#sour gummy is a good friend of mine

[bo-bo-bean]

LambDancer couldn't contain his dance bug, so Craftycorn can't control it when her tickle bug comes out to play...!

Thanks to @sourgummy for letting me use her oc, LambDancer!!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Good day to you, fair Fellow. And to you as well, adorable Gidel. *Reaches out to give Gidel a pat on the head, a puzzle box toy, and a bag of candy before turning back to address Fellow* I am the owner of a small, but successful candy shop. I was contacted by an associate of mine about a charming person that could possibly use a job? I assume that to be you. If the offer is not appealing, I have several friends that could use a server. You would likely be able to nab some good tips. Some would even offer a small apartment to go with the job. Whatever you decide, I am available anytime.

@ Cater Diamond, are you proud of me for conducting market research for this interaction/j

Waiter!Fellow though... 👀 (my bias comes out ahjdabsidabisyfiyoafi)

So tell me, do you wanna go?

"Excuse me, mister. I'd like to take 16 ounces of this milk chocolate with pistachio cream and kunafa filling."

"I want to buy some of those viral peelable fruit gummies. Can you tell me where to find them?"

"Ooh, these candies are shaped like gems. They come in so many different flavors--I can't decide what to buy! You work here, so which ones would you recommend?"

"One at a time, please!!" Fellow, in a pastel pink apron, pleaded of the encroaching customers. "I'll weigh the amount you want and ring you up at the cash register up front. The fruit gummies you're lookin' for are in aisle 3, between the sour belts and the licorice sticks. Our pumpkin jam-filled crystal candies are popular this season."

His new gig at the candy shop kept him busy. Social media, the owner had told him, had caused certain treats to blow up in popularity. Handling the sweets was a task left to the store owner, who produced all manner of confections. Fellow managed the front end: stocking, answering customer inquiries, doing the arithmetic (which he had always prided himself on).

Gidel hid in the back, sucking on a scraps of sugar and fiddling with a cube-shaped puzzle as Fellow went about his day. Sometimes he would poke his head out and watch as his guardian got swarmed, or swipe a sucker or two.

In the evenings--5 'o clock on the dot--Fellow would close up shop, then swap out his uniform for a white button-down shirt and black slacks, heading for his shift at a local restaurant. They were short-staffed in the evenings and on holidays, so he was quick to swoop in and fill out the vacancy.

A smile, a wink, a few friendly exchanges, and he'd walk away pocketing generous tips. The leftovers, swiped by a clever hand, and ferried away for a free makeshift meal for him and Gidel.

They had settled into the new routine with ease.

When the restaurant locked up for the day, Fellow would haul a drowsy Gidel over his shoulder and to the small apartment upstairs. It was cramped and often smelled like tomato sauce, but it was home and it was theirs.

"You like livin' like this, Giddie?" Fellow asked as he laid the young boy down on a small cot. "It beats havin' to scam folks just to get on by, but some days I miss the open road and the freedom that came with it."

Gidel yawned--and Fellow suspected that his question had fallen upon deaf ears. He shook his head, pulling a thin patchwork comforter over him.

"... Never mind, I'll ask ya again in the morning. Sleep tight, little buddy."

[askjingrandet]

Jin's Wisdom: Alcohol

Hey there everyone! For my first bit of wisdom the topic we'll be covering is alcohol. It's something I know I fair bit about and it's not a heavy subject so thought it would be great as a starter so let's get into it.

You don't have to pay a lot for alcohol to be good. Try a few different types to see you may find a surprising new favorite.

Always cook or bake with an alcohol that you like, I know Yves will agree with me on this one! The alcohol gets burned off when cooking/baking but the taste remains. If you use an alcohol you don't like the food isn't going to hide it and you'll have just wasted a bunch of ingredients, time and money.

When pairing alcohol and sweets generally speaking you want the alcohol to balance with the sweets, in wines case you want it to be sweeter than the treat. If you're drinking beer, spirits or a fuller bodied wine they go best with things like dark chocolate and caramel. Lighter bodied wines go good with milk or white chocolate and sour gummies. Really chocolate almost universally matches any alcohol, at least in mine and my admins opinion.

If we're talking proteins well red wine and beer go great with beef but so does whiskey. If your eating chicken other than white wines or Riesling you can go with pale ales or surprisingly enough Gin. Fish gets a bit more complicated, in general white wine is better than red because of the tannins. If you're having something like crab or lobster rum complements those bold flavors great. Vodka has no flavor so it won't compete with the subtleties of grilled fish. Gin goes great with smokes fish, it's floral notes pair really well with the char and earthiness. Then whiskey is for things like a good salmon or trout, brings some depth to them.

Alcohol tastes better when you enjoy it with friends, or a beautiful woman.

Drink slower, it'll help you recognize when you're having too much.

Alcohol won't solve our problems no matter how much we wish it would. It can cause some though so....

Always make sure to keep yourself hydrated when drinking it's really important and helps with hangovers.

Never drink, especially the hard stuff, on an empty stomach.

Don't mix drinking with riding a horse, driving a carriage or with taking medicines an apothecary gives you. All of those things can be super dangerous for not just you but others.

Don't get into drinking contests, especially with Luke or Silvio. I mean have you seen those two drink?

My last bit of wisdom, stop picking on people who don't drink or try to force them to drink or even worse try to sneak alcohol into their non alcoholic drinks. It's not cool, they hate it and it can even be dangerous depending on why they aren't drinking. And no, you're not entitled to an explanation of why just take their No and move on from it.

I hope you all enjoyed my first tidbits of wisdom.

Admin here: PSA time, if you or anyone you know has a problem with alcohol and needs support look for your local Al Anon program or check online for other resources in your area.

[dxsole]

THINGS YOUR MUSE WILL NOTICE ABOUT MINE | Philo

GIF credit to @crucifiix!

WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE: The mask makes an impression, that's for damn sure— It's some sort of woven fabric, not exactly a soft, thin thing like cotton but maybe a more burlap that's been treated in some way to make it more solid. Below the neck, he looks like he stepped in from a boarding school in the early 1900's. It's the casual three-piece suit in the colors of old-world academia. It's the loafers that he's polished and pressed so they have a luxurious shine. There's no good reason for him to dress that way outside of just enjoying looking spiffy and having an excuse to wear a gaudy tie.

When the posh sleeves are rolled up it's a different story— tattooed sleeves that hide a myriad of scars. Calloused working hands with hard knuckles from repeated abuse. Nails that are stained around the edges with blood.

If you're one of the rare folk who can see behind the mask...there's another one under there. Face paint is his best friend these days and he's gotten used to painting himself up. It's a less-than-artistically done skull, all black and white. And a mop of mousy brown hair that sticks up at all angles plus a short stubble.

WHAT THEY SMELL LIKE: Canvas. You ever smell canvas? Maybe even those raw, brown ones. New fabric and paper and old book smell...but fresher. Smells like smoke occasionally when his nerves get the better of him. Smells like...the inside of a Doritos bag. Or some other Frito-Lay concoction.

WHAT THEY TASTE LIKE: Yuck. Skin is sweat-slicked half the time— his job is very laborious. Lots of exertion. Under the mask is a bit sweaty too. Don't ask him if he's hot under there, leave him be. Mouth is stale, cheap beer at times. Blood on other occasions. Leftover smoke. Teeth-rotting sweet and sour from some gummy he ate. Punch in the mouth from some weird kombucha he made.

WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE: Sounds like he should work in IT. Medium pitch and no, he does not pitch it down when he's doing his job. You get the IT guy who's going to tell you about his cats. Slight nasal tone at times, especially when too tired to articulate or when whining. Has a lot of 'z' sounds— it's not he's it's he'z. Words run into each other at times, mainly when excited or monologuing. Not loud at all really...quite soft-spoken...his voice trails off at the ends of sentences. If you ever need someone to very clearly whisper, he's your man.

WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE: Philo is a product of pain in every respect. Grab an arm and its taut muscle over bone. The years of having to forcibly kick the snot out of his peers have resulted in lean muscle. It's not a punch with his whole body into it, it's just straight-up clear and calculated bone directed at your face. Reach under that mask and the stubble scratches. Under the polished outfit are more scars and you'll notice more how some bones haven't healed right. Back humps a little from all those nights in the cage and you could run your finger down his spine and feel every bump of vertebrae. Hands are rough and calloused— mostly thanks to his work. He's used to how it bites at fabric and no one wants to hold his hand for long.

Actually, no one wants to hold his hand so...it's fine.

TAGGED BY: stolen from @devilmass <333 TAGGING: @survivics, @rennisaturate, @bruisedconscience, @vitalphenomena, @dogtccth, and anyone else who'd like to do this!

[zombiepillar]

Draw fanart of the first fandom you joined!! >:D

You’ve open a very sour bag of gummy worms my friend…

(You’ll get your drawing soon, but warning, I deleted all the fanart I had of it before on here cause the fandom was really really not good when you’re trying to focus on DHMIS, Welcome Home, Bandori or your own OC story, MIOD discourse)

(Spoilers: it’s the trolls fandom, the dreamworks one)

Also don’t feel worried, it’s actually great to finally be able to address the things that went down in that fandom

This will also be in collaboration with some very long time mutuals of mine

So prepared to be excited dear asker

(•v•)

[metamelonisle]

CR characters that interest/captivate me deeply

Brunch Trio

Croissant

Hero

Sandwich

Time Balance Department

Timekeeper (TK is real and cen is my online friend)

String Gummy (ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

Baguette (old man lesbian)

Coffee Candy (things just happen to her. its hilarious)

Maple Leaf (URETHRA!!)

Dark Fondue (every time i think about df i just start laughing. good)

Sea-Related Cookies

Captain Caviar (i love you but you would have died in East Blue)

Soda (im Californian it's kind of in my blood to love American surf culture)

Sorbet Shark (YES!!! YES!! FUCK YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Peppermint (little German child with the lollipop!!!)

Captain Ice (she reminds me of aokiji but without the horrific war trauma)

Pond Dino (YEAH!!! YEAH!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Squid Ink (ohh i love you you are so cute ohhhhhhh)

Black Pearl (pretty. oh my godd)

Space-Related Cookies

Milky Way (little baby made of milk and love. like mine craft. she even drives a train)

Stardust (OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

Moonlight (pretty dream lady. ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

Space Candybot (and my friend's OC about it's creator/pilot. it is CRITICAL to mention this because i am so unbelievably unwell about said character. poppy you are canon. to me :>)

Space Doughnut (funny fellow)

Other

Peach Cookie (she reminds me of teen goku so bad its hilarious)

Plum Cookie (he reminds me of teen kuririn so bad its hilarious)

Ananas Dragon (WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

Dino-Sour (i love you funny dinosaur butch)

Sour Belt (i love you funny dinosaur femme)

Dozer (he's just so silly. he also died. but not in my heart)

Dr. Wasabi (i love mad scientists sue me. she can do my hrt shots i trust her)

that one fucking beefcake made of magma who lost their child and believe them to be dead and it haunts them eternally unaware they are still alive and also trans now

Habenero (Peperoncino's trans son)

probably some others

[blossominghunnie]

04

Mae's POV

The second Braeden parked, my heart stopped beating. I was beyond nervous, how was I gonna survive this trip?

He stepped out of the car smiling, and looked around for a few seconds until his eyes met mine. I thought I was gonna pass out.

“Hey, bubs!” He walked towards me.

“Bubs?” Each and every one of my friends asked confused.

“Y-yeah, that's how he used to call me when we were younger.” I answered, all of them nodded and some, like Minnie, smirked.

“That's so adorable.” I heard Evan whisper, which made both Braeden and I blush. Sooo discreet, Lina.

“Hi, Brae.” I giggled and hugged him, smiling shyly. He laughed as well and felt this strong arms around me. God, I was gonna melt.

He released me from his embrace after a few seconds. I turned around to look at my friends, who still looked confused, maybe cause they didn't know who the tall guy beside me was.

“So, guys. This is Braeden Lemasters, he used to be my childhood best friend until he moved to LA three years ago.” The brunette waved, as well as the others. “B, this is Minnie's boyfriend, Eric, our friends Dorothy, Jeno, HueningKai, Josephine, Blake, Summer, Jaeden, Evan, Louis, and you already know my sisters.”

“Nice to meet you, guys.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” A chorus of voices was heard.

“Okay, now that we're all here we can finally go!” Mimi announced, making all of us cheer. “We're 14, so 7 will go with me and 7 with Mom Mae.”

“Let's go, people!” Maddie clapped her hands and made us move towards the two cars.

“Mom Mae?” Braeden asked amused, trying to hold his laugh.

“Yeah, it's just a nickname my sisters gave me cause I'm like the mom of the group, and a little older than some of our friends.” I made a face. “I'm not a big fan, to be honest.”

“I think it's cute.” I blushed a little. Damn it. “Does that make me Dad Brae?”

“Okay, 1. That's kinda cringy and 2. Hmm, you'll have to earn the nickname.” I said playfully, making him push me gently, causing me to laugh.

“Okay lovebirds, stop flirting and let's gooo.” Kai spoke, which made us blush even harder. “They're gonna leave us if we don't hurry“ Madelaine said next.

I turned to look at the inside of my Jeep and Kai, Maddie, Summer, Jeno and Louis were in the back.

“Where are your girlfriends and boyfriends?” I asked them as soon as I got in my car.

“They abandoned us.” Summer answered. “Well, 1. I abandoned Jae and 2. The only one here that's in a relationship is Jeno. The rest of us are single.” She continued with a 'duh' tone.

“Oh, yeah. I always thought you were with Jaeden.” I spoke while I started the engine and began driving.

“Nop. We're just best friends.“ She said in a sad and lower tone. Despite not liking Minnie, I always had a good relationship with the blonde. Why? To be honest I didn't know. But I was fine with it, she's cool and on very rare occasions she could be sweet.

“Oh. Okay, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let one of you have the entire control of the aux.” I changed the subject and glanced at the people in the back through the rear-view mirror. They looked at each other, raised their hand and started pushing one another. Savages. “But only if you can tell me... My favorite candy, my favorite song aaand my favorite quote from Friends.”

The car was silent for a moment until I heard Braeden speaking softly.

“I know the first one, it's sour gummy worms.” I felt his eyes on me.

“Y-yeah, you remembered.” I was surprised that he didn't forget it.

“How could I not know? You used to buy like five packages from the cafeteria when we were little and I recall that I gave you a box full of them on your 13th birthday.”

To this day, that is the most thoughtful present anyone's given me.

I didn't respond and just smiled widely, I missed being around him. He was always so nice and caring, two of the things that made me had a crush on him.

While the group in the back thought of their answers, Common Sense by Joshua Bassett was playing in the background. Such a cute song.

Almost as the song was coming to an end, I heard Jeno’s voice.

“I think I know, Mae.” He said but was interrupted by Louis.

“Don't listen to him, pick meee.”

I laughed. “If he doesn't get it right you're next.” The brown haired nodded.

I gestured to Jeno that he could continue. “1. Sour gummy worms, 2. Nobody Gets Me (Like You) by Wallows and 3. "I just gave birth to three children and I will not see them grow up in a world where Joey is right." which was said by Phoebe.”

I loved that quote and Phoebe was one of my favorite characters but that was not the quote I was thinking of.

“You were almost right. The first and second are correct but the third one wasn't.” He made a face. “I'm sorryyyy.” I touched his hair affectionately (when we stopped at a red light, obviously. I'm a responsible driver.)

The next one that tried to guess was Louis, and he had the quote wrong as well.

After him, my sister spoke very confidently, may I add.

“1. Sour gummy worms, 2. Nobody Gets Me (Like You) aaaand 3. "I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"

“Ding, ding, ding! Maddie's the winneeer.” I announced in a presenter's voice. I heard several groans.

“How did you know?” Hyuka asked.

“I know my sister. Chandler is one of her favorite characters and that quote is her motto.”

“It's true. Well done, sis!” I high fived her and passed her the aux.

Seconds later Brooklyn Baby by Lana del Rey started playing, making me smile. Such a bop!

“It just hit me, your favorite song is Nobody Gets Me (Like You)?” The singer asked curiously.

“Yep, ever since I heard it for the first time. I instantly fell in love with it.”

“Aw, you're so sweet.” He put his right hand above his heart.

“Sometimes.” I smiled.

The rest of the journey we talked, laughed and sang, just like the old times.

I was gonna miss moments like these the most.

Synopsis: In which a group of friends decide to go on a trip together and end up being stuck in a terrifying adventure.

Note: Not my fav chapter but I didn’t know what to change jsjs.

03 ≈⌲ 05

Masterlist

[gclfclvb]

peter knows that in any other situation, he probably would've sided with annabeth, but with rose in front of him, animated and dramatic. he couldn't help but smile, zero defenses up, almost letting her complain about his dearest and oldest friendship. she was cute and he'd honestly never met someone like her. even if she was just ranting about annabeth. he really couldn't see anything wrong with her. "no, no, i'll be impartial. and so far, i feel like i can be honest with you and if i had any doubts or i'll just ask you. go to the source right?" he really did want to do right by the both of them. he knew it'd be tricky, but if there's one thing about peter, it's that he'll try his best. "well, i'm glad I'm not that bad, despite my friend choice, in your words! not mine, sorry annabeth." he mutters under his breath. "i promise i have great taste! and i know it may be hard to understand that now, but i like cool things, like games and comics and sour gummies. and even if you think games and comics are lame, sour gummies are soooo good. like superb, exceptional, especially those peach rings, you know?," he chuckled. "well, i'll aim for her to at least be a little nice. or maybe get her hold her tongue a bit better. but you know, small steps first! and well, i gotta talk to her still. i wanna set honest expectations."

"it's an honor to have you trust!" he bows a bit, grin on full display. "got it, no disappointment. i'll do my very best, and you don't know me well yet, but i promise that means i'll most likely do the most." he scratches his head, a smile on his lips, "i have no chill. well, some chill. i'm cool. like way cool. promise." nice save peter.

" right ? she's so rude to me. " her brows knit together, half in frustration, half because she knows she's lying just a teensy bit, especially to a guy who seems—despite being besties with annabeth— completely genuine. here he is, making promises to her, stepping in front of any dig annabeth shot at her and claiming it as his own like some sort of honour-defending knight she's always needed. either he's the smartest guy ever or just completely oblivious, charming her so easily without a second thought. " you don't seem too bad to me. despite your friend choice. " annabeth just can't be trusted, obviously ! " okay, as long as 'annabeth wouldn't lie to me' doesn't automatically make me the liar. " she states, or more warns, doing an impression of him. despite her humour, she doesn't want to be assumed as the bad guy just because she's not besties with the ra, she'll fully kick off if she's accused of something just because annabitch hates her. " —and i don't need her to be nice to me, it would just be lovely if her head wasn't shoved so far up her own... " she's getting carried away, doesn't really want to make him feel awkward if she's just going to sit here insulting his best friend. " it doesn't matter. she just really annoys me. " rose concludes with a shrug, but she's not quite ready to get into WHY with him just yet.

her grin betrays her as he compares peter the ra with peter the guy, tummy twirling like he's just asked her out on a date. of course he hasn't, simply personally introduced himself, but the reaction is all the same; her heart pattering and her legs feeling light, she'll bounce momentarily, just once, twice, as if to wake them up. " okay, so, like, veering very far away from my usual instincts... " she sizes him up one final time, though it's all for show; she made up her mind a while ago. " i've decided to trust you— B U T . . . that unfortunately means you can't disappoint me... 'cause that would be, like, way, way, way, way worse than me not trusting you. "

[rainy-bangbeom]

Something Like That | Lee Minho

pairing(s): Best Friend!Minho x Fem!Reader

genre: Fluff, Comedy

warnings: Brief mention of the pandemic

word count: 685

synopsis: Minho has an unhealthy obsession of changing your phone wallpaper because he knows it drives you crazy, but after one particular swipe of your phone, he finds that he doesn’t have the heart to change it after all.

“Would you stop eating all of the red-ones!? You know those are my favorite!” 

You glare at Minho as he tosses another handful of your beloved gummies into his mouth before flashing a rather unattractive grin of half-chewed candy and saliva. He ignores the invisible daggers you throw his direction and chuckles deeply: 

“Sorry? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of how delicious these things are…” 

“First of all, that made zero sense.” You roll your eyes, leaning forward to snatch the treat package from his grasp. “Second, you literally bought your own snacks, so why the heck are you putting your grimey, gremlin hands all over mine!” 

Minho shrugs, the usual mischievous smirk etched along his face. Before you can react, he lurches forward and snatches another handful of gummies, leaving the bag borderline empty. A blend of what seems to be a frustrated scream and a sour whine leaves your lips. You toss the evidence of your ravaged snack onto the coffee table before rising from the sofa. Your companion watches as you let out a noisy huff, then make a beeline for the kitchen. 

“Going to plot murder against your devilishly handsome best friend…?” 

“Something like that.” He snickers at your pouty response. “Please allow me to drown my sorrows in the buttery goodness of microwave popcorn… and try not to be too much of an incompetent troll while I’m gone.” 

“I prefer the term, ‘charming trickster’!” 

Minho offers your fuming self an innocent smile before you disappear into the safehold that is the kitchen. Without your presence, he finds himself bored, unable to focus on the trashy reality show playing on the TV. He turns toward the coffee table to retrieve his phone, but instantly receives a better idea to pass the time at the sight of your own cellular device laid so precariously alongside his. 

“Oh, (Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N)...” His cackle is quiet enough so you have no chance of hearing it from the next room. Like a toddler excited over a new toy, Minho grabs your phone, enters your passcode, the same one you’ve had for as long as he can remember, and prepares to solidify his role as jokester of the century with your most favorite of all his tricks… 

He knows exactly what he wants to change your wallpaper to—some stupid, obscene meme Felix had sent him a couple hours earlier that will definitely make you want to wash out your eyes with bleach—and he’s pumped and ready to do it too—until he sees your current background:

It’s a selfie of you and him from the last concert you two attended before the pandemic hit. The lighting is complete trash, and you both resemble sea monkeys with your sweat-ridden hair and skin, but Minho’s chest can’t help but tighten at the bright, carefree smiles adorning his and your faces. He completely forgot you even snapped the picture all that time ago, much less thought you’d actually save it. But here it is in all it’s blurry glory—and for the first time, Minho has no desire to change your wallpaper at all. 

He powers off your phone and sets it back on the table just in time for you to enter the room, a giant bowl of over salted popcorn in your grasp. You plop down next to him and immediately grab your cellular device. A shocked expression overtakes your face when you discover everything as how you left it—not even your brightness had been tampered with! 

You raise an eyebrow at your companion, “What? Couldn’t find a worthy enough picture to give me nightmares?” 

“Something like that.” Minho shrugs, holding back a smile as he grabs a handful of popcorn. You slap his hand away with a hiss before settling yourself into the furthest corner of the sofa away from your thief of a best friend. 

As you’re protecting your precious snack, you fail to notice Minho glancing at the discarded bag of gummies on the table, silently promising to buy you another bag or five the next time he has a chance. 

My works are not to be reuploaded, modified, or translated anywhere besides this blog. If you see someone plagiarizing my work, please let me know right way. Otherwise, thank you for reading! Reblogs and feedback are always very much appreciated!

[sweetsuke]

everyone go read my friend simon's fics!!! as you can tell from the above blurbs, they're so so so good 💕💕

anyways, without further ado, here's mine:

-

1. cookie run rarepairs galore (cookie run, the first and only chapter so far is sour belt x cotton candy)

“Careful,” Sour Belt warns, staring across her studio to where her friend has made herself comfortable.

2. if i only could (cookie run, kumiho x dark choco)

Dark Choco Cookie’s empty eye-socket had ached all day, causing a headache to spread from the left side of his face to the rest of his head.

3. abject abandonment (cookie run, mint choco x string gummy for a fic/art trade)

String Gummy threads his hand through Mint Choco's.

4. holding hands (cookie run, twizzly gummy x croissant for a fic trade)

Twizzly Gummy winces in pain as she hands Croissant the tool she’d asked for.

5. comforting companionship (cookie run, rockstar x herb for a fic trade)

The day had been amazing so far. 

6. philharmonic pining (cookie run, mint choco x sparkling for a fic trade)

The bar counter is covered in plates of every kind, sporting dishes ranging from sauteed squid to pumpkin puree to licorice lasagna.

7. trust (cookie run, affogato x red velvet)

“So this is Dark Choco Cookie’s replacement,” Red Velvet Cookie noted.

8. azz and clara drabbles <3 (welcome to demon school! iruma-kun, azz x clara)

“Oof!”

9. i'll make you cry when i run away (the caligula effect: overdose, suzuna x izuru)

Suzuna is thoroughly engulfed by a thick book when Izuru spots her.

10. hanzawa to tashiro (sasaki to miyano, hanzawa x tashiro)

“Whoa, WHOA!”

-

the insane amount of cookie run fics jgjgng......and that's not even all of them...........

anyways this was so fun to go and look back at all of my old fics!!! i definitely have a habit of just jumping straight into what's happening haha. the two outliers that just start out with a line of dialogue are funny too.

thank you again for tagging me, simon!! unfortunately idk any other writers who'd be interested in doing this, so if anyone sees this and wants to do it, consider it a tag from me!! 💕💕💕💕

writing patterns tag game!

tagged by my beloved @dwarfsized who is extremely talented and you all should go read her fics. Now. ty!

Rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 posted fics and see if there's a pattern!

i too, do not have 10 fics posted, and i am omitting a few of my hs horrors for my sanity!

reflection (bg3 wyll/astarion)

When he was young, he loved parties.

2. this is (probably) how i get myself killed (bg3 astarion/m!tav)

Nevaeh is not an idiot, despite what his companions may say.

3. fire on fire (the untamed, wwx/lwj)

For the longest time, his only comfort was in a pen.

4. don't make purple (....voltron...keith/lance....sighs)

Keith hated change.

5. cocaine jesus (......voltron........keith/lance.........)

The Blade’s base was so cold during nighttime. It wasn’t the soft hum of the castle at night, the content quiet of knowing you were close to people you cared about.

aaand i wont be posting the others due to my own sanity needing to be intact!

patterns:

my love affair with simple sentences needs to come to an end. unforchies it never will. i love abusing commas and, i've noticed my first sentences are confusing without the rest of my beginning paragraphs haha! i also almost Always have the POV characters name there, oops!

this is very interesting!!! thank you leetle for tagging meee i love you! tagging @sweetsuke muahahaha

[luminous-shifting-vibes]

*sequel* to actual fucking quotes from the shiftblr coffeehouse discord server

once again, it's out of context because x1000 funnier

also x1000 longer than previous post

"ur satan is gnc af"

"Bestie I’m already having gender envy over a fucking demon please"

"O_O ODEPIJHFbavevisdpvfhzdcnjawedsidjksjdkoeirjfmkdsoeirujdksodifjndmksoidfjdksidfj ITS" NOT IN MY FRAFTS IS SPEDNT 1 hour PN THAT SHIT"

"AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"ohoho sexy"

"I am very proud of myself"

"himbo x edgy fuck"

"YOU COULD SQUISH HES CHEECKS"

"he has teefs"

"SQUASH"

"good for biting 📷"

"he's a himbo basically"

"B͂̒̄iͫ̍̈tͧ̓ͯè̄̇"

"bifth"

"i havent watched blue exorcist in years but mr okumura my beloved </3"

"MY LIFE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED"

"is it important information to mention that the person i put up for my turn is the son of satan" "I know like 1 thing about everyone who isnt ranboo lmfao"

"crimes"

"tumblr sexyman"

"idk why but my first thought was cowboy onceler"

"I vibe with him but he is very long and twisty"

"steampunk e-girl"

"steampunk tumblr sexyman"

"Canonically bi crimelord I agree!!"

"OOO FRIEND SHAPED"

"ARTIST SIGHTED"

"they look like someone i would want to be friends with but is way cooler than me so i'd never actually talk to them"

"babby..... would die for him"

"honestly i probably kin him"

"i'm sure he's lovely but he looks way too much like my ex i'm sorry-"

"i'd be down for another rotation! i have another twink to show y'all"

"Also :00 blonde friend"

"Let us all infodhmo"

"Hsjagdvbs shhh im on phone"

"Nix woukd you like to joon?

"skitters away"

"I have two braincells and they both drink dumb bitch juice"

"oof wait whats the order again i have 0 memory"

"i want to bond with him over cosplay-"

"Awkwardly watches in band kid"

"One day I'm gonna a broadway star"

"which isnt to say they were bad. they were just fortnite dancing during rehersals"

"I threw it so hard my glasses flew off and slid under the stage right divider"

"anyway heres my boi"

"emo"

"haha emo"

"virgil sanders kinnie"

"he looks like he listens to my chemical panic at the fallout boy"

"Bro I bet he'd kick my ass with his deck"

"bird man my beloved"

"fuck i had so much to say and then i forgot it all"

"Birds!!"

"guiguhuh"

"crabrave"

"She sounds like someone I would end up stealing her personality"

"yess name collector gang"

"alias glass aiden haven absinthe fish brick rice"

"But I have Cypress, Remure, Genesis, Lemres, and Comet"

"And she's named after a mars candy bar bc alien"

"Hey, if plato went by plato, you can be king thief"

"im not dissing my gramma like that shfojd"

"My dad has seven legal names" "bitches be like *looks at fictional character* *steals their name* it's us we're bithces"

"coraline lowkey traumatized me but i adore it regardless"

"mmmmmm magic man :]"

"°0° green man"

"criminal (affectionate)"

"he would shoplift a candy bar from walmart and then brag to all of his friends about the sick stealing he did"

"despite the fact he's canonically been capable of overpowering a minor deity"

"i would commit so many crimes for him"

"Very babey"

"Yes please tell green man he is very pog"

"he also keeps a lot of dumb secrets"

"but I will sorely miss the chaos and energy of this here chat until I wake again" (by request XD)

"i just say words and if they're funny then they're funny"

"* or extremly chaotic either works"

"at this point we are just taking turns rambling"

"oH--"

"bc my brain has a schedule"

"Hopefully they have gyoza there or I will lose my mind"

"hehe yes spooky man"

"my ghost glucose guardian"

"the head of the undead group that lives there, and we end up dating. (yes I date a ghost, no I will not be taking constructive criticism /lh)"

"ghosts r just inherently sexy"

"i mean im becoming a squid thing so"

"Raven quirk raven quirk!!"

"ł â m p"

"łæmp"

"mothman: ooh lamp you look very nice today! do you come here often? mothman: wait shit no"

"I'd date a ghost"

"mine is still accurate, i am still sobbing (/j)"

"p e e p e e"

""@nick wilde is a tumblr sexyman" is the best thing i have ever seen"

"im sorry im cackling like a dying hyena"

"you're all 12 year olds"

"PEENIE"

"He once caused global warming on accident so he could get a tan"

"god, what a himbo. i love him"

"that reminds me of my friends kin assigned me jesus"

"Man outside of battle be like: princely crying but then in battle hes like: "CATACLYSM! DISASTER! DEVASTATION!" Chill out man"

"Every time I talk about satan it never fails to shock people it's my favorite thing to do"

"im kin assigning him roman sanders" ""Oh yeah he caused global warming because he wanted to get girls" "he what""

"oh damn i forgot satan was straight"

"twink appreciation club"

"give us the twinks"

"my first thought was bottom-"

"so many people to try and get his dad to love him"

"daddy issued"

"OH MY GOD ITS WILBUR"

"Big boy but"

"anyways janus is swagggg"

"........................."

"gib twink"

"give twink then i will share"

"holds him gentle like hamburger"

"This dumb bitch opened a book that said "do not open" and got possessed by a little bastard"

"he is. fragile creachur"

"klug is beauty klug is grace i would let him step on my face"

"If I'm playing swap and I have to hear one more "Pwanet Powew" Im gonna lose it"

"Who is to blame? Pandora or the box?"

"Bakugo isnt my type but I respect the drip"

"i say like my type isnt long-haired pretty boys and girls that look so gnc that people have a history of confusing them for men"

"hes a gremlin and i can appreciate a pretty gremlin"

"that is to say i am attracted to VFlower vocaloid. This is a confession."

"note i am a lesbian"

"You may like Schezo wegey"

"why does he have one single expression"

"soul soul eater passes the vibe check"

"magic wand"

"I Want To Hold His Hand"

"i would commit a war crime for him any war crime idc which one"

"my favorite one is when he sounded rlly gay because he said "Muscular bodies keep me satisfied""

"p e a n u t"

"Klug is a homophobic homosexual its just facts"

"grug from the croods is peak male performance"

"jaw drops to floor, eyes pop out of sockets accompanied by trumpets, heart beats out of chest, awooga awooga sound effect, pulls chain on train whistle that has appeared next to head as steam blows out, slams fists on table, rattling any plates, bowls or silverware, whistles loudly, fireworks shoot from top of head, pants loudly as tongue hangs out of mouth, wipes comically large bead of sweat from forehead, clears throat, straightens tie, combs hair Ahem, you look very lovely."

"tag yourself im the fireworks shooting from the top of the head"

"i like essays"

"central time gang"

"11:11 pog-" (wait... is that a suprise angel number?? yes it is lovelies just for you <3)

"Then again im also a dumbass bitch who wonders what the souls in soul eater taste like. SERIOUSLY THOUGH. THEY LOOK TASTY AS HELL!!!! LIKE GODDAMN BRO YOU'RE MAKING ME FUCKING HUNGRY. Like. that shit- it's Bone Apple motherfucking Teeth. hell yea my guy. Im hongy now.... shlorp I'm seriously considering this. Like. They seem kinda like a liquid? But a solid? Are they like jello? The fuck they taste like my guy???? I keep imagining they're like sour, like sour candy maybe? Or do they taste salty? Sweet? Maybe some combo of two? Do they even have a taste or is it about the texture? The sensation? God my mouth is watering what the hell. I am starving. I think I need to go get a cookie. I'm gonna go get a cookie. Brb. I'm better. I'm still craving souls though. Which is a weird-ass cringey thing to say but I'm being dead-ass rn. They just.... look tasty???? And I wanna eat one. Thus. I am shifting to Soul Eater for the express purpose of satisfying my fucking cravings. enjoy"

"points were made"

"jello? more like helloooo schloooAHFJDSDAIDWNALDHSJKDAIDANDM"

"WAIT I THINK I HAVE AN ANIME GIRL BITING VIDEO TOO"

"anime girl voice: mmm! mm... ahhhhmp!! mmm, mmm... aaahmp!"

"i think it sounds great i'm going to start eating like that"

"several people are typing"

"do these look edible to you"

"forbidden gummies"

"when I was on lsd I couldn't eat my fruit gummies because I thought they were alive because they had little faces on them"

"oh shit yeah don't do drugs"

"anyways general consensus is puyos are edible, ty for your input everyone"

"everypony is a word so powerful it can bring nations to its knees"

"pls the self control it's taking me not to say "hewwo everypony" in gen chat when someone new joins-"

"hewwo evewrypony uwu deaw cewestia i hopwe it doewsnt wain owo"

"ive cooked up a sowution wiwth the knowwege ive acwued. they say a kitcwen time saves niwne, but im just savwing two. Ive gathewwed the inwedients to make a time sowbet. Thewe's hawdly woom fow seconds when the seconds mewt away."

"I had a ten year old sister... you know what happened to her??? very sad, very tragic... she turned eleven....."

"NIIICE"

"Guts dont say the secks word :( /j"

"watch your fucking language in front of the president"

"im so sorry lumi"

"i think you're like ehhhh 8/10 funny"

"now me???? 10/10. Hilarious"

"sometimes i have to take a step back and remember that this is the same guts i follow on tumblr /lh"

""ok every here's some good shifting advice!!! uwu have a good day" "yeah i did lsd and ate fruit gummies""

"i have one setting and it's whatever this is"

"my bitch ass cat just pushed the door open with his fuzzy face and now my sleeping dad is being lulled into dreams by Cosmo Sheldrake's 'Pliocine'."

"me on discord: nick wilde"

"me on tumblr: shifting water! haha funne! me on here: my hermit crabs are cannibals also i want to eat souls."

"im sorry yOUR VIBESA RE JUST SO DIFFERNT"

"u give off older cousin ive never spoken to but always admire at the family gatherings vibes"

"what the fuck"

"BC I HAVE LIBERTU"

"If you adopt me then yes"

"am I qualified for dad jokes???"

"we're all a lot smarter on tumblr"

"I'm like "awww... sweet... sweet little shiftlings... posting such sweet shiftling content... so pure, so wholesome... does not even know abcs....""

"can't think before you speak if you never think B)"

"I'm not responsible enough to be a mom"

"cat pet"

"show us pictures of the cat or i will do Crime"

"maybe thats me being a coward tho"

"MOTH!!!! MOTH MY BELOVED"

if y'all want I can make this a series bc shiftblr keeps giving me more content

[youare-mysonshine]

que malo (part 5) || oscar diaz

(gif is not mine. credit to owner♥️)

Summary: Reader cheats on her boyfriend with Oscar. What could possibly go wrong?

Pairing: Oscar Diaz x reader

Warnings; 18+. cheating, smut, abusive/manipulative relationship, cussing. Violence, mentions of blood.

Word Count: 8.6k

A/N: part five, wassup. So I didn’t know how to end this lmao. I hope you enjoy, I hope this isn’t ass. this is also the longest i’ve ever written🥺 this is not proofread so if there’s mistakes,,, ignore lmao. Luv u all

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

—————

Si tu novio te deja sola

Dimelo y yo paso a buscarte

Solo me bastaran un par de horas

Y ese cabron no va a recuperarte

—————

The next morning you woke up feeling better than you had in days. There was a slight ache between your legs but it only reminded you of the evening that you’d had with Oscar. Of what you had done in his car. Just thinking about it had brought a smile to your face, thinking of the way he’d made you feel gave you this warm and fuzzy sensation. You couldn’t describe it, it just.. felt good. You felt good, happy.

Rolling onto your back, you reached over to the the bedside table, grabbing your phone. You squinted slightly as you adjusted to the bright light. The time read ten am, so you knew that you must’ve slept in, but considering that you had gotten back home a little late, that was understandable. You had a few notifications on instagram, a few messages from your friends, and you saw that you also had a text message from Sad Eyes.

‘Hey, you get home okay?’

It brought a smile to your face; you and Sad Eyes had meet long before you had ever even met Carlos and Oscar. In fact, it was Sad Eyes that had introduced you to Carlos. You considered him to be one of your best friends. He was easy going, loyal, chill. You really vibe with him.

‘Yeah. Spooky gave me a ride, dropped me off at home.’

He did more than just give you a ride..

After replying to the text message from Sad Eyes, you saw that you had some from Carlos so your dad them - they were from the previous night, after his public spat with Oscar, after he had pushed you. They were drunken ramblings, cursing you out for god knows what. Some of his messages pointed the blame to you and you scoffed at the insinuation. The messages soon started mellowing out until the most recent text message that he’d sent you that morning that simply read ‘Call me when you wake up.’

All you did was read those text messages. You didn’t reply. You didn’t call him - you’d be the first to admit that you sometimes forgave him too easily but this time, you couldn’t and you wouldn’t. What happened last night was more of a reason for you to finally end things with him, and now that you were with Oscar, you were determined to do that.

Your mood had slightly soured because of the messages you had received from Carlos, but then you read Oscar’s and your heart leaped in your chest.

‘Buenos dias, mamas’

Short, sweet and simple. Instead of replying to the text message from Oscar, you decided to call him, putting the phone on speaker and resting it on your stomach. It rang about three or four times before he finally picked up, his deep voice bringing a smile to your face.

“Good morning to you too.” You said to him. “I just saw your text message.”

“Did you just wake up?” He asked you.

“Yeah, I guess I slept in.”

“Lazy ass.” He playfully mocked you.

“If you were here right now, I would’ve hit you with a pillow.” You said to him, rolling your eyes, but that smile never left your face.

“If I was there right now, we’d be doing something else, bebita.” Oscar smoothly replied.

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” You replied, looking up at the ceiling with absolute stars in your eyes. The text messages from Carlos had long been forgotten.

“This soft gummy worm looking ass dick would be all up in them guts - AGAIN.” The laughter that came from you was like music to his ears and it brought a smile to his own lips, and it remained even as he drank from his morning coffee. Events of the previous evening had replayed those of your minds - not just the sex but everything after.

“God shut up about that or I’m gonna change your name on my phone to soft gummy worm looking ass dick.” You said to him, still laughing softly. Deciding to finally get up and get some breakfast, or at least some coffee, you picked your phone up off of your stomach and pushed the covers off of your body.

“What are you doing today, bebe?” Oscar asked you. You slipped your sandals on and walked out of your bedroom, heading for the kitchen.

“Nada. I was just gonna clean, do laundry, go to the grocery store.” You told him. It was your day off from work and you had decided that you’d spend the day doing all the things you needed to get done around the house, otherwise you’d procrastinate even longer, as well as go to the grocery store and get some more things you needed.

“Let’s go to the beach.” Oscar suddenly said. You set your phone down on the counter as you grabbed a mug from one of the cupboards, turning on your coffee machine so you could make yourself a cup. You then walked to the fridge to grab the bread and butter for some toast.

“The beach?” You asked.

“Yeah, let’s go to the beach today. I don’t got shit to do with the Santos and I wanna see you. Let’s go.” Going to the beach sounded a whole lot more tempting than staying home, cleaning, doing the laundry and all that other stuff you knew that you needed to get done. You had told yourself you weren’t gonna procrastinate any longer but you couldn’t say no to going to the beach and spending time with Oscar.

“Okay let’s go then. What time?” You asked, a small smile on your face.

“Like around 12 or 1. I know how you hynas be taking long as fuck to get ready and shit.” Oscar teased. You rolled your eyes.

“I know how you hynas be taking long as fuck to get ready and shit.” You mocked him, lowering your voice to try and get it as deep as his but it was a fail and it was highly amusing. “Suck my ass.”

Oscar listened on the other end of the line with that little smile on his lips, his dimples just barely poking through on his cheeks. “Oh, suck your ass? Damn baby, I didn’t know you liked that shit.” He said, chuckling. “I learn something new about you everyday.” He said. He heard you laugh.

“Bye Oscar, see you later.” “Bye pretty girl.”

—————

The morning had gone by in a breeze - after you’d had your breakfast and after you’d managed to fold some of your laundry, you got ready for your little date with Oscar, if it could even be called a date anyways; you were doing everything completely backwards with him. After you’d done some of your laundry, you took a quick shower, shaving your legs once more just to ensure they were smooth and not prickly. After your shower, you began getting ready.

You wore a pair of denim shorts that perfectly accentuated and showed off your legs, as well as an off the shoulder top, something cute but simple. Your hair, once dry, was thrown up into a bun, with a few strands framing the side of your face. When it came to makeup, you went for something simple. Nothing too flashy, but just right.

It was nearing one o’clock when Oscar sent you the text message that he was outside and your heart practically jumped into your throat. You grabbed your house keys, your purse and made sure your wallet was inside, before walking out of your bedroom and heading straight to the front door. You weren’t even outside yet and you could hear the rumble of his impala. When you walked out into the bright and sunny day, his cherry red car was first thing that you saw sitting outside on the curb waiting for you.

You locked your front door then walked down the little path that led to the sidewalk and right over to his car. You opened up the passengers side door and got inside, setting your purse down next to you.

“Hola bebe.” Oscar greeted you, letting his eyes rake up and down your body, admiring the view. You felt your cheeks heat up ever so slightly under his gaze - it was almost like an instinctual reaction at that point. That man had you feeling some type of way, especially when he was looking at you with those eyes of his that you loved so much. With that little smile on his face. You buckled yourself seatbelt in and then lifted your head to meet his gaze.

“Hey Os.” You wanted to lean over and kiss him, even just a small peck, but you couldn’t risk it. It was one thing to be seen getting in Spooky’s car - you’d had Sad Eyes over your house before, he’d picked you up before - but it was certainly a different thing to be spotted smooching the leader of the Santos in his car. That very same car that you’d had mind blowing sex in the previous night.

Oscar gave a chuckle from beside you as he pulled away from the curb, driving down the road. “You look good.” Removing one hand from the steering wheel, he placed it on your thigh, gently squeezing the soft skin. You rested your own hand on top of his, looking out the window as the houses, cars and trees breezed by you two. “You good though? I noticed you were walking with a little bit of a limp.” You could hear the edge in his voice, teasing you. “So wassup, you still want me to suck your ass or what?”

You laughed, turning your head over to look at him. You raised your eyebrows. “Damn baby, you really wanna do that, huh? Is that what you do when you’re with the Santos? You guys do be busy.” Oscar tsk’d, clamping his hand around your thigh and squeezing. You gave a yelp and lifted your leg, laughing and trying to get him to let go of you. “Stop stop stop!”

“Callate pendeja.” He’d said to you when you’d managed to get him to let go of your thigh; you’d slipped your hand into his, interlocking your fingers with his own. His hand was bigger than yours, but it still fit perfectly.

“Tu callate, pendejo.” You retorted.

—————

“Where are we going?”

The rest of the drive was spent with the two of you talking, listening to the radio or just punking on each other. It was the best that you’d felt in days - so light and so free, without a care in the world. You wanted to feel like that all the time. You knew that you were nearing the beach considering that you’d been to it a handful of times before with your friends. During the summer when you couldn’t be bothered to go to the overcrowded community pool, choosing to go to the beach instead where you’d stay until the sunset and make s’mores. But Oscar had made a detour first, apparently.

“We’re getting something to eat. I’m feeling a burger. You?”

“Ugh, yes. I’m starving.” Just then, your stomach let out a low grumble at the mere thought of getting some food. All you’d had to eat was your breakfast in the morning, a little snack and that was it. Oscar gave a small chuckle, letting go of your hand to rub your stomach.

Another 10 minutes in the car and soon, he was pulling into the parking lot of the burger place. He’d parked the car near the entrance and the both of you unbuckled your seatbelts, climbing out of the car. With your wallet in hand, you and Oscar walked into the somewhat crowded burger joint and waited in line.

Given that no one knew either of you, considering Freeridge was a bit of a ways away, you both could now be open with your affections. Oscar wrapped his arm around you and pulled you close to his side, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

“Whatchu want, mamas?” He asked you. You hummed lowly as your eyes scanned over the menu, trying to figure out just what exactly you were craving.

“A cheeseburger with everything, except with no tomato though. French fries, obviously. Oh and onion rings.” You said, smiling brightly up at him. Your man looked down at you with a little eyebrow raise.

“You like onions?” He asked.

“Pero por supuesto. Why?”

Oscar said nothing as he leaned down and landed a very much awaited kiss to your lips. You smiled against his lips and deepened it ever so slightly. You’d wanted that the moment that you’d gotten into his car.

“My kinda ruca.” Oscar said to you as you broke the kiss. “Cesar hates onions. Whenever I bring home burgers or whenever I make some, I purposefully make sure that his has some.” He’d revealed, a mischievous smirk coming to his lips.

“Damn and what if he was allergic to them?”

“Tsk, you can’t be allergic to onions, Y/N.”

“Hey, you’d be surprised at what some people are allergic to.”

Oscar pressed another kiss to your head, then removed his arm from around you and walked forward as your turn came up next to order your food. He ordered both yours and his food, and while he did that, you opened up your wallet to pull out some money, but before you could even hand him anything, he’d already pulled out his own and handed it to the cashier.

“I was gonna give half you know.” You said. Oscar took his receipt and order number, along with the change and the two of you stepped off to the side to wait for your order.

“Too bad, nena.”

—————

After you’d gotten your food, you were back in the car and on your way to the beach for real this time around. You could practically smell the sea water, feel the warm breeze from the palm trees.

“Stop eating the fries, no va ver nada cuando lleguemos.” He’d said as you stuffed another fry into your mouth. You dug into the bag and pulled out another one but reached over and held it up to his mouth. He opened his mouth and ate it.

“Vato, we’re here already.” You pointed out, and sure enough, he’d pulled into the near empty parking lot of the beautiful beach, parking near the sand where the car would remain in view.

“Can you get the food? I think I got a blanket in the back.” Oscar said and you nodded. You grabbed the bags containing your meals, as well as the cup holder containing your drinks. You walked ahead of Oscar, stepping onto the warm white sand and choosing a good spot to set up. The tall Santo soon joined you with a red blanket in his hands and he made quick work of unfolding it and laying it down on the sand for you two to sit on.

“Aww, Spooky planned a picnic? How cute.” You teased, grinning widely at him as you set the food down on the blanket. You took your sandals off, setting them to the side before you yourself planted yourself down on the blanket. Oscar scoffed from beside you as he took planted himself down on the blanket.

“Yeah right. I had that blanket in my car from when I’ve brought all my other hyna’s to the beach. You ain’t special.” But he knew that wasn’t true. You knew that wasn’t true. You were very special. Completely special to him. The truth was, he’d never brought a girl to the beach with him.

“Damn, here I was thinking I was special. I was even willing to try a little sex on the beach, but.. never mind. You’re probably used to that.” You said as you opened up the bag of food. You took your burger out while handing Oscar his own, taking out the onion rings and the fries as well. The two of you wasted no time in digging in, eating the delicious fast food.

“Nah, I’m just fucking around. I’ve never brought a girl here before.” He’d said to you. You turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, chewing on your burger.

“Really?” You’d asked after swallowing the food. He nodded his head, popping an onion ring in his mouth.

“I come out here by myself, or with Cesar.”

The beach was absolutely beautiful at that time during the day. The sun was reflecting against the waves, the water glistening to bright and so blue. There was a light breeze - it wasn’t too cold, it wasn’t too hot. And while there were a few people, it wasn’t entirely crowded. It was perfect, and you felt at peace. Content. You never wanted to leave.

The two of your continued eating your food while maintaining some small talk - you’d occasionally reach over and feed him a fry or an onion ring and he’d do the same to you. Pretty soon, the food was all gone and both of you were satisfied and with full bellies.

“God that was so good.” You said as you took a drink of your soda. You set the trash off to the side, making a mental note to throw it away before you left the beach. You moved closer to Oscar, your side brushing against him, your head falling on his shoulder. The tattooed Santo wrapped his arm around you, like he’d done back at the burger place, and held you close to him.

“I came out here when I was released from prison, you know.” Is what he said, breaking the small silence that had fallen over the two of you as you stared out at the waves crashing against the shore. You said nothing but simply looked up at him, letting him keep talking because you were learning more about him. You knew that for someone like Oscar, it wasn’t the easiest thing to open up, and you weren’t about to interrupt him. You’d also known about his lengthy prison sentence, but you never brought it up or talked about it - you didn’t know if it was a sore subject or not. “After being locked up for four years in a small ass cell, I just needed to see something big. Open. I came out here and stayed here for a few hours. I got myself a burger from that joint too.” You smiled.

“It’s beautiful here. I’ve only been here a few times with my friends during summer but I love it.” You said.

“My mom used to bring me and Cesar here when we were younger. He doesn’t remember cause he was too little but.. I do. I remember.” You could sense the shift in his voice, feel the tension in his body, as he spoke about his mother. Now, you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t curious about where his and Cesar’s parents were - in the times that you’d been to his house, in the times that you’d spent with him, you’d never seen his mother or his father, and he’d never even mentioned them either. All you really knew was that his father is or was a Santo. Carlos had told you that Oscar’s entire family was comprised of Santos. He was born a Santo, essentially.

You didn’t know if you were overstepping a boundary, but he’d brought it up and you were curious. You needed to know. You wanted to know more about Oscar. Not Spooky. Not the fearless and feared gang leader. “Where is your mom? I’ve never seen her and I’ve never heard you talk about her.. or your dad either.” You said, your words coming out soft, hesitantly.

Oscar wasn’t looking at you, he was staring directly at the water, but with the way his jaw clenched, you knew that you hit a nerve, and you regretted opening your mouth. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.” This little impromptu beach day was to have fun and you didn’t want to ruin that.

Oscar gave your shoulder a little squeeze, a bit of a comfort knowing that he was there with you. But every time he thought about his mom, his dad - he couldn’t stop the way his heart constricted with anger and sadness. The very thing that fueled him was anger. He’d never really talked about his parents before because it was a sore subject - he certainly didn’t talk about them with Cesar because he didn’t want his baby brother to have to shoulder the burden and pain of knowing they were abandoned by not one, but both of their parents. It was easier for Oscar to just not talk about it. But with you.. he didn’t want to keep shit hidden or a secret. He trusted you, he felt comfortable with you. He felt comfortable enough to show that vulnerability. But that didn’t mean it made it any easier.

“My mom, she.. she was never really around. I mean, she was around but she wasn’t really around. She preferred drugs over her kids. One day she left and she never came back. Dad.. well shit, he went to prison. I used to write him letters but he never returned any of them, he never wrote back so eventually I stopped. It’s been me and Cesar all these years. I raised him, I took care of him. Even when I was locked up too, I made sure that he was good.” Your heart constricted painfully in your chest at the revelation.

You’d had an inkling that Oscar’s parents weren’t around given that you never saw them but now that you knew it was true and why your heart broke for him and Cesar.

“I had plans after graduating high school, you know.” He said, a little smile tugging at his lips.

“Oh yeah, what?” You asked, your own smile tugging at your lips.

“I was a good student. My teachers wrote letters for me, so did my principal. He told my mom I was gifted. I wanted to be a chef, I had plans to go to that culinary school up in Pasadena.” A chef? Chef Oscar. It had a ring to it.

“So what happened?”

“I couldn’t leave Cesar. I was all the kid had. I never wanted this life. Not for me, not for him, but I did what I had to do.”

“You can still have that, Oscar. I know how this shit works. It’s blood in and blood out, right? But.. who says you can’t go back to school? Who says you can’t be a chef? There’s more to life than this. You’ve given Cesar a lot - a roof over his head, food, clothes.. Don’t you want something for yourself? Something to make you happy?”

“I have the Santos.”

“And are you happy?” It was like all those times were Oscar had asked you if you were happy with Carlos, except now the roles were reversed. You could feel Oscar start pulling away from you - not physically but more so emotionally and mentally so you figured that it was good to just drop the subject for now. He’d already opened up to you about his parents.

“You know, I’ve always felt like I wasn’t good enough for my parents. Like.. no matter what I did, they weren’t satisfied. I could never meet their expectations. And it’s such a shitty feeling. Sometimes I feel like a disappointment, like nothing I do for anyone is good enough.”

Carlos made you feel like that. He made you feel like the efforts that you put in your relationship weren’t enough. That no matter what you didn’t, it was good enough, that you weren’t good enough. And you had reached a point where you were done trying to make it work because it clearly was not going to. You had reached that point where you just wanted to be happy, where the efforts you made were reciprocated and appreciated.

“I’ve always kinda wanted to be a doctor, or a nurse. I remember one time when I was little, I fell at the playground and I busted my lip open and I had to go to the hospital to get stitches. The nurse that stitched me up was so nice. I was terrified, super fucking scared but she did absolutely everything to keep me calm. I always remember her, and I remember getting home that day and thinking to myself that I wanted to be like her. I wanted to help people, to make them feel better.”

“What happened?”

“The money. The last thing I wanted was to burden my parents with that, so I kind of gave up on it.” You said.

“If it’s money that’s stopping you, mamas - I got you.” Oscar said, and you smiled. You leaned up and kissed his cheek, then his teardrop tattoo.

“If you go back to school to become a chef, I’ll go back to school to become a nurse.” You threw out. He gave you a deadpanned look, letting out a little scoff.

“Sneaky ass hyna.” Oscar muttered, but you could see the beginnings of a little smile pulling at his lips. After your little heart to heart with him, you certainly felt more close to him - you felt like you knew him just that much better than you thought you already did. You hadn’t known about his aspirations to become a chef, but it warmed your heart knowing that he trusted you enough to tell you all of that.

You couldn’t deny that it also broke your heart knowing that he was sucked into the gang life, forced to grow up way too soon and care for his younger brother when he was still pretty young himself. That he’d been forced to give up his hopes and dreams, but it also showed you how selfless he was - he did it all for Cesar. His baby brother came first.

“Let me ask you something.” Oscar spoke up. You nodded your head, signaling for him to keep going. “Why are you with Carlos? Like straight up, why are you still with him if you’re not happy?”

For a few seconds you stayed silent, biting your bottom lip as you pondered your answer. “Honestly, I don’t really know. He always tells me that I have to try harder in the relationship instead of trying to run away. I feel bad, you know? I feel like it is my fault, I feel like I don’t or didn’t put enough effort in the relationship, so maybe that’s why I stayed. I mean in the beginning, it was great, you know? I was happy, shit was good but.. one day it changed. I realized that he wasn’t who I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. I started seeing a different side of him, a side I didn’t like. It’s like I told you last night - he scares me because I don’t know exactly what he’s capable of.” You said. “I think that’s part of the reason why I wanted to stop seeing you - I mean, I didn’t want to but I knew that if I wanted to be with you , I’d have to finally end shit with Carlos and I don’t know how. But.. I’m happy with you.” You revealed, your voice lowering, soft and dulcet. “It’s different. Even though my relationship with Carlos has been over for a while now, I know that what we did still isn’t okay and it will never be okay but.. I don’t know.. it’s different with you.”

“Damn mamas, the dick has you that sprung on me?” Oscar joked.

“Oscar, I swear to god-“ You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him away from you. “You’re the worst.” The handsome Santo beside you let out a deep laughter as he grabbed you and pulled you to him again. He leaned down and pressed his lips to your own, his facial hair tickling you. In the midst of your kiss, he’d pushed you to lay back on the blanket while he hovered on top of you, his chain falling on your chest from where it was dangling. The kiss was soft, slow, but still just as passionate. Your lips moved together so perfectly, so in sync - you’d never get over the feeling it gave you, that he gave you.

Pulling away for some air, Oscar rested his forehead against your own, his dark eyes looking into your own. “You know that offer for sex on the beach expired.” You said. He chuckled.

“I ain’t in it just for the sex, you know.” He said. “I mean yeah, the sex is.. good, but I already told you last night. I wanna be with you, formal. Shit’s complicated right now because of Carlos but we’ll figure it out.”

“Damn papas, the pussy has you that sprung on me?” You threw back at him, a little smirk on your lips. Oscar tsk’d, giving you that unamused look. He brought a hand up to your face and lightly flicked you on the nose. You laughed, grabbing him by the chain to pull him down to you so that you could kiss him again.

—————

“I dare you to get in the water.” You said to Oscar from where you were laying between his legs, your back pressed up against his chest. The sun had barely set, the moon was shining brightly in the darkened sky, and the water as glistening beautiful. You and Oscar had officially spent the entire day together at the beach and you’d had the best time in a long time. It just went to show you that it really was not about the sex.

“You’re trippin’. The water is probably cold as fuck. You get in.” He said, patting your thigh. You grinned.

“Alright.” You pushed yourself to stand up from where you were comfortably seated, your feet digging into the now cool sand. “I guess you’re too much of a pussy to get in, so I’ll have to do it.” Grabbing the hem of your top, you pulled it over your head, exposing the smooth skin of your stomach, your strapless bra concealing your chest. Oscar sat back, his arms supporting his reclined position, his dark eyes locked on your figure. You threw the top right at him, grinning. You sent him a sly little wink as you unbuttoned your shorts, sliding them off and dumping them haphazardly upon the sand. Now left in only your underwear, you spun around, your hair bouncing, and headed for the water.

Oscar let his eyes rake over your beautiful body - the way you looked under the moonlight. You appeared almost ethereal. “You crazy!” He called out from behind you. The tattooed Santo stood up from where he was reclined and decided to have his little bit of fun with you. He removed his shirt, tossing it aside with the rest of your clothing. His shoes and socks went next, then his pants. He was now left in nothing but his boxers.

“Come on, Oscar. Get in!” You called back out. You reached the shore, the water barely lapping at your feet. It was definitely cold for sure, not as cold as you anticipated, but you weren’t entirely prepared to submerge yourself just yet. But it seemed like Oscar had a different idea.

He followed behind you as sneakily as he could, the water tickling his feet, and when he was close enough, he scooped you up into his arms bridal style. Their skin touched and he could feel your warmth. He grinned at your surprised squeal. “Oscar!”

“Que dijiste? I’m a pussy? Hm?” He asked as he walked further into the water. “Lo siento, bebita.” Oscar tossed you into the water, laughing as you emerged, your hair now wet and clinging to your face. Little droplets of water fell down your body.

“Perdon, you slipped.” He said, a devilish smirk tugging at his lips.

“You little bitch.” You said. An all out splash fight had broken out, most of the water coming from you, determined to get him just as drenched as he’d gotten you. What a sight you two must’ve been - two grown adults, splashing each other with the water like you were little ass kids. But you two were off in your own little world, the little world that you’d created together. Everything else faded away and it was just you two.

After your fun in the water, you and Oscar headed back up to the blanket, where your clothes were, and waited to dry off, though that was nearly as fun because it had definitely become slightly more chilly.

“Quien te mando a que te metieras a la agua.” Oscar said as you slid your shorts back on after deciding your panties were dry enough. Your top followed shortly after.

“No one, but you didn’t have to throw me in the water either, idiota.” Oscar never got the chance to say anything because his phone had started ringing. He reached over to his pants, felt around for the pocket and then pulled it out. He answered the call and then brought it up to his ear.

“Que onda?” He asked. It was Sad Eyes on the other end of the line.

“Where you at, compa?” The Santo asked Oscar.

“I came to the beach. Wassup?” He asked.

“Carlos. He’s called me up, said he wanted to get the Santos together at your crib. Told me he wanted to apologize for what happened last night at the carnival.” Oscar sucked his lips between his teeth. He couldn’t avoid Carlos, he didn’t want to see him so soon after what had happened the previous night, but he figured he’d listen to whatever the punk had to say.

“Yeah, alright. Tell everyone to meet up at my house then. I’ll be there soon.” Sad Eyes agreed and the call ended soon after. You were in the midst of tying your somewhat damp hair up into a bun, your eyes locked on Oscar.

“Everything okay?” You asked. You knew that some stuff was best to be left off limits and you were sure that Santos business was one of them - but you could tell that Oscar’s mood had soured slightly. The Santo in question stood up and put his pants back on, securing them with the belt. His shirt followed suit.

“It was Sad Eyes. Told me Carlos called him and said that he wanted to get the Santos together at my house to apologize for the shit that went down at the carnival.” He said. Your mouth opened, forming a little O shape. “Have you talked to him today?”

“Nah. I mean, he texted me all last night and this morning but I never replied to him.” Oscar nodded his head. The two of your gathered your belongings and headed over to his car. You wiped away from of the excess sand off of your feet and legs, slipped your sandals on and then climbed into the car. Oscar did the same thing, slipping his socks and shoes on and then got in.

“What do you wanna do? I can drop you back at your crib.” He said, grabbing his keys and placing them in the ignition. He turned the key and the car came alive with a rumble, that very familiar rumble that you were growing accustomed to. Reaching into your purse, you pulled your phone out and saw that Carlos had yet again blown your notifications up with text messages and missed calls. Some of the text messages included;

‘Y/N answer your phone’

‘Can you please answer? Stop being like that.’

‘I’m going to your house.’

‘Yo, answer the door.’

‘Where you at? Are you home?’

‘Are you fucking kidding me? You’re being like this?’

‘Alright then. I see.’

One of his latest messages read that he was gonna go to Oscar’s house to fix shit with him and the Santos. “I’ll go with you. I think you’re not the only one he owes an apology too.”

—————

Thug for life I will be (this is the ballad of a dead soldier)

A life of crime I will lead (close your eyes, hear the ballad of the dead soldier)

If you play the game, you play to win (this is the ballad of the dead soldier)

It’s a crazy world full of sin (close your eyes)

Completely lost, revenge at all costs

Payback’s a bitch, switched, now the tricks crossed

—————

Neither you nor Oscar really said anything on the drive back to Freeridge, on the drive to his house. You sat curled up beside him, with your head on his shoulder, one of your arms looped around his, holding him tightly, holding him close. You had to admit that you were thinking about how it all would go down with Carlos, what you’d say when you saw him again. What he’d say to Oscar, to the other Santos. There was that little irrational fear that maybe he had found out about you and Oscar somehow but you knew it wasn’t possible because you two had been careful.

The drive to his house was much shorter in comparison to the drive to the drive. It ended far too quick for your liking, and when you were back in your neighborhood, you reluctantly untangled yourself from your man and sat back in the passenger seat.

“You sure you wanna go? I can still drop you off at home.” Oscar asked, reaching over to give your thigh a brief squeeze. You turned your head to him and gave him a small smile.

“Estoy segura.”

The drive didn’t last much longer and soon, you were pulling up on his street. As you got closer and closer to his house, you could make out the Santos that had congregated on his front lawn. Sad Eyes, Joker, Oso and a a few others. Carlos was among them, a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. Your heart leaped in your chest as they all caught sight of Oscar’s approaching car, of you sitting in the passenger side.

Oscar pulled into the driveway of his home and once the car was parked, he shut the engine off. The two of you got out, you with your purse in hand. Carlos’ eyes were on you, watching you very closely. You could see the wheels turning in his head, silently wondering, asking himself, why in the hell you were with Oscar.

“Wassup Y/N.” Sad Eyes greeted you, walking over to you and giving you a brief hug. You smiled, returning the sentiment.

“Sup vato.”

Carlos walked over to you as well, throwing his cigarette to the floor and stomping on it to put it out. He nodded at you. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“You texted me and told me and told me that you were gonna be here, I figured you told me for a reason.” You answered. Oscar greeted his homies, but he kept an eye on you and Carlos. He could hear some of what you and Carlos were saying anyways.

“So you were getting my text messages?” He asked, a look of irritation on his face. “And what? You couldn’t answer or call me back?”

“What? You think I was gonna give in so easily after the shit that you pulled last night? Pushing me?” You retorted. Carlos clenched his jaw, released a deep sigh from his nose.

“Why were you with Spooky?” He suddenly asked. For a few seconds you froze, trying to come up with an excuse as to why you were with him in the first place. “Hm?”

“He saw me walking over here, and he offered me a ride. Is there something wrong with that?” You were lying. You and Oscar knew that you were lying, but Carlos didn’t need to know that. And you couldn’t bring yourself to feel bad anymore. You didn’t. Not anymore.

“Yeah. I heard he also gave you a ride last night too. The fuck is that about?” He asked. You scoffed, a hint of disbelief.

“What do you mean, Carlos? I got a ride from him because you left my ass stranded at the carnival after you started a whole bunch of shit. After you pushed me.” You were past the point of letting him push you around. You weren’t gonna deal with it anymore. And part of you felt just that much better knowing you were with Oscar, knowing you had him in your corner. By now, you knew that you had gotten the attention of the few Santos that were on the lawn, of Oscar.

Oscar could feel all that peace he felt with you at the beach leaving his body as he watched you two talk, more like argue. “The fuck is his problem? Didn’t he come here to apologize, not start shit with his girl? Again.” Joker said. My girl Oscar thought to himself, his jaw clenching.

Carlos scoffed, running a hand down his face. He was pissed, he was angry - you’d been getting his text messages, his calls but you were deliberately ignoring him. You were reading every message he’d sent you but you still didn’t answer. And now, you’d pulled up with Oscar and it was something Carlos didn’t like. He’d gone to the house with the intention of apologizing for the shit he caused but his anger was starting to get the better of him.

“And what so you decided to get a ride from one of my homies? How do you think that makes me look? How do you think that makes you look?” He questioned. “It makes you look like a slut.”

You took a step back, stunned. “Chill the fuck out, Carlos. Don’t come here and start shit again.” Sad Eyes spoke, walking over. But Carlos ignored him.

“Are you kidding me? A slut? A slut. Take that back.” You demanded. You weren’t hurt. You weren’t sad. You were angry. You’d let Carlos disrespect you one too many times and you’d let him get away with it before but now.. not anymore. He’s called you a whore. He’d pushed you. He’d made you feel like you weren’t good enough - this was the last straw. The last humiliation you’d endure. “Take that shit back you fucking asshole.”

“Oh, I’m an asshole now? Better than being a dirty fucking puta.” You pushed him. You pushed him back with all your strength and adrenaline and he actually staggered back a few steps.

“Fuck you!”

In the second that Carlos had looked up at you after what you did, you barely registered the absolute anger in his eyes. If looks could kill, you’d be dead for sure. Nothing could prepare you, or anyone, for what happened next. It all happened so quick.

“You fuckin-“ Carlos lurched forward, lifted his hand and connected his open palm to your face, striking you so hard that you staggered backwards just like he’d done. Your purse fell to the ground in a heap as your hands came up to clutch at your face. There was a ringing in your ear but you certainly did not miss the sound of several feet rushing forward, several different voices yelling.

“What the fuck! You wanna hit a girl?”

“Get his ass, Sad Eyes!”

“Fucking pussy ass bitch, hitting a female.”

Oscar felt this untamable rage come over him when he saw and heard Carlos slapping you. It was loud, it sounded like it dam near reverberated around the entire block, echoing in his ears. And it replayed in his mind over and over again. You stood completely still clutching your cheek in your hands, looking down at the ground. Meanwhile Sad Eyes, Joker, Oso and the other Santos had jumped on Carlos.

Oscar dropped the can of beer that he’d been given, the liquid spilling out on the yellowing grass. His eyes were teeming with anger as he looked at Carlos who was completely restrained, sporting a reddened face after he’d been hit by Sad Eyes. But that wasn’t the end of it - oh no. “Te vas a arrepentir, pendejo.” He spoke, voice deep and deadly, eyes just as deadly. “Get his sorry ass to the back.”

As much as Oscar wanted to follow behind and beat Carlos’ ass, his attention fell on you. He walked over to you in quick strides, standing in front of you. You still refused to look at him, still clutching your cheek. You were in shock, he could tell. “Let me see.. Let me see, mamas.” He placed his thumb and index finger under your chin and lifted your face up so that you could look at him. What he saw simultaneously pissed him off even more and broke his heart.

Tears were in your eyes, your lip was busted and bloody, and your cheek had a deep red mark, which he knew would grow darker by the second. Your face was throbbing and your lip was quivering - you were seconds away from bursting out in tears. You were in a state of shock, of disbelief. You could not believe what had happened. That it had even happened at all. You knew Carlos could get angry but you never expected that he’d hit you. You could hear grunts and curses coming from the back yard of Oscar’s house.

“Hey.. hey,” Oscar’s voice was softer now, as opposed to the way he’d spoken to Carlos - with hatred and malice. His eyes softened ever so slightly as well, looking at you with such care and tenderness. But even between your tears, you could see that he was dying to go back there and beat the shit out of Carlos. “It’s okay.. it’s alright, mamas. I got you.” The tall Santo leaned down and picked your purse up from where it had fallen on the ground. He carried it in his hand, then wrapped his arm around your and led you up the front steps to the front door. Your legs were shaky, your nerves were all over the place, and you felt like you could just collapse any second, but Oscar made sure that didn’t happen with his strong grip. He kept saying sweet nothings to you, telling you that he was there, that everything would be alright, that he wasn’t gonna let anything happen to you again.

He walked you further down the hallway until he came upon his bedroom. He pushed open the door, sat you on the bed and told you he’d be right back. He was only gone for about a few seconds but when he came back, he had an icepack in his hand wrapped in a kitchen towel. He kneeled down in front of you just as a few tears had fallen down your face, wetting your inflamed and reddened cheek. He brought his hand up and wiped the tears away, then gently laid the icepack on your skin. You recoiled ever so slightly.

“I’m sorry, mamas. I’m gonna make this right, okay? I’m gonna make that puto pay. You stay in here, got it? I’ll be back.” Oscar leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Ya no llores, mi amor.” He said softly. He kissed your forehead once more before pushing himself up, moving with determination to the door. But your soft, shaky and weak voice called out to him.

“Oscar..” He stopped in his tracks, looking back at you. “Don’t kill him.”

—————

After Oscar had shut the bedroom door, that murderous, enraged look was back in his eyes. In his entire face. His shoulders were tense, his fists were clenched so tightly that he damn near drew blood with his his fingernails were digging into his skin. He walked with determination to the backdoor. He wretched it open and all the Santos stopped what they were doing, turning to look at him standing in the doorway - Carlos was laying in a heap on the dirt. Some blood has begun trickling out of his nose, it looked like his lips was busted, just like yours.

“S-Spooky.. please.. I’m.. sorry..” Carlos wheezed, pushing himself to sit up. The Santo in question finally walked forward, letting the door slam shut behind him.

“Damn, you guys hear that? He’s sorry.” Oscar spoke, voice deep, bitter. All the Santos surrounded Carlos gave bitter laughs as well. “Nah, you’re only sorry cause you’re punk ass is getting your ass beat.” Oscar finally came to a stop until he was standing in front of Carlos, looking down at him. He could see the look of fear in his ears, he could see the pleas, the sorries on the tip of Carlos’ tongue. But sorry wouldn’t help him now. Pleading wouldn’t help him either.

“What kinda little bitch hits a woman, hm?” He asked, kneeling down so he was at eye level with Carlos. “You a Santo?”

“W-What?”

“Are you a Santo?” He asked again.

“Y-Yes. You know I am.”

“Nah. That’s where you’re wrong. You ain’t a Santo. You’re a little bitch who’s balls haven’t dropped. You’re fucking lucky to have a girl like Y/N. And all you do is treat her like shit. Well.. no mas. That ain’t gonna happen anymore. Cause after tonight, you’re gonna leave her the fuck alone. And if I find out that you were trying to see her again, it’s gonna be way worse for you.”

“She’s my girlfriend-“

“No mas! Not anymore!” He yelled, voice deep. It startled Carlos because he jumped ever so slightly. “That claim that you had on her? Dropped. You know why? Because I said so.” Oscar seethed, pointing at himself. “She ain’t yours no more, Carlos. Y te voy a ensenar que le pasa a los hombres que pegan a las mujeres.” Oscar balled his fist up and swung down hard, connecting it with Carlos’ nose. A sickening crunch was heard as his fist made contact, and blood began spurting from his nose as a rapid pace. Carlos groaned, clutching his nose, but Oscar didn’t stop.

With heavy fists, he beat down on Carlos, hitting every possible place he could. He wanted to make Carlos hurt. He was to make Carlos. This was why the people called him Spooky. You never wanted to get on his bad side because this is what happened. When punches were enough, Oscar kicked.

“Pinche cobarde. Not so tough now huh puto?”

You watched from the window in Oscar’s room leading out to the backyard as he savagely beat Carlos. Punching him, kicking him until Carlos was nothing but a heap on the dirt covered floor. Tears were cascading down your face, wetting your cheeks, your heart hammering away in your chest. Some of the other Santos had joined in too - Sad Eyes and Joker.

The night had gone completely downhill. You thought that the night in the carnival had ended up but no.. this was just.. horrible. You still couldn’t comprehend how Carlos had actually put his hands on you. How he slapped you. And this was certainly a side to Oscar that you had never seen before. You knew he had the name Spooky for a reason, you knew he had a temper but.. it was completely different seeing him beating someone to a bloody pulp. You didn’t know if you liked it or not. If it scared you or not. You just didn’t know what to think.

“You come near her again and you’re dead.”

—————

tagging: @spookysmujer @honeym-daddi @eufori4a @shestrying2write @ksoos-lil-fireball @smoooore @noobmaster—69 @ugh-jalynn @lovleyajoitee @curly-haired-holland @babienay @harringtoncastle @spookysnena @eggshaustedd @firebenderwolf @clemmingstylins0n @xiomarlyn @lana-loves-stuff @dolanackles @briskiiat420 @lossantosprincesa @princesstiffxoxo @xbrujababyx @juul4jesus @audreydiane96 @angelreyesgirl100 @khiaraaa-in-spacee @poppaxannie @deviilbby @mrs-spookyd1az @eriksjournal @socialistavocado @pananegra @demure-doll @skathan-omaha @kingbouji3 @animesstuffsposts @moanlightbaby @thenameishayley248 @cheshirecat107 @bellaguarneri @cedricheart @amethyst09 @flamingweasley (idk why it’s not letting me tag some people 🥺🥺)

[anotherhamiltonblog]

Foreign Touch ch 3

Chapter Summary: Y/N has a special name for our Thomas on Facebook! Will these two finally talk?

Warnings: Once again, I didn’t proofread. Sorry <3 minor cursing?(Is cursing a warning? like wtf.)

Word Count: 1,450 (Give or take)

Previously 

Enjoy!

After the dream with Jefferson, Y/N found herself always watching him when they were in the same class. Even at the game Friday night, as the cheerleaders were cheering for the team, Y/N’s eyes watched Number 17 with the name “Jefferson” on the back. The dream made it so she would look at the bushy, curly haired jock and blush. Y/N hated herself for blushing.

Surprisingly he never did try to talk with Y/N after the text messaging he had sent her. Y/N actually had her eyes peeled for him just in case he tried to talk with her.

Yet when the game was finally over, their team winning. Everyone was celebrating. Y/N was being invited to the after parties, yet Y/N couldn’t. She had a early morning and a busy weekend ahead of her. With tutoring and helping Alex with his campaign. She waved to the other cheerleaders before gathering her things.

“Y/N! Thought I missed you!” A familiar voice said from beside her and Y/N froze, wide eyed.

Thomas.

The very same man she wanted to avoid. How could she stand in front of him after that dream?

“Jefferson! Get away from my sister!” A voice called from far away. It was enough to distract the football player and allow Y/N to slip away quickly.

Rushing to her car, face red as a tomato. Y/N let out a breath she didn’t realize she was even holding in before getting into her car.

»»-————　♡　————-««

Laying around the living room floor, Y/N was eating some popcorn as Alex, John, Herc and Laf were all on the couch watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

“I think… my soulmate is a bag of sour gummy worms…” Y/N said randomly with a sigh and rubbed at her eyes. Visibly tired, hair still damp from her shower. Wearing a pair of black slim sweatpants and a black tee-shirt with the cookie monster on the front of it. Y/N looked over at her friends.

“I just ate a whole bag of the gummy worms, Y/N” Lafayette said, holding up the empty bag to prove it.

Gasping, sitting up. Y/N placed a hand on her chest. “You ATE my soulmate? You asshole.” She tossed a throw pillow that was on the floor at the boy and they laughed.

Yawning, Y/N stood up and rubbed her eyes. “I’m off to sleep. Night guys.” She waved and moved to the stairs and quickly made way to her bedroom.

Once the door was closed, Y/N crawled in bed and grabbed her phone. Only to sigh and seeing that Thomas had sent her various messes on Facebook messenger. Why did he have to come to her for help? Y/N had enough on her plate to add one more person to help. Honestly.

With a sigh, she sent a message, hoping it would get him to back off. Honestly, why did everyone want Y/N to help them? Surely there were other smart people at the school.

When he called her, Y/N frowned and moved so she was sitting on her desk chair and accepted the call. Putting on her earphones so no one would hear Thomas Jefferson of all people talking to her.

“Ok. What the hell do you want?” Y/N asked, getting right to the point.

Only to narrow her eyes at Thomas’ smiling face.

‘at least his smile is nice…. and a cute dog’

Shaking her head from that thought. Y/N sighed. “Come on, I want to sleep.”

“RIGHT! First, are you ok?“ Thomas asked, catching Y/N by surprise that he seemed to actually be worried about her. After Y/N nodded, assuring him was was fine. Thomas went back to why he was bothering her in the first place.

“SO, my parents, they are going to be celebrating Twenty-Five years of marriage… the silver anniversary.” Thomas sighed. “A few birdies in school said you usually plan the Hamilton’s parties… and I’ve been to some of those with my parents. You’re good. I was hoping to… hire you to help me plan a party for my parents.” He raised an eyebrow and Y/N frowned.

That was the last thing she expected him to say. Sitting there on her chair, Y/N was thinking about it. Maybe doing some planning could be a good thing?

With a sigh, she eyed Thomas on her phone screen. “Fine, I’ll help you.” She agreed and couldn’t help but smile when he did. The man had an incredible smile.

“Thank you so much for this. I’ll pay you for your service. No need to worry about it. OK?”

“Jefferson, chill out. We’ll talk about money another time…” Y/N rolled her eyes smiling. “Aren’t you supposed to be partying?” she changed the subject and glanced at the time. Usually at midnight everyone at the game who was at the party were wasted by this time.

“Nah, my parents took me out for a big celebration dinner.” He shrugged. “Why didn’t you go?”

Y/N shrugged and looked around her room. “Have too much to do tomorrow. Didn’t want to be hungover for it.” She simply stated before tilting her head. “Hey, do you think I should put fairy lights around my room?” Y/N randomly asked Thomas.

That’s how the two spent the next hour and a half. Talking while her phone was resting up against her desk pointing at her bed and she was stringing lights up around her room.

“Yo... your room is so much cooler than mine.” Thomas snorted once Y/N had finished and was laying on her bed holding her phone.

“I don’t doubt it. I do have better taste.” She smirked and winked at the male before laughing. “OK, I am going to get off now and actually sleep. I’ll… unblock your number tomorrow and we’ll talk about the party. Deal?” she raised an eyebrow.

Once they both agreed to that, said their goodnights with little smiles. Y/N rolled her eyes when Thomas ruined it.

“Dream of me, I know I’ll be dreaming of you.”

Of course, that just got Y/N to hang up on him instead of actually replying.

“Cocky asshole… ugh.” Y/N muttered as she turned off the lights and closed her eyes. After minutes of rolling around to find a comfortable position. Y/N finally fell asleep.

“Oooh, Thomas!” Y/N yelled out as she walked around a house with a huge smile on her face.

“COME FIND ME!” a voice called back and Y/N just laughed before going on a search throughout the home.

It wasn’t until ten minutes of looking for the tall doofus she felt hands on her waist and her sides were being tickled.

“NOO!” she squealed and quickly got away, giggling. Turning and glaring at the man, she crossed her arms over her chest. “You asshole!”

“Aww, I’m sorry sweetheart.” Thomas pouted and stepped forward. His hands returning to her waist, their foreheads touching and small smiles on both of their lips. “But hey, you found me!” he wiggled his eyebrows and Y/N just laughed.

“Yeah, whatever. Lunch is ready.” She tried to get out of his grasp. Yet, Y/N found herself pressed up against the wall.

Thomas softly kissing her cheek. “Fine… we’ll pick up after we regain our energy.”

As the two walked towards the kitchen, Y/N glanced up at Thomas. “Hey, can I have a kiss?”

Thomas, with a smirk on his face shrugged. “I dunno, Y/N… CAN you?” he asked, and Y/N’s mouth fell.

After about a minute of silence, Thomas sensing he fucked up, gulped.

“Guess I can’t.” she shrugged and walked to the kitchen, leaving Thomas standing in the doorway.

“Y/N… babe, I was just kidding.” He laughed and followed after her.

“Yeah? Pity, I don’t want your kisses anymore.” She simply said as she sat to have to tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich, she made for them.

Not having it, Thomas turned her chair around and lifted Y/N head with his finger under her chin. “Come on, baby girl… gimme a kiss?” he smiled and the two met in the middle. Lips softly brushing against one another.

Once again Y/N woke up gasping and her hand flew to her lips. “What the heck…” she mumbled and rubbed her tired eyes. Checking the time and seeing it was a little past Four am. Y/N fell back against her pillows and sighed. Wondering what the hell was up with her dreams. She could NOT have a crush on Thomas Jefferson.

Streets away, Thomas was laying in his own bed. Thinking about both the dream and the girl in his dream. Surely it meant something… they talked, and he dreamt of her. Of course, he woke up as soon as they kissed. But it HAD to mean…. Something!

                                                                                                    Next Chapter

Don’t forget to Like, Reblog and send Feedback! My asks are also opened and so is my IM!

Much love from me to you!!  ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

Taglist: @exquisite-dreamers @ballerinafairyprincess @thefandomgirl03  @criminallyhamilton @1elysium @slytherinssssnake @youtxbemusic @i-honestly-dont-know-anymore @sabbrriiinnaa @yes-i-know-im-weird-blog @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon @wtfevenismypage @namethatthasnotbeentaken @cubedtriangle @a-hopeless-fan @namelesslosers 

[musictrash0426]

Killing Stalking

 My name is Elizabeth Stevens, I’m 17 and it is one month until my senior year of highschool. Most of my friends are going crazy trying to plan out their futures. However, unlike my peers, I've known what I've wanted to be since I was 13. I want to be an artist, my parents fully support my decision which is nice. They have bought me plenty of professional quality supplies since my 14th birthday when they saw all the hard work I put into my art. I've even started selling prints of my work on Redbubble. I also have quite the following 

Overall I live in a pretty good neighbourhood. It has great people, including my best friend Kai who lives a few streets over. My family and I live in a pretty large house. It has three floors which is a little big if you ask me. There are only the three of us living here, me, mom and dad. But with that being said my parents gave me the entire basement on my 13th birthday. They also helped me set up every room down here the way I want. Not much has changed, even after being down here for four years..

When you come down the stairs you are greeted with my lounge area. Where  we have a couch, tv, game system, large bookshelf and some other things. Next we have my room where I have a fairly minimal look. I have a large bed, large dresser, a walk in closet, and my vanity where I do my makeup. The next room is probably my favourite; it's my art studio. Like I said my parents have supported me over the years so I have a lot of supplies. Honestly I couldn't be more grateful for them and everything they’ve given me. I have a full easel, desk, and a lot of supplies, markers, colour pencils, paint (water, acrylic, oils), alongside my new drawing tablet.

This morning when I got up, I went to my art room and started sketching. I've gotten into this habit as it helps me get into a creative mindset, along with getting into drawing for the day. Once I stop doodling I start to make a list of the things of supplies I had recently run out of. 

As I was about to leave, I asked my parents if they needed anything. My mom told me to get her a drink from Starbucks on my way home as she knows I’m planning on going there anyways. 

I get into my car and drive to the art store. Luckily this store is only 10 minutes from my house. I walk into the store and look for the supplies on my list. While going through the store, grabbing the things I needed, I decided I also wanted to try out a new paint while I was here. I got some winsor and newton acrylics in red, blue,yellow, sienna, black and white along with some mixing pallets. I also got a canvas as I want to make a large painting later. 

My mom texted me asking if I could pick up milk and eggs. So I ran into the supermarket and picked up the few things she wanted. I then went to starbucks, got both my parents, and myself a few drinks, and went home. 

I got out of my car balancing shopping bags on my arm,the drinks in my hand and I went inside. I put the milk and eggs in the fridge, gave my parents their drinks and made my way down to my art room to put my supplies away. I started brainstorming ideas of what I want to paint and I finally came up with a concept I liked. I open my sketchbook and I start to draw the rough copy of the picture before blowing it up on the canvas and painting it. While I am drawing out the picture I'm watching lavendertowne’s creepypastas series as it's one of my favourites on youtube. 

In my concentration, I lose track of time, and before I know it it’s 4:30 pm. My mom walks to my art room saying her and dad are going on a trip for the next week. So I get the house to myself, which is cool. I've been home alone before. “Elle, you can have Kai over to stay for the week if you want.” mom said. “Also I transferred some money into your account so you and Kai can just order some food if you guys get hungry.” 

“Thanks mom,” I say “ I love you.”

“Love you too sweetie.” 

I walk upstairs with mom as her and dad are about to leave. I hug them goodbye and tell them to have a safe trip. 

I decide to take mom up with her offer and invite Kai over for the week. Lately I haven't been wanting to be home alone. So I called him and he said he’d be over in 10 minutes. 

I grab a glass of water and wait, before I knew it there was a knock on my door and it was Kai. I give him a hug and he smiles. 

“It’s like we haven't seen each other in a while.” Kai teases me. We saw each other yesterday and I called him late last night because I just wanted to talk to someone. 

Kai has literally been my best friend since we were both in diapers. Our moms grew up together so it was bound to happen that we would too. He’s my biggest support system, he’s one of the only people who know how I got into art. I watched a lot of anime growing up, I still do, and the art style is what got me into wanting to be an artist. 

“Have you started a new piece yet?” Kai asked 

“Yeah I have! And I just finished the rough copy” I say.

“Can I watch you work on it?” 

“Of course you can silly,” I say with a grin. I show Kai the canvas to let him gauge what I’ve been working on. 

“It looks really good!” But his face saddens a little bit. “Are you doing alright?” I give him a confused look. “You tend to draw horror pieces when you're trying to get yourself into a better place.” 

Horror pieces are my favourite to draw. I don't have an explanation for it, but I've always liked them. Maybe it's because I loved horror shows growing up but who knows. I look back at all my works and Kai’s right. I tend to do these pictures more when I'm not the best headspace. 

“You really know me, at this point it's mostly subconscious” I laugh “I was also watching creepypasta videos so the idea could have come from that. Anyways, what do you think about it so far?” 

“I love it of course!” Kai says

I work on transferring it onto the canvas and after about 2 hours the pencil sketch is laid out. Once that's done we decide to go to the movies. We went and saw whatever Kai wanted to see. He picked some rom com which I wasn't mad at as I enjoy these types of movies. 

After the movie we went to a sushi place for dinner. I wasn't that hungry so I got the rest of mine to go. Then we went to the supermarket to get some candy and pop for tonight. We decided that we were going to stay up quite a bit of the night so I can work on my artwork and we can just talk about life and stuff. We pull into the parking lot and head inside. This store is open 24/7 so we have plenty of time to get our stuff, but still it is 11:30pm and something makes the air feel very eerie tonight. 

After walking around the store Kai and I look at eachother and we both feel like something is off because this uneasy feeling Kai and I hurry up and grab what we wanted. Kai and I decided to pick up Sour Patch Kids, gummy bears and some chips. We then went into the drink aisle where I picked out Dr. Pepper, and ginger ale. Kai picked out diet Pepsi and cream soda. We picked out the four flavours that we both love. We then decided to get a tub of cotton candy ice cream. As we were turning there was this lady who crashed her cart into ours as we were on our way to check out. I looked up and noticed that it was the same lady that had been in each aisle with us, which honestly didn’t make any sense as we just went to the isles we needed. 

We check out of the store and head back to the car. After putting everything in the trunk of the car, I look up and see the same woman still there. What the fuck?

“Hey Kai, can you take the cart back please?” He nods and I get into the car and lock it. 

I hear a knock that startles me and I look up. It was just Kai. I unlocked the door and he got in. “Wanna tell me why you had the door locked Elle?”

I look over and the woman gets into the car next to us oh great my horror brain made something out of nothing. She was also probably having a movie night with some of her friends.

“It’s nothing Kai, I think I’m just psyching myself out.”

“Okay.” With that we drove back to my place right in the nic of time too as it just started to rain. We shut off all the lights and lock the doors and windows upstairs. We head back down to my studio and I set up everything to begin painting.

I wanted something in the background while I was working so I put on Another. Kai and I have already watched it a few times but we didn’t want to start something new since I wouldn't be able to give it my full attention. Also it's a horror anime so it will put me in the mood for my painting.

I looked down at the outline I drew; it was a girl who had gone psychotic and had a knife in her hand. My plan is to add blood to her once the painting is completely dry, but first I start by painting the eyes. When they are finished they look very dead and already mentally gone inside. I take a break and lay my head on Kai’s shoulder.

“Tired?” he asks me.

“No, I just wanted a break.” We continue watching the anime after two more episodes. There was a bang of thunder and a flash of lightning, I looked out the small window and saw what looked to be a figure of a woman. I looked back to get a better look but she's gone. I must just be seeing things.

I brush it off then get back to my painting. About an hour later I finish painting the skin and I see another flash out of the corner of my eye. I think to myself how odd that is  because there was no thunder. I brushed it off as the volume of the show probably just covered the sound. I decided to be done with painting for the night, so we moved out into the lounge area and continued watching Another. There was another flash and in the window we saw her. The woman from the supermarket was in my window.We were going to call the cops then with another flash she's gone.

We decided we couldn't take anymore horror tonight so we put on Ouran Highschool Host Club a few hours later we were on the episode where a character named Tamaki was trying to figure out his friend Haruhi’s biggest fear. When we see a flash of lightning in the episode, it also flashes here, and we see her silhouette again and she vanishes with the lightning once more. 

Creeped out we went to my room and lay in bed, I cuddled into Kai because honestly I was shaking and needed comfort.

In the morning Kai and I woke up to banging on the door. I checked the time and it was 8:30 am. We got up and checked no one was there, but there was an envelope that said Elizabeth Steevens and Kai Kalua I brought it inside.

“Ummmm Kai?”

“Yeah?”

I turn the envelope to show him. We were both scared and didn't know what to do. We opened it and there were at least 40 photos of us, starting from when we were coming out of the movie. There were photos of us at the sushi restaurant, the grocery store, and the worst ones of all the ones that were taken looking into my house. Ones of us in my art room, in the lounge, and ones of us asleep in my bed.

Panicked, I call the police and they tell us to come down to the station. Since neither of us knew the woman's name they said there was nothing they could really do for us except to have us tell them if something else happens. Some help they were, I thought.

Kai and I went back to my studio and I continued working on the piece. This time our show of choice was Miria Nikki. As I was painting the hair I saw another flash and considering what happened last night we decided to go to my parents office and check the security cameras and lo and behold she's there on the property.

“Kai whats that in her hand?”

“I don’t know,”

I looked closer and saw that it was a knife. We once again called the police and this time they came, but hearing a car must have scared her. They came inside and asked to watch the cameras with us. Only this time she was at the back door that's connected to the kitchen and of course I happened to leave it unlocked…

“Oh Elizabeth, Kai, come out come out wherever you are..” The woman sang out menacingly. Her voice rang through the house loudly causing me to look to one of the officers for advice

He nods for Kai and I walk out.

“There you two are,”

“Do we know you?” I ask, genuinely confused as to who this woman is.

“Yeah I don't know who you are either.” Kai said just as confused.

“I'm Chloe. I am in your art class.” She says.

We were both confused; we don’t remember having ever seen her before. Our art class had six people in it, us two, three other of our friends and some weird girl who doesn't talk to anybody.

“... you’re the weird girl in our class aren’t you?” Kai questions.

“What did you call me?” She asked with a defensive tone.

“What did you expect him to say, you literally refuse to talk to us. Then whenever the teacher praises my work, you get angry. Besides who goes around taking pictures of people in their own house! That is fucking creepy.” I say

“I get angry because you always get the spotlight! Give someone else a turn.”

“Elle gets the attention because she actually shows her artwork, you just sit in the back of the class and do nothing. If you want attention why ignore us when we try talking to you? What is your problem? And why do you have a knife?” You can tell Kai is starting to lose patience with the situation, as his questions get increasingly aggressive.

“So I can get rid of my competition,” she smiles sweetly.

“What competition? There is no competition Chloe” I ask 

“What competition? I have liked Kai forever!” Chloe says frustrated, slightly getting closer to the two of them with the knife.

Kai puts one hand out towards her, while using the other to pull me back with him a couple steps, creating distance between her and I before he speaks again.“I will never like you. Besides there is only one person I like, and hate to break it to sweetheart but it's not you.” This makes me curious who Kai was referring to.

“Then who is it then?” she asks angrily

That's when Kai kissed me. I kissed him back, albeit slightly flustered. This caused Chloe to become enraged, she came towards us with the knife and that's when the cops came out and told her to put the knife down. She complied and dropped the knife as she didn’t realize that the police were here. 

One of the two cops took her away as the other came and told us they were going to hold her and do a mental assessment on her. He also checked to see if Kai and I were okay. After we tell him we are he also leaves, leaving Kai and I alone to deal with this new revelation.

“Do you actually like me? Or were you just saying that to get her to stop…” anxious about the answer since I have liked Kai for a while, but didn't want to make things awkward with him.

“Elle I have liked you for a while but I didn't want to lose you.” Kai says as he pulls me closer to him.

I don't know how to respond, all my mind was telling me was ‘kiss him’. I pull him in by his shoulders to another kiss, quickly dispelling doubts either of us had. Kai placed his hands on my waist and melted into it. He pulls away and leans his forehead against mine, just holding me. For the first time in a few days I felt safe.

“Kai?” I ask in a quiet tone almost a whisper.

“Yeah sweetheart?” 

“Can you stay while my parents are gone?” I don’t feel safe enough to be home alone, and you wanted to stay in the comfort that he gave you.

“Of course I can angel.”

[nazariolahela]

Something Domestic: Chapter 8

A/N: Hey y'all! This is a new TRR AU I’ve been working on. This story is told in first-person narrative, from Riley’s (MC) POV. There will likely be smidges of canon in this, but not too much. Thanks for reading, and please leave feedback, and/or if you would like to be tagged.

Catch up here

Series Tags: @burnsoslow​ @aworldoffandoms​ @dcbbw​ @ladyangel70​ @texaskitten30​ @sunandlemons​ @jlynn12273​ @indiacater​ @jared2612​ @rainbowsinthestorm​ @drakesensworld​ @badchoicesposts​ @msjr0119​ @katurrade​ @blackcoffee85​ @cynicalworlds-blog​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @beardedoafdonutwagon​ @cmestrella​ @sugarandspice-milkandhoney​

Synopsis: When Riley Brooks takes a new job as a nanny for the affluent Rhys family in New York’s Upper East Side, she assumes she’s just going to care for the children of the couple who hired her. But instead of just school pick-ups and afternoon snacks, she also finds herself spending time with Liam, the handsome divorced dad. Can Riley control her feelings for Liam while still performing the job she was hired for?

All characters are the property of Pixelberry Studios. Thanks for allowing me to borrow them.

Chapter Summary: Riley and Liam get to know each other and sparks fly.

I look at the clock on the microwave and sigh. It’s 7:02 p.m. and Madeleine still isn’t home. Good thing I didn’t have any Friday night plans. Not that I mind staying late, but a little heads up would have been nice. If she doesn’t show up soon, I’m going to have to get dinner started for the kids. They’re currently upstairs in the playroom, watching a movie, so I’m down here in the living room — sprawled out on the couch — waiting for someone to relieve me of my duties. Mara appears from the elevator a few minutes later, holding a plastic CVS bag.

“Here you are, Miss. The items you requested.”

I take the bag from her and pull out the contents: A bottle of Starbeans Frappuccino Vanilla Coffee, a bag of sour gummy worms, and the latest issue of Trend Magazine. If I'm going to be stuck here, I might as well have sustenance and entertainment. As I sit on the couch, chewing on a gummy worm, I scroll through my social media newsfeed. Looking at photos of my friends and acquaintances getting ready to start their weekend, I feel a tinge of jealousy. Okay, that’s enough of that. I close out the app and reach into the bag, grabbing the frap and the issue of Trend.

Time to catch up on my celebrity gossip. I flip through the pages, thankful there aren’t any more photos of Liam and Madeleine playing “fake family.” Just your daily celebrity feuds, who’s dating who, and your run-of-the-mill rumors. If I didn’t secretly love this stuff so much, I’d hate it.  Mara excuses herself to check in with Bastien, so I pull out my phone to text Hana. As I open my text app, the phone rings with an incoming call from her. “Hey, girl!”

“Riley, where are you? My date with Meghan is at 8 p.m. and I can’t decide on an outfit,” she says frantically.

I exhale. “I’m still here. Madeleine’s not home from work yet.”

“I hope everything is okay. Did you text her? Have you heard from Liam?”

“I did but got no answer. Liam should be home soon. If I’m not home before you leave for your date, I just wanted to wish good luck tonight. Whatever you decide to wear, it’s going to knock her socks off.”

She laughs. “You’re ridiculous. Call me if you need me to bring you anything.”

“Will do. Love you!”

“Love you more!”

We hang up and I set the phone back down on the coffee table. I pick up the magazine and resume reading. A few minutes later, I hear the ding of the elevator door and sit up to find Liam entering the penthouse. He looks up from his phone and spots me sitting in the middle of the living room. He shoots me a questioning glance. “Riley? What are you still doing here?”

“Madeleine never showed up. I couldn’t just leave the kids here alone.”

His jaw tightens. “Thank you for that. I’m sorry that she never called. Next time that happens, please don’t hesitate to call me. You shouldn’t have to give up your Friday night plans because my children’s mother can’t pick them up on time. I’ll make sure you get paid overtime for today as well.”

“It’s really no trouble at all. I didn’t have any plans. My roommate has a date tonight, so I was probably just going to sit on my couch and catch up on Real Housewives of Ducitora. Besides, I’m not that big into New York nightlife. Too loud, too many people, too expensive.”

He smirks. “Well, if you’re not busy, why don’t you hang out for a while? I have a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge, and Real Housewives OnDemand.”

I bite my lip, contemplating his offer. “I don’t want to impose.”

“Trust me. You’re not,” he replies, and my chest tightens. One drink won’t hurt. Right? He’s not asking me to have sex with him. Think of it as a chance to get to know him better. I nod and he smiles. He makes his way to the kitchen to retrieve the wine. While he’s gone, I grab my purse and make my way to the bathroom. I check my reflection, making sure I don’t look like a homeless bag lady. I pull the hair tie from my hair and finger-comb through it. I then grab my tinted lip balm and brush a couple of coats across my lips.

Satisfied with my appearance, I flick off the bathroom light and head back to the living room. He returns a moment later, setting the bottle and two glasses on the coffee table. He glances down at my half-empty bottle of frap and the gossip mag. He picks it up, thumbing through the pages and frowns. “I can’t believe you read this crap. Half the things they say in here are total bullshit.”

I shrug. “It’s my guilty pleasure. I like getting a look at how the other half lives. Until I started working here, I assumed all you rich and famous people live in McMansions with gold fixtures and an army of servants. I bet you don’t even cook for yourself.”

He chuckles, the sound warming me from within. “There’s a reason for that. Ask my kids what a terrible cook I am.”

I couldn’t hide my smile. “That explains the personal chef.”

He flashes me a boyish grin that shoots through my body, down to my core. My gods, save me from my lustful ways. He pops the cork of the wine bottle and pours two glasses, handing me one. I bring my wine to my lips and take a long sip. His eyes watch me as my tongue sweeps up a stray drop of wine dripping down the side. He visibly swallows. I think about what Charlotte told me and figure now is a good time to bring it up.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about something Charlotte mentioned to me today.” He sets his glass down and focuses his attention on me. I fiddle with my wine glass, doubting myself. He nods for me to continue. I exhale. “Okay. So, she mentioned that Madeleine has friends over from time to time.”

He rolls his eyes. “Penelope and Kiara. Yeah, those two are always around. Those three have been friends since college. I swear, when I married her, apparently they were a package deal.”

Ooh. This is awkward. “Actually, she mentioned a guy. She said that he’s over here frequently and that they spend a substantial amount of time in her room while you’re at work.”

Anger flashes in his eyes. Then almost immediately, he regains his composure. He exhales loudly. “I see. You know, I always suspected that she was bringing men into my home, but I never imagined she was doing it in front of my kids.” He gulps down his wine and pours himself another glass.

“I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you.”

He shakes his head and sighs sadly. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

We sit in silence for several minutes. He brings his wine glass to his mouth, staring into it with a blank expression. I watch him from the corner of my eye, making sure he’s not going to explode. Needing to break the tension, I set my glass on the table and lean back in my seat. “So, I hear you’ve been telling your friends all about me.”

His chokes on his wine and his cheeks immediately flush. “They told you about that?”

“Yeah, for a guy who doesn’t want his ex to find out, you sure talk a lot.”

He grimaces and sets his glass down. “In my defense, Drake, Max, and Liv are the only people I would ever tell something like that because I know they won’t tell her. From the moment I met you, I knew I was attracted to you. And in a moment of drunkenness, I may have confessed that to my friends. I didn’t mean for them to tell you though.”

He looks away. Is he embarrassed? Thinking back to what Drake told me at the bar that night, Liam hasn’t been with anyone since Madeleine. Assuming they were having sex regularly, he said it’s been a few months since he filed for divorce. Which means they probably weren’t having sex at all towards the end. Remembering my own drought, my mind wanders to that forbidden place. Is he lonely? Does he seek the company of certain women to fill the void his wife left? He doesn’t need those women when I’m more than willing to offer my “services” for free. I scold myself for thinking such stupid thoughts and take another sip of my wine.

Clearing his throat, he quickly changes the subject. “So, tell me. Other than gossip rags, trashy reality TV marathons, and hanging out at the Double Tappe, what do you like to do in your spare time?”

I drain the last of my wine and set the glass on the coffee table. “Not much. I do like to read in my spare time. And not just tabloid magazines. I just finished the new John Grisham novel. Talk about intense. Other than that, I spend most of my time hanging out with Hana. We used to spend a lot of time at The Foundry, but the drinks got way too expensive. Plus, the male clientele there really doesn’t really do it for me anymore. Too many tech-bros.”

He nods then picks up the bottle and both glasses and takes them into the kitchen. After depositing them in the sink, he returns to the couch. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear he is sitting a little closer this time. I can feel the heat radiating from his thigh a mere inches from mine. My hands folded in my lap, I move them to the top of my thighs. His own hands rest at his sides, his fingers tapping the cushion. I stare down at his fingers as they inch closer. I look up and he’s staring at me, lust burning in his eyes.

“You said you weren’t into tech-bros. Are there any other eligible bachelors that have caught your eye lately?”

I blush. “Just one…”

“Anyone I know?”

My cheeks redden. Well, Riley. It’s now or never. He’s already told me how he feels about me. Why not let him know I reciprocate those feelings? He moves his hand to my knee and begins moving his thumb back and forth. My heart thunders. “Yeah. You.”

His smile fades as he moves even closer to me on the couch. “Riley. You should tell me goodnight.”

My breath hitches. “Why?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m going to kiss you.”

“What if I want you to kiss me?”

Before he can answer, he leans over and takes my head in his hands and presses his lips to mine. My shock turns to awe as I part my lips, inviting his tongue between them. I crawl forward into his lap, straddling his waist and wrap my arms around his neck. I press my chest to his, feeling his heart beating fast. My head tilts to the side, and he moves his mouth down my neck, sucking on my pulse. I tug his earlobe between my teeth and he growls, kissing and sucking harder. I’m probably going to have a hickey tomorrow, but who cares?

He moves his mouth back to my lips and his hands slip beneath the hem of my shirt, slowly moving up my back. I can feel his dick straining under his dress pants as I press my core against his crotch. He groans in my mouth, the sound shooting straight to my pussy.

Oh my god, this is so wrong. But why does it feel so right? His hands fumble with the clasps on my bra. I reach between us and begin tugging on his belt. The heat between us is blazing and I can’t stop myself. Finally, he breaks our kiss.

“We have to stop.”

“What? Why?”

He swallows. “You know why.”

“Is it because of the kids? If you’re worried about them interrupting us, we could go to your bedroom.”

He groans and ohmygod it does things to me. “It’s not that…”

“You don’t want to?” I ask.

“Of course I do. I’ve wanted to since the moment you walked in here that first day for your interview. I look at you and all I want to do is take you all over this apartment. You can obviously feel it,” he says. My eyes dart down between us to the evident bulge in his pants, and I bite my lip. His eyes follow mine; his expression amused. Then, his face goes serious again. “But my divorce isn’t final yet, and I can’t risk anything that would put your job or the kids’ livelihood in jeopardy. Besides, you don’t want to get involved with me. Divorced Dad lusting after the hot nanny. I’m like a walking cliche.”

I sigh, then nod. His words are the same ones that Hana has been preaching since Day One. And the same ones that Olivia spewed at me that night at the Double Tappe. Maybe I should start listening to these people. Not to mention, the kids are upstairs. And Madeleine could walk in at any moment. I slide off his lap and rise to my feet. “I should probably go.” I make my way to the kitchen and start gathering my things. He stands to adjust himself, then follows me.

“I’m sorry if I took advantage of you.”

I roll my eyes. “Liam. You didn’t take advantage of me.”

“You’re my kids’ nanny. I’m only trying to protect you.”

I open my mouth to respond when the ding of the elevator cuts through the silence in the room, and Madeleine emerges. She notices me standing in the kitchen, hastily packing up my tote. “You’re still here?”

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Liam snaps. “You could have called her. Or me.”

Madeleine shoots daggers at him. “I got held up in a meeting. I didn’t have my phone on me. And besides, you’re here to relieve her, so what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that you shirked your responsibilities. You’re supposed to be here to relieve Riley in the evening so she doesn’t have to stay here all night. They’re your kids, not hers.”

She laughs, although there is no humor in her voice. “What does she care? She’s getting paid regardless.”

“She doesn’t get paid to raise our kids for us. That’s our job,” he growls.

Needing to get away from this situation ASAP, I grab my tote bag and scurry out of the kitchen. “Uhh...I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you guys Monday morning.”

As they argue, I make my way to the elevator and scramble inside. Once the doors close, I text Mara and tell her to meet me downstairs. I reach up and touch my lips, still feeling them tingle from his kiss. Did we really just do that? What would have happened if he hadn’t stopped it? I can’t stop thinking about that kiss as the elevator takes me to the ground floor. His hands up my shirt, the taste of his lips, the scent of his cologne. The way his dick rubbed against my center as I straddled him. My body is desperate for release, and all I can think about is how much he clearly wanted it too.

I should have known that hormones + alcohol = bad things. Although it was nice that he was a gentleman and restrained himself, part of me is angry with him for working me up like that, just to shut it down. Hello, lady blue balls. My name is Riley. The elevator reaches the lobby and I’m greeted by the sight of Mara waiting for me. She follows me out to the waiting cab and holds the door as I get in. Once I’m in, she taps the hood of the car and it pulls away from the curb. As the cab rolls down the street, I lean my head back on the seat and inhale, my emotions alternating between anger and humiliation.

Shit is going to be really awkward come Monday.

[purplesurveys]

815

All About the Letter C

Please List! (at least one)

Animals I Like: Chimpanzees, cows, clownfish (Nemo!), crabs.

Foods I Like: Chicken wings, carbonara, cordon bleu, corndogs, chili con carne, cheesecake, cheeseburgers, cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, calzones, churros... and also crabs, oops.

I Know Someone Who’s (jobs) Chef! My dad is one. I also know a chemist, choir member...I know a couple of people who work in the call center industry but they aren’t call center agents.

I Wouldn’t Mind Visiting: Chicago, Cambodia, Cairo, Colorado, and Calgary because I would love to see the original house of the Hart family. Sometimes I Feel: Calm or chaotic. No in between.

Music I Listen To: Cro-Mags, Coldplay, Chance the Rapper.

Movies I’ve Seen: Carol, Cinderella, Charade, The Children’s Hour, Citizen Kane, Carrie, Cabin in the Woods, Camp Rock, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Comet.

Names I Like: Caroline, Charlotte, Cheyenne, Claire, Cassandra.

And now, onto the random questions!

What is your favorite color? I’d say it’s pastel pink. Almost all my school supplies in college used to be pink.

What is your favorite type of cookie? Chocolate chip and nothing else. I mean I’d eat other cookies too (as long as they don’t have raisins), but nothing does it for me like chocolate chip does.

What kinds of clothes do you wear? What’s your style? Until quite recently it used to be a bit minimalist and modern. I wasn’t flashy with my pieces and I preferred blacks and whites with plain designs, and my style got compared a lot to Audrey Hepburn. In my last year of university something just kinda sparked in me and I realized I didn’t wanna look too plain for my entire college life, so I made an effort to buy more colorful tops, be more expansive with the bottoms I’d get, and just bought so many more printed rompers, jumpsuits, tank tops, etc. I think my style has transformed from modern to basic Instagram girl more than anything else, but I’m ok with that label because I know I look good with the clothes I own anyway lol.

Last time you cried, and why? I stumbled upon a video on Facebook - it was a segment from Masterchef Australia and it focused on an Asian contestant who was telling his story about how his parents hustled hard to successfully operate a restaurant, but that it got forcibly shut down when Australian immigration got a hold of his parents.

Do you still own any CD’s? Yes, I never threw any of them out. They’d be nice ~artifacts to show my kids haha and besides, they all still work perfectly well and a number of them even came with mini-booklets with photos of the artist, lyrics, and thank you notes.

How many cousins do you have? I have 11 first cousins, but the number just gets soooo much higher from there.

What’s your favorite type of cereal? I don’t really eat cereal because I don’t like the mushy texture and because milk makes me feel bad anyway, but I do enjoy Cookie Crisp.

Do you prefer crayons or colored pencils? Colored pencils.

Which is creepiest - caterpillars, cicadas, crickets, centipedes, or cockroaches? Cockroaches and centipedes, eugh.

Who do you care about the most? My best friends, close friends, and Kimi.

How do you take your coffee? Iced caramel macchiato when I’m out, warm 3-in-1 coffee when I’m at home.

What kind of a car do you drive? I have a Mitsubishi Mirage, but I haven’t driven it in months.

Would you rather play chess, checkers, or croquet? I don’t play any of these and none of them interest me.

Are you Catholic or a Christian? All Catholics are Christian, so I’m technically both given that I was raised Catholic. I detached myself from the religion when I was 10 when I realized its followers – at least the ones where I’m from – are hypocrites; but legally I’m still Catholic, unfortunately.

Who is your current crush? Gabie.

What’s your favorite type of candy? Sour tape and gummy candies. Not really into super sweet candies since I find them irritating to my throat, like chocolate bars or caramel.

What’s your favorite card game to play? My high school group used to often play a certain card game and it gave me a lot of fond memories, but I no longer remember the name or the mechanics lol.

What’s your least favorite chore? Folding clothes because they hurt my back, and I particularly don’t like folding clothes that aren’t mine. Even though I know they’re clean, it still makes me squirm hahaha.

How much time do you spend on the computer? I’d say 5-6 hours max. I don’t use the laptop as much these days because I don’t have any schoolwork left to do anymore, and other than that I’m also slowly running out of things to do on the internet.

What would you like to do as a career? Something in communications, media, or marketing. I’m not sure yet.

[a-zebra-is-a-striped-horse]