#those beanbags that u can sink in the middle

[maiko-coy]

PLEASE YOUR DOEY LOOKS LIKE A PILLOW LEMME SLEEP ON HIM PLEEEEEAAAASSEE (I'm on my knees.)

POV: He is 900 lbs and he decides when sleepy time ends.

[seostudios]

middle of the night: all about luv - p.js

ALL ABOUT LUV ‣ MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

you just needed to pass your classes and you'd be out of this hellhole but of course you couldn't do it alone! it was a two man job with your lifestyle so the school assigned you to the one and only park jisung, clumsy straight a student who you may or may not have now taken a liking to....

pairing: park jisung x fem!reader

genre: angst, fluff

word count: 4.5k

info: rebel!reader, nerd!jisung, strangers to lovers!au, non-idol!au, high school!au

warnings: explicit/vulgar language, mentions of drugs, alcohol, little bit alcohol consumption

a/n: hey omg i can’t believe i finally posted a part to this series, i hope u guys enjoy it and PLEASE tell me if you want a taglist okay? thanks! 

You were fierce, everyone knew. Even those who haven't even seen you and your tricks in-person feared when you attended school. Although you were known to play tricks,  rough-house, and start problems with the other kids who didn't even bother attending school or pursue their actual desires- you had one and was determined to make it come true one way or another. But unfortunately, you were pretty dim compared to the students who roamed the hallways, it never stopped you, Today you decided on approaching your math teacher since she was surprisingly the only one who cheered you on with your aspirations,

"So...I'm passing three of my four courses this semester!?" You eagerly questioned the woman in front of you, "Yes, you are" confirmed with the recent grade updates, you sigh in relief knowing you were passing most of your classes with satisfying marks, so you made your way to the exit. 

However, she pulled you back down to your seat. "You're failing Science Y/n," she added pointing at the 34, "Well I don't even know what's happening in there, how can I pass in such a short time?" 

He stared out the window of the Science lab. He had plans after school, "Jisung? Park Jisung?" an unfamiliar teacher called from the door frame; his attention was mainly towards the girl behind her which sent shivers down his spine.

"Can you meet me in Room 284 after school?" Of course not, he's finally scored a fucking date with Lee Jieun one of the prettiest and popular girls of the junior division, he looked over to Jieun in the back of the class who was listening in on your conversation along with everybody else in the classroom, she looked disappointed but nodded permitting him to ditch their date, he smiled apologetically at the girl before focusing his attention to the door, 

"Sure."

Knocks were heard from the door which made your busy teacher who was marking work signal you to go open the entrance to this quite cold classroom. Roughly around 5'11 probably 6'0 boy is wearing a worn-out white shirt, with a navy blue blazer, pants and a poorly tied tie. His attire was mandatory but his hair was unique, rocking pink-brown hair was not something you see every day unless they were idols. The sun shined passed the windows onto the boy making his rosewood hair turn into a more dark salmon colour. "Jisung!" Your Math teacher chirped to the boy pulling out a chair next to yours indicating you two to sit back down. She took a good two minutes out of your time to finish up on marking and organizing the sheets sprawled across the desk, you and Jisung just sat in silence. In all honestly, Jisung was shitting himself. You and the reputation you had here were most definitely the reason why. Shifting his position every ten seconds, the occasional glances to you, and bouncing his leg. Finally, she turned her attention to the pair in front of her, "So you two are probably really confused."she stated looking at Jisung, then you."Poor Y/n here, my favourite student-"She pauses looking at you with a smile and towards Jisung who looked confused on how,"which is surprising to the staff apparently which I have no idea how...she hasn't been...rebellious in a few weeks since she's trying to pass before the summer break."Clasping her hands together she looks up at you two, "Jisung I need you to tutor Y/n until she gets her final grade in." When I tell you his eyes widened enough for you to see the wrinkles on his forehead form, you did. You smiled accepting the help but it quickly seeing his distressed self, "Are you okay? Do you not want to tutor me?"You asked, and it was your first time ever speaking to the boy he never expected you to sound so soft and gentle; predicting beforehand that you had a rough deeper voice. His facial expression softens slightly at your hopeful gaze piercing through him- hoping he'd tutor you, cause frankly, you needed it more than anyone in your division at this point (Maybe you're being a little selfish but who cares.). Jisung was sitting in his seat, zoned out, probably processing all this. It took him a minute, but he finally looked up from fiddling with his fingers. "Oh Of course I will! I can do Wednesdays after school and Saturday around noon?"It was pretty shocking how confident he sounded ordering you around that second- which made the teacher grin at the shy boy's sudden dominance. Chuckling a little with a small smile plastered on your face you say "Works perfectly, I'll be leaving now. Bye Ms.," You said jolting up grabbing your backpack walking towards the door, but before you leave you gotta leave a nice impression on the boy plus its rude to not say goodbye isn't it. 

"Goodbye Jisung Park."

It was Tuesday and Jisung was sitting in the Music room during lunch eating and catching up on his Health papers when you walked in. This was your usual spot in the late spring when you needed AC and a place to lay down. On a regular day for Jisung, he'd be in the front of the school on the bench working however it was too hot for him today so he opted to break into the already unlocked classroom to eat and study in. Sitting on top of the sink counter you lean to open a window pulling out a cigarette, you came here to smoke and it was a great place since it was deserted. "W-What are you doing?" Jisung asked looking up from his notebook sitting on the carpet. "Do I look like I'm about to jump out the window? no. I'm gonna smoke."You informed sarcastically on the boy. He was slightly taken aback you were so sweet yesterday and today your back with your bad girl reputation still strong. He threw you a quick look before getting up, putting his things in his bag, and throwing out the rest of his lunch. Now, walking towards you he takes the cigarette out your hand before you could even light it and threw it out the open window. "Hey! I wasn't done with that, and I didn't even start with it!" You raised your voice at him which did make him flinch but provoked him to argue back, "Yah! Your smoking is unhealthy and against school rules." He paused but started again, "You want to pass, don't you? I'm helping you pass, aren't I? Get your things together if you want my help Y/n."He spat. Honestly, you didn't think his words would affect you so much but it fueled the fire you started a minute ago. "Shut up Park, stop acting all tough when you know nothing about me, I never needed your help I was just going along with Ms." you argued back before grabbing your backpack and the lighter on the counter before hopping off pushing the tallboy to the side rudely, muttering something about bullshit.

"I was helping her! And she says you know nothing about me Park! like of course I don't butt why does she need to be an asshole when I'm trying to help her out." Jisung complains to Chenle in front of him. "Maybe she's like addicted," Chenle says trying to make the best out of the situation "Look, she'll warm up to you eventually cause you two will be spending lots of time together now." Jisung huffs in disbelief that Chenle is basically on your side here, getting up from the grassy field to join the rest of his gym class in soccer.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees a figure under the bleachers; you. He knows you are upset with him as much as he is with you but he still wants to encourage you to pass Science with his help. "Park! Get your ass over here!" Yedam, his classmate calls him to grab his things on the field before heading into the change rooms.

The school bell rang, you watched students walk out of their classrooms to their lockers, friends, lovers. You were leaning against the wall beside the empty Music room contemplating if you should leave and hang out with some friends by Unjeong Lake Park or stay in with Park Jisung to study for Science. Your thoughts were quickly interrupted by a voice, "Hey." Jisung stood in front of you, backpack resting on one shoulder and a Science textbook in his hand. "Hi," It was awkward being around him after you little tilt.

"Let's go," You trailed behind Jisung watching him take you to an unfamiliar part of the school, the West End. "Why are we here?" You question the pink-haired boy, but all you get in return is silence. At last, he brought you two to the old gym, it hasn't been used in almost 6 years but somehow it looks squeaky clean. "This is my hangout spot after school, I kind of made my friends go down to Unjeong for the day so we could study here until I find a proper place." He explains to you placing his books and bag on the stacked mats, offering to take your bag too, you let him. "So what Unit is your class working on now?" He asked you once the two of you sat on one of the many beanbags in the gym (Probably brought in from his pals), "Well my mom made me take Biology I and I know you are in my class I just don't show up..." You lean back on the beanbag playing with the lighter in your hands "What are we learning Park?" He visibly gulps at you doesn't even know why he's nervous himself, maybe because your scary? Probably.

"Well we're on our last unit of the year and the Unit test and Final Exam are what can get you to pass the class with at least a 60," He said moving to grab his textbook flipping to a page with sticky notes plastered all over. "We are in Unit 5, Plants: Anatomy, Growth, and Function. It's an easy Unit so we could go through it in two months then spend the two weeks before the final exam prep." Jisung finished speaking and handed you the textbook that was on the Unit page, it didn't look hard but you knew better to judge a book by its cover. "Alright, where do we start." You smile at the grinning boy who's suddenly amused by your aspiration to pass the course.

It's 2:45 and you are in the middle of the last period, Science. It was your last day of the Science of the year, technically. You still had to prep for your final exam, but this was the final unit test which meant for the next month you'd be stuck in a silent classroom with your peers all silently studying over and writing recap notes for the final exam. You finish writing the date on your page and adding a little smiley face at the end of your name, flipping your paper over you take out your earbuds, and play music to pass time. 

Good, 15 minutes have passed, and you see students getting up to hand in their papers, this where you tag along and hand it in too. Patting the eraser ends on your skirt off you make it back to your desk sitting then turning to look behind you, a few desks down to a now chocolate haired boy. He was finishing up his test when he looked up to see you basically ogling at him. Throwing you an awkward half-assed smile he looks back to the girl behind him, Jieun. 

Jieun and Jisung took a very bad turn once Jisung agreed on tutoring you. She's ghosted the boy and took a liking to her lab partner, Taehyun. It was disappointing to see a girl get jealous over her date tutoring a very incompetent girl like you. If you were in her position, you might've gotten scared but wouldn't drop the kid; it was rude, and honestly, you were glad Jisung accepted that fate and moved on from her. He played with the end of his test sheet before sighing thumping his head against the desk, okay maybe he wasn't that over her yet but he's doing better than you ever would. Over these four months you and Jisung surprisingly got along well, you've opted to occupy a booth int he back of your town's ice cream parlor for studying instead of that abandoned gym in the West End. 

In all honesty, you felt bad about how you treated the tall boy in the first few weeks of tutoring. You showed up late which strung the classes longer making one hour, two. You complained, never listened, argued, actually punched him once. But after warming up to him you've started to take a liking, noticing his features a little more than you did last week, finding his beauty mark under his lip stunning. Nowadays he seems ten times more charming, appealing, engaging, and irresistible to you, memorizing his favourite things how he looks up to Kai, the teacher assistant for the seniors. And that he actually hates Science and prefers Gym and Sociology class. He likes all kinds of ice cream and tries new flavors every visit, he never writes with a red-inked pen since he prefers the black one and always lets you know that too ("Y/n did you know red ink stains are a nasty stain to get out, always use black ink."). You aren't the only one who's learned to love the newly blossomed friendship as he's learned as much as you about him, on how you've always wanted to become a Veterinarian, that your love for animals is just unexplainable and the only things holding you down is this horrible reputation you've built yourself over the two years of attending. But better late than ever to change your ways and Jisung was absolutely mesmerized by your determination to achieve the new milestones you've set for yourself.

"PARK JISUNG!" You shrieked barging into the empty ice cream parlor to see the boy sitting idling on his device, he looks up at you running towards your booth. "Hey, shhh", he quiets your overly excited self-telling you to sit."I got my Unit Test mark," you stop talking to take your backpack off and pull out your Unit Test which was graded and with a big fat A on it. "Holy shit! Y/n this is amazing!!"He exclaimed eyes going wide seeing the mark, his hard work really did pay off. 

"Now we can start prepping for Finals," Jisung told you after handing your papers back, your shoulders sagged and your smile disappeared, you were hoping to possibly celebrate with your tutor and newfound friend. Shaking your head, you look at him again, "No sorry, I wanna celebrate this tonight," you inform Jisung who looks at you with a somewhat annoyed expression. "Sorry Y/n but one A isn't going to help you get to a passing mark, you need more than that and the only thing that'll help you pass Biology is your Final Exam which is what we need to prep for." What the fuck? Jisung Park, the golden student, and who you thought was your friend basically telling you that your grade wasn't worth all that cheering two minutes ago. That was unbelievable what type of asshole does that, oh wait apparently Jisung Park. You knew you weren't gonna pass with one test, of course not. You might've been dumb but not to that extent, you clench your fists wondering how all that admiration you had for someone just got poured down a drain so quickly. You chuckle heartlessly ' that thought lingered before you look at him and speak.

"Yea of course I know that but do you not understand how big of a milestone this was for me? I am one step behind passing my hardest subject of the semester and you telling me that it's not enough and we need to prepare for a final at the end of a month that has just started is fucking rude Park."You hiss at him now baffled on how he couldn't comprehend after four- almost five months of knowing you. Getting up you grab your backpack and phone and turn to exit the ice-cream parlor. 

You were now outside of the small store, and Jisung didn't even come after you. Sighing knowing you should've known associating yourself with someone with a better reputation wouldn't have been smart. Pulling your phone out, you dial in a friend who you knew would be there for you and who had more free time than most students his age. "Jeno," You stammered through the phone "Y/n? Are you okay?" You smile weakly at his concern, not even a minute into a call."Can you pick me up?" you asked quietly to the older boy. Looking through the big glass window to the back of the shop, you see Jisung sitting there watching you intently, and he knows he hurt you. It wasn't his intent to; he just wanted you to reach your goals and he thought celebrating could've been done another time instead not today, I guess he hit a soft spot seeing your facial expression so fragile.

He saw a motorcycle pull up beside you and a muscular guy go and place a helmet on your head after holding you in his embrace for a moment before the two of you hopping back on the ride driving off to god knows where.

You kick around an empty pop can on the sidewalk waiting for your ride. Jeno knew something upsetting you over the phone so he decided not to question it and get you riled up but to drink a couple of beers and play darts at his crib. A Black 2018 Kawasaki Ninja pulls up in front of you, the driver removes his helmet revealed to be your dear friend, Jeno. He felt your gloomy aura already deciding to just embrace you tightly, "Whatever it is, you did amazing." He assured you before breaking the hug to plop the helmet on you and hopping back on with you behind him seated.

"Great job Y/n, I can see you making it through the year, I just finished putting in your final mark 89 is an amazing score and all on your own is shocking." Your Science teacher complimented you after holding you back to show your improvement to you, Jeno encouraged you to still study hard solo after acknowledging that you didn't want to work with Jisung anymore, hard work did pay off now your officially finished with your junior year and with flawless grades. "Have a great summer break," You tell her before walking out for lunch. Last day of school before the summer break, it's been a crazy weird year but you don't seem to be upset. Jisung seemed happy without you anyways, you've been skipping Music to sit out on the bleachers while he had gym class, and made sure to visit the West End more often. You didn't realize it yet but Jisung looking happy stung more than it should've.

Fuck that bullshit Y/n is on, Jisung is miserable without her. He didn't take note of it but he was more than happy to spend his Wednesdays and Saturdays with you. He liked the way your eyes widened or how your jaw almost touched the floor when he teaches you something new, or when your eyed shimmered when your grades went up every quiz. How your nose scrunched up at a difficult question, the way you organized his pencil case when he wasn't looking because 'it had to be cute like him'. He was too much of a coward to keep you by his side, it's safe to say Jisung Park likes you back. Head over heels in love with you probably, but we shouldn't stretch it that far knowing he's working his ass off to get over you, and of his mind but when does he even succeed. It's the last day of school and possibly the last time Jisung gets to see you roam the halls, watch him in Gym class fooling around with his friends, or just see you until the next school year. No, Jisung made it his goal to win you back. He's never seen you that way, never thought he'd need you, all he wants is to see you, hold you.

"No Park. She's not even here kid," Your friend, Yuna told Jisung who was at your doorstep asking for you. "Just, just tell her to text me." He said frustrated now leaving.

"I thought you said he didn't want anything to do with you?" Jeno asked sitting on the couch of Yuna's living room beside you. "He doesn't, I don't know why-" Yuna was quick to argue with you, "He likes you and you left." Jeno nods agreeing, "I see that happening..." He half-joked. "Listen I know he was a jerk in May, but it's June- July tomorrow! He's not being a jerk right now because what freaking jerk comes to your doorstep BEGGING to talk to you?" Yuna ranted. 

You know he's not a jerk and he meant no harm that day but it hurt. Everyone always sugarcoated things with you so when Jisung was pretty blunt with you, it stung. You whine at all this thinking about Jisung and feelings, plus even if he did like you, there was so much to unravel than just some lame highschooler who wanted to get her shit together. So so much more than just that. Drinking the rest of the alcohol in your plastic cup you sit up straight staring at the two in front of you who were dying to hear your say in this, "Okay so what if we have our happy ending, what'll happen then? He'll figure out how toxic I am and go running back to Jiwoo or whatever name is."Stopping and using a couch pillow to cover your face- did you seriously imagine yourself with a happy ending, you've fucked up so much that it seems impossible to turn back. Yuna notices your heartache and decided to tone down on his jokes and talk to you 'for realsies',"Sweetheart if he leaves you because your teeny issues were too overwhelming for him it's not worth it but from his recent actions it looks like he'd want to be there with you through those issues. Honestly, he could live a little too so dealing with you- and giving me and Jeno here a break should be thrilling."Adding a light-hearted joke was what you needed to place a soft smile on your lips.

“Now go get your man” Jeno says slapping your back playfully encouraging you to leave the house and venture off to him- wherever he is.

"Can I help you?" A boy wearing Yonsei University sweatshirt asked you. 'This must be Jisung's older brother he told me about' You thought to yourself, "Oh Yes, is Jisung home?" You ask him looking up trying to look as innocent as you can. "Oh you just missed him, he went to get ice cream with his friends," he said. Shouting a quick thanks you run down to the only ice cream parlor Jisung probably knows in town.

CLOSED is all you see in front of the ice cream parlor. Did Jisung's older brother lie to me? Now that you think of it, he and his brother aren't close enough to share those type of things from what you heard, and what type of boy would avoid the girl he supposedly likes. You sit down on the curb looking off into the little soccer field, watching kids play with their friends thinking, then it hit you. Did Jisung lie to his older brother? C'mon Y/n think of the one place Jisung and his friends could be...The park? Nah, too crowded. The mall? No, too far. Think Think Think, one place. Where in the world could Jisung- WEST END! God, why didn't you think of that in the beginning, of course, he's there. Getting up off the curb you make your way quickly to the back of the school, remembering Jisung telling you a back entrance to the West End.

Reaching the back entrance you see it open indicating someone (Jisung and friends) was inside. Maybe you shouldn't barge in and ruin their fun...opting to send Jisung a text you search your pockets to find, nothing. How could you leave your house without your phone? You're like addicted to it. "Excuse me?" A deep voice booms behind you, turning around you look up at the man. It's Jaehyun, the volleyball team captain. "Y/n." You know him, through Jisung, of course, why else would he be at the West End or know your name. "Hi," your breath rather softly which throws the older boy way off since he knows you for your snarky remarks or overly confident aura...Today you seem the opposite really. "Can you tell Jisung to come out for a second?" you ask avoiding eye contact and resorting to looking at the chalked up pavement. He gives you a thumbs up and heads in.

"Park Jisung-ah!" Jaehyun shouts for Jisung loud enough for it to echo in the empty gym. Looking up and seeing Jaehyun, Jisung excuses himself from his current conversation with Doyoung, Yuta, and Renjun to jog over to his Hyung. "Your chick is here," He says pointing out the door to you, Jisung's eyes lit up already knowing who Jaehyun was talking about peeking his head out the door to see you looking off into the parking lot, watching the sunset. He was pulled right back in by Jaehyun, "You better fix whatever's been going on between you, Y/n looks like an actual school girl being all shy and soft. I'm actually disgusted I need that spunky girl back before I force you two to kiss or some shit," Really Jaehyun? Some advice you got there.

"Alright kid go get your chick" Jaehyun cheered before pushing him and closing the door loud enough to alert and make you turn back.

It felt like a dream, none of this felt real. It hasn't even bee 24 hours since you last saw Jisung, but it's been a month of not interacting to get your heart racing this much. You looked unreal to Jisung, out of a fairytale actually and he looked amazing, like always. This is when he started to panic, you smiled weakly and started walking up to him. He looked down at his shoes not having the balls to look you in the eye, "Jisung look at me you pussy." You said so calmly but so rudely(?). It was funny and made Jisung giggle which made you short circuit.

Jisung looks up from his feet to see you staring into his brown eyes, taking in all his features again looking at him from head to toe; how fluffy his dark coffee bean hair was or his cheeks- god you always took the chance to pinch them when you could. His broad shoulders you always wondered how his hugs would be, probably so comfy and perfect. The beauty mark under his lip, fuck always wanted to kiss it. Your thoughts were disrupted when you felt two large hands enclose you in a tight hug; reacting almost immediately you wrap your small hands around his waist and rest your head on his chest while he brings his large hand to caress the back of your head. "I'm sorry, I know what I said was wrong and I shouldn't have made you seem so slow-witted when you totally aren't. I think over that conversation almost every night. I'm so so sorry Y/n," He finishes tightening the hug for a moment sympathetically.

You loosen the hug and tippy-toe up to the boy placing a small peck on his pink lips which caused his cheeks to go crimson. "You're forgiven, Park," you say giving him a tight smile. You see the tall boy pout a little and turn his reddened face to the side before mumbling "I was supposed to do that," which caused a fit of giggles from you. 

"You'll have plenty of opportunities in the future Jisung."

[be-more-heidi-hansen]

Talk To Me (Jeremy Heere X Reader)

"what about,,, Jeremy helping the reader fall asleep"

Word count: 1.9k

Warnings: cursing

(A/N): this is so cute and fluffy hbnbdsbn. i love this request thank u anon. they’re both so awkward skjdk i think this is my favorite fic i've written so far. also Burgertown is a real musical that my school put on last year! it was surprisingly good, i loved it. anyways, enjoy, and if you really like it, consider liking/reblogging! it would be really appreciated!

~

It was two in the morning, and you were lying on the couch in Michael's basement. Jeremy and Michael were leaning against it, fast asleep on their beanbags. You, however, were tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position, but it wasn't working. You hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, and you had no idea why. It wasn't like this was your first time sleeping on this couch. It had dealt with you and your quiet snores, your all-nighters, and your occasional bad dreams. Tonight, though, for whatever reason, the couch wasn't dealing with any of those things, for which it was probably grateful. Let's stop personifying the couch now. Anyway. You were having difficulty sleeping.

The amount of effort you were putting in to falling asleep was giving you a headache, which was just further hindering your quest for sleep. You let out a quiet groan of annoyance, freezing when you realized you could wake either Michael of Jeremy up. You held your breath, glancing down at the two. Neither of them so much as stirred, and you were envious of their deep sleep. Maybe you were just dehydrated? You couldn't remember drinking much water today. That was probably it. You sat up and were about to swing your legs over the side of the couch when you realized you would almost certainly jostle either Michael or Jeremy, and you didn't wanna wake them up. You stood and stepped silently over the back of the couch, stepping up the stairs carefully.

When you reached the kitchen, you ran your hands along the wall until you found the light switch. When they flickered on, you squinted at the blinding light. You grabbed a cup from the cabinet, padding over to the sink and filling it up. When you turned to walk back downstairs, your little toe hit the corner of the island in the middle of the kitchen. The little 'fffff...' sound you made was almost deafening in the silence. You clapped a hand over your mouth. You didn't want to wake anyone. Especially Michael's moms. That would be awkward. 'Oh, sorry to wake you, Mrs. and Mrs. Mell, I stubbed my toe and just had to scream 'Fuck!' to the heavens. My bad.' Yeah, no.

You did let out a quiet grunt, however, and set the cup down on the island before gripping your foot in both hands and hopping on your other foot like some kind of cartoon character. God, did that hurt like a bitch.

"(Y/N)?" a groggy voice whispered. Your head shot up and you immediately let go of your foot, letting it thump quietly to the ground. Standing in front of you, tired and confused, was Jeremy. "What are you doing up?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes. "I couldn't sleep. Did I wake you up?" you asked, and Jeremy shook his head unconvincingly. "No, no..." he trailed off. He always was a terrible liar. You gave him a look. "Well, maybe. You were kind of hopping around right above us." That was a good point. "Oh. Sorry, Jer. I stubbed my fucking toe on the island while getting some water." Jeremy nodded.

It was silent for a moment as you both looked at each other. "So why couldn't you sleep?" Jeremy asked. "I have literally no idea." you muttered, rubbing at your tired eyes. "I just can't. It's kind of pissing me off." you said, and Jeremy looked at you with sympathy. "That sucks." he said, and you nodded, taking a sip of your water. "Yeah." you took a deep breath, sighing it out. "Let's just go back downstairs." you suggested, and Jeremy nodded, turning and heading back. You took another gulp of your water before pouring the rest in the sink and turning to follow Jeremy.

When you climbed back over the couch with a huff, Jeremy gave you a look of confusion. "You and Michael are, like, right in front of the couch. I didn't wanna step on one of you, or something." he nodded in understanding, and once your eyes adjusted you could see his mouth parted in a small ‘oh’ as he laid back against the couch, pulling his blanket back over him. You laid on your back, trying hard to clear your mind so you could sleep.

Things quickly went right back to how they were before. You were shifting restlessly, fidgeting and rolling your eyes in annoyance each time your body told you to move again. After a few minutes of this, Jeremy turned around to face you. "(Y/N)?" he whispered, and you suddenly felt guilty for keeping him awake. And for waking him up in the first place. You sighed quietly. "Sorry, I know it's annoying." you muttered. It was silent for a beat. "Is there anything I can do to help you fall asleep?" he asked.

You were thankful it was dark. He wouldn't be able to see your face turn red. "Uh, yeah. This is kind of embarrassing, but- could you maybe, just.... talk to me? Your voice is really relaxing." you asked. Jeremy looked a little surprised. "Yeah, sure." he whispered, "Uh, what about?" you shrugged, then realized he probably couldn't see it. "Anything, I guess?" Jeremy shifted awkwardly, trying to face you. It was silent minus Jeremy's small huffs of effort as he tried to find a comfortable position to sit in. "Jer, you don't have to help me. It's fine." he shook his head and you could see his curls skating across his forehead with the movement. "No, I just- could I, like, lay on the couch with you?" he asked, and you froze, heat rising to your cheeks. "Okay."

Jeremy stood from his position on the floor and practically towered over your laying form. You scooted back against the cushions, making yourself small so Jeremy could fit with you. He just stared for a moment. "What?" you asked. "I think I would fall off." that was probably true. "Maybe you could, I dunno, lay.....on me?" he offered cautiously, and although the thought made your stomach flutter, the way he said it was a little awkward. "O-or not!" he stuttered, becoming worried at your silence. "Yeah, um, sure." you said, carefully stepping off the couch. You narrowly avoided stepping on Michael's hand, which was lying on the floor.

You gestured for Jeremy to get on the couch and he jolted, like he had forgotten what you were doing. You couldn't blame him. It had to be almost three already. He laid down, scooting to get comfortable. His hands reached for you, then recoiled, like what he did was crossing some sort of boundary. You smiled inwardly at his cautiousness as you put a knee on the edge of the couch, clambering awkwardly over him, apologizing when you saw him wince. One you had gotten into a position that was comfortable for the both of you - chest-to-chest, your leg swung over his and your arms around his middle, his on your back - you laid your head on his chest. You felt the butterflies in your stomach flapping around wildly as if searching for escape at being in such an intimate position with your best friend/crush.

After a moment, Jeremy began to speak softly, voice wavering between being only a soft whisper and a speaking voice. "So, um, I don't know if I told you, but the school's putting on another play next year." you smiled. Even though what happened earlier in the year wasn't a good example, you thought Jeremy was actually pretty talented as an actor. On the floor, Michael shifted, giving a quiet snort. Jeremy's voice was softer now, a small whisper, so as not to wake him up.

"It's called 'Burgertown', I think. It's a musical. Mr. Reyes thinks I should audition for the male lead, Danny. Which surprised me, because I figured he'd never want me in another play at Middleborough as long as I lived after what happened last time." his chest shook slightly with the breathy chuckle he released, and you smiled slightly. As he continued to talk about the play and about some video game he and Michael had been geeking out about lately, you slowly fell asleep in his arms, head moving and becoming familiar with the soft rises and falls of his chest as his breath slowly evened out to match yours.

~

The next morning when you woke up, you were surrounded by warmth. When you opened your eyes, you realized with a start that your head was nuzzled into Jeremy's neck. Then you remembered that you were literally laying on him. You went to pull away, but Jeremy, still asleep, groaned and pulled you closer. "You're warm." he whined, and heat rose to your face as your heart hammered against your chest. "Jeremy." you whispered. No response. "Jeremy. Jer?" you raised your voice a little bit, and winced as it cracked from sleep. This elicited, once again, no response whatsoever. "Jeremy." you sang, shaking him lightly. He groaned once again, opening his eyes just slightly. Slowly, they focused on you.

His eyes widened so quickly you almost feared they would pop out of his head. "Uh. Hey, (Y/N)." he was so close you could feel his breath fan across your face. "Hi, Jer." he seemed to realize he still had a hold on you and awkwardly let go, letting one arm rest on his side while the other dangled over the edge of the couch. "Oh, right." you said, climbing off him. Once you were successfully back on your feet, you stretched and yawned, popping your joints as you did so.

You grabbed your phone from the floor to check the time. "Holy shit, it's noon." you muttered. Jeremy's eyebrows raised. "Well, we were up pretty late last night." Jeremy muttered, shrugging. He stood up too, stretching just as you had. When his hands reached way up above his head, his shirt raised too, and you felt heat climb to your cheeks when you saw the little visible sliver of his stomach. Why did you have to like him so much?

Jeremy yawned quietly before speaking. "So, how'd you sleep?" he asked. Truthfully, it was the best you'd slept in a while. It was nice to have someone holding you in their arms as you both drifted off to sleep. "Good." you answered casually. "You?" Jeremy nodded. "Same here." it was weirdly tense for a few moments. "You make a good pillow." you joked, and Jeremy chuckled, breaking the awkward atmosphere between you almost immediately. "Thanks."

Suddenly, you realized something. "Wait, where's Michael?" your other best friend was nowhere to be seen. Jeremy shrugged. "Probably upstairs eating lunch. It is noon." Your stomach growled suddenly at the thought of food, and you and Jeremy both started to laugh. "Let's go join him." you suggested, and Jeremy nodded his agreement, following you up the stairs.

When you reached the kitchen, Michael was standing at the island, eating a sandwich while going through his phone. He glanced up at the two of you briefly. "Hey, lovebirds." he greeted, hiding a smirk. You and Jeremy both blushed. "Shut up, dude." Jeremy chuckled. Michael laughed before he seemed to remember something. "Hey, check this out." he chuckled. "Oh, and this is gonna be saved in my blackmail folder, by the way." he held up his phone, and on it was a picture of you and Jeremy, cuddled close on the couch. You and Jeremy locked eyes, making a decision without speaking, and nodded. You both lunged at Michael, hands outreached.

"DELETE THAT!"

[47pictures]

“Sedona”

Road trips were always fun, even if I didn’t get to go on a lot of them. I was invited to tag along for a visit to Sedona, Arizona, along with three other people - my younger sister Janice (19), Kenneth (25), and Matt (27). I was 23-years-old and a recent college graduate. For now, there was a little free time while I applied and waited to hear back from several employers.

Kenneth and Matt were doing this for their new ‘horror’ podcast, where they covered a variety of creepy, unexplained stories and phenomena around the world. Typical things you’d expect from an amateur horror podcaster. Several of the listeners recommended they cover the topic of certain ‘hot spots’ or zones that seem to harbor paranormal and downright strange activity. So to suffice, they decided to pay the city of Sedona a visit themselves, since they were adventurous like that.

The area had a reputation for being what’s known as a ‘spiritual vortex,’ a zone where people seem to be at a sense of peace, calming, and thought to bring healing capabilities to whoever stands in it long enough.

So why use it as the topic of a horror podcast? Well, it’s also known to be the sightings of many UFOs and other paranormal events from time to time that can’t quite be explained. Supposedly, there are other ‘zones’ like this in the world. Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. Taos, New Mexico. Aokigahara forest in Japan. The Bermuda Triangle. They all have the same thing in common.

Energy. Lots of peculiar energy compared to the rest of the world. Matt and Kenneth, being the urban explorers that they were, wanted to nosedive right into the heart of Sedona’s vortexes. The main one we planned on hitting first was Bell Rock, a large butte with one helluva peak that gives a panoramic view to die for.

Usually, I’d say fuck no to things like this, but then Janice agreed to tag along. As a matter of fact, she agreed without hesitation, as she was more adventurous than I was, always getting into things, in both a good and bad way. She also got into more trouble than I did. It was just me and her growing up, and you can imagine how much blame I’d get for when something unfortunate would happen to her. She was 100-percent on board, and even wanted to hike some of the trails with the two guys while she insisted I could stay in the van if I wanted.

Nope.

I knew Kenneth and Matt well enough to assume they were good people, truly, but older sibling instincts refused to let her go by herself with two older men. Even if I was overthinking it, that just wasn’t something I could afford to risk.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I knew of van dwellers and people who’d put a lot of effort into making their home on wheels look and feel like an actual home, but damn, Matt and Kenneth weren’t playing around. It was a high-top conversion van with more room than you’d expect from the outside looking in.

They fit a couch, beanbag, tabletop and chair, computer, mini-fridge, sink, mini-oven, and stovetop all in such a compact yet roomy living space. It was also decorated with various stickers and posters, and the floral pattern curtains paired nicely with the brown wooden interior of the walls.

What really set the mood, though, were the strands of LED lights taped around the corners and along the walls, each circuit lit in a combination of colors ranging from red, blue, green, and yellow, making it look like Christmas.

Janice and I were inside the back, sorting through our things and getting settled in.

“I’m glad you decided to come along,” she mentioned.

“What, you thought I was just gonna let you go by yourself?” I remarked.

“You know I’m an adult now, right?”

“Yes, and you’re still naive.”

She rolled her eyes at me.

“Think about it, me leaving you with two grown men?” I added.

“Um, have you seen the two of them?” Janice retorted. “Like, I’m just saying, I think even you could take them by yourself. Hell, even Mama could.”

“That’s because Mama can actually fight.”

“I can fight,” she argued, sounding offended.

“Eh, you talk a good talk.”

She scoffed. “Whatever, you know I can scrap when I need to.”

“Suuure.”

She hit me on the shoulder, as I teasingly smiled.

Then Kenneth came into the back where we were.

“Got everything?” he asked both of us.

“Yeah, think so,” Janice said.

“Sorry there’s not another bed for you to sleep in, Joe,” he said to me.

“Oh that’s okay, Janice will be perfectly fine on the beanbag in the corner,” I dryly humored.

“Ha-ha,” she remarked.

In one hand, Kenneth held two walkie-talkies by their antennas and raised them.

“Brought some two-way radios, just ‘cause,” said. “In case we feel like playing around or testing other points at the summit and other spots.”

“Ooh, sounds fun,” Janice sounded pleased. She then took note of the thing in his other hand. “What’s that?”

“Oh, this?” Kenneth said, raising the device for us to see.

It was a small wooden contraption in the shape of a triangle and what looked like a gemstone tied to the end of a string.

“It’s a pendulum,” he noted.

“What’s it for?” she asked.

He then walked over to the tabletop and placed the pendulum on its legs to stand freely, as the gemstone now began to swivel left and right on a single axis from the string.

“Well,” he started, “They say when you’re near a site that’s full of paranormal or high amounts of energy, the pendulum’s supposed to swing nearer in that direction or whatever.”

“Who’s they?” Janice remarked.

Kenneth looked at her then shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said frankly.

Janice laughed amusedly.

“Apparently, that’s what it does,” Kenneth went on.

“What kind of rock is that?” she pointed.

“Oh, that’s amethyst. Supposedly it wards off bad spirits, so, you know, probably a good idea to have it around while we’re camping out there.”

“I thought the vortexes harbor good energy only?”

“They do, but, you never know.”

You never know…

“Oh that’s okay,” Janice said as she clasped her hands on my shoulder. “Joe here will protect us, because our grandmother said he’s special,” she said in a mocking tone and a big smile.

Janice then walked out of the van.

“O… kay,” Kenneth replied.

But I knew exactly what she was referring to.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We made a rest stop at a gas station seemingly in the middle of nowhere. No big-name shop like Shell or Texaco, but a compact blue wooden exterior structure with two gas pumps that look something straight out of the 70s. They did, however, have a good selection of snacks and drinks on par with a 7-Eleven.

Everyone used the restroom and got something of nourishment at the least. I decided to grab a water and head back to the van before everyone else so that I could light and smoke a cigarette (or ‘cancer stick,’ as Janice referred to them as). Soon after, Matt followed, while Janice and Kenneth were still in the station looking for something to buy, or probably laughing and bullshitting. Those two, I swear. They shouldn’t shut up the whole drive.

Matt and I sat along the edge at the back of the van with the door open. From where we parked, the view of a wide range of mountains and desert terrain was ethereal, something I wasn’t used to from North Florida.

“Those two are something, aren’t they?” Matt said as he cracked open his Red Bull.

“Hmm,” I scoffed, taking a hit of my cigarette.

“He is on the older tip, though, so…”

“I don’t care who she sees, if that’s what it is,” I responded. “Kenneth’s all right, I think.”

“No bad vibes from him?”

I shook my head. “Nope,” then took another hit.

“No bad vibes from me?”

I turned to him and glared into his eyes. The intention was to make him uncomfortable. My humor was dry like that. After a few seconds, I backed off.

“No,” I said.

Matt chuckled. “That’s good to know,” he said.

“At least I don’t think so.”

“Would you have tagged along if you thought otherwise?”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Janice tagged along, so I did.”

“And if she didn’t?”

“If she didn’t what?”

“If she didn’t decide to come along, would you have still?”

I took another hit from my cigarette, taking in and exhaling the menthol, thinking of how nicely to put this.

“Honestly, probably not,” I answered. It was really definitely not, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“At least you’re honest,” Matt noted.

I shook my head. “It’s nothing against you or Kenneth or your guys’ podcast. It’s just… I don’t like to play with energies like that.”

Matt furrowed his brow. “Energies?”

I nodded. “The vortex?”

“But it’s supposed to be peaceful. You know, a ‘positive’ energy.”

“Yeah, it may be peaceful for some, hell, even most. But for others… you just never know.”

Matt paused, tapping his foot on the ground, then took a sip of his drink. After a while, he spoke again.

“Have you had bad experiences before?” he asked.

I looked at him. “No,” I answered.

“You believe in… possession? Or being overtaken by another force?”

“I believe in protecting your aura. At all times. Like you would your own life.” Matt nodded with content. “My grandmother, before she passed, told me when I was younger that me and a few other people in the family had ‘the gift.’”

“The gift?” Matt said.

“Like a… not necessarily psychic or anything like that, but that me and the others were just more… sensitive to certain energies. Vibrational frequencies, they say.” I shrugged. “I don’t know how true it all actually is, though. I don’t believe in absolutes. Angels, demons, gods, divine intervention. But that grey area always tests my faith every now and then…”

Then I saw the look in Matt’s eyes. Maybe he was wary or maybe he was regretting me coming along. Wasn’t too sure.

“Does Janice have the gift, too?” he asked.

“My grandmother says no,” I answered. “Then again, she never seemed to take a liking to Janice, for whatever reason. She seemed to cherish me more. I’m not surprised Janice is the way she is.”

“How’s that?”

“Just… free-spirited. Unhinged. Spiritual. Into yoga. Trying to find an inner peace and being one with the universe. Stuff like that. I see it as a way of compensating for our grandmother’s indifference. Basically a ‘fuck you’ to her.”

“Wow. What do you think might happen if you get near the vortex?” he asked.

I slowly shook my head. “I have no idea.“

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We hit the road again. About another 4 hours before we’d make it to Bell Rock. Janice and I played cards for a bit, chit-chatted here and there, and Kenneth, Matt, and I rotated between taking turns driving the van.

Eventually, we made it to the first stop, and found a good spot to camp out not too far from Bell Rock, according to Matt. We decided to take a short hike around the area, take some pictures and vlogs, etc.

Sedona is in a league of its own, I thought to myself. It didn’t seem quite like the typical American city I was used to. It was akin to stepping on Mars. Rock, sand, mountains, complemented with patches of grass and cacti. It felt like I was in another world entirely.

As we walked, I took note of a tall saguaro cactus surrounded by other shorter cacti and flowers. I told Janice it’d be a nice backdrop for a photo shoot. I had the good camera while she just had her phone.

She stood next to the tall plant - taller than her - and she began to strike various silly and some very Instagram-worthy poses.

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Photographer,” she played around.

“My, my, madame, you’ve gotten fat,” I teased in a heavy French accent.

“Oh please!”

She really wasn’t fat in the slightest, I just liked to mess with her from time to time. She definitely was in better shape than the rest of us. I couldn’t knock her for that.

As I snapped various pictures of her, taking different angles, poses, trying to get better lighting, I got down on one knee, pointing the lens at just the right angle, finding the perfect shot.

“That’s money right there,” I commented.

“Well shit, watcha waitin’ for?” Janice exclaimed, holding her smile.

But before I could snap the photo, a loud ringing noise emerged in both of my ears. It crescendoed, then lowered, then raised in volume again, a pulsating sort of sensation. Regardless, the sound was distracting and unusual. Were my ears ringing? Probably, but they never rang like this.

“Joe?” Janice said impatiently.

I lowered the camera, where she could now see my face was disgruntled.

“You okay?” she asked, concerned.

I stood up. “Do you hear that?” I said.

“Hear what?”

“That sound. That ringing.”

She looked puzzled. “No…”

I turned my head in every which way across the desert, unsure of what I would even be looking for until suddenly, it stopped. The ringing was gone, and it fell silent. Only thing I could hear was the slight breeze of wind.

“Are you fucking with me?” she said.

“What? No, why would I be?” I said, seriously. I messed with her a lot, but not like that. Never pranked her once in her entire life.

She chuckled and walked past me to catch up with the other two, patting me on the shoulder as she did so. “Never mind, ‘gifted one.’”

I stood there for a moment. I didn’t understand what the heck just happened, but decided to brush it off and keep on moving down the trail.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I don’t remember how long I’d been asleep, but I woke up and found myself alone in the van. It was nighttime outside. Worried, I quickly got up and looked outside the window to check and see if maybe they were in the front.

Nobody.

I went out and saw that we were parked atop a sandy hill. They’d set up a small camp of some sort with three pull-out chairs and a large mat laid flat, which I already knew was Janice’s yoga mat. In the distance, I saw the three of them down about 23 yards away walking towards a mountain top. Could that be it? The vortex? I thought I told this chick not to leave without me, especially once they started the hike.

I saw Janice turn back to look, and she noticed me.

“Joe!” she called to me. I shook my head. “Come on! We’re gonna take some videos of the vortex!”

I thought about it. Really thought about it. At this point, I just decided F it. Something told me that she’d be all right. After my many objections to Janice going by herself with the two, finally, my intuition spoke to me. My gut never lies, so I knew I could trust it. Only this one time, though.

"I’m good,” I declined. “Go on without me.”

“You sure, bro?” Kenneth asked.

“I’ll stay behind and watch the van.”

“Ah, no one’s gonna steal it.”

I cocked my brow. “You sure about that? It’s a nice van.”

“Nobody’s gonna steal that junk.”

Matt hit him on the shoulder. “Fuck you,” he said, and Kenneth laughed.

I turned and started walking back towards the van.

“Whatever,” Janice spoke. “But you’re coming to take pictures with me when the sun comes up, ya hear?”

I raised my hand and gave her a firm thumbs up.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I laid on the comfy bed in the van with my noise-canceling headphones over my ears as I listened to music. The inside Christmas lights kept the area illuminated. Through the window, the night sky bathed in stars of various different shapes. I recognized the Sagittarius constellation, just aside from Gemini, but couldn’t make out much more from this view.

Abruptly, my ears began to ring again. The same one from before. It grew louder in pitch the more I listened. So loud to the point where I couldn’t even hear the music anymore. I removed my headphones and scratched and rubbed against my ears, wincing at the sound. The noise wasn’t exactly painful, but grew noticeably more discomforting.

I got up to look around, to see if maybe there was a device inside that might be the source of the noise, but it was hard to tell the direction from which it came. I checked the walkie-talkie to see if that could be it, but pressing it to my ear, I still heard the sound radiating from elsewhere.

I stopped for a moment to listen, and when I did, I realized it wasn’t exactly a ring, but more in resemblance to a hum. Crossing the line between the stroke of a chord of an instrument… or the audible sound of something else entirely that I couldn’t decipher at the moment.

Just as suddenly as the humming initiated, it ceased at once. The van fell silent. Dead silent.

I stepped outside again, finding it unusual that the same volume from within the vehicle matched the desert. Pure silence. It was almost distracting to all five of my senses. My body was confused.

I saw the three of them in the distance still, nearing the vortex, about to reach the edge any minute now to begin their ascent.

I decided to sit in one of the foldout chairs in front of the van and light a 'cancer stick.’ I gazed at the night sky where I could now see the full layout of the celestial bodies above. Breathtaking, needless to say. Out here where there were no city lights, the entire display of stars and constellations were there for us to take in. If anything, this was worth the long trip.

The pendulum sat just beyond where myself and the other chairs stood, in place of where I figured a campfire should’ve been. I was surprised to see that it swiveled just barely left and right.

“Hmm,” I laughed internally, taking another drag from my cigarette.

As I sat and smoked, I noticed that not only was there no noise, but likewise, even so much as a tiny breeze was nonexistent. I had no sensation of the air around me, no feel for any particular temperature, neither hot nor cold, dry or damp. It was as if I were sitting in a vacuum. How was the pendulum moving, now that I think about it? Couldn’t do that without the wind, right?

I took note of the smoke as I exhaled, following its trail. Bizarrely, the smoke didn’t merely dissolve into the air, but shot in a clear pathway upwards in a stream, curving inward in the direction south of me. Yet still, I felt no wind blowing in that direction. No wind whatsoever.

The humming resumed. Thrown off, the hairs on my neck raised at the abrupt return.

I could hear it clearly and audibly as I did in the van like it was right next to me. I looked around again to see if there was any possible direction for the sound to be emitting from again, but it was still very hard to tell. It was so strange.

When I looked down at the pendulum again, I grew wide-eyed.

The crystal stopped swinging entirely, and instead was pulled completely in one direction, suspended in an impossibly still state. I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but I went over and kneeled to get a closer look, and saw that it did seem to be pulled at one clear angle, as though it were attracted to an invisible force - or a magnetic field of sorts.

I turned to face the direction the crystal was, which pointed directly to the van, and was taken aback by the lights inside. They each began to flash in a sequence that made it appear as though they were looping in a complete circle inside - a phi phenomenon. All of the colors - red, blue, yellow, green - alternated and moved down the line of each circuit one by one.

Could they do that? I hadn’t played with the settings or seen Matt show us any other sorts of tricks and sequences it could perform. Either way, how could they just do that by themselves? Did he set it from his phone? Impossible, I thought. They were way too far away for the Bluetooth to even work. Even still, it wouldn’t make sense for him to do so.

I turned to face the three in the distance again, seeing that they were now starting the climb up the rock. It was right then and there that I noticed something very particular about the structure as a whole. It had twin peaks at the summit, identical in shape, almost like cone pyramids, as the base took the form of a rocky pyramid. There also was hardly anything surrounding the vicinity. No grass, cacti, anything. Only barren desert and rock. Around where we parked and set up our camping site only lie a few remnants of any sort of vegetation. Then I knew…

We weren’t at Bell Rock at all. This was the wrong spot.

I looked back down at the pendulum, and to my shock, it was now pointed downwards at full rest. Not even swinging. I turned to face the van and saw that the lights were now completely off. My eyes narrowed. I put out my cigarette, dropping it to the ground and stomping out the bud.

Hopefully at least one of the walkie-talkies Kenneth brought was in the van. I opened the door to the back and entered, shutting it behind me. It was too dark now with the lights off, so I used my phone flashlight to search for it. Bingo, one was sitting on the table, and I grabbed and pressed the push-to-talk button.

“Janice, can you hear me?” I spoke.

I waited a moment for a response. Nothing. I pressed it again.

“Janice, can you hear me?” I said loudly and clearly.

A few moments passed. Then her voice sounded from the other end, readable but very staticky.

“What’s up, chickenbutt?” she said back.

I rolled my eyes. “Hey, I don’t think we’re at the right spot.”

“Whatcha mean?”

“I mean, I don’t think this is Bell Rock.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Just look at the peak. It’s nothing like it. It’s not even shaped like it.”

“But Joe, I feel it. Like, we haven’t even reached the top yet, but I swear, I feel its energy, Joe. It’s real. It’s… it’s alive. It’s beautiful.”

I’m sure there was no doubt about it. I’m glad that whatever energy she was taking in felt good on her end, but whatever energy that began to overtake what now surrounded the campsite didn’t match hers. It felt wrong. I knew something wasn’t right. Something felt off…

“We’ve been climbing and… so f… ar it’s… been… ve… er… y…”

She was breaking up badly, as more static overpowered her transmission. Were they too far? I don’t know, but the reach should’ve been well within good range from where we were from each other.

“Janice?” I transmitted.

No answer.

Screw this. I reached for my phone in my pocket and decided to just call her instead. I waited as it dialed, putting the phone on speaker. Lo and behold, I heard her phone ring from inside the van. She left it behind.

“Fucking idiot,” I muttered.

I hung up the phone and dialed for Matt, when suddenly another transmission came through the radio.

It wasn’t Janice’s voice.

Under a heavy load of static, the hum faintly emerged.

In the corner of my eye, further from me towards the sink, a single red light remained on. It was the only thing illuminated inside the van. Then it shut off, but was quickly replaced by the one next to it, giving the illusion that the light was moving. It did the same thing again, inching closer towards my direction, as though it had a life of its own. As it inched over, the hum grew more and more resonant, feeling closer.

The single red orb trailed down the string of circuits until eventually, it was right across from me from where I stood. The light remained for a moment, burning brightly as I locked eyes on it.

And just like that, the humming ceased again, and the light suddenly died, fading to black.

In the blink of an eye, red lights filled every circuit along the van, a crimson luminescence engulfing the interior around me. Startled, I quickly tried to push the button again to call the others, but a loud error beep kept emitting along with a red light on the radio, letting me know that someone else was currently using the channel. I heard nothing, though.

Then the lights rapidly strobed in quick bursts of terrifyingly disorienting red flashes, as the humming returned louder than before, like the unified chant of hundreds of people around me.

Panicked now, I darted out of there and stood at the edge of the hill, waving my arms to get the three’s attention.

“Janice!” I called.

Curious, I looked at the pendulum again, seeing that it was now swaying side-to-side in a frantic motion, going haywire.

I glanced at the three turning back to face my direction. I doubt we’d be able to hear exactly what the other was saying. From what I could make out, Janice pulled out her binoculars. As she did so, I began motioning with hand signals for them to call it off.

I then jumped at the sound of Janice’s bloodcurdling scream across the distance.

I turned to the van. The red lights continued to emit for a moment, only for all but two of them to remain. From where I stood, they were positioned in a way that looked as though it were two glaring eyes peering directly at me.

Fearful, I slowly stepped back, eyes still fixated on the ones now staring at me. The amplitude of the lights began to grow, and diagonal lines curved inward from the glare, like the deadly eyes of a viper. I knew I didn’t have astigmatism. What I was seeing was unreal.

Janice’s voice transmitted through the radio again, clearer more than ever this time.

“Joe! Just run! If you can hear me, just run!”

I wasn’t paying attention as I kept stepping away, as the incline became too steep from where I stepped off. Before I knew it, I tripped and started to fall backwards, rolling violently down the hill.

Once I’d managed to stop myself, I forced myself up and turned to look behind at the van again. Those eyes… they kept staring into my soul. They were captivating and enticing. But I knew that if I stood there, I probably wouldn’t make it…

I ran towards my sister and the other two, as I saw the three of them were now climbing back down and racing my way also. I ran faster than I ever had before. I don’t know what was back there or what energy was inside the van, but I refused to look again for another second as I kept running towards the three of them.

When I finally reached them, Janice ran to me and tightly hugged me, squeezing the air from my lungs.

“Thank you, God,” she cried. “Oh, thank you.”

“What the hell happened?” Kenneth said.

I shook my head frantically. “I-I don’t know.”

“Did you see something?” Matt asked Janice.

She didn’t answer either one of them. She instead kept hugging me tightly, relieved that I was okay. And to think I was more worried about her.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We decided that it was time to go, and hit the road again very shortly after. Janice and I just wanted to get the hell out of there, and undoubtedly, so did Matt and Kenneth after us causing such a commotion. We contemplated whether we should keep on going with the trip and try to make it to the real Bell Rock, but it was still undecided. At this point, we had enough adventure, and likewise, Matt and Kenneth enough spooks for their podcast for sure.

After some time on the road again, we’d both calmed down, and Janice finally let up the nerve to talk.

“You scared me back there,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be. I think you might’ve saved my life. I don’t know how, but I just feel it.”

Janice stirred, nervously rubbed her arm. It was what she always did when she was troubled by something.

“Why’d you scream?” I asked.

She grew fearful again. I didn’t know if she would even tell, her mouth opening, then closing, then opening again, until finally mustering the courage to speak.

“Back at the butte, when we were climbing and you called to me, I looked through the binoculars and saw something in the van behind you.”

Chills waved throughout my body.

“The lights kept alternating and moving in a weird circle in the van,” she continued. “Matt said that they were supposed to do that. They were all supposed to just stay whatever color they were. And then they turned solid red… and then I saw a figure in the van. Like, a silhouette of someone… or something. It was peaking back at you. Back at me, too, I think.”

“Jesus…” I muttered.

“The lights just blinked and then it was fucking gone. Whatever it was, it just disappeared. I know I’m not crazy, Joe. I know what I saw.”

I now realized the answer to Matt’s question earlier when I told him about my grandmother’s premonition about me, and as to whether Janice shared the same power that the others in the family also held. The answer was yes. She had the gift. I could only hear it, but she could see it. Whatever presence was near me in the van the whole time, she was fully conscious that it was there.

“I believe you,” I assured.

[tortuga-aak]

The best pillows you can buy for your bed

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

The Insider Pick:

A good pillow means a good night's sleep. We reviewed dozens of pillows to narrow down the choices to the ones you’ll love best. The Premium Adjustable Shredded Memory Foam Pillow from Coop Home Goods is our top pick. You’ll enjoy sweet dreams on this supremely comfortable pillow.

Back in the days of Ancient Egypt, a carved stone was considered a very comfortable and supportive pillow, but in today’s world, you’re probably looking for something a bit softer. Luckily, you’ve got a lot more to choose from than the people of ancient times.

There’s a nearly dizzying array of pillows on display in any bed ‘n bath shop, or on the virtual shelves of your favorite online home store. That can make it a bit difficult to choose the best pillow for your needs. Is memory foam best? How about down? Or maybe you’re confused about all the different shapes: standard, contour, bolster. Well, have no fear, because we’ve done the research for you. 

While ultimately, there is no “best for everyone” pillow — personal preference plays a huge part in determining the pillow you’ll like the most — we checked out all the top recommendations from consumer buying websites, listened to what pillow buyers had to say, and even tried out some of the pillows ourselves to bring you the five picks most likely to send you off to the land of Nod comfortably. Here's what you need to know before we jump into the pillow fight.

Sorting out the different pillow fills

The main difference between types of pillows is their filling. While there are many specialty fills, the most common are the following six.

Memory foam: Originally created by NASA to cushion astronauts during reentry to Earth’s atmosphere, today, memory foam is one of the most popular types of pillow. It’s very supportive, conforms to your head and neck, is naturally hypoallergenic, and is especially good for those suffering from neck, shoulder, or upper body pain and stiffness. On the downside, it tends to be hot and is heavy.

Shredded memory foam: Take memory foam, shred it into small chunks, and you have a supportive, firm, and comfortable pillow filling without the heat and sweat of a traditional memory foam. Shredded memory foam molds and conforms to your body, but if you want it even more customized to your liking, it’s easy to push or pull into just the right loft and shape for your sleeping pleasure.

Down: Real down has a luxurious, “sleeping on a cloud” fluffiness that some people love, and others hate. Down is very soft and lightweight, so it easily molds to the perfect loft and shape for your needs. It’s not very supportive, however, and tends to be expensive.

Polyester: Polyester is the typical fill in budget pillows. It’s soft, lightweight, and machine-washable, but not exceptionally supportive or firm. Still, it’s a good middle ground between the softness of down and the firmness of memory foam.

Buckwheat hulls: Buckwheat hull pillows are not nearly as popular in the United States as they are in Asia, but they definitely have their fan club. A buckwheat hull pillow feels a lot like a beanbag; the hulls move freely inside the pillow, allowing you to adjust the shape, loft, and firmness to your liking. This is one of the best pillow fills for those who “sleep hot,” as well. However, these pillows are heavy, and the hulls can make a rustling sound as you move.

Latex: There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love latex pillows, and those who hate them. For those who love them, the firm support with a slightly bouncy feel provides superior sleep comfort. For those who hate them, the usual complaint is that the pillow is just too firm. Latex pillows are heavy and usually expensive, but also very durable, naturally antimicrobial, and not too hot.

Pillow shapes and sizes

Along with different pillow fills, there are also different pillow shapes. Some, such as shams and throw pillows, are purely decorative. Others, such as body pillows, neck bolsters, and various chiropractic designs are specialty pillows. For basic sleep, the following four are the most popular pillow shapes.

Traditional: This is the basic, rectangular shape most people prefer. You’ll find three sizes: standard, queen, and king.

Contour: These pillows have raised rounded edges to snugly support your neck and a “valley” for your head. Most are made of memory foam and are quite firm.

Cervical: These pillows are shaped something like a cat bed: There’s a hollow in the center for your head, which is surrounded on all sides by higher neck rolls. Most are filled with polyester. Cervical pillows are a good choice for people with neck or spine pain and are often recommended by chiropractors.

Bolster: Bolsters are cylindrical pillows mostly used for comfortable support of arms and legs during sleep, but some people use them as regular bed pillows. They gently support the neck without placing any pressure on the shoulders or back.

What’s your favorite sleeping position?

While just about everyone shifts position periodically during the night, generally, you’ll favor one sleep position over the rest. And when it comes to choosing the right pillow, your favorite sleep position plays a big role.

Side sleepers: This is the most common sleep position and the most neutral one for your spine and neck. The right pillow for a side sleeper is lofty enough to fill the gap between neck and mattress and provides medium-firm to firm support. Any fill is suitable, as long as it’s the right loft for your body type.

Stomach sleepers: This undeniably comfy sleep position is hard on your spine, forcing your neck to turn sharply to the side. If this is your favorite way to sleep, make it easier on your back with a pillow that is soft or has little loft. Buckwheat hulls or down pillows are the best choices for those who spend most of the night on their stomach.

Back sleepers: If you like to sleep on your back, your perfect pillow has just enough loft to hold your head in alignment with your spine without craning your head forward or allowing it to drop back. A medium-firm density is best for this sleep position. Shredded memory foam, buckwheat hulls, or polyester are good fills for back sleepers.

Updated on 11/16/2017 by Kara Kamenec: Added five more pillows, including the Core Products Tri-Core Orthopedic Neck Support Pillow, the Half-Moon Bolster Pillow, the Beautyrest Latex Foam Pillow, the Beckham Hotel Collection Gel Pillow, and the Moonlight Slumber's Comfort-U Total Body Support Pillow.

Raed on in the slides below to learn why the Coop Home Goods Premium Adjustable Shredded Memory Foam Pillow is our top pick and why you should also consider the Royal Hotel Goose Down Pillow, the Zen Chi Buckwheat Hull Pillow, the Smart Home Bedding Super Plush Pillow, the Sleep Innovations Cool Contour Memory Foam Pillow, the Core Products Tri-Core Orthopedic Neck Support Pillow, the Half-Moon Bolster Pillow, the Beautyrest Latex Foam Pillow, the Beckham Hotel Collection Gel Pillow, and the Moonlight Slumber's Comfort-U Total Body Support Pillow.

The best pillow overall

Coop Home Goods

Why you'll love it: The Premium Adjustable Shredded Memory Foam Pillow from Coop Home Goods will have you sleeping like a baby with its perfect support and variable firmness.

“Ahhh.” That’s the sigh of contentment you’ll utter as your weary head meets the Coop Home Goods Premium Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow. It's the number-one best-selling pillow on Amazon, and it's filled with shredded memory foam. You’ll get the support and comfortable “sinking in” sensation of a traditional memory foam pillow, but none of the excessive heat or firmness that can be a problem with solid foam.

What makes the Coop Home Goods pillow particularly wonderful is that it’s adjustable. You can unzip the inner pillow cover to add or remove foam until the pillow is just the way you like it. It’s also hypoallergenic and dust-mite resistant, so you won’t wake up sniffly or congested. When it’s time to clean the pillow, no problem — Just toss it in your washing machine and dryer. We recommend that you add another pillow or a blanket to balance the load, along with a couple of clean tennis balls to help fluff up the foam.

Coop Home Goods’ proprietary shredded memory foam is CertiPUR-US certified, meaning it’s guaranteed to be free of chemicals and toxins you really don’t want to sleep with, such as formaldehyde, lead, mercury, ozone depleters, PBDEs, phthalates, and TCEP flame retardants. Manufactured in California, the pillow has a 30-day guarantee, so if you don’t love it, you can return it with no questions asked.

Sleep Like the Dead found that 89 percent of buyers love the Coop Home Goods Premium Adjustable Shredded Memory Foam Pillow. In fact, it’s the highest-rated memory foam pillow on the site. That matches Amazon’s numbers, where out of an astounding 12,200+ reviews, 85 percent give the pillow four or more stars.

Hundreds of buyers call this the best pillow they’ve ever owned, praise its breathability and adjustability, and love the way it supports their neck and head. As one pleased reviewer wrote, “It’s like sleeping on an adjustable cloud.” The most common negative comments were in regard to the pillow’s odor, which can be strong initially, but fades away within a day or two.

The Premium Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow has a polyester/bamboo cover that is cool and comfortable for sleep, and it's easily removed for washing. Inside, there’s an interlock knit cover to contain the foam. Both covers have zippers so you can access the foam for easy adjustment.

Pros: Adjustable loft, very supportive and comfortable, not too hot

Cons: Some initial odor, you have to let it expand from vacuum-sealed packaging

Buy the queen Coop Home Goods Premium Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow on Amazon for $59.99 and up (price varies)

The best down pillow

Royal Hotel

Why you'll love it: Down isn’t just for the birds — The Royal Hotel Goose Down Pillow is so feathery-soft, you’ll dream you’re sleeping in the clouds.

Some inferior down pillows are really stuffed mostly with feathers. That means you run the risk of being poked by a stray quill. Plus, feathers are not as soft and fluffy as down. The Royal Hotel Goose Down Pillow is filled with 100 percent goose down, which is much fluffier than less desirable duck down, so you’ll enjoy a luxuriously comfortable night of sleep.

Royal Hotel doesn’t skimp on the down, either. With a 750 fill power and 35-ounce fill weight, you’re getting lots of downy comfort in a very supportive pillow that isn’t too soft and isn’t too firm. Plus, the down is sanitized to remove allergens and bacteria, so you can enjoy the pillow even if you are usually allergic to feathers. The cover of the pillow is 100 percent cotton, with a 500-thread count, so it’s soft and smooth, but strong enough to contain the down.

Amazon buyers love this pillow, with 83 percent of the 400+ reviewers giving it four or more stars. Reviewers say, “these pillows are wonderfully full and hold their loft through the night,” “the best pillows ever,” and “very nice pillows, well-filled and they do not collapse under the weight of your head.” Many customers commented that the pillows were firmer than they expected, which might be good or bad depending on your preference.

Sleep Like the Dead also likes the Royal Hotel down pillows, reporting that 87 percent of surveyed customers were very pleased with their purchase.

For down pillows, the price is actually quite reasonable, but Royal Hotel only sells the pillows by the pair, making it a more expensive purchase overall.

Pros: High quality down, firm, comfortable support.

Cons: Only sold by the pair, may have a faint “feathery” smell at first

Buy the Royal Hotel Goose Down Pillow in standard/queen size on Amazon for $159.99 per set of two

The best buckwheat hull pillow

Zen Chi

Why you'll love it: No matter how you like your pillow, the Zen Chi Buckwheat Hull Pillow delivers and it keeps you cool while you sleep.

Confession: I’ve been sleeping on the twin Zen Chi Buckwheat Hull Pillow for several years now. In fact, I’ve gone through two of them. I’ve tried a lot of pillows over the years — memory foam, shredded memory foam, latex, polyester, and several specialty fills as well — but I have never stuck with any other type of pillow for as long as the buckwheat hulls.

I’m a restless sleeper and love the way I can squish the buckwheat hulls out flat to sleep comfortably on my stomach, and then bunch them up a few minutes later when I flip over to my side. Plus, as a “hot sleeper,” this is the best fill I’ve found to avoid the dreaded sweaty head wake up.

Zen Chi uses 100 percent organically grown buckwheat to fill its pillows and 100 percent cotton for the case. There’s a zipper, so you can actually adjust the fill of the pillow. Add more hulls for a firmer, loftier pillow, or remove some if you prefer a softer, flatter feel. And even if you leave the pillow as is, the beauty of a buckwheat hull pillow is its supreme adjustability. Because you can mold the pillow any way you like it, you can support your head, neck, and upper body for the most comfortable sleep.

Amazon users are very enthusiastic about the pillow. Out of the 600+ reviews for the queen size, 76 percent give it four stars or more. Many buyers commented that it took a couple of nights to get used to the pillow’s feel, but once they did, they loved the support and adjustability. Buckwheat hulls are definitely not soft, but thanks to the pillow’s beanbag feel, they don’t feel uncomfortably hard, either. 

One reviewer wrote: “I thought it might be too hard on my ears, but it's not. I finally wake up without a crick in my neck, which was the case with every other pillow I've ever owned.” Many owners also praised the coolness of the pillow.

On the downside, the slight crinkly sound of the shifting hulls bothered some owners. This has never been an issue for me, however. Other customers complain about the pillow’s weight, and it is indeed very heavy. Still, the overall comfort outweighs the minor issues.

Pros: Stays cool, adjusts to any position, firm support

Cons: Heavy, noisy, some people find it too hard

Buy the queen Zen Chi Buckwheat Hull Pillow on Amazon for $39.95

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