#after i went to the bathroom and some girlie <3 dropped her while life story on meeeeeee

[strawbnation]

I’m okay with these office Christmas parties

+ Bonus Punch! (ง'̀-'́)ง

#pht #jaehyun #yoonoh #nctinc #jung jaehyun #nct #nct 127 #mine #but honestly also go clubbing with me silly little man let's sit in the back at some little table #and get drunk before we go dancing for hours and have fun i want to weave around trying to find you #after i went to the bathroom and some girlie <3 dropped her while life story on meeeeeee

[tweedlydumbtweedlydoo]

Off Limits (Spencer Reid) #17

A/N: This is the last official chapter of Off Limits!! The next will be the epilogue. I wanted to drag out the story a little more but I thought it would be good to end it here. 

I can not thank you guys enough for all the love and support of this fanfic. I love each and every one of you! 

Be on the lookout!!! In the next couple of days, I will be posting the first chapter of a Spencer Reid Mini Series (thinking 3 or 5 parts). As well as some Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan Imagines. If you would like to request one, you go right ahead! Send me who you would like with a plot and I will do my best to fit your needs. 

Off Limits Masterlist

Tag List: @on-my-way-to-erebor​ , @haileymorelikestupid​ , @angryknightstatesmantrash​

NOT MY GIF

*******************************************************************************************

Ava laid awake that night, her mind drifting to the woman on the telephone asking for Spencer. She knew Spencer. He wouldn’t do something to destroy their relationship. Ava didn’t have the best luck with men in her life. So, she had trust issues. Spencer knew that and had promised from the beginning he’d never hurt her in that way. Spencer had changed her thoughts on men. He shown her not all men are assholes and that there are still good ones out in the world.

She glances over at his sleeping figure. She can see the soft rise and fall of his chest. She sighs softly before turning over on her side, putting her thoughts aside, she drifts to sleep.

~

The next morning, when Ava arrived to the BAU, Penelope had greeted her at the door, “Hey girlie, what are your plans today after work?” She linked her arm with Ava’s.

“Um, I’m not sure.” Ava shrugs, “I have to pick up Matthew from daycare and then I guess I’ll go home.” She looks at Penelope questionably, “Why?”

Penelope shrugs, “I’m in need of a girl’s day! Or evening for that matter. I need to get my nails done and wanted to do some shopping. Care to join?”

Ava raises an eyebrow, “Will there be wine involved?”

Penelope laughs, “yes my sweet friend. We can get dinner and have one or a few glasses of wine.”

Ava nods, “I will definitely join.”

~

The woman at the jewelry store had called to tell him the ring was ready to be picked up, so now it was time to plan how that night would go. Penelope was to take care of Ava this evening, while he planned the most important evening of his life with Emily and JJ. He had to admit, he was already nervous just planning. If he was nervous only planning the evening out, how would he be in that one moment?

~

Ava and Penelope sat at a restaurant inside the mall. They’d got their nails done then went shopping. Penelope found her a few shirts and such and then had talked Ava into buying this beautiful red dress. She’d spotted it in the window and Penelope dragged her into the store to try it on. It had fit her perfectly and she loved it. It was the first time she’d tried on something and felt beautiful after having Matthew. However, she did not love that price. Penelope talked her into it, saying it could be a treat yourself gift after having Matthew. Ava agreed, nodding with a “Treat yourself!” She knew if Spencer found out how much she’d spent on the dress, he’d probably faint. One needs to splurge every once and a while though.  

Ava handed the waiter her menu and he walked off to put in their order.

“Penelope, something’s been bothering me.”

“What is it? Tell me about it!” Penelope takes a sip of her wine and leans against the table.

Ava sighs, “Spencer was in the shower the other day and he received a call from a number I didn’t recognize. So, I answered, just incase it had something to do with his mother and a young woman came over the phone, asking for Spencer by his first name. When I told her who I was she quickly ended the call, saying she had the wrong number.”

Penelope raises an eyebrow, taking another sip of her wine, “Did you ask Spencer about it?”

Ava shakes her head, “I didn’t want to start anything. We’ve been pretty rocky recently.”

Penelope waves her hand, “I’m sure it’s nothing. It’s Spencer. I mean he’s completely head over heels in love with you.”

Ava takes a sip of her wine. Maybe Penelope was right. She really didn’t have anything to worry about.

~

Ava stood in front of the bathroom mirror, taking off her makeup, when Spencer walked in and looped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, “Let’s go out this weekend.”

She looks at him through the reflection of the mirror, “yeah?”

He nods, kissing her shoulder, “We deserve a night to ourselves. We can get all dressed up. I’ll make reservation somewhere.”

She smiles and leans back into him, “Gives me a chance to wear what I bought today then.”

He gives her a squeeze, “It’s a date then.”

She turns around and wraps her arms around his neck, “You’re something else, you know that Dr. Reid?”

He chuckles, planting a kiss on her nose, “I try.”

~

Penelope had offered to watch Matthew for them. She’d come over and Spencer was going through all the details of caring for him. Fixing his bottle, how much to feed him, when to feed him, where everything was, such as diapers and wipes.

Spencer glanced at the bedroom door where you were getting ready and looked back at Penelope, “Everything is all set for tonight?” He whispers.

She smiles and nods, “it’s going to be perfect.”

The bedroom door opens and the moment you walk out he’s stunned. His eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. She’d took his breath away in that tight red dress. It hugged her body, outlining her figure. She had curled her hair and it fell neatly over her shoulders. Her face was dolled up with the perfect amount of make-up. How the hell did he get so lucky?

He looked so handsome she thought her knees would buckle. Maybe they should cancel dinner and just stay at home. In bed. All night long. It had been a little bit since she’d seen him dress up this nice. He wore a suit, black, with a white collared button down. Since Matthew had been born, Spencer had grown his hair out. It was curly and the ends barely touched his shoulders. He’d combed it back out of his eyes instead of letting it fall freely.

Ava blushed seeing Spencer’s shocked face. She glances down at her dress, hiking it up a little so it wouldn’t drag the floor as she walked over, “Is it too much?”

Spencer gulps and shakes his head, “No no. You look��” He rakes his eyes over her, “Perfect.”

“Spencer, you got a little drool on the corner of your mouth.” Penelope teased, which earned a glare from Spencer.

“Shall we go before we miss our reservation?” Ava asks.

Spencer nods, “I went over everything with Penelope. She knows what to do with Matthew and where everything is.”  

“Ok great.” Ava looks at Penelope, “Thank you so much for watching him. I promise we should be back before 10.”

“Take your time. Have fun you two!” She calls out as the two of them walk hand in hand out the door.

~

“So, where are we going?” Ava asks as he climbs into the driver seat next to her.

He smirks, starting the car, “That is a surprise.”

~

He pulled the car into the parking lot and she immediately recognized where she was. Her heart swelled at the memory. He’d brought her to the restaurant they’d went on their first official date. She bit her lip and looked at him, he just winked and got out of the car, walking to her side. He opened the door for her and held his hand out of her.

“Spencer Reid, you amaze me every day.”

He smiles and holds his arm out for her, then the two of them walk in. Instead of sitting out on the covered patio like last time, the hostess led them passed the patio to a garden area that looked over the river. The sun had just begun to set. There were café lights draped around the garden. A table big enough for just two, sat in the middle. The table was set with a white tablecloth, a vase of one rose and two tall candles sat on either side of the vase. There was a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Music played softly in the background.

He led her to the table and pulled out the chair for her. “Spencer Reid.” She looked at him as he sat across from her.

“Yes, love?”

“You did not do all this for me.”

He smiles at her, reaching across the table and taking her hand in his, “You deserve a special night. You deserve the best.”

She shook her head, looking around at the garden and the view of the river, “This is breath taking. I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

He was nervous and he hoped she hadn’t noticed. He watched as she admired everything. He’d planned all this for her. He wanted the night to be perfect. And with the help of Emily and JJ, and of course Penelope, it was. His heart fluttered. This was it. This was his moment. He stood and held out his hand, “May I have this dance?”

She smiled, taking his hand, “Why of course.”

He twirled her when she stood then pulled her to him. She giggled putting her hand around his neck. The two of them slowly swayed to the music.

He brought his forehead down to hers and closed his eyes, “Ava?”

She hummed in response, pulling back a little to look at him.

“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. That day you walked into the BAU and I saw you, I fell for you.” He shook his head, chuckling a bit, “I knew right then you were the one. Every day after that, I fell for you even more. You have made the happiest man. You’ve given me a beautiful son. You’ve been my sunshine on the darkest days. And I want to make this forever.” He nervously gulps and pulls something out of his pocket.

Ava’s eyes filled with tears in realization at what was happening, “Spencer…”

He slowly gets down on one knee in front of her. His eyes meet hers, “Ava Camp, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He pops open the box.

She gasps putting her hands over her mouth in shock. She didn’t even think twice about the answer. He was her future. He was her one and only. Her forever.

“Yes! Oh my god yes!”

*******************************************************************************************

Epilogue will be posted next. 

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid imagines #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x oc #spencer reid x #fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #fanfic #criminal minds fandom #criminal minds #criminal minds imagines #criminal minds one shots #spencer reid one shots #one shots #imagine #imagines

[mrswagangel]

Not Sorry

This is a @soulbounty fan fiction. The story universe and all characters except Brian belong to @whatthehaxx​. Check out their art blog: @haxxydraws!

Beatboxxx was having the time of her life. Her hips swayed to the club music. The beat was so loud it felt like it was clutching her heart and compelling her body to dance. She could feel Suxxubus grinding on her front and someone she most likely didn’t know grazing her back, but Beatboxxx didn’t care as long as they didn’t get in the way of her dancing. She had so much emotion and frustration to let loose with no time but now to release them.

Beatboxxx had a job to complete tonight. Yesterday she flirted her way across some intel of where she and Clwn could find their next target. Brian Cyan sold his soul 10 years ago to make his wife and kid “go away” in order to marry into wealth. It was time for him to pay his debt, but he managed to slip away. Beatboxxx found out he had a bit of a gambling addiction landing him to a gamblers club meeting at midnight a few blocks from where she was dancing.

There was nothing to do until the meeting, so there was nothing standing in her way of accepting Suxxubus’ invite to the club... as long as she met up with Clwn on time.

She started to run low on energy and thought it was a great time to get another drink, so Beatboxxx pulled Suxxubus towards the bar. The person who was dancing too close behind Beatboxxx grabbed her arm. She tried bruising some pink strands attached to her forehead via sweat from her face with a hand still on her arm. She finally looked and knew for a fact she didn’t know this person.

“You’re not leaving without me, are you?” The man asked. “I thought we were having so much fun.”

“I need a drink!” Beatboxxx yelled over the music.

“I can’t let a pretty girl like you get away! Let me buy you and your friend a drink!”

“No, thanks,” Beatboxxx said while removing his hand from her arm and immediately grabbing Suxxubus again. “My boyfriend is waiting at the bar for me!”

She quickly lost him in the crowd and made it to the bar.

“Let me get the fruitiest drink you got and a vodka cranberry!” Beatboxxx yelled at the bartender.

“Men!” Suxxubus complained.

“I know, right!” Like I let you grind on me a bit while I dance! That should be enough!”

“This is why I don’t let them even talk to me!” Suxxubus pointed out.

“That and you’re in no way attracted to them!” Beatboxxx tried to get out while laughing.

The bartender gave them their drinks and Suxxubus paid while Beatboxxx checked her phone.

“Shit!” Suxxubus looked over Beatboxxx’s shoulder at her phone screen to see 3 missed calls and 4 texts from Clwn. “It’s 2:22! I missed the job and Clwn is pissed.”

“Well at least you don’t need to watch the time anymore!”

“I’m gonna go,” Beatboxxx said after she drowned her drink. “Clwn might go on a murder spree and I gotta make sure he collected the soul. Sometimes he just kills the target and leaves the soul when he’s in one of his moods.”

“Alright! See ya, girly!”

Suxxubus turned toward the bar looking down for someone to hang with for the night as Beatboxxx grabbed her bag and left.

Beatboxxx found the gamblers club riddled with ambulances and cops. All the members looked confused and terrified letting Beatboxxx know Clwn used his reality warping on them. He at least didn’t go on a murder spree here. The lifeless body being hauled had no soul, so Clwn has the soul or already delivered it. All his text said was that he “handled” it.

There was nothing else for Beatboxxx to see, so she made her way to one more pitstop before heading home.

                                                            : : :

Just as Beatboxxx suspected Bootsman was hanging by his harness from the living room ceiling. Because Bootsman had no arms, Clown put him in a jacket that he sew weights inside the sleeves to keep the harness in place.

Bootsman stopped angrily squirming once he noticed Beatboxxx looking at him. She heard a faint whine echo in her head she probably wouldn’t have heard if she wasn’t focused on the gachapon imp.

Beatboxxx put down the pig she caught and roasted with her electrokinesis before helping Bootsman.

Clown had a tendency of fucking with Bootsman when he was upset with Beatboxxx. She’s the one who wanted him as a pet and yet he was the one who took care of Bootsman the most (not that Clwn would let Bootsman know this). Beatboxxx just never thought about the responsibilities or consequences that came with her decisions and actions. Beatboxxx could buy and show off all her gachapon imp merchandise, but couldn’t feed or walk Bootsman half of the time unless she knew Clwn was royally pissed with her (hence the roasted pig).

Once Beatboxxx got Bootsman down, he beelined to Clwn’s door to kick it repeatedly. It raddled with each kick. Beatboxxx ignored this in favor of ripping the pig apart with her bare hands for her and Bootsman to share.

After Beatboxxx finished dividing up the pig, she called Bootsman to come eat. He left Clwn’s bedroom door to fill his stomach. He stopped in front of Beatboxxx who now sat at the kitchen island with pig parts all over the surface. She picked up one piece while Bootsman almost split himself in half vertically revealing sharp teeth. Beatboxxx dropped the pork and Bootsman closed himself over it. Beatboxxx ate and occasionally dropped a piece in Bootsman’s awaiting mouth whenever he split himself.

Beatboxxx made no attempt to clean off the counter after they finished eating. Instead she gagged at the smell left on her clothes and hands from carrying and splitting the pork. 

She stripped on the way to the bathroom leaving a clothes trail in her wake. After she finished washing up and removed her make-up, she sat on the living room couch scrolling through Instagram. Suxxubus already posted pictures and videos of them, so she shared those on her story adding stickers and such. Bootsman surprisingly jumped on the couch to snuggle her side waiting for scratches. Really Beatboxxx was avoiding Clwn. His last text just said the words “Fuck you” with no emoji.

Beatboxxx knew she probably shouldn’t have gone to the club or at least kept a better track of time, but the last thing she wanted to do was tell Clwn that or anyone for that matter. Clwn was just always right and he was never nice about it either. It didn’t help that Bootsman kicked Clwn’s door as soon as she let him down. There’s no way Bootsman could’ve got down on his own meaning Clwn had to know Beatboxxx was back. If she goes straight to her room, there will be a bigger fight in the morning.

She looked back at Clwn’s texts:

   12:16am Where are you? You should’ve been here 15 minutes ago. 😡

   12:30am Forget it. I handed it. 😒

   1:30am I made turkey wings for dinner... you know, whatever you get back 😑

   2:13am Fuck you

Actually Beatboxxx couldn’t do this. She got up and headed to her room. As soon as she opened her door, Clwn opened his which was directly across from Beatboxxx’s. Beatboxxx reluctantly let go of her door knob and faced Clwn. Bootsman, sensing the tension, ran past Beatboxxx into her room and kicked the door closed behind him.

“Look. I-”

“You should’ve been there. We had a plan,” Clwn interrupted. “Do you think I like this job?”

“Yes?” Clwn didn’t move. The poncho didn’t reveal any hand movement and his mask stayed as the cynical clown face. Beatboxxx, however, did notice the slight leak of black matter from under his mask. “I mean you can legally— or at least legal-ish— kill. You love killing!”

“I prefer picking my own targets and not having to create sneaky plans, so humans don’t see me,” Clwn retorted.

“I swear I was keeping track of time.”

“No, you were too busy with Suxxubus to do your damn job!”

Beatboxxx covered her mouth to giggle.

“Are you seriously jealous? Is that why you cursed at me over text? Because I wouldn’t eat a romantic, homemade dinner with you?”

“No,” Clwn said while holding himself back from telling her off. “I want you to do your job PROPERLY for once.”

“It got done, didn’t it?”

“No. Thanks. To you.” Some of Clwn dripped on the floor from behind his mask. Beatboxxx couldn’t say she wasn’t a bit scared. Usually Clwn could hold his form together. Not now clearly.

“I was the one who found out where he would be!”

“You also need to follow through! You can plan all you want, but, if you don’t do the damn deed, what’s the fucking point?!”

The two just glared at each other. Beatboxxx clenched her fists causing nail dents in her palms while Clwn dripped a small puddle of black matter over his poncho and onto the floor.

He was right. He was always right and it pissed off Beatboxxx to no end. She just had to be patterned up with him of the all Soul Bounty demons.

“Fine,” she exhaled. “I’ll handle the next job by myself. Will that make us even?”

All the matter on the floor creeped up Clwn’s legs disappearing under his poncho only to reappear briefly at his neck to go back under his mask.

“That’s what I like to hear.” One of Clwn’s detached hands came from under his poncho to re-open his door. As she turned around to retreat into his room, he warned, “Don’t let this happen again.” The hand followed him into the room to close it behind him.

“Don’t let it happen again,” Beatboxx mocked as she finally went into her own room. Beatboxxx found Bootsman comfy in his bed. Clwn got him a dog bed as a joke. Although Bootsman was initially upset about it, all it took was a soft blanket for him to reluctantly sleep in it.

Beatboxxx decided to call it a night if you could call 3:45am bedtime. She crawled into her bed and layed down, not looking forward to handling the next mission. Clwn was usually the strategist, but she knew he wouldn’t offer any insight. She supposed she got herself into this one. She would figure it out somehow.

Just as Beatboxxx closed her eyes she heard her door open. This confirmed her suspicion. Clwn was seeking her attention today. He was more mad about her not showing up for dinner than he was about the job.

Nevertheless, she allowed him to get into bed with her. Once he settled, she rolled over to cuddle him. Beatboxxx was the only one of them that had arms, so Clwn reluctantly let her be the big spoon. It had nothing to do with the fact he was 1 foot shorter than her with his heels.

The 2 of them— 3 if you count Bootsman— had a lot to work on relationship-wise, but, for now, they were all tired.

“You smell like a pig.”

#fanfiction

[seagreen-meets-grey]

When you’re close to me

After the realization hit her, it was impossible for Astrid to look at him the same way anymore. (Aka being a teenager and having a crush on your best friend is the best set-up for prom night.)

[Part 1: Revelations] [Part 2: Chicken Dance] [Part 3: Night Owls]

(The quoted song is “Sway” by Blue October.)

Crossposted on ao3 and ff.net

Astrid didn’t know exactly when it started.

She remembered lunch in the cafeteria, trying to squeeze in some homework, and a slightly nasal laugh when the math equations didn’t make sense to her and she let that out in a menacing tirade under her breath. She remembered wondering why it had pleasantly filled her ears, why it had made her look up.

She remembered standing in the school’s hallway shortly after last period, students jostling around, a cacophony of girly laughter, loud testosterone-filled exclamations and the general buzz of conversation surrounding her. She remembered turning away from her locker, ready to head out, and catching a glimpse of auburn hair in the crowd. She remembered smiling and waiting for him to catch up to her so they could walk out together.

She remembered her smile growing at every new text, remembered her sudden awareness of how much fun it was to hang out together.

But most of all, she remembered that one Saturday before finals.

It had been a busy couple of weeks, crammed with last-minute papers and presentations, long nights filled with caffeine and frustration. She was nothing but an ambitious student, always determined to ace every test coming her way, to prove herself and excel in every subject. Astrid Hofferson had goals, and she’d do everything in her power to reach those goals. That meant a very rigorous studying schedule, no distractions allowed. That again involved not being able to see her friends outside of school. She had no time for smoothies and movies, for afternoons in the park, the cove or on Heather’s couch, and certainly no time for Hiccup Haddock. Which sucked, because he was her best friend – the best she’s ever had, if anyone asked her.

She had first met him in kindergarten, but never really had had anything to do with him. Only when they got paired up for a project in freshman year – the classic way of getting to know people you never talked to – and after the initial rounds of awkward silence, did she have a real conversation with him. Up to that point, she had thought they couldn’t be more different people and that she couldn’t be less interested in the person that was Hiccup Haddock. But when he mentioned his dog with a missing tail and she told him stories about the parakeet she’d had as a kid and the puppy she had recently adopted, the conversation just kept flowing. Not always smoothly, but that didn’t matter. She liked talking to him. She found out he had a strong passion for what he loved and what he thought was right. He deeply cared for the people in his life and would do anything for them. Besides, it turned out they shared a lot of interests, and that made becoming friends even easier. And being friends with Hiccup was just that – easy. It was as if they clicked on another level, able to read each other like a book. There was no one who Astrid rather spent time with. He always made her forget about her troubles, but unfortunately finals – and therefore studying – were her troubles at the time.

Astrid groaned and buried her face in her physics textbook. She was lying on her stomach on the ground in her room, every surface covered with binders, notepads, textbooks, post-its, and index cards – the aftermath of a whole Saturday morning filled to the brim with studying, right after a short few hours of sleep preceded by a Friday afternoon and night study session.

Her brain was overflowing with equations, bullet points, half-sentences and phrases that refused to fall into context. The more she read and reviewed the less sense everything made in her head. Astrid sighed. She needed a breather. Placing her textbook aside, careful so the post-its didn’t shift out of place, she reached for her phone. She lay on her back and, holding her phone above her face, skimmed through various group chats. They all basically said the same; people were either studying or procrastinating, asking for help in several subjects, and the overall vibe screamed for salvation in the form of finals to be over already or a distraction of any shape or form.

Astrid was just grinning at a few memes sent by the twins when her phone suddenly buzzed several times from incoming texts, prompting her to drop it on her face.

Hiccup [11:48am]: your brain melted yet? i think i’m seeing smoke signals coming from your house

Hiccup [11:48am]: or did you try to make lunch and the house is burning down

Hiccup [11:48am]: do i need to call 911

Hiccup [11:49am]: where are your parents

Hiccup [11:49am]: omg did you finally snap from all the studying and killed them?

Rubbing her aching nose where her phone had met her face a moment ago, she typed back.

Astrid [11:50am]: Who do you think I’m cooking? ;)

Hiccup answered with a series of shocked emojis. Astrid grinned and imagined him placing a hand on his chest, pseudo-shocked look on his face. She rolled back onto her stomach, eyes set to the little dots indicating he was typing.

Hiccup [11:51am]: tbh i’m not surprised

Hiccup [11:51am]: always knew it was just a matter of time until someone died at your hands

Hiccup [11:52am]: how did you do it? axe or feeding them your version of an edible meal?

She could easily picture him gesticulating, waving his hands around, never able to keep them still while talking. It was kind of charming.

Astrid [11:52am]: Axe, of course. My cooking might be basic, but it doesn’t kill people.

Hiccup [11:53am]: biggest

Hiccup [11:53am]: lie

Hiccup [11:53am]: ever

Hiccup [11:53am]: hofferson

Astrid was about to reply when another text came in.

Hiccup [11:54am]: HOLY SHIT IS THAT WHY YOUR STEW WAS SO BAD? WHERE YOUR NEIGHBORS IN IT???!!

She rolled her eyes. A few months ago, she had made dinner for her friends. She had tried to follow her mother’s recipe but with her own twists, wanted to create something new, something originally Astrid – and, apparently, had succeeded. Only that her friends were rather spitting it back out on their plates than praising her cooking skills. The only one who at least tried and gulped down a few spoonfuls was Hiccup, and she loved him for it, despite the following teasing she had to endure.

Astrid [11:55am]: Shut up, Hiccup. I’m trying to study here.

Hiccup [11:55am]: how’s that going

Hiccup [11:56am]: have you even eaten anything yet

Astrid sighed. At his mention of stew, her stomach had growled viciously. Aside from half a croissant early in the morning, she’d had nothing to eat yet. She’d been so absorbed in studying that she hadn’t even noticed her parents leaving for their shopping day. Just one more chapter, she told herself while reopening her textbook, then she’d look for something to eat in the kitchen.

She put her phone away, not giving Hiccup the chance to further tease her on the subject of food. She would never admit this to him, but he was right. Astrid didn’t know how to cook, no matter how many cookbooks and articles she read, no matter how often she tried even the simplest meals. She was a lost cause. This was the reason why her motivation to look for something edible wasn’t necessarily high. She knew for sure there were no leftovers, and the fridge was likely mostly empty anyway; her parents would buy groceries at the end of their day at the mall.

Forcing herself back to her textbook, she pushed the notion of food to the back of her mind. Soon she was buried deep in her notes, trying desperately to press new information into her brain. When she stared at an equation and the numbers and symbols started dancing all over the page, she groaned in frustration. She needed to know this stuff by next Friday, and there was still so much more to revise.

She got up and went to the bathroom, filling the sink with cold water which she then dunked her head in several times. But it was of no use, it wasn’t ice water, of course this wouldn’t work. The only thing it did was to make her aware of how thirsty she was. While towel-drying her hair, she trudged down the stairs to grab herself a bottle of water. A quick check of the fridge confirmed her suspicion that there was basically no real food in this house. She found a few crackers in the cupboard and resigned herself to her dry excuse of a lunch when she heard the bell ring.

Bag of crackers in hand, she went to open the door and was greeted by a pair of familiar green eyes and a lopsided smile.

“Hey,” Hiccup said. His hair was as tousled as always and she noticed he was wearing an old green sweater that he only dug out on lazy weekends. Astrid didn’t have to ask if he had opened a textbook at all today.

“Hiccup, you’re smart,” she said in lieu of a greeting. “How do I restart my brain?”

Following her into the house and stealing a few of her crackers, which earned him a ferocious glare, he shrugged. “That’s exactly why I’m here.” He threw a cracker in his mouth and nearly missed. “I read the smoke signals.”

Astrid gave him a punch on the arm. “That’s for wasting my last food ration. Now I’m going to starve!”

Rubbing his arm, he motioned his head toward his car that was parked outside. “Then let’s go get some food.”

She crossed her arms, empty bag crinkling in her hand. “I can’t. I have to study.”

“We both know you’re not going to come far like this. Come on, I know you need a break.”

Astrid sighed. They both knew he was right.

“And something to eat,” he added when her stomach chimed in on the discussion. “See? Now let’s go before you kill and eat me too.”

Astrid bit her lip. She knew he wasn’t going to drop this. And a short break from studying could surely recharge her concentration.

“Alright,” she gave in with a sigh and put the bag in the trash, grabbed her jacket and followed Hiccup back outside. “But I lied, I didn’t cook my parents. They’re out shopping.”

“In that case, I’m even more scared, in such proximity with you when you’ve clearly not yet let out your daily dose of violence.”

“It’s not violence,” she protested, “it’s communication!”

“If it is, people should even be more afraid of you. You have some strong opinions.”

Astrid grinned and shut the car door. “Hell yeah, I do.”

“So communicate with me then,” Hiccup said while turning onto the street. “What do you want to eat?”

“Anything that’s not a dry cracker.”

“Or stew.”

She punched his arm lightly and he glared at her. “I’m driving here, you insane muttonhead.”

“You’re the muttonhead,” she retorted brightly before plugging his stereo cable in her phone and selecting their special car playlist. The songs that made it in were a bunch of shared favorite songs, songs they listened to on longer car rides together, songs that had a special meaning to them, or songs that were some sort of inside joke between them. They referred to it as their car playlist, but Astrid thought of it only as her Hiccup playlist. Whenever she felt down, she listened to it, finding comfort in the memories it held and the promise of their friendship that came with it.

While the music blasted through the speakers, Hiccup hummed along.

“How did you know?” Astrid asked as he turned onto the main road.

“Hm?”

“That I needed a break from studying.”

Hiccup glanced at her before turning his eyes back on the road. “Like I said, I read the smoke signals from your brain. I call it,” he made a grand gesture with one arm, “Astrintuition.”

“That’s not a thing, you dork.”

“It is now, I just named it.”

Astrid looked out the window to hide her smile. Of course he knew. He knew that she would spend her entire weekend preparing for finals and that she’d prioritize that over everything else. That’s why he decided to come by and make sure she ate something and still saw the sun. A fond feeling spread in her chest.

They ended up at Pizza Hut where they shared their favorite pizza, a Cheesy Crust Chicken Supreme. Hiccup watched in awe as she devoured slice after slice and when he exclaimed that he was stuffed, she ate the rest of his half too. She might not look like it, he thought, but that girl could rival his father when it came to eating. Astrid was so busy with her pizza that she missed the affectionate look he gave her.

On the way back to her place, the sun came out. It hit Hiccup’s hair at just the right angle to create a fiery halo around his head. Astrid rolled down her window to enjoy the warm breeze.

When their playlist jumped to a loud and fast song, Hiccup amped up the volume. He and Astrid automatically started duetting, jerking their heads along to the fast parts and swaying in sync to the slower ones. It had taken them a lot of tries to finally get all the lyrics right in the proper pace, and even now one of them sometimes fell out, provoking a snort from the other while they spluttered to jump back in.

Astrid loved moments like these. It was her and Hiccup, a team, enjoying each other’s presence. When the song faded out, their last chuckle dying down with it, she propped up her elbow and leaned her head on her hand. She closed her eyes, felt the wind in her hair, on her skin. She smiled when she recognized the next song, her favorite from three summers ago. Silently mouthing the lyrics along, she got struck by a feeling of utter contentment, accompanied by a swelling in her chest while familiar, memory-laden streets around her where dipped in sunlight.

Forget about the trouble Forget about the drama Cause I ain't Casanova Baby I can dance for days This time with you Is just amazing in so many ways

She looked over at Hiccup who slightly bobbed his head to the music, his eyes on the road, a small smile gracing his features, the sunlight dancing in his hair. She couldn’t stop looking at him. It was as if she was suddenly seeing him with new eyes. She felt a swoop in her stomach. In the light, she could make out slight stubble on his chin. His fringe and thick eyebrows cast shadows over his face. She had never really noticed how handsome he was.

Feeling a blush heat up her cheeks, she averted her eyes. Well, this is new, she thought.

For the rest of the day, she couldn’t really concentrate on anything and fell asleep much later than usual, confusion and strange new revelations keeping her awake until early in the morning.

From then on, she noticed the little things. The small touches that were suddenly too much, the glances, the dragged-out goodbyes, the increasing frequency of hugs that tended to linger a moment too long. She wondered why she had never noticed how green his eyes were, how much taller than her he had grown, or how broad his shoulders had become only in the last year.

Every day, she noticed it, noticed him more. And it only got worse over time.

When he looked at her, her heart skipped a beat or two. He invaded her thoughts regularly and often in the most inconvenient moments, like when she wanted to sleep or needed to pay attention during class. Astrid was in no way a sappy romantic. But every time the topic of love or romance was brought up even in the slightest, her mind wandered to Hiccup, much to her chagrin. They were friends. She didn’t want to ruin that with sudden, stupid feelings.

Eventually, she came to admit to herself that she had a crush on him (just a small one really, no big deal). It was when her grandmother asked for a nice photo of her and Astrid sorted through her pictures on her laptop. After an hour or so she suddenly noticed she had moved from looking at pictures of herself to staring at pictures of Hiccup instead.

It took her a while to come to terms with it, before she tried to block it out and hoped it went away on its own. When that didn’t work, she changed tactics. Going out with someone else would certainly help her forget about her crush. But whenever she tried to find a guy she’d go on a date with, the qualities she looked for in them were traits she associated with Hiccup. In comparison to him, everyone else quickly faded into the background.

By the time she gave up changing targets, she could no longer deny to herself that this crush was indeed not small at all. And her plan to not tell anyone so that it couldn’t become a bigger deal than it was – and it really was a big deal – failed spectacularly when Heather caught her staring at Hiccup from afar and asked her if she ever noticed how she wouldn’t shut up about him. Astrid tried denying it at first, but there was no fooling Heather.

“Hiccup this, Hiccup that. Astrid, you couldn’t be more obvious.”

Sometimes, though, Astrid was glad that Heather knew. She would do her all kinds of little favors, like “accidentally” forgetting something in her locker when the three of them were on their way to class, saving Hiccup a seat that happened to be right next to Astrid, or cancelling at the last minute when they decided to go to the movies so Astrid and Hiccup were to themselves. Although Astrid loved her for doing that, it didn’t help her frustration about her one-sided crush.

Heather, however, had a different opinion. She believed that Hiccup had feelings for her, too, based on the way he acted around Astrid. Despite her hopes that her friend was right, Astrid nevertheless argued that Hiccup had always been like that since the beginning of their friendship; Heather just hadn’t been there to see it since she’d come to their school later. Besides, Hiccup was the one always stressing that they were friends (best friends, but still just friends). Heather would just look at her like she was missing something obvious.

Time went on like this, with Heather always trying to nudge Hiccup and Astrid in the right direction and telling her to just talk to him or make a move herself. And it’s not like Astrid didn’t try. She gave Hiccup signals all the time, like shuffling closer and leaning against him while they were watching a movie, dropping comments here and there about the two of them together, touching him on the arm or chest or hand whenever she got the chance to – not that she minded at all – and even going out for ice cream on Valentine’s Day. But either he didn’t notice the signs, like the dork that he was, or he read them wrong. And there was still the possibility that he wasn’t into her at all – a notion Astrid hated but had to admit could be true.

Her frustration got especially bad when prom rolled around. While she normally wouldn’t even think twice about the ridiculous need to find a prom date that other girls seemed to have, a part of her still hoped Hiccup would ask her while she tried to work up the nerve to ask him herself. But whenever she opened her mouth to bring up the topic, she chickened out. If she asked him and he said no, she didn’t want that to affect their friendship, didn’t want to jeopardize whatever it was that made their whole dynamic so easy and comfortable. And it wasn’t like she needed a prom date to have a good time with him, anyway.

She kept going back and forth with her reasonings, caught between her idea of simply having fun with her friends without conforming to high school society norms, and the inevitable pull Hiccup had on her, creating her desire to be close to him, closer than she was now. And she just couldn’t find a solution.

Astrid was sitting in the cafeteria, picking at her vegetables, while she glared daggers at the girl who was currently talking to Hiccup on the other side of the room. The girl was tall, blonde and pretty, and she had her hand on his arm while she threw her hair back laughing at something he said.

“I know cafeteria food is awful, but even those peas don’t deserve what you’re doing to them,” Heather said next to her, watching as her friend tortured squashy peas and radiated jealousy like a miniature Chernobyl. When Astrid only grunted in response, Heather sighed. “Just ask him already. I don’t know how much longer I can take this unnecessary pining.” She snorted. “Or Snotlout.”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.” She’d been asked to prom nine times by now, eight of those by Snotlout (the other one by an overachieving freshman named Gustav).

She cut into her steak, pretending she wasn’t secretly watching Hiccup and that girl. Her plate made a horrible sound when she got through the steak and ran her knife over the cheap china. She and Heather cringed at the bloodcurdling noise and Astrid mumbled an apology.

When she looked up the next time, that girl was gone. Hiccup came towards their table with his food tray and sat down opposite them.

“That’s the fifth time this week that I’ve been asked to prom,” he said. “Is there some kind of prank going on?”

Astrid scowled. She only knew about three. “If there is, I’m going to kill the person responsible,” she mumbled and chewed on her steak. Hiccup frowned at her sour mood but didn’t comment on it.

“Hiccup, do you even know how popular you are?” Heather asked him. “And you’re an eyecatcher. Girls notice you.” Hiccup looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “It’s true, just ask Astrid.”

Astrid almost choked on her (awful) steak and felt Hiccup’s eyes burning through the side of her face. “Yeah well, kind of,” she stammered, fighting the blush growing on her cheeks while she avoided his gaze, “I mean, everyone gets more handsome when they grow up, not specifically you, but everyone, you know, which doesn’t mean that you didn’t, I mean… You’re fine, I guess.” She shrugged and stuffed half her steak into her mouth so that she couldn’t start rambling again like that.

“What Astrid’s trying to say here is that I’m right.”

A quick glance told Astrid that Hiccup was still frowning at her weird behavior. “Are you alright?”

She gave him a strained smile and swallowed the ball of dry meat in her mouth. “I’m fine.” He didn’t seem convinced but didn’t question her further either. Instead, he went back to complaining.

“I just can’t catch a break from turning down prom invitations. Which I most certainly never thought I’d ever even have to do in the first place.”

Heather took from that that he’d immediately said no to all of them. A smile grew on her face as an idea crossed her mind. This was a perfect opportunity.

“Hey, why don’t you guys go together?” she asked, looking back and forth between Astrid and Hiccup. Both of them simultaneously started to protest.

“It’s not like that.”

“We’re not… It’s not…”

“We don’t date.”

“Yeah, that’d be weird, because we’re just–”

“We’re just friends.”

“Yes, exactly.”

They were both blushing pretty hard, avoiding each other’s gazes. Heather rolled her eyes.

“Then just go as friends. That means you,” she pointed at Hiccup, “will be left alone by all those girls, and you,” she pointed at Astrid, “will get Snotlout off your back.”

Astrid pondered that for a moment and came to the conclusion that she liked that thought. She and Hiccup shared a look.

“Alright,” he said and gave her a lopsided smile. “Wanna go to prom?”

She tried not to break into a wide smile while she felt the familiar tingle in her stomach. “Sure,” she shrugged and went back to eating her cafeteria food which suddenly didn’t taste so bad anymore. Hiccup did the same, suppressing a grin himself. Heather just shook her head at them and sighed. Hopeless dorks.

#hiccstrid #httyd #ff #fanfiction #fluff #modern au #high school #prom #crush fluff stuff #two chickens in love #this wasn't supposed to be so long #teenagers amirite #pining #my fic #maja writes

[friendlyneighborhoodborg]

Marc Appreciation Week 2019| Day 6: Collab| “Working Together”

Okay, this is actually late.  It is past midnight, technically Day 7.

I am actually posting Day 7 later today, hopefully before the week is out.

Anyway here’s the 6th day, and the only chapter in the dumpster fire to actually follow the prompt given.

Disclaimers were in Day 1.

Chapters:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

AO3 Link

(~3200 biddling words.  Why do I do this to myself?)

           Marc didn’t know what he was.  Today was weird: he didn’t feel girly anymore after last night, but at the same time he didn’t think the “he” suited him today.  He realized this must have been what Alix was talking about before, about non-binary gender.

           Being something that wasn’t a boy or a girl was trippy.  Marc had felt it before, probably, but knowing what it was (which felt obvious now, considering… well, everything he was currently feeling) made it… something.  For all the words he knew, he couldn’t peg one for the experience.

           It occurred that he ought to have been surprised by how quickly he had taken to reconsidering his pronouns.  But then, that’s what his gender did, didn’t it?  Didn’t he always know that his gender did that?  Hadn’t that been such a large source of his anxiety for years?

          And now he was just rolling with it.

          That morning, he had glanced at himself in a mirror, per his usual routine.  His old adjectives, “Not him again” and “Could be worse” were absent this time.  Instead, he had felt heavy.  Overdressed, perhaps, only in his own skin.

          But he could live with that.

          It still stank, because French didn’t have a third-gender pronoun.  That meant that, regardless of his actual self, he had to use male pronouns.

          So, he comfortably got dressed, did up his face in a way he thought would suit him, and left for school.

          Something was different that afternoon.  Alix wasn’t in for some reason, which automatically meant the art teacher (he still kept forgetting his name) was more relaxed.  Juleka and Rose were separated, for once.  Rose was sitting in a corner, feverishly scribbling down notes in her pad.  Juleka was in the opposite corner, reading a horror novel, and her ankle was shackled to a protruding pipe.

          He approached Juleka cautiously, eyeing her restraints warily. “Did, uh…” He glanced up at the teacher, making sure he wasn’t listening.  “Did Alix tell you?”

          “Yeah, she got your text.”  Juleka glanced up meaningfully at her girlfriend, by herself in the corner. “Lucky someone in this club has their head on straight.”

          Marc chuckled.  “I don’t know if we can say that, there’s like one straight person in this club.”

          Juleka smiled for a second, then went back to reading her book. “And where was she, huh?  Crazy overworked, fixing up stuff our last class rep neglected.  Notice she couldn’t drop by all week?”  She calmly flipped the page she was on.  “Once again, Chloé got us into another fine mess that Marinette’s gotta pull us out of.  Again.”

          “What?” said Marc.  “No, I meant… wait, Marinette’s straight?”

          The musician shrugged.  “So she claims.  It is impolite to assume.”  As normal, her expression and tone betrayed little.

          “Biggest shock of my week,” was Marc’s jested reply.  “But I was talking about Nathaniel.”

          “Hm?  Oh yeah.” She pulled up one hand to do finger-quotes.  “‘Straight.’  That’s definitely an adjective that can describe him.  Marc, have you seen the way he draws Chat Noir?”

          “Of course, what about it?”

          “Well, maybe you’re both blinded by the superhero’s skintight leather, but the boy is not that ripped.”

          Rose hummed loudly.  Juleka glanced up at her.

          “I’m not trying to push anything, unlike some people,” she protested.  “I’m merely pointing out that he should have already noticed by now, in a manner he will not pick up on for purposes of dramatic irony.”

          “What’s going on?” he asked. “And what’s with you two?”  He looked at the chain.  “And… that?”

          “She’s on probation,” explained Juleka.  “Until she realizes what she did was wrong.”

          “Probation of what?”

          “Getting to run my hands through that soft, dark hair,” Rose replied for her, rubbing her fingers over the pages of her lyrics.  “Holding her close to me, closing my eyes and breathing in her clove-scented perfume.  Feeling the warmth of a heart matched beat-for-beat with mine.”

          Marc looked back at Juleka.  She was nose-deep in her book, but her forehead was sweating, her knuckles were white, and she refused to look anywhere near where Rose was sitting.

          “Is that why you’ve chained yourself to this pipe?”

          Juleka whimpered a little before answering.  “It’s funny, in a tragic sort of way.”

          “So, what’s holding Rose back?”

          “Pity, mostly.”

          “This isn’t about the makeup thing, is it?” questioned the writer.  “I don’t blame Rose for anything that happened.  I mean, it worked out, sort of.”

          “Yeah, no thanks to me,” sniffed the poet. “If I’d have known…”

          “Hey.”  He approached her and offered his hand.  “Hindsight is 20/20.”

          “Still.”  She rubbed the brimming tears from her eyes.  “I was such an idiot, and you had to go through all of that because of me.”

          “You’re still the first one who listened.  Let’s be honest, that could have gone a lot worse.”

          “I overreacted.”  She looked down and continued to write, though it was mostly an excuse to avoid Marc’s eyes. “I thought I knew what was happening, and I thought I could help.  I was wrong to try and do it by myself without seeing a second opinion.”  Sniffing, she closed the notebook.  “I’m sorry.”

          “Oh…” groaned Juleka.  “So close, Rose.  Come on, I know you can do it.”

          “Do what?”

          “We aren’t be allowed to touch each other until she figures out exactly where she went wrong.  She’s got most of it, but I’m not allowed to tell her the last one.”

          “Okay, but why are you doing,” he gestured wildly at both girls, “this?”

          “Because I don’t have the key and Rose is really trying, bless her.”

          He looked between the two of them a few times, both of them equally miserable.  “I get the feeling this wasn’t your guys’ arrangement.”

          “It was Alix’s,” admitted Juleka.  “We both went along with it.  The chain was my idea, though.  It’s the cruelest and most elaborate punishment ever devised, who do you think dreamt it up?”

          “I mean,” Marc disputed, “I wouldn’t have pegged her specifically.”  Particularly not after their little heart-to-heart yesterday.

          “Never tick off someone with a small body-mass-to-temper ratio,” Rose advised.  “Especially if everyone in her family is an ancient history buff.”

          “What’s that got to—”

          “Look, she knows a little something about torture.”

          “Ah,” Marc commented, thoroughly confused and only pretending to understand.  “You two look like you’re busy, I’ll leave you to it.”

          He quietly took his seat at the back of the room, leaving the two to sort out their issues in peace.

           All things considered, life was pretty good.

          So why was Marc still feeling so anxious?

          Nathaniel crept in through the door with his head down, answering the question.

           “Nathaniel,” Juleka said.  “Unlock me.  I need to go use the bathroom.”

           “Sure thing.”  Nath approached her, holding something else up.  “Brought your headphones, too, you left them in class.”

           “It won’t work.  She’s stuck in my head.”

Rose cast a saddened, dramatic gaze towards the writer in the back. “Pray you don’t become like us, Marc.”

           Marc blushed.  Of course Rose figured it out.  She probably told Juleka, too.

           Yet another thing to watch out for.

           ‘Wait, so is Nathaniel straight or not?’

           Nathaniel joined him at their usual table once Juleka had been freed.  “Hey.”

           “You know,” Marc bet, “one has to wonder if that’s some sort of metaphor for something.”

           The artist burst out laughing, but quickly shut himself up when he realized he was making noise.  “Yeah,” he confessed.  “Probably. But they’re good for each other. Rose helps Juleka’s self-esteem, Juleka keeps Rose grounded.”

           “Yeah.  They really are kinda fun to write.  Speaking of…”

           “Right!  Back to work.”

           “If we end off our comic there, Rose is never going to forgive us.”

           “I know,” expressed Nathaniel, glancing over at the person in question.  She was the only other student who hadn’t gone home yet.  Volume up high in her earbuds, she wasn’t even looking at them. “But this story is way too interesting for one issue.  With a cliffhanger like that, she’ll keep breathing down our necks to make more.”  He blushed, realizing he had gotten ahead of himself.  “I mean, if you’re okay with… I’ve really liked working with you and I want to—”

           “Yes!” Marc blurted with a blush of his own.  “I mean, um, yes.  I would… I would love to keep working with you.”

           “Okay.”  He turned his attention back to the work.  “So, if we end the issue with Princess Fragrance’s reveal, then that’s going to take a full-page panel.”  He drew a border inside another blank page.  “Right, so we’ve got that planned out.  Now to just get cracking on those last few pages.”  He surveyed the pages of blank boxes in front of him, each with a little note of what went in each.  “And we know what has to be said at each bit, so if you want to edit specific dialogue, now’s the time to do that.”

           “Cool.  I’ll get on top of that.”

           Marc’s brain suddenly took a dive, and he hastily tried to delete the previous sentence from his brain.

           Each of them had the plans for everything, so they didn’t see a reason to talk much, a silence Marc respected even if he himself wasn’t comfortable with it.  If it made Nathaniel more comfortable, he could swing that.

           His brain needed to stop it immediately with the double-entendres.

           The two of them worked for another few minutes, with only the sound of their pens scratching their paper.

           Nathan, surprisingly, was the one who broke the silence.  “So… last night you were a girl.”

           Marc exhaled nervously.  He wasn’t wrong, but it still felt weird to acknowledge the elephant in the room.  “Uh, yeah.”

           “Earlier yesterday you were a boy.”

           “Yep.”

           “So…”  Nath bit his lip, which Marc had to avert his gaze from.  “I don’t want to just assume, in case I get it wrong.  What are you now?”

           Marc had been stewing this over while he worked. Truth be told, he found he didn’t actually care as much today.  He knew he wasn’t a boy, and he wasn’t a girl, but… he wasn’t really much of anything else either.

           “I don’t think I’m anything right now.”

           “Really?”

          “Nothing, right now.”  He shrugged.  “I’m just… nothing.”

          “How does that work?”

          “Search me.”  He shrugged once again.  “I don’t have much of a gender today, I guess.”

          “So…” Nathaniel paused.  “It’s like there’s no… asterisks.”

          “Asterisks?”

          Nath winced.  “Sorry. I was trying to be poetic, y’know, like you?  You have this great, flowing… your words are just, they click.  Does that make sense?  It probably doesn’t make sense, forget I said anything.”

          Marc smiled at the compliment, going back to his journal.  “They’re just words.”

          “They’re not, though, alright?” he declared.  “They’re not just words, they’re you! The way you get words to line up, only you can do it that way.  You’re so… smart, and creative, and… your writing style is just great.”

          “Th-thanks.”

          “I mean that.”  Nathan looked away, holding his arm sheepishly.  “You’re great, you’re really…”  He shut his eyes.  “Forget it.”

           Marc blinked.  “What was that?”

           “Never mind.  Where you at?  Panel 9-g, the security guard is revealed to be possessed, Ghostlight comes out, and we need a good, punchy line to start the fight with.”

           “No…”  Marc closed his journal.  “This can wait.  What were you going to say?”

           “Nothing important.”

           “I doubt that.”  He reached over the table and took his hand.  “Nath, whatever it is, it’s important.  You want to say it, say it.”

           Nathaniel blushed.  His mouth opened and closed, flopping like a fish, and he started to sweat.

           Marc looked down and realized oh wait, he was actually holding Nath’s hand.  He instantly let go, which seemed to shock Nath back into coherency.

           “I can’t,” he told him.

           “You can’t?”

           “No,” he restated.  “I’ll just mess it up, just forget it.”

           “I’ll listen.”  This gave the author pause.  “I’ve been keeping up with you for the last week.  I’ll understand what you’re trying to say.”

           His face had determination etched into it. He opened his mouth and began.

           “Oh!” Rose said suddenly, breaking his momentum. “Look at the time, I have to… go make an excuse.”  She scooched off of her seat and sashayed out the door.  “I’ll leave you two alone,” she called back, leaving the door ajar.

           Both collaborators stared after her.  The art teacher glanced in her direction, then he, too, left the room.

Nathaniel and Marc were alone.  Nathan, only a little deterred, summoned back what little courage he had left.

“You…”  He stopped. “You’re my friend, right Marc?”

           “Yeah,” was the immediate, nodding answer.  “I hope so, anyway.”

           “And… I’m your friend, right?”

           “Of course.”

           “You… you’re so much of a better person than I am.” The boy gulped.  “No matter… who you are.  And today, it’s like… I’m so glad I get to see you happy.”

          “Uh…”  Marc nodded again in appreciation. “Thanks.”

          “I mean, look at you, you’re happier, even if you’re still the same person who’s come in to help me with this stupid thing—”

          “Nathan, it’s not stupid—”

          “It is, though, and sometimes it feels like we’re the only people here who care about it.  Only now you’ve changed, and you’re so much more relaxed now, and… And it’s good for you, right?  You get to be so much more confident.  Like just now, when you said you had no gender, you said it and you were sure.”

          “I’m still not really sure.”

          “You sounded sure, and that’s better than I can do.  With pretty much anything.  I’m not strong or witty, but you are. There’s just so many little things, here and there, and I can’t concentrate right.  There’s just so many things about—”

          The sudden halt from the speed at which Nathaniel had been talking gave Marc whiplash.

          Marc looked at him, expecting him to finish what he was saying.

          “I can’t…” he mumbled.   “Just… that’s it, then.  I don’t know how I was going to end that.”

          “You feeling okay, Nathan?” queried Marc.  “I don’t think I’ve heard you talk so much in one go.”

          “It’s…nothing.”  Nath took a deep breath.  “I’ve been trying to… think of things I wanted to say—”  He got out of his seat, turning away.  “Never mind, it’s stupid.”

          “No,” Marc stated, standing up behind him.  “You’re not.  If you need to say something, just say it.”

          “I think—”

          “Go on.”

          “I think you’re—” Nathaniel swallowed his tongue and hunched over, covering his mouth.

          “Nath!”  Marc rushed to his aid.  “Breathe slowly, okay?  Are you alright?  You look like you’re going to puke.”

          “I didn’t say anything, just…”  Nath’s voice broke.  “Please, just drop it, I don’t wanna…”

          Marc couldn’t believe it.  Nathaniel, whose creativity knew no bounds, was censoring himself.

          That could not happen.

          And Marc needed to know.

          “What if I don’t want to drop it?”

           “Marc, please…”

           “What if I don’t want you to be afraid to talk to me? What would you say if you could talk to me?”  He looked into his icy-blue eyes, piercing through with his warmth.  “What if you were about to say what I thought you were going to say?  What if it’s that important that I hear how that sentence was going to end?”  He snatched Nath’s hands from where they had covered his mouth and cradled them in his own. “And what if, by some miracle, I cared about how you felt and what you thought?”

           Nath stared back at him, and both of them reeled from the shock of Marc’s outburst.

           Then Nathaniel slowly started shaking his head.

           “Don’t do this… don’t do that to me,” he murmured. “Stop doing that, you’re going to just regret it.”

           Marc tightened his grip.  “Just say what you wanted to.  Stop putting up all these filters in your head.”  He grasped at something.  “Do the thing about the asterisks.  What did you mean by that?”

          Nath took a deep breath and tried.  “Well… right now, you’re… no gender.  No asterisks.  No added stress.  You’re just… Marc.  Pure Marc.” He scowled.  “I mean… that’s not good, is it, that’s not clever.  Cause you’re not just genderless, are you?”  He wrenched his hands from Marc’s ironclad grip. “Look, you could be a girl and I’d… you’d still be you.  Same for if you end up a boy.  You just get to be you.  And… I like it when you’re you.”  He stopped, looking to Marc for criticism.

           After a moment, Marc smiled warmly.  “That was pretty poetic.”

           “Y-you do it so much better than me.”

           They both smiled.

           “C-can I—” Nath gulped, shutting himself down.

           “What?”

           “N-nothing.”  He shook where he stood.  “Forget it.”

           “No chance.”  Marc wasn’t sure where this courage was coming from, but he didn’t shake it away.  “You don’t have to filter yourself.  I won’t judge anything you say from here on out, you hear me?  It’s the least I can do for what you and Alix have done for me.”

           Nathaniel drew closer suddenly, his hand touched Marc’s cheek, and their lips barely touched.  For a single half-second, their lips brushed against one another, and then Nathan drew back like Marc was a burning stove.

           Both creators were left in a state of shock.

           “Oh… my… God.”  Marc gaped.  “You…”

           “Cute,” Nathaniel muttered.  “I was gonna say cute.  Before.”  He looked down.  “I’m… sorry, I’ll just…”  He made his way to his bag, tripped on a chair, and started to bolt for the door.

           Seeing Nathan start to panic and run away triggered something in him.  He suddenly found a good reason to raise his voice.

           Nathaniel had given him strength.  Now he had to return the favor.

           “Hey, get back here!” Marc called out, and the artist stopped. “I’ve had a crush on you for over a full month now.  You get a do-over.”  Marc surged forward, turned him back around, and kissed him again, this time much more solidly.

           A few seconds passed and they separated.  “You have a crush on me?” Nath said, confused.

           Marc laughed a little at his expense.  “There were times, even just this week, where something you did just completely killed me, stone dead.”

           Nath blinked.  “Do you want to go out sometime?”

          “You see, this is what I’m talking about.”  He pulled him close and hugged him tightly.  “Son of a gun, yes, but don’t give me heart attacks like that.”

          Nath’s arms awkwardly returned the embrace.  “I, uh… I’ve never had a… an actual date before. What’s the, uhm… protocol, here?”

           “Are you serious?”

           “Half-serious.”

           “Well don’t worry.  It’ll be a learning experience for the both of us.”

           We have always belonged together!

           Nathaniel tore away from the embrace, turning sharply towards the door.  “Rose, what the hell!?”

           The little pink devil held the phone up high, volume turned all the way up.  We will always belong together!  Just keep moving on!

           “Sorry,” Rose giggled.  “My hand slipped.”

           The collaborators looked at each other.  Nodding a silent agreement, they chased after Rose together.

Okay.  I don’t have much else to say right now, so... *shuffles away*.

#Marc Appreciation Week #marc anciel #nathaniel kurtzberg #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #nathmarc #julerose #fanfic

[sweetbutssour-blog]

The Story Of a Tomboy

Ahh! The typical tomboy word!

Yes I am a tomboy and It is less acceptable and applaud able. If being bold and loud in public makes a girl a tomboy then we are happy being called, if sitting anywhere around makes you a tomboy then cheers to our community, if raising your voice against makes you “not a girl” then we are the happiest, If chilling yourself enough and making your own soul happy out of people’s comfort makes you a not so girly girl then aren't we need a shout out!

26 July 1995,the day when Ishita was born. Screamers everywhere because one more girl in the family! There were 2 sisters already Ritika and Nancy. Strange…. Her grandmother was surely not the happy creep. Her grandmother even tried to come in front of the truck so that she could die and never see her face. All these dramas were happening just for a female child and it’s not only about a baby girl but the money they would have to spend on her wedding. Is it worth? Firstly these stereotype people forced couples to keep reproducing since they get a baby boy and that is too for a business purpose called “dowry” and keep doing so called “sex-selective abortion”. Yes, after all these dramas and orthodoxies she was born. She feels beautiful today but her childhood was not so beautiful. People roaming always tells her “awww itti sundar nahi hai, sawali hai, ek to ladki upar se saawali, ladka bahut mushkil se milega” Are we girls born just to marry? Today she doesn’t think so but at her childhood being called ugly and ‘kaali’ bothered her like hard! She used to cry in most of the family functions or else and there a tomboy or a lonely girl’s journey started! It’s not like a tomboy is a born tomboy but yes when people could not make you happy, somewhere happiness finds its way. And maybe that is the reason she found her happiness inside, inside her soul. Today when she hangs out with her own company people used to ask how you go alone. Don’t you find weird eating and roaming alone! And she tells people that she loves her company and yeah that’s it. Her childhood was a roller coaster for her. It’s not like she was not loved by her parents but she was the ignorance. A normal 4 year kid got insane feelings of being ignorant  and she thought that if she gets a brother her family will start loving her and start pampering her and she start praying to god to give her a brother. Think!! A 4 year kid is praying to have a baby!! What kind of sea storm was going into her heart, only she could know and nobody else. And yes she got a brother when she was 5. She was the happiest girl of the house. Her grandparents were so happy, everyone was so happy that “ghar ka chirag” aa gaya. Her family managed a function of his brother’s homecoming. She was also enjoying her fullest but only before the banquet.

She was sitting with her siblings and cousins at banquet and was waiting for more puris, her aunt came with 2 puris in her hand and she gave both the puris to her cousin and said “tm kam khao, ladkio ko kam khana chahie”. Her 5 year heart got stuck for a while and all her happiness shushh.(she becomes numb) She had thought that she will get attention after having a brother(she thought she would become the lucky charm of her home). But with her eyes full of tears and hunger stomach she took her empty plate and went to the corner and started licking the plate..(sobbing)  after licking the plate she threw that into dustbin and goes to bathroom to wash her eyes and there she cried like nobody else.

‘I mean just imagine a 5 year girl with so much maturity.’

 After washing her face and swollen eyes she went out of the bathroom and saw her cousins playing hide and seek and yes she got a smile there, a million dollar smile. J

She doesn’t care about the world and her feelings she just went with the flow and ran to her cousins to play. They were playing and running and shouting and so she. But suddenly one of her cousin started shouting “snake snake snake bhaagooo…” every of her cousins and her started running so that they would escape, as everyone was elder than her so they escaped but she hit herself hard on her head with an iron gate of her terrace. She was blood and almost fainted, her sister took her down and she gets hospitalized for a night. And the new morning was happy for her because of the attention she gets the last night which took butterflies in her stomach. All her sadness of yesterday gone with the hospitality. She was bought home and with a smile. She was the happy soul now. That day went anyhow happy for her.

                                  But the night!!

 Terrific!!

When in the night she steps out of a bed to drink water but suddenly she saw the lights were opened of her parent’s room and went towards the room to see what is happening and next what she saw, she felt to have the rug swept from under her  feet.

  “usko orphanage pe de aoo…hum ek paisa nahi denge uske lie..” her grandfather said with an anger.

“Hmmmmm…” her grandmother said.

  “lekin wo meri beti hai..hmne pala hai use..or wo abi bas 5 saal ki h..” my father replied!

                           Hearing this she understood the scenario. She comes to know the reality that those people were talking about her! She ran back to her room and abruptly closes the door but silently.. The whole night she kept sobbing and thinking about her life that why she is even alive when nobody loves her. That was like a nightmare of her which she never wants to see.

            Anyhow she slept but sobbing.

It was 7’o clock of the morning  when she woke up, she found her eyes were swollen and her head was bombing like never. But she didn’t told this to anybody and went for a bath. She gets herself ready for school, packed her bag, does her hair and left for school. She even does not waited for her school bus and her lunch box, water bottle. And nobody cared too because of her new brother.

Nobody knows what was going inside her. But Ishita knew everything. She went to her school to meet her friends for the last time. She told nothing to anyone. Everything was going inside her soul but nothing came out or she doesn’t let anything to come out.

        ‘Tan tan tan tan tann…’ bell rang!

   School was over. Her friends ran to their home. But she kept sitting on her bench. She waited for everyone to go! So that nobody know where she has gone.

It was 2 p.m. Almost 2 hours after her school got over. Peon came to check the classes and he found her in one of them.

“what are you doing here my girl?”  Peon asked.

“Nothing chacha. My mom will come to take me in a minute.” She replied with a smile.

“chalo mai chalta hu beta tab. Aap chle jana.” He said.

“bye chacha” she replied..

Peon left the school. Now she was the only in the school. After minutes of her thinking she stood up! Picked up her bag and wiped off her tears. She left of the school.

She was walking on the road. She was watching the people on the road. She wanted to eat gola but she did not because she had only 50 rupees and she was saving that money for her future. In between her way she saw a girl with her grandparents in a park and they were playing football. She got tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. She stood there for a while watching them. Only she does know the  pleasure of the scenario. She moved forward. Now she was at her destination..!! a nightmare destination..

        “SHANTI ORPHANAGE”  the board read.

    A little girl decided to go orphanage to live. (Exclaimed)

Ahhhh!! Who knows the pain! Who understand the storms inside! No one.. (universe replied)

She went inside the orphanage and asked one of the lady..

 “mujhe yha pe rahna hai, please mujhe aap rakh loge apne paas?” Ishita asked with her cute voice.

“aap kon ho bache? Yaha pe kaise aae?” lady replied.

 “mai Ishita. I am a girl.” She replied.

“akele ho?” lady asked.

“ummm!” she replied with her eyes and head down.

“Come I will show your room” lady said with a smile. J

She (Ishita) smiled back. J

She went to see the room. See liked her room. She put her school bag on a bed there and came out to see the ground. Many more children were there playing. She saw a boy sitting in a corner. The boy was 7. She went to him.

“Hey hi.” She said

“A sweet roar” via boy.

Ishita smiled at him and sat beside him. They both kept sitting late night, without uttering a word to each other. They feel connected somehow.

Caretaker came, she saw them sitting there alone, she went to them and asked:

 “Why you both are here at this time?” lady asked.

Both the children said nothing and leave for their room.

Lady gets jumbled. But she goes back to her work.

 The bright sunny morning was waiting for the orphanage children for something new and very exciting. It was 8 of the morning when children were supposed to gather in the ground for a morning prayer.

Ishita got late. She was running to the ground and when she got up there she saw that boy saved a place for her. She saw this and smiled. She went there and stood. Everyone did the prayer. After this session children ran towards  the mess to have their breakfast so the boy. Ishita shouted Ishaaaan!!!!!

Ishaan looked back with shock. ( Ishaan was the same boy)  

“How do you know my name?” Ishaan asked.

“I saw that on your batch” Ishita replied.

“hmm” Ishaan replied.

“Yeah, thank you.”  Ishita replied.

Ishaan shook his head and went to the mess. (this small age was behaving so mature as 21.)

At Ishita’s home-

Her parents were worried and filed a report of her missing, police was into the house, asking for some proof or something about her to find her out.

“sii hi hua ki chali gai..bala tali..” said her grandmother.

“maa!!” (with anger) her father said.

“kya? Did I say something wrong? Truth is the truth..one day you will agree to.” Grandmother replied.

Pin drop silence…

No one was saying anything.

Police was finding her but they couldn’t.

Whole family had left all the hopes.

After 2 to 3 Days they started living as they were.

Thus her chapter for the family was over.

   The morning breakfast was over. It was 26th of July and it was Ishita’s birthday. But nobody knows that it’s her day neither she remembered.

Orphanage had rules that there would be a morning prayer,breakfast and study. Then in the afternoon at 2’o clock they were set to be free. But in their free time also they have to take care of the orphanage home like they have to clean the areas as decided, planting, watering, etc.

Thus after their study time some children were planting and others cleaning the ground. So Ishita. She was watering as she was only 6 thus she couldn’t do much. The 6 year old girl gets shocked when she saw the orphanage children shouted happy birthday Ishita..! she was amazed about how they came to know this..and all the credit goes to Ishaan. Ishaan was the boy who seek into her stuff her notebook and then he comes to know. Ishita  was so happy. Nobody ever makes her feel so special specially on her birthday. She got tears in her eyes. Staff arranges cake for her special day. It was the best birthday of Ishita till. Everybody wished her, they cut the cake together, sang a song for her. Ishita was so happy. She slept that day with so much peace and happiness. Thus the day ended with a good note.

  Year- 2011

16 years, it was a long time, Ishita becomes beautiful inside out, she have had a good body shape, long black- brown hairs, black eyes, curves, and a brown color of her body was an addition to her beauty. And now the same boy Ishaan became his best friend cum family. In these 10 years being with Ishaan, Ishita started behaving the same as Ishaan. She was in her way of the “tomboy”. And she kinda liked that. Every children of the orphanage used to come to Ishita if they seem themselves into trouble. Ishita was the solution of all their problems. She never behaved like those typical girly girls. She was her kind of beautiful. Makeup and all was not her kind of stuffs.

Ishaan and Ishita became the master of the orphanage. They roam the entire place together and inspect others.

One night Ishaan and Ishita were sitting on the top of the terrace and talking about their life. They both were telling each other about them when they were a kid. Ishita told about her to Ishaan. Ishaan gave sympathy to her.

“what about you?” Ishita asked to Ishaan.

“I don’t have parents.” ( with painful voice) Ishaan replied.

“Oh! I am so sorry.” (with regrets) Ishita replied.

They both hugged !! all pain just wooshh away  with their presence for each other.

 It was rain next morning. Ishita’s clothes got wet. She had had not a cloth to wear. Thus she went to Ishaan’s room to borrow one!

“ give me that denim pant and a white t-shirt” Ishita said.

“ no, I am going to wear them today. You wear something else.” Ishaan replied.

“ No way, you wear something else, those are my favorites and I will wear them.” Ishita screamed.

   Ishaan took the clothes and ran, Ishita followed him. They both were running all over for those clothes. Lastly Ishaan have to give up! And Ishita got those clothes! And she wore them.

.

.

.

.

.

Time slips..and it was the time when they both have to leave the orphanage. Ishaan got selected for his engineering studies to one of the top NIT College of the country, and Ishita got selected for her management course to Dehradun. They both got separated. They were not happy. They do not wanted to leave each other. They thought no one could understand them as they both do to each other. But nothing could be done to the situation. They both have to be separated for their future. They both hugged each other for the time and leave for the journey.

 Boo…boo…boo…

Loser…

Loser...

Loser…

Ishita was welcomed like this in her new college. She was scared watching this into the college. She abruptly went into her room and shut the door and sat on a bed and started taking long and fast breath. She never experienced this before. Her mates were always the sweetest to her. But this scared her like inside, deep inside.

After an hour she stood up, gets her stuffs done properly and came out of the room with lots of strength. People were there outside her room (maybe waiting for her to come out!) and the moment she came out of her room….!!

Colors, eggs and laugh were the only things she can see or hear. That is what people gave her at the first day of her college. She ran back to her room and shut the door instantly. She burst into tears in her room and shattered and there a phone rang flashing her strength her happiness “Ishaan”. She picked his call and acted like nothing happened but best friend is a best friend he just came to know that she is having trouble but said nothing and made her laugh instead.

Sigh.!!

The day ends however. She was afraid to get her out of a room but bundling courage somehow she came out and went to the class. There, the real journey started.

That was her first semester result and she ranked second. People came to her, congratulated her, greeted her. This was the first time when people wanted to make her friend and she kind of enjoying it.

.

.

.

.

(AFTER 2 YEARS)

She managed to open her restaurant in Greater Noida and her best friend was there with her to celebrate this auspicious success with a glass of red wine.

And this is how a tomboy’s journey became an entrepreneur’s journey. Only expressions of love, congratulations and admiration were into the air.

#inresemblencetomylife mystory lovetoall girls tomboy feminists feminism femiist follow followformore

[mizbabygirl]

Raising Kane (from ESPN.com in 2009)

CHICAGO -- He's one of the cornerstones of this city's hockey renaissance. Yet he looks like he's 12. He plays like there's nothing he can't do on the ice. Yet he's not even 6 feet tall. He can't go anywhere without being asked for an autograph. Yet he carries himself with the humility of a city sanitation worker.

At 20 years old, Patrick Kane is one of the NHL's brightest stars. His hat trick in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals not only helped the Blackhawks advance, but it brought with it the national sports spotlight. And now, in the Western Conference finals against Detroit, everyone is expecting Patrick Kane to do great things.

And yet, at the end of the day, he's so much more than a hockey player, so much more than No. 88, the future of the Blackhawks. Ask him about the roles that matter most in his life and Kane surely will tell you son, friend and big brother. It's the reason his family was right there with him at the NHL draft, at his first NHL game and at last year's NHL awards.

So in the era of social networking, in the era of MySpace, Twitter and Facebook, here are 20 things you might not know about the Blackhawks' forward, one for each of Kane's 20 years. They come courtesy of Kane himself, as well as the people who have been there from the beginning: his mother, Donna; father, Pat; and three sisters: Erica (20), Jessica (18) and Jacqueline (15).

1. He's exceptionally competitive.

"He wanted to have this handwriting contest one day," Erica said. "So we sit down, write our name five times, and all of the sudden he stands up and goes, 'All right, I win. I'm the best.' And he walks away."

2. One of his closest friends is his 83-year-old grandfather.

"They are very, very close," Donna Kane said. "They will sit outside and play cards, they'll sit on the deck and tell stories and they'll watch baseball and eat cheeseburgers together. I remember one time I went over there and Pat was napping on the couch and Grandpa was sleeping on the chair."

3. After his hat trick against Vancouver, he had 69 text messages waiting for him. One was from Jacqueline, and the two began going back and forth creating a Patrick Kane rap song. "It was pretty silly," Jacqueline said. "Something like, 'Oh Patrick, you just scored a hat trick. That Kane, he's so insane."

4. Growing up he was forced to play with dolls because it was the only way he could get his sisters to play sports.

"I'd be the dad and have to play house or whatever," he said. "It wasn't something I wanted to do, but I had to do it."

5. After doing his doll duty, Patrick would team up with Jacqueline for a 2-on-2 soccer battle against Erica and Jessica in the basement.

"They were a little more girlie girl so we'd dominate," Jacqueline said. "I remember we'd do the introductions, we'd flicker the lights on and off. We kept statistics on the wall. We won more than we lost. Sometimes my sisters quit."

6. And when they did, Pat would make them pay.

"They'd be running up the stairs and I'd just whip the ball at their backs," Kane said. "They always knew that if they didn't want to play anymore that was fine. But the ball would soon be coming at them. Ahh, good memories."

7. Every time she visits in Chicago, Donna Kane still does her son's laundry. And cleans his house. "I'll do his wash and rip the sheets off the bed," Donna said. "His interest is hockey. He wants to play hockey. The other stuff will have its time and moment. So for now, I don't mind helping him out."

8. In Kane's new home, he currently has six pieces of furniture: two beds, three televisions and a sectional.

"Typical college kid," Donna said.

9. Kane has specific rules for when his sisters come to visit.

"It's hilarious," Erica said. "We have to obey his rules. Try to be quiet, if you have to go to the bathroom, go downstairs. Don't wake him up when he's sleeping. Stuff like that."

10. When the season is over, Kane will head home to Buffalo, where he stays with his parents and sleeps in the same bed, in the same bedroom, where he grew up.

"No matter what anyone else says, if you ask him he'll tell you Buffalo is still his home," Donna said.

11. Once there, he'll cruise around town with Jacqueline before heading home and working on his moves.

"We'll just drive around the side streets and blast music, maybe go to McDonald's," Jacqueline said. "And then we'll go home and have a dance-off."

12. The majority of his summer, though, will be spent in his parent's backyard playing a game called "Keep it Up."

"You take those big bouncy balls, like the ones at K-Mart, and the idea is to hit the ball back and forth and keep it up as long as possible," Erica said. "We play for hours on end. And some of the saves people make, you laugh so hard. You look like an idiot."

13. When he's away from Buffalo, Pat calls home almost every night.

14. He never went to a prom.

"There was always a hockey game or a hockey tournament or something going on," Donna said. "I don't even think he ever went to a school dance."

15. He's very protective when it comes to his sisters, and he regularly gives them advice about dating.

"He tells us who's bad, who's good and who to stay away from," Jessica said. "He's a really good listener."

16. Despite his superstar status, he still acts like a kid. "My dad has these motorized scooters, and Pat will come home in the summer and just race these things up and down the street," Erica said. "He's just such a kid."

17. He loves a good practical joke. "He did this thing not long ago where he crawled into the bedroom at his house where my dad was watching television and then just jumped up and scared my dad to death," Jacqueline said.

18. He's learning to like shopping. "I remember a while back he wanted to buy something for each of us and my mom was like, 'Just give the girls money.' We didn't think he could handle shopping. But he went to Aldo and picked us all up a couple pairs of awesome shoes."

19. Less than an hour after his family dropped him off in Detroit to play junior hockey and chase his NHL dreams, Pat tried to quit.

"I told him, 'Pat, we're not quitters. We've never been quitters. We made a commitment to a team and an organization and a family, and we can't just walk away without trying it.' It was a tough couple of months," Donna said, "but we got through it."

20. Despite leaving home at 14, he's learned that family is everything. "My dad was asking me the other day if it would have been nice to have a younger brother, someone I could teach a few things and could also make a big splash," Kane said. "But honestly, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I would never change a thing. I wouldn't be here without them."

#patrick kane #chicago blackhawks

[rainbowxswirl-blog]

You're Not My Type (Chapter 2)

The very next morning, my phone started ringing. I groaned from up under the covers. 'is it so hard to let me sleep in for once??' i thought to myself. I reached out and grabbed my phone from the bedside table. "Hello??" "Noona?" Came a hesitant voice. it took me a minute to recognize the voice. "Jimin?" I asked sleepily. he chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry it is kinda early isn't it?" he asked. I rolled over and rubbed the sleepiness out my eyes. "What's up?" a heartbeat of silence. "Do you wanna go out today?" He asked. I immediately sat up. "You do realize what you just asked right?" he laughed. "Of course Noona." he said. "I'll buy you coffee~" he said in a sing song voice. My eye twitched. I can't turn down free coffee, but why would he come to me? There had to be a reason. I sighed. I was curious. I wanted to go hear him out. "Give me 30 minutes" I replied. "See you soon Noona." He said happily. I hung up and groaned. There was no way I could let Jay know about this. "I'm dead if I do." I said out loud to myself. "Dead if you do what?" Came Myra's voice. I looked up and she was coming out of the bathroom drying her hair off. I sighed. "Nothing. I'm going out for the day okay?" I told her as I got up, grabbed my clothes and headed towards the bathroom. After my daily routine, I came out dressed in leggings, a light blue hi-lo t-shirt and a white sleeveless cardigan. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast along with my purse on the way out the door. Jay looked up from the book she was reading at the breakfast bar alongside her coffee. "Kelah." She called. I stopped in my tracks. So much for making a smooth getaway. I turned around and looked at her giving her a smile. "Yeah Jay?" "Where are you going so early?" She asked as she took a sip of her coffee. "Just out for a stroll." I replied. We usually did that, but typically it was late at night since she and i were night owls. She raised an eyebrow at me in question. "At 8:00 in the morning?" I huffed 'blame your boyfriend number two' i thought agitated. "I'll be back at some point and time today." I told her as i made my way out the door. As soon as i made my way down the street i called Jimin. "Noona~" he answered. "I just left the house." I let him know. "You owe me a muffin with my coffee." He laughed. "I'll text you the café i want you to meet me at. I'm on the way there now." He told me. "Okay." I told him and hung up. Once i got the text, i put it in the GPS and made my way there. I walked through the door and looked around for a mochi faced Jimin and fond him sitting by the window staring out into the streets. I walked up to him and sat in the seat across from him which seemed to snap him out of it. "I got you a caramel machiatto with a chocolate chip muffin. I hope that's fine." He told me with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Perfect." I took the drink and took a sip. I hummed happily as i felt the caffeine hitting my system. "So what was the reason for calling me out so early?" I asked as i tore off a piece of muffin and popped it into my mouth. He sighed as he looked down at his dink then up at me his demeanor suddenly serious it almost scared me. "Noona...i like you." I choked on the muffin as i struggled to catch my breath. "Jimin...be serious here." i told him sternly. He placed his chin in the palm of his hand. "But i am serious." I counted the breaths that went by. 1...2....3...4... He then broke out into a smile and begin laughing. "You should see your face right now!!!" He teased. I suddenly want to dump my hot drink on him. My eyes narrowed into a glare. "Damn you Park Jimin!!!" I huffed "do you know how dead i would've been had you been serious?" He blinked at me. "What if i was?" He asked curiously. "We wouldn't be seeing much of each other for long because i would be dead after today...like seriously." I explained. "And just for that prank you're buying me snacks. Now what's the REAL reason you called me out here??" He sighed. "Noona..ah..Jay," he started. "I want to get closer to her-" "Kookie's in your way huh?" I interrupted with a smirk. I seen a faint blush come up on his cheeks but other then that he hasn't said anything. "So what exactly does this have to do with me?" I asked. "I want to know what she likes so we can go shopping for her today." He stated. I raised an eyebrow at him. "You are aware she can't be bought with gifts right?" "I know but it's to show her I'm thinking about her and that i care about her. It just seems like lately she's been focusing on Kookie. I want her to look at me." He vented. I tapped my finger on the table in thought. He seemed genuine about his feelings for her. I sighed "okay fine." I agreed. 'I have a feeling I'm going to regret this.' ~~~~~ Dania came back from her run panting but feeling accomplished. She took out her phone and decided to check the snow app. What she seen made her jaw drop. "Oh my-...JAYYY!!!" She shouted as she ran in the house. "What?!" Came her reply from the bedroom. Dania stopped at the open doorway trying to gasp for air. Jay, who was in the mirror doing her makeup for the day, looked at her confused. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked. "Have you...checked...Snow...lately?" Dania panted. Jay turned back to the mirror and continued applying her makeup. "No what reason do I have to?" Dania walked up to her, tapped on Jimin's story and shoved it in Jay's face. It showed her friend Kelah looking at the camera and putting her hand up to the lense. "Chim stop!" Came her voice along with his laugh. The next slide showed them at a store this time Jimin was in the video and Kelah was behind him and they were playing with the filters and laughing. "You're suppose to be shopping!" She scolded playfully. The next one was just a picture of them together. Jimin was winking at the camera while Kelah was just holding up a peace sign with the biggest smile on her face. That was where his story ended. Dania lowered her phone to gauge her friend's reaction. It went completely blank so she couldn't tell what she was feeling. "Jay?" She called out. She knows she's been paying a bit more attention to Jungkook lately but she didn't think one of her closest friends would...it had to be a lie right? "JAYYYY" came Myra's voice as her footsteps came closer to her room until she finally appeared in her doorway. "Have you seen..." her voice trailed off when she noticed the tension in the air. "I guess so." "That can't be true right?" Jay finally spoke up. "Kelah isn't like that. She would never-" Janet, being the cheerful person she was, piped in "yeah she totally isn't like that we all know this!!" She exclaimed. "Let's call her just to put you at ease." She picked up her phone and dialed the number. "Janet! What's up girly?" Came Kelah's voice. Janet put it on speaker phone before continuing. "Hey girly just wondering where you was was at?" She asked. "Out with Jimin." Kelah answered bluntly then she laughed. "Oh jesus no." "What?" Janet asked confused. "Nothing talking to Jimin." Kelah answered. "Something wrong?" "Ohhh just wondering why you were out with Jimin." Janet lied. "Are you around Jay?" Kelah asked. "No." Hyuna answered quickly. "Jimin just asked me out okay? now i gotta go. I'll see you guys later byee!" She said happily and hung up. The whole entire room fell silent. Socked at what just happened. "I'm sure there's still a reasoning behind it. She's not that type of person." Myra softly commented. Jay picked up her purse and stormed out. ~~~~~ "Now why would you talk about being dead if we went out but you just made it seem like we was going out?" Jimin asked as he picked up a bracelet to show to me. Diamonds all around. Very out there. I shook my head in disapproval "she's not an expensive girl Jimin." Then i thought about what i just said "okay lemme rephrase that she's has expensive tastes but she doesn't like flashy." "And i went with it because you started this by posting on Snow." I said as i narrowed my eyes at him. "Jay and the others probably seen and now they think we're probably out on a date idiot!" I swatted him on the arm as i walked down the aisle. Something stood out to me. It was just her style. I waved him down to get his attention and showed him what i found. His face lit up as he seemed to like my little discovery as well. He pointed to the bracelet and looked up to the cashier behind the counter. "Can i have this wrapped please?" She nodded and took the bracelet out of its case to go have it nicely packaged. Jimin turned to look at me. "Thanks for coming out with me today. I don't know how to repay you." "Buy me pepero and make sure i don't die." I said without thinking and he laughed. "I'll do my best to make sure you're not severely hurt." He replied. "That didn't sound like what i wanted to hear." I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's what i can offer for now." He argued. "Got damn it fine." I relented. I walked out of the store once he got the gift. "Let's finish shopping for your soon to be girlfriend." He ran after me shouting "she's not my girlfriend!!" "After me putting my life on the line she better damn well be by the end of this day!!" I shouted back. Hopefully i was right. ~~~~ *Later that evening* As we were walking up the street i was telling him some things about Jay. "Okay so you can't be all shy around her you should know this by now and that's probably why Kookie has a one up on you." I explained. His lips poked out at the mention of the situation. "Hey I'm just saying." I told him as i noticed his pout. "He has that confident demeanor going on. Jay is a social person she gravitates towards people who are social." "How does being confident make Jay gravitate towards Jungkook?" Jimin asked. "It makes him seem social." I answered. "That charisma you always show on stage?? Channel some of that." I poked him in his chest to emphasize my point. He smirked a devious smirk at me as we walked up the driveway. "Yeah like that! Just not at me." I laughed. I unlocked the door to see Jay in the living room flirting with Jungkook pretty hard. The rest of Bangtan seemed to have came over as well. And all eyes seemed to be on Jimin and I. I smiled. "Hey girls! Hey guys!" I said happily. No one seemed to want to reply. "Umm...okay?" "Kelah..it's not true right?" Myra said stepping forward. I tilted my head to the side "excuse me?" "Wow i didn't take you stealing type." Namjoon said with a smirk. My eye twitched. "Stay the fuck out of this." I bit back. "Kelah you told me you was out with Jimin." Janet said. "Okay 1. Yeah i was. Am i not allowed? 2. Did you guys call the rest of the members over?" I questioned looking around the room. For some reason my eyes landed on Hoseok and he looked upset? Hurt? Disappointed? "I'm failing to see what wrong i did here." I stated. That seemed to make Jay stop. "Oh you don't think you did wrong?" She got up and walked towards me. 'Probably not the brightest thing to say.' "You know how i feel about him Kelah why would you go out with him?" Jay said raising her voice. "Jay wait a minute-" i tried to say but i was cut off. "Here i was thinking you was one of my closest friends and you go and do this to me?" She continued. I felt that aching sensation behind my eyes. "Okay but-" "It's not what you think." Jimin tried to defend. Her wrath was turned on him. "And you!" She glared "i thought.." she stopped herself mid sentence and huffed "you're suppose to be with me!" "Jay I-" Jimin tried to say but her glare turned back to me. "I thought we had a better relationship than this. " she said. I've had enough. "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO US GOT DAMN IT!!!" I yelled. "You!!" I pointed to Namjoon "don't know jack shit so stay the fuck out of my got damn business." I looked over to Janet who visibly gulped. "You can't lie for shit. I knew you was with Jay even though you said you weren't so i just left it at Jimin asked me out because i knew you guys looked at his story on Snow and probably assumed we was out on a date." I looked at Jay finally. "So yes he asked me out but it wasn't for the reason you're thinking and I'm actually hurt you would think that way of me. You know I'm not like that!!" I exclaimed "If it's not the reason I'm thinking then-" she was cut off by a box being shoved in her face followed by two bags and a stuffed Ryan bear. Needless to say she was stunned quiet. She looked down at the stuff then looked up at us. I raised an eyebrow at her. "I invited her out because i wanted to get to know more about you. I wanted to learn about you so i could get closer to you." Jimin explained. "Why didn't you just come to me?" Jay asked. Jimin just looked behind her to Jungkook who raised a challenging eyebrow at him. Jay caught on and looked behind her to Kookie and sighed. "I thought asking one of your closer friends would be a better option." He said simply. "She helped me pick out all your gifts." She set the bear down and opened the bags in one was a cute notebook with a handwritten note on the first page. She smiled at the thoughtfulness. She opened the second bag and seen plenty of cute stationary paper and pens. Then she opened the box and gasped. Inside was a white gold bracelet with a plate and her name engraved on it with two small diamonds on the sides of her name. Simple but cute. "Ohh it's beautiful." She said in awe. It was my turn to sigh and i pushed past her and Jimin. I was suddenly drained and i just wanted to be away from the noise. "I'm going to my room for the night." I announced as i quickly poured me a glass of wine and walked to my bedroom and slammed the door. Jimin looked over at Jay. "Looks like you got some apologizing to do." TO BE CONTINUED....