#No one tell me I should contact Peter Cullen

[poptimus-prime]

I think I should live in a world where I can send an email to Optimus Prime to ask if he or any of his coworkers would like to come to my school to speak to the children about their careers.

How about that huh.

#daphnis.docx #No one tell me I should contact Peter Cullen #Nothing wrong with the man I just. Don't have the budget to pay for his flight and hotel LMAO. #And that's if my email doesn't bounce bc it's not on his whitelist #Or I guess his agent's whitelist

[bonniebird]

Halloween Event

Read early on Wattpad

Read early on AO3

“Great! The blood-sucking Brady Bunch!” - Jacob Black

“Do you have any other emergency werewolf contacts?” - Stiles Stilinski

“Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us.” - Jace Wayland

“During the day, I don’t believe in ghosts. At night, I’m a little more open -minded.” - Tate Langdon

@joeynihil​ and Peter Rumancek’s Halloween ~ Moodboard

“You don’t know much about magic.” - Nick Scratch

“When you turn to a bat, where do your clothes go?” - Spike

“And now it’s time to send in our cute little secret weapon.” - Ivar Ragnarsson

Halloween with Eric Coulter {Moodboard}

“She used to tell me that a full moon was when mysterious things happen and wishes come true.” - Ivar Ragnarsson  

“What an excellent day for an exorcism.”-  Peter Hale

“Blah blah, vampire emergency, blah” - Rebekah Mikaelson & Theo Raeken

“You are too precious for words, why I could just… eat you alive!”  - Hvitserk Ragnarsson

“So is the devil, Halloween Santa?” - Lucifer Morningstar

“I’ve got the devil in me!” - Lucifer Morningstar 

“I always wonder if it’s better to bury two bodies in one place or spread them around. I’m sure there’s a right answer, but I never want to meet the person who knows it.“ - Maze / Lucifer Morningstar

“What is this guy, Witch-ipedia?” - John Constantine 

“You only have one super power, and it is your breasts.” - Elijah Mikaelson 

“It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” - Eric Northman 

“Stop calling it a haunted house. It’s not even scary.“ - Seeley Booth

“I know you’re joking, but on the off chance you aren’t, no.” - Victor Zsasz 

“Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us.” - Eric Coulter

“Those guys at the impound. Did they really smash my car?” - Dean Winchester

“I’m the guy that’s gonna save your ass.” - Eric Coulter

Halloween with Theo Raeken moodboard - Theo Raeken

“You can’t commit crime on Halloween!” - Barbara Kean

“I do believe in killing the messenger. Know why? Because it sends a message.” - Mick Rory

“It’s so sweet. He looks just like a little entrée.” - Ripper!Stefan Salvatore 

“During the day, I don’t believe in ghosts. At night, I’m a little more open-minded.” - Harley Quinn

“If this is a joke, I’ll kill you!” - Eric Coulter

“So, what can a teen wolf do?” - Cora Hale

“It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” - Aziraphale {Good Omens}

“The witches are coming.” - Bonnie Bennett

“I know that you hate Halloween, but stick with me, and I promise you, you will love it.” - Nick Scratch

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.”  - Madison Montgomery

“I am, what psychiatrists call, alpha male.”  - Eric Coulter

“Aren’t you worried that, one day, all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back?” - Jacob Black 

“Bitch, I will eat you!” - Spike {BtVS}

“You know how I think Halloween is for jerks? Well, this Halloween, I was the jerk. I’m sorry about tonight.”  - Leonard Snart

“You really are a witch.” - Jace Wayland

“I’m the guy that’s gonna save your ass.” - Jace Wayland

“I am, what psychiatrists call, alpha male.” - Klaus Mikaelson 

“Vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires … How avant-garde!” - Klaus Mikaelson

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - Stefan Salvatore 

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - John Constantine 

“Are you ready for some Halloween fun?“ - Eric Coulter

“She annoyed me, so I killed her and buried her in the yard.” - Eric Coulter 

“I’m supposed to call you first when I find a dead body?”  - Peter Hale 

“Can someone kill him again, please?”  - Kol Mikaelson

“I’ll be a good little witch.” - Theo Raeken

“I just think a lot of undead roaming the streets could lead to problems. For instance, farmers’ markets selling actual farmers.” - Theo Raeken 

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - Theo Raeken

“There’s a monster outside my room. Can I have a glass of water?” - Jasper Hale

“I am, what psychiatrists call, alpha male.” - Eric Coulter

“You really are a witch.”  - Geralt of Rivia

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.”  - Eric Northman

“If this is a joke, I’ll kill you!”  - Barbara Kean

"This is my costume. I’m a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else.” - Rosa Diaz

“Well, as someone at a high risk for a spook-related death, thank you.”  - John Constantine

“Dear Diary, a chipmunk asked me my name today.” - Klaus Mikaelson

“I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.“ - Gina Linetti

“You’re horrific and you are hired.“  - Jerome Valeska

“I am commanding. Calmly, but commanding. No more witchcraft.”  - Maze Smith

“I am, what psychiatrists call, alpha male.”  - Eric Coulter 

“Have you picked out a costume yet?“ - Maze Smith

“Well, as someone at a high risk for a spook-related death, thank you.”  - Harvey Bullock

“I’m just sitting here. Feeling like the devil.” - Damon Salvatore

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - Eric Northman

“No, you weren’t part of this. Get back over to the loser side, loser.” - Winn Schott

“I need help carving these pumpkins.” - Temperance Brennan

“I’m the guy that’s gonna save your ass.” - Anakin Skywalker

“This is ridiculous! What could be scarier than one of us?” - John Shelby 

“There’s no such thing!” - Elizabeth Swann

“I am, what psychiatrists call, alpha male.” - Gina Linetti

“Bitch, I will eat you!” - Victor Zsasz

“Okay, all right, now. Come on, no one died, alright? Look, there may have been some maiming, okay? A little mangling, but no death! That’s what I call an important distinction.” - Zelda Spellman

“She annoyed me, so I killed her and buried her in the yard.”  - Barbara Kean

“Yeah, well, you being happy isn’t really a big priority of mine, since you stabbed me twenty times with knives.” - Victor Zsasz

“It’s kind of ironic. The more care you put into a murder, the harsher society judges you.” - Jerome Valeska

“No, it’s not! That’s just something mortals say to make themselves feel better.” - Lilith / Madam Satan

“Welcome to my nightmare, I think you’re going to like it.” - Jerome Valeska

“Stop calling it a haunted house. It’s not even scary.” - Ava Sharpe

“I died in a trapeze accident?” - Jake Peralta

“Okay, all right, now. Come on, no one died, alright? Look, there may have been some maiming, okay? A little mangling, but no death! That’s what I call an important distinction.” - Lucien Castle

“It’s Halloweek. I do the full seven days.” - Rosa Diaz 

“If this is a joke, I’ll kill you!” - Jason Todd

“Vampires are real. They’re usually not the cape-wearing, "mwah-hah-hah-ing” types, but rather people with ordinary jobs who just happen to consume blood.“- Jasper Hale

“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass.” - Eric Coulter

“I always wonder if it’s better to bury two bodies in one place or spread them around. I’m sure there’s a right answer, but I never want to meet the person who knows it.“ - Elijah Mikaelson

Roman Godfrey Halloween ~ moodboard

@joeynihil​​ and Sabrina Spellman Halloween ~ Moodboard

“Do you have any other emergency werewolf contacts?”- Derek Hale 

“I need help carving these pumpkins.”- Derek Hale

“Those guys at the impound. Did they really smash my car?” - Dean Winchester

“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass.” - Rebekah Mikaelson & Theo Raeken

“I see something in your future. Something… frightening.“ - Bonnie Bennett

“There’s a monster outside my room. Can I have a glass of water?”

“Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us.” - Ripper!Stefan Salvatore

“No, it’s not! That’s just something mortals say to make themselves feel better.” - Jace Wayland

“This is ridiculous! What could be scarier than one of us?” - The Mikaelson Family

“If I have to hear doppelgänger one more time, I’m going to have to learn how to spell it.” - Elijah Mikaelson

“In this whole wide wicked world the only thing you have to be afraid of is me.” - Kol Mikaelson

“Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.” - Gina Linetti

“You only have one super power, and it is your breasts.” - Rosa Diaz

"I have never met a vampire personally, but I don’t know what might happen tomorrow.” - Theo Raeken

“You seem to be doing so well without witchcraft.” - Nick Scratch

“I always wonder if it’s better to bury two bodies in one place or spread them around. I’m sure there’s a right answer, but I never want to meet the person who knows it.“ - Halfdan the Black

“You know how I think Halloween is for jerks? Well, this Halloween, I was the jerk. I’m sorry about tonight.” - Lydia Martin

“They’re embarrassed about their spells not working anymore.” - Malia Tate

“Blah blah, vampire emergency, blah” - Bella Swan

“Do you have any other emergency werewolf contacts?” - Peter Rumancek

“Can someone kill him again, please?” - Peter Hale

“I have a heart. I keep it in a jar on my desk.” - Katherine Pierce

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - John Constantine

"It’s the witching hour somewhere.” - Jughead Jones

“People think if they put on a costume they can just get away with anything they want. Halloween is Christmas for jerks.” - Ray Palmer

“Please tell me you did that for dramatic effect.” - Jacob Black

“Can someone kill him again, please?” - Emmett Cullen

“I must go in. The fog is rising.” - Arman the Dragon

“I knew something came through the portal.” - Ivar Ragnarsson

“Well, we can’t start killing people. We’re getting life back to normal. And killing people isn’t normal, sweetheart.“ - Nora Darhk

“Are you eating raw pumpkin with a spoon?”  - Sweet Pea

“You know what they say about (Town). No one who dies here ever really dies.”  - Jughead Jones

"I want to stab you to death, and then play around with your blood." - Sweet Pea

“I'll come to the party, but I'm not dressing up.”  - Sweet Pea

“I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly.”  - Sweet Pea

“Hand over the candy, old dude, or we egg your house.”  - Sweet Pea & Jughead Jones

“Time for the real Halloween show to begin.”  - Sweet Pea

“Should I be concerned about you causing me any trouble?“ - Sweet Pea

“Danger doesn’t lurk at every corner. It’s just hanging out, waiting for fear and horror to show up.”  - Jughead Jones

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”  - Sweet Pea

“Time for the real Halloween show to begin.” - Dorcas Night

“She used to tell me that a full moon was when mysterious things happen and wishes come true.” - Dorcas Night

“Who hired you? Who do you work for, the pizza man?” - Damon Salvatore

Halloween with Jughead Jones {Moodboard}

“Are you possessed? Again?” - Stiles Stilinski

“Does my costume look spooky to you?” - Sweet Pea

“I need help carving these pumpkins.“ - Tommy Shelby

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - Theo Raeken and Rebekah Mikaelson

Halloween with Vanessa Ives {Moodboard}

Halloween with Samantha Stephens  {Moodboard}

Halloween with Toni Topaz {Moodboard}

Halloween with Sweet Pea {Moodboard}

Halloween with Cheryl Blossom {Moodboard}

Halloween with Betty Cooper {Moodboard}

“During the day, I don’t believe in ghosts. At night, I’m a little more open-minded.” - Seely Booth

“Vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires … How avant-garde!” - Eric Northman

“I know that you hate Halloween, but stick with me, and I promise you, you will love it.” - Amaya Jiwe

“You seem to be doing so well without witchcraft.” Clary Fray & Allison Argent

“First rule of witch club: don’t talk about witch club.” - Madam Satan / Lilith

“Who hired you? Who do you work for, the pizza man?” - Zari Tomaz

“She used to tell me that a full moon was when mysterious things happen and wishes come true.” - Peter Rumancek

“Happy Halloween, asshole!“ - Rosa Diaz

“Hello, something scary happening!“ - Kyle Reese

“We sent (Y/N) to the Ghost World to save the day again.” - Allison Argent

“If she realizes that we’re killing people for food and not for God, she might not like us anymore.” - Vampire!Ivar Ragnarsson & Roman Godfrey

“We can have our own Halloween here.” - Roman Godfrey

“You are too precious for words, why I could just… eat you alive!” - Ivar Ragnarsson

“Have you come to sing pumpkin carols?” - Sweet Pea

“How was I to know? It was just floating by.“ - Sweet Pea

“It’s Halloween! Everyone gets a chance to be someone else, let their hair down for awhile.” - Sweet Pea

“You only have one super power, and it is your breasts.” - Elena Gilbert

“Yeah, well, you being happy isn’t really a big priority of mine, since you stabbed me twenty times with knives.” - Sweet Pea

Halloween with Marko {Moodboard}

“I know that you hate Halloween, but stick with me, and I promise you, you will love it.” - Sweet Pea

“I know that you hate Halloween, but stick with me, and I promise you, you will love it.” - David (The Lost Boys)

“I’m the guy that’s gonna save your ass.” - David (The Lost Boys)

“I’m supposed to call you first when I find a dead body?” - Sweet Pea

“Aren’t you worried that, one day, all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back?” - Sam Emerson

“Good. No fangs yet. You’re doing fine. Your ears aren’t even pointed yet.” - Scott McCall

“You are too precious for words, why I could just… eat you alive!” - David (The Lost Boys)

“Yeah, well, you being happy isn’t really a big priority of mine, since you stabbed me twenty times with knives.” - Brett Talbot

“Are you possessed? Again?” - Peter Hale

“We don’t like you. Now, shut up and help us.” - Eric Northman

“What is this guy, Witch-ipedia?” - Eric Northman

“Shh, I’m Googling sex spells.” - Nick Scratch

“Vampires are real. They’re usually not the cape-wearing, "mwah-hah-hah-ing” types, but rather people with ordinary jobs who just happen to consume blood.“ - Dorcas Night

"This is my costume. I’m a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else.” - Tommy Shelby

“Hasn't anyone told you, second hand smoke kills.“ - Prudence Blackwood

“I know you’re joking, but on the off chance you aren’t, no.”  - Klaus Mikaelson

“We sent (Y/N) to the Ghost World to save the day again.” - Theo Raeken & Rebekah Mikaelson

“Just because it's a love story doesn't mean it can't have a decapitation or two.” - Klaus Mikaelson

“You seem to be doing so well without witchcraft.” - Allison Argent & Nick Scratch

“You are too precious for words, why I could just… eat you alive!” - Damon Salvatore

#halloween2020 #bonniebird #halloween #masterlist #halloween 2020

[flowerslut]

Merry Christmas @tragicallywicked! And SURPRISE! I was your Jalice secret Santa! 🥰🎄🙈

Now, let me introduce to you the 15k+ idea that was born last night and that I vomited up and edited in roughly 24 hours. Trust me, it doesn’t read like it’s a hastily-scrapped together fic; I pinky promise. I’m very proud of this fic. Sorry about the whump though. It wasn't unintentional; honest.

Summary: He contemplates telling Peter about Alice’s visits, but something holds him back from doing it. Perhaps because it doesn’t feel like Alice whenever she’s lying on his bedroom floor, curled in an old blanket that’s too small for him but perfectly sized for her, utterly still and silent even while awake. A part of him feels like it would be a betrayal to reveal this side of her to someone even as close to him as Peter is. After all, Peter is his friend. And Alice is… well, not.

Title: No Friend of Mine Words: 15,199 Rating: T Read on: AO3 // or under the cut

He’s not friends with Alice Brandon.

Not really. But in the time it’s taken for him to even properly learn her name—Alice, not Mary-Alice, he hears her cheerfully inform a group of girls making nasty comments one day; comments designed to hurt, and to be overheard—she has apparently decided that Jasper is her friend, and that’s where things become a little confusing.

Maybe she’s just a glutton for punishment. After all, if she wanted an easy time of it, there was an entire list of things she could do to avoid it. That sounded mean, but it was true.

She’s just a weird girl. Plenty of those in the world. No crime about that. About girls who dance in the hallways between classes, or who talk to strangers with the friendliness of someone who’s known them for years. There is nothing wrong with the fact that Alice Brandon wears her hair in bizarre styles or wears clothes that... alright, well maybe that is something that he doesn’t understand, either. Not that he is an expert on fashion, but even Jasper knows her choices are strange.

Alice Brandon being weird doesn’t affect him in the way that it apparently offends most of the students in their tiny school. He can picture her fitting in better at a larger school in a different school district, perhaps. More students always meant more variety, diversity, and cliques. More students would’ve meant that there would have been a whole slew of other weird kids of Alice’s type that she could have hung out with.

But not in Fork’s high.

Which meant the day Alice showed up at his corner of the cafeteria, tray in hand as she grinned over at him and Peter, he felt something in him twist as she sat down beside him, making a remark to Peter he couldn’t quite focus on as he realized that with an absence of overt weirdos at the school, Alice was going to come to the next-best thing. Their little group of ‘misfits’.

He had glanced further down the rectangular table and made quick eye contact with Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, who had also noted the tiny dark-haired girl’s presence, but neither of them made a comment, and Jasper spent the rest of the lunch period wishing she’d sat down next to those two, and not himself and Peter.

It wasn’t to be mean. Truly. But Jasper preferred to go through life (and school) as completely unnoticed as possible. And for the first few weeks Alice Brandon had attended Fork’s high, it seemed that’s all she did: attract attention. 

He’s not exactly friends with Alice Brandon.

After all, he knows so little about her. Only that she moved to Washington state about a couple months back with her family. That she’s a sophomore; a year behind both Peter and Jasper. And that she doesn’t need much encouragement, or participation really, when it comes to conversation. Alice can talk about anything and everything at length.

He knows, only because of the way she pronounces certain words, that she’s probably from the South. He knows, because his sister Rosalie has art with her, that she struggles a lot with simple tasks and often misunderstands requests from teachers. And he knows, because adults like to gossip when they don’t think teenagers are around, that the story as to why Alice’s family moved to that town is shrouded in some layer of secrecy.

Even when Bella, on one of the days Alice attempted to unite both ends of their lunch table in one cohesive conversation, had asked her a simple question about her ‘old school’ Alice had ignored the question entirely, before delving into an at-length explanation of the way she’d designed her favorite skirt.

Jasper had stood up and left lunch early that day. It wasn’t that he hated the girl, or even that he dislike her, but she bothered him so fiercely sometimes.

And they definitely weren’t friends.

So when she shows up unannounced at two o’clock in the morning on a Tuesday night, tossing tiny rocks up against his window, he doesn’t understand why.

He whispers down a series of questions at her, too shocked to understand what was going on.

What is she doing there? (She needs somewhere to stay for a few hours.)

Why? (Just because.)

How did she find his house? (School directory.)

Why did she come here? (It’s cold. Please.)

Later, he tells her she’s lucky his parent’s bedroom has windows that face the opposite direction of the house, meaning that they aren’t privy to their first conversation. But he shares a wall with Rosalie, he whispers to her as he leads her up the stairs, so she has to be quiet, he emphasizes the point with a look, as if doubting such a task is within her abilities. 

Thankfully, it is possible for Alice Brandon to be quiet. 

In fact, she doesn’t say anything that first night after he sneaks her up to his room and lets her curl up with an extra blanket on the floor beside his bed. Jasper isn’t even sure she’s slept; she’d been awake when he’d crawled back into bed, and then still awake when he’d awoken extra early the next morning. And when he explains that he can’t just drive her to school that day without getting in trouble—besides, Rosalie will have a fit (for more reason than one) if he emerges from his bedroom with Alice Brandon behind him—she only nods, asks for a drink of water, and thanks him as she sneaks out the front door, off back toward her house, he assumes.

Lunch that day is the same as any other. Alice’s bright smile greets him and Peter, her voice filling the space where comfortable silence and companionable conversation used to linger, and that’s when he starts paying attention.

To the fact that she rarely, if ever, eats anything. That her clothes, while layered strangely and often mis-matched, barely fit her small frame.

One day, a week after her first appearance at his house, Jasper is walking through the halls when he overhears Lauren Mallory loudly exclaim “God, do you know how to shut the fuck up?” Only to turn and watch Alice’s smile deflate.

He stops in his tracks at the sight because no ones comments have ever affected Alice like this. At least, as far as he’s seen. He even wonders if he should step in and say something, because Lauren isn’t finished with airing her frustrations at the tiny new girl, and each statement is growing more cruel than the last.

Before he can force his feet to move Bella Swan is already there, all stern words and deadly glances as she wraps an arm around the smaller girl and turns her away. Jasper can’t hear what she says but Lauren looks incensed and none of her friends are chiming in to help. And then Bella quickly whisks Alice away and Jasper realizes he’s still standing there, in the middle of the hallway, staring at their retreating forms.

He skips lunch that day, feeling like a coward for forcing shy, introverted Bella of all people to come to the harmless girl’s rescue, while he stood there, watching the scene alongside half a dozen others who happened to overhear the platinum blonde girl’s tirade.

Alice comes to him again that night, another handful of pebbles tossed to his window, but this time she doesn’t speak even when he does lean out his window to ask her questions.

What happened?

Is she alright?

Does she need a place to stay? 

She nods at that question, and it’s all the reply Jasper needs before he’s closing the window and tiptoeing down the stairs, guilt and worry dancing around inside his brain.

But Alice is quiet as a mouse as he leads her up into his room. She quickly occupies the same spot on the floor next to Jasper’s bed. Like before, she has brought only a small backpack with her. Whether she owns a phone or not doesn’t occur to him—he’s never seen her use one before, even at lunch—but she never once retrieves anything from the bag.

With the pillow and blanket Jasper tosses her way, she’s curled up and asleep in minutes. This time, it’s Jasper who doesn’t sleep as he lays awake, his attention torn between this small schoolmate of his and his guilty conscience that makes him wonder if today would have gone differently if he’d come to her aid.

But morning comes, Alice leaves, and then when he sees her at school later she’s good as new. Talking and laughing and dancing through the halls like always.

He contemplates telling Peter about Alice’s visits, but something holds him back from doing it. Perhaps because it doesn’t feel like Alice whenever she’s lying on his bedroom floor, curled in an old blanket that’s too small for him but perfectly sized for her, utterly still and silent even while awake. A part of him feels like it would be a betrayal to reveal this side of her to someone even as close to him as Peter is.

After all, Peter is his friend. And Alice is… well, not.

It’s something he wishes he could tell Rosalie about. He loves his sister more than anyone else in this world but she’s too… involved in everything. He knows that she second she finds out it will mean the end of his privacy for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t help that he isn’t entirely sure that Rosalie won’t also say something rude to Alice. Nothing as cruel as Lauren Mallory’s blow-up, but still. Rosalie isn’t typically known for her warmth and consideration when it comes to outsiders…

It’s the night she shows up to his house for the third time, when things begin to change.

Her purple hoodie is pulled up tight over her head when he opens the window to get a good look at her. The material is certainly too thin for the weather she’s out in, but Jasper’s never seen her in anything warmer.

Alice tilts her head up toward him, and when his eyes fall upon her split lip, he doesn’t ask a single question. He almost slams the window shut and moves so fast down the stairs that he knows if he isn’t careful he’ll wake Rosalie and their parents.

She’s waiting on his doorstep when he finally swings the door open, ushering her into the house quickly and quietly.

The instant his bedroom door is closed he flicks his standing fan on it’s highest setting and pushes it close to the door. He’s going to need the white noise to drown out any noise their conversation makes. And he’s going to need her to talk tonight.

“Alice,” his voice is barely more than a whisper, but she ignores him. “Hey, Alice.” And when he ducks down to look her in her eyes, she averts her gaze. “What happened?” His head is swimming with thoughts and ideas and worst-case-scenarios, and as he looks at her face—the split lip, her bleeding cheek, and her swollen eye—he feels worry and fury at war within himself.

These are no ‘accidental’ injuries. Jasper knows with a sinking feeling that running into a doorframe, or tripping on the stairs, didn’t cause this injury.

(His mind is filled with images of the night Rose came home looking similar, and the rage that ignites in his body is hard to reason with.)

“Who did this?” Jasper’s words are slow and careful, but they are not quiet and he doesn’t know if he can be anymore. But Alice doesn’t reply, instead looking anywhere but him, as if she’s embarrassed or ashamed of herself.

But she came here, a voice in his head reminds him. And he doesn’t know if she’s aware of the weight of that—of this trust she apparently has in him—but he is.

He asks her to sit on his bed and then sneaks off to the bathroom in the hall, and then while Alice cleans blood off of her face with a damp rag he tiptoes downstairs to grab an ice pack from the freezer. When he returns she’s already pulled the spare blanket tight around her shoulders, and is lying on the ground.

“Alice,” he says softly, his chest aching at the sight of her, curled up so small on the ground, hurt and quiet. “Get up, I’ve got ice for your face.”

But Alice doesn’t movie, so he’s forced on the ground beside her. It’s when he places a tentative on her shoulder that he realizes she’s shaking with silent sobs. She only curls up tighter at his touch, and Jasper withdraws his hands immediately. He has the thought that maybe he should wake Rosalie, and let her come help. Surely, and despite all of his sister’s prickliness, Rose is better suited for a task like this. Jasper has never been good at comforting people with his words.

“Alice,” he doesn’t know what to say, and has less of an idea of what to do. But eventually she rolls over to face him and reaches out for the ice pack wordlessly. He hands it over and watches, speechless, as she simply presses the ice to her cheek, still not looking up at him.

“Will you tell me what happened?” He asks, feeling as if he already knows the answer, and when she shakes her head and closes her eyes tighter, the pain in Jasper’s chest throbs. “Okay,” he says, because no matter how badly he wants to know, he knows that her showing up here is significant. That there is trust here, despite the fact that Jasper hardly understands why. But it’s trust that seems so fragile that he’s terrified of shattering it if he pushes too hard.

By five o’clock she’s up and moving, and Jasper—who hadn’t slept a wink, instead choosing to lie awake and watch Alice, to make sure she was still breathing as she slept—is requesting that she stay. He offers to play hooky and encourages her to do the same.

She contemplates the offer before nodding to herself. But she leaves anyways, accepting a new ice pack on the way out of the door. She’s gone seconds before his dad is padding through the kitchen, ready to turn on the coffee maker, and Jasper’s heart is palpitating because he doesn’t know what to do.

“You’re up awfully early,” the man grumbles as Jasper wanders into the kitchen. Joseph Hale is a quiet man. A good father, despite how rarely he’s at home due to work. They aren’t alike in many ways other than disposition, but Jasper always enjoys when his father is around. During his absences, his mother often disappears for days at a time, only appearing to change clothes, or argue with Rosalie. With Joseph around Jasper can almost pretend they are a normal, happy family.

His father’s words rip him out of his reverie. “By god… what happened to you?”

Jasper blinks up at his dad before realizing he’s holding the bloody rag Alice used to clean up her face. He blanches at the sight, forgetting he’d even been holding it, and then just shrugs. “Woke up with a nosebleed.”

Joseph shakes his head, frowning as he gestures to the towel. “Your mom’s going to have a fit that you used one of her good towels.”

“I’ll clean it before school.”

Joseph hums, already moving on from this conversation to dig through the cabinets for a bowl for his breakfast. “There should be peroxide under the sink.”

Jasper spends twenty minutes dousing the hand towel with hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to clean Alice’s blood out of the fabric. And by the time the stain is just a faded brown against the cream-colored towel, he can hear Rosalie’s alarm going off.

The drive to school that morning is tense, and the hours leading up to lunch pass by in a blur. Jasper’s mind isn’t focusing on anything, and when Mrs. Chapel calls on him in math class he realizes he hasn’t even pulled his textbook from his backpack.

When lunch rolls around it’s clear to him, as he walks into the cafeteria with a mixture of relief and disappointment, that Alice isn’t there today. He isn’t the only one who has noticed her absence, and as he’s passing through the cafeteria he hears one of Lauren Mallory’s friends make a loud remark.

“Looks like the clown got stuck back at the circus today,” Carson Keys declares loudly enough for Jasper to hear him, three tables away. He turns to look at the dark-haired jackass, knowing that these are the comments they usually reserve for Alice’s eavesdropping ears. But Alice isn’t here today, and Jasper knows why.

And Jasper also knows that there’s a reason he’s never been the victim of any bullying at this school. Despite his misanthropic nature, he isn’t a very easy target. Maybe it’s because he’s one of the taller ones in the school, or maybe its the rumor that circulated last year when he was a sophomore, that he’d killed a senior for messing around with his sister.

But despite the very thorough beating he’d been given, Royce King was still very much alive, despite his swift disappearance from both the school district and social media. The King family had wanted to quiet the ‘incident’ as quickly as they could and had quietly moved somewhere East of Seattle.

The days spent in juvenile court and subsequent six months of house arrest had been worth it, in Jasper’s eyes.

It doesn’t bother Jasper one bit that many of the students are convinced Jasper has killed someone. Anything that keeps people away from him, and prevents others from harming Rose any further, is worth it in his eyes.

Jasper watches as Carson’s joke causes their table to erupt in giggles and head-shakes. Before he knows what he’s doing he’s walking over to the table, a twinge of fury forcing his feet forward.

He goes unnoticed until he picks up one of their textbooks and drops it from shoulder-level. The noise makes a sharp clap that causes the surrounding table to flinch and turn towards the source. Silence seizes most of his classmates as their eyes turn to bore into his form, and Jasper is almost thankful for this awful, unwanted attention. Their unease will certainly make this more effective.

Carson realizes it’s Jasper Hale standing beside him a few seconds after his friends are quiet and staring, and the grin slips off his face so fast it’s almost comical. “Hey Hale,” he says stupidly, and Jasper can almost feel the regret filling the air. “What’s up?”

Jasper doesn’t speak at first, and for a second he wonders if maybe he does have some sort of anger issue like his lawyer suggested, because watching Carson squirm in his seat while his other tough-talking friends are suddenly suspiciously quiet is very, very enjoyable.

He doesn’t issue any threatening quips or waste time with a joke of his own. No, instead Jasper leans in close, forcing Carson to back up a few inches, his eyes wide. “Say it again. Go on.”

Carson of course, doesn’t. Instead looking to his friends for help. It’s Whitney Barnes who chimes in first.

“It’s just a joke,” she says nastily, rolling her eyes at Jasper’s presence as she moves her attention to her phone, lying on the table. “It’s not a big deal.”

Whitney’s dismissal of Jasper’s actions seems to encourage Carson again. He pulls a grin back on his face, “We mean no harm, bro. Mary-Alice is a fun little thing.” He looks back to Jasper but something in his expression makes his smile fall again. “No harm, man,” he’s backpedaling again, lifting his hands up in front of him, as if to claim he doesn’t want any trouble.

It’s only Rosalie’s appearance at his side that keeps him from doing anything he regrets.

He can tell its her immediately by the way she grips the side of his shirt, bunching up the material in his fist and tugging twice. (Something she has done for as long as he can remember.) “C’mon,” her voice is quiet but annoyed. “Old man Bakers is watching.” She speaks, referring to the assistant principal that roams the halls during the student’s ‘free’ periods.

Carson’s face brightens at the appearance of his sister, but before he can open his mouth to say anything mindless, she chimes in. “I don’t want to hear it. Just keep your mouth shut.”

“But I—”

“No. Stop. I have a test next and I’m losing braincells. Shut up.” Rosalie is already walking away, Jasper’s shirt still gripped tightly as she leads him back the way he came. “You too, Miss Perpetual-Understudy.” Rosalie calls over her shoulder to Whitney, hitting the girl where it hurts. Always a very Rosalie thing to do; to say as little as possible while inflicting the most damage she can.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but stop it,” she grits through her teeth once they’re out of earshot. “If you start a fight at school they’ll slap that ankle monitor back on you before Carson’s dumb face will hit the linoleum.”

It’s an amusing thing to imagine, but he doesn’t want to irritate Rosalie any further, so he just shrugs noncommittally.

“What’s that all about anyways?” She demands as she drags him to her table. It’s still mostly-empty, thankfully. Only Emmett is there yet, and a couple other members of the football team that are nice enough. He likes Emmett for the most part. Most of the guys in school had been afraid of Jasper, and too terrified to get anywhere near Rosalie after last year’s incident. Emmett, on the other hand, had cornered Jasper the day he’d been allowed back at school and thanked him for doing what he didn’t get the chance to.

Jasper tries not to have to many opinions on his sister’s dating life now, but some days he thinks that Emmett wouldn’t be the worst choice if Rosalie decides to reciprocate the big guy’s obvious feelings.

“Nothing,” he speaks quietly as Rose sits in her seat. He knows that she wants him to sit with her and fill her in, but Jasper has never been comfortable around her friends. And he isn’t about to entertain their companionship on today of all days; he’s far too wound up.

“I heard Carson say something rude about that Alice girl,” the boy next to Emmett, whose name Jasper doesn’t know, chimes in. “Loud as shit, of course. But I didn’t hear much else,” he looks up at Jasper and shrugs. “You gotta do what you gotta do man. I would fully support your decision if you clocked him. Morally support, I mean. I can’t physically or I’ll lose my scholarship to UW.”

“No one is getting ‘clocked’,” Rosalie shoots the guy a glare before turning to Jasper and tugging on his shirt again. “Also, if you tried intimidating every person who’s been mean to Alice you’re going to have a long list.” She tugs on his shirt a third time, “sit.”

As Jasper settles into the seat beside his sister, absolutely dreading the next half hour, Emmett chimes in. “She’s a funny girl,” the curly-haired guys speaks, taking an enormous bite of his sandwich, “she told me she’d make me a bracelet the other day because I told her I liked her hair.” The boy next to him snorts and Emmett laughs, “What?” He speaks, mouth full, “like I’m going to say no to a free bracelet?! You’re out of your damn mind.”

“She’s friendly alright,” Rose speaks, turning her gaze back to Jasper. “Don’t know why she likes your prickly ass.”

“I’m not prickly,” Jasper deadpans, accepting the bag of chips Rose shoves into his hands.

Emmett laughs at that one. “Because you’re so warm and cuddly.”

“Em, hush.”

“I’m just playing around. But seriously. I like her. She’s fun.” He takes a sip of soda and fixes Jasper with another look. “Besides, I don’t think she has an easy time of it. My little sister is in her sister Cynthia’s class down at the grade school,” Jasper’s attention perks up at that. Alice has a sister? “According to Jennie, some accident that killed their mom messed Alice’s head up. I think it was a car accident. I’m not sure. It’s really sad though.”

A few members of the table nod at that, a morose feeling falling over them as more of Rosalie’s friends arrive, and then when Daniel Langfield starts telling the story of his uncle’s life-claiming car wreck, Jasper feels his mind wander.

He supposes that’s the day he halfway ‘befriends’ Alice Brandon.

Of course it would be the day she’s not even at school.

If anything he feels less like a friend and more like a protector. Or a guard dog. Like someone willing to do what it takes to keep people off her fucking back, and out of her goddamned business.

Later that night, before he climbs into bed, he rips a piece of notebook paper out of his binder and scribbles a small message on it.

I’m here if you want to talk about it.

He doesn’t see her the following morning, but he slips the note into her locker anyways. It isn’t until he’s walking to his first period class when he realizes he never signed the paper, and up until lunch he kicks himself, feeling much like a weirdo or a creep for delivering such a cryptic, out-of-context note.

But Alice is already waiting for him by the doors of the cafeteria when he finally sees her for the first time that day. She grins up at him, like she always does at school, big and wide, and Jasper is nearly stunned by the fact that she looks completely fine.

Whatever makeup she’s painted her face with that day has made her look entirely normal. But when she chatters at him, walking at his side as they wander across the cafeteria, he notices that her left eye is still a bit swollen, and blinks a bit slower than her right. Her expertly applied lipstick has nearly hidden her fat lip completely. 

Peter isn’t there that day. He’d had a dentist appointment and left during the last period, so it’s only them today. 

He knows that no one is listening in; if anything, the students of Forks’ High have begun practicing the art of tuning out Alice Brandon’s voice, but he still keeps his voice low when he asks her how she is.

“I’m fine,” she smiles up at him, before she opens her sketchbook and asks him for his input on her current art project.

“Did you get my note?”

She pauses then, smiling down at the still-life on the paper in front of her. Then, she reaches out and grabs the top of his hand, squeezing tightly before releasing it. She doesn’t so much as glance at him while she does this, and in seconds she’s already back to discussing her day.

Jasper knows that he isn’t going to get anything out of her today, and instead he pays attention to her every movement, and every quirk, watching her closely as she explains her current portrait and pulls out colored pencils, slowly working while she prattles on about some anecdote from gym class.

And with each day that passes he finds himself more curious about her. She doesn’t reveal anything during the school day, instead using their lunch period to talk and hum and laugh. He sits at her side, forgoing his music or books to simply watch and listen to her. But as the days pass, her face heals, and Alice reveals nothing.

He knows its only a matter of time before she shows up in his yard at night.

But the next time it happens, he has some warning.

Alice isn’t in school for four days. He hasn’t heard anything from the other students, and why would he? He’s the one she spends most of her time around anyways. If anything, the other students probably assume he knows whether she’s sick or not. By Thursday, even Peter asks him if he knows where she is. Jasper hates how he feels when he wordlessly shakes his head, anxiously picking the bread off the burger in front of him.

It’s Friday when Bella Swan approaches him in the parking lot while he waits for Rosalie. She startles him at first; he’d been sitting in his car listening to music when she tapped on the window. And when he turns the music down and lowers the window, she swiftly apologizes. He just barely takes note of Edward standing a few feet away.

“You haven’t heard from Alice, have you?”

Jasper shakes his head. “No.” He says simply, and then, “I don’t have her number.”

Bella frowns. “She doesn’t have a phone,” she explains, “I’m just…” she straightens back up, folding her arms and she turns back toward Edward. The redhead nods and Bella turns back toward Jasper. “I’m really, really worried.”

“Why?” Jasper shuts the car off then. Something in Bella’s expression causes alarms to go off in his mind, and he’s climbing back out of the old sedan before he can help it. “What makes you say that?”

Bella looks back at Edward again, and the redhead sighs and approaches. “You didn’t hear this from me,” he speaks quietly, looking around to make sure no one overhears. “My dad asked me last night whether I was friends with Alice. And I didn’t even know that he knew who that was. I…” he looked a bit embarrassed then, “I sort of weaseled a little bit of information out of him. But I think something happened to her that put her in the hospital. My dad didn’t say much but, you know how adults get when they want you to befriend someone else or ‘keep an eye’ on them or whatever? It was really weird and… kind of telling.”

“Do you know anything?” Bella asks, and her voice is so pleading, her face filled with so much worry that eventually he starts talking. He tells them about her first visit, and then about her second. And he’s rambling by the time he gets to her third, and most recent visit. It isn’t until he’s talking about her bloodied face and the fact that she cried as quietly as she could, curled up on the floor of his bedroom, when a voice chimes in.

“So that’s where Mom’s good towel went.”

His blood freezes in his veins when he realizes that Rosalie has snuck up behind them, unnoticed. Emmett McCarty is standing behind her, looking nervous at the fact that they have just overheard Jasper’s hurried confession.

Bella looks nervous at their intrusion, and Edward’s face is stern. Rosalie is glaring daggers at her brother, and it’s Emmett that chimes in eventually.

“What can we do?”

When their eyes all drift to Jasper, he feels as if his chest is about to cave in on itself. He doesn’t know how to tell them that he doesn’t know what to do. “Bella says she doesn’t have a phone.”

“Can’t we pull up to her house? Check on her at least?” The concern scrawled across Emmett’s features make him look far less menacing than he usually comes off as—he’s the only one in the Junior class taller than Jasper. 

“That’s the last thing we should do,” Rosalie snaps, her words quiet. “The second you try to white-knight your way into whatever situation she’s dealing with, you’ll immediately make it ten times worse for her.” Rose speaks her words with the confidence of someone who truly knows what Alice’s situation is like, and it shuts everyone else up immediately.

There’s silence, then, Edward speaks. “We still don’t know what she’s dealing with. Let’s not assume.”

Rosalie glares at him then. “If your dad was dealing with her at the fucking emergency room, it wasn’t just a check up or a misunderstanding. Don’t be an idiot.”

“I’ll talk to Jennie when I get home,” Emmett offers, referring to his little sister who is classmates with Alice’s sister. “See if Cynthia has said anything at school.”

Bella nods, “Kids see and hear a lot more than people give them credit for.”

Rosalie speaks only to Jasper. “If she comes to you again, that’s a good thing. I can help cover your ass if you need it, but if you push her too much you will drive her away. Whatever you do, don’t go getting yourself arrested again, or I’ll beat you to a pulp.” Then, to everyone else, “If you really want to help her, give her space and mind your business. She’ll either come around, or she won’t. You can’t force it.” She climbs into the passenger seat, “Let’s go, Jasper.”

The drive home is quiet, and painfully awkward. Jasper keeps waiting for Rosalie to snap at him, or for her attitude to catch up, but when she reaches out and grabs a fistful of his shirt, holding it in her hand, he understands.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you enough,” she speaks as he turns into their neighborhood, approaching the house. “I wish I had asked for help before it was too late. But,” there’s another patch of silence as he parks in the driveway before she speaks again, “Alice is trusting you with whatever is happening. Don’t take that for granted, and don’t fuck it up. She’ll decide what you can do to help her at her own pace.” Opening the door to the car she stands up as she gathers her things. “Don’t go trying to fuck your life up again. Please.” Then, she slams it and walks toward the house.

Alice doesn’t visit that night, but on Saturday night he’s restless. He picks up his phone and re-reads that day’s text messages. He’s comforted knowing that he isn’t the only person who has been plagued with worry over Alice that day. Bella confesses that she name dropped Alice in conversation with her father—the chief of police—who also pulled something akin to Edward’s dad, requesting his daughter to be nice to the girl and perhaps invite her over sometime.

It is confirmation enough that whatever is happening to Alice was known by both hospital workers and police. This information is enough for Jasper’s concern to turn into something far more nauseating. He’s not even comforted by the involvement of people outside of Alice’s situation, because if what was happening to her was severe enough for the police chief and Doctor Carlisle Cullen to be involved, it wasn’t good.

He’s up late, re-reading Emmett’s most recent texts, explaining that Jennie didn’t see Cynthia on Thursday or Friday, when the first rock knocks against his window.

He doesn’t even rush over to it, instead flinging his bedroom door open and zooming down the stairs as quick as possible—he’s never been so happy for his father to be on a work trip and for his mother to be off and absent once more than he is when he barges through the front door and runs to the side of the house.

The sight of Alice standing beneath his window, preparing to fling another pebble, her face wincing in pain, is both a relief as well as a worry.

She jumps at his sudden appearance, stumbling back as fear flickers across her face. It only takes her a second to realize who is rushing toward her, but by the time recognition calms her, Jasper has already slowed himself.

She’s wearing her purple hoodie again, and her face is black and blue. She reaches up to pull her hood tighter around her face and that’s when Jasper takes note of the pink cast encasing her forearm.

“Alice,” he breathes, approaching slower as he reaches out to her. Thankfully she doesn’t recoil from him and instead walks directly toward him. When she wraps her arms around him, Jasper doesn’t hesitate to hold her close. With her embrace he feels all the tension slowly seep out of him, and it’s when he feels her shivering that he steps back, keeping an arm over her shoulders as he guides her toward the house.

She’s as quiet as she typically is during all of her visits, so Jasper decides to fill the silence instead.

He talks at her mostly, prompting input here and there, but Alice is content to sit quietly on his bed as he rifles through his closet. He eventually finds a winter coat that stopped fitting him before high school and tosses it on the bed beside her. He tells her that it belongs to her now and that he wants to see her wearing it next time she decides to make the trek to his house at night.

He asks her how far she lives, and even when she doesn’t reply he informs her that he has a car, and can pick her up at a moment’s notice if she ever needs him to. He also asks about her phone situation, knowing that she doesn’t have access to a cell phone, but that if she has access to a computer, his phone dings when he gets an email. He can put her email in his contacts so that it rings loudly any time she sends a message his way.

He offers her food, and even when she doesn’t accept (or decline) he disappears for a few minutes, returning with some reheated pizza and a couple of glasses of water.

She accepts the water with a smile, and seeing the light in her eyes, despite how battered her face looks, does something strange to Jasper’s chest.

It’s when he asks her if she’s tired that she finally gives him a response, shaking her head.

“In that case,” he walks over to his desk, unplugging his laptop and carrying it over to the bed, depositing it in front of her. “We can watch a movie.”

He sneaks back into the hallway, and is rifling through the hall closet, retrieving extra pillows and blankets, when Rosalie’s door opens and he freezes, turning toward her with a look akin to a deer caught in headlights.

“Here,” his sister whispers as she tosses something his way, “she can keep these.” Before they can fall to the ground Jasper plucks the cotton pajamas out of the air, nodding toward his sister. With her voice low she then tacks on a threat, “and don’t eat all the pizza. I was saving some for lunch tomorrow.”

He smiles at her as she closes the door softly behind her, trying to decide whether its best to lie to Alice about the blue pajamas or to just tell them they’re a gift from Rosalie.

In reality, he doesn’t need to say anything, because when he presents them to her she smiles up at him, softly thanking him before placing them on the bed beside her.

“I’m serious,” he remarks as he turns the laptop toward him, opening and starting it up. “They’re all yours. They were Rose’s in like, freshman year before she got her growth spurt.”

“I doubt they’ll fit,” Alice’s voice finally rings out clear, and Jasper counts that as a win.

Jasper smirks over at her as he logs into Peter’s Netflix account. “Trust me, I wasn’t the only one who grew nearly half a foot freshman year. The money we spent on clothes that year was a little excessive.”

Alice excuses herself to the hallway bathroom a minute after that, and when she returns, dressed more comfortably now, Jasper smiles. “My uh, parents aren’t home by the way, so you can stay as long as you need.”

She doesn’t reply, but she does climb back into his bed, and when she wraps the old blue blanket around her shoulders—a blanket that Jasper is beginning to view as hers—she scoots herself into the corner of his bed, resting her back against his headboard and pillows.

Jasper is careful to keep his distance as he settles himself beside her, but Alice is quick to scoot closer, and when he asks if she has any suggestions or requests, she simply shakes her head, smiling at the screen, her chin resting atop her knees.

She is asleep twenty minutes into the movie, her head knocking against his shoulder as her exhaustion wins out. Jasper remains still for a while after that, barely paying any attention to the random animated movie, afraid of waking the girl up. Eventually he moves her carefully so that she’s lying down more comfortably. Closing the laptop he moves to place it back on his desk when her hand shoots out, gripping his arm tightly.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he speaks quietly, his heart breaking at the flash of desperation—of fear—in her suddenly-open eyes, depositing the laptop on the ground and climbing back into his bed. It feels strange, to lie down beside this girl that he knows hardly anything about, but when she wraps her good hand around his, Jasper turns toward her, wrapping his fingers tightly around hers, returning the gesture. She is asleep again within minutes.

Multiple times he attempts to remove himself from his own bed. After all, he shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be staring at this girl as she sleeps, entirely unguarded, her face swollen from what could only be a beating, and for a while he lies there, frozen in both anger and helplessness.

Because Alice is good. A sweet girl with nothing but a smile to offer and friendship to give.

When he wakes up late the following morning, he doesn’t know why he feels sour at her absence. Deep down he knew she wouldn’t be still lying beside him, but in some far off part of his mind, he’d hoped for it.

It’s when he’s sitting up in bed, orienting himself with his surroundings when he hears familiar laughter echoing from Rosalie’s room.

He’s up and in the hallway in seconds.

Rosalie’s door is propped open, and inside of her bedroom there are people. It seems during the few extra hours Jasper stayed unconscious, his sister had invited over company.

Emmett is sitting completely still in the chair of Rosalie’s vanity, far too big for the tiny white furniture, and looking ridiculous as Rosalie leans forward, carefully applying makeup to his large face. Bella Swan stands at her side, holding Rosalie’s iPad in one hand, displaying a picture of whatever look his sister is trying to achieve on the face of Fork’s High’s star linebacker, and in her other hand are a slew of makeup brushes.

Edward is standing closest to the door, recording the entire debacle on his phone while Alice, who is lying across Rosalie’s bed, still clad in her blue pajamas is laughing and laughing and laughing.

It’s such a strange group of people, he realizes abruptly. Jasper is only acquainted with Bella and Edward through the far-off lunch table they all share, since it’s the only corner of the cafeteria that offers an escape from the rowdiness of their classmates. Emmett, of course, he knows through Rosalie, and has always been a friendly, funny guy, but Rosalie has always been careful about who she lets into her social circles. Especially now.

And last Jasper knew his sister couldn’t stand the pretentious red-head in the grade behind them. But if Jasper knows anything, it’s to never underestimate Rosalie Lillian Hale, and quickly he realizes that in the time between her handing off pajamas to him last night, and this morning, she’s carefully calculated this entire thing. From the guests to the activity.

Because the only thing everyone in this room has in common, is Alice.

When she notices him, she sits up, grinning widely at him. The yellowing bruises on her face stick out sorely against her skin that is pink and flushed from laughter, but when she beckons him inside of the room, drawing everyone’s attention from Emmett’s face to Jasper’s presence, he can’t help but smile back.

He carefully turns down the invitation to be ‘next’, and when Rosalie remarks that there are plenty of photos in tucked away albums of their older cousins putting Jasper in makeup and dresses when they were small, the entire room of teenagers look delighted at that information.

“Oh, please tell me you have that album handy,” Alice exclaims, gripping his hand fiercely as she bounces on Rosalie’s bed.

“Hell no.”

“I’ll show you some other time,” Rosalie comments dismissively as she holds Emmett’s jaw tight in her hand. “Now, do we want to go more pink or orange-ish…?”

And that’s how their Sunday begins.

Eventually they make their way from Rosalie’s room into the living room and then soon they’re piling into Jasper’s and Emmett’s cars, after Bella’s stomach had rumbled and Emmett declared that it was time for food. Of course, he took every ounce of makeup off before they left, and Alice changed back into the clothes she’d arrived in the night before.

The day passes so quickly and it’s so fun that Jasper hardly realizes how much he’s enjoying himself until the sun is nearly down and they’re hanging out in the parking lot of the bowling alley they just played in. But Bella has a late shift at Newton’s and Emmett needs to take them back to his car, which is at Rosalie and Jasper’s house. Then Rose declares that she has a paper to finish tonight and suddenly the day is spiraling to a close.

“I’ll see you at home,” she nods at him as she climbs into the passenger seat of Emmett’s Jeep. He simply nods, waving at them as they pull away. 

And then it’s just him and Alice left.

He turns toward her after Emmett’s car disappears into the night, only to see her staring after the Jeep, a deep-set frown in her face.

“What do you want to do?” He asks, because he knows it has to be her decision now.

She steps up next to him and grabs his hand tightly, and that’s when Jasper feels her shaking again. He knows it’s not because of the cold; she’s finally wearing the jacket he’d given her the night before. But she’s shaking now and he doesn’t know what to do other than pull her against his side and hold her close.

“We can go back to my house,” he offers firmly, but quietly, as she nestles closely against him, her face pressed into his own coat. “You can stay as long as you want. I mean it.”

She shakes her head after a long moment. “I have to go home.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

She doesn’t answer his question.

Turn by turn directions are all she has to provide for him; she’s still so new to the town that even despite how small it is she only knows her way around when they’re close to the school. So he loops back toward Fork’s High and then Alice begins directing him from there.

They’re only a few streets away—surprisingly close to his house—when she grabs his hand suddenly. “Stop the car.”

Jasper slows the car down to a crawl, pulling it over to the side of the road. He doesn’t see anything that would cause her to erupt in fear like that; they’re still several yards from the next turn, bringing them toward where Alice said her house was.

“Here is fine,” she says in a hurry, unbuckling herself swiftly. When she starts to remove his jacket he reaches out and grabs her arm.

“Alice, that’s for you. Keep it, please.”

“I can’t,” she says desperately as she shimmies her arms out of the sleeves. It takes her a while to yank her left arm, cast and all, out of the jacket, but when she pushes it unceremoniously into his arms, he’s so confused. “Please, understand.”

“I don’t,” he says honestly, a little hurt by her actions, “that’s… that’s fine. Just—” he frowns, “how do you usually get to school? The bus?”

She shakes her head as she lifts her small bag up and throws it over her shoulder. “I walk. It’s fine, I’ll see you in school this week.”

He reaches out again, careful not to grab her broken wrist, and his hand lands softly on her shoulder. “Not tomorrow?”

Alice is anxious now, her eyes looking for something out in the dark, and Jasper hates this. Hates that she comes to him at night but doesn’t let him help. Hates that she does so much talking, but doesn’t reveal anything. Hates that he can’t fix whatever is wrong.

“I’m worried about you,” he eventually says when she flings the door open and moves to depart.

The look she fixes him with then is stern, and Jasper worries that he’s said something wrong.

Alice leans back into the car, and with her good hand she reaches toward him, cupping his cheek warmly, and stunning him into silence. He’s frozen for a few seconds, watching her every move cautiously, and when she smiles up at him, soft and beautiful, any other words he was thinking are suddenly wiped clear.

“Don’t.” And she’s gone in seconds, running off into the dark faster than he can keep up with his eyes.

He doesn’t go directly home afterward. Instead he drives around for a little while. Alice wouldn’t give him her address, and he’s almost nervous to accidentally stumble across her house now, so he steers clear of the residential streets. He’s halfway to La Push when he realizes he needs to go back home, because Rose will be waiting for him.

Rose and Emmett are waiting for him when he returns. It’s something that sort of surprises him, because as far as he knows, his sister has sworn off dating. Not that the two appear to be an item. But again: it’s not a secret that Emmett McCarty loves his sister.

When he walks through the door they’re in the kitchen, and their conversation dies when they note his presence.

“How’d it go?” Emmett asks, frowning from where he sits at the kitchen table across from Rosalie.

Jasper shrugs, turning to walk toward the stairs.

“Jasper,” his sister calls, standing up from the table. “Did something happen?”

“No,” he finally speaks. And it’s true. Nothing happened. No progress in their ‘friendship’. No discoveries on his part. Instead the status quo remains very much unchanged. He still doesn’t know how to help Alice, and she is still unwilling to let him in. 

It’s when Rosalie takes note of the small jacket under Jasper’s arm when she finally closes her mouth and nods, turning back to sit back at the table, looking strangely defeated.

He doesn’t sleep well that night, or the next.

The rumors start circulating quickly then. It seems that some senior was at the bowling alley with their parents on the same day they’d taken Alice out on her outing. Word quickly got around that the tiny girl looked like she’d been in a boxing match, bruised and broken and still missing from school.

The worst of the rumors made their way back to him through Edward. Some group of kids in the freshman class were apparently under the impression that her absence and physical state were due to Jasper’s actions. Of course, it is a widely-known fact now that Jasper has a ‘reputation for violence’; whether it’s misplaced or not isn’t for Jasper to decide. But that rumor makes him feel sick to his stomach.

It becomes so bad that, with his dad still away on work and his mom god-knows-where, Jasper stays home from school on Thursday. Rosalie doesn’t even attempt to rouse him out of bed, just accepting his keys and telling him she’ll see him after school.

It’s around noon that he forces himself out of his bedroom. He doesn’t have an appetite so he simply shrugs on his coat, pulls on his boots, and goes for a walk.

He wanders through the neighborhood for a while, down one street, up another, until he finds himself wandering through Tillicum Park. He used to come here more often when he was younger. It was the one place his parents would let him and Rosalie wander off to on their own. And then when he was in middle school a man in a van had pulled up beside some of his classmates and he and Rose had been forbidden from walking there alone after that.

It has been several years since he’s sat on the swings here. And as he wanders toward where he knows the play equipment is, he finds himself freezing in his tracks.

Because there is a little girl sitting by herself on the swings.

He looks around then, but it’s barely one o’clock on a Thursday afternoon, and this girl can’t be any older than seven or eight. He contemplates moving on with his walk—after all, it was barely a decade ago when his mother would shoo him and Rose out the door and off to the park—but something forces him to approach the child.

He doesn’t want to scare the girl, so he gives her a wide berth as he loops around to the front of the swings, approaching from where the kid can see him. And when she looks up at him, Jasper hates that her terrified expression is vaguely familiar to him…

But when she the fear disappears, relief is quick to take it’s place on her face. The girl smiles at him and releases her grip on one of the chains to wave at him. “Hi!” She exclaims, her legs dangling beneath her as the swing sways in the wind.

Jasper looks around then. “Hi there.” He doesn’t even see any cars parked in the lot across the way. “Are your parents around?”

She shakes her head as she starts pumping her little feet, and then she starts going higher and higher on the swing set. “No, my Mommy is dead,” she says matter-of-factly, and Jasper frowns at that.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says awkwardly, hands in his pockets as he keeps his eyes on the horizon, waiting for someone to come claim this child. Something in him tells him not to wander off. Sure, he doesn’t want to seem like a weirdo creep, talking to alone little girls, but he doesn’t want an actual one to come and snatch this girl up while she’s swinging here, all alone.

“S’okay,” she mumbles sadly as she swings back and forth. “I miss lots of people. And stuff. And my friends, too.”

“Is your dad around?”

“No,” she shakes her head, and a dark, angry look falls across her tiny features. “He’s at home being a jerk.”

“Are you supposed to be at home?”

“Doesn’t matter.” She kicks her legs angrily as she talks, “Not allowed to be at home. And I don’t wanna go to school.”

“You don’t like school?”

She shakes her head, still pouting as she swings back, and forth. “I told the teachers Daddy was being mean and then I got in trouble. And I told them not to say nothing!”

That revelation didn’t sit well with him. “Being mean?”

She’s quiet for a few seconds, her feet ceasing motion as she thinks to herself. Then, she’s pushing and pulling her feet back and forth again. “I’m not supposed to say things to adults, so you should go to your job or something.”

“I don’t have a job,” he offered, “but I didn’t go to school today either.” He looks around once more. “Is there someone I can call to come get you? Someone that’s not your dad?”

The girl shakes her head. “Alice isn’t allowed to. Dad says she has to stay at home so we don’t get in trouble again.”

Jasper’s entire world shifts with those words. “Alice?” He steps closer. That’s when he notices the little girls arms, full of brightly-colored beads, homemade bracelets that Jasper suddenly recognizes. “Is Alice your sister?”

The child nods, and when she pouts again Jasper suddenly realizes why this girl looks so familiar.

There’s a memory somewhere in his mind where Emmett revealed this little girl’s name, but that particular piece of information is out of his reach. “My name is Jasper. What’s yours?”

And then she says, “Cynthia Brandon” confirming his suspicions.

“Is Alice in trouble?” He begins to approach Cynthia then, but then stops and hesitates. Then, he walks to a swing several feet away and sits down on it. “I’m friends with Alice. We go to school together.” He digs around in his pockets then, knowing that he never had the nerve to actually attach it to his key ring, but when Alice had handed him a hand-made keychain a couple of weeks ago, he’d stuffed it into one of his jacket’s many pockets and forgotten about it. He finally wraps his fingers around the beaded thing and sighs in relief. “She made me this.”

The girl leans toward him, frowning as she studies the keychain he holds out toward her. “No,” she shakes her head, “I made that. Alice just takes them to school for her friends. But I definitely made that.” She sounds put-out by the idea that her big sister is stealing all the credit, and Jasper quickly backpedals.

“Oh, it’s very nice. Alice did give it to me though.”

“I know,” and then she’s smiling again as she kicks her feet. “When Daddy gets mad Alice puts me on her bed and lets me listen to all the music and make as many bracelets and keychains as I want while she talks to Daddy.”

“Does…” Jasper hesitates, “Is Alice alright? I’m very worried about her.”

“I’m not allowed to talk to people about what Daddy does.”

Jasper’s frown intensifies. “Because you’ll get in trouble?”

When Cynthia nods Jasper has to bite back a swear. He doesn’t know what to do now. It’s clear that something sinister is at play here, but with a little girl too afraid to say anything, and with Alice also refusing to give any hints as to what happens to her behind closed doors, Jasper is left lost.

But when his phone buzzes in his pocket, an idea strikes him. Retrieving it from his pocket he ignores the random email notification and, as quickly as he can, he types a message to Bella, placing as much urgency in his words as he can in a short text.

He stays there, sitting with Cynthia, chatting idly with the girl about her favorite way to braid and design her tiny pieces of ‘jewelry’, when Chief Swan’s police cruiser pulls up, parking in the lot behind them without the little girl noticing.

“Are you hungry?” Jasper eventually asks the girl, turning his head and nodding toward Bella’s dad when the man begins to approach, a random deputy at his side. “If I got you some food, would you eat it?”

“I’m always hungry,” she whines. “Alice was supposed to go to the market yesterday but then Daddy—” she slaps a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide when she realizes that two policemen are approaching. “Oh, no,” she hops off the swings and scurries closer to Jasper. “Please tell them to go away,” she says in a whisper loud enough for the two cops to overhear.

“Hi Cynthia,” Charlie Swan smiles over at the girl, “how are you today, sweetheart?”

“Going home,” she declares loudly, reaching out and grabbing Jasper’s hand, quickly pulling him after her. “I’m going home now mister police man! Thank you! Goodbye!”

Jasper takes a few steps after the desperate little girl, turning to look at Chief Swan with a confused gaze. ‘What do I do?’ He mouths as the girl begins to drag him toward town.

‘We’ll follow’, Chief Swan mouths back, nodding to where the little girl is heading. Then, he places a hand on his partner’s shoulder and they begin moving back toward where the squad car is parked.

The pizzeria Cynthia drags him into is one he used to frequent as a child. The amount of birthday parties he and Rosalie had attended in the establishment were most likely in the double digits. His grandfather had been best friends with the owner of the place, and for years Jasper and his friends had been allowed to bring their report cards to the restaurant every marking period. Each ‘A’ entitled the kids to one free slice of pizza.

He leads Cynthia into a booth, sitting her in the side facing away from the parking lot. And minutes later when he sees the squad car park at the opposite end of the lot, he pulls his phone out again and starts texting Bella again. Thankfully she’s quick to send him her father’s number and for the first time since his arrest over a year ago, Jasper is willingly talking to a police officer.

He half-focuses on Cynthia as he starts texting Chief Swan every bit of information he has. It isn’t until Marnie—a waitress who has been working at the restaurant for as long as Jasper has been alive—brings them their order, a small cheese pizza to share and two lemonades, that Jasper realizes he has more information than he realizes.

Marnie gives him a serious look, glancing between the cop car and the little girl, and Jasper has to subtly gesture to the older woman that she needs to be quiet. When Cynthia is distracted with emptying more sugar packets into her lemonade, Jasper flashes the woman his phone. When the woman sees ‘Charlie Swan’ on the top she frowns and then nods, before retreating back into the kitchen.

You have to check on her, Jasper emphasizes more than once in his text messages with the Chief of Police of their tiny town. You have to go over there and make sure she’s alright. 

It’s nearly two hours later—and Cynthia is stuffed full of pizza, cookies, and one warm brownie sundae—when Chief Swan finally exits his vehicle and approaches the building. Jasper hasn’t heard anything from the man in over an hour, but he knows that they’ve sent a few of his people over to the Brandon residence to perform a wellness check.

Marnie and Steve—the owner’s son, and current manager of the establishment—cleared out the restaurant nearly an hour ago, so after the two policemen step through the door, Steve locks the door behind them and flips the ‘OPEN’ sign to read ‘CLOSED’.

“Hi Cynthia,” Charlie Swan speaks again, and Cynthia turns toward the door and lets out a pitiful whine. “It’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise.”

“You can’t promise me that!” She shrieks before ducking beneath the booth and reappearing at Jasper’s side. “Go away! I’ll go home later! Leave me alone!”

Chief Swan leans down to eye level with the little girl, and when she grabs Jasper’s arm, hiding behind it, he doesn’t know what to do. “Well, Cynthia. I’m here to tell you that you aren’t going to be able to go home today. In fact, a good friend of mine is going to come by and talk to you, if that’s alright?”

“I want to go home,” Cynthia’s words began to wobble as tears begin to spring to the surface. “I want Alice. I want to go home.”

“Alice is getting some help right now,” and Chief Swan meets Jasper’s eyes quickly then, before looking away, “but when she feels better you’ll be able to see her, alright?”

“I wanna go home,” she cries, burying herself underneath Jasper’s discarded coat, where she continues to cry. “I wanna go home.”

It isn’t until Edward’s parents show up—somehow Jasper had forgotten all about the slew of foster siblings Edward had when they were young—and Esme Cullen spends a few minutes calmly talking to Cynthia, that the little girl appears more willing to go with them. 

When Cynthia is packed away into some random car with a borrowed booster seat Jasper turns toward Chief Swan. “Please tell me she’s alright.”

The man nods, and Jasper feels his shoulders deflate, relief almost suffocating. “I don’t know if I would’ve been able to say that if we’d waited another day or two to check, but their father is in custody and Alice is at the hospital.” The man fixes Jasper with a long look then. “I don’t know why, or how it is that I always find you at the center of these situations,” he remarks, somehow looking down his nose at Jasper, despite the fact he was a shorter man, “but you’re good man, Hale. Just make sure to talk to your parents about this.” He turned to walk away, “And thanks for not going rogue again this time.”

The underlying message was clear: ‘thanks for not trying to kill Mr. Brandon’.

When he walks through his front door an hour later, dragging himself up the stairs with heavy feet, he’s met with an avalanche of people suddenly. And when Rosalie’s arms are wrapped around his neck, he almost feels himself break down then.

“Tell us everything,” she mutters quickly against his neck, and that’s when Jasper realizes that Emmett, Edward, and Bella are all standing behind her on the stairs or in the hallway above.

He gets through the story slowly, starting with when he left the house and stopping when he realized that he was talking to Alice’s little sister.

“I’m so glad you texted me when you did,” Bella sighs. “I don’t usually have my phone on me during school, but it’s my Mom’s birthday, so I’ve been waiting on messages from her all day.”

“I knew something was up when Bella ditched English last period,” Edward comments from where he’s leaning back against Rosalie’s wall.

“Bella ditching class at all should be a red flag,” Rosalie remarks from her spot on her bed beside Jasper.

“Your parents have her sister, last I saw,” Jasper turns toward Edward as he speaks, as if hoping the younger boy could provide more information.

Edward nods. “They called a few minutes after I got here. They’re technically still registered as foster parents, so if they can’t get a hold of any other relatives in the area, I’m going to have some foster sisters soon,” he shrugs as if it’s no big deal to him to have Alice and Cynthia moving in. And the idea of Dr. and Mrs. Cullen taking care of the pair of girls is enough for force Jasper to look away from everyone, afraid that he might start getting emotional again.

Jasper stays home from school again the next day, and Rosalie does, too. It doesn’t take long for news to travel through the town of Forks and Jasper knows that if he hears any disrespectful gossip at school, he’ll likely be disappointing Chief Swan much sooner than anticipated.

He tries to visit Alice at the hospital but since there’s an ongoing investigation they turn him away at the front desk.

Joseph Brandon eventually calls one of them—the school must’ve finally gotten a hold of him about their absences—and gets the full story from Rosalie, promising to be home within the day and giving them permission to use the emergency credit card to get a bouquet of flowers sent to Alice’s hospital room.

When Monday rolls around he doesn’t want to go to school, but his father and Rosalie force him out of bed and down the stairs. He’s sort of glad he’s pushed out the door that morning, because when he returns home that afternoon, Mom is back, which means he’s missed out on a huge fight, and he’s relieved that at least it happened while he and Rosalie were at school this time.

The news of the newcomers—John Edgar Brandon and his two daughters—is such hot gossip around town that when Jasper and Rosalie come home one day to their mother’s belongings packed away in a U-haul truck, and some strange man helping her pack, the news doesn’t even make it to his classmates. Because the story of Joseph Hale finally kicking his unfaithful wife to the curb is something that the people of this town have been waiting for him to do for years now.

But the story of the twice-widowed John Edgar Brandon being arrested for abuse, neglect, and suspected murder, easily trumps the news of any simple extra-marital affair. Jasper hates the relief he feels, knowing that his deadbeat mother isn’t going to be the talk of the town, and instead the fact that John Edgar beat his eldest daughter within an inch of her life, is.

He’s been back at school for a full week when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. It’s nearly the end of the day; the bell is set to go off within minutes and he knows he won’t get a demerit if any teachers see him on his phone at this point on a Friday.

The first message is from Edward.

I told her not to go overboard. But he’s my apology in advance.

The second is from an unknown number.

hi jasper!!!!!!!!!!!!

 He pockets the phone with a frown, staring back at the clock on the wall before realizing that his teacher is wrapped up in conversation with a few kids on the opposite side of the classroom. Trying not to be seen he ducks out of the classroom swiftly, pulling his phone out of his pocket to stare at the text message again.

It takes him two more seconds to realize who is texting him and before he can stop himself he’s pressing the ‘call’ button and rushing out the front doors as fast as he can. As he listens to the phone ring on the other end the knot in his throat is so thick that he’s afraid he might choke if he tries to say anything.

“Um,” her voice on the other end of the line sounds like a miracle, and Jasper finds himself clinging to his phone even as he strides into the parking lot, rain pouring down heavily on his head. “Hello?”

“Alice?” He can’t keep his voice from cracking as he makes it to his car, struggling with the keys to open the door and make it inside. “It’s Jasper.”

“I know,” and her voice sounds so small, so unsure that Jasper’s chest hurts hearing it. “Esme and Carlisle got me a phone.”

“That’s amazing,” he finds himself smiling as he talks, slamming the car door shut once he finally manages to climb inside and avoid the downpour. “Is it hard to use?”

“Kind of,” her voice sounds raspier than usual. Whether it’s due to misuse or injury, Jasper is still unsure. He hasn’t heard anything about her physical state, yet. “Edward’s helping me a lot though. Which is nice.” Theres another pause. “He’s nice.”

“He is,” Jasper agrees, leaning his head back against the headrest and closing his eyes. “It’s so good to hear from you, Alice.”

“Jasper,” she sounds sad, then, “I want to apologize.”

“What?” He sits up abruptly, his eyes open again. “Alice, no. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“I lied,” she whispers, “so, so much.”

“No, you didn’t. You kept quiet to keep yourself safe,” his words are stern but kind. “That’s different.”

“I’ve made everyone so, so miserable,” and when her voice cracks, Jasper feels something in his chest crack right alongside it. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Alice, listen to me,” clinging to the phone with both hands he finds that he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what to tell this girl and he doesn’t know how to repair something that neither of them are responsible for damaging in the first place.

The entire situation is a mess.

“Are you allowed to have visitors now?” He asks instead. “I’d really like to see you.” There’s a slight pause. “And Cynthia,” he adds on. “I’m not sure if she’s told you about our adventure the other week.”

Alice laughs then, “Yeah. She keeps telling me she likes my tall friend with the pizza.” Jasper smiles at that. “I told her I do, too.” Theres the sound of shuffling on the other line, and then Alice speaks again. “I’m… not sure if I’m allowed…”

“Can you ask?” Then, he realizes what he’s requesting of her, and changes his mind. “I can have Edward ask, I mean.” The idea of asking a parent for permission for anything is something he’s sure Alice has no experience in.

“Um, maybe, yeah. That might be better.” After a slight pause, she sighs into the phone. “I miss you.”

Jasper’s stomach does flips then as he deflates back down into the seat. He can hear the sound of the final bell going off in the background, but he’s too focused on his phone to care. “How about I text Edward, and see if I can come over later?” The idea of inviting himself over to the Cullen household is as bizarre as it is bold, but Jasper doesn’t care. He wants to see Alice, badly. “Maybe I’ll bring some pizza for you and Cynthia.” 

Alice giggles at that. “I think she’d really like that. Yeah, okay.”

It isn’t until minutes later when Rosalie wordlessly climbs into the passenger seat that he realizes he’s been crying. She gasps at the sight, leaning forward and grabbing his hand and demanding to know what’s wrong, and only when he wipes his cheeks with the backs of his hands and shakes his head, telling her that Alice is safe and home, does she deflate, pulling him into a hug.

Esme Cullen declines his offer to bring pizza, but is happy enough to see him when he and Rosalie walk through their front door that night. Cynthia is excited to see him and wants to show Jasper her new bedroom, informing him that it’s ‘full of books and shelves’, prompting Rosalie and Jasper to share a strange look with one another and prompting Esme to quickly explain that they were still in the process of packing up her husband’s study to convert into another bedroom for the young girl.

The house is huge—easily one of the biggest homes Jasper has ever seen—and when they eventually reach the kitchen in the back of the house, Alice is already sitting at the table, her eyes wide and smile bright as they cross the room toward her.

“Alice! Alice! Your friends are here!” Cynthia exclaims before climbing into the chair beside her sister.

Alice laughs and looks over at her sister, beaming, “I see that! I’m so happy!”

“Me too!” The girl giggles before hopping down off the chair and running after Esme. “Let’s finish dinner now, please, please!”

Alice looks better than Jasper expected her to, if he’s being honest with himself. One eye is still quite swollen and what used to be her ‘good arm’ is in some type of sling, but her smile is bright and there is color in her cheeks. Judging by the ill-fitting button down Jasper can tell it’s a collarbone fracture, and even though he can’t see her legs, there is a wheelchair resting a few feet behind where she sits.

“Good to see you,” Rose smiles at the small girl, leaning forward to wrap Alice in a light hug. Alice looks delighted at such a reaction from Rosalie, even grinning excitedly over the blonde’s shoulder toward Jasper, and when she lifts her pink cast to give him a thumbs up, he has to refrain from laughing out loud. “I’ll have to drag Emmett by sometime this week. He can’t wait to see you.”

“Oh, please do!” Then, Alice freezes, turning toward where Esme and Cynthia are across the room, “I—I mean, if I’m allowed to.”

Esme’s smile is kind and her words are steady when she calls calmly toward the anxious girl. “Guests are welcome any time before eight PM on school nights and ten PM on weekends. Carlisle and I will let you know beforehand if we have any exceptions on any days.”

And with the gentle setting of boundaries Jasper watches as Alice calms visibly, her shoulders losing their tension as she turns back toward Rosalie and smiles, nodding. “Yeah, I want to see Emmett, too.”

“He might be over sooner than this week,” Edward chimes in as he enters the room, waving his phone toward them. “He and Bella are on their way now, apparently.”

Rosalie manages to look a bit irritated at that. “He didn’t tell me he was coming.”

“I thought you didn’t care what Emmett does with his free time,” Edward speaks knowingly. It takes Jasper several seconds to realize that Edward is teasing his sister. And not only that, Rosalie hasn’t retorted; instead, she’s turning bright red where she stands.

Oh. Well, that was certainly a development.

“I’m glad I planned on having leftovers,” Esme laughs good-naturedly from the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

Despite the unexpected guests, the dinner at the Cullen household goes like this: He manages to sit himself on Alice’s opposite side and hardly leaves it the entire night. She has difficulty picking up food with her fork, and even despite Esme’s insistence that she can help the girl Jasper insists on doing it. It’s when he realizes that most of the foods he’s scooping onto her utensils are soft, easily chewable things, that he wonders, as he helps her wrap her fingers around her fork again and again, what other unseen injuries she possesses.

Emmett and Rosalie insist on helping Esme clean up dinner, and Edward shows Jasper how to fold and unfold Alice’s wheelchair, before the younger boy helps Alice into it. Jasper feels nauseous as he sees that both of her legs are injured. Her left is in a cast up to her knee, and her right foot is in a black boot.

They’re ushered from the kitchen into a giant living room with a television so big that it makes Jasper wonder how they got it into the house.

As they wait for Emmett and Rosalie to join them Cynthia takes control of the remote as well as the trajectory of their night. Edward groans and Bella shushes him when the little girl announces they’re watching some animated movie Jasper knows nothing about, but after an hour into the film Emmett has declared that it’s his new favorite movie and Cynthia has declared that Emmett is her new favorite person.

They’re halfway through the sequel when the little girl finally passes out, one too many musical numbers zapping her energy. Esme laughs and Emmett remarks that his dance partner has underestimated her endurance as he helps collect the girl and carry her off to bed.

They turn the cartoon off after that and put on something a little more suitable for a group of teenagers. Some mindless comedy that Esme decides to forgo as she prepares to retreat to some other part of the house.

“Dude, your mom kicks ass,” Emmett whispers to Edward after Esme finally leaves them, bowls of freshly popped popcorn and pitchers of juice placed on the coffee table before them all. “What the hell?” He gestures to the TV and the popcorn. “HBO max and the gourmet buttered shit? You’ve been holding out on us, Cullen.”

“Edward’s spoiled,” Bella remarks with a grin as Edward turns to glare at his girlfriend, but when she pokes him in the ribs, causing him to jump nearly a foot in the air, they all laugh. “What? It’s true.”

The movie has barely begun before Jasper feels Alice begin to drift at his side. He turns toward her, hyperaware of her every movement, watching as she begins to nod off slowly, her head dipping and eyes fluttering shut every few seconds.

“Do you want to go to sleep?” He asks quietly enough that no one else hears him over the noise of the surround-sound in the room. But Alice shakes her head stubbornly before sitting up and adjusting the pillows beneath her arm in the sling. Then, she snuggles up close to Jasper’s side and lets out a long sigh.

“Not yet,” she mutters to him, even though her eyes are already fluttering shut again. “I want to stay here, please.”

Jasper barely pays attention to the movie after that. Instead he spends the next hour and a half letting his mind run rampant. His thoughts are so swept up in all things Alice that he hardly notices when the movie has ended and Emmett and Rosalie are standing up and stretching. Emmett starts to talk loudly before Rose smacks his shoulder, gesturing to where Alice is fast asleep at Jasper’s side.

They all slowly disperse after that. Rosalie hitches a ride home with Emmett, and before Edward leaves to drive Bella home he goes and fetches his mother to help Jasper move Alice to bed.

While Esme is unfolding the chair Jasper simply stands, maneuvering Alice into his arms as carefully as possible, all while trying not to jostle her too much. “It’s fine,” he whispers to Esme, shaking his head and gesturing for her to lead the way.

The room that has become Alice’s room is the only bedroom on the main level. Originally a guest room, Esme explains, it didn’t take much to transform it into the type of a room a teenage girl would love. In addition to the new cell phone, there’s a small desktop situated on a new-looking desk in the corner of the room, and there are pink and white twinkle lights cascading across where the walls and ceiling meet. The bedspread is also pink and white, and knowing that they’re Alice’s favorite colors, and that this room was hurriedly designed with her in mind, is enough to force Jasper’s throat to tighten up with emotion again.

The bed is low enough to make it easy for Alice to get in and out with minimal assistance, which means that Jasper has to bend down quite far to gently deposit Alice against the covers. Despite his care, she wakes up the instant his arms are back at his sides, sitting up with a gasp and then a wince, and when she cries out in pain both he and Esme are at her side.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Esme presses a firm hand between her shoulder blades, pressing forward until she’s sitting up straight. “There we go, good. Try not to bend sideways, that-a-girl.”

Gritting her teeth together Alice blinks up at the pair of them, visibly relaxing at the two people in front of her. “I need to pee,” she manages to rasp between pained gasps.

“I’ll go get her chair,” Esme says as she stands back up, swiftly exiting the room.

“Are you alright?”

Alice nods quickly, despite the pain apparent on her face. “Just hurts,” she wheezes as she closes her eyes. Reaching out she grabs for his hand, which Jasper is all-too-happy to give to her. Squeezing it tightly she manages a weak smile. “Thanks.”

“You’ll be alright,” Jasper sighs. And he means those words so wholeheartedly that it makes him emotional. Her injuries would heal, both physical as well as mental. It was so clear, in just the way that the Cullens had quickly outfitted their home to take in the two girls, that they would be safe here, and loved, and cared for.

Everything they hadn’t been afforded before.

“Is it after ten?” She asks, her eyes looking for the clock on the nightstand behind her. But when she tries to twist to see it and winces, she laughs. “I keep forgetting I can’t do that.”

“It’s nearly ten; 9:48.”

“That means you have to go soon, then.” 

He nods as Esme enters the room, wheeling her chair in and helping Alice scoot herself off of the bed and into it. “We’ll be right back,” the kind-hearted woman smiles up at him as she wheels Alice out of the room. “Carlisle will be home any minute now.”

True to her word, the sound of the front door opening and closing brings Jasper’s attention toward the hallway as he watches Carlisle Cullen move carefully through his home.

Upon sight of the teenager standing alone in Alice’s room he approaches with a smile. “Good to see you, Jasper,” and when the older man offers his hand, Jasper takes it firmly, realizing this is the first time he’s actually spoken to Edward’s father. “I heard you all had a fun night.”

“Yes, sir,” Jasper nods, “Dinner, some movies. My sister and I appreciate the hospitality.”

Carlisle smiles warmly. “And you’re both welcome any time. Friends of Edward’s, and of Alice’s, are always welcome here.”

Jasper is taken aback by how much he dislikes that particular statement. Thankfully, Esme and Alice return seconds later, but the idea that he is simply that—a friend to Alice, doesn’t sit right with him.

It’s a ridiculous reaction to have, of course. And he continues to think this even as he helps Carlisle move Alice out of her chair and into her bed. It isn’t until Alice releases her grip on his hand that he realizes the cause of his disdain for the title.

He isn’t friends with Alice Brandon. Not really.

He cares about this tiny girl far, far too much to use the word. And when she smiles up at him almost shyly when Carlisle kindly reminds the two that ten PM is as late as guests can stay, Jasper can’t help the heart palpitations he feels when she turns to the older man and promises she’ll let Jasper leave after she properly says goodnight.

Jasper can see the unamused look Carlisle gives his wife, but Esme is hiding her grin well as she grabs her husband’s hand and drags him from the room, even closing the door behind them both; a luxury that even Jasper’s lenient father never grants to him and Rosalie when they have guests over.

The alarm clock on the bedside table blinks a bright pink 9:57 at him, and he knows his time is nearly up.

Alice reaches over and takes his hand in hers, tugging slightly until he’s sitting on the bed beside her. Carlisle already propped her up on the pillows and blankets she’ll be sleeping on until her collarbone heals, so Jasper has to nearly crawl across the bed until he’s sitting at her side. And even though most of her injuries are now hidden from him with a blanket tossed over her, he knows they’re there. That her bones are broken and her injuries are still too extensive to even properly see all of them. That the state of her body is far worse than it was that night she came to him, lip and cheek bleeding as she quietly sobbed on the floor of his bedroom.

“I have so much I want to say to you,” Alice eventually speaks, her eyes staring at his hand as she grips it tightly. “But I know I don’t have a lot of time, so I think ‘thank you’ is good enough for tonight.” She stares intently down at his hand as she speaks, and Jasper is so hypnotized by the way her eyebrows furrow and her lips pucker when she frowns that he has to force himself to focus on her words. “If you hadn’t found Cynthia that day, and if you didn’t do what you did, I would be lying in a pool of blood in the basement of that house, dead right now.”

The sorrow that fills him, upon hearing those words from her mouth, is something Jasper can’t even begin to properly sort through. So when Alice continues talking, he files that feeling away, knowing he’ll need to process it eventually, but that right now, Alice and her words are what is important.

“I owe you a lot; not just my life. But explanations. And stories and,” Alice swallows and forces herself to look back up at him, “and I owe you. All the answers I have to give.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” he needs to emphasize that before she makes up her mind. “You will never owe me a single thing, Alice.”

“Well, what if I want to volunteer the information? What if I want to tell you every little thing I couldn’t before? Every detail that was dangerous before?”

He stares back into her eyes, realizing for the first time that they’re a deep, dark blue color. “I’ll listen to any little thing you want to tell me, Alice,” he promises as he holds her gaze.

Alice releases his hand then, lifting her hand to his cheek, brushing her thumb against his skin as the palm of her cast presses against his face. “What if I tell you to kiss me?” She whispers, her gaze flickering between his eyes and his lips as she attempts to lean up.

“Are you sure?” He feels himself leaning down before he can even gather her reply, and the second she has enough of a grip on the back of his neck she’s pulling him down toward her.

“Please kiss me,” she whispers against his lips, and when he finally obliges her, she sighs against his mouth. It’s the most beautiful sound Jasper has ever heard.

The kiss is sweet, gentle, and far-too-short, as a sharp knock on the door forces him to draw back quickly, turning at the sound of Carlisle on the other side of the door, reminding them that it was after ten now.

Alice laughs when she hears Esme scold her husband, and then the two voices are far away when Jasper turns back down to look at her. “Oops,” is all he can think to say.

Alice’s laughter fills the room as she reaches up again. And when Jasper kisses her once more before pulling away, Alice sighs against his lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

He presses a kiss to the tip of her nose before nodding. “Tomorrow.”

“If visitors are allowed as late as ten o’clock,” Alice muses softly as Jasper crawls out of the bed. “I wonder how early they’re allowed…”

Jasper laughs, walking over to the side of the bed Alice is on before leaning down, capturing her lips in one final kiss. “I’ll ask on the way out.” And when Alice pulls him closer, deepening the kiss, Jasper scoffs at his own train of thought.

He and Alice Brandon definitely weren’t ‘friends’.

And that was more than enough for Jasper.

#jalicesecretsanta20 #twilight fanfiction #Jalice fanfiction #I LOVE THIS SO MUCH ANNA I HOPE YOU LOVE IT TOO!!!!! #twilight saga #its a drama-filled high school human AU so please forgive me for the whump and the sands #SADS*

[jokerfan99]

OptimalOmnimon by nigel5469

Overview: OptimalOmnimon is the Mega-Level and the Hybrid-Combiner Form of Optimus Prime, TransMechanoid, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon due to the power of Omnitrix Uprade, Digidestined's Digivice of Courage and Friendship, and also Nexus Prime's Relic - Enigma of Combination.

Details: Digimon was one of my favorite show franchise when I was a kid, and most favorite shows are Digimon Adventure (1999), its sequels - 02 and Last Kizuna Evolution, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Data Squad, Digimon Fusion and now the rebooted Digimon Adventure 2020. While I still watching the 2020 TV Series and also writing the fanfiction stories and designing some artworks, I get some crazy inspiration idea from three shows - crossover between Ben 10 True Omniverse,Transformers Prime and Digimon Adventure 2020. And of course, I recalled the fanfiction involved of Transformers G1 and Digimon Tames crossover in Transformers Film Plot Line, which also inspire me the idea of crossover as well. Best idea I ever come up with!

Inspired by MegaGravezord from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Boom Studio Comic) and Optimus Prime Super Mode from Transformers Armada, I decided to draw something crazy and unexpectedness - combining Ben 10's TransMechanoid, Optimus Prime and Omnimon into one powerful being. To design such crazy artwork, it has proven to be most challenging and trickiest artwork I ever face but eventually, I've managed to overcome it.

The whole body is completely based on Omnimon's body designs, but I replaced the whole body with Optimus Prime as the torso and head while Ben 10's TransMechanoid as the lower torso and legs. But of course, I added Omnimon's parts on them such as horns on his helmet, lower torso and feet's sharped toe nails-like. I added the blue shoulder pads on both WarGreymon's Brave Shield and MetalGarurumon's Spike. Interestingly, I combined the symbol of Crest of Courage-Friendship with Omnitrix, which is now completely blue, symbolizing combination and Energon Powers, which are powered up by Digivices and Enigma of Combination. And of course, instead of 'All Delete' in Digicode Font on the sword, I replaced it with 'Prime'.

Have to say, this is the craziest yet awesome design I ever make for three crossover idea in Ben 10 True Omniverse Season 4. How it happen? Time can tell...

Voice Actor: Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), Kirby Morrow (TransMechanoid), Kyle Hebert (WarGreymon), Kirk Thornton (MetalGarurumon)

Bio: - Gender: Male - Species: Digimon-Cybertronian Hybrid - Homeworld: Unknown - Vehicle Modes: Unknown - Title: Digital Cybertronian Prime, OptimalOmegamon (Japanese Dub) - Level: Mega - Type: Prime - Attribute: Vaccine - Prior Forms: Optimus Prime + TransMechanoid + Omnimon

Ability: Omni Supreme Cannon: Freezes the opponent with frigid, absolute zero shots that it fires from the Garuru Cannon.

Transcendent Prime Sword: Slashes with the Grey Sword. He can even charges the Grey Sword and then cuts definitively.

Double Shot: Annihilates the opponent with successive shots of fire and ice from the WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon heads.

Ultimate Uppercut: Uses the Grey Sword to send the enemy in the air then repeatedly blasts them with the Garuru Cannon.

Sword of Ruin: Rends the air with its Grey Sword to produce a large explosion.

Omni Howling: Attacks with a howl that can shake the world.

Omni Blast: Drops a bolt of lightning on the enemy.

Speed: OptimalOmnimon has the advantages in high speed to move very fast, without his vehicular mode on his side.

Agility: OptimalOmnimon has good stamina and agility to dodge and evade the attacks, blasts and missiles. But depending on how fast and swift he can be, he could hit get hit and blasted by the attacks. He can even jumped up high for the moment.

Wind Elemental: OptimalOmnimon's Wind Elemental is very calm and gentle yet powerful and deadly, depending on his emotion and use of it. He has three attacks. a) Wind Storm: The defense mechanism that allow him to swing and rotated his Prime Grey Sword to blow his enemies away from him, and even blocking their marching and deflecting the attacks as well. b) Cyclone Burst: Powerful special attacks that allow him to devastate and destroy his enemies and weaponry at ease. c) Storm Clash: Offense mechanism that allows him to charge and attack his enemies in high and swift speed to take them down.

Matrix of Digital Light: By using Matrix of Leadership, it will unleash full powerful beam of pure Energon powers in destroying and devastating his enemies, but at cost of his Energon and Powers to maintain his Combiner Form.

Cyber All Delete: Invokes the most dangerous and devastating power from the Grey Sword, so that anything that comes in contact with its edge is not cut, but erased.

Equipment: a) Prime Grey Sword: OptimalOmnimon is equipped with the long metallic Cybertronian Sword from WarGreymon's Head.

b) Wing-Garuru Cannon: OptimalOmnimon is equipped with large yet powerful cannons-like from MetalGarurumon's Head.

c) Brave Shield: OptimalOmnimon is equipped with armored shield to block and deflect the attacks from his enemies during the combat battle.

Weaknesses: Low Energon Fuel: Like any Cybertronians, if he's on low of Energon, he will not able to fire his blasters at his enemies. Worse case - he could either die or entered in stasis mode if he reached zero of his Energon.

Wind Power Down: Should he overuse his Wind Elemental Powers, it will take some time and more Energon to recharge his powers again.

Spark Damage: Should his Spark Chamber take too much of damage or destroyed, he could be revert back to his original forms, stasis mode or killed.

Overuse Power: Using too much on Matrix of Leadership and All Delete Ability, OptimalOmnimon will become exhausted and weakened from loss of Energon and Digital Powers, and unable to continue his fight against the enemies.

Unable to Transform: Due to being a hybrid Combiner of Cybertronian and Digimon, OptimalOmnimon will not able to transform into his vehicular mode.

Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/nigel5469

#optimus prime #wargreymon #metalgarurumon #transformers #hasbro #digimon #namco bandai #ben 10 #Cartoon network

[cozy-possum]

Summary: Emmett/Maria; friendship @su-angelvicioso

Emmett pretends not to know why he’s down there. He considers playing up the lie that he’d gotten lost; but then he remembers that she knew about Jasper; which meant she knew about Carlisle; and him; and everyone else so she wouldn’t be surprised to see golden eyes. Just the fact he was not Jasper or anyone she had heard of. He wonders if the confusion will be enough to spare him from what Jasper alway touted as a deadly welcome of newborns rushing you. Emmett wasn’t cocky enough to believe he could survive more than five newborns.

He kicks at the dirt; the rocks that had been in his path crumble from the force and he winces. Jasper had advised loose cool clothing; but long sleeves and pants; that he wouldn’t look that odd when he’d wander through towns. Emmett’s regretting taking Jaspers request; to deliver a handful of letters that Jacob had been hiding for him and some scorpion food as well as a few dresses and some very high platform boots. Emmett’s sure that Maria’s feet aren’t a size seven and he reasons they’re for Charlotte; he contemplates them being for Peter but decides that Jasper’s brother in arms wouldn’t go for something so flashy and shimmering as red and gold. Still he makes it past the last town on the map; Jasper having assured him that their base of operations was only a few miles out. He’s debating giving up when a truck slows in front of him and Peter hops out grinning. “Heyyy Em; glad to see you under better circumstances. You’re looking good in plaid; you finally convince the missus to take a vacation” Peter drawls and Emmett shakes his head gesturing to the backpack and suitcase he has. “No, I'm playing pack mule for Jasper; Alice; well anyways.” He grins as Peter takes the suitcase and offers him a spot in the truck.

“Hey Charlotte; guessing the shoes are for you?” Emmett grins as Charlotte beams. “Aww Jazz is such a sweetheart; i mentioned how he set up that modelling gig for me and then he said i needed more pretty things...since someone;” She glares lovelingly at Peter. “Doesn’t have a job.” “Child labour laws babe.” “You’re like 200 years old… you only look like 20; you could get a job…” Peter taps the side of his face before winking at her. “Not without spending my wages on contacts or becoming like those Cullens. No offence.” Peter grins at Emmett who laughs nodding.

Maria’s base of operations is closer to a mansion ranch house than what Jasper had tried to play off as a barn and some spare rooms. She looks up from a desk when he enters grinning at the bags he sets down. He’s about to say something but she just ignores him turning back to whatever she was working on before. “Hello… You must-” “You’re staring? You’re like Jasper then? Got a thing for-” Maria laughs as Emmett knows he makes a face. “No I just..” ��You’re going to call me short right?” “No; you’re just, well hell you’re really scary looking; not like ugly but you just got this vibe..” He shrugs a little and Maria grins. “Thank god you’re sensible. Now; how about a tour.”

Maria brings him around the entire ranch in less than ten minutes and Emmett is surprised to see her so casual about using her vampire traits out in the open. Even her skin shimmers a blinding golden colour. “You can take that off; we’re far enough out most humans won’t make it out here; and if they do; well the desert always claims someone during the year.” She shrugs and Emmett looks surprised. “What were you expecting?” She tilts her head and Emmett laughs a little. “To be honest I was expecting a military base; with drill sergeants and everything; but it’s just you and your family; not seeming very threatening.” As emmett finishes Maria snaps twice and suddenly the room is swarmed with the newborns clawing and glaring at Emmett. Maria snaps twice more and the newborns vanish. “You were saying.”

“Jesus that was like the fucking lord of the rings with the orcs in the cave…” “Lord of the rings?” Maria furrows her brow and Emmett beams. “Are you telling me Jasper hasn’t shown you Lord of the Rings??? “No we watched the Star Wars ones last time he was here but…” “Right now!!” Emmett nods seriously and Maria rolls her eyes. “Good luck finding that in the town…”

”So” Emmett grins after they’ve finished marathoning it. “I see; come with me.” Maria’s grinning and Emmett is wearing a matching smile. Maria escorts him to a large open field. She nods to him her grin seeming to grow as two of the newborns appear holding a massive trunk. “They’re just human grade… so nothing-” Maria doesn’t finish; Emmett beaming holding two massive swords up. “Fight me!” He laughs as Maria joins in; pulling out another sword and a shield. “Let’s go!” Emmett charges her laughing and grinning.

It only takes them a few hours to run through the weapons in the trunk. “We can get more in my storage shed.” “You have a storage shed of weapons…” “Well of course; where do you think the Volturi get their weapons?” Emmett cheers, laughing. It’s much later in the second day. Almost night, Emmett would make some quip about it being twilight but he knows Maria doesn’t count the days like that; between all the fun they’d had and the strategy and war meetings that Maria tried to hide from him she seemed to keep her days looped on a varying schedule of meetings, fighting and casual relaxing, Emmett notes than none of it involves a pretense of being human; of pretending to be what she once was. Emmett wants to ask about the war; about the letters Jasper has sent but he doesn’t. Thankfully he doesn’t have too.

“So why are you here? It’s not like Jasper to have someone playing pack mule..” “Well things haven’t been going well at home..” “Ah Yes; Ms, Bella Swan nee Cullen, correct? Is she causing him problems?” “No; Alice is. She’s being very; protective; of him.” “Obsessive is more like it..” Emmett doesn’t nod but he makes a hum of agreement. “She saw a vision of them together when she was first turned.” “She should know best out of everyone how the future can change.” “She gets muddled up in it..” “So she denies the supposed love of her unlife, what would make him most comfortable; being away from what was a century’s worth of miserable meals, and the negative temptation of idiot humans who stare and prattle about emotions. Sure that makes sense.” “He talks about you sometimes.” “Well we still talk..”

“No like; he talks about you; tells us about battles you won and fun things you guys got up to during his time here. Even the visits.” “And what does this tell you about me?” Maria arches her eyebrow and looks unimpressed at him; Emmett grins sheepishly. “To be fair; not much… Says more about him than you.” “Oh?” Maria’s grin borders on too wide and she leans forward. “And what does Mi amor say about me then?” Emmett laughs a little and shakes his head. “You should go up and ask him yourself…” “Well when are you going back; I’ll come with you.” 

She grins and Emmett debates even telling her to rethink; judging by the way her eyes shine he knows she’d just follow him anyways. “I just don’t know how warmly you’ll be welcomed…” “We’re vampires. Dead creatures; nothing warm about us.” Emmett laughs and nods at her assessment and he almost wishes he was able to warn Jasper but then he stops; agreeing with Maria that it’s far better to surprise your prey than give them a chance to escape.

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#emmett cullen #maria #maria twilight #emmett x maria #twilight #midnight sun #jasper #jasper hale #jasper whitlock #peter twilight #charlotte twilight #alice cullen #jalice #jasria #twilight saga #stattic #written #this was really fun

[81scorp]

From the diary of Angela Baker

(Originally posted on Deviantart Oct 30, 2017)

Warning: This fanfic contains SPOILERS for the 1983 horrorfilm Sleepaway Camp directed by Robert Hiltzik.

---------------------------------------- Dear Diary My name is Angela Baker and I... have lived an interesting life. When I was little my dad and brother Peter died in a motorboat accident. It scarred me mentally and the next eight years was a very hard time in my life. I was adopted not long after the accident and lived with my aunt, Dr. Martha Thomas, and my cousin Ricky. My aunt is actually very nice and positive... a little TOO positive. She`s kinda like Snow white... if Snow white was a stepford wife who had taken too much Prozac. My cousin Ricky is OK, he always looks after me. Anyway, after having been raised and homeschooled by my quirky aunt for eight years She thought it was a good idea to send Ricky and me away to summercamp. She thought it might help me come out of my shell since I had been very introverted for all those years. Summercamp was not as bad as I had feared, I met some nice people and started to open up a bit.Then people started to die.At first the deaths seemed to be accidents, but then it became clear that they weren`t. To make a long story short, the killer was caught and I turned out to be a guy.I should probably go back to the beginning and explain a few things.I remember when I first met my aunt Martha she was so optimistic of having a new kid in the house. I don`t remember everything she said, but the gist of it was that she had always wanted a girl. I remember the last thing that she said very clearly though. "Angela... Such a lovely name... Why I believe it means Angel! Why yes I`m sure it does! I know you`re going to like that name. Won`t you Peter?" So... the part where I said that my brother Peter died? Change it to "sister Angela" and you have the correct picture. My aunt liked my sister more, but since she was gone my aunt decided to take advantage of my traumatized psyche and raise me as a girl in her place. And the killer? That was me, I killed all those people. In my defense though, most of those people were mean to me. Anyway, I was sent to an insane asylum... for about a couple of months. One of the doctors declared me sane and let me out. To be honest, I don´t think I was fully cured, but I guess they just needed the extra bed. I wasn`t the only one he let out. There was another guy who was older than me (old enough to be my dad). He and I discussed what we were gonna do now that our old lives had ended and our new lives just begun. To (once again) make a long story short: he is now my new legal guardian. I like him a lot more than my aunt Martha. Sure, she was nice and all but that lady was crazy! This new guy is mental health personified compared to her! He runs a motel and his name is Norman, Norman Bates. I call him "Uncle Norm".He is nice and, like I said earlier, WAY more balanced than aunt Martha but there is one downside to living in the same house as him. His mom. I`ve never met her but I can sometimes hear her voice through the walls. She shouts a lot and says such awful things to Uncle Norm when they`re in the same room. Poor guy, he doesn`t deserve her treatment. Sure, she has her moments when she treats him with kindness, but those moments are few. Maybe I could take care of her like I did to those mean people at summercamp? I could make it look like an accident. But that will have to wait for another day. The doctor that declared me sane helped me get in contact with a guy who can provide me with estrogen. I`m going through puberty and I`ve done this Angela thing for so long that going back to living as a guy again would just feel weird. Another thing I`m not gonna go back to is being homeschooled. That`s right, I`m gonna start going to public school a week from today. If I`m gonna learn to be more social and open up I need to spend time with real people. When it`s gymclass I`ll just do what I did at summercamp: not shower with the other girls, just wait till they`re done. Completly foolproof. Just think about it, my first day at a real high school, one week from today! Eek! I`m so excited!

Peace. Angela

- - - - - - It`s been one week since I started high school today. Forks High School to be precise. Not as great and exciting as I hoped it would be, but, thank god, not as horrible as I had feared.I`ve made some friends. Their names are Jessica Stanley, Tyler Crowley, Mike Newton, Angela Weber and Bella Swan. It was very easy to build a circle of friends. All it took for me was to befriend Jessica and she introduced me to the rest. They`re all fun to hang around with... except Bella. She`s not a mean person or anything but she seems very disinterested in hanging with the group. Then there`s this weird guy who doesn`t come to school every day, only the cloudy days. He has pale skin, a stupid haircut (What`s the deal with his hair? Who would willingly style their hair like that?) and looks, for lack of a better word, almost vampiric. I don`t like the way he looks at me. I heard from Jessica that his name is Edward. Edward Cullen.

- - - - - - I almost died today.I was standing at my school`s parkinglot and some guy who was in a hurry lost control of his car. I was almost crushed between his car and one that was parked behind me. But then that Edward Cullen guy showed up out of nowhere, grabbed me and stopped the car from slamming in to me. At least that what I think happened. Everything happened so fast and when I finally realized that I had been just a second away from death he was gone. All that was left was a big dent in the door of the car and it`s driver wondering if I was OK.If that really was Edward then there`s more to him than meets the eye, and maybe he`s not as bad as I thought he was.

- - - - - - I take back everything nice I`ve ever said about Edward Cullen. It has been one week since he saved me from being crushed by that car and after that he has only gotten more interested in me. He stares at me, follows me around, appears mysteriously out of nowhere one second and disappears without a trace the next. I think he even snuck into my bedroom and watched me when I was asleep. He scares me. I`m afraid that he`ll find out about my secret. Then again, maybe he already knows and has no problems with it. The guy IS supernatural after all, it`s possible that maybe he has supersmell and can smell the small amount of male hormones I have. But that leads me to the other thing about him that scares me: He`s a stalker with superhuman speed and strength, and I`m just an ordinary mortal. If I want to get rid of him he`ll see me coming and stop me before I`ve even been able to scratch his skin. I`m scared. So scared.

I felt I had to tell someone. It may not get rid of Edward but at least I won`t feel alone, so I decided to tell our school`s guidance counselor miss Summers. I don`t know her first name but I`m sure it starts with a B and ends with a Y. It`s either Betty or Buffy. She`s a little younger than most of the teachers at school, probably in her early twenties, and is a real good listener. I told her about Edward but I left out the part about him having superpowers. I described him as "that pale guy with a creepy stare, stupid haircut, really stupid haircut" and I also mentioned "almost vampiric". I`m not sure but I think I noticed something in her eyes when I mentioned that last part. She told me not to worry and that she would keep an eye on him. I hope that`s enough. - - - - - - It has now been two weeks since the last time I wrote and there has been no sign of Edward Cullen in the school or even in the entire town. Whatever it was that miss Summers did it sure was effective. Turns out that thing that happened to me, being saved from a car by Edward only to be spied on by him later, happened to another girl a month before me. The girl in question was one of my classmates, Bella Swan. Now that Edward`s gone Bella`s all torn up about about it, as if she`s "lost the love of her life". Please! First: the guy was a creepy stalker, second: you weren`t the only one he stalked. So basically, he cheated on you. There are better guys out there than him. Unfortunately Bella hasn`t come to that realization yet, she`s been inconsolable since the day it became clear that he wasn`t gonna come back. I wanted to help her and gave her the number to the best therapist I know, the guy who helped me and uncle Norm get out of the insane asylum, Dr Hannibal Lecter. - - - - - - Two weeks have now passed since the last time I wrote. What has happened since then? Oh yeah, about a week ago Bella decided to take my advice and visit Dr Lecter and I haven`t seen her since. Wonder what happened? Oh well. I and the rest of my friends had a halloween party at Jessica`s house yesterday. I came dressed as Cleopatra. We did the mash. We did the monster mash. The monster mash. It was a graveyard smash.

Fun times were had. I have really grown as person these last months. I have come a long way from the shy, introverted non-girl that was too afraid to reach out and make new friends. I just hope they never find out my secret. If they do... Oh well, guess I`ll just have to make it look like an accident. Gotta go now, uncle Norm is shouting that the dinner is ready. We`re having pancakes. (Yay!)

Peace.

Angela

#81scorp #sleepaway camp #angela baker #fanfic

[okimargarvez]

FEW HOURS IN LUKE ALVEZ’S MIND -4

Original title: Few hours in Luke Alvez’s mind.

Prompt: Luke’ POV, memory of war.

Warning: quote of 12x1.

Genre: comedy, family, angst, friendship.

Characters: Luke Alvez, Penelope Garcia, BAU team.

Pairing: Garvez.

Note: oneshot.

Legend: 🔦🐶.

Song mentioned: none.

Few hours in Luke Alvez’s mind- Masterlist

GARVEZ STORIES

Part 4-

I stay alone on the jet. Hotch and Tara remained in the area. About halfway through, we discover that a girl has been found engraved with the name of our chief. Mr. Scratch is still active. The list of bad guys to take is still too long. Now I feel so confused and frustrated. I need only one thing. Seeing Roxy and letting her kisses erase all the dirt.

But first I have to do something else. Clarify my collaboration with BAU. And so I wait patiently for Hotch's return. Practically in front of his office. The others have already all gone home. Spencer just looked at me while the elevator doors closed between us. JJ was more human, brushing my shoulder. None of them, not even Rossi, had the slightest idea if they would have see me again. My involvement in theory had to depend on the fact that Cullen had to do with it. But now that should be put in jail.

It should.

Finally, Agent Hotchner arrives. He looks at me in a strange way, then sighs and opens the door, gesturing for me to come in with him. We sit down. There is no time for pleasantries. I immediately go to the point. -It might not be permanent, right? He might gets his memory back.- this is what I hope. I need that dragon exist, to kill him.

-He might.- he says, but without giving me too much rope.

-I’ve obsessed about this for so long. And now, the way it went down, I just feel... you know.- does he really know? Do I really know?

-I try not to think about the ones I’m going to catch. I prefer to think about the ones I’m going to save.- a beautiful mentality. But I'm still too, too far.

-You don’t want to catch Peter Lewis?- I ask suddenly.

-Of course I do.- he admits without problems. Less time than what I would need.

-Brian was just a test case. He'll do this again.- I deliberately moved the spotlight from me to him.

-We have the same list, we are contacting everybody on it. But you're right, he will try to do this again. If you want to help catch him?- then asks the boss, putting me back in the middle. And I understand that I always knew what my answer would be.

-Yeah, I would.- in a low voice.

-Given his resources and the depth of his planning, we need you full-time. It's a commitment. You'll have to take a full profiling load, too.- some books don’t scare me. I always enjoyed learning new things. A tiny smile appears on his face. Maybe it's the first time ever that I see him smile.

-Let’s do it.- I get up on my feet. He holds out his hand, I squeeze it.

-Welcome to the team.- I smile too.

-Thanks.- I go out of his office. Throughout the desks area, wondering if they will give me one. So as soon as I arrive at the transparent door, I see a woman dressed in pink. Funny. It's Penelope. And she too turns to me, not even aware of my arrival. What did I say about not taking the elevator anymore? I think I've changed my mind. Our eyes cross each other. She lowers her gaze first. I open arms as if to say Here I am, are you waiting for me?

-I’ll take the stairs.- and she’s going in that direction.

-No, no, no, no. You won’t.- I exclaim, pleased, shaking both forefingers as I approach her. -Because you’re gonna have to get used to me.- I stop at a safe distance. Her gaze becomes increasingly displeased and shady. -All right? I’m now I'm SSA Luke Alvez with the behavioral analysis unit.- she frowns even more.

-No way.- she is totally incapable of pretending to tolerate me.

I'm about to burst out laughing at her. A minute ago I was prey to an existential crisis, and now I can’t help but provoke her. -Ok, SSA in training, but... you’re still have to figure out how to be nice to me.- nice, cute, available... The raising of eyebrow should clarify much more than any unnecessary phrase. She runs away from me so strange, annoying, struggling to contain what she really thinks.

-I’m nice!- she almost shouts at me. -I’m the queen of nice.- I can’t keep myself. I laugh in her face, even if the way she behaved with Reid probably gave her reason. But why is it so difficult for me to imagine her in my arms?

-Maybe like...- I wait a second to shoot the joke. -the queen of ice.- she looks up at the sky and looks away.

-Ok. Ok.- she sighs. -Look.- she comes back to look at me -This is my nice face.- she announces before expressing herself in a range of smiles that completely transform her face and the whole figure. And at that moment I realize how beautiful she is and how close I’m to telling her this. Her eyes shine, she looks even younger. But she's just kidding me. And I keep along with her, following the progress of her head and winking. -I gave you that.- she returns to the usual abrupt tone and gives me the back. I approach slowly, enjoying the view for a moment. I also look at the elevator. There are a few stops left before it is here.

-So, Garcia?- our arms are not clashed for a while, but in the end I opt for keeping a bit of detachment. I voluntarily say her last name in a strange way. I look at her directly as she looks up at the sky.

-Yeah, what about it?- she continue to ignore me.

-I don’t know, is that from the little know blond-haired Swedish Garcia?- I stare her again and this time she lets her eyes be captured by my.

-Actually it's from the family that took me in after my parents died.- the smile disappears from my face and this time it's me that I struggle to look at her. It’s not lie. Her eyes sparkle in a completely different sense, right now. - So, thanks for reminding me of that painful memory.- and now how do I get out? I find no other way than provoke her as Morgan would probably have done (according to the rumors that I have heard) in my place.

-So what are you doing tonight, chica?- that Spanish term seems so suitable for her. Yet she distorts her nose and mouth, in hearing me say it. -Huh? Hang out with your Canadian boyfriend that totally exists?- and because while I ask her these personal questions, I hope I’m right (I'm wrong) and that there is not any boyfriend?

-Ok, he does totally exists. And... he's not Canadian- it's important to point out -and... why does it matter what we’re doing? What are you doing Mr. Tall Dark and Blandsome?- well, I have a new nickname. It sounds terribly sexy, on her lips. As she says it, she gives me a look that seems to photograph me, from head to toe.

Even if she didn’t ask me, I will say it. -Just kickin’ it with Roxy.- I decide to stay at her own game.

-Uh. Who’s that?- always the usual indifferent and almost bad tone.

-That’s my girl.- the only sentence that comes out of me. But in saying it I look at her. -You must know her sometimes. You’d love her.- she smiles, as if to say  not even in your most daring dreams .

In the meantime, the elevator has arrived. She comes in first. I reach her after a moment. -Yeah. Does she loves you?- she asks without looking at me.

-Yeah. She adores me.- and it is the pure truth.

-Tell her to call me, when she’s comes to her senses.- our eyes meet and I'm almost on the point of telling her that it will be a bit difficult for this possibility to happen... because Roxy is my shepherd dog, the love of my life, very intelligent, but not yet able to dial telephone numbers.

The elevator doors close on us. An amused sigh. Mine. I believe that Mr. Scratch aside, this will be fun, within these walls. And not only.

TAGS:  @arses21434 @kathy5654 @martinab26 @reidskitty13 @jenf42 @gracieeelizabeth27 @silviajajaja @smalliemichelle99 @charchampagne14 @thinitta   @garvezz  @shyladystudentfan @cosmicmelaninflower @kiki-krakatoa  @pegasus-scifichick  @ leftlamphumanfestival @inlovewithgarvaz @thatnerdygirljudy @darkhere1 @morbid-apricots  @sirenoirs 

#garvez #criminal minds #cm #penelope garcia #luke alvez #aaron hotchner #spencer reid #david rossi #tara lewis #jennifer jareau #roxy #penelope x luke #luke x penelope #garcia x alvez #alvez x garcia #Luke POV #12x01 #the crimson king

[tomemyxmen2017-blog]

The Best (and Worst) Free Comics of FCBD 2018

Of the fifty-two comics released for Free Comic Book Day 2018, there were an unsurprisingly high number of excellent comics in this year’s class. Here are my picks for the best of the best (with a few dishonorable mentions too) from the many choices available this year.

THE BEST

10. BERLIN by Jason Lutes (w, a, c). (Drawn & Quarterly).

Set in 1928 Germany, a journalist and an art student meet on a train to Berlin; when they arrive, the young student is surprised by what she sees, and the journalist must navigate a changing climate for the press. Narrated in part by the main characters’ writings (his reporting and her diary), this street-level view of Berlin prior to the rise of fascism is masterful and cinematic. Even in this preview, the sense of menace and dread to the events that are to come in the story permeates every page. Absolutely genius. Part of a series written over the past twenty years, this FCBD release promotes the hardcover omnibus of the series due for release in fall 2018.

9. STRANGERS IN PARADISE by Terry Moore (w, a). (Abstract Studios).

The issue opens with an exciting pickpocket scene in which Scott, a generic business type, has his phone and SIM card stolen. He later contacts his wife, Laura, to tell her that he’ll be late coming home and why, prompting Laura to stoically retrieve her run bag and leave home for good. The phone thief heads to Laura’s house to discover she’s already gone and runs into Scott; the thief reveals that “Laura” is actually Stephanie Kelly, a Parker girl caught up in treason and espionage. This is a dynamic, fully realized introduction to what seems like a fun and exciting story loaded with intelligent, powerful women kicking all kinds of ass.

8. ULTRA STREET FIGHTER II #1 by Ken Siu-Chong (w), Hanzo Steinbach (a), Marshall Dillon (l). (Udon).

Trying to shake off his dark side, Ken meets with Ryu to fight through his worst urges and achieve some balance in his life. The pair travel to Japan for some high-level meditation (and fighting, of course), but that only gets Ken so far. Later in San Francisco, Ken is surprised by an attack from Rufus, and during the battle, he learns to control his evil within. Although this comic attempts to apply drama to a fighting video game, the result is fun, colorful, ridiculous, and delightfully entertaining. What more could you want out of a Street Fighter comic?

7. SHADOWMAN by Andy Diggle (w), Stephen Segovia (w), Karl Bollers (e). (Valiant).

Alyssa and her guide Isiah explore the swamps of Louisiana at night, searching for the cause of cursed water that’s making locals sick. She encounters a monster, the Grinder of Bones, and tries to use magic to protect herself to no avail. She runs, and summons Papa Legba for guidance: in return, her friend Jack, now the Shadowman, appears from a portal to help her in her fight. With gorgeous artwork, beautiful coloring, and a plot like nothing else on the stands right now, this issue draws readers into this world so effortlessly that it’s hard to imagine someone reading this issue without being fully engrossed and wanting to pick up the whole series. Terrifically well-done.

6. THE GHOST IN THE SHELL by Max Gladstone (w), David Lopez (a), Nayoung Kim (color), Jodi Wynne (l), Alejandro Arbona (e), Ben Applegate (e). (Kodansha).

Major Kusanagi (aka Motoko) and Aramaki are intercepted by an American Ghost Force Squad while on a business trip to Shangai. After her arrest, Motoko dramatically escapes through the streets of Shangai and meets her old wartime enemy, Li; the pair must work together to save Aramaki and others. This issue, part of an upcoming anthology, is perhaps the most complete, cover-to-cover, issue released on FCBD. At a whopping forty-five pages, readers are treated to an entire story that is exceptional all on its own. This is a fabulous issue that will convert even the most stoic of non-believers into fans of this character and this series.

5. RELAY by Zac Thompson (w), Andy Clarke (a), Eric Bromberg (st), Donny Cates (st), Dan Brown (color), Charles Pritchett (l), Mike Marts (e). (Aftershock).

In this sci-fi story, a space traveler lands on a planet with an undeveloped population and offers them “the Relay,” a monolith that creates uniformity in technology and ideas. Is it intergalactic socialism, or will it be intergalactic fascism? The Relay seemingly destroys community identity and cultural heritage with a new sort of religion: ultimate fath in the monolith itself. This is an expertly paced and well-rendered metaphor that gives sci-fi fans something deeper to ponder.

4. MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS by Kyle Higgins (w), Ryan Parrott (w), Digo Galindo (a), Marcelo Costa (color), Ed Dukeshire (l), Dafna Pleban (e). (Boom!).

This one takes me back! Chosing to advertise its best-selling series, Boom! strategically used its FCBD option to bridge the gap between fans of the old TV show(s) and the current comics mythology, hoping to draw in readers who may have been overwhelmed by the thousands of different Power Ranger characters and their convoluted origin stories and missions. This issue is a straight-forward explanation of how the first episode of the original TV series connects to the comic storyline today, with some surprisingly awesome artwork and a shockingly murderous ending. The issue concedes its childish origins, but by the end, these aren’t your kids’ Power Rangers anymore!

3. AVENGERS by Jason Aaron (w), Sarah Pichelli (p, i), Elisabetta D’Amico (i), Justin Ponsor (color), Cory Petit (l), Tom Brevoort (e). (Marvel).

This issue, frankly, defied my expectations. As the official free preview to Marvel’s “Fresh Start,” there was a lot riding on this issue, the release of which coinciding with yet another reboot of the Avengers in the same week and a blockbuster weekend for the House of Ideas at the cinema a week prior. And it did not disappoint. In a direct follow-up to last year’s Marvel Legacy #1, Odin meets with Black Panther in the ruins of Asgard. Odin explains that he has fallen to Loki and his manipulation of a Celestial and requests that T’Challa kill Loki; he agrees. The story ends in another scene with Captain America and Thor reaching out to Tony Stark for a meeting between the three of them as a new Avengers era begins. Rather than using its FCBD offering to pump in half-assed action, Aaron instead tries to win new readers over with a well-told and interesting story setup. It is refreshing to see Marvel return to storytelling in its flagship series rather than resort to the redundant tropes of its recent past. Very well done.

2. JAMES BOND 007: VARGR by Warren Ellis (w), Jason Masters (a), Guy Major (color), Simon Bowland (l), Joseph Rybant (e). (Dynamite).

On a mission in Finland, 007 hunts down 008’s killer and exacts gruesome revenge. Later at MI6 Headquarters, M is assigned to take over 008’s case load, setting up a story that is simultaneously exhilirating for new readers and faithful in spirit to fans of the classic Bond. With darkly exquisite artwork throughout (particularly the Helsinki scene) and a character whose charm radiates off the page, it’s hard to imagine any comic fan not falling madly in love with this series.  Originally published in 2016, this issue and the rest of the story is already available in trade.

1.BARRIER by Brian K. Vaughn (w), Marcos Martin (a, c), Muntsa Vincente. (Image).

No comic in this bunch left my jaw on the floor and mouth agape quite like this one. In this exquisite story, Liddy discovers signs of a Mexican cartel using her land, which happens to be on the Texas-Mexican border, as a throughway for drug trades and illegal immigration. In a parallel story, Oscar migrates from his home in Honduras to reach the U.S., crossing onto Liddy’s land in the middle of the night. She finds him and holds him at gunpoint suddenly the pair are interrupted. It’s a contemporary story involving gruesome violence, cartels, guns, and sci-fi. Half the issue is in Spanish (a language deficit won’t detract from your enjoyment of the issue), and the entire book – at an impressive fifty-three pages – is elegantly printed in landscape format. The artwork is phenomenal. The writing is incomparable. This is simply a perfect comic book from cover to cover. Frankly, I’m shocked it was available for FCBD as it’s well-worth a cover price. I recommend this enthusiastically, and I can’t wait to pick up the whole series this month. An exceptional beauty of a comic.

THE WORST

3. SHADOW ROADS by Cullen Bunn (w), Brian Hurtt (w), A.C. Zamudio (a), Carlos Zamudio (color), Crank! (l), Charlie Chu (e). (Oni Press).

In this deeply convoluted introduction presumptively set in the late nineteenth century, we meet Henry Grey, a Native American and a Cambridge man who visits the British Museum of Natural History’s new Native American exhibit with remorse and perhaps disgust. He meets an elder at the Museum who gives him a magical ceremonial dagger carved from bone that ultimately lights up. En route home, his train passes through a Crossroads where Abigail Redmayne and Kalfu intercept him and bring him to the New Mexico Territory. What causes this issue to fail – aside from the onslaught of new characters to learn and an unexplained mythology to understand – is that by the issue’s end, we are no closer to knowing why any of these events occur. Why does Abigail bring Henry to New Mexico? What is so special about Henry? What’s the point of the glowing dagger? While a free comic book should purposefully leave questions unresolved to entice readers to find their answers in subsequent issues, this romp is sadly too obscure and complicated to elicit any interest.

2. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN by Nick Spencer (w), Ryan Ottley (o), Cliff Rathburn (i), Laura Martin (color), VC’s Joe Caramagna (l), Nick Lowe (e). (Marvel).

Facing off against America’s greatest threat – the Manhattan real estate market – Peter Parker and his buddy Randy look for an apartment when they are interrupted by a fight with Boomerang, Electro, Rhino, and Big Wheel. After a quick costume change, Spider-Man battles them all until Kingpin intervenes. Despite the Mayor’s apparent gratitude for Spider-Man, Peter drops his professionalism instantly and leaves the scene. Later, Randy and Peter settle on a new three-bedroom apartment with a third roommate: Boomerang himself. From the ludicrous dialogue, the boring trope-laden plot, the cartoonish graphic design, and the overall neutering of Peter Parker’s character, this was a deep, deep disappointment for me that goes beyond this single issue; if this was meant to be an advertisement for the new Amazing Spider-Man series, I’m afraid it did more to turn me off than on. In addition, despite picking up all fifty-two free comics on FCBD, this issue is the only one with running ink and cheap printing errors. Oh, Marvel. Why do you do this to me?

1. TANK GIRL by Alan Martin (w), Brett Parson (a), Warwick Johnson-Cadwell (a), Jonathan Edwards (a), Brett Parson (l), Martin Eden (e). (Titan).

This was perhaps my fault for setting my expectations too high. Having never read a Tank Girl comic and only vaguely understanding her origins from nineties samples and the Lori Petty film, I was expecting a post-apocalyptic badass who breaks the fourth-wall and uses ingenuity, humor, grit, and charm to fight the Man. Instead, I got an insufferable cutsey-wootsey romp about a woman face-punching an adult man after he ruined her birthday big wheel when they were children. In between this awful plot’s progression, vignettes either drawn by a child or rendered to look like it had been drawn by child are too annoying to attempt to read. The only enjoyable bit of this comic was the cover by Jamie Hewlett, who should have done the interiors as well.  

#comics marvel fcbd image dc valiant darkhorse boom

[eternalstereksecretsanta]

i wanna get you in my spaces

@kiradeservesbetter | AO3 | I really hope you like this!!!! also I tried to tie in the whole ‘rare mythical creature thing’ with the ‘Derek’s allergic to cats’ thing!!

Rating: T

Stiles is different when he comes home from college. He’s more calm which leads everyone to assume that’s he’s more grown up and has started to regulate his adderall intake.  But then the sneezing starts. Derek, in all his time of being alive, has never once sneezed due to anything other than Peter dumping a whole bowl of pepper over his head. So it’s weird that when Stiles walks by him, he sneezes three times in a row. Stiles turns and his brow furrows. “Dude, did you just sneeze?”

Derek looks confused as he takes the tissue Kira’s extended to him. “Yeah. I did.”

“Wait, werewolves sneeze?” Scott asks, face screwed up in confusion.

“Not usually. The last time I sneezed, I was 12 and it was Thanksgiving. Peter poured a whole bowl of pepper on me.” Derek tells them, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Dude, are you having an allergic reaction?” Stiles asks him, looking at Derek’s now red and puffy eyes.

Derek sneezes again and groans. “I’m a werewolf, I can’t be allergic to anything.“ 

"Cats.” Lydia says from her spot on the couch. She looks up from flipping through a magazine with Harry Styles’ face on it. 

“What?" 

"Werewolves can be allergic to cats. Well, felines in general. Lions, tigers, panthers.” Lydia tells him, pursing her lips.

“Oh my!” Stiles says dramatically, earning double glares from both Lydia and Derek. “I’m shutting up." 

"Do you have a cat, Stiles?” Derek growls out, clenching his jaw. 

Stiles’ face pales and his lips part. He’s silent for a minute before saying, “Uh, no. But there’s a cat that was at the park today when I went for a run. I stopped and it rubbed on me some." 

Derek huffs and stomps upstairs, grumbling that he’s going to take a shower. Stiles sinks onto the couch and wonders how he just got away with that big fat lie. 

The next time it happens, Derek’s pushing him against the door of the newly finished Hale house and kissing him. "Built this damn house for you, for us.”

Stiles chases Derek’s lips but pulls away when Derek sneezes repeatedly three times. “Uh, you been around a cat?”

Derek glares, “No but, I’m certain you have.”

Stiles’ jaw drops. “Wha- Uh- Why do you always assume is my fault?”

“Because it usually is.” Derek tells him before sneezing again. “Stiles. Do you have a cat?”

“No! I went and saw Scott earlier at the clinic. That’s probably where I got cat hair on me.” Stiles explains. “Why would I keep a cat around knowing my boyfriend is allergic to them?”

Derek pauses before a little smile creeps it’s way onto his face. “Boyfriend, huh?”

Stiles gapes for a moment before wetting his lips. “Well, uh, I mean we’ve had sex multiples times a week for the past month. I just assumed that’s what you were. Unless you’re just looking for someone to keep your bed warm. In which case I have to say I’m not the best-”

“Stiles.” Derek cuts him off. “You’re my boyfriend.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Derek tells him, beaming. He leans in and before his lips even touch Stiles’, he sneezes. “Are you kidding me?”

Stiles holds back a laugh. “I think I have some allergy medicine in my book bag.”

Derek huffs, stalking over to the couch. “Next time, how about stay away from the cats at the clinic?”

“Will do, sugar tits.” Stiles tells him, flopping into the recliner. 

“Don’t call me that." 

Later that night, Derek is asleep and Stiles is staring at the ceiling. He knows he needs to tell Derek. Or Scott. Or somebody. Hell, even his Dad would be good. He’s aching for an alpha. He didn’t even know lions could need an alpha. But, maybe werelions were a different thing.

He rolls on his side and stares at Derek. He knows if he opens up the ability to take an alpha, Derek will feel it. But he doesn’t know if he’s ready for that. He and Derek just got their footing in this relationship. Adding the beta/alpha relationship into the mix? It would add such a toll that Stiles isn’t sure if they’d make it. 

Derek shifts, turning and opening his eyes to find Stiles staring at him. "What, are you Edward Cullen now?”

Stiles laughs, “Baby. I really hate to break it to you but, if anyones Bella Swan in this relationship, it’s me.”

“Oh, yeah? How so?" 

"Well, son of the sheriff for one. Two, I’ve totally got the whole big eyed, die for my boyfriend thing down pat. And three, you’re the mythical creature here.” Stiles explains and Derek snorts.

“Jacob was the werewolf in those movies.” Derek points out. 

“So, what? You’re the best friend that pines after me? I think that would make Lydia, Bella and me, Jacob.” Stiles says, pulling a face.

Derek laughs, moving so he’s hovering over Stiles. He leans, down placing a quick kiss on Stiles’ lips. “How about, you’re you and I’m me and Lydia doesn’t enter our pillow talk again?”

“That was pillow talk?” Stiles snorts, earning a pinch of his nipple from Derek. “Okay, okay! Geez.”

It’s two weeks later and Stiles is channel surfing on Derek’s couch. Lydia and Cora are cuddling together on the loveseat, whispering about something on Cora’s phone. Kira’s working on her algebra homework in the recliner while Derek is reading over her essay to make sure everything looks okay. 

Scott bursts into the door and he’s soaking wet from the rain. He’s panting and Derek sets the paper down and take his glasses off. “Scott?”

“Something… I just had a jogger bring a dead omega into the clinic. It was… This is going to sound crazy but, the wounds were consistent with a lion attack.”

“A lion?” Lydia asks, eyebrows drawn together. “Scott, are you sure Isaac didn’t slip something into your coffee this morning?"    

"Hey!” Isaac says from the kitchen doorway. 

Derek rolls his eyes, “Scott, are you sure?”

“I’m positive.” Scott tells him. 

Stiles shifts and sighs. “A lion? I mean, we don’t have lions here. Unless one escaped from the zoo or something.”

“That’s the thing. It smelled… there was two scents of two different omegas on the wolf. I think… Are werelions a thing?” Scott asks, eyes wide. He takes the towel Isaac brought him and runs it over his hair.

Derek shifts, “It’s not common but, not impossible. My mother once travelled to Africa and helped an alpha there take down a rabid werelion there." 

"My alpha, in South America, she spoke of a Alpha werelion that lived in New York. She contacted me around January of this year. Said he'd gone crazy and bit a bunch of people. She knew Stiles lived there, wanted to make sure everyone was okay.” Cora says, sitting up. “Last I heard, the Alpha was taken down. They only found three of the people he bit. He bit four.”

“So, what? There’s still a werelion out there? And he could’ve travelled here?” Kira asks, confusion filling her face.

“It’s possible.” Lydia tells her.

Stiles knows when Derek figures it out. The way he’d been silent since Cora spoke. The way his face had been nothing but calculation since then. And then he looks at Stiles and he knows. "Stiles.“

"I’m sorry.” Stiles says, swallowing hard. “I..”

“Why didn’t you tell me?" 

"What’s happening right now?” Scott asks, staring at Stiles. 

Stiles’ eyes are welling with tears. “Five months ago, I was walking home from the library. It was around three in the morning. Something…. attacked me. I got bit. I went home and put a bandage on it because, it was just an animal bite. I stabbed the thing with a wolfsbane syringe and ran. But, the next morning… the bite was gone. Disappeared, as if it had never happened. I thought I made the whole thing up. But then, I could hear better. And see better. And smell better. And then it was the full moon and I was shifting into a lion." 

"Wait, so you’ve been hiding this for months?” Isaac asks, stepping into the living room more. 

“I… Yes?” Stiles says, taking a deep breath. “I just… I didn’t-”

“Didn’t what?” Scott yells. “Know how to tell us? We’re all aware of the werewolf secret in the world!”

Stiles looks down at his hands. “I freaked out. I never… I didn’t want this for my life. I didn’t want to worry about new moons and having my boyfriend as my alpha. I didn’t want this. I didn’t ask for it. I just… I needed a minute to process this for myself.”

“A minute I understand. But months, Stiles?” Lydia asks, raising her eyebrows. 

Stiles looks at Lydia and then back to Derek. Kira speaks before he can answer, “Maybe we should all calm down for a second. Let Stiles and Derek talk about this without all of us inserting our own opinions.”

Derek and Stiles quietly stare at each other until the pack is outside. “You should’ve told me.”

“I know.” Stiles whispers.

“You should’ve told me!” Derek yells, standing up. 

“I know.” Stiles says again.

“I mean, God, Stiles! Seriously?” Derek yells, turning away from him. “A lot of people lied to me, I never would’ve thought you’d be one of them." 

"Hey! You don’t get to compare me to Braeden or Jennifer! And you sure as hell don’t get to compare me to Kate!” Stiles yells, standing to his feet.

“Yet you lied to me!” Derek screams, turning to face Stiles. “Just like they did, Stiles! You lied! To me!"  Derek stabs his finger into his own chest, tears in his eyes. 

"And I’m sorry for that!” Stiles yells. “But, I did what was best for me, Derek! I needed time to process my whole life changing!”

“I’m your boyfriend, Stiles! I should’ve been let in on this process!” Derek tells him, shaking his head.

“Maybe you’re right, Derek. And I am sorry that I hurt you but, I am not sorry that I held this secret from you. I’m happy, Derek. I’m a pretty rare mythical creature. And I’m with the most amazing guy.” Stiles tells him, wiping at the tears on his face. 

Derek shakes his head and sighs. “I think you should go.”

“What? Derek-" 

"Stiles. Please, go.” Derek says, stepping back from Stiles’ hands. 

Stiles doesn’t hear from anyone in the pack in two weeks. Scott just keeps texting him that he’s trying to get them to come around. To get Derek to come around. But, so far, no dice. So, Stiles is floating through his life. And he misses Derek. All the time, he misses Derek. 

So when Cora’s phone comes across his phone, he answers after only one ring. “Cora?”

“Stiles? You need to get to the house. Now.” Cora says, before the ling goes dead.

He gets to the house within ten minutes and is running towards the sounds of fighting behind the house. He skids to a stop when he sees everyone taking down wolves and fuck. He realizes it’s a group of omegas after a few seconds of testing the air. His eyes seek out Derek, who’s fighting with what seems to be the leader. Or the muscle of the group. Either way it’s biggest omega out of all of them. But then the second biggest one is heading straight for Derek’s back and suddenly he’s moving, screaming, “Derek, get down.”

He’s shifting and jumping over Derek’s head before he can even think and it feels right to be in his full shift. The omega’s dead within seconds and then he turns around and helps Derek take down another one. He’s fighting for all of five minutes before he realizes all of the omegas are down and everyone’s staring at him.

He tilts his head and rolls his eyes. Scott snorts, “Of course, even in full shift, you’re able to be sarcastic." 

He shakes his head and makes his way into the house, shifting back and going upstairs. He’s got pants on and is pulling a shirt over his head before he realizes Derek’s closing the door and leaning his back against it. "Uh, hey.”

“I didn’t know that you, uh, could do a full shift.” Derek points out, eyes not straying from Stiles’ face.

“Yeah. It… I could do it since I got bit. I guess werelions are a little different than werewolves.” Stiles says, tugging the shirt all the way down. 

Derek’s quiet and they’re just standing, staring. Stiles sighs, “Are you gonna forgive me anytime soon?”

Derek’s lips quirk up a little before he moves towards Stiles. “I forgave you seconds after you walked out the door. But just like you needed a minute to process your whole life changing, so did I."    

Stiles smiles as Derek intertwines their hands. "I missed you. A lot." 

"Mm.” Derek smiles, kissing Stiles lightly, “I missed you a lot, too.”

“So we’re okay?”

“We’re okay.” Derek tells him. “Although, that whole 'jumping over my head while shifting’ thing? I think that makes you Jacob."    

Stiles shakes his head and leans in for a kiss. Derek pulls back and sneezes three times in a row. He glares at Stiles who’s erupting into laughter, leaning his head on Derek’s shoulder. "We probably need to see Deaton. About your… allergies.”

“Shut. Up.”

(Stiles laughs some more, Derek sneezes some more.)

#eternalstereksecretsanta17 #esss17 #fic #sterek #submission

[butsomeofusarelookingatthestars]

Could I pls do something where u and Luke have broken up but u find out that ur pregnant and Luke's reaction (maybe they end up getting back together)

Thanks for the request! I left the ending a little ambiguous – so, you can make up your own mind what Luke’s words actually mean. Enjoy

Unexpected

Fandom: Criminal MindsPairing: Luke Alvez x ReaderPrompt: Request

Description: Luke arrives home to find an unexpected visitor waiting on his doorstep, with some very surprising news for him.

It had been a long day. The thought of getting home to Roxy and collapsing on the sofa had been what had gotten Luke through the exhausting flight back to Quantico. The BAU had solved the case and successfully captured the unsub, however the threat of Mr Scratch still loomed heavily over the team.

Even though he may have lacked the personal connection to the troublesome terrorist that some of his colleagues possessed, Luke still found himself deeply enraged towards Peter Lewis. After all, the unsub had cost him his relationship.

A heavy sigh escaped Luke’s throat as he finally emerged in the corridor leading to his apartment. Losing you had been one the greatest casualties he had ever suffered. But, there was little he could do. He had a commitment to his new job to uphold and you deserved someone who could always be there for you.

He couldn’t blame you for being frustrated with his lack of commitment. After all, you had diligently stood by him during his time in the Fugitive Task Force – even withstanding his obsession with capturing Daniel Cullen. But, accepting his promotion to the BAU had understandably been a step too far.

It hadn’t just been the stress of his work schedule, or your subsequent exasperation, that had led to the breakup. Deep down he had worried that his new role would put you in danger. The abduction of Tara’s brother last month had proven his fears justified. He could never let anything happen to you. So, it had been easier to pull away.

As he reached his front door, his body froze in shock at the sight that greeted him. You were stood outside, resting against the wall. His legs were unbearably heavy as he curiously approached you, genuinely bewildered by your presence.

The relationship hadn’t ended badly, but you’d had little contact afterwards – probably because lingering feelings made it too painful to see or even speak to each other. It wasn’t as if you had broken up because you no longer loved each other…life just got in the way.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

A moment of tense silence followed, the two of you standing awkwardly opposite one another in the corridor.

It was hard for him to see you in front of his apartment, the place you had shared so many happy memories together. In fact, he had lost count of how many times you had tripped over the welcome mat you were standing on.

But, at the same time, the sight of your bright smile still made his heart flutter. It was painfully obvious that he still loved you.

Luke cleared his throat, attempting to compose himself. The last thing he wanted to do was to make you feel uncomfortable – so, not gawping at you like a moron seemed like a good start.

“How are you?”

He wanted to kick himself for the strained tone in his voice. It felt so wrong to be talking to you so casually – as if you weren’t still one of the most important people in his life.

“I’m good. You?”

“Fine…I’ve just been busy with work.”

He mentally cursed himself for mentioning the W-word – as if you needed another reason to prove that you were right to initiate the breakup. His heart broke at faint smile on your face as you glanced up at him sadly.

“Yeah, I know.”

There was another pause of silence. He could tell you were mentally preparing yourself to say something to him. But, despite his profiling abilities, he couldn’t predict what it could possibly be. You definitely didn’t look like you were here to reunite with him. In fact, you looked incredibly apprehensive.

His brow furrowed as he glanced down to see you anxiously twisting your hands. It had always been your nervous tell. Something was wrong.

“What are you doing here?”

His tone was a mix of curiosity and concern. He just wanted to know what had prompted you to finally contact him, turning up at his door no less, after two months of silence.

“Y/N, you know that you can still tell me anything. What’s wrong?”

The feel of your familiar name on his lips made his heart ache slightly. A faint smile flickered on your face at his words. His warm brown eyes were reassuring as you summoned up the courage to tell him the unexpected news.

“Nothing’s wrong…well, not really.”

His eyes filled with confusion as he continued to stare at you in bewilderment. What on earth did you mean? He watched your hands drift down to your stomach.

“I’m pregnant.”

Those two words rendered him speechless. Luke stood completely stunned in front of you. The silence was unnerving – not once had you seen the former ranger at a loss for words.

“Please say something Luke.”

Your pleas seemed to catch his attention. His gaze travelled down to your stomach, his eyes filling with awe.

“You’re…”

He trailed off, his words being swallowed by the shock of your revelation. It took him a moment to compose himself.

“Is everything okay?”

His question made you smile. You nodded quickly as you pulled the tiny photograph out of your bag to show him.

“I went to the doctor last week. I wanted to tell you sooner. But, you were just so busy and I was too nervous.” You explained, the nervousness still evident in your voice.

You had no idea how the two of you were going to work this out.  In spite of your apprehension, your lips curved upwards into a small smile as you took in Luke’s awe-struck expression. His eyes seemed to radiate a comforting warmth as he tenderly held the ultrasound in his hands, almost as if he were scared to rip it.

“I’m keeping it Luke.”

He nodded quickly, glancing up to meet your determined gaze. The ultrasound remained in his hands as he smiled softly at you.

“I have another appointment soon.”

He reached out to gently squeeze your hand, his much larger one encasing yours in his warmth protectively.

“I’ll be there.”

Perhaps he should have been thinking about the implications for his career, for your safety…for your lives.

But, all he could think about was the precious photograph in his hands and the soft smile on your face.

#criminal minds #luke alvez #criminal minds imagine #luke alvez x reader #luke alvez imagine #requests

[kyilliki]

Do you like the way the Cullens were portrayed in the movies? As in like the way the actor played them, how much the actor looked like the character, etc? Who do you think were the best and worst casting choices? I personally loved Nikki as Rose but I’ve heard people say that they hated her because she just wasn’t enough like rose at all? Or I’ve heard widely varying opinions on every actor haha. What are your thoughts?

My opinions are all over the place when it comes to the movie!Cullens. I have no insight into the casting process, but I sort of suspect that the production team was too interested in hiring people who matched the physical appearance of the characters, leading to actors who couldn’t convey their vibe/personality on-camera. 

Peter Facinelli (Carlisle) tends to play really handsome men with something a little off under the surface. In other words, he’s at his best when juxtaposing his looks with his personality. Asked to play a character who’s warm and humble and decent, he comes across as a little cool and hollow. 

Elizabeth Reaser has a similar problem. She absolutely shines when she’s playing women with a little edge. Consequently, she comes alive on-screen when Esme is stressed or angry or scared, which... isn’t really the intent of the author or the director, as far as I can tell. It’s an interesting take on Esme, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t feel deliberate at all. 

Ashley Greene is adorable as Alice. (Curiously, she’s one of the poorer physical matches for her character-- she’s much too tall, particularly next to Jackson Rathbone-- but she gets the screen presence just right.) Also, she adds a certain sweetness to Alice’s nature, which makes her pushiness more bearable, at least for me. 

Kellan Lutz is really great as Emmett. He’s charismatic and bro-ish and friendly and funny; that’s really all you can ask for with the character. 

Personally, I loved Nikki Reed as Rosalie. Her reminiscing scenes in Eclipse were a genuine delight, and her moments of icy rage were fun. (I always feel bad for actors hired to play famously beautiful characters; there’s no way they’ll please everyone and appearance is so easy to judge. To my mind, Nikki is lovely, but the makeup team didn’t do her any favours at all. You can’t force someone into foundation 3 shades too light for their skin-tone, give them yellow contact lenses, and ask them to look their hottest. It’s impossible. At absolute least, Rosalie should have been re-imagined as a honey-blonde with warm skin, as opposed to a corn-silk blonde with cool, pale skin.) 

Jackson Rathbone left very little impression on me. He wasn’t suave, or dangerous, or tortured, or... anything, really. Jasper felt like an afterthought, but then, that’s a canonical problem too. 

#character: carlisle cullen #character: esme cullen #character: alice cullen #character: rosalie hale #character: emmett cullen #character: jasper whitlock #asked and answered #Anonymous

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1154

Monday, March 6, 2017

 Another successful Capital Trade Show with my partner Chris yesterday at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre. Saw a few more folks that I haven't seen for a while stop by our table. The next one is on April 2 and we hope to be there.

 Congratulations to Brent for 32 years of comic book goodness at The Comicshop in Vancouver. He and Keith continue the proud traditions that Ron Norton established and I wish them many more years to come.

 America #1 - Gabby Rivera (writer) Joe Quinones (pencils) Joe Rivera & Paolo Rivera (inks) Jose Villarrubia (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). Marvel is really loading the racks with female heroes these days and the latest to join the ranks with her own solo book is the leader of the Ultimates. I don't read that book so excuse my ignorance about this woman. The last time I saw her was when she was a Young Avengers team member. Gabby starts this off by having America go to college which was very similar to the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1. We do get a peek at her civilian life as America breaks up with her girlfriend before leaving for college. I thought she was a jerk about it and that started me into not liking her much. Then she meets up with an old Young Avengers teammate and a time travel element is added. That's when I said "hasta la vista, baby". I'm not hip enough to enjoy this book but I think the cool kids will like it.

 Savage Things #1 - Justin Jordan (writer) Ibrahim Moustafa (art) Jordan Boyd (colours) Josh Reed (letters). This is more up my ally. A dangerous dark ally where you could be attacked by a government sanctioned homicidal maniac. The flashbacks show us Cain and Abel being recruited as boys and the present shows them exposing the bad guys they used to work for. Both were part of a covert team of killers that did the government's bidding. I want to see what they're up to now.

 Rat Queens #1 - Kurtis J. Wiebe (writer) Owen Gieni (art) Ryan Ferrier (letters). Yay, the Queens are back on the racks. What happened to Violet's beard? Doesn't matter because that great camaraderie that the Queens have is the same as I remember and that's why I like these gals so much. This new adventure has them fighting a giant Canada Goose with amazing powers. Whoa and zut alors, I can't wait to see what happens next.

 Totally Awesome Hulk #1.MU - This Monsters Unleashed! Tie-in has three short stories and the main reason that I grabbed it off the rack to read is because of the first one called "Flawless Victory" is by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) Ty Templeton (art) Mat Lopes (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Ty and I go way back and I always enjoy his work. If you're a comic book geek like me you should check out his blog at https://tytempletonart.wordpress.com/bun-toons/. He posts almost every week and his stories are a lot of fun, just what comics books should be. The second story "Mind Over Monster" by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (art) Rico Renzi (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters) has Hulk saving South Korea from Xemnu, he of the spiral eyes. The last story "Math is Magic" by Leah Williams (writer) Jahnoy Lindsay (art) Esther Sanz (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters) features Maddy Cho trying to find help with fighting the Leviathons that are landing on Earth and destroying everything. Maddy contacts Lady Hellbender the Monster Queen but what the monster collector tells her does not bode well for Earth. I liked how Jahnoy tried to mimic Frank Cho's style when drawing Lady Hellbender.

 Riverdale One Shot - This features four of the Riverdale teens and boy are they different from the old Archie gang. If you haven't watched the TV show on the CW network this might get you to tune in. "Archie" by Brian E. Paterson (writer) Elliot Fernandez (art) Thomas Chu (colours) John Workman (letters) will shock you with the affair with Ms. Grundy that you may have heard about. "Betty" by Britta Lundin (writer) Jim Towe (art) Glenn Whitmore (colours) Janice Chiang (letters) has my guilty crush Ms. Cooper going to L.A. for a summer internship. "Veronica" by James DeWille (writer) Thomas Pitilli (art) Andre Szymanowicz (colours) John Workman (letters) surprised me again because she and her family are Hispanic. "Jughead" by Will Ewing (writer) Alitha Martinez (pencils) Bob Smith (inks) Andre Szymanowicz with Thomas Chu (colours) Janice Chiang (letters) changed my attitude towards Archie's best friend. I won't watch the show because I don't like who they cast as Betty. They had a chance to usurp Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years as my biggest TV Cooper crush but they failed. I would definitely read another comic book about these guys though.

 Royal City #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer & artist) Steve Wands (letters). I really like Jeff's stories. Trillium amazed me with some of the ways Jeff used his art to tell that story. Essex County made me feel very Canadian. Old Man Logan made me care about Wolverine again. Here we have a story about a family with one missing sibling and it's hard to categorize. At first I thought it was a ghost story but it's much more than that. The Pike family seems typical but their brother Tommy makes them unique. This gets added to my "must read" list.

 Doctor Strange #18 - Jason Aaron (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils & colours) Al Vey, Tim Townsend, John Livesay & Victor Olazaba (inks) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The answer to "where's Wong?" is revealed. This is a team-up with the Mighty Thor and because Jason writes both books he gave Thor another new cool super power to help save lives and made it look natural. It's very far fetched but it's neat that he thought it up. Now the task of saving Wong from the villain Mr Misery starts in earnest.

 Superman #18 - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writers) Patrick Gleason (pencils) Mick Gray (inks) John Kalisz (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Part 1 of "Superman Reborn" gets deeper into two mysteries that have been teasing us since Rebirth started. The other Clark Kent and the hooded guy with the scythe. I really like the new Superman family with Lois and Jon and I hope DC doesn't go back to the single Superman. If they do, I want a new book like Marvel did with Peter, Mary Jane and Annie. I hated when Marvel unmarried Peter and Mary Jane.

 Paper Girls #12 - Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Cliff Chiang (art) Matt Wilson (colours) Jared K. Fletcher (letters). It's handy to have a universal translator. There's got to be an app for that now right?

 Clone Conspiracy Omega - there are three complete stories in this finale to the most recent clone kerfuffle. "Collateral Damage" by Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers) Cory T. Smith (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) sets Ben Reilly the Scarlet Spider up with his new solo book out April 26 where he chases after himself. Huh? You have to read "Give Us a Wink" by Peter David (writer) Mark Bagley (pencils) John Dell (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) to find out what I mean. And finally "King's Favor" by Dan Slott (writer) Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Richard Isanove (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) sets up the return of Spider-Man's greatest enemy. How are they going to explain that comeback?

 Batman #18 - Tom King (writer) David Finch (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) John Workman (letters). It's good issues like this one that reward me for sticking to a book the I like through some weaker issues. The fight between Batman and Bane juxtaposed with the evolution of each man as they grew older intensified the growing anger of the villain with each page. I can't wait to see the next phase of Batman's plan.

 Hawkeye #4 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Leonardo Romero (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I was thinking about benching this book once this first story arc ended but Kelly snuck in a special guest star right at the end there that made me want to stick around for the next arc. I wasn't really happy with how Kate defeats the super villain but what happens to the guy later made up for the feel good solution.

 Champions #6 - Mark Waid (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado with Nolan Woodward (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I thought the Freelancers weren't going to be that bad after teaming up with the Champions last issue but Mark establishes that they are a bunch of douche bags this issue. Wait until you see what these bullies have lined up for the good guys.

 Unstoppable Wasp #3 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Elsa Charretier (art) Megan Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I really like Nadia's personality and Jarvis is a hoot. I need fun comic books like this to balance all the doom and gloom that's out there on the racks.

 Monsters Unleashed #4 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Even more super heroes fighting giant space monsters. I know this might be boring for some fans but the kids love it and I loved the art.

e

[okimargarvez]

FEW HOURS IN LUKE ALVEZ’S MIND -3

Original title: Few hours in Luke Alvez’s mind.

Prompt: Luke’ POV, memory of war.

Warning: quote of 12x1.

Genre: comedy, family, angst, friendship.

Characters: Luke Alvez, Penelope Garcia, BAU team.

Pairing: Garvez.

Note: oneshot.

Legend: 🔦🐶.

Song mentioned: none.

Few hours in Luke Alvez’s mind- Masterlist

GARVEZ STORIES

This part is dedicated to  inlovewithgarvaz.

Part 3-

The chief, Hotchner, who everyone calls Hotch, has a private office. In the grip of a moment of discouragement, I decide to try to express my doubts directly with him. I knock the door.

-Yeah?- it comes a voice from inside. I open the door.

-You got a second?- I ask, standing in the doorway. He nods. He is sitting at the desk. The room is small, but well furnished.

-Yeah, sure.- I hesitate again.

-May I?- he is stronger than me. It puts awe. I seem to be in front of a professor before the exam begins. Or when I was going to ask for information on how to proceed with the thesis.

-Yeah, have a seat.- he must guess my embarrassment. It's too obvious. I execute the order. And I take courage.

-So I'm up to speed on all the fugitives this team is hunting, which means I read up on all of Peter Lewis' victims. And, uh, I saw that…- he interrupts me before I can finish the sentence.

-You saw that I was one of them.- he admits simply, without any effort. Yet in those pages I have read terrible things. Not only has he been among those whom Lewis has subjugated (and believe him, even just knowing him, it is difficult), but he has also been targeted by another "unknown subject", if possible even worse... George Foyet, the Reaper, killed his wife. I can’t even imagine the pain he felt. But I also know that the latter doesn’t run the risk of being released. He killed him, even though in the final report it is written in self-defense, I can’t believe he would have done so even if it hadn’t been a danger at that time.

-Yeah...- I admit- I don't want to know what happened. I just want to know… Don't you want to kill him?- the question is legitimate. He looks at me for a moment, before replying.

-Do you want to kill Daniel Cullen?- he answers me with another question.

-I took an oath to uphold the laws of this country. So… Yeah. Yeah, I want to kill him.- and I need it, to rediscover the serenity. To stop seeing those horrible images every time I close my eyes. To begin to believe the words of Phil. It wasn’t your fault. But yes, because I should have been there, in his place, under-coverage. I was older than him, more experienced, theoretically. I didn’t have a wife, not even a girlfriend, waiting for me at home. The rest of my family has always known that something could happen to me, given the choices I made in my life. I am convinced that I would be less hurt, if I were now the one who has to recover from the attempt to open the stomach. I would feel less... helpless.

-Why?- Hotch's voice penetrates through my thoughts.

-You read my personnel file.- I try to avoid having to say it clearly.

-I want t hear your version.- is not a suggestion, but an order.

I sigh -Ok. All right.- I take a breath, before doing the big confession. -Anyone that asks, I tell them that we caught him in the act.- I lower my eyes, I report it on the man in front of me. -Which is the truth. What I don't tell them is that the act that I caught him in was him cutting open my partner, who he somehow figured out was FBI.- I am catapulted back in time, I still feel to hear again those words. -"Try not to finch!"- I repeat. -Phil told me later that’s what he said.- I conclude.

-I strongly believe that men like Daniel Cullen and Peter Lewis belong in 5-foot by 8-foot cells where they can live out their lives as failures, instead of dying thinking that they accomplished something.- he says without anger. It would be nice to think of it in the same way.

-I'm not there yet.- the view gets blurred. I'm not going to cry. But being indifferent to certain things is not possible. And I'm not even that good at hiding what I feel.

Hotch understands it perfectly. -Let's talk about right now. I wanted you on this case because I know that you're driven to find Cullen. I know that you're a good tracker. If there's something in this profile that you're not agreeing with, I'd like to know what it is.- well, the moment of truth has arrived.

-You’re not gonna like it.- he nods, as if he had already imagined it.

-Then everybody should hear it.- he stands up. We move to the meeting room, where there are all the others. It's the first time that I’m going to expose me like that. My opinions of non-profiler, before experts in this field, what value will they have?

-You can't analyze a fugitive's actions on the outside without taking into account what he did on the inside. So what did Peter Lewis do on the inside?- it might seem like a rhetorical question.

-Nothing, he was a model prisoner.- Spencer answers. I don’t want to contradict him.

-No, it goes further than that. He had no contact with other convicts. He didn't join or get pressured into a gang. When he gets out, he picks up as if no time had passed.- the implications in my sentence are obvious.

-So he had the resources in place before we arrested him.- the first that understands it is JJ.

-A safe house to stay in, backup supplies of his drugs.- Rossi continues.

I nod. -He could have gone anywhere in the country. I mean, anywhere in the world, probably. Then he came here. To Tempe, Arizona?- I try to use a tone that makes clear what I think. It is not really one of the most famous countries in America.

-He had the highest concentration of targets with D.I.D. here.- the doctor insists.

I turn to him, looking at him directly. -You said he wouldn't reveal himself until his plan was foolproof. Right? This isn't foolproof. Brian and Chelsea have been failures. But what part of his plan has worked?- I don’t give anyone time to answer. -Us. You see where I'm going with this? Most fugitives, they do everything they can to stay on the D.L. He's courted our attention from the beginning. Where I keep hitting a wall is why.- my contribution practically ends here.

-Especially if he already has a list of all the kids that went to that camp.- Tara continues to reflect, taking the floor for the first time since we started discussing.

-Maybe we need to re-evaluate our presumptions. When Peter Lewis needed information before, he hacked Quantico.- Hotch exchanges a glance with everyone else, except the brunette woman who carries the same surname as the unsub we are chasing.

-Well, he can’t do that again.- says the blonde.

-So, maybe he’s going to get his information from us.- the leader concludes.

-And we're compiling the very list he would want.- Dave punches his desk.

-We know all his tricks. We're not gonna give him the list.- JJ can’t understand. -The police aren’t. How is he gonna get it?- the answer comes from the other woman present.

-Brian.- Tara exclaims, while a shadow seems to pass in front of her eyes. -I asked officer Duke to go over the list with him once Garcia had somenthing.- she turns to the chief. -Oh, god, Hotch. I'm so sorry.- the man doesn’t reply anything, but starts a call.

Without being named, the shapely blonde on the other side answers. -Yes, sir.- I can even imagine her in this office. With too much ease. Everyone exchanges worried looks. Only Tara keeps her eyes on the floor, obviously feeling guilty. I know what she feels. For four years I have never stopped feeling guilty.

-Garcia, don’t distribute the list!- it is not a video call, yet that moment of hesitation is clear even only vocally.

-But...- crisis. What she has to hear right now, is that she made a mistake. -It...- she doesn’t know what to say. Yet she didn’t seem to me a person who has problems in finding topics of conversation. -I just hit sent.- Hotch doesn’t add anything else, but ends the call abruptly. JJ stares at him. The two blondes are probably very friendly. And although I do nothing but proceed by hypothesis, I think it is very evident that she feels obliged to protect her.

-Why do you have to treat her like that?- I hear that she whispers in a low voice to the chief, without an ounce of fear. Man merely observes her. The other surrenders.

-Well, now we know who the copycat is.- Rossi tries to find a positive side in the current situation.

-What's scientifically revolutionary is that Peter Lewis isn't just inducing an already existing alternate, he's actually creating one. Brian thinks he is the Crimson King. That's undocumented in D.I.D. literature.- not just the amazement, but declared admiration is highlighted in Spencer's tone. I haven’t yet fully framed him, but I understood that his fame was not very far from reality.

-It's possible, with the right balance of drugs and torture.- adds Tara.

-Peter Lewis never tortured before.- JJ shows horrified.

-He does mentally, by hypnotizing his victims into self-harm. It explains Brian's shallow wounds.- and the words of Hotch have a different weight, from the speculations of his colleagues. Because they are those of those who have passed it. They are a direct testimony.

-Tara, you mean he cut himself?- I ask.

-It was all there in the story that he told me. I just didn't see it.- the criminal psychologist continues to blame herself. Before leaving on this mission, after having known all of them, I asked a few questions around, to inform me about the people with whom I should have

collaborate.

-D.I.D. is usually the result of trauma. If Peter Lewis could build an alternate like this through hypnotic suggestion, it means that Brian has some propensity for psychopathy in his past.- Reid looks out of the corner of his eye towards Tara.

-Lewis, did you locate the parents?- Hotch asks.

-Yeah.- says the woman.

- All right. See what kind of history you can get from them. The rest of us need to look at every clue again through the prism of Brian as Trojan horse.- saying this the meeting melts. There are just me and Rossi.

-Where is the evidence room?- I ask the latter. He makes the way.

 I extract that kind of bar covered with holes for the arms and the head.

-So, this. Why would Peter Lewis make Brian wear it?- I ask.

-So we wouldn’t question that he was a victim.- says the eldest of us. I nod, but that's not all.

-It worked, huh? Cullen hand-made his.- and I am expert, in spite of myself, of this subject. I can think of many evenings spent in the office settling all that crap of material but knowing that the bastard was in prison. -Peter Lewis knew that. Knew enough to copy the lock bolt mechanism. Not enough to sew it himself. A machine-stitched this.- and now I smile, perhaps for the first time since we're in Temple.

-So he had to order it.- I raise my eyes in an emblematic way. He extracts the phone and starts a call. He puts the speakerphone.

-Ready and waiting.- answers the blonde's voice on the other side. And once again it is far too easy to materialize her and move on with fantasy towards dark shores. What's happening to me? Why suddenly this kind of thoughts cross my mind? Fortunately, I'm the only one to have access to it.

-Garcia, we need leather experts in the Phoenix and Temple areas.- explains Rossi.

But I decide to express my opinion. -Yeah, I think the leather experts might have asked too many questions.- then, I turning to the phone, then to her. -Uh, and Garcia, if you don’t mind, checking sex shops and BDSM specialists. The more extreme, the better.- I am making a strange effect to make such a request, but I really believe that Lewis was forced to turn to someone who wouldn’t have made too many problems, wondering what such a deal could have served. Silence. No answer comes from the other end of the line. Yet rumors told me that she and what was there before, Agent Morgan, were very famous for their... hot conversation, so much to have forced the entire department to carry out a series of cycles on how you behave with colleagues and how to avoid mobbing.

-Garcia?- Rossi finally calls her.

There's a kind of sigh of suffering. -I'll send Agent Alvez that list now. Good bye.- and she vanishes, abruptly interrupting the call, as before Hotch had done with her. I look at my phone. I register the new sender under the name Garcia BAU , but not entirely convinced that it will remain so informal.

 After having tell to the others about the news, Hotch orders Spencer and me to go around all the shops in the area that may have treated that article. I'm happy to go with him, because with his attitude I will feel less embarrassed, like it was with JJ or Tara. Or worse, Hotch. Even with Rossi I would have felt at ease. And with Garcia... forget it.

We enter the third store today - This guy ordered this arm spreader. Um, two of them, actually.- the girl on the other side of the bar will have at most twenty years. Blonde, very short hair, nose piercing. In short, the stereotype of the clerk for a place like that.

-Two of them? So where is the other one?- I turn to my colleague.

-Um, could I see your badge again?- she asks Spencer instead.

-Is there a problem?- he frowns.

-Uhm... yeah, ok, the guy who ordered them, the name he left on the invoice was Dr. Spencer Reid.- now she looks at both.

-Did he pay with my credit card also?- he presses her.

The young girl shakes her head -Cash.- then she throws a smart look. -I knew he was sketchy. Guys like him give S&M a bad rap. Which is why I did ask for a copy of Dr. Reid's driver's license, which he gave me happily.- she shrugs.

-We’ll need to see that right now.- I intervene.

-Oh, uh.- she goes down to take it.

 As soon as we get in the car Spencer starts a call to "our" computer technician. -He was all up in your business, boy wonder.- for the first time, she seems to be indifferent to the fact that I'm listening too. -He used your social security number to do a change of address and everything, but... speaking of addresses, we have a local one for him.- from the corner of my eye I see Reid unconsciously nod.

-Good. Get that information to the rest of the team and the police, please. We need to assume he has the same level of personal information for the entire BAU.- his manner of speaking is so different from that of anyone else. He seems more like a... a university professor, than an FBI agent.

-And Daniel Cullen.- I add.

-But we ruled out his involvement.- we seem about to discuss. But no one has closed the call, so Penelope is theoretically still listening.

-Now I'm not sure. Peter Lewis copied a specific detail of the Cullen’s arm spreader, one that wasn’t in a public record. The only way he could have gotten it is if the real Crimson King has been a part of this all along.- the other man is able to pretend to agree with me.

-I send everything to the others.- the sweet and strangely fragile voice of the blonde intrudes. I thank her mentally. Although she doesn’t seem to be very nice with me, at least she took my idea into consideration. Then we hear a beep at the end of the conversation. And a moment later the young doctor's phone lights up again.

-Reid, Luke, the police are 10 minutes out.- Rossi warns us.

-That could be a problem. If the police try to convince Brian he is not the Crimson King, he could get unstable.- I think it is the first time that a sentence uttered by him doesn’t seem perfectly good.

-Guys we might have a solution. Try to keep Brian calm. We're on our way.- Tara seems to have found confidence in herself again. A few minutes later we reach our destination. Parking, we go down. As if we had already done it before, or if we had agreed, I open the door wide and Spencer come in, shouting.

-FBI! Drop the weapon!- his gun is aimed at the boy. His gaze is crazy. Much more than Cullen's when I caught him dealing with parts of Phil's body.

-No! Try not to finch!- that sentence is more than I can bear. Then I realize that the man to whom he is aiming at the throat with a knife is really my personal monster. Daniel Cullen. And if Brian's might sound scary, the Crimson King's is terrified. He rolls his eyes everywhere, shining with terror. I should feel happy to see him suffer. Why it’s not so?

-Help me...-he whispers, while the blade presses lightly on his skin.

-The Crimson King doesn’t kill. He doesn’t have to. Remember?- he tries to bring the boy back to reason, but I don’t think it's possible. Despite myself, I am forced to help him. Hotch is right, a prison is better than a painful death for less than a second. It would be much better for him to have all the time to think about what he did.

-That’s right. You kill, and it's over. But if you let him go, he has to live the rest of his life as a failure, is not that what you really want?- yet I'm not asking the question to Brian, but to myself.

-No! That’s not enough.- and it's not even for me. I hear footsteps behind us. Tara and JJ also appear.

-No one is going to hurt you like that ever again. Nobody. Never again.- it is understood that the brunette is a psychologist. Her tone is sweet and understanding. What he really needs. He trembles but doesn’t give up.

-Back off! I mean it!- yet it sounds like a plea.

-We can’t do that. Ok? Someone told you to do this. But this is not who you are, is it? We know that.- do we really know? This boy suffered one of the most horrible things in the world: he was the victim of those who were supposed to protect him. Those who should have taken care of him. Too many conditions in a few lines. But the most tragic thing is that it forces me to think that if Brian became so because he was fragile... what was the reason Cullen became the Crimson King? Does pure evil exist, absolute black or do we have to deal with many more shades of gray?

-No one is gonna hurt you like that ever again.- reiterates the same sentence JJ.

-Nobody hurt me, I hurt them.- it is an attempt not to feel in complete mercy of others. To affirm that he still has control of himself and his actions. But, partly for his fortune, it is not like that.

-Yes, they did hurt you. They cut you when you were little. And then right here on this very table, you saw your own blood and you didn't know what to do, so you became the Crimson King to protect yourself. No one is gonna hurt you like that ever again.-will I ever be so tolerant, so understanding, so human? I fear that the man in front of me has eliminated this possibility from my soul four years ago.

-No one is gonna hurt you like that ever again.- the blonde repeats again. It almost seems like a sing-song, a nursery rhyme for children. Of those that, if deliberately slowed down, become perfect soundtrack for a horror film.

-Do you remember Eliza? Angelica? What they used to say to you at the foster home to calm you down? No one is going to hurt you like that ever again.- his eyes wander over the woman. Then he abandons the knife. A part of me is not happy. If I were a believer, I should go to confession.

-Do you promise?- a child wouldn’t seem less innocent than him.

-Yeah, I promise.- handcuffs are put on him. The boy looks at her scared. -Brian, this is for your own protection, ok? We’re taking you into custody, for your safety.- he nods. He desperately needs to trust her.

-Tara?- he calls her once again.

-Yes?- she stays close to him.

-Oh, my God, what did I do?- and here the Crimson King no longer exists.

-I’m going to be with you every step of the way. All right? I’m not leaving your side.- a promise that weighs heavily. But now my attention completely falls on the other man, left in the room. Extracting the handcuffs, I put them on him. The latter seems even more stunned than Brian.

-Thank you. Both of you.- I clench my fist to keep myself from pulling it in his face and smashing his jaw, that so easily chuckled with satisfaction while my partner lay in a state of semi-consciousness, but was perfectly able to feel the pain and whatever he did to him.

-No, don’t thank us! You’re under arrest.- I try to carry on the pantomime, but it is clear that the time has not come when I will have my revenge.

-Ok... for what? What... what did I do?- he can’t really forget it.

-Must have dosed him to make him lose his memory so we couldn't get any answers out of him.- Spencer tries to calm down me, with his usual pedantic tone even if he doesn’t want to be, too smart and rational to be able to tolerate it. In order not to vent myself with him, I concentrate all my energy on the monster.

-Now, we’ve met. Three years ago. Hmm? What's my name? What was my partner's name?- I shout until I almost lose my voice.

-I don’t know!- is the truth, but I can’t accept it.

-You’re faking it!- I shout even louder.

-Luke...- I completely ignore Reid's voice trying to intrude.

-You’re faking it.- I repeat with a lower tone, now defeated.

-Luke...- he repeats. I have tears in my eyes. More than anger or pain?

-You’re faking it. What's your name? What's your name? Say it! - but I don’t get any answers. Because maybe it's not there. There really never was.

-I don’t know. Tell me. Please.- and I wish I could do it. Have time to tell him what kind of man he was, if he really doesn’t remember him anymore. Let him know how rotten it was. Scream in his face that has ruined Phil's life and mine too. Which is his fault if I can’t sleep anymore and the only living thing I can stay with, without having to hide what I've become and what I feel, is Roxy.

But Spencer takes him by the shoulders and takes him away, taking away from me even this last satisfaction.

TAGS:  @arses21434 @kathy5654 @martinab26 @reidskitty13 @jenf42 @gracieeelizabeth27 @silviajajaja @smalliemichelle99 @charchampagne14 @thinitta   @garvezz  @shyladystudentfan @cosmicmelaninflower @kiki-krakatoa  @pegasus-scifichick  @ leftlamphumanfestival @inlovewithgarvaz @thatnerdygirljudy

#garvez #penelope garcia #luke alvez #criminal minds #aaron hotchner #david rossi #spencer reid #jennifer jareau #tara lewis #roxy #penelope x luke #luke x penelope #garcia x alvez #alvez x garcia #cm #Luke POV #the crimson king #12x01

[okimargarvez]

HURT - 7

Prompt: Luke’s dark thought, destiny, contrasted love. Warnings: sexual content, dark thoughts. Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, BAU team, others. Pairing: Garvez. Multichapter (22).

MY OTHER GARVEZ STORIES

Chapter 1-  Chapter 2-  Chapter 3    Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Chapter 6

HURT -  Chapter 7

How can she fell for it again? How could she have believed for the umpteenth time that an attractive man like Luke (or like Battle) could feel something serious for her? And it’s useless to cry on herself, no matter how much she has consumed every handkerchief in her house. As bad as the chest hurts, for being too shaken by the sobs. But she will overcome it. She will manage it. The worst thing will be to have to work together again. Well. What was false, it will now be in truth. In other words, if she had made others believe she couldn’t bear him because he had replaced Derek, while in reality she was in love with him, from this moment on she would have been seriously professional and detached with him. She wouldn’t allow him to approach her. Any demon had taken hold of him while he was telling her those horrible things. That he was in the throes of a sort of nightmare. She didn’t care. She wasn’t able to stand next to a person with similar problems. She had almost come to love him, but it doesn’t matter. She would do everything to see him happy; but it doesn’t even matter.

Nothing matters anymore.

 As if they were tearing him. Pulled from one side to the other. A medieval torture. An atrocious, unbearable pain. No tears flow down his cheeks. Not a groan. It stays all inside of him. And that's why it hurts even more. The ghosts are now of a different type than usual, to which he was sadly accustomed.

The ghosts, or rather the apparition, has delicate hands with glazed fingers of the colors of the rainbow, her touch is cool and refrigerant. Her blond hair, slightly wavy, tickled his shoulders. The rough tongue runs his skin from the side upwards, until it meets his mouth. She sucks his soul greedily. And her voice cries, whispers, alternately, together, always the same thing.

I really loved you, Luke. Why did you do this to me?

The woman's face is so infinitely sad, is that of a child.

But maybe it's better this way. The pain will diminish. It will leave him. It must be confident. Otherwise he will die. How is it said? What doesn’t kill you, make you stronger.

At this moment, however, there is no room for useless disquisitions. Only for continuous twists. With the knowledge that in a few hours he will see her again.

 There isn’t the slightest chance that she chooses to take the elevator. Better stairs. Unfortunately, the same thing happens like during the summer holidays: everyone thinks they are the only ones who have had the brilliant idea of ​​starting a timetable because there will be no one, as a result the streets are always clogged and you spend hours lined up. This is what passes through Penelope's head at the exact moment when she looks up from the last step and sees Luke come up from the opposite side, he too on the stairs. He notice her, but doesn’t say anything, just like her. He stops, so that she can pass first. When she has entered, he goes to her desk. There is no trace of the blonde. She will be hidden in her bunker. And it's better this way.

He looks at the bracelet on his wrist, caresses it, trying to calm down. Until they call for a new case, he will have to continue studying Peter Lewis, Mr. Scratch. It's been a long time, now a few months, but they haven’t made any kind of progress.

A message arrives. It's Emily. Five minutes in the meeting room. Update.

He decides to start before, still unable to get blood out of a stone, with those papers in his hands. When he reaches the room, he hears Garcia's animated voice and that of Spencer. There are also Prentiss and JJ. After a second Rossi appears behind him. Except from Tara, they are all there.

-Hey, is there a case?- he asks, unable to look at her. -What’s Tara’s brother’s picture doing up?- nobody says anything. JJ and Spencer are fake stupid. Then she explodes.

-Come on, the new guy? He knows? How come I was the last one to know?- he can’t stop himself from giggling, seeing her behaves in such way.

-It was an experiment. She wanted to time how long you could keep a private conversation private. And you made it 12 hours.- Spencer explains. The heart of Penelope breaks into further fragments. Only pride prevents her from crying.

Then he does a horrible thing. Shameful. -Damn, I had you down for six! - he exclaims, doing or rather believing to look as the nice guy.

-Oh, you know what? You guys, I thought you were my friends, but you suck! You all suck!- she glances disgusted at her colleagues and disappears, not before adding -Especially you, new guy, but you always suck! Newbie!- and the others don’t understand what she refers to. They think it's just another release to Garcia, but it's not like that. And she knows perfectly that Luke will understand what her target was aimed at.

 He can’t ignore it. So, he follows her, not caring what their colleagues can think of. He increases the pace and intercepts her a second before she can open the door of her cave.

-Penelope!- she turns to him with a click. The face deformed by anger. Shiny eyes.

-What do you want?- she shouts to him. She puts her arms in a defensive position.

-What did you mean with that "you always suck"?- despite some tears have escaped her control, she smiles maliciously.

-Do you think you're the only one who can pretend?- she asks. Then she sees people passing out of the corner of her eye, then she drags him inside and closes the door. -I've never feel anything special when I was with you.- her voice is firm, firm. -In all cases nothing comparable to what made me feel Derek.- is the final stab, the decisive blow, the point of the KO.

Have they been together in that sense?

She sees him remain stunned, unable to ask anything, to open his mouth. Then she smiles to reinforce the deception, asking Savannah for forgiveness her in her head. Meanwhile, inside, she is dying. Because even after he has hurt her so deeply, she feels the instinct to cling to him and the temptation to forget. But fortunately, she doesn’t. She stays with her arms folded, waiting for him to find the strength to leave. And then she will immerse herself in the research that was about to begin. She will not cry. She will not allow it. Although the pain is even more acute, because not only him, made fun of her, but her team, her family. It was just a joke, but at that moment she was too vulnerable. She would give her life for each of them.

Luke feels his legs as heavy as lead. A voice in his head shouts to tell her the truth, to apologize. To explain why he said something like that. But it would mean having to confess everything, all his past. The whole Cullen case, starting from the mistake of undercover his best friend Phil Grenada, whose wife was the sixth month of pregnancy. But there were other agents available, much more experienced and prepared than him. But Luke had succumbed to his friend's requests: he couldn’t resist between the paperwork and spend the evenings deciding the type of diapers, the name, the color of the room... He should have been stronger, harder: he was the boss on that occasion and his decision was the only one that mattered. It was his fault. It's all his fault. Only his fault. And that had been the first of his mistakes. How could he send a man with his wife ready to give birth on such a mission? How could he have believed he wouldn’t try to contact her, contradicting the whole protocol?

How could he tell Penelope the thoughts that tormented him, the ghosts that came to visit him every day? The voices he heard? She would have obliged him to undergo a psychiatric examination. And no news would have emerged. He was already there, at his session. There had been no improvement, no deterioration. From the outside, he didn’t look crazy in the grip of visions. Nobody would have thought it. But she upset him. She puts him in total turmoil. Whenever he was with her, he felt like he was on the brink of an abyss. Or at a crossroads. Every single time could be wonderful, he could be able to live the best and show her the love she deserved, but the opposite could also happen. What he had did was just what he feared and promised not to do: hurt her.

Not just wounded. He had practically destroyed her, and he manages to see it, even though she wanted to show herself firm and severe. He reduced her to shatter. And this means that she loves him or rather, at this point, she loved him, really; that the voice he had heard in his head corresponds to reality.

-Agent Alvez, could you give me the pleasure of leaving my office, allowing me to do some more useful activities, and maybe you too could do something fruitful?- the question, the professional tone that at the beginning had made him laugh so much and entertained, which had attracted him like a magnet to her. And now it sounds deeply bitter. And yet his feet refuse to move.

This time, however, he must do the right thing. He will do it. The right thing for her.

 Finally, when she is left alone, Penelope allows herself to relax her muscles and release tension. She had been about to ask him. Ask questions whose answers probably she wouldn’t have liked. But in the end, if he wanted to share something with her, he would not have done it before? Why should she persist in doing the good fairy, the godmother of all, the shoulder to cry, the friend listener and dispenser of advice, the Jiminy Cricket?

Why did she have to dig into the mud? Was it worthwhile to get treated in horrible ways, worse than a high-class prostitute? Sex between them had always been fantastic: both when he was hungry, and tender and attentive; whether he was sweet or curt; both when she had felt his girlfriend, or as his concubine. But sex couldn’t be enough. It would never have been enough for her. And what he had had from her, apart from sex, was a bit too little. The only time he had seemed about to reveal something to her, to explain what he had felt when JJ and he had been in that fire, he had run away as soon as he realized what he had done. In addition, his jealousy flattered her, but he also frightened her: twice, after seeing her talk to another man, he had behaved strangely, performing a kind of ritual as if to validate the fact that she belonged to him. He had also forced her to say it, although he had apologized later...

And another time he burst into tears, flooding her hair and blankets...

#garvez #penelope garcia #luke alvez #criminal minds #cm #penelope x luke #luke x penelope #garcia x alvez #alvez x garcia