#spain ain’t ready for us

[goldenphlox]

Just learned one of my childhood besties is going to be in Madrid one day/night of my trip!!

[tgmsunmontue]

Season to Taste - 13/? WIP

Explicit Hangster - Celebrity Chef Bradley and Naval Aviator Jake Seresin who have a relationship spanning the globe before they realize how tightly bound they are to one another. Heading into this little world.

PROLOGUE/ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE

TEN ELEVEN TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

                “Hey Ice.”

                “Hi Bradley. Happy birthday.”

                “Thanks.”

                “How are you?”

                “Good. How are you?”

                “Can’t complain. Alive and kicking.”

                Bradley feels a little awkward talking to him now, his one remaining link to his old life. He wonders if it would be different if he was talking with Mav, or if they had something more in common than his dead father from over twenty years ago. All that though and he still makes the calls, Leandro and Silvia both giving him the stink-eye if he doesn’t and he knows at least that he doesn’t want to disappoint them. Short weekly calls when he’s at home in Italy mean they don’t expect him to spend a long time on the phone. He hasn’t called in a couple of months, not a fact he will be sharing with either Leandro or Silvia.

                “What have you been up to?”

                “Ah. Went to Spain for a couple of months. Worked in a kitchen there. Helped harvest grapes and make wine. Just… the usual.”

                “Usual for you maybe. Sounds quite idyllic.”

                “Well, butchering and curing meat isn’t idyllic at all, quite bloody and messy. So… the scenery was nice though. And I went to Barcelona for a couple of days, that was pretty cool.”

…            …            …

                He hadn’t intended to just blurt out an invitation to somehow define what they’re doing. Not to jump from casual sex to… Dating? To trying out a long-distance relationship? After only knowing each other for five days? It’s crazy. But sometimes crazy just works and god he hopes this is one of those times. So many things simply feel right about Jake and crazy has worked for him several times before.

                “I think you’re a little drunk.”

                “I’m not. Trust me, it takes more than a bottle of wine for me to get drunk.”

                “Yeah? You know that do you?”

                “Yes. Unfortunately.”

                Jake laughs and pulls into the grocery store parking lot, and Bradley’s hand is already on the seatbelt clasp, ready to go in. He’s shifted from thinking about convincing Jake to making a mental list of things he needs to get if he’s going to make the flourless chocolate cake for Maria, and some more food for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Then he notices that Jake is also putting food in the cart and he purses his lips.

                “What are you doing?”

                “Well, I might not have a fancy cookbook to my name, but I can feed us. Just burgers, but we won’t starve. Come on. You’ve been cooking non-stop, you deserve a break.”

                Bradley doesn’t even bother trying to hold back, simply moves around the cart and brackets his arms on either side of Jake and kisses him, starting soft but it quickly turns harder before he hears someone cough and he pulls away, knows his cheeks will be flaming red and Jake is looking smug, one eyebrow arched.

                “I ain’t even cooked you anything yet…”

                Bradley just shakes his head, looks away and then studies the flecks in the linoleum floor. It’s not the food, it’s the thought behind the gesture and Jake doesn’t even seem to be trying to be charming, is just naturally thoughtful and sweet as well as being a bit of a spoiled brat and cocky asshole. All things he’s finding more and more endearing and attractive the better he gets to know him.

                Crazy indeed. God he wants.

…            …            …

                Everything to gain.

                The words turn around in his head every few minutes, like they’re going past of a merry-go-round. The fact Leo had meant it seriously means Jake is taking it seriously, wonders how he’d make it work exactly when his leave is so limited, the fact that he wants to see his family when he’s on leave. He might like Leo, a lot, but he loves his family. And it’s not like any of them can just pop up to New York and visit. If that’s what Leo is even suggesting. Leo did say he travels a lot, and if he’s willing to travel to where Jake is, then maybe it could work? Hell, he hasn’t mentioned certain things, not really wanting to bring it up with just a guy he was going to have a two-week long fling with.

                Except it’s potentially not a fling anymore. He studies Leo, who is reading and frowning at the backs of several different packets of chocolate. Jake wonders what he’s planning on making, considering just how much food he’s put into the cart already. He pulls out his phone and finally lets himself check the messages that Maria no doubt sent while he was walking to his truck. As he expected, a couple of messages from Maria;

>I like him and I think you two could be really good together. Don’t be an idiot.

>If you do decide to be an idiot I’m going to be his friend anyway.

                Okay then. Pretty clear exactly what Maria thinks of Leo, and to be honest she’s one of the harder nuts to crack when it comes to his sisters. Not that he was intending to introduce a potential… anything, but maybe that had been a little naïve. God, she’s never going to let him live this down if he and Leo somehow… end up something. Lord, was this ever just sex? Leo decisively dumps three blocks of one particular brand into the cart and gives Jake a grin and Jake has to bring it up.

                “So, I gotta ask. How do you envision us having a relationship exactly?”

                “Well… long distance mostly,” Leo says and Jake rolls his eyes, hip checks him and Leo just laughs, hip checks him back.

                “Yeah, no shit. And if it doesn’t work out?”

                “Then it doesn’t work out. As I said, got to at least try right? But we both have to at least want to try.”

                Jake wants to try.

                “Grocery store is a pretty odd place for such a serious conversation…”

                Leo shrugs.

                “Well, it’s neutral and it’s bit of a… transitionary space. Like having conversations in the car when you don’t have to look at the person.”

                “So you mean like we did on the drive here?”

                “Yeah, exactly.”

                “Okay.”

                “Okay?”

                “Yeah. Okay. I guess we’re… trying this whole dating for an intense two-week period and then going long distance. Give it a shot right?”

                Leo looks lit up from inside and Jake has to remind himself that they’re in the grocery store, but he can get them back to Leo’s place in about fifteen if they hustle.

                “Yeah?”

                “Yes,” Jake says, pushing the cart toward the checkouts. “Although, can I just say, if I’d had any idea that this was on the cards I wouldn’t have introduced you to Maria so early. For the record, I wouldn’t ask any guy I was dating to meet my sisters this early. Wouldn’t want to scare him off.”

                “Well, that horse has bolted don’t you think? Also, I don’t scare easy.”

                “Lucky for me…”

                “Plus, you’ve met Vi, she is by far the scariest member of my… oh. Shit.”

                “What?”

                “Nothing. Just… remembered something I should probably do. Sorry.”

                “Okay…?” Jake asks, because Leo is looking a little frustrated.

                “I’ll tell you later maybe. If it becomes a thing.”

                “Okay. Come on. I want to take the guy I’m apparently now dating to bed…”

                “Wow. Romance is gone already…”

                “Was there ever romance?” Jake asks jokingly, but also a little worried because he’s not romantic. His sisters tell him so constantly and he hasn’t tried with Leo because… it was just sex. Oh god. He’s failing at this before he even starts.

                “Enough for me…” Leo says, and he’s biting his lip and looking fucking adorable and something inside him untwists and he wishes the checkout operator would go a little faster. Then Leo insists on paying for the food and Jake scowls, tells him he’s getting the next shop and Leo just grins, eyes mischievous and he says we’ll see, gives him a quick kiss before taking off at a run with the cart, leaving Jake to run after him.

…            …            …

                Jake’s hands don’t seem to leave his body, which makes putting the groceries away that much more challenging, but he’s also not complaining, turning in the circle of his arms and raising an eyebrow expectantly.

                “Thought you were going to cook me dinner?”

                “I am. I will… just… dinner can wait…” Jake says against his neck and Bradley lets his head fall back, breathes in the scent of Jake, his sweat and the dust from working outside, savors the warmth of his skin. He rolls his hips, has been low-level aroused since their kiss in the grocery store, and Jake responds obligingly by grinding right back, slotting a thigh between Bradley’s legs.

                “Won’t take long.”

                “Yeah? Good. We can take our time again later,” Jake mutters, his teeth nipping and he lets out a groan. Maybe it’s a good thing they’ll have time apart, give Bradley time to recover, although he wonders if they’ll always be like this when they’re together, because it will always be a novelty, time together snatched and fiercely held onto, where they both make the most of it. He lets Jake shift him, bodily moving him towards the bedroom and it quickly become a bit more frantic, hands scrambling to touch bare skin beneath clothes and he just lets himself fall.

…            …            …

                He has never wanted to order takeout more, but he also said he’d cook Leo dinner and he’s a man of his word. But lying there, roughly wiped clean, catching their breath, Leo’s fingers lazily trailing up and down his back, soft smile on his face, Jake can’t help but feel pleased with himself. He likes that look on his face. Likes the feeling of everything from the last few days and fuck it’s going to suck saying goodbye. But the idea he might get to have this again? That’s something that will keep him going. Leo’s stomach rumbles then, and Jake shifts and blows a raspberry, making Leo squirm and shift away.

                “What are you doing?”

                “Communing with your stomach. Speaking its language.”

                Leo laughs again and Jake shifts away to standing, hunting around for underwear and jeans, pulls a clean t-shirt from his bag before deciding he might as well have a quick shower. He tugs Leo out of bed, ignores his grumbles about the promise of food and turns the water on, busies himself with kissing Leo while they wait for the water to warm up. It’s a nice way to pass the time before they’re both stepping into the shower and actually rinsing themselves off and it feels alarmingly and wonderfully domestic.

                “So… I’ve been thinking.”

                Jake turns and raises an eyebrow; he’s almost finished but apparently Leo has decided to wash his hair. So much for a quick shower.

                “Yeah? When? Hopefully not while I was trying my best to make you come…”

                “No,” Leo says. “Just before, lying in bed… and I haven’t looked into it, haven’t had time obviously, but depending on where and when you have shore leave, I could potentially meet you there.”

                Jake’s hands still with the quick rub-down wash he was giving himself.

                “You’d travel to see me for thirty-six hours?”

                “You might get forty-eight.”

                “You’d travel though?”

                “Well, as I said. I haven’t looked into it, but if I could get a work gig either side of your leave, then… yeah. I would.”

                “Holy shit.”

                “I mean, no promises. But I’ve got pretty good incentive huh?”

                “My dick’s that good huh?”

                “You’re a dick…” Leo mutters, but his half-hidden smile makes the insult completely pointless.

                “Your dick,” Jake replies with a grin, and the smile Leo gives him is beautiful.

FORTEEN

[calypso-finale]

Hundred Fourteen.

I have to laugh because seeing these pictures that Rihanna has sent me from the Fenty Skin shoot is just different, I didn’t ever think I would be modelling or promoting skin care like that, I mean my skin looks very good, but it look ok and I trust her but it’s weird to see. They posted a promo tease on their page and seeing the clip was funny, but it’s made a lot of noise, I got the mandem even peaking their interest, I think that is what she wanted. She wanted to delve more into the male side, but Rihanna is bougie, she sent me a box with these pictures in for me to see first but with him the box was Savage Fenty boxers and just all Fenty stuff, like I have a lot of Fenty stuff, it’s cute “what you saying though? You want the boxers” Wadz asked “I can’t be giving away the stuff she sent me now, but you can use the skin care, you can take that test it out. It’s good you know; I have been using it on my skin and it’s turning out nice” Ybeez is checking out the things too “she is serious, I like it though. Fenty mandem, why don’t you call it that. When that video come out call it that, I am saying you about to get the men too use it, I mean personally we was doing fine with water and some soap” I chuckled “exactly, but it’s all good. Cute” I grinned “she ain’t know your address though, special delivery from Rylee and that” I laughed “bro shut up” shaking my head “nah I was stood there, and he opened the door and he nearly fainted like oh what you doing here, bro was stood with his boxers on” flinging the box at Rimz “shut up, I ain’t do shit you know. I was just a little flustered, I just woke up too ok” Rylee dropped it off to me and so what, I got a little happy or whatever, but she has gone back home now, left Aziel to me so he is staying over for a week but I need to go Spain for two of those days so my mother is taking those on, it will work out. I don’t know why she is going back home “why is she going back to LA?” Wadz asked “erm good question, I think something to do with family, I don’t know but I feel Juke is involved, I just feel it. If so then it is his problem” I can’t be dealing with that “Chris about to give him an ass whooping” he is laughing but he could be “what happened?” Ybeez asked “don’t ask, Juke having sex with Imani” placing the pictures down “no way the little one, oh he didn’t” I shrugged, what can I say.

Parked outside Aziel school, I am a little early “I wanted to ask” Wadz poked his head forward “you nosey as shit” YB looked at me “go on” he is munching on food “I uhm, what would you think to me proposing to Rylee?” YB mouth fell open “bro what?” Wadz said “nah I been thinking, I been thinking a lot and I just” I paused “I want to be with her, not like you know to get myself back in the house, but I miss her when she is not around, I know what I want and it’s her. I don’t say it out loud to anyone or much, but I do love her, and I think that is the step and I ain’t ever fucking thought of shit like this but it’s giving me sleepless nights, just thinking how I am going to do it but I want to know what you both think. I trust you guys, YB is like a father figure to me and you my best friend, my brother” I wonder what they think “I am shocked, Oakley people like us don’t settle. I am happy for you, like you really want to get married?” nodding my head “wow, man. Go for it, I agree. I have seen you the happiest with her no matter what has happened, life I guess” Wadz agrees “you about to get me emotional, I say why not, do it” I sighed out “I just don’t know how or when or what, it has to be romantic. I want to do it; I think I need help from you guys. I just feel lost without her, like she is gone now, and it’s shit but I need that. I want her to be my wife, I want to wife that. I am over that life bro, I am ready to be a husband, a new experience you know” I grinned “look at him” Wadz shook me as they both laughed “thank you, thank you. I just yeah, I love her. I am saying it to you guys but please, just keep it here, I need to think. I need to speak to Chris again too, do it properly but I am. I am going to do it, I want Aziel to see what I didn’t see with my parents too, love and marriage like yeah, I want that” rubbing my chin, I need to think now.

Rylee doesn’t want Aziel with the boys but it’s going to happen, but I told them all, he can’t be bad. If they see they have to tell him off “Aziel, you prefer Dave car or mine” he is getting every guy here to rev their engine “my dad” he pointed at me “of course, the best car your dad has got, your girl got you good, man like Cench got his number plate rolling around, I see you fam” I busted out laughing “she is a good one, what can I say” he held his phone out to me “take a picture of me and nephew man” taking his phone and moving back “gang look there” Dave said to Aziel, Aziel looked at me and he started doing little gang signs “nah we don’t do that over here” I was about to say but Dave did it, I already told them “just smile for me bro” Dave laughed, I am glad he said it “but dad did it” he pointed at me “dad is hype, ignore him. Smile bro” Aziel smiled so wide as I took the picture “good boy, look at that picture” passing Dave the phone “I look like an uncle, I like it” I chuckled getting my phone out of my pocket, Chris is calling me back “I will be just there ok” I said, Dave put his thumb up as I answered the call, the whole gang is here outside Slawn café and I know Aziel is loving it, Clint is the worst but he is being kind “Aziel, Beau is awake now bro” placing the phone to my ear “Chris” I answered “Oakley, long time. Sorry, I have been so busy that I haven’t had a moment to like to call you or anything, just moving to Vegas and stuff, you good?” he has been busy though “I am thank you, I won’t keep long time. I know you have a lot on and stuff” walking far away from the boys “I got time for you Oakley, don’t say that. You call me, I will always call you back, but everything ok?” he asked “yeah, just erm. You know I mentioned I wanted to marry your daughter, well I am serious like I am going to ask her like soon, I want to know you’re happy with that though” I hope he is “happy? Over the moon, about time someone takes her” he laughed “nah, I think it’s something that is the best addition to the family, I know Robyn and I will be happy, just all I ask is you love her and if at any point you say it’s not me, be real with me but don’t break her heart, love her. You are the only one that can deal with her, she loves you Oakley so yeah, I am so happy bro. You about to be a Fenty” I snorted laughing “I know, I just need to think about how, what and when you know” rubbing the top of my head “be you, she fell for you so do it as you, anything you do will make her happy” taking in a deep breath, he is right.

Sending the picture to Rylee laughing “what is so funny?” My mom asked me, I shrugged stretching my arm out “he looks so handsome don’t you think” my parents move weird “it’s the wellingtons for me, looking like Paddington” Aziel is loving it “oi, what you saying to them” Aziel made his way over to me with his new wellingtons, it’s just so funny “thank you” smiling at him “you like them?” He nodded his head “now you can garden, water the lawn. Do the things they tried to force me to do” my mom scoffed “oh be quiet, his feet get wet when we garden together” I smiled “yeah” they are very white “I wanted to actually mention something, before you leave the room mom” she is going with Aziel “yes, Aziel wait for me” he is banging his feet with those on “I’m going to propose to Rylee, it’s going to be legit” I felt a little nervous saying to my parents “oh really, are you ready for it now?” Nodding my head “yeah, I just wanted to make sure you both I know like, I want you to be in the know with it all. But I’m going to do it; I do love her” my dad smiled at me “didn’t think I would see either boys married, I am proud. And I think Rylee will fit into the family nicely; I mean why not” my dad said “so you happy with that yeah?” My mom is a little quiet “she did what I couldn’t, get you off the streets, out of west. I am more than happy. I couldn’t see you with any other, congratulations” I laughed “I know, it’s a lot” my mother got her arms open, getting up from the sofa and hugged her “I am happy for you, and she will be a great addition too” I really got to do this now “it’s a secret though, she don’t know, I’m just trying tie up things with the people close know. She don’t know, so keep quiet” my dad looks so happy “you know how to propose?” I chuckled “I’m going to say you’re marrying me and be done with it” he shook his head “I don’t think she would expect anything less from you. You did what I couldn’t” I looked behind me but mu mother walked away “you don’t love her that’s why, I could tell you that” my dad shook his head “I care for your mother Oakley, but” he drifted off “not enough to make her your wife?” He didn’t say anything but remained silent “what does it feel like to love?” That question kind of hit me, I felt sad for my dad “pure joy” I just said because I don’t want to to go in depth, that’s sad to feel that. Looking at Rylee text from her.

From Rylee: Why does my baby look like he belongs on a farm?

I snorted laughing I was going to text, but she called straight off “why does my child look like he’s been on a farm, and dressed in his school uniform too!?” Oh I forgot about that “yeah my bad, I needed to change that. My parents got him wellingtons for when he does gardening with them” Rylee groaned out “my god, he looks terrible” I chuckled “stop it, he doesn’t. You good though? What you doing?” Juke is finally home “alright bro” dapping him “I’m ok, just seeing Tianna and all these things. I really came to beat Imani ass” I pulled a face laughing “serious? Stop it” I can’t stop laughing at what she just said “I am not even joking Oakley, I have come here for Imani” oh she dead ass too “I didn’t tell you because you would talk me out of it” I’ve stopped laughing now “you mean see sense, Lee. Don’t be doing that now, let her be” she is right I would have “she’s been talking too much shit Oakley and now she’s acting stupid. I need to see her” I don’t agree but whatever “I never thought you was doing that crazy” Juke is staring at me “can I speak to you” he asked “yeah give me a moment” I said to him “mhmmm anyways, I miss you. A little, I don’t know. I feel a little miss” I sniggered “a little miss, not even a big miss you. Well I can openly say I miss you, but just be careful yeah. Don’t be acting on stupidity” she needs to think first “ok dad” she spat “papi to you, I’m off. I need to speak to Juke” I said “nah, don’t get off the phone” here she goes “Lee, please” I pleaded “mhmmm fine, speak later” she said “thank you, speak soon. Bye” she is funny “send me a dick picture later” before I could even react she disconnected the call “what?” I said staring at my phone “what is that?” Juke said, “I did it, it’s Berry” my mother came in from behind him as I looked up “he did that all by himself, growing berries” I smiled at him “proud of you, about to be a farmer aren’t you” he is so proud of it “JJ look!” He spat showing Juke the berries, let me text Rylee what the fuck.

To Rylee: What was that? Why?

“What do you want?” I asked Juke “just talk to you” seeing my dad walk by “alright, you good dad?” I asked “of course I am, my kids are happy” looking down at my phone.

From Rylee: I can’t ask you for nudes? I miss you

She makes me laugh, locking my phone shaking my head. Juke has been just staring at me “my bad I’m just texting, what is it?” I hope it isn’t anything stupid “yeah but I need you to not punch me, I’m coming to you bro” now he’s said that I know it’s going to be something “Imani and I still speak, she said that like her sisters are hating on her, she said that she likes me too” covering my face with my hands, not this again “Juke, end it!” I spat “I actually want to try” shaking my head “no, I am saying no” I pointed “she tells me a lot about things, she said Tianna and her the unwanted children that got in the way, that Rylee is. And she said that her family think she needs help and she doesn’t, I’m like same. You all think I’m crazy” is this kid right “Juke, you go back to Sky. Leave Imani alone, you know that Rylee is in LA because of this shit, why are you trying to fuck up my life? I don’t want you in it! I don’t want you in the fucking family because that is my people, you aren’t built to settle. You will be back with Sky, you’re doing this Imani thing so it can create some hype around you, I know you. And I am telling you now, you end it” Juke shook his head “she sends me nudes” my eyes bulged out “Juke please don’t be airing her out” this is fucked up “I deleted them, but she’s on it” he smiled “but you need to stop Rylee being so involved bro” Juke is a bastard, I know him “Juke, I’m going to propose to Rylee so she will be my wife, I won’t be stopping her doing shit” his face dropped “serious?” Nodding my head “serious” he is so silent now, like I just slapped him “so whatever she says goes then? Is what what it is, I am actually getting to know Imani” this guy “then unfucking know her and go back to Sky, I don’t want to hear it from you, you stay away from Imani. She has her own issues, I told you to end it and you haven’t! You’re causing me shit when I want to fix my own life, you always have to be in the fucking way” I spat “fuck you Oakley” he walked off “you end that Juke, I am so serious!” I spat, he cannot be serious, Imani is feeling clingy that is all and he’s just wanting some attention.

[blindrapture]

("And here we are, those that skipped. Jordan was coerced into becoming a European terrorist, earning the name 'the White Jester.' He floundered his way through France and Spain, encountering some weird rabbit holes and seeing a lot of death. Then he came back to England, and he and Donnie defeated the Harlequin, their powerful abuser, in the town of Blackpool. There will be other important plot details I skimmed over, but bringing attention to them here would tip my hand to those who didn't skip. It's okay. There's plenty of story left, and no more to skip.")

SATURDAY JUNE 18TH, 2011 (In the Name of Comcast, We are Blessed for this Pornography)

7:15 AM What a beautiful day outside, just lookit that beautiful red sky! It looks just about ready to hug. I want to hug the sky. Don’t you, journal? I do. :D

7:23 AM There’s a goddamn zombie in the kitchen. Just one. He’s slowly looking around. He looks half-comatose. I wanna say he looks like an adult’s mind trapped in a little kid’s motor skills. I’m gonna go get Donnie. We need to get outta here, anyway. And yeah, journal. I kept my promise. Well, half. I told her it felt so strange, after what Mist the Harlequin did. So she respected that, though I tried my best. I feel almost like a slut. But that’s not fair, journal, it’s not; I’ve read, y’know, about abuse victims and they think really badly of themselves and.. I mean, I guess.. I’ll get over it. Oh, I don’t have to get Donnie; she’s coming down now.

8:01 AM She’s very affectionate today. I’m still getting my mind together. I guess the fact that I killed the Harlequin is still—wait, no, that’s not true, is it? She’s not even dead. I don’t think she can even be killed. We’ve just tried our best to trap her in a freezer. Ohh god, I need to talk more with Donnie about thaaaat.

8:24 AM She says she’s been thinking about that, too. We’ve agreed that we really need to get out of here. But we’re not sure where we’d go. We’re gonna go out, look around. There’s gotta be something, y’know?

8:30 AM Going into town. There’s gotta be something, gotta be. Otherwise all that craziness last night would have been for nothing.

8:38 AM Internet cafe. Internet’s not up, is it? Half this shit doesn't even work.

8:41 AM This computer works. ..but the internet doesn— IT DOES,WAY TO GO INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, THEY’RE THE REAL HEROES It’s just really slow! Heh, ain’t that always how it is? aim aim aim aim AIM EXPRESS FUCK YEAH WHO’S ON, okay, it’s 8 AM so it’s about 3 AM back in the States, but who the fuck is gonna be on? ..Paul Botsford. That’s a surprise. Haven’t spoken to this guy in ages. Old old friend!

8:53 AM Paul’s not been hit by the apocalyptic shit too bad; Sandy Springs is a really quiet place. I’ve been trying to explain my situation so far, with the Harlequin and Spain and all that crazy shit. Paul’s response? “DAMN! Dude, everything bad happens to you.” I.. can’t help but concur. Donnie seems to have found a computer with internet, too, so I guess we might get to stay here awhile. WHOO.

8:59 AM TVTropes looks as fun as ever. Even in the face of the end of all life as we know it, tropers remain caring and organized. I love that. ..oh my god, my thread in OTC is just filled with posts asking if “DJay’s okay.” Somebody mentioned how “there was news of a troper gathering in Blackpool falling victim to the Harlequin,” and.. hang on, right-click that, copy… New Post. Right-click, paste. [[quoteblock]] and [[/quoteblock]] bookending. Now, “The Harlequin isn’t a problem anymore.” What a dramatic entrance. :D I’m explaining most of what I can to these people. “And also, the doubletap really does help, thank you to whoever suggested that.” Explaining how quite a lot of British tropers are unfortunately no longer with us. Kay, posted my stuff. I also asked if anyone had any idea where I could go.

9:12 AM OH HEY PORN

9:13 AM “HOT Rachael-on-Rachael Action!!!” Nah, I prefer dominant women; I’ll pass. “How I Tamed A Rake With My Penis” That just looks like a guy in white latex. “ESCAPE to the UNIVERSE of ONLY NAKED WOMEN!!!” I like how it was done in the style of a B-list horror movie, but I’ve been to that universe. It wasn’t that good. “Rubbing My Balls In A Zombie’s Face” Exactly What It Says On The Tin, and as boring as it sounds. “spider cat gives eight handjobs at once” o___o I guess bestiality’s okay now that civilization’s dead. “THE WOMAN WITH TESTICLES CLICK HERE” …*clicks* “VIAGRA VIAGRA HOT SEX VIAGRA” Yeah no, we still have spam. “SLENDER MAN TOUCHES KIDS” ……that’s what he does? I can’t even tell what’s going on in this; there’s too much distortion! “KINKY SEX HERE” The video description says “help.” What is this? ..oh god. The Harlequin only made me write stuff down. I guess that’s what happens if she sees you have a video camera and internet. o_e Well, I’ll hand it to ‘em. It’s kinky. Okay, enough of that. None of that stuff was much good. I mean, the woman with testicles was interesting, but I wouldn’t fap to any of this shit.

9:25 AM ”Entry #42.” Mister Wagner kept going with Marble Hornets? Heh, I imagine he wouldn’t have much trouble making horror now.

9:30 AM Holy shit. The first minute is just Jay grabbing a shotgun and shooting the Operator in the face. Well, the lack of face. Now Tim’s in the shot. He has a knife and is wearing his mask and he’s asking to join forces, as “The Operator will be back, and in greater numbers.” ..wait, what? O_O That’s a plot twist, Tim. Now Cool Guy came in, or Blasky or Hoody or whatever you want to call him, and he said he’s totheark and they’re joining forces. Now this is a survival video log. Bastards are copying me!

9:48 AM Advertisement for “The Camper Festival.” “IT’S FREE!” “SUCH BIG NAMES AS RUSH GENESIS METALLIC DREAM THEATRE MEGADEATH MASTODON OPETH YES PINK FLOYD GENTLE GIANT KING CRIMSON and many more out there as we locate them!” The fact that they misspelled “Metallica,” “Theater” (it’s a name, so the original spelling applies universally), and “Megadeth” really annoys me. But I gotta admit, it’s a pretty damn good festival. I should go back some day before the bands revolt. The wording on the rest of the page is pretty weird, too. I take it English wasn’t their first language, whoever wrote this.

9:53 AM Still no new replies to my thread. That’s okay; I’ll check back soon.

10:27 AM I’m feeling pretty hungry. Donnie says she is, too, so.. food time!

10:45 AM FOOD, oh my god lots and lots of endless FOOOOD. Flan, crisps, soda, sausage rolls, more flan, chocolate milk efsgji0b BEER. Oh my god. Beer. Oh my god I can have the heavier stuff now. FUCK YEAAAAAAH

11:02 AM I finally stopped throwing up, oh my god. Shit, that stuff tastes horrible.

11:11 AM I WISH I HAD A GIRLFRIEND. Yep, I’m back to wishing for that. …actually, I wish we could find a great way to get as far away as possible.

11:14 AM I’m gonna take Donnie to the beach. Why? ‘Cause I feel like it. :3

11:29 AM Wow, the beach has a lot of junk all over it. Like, lookit this! What is this? It’s a stinkin’ flyer! For what? What could possibly need a flyer in the apocalypse? ..actually, this is quite good. Oh my god. It’s an advertisement for a boat going to America. June 29th, 2011. This year. In a week n’ a half. The R.M.S. Exodus. The flyer says this’ll be its last voyage; it’s never coming back. It’s in Liverpool. Fuck, that’s close.

11:37 AM I showed Donnie. She thinks, if it doesn’t crash and burn, it could be our ticket out. It could be our unicorn. I need to know how close Liverpool is. BACK TO THE CAFE!

12:01 PM Google Maps says it’ll take about fifteen hours on foot. Shit, that’s.. yes. We can do that. We can easily do that. We’ll do it tomorrow. I guess we’ll just relax today. ..I guess we need a day of relaxing.

3:45 PM Replies to thread: Only one was any help, and it was talking about “some ship” which is going to America in a week. So yeah, we pretty much hit the jackpot with that flyer. I mean, both of us wanna leave England for some reason or other. It really is perfect! I just wish it wasn’t over a week away. D:

4:38 PM IMed with Danny. Told him about the Exodus. He asked when I thought I’ll be in the States, and I told him, if the boat gets that far, probably July 4th. We’ve agreed to meet up sometime after the arrival. This’ll be pretty exciting, meeting up with an online friend! Hell, if we can do this, who knows who else we can meet up with?

9:20 PM We had dinner at a fancy restaurant. It was dinner for two. Reminded me way too much of the date with Harly. But then again, I can get over that. I hope. ^^;

10:27 PM Donnie wants to listen to Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. I love that girl.

10:57 PM Noises from downstairs.

10:59 PM ZOMBIES IN THE LIVING ROOM

11:11 PM I WISH… uh.. hm. I WISH I HAD A GIRLFRIEND. There we go. :D

11:23 PM Donnie’s going to bed. I think I will, too. I mean, big journey ahead of us tomorrow. Plus, it’s fun to sleep with her. (Hahahaha… ha…)

(Attached: “The Internet Service Providers have to deal with a lot of problems in the apocalypse. At first, it was just the Neonate who wanted to take over the internet, but for reasons that will eventually become obvious he gets a little too distracted to keep that up, so the World War Web event doesn’t continue until the Ruin tries for some reason to freeze it all– was he trying to make a pun? From that day forward, the ISP starts issuing its workers flamethrowers as part of their daily protocol. The Morphs are eventually coerced by the Judge to do some catastrophic damage to the world’s servers, but amazingly enough by that point the ISPs have become the equivalent of every country’s defense budget– all remaining governments, in a series of ballsy unprecedented motions, unanimously vouch all their support and give them all the weapons and equipment they need. ISP workers go down in history as war heroes of the apocalypse, keeping watch over all humanity’s information, defending logic itself– and reason!– from otherworldly menaces. Comcast, we salute you.”)

[PREV LOG] [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [NEXT LOG]

[spanishskulduggery]

hello

i was trying to translate this sentence into spanish:

“are you ready to order?”

and i wrote it like this:

“¿son tú listo a pedir?”

when i used spanish dictionary to see if i was right with my translation, they instead wrote

“¿está listo para pedir?”

which i think literally translates to

“is ready for order?”

this is just one example i could think of off the top of my head, but i constantly have this problem where i try and translate the english i’m thinking of word for word to the best of my ability at least. (i don’t know if this is a good example tho because my translation might be right, just weird sounding. idk tho.) because of this, i have a hard time speaking and writing it. its discouraging. i was wondering if you got any advice, or if you’ve answered a question like this before. i’ve asked another person this question but i just received that i should learn more grammar and vocab, but i don’t know which grammar concepts to study.

also, you got any online spanish dictionary recommendations? low key feel like spanish dictionary ain’t the most reliable. maybe it’s just me tho.

A couple things:

First, "to be ready" in Spanish is done with estar not ser so it would in fact be estar listo/a para pedir "to be ready to order"

This is an important one because estar listo/a is "to be ready" but ser listo/a means "to be smart/intelligent"

Second, son is 3rd person plural of ser, which is "they are" or "you all are". Since you're using tú in your translation it's the wrong conjugation:

Estoy listo/a para pedir. = I am ready to order. Estás listo/a para pedir. = You are ready to order. Está listo/a para pedir. = He/She is ready to order. Está listo/a para pedir. = You [formal] are ready to order. Están listos/listas para pedir. = They are ready to order. Están listos/listas para pedir. = You all [ustedes] are ready to order. Estamos listos/listas para pedir. = We are ready to order

*Note: again, estar is the correct verb here, but the conjugations of ser are yo soy, tú eres, él/ella/usted es, ellos/ellas/ustedes son, nosotros somos

I'm using listo/a because it depends on the gender of the person or people in question

And finally, in this case the dictionary wasn't wrong but it's conjugated for usted which is a polite "you"; it would make sense for speaking to a customer this way, but sometimes restaurants use tú with people:

¿Estás (tú) listo para pedir? = Are you [m] ready to order? ¿Estás (tú) lista para pedir? = Are you [f] ready to order? ¿Está (usted) listo para pedir? = Are you [formal, m] ready to order? ¿Está (usted) lista para pedir? = Are you [formal, f] ready to order? ¿Están (ustedes) listos para pedir? = Are you all [m+m, m+f] ready to order? ¿Están (ustedes) listas para pedir? = Are you all [f+f] ready to order?

There's an additional pronoun vosotros/vosotras which is only used in Spain but it's "you all" in an informal way; it would be estáis listos/listas

Saying ¿Está listo? isn't necessarily wrong but it could be "is it ready?" if you didn't know the context. When addressing someone, it's "are you ready?" but as usted

As in... ¿Está listo para pedir, señor? "Are you ready to order, sir?" and ¿Está lista para pedir, señora? "Are you ready to order, ma'am?"

*Note: You may also find people saying other things than this because language is flexible, but this is standard "are you ready?"

-

I would suggest starting off with www.studyspanish.com/grammar which will introduce a lot of the grammar concepts to you from the basics to the most advanced

SpanishDict and WordReference are my go-to dictionaries, but because Spanish is context-driven I find looking at the forums to be very helpful:

WordReference

The WordReference forum

In the actual entry it gives different options: ¿ya saben lo que van a pedir? "do you know (already) what you're going to order?", ¿Están listos para ordenar/pedir? "Are you ready to order?", etc etc

And the WordReference forum discusses more of the grammar just like I did

The dictionary you used isn't wrong but it seems like you wanted more context to make sure of things.

That's why I suggested the studyspanish website because it talks about differences between ser and estar for example, and the different pronouns

I'd also suggest maybe trying Duolingo which helps construct the grammar - and I believe it also has a forum option where you can see what other people said on how accurate the sentences are and what they might say in that context. Spanish is a very widely spoken language so you tend to get a lot of good information from native speakers and people who know Spanish very well.

-

Please let me know if any of this didn't make sense or if you have any other questions!

[clarencethemouse]

Sloane Hargreeves Relationship Headcanons

sloane my beloved

first of you are not a Sparrow

use your imagination to find another way you two met, cause it ain’t that way

that’s gross

go cleanse yourselves if you think that would be okay

the majority of her family unsettles her. Let’s be real, Sloane is the only one of her type in the Sparrows. So if you get well with her, high chances are you don’t with her siblings

would totally be the one to ask to move in together. Not at the Academy, no. She’s going to your place

it doesn’t matter how small your apartment/house is in comparison to where she grew up, she’s soaking that domestic life up with you! 

Reggie the Veggie never let them have pets growing up, so the moment the move is finalized and everything is settled, you two are getting an animal

no if, and, or buts. You’re getting a furry friend

(shshsh allergies don’t exist here)

if you’re not totally willing for a pet at first Sloane will be ready to beg. And you’ve seen this woman’s doe eyes. They will make you melt

loves when you put on fashion shows when out shopping

if you two are snuggled on the couch or in bed, she will not hesitate to use her powers. Like grabbing the remote from the armchair four feet away, or keeping things out of the reach of your pesky pets

this is also such a fun game

she’ll hover things just above the heads of your animal (especially a cat) and it’ll be like catch

sometimes she has to run away to do Sparrow things. But she’s always back in time to make it up to you for having your worried during her leave ;)

is a baker. Preferred date night over anything is baking with you. Sorry, I don’t make the rules

she loves buying you jewelry. Loves

I feel like Reggie the Veggie would cut off her Sparrow Academy funding once she moved out. He’d be petty like that

so she has to get a regular person job. But this only contributes to the domesticated life she’s been dreaming of for 30 years, so she’s only happier

you two fantasize over traveling the world together. Maybe someday soon, once you have the funds, you will

(there are some evenings you lay together and think “you know, what if we just splurged tomorrow morning and got tickets to Spain. What if?”

knowing full well your current budget could only support three hours overseas

you always come back down to your senses. But it’s always a nice thought

I’m sorry Sloane is precious

love her for everything she’s worth or I will

[doopy-n-loopy]

How would yandere mercs react to us trying to escape late at night?

Well not well that's for sure!

Yan!Mercenaries (TF2) × Reader hcs/ imagines

// Yandere themes, violence, fear play, yandere shit

Defense

Demo

You got out of Demo's bed, you had given him more alcohol than usual to keep him asleep. You looked over the heavily snoring figure beside you. The scot had his mouth wide open and a bottle of beer cluched in his palm. You leaned in and blew on his eye to make sure he was asleep, and there was no physical response from him. You then quickly slipped on your clothes and pulled out the small bag you've been hiding behind the nightstand, it was filled with money and other essentials like pepper spray, sunglasses, and a cloak.

You walked out of the room, taking one last look at the scot before tiptoing out of the house, avoiding scattered empty alcohol containers on the ground.

Just as you were about to leave, you heard a voice from behind you

"y/n? What are ye doing?"

He was drunk of course, but when wasn't he? It was like he was sober in his own way. Sober enough to recognize that guilty look on your face. His expression twisted into an angry snarl and he grabbed you by the wrist, dragging you down the stairs into the basement

"you'll stay here till you know how to listen"

He said trying to conceal his anger, but failing to do so

He could also just have a breakdown depending on the type of night it was and guilt you into staying

He will be a lot more strict on you

Heavy

You were looking to escape in the night but heavy lives in an eternal blizzard basically so... That's not a great idea

But lets say you've been preparing for awhile and got everything set up, a snow mobile, warm clothes, and a torch

But the moment you get to the shed, you find that your snow mobile is broken

Heavy then appears out of a corner of darkness with an upset expression

It's silent for a moment, until he speaks

"After all Heavy has done for you? Why?"

You felt guilt building up into your throat as you tried to search for an excuse. Unable to find one. He isn't a very restricting yandere, in fact, he's much tamer than most, he's given you basically all he has and to do this is like a slap in the face.

"Heavy will forgive you, if you just come back" he said while smiling

You were then gently pushed back out into the cold in the direction of his house, where you'd be staying once more

If he was in a bad mood, he'd be a little more rough

He also will place more restrictions on you but it's not like you'd notice considering it's not much

Engineer

You were about to leave in your car at night, when you tried turning it on, it wouldn't start. Engie then walks in front of your car and waves at you for you to come out, which after hesitating, you comply.

He walks over to you and hugs you, which confuses you. He tells you it's alright and that you don't have to go

"I'm sorry but, I want to leave" you stutter out

He panics internally and grips your shoulder, looking you in your eye

"do you know what could happen to you out there? Rapists! Murderers! The world ain't sugar n' honey, darlin"

"but-" you respond, suddenly cut off by him

"but you're safe here with me. I'll always protect you"

He hugs you once again, sucked into that warm embrace, you calm down and walk back with him

You were restricted from certain things from then on

Offense

Scout

You got into a fight with him earlier and in the middle of the night, you decided it was time to leave.

You packed a bag of clothes, some water, money, and other essentials

As you got your keys, you were met with a sleepy eyed scout who had bedhead

"Y/N....? The hell are ya doin?"

It takes a second for scout to process what's going on. You're grabbing your keys, you're fully dressed, and you had a suitcase with you

"Jeremy. I'm leaving*

You said sternly. You could see in his eyes that his heart shattered into a million pieces

"Wai- what no! No no no no! Please y/n you gotta stay please!"

He begged, grabbing onto your coat as you began to walk out. Tears formed on his face but you ignored it

"I can't put up with this anymore"

You said, voice cracking from the pain in your heart. Scout was sobbing now, he kneeled in front of you to stop you

"I'm so sorry I'm so sorry! I'll change I swear I'll become better! You want to go to eat out more? I got the money! I'll treat you nicely!"

You didn't believe a word he said, but with the way he was talking, it had to be true.

"Please I love you so much and it would kill me to lose you... Literally... You're my world to me, baby"

You bit your quivering lip as you looked down at him like he was a sad puppy. You sniffled and dropped your bags, huffing in defeat

".. I'm sorry. I'm just tired"

Scout was overjoyed to hear this. That night he clung to you

Scout didn't really become more strict, but he did become more loving to avoid that again.

Pyro

This one is scary, scarier than support classes even

You were almost out the door when they spotted you. They gave you an inquisitive look. You both shared a minute of uncomfortable silence before you bolted out the door. Pyro was unprepared for this, giving you some time to create distance between you two.

But Pyro was quick to get ready and they were out the door in no time with their flamethrower, ready to burn down acres of forests in order to catch you

You could hear pyro approaching, knowing that once you reach your car at the end of the base, you'll be safe and free.

While you were running, it seemed like their footsteps had been fading ever since they've gotten louder. Until you couldn't hear it anymore. You didn't pay any mind to this since your objective was just getting ti your car

When you arrived at the boarders of their territory when you stopped in your tracks

Pyro was leaning over their axe by the car, looking smug as ever. You looked towards your car and gasped.

Pyro had shredded the tires and broke open every window so you couldn't escape. You stood there as pyro approached you and swept you up in their arms, snuggling their mask into your neck the entire way home while you couldn't help but softly sob

Soldier

Soldier would lose his shit

He's already super strict, forces you to get up at 5 am every morning and run laps like you're in the military, makes you eat either MRE packets or home cooked food and you better hope it's an MRE pack because he cannot cook

So when he sees you at your car late at night, he screams at the top of his lungs enough to scare you into shock

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MAGGOT? GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

I could see this going one of two ways, either complying or he has to chase you down (which he will)

If he has to chase you down, he won't be happy about it, and become even more strict than before (which I don't think is possible but it's soldier)

Support

Sniper

You... What?

How did you even get the idea that you could escape?

You live in his fucking van, you won't have a car other than his van

But lets say you saw the chance for escape, and tried to take it. You either got shut down the moment you got out of bed or you were lucky enough to get far away from the van

"get your bloody ass back to bed" is something he'd say if he shut you down the moment you stood up

But this man is a sniper, he can scope you out easily, and he won't hesitate to use a tranq on you

After that, you're back in the chains

Spy

Scary

Did you really think you could?

He knew you were gonna escape before you even escaped

He'd make very subtle remarks about it and remind you of what he could do

"Do you remember about the undercover mission in Spain back when I was working for the government that I told you about? When I was able to find the traitor using three clues. Even after all his records were erased"

Subtle shit like that to remind you who's in control

But lets say you didn't take the hint, and you decided to try and escape anyways

He'd catch you in the living room trying to escape, and send you back to bed

Or, you'd get lucky and be able to run away, meaning he'd be on a job

Trust me, he will find you within 48 hours, 24 if you aren't moving that much

He's very manipulative so he'd try to make you feel bad about it.

Much more strict afterwards

Medic

I have a feeling he'd already knowz but not to the extent that spy does

He notices your behavior, and how you're starting to become a bit more.. energetic?

Anyways, like spy, he'll warn you subtly

"You seem to always find yourself injured in any way. And like they say, a medic can track an injured person like a gps system, ja?"

If you decide to escape, he'll have some fun with you definitely. He'll late you run far enough to think that you're finally free, before he catches you and brings you back. He's sadistic.

He'll laugh at your face and degrade and humiliate you, making you regret ever trying

After that, he's much more strict, and demanding from you

Bonus cause I wanted to: Pauling

Pauling like spy, can track people very easily

I wouldn't even be surprised if she convinced medic to help put a tracker in you

Well, she'd be at work checking your location every hour. And the moment she finds out that you're not in the house but at a motel, she's pissed.

She has to quickly finish up work before taking her time to go catch you, and trust me, if Pauling takes time off work for something it's important

Once she finds you, she tells you to come out, trying to keep it civil. When you don't, she ends up busting through the door and taking you herself.

On the way home, she complains about how you worried her and made her miss some work like a parent going to pick up their sick kid from school

She eventually cools off after she gets you home, but she is definitely more strict

Gify was acting up so I couldn't download any more gifs 😭

Anyways feel free to request again!

[docholligay]

27. Spain

Eurovision, or, as I call it: Regrettably, I speak Spanish. 

It’s a well-know fact, and you can look this up, I am not just talking out my ass here, that Spain’s final is rigged every year and I have no idea why they don’t dispense with the illusion and simply move to internal selection, and what I think may be the worst of it is I fear the Spanish judges may actively hate their own country and seek to undermine it by sending the most banal things they can constantly find. 

This will not do badly! She’s hot, she can absolutely dance her ass off, and if you don’t speak Spanish, this is a fine stupid pop song. 

But the song itself oh God, where do I even begin, everyone who chose French instead in our high school track was absolutely correct. 

Firstly, the random English is BOGGLING. “Doc,” you may say, “Spanglish is totally a thing” Yeah it is, I had a an ex that for three solid fucking years after we stopped fucking still had me saying ‘parquear” instead of “estacionar” and parquear is so commonly used in Mexico at least that it can be found in dictionaries. But you know what AIN’T SPANGLISH T’ALL?? 

something like, oh, I dunno, “siempre estoy READY” which is extra insulting because ready doesn’t even rhyme with anything, there’s no in-song reason it needs to be there! Dropping random English into Spanish sentences is not the same thing on a language level as what latin american or united states Spanglish looks like, and before any of you are like “she’s CUBAN” she moved to Spain when she was TWO. 

I have to listen to this song and hear something like “todos los daddies” and BE THERE. I have to know what is happening in this song and I cannot willfully UNKNOW Spanish.  Why is she breaking hips?? No one knows! Why the fuck is she identifying herself as a Bugatti! I don’t know! It’s coming right after calling herself the queen, the tough girl, so I’m not sure what being a luxury car has to do with any of that. If I was like, “YOu know, I’m the queen, the tough girl, a Lamborghini” would be like, “Oh, you’re an overpriced an intellectually stunted car based more on the idea that people who have money can be made to feel like good drivers with expensive computing?” You see how ridiculous all this is? 

But YOU don’t have to think about this, because you can just watch her dance half-naked on stage to a pop backbeat, because YOU were smart and did not pursue mastery of Spanish, only to have Spain beat you with a sack of Valencia oranges every year. 

Disclaimer/Method

[phykios]

Ain’t No Sunshine, modern royalty, 1970s au [read on ao3] thank you as always to my darling @darkmagyk for taking a true story off the rails

May 3rd, 1979. The date seemed to jump off the page, the loud, bold text almost mocking her. 

Not that she was keeping track, but it was just about four years to the day.

She’d woken up this morning, feeling kind of off, wandering around her apartment in a daze as she hustled her children out the door for daycare, losing time on her bus commute to work. It wasn’t until lunch, as she took the time to go through her day planner, that she realized: four years ago was when she had last seen Percy Jackson.

Though why Annabeth was thinking about him right this second was anyone’s guess.

Oh, sure, she’d thought about him a lot all throughout her pregnancy--thought about him, cursed his name, dreamed of strangling him for leaving her alone with these two absolute terrors--but as the years had gone by, and she had lost all hope of ever making contact with him again, he’d sort of fallen by the wayside of her thoughts. Something must have been going on with the navy mail system, because absolutely none of the letters or postcards she’d sent had ever been received, and she couldn’t reach out to Sally, since Annabeth had lost her address as well. 

There was always the possibility that he… well, that he wasn’t around to receive letters anymore. But she tried not to think about it. 

She tried her best not to think about him at all, these days.

Today, however, her childhood best friend turned US navy midshipman had popped up on her internal radar, and had just decided to take up residence in her brain. Her normally mind-numbing job couldn’t even properly distract her, and she spent all afternoon daydreaming about his messy, perpetually windswept hair, and his toothy, contagious smile, and his gorgeous green eyes like she was some kind of pathetic, lovestruck teenager, obsessing over her rockstar crush. Taking calls, scheduling appointments, and dodging the creepy advances of the assistant CFO were slightly more palatable if she had something pleasant to think about. 

Old-fashioned romance was for suckers, anyway. Who needed it? 

At least it was Friday. Fridays were KFC days, and she really did not need to accidentally burn dinner today. Again.

She hated it, but her kids loved it. God knows they could barely stomach whatever she usually attempted.

She sent them to bed early-ish, and settled down in front of the TV with a glass of wine. She didn’t usually indulge, but she had had such a weird day, she felt she deserved it. 

Taking a long, long sip, she could no longer deny it: she really fucking missed Percy.

She missed him like she’d miss a missing limb, and it was all the more cruel because she’d lost him once, and miraculously found him again, on that fateful trip home from Athens. A military brat stuck at the American naval base in Spain to save money, waiting for a spare seat to open up on a plane so she could go home, by the sheer force of luck, she’d practically tripped and fallen into the lap of her childhood best friend. 

And then she did trip into his lap. And then into his bed. And stupid, stupid, Annabeth, she’d always been so bad with her birth control.

Her little boy, he had blond hair, but sometimes he would look at her, or laugh at something, or drool in his sleep just like his daddy, and Annabeth thought she might just fucking die from it.

She loved her children, of course, how could she not? But she wasn’t about to deny it--sometimes, alone in parenthood, juggling dishes and laundry and schoolwork and life, she felt like she was drowning.

Sharp, piercing, the doorbell rang, knocking her out of her reverie. A little tipsy, still in her rumpled work clothes, she set the glass aside, and made her way to the door. “Mr. D,” she said, opening it, prepared speech all ready to go, “I told you, I’d have the rent for you by--”

She stopped, blinking, speechless. It was not Mr. D.

“Hey,” said the man outside her door. The ghost from another world that she had, apparently, conjured with her thoughts.

“...Hey.”

He smiled, a little strained, the light of the streetlamps casting harsh shadows on his face. “It’s good to see you.” 

“How did you know where I lived?” It was, perhaps, not the most elegant thing to say, but she hadn’t exactly planned for what would happen when Percy Jackson, love of her life, father of her children, long-lost best friend wandered back into her life.

“Can I come in? Maybe for a Coke or something?” he asked, not answering her question. 

She almost wanted to say no. For every letter never returned, for every month gone by without a word, for every day spent raising their children without him, not knowing if he was alive or dead--she almost said no. 

But this was Percy. She could spare him a Coca Cola at least. “Sure,” she said, leaning away, “come on.”

“Great,” he said, and this time, his smile was all real. 

So focused had she been on him, she hadn’t even clocked the older man who stood behind him. “Sir,” said the other man, with the air of a beleaguered secretary--and Annabeth would know, “I really must advise--”

“I’ll just be a minute,” said Percy, not even bothering to look back at him, pushing past Annabeth’s half-extended arm.

“But, sir, your father--”

Percy let the door shut in his face.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “Harsh.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, well… I’ll make it up to him later.”

“Who is he?”

But Percy didn’t answer. “Nice place you got here.”

He was being nice, of course. It was a craphole apartment in a craphole side of town--but the rent was cheap and the bus was convenient, and she only felt the slightest bit of shame as she led him to the craphole couch, handing him a coke from her craphole fridge. Christ, his suit looked like it cost more than her TV.

“Is your… husband home?” he asked, delicate.

“My what?”

“Your husband. I saw, um…” Embarrassed, he flicked his eyes to the ring on her left hand. 

“Oh, this? It’s--it’s not--” Hastily, clumsily, she fumbles it off, pulling around the knuckle. “I’m not--I’m not.”

He blinked. “Oh.”

“Yeah, I just--it’s to ward off creepy guys, right? Like, they won’t take no for an answer unless they think they’ll have to deal with an angry husband, so I just…” 

In her more pathetic moments, she pretended that it had been given to her by the man before her. She had picked something small and simple, something that she thought he might have gone with, and pretended he had slipped it into her pocket the day she left the naval base. 

“That’s--cool. That’s great, I mean. I mean, that’s--”

“What do you want, Percy?”

Not at all bothered by the shortness of her tone, he sighed, closing his eyes. “I have a… personal question I need to ask you. And I’m sorry to bother you with this, I just--I have to ask.”

Ominous. “Okay?”

“Did we…” He sighed again, mouth twisting. “Did you, as a result of our repeated sexual encounters four years ago, happen to have any children by me?”

He just rattled it off, as if it was something he’d said over and over and over again, tired of receiving the same answer, but never expecting anything different.

“Excuse me?”

“I know, I know, it’s an extremely rude question, and I know I have no right to ask you, especially since it’s been so long, but I swear, there’s a reason I--”

“Did you never get any of the letters I sent you?”

At that, his head shot up. The look in his eyes could only be described as ‘terror.’ “What?”

“I must have sent you half a dozen,” she said, crossing to the kitchen, the wine making her a little bit short. She had, in fact, sent him eight letters, with pictures, and never received a single response, but since he seemed genuinely lost, she decided not to tell him. Plucking the most recent photo down from the fridge, she returned to the man in her living room, his knuckles white around the can. 

Standing before him, she handed him the photograph. He took it, fingers shaking. “We… you…” 

“Percy Jackson,” she said, like she was introducing him to someone at a party, “meet your children.”

Even after they had just been born, Annabeth had seen how obviously they were his. Only their daughter had the same messy black hair, both both had the same long, straight nose, the same intense, brooding brow as their father--and when her son smiled, or her daughter laughed, it was hard not to see the shades of Percy so strongly in them. It was hard to see them, too. 

Percy’s mouth was trembling. His eyes were wide, glassy, fixed on the photo. “My--” he swallowed. “What--what are their names?”

“Alexander,” she said, softly, “and Anne--”

“Annemarie,” he breathed. “Alexander and Annemarie.” He looked up at her, his eyes shining. “You remembered?”

Of course she remembered. Two lonely kids, she and Percy had spent so much of their childhood together, playing house, building their perfect family, even if only in their imagination. Alexander for his mother’s cousin, and Annemarie because he had wanted to name their  daughter Annabeth, and she wouldn’t let him. Twenty years later, alone and in pain, holding her newborn children and alternately cursing the man who made them and desperately wishing he were with her, Annabeth had known that they could only have one set of names, even if their father might never meet them. 

His face crumpled. He dropped his head into his hand, and groaned, like someone had pressed on an open wound. 

“Percy!” Annabeth sat down next to him, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his leg. Four years later and it still felt so natural to touch him like this. “Are you okay?”

Nodding, he grunted. “Yeah,” he croaked, voice hoarse, “I’m okay. I’m fine. I just--” And then he shuddered, a hand coming up to scrub at his eyes. 

He was crying, she realized suddenly. Annabeth used to be the one that cried. She could count on one hand how many times she’d seen him cry. He hadn’t even cried when she had finally left the naval base. 

Taking a shaking breath, he wiped his nose on the sleeve of his expensive suit. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, shattered. “I didn’t--I never--if I had known, I swear, I would have left the navy. I would have come home.”

The silent, unspoken “to you” echoed in the dead air of her apartment. “Why didn’t you?” she asked, quietly.

They held each other’s eyes, an eternity passing in a heartbeat. Neither wanted to break the sacred silence, to bring words into the crystalline moment that hung in the balance between them. 

“I never got your letters,” he said, tears in his eyes. “I… after you--left, I…” he sighed, aching. “I… got hurt. Bad.” 

Annabeth couldn’t breathe. 

“And,” he huffed a laugh, wet and messy, “and then I met my father. Can you believe it?”

Her eyes bugged out of her head. “You what?”

He nodded.

“He’s alive?” 

Sally rarely spoke of him, and Percy had always refused to. Annabeth had just assumed he had died, years and years and years ago. 

Percy laughed again, humorless. “He’s the king of Thera.”

Her jaw dropped. “He…”

“Yeah.”

“Are you shitting me?”

Shaking his head, he smiled, rueful. “I wish.”

Words from a half-remembered newscast floated through her mind. Alexander and Annemarie had been right terrors that night, and she had only been half-listening as the reporter informed the world that Triton, hereditary prince of Thera, had died, killed in military action. “He… found you?”

Percy nodded, miserable. “He told me--asked--told me to--to find anyone I might have…” And then he swallowed, tears in his eyes again, real, glistening tears. “And I am so, so sorry, I know--I know your job is here, and your whole life, and the children, but I--”

She took his hand in hers, squeezing gently so he didn’t fly away. “It’s okay,” she said. “Just say it.”

“I’m supposed to--I’m supposed to… if you would… come with me,” he trailed off, suddenly shy. 

For the second time tonight, she felt like she’d been hit with a sledgehammer. “...What?”

“He… my father… the king wants--needs heirs. He… he asked for a list of women, and I… gave him your name.” Stomach hot, Annabeth wished she had the courage to know about the other women on that list. Or to ask  why Percy, young and handsome as he’d been at both twelve and twenty, wasn’t out there making some new ones himself. Why was he chasing down old leads? Why was he chasing down Chase bastards? “You’d--you’d live in the castle,” he said, like he was trying to sell her on it, though she could tell his heart wasn’t really in it, “and we, well, we’d technically have to get married, but that doesn’t need to be a big deal. You’d get your own rooms. You can set them up however you want. And you’d have a personal staff, a stipend, and the kids would get private teachers, and--”

“Staff?”

He blinked, caught off guard. “Yes?”

Staff. Someone to do the laundry and clean the dishes. Someone to cook dinner and look after the house. Someone to help. Someone to do all the parental things that she just could not do, not by herself. Not without him. 

“I know I have no right to ask this of you,” he said, squeezing her hand. His hand was just as big as she remembered, and just as warm. “And I would never, ever force you to do anything that you wouldn’t want to--”

“Yes,” she said, interrupting him. 

He blinked, dumbly. “What?”

“Yes. I’ll come with you. We all will.”

“...Oh. Uh, great. That’s--that’s good. Are you sure?” He looked like a lost little dolphin, eyes huge and uncertain, and then, Annabeth did the one thing that she’d been desperately wanting to do for the last four years. 

She pulled his face to hers, and she kissed him. Shocked, he stiffened, almost pulling away--before relaxing into her, cupping her face in his big, warm hand. Eyes closed, they leaned their heads against each other, sharing air once more for the first time in years. She had lost him twice already: once as a child, when her father had decided to move her across the country, and once as a lovestruck college girl, when she had to leave the naval base, four years ago. She wasn’t about to lose him for a third time. 

And for the first time in forever, she no longer felt like she was drowning.

[ramp-it-up]

Some Nights

Pairing: Lin-Manuel Miranda x Reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: Minors DNI, Explicit language, SMUT, explicit hetero sex, same sex explicit sex (f x f), oral sex (f giving/receiving), alcohol induced sex, feeble alcohol hitting, sex under false pretenses, drinking, cheating, lying. All the relationship revenge type angst.

A/N: This is supposed to be a sweet little “breakup to make up” smut prompt ask.  My mind took this waaayyyy left and... well here it is. This is a mess of broken hearts, rebounding, and revenge sex. Please do not read if this is triggering. This is not smut lite.

Also, I know the timeline is wonky, but in this AU In the Heights does not interfere with Lin and Chris touring with FLS.

I MUST thank @einfachniemand for the invaluable advice on the Billie love scene. Could not have done it without her. 🥰

------

8 months later, March 2012

You were with Lin on the rooftop, one of your favorite low key, low cost activities, and the late March air was cool.  The moon was full, and the music from your iPod was right.  Lin-Manuel was keeping you warm in his arms and a blanket that he’d brought.

It was so romantic.  All was right with the world. You thought.

“I’m going to miss you when you are on tour, but the month will fly by and before you know it, we’ll be back up here.” 

You smiled up at him as he held you, trying to keep a brave face because  Lin was leaving in the middle of the week for Barcelona.

“Yeah… about that…” He sat up, moved away from you and cleared his throat.  Then, he looked at you. 

“I think we need to take a break.”

You weren’t sure you’d heard him correctly when he said it.  The smile on your face was frozen in place.

“What?”

“Well, I was talking to Chris...and… Well, I’m not sure that I want to shut myself off from the possibilities in Spain…”

You took a second to process, then you got it. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing.  

“Chris told you to dump me so you can go be a hoe in Spain?”

Lin shook his head and frowned.  

“No, no… it wasn’t like that. Chris loves you.  He just asked me some very tough questions about us being apart for a month, and I- I don’t want to hurt you…”

You got up, and grabbed your bottle of wine.

“Might as well do it now, instead of later, hunh?” 

“I think it’s for the best. I’m sorry….”

You were numb. 

“I can’t believe I stuck by you through all the starving artist bullshit, rooftop dates instead of going out, streaming movies instead of seeing shows....”  

You stopped, because you were getting heated, and when you got heated you cried, and you refused to cry in front of Lin.

“To expect you to stick by me for four weeks while you’re in Spain is too much to ask. I guess..” 

You straightened your spine and held your head up.  

“I guess I know that this wasn’t what I thought it was.”

“Have a nice life Lin. When you leave, do not knock on my door. Just go straight to hell.”

-----

Fuck Lin Manuel Miranda

His damn hair, fucking long eyelashes, the little dimples he gets when he gets that little smirk on his fucking stupid beautiful face.

The view from beneath him. Those goddamn lips.

Mutherfukin Lin Manuel Miranda.

You’d let him charm his way into your heart and into your pants. And damn, what he had in his pants gave you so much joy. 

The fact that you were crying was not for Lin.  You were crying for being too trusting and too liberal with your heart.  

You weren’t going to let anyone have a chance to break it again. 

Yes, that was the reason. 

You didn’t miss Lin at all.

-----

Mayra gave you the long weekend to be pitiful, and then you had to get back on your grind, and moving on with your life without Lin.

Your best friend since middle school felt guilty because she’d introduced you to him, a friend of a friend, one night at a bowling alley.  

You and Lin had hit it off immediately. Very immediately, in fact, and were inseparable for a solid 8 months.

But despite feeling bad about it, Mayra wasn’t about to let you mope around and waste your life missing him. And she was right.

Lin left for Barcelona on a Wednesday, and by Saturday night, you were out with Mayra, mingling and meeting new people. 

Mayra’s scene wasn’t your scene, but everybody was nice, fun, and attractive.  You weren’t really with it, but you’d be damned if you were going to wither away in your room.

You had just finished dancing with Mayra and her friends and you needed to sit this one out. 

The 6-inch heels you were wearing and the blazer over lingerie top look was not a good combination for vigorous dancing.  

You were hot and your feet were killing you.

You nursed your drink and watched your bestie having fun, when someone approached you.

Gorgeous lips, caramel skin and stunning brown eyes sized you up. 

Why is it always the eyes? You felt something that you weren’t too sure about.

“I like the way you make that pink push up bra look intellectual.”

Curious and amused, you looked into the brown eyes and laughed.

“I’m Billie.”

She extended her hand and you shook it. You knew what kind of bar this was, but you weren’t expecting this. 

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Oh.  I’m, I’m not…”

Billie flashed a gorgeous smile at you.

“Relax. You’re cute, but I can tell, you ain’t ready for this yet.  I just had to come say hi, though.  Drinks....As friends?”

You accepted and spent the night dying laughing at your new friend’s witticisms.

----

The next week, you were chilling with Billie at the crib, along with a bunch of other folks that Mayra had invited over.  

You were on the roof, telling her all about Lin, and you started to cry again.

“...And then he just, breaks up with me because he wants to go to Spain and fuck Spanish FLS groupies…..”

It was about the 10th time that you’d cried about it. You were tired of hearing yourself.  Billie just rubbed your back and listened. 

“I would never put up with that from a man. And you shouldn’t either.”

 When you started sobbing, she apologized. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s…... okay….”  you gasped, trying to calm down.

She hugged you, rubbing your back and pressing you close.  

You felt some kind of way and pulled back.

“Bill… I don’t want to lead you on.”

Billie just smiled that gorgeous smile. 

“It’s cool. No stress. I’m just here to listen. Let’s go back downstairs.”

You nodded and rejoined the party, feeling more comfortable with Billie than before, partly because she was giving you some space.  

You couldn’t help but sneak glances as she mingled with everyone at the party and when your eyes met. Whew.

Who knew?

----

The next week, you were in your apartment with Billie again, this time, alone.

You’d invited her over, because she was quickly becoming the person you most liked to talk to and you hadn’t really talked in person since the previous weekend.

You gave her a glass of wine and settled down onto the couch, comfortable in your tank top and sweatpants.  Not seductive at all.

Billie looked cute as always in button down blue silk shirt and jeans with her hair up. 

“I want to apologize for last week. I just vomited my emotions all over you and you were nothing but amazing about it.”

Billie laughed. She was so damn beautiful.

“I told you no worries!”

“Can I ask you a question? Why are you doing all this for me?”

Billie took a drink and set her glass down on the coffee table. She leaned back on the couch.

“Do you mean do I have any ulterior motives?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, no question that I think you are attractive, and that I would love…”  

She shook her head and straightened up.

“But, I’ve fallen for enough straight-but not so straight women to know that I should let you make the first move.”

She bit her lip and you put your wine down because it was making you warm.

You reached for and grabbed her hand. You shifted it to entwine your fingers with hers.

You kissed her palm and drew her closer to you, her hovering over you on the couch. She didn't move, forcing you to bring your neck up to kiss her lips tentatively and softly. 

You wrapped your arms around her waist and brought her body down to rest next to yours on the couch and looked into her eyes. You ran your hand down the side of her body, feeling all of her curves. And you moved to kiss her again. 

This time her soft lips opened to accept your tongue and you played hide and seek, exploring.

You pulled back to look at her again, giggling now, a smile plastered on her face. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to do that for two weeks,” Billie whispered in your ear before kissing your neck. 

Her fingers rubbed teasingly at the skin where your tank top had ridden up, and rotated around to your ass, fingers slipping into the back of your sweats. 

You moaned softly as she tugged your earlobe between her teeth and then kissed along your jawline.

You wanted to feel her, so you brougt your hand up her side to feel her breast over her shirt, and found it warm and soft to the touch, except for the hardening nipples that you gently played with.

Looking into her eyes, you saw the desire there and leaned over to kiss her again. She kissed you back harder, pushing her hands deeper into your sweats and cupped your ass with both hands, kneading your flesh tenderly.

You wanted her to touch you at your core, but her teasing fingers never seemed to get there. 

Next, she moved one hand from your butt to pull up your tank top, exposing your nipple to the cool air of the room.

She took your breast in her hand and squeezed it, thumb running lightly over your nipple. You moan and leaned back while putting your hands in her hair.

Billie moaned and ran her thumb over your nipple and teased them until they were achingly hard and sensitive. 

When she leaned down and kissed the top of your breast, making her way slowly, oh so slowly to your nipple, it caused your pussy to ache and throb while soaking your panties.

You groaned in frustration as she continued to tease you for a while before her mouth reached your nipple, moaning around it and sucking gently at first before picking up intensity. 

Her hand moved to the front of your pants, tracing your wet lips through your panties but applying no pressure. 

You were a moaning, quivering mess as you rocked against her fingers, trying to get what you needed.

Billie separated from you to take off her shirt, smiling at you as you shed your clothes. 

She looked over your body and brought her eyes up to yours, smiled into them, and took your face in her hands.

Next, those hands roamed down your body, circling slowly, grasping gently here and there, teasing you to a soaking wet mess on the couch cushions.

“Please!” you whispered, squirming in agony.

Billie chuckled and held your gaze as her hand finally rested in your core, lightly pinching your clit between her fingers. She just played with it as you moaned beneath her.

“I love watching you like this,” she whispered as she teased you some more. “Do you like it?”

She looked so cute as she asked, but all you can do is nod and bite your lip.

She smiled at you and lowered her head to your skin while you watched intently. She kissed and sucked at the skin on your stomach and thighs, looking up to establish eye contact again and again.

You whined and tried to keep still as she neared your core and gently opened your thighs. She looked at you for the longest time before her mouth met your pussy and finally licked through your folds.

You shuddered, already almost cuming as you waited for more.

She kept eye contact with you as she sucked your clit gently, humming while you quivered in her mouth. She then traced her tongue around your entire cunt, kissing and sucking those lips gently, but expertly.

Finally, she manipulated your clit with her tongue, and alternated that with inserting it far inside you as she could go.

When she sucked hard at it, you came, feeling like you never had before.

Somehow, you wound up on the floor in her arms. 

And the night had just begun.

 -----

May 2012

You walked home slowly from the subway, trying to think of a good reason not to get there. 

You felt like throwing up, knowing that Lin would be there on your rooftop with the rest of FLS. You did not want to face him.

It had been almost two months since you last saw him and you were having fun with Billie. She stopped you from wondering just who you were. The love you had for her was real.

But there was some reason, which you did not want to name, that caused you not to want to see Lin. 

You saw his face often enough when you awoke, in that space between dream and reality.  That was sufficient torture, aside from having to see him in person at an event that was supposed to be fun.

But Mayra had started to harass you two weeks ago.

"Come on! You've got to be there on my birthday. I’ll make sure Lin doesn't bother you, but UTK won’t come without him and I’m trying to get that D again.  I need it to survive. Don't you love me?” 

She pouted at you and when that didn’t seem to work, she resorted to outright threats. 

“I’ll never speak to you again if you don't come.”  

This continued every day until the party.

Being trapped on a rooftop with Lin for three hours wasn't your idea of fun. 

Anymore. 

And to top it off, Billie had to work tonight. This sucked big time. But you had decided to be there for your friend.

"She better know I love her, " you whispered to yourself as you stepped out on the roof.

You were greeted by Chris almost as soon as you arrived. He enveloped you in a bear hug. You stiffly hugged him back. You still felt some kinda way.

He held you away from him. 

"You look good, girl, long time no see!”

You nodded at him stiffly. “How have you been?"

"Oh, you know, promoting and stuff. The Spain trip was good."

You nodded again and looked around the roof.

“He told me he would stay away from you.”

You looked back at Chris. “Who?”

“You know who.”  You just smiled tightly and looked down.

“What’s up with you?” His voice was suspicious.

You looked up and stared him straight in the eye, not wanting to be intimidated.

“I don’t know Chris? Just maybe you told my boyfriend to break up with me so he could hoe around Europe with you guys. That was a little annoying.”

Chris raised his arms in self defense.

“Wait a minute, Missy.  I did not tell him that.  What I told him was that if he could not definitely, without a doubt, be true to you, that he needed to be straight with you. If he had any doubts at all. That you deserved better.”

You just look up at this big, sweet man and willed yourself not to cry.

“Oh.” That was all you could say.

“But maybe I shouldn’t have said anything because he fucked that whole conversation up and wound up sulking the entire trip. All of his freestyles were about you, you know.”

“I don’t care Chris, because you’re right.  He did fuck up. I’ve moved on.” You held your chin high.

Chris smiled at you. “Too bad for Lin. Your new man is a lucky guy.”

You smiled back. “My new woman is a lucky girl.”

“Oh.” That was all he could say. He recovered quickly however.  “Well, if you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“Thanks friend.” 

You smiled and gave him a hug, feeling better about a lot of things. Lin Manuel Miranda was a world class idiot.

You grabbed a red solo cup full of something and stood at the railing looking over the city.

"Heyyyy, what's crackin'?" 

You turned around to see Utkarsh  standing behind you. You smiled at him.

 "Hey UTK! What it do?"

"Well, give me a hug. I’ve missed you, too. Mayra won’t let me near you since we’ve been back, I don’t know why.”

You knew why. You hadn't really wanted to see any of the FLS guys since you and Lin broke up.

You hugged him. "She’s probably jealous of our love." You smiled at your friend.

“Right.” Utkarsh smiled at you. Then he frowned. 

“Wait, why would she be jealous?  She said she and I were just friends…” 

You laughed at his back as he went to find Mayra.  Well, you’d manage to wingman without even trying.  Your job should be done for the night. You turned around to leave, running right into Mayra.

"Happy birthday, Bitch!" You squealed and hugged her.

"Thank you, boo! I didn't think you would actually come! I'm so happy!"

"You mean I had a choice? I seem to remember some very specific and lethal threats if I didn't get my ass on this roof tonight."

"No, it's because you love me." Mayra made a face at you. 

"But seriously though. The roof is big enough that you don't have to be near Lin if you don't want to. Try to have a good time."

"Girl, I'm going to have a blast! As long as there is booze and music, I'm good to go." You lied to your bestie.

"Okay girl, do you want me to stay with you so no one will bother you?" 

You knew what she meant.

"No girl, I don't need a bodyguard. Have fun, mingle, be a good hostess. I'll be fine."

You pushed Mayra away from you.

You sighed and walked toward the bar. Before you made it there, you were enveloped in Shockwave and Jelly Donut. They both hugged you, making a sandwich.

"Guys, I can't breathe!" 

They released you, laughing. Shockwave got right to it.

“You know It killed Lin when you two broke up. He was a bitch in Spain."

Your heart clenched. 

"Listen, I don't want to talk about it. I'm just here to have a good time for Mayra. Can we just chill with all that?"

"Okay, okay. I had to try. I know he's an idiot, but..." Sully barreled on. Andrew started poking him in the side. 

"What???”  Andrew gave Sully a look and he was chastened.

“Sorry love. We'll let you go mingle.”

"Yes, thank you." 

You felt like getting good and drunk. You looked at your phone and saw that there were two and a half hours left of the party. Might as well start now. You downed your drink and went to get another.

You ran into Arthur. He winked at you as you apologized. 

"No worries, you better eat something if you are going to drink like that. You can't hang with the big boys like me."

You rolled your eyes and finished the second drink. 

“You’re skinnier than I am, tuh.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about when I say big boy.” 

You looked at him in shock, and then burst out laughing. You loved these guys. Too bad Lin got them in the break up.

You sighed and began working on your third drink.

--------

Lin spotted you when you first stepped on the roof. He moved out of your line of sight and watched as Chris talked to you.

Geez, you were fine as hell. The dress you were wearing was everything and the heels made your ass pop. Damn.

He went and got a drink, still watching you. He felt like a stalker. Chris came over.

"I tried to get her to talk to you, but she wasn't having it." 

They both watched you and UTK talking. 

"Man, you are an idiot. You're lucky you're my brother, or I would kick your ass for letting that go."

“Thanks, my guy.” Lin’s reply was dripping with sarcasm.

“Any time. Next time listen with your big boy brain before you do something that dumb.” 

Lin was ready to fight. Luckily, Chris left. Then UTK came up, talking shit.

"Lin, you douche! How could you be so dumb, man?” 

They watched the Jelly/Shockwave/You sandwich.

"Leave me the fuck alone." 

Lin moved to the other side of the roof where Sully came up to him.  Lin put his hands up.  

“Before you say it, I'm going to stay out of her way. I'm not trying to ruin Mayra’s party. Just about two hours to go."

“Good, because you have fucked this one up royally.” Sully shook his head as Lin stalked off.

----

After some drinks, you started to loosen up and have fun. You danced with Mayra and all of FLS minus one.

You thought you saw Lin a couple of times out of the corner of your eye, but when you looked, he was gone. Every time that happened, you went and got a drink.

By the end of the night, you were looking at the sky and trying to sober up.

"The sky is beautiful tonight."

You jumped. Lin was there, watching you. You just looked at him and started back downstairs.

"Don't leave, please. Let me talk to you."

He followed you down to your apartment.

"You said all there was to say. I'm done."

You put your arms around yourself. All of a sudden you were cold. You stared Lin down, but he didn’t budge.

"What do you want, Lin?"

He sighed. This isn't going to be easy, he thought. He looked into your beautiful eyes and decided to go for it. There was nothing left to lose.

"Honestly? I want you back." His heart was in his throat as he said it.

You closed your eyes. You couldn't go there. No matter what your heart was doing in your chest.

"No. No, you do what you did and you want me to come back? To trust you? You promised you wouldn't hurt me. I can't with you Lin, I just can't."

His heart actually hurt.

"I'm so sorry…. "

You didn't let him finish. 

"Please! Don't give me the same tired old clichés every dude gives their girl when they fuck up!"

You were far from cold now. 

"If I took you back, what's gonna happen the next time you go on tour? I am not a yo-yo Lin!"

Lin reached for you. "It's not going to happen again, I've learned...."

"Don't fucking touch me! You have some muthafuckin nerve!"

Lin kept moving toward you.

"Back the fuck up! Don't come near me! Get off of me!" 

You began hitting him when he took you in his arms.

"Tell me that you don't want me to hold you, that you don't want to be with me. Tell me you don't miss us, this. Tell me that you don't want me to and I'll leave you alone."

Lin pressed himself against you, and you stopped fighting. You melted on the inside. The alcohol had you loose. Suddenly you had a thought.

"Fuck it. You're right. I have missed you." 

You moaned as he put his lips on your neck. You wanted him so badly. 

"Let's go in here." You nodded toward your bedroom.

Lin's heart leapt and he gladly followed you.

You attacked him when you got inside. 

"Whoa, hold up...."

"No, let's do it. Don't say anything or I will change my mind." 

You turned around, pulled your dress up, got on the bed and bent over, ass in the air. 

"Fuck me, Lin. Please."

Lin was confused. One minute you were fighting him, next you were begging for it. But he wasn't going to argue. He wanted you too bad. He moved your panties to the side, took out his hard cock and quickly and roughly entered your warm, tight goodness.

The stretch hurt a little, but it was welcome. It had been a while since you had taken a cock and Lin’s was your favorite. 

You became wet rapidly, and although you wanted Lin to hurt you as a sort of penance, it felt amazing.

"Ohhh, you feel so good. Shit! I've missed this. So tight for me…” 

Lin moaned through his dick wanting to explode.  He hadn’t had anyone else since you, for about three months.

"I said don't talk!" 

You were trying to blank your mind of what you were doing.

Lin felt like right now he was in heaven, and heaven was you. Lin shut up and started giving it to you harder, just like he knew you liked. He smacked your ass, hard.

"Yes, yes, yes. Oh yes!" 

You quivered, especially when he smacked it. Forceful Lin was one of your favorite Lins. Damn. You savored the contact as Lin, all of his manhood, hit your spot. 

It felt so damn good after so much emotion and time.

To Lin, all that mattered was you right now. He fought not to come until he felt your body pounding with your orgasm.

Almost as soon as it was over, you turned around and looked at him. He looked up from buttoning up his pants and smiled. You could tell that he was thinking this was the beginning of your reunion. 

You leaned in and gave him a good, long kiss, preparing to give the greatest acting performance of your life.

"Goodbye, Lin. That was just what I needed. Have a good life."

His goddamn adorable face registered confusion.

"What? What do you mean?"

"This was closure. “

The way his face changed broke your heart.  But he’d broken yours.

Lin was stricken. "But,I love you. That's why I...."

You interrupted him. 

"It's not you, it's me. I needed that to get you out of my system. "

You looked at him coldly, a mess on the inside.

"That's not all we have. We love each other!” Lin was trying to make sense of the situation. 

“You're telling me that after this you don't want to get back together?" He couldn't believe what you were saying. 

"As far as getting back together, we're not. This didn't mean anything; I am drunk off my ass and I had a lapse in judgement. It's not going to go any further."

"But you love me, I know it." He reached for you.

You moved out of his reach and toward the door.

"I told you, I can't, I won't let my guard down again with anyone. I can't love anymore." 

Lin was looking at you with his mouth open.

You straightened your dress and left your room, ignoring the fact that Lin was calling your name. You were ready to be alone.

There, outside your door, was Billie.

-----

Tagging:  @theatrenerd86 @sebastianabucknettastan @imatyoursurrvicesurr @riiyy​ @ivycomet @sillyteecup  @ohsoverykeri  @theselilwonders  @lonelydance @jbrizzywrites @curtainremote @delaber @honeysucklechocolatedrippin​

[peepspersonalperspective]

MY PICKS: Top 10 K-Dramas

Disclaimer: These are totally subjective choices and I've justified them as per my preferences. Consider them friendly recommendations and let me know if you disagree. Also, I've discovered the wonderful world of K-Dramas over the last couple of years and they've really evolved not just in storytelling but also production value so I personally prefer the more recent ones. So for example I haven't put a very popular pick like My Love from the Star simply because I've seen better stuff since (don't shoot me). Anyway, 가자!

MEMORIES OF ALAHAMBRA

This is my first recommendation for anyone who's just starting out watching Korean television content simply because it's so different from what new viewers expect it to be. It's so gripping and thrilling. I would expect nothing less from Song Jae Jung's writing.

So it's a sci-fi show, set in Spain, about an augmented reality game, that seems to have physical implications in the real world, sending the lead, Hyun Bin on a rollercoaster ride to find answers. Exo's Chanyeol has a recurring role as the game developer, so that's exciting too. I learnt that he was cast because of his love for PubG. Lol.

Every episode will leave you wanting more, and you'll find yourself as desperate to search for answers as Yoo Jin Woo (Hyun Bin).

Granted, mid season, it gets a little complicated, especially with newer nuances of the game unfolding, but fret not because the characters are discovering the secrets of the game with you. So they're as confused as you would be, and that's why this show is so good! More so because the graphics are excellent! You can tell they really spent money on ensuring high quality work. You will really feel like you're part of the game with Yoo Jin Woo.

Anyway, if you are an EXO-L, or you like gaming, sci-fi, thriller and Hyun Bin, this show is great!

2. W - Two Worlds

Another piece of awesome from Song Jae Jung. I would still rank this show a little below Alahambra, because I think the makers made improvements from this sci-fi drama in Alahambra, in the sense of storytelling. Still, W is just as intriguing.

Oh Yeon Joo (Han Hyo Joo) gets sucked into a comic book where she falls in love with the lead character of the comic book, Kang Chul (Lee Jeong Suk). Sounds like a typical romance drama right? Don't be fooled because there are many many twists and turns along the way.

I feel like there is metaphor in there somewhere about existentialism, the creation and destiny. But maybe that's just me reading into things.

Lee Jeong Suk is extremely desirable as Kang Chul, unsuspectingly charming and endearing, and Oh Yeon Joo is an absolutely relatable character, and how she deals as an ordinary girl thrown into extraordinary circumstances is genuine.

I would say this drama is wholesome, with sci-fi, suspense, thriller, action, romance, filial relationships, and more. And while it's usually difficult to jam pack all this into one show without screwing it up, W emerges exceptional.

3. Extraordinary You

This show is so cute! If you want just a light hearted, quirky show, this is the one for you.

It's about characters in a cartoon becoming aware of their existence in a cartoon. But don't worry this is NOTHING like W.

The best part about the show is that it's not about the main characters of the said cartoon. It's the story about the extras finding their way in that world, hence the pun intended in the title. The main characters (of the cartoon) are actually the most dull, because they are bound by the laws of stereotypical high school romance. But the real stuff is happening on the sidelines, with Kim Hye Yoon as Dan Oh and Rowoon as Haru.

Dan Oh is a hilarious character and Kim Hye Yoon does a fantastic job of switching emotions when she's in and out of a scene in the cartoon. One minute she goes into character mode, next minute she's bitching at the sorry fate of her character when she wakes up, to the astonishment of the characters surrounding her (who aren't aware of their reality yet).

Rowoon has a quiet charm about him that perfectly complements Hye Yoon. Check it out for a chuckle and a taste of something different.

4. Crash Landing on You

This show is hard not to like. Apart from the poorly picturized tornado carrying our leading lady over the border to North Korea, this show is a wonderful Netflix and Chill kind of show, I think.

The cultural disparity between the South and North is interesting to watch and also entertaining. Like when they mention buying mobile games at an App store (a literal application store in a Pyongyang market).

Ri Jung Hyuk (Hyun Bin again) and Yoon Seri (Son Yejin) are such a delight in comedic, romantic, and dramatic scenes. But the scene stealer for me was Yang Kyun Won as Pyo Chi Soo, and his unshakeable nationalism that he is ready to set aside for some shampoo and conditioner.

The interesting thing is going into the show, you have an idea of the longevity, so ofcourse, Seri's journey back to the South ain't going to be easy, also her relationship with Ri Jung Hyuk is doomed, and yet you find yourself rooting for them at each step, crying with them during their failures and crying with them even in their triumph. But the most tears were shed for the least expected character, who simply left us all heart broken.

5. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

In a world where women are expected to behave and look a certain way to be considered attractive by someone they're vying for, here's a food hogging, tomboy, weightlifting champ, with her first crush.

The premise may rope you into the show, but midway you realise that the heart of the show is in its characters, and without realising you become so invested in them that you feel their fears, insecurities, and cherish their victories with them.

This coming of age show really relishes on the quirks of each character, friendship, love and aspirations. It's not a very dramatic story which is probably why it didn't rate very high during its broadcast, but that's part of its charm, and that's why it's been able to gather a significant cult following since.

Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk portray the most sincere friends and eventual couple. Their relationship blossoms in the most organic manner and it's so heartwarming. They're not cheesy or unrealistic; they even beat each other up! I don't think I've seen that level of comfort portrayed on screen so well before.

Watch out for guest appearances by Ji Soo and Lee Jeong Suk.

6. Strong Girl Do Bong Soon

I'll be honest, this recommendation is mainly for Park Hyung Sik. He's amazing in the show. And there could be no better supernaturally strong petite girl than Park Bo Young, either.

So there are actually a lot of things happening in the show, story wise, but I promise it all comes together in the end. There is quite a build up and I'm happy that it pays off adequately.

This is like a superhero show with all the spices and flavours of a Marvel movie, but K-Drama style. There's an invincible villain, some idiot gangsters for comedic value, romance (a love triangle infact), functional training, a point of lost hope for Bong Soon, and then her resurrection as a superhero.

It's all there, and more.

But Park Hyung Sik.....

7. Itaewon Class

This recommendation is simply for the refreshing change of representation on TV. I know a lot has already been spoken about it already, but I have to admit that that's what sets this revenge drama apart. That, and the music. Dayum, Start by Gaho is so catchy! And let's not forget V's Sweet Night.

This show starts off slow but give it 3 episodes before it gets to the real shit.

Park Saeroyi is almost too good to be true, and in that lies his shortcoming. His character is so strong that while watching him I forgot that Park Seo Joon was acting. And despite some unnerving moments I found myself rooting for him. He has some strong motivational lines too, like about his choice for a better life. His determination is almost unreal, as he goes on to take down his mortal enemy.

Some of the best scenes, though, are of Jo Yi Seo (Kim Dami), a sociopathic enterprising genius. She was the one who actually kept me hooked to the series. She added some much needed flair to the show, and as it appears to Park Saeroyi's establishment.

Actually, every character was strong, every character had a strong backstory and motivation for the action, and most importantly they never broke character.

Watch out for Park Bo Gum's special appearance.

8. Love In The Moonlight

Speaking of Park Bo Gum...

This show is all kinds of weird in the best way! A girl pretends to be a palace eunuch and falls in love with the crown Prince. That is so messed up!

But that's the fun part! And Park Bo Gum and Kim You Jung make it a wonderful ride. Full of quirky romance, political conflicts and hidden identity issues, this show is addictive af!

And even though this wasn't in the show and was just a promo, be sure to watch Park Bo Gum's Bombastic dance. It's adorable!

9. The Third Charm

I'm sure this is my least popular recommendation. But something about watching this show was so cathartic. I highly recommend it for those who may have gone through heartbreak ever in their lives.

This is probably one of those rare times when I was lost in the story instead of Seo Kang Jun's eyes. Hehe. This story is about an on again off again couple and their journey through life together and apart.

This was meant to be a healing drama, and it really does take you through the emotional evolution that comes with growing up. I think it's the perfect medicine for a healing heart.

10. It's Okay Not To Be Okay

This show! This is my current obsession. Kim Soo Hyun's comeback couldn't have been more perfect. Seo Yeji couldn't have been a more perfect casting. And the two leads couldn't have had a better chemistry.

This show is all kinds of whimsical and I love it. Also a healing drama, this show deals with.... Baggage....to put it simply. Some baggage may be bigger than other baggage, some even irrevocable. But seeing all the characters overcome this baggage is so fulfilling.

But the charm of this show is in Ko Moon Young's (Seo Yeji) craziness and the Tim Burton-esque setup, that really makes one perceive fairytales in a whole new way. I mean I always knew that fairytales were sanitized German folklore, but I never thought to find a very different messaging from the material. The parables are ingenious, and it really is a pleasure to watch each and every person on this show.

Special mentions: Goblin, Reply 1988, 30 but 17/ Still 17, My ID is Gangnam Beauty, Hotel Del Luna

[bbaronpiper]

Excess baggage

Hi guys! I dunno if it’s fluff or not but it’s supposed to be fluff. lol. 

2, 14, 19, 32, 43, 44, 92 (they don’t have to be all in one like you could divide them see which work together and write like more than 1 stories with any of theseee pls and thank you💞💞)

this is for 44. Twirling a strand of their hair - but I changed it to twirl a strand of his hair and 92. “Where’s your adventurous spirit?!”

 gif not mine. credits to the owner. :)

Arón x reader

You’re staring at your newly bought thong with tears streaming down your face contemplating whether to throw it away or not like what you’ve done with some of your clothes too.  You’re currently sitting on the floor of Italy’s airport due to excess baggage. You’ve tried plenty of times and threw away what felt like most of your things but still cannot get through. Until you’ve heard footsteps approaching. You looked up and saw a tall man wearing a hoodie with sunglasses on. He seemed familiar but you just didn’t know where you saw him. He took off his glasses once he reached you and spoke.

“Hola, I have an excess space on my baggage for your coat” he simply said. He looked so calm and reserved. “also, I’m not a thief nor a perv who’s trying to get in your pants. Just wanna help” he half smiled.

You wiped away your tears and thought about it for a minute before looking back down on your coat and throwing it on the trash bin beside you. You have trust issues, yes, but after all, you’re in a different country away from home, alone with a stranger hovering over you.

“Arón” he simply said again and extended his hand for you to shake. “C’mon your coat looks expensive” You had doubts but took it anyways. “Y/N… Bought it on a thrift shop for half the price though” you said and smiled a little. You then handed him some of your clothes including the thong you threw away earlier. You don’t often hand your underwear to random people but you’re just tired and desperate to go back home to Spain. Besides, he didn’t seem to mind when he grabbed it from you and put it inside his luggage with a straight face on.

Finally, you both got through and proceed to the boarding gate, you looked at each other while walking and smiled.

“Gracias”                  

“De nada” he returned a smile before looking away from you. This man is simply a man of few words you thought to yourself.

The flight back to Spain was quiet. You shared a simple conversation like where you’re from, what you do, names of your siblings and so on. Then you discovered why he looked so familiar. He was an actor but you didn’t treat him any different since he seems like a down to earth person. At some point you fell asleep on his shoulder and he just let you. He was awake the whole time though. After a few hours, he woke you up saying to get ready as you guys just landed on Spain.

While waiting for your baggage you asked him if he wanted to get some merienda (snack) with you as a thank you gesture in return for what he did for you in which he gladly said yes. You both ended up in a nearby restaurant which served beers as well. Being the alcoholic he is and the broken- hearted that you are, you both up ended up getting a bit drunk. He loosened up a bit now, He’s more talkative than when you met him few hours ago and he smiled more now showing the little gap on his front teeth which you find cute to be honest.

“I really liked your tattoo, says a lot about you” he said referring to the tattoos on each of your wrists. It was the creation of Adam tattoo. You really loved it too, being an art graduate, you looked at it as a masterpiece.

“How about you? do you have more besides the ones on your arms?”

“Yeah, here” he pointed on his collar bone.

“Can I see?” you innocently asked. You didn’t realized what you asked him to do until he smirked and lifted his shirt up until his neck revealing his sun and moon tattoo on his collar bone. Damn this boy, he should’ve moved his shirt on the side but no, he had to remove his shirt but you ain’t complaining though. You stared at it absent mindedly more than you should have, not to mention the stare you gave down his abs. You were snapped out of your eye fucking moment when he pulled down his shirt.

He cleared his throat and put a finger on his lips to stop himself from laughing at the sight of you.

“yep. It’s nice” tearing your gaze away from him embarrassed that he caught you staring.

“My abs orrr….?” He trailed off, teasing you completely laughing now.

“Damn you! the tattoo of course!” you said your face turning hot red now.  “My ex has better abs than you!” you mocked. Your asshole of an ex, yes. You never told Arón what happened nor why were you in Italy. He doesn’t care. you were strangers after all. But damn this alcohol, made you vulnerable and emotional. You ended up telling him every detail as to what happened and he just sat there with his straight face on and a blush on his cheeks from the alcohol he just drunk.

You went to Italy to go surprise your boyfriend of 8 years. You were so excited you even bought new lingerie. He moved there from Spain for work and you haven’t seen him in almost a year. When he broke the news to you saying his boss wanted him to extend 2 more years, that’s when you decided to go and visit him. Fuck. You even thought of moving in Italy for good. But the jokes on you, ‘cos he has a better surprise. You found out that he’s been with someone else already. He was cheating on you.

“I don’t love you anymore, you may go. that’s what he told me” You sniffed. “We’ve been together for eight years but he just ended us with eight fucking words too!” you were crying now while he just continued to stare and listen to you with a little to no emotion at all. “Don’t you think I deserve a second chance with him? ” you grabbed your glass of beer and chugged it all at once.

“He doesn’t love you anymore” he repeated to you. “what else is there to explain?” he shrugged.

“Yeah. But eight years? Just like that? don’t I deserve at least an explanation?” You fought back.

“If he did explain, would it change anything?” he questioned you looking a bit sad.  “Bottom line is, He. Doesn’t. love. You. Anymore.” He repeated and emphasized each word.

You looked at him, still crying. “Gilipollas! Are we close? Are we even friends?! Joder! You’re rude!” he was right but you can’t deny the fact that it went straight to your heart.

He burst out laughing and you laughed along with him. Damn this alcohol you are now both into a roller coaster ride of emotions. His concerned eyes were replaced with a happy one. He just got an idea to go to the beach. He told you that people trying to move on often go somewhere far away from home where nothing could remind them of their ex. You being a dumbass and drunk. You said yes ignoring the fact that you just met him. But somehow, being with him was a relief. Yeah, he made unsolicited comments about your life and looks at you with no emotion most of the time and probably thinks you’re stupid for crying over this goddamn ex of yours this whole time but he makes a good company. He’s a listener, a gentleman and hasn’t taken advantage of you despite your current state.

----

You woke up with the sun almost blinding you from the bus window. You closed the curtains and looked on your left side and saw Arón’s head on your shoulder. His curls are now growing back and it looked so soft you suddenly felt the urge to twirl a strand of his hair with your index finger. It is indeed soft. You kept on twirling it until he moved a little. He then completely lifted his head up from your shoulders and looked at you.

“Where are we, bonita?” he asked while rubbing his eye. You blushed a little hearing him say bonita

“Italy”

“Fuck, No!” he straighten up on his seat and looked around.

You laughed at him and hit him softly on his perfectly toned stomach you’ve been eyeing all night. “Can’t believe you fell for that, dumbass. We’re on our way to Marbella. This is your idea, remember?”

“Oh, si!” scratching the back of his head. “well, I may not look like it but I’m a bit gullible” he laughed playing along with you.

You turned your head in front of you and saw a movie playing, you watched it for a few seconds before your face fell. Arón noticed this of course.

“Ahora, que?” he asked.

“The movie playing reminded me of him. We watched it on our first date.” you weren’t going to cry. You were tired of that but the sadness was evident in your face.

“Everything really remind you of him, huh?” Arón stated. There it is again, his damn comments.

“I have an idea! Every time I’m gonna mention him, I’ll give you one euro!” you stated excitedly but he looked back at you with a raised eyebrow. “what? It worked for my best friend!”

“Yeah okay, but one euro? What are we? 10 year olds? Make it one thousand euro.” He smirked.

“Cabron! One thousand euro your face!” you spat back

“fine, five hundred?” he fought back

“10 euro!” you laughed

“Wooww! Ten?! four hundred?” he laughed while mocking you.

“fifty euro!! Take it or leave it!” you stick your tongue out at him

“one hundred euro! C’mon! with this, you wouldn’t even dare to say his name!”

“fine! Deal! One hundred!” you then shook his hand. He smiled brightly at you knowing he won.

“So what are you gonna do with the millions of money you’ll save from this? Why don’t you just buy yourself a man” Arón joked

“Ijo de puta!” you spat at him.

“Damn, you really cursed a lot for a girl!” he laughed again.

“Shut up! I’m not like that!” you knew he was joking so you just laughed along. “I’ll just donate it to a charity. You know, the one where they support women, who were hurt and abused by their fucking exes, like my fucking ex! specially my fucking ex! Fuck my ex I hope he get what he deserved. That fucking assho—” you cut yourself as you saw Arón’s smile appearing on his lips and giving you the look. You both smiled and he then held his palm at you. you slapped it away.

“Arón! We’re not on yet!” you said laughing your ass off

“No, we had a deal already!” he smiled happily at you when he heard you mumble a curse and get your wallet and hand him the money. “Yes, I’ll be rich!” he mumbled.

---

After an eternity, you finally arrived in Marbella. You stretched your arms and body as soon as you got off the bus. Arón did the same while walking around the bus to get your baggage.

“Arón, thank you for this” you looked up at him and noticed how his hair is a bit shuffled, his plump lips and his brown colored eyes that shines through the sunlight.

“What do you mean by thanks for this? It’s not for free you know?” he looked back at you and hand you your baggage. You smiled at how you two became closer with just almost a day together. You’re just happy to be with him you start to feel like you knew him your whole life. The awkwardness was now gone.

“Sure! But just not my body! It’s expensive, you can’t afford it!” you played along.

“Damn! Too bad” he mumbled. Obviously, that was a joke right? But just to be sure so you looked at him with raised eyebrow and crossed arms. “god, I’m just kidding Y/N!” he winked and raise his hands up in defense.

The path from the parking lot to the hotel was a challenge, the wheels of your suitcases kept on sinking onto the sand. Take note, you have 2 suitcases and 1 shoulder bag. Arón, being the gentleman he is, offered some help but you insist that you can manage on your own. Damn this boy who decided to tease you again.  He walked up in front of you and lifted his baggage with one hand.

“it’s heavy, no?” he was smiling like an idiot.

“yeah, it is but I can manage” you lifted both of your baggage with each arm as Arón walks further away from you.

“you can, but you’re slooooow” Arón teased more.

“but I can” you spat back. He then walked further away until he disappeared on your sight. After 10 mins of struggling, you finally reached the hotel’s entrance. you then rolled your suitcases until the front desk, wiping away the sweat on your forehead and took a deep breath. Arón was on the side with his right foot over his left and his elbow leaning on the handle of his suitcase. Of course, he still has that goofy smile on his face watching your every action. He hands you a bottle of water. You smiled and blush on how thoughtful he is.

“oh, you made it!” he said while looking on the watch in his wrist.

“I managed! slowly but surely” you winked at him. At some point you thought that you both aren’t talking about the suitcases at all. You know that the whole interaction has a hidden meaning to it. you were both referring to your process of moving on. It’s too heavy for your heart but you can manage as time goes on. Slowly but surely.

You are now settled on your room. You trust Arón enough to stay in a room with him but of course you got the room with two beds. Not that you didn’t want to sleep beside him but it’s the right choice. You sat on your bed while cracking your neck and massaging your shoulders. You heard Arón laugh from across the room.

“you brat! That’s what you get for being so stubborn!” this man loves to make fun of you didn’t he. “let’s go get a massage!” he walked towards you in one swift and grabbed your hand. It happened all so fast you didn’t get the chance to protest. Not that you will. You mean, the feeling of his hand on yours is magical. You felt butterflies on your stomach as well. The feeling you haven’t felt in a while. You walked towards the spa with him in front of you absent mindedly. All you did was to look at your fingers intertwined with his.

“two full body massage please” Arón said to the woman on the front desk.

“couple’s room, sir?” the girl asked staring at Arón. She definitely recognized him, she was biting her lips and eye fucking the man in front of her.

“nahh. We’re not a couple” you smiled at her. “I don’t want him to peek at me naked!” you nugged Arón on the side.

“Wow, Y/N! me?” he pointed on his chest. “you were the one staring at my abs, remember when I showed you my tattoo?!” he nugged you back.

“You wish! I was looking at your collar bone!” you said suppressing a laugh

“my tattoo is here!” he pointed on his collar bone. “you were looking down here!” he then pointed on his abs. winking at you.

“First of all, asshole, you don’t have abs! you’re stomach is bloated!” you laughed loudly. The lady on the front desk started to laugh too. “C’mon, Arón, show her your non-existing abs” you said referring to the lady in front of you.

Arón then smile shyly, he refused to show it but you urged him. “Do it!” laughing more than ever. He protested but lifted up his shirt so fast and pulled it down right away. Showing just a glimpse of his stomach. “There! Happy?!” he was blushing and smiling happily. He looked so cute, his dimples are showing.

---

You must’ve fallen asleep through out the whole massage session as you felt someone poke on your cheeks. You opened you eyes to see Arón’s face close to yours.

“Morning bonita, get up! I have something to show you”

You put on your clothes and got out of the room. Only for Arón to take your hands on his again and drag you out to the beach. When you said drag, you meant like literally drag. He was walking so fast you almost stumble.

“Y/N! take huge steps! C’mon the sun is setting!” he said excitedly. The fuck is wrong with this man? “This is the best I can do, bruh!” he laughed and looked back at you. you were surprised when he stopped walking and bent down a little only to scoop you up on his arms. “Aróoonnn! Put me down!!” you giggled but wrapped your arms around him afraid you’ll physically fall. Not that you aren’t falling for him emotionally though.  He almost ran across the beach with you on his arms, he stopped when he reached a huge rock. He put you down, the smile you had on your lips slowly faded away as soon as the feeling of his skin against yours disappeared.

To cut the story short, he wanted to climb that huge rock. You just looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re fucking crazy, dude!”

“Where’s your adventurous spirit, Y/N!” he challenged you.

After multiple exchange of curses and a lot of convincing, you both decided to do it. you mean, how can you say no to this gorgeous man. If you’re gonna fall and hit your head on the rock and bleed to death then at least you got to do it with Arón. You would thank him even. besides, he promised not to let that happen. And he sure did, as you were now on the top of the huge rock.

The view of the sun setting across the horizon and the sound of the waves crashing against the rock made it all worth it. you closed your eyes as you felt the wind blow softly against your skin, enjoying the moment. You felt Arón hugged you from behind. He placed a kiss on your shoulder before placing his chin on it.  you held his arms and smiled

“Let it all out, bonita” he said softly close to your ears. That’s when it starts to hit you. The heaviness on your chest starts to resurface. You felt your tears form on your eyes again. You tried to stop it by keeping your eyes tightly closed but somehow it still escaped from your eyes. “It’s okay Y/N, scream, cry, let it out, it’ll make you feel better” his voice was so soothing. You did what you were told. You screamed it all out. You screamed all the pain you had inside you, all the disappointment, all the crushed plans you had with your ex, everything. You felt your body trembles from all the screaming and crying but Arón held you tightly keeping you from collapsing.

You were breathing heavily now, you turned around to face Arón and hugged him tightly as you cried on his chest. He returned the hug and rubbed your back to soothe you while whispering things like “sshh it’s okay Y’N” “You’ll get through this” “I’m here Y/N” and it did calm you. You pulled your head back and looked in his eyes as he stared back down at you.

“Gracias, this means a lot to me Arón.” You half smiled at him. He wiped away the tears streaming down your cheeks with both of his hands and holding it after. “No lo menciones, it’s my pleasure” he reassured you. He held you close, nudging you a little. You’re still crying but you managed to give him a small laugh. Letting him know it really helped you emotionally. You felt your emotional baggage became lighter. You knew it was too soon, but the butterflies on your stomach doesn’t wanna leave you alone. You felt yourself falling for this man, you mean, who wouldn’t. right?  

You pulled away from each other but decided to stay a while longer. You sat beside each other closely as the sun completely set right in front of your eyes.

“How do you forget someone?” you asked breaking the silence still looking at the sky

“Que?” he cleared his throat. “Umm, I don’t know. For me, I just woke up and she’s gone. I forgot all about her.” Arón said his eyes focused straight ahead.

“How long did it take you?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, A long time. I guess”

“6 months? 1 year? 2 years..3…4…5 ..?” you trailed off

“Does it matter? What’s important is that I forgot” he simply said “in your case, it might take 10 years” he bit his lips trying not to laugh

“Noooo!! Take it back, Arón!” you laughed nudging him with your shoulders. “I don’t think soo..” you added

“I dunno. All I know is that it all depends on you” he pursed his lips into a thin line before speaking again. “you can drink every night to forget. You can cry your heart out, you can go on dates with random people. It’s really up to you.” he paused “orrr you can find a new love” he smiled.

You snapped your head towards him and he did too. “you know as my man, F. Scott Fitzgerald once said” he smiled, his eyes glistening as the moonlight shines across it. 

“There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice”

You both stared at each other for a while before you snapped and put your head on his shoulder, he then wrapped his arms around you. It was silent, no one dared to say a single word but it was good kind of silence. The one you wouldn’t trade for anything else.

----

That’s it guys, sorry it’s a bit longer than I usually write. also, it’s inspired (changed some parts and dialogue) by a Filipino movie called “that thing called tadhana” tadhana means fate in english. lol. it’s on netflix. you should watch it! it’s so much better than what I wrote. 

[janevx]

unnoticed| jung jaehyun

 friends - to lovers au

paring jung jaehyunxreader

word count: 2466

You and Jaehyun were friends since high school. You two have been trough so much things, so you both trusted you the most in the world. He was only person who was next to you when you was left alone with pregnancy. You gave birth to girl five years ago when you were 18. 

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

– Jiyong! Please, we are gonna be late!

– Wait mom!

 A 5 year old girl was coming from upstairs to you. She hugged you and smilled at you.

– Are you ready to new school day?

– Yes mommy!

 Both of yoy left their apartament and went to Jiyongs school. Before little girl left, ske kissed your cheek.

 You were in short relationship with Johnny Suh, who was known as a non-regular guy who likes fun. You didn’t care and were stupid when you had sex with him. When he heart news he was mad and simply said to you “fuck off” and left you like this. Your family was kinda mad and didn’t want to help you, but you had at your side the most precious guy in the whole world  – Jung Jaehyun. He was angel to you. Never left your side and take care of you and your daughter; He didn’t care that you did it with the most known fuckboy. He didn’t care about this, because he care about you two. He was doing eveyrthing he could to help you. You wished to have boyfriend like this, but you knew that he is out of your league and he would never look at you as someone more than a friends. It was only your though. 

 Your day at work was really stressed. Your CEO was mad at you, because you did few mistakes in rapport that was very important to her company. When you were about to leave office, you had call from Jaehyun.

– Hello swettie! What are you doing?

– Hi Jaehyun, I uhm. Actually going to take back Jiyong from school, why?

– I was just thinkig that you two could go to me. I did some brownies and I know that Jiyong loves them and some hot chocolate for all of us. If you want to of course!! If you have some others things to do it’s okay, I’m gonna eat it by myself.  – He chuckled.

– Are you crazy?! Of course we gonna come! Jiyong loves you and would never miss a chance to meet her favourite uncle Jaehyunnie.

– Nice! I’m waiting for you ladies.

 You were so happy. that Jaehyun offered you and your daughter a meet. He come back from his trip to Spain. He always wants to go there, so when I had chance he didn’t missed it. 

 Your daughter was very happy, when she heard about this that you two are going to Jaehyuns place. She loves her uncle as her daddy, but she have never deared to call him “dad”, because her mother said that she doesn’t have dad, maybe in future.

 Jiyong was running to door and was waiting till Jaehyun open them to you. You were standing next to your daughter and with her waiting for handsome guy to open the door.

– Ah my favourites ladies, come in!

 Little girl hugged really tight Jaehyun. It melts your heart. You always wanted to Jiyong to have father. Have someone to learn her how to ride a bike. To laugh at her mommy. Someone who0 would kick butts of boys from her class if they would be mean to her. But kinda Jaehyun did this. He would never let Jiyong to feel alone and aback from kids from her class. He always take care of her to not feel bad.

– Uncle I miss you! 

– I miss you too sweatheart! Look what I’ve done to you, my little girl.

 When Jiyong saw brownies she passed out. She loves this american style, that her uncle has. When she also saw her uncles dog named Johnatan she left you and Jaehyun for ourselfs.

– So how was at Spain? Did you see a lot latina girls?

– It was amazing! Such a pity, that you couldn’t see Spaiin. And yeah, I met some girl, but.. This ain’t my type.

– Jaehyun you need to find yourself a girlfriend.

– But I don’t want to! I have cool best friend and her daughter, that’s enough for me.

– Aish, this man. 

– It was amazing but I missed you two. You know, Jiyong always call me at 8 p.m asking about me and what did I do this day. It feels weird without her voice.

To be honest he didn’t miss your daughter voice only, he also missed you. You were so important to him like no one. You were his light in the dark, but he couldn’t admit this, because he thinks that you see him as only bestfriend who wasn’t left them.

– Jiyong missed you as well. She even cried first day, when you left.

– Oh no! I hat when one of you cry. It’s breaks my heart.

– But when she realized that you gonna come back, she let out. She really loves you, doesn’t she?

– I geuss so.

 Jaehyun wished it was he, who was father of your daughter.

– By the way, can I ask you something?

– Sure, go ahed y/n.

– Could you take care of Jiyong in friday? I asked about it Yuta, but he said that Jiyong is daughter of satan and he won’t dare to take care of her.

 Both of you laughed. In friday you going to have date with guy named Kim Doyoung. You met him in ice cream store and it ends with asking out.

– Sure, I have nothing to do anyway. But wat are you going to do on Friday?

– I have date!

 His gaze was different and you noticed it.

– Ah, date. A lot happend when I was off.

– Kinda yes. I met him at ice cream store and this ends like this, so..

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

 friday.

 You were getting ready/ You wore red dress and beautiful black heels. Jaehyun should be at your place about 5 minutes. It was 8 p.m and your daughter was watching some cartoons waiting for her uncle. When both of you heard knocking trough the door you knew who it was.

– Jaehyun!

 He smilled and were shocked when he saw your outfut. In his eyes you looked really amazing.

– Oh y/n, you look so good today.

– You think so? Isn’t it bad?

– It’s not. You are really pretty tonight.

 You blushed at his words. 

– Okay, Doyoung is there, so I need to go. Jiyong listen to uncle Jaehyun and be nice to him!

– I always am.

 You left this to to themselfs.

 Jaehyun was kinda jalous when you left. He was curious about this “doyoung” who the hell he was? Nevermind. Now he have to take care of this sweat little girl.

– Unclee! I haven’t eaten supper yet, can we do some sandwiches? Please.

– Of course we can! I’m hungry too, so we can make it, but.. You have to help me Jiyong, okay?

– Okay!

 She was so happy. It’s melting Jaehyuns heart when he saw her that happy from simplest things. He loves spending time with 5 year old girl. He would do everything for her and her mommy. 

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

 It’s been month since you and Doyoung was datting. He was really kind guy and Jiyong looks like was liking him. You liked it. Because you didn’t want to your daughter hates guy, who you date.

 Today is Jiyongs 6th birthday and at your place gonna be only you, Doyoung, Jiyong and Jaehyun, because party for kids gonna be in saturday. You cooked a cake for her and bought her some clothes and doll. Doyoung boiught her books about fashion, because Jiyong really enjoying fashion. You three were waiting for Jaehyun.

Aish Jaehyun.

 He hates your boyfriend. He always gives him cold stares and ingors him as most as he could. Doyoung was for him not that good. Jaehyun knew that somethings going on with guy, who “fell in love” with girl with kjid. He didn’t know what’s happening but he gonna know.

 When Jaehyun arrived everyone were sitting. He smiled at Jiyong.

– My little girl has birthday, doesn’t she? Come here Jiyong!

 He hugged her and lift her, just to turn aroung with her. He was happy, but when he say another guy his face drops a little. But he couldn’t show it, so smiles appears on his face immadietaly.

– Jaehyun, sit down. We waited with cake for you.

 You smilled at him. He nodded and take place next to your daughter. Jalous was really hiogh in him. He was mad that Doyoung was there, but he can’t help this feeling. 

 When atmoshpehere was getting better it comes time for gifts to little girl. First was you. You wished all the best for your daughter and gave her a kiss. Next was Doyoung and she said something what was shocking.

– Can you come to my fathers day competition at school?

– Of course Jiyong!

You looked at Jaehyun and at your daughter. Her eyes was shining when she was looking at Doyoung with amaze. Jaehyun face drops and his heart breaks into pieces. It was only him, who attend this kind of events. He was going to these competitions since Jiyong was 4. He get used to it. Now he was feeling really sad and bad. He took little teddy bear at the table and stand next to little girl. It was hard to him, that it’s not him now.

– Sunny I wish you all the best and health. I hope you are gonna be really happy and have good time. Also, I hope  you are gonna have the best grades! I’m really sorry, but I forgot that I have some meeting today to arrive, I’m sorry honey.

 You were shock at what you heard. You mjade sure that Jaeyun is free today and now he gotta go. Jiyong looks kinda upset too that Jaehyun was with her only half of an hour.  You didn’t really know that your daughter question made him sad and useless. 

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

Between you and Doyoung was okaty, but not that good as you wish. You were thikiong that maybe you need time to fall for him, but it’s been some time and you still haven’t change. 

 Today is day when fathers competition is. You and Jiyong were at school waiting for Doyoung. He should be there 15 minutes ago,. but he stiil wasn’t there. You called him.

– Shit y/n I’m sorry. I can’t be there today. I have meeting and not have much time. I’m really sorry for Jiyong.

– What? If she would knew, she gonna cry! You promised this to her. what I’m gonna do right now?

– I don’t know. I’m really sorry, but I have to go.

 About 30 miniutes this competition gonna start and you didn’t know what to do. You can’t leave her like this. Maybe Yuta? No, he is athletic, but your daughter always makje fun of him and it’s pissed him off. Maybe Jaehyun? You hesitate to call him, becuase since your daughter birthday he doesn’t contact you. With shaking hand you called him.

– y/n? What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be at school with your dumbass boyfrend and Jiyong?

– Doyoung won’t come. Please, I need someone today. It’s breaks Jiyong heart if she not gonna be part of Father Day.

 When he heart that Doyoung left you two like this he was really pissed off. He knew that it was really important day for Jiyong as for him. He didn’t waste much time.

– I’ll be there in 10.

And he was. He arrived with smile. When 6 year old girl saw him she hugged her a lot.

– Where is Doyoubng?

– This asshole couldn’t come.

– Jaehyun! Doyoun can’t because of work, honey.

 When you were watching Jaehyun and Jiyong run, painting, and do another activitaes it makes sure to you that you love another man. And it wasn’t Doyoung. It was Jaehyun. It’s always been Jaehyun. You knew that you need to end everything with Doyoung as soon as possible.

 At the end of competitions Jaehyun and Jiyoung won and were at the first place! You couldn’t realize that you were crying at the sight. You were so proud of them. Also, Jaehyun looks so proud next to your daughter. 

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

 You were at Doyoungs place. He was sitting at the couch and at the same time both ouf you spoke.

– We need to end this.

– Yes, y/n you are right. I’m not used to being father and I geuss we aren’t mean to us.

– I thinlk so. You are really nice guy, but 

– You loves Jaehyun? It’s clear. 

– Yeah. I should go. I hope you find someone, who will love you and who you will love.

– Thankjs.

 You were happy that now you could face Jaehyun.

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

 He waz at your place taking care again of Jiyong. You asked him about this. When you arrived she was sleeping and Jaehyun was almost asleep at the couch, but when he saw you he stood up.

– I’m going now. She is asleep and  –

– I broke up with Doyoung.

 He was shocked.

– What? Why?

– I don’t love him. I love another guy.

– Damn y/n. Is there any other? How much do I have to do to make it more obvious? I love you y/n! I’m fuckin unnoticed by you by 6years now. I love you about 6 years. You have never noticed me, haven’t you? Damn and when you had started dating this jerk Doyoung I was mad. I was sad that now Jiyong would call him daddy not me. Aish, nevermind. I’m sorry, I know that you see me only as a friend and  –

– I love you Jaehyun.

– What? R-really?

– Yes! I thought you see me only as female friend who need to have someone by her side. I thought i’m out of your league.

– Shit, y/n you are amazing! You are the most prettiest woman I have ever met! And I love you and Jiyong the most in the world. Will you give us a chance?

– Of course I will!

– Now uncled Jaehyun will be my daddy? Yes! I love you daddy!

  Jiyong ran to your direction and hugged both of you. It looks so perfect. since now you have your small family.

[thesimperiuscurse]

FINE. All of them for EVA. Jerk

NO U. aight i’m gonna answer these for the start of chapter 6, two weeks from the end of chapter 5. 

zinc white; how are you really feeling today? no one-word answers please! 

ready to kick ass, make the most of her work day, determined for upcoming regionals and exams. nothing is yet to trouble her.  

cadmium yellow; when you think of the word “happy” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? 

the faces of her family. they are what she loves most in the world. 

lemon; what’s your comfort food?

in winter, her mom makes rich and creamy soups with veggies from the garden. pair that with soft buns fresh from the oven, and it’s guaranteed to comfort eva on the coldest and dreariest days.  

hansa yellow; what’s your guilty pleasure song? 

classic justin timberlake songs, like cry me a river. 

yellow ochre; name an artist/band whom you just discovered & can’t get enough of! 

just yesterday i found a new one for eva, an electronic artist named kloud. there’s one song in particular, humans, the lyrics and intense beat of which she’s super vibing with.    

naples yellow; where do you feel most at home?

the family villa in malibu. cherry and gabriel made sure to raise their children in a happy, secure, peaceful home. no repeat of their own turbulent and traumatic childhoods. 

raw sienna; with whom do you feel most at home?

again, her family. 

golden ochre; describe the relationship you have with your closest friend. 

eva doesn’t have a best friend. all the people she’s really close to are members of her family. she’s always been far too ballet-focused to maintain deep relationships with anyone outside of her family. however, she’s now growing very comfortable with sasha, piper, misha, and mako. they’re all quite bantery with each other. 

golden deep; what’s your favorite season? 

summer. always. 

cadmium orange; what do you like to do on your days off? 

her day off is sunday. currently — she wakes up at 8:30, has a slow breakfast with piper in the cafe, checks in with the academy physiotherapist at 11:00, and the rest of the day is loosely scheduled for gym, procrastinating maths homework, kickboxing, visiting family, playing her guitar, or watching netflix.   

orange lake; do you have anyone you can turn to when you’re sad? 

she has a super strong support system in all her family members, but her mom in particular. cherry is always checking up by call whether her daughter is happy and healthy. 

titans; do you prefer slow mornings or relaxing evenings? 

slow mornings. eva can’t wake up before eight, and if she’s forced to, she’ll get cranky. she wakes up when the sun does. 

shakhnazaryan red; are you currently binge-watching anything? 

not binging, but she’s slowly working through sex education on netflix. 

red ochre; are you more right-brained (creative) or left-brained (analytical)? 

right-brained. she can’t analyse for shit, unless she’s working something out using empathy and emotional intelligence. like misha, in that sense. 

burnt sienna; is there a painting that brings you peace when you look at it? 

she’s not one to enjoy the silent purity of art galleries. she prefers to explore nature and breathe in the ever-changing beauty of the earth. the sight of the sea always brings her peace. 

english red; what animal do you relate to most? 

probably a dumb but very cute and energetic dog.

vermilion; what’s your favorite accent?

scottish? she finds limmy’s show hilarious.  

cadmium red; do you have a “type” when it comes to a significant other? 

for summer boyfriends: hot surfer boys, tall and athletic, that have a big smile and laugh, laidback yet adventurous, sunkissed with messy sea-salted hair. in other words, mako ain’t it. for a significant other: she hasn’t thought about it. a serious romantic relationship is not in her interest for now.  

scarlet; describe your current crush/es. 

no crushes. or at least, she hasn’t realised she has one yet. hehe.  

ruby; what does your ideal first date look like? 

eva doesn’t actually go on proper dates. she can’t be bothered with awkward conversations and formalities. she might grab an icecream with a guy, surf and play sports, or go to a bonfire beach party together.    

carmine; what does your ideal second date look like? 

hook up with him, i guess. 

madder lake red; would you ever kiss someone (or accept a kiss) on a first date? 

if it isn’t clear by now, eva gives absolutely zero fucks about traditions or ‘rules’ around dating. her relationships are in friend-with-benefits territory, and she goes straight for what she wants.

rose; what’s something really positive going on in your life right now?

the family puppy, senor papperino. her siblings send her a million pictures of him as he grows up. a bittersweet joy.  

quinacridone rose; what’s something you’re really looking forward to?

her cousin amaya is getting married to amir next year, a spring wedding in the sonoran desert. eva’s helping her with the planning and dress design, which lilith is to create.     

violet rose; what does your dream house look like? 

a simple beach house, warm with natural light, that sits gently in nature. small, because her time spent inside is minimal. she really isn’t impressed with flashy luxuries.  

violet; is there any place in particular you’d like to settle down? 

a place right by the beach. she loves malibu and would want to stay close to her family. 

blue lake; what would you like to do/accomplish before you settle down? 

honestly, ‘settling down’ is something she’s barely thought about. she’s going to dance professionally as long as she can, maybe become a teacher like darcy, and explore her other passions, like surfing and environmental conservation. the traditional concept of marrying then having children is one that she feels may happen to her naturally, rather than she HAS to settle down at a specific point in her life. it’s just not on her priority list. 

cobalt blue spectral; what is the most beautiful place you have ever been to?

the most beautiful place in the world in eva’s mind is the garden at her family home, which blooms with dandelion clocks in summer, full of fruit trees, and is right by her favourite beach. her happiest childhood memories lie there. 

ultramarine; when was the last time you were in a good mood? do you know/remember what sparked it? 

at the moment, eva’s always in a good mood, because she’s in a place where she’s working at her greatest passion everyday. she’s friends with mako now, so the only person that could really put her in a bad mood is vicky. 

blue; what’s the most recent dream you remember? 

she can’t remember any of her dreams. 

bright blue; what does your dream family look like? any kids or pets? how many of each? 

since eva doesn’t really care about getting married, that hasn’t crossed her mind. she already has a broad, loving, ‘dream’ family, and her siblings are bound to have kids, so she doesn’t feel any pressure. she would be perfectly happy spending time with her nieces/nephews instead. a cute dog is a definite, though, probably another golden retriever.  

blue cobalt; do you like your name? would you give yourself a different name if you could? 

evangeline’s named after one of the strongest women in her life. she’s proud to have inherited the name, and hopes to live up to it.  

prussian azure; what’s your favorite scent? 

grapefruit, sea salt. 

azure blue; what’s your favorite type of tea, if any?

she’s a coffee person, but in summer, her mom likes to brew iced tea with fruits and herbs from the garden, which eva loves. 

turquoise blue; if you could start a garden, what would you plant?

lots of citrus trees. plants that can grow wild and thrive on their own. 

cerulean blue; if you were guaranteed to have a viewership, would you start a youtube vlog? 

i can picture eva vlogging, but in reality she’s too busy dancing for that shit. she prefers to live her life off screen, grounded in her reality.  

glauconite; describe your body without using any negative adjectives.

“jacked as fuck”

yellow green; picture yourself walking in a field. what do you see & hear in this scenario?

a field of tiny wildflowers on the dry coastal hills of malibu. the sun is burning bright, the sea is crashing against the beaches below, the wind is pulling wild at her hair. 

green light; are you in a comfortable place in life? if not, what do you think might make it better?

eva’s always striving to be more than just comfortable. her ambition means she’s already achieved an impressive amount in life, and she’s happy with how she’s moving along, but she’s forever shooting for the stars. 

green; name three countries you want to visit; do you have any actual plans in place to visit any of them?

she can’t afford to travel at the moment but hawaii, spain, greece.  

emerald green; do you speak any languages besides english? are there any additional languages you want to learn? 

a tiny bit of spanish, korean, and german from gabriel, but nowhere near fluently. she would like to improve her skills in those languages if she has the time.  

oxide of chromium; what’s your favorite book?

eva isn’t bookish. she just can’t sit still long enough. when she was a kid, she did love the magic slipper series, written by one of the prima ballerinas she idolises. 

olive green; are you currently reading anything? how do you like it so far?

her calculus textbook. she wants to set it on fire.  

mars brown; what’s a movie that always puts a smile on your face/makes you laugh? 

she likes cheesy 90s era movies. she’s the man always makes her laugh. 

burnt umber; what’s something you plan to do before the day is over to take care of yourself?

an ice bath and self massage for her legs, if pointe work is particularly intense, treat any new blisters or bleeding on her feet. typical ballet things. 

umber; have you drank enough water today? 

eva is always mindful to drink eight cups of water per day. 

voronezhskaya black; what or who is your go-to outlet for when you need to vent? 

amaya. she listens coolly, and provides helpful commentary. a few weeks ago, eva vented to her about mako and how much of an ‘arrogant ass’ her partner is. after she finished letting off steam, amaya asked her what the exact reasons for disliking him were, which helped eva realise her own stubbornness, haha. 

sepia; name five things that always make you happy.

perfect surf waves, a hug from her parents, adding a new piece of jewellery to her minimal gold collection, warm sunny weather, camping with her siblings.     

indigo; what’s the best/sweetest compliment you have ever received?

she’s received a lot of ‘you’re pretty’ type compliments from guys over the years, but what makes her happiest is compliments about her dancing, particularly from professionals. 

payne’s gray; describe your aesthetic? 

summer beach chick, relaxed shades of sea blue and white froth, minimalist, with a rough edge.   

black; post a selfie because you are so beautiful!

nah i’m too lazy to open the game at the moment. anyway, eva doesn’t really take selfies by herself, since she’s not that active on social media. 

[somedayonbroadway]

Hong Kong Sloth

Buckle up! This is a long one!

For the BMW AU Masterline, click here!

“Hey, Kloppman, what’s up?

“Mr. Kelly, I just thought you should know that the Higgins boy missed his History test this morning.”

“He what?” A few people turned to look at Mr. Kelly as they filed into his classroom. Jack hadn’t mean to hiss so harshly.

But the kid knew better than that.

“Oh! That’s my fault!” Kelly leaned around his boss to find Albert rushing towards them from his usual seat. “My fault!” he repeated, clearly stalling, trying to remember what he was told to say. Jack knew Tony better than that. “I was supposed to tell you, Race had a severe case of... uh...” DaSilva put his hands on his hips as he paused, deep in thought.

Jack crossed his arms and stepped closer to him, nodding at him to continue.

Albert put a hand on Kloppman’s shoulder. “Help me out here...” he asked.

Kloppman just squinted at him. “Sloth?” he asked, knowing the boy wouldn’t come up with anything.

Albert nodded and laughed in agreement of something he clearly was not getting. “Yeah! Hong Kong Sloth!” he stated with enthusiasm.

Jack was less than amused. He shook his head. “Oh, that boy... Mr. Kloppman?” he asked.

The man already knew what he was going to say. So he nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. Kelly nodded and grabbed his keys off of his desk, walking out of the room fast as he headed towards his apartment.

Kloppman looked down at his student and neighbor. And he sighed. “Not your best work, Mr. DaSilva...”

Albert could only shrug before he slid back into his seat.

—

Jack stormed into his own apartment, not even bothering to close the door when he found a teenager, lounging on his couch, still clad up in his pajamas, laying under a blanket. “Higgins!” he called, startling the boy a bit. “What the hell are ya doin’?”

Race smiled up at him. “Hey, Jack!” he tried to playoff, a cheesy smile melting onto his face as Jack placed his hands on his hips.

“You missed a history test, Tony,” the teacher scolded.

The boy’s face genuinely light up at that. “Oh, that was today? Boy, that worked out,” he almost joked. Jack knew he was thankful for it though. And it worried him.

“This is the third time you’ve skipped this week, you know I’m all for a break every now and then, but this is gettin’ outta hand!” Still the boy didn’t move. The smile fell a bit off of his face and Jack knew he needed to talk to someone. “Tony... I give up, kid... I’m here, n’ I’m tryin’, but... I got too much goin’ on ta figure you all out,” he sighed, seeing a spark of guilt shine in the boys eyes. He hadn’t meant it like that. But all he could do was sigh and shake his head. “Look, tomorrow morning, you’re seein’ a guidance counselor,” he decided, moving to sit at the arm of the couch that student occupied.

The boy looked up at his temporary guardian and hissed. “I don’t think so, Jack. My people are celebrating a very important holiday tomorrow.”

The small smirk that slid onto Jack’s face couldn’t be helped. This boy knew how to make him laugh, that’s for sure. “Yeah? And what people would that be?”

The look on Race’s face fell as he thought for a moment before shrugging. “Well... we’re stayin’ home tomorrow ta come up with a name!” he decided.

Jack rolled his eyes. He ruffled the boys hair and shook his head as he stood. “You have three minutes. Get dressed n’ meet me downstairs.”

Race groaned.

Jack walked back out the door, only turning back as he remembered, “History test! At lunch! Up n’ at ‘em!”

Again, Race only groaned.

—

“Hong Kong Sloth?” Race asked his best friend outside the counselor’s office.

Albert shrugged. “Kloppman came up with Sloth. But I added the Hong Kong part.”

Rolling his eyes, Race fell back into the seat beside his friend. “Kelly didn’t even wanna talk about it. He just said ‘Higgins, tomorrow your seein’ the new guidance counselor,’” he mimicked, taking his best shot at Jack’s New York accent which was much heavier than his own.

With a small laugh, Albert wrapped an arm around his best friend. “Maybe it won’t be so bad... I mean, ya don’t even really gotta listen. All ya gotta do is sit there for n’ hour,” he stated, trying his best to cheer his friend up.

“Yeah, I guess...” Race sighed, though he wasn’t quite convince.

“Antonio Higgins?” The boys stood and walked away, turning to his best friend and reaching for him dramatically. Albert did the same back. But then Race turned around and went solemn again.

Albert laughed.

—

“So, Antonio, tell me what your last guidance counselor was like?” the kind looking woman asked.

Race shrugged. “This is my first time,” he admitted.

The young, admittedly attractive woman grinned. “Really?! Mine too!” She brought her hands over her mouth after that and blushed. “Whoops... I shouldn’t have said that out loud...” she giggled.

The boy smiled at that. “Your secret’s safe with me,” he stated, leaning back in his chair.

The counselor smiled and looked back down at the file in front of her. “Okay, according to your file...” she paused when she opened it, her face dropping. “Wow...” she breathed, not quite sure how to continue.

Letting out a small snort, Race shook his head. “Lemme save ya some time... you can just skip ta the part where ya tell me ‘education is the key to a happy and successful life’,” he said, giving her a small shrug, knowing where this conversation would inevitably lead.

“Is that what I’m supposed to say?” the woman asked, looking back up at him, her kind smile working it’s way back onto her face.

“Everyone else does,” the kid admitted.

Smiling at the young boy, the woman cocked her head a bit at him. “You know, Antonio, growing up, all my parents every talked about were the three M’s: Money, Marriage and Mortgage,” she explained, shaking her head at the memories and looking back down at her desk.

But Race laughed. “My dad always talked about the three B’s,” he remembered, smiling as it all came back. “Babes, bucks and brewskies,” he recited, his voice suddenly gruff and harsh, more like his old man’s.

“Your dad sounds colorful,” the counselor laughed.

The boy shrugged. “Yeah... at the trailer park... he used ta say ‘One man’s septic tank is another man’s oasis’,” once again trying to mimic his papa’s voice.

Something in him ached.

He ignored it.

“I never knew what he meant...”

“Can I take a shot?” the woman asked. Race leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, like Jack did when they were having a serious talk, as he nodded. “I think he meant what’s good for one person doesn’t hold for everyone,” she explained.

Race squinted. He supposed that made sense. “Huh... So like... maybe college ain’t where I’s supposed ta go?”

The woman stood and rounded her desk, sitting on its edge and crossing her legs. “Ya know, I didn’t want to go to college when I first graduated. I took a year off to travel and see the world and... figure out who I was...” she said. “I went to Europe, even live in Spain for a few months. I bet I know more about bull fighting than any woman you’ll ever meet.” She sounded proud of that.

But the boy let out a small chuckle. “You don’t know my aunt Debbie,” he replied.

“Look, the point is,” the woman continued through a laugh. “I did end up in college. I just had to find myself first...”

—

Race smiled when he saw his best friend practically asleep at their favorite booth in their favorite restaurant. He rushed over and slid into the seat across from him.

Albert woke with a start, only lifting his head long enough to catch sight of the other boy before laying it back down. “There a reason ya made me get up at five in the mornin’?”

“I’m takin’ off, Al...” Race whispered. “I just... I wanted ta say goodbye...”

Albert lazily raised a hand and waved. “Okay... goodbye,” he said, almost falling back asleep.

His friend laughed. “I’m serious. I’m leavin’ town,” he said.

So Albert lifted his head again and rubbed at his tired eyes. “Racer, I know what this is... t’day’s Miss Birnnaum’s biology test. N’ seein’ as you’ve never met Miss Birnbaum, you’re ‘takin’ off’,” he quoted, knowing his friend better than that.

At least, he thought so.

“It’s not about school, Al! It’s about me!” There was a big grin on the boy’s face. Albert was beginning to get worried. “I can’t be happy in school till I’m happy with myself. I’ve never been more ready for anything in my whole life,” he stated confidently. But then he leaned across the table. “Do you got a few bucks?”

Rolling his eyes, Albert groaned. “No! Race, what about Kelly?”

“He doesn’t know, n’ I don’t want him ta find out. He’ll try n’ stop me,” Race sighed. “Look, this... this is what my dad does. It’s what I have ta do... I’ll come back... when I’m ready—“

“You’re not ready for this, Tones!”

“Albert, I’ve thought all this through. Traveling is in my blood. I’ll be alright...” he promised, standing back to his feet and adjusting the backpack strap over his shoulder. “I’ll see ya soon, okay?”

The blond didn’t give his friend a chance to respond before he was standing to his feet and heading towards the exit. Albert didn’t have the slightest clue how to stop him.

—

The red headed boy rushed through the halls, betting that if people didn’t want to get rundown, they’d get out of his way. He found his path to Kelly’s classroom and found him adjusting the glasses on his face as he turned through a few pages of their textbook and wrote a few things up on the board. “Mr. Kelly! We gotta talk! It’s about Race!”

Kelly sighed and turned to him for only a moment before focusing back on his task. “Let me guess, today he’s got African Sloth,” he stated offhandedly.

In other circumstances, Albert would’ve laughed at that.

But not today.

“No! He took off!” he said. “I’m not supposed ta tell you, but I gotta... he took off...”

Jack paused for a moment, praying that what the kid was saying was some kind of joke. But there was no punchline. So he took the glasses off of his face and tossed the book down onto his desk. “What are you talkin’ about? Where did he go?” he asked, worry radiating off of him in a second.

“I dunno... he had that meeting with the guidance counselor and the next thing I knew, he was takin’ off,” Albert explained, shrugging and noting the look in his teacher’s eyes. It was the same one his own father got whenever him or Henry did something that could get them hurt.

Kelly nodded, biting his lip and rounding his desk. “DaSilva... thank you... you did the right thing,” he stated as he walked with purpose out of the room and towards the counselor’s office.

“Yeah,” Albert rolled his eyes. “I’m cursed...”

Jack didn’t hear him.

He only stopped when he saw a kind young woman exiting the office. One he hadn’t seen before. “You! You’re the new guidance counselor?”

She smiled at him. “Yes, I am,” she confirmed.

“I sent Tony Higgins to you yesterday—“

“Oh, you’re James Kelly!” she realized.

Jack tried not to flinch at the use of his full name. He nodded. “Yeah, he ran away. Do you have any idea where he might a’ gone?”

“He ran away?” the woman repeated.

She was starting to get on Jack’s nerves. “Yes! What did you two talk about? I need ta make some sense a’ what happened between yesterday n’ this mornin’.”

The woman jumped a bit at the tone but shrugged. “Well, we talked about family and college and finding yourself and... oh...”

“What?”

Looking up at him, the counselor admitted it. “I told him about my year off in Europe.”

If Jack wasn’t inside of this school he would’ve given this woman a piece of his mind. “You said that to a fourteen year old boy who already thinks that stability is the last thing he needs? What kind of guidance is that?” he asked.

Travel was the last thing Race needed, let alone by himself. Jack knew he wasn’t the greatest example of a stable environment. He’d never had one himself growing up. He knew what running away entailed. He didn’t want that for the kid.

But the woman stood up straighter. “Hey! I’m just the guidance counselor! He spent an hour with me. He’s been living with you for five months. Why do you think he ran away?” she challenged.

Jack scowled at her but sighed, knowing she had a point.

But it didn’t matter.

All that mattered was finding Race.

—

Jack rushed through the doors of the closest bus station. He looked around almost frantically before practically melting in relief at the sight of the boy sitting against the wall, a piece of paper and pencil propped up in his lap.

He calmed himself before slowly making his way towards the kid. “Higgins... thank God...” he breathed as he stood above the child, catching his breath.

The boy jumped a little, looking up. “Jack... h-how’d ya find me?”

Jack scoffed. “Easy. Once I found out where you were goin’, I figured Racetrack Higgins, Europe, Bus,” he smiled, squatting down in front of the kid who just smirked.

The boy pulled his ticket out of his pocket. “I’m goin’, Jack. Next stop, Paris!”

“Paris, Texas,” Jack corrected turning the thing to show his student.

The boy’s smile fell. But he shrugged. “Hey... it’s a start...” he figured.

Jack sighed. “Look, kid... I dunno what that counselor told you... but runnin’ away is not the answer,” he reasoned, placing a hand on the kid’s knee.

“I ain’t runnin’ away! I’m goin’ someplace! Doin’ somethin’ with my life—“

“And if you’re so sure that’s what you’re ready for, why didn’t ya come n’ talk ta me about it?” Jack asked, hurt. But he tried to hide it.

The boy’s gaze fell back down to his notebook. “Ya got your own stuff goin’ on...”

“That don’t mean I don’t care what’s happenin’ with you,” the man countered, moving to sit beside the boy against the filthy wall. He looked down at the page and found that Race was sketching. It was a decently good outline of a horse. It actually looked... almost real.

“I know you care... I know that we’re like... buddies ‘r whatever—“

“Racer, it’s more than that... yeah, we’re pals, but I’m still responsible for you,” Jack stated.

“Give yourself a break, Jack, you’re not my dad,” Race insisted, folding up his notebook and shoving it in his bag as he sat up.

Jack shrugged, something inside him breaking just a little. “No... no I’m not...”

“And I’m cool with that! I’m used to bein’ on my own...” The words were familiar to Jack. The boy stood. He followed suit. “It’s made me realize that I have ta look out for myself... so... I’ll see ya later... thanks for the window...”

The words were genuine. But the kid still walked away from him.

He only made it a few steps before Jack crosses his arms over his chest. “Antonio!” he called. “Get back here. Now.”

The boy listened to him. He never knew why. But he did.

“You’re not goin’ anywhere—“

“I’m goin’ ta Europe—“

“You’re goin’ ta Texas,” Jack deadpanned. “N’ while there ain’t nothin’ wrong with Texas, you’re fourteen, ya got no money, ya got no clue what you’re gettin’ yourself into. Ya think there might be a chance that I know what I’m talkin’ about?”

Race looked down at his feet. He rocked back and forth a bit. “I dunno...”

“Well I do... you’re comin’ home with me where you belong,” he decided. Because Race couldn’t have this choice. This choice to run away. Jack couldn’t let him go through that. He’d starve himself to death or get caught up in the wrong crowd and he didn’t need to know what any of that life felt like. “Look... if you really wanna go ta Europe... we’ll go t’gether. Next summer,” he promised.

The way those big blue eyes trailed up to him where heartbreaking. But a small smile made Jack feel whole again. “I could get behind that...” the boy decided.

Jack nodded. “Only if you start goin’ ta class n’ gettin’ your grades up. Yeah?”

Before Race could even think of a response, an old man sitting in a chair beside them cleared his throat, pointing over at the boy. “I’d listen to your dad if I were you, kid,” he winked.

Something warm flooded through Race at those words. He couldn’t describe the feeling. But he knew it was good. And Jack chuckled.

“Yeah... yeah I think I will,” Tony agreed. So Jack nodded at the man in thanks before wrapping an arm around his student... his kid... and leading him out of that bus station.

“Let’s go home...”

Ooooh Racer... What a guy...

Also, if any of ya’ll would like to be on a tag list for this story, let me know!

[naturaldisasterfanfiction]

7.

Frowning at Mel “stop messing around, if you’re going to plan on being an active auntie in my baby’ life I don’t want games” Mel likes to massage coco butter on my stomach, which I don’t mid because then it saves me from doing it and I can just relax but she is taking forever and is playing around by drawing things on my stomach, stifling out a yawn as I rested my head back on the pillow “I swear to god Melissa!” I shouted “you got me shouting now, stop it” Mel just laughed at me, she is laughing, and I am annoyed “I can’t believe how amazing the scan pictures came out now, it’s creepy but cute. I cried when she said the baby finger is in its mouth, like” reaching to my side table “look at it, literally has my forehead” looking at my scan picture “chile, forehead for days. Chris has a receding fucking hairline and your hairline is no different, the baby has no choice but to have a big forehead and hairline starting from the back” my mouth fell open “oopss, sorry” she isn’t wrong but still “I hate you, I would kick you but you are being helpful” smiling at my scan picture, this just makes me so happy. Like this is my baby right now in my stomach just relaxing, I am fucking mind blown by how I am bringing life to the world. We spoke on so much, the difficulties that could happen but I am going all natural, I don’t want nobody cutting into me unless it is at a point where I could die but I am all for the natural thing “yeah, I heard your mom saying that you are going natural? I mean I am not the person to say anything but isn’t it better just cutting and then out it comes?” placing the scan picture on my chest “I think not, unless I could die or my baby could die then I will back down but I want to go through it normally, I don’t want to be lazy and just lay there. I am like every other woman; I don’t care what anyone says. I said it to Doctor Wen, she explained the reason why they would cut me open if they needed but she is happy for me to do natural and I agreed on the reasons why, but I think a lot of famous women just do the easier option to not change anything and to make it as perfect as possible, I am not for that. If that baby is stretching my pussy then so be it. My only baby anyways” Mel pulled a face as she shuffled away and sat on the bed “I would rather be cut open, I am lazy like that” shaking my head at Mel “get pregnant, we can have baby play dates” poking my bottom lip out “no way sis, your baby is my baby too. Just you go through the pain” Mel cackled; she is not shit.

I have the biggest clothes I can wear right now; I am leaving the home after all these weeks and I am feeling nervous about it all “are we all ready?” walking out of my room, popping my scan picture in my bag “we are, so we are going straight to the hanger. I have arranged it, I know they like doing spot checks but not today, I mean we can’t have you getting searched with the baby bump. No spot check, I have arranged it that we are arriving” Jen pointed at me as she walked over to me “good, I am glad. I think I would be devastated if that were to happen, I do not need that right now. So, we have J. Cole and Kendrick performing at the ball, exciting right? All I had to do was text them, they both said yes. I am just so nervous; I feel sick now all over again but let’s go” Rich is staring at me “what?” I said to him “just weird to see you like this, I have been working with you for years” pulling a face at him “do I look pregnant? Am I fat to you?” Rich’ face dropped “no uh, I am not saying that just that you look well” side eyeing him “your cheeks are fuller sis” hitting Ja’ shoulder as I walked out of the house.

I am so excited to see what Dennis has done, he has been working hard on this. He wants me to be happy about it but I am, I am just feeling hormonal about things. I had to make the pilot and flight attendant sign a NDA because I want to be free on my jet and not hiding, also I needed the bed to be made and laying down will expose what I am hiding behind this huge thing “if you complain about this now I will just quit” Dennis placed his MacBook in front of me “I didn’t complain, I just stated that my voice didn’t sound right” Dennis rolled his eyes “just please, watch it. Pretend you’re a fan, you get the notification, no caption and this came up” looking at Jen before pressing play, I hate my face “Ja is right” my face looks fuller “no he is not, you look so good Robyn. You look so happy, I love it, you can tell you got that pregnancy skin” watching the video play on, just images of me smiling “oh god, it sounds like I am adding to my skin care. The fans are going to hate me, they really are”  the video cuts to me walking towards the bathroom “it’s now time to enter a new journey for me, and for the new life that was created” I mimicked the words I said as the video played on and the time lapse of the images I took “oh god, as a fan I would be shook. Like my heart is beating hard against my chest, they are going to be shocked. It’s calming though. The way I announce it is very calming, but it honestly looks like I am announcing a new skin product, oh god. I am happy with it Dennis, yes” sitting back smiling “I am” I said again “I was thinking about my extended family members and not telling them, they will find out like this also but it needs to be so tight. I mean it will be the same with the Chris thing, I can’t risk telling too much to so many people. The circle needs to be closed” watching Dennis take his laptop “what if Chris wants to tell?” Jen asked “he needs to not, that is something I will obviously take that up with him or if he says don’t care and I rather not get involved” Jen laughed “you wish, he will be like an excited puppy but that is interesting to hear, I think you both need to have this deep conversation and you won’t be drunk or high” I wish I could get drunk or high “I miss that” I mumbled saying.

Mel laid next to me on the bed that was made on the jet, I feel a little sore and tired so I knew that I would need the bed made “do you all take turns in cuddling me? Am I that big?” Mel laughed out, she is laughing but I think it is true “it’s not that, I promise so I was thinking if we invite Chris to the ball since you know, he is you know” Mel looked at my stomach and then at me, she proceeded to wink at me “erm, I am not sure about that. I am not being funny but it’s already a mess and I am adding to it, I can’t just invite him and then have him alone, he will then bring his friends. Just keep it away, not there. Not when this will be happening, everyone is going to be at me about it already, the same tired old conversation. I disagree, he has too much on anyways” Mel rolled her eyes at me “you do know you are going to have to face him” looking away from Mel “wish I didn’t need too” I said to myself “then don’t, he will be none the wiser. Pray to the gods it doesn’t look like him, I mean you don’t need too” shaking my head “I am not like that, it’s just difficult ok. He is a mess; I keep stalking him!” I shouted so loudly “ok, calm down. Well whatever you want then I am here” she needs to just support me in this plan, it may be a little crazy but I just need to do it my way and not what people around me want because it will not work like they want “I am intrigued to know what his reaction will be, will it be happy, sad, hateful. I mean it’s not the perfect scenario” she is telling me like I don’t know that.

Sitting on the bed Indian style with my hand naturally on my stomach, I am just forever doing this now, I am used to it “I hate this, I hate that Jen and Mel both know a secret that I want to know. Like you both know the sex of my child, I really don’t want a gender reveal just tell me!” I half shouted “she’s going to be cute like you, I know already” Ja is acting like anyone will tell him shit “I know my girls, they wouldn’t tell you because I would bully you into telling me so good try baldie. Is it what I want? Like I have been always saying a girl?” Mel and Jen are not giving me much “this will be my only baby, and I pray for a healthy baby but a girl, just let it be? I mean I won’t be upset but still, just a mini me, you know” I want them to give me something, they ain’t giving me shit “soon, Mexico and the family. We going to reveal it, have a little get together. It will be cute, stop being annoying. Then we can have a baby shower in London, or shall we go Spain? I don’t know but we going to party, every day with you” Jen said, but I don’t want that I just would like to know what it is “mom! You said you have a feeling, what is the feeling!” getting off of the bed “look at my stomach shape and tell me?” turning to the side “baby, can’t you just wait. I don’t know what it is” rolling my eyes “just a guess, come on? You always do this, you say oh the stomach is this shape so it’s whatever” my mom is annoying when she does it to every one else “ok, ok. I think” she squinted her eyes “a boy” my mom pointed “ok, her opinion is irrelevant now” I joked “any more takers, what are we saying?” I got everyone looking at me now, hearing a mixture of girl and boy “so girl then, thank you” I laughed to myself “but if it’s a boy then there is always adoption, I am joking. I just want my baby healthy so don’t mind me” sitting back down on the edge of the bed.

I caught myself falling asleep but for the lighter in my hand, it was too late. It already slipped out of my hand and onto the ground floor. Moving back from the balcony, I didn’t realise I was falling asleep but another day at the Brown house. I need to finish off my art downstairs now, walking back into my bedroom. Placing my feet in my slides as I closed my bedroom door, I was supposed to go to Gunna’ party tonight but I declined, I wasn’t in the mood but I think “here they are” I stopped to say to myself, the niggas are back home, I mean my home “good party?” jumping down the last of the stairs nearly falling down but I caught myself “it was, got some girls back. They wanted to come” nodding my head “step right up, mobiles that side, papers on the other side. Then we can all have fun is that you? Krista? Oh wow, you still riding in the back of niggas cars now” Krista walked over to me “shut up” hugging her “you still the same old Chris, sign the papers” I laughed stepping back from the hug “well I got to be, but you still need to sign the papers. Keep your mobile though” winking at her “oh privileges then? I see how it is” she walked off, watching her walk off with the other girls, about seven others. Hoody hit my arm “she asked to come here” he said in a whisper “she missed the D, they all do” I laughed walking off.

Blunt for breakfast and it hasn’t even hit nine yet “your home is amazing, like with all the new graffiti. You haven’t just done random things like always” moving the blunt back, placing the spray can on the ground “I try” blowing the smoke out from my lips “you not going in the pool like the rest? Showcasing booties for the niggas to want?” I pointed laughing “why do I need to do that when you already seen it” she got a point “they doing that for you Chris, you know that” I shrugged “better off going with someone I remember, vaguely. It wasn’t memorable” Krista side eyed me “just like Amikka, you remember that too” I blew out air all wide eyed “to be fair I don’t actually remember many pussies I’ve had. Select few” Krista laughed “nothing has changed with you Chris, wow. I actually just came to see you, I am not jumping in no pool and showing my ass” nodding my head “then it was pointless you coming” looking over at the girls in the pool “they all sucking and licking on each other too, damn. But, let me mind my business, it was good you come out though. You can relax here or whatever” let me go back to my spray painting.

I was shocked to see Krista still here, I guess it is because Amikka gone “still here?” sitting down on the couch across from her “problem?” shaking my head “nope, why though? You dogged me out?” I mean she did “rich coming from you, you were having several women on the go, I was done. I thought you were with Amikka, so yeah” shaking my head “I have always been single, I show love. People don’t get that” my phone vibrated in my pocket “oh is that what it is, but she said you was with her” getting my phone out from my pocket “nope” seeing a Instagram message from Mel, this is not like her. Tapping on the message and unlocking my phone “least she is back where she belongs, Germany” I just laughed reading the message from Mel, squinting my eyes ‘Come to the Diamond Ball, plus one (Mijo) of course but you’re invited if you would like to come. You’re with me, let me know’ I am confused, Melissa is inviting me to an event where niggas are stuck up their own ass, I don’t fuck with any of those people and on top of that Robyn is foul so no, let me message back nicely, I don’t want to see her face after that night ‘I love you Mel, you my sister FOREVER but Robyn is foul. She KNOW what she did, if she wants her drunken talks with sex tell her go elsewhere, not blaming you! Trust me, I have other plans either way’ pressing send on the message “you seem angry?” Krista asked “women are not nice, that is all” locking my phone and placing it to the side of me, I won’t be seeing that, full of fake industry people that don’t like me but smile in my face, this is why I don’t go to award shows, fuck that. Robyn loves that shit and is too far up their asses to even see real, I’m not that.