#today i went to the store went to the other store brought board games to my sister

[mesaryth]

unfortunately I've got a social life right now it seems (getting sent on errands for the entire day)

[mvltixcc]

Girls Like Girls - Robin Buckley X Cheerleader!Reader

Summary: Robin has a crush on the new girl in town. Y/N is also a new member of the cheer squad, which means Robin sees her all the time at games and other school events. Unfortunately, Robin is put in a tough situation. She's scared to talk to her because the cheerleaders have a reputation of being mean girls and she fears that Y/N may not feel the same. Little does Robin know that Y/N does not appear as she seems. Y/N becomes best friends with Eddie, which seems unlikely at the surface due to different social circles. This leads to rumors of course and word spreads like wildfire here at Hawkins, which then makes Robin's feelings even more confusing. After hanging out with Steve and the gang, Robin starts to see a different side to Y/N. Will they end up together or will they just remain friends?

Word Count: 3.7k

Pinterest board for inspiration

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Chapter 6

You heard the ding of the bell as someone had entered the book store. “Hey there, welcome to- oh hey you!” You say looking up to the customer but seeing Robin instead. Your mood had instantly lifted. It had been months since the Christmas party at Steve’s and things were going great between you and Robin. You guys were hanging out a lot more. You had things that turned into weekly traditions. Like going to the movies every Friday night, going to the diner every Sunday morning and getting breakfast, and now that it was getting warm out you went on walks after school everyday. You loved the time you got to spend with her. It just felt right between the two of you. You had missed her and were grateful to have her back. “What are you doing here?” You asked with a smile.

“Oh you know, just bringing you some lunch. I figured it might be a slow day so I thought I’d keep you some company.” Robin said, setting down some food to share between the two of you. 

“Well aren’t you just a peach!” You say walking from behind the counter and giving her a hug.

“You look so pretty today.” Robin complimented as she took your hand. You did a twirl while still holding her hand. You were wearing a white top with a black skirt, something simple but still so beautiful in Robin's.

You blushed at her compliment. “Thank you sweet angel!” You thanked her. 

The pair of you sat and ate the food that Robin had brought. You chatted about spring break plans as it was coming up in a few weeks. Steve of course wanted to throw a party since his parents would be gone and Eddie wanted to go on a road trip with everyone. But you and Robin just wanted to stay back and have a nice relaxing time. Sadly it was not an option as it was split in the middle and it was up to the two of you to decide what you all did. 

“I mean if we pick a party at Steve’s, maybe it won't be a big thing? You know, just make it like a few of us or something?” Robin suggested.

“Yeah that could work honestly. You don’t wanna be stuck in a van with Eddie, it can get super gross and smelly. He is a man after all! Plus all of us confined in such a tight space like that, we’d probably kill each other eventually.” You chuckled. The thought of that could make Robin spiral, she had avoided Eddie as much as she could. If she were around him, she’d just get angry and sad all over again just like that night at your house all those months ago. 

“So it’s settled then, we’ll have a small party at Steve’s. I’d better call him and let him know, can I use the phone here?” She asked, you handed her the phone and cleaned up the trash from lunch.

“Hey Harrington, we made a decision. We’ll have the party. BUT, only if it’s just our group. No big Harrington bash. I’m serious!” She said. Robin continued the phone call with Steve as you finished cleaning up. “Yeah yeah yeah, whatever dingus. Look I gotta go okay? Bye.” Robin said, hanging up the phone shortly after. People were starting to stagger in and look around, which meant Robin had to leave. “Alright well, I guess I should head out and let you go.”

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow angel!” You said waving goodbye to her and quickly started helping people find what they needed. You liked working at the bookstore, it was usually pretty calming most days. Plus when it was super dead, you were able to read some of the books yourself. You were currently hooked on reading The Lord of The Rings series and you had just finished The Hobbit not too long ago. You wished you could buy the full set, but it had cost way too much. 

“Did you find everything all right Mrs. Gibson?” You said as you were checking out one of your usual customers. Mrs. Gibson would come in every week to find new books for her young granddaughter. It was sweet and you enjoyed the conversations you would have with her. 

“Oh yes I did! How have you been my dear?” She asked.

“I’ve been great! Just been working, going to school, and hanging out with my friends. I hope you’re doing well!” You replied. 

“I’ve been doing good! Any fun plans for spring break?” She asked, pulling her wallet out of her purse. 

“Your total is $13.45 by the way! Me and a few friends are gonna have a small get together, but that's all that I have planned. How about you, do you have anything fun planned?” You say to her.

“Well Mr. Gibson and I are planning on heading to Florida with the family, we have a little beach house there and we go a few times a year!” Mrs. Gibson replied, handing you the cash. 

“That sounds lovely, I hope you and your family have a wonderful time!” You handed her the receipt and exchanged goodbyes.

The rest of your shift went by rather quickly, you soon headed home to get dinner and ready for bed as you had school in the morning.

 You stood at your locker getting your books for the next few classes, when suddenly you see a pair of feet before you. You close your locker to see Robin standing there. “Are we still on for tonight?” She asked with a grin.

“Yes we are, but I do have to help Eddie study for exams after school. I will absolutely be there to pick you up at our usual time once I'm done!” You say as you walk with her to your next class, which you just so happened to have with her. 

“Seems a little early to be studying for exams doesn’t it?” Robin questioned.

“Well you know Eddie, he’s gotta start early if he wants to graduate with us.” You said. This was important to you which meant it was important to Eddie. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone, especially you. He cared too much about you to let you down. So if that meant he had to buckle up and study, then that's what he would do. 

“I guess that makes sense. As long as he doesn’t take you away from me for our movie night then we’ll be good, otherwise I’d probably have to beat him up.” You chuckled at her joke but Robin was only semi joking. You both took your seats as class was starting.

“Alright everyone, pop quiz time!” The teacher said which made the class groan.

Robin sat on her front steps waiting for you to pick her up for the movies. She continuously kept checking her watch, she feared that you were gonna be late or not show up at all. She knew how you got when you would hang out with Eddie. As Robin got caught up with her anxious thoughts, she heard a honk. She had checked her watch for the time. There you were right on time as you said you would. Robin let out a sigh of relief, she hated thinking the worst at times. Especially when the thing she was so anxious about ended up working out and being fine in the end.

“You ready to go?” You asked as Robin got in the car. She nodded and buckled her seatbelt. “Alright then, let's go!” You said driving off to the theater. 

You make it there and stand in line to get your tickets. As you were deciding which film to see, you heard a voice behind you. “Oh well well well, look who it is, girls?” You and Robin turn around to see who it is, but deep down you know already.

“Hello Chrissy.” You say with an unpleasant sigh. “Can we help you with something?” Robin asked.

“Yeah you can actually, why don’t you both go crawl back into whatever hole-” Robin held up her hand to Chrissy.

“Would you just give it up already and go bother someone who actually gives a shit?” Robin stated. She was a little shocked with herself. She never stood up to people like Chrissy. 

“Ugh whatever! Let’s get out of here girls” Chrissy scoffed as her and her friends walked away. 

“Next please!” The ticket holder called. It was your turn in line. You bought your tickets and made your way inside to get snacks and catch your seats. You had decided on seeing Gremlins as Robin hadn’t seen it yet and she knew how much you enjoyed horror films. Plus it had a little bit of a Christmas feel to it, which you knew how much Robin loved Christmas.

The movie was going well and you were both enjoying it. Robin was so tranced at the screen that she almost jumped at you holding her hand, but that feeling had soon faded as you started to rub your thumb against her skin. It was a simple act of affection but it meant so much to Robin. It brought her so much comfort and reminded her of the first night that you ever held her hand. She got butterflies just thinking about it. 

“So did you enjoy the movie?” You asked as you drove Robin home. 

“I actually did!” Robin exclaimed, she was rambling on about the cinematography and anything else that she could having to do with the film. “I’m rambling again aren’t I? Oh god I’m sorry, when I get excited-” 

“It’s okay, I find it cute the way you ramble. Especially when you get excited about things.” You reassured her. You turned to her and moved a piece of hair out of her face gently. “There, now I can see all of your pretty face!” You say with a giggle. Robin just sat there with her mouth open, all she could do was sit there and turn a light shade of pink. 

“I um-” She coughed trying to clear her throat. “Thank you.” Robin said, looking straight ahead. For the rest of the ride home you talked about what you both would do before the party at Steve’s. You had decided on going to the park and reading a book with her and going to the music store to check out the new records that were in stock. You were both excited to spend more time together, just the two of you doing things that you both enjoyed.

“Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains in the moon. Roads go ever ever on, Under cloud and under star. Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen, And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green, And trees and hills they long have known”

You read aloud as you lay your head in Robin’s lap. You were both lying in the field at the park as the sun was setting. You were finishing up reading The Hobbit to Robin as she hadn’t read it before. Eddie let you borrow his copy. As you were reading, Robin played with your hair with one hand, while you held the other. It was a perfect moment and neither of you wanted it to end. Once you had finished the book, the pair of you just stayed where you were. Enjoying the company of one another until the sun had fully set. Robin helped you clean up once it was time to go. 

“So do you know who’s gonna be at this party tomorrow?” Robin asked. She wanted to make sure Eddie wouldn’t be there to ruin her moment. She was finally going to take Steve’s advice and ask you out. She felt that things were going well with the two of you and you had been spending more time with her than with Eddie. 

“I’m honestly not sure, I know it’ll be us, Nancy and Mike, maybe Dustin, Lucas, and Max as well.” Robin let out a sigh of relief. Surely you would know if Eddie were coming and if you did then you would have told her. The both of you continued to talk more about the party as you drove Robin home. 

“So I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 8 and then we can stay at my place after the party!” You say as Robin stands outside the driver side door. 

“That sounds perfect to me, I’ll see you then! Drive safe!” Robin replied as she made her way to the front door. 

“Don’t I always?” You chuckled and drove off. 

Tomorrow was going to be a big day and Robin just hoped it would go the way she had planned it all week.

It was finally the big night of the party and Robin was a nervous wreck. She tried to hide that from you but you knew her too well. “You okay there?” You asked. 

“What oh uh yeah, yeah I’m okay.” Robin replied, fidgeting with her fingers. You grab her hand and rub your thumb like you normally do. You could tell something was eating at her, but you never pushed her to tell you anything she didn’t want to talk about. 

“Well whatever has you all anxious, just know I’m here for you, however you need me, okay angel?” You say still rubbing your thumb on her smooth skin. She nods her head and thanks you. 

You both arrive at the party and already there’s a good amount of people there. You make your rounds to say hello to everyone and suddenly the doorbell rings. 

“What’s up, party people?!” Eddie shouts over the music as he and a few of the other members of the Hellfire gang walk in, setting the pizza and soda down on the table. 

“Oh my god Eddie!” You yell in excitement as you jump into his arms. You hadn’t seen him for a while and you missed him like crazy. “I missed you so so much Eds!”

He spun around with you in his arms. “I missed you too peach!” Eddie exclaimed. 

Robin went into the kitchen to hide away, she was angry. She felt like her entire plan was ruined. Steve came into the kitchen to see what was wrong.

“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Steve asked as Robin was hunched over the counter.

“Why is he here?!” She asked, anger seeping in her voice.

“Well when I was inviting Dustin, Eddie may have overheard so I had to invite him too. I felt bad, I didn't want to leave him out.” Steve responded and gave his friend a sympathetic look. “Robin, I’m really sorry. I should have told you that he was coming. Y/N didn’t know, don’t be mad at her.” 

She let out a harsh sigh. “Whatever.” She said brushing past Steve and going back to the party. 

Everyone was watching a movie in the living room so Robin sat in the recliner and watched along to try and get her out of this sour mood. She was determined to get her moment with you, no matter what it takes. She wanted it to be perfect.

There you were sitting on the sofa with Eddie, your legs on his lap as he held onto you. She couldn’t take it anymore. She stormed out of the room and went outside and sat by the pool. You soon followed after her to see if she was okay. 

“Robin? Hey, what's the matter?” You say sitting next to her.

“Why does HE have to be here?” Robin scoffed.

“Who?” You asked.

“Eddie, that's who!” She yells.

You had never seen Robin this upset before. You tried to comfort her the best you could. ‘Had something happened between them? Why was she so mad at Eddie?’ So many thoughts were racing through your mind you didn’t know what to think.

“Did something happen with you guys?” You questioned Robin.

“Yes- well no. Not exactly.” She began to quiet down and look away from you, trying to hide the tears that were forming. You could hear her voice breaking as she spoke.

“Hey, angel. Talk to me, what’s going on?” You said trying to get her to look at you.

“It’s just- it’s not fair.” Robin began to say.

“What’s not fair?” You asked.

“That HE gets to be with you. That he gets to make you laugh the way that you do, that he gets to do the things that I should be able to do with you. It’s just so goddamn unfair!” She sobbed. 

“Robin-” She interrupted you before you could continue.

“That’s why I didn’t talk to you for that period of time, I couldn’t stand seeing you together the way that you are. I’ve been through this with Vickie. It broke me so badly and I never wanted to face that kind of rejection or humiliation ever again and now it’s happening all a second time. I had this big plan to ask you to be my girlfriend and to go to the prom with me. I love spending time with you. I love the way you twirl around in your skirts. I love the way you scrunch your nose like a bunny. I love the way that when the wind hits just right, I can smell your perfume and how sweet it is. I love the way that your eyes sparkle in the moonlight. I love the way that I feel when I’m with you. I love you. I love you so damn much. But I can’t bear to see you with Eddie anymore. I just-” You pulled her face towards yours and kissed her. She didn’t know what to think, she hadn’t done this with anyone before. It didn’t take long for her instincts to kick in. Robin began to kiss you back. Your lips began to move in sync with hers, like it was meant to be. You tasted sweet, like strawberries. She knew how she felt about you and she knew this just felt right. 

“Robin, Eddie and I are just friends. I promise you that. He’s my best friend and that’s it. Eddie is my Steve.” You began to say. “He was the first friend I ever really made. I never had any growing up, I got picked on a lot. He understood me in ways that no one ever had. We both lost our mom’s and our dad's aren't the greatest.” 

‘That would explain why she lived with her grandparents.’ Robin thought to herself. You began to wipe away her tears gently. 

“Robin, I’ve had feelings for you for so long. I tried to give as many signals as I could, I just thought that you maybe didn’t feel the same. You are so special to me and I care about you so much. You mean everything to me. I love the way you ramble when you get nervous and even about the things that you're passionate about. I love that little hair that hangs in your face. I love that I can be myself when I'm with you. I love how funny you are, I just love you Robin.” You admitted to her. 

“Really?” She asked.

“Yes really!” You giggled.

“So does this mean-” Robin started.

“Yes, I will be your girlfriend!” You said and you kissed her cheek. 

“Cool, that’s- that’s super cool.” She said getting flustered. You giggled at her and stood up from where you sat. 

“Come on, let’s go back inside and have a good time.” You suggested, holding out your hand to help her up. She took your hand and got up, following you back inside. The group ended up having fun the rest of the night, watching movies, eating junk food, and playing games. It was around midnight when everyone started to head home.

“Hey Munson, wait up!” Robin called to Eddie as he headed toward his van.

“What’s up?” He asked, turning around to face her.

“Look, I’m really sorry for the way I’ve treated you as of late. You’re a good guy and I was just-” She let out a sigh. “Just jealous of you and I thought that you were with Y/N, so I acted horribly to you and that wasn’t fair. I’m really sorry Eddie.”

He chuckled. “It’s alright Robin, really. You didn’t know and I don’t blame you for that. I appreciate the apology. Just hope that we can be friends now.”

“Definitely!” Robin proclaimed. 

The two said their goodbyes and Robin made her way back to your car. You drove off back to your house, holding onto her hand. She began to think to herself about how Steve was right all along once again. “Damn you Harrington.” She muttered to herself.

“What was that?” You asked, looking over to her.

“Oh nothing, it was nothing.” Robin replied with a huge smile on her face.

Next chapter

[specialsummon]

Today, I like so many others woke to the news of Kazuki Takahashi’s passing. It took a while for it to sink in. 4:30am is not a time fit for man or beast to absorb information after two hours of sleep as they shuffle around getting ready for an opening shift at work. (Thank you, beloved cat, for knocking over my nightstand and startling me awake long before my alarm went off.) But sink in the news did, eventually, and in the lull periods at work I found myself tearing up. I still am. I try not to get personal on this blog - it is a resource blog, after all - but today I am making an exception. Today’s cap post will go up as scheduled, I promise. I was in middle school when the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime began airing in the US. I was not very interested in it at first. The character designs looked weird (anime was still a very ‘new’ thing to me) and it was too much of a hassle to get Kids WB to come through clear on the analog TV antenna my family had at the time. I brushed it off while flipping through magazines in the grocery store, looking for topics relevant to my interests. It would not be until our annual summer vacation that I would be exposed to Yu-Gi-Oh! proper, thanks to the cable TV in our hotel room. I watched an episode out of sheer boredom, as the TV only got five channels. I could not tell you what episode it was now, just that it was Duelist Kingdom. I was instantly hooked. In the years that followed Yu-Gi-Oh! would become a bright spot in an otherwise turbulent and often stressful time in my life. High school was not kind to me, and my world was so very small. But Yu-Gi-Oh! and a newly installed dial-up internet connection brought me comfort and joy amidst the struggle. I made new friends though Neopets message boards and AIM because of this series. In the offline world I deepened already established friendships through a mutual love of both the series and the card game. It was a huge, important part of my life, and I loved it dearly. The series finale even aired the same morning I graduated high school! I was salty about having to go sit out in the sun to receive a piece of paper instead of being able to watch the finale live; thankfully, I made triple sure to record the episode on VHS before I left the house. And I cried, both because the finale was emotional when I finally got to sit down and watch it, and because two chapters of my life closed that day. I will never forget the impact Yu-Gi-Oh! has had on my life. Friendships forged through it are still going strong all these years later, both online and off. It gave me something to look forward to each week at a time where there was little else and made the hard times just a little bit easier. It has made the last two years so much more bearable. Thank you, Mr. Takahashi, for everything you gave us with this series. The life lessons, the connections that made our worlds open up to people we may have never met otherwise. Thank you for everything that you gave me. Rest well. - Copper

[ryuuka-balaen]

made a couple visits to my local Print & Stationary Store over the last couple days to get me paws on some Warhammering Supplies I'd needed and here's The Haul;

1- typed out and printed off 2 copies of the Leviathan Mission Pack from images I'd found online because I found playing without a physical copy to be a huge pain in the ass and I'd still not been able to get my paws on a proper copy despite my best efforts, which I then stuck into binders with dividers for easy use - one copy (in a puppy binder!!) for me to use and one for my opponent to reference

Includes game setup structure, Deployment Zone diagrams, Mission Rule Deck, Primary Mission Deck, Secondary Mission Deck, and Gambit Deck.

I'm real happy with how those came out, and am gonna scrawl out a couple index cards to keep on the table to remind on what missions are active.

2- this took a day of waiting but when I was typing out Mission Setup document I stumbled on a line in there - "Missions are played on rectangular battlefields whose dimensions are approximately 44x60 inches. This can be achieved by placing four battlezone boards flat on a surface next to each other." - that last bit forced a lightbulb moment in my head because I still had the paper play mat that came with the Recruit Edition Starter Set, which is the same size as the battlezone boards mentioned,,,

initially I'd wanted to get them laminated but that was too expensive, so i got four photocopies of my paper mat made on matte poster paper, ready for use as a battlemat!

3- finally when I went to pick up my new battlemat today I realized I had a couple more things I wanted printed - namely the rules needed to play my beautiful giant lady hierodule I've been painting - and also 20 copies of blank army rosters so I don't have to use scrawled index cards anymore as well as the Knights imperial armour index because that new cerastus knight lancer looks so so tastey (also brought files to print IA indexes for tau, gk, and necrons, but figured there's no way im usin em any time soon so no point printing)

haven't shoved all that in binders just yet but I will eventually, got an assignment due tonight I need to force myself to write first

[tangiblejournal56]

6/25/11

Sitting on my bed, art supplies & books surrounding me, “Eli the Barrow Boy” playing softly, the tsch-tsch sound of my dangling paper cranes as the fan makes them dance.  It’s too late to be considered Saturday still, soon dawn will be creeping in through my window with its heat & glare.  I hope to be long asleep by then, dreaming of Max as I continually do these days.  The dreams help, the need to see his face, hear his voice, subsides slightly.  A fraction.  A hair.  Not at all, really.

Today was spent on buses, wandering around Austin with Jacob.  Stopping in at the grocery store, his shock & celebration over his vegan chili on sale, unheard of prices, he was so damn happy.  Plans for a big chili dinner ensued.  Once home, already dark out, we went to the pool with our beer & cigarettes, spending two hours floating & discussing particle accelerators, the Tsar Bomba, aerogel, physics.  Favorite topics of his, how he enjoyed teaching me about these subjects so foreign to me.  How skilled I am in discovering people’s passions & letting them discuss those passions to their hearts’ content, how I use that skill to endear myself to them.  Not that I need to do so with Jacob, when drunk as well as sober he will tell me he adores me.  As if it weren’t evident in how endlessly he teases me over all my neuroses & silliness.  All for my reactions, disgust, exasperation, “Jaaacob, doooon’t!”  I was never very feminine until around him so constantly.  Now I shave my legs daily, I clean all the time, I attempt to cook for his as he is as helpless as I am in front of a stove.  Somehow I am terrified to let him see me unladylike, though he is the last person to care about those things.  I’m not even trying to get him to fall for me, I have no interest in dating him.  To what end do these things matter?

We slept together once again.  He brought home a large bottle of cheap vodka & we became spectacularly drunk, watching a documentary on an inventor & architect.  Then down to the pool, swimming & playing water games with the young children.  When they’d gone to bed, we became flirtatious, he grabbing my breasts, myself touching his junk as well.  Back inside, I tried to help him change into his pajamas, & somehow this led to sex.  When I tried closing my eyes & imagining Max, for a few moments I actually enjoyed it.  How awful is that to admit?  I sleep with him so he won’t be lonely, & so I won’t let my feelings of attraction for him go too far.  A very strange sort of irony.  There was one enjoyable moment, I admit, he was teasing me, holding back, & when I’d beg him for it, he’d grin, “No.”  He really liked teasing me, that glimmer in his eyes, that sexy grin.  Again wanting a reaction.  Then after, both retreating to our own beds.  It’s odd, this little pattern we’ve developed.  I don’t see it occurring often, I’m always surprised by its existence.  I would bet it doesn’t happen again.  I am quite taken aback, though, that despite other girls (Spill, to be specific) wanting this, he chose me for his fuck buddy.  Perhaps because of my ability to keep my private life private.  Though I did quietly admit it to Josh tonight.  “I don’t want to say I expected it, but I kind’ve knew it was a possibility,” was his reaction.

Jacob & I also discussed the baby for a little bit tonight.  I didn’t know if he’d even known about it, which he did.  “Uh, everyone knew,” he said in his blunt but not rude way.  He said he’d wanted to bring it up before, hadn’t gotten around to it yet.  Not much was said, a few random details here & there.  It was a pretty comfortable conversation.  I don’t think I could conceive of a better roommate than him, we are completely compatible, cooking together, playing board games, even laying on the living room floor together reading quietly.  I try to be as accommodating as possible, & he just goes with the flow of everything.  I wonder when the day will come when he is annoyed by me, & barely acknowledges me.  He is someone who needs nothing of anyone.  Even if it’s sex, I’m happy to be the person who gives him what he needs.

[pbandjesse]

Today was a pretty good day. I am feeling really tired but I had fun.  I just got off a video call with James and it was so nice to hear their voice. I love them so much. 

I slept pretty well last night. I woke up at 7 and was very tired still. I let myself rest until 730. But would get up and get dressed and tried to shake off the sleepies. My hair felt bad but that was l, and is, mostly because of how humid it is. It would storm today but it didn't knock out the humid and that is frustrating. Hopefully it passes soon. 

The morning was nice. I went to the kitchen to get a biscuit.  Chatted with the nice guys in the kitchen. And went to have my biscuit with jam. 

I spent some time getting my project stuff set up. And then just chilled for a while. 

All the kids were really great today. My first group had one of our new kids who don't really speak English! The one I had was named Max and speaker Ukrainian. He has been here since February and was so sweet and so smart. When they brought him up to my building I got Google translate downloaded really fast and was able to compliment his art and then I made him a friendship bracelet in the Ukrainian colors. I hope he liked it. We all like him a lot. I hope he is having fun. 

The rest of my morning was easy. Older girls. We did pearler beads and painted and made weird art. Some girls did the perspective drawing and some made bracelets. And it was just really nice. 

Lunch was good. They actually made a vegetable wrap to go along with the chicken wraps they had for everyone else. I actually felt like I had a good meal and was feeling a lot better. 

I only had one more group today. And they were out littlest campers. We had some trouble honestly. Throwing things and screaming and not treating my things nicely.  I had to use strong words and tone with a few of them, but they heard me. I was just like hey. I bring this stuff to share but if you are going to purposely break it I will not be sharing with you any more. They got it after that. 

A storm started rolling in. But it would just sort of build pressure around us for a long while. 

Laura came and hung out with me for a bit. I shared some candy I had with her. And we chatted about the  drama at camp. Had some laughs and brainstormed an idea to get off of camp today. 

And then she headed to her last program. And I went to go shower. 

I walked down to the pool. The rain was still threatening to start soon so I brought my umbrella. It was a great shower and I felt a lot nicer after. I changed into my silly pants that has a wild pattern on them. And felt real cute. 

I went to the office porch to chat with CJ. And then back to my building to hang out in my hammock until it was time for our meeting. 

I was early for the meeting. Chilled and chatted with Chloe until everyone else got there. 

And that's when the storm started. It was not scary like the one the other day. It was just heavy and nice. 

And the meeting with productive. We decided what me and Laura could go off camp for. Animal supplies and food for natural dying. The meeting took a while but it was nice to hear about everyone else's programs and needs and stuff. There was a little bit of figuring out because horse camp is stressed out. But I came up with a trivia idea and I'm going to work on a game board for them this week. I am glad to help. 

After the meeting I went to get the credit cards from Alexi. And me and Laura ran away. 

We drove out to the pet store. And had fun looking at the fish.  Making jokes and chatting with the guy who works there for the best way to feed our animals. I think he thought we were funny and a little strange. Fine with me. That's just what camp is like. 

We went to get chipotle next but the first one we went to was only doing pick up?? I have never experienced that before. So we got back in the car and went to hunt valley. Where Laura got her first chipotle and we got it for free because the credit card machine wouldn't work. And it was very good food! I really enjoyed Laura's company and it was just nice having a big meal. 

We went to the grocery store next. I took silly pictures of Laura with the Irish spring soap. And showed her the international section and kept pointing at things and asking if it made her think of home. We looked for a birthday card for her dad and found a nice one. 

And then after we paid we went to find a dollar store. Where we had lots of fun looking at all the weird things. I got pool noodles for a project and she got stickers. And it was very productive. 

I had wanted to get Rita's but we were still full. So we just headed back here. Laura complimented my music taste. And when we got back we stopped at the office to drop off the credit cards and receipts. And went up to arts and crafts. 

Laura ran over to the council ring to see the end of Slims show. And I started working on the theme boxes. I realized quickly I would need more spoons. Laura would come back and help me count popsicle sticks. And then we walked to the dining hall so I could get spoons. She went off to nature and I continued on. 

I chatted with the kitchen guys. They were teasing me for not being at dinner because they made me a grilled cheese and I was like oh no!!! But they were like oh you got chipotle that's way better. And then gave me a huge bag of spoons. So I have more then enough and I'm very pleased. I stayed and chatted with them for a bit. Went and used the bathroom. And came back up here. 

Where I video chatted James. And Sweetp kept laying on the phone. And it was so good to end my day talking to my love. 

Tomorrow is 100 days until our wedding!!! That's wild!! It's going to go so fast. I'm so excited to be married to my James. 

Good night everyone. Sleep well. Wash your hands!! 

[theprecuresystem]

I attended my first Official OTS today...

I've been attending Locals for a while, but my local store was hosting an Official Konami OTS tournament with an Official Konami judge. It was structured very differently from how Locals was, and took me a bit of time to get things set up.

We were told to arrive an hour early to fill out a special form - this form would detail our entire deck list. Each card had to be written exactly as named (including any punctuation or quotation marks), which meant no abbreviations would be allowed. For example, you can't write `Karakuri Gama` or `Karakuri Shirokunishi` to represent the frog tuner, you have to write `Karakuri Gama mdl 4624 "Shirokunishi"`, or the decklist won't be accepted. You may be forced to play a different card of the name you had written down, if one shares that name. (Superheavy Samurai Monk Big Benkei and Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei are good examples of this.)

Here's how the decklist form looked:

I decided to bring my Karakuri deck along and hope for the best - although it's not very meta, it can make good plays with the right hands... but that's part of the problem. It needs good hands.

Every hand I got this tournament, I either bricked incredibly hard, or my opponent had ways to stop every action I wanted to manage - droll & lock bird, ash blossom & joyous spring, infinite impermanence. It was a tough ride for those five rounds... my record went as such - Lose, Draw, Lose, Lose, Lose.

Even so, I still had fun! In the second match, I won the first game easily with my karakuri board actually getting set up - a naturia beast, two bureibu, and a therion king regulus... I managed to deal enough damage and win. The second game in that match, my opponent brought out a lyrilusc monster that inflicted the battle damage dealt to both of us - resulting in both of our lifepoints hitting 0 simultaneously. I lost the third game to time, and that entire second match becoming a draw was glorious.

I recall in match 3, my opponent was using Raidraptors, and managed to get over 9,000 damage towards me in one turn... I'm genuinely surprised that was possible in a single turn, but it allowed me to witness what other decks are capable of! I really enjoyed myself! I hope to attend more official events in the future...

[chicken0death]

Today was Thanksgiving. We went to my parents' house for lunch. We had turkey and all the fixings. It was a tasty meal and I ate too much. What could be better?

We watched the newest James Bond movie while we digested. It was pretty good! The ending was bittersweet, but I look forward to what will happen with the franchise next.

Before supper, we played decided to play a game. We weren't in the mood for anything heavy, so we busted out a game I picked up the other day on sale. Sequence. It's an older game, and one I've seen at stores for years, but never had a chance to play. It's about as simple as a game can get. Just play a card, put a chip on the matching space on the board, and try and make 5 in a row two times. Oh, and you play with a partner in a 4 player game. We really enjoyed ourselves! So much that we played two more rounds after supper. I brought my big bag filled with games, but we didn't even touch the others. We had too much fun with this one.

Overall, it was a great day. It was a bit different this year, but we tried our best to make it special.

[mvltixcc]

Girls Like Girls - Robin Buckley X Cheerleader!Reader

Summary: Robin has a crush on the new girl in town. Y/N is also a new member of the cheer squad, which means Robin sees her all the time at games and other school events. Unfortunately, Robin is put in a tough situation. She's scared to talk to her because the cheerleaders have a reputation of being mean girls and she fears that Y/N may not feel the same. Little does Robin know that Y/N does not appear as she seems. Y/N becomes best friends with Eddie, which seems unlikely at the surface due to different social circles. This leads to rumors of course and word spreads like wildfire here at Hawkins, which then makes Robin's feelings even more confusing. After hanging out with Steve and the gang, Robin starts to see a different side to Y/N. Will they end up together or will they just remain friends?

Word Count: 2.3k

Pinterest board for inspiration

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Chapter 5

“Hey pretty lady!” You say skipping up to Robin as she walked into work. 

“Hey stranger!” She responded with a smile. 

“Are you doing anything for Thanksgiving this year?” You asked, twirling your skirt.

“Oh I um-” Robin cleared her throat. “I don’t have anything going on actually. My parents are gonna be out of town on a trip they've had planned for over a year, why do you ask?” 

“I was having a little get together with some people since it’s just gonna be me and my family, I thought maybe you’d like to join!” You suggested. Robin’s face lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning. “I’d love to!” She proclaimed. 

“Oh yay! How exciting, all 6 of us are gonna have so much fun!” You said, Robin’s facial expression dropping at this. 

“6? Who um, who else will be there exactly?” Robin questioned.

“Well my family and I of course! Steve will be there too since his parents aren't really around much. And also Eddie as well, his uncle is gonna be working that day and I didn't want him to be alone.” You stated.

“Oh okay, that’s- that's great! I cant wait!” Robin tried to hide her disappointment. 

“Yay!! I’ll see you there! Okay, I’m off you have a good shift! Don’t drive her too crazy, Harrington.” You joked as you headed out the door.

“But that’s my job!” Steve replied. He turned to Robin and noticed the mood change. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

She sighed. “I didn’t know Eddie was gonna be at this get together. I thought it was gonna be like-”

“A date?” Steve questioned. 

“Maybe I guess, I don’t know.” Robin said, putting her head in her hands. 

“I still don’t see why you don’t make the first move?” Steve suggested. 

“Oh I don’t know, maybe because it would end totally horrifically. Catastrophic even!” She exclaimed. 

“But you don’t know that, maybe it won't end the way you think it will.” He said.

“Look, can we just drop it please?” Robin asked, getting ready to start her shift. Steve nodded and went to stock the candy.

“Well don’t you look nice!” Steve complimented as he picked up Robin. 

“Thanks dingus, you don’t look too bad yourself.” She thanked her friend. 

“What the hell is that?” Steve asked, pointing to the container in her lap.

“It’s a pie, what have you never seen a pie before?” She joked.

“Since when do you bake?” He scoffed as he continued to drive to Y/N’s house.

“Don’t be stupid, I bought this from the store. You really think that I’m gonna make her eat a pie that I don’t know how to make? Plus, at least I brought something, I don’t see you with anything.” Robin stated. 

“Uh huh okay whatever Buckley.” He laughed.

As Steve drove the rest of the way to the destination, Robin’s nervousness increased. She spent all week trying to make everything perfect for today. From her hair, her outfit, and what she would say in a conversation. She practiced VERY hard with that as she didn’t want to be a rambling mess in front of you. She got so lost in her anxious thoughts that she didn’t even notice that they had arrived. 

“Earth to Robin, hellooo?” Steve said, waving his hand in front of Robin’s face trying to capture her attention. 

“What huh, sorry.” She replied coming back to reality. 

“Look who was waiting for you.” Steve said pointing to the door, she saw you standing there in this cute outfit waving at the both of them. A blush began to creep upon her face. The pair got out of the car and made their way toward you. 

“I’m so happy you guys are here! Come in come in!” You said leading your friends inside. Everyone was sitting there chatting and eating snacks. Robin looked around expecting to see your parents. “So guys this is my nana and papa, and this is Steve and Robin!” Y/N said introducing the two friends to your family. 

“And I’m Eddie.” Eddie said as he stuffed his face with cheese cubes.

“Yes Eds we all know who you are.” You chuckled at him. “Now save some cheese for the rest of us!” You say slapping the cheese out of his hand. This made everyone laugh.  

Everyone began to converse with one another and having a good time, which you were glad. You took hosting VERY seriously and wanted everyone to get along. You made sure that everything was perfect for today. “Hey, where did you want me to put this pie?” Robin asked as she approached you in the kitchen.

You turned around to face her, “oh um you can set it on the counter over there.” You say pointing to the free spot. You went back to adding the finishing touches to everything. 

“Is there anything you need help with?” Robin asked, now standing next to you. 

“Yes actually! Can you put the potatoes into the bowl over there for me please?” You asked kindly. Robin nods and starts to help out. She finishes up and is shocked at herself that she didn’t drop any. 

“Alright everyone, time to eat! Ah go wash your hands you goose!” You said smacking Eddie's hand as he was reaching for the rolls. 

"Ouch! Will you stop smacking my hands?" Eddie chuckled.

He returned and everyone sat down and began to eat. The food was being passed around as well as the stories, especially from your papa. Boy did he love to tell his stories. Robin was having a great time, all her anxiety was gone by this point. She was sitting next to you,  just enjoying your company and that was all that mattered most to her. ‘Maybe everything would be okay after all.' She thought to herself. Boy was she so very wrong.

Your grandparents had just went to bed so now it was just the 4 of you hanging out. Steve and Robin were in the living room while Eddie was helping you clean up. While Steve and Robin were dancing, they heard a screech coming from the kitchen. They both ran to see what had happened. There you were being playful with Eddie. He was chasing you around with olives on his fingers. “BWAH!!” Eddie said as he chased you. 

“Stop, that’s so gross, you don’t even like olives anyways!!” You chuckled, trying to get away from him. He wrapped you up in his arms and lifted you up in the air. “Ahhh put me down you weirdo!!” You yelled.

Robin’s heart sank as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. She felt tears brimming her eyes. She pushed past Steve and grabbed her coat. Steve tried to call out for her to stop, but she ran out of the house. Y/N heard the door slam and Eddie set you down to go see what had happened. You walked into the living room and saw that both Robin and Steve were gone. You opened the front door and saw the car was now gone too. You felt a wave of sadness hit. Had you done something wrong for them to leave so suddenly? Without a goodbye at that. Eddie noticed the sadness in your eyes.

“Hey come here.” He said pulling you into a hug. “Maybe there was an emergency, I know it’s hard not to take it personal, but try not to, okay? At least not until you know what happened.” He hated seeing you so sad. "Come on, let's go finish up in the kitchen." You nodded and followed him.

"Alright here you go." You say handing Eddie the containers of food.

"Thanks, Wayne is gonna be thrilled to have this when he gets home from work." He thanked. "You know how he loves your cooking."

"Anytime!" You said trying to flash a smile, but in the back of your mind you couldn't stop thinking about Robin. Eddie could see the look on your face.

"I know." Eddie said as he pulled you into a hug. "Everything will be okay, I'm here for you always." He pulled away. "How about I come over tomorrow and we can do something just the two of us yeah?" He suggested.

"I'd really like that." You said with a smile. Eddie always knew how to make you feel better.

Eddie pulls you in for another hug. "Perfect, I'll see you tomorrow then okay peach?" You nod.

You helped him out to his van with all the food you had packed him and said your goodbyes. As he pulled out of the driveway he waved at you and you waved back. Then he drove on home and you were left alone to your thoughts. You went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. You couldn't help but cry as you were in there. You never wanted to upset anyone and the thought of you doing that to Robin affected you deeply. After your shower, you crawled into bed and passed out.

Some time had passed since the last time you saw Robin. She wasn’t at school the week after everything had happened so you’ve tried calling and going to her house, but you heard nothing. And even when she finally came back, she avoided you. She just won't talk to you and that devastated you. You weren’t sure what had happened, so you didn’t know how to make things right.

Steve was no help either, he wanted to tell you because you were his friend too but he had to respect Robin’s wishes. You had quit your job at the family video because it made you too sad going there and not being with Robin.

You’d cry to Eddie all the time about how sad it made you and he was there for you the best he could, he hated seeing you like this. Eddie knew how much you cared for Robin. He even tried to reach out to Robin to try and fix whatever had happened, but he got nowhere.

It was now Christmas time and Steve had invited you over for a small get together. Part of you had hoped Robin would be there, but the chances of that were low. You still had gotten her a gift anyways, you didn’t want her to feel like you stopped caring about her. You finally had your own car so that meant no more Eddie driving you around everywhere, not that he’d complain anyways. You pulled up to Steve’s house and grabbed the gifts out of your trunk, soon making your way to the front door. 

“Well look who decided to finally show up!” Steve said as he opened the door for you. You couldn't see him because of the big pile of gifts you had, but you could tell it was him by the sound of his voice. “Got enough gifts there Y/N?” He chuckled, helping you take some inside. 

“Hey I didn’t want anyone to go without a gift!” You stated.

“Even me?” You heard someone say from behind. You turned around to see who it was and once the realization had hit, you ran right into their arms. 

“God I’ve missed you so much.” You said softly as your voice began to break, tears welling up in your eyes.

“I missed you too Y/N.” Robin replied, hugging you tightly.

You pulled away to face her, tears streaming down your face at this point. “I’m so so so beyond sorry Robin, I-” She interrupted you. 

“No no, there’s no need to apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong. There was just- a lot going on in my head and I needed some time to work through it.” She said, wiping your tears. You hugged her again not wanting to let go, you truly did miss her. 

“So no Eddie huh?” She asked.

“No, he’s at home spending time with his uncle while they both have the time off from working.” You stated. 

“Ah I see, that’s good I guess.” Robin replied. She was a little happy that he wouldn’t be there with you so she could have you all to herself. 

“Alright come on you two, let’s go open gifts!” Steve interrupted 

Everyone sat around in a circle and opened their gifts. Everyone had gotten things that they had enjoyed or needed, like Y/N got movies, Nancy got notepads for when she did her reporting, Steve got cans of hairspray (naturally), and the kids got stuff for DND. But Robin got random stuff, things that weren't really for her or what she liked. Things like candy, stickers, or knick knacks from a gumball machine. Basic stocking stuffers. She was grateful of course, but she felt like no one really knew her or didn’t care to get her anything that she would like. That was until she opened your gift. You had gotten her favorite records as well as ones that she had been wanting to get for a long time. She had the biggest smile on her face and her heart felt so full. No one had ever payed this much attention to her, not even Steve. She felt seen and heard for once. You went over to her spot and sat next to her. 

“Merry Christmas Robin.” You said giving her a warm hug. 

“Merry Christmas Y/N.” She replied, hugging you tightly. She really had missed you a lot and she was glad to have you back. 

Next chapter

[ayioumz]

oki!!! hmmm how about the artem and luke taking their s/o to the xmas winter wonderland event, but irl in the game, if that makes sense! in game its a board game but it wld be fun to know what u think they're actually doing :D

12/31/21 ; what's better than taking your lover to winter wonderland event?

— a/n ; your - your brain is actually huge for this, i love it - thank you for the req <3 i had fun making it! — featuring ; artem and luke x gn! reader (separately !!) — warning ; just a lot of hugs and kisses, slight angst? (luke) — genre ; fluff ! ─── check my other works here ; MASTERLIST

artem would be early at the event just to buy something for you before you arrive, but he couldn't help but buy a box of different pastries for you as he remembered how cute you looked when you passed by a pastry shop near the law firm.

artem also saw a stall that is selling simple jewelries so when you arrived, he told you he wanted to look at something and so the two of you went !

"huh? artem, do you like wearing bracelets and necklaces?" you said as you looked at the jewelries - you didnt knew the man next to you liked such things. "it's for us," he said as he picked up a star pendant necklace and a moon pendant necklace and paid for it immediately as if he knows just how perfect it would be on you. artem helped you wear the star necklace and whispered softly in your ear, "my star."

you never knew he had it in him! the heat rushing up to your cheeks, is this the same calm and logical man? you were glued to the pavement as he looked at you with those blue eyes of his, full of emotion.

brought his camera just for you, he also did it for him too. the two of you would take tons of picture together and buy pizza from the nearby food court and back to going through what the event has in store for their visitors. he wanted to get as much picture from not only today but everytime he is with you.

luke saw how you were amazed by the man made ice castle. he smiled at you before tapping your shoulder,

"hm?" you looked at luke and you saw him smiling, "do you want to take a picture at the ice castle? we can build one afterwards too!" "can we really? sure!" you said with enthusiam and couldn't help but hold his and walk towards the place, looking at the ice castle in amazement. "let's take a picture together." luke said as he took out his tripod and ran back to you, pulling you close to him with the ice castle behind the two of you. luke held you closer and you looked up at him to see him looking at you,

there was something hiding in his eyes and your heart ached at the sight of it, what was it? you couldn't open your mouth to ask, you just hoped he would tell you someday.

[manonblaqkbeak]

Family Time

good morning/afternoon/evening/night. hope you’re all doing well and staying safe!!!! i have a rowaelin fic that i wanted to post before rowaelin month started since im focusing on those prompts atm

i cant wait to see what everyone has in store for rowaelin month, im very much looking forward to it!

enjoy! :)

1835 words

The day that Aelin had been looking forward to was finally here.

She and Rowan were going to spend a week in their spot in the forest. A week was longer than usual, but it was much needed. Not only had she and Rowan been working extremely hard to the point where they weren't going to bed until the middle of the night, his family was arriving to Orynth to visit for a few weeks in a week and a half.

And not just a few members of his family, almost the entire Whitethorn family was coming, with the exception of a few—namely Sellene, who would be gifting them with personal letters and presents, and those that were too old or just didn't feel like making such a long journey.

Aelin was looking forward to it, to meeting those she hadn't, to hearing others perspectives on Rowan's childhood. Her mate, however...not so much. Rowan was looking forward to catching up with the cousins that he liked, but not so much for the meddlesome ones. He warned her that whatever secrets that people were hiding wouldn't be secrets anymore, that the nosy ones liked to make a game to see who could learn the most secrets.

Aelin admitted that could be a problem, but in his letter, Enda claimed that everyone would be on their best behaviour.

Rowan wasn't entirely convinced. And not just because of that, he was worried that the conversation of when Aelin and Rowan were going to have children was going to be brought up as Rowan had written that they were forbidden from doing so.

Months ago, only several weeks after the war, after a meeting with the Lords and Ladies of Terrasen, Aelin and Rowan came to the decision to wait for a while to have children after Lord Gunnar had brought up the topic of heirs. Aelin could still remember the silence, at her speechlessness of how suddenly it was mentioned. How Rowan had turned to Lord Gunnar and demanded not just to him, but to everyone around them, that it was a private matter between the Queen and himself, and that it was not up for public discussion.

It wasn't a very long conversation—they both wanted to have a family, but Aelin wasn't ready. She was having nightmares from her time with Maeve and Cairn, and throwing pregnancy in the mix just screamed disastrous.

Rowan took her hands in his large warm ones and promised that he would wait for as long as she wanted. Whether it was one year, five years, or one hundred, he would wait until she was ready and willing.

Aelin had never loved him more.

Since then, Rowan was taking a contraceptive tonic. It hadn't taken very long for it to spread around the castle, but neither Aelin or Rowan would let others opinions change their minds.

And it wasn't like they were completely without family. They had their friends and Fleetfoot, with the canine joining them on their week long getaway.

Aelin and Rowan helped the servants set up the Royal tent and the square wooden table where they would be eating and playing chess and card games. There were a few books that Aelin was very much looking forward to reading, too.

Aelin was excited for this week away, to forgo her corsets, dresses, pants and breast-bands. She was determined to stay in Rowan's shirts and her slippers the entire time.

So the moment that everything was set up, the trays of sweet and savoury foods on the table, and the servants and guards were gone, Aelin stripped down to nothing, swaying her hips the way that Rowan liked when she spotted him drinking her in and slipped on one of his shirts and put on her well loved slippers.

Grabbing the picnic blanket from one of the chests, Aelin turned to see Fleetfoot sniffing hungrily at the trays of food, moving closer with each second that passed. Just as she was about to inhale the food, Rowan took the pup out of her misery and feed her a handful of sliced fermented sausage.

Aelin smiled at the sight. Rowan might grumble about the mess Fleetfoot made and how she kept slobbering on his pillow but Aelin knew he loved her—even when she ate his socks.

Aelin set up the blanket and pillows against a thick oak tree, ready for her week of relaxation.

X X X X X X

Aelin's stomach was near to bursting. She hadn't intended to eat that much food, since there was a leg of lamb and chopped root vegetables roasting in the cauldron above the fire, but everything was just too good to have just the once. She ate and ate until there was nothing but crumbs left.

She didn't regret it, however.

She was close to sleeping as Rowan ran a free hand through her scalp as he used the other to read. Her head was on his lap, the sun was warm, and from the happy yips that were coming from the woods, Fleetfoot was having a fun time running around.

Aelin glanced at her husband, his face relaxed as he read his book. And she had no idea why, but she found herself saying: “What would you look like with a beard?”

Rowan blinked, the only surprise he'd show at the question. “Like an old man,” he answered after a moment.

“You are an old man.”

He flicked her ear, and then went back to running his fingers through her scalp. “I grew a beard, once, when I was young. I looked like my father.”

“So you looked very handsome, then.” Rowan had taken up sketching in the quiet moments. He had drawn his parents and they were a very attractive couple. Rowan inherited his fathers hair, eyes, nose and sharp jawline, but got his mother's lips, cheekbones and eyebrows.

They had died long ago, but Aelin would have liked to have met them. Rowan said that they would have liked her, eventually, as he believed that they wouldn't have known what to do with her at first.

Aelin gave Rowan a big smile as the question formed in her mind. And since Rowan knew her so well, he said, “No.”

“You don't even know what I was going to say!” She protested, but it was a lie.

“I am not growing a beard.”

“Please, for me? Just a little one?”

“No.”

“How about some stubble?”

He sighed, exasperated, knowing that there was no point in arguing. “Fine. I'll grow some stubble and that's it.”

“Mm-hmm. Whatever you say, buzzard.”

He sighed again, but there was a small smile on his lips. He returned to his book, and telling her what it was about when Aelin asked. It made her heart swell that her warrior found time to read, as he admitted to her months ago that he never really had the opportunity when he was sworn to Maeve.

Not wanting to ruin today with thoughts of her, Aelin grabbed her own book by her pillow and read, luxuriating in Rowan's warmth and love and in the company of a good book.

X X X X X X

Aelin was losing, but she made sure that the irritation that was coursing through her didn't show on her face. Playing chess with an experience strategist was an absurd idea, but she was determined not to quit.

Rowan had been wanting for her to make her move. Had been waiting for fifteen minutes. Fleetfoot was by her feet, but she was just waiting for the roast lamb to be done.

Five minutes later, Aelin finally made her move. Her eyes flicked up towards Rowan, but his face was stone. He made his move in a blink of an eye. “Checkmate.”

Fire coated her throat as Aelin screeched in frustration, which just made Rowan laugh. Fleetfoot howled and ran off.

Aelin grumbled under her breath as she put away the chess board (for now, they would definitely be playing again once Aelin had more food in her stomach) while Rowan put their dinner on the plates, smiling all the while. Behind him, his mate vowed that she would beat him one day at chess. His smile widened.

Rowan knew that if he said he could beat her even with a blind-fold on, she would go on about how big his head was.

Fleetfoot came back, getting in the way of his feet as he put his and Aelin's dinner down. He gave Fleetfoot the plate reserved for her, using his powers to cool it down, not missing Aelin's soft smile as he did so.

They ate dinner in companionable silence, with Rowan's thoughts on his cousins. He was sure that he wasn't going to get a single thing done while they were visiting. Or if he did, he knew that some of his cousins would want to intrude.

Thinking about it more, he knew that they were going to intrude. Enda had written in-between the lines that there were some cousins that didn't really believe that Rowan was King-Consort and would only believe it once they saw him in action.

That they would actually believe once they saw him in his crown.

And even then, he was sure that there'd be at least one or two that still wouldn't believe it.

Rowan would let them think whatever they wanted about him, it wouldn't matter to him.

Maybe he should have just invited Enda and his mate—but Aelin was looking forward to meeting his family, so he would just deal with it.

It would only be a couple of weeks, possibly three. At best, four, since it was a long journey. He could last.

Rowan could do it, he would just have to block them out if they became too much. He had done that in the past.

“If you keep furrowing your brows like that, they'll replace your eyes,” Aelin said, slathering a fresh slice of bread with butter and running it through the left over gravy on her plate.

Rowan grunted but tried to relax his forehead. It took him a minute longer than it should have.

Later on, they went for a late night swim. Which was slowly turning into something more, up until Fleetfoot jumped into the water with them, saturating them further.

It was the best first day that Aelin could have asked for, and was very much looking forward to the rest of the week.

X X X X X X

Aelin woke up to one of her favourite sights. Rowan shirtless, sleeping on his stomach, his tattooed arm curled around Fleetfoot who slept between them all night. The hounds golden head half on Rowan's pillow, her paws stretching towards Aelin, her furry face soft in sleep.

Smiling, Aelin shuffled closer, and wrapped her own arms around the pup, her fingers just touching Rowan.

Joyful, Aelin fell back asleep, a smile still on her face.

[petri808]

Quarantine memories fic hoarding craze for @thenaluarchive

— thank you to @phoenix-before-the-flame for helping jump start this fic 💜

It was Natsu Dragneel’s absolute favorite time of the day. 1 pm for him, and 8 am for Lucy, his… well, right now they were just online friends separated by distance and priorities. But judging by how he talked about her to friends, you’d never know it. They’d met three years ago on Twitch through a random chat stream about an anime series, and he continued following Lucy on her writing streams. Three years ago, she was a sophomore in college while he was in his senior year. Lucy later moved on to a graduate program, but they stayed in touch, growing close. To Natsu, she wasn’t just some girl online but a real friend he cared very much about. His friends called Lucy his online girlfriend. Pfft. He wished he could call her that.

Roughly two thousand miles away, Lucy Heartfilia was hating life. Her curtains were drawn, and a blanket was pulled over her head to drown out the light. The air conditioner was down to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, working against the low-grade fever and pounding migraine born yesterday. Migraines… the bane of her otherwise healthy existence. It was her fault after all, the temptation of a chocolate dessert knowing full well it was one of her triggers brought on said migraine and all she could do was bear it.

Why?

“Stupid hoarders!” Lucy groaned to herself.

As if dealing with a pandemic wasn’t bad enough, people’s selfish reactions to it were worse. A government agency had claimed that acetaminophen products could help with the virus’s symptoms, so what did people do? Panic buying anything and everything they could find containing that drug! The problem for people like Lucy, is the one over the counter medication that helped with her migraines was Excedrine… an acetaminophen product! And she’d just. run. out.

Lucy’s phone rang and she knew exactly who it could be based on the time. So, she clicked the answer button without opening her eyes.

“Hey, Natsu,” she groaned out.

“Morning Lucy! Oh geez, you sound like a frog.”

“Thanks,” she retorted sarcastically. “I’ve got a migraine.”

“Ouch.” Natsu genuinely flinched. He rarely got headaches, but this wasn’t the first time he’d talked to Lucy when she was going through one, so he knew what she was going through. “The meds aren’t helping?”

Lucy sighed. “I ran out. And did you see the news about all the hoarding? Every store here is bought out. It… sucks.”

“I could check around here and send you any I find,” he offered.

“Aww, that’s sweet of you Natsu, but I don’t wanna trouble you.”

“Pfft. Nonsense. I’m sure you’d do the same for me.”

“Thanks, Natsu. I appreciate it.” Lucy smiled through the pain. There’s a good reason her feelings for the man had grown over the years. His sweet and caring, yet fun and goofy, positive personality was an easy drug to get hooked to.

“Anyway, I gotta get back to work.” Natsu whined. “Good morning again, stay hydrated, and I’ll check on you again when I’m finished for the day, okay Lucy? Get some rest.”

“Have a good day at work Natsu.”

“Will now, after hearing your voice. Talk to you later Luce.”

She giggled softly. “Bye, Natsu.”

Lucy shifted under her blanket as she clicked off the phone to lie on her back. His sexy voice did wonders for her mood despite the pain still ravaging it. Now all she had to do was drag herself out of bed to eat something and drink water. She never had an appetite when she got these migraines, but it was a necessary fuel to fight it. All Lucy had left were extra strength Tylenol, so she could only hope it would at least take the edge off until the migraine ran its course.

Like so many others, this pandemic had really taken a toll on Lucy’s psyche. It’s not as if she went out a lot before it took hold, but just the fact it made going out dangerous brought different emotions to the situation. School had moved online which sucked all its own, she missed casually hanging out with friends on campus, and simply longed for the freedom of leaving her apartment as she pleased. But she understood the precautions of a quarantine. Frankly, she agreed with the city’s efforts to keep them as safe as possible no matter how many grumbled about it. Did it make it easier? No. But it was a necessary evil.

They weren’t completely trapped, could shop for necessities, visit family or friends, just encouraged to limit such gatherings as a safety precaution. If you went out, wear a mask, and just don’t stand too close to other people. Well, unless Lucy knew the person, why would she want strangers in her personal bubble anyway? And the mask thing? Have you ever been out shopping, and someone just sneezes without covering their mouth? Yeah— seriously, would it kill people to use one?! Why were people so selfish during times like this? Not everyone, but too many. Just like with all the hoarding frenzies that swept through cities, it was frustrating and— “Ugh…” being in a pain-driven bad mood was sure bringing her down today.

But despite all the external frustrations, the feelings of isolation from being in a quarantine for months were probably the most mentally exhausting part. It was lonely being so far away from home during a pandemic. Lucy’s been in college for five years and while she’s made friends in the new city, she was starting to crave comfort instead of an empty apartment. Her life online was one of the few things that made her happy, like Natsu’s daily calls, and kept her sane.

Natsu… her face heated up every time she thought about the man. They didn’t have a lot of hobbies in common, but he was always so supportive and made her laugh like no other could. Where they lacked in commonality, was made up in ease of conversation. It hadn’t taken very long for their online chats to feel more like an old friend and less like a faceless stranger. Over the years they’d talked about meeting in person one day after she finished school. It also helped that he was from a city not too far from where she came from, so if she chose to move back it would be convenient. But she also loved the new city she called home. Oh well, Lucy sighed. It was a decision still a couple of years away to make.

The next morning, Lucy woke up to find her migraine had finally given up. She could still feel the little bastard hiding, simmering somewhere ready to strike, but if it stayed mellow, it was something she could tolerate. Throughout the day, Lucy wasted no time in catching up on the homework she couldn’t finish the day before and making sure to stay hydrated with food in her stomach.

Lucy’s phone rang around 2pm.

“Hi Natsu, how was work?”

“Same ole, same ole,” he chuckled. “And how are you? Still feeling, okay?”

“Yeah, it hasn’t come back.”

“That’s great!”

Lucy could hear a lot of background noise, so she asked about it. “Oh, you’re not home yet?”

“Nah, and the commuters are being extra noisy today,” he responded benignly. “Anyway, tonight I won’t have time to talk cause I got a project due for work I need to finish.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Yeah, I’m still catching up from yesterday too and Levy’s dropping by for dinner.”

They chat for a few minutes about their day as Natsu waited for transportation. Lucy knew he used the subway to and from work, but today it sounded a little different, noisier and she swore there were engines instead of the normal train sounds. Maybe it was static. Finally, Lucy caught the muffled words now boarding.

“Shucks, time for me to go,” Natsu cut through. “Sweet dreams Lucy! I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Natsu!”

Lucy spent the afternoon relaxing online, chatting with friends and gaming. Her friend Levy McGarden later dropped by with take-out food for dinner and the two women caught up on random topics while movies droned on the television. They were both in grad school, so during the semester there wasn’t a lot of time to hang out, but they made do. Lucy was also doing a paid internship at a local magazine 4 days out of the week as part of her master’s program. She really enjoyed working there under one of the senior editors. He made it a fun learning experience.

Life was almost perfect except for the background isolation of the pandemic. Lucy was glad she wasn’t one of the individuals affected by jobs cuts, but it still got under her skin to feel trapped in a way. It was nice with her friend over... ‘Maybe I should see if Levy wants to become roommates?’ She wondered as she drifted off to sleep. The apartment would sure feel a lot less empty.

A knock at the door roused Lucy from her sleep. She blinked and yawned, looking at the alarm clock and that said 9 am the next morning. ‘Natsu didn’t call,’ she thought how odd. Maybe he slept in after working late.

Lucy dragged herself out of bed, throwing on a robe to answer the front door. “Gimme a sec,” she called out as she neared it.

“UPS delivery, ma’am.” The male voice responded.

‘UPS?’ Lucy grew confused. She didn’t remember ordering anything through them, but maybe she’d forgotten?

She peaked out of the peep hole, but all she could see was the box being held up. Okay a little weird, but some of the delivery people did that to show they were legitimate service people. Lucy slowly opened the door but kept the chain lock on while peering through the gap. But what she saw next brought on instant tears.

“H-How?” Her voice stammered out as her fingers quickly undid the lock and opened the door wide.

There Natsu stood holding a small brown box, dressed in a uniform of sorts, with a mask hanging under his chin, and wearing a goofy grin.

Lucy snorted a laugh as her eyes crinkled in happiness. “Is that a Halloween costume?”

“Yeah,” his smile widened, and hand scratched his head. “Surprise delivery,” Natsu held out the box, “for Lucy Heartfilia.”

“What is it?” She asked as she took it from him.

“Oh, I um found you Excedrine.”

Lucy opened the box to find 4 bottles. “You certainly did,” she laughed. “But why’d you bring it yourself?”

“It was quicker than the mail and… I hoped…” Natsu’s mannerism grew sheepish and tentative, “it was about time we finally met in person?”

Her face softened with a smile. “It truly is.” Lucy gestured into the apartment. “Please, make yourself at home.”

[frxggie]

babysitting with bakugou!

Hi! My friend and @txdoroki requested this :D

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“Tch. What do you mean you got saddled with babysitting duty? We were supposed to hang out today.” an annoyed Bakugou snapped at you from over the phone.

“I’m sorry! Izuku was supposed to be babysitting her but something came up for him. Can’t you just help me or something? We don’t have to cancel.”

“Fine. Same time we agreed on?”

“Yeah. See you soon.” 

You hung up on him and shook your head. Your boyfriend had never liked kids. You were annoyed that you had been roped into babysitting Eri but how could you say no? Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock at your dorm room door. You opened it to fins Aizawa and Eri standing there.

“Hi Y/n. Are you ready to babysit Eri?” he said, poking his head into your dorm to make sure that it was appropriate for Eri. 

“Yeah! Come in.” you said, motioning them in.

Aizawa put a bag down on your bed. 

“Everything Eri needs is gonna be in here. Be careful with her. If anything happens to her I won’t hesitate to expel you.”

“Yes sir.” you said, knowing full well he meant every word of what he just said.

“Any questions?” he asked.

“Yeah, is it alright if Katsuki comes over?”

“I don’t care as long as no one gets hurt.”

“Okay. Thank you!”

“Mhm. Bye.” And with that, he promptly left you and Eri alone in your dorm.

“Hi Y/n!” Eri smiled at you brightly. 

“Hi Eri! What do you want to do first?”

“W-Well, I actually need some help with my homework. Can you help me with my homework?”

“Ye-”

You were cut off by the door opening and Bakugou walking in with his usual angry demeanor. But he was also holding 3 candy apples and had a large bad slung over his shoulder.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to run to the store to get these.” he said, handing one to Eri and one to you.

Eri gasped excitedly. “Thank you Bakugou!”

“Mhm.” he said, trying to hide a smile. 

“Now how about that homework, Eri?” you said with a smile.

“Homework? Tch- that’s boring- I brought fun stuff.. kids like this stuff right?”

He pulled paints, paper, board games, building blocks, Uno cards, and playdough. Your floor was littered with kids toys, but Eri looked stoked. 

I guess that homework can wait..

Eri took a small bite of her candy apple and pointed at the building blocks. 

“Can we build towers with those?” she asked excitedly

“Yeah!” you said excitedly.

Bakugou took a massive bite of his candy apple, made a face at the sweetness of it, and picked up a block, getting that smile he got when he was feeling competitive. 

“Let’s see who can make the tallest one- I’m gonna win for sure!” he said

“No fair Mister Bakugou, you’re the tallest!” Eri said, crossing her arms.

“Eri, we can team up and beat him- we won’t let him win!” you said, making the same competitive smile back at Bakugou- it was ON!

You cleared a space in the middle of your dorm and began to build a sturdy foundation for your tower, teaching Eri the secret to always beating Bakugou - be careful and observant- two things he never was in contests.

You looked over to see Bakugou, in his usual reckless manner, piling blocks carelessly on top of each other- his would surely fall soon! 

You and Eri’s tower was getting tall- to the point where you couldn’t reach the top anymore. You lifted Eri onto your shoulders and began handing blocks up to her.

Pretty soon- all the blocks were gone- used up on you guys’ towers. The three of you all stood back to admire your work- you and Eri’s stacked neatly and Bakugou’s messy and wobbling. But you and Eri had won, fair and square.

“DANGIT! HOW DID A 7 YEAR OLD BEAT ME?” Explosions lit his hands and he punched through both towers.

Eri laughed, knowing this behavior was normal. 

“You guys rigged it.. obviously.” he grumped.

“Oh c’mon Katsuki.. you know it’s just because we’re better than you at building towers.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Fine.” he picked up the pack of Uno cards. “I’ll win at this!”

You shuffled and dealt the cards. Bakugou, having a TERRIBLE poker face, scowled down at his cards. He had obviously gotten a bad deck.

After half an hour, Bakugou yelling at anyone who would change the color to something he didnt have or gave him any cards, and you and Eri giggling at how bad Bakugou lost, Eri placed her last card down. 

“NO! SHE BEAT ME AGAIN?? YOU RIGGED THE DECK, Y/N!!”

“No I didn’t! You’re just bad at Uno.” you giggled.

“Shut up Y/n!” he said, crossing his arms.

“Oh Katsuki~ don’t be like that!” you said, giving him your best puppy dog eyes and kissing him on the cheek.

He blushed and looked away.

“FINE! H-How about we see who can make the best painting!”

Eri looked excited.

“I like to paint!! I always paint flowers for Dad!”

“Awesome! So who can make the best flowers!” you said with a smile.

You helped Eri get all the colors she needed and you all sat around the table, making your paintings.

An hour of intense painting, you all held up your paintings. Bakugou’s was BY FAR the ugliest. Your was the prettiest one.

Bakugou, seeing that he clearly lost- scowled. 

“YOU TRACED SOMETHING!” he yelled, explosions lighting his hands.

“DID NOT!” you laughed.

Eri laughed too. “How would Miss Y/n have traced something! You’re silly Mister Bakugou!”

Bakugou smirked, showing his competitive smile again. 

“I know what I can win at- PAINT FIGHT!” 

He flung paint at you, getting red paint all in your hair.

“OH! YOU’RE ON!” You yelled, laughing.

“FUN!” yelled Eri, flinging blue paint at bakugou.

The three of you were dumping paint all over each other, laughing and screaming as the slimy colors would hit you.

“W-What the HELL is going on in here?” yelled a stern voice from behind you.

The three of you froze and slowly turned around to find Aizawa standing there with his arms crossed.

“Uh- painting...?” you said nervously.

“God dammit. Go get the cleaning supplies from the hall closet. I’ll be back in an hour and this better be clean. Come on Eri...” he sighed, pulling Eri out the door with him as she struggled to pull her backpack on.

He closed the door behind him and you and Bakugou paused before looking at each other, and then fell over in a fit of laughter.

After you two stopped laughing and stood up, you shared a long kiss, mixing all the paint colors on your faces.

Yeah, he’s my soulmate..

You two happily went to the hall closet and began cleaning up your mess.

No, neither of you were ever allowed to watch Eri unsupervised again.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

A Place To Call Home: Adoption Day

Summary: In the days leading up to the reader’s adoption, she starts acting out over fears of her new family not truly loving her. In the meantime, her family does their best to ease those worries and instead celebrate the reader officially joining the family...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x foster daughter!reader

Word Count: 8,800ish

Warnings: language, angst, fluff

A/N: The reader is 17 years old during this part. This part takes place in the week leading up to the reader’s adoption. Enjoy! 

________

“What about this one?” asked Danneel from a few feet away. You rolled your eyes and you heard her huff. “I saw that young lady.”

“No you didn’t.”

“There’s a mirror,” she said, putting the dress back.

“Sorry,” you mumbled. You wandered around and took a seat on the bench, watching her walk around the store more, off in search of the perfect dress. You stared at the floor and licked your thumb, wiping a smudge off your sneakers when a pair of brown boots stepped into view.

“How’s dress shopping going?” asked Jensen. You looked up and he had two plain dress shirts, one black and one gray, tucked in his arm along with a brown and orange flannel. You shrugged and he sat down beside you. “Y/N. You’ve been grumpy all day.”

“I don’t want to wear a dress and I certainly don’t want to spend an obnoxious amount of money on it,” you said.

“Y/N. This is going to be a once in a lifetime day. It’s okay to splurge,” he said. 

“You people have no idea how little people in the real world have. You spend hundreds on a dress I wear once and that costs more than people get for food for a month.”

“Do we flaunt what we have? Do we give you kids everything you ask for? Do the little guys get every toy they want when we go to the store? No. You want to sit down and take a look at our monthly budget? I can show you how much we could do those things but we don’t,” he said.

“What about this?” asked Danneel, walking over with a pretty light blue dress. You narrowed your eyes and you saw her frown.

“Go wait in the car. We’re going home,” he said to you. 

“Jackass,” you mumbled as you stood up.

“You want to go for your first grounding? Keep it up,” he said.

“Why is it my fault that I don’t want a stupid dress?” you said. You stormed outside and waited by the car, leaning against the hot black vehicle for about five minutes before they came out with a pair of bags each. You climbed in your usual spot in the back, crossing your arms and staring out the window.

“Phone,” he said before he started the car. “Y/N, phone. Now.”

“Why?”

“You were rude to De. You can have it back tomorrow.”

You stared at him. You’d been rude before. Hell, you’d done a lot worse. You were nearly eighteen. You’d seen them both be rude. It wasn’t like they were perfect and you’d already told them at breakfast you didn’t want to go dress shopping that day.

“Y/N,” he said, clenching his jaw. You held out your phone and he snatched it, shoving it in his jacket pocket. “No TV or internet either and you owe De an apology.”

“Sorry,” you said quietly.

“That’s not an apology,” he said. 

“I’m sorry for being in a bad mood when I had to do something I told you in the first place I didn’t-”

“Be quiet,” he said. You snapped your jaw shut and turned to look out the window again. He drove home in silence and the second you were parked in the driveway, you got out and headed for the back patio. You sat up on the railing and tucked your feet up, pulling your hood up when a gust of cool wind hit you.

Ten minutes later you heard footsteps on the decking and sighed.

“It’s lunchtime,” he said.

“I’m not hungry.”

“What is with the attitude today?”

“You’re mad at me because I’m not hungry?” you asked, turning your head with a glare. You saw his chest heave but he kept his face blank.

“Make yourself something to eat when you are then,” he said before he left you alone.

“Y/N!” you heard shouted, your eyes peeling open. You sat up and the sky was dark. You must have fallen asleep down on the dock. “Y/N!”

You rolled your eyes and got to your feet, walking out from the small covered dock and over to the base of the stairs.

“What?” you called up, his head shooting down. He dropped it and shut his eyes, breathing for a moment. “I’m still not hungry.”

“What are you doing down there?”

“Sitting. What’s wrong with that?” you asked.

“Nothing is…” he trailed off. “It is nearly six. You’ve had enough outside time today.”

“So now I can’t go outside either?”

“Did I say that? No. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

You rolled your eyes and went back to the dock, dangling your feet over the edge. Heavy footsteps came down the stone steps and you gritted your teeth.

“Hey,” you heard as the board creaked behind you. “It’s getting cold out and you have on a hoodie and leggings. I don’t care if I drag you up there. You’re going inside.”

“Then drag me,” you said, glaring over your shoulder. 

“What is your problem? I’m not a fan of dress clothes either. Most people aren’t. The second we get home, you can take it off. We’ll leave the tag on the dress and return it. What is the big issue I’m not seeing.”

“Just leave me alone, Jensen.”

“Kid, you haven’t been alone since the second you stepped in that house last year. Sit out here and believe what you want but you’re not.”

“Okay. How about we try leave me the fuck alone?” you said. You stared out at the dark water and sky, clenching your fists by your sides.

“Do you not want us to adopt you anymore?” he asked after a beat. “If you don’t want us, that’s okay but please just tell us instead of this.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” you said. “Adopt me.”

“Is that what you want?” he asked. “Or what you think we want?”

You were quiet and he took a seat next to you, resting his hands in his lap. 

“Y/N, have you been trying to push my buttons on purpose today?”

You didn’t move aside from to turn your head to the left away from him.

“Tall munchkin, look at me.”

You forced yourself to look in his direction. There was that understanding look on his face. He was always understanding. You narrowed your eyes and he frowned before you pushed on his back and he fell into the water.

“Y/N!” he shouted when he popped above the surface. You got to your feet and headed for the stairs. “What the fuck was that for!”

“See ya,” you said. You were at the top of the stairs before you saw him climb up the ladder onto the decking. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered hard. The water had to be decently cold and he slowly made his way up the steps. You were inside and grabbed some granola bars from the pantry by the time you heard the back door open.

“What happened to you?” asked De as he stared in your direction.

“I fell,” he said. “Later. I need to wash up.”

You skirted away to your room, De knocking at the door and coming inside quickly.

“You want to tell me what happened?” she asked.

“I pushed him in,” you said, taking an angry bite of the bar. She blinked and blinked some more, shaking her head. “Yes?”

“What is going on with you? You could have hurt him.”

“Hurt him? It was cold water,” you said.

“And it’s dangerous to go swimming in the river this time of year because of the current changes, especially near the docks. The rip tide goes right near the shore line,” she said.

“That’s not true. Why are you lying?”

“Because you were not teasing him and having fun when you did that. You were mean. You’ve been mean all day and I know you care about him and me and all of us. Why you’re pretending not to, I have no idea.”

“Maybe I’m tired with the charade now that I’m nearly adopted. It’s exhausting putting up a show like this all the time,” you said. 

“The only one you’re lying to is yourself. Do not leave this room,” she said. She stormed off and you lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how far you’d go with this.

Around nine you were reading on top of your bed, swallowing when the door opened and Jensen stepped inside alone. He shut the door and you tried to ignore him but he snatched the book out of your hands and put it down on the nightstand. You stared up at him before he took a seat on the edge of the bed and leaned in close. You shrank back into the headboard, Jensen narrowing his eyes.

“I figured out what you’re up to and this is one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever seen you do. You should know by now to talk to me and De about this stuff. But I get that the adoption is a big deal. A huge deal and there’s a lot of emotions tied up with all that. So you can act like a child, you can be rude and mean and try to piss me off all you want. You don’t get it yet. Well, you actually do but you’re testing us because you’re still afraid. That’s okay. This is a big day coming up. I understand. But there is nothing you could ever do to make us not want you. You could infuriate me and I will still love you. Love is always constant. I might not like everything you do and you might not like everything I do but we are always a family. I figured out your game and I don’t want to play it anymore. I don’t like when we’re like this. I don’t want you to think that there’s any possible combination of things you could do to get us to stop loving you. I forgive you and your behavior today. Please stop though and come out and say what’s bothering you.”

He sat back and you saw his hair was still damp, green eyes full of concern. You swallowed and looked down, squeezing your eyes shut. The bed shifted some and then you felt his body heat on your left side, occupying the other side of the bed. You remembered the Brolins and felt your face start to scrunch up. They’d never got so far as adopting you but you remember their son brought it up to them once. You remembered pushing back to see how much they’d actually put up with you. All you got was a shove to the floor and a transfer to one of your worst foster homes for it.

“Let me in that head of yours,” he said softly. “I can’t read your mind on this, kiddo. It’s too different.”

“I’m so stupid,” you said, forming a fist and whacking your leg. He caught your arm and stopped you from doing it again. He took the other one too and you tried to turn your body away.

“You were scared. There is a big difference,” he said. “Do you want me to get us an emergency session?”

“No,” you said, his hands releasing you so you could wipe at your eyes. “No. I knew what I was doing. Mostly.”

“What’s the mostly part?” he asked gently. 

“Would you love me if I wasn’t good. I don’t like being bad but...if I was a bitch all the time, would you love me.”

“There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that could ever make us not love you. Even if you acted like that every day, I’d love you. Why would you do something like that though? You know we love you.”

“I know. But the adoption is next week and if you didn’t...if you didn’t love me all the way and just some...I don’t want a family that loves me just some, Jensen.”

“Where am I going wrong?” he asked, fixing your hair back behind your ear. “What can I do to make sure you know it’s always been all the way, just as much as I love your siblings and De.”

“I know that.”

“Then why-”

“Because it’s stuck in my head, Jensen,” you said, his eyes worried and confused, looking for some kind of answer on your face. “Until I get adopted...you can get rid of me. I know you wouldn’t. You know you wouldn’t. But it’s in my head and it’s gonna stay there until the papers are signed. There’s no getting it out. I’ve spent months trying. I’m sorry but I can’t fix it.”

“There’s nothing to fix,” he said. He pulled you into his lap and you turned your head away. “Kiddo.”

“I’m sorry,” you said, turning your head to his chest and burrowing into it. 

“You don’t have to be afraid, honey. If you need the paper, then we’ll get the paper. I’ll make sure you get some copies for you to keep too, okay? Whatever you need to know you’re ours, we’ll give it to you. You just gotta let us know what it is,” he said.

“I’m sorry I pushed you in the water. It was a dick move,” you said, sniffling some and getting his shirt wet.

“I told you before. I’ll take whatever you throw my way. I know this is more than just a day for you coming up. It’s a big life moment and those are scary. Normally it means change and change is scary. The only thing that changes to me is that hopefully we can get rid of that last bit of fear inside. We’ve gotten out a lot the past year. We did really good and it’s okay that there’s some left. But I really hope next Friday it’ll be gone,” he said.

“It will,” you said. He wrapped one arm around you and rubbed your back with the other as a few hiccups escaped you. “Sorry.”

“You apologized enough. It’s done with,” he said. “I just want you to be happy and safe. It’s all I want, sweetie.”

“I wish my head was normal,” you said, hiccuping again as your eyes stung with new tears.

“I love this head,” he said, kissing the top of it. “Your concerns are justified, Y/N. You’ve been hurt and betrayed before. I’ve dealt with pain and problems and life but you’ve gone through more than I have, more than everyone in this house put together. You went through all that by yourself too. Your head is only trying to protect you from more pain and that’s how everyone’s heads work, honey. It’s as normal as everyone else.”

“You never cried around your dad like I do when you were my age. You were normal. You broke rules and curfew, you didn’t worry about getting straight A’s. You were the cool popular nice guy at school and you had girlfriends and you didn’t cry with your dad on a Friday night when you should be out being a normal teenager cause you weren’t a freak.”

“I had a support system. From the time I was born, I never questioned if I was loved and taken care of. I skirted the line a bit but I knew right from wrong. I was a dumb average teenager. I was average and very well could have peaked in high school. I got phenomenally lucky. My parents weren’t happy when I told them I wanted to put off my first semester of college. My dad was livid until we came up with our deal that if I flopped, I’d come home and get a degree. I had support. I could fail and it wouldn’t be more than a bump in the road. I would be living some extraordinarily average life right now if that happened. You’re not average. You were your own parent. You get upset because the idea of failing is so ingrained in you that it’ll be devastating and there is no support system. It’s okay and it’s gonna take us years to get there but we’ll get there. The popular guy is normally peaking now and he’s gonna be the exact opposite of what you want in life. You? The smart cookies, the hard workers, the mature ones, you’re the ones that own businesses, do great things, have exciting and wonderful lives. I got lucky. You don’t need luck. You’re gonna be amazing all on your own.”

“I’m gonna be an architect and help with the brewery. How’s that amazing?” you said.

“Let’s lower that bar a little before you turn into Uncle Jared on me,” he said, kissing the top of your head again. “Think about it. You’re gonna be great at whatever you decide to do. You’ve been through worse. And when I was your age, just so you know, I did cry in front of my dad. I bawled in front of him. I was babysitting your aunt so she was about ten. I, being the dumb average teenager I was, ditched her, left her all home alone while our parents were out of town. Your uncle was in college at the time so it was just us two there. Well, while I went out with my friends, someone broke into our house and your aunt was there all by herself.”

“Did anything bad happen?”

“No, thankfully. They left as soon as they realized someone was home. She called the police and I came home around midnight to our parents there along with a few cops. I thought they were going to murder me right there. My dad said some pretty serious stuff to me. I was grounded for a month needless to say. My sister tried to make me feel better the next day but I didn’t want to, not after what he said. That night my mom took my sister out to the movies for something fun to do. I sat in my room, staring at the door with the lights off. It was winter so it was already dark out and I just couldn’t help but think how scared she’d been. I was supposed to protect her and I let her down. I let my family down. I lost it. I bawled, the hardest I’d ever cried in my entire life and of course that’s when the door opens. I was scared to look up so I put my back to the door and tried to calm down but you know as well as I do it’s easier said than done.”

“What’d grandpa say?”

“He didn’t say anything at first. He walked around the bed and sat down next to me and after a few minutes he told me I made a mistake. He hadn’t seen me cry since I was a kid so I was trying to look not so much like a mess and that wasn’t working and I was expecting him to do some kind of punishment like he would when I was a kid and he just kept looking at me and I had no idea what was going through his head. He asked me if I would make that mistake ever again and I told him no and started making all these promises and he shushed me and told me if I was never going to make that mistake again, there was no need for me to stay upset. He forgave me and I didn’t understand why. I couldn’t contemplate it. I wanted him to hate me as much as I wanted forgiveness. But he told me he’s not capable of hating me so I should take the forgiveness. So we talked a bit and I calmed down and he ungrounded me. He said I was punishing myself worse than he would have ever given me and it was up to me to decide when I was going to be done. So the next few weeks I stuck around home and eventually that friend I’d snuck over to was having a party, the same night my parents were going out. He was over after school that day and made a comment to me about leaving my sister home alone again and I lost it on him. He knew what had happened before. That fight ended our friendship. He was my best friend for years.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. My dad overheard that fight. He was proud of me and I was proud of me. I stopped feeling guilty that day. So yes, I did cry in front of my dad at your age. I’ve cried since then too. You’re normal but you’re not average. People get those mixed up sometimes.”

You nodded and heard someone at the door, a quick glance telling you it was Danneel.

“You okay, honey?” she asked.

“Yeah. Just…” you said, biting your bottom lip.

“If Y/N is a little agitated the next few days, we’re gonna let it slide. She’s a bit nervous right now,” said Jensen. You saw her face fall and you smiled to yourself. “She wants us. Kiddo’s just a little scared we’ll give her back until we get the papers.”

“Never,” she said, taking a seat on the bed. “Anything we can do to make you feel better?”

“Not really,” you said. You shut your eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry, I know-”

“Alright,” he said. He rolled off bed and threw you over his shoulder as you yelped.

“Jensen!” you said, clinging to his back as best you could.

“You gotta stop apologizing and I know the next week is gonna be long but we are officially going to start the smother session with some homemade nachos and cookie dough ice cream while we watch trashy reality TV,” he said.

“Jensen. She needs a proper dinner,” said De as he carried you down the hall to the kitchen. He set you down on the counter and frowned at him as he went to the fridge. “Jay.”

He turned back at you and you sighed again.

“Okay. How about homemade mac and cheese instead and then you can go relax in our jetted tub with a bath bomb,” he said.

“Tub?” you asked as he went to the cupboard instead and pulled out your favorite kind of pasta.

“It’s relaxing. Even Jensen likes baths when he’s stressed. Besides, you only have a shower in your bathroom and if you don’t want us to smother that’s fine but you should self-smother...self-care...you know what I mean,” said De.

“Can I skip the tub and just have the macaroni?” you asked.

“Yes. Go do something fun while it cooks. It’s gonna be a minute,” said Jensen as he got out a pot.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed-”

“Punishment is over. We wouldn’t have needed one in the first place if you talked so hopefully the rest of the week goes better than tonight, agreed?”

“Yeah,” you said, heading back for your room. “Can you put-”

“I’ll put the crackers on top and put it in the oven when I’m done. I know that’s your favorite,” he said.

“Thanks, Jensen.”

“That’s like, nice,” said Jensen the next afternoon. You raised an eyebrow and walked past the rack, Jensen letting out a sigh. “You don’t wear dresses. This is weird for me too. Mom would be better at this.”

“Where is she again?” you asked, walking past a rack of yellow dresses.

“Some charity thing for the daycare with the kids. She’s supposed to be meeting us with the three musketeers for dinner,” he said.

“So I got stuck with you.”

“Y/N.”

“The dress you suggested would be great for me if I were taller and going to Cinderella's ball, not a courtroom.”

“Well excuse me, fashionista,” he said. “Looked like it’d fit to me.”

“Jensen,” you said. “Just...find something not too expensive.”

“Good thing we went to a boutique store then,” he mumbled under his breath. You wandered out of the petite section and over to the women’s, finding some dresses along the back wall. “Try that one on.”

“What one?” you asked. He pointed at a red one and you bit back a groan. “Why do you keep picking bright obnoxious colors?”

“I don’t know. De does,” he said with a shrug. “She wears a lot of different things, you know that. I learned long ago to just let the woman be right in these situations.”

“That was very intelligent of you to pick up on,” you said. You caught his face in the mirror and grabbed the dress. “I’ll try it on but I don’t want it.”

“Alright. I’ll keep looking,” he said. You went back to the dressing rooms and found an empty stall. You smoothed out the material after pulling it over your head and frowned. You looked so old. You were already trying to remove it when you heard a bubbly voice outside. “Can I see it?”

“No.”

“Ah, come on. Your girls trips are no fun.”

“This isn’t a girls trip.”

“We got lunch and then went shopping. We’re on a girls trip. Come on. I’m impartial,” he said.

“Over my dead body you’re impartial,” you muttered. You fixed the dress and stepped outside, flopping your hands out. “Well?”

“You look beautiful,” he said. “So grown up all of a sudden.”

“I ain’t getting it,” you said. 

“Okay,” he said. He stared and you looked around. 

“Jensen?” you asked, waving a hand in front of his face. He blinked and gave you a smile.

“S’not often that I wish you were younger. I don’t care how old you are, honestly. I just wish I could have seen the little girl side of you sometimes,” he said. 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve felt more like a kid now than when I was at like, ten, so you’re probably doing something right.”

“Did you want to try the blue one on?” he asked.

“Sure,” you said, forcing a smile. You slipped back into the dressing room and got out of the dress, holding it over the top of the door when he came back. He took the red one and you saw something a deep navy color pop over into the stall. “I thought you were getting the blue one?”

“That is the blue one,” he said.

“It’s nearly black,” you said. You grabbed it and started to change, the fit a little more casual and looser. You cocked your head at yourself in the mirror when suddenly a scarf was landing on top of your head. “Jensen!”

“I was wrong. You are fun to shop with,” he giggled to himself. “Incoming.”

You held your arms out that time and caught a black sleek cropped jacket. 

“Jensen, it’s not for a date,” you said.

“Entertain me. I’m paying for it,” he said. You groaned and fixed the infinity scarf over your head, fixing your hair before you put your arms through the jacket sleeves and hiked it up. 

“Oh,” you said, turning to the side. A box slid under the door and you knelt down, finding a pair of short booties with not too much of a heel. You wanted the shoes regardless of how it all looked but when you kicked the box out of the way and looked in the mirror, you understood what he was doing. You stepped outside as he chuckled to himself against the wall, his mouth snapping shut when he saw you. “How’s it look?”

“You look beautiful.”

“You said that last time.”

“You seem more comfortable in that.”

“This isn’t an outfit for a courtroom,” you said.

“No. But you like it. If we can’t find the dress today, at least we got you a nice outfit for going out or a school dance or whatever,” he said. “I know what you like. I’ve learned a thing or two over the years.”

“You would wear a black t shirt or black henley every day if you could,” you said.

“This is true. Let’s get that stuff as part of your adoption present and then we can try another store,” he said. “I got just the one in mind.”

“Alright,” you said. “I want to get coffee on the way though.”

“Duh,” he said with a smile. “I bet this next place will be just the one.”

“Jensen,” you said the second you walked in the store. “This is a suit store. For men.”

“There’s literally a woman right over there,” he said, pointing to someone looking at ties. “Also the women's is in the back.”

You followed him to the back of the store, Jensen stopping at a rack of business dresses.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“More appropriate at least,” you said.

“Stay here one second,” he said. He wandered off and you walked around a bit until he came back with some sales person. “Y/N, this is Mr. Wex. He’s in charge of tailoring here.”

“Tailoring?” you asked.

“Yes. Most items in the store are available for tailoring which we always suggest for the perfect fit. Mr. Ackles said you two were looking for a dress for a big occasion?”

“I’m sorry. Jensen-” you said as the man held up a hand.

“Come with me,” he said. You raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes. “Just like him. I have something in the back that will be perfect.”

“It’s alright,” said Jensen. You crossed your arms and went with the man to the dressing room area. He went through another set of doors and returned with a white long sleeve dress. 

“I thought you weren’t supposed to wear white after labor day?” you asked.

“You can pull it off,” he said. “Try it on and then we’ll make adjustments. I have a feeling the sleeves are going to be a tad long.”

You sighed and took the dress, changing quickly and walking back out where there were some mirrors.

“You don’t wear that dress to your adoption and I will,” said Jensen as you turned in front of the mirror.

“The fit is very nice. Just a few minor things aside from the sleeves,” said Mr. Wex. “Do you plan on wearing heels or flats?”

“I like those boots,” you said, Jensen nodding. “Jensen, this dress has got to be like-”

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s nice,” you said with a shrug.

“It has pockets,” said Mr. Wex, showing you the one by your left side. 

“Alright, I like it more,” you said. Jensen chuckled and Mr. Wex pulled out a measuring tape. 

“I think we found the one then, kiddo.”

Thursday Night

“I didn’t-” you said, Danneel fuming as she stood on the other side of the counter. “What is wrong with you!”

“You don’t steal things,” she said, hands on her hips.

“I didn’t steal shit!” you said.

“Watch your language!” she said, your brother and sisters starting to get a peaked interest in the conversation from where they played in the living room.

“For the last time, I did not take your credit card!”

“It was in my wallet right when I got home from the store and now it’s missing. I don’t think the toddlers were using it to buy stuff online.”

“I didn’t take it,” you said, narrowing your eyes.

“I know you are...there is no justification for stealing though. You-”

“I didn’t fucking take it!” you said under your breath, just in time for a very tired looking Jensen to walk in from the garage.

“Why do you two look like you’re fighting,” he mumbled. “I’m too tired for you two to be fighting.”

“Y/N-”

“De thinks I stole her credit card,” you said, crossing your arms.

“It’s missing and it was in my wallet and it’s not like the other kids would know what to do with it,” she said.

“It wouldn’t happen to be your maroon discover card, would it?” he asked.

“Yes. How do you know that?” she asked.

“No reason,” he said, bending over and picking up some papers the kids had been doing arts and crafts on. He held one up, the card lopsidelly glued to it. She shut her eyes and he ripped it off the paper. “Listen up! Butts in the kitchen!”

The kids ran over, all giggly at the sight of him home for the weekend again, home for a long week actually, and he gave them each hugs and kisses before he was frowning.

“Does anyone know what this is?” he asked, holding up the card.

“Pretty!” said Arrow. You felt yourself simmer down some as Zepp said shiny.

“And who thought to use it in their arts and crafts?” 

“Why’s it not on my paper anymore?” asked Zeppelin. 

“Where’d you get it Zepp?” asked Jensen as he squatted down.

“It was in the paper mommy gave us for college time,” he said.

“Collage,” said Jensen. “You made a collage.”

“Okay,” he said, twisting around.

“Zepp. This isn’t paper. It’s important. If you ever find it, you bring it to mommy or me or Y/N,” he said, giving De a look. She still had her eyes shut and had taken to putting a hand over part of her face. “Okay?”

“Okay. Am I in trouble?” he asked.

“No buddy,” he said.

“Come on,” you said, bending over and picking him up. “I want to go play whatever game you guys are cause it sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Y/N,” said Jensen. You were still mad and he sighed, mouthing later to you as you dived onto the couch with your brother in your arms, getting a big round of giggles out of him.

“Again?” he asked.

“Okay, again,” you said, diving back down. All three of them wanted turns after that and eventually even you couldn’t keep up with them anymore. “Who wants story time?”

Thirty minutes later you’d finished up with JJ and pulled her door shut, sighing as you saw Jensen waiting at the end of the hall. He curled a finger at you and you tried to slip past him down the stairs but he caught up quickly and blocked the path to your room.

“Jensen. She thought-”

“No she didn’t.”

“Yes, she did.”

“Last Friday you were pushing us away to see how much we love you. Think about that. Think about the fact that De has been so excited to get that dress with you and do something she enjoys with you and for weeks you’ve been mean every time it comes up.”

“What are you saying?” you asked.

“I’m saying maybe she got a little scared about how you feel about her too. She knows we’re close. You’ve been irritated with her lately and she got a little concerned.”

“She knows better than to-”

“So do you. But we didn’t get on you for doing that, did we?”

“No.”

“Forgive her. She made a mistake,” he said. He moved aside and headed back towards his room, leaving you there with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

“I miss my mom and I feel like De got so mad because I’ve been grumpy lately. As soon as you fly up to work, I just...I like having a mom again.”

“You think of De as your mom?” he asked.

“Of course,” you said. “It wasn’t like how it was with you. I was never afraid of her. Not like that at least. She was always safe. I’m sorry.”

“You’re allowed to get mad over things, honey. I was glad to see you having an all out argument. It’s healthy and normal and it’s what you do after the fight that matters,” he said.

“I know you're all tired and everything but can I talk to her?”

“You don’t need permission,” he said, waving you to follow after. You followed him down to his room, finding De sat on the bed with her head in her hands and a box of tissues beside her. “We have a visitor.”

“Damnit, Jensen,” she said, turning to the side and wiping off her face. “You could have told her to wait.”

“Nah,” he said. “Excuse me ladies. I need to wash up and then bed.”

He ducked into their bathroom and you carefully took a seat at the end of the mattress. She blew her nose and tossed the tissue in the basket by her side, using another to clean her face again.

“Y/N, I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought...I shouldn’t have…”

You crawled over and gave her a hug, feeling how tense she was.

“S’okay,” you said. “I’m not mad anymore.”

“I-”

“Even if I get mad, I always love you,” you said. You felt her ease and she moved her arms around you, resting her chin on your shoulder.

“Really?” she asked.

“Duh,” you said. 

“I love you too.”

“I know,” you said.

“I take this as a good sign?” asked Jensen. You turned your head and he was already plopping down on his side of the bed with damp hair.

“Yeah,” you said. He shut his eyes and you climbed off the bed when you heard him snoring already. “Is he really asleep?”

“He’s pretty tired. I don’t think he slept on the plane,” she said. “Too excited for tomorrow.”

“Me too,” you said. “I’ll uh, see you guys in the morning then.”

“We have to be there at one so there’s plenty of time. Sleep good, honey.”

“Yeah. I think I finally will for once.”

“So,” said Jensen as you sat on a bench outside the courthouse bouncing your leg like crazy the next day. You turned and he took a seat beside you, undoing the button on his jacket. “We should probably head up soon. It’s almost your turn in there.”

“Mhm,” you hummed, leg still going and going. You looked out at the street, watching the gray clouds roll through. He put a hand on your knee and you stopped, staring as he pulled it back.

“What’re you thinking?”

“You were never giving me back, were you.”

“Nope. You’re ours.”

“I wish I just got that. I wish...I wish I’d known I’d finally get picked,” you said, biting your bottom lip. “Nobody wanted me for so long and you guys...I don’t know how to say thank you.”

“We don’t want you to say thank you. We just want you to be part of our family. Entirely selfish of us, I know, but you have amazing bedhead and we kinda really love you. You want to go make this official?”

“Okay,” you breathed out. You stood up and went inside with him, finding the right courtroom. You slipped in the row with him near De and were quiet as you watched a little boy getting his adoption as well.

“If he can do it you can do it,” he whispered to you. You nodded and about five minutes later the judge finished up with them and was returning to her seat.

“Ackles family,” she said. Jensen nudged you and you stood, walking ahead of them as you went up to the table. You could feel your heart in your chest as they took a place on either side of you.

“You’re shaking,” he whispered, grabbing your hand. “S’alright.”

“I know,” you said, swallowing as the judge moved new papers in front of her. She looked at them for a moment before raising her head in your direction.

“That’s a beautiful dress, Y/N,” she said with a smile.

“T-thanks,” you said.

“No need to be nervous,” she said. “So. How old are you?”

“17,” you said.

“Your birthday is in a few weeks it says.”

“Yeah,” you said.

“And you’ve been in the foster care system since you were ten.”

“Yeah.”

“How many homes?”

“14.”

“You like these two?” she asked. You nodded and she smiled. “You really like ‘em?”

“I love them.”

You felt Jensen squeeze your hand and you felt yourself calm down.

“They good to you? Give you a good home?”

“Yes.”

“After 14 homes I would expect you’d know the difference,” she said with a knowing smile. “I don’t see kids your age on days like this that often. You think you got a couple of good ones?”

“They’re alright,” you said.

“Just alright?”

“They’re my parents,” you said. You felt both of them looking but you didn’t move away from looking at the judge. “They gave me my life back. They take care of me. I love them more than they’ll ever be able to comprehend. A year ago I was miserable. If they did all that in less than a year, I know I’m gonna be alright for the rest of my life with them.”

“Mom, dad, how’s that sound to your guys?” she asked.

“S’good,” said Danneel. You could hear the slight crack to her voice and you grabbed her hand.

“What about dad?”

“I’m okay with that,” he said.

“Let’s get this party on the road then, hm?”

Ten minutes later she was standing up as Jensen finished signing his name.

“Alright, Y/N. As of five seconds ago, Jensen and Danneel are no longer your foster parents and are your official and legal parents. How’s that feel?”

“I feel like I could have worn the blue dress,” you said. Jensen broke out laughing and the photographer caught it. You grinned and saw him take another as you heard some of your family members joining in.

“You did that on purpose,” he said as he settled himself.

“Obviously,” you said. The judge handed you something to hold and they situated themselves around you. A few more pictures were taken before you were heading out of the room, some girl around JJ’s age looking at a set of people with a nervous look. “It’s easier than it looks.”

She gave you a smile on your way out, waiting a moment for everyone that’d decided to come to filter out. Jensen grabbed your arm though and tugged you around a corner with Danneel and the kids, giving you a big grin.

“So, how you feel?” he asked.

“Good,” you said. “Very good.”

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” said Arrow. You laughed and she looked up at you, cocking her head. “Did you get arrested?”

“No, you sassy child,” you said. “I got adopted.”

“What’s that?” asked Zeppelin who was wandering off down the hall.

“Zepp!” shouted Danneel, chasing after him and pulling him back.

“Well it means I am no longer technically not your sister,” you said. The twins stared at you and JJ pouted.

“I thought you already did that,” she said.

“Nothing impresses these children, I swear,” said Jensen as his dad rounded the corner. “It’s an important day. Oh hey, dad. Can you get a picture before the masses try to take up all her time?”

“Sure,” he said, taking Jensen’s phone. “I got you a really good present, not to brag or anything.”

“I thought I said no presents.”

“We lied,” he said, holding up the camera. “Say cheese!”

“Well hello Ms. Ackles,” said Jensen late that night, long after people had gone home or to hotels or were sleeping on the couches around the house. You looked up from where you sat by the fire, watching the flames flicker. You were bundled down in your hoodie and a pair of sweats, Jensen carrying a small bag with him.

“You write me another letter and you do realize I’m gonna run out of tears at some point right?” you asked.

“You loved it,” he said. He kissed the top of your head and set the bag down by your feet. He sat down in the chair beside you, resting the two cans of beer from the brewery on the arm. He picked one up and held it over to you. “Come on. I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“I’ve never had beer before,” you said. 

“We did something right with you,” he chuckled. “It’s a big day. One beer won’t kill you. You’ll probably even get drunk from it so that’s exciting.”

“You’re such a guy,” you said, taking it from him. You popped the tab open and took a sip, making a face for a second. You took another one and liked it better. By the third you actually liked it. “It’s good. I think.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “Just go slow.”

“Worrywart,” you said. You slumped back into your seat, enjoying the smell of the fire as a cool breeze tickled your face. “What’s in the bag?”

“That red dress,” he said. You peeled open your eyes and he shrugged, staring at the fire. “Someday when you’re older, you’re gonna want a dress like that. You’re gonna wipe him off his feet.”

“Thanks, Jensen,” you said. “I liked all of them. I was...I don’t think I’m gonna be scared anymore. I’m gonna try not to be.”

“Good. Except for bugs though.”

“Bugs is forever and always your department,” you said.

“Gonna call me to come kill the spider when you live in your own house?” he asked.

“Yes. 100% yes,” you said.

“That’s my girl,” he said, smiling as he sunk down and took a long swig. “De said you’ll find out about early acceptance at UT week after next.”

“Yeah. I got the grades. I just hope I did well enough on my paper. The architecture program is kinda selective,” you said.

“She said you don’t want to live on campus, you want to commute,” he said.

“If that’s okay.”

“You can live here forever. I will take every second I can have. I just wanted to make sure that’s what you wanted. We’re paying for whatever you don’t get in scholarships. From what your guidance counselor says, you’re looking at a half-ride already.”

“I’d like to stay. I haven’t been here that long,” you said.

“No, you haven’t. Been an interesting year,” he said. “Good year.”

“Yup,” you said, snuggling into the fleece hoodie.

“I’m not getting my hoodie back, am I,” he said.

“We can share? It’s fleece.”

You burrowed into it and he nodded.

“We can share. I want visiting rights for my vacation with De at the beginning of next year,” he said. 

“She still doesn’t know, right?” you asked. He shook his head and you smiled. “She’s gonna love it Jensen.”

“Fingers crossed. Speaking of that trip, I have a favor to ask. Would you be opposed to watching the kids that weekend?”

“I thought grandma and grandpa were coming down,” you said.

“They were but it was in the middle of a trip they were supposed to take. We said it was covered. Think you can survive a few days without us?”

“You trust me?” you asked. He smiled and took a sip from his can.

“We’ll go over a few things so you’re not overwhelmed. You can do it. We just didn’t want to take up your whole weekend if you didn’t want to,” he said.

“I’m okay with that.”

“Thanks. I think you guys will have fun,” he said. “Can I ask you something at risk of possibly making you want to go undo what we did today?”

“Well now I’m interested,” you said, looking over to him. “Shoot.”

“Why do you never talk about your parents or growing up with them outside of therapy?”

You shrugged and he returned it.

“You can talk to us about them. We would really love to know more about them and what they were like,” he said. “We know they were good but you treat them sometimes like a before it seems that you don’t want to go back to.”

“You know what I said in therapy.”

“I know what I said too. You’re not making us jealous or making us feel inadequate,” he said. “Talk about whatever you want to talk about, always. I just wonder sometimes.”

“How easy is it for you to remember before you were ten?” you asked.

“Fair point. I got more years on you though.”

“I remember some, not all of it. I don’t remember what they said to each other. I don’t remember what we used to talk about at dinner. I just remember feelings mostly. They’re good ones. Mostly.”

“The accident.”

“Yeah. My mom had a miscarriage about six months before,” you said. “She was a couple months along I think.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“It was enough that they told me. A week later...it went bad. They had problems having kids they told me. They’d been trying a long time to give me a sibling they said.”

“I never knew that either.”

“I know that breakfast, the day of the accident, they talked to me about this, adoption. I was already ten and they wanted to know what I thought about adoption,” you said with a laugh. “They had no idea what was gonna happen that night.”

“If every parent could see every horror that was out there for their child, I’m pretty sure you’d never leave your room again,” he said. “So what’d you think back then?”

“I was excited. Really excited. My life seems very different then than now. I don’t try to hide them. I think about them everyday. I don’t know what to say is all.”

“You don’t have to say anything. You can if you want to is all.”

“I know.”

“That was very sweet what you said earlier back in court.”

“Jensen,” you said.

“Alright, alright. Enough sap for one day,” he said. “It really was a good day?”

“Best day in a long time. Well, second best day,” you said. He cocked his head and you shrugged. “Day I came here wasn’t that bad either.”

“You like us,” he teased.

“Oh shut up,” you said, taking a drink.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” he said. “It’ll be our little secret.”

“You’re such a dork, Jensen.”

“I know but you love it.”

“You’re alright,” you said, finishing off your can. 

“Happy adoption day, tall munchkin,” he said.

“Thanks. For everything.”

“Back at ya,” he said. “Now about that present…”

________

A/N: Read the Oh Baby timestamp here!

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

Fallout of the century 🌑💔

Part 3 🥜

Read part 1 & part 2 here 😌

🌼🌸Masterlist🌼🌸

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: angst, car accident, moving on

The ride to the airport was quiet. I wasn't sure how Harrison managed to get tickets so soon, but I didn't question it. We made it through security and were almost ready to board when my phone rang. I looked down to see Sam's name across the screen, I answered it almost instantly, an uneasy feeling washing over me.

“Sam?” I asked.

“You need to get to the Hospital Y/N,” he was crying. I felt my head get light as a million thoughts ran through my head. I didn't say anything, I just turned and ran until I got outside. Leaving my bags and Harrison in my dust. I called a cab and went straight to the hospital. I ran in through the big revolving doors and found Tom and Sam sitting in an empty waiting room. As soon as they saw me they both wrapped their arms around me tight. It was bad, but I wasn't sure how bad.

“Where?” I asked, my voice not seeming to work.

“Surgery,” Tom sniffled, while urging me to sit. I sat down and they explained what had happened. A car had hit him in a crosswalk, while he was looking down at his phone. Guilt washed over me and consumed me. I probably cried for an hour straight, although it felt like a century. I couldn't seem to catch a breath. At some point Tuwaine and Harrison both showed up, but I didn't pay them no mind, I was to busy being consumed by my worst fears. 

Surgery took almost eight hours. Eight hours with no update. Eight hours thinking that Harry was gone. Eight hours of agonizing guilt and torture in my mind.

“Holland family?” a man's voice called from behind us, Tom, Sam, and I ran over to hear the news that the doctor had. “All of you are family?” the doctor pondered.

“Twin, older brother, fiance” Sam told him.

“OK, well we were able to get the bleeding under control, unfortunately I can't promise he will wake up, but if he does, his injuries won't prevent him from living anything less than a normal life,” It was a mixture of good and bad news, but he was alive, ad that was enough of a bright side for me.

“Can we see him?” I asked.

The doctor brought us to a recovery room where Harry was laying, lifeless looking on the bed. I felt tears rush back to my eyes and I was sure I could not breathe. I walked over to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand, I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Don't you dare leave me,” I whispered, tears escaping my eyes.

The waiting game was the worst. Sam and I sat in the room for hours holding Harry's hands, waiting for a flicker of life to become present. Tom had left to go get their parents from the airport.

“You guys need to put this behind you,” Sam said quietly. I looked up to see him looking at me with sad eyes. He was right, this game of cat and mouse had to come to an end.

“I know, I’m done with this whole run around.” I told him. “I want to be with him, I want to marry him, and grow old with him. If that means forgiving and forgetting, then that's what I'll do,” I said between sniffles.

“You still want to marry me?” His voice was hoarse and sounded dry, but it was his. Both Sam and I shot our gazes to Harry's now open eyes. He was staring at me, with his dopey smirk.

“You're awake,” I cried, getting up from the chair and leaning down to hug him. I lifted my head from his shoulder and found his lips, kissing him softly before backing up to let Sam give his brother a hug.

“This whole time, all i had to do was get hit by a car?” He asked in a joking manner. Both Sam and I laughed.

“Shut up you idiot,” Sam laughed. “I'm going to go get the doctor, so he can come check you, or whatever they do,” He told us before leaving the room.

“Hey,” Harry whispered. I sat on the edge of the bed pulling his hand in between mine and listening to him. “I'm sorry about everything. I only slept with her that one time. I was just trying to hurt you,” He paused and moved his fingers so they were intertwined with mine. “Give me another chance, and I'll never hurt you again,” His words were sincere and filled with love.

“Okay,” I whispered. Leaning down and kissing him once more. “Your parents should be here soon,” I told him.

“Oh boy,” He groaned.

The next few days were spent in the hospital, so I refused to leave Harry's side. Luckily nothing had been broken so other than a scar from surgery and some minor cuts and bruises he was walking away from a run in with a car practically unscathed.

I got a text from Harrison as I was packing all the Get well cards and animals into a hospital tote bag.

‘Hey just wanted to see how you were doing, I heard he's going home today. That's great! Hopefully we can talk soon. Just to clear the air?’

I didn't respond right away. I wasn't exactly sure what to say. Sorry I led you on? Sorry I left you at the airport? Sorry I had you take care of me for the last seven months while I was broken and damaged? I didn't know.

“Are you coming home?” Harry asked me as I finished packing all the stuff.

“To help you, or for good?” I asked him, not turning around.

“Either?” He wondered.

“I don't want to go back to that apartment, Harry. I can't.” I sighed. I turned to face him, and he had a smile on his face. “What?” I was confused as to why he was smiling at me when i had just told him i wasn't coming home.

“Let's get a different place,” he told me, stepping forward and taking my hands in his. “Let's just start over,”

“What about right now?” I asked him.

“Your place?” he proposed.

“I guess for a few days that would work, but for the love of god. Do not start fighting with Harrison. Please?” I begged. He rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek.

“I have no hard feelings for him going after a prize like you,” he told me, making me roll my eyes.

“Let's go,” I laughed. We walked out of the room and out of the hospital where Sam and Tom were waiting with the car. Luckily neither of us had anything here so there wasn't much to pack back.

“Home?” Sam asked as we climbed into the back seat.

“Only so I can run up and get some clothes,” Harry said, making both of the other Hollands turn around to look at him questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders, “She doesn't want to be back at the apartment, I'm not going to make her go.”

“So does that mean-?” Tom started to ask but Harry interrupted him before he could finish.

“You'll know when I do,” He told Tom. and with that we drove to my old apartment, somewhere I hadn't been in seven months. Tom and Harry got out and went to go get a few of Harry's things, while me and Sam stayed in the car.

“So what's going to happen? Are you guys going to start dating again, or are you going to reschedule the wedding?” Sam wondered.

“I'm not sure. All I know is I want him in my life. So I guess we take it one day at a time,” I told him as I stared out the window.

“And Harrison?” Sam asked the question I was dreading.

“I love Harrison, he's my best friend, and he stepped up and took care of me when I couldn't even take care of myself. And maybe in a different life we would have ended up together, but I can't see a future with him the way I can with Harry. Even after everything we have been through, it's still Harry I see at the end of the line,” 

I sat on the floor of my bedroom folding the clothes Harry had shoved into his bag. He never was one to fold his laundry so I wasn't even surprised when I opened the bag to find clothes just crumpled in. “You don't need to do that,” He laughed from where I had made him lay on my bed.

“It'll drive me nuts if I just let your unfolded clothes get all wrinkly in this bag,” I told him as I continued folding his shirts. I grabbed a pair of pants and a small white box fell out, a box I instantly recognized. I picked it up and opened it to see the ring that I had worn on my finger for nearly a year. There was a small folded up piece of paper in the box as well. I looked up to see if Harry was watching me, but his eyes were closed, so I unfolded the paper.

I know I messed up.

I'll live with the fact that I hurt you for the rest of my life.

I've known since that first time I saw you in that club that I wanted to marry you.

The first time you yelled at me for folding the towels in the apartment wrong.

The time we went to the lake and you told me to put sunscreen on my nose because you were afraid I was going to burn.

When I introduced you to my family, you didn't even second guess that you were now a part of it.

How when I took you to the pet store, you insisted we get a rescue dog instead of a puppy, because they deserved to have a good life.

How even after I did what I did, and said the things I said, you still sent me messages checking on me.

Making sure my laundry was done.

Asking if I had gone grocery shopping.

Checking to see if I had finished the milk before its expiration date.

But i think my favorite is when you texted me excitedly that one of my favorite movies was playing at the little indie theater we used to go to.

A movie I know you hate.

My heart was made for you.

We can't end this way.

I'll fight for you until it kills me.

Because at the end of the day, a life without you, is a life I would rather not live.

I sniffled as I folded the paper back up. “You were supposed to let me read that to you, not read it yourself. You know for dramatic effect,” Harry said from where he was now sitting on the bed.

“Sorry,” I muttered, wiping the tears from my eyes. “You brought this?” I asked him, referring to the ring in the box that was still in my hand.

“Thought i might need it,” He said.

“For dramatic effect?” I asked teasingly. He rolled his eyes at me. I stood up and walked over to the bed sitting beside him.

“Things aren't going to be the same,” He whispered. “Do you remember the fight we had before you left for that business trip?” I looked at him, thinking about what he was referring to.

“And why does it always have to be you?” He shouted at me as I packed my suitcase.

“Because it's my project Harry, I'm the one that organised it so i have to see it through,” I told him, keeping my calm even though he was livid.

“You were gone all last week, you have only been home a day and they're already making you go back, doesn't that seem a little unfair?” he asked me.

“Unfair to who harry? To me, or to you? You told me to go after my dreams, you told me you'd support me no matter how hard it would be. We're building these kids better lives and I get to be a part of that,” I told him as I took his hands in mine.

“I'm proud of you, for following your dreams, I am. I just feel like you're losing sight of everything you already have to chase something you want,” he pulled his hands away from me and walked out of the room leaving me alone thinking about what he said to me.

“I remember that fight vividly, and you were right. I had lost sight of everything I had, and once we finished the project, I was left alone and broken, with nothing to show for all my hard work,” I sighed as I laid my head on his shoulder.

“I should have been more supportive and understanding. I fell in love with a woman with a strong will and a good work ethic. I knew what I had gotten myself into,” he told me as he put his hand on my thigh. “I've missed you Nut, like really missed you,”

“Me or my body?” I chuckled.

“Is it wrong if I say both? Or is that the right answer?” He laughed.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. “Yeah?” I called out. Tuwaine opened the door with a grim look on his face.

“I think you're going to want to see this,” he handed me his phone which had a screenshot of an Instagram post. “My mate sent it to me asking if i knew the girl cause he was sure he'd seen us all out together at parties,” on his phone was a picture of Olivia, with a pink bow around her swollen belly captioned ‘Its a Girl!’ I looked at Harry whose jaw was practically on the floor.

“What the fuck,” was all i could think, and say.

Would life ever be easy?

I was standing at the kitchen counter, my knuckles had gone white from how hard my grip on the counter was. “Are you doing alright?” Harrison's voice startled me, but I didn't react.

“Nope,” my voice sounded like it was a million miles away. I was trying to stay calm, and not freak out, but my body was quivering with anger and I felt like my blood was boiling. Harrison put his hand on my shoulder, probably in an attempt to calm me down, but it did the opposite. “You know, I am the most genuine person. I am loving and caring. I'm respectful even if people don't deserve it. I'm always willing to lend a hand to people, even if they don't do the same. I literally work for a nonprofitable organization making next to nothing because that was my dream. I deserve a break, I deserve happiness!” I wasn't meaning to shout at Harrison, and I was sure he knew that.

“So it's his?” he guessed from my angry outburst.

“I don't know. He called her and i couldn't be in there to hear the conversation, i refuse to do that to myself,” i sighed. I leaned over the counter and rested my head on my hands.

“What if it is?” he asked.

“I don't want to think about that right now Haz,” I groaned.

“I mean, I don't blame you, but that's kinda a big deal.” he said while rubbing my back.

“I didn't sign up for this. If he had a kid prior to us getting together then it would be different. But this.. This is like the epitome of a shit show,” I told him.

I heard footsteps come down the stairs and I knew from the sound it was Harry. I didn't bother looking up. “Can you give us a minute mate?” Harry asked Haz. Harrison walked out of the kitchen leaving me and Harry alone. I couldn't move, I didn't want to look at Harry afraid his face would confirm my worst fears. “So that was an interesting conversation,” he said.

“Was it?” I asked.

“I've been avoiding her calls for months,” he said.

“Spit it out Harry,” I snapped.

“She's not positive, she said there's a chance it's mine, and a chance it's the other guys,” he said quietly.

“If it's yours?” I asked, as I stood back up.

“Huh?”

“If it is yours, what does that mean for us?” I asked him. He stood with his arms crossed, looking at me as I stared at him, waiting for an answer, but dreading the one I knew I was going to get.

“Does it have to mean something for us?” he asked in a quiet, barely audible tone.

“Harry, I know you. Well. too well. I know that if that is your child then you are going to want to be there, as a dad, and I respect you for that. But I didn't sign up to be a stepmom, I'm not even ready for my own children, let alone a child of the person I despise most in this world. I would resent that child, even if I didn't want to. I would.” I felt the tears falling down my cheeks as I said the words, feeling like an absolute monster.

“So this would be over, for real then?” He asked.

“It would,” I nodded.

“She said she would do the DNA test, and we could do it next week, so can we just forget this until then? Can we just spend the week living in a bubble?” he asked me. I looked at him, and all I could see was the boy I met at the pub almost six years ago. Goofy, an awful dancer at the time, and so full of love. So ready to give all of himself to someone, and somehow that someone was me.

“Can I get you a drink?” A voice asked from beside me. I turned to see a hot redhead next to me. The club was dark but I could make out most of his features, especially his curly, crazy hair.

“Sure,” I smiled at him as he sat down next to me at the bar.

“Can we get a beer and a,” he looked at me waiting.

“A peanut butter cup,” I told him.

“And a peanut butter cup,” He told the bartender, who got to work.

“Peanut butter alcohol drink, huh?” he asked me.

“It's good, but I just really like peanuts,” I giggled, pulling out my keys showing him the peanut key chain I had had since middle school.

“That's cute Peanut,” he said, already assigning me a pet name. I blushed as the bartender brought our drinks to us. We sat for hours talking, eventually moving to the dance floor to compare our equally awful dance moves. My phone started to ring and I noticed I had about a million texts from Olivia demanding we leave now.

“My friend,” I gestured to my phone. “I have to go,” I went to walk away but he caught my wrist in his hand.

“Will I see you again, Peanut?” he asked me.

“You will...,” I paused realizing i had never gotten his name.

“Harry. Harry Holland,” He grabbed my hand shaking it.

“I'll see you around Harry Holland,” And with that I left.

I walked over and pressed my lips to his. I didn't want to lose him. Harry Holland was my person. The one I would choose every time. Despite anything that could ever happen, it would always be him. Today. Tomorrow. Next year. Always.

Was I willing to toss the love of my life away because of something like this?

Was I willing to live with the consequences of his actions forever?

part 4

[lunarliza]

JJ Maybank Must Die | Chapter 1: Popsicles

fuckboy!JJ x Reader 

series masterlist

JJ Maybank is the island’s most infamous fuckboy- not that you ever cared. But when a group of tourist girls come to your surf shop crying to you about him, you agree to help them plot revenge. Sabotage is all fun and games, until you find that the playboy you were sworn to ruin happens to be falling head over heels for you.

Yes, this is based on John Tucker Must Die lol

note: so this is my second JJ fic! I’m so excited for ya’ll to read it. it’ll be more light-hearted and shorter than DLS :) 

“Come on... come on! This one right here let’s go!” you yelped. The crowd behind you was practically chattering on their fingernails. 

The seven year old boy in the water paddled as hard as his lanky arms could take him towards the daunting wave. 

“Now Gavin now! Stand up!” you shrieked as the boy hurriedly went through your instructed steps, tucking his knee, and thrusting upwards as the wave got close. Then, before he even realized, he glided rigidly along the wave as the board carried him across the water. 

“Hooray! Awesome job Gavin!” The flock cheered and rushed to pat the boy on the back, his dad lifting him up in his arms. 

The child scuttled towards you and threw his arms around your neck. You chuckled delightedly. “Alright everyone! That’s it for our surf lesson today. Be sure to check out the gift shop on your way out!” 

You waved bye to the guests as they made way to return their boards to the hut, some handing you rolled up cash, with thankful smiles. 

Once the coast was clear, you jogged back to the hut only to find Sophia, your best friend and lazy co-worker, lounging with her legs stretched on the checkout counter of the tiny surf shack. She hung a lollipop in her mouth while her eyes glued to her phone screen. 

“You know, when you asked me to find you a job, I actually thought you meant one where you actually work.” 

Sophia popped out the sucker and threw you a glare. “I did work! See!” she pointed her hand at the sign hanging beside the door that read ‘OBX Surf and Sports’, “I put that sign up this morning.” 

“It’s crooked.” 

“Bleh, bleh, bleh,” she mocked, “Nothing I ever do is good enough.” You chuckled and shook your head at her. 

You peered out the giant window at the front of the store, surveying the empty beach. This was going to be the rest of your summer. At sixteen years old, you were one of the Outer Banks’ surfing all-stars and spent your days working as an instructor for the second year in a row. 

Customers loved you and your ability to work with all ages rendering you the title of ‘Top Instructor’ at the shack- which didn’t mean much seeing as 90% of the employees were amateur teenagers. 

Nevertheless, you were determined to keep that title, as whoever brought in the most satisfied customers by the end of the summer wins a $5,000 scholarship. And you needed that money bad in order to attend your dream school: UVA. 

Along the beach, you caught a glimpse of your competition, Cody, and instinctly groaned. 

On any other occasion, you really didn’t care about what people did with their lives, but something about your arrogant, sleazy, five-foot-seven co-worker grinded your gears. 

He was always man-splaining to you and the other girls at the shack or kissing ass to your boss. And you knew well he was after the scholarship too- your scholarship. 

“Look at him,” you sneered to Sophia as she joined you at the window to death-glare the boy. He was prepping his group on the sand for their session and looked absolutely despicable in his shorts that were inches away from exposing his little one. Emphasis on the little. 

“Ugh, he’s making them do jumping jacks again,” Sophia pointed out, crinkling her nose, “God that poor old lady. Can he be any more extra?” 

“I need to look away, I think I might vomit if he ever flashed me.” 

Your best friend snickered at your hatred as you waxed down your board for your next lesson. “Did the group of girls check in yet?” you asked. 

“Yeah, they’re sitting and waiting at Eye Sickles,” she informed, referring to the popsicle food-truck next door. “I can’t believe they really signed up for the month-long surfing program. I didn’t know people actually paid for that.” 

“You’d be surprised. These tourists will buy into anything, trust me,” you said before heading out the door. 

You walked up to three tourist girls lounging on the fold-out tables and chairs at the food-truck. They were mindlessly typing away on their phones, looking as bored as ever. 

“Alright, do I have Annalise, Maia, and Arabella?” you announced with your work-smile on. They peered up from their phones and nodded with blank faces.

“Awesome,” you continued, trying to maintain your enthusiasm, “I’m y/n, I’ll be your instructor! I see you guys signed up for the month-long pro-boarding program which is great. Have you guys ever surfed before?” 

“Nope,” a blonde girl replied, “Our parents found this online and said it’d be good for us to learn while we’re here. We’re from Richmond, Virginia.” 

“Oh cool!” you jeered, the fake zeal was oozing at that point. “Well, I’m happy to be spending the summer with you guys. I’m going to have you guys grab a board and we’ll head down to the sand to go over the basic motions.” 

The trio followed you into the hut and picked out a board from the beginners section. You noticed the blonde one giggling with Sophia at the stand for a bit before joining you on the sand. She had a leader-like quality to her while the two other remained quiet but friendly. 

“Alright so, just for formalities, who’s who? That way I can identify you better,” you asked as the girls situated their boards along the shore.  

Not shockingly, the blonde extended her hand to you first. “I’m Annalise,” she greeted a little sullenly. You shrugged off her attitude, attributing it to her being a bougie tourist. 

“I’m Maia,” a tall, jet-black haired girl said next. She had a very athletic body and came off as the quietest one of the group. 

“And I’m Arabella,” the last one chimed in. Her hair was a fiery orange and she had piercings run along her ears and nose. 

“Alright cool! So now, we’ll start off with the movements you’ll go through once you hit the water. You want to start off flat on your stomach and paddle towards the waves. Make sure you have full control of your board at all times,” you began as the girls copied your demonstration on their own boards. 

You heard sniffles come from the group, but ignored it to continue your spiel. You could hardly read any of their expressions through their giant, bug-eyed sunglasses. 

Just as you were about to explain the importance of balance- you favorite part of the lesson- you saw the blonde sit up on her board in irritation and start sobbing through her glasses. 

“Annalise come on, it’s not worth it,” the tall one, Maia, reasoned as the Annalise shook her head furiously. 

“I can’t do this right now,” she cried before bolting back towards the shack. 

You watched her in utter confusion. “Was it something I said?” you asked the remaining two. 

The orange one shook her head and gave you a sincere look through her glasses. “No, she’s just really upset about this guy,” she turned to her friend, “Come on, let’s go check on her.” 

At that point, you had no choice but to follow the group towards their distressed friend. This was definitely coming out of their session time. 

The three of you plowed up the sand to find the girl, Annalise, sprawled on Sophia’s shoulder at the tables as she cooed her like a baby. You wanted to cringe. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. He’s a piece of shit anyways! Trust me, he did the same to me too,” your best friend comforted and petted the stranger’s yellow hair. 

“What’s going on?” you questioned at the scene. Sophia glanced up at you with a pleading look. 

“It’s JJ.” 

Oh brother. This dude again. JJ Maybank was the Outer Bank’s most infamous fuck boy. Him and his friends threw parties all the time at the Boneyard- ones you have yet to attend- and he effortlessly earned his reputation by sleeping with any girl he could get his grubby hands on. 

By this point, he’s broken half the hearts on the island with girls moaning and groaning about him left and right- Sophia included. You remembered her wailing the day he ghosted her after they did the nasty. It wasn’t a pretty day... or week for the matter. 

You didn’t understand what the big deal was with the guy. You’d gone to school with him since the first grade and he’d always been that guy that rolls in the mud during playtime in elementary school. And he still was that guy to this day.

You heard all the cringey lines he’d pull on girls at school that would get them swooning and you swore he was running a voodoo business because no one in their right mind could fall for that. 

But everyone did. Except for you. 

“What? Did he ghost you too?” you gestured towards the wrecked weeping girl.

She nodded and blew her boogers into the tissues Sophia brought out. 

“I-I, well, we met him at a party this weekend and he took me to this little hideout on the beach. He told me that he never met anyone like me before and said all this other shit. Then we had sex there, which I never do in public, and he said he couldn’t wait to see me again. And he never called me after!” 

Though you thought her public display was a little too... public, you did feel sorry for her. The guy was a tool, and these tourist girls, especially, didn’t know any better. 

“Don’t worry,” Sophia assured, resting a hand atop hers, “he did it to me and everyone at school. We all fell for the trap.” 

Maia and Arabella joined the sitting girls in a piled group hug as the ones in the center sputtered in tears together. You couldn’t bear to watch, but for Sophia, you awkwardly joined in anyways. 

The rest of the surfing session consisted of the girls pulling up their own chairs and  bad-mouthing JJ, along with all other men, as everyone licked their popsicles. 

You sucked on your mango one, not minding the little break as it was the easiest $150 you ever made. The girls weren’t as hoity-toity as you first thought. They apologized for wasting your time and promised to leave five-star reviews about you. Even better. 

As evening rolled in, you found yourself laughing and joking around with your new-found friends. They told you wild stories of their private school shenanigans back in Richmond while you and Sophia filled them in on life at the OBX. 

“This day was incredible,” Annalise beamed, dazed after her fourth popsicle. “Can’t believe we all bonded like this over a guy,” she chuckled, “I just... gah, I wish we could get him back somehow. Make him feel how we feel!” 

“You should,” you agreed, “Why don’t one of you guys go to the parties and try to seduce him and then leave him hanging? The trick with men is to withhold sex from them and they’ll be helpless.” 

Everyone’s face lit up in excitement at your idea. “No, totally! We could definitely do that!” Sophia exclaimed with wide eyes. “So who will it be? Who’s our hamster?” 

“Not me,” Maia objected almost instantly, “I have a boyfriend back home so no seducing will be done on my part.” 

“Arabella then,” Annalise suggested, nudging the girl beside her. 

“Alright...” she agreed, fiddling with the string of her bathing suit, “I guess I could take one for the team.” 

“There we go!” you cheered, “You just march straight into that party, grind on him a bit to leave him hanging, then proceed to embarrass the shit out of him! Problem solved!” 

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

note: do not worry! more drama to come 

chapter 2