#this is what I meant by Ted’s little shocks
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ariartcor · 3 months ago
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am I just fully posting casted?
Yes I am actually.
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justauthoring · 9 months ago
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change in perspective.
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you never thought jamie tartt could be anything but a prick.
a/n: i have no explanation for this other than i just finished ted lasso (fashionably late as always) and this man makes me giggle like a little school girl :) (this is also not spellchecked! i'll do it later ;))
pairing: jamie tart x f!assistant coach!reader
“Does someone want to explain to me just what exactly Jamie Tartt is doing out on the field?”
All three coaches turn to you at the sound of your voice, but it’s Ted’s eyes that light up the second he registers your presence. A smile curls onto his lips as he turns to face you, posture nonchalant with his hands shoved into his pockets. “Ah! Well, if it isn’t my favourite assistant coach, Y/N! I was worried something had happened.”
Blinking back at Ted, you simply cross your arms over your chest. “What is Jamie doing out on the field?”
Ted lets out a laugh but it comes across more as a grimace as he rubs the back of his neck, turning his head to glance at Nate and then Beard. 
It’s Beard who explains. 
“Ted invited him back to the team.”
The water bottle you’d been holding in your hands promptly falls to the ground with a thud as your lips part, mouth left wide open, staring blank faced at Ted who continues to laugh somewhat uncomfortably.
“What?”
Beard raises his hands as if to gesture that he is an innocent party in your accusation all whilst you shift your shocked expression to a glare at Ted.
“Well, you know… I–I just thought that, well… he’s a good player, yeah?”
Shaking your head, you huff; “regrettably so.” Because even you weren’t bitter enough to not admit that Jamie was a great football player. Fantastic really. But–But he was an absolute prick who you’d thought you’d never have to work with ever again.
“And this team needs a little something to spice us up, yeah?” Ted, in Ted style, does a little dance (that’s meant to make you laugh) to add to the effect of his words.
“No,” you say blankly, before Ted raises a brow at you. Sighing, your shoulders fall. “Yeah.”
Offering you a smile, Ted rests his hand on your shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “Give him a chance, okay?” He asks, his eyes pleading as he nods down at you. “I think he really means to make up for it all.”
You seriously doubt that. But, you don’t voice that opinion.
“Fine,” you surrender, dropping your hands to your side. “But I’m allowed to laugh at him when this team kicks his arse. Which they will because he deserved it.”
Ted snorts at that, “don’t worry, Nate’s already got you beat on that front.”
Your eyes shift to said man, and he’s sending you a wide grin and a thumbs up in a way that makes you chuckle despite how truly unhappy you were with Jamie only a few feet away from you, on your team.
-
The only thing that had made practice somewhat bearable was seeing Jamie repeatedly knocked on his ass.
And then mocked by the rest of the team.
Truly, it brought a smile to your face.
You’re still laughing to yourself about it as you finish packing up your stuff in the office you shared with Nate. Him, Ted, Beard and pretty much most of the team were already gone or on their way out the door, but you usually elected to stay a little longer than everyone else trying to come up with new gaming strategies, plays and honestly, team bonding exercises since you found it incredibly important that the team genuinely care for one another if they were going to play on a team together.
You’re just sliding your laptop into your bag when a knock pulls you from your musings.
“Oh, Sam, just give me–”
Except, it isn’t Sam when you finally glance up. It’s Jamie.
You’re leaping to your feet before you can stop yourself, a surge of panic running through your body as your wide eyes meet his. He’s blinking back at you, as if as shocked by your reaction as you were, and before you know it you’re glancing around, half expecting Ted or Beard to be there because why else would Jamie be here?
But neither of them are there, of course, they’d left twenty minutes ago.
“Coach Lasso and Beard have already left,” you explain before he can say anything. “You’re gonna have to wait until tomorrow to talk to–”
Shaking his head, Jamie takes a step towards you. “I wasn’ lookin’ for them. I, uh… was lookin’ for you actually.”
You blink. Once, twice, before your brows furrow. “What?”
He steps towards you again, fully stepping into your office as he scratches at his face absentmindedly, looking just as uncomfortable as you felt. He glances around for a moment before his gaze focuses back on you, and the serious expression on his face is one you’re not used to or know how to react to so you continue to stare blankly at him.
“I wanted to, em, apologize, I guess? Actually, no, not I guess. I am sorry. And I want to apologize for how I treated ya in the past. You know, for all the shitty things I said and did.”
You must be dreaming.
Surely, you’re dreaming.
There’s no way that the Jamie Tartt, famed football star and resident asshole, is apologizing to you. Some random female assistant coach on a team he’d once laughed at for existing? Yeah. Not possible.
But… it’s either that or he’s taking the piss out of you.
Whatever it is, the shock fades in seconds and is quickly replaced by an indescribable amount of anger. 
Because, honestly? Screw him. Screw him for thinking he could walk in here, say sorry and it’d all be okay. After all that he did.
“You’re sorry?” You ask, pointing at him.
He nods, slowly. 
“That’s funny,” is what you end up saying, letting out a snort as he blinks at you in surprise. “You sure didn’t seem sorry all those times you laughed at me when I tried to coach you. What was it you used to say?” You quirk a brow at him as his face falls, the hopeful glint that you’d accept his apology fading from his eyes as you laugh at him. “Oh, that’s right! That I wasn’t meant to be a coach because I’m a woman and rather, I should just look pretty and help make you look good. And if it wasn’t you belittling me for my job, it was you trying to get in my pants and then laughing about it as if that’s some sort of joke.”
You finish your rant with a huff, shoulders rising and falling heavily as Jamie continues to stare back at you.
You hadn’t really realized how much his comments had truly hurt until that moment. Or, rather, you’d pushed them down so far to the back of your mind that it had been bubbling up until this very moment where he tries to apologize offhandedly like that was going to somehow make things better.
“I may have only known you for a little bit before you left us for Manchester, Jamie,” you add, voice considerably calmer as you frown at him. “But you sure left an impression. And one little apology is not gonna make up for the amount of times I went home crying and feeling worthless, because of you.”
Jamie doesn’t say anything. His lips part like he means to you, but he ends up just gaping at you like a goldfish, looking rather stupid, before there’s a light knock on the door and you’re pulled from your thoughts only to find Sam poking his head into the office. He looks concerned, eyeing Jamie out of the corner of his eye with a certain edge, before turning to you.
Biting your lip, you blink, hating the way your vision blurs and quickly you wipe at your face before any tears can fall.
You refused to cry in front of Jamie.
“Just a second, Sam,” you call, offering him a small, somewhat forced smile. You turn to your desk, grabbing your bag and doing a quick survey to make sure you hadn’t forgotten anything before promptly pushing your way past Jamie and slipping past Sam. He sets a hand on your back to guide you forward, blocking you from Jamie’s view and you don’t see it, but just before Sam turns to walk away himself, he’s sending Jamie a rather nasty glare.
The message is clear; leave her alone.
-
The next morning there’s a vase of flowers sitting on your desk.
Nate is eyeing them when you walk in, before he blinks at the sight of you and quickly turns away as if afraid you caught him staring. You just blink at him, before looking at the flowers once more.
Poking your head out to the main office, you gesture over your shoulder; “where’d the flowers come from?”
Beard raises his hands in a silent gesture that they’re not from him, before your gaze falls to Ted.
“Don’t look at me,” he shrugs. “You’d know if I got you flowers,” he winks with a light chuckle and rolling your eyes as you make your way to your desk. There’s a card in front of the vase and as you take a seat, you take the card, flipping it open.
All that’s written on it is the name of the flowers; Lily of the Valley.
Frowning, you let your eyes wander across the white flowers, leaning forward to smell them and letting your eyes fall shut at the sweet scent. 
Only thing is, who sent them?
Leaning back on your chair, you peek into the locker room, trying to see who of the players is there. There’s not too many. There’s Sam, but you walked in with him so you know it’s not him, also he most likely would’ve just given them to you if he was going to get you a bouquet of flowers. Isaac’s there, but you doubt he’d give them to you. Richard and Dani are there, but they're much too forward to try and secretly give you flowers.
And then your eyes fall on Jamie. He’s already looking at you, but he’s quick to glance away the second your eyes fall on him, his cheeks turning a bit red.
Your brows furrow.
It couldn’t–
“Apparently, Lily of the Valley symbolizes apology. Specifically when one doesn’t know how to apologize.” Nate explains, reading off of his phone, the card from your desk in his other hand, before he glances at you with a curious smile. “I wonder who wanted to apologize to you?”
You glance at Nate, before the flowers, before peeking back at Jamie who’s tying the laces of his boots, pointedly not glancing up.
Moving back towards your desk, you stare at the flowers a moment longer.
What the actual hell.
-
“Oh, just–”
Before you can properly register the voice, a blur of blue is suddenly in front of you, opening the door you’d been about to open yourself before your hand can even reach for the handle.
Slowly your eyes flicker upwards to fall on Jamie as he stands beside you, holding the door wide open, a rather proud smile plastered onto his face.
“There ya go,” he offers, head tilting towards the door. “Ladies first.”
Quirking a brow, you nod at Jamie slowly, stepping through the door while you try to fight the smile that threatens to curl onto your lips.
“Smooth, Tartt,” you offer over your shoulder.
He grins back at you, nodding at you.
You can’t help the laugh, however, when instead of stepping through the door like you expected (assuming he’d only done it cause he needed something from here in the first place), he lets the door shut with a goofy wave, leaving you alone in the room.
Pausing, you shake your head.
That was new.
-
“And you, Coach?”
It takes you half a second to realize Jamie is talking to you and you only really realize it because Ted, Beard and Nate are all looking at you, waiting.
Blinking, you swallow thickly, eyes falling back on the team only to see they’re all staring at you as well, also waiting. Your eyes fall on Jamie and he’s smiling at you, happy and all teeth as he rocks on his feet, patiently waiting for you to say anything you might or might not have to say.
It’s not like the rest of the team hadn’t ever asked you for your opinion or if you had any pointers. And of course Ted made sure to consistently ask for your suggestions, wanting to make sure you felt your voice was heard and included.
As the only female coach for a male’s football team, you’d managed to find yourself an incredible group of boys who listened to you despite your gender and actively made sure to try out anything you suggested.
But never had you ever had all their attention like you do in that moment. All of them just standing there, solely focused on you.
And that was because of Jamie.
Biting your lip, you shuffle on your feet. “Oh, well… I–”
But your voice is shaky and you’re not sure how to say what you want, but as your eyes flicker back over to Jamie he’s still grinning at you, smile never wavering and he’s sending you a thumbs up.
As if to say; you got this.
And then the words just seem to pour from your lips after that.
-
The addition of Roy Kent to the line up of coaches is both positive and negative.
And really, it isn’t negative for anyone but yourself. Not that having Roy on the team was negative, just, well… It was already hard enough being the only women assistant coach with two other men, but now you were competing with three men and Roy was nothing if not an intimidating and commandeering addition to the team.
His desk had been squished in between yours and Nate’s and while the man was lovely, if not a little aggressive, by the end of his first day you found yourself drained and feeling like a fool. Roy wasn’t just another man, but he was a previous football star himself; he had the on field experience to back up his suggestions and he knew what he was talking about so that when he did say something, no one really batted an eye to his suggestions.
Or, at least, questioned them.
Worst part was you liked Roy. Sure he swore a lot, and sometimes he’d grunt instead of replying to you but before he’d had to leave the team, he’d always listened to your suggestions with an open mind and never made you or the suggestions feel less just because it was a woman saying them. He was an absolute sweetheart underneath all of the gruff, and you knew him outside of work quite well as well because he was dating Keeley.
So, with the jealousy that you couldn’t help but have, you also felt extremely guilty. 
“Are… Are you alrigh’?”
Gasping, you sit up at the voice, panicked eyes glancing around until you settle on Jamie.
“Jesus, Tartt,” you breathe, pressing a hand to your chest as you shake your head. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” he offers with a light laugh. “I didn’ mean to.”
“It’s fine,” you sigh, letting yourself relax once more as you slump against the wall behind you, pulling your knees closer to yourself. “I just thought I was alone. Didn’t think anyone would come wandering in here.”
Jamie steps into the room at that, letting the door shut behind him as he nods. “Saw you come in ‘ere,” he explains, taking a seat across from you. “Wanted to make sure you were alrigh’”
Shaking your head, you brush him off; “I'm fine.”
“You, um… you sure?”
Turning to Jamie, he’s staring back at you in a way that tells you he doesn’t believe you. He’s got a concerned look in his eyes and he’s fidgeting with his fingers, his knee rocking nervously as he tries to find the words to say.
Sighing, you shake your head; “it’s stupid.”
“Not when it comes to ya.”
Blinking, you turn to Jamie, lips parted in surprise. Except, he doesn’t seem shocked by what he said or embarrassed. He continues to stare back at you with that concerned look in his gaze, patiently waiting for you to explain what’s going on.
“It’s just… It’s hard,” you start, struggling to find the words. How do you explain to him, not only a man but the same man that used to belittle you for the exact same thing you’re feeling self conscious about, that you feel like you’re being tested in your own job everyday just because you’re a woman? You weren’t sure he’d understand. And honestly, although you’ve seen the changes in him and regrettably started to believe them, you weren’t positive he wouldn’t just laugh at you for it anyways.
And yet, you continue to speak.
“Being what I am at my job,” you add, eyeing him carefully.
Jamie frowns. “Being a woman?”
Inhaling sharply, you nod; “yeah. I know Ted and the rest of the guys would never belittle me or make me feel less because I am, but… It’s just hard being the only woman coach for a team of men. Even if you guys don’t mean to, and I know you don’t, you all naturally gravitate towards Ted and the guys more than you do me.”
Lips parting, Jamie stares back at you.
Avoiding his gaze, you glance down at your lap. “Makes me doubt myself sometimes.”
“Oh.”
Nodding, you pull at a thread on your pants. “Yeah. Oh.”
Silence follows and you feel ten times more uncomfortable as the seconds pass. You can still feel Jamie’s gaze on you, watching, waiting, maybe trying to find something to say, and it’s making you feel more and more embarrassed as time goes. 
Shaking your head, you suddenly move to a stand.
“Anyways, it’s late so you should–”
“I think yer an amazing coach.”
Lips left parted, you turn, only to find Jamie suddenly standing in front of you.
“You make great strategy plays, you are undeniably smart about the terminology and nobody cares about the wellbeing of the team more than you,” he continues, his gaze never once faltering. “You cheer us on and never ever make us feel like we’re doing something wrong or stupid for askin’ for help. I know it feels like we listen to the guys more, but every single one of us leans on your advice heavily and we’d be lost without yer support and guidance.”
Eyes widening, you don’t realize it until you blink that you’re crying.
Your hand falls to your cheek, feeling wetness.
“Shit,” Jamie curses and your eyes fall back on him. “I didn’t mean to make ya cry, I just–”
Your arms wound around him before he can finish, pulling him flush against you as you press your head into the crook of his neck. Jamie freezes at the touch, body tensing but just for a second before he eases, his own arms coming around to wrap around you in return.
“Thank you,” you whisper to him, “I… Thank you so much.”
“O-Of course,” he murmurs, voice low and you can feel his chest rumble against your cheek. “I just… thought ya should know.”
Biting your lip, you pull back at that, quickly wiping the tears off your cheeks as you step away from him. Jamie lets you go with ease, both of your cheeks red, yours burning when you realize you’d not only just flung yourself at him but you’d gotten his shirt wet with your tears.
“I.. I’m sorry,” you whisper, gesturing to his chest. “I didn’t mean to cry on you.”
Jamie shrugs; “no worries, love.”
Meeting his eyes, the two of you stare at each other for a moment, before you’re quickly stepping past him. “Anyways, I should… I should go.”
“Oh. Oh, yeah. Me… Me too.”
Reaching for the door, you glance back at him; “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Nodding, Jamie grins down at you; “see you tomorrow.”
-
“We’ve got a problem.”
Both Keeley and Rebecca turn to you at your words, whatever they’d been saying promptly getting cut off the second they see the panic on your face.
Rushing you inside, they settle on either side of you on Rebecca’s couch in her office, Keeley’s arm wrapped around your waist and Rebecca offering you a cup of tea as they turn to you with concerned eyes.
“Okay, lay it out,” Rebecca says, “what’s wrong and who do I have to fire?”
Letting out a light laugh, you shake your head. “You don’t have to fire anyone.”
“Good,” she nods, “because I didn’t want to fire anyone.”
Rolling your eyes teasingly, you take a sip of your tea before reaching forward to set it on the table.
“Okay, then, babes,” Keeley speaks up, frowning at you, “then what’s the matter? You came in here looking like something horrible’s happened.”
Letting out a groan, you press your hands to your face; “that’s because something horrible has happened.”
“What?” Keeley presses, squeezing your arm.
Taking a deep breath, you hesitate a moment, eyeing the both of them, before you whisper in shame; “I think I fancy Jamie.”
There’s a beat of silence, before;
“Like Tartt?” Keeley asks, eyes widening in absolute surprise. “Jamie Tartt? Our Jamie Tartt?”
“Like on my team Richmond, Jamie Tartt?” Rebecca adds, pointing at herself before gesturing to her office.
Cheeks burning, you hide your face in your hands again. “Yes.”
Keeley and Rebecca eye each other for a moment, before Rebecca’s pulling your hands away from your face.
“Y/N.”
You just shake your head, trying to grab a pillow to further hide yourself.
“Babes, stop,” Keeley laughs lightly. “Explain to us why you fancy Jamie.”
“Yeah,” Rebecca encourages. “It’s alright.”
Hands falling to your lap with a huff, you frown. “It’s all his fault,” you whine. “Because he’s trying to be better now and I can’t handle that. Before, you know, when he was a prick, that’s just it! He was a prick. And I’m sorry Keeley for saying this but I always found him a little attractive.”
Snorting, Keeley shakes his head; “babes, why do you think I dated him?”
Biting your lip, you sigh. “But he was awful, right?” She nods and Rebecca snorts, clearly feeling that’s an understatement. “And when he came back, I was so mad. Mad because he was so mean and laughed at me and belittled me for being a woman, and not to mention he was terrible to the whole team. Like when he used to bully Nate or hog the ball and never give Sam a chance to show his skill.”
They both nod to your words.
“So I was upset. Upset because he was back and because Ted didn’t tell me or ask me how I felt. And I said to myself that this whole apology thing was just an act and he’d go right back to being his old self in a few days. I was proud of myself too because when he tried to apologize, I didn’t let him.” Keeley squeezes your arm at that and Rebecca smiles proudly. “But then the next day I came in and he bought my flowers!”
Their eyes widen.
“He did?”
“Yeah,” you nod at Keeley. “A big bouquet of Lily of the Valley and you know what Lily of the Valley symbolizes?”
Keeley shakes her head and Rebecca sighs, shoulders falling. “Apology,” she explains for you. “You give them to someone you hurt and don’t know how to apologize to.”
Keeley’s lips part in disbelief; “I never got fucking Lily of the Valley’s.”
Sinking into the couch, you cry out; “exactly! And then he starts opening doors for me and helping me pack things up… he’s listening to me in practice when he never used to, deliberately asking for my opinion after practice after the rest of the coaches have said their pieces. He tells the rest of the team to shut up if he feels they’re not listening to me and he asks me for pointers alone so he can get better. And! God! I was upset and he made this whole big speech about how amazing a coach I am and how the team appreciates me and shit and then I hugged him and cried on him and he didn’t laugh at me or make me feel like shit. He… he was actually really fucking sweet.”
The second you’re done ranting, Keeley and Rebecca glance at each other, before coming to the same conclusion.
“Well,” Keeley says hesitantly. “It definitely sounds like you fancy him.”
Pulling at your hair, you let out a cry. 
“No, no,” Rebecca shakes her hand, pulling your hands away from your face and holding them safely in her own. “It’s fine, love. Jamie has really turned himself around.”
“He has,” Keeley is quick to agree. “I mean, he never did any of that stuff for me and we were already in a relationship.”
“But it isn’t fine,” you argue, shaking your head. “Because he’s Jamie Tartt, and he’s fucking fit and now he’s nice too… and he’s a star football player and I’m just Y/N Y/L/N, some random assistant female coach on a team of male football players. No one knows me and I’m not special and I’m not a model or a celebrity or any of the usual types he goes for.”
“That is absolutely not true,” Rebecca says instantly, face appalled as if she can’t believe you’ve just said what you have.
“You are Y/N fucking Y/L/N.” Keeley adds, moving to grip your cheeks tightly between her hands. “The first and only female assistant coach of Richmond who has come up with more strategy plays that have helped us win than anyone else. Not to mention, you are proper fit. You are an absolutely fucking gorgeous and successful woman that Jamie would be incredibly lucky to have.”
Lips parting, you blink. Keeley and Rebecca are both looking at you in a way that leaves no room for arguments and feeling your eyes water, you pout; “you mean that?”
“Of course I fucking mean that.”
“Y/N,” Rebecca calls, squeezing your hands tightly. “I am so proud of you and the woman that you are and incredibly lucky to have you as a coach for my team. I know that, Keeley knows that, the team knows that and it looks like Jamie is aware of that more than anyone else. I know it’s hard to leave yourself vulnerable like this, but at least give him a shot.”
Biting your lip, you meet her eyes, finding the reassurance in them you needed before you glance over at Keeley who is grinning widely, nodding.
“Okay,” you whisper. “Okay.”
-
You’d believed what Rebecca and Keeley said.
Of course you did because you know they’d never lie to you.
And you’d promised them you’d give Jamie a chance before simply believing there’s no way he’d like you. But promising and doing was a lot different, and it’s hard to find the chance to say anything to him over the next few days.
The whole team is anxious because of the game against Manchester City coming up, especially since the last time they’d played them, it was the match that had gotten them regulated. Adding even more to that, Jamie had been on the Manchester team when that had happened and even though you know he’d made great strides towards making up with the team since coming back to Richmond, he was just anxious as the rest of them.
For a multitude of reasons you didn’t understand.
So, there wasn’t a chance to say anything.
And there certainly wasn’t one now that they’d lost. You’d briefly wondered to yourself that if they won, maybe you could run to Jamie and just confess your feelings then, thick in the adrenaline of it all. Like they did in the movies. All sweet and romantic.
Only, Richmond hadn’t won and you certainly weren’t going to now.
Especially when you were just as disappointed as the rest of them.
You’re speaking with Ted and Roy in the locker room when Jamie’s father comes in, and any conversation you’d been having falls silent the second he does.
You watch in stunned silence as Jamie’s father makes an embarrassment of himself, laughing and joking as he makes fun of the team's loss before zeroing in on Jamie himself. He says the cruelest things, and everything clicks in that moment why Jamie was the way that he was before he’d left Richmond.
And when Jamie punches his father straight across the face, you jump and your hands fall to your lips but you’re not shocked and you don’t think Jamie is wrong either.
No one says anything and no one does anything as Beard drag’s Jamie’s father out of the locker room and Jamie stands there, still standing in a defensive position. You want to do something, you want to say something, but you don’t think it’s your place. And you don’t know if Jamie would even feel all that much comfort with having you do anything.
Roy steps past you in the next second, taking Jamie into his arms and he loses it then, his sobs echoing throughout the otherwise silent room.
Ted runs past you at one point, but you don’t notice, eyes stuck on that of Jamie and Roy.
Then, Roy’s pulling away, but Jamie’s still got tears in his eyes, pressing his hand to his eyes as he tries to hide away. Suddenly, Roy’s eyes are on you, and he’s smiling in a knowing way, before promptly kicking everyone else out of the room. Your eyes widen as he does, body tensing in panic as Roy nods at you just before shutting the door behind him, leaving just you and Jamie in the room alone.
You can hear him sniffling to himself, a small sob breaking past his lips as you stand there, feeling out of place and like you’re stepping past his boundaries. So, slowly, you step towards him. “I can, uh, leave too if you’d like some–”
“No,” is all Jamie says before he’s pulling you into a hug, arms wrapping around you tightly as he presses his face into the crook of your neck. You freeze at the action at first, unsure what to do or say, before slowly your body eases, and your arms are raising, hands falling to his back as you squeeze him tightly.
He clutches onto you, sobbing into your neck, and you let him wordlessly, rubbing his back in smooth, slow patterns in a way you hope is comforting.
And the two of you stay like that for a while.
-
Your relationship from then on changes.
More than it already had.
You find yourself willingly hanging out with him when you would’ve avoided it otherwise before. Jamie always seems to be there, lending a helping hand or letting you talk his ear off about something or another.
The two of you never really spoke about what had happened in that locker room but you didn’t need to. It went without saying. You understood Jamie in a way that you hadn’t before, and although it didn’t excuse it, it made sense why he’d been the way had been before and it showed him trying to be better meant a lot more than it had before.
So, the season ends, and you watch the changes Jamie’s doing with a smile and a completely different attitude. When he gives Dani the shot, or when he joins in on team chants before matches. He’s still arrogant and cocky, but it’s in a more loveable way than it had been before, and now when he comes in every morning wearing his stupid ICON hat and dumb sunglasses, you can barely hide the smile that curls onto your lips.
Or the way that despite him wearing such stupid things, you think he looks ridiculously hot.
The season ends and then the new one starts up with one less coach after Nate had left only to join West Ham. It had certainly been a betrayal and you’d be lying if you said it hadn’t hurt. You’d always felt like Nate had understood you in a way maybe some of the others didn’t and the two of you had shared that office alone for so long that you couldn’t help the way you’d cried when you’d realized what he’d done.
Jamie holds you through it. 
A soft, gentle and comforting presence that never makes you feel silly for feeling so hurt and betrayed and for that, you’re eternally grateful.
Suddenly, Jamie is someone you can’t live without. You look forward to every morning you see him walk into the locker room, and you find yourself texting him at night, unable to stop the giddy feeling that floods you every time you hear your phone ding and see it’s him calling or texting you.
Keeley and Rebecca tease you all whilst constantly trying to get you to confess. You always say that you will, but you never do.
You’re mad for him, that you know but you don’t know if he’s mad for you and you don’t want to ruin the relationship the two of you have built just because of your stupid feelings. It was nice having him as a friend, and although every time you saw him you just wanted to kiss him, you didn’t want to lose that friendship either.
So you never say anything.
-
“So, I would suggest just–”
“Y/N–?”
Lips left parted at the sound of Sam, you turn to him as he pokes his head into the office. He freezes when he sees Jamie standing behind you, the two of you going over one of his plays, your hand left held with the whiteboard marker and he winces. “I’m so sorry. I did not mean to interrupt you two.”
Jamie is waving his hand in reassurance as you smile at Sam, letting your hand fall; “it’s fine, Sam. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be able to drive you home tonight,” he explains, chancing a quick glance at Jamie before focusing back on you. “I have to run by the restaurant before heading home and I’m not sure how long it will take.”
“Oh,” you blink, shaking your head. “It’s fine, Sam. I can walk home tonight. It’s no problem.” Then, cheekily, you can’t help but add; “as long as when you finally do let me see your restaurant, everything is on the house.”
Laughing, Sam shakes his head; “it already was. And for you,” he points at you with a grin, “it’ll always be.”
Smilingly, you nod, waving him goodbye as he does the same, slipping out of the office. You laugh quietly to yourself as he does, before turning to find Jamie’s eyes on you, and you blink; “sorry,” you offer bashfully. “Where were we–”
“I didn’t know Sam drove you home?”
Pausing, you shift back to face Jamie. “Oh, yeah. He saw that I was walking home one night, offered me a drive and it’s been like that since.”
Jamie nods, slowly. “You two are close.”
“Um, yeah?” You agree with a shrug. “Sam is easy to talk to, I guess. Super friendly and kind.”
“Hm,” Jamie hums lightly. “He does look like he’d make a good boyfriend.”
It takes you half a second to register what Jamie’s said both because you feel that’s a weird observation for Jamie to make and also because when in that conversation did you say he was your boyfriend?
“We’re not dating,” you explain, shaking your head as you laugh. “We’re just friends.”
Jamie’s eyes widen, cheeks warming in faint embarrassment but… is that a hint of relief you see? Probably not, you’re just psyching yourself out.
“Oh.”
Nodding, you bite your lip; “yeah.”
“Cool,” Jamie hums and you raise a brow at him, before turning back to the whiteboard.
“Did you wanna…?”
Jamie is quick to agree, shifting on his feet to put his focus back on what you were saying before Sam had stepped in. But then, just as your lips part to continue, Jamie is interrupting you;
“I could drive you home.”
He says it so nonchalantly you think you imagine him saying it at first.
You glance at him over your shoulder, and he turns to you.
“If you’d like.”
“Um,” and you hate the way your voice shakes or the nerves that rattle your entire being. “Sure… Sure, that’d… that’d be great. If you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” he assures with a grin. “Why would I mind having a pretty girl in me car?”
Cheeks burning you quickly glance back ahead of yourself to not let him see how much that simple comment made your heart flutter and your insides feel like jelly. Inhaling sharply, it’s hard to fight the smile from curling onto your lips as you move to continue saying what you’d been trying to say before.
You’re so focused that you don’t see Jamie watching you, a grin curling onto his own lips when he sees how flustered you are.
-
“Pretty coach.”
Halting in your step, you glance up, only to have to crane your head upwards when you find Zava, the star player Rebecca had managed to score, staring down at you. He’s tall, very tall, and you’re not exactly sure why he’s here, in the middle of the hall, or why he’s talking to you.
“Zava,” you greet nervously, offering a small smile.
He’s stepping towards you, effectively closing the distance between you as your eyes widen, freezing when he reaches forward to take your hand in his own. Before you know it, he’s pressing his lips against the top of your hand, a gentle, swift kiss as he glances at you through his lashes, smirking.
“I look forward to working under you as my coach,” he explains, accent thick as he pulls his lips away. It doesn’t escape your notice that he doesn’t let go of your hand, though.
“Oh, um, me–me too. But you’ll mainly be working under Coach Lasso since he’s the head–...”
Your words trail when you realize he’s not really listening. He’s just… staring. Directly at you.
Swallowing thickly, with your free hand, you touch your face; “is there something on my–”
“Oh no, no,” he laughs gently, squeezing your hand. “You just have the most beautiful eyes.”
Feeling yourself warm, you meet his eyes in surprise before glancing down at your feet, “oh, um, thank–”
“Oi.”
The new voice is sharp and your head is spinning over your shoulder only to see Jamie promptly making his way over to you. You’re surprised by how angry he looks, but his attention isn’t focused on you and rather Zava as he quickly makes his way over, pulling your hand out of Zava’s and gently pushing you behind him as he blocks you from sight from Zava. You flush when you realize Jamie’s still holding onto your hand, before slowly peeking over his shoulder.
“Tartt,” Zava grins, “it’s wonderful to see you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jamie huffs. “Just keep your hands to yourself, okay?”
Raising his hands in surrender, Zava laughs, stepping back as he moves to walk away. His eyes catch yours and he winks at you before turning to walk off.
“Prick.” Jamie hisses under his breath.
You pause at that, turning to him only to see his eyes set in a glare, watching Zava disappear down the hall before you let out a giggle. Jamie’s eyes fall on you the second you do, gaze softening when he sees you giggling.
“What?”
“Nothing,” you smile, biting your lip as you glance up at him. “Just funny. You're calling him a prick.”
Jamie’s eyes widen in mock hurt; “he is!”
“Sure,” you shrug. “And so were you.”
“But not anymore,” he teases, rolling his eyes at you.
“True,” you agree, shocking him by how easily you do. You just continue to smile at him, “definitely not anymore.”
Jamie stares down at you, eyes never leaving your face. “He’s right about one thing, though.”
Quirking a brow, you tilt your head; “yeah? And what’s that?”
“You do have the most beautiful eyes.”
That was the last thing you expected.
Lips parting, you’re burning red as you promptly slap Jamie in the arm.
“Ow!” He hisses, pulling away as his hand (regrettably) leaves yours. “What was that for?”
You just stare back at him, pouting, embarrassed, hoping he can’t hear how fast your heart is beating.
Or notice that the way he said it meant way more than it did coming from Zava.
“Prick.”
Jamie just blinks, pouting; “what did I do?”
-
You let out a laugh as Jamie comes running up on the bus cheering about seeing Windmills, shaking your head with a grin as the rest of the guys cheer him on.
He walks down the aisle, high fiving a few of the guys until his eyes settle on you. Leaning your head against the seat, you grin cheekily up at him. “Did you have a fun night?” You ask with a head tilt, biting the inside of your cheek.
Smiling down at you, Jaime nods; “yeah, you?”
“Perfect,” you assure. “Spent a quiet night in my room.”
“The boys didn’t keep ya company?” He frowns, and he looks like he’s about to say something before you quickly reach forward, grabbing his wrist.
“That was team bonding stuff, silly,” you roll your eyes. “Besides, I had the most relaxing bath. It was fine.”
He glances down at you, not saying anything, but you feel your chest tighten when you see the way his eyes glance across your entire figure at the word bath.
Ignoring the butterflies, you smile; “saved you a seat, see?” You gesture to the empty window seat next to you, and Jamie laughs.
“You want the window seat?”
“Yup,” you grin, shuffling over to the other side as Jamie takes your old spot. You settle down next to him, arm brushing against his as he grins over at you.
“You got lots of training done last night?”
Jamie nods, “yup. Taugh’ Roy how to ride a bike.”
Brows furrowing, you briefly wonder how that happened in the midst of training but you let it go all the same, shrugging as you laugh. “But you made sure to get some rest, yes?” You add, turning to him with a quirked brow. “Because you remember what I said about training? If you push yourself too hard, you’re not going–”
“–to help anyone,” he finishes for you with a chuckle. “Yes, I remember.”
“Good,” you nod, squeezing his arm. 
“And you?”
Blinking, you turn to him.
“Did you get some rest last night?”
You nod, touched by his concern. “Yeah,” you assure, “like I said, spent the night in my room, resting.”
“Good,” he repeats your words from earlier and you turn your head away to the window when you feel yourself smiling.
Yet, despite that, an hour later, you’ve passed out on Jamie’s very own shoulder, softly snoring away.
Jamie is careful not to move, not wanting to wake you up, but when Dani turns to take a photo excitedly, he doesn’t stop him.
“Hey,” he whispers to Dani, “send that to me, okay?”
-
“You need to talk to Jamie.”
Raising a brow, you glance up at Roy.
“...I do?”
“He’s a mess,” is all Roy says.
“Okay…?”
“And you need to talk to him.”
Biting your lip, you hum; “because?”
Huffing, Roy rolls his eyes like you’re the one being annoying. “Because you’re the only one he’ll listen to, so you need to talk to him and get him out of whatever funk he’s in.”
“Okay,” you nod, “I’ll talk to him.”
-
You don’t get the chance to talk to him until you’ve arrived at the hotel the night before the game and even then it’s not really you talking to him.
The movie you’d all watched together is over and Ted had set a curfew but Jamie is taking your hand in his, throwing his hood up and leading you out of the hotel without another word. You glance over your shoulder to see Roy glancing at you in confusion, but you just shrug your shoulders and then Keeley is sending you two thumbs up with a bright grin and before you know it, you both are out the hotel and making your way across the street.
You let him lead, expecting him to say something, but he never really does. He’s eerily silent the entire walk, and it isn't until twenty minutes have passed that you finally tug on his grip and pull him to a stop. He glances back at you in surprise but you’re just shaking your head up at him, confused.
“If this is your way of getting me alone to murder me, I’m going to be really upset.”
He blinks at your words, confused at first, before he shakes his head. “No, no… of course not. I… I want you to meet someone.”
“Oh,” you mumble, feeling yourself ease as you meet his gaze. He’s staring back at you, obviously waiting for you to agree and with a gentle smile, you nod.
“Okay.”
It’s his mom.
He wanted you to meet his mom. 
You’re confused, extremely so, as Jamie leads you up the steps to a house, knocks and some older gentleman opens the door. He recognizes Jamie and invites the both of you in, and you’re left standing in the entrance way, baffled as you hug your coat closer to yourself, until a woman comes running down the stairs, screaming Jamie’s name and then suddenly she’s in his arms and he’s spinning her and calling her ‘mommy’ and it all clicks.
You can't help the smile that curls onto your lips at the sight, feeling like you’re being allowed to see a side of Jamie others rarely were.
And when Jamie introduces you to his mom, the smile turns into shock when she says; “you’re the one Jamie’s told me so much about!” And before you even have time to register those words or see Jamie glancing at you, she’s wrapping you up in her arms and hugging you so tightly as she gushes about how much she’s wanted to meet you.
You spend the night being welcomed by his mother and her boyfriend, before you leave Jamie to have his much needed conversation with his mom. Simon shows you around the house, before leaving you to glance around Jamie’s childhood bedroom yourself. You all but squeal at his Roy Kent poster, before rolling your eyes at Keeley’s, but happily glance round the rest of the room. You look at all his trophies and childhood photos, little drawings he’d done or books he’d read.
Before you know it, Jamie’s poking his head into the room and calling for you.
“Oh, Jamie,” you smile, “are you all done catching up with your mom?”
He nods, “yeah, you wanna get out of here? Go back to the hotel?”
“Sure,” you agree with ease, stepping toward him. He sets his hand against your back, leading you back towards the door where you say your final goodbyes. You thank Simon for the tour and give Georgie a huge hug, expressing how happy you were to meet her before she makes you promise you’ll come by and visit again.
You’re not quite sure how to reply to that, but it’s okay because Jamie does it for you, promising the two of you will stop by for an actual dinner soon.
And then, it’s just the two of you, making your way back to the hotel.
“So,” you call out, glancing at him from the corner of your eye. “You told your mum about me?”
Jamie rolls his eyes at that, huffing. “Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?”
That certainly isn’t the response you were expecting, so, with warm cheeks, you glance at your feet.
“Got it all sorted now?”
Jamie hums, “yup. Sorry if I worried ya.”
You shake your head. “Think you had Roy in more of a panic, if I’m being honest. Poor man couldn’t breathe, he was so worried.”
Jamie snorts at that, lightly nudging you with his arm. “So, ya weren’ worried at all?”
Turning your head, your smile fades as you meet his gaze. “No, I was. I just didn’t want to overstep.”
“You could never overstep,” Jamie assures, “I should’ve been open about how I was feelin’. Just needed to sort it out for meself.”
Smiling softly to yourself, you hug your hands behind your back. “Well, I’m glad you figured it all out, Jamie. Really. Now you can kick some serious ass tomorrow, yeah?” You’re smiling as you say it, nudging him back with your own arm as the two of you continue to walk.
Then, suddenly, Jamie stops.
Frowning, you glance back at him; “are you–?”
“Me mum helped me with somethin’ else.”
“Oh,” you mumble, not sure where he was going with this. “What’s that?”
“Said I should stop being such a pussy and tell you how I really feel.”
Lips parting, you freeze. “Oh.”
Jamie nods, slow, and you can tell he’s nervous by the way he’s shuffling on his feet. “So… here goes.”
Your eyes widen when he steps forward, closing the distance between the two of you until he’s right in front of you, inches away. Your eyes follow him, head tilted back as you stare up at him, unsure what to do or say. But you don’t need to, because Jamie is speaking up in the next second.
“I’m in love with ya,” he confesses, letting the words just slip past his lips. “I’ve been in love with ya since you hugged me after me dad in Wembley. Maybe before that, I dunno. All I know is that when I came back to Richmond, all I was focused on was makin’ everyone like me again and then you yelled at me that day in yer office and I realized it was more than that. It wasn’t just about makin’ people like me, but makin’ up for the cruel things I'd done. I’m so sorry for the way I treated ya before, but I want you to know that I think the absolute world of ya. You are kind and sweet and smart and proper fit and… I dunno, you might not feel the same but I don’t wanna go on another day not having you know how crazy I am for ya.”
His words settle, carry on in the silence, as you stare back up at him, lips left parted, disbelief coursing through your veins.
Jamie’s confidence wavers as the silence carries and he’s shuffling on his feet in worry as he swallows thickly. “You don’t have to say anythin’,” he assures, rambling now with nerves. “I just wanted ya to know, so–”
But you cut him off by pressing your lips firmly against his own.
Jamie stumbles back from the pure force of the kiss at first, before he catches his balance and the shock fades and his hands are falling on your waist as he squeezes, returning the kiss with just as much passion. Maybe more. He kisses you like he’s been waiting to do this for weeks, and you realize, he maybe has. He holds you like you're the only thing in that moment that matters and you let yourself sink into his touch, turning to putty in his hands as you thread your fingers through his hair.
Then, slowly, you pull away, breathless as he smiles down at you.
“I love you too,” you whisper, “since the day you left me those flowers.”
Jamie’s eyes widen and his lips part but you don’t have the care to be embarrassed by your confession; it just felt good to finally, finally be able to say the words out loud.
“And I am so excited to see you kick ass tomorrow.” You breathe out, pressing your hands to his cheeks as you smile up at him, eyes dazed and sparkling with delight. 
Pressing his forehead against yours, Jamie presses a gentle kiss to your lips.
“And I can’t wait to see you kick ass tomorrow.”
2K notes · View notes
wlntrsldler · 11 months ago
Note
Hi!! For ur song challenge could you write cinnamon girl with Jamie Tartt 🤍
cinnamon girl | jamie tartt
based on the song cinnamon girl by lana del rey
description: your ex did a number on you. now you're letting the ghosts of your past control your relationship with jamie.
pairing: jamie tartt x f!reader (she/her)
warnings: language-- it's ted lasso, what did you expect?; sad!jamie, insecurities, miscommunication-ish, emotionally abusive ex
word count: 4.2K
ted lasso requests are open | main masterlist
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In your last relationship, your ex constantly made you feel replaceable. At first, it started out as snide remarks from his friends that he laughed at, never once defending you or your relationship. 
“Oh, Y/N, be careful with that one, nobody can tie him down.” 
“He’s slippery, girl. Keep an eye on him.” 
“You’re his girlfriend? Wow, props to ya. I couldn’t ever commit to someone like him.” 
You tried to brush it off, ignoring the sting of his laugh after each comment. He didn’t even deny it. And the worst part? He would make comments comparing you to his exes even without the presence of his friends. You knew how he was. When you first met him, it wasn’t lost on you how he flirted with everyone and everything that would let him. You knew he had history, which you’d later on find out was not history, but more of an ongoing thing, with the people in his inner circle. 
You felt stupid for staying in that relationship for that long. You knew what he was doing and what he was saying wasn’t okay, but you had been stuck in the cycle for so long that you were convinced that nobody else would put up with you the way he does. That was until you accepted a job as a Business Relations Assistant at AFC Richmond. 
It was weird at first to be surrounded by strangers who cared more about your well-being than your partner of a year and a half did. Since Higgins introduced you to the crew, you received “How ya doing, Y/N?” in passing from Sam, hugs as a form of good morning from Dani, and the occasional grunt– complimentary, not derogatory– from Coach Kent. It was simple, little things, but these moments of care and acknowledgment came without an expectation of something in return. They simply wanted to make you feel welcome.
Your love life before dating Jamie was a mystery to the team, Jamie included. They didn’t even know that you were dating someone for so long until Keeley came into the locker room to tell the boys to be extra kind to you since you were going through a breakup. Shaking off their initial shock, the team agreed to shower you with love when they saw you after Isaac gave them an aggressive in tone, yet filled with flowery words about how you were a great addition to the team, pep talk. 
By this point, you and Jamie had built a solid rapport, somewhere between acquaintances and friends. You were courteous when you’d run into each other at Nelson Road, even walking side by side until your paths diverged, often talking about the lovely, or horrific, weather you were having. During bus rides to games, he would sit on the window seat beside Sam, in front of you, and would always ask you to be the tie-breaker for one of his many ridiculous polls. You’d always end up siding with him, not because you agreed, but because Jamie grins up at you like he just won the lottery. Even though you didn’t agree that burgers were better than pizza, you’d say they were just to be on the receiving end of one of Jamie Tartt’s award-winning smiles again. 
It took you a while to open up to people again. Your life revolved around your partner and that meant that many of the friendships you had faded in the background while you were with him. But after the breakup, Keeley and Rebecca played a huge role in helping you step out of your comfort zone. They listened to you talk about your relationship as often as you wanted until you were out of words and out of cares. These talks would happen over a glass (or ten) of wine in Keeley’s living room with some sappy romantic comedy playing on mute in the background. For the most part, you had forgotten about your ex. Soon enough, you were saying yes to invites from Isaac or the coaches for team outings.
That’s how you found yourself kissing Jamie Tartt on your front porch after a night at Ola’s. 
When you pulled away, a goofy smile plastered on your face, you saw Jamie’s flushed cheeks that he tried to hide by pretending to cough into his elbow. You shoved his shoulder playfully, unsure if this was just a cruel dream that you’d have to wake up from soon or if this was real life. 
Jamie, who seemed to be thinking the same thing, realized that this was real life when your hand met his shoulder. Feeling more confident, he placed his hands on your hips and pulled you closer once more. He whispered against your lips, “Been wantin’ to do that for a while.” 
“Yeah?” You asked in shock. You would’ve never guessed that Jamie liked you in that way. “I never noticed.”
“Sam was right,” he chuckled, shaking his head that he was bringing up his teammates while he was inches away from a pretty girl’s face, but he knew he had to tell you this so you knew how serious he was about you. You weren’t just a one-night stand and this wasn't an "I had too many drinks tonight," mistake. “I’ve been flirting with you for ages. Sam said that you were oblivious to it but for a while, I really thought you just didn’t fancy me back. I’m really glad that I was wrong.” 
“I had no idea you liked me.” 
“Are you joking?” he scoffed, grinning widely. It was the same smile he shared with you on many bus rides. “Why do you think I always ask those stupid questions on the bus? I couldn’t give two shits about whether or not the team preferred Chinese or Italian food, or if they put both socks on first and then their shoes, or one sock and one shoe at a time. I only made those up so I had an excuse to talk to ya. Have a whole notes app full of questions and everything.” 
You threw your head back laughing, imagining Jamie deleting questions that he already asked you. You wrapped your arms around his neck, “You could’ve just talked to me, you know.” 
“Yeah, but you make me nervous,” he blushed, the tips of his ears turning bright pink. “You’re really pretty and proper fit. Plus, you never call me stupid even when my questions are fucking dumb. You’re always so nice to me and you’re loads of fun.” 
You cocked an eyebrow, trying to make sense of the situation. Jamie Tartt was nervous to talk to you? “Jamie, you do realize you’re a world-class footballer, right? Like rich and famous and can get anyone you want?” 
“That don’t matter to me,” he said, shrugging. “Want you, that’s all.” 
It was a strange feeling to hear that from him. You haven’t been wanted in a long time, at least not like this, not in the way that Jamie was looking at you like you are somehow the most incredible thing he’d ever have the privilege of getting to see. He looked at you like he was thanking whatever deities were responsible for reincarnation for allowing him to experience you in this lifetime. If the next fifty lifetimes were filled with nothing but suffering for him then so be it, as long as he had you in this one. You haven’t been wanted this purely before– wanted for who you are and not for what you can offer, not for the potential of what you could be. 
You kissed him again. 
Six months after your first kiss, you and Jamie were going strong. So far the relationship has been a secret to the public and the media. The team, though, found out a month into your relationship when Jamie got injured during training and you ran out of your office onto the pitch, ignoring Beard’s confused remarks as you sped past him. 
Jamie was lying on the pitch, forearms covering his eyes, trying not to think about the shooting pain from his ankle. You shoved Jan Maas and Richard away from Jamie, which made them protest, but quickly understood why you were in such a hurry to get to Jamie. You kneeled beside him, running your fingers through his hair. 
“Hi, baby,” you whispered, “You doing okay? How bad does it hurt?” 
He moved his arms at the sound of your voice. His eyes met yours and he immediately reached for your hand, threading your fingers together. “‘M okay, I think. Ankle hurts like a bitch, though.” 
You continued to tend to him as much as you could but quickly remembered that you two weren’t alone. Your eyes widened as you began to look around the circle that was forming around you and Jamie. 
“Fuuuuuuccckkkkk,” Jamie mumbled, realizing that you two now revealed your relationship to the team. He looked at you apologetically, “Sorry, bub.” 
“Oi, Bumbercatch!” The team’s attention shifted over to Isaac who had a smirk on his face. He held out his open palm, “You owe me ten pounds.” 
The team erupted in cheers, almost forgetting that Jamie was indeed hurt and would probably have to sit out a game or two. You looked down at Jamie and shrugged your shoulders, “Seems like they’re taking it well.” 
He laughed, propping himself up to sit up, “I’m glad we told them.” 
“Me too,” you replied, pressing your lips together. 
“I’m going to fucking gouge my eyes out.” You heard Roy say, though there was a hint of a smile in his voice. In sync, you and Jamie held up your middle finger in Roy’s direction, which earned the both of you a signature Roy Kent grunt in return. 
Much like your reveal to the team, your reveal to the general public was also just an accident. You were spending the weekend at Jamie’s flat as part of your six-month anniversary celebration. You just pulled up to his place, using one hand to unlock his door with the key he had made for you, and the other hand was used to carry in your large duffle bag. You heard him speaking in his living room and assumed that he was on a call with one of the lads. 
“Baby, I’m here!” You called out loudly, hanging your coat on his coat rack by the door. You walked toward his living room to find him staring at you wide-eyed, jaw hanging low. You giggled, “What’s wrong, love?” 
“I’m on Instagram live.” 
“Oh shit,” You mirrored his expression, facepalming. “I’m so sorry.” 
On Jamie’s screen, hundreds of comments about the interaction began to pop up. 
Holy shit???? Who was that?!!!
Jamie has a girlfriend!!!!! NOOOO THAT SHOULD BE ME!!!!
Does that voice sound familiar to u guys? I think that’s Y/N, I recognize her voice from Keeley’s stories. 
Jamie looked at you, trying to figure out what the best course of action was. You tilted your head as if asking, “Should we just do it?” He nodded, a huge smile taking over his features. 
“Well,” he began. “Cat’s out of the bag, I suppose. Get in here, love.” 
You spent the next thirty minutes answering questions from his fans on Instagram live. Some of the team even joined for a few minutes to fangirl over your relationship in the comments which made the two of you laugh. The next day, Jamie decided that it was time to make your relationship Instagram official by posting a photo from your anniversary dinner. It was a picture that cut off right above your lips, still giving a hint of anonymity, although many people already knew. You had your glass of wine in a cheers motion with his own. The caption read: “just us two. happy six.” 
The picture got more than two million likes in the first hour and hundreds of comments speculating who the girl in the picture was. You decided to comment on the post the day after, hoping that most of the hype around it was calming down. You rolled over Jamie’s side of the bed, smiling softly as he slept peacefully. 
You commented, “just us two (and the entire afc richmond team, including the coaches and admin) (so really just us two and fifty people). love you beyond words.”
You stayed in your little bubble of love for the rest of the weekend. After your social media launch, you stayed off the internet until you got back to work on Monday. When you finally checked social media, you were surprised to find that most of the public’s opinion of your and Jamie’s relationship was positive. However, there was one tweet that caught your eye. 
“Y/N Y/L/N is strong tbh. If my partner had the history of Jamie Tartt, I’d sleep with one eye open to keep an eye on him.” 
You frowned. You knew Jamie wasn’t like that. He would never do that to you, at least not now. He talked to you about how he used to be before you met him. He talked about how shit of a boyfriend he was to Keeley, how he was too much of a prick to be friends with the lads, but he also talked about how he grew from that and how he was no longer that person. And you believed him. It’s Jamie, of course, you believed him.
But that didn’t stop those voices in your head from taking over. Voices that sounded an awful lot like your ex’s friends who made those sly remarks. Voices that told you that you were replaceable. Voices that told you Jamie could do better, that Jamie should have better. Voices that drowned out the loving words of your boyfriend who loved you so much it hurt. 
The distance started out subtle. It started with telling Jamie that you had to get to Richmond earlier than normal because you had expenditure reports to look over. He even suggested that he'd go to Nelson Road extra early for you, but you refused. He pouted but reluctantly agreed to let you drive yourself to work instead of him picking you up. Jamie was upset that he no longer got to spend his mornings with you, but he was understanding and knew that it was for your job. 
Then, you started cutting your kisses short. During date nights, which used to be filled with lingering kisses that were surely too heated to be deemed acceptable PDA, you started to give Jamie quick pecks on the lips before pulling away. He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable so he let it go and settled for the short kisses, even though it didn’t feel enough for him. Typically, you’d spend the night at his place after your dates, but recently you’ve been asking him to take you home, blaming the expenditure reports once more. Jamie, trying to be ever-so-understanding, drove you home, and slept in his own bed alone with a frown on his face. 
The final blow for Jamie was when you didn’t sit next to him on the bus to Tottenham. He sat patiently on the aisle seat, craning his neck up to see when you were coming in, as he knew you preferred the window seat. His eyes lit up when you entered the bus, smiling widely as you approached him. 
You refused to look him in the eye as you pointed toward the back of the bus, “Sorry, Jamie. Rebecca wants to talk about something so I think I’m gonna sit with her today.” 
“Oh,” he cleared his throat, trying not to show his disappointment. He didn’t want to force you to sit next to him. Of course, you were allowed to sit with Rebecca. It’s just that he missed you so much. He hasn’t seen you in a few days. You’ve barely replied to his texts. He felt like you were slipping away and he didn’t know what to do. “Yeah, yeah, ‘course. I’ll see you at the hotel, yeah?” 
You nodded, offering him a small smile. He smiled back sadly. When you walked away to sit in the back of the bus, Sam nudged him, asking him to scoot over so he could sit next to him. Jamie felt nauseous, and he blamed it on the fact that he hadn’t sat by the window in months, but he knew the real reason why. 
Throughout the entire bus ride, you kept sneaking glances at Jamie. You couldn’t see him too well being so far back in the bus. Rebecca, who was shocked to see you beside her instead of your boyfriend, was looking at you with a questioning expression. She closed the notebook she was writing in and crossed her arms. 
“Alright, spill,” she tutted, leaning back in her chair. “Why aren’t you sitting with Jamie? What has he done?” 
You shook your head, “Nothing. He hasn’t done anything.” 
“Then why do you look like the living sunlight was sucked right out of you?” You didn’t say anything. Rebecca sighed, rubbing your back comfortingly, “Whatever is happening. You need to talk to him about it. Nothing good is going to come out of you keeping things from him. Trust me.” 
You knew what Rebecca was saying was reasonable. It makes sense to talk to Jamie about things that were bothering you. The thing was, you had already convinced yourself that Jamie would be better off with anyone else but you. It’s not that you thought Jamie would ever cheat on you or compare you to his exes because that’s not Jamie. You knew this. But you couldn’t help but think about Jamie realizing he deserved better than you. 
It will only make things easier on you if you mentally prepare yourself for it. It was inevitable. After all, you were replaceable. 
By the time you arrived in Tottenham, you were feeling more anxious than ever. You knew you were sharing a room with Jamie as it became an unspoken rule since you first told the team about your relationship. You watched as Jamie exited the bus, trailing behind to create as much space between the two of you as possible. After Higgins distributed the keys, you took a deep breath and headed to the lifts. 
Jamie had gone ahead with Sam and Dani since you were standing to the side with Rebecca. In the elevator, Rebecca squeezed your hand in support and offered a kiss on your temple. When you arrived on the 10th floor, you waved goodbye to Rebecca and made your way to the room. 
Jamie was quietly unpacking his things when you walked in. He turned around, eyebrows furrowed and a frown tugging on the corners of his lips. You wanted to walk over and kiss the creases on his forehead away. He cleared his throat, “I can take the couch if ya want so you can have the bed. I know you’ve been working hard on those reports so you deserve a good night’s sleep.” 
“It’s alright, Jamie. I can take the couch. You have a game tomorrow that you need to be well-rested for.” 
“No, it’s fine,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He sounded defeated. “‘M not letting you sleep on the couch. You can take the bed and I can just stay with Isaac or Richard or something.” 
“No, Jamie, this is your room.” You said, standing your ground. 
“No it’s not!” He exclaimed, finally reaching his wit’s end. He stared at you, a look of frustration and brokenness evident on his face. He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to stop the tears from breaking free. “It’s our room! And I just... I just don’t understand what I’ve done wrong. What have I done wrong?”
You took two hesitant strides towards him. Jamie looked at you, hopeful that you’ll touch him again, this time without him making the first move. He missed feeling you draw sweet nothings on his skin with your fingers. Or the feeling of your lips on his jaw as you try to wake him up in the morning. Or the feeling of your arms wrapped around him in a warm embrace. 
You stopped short in front of him. His heart dropped. “You haven’t done anything, Jamie.” 
“So why do you keep pulling away? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in ages. Like a proper conversation. I haven’t kissed ya in days and it’s killing me. I feel like I’m losing you.” 
It was then, with Jamie staring at you with pleading eyes, that you realized how stupid you were being. You ran to him, broken sobs escaping your body, as he stumbled back, unsure of what was happening. Jamie engulfed you in his arms, kissing your head as he tried to console you. You spoke into his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Jamie.” 
“Hey,” he cooed, pulling you away. He led you to the bed to sit you down. You sat criss-crossed on the bed, wiping your tears with the back of your hand. You didn’t even want to imagine how much of a mess you must look like right now. He reached over to place a hand on your thigh, rubbing circles to help you calm down. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, hm? What’s the matter?” 
“I’ve been such a dick to you,” you confessed, sniffling silently. You placed a hand on top of his, giving it a light squeeze, “I’ve been avoiding you.” 
“Yeah, I gathered that,” he tried to joke, offering you one of those award-winning smiles you were a goner for. “But what I don’t know is why. Talk to me, please.” 
“D’ya remember when Keeley told you guys to be extra nice to me because I’d just broken up with someone?” 
Confused, Jamie nodded his head. “Yeah?” 
“Well, there are things I want to say to you, but I don’t really like talking about it. Took me ages to even open up to Keeley and Rebecca about how bad it was,” you trailed off, looking away. You suddenly felt so small under Jamie’s gaze, like you were unscrewing the top of your head to give him a full view of all the fucked up things in there. You felt so exposed, but you knew you couldn’t keep this from him anymore. It was affecting him now, too. “My ex, he used to do this thing that kind of fucked me up really bad. He used to compare me to his ex-girlfriends and it made me feel like shit. His friends used to make these jokes about how he was a playboy and would probably get tired of me soon or would make condescending comments about me staying with him because they knew nobody could really tie him down. Like I was stupid for being with him or something.” 
Jamie frowned, internalizing your words. He looked down on his lap, lip quivering, “You think I’m like that? Like I’m just playin’ with ya?” 
Your eyes widened. You quickly shook your head, “No, not at all! I just… I was with him for over a year and when you hear those things said about you enough times, you start believing them. I got in my head thinking that you could and should do better than me and it made me pull away from you.” 
Jamie remained quiet, but the expression on his face changed to a more neutral one. You continued, “I figured it would be easier for you to come to the conclusion that you deserve more than me if I gave you the space, you know? I was trying to help you realize that I’m replaceable, but it backfired on me because now you think you did something wrong– which you absolutely haven’t.” 
He sat there, not saying a word, trying to comprehend what you just told him. He blinked, “Babe, that’s absolutely mad.” 
You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape your lips as a teasing smile made its way to Jamie’s face. He followed suit before wrapping his arms around you and pulling you down to lie on the bed with him. He rolled the both of you over so he was hovering on top of you. Jamie nudged your nose with his, “Don’t get me wrong, your feelings are valid. I would kill that prick and his twat friends if you let me, but love, you are everything I’ve ever wanted. You are not replaceable to me.” 
“It’s just hard to hear you when there’s so much nonsense noise in my head, you know?” you whispered, holding his face in the palm of your hand. “Sometimes those pesky voices are just so loud.” 
“Well,” he got up off of you and propped himself next to you. He gave you a cheeky smirk before leaning back. Then in the loudest voice he could manage, he yelled, “I love you! I love you! I love you, Y/N Y/L/N! There is nobody else for me. I love yo-” 
Fearing that he wouldn’t stop anytime soon, you covered his mouth with your hand, laughing loudly at how ridiculous the whole situation was. Jamie’s eyes twinkled with something you’d missed over the last few days and the sound of his muffled chuckles was like music to your ears. You removed your hand from his mouth. 
“Loud enough, do ya reckon?” he joked. Then, he looked at you seriously. He inched closer to you, sighing in relief when you didn’t pull away. “But seriously, love. Whenever those voices come creepin’ back in, just let me know, yeah? Talk to me. I don’t think I can handle another day like that again. It was my own personal hell, to be honest.” 
You wiped the tears from your eyes and nodded. You placed your lips on Jamie’s, allowing your kiss to last as long as possible before you had to pull away for air. You snuggled against him, basking in the scent of his cologne. “I promise I will, Jamie. I love you.” 
“I love you, too.”
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mapileonxputellas · 1 year ago
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Confusion (Leah Williamson x Reader)
Loved this request but I kind of struggled writing it. Definitely not my best work but I got it completed. Request can be found here. 2.4k words x
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It’s weird how one single comment can make you question everything in life.
How one single question made Leah wonder if she’d read the signals wrong all this time.
You were all enjoying your night. A games night planned for weeks before the Champions League games against Wolfsburg, a night meant to be fun and light-hearted before you concentrated on final few games of the season.
You and Leah were cuddled up on one of Katie’s sofas, the two of you having teamed up for the game of trivial pursuit. However whilst everyone else was concentrated on the game the two of you were in your own little world, a glass of wine shared between the two of you as well as frequent whispers and giggles as you both stayed on the tipsy side of drunk. Though on days like today you were teased endlessly for it, it was clear as day to all your teammates how in love you both were.
Having ditched the quiz game the group then moved on to a set of ‘who’s most likely’ questions Beth had found on her phone. It was all going well, the questions stayed light and no-one was offended, up until now.
“Who’s most likely to have the most kids?” Beth read out.
“Y/N.” You were slightly bombarded with the flood of responses of your name. Though the odd other name was thrown out, over 75% of the group said your name, including, all though in her head, Leah.
So it couldn’t have shocked her more when you scoffed. “You’ve got that wrong.”
“What do you only want one?” Jen questioned. “Two?”
“More like none.”
“You don’t want kids?” Manu asked.
“Not really. I’ve never really seen myself having kids. I’m happy with Ted.” You said referring to the cockapoo you had recently adopted with Leah.
If you hadn’t have been distracted by the next question maybe you would have noticed the way Leah frowned at your answer. Maybe you would have noticed the way her arm slightly loosened around you, the way she couldn’t bare to look your way. The pure confusion she felt in her mind.
Sadly for her though it seemed that Beth was out to drop as many bombshells as possible. “Who’s the most likely to get married first.”
“Leah and Y/N.” It was clear you were within the top two answers with a few others suggesting Katie and Manu. The spluttering of your name made you nervous and you genuinely didn’t expect to even be suggested for that one, I mean the two of you weren’t even engaged.
All of this just made you uncomfortable, you’d never really thought about any of these next steps when both you and Leah were in the peak of your career. The business end of the season was coming and then the both of you would only have a few weeks alone together before you were back in your separate national team camps. It didn’t seem like something either one of you needed right now. You were happier than ever just how it was right now.
“Can I be a bridesmaid?” Beth asked wrapping her arm around you.
“I’m not getting married so sadly that won’t happen.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I just don’t think it’s important. I don’t yeah, I just don’t think about it.”
These thoughts swirling around your head distracted you from noticing Leah’s withdrawal from you. From the way she detached herself from you to grab some drinks to the space separating you once she returned.
You didn’t notice something was fully wrong until you got in the uber on the way home. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for Leah to get a bit handsy after a few drinks but tonight she couldn’t seem to even look at you.
“What’s wrong?” You whispered, gently kissing her shoulder, an action which was greeted by her shrugging you off immediately. “Leah?”
“I think I’m going to go back to my mum’s tonight.”
“What why? It’s late Leah,” You tried to reason but she still wouldn’t even look at you. “I can see something’s upset you.”
“It’s nothing, leave it alone.”
“Leah.”
“Leave it, I’m fine I just want to spend the night with my mum, she wanted to see me.” She lied, trying to force a pained smile on her face.
“If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” She agreed, seeing your shared apartment building coming into view but not budging from her seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I love you.” You couldn’t let her leave obviously upset without saying something. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I love you too.”
……
Whist you struggled to get to sleep that night, the soft snores from Ted the only sound in the room as you tried to work out what had happened. You had both been fine most of the night and then suddenly she was upset and didn’t want to speak to you.
You tried not to panic but this was very unusual for you both. The two of you were very level headed and after being together for five years you were both very stable in your relationship, you couldn’t imagine life without her now. You’d moved in with each other three years ago and made the next big step in adopting Ted just over six months ago.
“What’s going on with your mama hey?” You whispered mindlessly raking your fingers through his fur. “We love her though don’t we, she’s just silly.”
Meanwhile only a few miles away the very said woman was curled up in her mother’s bed, a mug of hot chocolate in her lap as her mum tried to calm down her sobs.
“I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.” Amanda whispered, letting her daughter curl up against her. “Why don’t you tell me from the start?”
“We were playing this game and then someone mentioned children, suddenly Y/N just came out and said she didn’t want children.” Leah explained. “We’ve never had the conversation but I just always presumed she wanted them. She’s so good with kids mum, you’ve seen her with babies and children. I just always saw them with us eventually, in the future.”
“Have you talked to her about this?”
“I was going to but then someone mentioned marriage and she just freaked out almost, she didn’t say a word but you could just see on her face she didn’t agree. She almost looked, I don’t know disgusted. Then Beth asked her and she said it wasn’t important, like she doesn’t want to get married. Mum I’ve got the ring and she’s saying things like that.”
“She might not have meant it that way.”
“I just feel like I don’t even know her anymore, I thought I knew everything about her but it turns out I don’t know anything at all, not the important bits anyway. I want to marry the girl and she probably doesn’t even want that now.”
“Leah you’ve been with her for five years, talk to her. Don’t let these thoughts go around your head when it could all be for nothing.” Amanda reasoned. “Sleep here tonight and then go home tomorrow and talk to her. She loves you Leah, more than I’ve ever seen anyone before. Don’t let this ruin it without knowing everything.”
Before tossing and turning trying to get to sleep she glanced down at her phone, a picture of the two of you in front of the Eiffel tower brightening the room, a massive smile on both of your faces as you looked at one another rather than the camera.
Maybe you weren’t as happy as you looked in that moment and that scared her more than anything ever had. You were her world and she could only hope that you were too.
……
You managed to get a few hours of light sleep, waking up every couple of hours almost in hope that you could find Leah next to you. By the next morning though the place next to you was still untouched and the bed felt cold without her. Your mind couldn’t help but worry about whether your relationship was at risk right now even as you tried everything to distract yourself. By 11 you’d already taken Ted on a walk, cleaned the whole apartment and got started on your tea for tonight. You’d messaged Leah to wish her good morning and telling her to ring you but you were yet to get a reply.
The eerie silence in the apartment though meant you were instantly on edge when you heard the door go just before you were about to start on lunch.
“Hey.” You whispered when the blonde came into view, the bags under her eyes a tell-tale sign that she hadn’t got much more sleep than you. “Why don’t you go and sit down, I’ll make us both a tea.”
“Y/N….”
“Tea first.” You ordered, a teasing smile on your face to try and break the awkward silence. Leah thankfully agreed and went into the living room giving you enough time to give yourself a pep talk, Leah was your world and no matter what the issue is you would do your utmost to resolve it. You couldn’t stall this conversation any longer though and once the kettle had boiled and you quickly made up the teas you made your way over, finding her on the sofa. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s funny my mum said the same thing last night.”
“What can I say, good minds think alike.” You tried to joke but you didn’t even manage to get a smile out of her. “Leah, tell me.”
“You never told me you didn’t want kids.” She came out with and you almost wanted to sigh realising what all this was about.
“That’s what this is about?”
“And you never said you didn’t want to get married.”
“Leah we’ve never had those conversations, did you want me to make it clear on the first date.”
“Don’t joke.” Maybe you made a mistake in trying to lighten the mood when you saw the tears starting to build up.
“Leah.” You tried to comfort her, moving to grab her hand but she moved it before you could. “Can I explain?”
“There’s not much to explain is there, you don’t want kids, I do. You don’t want to get married, I do.”
“You never told me that either.”
“I thought it was obvious, then again I thought you wanted kids. Y/N you’re always around kids.”
“I’m around kids because I have to be. Maybe it came out wrong last night, it’s not that I don’t want kids ever but right now I don’t and that means that right now I can’t see myself being a mother. That’s what I meant. My mum had me very young and they were always busy, they never had time for me. I’ve seen the difference with my sister and I want that.” You explained. “I want to be there for every moment and we couldn’t truly do that right now. We’re both footballers, we’re sometimes away three times a week. I don’t want that for any potential child.”
“Y/N….” Leah could her almost the pain in your voice and it made her want to cry at the anguish you must have felt at being labelled that in the game.
“I just don’t understand why you didn’t talk to me about this.”
“I was going to and then they started talking about marriage.” You could read Leah like a book and you knew from her face that this was the real problem for her by her reaction.
“I didn’t know it was that big of an issue for you. We’ve never really talked about getting married.”
“Obviously because it isn’t important to you.”
“Can you understand that for me though? For me it’s not important, I’ve watched so many people get divorced and it’s almost lost that specialness. Plus I grew up thinking I wouldn’t be able to get married to another woman. Leah I want to be with you for the rest of my life, I don’t need some wedding certificate to allow that to happen.”
“What if I wanted to get married?”
“Then we’ll talk about it. I’m not against marriage, really I’m not. I just see it as more of a celebration of love rather than this like long term commitment because I already am committed to you. Please know that.” You told her, making the move to wrap your arms around her and thankfully she responded by resting her head on your chest. “I love you so much and I think last night maybe it seemed like I was scared of commitments or making those next steps with you but I’m not. I know I want to be with you forever and if those steps come then I’ll be more than happy to experience them all with you.”
“I just feel like it would mean more to me than to you.”
“Leah you don’t know how honoured I would be to be your wife, to show everyone how much I love you. I just want you to know, I don’t know who’s going to propose, but if you want to, marry me because you love me so much, marry me because you want to celebrate our love. It’s a commitment but know that to me it means more than that, it’s about our love. I don’t know if I’m making sense right now but hopefully you get me.” You leaned your head down to connect your lips with Leah’s. “Please just speak to me next time because we’re a team now.”
“I’m sorry.” She apologised.
“We’re good now, don’t worry and I’m sorry for upsetting you.” You apologised too. “I never meant for it to be that way.”
“I understand you now but I know I couldn’t love you more than I love you now. I adore everything about you Y/N and I can’t wait for the future with you, whatever it holds.”
“I love you more.”
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patrollingboston · 8 months ago
Note
*turns on the megaphone*
Simon and his wifey have disaster twins!
Thank you for coming to my TED talk
Double Trouble // Simon x Reader fluff
Thank you for your request! I wanted to include their reactions to finding out as well as a glimpse into daily life for them. Hope you enjoy!
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Simon and you had been married for 4 years. It wasn’t a normal marriage by any means, he was often deployed leaving you to amble through life without him by your side for most months of the year. You didn’t mind your own company, you met up with friends and family regularly, caring for yours and Simon’s cat counting down the days until he was home again. It was a quiet and lonely life at times but you understood how much his career meant to him, this was all until one specific night you and Simon shared together landing you in a hospital room at your 12-week pregnancy scan.
“You, okay?”
Simon asked, his deep voice echoing through the eerily clinicals walls as he placed a gentle hand on your shoulder reassuringly. You laid on the bed, the paper scrunching up underneath your back as you waited anxiously for the Doctor to return.
“I’m alright, just a bit jittery.”
You replied giving an uncertain smile towards him, he had managed to get a few days off of work so he could accompany you to the scan. Today was the day you found out the gender of your baby, you and Simon agreed it was best to know now so you could both prepare.
“Right! We all ready in here?”
The doctor came charging back in the room pushing the thick wooden door closed behind her, she sat herself on a stool and wheeled over to you laying on the bed.
“Think so.”
You said with a smile, looking up and making eye contact with Simon. The doctor rolled up your t shirt exposing your stomach to the cold hospital air.
“Are we wanting to know if it’s a boy or girl today?”
She said, squeezing the gel onto your stomach the temperature startling you.
“Uh yes we would like to know.”
Simon spoke up his eyes fixed on the little tv screen the Doctor had wheeled over towards the two of you.
“Can you hear the heartbeat?”
The two of you nodded in sync as you heard the familiar rumble erupt from the machine before a second sounding noise adjoined it.
“What’s the other noise?”
You asked curiously, peeking your head up to get a closer look at the monitor.
“That is uh.. a second heartbeat. You are having healthy twins how wonderful! Can you see baby number 2 hidden in the back there?”
“Wait what?”
Simon said, his demeanour going from relaxed to suddenly tensing up, his grip on your shoulder becoming tighter.
“Twins, see?”
“You’re serious?”
You said now sitting up fully to inspect the monitor, half of you believed this Doctor was speaking nonsense until your eyes saw a second shadow on the tv. Feeling overwhelmed your eyes began to well up, you reached your hand up to grab Simon’s arm for support.
“Fully, would you like to know the genders?”
You both nodded once again.
“In my opinion it looks like two baby girls.”
You slapped a hand to your chest making an ‘awh’ sound, you had always wanted a daughter, now you were going to have two at once. Simon, who was not saying a word, continued to stare at the monitor in amazement.
“We are having twin girls?”
He finally spoke up, clearing his throat and turning to face you. In that moment you both felt such gratitude and shock for the news of two healthy baby girls that you both forgot about the logistics of the entire situation for a few moments.
One year later
“Si, can you bring me a tea towel she’s chucked tomato sauce in my eye.”
You yelled through the kitchen as you dabbed your face, sauce dripping down onto your t shirt as your baby Emily giggled sat in her highchair in the background.
“I can’t love, Chloe’s got a hold of my phone and won’t give it up.”
Simon yelled back from the living room sounding out of breath followed by a few crashing sounds as you assumed he was chasing Chloe round for his phone back. The twins had just learned to walk, and throw apparently causing a nightmare for the both of you.
Simon had returned from deployment a few weeks ago, he was descended straight into the chaos of raising your two twins. You stumbled blindly round the kitchen trying to find something to wipe your face on as you heard the pitter patter of feet coming towards you.
“Mama look.”
Chloe gurgled handing you what you assumed was Simon’s phone.
“What have we said about taking people’s things hey?”
You said in a sterner tone, Simon following into the kitchen behind. You handed him his phone back and he slid it back into his pocket before grabbing a square of kitchen roll and wiping your face for you.
“And you, what have we said about throwing stuff?”
He asked in a soft tone towards your daughter Emily, who was still finding the situation hilarious. He stepped over Chloe who was now playing sat on the kitchen tiles with the cat before reaching his arms out and scooping Emily up in them.
“I’m so glad to have you back Si.”
You said, exhaustion creeping throughout your brain as you rubbed your temples.
“I’ve missed my girls too.”
He said a wide smile spreading across his cheeks as he looked at his daughter placed upon his hip and then towards Chloe sat on the floor. It was a chaotic life for you two currently, but it was yours and no one else’s and you wouldn’t change it for the world.
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maevelin · 5 months ago
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Seduction is the trap... here comes temptation:
In order to "entrap" someone you will first have to seduce him.
WELCOME TO MY TED - POLIN -TALK!
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So here we have a trapped man in the claws of a ruthless temptress!
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And it has been OBVIOUS FROM THE START!
We just didn't see it but now it is clear!
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So...We have all seen how it was Colin who practically became chaotic once he realized his feelings for Penelope and crushed the ball to stop the proposal, went into the carriage, proposed in 2 seconds and so on. So basically if anyone was set on trapping the other that would Colin - MY WIFE IS HOT I MUST TRAP HER FOREVER - Bridgerton.
BUT....and here is the INTERESTING PART.
IT WAS NOT HIM.
IT WAS HER!
I HAVE PROOF AND SO DOES COLIN -VICTIM BY TEMPTRESS- BRIRDERTON!
Soooo...
Why would Colin even think Penelope had trapped him? Anger clouded his judgement sure. At this moment he is in shock, he feels betrayed, his emotions are on a high and he is not thinking clearly but HOW DID SHE DO IT? In his mind anyway.
So...How did she seduce him?
Because right now we know that Colin keeps reliving every moment in his head.
So here we go.
Lessons on how to ENTRAP an already in love OBLIVIOUS Bridgerton drama boy:
Step 1:
He returns, he looks for her. She is not there.
He has to search for her while in the past he was at his disposal and then she is cold. She wears yellow, she has not been returning his letters, she is now indifferent and...IT HURTS.
Ok rewind it in his mind, because you know he feel betrayed so:
She was playing hard to get! IT WAS A TRAP!
(At this point our lovely moron has realized (or not) there was always romantic context between them so he filters every moment through this revelation...so playing hard to get would require for him to actually want to get her...I am just saying.)
So he had missed her and she did not seem to have missed him.
A SET TRAP!
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Step 2:
She enters the opening ball of the season with a new PARISIAN STYLED dress (ok, this might have been a small little subconscious trap because when our girl heard of France she just knew how she wanted to dress to get his attention LMAO)
Now, supposedly at this point he is not paying her any romantic attention. Only...HE DOES. When she enters she makes him pause. She walks past him. She does not pay him any attention. He NOTICES the lovely dress, OF COURSE and in his mind right...
:IT WAS A TRAP!
She wore green (WHO DOES THAT?), it was the first time he saw her as a woman (WHAT???), of course it was meant to TRAP HIM.
Then she ...rejects him by telling him he is cruel (she was not even responding to his LETTERS).
So IT WAS A TRAP! (SHE DARED TO CALL HIM MR BRIDGERTON!!!....Shocking him to the core! ...MISTER BRIDGERTON! IT WAS PREMEDITATED!)
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She was playing hard to get (yes even then he wanted to get her. That does not correlate in his mind but I digress lol)
Step 3:
He proposes to teach how to flirt and since he knows her he is CERTAIN that she knows how to use the fan to charm and bat her eyelashes.
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Only how can he be sure she knows? Because HE HAS SEEN HER DO IT....To whom? TO HIM (duh!)...(and between us she had...she just didn't know it LOL)
But then he realizes that she can't do it with anyone else. BUT she had been doing it with him. SHE PLAYED HIM! IT WAS PLANNED! SHE DID IT ON PURPOSE!
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His mind: IT WAS TRAP (SHE WAS SEDUCING ME ALL ALONG. SLOWLY. SURELY. ARDENTLY!)
At this point our girl has been working at it FOR YEARS, right?
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As lady Whistledown she has eliminated the competition (Bye Marina) but as PENELOPE she has been replying to his letters and every time he was mesmerized by her ...wll now has an EXPLANATION....She was SEDUCING HIM ALL ALONG...It makes sense...FOR YEARS, THE TRAP WAS SET!
Step 4:
He is the one to propose the lessons but she is the one who:
"Your eyes the most remarkable shade of blue"
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SOMEONE SEND HELP!
OUR BOY CHOKES ON HIS DRINK!
No..no wait...SHE CAN'T BE THAT GOOD. THAT WAS DIRECT! (Direct HIT!)
That was SEDUCTION, TEMPTATION, THAT WAS...A DIRECT TRAP!
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We know he is reliving the moment and he tastes that lemonade AGAIN! Never mind. TRAAAAAP!
Step 5:
She is bandaging his hand after READING HIS SMUT.
Boy is bleeding, on his knees, seeing directly at her boobs.
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IT IS A TRAP, TRAP TRAP,TRAP!
Step 6:
She is the damsel in distress. Lady Whistledown could never be the damsel in distress but PENELOPE WAS.
He kept saving her! He had too! She was in DISTRESS! And he was a gentleman and he was not really enjoying HIMSELF SAVING HER!
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AND HE RUN AFTER HER! EVERY SINGLE TIME.
She knew how to make him run!
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She made him.
IT WAS A TRAP.
Say it with me! ENTRAPMENT!
STEP 7 - the EXACT POINT OF ENTRAPMENT
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She ASKED HIM FOR A KISS!
The AUDACITY that only a TEMPTRESS WOULD HAVE!
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He KISSED HER because SHE ASKED!
A pity kiss...he was doing her a favor...
Now that WAS THE TRAP living rent free in his mind ever since!
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Because in that moment (Siri play the book quote:) HIS WORLD AS HE KNEW IT WAS OVER!
And the most mind-blowing, earth shuttering, out of the world KISS EVER!
How would she KNOW HOW TO KISS LIKE THAT TO BEGIN WITH?
IT WAS A TRAP!
And...HE FELL STRAIGHT RIGHT INTO IT! Deep down he went.
Step 8:
HE KEPT DREAMING OF HER. Damn SIREN!
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She knew what she was doing guys! She made him weak with (just as her mother wise PORTIA said) whatever wiles she had and he could not get out of bed because of her!
And WORSE there was LEGIT COMPETITION!
How could ANYONE ELSE BE INTERESTED IN HER, when he was dreaming of her?
And he had a TITLE, WEALTH! He would give FREEDOM to be Lady Whistledown (only she let that one go because she was trapping COLIN so...) and she JUST SEDUCES!
Like...LOOK AT HER GO!
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And she had Debling propose to her in what? A week? Two weeks? SO SOON?
SHE IS GOOD! SHE KNOWS HOW TO TRAP MEN.
It was a TRAP!
Step 9:
HOW DARE SHE EAT THAT PASTRY?
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LIKE THAT?
Now...THAT....WAS SEDUCTION!!!! SHE DID IT ON PURPOSE!
DAMN IT...IT WAS A TRAP AND SHE LICKED HER FINGERS AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Innocent Penelope right? Not right! THERE WAS SUGAR ON HER LIPS! THE TEMPTRESS IS TEMPTING!
SUCH A TRAP!
Step 10 and is sizzling:
She as Lady Whistledown has written things that ONLY AN EXPERIENCED WOMAN COULD HAVE WRITTEN!
DID SHE EVEN?????????????????????????????
What does that mean? She KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING?
Where they OTHERS? Secret OTHERS? What a fool he had been! She was not only an accomplished writer who mocked him with her hidden success but she knew about rakes and affairs and she could not be that innocent right?
No wait...she was a VIRGIN...no WAIT that was the TRAP!
BUT she was an EXPERIENCED VIRGIN because there was the carriage and there was the mirror and there was the settee and what was he thinking?
Oh yes, HE HAD NEVER FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE!
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A TRAP!
And he has every right to feel like that, betrayed, JEALOUS, ENTRAPPED.
So as a gentleman he will ALLOW THE DEVIOUS WOMAN TO TRAP HIM and when she falters at the aisle he will smile to her encouraging her to TRAP HIM!
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Because you know...what is marriage if not an entrapment to bind those two together forever? LOL
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By the way, he can now be a drama queen all he wants but she is his wife and a Bridgerton and he can't let her go so it is okay. He is secure.
The trap is trapping!
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P.s: Not my gifs
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schlattsdoll · 1 year ago
Note
smut prompt 2.
doin a (cooking?) stream with j and all the otk people wtvs and you atart grinding on him subtly when he comes up behind u (ur half bent over a counter or summat and he pushes his hips into urs) n then js get more frequent once he sits down somewhere n u sit on his lap still in frame
he makes u move after cuz big guy can't controll himself and then later on u both end up stood up in frame and u literally grap his dick through his sweats and squeeze it like a clown nose xxx
very vivid I had this dream the other day so x
erm new here too 🍓 anon if possible
love ur writing bbs xx
hi lovie!! ofc <3
what's cookin' good lookin'?- jschlatt
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minors dni
pairing: jschlatt x fem/afab! reader
prompt : “stop before someone sees!”
i made this a chuckle sandwich stream since i haven't binged otk yet <3
streaming with schlatt was always a fun time, but add ted and charlie to the mix? pure chaos. the four of you decided to have a baking contest, including decorating. schlatt took a big glob of batter on his finger and went to swipe it down your nose. “i will full name you right now don’t you fucking dare schlatt!” he didn’t listen to you, smearing chocolate down your nose.
he laughed while licking off his finger and kissing your now covered nose. ted handed you a paper towel to clean up the rest and went back to his and charlie’s batch.
as you bent over the counter to throw away the paper towel, schlatt came up behind you and grabbed your hips and grinded against you quickly. that was just the start of his incessant teasing, he’d do that, whisper sweet nothings into your ear, and worst of all he would grab your ass randomly. “jay, stop before someone sees!”
as the cakes went into the oven, the stream moved into the living room. you got pulled onto your boyfriend’s lap and were welcomed with a kiss. it was usually easy for you to get comfy on his large thighs but today it was a problem. you wiggled around in his lap, desperately trying to get in a comfortable position, but little did you know what you were doing to him. “gettin’ revenge on me now are ya doll?” he groaned lowly in your ear. you didn’t realize what he meant at first until you felt something like your behind. “maybe i was, or maybe i was just trying to get comfy.” a small bonus to your troubles. “if you don’t stop moving i will take you in the bathroom right fuckin’ now doll. either move or settle down.”
a hour or so passes and the cakes have finished baking and cooling, causing the set up to move back to the kitchen. as you and jay stand up, you grab his dick quickly squeezing it, barley even a second and it leaves him in shock, running to hide behind the counter in his gray sweats.
you finish decorating the cakes and chat voted you schlatt as the winners. “thank you guys so much for watching! stay tuned for more content with these clowns coming up soon bye!”
schlatt grabbed your hand and dragged you to the bathroom and pinned you against the door.
“now, be quiet my little dolly, and i’ll let you cum as many times as i want.”
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s0ftl3 · 11 months ago
Note
If I remember correctly, I sent you an ask a while back about sending them nudes in public, now. What about audios?? -✨
Yes yes I remember and i’m so glad you made that req bc i remember it doing pretty well so pretty please keep giving me ideas to expand upon and write for you lol
For anyone wondering here is the link.
Ted Nivison 
Ever since he opened that snap he’s been super conscious of any snapchat messages from you, but he regretfully forgot to think about your voice memos on imessage.  Normally, they’re all lovey dovey you whining about how much you miss him and instead of going out somewhere. So, when he opened his messages expecting something along the lines of “Tedddd come home, forget Eddy”,you can imagine the utter shock he was in as he quickly shut off his phone. He didn’t want Eddy to hear the absolute filth you had just sent him. You were asking him to come alright, but you were begging him through pretty little moans, so of course he told Eddy he’s gotta go. And he prays that he hadn’t heard any of what was meant for him, or that he didn’t notice the now very apparent bulge in his jeans.
Jschlatt
He’s actually been sending a lot of audios to you. It was his way of getting back at you for the snapchat message in the middle of the grocery store. But, he hadn’t expected you’d retaliate by sending him one while he was on stream. You send him plenty of non-sexual voice messages to play for his stream. Ranging from cute little hellos to telling a sweet story about him. So one night when he’s streaming and receives a voice message from you he has no second thoughts about putting it up to his mic and playing it for the chat. But as the audio started playing he immediately shuts his phone off, unluckily for him though a small portion of the audio does make it into the mic. His cheeks go red as he calls his mods to clean this mess up. “Alright streams over thanks, I'm never coming back.” but he does come back almost an hour later apologizing for abruptly cutting it off but he had business to take care of. (ie you)
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amazingmsme · 1 month ago
Text
From Predator to Prey
AN: as y’all can probably tell, I’m caught up on tickletober & posted all the ones I’ve already written. So things might be a little slower the rest of the month lmao. Enjoy some goofy Tinkoffski fluff for day 16!
Ted was running for his life down endless yellow halls. Sometimes, he would get lucky enough to be released back into the real world, but no matter how much time has passed, he always ends up back here.
"Oh Teddybear, where'd you goooo?" the yellow goat monstrosity's voice echoed down the halls in a singsong tone. "You know I'll just find you again. It's inevitable."
The walls stretched in front of him, making the next exit seem miles away. Ted wasn't as fazed as he was the first few times, but he knew going that way would be pointless. He also knew that that... thing didn't plan on hurting him, but he honestly wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, given the circumstances. Apparently, he'd broken too many "toys" in the past, and was trying to "be gentle" with him.
Of course, his version of gentle apparently meant tickling him past the point of delirium, and then some.
Ted caught his breath around a corner, heart pounding in his chest as he listened to the beast of a man get closer.
"Come on out, I promise I'm not gonna hurt you!" He sounded close now, and he could hear the loud rhythmic clack of his hooves. Ted pressed his back against the wall, wishing he could just disappear.
"The longer you hide, the longer I get to tickle you," he taunted, dragging out the last two words as his voice jumped in pitch. Ted felt goosebumps race down his skin as nervous butterflies filled his stomach. He forced himself to slow his breath; he could not let himself be found.
He could see his shadow looming around a corner, and Ted mentally prepared himself. He could do this. Easy as pie. Nothing to it. Just get him before he gets you.
If Ted was going to act, he needed to do so now.
~~~
Tinky had shrunk to his more human form, intent on dishing out a more humane form of torture. He wanted this toy to last, not like the countless others. He was starting to... feel things for this pathetic little plaything, and despite Nibbly's incessant warning, he stopped wanting to hurt him. And so he shifted to mind games within the maze, torture him with his own fucked up memories until he's gone mad.
And then that got boring, but if he were being honest it... upset him seeing him like that. And suddenly he didn't want to scare him either.
He wanted Ted to like him. Fuck, he wanted Ted to like him so bad. He needed it. He wanted to trap him in his box forever. He wanted to hug him so tight he pops. And yet, he refrains. Instead, he gives him the gift of endless laughter, and Ted still looks at him with nothing but fear in those dazzling eyes. He still screamed and ran every time he saw him. Why couldn't he see just how nice he was being?
He just barely rounded another corner when he was tackled from the side. He landed flat on his back with a weight settling across his waist. What the-
"Teddybear? What's the meaning of thihihis? Hehehey, wahahait!" he giggled in surprise as wiggling fingers plunged under his arms.
“Don’t call me that! Now listen up asshole, you’re gonna let me go, or else,” he threatened. He drilled his thumbs in the center of his hollows, drawing tight circles. Tinky threw his head back with a snort, followed by a string of loud, frantic cackles. Ted paused to let him answer, partly shocked by how effective his touch had been.
Tinky gasped for breath, staring at him with a dazed smile, eyes sparkling. “O-or else what?”
Ted sighed and made a show of cracking his knuckles. “Or else I’ll tickle you for all eternity or whatever. Or until you break and decide to let me go. Your choice,” he flashed a condescending smile, settling his hands right on his ribcage.
Tinky jumped at the movement, nervous giggles pouring out. Ted cocked his head in amusement. “Really? I haven’t even done anything yet,” he taunted, letting his restless fingers twitch. Tinky flinched with a whine.
“B-but I cahan’t just let you go! It doesn’t wohohork lihike thahahahat!” he pleaded even as he broke down in giggles.
“Sure it does! You can let me go whenever you want; you just don’t want to. But that’s okay, I’ll change your mind,” he spoke casually as he began kneading into his ribs. Tinky sputtered and burst out laughing, arching into the touch. “I mean, I literally have nothing else to do except tickle the hell outta you. How long do you think you can laugh before you tap out? Whatever you are, your stamina’s gotta be crazy! I bet you can go a week, minimum!”
“A week? Nohoho! Plehease, you cahahan’t!” he cried out through helpless shrieks and squeals. He cackled and thrashed beneath Ted when his hands lowered to squeeze his sides and belly. He tried to grab the offending hands, but wasn’t able to keep his grip. He screeched and kicked his legs out when he hit a bad spot.
“Pretty fuckin’ ironic how the tickle monster is deathly ticklish,” Ted taunted, vibrating a clawed hand over his tummy.
Tinky felt himself honest to God blush at his words. “Noho I’m nohohot!” he denied, shaking his head as he bucked his hips. That only drew his attention.
“Oh, what’s this? Are your hips ticklish too?” he asked, latching onto the bone and squeezing relentlessly.
“OHOHO SHIHIHIT! Stohohop! Thahahat’s sohoho BAHAHAD!” he wailed as soon as he grabbed his waist.
“Oh, it’s bad? Well it can’t be worse than any of the times you got me! I don’t even know how long you kept at it, so I’ll be honest, I really don’t feel sorry for you! So I think I just might keep at it loooong after you finally give up, just to teach you a lesson.”
Tinky giggled and squirmed on the ground. “Thahat’s nohohot fahahair!” he whined, hiding his face behind a hand. “I-I just wahahanna hahahave sohome fun! I dihidn’t dohoho ahahanythihing!” he tried to insist his innocence. Ted scoffed and barked out a laugh.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” he said in a mocking, condescending tone. He scribbled across his tummy, relishing in the squeal of shock that followed. “You have to know to deserve this,” he taunted.
“Nohoho I dohohon’t!”
“Mmm, you’ll have to try harder than that if you wanna convince me. But hey, for all I know, you’re probably loving this-” He was. “I honestly see the appeal, think I might just have to do this every time you drag me here.”
“Noooo!”
“That was such a yes no,” Ted chuckled at the strange monster’s endearing reactions. He really could get used to this.
“Ohohokahahay fine! Maybe I dohoho deserve aha little punishment,” he admitted through giggles.
“Glad you agree. Now, let’s see how long it takes for you eldritch motherfucker to tap out.”
“Wahahait, Teheheddy don’t! I’m sorry, I-I won’t do it again! AHA NO! Not there, please! I’m like, crazy ticklish, you cahahan’t!”
“Aw, that’s good to know and really fuckin’ cute! Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to put that information to good use.” Tinky felt his heart racing in his chest; Ted was flirting and teasing him, and he fucking winked at him when he pinched his waist, and he couldn’t stand it.
Tinky laid there, trapped beneath a monster of his own making. And he didn’t mind one bit.
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juceynightmare · 1 year ago
Text
dating 101 (18+) part 28 - cody rhodes x reader
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my masterlist
dating 101 (18+) masterlist
pairing(s): cody rhodes x fem!reader, roman reigns x fem!reader, austin theory x fem!reader
warning(s): swearing
genre(s): college!au, slow burn, fluff, angst
|| previous part || next part ||
if y/n didn’t dig herself a deeper hole yesterday, she certainly had breached earth’s core at this point. with her head tilted down and austin chuckling under his breath, y/n desperately tried not to make eye contact with roman who was sat at the table conveniently right behind austin and directly in her eyesight. the tension was so thick that y/n swore she was feeling lightheaded from lack of oxygen.
“can they hurry up with the food?” she whispered, feeling scared that they were trying to listen in on her and austin’s conversation.
“how about i lean over, give you a nice kiss, and really give them something to talk about?” austin teased her, biting back a laugh when she flipped him off.
it was austin and y/n day, much like how they used to have in high school whenever they didn’t want to deal with their parents being all lovey dovey in front of them. although cody and ted wished they could have accompanied them when they invited them to join in, cody had a midterm that day and ted made plans with another friend group in between his classes. that left y/n taking austin everywhere around town, showing him all her favorite places and stopping by a few stores downtown to window shop. eventually, they grew hungry and decided to grab lunch at a quaint little hawaiian barbeque restaurant. y/n just hadn’t accounted for the fact that there was a chance that she’d end up seeing roman while she was out with austin.
“do that and i’ll actually kill you.” she grunted, locking eyes with austin and catching his playful gaze.
“i’m sure cody would get to me first.” he mused. just then, another number was called out by the workers and the two of them checked their receipt. “i’ll get it.” austin offered once he realized it was their food, quickly snatching the receipt off the table and getting up before y/n could even process that it was their number that was called out.
this also meant that the barrier between her and roman was gone, and y/n wished she had grabbed the receipt first before she checked if it was their food. she was instantly met with the sight of roman, jimmy, and jey all staring at her as if she’d grown a second head. and suddenly, jimmy was nudging roman and roman was standing up. but before roman could even take a step towards y/n, austin was quickly returning with their food.
austin sat himself back down in his chair, clearly having seen the way roman was just about to invite himself to the table and take austin’s spot. he took their food out of the bag, opening each container to check their contents before setting y/n’s food in front of her. “and your spam musubi, m’lady.” he continued, setting another smaller container in front of her along with her can of passion fruit hawaiian sun. he hummed happily as he handed her the utensils and set the bag aside so that he could open up his box. austin waited until y/n took her first bite before he did. a smile that he was unable to hide crept up on his face as he finally got food into his system, and the same smile reflected on y/n’s own features.
but the failed attempts at hushed whispers behind him were beginning to irritate him. although he had found it humorous at first, austin wasn’t a stranger to times when y/n was visibly uncomfortable. suddenly, austin set his utensils down and turned around in his seat to face the men. “can you just cool it for one day? she’ll talk to you later. but right now, i’m just trying to enjoy a nice lunch with my step-sister.” he asked them, catching a glimpse at their embarrassed expressions before turning back around and being met by y/n’s shocked one. “eat, baby. they’ll stop talking about us and assuming shit if they know what’s good for them.” he addressed her as he pulled up the sleeves of his shirt as a “subtle” warning to the men.
it seemed to work, because when jey stood up to get their own food and returned with them, the other men seemed to slip back into their own conversation that wasn’t focused on who y/n was with. y/n visibly relaxed, her tense shoulders easing out against her frame as she happily began to eat. “thanks.” she muttered in between bites, and this time, austin was biting back a laugh at how she was practically inhaling her food.
he forgot she had a tendency to stress eat.
“no worries. some people just need to learn to mind their own business, you know?” austin replied, this time purposely keeping his voice low so that they couldn’t hear him. he knew that if they had heard what he said, they most certainly woulnd’t be getting out of the restaurant without a confrontration.
“i don’t even know what i’m going to say to him before our lab tomorrow. like, oh hey! yeah, it’s not you, it’s me.” she huffed out as austin handed her a napkin, quickly thanking him before wiping her mouth with the napkin.
“see, that phrase only works if it’s not you, though. i don’t make the roles, i simply enforce them.” austin said, watching as she struggled to open up can before finally reaching over and opening it for her. “god, are you this worked up over it? you’re stuffing your face like crazy and you can’t even open up a can.”
“yes!” she said, rather loudly because it earned them the stares from the other patrons in the restaurant and not just roman, jimmy, and jey. she looked around with an embarrassed expression and waited until everyone went back to their own meals. “sorry. as i was saying, it’s not exactly a comfortable and easy conversation to have.” she muttered, taking a long sip from her drink the same time that austin drank his water.
they had fallen back into their own rhythm easily. y/n was talking to austin as if the centerpiece of her worries wasn’t sitting just directly behind him. in that moment, it was just y/n and austin in the world, and although they may not be out in a random field staring up at the stars and talking about their worries in life, somehow the hawaiian barbeque restaurant seemed to transport them to that place.
austin shrugged his shoulders, setting down his cup before picking up his utensils again. “rip off the bandaid. always easiest that way. besides, it’s not like you’re hesitating about who you’re choosing. it’s pretty obvious who you’re going to pursue.” he told her, his tone bordering an ‘i told you so’ manner that had y/n wanting to reach over and smack austin.
“well, yeah but i don’t feel good about leading him on. it’s not like i meant to do it, you know? i’m just stupid.” she muttered, wiping down her hands before reaching for her spam musubi. “want a bite?” she asked, holding the food out for austin.
he leaned over, taking a bite before sitting back in his chair. he chewed his food, and watched as y/n seemed to delve deep in her own thoughts. he spoke after swallowing his food, “we’re not having this same conversation, y/n.” he went back to eating his own food, muttering lowly, “impact matters more than intention. but you can’t change anything about that either. you just have to learn from it, baby. and i know you. you’ll bounce back from this, you’ve come back from worse, and this time, you have cody.”
she smiled apologetically at austin, reminding herself that maybe she was getting a bit repetitive with her own thoughts. she was just thankful that austin didn’t seem to mind still reassuring her in the end, no matter how many times he had to hear it. the two continued to eat their food, moving on from their previous conversation and simply taking the time to catch up now that they were both sober. eventually, their food was done but neither of them moved from their seats, leaning against their crossed forearms on the table to lean towards each other and continue their conversation.
she was so enamored with her conversation with austin that she hadn’t even realized roman, jimmy, and jey had all left soon after they finished eating. jimmy and jey had tried to wave their goodbyes to her, but roman had simply tugged them away before y/n could even look in their direction.
her phone buzzing was what cut their conversation short, and one glance at her phone let her know that ted was calling her. she showed the contact to austin, who nodded his head as if letting her know to answer it, before sitting back in his seat and fishing out his own phone so he could scroll through social media while she took the call.
“hello?” she answered, pressing the phone against her ear.
“you and austin done eating?” ted asked. there was an odd tone to his voice, one that y/n hadn’t ever heard before. he sounded as though he was trying to stay calm and collected, but y/n could just tell that he was bottling up something like anger.
“yeah, we’re probably going to head back to the dorms after this and nap. i’m about 5 minutes away from a food coma. why, what’s up?” she asked, already beginning to put her trash into the plastic bag. austin followed her, his eyebrow cocked up in question at her words.
“stay away from roman.” ted warned her.
she was taken aback by ted’s sudden words. she expected this type of behavior from cody, but ted? there wasn’t a reason for ted to be telling her to stay away from roman - after all, ted wasn’t the one that was involved in their drama like that. it was as if ted could feel her confusion through the phone, and answered her next question before she could even ask him.
“cody asked randy if he said anything to him while blackout drunk. it’s pretty bad and you need to be told everything in person.” ted sighed, still trying to stay calm and collected over the phone.
“i’ll fucking kill him!” cody’s voice suddenly rang in the background, and from what y/n could only assume by the ruffling sounds over the phone, cody had pulled the phone from ted. “sweetheart, you won't believe the shit i just fucking learned. i'm going to shove my foot so far up roman's ass for thinking he can just pull this shit on you.”
her mouth hung open in shock, and before y/n could even let her confusion be known, ted was already back on the phone. “don’t worry about that for now. knock once you’re here and we’ll tell you everything. it’s cool if you bring austin along. love you.”
before she could even say bye, the call was already over and y/n was left with staring up into austin’s concerned gaze. she was so captivated by the strange phone call that she wasn’t even aware that austin had thrown out their trash for her and was standing up beside her.
“everything alright?” he asked her, holding his hand out for her to take and guiding her out of her seat once she did so.
“the boys have something to tell me. they said you could come along.” she answered.
austin simply nodded his head, making sure they didn’t leave anything on the table or their seats before he was already leading y/n out of the restaurant. “let’s go, baby. sounded pretty bad from all the yelling i heard over the phone. best we get there as soon as possible.”
|| next part ||
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borrowing-at-midknight · 5 months ago
Text
Handoff
Part two is finally here, short and sweet. This can be read without reading the other one, though.
Ted discovers Schlatt's borrower friend.
~~~
“FUCK YOU! OH MY GOD!”
Ah yes, that's exactly what you want startling you to consciousness. Schlatt, through the drywall, screaming and laughing maniacally at whatever game he happened to be playing on stream this time. You had meant to get up earlier to ask him for help getting water, but it seems to be too late for that. You shrug it off and start getting your supplies ready to go.
If you were being honest, water was one of the things you asked for help borrowing the most since you agreed ‘not to be so stubborn,’ as Schlatt likes to say. It's one of the most difficult things to get, especially when you're scared of falling down the drain. For the most part, you still wanted to live in your place inside the walls; you'd put too much effort into the place to just abandon it. There were times, however, that you spent a few days in a row out in the open. True to his word, Schlatt did in fact upgrade you from the shoe box. He went out of his way to buy a small box that could be propped open or folded closed, slightly larger than the shoe box. He and you had even been working on getting the cats used to you so that there was less to worry about when you did spend time outside the walls.
By the time you get out of your thoughts you're approaching the kitchen exit, only to see that it's been blocked. A bag of bagels has been pushed up against the hole in the wall. It takes a little less than a minute to shove it away from the wall enough to make room to get out. You weren't sure why Schlatt decided to block your exit, or if it was an accident, but you continue on towards the sink. As you make your way, you start pulling out your rope and making a lasso out of it.
You almost don't notice the rush of air as a clear plastic cup is slammed over you, catching you off guard enough to walk straight into the side of it and send you stumbling backwards. Once you realize what's going on, your heart nearly stops right then and there. Hesitantly, you will yourself to look up.
A hand. Still holding the bottom of the cup, just as big as Schlatt's. A hand. Beyond that, a face that you think you might recognize, but can't be sure. Short black hair, round wire-framed glasses, soft brown eyes. His expression is a mixture of shock, confusion, and awe.
‘You've gotta be fucking kidding me.’
“What in the…”
The feeling of being trapped under a plastic cup is unfortunately all too familiar. The outside world is muffled and warped by the plastic, but at least you can see out of it this time. See your captor. You start to weigh your options.
You could just cut through the side and make a run for it, but who knows what this guy would do, if he would smack you into oblivion like a bug. You could try talking to him, explaining that you know Schlatt and that he should let you go. Would he even believe you? Maybe you could-
“What are you?”
You snap out of it, attention flicking back to him. He's lower now, leaned down to get a better look at you. Schlatt obviously trusts this guy to hang out around his house unsupervised, but that doesn't mean you'll just trust him with your life. You take a step back and shake your head.
“No? Wait, so you can understand me. Can… Can you talk?”
Hesitantly, you nod.
“You can! Okay, maybe that was a dumb question. How about… your name?”
You take a moment to consider. There's no way Schlatt doesn't find out about this, even if he is streaming at the moment. How close he is to finishing up, you have no clue. He wouldn't let this guy around if there was any chance of him hurting you, though. Right? You take a deep breath and gulp.
“(Y/n).”
“(Y/n), huh? I was kinda expecting something less normal than that, honestly. I'm Ted.” He pauses, examining you with a scrunched expression. “What… are you? Like, how are you that small?”
Furrowing your brows, you give him a skeptical look. “Let me out and maybe I'll tell you, officer.”
Ted's face lights up with a lopsided grin, caught off guard by your joke. “How do I know you won't just run away? I mean, I won't stop you, but I have questions that need answers.”
You flash your knife at him. “I could've made a break for it a long time ago, but I'd really rather not get crushed like a bug, thanks.”
“Woah, woah, I wouldn't hurt you!” He sounds almost offended by the accusation. “Sorry for the scare, I didn't mean to intimidate you or anything. Here. Truce.” Slowly, Ted lifts the cup and sets it to the side.
Seeing humans move objects as easily as they do will never not send chills down your spine. You put that in the back of your mind for the time being. Brushing yourself off, you take a deep breath of fresh air.
“Trust me, I've had worse. This is barely half of what I got when I first met Schlatt.”
“Oh! So you know Schlatt! Does he… know about you?” Ted gives you a skeptical look.
You can't help but laugh at the insinuation he makes. “Alright, I'm not some sort of creep, relax. We've known each other for a while now. He helps me out sometimes. A lot of times, actually.” You rub the back of your neck awkwardly.
“Is that so? You'll have to tell me all about that first meeting you mentioned, some day. For now… how?” He motions to your whole body as he leans on the counter, arms crossed.
Unconsciously, you take a few steps back. “It's not really a ‘how,’ I just…” You pause, considering how to word this. “This is just what I am. It's not like I was human and got this way.” You snicker. The idea of a human being shrunk to your size was amusing. Schlatt wouldn't last a day.
Ted’s eyebrows shoot up. “Wait, so there's just tiny people that exist? Because there's no way you're the only one of… whatever you are. Oh my God, are there tiny people in my apartment?”
“Probably, you live in a dump.” Schlatt walks in from the hallway, headphones around his neck, sipping on some GamerSupps.
Ted straightens up to face Schlatt, quicker than you expected, causing your heart to jump to your throat. You gasp lightly and step back, both actions going unnoticed by the massive humans.
“I clean my apartment every week, it is not a dump!”
“Yeah, I wasn't talking about the apartment.” Schlatt reaches past Ted, over you, grabbing a bag of Goldfish from the cabinet. Seeing him move sends an all too familiar chill down your spine. The feeling only intensifies when Schlatt offers you one of the crackers, his huge hand outstretched towards you with a single Goldfish pinched between his fingers. You snap out of your daze, quickly playing it off and accepting the cracker. “So I see you two have met.”
“Wait, so you know more about this?” Ted motions to you.
“Yeah, man. They aren't really too fond of humans. This one's a defect, apparently.”
“Hey!”
“What? Look at you, you're hanging out in my kitchen. No other borrower does this shit, you said so yourself.” Schlatt has a grin plastered on his face.
“I have so many questions.” Ted’s face scrunches up, his eyes flickering around the room as if trying to find the words or where to even start.
Before Schlatt says anything, he looks to you for authorization, to which you give a nod of approval. No point in keeping it from Ted if he's already seen you, right? “(Y/n) is this thing called a Borrower. They came with me from New York. We met when I was in college, and we've just kinda stuck together ever since. They live in the walls most of the time.” Schlatt's accent is heavy as he speaks, almost monotone. “Can't believe I'm not charging this bitch rent, honestly.”
Ted has his fingertips to his temples as he takes in the information. “The walls.” It doesn't come off as a question, more like he's confirming what he heard.
“Yes, the walls.” Schlatt huffs a laugh at Ted’s face, clearly dumbfounded.
Ted turns to you. “The walls. Why would you stay in the walls?”
Schlatt throws his free hand in the air. “That's what I've been saying! Hey, that gives me an idea, actually.”
“Uh oh, don't hurt your head big guy.”
“Shut it, pipsqueak. Ted! Since you guys are buddy buddy now, I have a favor to ask. You know how I'm moving back to New York?”
“Wait, what?” You and Ted exclaim in unison.
“Did I forget to tell both of you? Whoops, anyways, while I take care of everything, maybe (Y/n) can stay with you! It'd be good for them to get outta the walls for a while. Maybe they can even find out if there's any borrowers in your apartment.”
Ted furrows his eyebrows and crosses his arms, looking down in thought. “I am curious to know if there's anybody in my place…”
A shit eating grin spreads across Schlatt's face as he glances at you before turning his attention back to Ted. He slaps his friend on the back, pulling him forward with an arm around his shoulders. “That's what I'm talking about! Now, come, I'll show you what you'll need.” As Schlatt drags Ted off to his bedroom, you huff a defeated sigh and turn around to the walls.
Better get packing.
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demons2003 · 4 months ago
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My Boys (Chapter 62)
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Y/n's pov
Everything after Max was a blur. Steve somehow got us all in the car and drove us back to Nancy's. We made sure all the kids were good and then Steve and I were cuddled up on the arm chair. We talked for a little bit, trying to get a hold of everyone in California in case they had any ideas and waited for Nancy and Robin to get back. When they were back, we filled them in on what happened with Max and they let us know what happened with them. After the long discussion we all thought it was best if we went to sleep and regain our energy.
"Hey, Dustin, this is Eddie the Banished. You there?" I hear through the walkie talkie. I groan and little and shift on my chair, which was Steve's lap. He groans as well but I shush him and quickly get off. "Dustin, can you hear me?" I hear again through the walkie. I look over to Dustin to find him still sleeping. I shouldn't wake him. He really needs his sleep. "Dustin? Earth to Dustin?" Eddie says again. I quickly pick up the walkie and move over to the table. "Hey, it's Y/n," I whisper, hoping he doesn't just ignore me.
There's a small break of static before Eddie says, "Hey, I'm gonna need a food delivery, like, real soon, unless you want me going out into the world." I panic a little and quickly reply, "No, no, please don't leave the house Eds. Stay there and we'll be there as soon as we can." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, um... can you pick me up a six-pack? I know, it's stupid as shit, drinking right now, but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves," Eddie asks. I look behind me and notice that the couch is empty. "Hey Eds, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to call you back," I rush and turn the walkie off. "Nancy! Nancy!" I yell, shaking Nancy's shoulders. She groans and glares up at me. "What the hell do you want?" She asks. "Aren't you meant to be on Max watch?" I ask her. She rolls her eyes but nods. "There where the hell is she?" I ask her, getting more annoyed. "She's right there. A second ago. I swear, I just dozed off for..." She says but realises that Max is no longer laying on the couch. She looks down at her watch and her eyes grow in shock. She looks back at me and whispers, "an hour."
I groan and we quickly stand up, heading up the stairs. We head into the kitchen and find Max still at the table with her headphones on. I sign in relief and walk over to her. "Morning guys!" Karen greets us. "Everything okay?" She asks us after we don't answer her. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's okay." Nancy replies. "I think it's so sweet that you guys are sticking together like this," Karen says, putting some pancakes on a plate. "Could try sticking together at a different house for a change," Ted says. I roll my eyes but don't say anything, walking over to Max on the table. I sit down next to her and see a bunch of coloured drawings all over the table.
Max notices me next to her and stops the tape, pulling her headphones down. "Hey," She whispers. "Hey. You okay?" I say back, moving a little closer to her. "Just couldn't sleep. People kept blasting music in my ears, for some reason," Max tells me, looking down at her drawings again. I chuckle a little and she continues with, "But Holly let me borrow some of her crayons. We've been having a fun morning, right Holly?" We look over to Holly but she continues what's she's don't and says, "Mmmm-hmmm." I look back down at the table and ask Max, while moving one of the drawings closer, "Is this what you saw last night?" "I mean, it's supposed to be. I though it'd be easier to draw it out than to explain it, but... not so much." Max explains to me. "Is that...?" I start to ask, moving another drawing that seemed to be of Chrissy and Fred in front of us both. "It was like they were on display or something. And then there was this red fog everywhere. It was like a dream. A nightmare," Max explains to me. "Do you think Vecna's just trying to scare you?" I ask her. "With Billy? Yeah. But when I made it here..." Max tells me, pointing at the drawings. "I don't know, something was different. He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn't want me there." Max continues to explain to me.
I look confused as Dustin, who randomly moved to the table with Nancy, says, "Maybe you infiltrated his mind. He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?" I look at him and nod, thinking about everything that we are learning about. It is weird though. How did Max end up in his mind if he didn't want her there? "Like Freddie Krueger's boiler room," Dustin adds on. "Freddie Krueger?" Holly asks Dustin confused, causing me to laugh a little. "He's a super burned-up dude with razors for fingers. And he kills you in your dreams," Dustin explains to her as child friendly as he can. "Dustin. Seriously? Nancy snaps at him. "Yeah, not like that Dustin," I whisper to him, looking over at Holly's scared face. Dustin looks at her and realises and says, "Sorry. It's a movie. It's not real." "Just... think about it. What if you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world?" Dustin asks, looking back towards the three of us. He picks up a drawing and continues, "Like, maybe the answer we're looking for is somewhere in this incredibly vague drawing. God, we need Will."
"No shit. But I tried them again this morning, and it's the same busy signal." Max explains to us. Nancy seems to get idea and reaches over to grab a drawing. "Is this a window?" She asks, showing Max the drawing so she can answer. "Yeah," Max says. "Stained glass with roses," Nancy tells us. I look over and see that exact description on the drawing. "Yeah. See? I'm not so terrible after all," Max sasses to Dustin. "Yeah, well, it helps that I've seen it before," Nancy tells us, ruffling a few of the drawings around. She starts to fold a few of the drawings and move them around until it starts to builds a house. "It's pieces of a house," Max stats as Nancy starts to draw a black outline onto all the papers. "Not just any house," Nancy tells us. We all looks confused at her while she places the last piece of paper down. "It's Victor Creel's house," She tells us, standing up from her chair. "Where you going?" Dustin asks around a mouthful of food. "Waking the others," She says, walking towards the basement door. I quickly get up and run after her as well.
We walk down the stairs to find everyone down there still very asleep. I walk over to Steve but Nancy beats me over there. I scoff quietly but move over to Robin instead. I gently shake her and move a piece of hair out of her face. She groans but opens her eyes. "What time is it?" She asks as she goes to wipe her eyes. "No clue, but we need to go." I tell her, helping her still up and stand. "Where are we going?" I hear Steve ask loudly. I look over to him to find him looking at me in questions, rather than Nancy who is standing right in front of her. "We need to go to the Creel house," Nancy says, seeming to be slightly annoyed. He nods down at her but looks back at me. I smile at him and nod, motioning to the door. "Why don't we get everything ready and head out when we can?" I suggest. Everyone nods, and we gather what we can for the journey.
Sometime later
"This place is so creepy," Robin whispers as I pull up to the Creel house. I look out the window and say, "Yeah." We get out of the cars and start making our way up the stairs that lead to the Creel house. "Yeah, that's not creepy," Steve says, all of us stopping and looking at the house. "Let's get this over with," I say, grabbing Steve's arm and dragging him up to the door. When we get to the door, Steve starts to pull nails out of the wood. I stand on the other side to get the nails out as well. "What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" Steve asks as he throws a nail behind him. "We're not sure," Nancy replies. He looks at me for conformation and I nod. "We just know this house is important to Vecna," Nancy continues for him. "Because Max saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?" Steve asks. "Basically," I say, getting a "Great," in response.
"Maybe it holds a cluse to where Vecna is. Why he's back. Why he killed the Creels. And how to stop him before he comes back for Max." Dustin adds on. Steve and I look at Dustin but then turn to each other a little more worried again. "We don't think he's in here, do we?" Lucas asks, looking at all of us. Max answers him, "Guess we'll find out." I shiver a little but continue to help get more nails out of the door. "Ready?" Steve asks after a second, getting ready to get the board down so we can enter. I nod and we both let go of the wood, it falling and almost hitting the kids, Robin and Nancy who are behind us. As the wood falls, we find ourselves face with an old door with a glass stained window in the middle of it. "Well, this is it," I whisper to myself as Steve tried the door. "It's locked," He whispers after shacking it a little. "Should I knock, see if anybody's home?" He asks us. "No need," Robin yells, causing Steve and I to turn to her confused. She stands all smug and holds up a brick saying, "I found a key." I laugh and move out of her way so that I don't get hit.
Robin throws the brick right in the centre of the window, leaving behind and almost perfect hole. Steve looks through the hole and then carefully puts his hand through the glass and unlocks the door so that we can all come inside. He pulls his hand out and pushes the door open, causing it to screech. "God I hate that noise," I whisper to Steve, getting a nod in reply. Steve steps into the house first, whistling but the rest of us walk in almost straight away. We all slowly walk through the start of the foyer, looking around to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. "Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill," Lucas mumbles to us after trying to turn on of the lights in the doorway. We all start to turn our flashlights on as Steve asks, "Where'd everyone get those?" Dustin looks at him confused and gives him attitude while asking, "Do you need to be told everything? You're not a child." Steve looks at him in disbelief while I softly laugh at the interaction. "Thank you," He sarcastically says while I pull out another flashlight from my pocket. "Here you go Stevie," I whisper and pace it over to him. He smiles at me and takes the flashlight slowly from me.
I start to make my way around the house like everyone else but don't get far before Steve is grabbing onto my arm to stop me. "What?" I ask him, confused why he would stop me. "Go with Robin," He tells me, nodding over to where Robin is. I look at him confused and ask, "Why can't I go with you?" He smiles at me and steps a little closer. "You know Dustin. He'll probably start to start something again. I don't want you to have to deal with it if it can be helped. I nod, still confused why he'd not want me with him, and move over to where Robin and Nancy are starting to head. Nancy looks at me confused and annoyed but doesn't say anything. She turns back around and we start to make our way through the house.
"They just left everything," Nancy says as we look into one of the many rooms in the house. "I guess a triple homicide isn't good for resale value," Robin say back. "Yeah, wonder why," I say before starting to walk further into the house. "Hey guys," Max calls to all of us. We all turn towards her as she asks, "You all see that right?" In front of her stands an old grandfather clock. The grandfather clock that Max saw when she had her visions. Nancy walks away from us and walks closer to Max to ask, "Is this what you saw? In your visions?" Robin and I walk behind her as well, taking a closer loo at the clock as well. "I mean, it's... just a clock. Right?" Robin says, looking between Max, the clock and I. With no response, Robin moves past Max and cleans some of the dust from the clock glass. She turns back to us all and says, "Like a normal old clock." "Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve asks us all and adds on, "Maybe he's, like, a clockmaker or something?" I smile at him trying to work it out but Dustin sarcastically tells him, "I think you cracked the case Steve." I lightly smack him in the back of the head which causes him to glare at me while Nancy says, "All I know is the answers are here. Somewhere." "Alright, we need to split up. Make sure you all have a buddy, no one walk around this place alone," I tell everyone, all of us starting to split up and walk around the house.
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bow-of-aros · 1 month ago
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Day Twenty-Three: Sweet
Summary:
Ruth and Richie are coming over to help Peter get ready for his Valentine's Day date with Steph. He just wants to make sure that they know he appreciates them, and they return the favour.
IT'S HERE!!!! Sorry folks my brain was not working yesterday, I spent the whole day doing an English assignment and then crashed super hard. But I'm back today and here's day 23 (hopefully I'll get day 24 up later tonight) with my favourite sillies!! Hope that y'all enjoy <33
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It was Valentine’s Day.
Normally, Peter Spankoffski would be hanging out with Ruth and Richie on some park bench, watching all the couples walk by and making up elaborate stories about how they would one day break up.
But this was his first Valentine’s Day with an honest to God girlfriend, and Ruth and Richie had taken great pains to say that they would kill him if he fucked this up.
Brutally.
And possibly with an ax, that part had been unclear.
Anyway, he was taking Steph out to Pasqualli’s tonight—“Pasqualli’s?!” Ted had exclaimed gleefully, “My little brother has got some game! You really are my kid!”—and he wanted it to be perfect.
Yeah, he’d tried to tell Ted that he wasn’t his kid, but his older brother had just wiped away a fake tear and said how proud he was, which had left Peter feeling too warm to argue.
In preparation for his date, and to soothe any lingering nerves, he’d invited Ruth and Richie over to help him get ready.
Or, at least, that’s what he’d told them.
They hadn’t said anything, but Peter knew that they were upset that they weren’t going to spend the day together like they had been for years. Sure, the day was typically meant for romance, but to those three it was a “Re-fortifying of their eternal bond,” as Richie had once called it.
Peter wanted to make sure that they still felt appreciated, and that Richie and Ruth knew that he still loved them even though he has a girlfriend.
And yeah, he said that he loved them. No matter what Ted might think, toxic masculinity is not cool and Peter can actually express his emotions without getting all insecure about it.
Take that society!
Ding-dong!
The clock read 4:58 and Peter had asked them to be there at five. He wasn’t sure that these two had even been on time for anything in their lives. The fact that they were here early for him was actually really touching.
He heard the door open as Ted said something snarky about being a good host before Ruth and Richie burst into his room.
Ruth looked like she was buzzing with excitement, eyes bright as she hops in place.
Richie looked like he was sick of Ruth’s bullshit. In a fond way, of course.
“Hi Peter! Are you so excited to—Hey what’s that?”
Ruth’s question was cut off by Peter handing her a car with a heart-shaped lollipop on it. It had a big picture of a mushroom on the front and read You take up so mushroom in my heart! When she opened it up, Peter had written a little note that said Even though I’m dating Steph. You and Richie are still my partners in crime! Happy Valentine’s Day xoxo.
She froze, blinking rabidly as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing, so Peter decided to take advantage of that and hand Richie his card.
His had a giant poké ball on the front and said If you were a Pokémon, I’d choose you! And inside the card was his own lollipop and a Happy Valentine’s Day to my first ever valentine! You, me, and Ruth are forever!!
The shock on both of their faces were too good to not take a picture of, so that’s exactly what Peter did.
Ruth and Richie were both jolted out of their stupor at the sound of the click, and the next thing Peter knew he was being tackled back onto his bed under the force of his two best friends.
“Awwwww Peter!” Ruth blubbered into his chest, “This is so sweet!!”
Even Richie sounded like he was choking back tears, “Yeah man, fuck you for making me feel things.”
They stayed like that for a little, Ruth’s quiet sniffling being the only thing to break the silence before she suddenly shot up and exclaimed, “We didn’t get you anything! Oh my God we are horrible friends!”
Peter was quick to put a stop to what could be a very rapid spiral, “No! You’re here to help me get ready for my date with Steph, I just wanted to repay you for that. And to remind you that just because I’m dating the mayor’s daughter now doesn’t mean I’m ditching you guys.”
Ruth and Richie stared at him and, before Peter could blink, the breath was knocked out of him once again by Ruth throwing herself on top of him.
“Still! I wish we could give you something!”
Peter just patted Ruth’s curls sympathetically, but anything he might’ve said was interrupted by Richie.
“You know, we still could give him something.”
There was an odd tone to his voice that Peter couldn’t decipher, but when Ruth looked up her mouth stretched into a mischievous grin as she clearly caught his meaning.
“You’re so right! And this will be extra helpful because he’s probably so nervous about his date so we can help him loosen up before he leaves. Richie you’re a genius!”
Peter was looking between the two, unused to being the odd one out in their conversations.
“Uh, guys? What are you—HEY! Ruhuhuhuth nononono!”
She hadn’t even given him the chance to finish his sentence before she started scribbling her nails over his stomach, occasionally kneading into softer spots to get a yelp out of him.
Richie sat up and grinned down at him, “Here’s your Valentine’s Day gift from us!” He started dancing his fingers over Peter’s neck, eliciting squeakier giggles as he recited his own little note, “We still love you even though you’re ditching us for Stephanie Lauter. It definitely helps that your laugh is so adorable!”
Peter flushed red at the comment, torn between covering his face or trying to push Ruth away from where she was moving up to his ribs. He settled on attempting both at once, which really did not help him in either direction.
“Nohohoho it’s nohohohot!” A hint of a whine leaked into his voice, “FUCK! Ruth not thehehehere!”
Her fingers had found purchase in the grooves on his upper ribs and were wriggling around in a way that was driving Peter crazy.
“Uh, yeah, it is! Your laugh is all squeaky and you snort. How do you get cuter than that?!” Ruth offered her rebuttal with one of her hands shooting down to squeeze at his knees, causing him to kick out with the aforementioned snort.
“She’s right, Pete.” Richie scratched at the spot behind his ears, drawing out a high-pitched squeal as Peter desperately scrunched up his shoulders in an attempt to protect himself, “The vote’s two-to-one, so the motion passes! Your laugh is fucking adorable.”
Stuck under his friends, Peter felt like he was floating. A dizzy sort of mirth was starting to set in as Ruth scribbled her nails over his kneecaps and Richie wormed a hand under his arm. It was nice, he was here with two of the people he trusted most in the world, laughing under the force of their affection as his nervousness over the date slipped away.
After a little bit longer, they finished their attack with a few pokes and let Peter curl up in a little ball of giggles. Ruth draped herself over him like a human weighted blanket while Richie ran his fingers through his hair to soothe him.
“I lohove you guys.”
They both smirked at each other, proud of their handywork as Peter relaxed a bit more into them.
“We love you too, Pete!”
“Yeah, what she said, fucking obviously.”
He squeezed them a bit tighter for a moment before sitting up with a groan, rubbing away the faint soreness in his torso with a playful glare at his friends.
“Alright, now you guys have to help me decide what to wear, because I’m not totally sure what I’m going for.”
Ruth hopped right up and darted to his closet, immediately starting to pick through clothes she deemed appropriate for a Valentine’s date at Pasqualli’s. Every so often she would take a shirt off its hanger and toss it in the vague direction of Peter’s head, forcing him to exercise his subpar catching skills.
Meanwhile, Richie just slung an arm around his shoulders and said, “Don’t even worry, we’re gonna make you the best looking nerd in Hatchetfield. Steph won’t know what hit her!”
And here, with his best friends, getting ready for a date with the coolest girl he knows, Peter officially labels this the best Valentine’s Day he’s ever had.
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thinking-destiel-thoughts · 11 months ago
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So I could go after a bunch of stuff that irks me in How I Met Your Mother but I wanted to post about some of the major things that bother me and see if I’m crazy or if others resonate the same.
First and most frustrating to me: STELLA. nearly everything about this irked me.
The thing with inviting Robin to the wedding…like, yeah, absolutely valid that you don’t want your future husband’s ex to be there. But why didn’t you say that when making the initial plans? Especially when you know she’s one of his 4 friends. Did you really expect him to not invite her??
The thing with inviting Tony…yes, absolutely I get not wanting him there. But Ted has no legal guardianship over Lucy. What exactly was Ted supposed to do? Take a little girl from her father against his will? That’s kidnapping. He has no legal right to take Lucy away from Tony.
Moving into an apartment in New York with Tony after making a massive point about how ridiculous it would be for her to do something like that with Ted. Like…girly…the man wouldn’t move to New Jersey for his OWN child? Ted was like “you know what, you’re right” but Tony was like “nah give up the house” and that was fine??
Going to Ted to ask him to get Tony back for her…my sister in Christ, what the fuck. What exactly did Tony expect Ted to say about the woman who LEFT HIM AT THE ALTER? Did he expect Ted to still be obsessed with her? And WHY does Stella even want Tony back if the man is willing to break up their family for a SECOND TIME bc a man who Stella hurt is not obsessed with her and thinks she’s selfish? Clearly he wanted the out. Why chase him? AND the fact that she literally only apologizes bc she needs help from him…ugh. That is messed up imo
The movies REALLY irk me. Ted is the man who YOU left at the alter and the man who GOT TONY BACK FOR YOU, but you let this man make him the villain for his movie? You not only divulge private shit that went on between you and Ted, but you also don’t stop him from putting it in a fricking movie?? I get Tony having his warped image of things, fine, but Stella really just let that all go down like that?? She just told Tony every single detail and everything she ever learned about Ted and he put it in a movie. WHY
Ted and Victoria, the second time they get together:
One of my biggest issues with this is that for some reason Ted is the one people blame for the wedding not happening??? As if 1) Victoria wasn’t a whole adult who chose to not tell Ted it was her wedding day before agreeing to meet up with him and bringing a car for them to run away together 2) Victoria’s husband-to-be ALSO ran away from the wedding. He literally also left!!
Even if Ted had brought Victoria back, there wouldn’t have been a wedding. Victoria’s dad blaming Ted and expecting him to pay is so crazy to me.
Another issue I have is with her being pissy that Ted wants her ex-fiancé out of his apartment. It’s not like the dude was normal and super chill. He had an aggressive pet that kept birthing babies and biting AND he didn’t respect boundaries. Like if the dude was just chilling and a normal roommate, I’d get it. But I don’t feel like it was unreasonable for Ted to not want him there — he agreed to let the ex stay with him and had no knowledge of the ferrets or whatever pets the guy had when he suggested it.
My last issue with Victoria is that when Ted is like “if you wanted a bigger commitment, you’d tell me, right?” and she’s like “yeah, I’d be direct.” and then continues to be passive aggressive. The man literally told her “I need you to be direct” and she wouldn’t. All of that on top of her thing about getting back together with him on her wedding day meant he shouldn’t be shocked she wants to get married…babygirl…you didn’t want to get married. You literally ran away at the first opportunity when Ted asked if you wanted to catch up
Ted and The Mother: My main issue with them is that SO quick after being ready to MOVE TO CHICAGO bc he loves Robin, he’s just all good to stay for her? Like suddenly the Robin thing is a non-issue??? Like…bruh??? That just doesn’t track for me at all.
I also take issue with him returning to Robin in the finale and the kids encouraging it. Like idk about yall but wouldn’t it be weird for your dad to admit to saying he was so in love with his best friend’s wife that he was moving but the next day fell for your mom? I feel like I’d be kinda like “okay so was mom a stand in for Robin??? is that what the point of this story was???”
Ted and Barney (Robin and the bro code): I’m pretty sure going after your best friend’s ex-wife is a violation of the bro code if going after your ex-girlfriend is. Like this is the one woman your best friend ever REALLY loved…
Plus…was it not a whole issue of Ted being unable to sleep with a woman because he thought Barney was with her first? But banging the woman Barney was married to and consistently slept with is fine?
There’s definitely more that irks me but these are the main things…anyway. for anyone who made it this far, thanks for reading my rant lol
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dinapaulson · 10 days ago
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Is ‘Trap’ Serial Killer- or Daddy-Porn? Both, Because Josh Hartnett’s Cooper
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Actor and millennial heartthrob Josh Hartnett (yes, Josh Hartnett) is on smash as Cooper, the sick, sweet protagonist of writer and director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, Trap (2024), streaming this week.
Sick: Cooper is a serial killer known as “The Butcher” because, well, imagine. Sweet: he defends his teenage daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue) perfectly — ire in check — against mama and daughter bullies in her class and delivers pitch-perfect dad goofiness. We find out early on — at a pop singer’s concert doubling as a sting operation for the Feds to catch “The Butcher” — that, bubbling alongside Riley, is he! Grinning at his daughter’s joy, Cooper side-eye checks the black-and-white video feed on his phone of a teenage boy, wrists tied, frantic and crying, in a small, empty room.
The juxtaposition of Cooper’s latest victim to the free-bodied, lyric-belting Riley is stark, but this tension is less a division meant to shock and more an invitation to be a part of this cracked family fairy tale, Cooper headlining.For this is not the film we thought it would be — a dad joke, *eye roll,* as they hurry into the arena for a fun-filled night. Trap is under- and over-skin creepy, offering little of why Cooper is the way he is, putting focus on who he is, at present: a loving girl-dad, slicing youths on the side.
Chewing stadium pretzels together and taking videos of Riley and other Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) fans dancing, it would be easy (for me) to watch them, heart beat at his devotion and attention — love. As Riley says, walking to their stage-level seats, “Dad, this is literally the best day of my life.” I was rooting hard for his parenthood, the kind that joins your child in something she loves, while giving her space to feel into experience. As deftly as he snaps their selfies, he pushes a girl teenage concertgoer down the lobby stairs. Why? No reason, other than he knows commotion helps him because he will be damned if he gets caught on his daughter’s best day of her life. That push, by the way — if the Feds are paying attention — matches the footage of his grabbing up a victim like a viper into a van.
Because the film is about catching Cooper, he is in almost every frame, so we watch how he gets away from getting made, until he finally does. The trailer focuses on Cooper’s face to tell the story of what we will see — doting dad, gorgeous charmer, killer, blank-face, arrogant, an expert criminal freak. Hartnett’s animation of these personas, and interchange second to second, is what makes watching him merge Cooper’s two lives, as the character calls them, so compelling. Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), an arena merch employee fallen under Cooper’s spell, after a tee Riley wants is sold-out, and he compliments their “good values” of patience, tells him, “This dude is next-level insane.” Hartnett crooks Cooper’s rakish smile in response, playing akin to the audacity and barely hiding — because once we know, we know — his pride.
Cooper is a goner for sensing someone’s loneliness and standing up for his daughter. Nothing less than freedom seems to be his mental payday.
The film title hints this dynamic along: a trap is set for Cooper, Cooper traps (others), and we are set to be (en)trapped by this charismatic killer. But, here’s the pivot of Hartnett’s Cooper: He is not just a charismatic killer, as, say, Ted Bundy is referenced, or multiples of The Sopranos, one of TV’s sociopathic crews. Cooper is charismatic, in strict definition. He is charming and funny and physically beautiful, the latter adding heavy eye flutter and disarmament to his charm. Cooper is also something (someone) non-sexual. In his Riley universe, he is a safe, protective parent-man, never raising his voice nor showing anything, in the slightest, of the coldness and cruelty he carries out in his crime life.
There is stuff for straight-up serial killer film aficionados in Trap. The limousine Cooper rides in leaving the stadium, with Riley and Lady Raven, is the one he commandeers later, a one over on the police. He is Emmett Myers in dad drag, smarter than nearly everyone and has a cleaver, his salivation for chopping up body parts palpable in his neatly lined canine smile and eyes, shifty as google doc. bullet points, drawing you in and on the next line taking you out. As for the sexy aesthetic, serial killer dynamic, Hartnett’s Cooper is. Besides being generally gorgeous, close-ups of his face and tracking shots that follow his long, limber body through the arena highlight his appeal.
Cooper lets us in chiseled, shirtless, tight-fitting jeans, in an end scene with his wife in their kitchen. The latter deserves mention — Hartnett is fine, yes, while nodding at the asynchronous amount of female versus male nudity in Hollywood films (I appreciated it both as a cinephile and carnivore). And last, a cardinal rule from early horror — to see a bit and imagine the rest — activates well when we see footage of four bags of body parts, aka Cooper’s work.
In the scene with his wife — Cooper is all The Shining vibes — as he moves closer, casually discussing his killer-dom, removed emotionally from her, and really also, their son, he becomes when Riley, Riley, Riley. She sees the police take him away and runs over, hug attack on both sides. If you are here for dissonance, Hartnett has it for you. When they embrace, do not tell me it is not real. How it can be so does not concern Shyamalan, and that tracks. The raw emotion between the two packs up my pathos.
During the concert, recalling the way Cooper stares at Riley’s face, after telling her he needs to go to the bathroom, where he will check on his scary life: She urges him to go, saying she is fine on her own. The linger locks in Hartnett’s mastery of Cooper. Willing to trust her in the crowd, being proud of her, letting go and allowing her to be, taking extra seconds to make sure she is extra safe.
original publication at Cine Suffragette here
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delicatebluebirdruins · 11 months ago
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the creeping shadow first read
books 1&2, book 3
one day i will have a solid grasp on what to name these... not this day (this was my first book of 2024 i was reading it during Jooles Hootenany and was like two chapters? away from the end? i have no idea wish i made a note oh well)
this book is an ex library from somewhere called Snodland. SNODLAND. i just want to laugh.
5 Emma Marchment ghost hunting with mirrors which is actually really fun
13 Wan Tina, Medicore Ted and Jumpy Dave. Hello [temporary] team mates 14 "concerned about supervisors that they never acted like proper teams" it must be very hard to rely on people to keep you alive but you also have to rely on adults most of the time (what happened with Lucy in her home town being an extreme case of the unique hardships that brings)
21 "hey there's nothing disgusting about random body parts" lmao skull
33 Dave is the only one who has rights. (and he and Lucy being little shits is so funny)
39 the skull had a point about the flower pot
43 "the slim and elegant figure of Holly Munro standing picturesquely beside him [Lockwood]" detect a little jealous and bit of yearning for Lockwood
49 "[Lockwood] and that girl were still on a high when they came in. Quite exhilarated. Laughing and giggling together." a little hurt and jealousy electric boogaloo
53 Skull and Lucy in a flatshare situation (i need Lockwood's pov)
58 the skull feels bad for Lucy
60 the shock of seeing Lockwood at her door is great. His smile "it was warm but somewhat hesitant, as if it hadn't been recently used. It was the smile I'd hazily imagined a hundred times; only now it was real, solid, meant just for me" this entire bit so much is said but not outright you know?
her spiel about his chosen tie and her own thoughts about her reaction also the laundry bag and Lockwood holding it is so i would rather die (hilarious to think about this scene happening in the show just in general but imagine if we got this scene AND they kept the towel scene in the show)
66 "Making tea is a ritual that stops the world from falling in on you" I just like all the quotes about tea
70 first off I want to know what was said when Lockwood "growing angry with me at last" and just laugh at Lucy imagining him going down on bended knee asking her to return to the company
82 "what could it be?... not a date surely?- the boy's got eyes" the skull my love
92 this is awkward
96 just the entire bit about crackers is so funny
100 Penelope is a locklyle shipper so one of us (also this would be so great in the show as it would be following the "you feel safe with him"
103 "I didn't feel bad about the fib though. I'd been lied to as well"
104 the Rotwell mascot is called Roger? also the posters are great
108 the heck? the mummified head Lucy finds at the start of the book is not destroyed?
111 I love this chat with Holly but what was she going to ask "I was going to ask you about -whether you found- oh good, and here are the boys too" like come on what was it?
121 KIPPS!
146 talking about the skull is so funny
152 snapshots of the past
157 compliments "I couldn't help smiling back at him. Compliments from Lockwood were always nice to hear"
163 creepy "the sound of teeth clacking together" this is horrible
173 Locklyle "thank goodness for you Lucy... I can always rely on you"
176 Lockwoood is more reckless and George upset about it and Lucy
182 Uh oh spaghettios Lucy's flat has been broken into
188 Harold might have done it?
195 love this bit "strange how close the darkness is, even when things seem brightest. Even in the glare of a summer noon, when the pavement bakes and the iron fences are hot to the touch, the shadows are still with us"
203 Harold is dead gods
215 Lockwood seeing Lucy appear at her doorstep is also something i want to see his pov on
221 talking about Holly staying over and Lucy feeling a little hurt by it
234 lmao Lockwood and George's superior nursing skills. and the second client of the day.
241 "creeping shadow" roll credits
248 nice relaxing moment in the garden
261 i love the spirit capes 269 I love disguises
281 the skull is so funny
283 "I've missed you so much Lucy" Lockwood said that and I yell and rereading it now my only though is he blurted that out and barreled on not letting Lucy respond (she wanted to)
290 Mr Johnson? hello 292 Hi Adelaide (i really like that name)
301 capes and Lockwood putting one on Lucy first.
315 Information on Rotwell
323 "there is a battle to be won - not simply against ghost, but against death itself" hm interesting
331 Castle! can't wait
342 punch the boy also considered by Lockwood
354 At last the goggles are being used
363 should have locked Reverend Skinner in his rooms
370 aw Lucy just happy to be with Lockwood
379 Rotwell is an ass
389 poor lady and this would be horrifying to see on screen
395 hi buddy 397 them holding hands is so cute
(the Iron Chain) 407 technically you guys walked into the Black Library at Fittes.
414 helpful Lockwood "the hole's between those two black posts"
417 "it was the desisive action. once through, we could never take it back." uh oh
426 Lockwood's orders is great 435 oh my god 437 holy shit
442 the skull remains a little shit 446 guys that was a little close
450 good job ghosts avoiding Guppy and just the Locklyle of it all
459 I am nervous
464 oh god Lucy 469 SKULL! "his grin, which gleamed sardonically even in the swirling dusk and was somehow most familiar"
474 GO ON GEORGE "he's like a whirling dervish" 477 HUGS between Lucy and Holly
481 saving Kipps and the imagery is cool
484 kick Rotwell's ass!
(practically thinking how they would adapt this scene in the show this has a lot of working parts more than the Winkman fight because there is more people, practical affects, special affects and having it in a probable 8 episode season would not do it justice)
489 lmao Lucy and Lockwood deciding to give Georgie the last biscuit/ barrel
499 Lucy understands now
501 thanks Mr Skinner 504 Barnes asking them to be safe aw
511 intense eye contact
518 Sir Rupert and Penelope is in their kitchen
520 Yikes 528 the skulls parting words had a "I beg your pardon" from me.
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