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liberty-barnes · 4 years

Text

Tom being in love with your baby niece

Tom Holland x Female!Reader

Prompt: You meet Tom at a hospital and he’s immediately infatuated with the little girl in your lap (inspired by this video I found on tiktok)

Warnings: F L U F F, Tom being amazing with kids, mentions of alcoholic/drug addict mother, mentions of child abandonment, but overall fluff and feel good story

Word Count: 2379 words (this was supposed to be short but oh well)

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

A/N: me, sweating profusely: calm down, just finish writing this, you are stronger than your baby fever, you are too young to have a child CALM TF DOWN

Masterlist

So, funny story, you met at the hospital

Tom had dislocated his shoulder while doing a backflip *dejected sigh*

And you were just trying to keep your baby niece calm while waiting for the nurse to come get you

You were sitting on the bed, Tom was right next to you, only a curtain separating you

But there was a tiny crack near the end from where it was pulled too far

And when you pressed Olivia closer to your chest, her head resting on your shoulder, she made eye contact with him

He saw her tear-filled eyes

(broke his heart)

So he started to make funny faces at her

Which made her start to giggle and coo and make grabby hands towards him

You turned around, visibly confused because hellooo she was just crying a second ago and now she’s???laughing???

And then you saw him

oh shit he’s hot

He smiled at you

You smiled back, cause what else are you supposed to do?

He got up and pushed the curtains back

And sat on the chair instead

Still on his side of the curtain

But looking at you straight in the eye now

“So... what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a nasty place like this?”

Poor boy thought he was smooth

But he rested his weight on his injured arm

(that idiot)

And it lead to him hissing in pain and cradling his shoulder with a pout while you laughed

“Fell down the stairs and twisted my ankle. You?”

“Dislocated my shoulder while doing a backflip.”

Meanwhile Liv was now resting on your lap

Looking at him with a smile on her face

And clapping while he smiled at made funny faces at her again

But then he noticed you were watching

And he was kinda making a fool of himself in front of you

(cue the blushing)

(so cute)

So you decided to help him out a little

"Thanks for putting her in a good mood again."

"No problem... is she yours?"

He didn't want to seem rude so he kept the judgment out of his voice, but you seemed a bit young to have a kid already.

"Nah, she's my niece"

"Oh, okay... Why'd you bring her to the hospital with you? It must be hard having to take care of a kid and get your ankle checked."

You looked a bit sad for a while.

"My sister left her with me as soon as I turned eighteen. My parents were never in the picture so it's been me and her for almost a year now."

"I'm sorry..."

"'S okay. Besides, at least I'm not alone all the time you now? I mean, it's hard to take care of a 13 month-old, but at least I know she won't grow up like I did... afraid... wondering if her mom was gonna come home drunk or half-dressed with another guy on her tail, wishing her sister would let her sleep on the bed instead of locking herself up with her boyfriend there."

He watched you smile as you looked down at the little girl in your arms that seemed to be a perfect reflection of you.

That was the moment he fell in love with you

Dark circles under your eyes and all

He got your number (yay!!) and had to work (read: pester you) for two weeks before you agreed to go out on a date with him.

Liv stayed with Harrison (after you checked that he was a good babysitter)

He took you to a nice little restaurant near the beach

They served giant burgers

Which you liked at lot

Conversation was easy

He asked you what you were currently doing

"I'm working as a waitress in a little diner downtown."

He also found out you were doing online college to get your creative writing degree.

You told him about your family life.

How your dad died in a car accident when you were three.

How your mom was an alcoholic junkie and OD'd when you were fifteen.

How your nineteen-year-old sister had to take care of you for there on out.

How she left soon after you graduated high school and left you with a three-month-old baby to take care of.

In turn, he told you all about his life

How he became an actor and got his big break as Spider-Man

He told you about his family and how much he misses them

How thankful he is to have Haz with him

You excused yourself to the bathroom just before dessert

And that bastard took advantage of that tiny window to pay the bill

You scolded him for that obviously

And tried to pay him back

He laughed and said no

Then he bought you a giant cotton candy

"Tom, seriously I can pay for my own stuff."

"I know but I like spoiling you."

You finished the cotton candy together while strolling down the beach

Then once it was done he threw out the cone and took your hand

The sun was just setting so it was like a picture-perfect moment

So he took advantage of that and kissed you

(so cliche)

You tasted like strawberry from your chapstick

The cotton candy you just had

You tasted like sweetness

And comfort

And home

You started dating officially not long after that

And that's when it all really started

You knew he was good with kids

That first day at the hospital told you as much

But you didn't expect him to be this good

Olivia was very much in love with him

They were practically glued at the hip

She constantly wanted hugs from him

He took her to the park and threw her up in the air while she squealed in delight

He picked her up and carried her while you were making dinner so she didn't feel left out

She sat on his back while he did push-ups

He'd kiss her nose every time he did a sit-up

They would have kissing contests

He kissed her cheek

She kissed his back

Then he kissed hers again

And so on

Her first word was Tommy

You'd never seen him so happy

You, on the other hand, were not

"I raised you on my own ever since you were three months old and this is the thanks I get?"

They'd often fall asleep together on the couch

Your camera roll was full of photos of them sleeping

Her favorite thing to do was grab him by the sides of his head and kiss his curls

(a d o r a b l e)

He helped you plan the perfect birthday party for her

"Only the best for my best girl"

"I thought I was your best girl"

"Only the best for either of my best girls but in this case the youngest one"

She loved it

You're pretty sure he loved it more

But who can say for sure?

On your six month anniversary, he told you he loved you and that he had no plans on ever leaving you two.

He forced you to quit your job at the diner

"You're overworking yourself. I have more than enough money to take care of all of us and that way you'll be able to focus on your studies and travel with me since you do online college. Everybody wins."

So you went wherever he went

Including filming for Infinity War/Endgame

He took you to set one day

Everybody loved you

But as always, Olivia stole the show

They passed her around like a little doll

She loved the attention

It was quite funny seeing such a tiny baby being held by the mountain of a man that is Chris Hemsworth

She only referred to Chris Evans as 'Cap'

And Robert would forever be 'Tony'

But they didn't mind one single bit

"She just looks so cute when she says it, I can't be mad at her."

You met his family when the filming ended and he went back to London

Dom was ecstatic to finally have a little girl to take care of

"At least she laughs at my jokes, not like those idiots"

"You can leave her with us whenever you want"

Nikki was very happy to have one more girl in her corner

"I swear, if I hear one more second of golf talk, I'll go nuts"

Harry loved taking pictures of Liv

"She's just so photogenic, it's so easy"

You learned a lot of recipes from Sam

"Finally someone that won't wreck my kitchen and taint my food's good name"

Paddy liked playing with Liv and Tessa in the backyard

"It's nice to take care of someone for a change, I'm always the one being babied"

You made your relationship public while you were in London, a year and a half after you started dating

The public loved you

Because he just couldn't help but brag

And Tom with kids is the content the fans live for

tomhotland: omgggg they're so cuteee

spideysbae: the heart eyes thoooo

peterpprotectionsquad: i hereby declare that Olivia is the cutest baby to have ever existed and she must be protected at all costs

He took you to the Far From Home premiere

Your dress matched his suit

The fans went crazy

Olivia was living her best life in her little red and black dress

She'd gotten used to the flashes after Harry's numerous photoshoots

So she was just smiling and clapping a lot

The paparazzi loved her

The interviewers kept asking about you two

"(Y/N)'s the love of my life and Olivia's the sweetest baby I've ever known, I couldn't love her more if she was my own"

"So, do I hear wedding bells ringing?"

"Well, you never know"

That caught your attention for a second but you let it go in favor of posing with Liv after the paps all but begged you to

"Livvy say bye-bye"

She sent a kiss a said bye-bye in all her baby glory

They awed so much

His Instagram was filled with pictures of the three of you

Zendaya took a bunch of selfies with her as well

"Our dresses match, I have no choice"

She kept pretty quiet during the movie

But hugged Tom especially hard when she saw him cry on the big screen

The next morning, you were all over the headlines

"The sweetest little family in Hollywood"

On your third anniversary, he took you on a week-long trip to Bora Bora

Liv stayed with his parents

He took you on a walk to the beach

(déjà vu much?)

And proposed

Clumsily, but he proposed

How can a proposal be clumsy, you ask?

Well, he kneeled on a rock at first

"Ow! Fuck my knee, hold on a second"

Then he kept stuttering because he was so nervous

And in the end (after you said yes and he checked about five times cause "Wait seriously?") he started freaking out cause the ring didn't fit

But she wears the ring I used as a reference all the time!

"Um, Tom?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"The ring's supposed to go on my other hand..."

Ah, that explains it

The wedding was simple but beautiful

Livvy was the flower girl cause she wanted to throw petals in the air

Tessa brought the rings

His heart almost stopped when he saw you walk down the aisle

He was convinced you'd never looked more beautiful than that day at the premiere when your clothes matched

But right now, looking at your smile and how gorgeous you looked in that dress, he realized he was wrong

He sniffled, trying to hold his tears, but Haz just handed him a tissue

"I came prepared"

You two adopted Liv

She was your daughter anyway, you just made it official

She started calling you 'mommy' and 'daddy'

"She called me 'daddy'."

Oh, the tears

To Tom's great delight, she started picking up a British accent, as she grew

It didn't help that she stayed at Nikki and Dom's all the time when you started teaching at a university in London

So they dialed they're British-ness up to eleven so she'd pick up on the accent

"Mummy, what's for pudding?"

Good Lord

After two years of trying, you found out Tom was unable to have kids

He cried a lot, and felt like he failed

You shut him up with a kiss and immediately mentioned adoption

"There are hundreds of children begging for a home and parents to love them."

You adopted an eight-year-old boy named Lucas and his five-year-old sister Cleo

Olivia loved having another girl her age

They had tea parties

And played dress-up

And forced Lucas to play the prince

You taught them to bake so they could have cookies for their tea party

And Tom found himself often ambushed in one of their games

"No, daddy, you gotta pretend that the big bad dragon took you so we can save you."

They rolled around on the floor and made 'pew pew' noises to imitate guns

Lucas was always quieter

He was your little angel

You two were very close

He shared your love for writing and literature

As well as cooking, to Uncle Sam's greatest delight

You often sat down on the couch, the five of you (and Tessa, obviously) and someone read a book out loud, while the others just laid back and listened

Cleo became very interested in Uncle Harry's camera and took a bunch of photos of her sister and her dad with the polaroid camera she got for her seventh birthday

Olivia still loved the attention and remained the bright and photogenic child she'd always been

She became a model, to no one's surprise

Cleo became a freelance photographer, which allowed her to fulfill her dream of traveling the world while taking pictures and earning good money

Lucas became one of Hollywood's best and brightest screenwriters

But everyone still made time for each other

Attending every single one of Liv's fashion shows

Every time Cleo showcased her pictures in a gallery, they were the first ones there

All of Lucas' films

Going to all of Tom's premieres and wearing matching clothes, per Liv and Cleo's request

"It's for the aesthetic"

Everyone was happy

And life was good

i’m pretty happy now, ngl

i need a Tom in my life

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merakiaes · 4 years

Text

Rudely Interrupted - Arthur Shelby

Pairing: Arthur Shelby x reader

Requested: Yes.

Prompts: None.

Warnings/notes: A bit of soft smut, maybe? I feel like this turned out really bad, more of the morning sex and too little of the actual teasing at the end but I hope you like it anyways. Also, the end is completely non-serious so don’t mind it XD

Wordcount: 2048

Summary: Tommy walks in on you and Arthur having morning sex and when you join the rest of the family they tease you.

There was only one thing in the world that woke you up better than coffee, and that was morning sex with Arthur.

The first time he had attempted to get some in the morning, you had been rather annoyed and only slapped his hands away, leaving him to take care of himself in his lonesome while you went about your day in all your grumpy glory.

But once you had given in to his flamboyant morning ardor, you were insatiable, because unlike the frantic performance sex that descended after a night on the town, morning sex was deliciously unpretentious, relaxing, slow and the most erotic thing you had ever experienced.

But as business had been blooming for the Peaky Blinders, Arthur had been spending more time at the office, both getting home later than usual, and heading out earlier, usually before you had even woken up.

Because of this, the only time you got to get physical was between half an hour and an hour in the middle of the day, which was less exciting than both getting intimate during the night, and most definitely less exciting than doing it in the morning.

Today was the first morning in three weeks that you had woken up to find Arthur by your side rather than finding his side of the bed empty, and almost as if sensing your awaking, he woke up not even a minute later and wasted no time in getting to business.

You didn’t know how long you had been going, and frankly, you didn’t care. You couldn’t get enough of each other today, the strange withdrawal from not having seen each other in the morning sun for several weeks having gotten to you more than you originally thought.

Arthur’s breath was hot against the skin of your shoulders, his mustache tickling you in a way that only intensified the pleasure you were currently feeling.

With the dust of sleep still in your eyes, your back arching against his as he thrusted into you, your hands explored each other’s bodies as if you had never explored the territory before.

Your muscles were still sore and stiff from the sleep you had just woken up from, but softening more and more with every move you made.

A moan left your lips as Arthur’s hand found the back of your thigh and pulled your leg up higher on his back to get deeper, your head digging further into the pillow under your head, successfully messing up your hair even more than it had previously been.

The sweet sound made a throaty groan leave Arthur’s lips in return, the sound getting muffled in the crook of your neck. He rubbed his face against your shoulder playfully, but not once did he slow down.

“You’re so fookin’ good to me.” He mumbled, pressing a rough kiss to your throat, his mustache hitting a particularly ticklish spot and drawing a contented and effortless giggle from your lips.

Your hands moved from his upper back, where they had been squeezing away at his flesh and muscle, to grab his face, bringing it up from your neck and forcing him to look at you.

His eyes were squeezed shut, but he soon let them flutter open as you pressed your forehead against his, scanning the way your eyes were hooded with lust and sleep and finding you nothing short of absolutely fucking divine.

You brushed a strand of his hair out of his face, wet with sweat, as was the rest of his body, and yours just like it.

Bringing your lips to meet his in a messy kiss, you moaned into his mouth when he once again hit just the right spot, your hands squeezing his jaw harder at the feeling.

“I love you.” You moaned again, followed by yet another one, this time so intense you had to pull out of the kiss.

Your breaths mixed together with your moans and his groans, and you had to squeeze your eyes shut to keep yourself from letting out sounds all too loud.

“I love ya too.” Arthur finally responded after a moment of silence, but his words were cut short as his head fell back into your neck and your head fell back into the pillow as he quickened his pace.

You were both just a moaning and groaning mess now, and you knew he was just as close as you were with the way his body was shaking, which only edged you on further.

But before either of you could reach the sweet relief you had been craving for days upon days, the door to your bedroom slammed open, causing Arthur to come to an abrupt halt in his movements and both of you to reach for your guns on the bedside table out of sheer instinct, pointing them towards the door in perfect sync.

But instead of an intruder standing in the doorway, you were met with the bored face of your brother-in-law, staring at you as if he hadn’t just caught you having sex at the crack of dawn.

“You’re late.” Tommy stated simply, grabbing Arthur’s pants and your dress, both from the day before, from the floor and throwing them at you where you laid in the bed.

Arthur moved to put his gun back at the table and you followed suit, having to push back the pleasurable feeling yet again building up in your chest at the feeling of him moving inside you.

“Get the fuck out of ‘ere, Tommy!” Arthur roared once his head had registered the identity of the interrupter, hurrying to pull the thin blanket over your stark naked bodies.

But you couldn’t care less about your brother-in-law seeing you naked, you were too infuriated about being disrupted in the first place to even think straight.

All you could do was glare at him from underneath his brother, both of you still panting but slowly coming down from the highs you had been so close to piquing, much to your dismay.

“Start locking your bedroom door, it could’ve been anyone barging in.” Tommy said, pointing at both of you, and you instantly fired back

“No, because you’re the only one who would barge in like that even when hearing your brother and his wife are fucking!”

But he was already out the door, simply waving a careless hand over his shoulder as he headed back for the stairs.

You fell back onto the bed once more, and Arthur fell limp on top of you, his hands caressing your hips and face burying in your neck like before.

A sigh left your lips and your hands moved up to the back of his head, stroking the short-shaven hairs for a moment while just staring into the ceiling

Arthur grumbled into your neck. “Later?”

You wanted to say no, make him stay in bed with you, but you knew you couldn’t keep Thomas waiting, especially not now that the rest of the Shelby clan were waiting for you as well.

“Yeah.” You muttered sourly. “Later.”

And with that, you carefully pushed him off of you, and wasted no time in throwing your legs over the edge of the bed and heading straight for the bathroom too clean off the sleep and sweat.

The ruffle of the sheets indicated that Arthur was close behind, and only a second later he was back behind you, wrapping his arms around your torso while you flipped on the shower, letting the water flush over your fingers to test the temperature.

He put his forehead against your shoulder, hugging you tight. “I’ll talk to Tommy after the family meeting. Tell ‘im I’m taking ya to the countryside for the weekend. Would ya want that?”

A smile instantly tugged at the corners of your lips and you turned around in his arms, wrapping your arms around his bare torso and looking up at him with a contempt gaze. “Yes.” You confirmed, pressing a kiss to his lips.

He answered without a second thought, pulling you closer. But you had to cut the affection short to hurriedly clean yourselves off and make yourselves presentable.

Five minutes later, you were heading out of your shared home and across the street towards the betting shop, stumbling the entire way as Arthur was buttoning your blouse and you were tying his tie on the go.

As suspected, everyone else were clearly already present, their voices loud and clear the second the two of you stepped over the threshold.

Hand in hand, you hurried into the room where everyone were gathered, and wordlessly found your usual seats at the table, not even noticing the way everyone had grown quiet at your entrance.

Until you looked up and found everyone staring at you with various expressions, that is.

Or well, the only one who didn’t wear the same expression as the rest of them was Tommy, who sported one of pure boredom while the others were all obviously trying their best not to break into shit-eating grins.

You narrowed your eyes at them and immediately went to ask them what their deal was, but before a single sound could leave your lips, Arthur beat you to it, tucking you away under his arms safely while glaring at the lot of them.

“What the hell are you all staring at?” He inquired in a loud voice, which seemed to trigger all of them, everyone either breaking into a grin or full on laughter.

John being the loudest, of course.

“Heard you had a fun morning.” Said man teased, laughing and eyes sparkling with mischief.

His intention had without a doubt been to embarrass you, and as you were actually a very private and reserved person, he succeeded with just that, his words causing you to cross your arms and sink further into Arthur’s side. But the embarrassment in your body did in no way stop the fierce glare taking over your entire face.

Arthur, sensing your discomfort, pulled you even closer, as if it was even possible with how close you already were.

“We were having a great fookin’ time before we were interrupted.” He snapped back to his younger brother with a glare just as fierce as your own. “Now, we were told we were late and now we’re ‘ere, so get the fuck on with it before my woman loses her patience. She’s in a mood and you don’t want to be on the receiving end when she’s in a mood.”

In any other case, you probably would have smacked the shit out of him for even commenting your mood, but in this case, you let it slide, satisfaction filling your entire body at the sight of everyone’s grins disappearing without a trace and John straightening himself in his seat with an uncomfortable clear of his throat.

It was in times like these that it really worked in your favor to be the kick-ass woman you were; you were a Shelby woman after all, and everyone knew better than to get in the way of a Shelby woman.

Especially you, which was why everyone abandoned the subject without as much as another word about it, finally letting Tommy get on with the business at hand.

After the family meeting, Arthur stayed true to his word and, rather than asking for permission, told Tommy he would be taking you to the countryside for the weekend, and much to both of your surprise you didn’t get as much as an objection.

And you could happily say you didn’t get any more interruptions.

Until the weekend was over and you made a second attempt at Monday morning, that is.

This time, it was Finn’s time to fall victim to the denudation of his older brother.

But unlike Tommy, he had been a lot more curious about your denudation, discretely trying to sneak a peak of your chest over Arthur’s shoulder. But he hadn’t been as discrete as he thought, which in turn resulted in Arthur throwing the closest thing he could find at him, which so happened to be your favourite watch.

It broke as it hit the wall rather than the youngest of the Shelby siblings, and you didn’t talk to Arthur for two days.

#Peaky Blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder headcanon #Arthur Shelby #arthur shelby imagine #arthur shelby fanfic #arthur shelby x reader #tommy shelby #finn shelby #John Shelby #ada shelby #michael gray #polly gray

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strangerthingsharrington · 4 years

Text

Can’t Fight This Feeling

-18-

We ran out of the movie theatre hunched over to try and not alert Robin and Erica who were still sitting in seats on the opposite side of our row.

As soon as we were out of the theatre Steve and I laughed until we almost couldn't breath. I placed my hand over my chest and bent forward in fits of laughter.

I stood back up and saw Steve leaning against a wall with his eyes closed mid laugh.

I stopped laughing and looked at him. My crush on him had evolved into more than it was in elementary school. I...I really liked Steve. And it was almost soul crushing because I knew that it would never happen.

But in the same breath it felt different between us. I could feel that even in the weird state we were in after being injected. We've defended each other, been stuck in a Russian under ground lair together, held hands, shared looks.

Maybe there was something there, maybe there wasn't. Maybe I'd find out, maybe I wouldn't.

"Lou?" I heard him ask.

I refocsued on his face and smiled, "Steve?"

He grinned at me, "Water time!"

I nodded enthusiastically and followed him to the water fountain, where he motioned for me to go first.

I walked up to the fountain and pressed the button, smiling when the stream of water came up. I bent down and the second my lips touched the cold water and went down my throat, I could feel how dry my throat actually was. It almost became painful as I continued drinking because of how long I went without it.

I pulled back and motioned for Steve to have some, which he did without hesitation.

I leaned against the wall and looked around the empty area.

"I want to watch the movie when I can focus on it," I stated.

Steve make a noise in agreement as he continued with the water.

"I really have no idea what was happening in it," he said breathlessly.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, "He went back in time...in the car I'm pretty sure."

"So he went back in time?" Steve asked.

I opened my eyes and looked over to him, seeing him still bent over the water fountain but his head turned to me.

"Yeah-I mean, I'm pretty sure," I told him.

He furrowed his brow, confused, "But it's called Back to the Future?"

I widened my eyes and nodded, "This is why I need to see this again without whatever they injected into us."

He nodded, agreeing with me, "Do you want more?" he asked, referencing the fountain.

I nodded and walked quickly over to the fountain, Steve stepped aside and I continued drinking more.

"Wow," I heard him say, "Lou, come look at this!"

I stopped drinking and went over to him, stopping right beside him, "Check this out," he said lightly, "this ceiling is...is beautiful."

I looked up to it and saw the twinkling lights and and glass windows showing off the night sky, it was very pretty.

"Wow," I whispered with a small smile.

The lights began moving, so I started turning in a circle trying to keep up with them. I giggled and continued spinning slowly watching the lights dancing.

And then...oh shit. The wave of nausea that hit was instantaneous.

I stopped spinning and tried to clear my throat. Saliva filled my mouth and my stomach turned. I felt myself swaying in place.

"Bathroom," I heard Steve croak out.

I looked over to him and saw his pale complexion and knew he was feeling the same way I was.

Not trusting myself to open my mouth, I nodded to him. He took off and I followed him down towards the door marked 'Restrooms,' where he pushed the door open roughly. We ran down the small hallway where we finally got to a bathroom and Steve opened the door leading to a bright room with multi coloured tiles on the walls. Most importantly, I saw the bathroom stalls.

Steve ran to the second stall and I ran into the first one, I fell to my knees in front of the toilet and let everything come up. Not that there was much in my system, but whatever was in there was coming up.

My throat and nose were burning, and I was kneeling there for at least five minutes, where all I did was vomit.

Finally, there was nothing else left. I flushed the toilet immediately and leaned my head back, away from the toilet and tried to catch my breath. My mouth tasted terrible and I was in dire need of gum or something.

I heard the toilet flush in the stall Steve was occupying. I coughed a few times and scooted back to lean against the wall, opposite of the stall.

I felt better. I think I had gotten most of, if not all, of the drug out of my system. I still felt a bit foggy and dizzy but I wasn't sure if that was from the puking or from the drug. All I knew for sure was that I felt drained. But I definitely wasn't feeling as dopey as I had been before.

I heard Steve groan from the next stall.

"You okay?" I asked quietly.

"I've honestly been better," he sighed.

I looked up, and felt relief when I saw the ceiling was no longer spinning the way it was out in the hallway.

"The ceiling stopped spinning for me...is it still spinning for you?" I asked.

"Holy shit," he said after a second of silence, "no. Do you think we puked it all up?"

I hummed, "I don't know, ask me something. Interrogate me."

He chucked from the other stall, "Interrogate you...when was the last time you peed your pants?"

I grinned, "Almost today," I told him honestly, "when the guy brought out the saw," I explained through a laugh, "I was terrified."

Steve laughed too, "Seriously?"

I laughed with him, "Almost!" I repeated.

"Yeah it's definitely still in our system," he mumbeled from the other side.

I leaned my head against the wall. My heart was thudding against my chest. I wanted to hear the honest answer to the question that was on the tip of my tongue.

"My turn!" I said breathlessly, "Have you ever been in love?" I wondered.

I sensed the hesitation on his end only for a second, "Yeah," he answered slowly, "Nancy Wheeler first semester senior year," he said, then made the sound of a gun shot.

I nodded, "Nancy's nice," I mused, "I've known her forever because Dustin is friends with Mike...and obviously because of her and Jonathan..."

"Yeah," he said quietly, "Nancy is...she's a good person."

I bit my lip, "Are you still in love with Nancy?" I asked quietly.

"No," he said instantly.

I leaned my head against the wall, "Why not?"

He sighed, "I think I found someone better for me," he told me.

I smiled sadly, "That's good, Steve."

"Yeah...Dustin's been telling me since he got back from camp that I gotta find my Suzie...and this girl...I dont know, she might be my Suzie," he said with certainty.

I felt my face flush. Part of me was hoping he was talking about me. The other part, the more rational part, knew that there was a chance we wasn't. This crush had been growing and festering in me since elementary school, but simmered in high school. The last little while I was having a bit of a...Steve Harrington renaissance. I was feeling something, a real something, for him.

The crush felt unattainable back then. Like I knew he wouldn't be interested in me, because he didn't associate with me. But now with it bubbling back up, and with the shit we'd been through the past few days...I thought we were close.

But hearing him talking about someone who might be his Suzie...that was a lot for me to take in. I was worried I would have to burst the bubble as soon as this was all over.

"What's she like?" I asked, as unwanted tears filled my eyes.

"She amazing," he said breathlessly, "and I just wish...that I had been hanging around her instead, during high school. I dunno, I guess I would've been worried about Tommy H making fun of me or something, or being worried that I wouldn't be Prom King," he said with a hint of disgust.

"Dustin's right though, all that stuff is just a bunch of bullshit," he sighed, "I should have been hanging around her the whole time," he stated adamant, "but I was just too stupid to look around, too stupid to see her.

"She's so funny," he continued happily, "I don't remember the last time I've laughed as much as I have with her. And man...she's smart, like, way smarter than me. She managed to help crack a Russian code and figure out the meaning behind it..."

I felt my eyes widen and my heart stop for a second.

Robin. Did he...like Robin? I wouldn't know how to talk to him about this if he was going to tell me he liked Robin. It wasn't my place to tell him he wasn't the gender she was even interested in. I would never do that to her.

"She sounds really great, Steve," I told him as I brought my knees up and leaned my head on them.

"Lou..." he began quietly, "I really am sorry for the way I acted to you in high school," Steve emotionally told me from the other stall.

I brought my head up and wiped away the tears that I so badly didn't want to be there, "I know."

He sighed deeply, "You never deserved any of that, Louise. You're seriously amazing and...like I told you...I dont want to be part of any bad memory that you have. And I dont think I'll ever forgive myself for making you feel upset."

I kept quiet but...as stupid as it was my heart felt like it was breaking. How could my heart break over something I didn't really have? Steve and I weren't together...he didn't like me...he didn't like me.

"Lou?" he asked, "Did you OD in there?"

I sniffled and wiped my eyes again, "No, I'm still alive," I said with a small chuckle.

Suddenly he was pushing himself from his stall underneath the barrier and into the stall I was sitting in.

"The floor is disgusting," I said as I wrapped my arms around my knees.

"Yeah well, I've already got a bunch of blood and puke on me so," he said brushing it off.

I could help but smile and giggle.

"Why are you crying?" he questioned worriedly.

I cleared my throat and tried to bypass it, "I think just...it's been a lot today and I think it's caught up to me."

Steve smiled sadly at me, "What do you think about this girl?"

My stomach was in knots. But I didn't want to show him that.

I smiled sadly at him and nodded, "She sounds...really great, Steve. You should talk to her about this."

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair, that still managed to stay up even after everything we had been through the last little while, "I should never have been such an asshole to you, Lou. Never. If I knew all the shit that I know now back then...no....I never would have done that shit to you."

I spread my legs out in front of me and leaned my head against the wall and looked over to sinks, "An almost end of the world epiphany, I can take that."

"Lou," he said putting his hand on my knee, I looked at him and took in his face. Beat up, swollen, cut, bruised, bloodied. But sincere.

"If I had known you...really known you back then, it would have been different."

I smiled, "You're just saying that because you became weirdly good friends with my little brother. Then you and I got taken by Russian spies and tortured."

He shook his head before the words were even fully out of my mouth, "No, I'm saying it because if I wasn't so blinded by trying to be this popular douchebag, I would have seen how selfless, brave, kind, loving, funny, loyal, strong you are. I would have seen you, Louise Henderson.

"Even these last few months being friends with Dustin, I should have seen it, and I'm sorry that I didn't. This...what? Almost week with you has been more eye opening then my last nineteen years on earth have been."

I smiled faintly at him and sent him a small shake of my head, "Well, like I said, Steve Harrington, I forgive you," I reiterated.

He let out a loud breath through his nose but sent me a tight lipped smile, "Do you get what I've been getting at?"

I tilted my head, "No?" I questioned, confused

He smiled and let out a laugh before squeezing my knee, "I ...think you're great, Lou. Like...really great. And I've developed...a bit of a crush on you," he said breathlessly, "and by a bit i mean a lot, like...yeah a lot."

I sat up straighter and looked at him, "What?"

His eyes moved back and forth rapidly, "Didn't you...I was talking about you that whole time, Lou," he told me.

I breathed out a small laugh, "I thought...I thought you were talking about Robin," I explained awkwardly.

He furrowed his brows at me, "Robin? No, I mean, I really like Robin in the sense that she's going to be one of my best friends for the rest of our lives like I said before. But you're...completely different. You make me feel good about myself, and make me want to be better, Lou."

I couldn't help the little laugh that bubbled past my lips, "I think you still have that drug in your system."

He smiled at me and shook his head, "No...I think I'm finally thinking clearly."

I grinned and shook my head. Just pure absolute happiness was radiating through me. My stomach was in knots but for the first time in a while, it was pleasant.

"Unless you don't feel the same?"

I looked back to him quickly, he looked worried and nervous. I shook my head at him immediately.

"No, no," I told him, "I like you too, Steve. I have for a long time," I smiled.

He breathed out airly and smiled at me, "I'm sorry I was slow to catch up."

"You caught up," I shrugged, "that's the important part."

He looked down at his lap, "Maybe we can go out when this is all done?" he asked, looking back up to me, hopeful, "Like tomorrow night?"

I grinned, "I think...that might be fun," I nodded, "As long as your face isn't hurting too much or anything."

"If it meant hanging out with you without Russians or monsters coming after us...then it'd be worth it," he said quietly, smiling.

"Sounds good then, Steve," I said, trying to hold in the giddiness I was feeling.

"What should we do?" he mused.

I smiled over at him, "Anthing but coming to Starcourt!"

We both began laughing but a second later the bathroom door burst open and in came Dustin, Robin and Erica.

"Okay," Dustin started, "what the hell?" he yelled looking between me and Steve.

Steve and I looked to each other and began laughing again.

"No, no, no, come on," Robin said, stepping up to the two of us, "I know you're both drugged out, but it's not the time," she said bending down to help me up.

I smiled up at her as I stood up with her, "No, we're good now," I said motioning to myself and Steve, "pretty sure we got it out of us."

Relief flooded her face as she nodded, "Okay well, then you can understand this. Don't run off when we're still be chased by Russian guards!" she yelled, irritated.

I looked over and saw Steve standing next to me, we shared a small smile before I looked back to Robin, "Sorry," we said in unison.

She rolled her eyes and nodded before Erica spoke up, "Listen can you two nerds hold it together and not get us killed? I'm tired of being chased by a bunch of Commies!"

"Okay," Steve said raising his hands, "what's the next move?"

“We leave the mall," Dustin began, "get the hell away from Starcourt. We're gonna blend in with the rest of the crowd and disappear."

I nodded, "Okay...okay, so when are we going?"

Dustin looked back at the door, then back to us, motioning for us to follow him, "Let's see if it's done," he said quietly.

We followed him out of the bathroom and down the hall, leading us to the door separating us from the movie theatre area.

Dustin opened the door slowly and I could immediately hear the chattering of people and I figured either the Back to the Future movie or some other movie had finished because people were all around in the lobby where Steve and I had, stupidly, been spinning in circles.

Robin, Dustin and Erica were in front of Steve and I , with Steve standing directly behind me. My hand was hanging slightly behind me with Steve's fingers laced in mine.

Dustin looked back to us for a second before opening the door fully and walking out into the crowd with us following him.

My breathing had picked up slightly, knowing that the guards were still after us and probably milling about looking out for us.

"Well shit, that worked," Erica stated with a grin.

"Of course it worked, we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and we'll be home sweet home," Dustin said, laying out the rest of the plan.

I scanned the area to see if anyone stuck out watching us.

Steve cleared his throat from next to me, "Huh...Dustin...we might not want to go back to your house."

I gritted my teeth, remembering that Steve had said Dustin's name to the Russians. He only said his first name, but I doubt they would have a hard time figuring out who he was. Not that I was angry at Steve at all. Angry that the Russians had gotten to us.

"Why?" Dustin asked quickly.

"I might have given them your first name," he said quietly.

Dustin looked back at us, "What? Why?"

"We were drugged, Dustin," I reminded him, "we couldn't exactly control ourselves."

"So? You resist! You tough it out like a man!" my little brother said sternly.

I swatted him across the back of the head, "Ow!" he yelped looking back at me with a dirty look.

"Next time how about you be the one sleep deprived and taken by Russians, beat up, knocked out and drugged and see how well you resist," I suggested.

Dustin rolled his eyes at me and turned to face forward, while Steve squeezed my hand tightly. I looked up at Steve and saw him watching me with a small smile. I smiled back at him softly.

"Guys?" Robin said quietly, sounding frightened.

I looked to her and saw her looking straight ahead, I followed her line of vision and saw the two men who we ran into once we were out of the elevator.

"Oh shit," I whispered just as one of the men looked in our direction.

"Abort! Abort!" Dustin called as we all almost began tripping over ourselves to turn around quickly and start running in the opposite way.

We got to the escalator but they weren't on and were totally blocked off.

Robin went to the area between the two escalators and sat down at the top and pushed herself down the metal slide that was between them.

"Come on," Steve instructed, pushing me to go after Robin.

I sat and pushed off and slid down quickly with Robin grabbing my hand to help me up after I made it to the bottom with Dustin, Erica and Steve coming down one right after the other.

"We have to hide," Dustin whispered, "come on!"

We followed behind my brother and ran over to one of the food places and hopped over the counter positioning ourselves on the floor. I sat between Steve and Dustin with my knees pulled up against my chest.

I was trying to calm my panting down, trying to get my breathing to even out.

The second he sat down, Steve grabbed my hand and held it in his. Was this going to be how it ended, after everything we had just gone through culminating with Steve and I expressing that we liked each other...we were all going to die, together, behind the cookie place.

I kept my head pressed against the counter and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt my brother grab my other hand. I opened my eyes and looked to him, but he had his head down.

I could hear the men walking closer to us and I knew this was probably it for us. I was terrified.

Steve squeezed my hand and I looked over to him, his eyes were wide and fearful and I'm sure mine reflected that too. He brought our intertwined hands up and placed it on his chest, where his heart is.

He nodded once and I nodded back. A silent moment between us.

I looked over to Dustin and saw he was now staring straight ahead but he looked petrified with his eyes wide and mouth parted breathing heavily.

I squeezed his hand to get his attention.

"It'll be okay," I mouthed to him silently when he looked over.

He nodded and squeezed his eyes closed. I did the same and braved myself for whatever was was coming.

Then...an alarm was blaring.

I opened my eyes quickly, looking from Dustin to Steve but they both looked as confused as me.

There was a loud crash behind us that made me yell, but it was over in an instant. Steve was the first to make the move to turn and look over the counter with us quickly following suit.

First I saw the bodies of the Russians strewn across the floor of the food court. Then looking to the right I saw the red car that had been stationed in the mall this last week flipped on its side, it had been thrown into another food court store front.

"Holy shit," Dustin whispered.

Steve nudged my arm, I tore my eyes away from the car and looked to him, he was looking up to the second level of the mall, I followed his line of sight and saw them. The rest of the party and Nancy and Jonathan looking over the railing at us.

——

Title credit to REO Speedwagon and gif credit to owner!

#stever harrington imagine #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #stranger things imagine #netflix #dustin henderson

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xxisxxisxxis · 4 years

Text

Gateway Drug | Part Forty-Four

Table of Content or Part Forty-Three

Read HERE on wattpad

Words: 3.2k

Warning(s): Explicit language, Drug abuse

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May 10, 1986, is hands down one of the most embarrassing days of my life...and Nikki's...and Tommy's, Heather's, Vince's, Mick's, Tansy's, etc.

I pluck the letter from our accountant off the door, not shocked with its content, but it still sends a streak of anger, sadness, and disappointment through me.

"What's that?" Izzy asks me, and I raise my brows and push it into his chest.

"A snapshot of your future if you don't slow down." I tell him with a sigh, taking my sunglasses off and putting my keys on the keyring as the guys file in behind me. "Nikki!" I call. "We gotta head to the hotel!"

I turn to face Slash, Izzy, Steven, Axl and Duff, digging in my jacket pocket to pluck five keys out.

"There's snacks in the pantry, beer in the fridge, and food in the freezer. Do not go in our bedroom, I will know, and I will kill you. Do whatever you want, but if you break it you buy it and I don't want random girls in here. If anything goes missing..." I start, turning to face them. "...I will make sure your career crashes and burns before you even get it off the ground." I promise, not an ounce of bullshit in my voice, seeing that my words get my point across to everyone except...

"You're bluffing." Axl scoffs out and I raise a brow.

"All I have to do is tell Nikki I have sex with Duff in my dreams." Is what I want to say, but I just brush it off and ignore him as Nikki stumbles in, pulling his jacket on, dragging his suit in the protective covering behind him by its hanger.

"Dude, you alright?" Steven asks him, a little concerned and Nikki pushes past them to go to outside to my car.

"I thought he was the best man." Izzy says and I exhale, grabbing my overnight bag and my dress for the wedding, from the couch.

"He is." I confirm, heading to the door. "Be good, stay out of trouble, I left the number for the hotel and our room number on the fridge." I inform them, opening the door, giving them one last glance. "Thank you for watching the house. I love you, guys."

"Love you!" Duff, Steven and Slash calls back before I shut the door and step to my car.

I put my stuff carefully in the trunk, seeing Nikki lazily crumpled his suit up and tossed it in.

I roll my eyes and fix his mess, laying it as flat as I can with my wrapped up dress before shutting the trunk and getting into the driver's seat.

Tommy and Heather had the Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara as their wedding venue, and everyone decided it would be easier to just stay the weekend instead of driving back home...Nikki had a grand plan to kick drugs over the weekend to avoid rehab.

But he did the exact opposite.

"...So Sparkie had to just give up on making it because his flight was delayed repeatedly and--Do I look okay?" Tansy asks me, looking down at her light pink dress that hugs just the right amount of her overly thin body.

"You look beautiful." I tell her, going over her tracks with more foundation as Tommy comes in.

"Nikki's fucked up." Tommy tells me, irritated and I look at him with dread filling me.

"What?"

"Nikki is fucked up on smack, Viv. That's what. And he's my fucking best man." He repeats. "My parents are here. Her family is here. They're pretty conservative and my best man is obviously tripping on something." He goes on.

"Shhhit." I hiss, walking to the door and he's hot on my trail as I make my way to the groom's suite, seeing Nikki on a couch, nodding off with his sunglasses on.

I take them off and pat his face until he wakes up.

"What?!" He startles.

"Fuck, Nikki." I let out a breath, seeing his pupils are nearly gone, his eyes a dead giveaway to his problem. "Where is it?" I ask and he looks at me blankly.

"Where's what?"

"I'm not playing this game with you. Where is it?"

His pinpoint accented eyes burn into me.

"If it were in your pussy, you'd know where it was." He sarcastically states.

My hand is picking up his pant leg and reaching into his boot, pulling out a lump of tar wrapped in cling wrap.

He rolls his eyes as I go to the other boot and pull out a plethora of syringes.

"Stand up." I order and he rolls his eyes and stands up. "Arms out, legs spread."

He obeys, a tight smirk on his face when I finish patting down each of his arms, and start on his legs.

My hands reach into each of the pockets in his pants to make sure there's nothing in them before he's grabbing my hand and putting it on his crotch.

"You couldn't keep it up right now if you tried." I tell him and he let's out a chuckle.

I just push at his chest and he falls back onto the couch as I gather his supplies.

"You'll get this back later." I lie to him, turning step past Tommy to put the stuff in my bag.

It was a smart tactic, truthfully. He couldn't shoot up because he didn't have his supply. But someone else there did have a supply I didn't even think about until Nikki was borderline comatose by the time the ceremony was about to begin.

"You what?!" I shout at Tansy as panic settles into her blue eyes.

"He was starting to bug out so I just thought--"

"--No, you didn't think about anything! If you had, you would've actually had time to process the fact that he has obligations to Tommy that, thanks to you supplying him with his bullshit, he might not be able to do!" I bark back and tears swell in her eyes as she looks like she's about to cry.

"Viv, just calm down." Vince interjects and I glare at him before looking at Nikki's nearly knocked out form.

"We gotta get out there in, like, ten minutes, Viv." Tommy reminds me, just as frustrated as me.

I let out a weak breath, giving up, rubbing my forehead before looking at Tansy.

"Do you have any blow?" I ask her, and she looks confused for a moment. "He needs to be alert so we can try to hide the fact he's stoned. Key word: 'try'."

"Y-Yeah?" She tells me.

"Bring it here."

She doesn't argue, going to her purse and pulling out a bindle of blow.

I hand it to Tommy and he cuts a few lines of if up, patting at Nikki's face to wake him up.

"Yo, best man, wake the fuck up, snort some, and let's go. I don't wanna be late and I don't wanna embarrass Heather." He tells him as Nikki groggily comes to.

"I'm up, man, just..." He waves his hand at him, sitting up.

I hold out a straw from Tansy's drink, to Nikki, and he looks up at me.

"One minute you're telling me I'm going to rehab, the next you're encouraging me to snort coke?" He laughs humorlessly. "Jesus Christ, are you manipulative or what?"

"Hey, asshole, hush and get your shit together so you don't ruin the most important day of my fucking life." Tommy loses his patience and sternly tells Nikki and Nikki looks insulted.

"The most important day of your life was the day I let you join my band." Nikki fires back, and Tommy rolls his jaw.

"Viv, you're my best man." Tommy tells me suddenly.

"Tommy, just--"

"Am I gonna be standing up there by myself or...?" He interrupts me and I sigh.

"I'll do it, drummer." Mick says from where he's in the corner, minding his business.

"Thank you, Mick. Good to know someone in my band has my back."

"Look, I'm fine." Nikki insists, ignoring Tommy, rubbing his eyes and discarding the lines of white powder. "And I already got the rings, let's just get this done, man."

Nikki goes to get up, but trips and falls into the glass coffee table beside him.

"Babe--"

"I got it." He insists, cutting me short. "I'm good."

No, he wasn't. When we got outside, the afternoon sun just highlighted his sickly appearance.

A disgusting yellow tint to his skin that seemed to cling to his thin frame, although the bloat that only seemed to worsen in the warm weather, covered up his obvious weight loss.

He was dripping sweat, and not because it was that hot outside, and he even left four different times during the ceremony to go to the bathroom (we all know what he was really doing), and when he was present, he was nodding off non-stop.

By the time the reception hit, I was dreading his best man speech.

I eat another bite of my salmon as Tansy and Heather continue to talk about where she and Tommy are honeymooning, and Tommy looks disappointed as Nikki approaches the table from another trip to the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Tommy." I mumble and he sighs out.

"Thanks, Viv." He kisses the top of my hand before looking over my head.

Arms wrap around my neck, and I'm startled a little before I look up and see Athena standing over me.

"Hey!" I greet her, standing up to hug her to me.

"Marry a rock guy and you're suddenly too good for me?" She asks, joking about how long it's been since we've seen each other. "Speaking of your rock guy, he didn't look too good up there." She says lowly through her teeth and I raise my brows.

"He's not." I reply quietly, feeling Nikki's hand squeezing at my shoulder and Athena looks at him over my shoulder and smiles.

"Hey." Nikki tells her the best he can as they hug for a second.

"Hey, dude." Athena says to him. "Um, I'll see you guys before I go, alright? There's hot guys everywhere and I'm gonna go see if I can hook a dick--I mean a date--for tonight."

"Be wise with your selection." I warn her.

"I will." She queezes my hand before stepping away and I exhale softly before sitting next to Nikki and as he drinks down his glass of wine Tommy stands up and clanks his spoon against his glass, silencing the five hundred guests.

"Alright, first of all, Heather and I would like to thank all of you for driving out here to celebrate this day with us. We really do appreciate it, and we love you guys more than you know. Right now, we're gonna take a moment to hear some words from the best man and maid of honor, and then really get the party going." He announces and Nikki squeezes his eyes closed for a moment before standing up, holding up his wine.

"To the bride and groom, may all your struggles be in bed." He let's out with a slight slur, obviously expecting people to laugh, but it falls flat.

"May all your ups and down be in bed." Is what he meant to say, but his brain was checked out, and by the looks on Heather's parents' faces, they were already second guessing the marriage after Nikki said that.

I struggle to keep my cringing on the down low as everyone awkwardly glances around and Nikki sits down, looking a little humiliated as he hides behind his hair while keeping his eyes on the table.

The awkwardness subsides as the maid of honor starts a tear jerking, elaborate speech about her relationship with Heather, but I don't pay much attention, too busy worrying over Nikki.

The way his eyes are shifting around the room, tells me he's anxiously trying to think up an escape plan to ditch this place all together.

My hand goes to his thigh, and he looks at me.

Despite being pissed at him for letting Tommy down, I still feel bad for him. I know he didn't plan to let him down, he just can't fucking help himself and I don't understand why he can't walk away from the drugs.

I give him a reassuring smile before kissing his cheek.

He puts his hand on the inside of my knee, scooting me closer to him, and I rest my head against his arm.

Once the girl's speech is done, Nikki's disappearing and the bride and groom dance is next.

I watch Tommy and Heather, their pure, annoying, over the top, but sweet, love.

I think Nikki and I had that at one point. We had to have had it in order to be so sure we wanted to spend the rest of ours lives together, even though I still second guess myself sometimes, and I'm sure he does, too.

I don't even think I was sure about it when we got married.

Tommy and Heather look so sure, though. They say, "I love you." If I said that, Nikki would probably run for the hills.

Someone's grabbing at my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts and I see Vince.

"C'mon, Miss Ballet." He tells me, and I furrow my brows.

"You're not big on dancing, Vince." I point out as we join other people slowly dancing around Heather and Tommy at this point.

"I'm not dancing, I'm spending time with my worst friend." He chuckles, and I take off my heels, holding them by their straps in one hand while my other hand rests in his, and his other hand holds at my waist.

Our one-inch height difference has me smirking arrogantly at him as we move together.

"What?" He asks.

"I'm taller." I pick at him a little.

"You're not ever gonna let that go, are you?"

"Nope." I giggle, shaking my head a little. "Sharise couldn't come?" I ask him and he shrugs.

"Skylar got sick." He explains and I nod as he glances around.

"Where'd he go?"

"Exactly where you're thinking he is." I respond and he stays quiet for a second, holding me a little closer to him.

"Have you two talked more about him...you know...?"

I shake my head.

"He doesn't think he needs rehab, just detox. As for therapy to save our marriage...that's up in the air." I admit, looking as Tommy and Heather laugh lightly amongst themselves as they dance, and Vince rubs his lips together and follows my line of sight.

"When I married Beth, I never thought we'd separate." He tells me and I raise my brows.

"Really?"

"No, I'm just trying to give you something to relate to, to help you not feel alone." He confesses and I laugh a little.

"I'm fine, Vince. I'll be okay."

"You and Nikki hate each other, Vivian. And if you don't yet, you will. Trust me. Beth and I were the same way and we put it off thinking it was gonna get better and it just never did."

"But Nikki and I are gonna work on it and get help." I state.

"Look, I'm not trying to freak you out, I'm just wondering how the hell you're gonna fix things because it's gonna take a lot. And if he isn't sober and on his A-game and giving it his all to mend shit, it's gonna wear you down more and more and it's gonna get uglier."

I know what he's saying is true, and I sniffle back a tear-induced running nose as water lines my eyes.

"Hey," he sees me about to cry, hugging me fully to him now and I wrap my arms around him, tears rolling down my face. "Shh shh shh." He soothes me.

"Vince, I'm scared." I say in a whisper.

"Viv, you guys are gonna be okay. I'm sure you'll find a way take fix things just to spite people saying you two won't last." He assures me, his hand rubbing comfortingly up and down my back. "Look at me." He says and I do, and he wipes at my tears. "It'll be fine, alright?" I nod. "Okay?"

"Okay." I reply, sniffling again.

He kisses my cheek and I hug him again.

"You got this." He promises me.

After our dance is over, Tommy is still in Heatherland and I decide to go find Nikki in the men's room.

"I was about to come find you." He tells me when he sees me come in as he's splashing water on his face in the sink.

"I was waiting for a dance with you but you never came back." I tell him, taking note that he's more aware than earlier.

He doesn't reply, he just starts to pull his bowtie and jacket.

"We can go up to our room and you can change." I suggest calmly.

He ignores me, getting the bowtie off, and sliding from his jacket.

I take them from him so he doesn't leave them, and he starts unbuttoning his shirt.

"You can't strip down and go to the room naked." I argue as he gets his belt loose before getting his pants undone. "Nikki--"

I'm cut off, his lips keeping me quiet out of absolutely nowhere, and as he backs me against the counter of sinks and pushes me up onto it, pushing my dress up my hips. I realize what he's doing. "We can't do this." I break away from him, taking deep breaths as his tongue runs up my neck.

"Why not?" He asks against my skin.

"Because you're not attractive to me right now." I want to say, but don't.

I don't have to.

"I just want you to get better." I say to him and he furrows his brows, giving me the opportunity to realize his pupils are big now, probably due to over correcting his heroin stupor with blow during his bathroom visit.

"So, what, you're just gonna keep your fucking legs closed until I get help?" He asks me as if I'm being ridiculous and I close my eyes and sigh out.

"Nikki, you're sick." I say as calmly and politely as I can, my stomach churning at his appearance. "I'm a shitty wife if I close my eyes and let you fuck me and just pretend you're healthy." I explain.

I think he's going to yell at me, or pitch a fit...but his tears roll down his face and collide with my hands that are still holding him, and he looks angry but tired of fighting.

"I'm trying to fix this. I don't want to go to anybody and have them tell me how to be married and how to live my life. You're not happy and I'm just trying to fix this." He tells me and I swallow back my own tears.

"Sex doesn't fix this, Nikki." I tell him. "I wish it would, I really do, but it just doesn't."

I see an obvious fight within himself as he thinks of what to tell me next.

"Fine." His voice cracks, a mixture of a sigh of relief and a stubborn surrender lacing his tone.

He and I called Bob Timmons and Doc that night.

#nikki sixx #tommy lee #vince neil #mötley crüe #the dirt #gateway drug

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bananarama-fantana · 5 years

Text

Trouble in Paradise

Steve Harrington story (updated re-post)

chapter one - chapter two - chapter three - chapter four - chapter five - chapter six - chapter seven

Chapter One - ‘Homecoming’

Word count: 3465

Warnings: smoking, drinking, pretty much just a bunch of teen angst (I didn’t sleep for three days writing this so the only real warning is to always stay hydrated and sleep)

Masterlist

I wasn’t bitter.

I kept telling myself that. I wasn’t bitter and I certainly wasn’t a bitch, even if Carol wanted to say otherwise. I just had that icky feeling I got.

It all seemed far too reminiscent of the Homecoming dance my junior year, when he’d asked out Holly Peterson and the pair had stood up on stage shamelessly sucking face with cheap plastic crowns on their heads for everyone to see, all the other cheerleaders swooning, the American high-school dream. I remembered the first half of the night, with Carol and the vodka she’d stolen from her mom’s (not so secret) hiding place. We were sitting on the ledge next to the sinks in the girls bathrooms while she did her mascara and her hair, listening to her bitch about Tommy and the cheer-team and practically every other person in our school. I’d had my dress pulled up to my knees, ruining all the creases, drinking as much as I could stomach to try and cover up that same icky feeling.

Carol was a friend out of convenience more than anything, a bitchy older sister who I let drag me around to parties to get drunk with. I had only really seen her have actual emotions a couple times that I could remember, once when Tommy cheated on her the first time and she’d cried all the way through 5th period, and the next after her brother told her he was joining the army. Other than that she was just Carol all the time. She was never really someone I wanted to spend time with but despite being one of the most popular girls in school she really didn’t have that many other friends. Ever since Kathy Gates caught her giving a blowjob to Kathy’s long-time boyfriend Pete, the whole crowd turned on her like an angry mob. On some level I kind of felt sorry for her, she was still a person after all and the whole thing had been him, not her, but at the end of the day Pete and Kathy exchanged their promise rings and Carol spent her time with me instead. Before I knew it, I was dragged into the whole charade right next to her, like the Wicked Witch of the East and the Wicked Witch of the West: the twisted sisters of Hawkins high.

“And like she’s got this smile like she thinks she’s fucking better than me all because she’s vegetarian!” she was saying, adding about the millionth coat of mascara to her eyelid.

“That’s total horseshit, I saw her eating a cheeseburger like last week,” I replied, jumping down from the ledge next to her and straightening out my dress.

The dizzying air full of hairspray and perfume was nauseating in itself. Music was already playing in the sports hall, the drums from Venus by Bananarama echoing along the corridors, reminding me painfully of the whole bullshit scene that awaited me back at the dance. It took a couple seconds to realise just how drunk I was after standing up, almost going over on my ankle, trying to walk in my borrowed pair of sequined high-heels. Carol was cackling as she watched me.

“Way to be a light-weight, Y/n!”

“I’m fine,” I protested, pushing fingers over my scalp to try and give my hair a little more volume. I had looked better in the car but this would have to do.

“You look like shit,” She said, continuing to laugh. I gave her a dark look as she took the vodka from me with a face like the Cheshire Cat. “I don’t know what the fuck your being a bitch about though, Clark obviously wants to screw you,” She said before taking a drink.

Clark was my date that night, a senior and a douche. He wasn’t the type of douche Carol would hang around with though, he was a kind of pretentious douche, he went to college parties, smoked Marlboros, he’d read Bukowski’s ‘love is a dog from hell’ and now he thought he was the shit, I had talked to him once at a pool party in the suburbs and figured just as much. Carol liked him because he had friends who were in college, I only really liked him because he had good weed. To be honest there was really only one reason why he was my date though.

Steve fucking hated him.

Even the memory of that way of thinking still made me feel ill. It had always felt pathetic. Every girl in the whole school was looking at Steve the same way I was and that made me sick to my stomach. There was a big part of me that wanted to scream that he wasn’t even that great. Sure, he had the hair and the looks and the charm, but the guy was a dufus, a total airhead, he was barely making it through high school and he wasn’t even smart enough to care.

I had known him longer than I could remember, guessing that we must have first met in kindergarten some time, growing up in that same small town world right beside each other our whole lives. Somehow always reflecting the other, like parallel lines that only really crossed during games of tag or dress up, or when he used to pretend to be a wizard or a knight, wielding a twig as if it were a sword to fight off all kinds of mythical beasts: a childish fantasy, foreshadowing a nightmare that would come to life just a decade later. In elementary school I would let him use my pencil sharpener and borrow my sacred coloured pens even though we weren’t that close. In middle school I had helped him with his English assignment when he never even bothered to finish reading the book, he called me a genius that day and it made me blush. He tried out for the basketball team and kissed Macy Johnson behind the bleachers the same day I got my first period and choked on my first cigarette, one that I had been given by one of the older girls as right of passage. In Freshman year I stood in the halls and listened to the story of how the newly appointed ‘king Steve’ had lost his virginity to a sophomore, while he ate rice pudding out of a little plastic cup in the cafeteria and read a poem I had written anonymously in the school paper, arguing with Tommy that he thought it was actually ‘pretty good’.

It wasn’t until I had been raked into the whole Carol business that we really started hanging out though, with her and Tommy playing tonsil tennis every minute they were within reach of one another, leaving me and Steve to sit and talk about ‘whatever’ to fill the time.

It was those nights at his house, sitting at the edge of his pool or in his car talking about just life or getting high or drunk or just sitting that made me realise how much I really liked him. Not just some school girl crush like in the 8th grade but actually knowing him and seeing him and thinking he was magic.

I liked to think he was different with me, as sad as that sounded, that I'd gotten to meet the ‘real’ Steve not just the douchebag facade, but that kind of thinking only breaks hearts faster. Carol didn’t know about any of it at that point, at least I hadn’t told her about it, but that night at homecoming was sort of the end of our sisterhood, at least as it was back then.

“Clark would screw a fucking lamppost if it laughed at his jokes,” I replied, giving her a look.

“Yeah but he’s cute though so why not?” Carol said easily.

“I’m not in the mood”.

“You’re never in the goddamn mood! I mean Jesus, I’ve got Tommy, Steve’s got Holly, if you’re planning to ditch Clark you’re just gonna’ look dumb!” That was the thing with Carol, she always had a picture in her head. What she wanted people to see. What she wanted all the other cheerleaders looking over at her to see and be jealous. I was her ‘best friend’ but I was more like an accessory.

The mention of Holly brought bile up in my throat again, making me wince, the icky feeling coming back, “I need another drink”.

Carol had pulled me back to the sports hall not long after that, happy with how she looked now. The sight that awaited was not a happy one, however, someone having clearly succeeded in spiking the punch. The whole room descending into a chaotic mess of filth; sweat, saliva, and showering glitter, with every other couple seemingly attached at the mouth.

It took no time before Carol and Tommy were all over each other already and something about that made me feel even more sick than before. Clark had been waiting around at the door talking to some girl, he was saying something about how he’d not been to a school dance in years, he thought he was too good for them. It took me a while to spot Steve in the crowd, whispering something in Holly’s ear while he handed her a drink and she played with his hair. He looked great. The whole thing was a disaster.

“You guys wanna go outside for a smoke or something?”

“Sure, baby,” Carol had replied to Tommy sweetly, at whatever point during the dance, leading the group outside into the night.

We were a motley crew, hiding behind the bike sheds round the corner of school to smoke. Avoiding the teachers, making us feel like adults for once, high on teen rebellion. Tommy and Carol just continued to feel each other up, holding cigarettes between their fingers now as well. Clark looked pretty put out, I almost wanted to just tell him to go talk to that girl again but Carol had told him to come and now all he was doing was standing around awkwardly trying to look cool while I gritted my teeth and bit down harshly, ignoring him and smoked my cigarette.

Holly was still giggling at all of Steve’s stupid fucking jokes, fluttering her eyelashes in her nauseating powder-pink cardigan. I had heard them all before too many times to count, each time somehow worse than the last.

“Hey, are you okay?” Clark’s voice broke me out of my enraged trance.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

He pointed at his lip, indicating mine. I'd been biting it again, so hard it had started bleeding. I swore to myself, trying to wipe it away.

“I’m fine, it’s just a habit.” He looked sceptical.

“Again?” Steve laughed, coming closer to hand me a tissue with a goofy grin and a cigarette between his teeth. A few nights prior I had bust my lip on the side of Steve’s pool after falling flat on my face. I had been pissed off with him that night but he was used to it, he probably just thought Carol was driving me nuts again. He hadn’t even laughed when I had fallen, just scrambled quickly over to me in a string of swears and curses, asking if I was alright and helping me to my feet.

The rest of the school week had been spent with him nagging me every two seconds that I needed to “quit biting at it, Y/n. It’s never gonna heal if you keep biting it like that” all while Holly stood next to him, fawning over him, hand on the back of his head running fingers through his hair.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s nothing,” I reassured, dabbing at the blood. I couldn't even feel the pain through the buzz, the blood was the only problem.

Holly gasped, hands coming up to her face, “oh no! She’s got blood on her dress!”

“Shit!” The dress wasn’t mine, it was a rental, and they were never going to accept it back looking like that.

“Hey, it’s fine you can get that shit out with like baking soda, right?” Clark said.

Steve scoffed. “What are you, man, a serial killer?”

Steve had never liked Clark so when he had rocked up to the dance with me hanging on his arm Steve hadn’t been impressed, whispering to me under his breath that I “could do better than that douchebag” not because he liked me or anything but just because I was his friend. He had said before that I was the only friend he had who he could have a real conversation with. We were just kind of like that. I didn’t like Holly either and I had told him just as much, he had just put it down to me having a thing against cheerleaders, I always said I thought they were all too uptight.

“What the fuck is your problem, asshole?” Clark bit back, Steve loving finally getting a raise out of him, he’d finally hit the gold he’d been digging for all night.

“Look, just drop it, Clark,” I cut in before Steve could say anything more and cause a scene.

“No, I’m not gonna just drop it, Y/n. I came out here with you for a good time and all I get is this moron riding my ass the whole night!” He said, gesturing to Steve.

“Leave then, man, go talk to Sadie fucking Lawson, that’s what you really wanna do,” steve sang back.

It was then that Carol broke her silence.

“Holy fucking shit!” her eyes were wide as she wiped her mouth, stepping forwards and looking right back at me, “I just figured it out!”

She looked at Steve and then back again. I let in a sharp breath.

“What the fuck are you talking about Carol?” Steve said exasperatedly. She was just laughing now. I closed my eyes, I knew what was coming.

“You don’t wanna fuck Clark, because you wanna fuck Steve!”

“What?” Tommy cut in, holding her arm and turning to look between us, he started to laugh too, “Oh my god. You’re right!”

I sighed, they were drunk, they were just drunk.

“Look, shut up, man. That’s obviously not true!” Steve was saying awkwardly, looking over at me cautiously, “Right, Y/n?”

When I didn’t immediately reply Carol and Tommy burst into more laughter, making my guts churn. It was like someone was suffocating me from the inside and stabbing me all at once, and all I could do was stand there and look into Steve’s painfully oblivious eyes.

“‘Course not, they’re just drunk,” I finally breathed out, running a hand through my hair and avoiding his eyes again.

“Bull-shit!” Carol yelled.

“Shut the fuck up, Carol,” I had snapped, feeling tears stinging at my eyes, the vodka pushing my emotions right to the surface, with a vengeance. She stopped laughing after that.

“What did you say to me?”

“I said, shut up.” It was a simple answer, that was silently begging her to just ‘stop’. But she didn't, taking a step towards me.

“Hey woah- woah, calm down, okay?” Steve brought his hands up between the two of us. Carol and I had fought before and it was never pretty. People at the dance had started to wonder over now too, after hearing all the ruckus. A crowd of spectators forming around the spot, drawing more attention.

It felt like the whole of Hawkins high was watching my life fall apart.

Over a year later I had still never quite managed to live it down, the whole school somehow burying my friendship with Carol in a night. We hadn't spoken again after the fight, which had somehow escalated so far that she had tried to rip out a chunk of my hair. I had stopped hanging out with her altogether the next day.

At one point she had called me late at night saying she missed me, but I knew that if I brought it up in person she would pretend it had never happened. But over the course of our high school lives we still went to the same parties and now, in senior year, the whole thing felt just like dé jà vu.

“You still like him, don’t you?” She was yelling over the music, drunk out of her mind.

Steve was dancing with Nancy Wheeler this time, dressed as Joel and Lana from Risky Business. The perfect couple to all appearances. The perfect couple, perfectly happy.

“You’re such a bitch, Y/n,” she slurred when I ignored her, repeating herself for about the fifth time that night. “Has anyone seen Tommy?”

“God! Carol, he’s an ass!” One of her new friends, Nicole, was groaning beside me. I guessed they had broken up again but I didn’t really care.

“Yeah, but I miss him,” she pouted, steadying herself on the sink and sliding herself across the tiled floor of Tina’s kitchen.

"I miss Steve,” I thought aloud, taking another sip of that weird drink and wincing. I really was that drunk, huh?

“Steve’s an ass!” The friend stated confidently.

I thought back to the Byers house last year, the demogorgon ripping through the wall and Steve hurling himself at it with no hesitation.

“He’s not so bad.” I shrugged.

Carol laughed. “He’s totally an ass!”

I liked to think I had changed a lot in a year, but Carol hadn’t. It was almost comforting. At least some things hadn’t changed. Despite Hawkins lab and inter-dimensional beings trying to eat everyone's face off, Carol was still the same-old Carol.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend anyway? Weren’t you dating some college guy, uhh... Pete something?” Nicole asked, leaning closer. She certainly seemed to know a lot more about me than I knew about her.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I answered with a grimace. In truth Pete was barely even a friend, sure I had slept with him but that had mostly just been because I had been drunk and he had been there, even if he was total dogshit in the sack. He sort of reminded me of Jonathan Byers when I first met him, he had a similar demeanour, granted a bit more put together, but mostly just watched a lot of Japanese horror movies. He didn’t keep to himself as much as Byers did though.

I had been surprised when Jonathan showed up at the Halloween party, when he told me Nance had invited him I was even more surprised. I hadn’t spoken to either of them at all since last year, I had seen him at the record store on Main Street a couple times, or in the halls at school and smiled, but that was it. The year before had left us all pretty broken, all starting when Jonathan’s brother had gone missing. A couple weeks later I cut my hand, heard a noise and thought nothing of it only to be woken up by something coming through the wall above my bed. I hit it with my bedside lamp at first, screaming at the top of my lungs, but it had done nothing, not even a scratch, so I ran out, still screaming like hell. The neighbours hadn’t heard me, they were in florida.

There was a quilted blanket my nana had given us lying out in the living room that night and when I hit the bottom of the stairs I had somehow kicked it into the fireplace on accident, the whole room going up in seconds. Whatever that thing had been, it had crawled back to where it came from, cowering away from the flames.

When the police and the firefighters showed up they thought I was insane, told me I must have been hallucinating from all of the smoke. Nobody believed me, not one, not until I spoke to Jonathan.

A year later here we all were, all four of us who had been there, signed the NDA's and everything, bound to secrecy. All in the same room but never further apart. Jonathan met my eyes across the room, he had been watching Steve and Nancy with just as much jealousy and disdain as I had, cradling a red solo-cup and a growing ball of hatred in my gut.

I hated to admit any of it, hated myself for still liking Steve, hated him for becoming less of an asshole, but most of all I hated that this time it was different.

This time he was in love.

#Steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #Steve harrington imagine #Steve harrington x oc #stranger things imagine #stranger things series #stranger things #dailystrangerthings #steve #Steve x reader #Steve harrington oneshot #Steve harrington headcanon #Steve harrington au #stranger things headcanon #Steve harrington hc

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trogersracing · 7 years

Text

Boston Marathon Race 'Report'

In the late 70’s and early 80’s my Dad worked as a photographer for Runner magazine and covered the Boston Marathon, even grabbing a cover one year as Bill Rodgers broke the tape (same era as Roise Ruiz). When I started running in high school my dad would joke that I should run the marathon on the 25th anniversary of the occasion and he could get another cover (had the magazine still been in business). I was a fast enough runner in high school but never gave much thought to running a marathon, the distances I was running in high school all seemed far enough. I couldn’t imagine quadrupling (or more) that effort. However, that thought always lingered in the back of my mind.

A much faster Ro-d-gers

Fast-forward many, many, years. My wife and I live in Boston and in the aftermath of the 2013 bombing my wife wanted to give back to the community and assist those that had been directly impacted by the event. She joined the One Fund team and raising thousands of dollars and completing her first marathon. I spent a lot of that day riding the course and cheering her on as she made her way into Boston and down Boylston Street. While the bug to run had not bit me it had certainly grabbed her and shortly after the race began talking about which marathon would be her next.

As she got more involved in running I slowly became more involved in triathlons. The hobby grew from a couple races a season to six or seven over the summer of 2015. That summer was by far the busiest summer with me also undertaking my first 70.3 race at Timberman. My wife had decided to run Marine Corps and we had some friends who lived in DC so on a whim I decided to round out my season with the marathon. I hadn’t included the marathon while training that summer at all, so once my last triathlon was over I increased the mileage as much as reasonably possible and it was a ‘hope for the best’ type situation. I knew I wasn’t in ‘marathon’ shape but I also assumed that I most likely never would just train specifically for that type of race.

Ultimately, despite my wife and I starting the race drastically late and working our way through the entire crowd she PR’ed by nearly fifteen minutes and I ran a 2:54 to qualify for Boston. I had honestly never thought I’d run a marathon, much less qualify for the Boston…

Fast forward another year, we’ve now living in London. I had qualified for the 70.3 World Championships in Australia at Timberman and so we’re in Sydney on vacation after my race. The signup for Boston happens to be during the vacation so one night I have to stay up till midnight to make the East cost time slot to signup. It seemed a bit crazy person to be committing myself to the race but, I figured, it is logistically and easy trip with family there, will be good to get home and I might never have that chance again. After a couple days I received my confirmation, I was in!

So, ran the qualifying race in 2015, entered in 2016 and now running in 2017… that’s a long lead time for a race…

So lets get to the important bits…

Before the race I had a good chat with Tommy, my coach at Ignition Fitness. We talked at length about my race prep and my state of mind. I think I mainly terrified him that I was in total mental free fall regarding the race and probably had money on me dropping by mile 13. While I know I had done the work and can prepare technically for a race, my mental preparation for racing is really weak… Its weak in that I also don’t race for any typical sense of enjoyment. I race for the competition, that is what I find enjoyable and so a race like Boston, where I know I’m not going to be gunning for first is hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s a race that is just for me, the hardest kind. Regardless, I cannot thank Tommy enough for getting me ready to run, his plan, and willingness to modify around my crazy work and life schedule made this race a possibility.

The race:

Waking up at 5:15 was easy given the time change in my favor from London and race day anticipation. I had an English muffin with peanut butter and stashed another in my start area bag along with a few other snacks. The walk over to the Common was quiet with only few cars on the streets. The closer I got to downtown crossing the more other runners I saw on their way in as well. I made my way to the busses and quickly loaded. I ended up sitting next to a gentleman from Switzerland who currently lives in St. Louis. He had a lot more marathon experience than me and we chatted a bit about living abroad, and what brought us to Boston, which made the forty-five minute trip out to Hopkinton a bit easier. Once at the high school we went our separate ways and I carved out a little space under one of the tents. A fellow runner (who had obviously run Boston before) offered me a spot on his tarp, which I gladly accepted. It made the hour and a half that much better. I passed the time by staying hydrated, frequent bathroom visits and people watching under the tent. A mix of first time marathoners, seasoned veterans and everyone in between, each had their own routine, which, as someone who really doesn’t have a routine, is fun and educational to see how others psyche themselves up for a race like this.

Soon enough they started calling out for people to move to corrals. I made my way out, dropping off my second hand jacket and remainder of my uneaten food. I hung on to the water and made a last minute bathroom break just before getting to the corrals. Once there the reality of the whole thing started to settle in, I was on the course, could see people lining up, stretching, and warming up. It wasn’t just a bunch of people hanging out in a field any more. I jogged around for a few minutes, mainly to try and shed some nerves and then stretched in the common. For me, I stretch more because its what people do than I feel my body getting any real benefit… but it helps to fill the time.

Entered the corral and made my way to about the middle of the zone. I knew my number seeded me towards the front of the corral but not having a great idea of how it all started I didn’t want to get caught up in any fast start or sprint down the hill. I heard the cheer of the crowd as the elites were brought out to the starting line. The anthem was sung and flyover perfectly timed, this was happening.

Some words were said and then the gun went of…. Everyone took the step forward.. then two… then a bit of walking… then jogging…. And within thirty seconds I was over the line and heading to Boston. I knew Carly’s dad worked the starting area and had video of Carly starting from just past start. As the crowd dove down from Hopkington I picked him out of the crowd and yelled as the pack flooded by.

I had broken the race into three sections, mainly based off of geography but ultimately also aligned quite nicely with the race

Once started my main goal was to keep my cool and not wreck the race in the first few miles. While a couple of friends that had run before noted that the first few miles were an easy place to bank some time for tougher sections towards the end I knew that with the weather and my general lack of marathon experience I could easily go out to fast and pay a big price later. Keeping a reasonable pace wasn’t as easy as I otherwise imagined. On one hand I was stuck in a crowd of people, that, for the most part had qualified with times I hoped to better by about 5-10 minutes, on the other however all these people had just started Boston, so it was general chaos. So I found myself alternating from easily passing a group of runners to backing off and using the same groups to slow my pace down at times. It took nearly three to four miles before the pack really ‘thinned’ and I was able to concentrate more on running a race than trying to pick my way through a crowd.

Other than managing my pace my main goal was hydration. I really wanted to not have dehydration be a reason I didn’t feel I was successful and having managed my water intake pretty well over the previous two to three days didn’t want to just let it all go during the race. I started by taking Gatorade at every stop for the first four miles, I’d also, if manageable, grab a glass of water and dump over me to keep me cool. Even though it was only 10am I could feel myself getting warm quickly.

So when I had dinner with my dad and stepmother the day before we had outlined a rough idea of where they might go and see me on the course. The loose plan had been to watching me run through Framingham and then they’d jump on the train and head into the city to see me finish/after the race. Though this plan was made without any concept of what the actual race day conditions along the course but formed the first major marker for me in the race. From Hopkington in the entire course is lined with people and once you get into a town the crowds are four people deep. The experience is undeniably cool, kids sticking their hands out for high-fives the entire time, its impossible not quicken your pace as you high five a crowd of strangers. That said, as I cruised through Framingham and hadn’t seen/heard my family and I was a little bummed. While I rationalized there was no way could have ever picked them out of the crowd, I hoped they saw me and got a few pictures… I’d see them once I got to Boston. By the time had I fully put seeing them out of my mind I was seven to eight miles from the start and I was able to run my own race.

All of the sudden I pick ‘Taylor!!! Taylor!!!” out of the crowd noise to my right. I’d been running along the left side of the road and glance over to my right and see my step mom halfway out in the road and my dad furiously shooting away. I smile and do my best ‘‘I’m feeling good, but fuck this is hard and I have a long way to go’’ smile and cheer back.

I don’t really know whats yet to come… Photo credit to Dad.

It had been good to see them, it was a nice boost to the mental state of things when it had started to quiet down. Its easy to loose your spark in the middle of a race, where it’s a personal competition and you wont get that big check at the end of the day. You’re racing for something inside and it can be hard to keep your head in that ‘Lets do this’ mindset. So as silly as it was the cheer really did help. Shortly after I saw my parents I overheard two runners chatting about their goal time for the day, a both around 2:45. So I started chatting with them and we all ran together for a number of miles. One was an architect in Cambridge and knew of the Colby college project I was working on so we had something to pass the time for a couple miles. Being able to clock off a couple of solid miles at pace loosing myself a bit in conversation was good and again, saved me mentally. Keeping me from running alone with my thoughts.

However, over the course of a couple of water stops (so a couple of miles) I started to creep away from them. I cruised through the half marathon in about 1:22. Pretty much dead on for my 2:45 and still very much in the realm of a 2:40. I was pleased with how I was managing the race both with pacing and hydration. I may have actually even been over doing it a bit. As we rolled into the Newton hills my stomach started to give me a bit of a ‘hey hey’. I could tell that the Gatorade at every mile was starting to be a bit overkill digestively. I switched to water only for the remainder of the race and my stomach slowly got better.

Everyone always talks about heartbreak hill when they talk about Boston, but again, a couple of friends that had run before warned me that the earlier hills are actually the ones to watch out for. You’ve game planned for heartbreak, it’s the others you run through without consideration that will eventually come back to haunt you they warned. So when the hills started around 16/17 I was careful to pull back, ever so slightly, and keep the heart rate down. I still found myself passing people who had overcooked the first part of the race and had started to pay which was mentally encouraging. However, I had to be careful to not let myself go on the downhills. I didn’t want to destroy my knees slamming down hill after hill for a few cheap seconds. But I also knew that holding myself back would have the same effect on my muscles. So a delicate balance of easing up the hill, cresting strong, and then easing into a bit of a downhill push played out from mile 17 through to Boston College.

Cresting Heartbreak Hill.

BC was my last milestone. I felt confident that once I had made it to the college I’d finish the race. Yes, even though, knock on wood, I’ve never DNF’ed a race I still approach every race with that possibility from both a training and from a logistics standpoint (so far so good). So once I passed BC I knew I could finish, I might still blow up, but I knew I could get myself there. That said though this is where the race really became tough for me.

While the crowd only grew in size as you get closer and closer to Boylston you’re still 4-5 miles out and you’ve got a long way to run. There aren’t many ‘oh cool’, landmarks and I knew I wouldn’t see any family along this part. So if anything, this, three miles from the finish, is the doldrums of the Boston Marathon (for me).

I also became aware that my stretch goal of 2:40 wasn’t going to happen and my goal of 2:45 was also slipping from my grasp. Slowly the heat, inexperience and exhaustion were taking their toll. I could feel my form slipping, my head tilting to the side, my foot striking in the wrong place, stride becoming more and more condensed. I kept mentally plugging myself back in and trying to regroup, but it just becomes difficult time and time again. However, the upshot was that I was getting closer and closer. I eventually saw the Kenmore sign and I was instantly elated. I now felt I was in Boston proper and running on roads I’d run hundreds of times before. I slowly felt the energy reserves release into my legs and I started to pick up the pace. At this point I was still easily passing people who were wilting under the warmer temperatures, I while I was feeling it too I dug deep and pushed on. Through Kenmore with the crowd getting me going and turned down Comm Ave and through the underpass. The last hill I thought to myself and quickened my pace up the short hill and up onto the street.

Cruising through Kenmore. Photo credit to Molly.

By now I could taste it, I knew, somewhere, just in front of me the finish loomed. I spotted people taking the right onto Hereford street. I started to surge, I knew I was no further than two or three minutes from the finish line. I started to drive harder and took the hard right on to Herford and saw Boylston just ahead, pushing hard I tried to keep my turnover up and ignore my tired legs. Little did I know that right then I cruised by Carly and the rest of my family who had found a primo spot on Hereford. Huge cut-out heads and all they screamed (I found this all out later) as I pushed towards the finish… At this point all I was aware of was the general noise of the crowd and my desire to get across that finish line as quickly as possible.

Trying to maintain form, slight head tilt.

Taking the hard left onto Boylston I saw it, just a few hundred meters away, the finish loomed large. Boylston seemed strangely wide with only a few runners down its length. The crowds on either side shouted encouragement and felt strong I pushed hard with a solid effort in the final meters to cross the line.

It’s getting hot out there.

And then, just like that, it’s over, you suddenly become acutely aware of the throbbing knee, the right foot that must be one big blister and the general exhaustion. I walked on, towards the aid tents and volunteers who handed out the medals, water and copious ‘Congratulations’. I slowly made my way away from the start to the location Carly and I had picked out to meet near the Hancock Tower. I had my picture taken a few times and not till a few minutes later did I even realize I still had the tape over my nipples, it had worked like a charm! I found a small spot on the curb and laid down to wait for my family. I had no idea how long they’d be (or where they were) so I just zoned out and blankly stared at other runners meeting their families after the race. I had done it, the race that decades ago was nothing more than a joke finally materialized. In the end I ran a 2:48, a solid time that, for both my first Boston and second marathon I’m incredibly happy with. Could I run faster? Perhaps, but today, that was the time my body could muster and that was enough for me.

Pushing down Hereford. Photo credit to Carly.

I was happy and ready for some BBQ. A huge thanks to my entire family who showed up and supported me on Race day and of course a very special thanks to Carly who gets me through every race.

The Fam. Photo credit to Laura.

And the best cheerleader!

Short Video of me going down Hereford:

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Boston Marathon Race ‘Report’ was originally published on Rogers Racing

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