#when i was using the Tennessee walker things were fine!!!!

[hatchetmode]

i had no idea horses had different personalities in rdr2 !!!!!

[afro-hispwriter]

ALICIA CLARK X FEM DIXON READER

After Ricks disappearance (twd) and Fixing the plane era(ftwd)

F/I- first initial

Warnings- language, implied smut

a/n- i wrote this a long time ago, its been posted on on wattpad for a while so i decided to post it on here… Enjoy!

Rick was gone, things were falling apart. Your dad, Daryl left the communities to join search parties all the way until he was the last one searching. Michonne and you wanted to keep looking but her pregnancy was to far along, and you basically took care of her and Judith. The atmosphere feels familiar just like when Carl died, you and him were best friends, you supported him in every one of this decisions even helped him get with Enid.

But this felt worse.

The person who has made sure everybody survives is dead. The man who was a mentor to you, the man who saved your father in countless occasions is dead. Morgan left almost 2 years ago and nobody heard from him. You knew Rick and him were close, he helped Rick when he came out of hospital. He deserves to know what happened and you will make sure of it.

-

"I want to go out and see the world for myself and I want to find Morgan." You said at dinner to Michonne and surprisingly who joined your dad.

"Excuse me what, you want to leave a whole state and travel to Texas just to see the world and find Morgan and for what?" Asked Michonne raising an eyebrow. Your dad sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I agree kid. Why?" He asked looking at you.

"Ok first I'm pretty sure I'm 18, I'm supposed to be enrolling for college planning out my life, seeing what else is out there. I can take of myself of the time I have been surging in this world I can make it I'm sure if it. And second all of us know how much Rick meant to Morgan, I can go to Texas and tell him what happened maybe he will even come back even if it's for a little bit." You said enthusiastically. The adults shook their heads taking in the information.

"I'll think about it." Said your dad and Michonne nodded going back to eating.

"There's gotta be another reason you wanna leave." Said Daryl as you walked to your home.

"I already said why Dad." You said looking ahead

"No, you didn't I know ma own kid." He said stopping and he grabbed your arm so you would stop as well making you roll your eyes.

"I hate the atmosphere that is going on, it's like when Carl died but worse and I hate it. I just need to go, I need fresh air Dad, i need to see whats out there maybe even help people." You said throwing your arms in the air looking up at the sky. Daryl smiled, you would always talk about helping people when you were just 4 years old. But now that the apocalypse happened he never thought he'd actually have to let you be on your own anytime soon, maybe it was time.

"Alrigh I'll talk to Michonne tomorrow, I'll get ya that trip." He said and you smiled before pulling him into a big hug.

"Thank you father." You said and he chuckled.

-

"Ok y/n, ya have a high range walkie(i know those don't exist for very long distances)for when you get farther and farther away from ere and you have food to last a month or so and water for a week or two. And gas in the car to last Ya couple miles at least to get out of Virginia. A map, a gun with 2 rounds, and please try to put notes or something out there to tell me your alive, please I don't want to go out lookin for ya. Cant loose you kid." Said your dad who it was clear was very nervous on letting you leave.

"I'll be fine dad, I have been taught from the best of the best." You said and then you saw his eyes water.

"No, no dad don't cry because then I will. We have to be strong i promise I'll be fine. We agreed on 2 months if I'm gone more than that or if you don't hear from me when those months come to an end you come looking for me." You said holding back the tears.

"I know kid, I know it's just ya growin to fast." He said looking at you.

"Fuck it come ere kid." He said and pulled you in for a tight hug. You hugged him back hard, soaking up his affection, which definitely doesn't come everyday. You pulled away and looked up at him.

"I'll be fine dad ok, I'll be back." You said and backed up, everybody stood around and you waved before looking at Michonne and pointed at her belly.

"I better be godmother when I come back." You said smiling

"Yes ma'am." She said with a smile on her face. You got in the car and turned it on, you had some doubts on leaving but knew this has to happen. Your dad came to the window and leaned on it and you took in a breathe.

"Please don't loose yourself, if you have to stop stop. Don't leave the people who care about you." You told your dad and he sighed knowing exactly what you meant by that. He was looking for Rick so much it was taking him away from you. Daryl stepped back and you smiled at everybody and waved.

"I'll be back in 2 months I promise." You announced and they all smiled, you put the car in drive and drove off watching the gates close behind you.

"Y/n can you hear me." Your dad said over the walkie and you grabbed it.

"Yeah dad I can hear you."

-

You got to Tennessee right before the car stopped. You sighed and looked around to see if there was anything a car or a store. You grabbed the walkie and took in a breathe, please work, you thought.

"Dad can you hear me?" You asked and heard static then his voice.

"Ya I can, ya alright?" He asked

"Ya I'm fine, I'm in Tennessee but I think that soon probably a couple more miles you won't be able to hear me so im starting with the notes." You said and held back tears.

"Alright I love ya." You heard him sniffile before the walkie went out.

"I love you to dad." You said and out the walkie away and grabbed the pack. You opened the pack and grabbed the note book and pen. You wrote, STILL ALIVE- F/I, and looked for a place to put it. After an hour you found a gas station and put the note on the counter under a rock.

"Dad not sure if you can hear me but, if you do come for me I'm leaving notes in stores." You put the walkie back and grabbed your knife and stabbed a walker that came for you.

-

Almost 13 days (that's what google said). 13 days and nights of running and hiding from herds. Avoiding people, some you had to kill. Your feet hurt even after taking a days break in Arkansas but you finally have reached Texas. Not knowing where Morgan is you decided to use the walkie every few miles in. You looked at the map and Texas was huge, it could take a few weeks to find him, if he is even alive. But you needed a break so you needed to find somewhere safe. You found a house that looked safe enough so you cleared it, only 3 walkers where in it.

You set up a fire and out a can of beans over the fire. You grabbed the map and decided where you should head to next.

(A/n- I read that season 5 of fear is filmed in New Braunfels, Texas and its near Austin soon)

Austin, Texas, in school in Alexandria the teacher said Austin is pretty popular. Morgan could be there so that's where you would start. You took a 2 days rest and even found a lake to bathe in, after getting supplies you made your way to Austin. You left a note at the WELCOME TO TEXAS sign and left another at store the another. There was a hotel a little father form the house and out another there.

After a day or so you were closer to Austin and decided it's time to try with the Walkie.

"Morgan, it's Y/n I'm in Texas, I don't know if your alive but I'm here." You said and put the walkie away after no answer. You walked for what seemed hours when you saw the Austin sight and grabbed the walkie.

"Morgan I'm in Austin." You said into the walkie and decided to start trying different channels as you repeated the question though each. You tried the last channel and was about to put it away when you heard voices and your heart sped up.

"Morgan?" You asked and kept moving the circle to hear it more clearly.

"John, June you there." Someone said, it was a deep voice and noticed it was Morgan's voice.

"Morgan, Morgan, it Y/n Dixon from Alexandria, please hear me." You said pleading to yourself.

"Y/n wha-." He started. "What are you doing out here so far, where are you?" He asked.

"Umm I'm by the Welcome to Austin sign. Where are you maybe I can find you." You said and out down to the ground pulling the map out."

"I have two people close to you y/n, don't be alarmed their names are John and June." He said and you sighed.

"Ok." You said wearily.

"John, June did you hear that." Asked Morgan and a female bodice came through.

"We hear you Morgan, on our way Y/n." A man said.

"Hang tight y/n." Said Morgan and you sat back. You grabbed a paper and pen and wrote. FOUND MORGAN. You sat there for a while when a car approached and stopped next to you, you raised you knife reading to attack of nesassary. The window went down and the man and woman out there hands up.

"Hold on hold on young lady I'm John and this is June, we come to get you." John said and you hesitated.

"We won't hurt you i promise." June said. You nodded and grabbed your stuff and opened the car. You sat down and watched John and June's every move.

"So where did you come from?" Asked John and you sighed.

"Long story." You breathed out a laugh and they smiled.

"Guess we will know about it after you meet Al." Said June and you cocked your head to the side.

"Who's Al?" You asked wearily.

"She was journalist before and she interviews everybody on their stories." Said John and you nodded.

-

"Morgan, who is y/n?" Asked Alicia as she and Luciana approached him.

"She's comes from Virginia and Alexandria like me, she's around your age Alicia." Said Morgan smiling and Alicia rolled her eyes.

-

The car came to a stop out some gates and they opened. The car pulled in and people crowded around. John and June got out and your door opened revealing Morgan. You got out of the car and hugged him before pulling away to look over all the people. It was a whole bunch of little kids then a whole bunch of adults.

You looked around and your eyes fell on a very pretty girl with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her eyes where on you but they seemed defensive like yours at the moment. You felt uncomfortable and Morgan said to clear a path so you could sit down.

-

"I have been walking for almost 20 days, Car broke down when I reached Tennessee." You said to Al and she smiled. Everybody else was sitting around eating dinner as they heard your story how you arrived here.

"You have any family, back in Virginia?" She asked and you nodded.

"I have my dad, and more people who became my family, we have lost some but they will never be replaced." You said.

"Lover?" She asked and you shook your head no.

"Nope pretty much a virgin." You said and they all laughed.

Alicia started at you slowly relaxing that you were not a threat, all of them did.

"Why did you come here?" Asked Al and you sighed.

"I was 12 when the world started, I'm like 18 now. I'm supposed to be enrolling into college now, planning out my life going to go see what's out there. The apocalypse may have happened but I still want that chance. And Morgan I need to tell you something, privately." You said and he looked at you concerned. He gave Al a look and she shut the camera off then got the film. He stood up and you followed, he stopped just a few feet from everybody and waited for you to speak.

"Ricks gone." You said. "Gone not dead, just gone it's like he disappeared." You said looking down, thinking about that day.

"Wha- what how, what happened." He asked.

"Bridge explosion, he saved everybody." You said and Morgan nodded then you heard someone clear their throat.

"I'm sorry Morgan." Said June, you looked at him confused.

"I told them about Virginia, they how me and Rick go back." He said and you nodded.

"They haven't the body?" He asked and you shook your head.

"No, my dad, he has been looking out there by the bridge everyday, Michonne is pregnant with Ricks kid and she's about to give birth so she can't look anymore. And I was practically taking care of Judith so I couldn't either. And others have their own thing." You said and Morgan nodded again before walking off. You sighed and and smiled at the group.

"Anything else you guys want to know about me?" You asked and Al came forward.

"I want to know about the king and the tiger." Said Al and you nodded walking back to the fire.

-

You told everybody what you needed to know. Your guard was down long ago, you kept sneaking glances at the girl who's name is Alicia and she looked back at you as well. You got ready for bed when you were approached by Alicia.

"We never had a formal introduction, I'm Alicia Clark." She said holding her hand out and you shook it.

"Y/n Dixon."

You talked the night until you fell asleep from exhaustion. You learned about her family, all the things she has been through and you shared hers. She told you about her boyfriends and you felt a pang of jealousy, 'Gosh y/n you don't even know this girl,' you told your self. You fell asleep after an hour and Alicia put a blanket over you and whispered goodnight and left. You woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and got up. You looked in the mirror and braided your hair into two. You went outside and the people started building some type of plane. You approached Alicia as she was talking through a microphone looking at parts. She saw you approach and she smiled, you then looked up and saw a plane.

"Hey what's with the plane, didn't see that last night?" You asked Lucianna as you approached her, she smiled and sighed.

"A few weeks ago we were on a plane and we crashed landed a few miles from here, we actually came from here at first so we came back. Those kids they left biters out there tied up to keep us away, because it's not safe. We gained their trust and we are building this plane so we can get out of this place." She said sun you nodded you looked over the people and your eyes fell on him.

"Dwight?" You said sternly and he looked at you eyes widening.

"Mini Dixon, what are you doing out here?" He asked and you glared at him grabbing your knife when you felt a hang go to it, you saw Morgan shaking his head to stand down.

"What are you doing here, I thought you were dead?" You asked him.

"I'm lookin for Sherry, my wife, not trying to cause any trouble." He said and raised his good arm as a surrender. You nodded and stood down every body who watched went back to what they were doing. Alicia came in-front of you with a concerned look.

"So what's your story with him?" She asked

"He served the man who killed two people of my family and kept my father in a cage keeping him like an animal." You said looking at her with hard eyes.

You lended you knowledge on fixing things with the plane. It's clear they were grateful on your help, you fixed the engine to the best of your ability.

"Y/n want to come with me to a ware house, we need more parts." Said Alicia and you nodded. You made your way down and smiled at her.

-

Small Alicia POV

Gosh she is so beautiful. I met her yesterday and I feel like I have known her since forever. Call me crazy but I'm starting to get feelings for her already.

-

Regular POV

The butterflies in your stomach were almost painful when you were near Alicia. She was gorgeous, you felt like you could tell her everything and you almost have from Atlanta to now. You grabbed your backpack, emptying it out of anything that was worth leaving just encase. You took your knives and gun and left to find Alicia. She was waiting outside a car and got in when she saw you. You sat in the drivers seat and looked to see if anybody else was going, luckily no one was there.

"Anybody else going?" You asked and she shook her head.

"Do you have a problem with it, because I can get someone to come with us may-." She started but you shook your head no.

"I have no problem at all." You said and winked making her cheeks flush red. She drove to the warehouse and she told you the parts to look out for as well as food. You took out two walkers with your knives and looked back to see Alicia looking at you with awe.

"Never taken out biters with knives really." She said chuckling. You looked down and saw a metal pole that was sharpened at the edges.

"Well I mean that pole is badass, where did you get it, might need to get myself one." You asked.

"A water park." She said smiling and you nodded.

"Alright tell you what I teach you how to fight with knifes and we stay a little longer to find a pole similar to yours. Deal?" you asked holding your hand out. She thought for a second and took your hand and shook it.

"Ok come here stand in-front of me." You said as two walkers approached you both. She stood infront of you and you handed her your knives, you stood close to her.

"Now, you going to want to dodge them, go in between them. Remember you have to use strength to kill them just cant push it in. I'll be here just encase." You said. The walkers go closer and Alicia tightened her grip on the knives.

"Go you said." And she ducked as they swung at her, you backed up out of reach then one by one they were both put out.

"That was great, remember you gotta faster and if you have someone behind you, let's say as kid you have to push them back, maybe use you leg or arm. Even an adult if they don't notice you have to act quick." You said and she nodded cleaning the knives.

"Thanks I'll definitely use that, after I find knives." She said.

"If you can get a hunting knife there much stronger and lighter." You said and she nodded. You found a majority of the parts needed and headed back to the car.

"I found this." She said and handed you a metal pole with holes in it. You grabbed it and smiled at you, you got one of your knives and it's holster and handed it to her.

"Thank you Alicia, as a true thanks here's one of my knives, work with one just for now you will go better I just know of it." You said and she smiled brightly.

"Thank you, now let's get back and we can sharpen the edge." She said and started the car.

You kissed her cheek and pulled back getting a red face. You looked at her though the corner of your eye and saw her face was red.

-

When you arrived back to the truck stop, she helped sharpen the metal pole. You and her had a flirty thing going on for the rest of the month until you started feeling sexual tension start to arise. The stares would last long as well as lingering touches, she thought you how to use the pole and you taught her knives. Everybody shared their knowledge with you and you did with them.

The plane was just about finished when you realized if they finish the plane you may loose them, loose her.

"So, where do you guys plan on going after getting the rest of your group?" You asked Alicia as she ate dinner, sitting on the ground.

"Not sure, definitely leave this area." She said and you nodded seeing how bad the area is, you sat down next to her and she offered some of her dinner but you waved it off.

"Maybe fly to Virginia." She said lowly and you looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm just playing can't risk another crash, especially where the girl I likes home is." She said and looked at you. Your face went red and the butterflies in your stomach, she grabbed your chin and pulled your face closer to hers.

"Y/n Dixon I like you a lot, it's ok if you don't but-." She said but you silenced her with a kiss. She pulled you in harder making you moan, she set her dinner down and you pushed her on the ground, straddling her. You looked up and saw there were people still around so you pulled away.

"Want to take me to your tent?" You asked and she nodded, you got off her and held your hand out which she gladly took. She led you to her tent opening it and pulled you inside. You slid your shirt off and she did the same.

She looked at yours left arm and stomach and noticed a beautiful tattoos.

(This but all around the forearm)

(Something like that)

"Didn't know you had tattoos." She said and scratched her head.

"Oh yeah... do they bother you?" You asked.

"No no they are actually really hot." She said making you blush. You walked over to her and pushed her onto the makeshift bed.

"Wait crap I've never had sex with-." She started and you kissed her.

"It's ok, I'll teach you." You said and she looked at you confused.

"After Carl died, his girlfriend, Enid, and me got close and we ended up in bed together. It was just one night didn't mean anything." You said and stroked her hair.

"Didn't say that in the interview." She said and leaned back letting you crawl on top of her.

"Some things are just not to be meant to be said." You said and winked at her. You went down and captured her lips, she raised her hands and caressed your sides. You laid down on her putting your weight on her body making her moan.

"Just relax let me do the work." You said and trailed down her stomach.

a/n- once ftwd season 6 comes to hulu I’ll be able to continue my part 2

[study-coffee-chicago]

Country College (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister Imagine; Part of AU-gust)

A/N: Thank you for reading! Remember to like/reblog and comment! I'm also donating all the proceeds that from my buy me a coffee account to Save The Children to help the children of Afghanistan. Buy me a coffee link here.

Also, here's the playlist of songs I listened to while writing this and some of these songs are actually mentioned in the imagine in case you guys wanted to listen while reading: Country College AU playlist.

I went on vacation and I swear, this entire imagine was based on stuff I did in Tennessee and country songs I listened to while there.

Anyway, enjoy!

"You got everything?" Jay asked you at six in the morning.

"For the last damn time, Jay, yes, I have everything," you answered as you jumped in the passenger seat of his truck and put your backpack at your feet and your tumbler of coffee in a cup holder.

"Jesus. I was just asking because I will not be turning this truck around," he said as he moved around the basket of snacks in the backseat so that the two of you could reach them easier. "Someone's cranky."

"Yes. When I finally got to sleep at 12:30 last night and had to wake up at 4:30, I'm gonna be cranky. Please tell me we're stopping for coffee."

"You already have coffee," Will said as he walked up to the truck. "Why do you need more?"

"Shut up. I know for a fact you drink way more coffee than I do, Mr. Med Student."

"Jesus, Jay. You sure you're gonna be able to put up with her for eight and a half hours?" Will asked.

"I dunno, man. Maybe I'll make her ride with you," he joked.

"Yeah, no way in hell that's happening," Will said.

"In all seriousness," Jay started, "stop for coffee in about an hour and a half?"

"Sounds good to me," you agreed.

"Same here. I only have to ditch you guys when we get like eight hours in," Will said.

"Gonna be weird not having you on the drive down, man," Jay mused.

"Yeah, but at least we can meet up at the rest stops and we'll  be in the same state."

"Are we gonna go?" you asked. "If you two were just gonna talk, I could've slept for an extra ten minutes."

"Holy shit," Jay muttered. He turned to Will. "Guess we should get going then."

"Yeah, see you in an hour and a half. Don't piss off the driver too much, Y/N."

You rolled your eyes. "Goodbye, Will."

Will got in his car and Jay got in the driver's side of his truck.

"Eight and a half hour drive plus traffic," Jay started as you both pulled out of the driveway, "so how do want to split it up?"

"I'm tired and I wanna sleep and I don't want to drive through Knoxville because I have no idea where to go," you answered as you pulled your headphones out of your backpack.

"Okay, Miss Sassy Pants. You can drive in the middle, through Kentucky. Might hit traffic, but we'll hit traffic in Tennessee, too, so we'll both have to drive through it. Just please, do not crash my truck."

"Relax. I know how to drive. Just make sure Will stays on your ass the entire time so we don't lose each other."

***

"And, we're officially in Kentucky!" Jay announced. "Time to change the music. At the next rest stop, we'll pull over and go to the bathroom and grab some lunch."

"Jay! You can't be on your phone while you're driving!" you yelled as he reached for his phone in the cup holder, which was also acting as the GPS...even though Jay claimed he could get there without it.

"Y/N, I'm fine. I've done this for three years now. I think I know what I'm doing."

"If you say so."

He turned on a song you didn't know.

"Got a truck, get it lifted," Jay started to sing.

"The hell is this?" you asked.

"Country music. Gets changed from pop to country the second we cross the border into Kentucky. Now, shh. This is a good song. You'll like it. It's upbeat."

Jay drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and sang quietly to Redneck Be Like by Thomas Rhett as he drove while you listened. He was right. It was a pretty good song.

"All day in the sun, always havin' fun, always gettin' stuck in that muddy river. Always got a buzz, always double cup..."

"You'll know the next one," Jay promised.

"And you know this how?" you asked.

"Because it's on Tiktok. When we get there, Adam and Hailey are gonna have to teach you some southern culture."

"So, I'm gonna need a definition of southern culture."

"You'll see when you get there. Now listen. I know you know this part."

Yeah we fancy like Applebee's...

Jay was right: you did know this song. It was Fancy Like by Walker Hayes.

"On a date night," you sang along. "Got that Bourbon street steak..." Jay joined in. "With the Oreo shake. Get some whipped cream on the top, too. Two straws, one check, girl I got you. Yeah we Bougie like Natty in the styrofoam..."

Five minutes later, you pulled off to a rest stop with a McDonald's nearby. Jay and Will filled up their vehicles while you ran inside to go to the bathroom. Once you were inside McDonald's and at a table eating, you asked Will if it was true that he and Jay always changed it to country music when they crossed the border into Kentucky. Will said yes, so you knew you were in for a long car ride. Then, you and Jay switched so that you were now the one driving and you were off again.

***

Hours later, Will took a different exit to get to Nashville and gave you and Jay a salute to tell you goodbye when he changed lanes and then took the exit.

"Not long now," Jay told you. "You excited?"

"Yeah, but a little nervous," you replied.

"Oh, don't be nervous. They're all really nice. And you've already met Hailey, so that helps."

"Yeah, she was nice. She had a cute little southern accent, too."

"One of the many reasons I fell in love with her in the first place."

Before Jay left for a weekend last summer to meet Hailey halfway and then stay in a hotel for a weekend to spend time with her, he finally told you the story of how he and Hailey met.

"Hey, we're goin' to the marketplace," Adam said on the first weekend of their junior year. "You and Will up for it?"

"Uh, Will's studying like normal. I'm up for it. Kim coming, too?" Jay asked.

"I promised her ice cream, so yeah, she's comin'. Baby, you ready?" he yelled down the hall.

"I'm coming, Adam!" Kim yelled back and then walked out of the bathroom.

"Let's go and make some bad decisions," Adam stated, causing Jay and Kim to laugh.

"We can't even buy alcohol yet, you dummy," Kim said.

"I may be a dummy, but you love me." Then, Adam gave Kim a kiss on the cheek.

"Please stop before I puke," Jay said and made a gagging face.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Let's get outta here."

***

Kim was laughing at a horrible joke Adam made while he had his arm slung around him. He had taken off his signature cowboy hat and had let Kim wear it because she forgot her sunglasses. Adam said he felt naked without it on.

They were walking towards Kilwin's when Jay spotted it: a homeless guy next to a blonde who couldn't be more than college age.

"Man, look," Jay pointed.

The three walked faster.

"No, this is for my friend back at the dorm," the girl explained.

"Lady, I'm hungry. Can I please just have your leftovers?" the guy asked.

"I'm sorry you're hungry, but this is for my friend."

The guy reached for the food.

"Hey, that girl sits behind me in my women and the law class," Kim stated.

Jay, Adam, and Kim took off on a run.

"Hey, baby," Jay said and slung an arm around the girl. He leaned in close to her. "Just go with it," he whispered in her ear. "You got Anna's food?"

"Yeah," the girl said hesitantly. But then, she realized that this guy was trying to help her out. And, he was pretty sure that the girl with him sat in front of her in her women and the law class. "Yeah, I've got her food."

Jay raised an eyebrow at the guy and then looked at Adam as if asking the man to try the two of them.

"Alright, well y'all have a good night now," he said and then turned around and walked away.

Once the man was a few shops down, Jay took his arm off of her. "Sorry about that. Just thought you might need some help," he said.

"Was greatly appreciated, thank you, uh..."

"Jay."

"Jay, well I'm Hailey. Nice to meet you."

He didn't miss her cute little southern accent and he loved it.

"You getting ice cream?" he asked.

"No, I uh was just textin' my roommate to tell her I'd be back soon."

"Well, I-- we'd feel much better if you came into Kilwin's with us. Just so that creeper doesn't come back."

Hailey smiled and agreed.

Kim and Hailey started talking about their class while Adam and Jay ordered their ice cream. Then Kim ordered.

"You want anything, Hailey?" Jay asked.

"Oh no, I'm fine, thank you, though."

Jay nodded, but then turned to the worker. "And can I also get a single scoop of chocolate in a waffle cone, please?"

"Sure thing." As she scooped it out, Hailey looked at Jay and he just shrugged.

When they got to the cashier, Hailey pulled out some money and tried to hand it to Jay.

"I've got it," he said.

"But--"

"Hailey, it's fine. I can pay for a little ice cream."

She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue.

"Okay." She took her ice cream cone.

"Hey, Hailey," Kim began when they walked out of Kilwin's. "Do you have friends you need to meet up with?"

"No, I was just gonna head back to my dorm," she replied.

"Oh, did you drive?"

"No, I walked. It's only like a twenty-minute walk from the sophomore dorms."

"Well, after all that, I'm pretty sure we'd all feel more comfortable if you rode home with us."

"I don't know..." Hailey trailed off.

"Those dorms are only like five minutes away from the house we stay at. And, it's on our way there anyway. Please, just come with us."

Hailey sighed. It would be a lot faster than walking. "Okay."

Then, they finished their walk to Adam's truck and the two girls got in the backseat and the two boys got in the front.

And that is how Jay Halstead met the sweet Georgia peach that is Hailey Anne Upton.

***

Jay, Adam, Will, Kim, and Hailey were all at a sports bar one Saturday night in October. It was loud, it was rowdy, everyone was going crazy over the football game on tv, and Hailey was totally over it. And Jay noticed.

"Hey," Jay whispered from his seat next to her. "You wanna get outta here?"

She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "You'd wanna leave and not finish the game?"

In the past two months, Hailey had been spending a lot of time with Kim, and by default, she had been spending a lot of time with Adam, Jay, and Will. She will admit going over to their three-bedroom house they all rented together was a lot better than being stuck in her small dorm with her roommate. So, she went over there quite a bit to study with Kim. And, turns out she and Jay were both law studies majors, so they had a lot of the same classes, but they were in different sections, so they did a lot of studying together, too. And, she knew like most college boys, Jay loved his football. Not as much as Adam, but he watched it whenever one of his teams were playing. Which, was Chicago or Tennessee.

"Yeah," Jay started, "it's kinda loud in here anyway. And, it's just Tennessee playing. I'd be more likely to stay if the Bears were playing."

"Okay, let's get outta here. I know a great little diner we can go to for milkshakes. Pretty sure they're open until 11 and it's only 10, so we should be able to make it."

"Adam," Jay said over the game. Adam turned to face Jay. "Me and Hailey are gonna get out of here. I'll see you back at home."

"See you," Adam said and then turned back to his game.

"Guess we know where his loyalties lie," Hailey laughed.

The two of them stood up from their chairs at the table.

"You better get my friend home safe, Halstead!" Kim yelled.

"Yes ma'am," he said, borrowing a line from Adam. "You've got nothing to worry about."

Then, the two of them made their way out of the local sports bar and to Jay's truck.

***

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," Hailey said as the two of them walked up to the diner. "They're closed. Closed at 10 and not at 11. I'm really sorry, Jay."

"That's okay. Got anywhere else you wanna go? Or I can just take you back to your dorm if you want?" Jay suggested.

She sighed. "Just take me back I guess."

The two of them walked back to Jay's truck and got in. Hailey gasped at the song that was on the radio.

"What?" Jay asked, quickly turning to look at Hailey.

"This is my favorite song!"

Lights go down, wheels go around. I'm taking you home. Hoping for a slow song to come on the radio now.

Slow Dance in a Parking Lot by Jordan Davis continued to play through the speakers of Jay's truck.

"What's it about?" Jay asked.

"Slow dancing in a parking lot."

Jay listened to a few more lines and then decided to turn up the radio and jump out of the car.

"Jay, what are you--"

But he was already at her side of the car and pulled her door open.

"Dance with me?" he asked, sticking his hand out for her to take.

"What?" she laughed as a huge smile grew on her face.

"You said the song's about slow dancing in a parking lot and we're in an empty parking lot, so, why not recreate the song?"

Hailey laughed once more and shook her head and then grabbed Jay's hand. He helped her out of his truck and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist and they swayed to the music.

"Slow dance with you. Spinning you round by the Walmart sign and moving our feet over the painted white lines. Getting close to you. Making the most of whatever we got, even if it's just slow dance in a parking lot," Hailey sang quietly.

"Spin," Jay said as he held his hand up.

"What?"

"Spinning you round just like the song says."

Hailey laughed and reached for his hand and did a spin.

"Beautiful," Jay complimented.

"Yeah, right. That's was probably the messiest spin known to man."

"Well, um, it was beautiful. You're beautiful, Hailey."

She was glad it was dark so that Jay couldn't see the heat that rose to her cheeks.

"You're somethin' else, but thank you." She rested her head on his chest as they swayed to the rhythm of the rest of the song.

The song ended and the broadcaster started talking.

"Can I kiss you?" Jay asked.

"What?" she pulled away from his chest.

"I asked if I could kiss you. Was that too much? You know what, just forget--"

"Yes, Jay, kiss me," Hailey smiled and then she and Jay both leaned in.

It was just a peck, but it was their first kiss and despite it being in a dark parking lot late at night, it was still magical.

"You know," Jay began once the quick kiss was over, "there's a Walmart across the street. What do you say we go grab pints of ice cream from there and then you can show me your favorite country songs?"

"I'd like that. Adam didn't show you enough?" she asked.

"I've only got like thirty I like. I need to expand my horizons."

"Okay, let's go."

They held hands in Walmart and then picked out their respective pints of ice cream. Then, they went back to the parking lot of the closed diner and Jay plugged in the aux, allowing Hailey to show him her favorite country songs while they ate their ice cream from the pint and even shared with each other.

Hailey knew nobody would have a first kiss story like that.

Then, at the beginning of the winter semester, Hailey's roommate decided not to live in the dorms anymore. Hailey couldn't afford to pay for a dorm all by herself, so Kim offered to let her stay with her, Jay, Adam, and Will. So, that's how she ended up living with her boyfriend and sharing a room with her best friend, Kim Burgess.

"We're here," Jay announced. "Well, actually, we're a few streets away, but that's one of the lecture halls on your right."

You looked out the window to see a big red and brown brick building with white pillars on the steps. There was also a white sign telling you what building this was.

"Wow," you said in awe. "It's like those old-fashioned colleges. I love it."

"Well, we'll give you a tour and help you find your classes sometime this weekend before classes start on Tuesday. That way, you aren't getting lost on the first day. But, we'll head to the house for now and get all unpacked."

"Sounds good to me."

Five minutes and a few back roads later, you pulled up to a simple two-story brick house.

"Alright, let's get our stuff out and get inside," Jay said.

You stepped out of the truck and started grabbing some stuff out of the back seat.

"I'll jump in the truck and hand you the suitcases. Think you can grab them when I hand them to you?"

You nodded.

"Halstead!" you heard someone shout and you and Jay both whipped your heads around to see Hailey and Adam walking out of the garage and toward the two of you. Adam, well who you assumed was Adam, was carrying two cowboy hats and he and Hailey each had one on themselves.

"Catch!" Adam said and threw one to Jay where he was standing in the box of the truck. Jay easily caught it and placed it on his head.

Adam walked over to you.  "And one for you, darlin'," he said as he placed the hat on your head.

"Thank you," you said. "But I thought Kim was darlin'," you said. It'd make sense because if this guy was in fact Adam, then he and Kim were dating.

"You didn't tell her?" Hailey asked Jay.

"Didn't think there'd be a need to." Jay shrugged.

"Tell me what?" you asked.

"Well, Adam calls every girl darlin'," Jay explained. "It's just normal for him. And, down here, you're gonna get a lot of huns, sweeties, and sweethearts. A lot of waiters and waitresses do that here."

"And what do they call you two?" you asked, motioning to Jay and Adam.

"Sir," they said in unison.

"Oh, and you'll occasionally get a ma'am," Hailey added. "But, that one's rare because we don't look old enough to be called ma'am."

"Okay. And, uh, not to be rude, but what's with the cowboy hats?" you asked.

"It's a tradition we just started last year," Adam explained. "We unpack, wear cowboy hats, and drink moonshine. Oh, I'm Adam by the way, darlin'."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N."

Jay handed you a suitcase and you set it on the ground. Then, you did the same thing with two more suitcases.

You grabbed your backpack from the front seat, your duffle bag from the back, and your two suitcases.

"Here, I can take those two for you," Adam said.

"Oh, okay," you said and then allowed him to take the two suitcases from you. So this is what Jay meant by southern hospitality since Adam was from Tennessee and all.

"Jay, lemme take your suitcase," Hailey said.

"Baby, I've got it," Jay argued as he jumped out of the box of his truck and closed the tailgate.

"The hell you do," she argued. "I see all your other stuff in the backseat and that basket of snacks you gotta carry in, too. Just lemme take your one suitcase."

"Let 'er take the suitcase, Halstead. Best to listen to your lady," Adam said.

"I like Adam already," you laughed.

He let go of one of the suitcases and tipped his hat. "Thank you, darlin'."

This caused all four of you to laugh and then you all went inside carrying both yours and Jay's stuff in one trip between the four of you.

***

"Shine in the fridge?" Jay asked after you and he had brought all your stuff to your room.

"Shine, Jay? How southern do you get when you're here?" you asked.

"Oh, he gets pretty southern, hun," Hailey said.

"See?" Jay asked as he pointed to Hailey. "Told you you'd get called hun."

"So, Adam's thing is darlin' and Hailey's is hun?" Hailey nodded. "And it's because you're from Georgia and he's from Tennessee?"

"That's right, darlin'," Adam confirmed and then turned back to Jay. "Yeah, shine's in the fridge. And Kim just texted and said she's on the way back with pizza."

"You got apple pie flavored shine?" Jay asked.

"Hang on. I'm just gonna grab 'em."

The three of you sat down on the bar stools at the counter and waited for Adam to pull them out.

"Alright," Adam started after he put the bottles of moonshine with sip lids on the counter. "We have peach for Miss Georgia Peach." He passed the peach bottle of moonshine to Hailey. "We've got apple pie shine for me and Jay. We've got strawberries and creme for Kim because that's her favorite." He turned to you. "And for you, I got you blackberry because it's not that high of a proof, so it's not that strong." He slid the jar to you.

"Nuh uh," Jay said quickly and grabbed the bottle.

"What the hell, Jay? Give it back! Adam said it's for me, not you!" you argued.

"Last I checked, you're only eighteen."

"Last I checked, Dad's not here. And I know for a fact you drank before you were 21, so pass me the blackberry shine, please."

"I'll take the first sip and then you can have it." He made sure the straw part was open and then he took a sip. "Adam, that shit's like a chaser compared to the apple pie one."

"I know. That's why I got 'er that one," Adam said.

You heard a door shut.

"Pizza's here!" Kim announced.

She walked into the kitchen with three boxes of pizza.

"I got us three pies," she said as she set them down on the counter. "We got one pepperoni and green olive, one supreme, and one meat lovers." She turned to you. "And you must be Y/N. I'm Kim. I see Adam already got you started on that Tennessee moonshine."

"Nice to meet you," you said. "You're from New York, right?"

"Yup, not New York City, though. More upstate."

"Of course she's from New York, Y/N!" Jay exclaimed. "Who else would call pizza a pie except for a true New Yorker?"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks, Jay."

Jay raised his bottle of apple pie moonshine in a fake cheers and then took a sip.

"Now that's the strong shit I need to start off this semester right," he announced and then set the bottle down.

"Oh, and if your brother didn't tell you yet, he turns into a borderline alcoholic when he's at school," Kim told you.

You laughed. "He didn't tell me that, no."

"Better than being a caffeine addict like Kim and Hailey here," Jay argued.

"Shut up," Hailey said. "You know you're a caffeine addict during finals week just the rest of us."

"I was a caffeine addict in high school, so we'll see what happens," you shrugged.

Kim grabbed a stack of paper plates and set them on one of the pizza boxes. "Dig in. Oh, Y/N, did Adam get you the blackberry flavored moonshine?"

"He did. Haven't tried it yet because Jay has yet to give it back to me."

Kim quickly reached down and grabbed the jar of moonshine.

"Hey, Kim! She's only 18!" Jay protested.

"So? I know you drank an insane amount during your freshman year. So shut it." Kim popped open the sipping lid. "Taste."

You took a sip. It did taste like blackberry, but it was also sort of strong, but it didn't burn your throat that bad like you had read in books that alcohol did.

"This is actually pretty good."

"I know, right? And, me and Hailey will let you try ours when we help you unpack," Kim said. "But, do not try the kind the boys have because it's nasty."

"Baby, I don't know what you have against apple pie moonshine, but it's good," Adam said and then took a sip of his moonshine. Kim rolled her eyes. Adam leaned across the counter. "The New York in her is coming out, darlin'."

"Oh, shut up," Kim said and reached over to steal Adam's cowboy hat off his head.

"Baby, now I feel naked without it," Adam argued and tried to reach for the hat.

"Sucks for you. Now eat your pizza before it gets cold."

***

"Morning," Jay said when you walked into the kitchen the next morning. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good. it's nice not having to share a room with anyone like you and Adam, and then Hailey and Kim have to. It was fun having them help me unpack last night, though," you said.

Last night, Kim and Hailey had helped you unpack and when you mentioned that you didn't really know any country music, Hailey pulled up all of her favorite country songs to play for you. You especially liked Girl in a Country Song by Maddie and Tae. They showed you the music video for that song and it was about how, in most country music videos, girls had to dress up in little skimpy outfits and have the boys just stare at them all day. So, in their music video, they changed the roles, and the guys had to dress in skimpy clothing in the music video. It was pretty funny and the song was catchy.

"Let me guess," Jay began, "Hailey showed you some good country music?"

"Yup. The songs she showed me were pretty good, pretty upbeat. Didn't sound like a cat being put in a blender like old-fashioned country, so I guess that's good."

"What do you have against old-fashioned country, darlin'?" Adam asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"I dunno." You shrugged. "Too slow for me and I just don't like the voices I guess."

"You know what we ought to do, Jay?" Adam asked and Jay raised his eyebrows, silently telling adam to continue. "We should show her all the songs that are mentioned in What's Your Country Song."

"Wait, wait. I think I know that one. I think Hailey played it for me last night. Is it the one that mentions Chatta- Chatta..."

"Chattahoochee?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, that funny word. What even is that anyway?"

"It's a river that runs through Georgia," Jay answered. "Pretty sure Hailey used to go tubing down it like we're gonna do today."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "We're going tubing? Like behind a boat?"

Adam laughed. "Christ, Jay! Do you tell her anything?"

"He doesn't," you answered. "So, explain, one of you."

"Alright, I'll do it," Jay said as he poured milk on top of a bowl of Raisin Bran. You looked at him intently. "What we do is, the first Saturday that we're all together before school starts, we go on tubes and float down the Tennessee River. We bring a cooler full of snacks, sandwiches, booze, and water, and a waterproof speaker and we just have a fun time. Oh, and this year, you're the DD."

"Me?" you asked as you pointed to yourself. Jay nodded. "But I don't know where to go! I haven't even been in Tennessee for a full 24 hours yet!"

"Kim's like the mom of the group," Adam supplied. "So she'll still be pretty lucid and could probably drive if she needs to. But, she'll at least be able to give you directions on how to get back here."

You sighed. "Good. That makes me feel a lot better."

"Where are the other two girls anyway?" Adam asked. "They're usually up a lot earlier than we are when we go on the river."

"I think they were a little buzzed last night," you said. "Might still be sleeping."

While you were unpacking, you took a few sips of your jar of blackberry moonshine, but not a lot. You'd never really drank before, much less drank moonshine and you didn't really feel like puking from being drunk or having a killer headache from a hangover...at least, that's what you thought happened from what you had read in books and seen in movies and tv shows. But, Kim and Hailey had each finished like a quarter of their jar, so they had been buzzed last night. They weren't drunk because they could still walk in a straight line and knew what they were talking about, but they did have little dopey smiles on their faces while they helped you unpack.

"She's right," Kim said as she and Hailey walked into the kitchen. Hailey's hair was wrapped in a towel, alerting you that she had just taken a shower. "Adam, can you grab me an Advil?" She took a seat on a stool and put her head in her hands. "My head is fucking killing me. I didn't even think I drank that much."

Adam laughed. "You do this every semester, baby. First shine of the year and you always drink a little too much." He handed her the pills and a cup of water and Kim quickly washed the pills down.

"I just need some coffee," Hailey announced.

"We know, you don't get hangover headaches," Kim groaned.

"Yeah, but I feel exhausted all day. Everyone goin' for coffee? I'll make a bigger pot if that's the case."

Everyone said yes and Hailey started on the coffee.

***

"Okay, we got the tubes, the speaker, swimsuits are on, we have the towels, cooler," Jay rattled off as the five of you sat in his truck. "Anyone double-check the cooler?"

"I did," Hailey said. "We got water, the same shine from last night, some white claws, the sandwiches me and Kim made for everyone, chips, and a few other snacks."

"And I threw in a little first aid kit with bandaids, alcohol swabs, Neosporin, and other stuff. And I've got the sunscreen, too," Kim said.

"See, what'd I tell you, darlin'?" Adam asked as he turned around from his spot in the passenger seat. "Kim's the mom of the group."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kim said. "It means I'm responsible and prepared."

"Those two would get so damn sunburned and dehydrated if it weren't for Kim," Hailey said as she pointed to Jay and Adam in the two front seats.

"Thanks, Hails," Jay replied sarcastically. "Real nice."

"You're welcome," she said with a smile.

You leaned your head against the window. You were supposed to get stuck in the middle, but seeing as you got car sick easily, Kim said she'd switch spots with you.

"You okay?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, just, Jay really needs to turn on the AC before I throw up from motion sickness and how damn hot it is in here."

"Least you got that cowboy hat to puke in if you need to," Jay laughed as he reached for the AC. "You better not puke in my tuck or you will be walking home."

Adam smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!" Jay exclaimed and took one hand off the wheel and rubbed the back of his head. "The hell was that for?"

"Dude, be nice! Look at her!" Adam exclaimed.

Jay looked in the rearview mirror and saw you leaning your head against the window with your eyes closed and pinching your nose. You groaned.

"Here," Jay said and tossed you a blue bottle of Gatorade from his cup holder. "Drink this. Get you some hydration and electrolytes."

You took a few sips and then handed the bottle back to him. "Thanks."

"Mhm."

Kim moved the vents so that the AC was blowing on you more. "That help?"

"Little bit, thanks."

"Think you'll be good to go down the river?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, because then I won't be trapped in a hot box going sixty down the road!"

"She's right about that," Adam agreed. "You'll be lucky if you go five miles per hour, darlin'."

"Alright, so the motion sickness should stop. Thank God."

"Just rest your head against the window and listen to some country music," Jay said. "Speaking of that, who's controlling the music on the river?"

"I got it," Adam volunteered. "Everyone give me a song and I'll get the queue started."

***

You had been going down the river for about half an hour now and had finished a bottle of water and eaten a banana, too. You felt fine now. Adam was right, you were going slow enough that you didn't get sick, and you also weren't in the backseat of a truck.

"Hey, Kim," you started, "can you pass me my moonshine?"

"Mhm," she said. You guys had tied a cooler to a tube, which was then tied to Kim's tube. Because, the boys figured that between the five of you, she was the most responsible. They toyed with tying it to your tube because you probably wouldn't get shitfaced (like the boys most likely would) since you were underage, but you had never gone tubing down the Tennessee River before, so they decided on Kim. "Here, Hailey, hold my white claw."

She passed Hailey her drink and then maneuvered the cooler towards her, opened it, and handed you your moonshine.

"Thank you," you said and popped open the sip lid and took a sip. "Ahhh."

"Hey, drink it slow," Adam warned, turning towards you and practically yelling over the music. He and Jay were in front of the three of you girls so they could tell you if there were a ton of rocks coming or if it was super shallow coming up. "Heat makes getting drunk a lot easier because you keep drinking it because you're so thirsty."

"I don't think that's how it works, man, but whatever you say," Jay laughed.

Another song started.

"Hey!" you yelled. "I know this song!"

"Yeah, because it's old as hell," Jay laughed.

"Shut up! I like it!"

Baby you a song you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise. Down a back road, blowin' stop signs through the middle every little farm town with you.

"And this brand new Chevy with a lift kit, would look a hell of a lot better with you up in it. Baby you a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise," the five of you sang Cruise by Florida Georgia Line while holding your drinks in pure happiness.

Because of this, you didn't notice Jay drifting off to the side toward the trees.

Jay let out a sinister laugh as he got closer. "C'mere, buddy, c'mere." The black snake stuck his tongue out and hissed. "Yeah, I know, you wanna scare Y/N, too." Jay held his hand out toward the snake. "I'm nice, I promise." The snake slithered and went up on Jay's hand and started up his arm. He turned once most of the snake was on him. He started using his other hand to paddle himself back toward the group. "Y/N!"

You turned and looked at him. You saw the snake on his arm and tears pricked your eyes. "No! No!" you shouted.

Snakes were your biggest fear and knowing that they were in the river that you were in right now was absolutely terrifying to you. And, with each paddle, Jay and the snake were coming closer and closer to you.

"Jay, please, please!"

Adam turned and looked at Jay and then back to you. "She scared of snakes?" You quickly nodded as tears ran down your face. "Jay! Stop! She's terrified!"

Jay laughed. "No!"

He was coming closer and closer to you.

Adam quickly paddled over to you and went in front of you. "I won't let it go near you, darlin', don't you worry."

"Uh huh," you said and grabbed onto Adam's arm in complete and utter terror.

Unknown to Jay, Hailey was making her way to him. But, she was behind him, so Jay couldn't see his girlfriend coming up behind him with her empty bottle of white claw raised high in the air.

He felt it before he heard her.

"Don't." Smack on the head with the empty can. "You." Another smack on the head with the empty can. "Do." Another smack on the head with the empty can. "That." Last smack on the head with the empty can.

"Ow!" Jay yelled. "Hails, stop!"

"Put the fuckin' snake back and stop scarin' the daylights outta your little sister or I will keep smackin' you, Jay!" Hailey told him.

"Fine, I'll put it back," he groaned.

"Hailey, keep that can raised above his head. If he tries to come back here, hit 'im again!" Adam yelled.

"You got it!" Hailey said. "Hear that baby? Your head is gonna come in contact with this 'ere empty white claw can again if you don't get a move on."

"I'm going, I'm going," Jay grumbled.

"Good, then you won't get smacked again."

"Just for all that," Adam started, "you wanna pick the next song, darlin'?"

"Can you play Better Dig Two by The Band Perry?" you asked. "That counts as country right?"

"Sure does, darlin'." He started messing with his phone. "Comin' right up."

"I told you on the day we wed, I was gonna love you 'til I's dead," you started to sing. "Made you wait 'til our weddin' night, that's the first and the last time I wear white."

"Snake's gone! Made sure he put it down and I even watched it slither away!" Hailey announced. "Put me in the ground, put me six foot down," Hailey joined in after she had finished yelling over part of the first verse.

"And, as for you, Jay," Adam started over the music and all of you singing. "You don't get to pick a song for the next hour."

"Son of a bitch," Jay muttered.

"Hey, you brought this one on yourself, buddy. So just sit back, relax, listen to our music choices, and enjoy your shine."

***

One week later

"And we're here!" Adam announced as the five of you pulled onto a long dirt driveway. "You ready to ride some horses, Y/N?"

"I dunno," you said. "I've never ridden a horse before."

"Oh, Adam'll make sure you're super safe," Kim reassured you.

"Okay, so whatever horse I ride won't buck me off?"

"Oh no," Adam said quickly, "we'll put Jay on Buck."

"Like hell you will!" Jay argued from the backseat.

Despite the studying the five of you had to do, you were at Adam's childhood home. Adam's parents had rented a cabin in North Carolina for the weekend since it was Labor Day weekend and needed someone to watch the five horses they owned.

His parents used to own a riding place with multiple horses, but since their kids got older, they stopped doing it because they were getting older and couldn't give the tours anymore. So, they sold most of their horses, left five so that their kids could ride them with their friends, but still kept the house and the land. Whenever Adam's parents went out of town, either he or his sister would come and stay over at their childhood home and take care of the horses. Seeing as his sister was married and just gave birth to a daughter, this left Adam. And, luckily for him, his parents were fine with some friends coming over to help Adam out.

"Relax, man," Adam began, "I'll ride Buck."

"Wait, is he called Buck because he bucks people off?" you asked.

"You would be completely right, darlin'. Which, would be the reason I'm riding him and neither of you four will be doing that."

Adam put the truck in park and you got out of the passenger seat. Yes, you had ridden in the front because Adam said you could because of your motion sickness. Jay wasn't too happy, but it was Adam's car, so therefore it was Adam's rules.

You got inside the house and it had two extra bedrooms, one of which was Adam's childhood room and had an extra twin bed in it for when his friends wanted to sleepover (Because, in Adam's words, it was only girls who shared beds at sleepovers and he said guys didn't do that, so that's why there was the extra bed). In his older sister's childhood room, there was a full-sized bed, so Hailey and Kim would share the bed and the boys said they'd move a couch into that same room for you to sleep on.

Adam opened the fridge once all of you had put your stuff in the rooms that would be yours for the weekend. "Ooooh, y'all, my mama left us some food!"

"Oh, he southern southern now," Kim laughed and walked over to the fridge. "What'd she make?"

"Let's see. We got fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cornbread, gravy, biscuits, grits, tater salad, peaches that she canned herself, and apple pie. She must really miss me if she cooked this much!" Adam laughed after he rattled off the food his mom made for all of you.

"Mama's cookin', paper plate, and tater tater salad," you said, quoting a song Jay had played on the way down here that you had taken a liking to and had added it to a playlist and been listening to it a lot the past week.

"Did you just..." Adam trailed off.

"She did!" Jay exclaimed.

"Is it that hard to believe that I know more than two country songs, y'all?" you asked.

All four of them gasped.

"She's southern! She's southern, y'all!" Hailey yelled.

"What?" you asked as you looked around at your brother, his girlfriend, and his two friends in confusion.

"That was yer first y'all, hun!" Hailey told you and pulled you into a hug. "Yer a regular southern belle now."

"Next thing you know, girl's gonna be fallin' for cowboys," Adam said.

"Aw, hell nah," Jay said. "Ain't no way she's datin' a cowboy. No way."

"Shit, Jay just went southern southern, too," Adam laughed.

"What can I say, when my girl goes hella Georgia, I go hella Tennessee," Jay said.

"That made zero sense, baby, but okay," Hailey said. She turned to Adam. "When we ridin'?"

"We can go right now if you want. Everyone good with that?"

You all nodded and then Adam told all of you to put on your cowboy hats.

***

"This 'ere's Maddy," Adam said before he helped you onto the horse. You put your feet in the stirrups. "They feel good? You can reach 'em well?" he asked.

"Yeah," you told him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, darlin'." He turned to Jay, Hailey, and Kim. "You three remember how to get on the horses since we rode so much last year?"

"We're good," Jay said.

"Hey, baby?" Hailey asked and turned to Jay. He turned to look at her. "You think you can help me on 'im? Pretty sure Diablo's gotten a lot bigger since I rode 'im last."

"Yeah, sweetheart, I got that."

"Did he just..." you trailed off and looked at Kim.

"He did," she confirmed. "She turns into sweetheart around this time every year. Jay gets really southern after only being here a week. Might also have something to do with Adam calling me sweetheart sometimes and he just picks up on it."

Jay helped Hailey onto the huge horse named Diablo and then got on his horse. You were riding Maddy, Adam was riding Buck, Jay was riding Sinbad, Hailey was riding Diablo, and Kim was riding Atta'Boy.

"All y'all need to watch me now," Adam announced from the front. All four of you gave Adam all your attention. "Well, mostly Y/N because she's never ridden before." He paused. "To make your horse stop, just give the reins a little tug. To turn, hold the reins on your right side, and pull towards your right hip, like this." He demonstrated and pulled the reins like he told you and Buck's head turned to the right. "And turn left, do the same thing on the left side. To make them go, just flick the reins a little bit, but they're pretty well-trained, so you shouldn't need to do that. But, if they still won't go, give 'em a little kick. I promise you won't hurt 'em. But, most of all, keep at least one hand on the reins at all times. Oh, and they will try to eat on the trails, but they ain't supposed to, so try and get them to stop by pulling up on the reins if you can.

"Any questions? Everyone sure their stirrups and saddles are good?" Adam finished.

Everyone answered with a chorus of "yeses" and then the five of you were off...that was until Maddy decided she was hungry about a quarter-mile (400 meters) in.

And, to make matters worse, you were in the mountains (because everyone is in the mountains here) and Maddy was bringing you closer and closer to a small ravine.

You did not want to have the experience of trying to control your horse and deciding whether or not to jump off or not and possibly being rushed to the hospital.

"Maddy!" you yelled and tugged up on the reins. Nothing. "Maddy!"

"Pull hard!" Jay yelled from behind you.

"I am pulling, Jay!" you yelled back. "Come on, Maddy!"

Shit, she was still moving towards the edge and trying to eat more.

"Pull to the left!" Jay yelled. You pulled. Nothing. "All the way around! To your left hip!"

You did so and she moved. Finally.

"Now straighten out the reins," Jay told you. You did. "And give her a kick to move."

You did and she continued walking...this time with a huge branch and leaves hanging out of her mouth because she had gotten herself a nice little snack.

"What's with all the yellin'?" Adam asked as he turned his head around and had Buck slow down a little bit. Then, he saw Maddy. "Maddy stop to eat? She acts likes she's starvin', but I promise you she's not."

You kept going and then you started going down a hill.

"Lean forward when going down a hill," Adam yelled back to all of you, "and lean back when going up a hill."

You started going down the hill and kept trying to maneuver yourself so you were in the middle of the saddle. You felt like you were leaning too much to the right, so you kept trying to fix it, but with Maddy still walking, it was kind of hard.

You clenched your stomach muscles to try and pull yourself back to center, but it wasn't working. You tried to push up with your left foot because you were leaning to the right, but that wouldn't work either.

"Just hold on tight, Y/N," Jay told you. "Adam!" Jay yelled as you kept leaning to the right and pulled the reins a little harder to make sure that Maddy would stop.

"What?" Adam yelled back.

"We need a little help back here!"

Adam turned Buck around and he got halfway to you and stopped next to Hailey and Diablo.

"She's fallin' off, you big dummy! You gotta go!" Adam yelled. He flicked his reins. "C'mon, go!"

It was like Buck knew what was going on because the minute he lifted his head up and saw you trying to stay in the saddle, he started coming towards you.

"Buck, stay," Adam said sternly and jumped off him. He walked to your right side. "Now, I'm gonna push your saddle to the left and I need you to lean the same way, okay?"

"Lean to the left?" you asked.

"Yup," he confirmed. "One...two...three."

He pushed up and you leaned to the left, which allowed the saddle and you to be re-centered.

"Can you reach the stirrups okay, darlin'?" he asked. "Or do you need 'em a bit higher?"

"I think I need them a bit higher," you answered. "I thought they were fine, but I guess not."

"That's okay. That's what I'm here for. Take your right foot out."

You did as he said and then he adjusted the stirrups and helped you get your foot back in. Then, he did the same for the left foot.

While Adam was adjusting your left stirrup, Maddy was curious about what was in his first aid bag that was attached to Buck's saddle.

"I ain't got no treats in there, you fatty." He put his hand on Maddy's head. "There's nothin' in there for you. Get out." She started chewing on a drawstring that was on the bag. "Okay, I guess you can chew on that."

"So, to get her to turn, do I just pull like this?" you asked and showed Adam.

"Yes, but put your hand further down the reins when you do that. Works better like that."

"Okay, thanks."

"And, if she keeps tryin' to eat, pull up hard--but not too hard and far that you make her walk backward--and if that doesn't work, give her a quick kick. I promise you won't hurt this little fatty right here."

"Okay, awesome."

"You good?"

"I'm good," you confirmed.

"Okay, so if you ever need to adjust yourself, just grab this 'ere saddle horn." He put his hand on the stub on the front of the saddle. "And put two hands on it...unlike me, and then just push down with your foot on which side you want the saddle to go. Pretty simple."

"Okay, got it," you said.

Then, Adam jumped back on Buck and you were off again.

***

You and Kim were sitting up on the bed in Adam's older sister's childhood room that you were staying in and watching a dumb comedy when Adam poked his head into the room.

"Both you up?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kim answered. "Why?"

"Well, I want to go to the rope swing, and Jay and Hailey both fell asleep spooning while watching some shitty movie in the living room, so do you two wanna go? I'm bringing alcohol."

"Adam, it's like 11 o'clock at night!" Kim laughed. "We won't even be able to see the water!"

"Honey," Adam laughed. "I'll leave the headlights of my truck on! I'm not that stupid to have us jump in blind!" He paused. "You two in?"

"Sure," Kim agreed and then turned to you. "Y/N?"

"Why the hell not? I'm in college, let's go!"

"Alright, I'll let you two get changed and I'll grab the towels and the booze," Adam said.

"Adam, if you're the one driving, you cannot drink a ton!" Kim told him.

"I know! I'll just take like two shots and use moonshine as a chaser."

"You got more moonshine?" you asked.

"Holy hell, Adam," Kim agreed.

"Where do you two think I was the past hour? I went into town and grabbed a few flavors. and, I got both your flavors, too. So, y'all can't yell at me. Now, get changed so we can go before Jay and Hailey wake up and decide they want in on this, too."

***

"You good to sit in the back, Miss Car Sick?" Adam asked you.

"Yeah, you said it's only like a five minute drive, so I'll be fine. Thanks for asking, though," you answered.

"No problem, darlin'."

Then, the three of you were off to this rope swing to jump into a river in the middle of the night.

Five minutes later, Adam threw his car in park and left the radio and headlights on. The three of you got out and Adam grabbed the booze and shot glasses and then you followed him around to the back of his truck. He handed the stuff off to you and Kim to hold while he flipped his tailgate down. Then, he used the flashlight app of his phone to see as he poured each of you a shot of gummy bear flavored vodka.

"Cheers to late night decisions and possibly bad decisions!" Adam toasted.

The three of you clinked your shot glasses together and then took the shots.

"Shit. That was strong," you coughed.

"Chaser, chaser," Adam said as he flipped open the sip cap on the blackberry moonshine.

He handed it to you and you took a few sips.

"Compared to that shot, this moonshine tastes like nothin'," you said.

"See? Told you it had a low proof!" Adam exclaimed. "Now, do you two want me to go first so I can show you how it's done?"

"That might be a good idea, yeah," Kim agreed. "You've only brought me here during the day and it's been over a year, so yeah, you go first, cowboy."

"Oh, that reminds me." He took his signature cowboy hat off. "Hold this for me, will you, sweetheart?" He held the hat out to Kim and she took it from him. "Thank you. Now, watch and learn, ladies, watch and learn."

Kim laughed. "Whatever you say, babe, whatever you say."

Adam walked up to the edge of the river and waded in the water to grab the rope. You and Kim stood on the edge of the river and watched as Adam dragged the rope with him as he stood on a rock, which was right below the tree that the rope was tied to. Then, he cinched the rope between his feet and jumped up and swung forward.

"Yeehaw!" Adam yelled.

Then, after a few seconds, he let go of the rope and fell into the river.

The rope dangled back and forth until Adam grabbed it and dragged it in with him.

"Who's next?" he asked as he held the rope out.

"You wanna go, Kim?" you asked.

"You sure you don't wanna go before me?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Go ahead," you said.

"You nervous, darlin'?" Adam asked you as he took his hat back from Kim and placed it on his head.

"A bit." You looked down at your feet. "Are there snakes in there?" you practically mumbled.

"Oh, darlin'," Adam said with a wave of his hand. "I can promise you that there's no snakes in there. You've never seen a snake in there have you, baby?" he asked Kim.

"Nope, no snakes. I promise. Now, I'll go, and then you gotta go because it's so much fun!"

Kim grabbed the rope and then made her way up onto the rock. She did the same thing that Adam did and soon it was your turn.

"I'm stealing your aux, babe," Kim said as she walked toward Adam's truck.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "I don't know why you can't just listen to the radio like we've been doing, but go ahead, baby."

Kim walked over to the truck and changed the input to aux and then quickly pulled up Spotify. From there, she pulled up the song Like A Lady by Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum. She turned the volume all the way up on her phone, plugged it into the aux, and hit play.

"Lady!" came out of the speakers as well as the opening chords.

You gasped as Kim came running back to you and Adam.

"How'd you know this one of my favorite songs?" you asked.

Ever since Hailey had played it for you on your first night in Tennessee when you were unpacking and sippin' on moonshine, you loved this song. It was all about feeling like a lady while wearing jeans and drinking and being comfortable with yourself and not needing a man.

"Y/N, I follow you on Spotify. I can see what you listen to. Now, go get to it, lady!" Kim cheered.

You smiled and turned around. You walked to the rock and climbed up on it just before the chorus. You grabbed onto the rope.

"'Cause I feel like a lady," you sang loudly to the music. "Sippin' on tequila with my Levis on."

You clamped your feet around the rope and jumped.

You felt weightless for just about one second and then you let go of the rope and fell into the water with a splash.

The water wasn't freezing, it was a little cold, but it was still decently comfortable. You started swimming back to the shore and grabbed the rope when it swung back toward you.

"Hell yeah!" Adam yelled as he ran up to you and took the rope so you could pull yourself up onto the river bank. "You did awesome! Did you like it?"

"I loved it! Let's do it again!" you yelled.

"See?" Kim said. "I told you that you'd love it!"

"I propose a celebratory shot for Y/N's first time jumping off the rope swing!" Adam said and the three of you headed back to his truck to have more booze.

And that is how you learned that you didn't get hangover headaches like Kim, but got hella tired the next day just like Hailey. But, a little hangover (despite not being old enough to legally drink) was all worth it because of how much fun you, Kim, and Adam had.

***

Months later

"Welcome to Chocolate Moose, everybody!" Adam announced and fumbled with the lockbox to get the key.

Since it was exam season, there was a tradition that started during the winter semester of their sophomore year that was where they'd all go up to a cabin (each cabin had a name and yours was Chocolate Moose) in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which was an hour away from school, to go study without the temptation of parties and the libraries that were packed as hell and barely had any seats open because everyone and their mama had decided to study there.

He unlocked the door and opened it.

You walked in and were in awe. When you walked in, you saw a small kitchen complete with a stove, oven, microwave, and pots, pans, plates, bowls, cups, mugs, and silverware stored in cabinets and drawers. There was also a small pantry to your right the minute you walked inside.

Off of the small kitchen were the living room and the dining area. There was a circular wooden table with six chairs and there was a tv and a couch that folded out into a bed. Right next to that was a bedroom with a bathroom, which also had its own tv in it.

And, if you walked to the end of the living room, there was a door that led to the first-floor deck that overlooked the Smoky Mountains. On the deck was a wooden table that matched the wood of the deck and six stools, so it would be a nice place to study or eat breakfast or sip coffee in the morning.

The stairs to go to the second floor were above the table (so the table was tucked beneath the second set of stairs). When you got up there, there was a pool table, a bubble hockey table, another couch that folded out into a bed, and a coffee table in front of said couch.

To the right of the couch and coffee table was a California king-sized bed with a trunk in front of it which held the bedding for the pull-out couches. Then, there was a dresser with a mirror to the side of the bed and a closet. There was also a full bathroom with a washer and dryer and a dressing table (so tons of counter space and two mirrors) upstairs as well.

And, there was another deck on the second floor. This one didn't have a full-sized table, but it did have two chairs with a small table between, and a small couch complete with a bunch of throw pillows on one end of the deck. This deck too overlooked the beauty that was the Smoky Mountains.

"Who's that?" you asked fifteen minutes later after you had finished touring the cabin and figuring out sleeping arrangements.

It had been decided that Adam and Kim would take the first-floor bedroom and that you'd take the pull-out couch on their floor. Hailey and Jay would sleep upstairs and you wondered why you couldn't take the upstairs couch like you wanted to because Jay was quick to tell you no.

You knew they weren't gonna try to do the nasty up there since there was no door shutting the upstairs off from the downstairs, so you had no idea why he wouldn't let you sleep on the pull-out couch upstairs.

"Who's that?" you asked again while looking out the kitchen window.

Then, you saw a head of red hair in the driver's seat and rushed out the door to where the person parked their car.

"Will!" you shouted as he got out of the car. "I missed you!" You wrinkled your nose at what he was wearing: a pair of blue scrubs.

"I drove here right after I got off a twelve-hour ED rotation," Will told you. "Hence the scrubs."

"I would give you a hug, but who knows what kinda bodily fluids have been on those."

"Good choice. We'll postpone the hug until after I take a quick shower and change."

Adam, Kim, and Jay came outside and said their hellos to Will, and Jay took Will's backpack, making a joke saying that it felt like he stuffed a ton of rocks in there.

So, now you knew why you couldn't sleep on the pull-out couch upstairs: Will was sleeping there.

***

"Fuck!" you yelled as you felt a bee sting you on the upper part of your left inner thigh.

"What?" Adam asked.

You, Adam, and Kim were outside at the table on the first-floor deck studying while Will was upstairs studying and Jay and Hailey were studying one of their law studies classes at the kitchen table together.

"The fuckin' bee stung me!"

"Well, you were swattin' at him, darlin'," Adam said, which earned him a smack to the arm from Kim.

"Because he was between my legs!" you argued. "What was I supposed to do? Let him fly up my shorts and sting me there? Oh hell no!"

You got up and walked inside.

"Will!" you shouted the minute you closed the door to the deck.

"Y/N! Keep it down!" Jay scolded. "We're trying to study!"

You had made it up the first set of stairs and leaned over the railing. "Well, I just strung by fuckin' bee, so I think I can yell a bit, Jay! Will!"

"What?" he said and ripped out his headphones when you got all the way upstairs. "Med school's no joke, you know!"

"Well, what do I put on a bee sting?" you huffed.

Will sighed. "Hold on. They asked me to be the one who brought the first aid kit and I'm glad I did."

He got up and then came back with a bottle of lotion.

"Put this on it. Should cool down the stinging. Tell me if it gets worse or starts itching."

"Okay, thanks."

You put it on and hoped it would be better soon.

***

Okay, so this bee sting wasn't getting better. It was actually getting worse.

It had been itchy all day and you were currently shaving your legs in your shower. You felt the place where the bee had stung you and it was swollen as if someone had shoved a disk the size of an Oreo in your leg at the place the bee had stung you.

You got out of the shower, got changed, and walked out of the bathroom where country music was blasting and Jay and Adam were playing a friendly (okay, so maybe not so friendly) game of pool.

"Hailey, is my bee sting supposed to be super itchy?" you asked as you sat down on the couch next to her.

She and everyone else was drinking one of their two allotted white claws. Yes, during finals week you had all decided there needed to be a daily cut-off for alcohol so that you could all get your shit done. And, it helped keep everyone accountable since everyone in the cabin was only having two per day...and you weren't spending a ton of money this weekend on alcohol.

"Um, none of mine have ever been," she said. "Will!" He turned to look at her from where he was sitting and intently watching the pool game...mostly to make sure neither Adam nor Jay cheated. "Her bee sting supposed to itch?"

"Not unless she's allergic to bees...and she's not." He stood up. "Go lay on the bed and let me take a look."

"Oh, fuck no! I am not letting my brother look there!"

"Y/N, I'm a med student. I've seen a helluva lot more than a bee sting on your inner thigh. You can even go put on some short spandex if that would make you more comfortable."

You currently had on loose-fitting shorts that you knew would fall back to expose what underwear you were wearing if you let Will take a look. "Actually, I think I'll go do that," you said.

You quickly grabbed a pair of spandex from your suitcase and went back into the bathroom and changed into them.

"Y'all check for a stinger?" Adam asked.

Will must've filled him in when you were changing your shorts.

"Shit," Will cursed. "I knew there was something I forgot to do."

"What kinda fuckin' doctor are you if you forget to check something like that?" you asked Will rhetorically. "Hailey, I'm gonna need that empty white claw bottle to smack Will over the head with like you did to Jay on the river."

"Sorry, hun," Hailey apologized. "I ain't finished with this 'ere can yet."

"I'll hit him!" Jay yelled, putting down his pool stick and grabbing his empty can.

He hit Will on the arm with the empty white claw can as hard as he possibly could.

"The fuck?" Will yelled. "Why'd you do that?"

"I dunno." Jay turned to Adam. "Why were we hitting Will, again?"

"Holy shit," Adam muttered to himself. "Because he forgot to check Y/N's bee sting to see if the stinger was still there."

"Oh, okay. That was stupid, Will."

You laid on the bed and let Will look at the spot the bee stung you. Then, he put on a pair of gloves and pulled out a pair of tweezers.

"Hailey?" he called. She looked up expectantly. "Can you come over here and hold up a flashlight? I think I found the stinger."

Hailey got up and turned on the flashlight on her phone and crouched down next to Will.

"That good?" she asked as she finished positioning the phone so the phone's flashlight was pointing directly at your bee sting.

"Yup." He looked up at you. "Now, I'm gonna put one of my hands above the bee sting, that way you won't be able to see the tweezers go in. Sound good?"

"Mhm. At least this is better than when Jay tried to attack me with a snake!"

Will laughed. "I bet."

Five minutes later, the stinger was out and Will told you to put Neosporin and a bandaid over it just so you didn't keep itching it because he told you the itchiness wouldn't go away immediately.

"I need a drink," you said after you were all done.

Hailey handed you a raspberry white claw from the mini-fridge next to the couch and you popped it open.

"Thanks," you said.

"You're welcome."

"Everyone shut up!" Adam yelled. "This is Jay and Hailey's song...well, they didn't exactly meet at a bar and Hailey wasn't drinking a white claw, but it was a Saturday and those two did ditch us. So, dance you two!"

They tried to object, but Adam dragged Jay over to Hailey and Kim pushed Hailey up off the couch and towards Jay.

"Sittin' over there in the corner, baby, I saw pretty red lips workin' on a white claw," you all sang along to Single Saturday Night by Cole Swindell. And, you'd be lying if you said that this song didn't remind you of the story that Jay had told you about the first time he took Hailey out when she was bored one Saturday night in a sports bar. "Shakin' to a little Shook Me All Night Long. And I thought, man, what a beautiful sight."

You smiled. Four months ago, there'd be no way you'd know this song. But, thanks to your brother's friends and his girlfriend, you knew so many more country songs. But, most of all, if your first semester of freshman year was any indication, you were going to have the time of your life going to college here in Tennessee.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! Again, please remember to like/reblog and comment because I love reading all your comments and seeing that you voted because that means you enjoyed reading the imagine! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you! Again, I am donating all my proceeds on buy me a coffee until the end of AU-gust to Save The Children to help the children in Afghanistan. Buy me a coffee here.

Taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl@dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88

[salacious-mlm-snowbird]

Rage and Spite

Kieran Duffy x Male!Reader

Rating: SFW, tags: murdèr, torturé and fluff, word count: 2036

A/N: this was requested by @agaycowboi and btw I’m so sorry it took this long, I was being trained by my manager at my new job plus I was behind in school so apologies for that!! Otherwise enjoy :)

You were furious, seething with fuckin’ rage, tonight you wanted to treat Kieran to a couple of drinks in Rhodes as a present for being accepted into the gang. You two are in the saloon drinking and having a fun time when you went to the bar to get more drinks, but when you turned around you saw a sight you thought you’d never have the displeasure of seeing in a lifetime.

 Kieran Duffy had his scrawny arms wrapped around the waist of a fuckin’ harlot who works in the saloon as a public ledger, he was kissing her in a way he’s only ever kissed you, so much passion was hidden behind the drunk blush across his cheeks. You dropped the bottle of whiskey to the floor and stomped over to him before grabbing the woman by the hair, pulling her off of Kieran, “What the hell?!” she shouted as you shoved her to the floor. “W-Wait, Y/n! I didn’t mean it!” Kieran squeaks as you grab him by the collar of his blue shirt, you reared your fist back and launched it at his cheek, pain exploded in the side of Kieran’s face as he fell to the ground.

You huff and walk out of the saloon with a growl, Kieran tried calling after you but you didn’t listen as you climbed onto your horse before you raced out of Rhodes with no destination in mind, how could he do that to you? You were his goddamn lover! You felt tears threaten to spill but you only frowned and wiped them away before they could fall. It felt like a couple hours before you pulled off the road and trotted through the grass for a moment before pulling on the reigns to make your horse come to a halt.

“Good job, darlin’, I know I pushed you a little too hard. Sorry about that.” You said to your horse, patting the side of the neck of your mount as an apology and appreciation, pulling out a carrot you lean over and present it to the large animal, s/he takes it with a snort and gobbled up the carrot with a soft chuff of happiness. You dismount your darling horse with a sigh before grabbing your bedroll, placing it a couple feet from the big horse, you then begin to gather loose dry brush along with some twigs and sticks from the surrounding woody area. 

Satisfied with the amount you had gathered, you go back towards your makeshift camp and start to try and set up a small fire; it took you a couple of tries but you got it on the fourth attempt of lighting the damn thing and keeping it lit. You didn’t even realize that it had been hours since you ran away from Rhodes, here you sat in front of a small fire while you hugged your knees, soft whimpers escape your lips as tears fell down your face. Everyone treated Kieran like absolute shit, in the beginning, even you but that soon changed when you saw that he was innocent and that he didn’t know a damn thing about Colm and his boys.

Kieran warmed up to you quickly and he soon became attached to you, leaving you poems and pressed flowers on your bedroll every couple of nights. Unfortunately, you had to hide the presents from everyone, so you kept them in your leather journal for safekeeping and such, since Kieran began to gift you things of that nature you felt you had to give him something in return the only way you knew how.

You started by leaving pretty bird feathers in the strap on his hat, then you started gifting him bigger things like raccoon skulls and muskrat skins before giving him a bearskin at some point. The items you had scavenged and hunted were a lot harder to hide but the only thing the others did was look at you two weirdly, given your ruthless reputation in the gang they left you guys alone for the most part.

You were so busy sifting through pleasant memories, you never heard the footsteps sneaking up on you, eyes widening in shock when a hand clamped over your mouth and the smooth barrel of a gun pressing against your temple. You reluctantly complied with the hands of the men who had captured you as they roughly tied your hands behind your back, you growled softly when the sight of agent Ross and agent Milton came into your view.

“Surprised to see you without your rut mate, Mr. L/n. A man of your caliber should be more aware of his surroundings seeing as we just found you on our way to your camp. We thought maybe it would be better and more effective to capture a high ranking member like yourself and use you as our informant instead of massacring your whole gang. If you’re willing to participate, if not, we’ll just have to kill you and your friends anyway.” Agent Milton said with a smirk, you growl against the firm hand that held your mouth.

Agent Milton laughs before using the butt of his revolver to knock you out, you fell limp against Agent Ross but only for a moment as they let you fall onto your face so that they could tie your ankles together as well. Agent Ross holstered his gun and slung you over his shoulder before settling you on his horse’s rump, the group of Pinkertons mounted up and left your horse alone as they rode away, your mount not really knowing what to do so s/he just began trotting towards home.

When you woke up, you were tied to a chair with your shirt and guns missing, a litany of scratches and bruises cascades all across your back, arms, chest, and stomach. No doubt even more was below the belt, luckily no Pinkerton decided to have a look for themselves. You were slumped over in the chair, mumbling incoherently to yourself, blood and spit dripped from your mouth after numerous fists previously landed harshly on your face as a way to try and pry information from you.

“Just cooperate with us, Y/n. you’ll then be set free, well, under certain conditions.” Agent Milton said as his hand glides over various tools of torture, “Fuck… you.” You manage to growl as you lift your head to glare daggers into the back of his head, he smirked to himself before he grabbed a knife and turned toward you. Milton wordlessly steps forward and slashed at your chest with the knife, blood spilled freely from the wide laceration, your vocal cords bled a little as you screamed in pain while Milton continued to carve into your chest until the word, ‘R A T’ was legible.

“You’re a pathetic little rat, Y/n, thinking that you’ll make it outta here alive. That you’ll ever see your whore again-.” Milton went on and on about you but as soon as he mentioned Kieran your mind fractured in two, the leather straps that held down your arms and legs snapped in half as you forced your limps upwards with a broken yell. Milton tried reaching for his gun but was stopped as you grabbed a bloody throwing knife and shoved it into the side of his neck, blood spurting out of the man’s jugular, a series of growls and grunts escaped your bloodied mouth as you repeatedly stabbed Milton in the face and neck. 

You saw red as you grabbed his gun and shot your way out of what looks to be Van Horn, you found your guns stashed in a run-down building and grabbed them before continuing to shoot and kill your way through the countless bounty hunters and Pinkertons. After you determine the coast is clear enough, you grab a dead Pinkerton’s horse and make your way back to Clemens Point, many thoughts were filling your mind as if anything Milton said was true but what if it was? 

You shook your head and continued to head through Lemoyne, using your spurs to make the Tennessee Walker pick up speed, racing through the swamps before coming across the torn down cobblestone building, you slow down the speed of your current mount and trot down the small pathway. “Holy shit! It’s Y/n! Dutch, he’s back!” Lenny shouted as he jogged over to you from his spot on guard duty, you began leaning forward in exhaustion and ultimately fell off of the horse to the dirt.

“Jesus! Son, what the hell happened to you?!”

You growled softly as you tried to get up with the help of Dutch and Miss Grimshaw, they questioned you about what happened and you answered as many as you could as they walked you over to your tent to lay you down, Miss Grimshaw quickly walked over to the medical caravan to grab some supplies before returning to your side. She started to patch you up while saying reassuring things to you. You half-listened as you were really out of it by the time she got the bleeding to stop, you fell asleep shortly after Miss Grimshaw dressed your various wounds, Swanson even gave you some morphine to help with the pain.

Kieran returned to camp after he had sobered up enough to ride back, he felt embarrassed and terrified that he had lost you because of some stupid bullshit at the saloon. As soon as he walked past the tree line he saw the various camp members by your tent, ‘Something’s wrong…’ he thought to himself, he rushed over to your tent but was stopped by Arthur walking out of your tent, “Hold it, O’Driscoll, you can’t see him right now. Y/n was kidnapped by Pinkertons and was tortured for most of the night, he ain’t doin’ too well. You can see him in the morning. Plus, you need to sober up some, I can smell you from here.” The blonde man said while lighting a cigarette, Kieran’s eyes welled up with tears immediately following the news of what happened to you. 

Arthur looked down at Kieran with a somber look before stepping aside and motioning for him to go inside your tent, he does so quickly but stops mid-stride when he saw the state you were in. Tears spilled down the sides of his face, his lip quivered as he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing now, “Y-Y/n, I’m-m so sorry, I sh-should’ve been w-with you! Oh god, please let him recover from this… fuck, I’m s-so ‘hic’ sorry.” Kieran said as he knelt beside you, gently resting his forehead on your bare shoulder.

“It’s okay, Kieran, I’ll be fine. I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have left the saloon like I did. Forgive me?” You mumble, he gasped when you spoke, listening intently to your words. “N-No, I should be the one apologizing, I was the one who kissed her. I-I’m so fuckin’ sorry, Y/n, it’ll never happen again. I promise.” Kieran said as he grasped your uninjured hand, softly rubbing your knuckles with his thumbs, “Good, can I have a drink of water?” You say as you look over at the small bucket of water and a metal tin cup that sat next to it on a crate.

Kieran grabbed the cup and dunked it into the water to get a good amount of cool water, you try to sit up a little so you could drink, leaning back on your elbows you wait for him to bring the cup to you. Kieran presents the cup to your lips and you drink like you never have had water before, “S-Slow down, you’re gonna choke.” The brunette man said as he rubbed his hand on your shoulder. You gasp softly when you stopped gulping down the water, with a deep sigh you lay back down, the thick layer of gauze on your chest peeled a little, showing the edges of a large laceration to Kieran.

“I’ll be ok, doll, don’t worry about me too much.” You said with a pained grin, he smiles softly before carefully leaning over to kiss your lips, “I love you, Y/n.”

“I love you too, doll.”

[cowboisadness]

Hang ‘Em High {Arthur Morgan X FemOC} Chapter 5

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x FemOC Summery: Belle Hawthorne is high society looking to escape her mean husband. A robbery by the Van Der Linde gang could be her chance. Can she escape his cluches and possibly discover what love should feel like?

. . . . . 

Chaper 5

The two weeks that passed were a struggle, the pain was easing now but i couldn't ease my mind no matter how i tried. Sitting out on the edge of the overlook would help slightly, looking out at the vastness of the wild lands, being the same height as the birds. But my mind always returned to him, to Frank. Surely after two weeks I would have heard something or read something in the papers that Hosea or Arthur would return with each morning. Arthur had said maybe he won't look for me, maybe he's not as possessive when it came to me...his wife. I doubted his words but hoped they could be true.

Getting closer to the others here helped as a distraction and Miss Grimshaw made sure my time here wasn't wasted, having me wash clothing or stitch ripped garments when I was feeling more useful. The girls were very kind, the only one I didn't speak too much being Mrs Sadie Adler. She had been through so much and was still adjusting but she seemed like a strong woman, all of the women do in fact. Abigail had to juggle a young boy and a man that didn't seem to want to be a father. Mary-Beth let me borrow some of her books, to be honest, they are awful romances but entertaining enough not to put down. Karen would share her drink with me while we sat round the fire, Javier singing into the night.

This morning, Hosea asked me to join him in a game of dominos. Despite never playing the game before he was happy enough to teach me.  He was wise and seemed to be the only one of the guys that was more logical when it came to jobs that needed to be done and how they should be done.

“You sure you've never played before. It's a simple game but you got the hang of it quickly.” he said as he placed his tile down. “Used to play poker, blackjack and chess with my father. Frank never let me gamble, saying gambling is a man's sport that's too complex for a woman to understand.”

He scoffed at that and shook his head “Seems like a quality man, shame robbing him wasn't successful.”

I giggled, continuing our game in silence until Arthur approached, mentioning how he was going to Valentine to meet up with Javier, Charles and Bill. Hosea told him to keep out of trouble as Arthur turned to leave. 

I decided to cut the game short, telling him I needed to ask a favour before Arthur left. I made my way over to where he was saddling his horse, a beautiful Mahogany Bay Tennessee Walker named Barley. “Hey Arthur, could I ask a favor? If you're not busy.”

“Sure.” “I have a couple of things I'd like to sell, would you be willing to take me to a fence? He pondered for a moment, weighing out the pros and cons as he pulled out his cigarettes from his satchel and lighting one.

“Promise you won't fall off my horse again?” He grinned slightly, meeting my gaze. 

“I'll try my best.” I couldn't help but to giggle at his taunt, looking down the ground as i flushed with embarrassment. 

He nodded and blew out a puff of smoke as I turned to get what I needed. The first night I arrived my dress was ruined, now being used for rags and patches but my necklace and earrings were still intact and could sell for a good price. I put them into my new satchel, given to me by Charles as he had no use for it anymore. Him and Arthur brought back a few good pelts and meat a few days ago. I really need to gain the courage to ask if I can join in their next hunt. I hadn't hunted in years, that being another thing my father taught me. 

The ride to Emerald Ranch didn't take long, Arthur kept the ride slow thinking I might fall again, possibly seeing me as this delicate being that would shatter if we got anywhere near the speed of a gallop. The man at the fence, Seamus his name was, was more generous than I was expecting. $75 for the necklace and earring set. I didn't really care about how much I would get, I wanted to get rid. Frank bought them after all. I unconsciously fiddled with my hands as he counted the money, my fingers brushed over the ring on my left hand. Looking down at it, the three small diamonds glinting in the midday sun, thoughts of my wedding day flooding into my mind. White silk that pooled at my feet, a train following behind. The intricate floral embroidery that hugged around the bodice. It being so tight it lifted my chest till I felt like my breasts were directly under my chin. I felt like a princess marrying her prince. Life is nothing like Mary-Beths books. My Prince being the villain in my life. As i snapped back into reality i pulled off the ring without a second thought, handing it over to Seamus.

“How much for this too?.” I could see Arthur now staring at me out of the corner of my eye, he knew I was trying to rid myself of any memory of that man. Seamus took the ring, holding it close to his face as he examined it “Now this is nice. Not too old and made by one of the biggest diamond companies in New York by the looks of it.” He looked to me for confirmation. I nodded, mentioning that it was made only 8 months ago and one of a kind.

I came away with $175 in total, offering to give Arthur some as a thanks, he refused so I made a mental note to sneak it in his saddlebag when he wasn't looking.

He offered to take me back to camp before he headed to Valentine but i wanted to spend some of my new fortune, plus it was nice to be out of camp after two weeks of being in too much pain or scared to venture outside of it’s perimeter. Once in the muddy cattle town of Valentine, Arthur hitched his horse outside of the Saloon where he was meeting the others. He dismounted and held out his arms to help me down. I reached out to his shoulders and he took that as permission to hold me by the waist, making sure he was gentle on my left side. I was told my ribs would take a month or more to heal depending on how bad. Breathing was back to normal but the dull ache and sharp shooting pains still persisted. He headed towards the Saloon telling me to meet him back here when I was done. I'd never been to Valentine before, i haven't been to many places the last 7 months unless it was with with Frank at business parties or joining other business partners for a fancy dinner. I scanned my eyes around the various buildings and my eyes landed on my target, the Gunsmith. 

I don't need anything pricey or flash, just something capable of protection if the need arose. I was living with outlaws now, people who live a life of crime to survive and who knows what my life will be like when I leave. Maybe i’ll make my way to New York to find my brother, he might know where mother and father are now. I miss them all dearly.

A cattleman revolver seemed like the best option as I looked through the catalog, cheap and it would do the job. It had been a long time since I handled a gun. I still remember how displeased my mother was of my father teaching me how to get comfortable with one. I really should have asked for more lessons. I thanked the store owner for his help and his generosity in giving me a gun belt seeing as it was my first gun to own. Sloshing my way through the mud to the saloon, adjusting the belt till it was comfortable hanging off my hip I could hear a commotion behind the doors. Before I had the chance to ascend the stairs and push open the doors a loud smashing happened to my left, causing me to jump backwards as a body was propelled out of the window. Not some random someone, Arthur. Before I could react the saloon doors swung open, knocking me off balance as a huge burly man made his way out and towards Arthur, now on his feet ready to continue the fight. 

They laid into each other, fists flying in the air towards each other's face. I stood in shock, not knowing what to do until the large man had Arthur pinned to the floor, punching him relentlessly as he tried to block each blow to his face and gut.

An audience had circled them, grateful for the entertainment by the sounds of it. I couldn't just stand back, my feet unconsciously moving me towards the fight to somehow intervene but before I made it off the stairs a hand pulled my arm, pulling me back towards them gently. “Don't even try Palomita.” Javier said as he released my arm and then sat on the stairs to watch the show. 

“Aren't you going to help him?” My voice was louder than i expected, showing the anger i didn't know i felt about this current situation.

He just shook his head and giggled “He's a big boy, he can hold his own.” 

Letting out a huff, I turned to see that Arthur had now gained the high ground, punching the man in the face over and over as Charles and Bill shouted words of encouragement from beside me. Through the crowd of shouting onlookers a man comes through yelling them to stop. Intervening and stopping the possible last fatal blows. “Stop! Stop! Please!” he shouts, now facing Arthur “You won the fight already, surely that's enough?” he continues to beg, Arthur releases his grip on the bloodied man into the mud. “What business is it of yours?”

“No business, but please i beg you” the man continues to beg but Arthur just pushes him out of his way, making his way through the crowd as they now disperse. The fun now over. I hastily make my way over to him, passing the man still in the mud without even a glance, my eyes not able to avert from Arthurs sorry state, covered in mud and in obvious pain as he sits on a chair outside another store. At first I didn't know what to say to him. Is this normal for them? I shouldn't be making a fuss if it is. “Are you okay?” is all i can say, silently cursing at myself at my stupid question. He looks up to me as I kneel in front of him, he can sense my concern, snickering slightly as his hand reaches up to his jaw, trying to rub away the ache. “I’m fine. Don't be worryin’ bout me.” You can't help it for some strange reason, still wanting to help him.

“Let's get you cleaned up, the hotel has a bath.” I nod in the direction of the hotel across from us, hoping he will take up the offer. But before we can make our way an unfamiliar British voice calls over to us.

“Making new friends again i see Arthur”

We turn to the voice, a smartly dressed man making his way over to us along with Dutch.

“Look who we found sniffing about.”

“Josiah Trelawney...” Arthur calls to him as he takes a welcoming bow “...I thought you'd gone to New York.”

“And miss all this glamour? You must be joking.” They all laugh “How are you?” 

“Well. Quite well indeed…” His attention turns from Arthur to me as we make our way towards them. “...I’m sorry, we haven't been introduced. Josiah Trelawney.” He extends his gloved hand to me. 

“Bella Hawthorn. Nice to meet you.” i shake his hand and smiling politely.

“My, my. You still enjoy the company of high society women i see Arthur.” He smirks, not taking his eyes off me as he lets go of my hand. 

“Nothing like that Josiah.” I blush slightly at his comment but I excuse myself to leave the men to their conversation, motioning over to the hotel and hoping they didn't notice the sudden pink in my cheeks.

-----

The water was heated perfectly as Arhtur makes his way into the room, slight moans escaping his lips, placing what looks like clean clothes he must have had stored on his horse on a chair.

He shrugs off his sodden jacket, dropping it to the floor and he works on the buttons of his blue shirt and pulling the suspenders down his arms. I’m frozen, unsure of what to do before realising i should leave him to it. He moans in pain again as he attempts to pull his shirt off his arms, the fresh aches and pains making it a struggle.

Once again, without thinking, I make my way over to him to help, this time no one to stop me but myself. With his back turned to me, he jolts slightly at my touch as I gently guided both of his arms out of his shirt, it now joining his jacket on the floor. He turns to me, not meeting my eyes as he murmurs his thanks, his hands then turning to his gun belt to remove it. 

The silence between us is deafening and awkward, he's the one to break it. “I see you got yourself a gun.” 

“Thought i'd treat myself.'' I smile and finally turn to the door, pulling at the handle.

“I'll wait for you outside.” It was barely above a whisper but I didn't turn back for confirmation that he heard me. Instead I shut the door behind me gently, leaning against it and releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding in. 

[abundanceofsoph]

SkyFire 2: Chapter 14

The CMAs: November 2016

Word count: 2.7k

SkyFire 2 MASTERLIST

>Instagram posts

Aurora had slowly been increasing the amount of time she wore her prosthetic every day in anticipation of the upcoming CMAs. While she wasn’t ashamed of her body and had even recently posted a selfie on Instagram of her stump without the compression stocking, she wanted to be able to wear the prosthetic on the red carpet and throughout the entire evening. She’d explained all of this to Ben during a check-up and he had helped to create a schedule for her to slowly build up to a full evening. Despite her impatience she understood the need for hesitancy after Ben had explained the risk of pressure sores. She had also found that the transmitting device that sat behind her ear would start to give her a headache around the two hour mark and Tony and Peter were currently working to solve that problem.

A week before the CMAs, Harry took Aurora out to her favourite Gallery, the Acquavella on the Upper East Side and they wandered the familiar halls hand in hand. After confessing how much she loved the gallery during Harry’s first visit to see her in New York, he had made a point of bringing her here whenever he was in town, although they tried to come at odd times in the middle of the week to avoid the crowds.

“One day I want to have a piece hanging on these walls,” Aurora murmured as they walked.

“You will,” Harry replied, kissing the top of her head where she lent it against his shoulder. She smiled at the confidence of his statement, so sure in his belief of her.

They wandered the gallery for a little while longer before leaving and crossing 5th Avenue into Central Park. They strolled through the park, beanies tugged over their heads and scarves wrapped tightly around their necks to ward off the autumn chill. The sky was gloomy and no one they passed by recognized them as they meandered along. They were nearly to the southwest corner of the park, Avengers Tower looming into the sky above them when the darkening clouds opened above them and the rained poured down. Aurora let out a shriek, quickly followed by peals of laughter, which Harry echoed and they both wordlessly let go of each other to take off running. By the time they stepped into the lobby of the tower they were drenched and laughing. As the strode towards the elevator, Aurora slipped on the polished tiles, throwing out her arm to save her fall as she tipped backwards. Unfortunately, it was her left hand and the impact ricocheted up through the socket of the prosthesis and into the stump of her forearm. She let out a strained hiss of pain, her right hand clutching at her elbow as she sat on the floor, grateful that the rain still clinging to her skin masked the presence of tears on her cheeks. Harry helped her to her feet and moved them both towards the elevator.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “It was just a little slip H.”

“You’re not fine, let me see,” he murmured in reply. She kept telling him she was fine until the elevator reached the penthouse and they both headed for her rooms. “Ok let’s just get showered and changed into something dry,” Harry conceded once it was abundantly clear she wasn’t going to admit to the pain radiating up her arm.

Aurora choked back a sob as she removed her prosthesis, the skin beneath an angry shade of red. She stripped out of her soaking wet clothes and followed Harry into the bathroom where he was already standing under the hot water. He stepped aside to let her under the water, his hands gently resting on her hips and his chest pressed against her back.

“Don’t shut me out,” he whispered, pressing kisses against her shoulder as the shower pelted down on them. “Please don’t pretend everything’s ok when I know it isn’t.”

As the warm water cascaded over her body and Harry continued to whisper against her skin, she felt herself beginning to tremble. Once the first sob broke, Harry quickly spun her around to face him, holding her tightly against his chest. When her knees buckled, he kept her standing, reaching out with one hand to turn off the shower before wrapping towels around them both and carrying Aurora out of the bathroom. He laid them both down on the bed and held her tightly as her shaking soften and her sobs eased.

“Let me see it,” he said when she finally fell silent. He held his breath as she held out her right arm, dark bruises already forming across her pale skin.  “JARVIS? I need you to call Dr. Walker and Ben Sherman. Set up an appointment for the morning.”

“Right away Mr. Styles.”

“I’m gonna go get you some painkillers and then we’ll just stay in here and watch a movie ok?” he told her. She nodded, moving back from where she was curled up against him to let him stand, pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before leaving the room. While he was gone Aurora climbed off the bed, letting her towel fall to the floor before slipping into a comfortable pair of shorts and one of Harry’s shirts. She climbed back into the bed, flicking through Netflix while she waited.

Harry returned a little while later with a  tray of food. He placed it on the bedside table before joining Aurora under the covers. Once he was comfortably settled against the headboard, he passed her a glass of water and a few pills which she gladly took, swallowing quickly before placing the glass on her own bedside table. Harry placed the tray between them on the bed and Aurora looked at him questioningly as she took in the plates of pasta and large slices of chocolate cake.

“Steve was cooking dinner when I got to the kitchen,” he explained. “Told him you weren’t feeling well and we’re spending the night in.”

She thanked him, leaning into his side as she rested her bowl on her lap and dug in. a generic romcom playing on the screen at the foot of the bed. By the time they’d finished eating, the painkillers were taking effect and Aurora found her eyes growing heavy as she curled further into Harry’s arms. He kissed her head, shifting them both so that they were lying down beneath the duvet and within minutes she had drifted off to sleep.

They woke the following morning to JARVIS informing them that both Dr Walker and Ben Sherman would meet them in the med bay downstairs in an hour. They dressed and ate a quick breakfast in the kitchen before heading downstairs.

Harry watched on as Dr Walker and Ben both inspected Aurora’s arm, using the med bay equipment to take an x-ray as well as an ultrasound.

Ben looked at her arm, pressing against the stump until Aurora winced. “You have a bone bruise,” Dr Walker announced, “but it’s nothing too serious.”

“How do we fix it?” Aurora asked, her gaze flicking between the two of them.

“We’ll get you some painkillers and you can use heat packs to deal with the discomfort,” Ben replied. “It should heal up on its own after a few weeks of rest, but you need to avoid using your prosthetic until it’s completely healed.”

“A few weeks?” she gasped. “No, I’m supposed to perform at the CMAs next week.”

“Are you supposed to be playing?” Ben asked her gently, sensing her panic.

“No, just singing,” Aurora explained. “I just wasn’t expecting to be on a stage that big without this.” She gestured to the prosthetic hand, sitting on the table beside them. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

“Hey,” Harry interrupted softly, drawing Auroras attention to his calm face. His eyes swam with all the love and affection he felt for her and she found her breathing levelling out. The panic left her in the wake of his confident expression. “If you’re not ready to go out there without it, we call Mark right now and cancel. But I think you are beautiful. No one watching is going to see anything less than a strong, brave woman, who is an incredible singer.”

“My dress doesn’t have sleeves,” Aurora replied, her brain focusing on the smaller issues in an attempt to stave off the panic building in her chest.

“We could get you another dress,” Harry chuckled, “but think of what it would mean to all of those kids we’ve been visiting. Imagine them watching on tv as you stand up in front of everyone, without shame, without the need to hide.”

“Hadn’t thought of that,” Rori mumbled. “It would mean the world to them.”

“No pressure,” Harry said, “but I think this could be a really important step for you.”

xXx

Aurora flew to Tennessee on her own, while Harry remained in New York to continue working on his album and also allowing her to focus on rehearsals without him interjecting. This was her thing and he didn’t want to feel like he was trying to steal her thunder. He would fly in the morning of the awards allowing plenty of time to get ready before walking the red carpet with her.

She spent the few days leading up to the show in rehearsals with Rascal Flatts, her excitement for the awards show growing the closer it got. Before she knew it,  Wednesday rolled around and Harry flew in just after lunch time. They met up at the hotel, and with the help of their hair and makeup teams they got dressed and ready to go. Aurora had decided against changing her dress and instead stuck with her original choice of a sleek, black strapless cocktail dress with a tight skirt that hugged her curves, ending midway down her thighs. Harry chose to keep his own outfit simple, opting for a form fitting black suit, with a black collared shirt. The bruising on her arm had began to fade over the last few days now a soft yellowing of her skin was the only sign that anything had happened.

Aurora found her nerves growing as their car arrived at the Bridgestone Arena. Harry climbed out first, buttoning his jacket and then holding out his hand to help her out of the car. He squeezed her hand as the car drove away and the couple smiled brightly as camera’s flashed around them. They made their way down the red carpet, Harry’s hand rarely leaving Aurora’s as she gripped his tightly. He only let go for brief moments when they stopped occasionally for interviews and photos, before finally reaching the venue and stepping inside, away from the prying eyes of the media. Ushers directed them to their seats, where they found Rascal Flatts and their wives waiting for them. Harry shook hands with the boys and kissed the wives on the cheeks, while Aurora received hugs from everyone.

Towards the end of the show, while the live broadcast was in a commercial break, Aurora, Jay, Garry and Joe stood up and made their way backstage to prepare for their performance. Harry shuffled down the row to sit next to Joe’s wife Tiffany as seat fillers arrived next to him.

Aurora changed into a floor length red gown and swapped out her earrings before joining the three men behind the curtain, side of stage. She rubbed her hand nervously over the exposed skin of her stump, her heart racing as she prepared to step out in front of hundreds of people, countless more watching at home. Garry gave her shoulder a comf0rting squeeze as the three of them headed out on to the stage.  

“From their new album, Back to Us, please welcome to the stage Rascal Flatts with their latest single, Are You Happy Now?” The audience applauded at the announcer’s words, and then the song began. Aurora picked up her microphone and waited for her cue as Garry’s voice filled the arena.

Someone let your secret out Everybody 'round here's talking about, how your knight in shining armour let you down And now you're alone, I told you so This is what you wanted, baby, now you got it Something's wrong and you can't put your finger on it Could it be that maybe, you did that to me, baby And now you found

Aurora stepped out on to the stage, her head held high as she joined the chorus. She continued walking until she reached Garry’s side, his smile matching her own as she finally let herself enjoy the moment, all of her anxiety melting away as the words poured out of her.

What goes around comes back around It's been that way forever Baby, just look at you now, barely holding it together We were so in love, but you gave that up Just look around, are you happy now? Oooh, are you happy now?

Aurora walked forward to the front of the stage; the audience spread out before her as she sang her solo verse. Yeah, you're gonna spend some sleepless nights Crying in the glow of the TV light With some sad song on and a glass of wine Just to sit in the pain, baby, what a shame This is what you wanted, baby now you got it Something's wrong and you can't put your finger on it Could it be that maybe, you did that to me, baby And now you found

Garry walked out to the front of the stage to join her once more, their voices blending together as they harmonized, the music swelling around them as the song grew.

What goes around comes back around It's been that way forever Baby, just look at you now, barely holding it together We were so in love, but you gave that up Just look around Are you happy now? Now that I'm not around (now that I'm not around) Now that you've finally lost what you thought that you needed Never would have treated your heart like you did What goes around comes back around It's been that way forever Baby, just look at you now, barely holding it together Oh, we were so in love, oh, but you gave that up Just look around (just look around) What goes around comes back around It's been that way forever We were so in love (we were so in love) But you gave that up (but you gave it up) Just look around (just look around) Are you happy now? (are you happy now?) Are you happy?

What goes around comes back around

Garry wrapped an arm around her shoulders at the end of the song and they were both grinning from ear to ear as the audience applauded. Aurora caught sight of Harry, locking eyes with him and blowing a kiss. Joe and Jay reached them at the front of the stage standing on either side of them, all with their arms thrown around each other. They waved to the crowd before leaving the stage.

Since they were one of the final performances of the night, they remained backstage until the end of the show and eventually Harry and the guys wives made their way back to them. As soon as he spotted her, Harry rushed to Rori’s side, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground. She giggled as he spun her, kissing her deeply when he finally set her back on the ground.

“You were amazing,” he said, somewhat breathless from the kiss. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Jay agreed. “You’d never guess you’ve been out of the game for a year Rori. You absolutely killed it out there.”

Aurora blushed profusely in response, mumbling a thank you, her arms still wrapped around Harry as he stared at her with so much love and adoration.

NEXT CHAPTER

OR CONTINUE READING ON AO3

[cheile]

Found on Facebook, kinda funny!

(FYI kinda long!)

**

*A RECAP OF THE LAST TWO MONTHS*

(by James Tabbek & Joseph Walker)

AMERICA: Oh my god! Coronavirus! What should we do?

CALIFORNIA: Shut down your state.

NEW YORK: Shut down your state.

AMERICA: Wait... what? Why?

CALIFORNIA: Because 40 million people live here and we did it early, and it’s working.

NEW YORK CITY: Because 20 million people live here and not doing it early is costing lives.

WASHINGTON STATE: Social distancing works.

TRUMP: Don't talk to that snake.

ILLINOIS: Tired of waiting. We're buying our own PPE's

TRUMP: i need those for the nation's stockpile.

ILLINOIS: Say hi to our national guard.

IOWA: Whoa... whoa... let’s not be hasty now. The president said that this whole coronavirus thing is a democratic hoax & he'll stand by us.

TRUMP: Actually I said I will stand by & watch.

LOUISIANA: That's New York's problem.

COVID-19: Now it's yours.

ALABAMA: We are not Louisiana.

EVERYONE: Well bless your heart.

TRUMP: I want to reopen for Easter.

GEORGIA: When they show symptoms, shoot.

W.VIRGINIA: For crying out loud, go eat & shop

OKLAHOMA: Go out to a restaurant.

FOX NEWS: Glad you've been watching.

NEW YORK: Don't be stupid.

FLORIDA: Hold my beer. It's Spring Break!

NEW MEXICO: Don't put a cart before the horse

LAS VEGAS: Our workers can be a covid-19 control group.

OHIO: Delay the primary.

WISCONSIN: To hell with that, I'm voting.

MISSISSIPPI: Open the churches!

GOD: You do know I'm not only in your building.

PUERTO RICO: All night curfew.

TRUMP: Whiners.

FLORIDA: It doesn't affect kids.

EVERYONE: Face plant.

TRUMP: I'll decide when to ease restrictions.

U.S.CONSTITUTION: States Rights

NEW YORK: We cant do it without federal help. Pass some bucks our way.

TRUMP: Stop passing the buck.

NEBRASKA: It is critical to get back to work and slow the virus.

FAUCI: Pick 1

TENNESSEE: We're heading in a good direction.

EVERYBODY: Ass backwards is not a direction.

NEW YORK: Does anyone have ventilators.

TRUMP: We sent you some. The nurses must be stealing them.

TEXAS: But the president said that we only have 15 cases and soon it'll be zero.

CALIFORNIA: The president can’t count to fifteen. Nor even spell it. Shut down your state.

NEW JERSEY: Us too?

CALIFORNIA: Yes, you guys too. Just like when Christie shut down the bridge, but it’s your whole state.

NEW YORK: Does anyone have spare doctors?

HAWAII: Welcome tourists, swimmers, surfers & joggers.

GEORGIA: Joggers? Are they black? Get my gun.

FLORIDA: But what about all these kids here on spring break?? They spend a lot of money here!

CALIFORNIA: Those kids invented the tide pod challenge. Shut down your state.

LOUISIANA: But wait let’s have Mardi Gras first. It entertains people.

CALIFORNIA: It also kills them. Shut it down.

NEW YORK: Anyone have masks or gloves?

GEORGIA: Ok well how about we keep the state open for all of our mega churches? Maybe we can all pray really hard until the coronavirus just goes away!

CALIFORNIA: Which is working like a charm for mass shootings. Jesus told us to tell you to shut down your state.

OKLAHOMA: What about the tigers?

TRUMP: I put Carole Baskin in charge.

WYOMING: Hold up, maybe we should go county by county like the president said.

CALIFORNIA: Stop acting like there are counties in Wyoming. There are no counties in Wyoming. Wyoming is a county. Shut it down.

PENNSYLVANIA: But big coal.

CALIFORNIA: But big death. Shut it.

WEST VIRGINIA: But we were the last state to get coronavirus!

CALIFORNIA: And don’t make us explain to you why that was. Shut it down.

NORTH CAROLINA: But the republican national convention is coming here!

CALIFORNIA: SHUT... ok fine do what you want.

[maybemitch]

LET ME GO

DESCRIPTION: Sometimes sacrificing yourself will save people's lives.

WARNING: *Violet isn't blind. Louis still has his tongue. Tenn still dies* / *Louis and Reader get to the bridge after Clementine, AJ, Tenn and Violet* / Character Death. Swearing.

INSPIRED: Black Widow Death (I sob still)

WORD COUNT: 2538

━━━⋆☆⋆━━━

Louis' eyes analysed each and every friend which was crouch behind cover. Louis could notice the panic which had found a residence inside of them, each and everyone of them wondering if they'd even make it off this god forsaken beach. Away from this small war they are involved in. A protective manner overtook him as he counted the heads of his people; Aasim, Omar, Violet, Clementine, AJ and himself. Six people. Yet in the makeshift prison cells on the ship, there was seven of them. They were down a person.

Louis looked over his friends again before cautiously peering his head up over the boxes - he didn't want to be spotted by the Delta members, especially because they were all wielding guns. Brushing his eyes over the sanded area, he could see Ruby and Willy with their way out, least they were safe. Louis couldn't spot Tennessee, yet he knew that he was safe out there somewhere. Eventually, his eyes landed on the person they were missing and panic set in him noticing the situation they were in.

“Y/N's injured." Louis informed the hiding teens, his eyes not daring to shift from his friend, "I can't tell if they're bit or shot." his voice was weak and quiet. "We need to help them."

"They're on the other side of the beach," Clementine responded as she peered over the box herself, her gaze locking onto the friend in danger, "They'll never get back over here in time."

Louis turned his head slightly, looking down at his friends, "Has anyone got a knife?"

Violet nodded her head, pulling a small blade from her pocket, holding it out for Louis, "I managed to swipe it on the way out. What do you need it for?"

Louis sighed, gesturing a small hand over to where Y/N was, "When we head over to Ruby and Willy, i'm going to divert and go after Y/N. We will find our own way back."

The group nodded at Louis, his idea was the best. His idea would guarantee the survival of everyone in their group, his idea would ensure that Y/N got home. Clementine's hand twitched around her weapon and she began to explain to everyone that they were about to head over to the other two. Every teen nodded at her, readying themselves to make a run for it - in Omar's cast clinging to Aasim as they crossed the open area.

Louis took a deep breath, following the group into the open as Clementine covered their backs. He held he knife in his hand as he slipped away from the group, sending them a small reassuring smile, one which spoke for itself, 'Ill be back before you know it'.

Louis held his breath as he slipped by the walkers, his heart was racing in his chest considering the lack of space between him and he undead. He knew he held the knife and he knew he could fight them off, but killing the dead wasn't his on his mind. The only thing which was, was Y/N.

Louis heard Y/N let out a sob of pain when they shrugged off a walker hand with their right arm, this caused the male to move at a faster pace. Y/N's left hand applied pressure to their shoulder, staggering away at a slow pace from the walker. Louis ran up to their side, announcing his presence quietly as he placed a hand on their upper arms.

"Lou," Y/N sobbed, forcing themselves into his chest, despite the pain which throbbed in their shoulder. Louis held them tightly, still being alert of the walkers which roamed near by. "Im glad you're here."

Louis hummed, holding them tight for a moment, before pulling them away from the hug and lead them towards a safe area away from the beach, away from Detla and the walkers.

He scanned over them, his eyes lingering on the wound on their shoulder. An urge rushed through him, an urge to reach and and inspect the wound closely, to know officially what was wrong with them. But he fought the urge, and rather than reaching, he pointed a finger.

Louis frowned, "What happened?"

Y/N turned their gaze to their shoulder, frowning themselves, before allowing a sigh to slip past their lips, "A Delta member fucking shot me whilst I was trying to escape. I was lucky. They could have... you know... been a bit unlucky."

Louis lowered his head, a hand now touching their upper arm on their uninjured, "Your safer now. We... we just have to find a way back to the school."

Y/N looked around the area, the walkers were nowhere near them now, they were able to take a breather for a moment. Y/N lifted her left arm, pointing in a direction, "I vaguely remember a bridge. You know the one, surely."

Louis snapped his fingers before pointing at them, "Yes. That bridge. I know the one. That's that direction," he pointed in the same direction, "From where we are, it should take us a few hours. We should get back to the school before nightfall."

Y/N smiled and agreed with Louis, before adding something of their own, "We might be longer. Depending if my arm starts to hurt. It can prevent me from doing things."

Louis nodded before nodding his head backwards into the direction they needed to walk. Y/N smiled, beginning to slowly follow him. The two teenagers walked side by side with one another, Louis kept sending Y/N reassuring smiles, sometimes pulling a small face to hear them chuckle lightly.

They spoke in a hushed tone between one another. The reason which they spoke so quietly was because they knew of the potential dangers which lurked around every corner they took and they quite frankly didn't want to put themselves in harms way. Occasionally, Louis did hum, yet quietly. Y/N would bob their head to the humming, a smile never falling from their lips.

Eventually, the two teenagers entered the bridge, Louis walking at a slight quick pace, still in a protective manner of Y/N. He held a hand behind him as they walked further onto the bridge, both their hearts breaking at the sight of Minerva's eaten body. She might have been on Delta's side, but she was their friend, a long time ago. Y/N stood at Minerva's body, a guilt flooding through them. They couldn't change what happened, they knew that. But they could still wish that it never happened.

Louis pointed in the direction they needed to head, "Good news is, we are close to home. Bad news is that." his finger moved down to the massive hole. Louis frowned at the gap in the wooden bridge. It was jumpable, yet considering the condition Y/N was in, it was a difficult situation. Louis took a timid step forwards, not wanting to get to close to the edge, as he peer over the gap, the stream below ran at an alarming pace and the jagged rocks beneath the water only brought an uneasy feeling to his turning stomach.

Louis thought and rubbed his face. He quickly turned his whole body, looking back in the direction they came from. He quickly nibbled on his thumb, before a thought popped into his head, "There is another way. All we've got to do if go back to the trail and take a left rather than right. It'll be more suitable for us. It just adds a few more hours to our journey."

Y/N moved to besides Louis, their left hand still applying pressure to the bullet wound on their right. Peering over the gap themselves, they let out a shaky breath, "We don't need the other way. I'll be able to do this way. It's only a jump."

Louis turned his gaze to his friend, shaking his head, "Are you sure? We can find another way around if you don't want to jump." His main concern was his friends safety right now.

Y/N nodded their head, "I'm sure. This is the quickest way home. I just want to get home now."

Louis smiled, nodding his head also, "I'll jump over first," he took a few steps away from the gap, pausing momentarily as he took a deep breath. He ran after the deep breath, taking a leap to the other side. Louis' landing was neat, his knees harshly collided with the rotting wooden planks, the collision only alerting the walkers near by.

Louis brought his hands up from the wood, he gave a small roll of the eyes when he noticed a small cuts littering his palms. He shrugged the thought of them away, before rubbing at his knees. He turned, sending a small smile across the gap to Y/N. He cleared his throat, before pointing to the clearing behind her.

“We haven’t got long,” Louis informed, taking a quick glance over his shoulders watching as the walkers come staggering down the path, “All you need to do is a run and jump. Like I did. And you’ll be fine.”

Y/N nodded as they began to back up slightly. Removing their hand from the wound, a rush of pain made them bite back a sob. They shook their head, before taking a run up to the gap in the bridge.

Y/N jumped.

Yet, unfortunately, their jump wasn’t enough. Their hands barely made it onto the wood on the other side, their grip loosening as the seconds ticked by. Louis was quick to react, dropping to his knees, grabbing ahold of their right arm tightly, whilst their left arm slipped.

“You’re okay.” Louis assured. Louis’ grip around Y/N’s right wrist was strong. Determination filled his veins. He was going to pull them back up, he didn’t care what he cost was. He could hear the moans of the walkers behind him, gradually shuffling closer to the panicked teenagers.

Louis flashed a small panicked smile, before using his strength. "Work with me Y/N," Louis manages to get out as he kept trying to pull them up, "Please. Please work with me."

Y/N let out a whimper, the bullet wound on their left shoulder throbbing more than ever. Their eyes drifted to the drop below them, whilst their ears listened closely to the danger coming towards Louis.

"Lou," Y/N whispered, tears brimming their eyes, the pain from their arm was preventing them from helping him, "My shoulder... I can't help."

Louis panicked, quickly taking a glance over his shoulder, the walkers were now close to entering the bridge, "Give me your left arm. I can get you up that way. Please. Just work with me."

Y/N lifted up their left arm, pain shooting through them once again, they shook their head, "I... I can't... Lou. It hurts"

A walker moaned from behind Louis, the distance between them and Louis was getting thinner. Louis tried to shake the thought of the danger approaching him, but he could see Y/N watching him intensely.

"What?" Louis whispered, closing his eyes for a moment, fighting the tears which brimmed.

"You've got to go," Y/N mumbled, "I'm just going to get you killed. I can't have that." They gave him a weak smile, a single tear rolling down their face.

Louis shook his head, pulling at Y/N's arm again with everything he had, "No. I... I'm not leaving you."

Y/N took a deep breath, "Let me go, Lou." They could feel their arm slowly slipping from Louis' grip, despite the male trying his hardest, "Just let me go, Lou."

Louis shook his head again, his words falling from his slips softly, "No. Please. Please work with me."

"It's okay," Y/N breathed, their breath shaky. Another tear rolled down their face. Y/N nodded their head at Louis, "It's okay."

Louis let a tear slip through clenched eyes, he inhaled deeply, as he opened his mouth, "Please. Don't... don't make me do this. Just work with me... please."

The walkers gradually got closer, Y/N felt themselves slipping out of Louis’ grip. They knew that Louis was panicking, the way he was taking deep breaths, shaking his head side to side. He was trying to figure out a way to save his friend.

Y/N gulped, “Lou. Let me go.” Louis shook his head no, “You’ve got too. Otherwise you’re not going to make it. Please. It’s okay.”

“No.” Louis sobbed, pulling at their arm again, internally cursing himself when he heard them sob in pain. A walker moaned once again from behind him and he froze, “I can’t. I can’t let you go.”

Y/N frowned, “I’m not letting you die here. I can’t let you die here. You know I can’t.”

“If I drop you,” Louis breathed in, “I’m killing you. I can’t do that to a friend.”

Y/N nodded, “Okay.”

Louis smiled momentarily before he let out a small scream when he felt Y/N leave his hold. Y/N - despite the pain in their shoulder - managed to snatch their hand out of Louis’ grip. They knew it was the only way Louis would survive, he was being too stubborn. He didn’t want to kill his friend, no one would.

Louis’ hand reached down into the gap, as if he was going to grab them back. His eyes clenched shut, preventing him from witnessing the brutal death of his friend. He let out a huff, as he pushed himself back to his knees and then to his feet. Y/N did what they did so he would survive. He had to keep moving.

He dug his hand into the pocket of his trench coat, fishing out the knife Violet gave him a few hours ago so he could defend himself as he marched his way through the walkers which constantly snapped their jaw at the appetising human flesh.

The stars illuminated Louis’ path, guiding him back down the familiar trails which led Ericson. He held his head down low, the events from a few hours ago playing on his mind like a movie on repeat. His heart must have broke several times on his journey back home, to him it felt as if it was in several different pieces now.

Louis sighed and lifted his head when he walked through the gates of Ericson. The screeching of the gate altered all the other kids which were scattered around the courtyard. Louis sighed again when everyone began to crowd him, peering over his shoulder looking for Y/N.

“Lou, where Y/N?” Aasim asked as he looked out of the gate, noticing their friend no where to be seen.

Louis brought his bottom lip in between his teeth and bit down harshly. He couldn’t trust his voice right now but he knew that his silence spoke a thousand words for him.

[yeenybeanies]

Gone Hunting pt. 2

continuation of this little piece! not sure how long i’ll keep going on with this specific story beyond here, but i love charles & i want him to meet devin, so there’s probably going to be at least one more :> 

arthur morgan, charles smith, & devin clarke ( oc ) 

2640 words

mild language warnings

feel free to leave comments in the tags!! thanks!! 

part 1 | part 3

Ever since they’d left camp, the blue streak of curses hasn’t quieted much. Arthur’s jaw is tense, along with the rest of him, as one might expect when there’s an angry ( and scared ) borrower trapped under his hat. Who knew so much vitriol could come from such a small body? Arthur can’t bring himself to be upset at them, though; Devin has every right to be as pissed as they are. 

And they are pissed. 

Unfortunately, Arthur’s company doesn’t quite know what’s going on. He can tell that something is off, that Arthur is bothered, but he hasn’t the foggiest as to why. Arthur knows he’s onto him, too; he sees the man glancing over at him, growing more and more suspicious by the minute. Never mind that Arthur isn’t much of an actor as is, but Charles is as sharp as they come. How the hell is he going to play this one off? How is he going to delay the inevitable? 

“ Arthur. ”  

Here it comes. 

Arthur looks over at his company, all while trying to keep his movements from jostling Devin. They’ve gone quiet after hearing Charles’ voice. 

“ Yeah? ”  He can do this. He can spin some excuse for the pained look on his face. 

“ What’s wrong? ”  

There’s no point denying it. Arthur swallows and forces the tension out of his jaw.  “ Think whatever Pearson made last night’s actin’ up. Not presently feelin’ my greatest. ‘m okay, though. Don’t you worry about me, Charles. ”  He forces a smile for his companion. Charles only looks semi-convinced ( it’s not an unbelievable story; everyone’s suffered an unhappy gut at least once at the hands of the camp cook ), but he opts not to press on it for now. 

“ Okay . . .. If you need to stop, just let me know. I could probably find you something to soothe your stomach. ” 

“ Naw, I’ll be alright. Hopefully it’ll settle down by the time we get to where we’re goin’. ”  Devin shifts under his hat, their little hands holding onto locks of his hair to try and keep themself from flopping around too much. It can’t be comfortable for them up there––at least, not while Arthur’s on horseback. Even a Tennessee Walker’s gait would be bothersome to a borrower, he imagines. 

Devin goes quiet now, but it’s not very comforting. Arthur’s not sure what he likes less: the cussing or the silence. At least with them chewing him out, he knew they were still alive and kicking. The silence is a bit more ominous. All he has to go by now is feeling their grip on his hair, and trying to interpret how they’re doing from that. 

This is going to be a long ride . . .. 

The sun is low in the sky by the time the two men reach their destination: a hilly grassland spot sparsely sheltered with trees and mounds of rocks. Devin’s silence has continued to worry Arthur, but he’s pretty sure he’s felt them move a little here and there. He thinks he feels them move, too, when he and Charles slow their horses on their approach to their would-be campsite under one of the rock piles. 

“ Alright, then . . .. ”  Arthur pulls the reins, slowing his horse to a stop, and dismounts at the base of the rocks. Devin seems to be moving a bit more, no longer being jostled so much now that he’s on his own feet.  “ I gotta relieve myself, then I’ll help ya set up camp. ”  Which isn’t entirely a lie; he’s been on horseback since he woke up. 

“ Sure thing, Arthur. ”  Charles starts to unpack, and Arthur takes his leave, heading around to the other side of the rocks. 

“ You alright up there, Devin? ”  He speaks just above a whisper, and looks up at the brim of his hat as if he could see the borrower settled atop his head. 

“ . . . I’m alive, ”  comes the weak voice. Arthur breathes out a heavy, relieved sigh. 

“ Miss Devin, I––I’m real sorry about this mess. I promise you I didn’t mean to kidnap you and bring ya along. ”  It is sincere, but Arthur wouldn’t be surprised if the borrower snapped and blew up on him again. Hell, he might if he were in this situation. 

“ Just––just do what you need to do and let me out, ”  they say, sounding exhausted from the journey.  “ . . . and rinse your hands off first. ” 

Can-do. Arthur takes care of his business and, as requested, rinses his hands off with a bit of water from his canteen, then gently lifts his hat. Devin takes in a deep breath, taking in cool air for the first time in hours. 

Relief is short-lived, though. 

“ Arthur? ”  

Charles. 

Arthur quickly puts his hat back on, once more covering Devin, and looks back towards the voice, a little bewildered. 

“ Are you talking to someone? ”  The man steps out more, rounding the rock to better face Arthur. 

“ I, er . . . naw, not really. I was just voicin’ some thoughts that I’ll probably end up writin’ in my journal. ”  He looks a bit sheepish. How much longer is Charles going to let him get away with these little fibs? The man narrows his eyes, one brow lifted. 

“ You sure you’re okay? Stomach’s not still bothering you, is it? ” 

This isn’t going to last much longer. Charles knows that Arthur is hiding something, which makes Arthur feel worse for continuing to hide it than he already did. 

“ Nah. Think I got that cleared out. ‘least until the next time I get it. ”  He attempts a chuckle, though it’s half-hearted and weak. Charles, of course, looks unconvinced.  “ Charles. I’m okay. don’t worry about me. ”  

“ Arthur, you––– ” 

“ I said I’m fine, didn’t I? ”  Atop his head, Devin tenses, their little hands holding tighter to his hair. Arthur is a little taken aback himself; he hadn’t meant to raise his voice at Charles. The man doesn’t deserve it. He clears his throat, fist to his lips, and tips his hat down, hiding his eyes. God dammit . . .. 

“ . . . okay. ”  Charles straightens. 

This doesn’t feel good, but Arthur doesn’t see another route right now. He isn’t sure for how long Charles will be placated, but at least he’s dropped it for now. 

“ Right. Let’s get this camp set up. ”  Arthur takes a breath and straightens his belt, then heads back around to the other side of the rock. He can give Devin some relief when manages to set his hat aside so they don’t have to endure him constantly bending down and straightening up. However, it doesn’t change the fact that they are stuck out here, so the relief is minimal. 

It’s startling, seeing the hat shift around them when Arthur starts to lift it. Devin feels a moment of panic, only exacerbated as that massive hand sweeps in through the growing crack. They squeak, which makes the hand pause for a moment, almost looking remorseful, before it overtakes them, surrounding them. 

“ Arthur––– . . .. ”  The rough callouses scratch at them, but the skin is warm, and, despite the confines, the cowboy is impossibly gentle. He isn’t squeezing them––not beyond needing to keep them contained in his hold. Devin’s heart still pounds in their chest, but they remind themself that Arthur has never been anything but kind and careful with them . . .. 

Devin squeaks again when the hold on them loosens, and they drop down into Arthur’s hat, now upturned. The borrower shakes their head and looks up. Silhouetted against the oranges and pinks of the sky, Arthur towers above them. It isn’t just the setting sun that’s casting long shadows on his face, though; he’s clearly bothered. Devin feels a pang of guilt, aware that they are the source, but––but it’s also Arthur’s own damn fault that they’re here at all! They huff quietly to themself and huddle against the leather, trying not to focus on the shifting world beyond the hat. 

“ Gonna set you down while I help Charles, ”  the man whispers, sparing a glance down at Devin. 

“ Thank you, ”  they squeak back, no louder than a mouse. The hat tilts, and they follow the movement to avoid falling. Arthur lowers them to a smooth patch of rock, and settles the hat down over them, keeping them concealed. At least for a little bit they don’t have to deal with the constant swaying that comes with being carried by a human.

Between Charles and Arthur, it doesn’t take long to set up camp and get a fire pit built. Charles is mostly silent through it, and Arthur can feel the tension. It’s eating away at him. He doesn’t want to lose his friendship with Charles over this, but Devin . . . their life depends on their secrecy ( not that he thinks Charles would hurt them, but it isn’t his place to expose them ).

“ Arthur! ”  Charles’ sharp voice cuts into Arthur’s thoughts, making him jump. Charles must have been talking to him, and he hadn’t been listening at all. Damn . . ..

“ Hn? Yeah? Sorry, I was––I was miles away. ”  He rubs his neck sheepishly as he faces his friend.

“ As you’ve been this whole trip. ” The man frowns. For a moment, Arthur thinks he’s going to ask again what the problem is, but he doesn’t. He sighs and continues,  “ We should get some rest. We’re getting up early tomorrow and going after the bison. ”

“ Right. Sounds good. I’ll start the fire. ”  Arthur heads back towards where he left his hat and tries to subtly lift both it and the borrower under it. It’s a little awkward, but Arthur does feel some relief when he feels the minuscule weight in his hand. At least they haven’t run off yet, or worse. He shifts to carry Devin and his hat in one hand so he can use his other to grab the matches from his saddle bag. 

Charles doesn’t seem to be paying too much attention as Arthur returns to the pit they’ve built, holding his hat a little awkwardly. Once he manages to get a fire going one-handed, he shuffles back to settle on his bedroll, hat coming to rest on his stomach. Little footsteps push against his palm and hop down onto his shirt. It tickles. Arthur has to keep himself from reacting, wanting neither to disturb the borrower or alert Charles to more of his odd behavior. 

Dinner isn’t anything spectacular: foods warmed up over the fire, or, in Arthur’s case, eaten straight from the can. He manages to sneak Devin a few pieces to fill their belly while they stay hidden. The poor little borrower––they’ve been through a lot today. Arthur sighs, then kicks himself mentally. He should try to keep his breathing steady if he’s got Devin on his stomach . . .. 

“ Arthur, ”  comes Charles’ voice. Arthur glances over towards his friend, one brow lifted.  “ You aren’t upset with me, are you? That’s not why you’re acting strange? ” 

Oof. Arthur winces and looks away.  “ Naw, Charles. You n’ me––we’re good. Promise. I just . . . got a lot on my mind is all. ”  At least that’s a truth he can offer. Charles’ features glow in the fire’s light, still shaped with concern, but he does show some understanding to Arthur’s answer. 

As the conversation dies, Arthur gingerly shifts to make himself a bit more comfortable on his bedroll. He should sleep. He only hopes that Devin will manage to do so as well. 

It’s been almost half a day now since they left the camp––Charles and Arthur, with Devin brought unwillingly ( and accidentally, to Arthur’s credit ) along for the ride. Almost half a day’s worth of bouncing around under Arthur’s hat has now brought Devin to be lying . . . well, still under Arthur’s hat. At least the ride here is less bumpy. From where they are, they can hear Arthur’s breathing, and they can feel the thumping of his pulse under his shirt. If they’re honest, it’s a little bit comforting, a little bit soothing. But it is also, as they eventually come to realize, very hot under here––hotter on his middle than it was on top of his head. The borrower does try to move carefully, though they know well that Arthur doesn’t wake easily, as they feel around in the darkness for the hat’s wall. Once located, they dig their arms under and lift, taking in a breath of fresh, cool night’s air. 

“ Okay, Devin, ”  they whisper to themself,  “ everything’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine. ”  Arthur will get them back to camp. Alive. This whole ordeal will be over soon. They take another deep breath, then shuffle their way out from under the hat’s brim, out into the open. The surface beneath them continues to rise and fall slowly; Arthur is still asleep, as expected. Much of their anger with him has faded by now. There’s just exasperation left in the ashes of the earlier flames. Devin thinks for a moment that they ought to apologize for the verbal lashing they’d given him, but . . . nah. He deserved it for being so damn stupid. Besides, they’re sure he won’t hold it against them.

Using what little light the moon and the faded fire offer, Devin makes their way down to the cowboy’s hip, and down further to his knee––the one lifted, crossed over the other. There’s a gentle breeze blowing through, stirring their hair, calming them. For the first time in the past twelve hours, things are peaceful. 

Unfortunately, in the case of borrowers and unlucky cowboys, peace doesn’t tend to last long. Whispers reach Devin’s ears, making them go stiff. Their head snaps in the direction of the voices, eyes wide and straining to see what––or who––is out there. In the darkness, they can just barely make out two shadowy figures. From the look and sound of it, they seem to be getting closer. 

“ Arthur . . .? ”  Devin pushes themself to a crouch, eyes locked on the figures. The whispers are getting louder, more intelligible. 

“ We gonna jus’ rob ‘em? Or we gonna kill ‘em too? ”  says one. 

“ There’s only two of ‘em. We can kill ‘em easy n’ see if they got anything valuable on their persons too, ”  says the other. 

Oh no. Bandits. Devin’s blood runs cold. They shoot a quick glance towards Arthur’s face. He is still very much asleep. And the bandits are getting closer. 

“ Arthur! “  Their own whispers aren’t going to wake the cowboy, but they don’t exactly want the bandits to hear them either. 

Then again, if they don’t wake Arthur and the bandits end up killing him as a result––– . . ..

“ Arthur! ”  Louder now is their voice, yelling. They scurry off of his knee and slide down onto the ground, hidden from the bandits’ view, but also now unable to see them in return.

“ Wait. D’ja year that? ”  Oh no.  “ Sounded like a squeaky li’l voice. Is there someone else here? ”  

Now the panic sets in. Devin sprints up a couple of feet, sticking close to Arthur’s side. 

“ ARTHUR! ”  

[blackkudos]

Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems (born April 20, 1953) is an American artist who works with text, fabric, audio, digital images, and installation video, and is best known for her work in the field of photography. Her award-winning photographs, films, and videos have been displayed in over 50 exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and focus on serious issues that face African Americans today, such as racism, sexism, politics, and personal identity.

She said, "Let me say that my primary concern in art, as in politics, is with the status and place of Afro-Americans in the country." More recently however, she expressed that "Black experience is not really the main point; rather, complex, dimensional, human experience and social inclusion ... is the real point."

Early life and education

Weems was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1953, the second of seven children to Carrie Polk and Myrlie Weems. She began participating in dance and street theater in 1965. At the age of 16 she gave birth to her first and only child, a daughter named Faith C. Weems. Later that year she moved out of her parents’ home and soon relocated to San Francisco to study modern dance with Anna Halprin at a workshop Halprin had started with several other dancers, as well as the artists John Cage and Robert Morris. She decided to continue her arts schooling and attended the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, graduating at the age of 28 with her B.A. She received her MFA from the University of California, San Diego. Weems also participated in the folklore graduate program at the University of California, Berkeley.

While in her early twenties, Carrie Mae Weems was politically active in the labor movement as a union organizer. Her first camera, which she received as a birthday gift, was used for this work before being used for artistic purposes. She was inspired to pursue photography after she came across The Black Photography Annual, a book of images by African-American photographers including Shawn Walker, Beuford Smith, Anthony Barboza, Ming Smith, Adger Cowans, and Roy DeCarava, who Weems found inspiring. This led her to New York City, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, where she began to meet other artists and photographers such as Coreen Simpson and Frank Stewart, and they began to form a community. In 1976 Weems took a photography class at the Museum taught by Dawoud Bey. She returned to San Francisco, but lived bi-coastally and was invited by Janet Henry to teach at the Studio Museum and a community of photographers in New York.

Career and work

In 1983, Carrie Mae Weems completed her first collection of photographs, text, and spoken word, called Family Pictures and Stories. The images told the story of her family, and she has said that in this project she was trying to explore the movement of black families out of the South and into the North, using her family as a model for the larger theme. Her next series, called Ain't Jokin', was completed in 1988. It focused on racial jokes and internalized racism. Another series called American Icons, completed in 1989, also focused on racism. Weems has said that throughout the 1980s she was turning away from the documentary photography genre, instead "creating representations that appeared to be documents but were in fact staged" and also "incorporating text, using multiples images, diptychs and triptychs, and constructing narratives." Sexism was the next focal point for her. It was the topic of one of her most well known collections called The Kitchen Table series which was completed in over a two year period, 1989 to 1990 and has Weems cast as the central character in the photographs. About Kitchen Table and Family Pictures and Stories, Weems has said: "I use my own constructed image as a vehicle for questioning ideas about the role of tradition, the nature of family, monogamy, polygamy, relationships between men and women, between women and their children, and between women and other women—underscoring the critical problems and the possible resolves." She has expressed disbelief and concern about the exclusion of images of the black community, particularly black women, from the popular media, and she aims to represent these excluded subjects and speak to their experience through her work. These photographs created space for other black female artists to further create art. Weems has also reflected on the themes and inspirations of her work as a whole, saying,

... from the very beginning, I've been interested in the idea of power and the consequences of power; relationships are made and articulated through power. Another thing that's interesting about the early work is that even though I've been engaged in the idea of autobiography, other ideas have been more important: the role of narrative, the social levels of humor, the deconstruction of documentary, the construction of history, the use of text, storytelling, performance, and the role of memory have all been more central to my thinking than autobiography.

Other series created by Weems include: the Sea Island Series (1991–92), the Africa Series (1993), From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995–96), Who What When Where (1998), Ritual & Revolution (1998), the Louisiana Project (2003), Roaming (2006), and the Museum Series, which she began in 2007. Her most recent project, Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, is a multimedia performance that explores "the role of grace in the pursuit of democracy."

In her almost 30-year career, Carrie Mae Weems has won numerous awards. She was named Photographer of the Year by the Friends of Photography. In 2005, she was awarded the Distinguished Photographer's Award in recognition of her significant contributions to the world of photography. Her talents have also been recognized by numerous colleges, including Harvard University and Wellesley College, with fellowships, artist-in-residence and visiting professor positions. She taught photography at Hampshire College in the late 1980s. She was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2013. In 2015 Weems was named a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow. In September 2015, the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research presented her with the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal.

The first comprehensive retrospective of her work opened in September 2012 at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee, as a part of the center's exhibition Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video. Curated by Katie Delmez, the exhibition ran until January 13, 2013, and later traveled to Portland Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The 30-year retrospective exhibition opened in January 2014 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. This was the first time an "African-American woman [was] ever given a solo exhibition" at the Guggenheim. Weems' work returned to the Frist in October 2013 as a part of the center's 30 Americans gallery, alongside black artists ranging from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Kehinde Wiley.

Weems' work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, the Tate Museum in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Weems has been represented by Jack Shainman Gallery since 2008.

A full-color, visual book, titled Carrie Mae Weems, was published by Yale University Press in October 2012. The book offers the first major survey of Weems' career and includes a collection of essays from leading and emerging scholars in addition to over 200 of Weems' most important works.

Weems lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and Syracuse, New York, with her husband Jeffrey Hoone. She continues to produce art that provides social commentary on the experiences of people of color, especially black women, in America.

Weems is one of six artist-curators who made selections for Artistic License: Six Takes on the Guggenheim Collection, on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from May 24, 2019, through January 12, 2020.

Select exhibitions

Presentations of her work have included exhibitions at:

Women in Photography, Cityscape Photo Gallery, Pasadena, CA, 1981

Multi-Cultural Focus, Barnsdall Art gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1981

Family Pictures and Stories, Multi-Cultural Gallery, San Diego, CA, 1984

People Close Up, Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 1986

Social Concerns, Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, MD, 1986

Past, Present, Future, The New Museum, New York, NY, 1986

Visible Differences, Centro Cultural de la Raza, San Diego, CA, 1987

The Other, The Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX, 1988

A Century of Protest, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 1989

Black Women Photographers, Ten.8, London, England, 1990

Who Counts?, Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1990

Biological Factors, Nexus Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 1990

Trouble in Paradise, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Boston, MA, 1990

Whitney Biennial, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, 1991

Of Light and Language, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA, 1991

Pleasures and terrors of Domestic Comfort, MOMA, New York, NY, 1991

Calling Out My Name, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY (traveled to PPOW gallery, New York, NY), 1991

Disclosing the Myth of Family, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1992

Schwarze Kunst: Konzepte zur Politik und Identitat, Neue Gesellschaft fur dingende Kunst, Berlin, Germany, 1992

Dirt and Domesticity: Constructions of the Feminine, Whitney Museum of American Art, at Equitable Center, New York, NY, 1992

Art, Politics, and Community, William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Mansfield, CT (traveled to Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA), 1992

Mis/Taken identities, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (traveled to Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany; Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria; Neues Museum Weserburg Bremen im Forum Langenstraße, Germany; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; Western Gallery, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA), 1992–1994

Photography: Expanding the Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, 1992–1994

Sea Island, The Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia, PA, 1993

Carrie Mae Weems (traveling exhibition), The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, 1993

And 22 Million Very Tired and very Angry People, Walter/McBean gallery, San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco, CA, 1993

Enlightenment, Revolution, A Gallery Project, Ferndale, MI, 1993

Fictions of the Self: The Portrait in Contemporary Photography, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC; Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 1993–1994

The Theatre of Refusal: Black Art and the Mainstream Criticism, Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Irvine, CA (traveled to University of California, Davis, CA; and University of California, Riverside, CA), 1993–1994

Women's Representation of Women, Sapporo American Center Gallery, Sapporo, Japan (traveled to Aka Renga Cultural Center, Fukuoka City, Japan; Kyoto International Community House, Kyoto, Japan; Aichi Prefectural Arts Center, Nagoya, Japan; Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Arts Center, Japan; Spiral Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan), 1994

Imagining Families: Images and Voices, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1994–1995

Black Male, Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, and The Armand Hammer Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA, 1994–1995

Carrie Mae Weems Reacts to Hidden Witness, J. Paul Getty Museum of Art, Malibu, CA, 1995

Projects 52, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1995

StoryLand: Narrative Vision and Social Space, Walter Phillips gallery, The Banff Center for the Arts, Banff, Canada, 1995

Embedded Metaphor, Traveling exhibit, curated by Nina Felshin, 1996

Inside the Visible, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., international traveling exhibition, 1996

Gender - Beyond Memory, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan, 1996

2nd Johannesburg Biennale, Africus Institute for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1997

Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African-American Artists, traveling exhibition, 1998

Taboo: Repression and Revolt in Modern Art, Gallery St. Etienne, New York, NY, 1998

Tell me a Story: Narration in Contemporary Painting and Photography, Center National d'Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble, France, 1998

Recent Work: Carrie Mae Weems 1992–98, Everson Art Museum, Syracuse, NY, 1998–1999

Who, What, When, and Where, Whitney Museum of American Art at Phillip Morris, New York, NY, 1998–1999

Ritual & Revolution, DAK'ART 98: Biennale of Contemporary Art, Galerie National d'Art, Dakar, Senegal, 1998–1999

It's Only Rock and Roll, traveling exhibition, 1999

Claustrophobia: Disturbing the Domestic in Contemporary Art, traveling exhibition, 1999

Histories (Re)membered, The Bronx Museum of Art, New York, NY, 1999

Carrie Mae Weems: The Hampton Project, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA, 2000–2003

Looking Forward, Looking Back, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 2000

Material and Matter: Loans to and Selections from the Studio Museum Collection, The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY, 2000

The View From Here: Issues of Cultural Identity and Perspective in Contemporary Russian and American Art, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia, 2000

Strength and Diversity: A Celebration of African-American Artists, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 2000

Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and culture, Washington, DC, 2000

History Now, touring exhibition beginning at the Liljevalchs Konsthall and Riksutstallningar, Stockholm, Sweden, 2002

Pictures, Patents, Monkeys, and More... On Collecting, traveling exhibition curated by Independent curators International, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2002

The Louisiana Project, Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 2003

Cuba on the Verge, International Center of Photography, New York, NY, 2003

Crimes and Misdemeanors: Politics in U.S. Art of the 1980s, Lois & Richard Rosenthal center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati, OH, 2003

Double Consciousness: Black Conceptual Art Since 1970, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX, 2004

Beyond Compare: Women Photographers on Beauty, BCE, Toronto (traveling exhibit), 2004

African American Art - Photographs from the Collection, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO, 2005

Figuratively Speaking, Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL, 2005

The Whole World is Rotten, Jack Shainman gallery, New York, NY, 2005

Common Ground: Discovering Community in 150 Years of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2005

Out of Time: A Contemporary View, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2006

Black Alphabet: Contexts of Contemporary African-American Art, Zacheta national gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland, 2006

Hidden in Plain Sight, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2007

Embracing Eatonville, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, 2007

The 21st century, The Feminine Century, and the century of Diversity and Hope, 2009 International Incheon Women Artists' Biennial, Incheon, South Korea, 2009–2010

Colour Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, Tate Liverpool, UK, 2009–2010

Afro Modern: Journeys through the Black Atlantic, Tate Liverpool, UK, 2009–2010

From Then to Now: Masterworks of Contemporary African American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH, 2009–2010

Carrie Mae Weems: Estudios Sociales, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville, Spain, 2010

Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2010

Slow Fade to Black, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY, 2010

The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, Nasher Museum, Durham, NC, 2010

Myth, Manners and Memory: Photographers of the American South, De La Warr Pavilion, East Sussex, UK, 2010

Off the Wall: Part 1 – Thirty Performative Actions, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH, 2010

The Deconstructive Impulse: Women Artists Reconfigure the Signs of Power, 1973–1991, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, Purchase, New York, NY, 2010

Posing Beauty: African American Images From the 1890s to the Present, Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, 2010

Stargazers: Elizabeth Catlett in Conversation with 21 Contemporary Artists, Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY, 2010

Unsettled: Photography and Politics in Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2010

Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, 2012

This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2012

La Triennale: Intense Proximity, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, 2012

Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba, 2012

The Maddening Crowd (video installation), McNay Art Museum, Sa Antonio, TX, 2012

Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford, CA, 2013

Feminist And..., The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA, 2013

Seven Sisters, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2013

Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. New York, NY, 2014

P.3 Prospect New Orleans, The McKenna Museum, New Orleans, LA, 2014

Color: Real and Imagined, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, England, 2014

Carrie Mae Weems: The Museum Series, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, 2014

Wide Angle: American Photographs, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2014

The Memory of Time, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2015

Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy, 2015

Winter in America, The School (Jack Shainman Gallery), 2015

An Exhibition of African American Photographers from the Daguerreian to the Digital Eras, Marshall Fine Arts Center at Haveford College, Haveford, PA, 2015

Represent: 200 years of African American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2015

Under Color of Law, The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art and Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA, 2015

30 Americans, Detroit Institute of Arts, 2015

Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, Spoleto Festival, Spoleto, Italy, 2016

The Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art. Cambridge, MA, 2016

Viewpoints, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (February 18–June 18, 2017)

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (April 21–September 17, 2017)

Blue Black, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis, MO (June 9–October 7, 2017)

Matera Imagined: Photography and a Southern Italian Town, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy (2017)

...And the People, Maruani Mercer, Knokke, Belgium (August 5–September 4, 2017)

Medium, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA (August 29–December 3, 2017)

Carrie Mae Weems: Ritual and Revolution, Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (September 12–December 10, 2017)

Dimensions of Black, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA (September 17–December 28, 2017)

Posing Beauty in African American Culture, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL (October 6, 2016 – January 21, 2018)

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 13, 2017 – January 14, 2018)

Edward Hopper Citation of Merit in the Visual Arts Recipient Exhibition, Carrie Mae Weems: Beacon, Nyack, NY (November 10, 2017 – February 25, 2018)

Making Home: Contemporary Works From the DIA, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (December 1, 2017 – June 6, 2018)

We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA (June 27–September 30, 2018)

Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul: Selections from the Light Work Collection, Light Work, Syracuse, NY (August 27–October 18, 2018)

Carrie Mae Weems: Strategies of Engagement, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston, MA (September 10–December 13, 2018)

Family Pictures, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI (September 14, 2018 – January 20, 2019)

Heave, 2018 Cornell University Biennial, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (September 20, 2018–November 5, 2018)

Carrie Mae Weems: Strategies of Engagement, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA (January 13, 2019–May 5, 2019)

Carrie Mae Weems II Over Time, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (September 7, 2019–October 5, 2019)

Awards

2005: Distinguished Photographers Award

2007: Anonymous Was A Woman Award

2013: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award

2013: MacArthur Fellow, "Genius" Award

2014: BET Visual Arts Award

2014: Lucie Award

2015: ICP Spotlights Award from the International Center of Photography.

2015: Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow

2015: W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University

2015: Honorary Doctorate from the School of Visual Arts

2016: National Artist Award, Anderson Ranch Arts Center

2016: Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theatre

2016: College Arts Association

2016: DeFINE ART

2016: Art of Change Fellow, Ford Foundation

2017: Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University

2017: Inga Maren Otto Fellowship, The Watermill Center

2019: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society, Bristol.

Publications

Carrie Mae Weems : The Museum of Modern Art (N.Y.), 1995.

Carrie Mae Weems : Image Maker, 1995.

Carrie Mae Weems : Recent Work, 1992––1998, 1998.

Carrie Mae Weems: In Louisiana Project, 2004.

Carrie Mae Weems: Constructing History, 2008.

Carrie Mae Weems : Social Studies, 2010.

Carrie Mae Weems : Three Decades of Photography and Video, 2012.

Carrie Mae Weems: Kitchen Table Series, 2016.

[porkchop-ao3]

A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 3)

Put to Work

Spending some quality time with Arthur :) This chapter contains hunting, just a heads up. 

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

-

A few days passed in the camp and I was starting to feel like a spare part. Dutch would find something for me, that's what everyone kept assuring me, but I'd been doing nothing but chopping vegetables next to Sadie and hanging up the washing to dry with Tilly. I felt like a housewife; it wasn't what I had in mind when I pictured the sorts of things I'd be doing with a gang of outlaws… then again, they were jobs that needed doing whoever you were.

I overheard Pearson telling Charles about a lack of meat. Charles hadn't had a chance to go out hunting in a few days and that wasn't changing on that particular morning, considering he was on guard duty for the camp. I all but spat my tongue out trying to interject.

“I can hunt,” I said with all the hope and enthusiasm of a five year old. They both looked at me blankly. “If you need meat, I can go. Almost everything I've eaten for the past year has been killed and cooked by myself. Dutch wants something for me to do to contribute, maybe this is it.”

“It's worth asking him,” Charles shrugged. “We do need the food.”

“I can forage too. I know a few good places around here to pick berries and carrots.”

“Yeah, alright, he's asking,” Pearson chuckled, gesturing to Charles as he crossed the camp to find Dutch.

Oh, it'd be nice to get out of the camp. I used to move around almost every other day when I was on my own, it was easy enough to pack up my things with how little I actually kept with me. Four days in the same place had me feeling antsy. I watched hopefully as Charles spoke with Dutch, nodding attentively as he listened to whatever he was being told.

When Charles returned he looked a little withered, sighing quietly before speaking; “he says you can go but you'll need someone to go with you. I can't go, so you'll have to find someone else.”

“I'm perfectly capable of going on my own,” I said.

“I bet you are. But you're used to feeding yourself, not an entire group. You'll be better off with a partner. Why don't you ask Arthur? I've taught him some things about hunting,” he suggested. My heart thudded at the mention of his name.

“He's asleep,” I pointed to where he was laying on his cot, hat sitting on top of his face.

“Well, he can't lay around in bed all day. Arthur!” Charles yelled, and he jumped, groaning as he dragged his hat off and peeled his head up to look around. “Hunting.”

“With who?”

“The new girl.”

“New girl…” Arthur murmured, moving to sit up as he scrubbed at his face. He looked up at me, sniffed, then put his hat on and stood up. “Alright, gimme a minute,” he said, his tone tired and exasperated.

I felt like a prize idiot. He was bound to hate me now.

I waited quietly as he readied himself, drinking coffee and spending a few moments with his horse; a Tennessee Walker with a coat a deep, burnt plum colour, mottled with white patches. A very beautiful animal who seemed perfectly calm as he brushed it and saddled it. Charles spoke with him for a moment before heading to the outskirts of camp, standing guard. When Arthur was ready he came over to me, jabbing a thumb back over his shoulder.

“You ready? You'll need to borrow some weapons.”

“If you don't mind lending them,” I nodded.

“That's no problem,” he said, turning and leading the way. I followed him over to his horse, watching as he pulled himself up onto it. “Charles said you could borrow his horse; it's that one just over there.”

I nodded and walked over to it. I took a moment to familiarise myself with the animal, patting it and speaking softly to it; it seemed like a calm horse and didn't mind me mounting it. I arranged my skirt as best I could, though it still rode up my legs a little but damned if I was going to ride sidesaddle. I missed my pants.

“Come on then, new girl,” Arthur flashed a smile at me before leading the way, taking us through the trees that surrounded the camp.

He rode a ways away from camp, I still remembered the area from when I'd stayed there and I realised he was leading me to some open space that was heavily populated with deer. I'd hunted there before, and that brought me comfort. At least I wouldn't make an idiot out of myself by being unsuccessful. Hopefully.

We stopped our horses by a large boulder. Arthur dismounted and with his back to me he asked; “you any good with a bow?”

“It's what I usually use to hunt,” I nodded, taking the opportunity to climb down while he wasn't looking. Dismounting a horse in a dress wasn't particularly easy to do in a dignified manner.

Arthur pulled a bow from his horse and turned to me, nodding towards the horse behind me. “There's one on your horse. Grab it and let's go, I'll let you get the first kill.”

I did as instructed, quickly building up some nerves about performing in front of him. I'd only ever hunted on my own. Arthur waited and let me lead when I was ready. I readied an arrow in anticipation as I began to head through some nearby bushes. I stepped quietly through the cover of greenery, knowing there was a clearing just on the other side. I stopped before the edge, spotting a buck grazing in the clearing, its rear to us. I crouched down, sensing Arthur do the same right behind me.

I waited for a moment, raising the bow and drawing back the arrow; aiming above the deer where it's head might be if it looked up. As I waited, my heart raced. Arthur was so close to me I could hear him breathing, and it was more than a little distracting. I took a peek at him and he met my gaze immediately. His eyes held me and I struggled to look away, the worst part was, he looked totally unaffected. I was sweaty and anxious and tense, and for what? In the moments our eyes were locked I could see how nice his were – so striking and blue – he was handsome, and that was probably why I was acting like a dumbass.

Arthur's eyes snapped away from mine, back towards the deer. It'd raised its head and was in the perfect position for a clean kill; I drew in a quick breath and raised my bow again. I rushed it, I knew it was a bad move, I knew I should've taken a deep breath, adjusted my posture and taken my time. I let go of the arrow and it sailed right past my target. I cursed under my breath and Arthur chuckled as the deer bolted.

“If that's how you normally work a bow I'm surprised you ain't starved,” he teased me and I sighed, feeling my face burn.

“I don't normally have company,” I muttered, rising back up and looking around. More deer were off in the distance.

I went to step out from the bushes, but something held me back. I turned with a frown and Arthur reached out to help me, untangling the fabric of my skirt from the bush it'd hooked onto. I stared at him with slightly widened eyes as he absentmindedly smoothed his hand over the fabric, which happened to be on my backside. He realised his actions and held his hands up.

"My apologies, miss," he said, and I shook my head dismissively.

“I messed that one up. I know,” I said as I strode out from the bushes and retrieved my arrow from where it dug into the ground.

“Don't beat yourself up. I weren't expecting you to do it first time.”

“What is that? Talking like I've never done this before,” I cocked a brow at him and he tilted his head.

“I didn't mean it like that,” he said softly. I kicked myself for my defensiveness and the bite in my tone. I really was making myself out to be a total bitch.  

I took a long breath and turned. “Let's try that again. Stay back a little, would you?”

“Of course, ma'am,” my legs went a little weak at his tone, but I soldiered on.

I kept low as I crept towards a small group of deer I'd spotted at the bottom of a gentle decline in the earth. This time, Arthur gave me some space and I felt more at ease, though slightly pressured. I had to get it this time, if I didn't I'd be mortified. He'd think I was a fool who couldn't work a bow, didn't know what she was talking about.

I aimed, ignoring the chatter in my mind and taking a series of slow, deep breaths. With a buck as my target – albeit smaller than the one I'd missed – I let go of the arrow on empty lungs. I could've cheered when it went down quickly and cleanly, but I kept myself composed and straight faced. I looked back at Arthur for his approval, as if I needed it, and he gave me a nod and a smile. My mouth threatened to curl into a smile too, but the last thing I wanted was to look cocky.

“We'll come back for that. Let's go for another; you wanna do it or shall I?” he questioned.

“I don't mind. I could look for some rabbits while you go for another deer?” I shrugged, knowing I could grab a couple of those easy, especially if we separated and Arthur wasn't watching me.

“As in, split up?”

“Yeah.”

“You can't wait to get away from me, huh?” He laughed and my mouth opened with no words to come out. “I'm just messing with you.”

“I've been alone for a long time, Arthur. I'm sorry if I'm a little… if I come across as rude.”

“You're fine. Go look for some rabbits,” he waved me off with an amused shake of his head. I watched him walk away in the direction of where the deer scattered, feeling odd. Like I suddenly didn't want to be there. Like I didn't belong around other people, at least not for extended periods of time.

With a heavy feeling in my chest I set off looking for rabbits. They were everywhere around these parts, it wasn't hard. I got three before heading back to where our horses were waiting, hooking them onto Charles’ saddle. I went back to where the first deer was still laying, deciding what the best way to lift it without getting blood on Mary-Beth's dress would be. It was at that point Arthur found me and lifted the animal for me without even asking. I felt the need to explain myself.

“I wasn't just waiting around for you to do that, I would've carried it myself, but this dress doesn't belong to me,” I told him and he glanced at me with a strange look.

“I didn't think you were,” he said, puzzled. “I don't mind carrying it, I already put another on the back of my horse. No point in you getting covered in blood too.”

I noticed the stain on his shoulder, “thank you.”

“Are you alright?” He asked, still giving me an odd look.

“Weird week,” I sighed. “Don't mind me.”

We reached the horses and he strapped the deer down on the back of the horse I was borrowing. He turned to look at me again.

“How you settling in, anyway?”

“Alright, I guess. People have been kind to me,” I told him, walking over to the horse and stroking it's mane. Arthur didn't move from where he stood right next to me, I'd expected him to mount his own horse. “And it's been nice falling asleep to Javier's music, when he plays at night.”

“Yeah? You seem a little sad.”

“You don't know me, how can you tell whether I'm happy or sad? Maybe I'm always like this,” I questioned and he pursed his lips. It looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding back.

It was brought to the forefront of my mind that I still felt I recognised him. With the opportunity presented, I just came out with it; “Have we met before?”

There was a beat of silence, Arthur seemed surprised yet sort of relieved.

“We have,” he nodded, his shoulders seeming to loosen.

“Why didn't you say something?”

“I couldn't work out if you remembered me,” he laughed a little, but soon turned serious, thoughtful.

“I recognise you. I know I've seen your face, I've been wracking my brain.”

“Well, I didn't wanna bring it up, cause…” he trailed off. “It weren't exactly a good night for you.”

It clicked into place then, the guilt that appeared in his eyes. An uncomfortable air about him.

“Oh, it was you!” I exclaimed, turning to face him head on. “The night my brother got himself killed. You're the man who helped me.”

[mrdanieldutchvdl]

How did you come to own The Count? I've always wanted to know how you got that fine horse

A fine horse he is!

My memory’s a little foggy on what year it was, maybe late 1880s, perhaps 1887... ish?

John was about 14-15 at the time, I remember that. About the same age Arthur was when we took him in... And Arthur was 24. Ah, it must’ve been 1887!

We had heard of some illicit horse dealer near town, selling sturdy horses for a good price and John was getting to the age where he needed his own. Hosea and I were wary, of course, since it sounded too good to be true.

My horse then was a beautiful black Tennessee Walker, whom I loved and cared for greatly. But when I had laid eyes upon him... His fur was was a sheeny, lustrous white - pure white, like a cloud or an angel.

It was at this time I had begun to develop my own philosophies on the idea of America and what I dreamed of for the sake of the American People. A pure, unpolluted world - without greed, without all-powerful governing control.

I saw this as a symbol, I guess. And considered my Tennessee Walker - realising that perhaps it represented my youth or youth itself and this snow-white stallion represented the strength of my faith in that ideology. I took it as a sign. Albeit a small one, but I appreciated what this meant about me and my will.

I’m still unsure of the breed since, as I mentioned, these guys were clearly illegitimate and were possibly trying to con us into thinking these were rare or exotic horses. But I was told that he was an albino Turkoman from Turkmenistan (located in Central Asia).

Learning more about this horse set it apart from any other I had seen or even heard about. To this day, I still see The Count as an angel of sorts. Perhaps a messenger or guardian. I don’t rightly know, but it’s a pretty thing to believe in.

John got my horse for the time being, and I took The Count.

The name came from the sense of nobility his presence had instilled in me. I felt strong and confident with him by my side. It wasn’t actually a reference to Count Dracula - that novel hadn’t been released until 20 years later (1897) and I wasn’t a huge fan of it anyway.

Perhaps The Count is my ashen “pale, white horse” of the Apocalypse and I am Death, bringing an end to the world as we know it!

Hosea, Arthur, John and I being the Four Horsemen - haha, now there’s a thought!

(Thank you for your question. Feel free to ask anything else!)

[rainbows-fanfics]

My New Reason (Chapter 12)

Chapter 1 |   Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 |  Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14

Summary:  Louis is falling for someone he really shouldn’t be, and the same is happening to Clementine.  Lousentine/Clouis

Clementine's P.O.V. "I'll be back, okay? I promise I won't fuck around, so we won't take too long." Those would be horrible last words. For some reason, sending Louis off to scavenge outside of the safe zone was harder than I anticipated. I had frequent suspicions that something would go wrong whenever he left. But this morning, when I was wishing him luck and giving him my usual words of advice, something tightened in my chest. I could feel the recurring goosebumps on my neck; the ones that came before a storm. I recalled him catching this, recognizing my hesitancy while holding my hand. He gave me a firm squeeze and said those very words to me, with a look so soft that he reminded me of a small kitten. I had to swallow down my worries, the anxiety of what could happen, and let go of his hand. He kissed my forehead. It was a long, meaningful one - the silent message, to me, that he'd be careful. Then, he left. The last thing I saw was his figure disappearing into the woods. And the last thing I remember is feeling a heavy weight on my shoulders, accompanied by a cold swelling that encapsulated my heart. I was dealing with these thoughts, these suspicions - the growing concern that my boyfriend would not come back. That he would be bitten, injured, or abandoned. Like the people I've known in the past. I tried to get my mind off of it by practicing my archery and checking on the walls, but even that couldn't distract me from my fear. I was sitting beside A.J., watching him and Tennessee draw. I figured spending some time with my boy would ease my mind; get me to stop overthinking about my boyfriend's trip. It worked a little bit, but every time I saw A.J. smile, it reminded me of Louis. I tapped my knuckles on the wood, watching attentively as he worked on a drawing. This was another one of me and him, except now he was working on another figure in the picture. I was trying to see who it was, but his hand was blocking my view. I tapped my foot underneath the table in hopes that it would calm me down. Tenn noticed my fidgeting and laid down his pencil. "Hey, um, if you're worried them - th-they'll come back." "How do you know?" I asked. "Because they're smart. They always come back." "They're taking awhile. That's what worries me."

"Maybe it means the traps are full, and we'll be eating dinner tonight." He grabbed his pencil with a shrug. My eyes passed by his sketchbook. He was drawing a group of rabbits. Probably what he was hoping to see when they came back. I felt a tap on my arm and turned to the side, where I found A.J. holding his piece of paper up. I didn't hesitate to take it and look at what he had drawn. "This is great, kiddo." I looked at the trees and the tire swing. "You're getting better." "Yeah, but did you see who I added?" He pointed to the right to show the new addition. "It's Louis!" As my golden eyes traveled over the stick-like figure, I could see the similarities. Mostly by the hair and the trench coat. I couldn't fight the smile growing on my lips as I looked at the three of us. A.J. was holding my hand along with Louis. We were all smiling, and above us was the word (written the best he could manage): Family. My whole body tingled just reading it. "Wow, that's...that's really good. But why did you draw Louis?" "Well, he says we're 'Team Fun', but I like to think we're family. Like you said. So, I drew him with us." Tenn glanced over and showed his approval. "I think it looks great, A.J." "Not as good as yours." "Do you want to learn how to draw rabbits? I can show you." "Yeah, cool!" I noticed the two were started to do their own thing and decided to take my leave, bringing A.J.'s drawing with me. I made my way into the dorms and entered our room. I placed his drawing among the collection we made on the wall. This one I made sure was centered among them all. I took a step back once it was hung and looked at it in pride. I'll have to make sure Louis sees this when he gets back... Louis. The perturbed feeling came back to me as I thought of him. My thoughts went wild again, now wondering if he would even get to see what A.J. created. If he'd ever know that A.J. considered him family. Before my mind got depressive, I removed myself from the rooms and felt a mixture of fear and doubt swell in my body. I tried to conceal it the best I could while I passed by the others, but the moment I was alone, I clutched the sides of my head. "Get it together, Clementine." I muttered angrily to myself. "Nothing's going to happen. Just...calm down." I collapsed on the ground in defeat. I noticed I was sitting nearby a tree and grabbed my knife, angrily cutting into the bark before I could register my actions. I wasn't paying attention while I cut into the tree, but when I removed the blade, I realized I made something unintentionally. A heart. I looked back at my knife. Had I really made that unconsciously? In the midst of fear? Slowly, I went forward to carve into the lines some more. By this point it was legible on the tree. I decided to complete it, cutting my initial and Louis' inside the heart. When that was done, I stopped to look at my work. It was sloppy, but I was proud of it, nonetheless. "Wow. I should be an artist." Somehow, drawing that heart calmed me. And it was what probably beckoned me to make more. I went around finding trees around the school so I could carve hearts on them, with the initials and everything. I found that I was getting better drawing them by the time I finished. When I ran out of trees, I went to the tables outside and carved them on there, too. I don't know why I did all of this. It was somehow relaxing to keep my hands working. My mind just blanked when I made them, and I really needed that at a time like this. My impulsiveness was ahead of me because by this point I had drawn about 15 hearts. I stopped myself from dulling my blade altogether and returned it to its rightful spot. When I came around the corner of one building, I was stopped by someone nearly running into me. I realized right away that it was Louis. I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around him, squeezing tighter than I intended. I knew I was smiling, but I was oblivious to the tears running down my cheeks. "Fuck, you're back!" I didn't realize how excited I sound. It was almost like I haven't seen him for months. I felt his hand come around my back, where he leaned down to lay a kiss on my forehead again. The relief washed over me as he laughed. The sound made my heart skip a beat. "You sound disappointed," He teased. "I'm anything but." I squeezed him one more time before letting go. "What the hell took you guys so long?" "There's this rabbit family Aasim has been checking on. They're all grown-up now. Or, at least they were. We've got a full meal tonight." "Did anything happen? Any raiders? Psychos? Is everyone alright?" "We're all back in one piece." He tsked. "It was actually kind of boring. A few walkers came, but that was it. I didn't fuck around, as promised." I sighed. Thank God. "Well, thank you for being careful. I...was starting to get worried, actually." "Clementine? Worried about ME?" He felt my forehead. "Did you get sick while I was gone?" I swatted his hand away. "Come on, don't make me not miss you." "Why would you? I'm back." He grinned. "I was looking for you, actually. A.J. came to me, but you weren't there. I was a little worried." "I'm fine. Just decided to take a walk." I lied. "Well, let's take a walk back. So you can see our catch. Shit, you should see the size of the mom! Looks like she could feed two people." He turned to leave, but I grabbed his sleeve before he could. He turned back to me and I struggled finding the right words. Instead, I removed my hand to sit down on the grass and rest my back against the wall. I patted the spot beside me. "Let's spend some time together first." I insisted. "You were gone for hours, you know." I fluttered my eyelashes. He shook his head. "I can't say no to a face like that." He sat down next to me and rested Chairles on his side. I didn't realize he was holding it this whole time until now. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, moving my hand so it was on his chest. I missed him. I had no idea why, either. Maybe it was because I thought he wasn't going to come back at all. "So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" He asked. "A.J. drew something for you. It's back in the room." "Shit, that's awesome! What is it?" "You're going to have to see for yourself." I heard him mutter a 'damn' and tried not to giggle. I held his hand with mine and used the other to feel around him. I eventually came to the wooden handle of Chairles, and swiped it without even thinking. I felt Louis stir, but he made no movement of protest. I turned to get a better look at the weapon, wondering if I should really go through with what I was thinking. Yeah. I totally should. I examined each side of Chairles as I twirled it around in my hand. After finding a spot to my satisfaction, I unsheathed my knife and cut into its surface. I heard Louis gasp and gag from beside me, but didn't stop. I could even see his hands hovering around me as I continued with my work. "Hey, excuse me, I'm technically as Chairles' father, and as such I am NOT permitting my child a tattoo! Not until he's 18!" "Well, that's just too bad, I guess." I had to suck in the laughter as I handed him back his weapon and my knife. "Go ahead and finish it." "Finish wha- Oh." He saw what I had carved on the side. It was a heart with my initial carved inside it, the spot next to it purposely left blank so he could fill in his own. I watched observantly as his eyes glossed over it before they darted over to mine. He hesitated by fidgeting with the handle of the knife, gripping Chairles tighter in his hand. Carefully, Louis took the edge of the blade and cut his initial into the wood. After that was done, he handed me back my knife and I returned it to its rightful place. I caught him inspecting his handiwork and took a hold of it myself. Our initials looked no different than the ones that were on the piano, or the ones I had carved on the trees and the tables, but this one held just as much significance to me. "Our potato looks great." I stated proudly. He sighed. "You're never going to let that die, are you?" "Nope." He shook his head and glanced back at the chair leg. He fingered the indents with his thumb and smiled softly. I wanted to tease him about getting splinters, but I found my own hand on top of the initials before I could. Then my fingers crossed over his, and we entwined them without even thinking. Our hands rested over the heart. His head lowered on top of mine where he rested his chin on top of my hat. I could hear him murmuring from above me. "I saw what you did, with the trees." He brought up. "That was...really cool." "You did?" "Well, yeah. I saw you carve our initials everywhere. That's actually how I found you - I was following the hearts." I flushed. I didn't know what I was expecting - I was practically marking them for the whole school to see. Everyone else has probably seen them by this point. I could just imagine Ruby swearing, Mitch writing over them, or Aasim rolling his eyes and writing about it in his diary. They all probably thought Louis made them, which made it even more hilarious. "Yeah. I got a little carried away." I admitted. "I kind of missed you while you were gone, so that was how I kept myself busy." "You know, I was worried about you. You were acting off when I left. But now I know you just missed me." He grinned cheekily. I huffed."-As much as I hate to admit it...you're right." "Naturally." "But I was worried about you getting hurt, or bitten, or dying. Or, anything, I really." I looked away from him. "I had that feeling again, and I thought it was going to be right. But it wasn't." "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I tripped on a rock and ran into a tree." "No, it doesn't." I moved so I was in front of him, resting my head on the side of his neck. "But I'm glad you're okay." We remained like that for awhile, my arms wrapped around him and my head in the crook of his shoulder. I laid a trail of kisses on his neck that led to his jaw. It felt nice to be touching him again, hearing his voice. Even if he was saying stupid stuff. "Should I start kissing you before I leave?" He teased. "So you're not worrying that I'm going to die a horrible death when I'm not here?" I blushed. "Don't ruin this moment, okay?" "Gotcha'." "...It would be nice, though..." He moved my head from his shoulder and tipped it so my eyes met with his. We went closer to each other without even thinking, and our lips locked naturally. Kissing him happened so often now that it was like a new instinct of mine. As my lips brushed against his, I let out a moan in relief - relief that I could be kissing him again, alive, and in one piece. His hand came to my neck and pulled me closer so our bodies were touching. I was still melting from that kiss, holding the sides of his shoulders with a smile. The stress and fear was gone. Now I was happy again. While I could be, at least. He tugged gently at my pigtails, sending pleasant goosebumps down my body. "Oh, and that drawing A.J. made..." I brought up. "It's of the three of us. He said he drew his family." "Wait, I'm in there?" He asked. "Yeah. He drew us holding his hands." I grabbed his for good measure. "We all look pretty happy." "...Shit..." He sounded surprised. "I- he really....Clem?" "Yeah?" "I love you. And--And A.J." He used both of his arms to hold me closer. "So much..." I lowered my eyes, brushing his dreads to the side so I could kiss his forehead. "We love you, too."

[arlingtonpark]

2018 Midterm Election Primer

Ladies and gentlemen, Armageddon is upon us.

I am of course referring to the 2018 Midterms, the 116th such elections to be held under the current Constitution.

It’s been a long way since this election cycle started. Democrats were so assured of victory in 2016. Indeed, most Americans probably thought Clinton would win.  

Donald Trump’s rather flukey victory was attributable to a lot of factors. Hillary Clinton’s general unpopularity, which to some extent had a basis in sexism; the racialization of American politics, which Trump, to his credit, adeptly took advantage of; the refusal of Republican politicians to abandon Trump in the face of his many outrages; and the infamous Comey Letter.

And Clinton’s forsaking of Waukesha County.

Trump’s victory was a catalyzing moment for the American left, with women, and especially white, suburban women, traditionally a GOP leaning group, mobilizing in opposition to Trump’s presidency. The Women’s March, later joined by the #metoo movement, have marked an inflection point in female activism. There has been an unprecedented number of women running for public office this election cycle. Many of these women were compelled to run by the trauma of 2016 (never forget) and naturally, because the Democratic Party is the party in opposition to Trump, they overwhelmingly chose to run as Democrats.

Not counting incumbents, so in other words only looking at races where no candidate was favored to win the nomination, the Democratic Party has nominated women to be their standard bearer in half of all elections for the House of Representatives. In this small sliver of the political universe we have gender parity.

That has never happened before.

The 116th Congress, to be elected this November, will be the first one with a fourth of its membership being women. This will represent a huge increase from the current proportion, which is about one fifth.

However, this surge in female activism has been mostly limited to the Democratic Party. The Republicans have seen a much more limited increase in female candidacies.

It’s no secret to anyone paying attention that the Democrats are the party of women and minorities and the Republicans are the party of white men. In 2018 we saw an acceleration of this trend. As of this writing, 33% of Democratic members of the House are women. Only 9% of Republican House members are women. 37% of Democratic House members are nonwhite. 5% of Republican House members are nonwhite. These differences will only grow after 2018.

Joe Crowley and Mike Capuano, both white, male Democrats, were not renominated by the party and were replaced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, both women of color, respectively. Kristi Noem and Marsha Blackburn, both female Republicans, opted to leave the House to run for higher office and Dusty Johnson and Mark Green, both men, were respectively nominated to replace them.

As Dave Wasserman put it, House Democrats are 41% white men and falling. House Republicans are 85% white men and rising.

The parties will only continue to grow further and further apart.

The House of Representatives.

The marquee race on Election night will be the drive to 218. Whichever party gets over that number will (at least nominally) control the House of Representatives.

As of now, the Democrats are favored five times out of six to win the majority of seats. That’s very good, but there is still a one in six chance Republicans remain in power. The forecast models being used to predict the outcome of the election are based, in part, on polling. Polls are not perfect; it is not uncommon for them to be off by 2-3 percentage points.

If the polls are underestimating Republicans by 2-3 percentage points, then the GOP has a solid chance of retaining the majority. This would happen on the backs of numerous races being won by less than a two percentage margin or so.

Conversely, if it turns out the polls are overestimating Republicans (and yes, a 15% chance of victory could actually be an overestimation) by 2-3 percentage points, then the GOP will get fucking slaughtered on 11/6. In this scenario the Democrats could win over 50 seats. They only need 23 to win.  

There’s an equal chance that either scenario happens.

Most gains by the Democrats will be concentrated among suburban areas, a sign of the GOP’s collapse among suburban voters.

The number of competitive seats has greatly expanded over time. Democrats are competitive in districts such as Virginia’s 5th, North Carolina’s 9th, and Michigan’s 8th. This was unthinkable a year ago.

If the Democrats retake the House it is unlikely they will move to impeach Trump immediately. When Republicans tried to impeach Bill Clinton there was a backlash amongst the people against them. People thought they were being too hasty. Democrats will try to avoid that.

But don’t worry. Democrats fully intend on riding Trump’s ass and in more ways than you can imagine. The duty of the House is to oversee the executive branch, a duty Republicans have shirked. If the Democrats take control you can bet there will be innumerable investigations into reports of impropriety in the Trump administration.

And Nancy Pelosi?

If Republicans keep control she’s dead. She’s deader than Tony Bennett. She’ll be ousted from power and replaced by someone else. Who that’ll be, I don’t know. Joe Crowley was the obvious replacement but he’s dead too, now. There’s really no clear replacement.

Even if the Democrats take control, Pelosi isn’t a lock for the Speakership. Many Democratic candidates are running on a promise of not supporting her. If there’s only a slim Democratic majority, there may not be enough Pelosi Democrats to get her the Speakership. Things could get messy next January.

 The Senate.

The Senate is a mirror image of the House. Republicans are favored five out of six times to have the majority after the election.

But the fact that it’s even this close is a miracle.

There are 24 Democrats running for reelection in 2018. Ten of them are trying to win in states that voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Five of them are running in states Trump won by over 15 percentage points.

If Clinton were President, Republicans could conceivably have picked up over 10 seats, a massive landslide victory for them. But now? They may not win any seats. That’s incredible.

Right now, Democrats may lose only one of their own: Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who’s been polling behind her Republican opponent.

This loss will likely be offset, though, in Arizona, where Democrat Kyrsten Sinema is favored to replace Republican Jeff Flake, who is retiring.

To win the majority, Heitkamp will need to hang on in North Dakota and Sinema will need to win alongside Jacky Rosen, the Democrat running against Republican Senator Dean Heller in Nevada. That would give then the 51 seats they need for a majority. Unfortunately, Rosen has also fallen behind in the polls.

If Heitkamp or Rosen or both can’t pull through, they’ll need to get to 51 seats some other way, most likely by winning Texas and Tennessee…and it’s at this point I hope it becomes clear just how measly their chances are of winning.

In Indiana, Democrat Joe Donnelley is running for reelection and his strategy is to basically try and trick voters into thinking he’s the Republican. Donnelley is an accidental Senator; he only won because his Republican opponent was a moron who threw away the election.

The same holds true for Claire McCaskill, Missouri’s Democratic senator. She should have lost reelection in 2012, but was saved when her Republican opponent epically screwed himself. If you were around back then you probably remember it, actually.

The final race of note is Florida. The Democrat is Bill Nelson, who is a former astronaut. The Republican is Governor Rick Scott, who was fined over $1 billion for defrauding the federal government.

Even if the Democrats don’t win the majority now, keeping the Republicans at 51 seats will set them up to take the Senate later on down the line. 2020 and 2022 will feature election maps far more favorable to the Democrats than 2018.

But looking out even further into the future the Democratic Party’s Senate prospects are not looking good. It is only through sheer luck that they aren’t going to get slaughtered here. The 2018 map will be up for election again in 2024 and it is then that they’ll get slaughtered.

 Governors

The gaggle of 36 governor’s races are a mirror image of the Senate map, which is a mirror image of the House. It’s mirrors all the way down in this cycle! Most of the seats are held by Republicans and a lot of them are in states where Democrats have a chance to win. But unlike the Senate, they don’t have a favorable map to buoy themselves, which means they’re on a sinking ship without a lifeboat.

Democrats are favored to take governorships from the Republicans in Michigan, Illinois, Maine, Iowa, New Mexico, and Florida.

Florida!

That’s just bewildering. Florida is a swing state, all elections there are close. Yet Democrat Andrew Gillum, a black guy running on universal healthcare, is practically running away with the governorship!

And you want even more proof things are going well for Democrats?

Georgia is a toss-up. Yeah, that’s right, Democrat Stacey Abrams, another black candidate, is competitive against Republican Brian Kemp.

Republican governor Scott Walker is slightly favored to get his ass kicked in Wisconsin, which is karmic justice as far as union leaders are concerned since he’s been a thorn in their side for a while now.

Another competitive Republican state that shouldn’t be: Kansas. The old Republican governor, Sam Brownback, is like the captain of the Titanic, except imagine if Captain Smith drove the ship into the iceberg on purpose. Brownback’s policies have ruined the state and now his disciple, Kris Kobach, is trying to succeed him. Kobach is such a clown that several prominent Kansas Republicans have endorsed the Democrat, Laura Kelly.

Things are a bit complicated in Alaska. Bill Walker, the current governor, is not affiliated with any party, except he used to be a Democrat, and the Democrats chose to endorse him instead of nominating someone in the last election. Things didn’t go so smoothly this time, though. Democrats nominated Mark Begich to be governor and Walker chose to run for reelection anyway. This split the anti-Republican vote and cleared the way for Republican Dunleavey to hike his way to victory.

Most politicians would be too egomaniacal to see they can’t win and drop out, but not Bill Walker. He dropped out of the race and endorsed Begich, ironically proving he was the one who deserved to win the most. Now Dunleavy…is still favored to win. But it’s closer now. Yeah.

The truth is that Walker is just very unpopular. However much Alaskans are stereotyped as rugged mountainpeople, never forget their state is the only one in the country that gives every man, women, and child. literally. free. money. That’s why Walker wasn’t so popular. Because he cut back on the amount of free money he was giving away.

Alaska is only one of two bright spots for Republicans here. The other is New England. They have three governorships there and all three are favored to be reelected. These governors are more moderate (pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gay marriage, etc.) and they all work with Democrats to govern effectively. It is precisely because of this they will never be big with the national Republican Party.

I haven’t followed the Nevada race, but Nevada politico Jon Ralston describes Republican Adam Laxalt like he’s a douche who’s dating someone for their looks, so I hope he loses. He’s (barely) favored to win.

Ohio’s race is a toss-up between Mike DeWine and Richard Corduroy.

Winning all these governorships is important for Democrats because these governors will be around in 2021 when congressional districts are redrawn. Because those district maps have to be passed into law to take effect, the governors of most states have a veto over it. Republicans had a free hand in 2011 during the last redraw and they drew the maps to favor themselves. Having Democratic governors will be important to keeping the party from being drawn out.

 The Big Picture

The most important aspect of any given election is how it sets up the next election two years later. (The one constant in American politics is a torturously arduous struggle that never ends.) Which candidates win and which lose will be used to argue for one vision of the Democratic and Republican parties over the others. For example, if Andrew Gillum, a black man running on Bernie Sander’s platform, wins in Florida, then that will strengthen the case Sanders and his ilk are making for the path the Party needs to go down.

It’s possible a future President could be elected in 2018. Gillum and Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, have both been talked about as presidential candidates. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic candidate for Governor of California, has also had his name thrown around.

The best election night commentary is from the smart politicos on twitter. Seriously, these people know what they’re talking about and because it’s Twitter, there’ll be much snark. I’ll have a Twitter list ready by election night for anyone willing to follow it on Twitter.

Hope you all vote! :)

[dailyaudiobible]

07/10/21 DAB Transcript

1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14, Acts 27:21-44, Psalm 8:1-9, Proverbs 18:23-24

Today is the 10th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we round the corner on another one of our weeks. And yeah, we’ll read today and then we’ll release, will be done with this week and continue moving forward. We’ve been reading from the English Standard Version this week, which is what will do today. We've been working our way through the Book of 1 Chronicles, as well as the Book of Acts which is what we’ll continue to do today. And so, 1 Chronicles chapters 9 and 10.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. Here we are we've successfully reached the conclusion of another full week together. It's a day-by-day occurrence in the weeks go by and Your faithfulness is ever apparent. We look back to yesterday and You were there. We look back to last week and You were there. We look back to last month and You've been there all the way we look through our lives and see how the guidance of the Scriptures that You have always been at work and will always continue to Father us and to love us and we love You, we adore You, we worship You. There is none like You and even saying that is ridiculous. There is none even close. The only thing that is close is that Your Spirit is within us and You are empowering us to bring good news and light into this world and so often we squelch that. So, Holy Spirit come, thank You for Your patience and kindness toward us. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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And that's it for today I'm Brian, I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Prayers and Encouragements:

This is Trusting God in Texas and I just wanted to thank His Little Sharie for praying for those of us including yourself, who have trouble walking. I have been praying for you since I heard you first speak a couple years ago. I heard you recently talk about having to walk into church with a walker. I know what it’s like to have people look at you because you don't walk well and that you need help walk. I’ve had trouble walking my whole life and even though my Long Walk will consist of the Long Walk for me in the parking lot to the door of my clinic I still pray when I do my Long Walk. I have my husband help me walk and I have a cane. But I wanted to read one of my favorite verses, passages in the Bible and it comes from Isaiah chapter 40 and it says He gives power to the weak, this is 40 verses 29 through 31 He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might he increases strength even you shall faint and be weary and young men shall utterly fall but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. God bless all of you who are doing the Long Walk today and we will be praying with you and for you. In Jesus name.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible community this is Diane Olive Brown calling from Newberg, Indiana. And it is July 7th but I’m reading July 6th 2021 and it is 7:04 a.m. central time. And we’re gonna take our Long Walk but I just wanted to say thank you Brian, thank you so much. I started with you and now I’m with Daily Audio Bible Chronological and Daily Audio Bible Kids and I love you so much because you understand me, always spoke healing into my heart, always spoke love. And I began with you and now my husband and my granddaughter are joining me and I just want to say thank you for loving me just the way I am. And I remember the times that were most crucial to me. You would speak something just for me. I don't think you knew it but I want to say thank you and today, I'm going on my Long Walk however it turns out, I’ll report, I’ll send a picture or a short video because this is my Community and I’m all caught up. It took me a long time but I’m all caught up. And I love you guys, I love you.

Good morning DABers. I just want to pray this morning for every request and praise report that we’ve received thus far. Thank You Jesus for hearing the heart of Your people. Lord, we are crying out to You because You are the heart fixer and the mind regulator. And we just want to bless Your name. There are families that are broken Father God, but You bless the broken and save us to be in Your kingdom. We hear the cries of men, literally crying for their position for their heart and their pain. Father God, You are the Balm in Gilead to make the sin sick whole. I would pray for those who are in their bed of affliction who cannot move who are having such a traumatic time with cancer, COVID 19, with all the ailments the devil seems to through at us but Father God You still continue to bless us in our weakness because Your strength is made perfect in our weakness. Lord, it’s just refreshing to hear Your people around the world around the globe, cry out to you in this time that we’re living in. But help us to seek Your face earnestly. Forgive us oh Lord and cleanse our heart, make it pure. Lord, thank You for who You are and who You’ve been to every single one of these DABers throughout their life. Just help us to get a closer walk with You. So that when …

Daily Audio Bible thank you for your ministry it has taught me how to believe in God and I’m so proud and happy for you. I hope that China’s new baby is doing well. And Tyler and Christian, I pray their fine too. And Max, who is probably in college now is doing well, I can tell. And Ezekiel, wow, I’m so amazed at how well he reads, like, I just, it gives me a dynamic understanding of how God works. Thank you for your ministries once again and I hope to see you next time. Bye. Okay we did the community walk, we’re gonna walk again this afternoon. Do you want to say something about that? So, yeah, my grandma just told me we’re going for the community walk and we will have a lot of fun going on this community walk and I feel like talking about how our community has helped us. But my favorite of all the communities is Daily Audio Bible. And my favorite part in that is Daily Audio Bible for Kids. Thank you once again and I look forward to seeing you in person. Bye.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Renzo in Florida and I just want to pray for somebody that I heard on the July 7 recording. I just want to pray for one woman that’s saying that like her family is just going through a lot of like, problems, especially like, to point where there is guns involved. I just want to please pray. Father God I just know that all things are possible through You God. Let the Holy Spirit indwell in all of them. God just let, that you could just take away this escalation. Let there to be restoration in this home God. Completely heal them, guide and protect her as she tries to make peace. God let them to realize that as Christians we can’t be like that, that we can’t start drama, we can’t start stuff and that escalates to that situation God. And help them to realize, let them to have a fatherly loving rebuke from God and let them to be able to understand that they need to stop and fill them up with Your Holy Spirit and fill them up with Your presence and let them to repent of what they’re doing. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. And I just wanted to pray for, I heard somebody that was just struggling with I think mental illness or something like that and just depression and stuff like that. Father God, I just please pray for that person that was struggling with mental illness and depression God and just completely heal them, protect them and guide them and let them to be guided by the Holy Spirit fill them up with your presence, overwhelm them so much that they just have peace, peace that surpasses all understanding. And let them to take refuge in you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God Bless you guys, I’m praying for you. Jesus loves you. Bye.

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

Battle #12

Shoes: Silhouette ( Side One )

Vs.

The Animals: S/T ( Side 2 )

Shoes: Silhouette ( Side One )

Shoes is an American power pop band, formed in Zion, Illinois, in 1974 by brothers John and Jeff Murphy, and Gary Klebe and incorporating several different drummers including Skip Meyer, Barry Shumaker, Ric Menck, John Richardson, and Jeff Hunter. Also of note is the foresight of the band. Shoes formed their own record label, Black Vinyl Records, and owned and operated their own commercial recording studio (Short Order Recorder) from 1983 to 2004. Many artists recorded at the studio and some went on to sign major label recording contracts, including Local H and Material Issue. Also notice the absence of anything in front of Shoes. As in “The”. The band has intentionally left it off, though apparently there is a debate about wether it’s lifted from a famous Beatles interview from when they were first gaining notoriety. If you’re looking for finely crafted power pop, then look no further. Shoes fit in that category better than...well, a comfortable pair of shoes! (#seewhatididthere). The band had early success on MTV through video airplay, and by the time this album came around they had come and gone from any major label support. Silhouette is the band’s 5th album (technically) unless you count One in Versailles which was a limited run private press and very very out of print. By this point the band had gone through a few line up changes and may have even been using programmed percussion on a few of the tracks. It starts with “Get My Message” which is a showcase of the band’s pop sensibilities. Echo effects with a triumphant sound and essentially a three piece now. “Will You Spin For Me?” Is the sort of hit from this album. Picking up some tips from The Cars on this one, the boys experiment with distortion and fuzz. Pretty wicked stuff...good thing it was pressed on UK’s Demon Records! “When Push Comes To Shove” has more mid tempo, mid-fi pop. It’s predictable but precise and exactly what I like about it. “Shining” is next and has a disco bass feel to it. Such meat on these bones! Big sounds and hooks! You need shoes on your feet to tap to the beat (#seewhatididthere)! Is reggae new wave a thing? Well it is on the track “It’s Only You”! Wow, they are not afraid to experiment and tackle new ideas either. Ska wave was experiencing a comeback around that time so it sort of makes sense. Either way I appreciate the diversity! Their past albums were more consistent but these tangents suit the band well. The final tune is “Twist and Bend it” with it’s very straight and forward 4 on the floor pop methodology. Almost a little punk! If Gary Numan and The Cars hooked up at CBGBs this is the baby they would produce. Secretly I was hoping that they would end up battling The Shirts or Mean Jeans.

The Animals: S/T ( Side 2 )

The Animals are an English rhythm and blues and rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London when they began to find fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon. You can really get a sense for this in their signature song and transatlantic No. 1 hit single, "House of the Rising Sun", as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The band balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm and blues-orientated album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US in 1964. The name “animals” itself came from their often explosive live shows as they were compared to being animals on stage. Eric Burdon has denied that though stating it is an homage to a friend they used total around with. As is often the case for these types of bands it was a whirlwind of tours, recording and putting out albums. This record (self titled) is the one that kicked it all off though. “Around and Around” is (I believe) a Chuck Berry tune. Blues bar with emphatic verses and crispy cymbal hits. It’s rock ‘n’ roll at it’s finest. It’s a song about non-stop sock hop rock, of course.

“I’m in Love Again “ sounds so similar it may as well be the same song. Just a slower tempo and different subject matter. You can actually hear the simple recording set up if you listen carefully. “Gonna Send you Back to Walker” has those church organ keys present. The Animals were an early adopter of the new fangled technology- and it’s partly what set them apart. Another play from the standards and practices book is “Memphis, Tennessee”. Nothing to write home about but it’s good background music. “I’m Mad Again” hurls some accusatory bass around now it is time for a story. No one is denying the importance of this band but the tunes are somewhat lackluster. Link Wray would be proud, and they do use a vibraslap so maybe they truly are Animals?!? The last number has us looking to the piano for salvation and is more upbeat. That song is called “I’ve Been Around” and it certainly has it’s place in the Animals catalog. Interesting side bar: MGM (as in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the movie studio) put this out. The Animals keep it short and sweet.

Today Shoes cast a silhouette across the battlefield. They managed to burn 131 calories over 6 songs and 20 minutes. They averaged 21.83 calories burned per song and 6.55 calories burned per minute. Shoes earned 16 out of 18 possible stars. The Animals made some tracks (#seewhatididthere) with their self titled debut and managed to burn 111 calories. They played 6 songs and did it over 17 minutes. The Animals averaged 18.50 calories burned per song and 6.53 calories burned per minute. They earned 9 out of 18 possible stars. It seems that despite their long history, The Animals live in the silhouette of Shoes today. Shoes win!!

Shoes: “Will You Spin For Me?”

https://youtu.be/tfIw-LdZWZc

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonseven

#Randomrecordworkout