#you should decorate and clean up and hang out more and start texting consistently

[meet-again]

The problem with life is so many things are happening always and i cannot keep up

[plush-rabbit]

Dabi Dating Headcanons

Request: So for the request i was wondering maybe like dabi with really really beautiful and kind s.o, like people always start with her or text her and harass her but she loves him from the bottom of her heart and comforts him, he bascially gets really jealous and they fight in an alley way and a few villains who are after dabi see them fighting and decide to try to attack her infront of him, he toasts them but he is scared that now his s.o hates him and think hes cruel only for them to hold him and tell him nomatter what he does she will follow him to the depths of hell itself if it means she gets to be with him

If you dont like it its okay you dont have to do it i completely understand

A/N: Took a little bit of a different turn but ya know, yeah. Hope you like it!!

Dabi doesn’t like to think of the relationship that he has with you as something official. He comes to your home, eats your food, uses your shower and rests his head on your chest as you tease with his hair. He doesn’t want to have anything deeper with you, he just wants something fun for the meantime, but even then, he can’t help but use the key you gave him to open your front door in the dead of night. He holds your key close to him, wrapped around some thread that hangs on his neck and that’s enough for him. He cares for you in his own way and somehow that’s enough.

You aren’t like him. You live a normal life that could have been his, but isn’t and never will be. He doesn’t want you roped with his “business” life. It’s not something that you can handle, and even if you press for more information, he won’t give it to you. He rather see you pout and drop his hand than see you covered in ash and the scent of burnt flesh. It's easy to keep you in the dark, to flip the blinds when he’s home with you. He makes sure he isn’t followed, that any trail that he left is gone when unclasps the key from round his neck to enter your home that smells like honey and vanilla.

The few times that he does stay with you, it’s mainly for him to rest. He gets to enter your home during the frigid weather and you always welcome him with open arms. Your place is small and filled with different sorts of knick-knacks from your life- photos that cover the wall, posters put up in frames, figures that you tell him not to touch, and empty soda cans that you promise have been rinsed out, and it's home to you. You tell him that it’s home for him too- he does have a key after all, but he doesn’t want to call it home. It’s all temporary. He’s sure of a few things in his life, and one of those things is that he’ll die when the time comes, and he doesn’t want you to go through that grief. Yet, he still comes home to you; he lays on your chest and falls asleep to you playing with his hair.

One fateful night, he finds you out and about in the streets. You wave to him and rush to be by his side and when he asks what you’re doing out so late, you tell him that you had just finished eating with some friends. Whatever the reason, it isn’t important. It’s late and you’re out here, and he’s going to take you home. When you ask if he’ll be joining you, he denies the offer. He has other affairs to tend to for the night. When he sees you frown and visibly pull away from him, he scowls and promises to try to make the time sometime this week. He doesn’t like to be away from you for so long, but sometimes, he just has to.

On the way home, you and him are followed by thugs. It starts off as a gradual process- following, and then it escalates to them yelling out obscenities that make you hold onto Dabi’s hand and push yourself close to him. He keeps an eye on them, watching how they still remain at a distance, but not missing their quirks that protrude from their body. He’s sure that he can recognize them but he makes no attempt to actually think of who they are. So far, they aren’t messing with either you or him, so there’s no reason to start a fight over just suspicious people.

Starting a fight isn’t something that he’s willing to do without proper cause- or if it were the last resort- and he’s less likely to start one now when you’re so close to him. He would rather not have you be so close to him during something like that; both out of fear that you’d run away and that you’d go and call for the authorities. He likes having a place to stay even if it isn’t consistent. When he sees them approaching, he frowns. He doesn’t want to lead them back to your place, and walking around in circles isn’t going to be good for him or you, so for now, he makes the best- and rash- decision to enter an alleyway. As suspected, they follow and they block off the exit.

He stays as emotionless as he can, urging them to go away by using intimidation. It doesn’t work. They still approach the both of you and he can feel your grip on his tighten. The words are less than kind and if he were anyone else, he’s sure that it would warrant a reaction, but he’s heard it all before and even worse. It truly means nothing as he stands there and listens to insults thrown at him. Even in such an alleyway, you both remain illuminated and when the group of thugs notice you, they start to direct their insults towards you.

You call his name and hide behind him when the group steps close to you and the only thing he can think of is to protect you. His hands lift before him and his burns as blue flames wrap around his arms and shoot outwards, burning the men to a crisp. Their screams are dulled out by the crackling of the flame and when he flowers his hand, with smoke heavy in the air and fading out from his arms, he feels relaxed, like weight that has been lifted for just a few moments. And then he hears you cough, wet and racking through your body and when he turns, you’ve stepped away from him.

The alleyway is filled with the scent of charred bodies and with the sound of your coughing up a lung into the crook of your elbow. Nails pierce into his palm and he stands tall as he looks at you. He tells himself he doesn’t care about your opinion of him, but he does. Maybe it was the late nights spent with you that made him soft, that made him open up for just a bit, but he cares and he hates how you haven’t met his eyes. His arms hurt, and he can feel the metal that decorates his skin sear into him just a bit deeper, and he waits with a wounded look for you to finally look at him.

When you do look at Dabi, he’s prepared himself to handle your rejection and fear. He’s still except for a twitch in his jaw when you stand before him, your hands slowly lifting to cradle his face. He has to resist the urge to lean into your touch, but even so, he lets out a sigh. There’s a poor attempt at a joke that leaves his lips that you should run before he burns you too, believing that you’re just in shock and soon enough, you’ll wipe clean yourself to rid of his existence in your life. You give him a sad smile and shake your head. You know who he is, you know that he protects you, and you want him to be in your life, and you'll be in his. You care for the burned man who has finally leaned into your touch, and when he can hear sirens off in the distance, he pulls you away and races to your apartment, ready for the day to be over with.

[taexual]

SEVENTEEN (Vocal Unit) / They realize they are in love with you

WARNING: the softest fluff (also, these are long)

JEONGHAN

Jeonghan thought his flu had gotten so bad, he’d imagined the sound of the doorbell.

He’d just texted you – half an hour ago – telling you not to come over, no matter how sick he was, because it was pouring rain outside and he didn’t want you to get sick, too. And then he fell asleep, so now he wasn’t sure which sounds were real and which were—

There it was again. Someone was absolutely ringing the doorbell.

“Joshua!” he tried, bursting into a coughing fit as soon as the word left his lips. “Ah, crap—”

Sneezing immediately after he finished couhing, Jeonghan thought he could distinctly recall ordering the boys in the rooms nearby to evacuate as soon as he got a sore throat, afraid of infecting them, so that meant he was going to have to find a way to get to the door himself.

Halfway out of the door, sniffling and sturggling to properly open his eyes, Jeonghan heard a very familiar gasp. Blinking, he lifted his face to meet your surprised gaze.

“Why are you out of bed?” you demanded.

Too taken aback by your presence – perhaps he’d dreamed telling you not to come? – he stuttered, “the doorbell—”

“Seungcheol opened the door,” you explained, taking him by the arm and guiding him back to his room. “You’re not supposed to be walking.”

“Y-you’re not supposed to be here,” he retorted, shivering as soon as he felt your cold hand on his forehead when you checked for fever. You pulled your hand away after realizing that you were wet from the rain.

“You’re sick,” you countered as you helped him climb back into bed and passed him a tissue as soon as he sneezed again. “And Seungcheol told me you tried to kick everyone out of the house.”

“I just told them t-to—” he sneezed again, “to stay away from my room. I don’t want them to get sick. I don’t want you to get sick, either.”

“Well, I don’t want you to be alone when you’re not feeling well,” you replied, taking your coat and backpack off before sitting down on the edge of his bed and unpacking the provisions you’d brought. “I didn’t know how to make the kind of soup that you like but I hope that—”

“Thank you,” Jeonghan said. He watched the medicine, the themometers, the containers of food, and the nasal sprays that you’d brought, and felt something squeeze his chest – it wasn’t the flu. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, now lie down and—” you replied automatically and then froze, realizing that you’d never actually heard him say that to you before.

Somewhat bewildered, you turned to look at him but Jeonghan – still hovering between dream and reality and, therefore, not sure if he’d just confessed his love to you or if he just thought of doing it – was already lying in his pile of blankets and pillows, his eyes closed and lips parted, seemingly drifting off to sleep.

JOSHUA

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Joshua asked you as he tried to finish reading the last chapter of the book. The feeling of your warm gaze on him distracted him, and was more than enough to decorate his cheeks with the softest shade of pink.

Realizing that he’d caught you staring – but it wasn’t like you were trying very hard to be subtle – you chuckled and looked away. “Like what?”

“Like—I don’t know,” he laughed nervously, not quite sure why his heart had started to beat so quickly. “Like you’d never seen me before.”

You carried on what you were doing and looked back to your phone, explaining in a tone so simple, it seemed like your answer was obvious and it was ridiculous that he didn’t figure that out himself.

“Sometimes it feels like I haven’t,” you explained, “you looked so lost in the book, it felt like I was getting a glimpse into your mind by watching you read,” you paused to give him a look filled with sincerity, “sorry if that was—”

“No, um…” he stopped you, closing his book shut. He had exactly zero chances of getting back into the final chapter and actually understanding how the story resolved. “That’s okay. You just surprised me, I guess.”

“Why?” you asked, a hint of teasing in your voice now. “You’re nice to look at.”

Joshua felt himself inhale with a shudder so intense, he was worried you’d see him shaking from across the room. But, not meaning to make him even more uncomfortable, you’d looked away after you finished speaking, so he had nothing to be nervous about.

Except for the fact that he thought you were nice to look at, too. And the fact that he’d thought so for ages now, but you were friends and he wasn’t supposed to think that about a friend.

“Hey, um,” he started to say before he was aware of opening his mouth, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” you replied, too far from him to notice the wild terror in his eyes after he realized there was no going back from this.

“What—uh, h-how do you feel about going out to get food tonight?” he asked, caressing the spine of the book he was still holding in order to get some more courage to clarify the true purpose of his question.

“Okay, that sounds good,” you nodded. “Maybe we can try that all-you-can eat place that just opened a few blocks away?”

That wasn’t exactly the sort of candle-lit dinner he’d imagined, but, swallowing with great difficulty, Joshua nodded, “yeah. Okay. Anything you want.”

Baby steps, he decided. He’d have to figure out a way to make it clear that this was a date once you were already on it.

WOOZI

You had been too busy – too stressed – to see him – really, properly see him – for nearly a month now. All of your meetings consisted of a few minutes, meant to say hello and catch up, and then you were back to taking care of your own personal errands.

Before long, seeing you for two minutes a day didn’t seem enough for Jihoon anymore.

“I’m sorry,” you exhaled heavily, the fifth apology leaving your lips even though you and Jihoon had only been on the phone for about half a minute. “I should be done with this project in a few more weeks tops, and then this will all be over. Really, I am so—”

“No, don’t apologize,” Jihoon asked, feeling bad to be putting extra pressure on you with his insistent phone call. “I understand. I just… I don’t know, I haven’t seen you in so long.”

He wanted to say he missed you. He was going to say he missed you. But he stayed quiet, leaving the words hanging in the air awkwarly.

You bit your lip, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that you’d been hoping to relieve the frustration that’s been brought on by your heavy workload by doing something special for him. Something that he’d clearly not noticed.

“Have you, uh,” you started, having no other choice but to come clean, “checked your mailbox recently?”

“My inbox?” he repeated as his confused eyes darted to his computer where he’d always kept his email open.

“No, your mailbox,” you clarified and then explained, “your physical mailbox at your house.”

Jihoon looked almost alarmed. “No. I don’t think anyone checks that thing, we get our bills online and don’t care much for ads. S-should I, er—should I have checked it?”

“Yeah,” you said, nervous now. “Call me back after you do.”

He promised he would and leaped off his office chair. Nearly slipping on the wooden floors as he bolted through the door of his room and into the hallway outside of the apartment, Jihoon realized he’d left the key of the mailbox back inside.

Honestly, at that point, he was curious enough to physically pry the mailbox open but, groaning and huffing with irritation, he settled for the conventional way and returned inside to grab the key.

What he saw inside of the mailbox almost made him sit right down on the floor.

You’d mailed him a letter. Every single day. Actually, you didn’t mail it – the envelopes had no stamps on – you must have delivered the letters yourself, early in the morning before you had to go to work.

Jihoon wondered why you didn’t call him instead, but the answer was obvious: you knew how late he went to sleep the night before and you didn’t want to wake him.

Still not having caught his breath, Jihoon collected the envelopes and jogged back inside. He was going to call you first, then read them all; he wanted to do both at the same time but some things were more important than the others.

And the most important thing right now was him telling you how much he loved you.

DK

Seokmin didn’t really understand what was happening at first. One moment, he was sleeping – snoring peacefully and possibly even smiling in the dream – and then the next, he was suddenly awake and semi-aware of his surroundings, even if his eyes still felt too heavy to open.

“Hmmm,” mumbling in disorientation, he tried to turn to his side but felt something change in the atmosphere as soon as he did.

The room went quiet.

And, finally, Seokmin realized what’s happened: he’d been sleeping next to you – almost on top of you, at this point – and you’d been humming. Actually humming a quiet cheerful tune under your breath and, despite the comfort it brought his tired mind, he’d never heard you humming before. And that’s why he woke up.

“Sorry,” you whispered, putting down the book that you’d been reading while he slept. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, please,” he spoke, his voice groggy and laced with sleep. Throwing his arm around your waist as he absentmindedly nuzzled his face into your neck, he asked, “sing for me.”

You would have laughed if you didn’t feel so overwhelmed with his body warmth. “You’re asking me to sing for you?”

“Yes,” he said and sighed in content when one of your hands dropped above his head, your nervous fingertips gently touching his hair.

Seokmin had never felt so safe – so at home – before and he realized with frightening clarity that he never wanted to leave. So, tightening his grip around you, he settled firmly on one thing and one thing only: he was going to stay here forever.

“Sing me to sleep,” he asked again, bringing a smile to your lips with his ambiguous request, “but let me stay awake so I can listen.”

SEUNGKWAN

More than half of the time that Seungkwan spent with you, he was laughing. It was either at the jokes that you’d made, or at your shared ability to abandon all sensibility and behave like reckless idiots just for the fun of it. If someone had seen the two of you then, they would have probably thought you were both high on every drug imaginable.

And Seungkwan cherished moments like that – he cherished the pain in his cheeks, the hollowness of his lungs when he thought he’s suffocate from laughing so much, and the bruises on his thighs from clapping against them so hard each time you said something funny.

“God, I’m really going to die like this,” he said to you one time, wiping a tear from his eye.

Seungkwan almost started to laugh again as soon as he saw that you’d transcended the laughter state and were now in the “silent tremors” state where your body was shaking from how funny this was, but you were physically incapable of producing any sort of sound anymore.

“Stop!” he demanded, bringing his hand over your knee because you were too far for him to touch in a more forceful way. “I can’t breathe anymore!”

But you didn’t stop – you couldn’t – and soon enough, you were both almost literally on the floor, still laughing, even though neither of you could remember what was it that started this anymore. You’d slow down every now and then, the laughter dissipating, but then a memory – or the sight of each other’s faces, still framed in joy – would start it all up again.

“I c-can’t feel my stomach,” you spoke as you leaned against the wall, trying to get yourself together, but still giggling uncontrollably. “This is like exercise.”

Seungkwan had almost stopped but now he was laughing again – and, naturally, you were, too – and he had to cover his face with his hands because, dear God, this was never going to end!

“Exercise,” he said in-between fits of laughter, “is nowhere near as fun as this. Ah, I’m not sure I can stand up.”

Still laughing weakly, you managed to get back on your feet and extended a hand for him. “I blame you, by the way. You started it.”

“Did I?” he wasn’t sure.

“Of course! You always make me laugh.”

“You always make me laugh!” he countered as if this was a very serious accusation and, within a moment, you were both giggling again. “God, my face hurts so much. I love it. I love you.”

Even though he was still laughing as he said it – and you were, too – you couldn’t miss the sincerity in his voice and the emotion behind his words because, jokes and laughter aside, it matched the emotions inside of your own chest.

So, you laughed harder – forcing him to push your hand away because now he was laughing, too – because this was your way of telling him that you loved him, too.

[artificialqueens]

Pretty in Pearls, Chapter 2 (Jankie) - Plastiquedoll

read on ao3 💄| previous chapters 

A/N: hi!  here’s a little update introducing part of the ensemble and the dynamics of this story! I don’t know how to write text messages in this format so this is the most you’ll get from me ✌️ so I hope you enjoy it & thanks for reading it <3

-2-

Jackie’s little tips and advice had made Jan’s life so much easier in so many ways she didn’t even hesitate when she stood up in front of the vending machine and pressed the Snicker’s number. After submitting her papers on time –she gained the favor of the head secretary by complimenting her necklace-, she arrived at class five minutes earlier and got to pick her seat, she met a few of her classmates -including a girl that matched her energy called Rock but they couldn’t get to talk much after the professor started the lesson- it was like things were starting to fall into place for her.

Except for one thing…

She heard laughter around the corner and she recognized it right away. When she peeked into it, she found Nathan talking to the same girl he was flirting with during lunch –the girl he had been talking about, for sure- she was even prettier up close with her short skirt and mascara on.

Her heart shrunk but this wasn’t the first time something like that happened. She wondered sometimes how many times a heart could be broken by the same person; people sometimes said that wounds and scars helped to create thicker skin -and maybe- that was the case for her. Even though, it always hurt like the first time.

They walked away together and Jan was left alone, unnoticed. She cleaned her teary eyes with the back of her palm and put a big smile on her face before getting into the copy room.

Jackie was finishing some big pile of copies for a boy and a girl was waiting in line with some papers in her hand. Maybe Jan would bother her, she seemed to have a lot of work to do. She was about to turn around when the brunette spotted her.

“Jan, hey.” Jackie’s face lit up the moment she saw the other girl.

“Hi!” She moved closer to the counter. “I just wanted to drop by to give you this.” Jan slid the candy bar over the surface.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have… I was joking.”

“It’s the least I can do, you’ve done a lot for me today and I really appreciate that.”

Jackie’s heart swelled.

“You can stay if you want to hang out, I’ll be done in a couple of minutes.” She handed the pile of copies to the boy and accepted the bill he gave her. She gestured to the other girl to move forward.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bug you.”

“You would keep me company and trust me, sometimes it’s needed.” She looked at the girl in front of her. “Simple, double?”

She shyly replied double and in less than three minutes, Jackie had her copies done.

“Have a nice day.” She then turned to Jan. “See, now it’s empty again and in other circumstances, I’d be on my phone so you’re the one making me a favor.”

“Okay.” Jan sounded relieved.

“You can come behind the counter it’s not like I have a vault full of cash or something, college students are broke.”

Jan seemed to be thrilled she could cross that limit, at least Jackie had chairs on that side of the room. The younger took a seat and since the chairs were tall she could let her feet hanging and swing them back and forward. In the meantime, Jackie unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a bite before browsing through one of her textbooks. Jan pulled out her map and some guides to access the virtual classroom as well, she needed to set it up from her phone.

Jackie peeped over. “Are you in the dorms?”

“Ah, yes! I moved in two days ago during the weekend. I’m still kind of lost there but…” She was about to say something else when someone walked into the copy room.

“Hey there, ladies…”

Jan was astonished because that woman was stunning with her braided hair, crop top, and tight jeans. She walked confidently toward the counter and pulled Jackie for a quick hug.

“Long time no see, Miss Cox. How was your break?”

“Hi Jaida, visiting the family, you know. By the way, you look so good.”

“I feel good.” She smiled at Jan. “And who do we have here? Hello, I’m Jaida.” She extended her hand.

Taking Heidi’s previous reaction into consideration, Jan shook it gentler. “Hi, I’m Jan. I don’t work here I’m just new.” She clarified.

“Oh, I see… freshman. There’s nothing to be afraid of we were all there before.” She smiled and held Jan’s hand for a moment giving her reassurance.

“Thank you.” Jan could cry any minute now and it would be the third time in the day.

“Now, some of us are having dinner at that new Thai place outside campus, are you in?” She looked at Jackie and then at Jan. “You can come too, of course.”

“Sure, I’ll be done in an hour and a half. Can I meet you there?” She turned to Jan.

“I really want to but I need to go to my dorm and settle down for a minute. I haven’t finished adjusting and I don’t even know my roommate yet.”

“Oh, you have one of the doubles.”

The younger nodded. “I’m at C dorms.”

“Wait, that’s where Nicky, Jaida’s girlfriend is, isn’t it?”

The other girl nodded. “I can text her if you want, she can show you around the installations.” She pulled out her phone. “Wait, I’ll call her, she hasn’t heard my lovely voice all day long…”

Jan chuckled.

Jaida pressed one number on speed dial.

“Babe…” She put the phone in her ear. “what do you mean who is it? Who do you think it is?” Her tone was playful. “Yeah, I’ll see you there after I’m done here. Did you have a nice day?… Oh, that’s great. Good for you. Listen, Jackie has a new friend here and she’s a freshman who happens to be in the same dorm you are, do you think you could help this little lost lamb?”

The younger pouted and Jackie just giggled.

“That’s perfect, I’ll tell her. You’re the best, babe. Love you.” She made some kiss noises and then hung up.

Jackie looked like she wanted to mock her but one glance from Jaida kept her from doing it.

“Nicky says she’s there right now, her dorm is C-10, next to the hallway. If you get lost look for a platinum blonde girl, gorgeous as hell, thick French accent…”

“Jaida is into foreign experiences.” Jackie explained and Jan had to hold her laughter.

“Listen you, Canadian bitch…” She threatened. “I’m trying to be nice here, don’t ruin it.”

“Jaida is in the same dorms as me, G dorms.” The brunette told her.

“You guys have singles?” She asked in disbelief, both girls nodded. “I wish I had a single.”

“Freshmen never get singles; part of the adaptation process or something like that. But don’t worry, having a roommate during your first year is a fruitful experience.” Jaida pointed out.

“Most of my classmates already met their roommates but there was a last-minute reassignment so I don’t know if I’ll meet mine today or tomorrow, next week…” Jan pouted again.

“On the bright side, you can experience having a single for another day.” Jackie patted her back.

“I have to go but I’ll see you later and I hope I see you around.” Jaida said at both girls after checking the time on her phone. “It was nice to meet you, Jan. Miss Cox…”

“Thank you so much.”

“See you in a bit.”

And with that, they were left alone again.

“I should go too.” Jan packed her things. “Jackie, I can’t stop telling you how much thankful I am… you’re awesome and I’ve known you for like a day but I already consider you my friend… Back in high school, I didn’t have many girlfriends so it is a big deal for me and now I’m oversharing I should probably shut up.”

Jackie chuckled. “It’s okay… I consider you a friend too.”

“Oh! I almost forgot, I don’t have your phone number…” She handed her phone with her hands like an offer. “Would it be okay if I text you and stuff?”

Jackie couldn’t handle this girl.

“Yeah, absolutely.” She typed her number and saved it as Jackie C. “C is for Cox or copy room, your pick.”

“That’s right, what’s with the girls calling you Miss Cox?”

“It’s an inside joke, they always make fun of me for being uptight… it was that or the alternative being «Anal girl».”

Jan almost choked and coughed a couple of times to hide it.

“You know, for being neat and organized.” Jackie was grinning.

“Right.” She covered her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“I guess it’d have that reaction.” She laughed.

Jan was as red as a tomato.

“I better leave before I embarrass myself more…” She laughed nervously.

“See you later, Jan.”

“You most certainly will.” She said before leaving the copy room.

Jackie took a deep breath; she was screwed.

Jan returned to the building where her room was and dropped by Jaida’s girlfriend’s room before going back to her own. She knocked on the door on dorm C-10 as she remembered Jaida had said.

Not even two minutes later, a girl with wavy blonde hair and icy blue eyes opened the door. Nicky, as Jan assumed, was as stunning as her girlfriend. She was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck white crop top, skinny blue jeans with earrings that spelled «CHA» and «NEL», and stilettos. Jan had never seen someone with a makeup as impeccable as hers and for a moment she forgot she was supposed to say something.

Nicky raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, right! Hello neighbor, I’m Jan… Jaida spoke to you on the phone…”

“Jan.” She snapped her fingers. “Jackie’s friend.”

Her accent was very charming.

“I guess… yeah, that’s me.” She smiled, still kind of nervous.

“I was waiting for you, give me just a second, I need to finish my makeup.”

Wasn’t her makeup already perfect?

“You can come in if you please, you can sit on the bed meanwhile.”

“O-Okay, sure…”

Nicky’s room was nice -all dormitories had the same basic white melamine furniture consisting of a bed, a small desk and a set of drawers and doubles had two of each- but she had decorated the walls with framed magazine covers and polaroids of places in France; the bed was covered with a cream blanket that looked and felt expensive, the desk had a cute picture of Jaida and Nicky smiling at each other, there were makeup products scattered around and a laptop in a corner. She had a full-length mirror with which she kept retouching details of her highlighter.

However, Jan was more invested on the other side of the room which had bright colorful blankets and plushies on the bed, a blanket with a mandala painted hanging on the wall, a smiley face rug, a lava lamp on the desk, and the article she found more intriguing: a One Direction poster.

Nicky didn’t hear any noise so when she turned around and saw Jan staring at the colorful side of the room she explained to her. “My roommate.”

“I see…”

“Actually, she’s a freshman too, you should meet her later.”

“That would be fun.” Jan moved her feet unconsciously.

“So, how did you meet Jackie?” Nicky asked adding some gloss for the final touch.

“I literally met her today at the copy room. She helped me with a form and she’s been nothing but nice to me since then.”

Nicky hummed. “Ah…”

“Uhm… how long have you and Jaida been dating?” She asked trying to continue the small talk.

Nicky beamed at the mention of her girlfriend. “Our first anniversary is in a month.”

“Aw, congratulations. I met Jaida for like ten minutes but she spoke very dearly about you.”

“She may as well…” Nicky looked at Jan through the mirror reflection. “What about you? Are you dating someone?”

Jan blushed. “No… not right now… I’m single.” She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find someone sooner than you think.”

Jan didn’t want to say that she already had someone in mind but the circumstances weren’t ideal for that…

“Alright, I’m ready. Shall we?” Nicky opened the door and Jan jumped out of the bed.

On their way through the hallways, Jan learned that Nicky was a fashion design sophomore, that she had moved from France five years ago with her family, and that she was very much in love with her girlfriend.

Nicky was also an excellent guide. She explained to Jan everything she needed to know about the dorms way better than the instructor in the morning. She showed her the laundry room –always bring the exact number of coins because that bitch swallows all the money and never gives change-, the communal lounge –we come here sometimes to binge-watch movies or TV shows, last year we spent thirteen hours watching Love Island- and finally the shared bathroom which Jan already knew but it was part of the tour –I don’t care what they say, always wear flip flops in the showers, trust me.

It was almost the time they had set for the dinner and Nicky was supposed to pick up Jaida and Jackie from their dorm.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” She asked when they were in front of Nicky’s room. Jan had already told her she wasn’t going but the blonde still inquired in case she had changed her mind.

Jan nodded. “I haven’t been in my room in all day and… as much as I’d love to go with you guys, I just need a moment to let everything sink and absorb this like a sponge.”

Nicky smiled at her. “Alright, but next time, you must come with us.”

Jan was happy, people would invite you once out of courtesy but twice was a sign they had a really good impression of her and it was mostly thanks to Jackie.

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.”

“Great. I’ll see you around, ma voisine.”

“I don’t know what you’ve just said but it sounded fancy so I’ll take it. Wait, let me see if I remember how to say it… Au revoir.”

“Ah, very good. Bye, Jan.”

“Bye… have fun!”

The first thing she noticed was that the door of her room was open. That could mean either she was getting robbed, evicted, or…

She peeped over the door frame, there were some boxes stacked in the middle but the opposite half of the room that didn’t belong to her was now personalized.

The bed on the left side had pink blankets, pillows, heart-shaped fur cushions, and a matching white fur rug next to it; the white desk was full of textbooks, makeup, and perfumes meanwhile the drawers seemed to be full with clothes now. A black and white picture of Barbra Streisand was hung above the bed, a Marilyn Monroe poster on one of the walls, and a star-shaped mirror with lightbulbs now enlightened the place.

Jan felt for a moment that she had been teleported to a different dimension –Barbie dollhouse, perhaps- because in comparison to her pretty standard side with striped white and blue sheets, organizers, and barely decorated walls, the other behalf looked like a Broadway dressing room. She regretted not buying those yellow Christmas lights she had told her mom were too much.

“Can I help you?” Someone made her turn around.

It was a girl with pastel pink hair, pretty green eyes and long lashes, lip gloss, a pink Juicy Couture tracksuit, slippers, and a box on her hands.

“I live here…” Jan attempted to say, still stunned by the presence of the other girl.

“Oh! So you’re Janice.”

“Yeah, I’m Jan, in the flesh…”

“I’m Rose, I’m your roommate… actually, I go by Rosé because I like to annoy people when they have to write the checkmark… and it also sounds elegant as fuck.”

“Nice.” She smiled. “Did you just get in?”

“Kind of, I guess the people from administration told you the rooms were being reassigned and everything with the dropouts and final counts. I was originally in the B dorms and then that changed but… I’m here now.”

“Oh my God, it must have been a burden to move from there to here…”

“Nah, it’s fine. My former roommate was a bitch so I’m glad I don’t have to share with her anymore. It’s a win for me.”

“I hope so… I’m not a bitch, I suppose…”

“You seem nice, we’ll get along.” She winked. “I’m sorry for the mess, by the way, I thought I was going to be done by now but I still have all these boxes sitting around.”

“Oh please, don’t. I’m sure it’s been stressful to move from there to here in a day.”

“You see, you’re already better than my last roommate.”

Jan smiled. “Let me help you with those.”

“Ah, please, don’t worry about it, there are just a few empty boxes I should take out.”

“I insist.” Jan didn’t wait for a response, she started picking boxes and putting them inside bigger boxes.

“Wait, let me change my shoes then.”

Once they were done collecting the boxes, Jan walked with Rosé downstairs, outside the building where the dumpsters and recycling bins were. On their way there, they started talking about where they were from, their families…

“…and then we moved from Houston again and now I’m here.”

“That’s so cool. So you’re the oldest of the three?”

“Shh, don’t say it aloud. But yes, I’m a big sister.”

“Aw, it sounds like you’re so close with your siblings… I only have one older brother but we don’t get along since we were kids. We barely interact during the holidays and birthdays.”

“That’s sad. I can’t imagine not having a good relationship with my siblings.”

“Yeah, we were like really competitive when we were younger and I was resentful because he always had it easier than me. I had to work twice harder to achieve the same things, you know?”

“Well, now you’re here on your own and you don’t need to compete with him to prove anything to anyone. You can be yourself.”

“Yeah, it’s a relief, I’m not going to lie.” She dropped the last box inside the recycling bin. “That’s it. We’re done here.”

“Hey, I have an idea. There’s a place nearby that sells the best pizza you’ll ever taste around campus. What do you say if we get one and go back to the lounge upstairs to know each other better since we’re stuck together?”

“Sounds perfect, yeah.”

Maybe her day had started a little off but it had been going uphill since the moment she met Jackie. Speaking of which, she should’ve texted her or something to thank her again.

“Wait, I’m just going to text a friend if you don’t mind and then we can get on our way.”

“Go ahead.”

She unlocked her phone and typed a quick message for Jackie C.

To Jackie C.: Hi Jackie, this is Jan! I just wanted to thank you again for being so kind to me since the very first moment we’ve met. I really appreciate it and I hope we can continue being friends this year! Anyway, I just met my roommate and we’re getting pizza for dinner, yay! :D

After pressing send, she followed Rosé’s lead.

They talked some more on their way to the pizza place, Rosé was a theatre major –clearly- and a sophomore like Nicky, she also sang –Jan would discover later on that Rosé liked to sing everything and even made some songs that sounded like jingles- and danced; she promised Jan she would show her some steps someday. Then they changed the subject to Jan’s day and she told the pink-haired girl everything about the chaotic mess that had been her morning, her schedules, professors, classmates…

It was very easy to talk with Rosé, they clicked right away and maybe it was because she was an older sister to her siblings but she made Jan feel like she had gained a sister on her roommate –even when it was soon to say it.

They ordered a pizza with extra cheese, walked back to the dorms with the smoky box and sat on one of the sofas of the lounge rooms –there just a couple more girls watching TV or doing homework so they had the place for themselves basically-, finally, Jan decided to open up and talk about her impossible crush on her best friend. Rosé listened carefully to each word.

“God, I wish we had some wine here… but tomorrow’s school day or whatever. Please, continue.”

“That’s it…? I haven’t done anything and I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

“What?!” There was cheese on the corner of her mouth but she wiped it quickly. “Are you joking? What’s stopping you from chasing the guy of your dreams?”

“The fact that he doesn’t see me at all… he’s always with some other girl who’s prettier than me.”

“Baby, what are you saying right now? You’re gorgeous.” Rosé held her hands firmly. “Jan, I’m not saying this because you’re my roommate but you’re a lovely person and if he doesn’t want to be with you it’s his lost… one hundred percent.”

“Thank you.” Jan sobbed. “Are all the girls here this nice?”

“My former roommate certainly doesn’t fall in the category.” They chuckled.

“It’s only… I’m never around girls this much and you and Jackie and…”

“Jackie? Who’s Jackie?”

“Oh, Jackie is a friend… she said it’s okay if I call her a friend. In any case, she’s the girl that works in the copy room and she helped me right away with my papers and had lunch with me when I was upset about Nathan… she’s really great.”

“Wait, I might know her from the copy room. I don’t mean to contradict you but she always gave me «don’t come too close or I’ll kill you» vibes, but maybe it’s just me.”

“No… it can’t be, maybe you’re mistaking her for someone else.”

Jackie ignored everyone’s inquisitive stares and pretended to read the menu.

Jaida, Nicky, and Heidi were waiting for her to say something meanwhile Widow had no clue what was going on.

After the waiter took their order, the menu-shield she had was gone and her friends were still eager to know what was on her mind.

“What?” She finally broke the silence.

“So this girl Jan… she’s a real sweetheart.” Nicky casually commented while drumming with her long acrylic nails on the table.

“She is… She’s also very straight so don’t even try it.”

They all protested and grumbled.

“Wait, who’s Jan?” Widow finally dared to ask.

“To my knowledge,” Heidi began. “She’s a freshman from New Jersey that plays baseball.”

“And Jackie looks at her as if she had hung the stairs in the sky.” Jaida pointed out, exposing the brunette.

“Oop-” Heidi eloquently added.

“That’s not true.” She objected. “Don’t believe a word from what they say, Widow. The girl was lost and I helped her out, that’s it. She also happens to be friendly so we had lunch together.”

“Didn’t you gain a reputation for being this severe resting-bitch-face girl from the copy room?”

“Yeah, because otherwise, freshmen stick to you like ants to honey. Look at Heidi, I was nice to her once last year and now she’s here permanently.”

“Hey!” The girl complained.

“But you let her be behind the counter,” Jaida called out. “you don’t let anyone do that.”

“You don’t even let us do that.” Nicky continued.

“You can walk across the counter?” A very confused Heidi asked. “Is that allowed?”

Widow who didn’t say anything observed how everything went down while sipping her drink, amused.

“Listen, all of you, Jan is straight, repeat it and memorize it. She’s in love with some baseball player named Nathan she met when she was ten and she probably has already picked a wedding dress and the name for their children so I don’t see the point of this… suggestive… conversation.”

They remained silent, just at that moment their food arrived.

Jackie was starving but before she could taste the first bite, her phone vibrated inside her purse.

It was from an unknown number but it was the text message she had been waiting for.

From Unknown Number: Hi Jackie, this is Jan! I just wanted to thank you again for being so kind to me since the very first moment we’ve met. I really appreciate it and I hope we can continue being friends this year! Anyway, I just met my roommate and we’re getting pizza for dinner, yay! :D

Oh, thank goodness her roommate was nice.

As soon as she read her name, a smile grew on her face and didn’t go unnoticed.

“Is that her?” Widow asked Heidi who was sitting next to Jackie.

Heidi tried to snoop over her phone and carefully nodded in affirmation.

Jackie glared at them.

“She’s just saying thank you.”

“I’m not concerned about the content of the message, it’s the reaction you had to it.” Jaida looked at her friend in the eye. “Jackie, you’re one of my closest friends, I just don’t want you to get hurt for liking a straight girl.”

“You don’t need to worry about it; I’m not going to catch feelings for her.”

Her friend squinted. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you save her name?”

“Excuse me?”

“On your phone. Is it Jan or is it Jan plus some cutesy emoji?”

“What’s that have to do with anything?”

“It has everything to do.”

The brunette rolled her eyes “I just saved it as Jan. Like I have you all listed. Happy? Can we eat? I’m hungry.”

“Okay…” Jaida cut the slack. “I’ll take it.”

“You had me saved as «Heidi freshman» for over a year.”

“And now you’re «Heidi sophomore».”

To Jan 🐻: I’m glad I was helpful today and it’s so great to hear your roommate is actually nice. Know you can text me whenever you want or come to hang out with me to the copy room :)

[eighth--wonder]

alright fuck it

here's a lil story i'm writing. i have no idea where it's heading but i want to share it.

first | next

~~

Stranger

~~

“Do you have a minute?” asks the stranger that has taken a seat next to me. I just wanted to read a book in the park and NOT talk to people. It’s the reason I’m out here, to not talk to people. Well, that, and the fact that my therapist keeps yelling at me to go outside.

“Y-yes?” I said back to him, shutting my book. There it goes, that darn stutter.

“I’ve had a heck of a day. I got laid off from the only thing keeping me from living in my parents' basement, my phone shattered after this stupid kid knocked into me on his bike, I lost this really important family heirloom after my house was robbed by my step-mom, and, I have no friends to vent to, which why I’m talking to you, a stranger. No offense.”

I smiled. “None t-taken. That sounds li-like a pretty crappy d-day to m-me.” 

He looked confused. “You…”

“I-i-i-it’s my s-stutter.” 

“Oh. I’m Cody by the way.” He said, delivering a warm smile along with a hand to shake.

I shook his hand. “I’m Wil-Wilson. N-nice to me-meet you.”

Here is usually where the people who thought I could be a potential friend go away, but Cody was different. He stayed, asking me what book I was reading, talked about how the economy was failing, new shows on Netflix. Ya know, the usual. 

Eventually, he decided that I was good friend material, and we exchanged numbers.

I walked home after Cody left, considering my social interaction bar had been used up for the day talking to him. Cody, the only person who judged me by how I acted instead of my stutter. He was nice, his appearance wasn’t anything out of the usual indicating he wasn’t a serial killer, which was always a perk. He also didn’t show any signs of isolation which is why I was surprised when he told me he didn't have any friends, but everybody copes in their own way, I guess. His tone of voice suggested that he goes to therapy, he sounded very on edge, possibly paranoia, but he did say he had a bad day.

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts. My CSI training tended to kick in from time to time. I had gotten “let go” from my CSI position at NJPD because of head trauma, also known as, “We don’t want a kid with a broken dream and a stutter solving murders.” 

I opened the door to my apartment and stepped inside. Just as I had expected, nothing had happened. My living room was a mess, decorative throw pillows all pilled and smushed. The coffee table had empty coffee mugs littered around its surface leaving white rings on the table. I guess I should clean them up. 

After cleaning up the coffee mugs and the white heat rings, I grabbed a cup of water, sat down in front of the TV, and flipped to the news.

As usual, the news delivered nothing but depressing news about how the president’s attempt to do something-or-other was succeeding. Or failing. I never paid attention to the news. 

I turned the TV off and decided to go do something productive with my time and then did nothing because who has time for productivity and stared at the ceiling.

Eventually, my body started telling me I needed to sleep and listening to it, I changed into my sleepwear and went to bed.

I woke up to birds chirping and the sun shining through my bedroom window, which would lead you to think I would have a wonderful day, meet someone new, maybe go shopping for supplies to make a delicious meal, but no. My plan for the day was to update my laptop, watch some TV, then maybe mow the lawn. 

While I was staring at the black screen of my updating laptop, my phone vibrated signaling a text message had come through. Getting text messages was not a usual occurrence for me. I only ever got messages from my data plan telling me I ran out of data. I looked down at my phone and to my surprise, it was Cody asking if I wanted to hang out today. After proofreading my response and then proofreading it again, I sent it to him. 

Waiting for his response, I sat on my bed chewing my nails. 

What if he isn’t really your friend, he’s just pretending to be? 

      What if it’s all a joke and he hates you?

No, stop that. 

Why would anybody want to be friends with you? 

You can’t even speak right. 

Stop. 

Nobody even likes you.

That’s it. 

I got up and got changed, avoiding looking in any mirrors. My outfit wasn’t anything extraordinary, a pair of jeans with an old band t-shirt and leather jacket matched with Converse. Without waiting for a meeting place from Cody, I headed out the door, slinging my beige satchel over my shoulder. In my satchel was my phone, my wallet, a pocket knife and a lighter.  

I arrived at the park searching for Cody: vitiligo, blonde hair, freckles, blue eyes, glasses, a pretty good sense of style. Judging by what he wore yesterday which was a pair of work pants,  a long-sleeved light pink dress shirt, and a navy blue tie, he would wear something casual like jeans and a sweatshirt. What he wore yesterday was obviously his work clothes but as he said, he had gotten laid off from his job so he wouldn’t be wearing work clothes. 

I had actually done research on jobs for him based on the personality gathered from him. I know, I know. I’m weird because somehow I know his entire personality after just meeting him for the first time. Yeah well, I don’t care. The job turnouts were nice, things along the lines of psychiatrists, therapists. Ya know, socially demanding jobs. Something I could never do. 

 Eventually, I found Cody at a coffee shop talking to the lady at the counter about how she should go see a therapist to cope with the loss of her husband. What a gentleman. 

He turned around to find a seat in the crowded coffee shop and noticed me standing in the middle of the shop, staring at him like a loser.

“Wilson, you found me!” He said, walking up to me as if he had known me longer than a quick chat on a bench. 

“I did,” I said, nervous that other people would see. “Now le-let’s go,” I said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door.

“Don’t you want anything?” He said, struggling not to spill his coffee. 

“No, I’ll p-pick up a Mo-Monster on the w-way to the ma-mall,” I said. 

Realizing I was basically holding Cody’s hand, I let go and turned to face him. 

“S-sorry,” I said, turning a slight shade of pink.

Cody situated himself. “About what?” 

“Nevermi-mind,” I shook my head as if doing that would remove the awkwardness from the situation. 

Cody kind of smiled. “Okay. So, we’re we headed?” 

“I was th-thinking the mall, m-maybe hit up H-Hot Topic,” I said as I started to walk down the trail. 

The trail at the park was an absolute must if you’re a tourist. In the fall, the trail became covered in amber-gold leaves. Animals of all sorts rustled the leaves, burrowing to make their homes. Grumpy park keepers raking leaves into piles only to have children jump in them and ruin them. God, I love it. 

“Sure. Doesn’t the mall have a food court? We could stop there and get something to eat.”

I turned to look at him. “Th-that would be g-great.” 

We walked in silence to the mall. I could never quite figure out Cody’s shopping preference. He looked like he shopped at Kohls or Sears. Some relatively nice places. Maybe Boscovs. I, on the other hand, shop at places like Hot Topic and Journeys. 

We arrived at the mall and made a direct line to a Hot Topic. I could tell Cody had never entered a Hot Topic in his life, considering the fact he scrunched up when he saw the cashier. 

I walked up beside him and nudged him. “This your fi-first time?” 

He took a sip of his coffee. “In a Hot Topic, yes.”

I turned back to the t-shirts. “I can te-tell.”

We browsed the store, Cody striking some conversation with other shop goers. How is he so social? He even got the kids in Hot Topic to talk to him. 

“Wilson, c’mere!” Cody yelled from the other side of the store. The entire store, which consisted of like, 3 people, turned to look at me. 

I chuckled awkwardly. “Uh, h-h-hi.” I gave a tiny socially awkward wave which was responded with an understanding nod from some kid in a Panic! At the Disco shirt. 

I scurried over to the other side of the store. “Wha-what do you wa-want!” I hissed at him. 

Cody gestured over to the shirt he had in his right hand. “Don’t you like this band? I saw them on your lockscreen.” 

He was holding a Twenty One Pilots shirt that had the words: “I belive in Josh Dun” etched around the alien-like symbol that represented Josh Dun. The shirt wasn’t really my style, but Cody looked so proud of himself for finding a shirt that I could possibly like, that I couldn’t turn it down. I grabbed the sirt from his hands and slung it over my shoulder. I looked for other t-shirts, failed, and ended up in the pin section. A sign underneath the bucket read, “Buy 2 get 1 free”. I was always a sucker for deals. 

“Watcha doing?” A voice was accompanied by a brush on my shoulder. I suspected that it was Cody’s arm, because his hand brushed against mine. As if that same hand had taken a paintbrush, my face was painted a light red. Well, more of a light pink. For some reason, Cody’s touch made my chest feel all weird, my stomach flutter, and my face heat up. Of course I knew what this feeling was, I’m not stupid. 

“Uh, I’m l-looking for pi-pins. They’re b-buy two get one fr-free.” I said. 

Cody was immediately intrigued. He rummaged through the pins, discarding ones he didn’t like. I already held two pins in my hand, a Fall Out Boy one and a subtle LGBTQ+ Pride pin. 

Now, Cody wasn’t the type of person I would have thought to have also picked out an LGBTQ+ Pride pin as well, but here we are, Cody with an extremely flamboyant Pride pin in the palm of his hand. 

My face tuned a medium shade of red. Holy crap, Cody’s gay. I mean, it didn’t bother me, obviously, but you never would have guessed it. 

Somehow, I completed the transaction between the cashier and I, and me and Cody made a beeline for the Five Guys. Five Guys was a restaurant I had come to many times when I was a kid. I ordered what I usually got, a Veggie Sandwich. Cody ordered a Cheeseburger with Small Fries. An order I can respect. We searched for a place to sit before choosing a seat underneath the trees they put in the mall. It never occured to me why they put trees in the mall until now. 

Seeing Cody smile at me from underneath the trees, a stray ray of sunlight shone through his glasses and making its way to his blue eyes, his smile making me feel warm inside. God, what I would do to take a picture of him right now. 

“H-hey, can I t-take a p-p-picture of y-you, Cody?” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. 

“Sure. Where do you want me to look?” He said. I was honestly surprised by his reaction. He didn’t think I was weird or refuse. 

I adjusted my phone camera to the light settings. “J-just look directly a-at the c-cam-camera and smi-smile.” 

He did as I said, smiling directly at the camera. The shot was super cliche, but he looked great. 

I took the picture, ignoring weird looks from other customers, and sent it to Cody. The picture came out nice. 

“Put a black and white filter on it.” Cody’s voice sounded from my shoulder. His chin rested right where my shoulder met my neck.

I put the black and white filter on it. The ray of sunlight that passed diagnally on his face was turned to a light gray. 

“But it l-look-looks better with col-colour.” I said, changing it back.

Cody stared at it for a few moments, his face looked rather studious, as if he wanted to remember every aspect of the photo. 

“Yeah, your right. Keep it coloured.” 

I smiled. “I’m al-always ri-right.”

Something about how quickly our friendship had formed made an impact on me. We met on a bench yesterday and now I’m sending him a picture I took of him in a mall plainly because I wanted to. Something wasn’t right; friendships don’t move this quickly. People weren’t just nice. As depressing as it sounds, it’s true. People aren’t nice with no reason. We’d love them to be, but they just aren’t. 

Cody threw away the remains of his lunch and sat back down in front of me. 

“So, want do you want to do now?” He said.

I shrugged. “I do-don’t know. May-maybe we c-could go to-”

Cody gasped. “What about a play! There’s a theatre down the street, and the admission’s free!”

I smiled. I friggin’ love plays. Especially musicals. Something about how people can change their person to a completely different personality always made me happy. 

“I lo-love the sound of th-that.” I said, standing up and throwing the remains of my veggie sandwich in the garbage can. 

We left the mall in a hurry, rushing to hail a cab to the nearest theatre. We both sat in the back of the cab as the driver drove us to our location.

“So, do y-you know wha-what play it i-i-is?” I asked.

Cody shook his head no. “Honestly, I don’t really care what play it is. I just love the acting behind it.” He said.

“Me t-too. I just lo-love how the pe-pe-people on st-stage can tra-transform into wha-whatever chara-character they ne-need to-” I was cut off by the cab driver.

“Ay kid, could ya knock it off with that stutter? It’s really annoyin’ and it’s gettin’ on my nerves.” He said. He had a heavy jersey accent, a contrast to our current location of New York. 

“Yes s-sir.” I said, folding my hands in my lap and drawing my eyes to my feet.

Cody kept looking between me and the cab driver. “What? No.” He said, knocking on the glass that divided the passengers and the driver. 

“Sir, can you pull over?” He said. His tone sounded like a mother who was about to scold her child. 

The cab driver groaned and pulled over. 

“What?” He said, twisting his body so he could see through the little window.

“My friend can’t help his stutter, okay? And for you to ask him to ‘knock it off’ was extremely impolite.” Cody said. 

‘Friend’. I held back my smile.

The cab driver snorted. “I don’t care if he can help it or not, it’s annoying and it distracts me from driving.”

Cody laughed in disbelief. “Oh, I see. Well, in that case, can you stop talking in that obnoxious jersey accent of yours? It distracts me from enjoying the view. And, maybe stop smelling like rotten fries because it makes it hard to focus. And I would heavily enjoy it if you threw out that black ice smelly tree, because all it does is combine with the scent of feces back here and makes it smell worse.” He smiled sweetly. “Thanks so much, mmm-bye.”

He opened the cab door and walked over to the sidewalk to open mine. I got out, throwing a dirty look at the cab driver. We left without paying. 

“Hey, th-thanks for standing u-u-up for me b-back there. It rea-really meant a lo-lot.” I said.

Cody smiled. “No problem! It just pisses me off when people are mean to others.” 

We walked to the theatre. Cody was right, the admission was free and it was one of my favourite plays. Romeo and Juliet. 

Cody and I walked up to the admission box, standing rather close to each other.

“One ticket for me and one for my friend.” He said.

There it was. That word Friend. Now that I think of if, I haven’t really had a friend before. Yeah, I know. You’re probably thinking ‘Wilson, I bet you had at least one friend.’ Nope. None of the kids in elementary school talked to me enough for me to develop a friendship with them, and middle school was, well, middle school, and after my accident in high school, no one spoke to me straight up. I’m honestly surprised I have the social skills I have. 

We walked down the aisle and found our seats. We were seated in the 3rd row of the middle section. So right near the front. 

“Have you ever seen Romeo and Juliet?” Cody asked.

I raised my eyebrows. “Have I ev-ever seen R-Romeo and Juli-Juliet?”

Cody smiled. “I take it you have. Well good, because I’ve never seen it.”

“Really?” I said. How?????

Cody shook his head. “Nope. Never seen it.”

I sighed. “Do you at le-least know th-the p-plot?”

“More or less. I know theres a thing with a balcony?”

“Yes.”

“And they,” He looked side to side, checking for people. “Both die?”

I smiled and nodded. “Y-Yes! So you kno-know the basic-ics. G-Good.”

We turned our attention to the stage as the lights dimmed. 

yea that's it so far. ask me if you wanna be tagged!

[bobgasm]

hush | c.b

pairing: chris beck x reader word count: 4461 warnings: tooth rotting fluff,

prompt: librarian!au | college!au

summary: in which the good guy gets the girl

author’s note: repost

oneshot | masterlist

        If there was one thing she needed tonight, more than anything, was for the floor of her dorm not to host a party.  Yet, as she shoved her earbuds into her ears, she’s already packing her books and laptop into a backpack.  The earbuds do nothing to hide the fact that Ruby and her latest beau were going at it in the room next door, even with the music at a deafening volume.  The bed squeaking obnoxiously and the frame connecting with the wall.

        Y/N makes sure she’s got her key and purse before she leaves, locking the door to make sure no one goes inside.  It’s happened before and things have gone missing.  At least her roommate has finished her exams and gone home for break, which means no one will accidentally leave the door unlocked.

        Y/N nipped into the pizzeria on her walk to the library, tucking her earbuds into the pocket of her jacket as she ordered a large pepperoni.  Only needing to wait ten minutes before it was ready and she was carrying it into the library.

        You weren’t supposed to have food in the library, but the librarian on Tuesdays was more lenient than the one on Wednesdays or Fridays.  He didn’t mind if you ate, so long as you kept your area clean and didn’t use the library’s computers while you were eating.  The same went for the books.  Always keep them clean.

        The only reason she needed the library tonight was because of how quiet it was compared to her dorm currently.  She had one final exam to study for, which wasn’t for another two days, but she didn’t want to be cramming the night before.  She wanted to go to bed feeling well rested and prepared.  But knowing her, she’d be cramming, stressed she wasn’t going to pass.

        As Y/N entered the library her gaze turned towards the librarian’s desk.  He barely looked up from his astronomy textbook as she took a seat at a large group of desks.  Setting the box on the table as she unloaded her laptop and books from her bag.

        Y/N looked towards him, the librarian, as he scanned a few books for a customer.  Making small talk as he entered the card number in the system.

        He always looked so soft, wearing a slightly larger grey hoodie with a NASA symbol on the breast, his hair usually a mess from running his hands through it constantly.  Circles under his eyes making him look perpetually exhausted, which wasn’t a shock to any college kid.  Sleep was scarce around exam season.  Hell, it was scarce any season.  Y/N should know, the bags under her eyes were constant.

        The second she opened the box of pizza she’d caught the librarian’s attention.  He was in her space science class, but she’d never learnt his name.  He kept mostly to himself, except for when he dominated their professors questions, whereas almost every one else struggled.  He was effortlessly smart, and she’d admired him from afar for the longest time.  Noticing how some days he’d come to class wide awake and alert, but more often than not, he looked as exhausted as the rest of them.

        His fascination with space was incomparable to anyone Y/N had ever met.  His vast knowledge of the cosmos was intriguing.  Endearing.  It made no sense to her that she never saw him with anyone around campus, no bros, no girls.  It was always just him, with his nose buried in a new space book each time.

        Y/N typed with one hand as she ate, her eyes skimming her books for anything that she knew she needed to elaborate on with a further explanation.  Her hand grew tired of typing quickly and she sighed, wiggling her fingers and taking a break from staring at the screen of her laptop.  The bright white occasionally hurting her eyes, this time no different.

        She yawned as she shut the pizza box, unable to finish the last few slices.  Casting her gaze towards the librarian who’d gotten up from his desk and wandered towards a section of books, placing the ones from his arms back into their rightful places.

        Y/N looked at the clock hanging on the wall and groaned, it was almost eleven, which was when the library closed.  She rubbed my hands over my face to wake herself up a bit and started packing her things back into her bag.  She hadn’t thought it was that late when she’d first arrived, but clearly time had gotten away from her.  Taking one too many ‘breaks’ to admire the cute librarian as he spoke in a hushed whisper to himself.

        Scribbling out a little note on a scrap of paper before placing the half eaten pizza on his desk, the note sitting atop it.  Telling him he could’ve asked her earlier for a slice if he was as hungry as he looked, and leaving her name and number on the off chance he wanted to use it some time.

+++

        After Y/N left the library she had turned her phone off, too scared to learn whether or not he’d sent her a message at all.  She had a sudden burst in confidence, yet couldn’t even handle learning the truth; if he was interested in her or not.  No matter how hard a pill rejection is to swallow, no one wanted to learn that the person they’re interested in doesn’t share those same feelings.  It’s hard.

        At least that’s what Y/N kept telling herself.

        The day of her exam she turned her phone back on to see if he’d sent anything.  Clearing the notifications from a couple of apps, her breath catching in her throat when she realised there was a missed call from an unsaved number and a voicemail that’d been left.  She checked the voicemail first, holding her phone to my ear.

        “Uhh, hey, Y/N.  It’s Chris, uhh, the librarian you left your pizza for.  I’m just, thank you so much, honesty, I’ve been studying my ass off for finals and keep forgetting to eat.  So thank you.  You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did.”

        Y/N smiled at the recorded message, finding Chris’ rambling adorable.  And his voice, god, his voice was like heaven.  She never wanted the rambling to stop.

        “I’m c-calling from the library’s phone because, well, long story short, I-I dropped mine in a puddle and someone d-drove over it.  And I don’t know w-why I told you that!  It’s not relevant, shit.  I’m s-sorry.  Um, I was just k-kinda hoping that m-maybe, on the off chance that you d-don’t already have plans this F-Friday, if you’d like to j-join me for dinner?  I, uhh,–” he couched to clear his throat, a nervous laugh sounded in the earpiece.  “I’ll be at t-the library all day T-Thursday if you wanna g-give m...”

        The dial tone sounded, letting her know that the message had been cut short since he’d exceeded the time limit.  But luckily he’d left another message which started off with a small nervous laugh.

        “I’m s-sorry, the last message was s-supposed to say I’ll be a-at the l-library all day Thursday if you w-want to give me a c-call or s-stop by.  I m-mean, if y-you don’t that’s...l’life, I guess.  I m-mean, I h-hope you do, b-but no p-pressure.  I – J-Jesus, you’re r-really nailing this w-whole thing, B-Beck.  Real s-smooth.  If I s-see you, I see you, a-and if I-I don’t, w-well, I’m sorry for w-wasting your t-time.  Good n-night, Y/N.  T-Thank you again for t-the pizza.”

        She saved the messages to her phone, unable to bring myself to delete them.  Spending ten minutes replying to a few texts before grabbing everything she needed and heading to her exam, a plan in her head to catch up with Chris at the library afterwards.

+++

        Y/N spent a total of two hours and thirty seven minutes in the exam, making sure she’d answered everything to the best of my ability before handing my paper in and making her trek across campus to the library.  SHe was nervous, to say the least.  Her hands sweaty as she gripped the straps of her backpack.  Blowing out a shaky breath as the building came into her line of sight.

        Campus was dead.  There were only two more days of exams and then it was Christmas/New Year break.  A few lights were strung up around the courtyard as she walked down the alley between two buildings.  The library was one of the only places still open, housing a few students sipping coffees from the shop next door as they tried their hardest to absorb any information they needed to prepare themselves for their exam.

        It was weird feeling like she’d done well in my exam.  Like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders the second she passed through those doors.  But it could have also been because she was going to see Chris at the library and confirm their date for tomorrow night.

        Y/N was excited.  Exams were over and she potentially had a date with the guy she’d been crushing on for months.  And it was Christmas in a little under a week.  Even though she wasn’t going home for the holiday there were a bunch of students in the dorms staying back and were planning their own Christmas shindig.  They had a tree put up and decorated on the 8th floor.  Y/N was making one of her favourite desserts.

        Hannah, on the third floor, had a friend who’d been buying them alcohol to stock up on since the shops would all be closed and the majority of our plans consisted of drinking.  Once they’d opened presents, of course.  They’re not totally uncivilised.

        Y/N unwrapped her scarf from her neck as she entered the library, automatically engulfed by a wall of warmth.  She walked towards Chris at his desk.  He was currently serving a customer but looked towards her when he noticed someone was standing to the side.  A grin forming on his lips as he went back to serving the customer.

        She didn’t mind waiting.  Watching him bumble around, stammering over his words as he kept sneaking a look in her direction.  The guy walked off with his books, leaving the pair alone to talk.

        “H-hey.  Uhh, hey,” Chris greeted nervously, walking out from behind the desk.  Rubbing the back of his neck as he walked towards her.

        “Hi,” she replied, breathing out a smile.  “I guess I should properly introduce myself, huh?  I’m Y/N.”

        Y/N held her hand towards him and he smiled down at it as he grasped it with his own.  “I’m Chris.”  He looked up at her with the most mesmerising smile, his blue/grey eyes catching the light from above.

        “So, tomorrow night…”

        “I was h-hoping I could c-cook for you,” he said, rubbing his arm.  “I’m a p-pretty good cook, and I-I’m kind of too b-broke to take you a-anywhere nice right n-now.”

         Y/N laughed, appreciating his honesty.  “A home cooked meal sounds lovely,” she assured him with a smile.  “Did you want me to bring anything?”

        He shook his head.  “Just yourself.”  He reached toward his desk for a pen and a piece of paper, quickly scribbling down his address before handing the paper to her.  “Does s-six-thirty suit?”

        “Perfect,” she replied, folding the paper and tucking it into her pocket for safe keeping.  “I’ll see you tomorrow at six-thirty, Chris.  Have a good night.”

        “You too, Y/N,” he farewelled, cheeks tinged with warmth and a smile on his lips.  “See-see ya tomorrow.”

        She gave him a slightly awkward wave before turning around and leaving the library, taking a peek over her shoulder to look back at him.  Still smiling after her.  Raising his hand in a wave before she braved the cold weather outside.  Wrapping her scarf around her neck and disappearing out the door.

+++

        Y/N stood in the middle of the room dressed in only her underwear, hands on her hips as she looked at the selection of clothes laid out.  A pair of jeans and a woollen jumper.  A cute dress and some stockings, with a lovely warm coat.  Her pyjamas.

        A chill ran up her spine, making her reach for the jeans even though she desperately wanted to put her pj’s back on and go to bed.  She wiggled the denim up her legs, doing a little hop, step and jump to bring the material over the curve of her ass.  Huffing as she finally managed to pop the button through the hole and tug the zipper up.  Grabbing a singlet to wear under a long sleeved shirt before putting a jumper on.

        Her bed looked extremely inviting, piled with a thick duvet and deliciously soft, warm blankets.  Still unmade from earlier today when she’d finally decided to crawl out of the warm nest and venture to Bobbie’s, since she’d agreed to buy her a nice bottle of wine for her date tonight.

        She was nervous for her date with Chris, but was also extremely excited.  It’d been awhile since she’d last been on a date, the last few having gone awry.  But those guys weren’t awkward, stuttering Chris Beck.  They were the over-confident, bordering on cocky assholes that assumed after a date she’d be willing to fuck them as a thank you.  The first couple of dates had been average, as well as the sex, so eventually she just stopped going on dates.

        She didn’t need a half-assed attempt at conversation when they both knew what direction the date was heading in, and more importantly, she didn’t deserve to be left high and dry after they came and left her to take care of herself.  College guys are the worst.  But she got the feeling that Chris wasn’t like that.  Even though he planned on cooking her dinner at his place, it didn’t feel like an attempt to get her into his bed.  she was excited to see how the shy, quiet guy treated a girl compared to the arrogant jerks she was used to seeing.

        Y/N spent a small amount of time on her makeup, since she’d already applied it this morning.  Just touching up a few areas here and there.  Not wanting to overdo it, but still wanting to look nice.

        She blew out a breath as she packed her makeup away and stuffed her feet into a pair of boots, sitting on the end of her bed as she laced them up.  Taking a minute to gather er nerves as she looked at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table, the glowing red numbers reading 18:04, letting her know she had less than half an hour to get to Chris’ place, and that her Uber should be here any minute.

        Rising to her feet, Y/N shrugged into my jacket and tucked the bottle of wine into her purse.  Her phone buzzing with a text from the Uber driver, letting her know he was outside, so hastily making her way down.  Locking her dorm behind me.

        The ride to Chris’ place took just over 20 minutes, Y/N’s leg bouncing with nerves the whole way.  Rubbing her sweaty palms against her thighs.  Thanking the driver as she climbed out of the car and walked up to the house, knocking on the door thrice.

        She exhaled heavily, a smile coming easily to her face as soon as Chris opened the door.  A bright smile on his own face.

        “H-Hey, come in,” he greeted, stepping aside so she could come in out of the cold, already shrugging out of her coat.

        “I know you said not to bring anything but I couldn’t show up empty handed,” Y/N said, hanging her coat up and pulling the wine from her purse, handing it over to him.  “The finest wine eight dollars can buy.”

        Chris chuckled as he closed the door.  “Then l-let’s open it.  S-Shall we?”

        Y/N was already on her second glass when Chris finally served dinner, the delicious smell of a homemade roast chicken with all the fixings filling the little space.

        The house itself was cozy.  He lived with three other guys who were all home with their families for the holidays, but it was kept nice and tidy.  She suspected because it was just him there at the moment.

        They sat at the dining table to eat, a candle was lit between them, their glasses full of wine.  A warmth to Chris’ cheeks from the alcohol, or from Y/N’s flirting.  Perhaps both.  Asking each other why they were still here instead of with their families.  Her reason being that she couldn’t afford it, and his being that it was easier being apart for the holidays.  Family is messy.  That didn’t mean it was an easy decision for him to stay away.  The hurt she saw on his face told her there was more to the story, but that he wasn’t ready to share it.

        Dinner had been amazing, to the point that after they finished eating they stayed at the table drinking.  Their faces lit up with the flickering light of the candle dancing over our skin.

        He was beautiful.  The way he spoke, wise beyond his years.  Voice smooth, the alcohol ridding him of his stuttering, but slurring his speech.  The corners of his eyes crinkling with each laugh, his hand covering his mouth as he giggled.

        God, she was in deep, and it was only the first date.

+++

        Y/N ended up inviting Chris to the halls for Christmas, telling him a bunch of them had plans to eat and drink and celebrate together because they couldn’t be with their families.  He’d agreed to think about it, but when she’d swung by the library to see him on the 23rd he’d told her he’d be there.

        It’d been a couple of Christmases that he’d spent the holiday alone, and now that an opportunity presented itself where he didn’t have to be, he’d be stupid not to go at least for a couple of hours.  That was what he’d told her when she’d happily embraced him, anyway.

        And now it was Christmas day and Y/N was waiting in the lobby of the building to let Chris in.  He’d said he’d be there around ten, and it had just gone five past.  She was starting to get a little fidgety when he knocked on the glass door.  She stood up to open it for him, my mood changing from upset to happy upon seeing his face.

        “S-Sorry I’m a little l-late,” he apologised, shrugging out of his jacket.  “It’s i-icy and I k-kept s-slippin’ over.”

        Y/N laughed and shook her head.  “I’m sorry for laughing,” she replied.  “I’m glad you made it here in one piece, though.”

        “So am I.”  He smiled.

        “C’mon.  The party’s already started.”

        SHe took his hand in hers and led him towards the elevators, his gloved fingers slipping between her own as the doors opened and they stepped inside.  She hit the button for the eighth floor and held her key to the sensor, and only then did the elevator work.  Taking them up to the eighth.

        “Thank-thank you for i-inviting me again,” he said softly.

        “Thank you for agreeing to come,” she told him, smiling up at him and giving his hand a squeeze.

       The party was in full swing when the elevator doors opened.  They had to wait for a couple of guys racing on swivel chairs in the hallway to roll past before they could exit.

        “You can chuck your stuff in my room to keep it safe if ya want,” I offered and he nodded, letting her drag him around the hallway until they reached her room.  Using her keys to unlock the door and then pushing it open, letting him walk in first.

        He sat his bag on the desk and hung his coat up on the rack, unwrapping his scarf from his neck.  “I h-hope ya d-don’t mind,” he said as she leant against the doorframe.  “B-But I bought u-us a b-bottle of that w-wine.”

        “I don’t mind at all,” Y/N said as he handed the bottle to her, smiling at him as she grabbed two plastic glasses from her desk drawer and set them on the desk.  Opening the bottle and pouring themselves a glass each.  Ignoring the chaos out in the hallway, handing one of the glasses to him.  “To the finest wine eight dollars can buy.”

        His hand came up to cup her jaw, thumb brushing over her cheek lightly as he stared at er.  Gaze flickering from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes.

        “And to n-not being alone on C-Christmas,” he added softly.

        “And to not being alone on Christmas,” she repeated, clinking her glass with his and having a sip as he did the same.

        “Can-can I…” he stuttered, looking back down at her lips as he shuffled closer.

        “Kiss me, Chris,” she whispered.

        He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers, no trace of hesitation in his actions.  Kissing her with certainty.  Lips firm against her own at first, softening when she kissed him back almost instantly.  Tasting like the wine they’d just drank.

        Only detaching when Brooke waltzed in and announced it was time for presents.  She was gone as soon as she arrived, moving onto the next room.

        “I, uhh...”  Chris downed his drink.  “I’m not c-expectin’ anything in r-return, but I wanted to g-give you some-somethin’.”  He reached into his bag and pulled out a tupperware container.  “I m-made you some cookies.  F-Family recipe.  I-I hope you l-like ‘em.”

        Y/N rose to her tiptoes and pressed another kiss to his lips as she graciously accepted the container from him.  “Thank you, Chris,” she replied, smiling as she set the container and her wine on the desk.  Opening one of her clothing drawers and pulling out a hoodie she’d seen at an op shop.  “I haven’t seen you wearing this design so I wasn’t sure if you’ve got it or not.”

        He took the hoodie from her and his eyes lit up when he unfolded it, a large grin spreading across his face.  Reaching for the back of the current sweatshirt he was wearing and pulling it over his head so he could put it on.

        “I wasn’t sure about the size…”

        He shook his head after pulling it over his head, sliding his arms through it.  Wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground, a laugh escaping her lips before he silenced her with a kiss.

        “It’s great–it’s the greatest g-gift anyone has ever g-given me,” he confessed.  “Thank you, Y/N.  S-So much.”

        Y/N laughed and shook her head.  “You’re welcome,” she told him.  “Merry Christmas, Chris.”

        “M-Merry Christmas, Y/N,” he said back, the most joyous expression on his face.

        “You wanna go and watch everyone else open presents or stay here and make out a little bit?”  She asked him, her hands running through his hair.

         Heat rose to his cheeks as he coughed.  “Uhh, m-make out a little b-bit,” he replied honestly.

+++

        With the holiday’s over and done with, a mistletoe kiss and a New Years Eve kiss crossed off her bucket list, college classes had officially started back up.  Chris and Y/N had made things official before they welcomed in the New Year together, and they’d been on several dates since he first cooked her dinner.

        She’d met his roommates, mostly because she spent a lot of her free time at his place.  They seemed nice enough – typical guy behaviour trying to piss Chris off by hitting on her.  Though he knew she only had eyes for him.

        He’d met her roommate, who’d badgered him with question after question since she’d given her no warning that she now had a boyfriend.  So she’d returned back from break to find him asleep in Y/N’s bed.  No funny business had been happening.  They’d just been sleeping after a long first day back of classes.

        Her flight had been delayed time and time again, which was why she had no idea when she was coming back; because she didn’t know herself until she was boarding her flight.

        It was fine.  She was cool with it.  And she was happy that Y/N’d finally met a guy who treated her the way she deserved.

        Y/N was too.  He was so good to her.  And she always made sure to look after him, too.  When he let her.

        It was Tuesday today and he still had his shift at the library to complete before he’d go home.  She knew he never took anything to eat with him – knowledge she’d gained from past experience, – so after making her own dinner, she took a container full of lasagne to the library for him.

        It was still warm when she got there, sneaking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist, tucking myself under his arm.

        “Hi-hi, beautiful,” he greeted with a soft chuckle.  “I d-didn’t think I’d get t-to see you today.”

        Y/N hummed as she leant up to press a kiss to his cheek.  “Brought you dinner,” she told him.  “Because I know you never bring anything to work.”

        “Thank you,” he told her, kissing her forehead as he took the container from her hand.  “Lasagne?”

        Y/N hummed, producing a fork from her pocket and placing it on top of the container.  “Yeah.  I hope you enjoy.”

        “Can’t stay?”

        “Afraid not,” she replied.  “Got a lot of reading to catch up on that I was supposed to do over the holiday but I got a little sidetracked.”

        “It’s that b-boyfriend of yours, I t-tell ya,” he said, nuzzling his nose into her hair.  “He’s a b-bad influence.”

        Y/N laughed.  Loud.  “He’s lucky I love him.”

        “He–you, what?”

        “I love you.”

        And she did.  He was the kind of guy you knew from the moment you met him that you’d fall in love with him.  All the blushing looks and nervous laughter, piled in with how much of a genuinely nice guy he was...it was a no brainer.  She’d happily fallen in love with him.

        “I-I love you, too-too.  Shit, no.  I can say this without stutt-stuttering.”  He took a deep breath and steadied himself, cupping my face with both of his hands.  Dinner all but forgotten about.  “I love-lo, no.  Wait-wait.  I love you too.”

[allthebluepens]

EU study tips

BEFORE YOU START STUDYING

Plan

1. You have to be clear about how you are going to use the time. The first thing is to plan and decide what you are going to learn and how much time you are going to spend.

2. You should study as much as you need without leaving a subject or problem half-way through, so that you can study a different subject. Otherwise, what you learn will be so confusing that it will be the same as not having studied at all.

3. Make a list of all the activities you will do that afternoon. It's a good idea to have a daily study schedule, but one that is realistic, given your abilities.

4. Arrange the activities. Which one should you start with? Some experts advise starting with what is easiest for you, to encourage you to keep studying. Others say it's better to start with the difficult subjects, and get them out of the way as soon as possible. You choose, based on your own experience.

5. The schedule should be flexible and prepared for the unexpected. It will help you not to accumulate backlogs.

6. Don't forget to include time for rest and leisure in your schedule.

NOTES

Take note of what matters

7. When taking notes, try to listen to everything the teacher says.

8. Stand close, as you will be in a better position to see and hear.

9. You should pay close attention at the beginning of the class. This is the moment when the teacher gives a general idea of the subject.

10. Adopt a good posture in the chair. It will make it easier for you to attend and therefore understand the class.

11. While you are taking notes, you should discover which ideas are main, secondary or anecdotal.

12. If the teacher says something is very important, highlight it. It's very possible that you'll fail the exam.

13. Leave space or margin for later notes.

14. If there is something in the explanation that you didn't catch, leave a space to complete it at the end of the class.

IN FORM

Mens sana in corpore sano

15. To study well, it is as important to be in good physical condition as it is psychic.

16. A balanced diet is recommended, rich in phosphorus, calcium and vitamins: vegetables, fish, milk, eggs and fruits. Remember that food is your gasoline.

17. Do not overdo it with copious meals. A heavy stomach will prevent you from studying.

18. It is advisable to eat small amounts, but several times a day.

19. Sleep between 7 and 9 hours. Rest is essential to study.

20. If you are one of those who are stressed and want to guarantee a peaceful sleep, take a warm bath before dinner or bed.

21. Deep breathing exercises are also relaxing.

22. Regular physical exercise is another good practice against stress.

23. Stimulants should not be taken for study purposes. Caffeine-rich drinks, such as coffee or cola, can make you nervous and have the opposite effect to what you want.

THE SCHEDULE

Get organized!

24. Get used to having a fixed study schedule.

25. Take 5-10 minute breaks every hour.

26. It is recommended to study from Monday to Saturday from 2 to 3 hours a day.

27. Manage your study time well. Time is difficult to control and is easily wasted on unproductive and aimless tasks.

28. Use Sundays for leisure and hobbies.

29. Don't leave studying to the last minute. Haste does not help learning. Start preparing for the exams from the beginning of the course.

PLACE OF STUDY

Everything in its place

30. Always study in the same room. It will help you concentrate.

31. The study place should be airy and well ventilated.

32. There has to be an adequate temperature. Not too cold, not too hot.

33. Study in a room without noise. In any case, soft music.

34. Make sure there are no distractions such as television, radio, games, cell phone or table decorations.

35. The work table should have all the necessary material for study.

36. The light should preferably be natural, if not white or blue. It should come from the side opposite to the hand with which you write.

37. It is advisable to use a light bulb with a blue 60W bulb. In the rest of the room a dim light.

38. The table and chair should be in line with your height.

39. The chair should be comfortable, but not too comfortable and with a backrest.

40. The trunk should be stretched out and the back should be supported by the back of the chair.

41. You should be about 30 centimeters from your notes or study book.

THE TIME OF STUDY

It's time to study

42. It's important to be determined when it comes to studying. You have to be aware that it is a job that has to be done and it is better to do it with desire and joy.

43. First look at the lesson.

41. Separate the parts that make up the topic.

44. Look at the drawings and graphics.

45. Try to relate that topic to previously acquired knowledge.

46. Make an initial synthesis of the topic.

UNDERLINED

Highlight what's important

47. Try to understand the subject before you start to underline.

48. The underlining is a critical selection. You must highlight the main ideas.

49. Underlining must make complete sense.

50. Underline the main ideas with red or double line.

51. Underline with blue or single line the secondary ideas, examples and data.

52. It is not advisable to use more than two colors.

53. A vertical line in the margin means that the whole paragraph is marked.

54. Other signs that you can use are rounding, for numbering or classification; box, for statements, name or key dates; question mark, when there are indications of error; exclamation mark, to check a statement; period, when you have to complete other readings

55. It is advisable to underline between 25 and 30% of the text.

DIAGRAM

Organize the ideas

56. Arrange in a logical way the main and secondary ideas underlined.

57. Classify them according to your criteria.

58. Use your own words. It will be easier to memorize later.

59. First of all, be brief, short, precise and clear sentences.

60. Try to say everything important in the least amount of space possible.

61. The outline should have a clean presentation.

62. You can use the symbol of the arrows as a link

63. You must make a title that summarizes the content.

64. Divide the subject into three or four sections that collect several main ideas and that hang the secondary ones.

65. Leave spaces in the margins for later notes.

66. Use the same indent for the same sections.

67. There are several kinds of diagrams: numerical (number only), mixed (Roman numerals, upper and lower case letters, numbers...) and the synoptic table (of graphs or keys).

68. Use the synoptic table for dates, names, quantities...

SUMMARY

Keep it short

69. This is usually done after the underlining and study of the subject.

70. It should be done by trying not to look at the notes.

71. It should be brief but with all the main ideas.

72. Then you must read it carefully with the original text to complete what is missing.

REVIEW

Ensures that what is learned

73. It consists in mentally repeating the main ideas of the underlining or outline.

74. This should be done with the books closed and notes put aside.

75. It should be checked with the notes.

76. This step must be repeated until the outline is memorized and you are sure that you know the subject.

77. It is recommended to carry out all the good practices that we have commented on. Last-minute binges do not work. You must use your memory in the days before the exam, mainly to memorize the schemes.

REST

Recharge batteries

78. When it's time to rest, leave the room where you study. Relax, eat something, talk to someone, take a walk, or do anything else that is not related to studying. In this way, you will avoid mental fatigue.

EXAM

The moment of truth

79. It is important to go in good physical and mental condition.

80. Get a good night's rest. Get at least six hours of sleep.

81. Go with all the necessary material.

82. Before the exam, take a few minutes to relax: take a deep breath, close your eyes... It will help you control the natural nerves at the beginning of the exam.

83. Always listen to your teacher's instructions before and during the exam. They are important.

84. Take an overview of the exam to organize your time.

85. Spread out your time and questions.

86. If you see a question you don't know, don't be nervous. Save it for last.

86. Ask the questions you know best first.

87. It is important to take into account what kind of exam you are going to have (development, test type...) and what the teacher wants (conciseness, clarity...)

89. Read the questions carefully to find out exactly what they ask.

90. Remember to highlight in your exam what the teacher has highlighted in class.

91. Answer the question. Don't leave by the hills of Úbeda.

92. To do developmental exams: outline the points you want to cover on a separate sheet of paper.

93. Don't answer like a telegram, and don't roll up too much.

94. Review the entire test before handing it in, noting spelling mistakes, omissions, essays. It is just as important to know as it is to look like you know, and teachers take this into account when scoring.

95. Check the back for more questions. You wouldn't be the first one who, in a hurry and nervous, leaves a question he knows unanswered, simply because he hasn't seen it.

96. Take care of the cleanliness, the handwriting and the presentation. It is essential that the teacher understands you.

WHAT IF, AFTER ALL, I FAIL?

98. Don't worry, you can learn from your failures too. Reflect and try to find the reasons why it happened.

99. If it was your nerves that played a trick on you, you know, practice relaxation techniques and put away the exciting drinks.

100. If the reason for your failure was that you didn't study enough or in the right way, plan better and start studying now for your next exams. Take into account what you failed at, so that you don't fail again, and use these tips when you get lost.

[astrozones]

Sanders Behavioral Health, Chapter 4: Mother Logan

three hours bouta be gone

discord for only the truest Lads. gender dont matter- Astro’s Zone

Three hours.

Fifteen minutes.

Another hour.

Another break.

And so on and so forth, until it was exactly 8:45 p.m. and Logan would get ready for bed, and when 9:00 came around he would ideally be sleeping, no electronic devices in sight.

It was the perfect schedule for a weekend of study. And Logan sure did need it, he was only a couple months ahead in the curriculum, which was a month less than where he should be right now.

But just as Logan sat down to start, his phone chimed. Logan was 100% prepared to ignore it, but the voice told him he had to pick it up. The metaphorical voice, of course. Now that he knew how to identify it, he knew it was either his OCD or anxiety, and oftentimes both.

Logan stared at the book in front of him, not moving in the slightest. He knew it was stupid, he didn’t have to check anything. But, he could still anxiety rushing through his body.

He picked up the phone and went through his texts, feeling relief almost instantaneously.

FamILY!

{ We should all hang out today!!! }

[ Wait whend the chat name change ]

| like last night roman where were you |

[ Sleeping??? ]

| sleep? who’s she never heard of her |

[ And going back to Patton i am free today ]

{ Yay!!!! }

| my parents are gonna force me to do homework if I don’t, so sure |

{ !!!! }

{ Logan? }

{ We can see you’re online!! }

( I’m afraid I am busy today. I’m studying. )

{ I thought you were ahead in the class?? }

( Yes, I am. But I am not where I want to be. )

{ Aw, Logan!! You should take time to not overwork yourself!!! }

( I do. And I was under the impression that you were busy this weekend. )

[ And i oop- ]

| i can’t believe roman’s a vsco girl |

[ sksksksk ]

| that wasn’t an invitation. |

{ I am for most of the day!! I was thinking we could have a sleepover!!!! ^-^ }

| wait so i do have to do my homework? |

| i’m willing to do it if it means i get to punch roman when he acts like a vsco girl again |

[ Id like to see you try ]

{ I would very much prefer there to be no punching, but it’s great to see you’re both in!!! }

{ And Logan? }

( ... )

( I suppose I can think about it. )

{ OMG YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! }

{ We have the whole famILY :3!!! }

| huh I thought roman would’ve had something to say about that. |

{ I do have some bad news though ;-; }

{ My parents are repainting our living room and don’t wanna risk anyone messing it up :( }

{ So I was wondering if either of you were willing to host? Not Logan because he’s still considering it }

| ugh i should’ve been more picky about it and I wouldn't have to go through this |

| well my room’s too messy and it’d take more than the day to clean |

{ Well, Roman??? }

{ Roman?????????? }

[ Wait what ]

[ Sorry one of my posters fell down and i had to fix it ]

[ Lemme read through the chat ]

| lmao |

[ … ]

[ asdkfldsaihateyouvirgildksfl i suppose i can do it ]

| hey i see that |

[ My parents are out for the weekend so yea ]

{ !!!! YAY!!!!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! }

-- --

Logan’s anxiety was yelling at him once more, telling him he needed to put the phone down. Ever compliant to the voice, he put it in a drawer under the desk. A little unnecessary, sure, but it made him feel better.

Logan shook his head, the voice driving into him once more. He was off-schedule! That’s 10 minutes of studying, wasted . He was certainly going to fail, all it would take was one set off his system and he’d get addicted to the freedom it promised.

He took out his pencil, and arranged the books around him to be exactly how he wanted. If it wasn’t, it would be unbalanced, and that certainly wouldn’t do.

Because everyone knows you can’t study unless you have a perfect workspace.

Right?

--

Logan was outside his house, door in front of his face. He huffed.

His parents had kicked him out for a couple hours, telling him he had to go outside for once instead of staying holed up in his study room.

They didn’t get it.

They didn’t get why it was wrong .

According to them, Ramona Steers, a staff from Sanders, had told them all the ins and outs of what they needed to help Logan get better, and that making him go outside was one of them.

Originally, they said he’d have to be out for 5 hours, but once he told them about the sleepover situation, they had agreed to take an hour off.

So, he was going to a sleepover, he had 4 hours outside, $100 to spend as he wished, and nowhere to go.

--

Logan walked into the popular local café, The Lolapad, known for it’s fantastic drinks, welcoming aesthetic, and it’s kind owner, Lola Adams.

Lilo was at the counter today, alongside her coworker… Patton?! Logan narrowed his eyes, Patton had never talked about a job, and Logan was a frequent visitor to The Lolapad. Logan knew he had to question him about it.

Well, once he got through this excruciatingly long line, anyway.

The only downside to The Lolapad was its popularity. With it being this early in the morning, it was full of daytime workers preparing for the long day ahead of them. Logan sighed.

He admired the decorations. The floor was a deep blue, to mimic water. The tables were designed like lilypads, and the chairs had a flower pattern. The walls were purple, with painted vines crawling up in some corners of the room.

The ceiling decor was the most impressive, though. Soft, blue lights and glass hung on wires from the ceiling, almost like bubbles flying towards the sky. There was no competition that would ever pass The Lolapad, at least not anywhere nearby.

He recognized a few students lounging in chairs, mostly consisting of the upbeat, extroverted club members.

And, if he was right, one Vanessa Cordill, with her boyfriend, Jace Lendell.

God, he despised Vanessa. She had been a huge bully in the past, only stopping after he stopped reacting to it. Logan hardly had anything to do in class, having learned all of this in his own time, and his teachers would yell at him the moment he picked up a book to study ahead of the curriculum. So, seeing what his classmates were doing was the only interesting option.

And oh, Logan saw .

He was never one for gossip, but he remembered so many things.

And most of it had to do with Vanessa.

Like that time she had snuck a gun into the bag of the boy beside her- Victor Jackson. Victor was taller, and larger, and had a mean-looking face. For anyone who got to know him, though, he was very sweet, and hated hurting people.

Victor was expelled the next day.

Logan had, of course, defended Victor. But Vanessa was convincing, lying her way through her nice girl act until the principal was convinced.

So, Logan did what he did best. He collected evidence. And, once he felt as though he had enough, he would report her.

But until then, he was forced to stand by and watch as Vanessa got to do whatever she wanted.

She was like a villain out of a bad movie, or a crappy fanfiction.

“Oh, Logan!” Patton’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts. Logan was at the front of the line, apparently. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Neither did I,” he responded. “When did you start working here?”

“Oh, no, I don’t usually work here! Jessalyn asked me to replace her today, well, she asked last week- so I’m working here for a couple hours! Lola was okay with it, she’s really nice y’know? And-”

“Are you getting paid?” Logan asked. It would be rather selfish of Jessalyn to keep all of the money, at least in his opinion.

Patton shook his head. “Nuh-uh. But I’m okay with it though! I like helping people. Now, what can I get ya?”

--

Logan found himself on a swing at an empty park. He had finished his drink, and was now letting himself go back, and forth, back, and forth. He wasn’t the biggest fan of attempting to do anything… potentially dangerous, but he found softly letting himself go back and forth was a good way to collect his thoughts.

The birds chirped in the background as the sun shone above him. Everything was as it should be, but he couldn’t stay too long at the risk of getting a sunburn.

He heard a text come in, and he pulled out his phone.

FamILY!

{ If your son gets burnt by the sun, is it a sonburn? }

-- --

Logan smiled slightly as the replies came in from his friends, all exclamations of distaste as Patton sent a plethora of emojis, that mostly being-

Oh.

Wait.

His friends .

…

Hm.

Not that he was against that, of course, but the immediate reaction of calling them his friends was, well, a little unnerving. He had always been the quiet one, and had a few friends in the past, though they had all moved away to other towns or cities or whatever . He didn’t care.

And if his new friends did the same, he would be okay with that. Yes, he would definitely be okay with that. If they cared, they would contact him, and if they didn’t, he was okay with that. There was no use fighting it, after all that would only give him more time to study.

As it should be.

He put his phone away, no use replying, as he had already agreed to go to their sleepover.

He heard giggling from behind him. He was brought back to the real world, only to find that he had slowed to a stop. Logan turned his head around.

There stood a small being, maybe 6-7 years old, and definitely a child. He had a light brown mop of hair on his head, and donned a red-black-green coat and tiara. He stood to face… it.

“Hi! I’m Adrian!” the kid said, stuttering over the ‘r’. “What’s- did you just get done from a- a-

‘businesses’ meeting or somethin?”

Logan looked down at himself. He wasn’t even wearing a tie today… he had a simple black button-up shirt, and jeans. What about this screamed ‘professional’?

“No,” was all he said in response.

“Are you- are you gonna go to a businesses meeting?”

“No. I’m still in high school.” At this, the miniature human named Adrian grinned, and he could practically see the metaphorical sparkles.

“That’s so cool! I’m only in firs’ grade, but Mommy says I’m gonna be 7 in-” Adrian started counting on his fingers. “15 months!”

“What… do you mean 15 days?” he asked, it was either that or 15 weeks. Adrian nodded excitedly. What he was excited for, Logan couldn’t tell.

“YEAH! I’m gonna be so smart!” Adrian boasted, causing Logan to smile slightly. “Do you wanna come play wif me?”

“I- er-” he was cut off as the 6-year-old grabbed his hand and tugged him along towards a large willow tree.

“I’m gonna show you my friend- her name is Joy! She has two dads, isn’t that so cool! Some people make funs of her for it- but I find it cool! She’s really funny, there she is!” He pointed towards a girl, presumably 6 as well, in a princess costume, and very red hair.

“JOY! I FOUNDS US A FRIEND FOR OUR TEA PARTY!” hold on, tea party ?!

“It’s Princess Joy now,” the girl stated, surprisingly strict for someone so small. “Who is he?”

“Dis is Logan!” Adrian said, adding in a whispered, “he’s a buisnesses man”

“Hold on-” Logan tried. He suddenly found the purple princess in front of him, eyebrow raised. Was he about to get judged by a child?

“Hmm,” Joy said, looking him up and down before nodding. “He may stay.”

She turned around and strutted back to where she was sitting before. She dusted off her skirt before plopping down on the ground, gesturing for them to sit near her.

“We don’t have an actual table, so we gotta pretend.” Adrian whispered to him before skipping over and sitting near Joy. Logan reluctantly joined them.

“Princess Adrian, may you please pour the tea?” Joy instructed. Adrian nodded, miming the actions of pouring.

“Princess?”

“Yes, Peasant Logan,” Logan jerked his head back, this kid - “Princess is longer than prince so’s it’s better than a prince. Princess Adrian and me are both princesses.”

“Prince and princess are equal titles.” Logan said. Joy actually looked offended .

“Impossible.”

“Yeah!” Adrian chimed in, sitting himself down in his spot. “Everyone knows that.”

“But-”

“Princess Adrian! That’s rude, Logan’s a peasant so he didn’t know.” Joy said, taking a ‘sip’ of imaginary tea.

“Oh! Sorrys Logan.” Adrian’s voice lowered, and if Logan was right he was on the verge of tears?

“Er… It’s okay Adri- Princess Adrian.”

Adrian brightened. “YAAAY!” he cheered, getting up and bouncing around him. Logan didn’t know what to do-

“That is not princess behavior, Princess Adrian.” Joy said, turning up her nose. Adrian looked confused.

“It isn’t?”

“Princesses are more quiet. I’m 7, so I know better.”

“I’m 17,” Logan cut in. Joy turned to him.

“And? You’re still a peasant, Logan. I don’t makes the rules,” Joy put her cup of tea down. “I only knows them.”

Logan was about to respond, when-

“Woah, hey what’s going on here?” another voice said. Turning around, Logan saw Roman enter their little… area behind the leaves. He sighed.

Adrian gasped from beside him, nearly tripping over his feet in order to get to Roman. He peered up at him.

“Are yous a prince?” He asked, practically vibrating where he stood. Roman scoffed.

“Of course I am, I’m Prince Roman! I just lost my crown.” Roman announced. Adrian glanced at Joy, who nodded, causing Adrian to smile.

“I’m Princess Adrian! That’s,” he turned back around to point at Joy and Logan. “Princess Joy and Peasant Logan.” Roman, the bastard, hid his giggles behind his hand. Logan glared.

“Peasant Logan didn’t knows that princesses are higher than princes cause princess is longer. That’s true, right?” He asked, dragging Roman along to sit with them. Roman looked at Logan, smug.

“Of course! It’s common knowledge! For shame, Logan!” Roman exclaimed as he sat.

“For shame!” Adrian repeated. Logan groaned, shoving his face into his hands. This is not how he thought his day would go.

He felt a small hand pat his knee, and he looked up to see Joy looking at him with a sympathetic frown.

“It’s okay, Logan. Not all of us can be royalty.” She said, before returning to her princess persona and commanding, “Princess Adrian, would you may please pour Prince Roman some tea?”

Adrian nodded, standing up and dashing around the ‘table’ to give Roman his… ‘tea’.

“Thank you, Princess Adrian, I am forever in your debt.” Roman mock bowed from his sitting position. Adrian giggled before returning to Joy.

“Once we are done with our tea, we shall help you find your crown, Prince Roman.” Joy said before taking another sip.

“Of course. Thank you, Your Highness,” Roman faked taking a sip of his tea. “I must say, this tea is quite delicious! I commend your skills, Princess Joy.”

Joy preened at the praise, resituating the tiara on her head. “Thank you, Prince Roman. It is greatly appra- appre- appreciated.”

Minutes of his free time went by as they all mimed sipping tea and making small talk. Well, all except Logan. That quickly changed once Joy prompted him to start drinking, with Adrian and Roman piping up in agreement. Begrudgingly, Logan followed through.

Eventually, Joy stood up and announced that they had all finished their tea, and had to search for Roman’s crown. Logan argued that Roman’s crown didn’t exist. Joy said he was just a peasant and didn’t know what he was talking about. That shut Logan up pretty quick.

So, he was dragged around on the search for a crown he was certain didn’t exist. Joy separated them into teams, Roman and Joy on one, Logan and Adrian on the other. She said her reasoning was ‘one to search and one to protect’, with both her and Adrian on the search side.

Logan silently followed Adrian around as he set out to find it, looking in the places it couldn’t even be at times.

“Logan!” Adrian whispered, tugging on his sleeve. “Logan look! Issa bunny.”

And it was. A cream colored rabbit was frozen staring at them, ready to move at any sudden movement. Hm, that reminded him of Virgil… or was that rude?

He watched as Adrian slowly crept up on the rabbit. Logan looked around to find Joy and Roman. He saw Joy’s bright purple dress… in a tree? Roman was right next to her, carefully following to catch her if she fell while she was searching the tree.

He turned once more to Adrian, only to find him cuddling the bunny. Odd… if it were wild, it would have bolted the moment he came too close, so this one must be socialized. He walked towards Adrian and the rabbit.

Adrian smiled at him as he approached.

“I named him Jerry!” Adrian whispered, extending the rabbit towards Logan. “Wanna pet ‘im?”

Logan reached out to Jerry, only to jump back when it tried to bite him.

“Bad Jerry! Don’t bite people!” Adrian reprimanded the animal, as if it were a dog and not a clearly aggressive rabbit.

Well, at least when they brought it over to the other two it attempted to bite them, so at least it wasn’t exclusively Logan. It seemed to only like Adrian, to Adrian’s delight and Joy’s distaste. They were quickly corralled into a game of House by Joy, the quest for Roman’s crown forgotten.

Joy claimed herself as the father, saying, “I have two dads so I have to be the dad!”. Both Roman and Adrian nodded in agreement at her claim. She pointed to Logan.

“You shall be the mom!”

“ What- ”

“You act like a mom so you are a mom.” She cut him off, turning to Adrian and Roman for confirmation. They both agreed, Roman looking amused at Logan’s sneer.

“I’ll be the kid!” Adrian announced. Joy nodded and pointed to Roman.

“You can be the dog! Because you remind me of the golden dogs.” She said. Logan would’ve laughed if he hadn’t been put in a worse situation. Roman nodded, looking determined.

“Woof,” was all he said. Joy nodded once more.

“Perfect.”

—

So Logan found himself playing a game of House, something he hadn’t done in years . He interacted as little as they would let him, dear god if another student came and saw him like this, he wouldn’t survive.

He ended up there for far longer than he had wanted, a total of 6 hours since he was kicked out. Yet he was reluctant to leave, he knew it would break the kids hearts if he did.

He was finally freed from his metaphorical prison when a voice called,

“Adrian! Come on, we gotta drop off Joy at her dads’ house!” A woman called. Logan glanced at Adrian.

“Is that your mom?” he asked. Adrian nodded, turning to the two older men. He gave them both hugs, first Logan, then Roman. He even gave Roman his tiara, saying he was sorry they couldn’t find his crown, and he had more tiaras at home. He turned as Joy stood up and they both sprinted towards Adrian’s mom, well, only after Adrian had picked up Jerry.

Both of the remaining boys watched, amused, as Adrian seemed to argue with his mother before she gave up and let Jerry in the car. Before Adrian got in the car, though, he turned to the boys.

“Bye-bye Logan! Bye-bye Prince Roman!” he shouted, before disappearing into the car.

“So,” Roman started, and Logan mentally prepared to be poked fun at.

“See you at my house in a couple hours?” Logan blinked, once, twice, before he realized that he wasn’t being made fun of for playing with children for several hours. Well, he supposed that made sense, as Roman had done the same.

“Uh… sure.” Was all he said before making his way back home.

—

Logan was stressed, to say the least, when he got home. His parents were happy that he stayed out for longer than they had offered, but all Logan’s mind would acknowledge was that he went off schedule. He was going to be so behind, this is why you don’t go off schedule, Logan! You get looped into it, and you’ll never get out of it.

He dedicated the rest of his free time to studying.

As it should be.

[peonypearls-muddled-musings]

Bluebells - RinweyxPellnique

“Again, Rinwey, I want to apologize on behalf of my daughter; she is, unfortunately, not as skilled in tact as her sisters before her.”

Footsteps echoed down one of the many halls of Suthurndall’s royal palace. King Lieglen’s hands spoke with him as he asked for forgiveness from his guest, the sullen king Rinwey.

Yet; despite the outburst just an hour earlier; Rinwey’s demeanor seemed less sullen and one more of confusion. 

“Lieglen, it is forgotten,” he said dismissively. “She is right; I was being cruel to you who have been so gracious to share your home with me at this time.”

Rinwey looked to Lieglen; he knew the body language should have been switched. Rinwey should have been the one stooped over and submissive as he hoped for forgiveness. However, Lieglen feared the opportunity to share Rinwey’s intelligence and technology had been lost, thanks to his daughter’s brazen retaliation of Rinwey’s snark and sarcasm, which had been directed at Lieglen over the fact that he didn’t fear that a Shapeshifter had recently assumed the throne in Olthandrynn. 

Princess Pellnique had shot down Rinwey’s acid tongue; and instead of anger, it piqued curiosity. And, for the first time, a shred of shame had kindled in his gut, fanning flames of humility. He reached upon old teachings of his father; ways he’d once let die with Malchus. 

“I promise, Lieglen; all is forgiven. I... I am... sorry that I said such harsh things to you. Don’t assume I’m not backing down on my stance against that shifter rat; but I am... I apologize for what I said to you.”

Lieglen smiled, his already-red face beaming with relief. “Then we shall speak no more, and we can continue our discussions!”

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

Rinwey stumbled out of a meeting room with Lieglen and his treasury staff some hours later. It amazed him how people could talk so much about nothing. He sighed, feigning a smile and bowing to Lieglen before being allowed to strike out on his own in the palace. He sought out the first place he could think of to allow his mind some solace: the library. Any room not authorized for the visiting king to enter would be guarded; and thankfully the library was open for entrance; and just as he stepped in; a figure draped along one of the plush, deep couches caught his attention: Princess Pellnique. 

She laid cradling a book upon her knees, while a pit of fire blazed in the middle of the room. He walked inside slowly, not looking directly at her, but assessing her from the corners of his gaze as he walked inside. In time, he’d found a chair near a window and several books to peruse. Suthurndall’s history kept him occupied as he decompressed from the visit and the strain of trade talks.

In time, the text in the book blurred; the library became dark, and Rinwey felt heavy. He leaned forward ever so slowly, only to catch himself just in time; over and over again; until the rapture of dozing off was unceremoniously interrupted with the sound of a book slamming to the floor. He dropped the text in his hands with a horrified gasp, and he looked up to find Pellnique in front of him.

“Sorry~” she feigned sweetness. “It’s just I have all of these books I think would help you out on your visit here.” 

She dropped the stack into Rinwey’s lap as he caught the mountain of elegant encyclopedias. A quick glance of the titles he was suddenly swimming in consisted of ‘Maintaining Royal Etiquette’ and ‘Harboring Humility when Abroad’.

“Oh; these are cute.” Rinwey deadpanned. Pellnique picked up the book she’d conveniently dropped.

“But you’re missing my favorite,” she pleasantly seethed, before neatly stacking it on the disintegrating pyramid of royal texts; but instead of an official royal aid, it was a cheekily-named self-help book called ‘how to not be a (spotted) dick’; in which the author likened the steaming of the traditional European dish to stewing in his own anger all the time. Rinwey looked up at Pellnique as her grin turned dangerous.

“My father invited you into our home, and you spoke to him like a dog.” Pellnique’s grin disappeared. “What makes you so special that you can act so disgustingly?”

Rinwey looked up at her, blinking. His eyes darted around as he fumbled silently for answers.

“I never said I was special.”

“You walk like a cat tracking fresh litter on the rug. It’s repulsive. Learn how to behave like the rest of us did in primary training; then maybe I’ll let you have a peaceful moment to yourself.” She said, turning on her heel to leave Rinwey still swimming in the books that slipped out of his grip and onto the floor; but his eyes remained on Pellnique as she picked up a stack of books from the chair she’d been in, and she left the library.

Rinwey looked at the textbooks scattered around him. Another fire kindled fresh and new; anger seeped in as he stood, shedding himself of any remnants of the books Pellnique had thrown at him.

How dare she assume such things about him? He knew he wasn’t special. He never acted like it. He acted like himself. Like a king. 

His eyes landed on the nearest servant as they swept a small cloud of dust.

“You there!” He spat, catching the young woman’s attention. She bustled over, curtsying quickly as she answered him.

“Yes your highne-”

“Am I ‘special’ for speaking my mind when others’ don’t agree?”

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t understa-”

“Am I difficult for giving my opinion?!”

“N-no..? I don’t think so-”

“No, of course not. I didn’t think so.” Rinwey straightened his jacket and smoothed back his ebony hair before looking at the young woman. “She wants to guilt trip me, that’s on her! I’m perfectly capable of showcasing my humility, and I think I’ve done a fine job of it since I got here!”

He turned to the young woman, who offered a nervous smile before he looked at the floor, and he stepped over the small moat of books around him.

“Now, clean this up. I don’t have time to dawdle,” he spat, not looking again at the maid, who’s face fell at the mass of scattered texts.

Rinwey did, however, return to pluck ‘How to Not be a (Spotted) Dick’ out of the pile with a mutterance of ‘this looks especially stupid’; and he left the library to retire to his chambers.

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

The static sound of idle chatter buzzed through Rinwey’s ear as he sat across from Leiglen and his wife, Cressla, during the Friday Feast. Lieglen’s boisterous laughter was overbearing for Rinwey, but he smiled good-naturedly; even though it was evidently forced. He’d learned well to hold the smile over the past few weeks.

“Rinwey, I must say, this month has flown by,” Lieglen chortled. “Thank you for everything.”

With a nod, Rinwey prodded at his steak, which was much-too-heavily doused in a rich, robust sauce for him to taste the sweet earthiness of the meat. “I’m glad I can be of service, Lieglen. You have been most gracious to let me stay in your home.”

Rinwey couldn’t see Pellnique’s eyes on him; but he could feel her glare.

Cressa beamed. “We’ve discussed with our treasury; and Gelleshire will reap a portion of the expected increase in trade sales.”

“Your work is going to give our people a new outlook! We can’t repay you enough, Rinwey,” Lieglen seconded.

“I’m honored to help my neighbors.” Rinwey said. “Especially those who can see past my... spotty demeanor.”

Rinwey’s eyes scouted through his peripheral vision; and noticed Pellnique’s attention on him.

“All is forgiven, Rinwey. I... I know what happened to your father. A tragedy.”

“... I miss him dearly.”

Cressa lifted her wine glass. “Well, he helped raise an intelligent man.”

Rinwey lifted his wine glass. “A man who’s still learning.”

Lieglen mirrored them. “A man who stops learning is a man who is already dead.”

Pellnique hesitantly raised her wine glass as Rinwey looked her way. His eyebrows lifted slightly as he regarded her differently than the day in the library.

“Then consider me very much alive,” he said.

Pellnique’s smirk was all he needed as she responded with ‘hear, hear!’; and a toast decorated their ears with the sounds of clinking glasses, and laughter as wine decorated the tablecloth.

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

Rinwey’s arms shook as he hefted the stack of books in his arms through the halls; yet with each offer of help by the servants, he simply walked past, ignoring them. As he adjusted the weight of the books against him, he fumbled with the doorknob, again and again, as he did his best to not drop the stack flat on the floor. Just as he managed a grip on the handle, the door opened on the inside, and he was dragged into the library with the door, causing an avalanche of books to surround him once more as he screamed.

As the dust (or books) settled, and he looked up, he noticed a shocked Pellnique, who covered her mouth to hide a smile.

“Oops~!” She couldn’t help but giggle. Behind her, the young library maid hustled over to the scene, but Rinwey clicked his tongue and shooed her away; and he started picking up the heavy books-

but a gloved hand offered one of the fallen texts to him, and he looked up to find Pellnique kneeling down to help. He claimed the book, quietly thanking her as he realized the one she was about to claim.

“Wait I’ve got the rest-”

“Is this...” Pellnique looked in awe at the book in her hand. “Have you been reading this?”

She turned the book to show the title: ‘How to Not be a (Spotted) Dick’.

Rinwey gulped. “I mean... I looked at it more than I read it,’ he bullshitted.

Pellnique smirked. “I see,” she said; placing it onto the stack as Rinwey quickly stood to return the books; but she watched him struggle; and she stopped him to pick up half of the pile. “Give me those.” 

As they silently returned the books; they eventually met back in the middle of the library, where Pellnique picked up an ornate pitcher and poured some water into a handsome vase. It was bursting with blooms Rinwey wasn’t familiar with. One was an arching plant with blue blossoms hanging from it. 

“You’re a gardener?” He asked, smiling as Pellnique shrugged. 

“Not really; but they give the place a little color.” She said, tilting the blue flowers slightly to check their appearance. These are my favorite.”

Rinwey looked at another, identical plant. “I’ve never seen one of these in Gelleshire.”

“They’re Bluebells. They were my grandmother’s favorite. You couldn’t find a single garment of hers that didn’t have these embroidered on them. She even sewed them into my grandfather’s robes; but he never fussed. He liked the reminder of her when he was away.”

Rinwey smiled. He craned one of the plants his way.

“My parents were never... together; but they cared about each other. They swapped native trees. There’s a sycamore growing in my castle’s courtyard; and a yew tree growing where my father once ruled; as a sign of respect for each other. When I was with the one parent, I would still feel at home.”

Rinwey’s face slowly fell. He looked at Pellnique. “I want to apologize to you, for my behavior. It... It was unbecoming and cruel to treat such a kind man like your father that way. I’m sorry.”

Pellnique pruned one of the bluebells. “I don’t accept.”

Rinwey blinked. “Wh... what? Why?”

“Because you’ve already apologized- to my father; and simply by shaping up.” Pellnique said, smiling. “I’ve seen it in you over the past few weeks. You’re still a rotten boy; but...” Her warm, brown eyes; like the hearth of the fire, became a new kindling of warmth in Rinwey’s chest; ablaze much like the strawberry-blond hair tied in an elegant twist on Pellnique’s shoulder. “... You’re trying. And that’s really all I can ask for. And I want to thank you for putting forth the effort to do so.”

As Pellnique looked at him, Rinwey realized he’d been holding his breath. He slowly, and quietly, exhaled, still looking at her. “Thank you,” he murmured. “That... that’s a relief to hear.”

Rinwey looked at the plants, at the pitcher in Pellnique’s hands, and he offered his own hands out to her. “May I?” He asked; and Pellnique smiled as she relinquished the pitcher, watching the older king water another vase of bluebells and primulas. 

It wasn’t long until Rinwey’s ride back to Gelleshire was ready; and as his luggage was prepared; he said his goodbyes to Liegen and Cressa, having made arrangements to deliver the new technology once it was built. 

He then looked up to the library balcony; but Pellnique wasn’t there. He smirked, but just as he was about to close his door, it jammed. He looked up to find the familiar soft-green dress that Pellnique had been wearing; and he saw her stand next to his car. Something shot through him, and he opened the car door before realizing it wasn’t her hand that had been jammed; it was a book. She smirked as she offered it to him.

“You forgot something.”

Rinwey sighed; knowing exactly what it was before looking at it; and he retrieved the now-bent book of ‘How to Not be a (Spotted) Dick’.

He looked up, but this time, he laughed.

“This is going in my personal collection.”

“Take care of it! And take care of yourself, you dick.”

“... perhaps I will.”

As his car door closed, Pellnique backed away, and soon, the palace and the royal family became an afterthought as he traveled home.

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

“Announcing: King Rinwey of Gelleshire!”

Oh; Oh it was much colder in Sutherndall this time of year than Gelleshire. Rinwey shuddered as the guard saluted, and he nodded to them as he approached the royal family, Liegen outstretching his arms to greet his ally.

“Rinwey! I hope your trip was uneventful?”

“Painfully so.” Rinwey smiled, greeting Liegen with linked hands. “The cargo will be arriving shortly. Tomorrow I’ll have it installed and I’ll begin tutoring your crews on how it works.”

Liegen sighed what sounded like a hurricane of relief. “I cannot thank you enough, Rinwey.”

“You can thank me by letting me in by the fire!” 

“Oh, goodness, right!” Liegen stumbled, and he entered the foyer with Cressa. Rinwey sighed as his cape calmed down with the last bit of the early-winter breeze. He looked up and around the castle, now decorated for upcoming festivities late in the year. One look at a corner and he noticed different flowers in the vases. “Rinwey; would you like to rest?” Liegen asked.

“I would enjoy that greatly; first, may I peruse your library?”

“Our home is yours, Rinwey. Your room is already prepared for your arrival at any time you’d like. I have business to attend in town; Cressa will fetch you for supper.” Liegen bowed to Rinwey; who responded.

Ambling through the familiar halls, Rinwey found himself back at the large, opulent doors of the library. He hesitated before entering; but a dark library, void of any fire, greeted him. Disappointment rang; but he sighed the heaviness out.

“Ah well;” he sighed. “I’ll just stock up-”

“Rinwey?”

The king jumped, crying out louder than he wanted to admit as he turned; and a familiar face greeted him as Pellnique screamed at his own reaction.

“Pellnique!” Rinwey cried; and the princess doubled over as she began laughing.  “You startled me!” Rinwey spluttered.

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t expecting you back already!” She looked up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I thought you wouldn’t return until the beginning of the year. Everything you’re bringing in sounded so advanced; I figured it would take a least 6 months to build.”

“You’re talking to the smartest man in the north.” Rinwey grinned; his hands reached up to the fastener on his cape. “Four months was enough for me to build the motors; and to pick up a new skill.”

“Oh?” Pellnique asked. She watched Rinwey unfasten his cape, and as he removed it from the mantle of his shoulders, he touched a designed on his chest; threads of green and blue embroidered into his royal suit - a bluebell.

“It... It took me a while. Does it look alright?”

Pellnique stared at the design. Her eyes darted up to him, then back to the delicate design.

“You did this yourself?”

“I did. Once I returned home, I found the necessities, learned the basics and, decided to give it a shot. It’s been an interesting little project; but...” He looked at Pellnique, who investigated the needlework; “I found myself infatuated with a lovely little flower I discovered here”

Pellnique smirked up at Rinwey; and the smile she gave him was enough of an answer.

“It beautiful. I mean; some of your stitches are uneven-”

“Oh come on-”

“And the thread here is layered too thick; but...” Pellnique looked into Rinwey’s icy eyes as she touched the embroidery. “Keep learning, old man.”

As Pellnique’s hand remained resting on the design; Rinwey’s reached up to touch hers as their eyes stayed locked on each other.

“I intend to.”

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

@abalonetea​ I suppose this is something to go along with the ‘flowers’ theme!

[oh-ranpo]

nothing but a number. (8)

Pairing: Gwilym Lee x Reader

AN: This story is already ending up to be way longer than I had originally planned, and we are nowhere near finished! Thank you guys so much for all your love on this story, and I am sad to say that the tag list is full. I don’t know if the 50 limit is just cause I post from my phone, but I do have a secondary list for the people who have asked me to tag them after this list was already full so I will keep trying to see if it will let me add more! Let me know what you think!

The phone call with your mother did not go well.

“I can’t believe you’re dating a man who’s almost 10 years older than you! What about Ben? I thought you were seeing him?”

“It’s not that big of a difference, mom. Besides, I’m an adult, and I can choose to date whoever I want. I’ve been trying to tell you for ages now that Ben and I are not together, and we never will be!”

“I just don’t like it. He could be taking advantage of you…”

“I am not naïve and he is not taking advantage of me in any way! Besides, I’m the one who made the first move. Now, you can either get over it and support my choices, or this phone call is over.”

Your mother had started to protest again, so you just hung up. It wasn’t uncommon for her to be a little overprotective, but this had hit a new extreme. You weren’t about to let anyone control who you were dating, especially over something so minor.

After giving Gwilym some space, you texted him later in the day to ask if he would meet you for dinner. You didn’t really want to go out, especially if you would be seen by the paparazzi, but you really wanted to talk to him to clear the air. Thankfully he agreed, and said that he would pick you up at your trailer in a couple of hours.

You didn’t bother leaving to get changed, so you sat on your couch and waited. You pulled out your phone again, purposely ignoring the other text messages that you had received from your other friends and family regarding the ‘love triangle’ incident, and decided to watch funny videos instead. By the time there was a knock on your door, you were already in a much better mood.

“I’m surprised you’re still here.” Gwilym observed, as he stepped into the room and you closed the door behind him. You noticed that he had changed from when you had seen him that morning, and you quickly felt underdressed.

“I wasn’t sure if they would need me on set or not. I figured I would hang out just in case.”

Gwilym nodded as he followed you back to the couch. The two of you sat down next to each other, the tension of what had happened the last time you were sitting here together settling over you. He wasn’t sitting as close, but you wished that, instead of talking, he would close the distance between the two of you so you could pick up where you left off. However, you knew that there was very little chance of that happening.

“I wanted to apologize for my mother,” You started, breaking the heavy silence that was had fallen over you. “For some reason, she has this obsession with Ben and I being together. She met the man once, and she’s been smitten ever since.” For the first time, a smile broke out across Gwilym’s lips as he laughed. You felt your chest tighten and your heart race at the sight.

“He is quite charming, I suppose.”

“He’s a pain, is what he is. But he’s a good friend. Emphasis on friend.”

Gwilym’s head turned a little bit more so that he could watch you more closely. Your eyes met his, and you felt a familiar connection that happened every time your eyes locked. You couldn’t believe how incredibly drawn you were to this man. It was a little scary, if you were being honest. His blue eyes sparkled, and the heaviness you felt before started to lift.

“I should apologize too, for being so weird about it all. It shouldn’t really be that big of a deal. If you don’t mind it, I sure don’t.”

You smiled at him, and you felt a lightness in your chest when you realized that there was some hope for you after all. His hand reached over to lace his fingers with yours, and you felt like your heart was going to explode. Between the way that he was looking at you, and the feel of his palm pressed against yours, you had completely forgotten about the events from that morning.

“So, what do you say we go and grab some dinner?” You asked hesitantly, not wanting to break the moment. You moved to stand up from the couch, but you were quickly pulled back down, clumsily falling into his lap.

If your heart hadn’t been beating quickly before, it was completely out of control now as you slowly raised your eyes to meet his. Your noses were brushing against each other’s lightly and you could feel his breath ghosting across your lips.

“The food can wait.” He murmured quietly before pressing his lips against yours. You felt your body come alive, like electricity was coursing through your veins, and your hand instantly reached up to brush against his cheek. His hands were gripping your hips tightly, the illusion that if he were to loosen his grip, you would slip away from him. You could feel bruises starting to form from where his thumb was pressing into your skin, but you didn’t care.

You knew that things with Gwilym were different than it had been with any other man that you had dated. With his slight age advantage, he knew how to hold you and take care of you. He knew how to take his time. Even though his kisses were hungry and urgent, his body didn’t move the same way. His hands would roam, but not intrusively, and you knew that he was kissing you because he wanted to feel connected to you, not to just get into your pants. You knew that, because you felt the same way.

“I’m really going to have to thank Ben again for introducing me to you,” Gwilym said breathlessly, after several intense minutes. His forehead rested against yours, his eyelids shielding the blue irises that you loved so much.

“We could send him a fruit basket,” You teased, earning a chuckle and another kiss from the man below you.

His arms were now just gently wrapped around your waist, his hands clasped behind you. One of your arms was draped around the back of his neck, and your other hand was resting on his shoulder. You could have spent the rest of the evening cradled in his arms, your head resting against his, but you knew that it would have to end sometime.

“I know I said food could wait… but I actually haven’t eaten since noon and I’m starving.” Gwilym said sheepishly, his eyes opening and his head pulling away from yours. You gave him a bright smile before placing a kiss against his cheek and moving to stand from his lap.

“What did you have in mind?” Gwilym shrugged as you reached out to take his hand to help him up. He kept hold of one of your hands as the two of you started walking together towards the door.

“I was thinking that we could just go pick something up, and then maybe we could take it back to my place?” Your eyebrow quirked up at the suggestion, but you could tell by his tone that it was completely innocent. You felt a little nervous over the fact that you had never actually been to Gwilym’s place before, but you knew that there was really nothing to worry about.

“Okay, sure.” You replied, stepping out of your trailer and turning to lock the door behind you.

“We could rent a movie too. Make it a whole date.” Your stomach flipped, and when your eyes met his, he was grinning at you eagerly. He was so incredibly sweet, your heart could hardly stand it.

“That sounds great.”

The two of you walked to his car, and as per usual, he stepped ahead so that he could open your door for you. You leaned up on your toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before sliding into your seat. You had never been very good with relationships in the past, but there was one thing for sure— there was no one else in the world quite like Gwilym Lee.

x.x.x

Gwilym’s apartment was close to how you imagined it would be. It was clean and sophisticated; a lot like him. There were dark cedar bookcases lining the walls, and one glimpse at some of the book titles told you that they were way out of your realm of sophistication. His living room set consisted of a black sectional, paired with a matching black loveseat and a coffee table that matched the bookshelves. Everything he owned paired so well together, and you silently reminded yourself to never let him step foot in your apartment after seeing this one.

“Make yourself at home. I’ll go and grab some plates and silverware,” Gwilym said, as he set your bags of carry-out down on the dining room table, and then disappeared through a doorway to what you assumed was the kitchen.

You slowly walked around the living room, examining the rows of books and decorations, most of which you could tell he had picked up from his travels. He didn’t have a lot of things, but you assumed that was due to the fact that he wasn’t always home. As your career had started taking off more, you had come to realize how little the material things actually meant to you.

“Are you alright?”

You were startled out of your exploration by Gwilym’s voice as he re-entered the room. You spun on your heels and gave him a bright smile as you started walking back towards him.

“I was just admiring your place. It’s so very… you.” Your hand draped over his forearm, pushing the sleeve of his sweater up slightly so your fingers could brush against his wrist. He set the plates that he was carrying down on the table, and snaked his arms around your waist.

“It’s not much, but it’s home.” He replied, leaning down to kiss your forehead. It was the little gestures like this that sent your heart soaring. Nothing he did was overly extravagant, but your heart had never felt so full.

When Gwilym released you, you grabbed the bag of food, walking it over to the couch and setting it on the coffee table. Gwilym handed you a plate, and you scooped some of the food onto it. He quickly realized that he had forgotten to bring out any drinks, and disappeared into the kitchen again. You had started eating by the time he got back, and the smile on your face grew when he set a wine glass down in front of you, and holding out a bottle of wine.

“I wasn’t sure if you were a white or red girl, so I went with one of my favorites.” He settled down next to you once again after pouring some of it into your glass, and grabbed the remote from next to him to turn on the tv. “Do you have any movie preferences?” He asked, and you shook your head.

You watched him quietly as he flipped through the various choices on Netflix, your food going momentarily forgotten on your lap. You had found yourself staring a lot lately, but you honestly couldn’t help yourself. He seemed to notice your sudden silence, and his head turned towards you again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing, and it’s kind of wonderful.”

You sighed happily, picking up your fork once again to continue eating. Gwilym just laughed as he turned his attention back to the television. It was nice, it just being the two of you without having to worry about any cameras popping up somewhere. You felt truly at peace.

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[the-entity-with-determination]

2. Entry (30.10.2018, 2:30)

Dear Reader,

Today was a simple yet nice day.

School

Chris has finally returned to school today and made everyone's day a bit brighter. (he had some sort of a throat infection)

In the first period I had German. I gave the teacher my homework which I partly have worked on with Naomi (God bless u for helping me bro) and the rest of the lesson just consisted of analyzing a Text.

Second period was English. I normally sit in the first row with one dude from the friend group, but I was too slow and my place got claimed. So I sat down next to the quiet girl from my class. Honestly I want to find out more about her. And maybe even befriend myself with her. I've always noticed that she's sitting alone in the class and never really speaks to anyone. And when some of the teachers tell her to read something, she speaks in a really quiet yet clear voice. And she also never really smiles. I feel like I just should start talking to her. Because it's also very important to have some kind of social life in school. Isn't it boring to just. Not talk to anyone? I think I'll try to interact with her tomorrow. Anyways, back to the period. We were doing some "used to and would" grammatical exercises and as always, it was kinda boring cuz I'm literally doing this thing the third time. My notebook didn't work so I looked at the text with the quiet girl's (let's call her Amanda) computer.

In third period I had IT. And in IT I'm in the first group, which means I always get to interact with Chris and Roxy. It's always very fun to talk with them. But today was even more fun cuz the teacher didn't upload any new exercises to moodle (a school plattform) and I've done all the exercises the night before lmao. Also, I've said before that my notebook doesn't work, and I've asked Chris if he could just delete everything on my computer and put it back to factory setting. (I hope that's what it's called) and he said he wouldn't mind. I just gotta go and search for the external dvd player after I finish writing this entry. Since it was basically a free period, all of us just fooled around and made meme references. I think that some meme was born out of it too lololol.

Then the big break started (which is 15 minutes long). I honestly didn't want to leave Roxy alone in class (Chris and all the other dudes normally go outside to smoke) so I decided to stay with her. We were mainly talking about music. I showed her a nice song, she showed me a nice song. Nice.

Then we had IT again. We've basically done the same thing as in the last period.

In the last two periods which were Biology and French nothing much happened.

After school

After school I tagged along with Roxy. Last time when I did we went to a nearby second hand shop and she found a framed Van Gogh picture (she's a huge Van Gogh fan) and she really wanted to buy it but didn't have enough money (cuz she bought a "rocky horror show" vinyl in the book store we also went to last time.) The bookstore was the weirdest yet coolest one I've ever seen. Like. There were books EVERYWHERE.

And today she finally got to buy the Van Gogh pic and was very satisfied. We also went to "Buttlers" (some sort of home decor store) and she bought some fairy lights that glow in a warm way.

After that we went to McDonald's to chat since she still had some spare time (her train would leave in an hour). We talked about school, friends, and also her smol crush on a dude from my class (he's a chill dude). I've found out recently that he's in a metal band. And she also seemed to know. Buttttt she didn't know that he's the Vocalist of the group. And when she listened to one of their songs she literally fangirled so much it was adorable.

Then we parted ways and I went home. Riding with the tram was rly uncomfortable since many people were inside. Sitting in the bus was less stressful und I also almost fell alseep (I didn't sleep on Sunday night). But once I got out of the bus it was very peaceful. The weather was slightly foggy, the yellow leaves were slowly falling down on the ground, and you could hear children laugh in the distance. I always feel very at peace when I walk in my small village I love it. I also took a lot of pretty pictures of trees, flowers and etc.

Home

I came home and was greeted by my parents and the amazing smell which I've known ever since I was a kid. The good ol' Russian beet soup called "Borscht". Man if only locals knew what they're missing. After I ate I went to my slightly messy room. I'll probably clean it after I come back from Roxy's sleepover. I watched some videos. Had some deep thoughts and fell asleep at 16 something. And then I woke up at 00:36. And watched some videos again. I didn't do any school stuff since I don't have to do any homework til tomorrow. So it's chill.

Now

Rn I'm laying in my bed, listen to a nice Lo-Fi mix called "everytime I see you, I fall in love all over again" and write this entry uwu.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll be hanging out with Naomi in her dorm. We'll study some stuff, talk about some fun stuff, have band practice and will return home a little late. But it's nice. Oh and my mother gave me a really nice jacket which also looks vintage-y. I luvvvv. So I'll also look like a snack tomorrow too yaaaas.

That's pretty much it. I hope you had a nice day too, reader! 🌸✨

(03:38)

[agentverbivore]

A Complex Proposal

surprise, @cardb0rdeaux! you get two secret santa presents for the price of one! when @eclecticmuses first started mulling mistletoe fluff, I suggested that Jemma hold it while Fitz be concealing a ring box, aaaaaand then I freaked out ‘cause the idea was too cute and I desperately wanted to write it. because of reasons. and fluff. so this happened, albeit a lot more down to the wire than I would’ve liked. (unbetaed, many apologies.) plus, I got to write it all while admiring her amazingbeautifulstupendousadorable art! I hope you enjoy this little addition to your gift as much as I’m sure you are already loving her work! Rated G. Season 5 future fic, canon-complaint (for the moment). FitzSimmons.

Out of all the genuinely traumatic and horrifying events that Fitz had undergone in his relatively short lifetime, his experience of the past month and four days was set to be one of the most harrowing. In that period of time, he and Jemma had moved into the DC apartment secured for them by Daisy, re-settled into their respective science division roles at SHIELD (her as the director with him as deputy), and hosted both a house-warming and a holiday party within one week of each other. Yet, none of the tasks associated with any of the above were what kept him lying awake in bed late at night or had him consumed by panic sweat at odd moments throughout the day.

Moving, although generally aggravating, was not what had him so stressed. In fact, neither of them had had much to move into the apartment in any case. With so many sudden shifts in SHIELD’s status over recent years – from the Bus to the Playground to space – their belongings were sparse, consisting only of what Fury had managed to squirrel away from the military’s clutches (and what little had survived one catastrophe after the next). Eventually, Jemma’s parents and Fitz’s mum had sent them a few things at their respective requests, but on that first day in the apartment, the rooms had looked quite spare.

In her near-infinite enthusiasm for home making, his best friend just chirped that they would fill it up soon enough and then gave him a quick peck on the lips before bouncing off to inspect the bay windows. Feeling a distinct mix of nerves and excitement and blind terror, Fitz wondered if now was the moment – if the blank slate of their new home was the right setting to dig into the bottom corner of his knapsack for a distinct, red velvet box. But when Jemma turned back to him with an argument about TV screen sizes, the idea flew right out of his head. Another day, he promised himself. The right day. Soon.

It was bloody hard to figure out what the “right day” was, however, much to Fitz’s chagrin. 

Should he sneak home early one night and set up the apartment with candles and wine and make sure she was walking into a fairytale? Should he place the box next to her tea one morning and wait to see her sleepy confusion morph into understanding? Should he surprise her in bed with breakfast? With a pastry in her office? With a painstakingly crafted speech that encompassed his every feeling for her and the plea that she allow him to be by her side for the rest of their lives?

Fitz had, actually, tried to write the latter half a dozen times when he thought he could hide the drafts from her. No matter how hard he tried, nothing ever sounded right. Reminding himself that it had taken a good three months before he had managed to concoct the opening salvo to their friendship back at the Academy, while he had only really been trying to write his proposal for a little over a month, did nothing to make him feel better. He started waking up in a cold sweat with half-baked declarations of adoration flashing into and out of his head.

More than once, Jemma had awoken along with him and immediately sought to soothe what she thought were nightmares. Sometimes, he did awake from nightmares about his trauma, but recently his dreams had mostly consisted of her saying no or simply disappearing in front of his eyes. With the cold tip of her nose nudging the scruff beneath his chin and voice murmuring sleepily that everything would be okay, that she would always be there for him, he had almost blurted the question right out into the quiet morning air a few times. But without the ring in hand – or easily retrievable from their bed – the words had always faded before they even got to his throat. And then he’d usually spent the rest of the day feeling like a zombie, his nerves about the whole operation wearing him down twice as fast as he would normally.

The ordeal of proposing in just the right way was starting to give Fitz a complex.

Somehow, he felt it was fitting that the proposal ultimately happened in a way that had absolutely, completely nothing to do with any of his plans at all.

In the last hour prior to when the guests were supposed to start arriving for their holiday party, he and Jemma were companionably setting up decorations before both adjourning to the kitchen for their respective food tasks. (Fitz was in charge of cookies while she was in charge of the savory snacks.) As he stepped back to inspect the tree lights he had just plugged in, his hand drifted to his front jeans pocket, where he’d shoved a screwdriver and his mobile to mask the small, square box that he’d slipped out of his sock drawer once Jemma had left their bedroom. For a brief, mad moment, he wondered if now was the right time – before their friends joined them to celebrate the holiday season, while the two of them were already in the midst of such pleasantly domestic activities.

Then he caught sight of Jemma pulling additional garlands and vegetation out of the bags of decorations she had brought home earlier, and the thought flitted out of his head again.

“What’s that?” he said, nodding in her direction as he reached for an unopened carton of ornaments. Before next Christmas, he planned on seeing if Jemma would want to go through his mum’s collection of baubles and trinkets to augment their tree’s decorations, but for the moment, they had a few new sets that they’d agreed upon together – courtesy of the local Target’s finest options. (The idea for sifting through his childhood ornaments had occurred to him because he hoped that they would be visiting his home before the next holiday season for entirely different reasons, but he also knew that he was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to ask – and then, if he was very lucky, she would say yes. After that, he could start planning trips to see his mum.)

“Pine garlands and mistletoe,” Jemma answered, pushing herself to her feet and dangling twin sprigs of the thin-leafed, white-blossomed plant from both hands. “I thought it might be funny to put them in the archways, you know, to see who notices. And to get back at Daisy for taping it all over the Bus that year.”

Something strangely sharp and sour darted through Fitz’s stomach, and he frowned, fiddling with the small plastic bag of provided hooks. “Oh. You don’t – I dunno. Think mistletoe’s sort of... I mean, it doesn’t – give a choice, or....” Fitz faded out, cheeks burning for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, and then gave his head a sharp shake. “Never mind, ignore me,” he mumbled, ducking his head to pick out all the red glass bulbs from the box. “Dunno what I’m thinking.”

Silence hung between them for a few moments, interrupted only by the tasteful Christmas music Jemma had put on their new stereo system playing quietly in the background. In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of Jemma moving, and then she was wrapping her arms around his middle from behind.

“You don’t want me to hang the mistletoe,” she said quietly, squeezing tighter when he sucked in an oddly shuddery breath. “You can say that, Fitz.”

“Okay.” He gave her hand a squeeze where it rested over his stomach. “Yeah, I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Not a problem,” she responded, and then planted a kiss against the back of his neck before returning to the garland. “I can use it to decorate the mantle instead.”

Once Jemma was across the room and neatly tucking the mistletoe within the pine needles and colorful ribbons, Fitz stood watching her for a few seconds too long. There was so much he wanted to say to her, to make her understand how purely happy tiny moments just like that one made him, and for a second time that evening, he almost reached into his pocket to take out the ring box. But then Jemma got a text from Daisy that caused her to burst into giggles, and his all-consuming to-do item was yet again pushed to the back of his mind.

Many hours later, after the guests had come and gone and Fitz and Jemma had cleaned up everything from the party – other than the last six-pack of her favorite beer – his mind once again drifted to the box in his pocket. It was beginning to seem, he thought vaguely, like he was waiting too long yet again to do something so important. Behind him, she cleared her throat to get his attention, and he whipped his hand away from his trousers and tried his best to look nonchalant as he turned around.

Standing a few steps away from the mantle, Jemma was holding a sprig of mistletoe over her head. The expression on her face was a mix between teasing and bashfulness, and he gave his head a questioning tilt.

“I’m standing under the mistletoe,” she said, somewhat needlessly. “And you’re not. So if you – wanted to take advantage of the tradition, you could. But you don’t have to. If you don’t want to.”

Warmth spread through Fitz’s chest as a smile teased at his lips, and her mouth widened into a proper grin. Moments when she reaffirmed that his freedom to make choices was as important to her as it was to him only made his love for her grow, and in that second he felt like his human body couldn’t possibly contain the feeling. Not wanting this to become another one of the many serious conversations they had had together in the past few months, though, he sidled closer to her, his arm brushing against the tree and causing the ornaments to jingle slightly.

He glanced between her face and the small plant. “Y’know,” he said slowly, “not sure I can actually get myself underneath that. Bit low.”

Jemma made a faux-annoyed tsk and rolled her eyes. Stretching her arm up as high as it would go without needing her to get up onto her tiptoes, she waved the plant a bit, fighting back a smile all the while. “Better?”

Fitz stepped right up against her, looking up at the mistletoe where she held it. “Not a lot of wiggle room, but I s’pose it’ll have to do.”

“Ugh, Fitz,” she groaned, but before she could admonish him further, he pressed their lips together. With a small laugh, she sighed against his mouth, resting one hand on his chest and leaning into him.

Something about kissing Jemma allowed Fitz to let go of all his tension and worries in a way that nothing else ever did. For the first time in weeks, he didn’t even second-guess himself as he reached into his trousers pocket to retrieve the velvet box. Their mouths moved together in a languid, heated way, and she hummed just before slipping her tongue between his lips. He paused for a few seconds, wrapping the box in his hand and holding it behind his back as he stepped further into her space. The thought of the expression his sixteen-year-old self would be wearing if he could see himself now nearly caused him to laugh; there had been few things he would have been less interested in at the Academy than kissing Jemma Simmons, let alone proposing to her.

When Jemma finally pulled back for air, leaning forward with a smile pulling at her lips and lowering her arm, Fitz raised the hand that held the box at the same time that she opened her eyes. Her gazed fixed immediately on the square of red velvet, and she sucked in a breath. The mistletoe dropped from her fingers to bounce once, twice on the wooden floor at their feet.

“Yes.”

Fitz halted with his mouth half open. “What?”

“Sorry, sorry,” she said on a breathless laugh, curling the fingers of both hands into his green cardigan. “You can keep going, but it’s going to be a yes.” Jemma’s eyes sparkled with the tree lights behind him, and she reached up to trail her fingers along his cheek. Just as he swallowed and got ready to speak again, she continued, words rushed as if she couldn’t stop herself. “Because I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. Because I’ve been waiting way too long to start the rest of my life with you.”

“Jemma,” he let out in something between an admonishment and a chuckle. “I’ve spent weeks trying to figure out how to propose, and you’ve gone and done it for me!”

“Sorry,” she murmured, grinning as if she weren’t sorry at all. “Again.”

Grumbling, Fitz sunk onto one knee with only a little wobbling. He opened the ring box, held it up, took a deep breath, and... could not for the life of him think of anything to say that was better than what Jemma had just said. Jemma was practically vibrating with excitement in front of him, her eyes beginning to shine with tears of joy, and he sighed into an affectionate smile.

“Jemma Simmons,” he started, angling the box up so that the one-carat diamond shone a little better in the room’s lighting. “When we first met, I thought that we’d get on, but I had no idea how well. I’ve never been as happy as I am when we’re together. And I hope I make you happy –”

“You do, so happy,” she interrupted, hands reaching halfway towards him before she caught herself and then tangled her fingers together in front of herself. He arched an eyebrow and she ducked her head. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, Jemma, please.” He let out a low laugh and plucked the ring from the box. Giving himself a few seconds to think, he gently took her left hand and slid the simple white gold band onto her ring finger. To his relief, it fit perfectly – his surreptitious midnight ring sizing a few weeks back had been a success. “I don’t have any right to be this happy, or this lucky –”

“Fitz!” she exclaimed, but he plowed on over her objection.

“But, Jemma, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she blurted, immediately tugging at his cardigan to get him back on his feet. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Leo Fitz.”

And then she was kissing him, and Fitz nearly tripped over the blasted ring box as he tried to find purchase on the floor, and he was so blissfully excited and relieved that he felt mildly faint. Before he could really process what was happening, she broke away from his lips to press kisses to his cheeks, his nose, his forehead – everywhere on his face that she could reach – and he started to laugh. The last time she had done this, he had been convinced that he was about to die. Now, they were getting ready to spend an entire lifetime together. He wasn’t sure whether it was irony or symmetry, but either way, he cheerfully basked in her attentions.

Finally, Fitz had proposed and Jemma had said yes. Anything else good that happened for the rest of the year was merely one more ornament on an already full Christmas tree.

[More FitzSimmons for the holidays.] [AO3.]

[romanticoldme]

This is my bughead Secret Santa for @birdlovesafish. I’m sorry it’s so late - Happy New Year!!

It’s my first ever long(ish) fic so please forgive any errors of spelling, grammar, repetition, wordiness etc. I really hope you enjoy it though – it was fun to write!!

Set at the end of S2E09 Chapter 22 ‘Silent Night Deadly Night’ (except Betty doesn’t burn all her Black Hood memorabilia)

NB I didn’t start out to write a sexy times fic but the words just kept coming (so to speak…)

Late in the afternoon on Christmas Day Betty opens her present from Jughead and feels like her heart nearly stops. When it resumes its normal rhythm it’s beating slightly faster. ‘Surely’, she thinks ‘if he loves me this much it can’t be over’. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind Betty picks up her phone to text Jughead a thank you message but then realises that it just doesn’t feel right to say it via text. ‘I’ll talk to him tomorrow’ she decides then noticing the time gets up to pull on a few more layers.

Betty heads downstairs to grab her coat. Hal and Alice are sitting quietly in the living room talking about how disappointed they are that Polly didn’t come home for Christmas. “Mom, Dad I’m off to do my shift at Pop’s soup kitchen” she calls as she walks out the door. “Call us if you need a ride home” replies Hal, but she’s already gone.

The car park at Pop’s has been taken over by two big marquees each lined with long tables and chairs, and a few strategically placed gas heaters. The tables are decorated simply with holly, and candles in glass jars. Everything is gearing up for the dinner sitting at the soup kitchen, which started with breakfast this morning and has been running most of the day. Kevin and Josie were singing carols earlier and now the church choir has taken their place.

“Hey Pop, where would you like me to start”? Betty asks as she dons her apron.

“Hi Betty, thanks so much for coming down tonight, you’re always such a help here” replied Pop warmly. “I think if you can start getting the plates and cutlery ready, the servers will be out with the hot dishes soon and then we can start feeding these people here.”

Everything is stacked in big boxes behind one of the serving tables so Betty’s first job is to make stacks of plates on the table next to the food warmers, ready for the servers (of which she is one). Even though everyone calls it ‘Pop’s soup kitchen’ today the menu consists of roast meat and vegetables and Christmas pudding. The smell coming from the kitchen is mouth-watering. Betty turns around to comment to Midge (who is helping with the cutlery) about the delicious aromas and comes face to face with Jughead holding a huge tray covered in foil. “Oh!” she exclaims “Umm hi” and glances down to the plates in her hand. “Hey Betty” says Jug quietly eyes meeting hers for the briefest moment. “I didn’t realise you would be here too, I hope you don’t mind. I came to help Pop” he explains. “Oh no of course not Jug, it’s great you’re here too”.  “Is there room for this tray in there?” asks Jughead as he nods towards the food warmer. “Yes, yes of course, here let me get out of your way, I’m so sorry” Betty says awkwardly, moving aside. “Betts, it’s fine” smiles Jughead in an effort to relieve some of the tension, both of them aware there is so much going unsaid between them.  

Before they know it there is an army of people carrying more trays of food all trying to get to the serving area and Betty and Jughead are pushed aside for the moment while everything is set up. “Betty” says Jughead softly touching her arm “after this is all over, can we talk, just for a minute?” “Sure, Jug” replies Betty ducking her head and with a half-smile on her face.

The next 2 hours for Betty pass in a whirlwind of dishing up copious amounts of food, smiling and laughing, giving best wishes to those she meets, and occasionally glancing up to see Jughead as he runs back and forth from the kitchen, refreshing drinks and delivering bread to all the tables.

As the last of the dishes are cleared away to the kitchen by the clean-up team, Betty lets out a large sigh and wipes her brow. “As much as I love this I’m glad our part is done” says Midge as she dons her jacket smiling at Betty. “I agree, Midge” replies Betty returning her smile “see you back at school next week” she says as she waves goodbye.

Betty turns to reach for her coat only to find two hands holding it out for her ready to put her arms in. “Oh Juggie, thank  you” Betty says warmly, slipping her arms in. She turns towards Jughead as she buttons her coat and then tucks her hands under her arms. Now that she’s not busy and the heaters are off her hands have quickly become cold. “Don’t you have your gloves Betts?” asks Jughead frowning, then hands her his leather motorcycle gloves “here, take these, they might be a little large but they’ll help”. “Thank you” Betty replies softly, smiling. “Do you need a ride home now” asks Jughead hopefully, but Betty shakes her head and says “No, I’d rather walk – walk with me?” raising her eyebrow to him. Jughead smiles back at Betty and they turn and fall into step beside each other, Jughead kicking lumps of snow as he walks.

They walk in silence for a few minutes then “Betty-“ “Jughead-“ they both say simultaneously then look at each other and laugh softly. “You go first” says Jug smiling. Betty takes a deep breath before beginning “Thank you for my present Juggie” she says softly “it’s perfect, you know me so well, and I’ll cherish it. Did you read it first?” “Betty” he admonishes gently “of course I did, and I can see why you love her writing so much, I’m glad you like it”. “I love it, Jug…” she replies leaving the rest of her reply hanging. “Speaking of gifts” says Jughead wryly “I think perhaps you went a little overboard with mine! A vintage Underwood Betts? I’m not sure I’m worthy of that”. “Juggie! Of course you are, you know you are” Betty states giving him her ‘look’ and squeezing his arm. Jughead stops walking, “Betty…” “Yes Jug” she replies turning to face him, they stand there in silence until Betty says “What?” she repeats it in an echo of the moment before their very first kiss, knowing he will understand the significance, and with one eyebrow raised gives him an encouraging smile. “I’m so sorry Betty, for everything. For not talking to you enough once I started at Southside, for not telling you what was happening with the Serpents, for not confiding in you when things were going bad and mostly for pushing you away. I’m not sure I know who I am anymore and I don’t know how to fix everything that’s gone wrong, not just with us but with my dad too”. “Jug, you’re not the only one who has been struggling with all this. I didn’t confide in you either, I let the physical distance between us become emotional distance. I’ve made bad decisions too – Serpent dance anyone? And I pushed you away first. So please, don’t blame yourself for everything that’s gone wrong with us”.

Jughead stepped forward placing one hand on her shoulder and holding the other near her face “Betty, I don’t want to be without you anymore” stated Jughead his voice breaking on the last word “Is there - will you - can you forgive me?” “Juggie” whispered Betty grabbing the hand near her face and placing it on her mouth and kissing it. “There’s nothing to forgive – or only if you forgive me too, and promise me that we’ll keep talking to each other” her eyes welling with unshed tears.

Suddenly both of Jughead’s hands are on Betty’s  face and he’s kissing her like he’s a drowning man and she is his oxygen. The tears that were welling have run down Betty’s face and they can taste them in the kiss and then Jughead is kissing them away from her cheeks and her eyes, before returning to her mouth and parting her lips so his tongue can delve inside. This kiss almost feels like a first kiss and yet it’s so much more because they’re putting all of their feelings of loss and love into it at the same time, it’s like coming home.

They stop for breath their eyes closed, their lips barely apart, breathing each other’s air. “Juggie” Betty whispers her lips ghosting over his “Stay with me” it’s barely a question and Jughead simply replies “Yes”.

They walk back to Betty’s with their arms wrapped around each other, it’s slow and it’s freezing cold but they don’t care or notice. The only light on at the house is the one outside the front door so they both enter and make their way quietly up the stairs.

Once inside Betty’s room with the door shut (and locked) there’s a moment of awkwardness which they both laugh off – this isn’t the first time they’ve shared a bed after all – but something feels different tonight. “I’ll change in the bathroom” Betty offers and grabs fresh pjs from the drawer on the way in. While Betty changes, Jughead strips down to boxers and his S t-shirt and climbs into her bed. When she comes back out he has the covers in his hand and is holding them open for her, Betty can’t help the smile that crosses her face as she runs and dives under the covers, snuggling up to Jughead’s side while he tucks the blankets behind her.

They lay that way for a while, Betty curled up against him, Jughead’s arm under her and the other stroking down her arm and side. They start talking quietly and tell each other things that they both think they should have earlier. “Penny Peabody helped get my dad out of jail”, “Polly left town to go stay on the farm”, “My dad’s in deep with bad business and he won’t let me help”, “I don’t think Mr Svenson was the Black Hood”, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about joining the Serpents”, “I’m sorry about the dance”…

“Betty”

“Yes Jug”

“I love you”

“I love you too Juggie”

Betty pushes herself up onto her elbow and looks into Jughead’s eyes.  “I love you” she says again leaning in to kiss him. Jughead puts his hand in her hair and pulls her into him kissing her back, his lips devouring hers. Their tongues run along each other’s lips then invade their mouths and suddenly the intent behind theirs kisses changes and they can’t get enough of each other. Their kissing becomes frenzied, like they’re running out of time and Betty’s breath hitches in her throat. Jughead pulls back slightly and asks “Are you ok?” “I’m ok Jug, I just – I’m not sure where this is going and I –“, “Do you want to stop” interrupts Jughead “Because we can”. “No, no I don’t, I don’t want to stop Jug, I just need it to be slower I think”. “We can do slow baby, slow is good” he reassures her.

When he calls her ‘baby’ Betty melts back into his arms and they resume kissing, deeply and passionately. Jughead’s hand moves down to her waist then up under her t-shirt, skimming her side and coming to rest next to her breast, his thumb reaching around to stroke the lower edge. Betty’s breath stutters and she pushes forward into his hand. Jughead groans into her mouth as his hand fully encloses her breast squeezing gently. He runs his fingertips over her nipple with a featherlight touch which sends shivers running through Betty’s whole body igniting the fire deep in her belly. “Oh” she breathes in to his mouth as he continues his attention to her nipple. Slowly he pushes her shirt up under her arms and moves his kisses from her mouth to her cheek, they trail down her neck until he reaches her collarbone which he nibbles lightly with his teeth before kissing it and then lowering his mouth even further to her breast. He kisses across the top of one, planting one kiss in between, then on to the other. Betty lifts her body again and breathes “please” and then his mouth is on her nipple, he sucks it gently then runs his tongue over it, while his hand still works over her other breast. He takes turns with them, suck, lick, blow and Betty responds with a shiver her whole body writhing under him.

“Off, please��� she gasps grabbing his shirt and pulling, Jughead lifts enough for her to pull it over his head and then he’s sliding his hands up her arms to remove hers too. As good as his mouth felt on her breasts, the feeling of his skin, the slightly rough hairs on his chest rubbing over her sensitised nipples, is intoxicating. Betty wraps her arms behind his neck and pulls him back down to her mouth, drinking him in.

With Jughead lying almost over her Betty can feel his leg between hers and she instinctively raises her hips slightly pushing the sensitised flesh between her legs up against his thigh. Jughead feels her heat and pushes himself back against her at which point Betty becomes aware of his erection against her thigh. They continue their subtle hip movements as they kiss, all the while the pressure building inside them both.

Feeling bolder than ever Betty reaches her hand down and lightly rubs over the front of Jughead’s boxers. He breathes in sharply and then groans into her mouth. Emboldened by his response she strokes again lightly wrapping her hand around his impressive length. “Oh God Betty” he moans “that feels amazing”. Pleased that she seems to be doing it right Betty continues to move her hand in long strokes still on the outside of his shorts.

Kissing Betty lightly on her lips Jughead looks down as he slides his hand from her breast down over her hip bone to the thin fabric of her pj shorts. He rests his hand at the junction of her thighs then slowly moves his whole hand down between her legs, exerting firm yet gentle pressure. Betty’s hand stops it ministrations on his erection as new sensations take over her senses. “Oh” she breathes as Jughead’s hand passes back and forth over her.  Without realising it Betty’s thighs relax and her legs slowly fall open allowing his hand to access more of her throbbing flesh. The next time Jughead brings his hand back up he continues to the waistband of her shorts and after seeking permission with a raised eyebrow and getting a nod and a soft kiss in reply he dips below the edge of her shorts to slide his fingers through the incredibly soft, moist flesh below. The intimacy of the contact and the sheer force of sensations new to them both is enough to take their collective breath away. He continues to stroke ever so slowly, increasing the pressure as he nears both the sensitive bud at the top of her sex as well as the silky entrance below. Betty’s breathing has become uneven as she gives off small whimpers and moans at the sensations he’s inducing. Feeling incredibly courageous (and lucky) Jughead finally dips his middle finger into her moist interior and gasps at how hot she is inside. Betty groans “Oh God yes” into his mouth as he kisses her. He holds his hand in place and strokes his finger in and out of her noticing her gasps when he touches the rough patch of skin on her upper wall. Jughead pushes his tongue into Betty’s mouth at the same time he pushes his finger into her in a slow and steady rhythm that drives her crazy with need.

Betty realises that she has stopped stroking Jughead and feeling slightly guilty she reaches into the front of his boxers to run her fingers up his bare length. He’s so hard and yet the skin is soft like velvet. She wraps her fingers around him and at feeling of her hand running up and over his sensitised head Jughead gasps “Jesus Christ” into Betty’s mouth. Now it’s her turn to stroke him until he can’t think anymore. They both whisper “Oh baby” and “That feels so good” into each other’s ears as they learn the secrets of each other’s bodies. Betty feels the moisture at Jughead’s tip and uses it to make her hand slide more easily along his length. Jughead feels Betty’s walls quivering around his finger and slips a second one inside, using his thumb to stimulate her clit, feeling her get even wetter under his hand. Betty moans underneath him “Juggie, I think I’m close, really close.” “It’s ok baby you can let go” murmurs Jughead as he strokes deeper inside her and moves his thumb even faster over the bundle of nerves. Within moments he feels her clench around him, body shaking as she cries softly into his ear. “Are you ok baby?” he whispers kissing her hair, her ear, her cheek and finally her lips. “Never better” Betty jokes with a shaky smile and tears in her eyes. Betty nods towards the bedside table “In the top drawer, there are condoms, if you want…?” “Oh baby I want” replies Jughead reaching over to grab a foil packet and rip it open with his teeth. He places the condom over his tip and Betty helps to roll it down his shaft, squeezing him firmly as she goes. Even though Betty feels quite wet after her orgasm Jughead is concerned about her first time so he reaches for the lube that’s sitting in the drawer and while he’s rubbing some onto her says “Baby please tell me to stop if it’s too much, I don’t want to hurt you”, “Juggie, you won’t hurt me, you couldn’t. I love you and I want this too much to stop you now”.  Positioning himself above her Jughead slips his fingers inside to stroke and relax her before withdrawing them and replacing them with his tip. He gently pushes forwards feeling little resistance but it’s definitely a tight fit. Betty breathes deeply and tries to relax as much as she can, tilting her hips to get the best angle for his entry. It feels like a mild burning/stinging until he’s fully immersed in her then the base of his shaft, which is the widest part, really puts pressure on her and she gasps “Wait”. “Are you sure you’re ok Betts” Jughead asks worriedly. “I’m fine, I’m perfect, just don’t go too deep yet”. Jughead nods, closes his eyes and pulls back before thrusting in gently again, this time Betty rock her hips to meet him and after a couple more tentative movements they start to establish a gentle rhythm. Nothing has ever felt like this before for either of them and they are in no rush to finish quickly. Betty has never felt so full before like every part of her inside is being touched at the same time. Jughead has never felt the heat of being inside someone before and he feels like he’s going to self-combust. Together their pace begins to quicken and though Betty feels amazing she’s knows she not going to come again, so she focusses on gripping him tightly and drawing him in with every thrust. Jughead can feel the pressure building and though he doesn’t want to lose control he can’t help feeling like he just wants to push as far inside Betty as he can go. He can feel her drawing him in with her hips and her muscles and he feels himself easing into her slightly deeper with each thrust. He looks down to where they are joined and it is the sight of him buried inside her that tips him over the edge as he comes in a rush of sensation shuddering and shaking above her as he cries her name.

They lay together kissing and smiling and whispering to each other with him still inside her. He doesn’t want to leave her body and she won’t let him anyway, hooking her legs around his to hold him. Eventually Jughead starts to soften and slips out, he passes her a tissue, disposes of the condom and then quickly takes his place back by her side. They wrap their arms around each other, legs tangled, feeling utterly smug.

“Welcome home Juggie” murmurs Betty as they drift off to sleep.

Wherever you are is home Betts” replies Jughead resting his mouth against her temple.

“I know” she whispers back smiling.

fin

[bangchanshehe]

Are you mine? (part 3/?)

Summary: When you moved to Korea to chase your dreams you ended up doing things you could only ever dream of doing. When you get wrapped up in Idol’s lives your luck seems to take a turn for the worse. Your friends will betray you and your enemies will be closer than you think.

Genre: Angst, smut 

word count: ~4k

The next morning you woke up and got dressed ready to do some shopping. You still needed a few things for your room and needed to gather some teaching supplies for the upcoming school semester. You left the house with a very happy roommate in tow ready to leave a hole of doom in your bank account. You went store after store shopping for the perfect belongings for your room and finally settled down when you finally he spent all of you energy carrying around your bags that added up going from store to store. When you looked down to check the time you saw that it was almost five o’clock. You quickly hailed a taxi and made your way back home.

Once you reached the house you decided that it would be a perfect to enjoy a ice cold beer while you decorated your room before you had to deal with the very anticipated visitor that you were expecting later. Usually you would never be under the influence willingly before teaching a lesson, but the circumstances at hand were far from normal. You decided that now would be a good time to go out to the convenience store that you noticed was just down a few blocks from your house. As soon as you made your way outside you took your time to walk slowly down the streets to remember all of the small businesses and buildings that were around your neighborhood. When you reached the front door of the store you made your way inside slowly. Instead of rushing straight to the beer you decided it would be wise for you to go up and down the isles to see what all was inside. You drooled looking at all of the drinks and snacks there were, making a mental bucket list of snacks to try for the future when you noticed you phone consistently vibrating. Expecting it to be a phone call your mouth dropped at the number of incoming messages that you were receiving. You tried to ignore the messages buy ultimately your curiosity got the better of you.

           Hot Byuns: Can’t wait for our date tonight!

           Hot Byuns: it feels like it’s been so long since I’ve seen your beautiful face.

           Hot Byuns: hope you’re as excited to see me as I am to see you.

           Hot Byuns: by the way I hope you didn’t invite anyone over to chaperone

Tonight. Especially that guy from the other night.

Hot Byuns: I want you all to myself.

 You could practically hear his flirtatious tone in his voice as you read his messages. You rolled your eyes at your phone and typed out your text.

           You: tonight is not a date. Tonight is about me teaching you as your favor.

           And there will be people there, I have a roommate and Cole happens to be a

           Friend of ours.

You made your way over to the refrigerated section and got your beer. As soon as you made your way to check out you felt your phone buzz again once more and you opened the message.

           Hot Byuns: his name is Cole! Now I finally have a name to put to that ugly

           Face.

           Hot Byuns: I mean I seriously don’t know what his problem is but he needs

           To control his frustrations. He shouldn’t be punishing random people (me)

           For his inability to get out of the friend zone.

           Hot Byuns: maybe I should introduce you to some better friends!

 You completely ignored his messages and purposely chose not to reply. You made your way home and immediately decided to start decorating now that you had something cold to complete your afternoon.

About thirty minutes later after unpacking everything you bought you put it in its new homes and sighed contently as your once emptier room started to now feel more like a space of your own. Somewhere in between the time that you had gotten home and unpacked the boys came over and were in the living room watching TV mindlessly while Lydia was in the kitchen cooking. You joined them and sat on the floor in between their legs and scrolled through your Tumblr as you waited for dinner to be ready.

As soon as everyone had finished with their plates you gathered up the dishes and began to do the cleaning in the kitchen. Part of the new system that you had with Lydia was that whoever cooked left the other the dishes to clean which you were more than happy to do since you weren’t much of a cook yourself. Half way through the dishes your beer was empty and you cracked another one open and simultaneously the doorbell rang. You didn’t even have to think twice before questioning who it was. Jonathan quickly got up to answer the door and looked through the peep hole.

“Uh, is anyone expecting any guests?” he looked back at everyone with a shocked expression.

“I am. You can let him in”

Jonathan opened the door and stepped aside with a quick bow and hello. You continued to work on the dished when you froze noticing Baekhyun’s attire. He was practically in all black with a hat, glasses and a flu mask on. He looked completely opposite of how he looked the other night. He looked more like a human being rather than a perfect idol. As soon as he took his mask and hat off Lydia and Jonathan gasped.

“What the hell is Byun Baekhyun doing in our apartment Emily?” Lydia asked you while never tearing her eyes and sweet smile away from Baekhyun.

“He came over to learn a little bit of English.” You stated back.

“I understand that but I mean you’ve been in Korea less than 48 hours and you already know someone as famous as him?!”

“Actually he’s the guy who we left at the bar in Gangnam the other night” at that she quickly snapped her head back to me smirking.

“And you let him go? Emily, have you seen this boy? He’s so pretty and so much more handsome in person? I would have let him do whatever he wanted to me!” she stated.

Cole cleared his throat and you took that as your que to leave the awkward situation and guide Baekhyun down the hall to my bedroom. Once we were inside Baekhyun immediately took a space at the desk and pulled out a notebook and pencil. You waited for any sort of unwelcome flirtation to be thrown your way but it never came. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at you in anticipation and you cleared your throat.

“So Baekhyun how much English do you already know” you asked looking anywhere but at him to avoid any type of awkwardness. He chuckled and looked down at his own hands then.

“It’s probably best if we just started out with the very basics.” He omitted with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Alright” you stated and immediately stood next to him pulling out papers and English study books for him to read from and reference.

You’re not sure when exactly Cole entered your room but shortly after you actually began to start with the vocal practices of your studying he came in and took a place on your bed unnoticed. When you turned around to finally give up on standing and retried a chair from the kitchen you nearly had a heart attack at the sight of him sitting at the foot of your bed glaring at the two of you at the desk.

When you jumped back at the sight of him Baekhyun turned his head to see what startled you and smiled at the man sitting on your bed.

“It’s nice to see you again Clause, it looks like you’re happy to see me too.” Baekhyun commented with sarcasm dripping from his voice. Cole maintained his composure and just nodded his head with a lopsided smirk on his face. You silently watched the two while they shot daggers at each other and excused yourself from the room to get your chair.

When you came back into the room Cole was still staring at Baekhyun’s head while Baekhyun was turned around focused on what he had written down.  You were actually surprised at the amount of focus that Baekhyun had put into studying. You thought that tonight was going to be a painful few hours of dodging his advances until he figured out that you weren’t interested and left for good. You were silently starting to gain a small amount of respect back for him, if not as a person as a student. You sat down next to him and continued your routine of reading writing and speaking with one another until it was 11 o’clock and you felt like you couldn’t keep your eyes open anymore. You felt your head dip to the side and immediately woke yourself up to the feeling of strong hands holding your head up.

“Woah, you okay?” Baekhyun asked and you nodded clearing your throat, trying to sit up to focus your last bit of energy on the task at hand.

“I guess it’s time for me to go, you seem like you’re exhausted.” He said with a chuckle.

You stretched and looked around the room and noticed that it was just the two of you. Baekhyun noticed your searching gaze for Cole and sighed.

“He left about an hour ago. I guess he realized that I was serious and wasn’t trying to do anything funny and went home.” You nodded your head and turned your attention back to the boy at your desk.

“Look I know that this may seem like a bit much to ask but I’ve seriously enjoyed my time studying tonight. I really learned a lot and I haven’t really been able to ever really focus on studying English with any other people, but you make it easy. Would you by chance be willing to help me a little more?” he looked down at his notebook while he spoke but the minute that he lifted his gaze to your eyes you saw nothing but seriousness in his face. Nothing about him seemed like it was a joke or a way to hang around. You pondered your options for a minute and then shook your head giving him a small smile.

“Really?” he asked with a huge grin.

“It’s fine as long as you take it seriously. The minute that you start messing around or wasting my time is when we end this.”

“I won’t waste your time I promise!” he looked absolutely triumphant as he smiled at you. “Thank you so much for giving me a chance!”

“Yeah, yeah. How about on Wednesday nights you come here at eight and we’ll continue lessons.” You offered.

“Would Wednesdays and Mondays work for you? I really want to learn as fast as possible, we have a tour coming up in the US and I want to be able to speak to fans.”

Normally you wouldn’t have given into him having started off with each other the way that you did, but he seemed like he wasn’t trying to play around and he earned points tonight for how well he worked with you. You sighed and pretended to think about it for a while, watching the anticipation grow on his face.

“Fine” you said chuckling at his dramatic sigh and smile that lit up his whole face.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

You didn’t expect his sudden skin ship when he pulled you in for a hug and hugged him back after a few moments of hesitation. You didn’t see any harm in hugging him since he wasn’t actually a student per say. He quickly packed up his bag and headed towards the front door. You saw him out and he waved before turning and making his way to the elevator with his happy grin still plastered on his face. You went back inside and locked up making your way to your bedroom to wash up and settle in for the night. As soon as you made your way over to your bed you received at a text from Baekhyun.

           Hot Byuns: thank you for giving me a chance! I’ll show you how dedicated I

           Am to learn. Goodnight Emily!

You smiled at his message and put your phone on silent and closed your eyes to sleep off your tiresome day.

The rest of the week flew by and you were amazed at how fast Monday had approached. Nothing new had happened in your life other than finding and trying new restaurants and exploring new buildings all over Seoul. You busied yourself with all sorts of small tasks that you gave yourself like finding interesting museums and parks to visit to familiarize yourself with your new country and even visited the school that you would be teaching at soon. The closer to the school year that it got the more excited you were to get started with the school year. You were finally starting to feel like this was reality and not a dream. Everything was starting to come together and you felt like you had made all the right choices to lead you to these moments in your life.

As eight rolled around you didn’t dread Baekhyun coming over in fact you were kind of excited. If you could help someone like him you felt like you could really teach to these kids at your school. You began to tidy up your room and get things prepared for the lesson where you left off. You didn’t bother to invite the boys over because you didn’t really feel the need for them to watch since Baekhyun had behaved himself so well the last time, even though Cole still offered. When the doorbell rang you opened the door and stopped in your tracks when you saw two men standing outside. One was obviously Baekhyun but the other was completely new to you. Once both men entered they took off their hats and face masks and you immediately knew who the other man was.

“It’s nice to meet you again Miss Emily” manager Park said with a small smile.

“Ah yes, it’s nice to see you too!” you said back in the now awkward silence. Baekhyun coughed after a moment longer of silence.

“He came with me today so that he knew what I was up too.” The two men exchanged looks at each other and you saw the silent communication between the two. You decided that whatever it was you didn’t care enough to ask more about it.

“That’s fine, the more the merrier.” You turned to grab a chair and head down the hall to your room when a strong set of hands took the chair from you.

“Will you grab another chair?” Baekhyun said to his manager and you continued to walk forward.

Once inside your room Baekhyun immediately took his seat at the desk and you sat next to him while his manager sat across from you two and silently watched you to work until he became bored and decided that there were more interesting things on his phone.

The two of you worked and worked until you felt like you just couldn’t sit in the same spot anymore. At ten you took a break to get a drink from the kitchen and when you came back the two men where in the middle of a conversation bickering back and forth like school children.  Had you not known of the age gap between the two it would have sounded like brothers were arguing over a shared toy. You chuckled at the two when you took your seat and the two promptly stopped talking at sat straighter than before.

“Miss Emily Baekhyun and I will have to depart here shortly due to his schedules but first I would like to say thank you for giving him a chance and teaching him.” He stood and bowed to you.

“It’s really no problem, he’s been perfectly fine and well behaved. I’m actually quite surprised with him since he seems like a totally different person than the person I met at first.” You spoke up and gestured for him to sit back down since he was still standing awkwardly as stiff as a board. When he sat down he coughed and looked up at you.

“We actually have something that we would like to discuss with you.” He turned to his backpack and pulled out an envelope with presumably documents inside of it.

“You have done exceptionally well with Baekhyun these past two meetings and he speaks very highly of you” you turned to look at Baekhyun and you saw him nod his head proudly with a small blush on his cheeks “on behalf of SM Entertainment, I would like to invite you to work full time with the company.” You swear you felt your soul leave your body and your eyes probably looked like they were the size of saucers.

You took a deep shaky breath and then looked down at your hands to process manger Park’s request. When you looked back up at him he continued.

“I know this seems a little rushed and short notice since you would start teaching in less than a few weeks but we are prepared to buy out your contract with the school in order to allow you to work for us.” He opened up the envelope and took out a contract. Opening it up to several different pages and explaining all of the benefits of working for the company.

“You would have access to all health and living benefits such as private housing compliments of the company, you would work around the clock whenever a member would need lessons or a translator. Since there are so many groups with SM you would work solely for EXO. Your housing would be in the same building that the boys dorms are at for convenience and you would travel with them when they go on tour to English speaking countries. You salary would be roughly 100 Million Won per year contracted and any travel expenses would be covered.” He turned to you and gauged your response so far. You sat with a blank expression and your mouth hanging wide open.

Just then you got a cold chill that ran all the way down your spine and you snapped out of your zombie trance. There was literally nothing to think about of course you would work for SM Entertainment, you would be completely stupid not to. You would get paid way more than you would teaching, the housing would be nicer since you could live by yourself and you would still get to travel where you wanted to go with the group. You instantly felt your heart beating through every limb, muscle and fiber of your being. Your heart beat was so loud in your head that you felt like it was going to explode. You knew that this was what you wanted to do without a doubt but you felt so much guilt for leaving your other job at the school. You would have to move out of your place that you just settled in and you wouldn’t see the boys and Lydia anymore.

“if you need some time to consider the offer you are more than welcome to take as much time as ne-“

“no.” you cut him off before he could finish

“No?” he questioned back

“I don’t need any time to consider the offer.” You pulled out a desk drawer and the men both looked at you with wide eyes at your cryptic answer. You pulled out a black pen and turned to manager Park.

“Where do I sign?” you looked at him in the eyes as serious as could be. You hated that you had to leave behind what you had now but you would always regret turning down this once in a lifetime offer.

He turned to the signature lines in the contract and you gladly signed all of them. When you were done you sat back and smiled to yourself.

“Oh my god this is really happening!” you chuckled and Baekhyun and manager Park both laughed with you.

For the rest of the night Baekhyun had nothing to say he just listened to the conversation between you and manager Park with a grin on his face that he tried so hard to keep as small as possible.

“So tomorrow come by the building and we’ll have a walk through and we’ll help you get moved into your new place as soon as possible. I have some time around noon so it would be best for you to come then.”

“Alright that sounds perfect to me!” you walked both men out and waived goodnight as you parted ways. Once the door was shut you immediately jumped up and down and screamed. The excitement was literally too much to handle and you were sure that if you didn’t let it out you would explode. To the sounds of your screaming Lydia came out of her room with a startled look on her face.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked

“The craziest thing in my entire life just happened!” you said in between pants from the screaming and jumping. Instead of asking any more questions Lydia just looked at you with raised eyebrows.

“I’m moving!” you laughed and yelled simultaneously. And Lydia looked at you with complete shock.

“WHAT?” she yelled. I sat her down on the couch and told her all about the last 30 minutes.

“That’s fucking insane!” she yelled. “How in the hell are you so lucky?”

“I don’t know. I just saw the opportunity and took it!” and then it dawned on me that I would have to move again and I wouldn’t have friends so conveniently close. That is what sucked the most.

“I’m starting tomorrow and moving in the afternoon. I’m going to SM around noon” you spoke and Lydia started to look less excited and more and more sad.

“We’re still gonna hang out though right?” she said in a small voice still looking at her hands.

“Of course, I know that we’ve only had about a week with each other but, I’m really gonna miss you and the guys. Y’all are my Korea family! I don’t want this job change to mean the end of our friendships.” You smiled down at her sunken frame and she looked back up at you with a bit of a perkier smile.

“Oh my god! OH MY GOD!” she began yelling again and you laughed at her extreme mood swing to excitement again. “You have to invite me over all the time so we can talk about of the members and other artists at SM! Also you should totally slip my number to Chanyeol!” she gave you an evil smirk and wiggled her eyebrows.

You leaned back on the couch and sighed rethinking how much of a dramatic change your life made in the last hour. Once the excitement settled down you decided that the last thing that you needed to do was message your mom to share the good news. After typing out what felt like a novel the exhaustion hit you like a ton of bricks and you fought through the exhaustion as you stayed up to pack your belongings.

NEXT PART

[steamishot]

Saltiness

It’s pretty boring at work right now. I get headaches from looking at my computer screen too long and my butt hurts from sitting too long. I’m currently listening to Jimmy O Yang’s book How to American as some type of entertainment. Been also checking out podcasts from Asian Boss Girl. I learned that Phillip Wang from WongFu production is in a long term relationship and his girlfriend is part of the ABG trio haha. A lot of the Asian influencers/youtubers/entertainers are collaborating and I’m happy to see more Asian American representation in our media. 

Current projects:

-          Crocheting a pillow. My coworker (40s) crochets and has done a few complicated projects (baby clothes set, stuffed animals, etc). I’ve been looking for hobbies to fill my free time and was inspired by her. For a bit, I thought that I should be picking up more “useful” skills and thought of dropping the crochet idea. But then, I wanted to buy some decorative pillows to match the feel of my new room and thought- why not make my own? I want to crochet a pillow or beanie for Matt, as a healthy way to cope when I’m missing him. I also think I’m more meticulous and create nicer things when I intend to gift the item. It’s day 2 of crocheting and I’m 1/3 of the way complete with a pillow using single crocheting techniques. Once I feel comfortable with making consistent stitches by single crocheting, I can move onto more complicated designs.

-          My room is currently a work in progress. I got rid of the furniture I didn’t want. Next is to purchase a new mattress- the one I have right now is comfortable, but I think it’s more than 15 years old and I’d like it to be more firm.

-          Cleaning out the entire house

-          Hiring people to paint the living room and kitchen and revamping the living room. There is way too much junk. I was extremely tired after I painted my room myself and didn’t want to go through that again lol.

Trips:

-          I booked an entire house in Morro Bay for a family trip to Hearst Castle. There will be around 12 of us. It should be fun. J

-          Mid-September – Hopefully will be in NY!

-          End of October-Early November – London/Madrid

Socializing: I am going to happy hour tomorrow with some work friends and extended work friends to celebrate a birthday. Next week is my other work friend’s birthday so that should be nice too. I met a Teochew girl who works across the hall from me and is a fund manager. She is the same age as well- mom is from Cambodia and dad is from Vietnam. We got lunch once so far and sitting/eating with her felt pretty comfortable. We’re both shy but we understand each other because of similar backgrounds. I was the one who initiated the lunch- I was telling Matt how I felt like a guy asking a girl out. When she took long to respond to my email invite, I was slightly becoming anxious haha. She texted me a picture of a bottled drink from trader joes that I had recommended to her and said she’s trying it. I felt happy about that, because the majority of work friends (at least for me) don’t make it past surface level friendship. Making new friends really does feel like dating sometimes lol.

Lately, I’ve been feeling weird about my friendship with B. I’ve been friends with her for about a decade now as we met in high school. I think the majority of our friendship, I have been the therapist for her relationship problems. I liked feeling needed and enjoyed helping her out through tough times. She really liked that I was a rock and always there for her. I thought she was always there for me too and was dependable for the most part when I needed it. She broke up with her last boyfriend a few months ago and decided to “be single for a year”. This was the first time she made this type of statement. However, she is dating around a lot, for the fun of it I guess. She would tell guys her feelings although it is clear they do not want a relationship and she said she doesn’t want a relationship either. She goes through men quickly and becomes enamored quite quickly. We hung out a few weekends ago for hiking and I was pretty upset at the way she handled things. Initially, it was supposed to be a hangout with me and her. She suggested hiking. I asked if my friend Stephanie (who she is semi friends with) can come along, and she agreed. Then B made an entire facebook event out of this hiking event and invited 10 other people without asking me first. So I was like okay. The day before the hike, nothing was really confirmed about the time, meeting location, plans to hang out after, carpool situation etc. I had to follow up with her a few times during the week but would get submissive responses. And I’ll think, I didn’t even invite these people, and yet I’m doing the work of planning it and making sure things run smoothly -__-. Anyway, the day before, she tells me P is sick so she won’t be coming along, and says A and M are meeting at my house at 8. She also asks me the day before if she can sleep over at my house – to which I said sure, that would make organizing way easier. However, she changed plans saying that she will sleepover at her parents house because she invited her mom and sister and they’ll be joining as well. Well, the next morning, she tells me she slept over at her dates house and will be late- that she will go pick them up on the other side of town then come over. I woke up at a little before 8 because I was expecting people to show up at my house. One dropped out morning of, the other didn’t respond to any messages or calls. So I was like great… Then B was running 1.5 hours late or so, and I told her I’m not feeling it anymore. She comes to my house anyway! And she didn’t end up going to get her mom or sis because the sis didn’t pick up the phone/was still sleeping… I asked, well did you tell her a time? She couldn’t recall. So basically, of everyone she invited, none came through. I was pretty upset with her that day, one because I felt she was inconsiderate, and two because she still showed up even though I said I wasn’t feeling it anymore. That day, i drove us all the way to Malibu (that was the original plan, and I didn’t want to back out of doing that), and got myself a parking ticket because I parked next to a fire hydrant unknowingly.

After that day, I was and am still kinda salty about that. However, I treated her out for her birthday and made sure she had company (which doesn’t really matter because she had a date later that night). She left for a two week study abroad trip to Scotland two weeks ago. Maybe 3-4 days before that, our mutual friend (more so my friend) asked about a DVD that I had lent to B. I messaged her to see if she could look for it before leaving on her trip and preferably asap, before she leaves. “I’ll look for it asap” she said and I never heard back even after I sent a reminder. Her Taiwanese ex whom she was with for 2 years used to complain about her to me when they were fighting. I read through his vents recently and now I’m starting to see that side of her. Basically, she cares about her happiness above anything and she’s not very aware or considerate about how her actions affect the people who she seemingly loves or cares about. Selfish behavior but is very sweet and nice to her friends. I remember when she first got her bunny, Leo. Her and her ex were raising him. She used to say, I love Leo so much, he makes me so happy etc. However, one time, she was flying out to norcal and was in the process of moving out of her apartment and left Leo there in the emptied apartment. The landlord had to message her to get Leo out. Because she was pressed for time (bad time management, really), she called me to try to save the situation… “Connie, can you take care of Leo”. I said no. So what did she do? Leave Leo in the car for a day and a half as she made her way to the airport. Luckily he survived but that is not cool and kinda reflects how she is able to treat those that she “loves”. They say people come and go, and I’d be sad if she really does exit out of my life as I’m pretty integrated into her family as her “best friend”. I don’t know.

[regulardomainname]

Incorporate Bohemian Style Into Your Designs

The Bohemian Style, also known as Boho Chic, appeared as a counterculture movement in the early 19th century, in England, but it only became popular worldwide in the 90’s. Back then, the term described the people who rejected the norms of that era. Today, Bohemian is a word describing a style focused on natural elements such as flowers, animals, and patterns based on geometric figures. Albeit it is not hard to recognize the Bohemian Style, not everybody can create a Boho design. Today, we are going to point out some of the main features of the Bohemian style and teach you how to incorporate it into your designs.    Let’s get a better understanding of the term “Bohemian” In the 90’s, a bohemian person would be interested in “art, music, and/or literature, and lives in a very informal way, ignoring the usually accepted ways of behaving.” The term was directed at outcast artists who lived non-traditional lives. Nowadays, though, it means something totally different. It mainly describes a way of living that includes anything from home decor and clothing, to graphic and web design styles. You can tell it apart due to its main themes: leaves and flowers, vibrant colors that pop, layered clothing, visual textures, arrows, horns and antlers, floral wreaths, indoor plants, animal skulls, macrame, mixed geometric figures. Incorporated into a design, these elements will make your work stand out in the crowd. If this is what you want, let’s see how we can get the job done.   Incorporate Bohemian Style into Graphic Design As you’ve probably deduced, the Bohemian Style cannot be introduced in all your products due to its specific characteristics. It wouldn’t look right to design a boho logo for a construction company, for example. As we mentioned before, Boho Chic is a way of living, so if you are not an adept, it will look wrong. Your clients, instead, might ask you to design Boho websites, business cards, wedding invitations, book covers, product packaging, clothing prints, greeting cards, wall artwork. In this case, you can take inspiration from the collections we listed below, which are exceptional examples of what your Bohemian Style design should look like. Boho Bordo Watercolor Flowers   This stunning design was created by whiteheartdesign. If we take a look at this design, we can point out the main Boho elements the designer used: * watercolor flowers and nature resembling themes * accessories such as feathers, jewel shades of red * the decorated skull * the arrow * handwritten font * eucalyptus leaves * vibrant colors against a white background * mixed textures and patterns Modern Boho: Pale Watercolor Set The collection below takes another approach, featuring pastel colors contrasted by darker shades of blue and grey. This choice of colors and shades is specific to the Minimalist style, very popular, as well, among graphic designers. The result? Amazing aesthetics fitted for a more conservative client who doesn’t want a design that screams color. This stunning collection was hand-drawn by Lana Elanor and it includes more than 140 watercolor elements such as: * 10 floral arrangements and bouquets * 2 clean + 2 decorative dreamcathers * 7 embellished floral frames *  hanging indoor plants * set of 10 beachy boho shells * set of 20 feathers (peacock feather included) * 1 Giant Leopard moth (butterfly) * 1 clean + 3 decorative wooden Peace signs (hippie symbol of peace) * set of 12 crystals, gems, and slices of minerals (amethyst, quartz, etc.) * and much more. 50 Boho – Tribal – Gypsy Ai Brushes The Boho Style has many elements in common with the tribal aesthetics. The African attire is, regardless of the event, an ocean of colors and geometrical shapes. Marish created a collection of 50 hand-inked tribal inspired brushes that will make your work easier where going for a Bohemian design. The designer assures us that they are great for: * Logos * Posters * Wedding Invites * Textile design * Mandalas The beauty of this style lays in its imperfections. We rarely have the chance to see perfectly straight lines or perfectly drawn shapes. This will give your design a natural, effortless, yet trendy look. Do yourself a favor and download all the brushes in the collection above and start designing with style… Bohemian Style. ANIMATED Instagram Posts-Boho chic Needless to say, as a graphic or web designer, you need to make an impression by all means. Whether this means a gorgeous website or a stylish social media profile. If you are a fan of the Boho Chic, CreativeFolks will put your work in the spotlight. They created Instagram Story Templates that you can have fun editing depending on your mood. You can change the colors, the text, and even the animation. Check some out below: For more Boho Design inspiration on Instagram, follow BohhoSoul. Below, we have listed some more resources that will help you give your projects a Boho touch. Bohemian watercolor collection II Beautiful Boho Designs 55 Boho Style Vector Set + Bonus Before we close up this article, we listed a few tips for incorporating Bohemian Style into your design in a more natural way: 1. Choose your color range from the beginning. If you prefer vibrant colors, make sure you stick to them to the end of your project. Same case applies to pastels. But don’t be afraid to juggle with them. 2. Don’t over use elements. There are plenty of Boho designs already created out there and it’s very easy to get carried away and add too many to your design. 3. Be consistent. When branding a new company, make sure the website, the logo, and the business card feature the same Bohemian elements. 4. Pay attention to your client’s directives. With such a detailed style like the Boho Chic, you might miss some details your clients want. 5. Creativity has no limits. The Bohemian Style offers you the freedom to express yourself through colors, patterns, themes, and so much more. Make the best of it. Read More at Incorporate Bohemian Style Into Your Designs http://dlvr.it/QrRl6J www.regulardomainname.com