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probably-writing-x · 5 months

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Fault (Part Three)

“She’s gone. She’s fucking gone,” Conrad drags both hands through his hair, tugging on the strands to release any ounce of his frustrations.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Steven frowns, watching Conrad’s movements as he paces the room.

“I mean she left, Steven,” He snaps, “Her stuff’s gone, her suitcase isn’t in Belly’s room, her keys are gone. It’s all fucking gone.”

“Okay, okay, what do we do about it?” Steven persists, “What can we do?”

“I don’t know,” Conrad shakes his head, “What the fuck is happening, Steven?”

Steven watches his normally stoic friend crumble just a little in front of him, his eyes filling with tears he won’t let fall.

“We should be happy, you know?” Conrad half-laughs, “We should be fucking happy.”

“I know,” Steven sighs, “How Jere and my sister are being is really shitty, I get it. But you can’t let that ruin things with you and (Y/n). It’s not worth it.”

Conrad falls silent, running a hand over his face.

“Get your car, go and find her, okay?” Steven says, “You need to go.”

Something switches in Conrad at the words and he nods, eyes scanning the room to find his car keys. He grabs them and stuffs them into his pocket, checking his phone to make sure there still wasn’t any text from you. He doesn’t say another word, hurrying past Steven and down the stairs.

At the base of the staircase, his brother stands, knocking into Conrad at the exact moment that he comes flying down.

“Conrad-“ Jeremiah begins, watching as Conrad reaches for the front door.

He stops in his tracks and turns around, glancing at his younger brother, “This was never about you Jere. And until you realise that, I have nothing to say to you.”

The door slams behind him and he’s hit with the harsh chill of the breeze sweeping across the driveway. It seems oddly empty without your car parked up on the far side but he fuels himself with every emotion coursing through him, his car driving away from the house before it feels like he’s taken a breath.

———

The roads are too empty as he drives, knowing there are only a single pair of headlights he’s hoping to see. He gets out of Cousins, just down the road that would take him towards the highway. And then the realisation hits. There was only one place you’d go before jumping the gun to drive home.

He indicates and turns into the gas station, parking up in front of the small storefront. Your car is parked up in the bay beside his and he feels his chest ease, pressing the heel of his hand against his heart until he notices himself relax.

It’s relatively empty inside apart from someone talking to the person working at the counter. And just above one of the short aisles, he spots the back of your head, tilted down as you’re browsing, completely oblivious to him. He walks over until he’s stood directly beside you, both of you in silence.

You’ve got two bags of crisps in your hands, trying to decide between the two, “Which one do I pick?”

Conrad stands so close beside you that his arm bumps against yours, igniting the tiniest bit of comfort back into him, “Those ones.”

He points down at one of the packets and you decide to take his word, setting down the other back onto the shelf before you turn to face him.

“Hi,” He says softly, looking down at you.

You look up, “How did you know I was here?”

“You never drive home without stopping first.”

You smile briefly, the warmth holding you for a moment, before the reality returns, “I can’t go back there Conrad.”

He watches the way your bottom lip trembles at the words and reaches out to hold you, his eyes searching until yours met his, “We don’t have to.”

You lean forward and rest your head on his chest, feeling the tension inside of you evaporate at his touch.

“Let’s go, come on,” He stretches out a hand, palm up waiting for your own.

Without a second thought, you lace your fingers with his. He walks the pair of you to the register - stopping on the way to pick up a toothbrush and toothpaste. You stop at your car on the way over and he takes your bag out of the trunk, taking it over to his own car and tossing it onto the back seats. You climb into the passenger seat and he sets a hand on your thigh when he isn’t changing gears.

It isn’t more than a couple of minutes before you reach your destination, the motel just down the street from the gas station. It was always at least half-empty and the sign at the front flickered every few seconds, buzzing in its illumination.

You pay up at the reception and the lady gives you a key to a room on the far end, Room 23. There’s a lantern above the doorframe and the numbers on the wooden door are painted pale blue, though it seems to have faded and chipped in it’s weathering. Conrad unlocks the door and both of you step inside. It’s a small room, made seemingly smaller by the dark burgundy walls that seem to draw the space inwards. The floors are wooden and the room is cold, even in the summer weather. There’s a double bed against the left wall, and a small table and chairs next to the window at the front of the room, a desk and small standing closet against the wall on the right, a bathroom at the far end where the door is slightly ajar.

“Well, this is luxury,” Conrad comments, closing the door behind the pair of you.

He walks around the room as if inspecting it, glancing into the bathroom. You walk over to the bed and sit down on the edge, your hands in your lap. Conrad turns around and his features soften, walking slowly over to you. He crouches down in front of you and holds your hands in his.

“We’re going to figure it out, okay?” He says softly, taking a deep breath as if encouraging you to breathe with him.

“They’re just so sure this is going to fail,” You whisper, “The way they spoke about you Con it’s like… it’s like they’re just expecting you to fuck up everything.”

“Okay,” Conrad nods, “And do you believe them?”

“No, God, I know it’s not true I just-“

“Okay,” He repeats, so softly, “That’s all I need.”

You let out a little laugh, “That’s it? Conrad what about them-“

“I’m not thinking about them,” He stands up slowly and you tilt your head up to look at him, his hands cupping either side of your face, “I’m thinking about you.”

Your stomach gives you the same butterflies it had when you’d first kissed Conrad, when he’d first held you in his arms and made you feel so sure that he was all you needed.

He leans down until his nose bumps yours, nudging you as if he wanted to see any glimpse of assurance in you. When your lips curl into a smile. he kisses them as if to seal it there.

“That’s my girl,” He mumbles as he pulls away from your lips.

You hum in agreement, reaching your hands up to grab at the shoulders of his shirt, pulling him down onto the top of you as you fall back onto the mattress, “Say that again.”

———

You wake up the following morning wrapped in Conrad’s arms, a welcome contrast from the cold of the room. He’s asleep beside you, his arm underneath you wrapped around your back as your head rests on his chest. You trail your fingers up his skin, towards his jaw where you lean up and press a kiss.

He groans as he awakes, tensing underneath you before relaxing into your touch.

“Good morning,” You hum, snuggling into him closer.

He grumbles something close to a response and tightens his arm around you.

“Did you sleep okay?” You ask him, drawing swirls around his chest.

Conrad hums, “It’s fucking freezing in here.”

You giggle, “Yeah the air con is definitely broken. And that window doesn’t shut properly.”

“I promise our next night away will be a little more romantic than this,” Conrad blinks his eyes awake and looks down at you, tucking an arm under his head to watch you from a better angle.

“I don’t know, I’d say it was pretty romantic,” You turn over and lean up onto your elbows, smiling at him.

He reaches a hand over and brushes the hair away from your face, his hands stopping on your neck, where a mark from the night before was darkening into a blotchy purple just beneath your jaw, “Oh god I’m sorry.”

You giggle, “Nothing that concealer won’t cover.”

Conrad smiles, “You know, I have a present for you.”

You raise your brows, “A present?”

He hums, “It’s in the pocket of my jacket, I was going to give it to you last night but it didn’t feel like the time.”

“Can I get it?” You grin, already stretching up from him as if you were about to dart from the bed.

He nods and you jump up, hurrying over to the other side of the room to get his jacket. You were dressed in his t-shirt from the night before and nothing else, it hung just around your thighs and he watches as you bend down to pick up his jacket from the chair. He’s sure, in that moment, he falls in love all over again. He watches you like you’re simply angelic. Like in the darkest moments of his life, it would still be possible for you to brighten it. He could hold you in his arms and convince himself that it would be forever. And he knows, despite every ounce of reluctance to be vulnerable he’s had before, he would do what he could to fight for you.

You pull out the small velvet pouch from his pocket and smile widely, brushing your thumb over the soft material. When you turn around, Conrad is laying with his arm folded under his head, the sheets hanging low over his waist and the skin of his chest golden in the dim morning light. He’s smiling at you lazily, softly. And you’re sure he could be everything you ever needed. That, when the younger version of yourself thought of her knight in shining armour, it was him you were thinking of. Someone just as loving, as thoughtful, as honest, as handsome. All the small somethings that could make up everything. Your heart swells and you feel yourself fall in love all over again - hoping for the same feeling every day.

“Okay can I open it now?” You ask excitedly, perching yourself on the edge of the bed beside him.

He nods, shifting himself back in the bed so that he sits back against the headboard.

You pull open the strings and look inside the small bag, pulling out a thin gold chain - one decorated with a small pendant engraved with the curve of the letter ‘C’.

“Con-“ You begin softly, feeling the lump form in your throat.

“You don’t have to say you like it if you don’t and you can always not we-“

“I love it.”

You watch him visibly relax, the worry releasing into a bright smile, “Here.”

He takes it from you and you turn around, pulling your hair to the side so that he can fix the chain around the back of your neck. His fingers brush gently over the skin and he presses a soft kiss there before you turn back to face him.

His initial sits perfectly over your chest, over the material of his t-shirt. His.

“I know it might feel early to say it, but I think I’d be stupid not to,” Conrad lets out a laugh, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” You say the words so quickly after him that it’s as if they fit seamlessly together.

He grins widely, pulling you into him.

All you’d ever need.

———

You both shower and get changed - Conrad borrowing back the one t-shirt of his you’d packed in with your things. It’s only then that you check your phone.

Laurel: Just let us know that you’re safe

Susannah: Is Conrad with you honey? I don’t want you to be on your own

You type back a response to Laurel and send it over, telling her that you were okay and that you were sorry. You reply to Susannah telling her Conrad had found you last night. They both reply almost instantly with their evident relief.

There was another notification that a message had come through from Belly but it had been deleted before you got a chance to read it.

“Ready to go darling?” You glance up and Conrad is stood in the doorway of the bathroom, running a hand through his hair.

“Your Mom and Laurel were asking after us,” You mention, picking your bag up from the bed beside you.

“Yeah?” Conrad walks over and takes the bag from your hand without a second thought, “What did you tell them?”

“That we were together and we were both okay,” You reply, following him out of the room.

“Does that mean we don’t have to go back now?” He jokes, glancing back to wait for you, reaching out a hand for you to take.

“Yeah, lets just never go back, we’ve already said we could,” You smile, ducking under his arm so that he can wrap it around your shoulders.

You interlock your fingers with his arm around you, brushing your thumb over the soft skin. Conrad hums in agreement and pulls you into him a little, kissing the top of your head quickly.

As the two of you steer towards the car, you both stop in your tracks.

Jeremiah’s truck, parked two spots down from Conrad’s - Belly, Jeremiah and Steven stood leaning against the hood. They all stand up straighter when they see you.

“What are you doing here?” Conrad speaks harshly, coldly.

“Conrad,” Jeremiah responds as is he’s instantly hoping it will calm the situation down, “We wanted to speak to you. To both of you.”

“You’re not starting this again, okay? I’m not having you argue with us until we-“

“We’re not here to argue with you,” Steven interjects, glancing at the two beside him, “We just wanted to sort things out.”

You glance over at Belly and your hand slips down from Conrad’s, yours falling down at your side. She looks at you and her brows furrow as if with sympathy, offering you a small smile that you somewhat return. Conrad’s arm moves away from your shoulders but his fingers bump yours as soon as they’re at his side, as if reminding you he was still there. You see Belly swallow the lump in her throat.

“Well, talk,” Conrad shrugs, “I didn’t pay for a late checkout so can we hurry this shit along.”

“We were in the wrong last night,” Jeremiah begins, glancing between the two of you, “We didn’t mean for it to come across the way it did. (Y/N) we were just looking out for you, and we were looking at this all wrong. Conrad clearly cares about you, and we were wrong for thinking that it was anything less than that.”

Conrad is unmoving, like he’s happy to completely ignore what’s being said.

“If you two want to be together, that’s not our place to get involved. We should be happy for you,” Jeremiah glances at you, “And we are.”

“Okay,” Conrad shrugs, “And you?”

His attention turns to Belly.

“I mean, Jere can say we all he wants but what do you want to say?” He persists, “(Y/N)’s meant to be your best friend Belly, did you forget that?”

Part of you almost expects yourself to stop him - like you should be telling him it was too far, or you didn’t want to upset her, or you didn’t want to make things worse. But he was right. And it needed to be said, when you felt like you couldn’t say it yourself.

“I’m sorry,” Belly’s voice cracks over the words and the loyalist in your heart reaches out for her, “I never meant for it to get like this. I never- I never knew how you felt about Conrad, and I hate myself for not realising it sooner, and for not letting you feel like you could tell me how you felt. But it won’t be like that now, I promise. I don’t want you to have to hide anything from us any more.”

You feel a tension in your chest settle and your shoulders relax, Conrad’s hand brushing yours again with how close the two of you stood together.

“Thank you,” You half-whisper, offering her your most sincere smile.

“Alright,” Steven clasps his hands together, “We good?”

You look at Belly and for the first time in days feel like you’re actually looking at your best friend, “We’re good.”

“Okay let’s get out of here, please,” Steven encourages, clasping Jere and Belly on the shoulders either side of him, “We’ll see you guys at home?”

“Yeah, we’ll be right behind you,” Conrad nods, watching as the three of them turn around to pile into the car.

They drive off to leave the two of you stood in your own company once again. Conrad turns to you and you can see the tension still caught between his features.

“Are you happy?” He says softly, his hand reaching out to squeeze yours.

You nod, “I am.”

He relaxes almost instantly, like he needed any confirmation from you before he could react. His fingertips reach out to you, brushing over the necklace on your chest, his thumb pressing the C pendant.

“Ready to go home?”

You nod again.

He wraps an arm around you and picks up your bag from the floor, squeezing you tightly.

———

The house feels lighter when you return, like it’s flooded with relief. You’d stopped on the way to pick up your car from the gas station, driven the rest of the way following behind Conrad - who had made sure you were in his rear view mirrors for the whole way home.

You both step into the house to the smell of baking and sweetness and some level of mayhem.

“What’s going on?” You frown, walking through to the kitchen.

“We thought we’d make muffins,” Belly smiles, “Although we were hoping they’d be done by the time you got home.”

You laugh, “Yeah, sorry, maybe I should’ve driven a bit slower.”

Belly laughs, “It’s our fault. Steven refused to help and Jeremiah can’t follow instructions.”

“I wouldn’t trust them to do it anyway,” You reply, “Belly baking has always been the best.”

Conrad walks through after you and he stops quickly, “Sorry, I’m not interrupting am I?”

You go to respond but the words catch on your tongue.

“Of course not!” Belly beams, “Just waiting for the muffins to bake.”

Conrad nods, “As long as they’re better than the ones you made at Christmas.”

“That was one bad batch!” Belly exclaims, waving the spatula in his direction.

He raises his hands in defence, “I said what I said.”

They both laugh and for a moment you feel like you need to capture it, like it was a bit of normalcy you’d been missing for far too long. Conrad glances at you and smiles and you smile too, both sharing in the relief.

“These will be ready in five, the boys are out by the pool if you want to join us out there,” Belly offers.

You nod, “Yeah, sure, let me just get changed.”

You walk out and Conrad follows after you, taking your bag up the stairs behind you. When the two of you reach the top, you both stop in your tracks.

“Am I supposed to stay with you or with Belly?”

Conrad laughs, “You’re not supposed to do anything, it’s up to you.”

“But will she be mad at me if I don’t stay with her? Or is it weird if I don’t stay with the guy I’m seeing?” You drag a hand through your hair.

He shakes his head, smiling at you, “(Y/n) don’t overthink it. It’s just a bed to stay in.”

You nod, Conrad spoke to calmly and softly when he spoke to you that it made you certain that you could believe him, every single time.

“Not to skew your decision or anything but I would obviously prefer if you stayed with me.”

You roll your eyes, “Of course you would Con.”

You step past him in the direction of your room and he follows after you, hand reaching out to grab your waist. You giggle as the two of you stumble into the comfort of his room and he closes the door behind you.

“So, I’ve either got navy, or this blue one, or red,” You hold up three bikinis in your hand and Conrad raises his brows, “Which one?”

He furrows his brows as if he’s deciding before he says, “Blue.”

“Blue it is,” You return, turning around so that you can start getting changed.

Conrad flops down onto the bed and leans onto his elbows, watching you.

“Stop staring,” You turn around and narrow your eyes at him, “Can you tie this at the back for me?”

You walk backwards until you’re at the bed and he sits up straighter so that he can tie the elasticated strings at the back of your neck, his fingers delicate over your skin. When he’s done, he runs his hands over your shoulders, leaning in so he can press a kiss to your back.

You turn around in his arms and look down at where he sits, running your hands through his hair, “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He hums in agreement and flutters his eyes closed at your touch, like he wants to lean up into it.

“Keep it in your pants, Fisher,” You grin, grabbing your towel, phone and book from the side and heading back out of the room.

When you get back downstairs, Belly is just taking the muffins out of the oven, and she turns around to catch your eyeline as she sets them down on the counter.

“Ooh they look good,” You smile, “And they smell good too.”

She grins up at you but her expression falters for just a second, her smile returning a moment later. Though, it had disappeared for just long enough for you to notice the light slip from her eyes momentarily.

“Did Conrad get you that?” She gestures towards your pendant.

Your hand flies to the necklace as if you’d forgotten it was there, brushing over the gold, “Oh, um, yeah, he gave it to me this morning.”

“It’s beautiful,” She says softly, “I’m surprised he can be so romantic.”

You laugh a little, trying to force the awkwardness from your lungs, “Yeah I was surprised too.”

“I don’t want you to-“ Belly shakes her head, “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell me things. Like, I want you to feel like we can still talk about boyfriend stuff, you know? I mean, if you want to.”

You nod, “Come on, if I can’t talk to you about it I can’t talk to anyone.”

She laughs, looking down to start pulling the muffins from their tray, “So Cameron swiped up on my story a couple of days ago.”

“What?” You gasp, “Cam Cameron?!”

She laughs and her eyes crease in the way they do when they’re at their brightest, “Yeah it’s weird right? I don’t really know what he’s thinking is going to happen but-“

“Oh come on, the boy was head over heels for you,” You scoff, “I think I know exactly what he’s thinking.”

She laughs again and both of you settle into silence, smiling at each other like you hadn’t seen each other in forever.

“Why don’t you give him a second chance? He was sweet.”

Her eyes drift outside to where Jeremiah is laying across one of the loungers, “Yeah, maybe.”

“Jere?!” You exclaim, eyes wide, “Wh-“

You’re stopped as Conrad walks into the room, dressed only in a pair of swim shorts, “What about him?”

You glance at him and your lips part as if you’re about to speak but you stop yourself, “None of your business Fisher.”

He raises his hands in defence and steps past you, squeezing your hip as he goes behind you, “Forget I asked.”

You glance back to Belly and she mouths a silent thank you.

“You coming?” Conrad looks back at you before he steps outside.

You nod, “Yeah,” Turning back to Belly, you say, “This conversation isn’t done, okay? We have a lot to talk about.”

She giggles and nods, a flurrying blush on her cheeks, “Okay, okay.”

“What was that about?” Conrad asks you as the two of you step outside, him following close behind you.

“I’m not telling you,” You shake your head, “Girl code, Conrad, you wouldn’t understand.”

“You know things were easier when you two weren’t friends,” He points out, jokingly, and you jab him in the side as a ‘don’t even mention it’.

You walk over to the other two boys and set your things down on the lounger next to Jeremiah, watching as he opens his eyes at the sound of you near him.

“Hey,” He says, leaning up onto his elbows, “We were waiting for you so we could start a volleyball game, do you want to play?”

“Of course I do,” You grin, “Come on Con.”

You look back at him as he flops down onto the lounger the other side of you, closing his eyes.

“Are you shutting down?”

He hums in agreement, his eyes still softly closed.

“Alright Jere, me and you against Belly and Steven,” You encourage, “Who needs Conrad?”

He squints his eyes open and cocks a brow at you, “Excuse me?”

You grin and hurry off to the pool where Jeremiah and Steven have both jumped in, both of them yelling over to Belly to join them too. Conrad leans up onto his elbows and watches you as you push yourself off from the side and into the water, swimming over to Jeremiah’s side. He smiles, thankful for the moments of normalcy amongst a hectic few days. You were back with your friends, the people that had brought you and Conrad together in the first place. And it was a relief that you weren’t losing them anymore. His eyes drift to Jeremiah as the two of you pass the ball between each other and he wonders for a moment what is going through his brother’s head. Did he still have feelings for you? Had they already gone away?

But then Conrad looks at you again and you’re throwing your head back laughing at something Steven had said. And he knows then he has nothing to ever be afraid of. Whoever it was, whatever feelings were there, it was his initial still around your neck, his heart you’d go back to. And the jealousy he thought he’d always have just seems to disappear. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be.

You’re in the water with the others for a while, you and Jere winning the first game, Belly and Steven winning the next, and you and Jere taking victory on the last one. After an over-the-top celebration just to really force your win, you climb out of the water and walk over to Conrad, where he’s laying with his attention tucked into the pages of your book, eyes scanning the words of the page.

When you’re stood over him, blocking the sun, he glances up.

“Did you win?” He asks, setting the book down beside him, double checking that he hadn’t lost your page.

“You weren’t watching?” You gasp, “I should be offended.”

“I saw the first game, but you keep talking about this book and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about,” He comments, sitting up a little on the lounger so that you can sit down on the edge beside him.

“It’s good right?” You grin, “I knew you’d like it.”

“I’ll read it when you’re done,” He says, hiding the hints of a smile.

“We can just read it together,” You encourage, “I’m not far into it.”

“Alright enough of the couples shit, you coming?” Steven climbs out of the pool and the other two follow after him.

“Yeah, we’ll be there now,” You nod, standing back up.

“We’ll be where?” Conrad frowns.

“Lunch!”

You outstretch a hand for him to take and he groans, stepping off of the lounger to follow you with his hand locked in yours.

———

After a full day at the pool, Jeremiah suggests that you all have a movie night and order a takeaway, since Laurel and Susannah were out tonight. You oblige and they settle on ordering pizza. Steven had found a case of beer left over from the party and you were all in the kitchen waiting for the door to ring to tell you the pizza was here.

“I just think you can’t go wrong with a cheesy pizza you know?” Jeremiah shrugs, taking a sip from the beer bottle in his hand.

“But that’s just boring, it’s not a pizza without toppings!” Steven exclaims, stood on the adjacent side of the island to Jeremiah.

Belly was stood next to the younger Fisher brother and you’d made a point of widening your eyes at her when she had. She’d blushed and looked away from you.

“Of course it’s still a pizza!” Belly retorts, “You’re just weird.”

“Is Steven going on his pizza rant again?” Conrad comments, walking through into the kitchen.

“I just think-“

The doorbell rings to cut him off and Jeremiah hurries over to answer the door. Belly mentions that she’ll set up the movie and Steven follows her with the crate of beer.

“You okay babe?” You ask Conrad, turning around to him.

He puts his hands on either side of his hips and takes a slow step towards you, his hair falling over his forehead and making him look even more youthful.

“So, I love seeing you back with these guys, and it’s obviously a lot better that they don’t hate us anymore,” He speaks slowly, “But I-“

“You want it to be just us two?”

He smiles a little, “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day, I miss you.”

You chuckle, “You miss me?”

“I think I’ve got too used to it being just us,” He laughs a little, placing his hands onto your waist, “Can we go back to that?”

“Okay, we eat pizza, we watch whatever film Belly chooses, and then we go to bed,” You suggest, “We can watch a film together, read that book, whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?” He cocks a brow.

“Keep it in your pants!” You gasp, grabbing his hand and pulling him with you into the lounge.

He chuckles and follows in after you, his hand not leaving yours.

“Okay, okay, make room for the couple,” Steven grins at the two of you, shuffling over on the couch so that there’s room for you two to sit together.

You flop down onto the elongated side of the couch, legs stretched over the leg rest as Conrad grabs a plate and piles a few slices on.

He drops down beside you and you prop yourself up beside him as he holds the plate out for you.

Belly starts the film and Jere flicks off the light, the two of them taking places on the other end of the couch.

You pause for a moment and breathe it all in. Conrad beside you, all of your other favorite people to keep you company too. It was what you wanted. The simplicity of it all. And it really feels like this could work. You’re sure of it then more than ever.

———

You’re not sure what time it is when your eyes blink open. The TV is turned onto standby, the pizza boxes cleared from the table, the lights in the room reduced to a single lamp next to the couch. Conrad is beneath you, his arm wrapped around your torso, your head resting on his chest, legs tangled together.

“Con,” You whisper, leaning up onto your elbow to look down at him.

His eyes are closed and you bring up your hand to brush over the hair falling over his forehead. He hums at the contact, his nose scrunching softly as he wakes.

“I think we fell asleep,” You say quietly, trailing your fingers down his cheek.

He frowns a little and glances around the empty room, shifting his other arm to wrap around your waist and pull you over the top of him. You giggle and rest your legs on either side of him, your hands settling on his chest.

“So are you happier now?” Conrad asks, his hands strong on your waist, his words still laced a little with fatigue.

You nod your head in the dim room, smiling down at him, “Everything felt normal today.”

Conrad smiles back, “How about a date tomorrow night? We’ll go somewhere nice, just us two.”

You grin, “Somewhere nice? Like back to the motel?”

He chuckles deeply and you feel it rumble in his chest, “No, nicer than the motel.”

You hum and dip your head down to press a kiss to his jaw, “I don’t know, I kind of liked it, especially last night.”

He tightens his grip on your waist, “Well, we’re the only ones here…”

—

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supernovafics · 11 months

Text

you and bestfriend!steve go on a road trip

wc: 1k

a/n: had this sitting in the drafts for months lol enjoy !!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

maybe robin was right.

two directionally challenged people shouldn’t go on a road trip together. however, you and steve, god bless your hearts, thought that you could prove her wrong. because, in your mind, if the two of you just put your heads together and used a map the entire time as if your lives depended on it— which they kind of did— there was no way that you’d end up getting lost on your twelve hour drive to new york city, right?

wrong. so, so wrong.

“you’re stressed,” steve said, taking a quick glance at you before looking back at the road.

“that’s actually an understatement,” you responded with an annoyed sigh. “you missed the exit we were supposed to take and the next one isn’t for forty miles. also, we should be in ohio right now, not kentucky.”

“we’re just taking… a different route,” steve told you with a small shrug. “a scenic route, if you will.”

the fact that he was so nonchalant about everything made you feel slightly less worried about the situation the two of you were currently in, but you still hated that he was so calm about potentially being lost.

“also, if we’re gonna assign blame to someone for the “missing the exit” debacle, then it’s actually more your fault than mine because you told me the wrong number and didn’t tell me the right one until it was too late.”

you wanted to whack him with the map in your hand but you refrained from doing so.

“robin was right,” you told him.

steve quickly shook his head at your words. “nope, nope, nope. don’t say that. we’re gonna make it to new york.”

“yes, but i think it’s gonna happen in two weeks instead of two days like we planned.”

“well, good thing we don’t have any big plans for the next month,” he said and smiled at you.

you returned his smile with a halfhearted glare. “i hate that you’re so calm about this.”

“one of us has to be. and if i start getting nervous too, you’ll get into that pretty little head of yours and start freaking out even more and we’d be dead within minutes.”

you hated how true his words were, and instead of attempting to counter them, you simply said “okay,” and then leaned into the passenger seat, allowing yourself to finally get comfortable. the sun was starting to set and all of the stress was making you tired.

he glanced at you. “go to sleep, i’ll wake you when we stop for gas. which will probably need to be in an hour or two.”

you nodded even though he couldn’t see you and let your eyes close. because steve was right, if one of you stayed calm, then everything would turn out okay, right?

wrong again.

when your eyes opened it was dark outside, which did not surprise you. what did surprise you was the fact that the car was stopped, and not at a gas station. instead, it was stopped on the side of the highway.

you rubbed the tiredness out of your eyes, and turned to your best friend.

the map was now in his lap and he had the interior car light on as he studied it. he had a certain concentrated look on his face, with his eyebrows knitted together and his eyes squinting down at the paper. from the moment you met him in fifth grade, you had always found that look endearing. this time was different though because the look worried you.

“steve.”

he looked over at you, surprised to see you awake, and didn’t say anything for a brief moment before deciding to just be completely honest with you.

“things aren’t looking too hot right now.”

“what?” you sat up in the seat. “did we run out of gas?”

“luckily no. but if we can’t find a gas station within the next twenty miles, then we will,” steve answered. “thirty minutes ago i saw a sign that said one was coming up in ten miles, but then it never did.”

you nodded at that and then bit your lip, thinking for a few seconds. “okay, we should just get off at the next exit and hope to find a gas station somewhere in whatever town it is, and if not, at least we won’t be stuck on the highway.”

steve nodded and was smiling as he handed the map back to you and then started the car again.

you look at him confused. “what’s that smile for, steven?”

“i think you just took over my role as the calm one.”

“oh, trust me i’m absolutely shitting myself on the inside.”

he laughed at that and then started driving again.

luckily, the two of you were able to find a gas station ten minutes off the exit. while steve started loading up the tank, you decided to go to the pay phone that was next to the convenience store, which you also planned to go into because you were starving.

“i’m gonna call robin and let her know that we’re still alive,” you told steve as you started grabbing some coins from his glove compartment.

“don’t tell her we got sorta lost or almost got stuck gasless on the highway.”

you nodded almost immediately. “of course not. like, i would give her any more reason to think that this road trip was a bad idea. we’ll never live it down if she finds out she was right.”

“well, technically, she’s not right since we are still gonna make it to new york.”

you couldn’t bite back your laughter. “i really love that enthusiasm.”

“one of us has to stay positive, remember?” steve smiled at you.

you playfully rolled your eyes and finally walked away, popping a couple quarters into the pay phone before putting in robin’s number.

“you’re alive!” she said when the call connected and you first greeted her with a simple “hey.” “i have to say i’m very surprised, but also kinda proud. how’s the trip going?”

you took a quick look at steve as you thought about how to answer robin’s question in a way that wasn’t a lie but also wasn’t the full embarrassing truth either.

“we’re alive,” you ultimately settled on saying. “things could be much worse right now.”

and that was the first thing you’d actually been right about all day.

#steve harrington blurb #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington thoughts #steve harrington drabble #steve harrington fic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #stranger things fic #steve harrington fanfiction

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karkatbug · 9 months

Note

🦀⛽️🕶️

They've rented a cottage for the long weekend. It's a bunch of them, they're college kids so they lie about the number of guests, of course, but it is the only way they can afford the place. There was plenty of room if people didn't mind sharing beds. Dave wasn't that close with most of the trolls joining them, but he's chill about it. He'd stick with his friends and give whoever looked in his direction an aloof nod of acknowledgment or whatever the fuck. The occasional awkward interaction was to be expected.

What he doesn't expect is one of the few trolls he did know well to pester the group chat and ask for help. The dumbass apparently slept in. He was also supposed to drive Terezi and Sollux, both of which found last-minute rides when he didn't answer them in the morning. He was on his way on his lonesome, which, fine. Glad Shouty McGee was going to make it to lunch with zero complaints, surely, but whatever. What catches Dave off guard is the fact that he's on his phone. Karkat was pretty fucking anal about texting while driving.

Apparently, he's stuck in the middle of the highway. Out of gas? Seriously? How unprepared could a guy be for a trip he had personally put so much effort into planning! That was like forgetting to attend your own birthday party. We're all here with our silly hats, Karkat. Get it together, man.

Dave is voluntold by his friends to buy some gas at the stop they're currently stretching their legs at and make the arduous trip to wherever the hell Karkat was stranded. That's what being physically fit got you, apparently. He eyes the Buc-ee's begrudgingly, wondering how much brisket it would take to forfeit him from his role.

No amount of gas station beef would ever be worth the sacrifice of his bowels, he concludes.

It takes him a bit of illegal jogging along the side of the highway, a few cases of being honked at and resisting the urge to flip them off, and a lot of time (an hour and twenty-four minutes to be precise), for him to make it to Karkat sitting on the roof of his car dejectedly.

He is uncharacteristically silent when he and Dave fill his tank. He thanks him and they're off to the rest stop they planned to meet at.

"What's up? You definitely crapped the bed at about every turn you made today, but you usually don't let that shit stop you from verbally assaulting my hear ducts."

"Just say ears," Karkat mumbles. His bags are darker than usual. Hair messier, frown deeper, brows furrowed and grip on the steering wheel turning his gray skin translucent. Dave eyes the veins on the back of his hands curiously.

"Are you okay, dude?"

Karkat quickly glances at Dave then back to the road, eyes momentarily widened by, what, surprise? "Like you give a shit, Dave. Let's just try to remain civil until the fucking cottage and then we can fuck off to our sides of the forest like some bad re-enactment of... of—"

"Oh fuck you can't even come up with an indiscernibly pathetic excuse of an analogy. I'll find us the nearest hospital."

"Fuck off, Strider! I'm just tired."

"Yeah, no shit. You like, never sleep in. You never sleep period."

Karkat hums. The sound has Dave putting down his phone and observing the other carefully. This is probably the first time he's sat alone with the other. This is definitely the first time he's given him his undivided attention. Something aches in him when he looks at Karkat.

They make it to the rest stop and find out that their friends had met up and left together to accept the key from the Airbnb owner at their previously agreed time. It's not ideal for Dave. Part of the trip he most looked forward to was being on the road with his friends, not fucking Karkat Vantas, but he was out of options and he wasn't about to be a wet blanket about it. They get some human slash troll fuel in the form of sandwiches and coffee, and head back to the car to fill the tank. Dave leans against the side of the trunk while eating his breakfast and simultaneously talking Karkat's ear off about the things he learned that morning, sensing that the other needed a distraction.

Jade's TA broke his tailbone and canceled lab on the day of the exam review, and may or may not have given his students the test bank as an apology, which Karkat is going to appreciate during the next semester when he takes the course. Karkat definitely perks up at that, which is good. A first sign of life behind those defeated eyes!

Dave also tells him Rose keeps talking about Kanaya's thesis which Karkat grumbles Jesus, same here, with the suffering being in reverse. He gets some grade-A Karkat complaints out of that one, which is fan-fucking-tasking. We're almost back to normal.

Finally, Dave drops a bomb. Turns out John dropped out of school? Like, a month ago?

"What?!"

"Yeah, fucking join the club, dude. We're still trying to figure out what the fuck happened there."

"Why? He wasn't failing out or anything! He always had his shit together too. He was doing better off than most of us fuckheads."

"You're preaching to the choir, man. I'm thinking we give him some pure vodka and speedrun getting an answer out of him this weekend."

"I'll hold him down while you funnel it in his mouth," Karkat answers seriously. They snort in unison. It's not that serious. It's sad, yeah. There's that silent understanding that John wasn't okay at all, but Christ what can you do in these kinds of situations but cope with a little humor? Karkat returns the pump and takes the sandwich Dave offers him without a word. They move the car to the parking lot and eat in silence for a moment. It's surprisingly nice. The sky is blue, the morning chill is still there since Karkat has his windows down, and they can hear excited chatter among chirping birds in the background. It was still the road trip experience Dave sought. It was nice. Even if it was with Karkat. Dave looks over to him, and can't get that aching feeling out of his heart.

"How are you doing with school?" he asks.

Karkat glares down at his sandwich. Dave thinks he's not going to get a response, but the fight seems to leave Karkat with the exasperate sigh he lets out. "I'm okay. I'm not about to drop out or anything. Just tired."

"Yeah, I feel you."

"It's a lot to fucking juggle."

Dave nods. They eat the last of their sandwiches and sip their coffees. The smell of diesel fills the air, but it's easy to ignore now that they've sat in it for so long.

"I just wish I was doing it better."

"It?"

"Everything! Academically, socially, fuck, romantically. I thought I'd be doing it all so differently."

"Your romcoms have poisoned your brain, Karkat. Elle Woods isn't real, dude. She can't hurt you."

"She'd never hurt me."

"You'll never be her, either."

"Fuck you! Now I want to watch Legally Blonde but I have to sit with you for another hour and stare at nothing but concrete and play is it garbage or roadkill?"

"Okay, first of all, it's always roadkill."

"Eugh."

"Secondly, I can reenact the movie from memory on our way to the lakehouse if you want. I'll even do different voices."

"That sounds awful," Karkat says with a smile. Dave catches himself grinning too. The ache has settled when they take one last bathroom break and stretch their legs. Dave sees Karkat's exhaustion for what it is, a tired nineteen-year-old who needs to catch a break, and insists on driving them the rest of the way. Karkat, for as good as he thinks he is at debating with others to get his way, stands no chance to Dave snatching his keys out of his hand and holding them out of reach above his head. Take that, you petite little idiot. You absolute fucking fool.

Dave takes his rightful seat behind the wheel and waits for Karkat to begrudgingly join him.

"Before we go, I have two rules," Dave mentions casually when the other puts on his seatbelt.

"Tell them both to go fuck themse—"

"Rule number one. You gotta try to catch some Z's man. It's fucking freaky when you're all quiet and despondent. Nobody's gonna sit with Mr. Doom and Gloom at the bonfire."

Karkat doesn't have a rebuttal, which only proves Dave's point. "Jesus, at least pretend to be offended that I dare have the audacity to claim that you aren't going to be the life of the party."

"I'm fucking not, why would I pretend I am? I'll be lucky if my friends remember that I'm there."

Oh. The ache is back. Karkat's wobbling voice certainly doesn't help. Dave places a hand on Karkat's shoulder and squeezes, hoping to get his attention. He's stubbornly turned away from Dave, looking out the window.

"They don't actually care if I'm there. I slept in and no one thought to come to check on me. Or to drag me out of my respiteblock! They all readjusted so fast. I think they were hoping I'd turn back. I probably should have—"

"Hey. They love you. I don't know where this shit is coming from but all your friends ever do is talk about you. Like. Fondly. Fuck, even my friends got the Vantas infection. I can't go two minutes without someone bringing up how something I said reminded them of you."

More silence. Well, and a sniffle.

"Damnit, Karkat." Dave reaches over and cups the other's cheeks, forcing him to turn and meet his gaze. "Your sleep-deprived pan is playing some cruel tricks on you. Trust me, I'm the king of having Mean Brain Syndrome and silent breakdowns."

"Really?" He sounds so small. He looks small. Wide, watery eyes, flushed cheeks and messy locks of jet-black hair accentuating his youthful features. "I can't imagine you of all people..." he trails off, piercing gaze seemingly looking through Dave's shades and straight into his soul.

Dave releases Karkat's cheeks a little too fast, but the other doesn't notice as he sniffles and wipes his nose with his sleeve.

"Yeah, dude. Of course. It's not all smooth raps and sick beats up in here." Karkat scoffs. Dave gently punches his arm. "I'm just saying, man. None of us got our shit together. We all have stuff going on and sometimes we get so tunnel-visioned we don't see the people around us."

Karkat sniffles again.

"Terezi went with Vriska."

"Ugh. That explains it."

"And Sollux somehow decided the fun van with Fef, Aradia and Eridan was the play."

Karkat laughs. It seems that understanding dawns on him as he nods at Dave. He punches him in the arm as well, none too gently mind you, the prick, but he's smiling again, which is good. Fucking day saved by the Dave-meister, master of unflipping shit and returning life to the way it was supposed to be: with an angry little troll and his volume control issues.

"So yeah, time to abide by rule number one."

"Fine, but—" Karkat pulls Dave into a hug that neither expect judging by how stiff Karkat is at first, which is hilariously ironic. Karkat was a hugger. Dave, not so much. Karkat hugging Dave was fucking absurd, but hey. Maybe they could blame this weird turn of events on the gasoline fumes they've been inhaling for the past half hour.

Dave melts into the embrace. He gets why everyone tackles Karkat for these. He's warm and sorta just... slots perfectly into your arms.

"Thanks, Dave," he says quietly enough that Dave almost misses it. "Seriously."

"No probs, dude. I know we aren't that close but fuck me if we can't trauma bond through the bullshit that is undergrad."

Karkat huffs a small laugh. Dave pats his back. They're about to pull away when Karkat quickly adds, "You're really nice."

"Yeah, the nicest. So about that going to sleep so that I don't have to hear you talk rule, hm?"

"No," Karkat says, jostling Dave for emphasis. He then squeezes him tightly. "You can't dry-humor your way out of this sincere one-to-one with me, Strider. You're kind-hearted and I need to make sure you know that."

Now that's funny. Dave is a lot of things. He's lucky most do think of him as cool. His closest friends call him a dork, but hey, that's fine too. But kind-hearted? His Bro would have laughed in his face if he heard that. He'd then proceed to beat the shit out of him for making him hear something so fucking atrocious. Dave pulls away from the hug with a crooked grin. He has nothing to say to something so absurd. Instead, he turns his attention to twisting the key in the ignition and pressing his foot down on the brake as he puts the car in reverse.

Kind-hearted.

Yeah, okay dude. Sure. Fuck. His chest tightens. He hopes the other doesn't notice the little spiral he's having. He focuses on his breathing, and on his exhale; he's good. All he needed was to breathe out and he was back to normal. Easy peasy.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, fuck. I'm going to try to sleep. Wake me up when we get there. Or if I talk in my sleep."

"No way dude, that sounds like some prime fucking entertainment."

Dave checks behind him to make sure no one is walking by. He slowly releases the brake just as Karkat asks "What was the second rule?"

"Oh yeah. We need some tunes," Dave says as he presses what he thinks is the radio button. Music plays, but turns out it's from whatever playlist Karkat had been listening to on his way here.

Dave slams on the brake.

"Dave, what the fuck! O—oh. Um."

It's from Dave's mixtape. He has a collection of his music that he sometimes drops in the big group chat. He never expects anyone to listen to it more than once, let alone at all. Some of their mutual friends were so polite with their responses. "It's so good, Dave!" was always appreciated. He knows how hard it was to get someone to listen to a song recommendation, let alone a song you put out, period, so he takes those kind comments with the utmost grace.

But knowing someone liked his music enough to listen to it again, on repeat, on a long drive out of town. To have his music chosen as the dedicated theme song to a long road trip, something people tend to argue over, debating over which songs should be played, something that he personally takes pretty fucking seriously, breaks something in him. The ache he thought he felt for Karkat comes back tenfold. He realizes it's a pain he's only ever harbored for himself, but kept deep within the pits of his chest, that comes bursting out of him.

"What the fuck?" Dave laughs. His voice cracks as he says it. His eyes sting, for some reason. Why was this like a punch in the gut to him? He should be flattered, and he is, but this turn of events is so unexpected he can only feel emotional.

"What? It's good! Fucking sue me for unironically liking something my friend made."

Dave laughs again. Fuck! He wipes his tears with his sleeve, bumping his shades out of the way as he does. Friend? He's only ever been flippant to Karkat's entire existence! He's only ever complained about his raucous laughter and teased him about his sleep-deprived fits. He's only ever poked fun at his abhorrent tastes in movies and dismissed his multiple attempts at pulling some form of sincerity out of Dave. Kind-hearted? Dave was the opposite. Those words should be used to describe Karkat, if anything.

"Uh oh. I broke you too. Great! I knew I was cursed."

Dave laughs again, teetering on the edge of hysteria as his song's beat changes, transitioning to an uptick of those snares he loves so much.

"Fuck. No, I'm good. I'm fine," Dave says as he wipes the last of his tears. "You have awful taste, dude. In movies and music and friends."

"Fuck you. Everything you just listed is something I can confidently say I have superior taste in. Your primitive human puzzle sponge couldn't absorb a fine understanding of the arts and friendship the way I do even if you lobotomized yourself trying!"

"Lobotomizing myself sounds like the exact thing I'd need to do to get to your level."

They banter some more. It seems Karkat is choosing to help Dave get over his brief emotional meltdown by acting like he never noticed it to begin with. Their teasing arguments eventually transition to pleasant conversation, then nothing at all. Karkat falls asleep, head resting against the window, his hood tucked between his ear and the hard surface acting as a cushion. Dave can admit, in the deepest recesses of his mind, that Karkat looks cute like this.

He also thinks he's safe from those thoughts and whatever the fuck is going on in his stomach (sword-fighting moths, he concludes) when they make it to the cottage. He parks the car next to John's and looks out at the lake. A few of their friends were on the deck, already unpacked and settled in. Dave turns to Karkat's sleeping figure and gently shakes his shoulder. The other only groans in response, which, fuck. Okay. He's cute is a thought that apparently refuses to go back into those mind recesses they came from. They've had enough of running around on the field and going down the stainless steel slides that burn your skin in the unbearable Texas heat. Those intrusive Karkat is cute thoughts want to stay at the forefront of his brain, ever the studious student working toward a 4.0 GPA.

Dave looks at Karkat, and again at their friends, who haven't noticed their arrival.

"Hey," he says quietly. He shakes him again, but Karkat is stubbornly refusing to open his eyes. Fine by him. Dave unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over. "Hey, Karkat," he repeats. No response. Dave squeezes his shoulder and experiences the most pathetic attempt at someone wriggling away from his grasp ever. A fucking toddler could fight him off better.

Karkat frowns as he's gently jostled from his slumber. His pouting lips are a little dry from the air conditioning, but his cheeks are plump and rosy from his hour-long slumber. Dave finds he can't stop himself from trying to find out what it feels like. He uses the back of his index finger to caress the skin and confirms with some degree of glee that it's exactly what he thought it'd be. Smooth and warm and inviting. Without a second thought, he leans over and presses his lips to Karkat's cheek.

Eyes fly open. Long lashes flutter and incoherent sounds of confusion escape dry lips, but Dave isn't processing any of it. He couldn't if he tried. His heart is hammering so loudly in his chest that it feels like his brain produced white noise just to protect his eardrums from it. He's out of the car in an instant, telling Karkat that they made it and he'd see him around before shutting the door behind him and rushing inside to meet with his friends.

Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuck.

"Hey! You made it in one piece!" John laughs.

Dave jumps and whips around to the voice.

"Yeah, more or less," Dave nods, trying his damnest to seem nonchalant. His friends are in the kitchen, distracted with lunch preparations. He hovers for a bit, catching them up to speed on the ride: totally boring and uneventful, by the way, (I didn't just kiss Karkat and run away), and tries to offer his assistance wherever possible. He's only met with polite rejection and a mean smack to the back of his hand for trying to snack on some of the appetizers. Eventually, he is dismissed to collect his belongings from the living room since the couches are claimed by two. He's instructed to put his overnight bag in the one bedroom they have left, a single Twin XL bed.

"Hey, sorry I tried to save you a spot with us but everyone sort of first come first served the place," John says with an apologetic shrug. "You and Karkat are gonna have to share."

Fuck.

#accidental fanfic #homestuck #davekat #dave strider #karkat vantas #ask bug #hsfanfic #3.4k words and for what? ill upload this on ao3 eventually #long post

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sofreddie · 2 years

Text

The Road to You

Summary: Dean convinces the crew to take a well-earned vacation, though he may have ulterior, matchmaker motives. Though nothing ever goes according to plan for the Winchesters, does it?

Characters: Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader

Warnings: A/B/O Dynamics, Angst, DUBCON, Drugging/Roofies, Rut, Smut (Unprotected Sex, Knotting), Marking/Claiming

AU: VACATION AU (@spnaubingo)

SW BINGO: MUTUAL PINING (@samwinchesterbingo)

FLUFF: BONDAGE (@anyfandomfluffbingo)

ANGST: CAR ACCIDENT (@anyfandomangstbingo)

KINK: KNOTTING KINK (@anyfandomkinkbingo)

WC: 4212

"I can't believe I finally got you two to agree on an actual, real vacation," Dean chuckled gleefully, standing by as Sam and Y/N dumped their bags in the trunk of the Impala. The backs of their hands innocently brushed as they placed the bags inside, the both of them bashful and awkward and they smiled it off.

Sam groaned inwardly at himself. Really, his pining over Y/N had gotten beyond ridiculous. She'd caught and seized his attention since the moment they met. A fellow hunter, and a skilled one at that, Y/N was also an Omega - opposite to his Alpha and unlike any Omega he'd ever met before or since.

He'd fallen irreparably in love by the end of the hunt, grateful for Dean's suggestion that she hang around, see the Bunker, and help on a few more hunts. He suspected his Alpha brother of honing in on the Omega, trying to lay his own claim. He wouldn't blame him in the slightest, though his inner Alpha wasn't about to just allow it.

Turns out his older brother was more intuitive than he gave him credit for.

Dean had sensed the connection almost as quick as it had been established, their scents and body language giving him initial hints. By the end of that first hunt, he knew his little brother had it bad. His instinct told him it was mutual.

So he invited her along - the Alpha within now seeing her as his brother's potential mate and a member of his pack - and she'd been with them ever since. Much to Sam's delight and his suffering. Because from his point of view, as much as he wanted her, he couldn't bring himself to make the first move. And if she didn't either, then maybe she didn't want him after all.

That's what led, in part, to Dean deciding they needed a real vacation as normal people do. They earned a break, damnit, and Dean was determined to use this time to recharge. He was also sure it was just what Sam and Y/N needed to finally connect.

"Yeah, well, you sold me on the seclusion and relaxation of it all," Y/N grinned, taking her usual seat in the back as the brothers climbed in the front, the doors shutting in one synchronous sound.

"Where is this place again?" Sam asked as the Impala pulled out onto the road.

"It's a large campground complex that's part of the national parks," Dean explained, "There's a clubhouse and a bunch of smaller cabins closer together. We got one of the more secluded cabins, still on the camp's grounds but further out from others, more secluded," he grinned, excitedly explaining. He did a lot of research to find something they could all enjoy.

"There's a large lake where you can go fishing, swimming, rent a canoe. You can go hiking through the woods and trails. Y/N can relax in the jacuzzi tub and catch up on her trashy gas station novels," he continued with a shit-eating grin aimed at Y/N in the rearview mirror.

"Hey, don't judge. We all gotta get our lovin' somehow," she chuckled, blushing as she caught Sam's gaze.

"You'll see," Dean added, his plan of getting the two idiots together ever-present in his mind, "It'll be perfect for everyone."

Dean was right. The cabin was perfect. When they entered the campgrounds via the dirt road off the highway, they passed by the clubhouse and other cabins, the lake, and other structures scattered about. Then everything was gone and quiet, just the lake, the trees, and the dirt road along which they traveled. Y/N had begun to wonder if they were even in the campgrounds anymore when the cabin came into view.

With surprise, excitement, and readiness, the trio unloaded their bags into the quaint cabin, walking around to examine their surroundings for their stay.

"Well," Dean clapped his hands together as he joined the others in the main area of the cabin, "I say we go into town and stock up on a few supplies for our vacation."

"Yeah, I wanna get a few things too," Sam agreed, the pair looking to Y/N.

"Nah, you two go ahead. I think I'm gonna take advantage of that tub," she giggled, wagging her brows playfully.

The guys laughed, bidding their farewells and promising to return as soon as possible, to which she encouraged them to take their time.

The trip to the local grocery store was quick, the two of them splitting up the store and items needed, before meeting back up to check out. As they finished loading their haul, however, Dean's attention was drawn to the bar across the street. A small group of scantily dressed, giggling young women chatted amongst themselves as they entered the bar.

"You know, we are on vacation," Dean began, turning to grin at his brother. Sam had seen the whole thing, letting out a sigh, knowing exactly what was on his brother's mind.

"Yeah, okay, Dean," Sam relented, gesturing to the bar.

"Really?" Dean perked up in surprise, falling in stride with Sam as they walked the short distance to the bar together.

"Yeah, you're right, we're on vacation after all. Let your Alpha loose," he chuckled, patting Dean on the back as they went.

Sam was more than willing to wingman for Dean, at least for a little while. Dean could use some company for his vacation. At least it would give Sam alone time with Y/N. Except what was the point in torturing himself with something that was never gonna happen?

It wasn't long before Sam found himself sat alone at the bar, Dean off by the pool tables, his laugh and that of his three female companions flitting to him over the din of the bar.

He sighed, ordering his third whiskey as he thought about Y/N like he always did. He polished off his drink, sucking his teeth as he berated himself for not manning up and just telling her how he felt. Contrary to popular belief, Alphas could feel rejection as strongly as Omegas, affecting them just as deeply.

Sam glanced around the bar, a few women catching his eye as they tried to get his attention. He did enjoy the attention from the women, reminding him that he was a true Alpha. But he couldn't bring himself to do anything, too lovesick over Y/N.

"Can I offer you a drink?" A woman's voice broke Sam's train of thought. He turned, seeing an Omega woman who sort of looked like Y/N. Though no one was like Y/N, not really.

The woman set down a glass of whiskey, obviously having paid attention to what Sam was drinking, taking the seat next to him as she nursed her own drink. A little conversation couldn't hurt, Sam supposed, as he accepted the glass with a smile and a nod, taking a generous sip as she watched.

After a while, the whiskey started to hit Sam hard. The woman - Sam still couldn't remember her name, though maybe it was Y/N, it looked like Y/N - kept the drinks flowing. It didn't usually hit him like this. To top it off it seemed like his rut was coming on, but he wasn't anywhere near due.

"Gotta find Dean," Sam slurred, sliding off his barstool and wobbling on his feet, "Gotta get home."

"I'll take you home."

Sam turned his attention to the voice, smiling dopily through his blurred vision. Y/N would take him home. He'd be fine.

Dean saw Sam on the move - hard not to with his size - and an unfamiliar woman guiding him out the doors of the bar. He grew concerned with the way Sam moved, causing him to decide to follow after and make sure he was alright. Sam never left with women. Not since Y/N came into the picture.

It took him longer than he would have liked to disentangle himself from his Beta and Omega admirers, the women pleading and pouting as he apologized and hastily made his way after his brother. He knew Sam could handle himself. Usually.

Finally making it outside, Dean could see a car pulling out of the lot and down the road, his eyes followed it as he made his way to the Impala, trying and failing to get Sam on his cell.

Dean was grateful it was easy to catch up to the car. He was growing more and more suspicious by the moment. Now on an empty stretch of highway just outside the small town limits, Dean honked his horn and flashed his lights at the car in front of him, determined to get to his brother.

The car began to swerve, Dean growing more confused as the driver lost control and veered off the side of the road, coming to a sudden halt as the car slammed into an unyielding tree.

Dean brought the Impala to a halt on the side of the road behind the wreckage. As soon as he put it in park, the passenger side door of the wreck was popping open, Sam stumbling from within. Dean held his breath as he got out the car, quickly making his way to Sam.

A glance inside the car and Dean knew the Omega woman was unconscious, or dead. He was more worried about his brother at the moment.

"Sam? What happened?" Dean demanded, holding Sam's head as he leaned against the car, trying to determine if he was hurt.

"S'not Y/N," Sam growled out with a huff, shaking Dean's hold on him and standing tall to glare down the shorter Alpha, "Where's Y/N?"

Sam's eyes were blown. More than just suddenly being in an unscheduled rut, he looked high out of his mind. Dean had to tamper down his protective Alpha at the thought of this woman fucking drugging him.

He couldn't worry about that at the moment. Right now, he needed to get Sam somewhere safe before he went full primal Alpha and scared the shit out of some innocent country residents. He dreaded to think that Sam might have caused the accident to begin with.

"Come on, let's get you in the car and I'll get you back." Dean tried, leading Sam towards the Impala.

Sam pushed Dean off, losing his balance and struggling to right himself once more.

"Where's Y/N?" Sam growled again, ready to challenge his brother if necessary.

"At the cabin!" Dean growled back, getting really frustrated with Sam's shit, "Get in the goddamn car and I'll take you to her!"

Sam held his ground for a moment longer before stumbling his way to the Impala and dropping clumsily inside. Dean cursed under his breath, getting behind the wheel and leading them back towards the relative safety of the secluded cabin.

Sam was fidgeting and mumbling, his breathing hard as he sporadically growled. His scent began to fill the car, making Dean cough with its potency. As they pulled up to the cabin, Sam climbing out before he'd even put it in park, Dean began to second guess if bringing him to Y/N in his state was really the best idea.

"Y/N?!" Sam's commanding Alpha voice boomed through the small cabin. Y/N ran from one of the back bedrooms to the main area, seeing the brothers back from their trip. One sight of Sam and she knew something was very wrong. A moment later his scent hit her, causing her to whimper as she took several cautious steps backward from him.

As Sam began to move towards her slowly, Dean cursed under his breath. He didn't want to deal with a rutting Alpha, but it seemed he'd have no choice. Not with the predatory way Sam was sizing up Y/N at that moment.

Hating the idea, but having no choice, Dean stepped around Sam, blocking him from Y/N and pushing him back slightly.

"You're not in your right mind, Sam," Dean tried, Sam immediately pushing Dean back and growling at the Alpha threat.

Dean shook his head before responding, the two Alphas trading blows and grappling, Y/N watching on in horror and shock, not knowing what to do. Eventually, Dean landed a blow that knocked Sam out, allowing him to drag Sam to his bed and tie his limbs to the posts.

"What the hell happened?" Y/N demanded of Dean as he ushered her out of the room.

"Some bitch drugged him," Dean growled, heading to the kitchen to clean his wounds. "He's in full on rut and all he cared about was you," Dean added with a pointed look that seemed to dig deep into her soul.

"Me?" she protested, "But I'm-"

"His Omega," Dean supplied for her with a knowing smirk, "At least to him. And I know you want him too," he added, stepping closer to her, "He needs you right now."

Y/N shook her head in protest, arguments of consent, willingness, and her own insecurities ready to be voiced. But Dean shut her down with a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"The drugs are making his rut worse than usual. Without an Omega, he might not get through it," he admitted with a shaky breath, "And the only one he wants is you."

Y/N sighed defeatedly, her head turning towards the room that held Sam, hearing his groans as he began to come to consciousness once more.

"Okay," Y/N agreed, knowing she'd have to help him, while he was restrained for her own safety, and hope to God that he didn't hate her afterward.

With a nod, Dean grabbed his things, quickly heading out the door to give them privacy. Y/N took a deep breath, going to Sam and the Alpha's sweet pleas for his Omega.

"I'm here, Sam," Y/N said from the doorway, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of him. He looked wild, his hands restrained to the bed above his head, his feet spread and tied at the bottom.

"Omega." Sam whined, sniffing the air and moaning at her scent, the smell of her already forming slick driving him mad with want.

"Shh," Y/N soothed as she undressed herself under Sam's heady gaze, crawling over his body and straddling his hips. Sam's body was vibrating, the heat coming off of him near scorching. "I'm gonna help you, Alpha."

Sam snarled, trying to pull his hands free and kiss her at the same time. She soothed him once more, kissing him gently, pulling back when his frenzy made him turn the kiss harsher and more demanding.

Feeling how desperate he was, she wasted no more time, unfastening his jeans and pulling them and his boxers down as much as she could with him still restrained. She was gonna try her damndest to leave her heart out of it, not wanting to get attached through the situation, only to be rejected later on.

It's just sex, she kept telling herself, just sex.

All trains of thought were swept away as Sam's glorious Alpha cock came into view, bouncing up proudly, throbbing with his desire. Her mouth watered and her pussy wept, preparing her to take the biggest cock she'd ever laid eyes on.

Sam flashed a wicked grin, licking his lips, "Like what you see, Omega?"

Y/N nodded dumbly as she crawled atop Sam once more, her wet folds pressed against his firm length, pinning it between them.

"Fuck!" Sam moaned, pulling on his restraints and bucking back into Y/N. "Wanna feel you. Wanna knot you. God, wanna knot you." Sam pleaded, his eyes squeezed closed. It all seemed like it was too much, too overwhelming for him.

"I got you, Alpha," Y/N promised, lifting her hips and guiding him to her entrance. She sat up straight as she took him into the root, her hands propped on his abs as she tried to adjust. Sam shouted and bucked his hips, desperately trying to get her to move.

Once she adjusted, Y/N began to ride him in earnest. She wished she could take her time, go slow and enjoy it, savor every little piece of Sam. But he was drugged and desperate and she had to remind herself again it wasn't mating.

It's just sex.

Sam kept pleading, even used his commanding Alpha tone to try and get Y/N to release him. He so desperately wanted his hands, to hold her, feel her, move her how he wanted. But she continued to deny him. She wasn't sure how she found the strength other than the fact that she was completely enamored with his Alpha cock, riding him hard and nearing her own release.

"Alpha," she panted, eyes squeezed shut, "I'm gonna-" she was cut off by her own moan as her climax crashed over her. Her walls squeezed Sam's cock hard, pulsing and milking his shaft.

He growled, his hands balled into fists as he tugged hard against his restraints. In an instant, the ropes binding his hands snapped. Y/N only had a moment to comprehend what had just happened as Sam's hands could finally get a hold of her.

One hand on her ass to hold her steady, the other bunching in her hair, Sam began pounding up into her at a relentless pace, holding her to take what he wanted to give.

Y/N screamed, too filled with pleasure - and a hint of pain - to really form a cohesive thought.

Sam couldn't even speak, too far gone on his need. He had to knot her. It's something he thought about constantly. His cock inside her, his knot locking them together, holding his seed deep inside where it belonged.

She suddenly came once more, clamping down hard on his shaft. Sam roared, his knot popping and locking them together. Without a thought, he sank his teeth deep into her throat, marking her forever as his.

They both passed out almost instantly, still locked together, Y/N draped across Sam's body, her blood still staining his lips.

Y/N woke first, her body aching as she looked down at a still sleeping Sam. His knot had gone down, so she carefully removed herself from Sam and the bed, making sure not to wake him. She didn't know if he would still be in primal Alpha mode or not.

Hastily dressing, she made her way into the main living area of the cabin, finding Dean nursing a drink on the couch. His eyes flashed to her, scanning her head to toe, his expression changing to concern as he rose from the couch.

"You okay?" he asked.

"He broke the ropes," she whispered, unable to hold his gaze. He could see the claim at her neck.

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

"I don't know," she admitted, her body shaking slightly, "I feel like I need to run away."

"Okay, well let's not do that," Dean chided, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her to sit next to him on the couch, passing her his half-full glass of whiskey.

She downed it in one go with a hiss, silently shaking it at him for a refill. He chuckled, filling it for her and watching as she nursed it this time.

"He claimed me," Y/N uttered to the void, the mere thought of it just really starting to sink in.

"Hey," Dean nudged her, "I was hoping that coming up here would get you two together somehow," he admitted sheepishly, feeling awful with how things turned out. "I know Sam wanted to claim you, for the longest time. He's gonna be so heartbroken over how it happened, but he's not gonna regret the claim, Y/N."

She wanted to be pissed at Dean's attempt to interfere. She wanted to protest what he was saying because that's what she always did in her mind. Find a reason or excuse to not be with him. But somehow, he said just what she needed to hear to calm her nerves.

At least until a groggy and confused Sam shuffled out to the main area, looking between the two sat on the couch.

"Hey, Sam," Dean cautiously rose from the couch and approached his brother like a wounded animal, only confusing Sam further.

"What the hell happened?" Sam croaked out. "I woke up with a massive headache, feet tied to the bed, dick hanging out," Sam huffed out annoyed. "Look at my fucking wrists!" He added with a panicked roar.

Dean cursed to himself once again, guiding Sam to the now-empty couch. Apparently, Y/N has slithered away during the distraction. He only hoped she wasn't going to actually run. No one needed a newly mated Alpha freaking out trying to find his missing mate.

Dean grabbed a first aid kit and took a seat on the small table in front of the couch, looking over Sam's wrists. They were chafed and raw, with dried blood in some spots. He set to work treating and wrapping the wounds as best he could.

"What do you remember from last night?" Dean asked carefully, finishing the job at hand and settling back to focus on Sam.

"I remember going to the bar," Sam admitted, struggling to process his thoughts. "Then-" Sam tried to find any recollection, coming up completely blank. All he could think was Y/N's name, which wasn't helping any.

Taking in a long, deep breath, Dean proceeded to explain to Sam the events of the previous night, leading up to Sam's appearance that morning. Then he fell silent as he watched Sam carefully, not really sure what sort of response he was gonna get but ready to handle whatever came.

It took longer than he would have liked for the information to really settle in his mind. Once it did, Sam was horrified. Not because he didn't want it, but because of how it went down and that he thinks she didn't want it.

"Does she hate me?" Sam finally spoke, swallowing hard.

Dean scoffed, rising to his feet and pacing, "You two are the biggest fucking idiots, I swear!" He shouted, tugging on his own hair, "You're saying the same things, you know? You both think the other doesn't want it but you do."

"Dean, you don't understand-"

"I understand," Dean growled in frustration, grabbing Sam by the arm and shoving him into the room he and Y/N shared the night before, happy to see she was huddled inside and not run away, "You're mated now. Figure it out!"

Dean slammed the door shut behind him, leaning against the wall next to it with his arms crossed. He claimed her, they were mated. There was no undoing what was done. He was tired of the tiptoeing before. Now…well, now there was just no room or excuse anymore.

Sam stood in shock as he stared at Y/N sat on the edge of the bed. The bed he woke up in. The bed he was tied to; the bed where he and Y/N… He swallowed hard, the sight of his claim on her neck causing his cock to swell without his permission. It was angry and red, he could tell he bit deep and hard. His Alpha was proud, but he was ashamed.

"Y/N, I'm so sorry," Sam began, choking back the tears forming in his eyes.

She didn't know what to say. It wasn't his fault, not really. He wasn't in control because of the rut.

"Omega." Sam whined, stumbling towards her and falling at her feet. She jumped in surprise, seeing Sam suddenly kneeling before her, his hands on the bed beside her hips.

She could see his tears did fall then, the remorse and love in his eyes almost too much to bear. As if on autopilot, she reached out a hand, cupping his cheek. Sam sobbed harder at her touch, dropping his head to her chest and wrapping his arms around her waist as he sobbed.

Her heart broke, both for Sam and her Alpha. She could feel his emotions going crazy, matching her own turmoil. But all she wanted at that moment was to ease his suffering.

"Sam," she urged, trying to lift his head, "Alpha."

Sam sniffled, raising his gaze to meet hers. She smiled warmly, cupping his cheek once more and leaning in to peck his lips sweetly.

"That's not how I wanted it to be," Sam admitted, shaking his head. "I wanted to claim you so bad, for so long. But I wanted it to be special somehow."

Her heart swelled at his admission. It was what she wanted too.

"You really don't remember anything?" she asked sadly, Sam shaking his head in response. He wished he could remember, even if it hurt. It wasn't fair she had to carry that for the both of them.

"Then we can have a do-over," she offered with a small grin, "And give us both the memory we really want."

Sam couldn't help the broad smile that split his face, his heart so full he felt like it might explode. So he dove in, kissing her as deeply as he could - though it was mostly teeth as they both smiled and laughed.

It was a long, winding road to get here, but he couldn't complain as he renewed his claim at her neck, knotting her like he always dreamed.

Forevers:

@sis-tafics

@lyarr24

@calaofnoldor

@hobby27

@spnbaby-67

@fangirlxwritesx67

@jarpad24

@flamencodiva

@donnaintx

@writercole

@waynes-multiverse

Sam Winchester:

@charred-angelwings

#the road to you #spnaubingo #samwinchesterbingo #anyfandomfluffbingo #anyfandomkinkbingo #anyfandomangstbingo #alpha!sam x omega!reader #sam x reader #sam winchester x reader #alpha!sam #a/b/o dynamics #reader insert #supernatural #spn

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breathlessaura · 1 month

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Pieces • Matthew Sturniolo (part one)

Synopsis:

In which a broken girl is pieced back together by somebody she never thought would enter her life.

Chapter One

Jesi dragged her fingers through the tangled locks that had been previously bundled up atop her head, trying her best to eliminate as many tangles she could before tying it back up in her previous hairstyle.

The woman in the driver's seat glanced briefly towards the distraught girl beside her. Her wrinkled hands remained tightly on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white from the grip she held. But her thoughts remained on the topic of what had just happened, more importantly, the news they had just received.

"We can stop off at Burger King or McDonald's if you want some food, hunny." The older woman mumbled, her gaze never straying from the road as she drove.

"Thanks mum, but I'd rather just go home."

Jesi shot her mother a tight lipped smile as she repositioned herself into a comfortable poise on the cold leather seat.

"Are you sure? I don't have to be back at work for another couple hours and I don't want to just drop you off and leave you alone to overthink for the rest of the night, Jess."

The car turned the sharp corner into a gas station, pulling into stationary as Lorna parked. Considering it was almost One in the morning, Lorna's car wasn't the only vehicle parked up, which was quite surprising for the small town.

"I know you worry about me, but I'd rather just process everything alone."

"Alright." The older woman breathed out heavily, unbuckling her seatbelt. She turned to her right, sympathy wracking her aged face. "If that's what you want then I'll drop you back at your apartment."

Opening the car door in one swift motion, she turned back around to face her daughter one last time.

"I won't be long, I have to fill up the tank and see if the store has any band aids."

Jesi nodded, reciprocating the wary smile her mother subconsciously wore.

"Okay mum."

Her head fell back to rest against the headrest, exhaustion from the past couple of days finally catching up to the girl. She had spent the last twelve hours at the hospital after passing out in the middle of a lecture. It turns out, living on energy drinks and granola bars for two days as you stay up to cram as much studying as you can in, before quite possibly the most stressful midterms of your life, is not very healthy. And, considering her major was biology and her hopes were to attend medical school to become a doctor — Lorna thought her daughter would have known better.

The sound of cars zooming down the highway lulled the girl into a trance, her eyes felt heavy the longer she laid back and relaxed, though she fought to stay awake, to savor the quiet.

A brisk knock on the passenger window pulled her out of the trance she had found herself in, snapping her head up to look to the right, Jesi was met with a boy around her age. His piercing blue eyes were kind, hidden almost by the dark hair that cascaded past his forehead and rested just above his brow bone.

Her hand moved to the button on the car door, rolling the window down just enough that the pair could converse without her putting herself in a vulnerable position with a stranger, even if he seemed kind.

"I hate to ask this, especially since it seems like you're just passing through, but do you have an iPhone charger?"

With furrowed brows, Jesi nodded her head slowly.

"I do actually, but it's the only one I have."

"Please? I know it's a huge ask but my brothers and I are lost — we've never been to this city before and they somehow convinced me that we could find our way back home without a gps. All of our phones died hours ago so we've been stuck here arguing."

The brunette frowned in contemplation. The guy seemed harmless, and she's not heartless enough to leave people stranded without a way home.

"Alright, give me a minute."

A wide smile tugged at the boy's lips, his white teeth on full display.

Jesi outstretched her arm and reached behind her into the backseat to grab her bag. When her fingers met the thick fabric, she pulled it onto her lap and rummaged through the clutter of pens, allergy pills and paper for her charger.

"Here, I hope you find your way back home."

She rolled the window down more, enough for the charger to fit.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea how fucking grateful I am."

"Your welcome, I'd want somebody to help me if I was in your situation." She responded, mirroring the wide smile the stranger wore.

"I'll give you my Instagram, so that I can return this to you if I'm ever back here, that's if you want it of course."

"Yeah, sure."

The girl pulled out a pen and looked over at the window, taking note of the boy's Instagram — not thinking of picking up the device that lay next o her on the seat.

"Thank you again, my name is Nick — it was nice to meet you."

"Jesi, likewise."

The conversation was over just as quick as it had started, the boy scrambled back to the vehicle on the other side of the gas station, just as Lorna returned to the car after paying for the gas.

"Who was that?" She quizzed.

"A damoiseau in distress."

For the first time that day, both women broke out in a fit of laughter, relishing the fleeting feeling of happiness.

Though, it wouldn't last.

#matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #christopher sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #matt sturniolo x you #fanfic #youtube #romance

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earthtomica · 2 months

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meet mica

Mica is a 1994 Mitsubishi Delica L300 imported from Osaka, Japan. This year marks her 30th birthday, which in car years makes her a major grandma with six years of life experience on the both of us. As with any of our elders, we have learned an immense amount from her already - she is a little stubborn, tough as hell, and gives back even more to us than we unto her.

When we met Mica, she was imprisoned by the horrifying confines of a used car dealership. With no rust we could tell she had good bones, but she seemed neglected and we had to do something about it. Plus, considering we were running on a fresh-out-of-college budget, it didn’t hurt that she cost much less coin currency than her similarly imported siblings. We drove five hours to go pick her up and purchased her without hesitation (after spending four hours on the phone with insurance). We love insurance agents! They are so respectful of your time and so helpful in convincing you that you will cause $150k in damage to a local bridge. Finally we were on the road home as full of excitement and spirit as two young people could possible be driving their brand-new-super-old future home on wheels. Surely the only challenges would be steering from the wrong (right) side of the road and the 65mph top speed.

Halfway home, we took a mandatory Subway pitstop, ready to tackle the last couple of hours in the dark. Oh yea, we forgot to mention that the forecast leading into this weekend was a winter storm. But anyways, we forged on with hope in our hearts and Subway in our stomachs. At a certain point we noticed that the windshield wipers were slowing down a bit - “must just be the heavy wind and rain”, we said. Kept going. A little while later the headlights looked dim on the pitch black road- “our first upgrade should be new headlights”, we said. Kept going. After a few more minutes, the rapidly dropping fuel gauge needle caught our eyes - “FUCK”, we said, as the naivety finally started to fade. We had just filled up, so either we had a gaping hole in our fuel tank, or something worse… Surprise! It was something worse.

Internally full panic mode, externally calm. Neither of us would dare say a word.

Enter, Saugerties, NY. A small town off the highway which now holds a very specific spot in our hearts. We pulled into a gas station with relief and shut the car off. Mind you, this was still our first time taking this grandma out for a spin, and the first time this grandma had been out for a proper spin since we were born. After gathering ourselves and laughing at what might have been the scariest drive either of us had ever taken, we tried cranking her up again…

nothing.

The rest of the story isn’t underwhelming, but for the sake of the tumblr character limit, we'll just say it involves no ubers or AAA due to a state of emergency for the impending winter storm (which never came), a very kind gas station clerk who may have accidentally shorted our battery but also gave us food and water (guess we looked desperate), our first trip in a cop car (if you didn’t know you can’t let yourself out from the inside), a two night stay at a very comfortable Comfort Inn, and more auto shop phone calls than we have ever made in a 48 hour span (previous record: 0).

Eventually we were picked up by an extremely kind lady named “Mom” and she took us back home while Mica was towed to the only local shop which would dare take an old diesel van. The shop was great, but held onto Mica for over three months just to replace the alternator (the primary culprit) and change a few fluids. Despite being restless from our time apart and dented by a large bill, we were eager to dive into the abyss of building a mobile-home-studio-temple-spaceship. And thus commences over a year of dusk-till-dawn work, non-stop learning, unlearning, and a newfound friendship with Murphy’s Law…

TN KM

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fleurcareil · 11 months

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New Brunswick: South Shore

My first break along the highway into New Brunswick was at Grand Falls, where there's benches next to the not-that-grand-but-still-impressive waterfalls. When I was here in 2010, I was stunned to realize that there's an hour time difference between NB & QC but I had now planned my driving schedule accordingly (I did check with the tourist info just to make sure I got it right!😃).

Next stop was for gas in Hartland which boasts to have the longest covered bridge in the world, but instead I found the shortest one besides the gas station 😅, courtesy of the chips factory next door. Getting tired from the driving already, I decided not to search for the long one, as I would undoubtedly see more on my trip (seen two since then).

I had been recommended to take the old highway from Fredericton to Saint John along the river, which was definitely worth it; not only did it have great views but I also suddenly saw something big along the road, thinking "funny, those people put up a statue of a moose on their driveway" (it's quite common to see sculptures of deer, roosters or scarecrows at driveway entrances, presumably to make it easier to find), so I continued at full speed ahead... A few second later, thinking "what if it's not actually a statue??" I slowed down and it turned out to be a real moose after all!! It didn't move, apart from twitching its ears when I got closer and then finally it made a few steps when I had stopped to take a picture. Amazing!!

After getting to the cabin at New River Beach provincial park, I went for a walk along the beach, which has apparently the best sand in the south, and then I sat down with a well-deserved beer & dinner looking out on the Bay of Fundy. It was cold that evening so happy to sit inside a cabin for a change!

Next day there was a thick fog that didn't disappear until 10am, so I made my way to St Andrews warmly dressed but luckily within an hour the sun came through. I spent quite some time at the Kingsbrae Gardens as they were really pretty so will create a separate post with a collage of pictures from there. Walked around the historic downtown (I always love murals!) and had pizza on a bench overlooking the harbour.

I was waiting for the low tide to kick in to drive over to Ministers Island, which can only be accessed by driving over a sandbar. I initially thought it was a bit of a marketing stunt until a car in front of me got stuck in the soft wet sand, so I then made sure to follow someone who seemed to be a local!

The entire island used to be property of Sir William Van Horne, whom I had never heard of, but who was an influential man; not only did he design & construct the railway across Canada (6 years ahead of schedule), he also was key in convincing government to designate national parks (starting with Banff to attract rich tourists for the train, so as usual it was for the money but the environment and us all benefited from it as well 😃) and was an avid painter, Japanese bowl collector, violinist and inventor amongst others. A so-called Renaissance man except that he apparently did not appreciate his daughter, favouring the younger son and grandson instead... So much for being a truly great guy! 😜

Besides the 50-room house, the island contains also a pretty bathhouse with a tidal pool in front of it (with the warm sand heating the incoming tide), a windmill well and a carbide gas generator (for lighting in the house) as well as a 3-storey barn for prize-winning horses and cattle... impressive!

Having made it back to the mainland, I had a great evening with Bob, Diane and their daughter Laura at a delicious Thai restaurant in Saint John... I had met Bob in 2019 when starting a new project for work and wesrayed connected through his son-in-law Duncan who worked for the vendor for several years, we clicked somehow 🤩.

The following day it rained instead of fog 😒 so after having done my laundry I headed to Saint John for sightseeing there. Bob had recommended to visit the Reversing Falls, which are not actual falls so not much to take a photo of, but a location where you can see the water flow upstream against the current when it becomes high tide... the direction of the water seemed wrong though compared to the tidetable, and we later discovered that evening that the bottleneck of the river creates a 2.5 to 4hr delay in the tides between the Reversing Falls and the open harbour less than a kilometer away... It took us some brainstorming over a bottle of wine but we figured out why without Google! 😉

I walked around the City Market, historic streets and Market Square for a bit until the rain started in earnest and then had haddock cakes & a beer at Britt's, a local favorite restaurant.

In the afternoon, I met Duncan and Laura at their home along the Kennebecasis River and had a great time on their boat, seeing tens of jumping sea bass and sturgeon in what is basically their backyard. Being able to work mostly from home in such a place is a luxury beyond words and I'm grateful to have experienced it. Bob & Diane came over for dinner which consisted of great conversations over seared scallops and a traditional lobster boil, my first one! 💖

Having been pampered at their place, I set off in the morning for the last stretch of untamed wilderness along New Brunswick's south shore; the Fundy Trail. Before that however, I met this friendly gentleman who lives at Duck Pond Beach who explained about the history of Split Rock (and who purchased his property at the beach for $10,000 40 years ago!) and had lunch at the St Martins sea caves, passing enroute through a covered bridge 😍

By the time I got to the Fundy trail the rain had changed into a thunderstorm (which always scares me) so I ended up waiting it out for an hour at the interpretative centre & learned about a historic sawmill village. The Fundy trail has tons of impressive nature, including vistas over the shoreline, waterfalls and famous Long Beach which extends for half a kilometer at low tide...better not venture too far out when the tide comes back up! The last stop within the trailway was at the Eye of the Needle Gorge which can be seen from an observation platform high over the valley.

Very last stop of the day was at Cape Enrage, which I had expected to be as wild as the Capes in Newfoundland but this was rather tame and uninteresting as it's managed foremost as a zipline adventure park... the beach nearby was pretty though! After the mostly rainy day, I was happy to sit in the settting sun on the deck of my camping cabin overlooking a little pond 🤗.

This morning I'll briefly visit the Hopewell Rocks, where I've kayaked several years ago at high tide and then walked on the ocean floor at low tide a few hours later. It's very impressive to visualize the tide difference but it's even higher on the other, deeper side of the bay so won't dwell too long here because I can't wait to explore Nova Scotia next!

This is already the end of my second week travelling... distance driven this week: 1729 km

Wildlife: 1 moose (along the road), 2 turkey (Fundy Trail), 1 rabbit (Hopewell Rocks)

SUPs: none

Hikes: 3 small ones but all with stairs or steep uphill 😒 (along the Fundy Trail)

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oceandeviancy · 2 years

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Stuck in the Fog (BadBoyHalo x Male Reader)

Title: Stuck in the Fog

Pairing: BadBoyHalo x Male Reader

Originally Posted: Wattpad, 2021

Scenario: You two were on a road trip but end up getting lost

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There was no one else on the highway. Only one lonely car with two very confused people. They were going on a road trip but it wasn't going all to plan. Both of their phones were dead and the rain hit hard on the windshield, blinding the driver.

The passenger was groaning as he was irritated, bored, and hungry. He didn't want to snack on the few cheap muffins they had gotten at a gas station hours ago, before the rain even started. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to break the silence after so long of being quiet.

They've been dating for just over a year but sometimes it could feel like they just started as sometimes their trust in each other wasn't great.

They met through, obviously, Minecraft and it took a few years of knowing each other to say anything.

"Darryl?"

"Hm" he said, not really listening.

"Do you mind if we stop?" (Y/N) asked, starting to tense up.

Darryl turned to his partner and seeing his clutching onto his leg, could see (Y/N) was uncomfortable. He had a fear of the fog, which never made any sense to Darryl but he wasn't going to question it.

He nodded.

He pulled to the side of the road and put the car into park.

"Hey, are you okay?" Darryl asks, places his hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder.

He doesn't respond. Instead he stares at the fogged up windshield, shaking. (Y/N)'s breathing was getting faster and the tears started to form in his eyes.

"(Y/N)" Darryl says, concerned, "Look at me"

He does. Darryl sees the tears start to roll down his face.

"Are..." he chokes out, "Are we lost?"

Darryl had to admit that, since his phone had died, he had no way of knowing the real direction. The signs on the side of the road were almost impossible to read since the weather had been so bad.

"I-" Darryl didn't know what to say.

"Are we lost?" He asks again.

It was painful for Darryl to watch his boyfriend in this type of pain. The last time he remembers himself being this way was his flight to (Where you live). He does not like planes. He does not like flying. He will drive, even if it is a long distance trip. He is always prepared too.

"I'm sorry (Y/N)" he says, looking at the rain.

(Y/N) groans.

"I really am. This is my fault. I should've been more prepared. Should've brought a portable charger, checked the weather, stopped a long time ago!"

"Yes. It is your fault"

What? He's actually blaming me?

"What do you mean?" Darryl says, surprised.

"It's just as much of your fault as it is mine...We both weren't prepared"

Oh my goodness. He's not actually blaming me.

"I'm assuming we're staying here?"

Darryl smiled.

"We can use the blankets and jackets to cover the windows. I'll keep the car on for as long as I can but we're going to need gas to continue once the rain clears."

"Thank you" (Y/N) relaxes and climbs over the arm rest to get into the back seat.

Darryl follows.

"Well, I can think of one good thing" he says once he follows (Y/N)

"Hm?"

"I'm stuck in the fog with you and not someone else. That's 1,000 times better"

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doorplays · 1 month

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Door Reviews: Kentucky Route Zero (2020)

I have recently gotten a new job, which gave me access to a steady income, but has cut down on my gaming time due to the commutes. I looked for games to play on my cellphone since I am in the train around two hours each day, and what better way to kill time than to play games on the go? I found Kentucky Route Zero free on mobile (only free if you have a Netflix subscription), so I found myself downloading it and giving it a whirl.

It was a ride. I wanna talk about this game. So I decided to write a review. Let’s get to it.

What’s it about? Kentucky Route Zero is about Conway, a delivery man charged with one last job. It becomes harder than anticipated to finish. He meets various people along the way who help him and point him in the right direction. Through his journey, we experience this game’s world and all it holds.

STYLE (Gameplay, Graphics, Music)

Gameplay typically has you exploring the game area by area, scene by scene. You would be in control of one character, navigating the area via point-and-click (or for my case, press-and-click via touchscreen). You interact with objects and talk to people, choosing dialogue options in response.

Transitioning between scenes and areas happens when the game throws you into the overworld map, encouraging you to navigate towards the next destination. I say “encourage” because you are still free to explore the map and discover other places. You are a lone deliveryman plying the Kentucky highways, you are bound to see some unique sights in your travels!

The game has five acts and five interludes. I felt like I should mention this because the gameplay varies in the interludes as well. While it still feels like a visual novel in a sense, it experiments with how the player perceives it. Changes in perspective, changes in characters, even changes in gameplay. One of the interludes is just you using the telephone! I find all of it strange, yet compelling. Maybe even a bit dreamlike, in some ways.

The art is gorgeous. Solid colors, good backgrounds. The places feel dark at times, due to the lighting, yet there’s a familiarity to them. The animations are subtle, yet deliberate. The characters are distinct yet nondescript, like they’re from editorials or something. Faceless, yet you feel like you’ve met them before, or at least someone similar.

The music is phenomenal. Bluegrass/country music abound and are very much at home in the setting. The sound design itself is well made, sounds coming at the right moments. The songs are well timed, sung during scenes where they are very much apt, feelings of wistfulness and longing just rolling across the dirt road landscape of Kentucky.

All of these combined lends to a rather avant-garde experience. It feels like I’m walking through a specialty museum. Despite its weirdness, it feels familiar, cozy even. The gas station with the friendly owner, the dinghy bar with the struggling barkeep, the office building with the bureaucratic clerks… The game can feel imposing in its ambition, but it never lets you forget that it’s a game about going through the country, finding the feeling of home wherever you go.

SUBSTANCE (Story, Characters, Impact)

It creeps up on you, this game.

The story starts out in a gas station, with you controlling Conway. You get Conway to get out of his truck, maybe petting your dog, whose name is either Homer or Blue. You have him talk to the owner, maybe you two talk about some random stuff, but you ultimately ask: how do you get to the Zero? This is what drives Conway: the act of completing his last delivery.

This game’s story feels like a long drive. I haven’t really done one. But this game evokes images of driving through long stretches of road across wide open expanses. You don’t really know where you’re going. You don’t know where the road will take you. But you feel the wind on your face. The rocks bumping against the tires. The vast stretches of sky. You get so absorbed in the journey that you almost forget why Conway is going to the Zero in the first place.

And well, the destination doesn’t really matter as much for this game, at least for me. I liked my experience just seeing the visuals, reading the words and the things they evoke. I like that the people in this game feel real, their presence reinforced by the stories they give. I liked steering them from one chapter to another, choosing my answers in a way that feels right for the characters at the time.

I like how this game plays with the medium, in a way. I mentioned earlier that the interludes have changes in gameplay. They feel like their own experiences, vignettes in between acts. It feels like they’re distilling a particular moment or feeling, and stretching it wide enough for you to luxuriate in.

This applies in the acts themselves too. There are some magical moments in this game. Hearing of peoples’ stories, exploring a parking lot after a rainy day, driving across the Kentucky highways… these all sound so simple, and yet this game makes them so magical and fraught with meaning. It feels artsy in a down-to-earth way, if that makes sense.

Overall, I really like this game’s story. It meanders in a way that doesn’t drag on. It celebrates its own mundanity, making it magical. And it discusses serious themes with the necessary gravity they need.

VERDICT

This game feels experimental in a way that I like. It discusses some serious themes in a way that isn’t heavy handed. It plays with how it presents the narrative in interesting ways. And it made me feel a lot of things!

I didn’t expect to feel a lot of feelings from an unassuming game. But here we are. And I wish to have you experience it too! I hope you enjoy your own journey with this game as much as I enjoyed mine!

Door Rates Kentucky Route Zero: 5/5!

#door reviews #kentucky route zero #krz

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ididkn0w · 11 months

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So like basically fuck I’m sorry I just need to tell u I love you again and that I’m craving you I’d love to be under the covers forcing ourselves to be touching every inch of our bodies with the other and my face on ur chest. So basically I left and like I slept the entire entire flight bro there’s nothing to it😭 I did wake up once and it’s bc they were giving food and it was nasty ass fucking scrambled egg. Girl u alr know me I will never eat that fuckin airplane scrambled eggs no hotel fucjing scrambled eggs in the buffet. No. Only Waffle House scrambled CHEESY eggs duh. And obviously they taste better if they come from ur mouth. I miss you. So I ate like two fucking miniature ass mushrooms. Yes Ik u fucking hate mushrooms. And also that like one piece of fucking bread that always comes with it. And then I went back to sleep and then I woke up n we had to get off n I was still so tired so I was grumpy as fuck also bc we had to run to get a ducking visa and then thru ghe passport shit but bro u alr know how the airports are here in like Europe like those big cities. I mean u know, fucking London one is crazy as fuck. Btw I need London recommendations or whatever or smth ud want from there that u miss idk. So then like I was sweating and we got our bag which once again so fucking far away and then we got out and got an Uber and like he was kinda weird bc he stopped at a gas station and made us wait like 5 min like wtf ok. And you also know how it is here they go like 110 on the highway and it’s normal and then we got to the hotel and my mom was like could we pay u and u stay here while we leave our bags bc basically we had a “cruise” tour but it’s rlly just like 20-25 ppl on like a small lil like yacht? Like my boat but two stories kinda type thing nah idk why I compared my boat cus it’s not like huge like no kitchen or shit but it had like a good space like the inside of my boat? But two stories of that. So that was at 6 and we got to like the city at like 5:30 and so he ended up being rlly nice and he took us to the hotel by foot bc we were lost and the receptionist didn’t speak English so he would translate for us and even took the bag with him. And the hotel is like a local one not like a Marriott or smth so that’s why. And so then he took us to the port and we met with my family I think I didn’t mention this to u but yk it’s just me and my mom and it’s more of a work trip and so my grandma and grampa and my uncle and his wife obv like my grandpa owns the company and my mom and my uncle which is her brother are important in it duh. And so yk when we went to Vegas like it was that fair? Like the only reason I went to Vegas and also with my family for this. So they have a competitor in the like industry and they’re from turkey and they invited us to come here and to give us a tour of their factory and like yeah so they’re competition but they like get along like good like neither of them care like it’s silly? Ig to them idk like it’s not like that is what I’m saying. So back to what I was saying we got to the boat thing and before I got on I was starving so I got some like street food and btw I think like Arabic food in all I’d my favorite like that’s why I ate Lebanese yesterday. I took pics of all of this btw bc I rlly want to show u ab my day bc I love you duh ur my best friend. So then I ate that and got on the boat and like I went to sleep😭 it was 2 and a half hours n I was awake for the last half an hour and bro my body hurts so fucking much from yesterday bc I was in heels like even my toes hurt my legs are in so much pain. So we finished and bro these mofos decided to take us walking to the hotel and they were constantly stopping and shit and I was low key mas cus like wtf bro I was just on an 11 hour flight I have my fucking backpack on with my purse my makeup bag my computer and headphones all that shit and like in the same fucking outfit bro I’m tired. Btw I got a cup I didn’t take a pic fuck but I’ll show u tomorrow so yeah we walked like for a good fucking hour to the hotel and yeah that was it I’ll

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mediadiscord · 1 year

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The Last of Us – Season 1 Episode 4 – Review

Hey everyone welcome back to my review of another episode of The Last of Us. The show which I'm liking, based on a video game I've never played on a system that that I didn't continue after the second generation. As per usual this review will not feature any Easter eggs, because frankly I wouldn't know what one would be. I’m actually getting this out at a decent date, hopefully. I have also made another revelation when going back and reading what I’ve been writing. This isn’t just a review, but a recap and review. Although, since I also have labeled the previous posts as reviews, I’ll just keep going with that. This is just a little behind the scenes stuff, but secretly these should be named recap and review and thus you will be getting a recap and my thoughts on the latest episode of The Last of Us.The last episode was so heart breaking and I thing the writers knew the impact it may have, so that’s why this episode seems very light and only picks up on action towards the end. You have time to come down from the last episode and get some humor before things go down and you remember where they are going now and meet what happens to Karen’s when the world ends and they need use their powers of horribleness to gain followers. We start out this episode with Joel and Ellie at a gas station where Joel is trying to syphon some gas, let’s hope he saved the mint for after he was done. Ellie is secretly playing with her new toy aka the gun she took from the house after she found it last episode. She has also seemed to get her hands on a joke book that sounds like it was written by every collective dad in the world. The jokes are corny and are just invitations to mock the person that said them. In my circle of friends if you tell a bad joke you’re going to get a good 30 minutes of getting made fun of for trying to pass off a trash joke. Joel doesn’t do this but instead just sighs and takes it. During the car ride Ellie gets her first look at the mess that is called the male human body and makes Joel very uncomfortable as he asks her to put it away. Joel then decides to go camping since they had driven enough for that day.Deep in a forest where they’ve set up camp Joel whips a batch of the most elegant 20-year-old Chef Boyardee Ravioli, and they eat like kings. Ellie wants to start a fire but is told not to as it will attract people that will do much worse to them than kill them. This bit of truth is a little too much for Ellie as she wants confirmation that no one knows they’re out there and Joel obliges. You then cut to Ellie sleeping as Joel stands watch over her protecting her. Dad mode never goes away, no matter if the person you’re looking after is your own flesh and blood or not. Ellie wakes up to what sounds like a steampunk alarm clock, but it’s just a pot of coffee brewing. Ellie leans over and takes a smell and says it smells disgusting, and that they had Starbucks at the quarantine zone. I guess in the great fast food war Starbucks and it’s spinach and tomato panini’s won. Joel and Ellie are driving when Ellie inquires about Joels brother. He informs her he’s a joiner, which is a nice way of saying he has family issues and constantly is looking for a new group to resemble one. Joel tells of how he joined the armed forces, and after the outbreak he joined the fireflies and that’s how Joel met Tess. He says where they’re going and if his brother isn’t there they’ll go to another possible location. Ellie falls asleep and wakes u when they hit a stopping point at a location that’s blocked. Ellie is playing navigator and is guiding Joel through the city to get back on the highway, but get stopped by someone who is hurt. Joel seeing they are just a lying liar who lies and guns it towards them. They start getting shot at and crash the truck into a small store. After a shoot out that involves just Joel. He takes one out and the other one ambushes him. Ellie takes out her gun does whatever any of us would do in that situation. She shoots him in the back, Paralyzing him and Joel asks Ellie to go hide because he doesn’t want to see him give this guy another hole in his body. Joel and Ellie take off to hide and we then meet Kathleen, who is the Karen of this whole city. You learn that they most likely turned on the government who was stationed there to keep any order. Kathleen is playing both nice and mean cop to a doctor who she believes knows where her sons are and who tipped possible mercs off who may or may not have picked up her son. She’s informed that one of the men Joel killed is this lady and she blames the doctor for being a part of tis and ends his life. We also learn that Kathleen is a master at manipulation and a big lover of secrets as there’s a sink hole opening under one of the buildings where infected will most likely emerge and wreck some stuff.Joel and Ellie makes their way to a very tall building where they imitate Ghostbusters from the 1990’s and climb the stairs and locate a room where they can rest until it’s safe. Joel sets some traps to work as an alarm system and Ellie hits him with her most devastatingly dad joke of all dad jokes. I laughed and so did Joel who went to sleep laughing but woke up to 2 guns pointed it at them. Overall this episode was good. I continue to look at what the world will look like when nature takes over. This wasn’t as heartbreaking as the last episode, but it was still a solid way to help the character progression with Joel and Ellie. We shall see how next week goes and how they get out of having guns pointed at them. Read the full article

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voyager3rv · 1 year

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Cold Start!

Day: 948

Location: 35.558, -75.462

Entry:

Well that was something ! ! !

We had known we were in for a bit of a challenge with the weather that had been upcoming in NJ. ( temps were going as low as 3F )

- - Pre - Departure - -

So we dragged the lines early, dropped all our water and had a small space heater in a cargo bay to distribute heat through while we endured the arctic blast. We held well between the shrubs during our last stay, Nebbie was able to kick consistent vibes at approx 50F and that was with two electric heaters at 2200 watts.

~ Due to limited electricity throughput from the line ( 20A ) ~

[ We would have rocked propane, but after 2+ months of usage we were pretty much beat ]

This essentially set the tone for our disembark,

J and I were both a little slow to get back into the groove, but we made due and pressed on. Leaving went pretty smoothly and we were greeted with driving head on with what was described as "gale winds"... (shrugs) you honestly can't make it up. But it was such a great test for all the work we had done, this old gal, prior to our renovation would have been ramblin' back and forth like she was busting a move. :D

- - Departure - -

Our initial heading had us arriving in ( 35.558, -75.462 ) by Sunday afternoon, so we decided to split the trip into two days, somewhere around 266mi the first day, and 220 the next.

We got to our first layover without any other excitement, we were lucky to have some really beautiful sunset views over farmlands in MD as we parked, plugged electric only and settled in for the night.

The second day was really when all the excitement happened, we had to plan a spot to fuel our propane before landing, and after having called the campground we were essentially told we were beat for a Sunday fill. So we hunted around... or more like, J hunted around, and after five or six different spots we were able to narrow it down to an Ace hardware, believe it or not.

(added to the list of places to stop)

I jumped up front and went to start Nebbie, but when I turned the key.... ( click, click sppzpzp cacsfma lfnskj ) was actually exactly how it sounded. Now I remembered what that one thing was I still had to do... replace the battery. No worries though, we've jumped before and today was no different. So after getting Nebbie started we hooked the smart car and rolled out to our first stop, the gas station!

The first one was not set up well for us, so we had to cross the highway and pulled through another.

So this might have come easier to someone else, but not to me that day, because I tell ya what I confidently turned that engine off thinking we would be swell, and guess what. We weren't! lol so I had to unhook the smart car, turn it back on, jump the RV and then re-situate on the opposite side of the gas station to rehook.

(just a good ol regular fill up in RV life)

We were only forty minutes to the ace hardware, and on the way we decided to get smart. I asked J to research about the (emergency start) switch on the dash and how it operated and how we might be able to use it. So after a quick youtubing we felt confident that it would be straight forward.

We pulled into the Ace lot which thankfully was pretty abandoned and did a whole two loops before arriving correctly at the side of the propane fill up area. The worker there had seen us driving and met me there at the side, he was super nice and we discussed camping, and the type of camper he had as well.

After I hopped back into the driver's seat, anxious and ready to DRIVE! I look at J and asked her "No but really, one whole minute", she responded "One minute", my eyes flipped around in my head while I pushed the button (emergency start) looking between J and the wheel, waiting for the go ahead.

At juuuuust about one minute I turned the key, ( du du duuuu ) no dice. After sitting for a second, and pushing the button again, this time for thirty seconds, we tried again before Nebbie roared to life!

We were in some kinda luck!

With a full tank of gas, and propane we made our way further south, taking in the ocean views from Virginia bridges to Virginia Beach, driving all along the sand bar by Kitty Hawk and through towards Rodanthe.

First trip back on the road in the books, we're parked about 200 feet away from the ocean and the sunrises and sunsets have been BEAUTIFUL, the next week days here are going to be so relaxing!

- Transmission End -

#travel blog #travel #rvlife #fulltimetravel #fulltimerving #rodanthe #north carolina #outer banks

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gustokita · 1 year

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16 DEC 2022

We had our first official date since being open about our feelings 🫣💕

I got out of bed at like 7:45am to get ready for the date. My younger sister picked the outfit and she even did my makeup 🥺🥺 just a bit of mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, and lipstick. I was like, "what if I wanna kiss him??!?!?" And she just glared and said, "just wipe it off 🙄" 😂😂

We were gonna meet at the national airport in my city at 9am, but he found out that he might get a ticket if he parked there all day so we just met up at a Safeway, which was probably for the best XD he drove my car the entire day 😊 so first off we went out to eat at this bakery close to where he lives. It was all local and their pastries are sooo good (he's given me a couple things from that bakery before). He ordered a cubano sandwich which we split for lunch and I also got a chocolate croissant (for my younger siblings mostly). The meal came with a lil pastry slice, an orange slice, and a dill pickle. It was suuuuper good and filling 🤤 I also got to try their mocha. I think for every coffee place I go to, I /have/ to get their mochas XD

Next we drove for a bit to an island. The place was basically "the sticks" all covered in woods, a lil sketchy, but it was pretty nice to drive around.

----

03 JAN 2023

Alrighty it’s been a couple weeks since this lil date but I’ll just summarize the highlights that I can remember 🥰

Drove around the downtown area of the city he lived in. He hates it XD

Drove up to look at a race track from the outside. We both wished we could watch our brothers race bc they’re both car people (his brother much more, he’s pretty much a self-taught mechanic)

we drove up north on a highway for like an hour. I was teasing him by putting my hand on his leg 😂 The highway was overlooking a body of water and it was just so pretty that time we were driving. it was cold too XD. We decided to take a break from driving and pulled off to the side of the road. we just held each other for a while, it was the first time of that day when we got to hold and kiss each other. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

drove south of the highway. tried looking for a place to use the bathroom. we tried a gas station, but there were only porta potties 😬 we walked to a library and then we started looking around the books so it didn’t look like we just went there just for the bathroom. I got caught up in all the anime/manga stuff they had of course 😂😂 I thought it was cute that we got to walk around and hold hands this time 🥺

we then drove more around the water and of course there are a bunch of different houses by the water. SO so so pretty, some strange too lol. One time we had to pause and make sure we were taking the right roads and there was this mine craft looking house lmaoooo I bet it was an architect only project. there was a really tall tower in the center of the house and it looked like a mini house at the top with a balcony lmao.

we stopped by a donut place next. he would drive next to it all the time while going to school but he never tried anything from there. we both got 3 donuts each c: it was getting close to the time I had to go back home. I decided to give him the letter I made for him the night before as well as the little gift I got him. It’s a Blue Morph butterfly pin 🦋 He really liked it 💕

I remember at one red light he turned to me to give me a quick kiss 😂❤️ we got back to the Safeway parking lot and he brought his stuff to his car, and I was rearranging stuff in my car. He came back to my car with a gift as well 🥹🥹 He also gave me a pin!!! it was a Sophie pin 😭😭😭 It was crazy we got each other pins for gifts!!! He also wrote me a letter, too, and he baked me cookies tooooo 🍪 they were Russian Tea Cakes 😋

It’s always so hard to let each other go. we sat in my car just gazing at each other. “Until I Found You” and “Leave the Door Open” played once and the sun was kinda setting and it really set an intimate atmosphere. I was getting overwhelmed bc I loved spending that whole day with him, but I was sad that I wasn’t gonna see him for a bit (until we had to take this big exam). I ended up tearing up, and he got caught off-guard a bit 😆I didn’t want to cry because I was wearing make-up. Literally the one day when I want to cry but couldn’t bc of make-up. ughh. I wiped up the bit of mascara that ran, and then gave him more hugs. then I started tearing up again, and he said, “Please don’t cry :(” We finally let each other go when more people started parking around my car XD

I remember calling him one night and asking what he was thinking when I started tearing up. He said he’s never had anyone cry because they weren’t gonna see him for a while. I’ve shared a lot of firsts with him 🤭

#dcr we rambling

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biketripmaramel · 2 years

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69th day (28th of June) Departing from our hotel was not easy because it was still hot. But we also wanted to have enough time for discovering Tallinn. We biked 65 km along the A4 until reaching a gas station. This time it was not as comfortable as from the border to Pärnu. There were way more semis and the side part was a little bit narrower. So it was getting exhausting concentrating onto biking on the edge of the road. Mostly we chanced onto the dirt road part of the highway for having a bit more space. Like that it was still ok. At the gas station in Märjamaa we met first the biker couple Steffi and Charly. They were from Hamburg, biked up Danmark, Sweden and then Finland. From there they biked down again. We had lovely conversations and exchanged tips for the continuing route. They recommended a lake close to Tallinn itself for a refreshing bath. It was too far to reach today but we safed it on the map. They continued while we stayed a little longer playing with the thought of having a nap. Just about 20 minutes later another biker arrived at the gas station: Annia, also from Hamburg. What a coincidence. She had an exchange time in Helsinki and now bikes back to Hamburg. Like the others she told us that there are super bad gravel roads on the way to tallinn. Hence we decided to take the roads 28 and 15 which were normal roads. Around 17.30 we continued our road. Some heavy clouds showed up and gave some shadow. After Rapla it started to drizzle and we heard thunders not too far away. So we decided to stay on a freshly mowed field behind some bushes right next to the road. We got lucky and the thunderstorm missed us this time. https://www.instagram.com/p/CfhM621IGUBHQEeYa-fDnzHcAZTL0w-4YCRo1I0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 4 years

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"Paul Testifies Against Cross in Chatham Murder Trial," Border Cities Star. February 27, 1930. Page 5 & 12. --- Says Accused Gave 'Hands Up' Command ---- Powell, Himself Facing Slaying Charge, Takes Stand ---- No Promises Given ---- Windsor Man Must Also Face Trial for Killing During Holdup ---- CHATHAM, Feb. 27. - Edward "Ted" Powell, 20, colored, of Windsor, summoned as a crown witness in the trial of Charles "Chuck" Cross, 20, colored, also of Windsor, for the murder of John Labadie, gasoline station attendant last September 22, today testified he believed the voice which had ordered Labadie to put his hands up during an attempted robbery was that of Cross. He also said Cross, a moment later, had come running from the station following three explosions with a revolver in his hand. UNEXPECTED TURN The introduction of Powell as a crown witness gave the trial an unexpected turn. It was intimated that while nopromises of any kind had been made to Powell, it was a fact he had volunteered to give evidence. Powell is due to face trial following the Cross case.

Powell, jointly indicted with Cross on the murder charge, was objected to as a crown witness by E C. Awrey, K. C., defense counsel, but he was overruled by Mr. Justice Nicol Jeffrey, who is presiding at the trial. David A. Croll, counsel for Powell, asked for the protection of the court for his client and this was granted.

Powell said he recalled the night of September 21 last having been at a colored club in Windsor where he met Cross and Evans and played poker. Cross and Evans had left the game just before the witness. He took John Sanders' car which he was using, back to him at 9:30 p.m., and met Cross at Wyandotte and Mercer streets, and Evans half a block further on. They had planned to go to a party that night, Powell said. Sanders had been picked up at his home.

After driving to Evans' home for his overcoat, the latter had suggested they should steal a closed car, since it was a cold night. Evans did this, witness said, securing an auto near the corner of Park street and Victoria avenue. The two cars had then been driven to Powell's home and they had all then climbed into Evans' stolen car, with the latter driving and started out Howard avenue past the Devonshire race track.

WOKE IN LEAMINGTON Powell said the next thing he remembered he was waking up in Leamington. He did not recall passing through Harrow or Kingsville, or stopping at either place. At Leamington he took over the wheel and Evans and Cross had suggested going to Chatham, no particular reason being offered at that time, the witness declared. He did not discover why they had come to Chatham until arriving there and changing drivers in front of a hotel.

"Evans here suggested that we break into a Jewelry store on King street," Powell continued, "but we all refused. We drove around the city for a time, and then we decided we should get some gas. We stopped at a gas station on the outskirts of the city, on No. 2 highway." "Who paid for the gas?" asked Crown Prosecutor W. H. Williams, K.C. "Nobody, we didn't have time." Here the court interrupted to warn Powell against withholding the truth and said he believed the witness was not telling all he knew.

HOLDUP SUGGESTED Questioned further, Powell then admitted Cross had suggested holding up the gas station before going to it, and that plans had been laid 100 yards west of it, as to how the affair would be conducted. They had passed the station first, and Evans, he said, had sug-gested they stick that one up. They had also passed some stations which I were closed, witness said, and Evans had also suggested they break in and get some gas.

When they stopped on a side road to lay the plans, Evans wanted to know who would hold up the gas station. Powell said he refused, as did Sanders, so Cross said he would, and he took the revolver from Evans.

Arriving at the station, Powell stayed at the wheel and the others got out. When Cross asked the attendant for oil, he and Evans followed Labadie to the door of the station. He then heard a voice, which he believed to be that of Cross, say "Stick 'em up." and this was followed by three explosions. A moment later Cross came running out with a gun in his hand, said Powell.

Powell said that on the way from the gas station, the others had expressed disapproval at the shooting. Cross told them he had shot the man in the arm, the witness testified. Cross-examined by Mr. Awrey, Powell said he did not own the gun, and that it had been purchased by Evans about two weeks before the shooting. He had been with Evans when he bought it.

DEFENCE STARTS Completing the cross-examination, Mr. Awrey was called upon to present his defence, Powell having been the last Crown witness. Mr. Awrey told His Lordship he had been taken by surprise when Powell was called and asked for time before putting his case before the court. Defence counsel said he had only one witness to call, if he decided on any, and this would be the accused Cross. His Lordship agreed to the delay and court was adjourned until 2 pm. Cross, as during the whole proceedings yesterday, sat composedly in the prisoner's box, shackled to Provincial Constable Thomas Campbell, with Constable Jack Sheff as a second guard. Cross followed the evidence intently.but his expression changed little. The court room was crowded and many were kept outside today, as has been the case during the previous days of the court sitting. Several Crown witnesses were called to testify in the trial when the assize court resumed here today.

WILKINSON TESTIFIES The first witness, James Wilkinson, superintendent of identification in the Windsor police department, told of examining the car said to have been used by the bandits on the night of the attempted holdup. He had found three 38-calibre empty shells and one 22-calibre loaded cartridge, as well as the Sunday edition of a Detroit paper dated September 22. Certain interior fixtures had been broken, he said. The car was claimed by Mr. Fairburn of Windsor. Detective Thomas P. Campbell, of Windsor, testified the car owned by Mr. Fairburn had been reported to him as stolen and had been recovered shortly after. The shells found in the car and turned over to him by Wilkinson he had forwarded by registered mail to Police Chief Findlay Low of Chatham. Chief Low acknowledged receiving the shells, forwarded from Windsor, and also produced bullets turned over to him by Dr. Thomas McRitchie, coroner, and Dr. C. B. Oliver, which he said he had taken to Montreal for, examination.

IDENTIFIES REVOLVER He also identified a revolver previously entered as an exhibit as having been handed him by Inspector W. H. Stringer of the Provincial Police.

This revolver. Inspector Stringer next testified, he had located buried in the soil January 7 in the yard of 731 Howard avenue, Windsor, the house occupied by Powell, indicted with Cross for the murder. With the revolver were found six 38-calibre cartridges, he said, wrapped in cloth. The revolver was closed but not loaded, the inspector said.

When a 22-calibre revolver. also found buried by Inspector Stringer, was about to be introduced as an exhibit, E. C. Awrey, K. C. defence counsel, objected that it had no bearing on the case and he was upheld by Justice Jeffrey. OBJECTION SUSTAINED Orillian Allen, operator of a gas station at Leamington, being called defence counsel again raised an objection, claiming his evidence of having sold gasoline on the night in question, to colored men was not admissible, since it was not linked to any previous testimony. The objection was sustained, and Allen was not allowed to give evidence.

Dr. Wilfred De Rowe, criminal expert of Montreal, told of examining a revolver, three bullets extracted from the body of Labadie and other loaded and empty shells brought to him by Chief Low, of Chatham. He attested that the mortal bullets bore the same, markings as other bullets he had fired from the revolver given him by the chief, and that if the gun used by the slayer was not the same one, it was at least its twin.

Discrepancies in the evidence of Sanders. brought out under cross-examination last night, led Mr. Justice Nicol Jeffrey to issue a warning to the witness.

Sanders had taken the stand shortly before 5 to tell his story of the episode at Thayer's gasoline station, Richmond street, Chatham West, during which fatal shots were fired. mortally wounding Labadie, the attendant.

HEARD VOICE OF CROSS He had testified he had heard the voice of Cross say three times "Stick them up." A moment before the firing of a gun. He had recognized the voice of Cross, although he had not seen him at the time.

Sanders followed John Evans, 18, also of Windsor on the stand. Both are facing charges of robbery armed as a re-sult of the attempted holdup. Evans'-evidence had been featured by the dec-laration that Cross, the accused, was the one who fired the shots at the gasoline station attendant.

E. C. Awrey, K. C.. of Windsor, deefence counsel, taking up the cross-examination of Sanders at the night session, read from the evidence given by the witness at the preliminary hearing when he had said he could not identify the voice which had ordered Labadie to put up his hands. When Mr. Awrey had finished. Crown Prosecutor W. H. Williams, K.C.. drew the attention of the court to the difference between this testimony and that given by the witness at the trial in the afternoon. Questioned again, Sanders said: "I realized at the preliminary hearing I had recognized the voice of Cross, but I didn't know what to say: I had never been in court before."

When Sanders took the stand late in the afternoon, he was granted the protection of the court at the request of B. J. Spencer Pitt, Evans' counsel, who had earlier made the same request on behalf of his own client.

Sanders said he had met Cross and Edward "Ted" Powell on the night of September 22 last. and the latter had suggested going for a drive. Evans had then driven up in a car and they had!Joined him with the intention of going to Harrow. At Harrow, Evans had got out of the car, walked down the street, come back, and said: "Guess we'll goon." Sanders said he didn't know why they had stopped. He was then questioned as to who had suggested going to Chatham.

"I'm not sure who suggested going toChatham," Sanders told the court.

JUDGE WARNS SANDERS "You're not sure of anything. are you?" Interjected His Lordship. "Witness, if I find you are not telling the truth. I shall instruct the crown attorney to take such steps as may be necessary."

"Do you know why you went to Chatham?" was the Crown's next query.

"It was suggested that we hold up a gas station."

"Who suggested it?" asked Judge Jeffrey.

"Cross suggested it," Sanders replied.

His Lordship again warned the witness that he must be specific in his answers.

They had passed two gas stations which Powell suggested they "try," Sanders went on. and the third one, which was Thayer's, was pointed out by Cross.

"Was there a gas station held up by you and others that night?" asked the Crown.

"Yes, sir." Sanders replied.

Sanders corroborated Evans' evidence as to the plans for the holdup being made on a side road. Evans saying that he wouldn't shoot unless trapped, and Cross taking the gun and undertaking to stage the holdup.

When the quartet arrived back in Windsor early Sunday morning, Evans, according to Sanders, asked Powell what was to be done with the gun, suggesting they should get rid of it. Powell had then said he would bury it. On reaching the highway, after leaving Chatham, said Sanders, Cross had taken the gun and reloaded it with shells, from the pocket of Powell's sweater coat, Coming into Windsor, Cross had given it to Evans and in the city the latter hadgiven the weapon to Powell.

"What was done with the gun?" asked the Crown.

"The gun was given to me Sunday morning," Sanders related.

"And I buried it in Powell's backyard. I believe there were some shells in the chamber at the time. With it I also buried a 22 calibre revolver wrapping them in a piece of cloth. They stayed in the yard until they were found January 6." SAW MAN WITH GUN Raymond Chaput, of Tilbury, who with Leonard Walker, of the same place, was in the car whose approach interrupted the holdup, testifying at the night session told of seeing a man with a gun in his hand in front of the gas station as they neared.

He could see the barrel of the gun, he said, and as the man turned, he lowered the gun and started for the bandit car, reaching it at the end of the line of gas pumps. He would not be able to identify the man. but he was of dark complexion, Chaput testified. After chasing the bandit ear through the streets, he and Walker had returned to the gas station, found Labadie wounded and called the police, also calling a doctor.

A week later he had gone to Windsor and picked out a car in front of the police station there, as the one pursued following the holdup.

Evidence of three wounds found in the body of Labadie was given by Dr.Frederick Hall, autopsist. who performed a post mortem on September 23. The wound in the abdomen was caused by a bullet, he was sure, because he had traced the course of wound and found the steel. The intestine had been punctured by the bullet, he told the court, causing acute peritonitis, which led to death.

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