#this guy just took a container of air from paris to new york and gave it to someone as a gift and called it 50 cc of Paris Air

[dzthenerd490]

Addendum X-7 Part 5

New York groaned as they walked through the dungeon though no one was getting angry at him as it wasn't comfortable for anyone to be there. Unfortunately, the room was small and there were no other exits. It was beginning to look like another worthless dead end until Paris saw an open ventilation shaft.

Paris: Hey! Look at that up there.

Hong Kong: Looks small, you're not thinking someone should go in there do you?

Paris: Don't get any better options. 

New York: Arugh! Fuck that shit! 

Rebecca: I can do it, just say the word, Paris.

Paris: Hm... granted but New York is going with you.

New York: What?! No way in hell!

Paris: You're just as small as Rebecca so you're the only one that can provide her backup. Suck it up and be prepared to move. 

Rebecca winked at New York while he growled in disgust and anger. Pairs then got ready to give them both a boost with Rebecca going first and actually passing through into the next room rather easily. New York on the other hand took longer to get the proper footing only to land on his face when going into the next room. Rebecca ended up laughing at him for it. 

Rebecca: Hahaha, aren't you guys supposed to be elite or something?

New York: Shut up! I'm Lambda-12! We're meant to contain anomalous vermin, not go through air ducts!

Rebecca: ... but wouldn't most vermin wander within air ducts and other tight places?

New York paused upon hearing that but just grunted at Rebecca and walked forward. However, he paused once again when he saw Iron Maidens, thorn chairs, ceiling cages, and many other gruesome and terrible torture devices and tools.

New York: ... Goddamn it, I wanna go home.

Rebecca: Quit your bitching, already.

New York: What the- hey! I'm supposed to say that to you! 

Rebecca: And yet it's me saying it instead.

Paris over the radio: Will you two knock it off! We can hear you all from the air ducts alone!

Billy and Hong Kong can be heard laughing in the background. 

Rebecca: Sorry Paris.

Paris over the radio: *sigh* report, what do you guys see.

New York: If there's a hell on earth its definingly this place boss, places is practically a museum of all the worst torture devices in history.

Paris over the radio: Fuck... okay find a way out of there as fast as you can and get back to us. We'll try to go back and find a way to you if we can.

New York: Copy, catch us if you can Paris, out. 

The two looked around the room and found both a door leading out and a power switch. Rebecca went for the door, but it was locked, she then picked up a note near the door while New York went to the power switch. 

New York: Hm, here goes nothing. 

Rebecca: Wait! Not yet!

Rebecca went to the power switch and set it to what the instructions said and then pulled the switch. Afterwards they heard sounds of power flowing through the underground part of the facility again as well as several doors being unlocked. 

New York: What? God this place sucks.

Rebecca: I don't know, it wouldn't be so bad as a weird puzzle house like you see in amusement parks if it wasn't for the zombies and monsters. 

New York: ... whatever.

The two just walked forward but then an Eliminator jumped on Rebecca and bit her shoulder while badly hurting her. Rebecca fell to the ground and the Eliminator jumped off of her.

New York: What?! Fucking monkey! 

New York shot the Eliminator with his shotgun, quickly killing it with the necrosis venom. However, after shooting it the ground below him quickly gave out causing him to fall in. He was fast enough to grab some of the support beams within the concrete floor, but he was still barely holding on.

New York: Grah! God fucking damn it! Paris came in!

***

Paris: Paris here! What's wrong with New York?!

Just as he finished talking another Eliminator tried to jump Paris, but he managed to high kick it fast enough forcing it to the wall. Afterwards he shot it with his dual SMGs killing it easily, though the fight wasn't over as the others were having to deal with the rest of the Eliminators. They were in some kind of trophy room that was rather small making avoiding the Eliminators very difficult. 

New York over the radio: Rebecca got bit, possibly infected! I can't help her right now because I'm stuck inside a hole and only barely holding on! Augh! Damn it! If you guys are close you might wanna hurry up! 

Paris: Copy! We're on our way! 

Thankfully at the same time Billy had just gotten one of the Eliminators off of him and shot it several times with his shotgun killing it. Hong Kong managed to kill another with his assault rifle, but another was about to ambush him. It would have succeeded if Paris hadn't grabbed it by the throat and crushed its neck killing it instantly. 

Paris: Come on, we need to help them. 

Paris ran for the next room while Hong Kong followed but Hong Kong stopped when he noticed Billy was frozen with shock.

Billy: Okay really, how is Paris so strong?

Hong Kong: Honestly don't know man, some kind of medication or surgery limited to Captains and those higher up. perks of working for the Foundation, I guess. 

The two then followed Paris to the next room, Hong Kong quickly went to Rebecca and gave her some of the green herbs within her pack while Paris helped New York out of the hole. 

New York: Ugh! Thank God!

Paris: Sorry it took a while we ended up having to go back upstairs to find a way back to you guys.

New York: Boss I know I complain a lot but man I am not complaining now!

Rebecca managed to get up once the green herbs she ate started taking effect. Though suddenly, her radio went off, she quickly took it out and everyone remained silent. 

Radio: Rebecca, have you captured Coen yet? 

Billy looked at Rebecca fearfully while Paris and the other's looked at her in confusion. 

Rebecca: Uh, no! Still looking for Coen, uh what's your progress, where are you located, how is the rest of the team over?

Unfortunately, the radio cut out due to interference again. As such the only thing Rebecca's captain heard was her lying about Billy. 

Paris: Coen? Who's that?

Billy: Me.

New York: So, you really are a criminal, fucking knew it.

Rebecca: Billy... is it true that you killed 20 people?

Hong Kong: Holy shit, what a kill count.

Billy: ... Yeah, I might as well have, you see it was last year when I was still in the army. We were marines sent to Africa to stop a gorilla militia unit. The jungle was hot, so lots died of dehydration; the rest were killed by the enemy. By the time we killed them all and made it to their base, there were only four of us left. But it turns out the idiots in charge were using bad information, and we stumbled across an innocent village. We couldn't go home empty handed so the captain ordered us to round up the villagers and kill them all, saying they were with the militia. I defied orders but I wasn't able to stop them from killing the villages... When the truth came out about them being innocent villagers, I was the one who took the fall. 

New York: ... fuck...

Paris: That's the fucking U.S. military for ya, glad I left so long ago.

Billy: Yeah, good for you.

Rebecca: But wait, that means you're not a real criminal at all! You just refused to kill those people when your captain told you too. 

Billy: yeah, but I still let them all die, not exactly better.

Rebecca: But still...

Billy: You don't get it, I only have two options, either go back to the military and live out my sentence which is a life sentence or keep running for the rest of my life. Either way I'm not free. No one is going to believe the truth anyways, especially if it makes them look bad. 

Paris: Let's just get out of here first, then we'll worry about how to deal with that. Hopefully in a way where you don't get screwed over. 

Billy: I thought you didn't like me.

Paris: I don't, but that doesn't mean you're a bad guy Billy. I'm not so heartless as to let a kid like you suffer for having a conscience.

Billy: Kid? I'm a grown adult. 

Paris: But I'm much older than you. Also, right now I'm still the captain. Speaking of which, if everyone is okay, let's move. 

The five of them left the room and right outside Paris noticed a door at the corner end of the hall. 

Paris: *sigh* Guess it's back to opening random doors and hoping for the best.

Paris opened the door and saw that on the other side was a metal staircase leading a level down. 

Paris: God damn it, this shit again? Alright everyone, on me. 

Everyone went down the stairs though the moment they went around the corner they found several giant spiders crawling on the walls. The spiders hadn't noticed them yet, allowing everyone time to look at Paris who clearly wasn't dealing with this well. 

Paris: ... can you guys-

Rebecca, New York, and Billy quickly pulled out their shotguns and started firing with Hong Kong backing them up and shooting any spider that survived their shots. 

Paris: Thanks.

Thankfully it didn't take long for the group to clear out the hallways, once all the spiders were dead Billy noticed a door at the end of the corner. 

Billy: Oh, nice I can see inside... hm... it's got those giant crickets inside, still wanna go in?

New York: Normally monsters only reside in places where there's treasure.

Everyone looked at New York in silent disappointment.

New York: What? That's how it works in video games. 

Hong Kong: Shut the fuck up New York.

Paris: As much as I'd like to agree with you, Hong Kong, I think New York is right. You and Billy should go in and take those bugs out. We'll stay here as back up if something worse shows up. 

Hong Kong: Ugh... copy boss. 

Billy opened the door and Hong Kong walked in and started shooting at the Plague Crawlers. Once again it didn't take long and as it turned out at the other end of the room on top of a box was a small key. Billy grabbed it and held it up.

Billy: New York was right.

New York suddenly clapped his hands together with glee.

New York: Hot damn! 

Rebecca: Glad to see someone enjoying themselves in this hell hole.

New York: Woah, watch your language young lady.

Paris: both of you shut up, let's move.

Their destination ended up being the last door down the hall. The double doors ended up leading to a metal staircase up a level though to everyone's shock it led to a room filled with guns. 

Rebecca: Whoa!

Billy: Niiice

New York: Haha! Now we're talking.

Hong Kong: Uh? Do we really need any of this?

New York: Duh! I'm running out of Necrosis shells, and I doubt we're even close to getting out of here. Might as well increase our firepower.

Paris: That's a pretty good rifle right there, I guess I'll take one too.

New York got himself an assault rifle and so did Billy, Hong Kong found a few grenades and decided to take them as well just in case. Rebecca got herself an SMG and surprisingly, Paris ended up getting a sniper rifle. 

New York: Holy shit!

Billy: What?

New York: Check it out! This is magnum ammunition! Magnums are powerful and badass guns! 

Paris: Except their fire rate is shit and even if they weren't you don't have one.

New York: No, but I know where to look.

New York pointed at the locker on the other side of the room. Paris didn't wait for him to say anything and just was about to force the locker open. However, Billy beat him to the punch and just opened the locker with the key he found.

Billy: Ha! So, it was the key needed, glad I did that before you wrecked something. 

Billy smiled at Paris but even under his mask Billy could tell that Paris was glaring at him. The glaring continued for an uncomfortable amount of time leaving everyone in the room in an awkward silence. 

Billy: ... uh... I'll just get the stuff now.

Billy started grabbing the items inside the locker and placed them on a nearby table so that everyone could see them. 

Hong Kong: Okay, we got some ammo, not really anything new, except for this case right here. Huh, looks like it needs a key to open. 

Billy looked at Paris one more time who was just leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. Billy then unlocked the case and saw that inside was just a scope with handgun parts. 

New York: What the hell? What would we need that for?

Rebecca: A scoped pistol will ensure better aim. 

Hong Kong: Yeah, but our Foundation guns already do that without scopes. What's the point?

Rebecca: Wait they do? That's cool I guess but what if you become too reliant on them. 

New York: No, no it's sort of like the gun jerks us in the right direction so it becomes a part of muscle memory... I mean right?

Hong Kong: Maybe we should keep it for New York's sake.

New York: Fuck off!

Paris: Enough, since we found everything here let's move.

Hong Kong: Oh, finally out of your anger freeze boss?

Paris: Shut the fuck up Hong Kong.

The group looked to the only other exit in the room and saw that it was yet another metal staircase leading to a floor lower.

Hong Kong: Huh, this place has a lot less originality than upstairs.

New York: Honestly more refreshing.

Hong Kong and New York ended up taking the lead, they both felt more confident now that they had more guns and felt there couldn't be anything worse than zombie monkeys. However immediately upon going downstairs there were metal bars blocking their paths. 

New York: Argh! Fan-fucking-tastic, more back tracking.

Billy: Wait I don't think that will be necessary because-

Hong Kong: no, no! NO! Don't you dare fucking say it.

Billy: It's a puzzle.

Hong Kong: God damn it! 

Billy: Relax, I think I know what kind of puzzle it is we just-

Before Billy could finish Paris walked up to the bar walls, tore them off, and placed them from the side. Billy was shocked while New York, Rebecca, and Hong Kong looked at him in confusion.

Hong Kong: I feel like you should have seen that coming.

Billy: ... You know what, me too.

Paris: Come on, we have a long way to go.

Unknown: Security Breach detected! Activating Battle Sequences as a means of security. 

Hong Kong: Wait what?

Suddenly doors from the walls opened and out came several Hunters showed up around them.

New York: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

Paris: Fuck, open fire!

Everyone got out their guns and tired as best as they could. Unfortunately, the Hunters were fast and jumping around dodging a majority of the bullets though they did get hit a few times. However, one Hunter managed to get in front of Hong Kong and stabbed him in the stomach. Rebecca saw this and yelled in anger as she started shooting the Hunter. However, her efforts were in vain as another Hunter jumped behind Hong Kong and cut off his head. 

Paris: Fuck! Everyone back-to-back! Don't let these fucking monsters close to you!

Quickly New York, Billy, Rebecca, and Paris did just that and started shooting at the Hunters as they jumped around looking for an opening. Thankfully as the Hunters were getting injured, they were getting slower allowing everyone to shoot them more effectively. After about half an hour the Hunters were finally dead or dying allowing everyone to catch their breaths. 

New York: Ha... ha... God damn it...

Rebecca: Hong Kong... 

Billy: Shit, now there's four of us, God damn it not again.

Paris remained silent as he walked to Hong Kong's corpse and took his ID tag, his weapon, and his Foundation medical case. 

New York: Paris, we need to get the fuck out of this place now!

Paris: What the hell do you think we've been trying to do this entire time?

New York: ... God damn it, where are those reinforcements?

Paris remained silent as he got up and held out the Foundation medical case. 

Paris: Hong Kong was the medic; I can assume the position, though I warn you all I'm not a professional... not like Hong Kong was.

Rebecca: ... I'll do it.

Billy: Rebecca?

Paris: Are you sure about that?

Rebecca: I'm not a professional either, but I still received training as a field medic. Besides I think we can all agree I'm not exactly the top shot here, might as well put my talents in something I'm more accustomed too. Besides, you're our acting leader now Paris, we need you to focus more on that instead.

Paris: ... alright, if you're sure then I'll trust you with this. 

Paris then gave Rebecca the case, he also took Hong Kong's mask and disassembled it into just the visor. He then gave her that visor which she hesitated at first but then took it, now she was able to detect biohazards like Paris and New York but also could understand what was inside the medical case better. 

Rebecca: With this, I'll make sure no one else dies, I promise.

Paris: Don't make promises you can't keep Rebecca.

Rebecca: I never do. 

Paris: ... Let's get the hell out of here then. 

Paris was about to lead them out of there as there was nothing left to explore; however, he then saw that there was a case holding grenade rounds on the ground. He picked them up and right next to it there was a key. After picking them both up he got up and showed the grenade rounds to the rest of the group.

Paris: Don't let me forget I have this, especially if another one of those big bugs show up. 

Rebecca: Roger.

Billy: Of course.

New York: Got it boss.

Paris: Alright keep moving.

As they left the room, they went back out the hall and were heading to the trophy room again. But as they did Billy looked over to Rebecca and saw the hurt in her eyes.

Billy: Rebecca, you okay?

Rebecca: ... I'll be fine once we get out of here, I'm just... I'm just tired of losing people.

Billy: This your first mission where things get this bad?

Rebecca: This is my first mission period, but it won't be my last. 

Rebecca walked forward seemingly with a new air of determination around her. Billy already knew what it was like to go through hell but to see it happen to someone else made his gut fold. Finally, they made it back to the main room. Paris got out the Foundation screen pad to see where else they hadn't been yet. Thankfully he ended up seeing a room they hadn't found and seemed to match the description of the key. 

Paris: Alright if we go through that door up there, we should find a room that leads to another section of this place. I got a key to it so we should be able to access it. Though it's probably not an exit, it might have a key that will lead us out of here. 

New York: Honestly, I'll take anything at this point.

The group moved up to the first door on the right of the room though upon entering the hall they all heard a rattling and hissing noise. They raised their guns while Paris slowly led them to the first door on the right and they all quickly flooded the room. Thankfully once they did the hissing was gone so they relaxed. Paris then saw the door on the other side; he used the key to open it and after doing so he felt the door. He could tell easily that there was no way for him to break the door down on his own. 

Paris: Alright we're in unknown territory again, Rebecca and I will secure this hallway in case of any more of those leech freaks. Billy and New York you two will secure this room here, we'll meet back once everything is clear. 

Billy: Are you sure it's a good idea to split up now.

Paris: ... I know how reckless it sounds, but we need to get out of this place before more people die. It's better to get things done quickly before anything else. 

Billy: Right...

Paris: Billy, I'm not that asshole that forced those men you once called brothers to kill those villagers, okay? In my line of work, you learn to deal with death as if it's part of the job, but that doesn't mean we're going to waste lives when they can be saved, at least I won't do that. 

New York: I'd totally do that though. 

Billy actually managed to chuckle at that while Rebecca playfully punched New York in the shoulder. Billy felt reassured and opened the door to the other room as Paris asked. 

***

Billy and New York looked inside and saw that inside was a bunch of films and what looked to be a camera security station. 

New York: Huh, it actually looks pea-

Billy: No! Don't jinx- 

Suddenly from the room fell one of the leech mimics which quickly stood up and raised its stretch whip like arms. New York was about to throw one of his sterilizing gas grenades, but he accidently ended up grabbing one that was popped by the Centurion. The leech mimic then started slashing at them forcing the two to use one of the shelves as a defensive wall.

New York: God damn it, alright buy me time I know a good way to get rid of this fucker!

Billy: Whatever it is, do it fast!

Billy then got up and started firing his new assault rifle at the leech mimic making a few of the leeches fall off the main body. Though there were some that didn't die and were starting to slither towards Billy. 

Billy: New York? Any day now!

New York: Got it!

New York then got up and held out his Chemical spray gun and started spraying sterilizing gas at the leeches killing them almost instantly. He then marched forward and started spraying the leech mimic making it fall apart into nothing but a pile of dried up and dead leeches. 

Billy: Ugh, fuck I hate this place.

New York: Oh? Now someone agrees with me?

Billy: Shut up man, everyone agreed with you from the start, just no one was willing to bitch about it as much as you do.

New York and Billy started at each other for a while but then they both started laughing. Billy then placed his hand on New York's shoulder.

Billy: You got family back home?

New York: ... Nah, not really, I was an orphan who happened to be at an orphanage owned by the SCP Foundation. After seeing my skills, they employed me and now I'm an MTF trooper of Lambda-12. It's the only life I've ever known and I'm okay with it, though it does suck when I occasionally stumble across things I'm not used to like today. But uh, what about you man?

Billy: I have some but... I tried calling them after my sentence, first was my brother, he told me to go to hell. Then I tried my dad, my mom answered instead saying she wished I was dead.

New York: Fuck... Sorry, bro.

Billy: It's fine, I shouldn't have expected anything else.

New York: Hey, man if it's any consideration, you're basically redeeming yourself right now by helping us get out of here while fighting all these freaks. I mean it's really not every day you stumble across an organization that secretly creates monsters... well I mean for the SCP Foundation it is, but Lambda-12 normally doesn't deal with that crap. Ahem! What I'm trying to say is that you should be proud of yourself for being both a good dude and a badass when the situation gets this fucked up. 

Billy: Right... I feel like you could have phrased it better but fine... So uh... since you guys deal with the monsters of the night do uh... Do you know if aliens are real?

New York: Dude, fuck off with that conspiracy shit. 

Billy: Sorry it's just, I always knew there was more to life than meets the eye, but I didn't think the truth would ever be this wild. I mean, is it wild? I think it is.

New York: It's kinda different with everyone, I think. For most it's a total mind fuck but for others it could always be worse for them. But either way, not everything you read on the internet is real. 

Billy: Good to know I guess; still thought I'm guessing now that me and Rebecca are exposed to it you aren't going to let us off easy, are you?

New York: Hm... You know under protocol "Soul Survivor" civilians who help with the containment of an anomaly get to join the Foundation.

Billy: Oh yeah Paris told me something like that. I'll uh... give it some thought. I'm not sure I want to be a soldier again, but Paris does give off the vibe of being a good leader that doesn't crack under pressure. 

New York: Yeah, he's considered one of the best, also don't tell him I told you this, but his primary code name is actually: The Father. Everyone says he got it because he always acts like a dad. 

Billy: ... or maybe it's because he's always stuck with dumbasses like you that act like spoiled brats.

New York: Haha! Fuck off!

The two of them laugh for a short while but then are in silence.

New York: I know I'm an asshole but believe me when I say that I'm getting myself and everyone else out of this god forsaken mansion. And if we come across that opera asshole and whoever else is behind this, then I'll kill them without hesitation. For both London and Hong Kong.

Billy: Likewise.

Billy then raised his first to New York.

Billy: Let's make this fucking nightmare end.

New York: Let's make the goddamn nightmare end.

New York then bumped his fist with Billy's and the two continued searching for anything useful.  

***

Meanwhile Paris and Rebecca walk down the hall but immediately are confronted with a leech mimic. It quickly tries to stretch its arm at them to whip them both, though the two managed to dodge the attack in time. Afterwards, Paris immediately grabs his necrosis venom coated dagger and throws it at the leech mimic. It screams in pain as the dagger sinks into its body killing all the leeches it comes into contact with. 

While it is panicking Paris arms a UV heat flash grenade but waits until the last second before throwing it. This proves to be a good call as the leech mimic grabs the grenade and swings it arm back with the intent to throw it back. It is however too late, and the leech mimic gets burned making all the remaining leeches fall from the body and flee out of desperation. Rebecca and Paris made sure to shoot as many of the surviving leeches as they could. One leech in particular tried to bite Paris in the leg, to which he stomped on it rather violently.

Rebecca: ... Paris? Are you okay?

Paris: ... No, of course not. But we need to keep moving. 

Rebecca: I know but, still... This is so much.

Paris: ... *sigh* you wanna know the truth... I really fucking hate this job.

Rebecca: Well, I can't expect anyone to love a job where dealing with zombies is normal.

Paris: Hehe, you'd be surprised how many would disagree with you.

Rebecca actually smiled a little as she never heard Paris laugh before. 

Paris: But in all seriousness, this job is absolute hell. It's not just zombies you have to deal with Rebecca but it's all sorts of monsters and nightmares. 

Rebecca: ... like giant bugs, undead animals, and mutant lizard men.

Paris then looked at Rebecca who was trying to smile but stopped when she saw Paris facing her direction. She then sighed as to clear her mind before speaking.

Rebecca: I'm not trying to say you're exaggerating or that this isn't horrible because it totally is. I know this is terrible, it's to the point that I can barely get used to it even though I've been exposed to so much.

Paris: Rebecca, it hasn't even been a full day. 

Rebecca froze up as she processed what Paris said and realized he was right. She then started blushing out of embarrassment. 

Rebecca: Uh... Ahem, my point is, you're right about this whole situation being no different than walking through hell. But even though I lost most of my squad and you lost London and Hong Kong. I still want to keep fighting with you, I just can't in good conscience let whoever was responsible for this allow it to continue. So please know that you can rely on me Paris, I'll always have your back.

Paris: ... Rebecca-

Rebecca: AND! I need to say this now since I know it's probably what you're thinking right now so let me make it clear. I DO NOT have a crush on you, you already told me you were gay anyways and no offense but I'm not actually into older guys. Besides, if anything you're more oddly more like a father figure, even when we were about to fall apart earlier you managed to keep your composure so that we could keep moving. 

Paris: ... Hehehe, father figure huh? Yeah, I actually get that a lot. 

Rebecca smiled again but then blushed as she opened her arms which left Paris confused.

Rebecca: Do you... need a hug?

Paris: Uh... No... Do YOU need a hug?

Rebecca: ... actually yeah.

Paris: *sigh* just get over here idiot. 

Rebecca then made a playful angry face at Paris as she walked up to him and hugged him. They remained like that for a while as the tension continued to die.

Rebecca: ... We both smell like monster guts. 

Paris: Yeah, I'm taking a shower when I get back to base. 

***

New York, Billy, Paris, and Rebecca met back at the door after they were done confirming their areas were fine. 

Paris: Found anything? 

New York: We ran into another one of those leech freaks, but I took it out easily, thought besides that nothing. 

Billy: Just this, it's a vise handle, might be useful

Paris: Given everything we've encountered today I think your correct. Good work, you two. 

Billy: Woah, are you actually praising me Paris?

Paris: Billy...

Billy: Okay! Okay, not in the mood, got it. 

Paris turned to New York and Rebecca, both of which were giggling. Paris preferred them to stay focused but after everything that happened, they needed all the happy moments and bits of hope they could get. 

Paris: Alright then, let's keep moving together now. Even if we don't find an exit this way finding keys and handles will be good too so keep your eyes peeled everyone. 

Rebecca: Roger!

Billy: You got it.

New York: Yes Boss.

The four of them walked down the hall and found a door on the right, New York opens it with Rebecca and Billy charging in only to see it's a bar. It didn't take them long to see that there wasn't really anything in there. Though New York in general did notice that there was a lot of unused liquor and alcohol still on the shelfs. 

New York: Uh... You know, we really could use a break, so maybe-

Billy, Rebecca, and Paris: NO!

New York: Okay! Jesus, I was just a suggestion.

Paris sighed as he continued to look around, hoping he'd catch something useful. However Paris then turned the piano in the room, it looked like just a regular piano, but he had a feeling there was more to it. He pulled up his Foundation Computer Screen pad and scanned the piano, sure enough its components were connected to a secret room, possibly with objects hidden inside. Paris then used the Foundation pad to find the secret room and once he located the door, he forced it open with his strength.

Paris's actions ended up spooking the other three as they didn't even realize what he was doing until now. Once he got the door open, he walked in leaving Rebecca, Billy, and New York very confused. He was only inside the secret room for a short while before coming out with Magnum rounds and a large battery. 

Paris: Guess our luck is finally turning around.

Rebecca: Uh... sure.

The four of them left the piano bar and went down to the door at the end of the hall which led them to a new hall. This one had one door on the right and one door on the left. 

Paris: Hmph, guess we'll have to split up again if we want to pick up the pace.

Rebecca: I can go with New York; we can take the door on the left while you and Billy take the door on the right.

New York: Wait what?!

Rebecca: What do you think, Sir? 

Paris tilted his head in confusion, he then reluctantly looked at Billy who Rebecca proposed he team up with. Billy shrugged to which Paris sighed and nodded.

New York: Wha! Oh, come on Boss!

Paris: Quit your bitching New York, it's time you got over your petty attitude against Rebecca.

New York just grunted in anger as Rebecca winked at him, Paris then faced Billy forcing him to tense up.

Paris: Let's move, no fooling around, got it? 

Billy: Of course, Paris, give me some credit, will ya?

Paris shook his head and walked to the door on the right with Billy following him while Rebecca went to the door on the left with New York begrudgingly following her. 

***

Rebecca and New York entered the room where they found what looked to be a cart that was badly damaged but clearly not by the hands of humans or zombies. Rebecca smiled as she found lots of herbs and medicine for her to use.

New York: You know most of that is useless compared to the stuff in your suitcase.

Rebecca: ... You mean Hong Kong's suitcase.

New York: ... You know what I mean. 

Rebecca just sighed as she faced New York quickly grabbing his attention. 

New York: ... what?

Rebecca: Do you enjoy being an asshole?

New York: Okay no, I already had a heartfelt moment earlier, I don't need another one. Fuck off, Rebecca. 

Rebecca: How exactly are we supposed to get out of here alive if we don't trust each other.

New York: ... No, I don't like being an asshole. I just hate my job sometimes. Rats that can change size depending on the volume of the room there in, I can handle. Spiders that crawl into your brain and take over your body, easy fix. Flesh eating worms that eat their prey from the inside out, not a big deal. Fuck I even had fight to the death one time with a monster that makes itself look like a regular car. Even zombies aren't much, but that mixed with leeches that can turn into humanoid monsters is a bit over my paygrade. But then, you add giant bugs, zombie birds, monkeys and dogs, and fucking DnD lizard folk, ALL of which can easily tear through our bullet proof suits. Then yeah, I feel like fucking complaining, especially like an asshole. 

Rebecca: I see...

New York: ... What, that's it? You're not going to tell me to get over it?

Rebecca: No, I'm barely dealing with this easily myself, how am I supposed to expect you to be dealing with it well?

New York: I got more experience than you, though. Doesn't that annoy you that I'm not handling this well despite that?

Rebecca: Not really, if anything you seem to be handling much better than I would have. I know we didn't get on the right foot when our groups met but I don't think things would have worked out well for me had you guys not shown up. In fact, I probably would have just shot and arrested Billy. 

New York: ... But then you would have been off the train and away from this nightmare.

Rebecca: I would have been in the same forest that got Edward killed. I probably would have ended up like him. 

New York: Hm, that's looking on the bright side, I guess. But we're not really the good guy's Rebecca.

Rebecca: Maybe not, but I'm glad to have met you guys. I hope to know both your real names after we get out of here... I also want to know London and Hong Kong's names so that I can properly grieve for them later. 

New York looked at Rebecca shocked but sighed, he really felt like an asshole when he noticed how held together she was in comparison. Though it also made him want to help her out even more because of it. 

***

Paris and Billy entered what looked to be a welding room, though they weren't alone as zombies quickly rose up from the other side of the room. Paris wanted to save the ammo of his SMGs, so he pulled out the sniper rifle he got form the armory and started sniping down the zombies. Billy started helping out with his assault rifle with rather great efficiency and usage of bullets. Once all the zombies were dead Paris walked around to see if there were any giant bugs or other monsters. As he kept his rifle up Billy did the same, they only lowered them when they saw that the entire room was clear. 

Paris: Huh, nothing useful here except a bunch of ammo. 

Billy: Hey, I think this is where that handle goes!

Billy pointed to one of the workbenches and put the handle on the vise there. He saw that there was a metal tablet already in there, so he used the handle to have the vise release the plate. Unfortunately, it turned out to be much harder than he thought so he turned to Paris and sighed.

Billy: Can you please help me out?

Paris just chuckled and walked forward, Billy backed up to let him work but also out of shock as he had never heard Paris laugh before. Paris then easily turned the handle and the plate fell out showing itself to be engraved, almost like it was a tablet that resembled a tiny tombstone. Yet instead of a name it just spelled the word obedience. Paris held it up to get a better look at it.

Paris: Oh hey I this looks similar to what I got in that room before Rebecca and New York contacted us.

Paris took out another tiny tombstone form his backpack and held them close together.

Paris: Hm... Unity and Obedience.

Billy: Just like with that psycho Dr. Marcus wrote for his employees.

Paris: Meaning it's a part of another puzzle. Hopefully this gets us a step closer out of here, or better yet out of here immediately. Though if I had to guess, there's one or two more out there that we need to find... great.

Billy: At least it's a step closer out of here, right?

Paris just looked back at Billy, annoyed, making Billy start sweating in fear. Paris just sighed and started heading for the door.

Billy: ... shit, alright I'm sorry!

Paris then stopped and turned back to Billy again.

Billy: I'm sorry that I often feel the need to show off or get on your nerves, I know I act like a fucking teenager getting on his dad's nerves. I just didn't trust you guys before but even though we hated one another you guys always had my back. Even Hong Kong did, despite the fact that me and him never really saw eye to eye. 

Paris: ... It's not entirely your fault Billy, from what you told me guys in military clothing haven't exactly been nice to you either. 

Billy: Yeah, but you guys aren't U.S. military, so I was kinda petty to be taking my anger out on you.

Paris: Meh, I don't really expect much from stupid teenagers.

Billy just grunted in annoyance while Paris chuckled again. 

Paris: Hehe... ah... Billy, all I ask is that you got my back and the backs of Rebecca and New York. I know Rebecca is reckless and New York is... well New York, but we have to keep working together to get out of here. Now that we're down two men we need to keep an even tighter grip on one another and keep our heads straight on. BUT form you I want you to STOP wasting time in any shape or form! Got it.

Billy: Ah, Ahem! Yes Sir.

Paris: Hm, you're a fine soldier Billy, it's a shame the U.S. military couldn’t see that, but then again it is run by capitalists and idiots.

Billy: Well Capitalism is better than communism.

Paris: ... Shut up and follow me.

Billy: R- Right sir. Sorry.

***

The two groups made it back to the main hall and saw one another. Unfortunately, in-between them was another leech mimic, cutting them off from one another.

Paris: Fuck contact!

Paris pulled out his dual SMGs to fire at the leech mimic with the intent to distract rather than kill. Though he did kill quite a few leeches including Billy who fired his shotgun at the leech mimic. Meanwhile New York, got out his Foundation shotgun and Rebecca got the Foundation Assault rifle from Hong Kong and started firing. It took some time but with the leech mimic being overwhelmed it was unable to attack one or the other, as such they were able to shoot down all the leeches without worry. Finally, the mimic fell apart and died leaving a few leeches fleeing to the cracks and vents in fear. 

Paris: God damn it more of those things are showing up. 

New York: Isn't that a good thing? I mean that means we're heading towards something important which is probably the way out of here.

Rebecca: Or we're getting closer to that man in white, either way its progress.

Paris: I found this so all we need to do is figure out where it goes and go from there, I guess. I would normally say it's probably a way out of here, but I think we all know that's probably not the case.

Billy: Nothing wrong with hoping sir.

Paris: Hope is a good weapon Billy, but one should never forget it's a double-edged sword. 

Rebecca: Then let's not forget to keep one side sharper than the other.

New York: Why would we need a sword when we have guns?

Everyone then looked to New York in annoyance. 

New York: What? I'm just saying.

Paris: Let's just get out of here.

***

It didn't take them long to get back to the main room, unfortunately this meant they were back at square one yet again. 

Paris: Alright, hold here while I look through the maps, surely there's something else we missed.

New York: *Sigh* God damn it, we're never getting out of here.

New York then leaned on the front doors of the main room but yelled out as he fell when the doors opened. Everyone rushed to his aid but besides falling he was fine; instead, what grabbed all their attention was the fact that New York ended up accidentally discovering a new path for them. 

New York: Augh! Wah? WHAT?! Wait, did no one notice this door was open?!

Billy and Rebecca looked at one another and scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment. New York then got up and started blaming them to which they both started yelling back at him. 

Paris: ENOUGH! All of you!

The three of them quickly went silent but were still slightly mad at one another.

Paris: ... *sigh* Okay look, obviously this is embarrassing on all our parts. We missed something vital that probably could have helped us earlier. But we can't change the past no matter how much we want to. So, are you all going to keep complaining without getting anything done? Are you going to help me get this nightmare over with?!

Rebecca, Billy, and New York looked at one another and agreed while apologizing one by one.

Paris: Thank you, now let's see what we can do here. 

.

End of Part 5

.

Continue to Part 6

Go back to Part 4

.

Go back to File: Resident Evil - T Virus

[snacc-noir]

Unseal and Reveal pt2

Ao3

Part 1

Adapted from this post

Summary:

Adrien asks Marinette to fake date him after his father finds a pink ‘love note’ containing just her name on it

— but it was really the emergency note Ladybug gave him in case he needed to know her identity

Adrien has screwed up. 

But before anything begins, he’d like to make it very clear that he’s only ever had good intentions, believable smiles, and incredible lying ability – no matter what his friends say (“You once told Alya you had a great dentist so Marinette wouldn’t be suspicious”), because he’s kept the fact he’s Chat Noir under wraps and no one has been the wiser. 

Then again, Chat Noir is stylish, handsome, incredibly dressed, insanely hilarious, im(pecc)ably ripped, totally— 

Yeah, so Adrien just can’t live up to that (If it came down to it, he’d totally fall in love with himself if circumstances allowed.), and thus his identity is pretty secure , unlike his self-esteem on a good day. 

Specifically, today. 

Because he has screwed up.  

So yes, he’s somehow the best and worst liar ever, which probably likens to how it isn’t his secret identity that he Accidentally (three underlines for ‘accidentally’) reveals, but, uh, someone else’s. 

Ladybug’s. 

He knows Ladybug’s identity.  

But hey! Hey— remember, her idea. It was never him who suggested the ‘let’s write our names on letters in case we need to know in an emergency’, as that was definitely her. 

He’s screwed everything up, but it was definitely her. 

“Did you know? ” 

“Duh,” his kwami’s gravel voice says, “I know everything.” 

Adrien’s hands are rousing his hair so much at this point he might expose himself as Chat Noir if anyone went by his lean windows. “You knew this whole time!? That Ladybug is– That she’s– That—”  

All air escapes him in a corrupt elongated syllable. He flops on his Extra King size bed with silk sheets and fluffed pillows, almost knocking his model agency’s branded hydro-flask onto the desk adjacent with three exorbitant monitor screens. Oh, how difficult his life is.  

“You’re so pathetic.” 

He is.  

“This is hilarious.” 

It is not.  

‘“What am I supposed to do, Plagg?! Call her? ‘Hey love of my life, it’s me Adrien, but you also know me as Chat Noir. I accidentally found out your identity and long story short, my household thinks we’re dating and wants you over for dinner. Are you up for fake-dating and not killing me, please?” 

His kwami skulls a camembert roll. “I’m down for that idea.” 

Adrien pegs a sock. 

“How are you so calm?” 

“I shrugged in the face of dinosaur extinction. Your damsel in distress crisis – you’re the damsel, by the way – and ‘oohhh no, I’m so in love’ hullabaloo is nothing.” 

Adrien’s frown deepens. “I don’t sound like that.” 

“You do. Your voice goes like eee .” 

“What? No it doesn’t” 

“You’re right, it’s more like ahhh . ” 

The heat in Adrien’s acid eyes smarten. He crosses his arms, huffing in a way he hasn’t since early childhood, and glares at his ceiling. “I’m done talking to you.” 

He isn’t, of course, as there’s only one person in his life he can complain to about his array of #RelatableTeenBoy issues, like ditching your favourite topic of Physics one class to cater to a Giant Baby akuma (again) and being late due to lack of places to change into your skin-tight cat suit (you know; just those little things). And by Hawk Moth’s insufferable menacing he isn’t letting that outlet fall from under him. He needs to clear his thoughts, because believe him, there is a lot to sift, and it doesn’t help when part of this whole catastrophe has left him with the knowledge that— 

“Marinette is Ladybug!” 

Plagg has moved to Adrien’s three-panelled computer desk and is clicking through something. “I’m so glad you’ve caught up.” 

“And if she’s Ladybug, that means,” he goes on, white overshirt sleeves now uneven as he animates his words with a pillow, “she was just saying to me – to Chat – she was in love with him to save her identity! And there’s another boy she’s in love with! And–! And I might know who it is!” 

“Who?” Plagg asks, the volume juxtaposing his welder’s. 

“I said 'might’.” 

The keys click louder. “You mean because you know Ladybug in real life you could have met him before? Or you actually know him?” 

“I don’t know! I just know that Marinette’s… She’s in love with another guy.” The earlier exhilaration drains and his chest feels hollow and soul-sucking. “Wait– I can’t ask her to be my fake-girlfriend!” 

The destructive god scrolls through the itemised shopping cart to double-check his fromage orders without any fear of his owner noticing. Well you obviously don’t have a choice. Your dad wants her over for dinner. Besides, it’s Ladybug, remember? She’ll do anything to help a friend out.” 

Ladybug. 

Marinette. 

Of course.  

There are still many things that don’t add up (Multimouse: just how?) but of course. 

He can’t risk his own identity and hers to his father. He must keep the façade up. And if that mean s falling on his knees in front of who unarguably should be the most glorified woman in the world, crying to her to please just be his fake – very much, but unfortunately fake – girlfriend.  

He will. 

He’ll do it right now. 

- 

“I can’t believe you chickened out.” 

Walks to school, even with the cost of waking up earlier, are always more refreshing than drives in cold silence. The freedom here is less pale, and he can hiss at Plagg all he wants with only the dignity loss of onlookers noticing him crankily talking to himself. 

“Oh wait, yes I can. Because you’re a coward~. ” 

“I did not ‘chicken out’,” Adrien snaps. “And I’m no coward. I just— I need to speak to her in person instead. This way, she didn’t have to receive an unwanted call so late.” 

 “You mean six?” 

He huffs. “Marinette needs all the sleep she can get.” He pokes the creature back into his overshirt. “She’s always so busy. Even you’ve seen her collapse in class. Wait—!” 

The only one that waits is himself, columned with the line of trees ahead, locked in the interval of his soap opera as his audience darts for a shiny rock near a fire hydrant. 

“Because she’s Ladybug too! Of course! Of course! This makes so much sense! She’s so tired and overworked! It’s no wonder she’s all over the place – in the best of ways, I mean, she’s literally adorable when she’s frantic. Wait, have I always thought that? Have I always seen Marinette as the cutest thing ever? Her spluttering is so endearing. And if she’s already so tired, I can’t make her fake date me, too! She’s already so stressed! I’d literally be the scum of the earth if I even dare—” 

Plagg is staring at him with flat interest. Humbly aware of his judgement, Adrien swallows, letting the air untense and clams his hands – eager to narrate his animated allegory – in his pockets in strife to get a grip.  

He sighs. 

“What if I mess it up, Plagg?” 

He inventories his new rock in Adrien’s satchel. A hymn of silence roots in the place of what should be a snide remark. But there is no fed-up comment, just a kwami wriggling under his overshirt out of sight and a solemn voice that issues from it,  

“Kid, you’re partners. You work together. You forgive each other. You trust each other. And if Ladybug trusts you,” he sticks his head out a little more, “find it in you to trust yourself. You won’t mess this up if you put her and her identity’s safety first, which I know you will, because you love her and you’re a great hero.” 

Adrenaline dampening, Adrien smiles.  

“Thanks, Plagg.” 

- 

Marinette has never believed in bad luck until she met Chat Noir (fifty Mr Pigeon akumatisations this year with a feather allergy? The next lucky charm is going to be an Epi-pen) and for a while, she didn’t believe in good luck, even with being Ladybug. 

But that was then. Back then, meaning like, ten minutes ago before she was invited to stay back after PE by Adrien. 

Right now, though? Right now, she’s decided she’s going to hand-sew a bedazzled shirt embossed with, “Goddess of Luck” to wear while Ladybug on patrol (and on the back, a quote she woke up to on Instagram this morning: ‘“can also kick ass” – Adrien Agreste’ (she took ten screenshots when he posted that)), because Marinette has good luck.   

“You’ll be doing me a huge favour,” the ass-kicking quoter says on an afternoon she has not planned to receive the most exciting request of her life. 

And you know what she says? 

You know what the stuttering girl who may as well trademark the word ‘GAH’ she falls that much, says? 

You’ll never guess. 

No really, you won’t. 

Because turns out, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is more than just accomplished. 

So what if she thrones the winning title of a Gabriel fashion comp? What even matters of being class president and an all-around likable person? Who takes notice of another fashion mogul inviting you to live in New York because of your talent? ––An invitation you had to decline because, you know, being Paris’ zero-pay superheroine has a sprinkle more of importance. And oh, did she mention she’s Ladybug? Because she’s Ladybug. A superhero.  

But none of that matters right now. 

“I’d be happy to help.” 

Because she’s said yes.  

She—Marinette McStutter Dupain-Cheng—has said yes with her mouth (not vague hand animations over blubbering nonsense) to Adrien, and although her muscles are locked with their key over the Eiffel tower (and the tiny detail that her thoughts are screaming so much she can’t hear a thing of his relief and numerous ‘thank you’s), she’s still said yes!  

Screw every other accomplishment. She’s said yes to being Adrien’s fake girlfriend. 

Ladybug? Nah, that’s Mrs. Fake Agreste to you.  

Good luck is real.  

Okay but sure, ‘Fake girlfriend’ doesn’t exactly live up to ‘Very real girlfriend’, but being a fake isn’t that bad! She’s seen Lila do it every day for months – oh, hang on, no actually the term ‘fake’ has very negative and huge implications, then. However, in Marinette’s heavenly-blessed case, ‘fake’ means she’s doing a very big favour for a friend and is going to get more time with Adrien – just to name a few positives.  

“Seriously Marinette, you have no idea how much this means to me. I can’t believe I’m so lucky to have a friend like you.” 

‘Oh honey, I’m the lucky one. ’ 

“It’s– It’s no problem! Yeah! Really, I’ll come to dinner, no problem! It can’t be too hard. I can be your girlfriend! Eugh– Pretend girlfriend. It’s not hard being in love with you! I mean– Ugh!” 

The monstrosity that is the never-shutting-up hole in her face is blocked off by frantic hands, stifling the last of her eloquent groan. But peering up, she realises she really has underestimated how much this means to Adrien, because he looks like he’s poised on a cliff of ecstasy ready to fall – eyes verdant, big, and lushed over with a hue of moisture that twinkles, and a smile so bright and toothy the sunlight hollowing out the remaining shade of the PE stadium glints off it.  

In fact, her mess of a speech is such a compliment to Adrien that her locked-limbed body is suddenly engulfed by his. Startled in delightful senses of the word, she squeaks, and he quickly pulls away, face a few rose tones darker than before as his hands twitch at his side unsurely. 

“Uhh, I guess we have to get planning.” 

She watches in transfixed attraction as Adrien picks both their schoolbags up, finally blurting (without any squeak, she may add), 

“Y–Yes. We do.” 

(she didn’t say any stutter, so shut up.) 

“Would your father let you come over right now since school’s almost finished?” 

He casts a look to the exit thoughtfully. His flawless side-profile in high resolution before her, she sees the corner of his mouth quirk up in an unsettling familiar way, as if his whole charisma shifts to someone else’s.  

They do need to plan; to run away together, where only they share this odd secret - a place alone together where they'll look each other eye-to-eye and practice their sonnets of love to construct a believable facade for his father-

“It’s more fun sneaking to my girlfriend’s house, isn’t it?” 

That time, she squeaks.

And comes to the daunting realisation:

Marinette is screwed. 

[rilesandlucas]

HIDING. RUCAS ONE SHOT.

‘No, mum we are just friends. How many times do I have to say that.’ Lucas called out to his mother who was once again hassling him. He loved Riley, she was like a third sister to him. First his actual, very bitchy, sister Hailee. Then Maya then Riley. It was only when he was younger and more naive to what dating and love actually meant that he liked Riley. She was just a little schoolboy crush he used to have.

Sighing in frustration he walked out the door to head to school. It was one week before graduation and Lucas couldn’t be more excited to be attending nyu with three of his friends. Farkle and smackle reached their potential and both went to a prestigious school in Sweden. Although he was going to miss them tremendously he knew this is what was best from them.

After a boring subway ride Lucas was walking through the corridor of Abigail Adams. He instantly saw the perky brunette and his heart starting beating, he knew it was just because he was instantly happy when around her that his heart started beating. It has nothing to do with his attraction towards her. Or her legs in that skirt- no it had nothing to do with her physically per say he thought walking towards the friends. 

'Lucas hi.’ Maya groaned obviously very happy to be at school. He laughed and gave her a side hug before handshaking Zay and Farkle. He never knew what to do with Smackle, hugging was a no no, she hated handshakes and so he usually just nodded and said 'hello superior’ and that seemed good enough to her. Then he turned to the energetic brunette and pulled her in for a massive hug. He loved hugging her in the mornings, he could soak up all her happy energy to get through the day. He pulled away and took one last look at her smiling face before stepping out and forming a circle. The others chattered about what they should do for graduation after party but he just zoned out. It wasn’t that he didn’t care it’s just that he was ok with everything. Farkle and Smackle began to talk about there holiday to Sweden for summer break, they wanted to get a feel for the university before they moved there. Maya and Zay then began chattering about their personal finding-themselves vendetta. They had both decided they needed to breathe a similar but very far away air. So they saved and were spending most of their summer in Australia. They both liked the fact that it was a very relaxed be achy country in some parts and they liked the fact that it was a continent, country and an island. Meaning it was very much on it’s own. He didn’t know why they were so obsessed with it but they were and he tried not to bother them. He and Riley were the only ones not going anywhere, but he had an idea. By some unlikely chance Lucas had acquired tickets, airfares and accommodation to Paris for a week. He had answered some short story competition and he entered one about Riley. He managed to win second prize, which indeed was an all expenses paid trip to Paris. He knew she would be thrilled and organised with Cory and Topanga the whole thing, and to not let her plan anything else. 

He planned to tell her about it at graduation but as time ticked by slowly he didn’t know if he could keep it from her that long. He felt a warm hand touch his arm and he flinched slightly at the unexpected contact. looking at the person who touched him he smiled seeing Riley staring at him worried. He could get lost in her deep chocolate brown eyes, he melts in them any time he sees them. It was only platonic though, I mean it’s friendly to relish in someones eyes. They were only friendly he reminded himself, he couldn’t get caught up in this love when he would never be good enough for him. A slap to his chest bought him back to reality and he realised that he had floated off into space yet again.

'Lucas, are you finally back.’ Riley prattled concern showering her face.

'Yeah Yeah sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.’ He groaned remembering all the tossing and turning about telling Riley about Paris.

'Is everything ok. Anything I can help with or we can talk about.’ She asked her hand still not leaving his arm. She dragged him over to the seat by the stairs and sat looking at him front on. 

'Riles-’ He started but she raised her free hand up to his lips before he said anything.

'Don’t say it’s nothing. I mean I am studying to be a counsellor.’ She tempted and he rolled his eyes. 

'Ummm I’m just worried about change. I mean with change comes failure, uncertainty and so many other things. I don’t know if it’s going to be a good change either. Just for as long as I’ve known I’ve always dealt horribly with change.’ He ranted never once looking in his eyes. He knew the truth in statement but he didn’t know what it was directed towards. 

'Well I think you’re pretty good at it. I mean when you moved from Texas to New York. That was a pretty big change and you made yourself the better version of you.’ She spoke so brightly that Lucas felt like with her direction he could do anything. 

'And I’ll be with you for a little longer.’ It was only then that Lucas realised how close they both were. One small push of his head and his lips would be on her plump ones. His eyes still focused on her soft pink lips he moved a strand a hair out of her face. He felt no liquid his throat and all he wanted to do was lean forward and kiss. Kiss her and show her how much he loved her. Loved her. At that thought he stood abruptly, he loved Riley. Instead of pushing her away he had to do something about it. A safe life without her, or a life with her fully and possible failure. What is better. He always thought the first one, but now he was thinking the latter. Muttering an apology he raced off into Mr. Matthews classroom, very late. He didn’t care though, he had a plan to make.

—————————————-

He walked out of the classroom ready to win over Riley. He had managed to get Zay and Farkle on board without catching Riley’s attention. Which he thought was a win. 

As he rounded the corner he saw something he never wanted to see. Charlie frigan Gardner and Riley Brooke Matthews. He sighed as he looked a little closer and saw that Riley looked quite uncomfortable. 

'Look Charlie. I’ve told you several times, as lovely as it is. I don’t want to go out with you. I just don’t see you and I in a relationship.’ She uttered looking for an escape.

'Why not. Is it that Friar guy. He’s no good for you.’ He coughed and Lucas couldn’t take anymore as he walked away. He clenched his jaw as he punched the nearest tree. He wasn’t good enough for her and he had always known it. Why would he even think there was a chance. Even Charlie gardener knew there wasn’t.

'Damn mad dog, kick any harder and you might break the tree.’ Someone yelled forcing Lucas to turn towards them. He was face with the small, But nonetheless scary, Maya Penelope Hart. Automatically he thought of every bad thing he’s done over the past week or two, as a person does when someone confronts them and they don’t know why. Then he realised the real reason Maya was out here. She saw everything, and he had no doubt Zay would’ve blabbered about it. 

'You know why she doesn’t even go on a date with any of the guys that ask her.’ Maya asked moving slowly towards Lucas.

'Because, I don’t know, she only dates people she likes.’ He scoffed and Maya just rolled her eyes at his shallow anser.

'Well yes. We both know Riley pretty well and we know she has so much hope. Don’t you think she would want the boy to be happy. Don’t you think she would have enough hope to try once and see how it goes.’ Maya pondered and Lucas’ face fell at her reply. He noticed Maya was now sitting down beside the tree and in fear of being kicked he sat beside her.

'I know the reason her hope isn’t there. It’s because her hope is all on someone else.’ Maya paused and Lucas’ hands shook at the urgency and jealousy of where her hope was going.

'Ya see there’s this guy, from Texas, who doesn’t think he’s good enough. He also kind of hates the idea of them not working but that’s only minor, I think he worked that one out. Anyway, Riley is putting her hope into him, and him noticing she likes him and he likes her. Hoping can only work for so much though, some people are too oblivious and need it explained to them. So why don’t you go grab a drink and go through with the plan. 'Cause Riley really would love to go to Paris with you, and only you.’ Maya finished before standing up and walking away, leaving him no time to answer. 

Hitting himself he reminded himself that you have to have skin in the game to stay in the game, but you don’t get a win unless you play in the game. You get love for it, you get hate for it, you get nothing if you wait for it.

—————————————–

Riley stumbled towards her locker, for once, glad that her day was over. She was sick of Charlie and him going after her, and he had a go at Lucas, her Lucas. That wasn’t ok and she made sure he knew it. She twisted the lock and did her combination, the cold black pinching her skin. When her locker was opened she went straight to her books but a note hit her instead. It read two simple letters in bold writing. Science Lab. She felt tingles throughout her stomach. She didn’t know if they were a good feeling or a bad feeling but at this time she didn’t care. She was too curious to even think about who it might be. Maybe it was Charlie, but after today she thought better of it.

Creaking open the science lab door she saw Farkle standing at the bench. Smiling she bolted over to him. Farkle saw Riley running over to him and prepared himself.

'Bonjour Riley.’ Farkle called and Riley was beaming even more now. French was her favourite language. She said a quick hello and tapped her toes as Farkle pulled something out from under him.

'Here you go.’ Riley looked down at the Purple Luggage tag and a note, Ripping open the note she saw the words Music Room in the same writing as before. Not being able to contain herself she waved and yelled thank you before sprinting down the hall. Turning the corners and running into several people she made it to the double doors. Pushing them open without even looking she stomped in and fell over a drum. A loud bang was produced and Riley groaned. Not a moment later she saw a hand in front of her face. With no hesitation she took it and was pulled up to face no other than Zay. Smiling she looked down and saw more stuff in his hands. She could hear faint music and it took her a second to realise it was la vie en rose. 

'Hey sugar, you are looking as pretty as Paris after midnight, here you go.’ Zay offered and Riley tore the items out of his hands. She could hear him laugh at her eagerness but she was too absorbed to care. Looking at the packet she saw a lock and a permanent marker. No time to process she looked at the note. History Class. 

'Bye Zay bae.’ She yelled once again sprinting down the halls. She ran past Charlie Gardner, sulking, rolling her eyes she continued her expedition to the history classroom. 

It didn’t take her long to get there but when she got there she saw Maya blocking her way. 

'Maya I need to get-’ She started but Maya raised her hand.

'I am the final road block peaches. Take on the world.’ She stated before she handed her an envelope. She went to open it but Maya’s quick hand stopped her. 

'Not until you get in there.’ Maya spoke moving away. She walked over to the door holding the clod metal handle. She took a second to just be, to think, just to not rush. Taking a deep breathe she opened the door and looked around the dimly lit room. There were candles on every desk and it smelt like rain. Facing the front of the room she saw none other then Lucas Friar sitting on her fathers desk with roses in his hand. She felt like her heart was going to explode and she couldn’t get the smile off her face. 

'Hello. I see you found me. Sorry the hunt was small, I had short notice.’ He glanced down and she instantly went over to him and grabbed his arm.

'It was perfect, but what was it for.’ He put the roses behind him on the desk and gave her his full attention.

'Riley Matthews. For so long I have been hiding something from myself. I pretended I didn’t know what it was, I pretended it wasn’t real because I was scared. Scared of change, of not being good enough but I’m sick of waiting. Of getting nothing. Riley Matthews, I love you, and I’m sorry for shutting you down and pretending I didn’t. But by pretending I fell even harder. I want to be your boyfriend and I hope you want to be my girlfriend.’ He ranted slowing down onto one knee before her. Her mouth was agape, her hand covering it. After a few deadly moments for Lucas she began to nod slowly, then a lot faster.

'Yes I’ll be your boyfriend you dope. I was waiting a long time.’ At those words he picked her up and spun her around planting one kiss on her lips as he put her down.

'Oh and there’s one more thing.’ he spoke walking over towards the board.

'if you wanna I kinda won a trip to-’ He begun before pulling the board down. There was a perfect painting of Riley and Lucas under the Eifell tower that Maya had drawn.

'We are going to Paris.’ She yelled bouncing up and down.

'Yeah I won flights, accommodation, spending money and your parents know-’ He was cut off by a pair of lips meeting his. Her arms wrapped his neck and he held her waist tight. Slowly she pulled away leaving their noses touching slighlt.

'Je t'aime Lucas.’ She whispered.

'Je t'aime Riley.’

[lannisterslioness]

Paris - One

Summary: It's 1977 and Jyn Erso is taking advantage of every bit of her newfound freedom after graduating from high school, trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to do with the rest of her life. During her long roadtrip across the states with her best friend Bodhi, the pair take an extended stay in New York City with their friends Luke and Leia, where Jyn runs into Cassian Andor, an aspiring and very talented photographer who chooses Jyn as his new muse, and an unexpected love story unfolds between the two of them though they never wanted love to being with. 

A/N: This is a combination of AU's I've seen on tumblr really, I've seen one for the 1970's and I've seen several for photographer and just combined the two, thanks to listening to The Chainsmokers new song "Paris" on repeat! It's a really good song and I suggest you listen to it since I listened to it even more while writing this fic :P Either way, you can thank @wonderrbat for this because she encouraged me to write the photographer au and I just added my own spin on it. I hope you guys like it! <3 

Pairing: Rebelcaptain (Jyn x Cassian)

Words: 2,328

Rating: M

AO3: (x)

paris / ‘pa-res / n 1: a sentimental yearning for a reality that isn’t genuine. 2: an irrecoverable condition for fantasy that evokes nostalgia or daydreams.

1977

    There was nothing Jyn loved more than the feeling of freedom, she’d waited so long to finally be free - free of her parents, free of school, free of anything that could tie her down to one place. On the day of her graduation she grabbed her best friend Bodhi, hopped into a van, and started going wherever they wanted to go, seeing anything and everything. They stayed in some places longer than other, depending on what they wanted to do or if they had to take a job to earn some quick cash (despite Jyn’s father being more than supportive of her harnessing her freedom and taking the world into her hands). New York City had turned into one of those places, they had a place to crash with Jyn’s long-distance friends, Luke and Leia, and while Jyn hated to sound so cliché, the city was electric. She loved the commotion and that something was always happening, Bodhi seemed to love it too, and Leia loved having company around that wasn’t just her brother.

    “It’s like...an artsy kind of thing.” Leia was trying to explain over lunch, only the four of them being home while Mr. and Mrs. Skywalker out on some sort of vacation for the week.

    “Oh great, not another one of those.” Luke grumbled.

    “Don’t listen to him.” Leia swatted at her brother. “It’ll be fun.”

    Jyn looked over to Bodhi for approval, they hadn’t been to a “party” yet since they arrived in the city, and Leia seemed excited enough about it. Bodhi gave a slight shrug of his shoulders and Jyn took that as permission enough to take Leia up on the invite.

    “Sure, yeah, it sounds like fun.” Jyn agreed with a nod.

    “You won’t be saying that later when you’re ready to pass out from boredom.” Luke mumbled and Leia swatted at him again.

    “No one said you have to come!” Leia said with an exasperated sigh.

    “If I don’t who is going to keep an eye on you?” Luke asked.

    “Jyn will be there with me, and so will Bodhi.” Leia protested.

    “You and Jyn will be talking to guys after you slip Bodhi somewhere in the party.” Luke stated, almost as if he knew what Leia would do, and judging from the sigh of defeat that came from Leia - that was exactly what she planned on doing.

    “Fine, but don’t be such a downer this time, okay? I want Jyn and Bodhi to have some fun.” Leia explained.

    Jyn could understand how it might not have been the most interesting type of party in the entire world - it was in some darkened gala with too many people who didn’t know what they were really talking about, and the air was filled with a mixture of cigarette smoke and secondhand weed; she didn’t know whether she wanted to cough her lungs out or head straight for the snacks. But it was different, certainly different from any party she had been to before, and if nothing else, at least the pictures hanging on the wall were their own form of entertainment.

    “So, what do you think this one is supposed to be?” Bodhi asked, his head tilted to the side as he tried to figure out what exactly the abstract blob in the middle of a photo was supposed to be.

    “Honestly, everything right now looks like food to me, I’m starving.” Jyn sighed, the smell of pot in the air didn’t exactly help either, she was hungry before she got here and even more so after inhaling the stuff for the past hour. “Where are Luke and Leia?”

    “I’m not sure, I think they went over that way? Towards the sculptures maybe?” Bodhi was questioning himself.

    “You go over there, I’ll look over here more, we’ll meet back here at...this strange blob picture in ten minutes.” Jyn decided. “I’m dying for a cheeseburger.”

    “Oh, god, now that you mention it I could go for one too.” Bodhi added.

    “Good, all the more motivation to find them faster.” Jyn laughed. “Go on, I’ll see you back here in ten.”

    Jyn wandered off through the crowds of people, trying to tune out all of their voices into only mumbles which surprisingly wasn’t too hard. Some of the photographs caught her eye, mostly for their odd subject matter, until she’d somehow stumbled into the “normal” side of the photographs, or what she considered normal anyway. They were just of people - not supermodels, not people lounging naked somewhere, just...people, and there was something captivating about that. She must have zoned out and lingered too long by one of them since someone decided to walk up and strike a conversation with her. Jyn wanted to be annoyed, she wasn’t exactly an artsy person, she was logical - despite her free spirit - and didn’t really take joy in, well, whatever they took joy in. She was about to say she didn’t want to be captured in some hour long pointless conversation about something cheesy like “how awesome it is that we exist here on this planet at the same time”, but her voice got caught in her throat when she looked up.

    He fell into the classic kind of handsome type, tall and kinda mysterious looking, dark brown eyes that were just fixated on her, studying her and every freckle on her face. But there was also something about him that wasn’t that classic kind of handsome, but still handsome in it’s own right between that messy black hair and those slight crinkles around his eyes when he smiled despite him not looking all that old, a few years older than Jyn at the most. Jyn couldn’t help but think that in that moment, she would talk about whatever the hell this guy wanted to talk about.

    “Uh, hi.” Jyn managed to finally mumble out to him.

    He smirked and Jyn automatically wondered if she already managed to embarrass herself, she wasn’t exactly experienced in the department of guys - her expertise started and ended with Bodhi, and that was just friendship. She was always more concerned with actually learning while in school, as shocking as it was to most. When he didn’t answer back, Jyn was completely sure she had managed to make a fool of herself.

    “...Can I help you with something?” Jyn pressed on, wondering if this incredibly attractive man beside her was either losing his mind or had just smoked too much of whatever was going around in the place.

    “Sorry, sorry, it’s been a long night, I’ve just been in and out.” He finally spoke, a smile still on his face as he shook his head and glanced away, only for a moment before returning his gaze to Jyn; either way it was enough for Jyn to hear his accent and enough of it to determine somewhere in her haze that it was incredibly sexy. “Either way, I was just thinking that I wish I had my camera with me, you look amazing in that light, the smoke adds something too.”

    “Oh, so you’re one of these then.” Jyn gestured towards the pictures in front of her. “You’re not going to go off into some strange conversation where I have to make up an excuse to leave in order to get out of it, are you?”

    The pot had gotten to her, she knew it for the past half hour, but she also knew she wouldn’t blurt out half the things she was saying to him right now if she weren’t at least incredibly contact high.

    “No.” He laughed. “What kind of people have you been stuck talking to in here tonight?”

    “You don’t want to know.” Jyn sighed. “It’s been a long and weird night and all I wanna do right now is find my friends and go grab a burger.”

    “Three blocks over, the place is called Jabba’s Hutt, it has the best burgers in the city.” He offered up.

    “I just might have to head over there.” Jyn smirked before noticing Leia in the background, her eyes scanning the room for a scapegoat and Luke sitting on a nearby bench, trying to contain his laughter. “I should go save my friend over there, but my name is Jyn by the way.” She offered up her hand for him to shake, surprised by him grabbing it and pressing a kiss to the top of her hand instead.

    “Cassian Andor.” He replied with a charming smile, something that should have been straight out of a storybook. “Do you live here in the city? I’d hate for this to be the last time we meet.”

    “Well, aren’t you charming.” Jyn giggled.

    “It’s a combination of the pot and the alcohol telling me to be brave for once and to ask a girl out.” Cassian admitted, a slight blush to his cheeks telling Jyn that he was telling the truth.

    “Oh, so you’re asking me out? Well, why didn’t you say so.” Jyn grinned. “Do you have a pen?”

    Cassian took one out of his pocket and handed it to Jyn; she grabbed one of his hands and scrawled the Skywalkers home phone number onto it.

    “I’m staying with my friend at the moment, so how about tomorrow after the high is gone and your hangover has passed, you give me a call and ask for me, then we can talk about a date.” Jyn finished off the number before handing the pen back. “You might wanna write that down somewhere else before you pass out too, I’ve lost many numbers that way.”

    “I’ll remember that.” Cassian smiled back at her. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow Jyn.”

    “We’ll see.” She promised with a wink before flitting off into the crowd, a smile on her face, all while she was trying to get to Leia and save her from her horrible conversation.

    They got their burgers that Jyn wanted after she so valiantly came to Leia’s rescue while Luke saved Bodhi from hurting himself too much trying to figure out what a certain sculpture meant. They ate at Jabba’s per Jyn’s request for being the hero of the night, and Cassian Andor was not lying when he said they were the best burgers, they were amazing burgers, even Luke and Leia had to agree. Then they proceeded to get very, very drunk off of the Skywalkers stash, both Jyn and Bodhi promising to replenish it before the parents would get home. But for the meantime, they were horribly drunk; Luke was unconscious and half on the sofa and half on the floor, Bodhi was belly up on the carpet, leaving Jyn and Leia the only ones awake, sitting on her bed and gossiping like a bunch of teenagers (though in Leia’s defense, she was still one technically).

    “So, you have to tell me, who was the hot guy you were talking to tonight?” Leia asked with a smirk and a slight slur to her speech, taking another swig from her drink.

    “Cassian Andor.” Jyn stated, taking her time to say his name like it was something to savor before grinning like a fool. “I think he’s a photographer or something, he wanted to take pictures of me.”

    “Nude pictures?” Leia questioned mischievously, a broad grin on her face.

    “What, no? God no.” Jyn laughed.

    “I think I’ve seen his stuff before, the name sounds familiar.” Leia mused, her face twisted in concentration as she tried to think. “He’s got like...an accent right? I mean, not like yours but...different.”

    “Spanish, you mean?” Jyn asked with a giggle, they were both far too drunk to be having any kind of conversation, they should have been unconscious like the boys.

    “Yeah, that’s it. God, I think I’ve reached my limit.” Leia groaned, setting her drink on the table. “Shit! Cassian Andor! I have heard it before!” She exclaimed, jumping up off of the bed excitedly.

    “Whoa, whoa, slow down there, just tell me.” Jyn was startled by Leia’s sudden joy, even more startled when Leia grabbed her by the wrist and started dragging her through her family’s rather large apartment.

    “You’ll see, c’mon.” Leia insisted.

    She dragged her out of the room, past the boys, and upstairs to her mother's study. The room had a variety of pictures and paintings in it, Jyn vaguely remembering Leia telling her earlier that her mom often bought artwork from those up and coming artists to support them. Leia guided her to simple black and white photo, it’s subject being a beautiful woman wrapped up in a sweater just a bit too big for her, leaning on a windowsill and looking straight into the camera, her crossed arms in front of her trying to cover a smile. There was something incredibly enchanting about it, and incredibly intimate; it must have been a girlfriend or something, of course he’d date beautiful women like that, Jyn couldn’t help but think to herself, though she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

    “It’s beautiful.” Jyn mumbled out, still in awe of the picture in front of her.

    “It’s my mom’s favorite, she says he really captured...something about her, I’ll remember in the morning.” Leia yawned. “Let’s go to bed before I crash right here.”

    “You go ahead, I’ll be there in a few.” Jyn assured her.

    “Suit yourself.” Leia shrugged before walking out of the room, a slight waiver to her step though she still held herself up tall and proud.

[daughter-of-dawn-blog]

Summer 2018 is Here

Summer Vacation 2018 – What my Kids are doing.

The summer has started and vacation time is here.  I thought my kids did plenty last summer but this summer is a doozy.  When I'm talking action packed it is pretty high up there on the action packed meter.  At least for my kids so far in their lives.  A lot of driving to different summer camps too.  Not so much fun but we all make sacrifices for our kids, right!  Shall we break it down?  Well follow me and see what my family is doing.

  My Youngest son

Our little guy just finished fourth grade.  As mentioned in a previous article he is in accelerated extra gifted class.  He absolutely loved the class.  The only thing that he had trouble with is Mandarin.  Learning any new language is a challenge.  I think learning Mandarin is more than challenging.  Everything really is foreign.  Besides the learning of new words and learning their meanings and pronunciation, there is the writing.  Mandarin characters are very complex.  If there is a missed curve or a missed small line, the whole meaning is changed and is wrong.  My Tiger wife really put in the extra time and work with my son throughout the school year to end it really well.

 The Littlest Cellist

My son started taking cello lessons this year with the same cello teacher that my older son and daughter learn from.  He really is an amazing teacher.  I can't recommend him highly enough.  He is already up to Suzuki Book Three and finished the year playing the Humoresque at his recital.  He was also lucky to be picked for his school talent show and played this piece in front of his school.

Music Camp

This summer as I write this he is at a three week music camp in upstate New York!  One of my wife's friends actually told us about this camp a couple of months ago.  We were able to apply late thanks to her and were successful in auditioning and being accepted.  This is the first time that he has gone away for any length of time.  My wife is worried silly because you can't call them.  She actually sent him a letter yesterday.  We don't know how it will go but we will let you know when we pick him up in three weeks. 

My daughter

My only daughter just successfully finished seventh grade.  She settled into middle school this past year and has a growing circle of friends.  She had a great year academically passing all of her classes with flying colors! 

CTY – Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

After taking the SCAT test this past year she qualified and was able to enroll into CTY.  She is gone for three weeks this summer taking a creative writing course in Roger Williams University.  Since this is her first experience away from home and being in a real “college” like experience I was curious to see her reaction.

  We walked onto the campus and I could see a glimmer of a smile.  As we were walking around the campus and signing up for everything and getting her books the glimmer was starting to show in her eyes.  Slowly ever so slowly curiosity on her part was turning into realization that this might be more than just interesting.  We got her keys to her room and found her dorm.  We found her room and saw that it was in a nice suite with multiple rooms.  The room was nice and clean with a beautiful view of the bridge that led to Newport.  Her smile was growing from ear to ear. 

The nail that sealed it was when we went to have lunch at the cafeteria.  Oh my Lord!!!  I forgot how much food there was at college cafeterias.  However, Roger Williams took it to an amazing level I never thought possible.  My daughter was gone.  She loves food!  The food was glorious.  She couldn't contain herself.  I knew right there and then, there was going to be NO home sickness for her…  She would enjoy every one of those meals to the fullest.  I just warned her about the freshman 15 and told her please don't have that happen in only three weeks!  She is there right now.

Music Camp Part II

My daughter was accepted to the same music camp that my son is at right now in upstate NY.  She will be attending that a few days after her CTY session ends.  There are two divisions at the camp, a junior and senior division.  She will be attending the senior session for four weeks.  I will update this when she goes and finishes. 

My oldest son

My oldest son has been busy from the moment we landed on our trip from Paris(Read about that here). That is when we received the email that he was selected to The New York Youth Symphony and within days of that he was notified that he was selected to All-State.  Since this was Junior Year this was going to be the Big One!  Let's break it down.

School Work

My son enrolled into four AP Classes this past year, American History, AP English, Statistics and Biology.  His last academic class was Honors Pre-Calculus/Calculus and Orchestra to round it off.  It was tough, real tough.  Any parent who has had kids go through it knows what I mean.  If your child is going to be a junior, the best advice I can give is to make sure your kid can maximize their time by utilizing time management skills.  Any student that has aspirations to go to an elite college has multiple things going on besides school work.  The extra-curriculars, the volunteering, the clubs, teams and just trying to squeeze out some time for fun and relaxation.  This is the make or break year and if you've come this far you have to finish it, right?

The results

My son is good at math but NOT great.  He ended the year with a final grade of an A-.  All the other classes he got A's and A+'s.  He finished the year strong and I am more really proud of him.  I saw how many nights where he only slept for a couple of hours and went to school.  It was really tough to watch but it also made me more than proud.  I knew that he was the type to do what it took to get things done when it mattered.  A useful trait when going into the real world. 

Standardized Tests

My son took the SAT twice so far and he will take it one last time this summer.  The first time he took it he did okay but not great.  After thinking that he was ready by taking a few practice tests and getting in the 1500's he took the test.  He had a rude awakening that was a shock to him and us.  He received a 1410 with a 23/24 on the essay.

  Our whole family was shocked to say the least.  Though we were happy with the 23/24 on the essay, the score was not what we thought he would get.  I know, I know some of you must be thinking what a jerk.  That is a fine score, blah, blah…  I'm okay with the criticism because I know what I am, a Tiger Dad.  Our whole family worked our asses as a collective to do everything we could to help my son get into the best school he could get into.  A 1410 would not cut it.  After reading horror stories this year of Asian males with 1560's not getting into Boston University, we were scared!

Round Two

My son didn't have time to take the SAT again until March because of too many time conflicts.  We were so nervous.  Everything hat he had worked for was going to be up in the air until he took the test again and got his results.  It was so stressful for all of us.  He took the test and we waited…

The Wait

So what did I do during the waiting to keep me occupied?  I started going on reddit and College Confidential.  I was on College Confidential to do research on safety schools if he bombed. There is a reddit subtopic for SAT that is good.  You have kids that took the test and discuss the test and the questions that they thought were difficult.  After two long weeks… The results were in.

SAT Scores

After all the hard work that was put in during the past summer with taking online SAT courses with Prep Expert.  After bombing on the first try of the SAT.  After the months of not taking the test because my son was too busy with other extra-curriculars and lastly after the two weeks for the tests to be graded.  Judgement Day had arrived!  My son logged into the College Board site, put in his credentials and opened up the link for SAT Test Scores.   The Score was 1520!!!  Hahahaah!!!!!  He did it and we were so proud of him!  We were giving each other high fives and basking in the knowledge that our dreams were still on track.

  Final Word on Standardized Testing

The score of 1520 was great and that put him into the 99 percentile.  We were more than pleased as you can tell by the gif up above.  We decided that he will take it one more time to see if he could raise his score up just a little more.  I've seen videos on YouTube and other blogs that there is no reason to take the test again once you score above 1500 but every one of them are not Asian males.  As stated earlier, there are Asian students with the same background and similar everything as my son and they were denied into every Top tier school.  I think that we've come too far to say to ourselves in the future, “What If”?  So one last time to see if he can raise his score more and if he doesn't, then so be it.  At least we gave it our all. 

The Rest of the Summer

My son is finishing his last year of interning and volunteering at the Summer Engineering Camp that he has been a part of since sixth grade.  He's making some money and fulfilling his National Honor Society Volunteer Hour Requirement at the same time.

During the month of July he is making sure that he writes his common application essay and at least five of his favorite schools supplementary essays.  On top of that he has to continue with his cello practice in order to audition again for the New York Youth Symphony.  Lastly, study for the SAT one last time. 

A Reward for his Hard Work

There is a reward at the end of the tunnel.  I'm not a monster that wants my son to go crazy.  As in life there must be rewards for hard work and I think this is a great reward.  One of his best friends invited him and another buddy to go to France for two weeks in August.  It's in a small town in the southern part of France.  I looked on Google Maps and it looks absolutely amazing!  Better yet another of his best friends will be traveling in Italy and it will only be an hour away from where my son will be staying.  They might be able to hang out together while over there.  That would be so amazing for them.  So, he would have a place to stay but just needs to buy a plane ticket and have spending money.  How could I say no to that?  I hope he has the time of his life!

Here's hoping that all you Tiger Moms and Tiger Dads have the best summer vacation of 2018!  If any of you have any questions or comments please go to our Facebook page and leave them there.  I will answer as best as I can.  I would love to hear what other students and parents are doing this summer! 

The post Summer 2018 is Here appeared first on Tiger Dad -The Hidden Partner to every Tiger Mom.

[gchu95]

Summer 2018 is Here

Summer Vacation 2018 – What my Kids are doing.

The summer has started and vacation time is here.  I thought my kids did plenty last summer but this summer is a doozy.  When I'm talking action packed it is pretty high up there on the action packed meter.  At least for my kids so far in their lives.  A lot of driving to different summer camps too.  Not so much fun but we all make sacrifices for our kids, right!  Shall we break it down?  Well follow me and see what my family is doing.

  My Youngest son

Our little guy just finished fourth grade.  As mentioned in a previous article he is in accelerated extra gifted class.  He absolutely loved the class.  The only thing that he had trouble with is Mandarin.  Learning any new language is a challenge.  I think learning Mandarin is more than challenging.  Everything really is foreign.  Besides the learning of new words and learning their meanings and pronunciation, there is the writing.  Mandarin characters are very complex.  If there is a missed curve or a missed small line, the whole meaning is changed and is wrong.  My Tiger wife really put in the extra time and work with my son throughout the school year to end it really well.

 The Littlest Cellist

My son started taking cello lessons this year with the same cello teacher that my older son and daughter learn from.  He really is an amazing teacher.  I can't recommend him highly enough.  He is already up to Suzuki Book Three and finished the year playing the Humoresque at his recital.  He was also lucky to be picked for his school talent show and played this piece in front of his school.

Music Camp

This summer as I write this he is at a three week music camp in upstate New York!  One of my wife's friends actually told us about this camp a couple of months ago.  We were able to apply late thanks to her and were successful in auditioning and being accepted.  This is the first time that he has gone away for any length of time.  My wife is worried silly because you can't call them.  She actually sent him a letter yesterday.  We don't know how it will go but we will let you know when we pick him up in three weeks. 

My daughter

My only daughter just successfully finished seventh grade.  She settled into middle school this past year and has a growing circle of friends.  She had a great year academically passing all of her classes with flying colors! 

CTY – Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

After taking the SCAT test this past year she qualified and was able to enroll into CTY.  She is gone for three weeks this summer taking a creative writing course in Roger Williams University.  Since this is her first experience away from home and being in a real “college” like experience I was curious to see her reaction.

  We walked onto the campus and I could see a glimmer of a smile.  As we were walking around the campus and signing up for everything and getting her books the glimmer was starting to show in her eyes.  Slowly ever so slowly curiosity on her part was turning into realization that this might be more than just interesting.  We got her keys to her room and found her dorm.  We found her room and saw that it was in a nice suite with multiple rooms.  The room was nice and clean with a beautiful view of the bridge that led to Newport.  Her smile was growing from ear to ear. 

The nail that sealed it was when we went to have lunch at the cafeteria.  Oh my Lord!!!  I forgot how much food there was at college cafeterias.  However, Roger Williams took it to an amazing level I never thought possible.  My daughter was gone.  She loves food!  The food was glorious.  She couldn't contain herself.  I knew right there and then, there was going to be NO home sickness for her…  She would enjoy every one of those meals to the fullest.  I just warned her about the freshman 15 and told her please don't have that happen in only three weeks!  She is there right now.

Music Camp Part II

My daughter was accepted to the same music camp that my son is at right now in upstate NY.  She will be attending that a few days after her CTY session ends.  There are two divisions at the camp, a junior and senior division.  She will be attending the senior session for four weeks.  I will update this when she goes and finishes. 

My oldest son

My oldest son has been busy from the moment we landed on our trip from Paris(Read about that here). That is when we received the email that he was selected to The New York Youth Symphony and within days of that he was notified that he was selected to All-State.  Since this was Junior Year this was going to be the Big One!  Let's break it down.

School Work

My son enrolled into four AP Classes this past year, American History, AP English, Statistics and Biology.  His last academic class was Honors Pre-Calculus/Calculus and Orchestra to round it off.  It was tough, real tough.  Any parent who has had kids go through it knows what I mean.  If your child is going to be a junior, the best advice I can give is to make sure your kid can maximize their time by utilizing time management skills.  Any student that has aspirations to go to an elite college has multiple things going on besides school work.  The extra-curriculars, the volunteering, the clubs, teams and just trying to squeeze out some time for fun and relaxation.  This is the make or break year and if you've come this far you have to finish it, right?

The results

My son is good at math but NOT great.  He ended the year with a final grade of an A-.  All the other classes he got A's and A+'s.  He finished the year strong and I am more really proud of him.  I saw how many nights where he only slept for a couple of hours and went to school.  It was really tough to watch but it also made me more than proud.  I knew that he was the type to do what it took to get things done when it mattered.  A useful trait when going into the real world. 

Standardized Tests

My son took the SAT twice so far and he will take it one last time this summer.  The first time he took it he did okay but not great.  After thinking that he was ready by taking a few practice tests and getting in the 1500's he took the test.  He had a rude awakening that was a shock to him and us.  He received a 1410 with a 23/24 on the essay.

  Our whole family was shocked to say the least.  Though we were happy with the 23/24 on the essay, the score was not what we thought he would get.  I know, I know some of you must be thinking what a jerk.  That is a fine score, blah, blah…  I'm okay with the criticism because I know what I am, a Tiger Dad.  Our whole family worked our asses as a collective to do everything we could to help my son get into the best school he could get into.  A 1410 would not cut it.  After reading horror stories this year of Asian males with 1560's not getting into Boston University, we were scared!

Round Two

My son didn't have time to take the SAT again until March because of too many time conflicts.  We were so nervous.  Everything hat he had worked for was going to be up in the air until he took the test again and got his results.  It was so stressful for all of us.  He took the test and we waited…

The Wait

So what did I do during the waiting to keep me occupied?  I started going on reddit and College Confidential.  I was on College Confidential to do research on safety schools if he bombed. There is a reddit subtopic for SAT that is good.  You have kids that took the test and discuss the test and the questions that they thought were difficult.  After two long weeks… The results were in.

SAT Scores

After all the hard work that was put in during the past summer with taking online SAT courses with Prep Expert.  After bombing on the first try of the SAT.  After the months of not taking the test because my son was too busy with other extra-curriculars and lastly after the two weeks for the tests to be graded.  Judgement Day had arrived!  My son logged into the College Board site, put in his credentials and opened up the link for SAT Test Scores.   The Score was 1520!!!  Hahahaah!!!!!  He did it and we were so proud of him!  We were giving each other high fives and basking in the knowledge that our dreams were still on track.

  Final Word on Standardized Testing

The score of 1520 was great and that put him into the 99 percentile.  We were more than pleased as you can tell by the gif up above.  We decided that he will take it one more time to see if he could raise his score up just a little more.  I've seen videos on YouTube and other blogs that there is no reason to take the test again once you score above 1500 but every one of them are not Asian males.  As stated earlier, there are Asian students with the same background and similar everything as my son and they were denied into every Top tier school.  I think that we've come too far to say to ourselves in the future, “What If”?  So one last time to see if he can raise his score more and if he doesn't, then so be it.  At least we gave it our all. 

The Rest of the Summer

My son is finishing his last year of interning and volunteering at the Summer Engineering Camp that he has been a part of since sixth grade.  He's making some money and fulfilling his National Honor Society Volunteer Hour Requirement at the same time.

During the month of July he is making sure that he writes his common application essay and at least five of his favorite schools supplementary essays.  On top of that he has to continue with his cello practice in order to audition again for the New York Youth Symphony.  Lastly, study for the SAT one last time. 

A Reward for his Hard Work

There is a reward at the end of the tunnel.  I'm not a monster that wants my son to go crazy.  As in life there must be rewards for hard work and I think this is a great reward.  One of his best friends invited him and another buddy to go to France for two weeks in August.  It's in a small town in the southern part of France.  I looked on Google Maps and it looks absolutely amazing!  Better yet another of his best friends will be traveling in Italy and it will only be an hour away from where my son will be staying.  They might be able to hang out together while over there.  That would be so amazing for them.  So, he would have a place to stay but just needs to buy a plane ticket and have spending money.  How could I say no to that?  I hope he has the time of his life!

Here's hoping that all you Tiger Moms and Tiger Dads have the best summer vacation of 2018!  If any of you have any questions or comments please go to our Facebook page and leave them there.  I will answer as best as I can.  I would love to hear what other students and parents are doing this summer! 

The post Summer 2018 is Here appeared first on Tiger Dad -The Hidden Partner to every Tiger Mom.

[lavoixdelavantgarde]

Summer 2018 is Here

Summer Vacation 2018 – What my Kids are doing.

The summer has started and vacation time is here.  I thought my kids did plenty last summer but this summer is a doozy.  When I'm talking action packed it is pretty high up there on the action packed meter.  At least for my kids so far in their lives.  A lot of driving to different summer camps too.  Not so much fun but we all make sacrifices for our kids, right!  Shall we break it down?  Well follow me and see what my family is doing.

  My Youngest son

Our little guy just finished fourth grade.  As mentioned in a previous article he is in accelerated extra gifted class.  He absolutely loved the class.  The only thing that he had trouble with is Mandarin.  Learning any new language is a challenge.  I think learning Mandarin is more than challenging.  Everything really is foreign.  Besides the learning of new words and learning their meanings and pronunciation, there is the writing.  Mandarin characters are very complex.  If there is a missed curve or a missed small line, the whole meaning is changed and is wrong.  My Tiger wife really put in the extra time and work with my son throughout the school year to end it really well.

 The Littlest Cellist

My son started taking cello lessons this year with the same cello teacher that my older son and daughter learn from.  He really is an amazing teacher.  I can't recommend him highly enough.  He is already up to Suzuki Book Three and finished the year playing the Humoresque at his recital.  He was also lucky to be picked for his school talent show and played this piece in front of his school.

Music Camp

This summer as I write this he is at a three week music camp in upstate New York!  One of my wife's friends actually told us about this camp a couple of months ago.  We were able to apply late thanks to her and were successful in auditioning and being accepted.  This is the first time that he has gone away for any length of time.  My wife is worried silly because you can't call them.  She actually sent him a letter yesterday.  We don't know how it will go but we will let you know when we pick him up in three weeks. 

My daughter

My only daughter just successfully finished seventh grade.  She settled into middle school this past year and has a growing circle of friends.  She had a great year academically passing all of her classes with flying colors! 

CTY – Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

After taking the SCAT test this past year she qualified and was able to enroll into CTY.  She is gone for three weeks this summer taking a creative writing course in Roger Williams University.  Since this is her first experience away from home and being in a real “college” like experience I was curious to see her reaction.

  We walked onto the campus and I could see a glimmer of a smile.  As we were walking around the campus and signing up for everything and getting her books the glimmer was starting to show in her eyes.  Slowly ever so slowly curiosity on her part was turning into realization that this might be more than just interesting.  We got her keys to her room and found her dorm.  We found her room and saw that it was in a nice suite with multiple rooms.  The room was nice and clean with a beautiful view of the bridge that led to Newport.  Her smile was growing from ear to ear. 

The nail that sealed it was when we went to have lunch at the cafeteria.  Oh my Lord!!!  I forgot how much food there was at college cafeterias.  However, Roger Williams took it to an amazing level I never thought possible.  My daughter was gone.  She loves food!  The food was glorious.  She couldn't contain herself.  I knew right there and then, there was going to be NO home sickness for her…  She would enjoy every one of those meals to the fullest.  I just warned her about the freshman 15 and told her please don't have that happen in only three weeks!  She is there right now.

Music Camp Part II

My daughter was accepted to the same music camp that my son is at right now in upstate NY.  She will be attending that a few days after her CTY session ends.  There are two divisions at the camp, a junior and senior division.  She will be attending the senior session for four weeks.  I will update this when she goes and finishes. 

My oldest son

My oldest son has been busy from the moment we landed on our trip from Paris(Read about that here). That is when we received the email that he was selected to The New York Youth Symphony and within days of that he was notified that he was selected to All-State.  Since this was Junior Year this was going to be the Big One!  Let's break it down.

School Work

My son enrolled into four AP Classes this past year, American History, AP English, Statistics and Biology.  His last academic class was Honors Pre-Calculus/Calculus and Orchestra to round it off.  It was tough, real tough.  Any parent who has had kids go through it knows what I mean.  If your child is going to be a junior, the best advice I can give is to make sure your kid can maximize their time by utilizing time management skills.  Any student that has aspirations to go to an elite college has multiple things going on besides school work.  The extra-curriculars, the volunteering, the clubs, teams and just trying to squeeze out some time for fun and relaxation.  This is the make or break year and if you've come this far you have to finish it, right?

The results

My son is good at math but NOT great.  He ended the year with a final grade of an A-.  All the other classes he got A's and A+'s.  He finished the year strong and I am more really proud of him.  I saw how many nights where he only slept for a couple of hours and went to school.  It was really tough to watch but it also made me more than proud.  I knew that he was the type to do what it took to get things done when it mattered.  A useful trait when going into the real world. 

Standardized Tests

My son took the SAT twice so far and he will take it one last time this summer.  The first time he took it he did okay but not great.  After thinking that he was ready by taking a few practice tests and getting in the 1500's he took the test.  He had a rude awakening that was a shock to him and us.  He received a 1410 with a 23/24 on the essay.

  Our whole family was shocked to say the least.  Though we were happy with the 23/24 on the essay, the score was not what we thought he would get.  I know, I know some of you must be thinking what a jerk.  That is a fine score, blah, blah…  I'm okay with the criticism because I know what I am, a Tiger Dad.  Our whole family worked our asses as a collective to do everything we could to help my son get into the best school he could get into.  A 1410 would not cut it.  After reading horror stories this year of Asian males with 1560's not getting into Boston University, we were scared!

Round Two

My son didn't have time to take the SAT again until March because of too many time conflicts.  We were so nervous.  Everything hat he had worked for was going to be up in the air until he took the test again and got his results.  It was so stressful for all of us.  He took the test and we waited…

The Wait

So what did I do during the waiting to keep me occupied?  I started going on reddit and College Confidential.  I was on College Confidential to do research on safety schools if he bombed. There is a reddit subtopic for SAT that is good.  You have kids that took the test and discuss the test and the questions that they thought were difficult.  After two long weeks… The results were in.

SAT Scores

After all the hard work that was put in during the past summer with taking online SAT courses with Prep Expert.  After bombing on the first try of the SAT.  After the months of not taking the test because my son was too busy with other extra-curriculars and lastly after the two weeks for the tests to be graded.  Judgement Day had arrived!  My son logged into the College Board site, put in his credentials and opened up the link for SAT Test Scores.   The Score was 1520!!!  Hahahaah!!!!!  He did it and we were so proud of him!  We were giving each other high fives and basking in the knowledge that our dreams were still on track.

  Final Word on Standardized Testing

The score of 1520 was great and that put him into the 99 percentile.  We were more than pleased as you can tell by the gif up above.  We decided that he will take it one more time to see if he could raise his score up just a little more.  I've seen videos on YouTube and other blogs that there is no reason to take the test again once you score above 1500 but every one of them are not Asian males.  As stated earlier, there are Asian students with the same background and similar everything as my son and they were denied into every Top tier school.  I think that we've come too far to say to ourselves in the future, “What If”?  So one last time to see if he can raise his score more and if he doesn't, then so be it.  At least we gave it our all. 

The Rest of the Summer

My son is finishing his last year of interning and volunteering at the Summer Engineering Camp that he has been a part of since sixth grade.  He's making some money and fulfilling his National Honor Society Volunteer Hour Requirement at the same time.

During the month of July he is making sure that he writes his common application essay and at least five of his favorite schools supplementary essays.  On top of that he has to continue with his cello practice in order to audition again for the New York Youth Symphony.  Lastly, study for the SAT one last time. 

A Reward for his Hard Work

There is a reward at the end of the tunnel.  I'm not a monster that wants my son to go crazy.  As in life there must be rewards for hard work and I think this is a great reward.  One of his best friends invited him and another buddy to go to France for two weeks in August.  It's in a small town in the southern part of France.  I looked on Google Maps and it looks absolutely amazing!  Better yet another of his best friends will be traveling in Italy and it will only be an hour away from where my son will be staying.  They might be able to hang out together while over there.  That would be so amazing for them.  So, he would have a place to stay but just needs to buy a plane ticket and have spending money.  How could I say no to that?  I hope he has the time of his life!

Here's hoping that all you Tiger Moms and Tiger Dads have the best summer vacation of 2018!  If any of you have any questions or comments please go to our Facebook page and leave them there.  I will answer as best as I can.  I would love to hear what other students and parents are doing this summer! 

The post Summer 2018 is Here appeared first on Tiger Dad -The Hidden Partner to every Tiger Mom.