#writings by juls: wes bennett

[websterss]

A PROMISE WORTH BREAKING (1) - THE FAVOR

REQUEST: Omg maybe the plot of better than the movies but reversed? like it’s Wes trying to get with Liz so he asks Reader for help.

WARNING(S): angst, fluff

WORD COUNT: 2,541

PAIRING: Wes Bennett x fem!reader

A/N: I hope you enjoy it! @raggedyoldwitch here it is, love you lmfao! Feedback is always welcomed!

MASTERLIST

You expected a lot of forecomings in life. Many a few involved getting selected as the head of the prom committee. Being at the top of your classes. Even managing the yearbook committee too. A busy life to you meant a happy life, it distracted you from your tragic reality, and it also saved you from getting through school without a social life. You expected it. You did. You saw it coming. You just wish what you could have seen coming was Wes Bennett soaking wet from head to toe outside your door in the middle of the afternoon. You had to blink a few times because this felt too good to be true.

“Y-Y/n, you’re looking well.” He threw up three fingers in greetings. That boyish grin you always had a hard time looking away from was plastered all over his stupid face. You looked down and cleared your throat before answering and said.

“Bennett. To what do I owe this–“ You gestured to him in general, trying to play along but your wall broke down immediately in displeasure, so you cut it short. “What do you want?” You quirked a brow at him. Still keeping him cold and drenched on your front porch. You felt your heart flutter hearing him chuckle.

“To the point I see. Remember that time I helped you walk back home after you fell off your bike and scraped your knee and you said if I ever needed anything to just ask?”

“Wesley we were nine…” You stare at him dumbfounded.

“So you do remember! By any chance…does your offer still apply to this day? I mean I helped you after all!” He defended.

“You pushed me off my bike and took off on it to chase after Liz.”

“Then I came back for you…” He said.

“After I wouldn’t stop crying!” Your eyes grew wide. “You bribed me with five bucks just so I wouldn’t blab to your mom.”

“And look at you! Y-You’re all better now. Beautiful and all grown up.” Oh, how you would have loved to have been called beautiful any other time, but not when he was just trying to be cute. You continued to watch as the rain pelted over his curls. It was a nice scenery. 

“I have the scar to prove it.” You scoff.

“Which only shows just how strong you are. You survived! Can I come in?” He nodded past your shoulder dispersing the dispute and changing the subject. “I’m taking a shower out here.”

“Wha- No!“ Your mouth is left agape. 

“Come on. You owe me!” 

“I do not-”

“Wesley?” Your aunt cut you off as she approached you. “Oh my god Wesley. Oh my look at you all grown up. How are you?” She greeted him with a smile.

“Wet.” He squinted at you with a smirk. He fights a chuckle as you roll your eyes at him. He curled in on himself. The cold was starting to get to him.

“Don’t let him in, you'll catch his idiocy.” You warned, slamming your hand out to block the doorway. “Hear it’s contagious…” You shrug.

“Y/n let him in!” Meg shoved you aside. You stumble off balance catching yourself on the table beside the door and glaring at her. “S-Sorry.” She grimaces then turns back to the giant who walked through your threshold. The sloshing from his shoes makes him look down. He meets your annoyed gaze and grimaces. He takes off his shoes and starts looking around.

His eyes caught on to the mantle of pictures. He walks over to the middle of the living room. He inspects the frames that hold memories of your late parents. Some of you as a child and some with your aunt. He smiles at them, tapping a light finger to the glass, and backs up. His eyes now find the piano sitting in the corner. He slowly walks over to it

“So this is casa Y/L/N huh? It’s nice!” You watch as droplets of water continue to drip down onto the floor. You roll your eyes knowing Meg would make you mop it up later and throw a towel at him. It startles him but he catches it in time. “T-Thanks.” He laughs, and goes to rub the cloth against his head, then wraps it around his shoulders. “Nice piano by the way. You play?” 

“No.” You walk away and up the stairs. Wes watches for a few seconds then tails it after you. Your soft climb was overcome by the loud thumps of the giant trying to catch up to you. You walk over to your room and plop down at your desk where you resume doing some homework. Wes stops at the doorway eyes taking in the fairy lights, the vinyls hung up on your wall under a record player, and various polaroids taped to different walls. The hues of green and yellows and whites combined satisfied his brain. It felt cozy, especially after seeing the fuzzy blanket at the edge of your bed. 

“I’ve never been in a girl's room before. Not bad...” He walked over to your tall bookshelf. Poking and prodding anything that caught his attention. He uprighted a face-down frame on your top shelf. He brought it down to his view and looked it over. It was you and your parents. Your hands pulled down on a yellow beanie over your eyes, he swore he remembered you wearing it when you were kids but he wasn’t sure. Your smile was affectionate, it made his lips curl up. Your parents had each pressed a kiss to your cheeks. It was a cute picture of you, but it did make him want to ask why you faced it down. Was the memory of them hard to bear, hard to look at? He sighed and put it back. He was about to go for a collectible item when your voice scared him.

"I wouldn’t.” You hadn’t even turned around to see what he was doing.

“It’s cool.” He argued.

“And one of a kind.” That was all you said.

Wes stuck his tongue at you. Then reached for it again. He was caught off guard by a stuffed bear that collided with the back of his neck. He laughed and moved on to something else. That being your pictures. 

“Quite the photographer I see...” He reached up to touch the string of lights and walked over to the headboard, most of your pictures lay above your bed. 

“I like capturing moments.” You scribbled something down and read off your textbook. 

“You don’t say...” He smirked turning his head to view each four walls covered top to bottom. Your room was practically a gallery. No space was left untouched by a picture. Except by your door of course. He looked back to your hunched-over frame. Wrapped up in your schoolwork made him smile. Anytime he’d see you around you were constantly doing something. He actually wondered whether you ever took a break. He smiled as his eyes roamed over you. You grew up beautiful, he wasn’t lying when he first saw you open the door. He cracked his knuckles as he worked up the courage to ask you for that favor. That was why he was here after all. To ask for your help. “Hey, Y/n...”

 “What is it, Wesley?” The edge in your voice told him not to keep you too long.

“You know Liz right?” Wes panics as he sees your back straighten up. Your eyes meet his as you turn around in your chair. Scaringly slow. He tenses up.

“Liz Buxbaum? Our neighbor Liz, who we’ve known since childhood.” You laugh at his question. Wes rolls his eyes. 

God, am I going to regret this? 

“Do I know Liz? The girl you’ve had a massive thing for since the second grade. The one you spend your time bothering and annoying. That Liz? Doesn’t ring a bell.” 

“You’re horrible a person.”

“I know it keeps me awake at night.” You swivel in your chair. The giggle you release makes his heart skip. A feeling he didn’t know he could have for you.

“You know what forget I asked-” 

“No, wait- I’m sorry! Why are you asking me if I know Liz weirdo?” You let go of his arm you grabbed onto.

“I need your help.” Wes breaks down his barrier. He almost looked nervous. 

“Wesley Bennett needs my help. That’s a first!” You lean back amazed.

“Y/n!” He whines. Literally.

“Okay, fine what is it?”

“I have a proposition for you.” Wes rubbed his hands together which caused you to pull a face.

“I’m a woman with self-respect, Bennett…” You feign offense by placing your hand on your chest.

“Favor then, god! What do you take me for Y/L/N?” He scoffed.

“You really want to know?”

“No, now shut up and listen.” You rolled your eyes and leaned back in your chair. You were curious, to say the least. Whatever favor he needed sounded serious, but then again when was Wes really serious? The only time you’ve ever really seen him be serious was when he was around Liz– Oh. You were starting to guess what the next words that would spill past his lips were going to be. Wes never usually conjured up a conversation with you. This was all new territory you were treading and fast. But if you were being honest, when would a chance like this ever happen again? So you’d take anything that he’d throw at you.

“You’re a girl right?”

Except that. What?

“What?”

“Shit that came out wrong, obviously you are, but that’s not what I came here to ask. Say. Look–”

“Is there a point to this?” Wes could see your eyes beginning to screw together, you were getting upset. 

“I need your help with getting with Liz.” 

Oh yeah, you were definitely screwed now. Anything but that, you pleaded. You could feel the thousands of arrows hitting you square in the heart right about now. 

“Huh?”

“I need your help to get with Liz.” He repeated.

“Heard you the first time bud, Just don’t understand how I fit into this equation?” You gestured between the both of you.

“She thinks I’m this colossal asshole.”

“You torment the poor girl, Wesley. What’d you expect?” You exasperate in shock. “She embraces you with open arms and kisses?” You spin back around and face your notebooks.

He gets up and leans over your desk. “How do I change her perception of me? I’ve tried. Trust me I have, we just bicker back and forth. We’re literally a reality of her make-believe romance tropes.”

You peer up at him, giving him a once over then ponder what trope. “Oh no, you’re a living breathing enemies-to-lovers trope. May your chances with Flower Princess die!” You give him the sweetest grin you can muster. Wes looks just about ready to smack you. It was a funny sight, his stupid face all annoyed.

“You need to help me.”

“Why should I?” You look at him incredulously. 

“The bike thing…” He tried cramming that back into the conversation again. You weren’t having his bullshit.

“You pushed me off it!” You exclaim. The audacity of this man. 

“I was sorry!” He leans down and exclaims just as loud as you did in your face.

“No. I don’t owe you shit, Wesley Bennett. You made your bed, now lie in it. You want Liz to like you, be nice to her!” You slammed your books closed and stood up, closer and in his face more. 

“Y/n please…”

“What help would I even be?” You shrug.

“Liz has always floated towards you since we were kids. You’ve indulged her state of thinking, that movie cliches could be connected to real life. You know her.”

“So do you.” You smirk. “But you understand her Wes. You’re trying to convince me that I have this sort of in with Liz, that I can connect to her in this special way, but it’s not even like that.” You shake your head. 

“Please.” He sighs. 

“No. We’re not even friends Wes, What makes you think I’d give you the time of day?” You take your books and walk over to your bed, wanting to be sprawled out as you try to finish what was left of your homework.  

“I really haven’t been good to you huh?” Wes straightens up and walks over to your bed, he kneels down to be eye level from where you lay. Your eyes soften as he looks up at you. “How about another proposition then?”

“What now?” You groan.

“If you help me with Liz, then I promise to be a friend to you.”

“You could be a good friend without any terms involved.” You suggest with a pout. 

“This is all I ask of you. Nothing more, nothing less. Please.” He begged softly.

“Fine-”

“Oh my god really?”

“-On one condition.” He was not expecting you to lay down your own terms, but if it got you to help him then so be it, he thought.

“What’s that? He blinked up at you.

“You have to promise...that we'll remain good friends after all this.” You say earnestly. You were a little disappointed when he brushed it off so easily. You figured he was only attentive to details when Liz was involved in the equation. Sadly, not for you…In this moment you were thankful he did not notice a change in your demeanor.

“Can't promise what I've already set in my heart." He smirked. "Once we get Liz to fall in love with me, I'll be the best friend you never had.” He nudges you playfully on the shoulder.

“Ouch.” You feign offense. He chuckles.

“I owe you, Y/L/N. Seriously.” Wes looks down at his intertwined hands. His sincerity was too much for your beating heart. You needed him gone before you'd jeopardize his plan. Your friendship. You sharply inhale as you look away from his eyes.

“Can you get the fuck out now, some of us actually take school seriously, okay?” You laugh as you push him back. He stumbles onto his ass, then springs up. His taller form towering over you now. 

“Thank you!” He grins boyishly. Rocking back and forth as he backs out of your room. He starts overdoing it with the blow kisses. You swat the air as if to fan them away. This makes him laugh, and then he makes his leave.

“Yeah, whatever…”

“See you at school, Y/L/N.”

Oh, you were most definitely, positively screwed. You fall back onto your pillows, grab your squishy, and slam the frog into your face. Nothing but muffled groans of annoyance could be heard, as your aunt Meg paused in your doorway. Mortified. 

“You okay?”

“Boys are stupid!” You screech into your squishy. “Why do they exist, Meg? I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them…” 

“I’ll make us some cocoa.” She gestured over her shoulder, even though you couldn’t see her do so. She nodded and with that, you were all alone once again in the grave you just dug for yourself.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 1, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 02, 2024

Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law. 

It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers. The court also said it should be presumed that the president also has immunity for other official acts as well, unless that prosecution would not intrude on the authority of the executive branch.

This is a profound change to our fundamental law—an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take “bold and unhesitating action” and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts’s decision didn’t focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law. 

But this extraordinary power grab does not mean President Joe Biden can do as he wishes. As legal commentator Asha Rangappa pointed out, the court gave itself the power to determine which actions can be prosecuted and which cannot by making itself the final arbiter of what is “official” and what is not. Thus any action a president takes is subject to review by the Supreme Court, and it is reasonable to assume that this particular court would not give a Democrat the same leeway it would give Trump. 

There is no historical or legal precedent for this decision. The Declaration of Independence was a litany of complaints against King George III designed to explain why the colonists were declaring themselves free of kings; the Constitution did not provide immunity for the president, although it did for members of Congress in certain conditions, and it provided for the removal of the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors”—what would those be if a president is immune from prosecution for his official acts? The framers worried about politicians’ overreach and carefully provided for oversight of leaders; the Supreme Court today smashed through that key guardrail. 

Presidential immunity is a brand new doctrine. In February 2021, explaining away his vote to acquit Trump for inciting an insurrection, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had also protected Trump in his first impeachment trial in 2019, said: “Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office…. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.”

But it was not just McConnell who thought that way. At his confirmation hearing in 2005, now–Chief Justice John Roberts said: “I believe that no one is above the law under our system and that includes the president. The president is fully bound by the law, the Constitution, and statutes.” 

In his 2006 confirmation hearings, Samuel Alito said: “There is nothing that is more important for our republic than the rule of law. No person in this country, no matter how high or powerful, is above the law.” 

And in 2018, Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate: “No one’s above the law in the United States, that’s a foundational principle…. We’re all equal before the law…. The foundation of our Constitution was that…the presidency would not be a monarchy…. [T]he president is not above the law, no one is above the law.”

Now they have changed that foundational principle for a man who, according to White House officials during his term, called for the execution of people who upset him and who has vowed to exact vengeance on those he now thinks have wronged him. Over the past weekend, Trump shared an image on social media saying that former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who sat on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, was guilty of treason and calling for “televised military tribunals” to try her. 

Today, observers illustrated what Trump’s newly declared immunity could mean. Political scientist Norm Ornstein pointed out that Trump could “order his handpicked FBI Director to arrest and jail his political opponents. He can order the IRS to put liens on the property of media companies who criticize him and jail reporters and editors.” Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted that a president with such broad immunity could order the assassination of Supreme Court justices, and retired military leader Mark Hertling wrote that he was “trying to figure out how a commander can refuse an illegal order from someone who is issuing it as an official act.” 

Asha Rangappa wrote: “According to the Court, a President could literally provide the leader of a hostile adversary with intelligence needed to win a conflict in which we are involved, or even attack or invade the U.S., and not be prosecuted for treason, because negotiating with heads of state is an exclusive Art. II function. In case you were wondering.” Trump is currently under indictment for retaining classified documents. “The Court has handed Trump, if he wins this November, carte blanche to be a ‘dictator on day one,’ and the ability to use every lever of official power at his disposal for his personal ends without any recourse,” Rangappa wrote. “This election is now a clear-cut decision between democracy and autocracy. Vote accordingly.”

Trump’s lawyers are already challenging Trump’s conviction in the election interference case in which a jury found him guilty on 34 counts. Over Trump’s name on social media, a post said the decision was “BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND WISE, AND CLEARS THE STENCH FROM THE BIDEN TRIALS AND HOAXES, ALL OF THEM, THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN UNFAIR ATTACK ON CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME. MANY OF THESE FAKE CASES WILL NOW DISAPPEAR, OR WITHER INTO OBSCURITY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife was deeply involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, also took a shot at the appointment of special counsels to investigate such events. Thomas was not the only Justice whose participation in this decision was likely covered by a requirement that he recuse himself: Alito has publicly expressed support for the attempt to keep Trump in office against the will of voters. Trump appointed three of the other justices granting him immunity—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—to the court.

In a dissent in which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that because of the majority’s decision, "[t]he relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law."

“Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity. If the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our democracy,” she wrote, “I dissent.” 

Today’s decision destroyed the principle on which this nation was founded, that all people in the United States of America should be equal before the law.

The name of the case is “Donald J. Trump v. United States.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[verdiprati]

Upcoming Performances by Dame Sarah Connolly

[NOTE: this post is now out of date. Check the schedule tag on my blog for the most recent version of this list.]

After the jump: an unofficial schedule of Dame Sarah Connolly’s future performances. Those of you in Britain may catch a performance in London, Cardiff, Leeds, Oxford, Gloucester, Bath, or Lewes. Those on the Continent may see her in Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Geneva, Zeist, Baden-Baden, Vilabertran (Catalunya), or Capestang (Languedoc). And finally, those of us in North America have engagements in New York and Philadelphia to look forward to! Don’t live near one of these places? Take in a concert from afar: I am adding online broadcast and livestream details as they become available.

This is not an authoritative list. These are the upcoming performances by Dame Sarah Connolly that I have been able to learn about from Dame Sarah’s agent's website (Askonas Holt), Operabase, Bachtrack, Dame Sarah's Twitter, and generally ferreting around the web.

I sometimes list concerts that are not yet officially confirmed; you should of course check official sources before making plans and be aware that cast changes and cancellations can happen at any time.

I have added links to venue, ticketing, and broadcast information where available. Tips on new information are always welcome! Please contact me via email (verdiprati [at] selveamene [dot] com), Tumblr messaging, or ask box (plain prose only in the ask box; anything with links or an email address will get eaten by Tumblr filters) with corrections or additions.

Handel, Giulio Cesare (title role) at Glyndebourne, last two shows on July 24 and 28, 2018. In a revival of the legendary 2005 production by David McVicar, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by William Christie (June 10 - July 6) and Jonathan Cohen (July 10 - 28). With Joélle Harvey as Cleopatra, plus Christophe Dumaux and Patricia Bardon reprising the roles of Tolomeo and Cornelia respectively; also starring Anna Stéphany (Sesto), John Moore (Achilla), and Kangmin Justin Kim (Nireno).

Recital of English song at the BBC Proms, Cadogan Hall, London, August 6, 2018. With Joseph Middleton. The repertoire includes works by Britten, Bridge, Vaughn Williams, Parry, Holst, and several others—all of whom “studied or taught at the Royal College of Music”—with two world premieres by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Lisa Illean.

[Broadcast] As with all BBC Proms performances, this one will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and should remain available for listening on demand for about a month afterward.

Appearance at a charity concert to benefit the Ligue contre le cancer, Capestang, Languedoc, August 11, 2018. Dame Sarah’s participation is mentioned in English-language writeups here and here. There are very scant clues as to what repertoire she might perform.

Recital at the Schubertíada Vilabertran, August 18, 2018. With pianist Malcolm Martineau and viola player Jonathan Brown. Repertoire includes songs by Brahms, Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, and English songs by Richard Rodney Bennett, Ivor Gurney, and Frank Bridge.

[New! Broadcast] I can’t figure out how to deep-link the schedule on the radio station’s website, but this concert is scheduled to be broadcast live on Catalunya Música. I can’t promise that it will be available for listening on demand later, but CatMúsica generally makes concert recordings available (sometimes after a few days’ delay) here. (You may need to click “Tots” to see the full list. Concerts expire from the website after about a month.) UPDATE: Sorry, false alarm! I was looking at a schedule of live performances in the region, not the schedule of radio broadcasts. Oops! There is other programming scheduled at the time of Dame Sarah’s recital at Vilabertran. I believe the recital will be recorded but presumably we will have to wait a few weeks or months before it comes up for broadcast.

[Masterclass] Public masterclass at Wigmore Hall, London, September 19, 2018. Part of Dame Sarah’s residency at the Wigmore. Tickets go on sale to the general public May 29.

Wagner, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Fricka in both) at the Royal Opera, London, September 24 through October 28, 2018. A revival of Keith Warner’s Ring Cycle, with Antonio Pappano conducting. For cast and date details, see the ROH web pages linked above. As of this writing, the ROH is only allowing customers to purchase tickets for an entire cycle of the four operas; I’m not sure whether they’ll allow separate booking later. The October 28 performance will be livecast to cinemas; the October 18 performance, also marked “Filming,” is presumably a dry run for the camera crews and/or a chance to gather additional footage for promos and perhaps an eventual DVD release (we can hope).

[Broadcast] As mentioned above, the October 28 performance of Die Walküre is scheduled for livecast to cinemas. You can use this page to search for a screening near you—if you live in the UK, Europe, South Africa, or the US. At the moment, there do not appear to be any screenings scheduled elsewhere.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde at the Royal Festival Hall, London, September 29, 2018. With Stuart Skelton and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. In a concert with Mitsiko Uchida playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27.

Appearance at “Opera For All” anniversary show at the English National Opera, London, October 10, 2018. Repertoire TBA.  Somewhat ironically, tickets for “Opera For All” start at a hefty £45 for a few seats far back in the Upper Circle and Dress Circle, and climb steeply to £75 for the next cheapest price bracket. Update: the powers that be at ENO seem to have realized the error of their ways. As of this writing, I’m seeing tickets for £15 (very few seats), £45, and £55, as well as the pricier options (£75 and £125).

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde at the Philharmonie Berlin, October 14, 2018. With Torsten Kerl and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

[Broadcast] The concert listing on the RSB website includes a notation “Konzert mit Deutschlandfunk Kultur,” implying (I believe) that it will be broadcast on said radio station. As of this writing, it is still too early to confirm this on the radio station’s site, but keep an eye out closer to the date.

Recital of English song at the Oxford Lieder Festival, October 22, 2018. With Eugene Asti. Songs in English by numerous British composers including Rebecca Clarke, Muriel Herbert, and Sally Beamish. There is a good deal of overlap with the selections on Dame Sarah’s recent album “Come to Me in My Dreams.”

Concert with the Tenebrae Consort at Wigmore Hall, London, October 24, 2018. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. The mostly English repertoire centers on a new piece by Judith Bingham setting poetry by Ivor Gurney. The choir throws in some Schoenberg at the end. 

Blow, Venus and Adonis and Purcell, Dido and Aeneas in concert at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, November 3, 2018. With the Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn. Dame Sarah’s co-stars are Jonathan McGovern, Lucy Crowe, Dame Felicity Palmer, and Rowan Pierce.

Tippett, A Child of our Time at the Paris Philharmonie, November 7 and 8, 2018. With Michelle Bradley, Mark Padmore, John Relyea, and the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Thomas Adès in a concert also featuring symphonic works by Berlioz and Adès.

Recital at the Bath Mozartfest, Guildhall, Bath, November 13, 2018. With Joseph Middleton. Repertoire to include “Deh, per questo istante solo” from La Clemenza di Tito as well as songs by Schubert, Ravel, Debussy, Gurney, and Ireland. The Bath Box Office website says “Online booking for this event opens at 09:30 on 30 Jul 2018.”

"L’invitation au voyage,” song recital at Wigmore Hall, London, November 16, 2018. With James Newby and Joseph Middleton. The repertoire is Ravel-centric but not all by Ravel himself. Part of Dame Sarah’s residency at the Wigmore and also part of a Ravel song series being presented by the venue over the course of the year.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at deSingel, Antwerp, November 21, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at the Philharmonie Berlin, November 23, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Tickets appear to be on sale here. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, December 1, 2018. Part of a tour by Le Concert Olympique and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. With Malin Hartelius, Steve Davislim, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann; conducted by Jan Caeyers.

Appearance at the Glyndebourne Tour: Golden Anniversary Celebration at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, December 4, 2018. Sir Thomas Allen and Sir John Tomlinson are also appearing at the concert, and the Glyndebourne website says “More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.” The program has not been announced yet but I will be surprised if Dame Sarah doesn’t reprise an aria or two from Giulio Cesare. I don’t see a way to purchase tickets online but they apparently are available by phoning the box office.

Wagner, Das Rheingold (Fricka) at the Teatro Real, Madrid, January 17 through February 1, 2019. In a production by Robert Carsen; conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. Co-stars include Greer Grimsley (Wotan) and Sophie Bevan (Freia) among others.

Berlioz, L’Enfance du Christ with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, February 15, 2019. Sir Andrew Davis conducts; the other vocal soloists in the all-Brit, all-excellent lineup are Andrew Staples, Roderick Williams, and Matthew Brook.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, March 5, 2019. Works by R. Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, A. Mahler, and Zemlinsky.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, March 7, 2019. I don’t see the repertoire mentioned on the theater’s website as of this writing, but presumably it will be similar to the works presented in Amsterdam and Philadelphia in the duo’s other recitals this month.

Recital with Julius Drake at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, March 11, 2019. Works by Brahms, Wolf, Roussel, Debussy, and Zemlinsky.

Recital with Julius Drake at Wigmore Hall, London, March 15, 2019. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. Repertoire TBA, but may have some works in common with those programmed for Connolly and Drake’s other recitals in the same month. Listed in the season preview brochure [PDF].

Recital with Julius Drake at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, March 22, 2019. Sponsored by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Repertoire includes works by Brahms, Wolf, Roussel, Debussy, and Zemlinksy.

Wagner, Götterdämmerung (Waltraute) at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, April 27, May 4, and May 11, 2019. In a revival of Robert Lepage’s production of the Ring cycle, with all shows to be conducted by Philippe Jordan. Oddly, the entire cast list seems to have disappeared from the Met website, but Operabase confirms my recollection that Dame Sarah was once listed there. Dame Sarah’s co-stars in Götterdämmerung (according to notes that I took when the cast list was still on the Met site) include Christine Goerke (Brünnhilde), Stefan Vinke / Andreas Schager (sharing the role of Siegfried), Edith Haller (Gutrune), Eric Owens (Hagen), Evgeny Nitikin (Gunther), and Tomasz Konieczny (Alberich). The de-listing of the entire cast is very odd though and I would take this information with a grain of salt; perhaps there is some rejiggering going on. Update: the Metropolitan Opera announced in a tweet on August 9 that Dame Sarah will be replaced by Michaela Schuster in all performances of Götterdämmerung.

[Details TBA] Appearance at the Internationaal LiedFestival Zeist (Netherlands), late May, 2019. The festival dates are May 17-26. Programming details have not yet been released as of this writing, but Dame Sarah is mentioned as one of the performing artists.

Elgar, The Dream of Gerontius with the Hallé and three choruses at Victoria Hall, Leeds, June 1, 2019. Barry Banks and David Soar are the other vocal soloists; Simon Wright conducts. General ticket sales (for non-subscribers) begin August 18.

[New!] Mahler, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (extracts) and Janáček, Glagolitic Mass at the Maison de la Radio, Paris, June 20, 2019. With the Orchestre National de France and the Choeur de Radio France, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The other soloists for the Glagolitic Mass are Simona Šaturová, Mati Turi, and Christof Fischesser.

[Broadcast] This concert will be broadcast live on France Musique.

Recital with Malcolm Martineau at Wigmore Hall, London, July 23, 2019. Part of Dame Sarah’s yearlong residency at the Wigmore. Repertoire TBA. Listed in the season preview brochure [PDF].

[New!] Berlioz, La damnation de Faust (in concert, presumably) at the Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, July 27, 2019. With Peter Hoare, Christopher Purves, and David Ireland. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24. The concert is listed in the preview brochure here [PDF]; full program details are set to be announced in early 2019. 

[New!] Bob Chilcott, A Christmas Oratorio (premiere) at the Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester, August 1, 2019. With Nick Pritchard and Neal Davies. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24. The concert is listed in the preview brochure here [PDF]; full program details are set to be announced in early 2019. 

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Handel, Agrippina at the Dutch National Opera. Hugh Canning recently tweeted the news that the Royal Opera is planning to offer Barrie Kosky’s new production of Agrippina with Joyce DiDonato in the title role; in a reply that has now been deleted, Dame Sarah mentioned that she and Alice Coote would do the same production in Amsterdam and Munich. (If you are a member of the Sarah Connolly fan group on Facebook, you can see a screenshot there.) Subsequent discussion revealed that Coote would get the Munich gig (in July 2019), so Connolly must be the Amsterdam Agrippina. The DNO has already announced its ‘18-’19 season and Agrippina isn’t in it, so presumably we’re looking towards ‘19-’20 or beyond.

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Brett Dean, Hamlet (Gertrude) somewhere in the United States. Allan Clayton, who starred in the title role of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at Glyndebourne in 2017, mentioned in a recent interview with the Telegraph that he would be reprising the role at an unspecified date and venue in the US. When prompted on Twitter, Dame Sarah indicated that she would be participating in the revival, too (“I shall be misunderstanding my confused boy again”). Hat tip to Christopher Lowrey, who sang Guildenstern in the original production at Glyndebourne, whose tweet praising Allan Clayton brought the Telegraph interview to my attention. (No indication whether Lowrey will also be cast in the American revival.)

[Details TBA] A future appearance at the Opéra national de Paris is mentioned in the current bio that can be downloaded from Dame Sarah’s page on the Askonas Holt website (click “Publicity Pack”). I cannot find her name mentioned anywhere in the 2018-2019 season, so I suppose we must wait until at least the fall of 2019 if not later.

Previous versions of this list can be found under the schedule tag on this blog. This list published July 24, 2018. Edited July 26 to add the broadcast link for the BBC Proms recital. Edited July 28 to add the US revival of Hamlet. Edited August 5 to add the Catalunya Música live broadcast of the concert from Vilabertran. Edited August 8 to add the two Three Choirs Festival concerts in Gloucester. Edited August 9 to reflect Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from the Met Götterdämmerung. Edited August 16 to remove the (nonexistent, as it turns out) Catalunya Música live broadcast of the concert from Vilabertran, with apologies for the error, and to update the list of locations where the ROH  Walküre live cinema telecasts may be seen. Edited August 22 to add the Paris Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Glagolitic Mass. Edited August 29 to add Dame Sarah’s appearance at the Glyndebourne Tour special event in December. I may continue to edit this list as I receive new information.

[opedguy]

New Iranian Nuke Deal in Doubt

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Aug. 4, 2021.--President Joe Biden’s (78), chief Vienna negotiator on a new Iranian Nuke Deal 58-year-old Robert Malley expressed doubt about the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], now languishing from inactivity, since Iran decided to take a hiatus of third-party negotiations.  U.S. and Iran have no diplomatic relations but since former President Donald Trump cancelled the JCPOA May 8, 2018, Iran’s hard line government wants no part of the U.S. government.  Iran’s 81-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khemenei inaugurates his successor tomorrow, as 60-year-old former Chief Justice Ibrahim Raisi replaces 72-year-old moderate Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s president.  Malley has gotten that sinking feeling that the Ayatollah isn’t serious about negotiating in good faith to return to the 5% uranium enrichment limits dictated the Jul 15, 2015 JCPOA.    

         U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany, the so-called P5+1, have been pushing Washington to resume the JCPOA since Trump cancelled it in 2018.  Trump cancelled the agreement primarily because one Iran call all the billions from the Obama administration, it went on a state terrorism binge, starting proxy wars with Saudi Arabia and Israel.  Trump’s only choice to stop Iran’s proxy wars was to re-impose draconic economic sanctions, including a boycott of Iranian.oil.  Malley has “increasing doubts” that a deal is feasible.  While stranger things have happened, it’s possible that the Ayatollah and Raisi could surprise a lot of people and re-up the JCPOA.  “The real risk here that they come back with unrealistic demands about what they can achieve in these talkes,” Malley said.  Raisi said yesterday that he was committed to ending crippling U.S. sanctions, something promising.   

          Malley’s concern stems from past statements by the Ayatollah, insisting the U.S. end all economic sanctions before Iran agrees to scale back its uranium enrichment program.  For some unknown period of time, Iran has been spinning uranium 242 to 60%, in violation of the JCPOA.  Khaemenei made clear that once Trump canceled the agreement, all bets are off when it comes to uranium enrichment limits.  Whether Malley admits it or not, the deal is probably dead because of Iran’s malign activities in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.  Attacking and Israeli tanker Aug. 1 and hijacking a Panama-flagged, Oman-owned Asphalt Princess yesterday, Iran is running amok in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.  No naval forces, including the U.S. and U.K., have taken Iran to task militarily on the open seas. Unless Iran stops its malign activities, Malley know any Nuke Deal is dead.      

       Malley can’t figure out what’s going on with the third-party talks to re-up the JCPOA.  Secretary of State Tony Blinken, 58, understands the threat posed currently by Iran to international shipping, especially to the price of oil. Malley knows that Iran is enriching uranium to 60% but doesn’t really know if they’ve gone to 90% weapons grade fissile material.  Iran stopped allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] from inspections May 24, creating more verifications problems. But the original JCPOA didn’t permit IAEA inspectors from going into Iran’s military uranium enrichment sites, making verification next to impossible.  U.S. and European Union officials have been concerned about Iran’s break-out time to a nuclear bomb, since the IAEA has no real way to knowing what type of fissile material Iran stockpiles.  Malley wants a new JCPOA to keep track of Iran’s enrichment activities.  

           Using advanced 1R-4 and IR-6 nuclear centrifuges, Iran’s enrichment program appears heading to weapons grade material. Biden has promised that Iran will not develop a nuclear weapons on his watch yet the longer Iran’s nuclear enrichment activity goes, the closer Iran gets to producing its first A-bomb.  No one knows how much, if any, weapons grade fissile material Iran already has because IAEA inspectors only had limited access to select enrichment sites.  It’s beyond Malley’s pay grade to decide what Biden will do to stop Iran from enriching weapons grade fissile material.  “At that point, we will have to reassess that way forward, we hope it doesn’t come to that,” Malley said.  Biden has a big problem now that Raisi becomes President of Iran Aug. 5.  Ayatollah Khamenei has shown no sign of more compromise, leading Malley to believe that the JCPOA talks are in doubt.      

       Biden’s multilateral approach with Iran has its limitations since Iran shows no signs of compromising about its uranium enrichment program.  With more aggressive actions in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Biden has some big decisions coordinating with the U.K and Israel.  Israel’s 49-year-old Prime Minister Naftali Bennett already said that Israel reserves the right to respond to Iran’s predator drone strike on its tanker in the Gulf.  It’s clear that Iran is still in retaliation mode after Trump ordered the predator drone assassination of Al-Quds 62-year-old leader Qassem Soleimani Jan. 2, 2020.  Whatever happened in the past, Iran enters a new era with ultra-conservative President Ibrahim Raisi taking the reins.  Aligned with Khaemenei, the U.S. and EU can expect a more hard-line approach, including, as Malley fears, demanding that the U.S. end all sanctions before negotiations go ahead.

 About the Author 

  John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.      

[friend-clarity]

Bari Weiss and the New York Times

Bari Weiss just learned her lesson.

A brilliant writer, winner last year of the National Jewish book award for How To Fight Anti-Semitism and staff editor for the op-ed section of the New York Times, she has this week regretfully sent in her letter of resignation in light of her recognition that the self-proclaimed “newspaper of record” no longer has room for journalists who refuse to fall in step with the far-left political narrative that has now become the New York Times Bible.

As Weiss put it, “The Times has embraced the idea that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else“ ... 

Peter Beinart's essay [in the NY Time last week], “I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State”, beautifully echoed the paper’s intense antipathy to Israel as well as its ongoing prejudicial reporting.The paper also had no problem a while back giving a half-page op-ed to arch terrorist Marwan Barghouti – a criminal serving five consecutive life terms after being convicted in an Israeli criminal court of premeditated murder for his role in terrorist attacks that killed five people – to author a diatribe against the Israeli system of justice. Just to make certain readers could identify the writer the article concluded with this note: ““Marwan Barghouti is a Palestinian leader and parliamentarian.”

Jul 15, 2020 R. Benjamin Blech

A brilliant writer, winner last year of the National Jewish book award for How To Fight Anti-Semitism and staff editor for the op-ed section of the New York Times, she has this week regretfully sent in her letter of resignation in light of her recognition that the self-proclaimed “newspaper of record” no longer has room for journalists who refuse to fall in step with the far-left political narrative that has now become the New York Times Bible.

Weiss’s announcement follows shortly after the departure of editorial page editor James Bennett – another resignation that illustrates precisely the kind of new McCarthy-like policy that today governs a newspaper which once laid claim to our esteem for seeking truth and open inquiry.

Bennett permitted for publication an op-ed piece by Senator Tom Cotton that diverged from the Times’ approach to the post George Floyd riots that have so far been responsible for the deaths of at least 22 people. Senator Cotton expressed an opinion that reasonable people can debate; he agreed with the President that it was a good idea to send in the National Guard to maintain and restore order. He argued that the Insurrection Act could be invoked to deploy the military across the country to assist local law enforcement. And that was anathema to the current groupthink of the Times. As Bari Weiss notes, “It took the paper two days and two jobs to say that the Tom Cotton op-ed ‘fell short of our standards’” – and actually apologized for publishing it.

It was in 1896 that Adolph Ochs described the philosophy that would guide his newspaper and make it a paradigm for honest journalism: “To make of the columns of the New York Times a forum for the consideration of all questions of public importance, and to that end to invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.”

Today’s readers need to know that that is no longer official or even permitted policy.

Opinions only have a right to be heard if they agree with the established orthodoxy of the publisher. The free exchange of ideas is not an ideal; it is a forbidden invitation to readers to come to their own erroneous conclusions.

As Weiss put it, “The Times has embraced the idea that truth isn’t a process of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few whose job is to inform everyone else… Intellectual curiosity – let alone risk-taking – is now a liability at the Times. If a person’s ideology is in keeping with the new orthodoxy, they and their work remain unscrutinized. Everyone else lives in fear of the digital Thunderdome. Online venom is excused so long as it is directed at the proper targets. Standing up for principle at the paper does not win plaudits. It puts a target on your back.”

Bari Weiss had another reason for having a target placed on her back. She was the victim of “constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views. They have called me a Nazi and a racist; I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m ‘writing about the Jews again.’”

How utterly amazing to be accused as both a Nazi as well as a too ardent supporter of Israel.

Last week the Times offered us yet another op-ed that apparently “met their standards.” Peter Beinart's essay, “I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State”, beautifully echoed the paper’s intense antipathy to Israel as well as its ongoing prejudicial reporting.

The paper also had no problem a while back giving a half-page op-ed to arch terrorist Marwan Barghouti – a criminal serving five consecutive life terms after being convicted in an Israeli criminal court of premeditated murder for his role in terrorist attacks that killed five people – to author a diatribe against the Israeli system of justice. Just to make certain readers could identify the writer the article concluded with this note: ““Marwan Barghouti is a Palestinian leader and parliamentarian.”

It is well to remember that before the op-ed page debuted in the New York Times on September 21, 1970, John B. Oakes, the Times editor who willed the page into existence, remarked that, “A newspaper’s deepest responsibility is to make readers think. The minute we begin to insist that everyone think the same way we think, our democratic way of life is in danger.”

The page opposite the editorials, today home of the op-ed section, was originally occupied by obituaries, a fitting description of the demise of its dedication to truth which has now been replaced by a cancel culture that led to the resignation of a courageous editor. Hopefully Bari Weiss's final act at the Times will help reveal the truth of a newspaper which no longer deserves our respect and support.

[dazzledbybooks]

Editor: Christina Boyd Narrator: Victoria Riley Length: 18 hours and 3 minutes Series: The Quill Collective, Book 3 Publisher: The Quill Ink, LLC Released: Jul. 18, 2019 Genre: Anthologies “But I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” (Persuasion, Jane Austen) Jane Austen: True romantic or rational creature? Her novels transport us back to the Regency, a time when well-mannered gentlemen and finely-bred ladies fell in love as they danced at balls and rode in carriages. Yet her heroines, such as Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Elliot, and Elinor Dashwood, were no swooning, fainthearted damsels in distress. Austen’s novels are timeless classics because of their biting wit, honest social commentary - because she wrote of strong women who were ahead of their day. True to their principles and beliefs, they fought through hypocrisy and broke social boundaries to find their happily-ever-after. In the third romance anthology of The Quill Collective series, 16 celebrated Austenesque authors write the untold histories of Austen’s heroines, brave adventuresses, shy maidens, talkative spinsters, and naughty matrons. Peek around the curtain and discover what made Lady Susan so wicked, Mary Crawford so capricious, and Hettie Bates so in need of Emma Woodhouse’s pity. Rational Creatures is a collection of humorous, poignant, and engaging short stories set in Georgian England that complement and pay homage to Austen’s great works and great ladies who were, perhaps, the first feminists in an era that was not quite ready for feminism. “Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will become good wives; - that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.” (Mary Wollstonecraft) Stories by: Elizabeth Adams, Nicole Clarkston, Karen M Cox, J. Marie Croft, Amy D’Orazio, Jenetta James, Jessie Lewis, KaraLynne Mackrory, Lona Manning, Christina Morland, Beau North, Sophia Rose, Anngela Schroeder, Joana Starnes, Brooke West, and Caitlin Williams   CHRISTINA BOYD wears many hats as she is an editor under her own banner, The Quill Ink, a contributor to Austenprose, and a commercial ceramicist. A life member of Jane Austen Society of North America, Christina lives in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest with her dear Mr. B, two busy teenagers, and a retriever named BiBi. Visiting Jane Austen’s England was made possible by actor Henry Cavill when she won the Omaze experience to meet him in the spring of 2017 on the London Eye. True story. You can Google it. Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Goodreads⎮Amazon⎮Instagram     Victoria Riley is a British voiceover artist and audiobook narrator. Originally trained as a theatre actor, she gradually moved into voice work and is now happiest behind the mic. She loves classic literature and travelling the world. If she isn't recording, she's probably lying in a hammock in some far-flung place, reading book after book after book. Website⎮Twitter      I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Christina Boyd. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. Rational Creatures: Stirring of Feminism in the Hearts of Jane Austen's Fine Ladies, the Quill Collective, Book 3 by Joana Starnes, Amy D'Orazio, Caitlin Williams, Karen Cox, Jenetta James, Beau North, Chistina Morland, Nicole Clarkston, Elizabeth Adams, J. Marie Croft, Jessie Lewis, Kara Lynne Mackrory, Lona Manning, Sophia Rose, Anngela Schoreder, and Brooke West. Now that is a lot of names. Each of these writers brought you a story about a different Austen character.  1. Self-Composed by Christina Morland. (Elinor Dashwood.)  2. Every Past Affliction by Nicole Clarkston. (Marianne Dashwood.)  3. Happiness in Marriage by Amy D'Orazio. (Elizabeth Bennett.)  4. Charlotte's Comfort by Joana Starnes. (Charlotte Lucas.) 5. Knightly Discourse by Anngela Schroeder. (Emma Woodhouse.)  6. The Simple Things by J. Marie Croft. (Hetty Bates.)  7. In Good Hands by Caitlin Williams. (Harriet Smith.)  8. The Meaning of Wife by Brooke West. (Fanny Price.)  9. What Strange Creatures by Jenetta James. (Mary Crawford.)  10. An Unnatural Beginning by Elizabeth Adams. (Anne Elliot.) 11. Where the Sky Touches the Sea by KaraLynne Mackrory. (Sophia Croft.)  12. The Art of Pleasing by Lona Manning. (Penelope Clay.)  13. Louisa by the Sea by Beau North. (Louisa Musgrove.)  14. The Strength of Their Attachment by Sophia Rose. (Catherine Morland.)  15. A Nominal Mistress by Karen M. Cox. (Eleanor Tilney.)  16. The Edification of Lady Susan by Jessie Lewis. (Lady Susan.)  This collection of stories is taking a deeper dive into Austen’s greatest female characters. I thought it was definitely interesting to see someone else’s take on these characters. We had a variety of characters from the heroines to the minors. A lot of the ideas behind these short stories come the feminist ideas that are discussed in Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women. The narrator was such a perfect match for this book. I loved how she performed all the different characters. She was so easy to listen too. I thought that her British accent fit so well. She put so much life into these stores that I felt I was really able to get to know these characters. I thought the writers and narrator did a fantastic job with the story collection mash up. I thought the stories were fun and engaging. The audiobook kept me listening for hours. Over 18 hours. I thought this was a fantastic edition. I found that I really enjoyed this collection. .     Interview with Narrator: Victoria Riley. 1.When did you know you wanted to be an audiobook narrator?  Well, I've always said that I'd be happy to just sit in a cupboard all day reading books.  I didn't know that I could actually do that and get paid for it. Dreams do come true, folks. 2.  How did you wind up narrating audiobooks? Was it always your goal or was it something you stumbled into by chance? I'm actually a classically trained actress and was originally interested in theatre.  When I started out, audiobooks weren't really a big thing and it didn't occur to me as a career.  I gradually veered into voiceover and my first audiobook was through my VO agent. I then set up my own studio at home and audiobooks are just one of the things I work on. 3.  A lot of narrators seem to have a background in theatre. Is that something you think is essential to a successful narration career?  I wouldn't say it's essential, but it really, really helps.  We've been trained to analyse scripts and characters, to convey nuance and emotion.  With audiobooks, you have to do it all with your voice, though, so it is an added skill.  However, I do think that some people are natural storytellers. My Mum worked as a primary school teacher and I still remember the way she read books to me before bed. 4.  What about this title compelled you to audition as narrator?  I LOVE Jane Austen.  I love her female characters with their fire and intelligence.  To have such strong minds, but be so restricted with their options in life.  For marriage to be your only way forward when you have so much to offer the world.  It makes me feel claustrophobic just thinking about it. From a working perspective, this is also my first collection of short stories.  Short stories are a real art form. You have to draw the reader (or listener!) into the tale very quickly and make them care about the characters without the luxury of a whole novel in which to do it.  I really enjoyed each one being a separate little project, so I had a sense of closure and achievement after each one. 5.  What types of things are harmful to your voice?  I wouldn't say I'm that careful with it to be honest.  I've had vocal training drummed into me for decades, so I think it really comes naturally to me to support my voice well and to speak from the diaphragm.  I've been trained to project to the back of a theatre, without a microphone, night after night after night. Some narrators get tired voices, but you can't shut me up! 6.  Who are your “accent inspirations”?  Absolutely everybody!  I love accents. I have a broad Lancashire accent myself.  I hope you can't tell from 'Rational Creatures'! If I hear a good accent, someone on TV or in real life, I'll be there mouthing the words, fascinated by how they're forming the sounds.  Penelope Keith is a good one for very upper class ladies. Pam Ayres for West Country. Some elude me, though. My Cockney wanders all over the place, though you get a snippet of it in 'Rational Creatures'.  My boyfriend has a London accent and sometimes he helps me with pronunciations. I'll be texting him asking things like 'Transport or traaaahnsport??'. 7.  How did you decide how each character should sound in this title?   Well, a lot of the characters are very well-known anyway, which helps.  I didn't feel as though I was creating them from scratch. Most of them just jump off the page too.  There are simple things like class to consider. Also character traits, like arrogance, pomposity, shyness or humility, which affect voice and delivery.  I love a character that you can really embody. When it's so obvious how they should sound that you don't even really have to think about it.  8.  How does audiobook narration differ from other types of voiceover work you've done?  It takes a REALLY long time, especially if you're fully producing the work yourself.  It takes around six hours to produce one hour of finished audio, sometimes longer. That doesn't even include all the prep work you have to do first, reading the work in full, researching characters and pronunciations, deciding on voices.  Editing takes forever, combing through the recording, editing out little sounds like mouth clicks or any particular noisy breaths. I also regularly do radio jingles, which is a good comparison, because it takes no time at all! Audiobooks are not for the faint-hearted. 9.  If you could narrate one book from your youth what would it be and why?   Apart from absolutely everything by Jane Austen?  I have so many author heroes! However, if it's from my youth, then I'm going to plump for Roald Dahl's 'The Witches'.  His stories are so evocative and he doesn't shy away from darker themes. I was born in Pendle Witch country, so this one struck a particular chord with me. 10.  Any funny anecdotes from inside the recording studio?  We've all done silly things.  Giving an Oscar-worthy performance, then realising you haven't pressed record.  Stuffing a cushion up your jumper to stop tummy rumbles reaching the mic. Gradually getting more naked as you stifle in the booth in summer.  We've all done it. Giveaway: $20 Amazon Gift Card a Rafflecopter giveaway     Sep. 6th: The Quill Ink Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author T's Stuff Reading A Page Turner   Sep. 7th: All the Ups and Downs Viviana MacKade Miss Lawrence is Hearing Things   Sep. 8th: Jorie Loves A Story Nesie's Place Eileen Troemel   Sep. 9th: History from a Woman’s Perspective KayBee's Bookshelf, A Literary Blog Nyx Blogs Always Love Me Some Books   Sep. 10th: Country Road Reviews The Book Junkie Reads . . .   Sep. 11th: Jazzy Book Reviews Locks, Hooks and Books What Is That Book About   Sep. 12th: My Creatively Random Life Dazzled by Books ➜Sign up as a host here

http://www.dazzledbybooks.com/2019/09/rational-creatures-blot-tour.html

[veganbabelife]

Most of you have watched the film Mean Girls & know the famous quote.

“On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was,”

“It’s October 3rd.”

The teen comedy came out in 2004, but it’s still one of the most relevant and talked about films today. I’m always down to relive my favorite moments from the film by watching it again & again.

  People all over the world are celebrating by wearing pink & watching mean girls. Even the cast get involved. #MeanGirlsDay

“On #October3rd, he asked me to help.” #MeanGirls Please help the victims of the tragedy in Las Vegas at https://t.co/YMwEV1SDsL pic.twitter.com/OhXNSMvCYC

— Jonathan Bennett (@JonathanBennett) October 3, 2017

“I’m like the Evita of cheese fries!” – #TinaFey 🍟 #MeanGirlsDay #MeanGirlsBway pic.twitter.com/htuHcLqiB2

— Mean Girls Broadway (@MeanGirlsBway) October 3, 2017

  OMG!! #itsoctober3rd 𗁯𗁬𗁯 follow me on snapchat! My name is Bella79

A post shared by Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) on Oct 3, 2017 at 2:59am PDT

  Mean girls reunion x

A post shared by Lizzy Caplan Ⓜ️ (@thelizzycaplan) on Jul 28, 2016 at 9:04am PDT

New Podcast Premiere! SUBSCRIBE @ButchandtheBear with @funnylezbo and @WhatsupDanny w/ first guest @JonathanBennett https://t.co/Xll3fEQZHQ pic.twitter.com/BoWANeXlv4

— Daniel Franzese (@WhatsupDanny) October 3, 2017

I absolutely loved Damien & Janice and really related to them both and loved their sense of humour. Damien had really good one-liners! And Janice ((Lizzy Caplan) is so fucking cool and gorgeous in rl! Love her!

I can hardly believe its been this long since the film was released as I remember watching it for the first time and loving its depiction of high school and its “clicks”. Tina Fey is brilliant!

Today everyone knows all the lines and can probably quote the movie off by heart, on Wednesdays we wear pink and love any new mg products that are released.

The movie is even hitting broadway NEXT YEAR! >> http://meangirlsonbroadway.com

In spirit with Mean Girls Day, let’s check out some fun stuff! This quiz ” Who said it, Trump or Regina” is great. check out it out here & test your MG knowledge.

Test your fandom? >> http://www.magiquiz.com/quiz/are-you-really-a-mean-girls-fan

  Have you seen the Spectrum Mean Girls Collection? ITS SO FETCH!

  Get a discount today ONLY from the generous Spectrum

  Happy National Mean Girls Day 💖🙌https://t.co/4kdBMUlhOT ends Midnight October 3rd 💋pic.twitter.com/b8U445ceEE

— Spectrum Collections (@Spectrumbrushes) October 2, 2017

  Oh and remember tomorrow is Wednesday, which means one thing…

                    Let me know what you think in the comments or   me @veganbabelife

If you like what I write & want  to help me keep writing

  Mean Girls Day! October 3rd Most of you have watched the film Mean Girls & know the famous quote. "On October 3rd…

[websterss]

MATTERED TO ME MORE — WES BENNETT

REQUEST: Smoking with Wes 🙏🙏

WARNING(S): none really, angsty, fluff, mentions of smoking????

WORD COUNT: 2,130

PAIRING: Wes Bennett x fem!Reader

A/N: I hope you enjoy it! @biqherosix​ it’s done bby! Feedback is always welcomed!

MASTERLIST

Wes had been reclined back in the lawn chair behind his house. The secret place, the only place really to give him any peace of mind. He inhaled the Swisher Sweet cigarette, then watched as a puff of smoke blew out past his lips. He was too lost in his own thoughts, that he missed that creak of the gate door being pushed open. 

“Thought that was you...” He blew out another puff as he turned to see the culprit who disrupted the quiet he was bathing in. 

“Hey?” He raised a brow, confused as to why you were suddenly in the Secret Area. “What are you doing here?” He sat upright.

“Saw the fairy lights on from my window...” You pointed in the direction of your house. “Thought I’d come say hi...so hi.” You breathe out a laugh, feeling awkward under his stare, you hadn’t missed the way his eyes raked you from head to toe. You looked away to avoid his awed expression. 

Wanting to cut the tension and silence with a knife, you looked up playfully, a smirk on your lips as you flaunted and posed in a funny way. “What do you think? I was going for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Wedding Date?” You give him a little twirl.

“Really? Could’ve fooled me...I would’ve guessed What a Girl Wants.” He smirks. You roll your eyes as you walk over and plop into the chair beside him. You sigh feeling the heat from the firepit, thankful for the warmth you were provided. You reclined back into the seat, your gaze trailing up to the minimal stars in the sky tonight. Wes couldn’t help the faint smile as he watched you. Two people admiring something beautiful to them. He would’ve thought that you’d be at after prom, taking advantage of a fun night with the rest of the student body, but to his surprise, you were home, and now you were here...right beside him. “What time you’d go to prom? I didn’t see you there.” He took another drag. You turned away from the sky to find his eyes already on you. You almost gasped at how intensely his eyes met yours. You didn’t want to fully get into the awful night you were having, but you always felt the need to let yourself be just a little vulnerable in front of the curly-haired boy. 

“I...actually didn’t even go to prom.” You chuckled to ease your nerves. 

“What? What do you mean?” He sat upright once more. 

“Well, I wasn’t going to tell you but...you know how you usually see the protagonist or the best friend getting canceled at the last minute before the school dance in movies?

“Yeah...” He furrowed his brows.

“You expect it right? Because the climax of the movie makes it obvious, you expect it.” Wes nods a ‘yeah’ at you. Then it only takes a second for the obviousness to hit him like a truck.

“Don’t tell me...” He frowns.

“You just don’t expect it when your actual prom date says he’s taking someone else right before he’s supposed to pick you up. So there’s that...” You shrug. You exhale, feeling stupid and insecure. You shake your head, a chuckle spilling past your lips. “The worst part was that my mom was so excited, she had bought a disposal camera and everything. So imagine her disappointment when her daughter tells her, her date is suddenly taking someone else.”

“I’m sorry, Y/n...” Wes didn’t know what to say. 

“It’s not your fault.” You turn to him, eyes wide in sincerity. He reciprocated your smile. Not an inch of sadness written across your features, if you were consoling how you were really feeling, then you weren’t showing it. “It’s cool...besides I’m getting to spend my night with my favorite neighbor.” You nudge his sneaker with yours. 

“Me? I thought for sure that Liz would claim such a title.” He laughs.

“No...Not after Michael ditched me last minute to take her...but I guess I can’t be entirely mad, she did like him after all.” You finally confess. A careless shrug not missed by him. This had him sitting forward.

“Wait- Michael? As in Michael Young? Michael Young ditched you for Liz Bauxbum.”

“Saying his name three times in a row won’t soften the blow, Bennett...” You roll your eyes. “Yeah, he did. Gimme.” You motion to the cigar in his hands. He passes it over, watching as you take a drag out of it. Not as experienced as he was, you let out a cough as the smoke hits your lungs.

“What an ass.” Wes takes the cigar back from you.

“Eh, what else can a girl do? Cry over him?” You sigh. You dig the toe of your shoe into the dirt.

“That’s not right though. It’s your prom too. He ruined it.”

“Can’t ruin something that I wasn’t looking forward to in the first place Bennett...besides he wasn’t the one who I really wanted to go with anyway. He too had a date.” You spare a glance at him, hoping he didn’t catch on. “It’s better this way, better to have stayed here than have gone alone. I don’t think I’d have had any fun anyway.” 

“Yeah no, I can’t accept that.” You watch baffled as he gets up and pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Come on.” He extends his hand out for you to grab.

“What?”

“Come on get up.” He motions with his hand.

“Where are we going?”

“Nowhere.”

“Okay...” You eye him questionably as you take his hand and stand. Once you're up he pulls you to one side of the fire pit. “What are we doing Bennett?” You laugh as he pockets his phone. 

“Michael’s an ass. You deserve at least one dance tonight.” He offers his hand to you again, not forcing you to take it this time. He gave you the option to choose for yourself. You’re taken back by his offer. You’re even more taken when Alina Baraz’s “Electric” featuring Khalid starts to play from his speaker. 

Darker than the ocean, deeper than the sea You got everything, you got what I need Touch me, you're electric, babe

Your head turns to the music filling your ears. Wes waiting patiently. It was quite odd to you. His behavior all of a sudden. Wes was kind, that wasn’t a lie, and he liked to mess with Liz any chance he got, he was playful, sometimes annoying, but he wasn’t always so forward with his feelings. Hell, the dude never really did a good job to hide his infatuation with the redhead that lived in between you two. You were sure he liked her, so you questioned this moment. Wondering why? Why would he care so much to ensure you got to have at least one dance? You didn’t even go to prom? Maybe he was just being nice. 

Wes was nice. He was nice and attractive and...

“You took Alex to prom...” You said out of the blue. The thought crossed your mind all of a sudden. 

“I-I did...” He took his hand back. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You took Alex to prom but Liz didn’t have a date then. You took Alex to prom.” You stated out loud. “Liz was without a date so why wouldn’t you have asked her instead?” You turn around and walk a few steps away from him. Wes was confused about what you were trying to get at. “That doesn’t make sense to me. You’ve liked her since the second grade. I’ve watched you tease and torment her for years, and chase after her. You have room in your damn driveway, Bennett. You weren’t fooling anyone by taking her spot. It doesn’t make sense.” You pull at your hair. “The girl you've been in love with for years was right there, and you took Alex! What the fuck dude!” You exclaim. 

“Are you serious right now?” Wes’s shoulders drop. 

“Yeah, I am! It’s not like she had a date!” You had missed the hurt in his eyes as he looked at you. He could not believe what he was hearing. Had you really not noticed?

It looks like it.

“Yeah, she did!” He exclaimed louder than you.

“So the girl you really wanted to go with had a date? That’s what you’re going with? That’s your excuse?” You scoff at him. Hands crossed over your chest. 

“Yes! I don’t understand why we’re talking about Liz. She doesn’t matter right now. I wanted to dance with you.” The last sentence goes over your head entirely as you shout at him next.

“Because you’re being ridiculous. She was free and you just passed up the opp-”

“No, she wasn’t!” Wes grows frustrated with you.

“Liz didn’t have a date yet, Wes!” You try to reason.

“No, but you did!” He points at you. You freeze up.

“Wait what...” You mutter.

“I’m aware that Liz didn’t have a date, I am, but you did. So I took Alex instead...” He looks away. 

“You took Alex because I had a date?” His words slowly begin to register.

“Yeah, and imagine my surprise when you didn’t even show up.” He kicks out a rock. You furrow your brows. 

“But Liz-”

“What about Liz, Y/n? Who cares about Liz right now.” He lets out a chuckle.

“But I thought you- all the years you’ve- the frogs down her shirt?”

“Liz always had a knack for keeping you all to herself. The so-called teasing and tormenting was to try and get her to tell me something about you. The only thing she ever really told me willingly was that you were allergic to nuts.” He smiled as a memory invaded his mind. “I remember my mom used to get so mad at me for throwing out her pecan pies.” He chuckled, his twinkling eyes met your awed expression. “Just the thought of you even being near anything with nuts scared me.” He confessed, a faint smile painting his lips. 

“You knew about my allergy?” Your eyes glistened. 

“Since we were seven.” Wes nodded. 

“Is that why you never offered me Snickers or the yellow M&M’s, except to everyone else?” You breathe out a faint laugh. It was all making sense.

“Yeah...I didn’t want you to swell up or break out into hives. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.”

“I just thought you had some vendetta against me or something.” You giggled. 

“With you? Never Y/L/N.” He shook his head. You nodded and looked down, then brought your gaze back up to him. 

“I never knew you did all that.” You smiled graciously. “I haven’t had an incident in years, except last month, but you’ve all but kept me nut free.” You joked. Wes perked up at the mention of you having a recent reaction.

“Last month?” Wes frowned.

“I guess you could say it was kind of a sign. Michael made me have a reaction.” You wince. 

“Were you okay?”

“Yeah, luckily Liz was there too. She knew where I kept my EpiPen.” You nodded. “If anything, you’ve taken my health more seriously than anyone else ever has. That alone I can’t thank you enough for.” You slowly walk up to him and go in for a peck on his cheek. But just to your luck he turned his head right as your lips were about to meet his skin. “Oh.” You gasped, as your lips were collided together for a mere second. You pull away slowly but get pulled back closer this time. Wes wraps a hand around one side of your waist and tugs you closer.

“I don’t know if you even remember this, but when we were six, you had a really bad reaction. I don’t recall what exactly it was, maybe something my mom gave all of us. I remember turning to look at you and you couldn’t breathe.” You furrow your brows trying to recall the memory. “I thought you were gonna die because you kept gasping for air and I just remember my parents rushing you over to your house. You were fine after an hour, but I knew then I never wanted to see that happen to you again.” He reached up to caress your cheek. “Since that day, your health has never mattered to me more.”

"It has?” Your eyes glistened again.

“Still does.” Those two little words welcomed a deeper meaning. It was all it took for you to reach forward and bring his lips down onto your own. He sighed in relief, as he wrapped his arms tighter around you. 

[websterss]

A PROMISE WORTH BREAKING — SERIES MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: Nothing could have prepared you to have Wes Bennett show up at your doorstep. You're even less prepared when he asks you to help him get with Liz Buxbaum. You'd be more than happy to help him, but you have a slight problem, you're secretly in love with him.

WARNING(S): angst and fluff

PAIRING: Wes Bennett x fem!Reader

A/N: I hope you enjoy it!

MASTERLIST

CHAPTER LIST:  ‣ CHAPTER ONE: “THE FAVOR” ‣ CHAPTER TWO: “RAIN OF CONFESSIONS” ‣ CHAPTER THREE: “WARM YOU UP”

‣ BACK TO: MASTERLISTS

[websterss]

GOT THE ONE THING THAT I WANT — WES BENNETT

SUMMARY: You want to hate her, but hate that you can't blame her. She has Wes's heart something you’ve longed for.

WARNING(S): purely angst

WORD COUNT: 2,088

PAIRING: Wes Bennett & fem!Reader

A/N: I hope you enjoy it! Feedback is always welcomed! Also, Olivia Rodrigo has a hold on me bad rn. Inspired by 'Lacy'.

MASTERLIST

You couldn't pinpoint when exactly you let yourself be heartbroken for a boy, a boy who didn't even know just how much you longed to have his heart. To want him to see you and look at you like he did at Liz. Like you hung the stars in the sky. But he never did...he wouldn't cause his heart beat for her, and there was nothing you could do but let him go.

"What are you doing out here?" You look up to find Wes making his way over to you.

"Trying to understand why prom is considered this penultimate high school rite of passage..." You blow a raspberry.

"And?" Wes plops right on down beside you.

"It's not. If anything it's overhyped. I mean hours spent poring over makeup tutorials, fingering elegant ball gowns at the mall until you find the right one, and visualizing how the night will potentially play out. It's overwhelming. And don't get me started on the obnoxious public proposals in front of the whole school. What rite of passage is it? We're conditioned to obsess about how we look, how our hair is done, how our nails are shaped, and whether we'll have some eye candy on our arm when we walk through the front doors. They make it seem like if you don't attend you miss out. Well, I'm here...what am I missing?" You gesture to the double doors. Wes frowned, his head dipped as he looked over to meet your clearly broken expression. You were troubled, he could tell by the way you overthought about something, this something being prom.

"Can I give my two cents?" He wanted to test the waters. Not wanting to further ruin your already bad mood.

"Will it contradict my running argument about Prom?" Your voice comes out softer than you imagined it to.

"It might, but I won't if it'll upset you again." He admitted.

"You can proceed..." You mutter anxiously.

"I don't see it as this rite of passage okay? Coming to prom, I didn't have this structured idea in mind that I was gonna become this new person. If anything's overhyped it's thinking you have to have sex on this one night. Certainly not what I was aiming for tonight. If anything...I'm just happy we all got to be in the same room one last time. Things haven't been so great within the group, but tonight, for just this one night, we all let our guards down and are spending it together. We're surrounded by all our friends whom we love, and having a great night. Well, not everyone..." He smirked, nudging you with his elbow gently. You rolled your eyes at him. "You wanna tell me the real reason you're sitting out here alone and not inside." This makes you scoff in shock. You let your shoulders slouch forward in defeat.

Of course, he read right through me.

“What gave me away?” You hum in amusement.

“You’ve been planning for this night since second grade after your mom told you about it.”

Oh right. That she did.

“If we’re being honest about how this night has been for us.” You exhale deeply. You rub your hands up and down your calves. Your skin feels cold to the touch. “You may not have had a structured idea in mind, but I did. I played out this ideal visualization of how the night would potentially play out, but turns out obstructed ideas just stay that…silly little ideas.” You laugh out nervously. “It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for me tonight, and it’s not going to be.”

“Can you tell me?” The edges of his mouth curled downward once more. You made it your goal to never have to see him frown again right then and there.

“No.” Your saddened smile was written with a taste of acceptance. Sitting with him, talking to him, and gracious for his attentiveness. The way he always listened and never interrupted you, or anyone for that matter. Made you realize that you’d never have his heart wholeheartedly, only momentarily.

“Why not?” He gave a shrug. The laugh he released weighed heavily against your ears.

“Cause it’d change everything.”

“Change everything? What do you mean?” His brows furrowed.

“N-Nothing.” You started fidgeting with your fingers. Finding it difficult to let your gaze fall on his this time.

“Hey, don’t do that.” He pushed. Not wanting you to close off on him.

“We should head back inside the group is probably wondering where we are?” You looked over your shoulder. Yet the grab of your shoulder brought your attention back onto him.

“What aren’t you telling me?” His brows were knitted in thought. Wondering what the hell you meant by it’d change everything.

“Nothing. I said everything I wanted to say.” You smile but it does nothing to convince him, especially with the bullshit of an answer you just gave him.

“Y/n, I’m serious-“

“Hey, you two. There you are, been looking all over for you!” Your heads whip over your shoulder. Liz standing against the pushed door. Her smile was as radiant and pretty as the white gown she dawned for this evening. The moonlight made her red hair stand out against her pale skin. She looked ethereal. Seeing her stand there, made you immediately realize the real reason you came out here in the first place. Your envy and admiration of her took control of your mind and if you stayed inside any longer than you did, you would have given into every impulsive decision, good or bad. You turn your head and let your eyes lock onto his. You hoped he hadn’t noticed the shift in your demeanor. The way your eyes lost their light in them. You forgot how to breathe for that mere second your eyes met. You would have risked it all. Confessed all your troubling insecurities and hopes and desires. Yet for the sake of your own sanity, for the sake of not wanting to get in between them, you looked away and averted your attention to the redhead waiting on you. You mustered up your courage and stood up.

“Hey, Libby Loo. Just needed some fresh air. It was getting kind of hot in there.”

“Oh tell me about it!” She agreed. You walked over to where she stood, taking over holding the door. “What were you two talking about?” You heard the underlying tone of her insecurities build up. You found it within the nervous laugh she emitted.

“Debate over whether prom is this rite of passage or a total waste of time.” It fell past your lips so easily, that it shocked you. Liz physically relaxed. The roll of her eyes made you ease up. She didn’t think you and Wes were having a moment just then. Phew.

“Of course you were. Well all-knowing, obviously a rite of passage, right?”

“Yeah…obviously, been planning for this since second grade. Not a waste of time…at all.” You smirk. You let your gaze linger back to Wes where he caught you in your own lie again. Shaken by his disappointment. You exchange spots with her. Liz now lingering out the door, and you, ready to run away again. You weren’t a stranger to her newfound affection for the jock standing a few feet away with his hands in his slacks. It took her long enough to fall for him, but Wes was willing to wait this long for her…and now he was finally getting her emotionally and physically. And you, you were losing everything you’ve never had a chance to have.

“I’m gonna head back inside now. Do you know if there’s still any punch left?” You begin to excuse yourself.

“I think one of the boys spiked it.” Liz made a face.

“Great…” You sighed. “Well, I’ll see you two in there.” You playfully nudge her, stepping past the threshold and beginning the dark trek to the gym.

“Hi…”

“Hi.”

You didn’t even want to spare them a second glance, knowing just how your heart would shatter in an instant and you knew you wouldn’t recover from it.

You let the quietness embrace you like a hug. It let you hear just how loud your thoughts were going. It gave you a moment to recollect yourself before you had to face everyone again and pretend that you weren’t in a demise because you didn’t go after what you wanted. You were about to turn the corner when the loud pull of the metal door opened behind you. You would have kept walking were it not for the rapid footsteps booking it down the hall. And you wouldn’t have frozen in place were it not for the exclaim of your name.

“Y/n!” Your breath hitched hearing his voice. “You didn’t turn around, too scared, not wanting to bear whatever he came after you to tell you. “You didn’t answer me. What would change?”

Your shoulders grew rigid and tense, then and only then did you slowly turn and face him. Expectedly and curious eyes he had.

His shoulders slumped seeing a tear fall down your cheek. He still pushed for an answer. He gives for anything really.

“What would change?”

Us.

You would have answered, you’d have given him an answer. You would have given him a reason, but your burden had walked in a minute after he did. You go to speak but your mouth stays open, at a loss for words, to cross the line of friendship you’ve been straddling for years. Wes follows your line of sight and there she is. Everything he’s ever wanted, right in front of him, yet as he looks back at you, you stare at her like she’s anything but his everything. Then you stare at him and it’s like he’s your…He knew that look, all too familiar of sporting it when he tried to help Liz get with Michael. A hopeless feeling that you can’t have the one person you want most. The frown happens before he speaks.

You pick up on the way the air feels a lot more tense. The way he straightens up and the shift in his eyes as he looks between you and Liz. The line was crossed and you wished to have stayed on the opposite side of it.

“Y/n…” He sighs heavily.

“Please don’t.” You give a tight-lipped smile. The tears spilling out faster than you can wipe them away. “Please don’t…I’m okay. I know…and I’m aware. So please for my sake just don’t.”

“Can I give my two cents?” He pleads.

“No.” You smile again. Shaking your head, closing yourself off, and wishing you could be under your bed covers right about now.

“I’m so sorry.” He says defeat was written over his face.

“You guys enjoy your night okay.” You nod and begin walking backwards.

“Y/n are you okay?” Liz finally walks over. Her concern warms you and makes you want to punch her in the face.

“Yeah Libby Loo, just feeling a bit under the weather. I think I'm gonna head on home.” You laugh out loud nervously. Still walking painfully slow, and backwards.

“Well hold on, we can give you a ride.” God you really wanted to punch her.

“No Libby it’s okay. I’ll make do. Really? I’ll be fine. Like always…” You say the last bit quietly, yet they don’t miss it. Wes looks on the verge of crying and Liz concerned about your well-being is starting to make you really feel sick.

“You sure?” She frowns. Not at all convinced with the way your smile isn’t even reaching your eyes anymore. You weren’t even hiding it.

“Y/n-“ Wes tried again. But you shake your head.

“You kids have fun okay.” This time your smile does reach your eyes and then you turn around and make your leave. You can’t even be mad at Liz because she didn’t do anything wrong and you hate her for it.

“Y/n!” Wes yells after you but you don’t react, nor do you turn around. The effect he has on you starts wearing off and the ache in your chest slowly diminishes into nothing the further you get from them. And you can’t even be mad about it.

“What did you do?” Liz smacked him. He didn’t even flinch. “She was fine a few minutes ago!”

“No…she wasn’t.” Wes watched solemnly as your figure finally rounded the corner and you were no longer in his sights.

[websterss]

A PROMISE WORTH BREAKING (2) — “RAIN OF CONFESSIONS”

SUMMARY: Wes starts to pick up on the fact that you've been taking on too many favors, and it's been taking its toll on you.

WARNING: angst, fluff

WORD COUNT: 6,046

PAIRING: Wes Bennett x fem!reader

A/N: I hope you enjoy it! Feedback is always welcomed!

MASTERLIST

There had been a span of time from your last interaction with Wes. After you had agreed to help him devise a plan that would get Liz to fall in love with him, he blatantly added that he was also helping her devise a plan to help her get with Michael. Wes forgot to inform you that Liz had her eyes set on Michael Young and Wes’s dumbass still decided to follow through with it because he claimed that that would be the only time where he’d truly get to spend time with her. That he’d never get another chance like this one.

Ringing any bells? Turns out you and him had a lot in common after all. You both wanted the chance to be around someone who would never reciprocate the love you had for the other because their heart belonged to someone they too couldn’t have. Maybe you had a lot to relate to with Liz then. 

The first few attempts to help Wes had been an absolute disaster. The first attempt had you watching in horror as Liz was vomited all over by Ashley. Wes who reacted much quicker than you took off with her and after a while, she came back down dawning his sweats and t-shirt. You figured as much that you were third-wheeling at that point. Seating in the backseat of his truck listening to Liz ask Wes if Michael said anything about her, then her proposing the idea of her and Wes fake dating. Yeah, you were glad you had brought your headphones that night. Tuning them out the rest of the way home, then being startled when Wes reached back to shake you out of your daze. You and your bed had been happily acquainted once again, and your pillow, well your pillow soaked up the tears you shed.

On the second attempt, Wes made you tag along to a basketball game, it was the playoffs he said. Having heard Liz use the exact same words on Michael. Wes tried to be Liz’s wingman for Michael who in return, made conversation with Liz and told her that if she could see all, then she must see that Wes was into her. That alone led to the chaotic night of Liz being smacked in the face with a basketball and being knocked on her ass.

You once more watched in horror as the night was ruined by Noah this time, and Wes was once again her night in shining armor, shedding his shirt, which you averted your gaze from his stomach and chest. He held up his wadded shirt to her nose. Blood, so much blood, you cringed when a teacher came and suggested removing it from her face. Everyone else mirrored your gasps and wide stricken eyes. Adam had to just open his mouth and say she looked like Mrs. Potato Head to scare her, but Wes reassured her she did not. You remembered following behind them as he suggested taking her to the ER. You could’ve sworn that she’d reconsider going after Michael. I mean it was Wes who shed his shirt, Wes who was concerned about her safety and getting her to the hospital quickly. Michael hadn’t stepped in so much. You knew he meant well but it was Wes who moved and reacted quickly on behalf of Liz. It was always Wes. 

How could she be so blind? It made you so mad.

As much as you wanted to continue helping Wes with Liz. You took into account that you weren’t doing a great job of looking after yourself. Your own needs and wellbeing had been neglected, putting you off your game, and people at school were starting to ask if you had been okay. Even Wes seemed to pick up on your unusually tired state. Aunt Meg had voiced her own concerns about how you could get hurt, to stop while you could and rest, and how you should’ve been upfront with your feelings for him, but you told her everything would be fine. Right?

-

“Why did you do that?” The question caught you off guard. You shook out of your trance and stared up at Wes, trying to come up with something to say. You rolled your eyes and shook your head. You had forgotten his sole promise to be a better friend to you. You didn’t realize that involved going to the movies together and actually hanging out. Wes had come knocking on your door earlier with that cute grin you loved seeing on him, inviting you out to go watch a movie with him. He had let you choose. Regardless of how tired you felt, and the nap you wanted to take not happening, you agreed and got ready. Now you were out in public with him, waiting on your snacks that he offered to pay for.

“Do what?” Your brows sinch closer together.

“Agree to come out.” He shrugged. “If you were tired we could have come to watch a movie another day.”

“I’m fine.” You brush off his concerns with a laugh. You didn’t know how else to react. Having him be concerned for your well-being, it felt strange to endure. This whole month you grew immune to seeing him be so concerned for Liz, that having him show the same attentiveness felt too good to be true, so you had to do everything you could to sabotage the unfamiliar feeling.

“You fell asleep in my truck Y/n.” He scoffed. “You’re exhausted.”

“I’m fine…” You yawn, further proving Wes's point.

“You’re tired. You don’t need to put up a front with me. It’s me.” It was him. It was Wes who allowed you to be your true self around. He could see right through you. You wished he couldn’t at this moment. “Why say yes? I wouldn’t have been upset if you’d have said no.” He frowns. Deeply disappointed that you wouldn’t put your needs first. 

“I have nothing else to lose.” You shrug. “Why would I want to waste my senior year asleep anyway?” You turn back to the girl who hands you your slushie and bucket of popcorn. “Thank you!” You grab your things and Wes’s snacks and hand them to him. 

“Really? Just like that? You’re not gonna fight me on this?” He nudges you with his elbow. “Does it not bother you that you put others before you, Y/L/N? Does anything bother you?” He laughs.

“Sure there is. I just choose not to let things get to me. What’s the point?” You giggle.

“What’s the point? The point is that others come before you, and you take on too many favors and it wears you down. Look at you! You don’t even have the energy to be here right now!” Wes stops at the side of Theatre 2. 

“I don’t put others before myself!” You scoff.

“Yes, you do! I’ve asked you for a shit load of favors these past few weeks, and you took on all of them!” A crease forms between his brows. “All of them, and I knew that you had other shit going on, and you still said yes!”

“They weren’t that big of favors though...I told you I was fine helping you.” You shrug with a frown. “Why are you getting upset over me not being upset? I agreed to help you out with Liz that night. You came to me begging for my help!” Wes takes a step back and arches a brow at you. “I don’t understand how that’s me putting others before myself?” 

“Are you serious?” Wes's shoulders fall, he tilts his head and rolls his eyes. The scoff he released makes you flinch a little. “I asked you that night if you’d be fine on your own. That if you’d be alright finding a ride because I was taking Liz home after being at Michael's place. You said yes, and you know what you did instead?”

“Wes–“ You tried to intercept what he was about to say.

“You walked home in the rain last week, Y/n. You didn’t ask for a ride. You sure as hell didn't ask Michael or anyone else at the house. Meg chewed me out so badly when I passed by your place last Saturday, I almost cried, I did cry because she put me in my fucking place. And I know she chewed you out too so don't even try to act like it was nothing. You’re not a burden ya know.” Hearing him project your insecurities out right in front of you, stung. “Anyone at Michael’s would’ve given you a ride.” He saw right through you. Meg was sure to tell him off about leaving you on your own, to walk home alone that night. If he was this concerned then you hoped for your sake he wasn't catching onto your feelings. 

“I had a jacket...” You shrug, swallowing down the lump in your throat. “Besides she got over it, what’s the problem?”

“Meg told me what day that was on Saturday. It was your birthday, Y/n. You used your birthday to to my wingman for Liz that night. I ditched you on your fucking birthday for fucks sake, you didn’t even tell me about it! I found out through Jocelyn- Jocelyn!” He exclaimed.

“That was intentional. I didn’t want anyone to know anyway. Besides you got to hang out with Liz, like you wanted to, remember? That was the plan.” You furrow your brows. “It’s not a big deal. Drop it!” You laughed because this whole dispute was ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous. 

“You came out with us to hang out at Michaels, then let me drive Liz home. On your birthday!” Wes's jaw clenches. “Anyone with half a brain would be pissed off at me. I know I am! So why aren’t you?” 

“I don’t want to be mad at you, Wes.” You wrap your arms around yourself with your snacks still in your grip. “Can we go now? I don’t want to miss the trailers.” You give him your best smile and tug at his sleeve. When he doesn’t budge your facade falls. “Wes please, just drop it...It’s fine.” You frown.

“You don’t give two shits about the trailers.” Wes's fist clenches around the plastic cup. “No. I’m not gonna drop this. Stop hiding how you feel. Yell at me.” He pushed.

“Yell at you? Okay, now you're being ridiculous. No, I’m not gonna yell at you. Let’s go, we’re gonna miss the movie.” You begin to walk into the theater but stop to look over your shoulder. Wes stands his ground. “This is ridiculous!” You laugh at his antics. He doesn’t find it funny though. “You’re gonna ruin tonight because you want me to yell at you?” Your arms flop down to your sides. 

“I don’t want you to yell. I want you to hold me accountable for being a shitty ass friend to you. I want you to stop letting me get away with things. I haven’t been good to you, say it!” Your eyes met those in passing as he raised his voice. You look back and stare at him in disbelief. Your shoulders slumping in defeat. He wasn’t gonna let the past be.

“I can’t do this right now...” You dump the snacks in the trash and walk out of the cinema. Wes was hot on your tail. “Why’d you have to bring it up!” You nag. 

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Wes scoffs after you. You whip around abruptly.

“What do you want from me? Why couldn’t you just...let us have a good night together?” Your voice cracks.

“I want you to hold me acc-”

“I heard you the first time!” You do yell at him this time.

“Then say it! I’m a shitty friend and I-”

“Fine!” You exclaim. “You’re a shitty friend and you’ve ditched me on multiple accounts to go chase after Liz Buxbaum who has made rom-coms and meet cutes her whole damn personality since she was a kid. You’re a shitty friend who can’t fucking see that she’s not into you and you’re just getting your hopes up for nothing. Yet I have been doing my absolute fucking best to help you get the girl of your dreams because I know just how much she means to you, and yet you haven’t once thanked me for it! You're a shitty ass friend who’s too stupid to see that Liz is into Michael, not you, nor will she ever be, you dumbass!” Wes’s shoulder's fall. Your face falls then too. Your hand clasping over your mouth, in shock. 

“Wait...you’ve known this whole time she didn’t like me?” Wes’s head and heart hurt. “Well if you knew then why bother helping me at all?”

You swallow down the lump in your throat. “You still don’t get it do you?” A tear falls down your cheek. “Why help you? Why would a girl help the boy that lives next door to her, get the girl he likes?” You let out a broken laugh as Wes shrugs in question. “Because she likes him, dumbass. That’s why?” You look down. 

“What?” Wes’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Hard to believe right? It’s not like you’d have noticed me anyway...” You give him a tight-lipped smile. “I get why you like her. What’s not to like about Buxbaum, huh? She embodies literal sunshine and every main protagonist that girls like me only dream of being in movies. She’s got the taste in movies, and songs, and she can play the freaking piano, and she honors her mom in every beautiful way I can’t even bring myself to do with mine. She has it all and I can’t hate her for that...”

“Liz, Liz doesn’t have everything.” He furrows his brows with a shake of his head.

“Sh's gotten your attention since second grade without even trying, Bennett...I’d say she does.” You let out a faint laugh.

“Y/n–” Wes steps towards you, but you take one back. 

“Liz can keep pretending her life is this whole movie, where she gets the guy she likes, where she gets to have her happy ending, which she deserves to have by the way, but I can’t. My life was never a movie to begin with. Girls like me, we don’t get happy endings.”

“Y/n wait, no, please just let me–”

“I heard from Jocelyn that Liz said yes to Michael’s prom-posal today.” You tell him. “I also heard Alex Benedetti has a crush on you...” 

“Oh yeah?” Wes’s voice cracks.

“She also needs a date in case you want to ask her.”

“Y/n please.” Wes’s head tilts feeling defeated and shitting.

“I’ll tell Meg you dropped me off, okay? She told me how you practically begged her not to yell at you anymore. So I’ll save you the scolding okay.” You try to joke, but none of you laugh. You turn to begin the long trek home.

“Wait you’re gonna walk? No! Let me take you home.” 

“It’s fine. I can walk it’s not that far.” You look up right as thunder sounds off in the sky. “I got a jacket.” You shrug him off. 

Just like you had a jacket the last time you walked home in the cold. Yeah no, Wes thought. 

Great, it's gonna rain, you thought. 

“It’s a fifteen minute car ride. That’s six miles, Y/n. Two hours on foot. You’ll be home at midnight if you walk. Meg won’t yell at me this time, she’ll fucking murder me! I’m taking you home.” He takes out his keys and walks to his truck parked on the sidewalk. You remain where you stand only further pissing him off. “Get. In. I’m not telling you again.” He clenches his jaw. You knew you were being childish, but you didn’t like his tone of voice. 

“Works for me!” You turn and walk off.

“Wha– Y/n, get in!” Wes yells after you.

“No.”

“Get in!” You hear him grow closer. He spins you around but you slap his hand off you. 

“I don’t want to see you right now. Leave me alone.” You usher him away, putting more space in between you both.

“I will never forgive myself if I let you walk home and something happens to you.” Lines are drawn on his forehead. His frown deepens.

“Then I guess you never will.” You turn and walk. 

“I’ll walk with you then.”

“How are you gonna get to school tomorrow?” You mock him over your shoulders. Your frame getting farther and farther from where he stood. You smirk hearing him grunt. 

“I’ll get a ride!” He yells after you.

“The guys won’t pick you up!”

“Then I’ll get a ride with you?”

“I leave early for school!”

“I’ll sleep in your car.”

“You do that!” 

“Y/n! For fucks sake!” He runs back to his truck and starts the engine. You hear the rumble of his truck and then the sound of the gas being pressed down upon too fast. 

He speeds up to where you’re walking and starts driving alongside you. Just like Warner had done with Elle in Legally Blonde after he broke up with her. Only in this scenario, you were grateful you were wearing sneakers and not heels. No need to fuss over ruining perfectly good shoes now do we. 

“Get in the truck!”

“Nope.” You trekked on.

“Then I’m driving beside you until we get home.”

“You sure you have enough gas for that?”

“Yes–” He looked back to see he had two quarts left. “No...Fuck!”

“Ha– Looks like you’re in for a long drive home then, Bennett.” 

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” He keeps one hand on the wheel and the other over the back of the passenger seat. His emergency lights were on to let others know to go around him while he deals with your stubborn ass. He smirked as thunder boomed around you. You flinched. You really didn’t know what you were signing up for, but you were about to find out.

-

You didn’t know how long you had been walking for. Wes teased you though, reading you the time after a series amount of time had passed by. You concurred it had been about an hour now, but you couldn’t think about much as your body trembled. Your surroundings weren’t any better. You were growing near the bridge that was surrounded by trees. It made walking feel even more eerie.

“Given up?”

“N-Nope!” Your voice trembled. Wes laughed as the heavy downpour pelted on you. The rain had started not even ten minutes into the walk, and you had never hated Mother Nature more than at this moment.

“You’re gonna get sick.” He called out.

“You said that a-already. Find new material!”

“You’re suffering because you want to, Y/L/N.”

Already am. It's called unrequited love. You wanted to say.

“I love the rain!” You exclaimed.

“You’re shivering!”

“F-Fuck off! Fuck off like I told you to do an hour ago!” You stop to face him, he presses down on the brakes as you do. He jolts slightly from the sudden stop.

“Really?” He grows tired. It was already eleven o’clock. 

“Yes! I don’t need you! Fuck off, and leave. I know you want to go home already so get gone!”

“You know what you’re right.” You’re taken aback by his sudden bluntness. “I should’ve just let you walk home alone, to hell with Meg. You have about an hour left, Y/L/N. Good luck with that. See you tomorrow, yeah?” He rolled up his window. You gaped at him. 

With that being said he pressed down on the gas and took off. Leaving you in the pouring rain, cold, and feeling shitty. You watch as his car turns a corner and you’re left alone. The rain made it harder for you to see anything in the dark. Amplifying just how scary it really was to walk home alone in the dark. You wrap your arms around yourself tightly. Then pull out your phone. You hold your hand over the device to protect it from the downpour. You blink as you adjust to the brightness and go to your contact lists. Just as you're about to press down on Meg’s contact. You hear a rumble in the distance. You look up and catch two headlights heading your way. You back up as the car grows closer and then stops in front of you. The passenger window rolls down and you're met with Wes’s distraught face.

“Please tell me you didn’t actually think I’d leave you stranded?” His face falls, seeing your hurt expression. His heart breaks even more hearing how hoarse your voice sounds.

“I-I was about to call Meg...” Your voice trembles. Your eyes looked a little red at the corners. God, he hated himself. 

“Just get in, please. Please, I can’t keep seeing you out there.”

You ponder it, then finally give in. You hurry forward and open the door, getting in. You gasp as you feel the heat hit you. You close your eyes, trying to control your harsh trembles. You flinch when two hands wrap around your own, bringing them closer to his lips. You look over to Wes as he starts blowing warm air into your hands. You almost melt at the sight. His worried expression is the only thing you receive. He shifts to hold your hands with his left as he reaches into his back seat with his right hand.

“You need to strip.” He looks down at your soaking clothes.

“W-What?” You look at him incredulously concerned. 

“God, not like that. You’re gonna catch a cold. You need to get out of your clothes, Y/n. You can change into my sweats and the hoodie I have.” He offers them to you.

“Being out in the cold or having wet clothes doesn’t really increase your chances of getting a cold!” You stated. 

“Well, you’re shaking really bad right now, so it’s up to you if you wanna get hyperthermia. I’m just trying to help.”

“I-I know you are...” Your lips tremble as you begin sliding out of your jacket. Wes immediately looks away to give you privacy. You were surprised you hadn’t gotten hyperthermia yet from how intense you shook.

Wes couldn’t believe he had driven off. The look on your face in the rearview mirror had him immediately rounding the block before the bridge, to go back for you. He was gonna beat himself over what he’d done for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to stress you out and creep you out so he turned his body towards the window. Yet that didn’t do anything because he sparsely caught you in the reflection of the window and he couldn’t look away. And he thought Liz was beautiful, but you were entirely breathtaking. His breath hitched quietly as he watched you strip. He kept averting his gaze but he couldn’t help himself. You were beautiful. 

You struggled to shimmy out of your jeans but managed nonetheless. You sighed as your skin felt the soft cotton of his sweat pants, then his hoodie. You took off your socks too. You let them plop onto the mat below your feet. You leaned back into the seat and curled your legs into you. The heat welcomed you as you breathed out heavily. You closed your eyes trying to control just how fast your heart was beating. Wes looked back, frowning as your face scrunched up in pain. 

“You okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” You reassured him. You opened your eyes back up and turned your head. You met his concerned gaze with a faint smile. “Thank you.”

“Always.” He nodded. He reached out for your hands again, and you let him. He brought them up to his lips and blew warm air into them. Hoping to lessen how cold they felt against his own. It only made him worry more. Your hands were basically ice to the touch. He wondered if they hurt. You looked physically in pain when you got in. “You’re still shivering.” He shook his head. He gave you a once over then glanced at the back seat. One idea ran through his head but he knew you’d be against it. You caught his shift in his seat, the crease between his eyes was a dead giveaway. You could practically see the knobs turning in his head. 

“What?” 

“You won’t like it.” He bit his lip as he glanced back at the blanket he randomly had in his car. 

“J-Just tell me.” 

“I lend you my body heat. You’ll need to strip back down again though. I’ll do it too. We can get under the blanket I have just until you're warm again. We don’t have to do it. I was reminded of junior year, chemistry class when Mrs. Rivera had talked about camping and said if you ever needed to stay warm to–“

“Yes.” You cut him off.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” You didn’t second guess it as you tried to move towards the back as best and quickly as you could. Your trembling hands made it harder for you to steady yourself. Wes followed suit right after you and began stripping his layers off. You don’t glance his way as you go to remove his sweater and sweats. Wes on the other hand couldn’t help but let his eyes wander a bit. You weren’t sore on the eyes that much was true. “Wes!” You scoff as you snap him out of it.

“Right, sorry!” He grabs the blanket and goes to lie down across the back seats. He makes a makeshift pillow out of his duffel bag along with his sweater and sweat pants you took off as cushioning for your heads and leaves an open space for you to cuddle into him. You gasp as your skin melts into his chest. His warmth transferring off him onto you felt heavenly. You moan as you cuddle further into his side. 

Wes gasped just as you had done so. Spewing out a few curses of his own. “Fuck Y/n. You’re freezing!” Wes clenched his jaw, as he felt your skin collide with his. It felt like being struck with pin needles for a few seconds. He draped the rest of his blanket over you. His right arm curls around you, pulling you closer to him. He could feel the quickening of your pulse begin to slow down. Your labored breaths calming into a steady intake and exhale of his warmth. You wouldn’t admit it but Wes smelled nice. You exhaled the last remaining shaky breaths you had and heavily sighed into him. Wes smiled to himself as he watched you curl into him. Your breathing was back to normal and he could feel your body heat transfer onto him. Not once did he think anything remotely sexual about the position you two were currently in. He wouldn’t admit it either, but you smelled pretty, like flowers. And for some reason, it felt right, you being in his arms. “Warm?” He softly mutters. 

“Mhmm.” You give a faint nod. 

“Body heat!” He humorously exclaimed. His smile grew, feeling your shoulders shake with laughter. You expressed a quick, So stupid. Then closed your eyes. He loved it when he could make you laugh. With Liz, it felt like a win, getting her to laugh, to throw that smile he was crazy about at him like it was something he had to work for. Not with you though, it came easier with you, you let your truest self be seen. You didn’t take his bullshit, and you impulsively got undressed with him to absorb his body heat to warm you up, and you didn’t question it one bit. As he thought about it, there was a huge stark difference between you and Liz, and you were somehow coming on top as his main priority, and he wasn’t upset about it.

“You’re thinking too loud.” You relax, hesitating stretching your arm to curl over his naked waist. Yet when you did, the slight hitch of breath you heard Wes release, told you he wasn’t against it, so you calmed your nerves down. Readjusting your head's position on him.

“I’m not doing anything!” He breathed out a laugh. The rumble of his chest vibrated through you. You felt surprisingly at home, snug and warm under a blanket with him. This was new territory, a line too far crossed to take anything back. It was not as weird as you might have thought it would be. 

“You are. You do that thing with your hands when your thoughts cloud your mind.” This made him glance down at the top of your head. His brows pinched together in wonder. You really did like him. You liked him so much that you could distinguish his nervous tidbits, and the fidgeting of his fingers because he needed something to do to keep him calm as his thoughts were anything but tranquil. You knew when he was gonna make a stupid joke, when he was mad, and when he was being an absolute nuisance and a total idiot. You picked up on it all because you liked him 

You liked him more as a friend, and yet you had pushed aside your feelings for him to help him get the girl of his dreams. He really was a shitty ass friend. But perhaps, if you’d have him as he was, he could be a really great boyfriend. 

“I didn’t think you noticed those things about me.” He started mindlessly caressing your shoulder. His thumb swayed back and forth upon your skin. The gentle caress wasn’t doing you any good as it made your heart skip. 

“I notice everything.” Your voice was so faint he nearly missed you saying it. 

“You really helped me get with Liz even though held feelings for me?” He stared up at the detail of his truck, deciding to drop the ball. The buttons of the lights caught his attention as he continued to hold you close and caress your arm. 

“And we’re talking about it…” You shift in his arms. 

“Did you think I forgot about your spontaneous love confession? Not to mention the sporadic outburst. That was quite something– Hey!” He flinched away from your sudden pinch against his side. 

He was ticklish, noted.

“I’d have hoped you would, but then again you’ve never been one to forget anything about anyone.” You let your eyes trail over his chest up to his chocolate-brown eyes. You could feel your cheeks get warm from the increase of blood flow rushing to them. He’d already been staring at you. 

“That’s very attentive of you, Y/N Y/L/N.” He smirked.

“Says the actual attentive one.” You smirk back at him. His heart feels giddy. He reaches up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. God, you were so beautiful. His heart couldn’t think of anything else but he was struck by your beauty. Why hadn’t he noticed it before?

“What happens after this?” Your brows pinch together. 

“Well, you’re all warmed up. I say we get you home before Meg thinks we’ve been in some terrible accident.” He tried to make light of your current situation, but even you already knew he was trying to avoid the big elephant in the room. It dimmed the little flicker of hope you had. 

“Wes…” Man, he really wished you hadn’t said his name that way. Like you didn’t just catch him trying to change the subject. Like you were hurting.

“I’m stripped down to my boxers for you, Y/L/N. Is it not obvious?” He let out a nervous chuckle.

“No.” You held your breath. “What’s happening right now?” You went to sit up. The blanket falls down your bare shoulder. 

“I’m starting to realize a few things.”

“You have a habit of thinking too much.” You watch as Wes sits up straight.

“That maybe I might’ve been wrong about this whole Liz thing.” He smiles through a scoff. 

“Wes please–” You shake your head.

“That after spending a whole month with you, you’ve turned about to be-”

“Wes…” You warned quietly.

“Everything that I want.” And there it was. 

“N-No.” You shake your head.

“No?”

“If you’re only saying this because you can’t have Liz-”

“That’s not it!” He cuts in.

“-Then I don’t want this. I don’t want to be second to her.” Your breathing quickens.

“You’re not. Believe me when I say you’re not.” He reaches forward taking your face into his hands gently. He swallows thickly before continuing. He sighs seeing you tear up. “I feel so seen when I’m around you. I have to try so hard just to get Liz to even notice me.” He dips his head to meet your averting eyes. “But not with you. You make things easier.”

“But I thought you liked a good chase?” You cup your hands over his wrists.

“Turns out, I don’t quite like running after people, specifically those who don’t reciprocate my feelings.” He gives you that award-winning smile of his. His stomach fills with butterflies seeing you try to resist smiling at him. “I think I’ll stick to chasing after my pretty neighbor in my truck.” That got you to laugh. It made him laugh too. He swallowed thickly again, his eyes flickering down to your soft inviting lips for a mere second before fleeting back up to those eyes, those eyes he had no trouble letting himself fall into. 

“Liz is also your neighbor.” God, he hated you. He rolled his eyes.

“I was trying to be rom-” Your giggles filled his ears.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I just saw my chance and took it.” You smile bright and beautiful at him. Your hands fall into his curls, pushing them back, over and over. “I know what you were trying to do.”

“Think you can forgive a shitty-ass friend?” He pointed to himself. Guilt immediately eating you up.

“I’m sorry about that. What I said. I was mad and I let my anger get the better of me. I don’t think of you as as shitty or an ass.” You give a small smile.

“No, I needed that.” He tries to justify your words.

“No, no one deserves to be yelled at like that.” You shake your head.

“I don’t mind, so long as it's you being honest with me.” You look up to meet a cheeky twinkle in his eyes, his smirk was no help either.

“Now you’re being annoying.” Wes couldn’t help but throw his head back in laughter. 

Silence falls over you too. Then Wes speaks up again.

“I think I’m falling for you, Y/L/N.”

“You think?” You pushed his buttons so much, that he wouldn’t admit to enjoying it. He liked to push yours too, and he hoped, maybe someday, he could even unbutton a whole variety of different buttons. 

“I am.” He says with certainty. Your chest fell and rose heavily at his words. Wes’s eyes trailing all over you with a new kind of want and need. It made you breathless. 

“I thought you promised…we’d remain good friends?” You drank him in with as much need and want. A new taste of hunger behind your eyes, behind his own. And just as quickly as your breathing picked up, so had Wes’s movements as he reached forward, helping you place one leg on each side of his lap until you were straddling him. He met your awaiting lips with a feverish hungry kiss. You signed into the kiss as your hands found their place in his hair again. “Said the promise was set in your heart…”

“This promise is worth breaking, Y/L/N.” He mutters against your lips, before capturing them with his own once more.

[websterss]

⊹ welcome to my tags, here you will find my tags for all my written fics that I have done. Someone gave me the idea to make tags for each character I write for so it's easier to follow, so here ya go my loves.

TRACKING ALL MY FICS AS: #writings by juls

INDIVIDUAL TAGS AS: #writings by juls: ‘character name’

DC UNIVERSE: #writings by juls: david!clark kent #writings by juls: dick grayson #writings by juls: jaime reyes

MARVEL: #writings by juls: matt murdock #writings by juls: loki laufeyson #writings by juls: marc spector #writings by juls: bucky barnes #writings by juls: joaquín torres #writings by juls: steve rogers #writings by juls: tony stark #writings by juls: sergei kravinoff #writings by juls: andrew!peter parker #writings by juls: tom!peter parker #writings by juls: ps4!peter parker #writings by juls: alex summers #writings by juls: charles xavier

WIZARDING WORLD: #writings by juls: newt scamander | theseus scamander #writings by juls: james potter #writings by juls: remus lupin #writings by juls: regulus black | sirius black #writings by juls: fred weasley | george weasley #writings by juls: mattheo riddle

BOOKS: #writings by juls: azriel (acotar) #writings by juls: wes bennett

TV SHOWS: #writings by juls: claggor | ekko | jayce talis #writings by juls: ollie hide #writings by juls: jacaerys velaryon #writings by juls: luke patterson #writings by juls: anthony lockwood #writings by juls: guildford dudley #writings by juls: cole walter #writings by juls: jj maybank #writings by juls: michael guerin #writings by juls: eddie munson | steve harrington #writings by juls: brett talbot | young!derek hale | stiles stilinski | theo raeken #writings by juls: peter sutherland #writings by juls: conrad hawkins

MOVIES: #writings by juls: octavio bergmann #writings by juls: tyler harrison #writings by juls: eric (aqpdo) | reuben (aqpdo) #writings by juls: neteyam sully #writings by juls: armando aretas #writings by juls: viscount tewkesbury #writings by juls: corey cunningham #writings by juls: ethan landry | chad meeks-martin #writings by juls: tristan thorn #writings by juls: newt (tmr) #writings by juls: tedros pendragon

DISCONTINUED: #writings by juls: charlie gillespie #writings by juls: harrison osterfield #writings by juls: tom holland #writings by juls: evan buckley #writings by juls: miguel diaz #writings by juls: angus macgyver #writings by juls: clancy gray

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