#yeah i guess i need to take care of myself because of Zack. Whatever.

[icharchivist]

yknow this one post that's like

the embarrassing thing about me is that this is me but it only works when i'm super mentally ill about ff7 because every time i'm obsessed with ff7 it's the only time i manage to motivate myself to do exercises and trying to take better care of myself FULLY because "Zack would want me to take care of myself", i'm doing some exercises despite hating every second of it because "Zack would want me to be able to pull some squats and i can't do that in my current shape so now i have to make it better" like, ok, cringelord. DoItForHimCollage.jpg about Zack Fair i guess. I have a deodorant smell i associate so strongly to Zack that putting it on makes me actually motivated to take care of myself. fucking mortifying.

*sends a kiss to the sky* for Zack Fair. I guess.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Day 20 : Fingertips - Isaac ‘Zack’ Foster

“Hey, Zack...?” I called out randomly, putting down my phone on the pillow next to me, looking out at the beautiful moon. “Hmm? What’s the matter, Kitten?” he called out from the couch where he was playing on my PS Vita. “Do you...Remember when we met?” I asked in a soft voice. “Ehhh? What’s with that stupid question? Of course I remember! With all that shit going on, it’d be hard not to.” he laughed, not even batting an eye as he was playing Corpse Party and enjoying all the torturous scenes. “Well...Yeah, I know that. It’s just...Would you have ever expected you’d end up like this? Like...How you are now? ‘Cause I wasn’t.” I hummed slightly, not averting my gaze from the shining orb. “What’s with you all of a sudden? Don’t tell me you miss me chasing you around with my scythe?” he averted the console slightly so he could catch a glimpse of me. “Haha, no, nothing of the sort. I can live without that. It’s just...It kinda feels too good to be true, in some way. You get me? Like it’s all just a dream and when I wake up...I’m gonna be back to the shallow world, surrounded by shallow people and liars.” I confessed with a sigh. “Mhhh...I guess I get ya. But who cares about the others? We’re doing fine the way we are now, right? You work all day, I have fun killing. Perfect synergy, ‘aight?” Zack chuckled, putting aside the console completely and getting in a sitting position. “Hey, at least I got you to learn reading and writing. That’s a plus. I mean, look at you, playing video games on my console and barely asking me for word definitions. I’m proud of you, you know?” I shift my gaze from the moon, to him, but before I knew it, he was next to me, towering over me with his trademark smirk. “Are you trying to imply something, Kitten~?” he tilted his head slightly, inching his head closer to me. “I mean...Nothing that you don’t know. Just that I love you and I’m glad I got to meet you, despite the circumstances. When you were taken away by the police...I thought I’d never get to see you again. But here you are, never breaking any promise. I don’t get how you could ever even claim that you’d be a monster...When out there, there are people with so much less humanity than you, and yet, adored by so many.” I reach my hands to cup his bandaged face, but the widening of his eyes and the rosy tint from his cheeks couldn’t escape my detail-oriented eyes. “Wh-What the hell are you saying? Y’know I hate it when you get cheesy and whatever! Sh-Shut up already!” he got flustered, making me chuckle slightly. “You know you’re super adorable when you get embarrassed, right?” And besides, I know you actually LOVE it when I say things like this, you’re just too flustered to admit it.” I got up, putting my arms around his torso and rolling to the side with him, so I could hug him on the bed, stroking his hair. “Wh-What’s with you today...? You’re like...Never in moods like this. I bet if it was me who did this to you, you’d react the same.” he huffed, looking away. “Well...You’re not wrong, I guess.” I hummed in amusement, taking my free hand and putting our palms together. “Huh...Your hand is so little compared to mine.” he muttered, looking sort of in awe. “Yeah...It is. You’d think after 5 years of piano lessons, I’d have longer, slender fingers.” I joked in a lower voice, smiling softly. “You’re so small and frail and full of emotions. Y’know I could kill you with my bare hands, right? I don’t need my scythe or my knife for that. I could twist your neck like a dove’s and you’ll be dead instantly.” he frowned, still looking at our hands. “Yeah. I know that that.” I nodded slightly, my serene smile never fading. “Then why are you still here with me? Why aren’t you running away or handing me over to the police? I’m just a no good killer with a stupidly cliche childhood. What’s so special at me that someone like you...Beautiful, super smart, talented and kind...Would stay with me, waste her time to teach me how to live in this world normally, and...And even love me?” he asked, his voice rough and angry at himself. “Because you have something special in your heart that the rest of these idiots don’t, and will never have.” I explained, intertwining my fingers with his. “Do you know what I’m talking about?” I pressed on. “I’m a wild idiot who likes to smash stuff like the Hulk?” he chuckled, making me grin at his words. “I mean, that’s a huge part of your charm, but I wasn’t talking only about that. I wasn’t talking about your soft heart. It feels gratefulness, it feels love, it feels compassion, it feels innocence and...And you are always genuine to yourself. That’s a kind of passion that most people don’t have. And I admire that in you so much. Many times I feel like I don’t know who I am...Like...I’m just acting. Like I’m not myself. That I’m...Merely threading my tale around different people like a chameleon changes colours to protect itself. So, when I’m around you, I finally feel like I am the real me. The real Katrina, not just a lie that I make up to get benefits. And I really appreciate that at you. I feel at ease when I’m with you. So, Zack...Thank you for staying by my side all this time.” I grin at him, my gaze tenderly shifting to look at his eyes.

His eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly in shock, speechless, not having a clue what to say anymore. He looked down slightly, before getting up and taking off his hoodie, and with it, the bandages from his face and body, letting his upper body bare, his burns visible.

“Look at me now. You still love me? Even like this? When I look like this?” he looked down at me with a self deprecating look, but I said nothing, instead, got up and kissed him lovingly, my fingers gently caressing his body. “You hate liars, Zack, and frankly, so do I, despite being a liar myself, sort of. But do you really think some burns on your flesh are going to keep me away from you? Because that’s not true. I bet they still hurt sometime, despite being old scars...And I’m really sorry you had to go through that. But regardless of anything...Yeah, Zack. I do still love you. As long my our hearts are still beating, so will my love for you.” I could see his eyes watering up slightly, before shaking his head so I won’t see it. “You’re really something else, aren’t you, Kat?...Will you say that again, please?” he muttered softly, barely able too meet my gaze. “I will say it as often as you like me to say it. I love you, Zack. I love you so much and I will never stop loving you.” I confess once again, as he put his arms around me and hugged me tightly to him, feeling his heartbeats, so fast, like a rabbits. “I...I love you too, Kat. So much. Y’know I’m not lying, right?” he confessed in a voice barely above a whisper, my eyes closing, letting the warmth of his embrace engulf me. “Of course I do, Zack.” I say, my hug tightening slightly.

[justacouplebandfics]

We’ve got scars on our future hearts (Jalex) - Chapter 3

Description: Alex dealt with self harm when he was younger, that’s over now though- he’s better, until he’s not. Struggling with the idea of self harming as an adult Alex keeps the issue to himself, but living on a tour bus with your band there’s only so long you can keep something a secret.

Warning: Contains graphic descriptions of self harm

It’s also available here on Wattpad, and you can find the masterlist here. 

Alex's POV

The show went great, well, in my mind it went great. The alcohol slightly numbing my system might be skewing my perception. Jack seemed a bit on edge, understandably- but it looked like he hadn't told any of the guys. We all joked around, Jack joining in occasionally but mostly staying on the side lines, the crowd all seemed super into it- if there was any visible animosity between me and Jack they definitely didn't pick up on it.

"Damn Alex, what'd you get up to this afternoon?" Rian asks as we all walk back towards the tour bus "I've not seen you that pumped in while."

I think about it for a moment- telling them I was solo drinking in the middle of the day is probably a bit of a red flag, especially after this morning with Jack. But I don't have to completely lie "I found this Mexican restaurant in town, they serve you a beer with each taco- I guess I just kinda lost count a bit" I laugh.

Rian joins in "Does this mean you're coming out with us tonight then?" I look over at him, and Zack behind him looking on expectantly.

"Yeah I guess so!" I say without really thinking. I'm not sure more drinking is the best thing for me right now, I should probably take the evening to process what's happened today, but before I can revaluate Rian and Zack are already running towards the bus to take the first shower, leaving me with Jack.

I hear his footsteps stop falling in line with mine and turn around to see him standing still staring at me, we make eye contact and the tension is unbearable- neither of us want to speak first but we both know something needs to be said. With the remaining liquid courage in my system I decide I'll break the silence "What?" It comes out a lot harsher than I intended, and I cringe internally as his face drops a bit.

"What do you mean 'What?', I understand that you don't like talking to people about your problems Alex but I'm not okay with that- I'm not comfortable just pretending this morning didn't happen"

I can feel the same uncontrollable wave of emotions building inside me as earlier, but I try to push it down and diffuse the situation "Jack, I know I flew off the handle a bit earlier, and I'm sorry- I shouldn't have done that. But what you saw isn't anything to worry about. They're old blades, I honestly forgot they were in there- I'm fine" I tell him, putting on a smile. Nice, nailed that.

But Jack doesn't think so "That doesn't add up and you know it, don't lie to me."

So much for controlling the emotions- words start coming out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about them "Can you just stop Jack? I don't need this pity, and I don't want it- I didn't ask for you to go rooting around in my stuff this morning." Jack looks taken aback, and before I can stop it "Just leave me the fuck alone."

I turn and start walking to the tour bus, the moment the words left my mouth I regretted them, but I'm still so consumed with emotion that I don't know how to process that, let alone rectify it. Fuck it, maybe getting wasted is exactly what I need.

Jack's POV

Alex is drunk- not regular Alex-letting-off-steam drunk, not even first-record-deal-party drunk, Alex is beyond wasted. Sure- it's a laugh, and I'm sure if this morning hadn't happened I'd be right there alongside him, but it wouldn't be happening at all if this morning hadn't happened.

Me and a few of the crew are standing a bit off to the side, nearer the bar so the music is just quiet enough that you can have a conversation if you really try. They're talking about some show that's just come out, I smile and nod in what I think are the right places, not really trying to hear what they're saying- I think they're mostly involving me in the conversation to be polite anyway, I'm much too focussed on Alex.

He's out in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by the guys, he looks like he's having the time of his life- but every now and then he stops just for a moment and he gets this blank look on his face, but as soon as it comes he's right back into it. Maybe I'm reading too deep into it- maybe it's just because he's drunk, but there's something about it that just doesn't sit right with me.

I decide I'm not doing myself any good by watching him and go out to the smoking area, I don't even really want a cigarette, I just want some fresh air and a clear head. I light one up anyway and lean against the barrier, taking some deep breaths- I think about how to talk to Alex without him blowing up on me again. I was a little hurt by what he said earlier but the rational part of me knows he didn't mean it, he's just overwhelmed, he doesn't know how to handle what he's going through. I'm disrupted from my thoughts when a group of girls come out into the smoking area, all loud giggles and screams- I give them a smile and quickly finish my smoke, stubbing it out and heading inside. I'll take pounding music over drunken screams any day.

It takes a minute but I find the group again, they've moved off the dance floor and are now over by the bar- I notice there's no Alex.

"Where's Alex?" I ask Matt, not caring how desperate it sounds.

"Oh dude you just missed it!" He laughs "The kid was wasted, threw up all over Rian's shoes and started babbling on about how sorry he was for everything"

"I tried to tell him it's just a pair of trainers, I can get them cleaned but he didn't seem to get it" Rian adds, I look down to see him in just his socks, shoes kicked off to one side and looking definitely worse for wear.

"So where is he?" I ask again.

"On his way back to the bus, I guess he must've got all the booze out of his system when he threw up on Rian 'cus he was with it enough to call an Uber"

"You let him go on his own?" I shouted.

"Dude chill, Zack offered to go but he was adamant he was fine- seriously once he quit the crying he seemed pretty sober."

None of this was sitting right with me at all, something about Alex's behaviour was just so wrong. "I'm gonna go back too, I'll see you guys later" I told them, not waiting for a response before I started jogging towards the exit.

Alex's POV

I stumble onto the bus, throwing my jacket down on the sofa- I'm not even that drunk, yeah I threw up but whatever that happens all the time when people drink. That's not the reason I needed to come back, I needed to come back because I realised I am the problem, the way I spoke to Jack, the way I treated him when he was being nothing but kind to me- it's disgusting. I'm disgusting. I'm this huge, pathetic burden on everyone I'm around.

I make my way to my bunk and grab my sunglasses case, bringing it to the bathroom with me and slumping down on the cold tile floor. I open it up and tip it upside down, but all that falls out are the sunglasses- frowning, I tilt it back up and pry open the back pocket, there's nothing in there. "Fuck sake Jack!" I shout, realising he must've got rid of them after this morning- I don't know why I expected them to still be there, it makes sense. I bang my head back against the cabinet and think for a moment.

It's not that I'm planning on killing myself, I never cut deep enough for that anyway, I just feel like I deserve the pain tonight. Opening up the cabinet behind me I have a look around to see if there's anything I can use- I see an unopened pack of razor heads, taking one out and smashing it open with the corner of my phone case I pick up one of the blades. Its so much thinner than anything I use, I lightly run it along my finger and it cuts right through the top layer of skin- okay so it's a lot sharper than anything I use too.

I take off my jeans and throw them against the door, hiking my boxers up on the right side. Taking a deep breath I position the razor on a clean patch of thigh, dragging it across my skin- its light, barely even breaks through the first layer of skin, so the next one I push harder, then harder. The alcohol's thinning my blood so I'm bleeding way more than normal, the floors a mess- I'm not sure how I'm going to clean this up before one of the guys get home.

With far too much alcohol-induced confidence I push down deep and do one final slice on my thigh- it looks different and I immediately know I've fucked up. Bubbles of fat are popping up through the skin and it's bleeding bad, this is so much deeper than anything I've done before.

"Oh fuck" I say to myself, I keep repeating it again and again just staring at it- I'm hyperventilating and I have no clue what to do, I start to cry, salty tears streaming down my face, snot bubbling out my nose. I press tissues to it and it starts to stop the bleeding but that only means I can see the fat better now- it's terrifying. I used to think when I hit fat I'd finally feel content with my self harm, that it would feel like some kind of achievement, but the reality couldn't be further from that.

I'm so caught up in my own mess I don't notice Jack entering the bus until he's swinging open the bathroom door, he looks down at the blood and the tissue I'm pressing to my thigh and then up to my face. "J-Jack" I sob, no idea how to deal with this situation, "Please help" is all I can think to say.

"It's okay" he keeps repeating "It's gonna be alright," normally I hate when people say that but now it's okay, it's what I need. I need someone to tell me it's going to be okay. He kneels down beside me and takes the razor from my hand, I didn't realise I was still holding it, and leans over to grab the rest of the broken razor head from the floor and throw it in the bin.

He takes a deep breath and moves my hand holding the tissue, by this point mostly soaked with blood, pulling it away from my thigh. I watch his face as he looks down, his eyes go wide for a moment "Oh god 'Lex, I think this might need stitches" he looks up at me and back down to the cut.

"No please Jack I don't want to go to the hospital, I don't want people to know" I plead with him, he looks at me with so much emotion in his eyes, and after a sharp sigh bends over to kiss me on the forehead.

"Alex I don't think that's the right decision but it's your decision- I know we have some butterfly stitches in the first aid kit out front just give me a moment I'll go get them." I nod, tears still falling from my eyes, but at least I'm breathing somewhat normal again. He returns with the butterfly stitches and some bandages- looking back down at the cut I've noticed it's stopped bleeding, they all have. "You're gonna need to get cleaned up before we can bandage this up, do you think you're able to get in the shower?" he asks, turning it on so the water heats up.

I stand up slowly, putting my weight mostly on the clean leg and hobble towards the shower "Yeah, I think I'll be able to manage it"

"I'll be right outside the door, just shout if anything goes wrong." He makes a move towards the door.

"No wait, please stay" I beg, catching his arm. "Please, I don't want to be alone." He looks at me before pulling me into a hug, I wrap my arms around his waist as he wraps his gently around my shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay 'Lex." He buries his nose in my hair for a moment and pulls away "If I'm gonna be in here while you get showered I'm going to grab some cleaning stuff and start clearing this up- I'll be back in a second okay?"

I nod and take off my boxers and shirt when he leaves the room, stepping into the shower- grateful that the steam fogged up the glass so Jack couldn't see me. I start to wash off the blood, some of it dried, some of it still fresh- I can vaguely see Jack's figure on the floor, scrubbing at the blood. I feel bad, I should be the one doing that.

"I'm all done out here when you're good" he calls out after a while "there's a towel and some boxers on the toilet, just let me know when to turn around" he calls out over the shower door.

"Okay, I think I'm done- turn around." I step out the shower to see him standing in the doorway facing away from me, I quickly pat myself dry, taking extra care on my thigh so as not to make the cuts start bleeding again, and slowly pull on my boxers; Stretching the right leg to the absolute limit of its elasticity so it doesn't touch any of the cuts- unsure what to do I sit down on the toilet lid. "All dressed" I say kind of awkwardly, and Jack turns around.

He immediately kneels down in front of me and starts working on my leg "Okay so I did a little bit of googling and I think we need to close up this big one with some butterfly stitches, and then the rest we can just cover up with bandages" he looks up at me as if asking me to confirm, I nod weakly, it all sounding right to me, and watch as he takes out a couple butterfly stitches.

"I think this might hurt a little, I'm sorry" he says, pushing either side of the cut together so it closes up, I wince a little in pain but keep my leg still- there's no point jumping around and making this take longer. Sticking one side of the stitch to one side of the cut, he moves his hand and tapes the other piece to the other side, closing up half of it- he repeats the same process again and the cut looks a lot less scary. Still not great, but it could definitely be worse. He cuts off a piece of bandage and tapes it down, covering all the fresh cuts.

Once he's done he simply holds my thigh in his hands for a while, looking into my eyes "Jack I'm scared" I finally break down again, hunching over into a sobbing mess.

"I know 'Lex" he tells me, standing up and scooping his hands under my knees, picking me up to carry me to his bunk. He sets me down on the edge and climbs into the bunk, scooting backwards against the wall; pulling up the covers he gestures for me to come in and be the little spoon. With my injured leg facing upwards I get under the covers next to him, he wraps his arms around my chest and pulls me back, holding me tightly. "I'm always here for you." I break down into another fit of sobs, but Jack calmly runs his hand through my hair and shushes me until I fall asleep in his arms.

disclaimer: If you hit fat ALWAYS go to the hospital guys, it's not an option- it leaves the risk of infection insanely high if you don't get it professionally stitched. Remember, this is just a story.

[foliea]

Rules and Regulations - Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun Imagine

Paring: Dad!Tyler x Daughter!Reader, Uncle!Josh x Niece!Reader

Word Count: 2,434

Warnings: Terrible mother, F slur, mentions of tattoos (?)

Authors Note: Okay so the reader in this story is LGBT, and it is quite an important part of the story, so if you don’t feel comfortable reading that please feel free to skip this one. This is all around a really cute fic and I might turn it into a series if you guys want. The time skips are really inconsistent in this though, they’ll go from being a few minutes to being a few months. I might go back and add dates for those though. Anyways enjoy.

“Jenna, Caroline spilled her cereal!” I called upstairs.

“Just give me one second and I’ll clean it up!” She yelled from Hannah’s bedroom.

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Just a couple more days and I’ll be able to see Dad and Uncle Josh...” I muttered to myself.

“Y/N?” I looked down to see Caroline tugging at my leg. “Can I have more cereal?”

I looked to the table covered in Cheerio’s then looked at the clock on the stove. “How about I just make you a sandwich instead. It’s lunchtime anyways.”

She nodded excitedly. “Ham and mayo please.” She beamed.

“Of course.” I let out a little laugh while grabbing the jar of mayonnaise. “Alexa... Play Twenty One Pilots.”

“Playing songs by Twenty One Pilots.” Soon after Stressed Out came on.

“I love this song!” Caroline quickly jumped out of her seat, running over to me. “Will you sing with me?” 

I let out a little laugh and started to sing the chorus.

 “What’s this? Daddy’s music? Whose idea was that?”Jenna appeared in the kitchen, holding Hannah in her arms. Caroline quickly pointed to me. “Should have known.” Jenna let out a quick laugh.

“What can I say I’m a daddy’s girl.“ Laughing a bit at the nickname given to me.

Soon everyone had their lunch and we were all sat at the table. “When is daddy coming home?” Carolina asked breaking the silence.

“Two more months sweetie but we’re going to visit him soon.” Jenna smiled at her daughter, but the disappointment was obvious. Everyone missed seeing dad, I’m glad I get to finish tour with him and Uncle Josh though.

“You excited for school tomorrow?” I asked changing the subject. Jenna sent me a look, silently thanking me.

“No, not really. On Friday my friends dared me to kiss a boy.” Caroline shot her head up. “I said no because obviously, boys have cooties!” 

“That’s good, you’re not allowed to kiss any boys until you’re 16.” Jenna gave her a stern look, laughing shortly after.

“Daddy said I can’t kiss any boy’s until I’m married.”

“Is that so?” I laughed

“When are you allowed to kiss boys Y/N?” Caroline asked.

“I don’t have any rules on when I can kiss boys.” I shrugged.

“Really? That’s not fare.” She huffed crossing her arms.

“Well I think boys are gross so Daddy and Uncle Josh didn’t set any rules.”

“Why did Uncle Josh get to have a say. I bet he would say I could kiss boys younger...” She muttered the last part to herself.

“Because Uncle Josh is like a second dad to Y/N.” Jenna intervened, noticing how I had become uncomfortable.

“I’ll explain it to you later, okay Caroline?” She nodded in response, going back to her sandwich.

----

“Y/N?” A small voice came from my door.

“Caroline? What are you doing up?” I asked looking at my clock. It may not be a school night but a six year old should not be up at eleven o’clock at night.

“I can’t sleep...” She looked off the to side.

“You wanna sleep with me?” She nodded, climbing onto the bed. “What’s got you up Tiny?”

“I was thinking about how close you are to Uncle Josh... Why is that?”

I sighed. “When I was your age I didn’t have anyone other than Daddy and Uncle Josh.” She squirmed in my arms a little. “So when it came to raising me, Uncle Josh helped Daddy out.”

“He’s always been there for me, sometimes more than Daddy has. Meaning all those rules and regulations that Daddy and Jenna set up for you, were set up by Daddy and Uncle Josh for me.”

“Regulations?” She looked up.

“Guide lines.” 

She nodded her head. “I’m gonna miss you when you go with Daddy and Uncle Josh...” 

“I’ll call you every night.”

“But who’s going to make me ham and mayo sandwiches?”

“You’re mom is capable of making them.”

“It won’t be the same...” She mumbled. 

“How about this, I’ll make you lunch after you go to church on Sunday and I’ll make you sandwiches to bring to school for the rest of the week?” She nodded.

The conversation ended and Caroline fell asleep.

----

Monday came quickly and it was time for me to fly to Charlotte to join Dad and Uncle Josh on tour. I waved goodbye to Jenna, Caroline, and Hannah. Caroline was very visibly crying while holding onto the Build-A-Bear I made more her the day prior, mine tucked safely into my bag.

“Traveling alone?” The barista at the cafe asked. 

I nodded. “I’m meeting my dad and uncle in Charlotte.”

“That’s cool, I would never be able to go to school that far away from my parents.” She laughed.

“It’s not like that. They travel a lot and I’m flying in to travel with them, around the country actually.”

“They on a road trip or something?”

“You could say that I guess, but you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“They’re on tour, they’re uh in a band.”

“What band maybe I’ve heard of them.”

“Uh Twenty One Pilots? They just released a new album”

“Wait their the one’s who made that Stressed Out song right?”

“Yeah that’s them. That songs from their new album.”

“Cool, not really my style but I do really like that song. What’s the new album called?”

“Blurryface.” 

“Codi! Stop talking and get back to work!” 

“Sorry, here’s your coffee.” I smiled at her walking out of the cafe.

----

“Uncle Josh!” I yelled, smiling.

“Y/N! What’s my favorite niece been up to? Don’t tell Caroline and Hannah I said that.” We both laughed.

“Not much, although this new hair place opened and I think I might get my tips done to match yours.” I said pointing to his bright red hair. 

“Nope absolutely not!” A voice was heard from behind me. I turned around and smiled.

“Dad!” I wrapped my arms around him.

“Well hello to you to Kiddo.” He laughed wrapping his arms around me.

I let go of him and turned around to pick up my bags, only to see Josh had grabbed them already. “Why do you have this tiny bag?” He asked, holding up a medium sized backpack.

“Dad told me to bring my uke.” I shrugged grabbing both it and my regular backpack.

----

“Bye dad!” I shut the front door walking to my car. As I got in my phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey cutie!” A voice could be heard over my speakers, indicating my phone had connected to the Bluetooth.

“Hey Codi.” I laughed. “I’m on my way.”

“You better be, I can’t wait to see what you’re doing to your hair.”

“I thought I told you?”

“Nope.”

“Whatever you’ll see soon enough.”

We talked for a little while longer until I pulled into her drive way. Codi bolted outside and into my car. “Well hello to you to Dakota.” She laughed a little as well, kissing my cheek.

The drive to the place was fairly quick. Codi had been blasting music the whole ride, but turned it off when I pulled onto North High Street. 

“Here it is.” We both looked up to the sign. The word Bishops could be read in white, with an orange-red back ground. 

“Hey! How can I help you two lovely woman?” A girl with brightly colored hair smiled. 

“Uh I have an appointment, it should be under as Y/N Joseph?” 

“Right, here you are.” She smiled looking up. “You’re dying your tips red, right?”

“You’re dying your tips? I though you’re dad said no?” Codi remarked from behind me.

“Yes, but Uncle Josh said yes. As long as I got red.” I smirked knowing that what Josh says, goes.

The girl laughed. “Well my names Max, I’ll be doing you’re hair.” She lead me to a chair. “So red huh? Is that your uncles favorite color or something?”

“His hair’s red, it’s been a joke since I was young that I should always be matching with him.”

“I’m assuming you’re really close then.”

“Yeah, he’s like a second dad to me.” I smiled.

----

“All done.” Max turned the chair around so I could see it.

“It looks amazing! Thank you so much!”

“Looking good, cutie.” Codi laughed wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

“Just come in when you need a touch up or you want to switch the color.” I nodded paying. 

“Thanks again Max!” I said walking out of the shop.

“You’re dad is so gonna kill you.” Codi laughed

“Oh definitely.” I smiled getting into my car.

----

“What did you do to your hair!?” 

“Dyed it.” I shrugged looking at Dad.

“Was this Josh’s idea?”

“No it was Zack’s. Yes it was my idea Tyler.” Josh laughed.

Dad gave a quick disapproving look to Josh. “You’re lucky I love you too much.” 

“Y/N your hair looks great I’m glad it came out the way you wanted.” Jenna smiled as she walked in.

“Thanks Jenna!”

“You knew about this as well?!”

“Well yeah, she double checked that it was okay with me.”

“Y/N!”

“Well would you look at the time, I’ve got a date with Codi. I love you daddy.” I smiled kissing his and Josh’s cheeks.

----

“So you have no interest in seeing your mom?” Codi asked.

“She had 17 years to come and visit me. She left me on my dads front door and said she never wanted to see me again.” I sighed, not taking my eye’s off the road. “She doesn’t have any right to see me. And its not like she could say she’s obligated to see me, I’m 18 and even if I wasn’t, her and my dad never fought for custody.” 

I turned into Codi’s neighborhood and she promptly ended the conversation. As the car sat in the driveway, I turned to face her. “I’ll see you tomorrow Codes.” She kissed my cheek and left the car.

I sighed backing the car out of the driveway. “This is the right thing to do Y/N. She doesn’t care about you.” I muttered to myself on my way home.

----

“Y/N! Someone’s here to see you!” Caroline yelled as she ran into my room.

“Who?”

“I’m not sure but Mommy told me to come get you and then go to my room.”

“Okay thanks C.” I stood from my seat and started walking downstairs. “Jenna? Who’s here to see me?”

In front of me stood Jenna, Dad, Uncle Josh, and two people I didn’t recognize.

Uncle Josh was the one to break the silence. “Y/N why don’t you sit down?” I quietly sat down between him and Dad.

“I-I’m confused, what’s happening?” I turned towards Dad.

“Sweetie don’t you recognize me?” The women spoke. I shook my head.

“Y/N this is your mother.” Something about the way that Dad said mother didn’t feel right. He said it as if I should have known who she is. As if she didn’t ditch me when I was one. 

“I thought is was right time we saw each other again.” 

“I’m sorry what? Saw each other again? You left me with Dad when I was a baby! You never cared about me so right now I’m confused on why you’re here!”

“I wanted to see my baby again.” She retorted faking politeness.

“You had 17 years to do that. Why are you here now?” Silence fell over everyone. Jenna went upstairs to make sure the girls wouldn’t come downstairs.

The front door closing and footsteps broke that silence. “Hey Joseph’s I’m here for-” Codi spoke unaware of what was happening in the living room. “Y/N...”

“Codi, can we reschedule? Maybe to any other day in my life. Clearly something must be happening today since she’s here.” 

“But Y/N, today’s our movie date.” She playfully whined.

“I’m sorry date?” A sharp voice came from behind me.

“Yes a date? Is there an issue with that?” Codi questioned staring at the unfamiliar women.

“No daughter of mine is a fag!” Silence fell again.

“Get out.” Uncle Josh’s voice broke through. 

“Excuse me? Who are you to tell me what to do?”

“I said get out. I will not tolerate anyone insulting Y/N or her girlfriend. Especially someone as vial as you.” He spat standing up from his chair.

“This is not you’re household nor family.” She scoffed. “Tyler you allow this man to be near our child-”

“My child.” Dad finally spoke.

“Excuse me?”

“My child. You never once even asked about Y/N. You have no right to call her your child.”

“I would never think a man of God like yourself would allow someone as disgusting as her,” She quickly pointed at me. “To live in your house.”

She grabbed the arm of the man with her and dragged him out of the house. “I’m sorry N/N.” Dad said wrapping me in a hug.

“It’s fine Dad.” I replied. Another pair of arms wrapped around my waist.

“Josh?” Dad laughed.

“What? I wanted to be apart of the moment!” He laughed.

“Group hug!” Codi yelled grabbing onto me as well. Dad and Uncle Josh readjusted to fit her in.

“Did someone say group hug?” Caroline’s voice could be heard as she ran int group of people. 

I picked her up as Jenna walked downstairs with Hannah in her hands. “Yeah someone said group hug.” I smiled as Codi wrapped her arms around me again.

----

“Okay you’re dad couldn’t handle you dying your hair and now you’re getting a tattoo?” Codi laughed.

“Hey! I have permission this time.” I playfully shoved her as I pulled into the parking lot of the tattoo parlor. 

“What are you getting anyways?” Codi asked as I sat down in the chair. I explained it too her and finished right as the tattoo artist finished putting the base on my arm.

----

“Y/N I swear if you got anything stupid or inappropriate-” Dad cut himself off seeing seeing the tattoo. “Y-You got one of my lyrics tattooed on you?”

“Okay either you’re blind or full of yourself.” I laughed looking at the tattoo on my arm. I was a tree house set on fire and had the lyrics from Forest around it. “Anyways of course I did. I wanted my first tattoo to have a special meaning.”

“I got one as well!” Codi proudly showed off the small band wrapped around her wrist. “Dad’s prolly get get emotion once he asks what it means though...”

“Well I’m glad you both got things that mean something to you.” 

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 3 Part 6

And we continue. So much things are happening ‘-’ I must say put a trigger warning here for one part of the plot. Yes it’s about Nate. And yes it’s sad.

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey Wednesday February 6

It was wrong. Illogical. Pure stupidty. It was 1 am. Tomorow, he had lessons to attend. So why the hell was he helping Liam ? Why they were in a hotel in another town ? And it wasn't for sex ! I'm Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. The gifted hunter. Feared as a god, venerated like one, desired like one. I shouldn't be here. But everytime he looked at this baboon, this fuckin' dummy freshman, his boyfriend... Everytime he looked at him, he knew his place was right here. It doesn't make any sense. Liam had finally fell asleep. He had been so stressed the whole day ! The blond's lad didn't want to see him like this. I'm not supposed to care. I mean, he's just a prey. But I feel concerned. I guess I just don't want the product to be damaged. Yeah, that's it. Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey went into the bathroom. He didn't know why; but a feeling prevented him to take advantage of Liam's situation to have sex with him. Instead, I have this urge to help him. Such a pain in my ass. He dialed Nancy's number.

"Sir." she answered quickly. "Why are you calling so late ? You're not putting this awesome dick of yours in someone ?"

"Sadly not. Look, I need help to find someone."

She remained silent for a bit. It's my tone. He had sounded more stressed, more worried than he wanted to. But for real, where the hell this Nate went ? He had just vanished from Earth !

"Gimme all the information you have. I'll see what I can do." she eventually replied.

"You're not asking for payment ?"

"Look Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey, I know you for a long time now. More than most people. I can tell when it's important for you. And as much as I love see your ass getting rounder, I think it's not necessary this time."

The blond lad froze a moment. Did she mean she felt... weakness ? Damnit, why everything is different when the baboon is here ? Why I can't bang him like all the other prey I chased before ? He reluctantly told her what he knew. Nothing much in fact, because Liam and him never really talked about their respectives lives. They spent most of the time watching movies, walking in the park and obviously, eating.

"I have something you may found interesting." announced Nancy after a while. "It's a video posted by a girl who's friend with another girl named Gwendoline who's friend with Nate Hudson. It show him walking towards the sea heavily drunk."

"When ?"

"One hour ago, approx. He looks very weird in that video..."

"Thanks Nancy. I'll send you a home-made chocolate cake later."

"Hell, you have to. Good luck sir."

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey decided to let Liam sleep, and went to the beach. Himself was used to rest only a little. But it's because I'm usually fuckin' one person. Or more. Not because I'm searching my boyfriend's bestfriend. For fuck sake. He was turning completely crazy. It was a descent to hell for the hunter he was. For almost two hours, he ran along the ocean, but found no one. Nonetheless, when the blond lad was ready to give up, he glimpsed him. Finally. When he came closer, what he saw wasn't good. Wasn't good at all. Nate Hudson was a short and a bit tubby lad. He had black short hair, and a childish figure. He looks 15, no more. Liam already seemed young, but his bestfriend... Anyway, it wasn't the problem. Nate had brown eyes, but they were strongly dilated and reddened, probably because of the alcohol, maybe even some drugs. He had vomit all over his body. And what a body... His clothes were torn apart, with some blood. Himself looked hurt, like if someone had scrathed him. He released a putrid smell, a mix between beer, weed, sweat and blood. I saw this before. Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey came closer.

"Hey bud." he whispered. "Are you awake ?"

Nate grunted. His breath was a real torture. Man it's not good. Drunk, high and with blood all over him ? His trousers were open. As an expert of the question, the Dean's grandson could guess he had ejaculated not that far ago. This is bad. Really bad.

"I'm... Dami. Can you get to your feet ?"

He supposed Liam had only called him "Dami" anyway. The drunk guy grabbed him a bit aggressively.

"Liam can't see me like this." he said with a desesperate but angry tone. "He doesn't need to know."

"Dude, it's not the most important. Come here."

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey helped him to stand up. Damn, he's heavier than he looks. And he stinks... It was barely bearable. I don't even know why I'm doing this. Well, he knew. For a baboon called Liam.

"Don't tell him." insisted Nate. "Nothing."

"Okay, okay. Man you need a shower. Come, I'll help you..."

It's not good at all...

When Liam woke up in the late morning, Nate was clean and deeply asleep. Hopefully, he'll just have an hangover and no physical damage. He wasn't hurt that much... Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey could only imagine what happened during the night... And it wasn't something he liked at all.

"Where did you find him ?" asked his boyfriend once showered and dressed. "And how ?"

Needless to say, he was extremely relieved. He had kissed the blond lad with so much passion this one almost fainted. And I liked it so much. Not good either. I want more, it's a fuckin' disaster.

"Look baboon. All I can say for sure is : he needs you. I think he's waking up. Go talk with him."

The Dean's grandson waited a very long moment. His projects for today were all wrecked. With four hours of journey to do, they wouldn't be back before the evening. I wanted to bang Gabriel at least once... And why not a prey or two... In order to spend the time while his boyfriend talked with Nate, Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey played with his phone. He masturbated in his ferrari with his tape of his name. And he called some people for phone sex. Eventually, he related the last day to Zack. This one said he was proud of him. I don't know what the fuck he can be proud of ? I mean, I crossed half the country and I don't even know why. Damn, I hate this Liam boy. Stupid boyfriend and his cute face. Anyway, afterwards, Liam came to see him, with Nate right behind him.

"Hey Dami, thank you for being so patient."

"No problem." assured quickly, too quickly to his own opinion, the blond lad. "You guys get everything clear ?"

Nate looked him straight in the eye. I get it. Liam can't know what happened. It wasn't good.

"He had been beaten by some idiots." mumbled the chestnut lad with angriness. "And kicked out of the university for some reason. We need to bring him with us. He'll stay with me."

Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey hesistated. You want to play it this way ? To lie ? Nate nodded to his silent question. Whatever. It's not my problem right ? I'm not even sure about what happened. I don't care.

"Okay." he said. "Get in the car mates."

Liam Friday February 8

Three day after their little trip across the country, Liam had only one certainty : the forces of evils had struck again. Nate was different, even a half-minded like him could saw that. He was sullen, shifty and distant with everybody except maybe Liam. (They were quite a pair : the absent-minded and the crabby). (Maybe it would make a good title for a movie). At least the unicorns were happy. Nick had agreed to let Nate settle for a while. Thus, Liam bedroom became their bedroom. His bestfriend hadn't much stuff, only some clothes. He had left everything behind, even his car. He had warned his parents, but hadn't given any detail. And now, he was just stayin' there, wandering in the flat. He's playin' videogames, smilin' and all but I know the forces of evil took his joie de vivre. I see it in his eyes. Maybe the unicorns'll be able to help him... To be honest, Liam didn't know what could cheer up Nate. (He had always been the happy one in their relationship). So he just decided to be there. For now, his bestfriend had been maintening he had been assaulted by some bastard after the university had expelled him. He had made himself drunk and had just lost track of time. I know there's more. But I can't force him to tell me, so I'm gonna be patient.

"Dude, earth calling you again." whispered suddenly Nick at his ear.

They were in the mathematics lecture, but Liam had been gawking since the very beginning.

"How's the space today ?" asked his roommate. "Is it attacked by aliens while a magical pony helped you to ride the rainbow ?"

"It would be cool." accepted the chestnut lad. "But the unicorns don't want me to ride rainbow. They said it's dangerous."

"Okay, whatever." replied Nick, astonished to see his joke taken so seriously. "I was asking you, do you know what's Nate's plan ? I mean, I don't care having him around, and he's welcome as long as he wants to, but he seems a bit... odd. Does he expect to just stay in the flat forever ?"

"I don't know." confessed Liam. "Listen, I can't tell you much but I think he needs time. Can you be patient with him ?"

Nick nodded.

"Of course. It's just... I know him for a while, and he acts... different. I'm worried, that's all."

"We all are."

After the classes, Nick and Liam headed towards the pool for the lesson with Theo. It was the third in a row, and the dark-haired lad hadn't made any progress. The only thing Liam noted was how his belly had grew bigger since he was sleeping with the junior. But I guess I can't speak since I gained a bit of weight myself. They were at the pool when the lad glanced Dami.

"I'm going ahead." whispered Nick. "Take your time, I'll be fine with Theo."

Liam thanked him and joined his boyfriend. He had this particular look when something bothered him. His eyes were even scarier than usual.

"Hey Dami. Want somethin' ?"

(There's a secret everyone should know : Liam had decided to play it cool with his boyfriend, but in truth, he was so prude and shy...) (He was doing his best to be Liam the hero in front of Dami, but often, he was just Liam the virgin). (Even if he wasn't virgin).

"Not really." said Dami. "I'm waiting Laura for a little chitchat. How's Nate ?"

"Fine. I guess."

There was a blank. Liam felt a bit guilty about their trip. I asked him to drive me on the other side of the country. He paid the gas, rented the hotel, and it's him who found Nate eventually. (For Liam, it was a real proof of love, even if in the same time, Dami was having sex with other people). But when they were over there, Liam had been pathetic. I did a panic attack and I almost insulted him.

"Stop fuckin' dreamin' like that baboon." demanded his boyfriend, who was blushing.

They ended up both blushing. (It was a natural reaction for the freshman, each times Dami became red, he did too).

"By the way, about Theo." mutterred Dami.

He was blaming him for what happened last week. Liam knew that.

"I think he'll stop whatever he's doing with your roommate. I hope Nick isn't too attached to him ?"

"Not really. He said they were just havin' sex, nothing more. But why would he left him ? Did he find another lover or..."

"It's not that. D.R. gave him an order. Don't try to understand you baboon."

"Okay...By the way I don't like it when you call me baboon."

"Really ? And whatcha gonna do about it baboon ?"

"I want pancake for our next date this monday after my session with the shrink. You can do it ?"

Dami just slapped him gently.

Liam went inside only to find Nick alone. This one looked at him with weariness.

"Theo said he can't continue." he revealed. "Both the sex and the lessons. Apparently, it was becoming too sentimental, and he can't make Laura suffer."

"Oh. I'm sorry about this."

It's exactly as Dami said. His boyfriend was a psychic. So cool. (It was plausible. Once, a clairvoyant had told Liam he would lose money, and then the poor lad had paid him and had lost money !)

"I think it's better this way." he confessed. "Theo is with Laura, he shouldn't have sex with other people."

"Man, I agree. But when we started.... wow. He's good ya know ? For a virgin bisexual like me, it was kind of amazing."

Liam blushed. I don't wanna know. They were about to head the locker room when suddenly, Rebecca showed up with another girl. When she saw them, she smiled.

"There are some other swimmers." she informed her friend. "Liam and Nick. Well, the lattest is not really a swimmer. I guess ? What are you doin' in trunks tubby ?"

The dark-haired lad frowned.

"Somethin'."

"You should swim with us." she continued.

Liam was naturally dull-wited. (Mean people would say retarded). But he could sense the disaster incoming. Nick declined, and Rebecca suddenly burst into laughter.

"I knew that. The truth is, you can't swim, can you ? Are you scared of the water ? But you have such a great life preserver here."

She pinched his lovehandles. Nick was about to do a huge mistake, realised Liam. He wanted to punch the star runner athlete in the face. I need to stop this. He started to imporivse a song. And then, he grabbed his roommate and they ran as far as possible.

Barbara Saturday February 9

They all applauded. It was such a pleasure. Barbara was proudly looking at Summer. My first real victory. It was bound to happen. Yesterday, someone had degraded the football lockers, exactly like the sciences facility before. And she arrested him. Well, the spacegoat she had prepared to. Roberto and her had done a great job. No one could get to the root of this case.

"My grandfather thank you all." declared Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. "Most of you are completely retarded but congratulations ! You stopped a dreadful threat."

It was easy to see he didn't care at all. He certainly wanted to bang someone. It's his way to reign... They all respect the hunter he's, and they all want him in bed. Honestly, Barbara was curious. He must be really gifted...

"I can't agree more." added Summer. "Well done team."

She glared at Barbara with anger. Yeah, that's it. You're losing your people. The next queen is here.

When she left the building, the petite girl ran into Oliver, from the football team. The person I wanted to see. Since Theo had failed, she had looked for other allies. Apparently, Liam was now quite a legend among the hunters, because neither Theo or Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey had succeeded to have sex with him. But the king will, I'm sure of it. He probably acted distant in order to attack later.

"Thank you for the guy you arrested." complimented Oliver. "The team's glad, because he could have damaged some important stuff."

"It's not a problem. That's why I want to be the next head of the student." she smiled.

"Yeah, about that... My boss wants to meet you."

"Your boss ? I thought you were the captain in charge ?"

"Well, technically, I am." he explained. "When it's related to football. But my quarterback is leading the team in the inside and not only on the field. And he's kinda bossy and presumptuous so behave yourself in front of him."

"Okay."

She followed him, a bit perplexed. He must be the hunter. She had understood each club had at least one leader hunter, a guy feared and respected by all. She had thought it was Oliver, but apparently not. In fact, when she entered in the football locker room, she almost wet herself. Footballers were of course impressive, especially when you were a short girl like her. But when she faced around twenty of them... And it wasn't the worst. They had made a special space in the room. They had regrouped all the lockers in a corner, and in the middle, there was a kind of throne. The quaterback was lazily sat onto it, a leg across the armset. Next to him, a poor guy was on his knees with a tray of foods. Another was shaking a fan. This's so stereotipical. But so scary in the same time. The hunter himself was only in briefs, while his teammates were in sportwear. He had a ripped body, pretty hot. She realised he was carbo-loading because they had a game tomorow. His hefty belly was well bloated.

"You must be this Barbara the captain talked about." he said with a smirk. "I'm Archibald Fabian, but you can call me Archie."

What an attitude. His tone, his body language, his smile, everything was exhaling a sexual aura. She could guess he had already fucked every single footballer in the room. Probably all the club member and their coach too. He was a more impressive hunter than all the other she had encountered, except maybe Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. But this latter at least looked civilized.

"Nice to meet you." she smiled prudently. "You wanted to see me ?"

"I was getting curious." he answered after he devoured a big spoonful of pasta. "I mean, I'm only a sophomore and I never saw anyone except Summer at the head of the student union."

"You'll be happy to know it won't last." she assured. "All I need is some support from..."

"I don't know girl." he interupted her. "She managed to kick the old president out, and Damian likes her. Now that the bet with Theo is over, the best hunter will be less focused on the hunt and he'll take notice of this little war you're both doing. I gambled for him because I knew he would win. He always does. So I'm gonna wait to see for who he's rooting."

Barbara nodded. So this quarterback's on the king side. Never expected him to be a follower...

"You can go now." Archie continued. "I only wanted to see what kind of girl was ambitious enough to fight Summer. Don't disappoint me please, I'm always up for a good show."

Barbara spent the rest of the day a bit disappointed. She had expected more support after a victory. Ms. Weber had called her, as for Steve Callagan. Both were with her now. But I wanted the football team. Oliver looked convinced, but Archie... She hadn't expected a sophomore to rule the club like this. He was powerful, and dangerous. And this Theo who had lost ! I wonder what he's thinking now ? According to Javier, he had withdraw from the bet. But why ? There are still to many impoderables. All these gray areas prevent me to act fast. But the quarterback had given her an idea. She had to meet the old queen, the one before Summer. Maybe they could plot something together. That was why she went to see Javier at his dormitory. She knocked at his door with energy. The raven-haired lad opened after a while. He was shirtless, and apparently about to sleep.

"Barbara ?" he was surprised. "Whatcha doin' here ?"

She entered without a second thought.

"I need information. I want the name of the previous head of the student ? Who was she ?"

"Sorry. I'm not answering against nothing."

The blonde girl looked at him. He was a typical college student, who had faced the freshman 15, or maybe 20 in his case. Not tall, average face, nothing remarkable. He's a power hunter, like me. But he's too chicken-livered.

"You know what I want." he mumbled. "Please, we did it one time. You enjoyed it right ?"

Absolutely not. But it was the university rule. Sleep to succeed.

"Fine." she conceded. "But first, the name."

"Well, it's Irina Peskov. Rumors say she's the first person who had sex with Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey when he arrived at the university, three year ago. She had been the head of the student for one year, but then..."

Javier stopped and looked at her. Barbara sighed. He was waiting a move. She slowly took her shirt off.

"Then, she did something bad. I think D.R. and Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey punished her. She's studying biology now, but she lives out of the campus."

"D.R. ? What's that ?"

"I don't know, I just heard the name. Nothing important I guess, the man just ditched her when Summer started to sleep with him to my opinion."

"Yeah, looks like it."

This Irina would be more than glad to get revenge...

To be continued

Sorry not sorry but yeah sorry. What happened to Nate will play a role in the story, and impact all the characters. This is also the good time to introduce Archibald, who is kind of important.

Liam is lost and confused, Damian is angry and confused, Barbara is evil and a little bit confused. Everyone is confused. Things will get better I swear ! At least for now !

[tryingthisfangirlthing]

Love, I’ve Missed You In A Million Different Ways (How Is It We Keep On Writing Tragedies Together?) 1/14-ish

So. My @bering-and-wells-exchange gift for @dapperdorian kind of exploded. As in this will be long, posted hopefully over the course of the next two weeks. You requested unrequited love, all the sad/loving feels. I hope this delivers, and Merry Christmas! Basically I couldn’t quite decide on one story so I set myself to writing them all. (Because Rinari is totally crazy, it seems. What else is new?) Each chapter is more or less a self-contained story, but they do more or less tie together (I hope).

1. In The Beginning

She read science fiction. It was the first week of junior year, and Myka Bering was sitting in the corner of the lunchroom, Journey to the Center of the Earth open in front of her, glasses pushed up her nose and her curls tumbling in her face. And she read, flipping the page every now and again, not at all seeming to care about who did or didn't pay attention to her. “Tracy.” Helena nudged the freshman beside her with her shoulder, tilting her head towards the corner. “Isn't that your sister?” Tracy glanced over her shoulder, quickly, a little furtively. “Yeah, that's Myka,” she murmured, hunching her shoulders, her attention focused on the others at the table — Kurt, Giselle, Megan, Zack, Taylor — as if checking to see if they'd heard. “Why don't you invite her to sit with us?” Helena wasn't above taking advantage of the social privilege her “cool new foreign student” status gave her. And she wanted to know this girl better. But Tracy shook her head. “Trust me,” she muttered, “My sister is happiest just as she is.” She didn't look particularly happy, Helena thought, as she glanced back at Myka again. But wouldn't her sister know her best?

They had sports together — “P.E.” as the Americans called it, “physical education.” As if there was anything particularly educational about getting shoved around a basketball court for forty-five minutes. (It wasn't as if Helena had anything against being skin to sweaty skin with another girl. She would just have preferred it be during something useful, like Kenpo, or in a decidedly different and much more appealing context.) Helena was competitive, by nature. Myka was not particularly good at the sport, despite her height. But then came the laps, and Myka took off, leaping ahead like a gangly gazelle, all awkward grace. She looked a little freer, in that moment, free from something one only noticed had been haunting her once it was gone. Helena's breath came hard and fast and she watched Myka run.

Myka's locker was three down from Helena's. Three down, and Helena caught a glimpse of the inside of the door. No photos, just words: Pablo Neruda, and “Do not go quietly into the cold dark night,” and “By their fruits you shall know them,” in an elegant cursive hand Helena was almost certain belonged to Myka. She looked at the inside of her own locker, sketches of imaginary planetscapes strewn in between the magnetic chessboard Caturanga had given her and several pictures of Buffy and B'Elanna Torres. When she looked back, Myka was walking away, fencing épée in hand.

“Is this seat free?” Myka started, stiffened, and then tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing sideways at Helena. She lifted one shoulder, hunching down like a turtle retreating into its shell. “Yeah, I guess.” “Aces.” Helena grinned, setting her tray down and sliding in next to her. Myka blinked, with wide, startled eyes, and shifted a little further away, to give her more room. “I'm Helena.” She picked up her fork to stab at what the cafeteria called lasagna, wrinkling her nose. “Though you can also call me H.G. Most everyone does. You're Tracy's sister, aren't you? Myka?” “Yeah,” she responded, after a moment's hesitation, and minutely inspected the contents of her lunchbox. “So you're a fan of H.G. Wells?” Helena nodded towards The Time Machine lying on the table. “My mother was a great admirer of his. Hence my initials.” “I guess you could say that,” Myka murmured. “My dad used to read me his novels, when I was younger.” “H.G.!” Giselle stopped in front of the table, with a bemused wrinkle to her nose. “Why don't you come sit with us?” “The table here is free, so far as I can tell.” Helena shrugged, gesturing to the empty space. “Kurt!” she called over to the quarterback. “Join us, why don't you?” Turning to Myka, she asked,“You don't mind, do you?” Mutely, Myka shook her head, pressing her lips together. Kurt trotted over like the hulking puppy dog he was, and sat opposite them. “Hi, uh, Myka, wasn't it?” Myka squeaked, then cleared her throat and tried again. “Yeah, yeah, that's me. Myka Bering, right here.” “Is that for English?” Megan sounded a tad horrified, as she set her tray down beside Kurt's and pointed at the book. Helena only just suppressed a sigh. “No.” Myka looked down at her food again. Tracy shot Helena an exasperated-embarrassed-helpless look as she slid in beside her. “Our father owns a bookstore,” she offered, as though one needed some sort of excuse for liking to read. Giselle finally settled in at the end of their row, combing a finger through her red curls. “I would write an essay on how annoying it is so few ‘classic’ books we're supposed to read have women in them, but I'm already swamped with Trig. I should not have taken that AP class.” Kurt made a face. “I’ve done geometry, but coach says if I don't pass algebra this year I can't stay on the team.” There was a round of appropriately sympathetic noises. “I could tutor you,” Myka said suddenly,  unexpectedly loudly. Everyone quieted and looked at her. Her cheeks colored. “I got an A in it last year. I mean, if you want. You don't have to —” “No, that's — that's real sweet of you, Myka.” Kurt was tilting his head, as if looking at her in a new light. “You wouldn't mind? I could find a way to pay you a bit, if you wanted.” “No!” She shook her head. “No, I'm happy to help.” “Well, then, thanks. You want my number? We'll have to work around football practice, but let me know whatever time works for you and I'll be there.” He was already pulling out his phone, apparently oblivious to the way Megan tossed him and Myka suspicious, sulky glances, and Giselle and Tracy held themselves stiff with discomfort. “Of course! I — I have fencing practice after school anyways, so it's not like — I wouldn't be waiting.” Myka was fumbling with her phone, too, taking the number down as he dictates it, offering hers right back. This wasn't — this wasn’t how it was supposed to go, and Helena floundered in the disappointment welling up in her throat. She'd never had any problems with school, but now she almost wished she had. Myka tucked her phone away, biting her lip on a happy little smile. “I, uh, I have to head by the library before my next class, but I'll see you around.” She zipped up her almost-untouched lunch, tucking The Time Machine to her side. “Let me know when you have time, Kurt.” Helena closed her mouth, and watched her go. “Told you so,” Tracy muttered around the straw in her milk carton.

Helena tried again, the day after. “Do you mind if I sit here?” “If you want.” Myka shifted over, not even looking up from The War Of The Worlds. Halfway to setting down her tray, Helena stopped, suddenly exasperated. “Would you prefer I not? I have no desire to force my company upon you.” At this, Myka finally looked up, looked her in the eyes. A melancholy sort of fire flickered in her gaze, sucking all the air from Helena's lungs. “Look, your crowd isn't my thing. I won't be taken advantage of, and I don't want to be some kind of social charity case. So whatever you're trying to do, you might as well just, not.” Helena rolled her eyes against the sting of those words. “Yes, because heaven forbid someone might actually want to get to know you.” Giselle was waving her over towards their usual table, so she went, bristling and disappointed.

Megan complained into the girls’ chat that Kurt had blown her off after practice, because Myka hqd been waiting. Helena could only imagine: Myka sitting on the bleachers, hunched over the book in her lap, fencing foil at her side to complete her awkward-solid-ethereal aura, the way she'd look up when the coach called for them to finish... Helena wasn't telling Megan she'd have done exactly the same.

The next day, Helena headed for the little group's usual table. She could tell where she wasn’t wanted — though she couldn't think of what she might have done to deserve Myka snubbing her like that. Yet that twinge of bitterness did nothing to dampen her curiosity. “How was your first tutoring session?” she asked Kurt, sliding into the spot next to him. “What's she like?” Kurt paused for a moment, forehead wrinkling, obviously having to think it over. “She's all right, I guess. She's really smart. It took a little while, like she had to explain things a couple of times before I got it, but then, like, we just clicked, you know? She said I could pay her in Twizzlers, you know, the red kind?” Helena assumed he wasn't actually looking for a response, and at any rate she wouldn't have trusted herself to give one. “She’s got a sense of humor, too, once she loosens up.” Slowly, Kurt smiled, in his bright-charming-handsome way Helena was beginning to fucking hate. Like it was a sudden realization, he added, “I guess she’s actually sort of hot, in a cute, dorky kind of way.” You don't bloody have to tell me that. Helena stabbed at one of her chicken nuggets, and the plastic fork snapped.

The next day, Myka had Sense and Sensibility with her at lunch. Silently, Helena cursed. She might just be in love, bloody weakness for bloody gorgeous girls with bloody adorable glasses and my bloody favorite books.

(She took Giselle to the winter formal. She was proud of herself, for only tossing three — fine, four — longing, envious glances at the way Myka rested her head on Kurt's shoulder during a slow song, rested it there with a joyously contented smile Helena wanted to fucking kiss off her lips.)

[vickypoochoices]

Most Girls - The Never Been Kissed Girl.

This is it guys, the last full chapter to Most Girls. Got an epilogue coming up soon to wrap it all up. Thanks so much for reading!

[MASTERLIST.]

Previous.

"That's it Violet, I can't take it anymore! I'm sick of seeing that sorry little face of your's, you're slowly dragging me down into this depressing little pit you've been in for weeks and I'm officially done."

Violet found herself shrinking back at the tone in Zack's voice, nervous about what was to come. If she knew Zack at all, then he had a plan to get her out of this bedroom and it wouldn't be long before he put the plan into action.

Looking around at her surroundings, she felt a jolt of shame strike her. She'd barely left this little sanctuary of her's recently, apart from classes and caffeine boosts, and that was clear for all to see. Her laundry basket stood in the corner, overflowing with dirty clothes. A stack of empty coffee cups littered her dressing table. And the curtains hadn't been touched in days, leaving the room looking dark and gloomy.

"You know I think I'm going a little bit crazy Zack." She muttered, staring off into space as her lips moved.

Pulling the curtains back, a weak beam of sunlight bounced off the walls, dwindling quickly as evening had begun to sink in.

"Yeah well I'm not really surprised when you've been holed up in here for days."

"No, no. I mean actually insane. Four times this week I thought I saw Chris. I even chased after him the last time but we all know anyone can run circles around me. And it was a waste of time and energy anyway, it's not like Chris is even here. I hope he's not going to be in trouble for this, missing classes and stuff."

A look of panic flashed across Zack's face, but Violet was none the wiser, too consumed by her own thoughts to notice.

"That sure is crazy talk there Violet. Anywho, I'm fed up with the pity party. How about we have an actual party?"

And there it was. Zack's plan, about to play out!

Her attention snapped back, looking at Zack incredulously.

"You really think I'm in the mood to party? I see what you're trying to do and I appreciate the thought, but I just don't feel like it."

Placing a hand on either shoulder, Zack shook her lightly.

"Well tough Violet. Our first guest has already arrived, and he's specifically asked to see you."

"Is it Chris? He's back?"

Zack shrugged, pointing at her ajar bedroom door, silently willing her to go.

She bounded down the hallway, finding a little spring to her steps. She hated herself as she felt her face slip for a second once she found Zig in the spot she'd hoped to find Chris.

"You always keep me guessing with the greetings. First it's a snort for a hello, today it's a look of disappointment, I'm hoping next time we might even make it as far as a hello." He smirked, walking over and drawing her into his arms for a hug.

As Zig enveloped her in his arms, Violet felt the tension start to melt away. She knew things had been strained between them recently. One minute she forgot the world and all it's problems and just relaxed in the moment with him, the next she caught herself, clamming up and retreating back into her shell. But Zig never gave up on her, and if he was growing tired of her ways he never let it show. He'd been so kind, so patient. If Violet hadn't been so terrified of rejection she would have found some way to show him how much she appreciated all of this.

As they pulled apart Zig took her hand, raising it to his lips and tenderly kissing each knuckle individually. Violet's cheeks scorched as his eyes gazed into hers intensely.

"I should probably get out of these clothes if i'm sticking around for the party." She gulped, watching the room slowly fill up with people.

"If anyone can pull off the homeless look it's you Violet."

Zig couldn't help but laugh as she gave him a feeble attempt at a shove.

"I'm quaking in my boots over here." He teased, as she flounced off back to her bedroom.

Zig took in the scenery, smiling as he caught sight of a framed photo on the sideboard. Tracing the outline of Violet's face with his finger, his back straightened subconsciously as he felt someone sidle up next to him.

"Long time no see Chris." Zig commented, not bothering to look at who had joined him. He knew.

Chris didn't respond, but joined Zig in looking over the photo in his hands.

"You realise Violet's been miserable without you."

Chris scoffed. "I doubt that. She has you now."

Zig placed the photo frame back in it's place, head shaking angrily.

"Seems you've wasted your time away if this is the attitude you've come back with. Come on man, you don't need me to butter you up."

Chris's head dropped, letting silence ring out between them.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Zig worked up the courage to ask the one question he was desperate to be answered.

"Do you love her?"

A fire ignited behind Chris's eyes, angered that there was even a doubt in Zig's mind.

"Of course I do."

"You know what I meant." Zig pressed on, undeterred.

"I thought maybe I did. Seeing you two together stirred up some emotions that I've never felt before. It's been me and Violet against the world together for so long. This all escalated so quickly and I just lost myself a little bit. I went home because of a silly argument, fully intending to come back and sweep it under the carpet. But then you two showed up and I couldn't help but question my feelings. I love Violet, but I genuinely feel like she's family."

"Well that's not hard when her Mum loves you like a son. She probably loves you more than her own daughter." Zig retorted.

Chris gave Zig a questioning look.

"You never thought that was odd? After meeting Violet's Mum it's obvious she never stood much of a chance with someone like that to look up to."

"What are you talking about?" Chris spat, feeling anger bubble to the surface.

"You know what I mean." Zig replied, maintaining eye contact.

"Clearly not."

"What are you saying? After all these years you never noticed Violet was a little off when it came to eating. You never thought to question her when she only ever ordered a salad? You didn't worry when she started dropping weight?"

Chris's mouth slackened, jaw gaping open as he tried to process what he was hearing.

"I...She...Fuck. I need to find her."

Heading straight for Violet's room, he ploughed straight in, not thinking to knock. Something he immediately regretted as she stumbled back in shock, awkwardly using her arms in an attempt to shield her body from view.

"CHRIS!" She shrieked loudly, turning her back to him and throwing on a dress hastily.

"Shit! Sorry sorry sorry! I didn't see anything I swear!" He gabbled.

As she struggled with her dress, he pressed forward, gently gliding the zip upwards, fingers lingering a second longer as he gathered his nerve.

"You're here." She breathed.

"I'm here."

"Is the dress okay? Oh God, it feels so clingy! Do I look like a blob? Should I change?" Violet nervously babbled, her voice shrill.

Taking a step back, his eyes travelled the length of her body. Skimming over her curves, dress clinging to every inch in all the right ways, Chris shook his head despairingly, unable to comprehend how he'd somehow missed all the now painfully obvious signs. She was stunning, truly, and his heart ached at the realisation that she couldn't see herself as others did.

Closing the distance between them, he propped her chin up to look at him, needing her full attention.

"Violet, the dress is gorgeous. You're gorgeous. Don't change."

Her eyes seemed to search his for an eternity. As she found whatever she'd been looking for in them she gave a quick nod in acceptance.

"Listen I..."

"Violet wait. I need to apologise. For a lot of things. I've been a jerk."

"I didn't like to say but..." She laughed.

"I'm meant to be your best friend and here I am running away from you and hurting you. Violet you've always been there for me, no questions asked, and i threw it back in your face. I haven't been the best friend that you deserve, I've been awful recently if I'm honest. I..." He paused mid way through his speech as Violet threw her arms around him, knocking him backwards. Catching himself, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, anchoring them to the ground.

"Just shut up Chris! You're here. That's all I care about right now. All that other stuff? We'll talk about it another day if we have to. For now, I'm just glad to have my best friend back."

"Okay, alright. But there is one thing I need to say. That Zig guy that's waiting out there for you? He's a good guy. In my expert best friend opinion, you should give him a chance."

Violet waited a beat.

"I'm just waiting for the sarcastic comment to drop."

"I mean it, I promise. Don't think that means I won't be beating his ass if he ever so much as looks at another girl. But for now, I'm in his corner."

After giving Chris a final squeeze, they parted ways, both relieved to have their best friend back.

"I've never told you just how adorable those dimples of yours are." A husky whisper caught her off guard as a strong pair or arms snaked around her waist firmly. Recognising Zig's voice, she leaned in to him, pressing her body against his lightly.

"Adorable huh? Like a five year old?"

"Hm, you're right. Not adorable then. How about sexy?"

"You sure you don't want someone like that?" She worried out loud, pointing out a leggy blonde across the room.

Zig's nose crinkled as though in disgust.

"I've been with girls like her before. Pretty to look at, but dull as hell. I wish you could see what I do when I look at you. You may not think you're perfect, but you are perfect for me. All those little things you get hung up on and think of as flaws? They are what set you apart from everyone else in the best possible way."

Spinning herself around in his arms, she looped her hands around the back of his neck, confidence at an all time high after getting back on track with Chris.

"I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that you were a smooth talker, but that was something else Zig." Violet gave a half laugh, mouth suddenly feeling dry.

He smirked back in response, and Violet swallowed hard. The air around them had grown thick, her breathing a little heavier. She longed to close the distance between them, but she wasn't sure she could handle the rejection that was sure to come her way. They'd maintained a flirty relationship, but Zig had never pressed for things to go further, and Violet was starting to question why.

"Talk to me." One of his hands gave her a gentle squeeze at the waist, his touch burning hot.

"I'm...scared."

"Of me?"

"Of...well pretty much everything. Rejection, lack of experience, knowing I'm not good enough for you...I'm feeling all the emotions right now." The temptation to run was high, and she attempted to wiggle out of his hold.

Tightening his grip, Zig pushed their bodies even closer together, gently pushing his forehead to rest against her's.

"It makes no difference if you've been with no guys, twenty guys, a thousand guys, I still want you. Not good enough for me, huh, that's funny. Because I think it's actually the other way around. Violet you do realise you have two guys here tonight who would ride to the edge of the world for you right? No questions asked. And this whole party tonight? All for you, because your friends love you and worry about you. Because you are beautiful, inside and out, and that's something you don't see much anymore. I'm so lucky to have met you. Most girls would have tried it on or moved it on by now, but you've stayed. And in doing so you've given me the chance to get to know the real you. And as for your concerns over rejection..."

Zig tailed off, tilting his head to the side. One hand trailed tiny circles across the small of her back, the other reached up, thumb tenderly stroking over the small dimple in her cheek. He pressed his lips gently to Violet's, just for a second, before pulling back and holding her at arm's length.

Her mouth fell open, and a shiver ran through her as the warmth from his body left her.

"How was that?" Zig asked, lips pursed tightly as be tried to stop himself from laughing.

"That...was...Zig! Are you messing with me?"

His eyes lit up, struggling to contain the laughter as it seemed to spill out. Folding her arms firmly across her chest, she fixed him with a steely glance.

"First kiss, check. Did it suck? You bet!"

Zig's head jerked back, the laughing seizing immediately.

"We can't be having that. Maybe we'll have to try again. A few times. Until I get the hang of it." He suggested, entwining their hands together.

"Well if you think you're up to the challenge..." Her eyes glittered in the dull light, and she found herself subconsciously biting on her bottom lip.

In an instant Zig pushed his lips to hers, forcefully this time, past the point of messing with her. She felt his cheeks rise slightly in a smile as his tongue patiently waited for permission to enter, which she quickly gave. Their tongues danced together, slowly caressing, gently teasing, and Violet found herself lost in the moment. After a few moments, they eased apart, Zig's eyes full of wonder as he watched her attempt to regulate her breathing.

"Second kiss, check. Nailed it."

Tagging: @zigortega4life @emerald-bijou @syltti78

Next.

[xenoshadel]

Small Victories

Series: Angels of Death

Summary:  Post-canon where after Zack and Rachel escaped, Zack wants to learn how to read. Granted it'll take some time on top of learning how to write, but it'll make a small victory of its own down the road. Warning for Zack being, well, Zack. Also on Ao3!

A small victory for Zack is finding a few snacks in the trash that still had the wrapping on. For Rachel, it’s gathering enough money to stay in the cheapest hotel they can find for a few nights. It was Rachel’s idea to beg on the streets for money, but after seeing how much more she made while people were quick to ignore Zack, the latter had more of an itch to kill someone and steal their wallet. He claimed it was easier that way, and it was a topic that didn’t have a moral victory if they could still scrounge up enough cash.

The apartment was as shabby as all the other ones they stayed at: a small living room with a tattered couch, a smaller kitchen down the hallway, a bedroom and a space with a table. Zack dropped the scythe he recently found��and grew to adore as much as his old one—on the couch while Rachel tucked the pieces of cardboard she carried with her by the bookcase in the living room.

“Hey,” Zack said. “I know you wrote things on the cardboard for people to read while you begged for a little while, but what does it actually say?”

“I wrote: ‘Homeless and cold, please spare any change you might have for food. God bless.’ Simple and to the point,” Rachel explained.

“You wrote that? And people can read it?”

“Well, yeah. Why?”

Zack narrowed his eyes in thought. “I did some thinking before you found the hotel and you offered to teach me to read. It would make things a hell of a lot easier if we split up and I knew what the store signs read or whatever papers in the alleys had to say. So I… might want to learn today.”

Now that was surprising of him to say. “You don’t sound like you want to though,” Rachel said.

“Well of course not, but like I said, it’ll be easier if I can read and I can’t exactly have people in the streets read to me while I mob them. So you down or what?”

Zack felt a little exasperated at the stare she gave him. Not of surprise or excitement, just the same dull look she always had on. He was ready to take back his words until she turned around to look through the apartment. Rachel found a stack of papers in the kitchen and the space with the table had a few pencils.

“If you insist, then yeah I can teach you.”

“Gee, no need to sound so excited now.” Sarcasm aside, Zack was a little curious when he walked over to sit on the chair across from Rachel. He picked a sheet of paper to place in front of him and had an awkward time positioning the pencil to stay comfortably in his hand. He decided against it and gave the pencil to Rachel instead. “So, what first?”

“We can do the alphabet for starters. I’ll write out each letter first and pronounce them for you.”

It seemed simple in the first few minutes until Zack started to count the letters after what seemed like a bit too many to him. “Hey, how many letters are there?”

“Twenty-six.”

“The hell? Why are there so many?”

Rachel gave him a blank look. “I don’t know. That’s just how the English alphabet was designed. Some languages have more or fewer letters.”

“More than twenty-six? Well shit. Alright, whatever.” Zack tried to follow along again, his eyes squinting at each shape of the letter. He sounded proud of himself when he looked over the easy ones like ‘l’ and ‘o’ while those that looked similar to each other gave him an annoying itch at his fingertips.

Rachel finished all the letters and started another row of shapes that looked different to Zack and he asked, “Wait, what are those supposed to be?”

“When it comes to writing, there are capital and lowercase letters. I wrote the capital letters first and those are for the first letter of a sentence or the first letter of important words, like a name. Lowercase letters then follow after it.” Rachel continued to write the letters until it seemed like the whole page was full of shapes, not noticing that Zack was already lost when she finished.

Well that made things more annoying. Zack pursed his lips. “The fuck? Why is it so complicated?”

“That’s just how the system works for reading and writing properly. Plus if you can read, you can also write.”

“Now why the fuck do I need to do that for?”

“To write notes for yourself, maybe as a reminder?” Rachel shrugged.

“I may not have a head like yours but I’m not stupid enough to forget things,” Zack scoffed. “What else, write a fuckin’ diary to talk about my feelings?”

Rachel watched him lean against the chair and kick his feet up on the table. “That’s one option.”

“Dear diary. I found a squirrel and told him my name, even spelled it out for ‘em. He ran away before I finished and the fucker hurt my feelings. Maybe writing them out will make me feel better but I still want to tear that bastard into shreds. Love, Zack.”

Rachel paused. “Some people write explicitly but most find that it helps make them feel better.”

“What does? Writing out their feelings like a sissy?”

“Well yeah. Even though it didn’t happen, imagine if you wrote it down. How do you think you’ll feel?”

“Eh? I’d feel the same? Like myself? The fuck kind of magic is writing supposed to do to me?” Zack put his feet down and leaned close to her. “Are you a fuckin’ therapist now?”

Rachel sighed, “Far from it, unless you want Doctor Danny to come back from the dead.”

“Fuck yeah I do! That way I can rip him apart for sure and the guy will be booted to hell,” Zack laughed. “Should’ve done it when I had the chance. Damn.”

“Do you want to continue or not?”

The thought of slashing the doctor’s head off was brushed away from her unfazed voice, and Zack sighed, “I didn’t say I’ll stop, did I?” He snatched the paper from her. “Lemme go through this then.”

Well, neither of them mentioned him stopping but if that meant giving him more motivation to practice then by all means. Rachel stepped around him while Zack pronounced each letter of the alphabet to himself and rewrote them on a new sheet of paper. There were a few times he almost broke the pencil from using the eraser too hard at the mistakes he made, and he kept grumbling to himself when he stopped to brush the eraser shavings away.

“Why the fuck does some of the letters look like that anyway? More scribbles but fancier, psh.”

Rachel ignored him, knowing that a response will make him more irritated with his progress. He didn’t seem too frustrated though, determined and annoyed were better ways to describe him, despite how much time he took with his handwriting.

“Ah fuck, why bother with all this if I can say words,” Zack muttered.

“Some letters are trickier to write than others, but at least try to write the whole alphabet down.”

“There you go with your orders. I was already doing that, eh?”

Zack could make the argument that the pen was mightier than the sword if he stabbed someone hard enough with it. He remembered hearing that phrase before, and he was sure the pencil will work just as fine if he was really pissed off. The sharpener was on the table and he took a few moments to use it when the lead was too dull to continue.

“You know, I found papers with writing in the place you stayed at when I went to your floor for the knife. Did you… try to write?” Rachel asked.

Zack paused. “Not like it mattered but yeah, guess I did. I knew that the alley papers with my picture were about me but it didn’t mean shit if I can’t read ‘em. Writing would’ve been pointless but I wanted to have a go to see what it felt like. Didn’t last long, didn’t fuckin’ matter.”

Rachel noticed how careful he was about making the pencil sharp and it was probably something he did back then, too. “But now it matters?”

“Because it’s important now, yeah. Sure.” He ruffled her hair, smirking when she tried to fix it. “I don’t have the greatest teacher in the world but I’m not complaining a whole lot, hm?”

He sounded a little satisfied with himself with the smile he wore, and Rachel returned a small smile of her own. He quipped at it remaining the same as ever but changed his focus onto the paper. Zack finished the alphabet and still had enough room on the bottom of the page to try a combination of words. He surprised her when she realized that he was trying to write her name, though with mild difficulty when he attempted her first name. After scratching it off to avoid wasting the eraser, he tried again with her nickname.

Zack handed the paper to her. “Well? I didn’t like how I made the rest of the letters for your name so I did that instead, Ray.”

“Not bad. It’s still legible enough to read,” Rachel said.

“I ain’t some fancy prick,” Zack snorted. “Don’t need to be one anyway.”

“Maybe I can teach you cursive writing too.”

“The fuck is that?”

Rachel smiled, turning the paper over to write her full name. To say that Zack was surprised would be an understatement when he watched her write out the letters and how they stayed connected. The loops and swirls looked more garbled than his own handwriting and he threw his hands up.

“There ain’t no fucking way that’s writing! Even I can do something like that!”

“It’s cursive writing. Something people back in the day used and some people to this day continue to write in cursive,” Rachel explained. “Think of it as writing meant to look fancy.”

“If that’s fancy then my writing is fucking beautiful.” Zack rolled his eyes. “But this isn’t necessary writing? I don’t need to know this, right?!”

“Well, it might be helpful if you came across cursive writing and knew what it read.”

“Aw c’mon! That’s more work to do and remember!” Zack glared at the writing, trying to make sense of the swirls that looked like witchcraft symbols to him. He could guess the first letter being ‘R’, but the rest that followed lost him. She was probably messing with him, though her eyes barely held any amusement for him to threaten her with, and he sighed heavily instead. “Save this lesson for much, much later, aight?”

“If you insist. I’m sure we’ll have enough paper to practice by then.”

“Shut it. I ain’t the fastest learner but damn it the pencils will be put to good use. What else do we have to write with?”

Blue eyes looked around them. “I did spot a few pens by the door, but ink and lead aren’t the only things you can use if you’re in a situation without a writing utensil. Blood can be written with as well.”

“Blood?” Zack gave her an odd look. “You got a sick mind now? Slicing yourself up to send a message to someone?”

“It sends a message in its own way.” Rachel shrugged. “If there’s no ink or lead and you still have something to write with, even your own hands, then it works.”

“And that’s batshit crazy,” Zack muttered. “So wait, when we went through all those floors and you saw some writing on the walls, you read all that?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember what you read?”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. The memories blurred together for her and even if she did remember, it wouldn’t be significant. “No. They weren’t important and were too vague to be helpful as clues.”

“Huh.” Zack sounded unconvinced but there wasn’t a point to ask more about it. He looked back at the stack of paper. “Well, I’ll try again on this.”

The fact he was committed to learning how to write when he was previously against it amused Rachel. She didn’t have it in her to laugh about it, let alone have her eyes do the talking, but a small smile was the most for either of them to understand the message. “Let me know if you need help with something.”

“Hey I can manage just fine,” Zack said. He was already in his mode of concentration, which frankly was something he wasn’t used to being in. He didn’t remember the last time he had to think that hard for any reason when things were simple back then, but he supposed it wasn’t as simple now.

He paused at the thought and turned to Rachel, who went to look through one of the books in the shelves of the living room. She picked a heavy one and brushed the dust off it while she made her way to the couch, and Zack caught gold writing on the cover when she opened it. A simple thing to notice, and if he was able to read the cover, it'll be a small victory of its own. And if Rachel can read the whole book without a problem, maybe there will be a day where it won’t be as… complicated for him, to put it.

He sat back at the table, his hand reaching for the pencil and he took a moment to inspect it. The point remained sharp and with a bit of movement, he can create something that was already so simple to everyone else, until one day he can be on the same page as them. Zack chuckled a little at his own joke, mainly to brush off the impending headache after using what felt like too much brainpower to him, and picked a clean sheet of paper to start off with.

“Guess it’s the alphabet again.”

Scritch scritch.

“Lowercase ‘b’ is that way… ‘D’ is that way… ‘M’ then ‘n.’ ‘P’ is… ah shit, the lead broke off.”

He picked up another pencil to resume his work. Most of the letters were written without his headache growing, and he decided to attempt something else.

“Z… nah that’s not straight enough. Or maybe that’s okay? For fuck’s sake, I don’t think it matters.”

Scritch scritch.

“Z... a…”

Zack felt silly for trying so hard, but if Rachel happened to be feeling smug about this, he will be sure to prove her wrong. Or did she ever smug? Nah, that’s too useless to think about, and he was nearly finished anyway.

“C… K. ‘Kay. Cool?” Zack looked at the paper, squinting at the letters. “Guess it does feel different to actually recognize it. Z.. a… ck. Huh.”

A touch of pride that blossomed when he read his name a few times over. That was his name he successfully wrote, his name. Granted it didn’t match the feeling he had after a sweet kill or cutting down someone that smiled too broadly, but it felt nice to do a good job at something that was still a part of him.

“Hey Ray! I got my name down!” he called out, a little too giddy at his own victory.

Soft footsteps when Rachel made her way to him and she looked at the paper. Her eyes didn’t match his excitement, but she nodded in approval. “I think it’s more legible this time, too.”

“Oh come on. Whatever, it’s good enough for the day!”

Rachel tilted her head. “You don’t plan on practicing more?”

“After learning the alphabet, reading that, and writing this?! I don’t have enough brains in me, squirt,” Zack scoffed. “Doing more would kill me, though I’m dying for a kill.”

He laughed at the subtle way her eyes narrowed at him. “I’m kidding. Maybe. I think writing in blood won’t be so fucked up after all if it’s someone else’s blood and me writing my name on them. How cool would that be?!”

“You will be identified sooner and breaking out of jail won’t be so easy after a few times,” Rachel simply said.

“Way to ruin the party.” Zack stuck his tongue out. “I’ll still do it, mark my words. Ha! Get it?”

No response from her but Zack still laughed anyway. He clapped his hands and announced the extra brainpower he used was enough to make him hungry, and he strolled towards the fridge. Rachel shook her head, gathering the papers to put away for the next day and she stopped at the paper Zack used.

He wrote his name and at the bottom of the page, he wrote her name as well. Zack and Ray, and he did seem more proud of himself when he walked away. Rachel glanced between the paper and him, who found a jug of soda to chug down, and made another little smile before she put the papers in a folder.

Life wasn’t as simple as before, but maybe it was getting better with the small victories.

[dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt]

Even numbers. Fuck you 💙

:’) 🖕💙

Under the cut… oh my god… lord give me strength… if any of y’all wanna get to know me… read this monster X’D

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

I think a bit of both?? I’m the type of person who’d willingly get lost in a strange city but also suddenly develop a stutter when I try to communicate with my fellow humans. :)

4. Are you easy to get along with?

lmao no.

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?

Kind ones. Who can tolerate me.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

An ex friend/abuser atm. :))))

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

What qualifies as deep?? I guess, my Dad?? Maybe??

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

Dodie Clark - Monster

Easy Life - Pockets

Lorde - Buzzcut Season

Zack Hemsey - The Way

Fits and the Tantrums - Roll Up

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

Yeah, I think so?

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

I kissed my Mum on the top of her head. So, yes. XD

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?

That would be Jesse. So, yes. Hope he doesn’t find this blog yikes. X’D

20. Do you like your neighbors?

Yes on one side. No on the other side.

22. Where would you like to travel?

America firstly. Then all over the place to visit other friends. I promised my Mum I’d take her to San Francisco one day, so I gotta keep that promise.

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?

PETS :DDDDD

26. What do you do when you wake up?

Try my best not to murder anyone while I get my cup of tea liquid life ready. XD Say hi to doggos and beep babies. Check to see if any of my friends need me urgently. Then eat toast.

28. Who are you most comfortable around?

My pets. My parents. My friends.

30. Do you ever want to get married?

I really don’t mind getting married or living in sin. XD It would depend entirely on what my partner wanted, I’d do whatever would make them happy.

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

No one. Guess you could say I’m demisexual.

34. Do you play sports? What sports?

Does horseback riding count?? I’ve dabbled in a bit of cricket. But my lungs don’t like intensive exercising, especially cardio stuff.

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

Story of my life, every single time. I’ve never told anyone I liked them. I’d rather die than make them feel bad or uncomfortable bc I know they don’t feel the same way.

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

At the moment all I can think of is my crush lmao. :’)

40. What do you want to do after high school?

Absolutely nothing bc I’m a dropout. XD Be a completely self-taught author, hopefully.

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?

Online, I’m probably just really tired and don’t have the energy to be upbeat and/or talk to people. In real life, it’s nothing abnormal; I hate my voice so I don’t talk much and I like quiet. If I’m not using a bunch of emojis (you know how I normally do) when I’m talking, you know I’m either being super serious, or I’m pissed off, or both.

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

NEITHER YIKES I LIKE MY SOLID EARTH THANK U VERY MUCH

46. What are you paranoid about?

Being annoying.

48. Have you ever been drunk?

Nope. Not really planning on it, either. I’m kind of curious as to how I’d be, though. Like I have deep-rooted buried anger issues so I might be angry, but I’m also depressed so I might be a puddle of tears and sadness, BUT my personality is v energetic and happy so… who knows, dude. X’D

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?

Blue and grey. It has “yo” on the hood. :D

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

Biologically male. please.

54. Favourite store?

?? don’t have one. 

56. Favourite colour?

Navy or a kind of dark aqua-navy kind of colour, like a bit of a green tinge as well? I’m also really fond of yellow too.

58. Last thing you ate?

LEFTOVER HAMBURGER AND IT WAS DELICIOUS I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVED HAMBURGERS!!!!!!1!!

60. Ever won a competition? For what?

Yeah, dog training competition with our German Shepherd when I was 11.

62. Been arrested? For what?

No yet lmao.

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

I’ll be sure to tell you about it when it happens. XD

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

I don’t have any irl friends so… HELL YEAH!!

68. Twitter or Tumblr?

Tumblr. Obviously.

70. Names of your bestfriends?

I could literally just list all my Tumblr friends here. I’ve learnt not to get specifically close to any one or two persons. So… all my beans!!! Love you!!

72. What colour are your towels?

Blue! :D I was forced to use the pink towels in the set when I was little and not out as trans so now I surround myself in all the gendered blue bullshit X’D

74. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

….. maaayyyybbbeee.

76. Favourite animal?

D O G

78:Chocolate or Vanilla?

Neither.

80. What colour shirt are you wearing?

It’s my very yellow button down!! :D

82. Favourite tv show?

S E N S E 8

84. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

Never seen either oops.

86. Favourite character from Mean Girls?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

88. First person you talked to today?

Enna aka Cinnamonpuff aka steverogershield

90. Name a person you hate?

My brother, Mackenzie. :)

92. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?

Anyone who mistreats animals.

94.How many sweatpants do you have?

I rarely wear anything but sweatpants, so I have 8. THEY’RE COMFY OKAY. And since it’s usually cold or hot here with no real warm in between, I’m either wearing shorts or sweatpants. It’s only in the rare in-between weather (like now) that I wear my jeans.

96. Last movie you watched?

Can’t remember. I watched the first season of Jessica Jones tho, so… show instead of movie. XD

98.Favourite actor?

TERRY CREWS

100. Have any pets?

YES!!! 3 dogs (one German Shepherd named Ria, a Whippet named Granger, and a mutt named Maude), 3 chickens (Haymitch the black one, Cinna the dark brown one, Effie the pale brown one) and 2 ducks (Peeta and Katniss.) THEY’RE MY BABIES AND I’D DIE FOR THEM!!! :’D

102. Do you type fast?

LMAO APPARENTLY I DO??? My Dad thinks I must type gibberish and makes me type out what he says because he doesn’t think I can type that fast. I only type with 2 fingers normally too. X’D

104. Can you spell well?

w e l l (idk. maybe.)

106. Ever been to a bonfire party?

Yup.

108. Have you ever been on a horse? 

Many times. I LOVE them SO MUCH.

110. Is something irritating you right now?

Yeah.

112. Do you have trust issues?

No. *insert canned audience laughter here* Yes, I do. Big time. Just bc I’m friendly doesn’t mean I trust anyone.

114. What was your childhood nickname?

Matt, actually!! :D

116. Do you play the Wii?

Used to, now I don’t have one anymore and it wasn’t my favourite console.

118.Do you like chicken noodle soup?

Y E S. GIMME!!!!!! :D

120.Favourite book?

Bird by Crystal Chan.

122.Are you mean?

I think I definitely can be very cutting when I lose my temper. But I haven’t done that in years now and I try very hard to be a good person. Luckily my first reaction is normally hurt, so by the time the anger kicks in I normally try and get out of the situation before I can say something harsh.

124.Can you keep white shoes clean?

NOPE. I can never keep anything clean, probably why I like dark colours so much. I literally do not own any white clothes anymore because they always get stained within a few hours of me wearing them asdfghjkl. 😅

126.Do you believe in true love?

Kind of. I believe that no relationship is ever perfect, but if people gel well and COMMUNICATE OFTEN AND HONESTLY the relationship can be amazing. I guess it’s its own kind of perfect relationship. I definitely think there’s people you get along brilliantly with, better than anyone else. There’s somebody in the world for everyone! :D

128.What makes you happy?

Animals. My friends. My OCs. :’)

130.What your zodiac sign?

Pisces!! I definitely think I’ve grown into it over time. X’D

132. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

??? depends on whether I like them back or not, obviously. If I do, I’ll probably scream for a solid week and then decide if I want to drag them into my mountain of bullshit with a relationship, or leave it be. If I don’t, let them down as gently as I can. Also I’m a raging bi, so gender wouldn’t matter. :P

134.Favourite lyrics right now?

My all-time favourite lyrics are from The Judge by Twenty one Pilots:

“When the leader of the bad guys sangSomething soft and soaked in painI heard the echo from his secret hideawayHe must’ve forgot to close his doorAs he cranked out those dismal chordsAnd his four walls declared him insane”

136.Dumbest lie you ever told?

“Did you let Haymitch jump on your back again?”

“Uh… noooo.”

“Then why do you have massive scratches in the clear shape of chicken feet on your back?”

“UHHHHHH-”

i”M A HUFFLEPUFF OKAY I’M NOT GOOD AT LYING X’D

128.How tall are you?

I’m not.

140.Brunette or Blonde?

Like, people I’m attracted to, or for me? I honestly don’t care attraction wise. For me, I guess brunette bc I think I look really weird with pale hair lmao.

142.Night or Day?

NIGHT. Dear god, night.

144.Are you a vegetarian?

NOPE. Honestly think I’d go insane if I didn’t eat meat. XD I mean, I would if I had to, but I’d really prefer not to.

146.Tea or Coffee?

TEA. I hate coffee, I’ll leave that to other people. XD

148.Mars or Snickers?

SNICKERS. Mars are good but… Snickers!!!!

150. Do you believe in ghosts?

Hell fucking yes you bet I do pal!!!!!!

[xsparklingravenx]

Shadow Mine 5

Title: Shadow Mine

Fandom: Detroit: Become Human

Characters: Hank, Connor, Fowler, Sumo

Rating: T

Word Count: 3,263

Summary: It's a dead end. With no leads to go on, Hank and Connor find themselves lost in their investigation, nothing left to do but return home. Instead, Hank tries to get through to his partner and help him through the intricacies of personhood. It's a long road ahead of them, and is this only the calm before the storm...?

AO3

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

Hank was starting to wonder if this day was ever going to actually end.

It was late, the sun having set by now. Jeffery Fowler sat in front of him, looking down at his tablet with narrow eyes, his mouth a thin line. Hank’s report was on there; paperwork was no longer done on actual paper anymore, but that was how it was now. When Hank had been young, everyone always said that everything would be electronic in the future. Sometimes, he forgot that he was living in that future. Even his own partner was wire and plastic instead of flesh and bone.

“So the long and short of it is,” Fowler said after he’d spent a good five minutes going through Hank’s work, “we’ve got sweet fuck all.”

“Pretty much.” Hank replied. His shoulder was aching something awful. Was it time for his pills yet? Had to be. “I mean, we could’ve had something, but you thought it’d be a good idea to put that fire cracking piece of shit Gavin on the case too. I thought you wanted ‘the best’, not, ‘the bottom of the fucking barrel’.”

“Reed’s a good detective,” Fowler said, but Hank could practically hear ‘when he wants to be’ hanging in the air after the statement. “This isn’t a game, Lieutenant. You know how this is going to look if we can’t solve it? We’ve got a good man dead and an android gone too. Everyone’s on high alert.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Hank said, barely biting back his anger. “Shit, Jeffrey, we’ve got no damn motive. All we know is her model number and vaguely what she looks like, but there could be a hundred other androids out there that are her spitting image. Dammit it, this is gonna do more harm to them all as a whole, public ain’t gonna take lightly to this.”

Hank didn’t know much about Markus other than what he’d seen on TV and what Connor had told him, but he had to admire the dedication that he’d put into the immense task of fighting for his people’s rights. An incident like this was only going to be one big ugly mark on everything his revolution had stood for, was only going to damage the message Markus had been sending. Fowler leant forward on his desk, chin on his linked hands, and sighed. “The analysis on the bullets found in both Glennister and Zack is still in progress, so we’re hoping there’ll be a match on the gun to help us find the suspect. In the meantime, we’ve got jack shit to go on. Go home, Hank. There’s nothing else we can do right now.”

Hank scoffed. “No way. This ain’t over, Jeffrey, there’s gotta be something—”

“If there was, I’d be working your ass off on it. You’re still injured, Hank, you shouldn’t even be here. Get the hell out of my office and go home. I’ll call if anything comes up.”

Hank genuinely wanted to fight him on it. Logically, he knew he was right, knew that there really wasn’t anything to be done, but damn if it didn’t still piss him off. How could one android manage to kill not one, but two members of the DPD and still manage to evade them?

It was easy to blame Gavin, but Hank knew that the AX400 would have probably escaped even if the detective hadn’t nearly gotten himself killed by running out into traffic. Emotions had been high, and because of it Decker hadn’t noticed that the AX400 had never left the scene. There’d been no warning that she’d been there. Hank had assumed that forensics would have scoped the area out before actually starting any kind of investigation. None of them had been ready for a chase.

He left the office and found Connor at his desk opposite Hank’s, flipping his coin up and down. Hank had asked him why he did the tricks once, and Connor had given him some longwinded explanation about recalibration alongside other android jargon that Hank didn’t understand. It was bullshit anyway. He thought that Connor did it because he enjoyed the rhythmic action of it, an act of deviance long before he’d officially broken out of his programming.

A cup of coffee was on Hank’s own desk, still steaming, freshly made. Hank grabbed it by the handle and took a careful swig. It was black, perfectly to his liking. It burned a soothing path down his throat. “You made this?” he asked.

Connor wasn’t listening to him. His eyes were focused on the coin, watching it as he went up and down. “I don’t understand.” he said. “First a human, now an android. It makes no sense. Why would the type of target change? Has the MO changed?”

Clink. Clink. The coin hit his fingers and he threw it in the air again. Again. “She was angry, I think.” Clink. “But also, she held so little regard for her own life. When she ran into the road, I don’t think she was attempting to get Gavin to follow her.” Clink. “No. She was just trying to escape and she didn’t care if she died trying.”

Hank didn’t speak, just kept his mouth shut for once. Connor’s eyes stayed on the coin the entire time, tracking it up and down. “If she doesn’t care for her own life, that suggests she has little to live for. But why take the lives of law enforcement? Why attack and kill her own people? I can’t understand it. I feel like I’m…”

“Hitting a wall?” Hank suggested, putting the coffee mug down in front of Connor. “Yeah, I get that. I’m feeling the same way.”

The thunk of the coffee mug diverted his attention away from his coin. He looked at the steaming mug, and then closed his eyes, leaning back in the chair. When he said nothing, Hank decided to pursue a different line of questioning. “You made the coffee for me?”

“I thought it was better than you returning home to a bottle of alcohol.” Connor said, keeping his eyes closed. “I checked it myself before serving to make sure it matched the coffee you usually make for yourself at home.”

Hank suddenly regretted drinking it. “You put your goddamn fingers in my coffee for a taste-test?”

“No.” Connor’s lips quirked upwards slightly. “But I would be lying if I said I hadn’t considered doing so, and we both know you can apparently tell when I’m not being entirely truthful.”

Well, that was a relief. Hank took another swig, and then sat in his chair. “So tell me Connor,” he said. “What the hell possessed you to run out into that fucking road today?”

Connor’s eyes flicked open again. He was leant so far back in his chair now that he was practically reclining. Staring up at the ceiling, he folded his arms across his chest. “My chance of catching the suspect was far lower than successfully rescuing Gavin, so I chose the option with the better prospects.”

“Okay, great. Glad to hear what your programming thinks.” Hank said. “Now let’s hear what you were really thinking.”

Connor blinked several times in succession. Hank couldn’t see his LED from this angle, which made it more difficult to gauge just how stressful Connor found the question. He rarely showed his emotions on his face. “I was thinking that I would regret it if I let Gavin die there when I knew I could save him. I didn’t want to feel that way. But I…” Connor frowned. “I was scared.”

Hank raised his eyebrows, but waited. It was human nature to want to fill silence with chatter. If he left it long enough, he hoped that the deviant in Connor would respond to that want, and lo and behold, he did. “I realised that by saving Gavin, I would be putting myself in a great deal of danger. When I ran into the road, I kept thinking, will this be the last thing I do? Will these cars be the last thing I hear? See? I’ve died before, but I didn’t really understand it then like I do now. My predecessor—the Connor that died in Stratford Tower—was he scared too?”

Hank remembered Connor throwing himself in the way of that gunfire, the way Hank had thought he might have survived only to pull his body up off the ground and find him riddled through with bullets. Though he knew Connor used to be able to back himself up infinitely, he’d never thought of the separate Connor’s as different beings, not like how Connor differentiated them now.

But was it so unlikely that the Connor sat before him was not the same one he’d met in the bar? The one that had held Hank hostage had been entirely different to his Connor despite sharing the exact same memories. What a chilling thought. He wasn’t drunk enough for this kind of chat.

“Fear’s a good thing, son.” Hank said, realising that Connor was not looking for an answer to his question. He’d dealt with him for long enough now to recognize the cues that Connor gave off, how to respond to him in a way that Connor would respond back to. Right now, he was unsure in a way only an android could be, still dealing with emotions that were new and complex. “Fear’s what keeps us alive. You were scared because you thought you might die, and that’s normal, Connor. The fact that you ran out into that road to save someone else even though you were scared? That was bravery. Fucking stupid and I could have killed you for it, but credit where credit’s due.”

Connor sat back up in the chair, leaning forward, his hands on his knees. “I think I needed to hear that.” he said softly. Mission accomplished, Hank thought. “What did the Captain tell you?”

“That we’ve got nothing and we should go home.” Hank sighed. “We’re still waiting on results and shit to come back, so I guess he’s probably right. You ready to head on back?”

Connor cast a longing gaze at the terminal on his desk. “No.” Hank said. “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re not staying here to work yourself half to death over information we don’t have. We are going home to get some food and rest.” he paused. “Well, I’m going to bed. You’re going to do whatever it is you androids do when you’re tired.”

“I don’t get tired.” Connor said. “It’s impossible—”

“Connor,” Hank said, standing up. “Don’t fight me on this. We’re going.”

Connor looked like he wanted to argue the point, but he relented. “I’m driving?”

“Yeah, you’re driving. I don’t see me behind the wheel anytime soon.”

--

Sumo was waiting for them when they got back, ready to jump Connor as soon as they got through the door. Hank left them to their reunion and refilled his bowl for him before heading back to his room to change. Getting dressed one-armed was an absolute bitch. He couldn’t wait for it to heal.

When he went back to the kitchen, Connor had left out his pills for him. He was in the living room now, talking gently over the phone with someone. Hank caught wind of the words pepperoni and sausage and couldn’t help but laugh. If someone had told him this time last year that he’d have an android in his house ordering him pizza, Hank would have told them to put the bottle down and move on.

Hank downed the pills and leant on the doorframe. “What’s this?” he said. “You sure you didn’t hit your head when that AX400 shoved you over?”

Connor, who had taken up residency on his claimed side of the sofa, shook his head. “I ran a diagnostic after we returned to the office. I’m fully functional.”

Hank wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not. Connor often intentionally made it difficult to tell. “You say that, but here you are, ordering pizza. I was just going to chuck something in the microwave and then head to bed, you know. It ain’t like the pizza’s more healthy than whatever I could have made in five minutes.”

A beat. Connor looked rather sheepish. “I just thought it would be easier. If it isn’t to your liking, I can always cancel—”

“No, no, don’t do that.” Hank cut in quickly. “I was just saying, I thought it was weird. Usually you’re in there cooking up a storm out of whatever you’ve decided to bring home this time, I never even get a look in anymore. Always healthy and never fun, bleugh, I thought this was my house.”

“You still eat it though,” Connor pointed out. “Anyway, I decided that it would be more beneficial to the both of us if I ordered in. So I did.”

“Oh I get it.” Hank said, and he was grinning now. “That’s a fancy way of you trying to say I couldn’t be bothered. Don’t worry, Connor, you can say it, I’m not going to judge you.”

Connor crossed his arms, clearly offended. Hank outright laughed at him. “Go get changed,” he said. “I’m tired of seeing you in that uniform. It’s like work being at home with me and I just want to forget about what we don’t know right now. Also, I don’t know if you realise it, but the blue bits can get fucking obnoxious in low light. It’s giving me a headache.”

What Hank really wanted was for Connor to dump the jacket entirely. As far as he knew, most other androids had gotten rid of their uniforms already. Connor, however, still bore his model number and Cyberlife branding like a badge of pride. Why, Hank couldn’t figure out. Was the jacket that important? Or did Connor not yet feel like he’d integrated enough to remove it?

He came back in wearing a grey, long sleeved shirt and a black pair of trousers. It was the plainest outfit combo Hank had ever seen, and yet it was a miracle he’d ever gone that far. One time Hank had told him to get changed and he’d come back sans jacket but still wearing the exact same getup. When Hank had questioned him on it, he’d just said something to the effect of, “It doesn’t matter what I wear,” and ended the conversation at that.

“You ever gonna buy yourself some other outfits?” Hank asked.

Connor glanced down at himself. “Clothes are expensive, and it isn’t as if I need a surplus of different shirts.”

“Yeah, but don’t you get bored?”

“No.” Connor replied bluntly. He sat down and turned the TV on. “I’m going to go into stand-by, so feel free to watch what you want.”

Hank gave him a look. “I thought you said you weren’t tired.”

“I don’t get tired.” Connor said, echoing his statement from earlier. “I just need to stop thinking for a while. I don’t get headaches like humans do, but I feel like there is a great deal of stress on my system. It’s unpleasant.”

“Not gonna stick around for the pizza you ordered?”

“I can’t eat it regardless. And I’d rather not see the calorie count of every slice.” Connor’s smile was a sardonic thing. “If you need me, just shake my shoulders. I’ll wake up.”

“Right.” Hank said. “Wait, you’re gonna just do that sitting up?”

Too late. Connor’s eyes flickered unnervingly and then fell shut, his body going rigid. Sumo padded over from the kitchen, sitting in front of him and wagging his tail. “Christ almighty. Yeah, you’re not getting any pats out of him right now, Sumo, kid’s a fucking statue.” he paused, prodding Connor in his side as a test. Yep. He wasn’t moving anytime soon. “Does he always do it this way?”

Sumo cocked his head, and then pawed at Hank’s leg. “What? What’s up, boy?”

More pawing. For such a big dog, Sumo could sure act like a puppy when he wanted to. His doorbell rang at that moment, signalling the pizza. He sighed and got up. “Alright Sumo, give me a minute.”

The pizza wasn’t delivered by an android, like Hank was used to, but an actual human for once. Times really were changing. Connor had paid in advance, so as soon as the pizza was in hand, Hank was heading back to the living room.

Where Sumo had stolen his seat and curled up next to Connor.

“Oh, so these are the new sleeping arrangements.” Hank said, shaking his head. Connor hadn’t wanted a bed, or even a room. He was content with leaving his pile of limited clothes in Hank’s room and chilling on his side of the sofa when he wasn’t busy. “I was wondering why there was so much dog hair on my couch. I swear, what’s he done to make you love him so much huh? It’s all the petting, ain’t it?”

Sumo looked at him expectantly. Hank flipped the pizza box open and took a slice from it. “You want it? Come get it.”

Sumo looked back at Connor, and then laid his head on his leg. “Oh wow. Now that’s a damn sight. Probably for the best, he’d kill me if he found out I let you snack on pizza.”

He ate two slices of the pizza before calling it a day. Connor had ordered something too large for even him, and he was just one man on his own. He put the remains in the fridge for the morning; they’d make for a good snack on the way to work.

The Whitfield files were still on the floor by his kitchen table where Connor had left them. Hank retrieved them and chucked them on the side to be forgotten about. It sucked, but the dead shop assistant would have to wait. “Alright, Connor, Sumo,” Hank announced. “I’m heading to bed. Don’t fuck anything up, hear me?”

Sumo barked his affirmation. Connor, who was still deep in stand-by mode, said nothing.

Sleep came easy after the day he’d had. He would have been content to be late to work in favour of his bed, except he was rudely awakened by his phone going off by the side of his bed. Damn, he knew he should have put the thing in airplane mode.

He grabbed it off the side and fumbled for the accept call button. His shoulder was killing him again. “What?” Hank said blearily, not even giving the caller ID a look.

“Morning to you too, Hank.” Fowler’s voice was tinny down the line. “Where the hell are you?”

“In my bed, enjoying some well deserved sleep.” Hank replied. “What the fuck are you doing calling me at—” he checked the time. “—what the hell? It’s barely past seven, I’m not even late!”

“Another cop’s been killed.” Fowler said, his voice clipped. “The media’s got hold of it, it’s all over the fucking news. I’ve got the android she was partnered with going apeshit and everyone’s losing their goddamn minds. I need you, Hank.”

Hank closed his eyes, a heavy sigh in his throat. “Human this time who died, huh?”

“Yeah. We’ve scoped out the scene, the AX400 is gone. I’m sending you the location, you know what to do.”

He hung up at that. Hank opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling, and contemplated handing in his badge. “Fuck this all to hell.”

[madrut16]

Shark Week (ChrisxMC)

Author’s Note: I’ve been working on this one for a while, so hopefully you guys enjoy it!

Rating: PG/PG-13

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixleberry Studios

Summary: The boys find out the girls’ term for the week of their periods when Maddy gets hers the day of a small house party.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another sharp pain squeezed my abdomen causing me to groan and roll onto my stomach. I buried my head in one of the pillows before remembering I had just put makeup on. Quickly I sat back up, sending another jolt through my body. Luckily, nothing appeared to be out of place when I looked in the mirror on my nightstand.

“Ugh, why?!”

Of course I had to get my period the day of our first party since our problems with the house began. It wasn’t going to be anything crazy, just a bunch of our friends, good food and drinks, and party games.

Becca and Kaitlyn had both balked at the idea at first but, they came around once we assured them our old favorites were involved. But now I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. The first day of my period I usually got painful cramps and this time was no exception.

Suddenly, I heard an urgent knock on the door.

“Who is it?” I asked, which came out more like an irritated whine.

“It’s me!” I heard Kaitlyn shout from the other side. “Can I come in?”

I breathed through another pang. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Thank God!” she exclaimed waltzing in with her arms full of clothes. “Cause I have no idea what to wear! I mean, I know it’s supposed to be causal, but I still want to look good. You know?”

I barely made out what she was saying, more focused on not dying of pain.

“Maddy, are you even listening?”

This snapped me out of my daze. “Hmm? Oh, sorry Kaitlyn. Cramps.”

A look of realization appeared on her face. “Shark Week?”

I nodded. “Started today,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry!” She replied. “If it makes you feel any better, Abbie has hers too. I think Becca might be on it as well.”

This got me to smile. It never failed that at least a few of us got ours at the same time.

“Great, we can all be miserable together!” I said with fake enthusiasm.

“I know, I feel bad for the boys!”

I looked at her wide eyed. “Oh I’m not telling them about it! Not even Chris.”

Kaitlyn scoffed. “Why not? You’ve been together for over a year, I don’t think you’re going to scare him off now.”

“So!” I scrunched my nose. “I’m not gonna have a conversation about it! There are some things that don’t need to be discussed in detail.”

“Whatever, enough about you Maddy. Help me decide!” She held up two outfits in front of her. One was a nice black sweater and ripped jeans and the other was a cotton dress paired with a leather jacket.

After a minute of thought, I chose the first option. “It’s not too dressy but still looks fashionable. Plus, I know Annisa will love it.”

A slight blush crept on her cheeks before she engulfed me in a hug. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Kaitlyn! My uterus does not need to be compressed any more than it is already,” I told her.

This forced her to let me go. “Sorry! Now, we need to start getting ready for the party, so put on your best poker face and get out there!”

I gave her a thumbs up before slowly getting up, each little movement providing little relief. I took some Advil before following Kaitlyn out of my room. She went off to change and I joined the others in the living room to help set everything up.

A little less than an hour later, the doorbell rang just as the last of the food was placed on the coffee table in the living room.

“I got it!” Answering the door, I smiled. “Hey, Zig! You’re just in time.” Then, I noticed he wasn’t alone. “Aaron, hi! Zig didn’t tell me you were coming.”

I thought I saw Zig’s face turn a slight shade of red. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you. It’s okay that I brought him right?” He asked.

“Of course!” I exclaimed, ushering the two of them inside where it was much warmer. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Zig shrugged. “You only met once or twice.”

“Well, I hope you won’t continue to let him be a stranger. I’m just glad to see that you’re still getting along!”

Aaron who had been mostly silent chimed in. “He’s actually been talking with all of us a lot more.”

My smile widened. “Really? Zig, that’s amazing!”

“It’s not that big of a deal. I guess I realized that my roommates don’t bite after all.”

I was glad to hear that he was doing so well, especially after everything that happened the last few months. Our friends continued to trickle in for the next half an hour and so until it was finally time to get the games started, beginning with my personal favorite Cards Against Humanity.

“Hey,” Chris said, as I sat down next to him on the couch.

I smiled at what had become our standard greeting. “Hey you.”

After giving him a light kiss he replied, “Ready to be defeated?”

“I believe that’s the other way around,” I remarked, eyebrows raised.

Chuckling, Chris replied, “Oh really. Okay Miss throws a temper tantrum when she loses.”

My mouth opened in protest. “Hey! That was one time. And you get just as pouty when you don’t win.

Suddenly Becca cleared her throat. "Ahem. If you two lovebirds are done arguing we can start the game now.”

We both threw out hands up defensively.

“Is it just me, or does she seem more… crabby than normal?” Chris asked.

I shrugged, even though I had a good idea why her mood was a little sour. “When is she not at least somewhat grumpy?”

“Good point.”

Finally after a minute of passing out cards to everyone, the game started. It didn’t take long for the laughter and dirty jokes to become numerous. The alcohol certainly helped with that.

“And I win again!” I exclaimed an hour or so later after I finally got my seventh point.

“How are you so good?” James wondered out loud, having only scored one. You’d think he would be better at this being a writer.

I winked mischievously. “Kaitlyn’s not the only one with a dirty mind. I just have a filter most of the time.”

As we moved on to the next game, Pictionary, the Advil was starting to wear off, and I felt a cramp catch me by surprise.

“You okay?” Chris asked, seeing me wince.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied as the pain subsided temporarily.

Noticing me, Abbie who was on the other side of the couch said, “Hey I’ve got some Motrin if you want some.”

I nodded enthusiastically. “That would be amazing, thank you.”

She left the room to go get it and quickly came back. I gladly took one of them and washed it down with the Dr.Pepper I’d been drinking.

“You’re on Shark Week too?” Becca questioned, much louder.

So much for downplaying it. I nodded.

“That sucks, mine just ended,” Chelsea said sympathetically.

Ever since we’d reported Manny, I’d gotten to know her a little bit more without the hard feelings between us, which was nice. It turned out she was really nice when you got to know her. She was just really bad at opening up to people at first.

Her comment led to a conversation with all of the girls in the room with most of the boys looking on with confused expressions.

Finally, Tyler asked loudly, “Wait a minute. What the hell is Shark Week? Cause the one on Discovery channel isn’t until July.”

This caused all of the girls to burst out laughing.

“What?!” He exclaimed.

In tears from laughing so hard, I replied, “There are no…actual sharks Tyler.”

If they weren’t confused earlier, they were bewildered now, besides Zack and Zig.

“Well, what is it then?” James wondered.

Kaitlyn was the one to answer. “It’s a term women came up with to call the week we get our periods. Don’t ask us why, we don’t really know either.”

“Is that what’s bothering you?” Chris asked me, after a moment.

Feeling my cheeks turn warm, I nodded. “How did you…?”

“I’m not a complete idiot Maddy. Plus, Kaitlyn told me.”

I looked over at her with my mouth open. “You traitor!”

“Hey! Don’t look at me that way. He’s the one who asked me. I merely confirmed his suspicions.”

I turned back to Chris. “Wait, really?”

“Guilty as charged. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. For future reference, I don’t care if you talk to me about things like that. It really doesn’t bother me.”

A smile crept on my face. “Duly noted.”

“I hate to interrupt this… interesting conversation, but can we get back to the games now?” Becca complained.

Again, the room filled with laughter.

Now in a much more happy mood, I replied,“I think that’s a great idea”

As the night wore on, I felt myself relax for the first time in a while. Because at least in this moment, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

[survivor-tierradelfuego]

Ep. 5: “I only deal with things in my control” - Ben

James Hayden

Tribal went according to plan. Leanne was blindsided 5-3. Now to do damage control with Naj and Aimee. Hopefully we don't have to do this soon. Zack's constant paranoia before tribal is worrisome. 

Maddison

Pedro just blew up my game and I want him gone. 

James Hayden

Within minutes of tribal ending, Jay sends us a message saying that our next immunity challenge will start in a few minutes. What the hell??? I was not expecting that. It turns out to be a game of tag from hell. We instantly lost Sarah and Amy because they have sketchy internet connection at the moment. Although losing the challenge and going to tribal isn't the worst thing for my game, I accidentally goofed and was eliminated after two hours. It's now down to Zack, Ben, and Naj vs 5 (?) of their people. Zack tried to make a deal with them to end this, but no dice. If we do lose, Aimee probably goes home. I don't want to go to tribal again, so I'm once again praying to the Survivor ORG gods for a W.

Ryan

I was doing so well for the first few rounds, but it feels like I'm going on a downward spiral. I'm pretty sure I've still got numbers with Pedro, Amy, John and Maddison, but I'm scaaaaared

Olivia A

I’m very disappointed by the outcome of that challenge. I think if we kept going we definitely would’ve won. We shouldn’t have taken the deal but oh well I guess. I am incredibly exhausted and almost cried when the randomizer showed that they won. I’m going to sleep!!

John B

Well that challenge turned into a major bummer, but hey, hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Now we have to figure out who to vote and if I had to guess it’s gonna be Ryan or Alan. I hope my alliance can get things together. With Alan having the idol we may need to split votes and Idk who we’d split with. Honestly at this point as long as it’s not me I could care less. Xoxo Gossip John 😘

Kalle N

Pedro exposing alliances that I'm not a part of... OOF. Honestly I don't even care who we vote out at this point. I am getting sick of no one on this tribe being able to make a decision or say a name and if i get voted out i will be relieved. I just want this to end

Ryan

feeling very Sandra right now. “Anybody but me”. 

James Hayden

After more than four hours, WE WON THE TAG CHALLENGE FROM HELL!!! We were only down to Zack and Ben, but we won!! The other tribe agreed to do a randomizer and had a 75% chance of winning, but the Survivor ORG gods favored us and we got the W. After the challenge, Jay said to be online after tribal. This leads us to think a swap is happening. I'm just hoping that the odds are in my favor and end up with some variation of the 5. Ideally, the my new tribe would be me, Sarah, Ben, and two people from the other tribe. As long as my new tribe isn't myself with Aimee/Naj and three new people, I should be ok.

Ryan

I’m getting really close to John, I feel like we’re starting to really control some decisions. Maddison is still my #1 though

James Hayden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2sp7C2PJIE&feature=youtu.be

Zack M

what can i say right now? i'm not happy. we won the immunity challenge but not because we deserved it. i'm so irritated with the majority of my tribe at the moment. again, i understand that real life is going on around us and the majority don't have the luxury of just sitting around on our computers all day. BUT LIKE CAN WE JUST TRY IT ONE NIGHT?! just once. the challenge was tag. endurance. we have to be ready to go every 5 minutes. did i plan on spending my saturday night like this. absolutely not. was i there until the very end? absolutely. we started out with cody, james, najwah, ben, and i. we were immediately down by 2 because sarah and aimee weren't available. after about an hour john from the other tribe and i were chosen to meet to try to reach a deal to end this challenge early. i got nothing from john even through i tried to be cute and mention that he beat me in the flag challenge. whatever. we continue. during this continuation the host left to shave her head. cute haircut, wrong timing. can you imagine jeff being like "brb guys, do this challenge without me because i need a trim real quick." like what? especially during a game where it comes down to SECONDS. like if you can't be there go ahead and tap in someone else. when she returned she asked if anything had happened ... the rules clearly stated that we were NOT ALLOWED to talk in the game chat ... john on the other side said "nope" .... the rest of us said nothing because again, let me repeat for the people in the back, the rules clearly stated that we were NOT ALLOWED to talk in the game chat. if their 6 (minus john) and our 4 at the time understood, why did he not? also, why did he not get punished for it? THEN we decided to make it harder where we were speeding it up a little to try and get through it tonight. again, let me repeat that, all we did was speed it up. from what i understood we had to "tag" someone at the beginning of the minute. we were not able to wait until the last second ... otherwise why would everyone have not been doing that the entire game? it would have obviously been the go to move. grae, from the other tribe, tagged najwah right before the cut off. she was literally typing as the round ended. it was clearly unfair but again overlooked and we were down another player. i know we are human and the host can't be everywhere at once and at the time ben and kalle from the other team were trying to come to some sort of deal to end the game BUT the game should have been the main focus. on top of letting it slide, my multiple comments of how it was unfair were not correctly addressed. in no way was i trying to get an upper hand for our team. it was clear at that moment we were going to lose and as i've mentioned in multiple confessions i would rather be at tribal than not because i don't know what everyone else is doing. i just love rules. i'm very type a. i pay attention to everything. i didn't think it was cool. nothing can change my mind. it wasn't cool. period. but let's take a moment to sit back and lay in that good karma. i'm a firm believer that good things come to those who deserve it and we did because we had two disadvantages happen to us in the game. in the end, we went to some website ... idk ... and did some random shit. their 5 names and our 2 were put in a list. they picked the number 3 so the host hit randomize or something 3 times and i picked the number 4 because that's my god number and BOOM!!!! ben's name was number 4 so we won. WONT HE DO IT. YES HE WILL. believe in him and give thanks because we won. i thought i was on mute but i wasn't and i clapped. the other team probably hates me and like i'm guessing we are going to expand to 3 groups of 5 tomorrow but i don't even care. if i'm going to lose and be voted out i want it to be right. our team did not deserve to be at tribal tomorrow and guess what .. we won't be. i'm praying i end up on a team with the majority of my alliance or at least my tribe but honestly we will probably lose if we do. i just want a team that wins so i can make it to the merge. that's all i'm focused on right now. the rest can come later. in conclusion, i don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. i don't really care. i'm ready to play survivor. ... oh yeah, and leanne went home at tribal tonight but honestly that feels so long ago and i don't really have anything to say about that except i love you leanne and it wasn't personal. the message to the wrong group killed your game. human error. *mic drop*

Najwah

I am honestly shocked by that tribal. There are no words. I KNEW it wouldn't be straightforward. I knew some blindside would go down coz nothing made sense. However, I really didn't expect them to vote out Leanne haha. I thought it would be me for sure. As I told Cody, everyone are such bad actors. There were so many things that didn't add up and they created a group with "A plan" but no one had a plan and everyone was saying the same thing? Also Sarah was way too comfortable. And she supposedly hasn't spoken to anyone? Haha they're terrible liars. Like at least make something better up. And the jewelery box!! WHERE IS THE JEWELERY BOX? Leanne never had it. Someone else is playing really hard. It's defs one of the boys. I bet. I never trusted Ben and James. 

Najwah

I gave my all in that game. It was already 6am when I got eliminated (quite unfairly, might I add) but I could have gone on all night because there was no way I wanted to go to tribal council again. Especially now that I'm on the outs and don't really know who to trust anymore. I don't trust anyone. Cody called me after tribal but idk, I feel very disappointed because I at least thought HE had my back but I understood, I was close with Leanne and I was the one she was messaging in the group. As much as Leanne made a mistake. I made a mistake by replying. I basically dug my own grave by doing that. I bet they would have never known about my alliance with L had I not replied. Jokes on them because she had a fake idol and lmao SOMEONE ELSE STILL HAS THE JEWELRY BOX. Anyway, I think Sarah is going to win this whole thing. I'd love that. I'm backing Sarah all the way. Love how she plays this game. Low key and she has power. I'm Team Sarah Haywood. 

Grae g

Looks like the girl wanna get pedro out while the John+pedro majority are telling people alan. It seems like absolutely everyone on the tribe is following what they say and that’s gotta go. Plus Pedro showing his own alliances to everyone via screenshot last night didn’t help LMFAO

Olivia A

I’m super excited about this vote because it’ll officially set a divide of alliances in this tribe (in which i will be on the majority). I feel bad about blindsiding John with this vote but Pedro posting that screenshot and showing multiple people in my alliance (including myself!) talking to him is something I can’t let be used against us. So he’s gotta go!!

John B

I think tonight’s vote is coming together. I feel bad but I think it’s going to be Alan. My biggest worry at this point is me or someone I’m close with getting idoled out. Hopefully I can talk to Alan and push them to vote for someone who’s not me lol. Honestly voting people out makes me feel super bad, especially since I kind of spearheaded this vote (I don’t think anyone realizes that though) I just hope this plan can go smoothly and we can get rid of the idol all together. ALSO I put 8 wishes on the wishing tree lol, I’m not sure if that does anything, but if it does I’ll be set lol, I probably don’t need those coins anyway 👀👀 Fingers crossed I don’t get blindsided or idoled out y’all! 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Alan B

Omg this tribal is gonna be intense, from what it sounds like john is trying to take me out by buddying up with everyone, but it seems like everyone else is trying to back me up, hopefully this will go well but im STRESSED

Kalle N

The game just got a whole lot more exciting. I'm playing double agent by convincing John that we're voting off Alan, when in reality we're going for John's closest ally: Pedro. I don't think either of them will see it coming and I'm very excited for tribal.

Aimee

https://media.tumblr.com/6e98e0f1a1116e0d7faf5e9f51b29ab6/fe59555738f2307b-bf/s540x810/955cfcc9683d192965fc7e708613b934de5531fc.gifv Bye Leanne! I know you were selling me down the river to Amy T. Odd thing is, I didn’t even vote for you. I hope we flushed out an idol. I just don’t get how Sarah is playing what seems like a ghost game and is more “in the know” than I am. How many times can people tell me “oh sorry we couldn’t tell you the vote because we thought you were close with ——“ and expect me to just take that? Why am I not allowed to talk to other people or be close with others but you are? How is it a 5-3 vote but Najwah claims to be left out of the vote. Uh Leanne didn’t vote for herself, and if it was me and Ben that means Najwah voted Leanne. Do they really think I just don’t talk to people and compare notes? I know who everyone is with. I only trust Ben at this point. And if I make it to merge or judge it’s team Ben or Maola. I think there is a small alliance since day 1 that I am not in. I just didn’t even look that hard for an idol today. I was just too distracted by the calm of the flowers. https://jrchair98.tumblr.com/post/184827414479/ゼニガメ-0007-01-11-frames-based-on-gif-from I hope this game gets better for me, because I am just emotionally drained. This is a marathon and I feel like people are lying to me and I’m gonna get backstabbed in a more direct way. Don’t worry fans, I am strong but I needed this camping break to get my head on properly and I am so relieved I won immunity. It’s time to get to work.

Pedro A

OMG THIS ALL TRIBAL IS A MESS

Amy A

Urgh so today is a complete mess! This feels more survivor for me than all the previous tribal councils. The vote has been flipping all day and it can be anyone at any time. I have a new alliance and I think I was able to steer the vote away from Pedro so I stay solid w the outsiders alliance but I know they’ll come for me if they know I’m now in a tight alliance w all the girls and gender non-binary. New alliance is voting for John and I don’t think I made it very obvious I have a sorta alliance w Pedro cos he was the alternate vote. I heard my name somewhere so that freak out is there and a little part of me is scared but all in all I’m a very little confident about tonight 

Amy A

I found an advantage!!!! I get to steal a vote!!! Omg I thought the option I chose was gonna get me a disadvantage for the tribe but I ended up getting an advantage 🥳🥳🥳🥳. I cannot wait to play this strategically to save my behind in a tribal council. I have decided to keep the news to myself for now but I’ll share it with (probably) Maddison soon. I’m really close w her and we have a strong bond. 

Maddison

John just told me that he thinks of me as his number one and I am five hours away from attempting to blindside him. Sorry buddy, you gotta go. Alan B Lol looks like i'm dead in the water tonight if i don't use my idol, i was the only one who didn't help last night bc i didn't understand that it would just end before i woke up today ... HoLy ShIt 6 ppl are saying they're gonna blindside Pedro to keep me alive :O If pedro votes for me ima flip my shit ... Gosh i have no idea if i should use my idol tonight, because it sounds like the tribe is fighting about whether or not i should be allowed to stay. If i can make it past tonight without my idol, it could get me even farther, but i might not last longer than tonight if i don't ... i'd really rather vote john out then pedro, but it might be safer in the long run to eliminate the person that knows i have an idol...maybe i can get pedro to switch his vote to redeem himself and keep a partner alive for a little longer. Although since he's in a group called "core four" he might have already told them ... The tribe has officially split lmao, looks like we're voting john tonight if i can trust the people who are saying they'll back me up ... Ugh my heart is telling me to try and rebuild my alliance with pedro and try to get him on my side but my brain is telling me his other alliance is clearly stronger so i have to stop trusting him. Either way super sad that pedro betrayed me, apparently he told people about the idol, looks like he'll be next on the chopping block ... even though im in a group with a majority of the tribe i still feel like they're secretly gonna vote me out anyway, that would be a damn good way to get rid of my idol since it sounds like everyone has gotten wind of it. honestly id just be impressed but if things work out for me tonight and i still have my idol i think thats the best shot ive got at getting farther ... im gonna not play my idol tonight and trust the majority of the tribe, if it bites me then so be it, they played their asses off to get rid of me if thats the case, like if they were gonna get rid of me they would have just followed johns plan right? Aimeehttps://media.tumblr.com/6e98e0f1a1116e0d7faf5e9f51b29ab6/fe59555738f2307b-bf/s540x810/955cfcc9683d192965fc7e708613b934de5531fc.gifv Bye Leanne! I know you were selling me down the river to Amy T. Odd thing is, I didn’t even vote for you. I hope we flushed out an idol. I just don’t get how Sarah is playing what seems like a ghost game and is more “in the know” than I am. How many times can people tell me “oh sorry we couldn’t tell you the vote because we thought you were close with ——“ and expect me to just take that? Why am I not allowed to talk to other people or be close with others but you are? How is it a 5-3 vote but Najwah claims to be left out of the vote. Uh Leanne didn’t vote for herself, and if it was me and Ben that means Najwah voted Leanne. Do they really think I just don’t talk to people and compare notes? I know who everyone is with. I only trust Ben at this point. And if I make it to merge or judge it’s team Ben or Maola. I think there is a small alliance since day 1 that I am not in. I just didn’t even look that hard for an idol today. I was just too distracted by the calm of the flowers. https://jrchair98.tumblr.com/post/184827414479/ゼニガメ-0007-01-11-frames-based-on-gif-from I hope this game gets better for me, because I am just emotionally drained. This is a marathon and I feel like people are lying to me and I’m gonna get backstabbed in a more direct way. Don’t worry fans, I am strong but I needed this camping break to get my head on properly and I am so relieved I won immunity. It’s time to get to work.

Maddison

Tonight’s vote will draw a line in the sand for the tribe, and hopefully solidify a majority alliance. I do wish Pedro was going home, but I’m not going to push hard for it this early. As long as someone not in my alliance gets their torch snuffed, I’m happy.

James Hayden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EDaQS-hPPQ&feature=youtu.be

Sarah

I wish I was better at confessionals and didn’t always leave a brick. That will be my goal for the week. OKAY. So tribal went as planned last night with our strong group of 5 (Jess) voting out Leanne. I trusted my group and I‘m glad I didn’t need to play my idol last night (and I love that it’s still a secret except for Cody knowing about it). After tribal, people thought Leanne may have had the idol and that now it was back in the hunt. Turns out, Leanne DID have a fake idol, whatever that means. Moving into a tribe swap, I do feel pretty good about going into one with most people on our tribe. I feel good about anyone in our group of five. I do worry though that with how spontaneous Zack is he may want to make a big move and flip on our tribe. Apparently Naj thinks I am a threat and thinks I will win so I do have to watch out for her but I do genuinely want to work with her. She doesn’t seem to know about Cody and I but she did expose her and Cody’s connection (which I obviously knew about) so she is quick to expose people! I am not as close with Aimee so she may flip too but thank god I have the idol just in case I get in a unpredictable tribe swap situation. So excited to get to know more people and I feel like this game has kicked it up a notch. Ready for a tribe swap! And hoping there are some cracks in the other tribe. 

John B

I’m terrified it’s going to be me tonight. Alan caught wind of the plan I think and told Pedro they were going to play their idol. Now we are splitting the vote so Pedro and I will vote Ryan and everyone else is voting Alan. I really hope people aren’t lying to me, if they are it’s definitely going to be me tonight and I’m going to cry. I’m literally so stressed.

Aimee

Uh, oops. So I got a little too drunk in the woods this weekend to even read these messages properly. Ben voted Leanne last minute and couldn’t tell me in time because I didn’t have phone service. Najwah I’m sorry I doubted you for even a second.

Ben Kessler

Hello it's me Ben. I am very scared about a swap but I know if I get put with my own people, I got this. Hopefully I don't get swap screwed, Aimee trusts me, and I can work my magic with the other tribe. Swaps are out of my control and I only deal with things in my control. Unless there's no swap? Who knows

James Hayden

30 minutes before we need to be online for something game related, Jay tells us to pick a leader. Zack volunteers instantly which is fine with me. It keeps the target of my back and puts a bigger target on his. I think this is a school yard pick for new tribes and hopefully he can keep us #jessstrong #JESSPRESERVATION

Ryan L

essgo babyyyyy hopefully not getting kicked out

[undeservedfavor]

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The Bucketlist

Mini-Series of Short Stories

SILK-Should I Let him Know[EN]:Chapter 2

Phoebe entered the door of the school.

Her heart was pounding...

She doesn't know what to expect today.

Ever since the accident...

First day of school was always a nightmare for her.

Not because she's mistreated...

But because people only see what she cannot do with her condition.

They do not recognize what she can do anymore.

People looked at her very differently because of her leg.

She saw a guy standing at the hallway and went to her.

"Do you need help miss?" The guy asked.

Phoebe nodded.

The guy was about to lift her books but...

She protested.

"You didn't even ask me what I need help with. I actually just need help in finding the Biology Lab... I appreciate it though. This would do." Phoebe said smiling to the guy.

The guy smiled back as he continued to carry her things.

"There you go. This the Bio-Lab. Anything else Miss?" The guy said returning the books carefully to Phoebe.

"Phoebe. Major in Biology. Thank you sir..." The name rang the guys ears.

"Joshua. Communication Arts Student." They both almost laughed at being too formal.

"See you around then..." Phoebe said.

"Just a tip. Ignore their weird stares, that won't kill you. Ciao." Joshua said.

With that...

He already left.

Phoebe was already preparing her things on top of her desk when she realizes that she was too early for class.

"Well... I appreciate early birds around here. I usually got tardy students... But never this early. In fact... You're earlier than me."A praise from a woman who just came in.

"Uhm... Thanks? I guess." Phoebe said.

"Oh pardon me... Sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Mrs. Freeman. I'm your Biology 101 professor." Said the woman.

"Nice meeting you Mrs. Freeman." She answered.

Later, the class started.

Mrs. Freeman told them to buddy up but there is not one single sould who wanted to sit beside and partner up with Phoebe.

The seat next to her is empty too.

"Phoebe, I guess it's you and me again..." Phoebe said mocking herself for fun.

The class turned their heads to the newly opened door as another student just arrived.

"Sorry I'm late." Said the familiar voice.

Phoebe was shocked.

She was overwhelmed by the presence of the man.

She cannot be mistaken.

He's still the same guy he met way back in middle school.

The guy who became his friend once.

This guy who never considered anyone's existence except for Zoriah's...

Is gonna sit beside her again...

"Hi. It's been a while... Phoebs." The man turned to her.

"Z-zack... Yeah. What a coincidence." Phoebe answered with a nervous laughter.

"G-guys? OMG. I can't believe I'm seeing the both of you here again!" A woman almost screamed behind them.

"Zoriah?" Phobe was shocked.

Oh, boy.

Is this a reunion or what?

"I-it's nice to see you again Zoriah... You looked prettier..." Phoebe saw it again...

The look that Zack gave Zoriah back then...

Is the same look that Zack has on his face right now.

"And hotter... Right Zack?" Phoebe said in addition.

Zack just nodded mindlessly.

He was still at awe when he saw his first crush...

No!

Let's rephrase that...

His 'first love'...

Since Zack is passed and got into the football team...

He missed almost everything about Zoriah...

He did not have enough time to hang out...

It was just Phoebe and Zoriah getting close to each other for the passed two years...

One day, after class, Phobe was left alone in the room since she's not like the normal students who can just barge out of the classroom when the class is over.

"Phoebs!" She heard a familiar voice call her out.

"Oh Zack, Zoriah did not attend the class, she said she's sick. What brings you here?" Phoebe said.

"Oh, I'll tell you later but... Why are you still her-?" He stopped as he realized why Phoebe cannot go home as fast as the others...

"Y-your leg... Does it still hurt?" Phoebe just nodded and sighed.

"I miss being normal like anyone else... You were about to tell me something..." She said.

"I have a favor to ask... Since you're so close with Zoriah..." Zack was hesitant.

"What is it?" She asked.

Zack held his nape nervously and spoke...

"Can you be my 'Wing-woman'?" He asked.

While he was talking Phoebe got pre-occupied again.

For her, it's like history repeated itself.

Then, the question popped out of nowhere...

Or did it come from the back of her mind?

Should I let him know?

Where ever it came from, she doesn't know and she doesn't care...

She cannot even pay attention to the man speaking in front of him for she asked herself again...

While Phoebe was on her way home, she can't help but think about what Zack asked.

The guy she likes...

No.

The man she loves, just asked if she can give him a leverage since he's planning to court her bestfriend.

Cruel and mean?

For Phoebe, it is.

For Zack, nah...

He doesn't know Phoebe's feelings anyway...

"Thank goodness, you're home Phobe, you should have called us that you need a ride home. Sweetie, would you like some Bacon and Eggs?" Phoebe's mom's asked her when she arrived and opened the door.

"I'll pass." She answered as she goes up the stairs.

Who eats Bacon and Eggs for Dinner?

They're weird, maybe that's the reason I'm weird too...

"Ugh! I can't believe I said 'yes' to him!" Phoebe said as she plopped down her bed.

She covered her face with both of her hands...

Almost two years has almost gone by...

Phoebe did everything in her power to be Zack's Wing-woman, giving Zack a boost by telling Zoriah good things about Zack, telling Zack what Phoebe likes and being there for him to pin-point what went wrong when Zoriah's getting annoyed of the courtship.

"Who will you date at the Graduation Ball Z?" Phoebe asked Zoriah.

They're at the girl locker-room changing for Gym class.

"Shhh... I know what you're trying to do Phoebe. Zack is not more than a friend and that's it." Zoriah said.

"I'm not doing anything..." Phoebe said innocently.

"Whatever Phoebs... Don't you think I'm getting fatter?" Zoriah siad as she drank one of her diet pills... The question she always asked Phoebe which confused her.

"If you're fat... I'd probably be kicked out by your mom everytime I go to your house, for unintenstionally breaking your room's floor and your house's ceiling downstairs using my weight." Phoebe joked.

Actually, Zoriah's pretty...

But she's a bit skinny, like a model.

Not that it's a bad thing, Phoebe even admired how Zoriah takes care of her figure and her weight.

She has a super metabolism that everything she eats flushes away that easily without even exercising.

But her weight loss is getting drastic as time goes by which worries her family and friends...

"Excuse me Phoebs, I'll go out. Coach is waiting outside." When Zoriah got up, she did not noticed that she dropped the bottle of her diet pills.

"Z, you dropped something..." She called but Zoriah did not hear it.

Then she went to pick up the bottle, she did not mean to but she saw the name of the drug...

"Fluoxetine - Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)." Phoebe read the label.

She searched it online but...

It turned out to be confusing.

It was a type of anti-depressant.

Not a diet pill.

"Ahhh!!! Zoriah!!!" Someone screamed outside.

When Phoebe went outside she saw Zack carrying the unconscious Zoriah.

The look of worry etched on his face.

The look that he did not even feign for her when she got her leg injured.

When they got to the hospital. Zack was there too.

The doctors told them about Zoriah's medical history and background. She's Bullimic.

"Z, don't do that to yourself again... You look perfect in anyway possible. I love you." Zack held and kissed Zoriah's hand.

"Zack... I love you too..." Zoriah said holding Zack's cheek.

"I-I have to go..." Phoebe left them alone. She couldn't stand to be there with them.

She went outside to get some fresh air but how unfortunate... It rained.

She did not go back inside and let the rain pour into her head.

The tears would not be so obvious with water anyway. She thought.

Then, the rain really struck some sense into her head. A sudden realization came...

It's time to let him go... Zoriah needs him.

A month after, they all went to the graduation ball. Zack and Zoriah went together... Well, Phoebe does not have a date. The night was going well. She watched Zoriah and Zack danced all night. They looked so good together. Zoriah was resting her head at Zack's chest while the man, holding the small of her back. It really hurts but she just smiled with content.

[taikoturtle]

Either "Bitch better have my money" or "Zero fucks given. Next please" for the five word prompts.

Pairing: Trimberly

“Bitch better have my money”

read it on AO3

Trini’s sneakers pound against the pavement as she scours the entire school grounds at the end of the day. Her eyes scan the passing areas acutely but fail to yield the results she’s seeking. Fingers fly across her phone’s screen as fast as her feet are carrying her across campus.

[Trini 2:44]

zack, you better b at school today

She checks his usual stomping grounds: the secluded utility shed near the football stadium, the bathrooms on the farthest outskirts near the chemistry labs, and the outside area at the back of the school. Each place is emptier than the last causing Trini’s scowl to deepen with every strike out.

[Trini 2:48]

this is really important where tf are you

Slowing to a stop near the flagpole out front, Trini sucks in gulps of fresh air to catch her breath. It’s quite possibly the worst day for their truant friend to be elusive, but Trini’s always had shitty luck so she can’t exactly blame him. After becoming a Power Ranger he has steadily upped his attendance, but the bar is set pretty low when you’re starting from completely absent all of the time.

Her phone buzzes and she whips it up to read whatever excuse he has cooked up for her.

[Zack 2:52]

was taking a dump. can’t a guy get a break?

[Trini 2:52]

you’re so gross why are we friends

[Zack 2:53]

you tell me crazy girl

Her lips crack into a smile before she shakes her head and remembers the urgency.

[Trini 2:53]are you at school today?

[Zack 2:54]

you’re lucky I was feeling studious today

[Trini 2:54]

studious my ass. fridays are pizza day at school

[Zack 2:54]

potato potato

[Trini 2:55]

what?

[Zack 2:55]

that was way less effective through text

[Trini 2:55]

whatever just come to the flagpole now and bring the money you owe me

[Zack 2:56]

sooo about that…

As soon as she reads his last text, Trini feels her blood pressure rising like a bubbling volcano. A couple of weeks ago she had lent him some cash to take a girl out on a date. Partly because it was satisfying to see him beg so desperately because he really liked this chick, but mainly because she was happy that he was happy. Honestly, she would have lent him the money regardless simply because he’s her friend, but the groveling really was a nice touch.

[Trini 2:57]

SOS

It’s their code for when shit is real, and now is the time to cash in on that debt because Trini has a date of her own—with none other than Kimberly Hart.  

Yes, the Kimberly Hart.

The very girl who she’s been pining for ever since they stumbled across the power coins on that fateful night that changed their lives forever. The very girl who she initially despised when she had first transferred because of ignorant stereotypes that shaped how Trini thought Kimberly was as a person without even getting to know her first.

The very girl who stole her heart after she realized just how wrong she was.

And one would think that when a girl tricks you and pulls you down off a seemingly bottomless cliff, the friendship would be over before it even started, but such was not the case with Kimberly. Maybe Trini’s just a glutton for punishment but something inside her that day compelled her to come back, and it certainly wasn’t Jason’s mildly rousing speech—all she knows for sure is that she fell into more than just that ravine.

Trini doesn’t do emotions very well. Anger maybe, sarcasm most definitely, but love? As far as she’s concerned, love is as foreign to her as advanced physics. She loves her family, but it’s a delicate and complicated love that’s riddled with frustrations, so navigating the complex feelings she harbors towards Kimberly is a treacherous endeavor to say the least.

But it’s worth it—it’s always worth it.

She’s always worth it.

Trini had finally mustered up the courage today, fueled by Billy and Jason’s supportive encouragement and inspiring pep talk, to ask Kimberly out on a date. It was the most nerve-wracking moment of her teenage life, standing so closely beside Kimberly as she unfolded the tiny note that Trini slipped into her locker that morning.

Passing notes is kind of their thing, so it only seemed fitting that she asked her to dinner with a note. She even tried to draw a picture of a pterodactyl and a sabre toothed tiger but Kimberly ruined the moment by asking why she scribbled a pigeon and a dog on the paper. Trini knows she’s no Michelangelo, but come on.

Despite Trini’s apparently poor fine arts skills, Kimberly beamed at her and breathed out a relieved “finally!” before pulling her into a warm, inviting hug. Kimberly always gives amazing hugs too, the kind where her arms wrap fully around Trini’s body, not too tight but just close enough to make her feel safe, to feel enveloped by affection.

They’re the kind of hugs you never want to end, but time waits for no one and the school bell rang so they had to go their separate ways. Trini still felt the lingering warmth from Kimberly and her body hummed with vibrating excitement, eager for the day to end so they can go on their date.

It wasn’t until her next class when Trini opened her wallet to determine where they would go later that night did her heart plummet into her stomach.

It was empty.

Sure, insisting to pay for the whole bill is an antiquated notion, but Trini doesn’t care—she wants to treat Kimberly on their first date, to really make her feel as special as she makes Trini feel, but how is she going to do that with no money whatsoever? There’s no way she’s going to have Kimberly pay for the entire dinner when the date was Trini’s idea to begin with.

Which is why Zack needs to get his ass over to the flagpole before she kicks it so hard he won’t have anything left to sit on.

“Bitch better have my money,” Trini mumbles under her breath as she crosses her arms, her foot tapping the ground impatiently.

Her phone buzzes again but before she can glance at its contents an arm slings around her shoulders out of the blue and startles her.

“Here you are!” Kimberly exclaims as she leans heavily into Trini with a broad smile on her face. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Sorry, I had uh… stuff I had to do after school,” Trini replies vaguely with her gaze averted downward.

Trini feels Kimberly tense up, the air thick with silence before her voice tentatively asks, “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Yes!” The word blurts out louder than intended and a blush overtakes Trini’s chagrined expression.

“Oookay, cool. I was just checking,” Kimberly responds quietly. “I mean, if you’re having second thoughts or like, you don’t feel like going out tonight I totally understand. The last thing I want is for you to regret anything or force you into something you’re not ready for or–”

“Hey, no no, stop.” Trini turns swiftly to face Kimberly and shakes her head earnestly. “Believe me, I do want this–” her hands motion back and forth between them animatedly “–I had something I needed to take care of first before we leave, really.”

The tension in Kimberly’s thin expression releases as she exhales, the worry and anxiety leaving her body upon hearing her words. “Sorry, I’m a little nervous I guess.”

“Aw, I make you nervous?” Trini grins smugly which garners a playful slap on the arm from Kimberly. Her pocket buzzes again, but Trini disregards it in favor of paying attention to the situation at hand.

“Seriously though, I haven’t really put myself out there since the whole Ty Flemming thing and I just don’t want…” Kimberly pauses, her eyes shifting left and right, heavy with the pain of her past and searching for the right words to continue.

…to get hurt is what Trini thinks to herself, because behind all of the confidence and bravado, romance is still very much a sore point for Kimberly. She knows she’s made mistakes and if you ask her what compelled her to do it, even she has no idea, but the repercussions of her actions still echo to this day and they’re impossible to escape.

Trini throws her arms around Kimberly and pulls her back into a close embrace. Her hugs may not be as good as Kimberly’s, but damn it she can try. She’d hug away Kimberly’s ghosts if she could, but life doesn’t work that way and it’s never that simple, so Trini offers her truest self and hopes it’s enough to keep the demons at bay.

Smiling softly in the crook of Kimberly’s neck, Trini breathes out barely above a whisper.“For what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty cool.”

A choked laugh escapes Kimberly’s lips and her grip around the smaller Ranger tightens. “Thanks.”

Trini ignores the questioning looks that the other students are conspicuously throwing their way because they don’t matter–nothing else matters right now besides the fact that Kimberly is in her arms and that they fit together as if it were meant to be and everything feels absolutely perfect.

“Trini!”

The moment ruined, Trini’s brow furrows upon hearing her name being shouted in the distance and both girls turn to seek the source of the noise.

Kimberly squints to get a better look and her mouth parts open slightly in confusion. “Is that… Zack?”

True to her observation, Zack is barrelling towards them at full speed from across campus like a charging bull, his arms furiously pumping at his side and long legs putting in work. If his attendance at school wasn’t so poor, Trini could picture him on the basketball team or track and field.

He closes the gap in an impressively short amount of time, coming to a halt several feet away. Doubled over with his hands on his thighs as he heaves in and out haggardly, Zack angles his head up and stares at Trini incredulously.

“This is your SOS?”

Sweat drips down the sides of his face and Trini nods seriously. “Yeah.”

Zack straightens up and lets out an exhausted laugh. “Oh this is great.”

“Dude, you can laugh about it later. Do you have it?”

He shakes his head, “Nope.”

“What?!” Trini nearly shrieks and Kimberly flinches out of reflex, taken aback by her unusually loud outburst. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why’d you even run over here to begin with if you didn’t have my money?”

Zack shrugs casually with a shit-eating grin still plastered on his face, “You stopped responding to my texts.”

“What money?” Kimberly inquires, her head tilting to the side curiously.

“Oh, Trini didn’t tell you?” Zack starts, amusement twinkling in his eyes. “She’s fresh out of cash, which I’m assuming she needed for whatever she’s doing tonight, which, by the looks of it, might be you–OW!”

Trini cuts him off with a swift punch to the chest mixed with a little Ranger strength for good measure.

Kimberly snorts humorously and looks at Trini. “Is this what was bothering you?”

Too ashamed from being exposed, Trini could only stare at the ground and nod her head dumbly.

“You’re adorable.” Kimberly links their hands together and gives her a little tug. “You don’t have to pay for me.”

“But I wanted to!” Trini protests with exasperation. “Besides, I asked you out on a date. That’s just messed up that you have to pay when I was the one who proposed it.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Kimberly says nonchalantly with a cheerful smile, “tonight’s on me.”

Zack smirks, “That’s not the only thing that’ll be on you tonight.”

Trini punches him again, her face as red as a tomato, as Kimberly’s bright laughter rings in the air.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Saving the Siblings - A Dark Angel Lomax AU 2

What would have happened around C.R.E.A.M--when Max and Logan still weren't that close yet--if they'd agreed to have a more sibling-esque relationship? How would the entire rest of the story played out differently? But Lomax will still be endgame in this, I swear. https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/21821767

Author’s Note: I remember nothing about Vada’s personality from the books, so I’m making it all up myself. Yep. Also, this "episode" is technically "411 on the DL", but things are playing out somewhat differently than they did there, because of the ripple effect of Max and Logan deciding to try and just be sibling-like themselves. "So, lemme get this straight," Original Cindy said the next morning, as she and Max pedaled into Jam Pony and Normal glared at them for being late. "You told Hot Boy ya just want 'im to be your brother. And he took it well? Even though ‘e looked at chu all dreamy-eyed, when we talked about chu?" Max scoffed. And even in being a genetically engineered killing machine, who had grace like no other, she still almost ran into Normal's desk because of the absurdity of what Original Cindy had just said "OC! I highly doubt he did that! Logan and I aren't like that. And, yeah… he took it well. Goes to show that not all men think with their third leg, huh?" Original Cindy seemed doubtful about that, but didn't comment any further. Which was probably a good thing. Normal was currently snapping at them for being late and telling them to "bip bip bip", as he shoved packages into both of their hands. Max was about to take hers to its intended destination with no reaction, when suddenly she caught something with her cat-like eyes. This package had been slightly ripped open, and within it was a newspaper article. A newspaper article with her barcode number on it and an address. Normal, unfortunately, noticed what Max had done and was quick to try and take the package out of her hands. But she fought against him. "Hey, Missy! That right there is private property! You had no right to do that, and it’s coming out of your paycheck!" "Yeah, sure, whatever," Max said with a calm façade as she handed the package back to Normal, knowing he wouldn't trust her to deliver it now and that he needed to patch the rest of it up before he gave it to another deliverer, anyway On the inside, Max was panicking. With her number being in the paper, was it Lydecker trying to draw her out of one of her sibs trying to contact her? "You okay, Suga?" Original Cindy asked, in having seen Max become less of a fog bank there, in actually showcasing some real emotion right there… fear. And even though Max was trying to improve her relationship with everyone in her day to day life, by being more honest with them (save for Logan, perhaps, because of the mess of a situation she’d gotten them into), Max lied yet again when she turned to her soul sister with a sugary sweet smile on her face. “Of course I am.” ... The forefront of Max, as she was out in Seattle delivering a different package for Normal, of course thought that the whole thing had to be a trap. Of course it was that... how could it be anything else? But there was a stupid, rebellious part of her that hadn’t listened to warnings about “phony sentimentality”, that wanted to go check out this address… that she was thinking was a Playfair Cipher. But what was the key word to decode it? Despite how Max had at first not wanted to go see Logan about this—because surely he'd care that she was going to go risk her life, and would thus do away with their whole: "we're going to pretend to be siblings to each other” shtick for the moment—she found that she had to… she just needed his advice on this, like no other’s. When Max reached Logan's suite in Fogle Towers—and broke into it to get in, once again—the first thing she saw was Logan clearly coming out of the shower, as he pulled a towel off of his neck and put a shirt on... And almost immediately he was pissy: Max could read it on his face, probably because he couldn't come out of the shower on his feet any other hot-blooded male. Most of the time, Max didn't understand men at all... and so she pretended to not notice his tude, and prayed that he would leave it alone, too. "Max, what are you doing here?" Logan asked with great caring in his tone, as he wheeled over to where she was in his living room. Apparently, he was going to be civil today; and in thinking that he needed to be rewarded for that, Max winked at him before she instantly regretted it and tried to awkwardly move the conversation along. "So, Logan... dilemma time. Someone has put my barcode in the paper—and it’s like opening the front page and finding my undies, I tell you--and have put an address on where to meet up via a Playfair Cipher…. I just figured out that the key word was ‘Maxie’. But get this: when figured out, it leads to Vogelsang's address... Clearly, I can't go, right? I mean, it's obviously a trap. Vogelsang must have been compromised… and found out things about me, he shouldn't know." Logan opened his mouth once—and via his pinched eyebrows, and the way he seemed about to motion that Bling should come in here to also talk sense into her, perhaps, Max could tell he'd been about to tell her not to go, too—but then closed it, before opening it again to say something he hadn’t been planning on before, she guessed. "I think, Max," Logan said, as he now wheeled away from her to put some distance between them, which immediately had Max feeling suspicious and offended as she put her hand on her hip and glared at him. "That it's one of two options. One, Vogelsang is trying to lure you into a trap or maybe even has a conscience and wants to warn you away from one... but would he really bite the hand that already abuses him? I don't know... I also don't know if he's clever enough to use such a cipher for you. “But I don't think it's Manticore trying to lure you out. They'd think you'd be too smart for it. And with their pride—even though you're all smarter than they are—I think they’d make the code more difficult to figure out… so I do think it might be one of your siblings." "And you think I should go after them," Max finished, as she straightened back up and chose to walk towards the man who was living dangerously right now, and suggesting that she risk her life. Again. Max tried to be happy about this news… that it could have been Zack, or Jondy, or Tinga, or any of the other siblings she normally would have been happy to risk her life for the chance to see… but she couldn’t quite get there… Something about Logan stepping into that role for her, making her less likely to want to give up what she’d built for herself in Seattle, mayhap? Outside, it had started raining again—as it always did here in Seattle... particularly when she and Logan were about to make a dumb choice about each other, and the Blue Lady sensed they needed some cold in the air in order to cool themselves off before they did that--and Logan said, "Yes... as a- a brother to you now, I suggest that you go. And I know if it were me, and I had siblings, I would." And so that only left one thing for Max to do, didn’t it? And she reluctantly smiled at Logan, for giving her the advice she had wanted… even though she didn’t know if she should do that or not, for so many reasons. ... Max went to Vogelsang’s before the specified time marked on the newspaper. She needed to stake the place out before anything unsavory happened there, and she was. And while her sibling could have been at good as subterfuge as she was right now (Max had decided to go into the ocean before she came here, to hopefully erase her scent from Manticore guard dogs if they were here, and had painted herself in black to even moreso fit in with the night), she just assumed they weren't here yet. But eventually, she saw a shock of short, blond hair a few floors above her—that could have been Ben, Zack, or Jack… if fate had been kind in some alternate universe for that last one, that was—and she jumped up that way herself, through the windowless opening and to the tenth floor... that looked a lot like a parking garage to Max. And once there, she saw who could have only been Zack—he looked just like she remembered, and she found herself blinking back tears and gasping at the mere thought of it—as he seemed to try and reach for an invisible person before them... Finally, Zack sensed Max—and whirled around with his fists out and one foot forward, clearly ready to fight—before Max washed the gunk off her face to show him who she clearly was… she was the only X5 kid who had had these kinds of features, after all. "Zack, it's me. It's Max. If you don't believe me, come around behind me and look at my barcode. I’ll put my arms up and not move." But her eyes must have been sincere... or he must have recognized her voice, or even now—and certainly not have just have memorized every inch of her because he loved her, Max would later try and lie to herself—because the next thing Max knew, she was in Zack's arms as he held onto her for dear life... and as Max clung to this brother of hers, she tried to breathe in all of what she thought she'd been missing for so long... but she felt nothing. "Maxie... is that really you?" Zack asked, as he buried his face in the crook of her neck... and a part of her beginning to go into heat, no doubt, wanted to kiss him for that action. "We thought- we all thought you were dead! That if you were alive, you would have found us all by now... So to honor you, we decided that—at least this first time—that if one of us ever went back to Manticore and we then heard they’d broken out… That I would put your barcode in the paper with this address, so they’d know where to find me for help. Right now, we’re waiting for Vada." "Vada? …As in that sweet sister of ours, who actually cared about makeup even back at Manticore? And tried to emulate what she saw on some of the guards’ faces with chalk?” And it was just as Max asked that, that said girl came up the flight of stairs that led to this garage on her motorcycle. And this didn’t really take Max aback… all X-series transgenics were spectacular with these vehicles, as it must have been in their makeup. …But this almost seemed too scripted to Max. And Vada seemed too sure of herself, if the hounds from Hell really were supposed to be on her tail… Her hair was also so long—something that Max couldn't imagine that would lend to her fighting for her life well… unless she had been on a deep cover op from Manticore for this, and had had to look as normal as possible for it… And if she’d done that quest for them like a little girl without trying to escape then… what were the chances that she had tried to leave now? "Vada!" Zack exclaimed the moment he saw her, with a wide smile on his face as he began walking over her to greet her. And Max couldn't believe that their CO Zack, of all people, was forgetting his training and exposing himself to the enemy so easily! Max got it, she did. Having a sister captured and rescued so easily must have been a dream come true to Zack, on the off-chance they ever tried to do this kind of thing again… but it was too good to be true, was the thing. "Zack... Listen to me… Do you really think Lydecker would have let Vada escape so easily? This is Lydecker we’re talking about! Who probably knew from our genetic makeup, just how long we could stay underwater. But he made us try it to tortured us, anyway!" Zack looked at Max furiously then—as Vada just seemed to look at them blankly—and here Max had thought that if anyone would have been arguing one of the others might have been turned, it would have been Zack and not her. But as far as Max was concerned, her life was making less and less sense all the time. "Max," Zack argued, as he reached to put a hand on her shoulder but then swiftly pulled it away, as if he'd been burnt. "There's no way Vada was turned! You should know that better than anyone! Our siblings always meant the most to you… and we all know how to forget things, even when under torture from Psy-Ops." "Actually, dear brother, Max is right. You should have listened to her,” said a sickeningly sweet voice in Max's ear—as she heard a gun being cocked behind her and felt it being pressed against her temple. Fuck. TCs had used grappling guns to get up here the same way she and Zack had, huh? Somehow, Max hadn’t stopped to think that anyone would be that well prepared at all. With how long she’d been free without Lydecker finding a trace of her, for the most part, Max had just assumed he had his thumb up his butt… but apparently that wasn’t the case. She sighed. "Vada," Max breathed, as she put her hands on her head. "Why are you doing this, dear sister? Do tell. Did they break you in Psy-Ops that easily? You were always more weak-willed than the rest of us." Max had expected Vada to hiss at her, and instruct the man under her command to hit her with the butt of the gun or something. But she did no such thing. Instead, her breath hitched in her throat and blinked back tears. And suddenly it hit Max that maybe Vada wasn’t as willing a participant in this as she’d first suspected, if she’d tried to give them a heads-up with her words. And the men behind Max and Zack—three of them actually had him in a chokehold—must have started to realize Vada was teetering on which side she was on here, because this time Max did have the gun slammed into her face… and it disoriented her some, as blood got into her eye. But she carried on, anyway. "Vada... you were reprogrammed back at Manticore, right? You never got out... this mostly was a trap for us. But at the same time, sister, I don't think you're completely buying their shit, either. Because otherwise, you wouldn't feel a thing about burning us. So, what? You're in the land of question marks now? Well, get out of it and do something, one way or another." That seemed to make something click within Vada... and Max could see warmth in her sister's eyes, even while she blocked their only exit: the kind that she'd seen reflected in her own so many times when she was with children... Could it have been that Vada was a mother and remembering that she had a child to return to? Where all X5 women particularly maternal? "Vada, please.” This time it was Zack: looking at their sister with begging baby blues that Max wanted to swim in, as her womb chose that moment to feel really empty. Damned heat! Max thought, as she slapped herself across the face before her hormones could make her want to jump the men holding her hostage, even. Before Zack could say anymore, at least ten Manticore men showed up behind Vada at the door… and she surprised everyone, as she suddenly powered her bike and mowed them all down with a vengeance. And just like that, both Max and Zack were done playing the pacifists. Zack took care of the three on him, as he jumped into the air and kicked at one’s leg—breaking it—and broke another’s neck with his hands… before landing on the third and beating their face in. Max, meanwhile, did some of the aerial attacks that she was known for. She did a backflip into the air, and knocked her guy out as she kicked out… but not before winking at him. She then punched out a man who was trying to grab her while she was in the air and landed on a girl’s neck… Max pinched the pressure point on the back of their neck—which felt good, somehow: that a Manticore soldier could have a weakness in that spot, too—and wished her sweet dreams. And that left only five new soldiers who had heard the chaos and were coming up to investigate behind Vada. "Zack, Max quick! Get on the motorcycle!” she begged. The two X5s didn’t have to be asked twice. They did just what their sister said, and ran these five men down as they made their mistake… and swept past a witless Lydecker once again. ... When Zack had left Vada under Max’s care (at least temporarily, as he went to get alcohol to celebrate their sis coming back to them… though Max herself wasn’t so confident about it yet), she had thought about taking her over to Logan's—because she had to.. because for whatever reason, she still had feelings for him, Max scolded herself—but in the end, she didn't. And this time it wasn't just because she was trying to keep them at the "just friends" level: it was because Max knew she'd have to rehabilitate Vada... and if her sister snapped and killed people, she really didn't want her to take out the beacon of all things good and true, Eyes Only. And while Max thought it was potentially more dangerous for Vada to be around Kendra—since Kendra had no training to be a "soldier", and hadn't signed up for any of this—she also was thinking that Vada would see that Kendra was a civilian (like Vada’s own baby girl, if Max was right about that) and take it easy on her... Or so she was hoping that, anyway. "So, yeah, Kendra," Max was telling her roommate now--loud enough so Vada could hear her, but not so much that she'd make Kendra realize there was anything weird about them… which wasn’t that easy to juggle. "This is my long-lost sister, Vada. She's gonna be staying with us for a while, if that's cool, until she can get things squared away with her family." Max put her hypothesis about Vada into her words, partly to see if she'd get a reaction from her that would prove Max right… and to assure Vada that if she did have a family... she was going to sort it out and go back there soon, so she wasn't constantly endangering Max’s roomie here. "Okay, Max," Kendra said as she paused in the translations she was making for her students and gave Max a considering look. "But one day you're going to have to dish about all this family drama of yours.” Oh. So, it seemed that that Kendra was still suspicious of what Cindy had told her had happened while she'd been in jail, after all. If that was the case—and she kept putting two and two together—then Max supposed might not have a choice on that front. "Soon enough, Kendra," said Max with a slight smile, shocking even herself with it. "Soon enough." At that point, Kendra had decided to go to bed—as she was tired from a long day of work—and Max perched on the footrest at the end of the couch Vada occupied in their living room. She did this so her sister would know that she was there and find comfort in it, perhaps, but also so she was elevated in case the other brunette decided to attack. It must have been the feline DNA in her making these decisions... because this way, Max knew she'd be able to see Vada move the moment she decided to attack—if she did that—and could then easily leap into her beloved air to fight. And Vada must have noticed that Max was somewhat skittish—though Max hated thinking of herself that way. And if she could've, she probably would have banned it from the English language after tonight—because Vada ended up answering Max's question from earlier as she nudged her leg with her foot. "You're right, Max. I do have a family... Damn. Why I ever let Lydecker turn me against them, I don't know... And I feel even worse in trying to help him bag you and Zack. I'm so sorry." "Don't feel too bad, Sis," Max said, as she patted her sister’s foot. "We're not all experts at resisting Psy-Ops and making ourselves forget information on our loved ones… or even our own names. I know I'm not." But even while Max said it, she didn't know if she believed her own words. After all she'd just detailed why Psy-Ops was a bitch, hadn't she? So, any brainwashing she’d once had was long gone, and would hopefully stay that way if she held onto such thinking. But since Vada had given in… did she really believe she felt bad about what had happened, and wasn't still under Manticore's influence? Max probably would have risked telling Vada she was full of shit, too, if at that moment she hadn't said the golden words. "And speaking of our family... you know that they have Jondy too, right?" "Jondy? How… why? How did they get the youngest of us now, and who let it happen?" And Max didn't care about anything she’d just thought of Vada… because they would get Jondy out with no consequences, and she would be her old self. She would be. Or else Max would just off herself, because she had no reason left to believe in this world. Author’s Note: I am so sorry for such a late update. I’m just working on a million stories right now. But I haven’t abandoned this story, and never will.

[kv-r18-fics]

This sin was written for the Bloodborne Crossover AU I did called Hunter’s Moon. It’s set after the story, so if you’re wondering about a particular item in Zack’s room, he lost his leg after a final battle with Danny.

...also he is still kinda werewolfy in nature XD

AU Sin

After the events that unfolded in their previous journey. Rachel finds herself wanting to be with Zack and ease her loneliness.

It had been months since their trials through the city of Yharnam to their eventual freedom. Both Isaac and Rachel had carried out their promises to one another to travel together no matter where it leads them.

 Rachel learned many things, even tried her hands at unfamiliar cultural activities, she seemed quite happy with doing something more with her life and with the person that gave her that chance. Zack was quite happy as well, though he was too proud to admit it, because he was a free man traveling with a person who treated him like a normal person. Their feelings for one another was quite strong, they were often traveling so closely together, or Zack would act on his subconscious actions to hug or kiss the woman that became so dear to him.

 The woman didn’t mind it, but she could tell that a blunt man like Zack wasn’t the type to speak how he felt so easily. She knew that he was very fond of her, as she was of him.

The nights seemed lonely, the innkeepers always put the two in a separate room. It was just how things were in this day and age, a young and unmarried couple sharing the same room was some sort of forbidden territory. Zack was ready to argue, but Rachel didn’t want to cause trouble, so the man simply swallowed his pride as the two spent their nights in opposite rooms.

 Rachel felt a sinking feeling in her heart though, she felt incredibly lonely on this night, all she could think about is the man that she travels with. Zack went thick through thin to keep her safe, refused to take part in a shady dealing with his employers, and almost lost his sanity just from thinking that she had died. The two were even prepared to die together.

 What haunted her thoughts most was his tender moments, that rare side of him that she witnessed before the final battle. The gaze in his odd-colored eyes, his harsh voice turning soft, and not to mention the kiss they shared.

 All at the cost of her sweet smile.

 Such a kiss that almost made her legs completely weak, his lips were soft against hers, yet there was a passionate drive behind it. Not to mention the invasiveness was like having a taste of some sort of forbidden fruit. Rachel’s heart pounded wildly from the memories, and the thoughts of where their life was now. Tonight, she wanted to be with Zack.

 She wore only a simple nightgown, her hunter’s attire was often kept neatly inside the room’s empty wardrobe, the entire building itself was very quiet. Rachel was sure that she and Zack were the only guests occupying the building, still, she chose to not make too much noise as she left her room. Zack’s room was just down the hall, Ray quietly tiptoed to the door and noticed it was unlocked, she peeked her head inside to see the man lying flat on the bed.

 Zack’s room wasn’t kept as neatly, his attire was tossed aside without a single thought, along with his prosthetic perched against the wall. She could see from the dim natural light of the window that he was sleeping shirtless - possibly in some sort of undergarment. The man snoozed for a second until instinct told him there was a presence in the room, he slowly opened his eyes to see Rachel staring at him from the door. Isaac almost fell over from being surprised, but he kept the blanket tightly pressed on his hips.

 “Ray, what the hell are you doing here?” he shouted in a whisper.

 “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Rachel replies, “I couldn’t sleep at all…I didn’t mean to wake you either…”

 Zack raised a brow, then glanced around the room for something the woman could sit on – guess it was the bed. Not like there was anything wrong with that. The man scoot aside to let her sit on the edge while he huddled the sheets close.

 “So, why can’t ya’ sleep?”

 “This sounds really childish…I’ve...um…been feeling kind of lonely…like an empty loneliness,” Rachel replied with a faint red hue on her cheeks.

 “You’re lonely? Cuz we’re in different rooms?” Zack asks, “You should’ve let me talk with the inn keeper, Ray…ah, whatever…you’re here now, I guess.”

 Ray was indeed in Zack’s presence, she sat herself down close to the man as she felt the thoughts swirl inside her head. It still wasn’t enough, emotionally she wanted more than to just be by his side. The woman craved for that wild kiss again, to feel Zack’s warmth so close to hers, and to never leave his arms. Rachel wanted to be his.

 Zack raised a brow as he noticed the conflicted expression on the woman’s face, but he seemed to sense a different vibe from her. A vibe he hasn’t felt since Yharnam, that rare and desirous feeling this former holy woman gave off. He wasn’t too much of a thinker, but with this feeling he was sensing, he could probably guess how lonely Rachel must be.

 “Hey Ray…you can sleep here for the night. Next time we get a room, I’ll make sure we’ll get the same one…alright?” Zack spoke softly.

 “Th…thank you, but…it’s more than just being apart that’s making me feel this way,” Ray replied, “I want to be with you.”

 Before Zack could respond, he felt the woman press her lips against his, he froze for a moment before lightly grasping her shoulders. Ray clearly showed her desire behind her kiss, she tenderly began to turn it deeper, just to get that momentary taste of sin once more. Zack felt his heart pound rapidly as he gave in, his tongue met hers and could pick up the sweet flavor of lust. He soon heard Rachel utter a sound he never heard before, she let slip a faint moan.

 That immediately took his breath away, he had to part for air, much to the chagrin of both of them.

 Zack softly panted as he gazed at the woman in front of him, and could see the look of want in her expression.

 “I love you, Zack…” she faintly whispers.

 The man’s eyes widened some, he could tell she felt that emotion behind her kiss, but he never heard such tender and innocent words be directed towards him before. Isaac never said it himself, only merely expressed how he felt, words were never his friend. He swallowed hard as he looked at Ray straight in the eyes.

 “I…I love you too…Rachel…”

 He felt the woman climb onto his lap and wrap her arms around him, Zack’s cheeks turned a faint reddish hue as he felt the blanket at his hip start to bundle. He brought her into an embrace of his own, the man couldn’t help but breathe in her scent, and even give her neck a couple pecks here and there.

 “Zack…have you…ever made love before?” Ray quietly asks.

 “Made love?”

 “…Yeah…sorry, it must seem to be a silly question…” Ray mumbled.

 Zack was silent for a moment, then pulled away to look at Rachel in the eyes once more, he was going to be truthful to her.

 “…I’ve had sex before…” he answered, with an uneasy expression on his face, “…but, I’ve never made love.”

 Isaac could see the confused yet curious expression on Rachel’s face, then tried to sum it up in better words, “…I didn’t give two shits who the person was. It was a stupid decision out of…a desperate need to survive. What I did had no emotional attachment whatsoever…”

 Then his expression softened, “…however, if I wanted to make love…I would want no one else but you to be the first…”

 The life of a street rat was an unforgiving one, and it often drove people to do things they weren’t exactly proud of, but Zack admitted that he would do things different with the life they have now.

 “I know that with you, it’ll be different…” he continued, “…I care so fucking much about ya’, Ray…and I’d never say no. I’d be willing to give myself to you, when that time comes.”

 Soon, he felt lips capture his once more, and when they eventually parted, Ray had the look of longing in her eyes.

 “Zack…I…” Rachel hesitated, “I…want to be yours…”

 The man froze from her words, and his heart wanted to burst out of his chest right now. Zack stared intently at the woman in front of him with his odd colored eyes.

 “Say that again…”

 Ray shyly bit at her lip, then glanced at Zack.

 “I want to be yours…” she repeats. The woman even wanted to make it clearer by shrugging her gown down to her shoulders.

 Zack felt like his mind simply stopped ticking, this former holy woman in the lap of a beastly killer asking to be claimed by him. He just admitted that he would one day do such an act, but for her request to pop up right after, startled him.

 “…Are you sure?” Zack asked, “…do you feel like you’re ready?”

 The woman simply nods, then proceeded to shed off the top part of her gown, exposing her breasts before the man in front of her. Isaac’s heart felt like stopping. That didn’t stop there, Rachel tenderly grasped both of Zack’s hands and placed them onto her bare bosoms, allowing the man to do as he pleased with her body.

 Zack was completely speechless, his scarred hands were touching her soft and supple skin, she placed so much love and trust into him that she was willing to offer her body and soul to him. Right now, he was fighting back the urge to touch more of her. Instead, Zack leaned up to Rachel to give her a tender kiss on the lips.

 “Then…undress…”

 He let his hands go for a second to let the woman disrobe, he stayed a calm quiet, but on the inside, there was so many emotions going on.

 The nightgown slipped off with ease, dropping onto the floor beside the bed, and leaving the fair woman bare in front of the man before her.

 She was damn beautiful, Zack had this look in his eyes like he was staring at some sort of goddess.

 “God damn…” he murmurs, bringing his hand up to let his fingers trail up and down her body, “…you look amazing…

 Words again weren’t his friend, but his touches were saying the words for him. She was more than amazing – she was gorgeous.

 Rachel felt her body get goosebumps from Zack’s gentle touches alone, she could see the man begin to slowly push away the blankets covering his hips - apparently, Zack had chosen to sleep in the nude, and he had gotten fairly hard. The woman brought her own hands up to touch at his abdomen, his skin was much warmer than she had thought, some areas unaffected by burns were surprisingly soft, and his muscles were so firm. Zack felt pleased to feel Ray’s soft, yet curious fingertips caressing his skin, up and down his chest to his abs, and studied the growing look of both admiration and excitement in Ray’s eyes.

 Isaac himself trailed his fingers up and down Ray’s body as well, letting his hot fingertips brush against the silky smooth and fair colored skin, it was almost like he was touching something that was forbidden, but he cared not for whatever sin he was committing in doing so. Zack’s hands slowly trailed back up to her supple breasts, feeling at them once more, before letting his thumb drag against the sensitive zones, and press against the hardening nipples. This moment of sensual action caused Ray to let out slightly heavy breaths, as his actions were sending new sensations to her body.

 The two couldn’t help but admire these new sides of each other, like every intimate detail allured them into that deep sense of desire.

 Rachel wanted to feel more and newer areas of Zack, her hands ran up and down his abs, to his hips, but as they tried to venture further, she felt him stop her.

 “This is your first time…so I want you to feel good first…” Zack whispered, “…another time, I promise…”

 Ray felt a small sense of disappointment, but if he was promising her a more thorough time to explore more of Zack’s body, she wouldn’t mind the wait. This was her first time after all, and Zack had the experience to know what he was doing.

 Zack brought his hand up, and pulled Rachel close to his side, while his other hand gently caressed her inner thigh. He could feel her get goosebumps yet again from is touch and from how close proximity he was to her more intimate area.

 “Are you ready?”

 Rachel held her breath and lightly nodded, she trusted him, and it helped keep her nerves calm.

 Zack parted her leg and let it lay on one side of his lap while he inched close, then gently held onto her waist with one hand as Ray leaned back slightly to give him room. Isaac made sure Ray was comfortable as she sat on his lap with her legs open, his other hand began to gently stroke at the soft skin on the woman’s legs before his fingers slid to her pelvic area.

 The man stared down at the woman’s hips, and had a hungered look in his eyes. God, she was beautiful. Rachel could see that look clearly, slowly, she felt Zack’s fingers get closer to her heat, then let out a sharp gasp as she felt the man’s fingers start to gently rub against the outer lips of her body. It was a strange sensation, but not intolerable, it was rather pleasing, and made her want a little more of it. Zack could feel Ray’s hips lightly brush against his fingers eagerly, signaling him to do so much more. The man smirked to himself as he answered the request.

 Slowly, he slid a couple of his longer digits in between her folds, feeling how heated and wet it was becoming from her new discovered sense of arousal, along with the faint squirms coming from Ray’s hips adjusting to this pleasure. Isaac leaned up to softly kiss at her shoulder, as he heard her emit sounds she never made before – she was moaning in a much different tone compared to her kisses. It sounded like the sweetest music he’d ever hear, and he wanted her to keep singing. The man slid his fingers against her sensitive flesh up and down until he decided to truly give her a good taste of ecstasy.

 “Z-Zack…” Ray whispered out.

 His response was to kiss at her neck again as he snaked his fingers up further, finding the sweet little button on her body.

 “Aah!” Ray yelped, she quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from getting louder.

 This sensation felt so much different, it was straight to the point, sent all sort of electricity through her body, and set her body ablaze with passionate heat. Zack’s hand that kept her supported made sure to hold onto her, while he let his thumb trace circles in her skin, letting her know that this pleasure was normal, and to relax. Ray’s legs were shaking, she felt so much stimulation from each stroke of Isaac’s fingers, to even feeling him rub at her pulsing bundle of nerves in various motions.

 “Zack…hah…o-oh, Zack…” Rachel moaned out, and gripped tightly onto the man’s body.

 Zack knew he was making her feel good, yet this was just a taste of what he could do to her. He felt it was time to retreat his fingers from teasing such a tender area, he didn’t want her to reach her orgasm yet, if Ray was going to have her first one, he wanted to be a part of it.

 Rachel felt the man stop his actions for a moment, which gave her time to breathe and collect what thoughts she could gather. Though, it was short-lived. Suddenly, she sensed something intrude her, it was one of Zack’s fingers. She buried her face in Zack’s shoulder as she felt the digit squirm in and out of her, then let out short moans and pants once more. The feeling of something inside her, moving about and touching areas she never knew existed felt strange and invasive. Zack was trespassing into her, and she was allowing it. Zack was feeling his body growing hot as he heard those sweet moans again, then began to slip another finger inside, then one more during the small thrusts. He even let his thumb help further stimulate her while she writhed from the feeling he was giving her, playing with the aroused nub gently this time.

 Zack then whispers into her ear, “How is it?”

 Rachel couldn’t think of any words to describe how this strange pleasure felt. She could only breath out Zack’s name a couple times before a word finally came to mind.

 “…I…Intoxicating.”

 Isaac could only smirk as a reply, that was a perfect way to describe things. They were both intoxicated with each other. The scent, the sounds, and the sensations were getting them craving for more.

 “Hey, if you got a hand free…” he whispered. “You can touch me too…”

 He knew he told her that he’d let her do it next time, but to hell with it, Rachel was already brimming with pleasure, may as well treat her a little bit more.

 Rachel’s blue eyes directed at Zack’s hips, she had one arm wrapped around Zack to hold herself up, while she freed her other hand to let it venture downwards. Zack could feel her curious touches as she grasped his member, Ray’s fingers tenderly caressed his cock, but it was quite obvious she didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t displeasing, but he knew it was inexperienced. Ray’s fingers softly petted at his shaft and his thighs, yet seemed unsure what other parts there was to touch.

 Zack quietly chuckled to himself as he began to whisper into her ear on what to do.

 “My hands are a little full…so I’ll tell you all the spots I want you to touch…” he whispers. “Where you’re touching now is good, but an even better area is at the very top…go ahead…give it a feel.”

 Ray’s face turned a deep shade of red, but did as she was instructed, slowly trailing her fingers along Zack’s shaft to the head of his length. It was very hot to the touch, slick, and fleshy, but she could feel the man shudder just from her discovering touch alone.

 “Ahh...yeah…that’s the spot…keep touching it…” Zack moaned out.

 “How?” Ray spoke with a heavy breath.

 “Don’t think how…just…feel…” Zack softly demanded.

 Intimacy was all about experimentation, for her to not experience before, she had to experiment and learn.

 Rachel’s fingers continued to fondle the head of Zack’s cock, feeling every detail on it, from its curves to its creases. Every learning touch sent shivers through Zack’s body, it was getting a little hard to focus on pleasuring her, while she was doing the same to him. Then again, Rachel must already be having a hard time trying to guide her fingers while she felt Zack’s own continue to intrude her. Ray beckoned Zack’s name a few more times before her hands began to hold the tip of Zack’s member into her palm with a snug fit.

 Zack softly panted as Ray’s hand slid back and forth in a slightly tight grip, before running her hands along the head a little more.

 “Shit…that feels good Ray…” Zack spoke, “hey…keep holding it like that…move yer’ hand up and down on me…”

 Rachel didn’t move for a moment, her body quivered from Zack’s fingers grazing a couple areas within her sensitive walls, then mustered as much willpower as she could to do as Zack asked. Her hand began to move up and down, feeling Zack’s rigid skin glide along with her actions, and her fingers could feel the many different grooves on his body.

 Zack huffed as he felt the motion heat his body up in this pleasing and mutual friction, he could see Ray was curious, but also intrigued. He was almost feeling eager to really show her what making love would be like. The man decided to rile Rachel up by softly whispering out his own moans into her ear, followed by sweet and tender words of encouragement with each stroke he felt. Isaac leaned even closer to give her tender love bites on her neck while they both pleasured one another.

 “Ray…ah…like that…” he purred, “…god that feels good…”

 This was becoming too much for Rachel to bear, her body was screaming at her to make love to the man. She paused her actions for a moment and immediately planted her lips on Zack’s, she didn’t hesitate to deepen it, and Zack could sense a hunger behind it.

 As they pulled back, there was an amorous look in Ray’s eyes.

 “Please…take me…”

 Zack felt his entire body shudder from arousal, he felt a warmth rise within his blood, and his gold eye give off a faint glow.

 The man retreated his fingers back, and caved into his lust by licking each digit clean in front of her. Zack felt himself become drunk from Ray’s taste, and had a slight growl in his voice when he breathed. He may appear human, but his eyes appeared more like a wolf ready to sink his teeth into prey.

 Zack licked his lips as he grasped her by the hips and brought her further to his lap, he brought one hand to his erection, while the other guided her hips on where to sit.

 “Slowly…” he whispers.

 Rachel straddled the man’s lap and began to lower her hips down, the man carefully aimed himself for his penetration, then felt as the two slowly connected with one another. The woman held onto Zack tightly as she felt a large heat enter her, this feeling was much different than his fingers. Zack’s aching member ventured much deeper, and pulsed inside of her with a growing warmth. Rachel’s body felt like it was burning. Since this was her first time, it also had a faint sting, her body was taking in something much thicker than Zack’s digits, but the earlier pleasure did help a lot. The extra fingers helped her body adjust to large invasiveness, and it also aroused her to help lubricate her body to permit Zack to slide in with no issues, and finally, the arousal opened her body up to prevent tension from his penetration.

 “You still okay?” Zack whispers.

 Rachel softly panted, “Y…Yeah…”

 “Good…I’ll make this as pleasant as possible…”

 The two gently nuzzled one another as they sat there for a moment, then Zack began to motion Ray to move her hips. He was allowing her to take the lead, and moved her waist in a slight bouncing manner while Ray felt Zack roll his hips to match along her movements. They were making one another feel a pleasure that was brimming with passion.

 Ray’s legs helped support the springing motion of her hips, feeling Zack’s length slide in and out of her with ease, and learned there were limits of how high she should raise her body. It was a little embarrassing when she went up a little too far, making Zack slide himself back in when he slipped out.

 Zack would softly chuckle from her expression as he kissed her forehead, “It’s fine…you’re learning.”

 “I’m still very sorry…it feels really good…”

 “I’m glad to hear it…” Zack whispered.

 Zack decided to guide her a little more to help control her hips from reaching that height to make him slip out again, it did help, it kept him inside of her as he felt Ray’s body drag his cock in and out of her and slide against areas his fingers didn’t brush. He decided to catch her by surprise by thrusting his hips upward a couple times, watching the woman throw her head back slightly as she let out a loud moan, he must’ve gotten a good area inside her, then repeated his actions to get it again.

 “Nhh! Zack!” she mewled.

 This pleasure felt so much different than what Zack gave her earlier, it was very hot, but also sensual. Their bodies were moving as one in this moment of euphoric connection, it wasn’t just about giving their partner a new experience in earthly delights, but also a connection of their souls as well. They were making love, they were forming the strongest emotional attachment.

 There were times his inner bestial instinct would kick in, causing him to let out growls instead of moans, gently nip at her skin, then drag his tongue against it later. Ray winced a little as she felt the jagged teeth bite and nip at her, but Isaac���s gentle tongue seemed to soothe that short bit of pain rather quickly.

 “Ray…god…” Zack breathed, “…you’re fucking amazing…”

 She responded by kissing her beloved man deeply.

 Over time, Isaac could sense Rachel was getting fatigued during their tryst, she was burning up a lot of energy to move her hips in such a way. Even with the short pauses to rock and grind their thighs together, Zack was still the one with more stamina. He gently held onto her as they rolled in the sheets, laid Rachel on her back, and he hovered on top of her. Rachel glanced up at the man with a longing expression, bringing a hand up to trail along his jawline, tracing both scars and small stalks of facial stubble. His eyes were also hypnotic to look at, just staring into that golden eye that pierced through the darkness, looking at it said so many emotions to her. It portrayed a feral yet deep love for her.

 Zack let out heavy pants as clawed at the blankets under their bodies, then began to move his waist yet again, continuing the pleasing and slippery friction between their bodies once more. Ray couldn’t help but elicit lewd cries, often breathing out her lover’s name as she held onto him tightly, she felt the sensual grinding between them send sparks through her as their body heat felt like a growing bonfire. Zack tenderly kissed and licked Rachel’s neck while his hot breaths uttered moans as well, he could feel a surge building within himself, just ready to burst. It’s been so long since he felt this sensation, but he remembered what it was, an overwhelming and sticky sensation when he did erupt – he was going to cum.

 Ray was absolutely trapped in his rapturous sensation, in this new position, she could still see the desire in Isaac’s expression, but she was filled with euphoria from Zack’s body taking control of the speed. Her pleasure points were grazed far more often, this made her legs wrap around Zack’s hips to take in more of him. The man could feel the holy woman quiver and writhe underneath him, arching her back or curving her hips when he knew he got her erogenous zones just right, and her erotic sounds were becoming too frequent – not to mention, loud. Zack made sure not to be too rough as he gradually picked up the pace, he knew the woman was reaching her climax, her body tensed and ached as her womanhood quaked then tightened around his member.

 “…Ah…you’re close…” Zack whispered, “…don’t fight it, okay? I promise…mh...it’ll feel amazing…”

 The woman squirmed a little more as she gasped out Isaac’s name yet again, it felt like an uncontrollable need to just speak his name, she was mentally lost in this insatiable rapture that Zack was giving her, and she needed to keep speaking his name to try and guide her back into reality – Zack’s own erotic sounds seem to be the perfect call to reel her back in. The heat, the pleasure, and the sensation of Zack’s body within hers was so much Ray could take, she could feel so many stimulations collect in her thighs, that it could erupt any moment.

 Don’t fight it.

 Zack’s words repeated in her head, she wanted to hold on a little longer to continue feeling Zack’s body crash into hers, but she couldn’t resist such temptations anymore. Her mind went completely blank and her vision became hazed into a heavenly white.

 Zack’s bi-colored eyes focused on the woman underneath him and watched as Rachel’s body succumbed to the rapturous pleasure taking over her. It was both erotic to watch and feel. Her body trembled as her thighs seized all around him, making it a tight fit as he slowed his hips a little, gliding his aching cock in and out of her to continue brushing her quaking walls and prolong her first orgasm as long as possible. It may have lasted a few good seconds, but in Rachel’s mind it felt like a blissful eternity. God, such a beautiful sight. He wished he could turn back time just to see such a sinful but enticing expression on her face once more.

 Gorgeous…

 It was only a matter of time for Zack to reach his limit as well, Ray’s moment of tightness and heat was perfect for Isaac to keep the friction going, and hearing her cries of blissful delight aroused him so much. He felt hot and cramped within his own skin, with a desperate need to let it all out. Zack held onto Rachel’s waist tightly, his half-grown claws lightly grazed her skin, his fangs gave her neck small rakes, and he picked up the pace one final time. Rubbing their bodies together to get the spark going and light up his body into pure euphoria. Slowly, he felt that sensational heat brewing more and more, until he felt it start to push him over the edge.

 “F-fuck! Ah…Ray!” he shouts.

 He held onto his lover tightly as he voiced his own cry of passion, starting with needy groans escaping with every breath until that final moan filled the room. His member throbbed and Zack had let his body surrender to the feeling of ecstasy overcoming him. Rachel could feel the intense pulses inside of her, then lightly gasped as she felt a sensation of something spilling inside of her with each slowing thrust. He had now claimed this former holy woman.

 Zack panted heavily as he picked his spent body up, that predatory glow in his eyes were dimmed back to normal as he gazed at the woman for a while. She too was catching her breath, but was filled with so many emotions. Rachel still couldn’t believe what she and Zack just did, but she felt glad that she did it, everything felt right to her – to the both of them. This man she’s in bed with also gave her a forbidden experience of true human love and desire. Every bit of Insight she had gained during her days as a Saint was greatly lowered, she kept her word to look at Isaac and him only, so all that she could think about was this man and not her old false beliefs.

 Soon, Zack laid himself on the bed beside Ray, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her close. He couldn't help but whisper her name just once more. The scarred man now felt what it was like to truly love someone, and to give both his body and soul to their beloved partner in this union as old as time itself. He felt like their spirits did intertwine during their moment of passionate togetherness, and it would never be severed apart.

 The tired couple laid there in an embrace, and Rachel felt the tender compulsion to comb her fingers through the man’s raven-black hair. She could hear Isaac let out a long sigh of relaxed contentment, as he closed his eyes to enjoy the soothing feeling.

 “I never thought I could actually feel anything like that…” Ray whispered. “I can’t even put it into proper sentences…”

 “Well, ya’ were a Saint, pretty sure your place was full of prudes,” Zack replied with a tired laugh. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? Shit…I did get pretty bitey during it all…”

 “I’m alright, your nips didn’t break skin…but I can tell you weren’t trying to hurt me,” Rachel said, “You made it a pleasant experience, like you promised…”

 Zack’s face turned a red hue, “W…well…yeah…I didn’t want your first time to be a bad experience…I…I love you.”

 Rachel softly giggled, “I love you too, Zack.”

 The woman turned her body to Zack’s, then wrapped her other arm around him, and snuggled against his chest.

 “We did make a lot of noise…I hope we didn’t wake up anybody inside the inn…” Ray whispered.

 “Hmph…serves them fuckin’ right giving us separate rooms,” Zack retorts. “…we shoulda been louder, in my opinion.”

 Rachel couldn’t help but laugh, such a sweet and innocent giggle was contagious, and it made Zack laugh along with her, then he kissed her forehead.

 “I think we’ve stayed up long enough…let’s get some fuckin’ sleep…” he mumbled, then pulled the blankets up over them. “…goodnight, Ray.”

 “Goodnight, Zack…” Rachel murmured, as she cuddled close to the former Hunter.

 The two drifted off to a peaceful sleep, they once viewed each other as equals during their partnership for freedom, now that they’re free to go and do as they pleased, they became something more – they were whole. Rachel was the piece that gave Zack his sense of innocence and humanity. Isaac was Rachel’s piece of self-worth and determination. Together, they combined into one mutual soul.

 Neither one ever wished to give each other up, and were willing to stay side-by-side until their final breaths.