#was because walmart was planned but i had to pick my mom up while we were out and she had to go to winn dixie

[kawaiianimeredhead]

For anyone curious, Cupcake did end up passing away last night/early this morning

She had an eventful day of going to Winn Dixie and Walmart as well as just hanging with my roommate around the house

She's going to try and pin her, she's not done it before but she really wants to because she was so special

My roommate's class pet is getting up there in age and she's thinking she might be passing soon so my roommate is taking her everywhere with her so she won't be alone when she goes

[lab-trash]

Today is mother's day and I got my dad a present. Multiple actually.

For background, my mom doesn't live with us. She moved out in 2021 and she moved back in with her parents just a couple months ago. She was neglectful when she did live here and I can't remember a single promise she ever kept.

My dad took over her (tiny amount of) responsibilities when she left and I think it made me appreciate him more. My dad wasn't there a ton when I was a kid, but that was because he had a job that required a 45 minute commute, and it's not like he was gonna get anything better to support our 8-member family. My dad has always tried his best.

(Fun fact: The day I bought a #1 Dad Mug at a thrift shop that matched my mom's very unique #1 Mom Mug was the same day my mom's mug broke. Talk about symbolism.)

In October he took in a homeless trans kid that my sister's partner was friends with. Both that kid and my sisters partner are going to be in our family pictures this coming Thursday.

At Walmart, I saw a pillow that said "mama bear" on it. And immediately I was like, I have to get this for my dad. For context, my dad is a bigger man with a big beard and long hair. He's a bear. He's also greygender and pretty much only uses his agab terms because, well, he's 45 and it doesn't really matter to him.

After seeing that pillow, I decided I didn't want to just do that. I got him a cuticle remover (he was talking about how he enjoyed it), some new hair things and hair clips (again, long hair), some oatmeal cookies that I know he likes, dark chocolate peanutbutter doves, and some liquid death, which we'd recently had a laugh over the existence of before promptly realising its actually really good. Lastly, a peanuts card that I picked up last minute.

I had to fit everything into a box from work so he wouldn't see anything and I brought it home under the pretense that my coworker had given me some miscellaneous items while decluttering. I brought it into my room, set everything up and put it behind my door.

I went around and had everyone sign it, only barely managing to get my sister before she left for work (unfortunately her partner left earlier than we anticipated, so I couldn't get them to sign the card) and I put everything into this tall bag with a unicorn on it. It was one of the only bags that was big enough to fit everything, and I just thought it was so perfect.

I was also planning on giving him a painting I did in middle school of the northern lights— I have all of my paintings from middle school tucked away on my bookshelf— but I couldn't find it.

I had to go to the store with him when he picked up my sister, so I couldn't just wait for him to get home. I had to wait til he went out to the van, sprint upstairs, grab this bag that's easily 15 pounds because of the liquid death, rush back downstairs, hide it between our couches, rush out to the van, then rush back inside when we got home and set it up on a couch for him to open.

It went over really well, which was something i was worried about right at the end there, since he'd asked me and my sister if we told our mom happy mothers day. I hadn't, but my sister had. They were talking about it when they entered and I beckoned dad into the living room for his mother's day gift.

Overall, I spent about $60 on the gift. And I don't regret it. One of the biggest things of note with my mom was that whenever we celebrated mother's day, I would always try to put effort into it to make her happy. And it was never... really appreciated. I remember one year I got this sort of clear trophy-wine glass thingy and put some chocolate in it, and I had all of her kids sign the lid. She didn't take it when she left. It was sitting in our kitchen (with half of our deadnames on it, might I add) until a few months ago. If she'd left it in dad's room, I think it'd be less hurtful, but she left it on the microwave cart where we all saw it every day. Mocking us both with our deadnames and our failure of a gift.

Buying for my dad wasn't like that. I know even if I fucked up one of the items, he'd enjoy even the existence of it at all. I could've just bought the card or just the pillow and he would've been happy. But I didn't, almost because of that fact. My dad would be happy with less, so he deserved more.

[timeoverload]

Well I have a lot to say at the moment. I have had the itch to write this all day but I couldn't because I was very busy at work. First of all, I apologize for my antics the past week. I'm still a little upset about what happened yesterday but I realize that some of that was my fault. Maybe I'm not being patient enough. I'm sorry if I ruined anyone's day. I'm definitely not as angry as I was last week and I was in a great mood all day despite being extremely stressed.

I was such a mess yesterday. I was so uncomfortable and I really don't want to go out by myself again. I wish I enjoyed doing that but I never have. I guess that's just the way I am. I was really looking forward to seeing you but I understand why you weren't there. I'm not planning on responding to any more indirect requests from anyone asking me to show up somewhere. I'm not going to keep subjecting myself to that anxiety if nothing is going to come out of it. I think I should have proven myself by now.

Another thing that triggered me while I was there was seeing someone that I used to be close to. There was a guy I went to high school with in one of the bands that played and we were good friends for a while. We had a very brief fling but literally nothing ever happened between us because I was acting psycho and that lead to the end of our friendship. It was definitely for the best because I treated him very poorly even though he was very kind to me. I knew that he wasn't the one for me. It seems like he is doing well now and I am happy for him. I don't think he recognized me but that's ok with me. Seeing him reminded me of how terrible I was in high school and I don't think I realized at the time how crazy I was acting. It brought back a lot of bad memories. He isn't the only person I acted that way towards. I was such an asshole and I did a lot of crazy shit back then that I would never do now. I'm not surprised that I don't have any friends left from high school.

I had a tough time keeping friends back then because of my behavior too. I was going through a lot of traumatic shit so that didn't help. I also used to be more of a risk taker too but I think a lot of that was due to mania. I didn't make the best decisions. I can't blame everything on my mental illness but it didn't help that I was not properly medicated for that until I was 24 or 25. I'm really surprised that I only got in trouble once in high school and it was for smoking cigarettes. I got pretty lucky I think. I have learned a lot since then and I think that I'm a much better person than I used to be.

Anyway, I also drank too much too quickly yesterday without eating so that was a stupid decision. I was fine though and I didn't throw up so I'm happy about that. I don't remember the drive home but I didn't have any issues. I'm glad it wasn't dark outside. I am never doing that again and I feel horrible about it since that is against my morals. It is very irresponsible. I know better and it was still scary.

I remember my mom driving drunk with me in the car all the time when I was a teenager. She would pick me up after school and she would usually be late because she had already been drinking or was hungover. Almost every day she would stop at walmart when we were on our way home so she could buy more $3 garbage wine. Then when we got home, I had to help watch my brother and sister and help with dinner so she could go sit in the garage. She would sit out there for hours and talk to herself while she was chain smoking and drinking. She would usually have at least 1 bottle of wine every night. I remember she would go to the bar at night and drive home drunk frequently. She hit mailboxes and other unknown things with her car. I remember waking up in the morning and looking out my window to check to see if she had parked in the yard again because it happened several times. We lived in a pretty nice neighborhood so that looked really bad. She got several DUI's and I'm thankful she never hurt anyone. I'm glad she doesn't have a car now because she can't be trusted with one. I don't want to end up like her but I also know I wouldn't let myself get to that point. I also lost a friend I met in high school because she was on her boyfriend's motorcycle with him and he was drunk and they got in an accident. He lived but she didn't and it was very sad. She was such a sweet person and I'm glad I got to spend time with her. It's hard for me to think about.

After I got home last night, I didn't drink that much more and I ate some food. I didn't want to do anything otherwise. I had no interest in being on the computer. I was upset and not in the right state of mind to be on here. I wanted to watch tv because I haven't in a long time so that's what I did. It was nice. I wanted to distract myself because I was not looking forward to today.

There were 75 cases all together on our side of the hospital. There was a lot going on. I had 16 cases this morning and 15 in the afternoon. There was a 45 minute delay around lunch time because there was an issue with the disposable sterile supply packs that come from the manufacturer. I'm not exactly sure what happened but it messed up the rest of the day and we were extremely behind. It was exhausting trying to catch up after that. The last case didn't get done until 6:20 so I didn't get out of there until 6:45. I was there 12 hours because I got there early this morning too. I think that tomorrow will be slower so that's good.

I am glad that I have Wednesday off but I'm also very anxious about it. I'm not going to be able to sleep in but I'm sure I will need a nap afterward so I should have time to do that. I am still looking forward to seeing you even though things haven't been going well recently. I know we will figure stuff out eventually and I need to stop worrying so much. Everything will be ok. I love you. 💖💖💖

I have been writing a long time and I know I'm going to continue going on tangents if I don't stop. I'm not going to have much time to relax tonight because I still have stuff to do. My right eye is also bothering me again too so I need to give it a break. I'm not sure why it hurts so bad and it has felt like something is in it all day. I have been wearing mascara more often so maybe that's the issue. Hopefully it feels better in the morning. I just ate dinner and now I have to get ready for bed. I really hope tomorrow is a better day.

I hope everyone else has a good day tomorrow too!!! :) Thank you for listening to me. 💖💖💖

[tamerahardy]

Life before Korea

I had already known we were deploying back in 2021 when I first got to my unit. We left in October of 2022 to Korea. Apart of me was actually very happy if anyone knows me they know I love anime and I always wanted to go to Japan and Korea which is next door to Japan, but I had also been grieving the loss of my father and being away from Aaliyah in which my mom who I don’t have the best relationship with would watch her.

My time in Washington before the deployment I was actually very happy like genuinely happy I had beat my ex husband at his evil game I had a new home and a flourishing bank account. I was able to provide for my daughter compared to some years ago when I was living with my mom again working at Walmart making 300$ a check after I lost my job.

I was HAVING IT AGAIN” but life had humbled me deeply. After everything I typed prior to this I had truly been WOKE and very cautious and aware. I was very focused on my goal to the point where I didn’t pay attention to anyone at all except the people I needed to so I could get to where I needed to be.

My new job in the military was infantry I didn’t pick it at all but that’s how I got my job and benefits back. I survived fort benning ga and coming the my unit I was not here to play or hook up with anyone AT ALL. I was very driven and focused, I enjoyed my time as a single mother with my daughter. I loved the Seattle experience and finding things I liked and staying focused at work but after while I had began to feel lonely. The feeling I felt before I hooked up with my ex husband and finally gave him chance leading me down a dark path.

Anytime I felt a sense of “loneliness” I immediately internalized and thought of my previous trauma. It had seemed I hadn’t healed from my husband and I still needed to do work with myself. Mind you it’s 2021, I had found out my ex husband got his ex gf pregnant behind my back and they were planning a life together the year prior in 2020 the “spiraling years” so yes I need to get to the root of the pain.

Normally I would just go on his mistress page and check for anything she would post of him and their child SOMETHING that would hurt me so bad that I would become numb to it. That didn’t help at all really…it felt like I was looking for something to help me purge this terrible feeling and demon out of my body but I was doing it incorrectly.

Pain and trauma changes you. It makes you reevaluate your life and demean yourself not worthy. I didn’t have my dad to talk to I had cut him off because I looped him in with every other man that cheats. Initially what helped me to get over the pain I felt from my divorce and Damian was my spirituality. I don’t know if you are reading this but if you are you would know by now that I have been through a lot, a lot that words can’t even sum it all up especially when you are going through it in real life. I looked back at everything I had been through. When I was with Damian every single recruiter REJECTED me and could not get me back in the military for various reasons. I tried every recruiter from Colorado all the way to Tennessee but initially nothing worked. By the time I had separated from Damian I had an opening and that right there told me everything I needed to know. I was not meant to start my new life with Damian in it being that he had always made his mind behind my back and God saw it and STOPPED before the darkness went any further, this ALONE helped me. I stopped looking at his mistress page and I stopped looking for him and proceeded on the NEW path that God created for me.

Damian had blamed me for the downfall of his life and I internalized that as I have a pattern for believing I’m always wrong. I felt I wasn’t a good wife when in reality I was too young and moving too fast being overly anxious again as I have a history for that. I went through a very humbling lesson that made me very cautious and disciplined when it came to giving a man my body or acting off impulse whenever I felt “lonely”

I have no ill will towards Damian and yes I have him out my system now which I’m sure my dad is very proud of looking from above, I personally don’t even care if he reaches out for Aaliyah he hasn’t done anything for her over the years but demand money from me in which again I care no ill will towards but don’t get it fucked up if he come for me I’ll be ready and I’ll stand up for myself and my daughter EVERY single time!

Moving forward as I had finally healed from my divorce. I mean I still looked. I’m not perfect and someone caught my eye ….

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

To Raise Children: Chapter 2

Chris Evans X Daughter!Reader, Grandpa!Chris Evans X Flynn and Felix Evans (OCs) Tom Holland X Single-Mom!Reader (Slow Burn)

Series Masterlist

Series Summary: It's been 4 years, your sons are starting kindergarten, you're starting junior year of college, a lot has changed.

Chapter Summary: School shopping!

Series Warnings: Age gap (Reader is 20, Tom is 29), absent father, mentions teen pregnancy, mentions abortion, if you see anymore please let me know politely.

Chapter Warnings:

Sequel to It Takes A village

You sighed looking at your bank balance. You should have enough to get the boys both new shoes, new clothes, and all their supplies. If not you'll just pull from your savings.

"Okay boys lets get you two dressed so we can go school shopping." You said as you finished cleaning up breakfast.

"Can I get a frog backpack?" Felix asked you.

"I want a forky backpack." Flynn said as he finished his apple slices.

"We'll see what they have." You smiled at them. "Go pick your outfits out then I'll help you get dressed."

"Okay mommy!" Felix said.

"Hey Sweetpea what's your plans for the day?" Chris asked walking into the kitchen.

"I have to take the boys school shopping." You said setting the towel down. "You can join us if you want."

"Okay I will join you guys. Well I wanted to talk to you about something. Tom Holland is going to be in my next movie!" Chris told you smiling. The movie was filming in boston and filming starts next month.

"Cool. We could invite him to Flynn and Felix's birthday party. Felix would to have the "real" spiderman there." You joked.

"Yeah, but I was also was thinking about inviting him to stay with us while we are filming so he doesn't have to live in a hotel." Chris told you. It was obvious he wanted you opinion before he actually did invite him. He didn't want to just invite someone in the home while your living there and raising your kids there just in case you didn't like the person for whatever reason.

"Oh okay. I mean I don't care." You shrugged. "It's your house."

"Okay thank you peanut." He smiled before you left to go get ready for the store.

———

"Okay boys pick a backpack." You said. Both kids jumped off the sides of the cart and looked at the wide selection of backpacks at Walmart. You get a employee discount it's just more practical to get stuff there. Anyway there were sharks, dinosaurs, princesses, videogame themed bags. Your dad was standing with you but was distracted looking at hats.

Flynn looked closely at all of the backpacks trying to find the perfect one. Felix on the other hand grabbed the only two spiderman book bags.

"Buddy you can only get one. Which one is your favorite?" You asked him smiling. One was a basic bag with Peter Parker's spiderman on the front, the other one was a spider-verse backpack with Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Spider-Gwen in their costumes. Both of which came with a matching lunch box.

"This one." He held up the second one.

"Okay, buddy toss it in the cart then." You smiled looking over at Flynn. He was now looking at the dinosaur bookbags. There was a Jurassic World backpack and some generic dinosaur bags that were still really cute. You had a feeling he'd go with the Jurassic World one.

"Poppy! Look at the bag I picked!" Felix said pointing in the cart at the bag.

"That is awesome! I wish I had one." Chris said smiling.

"It's the only one you have to have that one." He pointed the bag you were hanging back up seeing has he sat it on the bottom shelf and not the hook it was hung on. not hung up.

"I think I'll just wait." Chris chuckled picking Felix up. Which the kid welcomed, he liked being picked up by Chris because it made him feel like he was tall.

"Mommy! I want this one." Flynn held up the Jurassic world bag it also came with a lunch box. You weren't sure if you'd be packing their lunch this year or not. You probably would since school lunches are anything but healthy.

"Okay toss it in." You smiled, "okay climb on." Flynn climbed on the cart standing on the end of the cart. Felix was on Chris' shoulders.

You four went to the shoes aisle. They both need two new pairs of shoes. You had a feeling they'd pick matching shoes but you didn't care as long as they were happy.

—

They picked out shoes, they both got a pair of light-up sketchers, and another pair. After going to shoes the four of you went to the cup aisle so that the boys could pick out water bottles as that was something on the list. Felix picked out a water bottle themed to the Spidey and his Amazing Friends show on Disney Junior. It is his favorite show, while Flynn's favorite is Dino Dana, though Felix also likes that show just not as much as his brother. But they didn't have a dino dana water bottle so Flynn got a Paw patrol one. Which is a show they both love.

After water bottles and shoes you grabbed a cheap pack of reusable plastic utensils to put in their lunch boxes. So they wouldn't lose your dad's silverware. Chris was entertaining the boys in the toy section while you did that.

You gathered them after you got everything you needed. It was time for clothes. Five shirts should and a few new pairs of pants, underwear and socks then they should be fine. You let them pick out their shirts while you grabbed the pants. You were just getting them jeans so there was no point in letting them pick them out, besides your dad was helping them with the shirts.

"Okay boys look through the shirts then I'll grab your size." Chris smiles at them. They normally picked out clothes where they matched. You never forced them to match, you gave the ability to pick their clothes. Now obviously the two of them like different things but if they want two of the exact same thing your gonna get it for them.

"That one!" Flynn said pointing to a shirt with a dinosaur on it.

"Bub do you want one too?" Chris asked Felix as he looked through the sizes.

"Yes please!" Felix said smiling.

"Okay." Chris smiled. He was very pleased to see that they had two shirts left in their size. Soon they had their shirts, the dinosaur shirt, then Flynn got a toy story shirt while Felix got a Winnie the Pooh shirt, then they got matching shirts that say "warning: Small but hazardous", then a few other shirts. You came back helped them both pick out a hoodie before leaving that aisle to get school supplies. Eventually, you got everything and made it home to pack everything in their bags for next week. The lost said not to label the supplies but your a rule breaker. Also you can't afford to get them more supplies if they end up becoming communal supplies.

Taglist: @fic-for-readers @denisemarieangelina @shadow-dixon @thevelvetseries @kaitieskidmore1 @ellerosie2332 @tahniemarie @runawayolives @marajillana @buckybarnez @positivelyholland @coldmuffinpartycloud @beautifulrose0809 @Olivia197810 @believinghurts @laura-naruto-fan1998 @kalopsia-flaneur @some-lovely-day @shadow-dixon @gengen64 @firehoseevan @silverrmist

Flynn's Stuff Felix's Stuff

[beenovel]

Had my wisdom teeth removed. Some highlights:

Assistant asked me what I wanted to do after high school. We had a fun talk about horticulture, plants, and hobbies. She had a short pixie cut on red hair and cute circle glasses. She was cute. Doctor comes in and immediately asks me what I’m planning on going to college for. I share a look with the assistant.

They give me my IV and I’m out pretty much instantly. I remember waking up in a chair next to my mom who starts asking me questions to help me wake up. “What animal is the number 11” “a giraffe. It’s tall” “what number is an elephant” “7001, the 7 is the trunk and the 00s are the body and the 1 is the tail” (I was tired and though 1s went the other way round) “what number is a hippo” “19. Don’t ask my why, I don’t know” (I still dont know) “what letter is pink?” “a cursive j. It’s got a curly tail and that seems pink and it’s got a dot like the i”

when we picked up the medicine at walmart I started crying because I wasn’t any help when my mom needed to find something in the car. I was Very Very emotional about this. For a While.

my mother let me have my phone in my room. i proceeded to message my group chat and father while dealing with both the after effects of the anesthesia and the sleeping pills kicking in. I’ll probably post pics + translations later, if y’all would like to see that. People seem to get a kick out of the messages I send high off my ass on sumatriptan, and this is that on speed.

after I woke up from my nap I was refreshed and discovered that my cat had taken it upon herself to be my personal bodyguard. I tried to take my anxiety meds and she pulled my hand away from my face, spent a while sniffing them and I only got to take the pill when she went to investigate the bottle they came from. she was very upset when she turned around and discovered that I’d taken the pill and decided the best way to protect me was to lay across my neck/the bottom half of my face. I was also not allowed to put of my headphones for a while because every time I tried she batted them away from me. the dogs have also been around me pretty constantly, the little dog laying on my bed and the big one laying outside my door.

some things that hurt post-op:

breathing

sneezing (holy mother of ow)

yawning

opening my mouth

laying on my side

clenching my jaw

drinking

moving

standing

I also look fairy dead. All color has left my face except for the deep yellowy bruised-looking bags under my eyes

i seem to be healing just fine and my teeth hurt a lot less than they have in the past few weeks (not my gums where the surgery was done, but the main teeth that are no longer being rammed into by sideways growing teeth)

[extremelyblackandwhite]

Hey, so I just wanna give u a scenario and I need you to tell me if it’s gaslighting or something that’s not a big deal and stuff.

So me and my prom date and my friend and her prom date went to a park near our school to practice prom dancing. A little backstory, my friend and her prom date had practiced for a month before. Now, back to the present. We went to a park to practice. My prom date and I started practicing with a video reference and my friend’s date came and started helping us. I don’t mind that he helped, we got some done and it was great. My date had to leave early so he left. Then I had to leave. My mom came and being a good person, she offered my friend a ride to her house (her house isn’t far from mine) my friend kept politely declining but my mom said it’s fine she can take her because she doesn’t want her to walk home (which she does a lot because she misses her bus sometimes) and so then my friend accepted and told her date she was leaving. We stopped at Walmart for about 10 minutes. She called him to apologize that she left abruptly and he told her that it was “disrespectful” because they had planned it and stuff. And in my head I was thinking like what if her mom talked to my mom to bring her home bcz they had a family emergency (her mom doesn’t drive) and she doesn’t want her to tell him? He doesn’t know what’s going on so how would he catagorize it as “disrespect��? He had time to practice with her at the park! Our other friend wanted to spend time with us before he drove my prom date home so she kept him some company since he’s graduating next year because he came late to our school. She kept him some company. Her prom date complained about that! He then picked her up from Walmart and made a big deal about her leaving early and shit. Like we have more days to practice and like they practiced for a month before for a couple of hours. He isn’t taking some responsibility like I said before that he could’ve danced with her at the park before we left and he could’ve told my mom that they had plans (my mom told my friend why didn’t she tell her they had plans she would’ve let her stay). They went to the park after he picked her up from Walmart and he started talking about how I don’t give a fuck and shit and he basically just made a big deal out of it and DIDN’T DANCE WHILE AT THE PARK!!!!!!!!!!!! So let me get this straight, you make a big deal about someone leaving bcz u didn’t get to dance with them and then when u get the chance to practice, you don’t take it bcz you’re kind of throwing a tantrum?

I just need to know, is he making a big deal out of it? Am I “disrespecting” him? Is he gaslighting my friend? He’s putting the blame on her and isn’t taking some of the responsibility!!!

Wow. Okay so I think he shouldn’t be saying that your friend disrespected him, specially because walking home alone could’ve been unsafe and he should care about that.

[inlovewithcharmers]

THE RETURN: A Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy the Series p1

Warnings: Time Jump. Underage drinking, More alcohol, Cussing, Angst, and Death threats. Abusive.Havoc. Billy being very.....Billy I'm sorry.

eight years later;

Billy's pov:

Awe its morning, I said dreamily. I bounced on my bed a little too high causing some of the parts to the ceiling to come off. As i bounced back down I somersaulted In my drawer and picked out my usual blue and white poloshirt paired with some jeans as I rolled down the stairs and took a seat the dinnertable. I exhaled in and out before speaking loudly. GOOD MORNING MOM AND DAD. My mom and dad's hair was frizzled as they looked at me with a blank expression. Good Morning b-billy both of them stuttered. My mom put my breakfast on my plate. As Grim began to walk downstairs. and began to eat with me. We both laughed at something until we had to leave for school. I dragged Grim across the street to Mandy's house while Mandy was waiting for us in her car as we hopped in. Apparently my parents don't like her anymore. Everytime I would invite her over they would hit me, luckily she always has my back.

Grims Pov:

Mandy casually carried my head around the high-school everyday. Somedays I would get noticed and teens would want me to sign certain things and the other part was just me getting some rest in her locker which I didn't mind. One day

something interested happened during break as Mandy was talking to me by her locker. Hey Mandy Jr smirked as he leaned up against the locker next to her. I rolled my eyes at the sudden position. Hey yourself Mandy snarled as she shut her locker which I didn't approve. I was wondering if you were free to night.

Mandy's Pov:

If you're not you could just call it good, make hotel f*ck*ng transylvania boy over there do the work for you and Jr said stepping closer to Mandy looking at her in the eyes, and ride with me jr winked. Mandy sighed looking down and up at jr as much as I love slaves sigh Mandy smirked a little bit. I can't I have plans with someone else. Jr didn't look surprised that Mandy said that. Jr lit a cigarette while tilting hid head as he let out a puff. He decided to sit down with Mandy while not even caring about the cigarette so he tossed it in the trash. Jr was about to say something until- COUSIN Billy screamed as he was running like he was in a race. Reject Jr fired back. We're so awesome Billy randomly blurted out by hugging Jr Jr flinched and shrugged him off. At that moment the bell rang Jr mumbled something and strutted off with a bouncing Billy right beside him. I chuckled while opening my locker seeing grim mimicking he was out of breath. That was torture grim said. Grim Mandy said annoyed you don't have lungs shut the hell up, grabbing grim and her stuff while shutting the locker and leaving the hallway. Everyone was in the classroom listening to the sub Fred Fredburger. Yes the annoying ass green walmart teletubby that has a mouth bigger than his trunk. Why him you ask?, Well it's endsville. The system is always broken in places. It's how we choose to live before we die. Maten Pud'ns sister sat by me. Ugh can he just say something human for once Paden whined. Paden became one of my friends she's the only girl that I can't get mad at surprisingly. She also was the person I shared my first kiss with the bathroom. She's been worried about me recently because of the fact that I'm still wondering where I came from after over hearing "my parents." Wanting me to put me up for adoption. Those flebags can try all they want but lieing about where I actually came from and playing nice won't fix me.

[bsbloglife]

September 23, 2021…tomorrow I leave my family for 3 weeks, to care for my parents back home. I’m nervous, scared, excited, sad, relieved, and so many other emotions that I cannot begin to name off because my mind is a jumbled mess. I’m looking forward to finally seeing my parents after a little over two years, but so heartbroken to leave my children and husband behind. I do have a sense of relief that now I’ll finally be able to take care of the issues regarding my parents’ needs.

I take off from Orlando in the early afternoon, to arrive in Toronto a few hours later, only to wait for 3+ hrs before my flight to Montreal. My sister-in-law will be coming to the airport to pick me up, then we’ll be heading over to the hotel where my parents have been holed up for over 4 and a half months. My parents don’t know I’ll be arriving tomorrow, but the caregiver is aware. She’ll be waiting for my call to say that I’ve arrived and that I’m on the way. In fact, I’ll be the one caring for my parents the first weekend that I arrive. My father is the one who needs the most help, hopefully he’ll be ok with me cleaning him up when he needs it. This will be interesting! Maybe he won’t recognize me and think that I’m another caregiver. I’m laughing at the thought, but it’s painful to think he won’t remember me. We’ll soon find out. Tomorrow this time I’ll be at the hotel with my parents.

In fact, tomorrow almost didn’t happen. I received a call today from my son’s middle school and as soon as I saw that name pop up on my phone at 1:15pm, I knew it wasn’t going to be a good call. When I answered the phone I waited a few seconds, hoping that maybe it was one of those automated calls from the principal. After a few seconds when I didn’t hear that automated voice come on, I knew something was wrong, so I said “hello?”, to which the school nurse proceeded to tell me her name and that she was calling about my son. I’m sure my response, “oh no, this is not good”, confused her a little bit, which I sensed from her hesitation to continue on. I said that for a few reasons; 1 - she’d only be calling me if something bad happened, 2 - I was leaving for Canada the next day, this seriously cannot be happening, and 3 - what if he has Covid?? I would have to reschedule my trip. I think other things popped in my mind, but right now I can’t remember what they were. She then said he was not feeling well; sore throat, chills, headache, but no fever. I told her I’d be there within 10 minutes. When I got to the school he looked ill, with those glassy eyes and sad face, trying to pull his arms into his shirt because he was getting chilly. I carried his bag and we headed to the car. He told me that he was sorry to put pressure on me because he knew that I had to leave tomorrow. I told him that I believed everything happened for a reason and maybe it wasn’t meant for me to go. My first thought was having to reschedule my trip, because if he had Covid I didn’t want to bring it home to my parents. Then I thought that I would need to get him tested, just to be sure. If he was positive, then I would reschedule the trip. If he was negative, then I would continue as planned. Stupid me, I thought that picking up a Covid Home testing kit would be easy. Just go to the closest pharmacy. Little did I know that these testing kits were like hot cakes and everybody wanted them! There were no Covid testing kits to be found…anywhere!!! My very good friend Bri helped me find one of the last remaining kits in town, after she searched and searched and searched, even going to the closest Walmart by her place to pick up a kit which was supposedly in stock. Only to find out that she missed the last kit by a few minutes! She drove with me to the only pharmacy in town with a kit. You know, that’s a real friend. You find out who your real friends are when they inconvenience themselves to help you, but they truly don’t think they are going out of their way. They are helping you because they genuinely care, when anyone else would be telling you, “good luck finding a kit”, instead she said, “let me get dressed and go to my Walmart that says they have them in stock. I’ll pick it up for you then meet you.” I mean, seriously?!?! Then she drove across town with me to get that last remaining kit, which she found after calling several pharmacies in town, and then begging them to hold it for her. I’ll never forget her kindness. I’m sure she had other things to do than to spend hours searching for a rapid Covid testing kit for my son. What was really beautiful, was that she never made it seem like a hassle. She made it seem that she actually enjoyed helping me. I cherish this girl! (Btw, my son was negative, thankfully!!)

Speaking of kindness, when I texted my cousins back home to tell them that I was coming, they offered me their homes to stay in, they offered me cars to drive, they offered me support in any way that I needed it. My one cousin offered me his daughter’s car, only with her permission of course. I told him that I didn’t mind driving his Maserati, just in case she didn’t want me to drive her Mini Cooper. I still haven’t heard back from him regarding this…. Walter? Hello?? My cousin Nadia was there for me that weekend when I decided to resign, because I needed to talk to someone about my decision to leave my career to care for my parents. She understood my pain. She too worked very hard for her career. She listened, offered her advice and helped me decide that the right thing to do would be to follow my heart. My heart wanted to be there for my parents. If I didn’t follow my heart, my conscience would never be clear and I would be useless to my family. I’ll never forget my cousin Alain and how he took care of my parents needs the day after the fire. He went to the house and dealt with the insurance people and helped my parents navigate the first few days of this terrible event. He was my savior, and theirs too. These kindnesses will never be forgotten.

My best friends back home Tina and Karen, offering me clothing, food, a place to stay. Even offering me their time when painting, decluttering and whatever else I’ll need to get done at the house. I cannot do anything without their support…without all of my friends and families support. My sister-in-law Anna will be there for me when I first arrive and each and every day that I am there. She lives just down the street from my parents place and has often been the one that my mom has called when they needed help. I cannot repay any of these people for their goodness, kindness, love and support. I can only hope that someday I am able to provide them with the same.

Here at home, one of my best friend’s has changed her whole schedule at work to accommodate taking care of my son every morning while I’m away. She rearranged her life for mine. She has literally become the family that I don’t have that lives just down the street. You know what I mean, that family member that lives close by that cares for your kids because you don’t have anyone else?? She literally rearranged her entire life to help me. I cannot thank Lisa and her son CJ enough for caring for my son like he is their family. She spoils him like she does her own sons. I told her to back off a little, because I didn’t want my son to like her more than her likes me. She laughed and said that wasn’t possible, because all my son did was talk about me. He better, good boy!

Speaking of family, tomorrow morning our friends, who we call family and in fact made them godparents to our son, will be driving me to the airport. I feel bad for Pat and Kelly, because they’ll be hearing me cry as we drive away after I say goodbye to my husband and children. I know those painful cries won’t be easy to handle. They’ll be seeing me off at the airport, which I know won’t be easy, because this will mean that I’m really leaving.

Honestly though, I really couldn’t do any of this without my family’s support, especially my husband. If he didn’t have my back, supporting my decision, and taking on most of the responsibilities with me gone for three weeks, then none of this would be possible. He has supported me financially, emotionally and spiritually. Without him I couldn’t do this. Without my children helping me by not begging me to stay, I am able to go. They have cried, they have told me they didn’t want me to go, but they haven’t forced me in a corner where the guilt of their pain would make me stay. I couldn’t do it without their support. My daughter stepping up to the plate by being me for the next three weeks, picking up my son from school, making sure he gets fed and taken to his activities.

Part of me thinks that I’m being such a big baby about this. I should just shut my mouth, stop the crying and just face this head on without fear. I want to, I really do. I feel ashamed that I can’t handle this with the grace and dignity that I know most people in my position would have. I try to have the courage and strength that I need to go forward, but the fear of the unknown has me scared. I’m afraid of leaving my family, what if something happens. It won’t be easy for me to come back home. I have to get a flight. I have to get Covid tested, which takes a day or two. I can’t just jump on a plane and come back. I’m scared I won’t be here if I’m needed. I try to get those things out of my head. I try to have relief knowing that I cannot control things out of my control, I have to let whatever may be just be. Then go from there. I know that this needs to be done and now I’ll finally be doing what I set out to do when I resigned from my career. This is the decision I made, now I will continue on with this journey.

Onward and upward!

[justcallmenikki7]

BTS Reaction To: Going Shopping With Your Child

Summary: you and your boyfriend go out with your kid for the day

Warnings: fluffff, cute dad bts, jimin wanting to prove the BULLIES WRONG, mentions of some bullying? its just not stated just implied to the daughter, reader has some anxiety in taehyungs part, mentions of puking, fluff in general.

Request: Can you do an imagine with BTS members where you go shopping with your kid (preferably small kid or baby) but you can do anything :)

W.C.: 1.7k

Notes: ALMOST FINISHED WITH ALL OF THE ASKS IN MY INBOX!! 2 TO GO!

Seokjin:

For the first time since you gave birth to your son Alexander, your boyfriend wanted to go out and show your now little family. At first you were reluctant because of the fear of something bad happening such as Alexander catching a cold, someone taking your son, the paparazzi scaring him – you are just plain nervous. But the reassurance from your boyfriend and encouraging words, he got you to say yes and the excitement in his eyes had you relaxing.

After gathering your bag that held everything you need for the day, you got Alexander and you dress while Seokjin was out in the garage putting in the car seat. Dressing yourself in something comfortable but also stylish, you got Alexander and made your way to the garage.

“See, everything will be fine, you said.”  You mocked your boyfriend. “There is nothing to worry about, you added.” You glared at your boyfriend who was giving you a worried smile as you tried to get rid of the puke stain that Alexander caused.

“Hey! Baby’s puking is normal thing, you have nothing to worry about!”

“Oh! Nothing to worry about, huh? He managed to get puke on both me and the waitress!” You exclaimed, rubbing even harder on the area where Alexander puked.

Cringing, Seokjin gave you a nervous smile, “Okay maybe there is something to worry about?”

“You think?!”

Yoongi:

Sitting on the bench outside of the Victoria Secret shop, Yoongi held Mia in his arms, lightly bouncing her so she can fall asleep. There was a slight pout on his lips because he could not bring into the store with you while you shopped – and this is one of Yoongi’s favorite stores to shop with you in.

A small whine escaped Mia’s lips causing the rapper to frown at his daughter. “Hey, why are you whining?” He asked, knowing that she will not give him a verbal response, only another whine came from the small child. Not knowing what else to do, Yoongi began to start singing ‘So Far Away’ to Mia, praying to whoever is listening that it will calm his daughter down.

You just got done finishing your shopping inside Victoria Secret, wanting to get some new pajamas and underwear, and a cute little backpack for days out with your daughter. As you were walking out of the store, you stopped in your tracks when you heard your husbands voice singing. Walking quietly over to him, you began to tear up because the scene that is right in front of you is picture perfect. Knowing that your husband does not notice you yet, you shimmied your way onto the bench with him as discretely as possible, wanting to see how long that it will take for him to notice you. Once he was done singing, you laid your head on his shoulder, only to get knocked in face due to him jumping from your presence.

“God Dammit Min Yoongi,” you cursed, rubbing your jaw.

“Well you shouldn’t have scared me like that!”

“Oh wow, so now its my fault?”

Hoseok:

Going out with your husband and twins was a bad idea.

Why?

Well, Hoseok lost Maggie and you are dealing with Jisoo who is wanting to get a new pair of leggings because her old ones now have holes in them from gymnastics. But the thing is, Jisoo is very picky when it comes to leggings and now you know how your mom felt when she took you shopping.

“But mom, they are too thick and they’re going to make me uncomfortable.” Your eight-year-old daughter explained.

“Well for some reason, this is all that they have, and you have tried on every pair. Do you want to go to Walmart and see if they have the ones you like?” You asked, folding the pair of leggings that she got out of.

“If that’s okay? I don’t want to be irritating…” She checked, one of the traits that she got from you which is the feeling of being irritating and asking for too much.

Smiling gently at her, “you’re not being irritating, love. I want you to feel comfortable in what you wear, especially with gymnastics. Come on, lets find your father and sister.”

Walking out of the dressing room you were met with your husband who was giving you a nervous smile.

“Where’s Maggie?” You asked, praying to God he did not lose her once again.

“You know how much I love you and much I cherish life, right?”

“You better find her in five minutes or you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

Namjoon:

Taking a child and a man child shopping was not the greatest idea you ever had.

Your boyfriend is perfect! You can agree to that. But the one thing that the two of you can agree on is how destructive he is. You remember the first time when he met your parents, he broke your mothers’ sister’s funerary urn.

That was not a good meeting because Namjoon broke out crying and panicking while your mother broke out into a heavy cry whereas your dad was trying to figure out what happened.

It was a very interesting meeting.

But the reason why you are nervous with this shopping trip with your family is because you are shopping for jewelry – something that Namjoon is also known for destroying. You can admit though that he is doing good so far because he is watching your guys daughter, Jessie. The pretty silver and gold began to take your attention from your husband and daughter away, causing you to not realize that Namjoon is now looking with Jessie and touching some of the displays. The sound of glass breaking and a scared, but all too familiar gasp had you turning towards your husband with a glare.

Giving you a nervous smile, Namjoon rubbed the back of his neck. “Oops?”

Jimin:

Having a husband that is a dance and a daughter wanting to take after him, both you and Jimin wanted to get her a ‘starting kit,’ – which consisted of new dance clothes, a duffle bag, water bottle and the whole shebang. When the first dance class ended, your daughter raced out to the car where you and Jimin sat talking, crying her eyes out about being bullied by the girls in the class because she did not have pink, or Victoria secret, or in their terms ‘name brand’ stuff.

Pulling a few strings, Jimin found out that those girls were best friends and were going to be at the mall shopping since it was the leader of the group’s birthday. Wanting to go along with his plan, the three of you, along with her uncles, you guys decided to have a ‘fun day’ at the mall. Jungkook and Taehyung were distracting her before she panicked by jumping into Taehyung’s arms to hide herself from the girls.

Jimin gave you smirk before walking into Gucci to get the clothes that he wanted to spoil his daughter with. As he walked out, he made sure to get the group of girl’s attentions by calling out her name, shaking the bags that held the clothes in. With wide eyes, Makenzie jumped out of Taehyung’s arms, running up to her dad with a wide grin, forgetting about the group of girls who were starting at her in shock.

“Dad!” She yelled happily, “What is this?”

“This is for you, princess. Now you’ll be able to look in style for your next dance class!” He announced happily, a little louder than usual so the girls to hear.

At the next dance class, the girls did not once bother your daughter.

Taehyung:

Being with someone who is very into fashion is interesting because you, yourself, are not that into it. Preferring Under Armor shorts and your boyfriend’s hoodie than wearing Gucci or Puma always made you unique in your boyfriends’ eyes. After being together for almost fifteen years while having a five-year-old child, Ski, you kept with the same style.

But Taehyung wants to change something for just a day.

Having an Instagram page for your guys little family, he wanted to have a photoshoot while you three are out an about. But the twist is, is that you have to be wearing something fashionable, something that you despise. After several attempts of persuading you, you finally caved in and decided to do it.

The sounds of whispers coming from your peers has your anxiety skyrocketing because you feel out of your place. Noticing it, Taehyung nudges your daughter, who is in love with this whole day out, he gets her attention.

“Tell Mommy how beautiful she is, she is looking upset.”

Nodding her head happily, Ski bounces towards you, causing you to smile. “Hi sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

Tugging your hand, wanting to crouch down to her level, she pulls you closer to her. “You look beautiful, momma!”

Eyes watering, you picked her up, accidentally nudging Taehyung, you hugged her tightly to you. Joining the hug, Taehyung pulled the both of you into his chest, kissing the tops of your guys heads.

Jungkook:

“Why must we wear black?” You asked your husband, pushing the stroller that had your sleeping son, AJ, in it who was also wearing all black.

Looking at you with wide eyes, hand on chest taking offence to your question, Jungkook gasped. “Because black is in style! And we look fancy!”

Shaking your head, “We look emo as fuck.”

Smirking, “Are you having flashbacks of your emo stage, baby?”

Glaring at him, “you better keep your mouth shut or you’re on baby duty tonight.”

Rolling his eyes, he ushered you into the Louis Vuitton store, taking the stroller from you so you could take a break from it. As the both you and Jungkook were searching the shelves, the sounds of uneasiness started to come from AJ, alerting the two of you. Putting the jacket back on the hangers, Jungkook took AJ out of the stroller, picking him up and bouncing him up and down lightly to try and get him back to sleep.

It happened all too fast; one moment Jungkooks black leather jacket was all black, and the next it had the breakfast you fed AJ this morning, decorating it.

Not knowing what to say, you cautiously took AJ out of his dad’s hands, trying to not break out laughing from the look of disgust on his face.

“Huh, maybe the color black isn’t that bad after all.”

[maybedefinitely404]

American Dream

Genre: angst with a happy ending/fluff

Pairing: romantic Dukexiety 

World: just-out-of-high-school AU

Content: homophobia, threatened abuse from parents (no actual violence), extreme cold, getting kicked out, minor religious talk, getting outed, AIDS and death mention, fluffy Dukexiety because my heart needs it.

Word count: 2.3k

Comments: She doesn’t have Tumblr, but I need to give a shout out to my kiddo for proof reading and beta-ing most of my fics. She pushes me to write more, and even if she won’t see this, I just need to say it.  

This fic is inspired by the song American Dream by MKTO.

Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up… 

The night coolness spread through Virgil like a sickness. It was unforgiving, toxic, seeped with the memories of the evening that curled through his stomach in dark tendrils. Below his bare feet, the sidewalk burned in the way that only ice does, small pebbles digging into his soles. He would do anything for socks. God, why hadn’t he grabbed socks? 

Probably for the same reason he hadn’t grabbed shoes. 

Please pick up, please pick up, c’mon, pick up already!

His eyes hurt. They already burned with unshed tears that he’d still been too scared to release, and the cool air didn’t help. Crying on the street was a vulnerability he wasn’t ready to face. His lungs burned. He’d been sprinting non-stop for who knows how long. His own panicked gulps for air and the all-too-loud hum of a blinking streetlight were the only sound on the silent street. Virgil had been watching the moths swarm at the fixture for who knows how long, finding odd solace in the fact that at least there was still some life in the darkness. They were still alive, untouched, same as they were yesterday and probably the same as they would be tomorrow, unfazed by the complete turmoil his life had become. And that was somewhat comforting. 

“Virgie, you okay? It’s almost midnight!”

Thank fucking god. He opened his mouth to speak, to explain to Remus what had happened. Obviously, Remus would care. That wasn’t a doubt in his mind; that was the only reason he wasn’t anxious as all fuck right now… about the call, that is. He was anxious about approximately everything else. But as soon as the first noise made its way past his lips, the first utterance of a plea for help, everything that he’d been holding back burst forth like a broken dam. He clamped his hand over his mouth, trying to muffle the loud sobbing that he suddenly couldn’t contain.

“Shit. Virgil, what happened? I’m coming over. Are you at home?”

That’s the issue. “No,” he gasped, mildly surprised he hadn’t crushed the phone with the way his grip tightened, “I got kicked out.”

“What the fuck?!”

Virgil flinched. “Can… can you come p-pick me up? I’m at the corner of Jackson and Pullard. Please, please, come get me…”

“Yes. Absolutely. I’m on my way. Stay there, okay?”

Virgil hung up reluctantly after agreeing, not wanting his boyfriend to drive while on the phone, even if Remus gladly would have done it. In fact, he’d used to do it all the time; text, eat, do his makeup, all while cruising down the freeway. He’d only put a stop to it when he saw how much it affected Virgil.  

He counted down the minutes on his phone, always having been nitpicky with times, knowing that it shouldn’t take Remus more than ten minutes to get there. If he remembered correctly where he was at the moment, that is. Remus had gotten kicked out of his parents’ house in his senior year of high school after a bad fight. They’d never really been great parents, always showing favoritism towards his brother (amongst other things), and he was more than willing to leave. Virgil had tried to beg his parents to let Remus stay with them, but they’d downright refused, calling him a bad influence and a string of other insults that Virgil didn’t even like to think about. God forbid what would happen if they found out the two were dating.

…Well, they did now. And God hadn’t exactly forbidden what they’d done. 

But Remus hadn’t had a solid place to live since it had happened almost a year ago. He couch surfed for a while, bouncing between some old friends who had now gone off to college, or just lived in his car. He’d made it work, and had claimed to Virgil that he actually didn’t mind it that much. If he was telling the truth, Virgil wasn’t sure. He’d saved up some money and bought an inflatable mattress that filled up his back seat area, and Virgil was able to give him his family’s old camping stove by convincing them they lost it. It’s not like they’d gone camping since he was a kid, anyways. Last he’d checked, Janus was home for break and Remus was staying with him for the two weeks he was in town, but those two weeks were probably pretty close to done. Unfortunately, Virgil and Janus had never gotten along, so Remus didn’t bring him up. It was a mutual understanding. 

As soon as Remus’ car pulled up to the curb, ten minutes on the dot, Virgil basically flung himself into the passenger seat. The car was warm, so so warm, he almost cried again, this time in relief. Remus pulled back onto the road as soon as he was buckled on. 

“Vee, what happened?” It wasn’t hard to guess, there were only so many reasons his parents would have to kick him out. He’d narrowed it down to his parent’s finally having it with Virgil’s tattoo artist dream, or… well… 

“Someone at my mom’s work found my Instagram. She went up to my mom, basically started gushing about ‘how handsome I was with my boyfriend’. Specifically the picture of us at Pride from a couple years ago.”

“Ah.” Remus knew the picture well. He’d printed it out and it was pinned to the inside of his sun visor. 

“Yeah. Mom called my dad, they were both waiting when I got home. Had screenshots and everything. They grilled me about ‘dishonoring God’ and ‘throwing away my life’. Said I was gonna get AIDS. Die before twenty five. Ya know. The whole lecture.”

Remus didn’t. Surprisingly, him being gay was not a concern of his parent’s. His brother was gay too, and they didn’t give a rat’s ass about that. He nodded along anyways.

“They went on for so long. It was insane. Then they dropped the whole ‘you’re not our son’ thing-” Virgil’s voice cracked, but he swallowed around the lump in his throat and continued, “I figured this is where it was leading to, them kicking me out? I thought they’d give me time to pack, though. Except my dad started getting physical-”

“HE WHAT?!” Remus was tempted to turn the fucking car around and drive to Virgil’s house, just to give his parents a piece of his mind. He was fuming; fuck, he hadn’t been this mad in a while.

“Relax, Rem. I got out before he could actually land a hit. That’s why I don’t have anything with me. I had to run.”

“Doesn’t make it any better.”

“I know.” Virgil pulled his feet up onto the seat cross legged, trying to rub some feeling back into them. Luckily, they weren’t bleeding, just cold as hell. That was one less thing to worry about. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Of course, Vi,” Remus’ voice had taken on a softer edge that he rarely allowed anyone to see, and he reached over to take one of Virgil’s hands into his own, “Speaking of which, why were you on Jackson? That’s, what, three miles away from your house?”

“When I say I ran, I mean literally. I was scared they would follow me.” Virgil shrugged, as if the statement wasn’t the most heartbreaking thing Remus had ever heard. “I wasn’t thinking clearly, I just ran. That’s why it took me so long to realize I should call you.”

Remus sighed, letting his thumb run against Virgil’s knuckles. “You don’t have to act all brave, Vi.”

“I don’t think I ever saw you cry when you got kicked out.”

“That’s because I didn’t love my parents. I honestly didn’t. I know your parents mean a lot to you. And I’m sorry it went down like it did.”

It was the truth, but he honestly didn’t want to think about it right now. What kind of loving family kicks out their child? Virgil took a shaky breath in and mumbled, “Can we talk about it tomorrow?”

“Okay. Let’s talk about something else. What’s our plan?”

Virgil was quiet for a long moment, as if deep in thought. He watched the scenery fade from his suburban area of town to the darker, rural parts of the town’s edge, not knowing or caring where they were driving. The escape from street lights was nice. “Why do we need a plan?”

Remus’ eyebrows shot up at the sudden playful tone in Virgil’s words. “Oh?”

“I mean, is anything really holding us here?” 

“My, my,” Remus crooned, pulling into an empty lot and parking in the furthest spot from the street, “I thought I was the impulsive one.”

“I’m serious, Rem!” Virgil laughed, swatting lightly at Remus’ hand. The happy sound was like music to his ears. “I’m dead serious! What’s keeping us here?”

“Patton? Logan?”

“Both across the country. And you know they’re considering staying there when they graduate.” Janus’ name was an understood thing. They both knew his school was barely an hour from the other two. Even if Virgil couldn’t stand the guy, he knew that Remus and Janus went far back. Judging by Remus’ slowly brightening expression, he could assume that Janus would probably be down to stay there as well. 

“Work?”

“I work at Walmart. They won’t miss me. Try again.”

Remus scrunched his eyebrows almost thoughtfully, even though this was maybe the easiest decision he’d ever had to make. Plus, they both knew Remus didn’t really ‘think’ in general. “It almost sounds like you want to take a roadtrip, my little emo.”

Virgil scrunched his nose at the nickname, but let a wider smile spread across his tear stained cheeks. “I kind of do.”

Remus shut the car off, turning to his boyfriend with a shit eating grin. “I like this new side of you.”

“Well…” Virgil’s voice turned sheepish under the almost cheshire cat level expression, “Should we?”

“Let’s make up our minds tomorrow.” Remus stated, gesturing to the mattress behind him, “Sleep for tonight. You must be exhausted, coming up with ideas like this.”

Virgil grumbled under his breath, something about ‘not being a baby’, but clambered into the backseat after Remus, double checking the locks on the doors as he went. The air mattress was comfier than he thought it would be, and it was only made better when Remus pulled him in like a teddy bear, tugging a blanket over them. They both sighed in contentment, then promptly burst out laughing at the synchronicity.  

“Oh my god, what have we become?” Remus gasped, pulling Virgil in closer nonetheless. Virgil snorted in response, looking up to meet Remus’ eyes through a haze of sudden exhaustion and amusement. The laughter died down slowly as they both gave in to their fatigue, finishing the day with a slow kiss that left them both breathless. Virgil fell asleep with plans forming and circulating through his mind, the rest of the evening almost forgotten.

--------------------------------------------

His parents were at work, and Virgil knew their kitchen window didn’t lock properly, which was what led to him stuffing everything he could into a black duffel bag while Remus kept watch from his car. He wasn’t too concerned about the parents coming home, but it gave him ample time to look over the map he’d bought from the gas station that morning and plan a route. He didn’t want to admit that his leg was shaking from pure excitement. This idea had been somewhere in the back of his mind for a long time, but he knew Virgil valued his relationship with his family and liked being near them, so he never brought it up. Granted, the situation wasn’t great, but he considered this ‘making the best of it’. A twisted paradise. 

He barely flinched as his trunk was thrown open and Virgil threw his bag inside before hopping back into his seat.

“Okay, so how about we drive up to Maine, apparently the sea food is legendary! Then we cut back through Ohio. There’s literally nothing in Ohio, but we can cross it off the list at least! And then-”

Virgil laughed, cutting him off, “I thought we weren’t planning!”

“Well, we need at least a rough idea,” Remus said with a pout, “What we do there and how long we stay, that’s up to impulse. I was thinking we should try to get through all the states, wouldn’t that be cool?”

Virgil could only nod, leaning forward to kiss Remus again. “Sounds amazing,” he murmured, so close they were almost touching. They’d talked to Logan and Patton earlier that morning, and they were equally as excited for the two of them. Remus had called Janus while Virgil was packing, quickly explaining the situation (and also why Remus had disappeared in the middle of the night), and Janus supported it. Made sense, since he was almost as impulsive as Remus. Plus, he was going back to school in a couple days, so it didn’t make much of a difference. That said, they still didn’t have a time limit. Their friends were just starting second semester, meaning they could schedule themselves to arrive in California for summer break, or they could spend longer on the road. But schedules are for chumps. 

As they rolled out of the quaint neighborhood Virgil had grown up in, Remus reached down and took his hand again. “Say goodbye to white picket fences.” And god, the joyful expression on Virgil’s face was enough to make him melt.

By the time they hit the freeway, they were both nearly shaking with anticipation. Virgil stuck his hands out the sunroof, the wind whipping through his hair, and let out a whoop that was almost contagious. This was the start of something amazing, they both felt it. 

Cali, here we come.

[thanakite]

Talking with my dad is such a struggle because it is very obvious he is never listening

For background before I give an example conversation we had today, he is a programmer and works with a lot of different technology including physical things that have to do with it, not just coding. I don't fully understand his job stuff because it is largely complex and he doesn't simplify it when he explains. My mom on the other hand hates technology, hates dealing with it and wants everything to be simple for it and if it changes or stops working she can have a panic attack, that is how much technology stresses her out. For further background, everyone on the family's phone plan got new phones recently including my my, and while we tried to do our best to make sure the new phone was similar enough to her old one there are some difference to contend with. The one that arose today was that she was trying to plug in her headphones (which she loves) and couldn't figure it out, she comes to ask me about it and I realized that she no longer has an aux port -_- I let her know I'll talk to my dad about it and get her sorted before they leave for a 16 day trip on Monday this is the conversation I had with my dad not long ago

Me: Hey you don't have a dongle do you? Mom's new phone doesn't have an aux port

Dad: What?

Me: Mom's new phone doesn't have an aux port, we need a dongle so her headphones will work, do you have one? If not we will need to pick one up while we are out tomorrow (we are picking up food stuff for me for while they are gone so I don't starve)

Dad: I should just get her Bluetooth headphones like what I have

Me: No, she would hate that, she wants stuff to work with as little technology as possible, she won't want something that can die will she is using it and has to be set up to connect

Dad: Well, okay, we'll have to find something that goes from USB-C to aux, I don't...

Me: That's what I'm talking about, the dongle (which is something he told me about years ago back when I first had a phone without an aux port so he's definitely aware of what they are and that they exist)

Dad: Well there's many things that can be called a dongle

Me: -_- (thinking, wtf? I literally was talking about the aux port and everything!)

Me: Well this is a dongle, do you have one?

Dad: No

Me: So we will need to pick it up while we are out tomorrow, we can get them at Walmart

Dad: Why wouldn't you order it on Amazon?

Me: Dad, you leave Monday, she needs it before then, we have reached the time of year where most things won't arrive till after Christmas, it's almost the weekend, it won't be here in time, we'll pick one up while we are at Walmart tomorrow

Dad: Well we might need to go to Best Buy then

Me: Dad, they sell them at Walmart, we are going to Walmart tomorrow, we will get one while we are there

Dad: Oh okay, hey tomorrow we are going to pick up your food stuff right?

Me: -_-

Me:

Me: Dad, that is what I've been talking about this whole time!

Dad: Oh well, okay then, whatever

Like Jesus fucking Christ, this conversation should have be like 2 minutes tops and it lasted like 10 minutes and literally most of it was him asking questions/making statements that was just repeating what I had just said or asking for information already provided, and while yes MAYBE an Amazon order would be here by Monday, that isn't a risk we want to take because she would be pissed

This is not an isolated incident, it's how most conversations with him go, and then he gets mad that you get frustrated with him about it, and it is frustrating, because he is just literally never listening (or listening just enough to hear what you say but not register it as something you said, so he thinks it's his own personal thought and will bring it up as such)

[ultraglittercat]

Drabble 136

Christmas Plans

The year was almost over, and everyone was excited for what changes the new year would bring. In Rapunzel and Eugene's case, the new year would see them become parents, as Rapunzel was about 7 months pregnant now and looking forward to seeing their beautiful baby be born. For Kiera and Catalina, a new year meant mastering new skills, as they were showing great improvement in ballet class (along with Varian, who was still bemused at how he'd ended up joining their lessons.) For Varian, a new year meant refining old inventions and creating new ones as the Royal Engineer. For Quirin a new year meant new crops to harvest and new livestock to raise. And for Lance, a new year meant passing on the parenting tips he'd learned and showering his daughters with love and praise.

They were all bundled up and wandering around town, looking at the winter decorations. Even Eugene had been persuaded to come see the sights. He was grumbling, but not as much as usual, as every so often he would look at Rapunzel and smile. Rapunzel was absolutely in awe of everything she saw. Growing up, Mothel Gothel had never celebrated the holidays, even Rapunzel's birthday was just another day where she made hazelnut soup and Rapunzel did chores and sang her healing song to rejuvenate Gothel. Rapunzel hadn't realized how much she'd missed, until she left her tower. And even now, 3 years later she was still amazed.

“Look at Monty's! It's so festive!” she squealed. Monty had placed gingerbread houses and peppermint sticks in a window display. Attila had hung a wreath on the door and some garland. The other shops were similarly decked out in red and green, and several stores had Christmas trees still out.

“I hope we find a good present for Dad.” Catalina said as they walked. She and Kiera had pooled their allowance, and had a good amount of gold and silver pieces saved. They excused themselves to go into Monty's Sweet Shoppe. Rapunzel smiled, thinking how much the girls had grown since they'd first met them as cautious and bitter thieves, to selfless and loving young ladies who wanted to surprise their Dad with something nice. Lance even teared up a bit, hearing they were going to get him a gift.

“I bet the girls find something great. Corona's a good place to shop.” Varian noted. He looked longingly at a cucurbit in a shop, a rounded container meant to hold a substance being distilled.

“You know Varian, if there's something you need for your engineering or alchemy work, you can request money from the Royal Treasury.” Rapunzel told him.

“I know, but I feel guilty about asking, like I still owe everyone in Corona an apology for what I've done in the past, and I don't deserve to take their money. I'll find another way to get what I need.” Varian explained.

“Varian, you're a good kid. But I understand if you don't feel like asking now. Just remember the offer always stands.” Rapunzel said. Varian nodded and continued to walk around town with the group.

Eugene spotted a canvas painting bag in an arts and crafts store and knew he'd have to come back later to buy it for Rapunzel. Picturing her happy expression on Christmas Day was worth being outside in the chilly winter weather.

“We'll see you all tomorrow for the Christmas party, right?” Rapunzel asked as the girls came running back, holding a medium-sized wrapped present.

“Of course, there's no way we'd miss it.” Lance assured her.

“Dad and me have a lot of work to do on the farm in the next few weeks, but we won't start until after the party.” Varian said.

“That's right. Christmas is a time for visiting friends and family.” added Quirin. For nearly 14 years, it had been just him and Varian, but now he counted Rapunzel, Eugene, Lance, Kiera, and Catalina as friends of the family and he looked forward to baking an apple pie for all of them. It was good that Varian had made so many friends, back in Old Corona he only really got along with Katie the seamstress and Pamela the jeweler (and it was a bit hard to tell in Pamela's case.)

“I'm so excited, you're all going to be there! Mom and I had a blast setting up the ballroom for the party. All that's left is the Christmas tree, because I wanted us to put on the ornaments together. I even painted a few myself. And of course, it wouldn't be a Christmas tree without a star on top, which Eugene is gonna place this year.” Rapunzel detailed.

“Really? But that's the most important part! Shouldn't your father do it?” Eugene was taken aback.

“Dad wants you to, he's really warmed up to you Eugene. He's been in a great mood all December, I think he's really looking forward to being a grandparent.” Rapunzel smiled.

“I know how he feels, being a Dad feels like it's going to be the biggest and best change in my life, after marrying you of course.” Eugene replied.

“Parenthood's a big step but I know you're ready, just as I was ready to adopt my girls.” Lance spoke up.

“I don't know if any father's really ready for all the challenges parenting brings.” Quirin chuckled. “But it's worth any trouble your kid causes.”

Varian looked a little sheepish. Even at 17, he could still feel called out. Still, he knew his father loved him, and Varian loved Quirin in return.

“It's great that we had this talk. But don't you guys think it's getting cold out here? We really should go back inside.” Eugene wouldn't be Eugene if he didn't complain about the winter weather at least once a day.

“Yeah, we should start heading home. But we'll come back tomorrow for the party. See you guys soon.” Varian said. Quirin nodded as he and Varian said goodbye.

“See you tomorrow! Let's go home, girls and maybe take a peek at that present?” Lance suggested.

“No peeking, Dad!” laughed the girls. They were determined to have their gift be a surprise. Lance sighed, he knew when he was outmatched, so he picked up Angry and carried her on his shoulders, while he held Catalina's hand as they walked together.

Rapunzel grinned. “We have the best friends, don't we?” she mused.

“And we have the best castle, where it's nice and warm.” Eugene said pointedly. Rapunzel laughed. Eugene had his quirks, but she truly loved him, and would do whatever it took to make him happy. And right now, that meant going back to the castle, where she would kiss him under the mistletoe.

The End

Christmas is really coming! We have all the holiday books on display at the library now, and the WalMart I go to has their Christmas food and decorations in store. It's still pretty warm where I live, but there are other signs of Christmas everywhere I look.

[fanficimagery]

Natalie’s Half-Sister [Part 3 of 3]

Summary: Imagine being surprised by your sister and landing an interview with a hospital all the way in LA. Looks like it's time to finally make a decision- stay in Texas or move out to LA.

Words: 2.9K Warnings: None really. The ending sucks. I started to run low on inspo.

David's trailing after Natalie and Jeff, the three of them walking through the Texas airport to grab their luggage.

"As you can see, guys, we're in Texas to surprise Y/N who we haven't seen in about two months." Natalie and Jeff turn around, flashing peace signs and smiles. "Natalie's here because it's her sister and Jeff is here because he's secretly in love with Y/N."

Jeff rolls his eyes. "Will you stop telling the internet I'm in love with Y/N! She's gonna see this and stop talking to me." His smile completely says otherwise and David laughs as he continues to record.

"That wasn't a denial. You heard it here first, folks. Jeff's got himself a crush."

"Don't be an idiot."

"Whatever. You literally worked your ass off to clear your schedule this week so you could make the trip out here with us."

"Will you two hurry up!" Natalie grumbles. "I wanna make it to Y/N's house before she leaves for the football game."

"What football game?" Jeff asks.

"It's a Friday night in Texas," she says. "High school football is a big thing around here, and Y/N has a nephew in band and another on the football team."

"Well I guess we're going to a football game." David smiles.

          - X - X - X - X - X -

Homecoming is tonight and while you have one nephew playing in the football game, your other nephew who's in band is also running for Homecoming King. You had your entire outfit planned out, but after an unexpected cold front pushed through earlier that morning, the night time temperatures are expected to plummet and you need to rethink a few things.

There's still a couple of hours before you need to leave, so you're relaxing while you can. But just as you've gotten comfortable watching some mind-numbing reality tv show, your doorbell rings. Then quietly groaning, you get up to go see who's there.

As soon as the door is opened, Natalie and Jeff pop confetti cannons and David shouts Surprise!, recording the entire thing. Your mouth drops open, but then you're quick to smile and laugh.

"Oh my god!" Immediately pulling Natalie into a hug, you hug her before switching out for David and then Jeff. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you guys doing here?"

"I missed you!" Natalie gushed. "And where I go, David goes."

You smile and then look at Jeff, raising an eyebrow at him. "What?" He chuckles. "I missed my best friend."

You coo and hug him again, David giggling. "I caught that on camera. I'm showing Todd."

"Shut up."

Ushering the trio into your house, you help them bring in their bags as Natalie casually mentions just how long they'll be here for. "Okay so I got two spare rooms and a couch. Or if someone wants to bunk together, that's fine too."

"I want the room." Natalie and David say simultaneously.

Everyone looks at Jeff and he shrugs. "I haven't had a good nap or night's rest since Y/N left. If you think I'm sleeping in any room other than hers, you're delusional."

You laugh. "That's good to hear because I was wondering how I was going to wrangle you into my bed without seeming clingy."

You quickly show David and Natalie to their rooms, and then lead Jeff to yours. He whistles as he walks in. "Now this is what I'm talking about," he muses. "Your place looks homey."

"Well I hoped it would. I've lived here for five years."

You meet Natalie and David in the hall, leading the way back towards your living room.

"What's up with this weather?" Your sister asks. "I was expecting heat and humidity like you're always complaining about."

"If you wanted that miserable Texas weather, you should have been here last night. Cold front pushed through this morning and it's only expected to get colder. Especially when the sun goes down."

"So we're going to be sitting in that tonight? Natalie said something about a football game," David wonders.

"Yeah. But not just any football game," you grin. "It's Homecoming which means the stands will be packed, and a King and Queen will be crowned before the game starts. Which speaking of," you then address Natalie. "Devon is running for King."

"Aw. Yay!" She muses.

"Yeah. So if you guys are gonna join, we have two hours to run to Walmart and find you guys hoodies if you didn't pack any."

"Well I guess we're going to Walmart!" David laughs.

          - X - X - X - X - X -

Natalie easily ends up finding an outfit from your closet to wear to the game while the boys opt for their regular jeans and shirts from their luggage, and a hoodie bought from Walmart.

You're finishing getting dressed when David and Jeff enter the room, relief evident in their features when they see you're pulling a high school themed t-shirt atop a black long sleeve rather than having caught you less dressed. Your hair is down and curled, and a sparkly headband drapes across your forehead. Natalie then exits the bathroom in a similar outfit to yours.

"What time does this game start?" Jeff finally asks.

"Seven thirty, but we'll need to get there about an hour or so earlier," you say. Glancing around, you asks, "Has anyone seen my garter?" Their expressions are rather confused, and your eyes roll. "Homecoming garter," you reiterate. "You wear it over your clothes, not under."

"Oh."

You snort at their simultaneous exclamation.

"Is this it?" Natalie picks it up from your bedside table. "Aw. Cute!"

You take it from her, bending down to step into it with your right leg and draw it halfway up your thigh. The artificial, white chrysanthemum has been sprayed with glitter and a small football player and musical notes have been glued on it. Ribbons, at least six inches long and in your old high school colors, hang down. Two ribbons bear the names of your nephews, two others bear the words HOCO 2019, and there are two miniature cow bells dangling.

Your sister and friends stare at it in confusion, and you huff a laugh. "Girls are typically supposed to wear mums that are pinned to their shirts and boys wear garters on their arms, but I don't like pinning something heavy to my shirt and bra strap, so garter it is."

"I've seen memes about mums," David says. "But the ones they show are usually bigger and being held up by a strap around the neck."

"Oh you'll see those," you tell him. "I personally think those are ridiculous, but the teenage girls love them. Just wait and see." Then after slipping your feet into a pair of boots, you make sure you and your guests have everything they need before leaving.

          - X - X - X - X - X -

You luck out and find one of the last parking spaces in the parking lot, and then pull out four small fuzzy blankets from your car trunk. Jeff, Natalie, and David seemed skeptical of you needing them, but after seeing several other people walking in with blankets, they agreed that maybe it was a good idea to have them close by.

You pay for four tickets, after convincing Jeff and David that they could buy dinner later, and then lead them towards the bleachers. They're surprised by how many people have shown up and David is far too amused when he sees just how crazy big the mums get. Then leading them towards your usual spot, close to the band and halfway up the bleachers, you all take a seat and watch as they look around to take in the hyped atmosphere.

"This is crazy!" David laughs, looking around at the packed stands. "I can record. Right?"

"I don't see why not. Just bleep out last names."

"Of course."

Both football teams take the field to warm-up and music blares from the scoreboard speaker.

"Not to be a downer," Jeff says, leaning towards you so you can hear him, "but is your old high school football team even good?"

"Well right now they're five and one," you say. "Tonight should be a good game."

The band soon marches out and takes their place in the stands, as well as the dance team. You clap and cheer for them all, waving at several familiar faces that have made an appearance or three with your nephews at your house. Girls in beautiful dresses start making their way towards the field and Natalie coos at them.

Then just before you can cave and wrap yourself in a blanket, one of the cheerleaders rushes up to you. "Y/N!"

"Hey, Dee. What's up?"

"Devon needs an escort. His mom is not going to make it."

Your eyes widen. "What?"

"Devon really wants you to walk him on the field. He nearly started crying when his mom called."

"Fuck," you curse softly. "Is he sure? I mean, his other aunts are here too. Is he sure he-"

"Yes," Dee assures you, smiling. "So are you in or out? I need to go make the change up in the press box if you agree."

"Do it! Do it!" David gleefully urges you.

Natalie is eagerly nodding and Jeff nudges you. "Go on. I'll keep your spot warm."

"Fine. I'll do it."

As you take off with Dee, Jeff, Natalie, and David remain in the bleachers.

"So what are the odds of Y/N's nephew getting king?" Jeff wonders.

"If I remember correctly, Devon's been in band all four years of highschool."

"So he's a band nerd."

"He's not a band nerd," Natalie chuckles, swatting at David. "He's pretty popular, but I'm not sure he's as popular as the football players running for king as well."

"Okay and what about the football player nephew?" Jeff wonders. "What's his number?"

"Uhh.. fifty-six. Right there." Natalie points him out and the boys hum.

"Geez he's tall," David laughs. "Hopefully he hits hard."

Jeff grins. "Yeah. I wanna see some hard hits."

Time winds down and soon enough the Homecoming court takes the field. Boys are escorted by a female family member and girls a male family member. One by one they're called forward, their extracurriculars listed off and what their future plans after graduation are. Then when Y/N and her nephew Devon are called, Jeff, Natalie, and David join the small group of Devon's family to cheer the loudest.

A prince and princess are named first, the crowd cheering and screaming in delight. Then when it's time for the king, David turns his camera on and zooms in on Y/N and Devon. The crowd seems to hold their breath and then.. Devon's name is called. He's won king.

Natalie jumps up, screaming, and David and Jeff laugh as they join the crowd in cheering Devon on. Pictures are taken, congratulations are given, and soon Y/N joins her guests in the stands.

"Holy shit," you breathe in awe, laughing in disbelief still. "He did it. He really won."

"That's so cool!" Natalie gushes. "I'm so happy he won."

"You and me both."

You take your seat and then ten minutes later the National Anthem is being played, followed by the school songs. You clap along when appropriate and cheer for the football team when they run on the field, yelling for your other nephew Ivan.

The game soon starts, the high school bands do their job of keeping the crowds hyped, and you're constantly jumping to your feet to cheer on your nephew's team. It doesn't take much for Natalie and David to join in with the excitement, and while Jeff is a little more subdued you can still see he's having fun.

Just before halftime, your nephews team is leading by only three points. The visiting band is supposed to perform first, so you, your sister, David and Jeff take the moment to leave your blankets behind while getting in line at the concession stand for some hot chocolate and snacks.

This time when you're seated, you and Natalie take a seat one bleacher lower so the boys are at your backs. You and Natalie cheer on Devon who's performing in the band, and then settle back down for the third quarter. And just as the game gets underway, a small family in front of you starts to have trouble with the cold. Well the parents don't, but their children do. And feeling guilty, you unwrap your blanket from around your shoulders and tap the mother on her shoulder. She refuses the blanket at first, but after pushing it on her she accepts and wraps her children in it. They visibly sigh in content and you go back to watching the game, ignoring your sister's beaming smile directed at you.

Arms wrap around you from behind, Jeff using his blanket and body heat to keep you warm. "That was the nicest goddamn thing I've ever seen."

"I felt really bad," you mumble.

"Hashtag couple goals." Natalie laughs at David's remark, and you and Jeff roll your eyes at the camera now directed at you.

Your nephew Ivan ends up making a touchdown in the fourth quarter and his team barely pulls off the win in the end. And by the time the game is over, you're more than ready put your car heater on full blast and drive to the nearest Whataburger before going back home.

Then sitting around a table at Whataburger and fiddling with your half eaten food, you say, "I know this place isn't what you're used to, so I hope you have at least a bit of fun during your stay."

"Trust me, this is perfect," David says. "The partying kind of caught up to me and I've been meaning to take a break from it all." Natalie nods along with his assessment.

"I like a good party," Jeff then says, "but sometimes a person just needs some down time. And their best friend." He nudges you with his shoulder and you huff a laugh. "Don't think too much. We'll be happy to do whatever you want to do."

"I have a couple of interviews lined up this week, but afterwards I'm all yours."

The reunion between your dad and Natalie is a tearful one, and then a regretful one when David and Jeff hit it off a little too well with your dad and brother. David and Jeff thought their friends were bad with the sex jokes, but more often than not you and Natalie were left blushing as the boys died of laughter whenever your dad and brother did their best to embarrass you.

Your job interviews also went fairly well, but you just weren't feeling those particular hospitals. Natalie guessed you were still holding out for something in LA, but you just didn't know. You thought any hospital would do, but apparently you were picky.

The cold weather then proceeded to go away after day three, and your sister and friends regretted taking the cold for granted. Texas heat and humidity were no joke, and they finally got to experience it firsthand. Especially when a severe thunderstorm took everyone by surprise and a bolt of lightning struck a tower nearby, triggering the tornado siren. You'd never seen your sister or David look so terrified, but after a phone call from your dad that the siren was a false alarm, everyone calmed and stayed awake until the storm passed.

Natalie, David, and Jeff only have one more day with you, so they're taking full advantage of being lazy before they have to get back to work.

David and Natalie are laid back in your recliners, dozing off after a fulfilling lunch, whereas Jeff has laid out on the couch with his head in your lap as you scroll through your phone. Your phone dings with a new email and you click over to see whether it's important or spam.

Important. It's important.

"Up, up, up." You tap the top of Jeff's head until he moves, you then standing up. All three occupants of the room glance at you. "I, uh, I need to make a Skype call so please steer clear of my bedroom until I come back out."

Natalie, David, and Jeff watch you go.

"What do you think that's about?" David wonders.

Natalie shrugs. "Dunno. She'll tell us when she's done."

Nearly an hour later, the trio are anxiously waiting. They'd tried eavesdropping through the door, but unfortunately couldn't hear anything.

You finally return to the living room, expression neutral and feeling like there's been a weight lifted off your shoulders. "So," you start, startling them. "I got an email earlier. From a hospital in LA." That seems to pique their interest. "The board of directors wanted an interview with me, but since we're states apart, they had to settle for an interview over Skype."

Natalie slowly grins. "And?"

"They like me." You huff a laugh, your body relaxing as Natalie squeals. "They were impressed with my resumé, and most of that Skype call were the other nurses who'd taken over and gave me a tour of the hospital, as well as introducing me to other members on staff."

"Wait, so you got the job?" David asks, beaming.

You nod, laughing. "I got the job!" Natalie, David, and Jeff all cheer, jumping to their feet and hugging you in congratulations. "The girl whose position I'm taking over still has to finish out her contract, so I won't be starting until mid-January."

"That's awesome," David muses.

"Yeah. So I'll be spending Thanksgiving in Texas and then fly out afterward since the family is all doing something different for Christmas. I don't wanna be pulled in three different directions, and anyways I rather spend Christmas with my sister."

"Yesss! I'm so happy!" Natalie gushes.

"You and me both." You sigh. "I'm so ready to start this next chapter of my life, especially with you guys by my side."

[let-me-write-shit]

Somebody To You: 1

A/N: It’s finally here! The first chapter of my second Harry Styles fic! We’re starting off with a LOOOONG, heavy one. I want to thank you all for patiently waiting. Most of the characters in this story is based off of some of YOU! Zoey, Nancy, Aurora, Andy, and Katie - Thanks for reading and being apart of this story. I’m sorry if I didn’t get your personalities right, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I’ll be posting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! Enjoy. 

<3 Shannon

To Read My Previous Story, Click Here

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CHAPTER ONE

Never in a million years did Zoey think she’d move across the country on her own. But here she was, driving down the interstate in her dingy 2010 Toyota Camry, car filled to the brim with her belongings. LA had always been a far fetched idea. Actually, if we were being honest, it was never her idea to begin with. It was Jessica’s. Moving to LA alone was never a part of the plan. Jess should have been here. They should have been blasting music through the stereo, complaining about the shitty A/C in the car, road raging together, and dreaming about all of the things they would do when they arrived.

Instead, Zoey drove in silence, briefly passing through all of the tourist spots and monuments they had always talked about visiting along the way, pulling into walmart parking lots for bathroom breaks or cat naps, alone. The only noise disrupting the silence was the hum of the engine and the occasional whisper under her breath as she spoke, in vain, to her best friend.

Jess was a force. Anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her would say the same thing. She lit up a room. She was the outgoing one. She’d talk to anyone and everyone that passed her, striking up random conversations that only she could come up with. And her laugh was infectious. Zoey always made Jess laugh and it got them in a lot of trouble over the course of their fifteen year friendship. 

Jess always had her platinum blonde hair straight, never putting it up - something Zoey always did out of habit, rarely letting her hair down because she didn’t like how it looked. Jess always had a knack for the dramatics, which is why she wanted to move to LA since she was little. She had dreamed of becoming an actress. Zoey saw her in every high school and college play. And she was good. Really good. Honestly, she had potential to make it. But, to Zoey, all of the long talks of moving to LA was just that: talk. She could never let go of the comfort of being close to family in her small, Pennsylvania town with her best friend and boyfriend. Besides, how could they even afford it?

But all of that changed on June 9th of last year. It was Jess’ 26th birthday and the two girls went out to celebrate with a few friends at the bar they worked at together. Zoey and Jess were the last to leave and had drunk a little more than they intended, so they had Zoey’s boyfriend, Michael, pick them up. Not even 3 minutes into the car journey it happened. A drunk driver ran a red light and had rammed into the rear passenger side door at 50 mph. The car flipped and Zoey hit her head against the window, sending her unconscious. 

She woke up in the hospital the next afternoon with a broken wrist, a few fractured ribs, and a concussion, surrounded by her parents who were crying, her little sister, Katie, who sat timidly in the corner of the room, and Michael who only had a few scrapes and cuts, but was ultimately fine, squeezing her leg that was tucked under the heavy white blanket. When her eyes fluttered open, her mom gasped and both of her parents hovered over her, her dad stroking her cheek. The first thing Zoey managed to croak out was, ‘Where’s Jess?’. Her mom lost it, uncontrollably sobbing. It was her dad that had to break the news to her. Jess didn’t make it.

It’s weird. You’d think hearing the news of your best friend’s death would send you into a fit of rage or hysterics, but that didn’t happen for Zoey. She felt numb. It could have been the shock, but it didn’t feel real. Jess couldn’t have been gone. She was here only hours ago, laughing her infections laugh and smiling her gorgeous smile. And even so, when Jess’ parents came to visit her at the hospital to discuss the funeral, it still hadn’t set in. She wanted to laugh at them to stop being so dramatic. That everything was fine. That Jess was still here, she was just sleeping. She couldn’t just be gone. Not Jess. She was too full of life to just be gone. But the bags under their eyes told a different story. They had lost their only child. How do you recover from that?

Zoey was stuck in the hospital for a little over a week, causing her to miss her best friend's funeral, which didn’t help in her denial. The day she was released, her boyfriend picked her up from the hospital and drove her to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis’ house. The walk up to the front door felt different. Over the past fifteen years, Zoey never knocked on the front food or rang the doorbell, she just walked in. She wasn’t sure if that would be appropriate now. Unsure, she knocked, hesitated, and cracked the door open where she was met by the exhausted couple who gave her a warm hug and led the two towards the back, past the pool where she had so many fond memories of laughter with Jess, the glistening water seeming so inviting on this warm afternoon, towards the pool house where Jess stayed.

Some had questioned why Jess still lived with her parents if she was 25 and worked a well paying job. But, to put it lightly, Jess’ family was very well-off. Her dad had built and owned a business from the ground up and it became a major success practically overnight. She had her own space, rent free. Besides, the pool house was big enough to fit three of Zoey and Michael’s apartment into it. Why would she not stay there?

But when they walked in, it hit her. Everything was exactly as they had left it, nothing had been moved. Except this time, the room did not feel full of life like it always had. It felt cold and empty. And Zoey broke down.

She felt stupid for crying in front of Jess’ parents. How could her pain feel compared to theirs? But they didn’t judge. Instead, they held her in an understanding and loving embrace. After all, Zoey had been a part of their family for fifteen years. With every sob, the pain from her still-healing ribs hurt more and more. Michael stood off to the side and let the three have their moment, and when the tears settled, they began going through some of Jess’ things, letting Zoey take whatever she wanted, which included a hoodie, a dress, a pair of converse shoes, the other half of their friendship bracelet that they had made in 10th grade, and finally a note that she had written in middle school to Zoey, stuffed with the hundreds of other notes in a shoebox under her bed.

The year that followed was tough. Zoey found herself lost for a while. She quit her job at the bar her and Jess used to work at, because working without Jess was too much for her to handle. She didn’t go out anymore, and hardly talked to anyone except for her younger sister, Katie. Growing up she didn’t really get along with Katie. It’s not like she didn’t like her, but Katie was eight years younger than her, plus Zoey was so focused on friends and boys that she didn’t make any time or effort for her younger sister. But after Jess died, Zoey got to know her sister a lot better. She learned that Katie, aside from appearance, was almost exactly like herself. Katie took after their Irish dad in the way of looks with long, dark brown hair and adorable freckles, compared to Zoey’s pale skin and dirty blonde hair. You wouldn’t think they were related by looking at them. But, in personality, they were almost identical. Both were afraid to take risks, shy at first keeping a very small group of friends, but very caring. The complete opposite of Jess who was care-free and miss positivity. Katie was essential in her grieving process.

Anytime someone brought Jess up in conversation, they always skirted around certain topics or words. They always used her name in past tense or said things like, ‘no longer with us’ or ‘passed away’. It was infuriating. One night, Zoey’s parents had invited her, Michael, and Mr. and Mrs. Lewis over for dinner nearly three months in. Her mom had brought Jess up for the fourth time in two hours and said something along the lines of ‘I’m still finding it hard to process Jess not being here anymore.’ And Zoey lost it.

“She’s dead, mom! She died! Okay?” Zoey shouted, pushing away from the table, causing her glass of wine to spill, and darting up the steps to Katie’s room that they used to share when Zoey lived there.

She collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily with tears streaming down her face, angry, when there was a faint knock on the door. Her fists clenched in annoyance, half expecting it to be her boyfriend as Michael had been extra clingy since Jess died, almost as if he was scared of what Zoey would do if she was left alone. Which was stupid. What good would it do anyone if she wasn’t here either? But to her shock and horror, it was Jess’ mom who walked into the room. 

Zoey shot up straight and wiped the tears from her face, instantly regretting the outburst she just had. “Mrs. Lewis, I’m so sorry, I-”

“Don’t,” Jess’ mom cut her off, motioning for her to sit down beside her at the edge of the bed. Her expression was warm and not at all angry, “I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of times I wanted to say that over the past three months to anyone who mentions her. I know it’s hard, and I understand.”

Zoey nodded, twisting Jess’ bracelet that was now tightly wrapped around her wrist, a strand of her dirty blonde hair had fallen out of her hair tie and she pushed it behind her ear as Jess’ mom continued, “I only came up here because I thought it’s be a good opportunity to talk to you in private before we go.”

“What about?”

“Well, Mr. Lewis and I were going through some more of Jess’ things last week and we came across a bunch of old ‘Dream Journals’ the two of you wrote in over the years.”

Zoey felt the heat of embarrassment rise to her cheeks, remembering some of the things they wrote in there. The ‘Dream Journals’ were more of a fantasy bucket list than anything, but there were definitely a few inappropriate things involving Jared Padalecki and Jeremy Sumpter in there that she wasn’t too keen on the idea of Jess’ parents reading.

She continued, “Mr. Lewis and I noticed nearly every page was filled with things you two wanted to do in LA.”

It sounded more like a question than a statement. Zoey cleared her throat, “Yeah. We always talked about moving there one day.”

Mrs. Lewis nodded, “I know how much she wanted to go. And I know it probably always seemed out of reach. But, Zoey, I don’t want this to stop you from going. Jess worked hard to save up so you both could go. And I don’t want that to be for nothing. Mr. Lewis and I talked about it and we decided. Jess had managed to save up $18,000, and we wanted you to have it. And we know how expensive LA can be, so we wanted to add an extra $7,000 on top of it. Hopefully that’ll be enough for rent for at least a year.”

Zoey’s mouth fell open, trying to process everything Mrs. Lewis just said. So many questions ran through her mind. How did she manage to save so much on the same salary that she had? Stupid question, she had no bills. She twisted a little too hard on the bracelet, causing it to pinch her wrist and snap her back to reality, “$25,000? To move to LA?”

“It was her dream and she never got to fulfill it. We want you to live your life and hopefully bring a little bit of our baby girl to LA with you in spirit. All that we ask in return is that you try to find peace out there.”

That was the moment of revelation for Zoey. The turning point. The moment that made her get off her ass and stop the pity party. She didn’t want to take Mr. and Mrs. Lewis’ gift for granted. So, Zoey worked her ass off. She got three jobs as a warehouse worker, waitress, and got her old bartending job back to save up even more money. She had eventually even found a room that two girls were renting out in a beautiful skyrise condo on the nicer end of LA, and had got a bartending job lined up and waiting for her when she moved. Zoey vowed to herself to start adapting some of Jess’ personality into her own. She wanted to be more outgoing and try to say ‘yes’ more often, to learn to let her hair down (figuratively speaking), and she wanted to try and be more adventurous. It wouldn’t be an overnight success, but she would try. Baby steps. 

Finally, almost a year later, it was time to move. Zoey had finished saying goodbye to her and Jess’ parents. Even Michael had come to see her off. The two of them had broken off their nearly four year relationship a couple months ago, but still remained close. Zoey could tell that he was heart broken, and so was she, but she also knew that things had changed between them after Jess died. They weren’t the same people anymore and it seemed like they were holding on to each other to force the fraction of normalcy they had left. They didn’t deserve that. They deserved to be happy, not just content, but genuinely happy. 

They gave each other a tight hug and Michael sweetly kissed her cheek, whispering her a farewell. Saying goodbye to him stung a bit more than she had anticipated. Not because of some kind of lost love, but because he was the only other person in her life who she could talk to about Jess and who would actually understand. He knew Jess in almost the same sort of capacity that Zoey knew her. Poor Michael was forced to be the third wheel so often that he saw sides of her and Jess that no one else could possibly know about. And that sense of understanding comforted her. Now that she was letting that go, it was a little harder for her to leave.

Katie stood off to the side, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, twiddling her fingers together and avoiding her older sister’s gaze. The freckle faced teenager bit the inside of her cheeks, trying to focus on anything other than Zoey leaving. As horrible as this past year has been, she knew that the bond they built would not have happened otherwise. Katie had become just as reliant on Zoey as Zoey had been on her, and for her sister to be leaving was heartbreaking. She held back her emotions, but all Katie wanted to do was cry.

A frown formed on Zoey’s face. Her sister looked like a shelter puppy who’s owner had given up on them and knots formed in her stomach. Should Zoey really be leaving now, just as things started to come together for her? But as Katie’s demeanor cracked and she embraced her sister with a loving and understanding hug, she knew that this was the right move. Zoey still had some healing to do and Katie would always be there. Jess would have wanted this for her. 

The silent journey to LA was full of self reflection and internal pep talks. Not only did Zoey want to adapt a little bit of Jess’ personality, but she knew that this move gave her the opportunity to start over and live the life she always wanted. But what was that exactly?

As she neared her destination her heart began thumping faster, nervous for this new chapter. She looked at her surroundings of the bustling city, gorgeous people on every block, recognizing some buildings from her sleuthing around Street View on Google Maps after speaking with Nancy about moving in.

She’s been talking to Nancy via text and facetime over the course of a month since they met online and made plans for her to move in. Nancy seemed like one of the coolest people she had ever talked to. Tan, with the curliest, raven toned hair, she had nine ear piercings and the most interesting eyes-one brown and the other a deep green. She styled herself more on the rocker chic side, but somehow made it look so feminine and fitting. She could be a bit intense at times, but somehow made you feel comfortable and constantly laughing. 

Zoey didn’t know much about her other roommate, Aurora, or Rory, as most people called her. She only knew that Nancy had met Rory when she first moved to LA when they were 18 and they were best friends. The two of them just recently moved to their new condo and since Rory was gone most of the week for work and they had a spare bedroom, Nancy felt more comfortable and safe if there were another roommate there so she didn’t have to live on her own.

Nancy and Aurora had an interesting dynamic because they were practically polar opposites. Rory was born and raised in both Paris and a small town in England. She was new on the modeling scene but apparently making her way up the ladder rather quickly. And from the pictures that Nancy showed her, it was no wonder why. She was beautiful, with long brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and the sweetest, freckled baby face that reminded her of her little sister.

The GPS announced that she had reached her destination as she pulled up to the parking garage of the skyrise condominium. Zoey plugged the code that Nancy had given her into the keypad to enter the parking structure and drove in, finding a spot two rows in. She took her phone off of the car charger and checked the time. 3:14 PM, Thursday, April 23rd. It took her almost 4 full days to get here and it almost felt surreal that she had finally arrived. She stepped out of the car, legs buckling a bit from being sat in one position for so long, before stretching and calling Nancy’s phone.

“Are you fuckin’ here?” Nancy’s loud voice boomed excitedly.

Zoey laughed, stifling a yawn, “Yeah. In the parking garage.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you down in the lobby. Same code as the parking structure to get in.”

The call ended and Zoey felt her nerves settling as she glanced down at her wrist adorning Jess’ friendship bracelet. Everything will be fine. She grabbed as many things as she could manage to hold, realizing she’d have to take several trips to completely unload her car, before bounding towards the door. In order to put the code in she had to set some of her bags down, and as soon as it was unlocked, she yanked the door open, scooped up the bags, and headed down a hallway towards the huge, modern lobby. The walls were light gray with twelve foot ceilings lined with abstract black and white artwork and industrial light fixtures, a huge water feature right in the center. It seemed so extravagant that she almost felt silly for wearing the same gray sweatpants, matching small t-shirt layered with a long, white cardigan and white flip flops that she had worn since she left Pennsylvania, her hair now in an insanely messy bun, and not in a cute way, desperate for a shower. She could hear her flip flops echoing throughout the room along with the chime of the elevator door reaching her level. 

Nancy stepped out, curly hair framing her face, barely any makeup on but maybe some mascara, and so naturally pretty. She wore an oversized aerosmith shirt that had been splattered in bleach and barely covered her black shorts. Nancy’s eyes widened at the sight of Zoey and she ran over, smiling.

“Hey!” Zoey giggled, hiking up a bag that was slipping down her shoulder.

Nancy gave her a careful one-armed hug so as not to knock down the tower of belongings in Zoey’s arm before grabbing two bags to lighten the load a bit as she was led towards the elevator. Nancy talked her ear off about her day so far and what she had planned for dinner tonight when they reached the twenty second floor and got out. There was a small lounge area in the center of a large landing with a single door on the other three walls, each leading to three separate units. Nancy led her to the unit on the far left - 2201. 

“Okay, so the code is pretty easy. It’s all four corners of the keypad. So 1,3,7, and 9,” Nancy punched in. A green light appeared and Nancy pushed the door open, stepping inside. “Zoey’s here!” she called out as Zoey readjusted the bag that was slipping down her shoulder again. 

She looked around as she made her way past a small bathroom and suppressed a gasp when she reached the beautiful, modern kitchen that opened up into the living room, the wall lined with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Seeing the apartment in person was a completely different experience than virtually. The pictures didn’t do it justice. How could she afford to stay here? Jess would have lost her mind if she saw this. Zoey was so distracted by the view that she almost didn’t notice the two figures on the couch until they both stood up and started making their way over.

“Zoey! It’s so nice to meet you,” a sweet voice called. Aurora’s accent was an odd mix of French and British, only adding to her appeal.

“Hello!” A soft, deep voice greeted her.

Zoey smiled kindly, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of beauty in the two. Like the apartment, Rory’s pictures did not do her justice. She was more beautiful in person, almost making her feel inferior. And as for the guy beside her, he was scruffy with tousled brown hair and dark green eyes. His perfect white teeth could be seen through his smile and his dimpled cheeks made him even more discernible. 

“I’m Harry,” he spoke.

Zoey blinked, so exhausted from the long car journey that she was unable to decide what emotion to feel and unsure of how to respond. Her arms trembled from the weight of her luggage. The trembling caused a shoe to fall out of one of the bags, making a thump on the floor. Harry let out a startled gasp and quickly bent down to grab it, “Here, let me help,” he offered, grabbing the stack of bags out of Zoey’s hand, leaving her with just two on her shoulders. “Where would you like these?”

Before she could answer, Nancy spoke up, “Her room. Come on,” and led the way down another hall, Harry en suite.

Aurora smiled brightly at Zoey, “You must be exhausted,” she said, motioning for Zoey to follow the other two, “I hope the ride in was okay.”

Zoey tightened her bun and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead, glad that Aurora was being nice to her. “Yeah, lots of traffic as soon as I hit the city, though.”

Aurora laughed as they reached the doorframe, “You’ll get used to it.”

As the bedroom came into view Zoey saw Harry gently placing her things at the foot of the full sized bed. Thankfully the room was already furnished with the larger items. He huffed as he stood back up, dusting his hands together before pushing back the strand of hair that had fallen in front of his face. It was only a split second of realization. What the hell was happening? Was this just another dream? How could she be in LA, in a beautiful skyrise condo, with a gorgeous model and the coolest girl she had ever met as roommates, and Harry-fucking-Styles was standing in her bedroom? Surely she was still in her small one bedroom apartment back in Pennsylvania.

“Is this all you brought?” Harry asked, his accent snapping her back to present. 

“Oh, uh, no. I have more in my car.”

“Let me help bring your things up,” his eyebrows raised as if he was waiting for an answer, but his tone was more insistent.

Zoey hesitated, still in shock from the whole situation. Thankfully Nancy spoke up again before the silence got awkward, “Yeah, let’s go.”

She led the way out of the room followed closely by Harry who smiled nicely at her before his glance shot to Aurora. Zoey was sure he had meant to be more discreet, but she could have sworn he had winked at Rory. And the coy smile on her face seemed to confirm the hunch. Zoey kicked herself for being so awkward, mentally reminding herself to channel Jess’ sociability.

The four of them made conversation while they took a few more trips from the car to the apartment until all of her luggage riddled her room and her arms felt like jello. They all sat lined up on the large, pewter sectional with Zoey on an end cushion, Nancy sat cross-legged in the corner, and Aurora and Harry on the other side, close but with safe distance between them. She found out that Harry was in the middle of a U.S. tour and had a few days break, so he flew here to hang out and would be leaving again first thing in the morning. She also found it interesting to learn how they met each other a few months ago at a charity dinner event that Aurora had attended with Nancy as he plus one. They had all been sitting at the same table together and this was only their third time seeing him in person due to his tour.

“And now I have another friend,” Harry grinned, motioning towards Zoey.

“Yeah, until you scare her away with your horrible dad jokes and eating habits,” Nancy snorted.

Everyone laughed as Harry lightly nudged Nancy’s leg with his foot, “Just because you can’t beat the master at jokes doesn’t mean they’re horrible,” he shook his head in mock disappointment before turning his attention back to her, “So what made you move out here, Zoey? Work?”

Zoey gulped, not wanting to bring up Jess. She knew if she had, she would break down and cry and they didn’t know anything about Jess yet. I mean, how would everyone feel if she blurted out, ‘my dead best friend’s parents insisted I make their daughter’s dream come true and paid for me to move here’? 

She quickly composed herself, “Change of scenery. Thought I’d try out a new time zone,” she joked, causing them to chuckle. “I’m trying to be a bit more independent and adventurous,” she admitted.

Harry noticed her hesitation and looked at Rory and Nancy to see if they noticed it, too, but they seemed to be oblivious to it. He shrugged it off. He respected her desire to be more independent; something he understood all too well. The singer listened,  impressed as she revealed how many jobs she had been working in order to save just to come here and how proud she was of herself for taking the leap and coming here. Zoey didn’t seem braggy about it, in fact she seemed humbled, crediting her family and even her ex-boyfriend for the support. It wasn’t often you met someone down to earth in LA. It could be because she was so new to it. But Harry thought she would make a great fit with Aurora and Nancy. They had been here for seven years and the Hollywood Bug hasn’t bit them yet. He had his fair share of friends on the west coast, but it was nice to be close with ones who made him feel more grounded like these two.

The four ordered postmates and continued talking and laughing over Nancy’s stories as the sun began to set, casting a beautiful orange and pink hue over the city. As soon as she was done with her chinese food Zoey quickly excused herself to call her family. Once out of sight the three friends turned to each other.

“I like her,” Aurora decided.

Nancy kicked her feet up on the couch where Zoey had been sitting, “Yeah, thank god she’s not like any of the other crazies that messaged us to live here.”

Harry smiled, looking over at Aurora who laughed and he felt a little flutter in his stomach. She was obviously beautiful and fit every characteristic of his type. He could relate to her from living in a small English town but also found her intriguing that she had also been raised in Paris and spoke fluent French - a language he was always attracted by. Aurora and Harry were clearly attracted to each other, but the timing wasn’t exactly right. They met right as Aurora’s modeling career started to take off and just before Harry left for tour. They hadn’t even been on a first date yet, or even kissed for that matter. Just shameless flirting via text. 

In an effort to make an excuse to come back again, Harry spoke up, “Well, next weekend I have off. I don’t know what Zoey’s new work schedule will be, but if she’s up for it, how about we take her to Secrets as a little welcoming party? My treat.”

Secrets was a popular bar in the area that had private rooms you could rent for karaoke. Most of the club-goers were known to be gay, though a lot of straight people went with friends if they wanted a fun clubbing experience without any unwanted nuisances. It was always a good time whenever they went.

“That’d be lovely,” Aurora grinned.

“Yeah, sounds fun! I’ll talk to her about it and find out her work schedule,” Nancy agreed.

Harry nodded, excited about another opportunity to hang out with Rory. And honestly, he was excited to get to know Zoey, too. She seemed easy to talk to. And his instincts in people were pretty good.

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[thisbibliomaniac]

ok i have a genuine question. i live in CA. every business around demands masks. i got away without one for a while (used my super light asthma as an excuse), but the crackdown has only gotten worse, to the point that checkers won't ring your groceries if you take it off, and managers will tell you to never come back (legit things that happened to my mom). what should i do? challenge them to call the police? they legally have every right to deny me service.

Don't live in California?

But seriously, I can't give you detailed instructions for every eventuality. All I can do is tell you what I have done / plan to do.

I cannot wear a mask for medical reasons. Even for a few minutes. My doctor was also very adamant that I should never put on a mask. So I have had, and still have no choice but to find alternatives.

Find groups on Facebook with people who are anti- lockdown and mask. I'm in at least five, and have found many, many businesses to support that way, including the restaurant that sued and got a restraining order against their health department. Those groups are full of people sharing their experiences, good and bad, at different businesses, as well as business owners letting potential customers know that they won't discriminate against them. It sucks, and I have to drive an hour to go to a grocery store, but I'm unharassed buying from the Amish and rural businesses.

We've had a nonstop snowstorm since last night, so driving to Amish country is out until next spring, which means either patronizing businesses which allow medical exemptions (according to the groups I'm in, fresh thyme and walmart are fine, while costco and heinens are not), or ordering online. While I prefer usually to spend more money and be more inconvenienced to support local companies, I've been doing most of my shopping on Amazon and Walmart because they'll ship to me for free. We call ahead to the local butcher and pick up our order at the door. Another local-ish restaurant carries stock from the rural dairy we like, and will order in for us. Giant Eagle allows customers in the door, but makes us use self checkout instead.

These mandates are unenforceable. Any push back has led to losses for the government and wins for individuals and businesses. We just need individuals and businesses to stop complying, but they won't. If the 80% of Ohioans who want DeWine impeached stopped complying, we'd be done.

It sucks. It all sucks. But it will be vaccines tomorrow. What do you plan to do then?