#brief summary if you want an educated direction

[chongoblog]

It's Valentines Day and since I'm single I have been thinking about my OC's and how I ship them and I might want to Gush about them, so I'm putting up a short-length poll to determine the level of priority for each one. I'll put a brief summary of each one in the tags if you want some context to influence your decision

#brief summary if you want an educated direction #Hackshifter: a shapeshifter and a cyborg who are gay and constantly make hijinks ensue (these hijinks almost always lead to tragedy) #Folktreuse: a time traveler and the goddess of time fall in love probably my favorite from cpuk #Dancefloor: a spunky and cocky catgirl pirate and a brooding edgy rabbitgirl pirate slowly fall in love as the former joins the crew #Gay Dad Pirates: a seasoned pirate betrayed by his crew and an upper class kid who joined the military both defect and start their own crew #One Positive Outcome: A ship that exists across multiple universes. All universes hold some kind of tragedy. #Crimtoinette: A ship started as a joke that has caught on between an overconfident girlboss and an eldritch bastard man #1 day is the shortest it would allow so ill just keep an eye on it #and if i start making posts ill do it based on whatever i see here

[just-dreaming-marvel]

The Bond Between Us ~ 33

THE BOND BETWEEN US MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,400ish

Summary: The Force pulls you into your memories, the good and the bad.

Warnings: mentions of rape and nightmares, scars, brief partial nudity, emotions

Notes: I really hope you all enjoy this one! Please share your thoughts and reactions!

That night, neither you nor Obi-Wan got any rest. You, due to the nightmare you were experiencing about your time at the Zygerrian educational center, and Obi-Wan because he could sense and hear you experiencing the nightmare. His eyes clenched shut as he winced with each whimper and cry that passed your lips. His signature went to you to try and help, only to be pushed away.

The next morning, as you two passed each other in the halls, you could visually see the effect the separation was having on each other. And if you two could see it, then so could others around you. Obi-Wan spent the majority of his day in the war room, helping out where he could with assignments. You, on the other hand, spent the majority of your day in the training room. Obi-Wan knew what you were doing as he could feel your pain with each wrong or overextended movement you took. You were still healing, yet the moment you were cleared you got back to work.

Obi-Wan sighed after feeling another jolt of pain. He hated that you knew how the Council had hurt you, that you were angry about it, and that you still were going to put in the work to get back into the war and do their bidding. But what else did you really know? You had been with the Order since you were nine, more than half your life now. You had trusted the Jedi with your life, your brother, and Obi-Wan was questioning again if you had misplaced your trust.

With each swing of your lightsaber, you could feel your strength in the Force grow back. Despite the pain in your side, you continued to practice. You could sense that Obi-Wan felt each moment of pain, but you didn’t care. If he wanted to, he could close off to you though you knew he wouldn’t. He wanted you to have his strength accessible to you if you wanted it and you both knew that even just being open in the bond and not exactly using it, gave you more strength.

You were panting heavily and sweating by the time you decided to call it quits with your lightsaber. Your wound was aching as you found a seat on the ground in the center of the room. You placed your lightsaber on the ground before you then placed your hands, palms up, on your knees. You closed your eyes as you took long, deep breaths and focused on the Force around you. Slowly, you began to lift in the air as you allowed yourself to be one with the Force. You hadn’t been able to meditate like this since before the war, so it felt good to be able to do so once again. As you let yourself get lost in the Force, it began to show you memories. 

When Master Qui-Gon helped you through a panic attack.

He had felt your call through the Force. He placed his hands on your shoulders as he sat down on the edge of your bed.

“Calm your mind, young one,” he calmly ordered. “Your emotions are overwhelming you. Take a deep breath in.” He did so himself as he guided you. “And out… close your eyes and clear your mind.”

You did as he directed. You closed your eyes and focused on clearly the things that were causing you to act this way. For some reason, you could feel that Qui-Gon was helping you do that. Once you were calm and everything wasn’t so heavy, you opened your eyes.

“How did you do that?” You asked.

“Do what?” Qui-Gon questioned, removing his hands from your shoulders.

“Help me like that… I could feel you… like, in my mind.”

“That is called the Force, my young one. It surrounds us, connecting all living things together.”

“Is that how I am able to feel so strongly?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Can you… can you teach me how to control it?” Qui-Gon stayed silent, clearly thinking something over. “I heard you talking to my mom. I know that Anakin and I are special but we are too old for training. I understand if you are unable to help me… I can figure it out.”

“We will figure this out, young one. You will not be left to deal with this on your own.”

When you said goodbye to your mother. The last time you saw her.

“Promise me that you will watch out for your brother. Your brother is kind and strong-headed. You know that he can let his emotions take control over him. Watch out for him. Do what you need to do to take care of him and yourself. Promise me.”

“I promise, mom.”

“Good girl.” She pulled you in for a hug as Anakin came out to say goodbye to one of his friends. She pressed a kiss to your head. “I love you, Y/N.”

When you met Obi-Wan for the first time.

“Obi-Wan, this is Y/N Skywalker,” Qui-Gon introduced.

Obi-Wan looked at you, your eyes meeting. A wave of calm fell over you both, causing Obi-Wan to inhale sharply. He had never felt this from the Force before or been able to interact with another’s Force signature so quickly. Your Force signature was almost dancing with his, exploring and questioning it.

“Hello there,” Obi-Wan greeted, giving you a brief smile.

“Hi,” you responded, shyly. 

  The Force seemed to be picking important moments in your life and showing them to you.

When you volunteered to be the one to not be trained by Obi-Wan and take a new last name.

When you reunited with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme.

When you were officially assigned to work with Obi-Wan to find the bounty hunter after Padme.

The battle of Geonosis, where Obi-Wan was so worried about you.

“Obi,” you panted, exhausted.

Meeting your eyes, Obi-Wan could tell that you didn’t have much left in you. It didn’t help that your injured side was bleeding faster than it had before.

“I’ll be right there, little star,” Obi-Wan said. “Hang on!”

Obi-Wan taking you to a diner and then rushing away before you could kiss.

When you and Obi-Wan kissed for the first time.

“If Satine said the word now, would you leave the Jedi Order?”

Without an immediate verbal response, Obi-Wan’s hands slowly came up to gently hold your face. “No,” he whispered. “Not when everything I want is in the Order.”

“Obi—“

You didn’t get to finish what you were saying because Obi-Wan’s lips had captured yours. It took a moment for you to respond but when you did, your arms came around his waist, pulling him closer to you. The Force inside of you and around you felt lighter. Happier, almost. Obi-Wan could feel it too. He eventually broke the kiss, but barely moved his head back. He looked into your eyes with such a love that you thought you could drown in them.

“I am so sorry for my mistakes,” he whispered. “I am so sorry for the pain that this assignment has caused you… my feelings do not lie with Satine, but with you, my little star. I believe they have since the moment you walked back into mine and Anakin’s lives.”

“Oh, Obi,” you breathed down, feeling as if this was all a dream. “And mine lie with you.”

When you two confessed your love for the first time.

“Why do you call me ‘little star’?”

Obi-Wan smiled softly at the memory of when he first called you that. You were just a child then, having just been freed from being a slave on Tatooine. You had gone out searching for something to keep you and Anakin warm, not used to the temperatures of space yet.

“I call you that because of the light that exudes from you,” he answered. “Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve been drawn to you. It may be the bond we share, but it’s much more than that. You are my star, in a galaxy full of them. You are what I revolve around, my focus. Even before I loved you. And when you die out, I hope that your black hole sucks me in with you. Because I don’t know if I can live without you anymore.”

Tears were forming in your eyes, threatening to spill out at any moment. “You love me?”

Obi-Wan nodded, his other hand coming up to carefully hold your face. “Yes… I love you, Y/N Skywalker.”

You gasped at the sound of your real name. “And I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

But then… the memories drew dark. The same dark fog you had experienced before surrounding the edges of the memories.

It started with your nightmare. The Force showed you it again, forcing you to relive every moment of it. Tears poured down your face through your clenched eyes. Your heart began to race.

Then the Force made you relive when Agruss raped you. You tried to pull yourself away from the Force but it wouldn’t allow that.

The next thing was Obi-Wan’s fake death and the severing of your shared bond. You cried out a painful gasp like you were actually feeling the pain you had experienced again.

Then it was you jumping in front of Anakin to save his life. The pain. The blood. The fear.

You began to try and fight harder to get out of the hold the Force had over you. Though you tried hard not to, you started to panic.

~~~

The moment Obi-Wan sensed the first sign of distress, he was out of the war room and rushing down the Temple halls. As he tried to hurry to you, he could feel the distress get worse. Bursting through the training room doors he immediately noticed that you were levitating high off the ground, close to the ceiling, and way too far for Obi-Wan to reach you. You were crying and whimpering as the upper half of your body seemed like it was trying to get out of restraints. Your legs were crisscrossed like you had been sitting on the ground before.

“Y/N!” Obi-Wan yelled, trying to break you out of whatever trance you were stuck in. “Y/N!”

Frantically looking around, Obi-Wan tried to see what he could use to get you down. He noticed that the open training doors could attract attention and used the Force to shut them. His eyes ran along the edge of the room, trying to find a way that he could use the walls to get up to you. There had to be a way to get to you without hurting you. Before he could formulate an actual plan, you gasped loudly, pulling his attention back to you. 

You had awakened from your interaction with the Force with a sharp gasp before plummeting to the ground. Obi-Wan rushed forward to catch you, arms out and ready. You landed in them but didn’t know who was there and quickly pushed yourself out of his arms and stumbled back onto your feet. Obi-Wan held his hands up showing that he didn’t mean to do harm. Your eyes were wide with fear as they frantically tried to find something familiar to focus on.

“It’s just me, little star,” he calmly said, noting how heavy you were breathing. “It’s just me.”

With labored breaths, you finally started to focus on the man in front of you. “Obi?” You questioned.

He nodded. “It’s me.”

“Obi-Wan!” 

You rushed forward and slammed yourself into him, arms quickly wrapping around him as your hands grabbed fistfuls of his robes. Obi-Wan stumbled back when you slammed against him but steadied himself and securely put his arms around you. You buried your head in his neck as you sobbed.

“I’ve got you, little star,” Obi-Wan whispered, cradling your head close with one hand as his other arm stayed securely wrapped around your waist. “I’ve got you.”

Obi-Wan could feel your heart pounding against his chest as you pressed yourself closer to him. Your signature came to his and he quickly put his signature around yours. He could feel pain, sadness, fear, and grief bleeding out through you and into the Force. Your body racked with sobs against him and he tried to hold you impossibly closer.

“Obi,” you sobbed into his neck.

“Ssshhh,” he cooed. “It’s okay… you’re okay… I’ve got you.”

Obi-Wan held you as you sobbed. He whispered reassurances when he felt you readjust your grip on him to keep it tight. Slowly, your sobs turned to cries which then turned into tired whimpers. Your body was only being held up by Obi-Wan at this point. He could tell that you were exhausted: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Barely moving his hand, he used the Force to bring your saber, which was still on the ground, into his hand. 

“Let’s get you to your room,” Obi-Wan said. He went to pull away but you held on with a firm grip, not letting him go. His heart cracked. “Darling, I won’t let you go if you don’t want me to. But you can’t stay like this much longer, I can feel it.”

“I don’t care,” you mumbled, head still tucked away in his neck.

“Well, I do, and not to mention that I can feel the pain from your wound. Your bacta patches need to be changed out.”

“I don’t care.”

“I care, little star.” Obi-Wan thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to get you to your room. “I need you to trust me, alright? I’m going to pull away slightly and I’m going to need you to let me.”

“…okay.”

Obi-Wan felt your grip loosen and he quickly took advantage of it. Keeping an arm around your waist, he pulled away and clipped your lightsaber next to his. His free arm came down, under your knees to scoop you up and into his chest. Using the Force, he opened the training room doors and headed out. Night had fallen and the Temple halls were empty as Obi-Wan carried you back to your room. 

Once inside your bedroom, you allowed Obi-Wan to set you down on your bed. He noticed the pile of unused bacta pads on the bedside table. He grabbed two before sitting on the edge of your bed beside you.

“May I?” Obi-Wan asked you. He met your eyes to make sure that the answer you would give was truthful.

You took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes.” All the pain and exhaustion was setting in.

Obi-Wan hands worked slow and careful. First, he undid your belt. His hands began to tremble slightly as they reached for the edge of your top. He looked back at your face again to check for permission only to receive another nod. Slowly, he pulled your top up and helped you completely out of it. You controlled your breathing so as to not panic as this action left you in your bra and revealed the scars that littered your abdomen. Obi-Wan carefully removed the old batch patches from you and set them aside. His focus came back to your abdomen, eyes taking in all the scars and injuries. Without really thinking, Obi-Wan’s fingers lightly traced over the scars. Your eyes clenched shut in embarrassment as his fingers continued to trail along your abdomen.

“I know,” you rasped, “they’re ugly.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes snapped to your face to see that you meant what you had just told him. “No,” he shook his head. “Anything on your body could never be ugly.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Obi-Wan didn’t know what came over him but before he knew it he had taken off his own belt and top, revealing his own scars to you. He could tell that you were hesitant to reach out and run your hand over them like you were itching to. Obi-Wan moved closer to you before wrapping an arm around you to help you sit up. His free hand took one of yours and placed it on his chest. Your eyes focused on his skin as your fingers started to trail along his scars. Obi-Wan closed his eyes as he allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of your touch on his bare skin. How his skin tingled with his brush of your skin against his and how the spots would burn with longing when you left it alone to go to another.

Finally, pulling himself out of his enjoyment, Obi-Wan looked at you. Your face was so intent as you watched your fingers run over him. He could tell that you wanted to keep going but you were fighting exhaustion.

“Let me take care of you,” Obi-Wan requested, barely a whisper. 

You looked at Obi-Wan, seeing nothing but sincere love in his eyes. You nodded. “Okay.”

Obi-Wan kept his one arm around you to keep you up as he took one of the bacta patches as tore it open with his teeth. He reached it around and placed the patch on the wound on your back. Once he was sure it would stick, he slowly laid you down on your back. Obi-Wan opened the other patch and placed it on the other injury. Unable to control himself, he leaned down and started to place kisses around where he had just placed the bacta patch. You inhaled sharply, causing him to quickly stop.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—“

“No, no,” you cut him off. “It’s okay.” You met his eyes, promising him through your own that what you were saying was true. “It’s okay.”

Obi-Wan nodded before going back to kissing your skin. Your eyes closed as you reminded yourself that it was Obi-Wan kissing and touching you, no one else. That’s why you had inhaled sharply at first. You were still struggling with other people’s touch after the rape, especially on your bare skin. You let him trail kisses along your abdomen for a while before you finally stopped him by placing your hands on his shoulders. Obi-Wan looked up at you, waiting for you to say or do something. One of your hands came under his chin and led his head closer to yours. You glanced down at his lips before looking back at his glimmering blue eyes.

“Obi-Wan…” Your breath fanned over his lips as you spoke. “I miss you.”

“My little star, I promise that I have missed you more.”

Obi-Wan closed the gap, kissing you like you were the thing that he needed to keep him alive. It had been too long since you had kissed each other—since before the Hardeen plot. Obi-Wan’s arms wrapped around you to bring you into his lap as your hands found the base of his neck.

“I love you,” you mumbled into the kiss.

Obi-Wan deepened the kiss in response, taking control of the situation. Your signatures merged together around you, completely healing the bond that had so regrettably been torn. Though Obi-Wan could have gone much further than just kissing tonight, he could feel that you were still fighting exhaustion and that you were not ready for that yet. He pulled away only to peck your lips one last time quickly before completely pulling back.

“You need rest,” he told you softly, watching as you fought to keep your eyes open.

“Stay with me,” you requested.

Obi-Wan’s heart sang at those words. Yes, you had told him that you missed him and that you loved him, but you could say those things and still want him to keep away from you. He nodded, giving in to your request with a kiss on your cheek. He gently took your boots off and then his own before slipping you under the covers. He got in behind you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling your back into his chest. He held a kiss to the skin on your shoulder as you quickly fell asleep.

“I love you, little star.”

next chapter >

TAGLIST IS CLOSED - Taglist Information

#obi wan x reader #obi wan fanfiction #obi wan kenobi fanfiction #obi wan kenobi imagine #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan x you #obi wan x y/n #obi wan imagine #obi wan kenobi imagines #obi wan kenobi x you #obi wan kenobi x y/n #Obi-wan Kenobi X Reader #obi-wan kenobi x y/n #obi-wan kenobi x you #obi-wan kenobi imagine #obi-wan x you #obi-wan x reader #obi-wan x y/n #obi-wan imagine #obi-wan kenobi fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #star wars imagines #star wars imagine #Star Wars x reader

[txemrn]

Making a Mark

Summary: Despite med school exams, Ethan and Tatum plan on spending time together for their first Valentine's day; but their plans take a different course... literally.

Word Count: ~2450

Warning: 🔞 For Mature Audiences Only 🔞 language; smidge of angst (couples fight!); 🍋 (these are iddy-biddy lemon seeds, but I guess technically this needs a NSFW label); brief mention of an injury

A/N: ❤ Happy Valentine's Day, fandom! ❤ This is one of those fics that started out as one idea, and I just allowed it to unfold as I typed and, well, here it is, and I hope you enjoy it! Some characters and plots belong to our friends at Pixelberry. This is not beta'd; please excuse my errors.

A/N 2: I am participating in @choicesflashfics week 20 prompt challenge! I'll be using prompt #3: "Are you flirting or starting a fight?" It will be in bold.

~🖤~

The faint waft of black coffee and leftover Chinese take-out infiltrates the sterile setting of the education building, the tell-tale sign of one thing: mid-quarter exams. With a massive pass/fail immunology exam staring at her the following week, Tatum is taking advantage of every moment to study with several classmates–even though it cuts into her first Valentine’s Day with Ethan.

They both agreed that the holiday wasn’t something they particularly wanted to fuss about with expensive gifts or acts of grandeur–not to mention, they were more concerned with the other person doing well in the upcoming slew of exams; but still, they wanted to spend a little time together.

Ethan and Tatum are in separate classes this quarter, which forces them to work a little harder in finding time to enjoy each other’s company; at least before, studying was an excuse to be together.  But, they had a mutual respect and understanding: doing well in school takes priority.

“Okay, Drew… treatment plan for MG. And go–!”

“Jesus, Lauren,” the tall, broad-shouldered blond groans, dragging his hand down his face. “We’ve been at this for almost six hours. It’s Valentine’s. Can we please reconvene tomorrow?”

“Shit,”  Tatum glances at her watch, “has it really been six hours?”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, huh, Erikson?” Tobias chuckles, leaning back in his chair.

Tatum flashes a sardonic smile. “I’m not sure I’d describe any time spent with you as ‘fun’, Carrick,” she claps back as he pops his gum loudly in her direction.

"That's only because we haven't been able to spend our time together properly."

Tatum rolls her eyes as she piles her notebooks into her bookbag and pulls out her phone. "Six seconds is hardly proper," she bites, earning her several snickers from the rest of the study group. "I better get going."

“Oooo-oooo!” Lauren singsongs. “Are you and Ethan doing something fun tonight?”

Tatum shrugs, stifling her smile as a soft pink swirls on her cheeks. “Not really, but he is supposed to pick me up."

"Oh!" Drew tugs on his jacket. "Are you going to his place? It's on my way, if you need a ride."

"You don't have to do that," Tatum smiles kindly, appreciating the offer.

"I know I don't have to," he titters. "C'mon. It'd be a waste of gas on his part."

Tatum knits together her eyebrows in consideration. Drew makes a fair point, not to mention she trusts him. "Okay… let me text Ethan so he's not sitting there, waiting for my call."

Ten minutes later, Drew and Tatum were walking the three blocks to where he parked his truck. Even though it was fairly late into the evening, the walkways were illuminated by the street lamps and the bright silver moon.

They were chatting about the previous week's lecture when a pair of headlights blinded them, slowing down to park next to the street curb where they were walking.  Being chivalrous, Drew protectively stepped in front of Tatum, shielding his eyes with his hand in an attempt to see the driver behind the wheel. Treading closer, they both instantly make out the figure.

"Oh, hey, Ramsey," Drew waves, relief in his voice. "I was worried there for a moment."

"Me too," Tatum giggles along with her colleague as she approaches the passenger door, waving at her boyfriend. "Hey," she smiles curiously, "what are you do–?"

"Get in."

Tatum halts. Hearing the gruff tone, she turns up an eyebrow as her eyes roam over Ethan's surly expression. "You okay?"

He gives a curt nod, his gaze unable to meet hers.

"Oh… okay," Tatum quietly mumbles, turning to Drew. "Thanks anyway," she offers a crooked grin as he opens the door for her.  "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See ya, Erikson," he nods, shutting the door as his hazel eyes flicker over to a brooding Ethan. "Uh… good seeing you, man. Will you be at the next poker night?"

Ethan glares at Drew, his nostrils flaring. "We'll see," he mutters as he begins to pull away.

"Ethan," Shocked irritation seeps from Tatum's whisper. "That was rude."

He remains silent, his attention fixed on the road as his jaw ticks tighter.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Ethan continues to drive in silence, his lips pursing to hold back unspoken words. 

"Did… did I do something wrong?" Tatum probes further. "Are you mad at me?"

Ethan glances briefly at her, an indiscernible heat forming in his gaze.

“Are you flirting… or starting a fight?”

When he still doesn't speak, she sighs, slumping back into her seat. She props her elbow on the door before resting her head in her hand to look out the window. "You could at least talk to me."

The silence between the young couple grows painfully haunting as they are left with only the rhythmic rapping of rubber meeting the pavement. Each block they travel, Tatum's face contorts as her anger festers.

They had never fought before– not like this. Ethan and Tatum were fairly reasonable people with clear heads, and while they can irritate each other, they've always been able to be thoughtful, be logical and discuss their problems. What was different now?

"You know what?" There's a sudden sharpness in her tone. "Just take me home, Ethan."

Ethan continues to drive, the car remaining at its current speed with no signs of changing direction.

"Did you hear me?" She raises her voice, staring at a stoic Ethan. "Stop being such an asshole and take me–"

Tatum suddenly screams as the car jerks  off the side of the road into a grassy wooded area. Kicked-up dirt billows around them as the brakes screech to a halt.

"Have you lost your goddamn mind, Ethan Ramsey?" Tatum unclicks her seatbelt, reaching for the door handle–that is until a large hand grips snuggly around her wrist, yanking her back into her seat. She instinctively turns her head, glaring at Ethan, wrestling her arm away from him. "What the hell is wrong with–?" 

Her words fall silent as Ethan pulls her against his chest, pressing his lips to hers with a searing kiss. He slips his hand behind her neck, deepening their touch, but with her hands on the firm planes of his chest, she pushes him away. Shock and confusion rest in her eyes. "Wh-what was that–?"

Ethan is left breathless from their kiss, a predatory, yet conflicted glint in his smolder. "I don't know what the fuck you've done to me, Tatum Erikson," he growls. 

"Me–?"

"I am logical," he interrupts, "I've always been. And level-headed." He pauses, looking out the window as if searching for the right words. "I am not that guy–you know I am not that guy, Tate. I don't dream about futures and marriage and babies and-and meeting your family and taking you to meet mine. I–" he stumbles into silence.  

He slowly turns towards her, his crystal gaze instantly meeting hers.  A sudden crackle of electricity ignites in the stillness as they stare with hunger baited on their quickened breaths. "Tate," his voice softens, "I don't get unreasonably angry, not over a girl.  And I especially don't get jealous."  He cups her face tenderly as he continues. "But you… you're not just a girl. You're the–" he stops himself, feeling a sting of warmth growing behind his eyes.

He swallows thickly as he draws closer to her. "The thought of you… being alone with any other man–”  

"Ethan," her breathing becomes ragged. "You have nothing to worry about, baby. I–"

"It's not you I worry about, Tate," he sneers. "Guys like that are biding their time to touch… to take… to fuck what doesn't belong to them." A weighted groan clings to Ethan’s exhale, his eyes growing dark, possessive. His thumbs press more firmly into Tatum's cheeks, more protectively as if claiming a prize.

"Tatum," he growls from behind his gritted teeth. "You. Are. Mine. Do you understand?"

A heat coils in Tatum's lower belly at her boyfriend's confession. They had become exclusive before Christmas, but she knew well before that she was falling for him. And this new, overwhelming sensation terrified her; sure, they were committed to one another, but did he feel the same butterflies, the same bundle of nerves, the same vulnerability? Or was she alone?

But just like that: Tatum knew. They weren't just exclusive; they were in love.

With her head in Ethan's hands, she tenderly grabs ahold of his wrists before closing her eyes. She leans her forehead into his, the frustration from moments ago melting away.

Ethan's breath shudders at the feel of her soft skin pressed against his own. Embers of feral heat kindle his growing length as his lips crave another crushing kiss.

This woman…  Somehow without notice, without even trying, without even believing things like this were possible, she had become his everything. 

His thumbs trace the curves of her cheeks before dragging across her supple bottom lip. 

Tatum's eyes flutter open, Ethan's lustful gaze piercing through hers, desire pooling between her legs. She turns her attention to his intimate touch, pressing her mouth to his hand. She plants sweet kisses along his palm before taking his fingertips into her mouth. A glimmer of dow-like innocence permeates her stare, her tongue playfully swirling around his knuckles.

"Tate," his breath hitches, a spark of arousal coursing through his veins. "You… you're teasing a dangerous line… and I'm not sure I can control myself…" His words are dark, ominous, warning.

"Maybe I don't want you to control yourself…" Her words drip like sweet honey, yet ignite like kerosene.

He pushes his large fingers further into her mouth, an abrupt choke rasps as he reaches the back of her throat. A corner of his mouth curls deviously as he watches her eyes glitter with tears. He pumps his hand again, the sound of her gag causing his jeans to tighten further, his eyes swirling into a deep obsidian. "Are you sure this is what you want?" He spreads his fingers apart, allowing her tongue to glide back and forth in between his knuckles. 

Tatum hums as he pulls out his fingers, licking her lips as an invitation for more. Keeping her hooded gaze on him, she pushes Ethan back into his seat before lowering his head. She straddles across his lap, his large hands finding her hips before caressing the thick curves of her ass.

"You know what I want?" A Cheshire grin crawls across her face as she roughly combs her fingers through his soft, espresso waves. "I want you to show me what belongs to you."

Ethan's eyes grow curiously large as Tatum grips the hem of her shirt, discarding it quickly before unhooking her bra. "Touch me, Ethan."

His hands slide up her bare back, his fingertips hungrily digging into her skin as he pulls her into a crushing kiss. She wraps her arms around his neck as his tongue swipes to deepen the kiss.

He finally nips at her bottom lip, giving it a tug before tracing kisses down her chin to the delicate lines of her jaw. 

Soft moans escape her mouth with tickled giggles as his mouth dips lower across her delicate skin. She grabs his hands, guiding them to her pert breast, his grip suddenly eager and rough. His thumbs tease the ache of her hardened nipples, stars of her own arousal dancing before her eyes in bright glitters of white.

And then bright lights of red.

Then blue.

And then red again.

And suddenly, there's a gentle tap against the window followed by the intruding strobe of a flashlight.

"Alright, kids, take it home."

"Oh, fuck," Ethan mutters as Tatum lets out a stunned scream.  He abruptly grabs Tatum to hurry her back into her seat; but with his jerks pulling against her own attempts to hide her nakedness, she tumbles off of his lap, landing on the floorboard with a loud thud. 

He sits his seat up while trying to adjust the obvious and painful bulge in his jeans. Wiping his mouth, he rolls down the window. He clears his throat and fixes a charming smile to his swollen red lips.

"Evening, sir."

"License and–" The police officer stops, hearing whimpers coming from the passenger side of the car. He shines a light and notices a crumpled Tatum, her shoe stuck behind the gear shift and trying to crawl into her seat from the floor. "Son, I highly recommend that if you want to–" he dramatically coughs, "continue the rest of your night, you fix that."

"Y–yes, sir. I will–uh… right now?"

"Right now," the cop gives a wry smile. He glares at Ethan as he sucks on a lollipop. "As for you, young man, in the spirit of Valentine's day," he scoffs into a snicker, "I'm letting you off with a warning." He sighs, shoving a small notebook in his pocket. He turns on his heel to leave, but stops to inspect Ethan one more time. "Get a room."

As the officer returns to his car, Ethan breathes a sigh of relief… then he jumps out of the car to race around to the passenger side. 

"Tatum! Shit, I'm sorry!" Ethan gently helps her up, positioning her into the seat before taking off his jacket to drape across her bare chest. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she quietly answers, holding her head in her hand. "I think I'm fine." She moves her arm to pull the jacket over her shoulder when Ethan gasps.

"Oh God," he hisses, "you hit your head!" He gently takes her chin into his hands, turning her neck to get a better view of her face in the light. A large, purple knot was growing along her hairline, several blonde strands now stained a deep rouge. "Shit. We need to get you to the ER–"

Suddenly, Tatum cups her mouth with her fingers, stifling her laughter.

"What could possibly be funny? You might have a concussion–"

Tatum lets out a snort before a bubbly tirade of giggles fills the night air. "I was hoping you'd leave a mark on me tonight… I just… I didn't picture it quite like this."

Ethan rolls his eyes, but is glad she can see the humor of the moment. He snickers under his breath, fastening his girlfriend's seatbelt. "I'll keep that in mind." He shuts the door, hurrying back to his seat. He starts the car, but before driving away, he glances at Tatum with a mischievous smile.

"What?" She questions, dabbing away her tears from laughing so hard.  He chuckles, licking his lips. "What? Tell me!"

"Oh, baby," he smugly croons, "trust me; that contusion is nothing compared to the marks I have planned for you later." 

~🖤~

Thank you so much for your support! Every like, comment and reblog means the world to me! 🖤

~🖤~

Tags (please let me know if you'd like to be added/removed)

PERMA

@alj4890 @ao719 @charlotteg234 @issabees @kat-tia801 @kingliam2019 @mainstreetreader @mom2000aggie @neotericthemis @nikirennie87 @peonierose @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam

ALL OPH

@alyshak92 @annfg8 @bisexualdisasteracd @cariantha @coffeeheartaddict2 @lsvdw-blog @mvalentine @ofmischiefandmedicine @rookiemartin @starrystarrytrouble @youlookappropriate

#open heart #choices open heart #choices oph #choices fanfic #choices flashfics #ethan ramsey #dr. ethan ramsey #ethan x f!oc #ethan ramsey x f!oc #tatum erikson #ethan x tatum #ethan ramsey x tatum erikson #tathan

[luesmainblog]

Hi there, is there a link to your about page that people can access via the tumblr mobile app?

you can try my direct About link but I don't know if it's readable on mobile, I'm a strictly desktop user and I've been here since before the site became mobile-centric, so I genuinely don't know what's accessible and what isn't :( my phone can't really run the tumblr app half the time, so it's not something i'm able to check for.

honestly it's nothing that isn't pretty much covered by "i'm here i'm queer get used to it" or looking at the political stuff i do reblog. brief summary being i'm nb, aspec, anti-terf, anti-swerf, anti-cop, and anti-harassment. longer summary: I do my best to be an ally to jewish and muslim folk, but i am very under-educated in that area. same applies to mental illnesses. i was around during The Ace Raids(period of tumblr history where the site went extremely anti-ace for, at the time, no discernable reason. now we know it was general anti-queer getting its hooks in early.) and i watched the birth of the mogai community and the bi v pan debate. as a result my attitude towards identity is "you're the expert, just use whatever label suits you best and i'll believe you about it". i respect older/"outdated" identities and do my best to learn about queer history and incorporate that knowledge into my views. i can get kind of anti-christian at times due to the general trauma of living in the united states and watching "religious belief" become the excuse for massive levels of abuse and control, but i do respect people who use that belief to help people and push positive change. i view Missionary Work(i.e. going to another location and doing charity specifically to spread the word of your religion, like the god damn mormons are constantly doing) as inherently colonization and fundamentally do not understand people who consider it to be a good deed. i am against arranged marriage, but respectful to those who are comfortable in theirs. I support poly marriage(i am poly myself), and i think we need to severely change how disability aid is handled so that disabled people can marry who they want without losing their coverage and don't have to literally count pennies to make sure they're not over an insanely low limit. i can get kind of loud about intersex people's existence and rights. I support landback, but i am under-educated in native issues. I consider neurodivergency a positive thing, but i also acknowledge it as a disability. i consider the political lesbians of the 1960s to have been infiltrates and traitors, as their beliefs were foundational to modern TERF rhetoric. I don't have a DNI(if some asshole decides to follow me they're gonna see exactly what i think about them very quickly, and if they stick around anyways, maybe something i post will shake their beliefs a little), but TERFs, SWERFs, nazis and MAGAs get blocked on sight. harassment will also be blocked and reported. I am a strong believer in online anonymity; i don't think it's wise to share your age, sex, race or location unless it's something you WANT people to be aware of. I also don't think it's a good idea to share your face, but i don't harp on people who do make that choice unless they're underaged(and even then it's gonna be a very light 'hey maybe this is a bad idea'). double points on location, stop telling people where you live. that should NEVER have been normalized.

i'm also into a lot of fandoms, and i don't usually tag unless asked. current tags: NSFC(not safe for crystal, basically any mention of death will be under this), Facepaint, Spiders, Cats, Horrible Things, Important, Signal Boost, For My Wife, Frosty, Crinket, and Awesome Music. if you dig too deep into that last one you'll find some OLD tumblr culture. i also try to tag for content warnings like abuse, flashing lights, and sexual assault.

in short, i think other people should be able to exist how they want to as long as it's not inherently harmful to others, and i love to learn more about the world and spread that knowledge. i'm gonna see if i can make this my pinned post, this is honestly a better summary of what you're gonna see on this blog than my about page is. also, not the most important thing, but I do have memory problems, so i usually use Likes as a way to show myself i've already reblogged/seen something. ff to block if this ain't your rodeo, and welcome aboard if you stay!

#about #also if a political post on this blog is more than 3 years old there's a chance i don't stand by it anymore #i have changed in the past and i will change again as i learn more about people and our world #i'm also a liiiittle suspicious of anybody who hates men just for existing #or makes their lesbianism about Hating Men when it's supposed to be about Loving Women #i had my hater phase too but like. they're just people? #i THINK that about covers it. #long post #oh yeah also i fucking hate Prev Tags with a passion especially after the update

[mariecason]

Today I wanted to cover a complicated topic that is based on extensive research, credible sources, and application of the knowledge gained from it. This topic is all about marketing. Though I am in nowhere an expert on the matter - it is something that should be discussed when looking to build your brand and business.

So please feel free to take my advice and if you have any further questions, I will be live streaming for a Q&A for an open discussion.

What you should be aware of:

Marketing has several branches worth taking note of, but we'll cover that next. First things first, who is your target audience?

[Market/Data Analysis] This parameter sets the foundation of who, when, where, why, and how your flow will go. Think of it like mapping out a trail to restaurants in your area to visit. Each individual restaurant will have a specific trait that would contribute to your success.

Example:

Upon launching your content/product/service, there is a specific demographic you are trying to reach.

User: Sally Molly Race: Asian American Age Bracket: 20-25 Education: Associate Degree Career: Bookkeeper Annual Salary: 65,000$ Shopping Habits: Fashion, Pets, Home Decoration

User: Billy Nilly Race: Black/African American Age Bracket: 40-45 Education: Bachelors Degree Career: Freelance Carpenter Annual Salary: 75,000$ Shopping Habits: Small Business Items (office, materials, rental space), Advertisement/Marketing, Equipment

[Search Engine Marketing or Search Engine Optimization]

This serves as a method that goes hand in hand with content writing. So if you enjoy writing summaries or just in general, this will come smoothly. Even if not, don't be discouraged since there are tons of samples or examples to review.

Best Software/Tools:

aHrefs

Semrush

Google Analytics

[Digital Marketing]

This is the most common method that has been taking media to a whole new level! Content creation, video marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, and so many more items reside within this branch of the marketing spectrum. When you've tuned into some creators' or business owners' content, you may have heard them mention the algorithm and how consistency in content is key. You'll be happy to know that they don't mean spam posting.

Instead, you will want to coordinate, also known as site mapping, the path you'd like your audience to take to view your content. So if you use Twitter to launch promotions, you can place your official website link or collection of links in your profile. Since you spend the most time there the organic traffic will work in your favor.

Lastly will be a brief summary of obtaining traffic using both the SEO and Digital Marketing methods, which depends on which one you wish to focus on. Most times you'll notice that once one milestone is attained then the balance game begins. What I mean is that there is direct traffic, organic traffic, and paid traffic as the primary funnels.

The breakdown:

Direct (SEO/Search Engine Optimization by content writing, quality photo and/or video content with the appropriate tags and description)

Organic (It's a bit more natural. Kind of similar to word-of-mouth or handing out business cards with brochure literature. You may be a public figure, musician, public speaker, front-line worker, or something else; this would work in your favor since you're in-person.)

Paid (This is pretty self-explanatory. Believe it or not, this is more so for individuals who deal with a different responsibility of building their business. A prime example would be if the content creator is great with photo and video production but may lack in the promoting part. This hires a marketing/advertising company to optimize your business on multiple websites! I highly recommend reading through the features, frequently asked questions, and blog sections to get familiar with how they work and what to expect. If you still have more questions, they'll be happy to help via email the majority of the time. If they have a live chat option, even better!

[Communications/Email Marketing] So now that you have your audience, content created, and even thought about how you'll get more site visitors - how do you plan to communicate with them?

Sure the whole 'hit me up in my DMs' is straight forward but the issue is where? Where is it most reliable that you'll respond to your direct messages from your audience? Some may prefer through social media platforms, others through email, and others through instant messaging apps. Each one holds value on how you keep the attention of your audience to then convert into followers/sales.

Example:

Twitter (Promos) -> Tumblr (Blog Post/Info/Link) -> Streaming Platform/Store page -> additional information on your business social media/professional page

Just make sure to produce a draft for this information so that when you start posting, you have your arsenal of content and helpful data ready to roll. For further assistance, send me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Hope this helps you on your journey!

#marketing #advertisement #data analytics #business #finance #digital marketings #seo #search engine optimization #how to make money online #technical support

[nkaffiliatemarketing]

Unleashing Creativity with Ink AI: A Revolutionary Tool for Writers and Creators

In the digital age, the convergence of technology and creativity has given birth to numerous groundbreaking innovations, one of which is Ink AI. This remarkable tool has been designed to assist writers and creators in generating creative content, enhancing productivity, and unlocking their creative potential in ways never seen before. In this blog post, we will explore the exciting world of Ink AI and how it is revolutionizing the way we approach writing and content creation.

Understanding Ink AI

Ink AI is a cutting-edge artificial intelligence tool that employs advanced natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to generate human-like text. It has been trained on a vast amount of diverse textual data, enabling it to understand and mimic various writing styles, tones, and genres. Whether you're a novelist, a blogger, a marketer, or a student, Ink AI can help you generate content that is both engaging and coherent.

How Ink AI Works

Ink AI operates on a simple yet powerful principle: it uses patterns and context from the input it receives to generate text that follows a similar pattern and context. By analyzing and understanding the structure and style of the input, it can create output that aligns with the desired tone and message.

Input: Users input a brief prompt, a starting sentence, or a topic that they want the AI to generate content about.

Understanding: Ink AI processes the input and identifies patterns, styles, and context to comprehend the desired writing style and content direction.

Generation: Leveraging its understanding, Ink AI generates coherent and creative text that aligns with the given input.

Output: The AI produces a piece of text that can serve as inspiration, starting point, or even a complete passage or article based on the user's needs.

Applications of Ink AI

The versatility of Ink AI allows it to be applied in a multitude of creative and practical ways:

1. Content Creation:

Ink AI can assist content creators in generating blog posts, articles, social media captions, and more. It helps save time and provides a starting point or even a full draft, allowing writers to focus on refining and adding their personal touch to the content.

2. Creative Writing:

For authors and storytellers, Ink AI can be a source of inspiration. It can help in generating plot ideas, character descriptions, dialogues, and even entire scenes, sparking the creative process and overcoming writer's block.

3. Marketing and Advertising:

Copywriters and marketers can utilize Ink AI to draft compelling ad copies, email campaigns, product descriptions, and marketing materials. This can streamline the content creation process and ensure consistent and persuasive messaging.

4. Learning and Education:

Ink AI can be a valuable tool for students and educators, aiding in the creation of study materials, summaries, essays, and presentations. It can provide an educational scaffold, allowing students to build upon and further develop their understanding of a subject.

Benefits of Ink AI

Enhanced Productivity: Ink AI significantly reduces the time spent on content creation by providing quick and relevant output. This allows creators to focus more on refining and perfecting their work.

Versatility: The broad applicability of Ink AI across different domains and writing styles makes it a valuable tool for a diverse range of users, from writers and marketers to students and educators.

Creativity Booster: By offering creative ideas and content suggestions, Ink AI can act as a muse and spark innovative approaches to writing and content creation.

Quality Assurance: The AI can ensure that the generated content is grammatically accurate and well-structured, providing a strong foundation for further development.

The Future of Writing with Ink AI

As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect Ink AI to evolve and become even more intuitive and sophisticated. With improved training techniques and a deeper understanding of human language, Ink AI will likely become an indispensable tool for writers and creators, revolutionizing the way we approach creativity and productivity. Ink AI is undoubtedly a game-changer in the world of writing and content creation, offering a glimpse into the future where creativity and technology collaborate seamlessly to elevate human potential. Embrace this innovative tool and let it empower you to craft exceptional content and bring your ideas to life.

For more info click here

#Content Creation #Creative Writing #Marketing and Advertising

[bran4djasper]

Better World Project: Advanced Pharmacy Technician part 3-final

Part 3: Recommendations for the Future

Introduction

Thank you for reaching this point in my blog series. If you missed the earlier posts, I suggest going back and reading them, but here's a brief summary: I embarked on a journey to become an Advanced Pharmacy Technician, and I outlined a plan to achieve this certification. While the process is mentally demanding, it's equally important to maintain physical fitness, uphold ethical standards, focus on serving others, and take care of your emotional well-being.

However, even with a well-thought-out plan, I faced numerous challenges and learned valuable lessons. My goal is to share my experiences, educate, inspire, and raise awareness about pursuing the Advanced Pharmacy Technician certification.

Changing Avenues

At this point, you might wonder why pursuing the Advanced Pharmacy Technician certification is worthwhile, especially since only a few states permit it, and many facilities have their own technician training systems. I believe that obtaining this certification remains a valid pursuit, even in states where it isn't permitted. The knowledge gained can provide a deeper understanding of pharmacy operations and can be applied in other healthcare fields. For example, a billing and reimbursement certification can help in healthcare business aspects, and a medication history certification can assist in preparing documents for medical personnel. The skills acquired can be valuable in various fields.

Future of Advanced Pharmacy Technicians

For those aspiring to become Advanced Pharmacy Technicians, I recommend discussing it with a pharmacist and contacting the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). Even if your state doesn't allow Advanced Pharmacy Technicians yet, having the certification can put you ahead. Keep an eye on the PTCB website for updates and stay informed through pharmacy technician newsletters. While I haven't found any petitions advocating for legislative changes, I've come across documents in pharmacy journals emphasizing the importance and usefulness of Advanced Pharmacy Technicians.

Preparing for Exams

When preparing for the final exams, consult the PTCB to find schools authorized to teach the Advanced Pharmacy Technician curriculum and select the appropriate courses. Currently, only four classes are required, but one class is nearly mandatory for all Advanced Pharmacy Technicians. Consider recommendations from pharmacists, the pharmacy's work nature, and, most importantly, your passion when choosing additional classes. Create a study plan to progress through the material. My personal approach involved breaking down classes into modules, each ending with a quiz. After finishing a class and obtaining certification, celebrate your achievement, but remember that the final exam remains. Purchase exam books or study materials and schedule the final exam. It will help you understand the alignment between your school material and the actual test.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this Better World Project focused on pursuing the Advanced Pharmacy Technician certification, but I want to highlight skills beyond pharmaceutical knowledge that are equally important and applicable in various fields. Defining a goal gave this project direction, a crucial skill for making real progress. Researching and designing the project put thoughts into action, similar to these blog posts. The ability to articulate a goal provides purpose and passion, making it easier to seek help, fine-tune objectives, and identify inconsistencies. Breaking down a project into manageable steps over time is a powerful soft skill. It transforms overwhelming goals into achievable ones, boosting confidence. Finally, documenting lessons learned, whether the project is a success or failure, is a potent accountability tool. Embracing accountability drives progress.

I hope these blogs will guide future technicians in achieving their life goals. Whether this is a casual read or an inspiration, I hope this final paragraph rings true for anyone undertaking challenging projects: Never fear to dream, work diligently toward your goals, and be your most enthusiastic supporter. You've got this!

#pharmacy #certification #PTCB #advanced pharmacy technician #better world project

[fanficbarbie]

❝ brutal ❞

─⋆♡ prelude summary: the president's daughter meets her new security detail.

─⋆♡ main tropes: Michael B. Jordan x Fem!Reader, MBJ x Black! Original Character, Michael B. Jordan x Black FMC, Bodyguard x Princess, Secret Service x First Kid, Doberman bf x Black Cat gf, forced proximity, forbidden love, tolerated enemies to lovers, college romance.

─⋆♡ chapter warnings: angst, 18+ black!writer, language, fighting, physical descriptors (brief), characters affected by symptoms of anxiety or depression.

series masterlist ✰ faceclaims ✰ spotify playlist

The blaring sound of my alarm clock has me jolting up out of bed. It’s only a warning that seconds later, a team of people will be in to debrief and doll me up for the day. I slide out of the silk sheets, putting my fuzzy slippers on. Grabbing the nearest robe, I pull it on effectively covering my chest.

Just as predicted my aide Joana shuffles in with my hair stylist, makeup artist, and stylist. I throw my head back in a groan. Just because my mom chose this job doesn’t mean I should be forced to be done up every day.

“Good morning to you too,�� I hear Jo say and I straighten my head to see her beckoning me over to the beauty vanity.

I take a seat, refusing to look myself in the face just yet. That’s a jumpscare I’m not ready for this early in the morning. “I’m sorry, I just need coffee. Where is it?” I ask Jo. She usually comes into my room every morning with a latte and a donut.

The hairstylist removes my bonnet, allowing my blown-out hair to flow down my back. “Your parents want to have breakfast this morning. They said if I gave you the coffee, you’d never come downstairs,” Jo tells me.

I put my head in my hands and the makeup artist smacks the back of my hands with her makeup brush. I remove them and straighten up so she can do her job and get the fuck out of my room. “They would be right. What do they want?” I dig further.

A wince escapes my lips as the hairstyles rakes through my hair, trying to get it to lay down. It’s 4c hair, dude. That’s not happening. “To talk to you about your security detail,” Jo responds, looking at me through the mirror.

My brows furrow in confusion. We just got here, there’s not much to secure. “What about it?” I follow up.

Jo shifts to put her hand on her hip. “They’re giving all you first kids 24/7 security detail. They had to test each one to see which one would be right for you. The final test is today, you know, for the optics, ” she rants, finally taking a deep breath. 

My siblings are a couple of years younger than me so they probably think having someone follow you around 24/7 is cool. I, on the other hand, will be trying to ditch my detail as soon as he’s assigned. It’s not like I’d run anywhere, but there’s got to be hiding spots in this building. 

I close my eyes, allowing the makeup artist to apply shadow to my lids. “Okay, do you know anything about him?” I ask, trying not to move too much.

“Not a sliver. You know how clearance is. Anyways you have a photo with Hayley Randall and a–” Jo starts before I cut her off, particularly confused.

My brows furrow and the makeup artist huffs, fed up with my fidgeting. “Why is the secretary of education trying to take a photo with me?” I ask Jo.

Jo walks over to sit in an armchair next to me. “She wants to use it as a way to get her points up with our party. She found out you want to be a teacher and now she won't stop calling. Then you have an interview with Teen Vogue,” she moves on to the next thing.

Finally, something exciting. “Sweet! That should be fun,” I smile with excitement. The stylist brings in a rack of outfits, leaving them by the foot of the bed. She hasn’t figured out my style yet, so the rack weighs a ton.

The makeup grabs my face, tilting it up towards me. She glares over the daunting bottle she holds in front of my face. “Close your eyes, I need to set your face,” she instructs me.

I follow her directions, quickly shutting my eyes. “Yeah, as long as you remember your media training,” I hear Jo say.

A cool liquid is spritzed onto my face and I accidentally inhale some, sending me into a coughing fit. “Fuck,” I cry holding my chest. “I know,” I heave.

I fucking hate everything about this day already. I’m not trying to sound like a pick-me-bitch, but I’d much rather be out of the spotlight and in a bed, isolated. “See, like that,” Jo scolds my swearing and I quickly apologize under my breath. 

The hairstylist finishes my updo and begins joining the makeup artist in packing the supplies on my vanity. “Then you have a fitting for the state dinner tomorrow,” she says, motioning for the crew to leave. 

I scoot forward, hopping down from the tall stool. “What’s the attire,” I ask Jo.

Jo stands, following me over to the rack. “Black tie. Get that in your head, Libby. It’s always black tie. And you have class today,” she reminds me.

On the outside looking in, Jo is the one keeping me in line. But in reality, she’s been my ride-or-die during the entire campaign. Whenever we’re left alone, she lets loose and it feels like we’re back to being just friends. My eyes roll as Jo sorts through the rack, handing me a pink flowy dress.

I accept it, shedding my robe when the realization hits me. I have to be Ms. Americana publically for 14 hours. “Fuck, after all that I have to go to class? What day is it even?” I groan.

Jo helps me step into the dress, zipping the back up for me. “Thursday,” she says behind me.

My hands go up to rub my forehead when I remember, I have makeup on. “Every day I’m here, I’m losing track of the days,” I express my stress to her.

She ushers me to the mirror where she approves my look. “That’s why I’m here to keep you straight now, come on. Time for breakfast,” she says, pulling me towards the door.

She lets go once we’re through the double doors, navigating our way through the White House to one of the many dining rooms. “Morning,” I greet my parents as I walk through the glass panel doors.

My mom lowers the new channel with the remote before responding, “Good morning.”

I walk over toward my 16-year-old sister, where a man meets me and pulls out my chair for me. “Hey, loser,” I greet her as I sit between her and my dad.

Ellis nudges her head up as a hello. “Sup, hoe,” she returns the greeting as I plan my butt into the chair.

My father peers over his newspaper. “Girls, language,” he scolds us.

I roll my eyes, annoyed by the persistent reminder to watch my mouth. I know there’s a time and a place. It’s not like I’m going to get on national television and do it.  I reach for the coffee pot in the middle of the table and pour a significant amount into my cup. “You’re late,” my mother points out the obvious.

Stirring the cream and sugar in, I decide I need a sip of coffee before having this conversation. Once I’m satisfied with the taste, I turn my full attention towards her. “Mmm. Perks of not being the leader of the free world, am I right Dad?” I ask him, clinking my cup with his.

My mom scratches her stork bite on her forehead with frustration. “I only ask for one breakfast a week. That is not a lot,” she complains.

The doors suddenly burst open followed by my 18-year-old lanky brother. Hudson saunters into the room accompanied by a particularly attractive man. “Morning family,” he greets the room before taking a seat in between Ellis and my mom.

My mom smiles at the presence of her youngest child. “Good morning. Waffles are by Lib,” she points across the large round table.

So when I’m late, it’s a problem. But when Hudson’s late, it’s ‘waffles are by Lib’. Why couldn’t I have been born last? “I know you did not just let Huddy slide,” I highlight my mother’s hypocrisy.

She squints her eyes at me looking chagrined. “He’s not the oldest. You need to lead by example,” she counters.

She stares me down for a few seconds before my brother clears his throat. “Can you pass me the waffles, Libby?” he asks in a sarcastically nice tone.

I pick up the plate, extending my arm towards him. When he accepts it, I hold it for a moment too long so he can’t grab it. “You can shove the waffle up your ass,” I grit through my teeth before finally letting him have it.

My dad puts his paper down on the table. “Liberty,” he reminds me to use my manners over his reading glasses. Conceding, I pick up the tongs, loading some breakfast onto my plate. Silence falls over the table and for the first time, I’m about to truly survey the room. There are two new guards, who I assume are Ellis and Hudson’s. One with deep brown skin like ours and one with light brown skin. Both are tall and attractive in their own right, but they’re here to do a job. 

The more I look at them, the more I get curious about my fate. “So about this bodyguard situation,” I hint for my parents to explain.

My mom shakes her head, no. “That can wait until we’re done eating,” she says, buttering her perfectly triangular piece of toast.

“No, Mom. I want to know what I’m dealing with right now,” I demand and I feel like a teenager. The only reason I’m here is because my mom suggested it would be safer after the campaign. All I want is a normal college experience and at 20 years old, I’m still fighting for it.

My mom purses her lips, leaving me to wait for her answer anxiously. “Fine,” she concedes finally turning towards the guard standing behind my sister. “Agent Idris, call him in,” she tells him.

His eyes flicker between mine and hers before he nods. “Yes, Madam President,” he says, turning around and lifting his arm. He murmurs something into the microphone before turning around like nothing happened.

“Why am I the only one getting optics testing?” I interrogate her. If I’m getting optics testing, those two little shits are getting it too.

“You’re not, Hudson and Ellis did theirs this morning,” she nods to the two new faces standing behind my brother and sister. Agent Idris flashes me a coy smile, while the unidentified one sends a flirty smirk my way. Teases. They know I’m not allowed to fuck them. Awesome!!

My sister snickers, but my brother takes his opportunity to laugh at my pain. “Ahaha,” he laughs.

My eye roll again, marking up my eye roll count for the day. “I’m going to shoot myself,” I mutter under my breath.

“Now, before you run through your whole ‘I’m an adult speech,’ know that I get it. This is ultimately for your safety,” my mother continues.

“He’s an ex-navy seal and he’s young,” my dad boasts proudly as if the man is his son. 

My eyebrows knit together and I take another sip of my coffee. I need more caffeine to continue this conversation. “How young?” I ask my dad.

My mom is handed a binder by an aide that seemingly popped out of nowhere. She opens it, flipping through the file before stopping on a page. “Yours is 26,” she says.

26 and an ex-navy seal? I’ve got to start rethinking my escape plans. “How the fuck do you become a Navy seal that fast? Was he just born a killing machine or what?” I joke, taking a bite of the crispy bacon on my plate.

Ellis starts giggling while Hudson lets his melodic laughter ring free. “Liberty, language,” my mother scolds me and I roll my eyes.

I catch some snickers behind me, and when I turn around I see the two agents are laughing quietly. I look around in confusion. The other agents in the room’s faces are stone cold, how they’re trained to be. “Why are they laughing? I thought they didn’t get to show emotions,” I lean closer to Ellis and ask her.

“Mom and Dad said they could, for the optics,” she lets me know, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

My mother clears her throat and I turn back around, refocusing on her. “We chose him because he’ll fit in with you. It won’t even look or feel like he’s your bodyguard,” she explains.

“Oh, how kind of you to consider me before sticking someone with me 24/7,” I scoff.

“He has off days, and a three-hour break every day,” my mom tries to appeal to me.

I groan, thinking about the amount of time I spend with my siblings. Since we’re all stuck with someone 24/7 it means when we all hang out there won't be three of us, but six. “But that’s it. Where will he sleep?” I ask her.

I study her face as she gnaws on the inside of her lip, seemingly afraid to tell me the news. “In your unit,” she breaks it. 

My eyes widen and my jaw drops.“You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re sharing a fucking living space?” I seethe.

“Liberty!” my mom snips towards me.

Each of the kids gets their mini apartment in the wing. Each apartment comes with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I assume it would be helpful when we have friends stay the night. Turns out, I’ll never know. “I’m sorry, but you can’t dictate how I express my shock,” I defend myself.

“Madam President, Agent Jordan is here to see you,” I hear my brother's unnamed guard say behind me.

My mom nods, waving her hand. “Send him in,” she says to the agent. “And behave Liberty,” she directs towards me.

I slink down in my seat and cross my arms. Fuck this whole situation. I don’t need a bodyguard. I’m 20 years old and I don’t even do anything. I’m not the one partying every weekend like Hudson. They should be more terrified of his pictures resurfacing. 

“Sit up. He’s hot,” Ellis leans over and whispers. I heed her warning because, well, the other two look like a great appetizer and dessert. Maybe mine’s dinner.

When the man walks in, I notice she’s right. The attractive black man is dressed in an all-black suit. It’s tailored to fit him perfectly, although I’m sure he’s got a bulletproof vest on and a gun under there somewhere.

He’s the American woman’s Adonis, and I suddenly realize why my mother set us all up for the optics. If the Kardashians have hot bodyguards, so should the first family. I don’t think she predicted that he’d set my body on fire the moment he walked through the door.

My eyes survey every muscle in his arms, his fresh haircut, and his plump rosy lips. “Madam President,” The man's voice bellows and I feel a pool of desire in my panties.

My mom smiles at him, trying to welcome him with open arms. “Good morning, Agent Jordan. This is Liberty, your responsibility for the next four years,” she introduces us and he doesn’t even look at me. His eyes stay on The President and he remains expressionless.

I smack my hand down on the table, the fury finally bubbling over. “I have to spend 4 years with a stranger?!” I shout at her.

“Liberty! What did I say?” she counters dourly. 

My dad stands, finished with his breakfast with a smile plastered on my face. “I’m sure he won’t be a stranger for long. Besides, he signed a contract,” my father says, grabbing his cup of coffee.

My mom follows suit, ready to disappear from the family for the day. “We’ll be watching, Libby. Don’t make his life a living hell,” she pleads with me.

So he’s just as stuck in this as I am. “I’ll try,” I grunt. 

She comes around to give each of her children a kiss on the cheek before joining my father, leaving the 6 of us in a room alone. Agent Idris and his coworker relax their positioning, allowing their backs to lean against the wall informally.

Agent Jordan doesn't move a muscle. He just stands there with his hands clasped in front of his suit. Fed up with the lack of attention from him, I stand, dragging my fingers across the table as I walk over to him. I stop once our toes are nearly touching and I can feel his hot breath on me. “Hi,” I flirt, batting my lashes up at me.

He finally looks down at me and tilts his head. His jaw clenches and puts both hands on my shoulders, pushing me back so there’s some distance between us. “I don’t know what you think this is, princess. But I’m here for work, not for play,” he articulates with a sour disposition.

I cross my arms, sticking out my tongue at him before turning around. “You’re no fun,” I grumble, slinking back down into my seat next to Ellis. “Why do I always get the worse pick?” I ask the table.

The scraping of Hudson’s utensils against his plate has me wincing. “Probably cause of last summer,” he sneers before shoveling a forkful of waffles into his mouth.

My face contorts and I throw the closest thing to me at him; a strawberry. “Shut your virgin ass up, dude,” I hiss.

Huddy drops his utensils on the table, raising both hands to flip me the bird. “Fuck you, Libby,” he growls, standing and storming towards the door.

Agent Flynn is hot on his heels and Ellis's eyes study them until they disappear. She shrugs, seemingly unbothered as she finishes the last of her smoothie with a final slurp. “You can borrow mine if you want,” she offers. The thought of her sharing her guard with me makes me snicker, and together we giggle before the doors to the family room open again.

There’s almost always a few seconds before the person appears, and I always hold my breath. When I see it’s Jo, my fears are relaxed. “Libby, time for picture day,” she calls for me.

“Great,” I respond, standing from my seat and smoothing my dress. “See you at the fitting, bookie. Have a good day at school,” I turn and bid my little sister goodbye.

She smiles at me and waves. “Bye, Libby,” she returns.

As soon as we’re in the hallway, Jo nudges me with her elbow. “So, how’s that going,” she asks about the brooding soldier trailing me.

“Don’t touch her,” he growls from behind us, sending shivers up my spine.

The click of our heels continues and I turn my head around to tell him off. “It’s fine, she’s my aide,” I say over my shoulder. After a couple of paces, we turn a hall to the media rooms. “That’s how it’s going,” I mutter towards Jo.

At least 4 years with Agent Jordan. Fuck, I am fucked.

Taglist: @cherrellek feedbackfirst part

#michael b jordan fanfic #michael b jordan x reader #mbj fanfic #michael b jordan fic #michael b jordan smut #michael b jordan fc #michael b jordan #michael b jordan imagines #michael b. jordan #michael b. jordan x reader #michael b. jordan fic #mbj fluff #mbj x reader #mbj #mbj smut #mbj fic #mbj series #x black oc #x black reader #x black fem reader #black!reader #black fanfic #black reader #black fem reader #fem reader #x female reader #x fem!reader #x female y/n #x fem oc #fem oc

[montdigital1]

How do I start a mobile app development company?

Businesses looking to increase sales, build brand awareness, improve data collection and more can use a mobile app to support their operations. The process of developing a mobile app can be challenging and time-consuming.

The first step is identifying your target market. It is important to understand your target audience so that you can design a successful application.

Identify your target market.

One of the most common reasons for a mobile app startup to fail is that it doesn’t take the time to examine its target audience. By defining your app’s potential client base in advance, you can save yourself time and money during the design and development process. You can also develop the optimum monetization model and prepare an effective marketing strategy based on your research findings.

To identify your target market, you need to consider the following aspects:

Age. This will help you determine whether your app will be suited to younger or older users. It will also influence your app’s interface, functionality, and content. Gender. This will help you determine the optimum monetization model and create an appealing user experience. Education. This will help you determine the level of knowledge your app’s users will have and the appropriate tone of voice and jargon to use.

The frequency of purchasing. This will help you determine how often your app’s target users are likely to buy your product or service. This will be influenced by their solvency and income levels, as well as their values and interests.

Identifying your target market is important for planning and forecasting costs. It will also help you decide whether to develop your app for Apple iOS, Google Android, or both, as well as to create a native app, web app, or hybrid solution. You will also need to know whether your app needs to be online only or if it can function offline.

Create a business plan.

Whether you’re raising funds for an app development project or just looking to set the direction of your mobile business, a well-crafted business plan is essential. It will help you clarify what problem you aim to solve with your app, why, and for whom. It also sets out how you will monetize your product and market it to your target audience.

Your business plan for an app development company should start with a short executive summary that clearly states what your business is all about and its objectives. This should include a brief history of your business, key milestones, restraints, and challenges that you’ve overcome to date.

The next step is to create a competitive analysis. This will detail the strengths and weaknesses of your direct competitors (other app businesses that offer similar solutions). It should also outline how you will establish a competitive advantage to gain market share.

Finally, your business plan should include a detailed marketing strategy. This will detail how you will promote your mobile app to your target audience and what methods you will use to measure the success of your marketing efforts.

Create a product roadmap.

If you want to build a mobile app that will bring in money, you must know your market. You also need to understand the needs of your target audience and what features they would be interested in. This information will help you create a compelling app that will make people want to download it.

Once you’ve identified your app’s target market and done some market research, it’s time to start creating a product roadmap. A product roadmap is a strategic document that outlines the vision, development plan, and timeline for an application. A product roadmap is a critical tool to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page about the project’s objectives.

Your product roadmap should include an overview of your app’s goal, the problem it will solve for its users, and a unique value proposition (UVP). It should also detail the features that you will include in the app and the estimated date of completion. It is important to plan your budget carefully so that you can complete the app on schedule and within budget.

When choosing a mobile app development company, look for one that has extensive experience and offers a variety of services. They should provide you with a detailed, clear timeline for the app, answer your questions quickly and accurately, and provide creative input and advice. They should also be able to communicate clearly and effectively with you, whether via phone or email.

Hire a team.

If you’re serious about starting a mobile app development company, it’s essential to hire a team of professionals. This includes a UI/UX designer, a developer, and a QA tester. These people will need to work well together in order to create an app that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Conducting market research is an important step in the process of developing a mobile app. It helps you determine whether or not your app is viable, and it also gives you a better idea of what your competitors are doing. This helps you make informed decisions and reduce risk. For example, if you know that a certain competitor is launching a new feature, you can adjust your product accordingly.

When hiring a mobile application development team, look for one that has extensive experience working with various technologies and platforms. You should also consider the development methodologies that they use, such as Scrum or Lean. These methodologies help them meet deadlines and ensure quality results.

Lastly, when evaluating a potential development company, ask for a portfolio and case studies of previous projects. This will give you a better idea of their level of expertise and how they would approach your project. It is also a good idea to ask for an estimated cost breakdown, as some providers offer hourly rates, by profile, or a monthly rate depending on the type of engagement.

#mobile app development #mobile app development company #mobile app development company in uk #mobile app development companies

[sporadicarbitertree]

The Low Down On Diet Comparison

Low carbs and high protein is the way to lose weight, or so you’ll hear from one diet guru, and he has the testimonials to back it up. Low fat, lots of carbs and fresh fruits and veggies, says another – and he’s got the back up from satisfied users, too. A third swears that you need to count the amount of sugar; another tells you the enemy is white flour – if you want to lose real weight and keep it off, who do you listen to?

Take a look at the brief summaries below for a quick overview of the pros and cons of each of the popular types of diet plans.

Low Carb-Hi Protein Diets

Diets like the Atkins, the South Beach and the Zone Diet all recommend restricted carbohydrates and allow liberal amounts of protein, including protein derived from animal sources. Generally, they limit the overall amount of carbohydrates, or teach you to differentiate between “good” and “bad” carbohydrates. Bad carbohydrates, which are forbidden, include white flour, white bread, and white sugar.

The Low Down On Diet Comparison>>

Pros: The diets all encourage learning healthy eating as part of losing weight. Deriving most of your daily calories from high fiber sources of carbs like leafy green vegetables and grains is generally considered the best diet for nutrition by the established medical community. The popularity of the diets makes it easy to find low-carb foods.

Cons: The allowance of eating all the protein and fats you like flies in the face of conventional medical wisdom. A diet high in saturated fats could lead to heart disease, diabetes, gout and other chronic health conditions. Following the diets’ cautions and advice to keep portions reasonable should mitigate that concern, though.

Weight Loss “Programs”

Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, Weight Watchers, SlimFast and a number of other weight loss programs rely heavily on pre-packaged ‘diet’ foods. They incorporate professional coaching, social structure and reinforcement.

Pros: The professional coaching and nutritional benefits are a big plus, as are the reinforcement and support aspect of the diets. Meals and supplements are prepackaged in the right proportions, and if you stick to the diets and exercise as directed you will lose weight.

Cons: The weekly fees and cost of meals can be expensive. In addition, if you rely completely on the packaged foods, you miss out on the re-education of your eating habits, which is important to maintaining any weight lost.

The Real Mayo Clinic Diet

The Low Down On Diet Comparison>>

This is not the diet that has circulated for the past thirty or more years and purported to have originated at the Mayo Clinic! The true Mayo Clinic’s nutrition and diet center recommends a healthy eating weight loss plan based on limiting fats, proteins and carbohydrates, counting calories and deriving most of the daily nutrition from vegetables, grains and fruit.

Pros: There’s no ‘diet’. Instead, you’re encouraged to take control of your eating. Portion control and sensible balance of nutrients are the cornerstones of a weight loss plan that takes weight off gradually, and helps you keep it off permanently.

Cons: It may be difficult to stay on the diet. Counting calories and portions can be difficult if you’re eating out or on the run.

There are many diets that promise to take weight off quickly and painlessly, without exercise or changing your eating habits. The three major variations of diets above all will result in 1-2 pounds of loss per week, which most doctors believe is the optimum way to lose weight for long lasting results.

The Low Down On Diet Comparison>>

#weight loss breakfast #weight loss diet #weight loss products #weight loss #keto weight loss

[sunbd]

[helbofriis24]

Entry To School Program In Chatham Helps Children With Autism Prepare For The Classroom Ctv Information

As a community companion, JMCC is pleased to offer data on this website about community resources which can be of interest to purchasers and their households. Availability doesn't imply that we've reviewed them or represent an endorsement by us. JMCC doesn't assume any accountability in any way for such resouces. ErinoakKids Connect is a secure online portal for shoppers and their households to access their ErinoakKids health care data and communicate instantly with clinicians. Parent Direct Niagara is operated by the Early Childhood Community Development Centre. He didn’t wish to sit on the carpet but his classroom teacher had noticed the difference in him and decided to make him sit at circle time for 5 minutes. I used to hear to him wailing in frustration periodically all through every day, even if I was on the other side of the school I might hear him. I know ‘teacher talk’ at the carpet could be very troublesome for Bruce to process. Teachers present new data all the time so for Bruce sitting and listening without frustration is an indication that one thing is happening. A few weeks into his Fast ForWord program, Robby’s dad and mom started to witness new and unusual behaviours . Learn about school policies and paperwork that might be helpful for future school conferences or to assist your child, such as the Individual Education Plan . Attend any school orientation events to search out out extra in regards to the school transition course of and ask any questions. Create an inventory of questions prior meeting with the college team so that you are properly prepared to get all the knowledge you need. Watch videos of scholars going again to highschool or preparing for college to assist create expectations. If you have questions please contact the office with any particular details pertaining to your kid's wants. But even when households handle to discover a program, the most important concern is commonly value, says Treeby. This shift from a supportive education system to "realizing there may be nothing after 21 and highschool" can overwhelm families, says Di Rezze. Please notice that your child may still be eligible for our program, even if they don’t attend a college listed beneath. The basic translation’s aim is to seize the overall intention of the unique English material. Unlike summer, school days are extra predictable, so you'll have the ability to create a visual weekly schedule in order that your child may have an concept of what to expect for the approaching week. Don’t forget to create “special activity” and “Oops” or “Change” cards that you could put in whenever you can’t observe the schedule because of issues like weather, sickness, and so forth. Write a brief summary of latest skills, challenges, and favorites that your child has acquired. Notes on actions they participated in and locations you’ve travelled to can also help! After this system, children will receive transition helps as they enter school to ensure a successful begin to their academic journey. Families and educators will have the ability to entry consultation providers from program workers, upon request, during a child’s first six months in class. The Routines-Based Model of Early Intervention is used to support children with special needs, their households and early studying and child care professionals. The emphasis on routines within a child’s day provides alternatives to look at and study their activities and enhance their participation within these every day activities. Our Every Child Belongs group is made up of execs from the City and neighborhood companies. SibShops are events which offer 8-13 yr old brothers and sisters of kids with an autism spectrum dysfunction a possibility to satisfy other siblings in a relaxed, recreational setting. Sibshops is a chance for those who have a sibling with an ASD prognosis. This caregiver group includes participation in a Parent Management Training program that aims to reinforce parenting expertise to improve difficult behaviours in children, such as aggression, hyperactivity, and non-compliance. Handouts will be emailed to members prior to each scheduled session. This expertise group will purpose to show school aged learners’ essential social skill for engaging in social play and social interactions, building friendships with friends, as properly as managing feelings in challenging social settings. Learners will have the chance to determine their social strengths as properly as a possibility to practice play abilities, language expertise, self-regulation expertise and college readiness expertise. This social expertise group will present a variety of facilitated actions that will encourage learners to attach with peers, improve their self-awareness expertise and apply problem fixing and cooperation skills. Niagara Childrens Centre provides rehabilitation and assist companies to children and youth with physical, developmental and communicative delays and disabilities. Our school groups work with caregivers, division-based workers, and outdoors companies to evaluate areas of need, decide priority areas of influence and help programming to address wants. after school programs for autism We believe that we are all equal citizens of a group the place we all belong. School-age autism funding is available to help dad and mom and designated community-based organizations to assist offset the prices of hiring one-on-one tutors and aides in house and group settings. In extremely uncommon circumstances, when a student’s wants are so advanced or a student’s behaviour creates a security danger, a case conference is held to problem-solve and obtain a solution. A principal, a marketing consultant or a case supervisor may convene the convention. The pupil could also be withdrawn from school until cautious planning, outlining roles and obligations, is accomplished. During the time frame when the student is not at school, residence instruction may be offered. Learn the behaviors people exhibit after they have Autism and explore the challenges, ideas, and strategies for each dad and mom and caregivers at college, afterschool programs, and residential via this conversation style workshop. In addition to day programs and scientific providers, Aptus provides inventive arts providers for children and youth. These providers include Expressive Arts Therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Dance/Movement Therapy, and Drama/psychodrama Therapy. The Geneva Centre presents quite so much of evening, weekend, and summer season respite programs for children and youth with autism. Griffin Centre provides after-school and summer time respite programs and talent development programs for youth with a dual prognosis.

#autism after school program #autism after school programs #after school program for kids with autism #after school programs for autism near me #after school programs for children with autism #after school programs for autism

[pxlsystechnologies]

How to Manage Your Brand on Social Media

What goes into creating a successful social media profile? In all honesty, having a beautiful profile serves little purpose if you are not taking proper care of it. In the same way that your body needs frequent toning and firming in addition to a healthy diet to look and feel good, your brand image also requires constant monitoring and management to increase visitor numbers. How Should Your Brand Be Managed on Social Media? We provide easier responses.

Companies need to concentrate on redefining their social media profiles to stay afloat with an attention span of 8 seconds and more than 250 million stories produced daily. Here, we offer five different suggestions to assist you in managing, expanding, and scaling your social media presence.

The Best Social Media Platform to Use:

According to the Sprout Social Q2 2016 Index, 34.5% of customers prefer to communicate with customer support representatives on social media. The most important factor is picking the appropriate social media networks for your brand.

• Facebook: This platform, which is incredibly well-liked among young folks, allows you to advertise virtually any kind of brand. Individual brands, particularly those in the healthcare, education, and learning sectors, are more frequently advertised on Facebook. • Instagram: Instagram is a fantastic alternative for you to advertise your business as a store if you operate a furniture or home décor brand and want to connect with young adults, Hispanics, and African Americans. • Pinterest: This well-liked social network is great for connecting with women, especially for businesses that sell jewellery, clothes, or lifestyle products. Simply by using images, you can advertise your products on Pinterest. So, if you run a fashion store or make beauty items, you can promote your brand to attract customers that share your interests.

• Twitter: On the other hand, Twitter is a platform where you may start brief, direct interactions with other users to advertise your goods. Since the majority of Twitter users are younger adults with college or university degrees, attention may be given to youth-oriented fashion, accessories, or technology. However, roughly 79% of Twitter accounts are outside of the US, according to Sprout Social demographics, making it a challenging choice for geo-targeting. • LinkedIn: The best option for advertising your brand in the business world is LinkedIn, which has more than 467 million registered members and 133 million users from the US alone. To make a difference, you can connect with other corporate influencers and promote business-related material. If you own a B2B business, LinkedIn is a must.

Create a social media profile that accurately represents who you are. Your brand presence in social media serves as the public face of your company. Think of your biography as an elevator pitch. Give a brief one or two phrase summary of your company. Ensure that the profile bio is well-written, eye-catching, and unique. We provide some intriguing insights below:

Be careful when selecting your Twitter handle. While others may use your business name, it governs how people refer to you and is essentially your "ID" on the site. Select a Twitter handle that is brief, simple to remember, free of symbols or numbers, and, of course, not in use already.

Your network and business objectives should be reflected in your Instagram bio. You don't have much room with only 150 characters.

Maintain your brand on social media: The secret to effective social media management is posting pertinent information frequently. The top brands publish every other day. For greater impact, they occasionally plan topic-specific postings for Monday or Friday. Isolated posts that don't generate any follow-up posts are ineffective. The rapidly expanding social networks and short attention spans have made publishing more crucial than ever.

Post pertinent content. You may submit articles or discussions on employment trends, interview advice, or discussions on a certain field if you run a job search service. If you work in the beauty products industry, share articles on the newest fashion trends, popular colours for the season, celebrity interview snippets, and skin care tips. Match those with your content requirements.

Utilize Influencers: Sharing content or frequently updating social media platforms is only worthwhile when it is seen. Smaller firms struggle to make an effect with daily updates, whereas bigger brands may be noticed for every media update (from an industry insight piece to a product launch). Utilize influencers to connect with the target audience. They have the ability to share your posts with the widest audience.

In your content pieces, mention influencers by name or provide links to their websites. Once your content is posted, it might be seen by influencers who have Google Alerts or other notifications set up on their names. When uploading material to your social media sites, you can additionally tag influencers you've mentioned.

But make sure the influencers you collaborate with are upfront about the fact that they are getting paid to promote your company. Simply adding #ad or #sponsored to their post will do the trick. Additionally, you should always write influencers after publishing your material to let them know that you have cited them in it.

how about that book? Visit https://www.pixelsolutionz.com/blog/ to learn more.

[furiouspandacollective]

The Low Down On Diet Comparison

Low carbs and high protein is the way to weight loss, or so you'll hear from a dietitian and he has testimonials to back it up. Another says it's low in fat, high in carbs, fresh fruits and veggies - and he's also got support from satisfied users. Third swear that you need to count the amount of sugar; another person tells you the enemy is white flour - if you want to lose weight for real and keep it off, who would you listen to?

Click here to get "21 Free Keto Recipes" >>> https://tinyurl.com/m9rw8pj6

Check out the brief summaries below for a quick overview of the pros and cons of each popular type of diet plan.

Low Carb-Hi Protein Diet

Diets like the Atkins, South Beach, and Zone Diets all recommend limiting carbohydrates and allowing for a liberal amount of protein, including protein of animal origin. In general, they limit total carbohydrate intake or teach you to distinguish between "good" and "bad" carbohydrates. Bad carbohydrates, prohibited, include white flour, white bread, and white sugar.

Click here to get "21 Free Keto Recipes" >>> https://tinyurl.com/m9rw8pj6

Pros: All diets encourage learning how to eat healthy as part of weight loss. Getting most of your daily calories from fiber-rich carb sources like leafy green vegetables and whole grains is often considered the best diet for nutrition by the established medical community. The popularity of diets makes it easy to find low-carb foods.

Cons: Allowing you to eat all the protein and fat you like is flies in the face of conventional medical wisdom. A diet high in saturated fat can lead to heart disease, diabetes, gout, and other chronic health conditions. However, following the diet tips and advice to keep portions healthy will minimize that concern.

Click here to get "21 Free Keto Recipes" >>> https://tinyurl.com/m9rw8pj6

"Program" Weight Loss

Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, Weight Watchers, SlimFast and several other weight loss programs rely heavily on prepackaged 'diet' foods. They combine professional coaching, social structure, and reinforcement.

Pros: Professional training and nutritional benefits are a big plus, as are the strengthening and supportive aspects of the diet. Meals and supplements are prepackaged in the right proportions, and if you stick to your diet and exercise as directed, you'll lose weight.

Cons: Weekly fees and food costs can be expensive. Plus, if you're completely dependent on packaged foods, you're missing out on re-education of your eating habits, which is important for maintaining any lost weight.

Click here to get "21 Free Keto Recipes" >>> https://tinyurl.com/m9rw8pj6

The real Mayo Clinic diet

This is not a diet that has been circulating for over 30 years and is believed to have originated from the Mayo Clinic! The Mayo Clinic's True Diet and Nutrition Center recommends a healthy eating weight loss plan based on limiting fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, counting calories, and getting most of your daily nutrition from vegetables, cereals and fruit.

Pros: No "diet". Instead, you should control your eating. Portion control and the right balance of nutrients are the foundation of a weight loss plan that helps you lose weight gradually and help you maintain your weight permanently.

Cons: It can be difficult to stay on the diet. Counting calories and servings can be difficult if you're eating out or running.

There are many diets that promise to help you lose weight quickly and painlessly without exercising or changing your eating habits. The three main variations of the above diet will result in 1-2 pounds per week loss, which most doctors believe is the optimal way to lose weight for long-term results.

Click here to get "21 Free Keto Recipes" >>> https://tinyurl.com/m9rw8pj6

#weight loss #diet #health #weight loss recipe #weight loss drink #how to lose weight fast

[rafescoke]

New Girl ; Rafe Cameron

masterlist

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x reader

Summary: Just as Rafe thought his life couldn’t get any worse, a new girl moved into town. 

Warnings: Straight smut! Mentions of trauma, extreme love-hate relationship, fluff

A/N: thank you so much for 600+ followers wtf ily <33

p.s; you know the drill. . . send requests!

One thing that Rafe was sure of; he was no tour guide, or anything of the sort.

Sure, he got himself into trouble; vandalising the principal’s office and destroying school’s properties, but that was it. He didn’t try to include the part where he goes to parties to get high and wake up the next evening with a painful headache, that was more to his personal life and he believed no one in the education system could have the advantage to be mad at him for it. 

“I simply just won’t do it,” Rafe shrugged, sighing against the chair. “Look, why don’t you ask Topper to help this new kid? He’s good in class.” 

“You answered yourself, Mr. Cameron,” the counsellor sighed, placing a file on top of the table lightly. “He’s good at school work, and you’re not. That’s why we’re going with you.” 

So that was the core reason as to why Rafe was waiting impatiently for the arrival of the new student, whom he didn’t even care about to know the gender. All he wanted was to sit at the back of the school and light some joints. 

“Mr. Cameron, this is Ms. (Y/L/N).” 

Rafe took a look at her. He bit the insides of his cheeks, thinking how she didn’t even make an effort to dress properly for her first day in a new schoolz 

An oversized tee and denim shorts. Really? 

“Hi,” she smiled, extending her hands. “I’m (Y/N).” 

“Rafe,” was all he said, before handing her her timetable for the semester. 

She scanned the paper, nodding slightly and pointed at a word. When she realised how Rafe wasn’t listening, she cleared her throat. 

“What?”

“I got Biology with Mr Garcia. Where’s Room 3?” 

Rafe scooted closer next to her, and the smell of strawberry cheesecake wafted into his nostrils. He took a step back, seething. 

Who would even wear a cakey perfume? 

“Uh, that’s like, at the end of the hall?” He answered, but it was more like a question. He looked at the direction he was noting, and nodded again. “Definitely the one at the end of the hall.” 

“You really don’t care, do you?” She asked, crossing her arms. “Where’s my locker?” 

Rafe took another look at her timetable, searching for her locker number. 

372. 

He turned to look at his own locker, finding the number, and letting out an ‘oh’. “Yours just 4 lockers away from mine.” 

“Thanks.” She muttered, and Rafe sighed before fixing the left side of his bag strap dangling from his left shoulder. “Is that it? Can I go?” 

“Not so fast, Rafe,” the counsellor sighed, stopping him by his chest. “You’re supposed to stay with her for the week. Help her get around. And you’re supposed to show her around the school compound now.” 

Rafe looked up to the counsellor with a pained expression and then back to (Y/N), his chest heavy. “Fine. Let’s go. What do you call yourself again?” 

Right before lunch, Rafe stayed over in his class for a few minutes before going out to the hall. He didn’t want to see the new girl, and he didn’t feel like being her assistant anymore. 

But the world wasn’t that fair. 

(Y/N) grinned, walking towards him. “Can you show me the cafeteria?”

“How do you even know my class?” He muttered, keeping a distance between them. The last thing he ever wanted was to let the news of him being with the new girls circulating around the school, or worse, the whole island. 

“My class is directly in front of yours. We parted just now.” 

Of course she would remember that. 

. . . 

A week went by quickly, and before Rafe would know it, he didn’t see (Y/N) anymore, and he was content with it. 

Until her family decided to become neighbours with his. 

“What do you mean the (Y/L/N) bought the house next to us?” He groaned, watching as Rose and Ward prepared to greet themselves to the new family.

The last thing he wanted was to show her around the fucking island like he was some kind of a hotel worker. 

She was in a yellow sundress, and Rafe couldn��t help but notice the way her (H/C) glowed under the sunlight. She looked similar to her mother, both bringing pastries as a way to introduce themselves. 

“Hi, we just moved next door,” Mrs (Y/L/N) said, showing the Camerons her pearly white teeth. Rafe wondered if she ever got them done, because it’s not possible for a human to have such white assets. 

“Hi, welcome to Obx,” Ward gushed, accepting the pastries happily. “Rafe, take the other cake.” 

(Y/N) looked up at the sound of his name, and to Rafe’s amusement, began gritting her teeth. He took the cake with a smirk, happy that he got her all worked up. 

He would definitely have the best time of his life taunting the shit out of this girl. 

. . .

“Hey, wanna ride a boat?” 

“Topper, leave her alone,” Rafe sighed, fixing his cap so it was facing backwards. “She’s not interested.” 

(Y/N) perked up at this invitation, never actually riding a boat alone if it wasn’t during a holiday since she was originally from the city. She walked towards her neighbour’s deck, her skin illuminating the golden sunrays. 

“Sure.” 

Rafe mentally groaned, having to deal with the girl now, but he wasn’t sure if he was angry or jealous. It wasn’t him to be jealous easily, but after a week of becoming her tour guide, he guessed he deserves some kind of a credit from her. Topper didn’t do anything, but she was gladly accepting his invitation. 

Their usual stroll along the stream of the island was not like usual, since the air was now filled with the annoying chatter between (Y/N) and Topper. Rafe could never relate with them, only wanting to relax his mind and sleep it off. 

“So you’re a city girl? That’s great!” 

“Sure Tops,” Rafe wondered, smiling delightly. Anything to get into a girl’s pants. . . 

“You know what, (Y/N)?” He called from the place he was resting, and he waited a few seconds before continuing his speech. “If you’re looking for a boyfriend, Topper’s not the guy. He hasn’t moved on from his ex-girlfriend.” 

Sure, he would get a lot of shit from Topper for saying that, but he was done with the pointless flirting between them. 

“What about you?” 

Rafe opened his eyes, watching her from behind his sunglasses. He shifted his position, “What about me?” 

“Have you moved on from your ex-girlfriend?” 

Has he moved on from Kie? He wasn’t entirely sure. Their relationship was brief, but she was all Rafe had. When she decided to go all full-pogue, he knew there was nothing left of them. 

“I don’t date.” 

“I can see why,” she said, and Rafe swore he heard some kind of mirth behind her tone. 

“Have you?” 

“Moved on from an ex?” 

Rafe nodded, opening his eyes slightly. 

“I guess.” 

“Good for him.” 

“Excuse me?” She gasped, pushing him lightly. “You’re an asshole.” 

She leaned closer onto him, and for a second Rafe thought about letting her in his bubble, but he quickly shoved her away. “Watch it.” 

“I’m just trying to tell you about that fucking fly on your face.” 

“Yeah? Liar.” 

(Y/N) huffed, stomping back to Topper, and Rafe laughed silently. 

1-0.

. . .

Fuck. 

If he would’ve known about the police raid in Topper’s party, he wouldn’t have come to his house at all. But here he was; all pushed up against the metal chair of the police station, his hair messy and his eyes bloodshot. 

“We’re taking a urine test, son,” Shoupe said, sighing. “There’s always something wrong with you.”

Rafe thought about (Y/N) suddenly, and how she was probably back home and watching some kind of a rom-com. That’s totally her; all cuddled up with a pink teddy bear probably named ‘Bear-bear’, constantly wiping the tears off her face over the sad breakup scene of a movie. 

Rafe was forced to strip out of his shirt and jeans before entering the small cubicle, and having to go through this same procedure for quite a few times now, he didn’t mind giving a show to the workers. 

He quickly zipped his jeans bag, handing a female worker a cup filled to the end with his urine. He yawned, already knowing the results, so there was no use being nervous about it. 

He was picked up by an angry Ward an hour later. He groaned, getting in the car to prepare himself for the same lecture about his future and how he shouldn’t jeopardise it, but he was shocked when Ward didn’t utter a word at all. 

It was very uncomfortable, but he guessed he was just tired. 

“Good morning.” 

Rafe rubbed his eyes against the bright sunlight, feeling the pain from his head slowly soaring throughout his body. He squinted his eyes at the figure in front of him again, trying to blink the blurriness away. 

“What the fuck?” 

“Your mom told me to call for you,” (Y/N) said, looking away from him. Rafe looked down to his body, seeing his shirtless self, and laughed.

Of fucking course she would be uncomfortable with him being shirtless. 

“She’s not my mom,” he grunted, removing the covers off of him and checking his phone for the time. 

12.43p.m. 

“Fuck,” he muttered, and his eyes turned to her again. “What are you doing here again? Leave.” 

“Waiting for you.” 

“I’ll be downstairs in a few seconds,” he muttered. He didn’t need her to be some kind of maid for him. 

(Y/N) muttered some curse word, hoping that riled him up, but she would be stupid if she thought a random curse word would make him Rafe Cameron angry.

It would take a lot more to raise an expression from Rafe Cameron, and a curse word definitely wouldn’t. 

. . . 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” 

His boat was not working, but he had just filled her up the night before. This was the newest model too, and he couldn’t afford asking Ward to fix his boat again. Not when he was caught with being on drugs from his urine test last week, and the only reason he got out of the trouble was because of Ward again. 

“Is it not working, Rafey?” 

Rafe looked up to the sound. (Y/N) was watching him with a sly grin, shielding her eyes with her hands from the sun like she was some goddamn queen that would melt from the heat. 

“What did you do to my boat?” He groaned, trying to turn the ignition again. 

“What did I do? Come on, why do you always think so bad of me? That’s kinda ru—”

Before she could continue her taunt, Rafe climbed the deck, inching closer towards her and smeling that goddamn cake smell again. 

Hell, he’ll buy her a new perfume to stop breathing in that fucking smell. 

“That’s kinda what?” He whispered. He was so close to her now, and he could hear her breath hitching. He smirked, his heart soaring. 

“You’re kinda dumb for a kook, Rafe,” she sighed. She dangled a familiar key in front of him, and when Rafe took a closer look, he noticed it was the key to his boat. 

She threw the key into the water and Rafe watched it plopped, moving straight towards the deep end. His eyes flared at her again, his chest heaving. 

“Hope you have a spare key.” 

1-1. 

. . .

That should be good, he guessed, for being in a tie with (Y/N). But he doesn’t like someone being in the same league as him, so it must be 2-1. 

And the 2 from him. 

But that was for another day, because Kiara Carrera was in front of him. He fixed his cap so it was facing backwards again, and then putting his hands into his pockets for good measure. 

“Hey,” he greeted her. She smiled at him grimly before looking back at the menu, clearly uninterested. “How’re you?” 

“I’m. . . great,” she breathed. “Why?” 

“Just asking,” he shrugged, “Do you wanna go out for some drinks sometimes? Like the old times?” 

Rafe curled his toes, waiting nervously. 

“Um, I have to check with my parents first,” she replied. “But, Rafe, you know, it’s been. . . a year.” 

“Of course,” he laughed, trying to hide the sudden emotion inside him. “I meant hanging out as a friend.” 

“Of course!” She suddenly exclaimed, “If you would bring (Y/N) with us.” 

“Oh, I don’t-”

“You don’t?” 

“I- fine. I’ll bring her with me. Is tomorrow okay?” He sighed, already foreseeing the future. 

And it’s full of shit. 

“Tomorrow.” 

. . .

“Wow, I am not going to third wheel you and someone, Rafe,” (Y/N) laughed, resting her back against her chair. 

“Please,” Rafe begged, sighing. He didn’t know how much begging he could do anymore, not when he had so many things to do. He took a deep breath again, “I’ll do anything for you back.” 

“Including hooking me up with JJ?” 

“Yes- no. No. What the fuck? Where did you even know this guy?” He expressed, his eyebrows furrowing. He was not going to let her a pull a Kie, though they weren’t dating. 

“He helps mower the lawn.” 

Of course. JJ Maybank would never pass the chance to get some money while checking out girls. 

“I’m not helping you to get together with JJ,” he sighed. “Can we go for a better option? Like Landon? He’s rich.” 

“I’m richer,” she yawned. “Okay. Fine. Topper.” 

“No,” he shook his head. “Not going to happen.” 

If she ever thought about him allowing her to date his best friend, she has to be a lot smarter than that. 

He didn’t know why he wouldn’t allow it. Maybe he was scared of Topper hurting her. 

Or maybe he just couldn’t imagine her with someone else.

“Then we have no deal,” she replied simply, gazing at her newly painted nails. She gazed at Rafe who seemed to be thinking hard from the top of her sunglasses. 

He groaned. “Fine. I’ll help you with Topper. But I’m warning you; he. Has. Not. Moved. On.” 

“Oh, he will.”

. . .

Kie was all up on Rafe.

He didn’t know what had gotten into her, because she was never this. . . strong-willed. 

Kie had her hands placed against Rafe’s chest, kissing him tenderly and sometimes running her fingers through his hair. 

Rafe sucked in a breath, watching as she part. Her mouth formed into a grin, and Rafe couldn’t help but grin back. 

“Wanna do it?” 

Did he? Of course he wanted to “do it”. He had been wanting to do so since forever. He would be crazy to say no to that invitation, and he was definitely sane. 

He looked at (Y/N), who was awkwardly perched up on the sofa, tucking her legs under her and watching some kind of a movie on her phone. Her eyes looked up to Rafe, and she quickly looked away. 

“In one of the rooms?” 

Kie seemed to look around the boat for a while, like he was looking for someone, but there were only two of them. And (Y/N). 

“Fine,” she huffed, and pulled him towards one of the rooms by his wrist. 

Kie pushed him onto the bed, and Rafe wondered how she got this side of her. Throughout their 6 months of dating, she never showed him this, so this was a bit of a shock to him. 

“Hey, hey,” Rafe gripped her wrists, holding her still. “We don’t have to rush.” 

“I want to,” she said, and leaned closer. “I thought you wanted this?” 

They began making out, his hand slipping down her back to grab her ass, only to be met with her vibrating phone in her back pocket. 

“I’ll get it,” he mumbled against the kiss, and pulled her phone out.

A picture of JJ Maybank’s smiling face right next to Kie greeted him, and his name was perched on top of the screen, signalling his call. 

Of course. She never wanted to fuck him. It was always to make someone jealous. That explained the gritted teeth Kie would make when he mentioned JJ earlier. 

He sighed, pushing her away so she ended up by his side. “I gotta go.” 

“Huh?” Kie sat up straight, looking from Rafe to her phone. She saw the caller, cleared her throat, and held up a finger to tell him to wait. 

He should’ve known. 

. . . 

Rafe never liked the annual Obx’s drive-in movie theatre, because he really didn’t get the hype of watching a mainstream movie that he had watched with Wheezie a lot of times before in his car. 

This year, it was way worse; they decided to have some kind of a horror themed drive-in movie theatre, and the best part of all; (Y/N) was going with Topper. 

Rafe groaned for the thousandth time at the rapping of a clown against his car window. He gave the clown his middle finger, telling him ‘watch it, you’re scratching my car’, and moving his attention back to the screen. 

Annabelle had disappeared from the room the two nurses had placed her in, and the volume quietened before booming again when the doll had appeared in the living room, perching on top of the sofa. 

He rolled his eyes, and took a look at (Y/N) and his best friend laying in the back part of his jeep from the rearview window. 

They were cuddling. 

“Fuck off,” he grunted, throwing his hands into the air. A human-sized Annabelle pulled on the shotgun’s door now, and Rafe gave the actor another middle finger before yelling a ‘fuck you’.

“This is ridiculous,” he said to no one in particular. He stepped out of the vehicle, knowing damn well he would be the target of the ghosts now, but he couldn’t care less. All he wanted was to step away from all of this and maybe refill his soda. 

He made his way to the back of the lot, getting his money out beforehand. Some type of a wannabe Michael Myers came up, to which he quickly put a hand up to stop him. 

“Don’t. I’m not in the mood.”

Michael Myers seemed to get him, because he left to scare someone else. 

“Refill,” he sighed, giving the worker his cup. “Coke.” 

“You mean like literal coke?” 

Rafe looked behind him, surprised to see a red-faced (Y/N) holding a popcorn bucket. He licked his teeth. “Why? Have you tried it before?” 

(Y/N) went up beside him, muttering about putting more caramel in her popcorn to the worker before looking at him. “You seem mad.” 

“I’m not.” 

“You are.” 

“That’s because you’re all up in my business,” he scoffed. He turned to look at his coke, but the worker was still filling the cup up. 

Good. Did the machine break or something? 

“Where’s the girlfriend?” She asked. She was clearly amused by his sudden tightness, but he quickly softened, as to not rile her up. 

“Where’s the fuckbud- I mean boyfriend? Sorry. It just slipped.” 

(Y/N) nodded, her mouth forming into a grin. “If you’re jealous, you can just say that.” 

“Wait, wait, of what, exactly?” 

She shrugged. 

“Yeah, exactly. No. For all I care, you guys can get married and move to fucking Antartica and have mini (Y/N)s and Christophers running around.” 

The worker placed the newly refilled coke and caramelised popcorn on the counter, and Rafe wondered why she would receive her food at the same time as his when had come here first.

He rolled his eyes, grabbing the drink and walking back towards the car. 

(Y/N) jogged to catch up with him, her popcorn bouncing against her chest. “You’re rude, do you know that?” 

“Jesus Christ, we’re still on this?” He mumbled. He was still walking, but he wanted her to catch up so he slowed down. He guessed it would be the perfect ending to his night to taunt her until she’s all worked up. 

“I just can’t think of a reason why you’re acting so fucking rude to me.” 

“Yeah? Think again.” Rafe sipped on his coke, feeling the carbonated drink sloshing down his throat. He felt content, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the coke or from the girl beside him. 

“This is—”

A nurse with a bloody front suddenly appeared before them, using some kind of a spray to maximise the size of the fire from a lighter. (Y/N) screamed, turning away from the heat, and Rafe quickly caught her before she could end up on the floor. 

“Fuck, fucking move,” he yelled to the nurse, who seemed to be satisfied with her work. Rafe turned to (Y/N), trying to check on her state. 

“Yo, yo, you good? Why are you shaking?” 

She was trembling really hard against him. She had her arms around Rafe’s neck, her popcorn splattered on the ground. She jolted when a scream came from the speaker. 

“Come on, let’s get you to the car,” he mumbled, helping her walk. She kept her face hidden in the crook of his neck, and Rafe had to try his best to balance both of the girl and the Coke in his hands back to the vehicle.

Topper was no longer in the back seat, perhaps looking for Sarah (Rafe wasn’t a bit surprised at this). He was glad his best friend wasn’t there, because the last thinf he needed was two people freaking out on him. 

“Okay, chill, I got you,” Rafe grunted, placing the Coke in the cup holder before seating the girl beside the driver’s seat. He sighed before climbing into the driver’s seat and locked the door in case some kind of a crazy maniac tried to freak her out again. 

“What’s wrong?” 

She didn’t answer, not that Rafe expected her to. She looked like she was reminded by some kind of memory, but Rafe didn’t want to dwell so much on it. 

If he could, he would reverse his car out of this lot back to their homes, but he was one of the first cars to arrive at the drive-in theatre, so it was impossible to get out. 

He sighed, placing his hands against his lap. “You can tell me, you know.” 

She finally looked up to him, and Rafe’s breath hitched from the sight of her red eyes. He softened. 

Whatever it was with that fire, it had triggered some kind of a memory in her. 

He placed a hand against her lap, but not moving so; just a splat of his hand against her soft skin. He had meant for that as comfort, but he realised how creepy the situation was. He pulled away, clearing his throat. 

So they stayed until the end of the movie, just the two of them, and Rafe was sure she wasn’t even watching the remaining parts of the movie. He pretended to watch, but he was really just staring at her the whole time. 

Will she ever let her hair down like this again? Because he liked it. 

When the movie ended and the cars were starting to move, Rafe slowly reversed the car so as to not shake her awake. But she was a light sleeper, and she woke up as soon as he hit the brakes. 

She rubbed her eyes, “Where are we going?” 

“Home,” he answered. “You’re okay?” 

She didn’t answer, and Rafe knew she wasn’t.

. . .

Two weeks after the incident, they never spoke of it again. 

Rafe tried to get an answer out, but to no avail. He didn’t get why he was trying his best to help her, because he, too, needed help. 

“Nah. I won’t invite her. If you want (Y/N) to come, then you’ll have to invite her yourself.” 

Wheezie’s shoulders slumped, “But you’re close to her!”

“I’m not, and she hates my guts,” Rafe replied honestly. Because that was the truth, right? She didn’t even want to tell him about why she was so scared of fire. 

“Invite me to what?” 

“(Y/N)!” Wheezie ran to hug her, to which (Y/N) laughed before patting her on the crown of her head. “Tell her, Rafe!” 

Is she fucking serious? 

“Tell me what?” (Y/N) looked up to Rafe strangely. 

“Wheezie wants to have a movie night, and she wants you to watch with us.” Rafe sighed, hating how he couldn’t just ignore Wheezie. She was definitely Rafe’s favourite, being so close to her brother ever since she was born. 

“Oh, is that true?” She smiled, looking at Wheezie. “Should I come and wear my best pajamas?” 

“You’re not sleeping over, your house is literally 5 minutes away. 2 if you run.” Rafe rolled his eyes. He went up to the counter to pick up a sandwich before biting into it, tasting the creamy eggs and ham. He licked his lips. 

“She can sleep with Sarah, right, (Y/N)?” 

“If she wants me too. . .” 

Rafe rolled his eyes again, “Sarah won’t be with us for tonight’s movie night. She’s starting to hang out with the pogues.” 

“Why are you so against the pogues?” (Y/N) asked, when Wheezie left to write a reminder of tonight’s event in her diary. 

“Why can’t you just shut your mouth?” He sighed. “It’s all bla bla bla bla. Can’t you see you’ll be happier without having to open your mouth every few seconds?” 

(Y/N) bit her lips, and for a second, Rafe had to look away from the look she was giving him. 

Shit. Why was he even looking away? 

She turned to go away, but was halted by Rafe’s fingers around her wrist. She groaned, turning her attention back to him. “What?” 

“You still haven’t told me about the night of the drive-in theatre.” 

“Good,” was all she said, before she went back by the sliding door to her home. 

. . .

“Rafe would be mad if he saw me watching this.” 

“It’s rom-com! And it’s totally PG-13. Trust me on this, okay? Anne Hathaway, yeah, that girl, yes, she’s going to get prettier throughout the movie.” (Y/N) smiled, popping popcorn into her mouth. 

Wheezie sighed, placing her head against (Y/N)’s shoulders and yawned. “Like what? Princess Diaries?” 

“Yes, but this is The Devil Wears Prada. You’ll love it!” 

A beam of light filled the mini movie theatre of The Camerons, signalling the late arrival of Rafe Cameron. He brought two chocolate bars, a Coke (again) and some chicken nuggets. 

“Move,” he said, motioning to Wheezie. 

“There are more seats around here!” Wheezie hissed, crossing her arms. “I’m not leaving (Y/N).” 

“You’re not leaving her, silly, you’re just scooting more to the right.” 

“What’s in it for me?” She raised a brow. 

“Nuggets?” 

She scooted to the side, giving more space for Rafe to place himself beside an annoyed (Y/N). 

Out of all 7 medium-sized sofas in the theatre, he decided to pick the one the two girls were sitting on. 

Rafe handed Wheezie the plate full of chicken nuggets, looking at (Y/N) before watching the screen. He groaned, “What’s this? Trash?” 

“A masterpiece, so shut up,” (Y/N) replied. Rafe huffed, amused, and unwrapped the chocolate bar. 

“Want some?” 

“No.” 

“Come on,” he cooed, placing the chocolate before her eyes. She grunted, pushing his hands away. 

Rafe took that as his final warning. He didn’t want to annoy her even more, knowing that she will probably not talk to him anymore. He decided to wait until half an hour later, just to taunt her again. 

“I’m going to get more popcorn,” Wheezie suddenly said after an hour into the movie. She excused herself to the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone. 

(Y/N) sighed. Great, just like how she wanted. 

“What do you want from me?” Anne Hathaway’s voice blared from the speaker, and Rafe looked at (Y/N). 

“What do you want from me?” He asked, repeating the dialogue. (Y/N) watched him from the corners of her eyes, not getting any delight from this. 

“For you to shut up.” 

“Really? That’s boring,” he sighed. “Do you want to know what I want from you?” 

“Sure.” 

“I’m thinking of a few things. Maybe you, on my lap.” 

(Y/N)’s breath hitched, but she tried her best not to look disturb. She shifted in her seating position. 

Rafe leaned closer, feeling her heat. “Your turn.” 

You know what? Fuck it.

(Y/N) turned to look at him fully in his face, leaning even closer that a part of her was practically on top of him. “Do you know what I think of you, Rafe?” 

His eyes dropped to her lips, and he swore his heartbeat quit beating. 

“I think about you, Rafe,” she whispered. “All pressed up against me in my bed, whim-”

“More popcorn!” 

(Y/N) returned to her previous position, bewildered. She fixed her hair, and her eyes were back to the screen. 

If Wheezie were to hang out with a pogue right now, Rafe wouldn’t give a fuck. 

“Well, the ending’s shitty,” Rafe exclaimed, clapping his hands. He watched as the end credits rolled, and took a look at Wheezie. 

He nudged her, sighing. “Wake up, Wheeze. Go to your room.” 

She groaned, searching for her fallen glasses. Rafe helped her to put them on, and gave her another poke. 

“I want to watch the movie.”

“The movie’s finished. It’s time to sleep. Go.” 

Wheezie groaned, muttering how it’s not fair that her brother could stay up with (Y/N) to watch more movies, but she guessed she was too tired for another round of movie anyways. 

“What’s the next pick?” 

“Horror.” 

“Nah.” 

“Why?”

“‘Cause you’re going to freak out on me again.” 

“I won’t,” she assured him. “Let’s go with Hereditary.” 

Rafe’s fingers and (Y/N)’s were almost touching. He was still bothered by her comment before Wheezie came barging in, and he was still desperate to hear her reply. 

“(Y/N)?”

“Hm?” 

“What were you trying to say?”

(Y/N) stopped watching, and looked at him. “What?” 

“About you thinking of me.” 

She blushed. “Nah.” 

“Come on,” he nudged. When she didn’t move, he tried placing his hand against her thigh. 

(Y/N) stood up suddenly, and for a second, Rafe thought he had fucked up. He watched as she went to the door, locked it, and went back to their place. 

“You locked the door.” 

“Yeah.” 

Rafe licked his lips, smirking slightly. “Ah, I see the game you’re playing.” 

“What game?” She raised a brow, only turning to the screen when a scream blared from the speaker.

“Hey, look at me.” Rafe tugged on her chin, forcing her to look at him, and his eyes actually looked into hers. He noticed the (E/C) colour of her eyes now, and he swore he had never looked at something more appealing. “Tell me.” 

She stayed quiet, not moving a muscle. 

Rafe sighed, getting impatient. He leaned closer now, this time his lips merely an inch away from her cheeks. He could feel the heat radiating from her. 

“Tell me, baby.” 

“You getting all close to me isn’t helping, Cameron,” she sighed, laying her head against the sofa. 

“Still playing hard to get?” 

“I’m not playing anything.” 

Rafe slowly placed a kiss against her temple before trailing down to her cheeks. She sucked in a breath, and Rafe smiled. 

“Still playing?” 

She nodded. 

Rafe’s lips touched hers by a bit, and she let out a moan she had been trying her very best to contain. Rafe chuckled, pulling away. 

“Still playing?”

“Shut up.” 

“That’s a yes? Or a no?”

“That’s a fuck you.” 

“Oh,” Rafe smiled. “Thought you never asked.” 

His kiss was gentle. So soft, and (Y/N) had never felt something like that before. The kiss deepened when she let out a soft moan, riling Rafe even more. 

He pulled her up onto his chest, letting her hands rest against his chest before pulling her away. Her lips were red, and there was a string of their saliva hanging from both of their lips. 

“What do you want, (Y/N)?” 

“You.” 

“Huh?” 

“You.” 

He smiled, tugging on her shirt. “Off.” 

She wasted no time to remove her shirt, exposing her new black bra she ordered online a few days before. Rafe sat back, his eyes dark. 

“Jesus Christ.” 

He kissed her neck, trailing down to her collar bones before stopping directly on her chest. His fingers fiddled with the bra clip, being so used with this already, and removed the piece of clothing with ease. 

(Y/N) instinctively covered her chest, her chest heaving. 

Rafe looked up to her, his eyes softening. “What’s wrong?” 

“Am not comfortable.” 

“Oh, that’s alright, we don’t have to do—”

“No, Rafe, I want this. I just don’t think I’m perfect enough for you.” 

Rafe let out a breath, placing a soft kiss against her stomach. She closed her eyes, throwing her head back. He guided her hands away, exposing her perky breast to the entire theatre to see. 

Rafe was glad he was the only guy present. 

“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” 

“Shut up.” 

He looked up into her eyes, wetting his lips. “I’ll do anything to fuck you right now.” 

(Y/N) grinded against him, causing a groan to escape from his throat. He held her waist in place, not wanting to trigger his release. 

“Do it,” she whispered. 

The movie became a background noise as he fumbled with her shorts, grunting when he couldn’t figure out the knot. 

He positioned himself before her, and looked up into her eyes again. Her chest was heaving, and she looked nervous. 

“You’re okay?”

“I’m a virgin.” 

Oh fuck. 

Why would she even say that? He couldn’t even contain himself anymore. 

He pushed himself into her, letting her get used to the feeling. He waited for her nod, signaling that she was okay and hadn’t changed her mind, and thrusted into her again. 

His hands stayed around her waist to guide her, watching as her mouth slightly parted as he deepened inside her. She bit her lips, her nails clawing onto his shoulders. 

“Oh my god.” 

“Fuck,” he groaned, feeling his own forehead clammy. He didn’t notice her hands that had left his shoulder. She cupped his face, placing wet kisses against his cheeks. 

“You’re so good for me, baby,” he whimpered, allowing her hands to guide his. She placed them around her breast as she rode him, and Rafe had never felt better. 

If he has to taunt and annoy her more to get into this level again, he’ll do it again. Without any hesitation.

“I’m so close, baby, fuck,” he groaned. He gave her another longing kiss, looking down to where their bodies connect, and moaned loudly. 

Just before he reached his end, he pulled her away, not wanting to plant himself into her. (Y/N) tried to wrap her fingers around his penis to which Rafe jerked at for  being so sensitive. He pulled her hands away, his chest heaving. 

“Don’t,” he grunted. His load shot out of his member, wetting the sofa underneath them, and Rafe quickly slapped his shaft against her core to get her to reach her end. 

“Rafe, I-”

“Let it,” he whispered, watching as she tilted her head back, exposing her neck. “Let go, baby.” 

She trembled slightly, finally reaching her high, and collapsed on top of the heaving boy. Rafe stroked her hair, pulling her into a lying position, and planted another soft kiss against the back of her head. 

“The movie’s still on.” 

“Watch the next part, it’s amazing,” Rafe whispered, still holding her close. They were both naked, still coming down from their highs, but Rafe had never felt better. 

(Y/N) turned to look at him. “You’re still an asshole.” 

He placed a soft kiss against her lips. “Your asshole.” 

-

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[fics-n-stuff]

Deep Breaths

For @inquistitorebony, see request here

Pairing: Kaz Brekker × Reader

Summary: Y/N's anxiety gets the best of them on a job, but thankfully Kaz knows how to handle it.

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: Panic attacks, brief violence, fake blood, explosions

A/N: Ahh I'm so sorry this took me so long to write!! I had writer's block and I thought I was getting out of my slump but then it just got so much worse again. I had to try so hard to get this finished and I genuinely can't tell if it's good or not, so I really hope you enjoy it 🤞🏽❤

You knew the plan. At least, you thought you knew the plan. You could never be sure with Kaz. Regardless, you were in place where he’d told you to be, weapons concealed in your outfit and Jesper at your side.

“This is crazy. You realise this is crazy, right?” You said, peering around the corner of the alley to get a view of the bridge and the crowds of locals and tourists alike.

“Everything we do is crazy.” Jesper replied with a smirk. “That’s what makes it fun.”

Sometimes you had to wonder how you ended up here, working for Kaz Brekker of all people. The answer to that question was that Jesper had dragged you into it, but then came the question of how the hell you and Jesper had become friends in the first place. That answer was more complicated.

The university of Ketterdam was where your parents had sent you to keep you out of trouble, to get an education so that you could do something useful and conventional with your life. Unfortunately for them, you only succeeded in getting yourself into trouble. Jesper had been the root of that. He was the one who had encouraged you to join him and a group of students on that first night out in East Stave.

You’d managed to stay in university longer than him, but the pull of adventure that the Barrel offered eventually got the better of you. When Jesper fell in deep with the gambling halls and turned to Kaz and the Dregs, you had followed after him for no reason other than the thrill. Which was strange, considering the immense anxiety that you carried through life.

Jesper had questioned it at the time, and sometimes continued to question you on it, but you couldn’t explain it to him. The type of thrill that your exploits with the Dregs provided wasn’t the type that triggered your anxiety, generally speaking. Talking to people was your weak point, fighting or stealing from them was usually fine.

Kaz had been skeptical about you at first, but Jesper was adamant that he should bring you onboard. It wasn’t long before he came to see that you certainly had your uses and you worked in a team, especially with Jesper at your side. He never mentioned your anxiety, but nothing slipped past Kaz. He definitely knew even before he had witnessed the full effect of it, and you had noticed long ago how he tended to keep you off of jobs that might cause you to panic.

“I see the signal from Nina.” Jesper said, eyes on a flash of light coming from a window up the street. “Get ready.”

“Born ready.” You smirked.

“I’ve been rubbing off on you. I’m not sure I like what I’ve created.” He commented, and you rolled your eyes.

“Distraction time, Jes.” You said, bursting a capsule of fake blood between your teeth and slamming another one against you chest before stumbling out of the alleyway. Your nice, white shirt now had a fresh red stain, blood running down you chin, and you looked just like a well-to-do tourist who had run into the wrong crowd.

“Help!” You heard Jesper shout in Zemini right behind you, and eyes began to turn in your direction. “We’ve been attacked!”

“Somebody get help!” You followed up in a fake Zemini accent, which Jesper had earlier remarked upon as being scarily accurate. It was right then that the stadwatch patrol that you had been sent out to distract in the first place rounded the corner. “Guards! Help!”

The stadwatch turned to the source of the commotion, and rushed immediately over to you. That was something that they wouldn’t do if you were dressed in your regular Barrel attire.

“In Ghezen's name, what happened?” One of them exclaimed. Jesper began rambling in Zemini, doing a very good job of acting frantic with his hand on the tailored bruises around his eye and over his cheek. You caught a glimpse of Kaz emerging out of the next street down, completely unnoticed thanks to your distraction.

“Do you speak Kerch?” A guard asked you after being unable to get anything helpful out of Jesper.

“Yes, yes I speak Kerch.” You answered, straining your voice as if you were in pain. “They came out of nowhere, attacked us and stole our things.”

The guard reached out to move your shirt, and you let out a scream of pain to deter him. It worked and he jumped back, eyes wide and afraid.

“We need to get you to a medik.” He said quickly, and you nodded. You turned to Jesper and recited the Zemini sentence that you had practiced all morning, just incase an onlooker happened to actually be Zemini.

“Give me some help, I can't walk like this.” You said. He nodded, shaking his arm out of the grip of the other stadwatch guard and reaching out to pick you up. Practically effortless with all that farmer’s strength.

“Alright, follow us.” The guard said, but as he took the first step there was a deafening bang and a huge plume of smoke from the street around the corner.

Perfect timing, Wylan.

Panic overtook the street, the stadwatch guards turning their attention from you to the smoke rising over the buildings. They started shouting to the people around, trying to keep them calm.

Another blast sounded, and now people were running. Jesper set you down, and you patted over the pistol concealed in your jacket just in case.

“Let’s get moving.” Jesper said, as quietly as he could for you to still hear him over the commotion. You nodded, your heart beating fast as people stormed past you. You didn’t like big crowds, and there were more people here than it had initially appeared. There was a handkerchief in your pocket, and you took it out and wiped the fake blood off of your face.

The two of you began following the flow of the crowd, when suddenly there was a flash of light and a cloud of dust flew towards you as another blast went off up ahead.

That wasn’t part of the plan.

Your heart jumped and your breathing immediately quickened as the people who had been running that way now pressed back towards you. Jesper grabbed your arm, seeing the panic that was beginning to fill your eyes. The explosions weren’t creating any damage, just a loud bang and a lot of smoke, but these people didn’t know that and they wanted to get as far from them as possible as fast as possible.

“We’ll go around.” Jesper said, tugging on your arm to pull you after him as he made a beeline for the nearest alleyway.

Your heart was pounding in your ears as you let Jesper drag you through the alley onto the next street across, which was just as crowded with panicked people. He pulled you along behind him as he wove through the crowd towards the rendezvous point, your mind spinning and your chest tight. You didn’t even realise that you were there until he pushed you back against a wall and moved you to sit down on the ground.

“Hey, Y/N, look at me.” He said, a firm hand on your shoulder. “Deep breaths, okay?” He turned to look over his shoulder at Kaz and Wylan. “What happened? Why was there a third explosion?”

“Things didn’t go exactly according to plan.” Kaz replied. “We had to prolong the distraction to get away.”

“I always keep extra equipment on me; I gave it to Inej and told her to set it off further up from the bridge if we ran into trouble. It was the best option we had.” Wylan added.

“Right, well, tell that to Y/N's anxiety.” Jesper huffed.

“Jesper, you and Wylan have to keep going.” Kaz said.

“What? Look at Y/N, I’m not leaving-"

“Now, Jesper, or all of this has been for nothing.”

“But Y/N was supposed to come with us.” Wylan fretted.

“You’ll make it work. Now go, I’ll deal with Y/N.”

“This is my best friend, Kaz.” Jesper said, leaving your side to approach Kaz, practically squaring up to him. “This isn’t a problem you can solve with planning and scheming, this is a serious human issue and you don’t have a great record with those.”

“I have it handled, Jesper.” Kaz responded firmly.

“Go, Jesper.” You spoke up, elbows rested on drawn up knees, your chest rising and falling heavily. You nodded. “I’ll be fine.” He looked at you, concern on his face, but eventually sighed and nodded back.

“Alright.” He said, stepping back over and lightly patting your head comfortingly. “Come on, merchling.”

Jesper and Wylan moved on to the next step of the plan, leaving you and Kaz alone. He took a seat on the floor against the wall opposite you in the small space, his bad leg outstretched in front of him and his cane resting across his lap. You looked at him, the edges of your vision still blurry.

“I apologise for not warning you ahead of time.” He said after a moment. “I should have accounted for the fact that such a surprise would have a negative impact on you.”

Kaz was generally cold – unaffectionate and pragmatic – but you had a suspicion that he’d always secretly had a soft spot for you. He was considerate of your feelings; he was even almost nice to you when nobody else was around. You quite liked the Kaz that you got to see. It was different to the Kaz that Jesper always complained about.

“What could have possibly given the impression that I was impacted negatively?” You managed to joke, but you choked on your laugh as your body desperately tried to fill your lungs.

“Hey, look at me.” Kaz said before you could start hyperventilating again. “Put your knees down, open up your chest.” You complied, and your body thanked you for the action as some of the strain in your chest alleviated.

“Sometimes I wonder why the hell I put myself in these situations.” You panted.

“I did warn you against it, but you seemed determined to follow in Jesper's footsteps.” He replied. “You’ve made a pretty good go of it regardless. Hold your breath for a second, you’re still breathing too fast.”

You followed the instruction, drawing a deep breath and holding it in your chest for a few seconds, and when you let it out your breathing was slower.

“This is stupid.” You muttered. “I should be over this by now, it’s pathetic.”

“No it’s not.” Kaz said plainly. “It’s something you’ve experienced for a long time, it’s not just going to go away.”

“No one else let’s their problems get in the way on a job.”

“That’s not true, it just happens differently. You still have some fake blood on your face by the way.” It would be dry by now, no point trying to wipe it off with a handkerchief, so you simply shrugged.

“What does that mean, ‘it happens differently’?”

“If you pay close attention you’ll notice.” He answered vaguely. “Though, I know you’re very aware of the hurdle that the gambling halls pose to Jesper. That’s caused some trouble on jobs in the past.” You chuckled lightly, nodding in agreement.

You sat in silence for a while, focused on evening out your breathing. Kaz wasn’t good at dealing with emotions so you would expect that he wouldn’t be very good at dealing with your panic attacks, but actually his straightforward approach was pretty effective. Maybe his voice was just so commanding that even your anxiety couldn’t help but do what he said.

Generally, Kaz acted like the panic attack wasn’t happening. Just like today, other than to give you an instruction to calm you down he would just talk to you like he normally would. It was usually helpful, a good distraction or something like that.

There was one time, however, that Kaz had been more worried about you than you had thought was possible. It hadn’t been on a job, just a normal night at the Crow Club. You had been trying to drag Jesper away from the cards table when a fight had broken out. Being a member of the Dregs, and so technically a sort-of employee of the gambling hall, you had stepped in to try and break it up.

You weren’t intimidated by the fact that one of the men was at least twice your size, you had held your own against that before, and knowing that there was security that would step in soon had you assured that all would be fine. But when you placed a hand on one of the men’s shoulder – not the big guy, one of the other men in the fight – to try and stop him from going towards the man he had decided was his enemy, he had turned on you with such speed that you had no chance to defend yourself before his hand closed around your neck.

Your memory was a little spotty from that point on. You remembered being slammed against a wall, maybe even lifted off the ground. Jesper drew his gun, and you’re sure that if shooting customers wasn’t so frowned upon that he wouldn’t have hesitated to fire.

It didn’t last long. His outburst had effectively ended the fight that had been taking place and turned the attention of every assisting party to you. The man holding you had been taken down by a few swift hits from the hulking Dregs member that Kaz liked to have as security, and by that point Dirtyhands himself had been drawn out of his little office in the back by the commotion.

To hear Jesper tell it, it was like your body hadn’t realised that your airway was no longer being compressed and you just weren’t really breathing. Kaz had instructed Jesper and the security guard to get you up and into the back office before demanding an explanation from the person closest to him.

You didn’t see Kaz break the man’s hand with his cane, but you remember hearing the scream.

Once it was just you, Kaz and Jesper in the office, Kaz’s demeanor changed instantly. Not that you were really cognizant enough to notice right away, but Jesper wouldn’t shut up about it for a little while. What had seemed, while out on the floor of the gambling hall, just to be a Barrel boss squashing a disruption to his business and doling out payback on behalf of a friend turned into seething rage, which in turn became a constant look of concern as he intently watched Jesper coax you to start breathing properly.

Jesper had business to attend to later that night, so after a while it was just you and Kaz sat in the office. He fetched you a glass of water and sat with you until you were feeling better, never taking his eyes off of you. You had told him about your anxiety, but until then he had never seen it in full effect.

Since that day he had been more in tune with that part of you, learning how to tell when you were having a bad day and remembering what kinds if things made you panic. If he caught you when your anxiety was spiking he would stay and just talk to you. It was nice of him.

“Sit up straight.” Kaz said, and you were snapped out of your thoughts when you felt the tip of his cane pressing gently against your shoulder. You realised how far you had curled in on yourself and leaned back against the wall. Kaz had drilled it into your head that opening up your posture would help you breathe better, but sometimes you needed reminding anyway. “How are feeling?”

“Better.” You mumbled with a slight nod.

“How are the edges of your vision? Still fuzzy?”

“A tiny bit.” You answered, trying not to smile at the fact that he remembered how your vision went fuzzy when you had a panic attack. “If I ask you a question, will you answer me honestly?”

“Sure.”

“Why do you bother with me?” The question had been weighing on your mind for a long time, but in the past few weeks it had felt like it had been pressing for you to actually ask. You thought that Kaz liked you, but at the same you couldn’t think of a reason for that to be true.

“What do you mean by that?” Kaz asked, his head tilting a minuscule amount and his brow furrowing ever so slightly in curiosity.

“I mean, why do you keep me around? Why do you bring me on jobs? Why do you bother learning how to take care of me? Maybe at first it was for Jesper's sake but surely that can’t be the case now, so why?”

Kaz watched you for a moment, folded his hands in his lap and cleared his throat.

“You’re a valuable member of the team.” He answered matter-of-factly. “You work well with others, you’re a fast learner, you seem to genuinely enjoy being a member of the Dregs most of the time. As for why I’ve learned to take care of you, well, what kind of a leader would I be if I didn’t? You know me, I like to know everything that there possibly is to know when it comes to my business and my team.”

“Right.” You nodded. “That makes sense.”

“You don’t like that answer.”

“What?”

“I know you well enough to know what your face does when you’re unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“Don’t lie to me, Y/N. What is it that you wanted me to say?” His question made you feel suddenly quite embarrassed, and you averted you eyes with a shrug.

“I don’t know, I guess I just thought that maybe you actually liked me. You know, as a friend.” You mumbled. You glanced back at Kaz long enough to see the corner of his mouth twitch upwards.

“If I told you that I liked you, would it make you feel better?” He asked. He wasn’t being sarcastic or mocking you, but you still became even more embarrassed.

“Forget about it, it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling much better now so we should probably start moving-"

“Y/N.” Kaz interrupted, and you froze mid-motion of standing up. “I do like you, but I don’t have friends.”

He moved to stand up, and you finished getting to your feet. You watched him use his cane as leverage to get up off the floor, and if it had been anyone else but Kaz you would have offered a hand to help him up.

“You do too have friends.” You replied with a tiny smile. “You, Jesper and Inej are a trio of best friends if I’ve ever seen one.”

“I thought Jesper was your best friend.”

“People can have more than one best friend, Kaz.”

“The more friends you have, the more leverage your enemies have against you. That’s why I don’t have any.” He stated, taking the first step. You assumed that you would be heading to where he was supposed to meet Nina and Matthias. He was late – just how late you weren’t sure, the passage of time alluded you during panic attacks – but they probably weren’t all too worried.

“I think you just tell yourself that we’re not your friends so that you feel better about having a weak spot.” You said, teasing slightly. “Do you like me as much as you like Jesper?”

“I like you more than Jesper. You’re less of a thorn in my side.”

“Aw, Kaz! That’s so sweet.” You smiled. He scoffed.

“I take it you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Good.”

“Can I ask you one more question?” You inquired, and Kaz sighed before humming an agreement. “Do you maybe like me for a different reason than that I’m less annoying than Jesper?”

There was a beat of silence, and Kaz inhaled.

“I enjoy having you around.” He answered vaguely, but you could see in his eyes in the sidelong look that he gave you that it was deeper than that. You smiled, satisfied and not needing to push.

“Good. Me too.” You muttered, and the two of you continued walking, side by side.

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