hung proudly in the sky as the girls pulled up the leafy, tree-lined driveway to the house they’d booked, the branches hanging low and curling around each other signalling they hadn’t been cut in a while. Spying Akeria’s Corsa and Plastique’s Audi already parked, Monet pulled up alongside the huge white house, the little set of three stone chimneys on the roof puffing out smoke and letting the girls know that at least one room wouldn’t be too cold inside. As Monet neatened up her parking, the sound of Silky’s screeching cut through the crunching of wheels against gravel, and the rest of the girls spilled out of the front door shortly afterwards. As soon as the car had stopped, Brooke excitedly hopped out of the passenger seat, hugging any girl she could reach. Before she knew it, she’d found herself pulling out of a quick hug with Vanessa, and the two were in front of each other.

“Hey,” Brooke decided quickly to speak first, setting the tone so there wouldn’t be any awkward pauses.

“Hey! How was your ride? Get here okay?” Vanessa asked politely, tucking a strand of her caramel hair behind one ear. She was dressed in a tiny little cropped black jumper and some faded grey jeans, Brooke trying to ignore her mind reminding her of how right it felt to wrap her arms around Vanessa again, how tiny her waist was and how much she wished she could go back for another hug- for fuck’s sake, cut that shit out.

“Uh, yeah! It was fine. Traffic wasn’t too bad. How about you?”

Vanessa let out a laugh. “Shit was like Wacky Races. Akeria nearly rammed some old cunt off the road. I’ve never seen road rage like it, we genuinely feared for our lives. Or her license. Oh my God, this house is insane. C’mon, you need to see it!”

There was a split-second where Brooke felt Vanessa tug at her hand, which was quickly dropped as if the action had never happened. It was almost as if Vanessa had been on automatic pilot; the ease with which she used to slip her hand into Brooke’s hadn’t been forgotten by either of them. And then Brooke felt Plastique leap onto her back like a monkey, and the girl was excitedly chattering away to her, and the moment had passed.

Brooke barely had time to take in the huge cream-painted hall with the varnished cream stairs stretching practically up to the ceiling when Plastique steered her down two steps and into the kitchen, grey stone tiles making Brooke’s feet feel cold even through her trainers and the huge wooden table overflowing with assorted snacks. Akeria and Scarlet clung to the rail of the AGA, the two girls clearly feeling the cold in the chilly kitchen.

“Did any of us actually bring a meal between us or are we just going to live off of Twirl Bites and Classic Dip Selections?” Yvie wondered, picking up a four-pack of various dips. Brooke laughed.

“Hey, there’s pizzas in the fridge! Do y’all really think I would let you starve?” Silky piped up, opening the huge fridge to reveal at least ten pizzas, more than they would eat in one night.

“Nobody goes hungry in the presence of Silky Nutmeg Ganache,” Plastique smiled proudly, holding her fist out for Silky to punch. As the girls’ fists connected, Brooke watched as Vanessa scraped a wooden chair out against the stone floor.

“You girls wanna have a munch and then get wrecked?”

“Hmm, if we get drunk too early then there’s no way we’ll be able to work this oven,” Scarlet shrugged, biting her lip and frowning.

“Yeah, we’re gonna struggle to operate this sober,” Monet considered, opening up one of the oven doors and investigating.

“Well how about we snack and then play a game? I wanna play hide and seek in here,” Nina bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly. Akeria snorted.

“Hide and seek, you’re such a child. But to be fair, that could be fun. Or sardines.”

“What’s that?” asked Brooke. “I don’t know if we had that but called it something else.”

“That one where one person hides and everyone else seeks,” Yvie explained. “It’s way better. Way more chaotic.”

“Sweet. I’m down,” Brooke shrugged. She was glad that all of the girls she was friends with were happy to dick about and play kids’ games for an afternoon, and it was the kind of thing she’d miss when she graduated and would have to find a job.

The girls were all feeling peckish after their long drive, though, so they all grabbed the nearest snacks they could and headed upstairs to the living room, where Akeria had managed to start the fire which was crackling warmly in the huge marble fireplace. They all dumped their food on the huge glass-topped coffee table and had a little explore around the house before they relaxed. There was a surplus of bedrooms, and it had been agreed that since they were celebrating Brooke and Akeria’s birthdays, the two girls should have a bedroom to themselves each. Brooke’s bedroom had a huge bay window out to the rear of the house where the fields stretched for miles, and an actual four-poster bed.

“I can’t help but feel like you guys should take this room and I should take yours,” Brooke said with a pang of guilt for Yvie and Scarlet, who had dumped their things in the room they were sharing and had come to investigate Brooke’s.

Scarlet made a noise of discouragement. “No, it’s fine! This’ll get cold anyway, it’s so big. Our room’s cosier.”

Brooke watched Scarlet share a smile with her girlfriend and wrap both of her arms around Yvie’s. “Yeah, honestly, Brooke, it’s fine. Scarlet would manage to bump her head and toe and Christ knows what else on all four of the posts anyway.”

Scarlet burst out into offended laughter, letting the girls know that she secretly agreed a little bit.

“How’re the others?” Brooke asked, peering down the little corridor with the exposed wooden beams and hearing chatter and Monet’s deep laughter coming from the other rooms.

“Plastique, Silk and Vanj are all in together. I think V drew the short straw so she’s on the sofa bed,” Scarlet gave a shrug.

“That’s unfortunate,” Yvie commented, raising her eyebrows at Brooke slightly.

“Behave,” Brooke smacked her, not appreciating the implication. Vanessa had only just become friends with her again. They were hardly going to spend the entire night going at it like rabbits just because Vanessa wasn’t looking at her like she wanted to kill her anymore. “Come on, lovebirds. I feel like I haven’t shovelled enough crisps down my throat today.”

The three girls made their way to the living room again, where Nina and Monet were draped over the sofa and snacking on some sort of jelly sweets. Gradually the other girls joined them in drips and drabs and they spent the time chatting and gossiping in their usual way- about anything and everything under the sun. Brooke kept finding her eyes being drawn to Vanessa. It wasn’t entirely her fault- she was sitting opposite her, and often Brooke would find her already looking her way. Although that could have just been Brooke’s imagination. God, she didn’t even know anymore.  

“Right!” Nina cried, as everyone looked dangerously close to slipping into a snack-induced coma. “Sardines time!”

“Kiki should hide first, it’s her birthday!” Silky argued immediately, Brooke only the tiniest bit affronted.

“Hey, hey, it’s Brooke’s birthday too. Also, I feel like y’all are way more enthusiastic than me about this, so I really don’t mind.”

“Brooke hides first!” Nina shouted unnecessarily. Brooke stood up from the sofa and rolled her eyes.

“Wait, so everyone is after me? Christ. This is like that nightmare I had about being on Hunted.”

“Good luck tryna squeeze that Jolly Green Giant-ass body into any of these cupboards, bitch!” Vanessa yelled across the room to uproarious laughter, Brooke turning round in time to see Vanessa stick her tongue out at her.

“Oh, like you can talk! Are you not the same size as an actual Subway sandwich?” Brooke bit back, sticking her tongue out right back and feeling an excited fizz in her stomach as she caught Vanessa blushing slightly as she laughed. As the other girls joined in with the mocking and all piled on each other, Brooke spotted two girls who weren’t laughing- Akeria and Silky were looking at each other knowingly, a look that seemed to convey disapproval. What the hell was their problem? If Vanessa was fine with her, then that meant there was no reason for the two of them to hold a grudge either, right?

Brooke frowned, trying not to read too much into it. She turned around and headed out the door. “Okay, count to 100 then, bitches!”

As she heard the others all start chanting descending numbers like a terrifying cult of mathematicians, Brooke began dashing around the house for a place to hide. She ran past the bedrooms, assuming that the others would check there straight away. Brooke considered going behind the porch door, but then thought that might end up being too obvious. She found herself in the kitchen, and to her delight she noticed a huge wooden door set into the wall that had to be a cupboard. Opening it, she saw what looked to be a pantry- shelves and shelves with only a couple of tins left by other guests at the house. It was good, but Brooke didn’t think it was a particularly great place to hide until she spotted another door at the very end of the pantry- slightly smaller with a little circular handle. As Brooke turned it, she was confronted with a tiny dark room, with only the blinking lights of the boiler that sat inside to illuminate it.

Perfect.

As Brooke hopped in, she could hear the blood roaring in her ears and her heart thumping. She wanted to giggle. This was exactly how it had felt to play hide and seek when she was little, and she couldn’t believe she was a grown-ass twenty-two year old still feeling the same way. Hell, she couldn’t believe she was a grown-ass twenty-two year old playing hide and seek. Gradually, she began to hear the sound of footsteps thundering above her, the old ceiling creaking and letting Brooke know the girls were on their way. Then, it all went silent for a while. Brooke breathed out heavily. Just then, she heard the door to the pantry open and one set of footsteps shuffle through it. They dashed to the end of the room and then seemed to be satisfied that there was nothing more to investigate- until Brooke heard them do what seemed to be a double-take. Keeping her breathing silent, Brooke stood frozen to the spot as she saw the door gradually open with a long, murder-mystery style creaaak…

Shit.

Vanessa stood at the doorframe to the cupboard, a shit-eating grin on her face. “I’ve been tellin’ Yvie I’m the best at hide and seek, but she ain’t believe me. What’d that take me, two minutes?”

“Yeah, good job, Poirot,” Brooke smirked, although it was hiding a multitude of nerves. Her and Vanessa, stuck in a tight, dark space together until the other girls found them. This was fine. This would be fine. “Right come on then, girl, you need to get in.”

“Fuck no, I ain’t goin’ in there! That’s a straight-up spiders’ nest, fuck that.”

“Just get in!” Brooke grabbed her gently but firmly by the wrist and dragged her inside, closing the door behind them. It was entirely dark except for the small strip of light where the door met the doorframe, which illuminated Vanessa’s hair and collarbones. There was a small beat of silence in which Brooke’s eyes adjusted to the darkness again, and when her vision had settled she could see Vanessa smiling at her cheekily. “What?”

“There’s a spider in your hair.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “No there’s not.”

“There is! A big one. It’s some Harry Potter type shit, I swear.”

“Shut up, Vanessa, I’m not falling for that shit,” Brooke snorted a laugh, squashing the unease that began to creep up on her.

“It’s got, like, a billion eyes.”

“Has it.”

“An’ forty legs,” Vanessa bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

“What the fuck kind of biology classes did you go to? A spider with forty leg- JESUS!” Brooke all at once cut herself off, feeling a movement at her shoulder, her hair flicking against her neck slightly. She gave herself such a jolt that it felt like whiplash, and she watched as Vanessa laughed at her brushing wildly against her shoulder. Brooke was confused when her hand connected with another hand. Vanessa’s hand. How the hell she’d managed to reach up there without Brooke’s notice was anyone’s guess, but she’d certainly done what she’d set out to do. Brooke launched herself forward and squeezed a hand at Vanessa’s waist, laughing as the other girl screeched in response. The two girls descended into giggles, Brooke having to fend off Vanessa’s playful swipes as she berated her.

“Shut up, bitch! You’re going to get us caught!” Brooke laughed, grabbing one of Vanessa’s wrists in each hand. Suddenly, both girls paused, the compromising position they were in dawning on both of them. The memory of when she used to pin Vanessa to the bed with both her wrists and kiss her neck shot through Brooke’s mind like a hot iron, unwanted and welcome all at once. In the darkness, she could see Vanessa’s single raised eyebrow.

“You telling me you don’t wanna get caught?” she murmured, her voice low and making the atmosphere charged and thick with something that hadn’t been there before. Brooke squeezed her thighs together. This couldn’t turn into something else. She couldn’t let it.

“Well, that is the whole point of the game,” Brooke said, trying to inject as much level-headedness into her tone as she was able. To her dismay she watched as Vanessa’s eyes took on a dark twinkle.

“Oh, right, uh-huh. The game. Sure,” she smirked, Brooke only able to laugh in response because that way she wasn’t saying anything. This situation was fucked. It was so weird. Vanessa was flirting with her, unprompted. So what did this mean? That she still liked Brooke? That she wanted to be friends and was just playing? What did this mean for her and Monique? They couldn’t be that serious, then, if Vanessa was doing all this? Or maybe they’d fallen out and Vanessa wanted her to be jealous? But what was the point of making somebody jealous who wasn’t here? What if her and Monique were together and Vanessa was cheating? What if-

“AYYYYYY FUCKIN’ HOES! Yes! I’m shit-hot at this game, Jesus!” Silky threw the door open, screeching her head off and sending every thought that Brooke was overthinking into the stratosphere.

“Stop yellin’ bitch, and get in!” Vanessa laughed. As Silky squeezed into the ever-decreasing-in-space cupboard, Brooke felt her throat almost close up as Vanessa shuffled up against her to make more room, tilting her head up, locking eyes with Brooke and sending her a look that she couldn’t decipher before looking away and whispering to Silky.

They were eventually found by the other girls- namely because there was no space at all once Scarlet arrived so Plastique found half of the girls with one toe in the cupboard and the rest of their bodies outside of it. The game carried on, but Brooke’s head wasn’t properly in it. She would deliberately put in the bare minimum effort when she was looking for the girls because, really, she wouldn’t know what to do if she was stuck in another confined space with Vanessa. Why had it turned so weird before? All flirty and edged with something she couldn’t work out. It wasn’t right- Vanessa was meant to be mad at her, meant to hate her and never want to speak to her again and somehow they’d gone from civil, to nearly-friends, to eye-fucking each other in a boiler cupboard in the space of a month?

The encounter was still playing on Brooke’s mind as she got ready for dinner. The girls had all decided that they would “do a Love Island” (in the words of Akeria) and all get glammed up to sit in the living room and play games after they’d eaten. It felt funny to be putting on a dress, heels and fake lashes without the possibility of going out anywhere, but the methodical process of putting on her makeup was a welcome distraction from the swirling thoughts in Brooke’s head.

“Ayo,” came an unexpected voice, causing Brooke to flinch a little and drop the lipgloss she’d been applying moments before. Looking behind her in the mirror she saw it was just Yvie and Nina. Usually she’d have been happy to see them, but right now she was doing too much overthinking and couldn’t let on what had happened earlier between her and Vanessa. So Brooke just stuck on her best fake smile as she turned around to face them.

“Hey! You guys look so good,” she complimented them, Nina smiling and Yvie giving a little snort.

“Well I didn’t want to be accused of not making an effort for your birthday again,” she poked her tongue out at Brooke and tugged a little at the beads on the hem of her short gold dress.

“If you trip in those heels I hope you know that’s, like, instant paralysis,” Brooke commented, looking at the spikes of Yvie’s six inch stilettos. When the girl did glam, she did glam, Brooke had to give it to her.

“As if Yvie needs to be any taller than she already is,” Nina laughed playfully.

“Awh, she needs to be tall so she can look down on her smol bean uwu girlfriend,” Brooke teased, Nina continuing to giggle and Yvie giving an amused roll of her eyes.

“What’s up with you anyway, bitch? You’ve been, like, extra bitter around all the couples today. It’s supposed to be your birthday, cheer the fuck up,” Yvie gave her a little nudge with her foot. Brooke frowned. She didn’t think she had been being bitter, but maybe Yvie was right. Fuck, what had she even said today? Brooke hoped that Vanessa hadn’t noticed anything.

“No, that’s not true. I’m fine! Just…” Brooke sighed, the bingo-hall-style tombola spinning rapidly in her head to generate an excuse. “…exams are soon, you know, and I’ve not started revising yet-”

“Oh my God, bitch, they’re in May! This is March! Chill the hell out,” Yvie laughed, pulling Brooke up from her position on the floor by the long mirror in the corner of her room. “Let’s go eat pizza. If Monet and Plastique have worked out how to cook them in that 1920s horror oven.”

As Yvie excitedly strutted out of the room and Brooke made to join her, Nina reached out to squeeze her hand.

“You’re a crap liar, Brooke Lynn Hytes,” she hissed quietly, Brooke rolling her eyes and making to protest when Nina spoke again. “But I won’t push it. I just wish you’d open the fuck up more.”

Brooke felt guilty. “I just don’t…it’s something I don’t want to overthink, Nina. So the best way you can help is helping me stuff myself full of carbs then pouring a 24 pack of San Miguel down my throat.”

Nina nodded understandingly as they reached the top of the stairs, Brooke holding back a snort as she watched Yvie cling to the bannister for dear life as she descended. Nina gave her hand another squeeze, then dropped it. “I can do that. You look beautiful, by the way.”

Brooke shyly looked down at her short, black one-shoulder dress and smoothed it down. “Thanks, babe.”

Nina’s smile suddenly turned scheming. “And so does Vanessa.”

Before Brooke could protest, Nina was bounding down the stairs in her bright white Filas that she’d paired with her blue and white checked dress. It wasn’t as formal as Brooke’s or Yvie’s, but that was the beauty of having a glam night in a big house where it was just them- nobody could judge you for being over or underdressed.

As Brooke followed her flatmates into the kitchen, she was met with the sight of her friends all happy, chatting, and in their best outfits. Annoyed at herself, she found her eyes darting around to find Vanessa. She wanted to know why Nina had said what she’d said, wanted to know if she was just winding her up.

And then her eyes came to rest on the most gorgeous version of Vanessa she’d ever seen, and her anxiety dipped, did a loop, then spiked. They were both in black- some dumb coincidence that the earth had sent her way, no doubt- but Vanessa’s was shiny, a vinyl dress that clung to her as if it was made of latex and painfully highlighted every curve of her body. She’d paired it with red heels, which had straps that snaked their way up her calves and showcased her perfect skin. Her dark hair had been blow-dried out (probably by Akeria, Brooke guessed) and fell in perfect waves down her back and over her shoulders (had she fucking highlighted her collarbones?). Her makeup was, as usual, perfect, a dark shock of eyeshadow and an indecent red on her lips causing Brooke’s heart to race. The worst part, though, about the whole outfit, was the silver zip that ran from the top of the dress to the bottom, right in the middle at the front, and either Vanessa (or someone mucking about with her…probably Silky) had unzipped it just the tiniest amount. For about the hundredth time that month, Brooke cursed herself for breaking things off with Vanessa. It wasn’t just about her looks though, or her body, or how much she missed the sex. Their interaction in the cupboard made Brooke remember how funny Vanessa was, how much of an endearing goofball, how she was just a cheerful person whose only real wish in life was to be properly happy. And Brooke had hurt her, made her the exact opposite of that. Vanessa loved everything and everyone so deeply, was the most open of books, and was so unafraid of feeling. Meanwhile there was Brooke not even able to tell her own flatmates, the two girls that knew her best in the world, about her own feelings.

As she watched Vanessa’s eyes drift from Scarlet and Monet, who she’d been talking to, across the room to rest on her, Brooke felt her heart stop. Not giving a single thing away, Vanessa smiled, gave a little wave, and crossed the room to where Brooke stood.

“Hey!” she began, so confident and self-assured and making Brooke feel more like a trashbag than she already did. “Nice dress.”

“Thanks!” Brooke smiled, uncharacteristically flustered at the tiny compliment. “You look so beaud!”

Fuck. Brooke kicked herself for getting tongue tied, badly hoping Vanessa wouldn’t have noticed. As she watched a confused smile appear on her face, Brooke realised she’d have to explain herself. “I was going to say beautiful, then I changed it to good and they just sort of…mushed together.”

Brooke felt her face grow hot as Vanessa simply raised an eyebrow in a smirk. “I’ll take both. Beautiful and good.”

Just as Brooke was about to defend herself, Silky announced to the girls in her own Silky-esque way that the pizzas were ready, and, giving a cry of delight, Vanessa had dashed across the room and left Brooke forgotten about.

As they all ate, Brooke fought an internal battle. She had absolutely no right to feel sorry for herself, this mess was entirely of her own making. Besides, she had to put everything out of her head now; she had made her decision, Vanessa had moved on, and she had to let the whole thing drop. But despite all this, it didn’t stop her brain constantly pestering her with what-ifs.

It was still pestering her once they’d all finished their dinner and moved upstairs into the huge living room for drinks and games, so she was glad when Nina popped herself down beside her with two ice cold bottles of beer from the fridge.

“One for each hand,” she explained. Brooke burst out laughing. She fucking loved Nina so much.

“Where’s yours?”

“Monet’s making mojitos for me and her. I love having a girlfriend, it’s like a sexy butler that you get to have sex with and cuddle any time you want,” Nina mused wistfully, giving Brooke her second belly-laugh in the space of two minutes. As she composed herself, Monet came into the room with two huge tall glasses overflowing with crushed ice and garnished with lime and mint.

“Where the fuck did you get mint and limes?” Brooke asked, screwing her face up in confusion then scrambling to pull a slightly more attractive one as Vanessa came in flanked by Silky and Akeria.

“I brought them, bitch! Anyway what did I miss?”

“Nina called you a sexy butler,” Brooke said casually, sipping one of her two beers and smiling as she watched Nina grow flustered.

“Jesus Christ, I’m getting all the compliments today! First I was a Tesco Finest girlfriend, now I’m a sexy butler. You know how to treat a lady, Neens,” Monet teased, pulling her girlfriend in and smothering her with kisses on the cheek.

“Ugh, get that couple shit outta here,” Vanessa yelled from the other sofa, throwing a leftover crisp at them. Monet instantly snapped back.

“Uh, like you can talk, Vanj.”

“What the shit hell is that meant to mean?” Vanessa laughed, amused.

Akeria grew outraged as she turned around to face Vanessa, her long, straight hair swinging wildly as she flipped it over her shoulder. “NEED we remind you what you sent to the group chat last week?!”

Silky began yelling, mirroring the cries of woe and dismay that were circling through Brooke’s brain at being reminded that Monique was still very much in the picture. “NO we do NOT need reminded! I can’t go through that again, dear Jesus God…”

“Fuck babygirl, I need that mouth on me-” Akeria began reading dramatically from her screen, the girls cringing and laughing and every word feeling like a kick to Brooke’s gut as Vanessa, face bright red, wrestled with Akeria to get the phone out of her hands. “-I’m touching myself but you know it’s not the same- aw, V! Give it back!”

“I’m gonna eat this fuckin’ phone, Akeria Chanel Davenport, I swear,” Vanessa chided her furiously, holding the phone out of her reach then relenting, giving it back to her. Silky fanned herself dramatically, making the others laugh. As Brooke did her best fake laugh and joined in, she tried not to make eye contact with Vanessa’s embarrassed face.

“Aw, are we talking about the unfortunate dirty text incident?” Plastique’s voice came from the hall, everyone laughing again as she sat down in the armchair beside the fire. “Seriously, V, you should be a songwriter. I swear that whole thing could’ve been from a Kamille song or some shit-”

“Well, all sexts are a little bit cringey, aren’t they?” Nina offered kindly, attempting to cheer Vanjie up. In doing this, she only succeeded in earning herself an exasperated cry from Monet.

“V, do you wanna go out? I can’t stand this bitch any more, she just keeps insulting me.”

As everyone howled with laughter and Nina frantically smothered her girlfriend in kisses trying to get her back onside, Brooke sneaked a look at Vanessa. She was laughing, but her face was still a little red. Christ, she looked so cute. Idiot, idiot, idiot.

“Speaking of sex, I’m assuming Yvie and Scarlet went off to bang?” Plastique shrugged, everyone finally realising who was missing.

“Oh, fuck this! Save that shit for later!” Silky protested, Akeria laughing and whacking her.

“Hey, let them be happy! It’s my birthday so I’m sayin’ if they want to fuck, let ‘em. In the meantime I have an empty wine bottle and a room full of girls with secrets that need spilled,” Akeria announced. Plastique clapped excitedly, Silky cheered and Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“For Christ’s sake, Kiki, do we not already know all there is to know about each other?” she complained. Interesting. So Vanessa didn’t want to play truth or dare, a game she was usually always down for.

“Excuse the fuck outta me, we played that stupid tuna game earlier!”

“Sardines,” Brooke deadpanned, earning herself a laugh from the room.

“It was some type of fish, I got that much right.”

“How are you through a whole bottle of wine already?” Silky asked, impressed.

“Can I live? It’s my birthday! Now will you hoes stop pissing in my cereal and let’s play!” Akeria implored, setting the wine bottle down against the red carpet and spinning it so violently Brooke worried that it would smash on the marble grate. It slowed, turning round and round and finally resting right back at where Akeria leant down from the sofa. She let out a giggle. “Oops. Guess it’s me.”

“Keeks, truth or dare!” Plastique asked excitedly. Akeria tilted her head, deep in thought.

“Hmm. I ain’t drunk enough for dares yet, so let’s go truth.”

There was a beat of silence as everyone racked their brains to think of something. Monet was first with an idea.

“Fuck, marry, kill: Silk, Vanj or…uh…”

“Asia,” Vanessa said simply, sipping some coke and spirit concoction through a straw as Silky let out a screech. Brooke was confused. She met her eyes with Nina’s, who looked equally baffled.

“Wait, who’s Asia?” Nina asked. Akeria, to her credit, looked composed. To be fair, Brooke had hardly ever seen her look anything but.

“She’s a friend from my course. We did a paired project together an’ she came over to the flat to work on it the other week,” Vanessa shrugged. “Her an’ Kiki seemed to hit it off.”

“I don’t have a fuckin’ crush on the girl, Jesus. Don’t make it weird,” Akeria rolled her eyes, blinking slowly. If Brooke squinted she might’ve spotted a flush to Akeria’s face, but perhaps that came from the glow of the fire.

Monet muttered under her breath to Brooke and Nina as the three flatmates bickered away. “Is Akeria gay?”

Brooke blew out a bunch of air. “Fuck, I don’t even know who’s what anymore.”

“She’s never classed herself as straight,” Nina elaborated cautiously. “She talks about getting dicked down by guys a lot. Then again, it’s really only Silky that does that and Keeks just joins in.”

“Silk and Vanj know something we don’t,” Brooke reasoned, watching as the two girls laughed and Akeria sat, poised and smirking at them indulgently as if they were kids.

“Right, enough! ‘Keria, fuck marry kill: Vanjie, Silk or Asia, then,” Monet shrugged, sipping her mojito.

Akeria flipped some hair over her shoulder and tilted her head to the sky thoughtfully. “I honestly can’t decide who I’d rather kill, Silk or Vanj.”

“Oh, so you’re gonna fuck or marry Asia, correct?” Vanessa quipped, a little fire igniting in Brooke’s heart as she watched a wicked smile spread across her scheming face.

“No, I don’t know her well enough to have any strong feelings towards her either way. You and Silk, however…” Akeria raised her eyebrows long-sufferingly, coaxing a laugh out of the other girls. “Uhh, right, marry Asia, or whatever. Kill Silky.”

“Bitch! I’ll kill you for real,” Silky objected, pummeling Akeria’s arm with a cushion.

“Fuck Vanj because she likes girls anyway and if she’s going down on me it means she’s not talking with that fuckin’ gritter-truck voice of hers,” Akeria shrugged as she concluded, the room cheering and Vanessa doing a little celebratory bow. As she flipped her head up she caught Brooke’s eye, giving her a little wink. Brooke crossed her legs and tried not to think about Vanessa going down on anyone. Least of all her.

“Aight!” Akeria said, indicating to everyone that her turn was well and truly over. “We move.”

The bottle was spun once more, Brooke taking a long drink out of her bottle and draining it. She needed to be tipsier than this. Everyone else seemed a little more drunk than she was, apart from Vanessa who she noted was sipping her drink sparingly. Brooke shook her head a little, trying to stop bringing her focus to Vanessa every five minutes. She’d taken her heels off and tucked her legs up underneath her on the sofa, and her thighs looked good for it.

“Plastique, truth or dare!”

Plastique tucked her hair behind her ears. “Uhh, dare.”

Brooke knew what to do for this one. Plastique had taken Ariel on a couple of dates, but the girls were emotionally stunted and neither of them had properly articulated their feelings to the other yet. “Call Ariel and tell her how you feel about her. Properly.”

As the other girls “oooh"ed in appreciation, Plastique fixed Brooke with an unimpressed glare. "I’m not doing that.”

“Pussy,” Brooke shrugged, sipping her other beer. Vanessa let out a laugh from the other side of the room.

“Brooke Lynn’s telling someone else they’re a pussy for not being open about their feelings? Are we in the correct universe?"

As the other girls gave a laugh that was only the slightest bit uncomfortable, Brooke rolled her eyes. "Okay, well at the very least send her a heartfelt text.”

“Why are you pushing this so much, ma?” Plastique pouted as she relented and reached for her phone.

“Because I’m bored of sitting in lectures hearing you moan about how you can’t tell her how you feel because it would make it weird or how you don’t want to come across too intense!"

"We all had to listen to you pine after Vanjie for two and a half years but we never forced you into admitting anything,” Plastique shrugged, the room erupting into shrieks. Brooke gave a choke of a laugh, wanting the ground to open up and swallow her. She knew her face was bright red without having to look in a mirror and, as much as her brain was imploring her not to, she found her eyes darting quickly to Vanessa to catch a glimpse of her face.

Calm, smiling tight-lipped and smug. As if she’d won something.

“No, but you did start a sweepstake about us so get off the high horse, thanks!” Brooke sing-songed back, the slight hint of irritation to her voice letting Plastique know she was to drop it. Us. The word felt weird in Brooke’s mouth, it hadn’t been used in so long. Two and a half years. Had she really liked Vanessa for that long before everything had happened between them? Brooke had actually thrown away two and a half years of feelings for the sake of one feeling of indecision, a feeling that maybe they shouldn’t have been a they any more?

For Christ’s sake don’t look at Vanessa.

“Fine. I’ve put tonight’s really fun but I miss you, I always miss you when you’re not with me, hope you know how much I care about you. That heartfelt enough for you bitches?” Plastique muttered, embarrassed. Nina let out an “aaw”, Akeria made a sick noise.

“Acceptable,” Brooke shrugged, sipping on her beer again. Suddenly, a cheer went up from Akeria, Vanessa and Silky who could see who was coming through the living room door first. Yvie and Scarlet were walking close, holding a glass of red wine each and wearing matching poker faces.

“Oh, here they are! Nice of you to finally join us!” Nina cheered, Scarlet giving a small smile and smoothing her dress down, sitting beside Yvie on the last remaining couch.

“All the best people are fashionably late!” she shrugged. Yvie gave a snort and swept some hair over her shoulder to cover her neck. Brooke saw the action and jumped on it.

“Nice neckwear.”

Yvie turned only slightly red. “Thanks. Gucci.”

“Hear that? Yvie’s girlfriend is Gucci. Not Tesco Finest. Gucci,” Monet nudged Nina, setting another laugh off amongst the girls.

“We’re playing truth or dare,” Brooke explained to the two girls, as Plastique gave the glass bottle a bit of a pathetic spin.

“Vanjie!”

Vanessa shook her head. “Nah that spin was shit, it don’t count.”

“Like hell it don’t! Truth or dare, bitch?” Silky all but interrogated her. Vanessa thought about it for a moment, then decided.

“Truth.”

Brooke’ heart hammered in her chest. She hoped to God they wouldn’t ask Vanessa anything about her, anything about them.

“What’s going on with you and Monique, Vanjie?” Monet asked dramatically, Akeria giving a cry of delight and thumping her hands against her thighs.

Great.

As the room broke out into eager laughter, Vanessa just smiled.

“Well, Monique and I are good friends, and…we get on well. We both been, y'know, unlucky in love a lil’, so…” Vanessa trailed off, the room giving little chokes of anticipation and Brooke’s stomach twisting. “…if it’s one in the morning and one of us is maybe still up…y'know…”

Monet gave a tiny squeal through her teeth. Brooke wanted to wedge herself in between the sofa cushions and not emerge again til May of next year.

“Y'know, Monique’s very confident, very sure of herself, an’ that's…y'know, it’s attractive…” Vanessa trailed off, running her tongue over her teeth. Brooke knew that face, remembered the time when that face used to get directed at her before they’d fall into bed together, frantic kisses planted along collarbones and clothes discarded over the uneven floorboards of Vanessa’s room.

“But what’s actually going on? You’ve said so much but not actually said anything,” Yvie let out an unimpressed laugh. Vanessa composed herself and sat up straight, taking a rare sip of her drink.

“Well, we get on well. She’s a good person. And we’re friends,” Vanessa smiled coyly, causing the girls to laugh uproariously.

“Okay, okay, we all see it! We all get it!” Monet laughed, the knife twisting in Brooke’s stomach. Could it have been more obvious that they were obviously having each other in every type of position imaginable with any chance they got, or was it just Brooke being paranoid? She thought back to what Monet had said in the car earlier and concluded that, occasional hits of the bong aside, she was not being paranoid by any stretch of the imagination.

The game rolled along. Nina was made to do something vague and embarrassing with Monet that Brooke forgot quickly (or perhaps blocked out), Scarlet was forced to admit (rather proudly, Brooke thought) that her and Yvie had quickly fucked upstairs in the time they’d been away, and a few other of the girls did a couple of bland truths. As much as the bottle spun and spun, it never seemed to point Brooke’s way. Brooke was glad. She didn’t want to admit or say anything, and she also didn’t want to do anything remotely risky. However, when the bottle landed on Vanessa a second time, Brooke began to reconsider her thought process.

“Dare,” Vanessa smiled, a glint of danger in her eye flashing quickly as she darted her eyes quickly to Brooke.

Brooke tried not to look at Nina as she spoke. “Vanjie. Kiss the hottest girl in the room.”

“Oh, that’s a good one,” Plastique whispered quietly. It seemed as if the whole room held its breath. Brooke didn’t know if she was grateful to Nina for the setup or whether she wanted to descend into the earth’s core. She knew Vanessa had answered this question before with this group of girls, she knew that Vanessa thought the answer was her. But that was before everything had changed. Brooke felt her pulse race as Vanessa looked to the ceiling, deep in thought.

Slowly, she turned her gaze to Yvie and Scarlet.

“Yvie,” she began, a small sinking feeling lodging itself in Brooke’s chest. “Can I kiss your girlfriend?”

Yvie smiled at Scarlet proudly, happy for the compliment. “Dare’s a dare. Bring her back.”

“Scarlet, can I get a lil’ smooch?” Vanessa laughed, Scarlet laughing back and motioning for her to sit beside them on the sofa.

“C'mere, friend,” she laughed easily, Vanessa crossing the room and joining them. Brooke remembered when Vanessa had kissed Scarlet before- in the nightclub, before they were together and before Yvie and Scarlet were together. She remembered how it made her feel- a little irritated and sad all in one. Looking back, she realised it was plain and simple jealousy, and she knew her feelings weren’t going to change this time.

Quickly, Vanessa leaned in and met Scarlet’s lips, kissing her gently but slowly, her hand resting on Scarlet’s hip easily. It could only have been about three seconds long, but each one seemed to tick by agonisingly slowly, and Brooke hoped she wasn’t showing any of her fucked-up emotions on her face. As the two girls pulled away and the others whooped and whistled, Scarlet made a face.

“Bitch, all I tasted there was pepperoni. That was the least sexy kiss I’ve ever had.”

“You loved it, hoe!” Vanessa laughed, retreating back to her seat. Desperate to look at anything but Vanessa’s face, Brooke watched Yvie and Scarlet. Yvie had the satisfied grin of a mafia mob boss as Scarlet whispered something in her ear, then smiled seductively, kissing her once, twice, three times, red lipstick meeting purple.

“Well if I wasn’t bi before, I sure as hell am now,” Plastique fanned herself.

“We are the cornerstone of Plastique’s sexual identity. That’s a fucking compliment!” Scarlet cheered, Yvie laughing and wrapping her arms around her.

“Nah, you and Yvie are my parents. The Mums of the group,” Plastique explained.

“Fuck off, we’re not the Mums!” Yvie laughed, outraged. “Nina and Monet are literally right there!”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Nina cried, outraged at the perceived injustice.

“Yeah, don’t lump me in with this dork!” Monet yelled, laughing with the other girls as Nina swatted her on the arm.

“Right! Spin, Vanj,” Yvie ordered, the girl spinning the bottle round obediently. Brooke watched as the top of the bottle whizzed by her once, twice, three times, past Yvie, Scarlet, the Antigua Road girls, slowed down as it reached Plastique, edged past Monet and Nina and then came to rest on Brooke.

“All RIGHT! About time this bitch spilt some tea,” Silky clapped in delight.

“Brooke,” Akeria said with the threat level of an MI5 employee. “Truth or dare?”

Brooke paused. Her go-to was usually a truth, however there was no way she was going for that this time, not while she was still a concrete mixer of feelings for Vanessa and not while there was a room full of people wanting to know exactly what was going on with them. She shrugged. “Dare.”

“Okay-” Akeria tailed off, making to stop and think. A practically evil smile spread across her face as realisation dawned on her. “Same dare. Kiss the hottest person in the room. Ten seconds.”

Silky let out a scream, growing so excitable on the sofa that Vanessa was almost sent through the ceiling. Scarlet whispered something to Yvie on the sofa, both of the girls looking at Brooke intently. Plastique shouted over something to Akeria that Brooke couldn’t hear. All she could focus on was how Vanessa had grabbed Silky and was laughing, but somewhat nervously. Her face had gone bright red. Brooke bit her lip. She thought back to their flirting in the cupboard earlier, how they were almost back to square one again, the weird bid Vanessa had made to make Brooke jealous. She could always kiss Yvie or Nina, take the easy way out. But the more she looked at Vanessa, the more drawn she became to her until before she knew what she was doing, Brooke had stood up from her place on the carpet and taken one, two, three steps to sit on the couch and look Vanessa in the eyes.

Brooke could hear everyone in the room screaming, and she knew Silky had run out of the room shouting incoherently, but all she seemed to hear was her blood roaring in her ears as Vanessa leaned in. Before she knew it, Brooke’s hand was resting on Vanessa’s bare thigh and they were kissing each other, slow and deep and lazy and in a way that Brooke never wanted to end. She felt Vanessa’s tongue licking at hers gently and immediately felt a throb of heat between her legs as she remembered 3ams spent between her sheets and Vanessa’s head buried between her thighs.

Christ, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea-

“ZERO! And y’all can officially cut that shit out,” Brooke suddenly felt herself being wrenched away from Vanessa, Akeria’s voice cutting through her hazy thoughts and bringing her back down to earth with a bump.  

“Well, I feel like on that note,” Monet clapped her hands together decisively. “I’m away out to drink in the hot tub. Anyone else?”

One by one the girls agreed, dashing out of the room excitedly, and it was obvious to Brooke that everyone would be talking about what had just happened. Vanessa had run off quickly, her hand in Silky’s as the two dashed upstairs to get their swimwear on. The only girl that was left in the room as Brooke made to do the same was Akeria. She frowned at Brooke as they both left the room, a warning in her eyes which sent a chill down Brooke’s spine. Trying to ignore it, Brooke dashed upstairs, changed into her pink bikini and then ran outside to join the others. They wouldn’t talk about her and Vanessa’s kiss if she was there, so the less time she was away the better. Brooke grabbed a third beer from the fridge on her way out to the garden, and as she stepped outside she noticed how the moon already hung huge and bright in the sky, how the grass already had a shine of cold wet on it, and how everything looked almost a little bit magic. Joining the others and sitting between Yvie and Plastique, she tried to ignore Vanessa sitting opposite her in a black bikini that looked equally sinful as the outfit she’d been wearing before. Luckily the rest of the girls had no further desire to play drinking games, and talk instead turned to movies. Brooke didn’t join in. She couldn’t- too much was swirling around her mind, namely how good the kiss had felt. Scarlet had probably lied to make Yvie laugh- Vanessa had tasted like sugary coke, and the all too familiar scent of her perfume was still inexplicably clinging to Brooke. It had been weird to kiss after months of no contact at all. It had been a bad decision. Brooke had done yet another wrong thing.

So why did it feel somehow correct?

“Right!” Akeria said after a while, almost toppling over as she stood up. “I think I’m gettin’ a touch of the hypothermias. Who’s comin’ inside to watch Sister Act?”

“Bitch! That’s like, my favourite movie. Hell yes,” Monet sprang up, knocking Nina off her lap and into the middle of the hot tub. The girls erupted in a laugh, Brooke almost dropping her beer into the water. One by one, they all filed out of the water. Brooke was the last one left. Admittedly she didn’t want to leave- she was now tipsy enough to not feel the cold, and she could have lain back and stared at the white light of the full moon in the inky sky forever. Just as she was about to follow the others, she noticed that the second-to-last girl out of the hot tub was Vanessa. Brooke swallowed thickly, trying her best not to stare at how the small droplets of water clung to her thick thighs or how her tiny bikini barely covered her firm ass, or how her slick, wet hair cascaded down her back. Almost as if she could read Brooke’s mind, Vanessa slowly, tortuously turned around. She had a little wicked smile on her face, the kind she always used to wear when she flirted with Brooke. It made Brooke cross her legs and squeeze her thighs together.

“You got a good enough view from there?” she asked, playfulness coating her words as she spread both her arms out to lean against the back of the hot tub.

This was bad. This was not good. Brooke couldn’t flirt back. It would only lead to another really horrendous, catastrophic decision. Her mind was hot-wiring, and to her dismay she couldn’t come up with any form of quick-witted comeback. Noticing how long it was taking her to reply, Vanessa gave a throaty laugh.

“Hmm. I’ll take that as a yes, then,” she purred, crossing the water and sitting down close next to Brooke. Brooke tried her best not to choke as she took a sip from the bottle in her hand.

“Thought you were going to watch Sister Act?” she asked, trying to sound casual but cringing at how nervous she sounded as the words left her mouth. Her blood pressure dialled up a notch as Vanessa laced her fingers together, placed her hands on Brooke’s bare shoulder, then rested her head against her fingers.  

“I don’t know. Think I’d rather see what’s so special about this view you love so much,” Vanessa murmured softly, Brooke not missing the way she rushed out the word ‘love’ as if to distil any awkwardness. She didn’t need to worry, though, because right now all Brooke could focus on was how good Vanessa looked in that black bikini, and how her red lipstick still clung to her plump lips as if it had just been applied, and her beautiful dark gaze from under her fake lashes.

“Hmm. It’s a pretty good view. Pretty beautiful,” Brooke found herself whispering, eliciting a sparkle from Vanessa’s eyes. Fuck. Shit. She shouldn’t have said that, it just seemed to have happened, but with Vanessa sitting pressed up so close to her how else could she have possibly reacted? There was a small silence in which Vanessa gave a small giggle, looking down at the constantly popping bubbles. The jet stream pummeled Brooke’s back to bits.

“What’s funny?” she smiled cautiously. Vanessa looked at her, something nostalgic on her face.

“Your pickup lines are still cringey as fuck,” she smirked, Brooke rolling her eyes a little. She had to steer this conversation back to normality. Whatever the fuck normality was as far as her and Vanessa were concerned.

“That wasn’t a pickup line. If I was trying to pick you up, you’d know about it.”

“Oh, I know about it, baby. Don’ worry,” Vanessa hit back instantly, Brooke taking the pet name like a fatal shot. Brooke knew that Vanessa knew what that word did to her in the right context with the right tone. Fuck. Bad idea, bad idea. She was determined not to lose whatever game this was. She would not do anything stupid. She would not ruin the tiny, small beginnings of this foundation of their friendship that they were gradually re-building. She would stand up and go inside and watch Whoopi fucking Goldberg dance about in a fucking habit and all would be right with the world again.

“Two and a half years, huh? You had it bad, bitch, I never knew I had that kind of effect on you,” Vanessa laughed suddenly, Brooke trying not to blush as she remembered Plastique’s words from earlier.

“Not that you’re letting it go to your head,” Brooke shrugged, taking a sip.

Vanessa giggled again. Brooke wished she wouldn’t. “Never.”

“Good compliment for you, I guess.”

“Better than beaud,” Vanessa smirked, snorting a laugh as Brooke tipped her head back and cringed. As she quietly stopped laughing, Vanessa shrugged lightly. “An’ I mean, nice to know I’m the hottest girl in the room too.”

Brooke let out a small sigh at having to confront her decision. “I mean just because we’re not dating any more doesn’t mean it’s not objectively true. By Western beauty standards you probably are the hottest girl in the room.”

Vanessa laughed again. “Western beauty standards, my God. I’m not even white, you dumb bitch.”

“Yeah, but…you’ve got this gorgeous skin, and all your shiny hair. And your eyes that go all twinkly when you’re happy,” Brooke explained. Where was all this coming from? “And you have perfect white teeth, and the best smile. I feel like you light up the whole room when you laugh.”

Brooke’s heart gave a twinge as Vanessa’s face broke out into a smile, tilting her face to the side a little inquisitively. Brooke gave a little cough, aware of all the compliments she’d given her. “And you have a really good figure as well, so, yeah.”

“Oh, obviously. Well, we all know how much you like that,” Vanessa smirked cheekily, Brooke suddenly snapping her neck round to face her properly.

“What?”

“Liked that. Like, liked. Whatever. We’re friends now, we can laugh about it,” Vanessa shrugged, the words coming out of her mouth confirming their status at once relieving Brooke and putting her on edge. They were back to being friends. This was what Brooke wanted, right? Vanessa still had the little cheeky grin on her face as she spoke again. “Friends who still kiss each other, apparently.”

“Well, you kissed Scarlet,” Brooke said, trying to make it as nonchalant as possible. Judging by Vanessa’s smug reaction, she hadn’t succeeded.

“You seem pressed.”

“Not pressed! Just saying,” Brooke tried to protest gently but felt she came on way too heavy.

“Mhm. There’s just one problem about all this, though…” Vanessa murmured, her tone charged with something that immediately made the hairs on Brooke’s arm stand on end, giving her goosebumps.

And then, with one fluid movement, Vanessa moved to straddle her.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.

Brooke’s heart almost flatlined as Vanessa spoke, her face still wearing the tiniest cocky smile that Brooke so badly wanted to kiss off of her. “It’s kinda hard to try an’ be friends with you when I know what you look like with no clothes on.”

Brooke tried her best to keep her voice level. “Well, it’s also kind of hard to try and be friends with you when you’re flirting with me.”

“It’s also hard to be friends with you when I know what your kinks are…” Vanessa brought her arms around Brooke’s neck and barely concealed a smile as she bucked her hips ever so slightly. “…Mami.”

Brooke felt the tiniest hiss escape her lips, glad it wasn’t the fuck that had immediately popped into her head.

“It’s kind of hard to be friends with you when you’re riding my thigh…or when you’re coming on to me like this,” Brooke replied, keeping one hand firmly on the side of the hot tub and the other wrapped around the glass bottle in her hand so tight she thought it would smash.

“Coming on to you?” Vanessa suddenly tipped her head back and laughed, Brooke immediately realising what she’d said. “That can be arranged, you want face, tongue or fingers?”

“Fuck’s sake, Vanessa,” Brooke laughed softly, letting one of her hands drop down under the water and rest against Vanessa’s thigh. As Brooke’s thumb rubbed at her skin softly, she tried to reason with herself. Just because she was stroking Vanessa’s skin, and had her on top of her, and was basically talking dirty to her, didn’t mean that anything was actually going to happen.

“I know you miss me, Brooke,” Vanessa said, her tone matter-of-fact as she straightened up a little in Brooke’s lap, Brooke eyeing the way her breasts were pushed up.

Brooke had to think carefully about her response. She knew she’d hurt Vanessa, so she had to keep things light. “I mean, it kind of looks like you miss me, baby.”

Oh fuck, that pet name was a mistake. Vanessa’s smile was sultry as she pushed one of her hands into Brooke’s hair. “Me? Nah, I’m just doin’ this because it’s fun. Monique’s treatin’ me very well.”

Jesus fucking Christ, Vanessa knew how to hit Brooke where it hurt. Brooke pursed her lips. She wanted to fight dirty, she would give as good as she got. “And that’s why you’re cheating on her?”

Vanessa burst out laughing. “Oh, bitch, please! Me and her aren’t exclusive! We ain’t even a thing! She vents to me about her ex, I vent to her about you, and then we fuck away our frustrations!”

A part of Brooke’s heart soared up into the black sky like a helium balloon. She didn’t think she’d shown her relief on her face until Vanessa gave a laugh. “So. You ain’t denied it.”

“Denied what?”

“That you miss me,” she shrugged, giving a little look down at Brooke’s hands on her thighs. Brooke couldn’t pinpoint when she’d brought the other one down under the water but apparently she had done. Her throat was dry as she considered her response. Before she could get there, Vanessa threw her mind into chaos as she brought her hands back behind her head, fidgeted for a moment, then suddenly threw her bikini top across the decking. As Brooke’s gaze flicked down to Vanessa’s full breasts, the other girl brought one finger up and tilted her chin up to face her. The heat between Brooke’s legs was unbearable, and she felt her paper-thin resolve rapidly melting away. Vanessa smirked. “You wanna kiss me so bad right now, don’t you? Like you kissed me earlier. You can’t even stay away.“

Vanessa seemed to edge closer to Brooke, although they were already so close that seemed an impossible feat. Brooke raised an eyebrow. “See, I feel like if Monique fucked you as good as you say she does, you wouldn’t be in my lap right now.”

Vanessa blinked slowly, mockingly. “Oh, baby. You don’t want to know the things I let her do to me.”

Brooke bristled. The tension between them and Vanessa’s teasing was getting her riled. “You’re right, I don’t.”

“Aww. You jealous, baby?” Vanessa pouted. This was going to drive Brooke insane. Her mind constantly swung between this being a bad idea and a good idea, and she had no idea which it would settle on.

Brooke locked eyes with Vanessa, the other girl’s gaze a challenge. “No.”

“You sure? You seemed jealous when I kissed Scarlet earlier, I saw your face.”

“I don’t get jealous,” Brooke repeated, holding her gaze with Vanessa. Their faces weren’t too close but their bodies were, and Brooke felt as if she was a ticking time bomb.

“So you ain’t jealous of Monique?” Vanessa murmured inquisitively. Brooke shook her head, now unable to tear her gaze away from her lips which had felt so perfect against her own earlier. “You ain’t jealous of the fact she gets to ride my face and get my pretty lil’ tongue working her clit? You ain’t jealous of the fact that it’s her name I’m crying out when I cum on her fingers? You ain’t-”

Frustrated, tense, and out of willpower, Brooke let out a low growl as she finally brought her hands up to Vanessa’s jaw and crashed their lips together, kissing her wildly and deeply and running her hands over every inch of Vanessa’s skin she was able to touch. She didn’t even care that she’d proven Vanessa right, because she had missed this, missed her, missed the way they just seemed to fit together like two pieces of a puzzle and dear sweet fucking Jesus she’d been an idiot to give up this sex. Brooke whined needily as she felt Vanessa pull away, the other girl laughing against her lips.

“You don’t kiss like a girl who ain’t jealous,” Vanessa tutted, a satisfied smirk on her face. "Or one that don’t miss me.”

Brooke ran her hands up and down her back and pouted. “Shut up.”

“Hmm. That ain’t no way to talk to me if you’re planning on getting what you want, lil’ brat,” Vanessa raised her eyebrows, bringing one of her hands down to rub at Brooke’s hipbone. Brooke let out a whimper and bucked her hips. She needed Vanessa so badly, and her words were only making things worse. Or better.

“Fuck, please, Vanessa, shit,” Brooke hissed, not caring about how pathetic and needy she looked now as she brought one of her hands up and rubbed a thumb over one of Vanessa’s nipples. Brooke felt her clit throb as Vanessa gave a little hum of delight at the contact. Her fingers had only been there for a second before Vanessa grabbed her wrist and held it down under the water, the sudden force causing Brooke’s eyes to grow wide.

“You broke my fuckin’ heart an’ now you really think I’m gonna make it that easy for you?” she barked a laugh, a guilty twinge tugging at Brooke’s rapid heart. “Fuck that. I want to hear you beg me to fuck you. You’re gonna have to work for me, baby. Shit’s on my terms.”

“Fuck, Vanessa, I really don’t give a shit how desperate I sound,” Brooke sighed, the shock of the prospect of Vanessa changing her mind about all this lighting a fire in Brooke. “Please, please, please, please, baby, I’m sorry, I’ll do anything you want, just fucking touch me, please-”

Brooke cut herself off with her own moan as Vanessa ran a hand down her body and lightly pressed two fingers against her, rubbing gently and making Brooke want to sob.

“Good girl,” Vanessa purred, Brooke writhing underneath her and completely past the point of thinking about any of the consequences of any of this. “You miss me, don’t you?”

“Fuck, so much.”

“You been missin’ this?”

“Shit yes, so much.”

Vanessa’s eyes were dark as Brooke looked up at her. “Nobody’s gonna fuck you like me, are they?”

Brooke’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head, thinking that at this point if Vanessa asked her to get married she probably would’ve booked the damn venue. “No, only you, baby, fuck.”

“Mm, such a good girl,” Vanessa smirked, Brooke’s clit giving a spasm as she thought now was really not the time to realise she had a praise kink. “I don’t know, though. You seemed pretty sure you wouldn’t miss me when you ended things.”

“I do miss you, 'Ness, I promise, I’m sorry, I’ll beg on my knees if you want me to, I don’t give a fuck, you’ve been driving me crazy all night…so fucking perfect, shit…"

"Mm…you would look so pretty on your knees,” Vanessa leaned in and murmured into Brooke’s ear, pressing the lightest little kiss to her neck and almost sending Brooke over the edge before anything had even happened yet.

“I’ll do whatever you want, baby, fuck, I want you to feel like you’re the most gorgeous fucking goddess in the world,” Brooke gasped as Vanessa brought her other hand down to touch herself, the sight of her working Brooke and herself into a frenzy the hottest thing she’d seen in months. Her mind short-circuited, and she struggled to know if anything she said made any sense. “Jesus Christ, Vanessa, please fuck me, I can’t take much more-"

Pride glinted in Vanessa’s eyes before she leaned in and kissed Brooke, hot and wet with her fingers still rubbing and teasing her through the material. Pulling away, she motioned to the decking around the hot tub. “Lie back then, baby.”

As Brooke almost drove her face into the decking in her haste to scramble out of the hot tub she ignored the little voice in the back of her head that told her everything about this was a bad idea, and instead focused on the one that screamed it was the best decision she’d made in months.s

[7-wonders]

This Place of Wrath and Tears

Summary: Jim is missing, and nothing can prepare you for what you stumble upon in your quest to find him.

Word Count: 2024

A/N: Hey gang, this work falls in the Duncan Shepherd/Beauty and the Beast AU that I started a couple weeks ago. The “prologue” will be linked below. I would appreciate any feedback, including if I should continue this and what you want to see next. Thanks for reading!

Wilted Roses Smell Just as Sweet

The woods that you find yourself stumbling through are especially dark, enough so that you can’t see your hands in front of your face. Sticks snapping under your feet cause you to walk faster in the hopes that the animals calling to each other amongst the foliage won’t catch on that you’re not welcome here.

If you could have, you would have turned back around the moment the sun dipped below the treeline. But you can’t, not when Jim’s life is on the line. Of course, no one would have blamed you for not being able to finish this impromptu rescue mission. It’s not your fault that your best friend had to go and get himself in trouble when he was supposed to be on a solo photography trip. It’s entirely possible that Jim’s not even in danger; you have no concrete proof that he’s not, after all. The string of texts that you had received from him earlier, however, have left a sinking in your stomach unlike any you had ever felt before.

The Appalachians are beautiful, you can stand on a hill and see for miles!

Everything’s so clear out here, you would love it

Huh, just found a McMansion in the middle of the forest. Who would have thought the 1% hid out where even the moonshiners wouldn’t go?

It looks like it’s lived in...and the door’s unlocked

Holy shit, this is trippy

It literally looks like people just packed up and left, but there’s no mention of this house on any map I looked at

I think there’s somebody here

I don’t know, it feels like I’m being watched

I need to leave

That was the last text that you had received from him, and in the four hours since you had opened his message, he hadn’t responded to any of your calls and texts. This was extremely unlike Jim, who always made sure to respond to you. The perk of two best friends with abandonment issues is that the other is always hyper aware of how a lack of communication feels.

Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, you were only a couple of hours away from Jim’s last shared location on Find My Friends. Making a split-second decision, you had hopped in your car and started driving, eventually having to walk. Now, you could only hope he was safe, and that you would be safe once you found him.

The cold is beginning to stiffen your fingers, and you flex them uncomfortably to keep the blood flowing when a sudden break in the dense brush gives you a burst of much-needed hope. Peeking through, you’re delighted to see what could only be described as a McMansion. It’s absolutely huge, and it’s impossible to not wonder how construction crews managed to ferry the materials needed to build such a home in the middle of the overgrown woods. 

You break into a sprint, dashing up the stone stairs to the oversized front door. It’s made of a dark wood, and your heart clenches in your chest when you notice claw marks on the surface. Checking your phone to make sure this is the same location that Jim’s phone last showed, you knock once, twice, three times before taking a step back.

The door creaks open, but there’s no face on the other side to greet you or ask what you’re doing at such an odd hour. Still, someone opened the door, and though the main lights are turned off, a dim light from inside beckons you in. Creeping into the home, you look around for whoever may have answered your call. You gasp in fear when the door closes behind you, grabbing your chest as if to stop your heart from racing away from you when you see that there’s nobody around.

“H-hello?” you stutter, cursing yourself for sounding like the protagonist in a B-rated horror film.

“It’s a girl!” Whirling around at the voice, your eyes search through the dimness to see who’s talking. Another voice shushes them, and the original whines, “sorry, I just got excited.”

“Um, I’m looking for my friend,” you try, turning around when you hear scuffling from behind you. “Jim Mason? He sent me some texts that had me really worried for him, and his phone said this was his last location.”

“I can help you.” This time, you’re sure you’re going crazy when you hear a voice. It sounded like they were right behind you, but spinning around reveals no one. At this point, you’re starting to get a little dizzy.

“Who’s there?” You don’t get an answer in the form of a response, only another door opening. “Do I--should I follow you?” Whatever, if you’re talking to air, you’re at least going to utilize it.

“He’s being kept in the basement!” The door that opened leads to stairs going down, so you assume that’s where you’re supposed to go. Fishing your phone out of your pocket, you turn the flashlight on to keep from tripping and falling.

The basement’s even colder than the forest that surrounds it, your breath coming out in visible puffs as you wrap an arm around yourself. “Jim?” 

It’s silent for a long moment, and then you hear a weak cough from the other end of the dingy room. “(Y/N)?”

“Jim!” Any hesitancy towards the fact that your best friend is being held captive goes out the window upon hearing his voice, and you run towards him until your flashlight shines on his face.

You can’t help the gasp that escapes you at the sight of him. His lip is cut open, and his right eye is black and blue. His skin, which had been the same golden-bronze as always when you saw him last week, was ashen now. You fall to your knees in front of him, not even able to fully embrace him due to the cell he’s trapped in. You settle for grabbing his hands with yours, cringing at the iciness of his skin and hoping that some of your warmth transfers to him.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Jim says, wincing at the pain speaking puts on his cut. “I really thought I was going to die here since that--that thing took my phone from me and I couldn’t call for help.”

“We share our locations with each other, remember?”

“Oh thank God for that.”

“I have to get you out of here.” You stand up, begrudgingly letting go of Jim’s hands to look for a lock. “What did you mean when you said ‘that thing’ took your phone? Like, this is some psycho who likes to lure people into his house and lock them in his basement?”

If it’s possible, Jim manages to look even more pale. “I...whatever it was that dragged me down here, it wasn’t human. It was like a giant wolf, but it talked like a normal person. I’ve never seen anything like it, and frankly I hope I never have to see anything like it again.”

“Are you sure you don’t just have a concussion? I mean, monsters, that’s a little…”

“I know it sounds crazy (Y/N), believe me, but I’ve never been so sure of something before.”

“Okay, it’s okay Jimmy, I believe you.” You resort to calling him by his nickname to calm him down, smiling at him reassuringly while fishing two paper clips out of your backpack. “Aha! I knew they were hiding somewhere in there.”

“Oh fuck yeah, your hoarding habits are actually helping!”

“Funny,” you say with a look that conveys how not funny he is. Straightening out the small pieces of metal, you go to work at picking the lock a la Nancy Drew. Jim watches your hands as they twist and turn, listening closely to try and hear the lock click. “I think I’ve almost got it.”

Your words, meant to reassure him, fall on deaf ears as Jim stares wide-eyed behind you. His mouth opens and closes, trying to find the words to call out to you, but you don’t notice. Only when a large hand, that looks almost like a paw, comes down on your shoulder and yanks you away from the cell does Jim manage to yell at you to “run!”

You fall against the cement floor, phone skidding across the ground until it’s too far from your grasp. Something moves in the shadows, deliberately staying cloaked among the dark to keep you from seeing the identity of whoever threw you down.

“Who are you?” Your voice comes out much stronger than it did when you first arrived at this manor, although that might be from the adrenaline.

“The master of the house,” someone says from next to you. Looking up, all you can see in the small beam of light that your phone is casting up is a pair of angry blue eyes, wild like you’ve never seen a person’s.

“I’ve come for my friend.”

“Your friend,” this person spits, the growling tone making you shudder, “was trespassing. Now he’s my prisoner.”

“You can’t keep him locked up here, that’s cruel and illegal!”

The figure chuckles darkly, their eyes pinned to you as they move away from the light. “This situation defies the binds of normal society.” You have the feeling he’s not just talking about locking Jim up.

“(Y/N), please go. I’ll be fine here, I promise.” Jim looks so sincere that you almost believe him.

“No, Jim. You’ve been doing so good in your recovery; I’m not going to let you throw that support system away due to some psycho keeping you locked in their basement!” 

Jim had been completely clean for 293 days now, which was the longest he had been sober since he began abusing drugs and alcohol as a teenager. You were insanely proud of him, having dealt with some of his worse relapses in the years that you had known him. Still, you know how precarious sobriety is for a recovering addict, especially in the first year, and how vital a routine and good support from doctors is to maintaining that. You can’t let him lose this battle, not after he’s worked so hard.

“You said he’s your prisoner? Like, this is his punishment for trespassing?” The shadow hums their confirmation. “Then...then let me take his place. Let me serve his sentence.”

“What?” Jim cries in disbelief. If you’re being honest with yourself, you’re thinking the same thing. This is stupid and beyond dangerous, but it’s the only chance Jim has of getting out of here alive.

“I’ll be fine, Jim. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“You...you would do that? Take your friend’s place, just like that?” Jim’s captor says like they can’t believe anyone would ever do such a thing.

“If I did, you promise that you would let Jim go?”

“Yes, your friend would be free to leave.”

“And how long were you planning on keeping him here?”

There’s a long silence before you receive an answer. “Four months.” The voice is tense, although you’re not sure why. After all, you’re the one who’s about to be the prisoner here.

“Alright then, I’ll take his place.” You deliberately block out Jim’s shouts of protest as the shadow moves past you, keys jingling loudly when the cell gets unlocked. Jim crashes into you, your arms going around each other as you embrace.

“I’m going to get you out of here, (Y/N), I promise.” Jim is dragged away from you by the collar of his shirt, your grip on him being no match for the strength this creature possesses.

“No, wait! At least let me say goodbye.” The shadow ignores you so well, it’s as if you don’t even speak.

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back for you! And when I do, I’ll beat this motherfucker to a pulp!” You laugh bitterly through your tears as you watch Jim disappear around the corner. The gravity of the situation begins to hit you, and you breathe out heavily while you wonder if you just signed your own death warrant.

//

Tiny little taglist (just some people that liked/commented/reblogged the last part): @kkxnzie @im-the-music-whore​ @loopnootsboots​ @guiltyfiend​ @lvngdvns​ @langdondelrey​ @holylangdon​ @ccodyfern​ 

[yamithediaperdork]

He’ll always be her baby (Legend of zelda)

It was a warm summer day when Link made his way back to the kokiri forest. Instead of returning to the past as Zelda had wanted, he stayed in the future to help her and after 2 years of hard work the kingdom was back to normal more or less and Link was actually betrothed to the princess. In a odd way that was part of why he was going to the woods today, he wanted to get the blessing of his semi mother Saria about the union. (Link of course knew that Saria wasn't his real mother, but having raised him from a baby, and changing his diapers all those years, she certainly qualified in Link's mind.) Just how long she HAD been changing his diapers was a sore point for the hero of time, as he'd been a total failure at potty training till he was 7..And even then had still been fighting bed wetting until a few weeks before he'd started his quest. (actually when Saria had run up to talk to him that morning she'd been coming over to see if he'd kept his bed dry.) Today however such thoughts were pushed out of his mind as he left Epona at the entrance of the forest and left the horse go and do whatever it did when he wasn't around, as the beast got uneasy around all the kokiri who crowed it not used to seeing horses. Saria was waiting for Link with a smile on her face even as she tried to resist the urge to introduce Mido to her fist, a familiar urge of course but one that was winning as Mido whined on and on about how he had wanted to hang out with Saria. "I'm just saying, he shows up here acting like some sorta big shot and well..I'm a big shot too!" Mido whined. "..Mido you guarded part of the path to the forest temple. Link saved the world from Gannondorf." Saria pointed out, rolling her eyes. "exactly! I was a big help!" Mido huffed and puffed out his chest. "Mido?" Saria said and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Go home before I have to give you anther black eye please." Mido huffed, but stormed off, muttering about how he was leaving because HE wanted to, as Link came into view. "There's my little guy!" Saria coo'ed and held open her arms for a hug. "Heh..not so little anymore Mom." Link said, bending a knee to get down so she could give him a big hug, both of them smiling. "Hush now, you're not too big I can't still take you over my knee." Saria scolded playfully and reached around to give link's bottom a playful swat. Link played along and winced. "oh nooo, not a spanking!" he chuckled, then got back up and as they headed for Saria's house instinctively reached out and took her hand, with her leading the way. 'amazing how after everything I've been though, and how much i tower over her she can make me feel like a Lil kid again with such ease.' Link mused to himself. 'amazing how no matter how old or big he gets, Link's still such a little guy.' Saria mused. Of course from her Point of view, while she knew that link had saved the world and was a very capable fighter.. she mostly interacted with him when he came home due to the limitations of her race. Thus she knew him best as a silly big goofball. "So, what brings you around? the carrier you sent just said you had important news for me." Saria said as the made it into her home, and Link dropped his travel bag. Now more indoors though Saria noticed that link frankly smelled, though anyone who'd ridden all day on a horse was expected to have a certain funk to them. "Well see-" "Hold that thought. somebody needs a bath." she said and held her nose, but smiled. "uh..oh yeah..ehehe..Guess I am a little ripe." Link said sweat dropping. "I'll just go hop in a river and-" "No need! I finally broke down and got a tub installed in the house." Saria said, grinning ear to ear. she had been the first to semi get indoor plumbing (well OK, it just went out a tube to a ditch behind her house) and was now the first with a indoor tub.. and looked proud as heck about it. "Oh neat! I bet Mido is turning green with envy!" Link chuckled and Followed Saria up the steps. "oh you know it. he tried to get one for his house but couldn't get the sage discount.. then he spent like a week running around in the tall grass trying to find rupees. by the time he got a tub installed it was barley big enough for him and he was too pooped to complain." Saria snorted, then added "Watch your head Linky, the second floor is more my height." Link had not forgotten that fact, as he was already hunched over but smiled at the warning. "Thanks mom. heh.. maybe I should just start crawling when on the second floor." he joked. "...don't offer something that adorable up if your not gonna do it." Saria said with a wink and a smirk, then lead link to the bathroom. Looking at the toilet and the tub in the bathroom, link tried to hid his disappointment as neither was terribly big but then again they were made for Saria's size. "You'll have to activate the fire spell runes to warm up the water, and that'll take about 10-15 minutes depending on how hot you want your bath." she said and nodded to the markings by the tub. "Uh..thats gonna be a problem.. had to use up alot of my magic getting here, ran into some left over moblins." Link groaned. having to take a bath without being able to lay down unless he wanted his legs over the side of the tub as it looked like, and now a cold one was NOT going to be fun. "well I guess I can stay inhere and warm it up for you." Saria said and smiled, then noticed the look on Link's face. "oh don't give me that! I've wiped your poopy butt, you don't got anything I haven't seen before!" she scolded, hands on her hips. "I..well..uh..Just.." Link whined and squirmed. "Pffft..Your too easy. I can just get the tub filled for you and then leave the room while you get naked and soak. just don't take so long that you need me to warm the tub up Little guy." she said laughed. "...that wasn't funny!" Link huffed and looked pouty. "Yes it was and you know it." she laughed. after scrubbing himself clean and draining the tub, Link had to admit he felt like a new man and as he dried off he went to grab his clothes.. only to notice that they were gone. 'I swear..she's like a little ninja.' he though with a sulk and wrapping the soft towel around his waist Link made his way downstairs. Saria was sitting at her table, enjoying a glass of berry juice and having a mischievous look on her face. "I don't suppose you know where my clothes are do you mom?" Link asked sarcastically. "well if i had to guess, some kind and wonderful lady who fancy's herself your mom thought what good would it do to have you go and take a bath if you were just going to put on your smelly clothes afterwards, and talked Mido into washing them in exchange for a date at some point." she said and sipped her drink. "whattt? why would you go on a date with that little twerp?" Link huffed then shook his head. "And what am i suppose to wear while i wait for doofus to finish washing and drying my clothes?" he added. "...I had assumed that you had packed a change of clothes." Saria said, then got a sheepish look on her face as Link blushed and looked at the ground.  "Notttt so much huh?" "I uh.. brought extra rations of sweetmeats and those pastry's you liked.. and a few health potions.." Link said in a small voice. "Well uh..it's not like i just have clothes in your size laying around here..well, mostly." She said and rubbed the back of her head. "..Mostly?" Link asked. "Welll uhhh..know it's been awhile since you spent the night..but if you had ever decided to..I wanted to be prepared for my little bed wetter." Saria said and quickly took a drink of her juice as Link put two and two together. "Moooom! I've told you! I'm notta a bed wetter anymore!" Link huffed as his cheeks turned crimson. "well you should be thankful I thought you were, or you'd be going around naked till your clothes are cleaned." she said matter of fact. "...so my choices are..walk around in the buff, or waddle around in a diaper?" Link asked, putting a hand to his face. "Mmmmhmmm. Your choice though Lil guy. like Mommy said, you don't have anything she hasn't seen before." Saria said sweetly. "...what even is my life anymore?" Link groaned. In the end Link decided that wearing the stupid diapers couldn't be worse then going around naked, but made it clear that A) he'd be pampering himself, and B) it was JUST to cover his junk up, he wouldn't be using them. Saria had just smirked and gave a little wink, as if to say 'whatever you say' and after getting out the thick massive cloth diapers for link, and the huge diaper pins, let him head back up the stairs by himself to put himself back in diapers. she had tried to offer him the green plastic pants that she had gotten him as well, but he'd turned those down since that would of just been needed if he was gonna soak them, and she decided not to press the subject. Discarding the towel, and laying out the diapers, Link stared at them for a few seconds..then a few more till actually five minutes had passed, trying to figure out just HOW to do this. "good grief." he muttered to himself. "I can solve puzzles in dungeons while being attacked by monsters but not figure this out? how hard can it be?" Ploping his butt down on the thick cloth and tugging it up and reaching for a pin, he found out it could be very hard as he jabbed his thumb with the end of the diaper pins over and over, cursing softly at first but by the fourth time he started to let out a loud curse. "Son of a mother-" he growled onto to be cut off by Saria downstairs. "Language little man!" she called up. "..Brisket eating weevil." he huffed and took a second to suck on his poor thumb to ease the pain, before realizing just how that HAD to look. Finally getting the diaper pins in, though being careful not to stab himself yet again, Link stood up and smiled, proud of himself for having figured the stupid thing out even if the diapers were sagging on his hips. Waddling due to the thickness that kept him for getting his thighs to close together, link came down the stairs just beaming with pride. which as Saria turned and looked, made her break out into a big grin of her own, he just looked so damn proud of himself for figuring out how to get a diaper on. then she spotted his thumb, wet with drool and the red marks on it and came over. "oh link! your poor thumb! why didn't you ask for help?" she asked, and as the padded hero blushed and squirmed, she wiped his thumb off then gave it a kiss. "there, all better! she coo'ed, kissing his boo boo better just like she used to. "Uh..thanks mom.." Link said in a sheepish tone and Saria caught herself. "Oh..yeah..ehehe..Guess kissing it better isn't really a thing anymore..force of habit." She said and rubbed the back of her head, now looking sheepish herself. Link went to tell her that it was OK, when his diapers slid down from around his hips and landed on the floor around his ankles. "..Maybe mommy should help you with your diapers after all." Saria said, covering her mouth and trying hard not to laugh as Link just stood there, mortified. Saria was a little bit worried about Link as she got him to lay down on the floor. He seemed out of it and with a distracted look on his face started to suck on his thumb, just nodding and helping her however she asked as she adjusted his diapers, getting them on much tighter this time, though they still seemed to sag a little. "Link? sweetie? Mommy thinks you should wear the plastic pants to help keep your diapers from falling off again, is that ok?" she asked in a sing song voice, rubbing link's tummy and tickling it a little just like she used to do when he was 5. Link giggled and coo'ed a little and nodded his head, drool coming down his chin. getting a cloth and wiping his chin, Saria then unfolded the plastic pants which had honestly set her back a little bit and frowned. till now she hadn't actually looked at them, having just assumed they would be as she had ordered and was dismayed to see a row of  white ruffles on the butt. 'oh, he's going to just LOVE this.' she thought dryly, suddenly glad he was still in baby mode. getting the plastic pants over his feet and ankles, and down his legs Saria called out to link to lift his hips, and when nothing happened she tried a different command. "Butt up." automatically Link's hips lifted and she got the plastic pants (or what that panties with the ruffles she wondered) around his hips and smiled as they were nice and tight and would clearly keep link from accidentally flashing anyone again. Helping link sit up he giggled and took his thumb out of his mouth, clapping happily..then seemed to freeze and looked around the room, then down at his crotch and then over his shoulder at his butt. "...explain. Now." he whined and squirmed, looking around for something to cover up in. "You went baby brained after flashing mommy and uh, with the plastic panties on your diapers won't fall down again!" Saria said quickly. "...and the ruffles?" Link asked, though his annoyed tone had shifted to almost a whining tone by now. "Not my chocie! Honestly i never looked the plastic pants over and just assumed they didn't have them." saria said and after a beat. "but they do make your butt look cuter." "Moooom!" Link whined and crossed his arms, his bottom lip sticking out. "Oh don't be such a grumpy Gus..unless you wanna go for a nap." Saria said as a joke but then noticed how link just huffed and looked away. "...do you wanna go for a nap Link?" "I..ngh.. I am tired.." Link said in a little voice. "of course you are. you rode a long way here, battled some mean old Moblins, and then all of this mental stress. How about I set you up for a little nap, and I'll wake you when your clothes are ready?" Saria asked, and ruffled link's hair. Link let out a cute little gurgle as his hair was ruffled and leaned into it, making Saria mentally gush. "I..that sounds good mommy." Link said, almost in a babyish tone. rolling over onto his side and then making use of a nearby couch to get out, Saria was trapped between gushing and laughing at how frigging cute he looked with his puffy ruffled diaper butt pushed out, then he was toddling unsteadily as he headed for the stairs. "Easy there link, I bunched up the diaper more then you had it so it's a bit thick-" Saria started as Link yelped and landed on his padded rear with a crinkle. "er.." Link blushed and rubbed the back of his head, then slowly made his way to his feet again and paused for a second. "er..Mommy..could you maybe.." he asked, holding out a hand for balance. Saria smiled and rushed over, helping him make his way to the stairs where he used the railing to help himself up the steps but as they got to the second floor both of them paused. "..there's no way your gonna be able to crotch down and keep your balance up here." Saria said. "...Yeah I know." Link whined then looking around, as if to make sure only mom was gonna see, he got down on all fours and started to crawl. standing behind him and watching him crawl Saria had little hearts in her eyes, this was just too friggen adorable! With his fat diapered bottom swaying back and forth Saria easily caught up to Link and getting him into her bedroom she toyed with trying to get him into his old crib. then looking at his size, then at the crib, knew while it would be cute as fuck there was just no way Link would be able to get a good sleep in the tiny thing (and there was a good chance he'd break it getting in anyways) Thankfully her bed was MUCH bigger then she really needed as she was prone to tossing and turning, and had a bad habbit of leaving things on the end of her bed rather then putting them away so Link barly was able to fit as he crawled under the blankets and rested his head. adjusting the blankets herself Saria leaned down and planted a smooch on Link's forehead and noticed that he was squirming and looking around a lot. "what's wrong Link? do you need to use the potty? want a bed time story?" she asked. "I uh..well..it's 'brassing." Link mumbled, and turned to hide his face in her pillow. "...More embarrassing then having me diaper you?" she asked with a smile. "..Do you..uh..maybe still have..one of my old soothers?" Link asked, though he kept his face in the pillow so Saria wasn't sure she heard him right at first. "..heh. well I think so.. let me go and check the box where i put your old baby stuff." she said, in a amused tone while link whined but let out a soft 'kay.' She found the pacifier, with relative ease, the large yellow nipple was dusty though as was the green lip guard so she took it to the bathroom to wash off before coming back with it for link. she also left the box of baby items out on the off chance maybe after his nap link would wanna play with his old rattle or blocks. (Sadly his old stuffed deku scrub had fallen apart with age) "open wide lil man." She said in a sing song voice holding out the pacifier for her big baby and link opened up for her like the good little boy he was. she slip the paci in and smirked as he instantly started to nurse on it, his face bright red but smiling behind it and he closed his eyes and snuggled into her pillow. within seconds the little cutie was asleep, and Saria briefly wondered if she should of asked what the big news was before putting him down for the nap, but figured that could wait for later, and just tip toed out of the room, shutting the door as quietly as she could. The end

[haveagooddalyn]

Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, The Untamed

hello all!!! i don’t usually Make Posts here bc.... well i just never started and now it’s a Habit. BUT!! it’s a brand new (terrible) world and i’m locked in my house looking for things to do and i NEED to talk about the untamed and #QuarantineLyfe has deprived me of coworkers to shout at and i’ve already yelled at my three (3) friends, so here we are

the untamed?? you’re thinking, is that that show with all the gifs you reblog of the two beautiful swordsmen pining at each other and you’re just screaming in the tags? yep!!! that’s the bitch!!! i started it 2 months ago and it still has a death grip on my soul. i have gone fully fucking feral about it. will i ever be capable of caring about anything else again? who knows. do i care? absolutely not, i have never been happier

the thing is that everyone who watches this show promptly (a) loses their full-ass mind about it and (b) feels compelled to get everyone else in the world to watch it, so that’s what’s happening here. PREPARE TO BE CONVINCED

(below the cut, bc i am not a monster lol)

okay so the untamed!!!!!!!!!! (that’s the appropriate amount of exclamation marks, i assure you). it’s a chinese drama on netflix (can confirm us and canada, unsure about anywhere else), it’s also all on youtube, and it’s *unhinges jaw and starts screaming*

you know that gif from the pride & prejudice movie where they touch hands for 1.2 seconds and we all clutch at our hearts? the untamed is THAT but for 50 episodes and also gay. you know the north & south bbc miniseries when richard armitage is watching the love of his life leave him and says “look back, look back at me” in That Voice and you’re somehow on the floor? it’s THAT but also gay. this show is just Yearning and Devotion dialed up to 10000000000 and it is UNBEARABLE and also THE best thing i’ve EVER seen. i love myself a period drama and the untamed is like: Period Drama, But What If The Most And Also Gay And Also There’s Magic, and that is Very Good For Me

i’m not doing a very good job telling you what this show is about and that is bc this show is batshit. if you start to describe the plot at all you sound unhinged, so i’m not gonna do that, i’m just gonna make a list of The Best Things About The Untamed, and then i’m gonna link to a couple people who’ve said things way more coherently than me. okay? okay.

reasons to watch the untamed: an incomplete list

the sweetest and sunniest Chaotic Bisexual dark lord you’ll ever meet, a stone-cold badass with a heart of gold who’s also a gigantic little shit

his boyfriend, the Lawful Gay who is a huge bitch and also The Most Integrity Of All Time, literally the definition of “cool and calm on the outside, emotional disaster on the inside”

#Peak Fucking Romance. just Peak Romance after Peak Romance until you’re just like okay, so everybody else pack it up and go home, this is the most EPIC ROMANCE of ALL TIME, and also every single scene between them is somehow the greatest scene of all time??? what the fuck

so much sibling drama. SO MUCH. just so many siblings having so many feelings about each other all over the place

everyone is beautiful??? literally everyone. it’s wildly unfair

brilliant costuming. the robes are so fucking gorgeous. i have a huge incurable case of beautiful robe envy

“gay chaos angst” which is what my friend called it and she’s right and she should say it

“doing the right thing for your loved ones vs. doing the right thing” and “doing the right thing when it isn’t popular” and “doing the right thing by your heart” and other top hits that make me weep

necromancy and also zombies

magic and also martial arts

STUNNING sets

the Tortoise of Slaughter, which is the greatest name for anything ever and so it gets to be a reason all on its own

do you love to suffer? do you love hurt/comfort where the hurt is a LOT but the comfort is also A PLUS? do you love emotionally devastating story arcs about love and loyalty and betrayal and sacrifice and loss and found family? do you also love murder? OH BOY do i have the show for you

are you like, who cares about plot when i have a boatload of characters i’d die for and stunningly compelling relationship dynamics of all sorts and powerful themes about propaganda and justice and corruption and morality and family? bc SAME and the untamed is HERE for us

always a slut for sick-ass swordfighting, ESPECIALLY when it’s homoerotic

Tearful Reunions Up the Wazoo

cute bunnies!!!!

if this has you interested, here are links for (a) an extremely helpful primer that i highly recommend reading before watching bc it tells you things like a list of each character’s 8 names and also that the first 2 episodes are like being launched into a fantasy series on book 3 and you will understand about 30% of what’s going on, and (b) a very good spoiler-free review

http://readingtheend.com/2020/02/01/the-untamed-a-primer/

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/27/21192718/the-untamed-netflix-review-rec-mdzs-cql

and so i will leave you with the soulmates’ faces, bc they are beautiful and every time they look at each other my heart grows not three sizes but thirty thousand

(p.s. pls feel free to talk to me about this show ANY time, either here or on twitter, where i spend 127 hours every day)

[singingunderthecurtain]

Dirty Socks and Muscles [M]

Author: @julietsoddeye​ AU: Canon Genre: Smut (with a smidgen of angst???) Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader Word Count: 3,649

Plot: You probably saved the whole world in your past life. Why else would you have all these luck for?

Note: Here have a Chanyeol oneshot (loosely based off a dream I had again). I was struggling with smut, I am so sorry I’m so out of touch. 😭😭😭

“Are you listening to me?”

You were awoken by your father’s loud voice from your daydream…

Who could blame you from slipping out of reality? You just witnessed your first concert in a very long time. And it’s not just any concert, it’s an EXO concert!!! It’s not like an EXO concert is a rarity, it’s just that life is not exactly treating you very kindly.

Even though you do have a family owned restaurant, which is a really big hit for the customers, what your parents pay you for helping is just enough not to starve yourself on the daily. Sometimes you even refuse the money so they can put extra on the monthly payment for your family’s debt. If it weren’t for your stupid older sister and her equally good for nothing husband, your family won’t be constantly harassed by the loan sharks.

You did all the odd part-time works you can find so that you can finance this concert. You don’t have a regular job because all you ever finished academically was in Highschool. The loan shark incident happened when you were preparing for your college entrance. You have to step away from your dreams and volunteered to help the family while your sister ran away with her husband from their own wrong-doings.

“What were you saying, dad?”

You asked, shaking your head slightly as your mind goes back to reality. The noise and business of the coffee shop you’re currently in, is slowly birring all around you.

“I said, you better lock up the house good at night when you get back, turn all the lights on and stay alert at all times while your mother and I are gone for a few days.”

“I will.”

You say as he hands the house keys you left at home before going to the concert. You said goodbye and decided to walk your way to the hotel your friends are staying at. The hotel wasn’t very far from the concert hall, but it is far enough for some people and has to take the bus to.

You don’t have a lot of money left after paying for the expensive concert ticket, walking is the only option. You’re just thankful that your friends are letting you stay with them for free, they’re good friends like that. You still need the last of money left to survive a full weekday without your parents.

As you were nearing the way to the hotel, two caravans of big vehicles suddenly honk as you struggle to walk. You were definitely not walking on the sidewalks, but you’re not far into the middle of the way for the vehicles to honk on you like that.

‘Freakin’ assholes, just go around me, it’s not like the road is small.”

You curse under your breath, kicking the pavement underneath you.

You slowed and made your way to the sidewalks as the vehicles then sped off as you got out of the way. With a frown now permanently painted on your face, you slump down on the pavement to remove the five-inch chunky platform shoes your friend let you borrow.

Actually no, she did not only let you borrow the thing, she made you wear the damn thing. She said so you can see better since you both are in the mosh pit area. But the shoes were useless because even though you have the upper hand than most of the people in your area, the stage was still huge as hell and with your bad eyesight (even though you’re wearing your graded glasses) you still didn’t see shit and only nothing but a blur of dancing beautiful men when EXO were in the main stage.

Not only were the shoes useless, it only gave you nothing but pain for your legs and feet. However, you did enjoy the show. But you still hated the stupid shoes. You now regret leaving your sneakers in the hotel room because now you have to walk with nothing but your socks on and you still have about half a mile to walk.

You have to wash your socks when you get to the room, you did not bring a spare, gaddamit!

As you get closer and closer to the entrance of the hotel, you can see a throng of girls going crazy around five or more vehicles similar to the ones that honked at you while you were walking. Holy shit, was that EXO? Did any of them saw you pathetically walking your way to the hotel? They probably thought you were a sasaeng that’s why they almost ran you over. They probably thought about running you over just because you were staying in the same hotel. Gosh!

You went for the other entrance as you cringe at the thought of any EXO member seeing you like that. Gosh, you hope the two vans didn’t have any EXO members in it.

“Excuse me, ma’am, are you here to see EXO?”

A female entrance security blocked you, you were dumbfounded because a) you were already so tired. b) you don’t exactly know how to answer her. In your case, you’re there to sleep. But if you were lucky enough to have a little peek of EXO why not, right?

“Excuse me, ma’am???”

She spoke again, louder this time. She’s squinting her eyes at you, scanning your whole appearance. You probably look like shit from the concert and from walking your way there.

“I, uhm…”

“Yes, ma’am? I’m sorry I believe we cannot allow you entrance.”

Your eyes grow the size of your glasses.

“What? Why not?”

“If you’re here just for EXO, we cannot let you in. There’s already a ton of people and we need to secure our guests. I’m so sorry.”

You look behind her and sure enough, there are about 20 to 30 girls scattered around on the only elevators of the hotel.

“I…”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you have to leave…”

Her voice is pretty condescending as she starts pushing you out.

“No… Stop touching me. I am checked in here and I want to go to my room.”

You raised your voice finally, done with the day, too sleepy to be pushed around. You grabbed the hotel keycard your friends gave you from your backpack and you shoved the thing on the security lady’s chest. Her face fell when she saw your keycard.

“I… I am terribly sorry ma’am.”

She steps aside so you can finally enter the hotel and a bellhop offered to bring your backpack for you, but you refused. Turning back with a hint of annoyance in your eyes, you spoke to the security person for the last time.

“Next time ask for proof of check-in before you shove people out of your hotel.”

Without waiting for a response, you turn your back from her and went your way towards the elevators.

Putting the shoes inside your backpack and securing it on your front side, you squeezed your way through the crowd when suddenly the people started going crazy with screams.

“Hey watch it!!!”

A girl pushed you aside, and another one gave you a stink eye when you bumped into her and you were swayed as all of them started screaming EXO members name. DSLR cameras and phones started flashing and your head starts to spin crazy.

You’ve never felt this claustrophobic in your life, but right now is a first for everything. The last thing you remembered was you were somehow being pushed at the front of the commotion and someone grabbed your arm before you slip out of consciousness.

You feel the softness of whatever you’re laying on with your palms as you started to stir awake. The last thing you remember was you’re at war against all the fan girls as you make your way to the hotel’s elevators. Slowly your eyes open and see that you’re in a hotel room similar to the one you shared with your friends, but where are they?

Is this the room you’re supposed to be in? Well, the floor is cluttered with clothes and shoes but you don’t recognize any of it.

Wait, that pair of shoes is too big to belong to any of your friends… And those shirts are too loose too. And is… IS THAT A FUCKING BOXER BRIEFS?!?!?!?!

You don’t remember sharing a room with a man, what the fuck is happening?

You start to panic as you stood from the comforts of the bed, where are you and who took you here? And where is your fucking bag?

You scan the whole room and found your backpack in one corner on top of the table. You dash to it, hastily grab your shit and made a beeline for the door–

“You’re awake! Where are you–”

You suddenly slammed into someone who just got out of the shower and fell on your butt. The man helped you up as you squirmed and eased your hurting ass with your hands.

“Hey, are you okay?”

This man’s weirdly familiar voice made you open your eyes and you look up to…

PARK

FUCKING

CHANYEOL’S

FACE!!!

Saying you’re lucky is selling it short. No, you’re not just lucky. You’re more than that. You bet you saved the whole world from the bubonic plague in your last life to get this fortunate. Maybe the heavens above is finally paying your much-needed prize for being a heroine in your past life, heck you probably even deserve this valuable payment in this current lifetime.

You’re nothing but the most moral and virtuous citizen of the society. You follow traffic rules, hell you never even jay-walked in your life. Never! You were good in school, you help your parents in the family-owned restaurant and you pay your taxes right.

Of course, you deserve this weird serendipity.

Chanyeol gently leads and made you sit back on the bed where you previously occupied. You were too stunned to even speak. He was checking you from head to toe and you were too bashful over his watchful eyes.

“You need to stay in bed, you scraped your knees when you fell.”

Chanyeol is now kneeled in front of you, holding on one of your small knees gingerly with his much bigger hands. His other hand then grabs a pack of wound ointment and applied more on your scratched knees that you didn’t notice was there until now.

“Does it hurt?”

When you didn’t reply, Chanyeol said your name as he shakes you awake from your long stare at his hand that was still holding on to your knees.

“I… Yo–You know my name?”

Chanyeol huffs out a single laugh, slides his hand on your thigh and pushes himself up so he can sit beside you.

“Of course I do, I even know your parents’ names.”

“H–How?”

“I’m a somewhat regular on your restaurant. I go whenever I can and your mother always welcomes me even when I come when she’s closing down.”

Ah, so he was the reason why your parents close the restaurant late at night at times...

“I guess you never notice me when I’m there.”

His smile was wide and toothy. You can see his pearly whites gleaming from the light of the lamp on the bedside table. And you can smell the freshness of peppermint from his breath indicating that he just brushed his teeth. Mentioning that, the man just got out of the shower and his hair was damp and he smells so nice, his skin looks soft and smooth and he’s only wearing a white fluffy robe that has a logo of the hotel on the left side of the front.

You feel your cheeks heat up with the image of his nakedness underneath the robe and his hand that was still on your thigh. God, what is happening?

Glancing down, you saw that you’re still wearing your very dirty socks and you consciously hid it from view. Chanyeol followed your movement and laughed silently when he saw you wiggle the tip of your socked toes.

“You need to remove and throw that away. It’s very dirty.”

“What? No, this is the only pair I have in me right now.”

You protested and attempted standing up to leave, but Chanyeol pulls to his lap and forces one of the socks off of your foot. He attempted to grab for the other one, but you moved your feet making you wiggle your butt on his lap. Chanyeol tightens his grip on your waist and successfully removed the other sock when you stopped moving. The ghost of his fingers that touched the underside of your boobs was what hindered your movement.

“You need to stop moving, or we’re gonna have a problem.”

Chanyeol’s whisper on your ear sends a chill down your spine and his breath that lingered around made you close your eyes for a brief second.

And when you open your eyes again, you see him staring at you with such intensity that can be felt from miles away. Only this one is right in front of you, just inches apart. The somersaults in your stomach are indescribable, you would think you’re hungry with how much your tummy is churning.

“I always thought you didn’t know who I was, but then again I always cover my face when I’m out. Imagine my surprise when I saw you among the crowd.”

The timbre of his low voice is making your skin tingle, why was he talking this low? How dare he make you feel things like this?

“I… Well, my… I never r-really pay attention to customers. That was my mom’s job…”

And why the hell are you stammering? And why is he laughing? Is he laughing because you’re obviously so affected by him? Gosh, why does this blessing feel like a curse of some sort?

“You’re so cute.”

Chanyeol didn’t even give you enough time to respond, he immediately cups your cheeks and smashes his lips onto yours. The surprise squeak you let out was instantly gobbled out by his kisses. His kisses are needy but not rushed and he takes his time before he swipes his tongue on your lips, asking for permission to enter.

How could you not let him in when he was asking so nicely?

Slowly, you open your mouth. And slowly his tongue makes its way to meet yours. The feel of his tongue inside your mouth is beyond you, no one has kissed you this good yet. The last kiss you had was with your high school boyfriend who was hasty and inexperienced.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, is good. He’s very good and very skillful with his mouth, he knows what he’s doing. And before you know it, you’re adjusting yourself on top of him so you can straddle his lap in between your thighs.

“We need to throw your dirty socks…”

Chanyeol said as his lips trail from yours, down to your neck. You can feel him sucking on you, his teeth grazing your skin lightly.

“I didn’t pack an extra one.”

“You can have one of mine.”

Chanyeol’s lips are back on yours when he starts unbuttoning your black floral blouse. The moment he completely pries your shirt open, his eyes ogle your body in a way that made your skin tingle.

“Beautiful,”

He pushes your bra up your chest, making your breasts bounce with the release. Without wasting any more time, his mouth guzzles your nipple before you can even remove the offensive shirt off of you. His right hand then hikes up your skirt, found your underwear and rubs your clit over the thin garment. And he smiled when he felt you already so wet for him.

With the way he’s stroking you down there is making you dizzy. Dizzy in a very good way. You’ve never felt this good before, not even when you’re touching yourself. You then pull the tie of his robe and flatten your hands on his chest, trailing your palms on his rock hard arms.

Seeing Chanyeol flex his big arms on stage was cute, he was proud of something he worked hard for. But actually touching him is inexplicable. Chanyeol is sucking the words out of your mouth, never to return again. The touch of his strong muscles and freshly showered soft skin feels like a dream.

If this is a dream, you hope you won’t wake up anymore.

You’ve only ever admired him from your television or your phone, and actually being with him like this right now, kissing him and about to have sex with him is something that doesn’t happen all the time and to just anyone.

So you’re gonna enjoy this, you’re gonna enjoy him and take pleasure in being loved by Park Chanyeol even just for tonight.

“Wait, Chanyeol-ssi…”

You stopped caressing his skin, but he doesn’t cease his worship on yours. He just gave you silent hum as a response.

“Why am I here? How did I get in your room?”

“I told my staff you’re my friend and that I invited you here.”

The casualness of the way he said it surprised you. Maybe he does this a lot, you know, meet random fans. Get them to his hotel room to fuck. You shake your head, so you wouldn't have to think deep into this. It’s not like Chanyeol will start a relationship with you after this.

Your life is a mess and you don’t want to drag him into it. Imagine if the public finds out about you, a miserable daughter of a small restaurant owner with a family debt on her name with a very talented and well-loved idol like Chanyeol? Both your lives will be over, and people will not only judge you but also Chanyeol for choosing a dirt-poor girl like you…

“Are you okay?”

Chanyeol asks concern lacing his lust-blown pupils as he finally paused to look at your face.

“I’m sorry, I’m fine. Just my mind flew out… D–don’t stop, please.”

Chanyeol bought your lie, you probably look as flustered as you felt, half-naked in front of him.

Raising yourself up for a bit so you can both remove your underwear, Chanyeol immediately tears his robe off and sat right back on the bed. He helped you remove the rest of your clothes off and made you straddle his lap again, the slickness of your wet core gracing him in all the right places.

Chanyeol opened his mouth slightly, his tongue peeks out to wet his lips as he stroke the tip of his hard cock on your already sensitive clit. You follow his movement with your hips, your hands holding on to his broad shoulders for dear life. You rock yourself gently as you help lubricate him for you.

The sigh you both let out simultaneously when he enters you sounded harmonic, melodic almost and he gave you a tender smile before caging your body into his embrace. All you could do was bury your face on the crook of his neck, scraping his scalp gently with your fingernails as he lifts your body up and down to aid you in riding him.

“Chanyeol…”

You whine, tugging on his hair as you nip at the soft lobule of his ear, gaining a low growl from Chanyeol. You’re not sure if you’re hurting him in any way, but you didn’t stop. He’s making you feel so, so good and you’re almost at your peak when he suddenly starts massaging your clit with his thumb.

“Do it, baby. Come for me, don’t be shy.”

The vibration of his chest shifted on to you when he spoke those words with a low groan. You clench yourself down on him, making his flow to become sloppy and his breathing to stutter, indicating that he’s also not as far into his pinnacle as you are.

“Fuck!”

Chanyeol cursed when he felt your release. You slack onto him and he spins you around, pinning your body down on the bed so he can continue fucking you as hard as he needs to, to finally have his own relief. And it didn’t take him long since you squeezed one of his butt cheeks suddenly and your mouth found his nipple to suck on.

—  —  —  —  —

You opened your eyes to find Chanyeol snuggled so close to you. His face is buried so deep into the back of your neck that his hot breath is making you feel so cozy, contradicting the coldness of the hotel room. His limbs are tight around your body that it’s impossible for any movements for you, what so ever.

You look up to see that you still have a few hours before the sun starts to rise and you have to go now or you won’t get to later.

You then stealthily slip off Chanyeol’s hold, you still for a couple of seconds and bit your lip when he started to stir. But he fell right back to sleep and you tiptoed your way around the room to collect your discarded clothes.

You found a pair of neatly folded socks laying on an opened luggage. It’s not stealing, Chanyeol said you can have one of his socks, you needed it!!!

Discarding your ratty socks on the trash bin near the bed, you gently pull the duvet to cover Chanyeol snugly and gingerly giving his forehead a chaste kiss. You sigh softly and stand up to leave, you have some explaining to do with your friends on your whereabouts the whole night.

“Expect a call from me one of these days. I can’t wait to eat doenjang jjigae at your family restaurant again.”

You froze in front of the door when you heard Chanyeol spoke as he tosses to the other side of the bed to continue his sleep.

spazz feedbacks are deeply appreciated! 💖😍

Aikie Masterlist | Michiko Masterlist | FIC RECS | FIC REC SIDEBLOG

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

✩

So this one is about Tempest Skywalker (OC) and Commander Cody. I love Tempest. She really lives up to her name. (The sex stuff is moved to under the cut.)

Send me a  ✩ and a pairing and I’ll do this!

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Tempest. She’s emotional and not afraid to show it.Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Tempest again. She’s not really the type to just leave in the middle of a fight.Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Cody. Just to give them both space to calm down.Who trashes the house? Neither. Do either of them get physical? Only to the point of gentle touches. Tempest will often reach out and Cody isn’t going to deny her even in the middle of an argument.How often do they argue/disagree? Not often but it’s usually about Tempest being reckless.Who is the first to apologise? Usually, Tempest since it’s typically her reckless stunts that start them.

Sex:

Who is on top? Since Tempest has huge ass wings, it’s usually her but she does like it when they manage to manoeuvre themselves so she’s comfortable underneath. Who is on the bottom? Cody.Who has the strangest desires? Neither of them have anything I would term strange.Any kinks? Outside sex (in a private place) is one of Tempest’s favourites because she can spread her wings and feel the wind. Cody likes it because of the wind and the bliss on Tempest’s face. Cody does like to do it up against a wall because he can crowd her that way without her wings hurting. ‘Sir’ and Commander make it’s appearance in bed more than a few times.Who’s dominant in bed? Cody. Is head ever in the equation? Yes, head is always in the equation.If so, who is better at performing it? It’s about equal. Tempest likes driving Cody to distraction and Cody likes making Tempest a blissful mess.Ever had sex in public? No. Who moans the most? Tempest. Like I said, very vocal about her feelings.Who leaves the most marks? Cody.Who screams the loudest? Tempest.Who is the more experienced of the two? Cody. Tempest is the Demi-est Demi to have ever Demi’d and never really saw the point in sex before Cody.Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Usually, make love but that depends on mood and how stupid Tempest’s latest stunt was.Rough or soft? Rough. Softness only happens on occasion.How long do they usually last? They can go a few rounds. (Force bless, clone stamina and Jedi stamina.)Is protection used? Yes. Both of them have taken shots to prevent pregnancy and diseases. (Space!Condoms are used more often than not.)Does it ever get boring? Tempest? Boring? No. With these two, it’s never boring. (Either because they are driving each other crazy or because they’re too into each other to make it boring.)Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? Tempest found a cavern behind a waterfall on a planet once while swimming during downtime. She says she’s not quite sure how it ended up like that but Cody wants to know who the hell could resist a half-naked wet Tempest with mischief in her eyes.

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Yes, they sort of planned on kids. More in the ‘if it happens, it happens’ kind of way. The number of children was a surprise though.If so, how many children do your muses want/have? They have five. Triplets and a pair of twins. They were not expecting the triplets. (Tempest forgot to mention multiples run the family until they went home with one extra baby than they thought they were having.)Who is the favourite parent? It’s equal.Who is the authoritative parent? Cody a bit more than Tempest but both put their foot down with certain things. Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Neither unless there is a good reason and both of them agreed.Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Surprisingly, Cody. Tempest tries to regulate the junk food thing because it’s not good for their wings but, turns a blind eye when Cody (and Anakin and Lucas) slip them sweets. She knows all about the junk food though and Cody knows when to cut them off. (He just likes giving them things he didn’t have growing up.)Who turns up to extracurricular activities to support their children? Both. Cody will make sure anything he needs to be present for is scheduled around the kids. Tempest will flat out just leave for the kids. Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Again, both. This is very much Team Mom and Buir. Who changes the diapers? Both. They trade-off. (Along with the rest of the clan/flock. It takes a village to raise a baby after all.)Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Whoever gets their first. They live with quite a few other people who are more than happy to help (but Cody likes getting up to spend time with them. He never thought he’d have this.)Who spends the most time with the children? Both of them try to spend as much time as possible with them.Who packs their lunch boxes? Both again.Who gives their children ‘the talk’? Both give the kids the ‘Consent and Feelings’ talk but for mechanics, Uncle Lu and Uncle Kix give it. (And to the rest of their cousins.)Who cleans up after the kids? Both again. (They have a big family and lots of adults are around so it’s not like it’s messy for long.)Who worries the most? Cody.Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Tempest. She tries but the occasional curse word still escapes her.

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Tempest. Tempest LIVES for cuddles.Who is the little spoon? Cody purely because it’s hard to curl around Tempest with her wings in the way.Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? Probably Tempest but only if they’re in private.Who struggles to keep their hands to themselves? Cody. Tempest can be a little oblivious but she gives affectionate touches freely. How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Depending on the position, these two can go for a while. Who gives the most kisses? Tempest. Touch is basically her love language.What is their favourite non-sexual activity? Preening. Tempest’s wings need preening and it’s a great bonding activity. They also like Sabacc and reading while curled up together.Where is their favourite place to cuddle? In the family nest.Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? Tempest. Even if it’s just by accident. How often do they get time to themselves? Not a lot with the number of people around, both in their home and at the barracks turned homebase for clones but both of them make time.

Sleeping:

Who snores? Cody because that thought amuses me. Tempest does make little murmurs and sighs though.If both do, who snores the loudest? Cody.Do they share a bed or sleep separately? They share a nest with a few others like Anakin and his partners and Lucas. This is very much a community sleeping area.If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? They cosy up. Tempest often sleeps on top of Cody. It’s comforting for both of them.Who talks in their sleep? Cody occasionally.What do they wear to bed? Usally a light shirt and pants. Are either of your muses insomniacs? Nope.Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? Nope.Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? The limbs typically go around each other.Who wakes up with bed hair? Tempest. It’s hilarious.Who wakes up first? CodyWho prepares breakfast in bed for the other? They switch off but it’s only on occation because a/ nest has lots of blankets and b/ other will want breakfast too.What is their favourite sleeping position? Cody likes to be flat on his back and Tempest curls into his side with an arm over his waist.Who hogs the sheets? Probably one of the kids or Anakin.Do they set an alarm each night? No need. Not with like twenty other people in the huge nest they’ve got going.Can a television be found in their bedroom? Yes, but it gets turned off before the kids go to bed.Who has nightmares? Both but Cody has them more often.Who has ridiculous dreams? Tempest but she has like five other minds attached to her’s so the weird dreams are more of a mutal thingWho sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? One of the kids.Who makes the bed? Tempest and Anakin often rearrange the blankets and sheets every week to keep them clean and comfortable.What time is bedtime? Some time before midnight. Tempest will drag Cody away from the paperwork if she has too.Any routines/rituals before bed? Cody will help give her wings a quick once over and braid her hair. (It never works.)Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Cody. It’s why he’s usually greeted with caff every morning.

Work:

Who is the busiest? Probably Cody who is dealing with the post-war resettlement of the clones.Who rakes in the highest income? Both of them work for the jedi but probably Cody.Are any of your muses unemployed? Both work for the Jedi.Who takes the most sick days? Proably Tempest since she pulls dumb stunts that requires a stint in the Healing Halls.Who is more likely to turn up late to work? Neither.Who sucks up to their boss? Cody, but only because he has too when dealing with politicians.What are their jobs? Cody: something to do with getting clones their right and helping them be an actual people in the eyes of the Senate. Tempest: Basically Jedi knight on mayhem control. Who stresses the most? Cody.Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? Both of them like their jobs.Are your muses financially stable? I’d say so yes.

Home:

Who does the washing? DroidsWho takes out the trash? Droids.Who does the ironing? Droids.Who does the cooking? depends who’s in but Tempest can cook.Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? Cody. He just hasn’t had the time to learn yet.Who is messier?  Tempest but she’s pretty good at cleaning up after herself.Who leaves the toilet roll empty? Neither.Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? Both but only before fun times.Who forgets to flush the toilet? Neither.Who is the prankster around the house? Tempest or one of the kids.Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? Neither.Who mows the lawn? They don’t have a lawn or a droid does it.Who answers the telephone? Depends whose’ comm link it is.Who does the vacuuming? DroidWho does the groceries? Droid.Who takes the longest to shower? Cody. Mostly because he likes indulging in having water showers and also because Tempest will sometimes join him.Who spends the most time in the bathroom? Tempest. She has wings and more hair to deal with.

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? NopeHow many cars do they own? None.Do they own their home or do they rent? They live in the Naboo Senatorial Appartments or in a home on Naboo.Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? On Naboo, near a lake.Do they live in the city or in the country? On Coruscant before they moveDo they enjoy their surroundings? For the most part, yes.What’s their song? Probably something with a steady beat.What do they do when they’re away from each other? Do their jobs. And call every so often.Where did they first meet? After a huge battle.How did they first meet? Tempest was introduced to Cody, Rex, Anakin and Obi-wan by Lucas.It was a pretty short meeting.Who spends the most money when out shopping? Both are about equal.Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Neither.Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? Both.Any mental issues? Cody has PTSD and nightmares from fighting in the war and Tempest is liable for a mental breakdown if she doesn’t have her mental Force Bonds with her family.Who’s terrified of bugs? NeitherWho kills the spiders around the house? Who ever gets there first.Their favourite place? Probably lakeside with the waterfalls.Who pays the bills? Neither.Do they have any fears for their future? Not particularlyWho’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? Cody. Who uses up all of the hot water? It would be Cody.Who’s the tallest? Tempest but only because of her wings.Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Tempest.Who wanders around in their underwear? Neither (but in privacy Tempest would.) Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? TempestWhat do they tease each other about? Tempest will take nearly anything. Cody prefers to tease her when she’s flusteredWho is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? Neither.Do they have mutual friends? They met through mutal friends and basically merged families.Who crushed first? Cody. Tempest was in denial for a while.Any alcohol or substance-related problems? NopeWho is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Probably Tempest but only rarely.Who swears the most? Tempest.

[weakeninghope]

Kiss me (whispering words of love)

Pairing: Ash Lynx/Eiji Okumura

Rating: Teen

AO3 link here

Summary: Eiji discovers that there are other ways that can make him fly besides pole-vaulting.

Notes: aye aye! I'm here again and I seriously think you'll get tired of seeing me here but whatever-I'm here with what I think will be a three-shot! I had this idea in my head for a few days and ended up writing the first chapter in an afternoon because I just couldn't resist it. I've had so much fun writing the Sing vs the stool... and kudos for who guesses who the sound technician is ;)also sorry if i depicted depression the wrong way? I don't think so 'cause I suffer from depression and I pretty much wrote what I feel, but if you feel like i fucked up, please do tell me!Btw! I'll list the songs referenced, they are all songs I love hehe so I self inserted myself a little bit hereNever gonna give you up by Rick Astley (yes, I like it unironically) You're gonna go far kid by the Offspring The Riddle, the cover by Cecile Corbel Luka by Suzanne Vega and My long forgotten cloistered sleep by Yuuki Kajiura! I think this one is an Asheiji song and I really love it! this song is from where I got the idea for the titleSee you in the next chapter <3 please tell me what you think! Kudos and comments are much appreciated

fic under the cut!

“Ei-chan, are you sure you can do this?” Ibe-san asked from his bed. He was feeling rather sick even though he said and insisted otherwise, but that wouldn't fool Eiji Okumura that easily. He had known Ibe-san for quite a lot of time and it was him who brought Eiji to the United States in the first place, so of course they knew each other.

“Ibe-san, I told you like ten times already. Yes, I can. I'm your assistant, but I'm not a 7 year old boy handling his new toy camera.” Eiji snapped in a friendly demeanor. “It's not a hard job anyway, right? I've just got to take pictures of the singers” Eiji finished.

That was it, nothing more, nothing less. A cafe called Banana Fish, which was just around the corner where Ibe and Eiji lived in their small, rented apartment, had just announced they would be holding open mic nights, and the first one was going to be that very Saturday night. In fact, Eiji had to take his leave soon if he didn't want to run late for the job, even though it wasn't his job to begin with.

Eiji carefully took the cameras (he chose three of them, the first one he received, a present from Ibe, another one that was quite good, and then Ibe's, the best camera they had) as Ibe-san eyed him from the bed, cold towel in his forehead, a habit they performed in Japan; jeez, the man was still being stubborn even after Eiji convinced him to stay in bed?

He had always been like that. When Eiji had started pole-vaulting he didn't see himself as the subject for professional photographers, he never thought he was enough or that he could fly as high as other people did, but Ibe-san believed in him and was stubborn until the end. After a few months, Shunichi Ibe became a famous athlete photographer and Eiji Okumura became an excellent pole-vaulter.

Until the injury came and Eiji fell into a deep depression. He did not want to get out of bed anymore, he did not have a reason to stay awake anymore now that he couldn't devote himself to the only thing he enjoyed, the only ray of light in the darkness and dullness of his life. Sure, since he started going to the therapist everything was getting better, but he knew that staying in the same place would not help him at all, since his room full of prizes reminded him that everything was over.

That was when Ibe-san and his world-famous stubbornness returned to Eiji's life, and they went to America together, Eiji working as Ibe's assistant. He had been in a lot of places helping Ibe; in music studios, in the radio, in concerts... Ibe was constantly being asked for his services since people knew he was a great photographer that exceeded himself not only in the field of athletic photography, but in photography in general.

And then Nadia Wong, the manager and owner of the Banana Fish cafe contacted him since her brother Shorter had had the idea of hosting open mic nights, and unlike the majority of Shorter's ideas, the open mic night seemed something appealing to the customers.

Eiji carefully packed everything into his bag and waved goodbye to Ibe one last time, telling him not to leave the bed and to call him if something happened, too.

Eiji was incredibly responsible for being only 19. He had to be since he had an 8 year old sister and had to take care of her most of the time, since their parents worked a lot of hours and were to tired to babysit when they came home.

After literally five minutes of walking down the beautifully lit street, Eiji reached the cafe. From the outside it didn't look like anything special: there was a lit sign at the top of the door, the yellow lights blinding Eiji a little bit. There was a small banana next to the B and a small drawing of a fish in blue lights at the end of the sign, next to the S. The door was that; a door, nothing more, nothing less. It was a wooden door with a crystal pane on the middle, so you could see the inside. A small “we're open” sign hanged from the doorknob. The Japanese inhaled a sharp breath and entered the place, unsure of what he was going to find.

He found what he had expected; just a few people. The establishment was far from being empty, but it was far from being full, too. Not that Eiji was displeased by that, he didn't really like huge crowds. As the small bell hanging from the doorknob rang when Eiji entered, a bald guy with sunglasses approached him (who the hell wears sunglasses when it's not sunny and they're not even outside) (also why was he bald).

(and why was Eiji thinking about that).

“Yo! You're the photographer, right? I'm Shorter!” The boy -Shorter- introduced himself and energetically held out his hand, which Eiji hesitantly held for a moment.

“I'm his assistant, Ibe-san is sick so I came here instead. Are you the boss?” Eiji innocently asked.

A huge, loud laughter was Shorter's response, followed by two -also loud- friendly pats on the Japanese's back.

“Oh, no, I'm a bartender. My sister's the boss.” He said.

Oh, right. Nadia Wong. He had forgotten about it. He was too nervous to remember all the details since Eiji had a little weakness for singers and he was going to witness an open mic night and there was a high chance of cute boys being part of the participants.

He gulped. Focus, Eiji. Focus.

“Nadia's busy with paperwork right now so she asked me to welcome you here, so welcome, I guess?” Shorter said. He looked like a kind, easy-going guy, Eiji was feeling good talking to him.

Before coming to America he had shut himself in and forgotten everything about social interaction; he stopped seeing his friends, stopped talking to everyone but his family and (reluctantly at first) Ibe. However, after having spent a few months in New York with Ibe and his friend Max, he was starting to feel comfortable with people little by little.

“Thank you. I guess I can have a seat now? When are you starting?” Eiji kindly asked. The establishment wasn't very modern, nor posh nor classy; it was simple, but it had its charm, or at least, Eiji saw that charm, because he felt pretty welcomed.

Eiji then took a sit and took out his cameras of the bag, carefully studying them wondering which one he would use.

“May I order something?” Eiji asked.

“Of course! It's on the house.” Shorter answered, snapping his fingers in a “cool” gimmick.

“Okay, I'd like a green tea, then.” Eiji told Shorter with a smile.

“Gotcha!” Shorter answered as he took his leave and went to the counter to rapidly prepare Eiji's tea.

A few minutes after their conversation, Shorter came back with a small cup of a hot, steaming green tea. Its smell was delicious.

“The first participant will be on the stage in 15 minutes” Shorter stated. “Hey!! you have three cameras? How cool! Can I touch them?” Shorter asked energetically, as a child who has just gotten a piece of candy and wanted more.

“If you keep insisting... okay, take this one. But please be careful, it carries a high sentimental value for me.” Eiji fondly said, this camera was a present by Ibe. He came one day to his house with this camera and told him that they would be going to the USA if he didn't mind, because he cared for Eiji and he knew that he needed to do something, or otherwise, he would end up more depressed as days kept going by.

Eiji reluctantly handed his first camera to Shorter, who started touching it all over and shaking it and, due to the camera being a little bit delicate, the locker where the batteries where stored loosened and three out of the four fell straight to Eiji's tea.

Really? Why did this have to happen to Eiji?

“Fuck! I'm so sorry! I'm bringing another tea to you right away. And here, take the safe battery, you can still use the camera, right? Well, not that you need it if you have two spare ones.” Shorter mockingly laughed.

They aren't spares Eiji thought. But at least he still had one battery so he could use it to take a few non-detailed shots.

A few minutes after that Shorter returned with Eiji's second tea. The Japanese observed the stage; it wasn't huge and it was kind of modest. Wooden floor, a stool that could be lowered down or put up depending on the participant's height, a mike with the same characteristics, a PA system for the mike to be plugged on, and, lastly, an amplifier.

As time kept going by, the establishment began to fill up, even though not to the brim, so Eiji was still okay. Shorter came with Eiji's tea at the right moment, when the first participant got up the stage.

He was a huge, black muscled guy, wearing sunglasses -like Shorter, seriously-. He was wearing a sleeveless denim shirt, half opened, so you could see his muscular chest. He was quite handsome, Eiji had to admit.

The audience thought so, too, as there were a few whistles when he got up the stage, grabbed the mike and introduced himself as “Cain Blood”.

After that, he turned his head to the left, signaling the sound technician to play the song.

Eiji wasn't ready for what he was about to witness. Cain didn't sit in the stool, neither did he sing a lovely song, or a sad ballad, or some piece of heavy metal.

He chose an eighties pop song.

Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley.

Eiji's head lowered until he hit the table with his forehead and he almost spilled his precious green tea.

Why did Ibe-san had to get sick.

Again, focus. Eiji had to take some pictures, he didn't have to record the whole show or to take twenty pictures per participant, right? It would be okay with a few.

But damn if Cain's hip movements and his deep voice weren't distracting as hell. That song had turned into a meme over the years and Cain was making it sound attractive. Eiji didn't know if he wanted to cry, to laugh, to smash the camera or to get up on the stage to dance with Cain. He had to admit that the guy was performing flawlessly, and the loud cheers coming from the audience were another irrefutable proof of Cain's talent.

Before Cain ended singing and dancing, Eiji managed to take some pictures of him; some were blurry and you couldn't distinguish anything because he took them with the second camera but his hand was trembling, but the last ones were taken with such care -and with Ibe-san's camera- that you could even see Cain's sweat in HD.

Good lord.

Before Eiji could realize it, the three or so minutes that the song lasted had passed and Cain thanked the audience. Eiji couldn't help but wonder what would be coming next. He didn't expect Japanese music to sound there (even though he would lie if he said he didn't want to) but he really wasn't expecting the first song to be Never Gonna Give You Up.

What was coming next?

What came next was definitely a funny turn of events.

A short boy came onstage and shouted to the sound technician to hold the stool up higher for him because the mic was too tall firm him to reach it. The boy screamed that loud that all the cafe could hear him and laughed at his little problem, which in turn caused the boy to get angrier.

Unbelievable.

A hard laughter escaped from Eiji's mouth. And he was complaining about this? Damn, this was being a really interesting night, he would have to tell a lot of stuff to Ibe the next day!

His laugh was that hard that even the boy onstage heard him. Oops.

“Hey you! What is it that it's so funny?” He asked, angrily kicking the stool so he almost fell off it. The sound technician had to help him. Poor man, the stool almost hits him in the mouth, what could have happened to his teeth?

Eiji shook his head ant told the boy that nothing was wrong. The boy let out a “hmpff” and hoped off the stool, then grabbed the wired mike and introduced himself.

“I'm not going to need this shit” He said, angrily staring at the stool as if it was his lifelong enemy. “I'm Sing Soo-Ling, by the way.” Sing ended. What a way to introduce yourself, though.

When the music started playing and Sing started moving and energetically shaking his fist to the rhythm of You're gonna go far kid by The Offspring, Eiji grabbed his second camera and started -trying- to take some shots.

Trying being the keyword.

As it had happened before with Cain, Eiji was too distracted. But now he was distracted in another sense of the word.

He was about to burst out laughing and how was he supposed to take pictures like that.

Sing looked like the classic angsty teenager in his rebellion phase screaming, shouting, getting the pitch wrong, jumping like the world was about to end... that was too much. Maybe his battle with the stool had riled him up way to much.

The end of the song was near, so Eiji stilled himself, took a few deep breaths and got a few nice shots. He wasn't just an assistant, he was Shunichi Ibe's assistant, and that meant he wasn't as bad as he thought he was. He was working on his self-esteem, too. Ibe had recommended him to go see a renowned therapist, Blanca. And truth be told, Blanca was really helping Eiji to be more objective about his faults and his virtues; he was more helpful that the 4 types of antidepressants he had tried to take when he was back in Japan.

He could get better. He was getting better.

A sweaty Sing muttered and angry thank you and got off the stage. Eiji wondered if there were many participants left; it was almost 11PM and he wanted to check on Ibe, so he called Shorter to ask him how many people were left.

He protected his cameras with his arms that time. Shorter told him that only three participants were left, two boys and a girl. Eiji thanked him and nodded to himself. Three participants weren't a lot, so he could handle that easily.

The next participant was a boy, but he knew so because Shorter had told him that the girl was standing next to the stage, she was blonde and was wearing a pair of red earrings. Hadn't been for Shorter's information and he would have mistaken the beautiful looking, delicate boy for a girl. He was wearing a long Chinese dress, he was slender and his long, black soft-looking hair was carefully braided. While setting his way to the stage, the participant walked next to Eiji's table and shot him an ugly glare.

Why?

That night had to be one of the strangest ones he's had in ages, Ibe-san wouldn't believe him when he told him about all that: an attractive muscular man singing Never gonna give you up and making it sound sexy, a shorty rivaling a stool, and a delicate looking unknown boy shooting him a glare. What was next?

The boy got up onstage and sat on the stool, which was now settled at his height, as well as the mic. Eiji was busy fumbling with the cameras when the music started playing.

Oh no.

It was a harp. Traditional music. A cover of The Riddle by Cecile Corbel. Not that he disliked it, but it was late in the night, Eiji was irritated, and Yut-Lung's voice (he had introduced himself like that) was way too soft, like a whisper, barely audible.

And he had the guts to glare at him? Eiji smirked to himself. He took hold of the camera with only one battery and started taking blurry, ugly shots. A stupid grin was plastered on his face, he would lie if he said he was not having fun with his little revenge.

But suddenly he was dragged out of his concentration by the noise of someone dragging a chair next to him and a soft voice whispering he's such a snake, isn't he? to Eiji's ear.

He dropped the camera to the table and it almost broke for real.

“My, my, did I scare Mr. Photographer?” The mysterious boy -wearing sunglasses too- asked.

Why the hell did everyone in the Banana Fish wear sunglasses? Was it a Trademark Sign? Was it a prank? Was Eiji dreaming?

What the hell was going on?

Eiji was questioning himself about the sunglasses thing when the boy took them off and his jade green eyes locked with Eiji's dark ones.

He gulped hard.

It would have been better if he had kept the sunglasses on.

“E-excuse me, I have to leave” Eiji said. He had to leave. He has blushing so hard and he didn't want the boy to see this because...

Because he was really good looking.

“How rude of a photographer to leave when there's still two participants left.” He said, and then got up. “Hope you stay to hear me sing.” He whispered, teasingly. And then he left to the other side of the establishment.

That night was being incredibly surrealistic.

Nevertheless, Eiji had to get back to work. Yut-Lung had ended singing and was glaring him from the stage, probably because he had realized that he only has focusing the camera on him for like a minute and that the only pictures he took were completely half-assed.

Whatever. It was time for the fourth participant to start singing, it was the girl's turn.

She introduced herself as Jessica and sang Luka, by Suzanne Vega, a really nice song Ibe liked-

Wait. Jessica? That was Max's wife! What a coincidence, he didn't know Jessica like singing and liked open mic nights.

This was the first one the Banana Fish café was hosting, though.

She sang Luka, by Suzanne Vega. Eiji knew that song; it was about child abuse and it told a heart-breaking story. Eiji liked songs with strong messages such as this one, which informed against some actions that had to be stopped. Jessica was looking nice under the lights and her voice was soft, so he enjoyed the performance. He even teared up a little bit because the song was so sad he couldn't bear to listen to it without tearing up.

After three minutes, Jessica thanked the audience and left the stage.

Only one participant left, only one participant left... Eiji repeated in his mind like a mantra. One participant-

Shit.

That boy.

Effectively, just as Eiji had thought, the last participant was that boy. The blond, attractive, good-looking, handsome too smooth for this world stranger he met in Yut-Lung's performance. He sat in the stool, which was adapted to his height (he was pretty tall) and introduced himself as Ash Lynx.

A wildcat? More like a kitten, you're too beautiful Eiji thought as he grabbed Ibe's camera. There were some things in this life that you have to capture in high definition, and Ash was one of them.

And if that hadn't been enough, when the music started playing, everything became dream-like. Ash started singing In my long forgotten cloistered sleep by Yuuki Kajiura.

Yuuki Kajiura.

A Japanese composer. One of Eiji's favorite composers.

He loved the original version, but the minute he heard Ash start singing he decided against it. He preferred Ash's.

Ash's voice was... magical. He sounded like an angel. Eiji felt himself travel to a whole other world where he was alone with Ash, because through the camera lens he could tell Ash was looking at him and he couldn't bear that while the boy was singing someone kissed me whispering words of love. He wondered if a normal human being on the Earth's surface could bear this. He was hearing an angel and he was looking at an angel.

Maybe he shouldn't say that, but... he was glad? Ibe-san was sick. Eiji knew he was blushing, but the only thing that mattered at that moment was Ash's voice, his magical words and his perfect melody dragging him to a world beyond his imagination... everything was so soft he couldn't believe it was coming from the teasing boy he had met a few time ago. He could tell Ash was kinder and gentler than what he wanted to look like.

God, was he glad that he had not left. Just for witnessing such a marvelous display of magic it had been worth it bearing with Yut-Lung.

My long forgotten cloistered sleep had always been one of Eiji's favorite songs; he would sing it to his sister when she went to sleep, he would mutter it to himself whenever a mental breakdown was coming... this song had been by his side since he had been a child; his father has always loved Yuuki Kajiura, and Eiji did too, thanks to him.

And now Eiji adores Yuuki Kajiura with his whole soul thanks to Ash.

Unnfortunately for Eiji, though, even if for him it could be eternal, Ash's song ended. Without noticing what he was doing, Eiji started clapping his hands energetically, prompting the whole audience to join him. He knew he was tearing up, but he didn't care; this had started mending his soul, he was feeling better than he had in the past few days and it was thanks to a freaking open mic night and a stranger singing his favorite song.

Ash got up from the stool, thanked the audience and smiled right at Eiji.

That was it. He was going to combust, he was blushing impossibly redder, too. His heart was ready to leave his chest and never come back. RIP Eiji Okumura, cause of death; overdose of cuteness and wholesomeness and-

“Did you like my performance?” Ash asked, suddenly being near Eiji.

“It was magical” He said. “There are so many things I could tell you about it but I have to go, my boss is sick and I don't want to leave him alone.” Eiji rambled, he had to come up with an excuse even if it wasn't really an excuse because Ibe was sick and he wanted to take care of him before going to sleep.

“Well, you can tell me tomorrow.” Ash said, his voice soft -he had an amazing singing and speaking voice. Eiji was so glad he came here that night. So glad.-

“When's the next open mic night?” Eiji asked “I might have to come again because my boss always overworks himself and ends up sick too often.” He finished.

“Next Saturday, it's once a week.” Eiji made a sad face, he was going to have to wait a whole week to see Ash again? The world was cruel “But” Ash interrupted his thoughts “We can meet here tomorrow to discuss the pictures you've taken of me.” Ash finished saying, while smiling gently and looking at Eiji.

“Oh, um, okay.” Eiji stuttered. Was this happening for real?

“Give me your number, I'll text you when I get home.” Ash demanded, and Eiji complied immediately.

After that they waved each other goodbye and Eiji waited to be out of the establishment to jump, he really felt like he was flying again, just like when he had heard Ash sing. And he could meet him again!

If this was a dream, Eiji didn't want to wake up.

Wait, he had to wake up, because he was meeting Ash tomorrow.

God, he loved open mic nights; and if he was going to hear Ash sing again, he was going to love them even more, Eiji was positive of that.

[authortist]

Slippery Luck Chapter 8: Cheated

First 

Previous

FF.net

Adrien packed his skates up slowly. He had asked Nathalie to talk to his father about a birthday party but dreaded hearing the decision. He already knew the answer. He closed his eyes, sighing in preparation for leaving the locker area and having to hear her answer. The smell of something rotten tickled his nose and he opened his eyes wanting to jump ten feet away at the cheese wheel in his face.

"Happy birthday kid!" Plagg shouted, and Adrien did jump back about a foot.

"Ugh, Plagg!" Adrien said, pinching his nose. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Eh, more for me then," Plagg said, dropping the cheese wheel back into a sack. "So, got any special plans for the day? Besides practicing with Ladybug that is."

"Well, I was hoping to have a birthday party, and Nathalie is asking my father, but I already know the what the answer will be." Adrien's shoulders slumped as he lifted his bag.

"You never know kid. Something crazy could happen," his mentor said smirking.

"Yea right, not with my dad. Thanks, though," Adrien said walking toward the exit. "I'll see you tonight."

"Have a good day, Adrien. Happy birthday."

Nathalie was standing outside the entrance to the locker area, ending a phone call as he exited the dimly lit hall. "Hey, Nathalie."

"Hello, Adrien," she greeted. "Are you ready to head home for your piano lesson?" She said it like a question, but he knew it wasn't. Maybe she was trying to give him some sense of choice on his birthday, but it didn't help, so he only nodded.

They walked through the rink in silence, then sat in the limo in more silence. Eventually, she spoke up, handing her tablet to him. "Here's your schedule for today."

"Thanks." He looked over it, lapsing back into silence. The list was the same as yesterday, and the day before that, and most likely tomorrow. He looked out the window as they entered the front gate. He handed the tablet back to her as they came to a stop. When they entered the house he stopped and looked at Nathalie. "Hey, did my father get back to you about my birthday party?"

"Well, um," she said, and he knew the answer. "Your father doesn't think it would be a good idea."

"Course not," he said, walking toward the stairs.

He heard her heels click on the cold marble floor, then stop. "Happy birthday, Adrien. We can go back to the rink as soon as your lesson is over."

He turned to look at her and noticed how tired she seemed. "Thank you," he said, giving her a small smile at her attempt to help.

Marinette darted out of her house and toward the ice rink, a present clutched protectively to her chest. When she arrived she quickly clocked in and moved toward the concession room opening the glass door to be greeted with the bitter-sweet smell of coffee. Like usual, whoever had already been in to make the first batch was long gone.

Marinette breathed in the familiar smell, hoping to calm her nerves with something normal. Moving behind the counter, she stashed her bag and the present away to avoid the possibility of her clumsiness causing a spill and ruining it. Satisfied, she set to work checking the already made coffee pot's contents, then started a batch of decaf. She prepared the cash register and restocked the snacks.

Like clockwork, she finished restocking as Alya made her way into the warm room, this time already holding a red and black spotted travel coffee cup.

"Morning girl," Alya said waving her cup at Marinette and dropping her computer bag onto a table before moving towards the counter.

"Morning," she responded. "Already caffeinated for the day?"

"Yep, thought I should probably cut back on my spending, so I made some at home. Besides, had to use my new Ladybug themed travel mug. What do you think?" she asked, holding it up for inspection.

Marinette's eyes widened at it. "They're already making merchandise? But Ladybug and Chat Noir only showed up two weeks ago. And they're just a couple of ice dancers, not superheroes. I'm surprised they think there's a market."

"Woah, stop right there. They are more than just figure skaters. They're Paris legends. Role models, too," Alya said, eyebrows raised, before lowering the cup onto the counter. "But, you're right. This was just a pattern I found online. Not Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise specifically. Though that would be sweet."

"You think they're legends?" Marinette asked.

"Well, yea," Alya said with a shrug. "Ladybug and Chat Noir were a huge deal when I was little, all of the Miraculous skaters were. But those two… I mean, I seriously doubt they're the same skaters, but they're probably being trained by them, don't you think?"

Marinette balked then shrugged, giving her friend a smile. "I think I'll trust your writer's intuition for that one." She grabbed a rag and turned, busying herself with cleaning off the syrup bottles and rearranging them. "So, I guess they have a lot to live up to. Do you think they can do it?"

"Hmm, I guess you didn't see their debut. Because if you had, you wouldn't even question it," Alya said and Marinette turned back to look at her. "You should have seen them skate together, they were like one. And Ladybug was super confident. Chat Noir too, but he's kind of a dork when you talk to him. But, yea, I think they are more than capable of filling the skates they've been given."

Marinette warmed at her friend's words, turning back to the bottles to hide the blush covering her cheeks. "Sounds like you have a lot of faith in them."

"Yea," Alya said. "But enough about them. Did you finish your present for Adrien?" She drew out his name teasingly and Marinette knocked one of the bottles off of its place, it, in turn, knocking off two more. Alya snickered behind her.

Marinette huffed and turned to face Alya after righting the bottles, crossing her arms. "As a matter of fact, I did."

"Mmhm." Alya mirrored her, raising an eyebrow. "And are you actually going to give it to him?"

Marinette flinched, then grinned awkwardly as her hand came up to rub the back of her neck. "Y-yes, of course. Just as soon as he gets here."

"Right," Alya drawled out. "And are you actually going to be able to say anything to him without stuttering?"

"Umm...Maybe?" Marinette groaned, deflating slightly.

"Come on girl. You can do this," Alya said giving her a thumbs up. "Just two weeks ago you were telling him off because of the syrup. Nothing's changed."

"Right, nothing," Marinette said. "I just got a crazy crush on him, that's all."

"You just gotta be confident," Alya offered, moving back towards her table. "Like Ladybug. Now, I've got to work on some updates for the website, but I'll be here if you need another pep talk."

"Thanks, Alya."

"No problem girl."

"Right, like Ladybug," Marinette whispered to herself.

Adrien stepped out of the limo and hoisted his skate bag over his shoulder. He turned and saw Nino walking up to the door. "Hey Nino," he called, and the DJ turned, giving him a wave.

"Yo Adrien. Thought that limo looked familiar," he said, waiting at the door as Adrien bounded up the steps. "Happy birthday dude," he said, giving the model a light punch to the shoulder.

"Thanks, Nino."

"So, what's the news? Your father agree to a birthday party?" Nino asked as the made their way inside.

"No, he didn't think it was a good idea," Adrien responded, deflating slightly.

"Dude, seriously? Has your dad always been such a downer? You'd think he'd remember what it was like to be young and wanna party a little?"

"No, I'm pretty sure he was a downer back then too," Adrien said.

"It's your B-day dude, insist." Nino threw an arm over Adrien's shoulder as opened the door to concessions, the warmth washing over Adrien was now a familiar feeling. "You know what," Nino said. "I'm gonna have a convo with your Pops."

"Don't waste your time," Adrien replied. "He's not gonna change his mind."

As Adrien and Nino took a seat with Alya, she sent Marinette a look, who then quickly ducked behind the counter out of view. The blogger sighed, excusing herself and heading toward the counter, then heading through the small doorway that separated the back from the rest of the room. Marinette was crouched on the floor, forehead pressed against the present gripped in her hands like it could disappear any moment. Or maybe feeling like she might.

"Marinette?" Alya asked, and Marinette flinched. "You okay girl?"

She glanced up at Alya through her bangs. "I can't do it."

"Of course you can," Alya said. "You are Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Artist extraordinaire and best coffee maker in the city," she finished with a wink.

Marinette smiled and straightened her back, standing up. She took a couple of steps toward the doorway then looked back at Alya, who in turn made a strong pose for encouragement.

"You can do it. You can do it," Alya said.

"I can do it. I can do it," Marinette mirrored, glancing out the door at the boys, then whipped around and crouched on the floor again. "I can't do it. I can't do it."

Alya's hand met her face and she let out another sigh. "Uh, no you don't girl," Alya said, pulling Marinette to her feet and pushing her through the doorway, not stopping there. "No stalling. Now's the time." She gave one final push.

"Gah!" Marinette tripped on her feet, catching herself on the guys' table, stopping face to face with a wide-eyed Adrien. "Um, h-hey," she stammered, hiding the gift behind her back.

He gave her a smile raising a hand, eyes still wide with surprise as he responded. "Hey."

"I uh," Marinette started, now aware that Chloe loomed next to her. "I wanted to, um, gift you a make, I mean, gift you a give I made, I mean…"

Chloe fake yawned. "Get out of the way," she said, shoving Marinette away, then threw her arms around Adrien before he could react. "Happy birthday, Adrikins!" She kissed him on the cheek, but he made no move to return the embrace.

"Yea, thanks Chlo."

"Dummy," Marinette whispered on the floor as Alya offered her a hand up. Both ignoring Chloe's excuses of a missing present.

“Get back there," Alya hissed. "Don't be such a pushover, literally."

Marinette only offered an unsure hum in response.

"C'mon girl. You can't let Chloe get to you."

"I know," Marinette said, following it with a moan. "Why can't I just mean what I say?"

"Uh, you mean 'say what you mean'?"

"Exactly," Marinette answered, raising a finger in agreement with Alya's comment.

Both looked up at the sudden noise as a group of skaters came through the door. Rose, in front, giving them a wave.

"Marinette, Alya! Hi!" she said.

"Hey," they both offered to her and the group.

"I'll be with you in a second," Marinette said, then turned back to Alya. "Well, back to work."

"But what about the present?" Alya's voice taking on a false whisper.

Marinette shrugged. "I'll give it to him later. Work comes first."

"I'm not gonna let you get out of this," Alya said, pointing at her.

"I know." Marinette gave Alya what she hoped was a thankful smile, before moving back behind the counter. Rose was at the front of the line, making animated gestures as she talked, Mylene and Nathaniel listening to her. "Hey guys," Marinette said to get their attention. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her, Nathaniel's quickly darting up at the menu. "What can I get you today?"

"I'll just take a water," Rose said, handing Marinette some money as she typed onto the register.

"I'll also take a water and…" Mylene said stepping forward and peaking into a display case. "I'll also take a snack bar."

"Alrighty," Marinette said, taking the money and putting it in the register, then looking up at the redhead who was still browsing the menu. "What about you, Nath?"

He started then met her gaze. "Just a water, thank you," he answered quickly then handed her some money.

After ringing him up she moved around the area, pulling out the snack bar and grabbing three bottles of water. As she handed them off Alya made her way back to the counter. Marinette glanced around at the tables, noticing a missing blonde, then looked back at Alya.

"Where did Adrien go?" she asked.

"Just ducked out," Alya said, giving Marinette a sympathetic smile. "He went to get on the ice for a bit."

They both looked over as the scooting of a chair caught their attention. Nino exited the room holding to door open as Wayzz came in.

Marinette stiffened, returning her co-worker's greeting nod, then slipping her phone out of her pocket. No messages. But it was getting close to public skate, so she wasn't surprised to see him. Even though she had gotten used to working with him, a jolt always went through her anytime he showed up, making her second guess if she was supposed to appear as Ladybug. She looked back up and smiled. "Hello, Wayzz."

"Hello, Miss Marinette. How are you today?" he asked, joining her behind the counter.

"I'm good," she said. "How about you?"

"I am doing well today, thank you." He turned to Alya, who was still leaning against the counter. "And how are you today, Miss Alya?"

"No complaints," Alya responded, squinting at him. "You gonna tell me why I recognize you today? Or do I have to keep guessing?"

Marinette rolled her eyes at her friend's persistence. Ever since she had met Wayzz, Alya had insisted that there was something familiar about him, but he had offered her no answer. She hadn't let it go and asked him questions every time. Although, Marinette was sure at this point that Alya was just making random guesses to try and get him to give up and tell her. He didn't seem to mind, mostly just amused.

When Wayzz only shrugged at Alya's questions, she gave him a small glare and walked back to the table she had occupied with Nino and Adrien earlier.

Marinette had to admit that the blogger was onto something. Wayzz was too old for them to have met at school, but since Mr. Damocles had stated that Wayzz had worked at the rink off and on for years, Marinette left it at that.

She looked back at the rink through the windows and caught a mop of blond hair. Adrien was gliding across the ice with the most graceful ease she had ever seen, and her heart beat a little faster. Her eyes tracked him as he easily swiveled to skate backward for a few feet then turn back around and come to an easy stop next to some kids that seemed to be asking some questions.

"Would you like to take a lunch break before it gets crowded?" Marinette most certainly did not jump at Wayzz's sudden question. Or maybe she had. Just slightly. She liked to think that she quickly composed herself though.

"Um, yes, that would be nice," she responded. "Thank you."

"Not a problem."

She quickly grabbed a fork and napkin from the counter, then rifled through her bag for her lunch. She moved out from behind the counter then looked back at him. "I'm going to sit on the bleachers and watch the skaters while I eat. Just holler if you need me."

She turned at his nod and made her way over to Alya, who was focused on the window she had open on her computer. "I'm on a lunch break, wanna join me?"

They watched the skaters for a while as Marinette ate. Well, Alya watched the skaters, taking photos for the rink's social media. Marinette watched Adrien. He was definitely at ease on the ice, but not around the crowd. The were several times where he would land awkwardly or end a spin to soon, worry etched across his features as the general public would cross into his path, completely unaware of trajectory or plans. He had gotten more comfortable and able to sense others over the weeks he had been there.

Her lunch break ended too soon, as she realized the rink was beginning to get packed, and she should return to work before the crowd got overwhelming.

Once back behind the counter, Marinette put away her food containers and checked once again on Adrien's present. Satisfied, she returned back to work, her and Wayzz getting into a rhythm as the line grew.

Adrien glanced in through the windows of the concession room, confused when only Alya was left at their table. Pulling the door open he leaned inside and got her attention.

"I'm fixing to head out," he said. "Photoshoot. Where did Nino go?"

"I think he said something about talking to your dad? But he didn't really explain before dashing out," she said.

"What? But how would he even…" He felt his skin go cold in realization, his bag dropping from his shoulder. "Thanks, Alya, I'll see you later."

He dashed out not waiting for a response. His eyes glued on the entrance where his best friend stood talking animatedly to Nathalie. Or rather, talking to his father on the tablet Nathalie held. Adrien walked up unnoticed as Nino listed off Adrien's activities. Nathalie glanced up at him, but his father's gaze was fixed coldly on his Nino.

"Nino?" Adrien asked, reaching out to touch his friends arm, hoping to calm him down. "What are you doing?"

"Anything for my best bud," Nino said, turning to him with a smile. He turned back to Mr. Agreste, pleading. "Show some awesomeness du-I mean sir. Please."

Adrien wanted to shrink at his father's steely glare, grabbing more firmly onto Nino's arm. "Don't worry about it, Nino. Really, it's fine."

Mr. Agreste's voice cut the silence. "Listen, young man, I decide what is best for my son." His voice was as cold and hard as ice. "In fact, I've just decided you're a bad influence and I never want to hear about the two of you hanging out again."

Cold pressed against Adrien's heart and he stepped forward, his hand losing its grip on his friend's arm. "Father, he was just trying to do something nice for me." His efforts were met with a disapproving glare before his father disappeared from the screen. Nino turned to leave, but Adrien grabbed onto his arm again, ignoring Nathalie's look of warning. "Nino, wait! I'm sorry. My father-he's pretty stubborn. It's just best to stay out of his way." His head drooped down. He didn't know if he was embarrassed, or ashamed that he hadn't done more to stand up for Nino. "It's not fair, Adrien," Nino said, his voice matching the hurt in his eyes. "That was really harsh, uncool." He pulled out of Adrien's grasp and walked towards the DJ booth. "Thanks anyway, Nino," Adrien said, barely able to hear himself.

"Adrien, it's time to leave," Nathalie said, getting his attention.

"Right," he responded, a defeated sigh escaping past his lips. It was then that realized his bag was missing and sighed again. "I left my bag in concessions."

"I'll retrieve it," Nathalie said, stopping him before he walked away. "Go on out to the car."

He nodded, and walked past her without a glance, pushing open the door and being met with the summer warmth. He climbed into the black car pulled up to the curb, feeling defeated.

Marinette watched the door patiently, waiting for Adrien to come back for his bag, which had been dropped in his hasty retreat. Alya had brought it in and set it at their table to get it out of the way.

Wayzz was busy cleaning off the unoccupied tables, preparing them for when more customers inevitably came in.

Marinette just watched. And waited. And tried not to crumple of the wrapping of the present she held.

He didn't come back. Instead, the woman that was always there to keep him on schedule came through the door, searching. She caught Alya's attention, who in turn glanced over to Marinette, receiving a shrug.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Alya said, getting the woman's attention. "Are you looking for Adrien's bag?"

Nathalie straightened at that. "Yes, he said it was in here."

Alya pulled the bag out of the seat next to her and handed it over.

"Thank you," Nathalie said, dipping her head in gratitude.

Marinette started, realizing Adrien most likely wouldn't be back that day. "Wait," she cried as Nathalie's hand reached for the door. The woman stopped and looked back at Marinette as she scrambled out from behind the counter, barely composing herself as she came to a stop in front of the woman face red. She clutched the present to her chest, trying to get out any words that she could. "Um, hi, I'm one of Adrien's friends and, I, uh." She held the gift out a little, then rubbed the back of her neck.

Nathalie held her hand out. "I'll give it to him."

"Thank you," Marinette said, smiling awkwardly as she handed it over. Nathalie slid it into a bag, dipped her head at Marinette, then left. Marinette sighed with relief, slumping slightly.

"You put a signed card with it, right?" Alya asked. Marinette gasped, then slumped farther and groaned. "Girl, girl, girl," Alya said, bringing her hand to her forehead.

Nathalie answered her phone as she walked back to the entrance of the rink, readying herself. "Hello,"

"Have you left the rink yet?" Mr. Agreste asks, voice still hard from the conversation he'd had with a young man earlier.

"We are about to," she replied. "A young girl, one of Adrien's friends, stopped me to give me his birthday present. He was already in the car."

"I see. Did you remember to buy him a present from me?" He asked, voice slightly softer.

"Um, uh, but, you didn't ask me to."

"Of course I did!" he yelled, and she had to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Yes Mr. Agreste," she stammered, stopping in her tracks. "I'll take care of it."

A layer of sweat built up on Nathalie's brow as she hung up the phone. As she opened her bag, her hand brushed against the present the young girl had entrusted her with. She pulled it out and found no card, or anything marking who it was from, and sighed in relief. This would have to do.

The rest of the day passed by slowly for Adrien. The photoshoot had been tedious, as had piano lessons. His father hadn't been present at any point in the day aside from the video call he had interrupted between his father and Nino. He was ready to get out of there and be Chat Noir. Be free for at least a few short hours, and see his lady again.

His phone dinged, interrupting his thoughts. The text tone he had set specifically for Nino, who he had not heard from since they'd parted ways so quickly. He dove for it.

/Yo dude. If you're able to sneak out meet me at the rink./ - Nino

/At closing time/ - Nino

Adrien stared at his phone, eyebrows inching up.

/what's goin on?/

He waited, but his message went unread. One minute. Two. Five.

A sigh escaped Adrien and he switched over to his text conversation with Plagg.

/is somthng goin on at the rnk tonght?/

/Not that I know of kid. I'll ask Tikki./ - Plagg

/i just got a weird txt from nino askng me to meet him there at clsng?/

/Probably something for your birthday. You should do it./ - Plagg

/but wut about training?!/

/It's your birthday. You may never get this chance again. One night won't hurt./ - Plagg

/And would it hurt you to spell properly? Tikki said to bring your CN stuff./ - Plagg

Adrien shook his head at his mentor's insistence of good spelling, even through text. Something that had surprised him at first. He sent Nino a quick message, letting him know he'd be there, again receiving no response, then double checked his Chat bag.

Whispers had been passed person to person in the rink throughout the day as Marinette worked, skaters and hockey players had stuck around longer than usual, or had come back after being gone for only a couple hours. Alya had acted suspiciously after Nino had pulled her out of the room to have a conversation with her. Marinette found herself completely out of the loop.

Thirty minutes before closing, Alya walked into concessions after having disappeared when her shift ended.

"Hey Alya," Marinette said. "What are you doing back here?"

"Can't a girl just come to visit her bestie at work?" Alya asked mouth pulled to one side. "Is Wayzz still around?" Alya's voice dropped to a whisper and she leaned over the counter looking cautiously into the back.

"No," Marinette said, eyebrow raised.

Alya stood straight again, guard dropped back down. "Good, we're trying not to include any of the adults," she said then dashed for the door.

"Not include any adults in what exactly?" Marinette asked as Alya leaned out of the door and waved someone their way.

When Alya turned back towards Marinette, a grin was splitting her face. "Nino's throwing a surprise party for Adrien as soon as the rink closes. We're going to leave the cake and snacks in here."

"What?" Marinette gaped as some of the skaters walked past the large windows and toward the door carrying multiple bags. Kim brought up the rear with a cake box sporting the logo of her parents' bakery. They came through the doors and headed straight for the counter.

"You filled Marinette in yet?" Kim asked as he set the box down.

"Yep," Alya said.

"Great," he said. Max, Julika, and Mylene moved to join Marinette behind the counter.

"G-guys, did you get permission to do this?" Marinette stammered as they started hiding some of the bags on shelves.

"Kinda?" was Alya's only response.

"What do you mean kinda?" Marinette said crossing her arms. "I'm not exactly able to let you do whatever back here just because we're all friends-"

"Even if it's for Adrien," Alya whispered at her, cutting her off.

Before Marinette could respond, a brightly clad hooded figure burst through the doors and toward the counter.

"Everyone, hide or act natural!" he shouted, ducking through the doorway to get behind the counter. "Mr. Damocles is coming. Kim, get that cake out of sight."

"Right," Kim said with a nod, shoving it towards Marinette as the others ducked out of view. He and Alya leaned casually on the counter like they were having a normal conversation.

"Marinette," Alya hissed. "Hide the cake."

Still not sure what was going on, or how she felt about it. Marinette moved the box from her parents' bakery carefully onto the shelf under the counter in front of her just as Mr. Damocles came through the door.

"Hello, children," he said, making his way towards them.

"Hello, Mr. Damocles," they chorused. Marinette glanced down at the hooded figure, whose face she still hadn't seen. His voice had been too frantic for her to recognize. He glanced up at her, his gold eyes sparkling in mischief as he held a finger up to his mouth and winked.

"Miss Cesaire, your shift ended two hours ago. What are you doing here?" Mr. Damocles was asking, and Marinette turned her attention back to him.

"Oh, Marinette and I have plans to hang out when she gets off work, so I thought I'd come by early." If Alya's answer seemed strained or suspicious, the manager didn't notice. When he turned his attention towards Kim, Marinette spoke up.

"We ended up deciding to go to a movie, and Kim and some of the other skaters are coming too, so we're all going to meet up here," she said, taking a breath. She hoped he didn't catch how rushed it came out.

"Well have fun, but be safe," Mr. Damocles said. "I'm just making rounds before close up. Would you lock the door behind you, Marinette?"

"Of course, Mr. Damocles," she said.

As soon as he exited the room, they let out a collective sigh loud enough Marinette worried it would call him back.

Those behind the counter stood and began going through the contents of the bags. The hooded figure stood and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"Thanks for covering for us, Marinette," he said, as his hand came up to drop the hood. There stood Nino, in a bright primary color striped hoodie. The most ridiculous fashion choice she had ever seen anyone make. "Don't worry," he continued. "I'll take the heat if we're caught."

"We won't get caught," Alya said. She squeezed his shoulder in hopes of reassuring him. "You wouldn't be able to cover for us anyway."

Marinette jumped at a vibration in her pocket and winced as nearly everyone turned a questioning eye her way. She slowly pulled the phone from its place and gave them what she hoped was an innocent grin.

/Mr. Damocles just left, but people are still here. What's going on?/ Tikki

With a sigh, Marinette stashed the phone. "Um," she started, getting her friends' attention. Her right arm came to rub her left as she tried to think of an excuse to leave the room. "I need to call my parents and let them know I'm going to be late coming home. I'll just be a moment." When she received an okay from Nino she walked out from behind the counter and then exited the room.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket again, unlocked it and selected her mentor's contact. As she looked for a secluded place from those working on the surprise party, she brought the phone up to her ear and waited for Tikki to answer. She didn't have to wait long.

"Marinette, what's going on? Why are there still so many people here?" Tikki's voice came out of the speaker rapidly.

"They're throwing a surprise party for Adrien," Marinette said, her eyes darting around.

"What? Can they do that?"

"Oh Tikki, I don't know what to do." Marinette sighed. "They didn't get permission, but they're not hurting anything, and I mean, it's a party for Adrien, but I also have to practice, and what if Mr. Damocles finds out, but I don't want to rat them out and they expect me to be okay with it-"

"Marinette." Tikki interrupted. "Take a deep breath please."

She obliged.

"Good. Now, you said they didn't get permission?" Tikki asked.

"Right."

"But, they're also not hurting anything."

"Mm-hmm."

"Did you tell them you didn't think it was a good idea?" Tikki wasn't scolding. Her voice was gentle and encouraging if anything.

"I didn't really get the chance to," Marinette said, reluctant at first. "What's worse is I don't think the surprise party is a bad idea, but…"

"Oh, it is a very sweet idea," Tikki said, trying to help.

"But they didn't get permission," Marinette finished. "And I don't think I would be able to tell them that they should have it somewhere else. Adrien...all of them would see me as a major party pooper."

The line was silent for a moment. "What if you told them as Ladybug?"

Marinette pondered that for a minute. Her opinion as Ladybug held more weight than as Marinette. They wouldn't be angry at Ladybug for shutting the party down.

"That would actually-"

"Marinette?" Alya called from behind her, cutting her off. Marinette turned to offer her friend an awkward smile.

"I'll be there in a little while," she said to Tikki, hoping Alya thought she was talking to her parents. "Love you, bye." Her words were rushed as she quickly hung up.

"I was worried you'd run off," Alya said. "You clear everything up with your parents?"

Marinette nodded in response. "Alya," she said quietly. "While I think this is a very sweet gesture for Adrien, I don't think it's a good idea to use the rink without permission. I won't rat everyone out. But I also don't want anyone to get caught."

Alya smiled gently at her. Understanding. No judgment. "I understand girl. Don't worry," she said, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I'll try to convince Nino to keep it short and everyone will pitch in to clean up after." She ended with a hug, then pulled Marinette back towards the party preparations.

A/N

Hey, so this isn't the full episode obviously, but I wanted to go ahead and get this up. Also, I think I might put the definitions of the skating terms I use down here if I can remember to.

Cheating: A jump that was not fully rotated in midair, with either the first rotation starting on the ice or in the final rotation finishing after the landing.

I chose the term because in the Bubbler, it felt like many of the characters got "cheated" in some way.

[yierknives]

What are the best reasons to have a Bluetooth speaker for a party?

There’s absolutely no doubt that a great party deserves amazing music pumping out of awesome speakers. You’ve spent a lot of time curating the perfect playlist and preparing for the evening, so ironing out all of the small details to make sure the night goes off with a bang is critical. Whether you want chilled music for an intimate dinner party or you want to dance the night away with friends and strangers alike, playing the right music from quality party speakers can create an unforgettable experience.

What to look for in party speakers?

So you’re ready to put on the party of the year. But you’re not quite sure what speakers you need in order to get the job done. That is understandable because there are a ton of factors to take into account when picking out the best party speakers. How loud do they need to be? How big do they need to be? Do you need them to be Bluetooth connectable, or is wired okay?

Here we go over a few of the things you need to consider when picking out the best party speakers for your purpose.

Sound Quality

With sound quality, we’re referring to the mids and highs of the music and how clearly and distinctively a speaker is able to produce these sounds. If the sound quality is good then the mids and highs will be clear and flawless without any distortion at high volumes. This is important otherwise once your speaker goes above a certain volume, you’ll start hearing what resembles a “scratching noise” that’ll ruin your music.

If you’re new to frequency response ranges and do not know what mids and highs are, I will make it simple for you.

Highs: These are the high pitches or high-frequency sounds that are often produced by the soprano, violin, flute, etc.

Mids: These are the medium pitches or middle frequencies that are often produced by the viola, cello, alto, tenor, oboe, etc.

Lows: These are the low pitches or low (bass) frequencies that are often produced by the bass, bassoon, bass drum, baritone, etc.

So before buying a speaker, make sure to read some reviews to ensure that the speaker has good sound quality and will not distort when you turn the volume to max.

Portability

How often will you be throwing parties? Will you always be using the same venue? Unless you are planning on keeping your speakers in the same location for every party, you should consider how important a factor like portability is.

Moving heavy speakers around a couple of times a month or even a couple of times a year can become a huge hassle when throwing a party. Larger speakers take up extra space which may mean you need to make extra trips to get the rest of your supplies. But then again, you may need the power that larger speakers offer.

There are some fantastic portable party speakers that are a little bit smaller but still pack 1000-watts of power. If you’re going to be doing a lot of moving, consider the option of picking up a smaller speaker that has more power. The last thing you want is to set up your party and have all the guests invited only to find out your speakers aren’t going to fit into the space you’ve picked out. Smaller speakers mean more dance floor room.

Battery Life

We just mentioned that a hand full of the party speakers on this list do not run on battery so when it comes to the battery it is obviously important to check if the speaker actually has one. Checking whether that battery is a rechargeable battery is important. While the chances of getting a proper party speaker that runs on a non-rechargeable battery are very slim, I still make sure to check.

Batteries come in different sizes, and some can be extremely powerful while others are sadly very weak. Check how powerful the battery is and how long it will last on max volume. Bear in mind that the volume that you are playing music at will affect how long the battery lasts. Another thing that you should take note of in regards to the battery is that if the speaker has accessories such as lights, then it will use far more power than when only the music is playing.

This can actually have a dramatic effect on the battery-life. For example, the ION Audio Block Party Live, which is an amazing speaker, gets about 70 hours of playtime from a charge when the light dome is switched off, however, when you switch it on while playing music, you only get 6 hours of playtime. Take this into consideration when buying a party speaker.

Connectivity

If Bluetooth is important to you, then you’re in luck, because most speakers these days have the capability to be connected via Bluetooth. Bluetooth party speakers generally work on a battery and you will need to take into account the amount of battery life you want out of your speakers.

Ideally, you will be able to play your music for over 12 hours without needing to recharge them. That way you can keep the music going through the entire ordeal. However, wired speakers offer a little more convenience in the sense that you don’t need to worry about recharging at all.

The signal is generally stronger with wired speakers and you don’t need to worry about the signal cutting out in the middle of everyone’s favorite sing-along song. Smaller speakers tend to be better suited to have Bluetooth connectivity as the whole point of having smaller speakers is portability. A lot of this decision will come down to size, power, and capability for your party.

Durability

Have you ever been at a party and had drinks spill on valuable things? It happens, and many other things do too. How much rigorousness are you going to be putting your speakers through? If you’re throwing university frat ragers, then a set of speakers that can handle whatever is thrown at them may be necessary.

If you have a more sophisticated social circle, you may be able to get away with using speakers that are a little more fragile. Most portable Bluetooth speakers these days are made with waterproof capabilities and are fairly durable. Generally, you should be okay in most cases, but this is a factor you should keep in mind.

What to Consider when Buying a Party Speaker?

Your Budget

Yes, the mighty dollar rules. Ideally, we would all own a B&W Nautilus but that’s not the way the world works and everybody cannot spend 50k on a speaker. So when we buy speakers (or most stuff actually) we often look at our budget and then limit our options to what we can afford. Since we know how important it is to stick to your budget, we’ve added party speakers from a variety of price ranges to our list.

Party Size and Location

If you think about this logically then it is obvious that a person throwing a small house-party for 20 people would not have the same audio needs as a person who invited 100 guests. So consider the number of people you typically entertain before making a final purchase decision.

Hand in hand with this consider the location of your party, more specifically whether it will be held indoors or outdoors. Some speakers sound amazing indoors but once you take away the acoustic effects provided by four walls and the roof, the sound “falls flat”. If you are planning to host an outdoor party, buy a speaker that will excel in that environment.

It’s going to have to be powerful, and loud, and if you know that there will be water nearby, you’d also want it to be water-resistant or even fully waterproof. There are many speakers, like the DinDinModern, that are water-resistant, making them perfect for pool parties. Speakers rated IPX7 have no problem ending up inside the pool if the party picks up speed!

FAQs about party speakers

1. How can I test if my speakers are good? One great way to test the quality of your speakers is to begin by playing a sound or music through them quietly. Listen intently to the sound quality at a lower level before turning it up. If the quality and tone don’t sound great at a low and quiet level, then it’s likely that the speaker needs replacing. Also, make sure that your speakers are connected correctly, as your music is only as strong as the cables and signals that it flows through.

2. Can certain sounds damage speakers? Yes, absolutely. Playing music through the speakers that are turned up too loud can damage the speakers quite quickly. When you over-power low-frequency speakers, it’s the fastest way to permanently damage them. Very often damage happens over time and it can be hard to tell that your speakers are permanently altered until it’s too late. To care for your speakers, ensure that the volume is at the right levels and that the frequencies aren’t too overpowering to ultimately ruin the speaker.

3. What happens if speaker impedance is too low? All speakers have an impedance rating which showcases how difficult it is to power the speaker. The lower the impedance is on the speaker, the more efficiently music will be able to pass through the speaker. This is due to how easily the electrical signal can flow through it. However, if the impedance is too low on your speakers, it can result in a weak output and a low tone. Making sure you get appropriate resistors can help provide a solution for this problem, as they will dissipate one-fourth of the maximum power your amplifier can output.

4. How many watts do I need for my speakers? Usually, the higher the watts on your speakers, the better. Watts help provide cleaner and better sound, no matter which speaker you choose. However, 50 watts should be more than enough to enjoy listening to your speakers recreationally and professionally, in some cases. From there, small differences in power don’t make a noticeable change in the quality of the sound. You would have to go up 100 watts per channel before being able to really tell a difference.

5. How can you tell how powerful a speaker is? You’ll be able to tell how powerful the speaker is by looking at the watts. If you are only listening recreationally and need something to fill the space, 50 watts will be adequate. If you are playing music professionally or want something with more power, 200 watts is said to be plenty of power coming out of that speaker. To determine how many watts your speaker has, you should be able to look at the back of the speaker box or the manual. Once turned around, there should be a plate or sticker on your speaker listing the wattage, voltage, and amperage.

Conclusion

Don’t overthink your desire to play great music at your next party or gathering. Consider the size of the party, the location, and what you are trying to accomplish overall with the music as your friends and family arrive. And most importantly, don’t forget to have fun with your guests. Choose the best speaker that will help you to enjoy the night the most!

Any of our winning options are quality speakers that will serve you well, but selecting the perfect one is about your preferences and ideal price point.Want more recommendations for the best Bluetooth speaker ? Check out our guides to the DinDinModern.

Why choose DINDINMODERN?

We do the retail and wholesale business of authentic Bluetooth speakers. We hope to be your stable global supporter and partner. We are an enterprise integrating factory and trade, specializing in the design, manufacture and sales of high-quality Bluetooth speakers. We always make every effort to check the quality of each Bluetooth speaker.

[kriscme]

One Life to Live

Here’s the latest!   Thanks as always to Ronja for allowing me to write fanfic of her Hunger Games fanfic “The Chance You Didn’t Take.”  It can be read on AO3 or Fanfiction.  Chapter 34 The next morning I call in on Haymitch.  He’ll have to be told before the television crew arrives.  We might be able to get away with pretending to the rest of 12 that Peeta and I are back together, but not Haymitch.  I can imagine what he’s going to say.  Probably something about why no one lets me make the plans.  And he’ll be right.  How stupid of me to risk exposure like that.  What was I thinking?  Going into the woods with my famous lover and Plutarch’s own production team.  If I’d listened to my gut and stayed home, it never would have happened.   And now I’m back to owing Peeta.  I guess I should be grateful, and I am. He doesn’t have to do this and he is saving Marcus and me from becoming a national laughing stock. But still, I hate owing.  And how will I ever repay him?   I find Haymitch sprawled on his living room sofa, snoring heavily and with a bottle clutched in one hand and a knife in the other. He’s been on his usual weekend bender by the look of it.  That would explain his absence when Plutarch arrived.  It would take the noise of ten hovercrafts landing to rouse him from it and even that’s doubtful. Before I wake him, I go into the kitchen to make him some strong coffee.  He’s going to need it.  It’s a pigsty in there.  Dirty dishes piled in the sink; moths fluttering from the pantry; blackened saucepans on the stove; the floor so sticky it makes sucking noises when you walk across it.  But after a bit of rummaging, I find the coffee pot, fill it with water and ground coffee and set it on the stove to brew.   Then I return to Haymitch and find that Peeta is there too.  He sets a freshly baked loaf of bread on the table.  

“I saw you leave your house,” he explains at my questioning look.  “I think we should tell him together.” I nod in agreement.  He’s right.  For good or ill, we’re in this together now.  

Peeta gingerly attempts to prise the knife from Haymitch’s hand but without success.  His fingers seem t “I have a better idea.” I go back into the kitchen and return with a basin of cold water. “Stand back,” I warn.  I dump the water over Haymitch’s head and spring out of the way.  He comes to, gasping, swiping at the air with his knife.  He casts bleary eyes in our direction.

“Oh, it’s you two,” he says, as if we’re the biggest drag on his life.  He runs a hand over his head and peers down at his shirt.   “Why am I wet?” “Never mind that,” I say.  “I – that is, Peeta and I, have something to tell you. We need your help.”   Haymitch groans and reaches for his bottle. “I need a drink first.”  He goes to take a swig but the bottle is empty. Disgusted, he throws it to join the pile of discarded food containers and other assorted rubbish by the window. “So, what is it?”  His eyes dart between Peeta and me.  “More boy trouble?” “That’s enough, Haymitch,” says Peeta.  I shoot him a grateful look.  He saved me the bother.  If we have to work together, this show of mutual accord is a good start. “This is serious.  Katniss, I think you should be the one.” Right.  I guess the story does start with me.  I tell Haymitch everything.  My relationship with Marcus.  Being secretly filmed.  Plutarch’s visit and his conditions for not leaking the video.  And then Peeta’s willingness to help me out.  To save time, I hand him the paper Cressida gave me. “This is what they want us to do – to prepare.”

Haymitch takes it over to the window to read.  Not that he can get very close with the rubbish piled beneath it.  After a few moments, he lifts his head to stare out the window.  He appears to be considering something.   “Here,” he says, as he returns the paper to me. “You should get started on it.  You’ve a lot to do before the cameras arrive.” I swap puzzled glances with Peeta. That’s it?  No recriminations for getting myself into this mess?  No anger that the media will be swarming all over the Village and disturb his peace?   We start to leave but Haymitch’s voice calls us back.  “Have you decided on the house?” “Um, mine.”  I turn to Peeta.  “Buttercup,” I say as way of explanation.   He gives a nod.  I don’t think he cares either way.  It’s only temporary.   “You need to move all your things over to Katniss’s, then,” Haymitch tells Peeta.  “A couple living together don’t split their possessions between two residences with hers in one house, and his in the other.  And they should be where you’d expect to find them.  You don’t want any nosey crew member poking around and finding your clothes in the guest room instead of sharing closet space with Katniss’s.  Even the slightest suspicion that it’s an act has to be avoided.  The next person who gets hold of anything incriminating won’t go to Plutarch but to another media outlet.  And then you’ll both be exposed as frauds.” This just keeps getting worse.  We can’t trust anybody with the truth.  Not even the people who work for Plutarch who’ll be producing this travesty.  We have to fool not only the TV audience, but everyone around us.  Any slip-up and we could end up as social pariahs accused of a cynical attempt to cash in on our former fame.  The only consolation is that Plutarch has as much to lose as we have, so at least we don’t have to worry about any leak coming from him.  I take a look at Peeta.  He must be regretting the impulse that had him volunteer for this, but there’s no hint of doubt in his expression.  In fact, it’s the most energized I’ve seen him in a long time. “I’ll get on it right away,” says Peeta. “Apart from clothes, that really leaves only art materials and maybe some specialist baking equipment. They’ll expect to see both.” Yes, Peeta is known Panem-wide for this painting and baking.  And since most of our household goods are duplicated in both households, that cuts out the need for Peeta to take anything other than personal effects.   Haymitch continues.  “You also need to be seen in the town so that it’s established in people’s minds that you’re together before the television crew arrives. Everything a couple does, you must do. That includes eating together and sleeping together.  Starting from now.  It has to be second nature if you’re to pull this off.  You know how intrusive the camera can be.”

I remember.  But share a bed?  That’s going way too far.  Who’s going to know if we share a bed or not?  “Do we really need to sleep together?  It seems to me that – “ Haymitch doesn’t even let me finish.   “Which shouldn’t be a problem.  You’ve done it before, haven’t you?   And you were play acting at being a couple then too.” Yeah, but that was different. We’re adults now, not frightened teenagers seeking comfort.   Besides, I’m not sure how I feel about being so close to him all night.  Not with the way things stand and in a situation that many would consider decidedly sexual.   “It will be all right, Katniss.  I promise not to try anything,” says Peeta, with an infuriating smirk. I scowl at him, embarrassed at his insinuation that I have sex on my mind, which I do, but it’s not the point.  “You won’t unless you want to lose a hand.  Maybe I’ll borrow Haymitch’s knife – “ “Stop it.  Both of you,” admonishes Haymitch.  “You’re supposed to be in love, remember? Start acting like it.” I back down because he’s right, of course. But in this moment, I almost wish I had taken the alternative option.  Especially as Haymitch and Peeta continue to make plans without consultation from me. This is what started the whole star-crossed lovers thing in the first place.  The two of them making decisions that affect me.  They’d argue that it’s for my benefit, but still. “Since I’m apparently not needed, I’ll get started on making room for Peeta’s things at my house,” I say tersely before I stomp out the door.  I’m rewarded by a look of astonishment from both of them.  Maybe now they’ll get the hint.   Fortunately, there’s not a great deal to do from my end.  The master bedroom has a huge walk-in closet and I barely use a quarter of it.  Once I’ve cleared some space in the bathroom, I’m finished in that part of the house.  Peeta will need somewhere to put his art equipment, of course, and it will be expected that he’d have a proper studio.  I guess we could use my mother’s bedroom.  Her home is 4 now and in the unlikely event she comes to visit she can stay in the guest room.  I pack all her things into boxes.  Maybe I’ll ship them to her in 4.  It would serve as a sort of symbolic rejection of her in return for hers of me.   I know it’s not fair but I don’t feel like being fair.  I want to lash out at something or someone and my mother right now is a safe target.   After that, there’s nothing left for me to do but to help carry Peeta’s things from his house to mine.   I show him his new studio.  He’s happy with it.  He says the light is good.  The bedroom furniture we’ll store at his house.  It won’t look odd if it’s discovered since it’s likely that’s what we would have done with it if Peeta really had moved into my house. By early afternoon most of the moving-in is done.  Haymitch suggests our next priority is to be seen in the town together behaving like a couple in the early days of courtship – which we would be if there was anything real about this.   Peeta holds my hand as we walk.  There’s no one about.  The only people who use the road from the Village into the town are us victors but you can never be sure that somebody isn’t watching.  I’ve learned that the hard way.   There hasn’t been a lot of conversation between us that hasn’t centered around moving in.  Peeta seems to sense that I’m not happy with him and has mostly left me to sulk in peace.  But as we near the town he attempts to draw me out of my bad mood with some light-hearted talk to which I respond with yes or no answers or none at all.   “What are you so angry about?” Peeta asks. “Is it because I teased you about the bed sharing?  I’m sorry. I thought you’d laugh about it.” “No,” I say, even though it is part of it.  “It’s a lot of things.  But I’m mostly just sick of you and Haymitch making decisions that affect me without first asking if I’m okay with it.  Like with the star-crossed lovers thing and the fake pregnancy.  You don’t like it when Haymitch and I keep things from you.  I don’t see how this is any different.” “You’re right.  It’s not.  I’m sorry. I hadn’t thought of it that way before. If it involves you, you should be asked first.  I promise not to do it again.  Okay?” “Okay,” I say, mollified.   “Let me make it up to you.  How about I buy you an ice-cream?” Ice-cream?  I’m not sure about ice-cream.  The ice-cream parlor was Peeta and Lace’s favourite hang-out.  I also don’t have good memories of the last time he bought me one.  It was right before he told me I can’t use his guest room at night anymore.  But it is the best place in town to be seen, and it’s consistent in people’s minds with Peeta’s courtship habits.  I guess I can tolerate it just this once.   “Okay, but I’m not licking ice-cream off your face,” I say.   “I should hope not.  That’s disgusting.  Especially in public.” “You liked it well enough when Lace did it,” I point out.   “She didn’t lick it off.  Sometimes she’d kiss it off.  Not that it’s much better.” “Then why did you let her?” He shrugs.  “I guess I liked the attention.” It seems a dumb reason to me.   He must have been pretty desperate for it if that’s the case. The ice-cream parlor is as crowded as I’ve ever seen it.  The store is packed with customers and all the outside tables are taken. “Maybe we could go sit in the football field and eat our ice-cream there,” suggests Peeta. “No!” I burst out before I can stop myself. That’s where he took me to eat our ice-creams that other time.  “I mean, we’re here to be seen, aren’t we?  No one will see us in the middle of a football field.  We’ll find a table.  Look, there’s some people leaving now.” I almost drag Peeta along in my hurry to secure the table.  “I’ll mind the table while you get the ice-cream.” “What flavours do you want?” “Surprise me.  Nothing coffee flavoured though.”   Peeta leans down to give me a light kiss on the lips.  Oh right, the romance thing.  I smile up at him with what I hope is a suitably soppy expression.  “Miss you already,” I say.   “Miss you more,” he says in return and gives me another kiss. “Just go,” I say laughing and I give him a push.   He threads his way through the tables and enters the store.  I do a quick sweep of my surroundings to see if anyone’s watching. And that’s when I see him.   Max, a couple of tables away.  Staring straight at me, a mixture of incredulity and amusement on his face.   He’s with Saffy from the bakery and another couple I don’t recognize.  I give a small wave in acknowledgment.  That’s a mistake, because after a few words to his companions, he heads towards me and takes the seat opposite. “I didn’t give you permission to sit here,” I say. “Don’t need it.  It’s a public space.  So, you and psycho boy, huh?  When did that happen?  Wasn’t he supposed to be married by now?” “It’s new and the wedding was called off, as you well know.  And don’t call him psycho boy.”  Of all people it had to be Max.  Talk about being plunged into the deep end.  He’ll be the hardest to convince.  A natural skeptic and with an uncanny ability to know what I’m thinking before I do. If I can persuade him, then I can persuade anyone.   “Rather sudden, isn’t it?” “No, not really.  Peeta and I have known each other for a long time.   It was more like picking up from where we left off, now that other distractions are out of the way.” “Other distractions being Lace, I presume?” “Lace was a . . . an aberration.”  There, that’s a good way of putting it.  “A symptom of what the hijacking did to him.  But thankfully he’s now fully recovered.  As for me, well, I never really fell out of love with him.  So, when he asked me to give him another chance, I said yes.  And I don’t regret it.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say we’re as much in love as ever.  Maybe even more so.”   “Hmm.  Well, I’m happy for you.   But can I ask you one question?”  He doesn’t wait for an answer but leans over the table, arms crossed in front of him. “Why?” “What do you mean why?” I ask, irritated. “Is it so impossible that he could be in love with me?” “Not him with you.  You with him.  Have you forgotten what this man has put you through?  Not only has he tried to kill you but he’s been parading a girlfriend in front of you for months.  And now you’re letting him back in?  It’s crazy.”

“I’ve told you before.  There are some things that Peeta can’t be held responsible for and trying to kill me is one of them.   As to the rest, well, there’s things you don’t know.  He’s taking a chance with me too.  All I know is that I love him and I have to go where my heart takes me. Whatever happens, happens. You don’t have to worry about me.  I’m strong enough to take it.” Max gives me a searching look.  “Well, if you’re – “ “Everything okay?” asks Peeta.  He puts down a dish of three scoops of ice-cream in front of me.  He’s bought himself a cone but not the usual soft serve.  Strawberry, I think.   “Everything’s fine,” I say, with a reassuring smile.  “Max just dropped by to say hello.  He’s not staying.” Max thankfully takes the hint.   “Yeah, I should be getting back.  My date will be getting restless without me.” Max pushes his chair back from the table. “See you at work tomorrow, Katniss.” I watch him rejoin his group.   As dubious as he is about my reasons for being with Peeta, I don’t think he doubts that my love for him is real.  

Peeta is also watching.  “Saffy is Max’s date?” He seems surprised.   “Yeah, appears so.”  The other couple are cozied up together so it’s not one of them. “Why?  Is something wrong?” “Not really.  It’s just that Saffy told me she likes girls.”   Oh.  Poor Max.  Saffy flirts with everyone.  He probably got the wrong idea and she accepted his invitation as a friend.  Max doesn’t seem to have much luck when it comes to romance.  Which reminds me. “Want a taste?” I ask Peeta, offering him a spoonful of my ice-cream.  “Do you remember in the cave when I fed you broth and mashed berries?” “I do.  One spoon equals one kiss if I recall.” “I don’t remember that part.  But I always insist on paying my debts.”  I put my face forward to be kissed.  Peeta cheats and takes two.  Over his shoulder, I see the people at the next table watching with interest and then turn to each other to gossip among themselves.  At least people are talking about us.  As with Max, I don’t expect that everyone will approve. Some will say I’m a fool for taking him back.  Others, who don’t know that Lace is with Arthur now, might blame me for Peeta and Lace’s breakup.  And yet others, and I’m hoping they’re the majority, will sigh and romantically declare that order has at last been restored to the universe.  But whatever they think, as long as they believe that Peeta and I are genuinely together, that’s all that matters.

I go back to eating my ice-cream.  It really is delicious.  Chocolate, honeycomb, and butter pecan.   “Katniss, can I ask you something?  You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” “Sure.  Go ahead.”  The butter pecan is amazing. “How serious was it with Marcus?” My spoon freezes half-way to my lips, so surprised I am by the question.  Why is he asking me this now?  We’re supposed to be projecting romance, not talking about former lovers.  But then, why shouldn’t he be thinking about it?  It’s because of my indiscretion with Marcus that we’re here in the first place recreating the star-crossed lovers routine.  He deserves an honest answer.   I think about Marcus and the short time we had together.  It wasn’t a great love affair but for a little while it did reach the heights of one – for me, anyway.   There’s no heartbreak or any sense of loss now that it’s ended, but the memories are sweet.  A rebound, Johanna called it.  But I don’t think that really sums up what Marcus was to me.  He was . . . a haven.  That’s it. A haven.  A place in which to shelter and gather strength.  And I think Marcus would like that.  How apt for a man whose life mission is to create safe spaces for nature to thrive.   I so like the notion that I can’t help smiling. And then I become aware that Peeta is watching me, a look of consternation on his face and I realise that I haven’t yet answered him.   I take a breath.  “Well, we had a lot in common and I liked him a lot.  He helped me and he made me feel good about myself again after . . . you know, everything.” I see Peeta wince slightly at the “everything” although it wasn’t my intention to make him feel bad.  “It was intense for a while but we never could have lasted.” No, not with me stuck in 12 and Marcus’s job that takes him all over Panem.  “So, to answer your question as to whether it was serious or not, I guess the answer is, not very.   Does all that make sense to you?”  

“Yeah, it does,” he says, thoughtfully.  “It makes perfect sense.”   For some reason, this rubs me the wrong way. How would he know?  Oh, yes that’s right. It’s how he viewed his relationship with me.  Something that seemed all- consuming at the time but, as it turned out, not serious at all.   An illusion, in fact.   “I don’t have to ask how it was with you and Lace.  I mean, marriage.  You don’t get more serious than that.” I try to keep my tone light, but there’s a bitter edge to it.

His brow furrows in confusion.  “What?  No, Lace is who I meant.  That’s who I wasn’t serious about.” “Peeta, don’t do that.  I saw it all, remember?  You don’t have to try to make me feel better.  I was reconciled to it months ago.” I push the dish of ice-cream from me. It’s half-melted anyway in the hot sun. “Do you think we can go now?  I think we’ve been seen long enough.” I don’t wait for an answer but get up off my chair and start walking.  Peeta has no choice but to follow. “Katniss, wait up.  People are looking.”  He takes my hand and I don’t pull it away.  I might be upset with him but we still have to look as if we’re smitten with each other.  I even manage a fond smile that I hope doesn’t look too much like a grimace. As soon as we’re out of earshot, Peeta tries again.  “This is something we need to talk about.” “We don’t, actually,” I say, wearily.  “Look, isn’t there enough to deal with right now?  Just drop it.  Please.”    

He opens his mouth to argue, but then seems to think better of it.  I don’t want to talk about his relationship with Lace.  It’s still too raw.  And how can I trust Peeta to know his own mind, anyway?   He’d told Lace that I was the one he wasn’t really serious about.  So now Lace is the one?  Peeta can’t keep re-writing history like that.   We spend the remainder of the walk back to the Village mostly in silence.   Any attempt by Peeta to make conversation is wet-blanketed by me. I know I’m being moody and difficult when Peeta is going out of his way to help me but I just can’t seem to shake it off.   This is much harder than I expected.  I’m beginning to understand what it was like for Peeta during the Victory Tour, when he was the one in love and I wasn’t.  Hugs and kisses, so cherished when it comes from someone you love and who loves you back, is torture when you know that the person you love is putting on an act.  Something is not better than nothing.  An honest nothing is far preferable. Haymitch joins us for dinner.  I don’t know if Peeta invited him or Haymitch invited himself but it provides a welcome buffer between Peeta and me.  We tell him about our visit to the ice-cream parlor and make plans for tomorrow before we move on to general conversation.  After we’ve eaten and cleared up, Haymitch and Peeta set up the chess board.  They try to engage me and I watch them for a little while but eventually I move into the sitting room to watch television.  I feel left out of whatever understanding there seems to be between them.  Maybe it’s because I’m not an equal in this. They’re the heroes coming to the rescue and I’m just the idiot who needs rescuing. I flick mindlessly through the channels until I come to a news program.  It’s covering the mayoral elections in 7.  Johanna’s only real competition is this vile looking man with a ridiculous comb-over who is funded by the logging companies.  Referring to Johanna, he says he likes his heroes not to be captured. It doesn’t go down well.  He’s lucky Johanna isn’t there too.  He’d be dead for sure. When it’s time to retire for the night, we politely take turns using the bathroom and then get into bed.  It’s a large bed so there’s plenty of space between us if we keep to the edges which I’m determined to do.  

So ends the first day of the new adventures of the star-crossed lovers.  

[packersnmovers]

Is Moving without Packers and Movers Safe?

The road to traffic involves many decisions. Which broker to recruit, which house to buy, and what furniture to move - it's quite a difficult choice to consider. Incorporate the decision of whether to move or recruit relocators, and it's no big surprise that infinite individuals feel completely overwhelmed before they even start pressing their containers. Agarwal Packer and Mover expert wrote this blog for you to understand which technique will best for you.

The decision whether to recruit movers or to relocate usually depends on your financial plan, the proximity to your new home, the intricacies of the move, and your personality. Many people are incapable of carrying the sofa and sleeping pillow up the stairs. Also, most companions aren't a helpful or really difficult type of job. So of course, that leaves many of us with one choice - hiring relocators. In any case, there are a lot of people who have completed various self moves and saved a chunk of change at the same time.

However, before deciding on a choice, analyze these advantages and disadvantages of each choice.

Get Ready for Moving Yourself

Geniuses

Absolute Control of Your Queue- If you're moving home yourself then you have good control over how to and when moving your goods. In addition to being able to pick up the truck and all your mobile inventory, you can also take care of all the containers yourself to ensure that nothing breaks. Focusing on a DIY movement means that you can adapt to choosing when to start a movement and when to end it. If you are in a terrible climate, you have the option of choosing the best way to protect your property. You are also responsible for the stacking of trucks and you don't have to stress about haulers throwing out boxes and furniture in rooms where there is no room.

Set aside cash- if you have a limited financial plan, at this point, you will most likely need to make a do-it-yourself move. Whether or not you are simply migrating nearby, the costs associated with recruiting a shipping organization can quickly fulfill or even exceed your desires. In any case, if you had leased a moving truck, you could have saved thousands. For example, the largest alternative to a U-Haul mobile truck includes four or more rooms and costs around ₹4000 per rental.

Pack as you need- just like with the last champion - when planning a do-it-yourself move, you don't have to stress about pressing your resources all the way. Removals will have to fix all your affairs and get them set up when they arise. However, when you move around, you won't have to deal with oddly shaped effects like lights and plants. You won't have to focus on the most effective method of putting things away, as with basic pillows and covers. You can pack as modestly or as much as you need - as long as everything is in that truck on the day you move, it's all set.

See More Thing Like This: Agarwal Domestic Packers and Movers Pune

Cons

Hard Work- In my opinion, the most terrible thing about a DIY move is the way you'll have to move everything yourself. Unless, of course, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of your strongest comrades. All things considered, picking up those bins and inconvenient household items won't be a walk around the leisure center - especially if there are tons of stairs to stress. If you or your companions are not trained to move, you can stomp or scratch partitions as you lift armchairs and love beds the stairs. A one-room attic might be simple enough to move without experts, however, a five-room attic might just crush your spirit.

The arrangement doesn't get me wrong- recruiting a shipping organization requires extra organization. However, it will take a LOT of arranging to arrange the entire move on your own. You will need to understand the coordination of moving your belongings from direct point A to point B. Also, you will need to design the most ideal approach to properly positioning the leased moving truck - which is the first and last thing - and how they are organized inside the truck.

Surprising problems arise- If something surprising happens - like a chair that's stuck in the hall - you can end up in a stream without an oar. Without the help of removals experts and some movable devices, you could end up wasting hours trying to fix this - instead of resting on the sofa in your new home.

Employing Movers

Experts- You won't need to make the slightest effort – Leave the truly difficult work to the experts. All things considered, these prepared movers were employed on purpose. By enrolling a legitimate trucking organization, you won't need to stress over lifting and conveying any of your weighty sofas down the steps and out the entryway. You additionally won't need to stress over stressing muscles, scratching up new floors, or asking companions to help with the lifting. Rather you can zero in on minding kids, watching your pet, and other significant jobs that need to be done. Or then again you can simply kick back and unwind.

Productivity- Assuming you employ an authentic and experienced shipping organization, I dare to say that your carriers will be reliable. Not at all like companions who know how to fold, the transport organization is obliged to assist in all tones of traffic. The shipping organization should arrive on time with matched mobile deliveries and equipment - saving ultimately the not-so-pleasant endeavor of escort prams and furniture cushions. In the long run, recruiting a trustworthy migration organization saves the client many moving hours.

Overall less Unpleasant- once all is said, hiring relocators saves you a lot of the stress of moving regularly. Regardless of the effective benefits of a haulage organization, recruiting assistance will also keep you from moving your Goliath truck down the park. Moving trucks are known to have questionable driving characteristics. Trailers aren't much simpler either. In case you are concerned about stacking up and driving a huge moving truck, at this point, I enthusiastically recommend recruiting truckers to help. Agarwal Home Shifting Service are very reliable and affordable to use. Packing and Moving itself contain lots of headache.

Cons

Less adaptability- When you hire proficient workers, you limit your control over the movement. From the date/season to the time the carriers load your belongings, there's not much you can do to change when and how you move. The most tragic outcome imaginable: you may end up trusting that your moving truck will show up if the migration organization has various stops along the route. For people who like to be in full control, recruiting a shipping organization may not be the best alternative for you.

Expensive- Normal neighborhood family cost is ₹2,300 for 4 people moving ₹200 an hour according to the American Moving and Storage Association. Talk about expensive! So whether you are moving as closed or on the road, hiring a shipping organization will still cost you a lot of Benjamin.

General- chances are you don't know your moves. Giving up your valuable fortune to finish off strangers can no doubt be shocking. This is the reason why it is so important to do your job, read the audits, and check the assessments before registering a haulage organization to help you move around. To stay away from moving tricks and scams, we suggest hiring Moving.com authorized and guaranteed moving persons. Likewise, make sure the shipping company will do a personal inspection or watch a video of your home before making a statement.

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