#they had them at the warehouse but the website listing was broken

[absolutesolver-system]

Z isn’t fronting rn but if glitch was she would be SO happy

(Got the shirt and jacket for Christmas; this is our first time wearing them)

[story-collector]

The Family We Chose

Part 2 (I honestly have no schedule for writing this so I’m just kinda doing it as it comes to me but I will try to be fairly consistent)

14

The next year as school started we finally were able to add to our team. We added our three new family members. Chloe was given the Bee Miraculous, gaining the name Honey Bee. She was an valuable asset and even if we hadn’t added her I believe she still would have been family. She was a great strategist and fully dedicated to bringing down Paris emotional terrorist. Kagami was given the Dragon Miraculous, gaining the name Ryuko. She was a hard worker and aimed to please. Winning was ingrained into her very being by her mother so losing was never an option. Our third was Luka with the Snake Miraculous. Viperion was a steadfast calm that helped our small team immensely. The three very quickly showed how much they wanted to be on the team.

Our nights were a little less hard now. Patrols were more evenly spaced and emotional comfort was in abundance. We had a bigger support network now, even if it was just each other. We were a family that we knew we could rely on. More memories were made, another album started to get filled. Our civilian lives improved slightly, having more time to indulge our interests and focus on school helped lessen the stress we had. But it didn’t stop all the bad.

We were still just children. Most of us were 14 with Luka being 15. We were young and still relatively inexperienced but we did the best we possibly could. Unfortunately it wasn’t always enough. Nights were still hard, plagued with to still body’s and unseeing eyes. Makeup was something we were all to experienced in. Lies became the norm to our family’s and other friends. We were okay, just stressed. No we weren’t going to turn into an akuma. We were fine. Tears were hidden in the rain and atop the roofs of the city we vowed to protect with our lives. Sometimes we did give up our lives, and remembered every time we did. Some scars would fade with the magic, others were faint, almost a trick of the light, and some were never visible to begin with.

Once a week we would patrol together and then sleep in a pile in someone’s room, making sure to leave before the sunlight touched the trees. The night time was our time, no matter if we were daylight hero’s or not. Homework was still done on top of the Eiffel Tower. The album was still filled. Interests were still ongoing. But it was all done mostly together. The others were my models as I would sit on roofs and design new outfits for them. They would help me with ideas and eventually making a website. Money was brought in by everyone. Chloe managed to buy a warehouse just for the team. The outside was broken and dirty and old but the inside was our home.

This became a sanctuary for us, and it was near this sanctuary where we found the youngest member of our family. We found him slumped behind a dumpster, his to small body almost hidden in the darkness. The blood coating his body made it hard to tell where it was coming from. We gathered him up in our arms and rushed him to our base. We didn’t know much of medical procedures but we new just enough to save him. What little we knew almost wasn’t enough. We didn’t have all the supplies, the scars would be ugly, he had to be constantly watched. Medical supplies was put on the list of things to gather. Just because we had magic didn’t mean we would always be able to save someone with it.

The young (tiny, too small, too young) boy didn’t wake for almost two weeks. Our free moments, every second of them, was spent at his side or around him. The amount of scars he already had was heartbreaking. The amount of weapons he had was terrifying. They told a story we didn’t want to hear. When he woke up he was weak, we had to help him eat, we had to carry him everywhere. He was light, to light, and to much muscle for an 8 year old. We learned his name was Damian.

We never told Master Fu about him. We never told Paris about him. He was our secret. At first he was angry and rude and constantly insulting us and trying to attack us. It was clear he didn’t know what physical comfort was. He didn’t know a gentle touch. We likened him to a wild animal, small, scared, confused, and hurt. It took a month before he could start to walk again and a month and a half before he was fully healed. He had started to trust us during his stay. Three months later he was still there. He warmed up to us, leaning into our touches, and reciprocating the attention we gave him.

He told us he was raised by the League of Assassins. He was their Heir. He didnt want them to hurt us, but we couldn’t let him go back to them. So he stayed with us and as the League realized that he was alive, and that we had him they grew angry and would attack us in the dead of night while in patrol. Our supplies of medical supplies grew massively very quickly. Our uniforms were changed to blend into the dark of Paris skyline.

As young as he was, he was helpful. We learned to fight from an 8 year old and in the end that may have been what kept us one step ahead of the League. He became somewhat of a son to us, or a little brother. He was family and we were as close as ever. Many nights were no longer spent in our own homes, but instead with him. Lunch breaks from school weren’t spent with friends as often, they were spent with him, showing him the world he had missed growing up. He became inspiration for clothing for children. Our interests were brought into the Sanctuary and we taught him. He taught us as well. Weapons, fighting, Arabic. We taught him as much as we could. French, English, Chinese, Sign Language in English and French. The learning was slow going for a lot of us, some of us learning new things from the others. But we learned fast, became better and better everyday.

He blossomed under our care. He became the child he was meant to always be...mostly. He was raised and Assassin and you can’t take something that is ingrained in a child since birth out of him in a year. Against our better judgement we would bring him on some nightly patrols. Night time shenanigans would ensue (our photo album grew and we had to start a new one) and attacks would still happen from both the League and Hawkmoth. The year was eventful, but we grew as a family and as a team. Our base was almost fully set up. It became our home. It was his home now, with the sewing machine in the corner and my commissions piled up on the tables, a full musical set up in the corner with couches and bean bags, a makeshift run way for our more dramatic members (Chloe and Adrien), and an area for fencing and practice in every form we knew.

The year was filled with sleepless night and alter egos and stress and anxiety. There was mourning, dangerous and deadly battles, new scars to go over the old and a child to care for. We were family and no one could take that away.

[alternativewinxcontinuity]

April has begun, a new month, a new start.

To celebrate the First of April, I've decided to embark on a new project. Some might say it's a little Foolish when I have so much else to do, but it must be done:

Fate: the Re-Winxed Saga!

We'll be starting off with a fixing of the reason Bloom ran away from home. I don't know about anyone else, but I always found it jarring how Bloom essentially had two sets of parents played by the same actors.

One pair were abusive a$$hats, on of whom thought their daughter was a freak, the other was basically a doormat with no opinions of their own, meanwhile the other couple were loving and “always knew she was meant for bigger things”.

So I've changed the reason behind Bloom's house burned down, and restored her artistic talents to her. There's nothing wrong with liking repairing old lamps, but we saw it once to point out how much of a “weirdo” she was, and then it was gone.

I've also added in a bit to explain how Farah found her, while maintaining Stella's OG presence in the scene.

I know there's a prequel book out (soon?) now that's supposed to fill in that blank, but I've just gone ahead with it.

Warnings for minor implications of sexual assault that never actually happened.

Here we go:

Fire\Starter

Bloom's sleep was fitful. 

She felt hot in her dreams, flushed with embarrassment and rage as Mitzy's obnoxious laugh played on infinite repeat. The condemning looks from her peers, from strangers on the street, plagued her like a thousand daggers.

In the waking world Bloom's body kicked back her sheets and writhed like she was fighting off an attacker.

In her dreams Bloom saw the sweetly deceitful face of Mitzy's cousin.

Bloom was an artist, she'd been drawing since she'd been young. Her art had won some competitions, small and local, but so important to her.

Important enough that her parents had bought her a graphics tablet for her birthday when all the other kids her age were getting bikes. It was the most expensive gift they'd ever gotten her.

She'd used it frequently, making digital art now alongside the more traditional paintings and sketches. She'd gotten good enough to be asked and paid for commissions.

And that's how Mitzy had managed to sneak her cousin in, to set a trap.

Moira had commissioned Bloom to make a 'tasteful nude' in 'that old European style, you know the one?' and Bloom hadn't thought anything of it. She'd let Moira into her home, into the converted solar-turned-art studio she'd been using for almost a full year now and...

Bloom had spent every day since cursing herself for not noticing the similarities. Moira and Mitzy looked so alike when you saw them together, Bloom didn't know how she'd missed it.

Maybe it was because Moira had smiled kindly, hidden her smirk and contempt better than Mitzy ever had.

Bloom had only touched Moira once, a gentle arm on the elbow to steady her while Moira was in her under garments, but the way she'd spun that into lies of assault...

Bloom could see it perfectly in her head, Moira laying casually on the couch of Bloom's studio, skin mostly bare and a sweet smile on her face.

In her dreams it warped into a smirk, lips cracking apart until Mitzy's laugh rolled out of the gaping maw. In her dreams, Bloom set Moira on fire.

Her rage, pure and true becomes an unstoppable flame, so hot it melts the walls, melts her tormentors skin. In the dream Bloom screams her rage and the world is consumed and-

-Bloom wakes, choking. She rolls to the side and tumbles from the sweat soaked mattress to the warm wooden floors of her room. Her gasping breaths drag the scent of smoke and paint into her lungs, but she ignores the remnants of her dream and tries to calm herself.

The scent doesn't fade.

It gets stronger.

Somewhere below her on the ground floor, glasses shatter and Bloom hears a familiar whoof. She'd heard it in her father’s educational videos on fire.

Her studio is on fire.

Her house is on fire!

“MUM! DAD!” Bloom screams as loud as she can, trying to remember what she's supposed to do. She tears her pillow case off her pillow, scrambles to put her laptop, graphics tablets and her three recharge cords into it before pulling her sheet free and wrapping it around herself.

She grabs her phone on the way out.

“MUM! DAD!”

Bloom makes her way to their room down the hall, the smoke in the air thickening.

“FIRE!!”

Her parents meet her at the door, their own sheet wrapped around them both to help filter the smoke, they have a few things as well.

Together they crouch down low and make their way down stairs, Bloom's father, Mike, already on his cell phone calling for the Fire Brigade.

They're almost free and clear when her mother, Vanessa, tries to head for the family office.

Bloom calls “mum, no!” at the same time her dad says “'Nessa stop!”  

But Vanessa darts away, just past the office door to grab a single box and out again, away from the spread of the fire.

Bloom feels a flicker of relief for half a second before something in the house explodes, letting out a torrent of flame in her mother's direction.

Bloom screams and flings out her hand as if she could do anything to stop what's about to happen.

For a heartbeat Bloom feels something well up inside her, something dark and powerful, and the wave of fire splits around her mother.

The trio stand, stunned, until Mike comes to his senses, “'Nessa, move!”

And they bolt to the door together, out onto the small lawn in time to see the lights of the fire trucks round the corner.  

-

In the days to come, they will recover the items which remain, few as they are. Bloom's childhood book of fairy stories was somehow untouched by the flames.

Mitzy will spread a new rumour about Bloom as part of her campaign to ruin Bloom's life, saying Bloom started the fire.

The investigation will rule it an accident, suspected faulty wiring in the art studio.

But Bloom knows, with an awful certainty: Mitzy was right for once, Bloom had started the fire somehow. She knows her parents suspect it too, but they won't say anything, not even about how Bloom had made the wave of fire part.

There's an elephant in the room now, it hovers awkwardly about their family, makes every conversation feel like trying to walk through broken glass in the dark without stepping on any.

Bloom tries not to go to sleep. She only makes it a few days before she finds herself constantly drifting off. Her parents watch her with fear, telling her to sleep.

But she can't, don't they understand that? What if she starts another fire?

She leaves their motel room, takes her phone and uses some of the money she earned from her art to by a sleeping bag and some snacks. Searches the internet for a place to stay with no people and as little flammable material as possible.

She finds an old warehouse that will do the trick. She buys a small fire extinguisher on her way there.

-

Her phone tells her she's slept for two days when she wakes up with a horrific dehydration headache.

She feels a little better for the sleep, she hasn't burned down the world while unconscious. There's a public showering area in a pool several blocks away, she manages to sneak in and get clean.

Begins to feel almost human again.

-

Bloom falls into a routine, sleeping in the warehouse, showering in the public washrooms, reading everything she can find on what the internet calls 'pyrokinesis'. The scientific side, or the fringe-science side of things feels wrong somehow.

She can't explain it, but something in her knows that's not the path she's looking for.

She tries folklore and myths instead. Feels pulled towards the stories of fae and dragons.

There's an abandoned quarry not far from town, and Bloom manages to make her way there with some candles, matches and her thankfully unused fire extinguisher.

She can't conjure fire, can't put it out, can't even provoke it. She's missing something, she knows, she can feel it.

Bloom comes across some 'majick' on one of the websites she finds looking for answers. A way to call a fae and force them to answer any questions you have. Bloom scoffs but takes a screenshot before backing out to another page.

Several days later she makes the mistake of looking at social media.

She's officially a runaway at this point, and Mitzy has used her absence to establish Bloom's guilt.

“Bloom burned her house down to fake her death to avoid facing charges of assault,” is the going theory.

It makes Bloom mad enough to set her sleeping bag on fire.

The following morning she buys a new one, and some things from the list of 'spell' ingredients. She's making no progress on her own, she's desperate.

Bloom returns to the quarry, she doesn't want the smell of incense in the warehouse, just in case. She fills a small bowl with water and a piece of quartz, waits for the moon to rise over head and does her best to match the google-translate’s reading of the 'some magical European language' the spell requires.

For a moment she sits, feeling like a fool, her eyes closed. Then she feels like she's falling.

Or flying?

There's a wind but it's intangible, a forest but it's colours are vibrant in a way Bloom's never seen, like they're leaking energy.

And then there's a tug, like someone has pulled her up short, and a woman with soft, pale brown hair and kind but curious eyes.

The woman opens her mouth but Bloom jerks back in shock, and startles so hard her leg flies out to knock over the bowl, spilling the water everywhere.

Bloom stays there for several long minutes, panting like she'd run a marathon, but then a real wind blows and her damp jeans go cold against her skin. She packs everything up and runs back to the almost safety of her warehouse.

-

Bloom is awoken by the sound of the warehouse door opening and closing. She's confused for a moment before the sound of two sets of footsteps has her scrambling upright, and out of her sleeping bag.

It's the woman from Bloom's... spell? Vision?

She smiles at Bloom, and Bloom feels herself relax.

“Hello, I'm Farah Dowling,” she gestures to herself. Behind Farah, a young woman, blonde and roughly to same age and nervousness level as Bloom, clears her throat slightly, so Farah Dowling adds: “And this is Stella,” Stella waves, “we're here to help you, if you'll let us?”

Bloom knows better than to trust strangers, but this woman had been in her vision.

“You can help me?” Bloom asks, her voice sounding far smaller and unused than she was expecting.

“I'd certainly like to try,” Farah says kindly, her hand reaching out to Bloom, letting Bloom make the choice.

Bloom gathers her things and takes Farah Dowling's hand, Farah squeezes it gently, it's comforting. Bloom sobs as she realises this is the first real human contact she's had in... weeks now.

“Come on,” Farah and Stella return to the warehouse door, “Stella, if you could?”

“Yes Miss Dowling,” Stella gives Bloom a quick eyebrow wiggle, like she's about to show off, and places her hand on the door.

'She has nice hands,' Bloom thinks distantly as the large sunburst ring on Stella's finger glows golden, the light spreading out to coat the door and it's frame.

When Stella opens it, the door no longer leads outside the warehouse, but out into a verdant forest. Bloom can smell the leaf litter, there's the smell of moisture, like there's rain about to fall.

Stella steps through into the forest, holding the door open for Farah and Bloom to follow.

“Welcome to Avalon,” Stella says as she sweeps out an arm to indicate the trees around her, “home of Alfea school for Heroics and Fairies.”

“Fairies?” Bloom can feel herself smiling, excitement building. Her parents had always affectionately despaired at her life long obsession with the mythological creatures.

...her parents...

Bloom wavered.

“Can, can I just have a moment to text my parents?” Bloom looks between the two... women? Fairies? She's afraid that any second this will turn out to be a dream, or worse, real and she'll somehow throw away her chance.

“Of course,” Farah says, her voice full of understanding, “take all the time you need.”

“As long as you only need ten minutes,” Stella cuts in, “because that's how much longer I can hold this doorway open.”

Farah gives Stella a fond but exasperated look.

Bloom shakes her head, “I only need two minutes, tops.” She pulls out her phone, spends thirty seconds undoing the call blocker and sends her text before reinstalling the blocker, too scared to hear her parents reply.

What if it was “stay gone”?

“I'm ready,” Bloom says, and Farah ushers her through into Avalon.

-

[I'm OK. Sorting some things out. I Love You Both.]

Mike and Vanessa almost collapse in relief, their baby girl is alright. They tell the police to stop actively looking for Bloom, but to keep an eye out, and to tell her they miss her if she's seen.

The pray she'll come home on her own.

[abusybuzzingbee]

Phantom Traveler | Supernatural Season 1 Episode 4 Rewrite | Dean x Fem!Reader

A/N::: I’m so sorry I was away for so long, I have been very involved in the black lives matter movement on my other social media, and have been taking the time to participate in protests around my city. If you would like to get involved in the movement but don’t know how, I would be happy to point you in the direction of helpful websites for petitions you can sign and places you can donate to. Please take this time to do your part and stick up for our black brothers and sisters.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Major Characters: Dean Winchester, Reader, Sam Winchester

Warnings: Canon level violence, language, Dean and the reader being assholes to each other

Word Count: 7,927

Summary: The boys and the reader get a call from a man Dean and John worked a job for in the past. We learn a little bit about the reader’s past hunting experience, and possibly a newfound fear for her. 

Series Masterlist

Season 1 Masterlist

Click here for the series playlist!

You were sound asleep, curled up into yourself when a knock on the door brought you out of your slumber. 

“(Y/N)?”

‘Sam.’

“I got coffee, thought you could use some,” he called through the door.

You pushed yourself up out of the bed as you yawned, and walked over to the door of your motel room to open it for Sam. 

“Dude, you realize it’s six in the morning, right?” You scratched your head as you let Sam into the room.

“You sound like my brother.”

You playfully glared at him. “Don’t compare me to that asshole.”

“Here.” He handed you a coffee and a bag of what you assumed was a pastry.

“Thanks,” you replied, sitting on your bed with your stuff in hand. 

“Dean found a case,” the younger Winchester informed you.

“Oh, yeah? What’s up?”

Sam sat on the chair across from your bed near the table. “We don’t know. The guy on the phone didn’t say.”

“Guy on the phone?” You took a sip of your coffee as you let Sam answer.

“Yeah. Some guy my dad and Dean worked a case for a while back’s got another one for us. He called Dean.”

“Ah--” you nodded, “--gotcha. So, where’s he live?”

“Pennsylvania,” Sam responded. 

“Okay, not too far,” you noted. “I’ll be ready in fifteen.”

***

“Thanks for making the trip so quick,” a short older man named Jerry told you and the boys. “I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean and your dad really helped me out.”

You were walking beside Sam as you followed behind the man who was having you do this job. You were being led through a warehouse past planes as well as their parts as well as people hard at work.

“Yeah, he told me. It was a poltergeist?” Sam asked the older man.

Someone walking in front of your group was eavesdropping on you. “Poltergeist? Man, I loved that movie.”

“Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking,” Jerry stated authoritatively to the man. He turned his attention back to the conversation. “Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart.” He addressed Dean. “Tell you something, if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?”

“Yeah, I was. I'm—taking some time off,” Sam explained.

“Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time.”

“He did?”

“Yeah, you bet he did,” Jerry nodded. “Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?”

“He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now,” Dean lied. 

“Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam and-- what’s your name again?” he asked you.

“(Y/N).”

“(Y/N). Even trade, huh?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t say that,” you laughed.

“Say, (Y/N), how’d you get wrapped up with these two?”

“Oh, uh--”

‘Time to improvise. Probably not the best time to get into the daddy dearest situation.’

“--I met them on a hunt in California, I had just lost my hunting partner and was in need of some new ones.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. The guys are gonna need backup with this one,” Jerry described. 

“Why?” you asked.

He did not give a direct answer to your question. “I got something I want you guys to hear.”

He led you to his office where you and Sam took the two chairs and Dean stood behind his brother.

”I listened to this. And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley,” Jerry stated, putting a CD into a drive. “Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours.”

A frantic voice immediately rang out from the speaker as soon as the recording started. “Mayday! Mayday! Repeat! This is United Britania 2485--” the recording cut out with a static sound, “--immediate instruction help! United Britanis 2485, I copy your message--” and cut out again, “--May be experiencing some mechanical failure--” and then cut out one last time. The man’s voice was completely drowned out by static, whooshing, and growling sounds.

“Took off from here, crashed about two hundred miles south,” Jerry continued. “Now, they're saying mechanical failure. Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board. Only seven got out alive. Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh...well, he's pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault.”

“You don't think it was?” Sam questioned him.

“No, I don't.”

“Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, um, a list of survivors,” Sam listed.

“All right,” the man replied.

“And, uh, any way we can take a look at the wreckage?” Dean inquired.

“The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage...guys--and gal--the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance.” Jerry shook his head.

You frowned.

“No problem,” Dean declared.

You gave him a questioning look to which he shrugged off.

***

“How fucking long does it take to make a fake ID?” you groaned, falling back across the backseat of the Impala. You and Sam had found a way to isolate the EVP on Sam’s computer, having gotten a copy of the tape from Jerry.

“I don’t know,” Sam responded. “But I’m gonna lose it if it’s much longer.”

“Same here.” At that moment, Dean walked out of the Copy Jack the Impala was sitting in front of as a pretty woman walked into the store. 

They greeted each other before Dean walked over to you and his brother.

“Dude,” you started, “You’ve been in there forever.”

“Wah-wah,” he whined, mocking you. “You can’t rush perfection.” He held up three IDs.

“Homeland Security?” Sam questioned as he took one of the IDs. “That's pretty illegal, even for us.”

“Yeah, well, it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times,” Dean pointed out as he got into the car.

“All right, so, what do you got?” Dean asked his brother as he flicked your ID back at you. It hit you square in the side of the head. 

“Dude, really?” you hissed, aggravation clear in your tone.

“Shhh,” the older Winchester hushed you as he waited for Sam to answer.

“Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder,” Sam explained.

“Yeah?”

“Listen.”

The isolated voice of what you were dealing with came through the recording scratchy and backed by demonic growling sounds. “No survivors!”

“’ No survivors’?” Dean asked. “What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors.”

You shrugged.

Dean let out a sigh. “So, what are we thinking? A haunted flight?” 

“There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers,” Sam began.

Dean hummed in affirmation.

“Or remember flight 401?”

“Right. The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and copilot haunted those flights.”

“I don’t know, guys,” you stated skeptically. “Ghost just doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, thanks for your optimism, sunshine,” Dean quipped.

“It’s not about optimism, you asshole, it’s about being right and dealing with whatever we’re up against properly,” you pushed back.

“Know-it-all,” the older Winchester replied. 

“Fuck off, Winchester.”

He let out a breath and turned his attention back to the case.“All right, so, survivors, which one do you want to talk to first?”

"Third on the list: Max Jaffey,” you said.

“I wasn’t talking to you, but why him?”

You glared at Dean. “Because if anybody saw something weird, he did. I talked to his mom while you were spending forever in the store. She said some pretty weird shit and told me where to find him. He was so screwed up, he checked himself into the hospital.”

***

You and the Winchesters walked beside Max Jaffey, who hobbled on a cane, through the Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital’s garden. 

“I don't understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security,” Max told your trio.

“Right. Some new information has come up,” Dean lied. “So if you could just answer a couple questions...”

“Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything...unusual?” Sam questioned.

Max looked confused. “Like what?”

“Strange lights, weird noises, maybe. Voices,” Dean offered. 

“No, nothing.”

Seeing as no one was getting anywhere with this investigation, you tried your hand at it. “Mr. Jaffey, you checked yourself in here, right?”

He nodded at you.

“Why?”

“Uh, I was a little stressed,” he said sarcastically. “I survived a plane crash.”

“Uh-huh,” you nodded. “And that’s what scared you? That’s what screwed you up so badly?”

You could tell you were close to the answers you were after as he swallowed uncomfortably. “I--I don't want to talk about this anymore.”

“I know, but I also know you saw something up there,” you continued. “We need to know what.”

“No.” Max shook his head. “No, I was...delusional. Seeing things.”

“He was seeing things,” Dean half-mocked him.

You shot a warning glance at Dean, hoping to get him to shut up. 

“It's okay,” you coaxed. “Just tell us what you thought you saw, please.”

“There was...this—man. And, uh, he had these...eyes—these, uh...black eyes. And I saw him—or I thought I saw him...” he trailed off, stopping as he recounted the events.

“What?” Dean asked.

“He opened the emergency exit,” Max explained. “But that's...that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door.”

“Yeah,” Dean confirmed, clearly confused. 

“This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It would look something like a mirage?” Sam asked.

Max quirked his head at the younger Winchester. “What are you, nuts? He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me.”

***

“I think we can rule out phantom traveler,” you noted as you got out of the car in front of the Phelps’s house. You were going to visit the wife of George Phelps, the man who opened the emergency exit. 

“Why?” Dean asked.

“You heard Jaffey. He said the dude had black eyes. Opened a fucking emergency exit on his own. Black eyes give me big demon vibes.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “Demons?”

“I mean, it makes sense,” Sam shrugged. “He could be a demon. He might be some kind of a creature, too, in human form.”

“Does that look like a creature's lair to you?” Dean questioned as he gestured toward the house that was representative of the essence of suburban houses. From its beautiful garden to the cobblestone steps to the beige paint coating the outside of the two-story building.

Sam shrugged and began leading your trio up the steps of the house. 

Once inside, you three sat across from Mrs. Phelps on the couch while she sat in an armchair. 

Sam picked a picture of Mrs. Phelps and an older man up off of the side table. “This is your late husband?” he asked.

“Yes, that was my George.”

“And you said he was a...dentist?” Dean questioned. 

She hummed in affirmation. “He was headed to a convention in Denver. Do you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that...”

Sam asked another question. “How long were you married?”

“Thirteen years.”

“In all that time, did you ever notice anything...strange about him, anything out of the ordinary?”

“Well...uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean.”

You nodded, clicking your tongue. “I think that’s all we have for you, Mrs. Phelps. Thank you for your time.”

She showed all of you out, and you piped up as you walked down the stairs outside of the house. 

“Demon’s sounding more and more correct all the time,” you smiled, trying to joke around.

“Jesus, you’re a know-it-all,” Dean groaned.

“And you’re a misogynistic asshole that can’t handle women with brains,” you responded. 

“What, are we gonna duke this out now?” Dean stopped by the door of the car, facing you. 

You stood by the backseat’s door. “You started it,” you taunted childishly, crossing your arms over your chest as you stared back at him. 

“Really?” he leered. “You’re gonna pull that card? Mature.”

“You act like you’re any better.”

“Guys--” Sam tried to cut in, but Dean continued to fight with you. 

“You’re such a bitch.”

“Wow, haven’t heard that one before,” you drawled.

“Guys! You can fight later. Wrong place, wrong time to sort this out,” Sam chastised you and Dean like you were children.

You got in the car and slammed the door behind you.

“Don’t hurt my baby ‘cause you’re pissed,” Dean scolded you as he started to pull the car away. 

“Just drive, asshole” you grumbled in frustration as you slumped down in your seat.

The rest of the car ride to the local outlet mall was silent.

***

You had never felt more confident.

Despite the fact that you could have worn the one dress you already had to pose as homeland security, you decided to treat yourself to a new outfit to distract from your aggravation with Dean. 

The boys had gone to a suit shop called “Mort’s for Style,” and you went into a dress shop called “Betsy’s.” It was a cute little shop with a lot of great dress and pantsuit options.

You had picked out a navy blue pantsuit. You wore a white button-up underneath the blazer with the top two buttons undone to accentuate your breasts. The blazer was unbuttoned, and the high-waisted, straight-legged pants you wore matched the navy color of your blazer. With the white button-up tucked into your pants and the small amount of makeup you threw on to draw attention to your eyes and lips, you felt good. 

Once you had paid for your clothing, you walked out of the shop and back to the Impala. Surprisingly, the boys were not there waiting for you. 

You leaned your back against the car, picking out the grit from under your nails.

You looked up when you heard Dean’s voice. “Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers.” 

Both of the boys were dressed in sharp, black suits. 

“No, you don't,” Sam told him. “You look more like a...seventh-grader at his first dance.”

You laughed at the younger brother’s jeer. “What took you girls so long?” you asked once you got in the Impala. “I thought you two would’ve beat me out the store by a long shot.”

“Dean wouldn’t leave the dressing room,” Sam said dryly.

“Seriously?” you droned.

You and Sam both looked to Dean, who did not answer immediately. When he finally spoke, he complained, “I hate this thing.”

“Hey,” Sam stared. “You want into that warehouse or not?”

Dean rolled his eyes as he continued to drive along.

***

You steeled your nerves as your white, pointed-toe pumps clicked across the warehouse floor. Your trio was headed to the security guard that would allow you in to see the wreckage.

You held the clipboard you had stowed in your bag close to your chest, acting as some sort of a recorder for the boys. The three of you flashed your badges at the security guard, who nodded and allowed you into the hangar where the wreckage was being kept.

There was a large map of what the plane should look like painted onto the floor, and the parts that corresponded to the different portions of the map were laid in their proper spots. There were wires hung on fences and broken interior parts of the plane laid on tables. The most heartbreaking things for you to look at were the torn passengers’ seats because most of the people who had been in them were now dead.

You looked over at Dean, who had earbuds in and was moving a small box over the tops of the wreckage.

“What’s that?” you asked him.

“It's an EMF meter. Reads electromagnetic frequencies.”

You got closer to him, noticing what the object appeared to be. “I know what an EMF meter is, I’m not stupid. But why does that one look like a busted-up walkman?”

“'Cause that's what I made it out of. It's homemade,” he grinned.

“Yeah, I can see that,” you quipped. 

His grin disappeared. “Bitch.”

“Dick.”

Dean ran the Walkman over a piece of the wreckage with yellow dust on it. You could hear the faint sound of a spike on the meter through Dean’s headphones.

“Check out the emergency door handle,” Dean called to Sam. 

Sam came over to where you and Dean stood as the older brother scratched at the dust to get some on his hand.

“What is this stuff?” Dean asked.

One way to find out.” You saw the younger of the two brothers start scraping some of the dust into a small bag when you smelled the familiar scents of coconut and tobacco fill the air around you.

“We need to go,” you told the boys.

“What, why?” Sam asked.

“No time to explain, let’s just go, please.”

You started off toward the exit in the back of the warehouse. 

“Wait, (Y/N), what if we’re missin’ something?” Dean questioned, clearly aggravated you were ready to ditch already.

“Too bad, we gotta go.” You kept walking toward the exit, making it out of the door and around the backside of the building. 

At that moment, an alarm started blaring through the area surrounding the warehouse.

You turned around to look at the boys as you gloated, “I’m not gonna say, ‘I told you so’!“ Not bothering to rip your shoes off of your feet, you took off running to the gated exit. 

Sam and Dean were quick to follow you and soon passed you up. The older brother took off his suit jacket and threw it over the barbed wire at the top of the fence. You did the same with your blazer. After quickly taking off your pumps to avoid hurting yourself when you jumped from the top of the gate, you threw yourself over the fence. The other two did the same.

Sam grabbed your blazer that you were too small to reach from the top of the fence as Dean found it within himself to remark, “Well, these monkey suits do come in handy.”

You ran after the two boys, heels and blazer in hand as the jagged rocks in the cement cut into your feet. As soon as you shut the door to the car, Dean slammed on the gas pedal.

He tore out of the warehouse’s parking lot, speeding down the road to head toward Jerry’s workplace. 

"(Y/N),” Sam started, turning in his seat to face you with a curious expression on his face, “how did you know that?”

Without hesitation, you lied, “I heard footsteps down the hallway. Sounded like they were running. Didn’t want to chance being what they were running towards.”

“Well then how come we couldn’t hear 'em?” Dean asked, his eyes flickering toward you in the rearview mirror. 

“Maybe you’re just deaf, Dean-o,” you quipped.

“Don’t give me your smart-ass bull crap,” he warned. “I was closer to where we came in than you were. I would’ve heard them coming first. Tell me what really happened.”

“Dude, I don’t know what else to tell you. I heard them coming, you didn’t. Simple as that,” you shrugged.

He studied you for a brief moment in his mirror, and you could tell he knew something wasn’t right. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you questioned. 

“‘Cause I know you’re lying.”

You scoffed. “Can you just get off my back? I’m not lying.”

“(Y/N)--” 

“No, just stop. Get off my dick and leave me alone.”

Dean shook his head, his frustration with you clear.

***

You refused to speak to or even look at Dean, your frustration with the fact that he had caught onto you and his general existence boiling to the surface. You could feel his stare burning into the side of your head as you focused on Jerry, who sat in front of you. He was looking through a microscope on his desk at the yellow dust Sam had collected.

“Huh,” Jerry remarked. “This stuff is covered in sulfur.”

“You're sure?” Sam asked.

“Take a look for yourself,” Jerry offered, getting up from behind the desk so Sam could take his place. 

Banging sounds along with a string of curse words caught your ear as Jerry sighed. 

“If you guys will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire,” he dryly stated, walking out of the office.

You got up from the chair you were sat in next to Dean. “See?” you started excitedly, gesturing toward the sulfur with finger guns, “Demons.”

“That would explain how one guy had the strength to open up the emergency exit,” Sam added.

“This goes way beyond floating over a bed or barfing pea soup. I mean it's one thing to possess a person, but to use them to take down an entire airplane?” Dean put his hands on his hips as he stood. “You ever heard of something like this before?” 

Sam looked over at his brother, who responded, “Never.”

“Well, I have,” you began.

They both looked to you to continue.

“In NYC a couple years back. Some cabbies had gotten possessed and were takin’ girls left and right.”

“Those were demons?” Sam asked, standing up from behind Jerry’s desk. “That was a huge deal on the news while I was at Stanford. Police thought it was a serial killer. You took ‘em on all by yourself?”

“I’m a big girl, Sam,” you chuckled. “I can handle a few demons. But, yeah, that was me. That was one of the toughest cases I’ve ever been on. Finding where those demons had taken those girls after they drugged them in the cabs... where they were raped and murdered...” You shook your head, your cheery expression gone. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Sam told you gently. 

Your eyes were glued to the floor, hands on your hips with not a bit of life in your voice as you muttered, “All in a day’s work.”

***

Sam had asked you to tell him and Dean everything you knew about demons once you got back to the Winchesters’ motel room. Sam sat at the table close to the window while Dean sat on the bed closest to his brother. You stood in front of the two as you spoke.

“Demons exist in every religion in every world culture. With the ones that I was dealing with up in New York, they were most similar to Incubi from early Christian religion. Incubi raped sleeping girls. These demons drugged the girls to put them to sleep, then they raped them, and then they murdered them. What I’m thinking for these demons is that they’re most similar to certain Japanese demons. I had to look into these when I was trying to figure out how to kill the NYC demons. The Japanese believe demons cause certain disasters, whether it be natural or man-made. Some cause earthquakes, others cause disease--”

“And this one causes plane crashes?” Dean deadpanned, cutting you off.

You ignored him.

“Demons are having to find new ways to ratchet up the body count. Like with me in New York, Incubi can’t go about their old methods anymore. This demon probably evolved with the times like the Incubi did, and so it figured plane crashes were the best way to get its job done,” you continued.

Dean snorted, getting up from. the bed and turning away from you and his brother.

“What?” Sam asked.

He turned around, scratching the back of his neck. “I don't know, man. This isn't our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death, and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here.”

“Yeah. Me too,” the younger Winchester admitted.

Dean’s phone rang, and he answered it. “Hello?... Oh, hey, Jerry...Wha—Jerry, I'm sorry. What happened?... Where'd this happen?....I'll try to ignore the irony in that...Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll catch up with you soon.”

He hung up the phone. 

“Another crash?” Sam questioned, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah. Let's go.”

“Where?”

“Nazareth.”

***

After leaving the horrendous scene of Chuck’s plane crash, you and the boys went back to Jerry’s office. Once again, Jerry confirmed that the dust you had taken from the steering wheel of the plane was, in fact, sulfur. 

“Well, that's great,” Dean sassed. “All right, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him.”

“If that's the case, that would be the good news,” you chimed in. You looked up to the sky, addressing the pilot. “No offense, Chuck.”

“What's the bad news?” Jerry asked you.

“Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into the flight, just like 2485,” you informed the older man.

“Forty minutes?” Chuck inquired. “What does that mean?”

“It's biblical numerology. You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death,” Dean said.

“I went back, and there hav====e been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in,” Sam explained.

"Any survivors?” the older Winchester questioned his brother.

“No. Or not until now, at least, not until flight 2485, for some reason.” Sam turned to you after thinking for a moment. “On the cockpit voice recorder, remember what the EVP said?”

“‘No survivors,’“ you realized. “It's going after all the survivors. It's trying to finish the job.”

***

Dean drove the Impala down an empty highway. 

Sam was on the phone with one of the survivors from the plane crash, the conversation almost over. “Really? Well, thank you for taking our survey, And if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “All right. That takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flying anytime soon.”

“That leaves the flight attendant, Amanda Walker,” you commented.

“Right. Her sister Karen said her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight P.M. It's her first night back on the job,” Sam told you and his brother. 

“That sounds like just our luck,” Dean monotoned, his sarcasm strong.

“Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man, even with you behind the wheel,” Sam said worriedly.

“Call Amanda's cellphone again, see if we can't head her off at the pass,” Dean tried.

“I already left her three voice messages. She must have turned her cellphone off.”

“God, we're never gonna make it,” you shook your head, leaning back in the seat as you scrubbed a hand through your hair.

“We'll make it,” the older brother countered, slamming his foot on the gas. 

***

Somehow, someway, Dean had managed to get to the airport at ten minutes to seven. 

You jumped up out of the car, taking your gun out of your pants and stashing it under the backseat.

“What are you doing?” 

You still did not feel like talking to Dean but answered him shortly nonetheless. “We’re going into an airport.”

Dean finally caught onto what you meant and took all of his weapons off of him, too.

You rushed into the airport just behind the boys, squeezing your way through the crowd of people to get to the departure board.

“Right there,” Sam pointed out. “They're boarding in thirty minutes.”

“Okay. We still have some cards to play,” Dean paused, thinking for a moment.  “We need to find a phone.” 

He found a courtesy on the wall, picking it up. “Hi. Gate thirteen...I'm trying to contact an Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on flight, um...flight 4-2-4.”

He waited impatiently for Amanda to pick up the phone. When she finally did, he began speaking again.

“Miss Walker. Hi, this is Dr. James Hetfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We have a Karen Walker here...Nothing serious, just a minor car accident, but she was injured, so—...” His face fell, his eyes widening a touch. “You what?... Uh, well...there must be some mistake--”

Sam went around his brother to try to get a closer listen. 

After a longer pause, Dean let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “...Guilty as charged...He's really sorry...Yes, but...he really needs to see you tonight, so--... Don't be like that. Come on. The guy's a mess. Really. It's pathetic...Oh, yeah...No, no. Wait, Amanda. Amanda!”

Dean slammed the phone back onto the receiver. “Damn it! So close.”

"Alright, time for plan B. We're getting on that plane,” you stated firmly.

“Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second.” For the first time since you met him, Dean looked scared.

“Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash,” Sam argued.

“I know.”

“Okay. So we're getting on the plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it. I'll get the tickets. You and (Y/N) get whatever you can out of the trunk. Whatever that will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes.”

Dean looked at Sam blankly, evidently a little anxious.

“Are you okay?” the younger Winchester asked.

“No, not really.”

“What? What's wrong?”

“Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh...”

“Flying?” you cut in.

“It's never really been an issue until now,” he told you.

“You're joking, right?” you huffed.

“Do I look like I'm joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere, (Y/N)?” he spat.

“Oh, man up,” you gibed.

“Hey, hey--” Sam tried to calm you both down before a fight broke out. “(Y/N) and I’ll go.”

Dean turned to his brother. “What?”

“We’ll handle this one.”

“What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash.”

“Dean, we can do it together, or I can do this one with (Y/N). I'm not seeing a third option, here.”

“Come on! Really? Man...”

***

Dean walked much faster than you did toward the car to get supplies, clearly trying to leave you in his dust.

“Would you slow down a bit, asshole?” you asked.

“Why should I?”

“Because even if you get to the car before me, you’re not gonna have a fucking clue what to use to deal with a demon,” you reminded him, your words a bit more venomous than need-be.

He stopped, turning to face you. “Are you calling me stupid?”

“No,” you told him.

“Definitely sounds like you are.”

You walked past him to the trunk of the Impala. “I wasn’t, I’m simply pointing out the fact that I’m the one who knows how to deal with demons, and you don’t.”

“There you go again. Acting like you know so much better than I do.”

Your voice rose as you defended yourself. “Because I do! In this case, at least!”

“But it’s not just this one time that you acted like you’re better than me,” he argued. “Do you realize how frustrating it is to deal with your smart ass?”

“Do you realize how frustrating it is to deal with yours?” you threw back. You sighed, putting aside your anger for now. “Look, we don’t have time to talk about this.” You shoved holy water, a rosary, and the EMF Walkman into Dean’s hands. “Now, let’s go.” 

You shoved past Dean and headed back to the airport.

***

You sat closest to the window of the plane, completely at ease. Dean, however, was losing his mind as he sat in the aisle seat.

"Just try to relax,” Sam whispered, who sat between you. 

Dean’s voice came back harder and slightly louder. “Just try to shut up.”

“Oh, don’t be a baby,” you scolded, leaning forward in your seat to look at Dean.

“Don’t be a bitch,” Dean clapped back using the same tone with you that he had with Sam. He took in a sharp breath when the plane began moving a second later. 

You and Sam snickered to yourselves as you leaned back in your seats.

A few minutes later when the plane had gotten up in the air, you heard the familiar sound of a song you had heard many times before in the Impala coming from two seats over from yours. 

“You're humming Metallica?” Sam asked Dean monotonously.

“Calms me down,” the older brother replied shortly. 

“‘Some Kind of Monster?’ Really?“ you questioned.

Dean did not respond to you.

“Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you got to stay focused,” the younger Winchester reminded his brother.

“Yup,” you chimed in. “We only have thirty-two minutes to track the bitch down and full-on exorcise it.” 

“Yeah, on a crowded plane,” Dean commented. “That's gonna be easy.”

“Just take it one step at a time, alright?” Sam said calmly. “Now, who is it possessing?” 

“It's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm through. Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress,” Dean stated.

“Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up,” Sam told Dean, who hummed in response.

Dean sat up stiffly, his body still tense as he turned to the blonde flight attendant walking past.

“Excuse me. Are you Amanda?” he asked her.

“No, I'm not,” she answered with a smile.

"Oh, my mistake.”

The flight attendant hummed in agreement.

He peered into the back of the plane, finding the other blonde flight attendant. “All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there, so I'll go talk to her, and, uh, I'll get a read on her mental state.”

“What if she's already possessed, genius?” Sam asked.

“There's ways to test that,” Dean responded, pulling the holy water out of his jacket. “I brought holy water.”

“Correction, I brought holy water--” you leaned forward, snatching the bottle, “--And that’s for when we try to exorcise the demon. She’ll flinch at the name of god if she’s possessed.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Dean replied. You could tell he had not. 

He turned to go, but you stopped him.

“Dean!” you whispered.

“What?”

“Say it in Latin.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Then what is it?” you smirked, quirking a brow.

“‘Christo!’ I’m not an idiot!” he hissed back. Dean turned away from you and headed to the back of the plane. 

You slumped down in your seat, closing your eyes as the copilot began speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your first officer speaking...” you tuned out the rest of his message.

A few minutes went by before Dean returned.

“All right, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet,” he sighed as he flopped back into his seat.

“You said ‘Christo’?” Sam asked.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“There's no demon in her. There's no demon getting in her.”

“So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone. Anywhere,” Sam explained.

The plane shook, causing Dean to tense up. “Come on!” he whined. “That can't be normal!”

“Hey, hey, it's just a little turbulence,” Sam coaxed.

“Sam, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treating me like I'm friggin' four.

“Okay,” you started, your tone harsh. “You need to calm down.”

“Well, I'm sorry I can't,” Dean sassed, his grip still tight on the arms of his chair.

“You didn’t want to be treated like you’re four, so stop acting like it,” you commanded. “Be a man, Winchester. If you’re a basketcase, you’re wide open to possession. Get your shit together. Right now.”

Dean took a deep breath.

“Great. Onto the Rituale Romanum.”

“The what?” Sam and Dean asked in unison.

“The exorcism ritual,” you elaborated. “It's two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful.”

“More powerful?” Dean questioned, his voice strained and eyes wide.

“Yup.”

“How?”

“It’d just be able to wreak havoc on its own without a vessel,” you informed.

“Oh. And why is that a good thing?”

“'Cause the second part of that sends the bitch back to hell once and for all.”

“First things first, we got to find it.”

“Oh, look at that, Dean-o’s finally taking charge,” you chuckled.

“Shut up,” Dean grumbled, getting up from his chair with the EMF Walkman.

You and Sam let him walk down the aisle by himself for a few minutes before the two of you got up to go talk to him.

You tapped his shoulder.

“Ah!” Dean jumped back, wheeling around to face you. “Don’t do that!”

“Anything?” Sam asked.

The older brother shook his head. “No, nothing. How much time we got?” 

“Fifteen minutes,” Sam told you and his brother. “Maybe we missed somebody.” 

“Maybe the thing's just not on the plane,” Dean shrugged.

“No way. Dean, it’s gonna be here,” you protested. Just as you spoke, the EMF meter spiked. 

You looked up to see the copilot coming out of the bathroom.

“What?” Sam asked. “What is it?”

You stared at the copilot. “Christo.”

The man’s head slowly turned toward you and the boys, his eyes black.

You wheeled around to face Sam.

“We gotta talk to Amanda.”

“She's not gonna believe this,” Sam contested.

“You’re probably right, but we only got twelve minutes,” you reminded the younger brother. You walked ahead of the boys into the concessions area where Amanda busied herself.

“Oh, hi. Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope,” she smiled politely, clearly caught off-guard by your presence.

“Actually--” Dean began, “--that's kind of what we need to talk to you about.”

Sam closed the curtains behind you as Amanda answered Dean.

“Um, okay. What can I do for you?”

“Alright, this is gonna sound nuts, but we just don't have time for the whole ‘the truth is out there’ speech right now,” Dean rushed out.

She looked confused but kept her smile painted on her face.

“Alright, look, we know you were on flight 2485,” Sam continued for Dean.

Her grin disappeared. “Who are you guys?”

Sam ignored her question. “Now, we've spoken to some of the other survivors. We know something brought down that plane and it wasn't a mechanical failure.”

“We need your help because we need to stop it from happening again. Here. Now,” the older brother told her.

“I'm sorry--” she started, attempting to move past you, “--I—I'm very busy. I have to go back—”

"Chuck Lambert’s dead, Amanda,” you cut in, effectively stopping her from leaving. “The pilot from 2485.”

“Wait. What?” She turned to face you, her eyebrows furrowed. “Chuck is dead?”

“Yeah,” you said quietly. “He died in a plane crash. That’s the second plane crash in two months. Doesn’t that strike you as weird?”

She shook her head in complete disbelief.

“Look, there was something wrong with 2485,” Sam added. “Now maybe you sensed it, maybe you didn't. But there's something wrong with this flight, too.”

Dean made a last attempt to drive the point home. “Amanda, you have to believe us.”

The blonde looked to the ground. “On...on 2485, there was this man. He...had these eyes.”

“Black eyes?” you asked.

She nodded.

“That’s exactly what we’re talking about,” Sam clarified.

“I don't understand, what are you asking me to do?”

Dean answered before you got the chance to. “Okay. The copilot, we need you to bring him back here.”

Amanda looked between the three of you, confused. “Why? What does he have to do with anything?”

“Don't have time to explain. We just need to talk to him. Okay?”

“How am I supposed to go in the cockpit and get the copilot—”

Even Sam was getting impatient. “Do whatever it takes. Tell him there's something broken back here, whatever will get him out of that cockpit.”

“Do you know that I could lose my job if you—”

“Honey, you're gonna lose a lot more if you don't go get him right now,” you remarked.

She looked at you and nodded, turning to leave for the cockpit.

As soon as Amanda made it out of the curtains, you fished the holy water out of your hoodie’s pocket, moving to press your back against the wall next to the closed blue curtains.

Dean, however, shoved his way to that spot just before you could. 

You stumbled back, regaining your footing while fussing at Dean. “Um, Earth to asshole--” you moved to stand next to him against the wall, “--I was kind of standing there.”

He turned his face back to you over his shoulder. “Yeah,” he smirked. “I know.” Dean winked at you before turning back to face the curtain.

“Dick.”

“Bitch.”

“Guys!” Sam objected. “Focus, please.”

You heard the copilot say to Amanda, “Yeah, what's the problem?” Just outside the curtains. As soon as the demon ducked into the small room, Dean punched him in the face. He then shoved the demon to the ground and slapped duct tape over his mouth. 

“Wait,” Amanda protested as you got down on the ground beside Dean, “What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him.”

“We are gonna talk to him,” Dean replied simply as you splashed the copilot with holy water.

The demon groaned under the duct tape, his skin sizzling and burning holes through his shirt.

“Oh, my god. What's wrong with him?” Amanda cried.

“Look,” Sam started calmly, “We need you calm. We need you outside the curtain.”

“Well, I don't underst—I don't know—”

“Don't let anybody in, okay? Can you do that? Can you do that? Amanda?”

She gave herself a pep talk before heading outside of the curtains.

“Hurry up, Sam,” Dean groaned. “I don't know how much longer I can hold him.”

The demon went to kick the older Winchester in the back, but you dove to grab his legs.

Sam began reciting the Latin ritual written in his father’s journal. “Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino—”

The demon kneed you in the forehead, causing you to fall back and got a few good swings at the boys in as well. You clambered on top of the copilot, sitting on his stomach with his arms pinned by his sides under your legs.

Sam continued with the ritual before the demon threw you off of him. He ripped the tape off of his mouth and turned to Sam.

“I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning!”

You attempted to recover from getting slammed into the wall while Dean focused on attacking the demon.

Sam sat there in shock, so you grabbed the journal and tried to finish the ritual.

The demon hit Dean again, effectively getting the young man off of him and knocking Dean into you. The book fell from your hand, and the demon kicked it out into the passenger’s cabin.

A cloud of black smoke flew out from the copilot’s body and into a vent while Sam went out into the aisle to find the journal. 

Suddenly, the plane shook violently and took a nosedive. The lights in the plane flickered and you and Dean were thrown to the back wall of the concession’s area. 

You and Dean screamed as the plane went down. Dean held onto the emergency exit door for dear life as you pressed yourself into the corner opposite from the older Winchester.

Your yelps were cut off when the plane leveled out following a surge of electricity coursing through the aircraft. You assumed Sam was able to finish the ritual and the pilot was able to regain control of the plane. 

You shakily stood up from the ground and dusted yourself off, tugging on the sleeves of your large hoodie.

You stepped out into the passenger’s cabin, heading to Sam as people began asking their neighbors if they were okay.

You wrapped Sam in a short, tight hug as you thanked him for keeping his head level enough to finish the ritual. When you let him go, there was a slight tremble that rolled through the aircraft carrier. You took in a sharp breath, gripping onto the seats on either side of you as you faltered.

You looked up at Sam, eyes wide. “I think this whole demon dealio might’ve awakened my new biggest fear.”

***

After landing back at your original airport, you stood beside Sam and Dean as you watched the swarms of EMTs, FBI agents, and FAA agents go from person to person. They questioned or looked over each one, and your focus bounced between each one.

You found Amanda in the crowd talking to an FBI agent, and she turned to the side to mouth “thank you” to you and the Winchesters.

“Let's get out of here,” Dean said firmly.

You began to head to the exit when Dean asked Sam, “You okay?”

You turned back to Sam, who reminded you and his brother, “Dean, it knew about Jessica.”

“Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. All right? That's all it was.” The older brother attempted to brush Sam’s concerns off.

“Yeah,” Sam conceded.

“Come on.”

***

The next day, you and the Winchesters visited Jerry at his workplace to give him the final mission report.

Jerry showed you and the boys out and escorted you to the Impala parked outside of the warehouse. 

“Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed,” he acknowledged. He shook your hand before turning to the boys. 

“Your dad's gonna be real proud.”

Sam gave him an awkward tight-lipped smile. “We'll see you around, Jerry.”

You turned to the car, as did Dean before he turned back to the older man. 

“You know, Jerry,” he began.

“Yeah.”

“I meant to ask you, how did you get my cellphone number, anyway?” the young man continued. “I've only had it for like six months.”

“Your dad gave it to me,” Jerry explained simply.

“What?” Sam exclaimed in shock.

“When did you talk to him?” Dean questioned.

“I mean, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call.” He took a pause. “Thanks again, guys-- and gal,” he grinned.

“Bye, Jerry!” you called after him as he headed off.

“This doesn't make any sense, man. I've called Dad's number like fifty times. It's been out of service,” Sam told his brother.

Dean dials what you assumed was his father’s number. However, instead of the out-of-service message Sam had described, a voicemail began to play.

The two boys leaned into the phone so they could hear it better.

You leaned over Sam’s shoulder, the voice hard to hear, but you were still able to make out the words. 

“This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. He can help.”

Sam fumed, shaking his head in frustration as he got in the car. He slammed the door behind him.

You looked over to Dean, who did not meet your gaze. He got in the car following his brother.

You took one last look at the setting sun as a plane flew over your head. 

“I fuckin’ hate flying,” you muttered.

Tags are open and feedback is always appreciated!!

Series Rewrite Tags:

@rach5ive​ @ppeachygemss​

[tayylormclaren]

Week 9-Progress Start-up Venture

What is working:

Need To Talk To Your Customers-

Every business should talk to its customers as often as possible. If you run a retail store, talk to them a few times a week (if not every day). Find out what they like—and what they don’t like.

If you run an online business, ask a few survey questions after check out, or send a quick survey to your customers.

Buy Your website-

I am not buying a free website. When people come to my free website, it says that you’re not committed to this business and could be a total flake—first impressions matter.

Get Down To The Dollars And Cents-

I want my business to make money. I set a goal on how much I want to make for the year. I have broken down the number into each month to hit that goal.

Coupons-

I have handed many referral sources coupons to hand out to their clients to get their attention to stop in at my business.

What is not working:

The drawbacks-

I planned on still working full time and running a business, but in the end, I won’t have much time to pursue my own business. I will be mentally drained doing all my business work on weeknights and weekends, which I’ll sometimes have trouble doing. I want my business to do very well, but my business will take longer to start-up if I choose to stay employed.

I need to manage my cash-

One reason small businesses go bankrupt is a lack of cash, not a lack of profits. I struggle with my money, so I need to do good cash planning and understand the levers in my business that can affect my cash.

Bookkeeping-

 I tried to handle the bookkeeping position, but I realized that I need to hire a professional to help with this, but it’s essential to have a working sense of where things stand on my balance sheet.

My Business:

I love my home decor business because interior design and Home decoration are among the most popular in the industry. In the world, people want their homes decorative. I have many products that I will be selling in my business, such as Floor Decoration, Window Decoration, Garden & in-home planetary Decoration, Ceiling Decoration, Lighting Decoration, Christmas & Sessional Decoration, Kitchen Decoration, Bedroom Decoration, Livingroom Decoration, and Wall Decoration. From starting my business, I will not invest so many product holding and maintenance in the warehouse. From doing reach wholesaler companies are available in the market. Those companies provide you items in less amount, and they handle all the care of themself.

I choose to focus on the services that I offer to my customers. My service offering will provide one-on-one design inspiration for the customer, allow the customer to shop in various ways, and design a trade client base. These are my examples of the services I will be offering.

Corporate Gift Program: our corporate gift program will allow a business to purchase fun and unique gifts for their client or employee at a 10% discount. Another example is Newsletter:  To communicate with our customer base, we will publish a quarterly newsletter highlighting design trends, new product offers, gift-giving ideas, and decorating tips.

Others services are the following: Customized Giftwrap, Corporate Gift Program, Gift Certificates, Gift Registry & Wish List, Birthday Recognition, Makeover In A Day, ASID Discount, Newsletter, Customer Comment Card, Personal Shopper, Preferred Customer Shopping Events and Creative Workshops.

What I Am Learning About Running A Business:

It would be best if you listened online every day-

Your business is "always-on", even if you only operate between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Every business should set up alerts online to gauge what your market is saying about you, your competitors, and your demand in general. Google Alerts is an excellent tool for "listening" online (and it's free). Be the first to know when a customer gives you a bad review.

Need to know your competitor-

I need to know and understand both your direct and indirect competitors. I always need to keep an eye on my competitors. I need to know what they are doing, how they market, and their pricing.

It would be best if you had a higher purpose: a mission-

People like to work for businesses that are more than just a machine for making money. That doesn't mean that you can't have sales goals and profit goals; it just means that your employees will work harder and be more loyal if they feel like they contribute to a greater mission.

Keep your ego in check and listen to others-

Always be useful to your word and follow through on commitments, even when difficult and challenging.

What I Am Learning About Myself:

Don’t get discouraged-

Running a company is hard but Enjoy the process!

Find a problem, create a solution-

Talking to people is critical. Then create your product, brand, and marketing based around their needs and desires. It doesn’t work as well in reverse.

Partner up (If it’s right for you)-

I love working on my one and am motivated, so I will not recommend partnering with someone. Working on my own is rewarding.

Passion always beats money-making-

There are always unique opportunities in the market to make money. I know the reason why I wake up is not to make money. There is more life than to just money.

[zedecksiew]

Whalebone & Crabshell - Repost

Context: this story, “Whalebone & Crabshell”, was written around the time of the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis.

It was first published on Projek Dialog. Then it was performed on BFM89.9. Then it was published again in Dark Mountain: Issue 9. 

Since Projek Dialog has gone through a redesign, obliterating the story’s paragraphing on that website, I’m re-posting “Whalebone & Crabshell” here, in full. Illustrations by Sharon Chin.

+

WHALEBONE & CRABSHELL by Zedeck Siew, with illustrations by Sharon Chin

This is how our land is laid:

Firstly, the domains of the Sultan -- may God ever extend his years -- the groves and fertile paddy-lands; the ports and isles and cities, where spice is sold and timber traded; mosques full of devotees; loyal citizens talking in civilised tongues.

O our Sultan, may he reign safe upon the throne!

And then, the sea, full of bounty -- but also of pirates, submerged giants, ghosts of wind and water; playground of the Lordly Dragon, and the great spirit Root-of-Creation, who lives in the navel of the ocean --

O grand Mother Ocean, who is female, therefore occasionally chained but never tamed.

And then there are the inlands and the uplands: in the jungle interior, upriver, full of hidden primates and uncivilised peoples.

Indeed, to be an inlander is to live lawlessly, as a fugitive from the Sultan's justice -- and uplanders are all revolutionaries and deviants anyway; they practice schismatic rites and prostrate themselves before idols.

O God save us!

#

Our Sultan -- God save him -- in his thirty-third year, having crushed the rebellion of his admirals, decided to demonstrate his piety by bringing order to all benighted places.

Thus the headwaters were choked with barges, and armies bore into the forest deeps.

The hillside crops burned, the hillfolk bandits were slaughtered; the hidden valleys echoed with the screams of women and dying mercy-cries in throat-some languages.

Finally all the hinterlands were pacified, and the inlanders captured; disarmed; rounded up; assembled together in a great field, where they knelt of their own accord, awestruck and shivering at the sight of the Sultan’s yellow-gold pavilion.

So the Sultan turned to his advisors, saying: “O wise councillors, grant me your wisdom, in turn granted by God! What should be done with this rabble?”

#

And the Admiral, with his sickle-spear, said:

“Slay them down to the youngest son, no mercy should be shown. Only then can we be sure!”

But the Treasurer, with his pen and parchment, said:

“There are a thousand families, times seven members on average, times five minutes per execution at the quickest, also accounting for the number of axes dulled, good trees felled to provide stakes, pints of blood that will poison the soil -- no, my Sultan! It costs too much!”

So the Vizier, whispering into the Sultan’s ear, said:

“Exile these people, drive them to the sea / they will drown quickly!

“What better fate for squatters, thieves who stole the interior / territories by right your patrimony?”

“Oh yes sir, I’ve got a curse for that,” said the Holy Sorcerer. “They’ll never come back, sir, they’ll never set foot on dry earth again. It’s a simple spell.”

#

Therefore the Sultan -- God bless him with wisdom -- commanded eviction.

And the traitors were given the rotting planks of their dissembled hovels, to use as rafts, and they were banished down the river, through the delta, and off and out to the open water.

Some, swimming back to shore, found the tide turned against them; the harder they paddled, the farther the coast receded. Soon they tired, unable to fight the Sorcerer’s magical decree.

And thus floated -- tossed to and fro, a flotilla of sorry creatures, forsaken by both men and God. 

At first there was a storm. Torrential rain beating the waves down; thunder and flashing; they were soaked to the bone, and to the bones of their boats also. Many drowned.

Afterwards they drifted. Becalmed for many days, their sweat dried into salt on their arms -- a meagre wealth, salt without rice; they were rich only with hunger, and thirst, and heatstroke; filth and illness.

Their shamans called for succour. But their idols were abandoned in the mountains, and too distant to hear.

#

Between them all there were nine coils of cord, and a single hook, previously used to fish in streams -- and its owner, sensing his importance, said: 

“With my hook I will catch food. Hey, if you will owe me your lives, I should be leader!”

But the man was mostly a catfisher; his skills did not apply where they were; anyway there were only beads and loose goose-feathers to use as bait. So he caught nothing. 

And during the night the some ruffians came. They stabbed him with splintered stakes; in the morning they said: “We have the fishhook. Therefore: we should be leaders.”

“Ho, hear us!” they said. “Our plan: segregation. Families first. Ours. And also: all who we see are strong. The weak: they should be sacrificed. We eat the meat off their limbs. Survival for the fittest!”

Naturally, the others were dismayed. “Abomination!” the wise-women said. Together they flung the murderers bodily overboard.

#

Then they came to an island of pirates.

And the pirates -- dashing though misguided warriors, their costumes tied with red ribbons, their belts studded with sea-ivory – said:

“These souls, fleeing the Sultan’s cruelty, sadly they cannot live with us. To live a life of piratical liberty, one must have sea-worth, able to court and cower before Mother Ocean.”

“In their souls they are uplanders. They have hill-shaped hearts. They can neither read star-charts nor savour the taste of spray. They’re simply not made that way!”

Having justified themselves, the pirates of the island prepared a care package -- a barrel of beer; a netful of fish; twelve blankets, folded, lowered by crane onto the outcasts’ largest raft. Along with a letter, saying:

“Ho there travellers! Unfortunately, you may not settle here. Sorry! Have these gifts, no strings attached, with our sympathies, and this whale-bone recorder,” 

-- at which point a flute fell out of the unfolded page -- 

“with which you might use to attract a dragon-spirit’s pity. Hopefully! Thank you. Please go.”  

#

Past the island there was another storm, worse than the first.

By now their vessels were broken, their drink-barrel empty; fish all gone; their blankets torn apart by fighting. 

With the lightning, some clambered onto their wives’ backs -- and stretching their arms up, ate quick ends by electricity. Others, less lucky, fell into the foam -- these were dragged under. Unable to swim, too weak to struggle, they drank their deaths slower.

Among those who remained, their last wise-woman was angry at the world and everything in it.

Putting the bone flute to her lips, she stood with her back straight; her feet, each on a different log; a single note was what she played:

Shrill, clear as a horn, louder than thunderous hammer-sounds.

And she sang: “O lords of wind and water, heartless creatures! Torture us no longer! Take our lives, let us die, we offer ourselves! A sacrifice! We do not ask for mercy. Vengeance only!”

There was no human reply -- but a rumbling answer. An inhuman growl, a surging tremor from under-sea.

#

A sphere burst the surface: the size of a moon; black and smooth -- not round, ovoid now, and mounted on a tower the colour of cream.

An eyestalk, looking down.

And another. And then claws: rising west and east, each pincer-point a mountain, big and blurry with distance.

It was he who is called Root-of-Creation -- old spirit, eldest of spawn -- who'd heard the shaman’s summons. He is father of crabs, and all crabs come from him; he is the largest. Moving in the depths, his great weight makes the sea levels rise, and the tides.

The exiles, witness to such a fearful sight, cowered in terror; and even their shaman, the brave, foolish woman -- she waited there, expecting to be swallowed.

Root-of-Creation held still for a while. The curve of his shell is the breadth of continents; and inasmuch as a country could look thoughtful, he took his time to deliberate.

And, having decided, he picked them up, all of them, and he placed them upon his back. 

#

Back to the first, to the Sultan’s domains -- in the ports, in the cities, there were many whispers:

That a great wave was coming; that it had wiped out the pirate-isles; that the far villages were swept away by flying swordfish, and merchant ships by constrictor-eels; that the mermaids were gone, strangled.

And bird- and gull-flocks were seen flapping over the palace. They were fleeing. The Treasurer, with his abacus, his feet soaked in salt-water, tallied costs -- 

“A thousand families with no homes, times seven members on average, times two silver pieces per head, bearing in mind the twenty warehouses damaged, the dozen docks destroyed, plus fifteen galleys shattered beyond repair.”

The Admiral was not at court; the Vizier’s mansion was found vacant. Both had sought asylum in an enemy state.

The Holy Sorcerer, water up to his waist, said:

“I’ve got nothing, sir. Have you seen the size of that thing? That’s Root-of-Creation, the crab-god, he’s a top-level creature. Sir, none of my spells are anywhere near his tier.”

#

Therefore our Sultan -- may God grant him speed to save his own skin -- ordered for the capital to empty. 

And the citizenry obeyed, going bare-breasted through the flood; on their heads they carried babies, wicker-basketfuls of brass pieces, precious embroidery; they sat on floating bed-frames, paddling with hoes and ladles.

But at the city gates traffic slowed and halted, for the palanquins of noble families took priority. So there was a crush, a panicked clamour.

O God save us! 

In the portside districts, those few still left to see saw the surf draw away. By the piers, the long-ships settled at the bottom of the bay, and listed. And behind them, in the distance, inexorably approaching:

Grand Mother Ocean, fashioned into a wall, many leagues wide and some leagues tall -- 

Her insides darkened by some shadow, monstrous and crustacean; crowned with froth, topped with wreckage, ridden by rejoicing figures --

Those terrible people, those uplanders! All criminals, wretched heathens, spiteful by nature; with feet cursed never to touch earth again -- regaining their hillside homelands by drowning them, offering all lands to the sea.

They have betrayed us! O God have mercy!

+++

This author’s note ran with the story, in Dark Mountain:

In 2015 the Rohingya people – described as one of the most persecuted minorities on Earth – fled Burmese oppression en masse, on boats. But the neighbouring governments of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand vacillated. The owners of those boats were human traffickers. And these countries had no space left for refugees, of course. Of course.

So the Rohingya starved at sea. Malaysian citizens took to social media to express outrage at the unfolding humanitarian crisis. ‘How could we let this happen?’ But there was little action, and attention soon petered out.

I wrote Whalebone & Crabshell under a blanket of shame. It is not a story about the Rohingya. It is a story about me: how the reality of the Rohingya makes me feel powerless; how people like me – citizens of nation-states – tacitly condone and perpetuate the conditions that turn people into displaced persons.

The Rohingya are still trying to leave Burma. They are still dying: on boats, in jungle camps, in detention centres. But news about them doesn’t make headlines any more.

And these captions, alongside Sharon’s images:

1. The floral motif decorating the landmass in the first picture is a Thazin orchid, royal flower of Burma. The most prized come from mountains in Rakhine state, on the west of Burma bordering Bangladesh, which is also the traditional home of the Rohingya people.

2. The gilt borders feature the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) emblem, where "stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem represent the dream of ASEAN’s Founding Fathers [sic] for an ASEAN comprising all the countries in Southeast Asia, bound together in friendship and solidarity".

3. The crab god of the text is inspired by a Malay myth recorded in Skeat's "Malay Magic". The Pusat Tasek is a massive hole in the oceans' bottom. A gigantic crab dwells therein. It periodically leaves its home, and the volume of water its movements displace causes the rise and fall of the tides.

[loretranscripts]

Lore Episode 4: Dinner at the Afterglow (Transcript) - 20th April 2015

tw: cults, ghosts

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

The San Juan Islands are a cluster of small, wooded islands off the coast of Washington state, just across the water from Vancouver Island. The western most of those small plots of land is San Juan Island itself, which has a population of less than 7000 residents, and has the welcoming feel of a small, quiet town. Seriously, this place is quiet. The most exciting thing most people can think about of their home there is that one of the residents is Lisa Moretti, a retired female WWF wrestler. But on the northern tip of the island, just beyond Roche Harbour and the resort there, is a road that leads into the woods. What is hidden in those trees, away from the prying eyes of tourists and residents alike, is something so unusual, something so out of the ordinary and bizarre, that it practically begs for a visit. Travelling down the long dirt road that runs into the heart of the forest, like a withered artery, will bring you to an iron archway mounted on stone pillars. The words “Afterglow Vista” are woven into the metalwork. Beyond that, deeper into the woods, is a series of stone stairs that lead up a small hill, and it’s the thing on top of that hill that immediately catches the eye of every visitor, without question. It’s an open-air rotunda, a ring of tall, stone pillars, standing on a flat, circular limestone base. They’re connected at the top by thick, Maltese archways, but nothing covers the rotunda itself – its interior is completely exposed and visible. What’s inside? A large, round, stone table, surrounded by six limestone chairs. Odd, but not creepy, until you realise the purpose this monument serves. It’s a tomb. Resting inside each of the chairs is the cremated remains of a human being. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

In the late 19th century, San Juan Island became known for its lime deposits. Then, as now, lime was an essential ingredient in important products such as steel, fertilizer and cement, and the lime industry of San Juan Island provided much of the community’s jobs and revenue. In 1886, a man named John S. McMillin purchased controlling interest in the major lime deposits there, and eventually developed the industry there to be the largest supplier of lime on the West Coast. In the process, he built the 20-room Hotel de Haro at Roche Harbour, and then, a company town that surrounded it. In addition to the lime factory itself, he also built the barrel-works, warehouse, docks, ships, offices, a church, a general store and even barns. He even built houses for the workers, with the single men living in large bunkhouses, and the families being given small cottages that had been build into neat rows. All the structures belonged to McMillin, but his army of employees, over 800 of them at the peak of the business, gave them life. McMillin had a vision, for everyone living in one, big community. The town was self-sufficient with its own water, power, and telephone systems, and he paid his workers in company scrip, company currency that was only good there, in town, at the local company store. Of course, workers could still draw their salary in US currency whenever they wished, but the scrip was used in the store all the way up to 1956. That wasn’t all McMillin built though; he was far from done.

John S. McMillin was an unusual man. He was born in 1855, and attended Depauw University in Indiana, back when it was still called Asbury College. There he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity, and helped guide that young organisation to form a grand council, an executive committee at the national level. As a result, he was elected the very first Sigma Chi grand consul. In addition to his fraternity connections, McMillin was a Freemason, reaching the rank of 32nd degree out of the possible 33. He was prominent in business and politics, and even counted Teddy Roosevelt as a friend, who frequently visited and stayed at the hotel. McMillin had four children, and nearly the entire family considered themselves devout Methodists. Only one child, they say, left the family faith, and in doing so he might very well have locked himself out of the McMillin story forever. You see, all those worlds of interest, as different from each other as they all were, co-existed inside the mind of John McMillin. So when the time came to plan an eternal resting place for he and his family, each element had influence on those designs. The result – you might have guessed – was the eerie stone edifice located deep in the forest.

The structure really is a thing to behold. Once you’ve listened to me talk about it, you’ll want to visit some websites to see the true beauty of what McMillin built. When it was first constructed, the forest around it was far less thickly wooded than it is today, and visitors could see Afterglow Beach off to the north-west, perhaps giving the structure its name. It was designed to be a Tholos, a circular Mycenaean temple. It was crafted from local limestone and cement, but what’s really fascinating is the large number of secret messages and hidden meanings that were built into the structure, some relating to the Knight’s Templar, and others reflecting McMillin’s values as a Methodist. For example, approaching the mausoleum requires travelling up three separate sets of stairs, each set having its own meaning. There are three steps in the first flight of stairs, and they’re said to represent the three ages of man; the second set contained five steps, representing the five senses; and the third set contains seven steps, which stand for the seven liberal arts and sciences. Around the table are seven pillars that hold up the arches. Oddly though, one of the seven pillars is broken, the western-most one, but it was done intentionally. Only a small portion can be seen on the base, and protruding from the archway above, and this break was said to be a reminder that death never lets us finish our work. There’s room around the table for seven chairs, but the spot that should hold the seventh, the closest to the broken pillar, in fact, is missing. Some say that it was never there to begin with, and that it’s meant to represent the son who walked away from McMillin’s Methodist faith. Depending on who you are, if eternity is a gathering at a table, not finding a seat with your family would be a ruthless punishment indeed. These are all fantastic architectural details, but what’s missing from every photo of the mausoleum is the long list of reported sightings, all of which started some time in the mid 1950s.  

The mausoleum was built with no dome on top, although that had originally been the plan, but it was expensive, amounting to about 40% of the total budget, and so it was scrapped near the end to save cash. Even still, visitors on rainy days have frequently reported that they feel no rain on them while inside the ring of the stone pillars. Some people have spoken of cold spots near the table, while others have heard voices, even when no one else is around. Those daring enough to actually sit on one of the chairs, keeping in mind that they are tiny little tombs containing the remains of the McMillin family, said that they felt very uneasy doing so, and more than one person has reported the sensation of hands pushing them off. A frequent account is the sight of strange lights at night, including blue lights that seem to hover above the chairs. Some visitors have also reported seeing the members of the McMillin family themselves on nights of the full moon, seated around the table while and laughing and talking.

The mausoleum isn’t the only place with unusual activity though. Originally, John McMillin built the family home right beside the Hotel de Haro, and his long-term secretary, Ada Beane, had a cottage on the other side of the hotel. Later, the Roche Hotel was built around the old hotel, and the other buildings were combined into the structure. Beane’s cottage, for example, became the current dining room and hotel gift shop. That dining room/restaurant has been the focus of quite a bit of unusual activity. The resort’s restaurant manager reported that, on more than one occasion, he has closed up shop, turned off the lights, and headed for the door, only to look back over his shoulder, and seen that a candle on one of the tables has reignited. When he walked back in and blew it out, all of the kitchen hood fans turned on at once. Other appliances have been known to turn on as well. Employees over the years have reported stoves, blenders and toasters turning themselves on and off. The storeroom door has been known to open and close by itself. Furniture in the back room has even been found rearranged in the morning with no explanation. The gift shop, located in another part of that old cottage, has also been home to some unusual activity. One former employee once watched as several glass shelves cracked and shattered, one by one, all without anyone touching them. In the hotel itself, there are rumours of ghosts. The second floor is reported to be haunted by what has been described as a middle-aged woman wearing a long dress. Employees have told the owners that they frequently hear the sound of rustling clothing in rooms where no one else should be. Is it the ghost woman’s dress they hear?

It’s funny how the people who live around us have a way of making an impression on us. We feel them when they’re here, like the gravitational pull of another planet, but sometimes we even feel them when they’re gone. They leave memories behind when they go, treasured gifts, belongings, or perhaps a worn spot on a favourite piece of furniture. Ghosts are a concept almost as old as time. The people we love are here for a while, and then they’re gone, and humans have always struggled to understand what happens to them after death. Maybe ghost stories are a way for us to grapple with our own loneliness and loss. Perhaps they’re our way of bolstering ourselves against our own impending death. We must go somewhere, right? Are we ready? Will we be forgotten? John McMillin believed with all his heart that his life needed to be remembered, and that his body, and those of his family, deserved a resting place equal  to their position in life. The Afterglow Vista stands as proof of one man’s faith in something beyond the veil.

And that light over the limestone seats that sometimes people report to have seen since the 50s? Well, it turns out there just might be an explanation, depending on what you’re willing to believe, of course. Remember how the building that houses the hotel’s gift shop and dining room used to be the home of Ada Beane, McMillin’s long-time secretary? Well, along with being a key figure in the day to day business of the company, she also helped as a governess to the McMillin children, and she was practically part of the family. So when Miss Beane died, prior to McMillin, it was obviously an emotional loss. Rumours persist to this day that her death was suicide, but official records list nothing more than natural causes. Regardless, the family lost someone dear when she passed away. After her death, her body was cremated and placed in a mason jar, and that jar somehow made it onto the mantle in the office of Paul McMillin, John’s youngest son. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that the resort manager learnt from Paul, still alive and working for the company, that she was there, and that’s when they moved her. Where did they take her remains? Why, to join the others, of course. Her ashes were added the copper urn in one of the seats around the stone table in the mausoleum, putting her back where she belonged: among friends as dear to her as family. But Miss Beane might not have been too pleased about that decision. Perhaps, after looking over the family and estate for all those years, being moved to the cold, dark tomb didn’t settle well with her. It was only after the move that people began to see lights and hear voices. At the same time, the pranks and the unusual activities started up inside the hotel. Coincidence, or the actions of an upset woman who would rather spend her eternity away from the tourists and cold rain of the Afterglow Vista? Can you blame her?

Lore is a biweekly podcast and was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke. You can find a transcript of the show, as well as links to the source material at lorepodcast.com. The music in this episode was written by Kai Engel – be sure to check him out on soundcloud. If you enjoy scary stories, I happen to write them. You can find a full list of my supernatural thrillers, available in paperback and ebook format, at aaronmahnke.com/novels. And lastly, help the show grow by visiting ITunes today to leave a rating and review, and tell your friends. The show is on Twitter and Facebook, twitter.com/lorepodcast and facebook.com/lorepodcast. Thanks for listening.

[wowoaudioo]

Wholesale Vendors/Suppliers for Small Business

No matter when you start your business, in 2022 or 50 years ago, one thing never changes: you need to be great at sourcing products. It may be easier now than 50 years ago since we have the internet and global commerce. However, there are lots of wholesalers out there. For starters, how could you know which one can truly benefit your business? Which one will only try to make money from you with a high membership fee and outdated suppliers? Our list of the best reliable wholesale vendors and suppliers will help.

car audio suppliers in this article, we use Trustpilot as well as other reputable means of reviews such as Shopify AppStore reviews & ConsumerAffairs as references. Any name in this list must have an abundant number of up-to-date reviews to make sure its reliability and time-relevance.

Also, for the sake of our international readers, we try our best to include in this list a geological diversity of trustful wholesale vendors & suppliers. Some are in the US, some are in Europe and Asia. And more importantly, almost all of them support international shipping.

So, let’s get started!

Wholesale vendors, wholesale suppliers, retailers & dropshippers: What are the differences?

As you step a foot into the wholesale industry, you must have come across these terms a lot. Although you may know them clearly, we still want to explain for the sake of novice buyers who look at these terms with ambiguity.  

So, simply speaking

Wholesale suppliers: Wholesale suppliers work in B2B business. They act as a middleman connecting manufacturers to other businesses in need of products to sell. Many suppliers are also manufacturers themselves.

Wholesale vendors: Wholesale vendors act as a middleman like the suppliers. Nevertheless, they differ from wholesale suppliers for the fact that they do not take part in any manufacturing process.

Retailers: Retailers buy products from suppliers or vendors and sell them directly to the customers. They are B2C businesses. Retailers have stores or warehouses to stock their own products.

Dropshippers: Dropshipper advertises products to customers and have the suppliers/vendors shipped the products directly to their customers. Dropshippers do not need to have a store or buy products in advance. Their job focuses on marketing and customer service.

So basically, this list includes:

1. Big wholesale vendors connecting you with smaller wholesale suppliers

2. Independent wholesale suppliers selling their own manufacturing niche products.

What does a small business need in a wholesale vendor/supplier?

Reliability, a wide variety of products, fast shipping, etc are what every business needs. However, for small local businesses, these essential needs can be specified further.

We bet that you have already had some expectations in mind. But let’s see if it’s enough. So what should small businesses have in mind when finding a good wholesale vendor?

Reliable shipping (and fast)

The worst car audio suppliers nightmare is that you paid for a package that never came. Or you have waited for months for a single order but it comes out smashed and broken. Therefore, you should check if your suppliers and vendors are capable of reliable shipping services or not.

Lots of suppliers do not own delivery services but instead, use services from third-party companies. This is perfectly fine too, as long as the delivery company they use is trustworthy. You should find information on their website or ask them directly what delivery company they offer. Normally, if it’s FedEx, EMS, DHL or any well-grounded shipping companies you trust, it’s OK.

As for speed, it depends on two factors: handling time and shipping location.

While investigating or discussing with your vendors, you can always ask how much time they often take to prepare products before sending them to the delivery companies. It may take from 1 to 6 days depending on the vendors.

Also, bear in mind that geological location plays a key part in shipping time. If you want it to be fast, you’d better opt for wholesale vendors whose warehouses or distributors are near your regions.

In our list, we purposely chose international suppliers with multiple warehouses or international shipping ability to help you maximise your delivery time.

Right products & right prices

Reliable wholesale vendors will not over advertise their products, which will lead you (and your customers) to huge disappointment and anger when the items arrive at your doorstep. They would rather have a precise description of their products of sizes, colours and materials, so you know what exactly to expect before buying.

Another important thing is the price. Rather than marking up a high market price, a good wholesale vendor can provide you with bulk prices greatly cheaper than in the retail market.

[bootz-n-catz]

Apex Jump: A Wayhaught Roller Derby Love Story

Summary: Nicole (aka Haught Wheels) is the newest shining star for Purgatory Roller Derby. Wynonna (aka Bloody Mary) is the star player for her team and thinks Haught is her biggest rival. Waverly decides to join to make a point with her sister and...maybe a to get closer to Nicole.

Rating: M

Read it here or on AO3.

First, a brief introduction to the rules from the Woman’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) website:

Summary of Flat Track Roller Derby:

The game of Flat Track Roller Derby is played on a flat, oval track. Play is broken up into two 30-minute periods, and within those periods, into units of play called “Jams,” which last up to two minutes. There are 30 seconds between each Jam.

During a Jam, each team fields up to five Skaters. Four of these Skaters are called “Blockers” (together, the Blockers are called the “Pack”), and one is called a “Jammer.” The Jammer wears a helmet cover with a star on it.

The two Jammers start each Jam behind the Pack, and score a point for every opponent they lap, each lap. Because they start behind the Pack, they must get through the Pack, then all the way around the track to be ready to score points on opposing Blockers.

Roller derby is a full-contact sport; however, Skaters cannot use their heads, elbows, forearms, hands, knees, lower legs, or feet to make contact to opponents. Skaters cannot make contact to opponents’ heads, backs, knees, lower legs, or feet.

Play that is unsafe or illegal may result in a Skater being assessed a penalty, which is served by sitting in the Penalty Box for 30 seconds of Jam time.

The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

A common Jam might go like this:

Blockers line up behind the Pivot Line and in front of the Jammer Line.

Jammers line up behind the Jammer Line.

At the Jam-Starting Whistle, the Blockers skate forward and compete for superior position. The Jammers skate forward and try to get through the Pack. Each Blocker simultaneously tries to prevent the opposing Jammer from getting past, and to help their own Jammer get through.

One Jammer exits the Pack and is declared Lead Jammer, earning the right to end the Jam when they decide. This Jammer races around the track to get into scoring position.

The same Jammer begins to work their way through the Pack for the second time, and the opposing Jammer makes their way out of the Pack for the first time.

As the second Jammer to escape the Pack comes around into scoring position, the first Jammer calls off the Jam.

The first Jammer has scored several points (up to four), and held their opponent at zero points. Meanwhile, the opposing Jammer (by getting into scoring position) held the first Jammer at only those points, as they could have scored more points on subsequent passes.

You can also watch the video here.

***

Waverly sighed as she wiped down the counter of Shorty’s. It was only the beginning of her opening shift which mostly meant cleaning. Probably the easiest but most tedious part of her job. But it wasn’t so bad when she put on the jukebox and let her mind wander.

She finished up the counters and moved on to the beer taps. Singing softly to the song, she had just begun to wipe the second tap when the handle slipped down and started spewing beer all over her. Waverly sputtered in surprise, slapping futilely at the tap handle for a moment before she finally got it shut off. But the damage was done. Her tank top was soaked through with beer. Waverly patted uselessly at her chest with the bar towel as she sighed in frustration.

“Great,” she said under her breath, looking down at her now see-through garment. At least she had her Shorty’s shirt to change into.

“I didn’t know Shorty’s had wet t-shirt competitions,” came a teasing voice from the door.

Waverly looked up, a blush dusting her cheeks as she took in the tall slender form leaning against the doorway. A woman with a head of red hair and long limbs regarded her with a cocky smile. She was wearing black athletic capris and had on a tight blue jersey that hugged her just right.

Waverly blinked at her, her mouth suddenly dry.

“Are you okay?” the other woman asked as she pushed off the door and started walking towards the bar.

“I um-...yeah. Just a bit jumpy,” Waverly said when she finally found her voice. “I had a crazy night.”

The taller woman rested both of her elbows on the bar as she leaned closer to Waverly, who was still keenly aware of how her wet shirt clung to her.

“Sorry I wasn’t here to see it,” the woman said with a smile that made two dimples appear on her cheeks.

Waverly swooned.

“I came to see if I could leave some fliers here,” the woman said holding up a stack. Waverly looked at the two girls in pads and skates on the front and her mind finally clicked. She noticed that one girl’s jersey had “Purgatory Roller Derby” embossed above a logo of a shotgun and spurs. Under the logo it read “Calamity Janes”.

The fliers were the same ones that Wynonna had dropped off at Shorty’s earlier. She just dropped a stack haphazardly on the bar and said something about fulfilling her league mob squad duty before ordering a whiskey.

Wynonna had been playing for a year and Waverly had been to a few games but didn’t remember seeing the redhead before.

“Of course you can leave some,” Waverly said, hoping she didn’t see the ones scattered on the other side of the bar. She held out her hand for them and the other woman dropped a small stack in it, their fingers brushing and sending an unexpected shiver up Waverly’s spine.

Waverly made a show of looking at them and leaned her own elbows on the top of the bar to bring them just that little bit closer. Plus, admittedly, she knew her posture helped display some of her better...assets. She bit her lip when she noticed Nicole’s eyes dart down to her chest ever so briefly.

“So you play roller derby?” Waverly asked with a tilt of her head, “What’s your derby name?”

“I do. Just transferred from my old league. And um.” The other woman blushed a little as she chuckled, looking down at the bar surface and back up at Waverly. “Name’s Haught Wheels. But you can call me Haught.”

“Hot Wheels?” Waverly asked.

She turned around to show Waverly the back of her jersey. ‘Haught Wheels’ printed in white with the number ‘7’ under it. Though Waverly spent more time marveling the lines of Nicole’s back muscles flexing as she pointed to the writing.

“Haught Wheels,” Waverly clarified as the other woman turned back around.

“My last name in the real world,” Haught said with a wink. Waverly felt her entire body heat up from the inside out.

“Well, you can call me Waverly,” she said a almost breathlessly as she held her hand out. Haught took it, brown eyes never leaving hazel. As soon as their hands connected Waverly felt the air leave her lungs.

“Nice to meet you, Waverly,” Haught said, holding onto her hand for just a beat too long. As Haught dropped her hand and Waverly took hers back, the redhead spoke up again. “Can I see you at the game then, Waverly? Saturday?”

Waverly stared for a moment before rambling again. “Oh! I um-...maybe I would love to-...like to. I just-...I um m-might have plans. I’m a planner.”

Haught’s smile only got wider the more Waverly blushed and rambled. Why would she even say that? She’s a planner? The only thing she did was make herself look like a total nerd.

“Well, I don’t usually say this to a lady, but I hope your plans get cancelled,” Haught said standing up. “If they do, can I see you there?”

“Y-yeah,” Waverly said as Haught started walking backwards towards the door. Her brain struggled to find something she could stay to make the other woman stick around for even just a moment longer but came up blank.

“See you then, Waverly,” Haught said turning back around as she walked up the steps to the exit, before throwing one last smile over her shoulder.

Waverly just smiled like a love sick school girl as Haught walked out the door, the wood swinging closed behind her. Only then did Waverly feel herself breathe again. She looked down at the fliers in her hand. The picture was of Wynonna in a red jersey and a star cover on her helmet skating out of a group of skaters.

“Right,” Waverly said biting her bottom lip between her teeth. She would talk to Wynonna about getting her a ticket when she got home that night.

***

Waverly fidgeted with the edge of her skirt as she walked up towards the warehouse. One of the large metal doors on the side was rolled up to reveal the track inside the building. A few girls were skating on the track, practicing their stops and hits on each other. She smiled brightly as she walked up to the girl sitting at a table set up at the door and taking tickets.

“Hello,” Waverly said, “I should have a ticket for me under Wyno-...from Bloody Mary.”

The other girl’s eyes got wide for a moment and she leaned forward a little. “Do you know her?”

“She’s my sister,” Waverly said, unsure if she should be proud or embarrassed about what the girl was going to say next. It really could go either way with Wynonna.

“She’s so good,” the girl continued dreamily, as she looked down at a list and crossed off Wynonna’s derby name with a little ‘+1’ next to it. “And scary. Is she like that at home too?”

Waverly suppressed a giggle, “For the most part, yes.”

The girl looked awestruck as Waverly held out her wrist for a wristband.

“She’s so cool,” the girl said under her breath as she secured the wristband. She looked back up at Waverly, awestruck. “Have a good time.”

With a final smile, Waverly walked into the warehouse. There were strings of lights hanging all across the ceiling and a disco ball in the middle reflecting light down on the stands and track. The track was in the middle, laid out with simple tape, and there were four bleachers, two on each long side of the track. On the left of the entrance behind the bleachers were tables set up with people selling team merchandise and a recruitment table. There was also a small bar in the corner that had a sizeable line.

Waverly had been here once before with Wynonna but the bleachers weren’t set up at the time. Wynonna had hurt her arm and couldn’t ride her bike so Waverly drove her to practice one of the days.

Her eyes scanned the warehouse and saw a door that she knew led to a smaller part of the place that had two separate locker rooms as well as a small office with a couch, fridge, and anything else people might need as far as medical supplies.

It wasn’t a big space or a fancy space, but it fit the theme of the sport and the skaters or spectators never seemed to complain as far as Waverly could tell.

There were a lot of people walking around and looking at the merch tables and some girls skating around with “Ask me about roller derby!” buttons on. Waverly figured Wynonna and Haught Wheels were probably in their respective locker rooms. Not that she was looking for Haught. Obviously.

Waverly was just here to support her sister and if she happened to see Haught then...so be it. She began towards the bleachers and found a seat halfway up one just as the announcer came over the speaker.

“Hello, Purgatory! How is everyone doing tonight?”

People began filling up the stands as they cheered, and Waverly took in the crowd.

“Are you ready for some hard hitting derby girl action tonight folks?”

The crowd cheered again and Waverly joined them.

”Purgatory Roller Derby wants to thank you for coming out tonight. So help us to introduce, your Purgatory Peacemakers!

The crowd went crazy as the team poured from the locker room and onto the flat cement track. Waverly squinted and saw Wynonna skating around in the middle of the pack, waving with the rest of the girls. Their uniforms were vaguely western themed. Red jerseys with little sheriff looking stars printed over the heart. There were two crossed revolvers on the front of their jerseys with “Purgatory Roller Derby” above it and “Peacemakers” below the logo. Some girls wore red bandanas around their necks and others had them under their helmets.

Waverly yelled for her sister who looked up into the crowd as she passed Waverly and winked at her. Waverly waved back and clapped. After one last lap, they all went to their bench and stood in front of it, waiting for the other team.

”And don’t forget to give the love to the champs, three years in a row, the Purgatory Roller Derby Calamity Janes!”

If possible, the crowd got even louder. Some stood on their feet and stomped as the other team came from the locker room and skated around the track. Waverly couldn’t have missed the shock of red hair under a blue helmet if she tried. She felt her cheeks heat up as she watched Nicole skate around the track in the same uniform she’d seen her wearing in Shorty’s just the day before.

Waverly couldn’t help but think that her black athletic pants really hugged her body wonderfully. She blushed at just the thought and the blush only deepened when Haught looked up in the bleachers and made eye contact with her. Waverly felt like an electric shock had hit her heart and when Nicole smiled her stomach dropped.

“Oh no,” Waverly breathed out as her eyes followed Nicole skating over to her bench with the rest of the team. She had it bad. Waverly forced herself to look away as the first pack took its place at the jam line. Four blockers from the Peacemakers lined up on the line and four from the Calamity Janes lined up in front of them, including Nicole who was wearing a jam pantie on her head. The Calamity Janes’ jammer was already behind the pack, star pantie on her helment, as Wynonna casually skated next to her with her own star on her helmet.

”On the jam line, we have Bloody Mary with the Peacemakers and Lezzy Borden for the Calamity Janes.”

Wynonna started far behind the other jammer as if surveying the scene. The other jammer looked nervously over her shoulder at Wynonna until she skated up next to her. Wynonna stood next Lezzy Borden and got in her derby stance, knees bent and chest high even as she stared down the other woman.

Waverly saw the coach of the Peacemakers, Dolls, shouting something at Wynonna. She looked at him and shrugged before going back to her stance. Dolls shook his head and walked back to the bench, clearly already giving up on whatever he had tried to tell Wynonna.

Waverly chuckled to herself at what was undoubtedly some kind of power move.

“Five seconds!” one of the referees shouted as he looked down at his watch. The warehouse was silent for a moment before the whistle blew and the two jammers took off. Almost immediately Wynonna slammed into the other jammer and pushed her off the track. Lezzy went tumbling just as Wynonna took off and hit the pack at full force. The Calamity Janes’ blockers practically flew forward, but Haught flipped to face them. She braced them, hands on the shoulders of two of her other blockers as they did their best to contain Wynonna. The Peacemaker blockers formed a wall in front of Lezzy as she skated back onto the track.

”Looks like Bloody Mary is going one on one with Haught at the front of the pack!”

Waverly’s eyes snapped back to the front of the pack where Haught was facing Wynonna, chest to chest. Haught cocked her shoulder back and snapped it back forward to hit Wynonna square in the chest. She stumbled back with the force of the hit, gasps coming from the crowd. But Wynonna caught herself on her toe stop and charged full force into Haught, who tripped a little but managed to stay upright as Wynonna charged forward.

The referee whistled and shouted, “Out of play!”

Haught stopped blocking Wynonna, throwing her hands up in the air as proof as Wynonna skated past her. Another whistle sounded and one of the jam referees held his arms in an ‘L’ shape as he pointed at Wynonna who skated around the track back towards the back of the pack.

”And Bloody Mary is lead jammer! But it looks like Lezzy Borden is close behind, just making her way out of the pack!”

Waverly watched as the two walls of blockers reformed themselves as their jammers went around the track. Wynonna looked behind her and saw Lezzy about twenty feet back. Waverly sat on the edge of her seat as Wynonna sprinted towards the back of the pack, the Calamity Janes’ blockers positioned just perfectly on the turn of the track. Wynonna moved towards the right side of the track but then quickly diverted to the inside and jumped the corner of the track, completely bypassing all the Calamity Jane blockers and collecting her points. Before Lezzy could get to the pack, Wynonna lifted both hands in the air and bent her arms to hit her hands to her hips several times to signal that she wanted to end the jam.

Four sharp whistles from the referees rang out in the warehouse.

”And Bloody Mary calls off the jam after that impressive apex jump! Collecting all four of her points while Lezzy Borden skates away with none. Bloody better hope that Lezzy doesn’t go to her place with an axe tonight!”

Waverly clapped for her sister and settled back into her seat. Throughout the rest of the bout, Waverly couldn’t help but follow Nicole with her eyes. Waverly could tell that she was strong and one of the track leads, her teammates looking to her for direction on the track. It also didn’t help that as the game went on, more strands of hair started to fall from Nicole’s helmet and stick to her face in a way that was indescribably attractive.

At half time, Waverly watched Nicole take her helmet off. Red hair fell into her face and she tipped her head back as she pushed her fingers through the damp stands. Waverly felt herself flush at the sight and suddenly decided she needed alcohol. She went to the bar and got herself a drink before going back to the bleachers just as the second half started.

The score was close. The Calamity Janes had one hundred and thirty-four points and the Peacemakers had one hundred and thirty points. There were only twenty seconds left on the game clock and all the Peacemakers needed was one scoring pass and the Janes to be shut down in order to win.

Wynonna was back on the line as a jammer and Haught was pivoting, with Lezzy Borden back to jamming. Two of Haught’s blockers were in the box along with one of Wynonna’s. The collective of five blockers on the track were completely focused on the two jammers on the line. Nicole braced the shoulder of her blocker and looked directly at Wynonna. Waverly watched how Haught’s fingers tapped nervously on the shoulder of her blocker and she bounced on her toes, ready to pounce at any second.

Waverly’s nerves twisted in her stomach as the referee announced five seconds before the whistle. She had seen Wynonna take a few big hits through the game, a good number of those from Haught. It seemed pretty clear that Haught was always the last line of defense between Wynonna and scoring points which meant that she was going to gun for her in this last jam to keep the Calamity Janes on top.

The whistle blew and Wynonna launched herself shoulder first into Haught’s sternum. Haught’s shoulder jerked into Wynonna and knocked her off balance for a moment just long enough for Haught’s other blocker to sweep Wynonna to the edge of the track.

”Blood went in hot there! No doubt trying to get lead so she can even up that score in the last jam. But Haught and Brawl stopped her in her tracks!”

Haught curled her body and knocked Wynonna again. Wynonna’s skate lifted as she tried to stay in bounds but she stumbled to the side and as soon as her skate went out of bounds, Haught sprinted back towards the pivot line to draw Wynonna all the way back on the track.

”Oh! And Haught is driving Blood all the way back! That’s gotta smart!”

Wynonna looked mad. Really mad. But she sprinted back just outside the track so she could enter legally behind Haught. This gave Lezzy enough time to get out of the pack and get lead jammer.

”And just like that! Lezzy is lead jammer! This might be it, folks!”

Waverly could see Wynonna curse out loud as she entered the track behind Haught. But since Lezzy had lead jammer, she called off the jam just as the rest of the Peacemaker’s blockers got out of the box and rejoined their team on the track.

The four whistles sounded just as Wynonna made a hit on Haught. Haught counter blocked Wynonna and she went stumbling backwards onto the ground.

”Lezzy has called off the jam! Freezing the score and leaving the Calamity Janes in the lead by only four points! But we’ll wait for the official final score to call it.”

As the teams stopped playing and looked at the scoreboard, Haught straightened up and held her hand out to help Wynonna stand. Wynonna stared at her hand for a moment before accepting it. Waverly rolled her eyes as Wynonna tugged a little harder than necessary on Haught’s hand as she got up.

”And that’s it, everyone! The Calamity Janes have won the first bout of the season!”

The Calamity Janes crowded together at their bench to celebrate the narrow victory, but Haught paused and said something to Wynonna, clapping her on the shoulder. Haught smiled at Wynonna and Waverly felt her own heart flutter. Wynonna skated back to her bench as some of Haught’s teammates skated up to her and started clapping her back and congratulating her on a good game.

”After this we have an exhibition bout for the Purgatory Junior Roller Derby team which is basically a bunch of kittens being cute and hitting each other. Also, next week we’ll have a bout again the Revenants and Banditos! You won’t want to miss that!”

Waverly stood up with the rest of the crowd, feeling the effects of her drink for the first time. She blinked as she found her balance and made her way down the bleachers with the rest of the crowd. All the players were still standing around their benches and mingling as the juniors took the track.

When she got to the bottom of the bleachers, her eyes immediately met Haught’s across the warehouse. Her heart leapt into her throat and when Haught smiled, dimples on full display, Waverly’s head felt light from more than alcohol.

“Hey, Waves,” Wynonna stepped in front of her at that moment and broke her gaze from Haught.

“Wynonna,” Waverly said throwing her arms around her sister’s shoulders as best she could with her being even taller on her skates, “You did great!”

Wynonna reluctantly hugged back, patting her sister on the back as she scoffed. “I lost us the damn game.”

“It’s only the first one of the season, right?” Waverly said releasing her sister and wrinkling her nose, “You smell awful by the way.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I stunk up the track in more ways than one then,” Wynonna said running a hand through her sweaty hair, “Though the new girl is certainly on my shit list now.”

Waverly found herself fiddling with the end of her skirt again. “Haught?”

Wynonna grumbled and looked over her shoulder at the other team. “Whatever. We’ll get them at the next game.”

Waverly looked back up and Nicole was gone. She cursed to herself and pushed some hair behind her ear as she scanned the warehouse for red hair. When she turned back around, a blonde woman was skating up to them. She was wearing a Peacemakers jersey and didn’t seem to notice Waverly at all as she slung her arm around Wynonna’s shoulders.

“Hey, good game, Blood,” she said. Wynonna turned and smirked at the other woman, putting her own arm around her waist.

“Thanks, you didn’t do too bad yourself,” Wynonna said. She nodded towards Waverly. “This is my sister, Waverly. Waverly, Shapiro.”

The other woman finally looked at her and Waverly gave her an amused smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Shapiro said before looking back at Wynonna, “Are you going to the locker room?”

“Yeah,” Wynonna said before turning to Waverly and asking, “I’m going to go degear. Can you get me a drink?”

“Sure,” Waverly said grateful for the opportunity to look around for the redhead. Wynonna skated off with Shapiro and Waverly walked through the warehouse towards the bar at the back. She ordered their drinks and as she was walking past the vendor tables she stopped short. Haught was standing at the recruitment table talking to a little girl. She was crouching down to be at the little girl’s level. A wide smile was on both of their faces as the little girl flexed her arm muscle and Haught pretended to feel it.

Waverly was sure she swooned.

Haught handed the girl a flier and she walked away with her mother as Haught straightened up. Waverly did a quick scan of herself to make sure she looked put together as she started down the middle of the tables. She pretended to be looking forward as she walked, a little extra sway in her step as she went.

“Waverly?” she heard Haught call as she was passing the table.

Waverly pretended to be surprised and look for the source of the voice before her eyes landed on Haught. She smiled widely.

“Hi!” Waverly said walking over to the recruitment table, “How are you?”

“Better now,” Haught said not hiding how her eyes scanned over Waverly’s form, “I’m glad you came. And aren’t wet this time.”

Waverly thought how maybe that wasn’t necessarily true and felt a blush reach all the way up to the tips of her ears. She giggled, head tipping to the side.

“I’m glad you came too,” she blushed deeper as she began to ramble, “I mean-...you know I’m glad I-...thank you for inviting me.”

Haught smiled even wider and Waverly felt herself getting distracted by her dimples. “Are both of those for you or is one for your boyfriend?”

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend,” Waverly said quickly, “Or-...girlfriend. Or any...sexual partner-...I mean...I’m a...my sister skates.”

“Oh, she does?” Haught asked, “On what team?”

Waverly opened her mouth to answer just as Wynonna threw her arm around her shoulders, making the drinks spill a little over her hands.

“Hey, baby girl,” Wynonna said taking her drink. She squinted up at Haught as she took a long sip, “Haught here telling you how she got away with that illegal hit at the end of the game there?”

“Wynonn-...Blood is my sister,” Waverly said with a stiff smile. Her sister always had the worst timing. Or the best as Wynonna considered it.

“Yeah, so back off my baby sister, Haught Pants,” Wynonna said tightening her arm around Waverly’s shoulders.

Waverly rolled her eyes and stepped away from Wynonna, her cheeks an embarrassing shade of red. The last thing she needed was Wynonna to blow her cover or humiliate her in front of Haught.

“If you must know, Blood, I was thinking of joining,” Waverly lied.

Wynonna practically cackled and Waverly crossed her arms tightly in front of her chest.

“Excuse me? Why are you laughing?” Waverly said turning towards her sister.

Wynonna wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and shook her head. “Baby girl, I love you but...come on. You’re just so...Waverly.”

Waverly scoffed and turned towards Haught who just looked slightly concerned, eyes wide. “Do you think I could do it?”

“Um-”

“See, she said yes.”

Wynonna laughed even harder, “She didn’t say anything!”

Waverly walked up to the table, picked up the pen and wrote her name on the recruitment clipboard. She smiled up at Haught. “When’s the first practice?”

“This Saturday,” Nicole said with a smile just as big as Waverly’s, “I’ll see you there?”

Waverly nodded once. “Definitely.”

***

“Wynonna!” Waverly called, pushing open her sister’s bedroom door. Wynonna didn’t even look up from her phone as she lounged on the bed.

“What?”

“Let me borrow your old skates.”

Wynonna let her phone drop to her chest. “You know you don’t have to do this. If you’re trying to prove something...”

Waverly frowned at her sister, “I’m not trying to prove anything. Not to you anyways.”

“So Waverly ‘Head Cheerleader’ Earp, voted nicest person in Purgatory, is joining roller derby for fun?” Wynonna said incredulously.

Waverly just nodded curtly. Maybe that wasn’t the only reason but it certainly wasn’t the reason Wynonna was thinking. It had been a week since Waverly went to the derby game and she couldn’t help but think about Haught way more often then she’d like to admit. Mostly about how pretty she was and her dimples and the way her voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket…

Waverly blushed at the thought.

“I’m joining because I want to try something new,” Waverly said matter-of-factly.

Wynonna looked hard at Waverly for a moment and she tried not to squirm under her gaze. She sighed and picked her phone up. “Fine. My old skates and equipment are in the attic.”

Waverly squealed in excitement and ran over to Wynonna. She hugged her as best she could with Wynonna on the bed and kissed her cheek. Wynonna gagged and pretended to push Waverly away even though she could see the hint of a smile on her sister’s face.

***

The strap of the duffle bag dug painfully into Waverly’s shoulder as it bounced against her hip while she walked up to the warehouse. Nerves fluttered in her stomach and she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

She was excited, but also terrified.

She knew she was in good shape. She did yoga every morning and had done cheerleading all through high school. Waverly was small, but strong. But this was about more than physical strength. She could see it in the way Wynonna would hobble home sometimes with a dejected look on her face.

The warehouse looked different in the morning. The big side doors weren’t rolled up, just the normal door halfway open. She walked in, her eyes adjusting from the bright sun outside to the darker lighting of the warehouse. The bleachers were all folded away so that the warehouse was just one large flat surface with the track taped down to the middle of it. The string lights were off and just the normal fluorescent lights flickered overhead.

To her right were a group of girls sitting around and chatting, their own equipment bags next to them. Waverly saw Haught skating around the track casually with another girl, a little shorter than her with tan skin and dark hair. Waverly knew her because she helped out at Shorty’s every so often, but she only knew her as Rosita. She caught sight of the back of her jersey and read ‘Marie Fury’.

Waverly sat down on the cold concrete floor with the rest of the girls and started putting her equipment on. She sat next to a girl with long curly brown hair who smiled over at her.

“Hi,” she said, “I’m Waverly.”

“Becky,” the other girl replied as she slipped her elbow pads on, “This is your first Unicorn practice, yeah?”

“Unicorn?” Waverly asked as she slipped on Wynonna’s skates.

Becky rolled her eyes, “They thought it was demeaning to call it Fresh Meat so they changed the name to Unicorns. Because everyone fucking loves unicorns, am I right?”

Waverly chuckled and nodded, “I would say you’re right about that.”

“You all have five minutes to put your gear on!” Haught called from the track. Waverly snapped her head up at the sound of Haught’s voice. Their eyes met and Waverly smiled widely at her. Haught returned the smile before skating backwards onto the track.

Waverly sighed and saw Becky looking at her with a knowing smile. Waverly just looked back down at her skates silently to finish lacing them up. After she was fully geared up, Waverly stood up...far too quickly. Her skates threatened to slip out from under her and she stumbled backwards.

A strong hand caught her arm and kept her upright, Waverly’s heart beating out of her chest. She looked up and saw Haught looking down at her with some concern.

“Are you okay?” Haught asked with a slightly amused smile.

Waverly blushed, “Yeah. I’m...I used to rollerblade a lot but-”

“Yeah, quads are different,” Haught said slowly releasing Waverly’s arm to make sure she could stay upright, “I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time. I heard your sister just threw on skates and became a star. Is that true?”

Waverly rolled her eyes as she widened her stance a little to make sure she was more stable. “That’s true. And she won’t let me forget it.”

Haught chuckled and winked at Waverly. “I’m sure you’ll be a superstar in no time too.”

Waverly thought she might fall again.

***

Waverly’s first practice went fairly well. They started off with laps and Waverly noted that she definitely wasn’t the worst on her skates. Then they all stood in a circle as they stretched and introduced themselves and their pronouns. That’s how Waverly found out that Marie Fury, or Fury as she went by, was on another home team called The Revenants.

More times than Waverly would like to admit, she found her mind wandering while Haught was explaining a drill or skill. Mostly because Haught would demonstrate the skill which meant the lean lines of her muscles would ripple under her skin and Waverly couldn't keep her eyes off of them. Which also meant that Waverly had to follow the other girls as they performed the skill to make sure she was doing it right.

At the end Fury announced they were going to be skating a hundred laps. Waverly wondered if they were actually trying to kill them.

But after Waverly found her stride, the laps weren’t that bad. She found her mind wandering as well as her eyes. They always seemed to find Haught no matter where she was. Whether it was on the track with them or in the middle talking to Fury.

After practice, Waverly’s body felt pleasantly spent with sweat soaking through her shirt and making stray hairs stick to her forehead. She could tell by the pull in her muscles that she was going to be sore the next day, but with the endorphins flowing through her body she could hardly bring herself to care.

Waverly found herself purposely taking longer to take all her gear off and put it away. Becky waved goodbye to her before she left and as Waverly stood up to leave, it was only her, Fury and Haught left in the warehouse. A few cars were pulling up, probably for the next practice.

Haught made her way over to Waverly and smiled brightly. “You did good today,” she said with a smile, “Skating must run in the family.”

Waverly shrugged and adjusted the duffle on her shoulder. “I suppose. Thank you. For...a great practice.”

She cursed to herself for being so awkward and wondered if she’d already ruined any chance she had of Haught being interested in her that way. Sure she flirted, it was blatant in the way Haught talked to her. But Waverly was curious if she talked to all girls that way or if the spark Waverly felt was mutual.

But then Haught smiled, dimples distracting Waverly so she couldn’t think anymore. “I’m glad you joined us,” she said softly, “Will I be seeing you next week?”

There was a hopeful tilt to her voice that made Waverly’s heart melt a little bit and she nodded. “Definitely.”

***

Waverly ended up skating everywhere. She skated around town when she ran errands, skated at work before the the doors were open. Anything that could make her skills improve faster.

She had gotten more comfortable on skates and made Wynonna skate with her in the parking lot behind Shorty’s a few times a week to teach her some things. Wynonna, though reluctant, was a great teacher. She gave her some tips about staying low when she was skating and how to distribute her weight to come to a stop.

Admittedly, Waverly kept a keen eye out for red hair whenever she was in town. Though it was almost like Haught was an enigma. She never saw her anywhere around town.

But that just meant more reason for Waverly to keep going to the Unicorn practices. Nicole was always there along with Fury. And Waverly certainly wasn’t going to complain about that.

***

“Good, everyone!” Fury called from the middle of the track as they skated around. They were practicing whips, something that Fury made a point of saying were pretty outdated, but still fun.

Waverly was partnered with Becky who had fast become her main friend in practices. Becky coasted as Waverly skated up behind her and grabbed her hips, pulling her body back as Waverly attempted to whip ahead of her. It seemed to work pretty well, even if she could feel Haught watching them which made her nervous.

“It looks good,” Haught said skating up to them, “But Waverly, I have a suggestion if you’re open to it?”

Waverly nodded a little too enthusiastically as Haught skated closer to her.

“Okay, get in derby stance,” Haught said as she skated behind Waverly. She licked her lips nervously and bent her knees, chest upright in derby position. She felt Haught get closer to her, heat practically radiating off of her body. Usually it was unbearable with other skaters, but with Haught she just wanted to roll back closer to her.

“You want to grab the girl you’re taking a whip off of here,” Haught said placing her hands gently on Waverly’s hips. Waverly nodded and tried not to choke when Nicole’s hands tightened on her hips, fingers curling firmly around her hip bones.

“And when you pull to take your whip, she’s going to roll back into you a little,” Haught said. She demonstrated, pulling Waverly back into her so that her back was pressed to Haught’s front. “That’s how you know you’re doing it properly. If she moves back into you,” Haught said, her breath tickling the shell of Waverly’s ear.

Waverly swallowed thickly, hoping Haught couldn’t hear how her breathing had gotten shallow.

“Does that make sense?” Haught asked.

Waverly could only nod.

“Good,” Haught said patting Waverly’s hip before straightening up and skating back to the middle of the track where she could observe. “Try it again.”

Waverly took a deep breath and looked at a smirking Becky as she got back on the track with Waverly.

“Not a word,” Waverly whispered as she tried to whip again just as Haught had demonstrated. She felt how she got more movement trying the whip the new way and looked over at Haught, who was smiling.

“Looking great, Waves,” she called before skating off to another group. Waverly watched her skate away in a daze.

“You got it bad,” Becky sang, interrupting Waverly’s thoughts. She quickly looked back at her friend and shrugged.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Waverly said airily.

“Sure,” Becky rolled her eyes as they got back into position.

***

Part of Waverly’s responsibility as a league member, especially a newer one, was to volunteer at the derby bouts. She was more than eager to help out. There were so many shifts to choose from. There was track maintenance, usher, ticket seller, concessions and merch tables among other things.

Waverly jumped on a bartending shift since she had a license and didn’t mind slinging drinks for a couple of hours. Plus Fury was working the other bar shift so at least she knew someone she was working with.

Not to mention that the bar had a great view of the track where the Banditos were playing the Calamity Janes. Waverly had a perfect view of the jam line where Haught would be lining up every other jam as she took her place as pivot.

Waverly had only been in Unicorns for about a month now, but with two practices a week she felt herself getting stronger and more sure of herself. She had also made a habit of hanging back a little after practices to talk to Haught. She was still trying to get a read on her, trying to figure out what her intentions were. If any.

Haught was confident. That much was apparent in the way she talked. So it made Waverly wonder why she didn’t ask her out if she was as interested as she seemed to be. Waverly figured she could ask Haught out but...kept talking herself out of it.

So instead, Waverly found herself behind the bar in the corner of the warehouse watching her from afar as she played. Wynonna stood on the side of the bleachers as close to the bar as she could and heckled all through the game. It embarrassed Waverly but she knew better than to chastise Wynonna for it. She would only make it worse.

“Your sister’s really something,” Fury said after serving a customer.

Waverly sighed and arranged the beers in the cooler. “Yeah. That’s putting it lightly.”

“She’s a hell of a skater,” Fury continued, “Natural talent.”

“She is,” Waverly said proudly, “She says skating is the one thing she’s good at. Even if that’s a lie.”

“You’re doing well for yourself too,” Fury pointed out, “Maybe it’s an Earp thing.”

“Really?” Waverly asked.

Fury just nodded and leaned in a little, whispering. “Don’t tell anyone but...Haught and I think you have the most promise out of all the Unicorns.”

Waverly felt her heart thrill in excitement, “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Haught just talks about how awesome you are.”

Waverly blushed deeply and looked back at the track where Haught was hitting the Banditos’ jammer off the track. She tried not to pass out just at the sight and was grateful when another customer came up to be served.

At the end of the game, Waverly was pleased to see that the Calamity Janes had beat the Banditos no problem. The second game was another Juniors exhibition bout so the drinking died down a little. At least until the other teams poured out of their locker rooms. When Haught walked up to the bar after the rush had died down, Waverly almost had a heart attack.

She was still wearing her uniform, short red hair falling in a unfairly attractive way around her face and a smug grin on her lips. Waverly also couldn’t help but notice the dog tag that hung around her neck with the league logo printed on one side and “MVP” on the other.

“Hey,” Haught said as she crossed her arms and leaned on the bar. She nodded at Fury in acknowledgement before focusing on Waverly.

“Hey,” Waverly replied, silently cursing the breathy tone her voice took on, “What can I get you?”

“Whiskey,” Haught said, “You’ve been working hard over here. Can I get you a drink too?”

Waverly sputtered a little as she grabbed a plastic cup and started pouring whiskey into it. “I um-...I’m not allowed to drink while I’m working.”

“Right,” Haught said handing Fury her money, even with her eyes still on Waverly, “Well...are you going to the after party?”

“Yep,” Waverly said brushing her hair over her shoulder in a move she hoped looked smooth.

“Can I get you a drink there then?”

Waverly nodded dumbly.

Haught smirked, eyebrow raised as she took a long drag of her drink. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Then she winked. She honest-to-god winked at Waverly who had to grip the edge of the bar almost painfully to keep herself from falling over. All she could do was squeak as Haught turned back around and wandered back to the stands to watch the game.

“You alright there?” Fury asked with a raised eyebrow.

Waverly blinked at Haught’s retreating back before managing to pull her eyes away to look at Fury.

“Mhm,” Waverly managed. Fury smirked but didn’t say anything more.

***

Waverly took her time getting to Shorty’s for the after-party. She didn’t want to seem overeager and she certainly didn’t want to be the newbie that was there first. So she helped close down the warehouse, much to Wynonna’s discontent, and eventually made it over to Shorty’s right when everything was in full swing.

Before walking inside, she made sure her short skirt was straight and low cut shirt was smoothed evenly over her torso. Running a hand through her hair, she looked over at Wynonna who it seemed already had a pleasant buzz happening.

“Who are you trying to impress?” Wynonna asked as they headed for the door.

“No one,” Waverly shrugged despite the blush on her cheeks.

Wynonna just grunted. As they walked in, about three girls saw Wynonna and greeted her with open arms. Waverly smiled at the sight and wandered closer to the bar. Wynonna hadn’t had a lot of luck with friends while growing up. She had her own issues that had...for the most part been dealt with since, but it certainly didn’t lead to a healthy social life. So it was nice to see Wynonna being accepted into a group so easily.

That was the thing about roller derby that Waverly had noticed even before she joined. It was one of the more accepting places, especially in a small town like Purgatory. No one cared about sexuality or gender identity. Everyone was just there to skate and have a good time. To have a group of supportive women surrounding her and her sister was...well Waverly had never experienced anything like it.

Waverly continued to the bar, taking in how many people were stuffed into the place. There were girls still in their uniforms and other ones Waverly had never seen out of uniform before. Everyone was drinking and having a good time. In the very corner of the bar was a local band Gus brought in to play every once in a while when she knew there was going to be a large crowd.

Her eyes scanned the crowd looking for a familiar shade of red hair.

“I promised you a drink,” Haught said from behind her. It startled Waverly and she turned around to look at Haught who was leaning against the bar with her usual confident smirk.

Waverly blushed and leaned casually against the bar to mirror Haught. “That you did. Whiskey, please.”

Haught smiled and flagged down the bartender to order. Waverly blushed a little when she saw that Gus was one of the ones working. Gus looked at Waverly and back at Haught, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth as she listened to Haught’s order. Thankfully she didn’t say anything and just got them their drinks.

“So you’re not working tonight then,” Haught observed, “Is it weird hanging out where you work?”

Waverly shrugged and gave Gus a grateful smile when she passed her the drink. “I practically grew up in Shorty’s,” she said, “It would almost be weirder if I was drinking anywhere else.”

Haught laughed as she took a sip of her own drink. “Fair enough.”

A bunch of girls screamed when a popular song came on and Waverly giggled. Haught rolled her eyes at their antics and leaned a little closer to Waverly presumably to hear her better. But Waverly really didn’t care what the reason was.

“Have you always lived in Purgatory?”

“Yeah,” Waverly said looking back down at her drink with the hint of embarrassment, “I um...always wanted to go somewhere else but Wynonna had...issues, my Uncle Curtis got sick and-...I don’t know I just never made it.”

Haught shook her head, “I think that’s kinda nice. I was a military brat so I was always moving around. I feel like it would be nice have some place where you just feel...home.”

Waverly smiled over the rim of her glass. “So what brings you to Purgatory?”

“Felt like a change,” Haught said simply, “There was an opening at the station here-”

“Wait, are you a cop?” Waverly couldn’t help but interrupt.

Haught chuckled and nodded as she took another long sip of her drink.

“Wow, so you have two types of uniforms,” Waverly smirked. She was pleased to see a small blush on Haught’s cheeks for once.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Haught said just as they both finished off their drinks. She looked over her shoulder at the dance floor and nodded towards it, “Want to dance?”

Waverly had to look at Haught for a moment before realizing she hadn’t imagined it.

“Yes,” Waverly said. She hoped the other woman couldn’t see the way her hands shook as she put her empty glass back on the bar. She pushed off the bar and started towards the dancing crowd. Haught followed behind and Waverly could feel her hand hovering over her lower back as they walked. She was feeling just a little lighter from the whiskey and definitely a little braver. Waverly had to resist leaning back into her hand until she turned around and they were face to face.

Waverly looped her arms over Haught’s shoulders and she felt hands rest lightly on her waist. Waverly tried to keep a respectable distance between them even if she just wanted to lean her body against Haught’s.

Haught said something but they were too close to the band and Waverly couldn’t hear. She shook her head with a small frown and Haught leaned forward to talk more in her ear. Red hair just barely touched Waverly’s jaw as Haught got close and Waverly felt like a flock of birds had taken flight in her stomach.

“I’m sorry, I probably smell from the game,” Haught said pulling away a little as she wrinkled her nose.

Waverly shrugged. “I didn’t even notice.”

Waverly would never in a million years tell Haught, but she could have rolled around in hot garbage and Waverly wouldn’t have minded. There was the slight twinge of stink from her gear but mostly Waverly got the confusing but attractive musky scent of sweat just under... vanilla dipped donuts? It just reminded Waverly of what Nicole looked like when she was sweaty and it made her want to sigh.

Their hips moved to the beat and looking around they didn’t look much different than any of the other girls dancing with their friends. Waverly was thankful because it meant no one was giving them any unwanted attention, but it was also frustrating because if everyone danced with their friends...did Haught just see her as a friend?

Something that Waverly had learned very quickly was that flirting and roller derby seemed to go hand in hand. Everyone flirted with everyone. Sports tended to be touch heavy anyways, but roller derby seemed especially tactile. A sport based mostly on hips and chests...there was going to be a lot of contact. Waverly wasn’t bothered by that aspect of the sport,but she still blushed every time someone flirted with her, even if she knew it was purely platonic. Straight girls flirted with other straight girls, queer people flirted with “the straights”...it was all free game and consensual. It was freeing to say the least. To watch everyone flirt with anyone without the risk of being humiliated or yelled at.

Haught’s hands flexed against Waverly’s hips as a new beat started and she swayed a little closer to the taller woman. The alcohol in her system made her braver and she let her fingers trail briefly over the exposed skin at the back of Haught’s neck. She heard a stuttered sigh escape Haught’s lips and that gave her the confidence she needed to tighten her arms around Haught’s neck and draw herself closer. She felt a warm hand slide from her hip to the small of her back and smiled to herself.

Haught was looking down between them so Waverly lightly scratched her nails over her neck again to get her attention. As soon as brown eyes looked up into hazel she felt her breath hitch in her throat. Haught was looking at her, really looking at her. No cocky little smirk or teasing smile. There was something else pooled behind her eyes that Waverly just wanted to fall into.

But just as soon as Waverly opened her mouth to say something, anything, two of Haught’s teammates came up and clapped her on the back. One handed her a drink with a wide grin. Haught’s hands almost immediately dropped from her hips and Waverly felt the loss. She unhooked her hands from Haught’s neck and smiled shyly at the two girls she hadn’t met yet.

“MVP!” they yelled and Haught grimaced at how loud they were.

They introduced themselves but Waverly could barely hear them over the noise of the bar. Haught smiled at her apologetically as the two, clearly drunk, kept trying to get her to dance with them. Waverly gave her an understanding smile and motioned that she was going back to the bar. She didn’t miss the way Haught reached out for her in a brief moment before her friends practically jumped on her.

Waverly headed back towards the bar, silently cursing the other girls for interrupting her dance with Haught. She didn’t know where the dance could have technically gone, but she was sure it could have at least led to something a little more.

She ordered herself another whiskey just as Becky came up and stood besides her with her own drink in hand.

“Saw you dancing with Haught,” she said with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows, “Seemed pretty cozy.”

Waverly blushed and looked over to where the other woman had been lost in the crowd of dancing people. She could still hear chants of “MVP” coming from the crowd and felt something that felt like pride swell in her chest.

She turned back towards Becky and leaned closer to her. “I-...kinda have a huge crush on her.”

Becky snorted, “Who doesn’t? She’s totally hot. Plus isn’t that like a thing? Having a crush on your trainer?”

“Is it?” Waverly asked wrinkling her nose. She paused for a moment. “Wait. Do you have a crush on Haught?”

“Kinda,” Becky said looking towards her in the crowd with Waverly. “I mean, she’s super hot. I’m not blind.”

Waverly fiddled with her napkin and tried to appear casual. “Who else has a crush on her?”

Becky took a long sip of her drink and spoke over the rim of her glass. “No one else who danced with her.”

A slow smile crept its way onto Waverly’s face and Becky giggled with her as they leaned their heads together like gossiping school girls. Becky’s eyes darted behind Waverly and she hit her in the arm.

“Ow!” Waverly hissed, “What the-“

Becky widened her eyes and nodded pointedly behind her. Waverly looked over her shoulder and saw Haught standing there with an amused look on her face.

“Oh, hi,” Waverly said with a blush.

“Hi,” Haught said looking between the two, “Sorry about over there-“

“No, it’s fine. You’re quite popular,” Waverly said sipping on her drink, “And it’s deserved. You had an amazing game.”

Haught looked down and rubbed the back of her neck as both Waverly and Becky sighed a little. But when Haught looked up she looked right at Waverly, who was sure she started sweating.

“Thanks,” she started, nursing her own drink, “It’s not just me really-“

Becky laughed and shook her head, “I mean, isn’t that what you’re supposed to say? Even if everyone knew it was all you?”

Haught shrugged and laughed, “I guess.”

Becky blushed and looked down at her drink like it had betrayed her. “Actually,” she said looking at Waverly and winking, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Becky walked away and Waverly watched her for a moment before looking back at Haught who was still just looking at her. Waverly blushed and shook her head.

“What?” she asked as she took a small sip of her own drink. She did her best to look coyly over the rim of the glass but was sure she just looked insane.

Haught smiled softly, “Nothing. Just…” Haught paused, in an uncharacteristic moment of speechlessness, and took a long sip of her own drink. “You’re a good dancer.”

“Cheerleading,” Waverly said with a shrug. She watched as a small blush tinted the edge of Haught’s ears and her mouth hung open for a moment.

“Um, cheerleading?” Haught asked. Waverly nodded and Haught smiled. “You just got more interesting, Waverly.”

“Was I not interesting before?” Waverly asked cheekily.

“Of course you were,” Haught answered, “But now you’re interesting and a cheerleader.”

Waverly felt that thrill deep in her stomach when Haught smiled at her, eyes darting ever so briefly to her lips. If Waverly had blinked even a moment earlier she would have missed it. Waverly took a small step closer to her, hoping it wasn’t obvious. Her hands itched to reach out for her again and loop back around her neck like when they were dancing. She licked her lips and assessed Haught’s face for any kind of sign or indication that her advances would be reciprocated.

Instead Haught licked her own lips and finished off her drink. “I just wanted to say bye. I’m heading home.”

Waverly’s stomach dropped and she didn’t think she’d kept the disappointment off her face at all. “Oh. Okay,” she forced a small smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yep. Bright and early at practice,” Haught said setting her empty glass on the bar.

“Did you drive here?” Waverly asked. Would it be too much to offer to drive her home? She thought about the alcohol in her own system and realized the flaw in her plan.

Haught shook her head, “I caught a ride with someone. That’s why I’m leaving.”

She looked at Waverly for a moment, something hanging in the air between the two of them. Waverly could tell there was something on the tip of Haught’s tongue, something she wanted to say. She leaned forward a little in anticipation but was met with nothing. So Waverly held out her hand expectantly. Haught raised an eyebrow at her for a moment before Waverly rolled her eyes.

“Phone,” Waverly said simply. Haught pulled out her phone and placed it a little skeptically in Waverly’s hands. Waverly opened up the contacts and started to put her number in.

“Text me when you get home,” Waverly said far more confidently than she felt. And when a slow but confused smile melted onto Nicole’s lips, she felt doubt creep in. Waverly stuttered, “S-so I can just...make sure you made it okay.”

Waverly went to type in her number when her name popped up as already being saved in the phone. She blinked at it for a moment, confused. As realization dawned on her she felt a thrill in her stomach. Haught raised an eyebrow at her as Waverly handed her back her phone, the redhead’s hair matching her cheeks.

Waverly smiled, “You already had my number?”

Haught shrugged, “I got it off the league roster. Just in case. I have all the Unicorns’ numbers.”

Waverly tried to temper her smile as Haught took her phone back but it just grew wider. Haught frowned at Waverly and put her phone back in the waistband of her exercise pants.

“I’ll text you so you know I didn’t die,” Haught conceded with a small smile, “Okay?”

“Okay,” Waverly agreed, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Haught turned around and headed towards the door. Waverly felt in her pocket for her own phone as if she was expecting a message as soon as Haught disappeared.

“She’s cute,” Gus’ offered from behind the bar. Waverly turned around and looked at her Aunt. “And a good tipper.”

Waverly walked around the bar to join Gus and helped clean some glasses while she poured more drinks.

“She really is something,” Waverly said wistfully as she wiped down the counter.

Gus put her hand on Waverly’s shoulder and squeezed, “Yeah. But so are you.”

Waverly poured herself a glass of water. “Thanks, Gus.”

Gus kissed the side of Waverly’s head as she leaned into her Aunt’s comforting touch. Gus had always been her biggest cheerleader in everything she did. When Wynonna was gone, she leaned on Gus. She had always been determined to make sure Waverly never felt like she was missing out on family with her parents and oldest sister gone and Wynonna doing whatever she was doing at the time. And she had succeeded.

Waverly’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she jumped in surprise. She pulled it out, heart hammering harder than she would ever admit with the hope that it was Haught texting her already. But she saw Wynonna’s name pop up and quickly deflated.

Wynonna: Home?

Waverly looked up and saw Wynonna waving at her from across the room. She rolled her eyes and nodded towards the door as she ordered a ride share.

“I’ll see you later, Gus,” Waverly said kissing her cheek and walking out from behind the bar, “I open tomorrow.”

“See you later, darlin’,” Gus replied. Waverly stuffed her phone back in her pocket and tried not to think about Haught. Though it was a losing battle.

Waverly noticed that Wynonna hadn’t even finished the beer in her hand. She frowned and pointed at the drink.

“Nonna, you didn’t tell me you weren’t ready yet. I already got the car,” Waverly said.

Wynonna shook her head and shrugged. “Baby girl, it’s Purgatory. There are two Uber drivers here, either Crazy Bill or Blinky’s mom...um-” Wynonna circled her hand near her head, clearly trying to conjure up her name.

“Stacy?” Waverly offered.

“Yes. Stacy,” Wynonna agreed, pointing at her sister. “Anyways, it’s Saturday. Crazy Bill is probably too busy at Pussywillows and Stacy is probably working there. So. I think we have some time until they get here.”

Waverly rolled her eyes but Wynonna had a point. Sure enough she looked at her phone and it was still searching for a driver.

“Now come here, I have a question,” Wynonna put her arm around Waverly’s neck as she turned to look at Dolls who was sitting at a table behind her. He had his own beer in his hand and was looking as unamused as ever.

“Dolls and I have been talking all night-”

“No, we have not,” he countered as he took a sip of his beer.

“-about what his derby name should be,” Wynonna finished.

Waverly crossed her arms and gave Dolls an understanding look. When Wynonna got on one of her little nickname games, it was almost impossible to get her off of it.

“I do not play derby. Therefore I don’t need a name,” Dolls said pointedly, “I’m a coach.”

“You’re a spoil sport,” Wynonna snorted into her beer glass. “So I have a few options for him. Xavier Mauls. Get it? Like...maul.” Wynonna made...what Waverly assumed were clawing motions with her hands.

Dolls shot her a look and Wynonna continued.

“You’re right. Not the best. How about...oh! Reffing Bitch Face!” Wynonna yelled triumphantly, “Get it? It works! Because you ref sometimes!”

Dolls drained his beer and gave Wynonna a hard look. “I don’t need a derby name.”

“Lame!” Wynonna said finishing off her beer. Waverly’s phone buzzed and she checked it. Still no text from Nicole, but it was from their driver who had just pulled up.

“Let’s go, Nonna,” Waverly said showing her the phone and nudging her towards the door. She dropped her empty glass on Doll’s table and the two sisters went to the front of the bar to leave.

***

Unknown Number: So I didn’t die.

Waverly blinked at her phone for a moment, trying to calm the racing of her heart. She had just gotten home with Wynonna and was walking into the Homestead. Wynonna was singing drunkenly and Waverly thanked the gods that they lived so far from any neighbors.

She looked at the number again. It was Haught. It had to be. She cursed herself for not looking up her number on the roster but quickly moved on to wondering how long she should wait before texting her back.

Waverly: I’m glad you’re not dead. :)

She thought for a moment before typing.

Waverly: I’m guessing this is Haught.

Wynonna was already holed up in her room by the time Waverly made her way up the stairs and into her own bedroom. She set her phone down on the bed and quickly changed into her pajamas just as her phone buzzed again.

Haught: You didn’t get my number from the league roster? Now I’m just offended.

Waverly smiled to herself as she typed back.

Waverly: I’m not a stalker like some people. ;)

Haught: Hey hey hey. I wouldn’t call it stalking. More like being prepared in case of an emergency. It’s not like I used it.

Waverly: Why didn’t you?

Haught: ...This feels like twenty questions.

Waverly: I asked one question!

Haught: That’s how these games usually start.

Waverly: Fine. Can we play twenty questions then?

Haught: I feel like I’ll regret this. But I’m still buzzed so go for it.

Waverly: Perfect. I won’t ask anything too hard. ;)

Waverly: What’s your real name?

Haught: Starting off easy I see. Nicole.

Waverly: Nicole...huh. Didn’t peg you for a Nicole.

Haught: What did you peg me for?

Waverly: I don’t know. Something like...Katherine or Alicia.

Haught: Seriously? Jeez.

Waverly: So do you go by Nicole or Nicky? Or Cole?

Haught: Depends. I answer to all three. I’m not picky.

Waverly: And you’re a police officer. How long have you been doing that?

Haught: Since I graduated college so about five years now.

Waverly: So you’re...26?

Haught: Yes. How old are you?

Waverly: It’s not your turn yet.

Haught: Fine. I’ll just look it up in the league documents then.

Waverly: That’s cheating!

Haught: I don’t like to wait for what I want.

Something about the simple phrase sent a chill up Waverly’s spine and she snuggled into her comforter as she continued typing.

Waverly: Do you have any pets?

Nicole: Yes. A cat.

Waverly: What’s its name?

Nicole: Calamity Jane…I know.

Waverly: So...you named your cat after your derby team?

Nicole: No! CJ is six years old! I’ve had her since before I was on this team.

Waverly: A likely story.

Nicole: It’s true!

Waverly: Fine fine. When did you start playing roller derby?

Haught: Five years ago with my old league.

Waverly: Were you a super star over there too?

Haught: I’m hardly a super star here.

Waverly: That’s not what I hear, MVP. ;)

Haught: I was on the All Star team if that’s what you’re asking.

Waverly: So you were always a super star. Noted. What made you join?

Haught: Honestly?

Waverly: Yes.

Haught: It’s embarrassing. But...I joined to meet girls.

Waverly blushed and giggled to herself. She bit on her bottom lip and wondered how to proceed. She could be really flirty...or...play it safe.

Waverly: That’s really cute. Did it work?

Haught: It was easier than Tinder! And…

Haught: Yeah briefly.

Waverly: Briefly?

Haught: I got a girlfriend. Then we broke up.

Waverly: Ah I see. Sorry I brought it up.

Haught: Don’t be. I offered the information.

Waverly: On to something hopefully lighter. Where did you move from?

Haught: The city.

Waverly: Did you move for work?

Haught: Work and because of my breakup. I was offered a better job and I took it.

Waverly: Do you have a derby wife?

Haught: I don’t have one at this league. No.

Waverly: You had a derby wife at your old league?

Haught: Yeah my...ex.

Waverly: Oh god I’m sorry. You know you can tell me to shut up at any time, right?

Haught: I know but I don’t mind. I like talking to you.

Waverly: You do?

Haught: Yeah.

Waverly bit her lip to try and suppress the small smile that spread over her face at that simple word. Just one word and it felt like butterflies were stirring in her stomach.

Waverly: I like talking to you too. :)

Haught: Yeah?

Waverly: Yeah.

Waverly looked at her phone. Haught...Nicole…liked talking to her. She enjoyed talking to her. Waverly Earp. They were texting right now after spending time together at the after party and-...She typed a simple response out and deleted it.

If she wasn’t going to get the courage now to ask Nicole out, she was never going to do it. She quickly typed out a reply and pushed send before she could change her mind.

Waverly: Do you want to get coffee after practice tomorrow?

Haught: Yes...And No.

Waverly felt her heart drop and she frowned at the phone for a moment. The tiny bubbles that indicated Haught was texting popped up for a moment but then were gone. Waverly felt her stomach twist with nerves as she typed.

Waverly: Why? If I may ask.

Haught: You can. Because that’s your last question. ;)

Haught: I would like to get coffee with you. But it’s also not a good idea to...fraternize in derby.

Waverly: It’s not?

Haught: No. It can get...messy.

Looking at her phone, Waverly felt a small panic rise up in her chest. It was like she was so close but so far. She had gotten the courage to ask Haught out and now...she was saying it wasn’t a good idea. She hoped her texts didn’t sound crestfallen.

Waverly: Oh.

Haught: Waverly.

Waverly: Yes?

Haught: I don’t want to ruin derby for you.

Waverly: What makes you think that’ll happen?

Haught: I don’t want to risk it. And...we should go to bed. It’s late. We have to be up early tomorrow.

Waverly: You really are getting rid of me.

Haught: I’m not. I promise you. But...I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?

Waverly: Goodnight, Nicole. :) Sleep well.

Haught: Night. :)

Waverly stared at her phone for another moment before plugging it in and setting it on her nightstand. Her mind felt like a mess. Nicole basically admitted she wanted to go on a date with Waverly. And yet…

She looked up at the ceiling for a moment in thought. She wasn’t going to let Nicole off that easily. Tomorrow was a new day.

***

“So you got a thing for Haught, huh?” Fury asked.

Waverly nearly dropped the beer cans she was holding. They were counting the stock of drinks for the next game in a small storage closet when Fury dropped that bomb on her. Waverly’s ears practically glowed red.

“Um...no. Why would you say that?” Waverly lied, her voice a little higher than normal.

Fury chuckled and shook her head, “I can tell by the way your eyes get all dreamy when you look at her.”

Waverly knew there was no point in denying it. She put down the number of beers on her clipboard and moved on to the liquor bottles in another box as Fury counted plastic cups.

“Is it that obvious?” Waverly muttered with an embarrassed smile.

“Maybe not to everyone,” Rosita said smiling back at Waverly, “I just see everything around here.”

Waverly groaned. “I can’t help it. She’s just so...cool and pretty and sweet.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t totally go for it because she looks at you with those heart eyes too,” Fury said before continuing like she hadn’t dropped a huge bomb on Waverly. Haught looked at her like that too? Like she liked her? But Rosita continued. “I’m just saying to be careful. Sometimes the drama of an interleague relationship is too much.”

“What do you mean?” Waverly asked trying not to immediately go back to the part where Fury said Nicole had a thing for her.

Fury shrugged. “It can just be hard. Having everyone watch your relationship unfold and have their own opinions on everything. Jealousy over teams, rivalry if you’re not on the same team,” Fury sighed, “Most of the time it’s just the drama that happens when people break up. That’s hard on everyone.”

“Seems a little...crazy to be talking about a breakup when a kiss hasn’t even happened. Don’t you think?” Waverly said with a small chuckle.

“You’d think. But it’s always something to consider. Again, I’m not discouraging anything. I just don’t want you to go in blind,” Fury said writing the number of cups on the clipboard. “Especially after everything that happened with Haught at her old league.”

Waverly’s ears perked a little bit at that and she lost track of how many bottles of whiskey they had and started over.

“What...happened at her old league?” she asked casually.

“It got really awkward when her and her long time girlfriend broke up. Everything seemed fine at first but like I said there’s no secrets in roller derby,” Fury chuckled. “Her ex had started hooking up with someone else. She thought it was a secret but everyone knew. Haught was upset and people started to think they had to choose sides. Everyone kept talking to Haught about it like she wanted and needed to know...it just became a lot.”

Waverly nodded and felt an unwelcome pang of guilt for her feelings. She appreciated the advice. It certainly wasn’t something she might have thought about otherwise. But Waverly didn’t want to miss out on Nicole. Even if it caused all the awkwardness in the world. Especially when-

“So...you said she looked at me with heart eyes?” Waverly asked softly.

Fury laughed and shook her head. “She has definitely looked at you with heart eyes. It would be sickening if it wasn’t so cute.”

Waverly practically squealed and gripped Fury’s arm. “You’ve made my entire week. No! Month.”

Fury just laughed harder and they went back to counting, Waverly with a permanent smile stuck on her face.

***

Waverly couldn’t concentrate. At all.

She saw things happening and people explaining things and...skating but. All she could see was Nicole.

She was explaining some drill but Waverly couldn’t even concentrate on what she was saying. She tried, she did. But all she could see were Nicole’s lips moving.

Nicole was being all...tall and her muscles were rippling under her skin. The way her shirt was cut at the sides she could see her sports bra and torso. She swore she could see sweat rolling down Nicole’s stomach through the side of her shirt and made a strangled noise.

Waverly was a mess.

She wanted to rip her shirt off of her and kiss all the way across her stomach. To lick the sweat off and-

“Waves!”

Waverly jumped and looked over at Becky who was looking at her with wide eyes. She blushed and blinked at her friend.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?” Becky asked with a frown, “You seem spacy.”

“I’m fine,” Waverly said with a wide smile, “I just-...am tired…”

“Be my partner for this drill?” Becky asked.

Waverly smiled back, “Sure! Just...explain it to me please.”

Becky smirked with a nod, “I got you.”

***

Waverly wouldn’t say she was...wasted. That wouldn’t be giving herself enough credit. Plus she was an Earp. Earps could handle their liquor.

This was something she knew to be true even while Wynonna danced on top of the bar with her teammates cheering her on below. Waverly held her drink in her hand...she didn’t even know what number this was. But it was there and almost gone.

Waverly didn’t expect the league holiday party to be quite like this. It was at a nicer bar a little on the outskirts of town and everyone was dressed to the nines like they were making up for only ever being around each other in workout clothes. Waverly wore a tight gold dress and let her hair fall around her shoulders. She wondered if it was a mistake with the cold outside but decided looking her best was more important. Especially knowing Nicole was going to be there.

She blinked down at her drink for a moment, mind swimming. And when she looked back up Nicole was right there, flaunting those damn dimples.

Waverly felt a slow smile creep over her face as she took in Nicole standing in front of her in black pants, a simple white button up and a blazer to match her pants. Waverly thought she could die right there in that moment. How did one person have the right to be this attractive? Waverly couldn’t handle it.

“Hey,” Haught said casually, “I was going to offer you a drink but I see you already have one.”

Waverly giggled far too much and she blushed before tucking some hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat and shrugged. “For a second I thought you weren’t coming back.”

“I had to stop and get more beer per Fury’s request,” Nicole said spinning her key ring on her finger for a second before catching it in her hand.

“Can I get you a drink?” Waverly said. Nicole blinked at her for a moment before nodding.

“Sure. Whiskey please.”

Waverly raised an amused eyebrow at Nicole. “Going right for the hard stuff. I like it,” she said placing an order for two whiskeys at the bar. She drained her last drink just as the bartender handed her the other two drinks.

She handed one to Nicole and held her glass up to toast.

“Cheers,” Nicole said clinking their glasses together.

“Cheers,” Waverly answered. They both took sips, eyes on the other the entire time.

Nicole stepped a little closer and Waverly smiled up at her, heart leaping into her throat.

“You know,” Nicole began, “You owe me a round of twenty questions.”

Waverly’s stomach twisted and revolted against her. How could something as wonderful as Nicole (maybe) flirting with her make her feel sick? Right. Because she had no idea how to respond. Especially with Nicole in front of her looking all sexy.

“Well you can redeem it at any time,” Waverly said shrugging one shoulder. She immediately hated the words that came out of her mouth and wished she could take them back. But Nicole’s smile widened so she figured she was fine.

“Fine,” Nicole said, “Why did you start roller derby?”

Waverly thought back to that day she signed up. How really, she just wanted to talk to Nicole and even if she had a vague interest in derby, had never really…considered it an option. Then Wynonna made a point of saying she couldn’t do it and well…being near Nicole certainly was a perk of it.

“Because I wanted to prove Wynonna wrong,” Waverly said.

Nicole nodded, “And did you?”

Waverly pulled on her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment in thought. “Well, I’m still a Unicorn. So probably not yet.”

“You’re still a Unicorn but that doesn’t mean you don’t have potential. You can’t even graduate to a team for another few weeks,” Nicole said taking another drink, “And I’m...pretty sure you will.”

“You think so?” Waverly asked softly. Nicole just nodded and continued to her next question.

“Now how old are you?” she asked with a small blush.

“Twenty-one,” Waverly said.

“A baby,” Nicole muttered with a small smile.

Waverly pretended to be offended, “Hardly. I’m legal in all ways now.”

Nicole’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline and Waverly blushed impossibly deep. She really did have the tendency to put her foot in it. Saying she was ‘legal’ had that implication she didn’t want to think about. The implication of Nicole over her...under her...both of them completely wrapped around each other. She thought about it enough at inappropriate times. Mostly in practices when Nicole was sweaty, barely clothed and oh so close.

“Next question,” Nicole said, bringing Waverly from her thoughts, “Do you live with Blood?”

“I do. At the family house outside of town,” Waverly said, thankful that they had gone away from the embarrassing legal talk.

“I figured,” Nicole said, “She jokes about you with me sometimes. In our joint practices.”

Waverly felt the color drain from her face as she looked over at Wynonna who was still dancing on the bar but had managed to pull another girl up there with her. The moves they were doing were...probably teetering on explicit so Waverly looked away. She could only imagine the kind of things that Wynonna might say to Haught.

“About...what?” she asked.

Nicole shook her head with a smile, “It’s my turn. Remember?”

Waverly scoffed, “Fine. I’m just going to ask her later.”

“To be fair, I’m not the only one she says it to,” Nicole pointed out.

“Who else?” Waverly asked with a frown.

“Not your turn,” Nicole repeated with a smug look on her face. Waverly huffed with a little bit of a pout but didn’t push it. “What team would you want to be on?”

Whatever team you’re on.

The words were on the tip of Waverly’s tongue and if she had had anymore to drink she probably would have confessed it all right there. But she bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself quiet and tilted her head to the side like she was thinking.

“Well, the Peacemakers are clearly the best,” she teased. She was rewarded with a small scoff and roll of her eyes from Nicole. “Honestly I’d be happy on any team.”

Nicole squinted at Waverly for a moment and straightened up. She finished off her drink and looked over at Waverly with the barest hint of a smile.

“Shots?” she asked.

Waverly finished off her own drink. “I’m a lot further along than you,” she said trying to assess her own drunkenness. “So my limit is two.”

Nicole laughed and ordered five shots from the bartender. She slid two in front of Waverly and they took them together.

“There,” Nicole said as she slammed down her third shot, “Now I’m caught up with you.” She looked around the crowded bar for a moment before looking back down at Waverly.

“Wanna go outside for a second?” Nicole asked just loudly enough for Waverly to hear her over the noise of the bar, “It’s just...kinda hot in here.”

“Does that count as one of your questions?” Waverly smirked.

Nicole shot her a good natured look, “If it must.”

“I’ll give you this one as a freebie,” Waverly nodded and felt how it took a moment for her brain to follow her head movements. She was definitely pleasantly drunk. Not so much that she would forget anything, but just enough to make her feel a little braver.

Nicole tilted her head towards the door and Waverly followed as she lead them outside. At one point when they were wading through a crowd, Waverly almost lost Nicole so she instinctively grabbed for her sleeve. Nicole pulled her sleeve away and reached for Waverly’s hand instead. When her hand closed around Waverly’s she felt her breath catch. Nicole’s hand was warm and just big enough to cover her own but not too big. Her hands were soft and gentle but sure and-

Waverly wondered if she’d ever thought so hard about holding someone’s hand. Probably not.

She silently hoped her own hand wasn’t too sweaty or gross. She had put on lotion before she left so at least there was that. When they got outside, the cold air hit her skin in a not completely unpleasant way. She noticed Nicole didn’t immediately let go of her hand when they got outside and when she did, long fingers trailed over Waverly’s palm before letting go. She shivered and not from the cold.

There were several people hanging out on the sidewalk outside of the bar, but Haught walked through all of them and around the corner away from everyone. It wasn’t a hidden area, particularly, but enough out of the way of prying eyes that sent a thrill up Waverly’s spine.

She leaned against the wall of the bar and took a deep breath. The cold air burned her lungs but she welcomed it.

“Is this okay?” Nicole asked. Her words had a bit of a drawl to them that made Waverly feel warm deep in her belly.

“Perfect,” Waverly breathed out. Nicole stuffed both of her hands in her pockets and stood close, the tip of her shoes almost touching Waverly’s.

“I just...it’s hard to hear in there,” Nicole shrugged with that charming smile, “Now what number question are we on?”

“Six,” Waverly said after a moment of thought, “And I won’t count that as one of your questions.”

“Smart ass,” Nicole chuckled, “Okay, then seven. If you could be anywhere in the world, where would it be?”

Waverly squinted in thought and put both of her hands behind her against the wall.

“Somewhere near the ocean,” Waverly said, “I’m not picky other than that.”

A burst of cold wind passed by her and Waverly shivered, crossing her arms over her chest. Nicole’s brow furrowed immediately in concern and she shrugged off her blazer without a second thought. She stepped closer to Waverly so that she could drape the jacket over her shoulders. Waverly’s breath left her lungs as the warm smell that reminded Waverly of vanilla dipped donuts filled her. She looked up at Nicole who was standing so very close.

Nicole’s hands lingered on the lapel as she pulled it tighter around Waverly’s shoulders. Waverly put her hands over Nicole’s to keep them in place and pulled the taller woman forward a little. The front of Nicole’s shoe hit Waverly’s and she stumbled forward in surprise. Nicole pulled one hand from Waverly’s grip and used her forearm to brace herself on the wall above Waverly’s head.

The streetlight was shining down in just enough that Waverly could see the hint of a blush on Nicole’s cheeks. She was certain she had one to match it. Brown eyes were wide, questioning. Waverly looked back up at Nicole with bated breath, unable to stop her eyes darting down to Nicole’s lips.

“Question seven,” Nicole said licking her lips. Her other hand fell from the jacket and settled on Waverly’s waist. Waverly nodded wordlessly, her hands hanging uselessly at her sides. “Why did you really want to join roller derby?”

Waverly felt her mouth dry up. She took a deep breath and rushed out, “I wanted to spend more time with you.” She blushed and looked away for a moment. “The stuff about Wynonna is true too though.”

A slow smile curled over Nicole’s face and she nodded. “Good to know.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. Question eight.”

Waverly felt Nicole’s thumb rubbing a soft circle on her stomach, probably due to her nerves more than anything. Her heart was racing, blood rushing so loudly in her ears that she could barely hear Nicole’s next question.

“Is it okay if I kiss you?”

Waverly didn’t answer. Not with words anyways. Her hands found their own way, smoothing over Nicole’s chest, one hand playing with the collar of her shirt while the other curled gently around the back of Nicole’s neck. She put just enough pressure on the back of Nicole’s neck to give her that encouragement to close the gap between them.

The muscles at the back of Nicole’s neck tensed under Waverly’s fingers as she resisted the pressure. But just a moment later the muscles relaxed and Nicole’s neck bent to the will of Waverly’s fingers. Finally, what she’d been hoping for for weeks was happening.

Nicole’s forehead rested lightly against Waverly’s as they breathed each other in. Every question and doubt dangled on the shared breath between them. Waverly’s eyes fluttered shut and she tilted her chin up a little. She didn’t care if she seemed desperate or impatient. She’d waited this long to kiss Nicole and every second longer she waited was akin to torture.

Finally she felt soft lips brush against her own. They hesitated, but only briefly, not giving Waverly enough time to voice her impatience. Instead Nicole’s lips pressed softly against her own and every sensible thought flew out of her head. The fingers at the back of Nicole’s neck slipped through silky red strands.

Her back pressed a little further into the wall as Nicole leaned more into her. Waverly welcomed the weight but hoped Nicole couldn’t feel the way her heart was beating out of her chest. Every second that Nicole’s lips were pressed against hers was just affirmation to Waverly that she had fallen for her. Hard. Probably since the first moment she’d laid eyes on Nicole.

The kiss was brief. Far more brief than Waverly would have liked. A short whine was building at the back of her throat as her nails scratched lightly at the back of Nicole’s neck. She needed to feel Nicole’s lips on her own again.

“Question nine,” Nicole breathed out, their foreheads still pressed together, “Do you-...Do you understand that we can’t kiss again?”

Waverly’s eyes flew open and it felt like she’d been dunked in a bucket of cold water. Her tongue darted out to taste the whiskey and something that tasted like sugar on her lips from Nicole’s kiss and felt light headed again. Maybe she’d misheard her.

“What?” Waverly asked with a frown, “What do you mean?”

Nicole went to drop her hand from Waverly’s waist but she covered it with her own, keeping her in place.

“I’m your trainer,” Nicole sighed, “We can’t-...this can’t be a thing.”

“Are there rules against it?” Waverly asked, her fingers still moving through Nicole’s hair.

Nicole sighed and their noses brushed together, “Not written explicitly-”

“Then I don’t see the problem,” Waverly said leaning up to kiss Nicole again. Nicole turned her head and Waverly got her cheek instead. Nicole straightened up, arm falling from the wall above Waverly’s head and Waverly’s hand fell from her hair. With the sudden amount of space between them, the cold air chilled Waverly again. She pulled Nicole’s jacket tighter around her shoulders without thinking.

“Waves,” Nicole said slamming her eyes shut and shaking her head a little, “I’m sorry. I should never have kissed you.”

Waverly felt like her heart fell out right there on the sidewalk between them and shattered. She could feel her throat tighten and tears threaten to spill down her cheeks. But she stood straighter, face set like stone.

“And I should have never let you kiss me,” she said crossing her arms in front of her chest. Even though she knew she’d be thinking about the kiss for far longer than she wanted to. Waverly shrugged one shoulder and tried to look as unaffected as possible. “But it’s fine. It’s derby, right? These things happen.”

She watched as something passed over Nicole’s face. Her lips became a thin line and she looked down at her shoes before looking back at Waverly. She couldn’t look at Nicole any longer. She couldn’t stand to see her so close but so...defeated. It only upset Waverly more because she was the only one allowed to be upset about it.

“Can we just talk about it?” Nicole said softly, eyes pleading.

Waverly shrugged and pushed off the wall, “I have to go.”

She was almost around the corner when she remembered Nicole’s jacket around her shoulders. Waverly shrugged it off and tossed it in Nicole’s direction. Nicole grabbed it, the jacket almost falling to the ground but Waverly was already weaving through the crowd of people outside.

“Waves!” she heard Nicole shout from behind her. She blinked away the tears at the corners of her eyes and kept moving.

As soon as she made it back inside, she took a deep breath and went straight for the bar.

“Three shots, please,” Waverly said with a forced smile.

Wynonna came up behind her and hip checked her playfully. Waverly stumbled over a bit and shot her sister a look.

“Gotta work on receiving those hits, baby girl,” Wynonna teased. Even through her drunken haze, Waverly watched as her sister’s expression darkened at the look on Waverly’s face. “Who do I have to beat up?”

“No one,” Waverly said quickly.

“It’s Haught isn’t it? I saw you two go outside,” Wynonna said as her eyes scanned the crowd, “What’d she say to you? Some shit about not making it out of Unicorns? I swear to god that bitch-”

Waverly cut off her sister. “Nothing like that. It’s fine. Here.”

She handed Wynonna a shot in hopes it would distract her enough to stop talking about Haught. Wynonna’s eyes darted down to the shot and she took it happily.

“Best sister ever,” Wynonna said with a wink. They took a shot at the same time and Waverly relished the way the alcohol burned as it went down. She didn’t know if she should be mad or sad about Haught. Probably a little bit of both. But for now she would just be drunk.

***

Later that night, Waverly made some poor decisions.

Part of Waverly hoped that Haught had seen when Wynonna pulled her on the bar to dance. She was too far gone to think or even do a scan for herself.

The other part of her hoped Nicole was gone by the time she pulled Fury into a kiss while she was on top of the bar.

***

The next morning, Waverly woke up on the couch with a blanket draped over her. She blinked up at the ceiling for a moment, head already pounding. She saw her dress dropped haphazardly on the floor and looked under the blanket to see she had decided to sleep in just her underwear.

Shapiro was coming down the stairs, shoes in her hand and shirt askew. Waverly squinted at her and rolled her eyes as Wynonna came down the stairs behind her in just a tshirt and panties. She flopped back down on the couch and looked at her phone.

Four messages from Haught.

Haught: Waves. Please. Can we just sit down and talk?

Haught: Or stand and talk? I’m not picky.

Haught: I’m sorry.

Haught: I still have some questions left in your game of twenty questions, you know.

Waverly closed her phone and turned so her face was pressed against the back of the couch. She heard movement in the kitchen but ignored it. There was still a sadness bubbling in her chest that she had hoped would go away with the drinking but apparently there was no such luck. Her fingers itched to text Haught back but she restrained herself.

All she could think about was how Nicole’s lips felt against her own and the way her hand settled so naturally on her waist. Waverly sighed at the memory. A sigh that turned to a groan when she heard giggling coming from the kitchen.

Waverly wrapped the blanket around herself and decided to go up the stairs while the other two were distracted in the kitchen. She purposefully left her phone to avoid any temptation of calling Nicole. She would rather just deal with her in practice the next day.

***

Waverly skipped a whole week of practices and Haught stopped trying to text her after two days of no replies.

***

Waverly was finally back at practice. She couldn’t bring herself to be gone for too long. Especially with Becky texting her and asking where she was. Not to mention the kiss with Fury at the holiday party which apparently the whole league already knew about.

Though Waverly wasn’t as worried about the kiss. Especially seeing how Fury just waved it off and so did Waverly. It wasn’t a big deal, not in roller derby. Waverly was more worried with the idea that Nicole knew that she kissed Fury. Right after they had kissed. It made Waverly nervous.

“Alright, we’re practicing apex jumps today,” Haught said standing in front of the group of Unicorns. There was a mix of excited chatter and groans. Waverly’s stomach had been in a knot all practice at the idea of being in the same room as Nicole again so she really couldn’t tell if she was nervous for the drill at all.

An apex jump was usually made by a jammer to jump the corner of the track and get past the opposing blockers to score all their points in one impressive looking move. It was rarely used, and when it was done successfully, it was always a crowd pleaser.

Haught set up some cones to simulate blockers, giving them a distance to try and jump. She demonstrated it with ease, her long legs stretching without a problem for her to complete the jump. Waverly purposely looked away as they all got in line to jump the cones.

All practice Haught had been trying to get Waverly’s attention. She could feel her staring at her or skating closer to her than maybe she would have normally. But Waverly pointedly ignored her every single time.

They went through the drill a few times, the cones getting further and further apart as they went. Waverly cleared it easily every time even when some other skaters struggled. But the last time with the cones nearly as far apart as she was tall, Waverly felt her skate slip a little under her and her ankle twist in a weird way. She stumbled for a moment but managed to stay upright. She cursed to herself as she skated back to the line.

“Maybe you shouldn’t jump this next one, Waves,” Haught said skating up to her. Her eyes were firmly on Waverly’s ankle and Waverly groaned a little when Nicole’s eyes met her own.

“I’m fine,” Waverly said stiffly even as she favored her injured ankle and kept her weight off of it.

“Waverly, you’re not. I can see that-”

“Don’t ever tell me what I am and what I’m not,” Waverly snapped under her breath, looking sharply at Nicole. She noticed Becky perk up a little and try to look behind her back at them but it didn’t seem like anyone else had taken notice.

Nicole skated a little closer, something burning in her eyes. “As your coach, I’m telling you not to try jumping the cones if you already injured yourself.”

“And as an adult, I’m kindly telling you to fuck off,” Waverly said as Becky took her turn, meaning Waverly was next.

“Waverly,” Nicole said again, warningly. But Waverly, more determined than ever, went anyways. She could feel all the anger in her chest making her legs work faster and through the pain in her ankle. Clearing the cones was no problem. But as she landed perfectly on her injured ankle she felt a ‘pop’ and her entire leg collapsed underneath her. Waverly tumbled to the ground, rolling over herself until she landed flat on her back, limbs spread out around her.

There was a collective gasp and Waverly groaned, her cheeks heating in embarrassment. Waverly just let herself lay there for a moment with her eyes closed. The light was blocked from her eyes and she opened them to see Haught and Fury both leaning over her.

“Are you okay?” Haught asked, eyes wide.

“I’m fine,” Waverly said pushing away the hand Haught offered to help her up. She tried to get up on her own and managed to do it without embarrassing herself until she tried to put weight on her ankle. She hissed in pain, knee giving out from under her for a moment. Haught quickly grabbed her arm to save her from falling and Waverly shot her a look.

“Let me help you to the first aid room,” Haught said, Fury nodding in agreement.

“I’m fine,” Waverly repeated. She tried to pull her arm from Nicole’s grasp but she held firm.

“Waverly, I’m not only your coach, I’m also the only person from Safety here. So I need you to do what I tell you,” Nicole said firmly. Waverly felt a chill go up her spine that wasn’t entirely unpleasant at the tone of her voice and the look in Nicole’s eyes. She wondered if this is what Nicole was like when she was in cop mode. Taking in a perp and telling them to put their hands behind their back-

“Waverly!” Fury interrupted her reverie. Waverly blinked at her, cheeks tinting from letting herself get carried away with her thoughts. Nicole was frowning and looked just as confused as Fury. “Can you stand up with Haught’s help?”

“Yeah,” Waverly said, still reeling from her daydream. Nicole held her arm and steadied Waverly as she stood on her feet. She tried to put down her injured ankle but hissed in pain and immediately picked it back up. Waverly let Nicole slip a tentative arm around her waist and hated how being in her arms felt so comforting.

“This okay?” Nicole asked softly.

Waverly just nodded and let Nicole lead her off of the track and into the second half of the warehouse where the first aid office was.

Office was probably a strong word for it. It was a little room they had built with some wood planking in the corner of the warehouse. It had a locking door, windows with blinds, and generally looked like an office. Except it was stuffed with medical supplies including crutches and wheelchairs for when the inevitable injuries happened.

They didn’t talk all the way to the office. The only sound was the din of the girls skating on the track. The sound faded as they made their way to the first aid office. Nicole opened the door and Waverly pulled on the door frame to wheel herself in on one skate as she balanced on the one foot. She pulled herself to the couch and let her body fall onto it with a huff.

Nicole closed the door behind her and went straight for one of the supply cabinets.

“Can you get your skate off?” she asked as she walked back with some rolls of medical tape.

Waverly undid her skate, making it as loose as possible. She moved to take it out but Nicole stopped her as she knelt on the floor in front of her. She unclipped the strap of her helmet and set it on the floor, along with her wrist guards. Waverly took her helmet off and set it besides her on the couch, taking her mouth guard off and dropping it in it.

“Wait, here. Let me take a look first,” Nicole said shooing Waverly’s hands away from her own foot. Nicole carefully pulled back the tongue of the skate and ran her fingers along Waverly’s ankle. “Does that hurt?”

Waverly felt chills run all up her body at the contact but managed to keep a straight face. “Nope,” she said stiffly.

Nicole nodded and slowly pulled the skate from Waverly’s foot. It hurt a little as the stiff leather cleared her ankle but it was more of a dull ache now. Once the skate was off, Nicole pulled Waverly’s sock halfway down her foot to leave her ankle exposed.

Waverly blushed at the oddly intimate nature of the whole thing.

She was sitting on the couch with her skate off and sock down with Nicole kneeling in front of her and running her fingers over her ankle time and time again. If this were a Jane Austen novel, they’d have to be married for this sort of contact.

“What’s the verdict, doc?” Waverly teased awkwardly. Nicole looked up at her with some shock on her face but quickly looked back down at her ankle. Waverly figured she didn’t have the right to be joking with Nicole in this way. Not when she had been ignoring her calls. Though it was Nicole who kissed her and then said it was a mistake.

“It’s a little swollen,” Nicole nodded. She looked at Waverly with all the seriousness she’d ever seen Nicole muster. “So we’ll have to amputate.”

Waverly looked at Nicole for a beat before realizing she had been trying to tease her too. A slow embarrassed smile grew on Nicole’s face, dimples popping enough to make Waverly hate Nicole again. They both smiled at each other for a moment before Nicole picked up a roll of the medical tape and began to undo it.

“I’m just going to wrap it and we’ll ice it. But you should be careful on it the next few days,” Nicole said taking Waverly’s sock completely off and setting it in her skate. The gesture made Waverly blush and feel self conscious. She shifted a little in her seat as Nicole began to gently roll the tape around her foot. Nicole’s fingers brushed the skin of her foot as she went and tingles ran across Waverly’s scalp.

“Question ten?” Nicole whispered, looking up at Waverly through her lashes, ever unsure.

Waverly hesitated only a moment before nodding.

“Are you still mad at me?”

Waverly sighed and looked away for a moment. She wished she had something to do with her hands other than having them sit awkwardly at her sides, so she began to take her wrist guards off slowly.

“Yes,” Waverly said, “I am still mad at you.”

“Because I kissed you?” Nicole asked.

“Yes!” Waverly said before sighing and shaking her head. “No. Not really. I’m mad at you because I wanted you to kiss me more. And because you said I was a mistake.”

Nicole stopped wrapping her ankle to look at Waverly with something like anger clouding her expression. “I didn’t say you were a mistake. How could you-...no. I said the kiss was a mistake!”

“Same difference,” Waverly said picking at some stray strands of thread on the couch.

“It’s not. And you know it,” Nicole said going back to wrapping Waverly’s foot. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I met you, Waverly-”

“Then why didn’t you?” Waverly blurted. She watched a slow smile crawl over Nicole’s face.

“Because, darlin’, that’s not something a gentlewoman does upon first meetin’ a lady,” Nicole said with a slight drawl that made Waverly feel like she was going to faint.

Waverly whispered, “I wouldn’t have minded.”

Nicole raised an eyebrow and continued. “It wasn’t you. It was the kiss. I knew I shouldn’t have done it. It’s not something that people look highly upon. Coaches and skaters being together. It can get really awkward really quickly. Hell, even inter-league dating is frowned upon. It’s part of the reason I left my old league.”

Waverly stuck her finger in the hole of the couch and stretched it out as she spoke. “Seems like a silly rule to me.”

“Well it’s not,” Nicole assured her, “It can really throw off an entire team.”

Waverly looked at Nicole who was still focused on her ankle. Even through the dull pain as she wrapped the bandage tightly around Waverly’s ankle, she could feel Nicole’s gentle touch. It was in the way she cradled the heel of her foot and ankle. She wanted Nicole. In the most primal sexy way but also just...she just wanted her. She wanted to hold her hand and look into her eyes without worrying if it was a beat too long. She wanted to cuddle her and run her hands through her hair as they watched tv. To drive to practice together and fight over the radio dial. But Nicole had been burned before.

“Nicole, can I ask you a question?” Waverly said.

Nicole nodded, her eyebrows raised skeptically.

“Do you regret it? Everything with your ex? Even if it blew up in the end and got messy. Do you wish it had never happened?” Waverly asked softly.

Nicole’s eyes darted around Waverly’s face as if they were looking for something. Some kind of hint or answer. She licked her lips and shook her head.

“No.”

“Do you regret our kiss?” Waverly asked, steeling her heart for the answer.

“No,” Nicole said easily. She had finished wrapping Waverly’s ankle but stayed kneeling in front of her.

“Do you think it’s worth it?” Waverly asked quietly.

She didn’t say what, but they both knew the true meaning behind the question. Were they worth it.

They just stared at each other for a moment. It felt like they were at a precipice. At the edge of something waiting for the fall. For that push that would send them tumbling off the edge and into the unknown. Waverly could feel it hanging in the air around them, crackling like static. The ghost of Nicole’s lips still played on her lips and she looked down at Nicole’s out of habit.

“Question number eleven,” Nicole said, visibly swallowing a lump in her throat. Her hands were resting on either side of Waverly’s thighs on the couch. Long fingers lightly brushed against the outside of her thighs sending Waverly’s nerves aflame. “Would it scare you if I said you were worth everything?”

Waverly covered Nicole’s hands with her own and ran them up her arms. Her hands bumped clumsily into Nicole’s elbow pads and over them until they smoothed over her shoulders. Waverly cupped Nicole’s neck between her hands and shook her head.

“No. Well...yes. Because I-...you scare me,” Waverly said. She caught Nicole’s disheartened look and shook her head. She shut her eyes to try and gather her thoughts as she spoke again. “No, not in a bad way. Sorry I’m...not very good at this but-...”

Waverly took a deep breath and opened her eyes back up to see Nicole just staring at her, a small hopeful smile on her face. Waverly smiled back and resisted the urge to just lean over and kiss her. But she knew she owed Nicole an explanation. So Waverly continued.

“You scare me because-...I’ve never felt like this before,” Waverly confessed, “Have you ever met someone and instantly known in your heart that they meant something to you?”

Nicole’s eyes radiated something Waverly wasn’t quite ready to think about yet when she replied. “I kinda might know something about that...yeah.”

Waverly’s heart was beating so quickly she was sure Nicole could hear it.

“Nicole, I want to do a lot of things. I want to get out of Unicorns,” Waverly started, “I want to be on an amazing team and kick ass and win the championship but-...when I think about what I want to do most in the world...it’s you.”

Nicole visibly sighed, her smile widening even as Waverly blushed from her poor choice of words.

“Question twelve,” Nicole whispered even as she got closer to Waverly. She had slotted her body between Waverly’s knees so their faces were only inches apart. “Can I kiss you again, Waverly Earp?”

Waverly didn’t answer. She just let herself finally close the gap between them and bring their lips together again. Their lips slid together with ease, every hair standing on edge. Somehow their second kiss was more magical than the first. Waverly wondered if it was going to be a new experience each time they kissed after this.

Each time.

Just the thought made Waverly smile into the kiss and curl her fingers into the soft hairs at the back of Nicole’s skull. She deepened the kiss, tongue testing the waters and brushing along Nicole’s bottom lip. That seemed to be all the redhead needed as far as encouragement. Nicole’s hands cupped the back of Waverly’s thighs, lifting and twisting her so she was lengthwise on the couch. Before Waverly could process what was happening, her back was pressed into the soft cushions of the couch and Nicole was above her.

Waverly let out a soft groan as Nicole pulled Waverly’s knee over her hip, their bodies fitting wonderfully together. It was far from perfect. Waverly had one skate on, Nicole had both of hers on...basically all of their equipment was still on. But the clunky knee and elbow pads didn’t deter them. Neither did the light sheen of sweat on their bodies from the practice they had both been in just a few moments ago.

Waverly’s fingers weaved their way into Nicole’s hair, tugging lightly on the short strands. Nicole’s fingers on her leg tightened as her hips tilted down into Waverly’s. Stars popped in front of Waverly’s eyes and she wondered if she was in heaven.

The sharp sound of a whistle interrupted them and Nicole pulled away quickly. She sat up a little and peeked through the closed blinds presumably to see if anyone was on their way to the first aid office. Waverly’s eyes followed the line of Nicole’s jaw where her short red hair tickled the skin and she sat up, her lips placing soft kisses along that line.

Nicole sighed, eyes fluttering shut as she dropped her hand from the blinds to Waverly’s hip. Waverly could taste the sweat on Nicole’s jaw and it sent a shot of heat directly to her core.

“We should get back to practice,” Nicole breathed out as Waverly pulled her earlobe between her teeth.

“I like this better,” Waverly whispered as her lips just barely ghosted over Nicole’s pulsepoint. She could feel Nicole’s pulse rushing under her lips and smirked. Nicole gently pushed on Waverly’s hip to get her to lay back down. Waverly pouted up at Nicole who was still kneeling between her legs.

“I would really love to continue this,” Nicole said with a smile, “But they’re going to start wondering where we are.”

“Fine,” Waverly huffed, smile still playing at the corners of her lips. Her hands were running up and down Nicole’s forearms, unable to go too long without feeling her skin. She’d gotten a taste and now she was addicted. “Then when can we continue?”

“Well, I was wondering if, uh,” Nicole ducked her head shyly, tongue wetting her lips. Waverly already knew she was going to agree with whatever she asked. “If I could take you on a date.”

Waverly’s heart fluttered like a bird trying to escape its cage. “I’d love that. Tonight?”

Nicole chuckled warmly and leaned down to kiss Waverly lightly, “Impatient. I can’t do tonight. I have the night shift. What about Monday night?”

“Monday night works great,” Waverly said.

“Perfect,” Nicole whispered before kissing Waverly again. She tried to deepen it but Nicole pulled away before she could. Waverly let out a frustrated sigh. “Let’s get back to practice. Yeah?”

“Fine,” Waverly said as Nicole climbed off the couch.

“And you’re definitely done skating for the day,” Nicole said helping her from the couch. Waverly just sighed dramatically.

“Fine. It just means I can watch you from the sidelines better.”

Nicole laughed and Waverly felt her stomach flutter at the sound.

***

Their first date went swimmingly. Nicole came to her door dressed in dark jeans and a button up and Waverly almost melted into a puddle. The only other time that she had seen Nicole not in workout clothes was at the holiday party. Surprisingly she hadn’t even seen Nicole when she was working. Not yet anyways.

Waverly could only imagine what Nicole looked like in a cop uniform. If her Calamity Janes uniform did things for Waverly, she could only imagine a police uniform.

“What’s Haught shit doing here?” Wynonna had asked when the sound of a car pulling up to the Homestead alerted them of her arrival.

Waverly ran down the stairs in her skirt and crop top, pulling her shoes on as she went. “She’s here for me.”

Wynonna turned to look at her sister and did a double take. “Why do you look like you’re hooking on the side of I-9?”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Waverly said with a roll of her eyes. There was a soft knock at the door and she ran a hand through her hair. “We’re going on a date.”

“What?!” Wynonna asked incredulously, “A date? With her?”

“Yep,” Waverly said simply, hoping Nicole couldn’t hear Wynonna practically shrieking through the door. “Now excuse me. My date is here.”

Nicole took her to a nice dinner in the city. At one point during dinner, Waverly ran her foot over Nicole’s ankle and she dropped her fork loudly on her plate. It got them a few looks, but it was completely worth it. The entire ride home they held hands over the center console. Nicole’s thumb brushed along the side of Waverly’s hand and it made her stomach twist in the most pleasant way possible.

And yes, they did make out in the car when they got back to the Homestead until the windows fogged up.

And yes, the making out continued against the front door when Nicole walked her there. That was, until Wynonna pulled the door open on them and Waverly practically fell through the door. She actually might have if Nicole didn’t catch her around the waist at just the right time.

With one more (very respectful) peck and a hug goodbye, Nicole was gone with the promise of picking Waverly up for the next practice.

***

Waverly loved when Nicole picked her up for practice. It meant that they could hold hands the whole ride to the warehouse and the whole way back. Sometimes after practice they found themselves volunteering to do little chores around the warehouse. Like organizing the first aid closet or locker rooms. Really, this was just an excuse to have alone time together and make out some more.

After practice they would get coffee or lunch and usually...make out some more.

Waverly felt like a teenager again with all the sneaking around and frantic makeout sessions in the back of cars and in secluded areas of the warehouse.

It was a sort of silent agreement they came to to keep their...whatever they had between them a secret from the league. At least as much of a secret as someone could have in roller derby. Which Waverly was beginning to learn was not much.

Waverly’s hands slipped under Nicole’s ridiculous t-shirt. With how she cut off the sleeves, Waverly could basically see her entire torso through the sides anyways. She had suggested they “clean” the locker room after practice. They attempted to clean for about ten minutes before Nicole backed Waverly against the freestanding lockers in the middle of the room that were more for show than actual use.

Waverly’s fingers smoothed along the flat panes of Nicole’s stomach and trailed along the edge of her sports bra. It was still a damp from practice and on anyone else Waverly might find it off putting, but on Nicole it was one of the sexiest things in the world.

Nicole pulled away from Waverly just long enough to pull her shirt up and over her head. Waverly followed her lead and shucked her tank top to the floor just before Nicole surged forward again. Their hips bumped and the metal of the locker was cold against Waverly’s back but Nicole’s lips were on hers and that was all she noticed.

Nicole’s lips traveled down Waverly’s jaw to her neck and she danced her hands over Nicole’s breasts. A groan reverberated through Nicole’s chest and Waverly tilted her hips towards Nicole’s.

They hadn’t taken the next step in their relationship. Not that Waverly wasn’t ready. She was oh so ready. At first she was nervous and had googled some tips. After all, she’d never been with a woman and wasn’t sure exactly what was the norm. She wasn’t an idiot, she could imagine what had happened and sure...maybe she had indulged in enough sapphic adult content to give her a general idea of how it worked. But she was still nervous.

Nicole had been so sweet and gentle and let Waverly take the reins on how far they went. She always waited for a cue from Waverly before exploring any new territory. It only turned Waverly on even more. She could feel the sexual tension between them building and building and was sure it would spill over at any moment.

Nicole nipped at a particularly sensitive part of Waverly’s neck and she moaned obscenely. Waverly wrapped her leg around Nicole’s hip, the heel of her foot digging into the back of her thigh to bring her closer. Nicole gripped the back of Waverly’s thighs and lifted her into the air as she reconnected their mouths, her legs automatically wrapping around her. Waverly sighed and whispered against Nicole’s lips.

“That was so sexy.”

Nicole smirked in a way that should have been irritating but Waverly just found it ridiculously charming. “You like that, baby?” she said softly.

Waverly practically melted as she nuzzled their noses together. “Let me show you.”

She leaned back in to kiss her when the sound of the door opening interrupted them. They froze for a moment from their hidden spot behind the wall of lockers.

“Um, guys,” Fury’s voice came. It snapped them out of their daze and Nicole hastily put Waverly down as they both scrambled for their shirts.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Nicole said quickly throwing her shirt back on and walking out from behind the wall of lockers. She put her arm up against the lockers in a way that Waverly guessed was supposed to look casual but only looked more awkward. Especially with how Nicole’s face was flushed and lips swollen.

Waverly quickly slipped on her own shirt and picked up a disinfecting wipe to pretend like she was wiping down the lockers. She heard Fury’s footsteps come into the room and peak around the lockers to look at Waverly. She smiled at her and tried to look normal even if her cheeks were burning.

“I just...wanted to know if you two had signed up for volunteer shifts for the game next week,” Fury said looking between the two.

“Oh, um...yeah I’ll do that when I get home,” Waverly said hoping Fury was going to leave soon to get them out of this awkward situation.

“Mhm, me too,” Nicole said with an exaggerated smile.

Fury frowned and looked between the two of them with a small smile. “Okay,” she said before walking back towards the door. She closed it slowly behind her and Waverly breathed a sigh of relief. But then a moment later the door opened again and Fury popped her head in.

“Oh, by the way, it’s totally obvious you two are fucking. See you later!” she shut the door behind her again and Nicole and Waverly just stood there mortified.

***

Waverly: Is it bad people know we’re together?

Nicole: No. I don’t think so. Plus I think Fury is just extra observant.

Waverly: Hm. Okay.

Nicole: We just have to be...more careful. Just in case. It won’t be as much of a problem when you’re not in Unicorns anymore.

Waverly: Nicole.

Nicole: Waverly.

Waverly: If you wanted to...back off...you would tell me. Right?

Nicole: I don’t want to back off.

Waverly: But you would tell me?

Nicole: Yes. Absolutely. But you’re worth everything that might come our way. You know that, right?

Waverly: I...goddamn it, Nicole.

Nicole: ...what?

Waverly: I really like you.

Nicole: I really like you too.

Waverly: Want to come over?

Nicole: I’ll be there in a half hour.

***

Mind blowing.

It was a phrase Waverly had seen other girls use to describe sex but she always thought it was over exaggerated. She would roll her eyes and shake her head at the ridiculousness of it. Champ was the only other person she’d ever slept with and he was fine. Competent. But that was about it. Her pool of potential partners was small in a small town, but still.

Waverly always had more success on her own when it came to pleasure.

But with Nicole.

Well.

Waverly finally understood what other people had been raving about.

It felt like Nicole would bring her to the edge and dangle her there. A terrifying and exhilarating feeling only made more amazing when Nicole took her off the ledge and they fell together. The two weeks they’d been making out were basically two weeks of sexual foreplay and Waverly was more than ready to show Nicole how she felt.

They came together like a match striking the box, a flame erupted between them. Hot and burning but instead of the flame dwindling down it just got bigger. Nicole’s hands on her skin were like fire and electricity and everything that Waverly was terrified of but needed. Being with Nicole was like taking her first sip of water after being stranded in a desert. Waverly kept drinking her in thinking she would be satisfied eventually, but only grew more parched. She couldn’t get enough of her.

They stayed tangled in each other, bodies rocking together until they both practically passed out from exhaustion. Waverly woke up sometime in the night with Nicole’s arms wrapped tightly around her. Her face was pressed into Nicole’s collarbone, their legs tangled together to the point that Waverly couldn’t tell where she ended and Nicole began.

Her body ached deliciously as she stirred, pressing a soft kiss to Nicole’s collarbone. She could still taste their combined sweat on her chest and groaned, a fire starting in her belly again. She felt Nicole hum, the sound reverberating through her chest and into Waverly’s lips.

“Go ‘ack to sleep, baby,” Nicole murmured, tightening her arms around Waverly’s body. Waverly wiggled a little and she felt Nicole chuckle. “You’re not going back to sleep, hm?”

Waverly pulled back a little so that she could look up at Nicole. She shook her head and Nicole pressed a kiss to her forehead. In one move, Nicole flipped them so Waverly was on her back and Nicole was over her. She slotted perfectly between Waverly’s thighs and she should have been embarrassed with how wantonly she wrapped her legs around Nicole’s waist, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Nicole looked down at her, red hair beautifully tousled and a small smile on her face. There was something in her eyes that made Waverly’s heart flip and she bit her lip as she ran her hands through Nicole’s hair, trying to tame it.

“Question thirteen,” Nicole whispered before she placed soft kisses across Waverly’s chest.

Waverly sighed, “Are you still playing that game?”

Sharp teeth bit purposefully into the top of Waverly’s breast and her hips jumped up towards Nicole.

“Yes, I still have some questions left out of my twenty,” Nicole teased before soothing the bite with her tongue. Waverly melted into the mattress below her. “Now question thirteen.”

“Question thirteen,” Waverly repeated as Nicole’s kisses continued up the column of her throat. Her legs tightened around Nicole’s waist as the other woman pulled away, propping herself up on her elbows to look at Waverly.

“Waverly, will you be my girlfriend?” Nicole whispered. There was a nervous smile playing on the corners of her mouth, eyes wide and hopeful. It was so apparent even with the only lighting in the room being the moon shining through the window. Waverly felt her heart burst in her chest and her fingers tightened in Nicole’s hair to bring her down for a bruising kiss. After a few moments they pulled apart for air and Nicole’s smile only got wider.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes, absolutely a thousand times yes,” Waverly said before placing soft kisses all over Nicole’s face.

Nicole laughed and captured Waverly’s lips once more. “Good. Because if you think I’m letting you go now, you’re crazy,” Nicole whispered. Waverly’s heart tripped and split in two, filling her with warmth in a way that should have scared her. But in Nicole’s arms, she couldn’t feel safer.

***

Waverly was falling hard.

She felt like she was tumbling down a hill but didn’t want to stop. Even if maybe she should. She would take a step back to try and stop the motion but then one look in Nicole’s eyes and she was falling again.

Wynonna knew. She wasn’t happy about her baby sister dating her “biggest rival” on the league, but once Waverly convinced her it wasn’t Nicole trying to get some kind of weird intel out of her she accepted it.

They decided to keep it on the down low from the rest of the league. They didn’t want people prying into this new thing. They just wanted to keep it to themselves for a little bit. Even if Fury was convinced that everyone knew anyways. It didn’t matter to them in their small little bubble they had created for themselves.

***

Waverly’s back hit the hard concrete of the ground and she grimaced. She huffed in annoyance and sprung back on her feet as quickly as she could manage. She looked at the source of her frustration and saw Haught looking back at her with a barely there grin. It only made the anger inside her flare higher.

“You have to get lower,” Haught said already getting low in derby stance for the next hit, “Here, let me hit you again.”

Waverly crossed her arms in front of her chest and shot Haught a look. Her girlfriend. Nicole usually but Haught because they were practicing and Waverly was annoyed with her. It was their last Unicorn practice before moving up to the subpool where they could start scrimmaging and Waverly was convinced Nicole was being mean on purpose.

She thought it would be fun to pair together for hitting drills. Little did she know that Haught would be such a bully.

“You’re just going to keep knocking me over,” Waverly said resisting the pout that was pulling on her bottom lip. Haught stood up and looked around the track. Everyone was paired up, hitting and being hit...and a lot of falling.

“Everyone is doing the same thing, Waves,” Haught said pointedly, “I’m not going to take it easy on you. You need to learn.”

Waverly frowned at Haught, arms crossing tighter in front of her chest as she started her down. “You’re saying you would hit someone else this hard?”

“Yes!” Haught said throwing her arms up in frustration, “And I’m your coach. I’m not going to stand here and argue with you about this. Get in derby position and hit me.”

“I don’t want to,” Waverly hissed.

“Too fucking bad,” Nicole said flatly, “I’m your partner for this drill and you’re going to do it until I say we’re done.”

After one more second of throwing daggers at Haught, Waverly skated a little behind her. She was determined to at least knock her over a little bit. Haught was bigger than her and...maybe a little stronger. But Waverly was determined. She took a deep breath and began to skate as fast as she could towards Haught. When she got to her, she got low in derby position and hit Haught’s hip with her own.

It felt like hitting a brick wall.

Waverly bounced off her hip and hit the ground right on her ass. The bloom of pain she felt only served to piss her off more. She looked up just in time to see Nicole skating towards her and offering a hand to help her up. Waverly pushed Nicole’s hand away angrily and got up on her own.

“I’m done with this,” Waverly said skating off towards the locker room. She didn’t want to cause a scene. That wasn’t her intention. She was just so mad.

It was the end of practice, she was exhausted and she couldn’t get the hit right for the life of her. Her shirt was so soaked in sweat that it clung to her so she plucked at it. She was sure it was Nicole’s fault. Nicole didn’t have to be so mean about everything just because she was better than Waverly. She made it to the locker room and slammed the door behind her.

Waverly sat hard on the bench and began pulling off her wrist guards, throwing them angrily onto the ground. She then ripped her skates off and kept pulling her other gear off. Nicole skated into the locker room and Waverly rolled her eyes.

“So you’re done with practice then?” Nicole said with her hands on her hips.

“Yes,” Waverly said with a raise of her eyebrow.

“You won’t get full attendance credit.”

“I don’t care.”

“Waverly-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Nicole!” Waverly said as she ripped her final knee pad off.

Nicole frowned and got closer to her. “Hey! You can’t talk to me like that. I’m your coach-”

“You’re my girlfriend-”

“Yeah, but here I’m your coach,” Nicole said easily, “You can’t talk to me like that in front of the other girls.”

Waverly scoffed, “Why? Can’t talk to the big derby star like that?”

Nicole took her helmet off and ran a hand through her messy locks in frustration. “See. This is why they say you shouldn’t date in derby.”

“So maybe we should stop dating,” Waverly said before she could stop the words from tumbling out.

“Seriously?” Nicole asked incredulously, “Because I hit you too hard?”

Waverly stood up and pointed at Nicole triumphantly, “So you admit it was too hard!”

“No! It was the appropriate level of hardness,” Nicole insisted.

“You just said it was too hard!” Waverly said getting so close to Nicole that their bodies were practically touching. But with Nicole on her skates she was easily a foot and a half taller than Waverly. Not very intimidating on Waverly’s part.

“Waverly! Drop it!” Nicole shouted.

“No!” Waverly said poking Nicole hard in the chest. “Admit that you were wrong.”

Nicole stared down at Waverly and Waverly looked up at her. Honestly it was hurting her neck but she wasn’t about to back down now. Nicole’s nostrils were flaring angrily, beads of sweat going down the side of her face and chest heaving. Waverly hated how hot she looked when she was trying to be mad at her.

She watched Nicole’s eyes dart down to her lips and before she could make her own move, her back hit the lockers and Nicole’s lips were on her own. Her hands balled the front of Nicole’s shirt in her hands as she lifted Waverly up so their height difference wasn’t so apparent. Waverly wrapped her legs around Nicole’s waist and moaned into the kiss, deepening it.

Nicole pressed her hips into Waverly to keep her up against the wall as she quickly rid herself of her wrist guards. As soon as they clattered to the floor, her hands were up Waverly’s shirt and she arched into Nicole.

Their kissing was pure passion. All teeth and tongue, pulling at each other and trying to prove dominance. Waverly had never been more turned on in her life. She pulled at Nicole’s shirt with no real purpose other than she wanted to be as close to her as possible, even with their bodies completely flush with each other.

Nicole pulled Waverly away from the lockers and skated her over to the bench in the middle of the two rows of lockers. She carefully laid Waverly down on it and covered her body with her own. Nicole straddled the bench and pulled Waverly’s hips up onto her lap so that her legs could still wrap around Nicole’s waist.

Waverly groaned and Nicole’s long body bent over her as they continued kissing.

“Nicole, I need you,” Waverly panted, pressing her hips up into her in demonstration.

Nicole moaned and slipped her hand into the front of Waverly’s workout pants. Waverly’s hips jumped into her as long fingers slipped through her wetness. She should be embarrassed by how wet she was, but she really didn’t care right now.

Nicole’s fingers circled Waverly’s entrance and she moaned, flexing her hips to get Nicole where she needed her most. Nicole pulled away from kissing her with a smirk on her face.

“This depends, baby,” she said, her voice low, “Are you going to complain about it being too hard again?”

Waverly hated that Nicole saying that made her entire body light on fire. She pulled Nicole down by her shirt and hissed against her lips. “Just shut up and fuck me.”

Nicole kissed her deeply and Waverly hoped they couldn’t hear their moans back on the track.

***

“I’m sorry I got mad at you,” Waverly whispered as she ran her hands through Nicole’s damp locks from where her head laid on Waverly’s chest.

Nicole just sighed and leaned into Waverly’s hands. “ ‘s okay.”

They were still laying on the wooden bench of the locker room, shirts and equipment long tossed onto the floor. The bench was uncomfortable, but Waverly was too spent to move and so was Nicole by the looks of it.

“I’m sorry I got frustrated,” Waverly said biting her lip.

“It’s okay,” Nicole said lifting her head just enough to place a soft kiss on Waverly’s bare chest. “And I’m sorry I was harsh.”

Waverly sighed in content. “I did like how we made up though.”

Nicole laughed. “Yeah well. We should probably not do that during practice anymore.”

“If you say so,” Waverly said with a smile, eyes drifting shut for whatever few moments of peace they had left.

***

“How do I look?”

Waverly walked out of Nicole’s bathroom with Nicole’s spare jersey and a skirt on. Nicole was sitting on the floor of her living room changing her wheels for the game, still in a t-shirt and her workout pants. When she looked up from her work and saw Waverly, her eyes widened and she dropped her skate tool.

“Is that my jersey?” she breathed out.

Waverly bit back a giggle, “Yeah.” She put her hands on her hips and turned so that Nicole could see her name and number on the back. “Do you like it? I wasn’t sure if it was your thing.”

“Oh baby, that’s everybody’s thing,” Nicole said pushing her wheels and skates to the side and reaching out for Waverly. She pulled Waverly down into her lap and they both laughed, small kisses falling between them.

It was the championship game of the season between the Calamity Janes and Peacemakers. Wynonna hadn’t shut up about it for weeks. Especially when Nicole was around the Homestead. Waverly knew Wynonna was all show though. Even if she pretended she had a grudge against Nicole, she knew there was a soft spot for her in there somewhere.

“Won’t Wynonna be upset?” Nicole said as her eyes scanned over the logo on the front of the the jersey, her hands firm on Waverly’s hips.

Waverly rolled her eyes, arms draped over Nicole’s shoulders. “I have a sign for her. I’m going to be cheering on my sister and my best baby.”

Nicole smiled so widely Waverly was sure she’d go blind.

***

After being assured that Wynonna wouldn’t hate her if the Calamity Janes won the game, Waverly left Nicole in the locker room with a small kiss. They had decided that the end of the season was as good a time as any to stop caring if people knew they were together or not. Waverly was wearing Nicole’s jersey, after all. It didn’t get much more obvious than that. Plus, she could tell her girlfriend was nervous and that wasn’t a thing that usually happened to her before games. So Waverly was going to try and make her feel better and if that meant a kiss in front of her teammates she was all in.

At halftime, Waverly had nervously drunk her way through...well she’d lost count of how many whiskeys she’d had. The points had been close the entire game.

Now with only one jam left, the Peacemakers were up by eleven points. Wynonna was two penalties away from fouling out and Nicole had been the main target for a lot of big hits during the game. Waverly could see it was starting to get to her...probably physically more than anything. Even from the stands she could see Nicole’s arms were peppered with bruises and she had one blooming on her jaw from a bad shoulder hit.

Dolls had called a timeout for the Peacemakers and Waverly saw him talking to Wynonna and her line of blockers. He looked extra serious, which was saying something for him. Wynonna nodded to whatever he was saying and shrugged. Nicole was on the jam line with her blockers. They were all standing in a circle, arms around each other and heads bent in a huddle.

There was only a minute left in the game and really, it could go to anyone at this point. Eleven points wasn’t hard to catch up to. Waverly’s stomach apprehensively and she drained the last of her drink. Becky was beside her also cheering for both teams. She’d squealed and hugged Waverly tightly when she saw her in Haught’s jersey.

“Your girl’s doin’ good,” she said with a wink. Waverly bit her lip and nodded.

“She is, isn’t she. They both are,” Waverly said. She waved her sign that read “Go Blood” to emphasize her point. The timeout was coming to an end and everyone took their place on the track. Wynonna stood right in the middle of the track behind the jam line so that Calamity Janes’ jammer, Hermione Rager, had to stand towards the edge of the track. It was silent as the announcer spoke.

”Alright, folks, this is it. The last jam of the Purgatory Roller Derby championship game between Peacemakers and Calamity Janes. Peacemakers are in the lead with one hundred and eighty-two points versus Calamity Janes with one hundred and seventy-one. It really is anyone’s game right now.”

There was a whistle signaling the end of the timeout and all the players got in their positions. Haught’s eyes were focused on Wynonna and Wynonna only. If the Peacemakers got lead jammer all they would have to do is run the clock and make sure the Calamity Janes didn’t get any points so they could win. But if the Calamity Janes got lead all bets were off.

“Five seconds!” a referee called. Waverly felt like she was holding her breath until the whistle sounded and the jam was on. Wynonna launched herself into the back of the pack but Nicole’s wall stayed firm, barely rolling forward. Rager was juking and trying to break up the Peacemaker’s wall but it was hardly working. Wynonna had pushed the Calamity Janes blockers forward a little more, their wall breaking up.

Wynonna juked Haught and tried to squeeze past her to keep lead jammer. Haught caught her just in time for Rager to get out of the pack and get lead jammer. Waverly saw Wynonna cuss for a moment but she quickly moved and got past Haught just behind Rager.

Rager has lead jammer but Blood is right behind her!

Wynonna got in front of the other jammer and turned around. She started to block Rager, stopping her from making it around the track and burning the clock.

We have some jammer on jammer D happening! Blood is trying to run down the game clock and secure the win for Peacemakers!

Rager tried to get past Wynonna but she was doing an awesome job of keeping Rager behind her. The pack basically just stood and watched, yelling at their jammers in encouragement. Wynonna looked at the clock, forty seconds left.

Waverly felt her palms sweating as they continued. Waverly watched as Nicole skated up at full speed and swept Wynonna to the side of the track so that Rager could get past her. Wynonna, not expecting the hit, fell and Nicole tripped over her and tumbled on top of her.

One of the referees whistled for a penalty on Wynonna as they both got up.

”Oo, looks like Blood is going to the box with a low block penalty for tripping Haught with her skate!”

Waverly cringed as Wynonna cussed out the referee. She couldn’t hear what she was saying but Waverly was sure she was saying that it was a bad call. The referee blew another whistle just as Rager was skating back around to score points.

”Looks like Blood got a misconduct penalty on top of her low block for yelling at the ref! That’s going to cost her a whole minute in the box. Just as Rager is coming up on her scoring pass!

Wynonna skated towards the penalty box, arms flailing in anger and she sat down on the penalty bench. Waverly watched as Rager got through the back with help from her team, scoring the Calamity Janes five more points.

The score is now one hundred and seventy-six to one hundred and eighty-two points. The Calamity Janes just need seven more points to take the game!”

Waverly looked over at the Peacemakers’ bench where Dolls and the rest of the team were staring blankly at the track. Dolls looked stoic but Waverly was sure he was boiling on the inside.

Rager came back around and got a second scoring pass of five more points just as Wynonna had ten seconds left in the box.

Rager just needs two more points to win! Can she do it before Blood gets more points for the Peacemakers?

Waverly saw her bouncing on her toes, ready to go back in and stop the Calamity Janes from winning. Rager saw Wynonna almost out of the box and skated harder to get around the track faster and back to the back of the pack. Wynonna got out of the box just as Rager hit the Peacemaker blockers.

Waverly watched with bated breath and counted how many of the Peacemaker blockers Rager passed. She counted one, two and a third one! Rager tapped her hips to call off the jam just as Wynonna came up to the pack. The referees blew the whistles to end the game and Wynonna came to a quick stop.

Everyone stared at the scoreboard, watching as the points ticked up.

Peacemakers: 182

Calamity Janes: 184

Nicole and her teammates threw their arms up in celebration and Waverly let out a breath. She cheered as Nicole looked up at the stands beaming. Waverly beamed back and blew her a kiss. But her eyes then found Wynonna who was sitting on her bench looking dejected.

She left the stands and went over to Wynonna, throwing her arms around her in a hug.

“You did good,” Waverly said kissing the side of Wynonna’s head. Wynonna rolled her eyes and pushed Waverly away gently. But she saw the small smile on her sister’s lips and Waverly knew she’d be fine.

“Yeah yeah,” Wynonna said standing up. “But your girl did better.”

Waverly shrugged despite the smile on her lips. “You both did great.”

She felt an arm snake over her shoulders and leaned into the familiar embrace. She looked up at Nicole and smiled before Nicole looked back at Wynonna.

“Good game,” Nicole said offering her hand. “That was a good hit back there.”

Wynonna stared at her hand for a moment before taking it. “Yeah well, if you could take a hit, it would have been a lot better.”

Nicole laughed and pulled Wynonna into a one armed hug. Wynonna seemed shocked at first but patted her back anyways.

“Alright, alright,” Wynonna said pulling away and straightening her jersey. “Now come on, love birds. We may have lost the championship, but I’m sure as hell going to win the after party.”

Waverly rolled her eyes just as Nicole pulled her in against her chest. “You were my good luck charm,” Nicole said with a grin.

Waverly beamed and ran her hands over the front of Nicole’s jersey. “You looked really sexy out there.”

Nicole wiggled her eyebrows at Waverly and kissed her softly. There were a few wolf whistles from their surrounding teammates and it made Waverly smile into the kiss.

“Maybe we should just go home,” Waverly said, “Skip the after party.”

“We gotta go for a little bit, baby,” Nicole said kissing Waverly once more.

Waverly sighed, “Fine. But we’ll have time together, just you and me, afterwards?”

Nicole smiled widely and pressed their foreheads together. “Waverly, we have all the time in the world.”

[orbemnews]

Analysis: Bezos leaves behind a company that's created value but has also triggered a national reckoning Bezos, the world’s richest person until recently, has gone from selling books out of his garage to running a company that makes consumer electronics, produces award-winning films and TV shows, offers organic groceries and hosts some of the world’s biggest websites. His company’s ambitions include delivering packages to households using flying drones and spreading facial recognition technology to virtually every consumer’s front doorstep. With each new innovation, Bezos and Amazon have offered the promise of making life easier, more convenient and enriching for customers. But these services also became testaments to Amazon’s ever-expanding power, influence and self-interest, inspiring fierce criticism from the company’s opponents: that Amazon kills brick and mortar businesses; that it bullies workers; that it uses the data from its massive online storefront to maintain a monopoly; that its partnerships with law enforcement have made it an accessory to discriminatory policing. “The guy was just obsessed with the end user. They were the highest priority,” said James Bailey, a professor of leadership development at George Washington University’s business school. “It’s one of those situations where your biggest asset is also your biggest liability.” Now, as he prepares to step down as CEO of the $1.7 trillion business he built and take on the role of executive chair, Bezos leaves behind a company that’s created immense value for consumers, investors and many small businesses, but which has also triggered a national reckoning over the costs it may have created for everyone else. A model for building online companies Bezos’s ambitions were large from the start: He launched Amazon at a time when few people knew what the internet was and chose the name, he later told journalist Brad Stone, in part because the Amazon river is “not only the largest river in the world — it’s many times larger than the next biggest river. It blows all other rivers away.” To achieve his vision, Bezos frustrated some shareholders by investing heavily in the business. It wasn’t until the end of 2001 that Amazon had its first profitable quarter, and its first profitable year didn’t occur until 2003. Amazon would continually flirt with profitability for the next decade. This approach would become a model for many others in Silicon Valley, and perhaps even something of an excuse for cash-hungry startups that seemingly burned through money without a pathway to profit. “Bezos created the blueprint for building internet businesses, being hyper customer-centric, and scaling disruptive innovation,” tweeted Aaron Levie, the CEO of enterprise cloud company Box.com. No other innovation symbolized Bezos’s appetite for losses like Amazon Prime, which was launched as a $79-a-year subscription plan and introduced what became the company’s most recognizable offering: free two-day shipping. On the surface, Amazon Prime stood to lose money. The cost of its benefits — which came to encompass not just fast shipping but streaming media, digital photo storage and discounts on groceries — outweighed what the company made in subscription fees. But it was another example of Bezos’s long-term plan to lure new customers into Amazon’s orbit and persuade them to become mega-spenders on the platform, thereby allowing Amazon to lower its costs even further to attract yet more customers, creating a virtuous cycle, or what Bezos called a “flywheel effect.” The company last year announced it has more than 150 million Prime subscribers worldwide. Relentless, or ruthless? As Amazon became a bigger player in retail, it inevitably came into conflict with others, both big and small. In some cases, it effectively drove them out of business. The bookseller Barnes and Noble announced in 2019 it was going private after a decade of trying to keep pace with Amazon. Toys”R”Us has blamed Amazon’s aggressive pricing for crushing the quintessentially American toy store. Rightly or wrongly, Amazon is often listed as a contributing factor behind the so-called retail apocalypse. And these days, the mere mention of Bezos’s interest in a new service is enough to send an entire industry’s stocks into a downward spiral. Like Walmart before it, Amazon has come to be viewed as “the new big bully, at least in the internet retail space,” said Bailey. Amazon famously clashed with book publishers over who controlled e-book pricing. It deliberately lost money selling diapers in order to thwart Diapers.com — then, according to a landmark antitrust investigation by US lawmakers, it acquired the company before raising diaper prices. (Bezos has said he does not recall giving an order to raise prices.) Amazon’s growing clout has allegedly given it immense leverage to squeeze its suppliers and to use third-party sellers’ own sales data against them to gain an anti-competitive edge. Bezos has argued that Amazon prospers not at others’ expense, but rather when it helps grow the whole pie. “Amazon’s success depends overwhelmingly on the success of the thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that also sell their products in Amazon’s stores,” he told Congress. Bezos also ruffled feathers when he held a highly publicized contest for the privilege of hosting Amazon’s newest headquarters. The so-called “HQ2” was pitched as an engine for local job creation and economic growth, particularly to small and mid-sized cities seeking development. For months, dozens of city leaders jockeyed for Amazon’s favor with offers of tax breaks and real estate. Ultimately, though, Amazon opted for Northern Virginia — just outside of Washington, D.C. — and New York, two of the nation’s wealthiest and most obvious metro areas, leaving many onlookers perplexed. (It later withdrew from New York after facing backlash from members of the community.) The entire episode was a bizarre flex of Amazon’s power and influence. To some critics, the good that Bezos has created does not negate the alleged harms. On the 2020 campaign trail, figures like Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for Amazon to be broken up, and regulators are circling. “The US and Europe are coming for Big Tech, and I don’t think the lawsuits against Facebook and Google are the end of it,” said Paul Gallant, an industry analyst at Cowen & Co. What’s good for customers isn’t necessarily good for workers Just as Bezos’s growing empire raised questions about whether it was good for other businesses, it also raised questions about whether it was good for workers. Rising automation, complaints about working conditions and a tough stance against unions all contributed to years of employee walkouts, petitions and, in some cases, lawsuits. Many of the company’s white-collar workers have also protested Amazon’s impact on the environment, calling on Bezos to make stepped-up commitments on climate change. (Amazon and Bezos later pledged to do more, with Bezos committing an initial $10 billion of his own money to fight climate change.) Early on in the pandemic, Amazon faced a warehouse worker revolt over a lack of hand sanitizer, masks and other protective gear. After one New York-based employee organized a protest over the issue, Amazon fired him for violating the company’s Covid quarantine policy. Amazon has since said it’s put in place temperature checks at fulfillment centers, ramped up its cleaning regimen, and established some 150 “process changes” to keep workers safe. Amazon has won plaudits for increasing its minimum wage to $15 an hour, but only after intense pressure from labor groups and some US lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders. And the same day that Bezos announced his plans to step down as CEO, the Federal Trade Commission said Amazon would pay more than $60 million to settle allegations that it withheld tips from its contract delivery drivers. In the coming weeks, Amazon workers in Alabama will vote on whether to form the company’s first US union. In response, Amazon has pushed for in-person voting despite the ongoing pandemic and launched a campaign to discourage unionization. “Jeff Bezos built his multibillion-dollar empire on exploitative practices including wage theft and surveillance tactics designed to bully workers into silence and prevent them from organizing,” said Rashad Robinson, president of the civil rights group Color Of Change. A tech icon whose reputation reflects his industry’s Despite the criticisms, Bezos will undoubtedly be remembered in the business world as a brilliant strategist and a disciplined entrepreneur. Bill Gurley, a prominent venture capitalist, called Bezos’s tenure at Amazon “the most spectacular CEO run of my lifetime.” In many ways, Bezos’s story with Amazon mirrors that of Silicon Valley. He began with a small idea in his garage that would change the world. He was lauded for innovating his way to success, putting in hard work and taking calculated risks. But those same choices also led to claims that his company had grown too powerful for its own good, and for the good of society. Now as allegations about Amazon’s power and approach to competition may be leading to a showdown with Washington, the billionaire CEO is tapping out. In a letter to employees this week, Bezos said he plans to spend more time on his newspaper, The Washington Post, and his spaceflight company, Blue Origin. He also plans to get more involved with his philanthropic initiatives, perhaps following in the footsteps of another transformational tech CEO — Microsoft’s Bill Gates. “Bezos wants to go out on top,” said Gallant. Source link Orbem News #Analysis #Bezos #company #Created #JeffBezos'scomplicatedlegacyasCEOofAmazon-CNN #Leaves #National #Reckoning #Tech #triggered

[erlenmeyertrash]

Tag Game #1

 oh boy

tagged by the wonderful @princessbelix !

Rules: answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 20 people.

I tag: (a bunch of my most recent followers (hello friends!) plus some faves that i love) @ilikethemtallsweetie @endreams-s @datmarshmallow  @iwasnttryingtohelp @bipperisbae @fallforfictionalcharacters @problematicfandomtrash @mydogsaresofuckingstupid @pieces-of-annedrew @thecinnabitch @internallyexplodingrainbows @wherethewaterstarts-andyouend @meginoi @scarletsaphire @wowieimshook @honey-stick @zerogettie @five-hour-anxiety @the-sanders-sides @virmillion

Last

1. drink - coffee

2. phone call - my dad

3. text message - “i’ll read the book or smth. but. just. i cannot” - on myself napping instead of going to class

4. song you listened - Kingdom Come - Jon Bellion

5. time you cried - ...hmm. some time in early to mid-january, maybe? not sure when.

6. dated someone twice? - lol yikes yep. let me be the cautionary tale, kiddos.

7. kissed someone and regretted it - hA yep

8. been cheated on - : ) you betcha

9. lost someone special - yeah

10. been depressed - been for a while, but we on them meds now they’re not really working though but it’s fine

11. gotten drunk and thrown up - ...pro tip? don’t take three shots of honey whiskey in 30 minutes, especially when you’re a) already extremely tipsy and b) don’t know your limits yet bc you’ve only drank like 5 times before

fave colours

12. gold

13. maroon

14. royal blue

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends - : ) yes

16. fallen out of love - yes

17. laughed until you cried - oh definitely

18. found out someone was talking about you - ...i guess?

19. met someone who changed you - kind of

20. found out who your friends are - yeppa yep

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list - i’m cackling at this question, but no

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl - the vast majority, i’d say

23. do you have any pets - I HAVE A DOG

24. do you want to change your name - not really, no. i hated it when i was younger but i like it now

25. what did you do for your last birthday - ...good question. idk?

26. what time did you wake up today - 6:15 and 6:45. ‘15 am, ‘45 pm after a hella good nap

27. what were you doing at midnight last night - trying to sleep

28. what is something you cant wait for - getting my own house

30. what are you listening to right now - the tv show my roomie is watching is filtering through the apartment

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom - Thomas, yes

32. something that’s getting on your nerves - ...nothing as of rn? wait oh my god the voice of that dude in ochem. hhh. hate.

33. most visited website - probs tumblr tbh

34. hair color - a mix of mouse-brown and dirty blonde, i’d say

35. long or short hair - long

36. do you have a crush on someone - fam ion even like myself lmao no

37. what do you like about yourself - : ‘ )

38. want any piercings? - not particularly for myself

39. blood type - A+

40. nicknames - abbae, stardust (<3), i think that’s it? other than dog mom of course

41. relationship status - single

42. zodiac - Taurus

43. pronouns - she/her 

44. fave tv shows - i don’t watch much? ultimate favoes over the years have been Warehouse 13, Grey’s, Fringe... I’m forgetting a few prolly but those really stand out

45. tattoos - 0

46. right or left handed - left

47. ever had surgery - nope!

48. piercings - ears

49. sport - volleyball, and i can- on occasion- catch a football

50. vacation - CURACAO

51. trainers - Nikes, hella.

more general

52. eating - girl scout cookies

53. drinking - super sweet coffee

54. i’m about to watch - my friends attempt an escape room

55. waiting for - bedtime tbh

56. want - to get accepted into my Extroversion™️ organization

57. get married - please

58. career - research!

which is better

59. hugs or kisses - ...hmm. i’ll say hugs

60. lips or eyes - eyes

61. shorter or taller - i prefer to be shorter? so like. taller for others lmao

62. older or younger - same thing- i like being younger

63. nice arms or stomach - hmmmm i’ll say arms i guess?

64. hookup or relationship - relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant - a solid mix of both

have you ever

66. kissed a stranger - nah

67. drank hard liquor - i don’t... think so

68. lost glasses - yes, but i find them easily, since if they’re not on my face they’re usually in like 2 possible places

69. turned someone down - ...maybe? gently

70. sex on first date - HAHAHA n a h

71. broken someone’s heart - i don’t think so

72. had your heart broken - yeet

73. been arrested - nope

74. cried when someone died - mmmmhmm

75. fallen for a friend - ...sort of? we were friends before we dated

do you believe in

76. yourself - no

77. miracles - i try to

78. love at first sight - wistfully, yes

79. santa claus - uh yes

80. kiss on a first date - if it works, sure

81. angels - yeS i definitely know a few

other

82. best friend’s name - literally couldn’t pick just one if i tried

83. eye colour - hazel

84. fave movie - La La Land

85. fave actor - .......good question. Thomas Sanders tbh 

[sh00t]

I was tagged by @baeringandwells​ 💕 you're awesome, Mel. :D

I tag @playfullywitty-signoff​ @scullysass​ @thedorkone​ @tinygrumpshaw​ @code-newyork​ @a-mi-zivi​ @shawroots​ @runawaynicominoru​

1. last drink: hot chocolate 2. last phone call: Nemo :) 3. last text message: my roommate telling her when I'm coming back 4. last song you listened to: Mr. Brightside 5. last time you cried: I can't actually remember 6. dated someone twice? no 7. kissed someone and regretted it? no 8. been cheated on? no 9. lost someone special? my grandpa and a few residents at work I was really attached to 💔 10. been depressed? yes 11. gotten drunk and thrown up? 13 times bc of hockey socials. they go hard on dumb freshers (me)

fave colors: 12. yellow 13. red 14. purple in the last year have you… 15. made new friends? yes 16. fallen out of love? no 17. laughed until you cried? yeah! 18. found out someone was talking about you? yes, the tour sec was really confused and trying to figure out who I am. she was asking everyone, bc my official first name and what everyone calls me is different 😂 19. met someone who changed you? ofc, I'm constantly changing and learning something new from everyone I meet 20. found out who your friends are? err, no? what? 21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list? no general 22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl? all of them 23. do you have any pets? I wish 😭 24. do you want to change your name? no but only bc it's too much effort 25. what did you do for your last birthday? celebrated with family in London. Went to comic con and then a sushi restaurant and then a comedy show. Had cake. :D 26. what time did you wake up today? I woke up briefly at 10am but went back to sleep and got up at 12pm 27. what were you doing at midnight last night? rapping/singing in a karaoke room with 10 friends eating Chinese food and predrinking for the club 28. what is something you can’t wait for? Finding meeting Nemo ❤️ 30. what are you listening to right now? What If The Storm Ends by Snow Patrol 31. have you ever talked to a person named tom? yes 32. something thats getting on your nerves? My family not communicating with each other and using me as a middle man. I have my own shit to do, why can't they just talk to each other directly instead 😩 33. most visited website: Google 34. hair color: dyed brown (from black) 35. long or short hair: either 36. do you have a crush on someone: my gf 37. what do you like about yourself: I'm open to new experiences 38. want any piercings? no 39. blood type: A+ 40. nicknames: my roommate regrettably calls me Bunny Bun 😂 41. relationship status: Nemo accepted my very delayed gf application form so :D 42. zodiac: Gemini 43. pronouns: she/her 44. fave tv shows: Person of Interest, Warehouse 13, Steven Universe 45. tattoos: fuck yeah. (I mean I don't have any yet but other people having them is 👀 💯 👌) 46. right or left handed: right 47. ever had surgery: no 48. piercings: ears 49. sport: field hockey! other things I try to do (key word being try) are football, karate, netball and rugby. 50. vacation: Germany, Greece and Australia!! People I love are there. 51. trainers: yes. (What's the question here?) more general 52. eating: sweets 53. drinking: nothing 54. I’m about to watch: One Day at a Time 55. waiting for: March 17 56. want: to remain healthy mentally and physically 57. get married: yeah. I mean no rush but working in a care home made me realise. It really sucks not having life partners when you're older. Doesn't even have to be a spouse. Even just committed friends or family etc. who would visit and be there for you no matter what. Keep you company. The commitment to love each other and be there for each other? Worth it. Having someone who cares to share small life details with is nice. When you get older and health starts acting up and people move on in different directions and are busy with their own lives and troubles... having a Person is good. I'm glad my parents have and love each other. 58. career: haha a what now which is better 59. hugs or kisses: hugs 60. lips or eyes: eyes 61. shorter or taller: either 62. older or younger: I'll say older bc I'm 18 and wouldn't date anyone under 18 63. nice arms or stomach: arms 64. hookup or relationship: relationship 65. troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant have you… 66. kissed a stranger: no 67. drank hard liquor: shots shots shots shots shots 68. lost glasses: only temporarily 😂 69. turned someone down: yes 70. sex on first date: no 71. broken someone’s heart: no 72. had your heart broken: I've broken my own heart lmao 73. been arrested: no 74. cried when someone died: yes 75. fallen for a friend: do you believe in 76. yourself: yes 77. miracles: no 78. love at first sight: IMO love is a choice you have to make over and over again so. I mean. Sure. You can approach anyone new you meet with the intent to love them. Is that love at first sight? 79. santa claus: no 80. kiss on a first date: yes 81. angels: no other 82. best friends name: Caitlin 83. eye color: dark brown 84. fave movie: Atomic Blonde 85. fave actor: Amy Acker. Easy 😂

[emospritelet]

Empty Corridors - Chapter 19

Last time, Gold found out something about Zelena, and Lacey started working for him.  Things were a little tense between them on the first day, because she’s completely in love with him and they’re both blind idiots. Here’s what happened next.  Sorry about the yelling, but it had to happen at some point :(

AO3 link

Lacey found her next day easier, largely because she was very busy and Gold kept out of her way for most of the morning.  He seemed a little distracted, frowning to himself and tapping his fingers against the bench or the shop counter, but he didn’t seem annoyed at her, so she felt able to relax around him.  By the time six o’clock came she had fallen back into the usual banter they enjoyed, teasing him about some of the notes he had made in his ledgers and his refusal to keep records on computer.

“You’ll see how useful digital stuff is when I’m done,” she assured him, as she packed away her laptop.  “I promise it’ll take a fraction of the time to find what you’re looking for.”

“People always assume faster is better,” he sighed, and she shrugged.

“Time is money, right?”

“Not always,” he said, and his eyes glinted in the warm lights of the lamps.  “I find that taking your time brings its own rewards.  In some things.”

As they were clearly back to flirting, and it didn’t make her feel like running away, she grinned at him.  He winked, his expression turning wicked, and so she stomped over and kissed him, hands sliding beneath his jacket as she pushed him back against the bench.  Gold reached up to cradle her head in one hand, his fingers sinking into her hair.  He tasted of the tea they had been drinking, and she pressed herself against him, enjoying the firm warmth of his body and the way he made her shiver deliciously as his tongue teased hers.  She pulled back, her lips brushing over his.

“Taking your time, huh?” she murmured, and he grinned.

“I’d like to,” he whispered.  “I’d like to take my sweet time with you, Lacey.  Lay you down and kiss every inch of you.”

“Mmm.”  She wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning.  “I like the sound of that.”

“So come over.”  He bent to kiss her neck, making her moan at the touch of his lips.  “Saturday night.  What do you say?”

“Are you cooking?”

She felt him smile against her skin, and he was still grinning as he straightened up to look at her.

“If you like.  Maybe you can help.”

“Yeah, I could set out plates and pour wine, or something that’s not gonna kill us both.”

“Oh, I think you can do better than that.”

“You say that now.  Wait until I manage to burn the salad.”

Gold’s grin widened.

“After work, then,” he said.  “Come over at seven.”

“It’s a”- not a date, it’s not a date -“agreed.”

“Good.”

He kissed her forehead, and she settled back on her heels with a sigh.

“I should go,” she said.  “Hungry cats and study await.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah.”

She pulled back from him to tug on her coat and pick up her bag, feeling his eyes on her.  He watched her leave, and as she glanced over her shoulder he was still smiling, a crinkle-eyed grin that made her stomach clench.  Man, was she in trouble.

Gold was finding that having Lacey around the place made the shop a little brighter, his soul a little lighter.  Despite the initial awkwardness, she had settled in well, and had been engrossed in her work, fingers flying over the keyboard of her laptop as she copied the information from his ledgers.  She explained that she had assigned each item a reference number, which she would use to cross-check with the photographs she planned on taking.  They sat for the most part in comfortable silence, broken only by lunch and at mid-morning and mid-afternoon for tea and cookies.

Friday was rent collection day for most, but Gold spent the morning checking over the warehouse that he was considering renovating.  He had decided that he liked Lacey’s idea, but wanted to research it further before he put any money into it.  He picked up lunch on his way back from the warehouse, burgers and fries from Granny’s, with two iced teas.  Lacey’s eyes widened at the sight of food, which made him grin.

“God, I’m starving!” she said, reaching for one of the burgers.  “I didn’t realise what the time was, I should go and feed the cats.”

“Eat your own lunch first.”

He set down the plastic cups of iced tea, unwrapping his burger as he sat down at the bench, and she slipped onto the stool adjacent to his, her foot nudging his leg.  

“I had some ideas for your website,” she said, taking half a dozen fries from their paper cone and popping them into her mouth.

Gold frowned.

“What website?” he asked suspiciously.

“The one I’m gonna set up for the shop.”

“But I thought you were just going to be listing things on that Ebay place.”

“A website would make you look like the professional outfit you are,” she said, swiping a fry through the ketchup on her burger.  “I have a bunch of ideas.  Do you have time to talk through them after lunch?”

“It’s rent day,” he said.  “I’ll be out collecting.”

“Yeah, that’s one of the things I want to talk to you about,” she said.  “Why don’t you set up a payments system on the website?”

“The website I didn’t know I was having until twenty seconds ago?”

“Yeah.  I could do that for you, no problem.  People could pay their rent direct to your Paypal account.”

“Something else I didn’t know I was having.”

“You need one for the online sales,” she said patiently, as though he was being stupid.  “So how about it?  Direct payment, less pounding the streets and knocking on doors…”

“And miss out on the looks of abject terror when I turn up to ruin someone’s day?” he said dryly.  “I’m not sure I like that idea.”

“Gold…”

He chuckled.

“I’m teasing,” he said.

“Not about the last bit, you weren’t.”

“Not about that, no.”

She stuck out her tongue, and he grinned at her.

“We can talk about it this evening, if you like,” he said.  “Drink after work?”

Lacey was tempted - God, she was tempted!  But she was also reasonably self-aware, and she was positive that one drink would lead to more, and she would spend the entire evening drinking with Gold and probably screwing his brains out.  None of which would help her SAT score.

“I can’t,” she said reluctantly.  “I have to study.”

“Ah.”  He nodded.  “Well, I won’t argue with that.  Tomorrow over breakfast, then.”

“Sure thing.”  She gave him a shrewd look.  “Your treat, right?”

He lifted a hand, spreading his fingers with a twisted little smile on his face.

“But of course.”

“Well, okay then.”  She grinned at him.  “Granny’s at seven.  We can make some tongues wag.”

His eyes glinted.

“I’m not averse to that.”

Gold left soon after lunch, just after Lacey had returned from seeing to the kittens, and she was left alone in the shop.  She didn’t mind that; there was plenty for her to be getting on with, and it wasn’t as though people came looking for him on rent day. They knew all too well he’d come to them.  It was therefore a surprise when she heard the bell ring out in the shop, and a female voice calling out.  Pushing back her chair, she got up and went through, rolling her eyes as she saw Miss Green standing at the counter.  The woman’s eyes narrowed, her lip curling a little, and Lacey prepared herself for the inevitable catty comments.

“What are you doing here?” sneered Miss Green.  “Where’s Mr Gold?”

“Out collecting rent,” said Lacey.  “He won’t be back until six, I reckon.”

“And he left you looking after the shop?”  She looked disbelieving.  “Don’t you have tables to wait?”

“Oh, yeah, I work here now,” said Lacey, shrugging.

Miss Green smiled thinly, tossing back her red-blonde curls.

“Well,” she said.  “Quite a change in occupation.  I had no idea you were an expert on antiques.”

“I know fuck all about antiques,” said Lacey bluntly.  “I’m running his website and online sales business.”

“Hmm.”

Miss Green looked her up and down as though Lacey was something she had trodden in and wanted to scrape off her shoe.

“I suppose shagging the boss is an express term of your employment contract?” she said nastily, and Lacey grinned.

“Nope,” she said.  “Shagging the boss is just one of those really awesome perks.  It was that or dental, so I had to choose.  No contest, really.”

Miss Green’s mouth twisted as though she’d eaten something sour.

“Oh, if you ever see the sign set to Closed, don’t come in,” added Lacey helpfully.  “We can get pretty into each other, and we don’t always hear the bell.  I guess you remember that from last time, huh?  You know, before he threw you out.”

Her mouth twisted further, and she turned away a little, pretending an interest in the contents of a glass display case.

“How long do you plan on working here?” she asked, and Lacey shrugged.

“As long as I’m needed, I guess.”

“So, a few months, then?”

Lacey leaned on the counter.

“Wow, you should get together with my dad,” she said.  “Sounds like you two have similar thought-processes and can’t keep your noses out of other people’s shit.”  She grinned as Miss Green frowned at her.  “Come to think of it, you’re probably about his age.”

Miss Green’s eyes bulged in outrage.

“I’m thirty-eight!” she snapped.

“Hard life, huh?”  Lacey’s voice dripped with fake sympathy.  “Yeah, that’s his excuse, too.  Doesn’t stop him from being a jerk.  Doesn’t stop me from telling him to fuck off.  Not gonna stop me telling you to do the same.”

“Customer service really isn’t your forté, is it?” said Miss Green dryly, and Lacey snorted.

“Come on, lady, I think we know full well you’re not a customer,” she said.  “I don’t know what the hell it is you want, but it doesn’t seem like Gold’s interested in anything you have to offer.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Miss Green airily.  “I can certainly offer him more of what he truly wants.  Unlike you.”

“Weird that he’s sleeping with me, then.”

Miss Green smiled.

“Rich and powerful men often lose their heads over pretty young women,” she said.  “Doesn’t mean anything in the long run.  You must know that.”

Of course I bloody know that!

Aloud she said: “So what?  Why the hell do you care?”

“Because you seem like a sweet girl…”

“I pretty much told you to go fuck yourself.”

“…and I think you’d be much happier with someone more - well, you.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” said Lacey.  “And you don’t know Gold, either.  He’s not what people think he is.”

Zelena leant on the counter, eyes flashing.

“Oh, I think I do know him,” she said quietly.  “I’ve known dozens of men like him over the years.  All rich, all powerful, all exceptionally clever.  They tend to seek out people who share those attributes.  People who can give them what they truly want, which is more power, money and influence.  Not glorified shop girls who dress like tramps and can’t open their mouths without swearing.”

Lacey itched to slap her, but kept her hands at her sides.

“Well, I guess I’ll enjoy being a fucking slutty upstart for as long as I can,” she said.  “Maybe I was too subtle before.  Go fuck yourself.”

Miss Green smiled, showing white teeth.

“Looks like I touched a nerve.”

“Yeah, my last one,” said Lacey.  “Go on, piss off.  I’ll tell Gold his stalker stopped by.  I’m sure there’s a nice restraining order he could dust off before your next visit.”

Miss Green pulled back, still grinning, and turned for the door.

“He’ll get bored, dear,” she threw over her shoulder.  “They all get bored, in the end.”

The bell jingled as she left, and Lacey stood seething, glaring after her.

The visit had put her in a bad mood, insecurity swelling within and making it hard to concentrate.  The fact that Miss Green was the second person that week to tell her that whatever she and Gold had was doomed wasn’t lost on her.  Okay, so there were ulterior motives in the mix, but thinking about it rationally she was aware that she had never seen Gold in a relationship before, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that they kept clinging to one another because they were both lonely.  Lonely and a little broken by life.  No basis for anything that would last.

She sat back down at her laptop, staring at the screen and seeing nothing.  He had wanted her to go for dinner on Saturday, another chance to feed her and fuck her and lift the tedium of life in a small town for a night.  She wasn’t sure she could stand it.  She wasn’t sure that she could go over there, knowing she was completely in love with him, make small talk and drink his wine and sleep with him, only to return to her tiny little life and wait for the day when he would announce he was no longer interested.

Gold’s rounds were mostly uneventful.  The majority of people in Storybrooke knew better than to try to avoid him if they couldn’t pay, so they would come into the shop to explain whatever financial distress they found themselves in, and he would decide how to handle it.  Most tenants knew he preferred this approach.  A select few hadn’t made the connection between surprising him with a failure to pay and a harsh response.  Keith Nott was one of them.  He opened his front door looking as though he’d just crawled out of bed, his eyes squinting and bloodshot and his white vest sporting some interesting stains.  Gold was well aware that the man was considered very attractive, but for the life of him he couldn’t think why.

“Man, it’s early!” he complained.

“It’s five-thirty in the evening,” said Gold.

“Exactly.  I had another hour of sleep planned before I hit the club.”

“Your scheduled indolence is of no interest to me.”  Gold’s gloved hands shifted on the cane handle.  “Your rent is due.  Plus the late penalty you owe me.”

“I don’t have it.”

Gold gave him a thin, humourless smile.

“I didn’t hear you.”

“I told you, I don’t have it.”

“And I told you that if you didn’t pay me what you owed me, there would be consequences.”

“Look, I - I don’t have all of it,” Nott said hastily.  “I didn’t get my paycheck yet.”

“Presumably because you were sitting on your arse planning on wasting my precious time.”

“I can get it to you tomorrow.”

“It’s due today.”

“Come on, man!”  Nott looked aggrieved, and Gold eyed him steadily until he sighed.  “Look, how about if I pay you some now?”

“Let’s see it, and we’ll talk.”

Grumbling under his breath, Nott wandered off, and Gold waited.  The man returned with a sour look on his face and a bundle of notes in his hand.  He thrust it into Gold’s outstretched hand, and Gold began to count it, his cane resting in the crook of his arm.  Nott waited, running a hand through slick, dark hair.

“So, I hear you hired Lacey,” he said.  “How’s that working out for you?  Didn’t think she’d be your type.”

“Miss French is a very competent and enthusiastic employee,” said Gold, still counting the money, and Nott let out an ugly chuckle.

“She’s a firecracker, alright,” he said.  “I mean the girl knows how to party, know what I’m saying?”

“I’m fairly certain I don’t want to,” said Gold coldly, and Nott shrugged.

“Small town, Gold.  People are gonna talk, and you know what they say about her.  No shame being last in line, I guess.  Just don’t believe anything she says.  Girl’s a fucking tease.”

Gold felt like grinding his teeth.

“You’re short by three hundred,” he snapped.  “As this is the second time in the space of a month, this is your final warning.”

“I told you, I’ll get it to you tomorrow!”

“You’d better, or you’re out on your arse!”

Gold stuffed the money into his inside pocket, grounding the cane and striding away.

“Hey, don’t take it out on me if she’s playing hard to get!” Nott shouted after him.

Gold walked swiftly away before he could do something he regretted, his breath misting in the cold air and blowing from his nostrils like smoke.  He tried not to listen to the more salacious rumours about his new assistant, as he was almost sure they were exaggerated.  Almost.

The encounter had put him in a foul mood, and he was glad the day was over and he could return to the shop, say a brief goodnight to Lacey, and go home to pour himself a large whisky or three and wonder what the fuck he was doing with his life.

The evening air was freezing, a low fog forming in the streets.  His anger with Nott had made him walk too fast, and by the time he reached the shop his leg was killing him.  It didn’t improve his mood.  He pushed open the door, noting that Lacey was not in the main shop, and made his way through to the backroom.  She looked around as he entered, checked her watch, and began shutting down her laptop.

“Hey,” she said, somewhat listlessly.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said.

“Only ten minutes.”  She closed the laptop lid and stretched.  “I’ll get out of your hair.”

There was a strange atmosphere in the room, an invisible wall between them that he could feel in the air, as though his fingers could slide along the mortar and scatter the dust of her coldness.  Lacey pulled on her coat, not looking at him.

“What’s upset you?” he asked quietly, and she scowled.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

“Well, something has upset you.”

“Forget it, Gold.”

“Alright.”

He was silent, and she buttoned her coat, putting the laptop away in her bag.

“We’re still on for tomorrow night, aren’t we?” he asked then, and she chewed her lip.

“I - I’m not sure.”

“I see.”  Needles of bitterness pierced his soul, sharp and painful.  “Would you mind telling me why?”

“I changed my mind.”

“I gathered as much.  Why?”

Lacey didn’t respond, and he sighed, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

“Well, that’s just perfect isn’t it?” he said quietly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I never know whether you’re going to kiss me or run for the fucking hills, that’s what.”

“I’m not running,” she said defensively.  “I’m just - postponing.”

“I see,” he said again, and there was silence.  Gold sighed again, more heavily.

“So, what was it this time?” he asked, his tone snappish.  “The wind changed direction?  A black fucking cat crossed your path?  Or did you simply get a better offer?”

She glared at him.

“A better offer?” she repeated.  “What, you think I’m banging someone else, is that it?”

“I have absolutely no idea.”

Lacey’s jaw worked, her eyes glistening with hurt, and he wanted to take it back.  She turned away before he could, shouldering her laptop bag.

“I’m definitely not coming over tomorrow,” she muttered, pushing past him.  “Not like it means anything anyway.”

“Why would you say that?”

He followed her out into the shop, anger and insecurity making him reckless, and Lacey swivelled on her toes to face him, blue eyes flashing.  Good God, she was beautiful!  Beautiful and ethereal, a force of nature.  Dazzling as lightning and as impossible to predict.  She would burn him if he tried to hold onto her.

“You want to know why I run all the time?” she asked.  “Because I’m waiting for the other fucking shoe to drop, okay?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he snapped.

Lacey hesitated, unsure whether she should reveal her own fears.  Her own weaknesses.  She couldn’t tell him she loved him, certainly.

“I’m waiting for you to get bored of me,” she said.  “You will, right?  Everyone says so.”

“Who the hell is ‘everyone’?” he asked roughly.  “Your father?  Mrs bloody Lucas?  What the fuck gives them such insight into my feelings and motives, pray tell?”

“It’s just - it’s obvious, isn’t it?” she said.  “The pawnbroker and the waitress?  The richest guy in town and the screw-up who dresses like a tramp and can’t open her mouth without cursing a blue streak?”

“You think I care about any of that bollocks?” he snapped.  “I thought we were closer than that.”

“You thought we were close?” she said disbelievingly.

His jaw tightened, his eyes flashing darkly.  It made her want to kiss him, a surge of desire that was almost too strong to bear.

“Forgive me,” he said coldly.  “I’m not used to sharing my most private pains and deepest regrets with just anyone.  Perhaps the ease with which you fall into bed with people has made you blind to that.”

Okay, so maybe she didn’t want to kiss him.  Maybe she just wanted to fucking slap him.  She put her hands on her hips, sticking out her jaw.

“Oh, so you’re playing that card, are you?” she sneered.  “Well, I might have known it’d happen at some point.  Sing me a song I haven’t heard before, why don’t you?”

“If you recall, you were the one who told me of your reputation.”

“Yeah, I just never thought I’d have to hear about it from you.”

“And here I was thinking you didn’t care what people thought of you.” he said, his voice deceptively mild.

“I don’t give a shit what people think of me!”

“Yes you do.”  His voice was a low hiss, his eyes glinting at her.  “You care so much you could cry, but you push everyone away who even tries to understand you!  You’re too bloody stubborn to bend and let someone in, to let them help you.”

“I don’t want your help!” she shouted.  “I never asked for it!  And you - you’re a hypocrite!  How long have you been pushing people away, huh?”

“I wasn’t pushing you away that night, I was letting you in, and you…”  He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.  “You seem to think it’s nothing!”

“What, you share one thing with me and suddenly we’re soulmates?”

“Of course not!”

“So what the hell did it mean, then?”

“It meant that I trusted you!” he snapped.  “It meant that I thought I could spend the bloody night without you bolting like a fucking deer the moment you woke up!”

“Well, maybe I thought that’s what you wanted, have you considered that?”

“I don’t understand why would you ever think that!”

“Because!”  She threw up her arms.  “Because why the hell would you want to stay?  It’s not like we’re a bloody item, is it?”

“You actually think that?”  He was angry, his free hand gesturing and chopping the air as he spoke.  “I’ve spent more time with you in the past month than I’ve spent with anyone else in years and you think I don’t care?”

“I don’t even know your first fucking name!” she shouted.

There was a moment of tense, ominous silence.  Lacey’s chest was heaving, her eyes stinging with tears of anger and frustration, and Gold looked stricken, his eyes wide, his face anguished.

“Lacey…” he whispered, and she whirled away from him, one hand snatching at the air and waving him back as she lunged for the door, unseeing.

[clarencenicholsonata]

10 Tips to Create the Best Customer Service Emails

One of the challenges of working in customer service is the massive amount of emails you receive and need to be answered as soon as possible.

When you’re spending a whole day writing emails, it can be easy to forget that there is another human being on the other end, which is waiting for an answer that will solve their issue.

No matter what kind of information you need to deliver, the way you deliver it can make or break your business’ reputation, which is why customer service needs to be paid extra attention.

But how can you deliver better-written emails, that feel personal and solve the customer’s issues, while at the same time keep being productive?

Follow the tips below to ensure you deliver the best support you can to your customers.

1. Use Email Templates

Lots of companies fear that using templates will take away from the personal tone of the email, but when you receive hundreds of emails that need to be answered as fast as possible, automation becomes a great help.

The more emails you receive, the more you start to see that some of the interactions become repetitive, so having some templates that can solve some of the most common issues can save you a lot of time.

Automating the writing process does not take away from the human interaction, as some may believe, as long as you don’t just copy and paste the text into the reply box.

To do so, you need to first identify the most common issues that customers seem to have and start developing a template for each one of them, which you can then adjust according to the situation.

To get you started here are 19 free email marketing templates designed to nurture, sell, onboard, and reach out.

2. Make Your Emails Personal

Templates will save you a lot of time, but make sure to only use them as an outline for the final email. In the world of customer service, email personalization is key, in order to make the customer feel like they are interacting with another human, not a robot.

When customers feel like they are receiving custom-tailored service, they build up their trust in the company and feel like an important asset for you.

In order to make the emails feel more personal, make sure to always use the customer’s name at the beginning of the email and your name in the end. This makes the customers feel like there is actually a real person behind the computer screen.

If you don’t know how to address them, go with a slightly friendlier tone than theirs, to respect their boundaries, but also gain their trust.

3. Keep It Simple

You work with your products and services every day, it is only normal that you are familiar with the technical notions behind them and have no issue in using them. Keep in mind, though, that your customers may not be, so always make sure you use simple terms when explaining them to your customers.

This does not mean that you should underestimate your customers, but simply make sure they understand the information and avoid any sort of misunderstanding.

This way, you can avoid a long trail of emails where you keep explaining to the customer all of the complex terms you are using, while also staying away from sounding too stiff. Keep your email copy simple.

If you are not sure your response is clear, ask a coworker or someone else to read it and give you their opinion. The key is to make sure anyone, even someone who does not have your complex knowledge on the products, understands what you are trying to explain.

4. Pay Attention to the Tone

One of the strongest debates in customer service revolves around which tone is the most appropriate for replies: formal or casual?

Truth is, the answer depends on multiple aspects. When asked, the majority of customers say they prefer a more casual and friendly tone, as it has more of a human touch to it.

When it comes to denying their request, things seem to be the other way around. People like to be turned down in a more polite and formal way, as it feels more professional.

If you are unaware of the tone you should use, a good tip is to answer is a slightly friendlier tone that the customer is using.

Pay attention to what type of words they use and if you find any clue that they might appreciate a more formal tone, go with that. Also, make sure the way you answer matches the values of your brand and how you want people to perceive it.

5. Pay Attention to the Way You Deliver News

The order in which you deliver the news to the customers plays an important role in their overall reaction to the email.

In 2013, a study revealed that customers who received good news last had a much positive reaction to the response, while those who received bad news last were more likely to react in an unfavorable way.

In customer service, you generally want your customers to be happy, so leading with the bad news and concluding with the good ones is a better approach. Writing something on the lines of “I am sorry to inform you that, unfortunately, the product has still not left the warehouse.

The good news is that we have identified it and it will be included in the next transport on Monday.” should be enough to leave the customer with a good impression.

6. Proofread & Check Everything

Nothing signals unprofessionalism more than a bad-written email, full of grammar mistakes and typos. Make sure to always proof your emails before sending them, to avoid overlooking the small details.

To do so, you can use tools such as Grammarly, Hemingway, and Scribens, which will help you correct your grammar, suggest a better use of words and passive voice, as well as proof all sorts of typing mistakes.

If you need to include links in your email, check them to make sure they are not broken and the page opens up. The same goes for attachments. Make sure you include all the files you said you are going to attach and ensure they can all be opened.

You can also try to avoid these seven deadly sins when you’re writing or proofreading emails.

7. Include Links When Necessary

Nobody likes to read long emails, so make sure you reduce both your and your customer’s effort by including links to further instructions in the body of the email.

When customers ask for support on installing something or for instructions on using your services, provide links to useful articles or content from your website in order to keep the email as concise as possible.

If the link includes a huge amount of information, you can hit them exactly where they can find what they are looking for. This will save them time and help you avoid multiple email exchanges for a simple issue. On the other hand, it will give the customer a good feeling when they can accomplish something on their own.

8. Don’t Forget to Thank Them

If a customer took the time to write to you, no matter what their issue is, make sure to let them know how thankful you are. A simple “Thank you for your email.” can be enough. Feedback, be it positive or negative, is an extremely important tool to help your business grow.

When they encounter an issue, the majority of customers simply stop doing business with you, without complaining or letting you know, so when they do give you feedback, they are actually doing you a big favor.

This can help you identify issues you were not aware of, which can then benefit your relationship with other customers as well. So, no matter the subject of their email, make sure to let them know you value and appreciate their time and effort to bring that thing to your knowledge.

9. Don’t Leave out Any Unanswered Questions

Check your email and make sure you did not forget to tackle every single issue your customer might be having. Even if you cannot provide a clear answer yet, at least provide information about how and when you are going to come back with a solution.

Customers don’t want to feel like you did not read the entire email and just copied and pasted a universal answer. Go over the email again before sending it, to avoid leaving out any important information.

Good customer service means providing the best possible aid for your customers and making them feel heard and valued.

10. Conclude with Clear Results

Make sure that, when they finish reading the email, the customers have a clear understanding of how and when their issue is going to be solved.

This does not mean that you need to give every detail about the process, but simply explaining to them the most important steps can go a long way.

For example, if the customer is writing in regards to a faulty product, simply list out the steps that you are going to take in order to exchange or repair the product.

Make sure to set out clear expectations about the length of the process and always tell them when you are going to follow up.

Sometimes, you simply can’t give them an exact time for when the issue is going to be solved, you can always promise them an update on the situation. This will give the customers something to wait for and will help you build up trust.

Summary

To recap here are 10 tips to create the best customer service emails:

Use email templates

Make your emails personal

Keep it simple

Pay attention to the tone

Pay attention to the way you deliver news

Proofread & check everything

Include links when necessary

Don’t forget to thank them

Don’t leave out any unanswered questions

Conclude with clear results

About the Author ​

Donald Fomby is a Digital Marketing Specialist with a Master’s degree in Advertisement. At a relatively young age, Donald has already amassed impressive experience as a freelance writer. Find him on Twitter @don_fom.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230801 https://ift.tt/33ePg5J via IFTTT

[jebsplayshss]

RULES: ANSWER THESE 92 STATEMENTS AND TAG 20 PEOPLE.

i will never make it to 20 ppl but UHMMMMMM thank u @principal-mc for the tag urs was rly fun to read!!! so yes let’s jump into this LOL

THE LAST:

1. Drink: pineapple green tea boba 2. Phone call: a j-job interview 3. Text message: dnd group LMAO 4. Song you listened to: afterglow // teenage wrist 5. Time you cried: last week cuz i was catching up to bnha manga and i love all might

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: LMAO i’ve never dated 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: nah 8. Been cheated on: nah 9. Lost someone special: yah 10. Been depressed:  Yah 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: DSJFKDSJFS YEAH..........

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12. yellow!!! all shades of yellow!!!! i love yellow!! 13. blue!! also all shades of blue!!!!!!! 14. green!!!! all shades!!!! it’s so fresh!!!!

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: yah!! 16. Fallen out of love: nah 17. Laughed until you cried: YAH 18. Found out someone was talking about you: oh yes and it was HILARIOUS 19. Met someone who changed you: i think every1 i’ve ever met has changed me and i’m grateful for it no matter if it was good or bad tbh 20. Found out who your friends are: yes but i want it on record i love everyone i’ve ever been friends with even if in the end they sucked 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: n-no?

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: most of em i think!!! a couple of internet friends, but fb is reserved for irl friends LMAO 23. Do you have any pets: i have two doggos and two cats and an aquarium!!! i love all my pets qq 24. Do you want to change your name: eh 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: we went out for sushi!!! 26. What time did you wake up: around 11am sdgfdsgdfs 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: drawing LMAO 28. Name something you can’t wait for: i’m literally excited for each new day!!! every day is full of possibilities and even tho i may spend a lot of those days sittin at home drawing ocs at least i can be excited abt it!!! 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: mayhaps five minutes ago 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i think i’m v go w/ the flow and look at things brightly so: i wouldn’t rly change things! but if i could, i think life would be easier on me if i wasn’t diagnosed w diabetes ;v; 31. What are you listening right now: your deep rest // the hotelier 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: i almost said no but i DO know a thomas and that’s damn close enough 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: (i’m too pleasant i can’t think of anything i’m rly pissed abt right now haha) 34. Most visited Website: twitter i think :”o 35. Mole/s: i have a couple of moles on my face & left elbow ye ye 36. Mark/s: i have stretch marks and cat scratches hAHA.... i think a lot of the scars i have are like, cat inflicted, and the few times i’ve hurt myself either doing sculpture or cooking LMFAO.. 37. Childhood dream: UHHH i wanted to be a fashion designer!! deep down i’d still like to do that hehe 38. Hair color: black!! 39. Long or short hair: it’s getting long!! i used to do a 1920s bob cut to my hair a lot but i’ve liked growing it out ;o; it’s past my shoulders now!!! 40. Do you have a crush on someone: nope lol 41. What do you like about yourself: oh!!!! i used to hate myself a whole lot, but now i can say w confidence that: i like me. i like everything about me. i like that part of me that learned to like myself best. <3 42. Piercings: just ear piercings!! my mom got em done when i was a few months old ;v; 43. Blood type: i am 90% sure i’m O negative 44. Nickname: AJ!!! Jebs!!! Mando!!! 45. Relationship status: single and not caring LEL 46. Zodiac: taurus sun! cancer moon! taurus rising! 47. Pronouns: she/her, they/them! :> 48. Favorite TV Show/s: warehouse 13, dark matter, power rangers, kamen rider, sense8, friends, parks & rec, age of youth, the x files, atelier 49. Tattoos: none but i want one qq 50. Right or left hand: righty!!  51. Surgery: nopeee 52. Hair dyed in different color: i bleached my hair once in like.... 8th/9th grade.... we do not. speak of that, ever 53. Sport: i love sports but i don’t play on teams anymore haha x_x!!! i used to do basketball and karate!!! i like hiking, badminton, and bowling, too!!! i think i love hiking the most tho i don’t think it’s rly a sport LMAO 55. Vacation: i like roadtrips!!! i like traveling in general!!!!! it’s fun to explore and see the world around us and meet people and experience things!!! 56. Pair of trainers: i have reeboks & vans isos......! i like my vans best tho LMAOO they’re stylish and comfortable for walks

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: i last ate ginisang ampalaya w/ mango & bagoong ;w; 58. Drinking: rn i’m chugging water LMAO 59. I’m about to: d-drawwwwwwww 61. Waiting for: sleep qq 62. Want: g-gas money 63. Get married: nahhhh 64. Career: graphic design or journalism qq 65. Hugs or kisses: hugs ;o; 66. Lips or eyes: eyes!! 67. Shorter or taller: i’m rly tall s-so i don’t have a preference either way actually ;v; 68. Older or younger: eh 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: ah... i think i like arms best qq 71. Sensitive or loud: haha....... i dunno.......... i suppose someone who meshes w/ my personality well......... tho i suppose i’d like someone more extroverted ;v; 72. Hook up or relationship: i!!! dunno. i don’t think i rly mind or care HAHA 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: there is nothing wrong with a lil bit of rebellion

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: nah but that sounds fun 75. Drank hard liquor: yah 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: i stopped wearing contacts cuz i lost them all the time ashdjfjdsfds 77. Turned someone down: yah and mostly it’s been pleasant 78. Sex in the first date: nope but i am.... unopposed...... wow i sound like a Freak zamn 79. Broken someone’s heart: GOD I HOPE NOT THAT’S A LOT OF PRESSURE 80. Had your heart broken: y-ya but not in the way u think ;o; 81. Been arrested: nope i’m CLEAN and absolutely did not just talk abt underage drinking officer 82. Cried when someone died: yea........... 83. Fallen for a friend: nope and thank God

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: yes!!! i am a bright and wonderful person and i’m capable of anything i put my mind to!!!!!!! 85. Miracles: yah cuz idk how i passed math 86. Love at first sight: me w/ food 87. Santa Claus: i cannot confirm nor deny his existence. santa claus is the ultimate cryptid 88. Kiss on the first date: why not lmaoooo 89. Angels: yah

OTHER:

90. Current best friend’s name: NOOO i have too many beloved best friends 91. Eyecolor: brown HAHA....... 92. Favorite movie: i can’t pick one so here’s a top 10 list: the fifth element, amelie, moonrise kingdom, kiki’s delivery service, princess and the frog, treasure planet, suspiria, how to steal a million, practical magic, & under the tuscan sun

i’d have put more wes anderson movies but...... i truly like moonrise kingdom best.... this is what happens when ur a film hoe u can’t keep urself to one movie cuz i wanna talk abt all of them bye

TAGGING: @pixelberry-pippa @pixelberrygardens @diamondsaregold @hollyashton @maxwellbaemont @jakesmckenzies @stormholt @thedarknessoftheendlesshss @hermiethefrog @quinn-kelly @i-am-a-fandom-hoe @zigsexual @playhwu-hss @annelysesadair @quinnskelly @punexpectedly @protect-drake @joyfulchoices @elenasanchez @hssuser OHO I DID IT NICE HAVE FUN ALSO U DON’T HAVE TO BUT Y A H

[tatsie-kun]

Tagged by the darling taiyonikorosareta !

Rules: answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST 1. drink: Monster Zero (I NEED MY SIPS... even on a diet) 2. phone call: Sabi (I lost her in the store...) 3. text message: Sabi 4. song you listened to: Thrash Unreal by Against Me! 5. time you cried: When I watched We Are X last week 6. dated someone twice: Well I've only ever been with my wife so... 7. kissed someone and regretted it: A high-school friend. We were practicing and now she's a drunk junkie and I just... no. 8. been cheated on: Never! 9. lost someone special: Another high-school friend who I had a crush on back in the day. She OD'd. I never realized she liked me BECAUSE I'M DENSE. None of my friends even know where she's buried either because she died alone and penniless so we're pretty sure her body was just handed over to the State... She was such a nice girl too. 10. been depressed: Eh off and on. But it's been better since we've moved. 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Back in like, 2011. It's been forever.

3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12. Red 13. Black and White 14. Orange

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. made new friends: On Tumblr, yes 16. fallen out of love: No 17. laughed until you cried: Yes, but I can't remember what it was about 18. found out someone was talking about you: Yeah, on Tumblr again 19. met someone who changed you: No 20. found out who your friends are: ? 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: My wife, yeah XD

GENERAL 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Almost all of them, there's only a few from the interwebs on there 23. do you have any pets: Pickle (cat), Shinya (cat), Donnie (dog) and Morty (Chinese Water Dragon) 24. do you want to change your name: Yes, I'd love to actually change it to Tatsie. It's what I go by mostly anyways. 25. what did you do for your last birthday: Went to Cheesecake Factory and enjoyed the snow *A* 26. what time did you wake up: Around 11am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Battling a headache and talking to despairofthefault <3 28. name something you can’t wait for: BOSTON COMIC CON. We're meeting Tim Curry <3333 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: A few minutes ago, she's downstairs and just got home from work. 31. what are you listening to right now: The AC hum 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: Probably? 33. something that is getting on your nerves: HEADACHES 34. most visited website: Tumblr 35. hair colour: Reddish (dyed it red awhile ago but it's got my natural brown and who knows) 36. long or short hair: Short. Always short. 37. do you have a crush on someone: Besides Dir en grey worship? Nah XD

38. what do you like about yourself: I'm funny 8D ...or at least I think I am. 39. piercings: Used to have my lip pierced with a corkscrew ring like Miyavi. It's been taken out years ago. 40. blood type: O- 41. nickname: Tatsie 42. relationship status: Married 43. zodiac: Aquarius 44. pronouns: She 45. favourite tv show: We've been watching a lot of Chopped, ANTM and Weeds lately 46. tattoos: Giant DIR EN GREY in a destroyed font that takes up my entire right forearm. Kakihara's grinning mouth on the back of my neck. I also have one of Kyo's old finger tats that I hate and is blown out and needs a coverup. 47. right or left handed: Right 48. surgery: Surprisingly I haven't had any. 50. sport: I don't like sports 51. vacation: I don't have money for vacations. 52. pair of trainers: Sneakers? I need a new pair but mine aren't old. I just walk them to death at work

MORE GENERAL 53. eating: Just had some green bean crisps and am about to have dinner 54. drinking: Kahlua White Russian <3 Our husband bought us some yesterday *A*<3 55. I’m about to: Finish watching Beetlejuice and eat dinner 56. waiting for: Concert time 8D We're taking the wife out to see Pat Benetar on Wednesday as a belated birthday present 57. want: DINNER IT SMELLS SO GOOD Y'ALL 58. get married: Already there. We've only been married two years but we've been together for 13 years 59. career: I do inventory control in an electronics warehouse

WHICH IS BETTER 60. hugs or kisses: I LOVE HUGS 61. lips or eyes: Eyes, even though I hardly make eye contact with people 62. shorter or taller: No preference 63. older or younger: Same age? 64. nice arms or nice stomach: I really don't go for either but I guess stomach? 65. hook up or relationship: Relationship 66. troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant. I ain't got no time for crazies

HAVE YOU EVER: 67. kissed a stranger: No 68. drank hard liquor: Yes 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: Yeah, I lost my glasses for a week or so a few years back. 70. turned someone down: Yes 71. sex on the first date: No 72. broken someone’s heart: Maybe? No one's told me 73. had your heart broken: No 74. been arrested: No 75. cried when someone died: Yes of course 76. fallen for a friend: Yes, my wife <3

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 77. yourself: Depends 78. miracles: Eh... 79. love at first sight: Yes 80. santa claus: Gurl, no 81. kiss on the first date: If you're feeling it 82. angels: No

OTHER: 84. eye colour: Blue 85. favourite movie: Ichi the Killer

Tagging: @sabishisa @despairofthefault @tefutefu @happyoji @ectoplasmicworms @merrilymemory @cadkitten @i-ki-ru