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second-chance-stray · 3 years

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RP Log: Riylli is worried about Cravs.

Riylli Aliapoh knocks on the door to Cravs room, having grabbed some emergency drinks beforehand just in case. "...Cravs? You in there?" She called out, shuffling her feet awkwardly. "I was thinkin' we could talk a little? About the whole... plan, thingy..."

Cravendy Hound is right about to tuck into a pastry roll when Riylli knocks on the door. Panicking, she grabs the plate and hides it unceremoniously on the ground behind the bar. She then clears her throat and shouts to welcome the miqo'te in. "AH YEAH. I'm 'ere! To talk."

Riylli Aliapoh enters the room, drinks in hand, and gives it a look over. "...Huh. This place is a lot... Cozier than I expected." She muses, stepping further inside. "I was kinda expectin' it to just be a hammock. That's how you folks sleep in Limsa, right?" She asked, moving to take a seat by Cravs' minibar, realizing her grabbing drinks from upstairs may have been a little pointless

Cravendy Hound rolls her eyes. "Did ye expect my room to be an empty space with a hammock in the middle, then? Haha, yer right about 'em being common in Limsa, but mostly cause they're cheap and fit on boats." Behind her is an assortment of bottles, most half empty. She sets out two glasses and pours Riylli a bit of rum.

Cravendy Hound: "So, mind pourin' me a bit of what ye brought?" She eyes the drinks that Riylli has with her.

Riylli Aliapoh watches Cravs pour her a drink, then looks towards her own. "O-Oh, uh, this is just some stuff I grabbed upstairs... Sorry, I only remembered last minute you're supposed to bring gifts to peoples homes..." Riylli mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. Still, she picked up one of the bottles and pours Cravs out a shot. "It's just some mead. I didn't know what you liked but you brought that bottle yesterday so..."

Cravendy Hound chuckles, but accepts the mead anyway. "Word of advice. If yer regiftin' someone somethin' ye got for free, it's best to not let 'em know. I don't care, but a fancier fella like Mivo would."

Riylli Aliapoh 's cheeks coloured a bit at the gentle scolding. "...Sorry. I don't exactly care what that pompous shitehead thinks, but I'll make sure to bring you a proper housewarmin' gift next time!" She declares with a nod, taking the first sip of her drink. A strained expression on her face makes it obvious she is clearly struggling with it, but she manages to get it all down thankfully. "It's... good." She fibs

Cravendy Hound: "Yesterday I learned the guy ain't a thoroughbred, though 'e might talk like one. But anyway, enough about 'im. Look, Riylli, I literally don't expect anythin' of the sort. I'm not the type to get wound up over 'ousewarmin' gifts or proper etiquette." She gestures over to the pile of dirty dishes stacked on top of a barrel behind her to drive home the point.

Cravendy Hound picks up on Riylli's struggle and grins. "......well, if ye like it so much, 'ow about a refill?"

Riylli Aliapoh hesitates, but nods. "S...Sure." She says, trying her hardest to be a good houseguest. "And, I still wanna get you somethin'! I don't suppose you'd accept an animal pelt or something along those lines? That's usually what we Miqo'te gift when visiting other clans. Can use it as a rug!"

Cravendy Hound: "Could use a rug. Yeah, why don't ye bring me one?" Cravs grabs the bottle of rum and empties what little remains into Riylli's glass. She thinks for a second. "...would 'ave to be pretty big to be used as a rug. Ye 'untin' bears out there?"

Riylli Aliapoh: "Usually antelope and boars, but those won't do as a gift. I could totally get you a bear if that's what you want!" She says with a grin, picking up her glass and holding it for a moment. "Though... Might take a bit. I doubt Ava will let me use one I don't catch myself." She pauses to take a deep breath before once again downing her drink, trying to swallow it before she can taste it and making another face when that plan failed. "...Speaking of. I talked to her like I said, and she seems to agree that goin' about things the legal way is probably the best path... But... I sorta... I don't know." She shuffled in place awkwardly, before closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. "I... Don't think it's a good idea to go through those... 'friends' of yours..."

Cravendy Hound: "Well, be careful? Bears are no joke, and 'onestly...ye'll 'ave the Elementals to worry about too. Stupid forest ghosts sent a buncha bees after me, even though it was just a misunderstandin' on my part." Cravs twitches and looks around herself. "They can't 'ear me in 'ere, can they? Shit. I mean, the blessed, all-mighty Elementals."

Cravendy Hound leans back and focuses on the bits of dust caught on the edge of her glass, the topic change putting her a bit on edge. She sighs. "Well, what do ye suggest then? Go diggin' for a different crime to catch Mindred with?"

Riylli Aliapoh shrunk a bit, feeling the change in the atmosphere. Though Cravs could not see from behind the bar, her tail had ended up in her lap and she was nervously fiddling with it. "I... Don't know. I don't think I have any suggestions really... I just... Don't like the idea of you getting close to them again." She mumbles, deciding the nearby plant had become rather interesting and keeping her eyes on it instead of Cravs. "But... I'm sure we can think of something, right?"

Cravendy Hound raised a brow. Was Riylli...worried? Or jealous? Both, neither, something else altogether? Either way, Cravs was having trouble reading Riylli's reaction. "Eh? Oh, uh, they're really not that bad. I'm sure if ye met 'em ye'd change yer mind. And it's not like I'm plannin' on goin' back to piratin' full time anyhow, I've got responsibilities 'ere now."

Riylli Aliapoh raised an eyebrow, not in disbelief but in curiosity. "They... Aint? But I thought..." She hesitates, not really sure how to put her words together. "Um... Tell me about them then? If they really aint bad, then we can go through them. Just... I don't want you going back to... Y'know..." She mumbled, hoping the implication was enough for her to avoid mentioning anything specific.

Cravendy Hound: "A bandit's a bandit until ye get to know 'em. Not sayin' they ain't crass, violent, or dumb as 'ell sometimes, but at the end of the day, they're just people who value....freedom," Cravs tries, as she attempts to present them in the best light possible. "Don't go lookin' for 'em yerself though. Seriously."

Cravendy Hound tilts her head as she tries to complete Riylli's thought. "...don't know if I can make any promises. I'm naturally....well, I'm not particularly good at bein' good."

Riylli Aliapoh makes a face. "Violent is what I'm worried about... There are plenty of Miqo'te clans and tribes that aren't afraid to kill if someone trespasses or goes against their laws, but... They don't go lookin' for trouble like bandit groups do." She says, before Cravs speaks again. Her frown returns, "That aint true! I know you're a good person! That's why you helped build Dirtpatch back up, and that's why you're helpin' keep Baldur safe to begin with!" She insisted, something about the Roegadyns words seeming to strike a nerve. "Your past don't matter to me, but... I can't let you go back to being bad. So... Please, if working with those people might push you back on that path, can't we just find another way..?" The anger in her voice wavered near the end as she made her plea, a hint of fear in her eyes

Cravendy Hound is silent for a moment. She downs her mead and holds her glass upside down in her hand as she looks away. This isn't the first time she's heard something like this, and every time her gut reaction is disbelief. She can't shake the feeling that she's fooling everyone. Pretending. It'd be easier if no one put their trust in her, let her flail about without pressure.

Cravendy Hound: "I am...already...that's." She shakes her head. "Okay. If we can find another way. But if we can't, well. Then I wouldn't be opposed to bringin' ye along, if yer up for meetin' some unsavory saltfolk."

Riylli Aliapoh's eyes light up. "...Really?" She hops to her feet suddenly, leaning against the bar counter excitedly and absolutely not standing on her toes to do so. "Yeah! We'll come up with a great plan! And, if not, then I'll be there with you when we meet 'em to keep you safe!" She declares, grinning wide enough to show off her fangs. "Rising can help us come up with somethin' clever I bet, I always hear those folk up in Idyllshire are supposed to be smart after all, so maybe some of that rubbed off on her!"

Cravendy Hound lets out a well-meaning laugh at the thought of Riylli and Rising keeping her safe. "Wha? Pf, if I bring ye two to meet 'em, I'll be the one on babysittin' duty! I'm worried one of ye'll rub one of 'em the wrong way!"

Cravendy Hound: "Does it work that way? Don't think I ever get any smarter from talkin' with Lin..."

Riylli Aliapoh: "Course it does! You've learned stuff about earth magic from hangin' around me, haven't you?" She asked, a question that clearly only had one safe answer. "If anythin' bad happens with them, Rising and I can handle ourselves! I aint scared of wannabe bandits, no way they can live up to what we got in the shroud! But... Anyroad. As long as they don't try to pull you back into their mess, I won't start nothing. Even if I really want to."

Cravendy Hound shakes her head with a grin. "Ayyye, I'm really startin' to regret agreein' to this...it's like take yer kid to work day. Ye'll, uhh. Ah," She pauses and a slight blush crosses over her face. "I've got a reputation to uphold in that group, okay? Ye guys see a real soft side to me, but they don't, so don't say anythin' embarassin' and leave most of the talkin' to me when it 'appens!"

Cravendy Hound: "Oi, I've done a lot of watchin', but not a lot of learnin'. And tossin' a rock with my 'ands doesn't count as earth magic!"

Riylli Aliapoh 's cheek colour. "I-I aint a kid! It'll be fine dammit!" She huffed, Cravs striking a nerve. "Though, I aint gonna let them try to say bad things about you, reputation be damned. That's why I'm goin' really, to make sure you remember that you aint that person anymore. Er... But we won't go! We'll come up with a better plan, remember? Solve it the 'lawful' way!" She said with another nod. "Or... At least a way not involvin' them."

Cravendy Hound: "Haha, yeah, that's right. Let's 'ope for the best then," Cravs answers. She doesn't want to get her hopes up, but Riylli makes that hard. "....Wait. Are ye actually a kid? I don't remember if I ever asked yer age."

Cravendy Hound: "Always thought ye were 22 or 24. But maybe...Gods, don't tell me yer actually...older than me..." Cravs trails off, pale as a sheet.

Riylli Aliapoh crosses her arms, giving Cravs a glare. "I said I aint! I'm an adult dammit, this is my twentieth summer." She mutters, daring Cravs to try and say something further about it. "Just because I'm shorter than you doesn't make me a kid. Everyones shorter than you!"

Cravendy Hound lets out a sigh of relief. Then: "Risin' ain't shorter than me."

Riylli Aliapoh: "She aint?" Riylli has to pause to think about it for a moment, it was rather hard to tell from her perspective. "Well, everyone not a Roegadyn then. My point still stands! Don't treat me like a kid just because I'm a Miqo'te, it's not my fault I wasn't born a giant like you!"

Cravendy Hound: "I think she's a little taller than me. Or maybe I'm gettin' mixed up with 'er lance. Eh." She shrugs. "I ain't treatin' ye like a kid! It'd just feel weird if ye were older than me is all!"

Riylli Aliapoh keeps her arms crossed, eyeing Cravs suspiciously for a few moments more before finally nodding. "...Good. We Miqo'te get looked down on all the time, but even if you're my friend I aint gonna let you do it too! It's gettin' late for you though, yeah? Should we make plans to meet up with Rising later to brainstorm? Can get drinks at the same time!" She said, flashing Cravs another bright grin

Cravendy Hound: "'ow else can I look at ye? Yer all the way down there!" Cravs teases, shooting Riylli a smug wink. "Hah, sounds like a plan. Best ideas come while drunk!"

Riylli Aliapoh glares back at Cravs. "Very funny. We'll meet up later then." She says, turning to leave. She opens the door only to pause for a moment, then turning to flash Cravs one final grin. "Enjoy your pastry!" She says, sending Cravs a smug wink of her own as she taps her nose and quickly disappears out the door.

Cravendy Hound 's eyes go wide and her mouth opens to shout something back, but Riylli is gone before she can get anything out. Damnit, how long did she know?! Cravs groans.

#ff14 rp logs #Cravendy Hound #Riylli Aliapoh #the idea of putting food on the floor will always amuse me #that and food in your pockets

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flamehairedwritings · 3 years

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The Fire In Your Eyes: Chapter Thirty

Characters: Arthur Morgan x Original Female Character

Rating: The whole series will be E, 18+ ONLY for violence, gore, character deaths, animal deaths, parent deaths, swearing, grief, sexual themes and unprotected sex, mentions of miscarriage, hanging.

Summary: Saved by Arthur Morgan when her town is attacked, a young woman’s past comes back to haunt her when she has no choice but to join the Van der Linde Gang.

Some scenes and dialogue have been taken from the game!

Read on AO3

The Fire In Your Eyes Masterlist

Please don’t copy, steal or re-post my work; credit does not count.

Epilogue

The sky was beautiful, a light blue and a dusky pink in some areas, orange in others.

Ada gazed at the colours, watching the sun slowly set behind the hills far away. All around her, crickets trilled gently and birds whistled softly. It was so still, so peaceful.

Folding her arms, she rubbed at one of them lightly, looking towards the faint outline of the mountains beyond the hills, Mount Hagen somewhere amongst them.

She hadn’t wanted to die. The moment the bullet had passed through Dutch to her, the numbness had fallen away, crumbled, and she knew she wanted to live. So fiercely she wanted to live, and it was all that had gone round and round in her mind as Arthur had taken her down to Valentine. Coming in and out of consciousness, she’d felt terrifying waves of fear, anger, grief, denial, and, in one moment, she truly thought she had died as finally peace had suddenly washed over her.

A corner of her mouth lifted a little. Morphine would do that.

Somehow, deep in her mind, she’d always known that the final moments on the mountain was what it would come down to; her or Dutch, one way or another. And, once upon a time, she wouldn’t have known what decision he’d have made.

They hadn’t spoken about what had happened since the night before they’d returned home. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t, not yet... though she’d had to with Thom, barely an hour after they’d arrived, in fact.

That had been a week ago, and he and Charlotte had left the next day, the former still cold towards her, the latter reluctant and apologetic.

“He just needs time,” her sister-in-law had murmured to her as they’d embraced, her lovely features full of concern for both of the O’Driscoll siblings.

“I know.”

Ada wasn’t angry at him, though, and she certainly didn’t blame him for being so, either.

Mercifully, they’d managed to prevent Millie from catching on to anything that had happened, despite the heated argument. She just thought her mother had caught a cold and bruised her stomach so “gentle hugs for a little while, angel.”

While she couldn’t help but dwell on her brother and his hissed words to her, full of a venom of a former self, there had been some bright moments since then, and not just from Millie making her laugh every day. John had written, telling them he’d wasted no time in asking Abigail to marry him... and she’d said yes. Ada had cried into her morning cup of tea while Arthur had grinned and grinned, reading the words over and over.

The wedding was due to be in a week’s time, and, as a result of her now strained relationship with her brother, Millie would be going with them, something the little girl was very excited about. Ada and Arthur didn’t think they could ever be separated from her again, anyway. Sadie and Charles would be there, too, naturally, and it was nice, having something to look forward to.

She should feel well enough to ride by herself, then, too, even though they’d take the wagon for Millie’s comfort. Her wound was healing, slowly, but healing. The first few days after they’d returned she’d just slept and eaten and drunk and slept, more exhausted than she had known, the argument with Thom having not exactly helped.

And, through it all, Arthur had been... well, Arthur. She’d never loved him more than she did right now. He’d tended to her, looked after Millie and kept her entertained, looked after the animals and had even started drawing up plans for the new stable. She’d catch the way he’d looked at her sometimes, though; sometimes grateful, other times like he was afraid, like he was reliving the days in Valentine, like he’d been reminded once again of how very much human they were.

They would just be brief moments, though, and then he would smile, fear turning to love. She knew he was waiting for a sign of melancholia, too, but none came. She’d learned to not just wait around for the spells or dwell on the possibility of them, knowing that, though they would come, they would also go, as surely as night turned to day, and life would continue on as it always did.

“Well, if that ain’t the prettiest sight in all the land. Sun ain’t bad either.”

Her lips twitched as Arthur pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his arms sliding around her. She leaned back against his chest with a quiet sigh, her hands settling over his.

“How long did it take you to think of that one?”

“‘bout thirty minutes. I’ve been stood by the window just starin’ at you.”

She laughed, the fingers on one hand lacing with his. “Wow, quicker than last time.”

“Yeah, I’m gettin’ there.”

Ada laughed again, and he smiled, pressing another kiss to the top of her head.

“You okay?” he murmured into her hair, and she nodded, tilting her head to lean it back against his shoulder.

“Yeah.” She traced light, absent-minded patterns on the back of his hand with a finger tip, the sky now turning from dusky pink to fiery red. “There’s gonna be good weather tomorrow.”

“Looks so. I was thinkin’ of goin’ out tomorrow, doin’ some huntin’ while Millie is havin’ her lessons with Martha.” His chin rested on her shoulder as he rocked her slightly. “Thought maybe you’d like to join me, if you feel up to it.”

He had to lift his head a little as she turned hers, smiling softly at him. “I’d love to.”

“All righ’. You can hold my coat while I shoot down that Grizzly that’s been spotted, I think I can get ‘im...”

Ada shook her head as she turned in his arms to face him, her lips twitching. “You’re a very funny man.”

His smile was wide, very much pleased with himself. “I know that by how much you laugh.”

“I should stop encouraging you.”

“Oh, you can try, sweetheart, but I see miserable failure...” he murmured, lowering his head towards hers.

And he was right. She couldn’t stop her smile as he captured her lips in a tender kiss, his fingers splaying across her back. Barely moments later, her arms slid up and draped around his neck, her lips moving slowly against his. He teased her for a few moments, his tongue gliding against her mouth, and just as a soft sound came from the back of her throat, he pulled away, one corner of his mouth higher than the other.

“C’mon, there’s still a God damn load of cake left that I am not lettin’ go to waste.”

“You and your insatiable appetite, Mr Morgan.”

He grinned at her as he took her hand, their fingers lacing together. “Oh, I’m insatiable all righ’, Mrs Morgan.”

And she failed again.

Her laugh was carried across their land by the gentle breeze, lifting it through the trees and into the air as she followed her husband into their home.

And life continued on.

The End

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I just wanted to take a few moments to thank each and every one of you for reading this story. I spent about a year planning it and writing the first half, then as lockdown here came in March, I thought why the heck don’t I just start posting it? And here we are, thirty chapters later!! I can’t quite believe I’ve done it, this is the first series I ever started writing and my longest to date.

I want to say a special, huge and just brimming with love thank you to those who have commented. You genuinely kept me going at times and I really can’t thank you enough, you all hold such a special place in my heart.

I’m sorry for making you all wait so long for the final two chapters! I wanted to make sure I was happy with them and that they were the best they could be. I’ve loved living in this world and thinking about Ada and Arthur and I really don’t want it to end... and I’m not quite done yet! I have a short story planned for Thom and Charlotte that will involve Ada and Arthur, their wedding and Millie, and so much more, and maybe some other stories in the future, too...

Thank you so, so much, everyone, I hope you’re all doing okay in these trying times, that you have a lovely day and end of the year, and 2021 brings you all that you hope for.

All the best x

Ghosts of Ourselves — 2021

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Comments and reblogs make my day in a way I can’t describe.

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged or untagged in this series!

Questions?

Tagged: @belfry-bat, @sistasarah-sallysaidso, @ntlmundy, @monster363, @cowboisadness

#arthur morgan x original female character #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x original character #arthur morgan x oc #arthur morgan x ofc #rdr2 fic #my writing #flamehairedwritings

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theokotrain · 3 years

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Vestige - Interlude: The Party

Wattpad Version

As the night fills the sky

All my fears are dissipating

'Cause I feel reassured

That I might make it through

And if all my luck should burn

Then I guess it burned for you

---

April 13th, 2012

I was sitting on my bed, back against the bed frame with my knees raised in front of me, holding up my laptop. I had been spending the last few hours writing an essay for my English class, specifically answering the topic question my teacher had given everybody: "How do our past experiences influence our decisions?". The question was simple enough, it's a pretty universally recognized idea that stuff that happens to us has an effect on our decision making. I mean, that's what it means to grow, right? You gain more knowledge as you live through life and form new memories, and that helps you make more informed decisions in the future.

I've never really been too good at writing anything analytical, especially non-fiction. Essays and research papers that required informed arguments that helped to prove your point? Those were an entirely unknown game to me, one which I had never managed to breeze through. Of course, we were supposed to use some of the books we've read this year as evidence for our arguments, so that at least made it a bit easier, even if most of the books were ones from nearly five decades ago and definitely out of touch at this point. The sound of my laptop's keys clicking as I typed away were the only sounds I could pick up in the room. I had my earphones in for a bit, but those always hurt my ears after a while, so I had taken them out.

Looking at the time in the corner of my laptop screen, it was 4:43 PM. I started writing as soon as I got home from class, so I've only been going for about an hour. Unfortunately, this essay is a non-insignificant amount of my course grade, so I needed to finish this as soon as possible.

God, it's a Friday! I could be out doing something actually fun with Shae and the other guys. Isn't that the whole point of high school? That's what it always seemed like in movies, at least, but I guess I've been a victim of false advertising.

After a bit more time passes, the sound of my phone ringing from my desk brings me out of my writing trance. I sigh, setting my laptop next to me on the bed, not wanting to get out of bed, but eventually forcing myself into maneuvering over to the desk, I grab the phone and flip it open, looking to see the Caller ID.

Shaela.

I instantly accept the call, it's almost second nature at this point. She calls me at least once a day so she can tell me about whatever person is pissing her off that day, or whatever drama she's heard from her other friends. I was never really one for gossip, or whatever, but I did appreciate talking to her.

I put the phone up to my ear, "What's up?" I say, a tinge of fatigue in my voice.

"Hey! Just warning you that I'm like five minutes from your place and you don't have a say in the matter." She replied bluntly. I can hear the sound of cars driving by on the other side of the phone, so she's obviously outside, confirming her words.

I take a deep breath before speaking, "...Why?" I said with exasperated sarcasm.

"Because! I have something to tell you, and if I say it over the phone then I seriously doubt it'll work out in the way I'm hoping it does."

"That clears up nothing, actually, and now I regret picking up."

"Even if you didn't answer, that doesn't stop your parents from letting their son's lovely goody-two-shoes of a friend stop by for a visit!" She exclaimed, a mischievous tone subtly layered in her voice.

She's not wrong.

"Wow, you make this sound like you're sneaking into a high-security building or something." I say, utterly confused at her motives. "Obviously you can come over, but I'm not exactly filled with confidence at whatever you're planning."

"Like I said, I can't tell you yet, but it's gonna be awesome!" She said. There was an unusual perkiness to her that made itself pretty clear over the phone.

Before I can say anything, I'm met with the dial tone, signalling that she had hung up. The only thing I can do at this point is wait for her to get here, I guess. She always lets herself in when she comes over, so I don't make the effort to meet her downstairs. A sudden ping sound fills the quiet room, seeming to come from my laptop. I get back into bed, looking to see where the notification came from.

It's a message from Tyler.

He's definitely the newest member of our little group, if even that. I'm the only person in the group that he's actually friends with so far, despite my efforts to bring him along on any plans we all make. I only met the Grey Wolf back in February, at the beginning of the second semester, in the school's photography class. Nobody I knew signed up for it, and due to our prestigious high school's advanced budget for technology, we were forced to be paired up for shared computer use in the Photography Room. I suppose Tyler was also fortunate enough to not know anybody in the class, as we ended up being paired together by the teacher. He was definitely someone I could only describe as uninterested, as the first week or two I spent with him in that class consisted of him either giving me one word answers or answering in the most blunt, bored tone he could manage. Though, it seemed that it took a bit of persistence on my part to push him to be more open, and since then he's grown to be a pretty great friend.

Tyler: u goin to that party tonight ive been hearin about?

Party? I wasn't made aware of anything like that, at least... not yet. Something in the back of my brain was telling me that Shae had ulterior motives about coming to my place so suddenly, but I'm still hoping that I'm wrong. I hate parties.

Jake: party? havent heard anything, are u going?

Tyler: thinkin about it

think its gonna be over at chris's place, guess his parents r gone for the weekend or somethin

Jake: chrisssss? ughh that guy is such an asshole

Tyler: yeah u dont havee to go, but itd prob be more fun to have someone u actually know there

The way he worded that was directed at me, but I could tell he didn't want to go on his own.

Jake: i guess ill think about it

Tyler: sickk, call me if u make up ur mind

Before I can type my farewells over IM, Shaela energetically bursts through the door.

"Jesus! You scared the shit outta me, don't you knock?" I said, mildly exasperated.

"Oh come on, I literally called you a few minutes ago, you had plenty of time to not make a situation where it'd be a bad idea for me to barge in," She replies, laughing, before setting her bag on the ground and dramatically falling into my bed. "Today was garbage."

"What happened?"

"Ugh, Claire decided to just not show up, I guess, on the day we're supposed to present that stupid History project? And, obviously, she didn't give me her part of the project or anything, so I had tell Mr Thomas about the situation, which was fucking embarrassing." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Luckily, he said he wouldn't reduce my grade for handing it in late, since I actually had my part finished. God, what a bitch- I must've called her like thirty times before class to get her to email me her part, and every time it went straight to voicemail - and she told me last night that she'd have it ready for today!"

"Have you gotten a hold of her yet?" I asked, closing my laptop and setting it beside me.

Shae turns her head to me, shaking her head, "Nope, she's been ghosting me all day."

"Sounds like typical Claire."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have partnered with her, but apparently I can't say no to anyone, so..." I chuckle lightly in response. "Anyways! I didn't just come here to complain to you!" She says, sitting up on the bed, now facing towards me.

"Right... So what was so important that you just had to tell me in person?" I say, sarcastically.

"Like I said, if I asked you over the phone you would've definitely said no, and my ability to pressure you into doing things isn't as effective unless it's in person!" She responded.

I subtly rolled my eyes, but it's clear she noticed from the stare-down she gave me, "Okay, so what is it?"

"Soooooo..." She says, trying to find the rest of the words, "There's a party."

Wow.

"Wh- did everybody know about that party except for me?!?" I exclaimed.

Shaela's face quickly turns to an expression of shock, "Who told you?"

"Tyler did, like, not even five minutes ago." I say, bluntly.

"What? How does he know Chris?"

"Friend-of-a-friend, I'm guessing?"

"Hmm..." She hummed, thinking about something, "So, did you tell him you were going?"

"I specifically said I'd think about it, nothing definite." I made it clear in my tone that I wasn't particularly interested.

"Oh, come on, dude! It'll be fun!"

I didn't really have an interest in going, but I know it'd make Shae happy, plus it'd be nice to hang out with Tyler again even if we've only known each other for a couple months.

"...Fine. But, if Chris or any of his buddies start shit, I'm leaving."

"Awesome!"

"Lemme just call Tyler and let him know," I said as I grabbed my phone and flipped it open, finding Tyler in my contact list and dialling.

"You gonna bring him with-" The phone rings a few times before he picks up and I extend my hand out towards Shae in a shushing motion. She rolls her eyes, smirking.

"Hey? So are ya gonna go?" He said eagerly.

"Well, Shae showed up at my door literally right after you messaged me, asking the same thing!" I exclaimed in a fake-preppy voice. "So, I guess I have no choice since she'll probably just drag me there if I say no," I joked. She nods her head toward me in response.

"Oh, is she going too?" He inquired.

"Yeah, I guess so! Your place is kinda on the way to Chris', so we could probably meet you at your place and go from there."

"Yeah! Sounds good!" He quickly responded.

I laughed, "Okay, we'll call you when we get there?"

"Sure thing!"

We exchanged our farewells, and hung up. The party wasn't for at least another hour or two, so Shae and I had some time to burn, of which I was entirely out of ideas. I figured I could at least spend this time actually being productive, so I grabbed my laptop and continued on writing my English essay as Shae resumed her previous conversation topic of stuff at school that was pissing her off. It was pretty entertaining, to be fair. She was telling me about how Chris had gotten in a fight with this other kid in our grade yesterday after class, which I wasn't lucky enough to witness, but it was obviously all anyone would talk about for basically the entire day today so word spread around fast. The part I hadn't heard about was that both Chris and the other guy, Nathan, got suspended for a week because of it. Chris was generally an asshole to everybody, including myself, so I didn't feel too bad about that. Although, I didn't know Nathan all that well. Other than having a few classes together, I don't think I've ever held an actual conversation with the guy. I think it was safe to assume that Chris was the one who started it, and Shae seemed to agree with me, even though she hadn't seen the fight either.

"But, apparently Nathan's gonna show up tonight!" She exclaimed coyly.

"...Remind me again why you want me to go to this specific party?"

"You'll have a great time! It's not like we'll be involved in the drama anyway so think of it more as entertainment!"

"I think you and I have different definitions of the word 'entertainment'," I joked.

"I'm sure you can go run off somewhere with Tyler if you're not having fun," She said, her tone reminding me of my mom.

"Oh yeah? What about you?"

"I can't just leave Alex at a party with Chris, those two start shit between each other so much and I'd rather not deal with the aftermath of that today."

"I'm guessing it's safe to assume that Elliot's going too, then?"

"He's not big on parties, but he'll usually go if everyone else is, unlike somebody," She says, gesturing towards me.

"Good one," I reply, unmoving as I keep typing away at my assignment.

"Well, we should probably leave soon since we're stopping at Tyler's place on the way.

I saved the document I had been working on, closing my laptop. "Sounds good to me!"

---

"I can't believe you actually agreed to go." Tyler joked as we walked towards the road from his house.

"Yeah, me either." I replied. I definitely didn't put in any effort in dressing up for the party, opting for a snug space-themed graphic tee, along with black jeans and a white zip-up hoodie. Shae and Tyler both stand on opposite sides of me as we walk down the sidewalk.

"Luckily I learned the subtle techniques in convincing you to do things against your better judgement, so now you get to have fun for once!" Shae exclaimed.

"It's not my fault that going to a party is literally the last thing on earth I'd do for fun in any normal situation." I retorted, putting my hands in the pockets of my jacket.

"Oh yeah? And what do you consider a 'normal situation'?" Shae asks.

"Any situation where you guys aren't the ones trying to get me to go! I'm only doing this for you two, y'know." I said, looking over at both of them.

"What about Elliot and Alex?" Tyler chimed in.

"They aren't the ones asking me to go to this party." I sarcastically remarked, trying to keep the conversation light-hearted. "Speaking of the party- this is Chris we're talking about, there's gonna be beer, right?"

"Uh, duh?" Shae replied.

"Yeah, that's a definite no for me, I'm already enough of a disappointment to my parents,"

"No one's making you drink, Jake. At least you'd be safe if some old hag called the cops about the noise." Shae said.

"I think at that point we're guilty by association, so we'd just make a run for it if that happens," Tyler joked.

"Dude, the chance of me outrunning a police officer successfully is about as likely as me not wanting to punch Chris tonight."

"And the chance of you winning that fight is just as low!" Shae retorted, Tyler laughing in response.

"I specifically said 'want' because of that very reason!"

"Wow, I'd pay money to see you fight that guy." Tyler said, nudging his elbow into my side.

It isn't a secret that I'm not exactly athletic. I mean, I'm definitely not weak, but fighting basically any animal of a similar size to mine was not a situation that favoured my victory.

"That sounds more like just getting the shit kicked outta me for your entertainment." I remarked, lightly punching Tyler's shoulder in return.

"Absolutely worth every penny!" Shae exclaimed. Luckily, the place wasn't any more than ten minutes away from Tyler's place, so I didn't have to endure listening to these two talk about me getting beat up for much longer.

We finally make it to Chris' house, and I'm suddenly filled with an impending sense of regret. Obviously, my parents would never in a million years agree to me going to a party like this. As far as they know, I'm just spending the evening hanging out with Shae at Tyler's house. So yeah, this entire night had a lot of potential for disaster.

Shae can clearly see my hesitation, because she grabs my hand, leading me up the walkway, Tyler following closely behind.

"I wonder if Elliot and Alex beat us here?" She says, knocking on the front door.

"I doubt they had anything to do earlier, hell they probably came straight here after school, knowing Alex." I said, laughing.

Our conversation is cut short by the opening door, revealing the familiar black cat.

"Oh, look, the Stephenson kid brought his girlfriend!" Chris exclaimed mockingly, looking back into the house, before peering around my shoulder, "And... Tyler?" He said, inquisitively.

I lean over, blocking Tyler from his line of sight, "Yeah, hey, not dating by the way!" I said. I've known Shae since I first moved to Vestige, around the time I turned five years old, so it wasn't uncommon for rumours to go around that we were dating. I've always thought of her more as a sister, if anything.

"I asked them to come!" Tyler said. That was only partly true, but according to Tyler, they've been 'somewhat-friends' for quite a while now, so saying that would at least mean less mild-harassment from Chris for tonight.

"Oh, uh, okay... come on in! But you're on the hook for any shit they pull, Tyler!" He said, opening the door wider.

---

The party had been going on for a few hours at this point. I could recognize most of the animals here from school, but not enough to actually hold a conversation with any of them, so most of my time here had just been spent with Shae and Tyler. The place hasn't been incredibly crowded luckily, but there were easily about forty others in this part of the house alone. I'm assuming only high school grades were invited, but there were a considerable number of students to meet that requirement. The issue at hand for me, other than how crowded this place is, is that both Shae and Tyler ditched me to go... somewhere? I think Shae saw some of her friends and went somewhere with them, but Tyler was pretty secretive about where he was going, only telling me that he'd be back in a bit. So I've been standing here in this random corner of the house with a drink in hand, trying to make myself look busy and not awkward, which is exactly why I didn't want to go to this party in the first place!

"Jake!" A voice shouted from a ways away.

I turn my head in confusion, revealing Alex, walking towards me from across the room.

"Oh, Alex! Hey! What's up dude!" I finish the last bit of my soda, waving at him. Because this was Chris' party, there was obviously beer too, but I didn't feel like coming home drunk and my parents finding out.

"I didn't think you'd wanna come to something like this! Feeling the regret yet?"

"I like parties! It's the times like these when I'm standing in a corner by myself with nothing to do that I hate, which seems to happen every time I go to a party!" I exclaimed, pausing for a moment. "Okay, maybe I do hate parties- I've had to explain this so many times today I'm about ready to jump into Lake Ambuscade."

' "Wow, sounds like somebody needs to socialize instead of stewing in a corner for the rest of the night!"

"Socialize? Really? I know just about everybody here and just about none of them are worth talking-"

"Hang with me and Elliot, then? Justin set up some racing games in the other room, we were gonna join, but we could use a fourth... You in?" He said, his tone obviously trying to sound coercing.

"God, please, anything to get me out of this corner for the next three hours." I said, Alex returning my words with a laugh.

"Well, come on then! We'll have to hurry if we want to get one of the good controllers!" He exclaimed, motioning to follow him.

As we move through the various cliques, I recognize a few faces here and there, though not enough to actually want to talk to them. There's been music playing since we got here, and I have yet to recognize a single song, they all seem to be some form of drone-y bass-heavy music that I can't say I've heard in any normal situations. I'm doing my best to follow Alex, although he keeps weaving between the other animals faster than I can keep up, resulting in me having to shove past everyone near me in an effort to speed myself up. Luckily, it seems that no one notices me anyway.

When we arrive in the other room, it seems to just be another living room, but decorated with a galore of punk band posters, shelves holding more DVD cases than I would ever care to count, and even a mini-fridge. Maybe Chris is the type to have a 'man cave' or something? Just hearing that phrase almost makes me want to vomit, but there aren't any more accurate words that come to mind. The room isn't massive or anything, but the TV resting upon the wall across the room seems to challenge that idea, looking almost eighty inches in size. Luckily no randoms from the party were in here, sitting about ten feet away from the TV is Elliot, leaning back in a purple bean bag chair that seems almost three times bigger than him, and Justin, the cougar I'd only known slightly through Alex, laying down sideways on the couch directly in front of the gigantic screen.

"Whatttt! You took the bean bag chair? Lameee..." Alex whined.

"You're the one who wanted to go get Jake, you snooze you lose!" Elliot retorted, looking oddly proud of himself.

"Damn, wish I had a room like this at my house..." I mumbled, looking around the room.

"Are we gonna play or what?" Justin said, cutting through the momentary silence.

"Duh!" Alex claimed.

Justin sits up, taking the spot on the couch closest to Elliot. I opt for the leftmost seat, and Alex sits in-between the both of us. Elliot grabs the other three controllers and tosses them over at us, one by one. Luckily, there weren't any garbage third-party controllers, so at least none of us would have to deal with that. I will admit, it did feel kinda weird going to someone's party just to play games away from everybody, but I would be lying if I said I didn't prefer that, even though I rarely play games, if ever.

After Justin turns the console on, he goes through the menus, launching the game. I can't say I recognize the title, but it seems to be a pretty standard racing game. He goes into the custom mode, opting for a four-player split-screen match, choosing 'R1' as the category of cars to race in. As everyone chooses their cars, I scroll through the list, not really knowing what to pick. I've never been good with car stuff, so I pick an 'Aston Martin Lola' just based on the number-rating system the game ranks the cars with.

"You guys ready?" Justin asks.

"Oh yeah, get ready to eat my dust you guys!" Elliot exclaims, challengingly.

"Oddly prideful words for someone about to lose!" Alex replies, laughing.

The countdown begins, as the cameras slowly show the view of each car as it moves to the rear. When it starts, I somehow manage the fuckup of spinning my tires out, leaving me a few seconds behind the others as the car swerves back and forth. I curse under my breath as I try to regain control of the car, and swiftly pick up speed. The track seems like nothing I haven't seen before, a typical professional track, with rows and rows of audience seating to the side. Unfortunately, I'm now in last place. The next few moments of the track are a few quick corners, allowing me the chance to catch up, at least a little.

Unexpectedly, the track turns off of the main road, going into a forested area. The road is considerably more narrow at this point, so it takes a conscious effort to not drive into the trees by the asphalt. It looks like the road stretches on forever, as I still can't make out any upcoming turns. I guess the car I chose for the race had a better top speed than Justin's, as I'm quickly catching up to him, moving into third place. I'm gripping my controller to an uncomfortable degree, but I can't seem to relax the tension as I try to make my way into second place. I don't think I can pick up any more speed in this car, so me moving up is reliant on the road staying straight for just a bit longer. After what feels like a lifetime, the front of my car finally starts making it past Elliot's, then the midsection, and finally, I'm in second. The sound of all four car engines is drowning out any remnants of the video game music, and I feel the sudden urge to curse out whoever turned the TV volume up this high. My eyes are focused entirely on Alex's car as I make my final push into first place. If I were actually driving this fast in the real world, I'd be scared out of my fucking mind. Out of nowhere, Alex, and the others, begins to slow down considerably.

Oh fuck.

It's at that point I notice that there is a sharp right turn rapidly approaching. I've been pushing the top-speed of this car since the beginning of this stretch of road, and now I'm going too quickly to stop in time. What's the button to use the handbrake, again? I figure that the only way for me to not fuck up this race for myself is to try to drift around the corner. Considering I've never played this game before, it's going to prove to be a challenge. But, it's either that, or just ending up in dead-last again.

I hold down the A button, and pull the joystick as far to the right as possible. Suddenly, all I can hear from the game is the loud skidding sounds of my tires against the asphalt. To my surprise, I cut the corner a bit early, now going over the grass. I try to do a bit of directional-corrections and start heading back onto the track. Going over the grass definitely slowed me down a fair bit, but it definitely was a significantly better outcome over just crashing into the wall. And, to my surprise, the corner of my screen reads... first?!?

"How the fuck...?" Alex questions, seemingly in disbelief.

"I wish I could tell you." I replied, eyes wide at whatever the fuck just happened.

The distance I managed to gain on Alex isn't by a whole lot, but there's only about a quarter of the track left before we reach the finish line, so I have a chance at winning this. The track hurriedly changes from the forest as it reenters the main track. The long, straight roads seem to end as the road becomes a slow series of sharp turns, never giving me the opportunity to get back up to speed. It seems like the high top speed was my only advantage, because at every corner we take, I turn my camera around, revealing the other cars inching closer and closer to me.

I can see the finish line on the mini-map, just a few more turns away. I know that I'm not gonna be able to distance myself from Alex and the others at this point, so my only feasible strategy is to keep moving, cutting the corners as fast as I can, and getting to the finish line before they can pass me. Unfortunately, Alex's car seems to be getting too close for comfort now, meaning I might have to take some risks to ensure I can stay in first. As we approach the final turn, leading into the finish line, I realise I'm gonna have to try to drift this corner. I can feel my pointer finger practically cracking the plastic on the controller from the amount of pressure I'm putting on the right trigger. In a final plea to win, I push down on the A button, pulling the handbrake. The car starts to smoothly skid around the corner. Luckily, there are barriers on the sides of the road this time, preventing me from sliding onto the grass. To my surprise, the drift seems to work better than expected. That is, until, like the fucking idiot I am, make a slight overcorrection towards the left barriers as I exit the drift. I managed to avoid driving directly into the wall, but it did slow me down a bit.

Alex is immediately behind me, and I put all of my strength into accelerating towards the finish line. I'd be fucked if I broke the controller, cause I can't really afford the fifty dollars to buy a new one, but winning this race is more important to me at the moment. The finish line is only about five-hundred metres away, and Alex is slowly beginning to pass. All I can do at this point is push the gas as much as I can, and pray that I can cross the finish line before he can get back into first place. The finish line gets closer and closer, and it seems like it's gonna be too close for me to accurately tell the winner. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest from how stressful this fucking game has been, and now, we're about to find out whose efforts paid off. As each car makes its way over the finish line, each of our dedicated sections of the screen turns to slow motion. When it's finally over, the text fades in on each screen, revealing our place...

...

...Second?!?

"FUCK!" I shouted, realising I had been holding my breath since the final stretch of the race.

"HA! Dude, you suck!" Alex exclaimed, playfully shoving me.

"I think that was the most effort I've put into anything in my life." I said, setting my controller on the coffee table in front of me.

"Wow, that's dramatic," Justin remarked.

"Yeah, that's the usual for Jake," Elliot replied, laughing.

"You probably woulda won if you picked a better car, dude. That track was way too close-quarters so you should've gone with a car with better acceleration." Alex said.

"Wha- do you own this game?" I questioned, looking accusatory.

"...Yeah? It came out a few months ago, pretty popular right now." He replied.

"Ugh, this is what I get for playing with a bunch of gamers." I exclaimed, applying a disgusted tone to the last word.

"Not my fault you only play like one game a month!" Alex joked.

"Even then, I was like this close to beating you anyway!" I said, gesturing a minuscule distance between my thumb and pointer finger.

A voice interrupts our argument, coming from right outside the room, "Uh huh...

...

Really? That's bullshit! Come on...

...

Dude, give me a couple of days, I'll make it right!

...

Yeah, I swear."

It seems that we all stopped talking to listen in at the same time. "That sounds like Tyler... who's he arguing with?" Elliot asked. I can't make out the voice of whoever he's talking to, it just sounds like mumbling.

They seem to pause for a moment, and the sound of a single set of footsteps can be heard.

"Fuck..." Tyler says to himself, still out of view.

"...I should probably see what's up, you guys can keep playing without me." I say, getting up from my spot on the couch.

"Yeah, you do that! Less competition for me," Alex exclaims, laughing to himself.

"Hey, I can still beat your ass at this game, I know exactly which car to pick this time!" Elliot argued.

"Yeah, right! Guess we'll find out!"

I leave as the three start up another game, kind of glad I don't have to have another near-heart attack from playing again. When I get back into the dimly-lit hallway, Tyler is nowhere to be seen.

I look around, heading into the main room of the house to see if I can spot him. It's pretty difficult to see anything, because of how dim it is here, plus the sheer amount of animals crowding up the place. Despite that, I manage to spot the Grey Wolf a ways away, hurrying quickly into the bathroom.

As I shove my way through a few groups of teens, I almost fall over a few times, gaining confused stares from a few in the room. I lightly knock on the bathroom door, waiting for a response, "Hey, you okay Tyler?" After a few moments, I'm returned with no answer, "...Tyler-" Before I can finish my sentence, Tyler swiftly pulls open the bathroom door, pulling me in and shutting the door behind me, before sitting down on the side of the bathtub. As I'm about to say something, I hear the sound of him sniffling.

...Is he crying?

He's looking towards the floor, so I can't confirm it visually, but the sound definitely gives it away.

"Whoa, what's wrong? Did something happen?" I asked worriedly, not yet choosing to bring up the argument we overheard.

There's a few seconds of silence as he tries to bring himself together, not very successfully. "I- I... I don't- I don't think I can-"

"It's fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I tried to reassure him. He raises his head for a moment to look at me, trying to find words to say, instead opting to go back to crying, head in his hands. I've never been good with situations like this, so I sit down next to him, putting my hand on his upper back, softly patting.

"I'm sorry- I'm a fucking idiot. I shouldn't have asked you to come."

"Hey! I've been having fun! Don't worry about me, it seems like you're the one who shouldn't have come." I joke, in some effort to lighten the mood.

Shit, was that inconsiderate of me to say?

To my surprise, he manages to let out a light laugh, "Yeah, I'm starting to realise that."

"...Do you wanna leave, then? They know I didn't want to go here in the first place, so you could just say you're being nice and walking me home." I didn't know if he would actually take up that offer, but I know some guys have a weird thing about not wanting to seem 'uncool' and leaving a party early was definitely considered that.

He thinks for a moment, still sniffling pretty noticeably. "...okay, just- give me a minute, I don't want to go out there looking like this." He mumbles, looking towards the door.

"Yeah, that's fine." I said, continuing to rub around his neck area.

This definitely wasn't how I expected the night to go. But it was a sort of 'two-birds-with-one-stone' kind of situation. I get to help out Tyler, which is usually the other way around, I get to leave early, and hopefully Shae stops bugging me about going to parties, at least for a while.

Now that I think about it, that analogy is pretty messed up.

A few silent minutes go by as I sit next to the still-crying Tyler, waiting for him to recollect himself. Even though he hasn't actually said anything here, in the two months I've known him, this is probably the most vulnerable I've ever seen him. When I first met him, it was pretty accurate to describe him as the kind of guy who acts like he never feels emotion. Hell, even I refuse to be open about my feelings, but most of my friends see through that nowadays. Even now, I don't really understand why I do that. I guess it's just easier to not talk about shit like that? Is that why Tyler does it?

"I think I'm good now," He said, shaking his hands as he stood up.

"Okay, let's get out of this dumpster fire." I sarcastically remarked. Tyler shot me a confused look in return. "Whatever, let's just go."

I open the bathroom door, grabbing his arm as I lead him out into the main room. Almost immediately the voice of a certain black cat perks up behind us.

"Oh? And what did you two get up to in there?" Chris remarked, laughing, "I didn't know you guys were THAT kind of friends!"

God damnit. This stupid fucking feline.

"Yeah, it's too loud out here for me, I needed a break, he came with." I explained, Tyler standing closely behind me with a confused look on his face. Just roll with it, dude, I think to myself, knowing I probably shouldn't say that out loud.

"You know, I would believe that, but normal guys actually just go outside when they need a break." He replied.

"Well, hey! That's where we're going right now, so it all checks out!" I say in the bitchiest voice I can muster.

"Heh, sure thing, Jake." He said, sounding weirdly satisfied with himself. I didn't want to spend any more time in this fucking house than I needed to, especially while talking to Chris, so I continue on, pulling Tyler by the hand towards the exit. After a few moments, we make it to the front door. I promptly open it and we both head outside.

We're immediately greeted by the light of the moon and the starry sky as we head down the walkway toward the street. One of the few benefits of living in such a backwater town was the absence of any significant light pollution. I've been to Portland a few times for school field trips and such, and seeing the sheer difference in visible stars was absolutely staggering. I could only imagine what it would be like to go stargazing in the middle of nowhere.

"At least it's a nice night out." I said.

"Yeah..." Tyler replied, his mind clearly in a completely different place.

"I should probably tell Shae where we went, so she doesn't freak out trying to find us back there." I joked, pulling out my cell phone. Texting on my flip phone was an arduous task, but I didn't want to call her, so I had not much of a choice.

I send the text, and close my phone, returning it to my pocket. As we walk down the road, we stew in the silence, the only auditory sounds coming from the party still close by, and the local crickets chirping.

I won't lie, as much as I usually appreciate quiet, this is the loudest silence I've ever been stuck in. It goes on for more than five minutes. I could tell he wanted to say something, and I was eager to find out whatever was going on that started this in the first place. But, like the coward I am, I try to lighten the mood.

"Hopefully that satisfied your quota of me going to parties with you for a while, cause I do not plan on having the energy for something like that again for at least a few months." I said, awkwardly laughing. He doesn't respond, at least for a while, as he raises his hand, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "...Uhh, are you sure you don't wanna talk about it? I mean-"

"Can I tell you something?" He interrupted, his voice still cracking like it was in the bathroom.

"...Sure?" I replied, slightly confused.

"It's just that- I don't really know- like what-"

"-to say? Just think for a minute. No rush." That's what my dad always says whenever my mind spirals. I used to be really anxious, although I've been getting better at controlling my thoughts in the past few years.

When I went to text Shae a few minutes ago, my phone's clock read 9:48 PM. I'm supposed to be home at ten and we're still at least twenty minutes away, not even including the detour we'll take to get to Tyler's place. Which brings me to the realisation that, when we get to his house, I'm gonna have to walk the rest of the way home by myself, in the dark. If I get murdered by some serial killer this late at night I'm gonna fucking haunt Shae from the afterlife-

"I think I'm gay," He quickly says, his voice holding a noticeable increase in energy compared to what I've been used to tonight.

Well... can't say that's exactly what I was expecting. Was I expecting anything in particular? I honestly don't know anymore. His words took me by surprise, my brain is kind of scrambled right now. I look over at him - he's looking back at me, probably trying to gauge my reaction. I did my best to conceal any facial reaction, but it's pretty clear that my lack of a response is starting to become noticeable.

"...You... think?"

"Well, like- I don't know. I guess I've just been thinking for a while, and it makes sense... all things considered." He replied anxiously.

"That- That's great! Does anyone else know?"

"I only really realised a few weeks ago, so... no. But compared to anyone else, I probably trust you the most to not like- tell anyone?" He said, looking over at me again.

"Well, I appreciate the completely undeserved confidence you have in me," I joked, realising too late that now probably isn't the time for that, "Yeah, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you," He replies, a genuine smile strewn across his face.

A few minutes go by as we walk down the road, absorbing the positive energy we created. Having only known Tyler for a little over two months, it definitely surprised me knowing that he trusted me more than anyone else to keep a secret like that... I mean, despite the short amount of time since I met him, I'm as close to him as I've been to Shaela for the past eight years. Maybe even closer? I barely even tell Shae about my actual problems, at least the non-surface level stuff. So yeah, I guess it makes sense that he would trust me with something so important, I know I would absolutely trust him if it were me in that situation.

"...So, do you think you're gonna tell your dad?"

He didn't say anything for a moment as he stared down at the ground beneath him, "I'll probably have to tell him soon, if he has to find out from some asshole that isn't me it'd make it ten times more difficult than if I just said it myself."

I agreed, and we let the conversation cut itself off as we finally approached Tyler's house. I followed him up the walkway and stood on the patio, making sure he actually got inside. He tries the doorknob eagerly, to no avail. Realising that it was locked, he reaches into his pocket for his key - again, to no avail.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Tyler mumbled under his breath, clearly done with tonight. All of the lights were off in the house, signalling that his dad was not awake.

"Maybe you'll wake him up if you knock? Then he can let you in."

"Nonono, he thinks I'm staying at your place! If he finds out I went to a party I'm in deep shit," He whispered.

Of course. If I had to lie to my parents, why would I expect anything different from anyone else?

"Okay, uhh... maybe we can make that lie... not a lie?" I said, sounding weirder than I'd like.

Tyler looked at me, confused for a moment, eyes widening as he realised what I meant, "I can't let you do that, I've already forced you through too much shit tonight."

"Oh, come on, of course you can sleep at my place for the night! My parents think I'm at your house right now, so I can just tell them that we both went over there early in the morning. They love you anyway, so it won't be a problem!"

He didn't move at all, still looking reluctant, "Are you sure it won't be... weird? I don't want to put you in an awkward situation cause of w- what I told you."

"Dude, that couch in my room has a hide-a-bed if you don't want to share mine. Either way, we're friends, aren't we? I trust you."

After a few moments of silence, he speaks up, "...I guess so-"

"Great, then it's settled!" I said, putting my arm around his shoulder as I led him back down the walkway.

---

Once we make it to my place, walk up the creaky wooden steps of my patio as I fish the house key out of my pocket. Tyler's standing closely behind me, looking awkward as ever, clearly not knowing what to do with his hands as he switches between putting them in his pockets and clasping them together.

I turn the key on the lock and try the door, noticing that It's completely pitch black inside the house. My parents usually go to bed at 10 PM, and it was well past that at this point. I lock the door behind us as I reach for my pocket, grabbing my phone and flipping it open to use as a barely-useful flashlight. I take Tyler's wrist as I lead him through the furniture of my living room and up the stairs. The only sounds in the house come from the soft ticking of a clock in the kitchen, the sound of which has always freaked me out whenever I'd come downstairs at three in the morning. Despite my best efforts to be as quiet as possible, the old wooden boards of the stairs prove my effort to be futile as they creak with every step. I can only hope that both of my parents have fallen asleep by now, or else they'd definitely have heard us. As I take Tyler down the hallway, walls strung with various family photos and art fit for a motel, I hear no sounds coming from the master bedroom, relaxing some of my tension.

Once we make it to my room, I breathe a sigh of relief as I turn on the overhead light, hoping my mom doesn't find out and try to lecture me in the morning, "Okay, hide-a-bed or mine, your choice!"

"Hide-a-bed." He replies.

"Sure thing, lemme show you how to set it up," I say as I remove each couch cushion one by one. The couch is sitting directly under my massive bedroom window, illuminated by the glow of the moon. Under the cushions is a black folded-up contraption, bearing a metal handle. I grab the handle and start pulling the bed out from the couch. As the first section of the bed comes out, Tyler stands next to me and helps unfold the second section, and finally the third.

I move over to open the closet door, "I have some spare pillows and blankets in here."

"So, why do you have a spare bed... thingy... in your room anyway?" He asked.

"My cousins' family came to visit from the other side of the country a few years back, so my parents made the cousins stay in my room and gave me our old couch that used to be in the living room. They were here for like two weeks, it was fucking awful," I remarked, pulling a comforter out of the closet and unfolding it out on the mattress.

"That sounds miserable," Tyler sympathized.

"It was, but hey, now I got a sick as fuck couch in my room! And it works as a great place for certain friends to sleep when they wanna spend the night," I said sarcastically, looking over at Tyler as I grabbed the pillows from the closet, tossing them to one end of the bed.

He turned his head, baffled, "Was that a dig on me?" He questioned.

"Depends on how you took it I suppose," I replied, smiling cunningly.

"You're the one who offered, dude- are you sure you didn't drink at the party? You've at least doubled your usual level of sarcasm." He retorted.

"Nope, unless somebody spiked my soda!" I joked, but the realisation slowly set in, "Oh shit- maybe someone spiked my soda?!?"

"Don't freak out, I seriously doubt someone would spike your drink,"

"God, I hope so, if my parents found out I went to that party, that'd be one thing, but if I got drunk? I doubt I'd see the outside world for months," I sighed.

"Even if you were drunk, it's not like you would still be drunk in the morning for them to find out, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, letting out a yawn shortly thereafter. "Fuck, I didn't realise how tired I am." Looking at my alarm clock, it was 10:37 PM. That wasn't terribly late, I've definitely stayed up later when there was an assignment due the next day that I forgot about, but even before I met up with Alex and Elliot, that party was just wearing me down. "At least I can sleep in 'till like noon tomorrow. You sure you don't need anything before I pass out from exhaustion?"

"No, I'm okay, I think. And, thank you... Jake." He replied, smiling at me.

"No problem, dude!" I quietly exclaimed as I turned off the bedroom lights and hopped into bed. I can practically feel my muscles dissolve as I lean into the mattress, pulling the heavy blankets over me as I close my eyes.

I can't help but feel something itching in the back of my brain. I never did find out why Tyler was even crying back at the party. Was it related to what he told me after? He sounded pretty upset when he was talking to whoever it was in the hallway, too, so maybe that was why? We've already talked about so much shit tonight, though, and I definitely did not have the energy to have another huge conversation about something like that. It could definitely wait until tomorrow.

Soon, I feel my consciousness drift away, the only sound I can make out being the slow breathing of Tyler, across the room.

---

As I wake up, I'm blinded by the bright sun shining in through my windows, directly into my eyes. I glance over at my alarm clock, feeling incredibly groggy and sore, noticing that it's 11:13 AM. Usually, the latest I'd sleep in on weekends was only around ten, but I guess it took a lot of my energy yesterday to try to tune the party out. At least it's over.

I slowly sit up, yawning as I lean back against the bed frame. I glanced around the room, noticing that the hide-a-bed had been folded back into the couch, Tyler nowhere to be seen. I reach over to my bedside table to check my phone, finding an unread text from him, sent a few hours ago.

Tyler: hey

woke up early, figured youd want 2 sleep in.

will call u later, might have somthin big i wanna share, will see

A pair of oddly cryptic messages. Guess that confirms he isn't here anymore.

At least it was a Saturday, meaning that I had full permission to be a slob. I get out of bed, deciding to skip my usual shower until after breakfast. Other than the snacks that were out at the party, I ate practically nothing last night. I could almost feel my stomach turning itself inside out, so I hurried out of my room and downstairs to the kitchen to have some breakfast.

The first thing I notice when I get downstairs is my mom, sitting on the couch with a book. I head straight to the kitchen, trying not to make myself stand out.

"Jake! Finally woken up, I see." She remarked, still looking at her book.

"Hey, mom!" There's a moment of silence as I grab a bowl out of the cupboard, as well as a box of cereal, and begin to pour.

She speaks up, "Your friend, Tyler, seemed to be in a hurry to leave this morning, anything I should know about?"

"...Not that I know of? Like what?" I questioned as I poured some milk from the fridge, grabbed a spoon, and sat at the kitchen counter.

"Well, it's not like we didn't notice that you weren't home by ten like your father asked you to be, so obviously you must have a good excuse for why you didn't at least call to let us know you'd be late?" She replied. I could tell when she started talking all responsible-parent-like, it meant that she was gonna lecture me about something.

I sighed, thinking of the right thing to say. "...Well, Tyler was going through some things... so I was trying to help him with that, I guess. Time just kinda flew by and I wasn't able to get home 'till later."

"So he spent the night here? Weren't you at his house?" She asked as I ate a spoonful of cereal.

"Yeah... we went out for a bit and once I noticed how late it was I offered to let him spend the night at our house since it was closer," I said. Almost entirely a lie, but definitely preferable to the truth.

"Jake..." She said, setting her book down on the coffee table in front of the couch, walking over to me, and resting a hand on my shoulder. "You're sixteen now, obviously we don't expect you to tell us everything you're up to nowadays. But we worry about you! I worry about you. Just for future reference, please let us know if you're gonna be home late or anything like that."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," I said, looking up at her.

"Great! Now, I have to go meet a friend for lunch, please try not to burn the house down while I'm out!" She said as she grabbed her purse and keys off of the counter, hurring out the door.

"No promises, love you!" I said as she closed the door behind her.

Well, I guess that went... better than expected? I doubt she believed that story I made up, but I guess as long as I don't break curfew without telling them, I should be fine.

Having the house to myself wasn't totally uncommon. Considering my dad was gone during the day five days a week, and my mom would head out to go meet friends or run errands pretty often, I got some much needed alone time often enough to not go mad.

As I finish my bowl of cereal, I realise that I probably should go shower as soon as possible, considering the night I had. I put my bowl and spoon in the dishwasher and head back upstairs. I grab a towel from my room and head into the bathroom, grabbing my various fur care products out of the cabinet for after the shower. As I turn the shower on, I hear the sound of my ringtone going off in the pocket of my pants on the floor. I sigh annoyedly, walking over and trying to figure out which pocket my phone was in. When I flip open the phone, the Caller ID reads out Tyler's name.

"Tyler! What's up?" I ask eagerly, hoping to find out what the news he cryptically texted about was.

"Jake- fuck, I messed up, I shouldn't have- what am I gonna do?" He said anxiously, sounding almost out of breath.

"Hey! Slow down, what's wrong?" I questioned.

"I'm such a fucking idiot! Why did I think this would be a good idea? Jake, I'm so sorry-"

"Tyler! Calm. Down. Just take a few deep breaths," I said. After a few moments, I can hear his breathing steadying on the other side of the call. "Okay, good. Now, what's wrong?"

There's a short pause as he tries to find the right words to say. It sounds like he's been crying. What even the fuck has been the past twenty-four hours?

"Can- do you think I could crash at y- your place for a few more nights? I don't know what to do."

#story #novel #interlude #writing #novel writing #vestige #town #coming of age #lgbtq #gay #furry #wattpad

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paper-stars-and-fireflies · 4 years

Text

Asking for a friend

The second story in the Grimm Omens series! As before, both main characters are OCs: Magnolia is mine, and Omen belongs to the wonderful @splanoot. Thanks for reading! “I’m tellin’ ya, you gotta go straight for the heart on those, don’t waste your time with the rest!” Maggie waved her arms, gesturing at some imaginary prey as she argued. Omen and Husk nodded back, Husk holding his bottom lip between his lip to keep himself from laughing. Magnolia was a friendly drunk, if a bit loud, and it’d be a long time since she’d let her walls down like this. For his part, Omen had the visor on his helmet cracked a little wider, his trademark jacket folded over the stool between them. Scars criss-crossed his forearms where the sleeves were pushed up to bunch at his elbows. He kept the gloves on, hands resting carefully around his glass. He shook his head, a silent laugh shaking the stress off his shoulders. It was a good night.

“You can’t get to the heart on those until you take care of the rest.” Omen pointed out, tilting his glass at her. Maggie smirked back, finishing her glass and setting it down with a loud clack. She leaned across the open seat between them, almost invading his space - as close as she ever got to him. “That’s what you think, mister. Hunters like me, we get all up close and personal. Besides,” She drew her words out, jabbing him playfully in the chest before leaning back to her own chair. “Don’t underestimate me just because I stick to blades.” She toyed with her snack, some mystery basket of finger food Niffty had dropped off earlier. Her other hand patted at the sheath on her left hip, one of the few she bothered with when she wasn’t on a hunt. She nodded toward his own holster. “Do you ever draw the wrong one? What’s special about it, the gun itself or the bullets or is it both?” Husk shook his head, refilling drinks, watching the two mercenaries argue back and forth in a language only they seemed to speak. Hell, if he didn’t know any better, he might think they’d known each other longer than a couple months. More than once he’d wondered if Omen had earned another fangirl. A thump to his left and the sound of hands hitting his bar drew his attention, along with both his regulars. Angel Dust lay face down on the counter, one set of arms wrapped around his head while another pair of hands clutched at the edge of the bar. Magnolia threw an arm over his hunched shoulders, cooing excitedly. “Angie! It’s been so long!” She said, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Angel just groaned, sitting back just enough to rub at his eyes. Husk got busy making him a virgin drink - he was still on restriction according to Charlie. “I don’t get it, Maggs.” He moaned, finally dropping his hands to his lap. She moved back, letting him sit up. The others ignored him, unamused with his antics. Maggie egged him on, moving to rub his back. “What’s wrong sweet pea?” She asked, pushing him her mysterious bar food. He eyed it before, disgusted, shoving it back. He accepted his drink, also scowling at it when he realized it was nothing but juice and soda. “Men, Maggs! Men are wrong. Well, one man.” He finally spat out, gesturing wildly. Maggie nodded sympathetically, sipping on her drink. Omen turned away some, subtly clicking his visor back down. Magnolia might flourish in social situations, but it was always somewhat awkward terrain for Omen, even with those he was closer with. He didn’t have any ill-will towards Angel, either, it was just… not his area of expertise. It was, however, Magnolia’s. Or least, it had been. “Oh honey,” she drawled, arms around him still, “Tell me about him and I’ll tell you how to break that motherfucker’s heart.” She bared her teeth in a smile that belied her true nature. Angel flinched back, no matter how many times he’d seen it. She dropped it quickly, biting her lip. Angel quirked a smile of his own that quickly faltered. “I don’t wanna break it, doll. I want to keep it.” He whined. He dropped his hands to the bar again, taking a slow sip of his drink for an excuse not to talk. “Oh. Ohhhh. Oh nooo.” Magnolia wailed theatrically, dragging her hands down her face and wiping at imaginary tears. “My baby Angel has all done grown up and found a man he wanna love.” Angel blushed, crossing both sets of arms and turning away from her. She chased him, giggling and smiling sincerely for once. “Look, I came down here for your help, but clearly I shouldn’ta crashed ya date. I’ll be going now.” He complained, standing up and pushing her off. Maggie lurched after him, latching on to his hand. “Don’t gooo, babe, I was just havin’ some fun. I’ll help you, I’ll help you. Look, I’m happy for you, that’s great news!” She said, pulling him back to sit beside her. He complied, one eyebrow raised. She nodded, kicking her feet in little circles, doing her best not to wiggle off the stool. Her best friend, in love! He reminded her of her brother half the time, she could only imagine the kind of man that’d caught his eye. “So tell me about him!” She prompted, when he didn’t start to speak. Angel eyed Husker and Omen. The latter turned away, suddenly fixated by watching the ice bobbing slowly in his glass, while the former shifted bottles around behind the counter, taking stock perhaps. Magnolia sat facing him, both hands perched on her knees, waiting. She shot a glare at Husker when she picked up on Angel’s agitation. “Do we need to head upstairs?” Maggie asked, sliding her empty cup back across the bar. “Or maybe you need a few songs to calm down? Step outside?” She gestured to her mouth, miming smoking, then snapped, letting a spark dance across her fingernails. “No way. He’s grounded, Magnolia. Hand ‘em over if you’re not gonna behave.” Husker jumped in, as much as he didn’t feel like it. If Charlie caught Angel misbehaving on his shift, he’d never hear the end of it. Magnolia huffed, reaching for her pocket, but Angel cut her off. “I, no, doll. It’s fine, I just.” He paused, took a deep breath, held it. Letting it out in a short, he picked through his mind, trying to describe the target of his frustrated affections without giving it away completely. He still had a reputation after all. “Look, you ever, I dunno, you meet a dude you’re into, like, really into, but it don’t make no sense?” He looked down at his hands, all four meshed together and fidgeting in a heap. Maggie laid both her hands over them, helping him still. “I can’t stop thinkin’ about ‘im. I’ve been flirting like crazy, but it’s like he don’t even notice! Me! Am I slippin’ or somethin, Maggs?” He shrugged, aware of how his reputation worked against him here. “I can’t get his attention, does whatever he wants. One of those tall, dark, handsome types momma warns you about, ya know? I don’t know what to do.” Magnolia clicked her tongue, nodding along. “I think types like us fall for types like that because our usual tricks don’t work. I need more to work with though. What have you tried? Or what are you after? What’s the issue exactly?” She asked carefully. Angel slumped a bit, still picking through his brain. “I tried out all kindsa personas and lines and nothin’ phases him. I can’t read him! Not at all! He don’t get rattled, no matter how filthy my mouth gets or what I wear or do. I offered to suck his dick flat out, and what does he say? ‘No!’, to me!” Angel dragged his hands down his face, grumbling. Husker and Omen had turned away completely, taking up the farthest corner of the bar to give them as much privacy as they could with the open floorplan. Angel lowered his voice, leaning closer to his friend. “Those eyes, and that smile. Maggs, I didn’t even know I was into suits!” Angel complained, taking a drag from his drink before sticking his tongue out. “Too sweet, Husk.” Angel called out louder, trying to cover his whispering, maybe, or dismiss the tension he’d created. Husk nodded as if he cared, refilling Omen’s drink without looking. Maggie held her chin, thumb tracing her lips, fingertips pressed into her cheek, studying Angel. Finally, she spoke, though it was barely a whisper. “Angie…. Are you… In love with..Al-?” Immediately Angel lunged at her, almost tackling her out of the chair, trying to cut off the demon’s name. She grabbed his wrists on reflex, springing to her feet and throwing him into a headlock. He coughed, reaching for her side with a free hand. “Easy tiger, save it for the bedroom.” he wheezed, and she dropped him, hands flying to her face in horror. She helped him back to his seat, apologizing profusely. “It was just instinct, I’m so sorry! I - I didn’t mean to!” she repeated, hands clasped in front of her. “Oh, Angie, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think it was gonna be - Okay, okay.” She held out her left hand, green sparks fizzling along the back of her hand. She blinked and the same sparks lit in her eyes, hellfire come to witness. “I swear to keep your feelings a secret, until my extermination or the deal undone. Sound like a deal?” She tried to smile reassuringly, offering her hand to him. He shook, sighing. Green wrapped around her hand, gone in a blink. Both of them settled back in their seats, silence hanging awkwardly over them. It wasn’t the first time Maggie had made a deal with Angel, but she hated using them on her friends. Still, it was to protect them. “The deal’ll keep it safe, and he doesn’t send shadows after me when I’m not out on a contract. Your secret’s safe. I, um, bet I can help you out! You’re lucky I’ve been working for him for a while, though, or you’d be shit out of luck.” She continued on, trying to cheer Angel up, but Omen didn’t hear her anymore. He gestured to Husk, bowing his head slightly. Husk moved in close, disguising it by changing his drink for another. “She’s one of Alastor’s?” Omen asked under his breath, eyes trained on Maggie behind his visor. “Has been for a good few months now. Since a couple weeks before you met her, anyways. That boy she’s tryin’ to kill, he’s the real deal. She struck a deal with Alastor to even the playing field.” “Why.” Omen couldn’t keep his voice as flat as he’d have liked, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Husk could see through him. “She needed help. You saw how tore up she got. They probably have some kinda kinship or whatever, or same rulebook.” “Husker. What are you talking about.” Omen barked at him, anxiety spiking. Just when he thought everything was going to be peaceful for once. “She’s a crossroads demon, Omen, same as him. You saw the light show. Made a deal with the bastard.” Husk turned away, knowing he couldn’t say anymore. Omen lowered his head, nails digging into the countertop where he clenched his fists. He stood up abruptly, patting at his pockets. “Gonna go out for a minute,” he said, but only Husk was listening. Magnolia was too wrapped up in swapping stories and details about difficult love interests with Angel and moaning about the ones they’d missed out on for one reason or another. “Do you have any, not tryin’ to be rude here, doll, but any actual, helpful advice? Something for this, ah, particular case?” Angel asked, eyeing the door shutting behind Omen. He had a theory of his own. “Hmmm. Well….” Magnolia hesitated, glancing at the empty barstool behind her. “Those types of men are...very hard to work with sometimes, you know? Your normal tricks aren’t gonna work. Can’t come on strong, can’t come on too weak, or leave it all to them. Hmm.” She paused, running a hand through her hair. There was a flush in her cheeks that definitely wasn’t the alcohol. “Those types, you gotta be blunt and honest, but not so forward. Just kinda, friendly? But a litttttle bit more. You kinda gotta give them room to come out of their shell to you, not the other way around. Take it real, real slow. Make them as comfortable as you can, meetin’ them on their turf. Every now and then, it’s alright to give them a little push or nudge, let them know you’re into them or you want something, but you really gotta leave it up to them in the end. That...that make any sense?” She looked at the empty stool again, then the door, trying to find Omen’s silhouette behind the dark glass. “Uh-huh. Real helpful, doll. So! How long you been datin’ the big bad biker?” Angel shifted gears, leaning into her space. She sputtered, leaning away, face red. “We’re not dating at all! Just friends! We’re just both...regulars here! Right, Husk?” She looked to him with pleading eyes, but he just smiled, not bailing her out. “Uhh-huh. And you just so happened to be into a ‘tall, dark, handsome’ hunter guy that don’t let nobody close, and it’s not your drinkin’ buddy who just so happens to match up perfectly to everything you’ve hinted at for weeks? I ain’t buying it, doll.” “Angel! There’s nothing - I’m not!” She grabbed her drink to hide her embarrassment with a sip but was disappointed to find it was empty. Angel just laughed at her, grabbing at her basket of snacks. “You’re a crossroad demon! Just make a deal with him!” He managed through his laughter. She pouted, carefully tucking her hands away. “I don’t wanna go that route. Not with him.” She whispered, face turned down. “You’re breakin’ my heart, Maggs. I thought I was special!” He whined, arm thrown over his face. She huffed at him, staring at her hands. He softened, dropping his hand on her shoulder. “Tell you what, doll. You take your shot, and, after a little bit, I’ll take mine. How’szat for a deal?” He asked, offering a hand. She took it hesitantly, shaking just once. Another wash of green light snaked around her palm and she sighed, overdramatic as ever with them. “Alright,” she said finally. “Sounds like a deal. But -” She stole a glance at the door, and the figure beyond it. “Not tonight.”

#Grimm Omens #hazbin hotel original character #hazbin hotel oc #radiodust #it's in the background #but it's there

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neo-culture-mafia · 5 years

Text

Chest Fire (l.dh)

Warnings: |Strong Themes| |Triggering Themes|

Summary: He wasn't the same. No one was, really. But, especially him...Donghyuck. He lost you and can't bear feeling sober anymore. He needed to be numb so he didn't feel himself and get lost in his own mind. But the guys are getting tired of watching Donghyuck drink away his money--but the damage had already been done.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Donghyuck stumbled the now home feeling club where sweaty bodies pressed against each other and peach scented vodka drifted through the humid and sticky air.

The alcohol was making his fingers turn into fire as his toes curled in his combat boots. Another random girl walked up to offer him a dance, but he turned her away already knowing that she couldn't move like you. You were special, and no whore at the club could compare to you, yet he still came crawling back here for the simple fact he couldn't crawl back into bed with you.

He was lost and needed help because his heart was losing its sense of direction. The booming of the bass vibrated through his shoes as his fingers curled into his palm. He needed to stay balanced and he was finding it harder with every passing minute.

He lousily made his way over to a bar stool, not wasting a second before sitting down. "Anoth-" Hyuck was cut off by the bartender. "Im sorry buddy, I'm cutting you off. You've had way too much to drink tonight." He said and Donghyuck was just sitting there, his mouth wide open in shock.

"I am...You-you should..." He slurred over his words, trying to at least get 5 more drinks out of the bartender he now deemed as a friend. Yet, this guy saw himself as Hyuck's friend too, and friends don't let each other kill themselves by drinking their pain away...even though it might help.

Yet, the raging fire in Hyuck's chest only became more apparent at the sudden news of his cut off.

"I think it's time I call Mark, Hyuck. It's time to go home." The bartender said grabbing his phone from his back pocket; and like a cherry bomb...Hyuck exploded.

"No." He slammed his fists on the bar like a 5 year old. "No no no." He repeatedly said slamming his hands down. "Give me more. You're not my father." Donghyuck said and the bartender just sighed and felt pity at the sight.

Stares were coming from each direction as the man gave in to Donghyuck's wants for more liquor. Hyuck sat down, drinking his beer through a straw because he had read somewhere that women liked 'sophisticated' men. Yet, even after 20 minutes of him sitting there sipping his bitter liquid through a neon yellow bendy straw, he finally gave up when he was now drinking air through the endless loops of the bendy plastic.

Even if someone came over and talked to him, he knows he could never take them home to where you used to lay; where you and him had pillowtalks; where you and him did things that only the moon kept secret. It would never be the same...no matter what girl came skipping along.

This was his last resort on trying to cap the memories he had with you. The alcohol was no match for his loneliness though, and it was starting to show. "Hey buddy, you good?" The bartender asked, putting a hand on Hyuck's shoulder. "Uh yeah...totally." Donghyuck chuckled. He turned to face the other man again. "How much is my tab?" Hyuck asked as he grabbed his wallet.

"Why? Usually you pay after 2 weeks." The guy said as he dried a glass lazily. "Not this time my man." Hyuck said fooling around with his wallet. "No, seriously. It's fine." The bartender said going into a folder and ripping up pieces of paper that were labeled as receipts.

"I was gonna pay!" Hyuck said getting defensive. "No...I promise it's fine." The bartender said and Hyuck groaned as he still slipped a 100 out and gave it the worker. "For all the trouble I caused." He said and the man just grabbed it hesitantly. "Thank you?" He questioned, but Hyuck was already out the door with another beer in his ring adorned hand.

He stumbled in a literal circle for 20 minutes. "Hyuck." He heard someone call. It sounded like you. He immediately stopped and looked at the beer. "Hyuck!" Someone screamed this time. "Y/n?" He called out, turning around now. His heard was whooshing with all the passing traffic; all the bright city lights blending together. The fire on his chest wanting to grow more and more at the such sweet sound.

"Y/n!" He yelled and the people passing him gave dirty looks but he was trying to find you. "Hyuck." Someone grabbed him from behind. He whirled around and was met eye to eye...with Jaemin. "...y/n..." is all that Hyuck muttered to himself.

"No. It's Jaemin." Jaemin reassured and the delirious boy could only nod, meaning he could understand him. "It's time to go home now." Jaemin said holding Hyuck's arm and leading him to a car.

"Can we go to y/n's place?" Hyuck asked like a five year old who just lost his favorite toy. Jaemin opened the passenger door and helped the boy in.

You and Jaemin were twins. You were siblings but acted like best friends, so naturally when you and Hyuck started dating, the three of you became family. So seeing Hyuck so hung up about you leaving him...it hurts Jaemin too.

"I don't think that's a good idea, buddy." Jaemin sighed, buckling his best friend up. "Please. I need to see her." Hyuck gripped Jaemin's hand. "Please." He choked out, tears ready to spill at any moment.

Jaemin removed his hand and groaned; slamming the door with such a force that it rocked the car a little.

-------------

"We're here." Jaemin braked hardly infront of the homes for you and what seemed like a million other people. Hyuck was jolted awake, but he was still thankful for the hour trip Jaemin made.

Jaemin just looked out his window and sulked like a pouty baby. Hyuck had sobered up a little and he was able to control himself and his own body.

He hopped out of the car and walked the short way to the gate. He opened the small gate and walked up the foot path to your house. The walking distance felt like muscle memory as he recognized the familiar feeling.

He was then met with the glimmering marble stuck in the ground. He stared at your engraved name in the ground. He just sighed, falling to his knees. "...hey baby..." He said sitting on his bottom and crossing his legs so he sat like a kindergartener in class.

"I miss you." He sighed again, tracing hearts next to your name. "Jaemin misses you...he's just...scared to come visit you..." Hyuck said looking back to the boy sitting in the car. Even in the complete darkness of night, anyone could see Jaemin's body shake with sobs. The light behind him made it look like a shillouete. It was absolutely beautiful yet heartbreaking.

Yet his body straightened again and you could see Jaemin light a cigarette quickly.

Donghyuck looked back down to you. "Jaemin started smoking again." He sighed and picked at the weeds growing around your headstone. "Renjun doesn't come out of his room except for missions." He said and recalled what the others were doing.

"I caught Jisung in your room, trying to talk to you...he's been a mess." Hyuck told of the younger boy, totally lost with the fact you aren't around anymore. "And...we're just all...really sorry it happened like this."

You died in a mission gone wrong. You had the option of staying in the truck with Chenle, or accompying Hyuck and Jaemin into the warehouse where Jeno, Renjun, and Jisung were working undercover. You all didn't hear the man sneaking up behind you, and when you did...it was too late.

Hyuck was twirling his engagement ring around his finger. "This is useless." He said and took it off, setting it right next to yours that was locked in marble forever. He leaned back and looked at the stars. They were so bright that night. It was crazy. "...let me let you go already..." He mumbled as he watched a star fizzle out completely.

"I love you." Hyuck said leaning down and kissing your stone sweetly. "...wait for me..." He said as he got up and walking away back to the car. He hopped in, now completely sober after the experience.

"Ready?" Your brother asked, ready to speed away from this place that held you imprisoned. "Yeah...I'm ready." Hyuck said and they zoomed away as if they were still threatened by the attacker that took you.

"..soon enough..." Hyuck whispered to himself, setting his chin in his hand and looking into the city. "...soon enough..." He closed his eyes.

----------

THE NEXT DAY

Hyuck didn't sleep at night, literally. He sat up on the rug the whole night, afraid of the harsh reality that once he opened his bedroom door, you wouldn't be there. He knew you weren't there, he just doesn't want to accept it.

You both were so strong and had so many plans for the future. You both wanted kids, a home, a life...and it was all down the drain now.

It was just getting harder to live everyday when his every breath felt like a gunshot to the chest. His mind was a bomb, and it was going off every time he is reminded of you and the way you used to tell him it was okay.

"You fucker." Jaemin yelled as he shot the man down quickly. Hyuck dropped his gun and grabbed you as you began to drop.

"Chenle, get 127 unit down here, man down." Jaemin called and Hyuck was still frozen in shock, yet the bullet stuck in your neck made him snap in and out of this icy trance.

"Come on, you got this. Keep your eyes open." Hyuck said taking off his bandana and getting ready to wrap it around your throat so it can stop the bleeding. Yet, you wouldn't be able to breath . Him and Jaemin realised this at the same time, as your eyes became icy and pale. You were dying. You realised this too. It would be a painful and gruesome way to go, but it was happening.

"It's okay." You motioned with your mouth, the hole in your throat, not letting you speak. The look on your fiancés face would haunt you to the other side. He looked so...scared. "It's okay. I'm here." You mouthed again and touched his cheek. He just looked down at you as you took your final breath. Jaemin hasn't told anyone yet, but he was so ready to pop one on himself in that very moment, yet he was so convinced this was a dream that all he did was stare down at your cold and pale face.

Jaemin woke up the next morning and wished he didn't. Hyuck didn't sleep till the next night; he was too afraid of the dark and the thoughts that would cloud his mind once he was alone, wanting to be with you.

Hyuck was now laying in a baby position, holding his legs close to his chest. The knocking on the door brought him out of his dark thoughts. "Open." He mumbled and the door opened to Jaemin.

"Dude...we've been at training for an hour now." He said and all Hyuck did was nod, understanding what he was saying. "Sorry?" He yawned and Jaemin slumped at his friends expression.

He sat down next to his laying position.

It was pure silence until it was sliced by Hyuck's heartbreaking confession. "It hurts." He said, and Jaemin didn't have to be a genius to figure out what he was talking about. "I know...i know." He said putting his hand on Donghyuck's shoulder. "It hurts so much." Hyuck cried, curling up into a tighter ball.

The firey feeling in Hyuck's chest was like never before. It felt so much different as your literal other half held him as he cried like a child.

The burning was unbearable as his eyes screwed shut in pure agony. Jaemin couldn't help the tears from pouring either. Sitting on the ground in yours and Hyuck's apartment was all too real. It was too real you weren't here anymore.

Hyuck finally calmed down and looked to his friend. "...please...please end this..." He begged and Jaemin couldn't yell at him. He wanted to end this pain too. The bottle of aspirin wasn't doing anything anymore. It all hurt too much for any medication to numb it.

"...I'm...not going to kill you..." Jaemin breathed, the words falling out of his mouth. "...please..." Hyuck became desperate to make the raging in his chest and head stop.

"I'm...no." Jaemin said standing up now, leaving Hyuck on the floor. "It hurts...I know...It hurts like hell. But, you can't give up now. She wouldn't be happy with this..." Jaemin started getting into his own mind.

He had been so long without one of your hugs or seeing you smile at his surprise tickle attacks.

"I...I know it seems like the only way. I know that." Jaemin said pulling at his hair.

"Because it is." Hyuck bursted through the air, throwing the TV remote at the wall. It ended up hitting the vase and made it shatter into a million little pieces.

"I'm tired! I'm tired of coming home alone! I could lie, and say it's okay and that I like it that way, but I don't!" Hyuck screamed, kicking things around to get his point across.

"It feels as if I'll never be happy again, and at this point I don't care. I just want this..." Hyuck said pointing to himself and all around the room. "this....I want this to end..."

They were left together in the quiet room, the only sound being their breathing. They could only look at each other at a time like this.

-----------

"I just don't know what to say anymore." Mark sighed as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. They were all in practice, and Jaemin had left about an hour ago to find Donghyuck.

"None of us do." Renjun mumbled, twisting his leather bracelet around his wrist.

"He's gonna end up killing himself if we don't do something." Mark said what everyone was thinking. "We just need to get him out of the house." Mark finished as he grabbed his jacket.

"No...we should let him be alone...he'll just be aggressive if we tell him to move on." Jisung finally piped in, trying to get everyone to turn around and leave Hyuck alone.

"Jaemin has it...it will be okay." Jisung said, more of assuring himself than anyone else.

Everyone looked at each other in silence, even though they knew it wouldn't be okay...ever.

"...okay..." Mark said dropping his jacket and walking back over slowly.

"...30 pushups..." Mark said and the Junior Forces hit the ground, their worry and fear going into the performance they were all wearing on their face.

----------

"...i'm cold..." Jaemin muttered and Hyuck could only nod, the tears falling down into the blue water. "...me too..." He muttered.

He held Jaemin close to his chest, the water sloshing over the sides a little bit. "...it's going to be okay..." Jaemin reassured Hyuck, but also himself. "...i know..." was all that was muttered from the slightly older boy.

"...thank you..." was the last thing said by Hyuck before he grabbed Jaemin's hand. He closed his eyes as the banging and yells from the front door began to get more violent, the rest of the units trying to get to them. Yet, they were in the bathroom and no one could make it to them in time. It was already over.

Jaemin gripped Hyuck's hand one more time as he felt everything become still, shuttering in the cold water that entrapped both of their bodies. Both of their eyes closing, and the raging fire in their chests finally stopped....

...everything stopped...

○••••••••••••••••○

I honestly think this is the worst thing I have ever written, to be completely honest.

I might do a couple time stamps for what happens after...but...yeah. I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry in advance if I made you cry.

Love,

363 notes · View notes

wingedbears · 5 years

Text

Body Paint Between Friends

By XxmerthurcatxX

@callmelilyshameless

Summary:

Steve was content to pine for his roommate from afar, but with the help of a topless model, body shots, and an art project, he might end up with more than he bargained for.

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!

STEVE HAS GLASSES??? MY WEAKNESS OMG HOT BOYS ARE ALWAYS HOTTER WITH GLASSES

Also, I like the implication that Steve’s neighbor has naked ladies in her apt too. WAIT MRS BLEAKER IS THE ONE NAKED.

“You must be the roommate,” the girl said, not looking particularly bothered by the whole situation.

Billy has a topless girl in his apartment and talks about Steve. This is clue one, Steve!!

“We just started anatomy in our class,” Kim explained, since it appeared Billy was too focused on his sketch to give Steve the details. “So, I’m posing for him and then he’s gonna pose for me.”

Okay, as a former art student, the set up is legit. Like there’s the switch where we can go: this is an interesting body! Cool! And then: THIS PERSON IS NAKED.

If he fell asleep thinking about the way Billy chewed his thumb when he was analyzing his work, then that was his business.

Steve, you sweet summer child, I, I just. Please.

Okay, so maybe Steve had a little crush on his roommate, and maybe it killed him a little that Billy wasn’t exactly available.

I LOVE THAT THIS LINE IS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY:

“What are you thinkin about over there, pretty boy?” Billy asked over dinner that night.

STEVE. STEVE THIS IS CLUE TWO. omgggg OMG. I’M not even like halfway done, these boys are killing me with how goddamn DUMB they are.

“Kim’s not my girlfriend,” Billy told him, giving Steve a look like he was missing something totally obvious.

OH HE IS, BILLY.

There were body shots happening in the living room.

oKAY, legit question: will Steve die of horniness? Or embarrassment? Bc Billy is filled with terrible ideas.

standing so close Steve could smell his cologne. Aramis. Because what the fuck else would it be.

Aramis. OMG. okay, for those who don’t know, here’s a blogger’s apt review of it: ...but this gold-chain wearing, red-blooded, hairy-chested porn-stachioed cologne is a one-night-stand in a bottle.

It's the scent equivalent of Burt Reynolds' Cosmo centerfold in the 70s: smiling, naked and leering on a bearskin rug. (In fact, I bet the perfumer was given something along the lines of this perfume brief: "Make it smell like Burt Reynolds' chest hair as he reclines naked on a Naugahyde couch.") Aramis is good natured and friendly, but it still wants to rip your clothes off and get it on.

I also love that Steve is the Ben Wyatt of the household lmao.

Apparently it was Billy’s turn in the body shot rotation. He’d unbuttoned his maroon shirt, the one that Steve had fantasized ripping off him a dozen and a half times, all the way and was laying with his arms stretched over his head while he waited for whoever was gonna do the shot.

OMG RED ALERT, SHIT, IT’S GOING DOWN EVERYBODY REMAING CALM

Taking the tequila bottle from Kim’s hand, Steve moved to stand at the side of the table, resisting the urge to grin when he saw the way Billy’s eyes widened in surprise. It made for a funny picture, what with the lime in his mouth.

Fuuuuuuuckckkkk adkalsjdflkajeeirh[ewihr!!!m asdi

Steve summoned up his old “King of Hawkins High” courage, tipping the bottle and splashing the liquid over Billy’s stomach, taking care that most of it ended up in the dip of his navel. With a hand on either side of Billy’s head, Steve leaned in, licking a long stripe up Billy’s neck to catch the salt on his tongue. His heart skipped a beat when Billy let out a soft whine, right next to his ear.

He slid down the other boy’s body, aware that people were watching them now. How could they not when Billy was staring at Steve with heavy lidded eyes, chest heaving as Steve dipped his head to drink the tequila straight out of Billy’s belly button. Steve didn’t miss the way Billy’s muscles twitched under him. The way his abs quivered and his breath hitched, hips twitching almost imperceptibly but oh, Steve noticed.

IMS SO .A JJUST HIE WHINEEEEES?? i’M TURNED ON AND NEED A MINUTE HANG ON PEEPS hooooooooo boy.

He cleaned up quickly and got ready for bed before the shame of it all could set in, unaware that someone had been listening right outside the door.

Who could it be? hmmmmm. Also, Steve, the above scene was like, clue 3, 4, AND 5. Please, it’s time to get on the clue bus.

The crop top was grey with long sleeves, the Everlast logo written in big black letters across it. It stopped just below Billy nipple line and god, Steve wanted to slip his hands underneath it and— Billy snapped his fingers in Steve’s face, bringing him out of his crop top fantasy.

IN THAT MOMENT WE WERE ALL STEVE

There was something intimate about Billy putting his art on Steve’s body. Using him as his muse and his medium in one. Steve could feel himself getting hard, something he knew would be difficult to conceal since he was wearing a pair of sweatpants.

Billy: likes Steve Steve: turned on by this

….pressing a kiss just below Steve’s ear, his fingers sliding down the front of Steve’s sweats and-

“Wait!” Steve cried suddenly.

Billy pulled his hand away like he’d been burnt.

Lemme say, I love and respect you, Lily, bc I love consent, also Im so turned on this is not cool when is bILLY gonna stick his hand down my pants

Billy had requested he leave them on while he “rode him into oblivion” (Billy’s words, not Steve’s.) It was great in theory, but by the end of it they were so fogged up he couldn’t see a damn thing.

Lmao been there, Steve.

“Don’t know how you didn’t know I liked you,” Billy grumbled, tracing patterns across Steve’s chest.

yEAH. Billy’s kinda OBVIOUS. STEVE, you’ve finally solved the case, thank fuck.

LILY, this is sooooo goood, and the sex was insanely hot I died. Like, my soul left my body for a solid 5 minutes, and came back to sweet fluff. Thank you for hitting all the kinks: mutual pining, dumb steve, lil shit billy, GLASSES, FUCKING HOT HANDIES AND BLOWJOBS. You’re amazing, thanks for writing!!

LINK

#harringrove #fic recs #i liveblog fic now #long post

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fightevilandthengetblownup · 5 years

Text

Chat Conversations

(for Lexy!)

Jo and Anna talking (seemingly before the binding and collar sections):

<Jo> http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1q0h6mZYM1qaqwxto1_500.gif Jo saw and felt the need to share/for nonfeelings one from that bet a while back

<Anna> hehe

<Anna> “are you saying you miss me?”

<Jo> “Miss. Miss is such a strange word, could mean lots of things..”

<Anna> “I didn’t hear a gun so I assume that you didn’t miss me that way.”

<Jo> “Maybe I was going old school. If I was missing you that way. Why do you ask? Did you want me to be saying I miss you?”

<Anna> “Defensive much?”

<Jo> “More like curious.”

<Anna> “What would you say if I said looking back at some of this has made me miss you.”

<Jo> “I might say that I’d agree.”

<Anna> “wow..we’re agreeing.”

<Jo> “Not exactly that uncommon… …No, actually thats sort of a lie”

<Anna> *Anna laughs*

<Jo> “It’s even more uncommon that we’re not fighting. Nice, even.”

<Anna> “I agree, it’s nice. Those are the best memories, when we weren’t fighting.”

<Jo> “Most definitely. Or when it was just pointless bickering that didn’t go out of our mucking about with it.”

<Anna> “You mean like you trying to get in my pants.”

<Jo> “Rather when I was kidding about it. Was still right about that bra.”

<Anna> *Anna smirks teasing* “I missed that banter and your frustration”

<Jo> “… Same. Though I dont really miss the frustration.” *Jo grins back*

<Anna> “But you were so cute”

<Jo> “Oh screw you, I was frustrated. That and you never did believe me about that kind of stuff.”

<Anna> “What kind of stuff and frustration made you cute.”

<Jo> “Frustration does not make me cute! And the kind of stuff like if you wore some weirdly angelic white lacey number.”

<Anna> *Anna smiles* “Yes frustration does make you cute. You’re cute now. And you don’t have to worrry about the lacey stuff. I rarely wear a bra now.”

<Jo> “it does not! I am not cute, in any form be it normally or frustrated or what. And I’m… glad to hear you’re embracing my take on the world. Less things to get in the way.”

<Anna> “Totally cute.”

<Jo> “God dammit..”

<Anna> *Anna giggles madly*

<Jo> *Shakes head staring, starting to smile again after a second* “Either nostalgia has gone to your head, you’ve somehow eaten too much candy or your really happy right now. This is so weird…”

<Anna> *Anna shrugs* “I don’t know but this is comfortable and it feels nice again to not fight with you everytime we open our mouths*

<Jo> “I cant help but completely agree.. Its nice actually.”

<Anna> “It is.”

<Jo> “I’d ask how you were doing or what you’ve been up to but chances are one of us will get upset, so I’m goin’ to just make a joke ‘bout my habits rubbing off on you if you’re not wearing your bra that much these days.”

<Anna> “I’m sure other habits have rubbed off but it’s like you said if we went into details one of us would probably get upset.”

<Jo> *Frowns for a second before shaking her head and laughing* “You know.. I’m surprisingly past that. It’s not like I can get upset about your having a sex life these days since I do too, and lord knows that might be whats helping you mellow out so much these days.”

<Anna> *Anna blushes a bit* “Who said I was talking about sex. I’m sure you have lots of bad habits I could pick up on without it being sexual in nature.”

<Jo> “Very few of my other bad habits would probably make us upset.” *Jo grins slightly at Anna’s blushing before it turns into a smirk* “Course, the blush completely gives you away anyway”

<Anna> “Oh shut up.”

<Jo> “To steal a phrase - you’re cute when your embarrassed.”

<Anna> “I am not!”

<Jo> *Jo just laughs*

<Anna> *Anna grumbles*

<Jo> “So, you’ve stolen my no bra and sexcapades - have you progressed to no panties yet?” *Jo continues grinning*

<Anna> “No….” *Anna blushes more thinking about some of the things she has progressed too* “Possibly sleeping nude..”

<Jo> “Lucky.” *Tilting her head at the blushing, Jo gives a laugh* “Theres something else though. Cause you’re doing the cute blushing thing again.”

<Anna> “No..there isn’t.” *Anna says looking away from Jo* “It’s not like I kiss and tell anyway.”

<Jo> “Fine fine, I’ll leave you and your monsters filthy kinky sex habits be.”

<Anna> “They are not filthy!” *Anna says a lil too fast looking indignant*

<Jo> *Jo bursts into giggles at that* “Oh, but now I think they are!”

<Anna> *Anna crosses her arms* “I think you would have liked some of it if we had stayed together*

<Jo> “You’re gonna have to give me examples, cause I’m a bit more vanilla than most people think.” *She smirks back at Anna, cocking an eyebrow suggestively*

<Anna> “Oh what are you asking for a demonstration?” *Anna raises a brow looking at Jo*

<Jo> *Jo snorts slightly, waving a hand* “I don’t think your boytoy would like that. I said examples.”

<Anna> “And I doubt yours would take kindly to it either.” *Anna grins*

<Jo> “Casual sex.” *Jo points at herself* “Relationship. I think your guy has more sway in the matter.” *She points back at Anna, shaking her head slightly*

<Anna> “True. And I think it would be more fun to leave you to wonder.” *Anna grins impishly at Jo*

<Jo> “Not sure that’s a good thing, given I’ve got a pretty active imagination.” *Smirks back at her*

<Anna> “Its probably not but really who are you going to ask? Gray? I doubt it.”

<Jo> “Suddenly Im thinking I could probably bully some answers out of Harry if I was interested enough..”

<Anna> “All Harry will have heard is screams and moans.”

<Jo> “Thank god for his poor virgin eyes then.” *Jo laughs again, smiling*

<Anna> *Anna laughs and then blushes* “Then there was that one time..the door was open to the bedroom..”

<Jo> *Jo stops laughing for a second before starting again* “Oh lord, you left the door open?! Though I guess I can’t say much but gees, what if someone came to see if you were okay?”

<Anna> “It wasn’t my choice! Gray hit all the right spots and well..I didn’t want to stop to close it and he wasn’t going too. I think he was enjoying it.” *Anna shakes her head, thankful Cas hasn’t said anything about it.*

<Jo> *Jo stares before flushing embarrassedly and laughing* “Oh god, me and him have something in common then. And of course he wasn’t going to, though no harm no foul?”

<Anna> “And it’s not like Harry would have seen anything he hasn’t already seen before.” *Anna gives Jo a pointed look and then tilts her head thinking.* “And why am I always the one naked in these things.”

<Jo> *Jo bursts out into hysterics at Anna’s look, shrugging a shoulder as she tries to talk through it* “Cause… Youre less aggressive?”

<Anna> *Anna huffs as Jo laughs and she waits for the blond to get herself back under control* “I wouldn’t say less aggressive..”

<Jo> “You’re not just gonna stradle someone, rip your and their clothes off and get right to it there and then. You’re.. a little more patient.” *It took a while but Jo gets herself together and smirks wickedly as she talks, raising an eyebrow*

<Anna> “Well no, that isn’t my style but..nevermind.”

<Jo> “No, but what…?”

<Anna> “Nothing. Let’s just say, Gray has come back from feeding to some intersting things.” *Anna says with a smirk and a blush*

<Jo> *Jo pauses for a second before grinning slightly* “Now /that/ is something I wouldn’t have expected. …Wait, did your involve porn or dress ups - or dress downs as the case may be?”

<Anna> *Anna squirms* “I’m not sure how you classify it.”

<Jo> “I’m gonna say not ‘personal time’ things then.” *Jo shakes her head slightly, flushing slightly before grinning* “Were there costumes or no clothes? Easiest way to tell.”

<Anna> “Um. No costumes..”

<Jo> “….Fancy underwear? Or starkers?”

<Anna> “Neither”

<Jo> “… Okay you’re gonna have to explain. Before I start thinkin’ he walked in on your getting off. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing to happen in my experience.”

<Anna> “No! no! nothing like that..but..well..” *Anna squirms turning red* “Thanks for leaving behind some of the silver chains down stairs*

<Jo> *Jo stares before laughing* “Oh god.”

<Anna> “Shut up!”

<Jo> “Thats just…” *Jo continues giggling*

<Anna> “Just what?” *Anna says regretting saying anything*

<Jo> “I wouldnt have expected is all. Well, from him, yeah, but I wouldnt have predicted you would.”

<Anna> “Well I did it for him..but it was fun..” *Anna grins just a bit*

<Jo> *Jo smirks back nodding her head* “I’m sure he probably enjoyed that.”

<Anna> “Oh he did, twice.”

<Jo> *She snorts out a laugh, shaking her head* “I could actually believe you did that..”

<Anna> “Why is it so hard to believe?” *Anna tilts her head*

<Jo> “I said could. Its not hard to believe at all, though I wouldn’t have expected it.”

<Anna> *Anna shrugs some* “I guess I want to make sure Gray stays happy and its different”

<Jo> “… There a reason he wouldnt be?” *Jo frowns slightly, crossing her arms* “I’m suddenly so glad I don’t need to worry about that these days”

<Anna> “No, stupid ass won’t leave even if it’s for his own good.”

<Jo> *She raises an eyebrow for a second before waving her hand for Anna to explain*

<Anna> “Crowley used me to get to him. He begged for Crowley for me..and nothing I do now will get him to leave or fight back as long as Crowley has me for leverage.” *Anna’s frustration is starting to show some*

<Jo> “That… ….sucks. A lot.” *Jo frowns slightly* “Did you want him to fight back and risk your safety instead?”

<Anna> “I don’t ..I’m not worth it. He shouldn’t just do what Crowley says because I might be hurt. It’s not like I haven’t been hurt before and he’s not supposed to be willing to lay down for me like that!”

<Jo> “It’s called being whipped Anna, or in the more affectionate venacular - love. You’d do the exact same for him, so regardless of my feelings on the subject given I’d really like to see him flayed alive by Crowley these days…” *Jo pulls a face as she says the word ‘love’, frowning back at Anna* “Youre stuck with it. You tamed the beast, now you’re gonna have to deal with it.”

<Anna> *Anna give Jo a glare as she says she wants to see Gray flayed alive by Crowley*

<Jo> “Oh come on. I’ll let you have a snark about Grey and then we’re all even. It’s not like your boy doesn’t want me hung, drawn, quarterd and fed to birds.”

<Anna> “Only becaus of what you did…”

<Jo> “And I only feel that way about him cause of what he did. We’re both justified in our hatred of one another Anna, that aint gonna change”

<Anna> “Did I say I wanted it to change?”

<Jo> “The glare indicated otherwise…”

<Anna> “Well for once I wish you were right and I could do whatever it is that I do to drive people off and drive Gray off. I would happily accept it being my fault and ending up alone then if it kept him and everyone else safe because you know I’m such a fuck up.” *Anna turns walking off*

<Jo> “I doubt you could do that - driving him off wont stop Crowley!” *Jo calls after Anna, sighing slightly at the end*

<Anna> “maybe but least then he would fight back.”

<Jo> “Again, I doubt it.”

<Anna> *Anna just makes a sound of frustration*

<Jo> “Anna its not that simple to get rid of that protective feeling, regardless of his being a monster or not. Why do you think Crowley picked you for the second person, not Dean or Sam or anyone else? It doesnt go away that quickly.”

<Anna> “he picked me because I tried to kill him, he holds a long grudge.”

<Jo> “No. He picked you because he knew it would hurt me on top of that.”

<Anna> “Well then everyone would be better off if I were dead.”

<Jo> “Do you have a deathwish or something? I thought I was the suicidal one of us all.”

<Anna> *Anna doesn’t say anything*

<Jo> *Jo sighs* “Anna, as it stands, youre making it better being alive and being used as a bargaining tool. A weight over peoples heads that is. Cause all we’re getting is emotional pain, it’s a buffer to stop everyone acting stupidly and getting hurt more. I mean - I came away with only a busted lip from my talk with Crowley, at least visibly.”

<Anna> “Is this supposed to make me feel better??

<Anna> “

<Jo> “…Sorta?”

<Anna> “You still suck at giving pep talks.”

<Jo> “You thought over everything that’d be what changed?” *Jo smiles slightly, hoping Anna’d follow cue*

<Jo> out of* (wtf brain?)

<Anna> *Anna just shakes her head going and retrieving a bottle of drink* “I don’t know what to think anymore.” *opening it she just drinks straight from the bottle*

<Jo> *Jo raises an eyebrow at Anna grabbing the bottle and drinking straight* “Well, that’s different. C’mon, lets look at it this way - what /has/ changed with me since… everything? I know you’ve gotten more adventurous and seem to like your liquor to squash things now. Your turn.”

* STATUS: Online

<Anna> “I know you’re with Grey..living there, seem happy even if you call it casual. Your mom is back, you’re hunting still, Crowley made you drug me…mostly what’s different is your monster relationship.” *Anna doesn’t say anything about what Jo says about her drinking.*

<Jo> *Jo keeps her face straight as Anna speaks, lips tugged out to an almost pout* “You’re less likely to pick a fight.”

<Anna> “What do you mean?”

<Jo> “It’s something thats changed.”

<Anna> *Anna shrugs*

<Jo> “Well its true.”

<Anna> “What is new with you that I don’t know?”

<Jo> *Jo frowns for a second, thinking* “I’ve been saying I’m sorry.”

* STATUS: Online

<Anna> *Anna looks surprised for a moment and takes a drink* “Huh..it is the end of the world after all. One of the signs of the apocalype, rivers shall run red, fire shall rain down, cities will fall and Jo Harvelle will apologize.”

<Jo> “A few very ugly fights with more than just the one person tends to do it.” *Jo shrugs a shoulder before reaching for the bottle and swigging back a mouthful*

<Anna> “With more than one? So it wasn’t just all me after all?” *Anna can’t help but sound just a bit amused*

<Jo> “You can blame your boytoy and that predjudist view you used to have about monsters for it all.” *She scowls slightly, taking another larger drink* “Me and Mom were fighting tooth and nail long before you and I were… And then there-nevermind.”

<Anna> “Oh no you didn’t let me off the hook. And there was??” *Anna takes the bottle back from Jo taking another drink*

* Quit

* Rejoined

<Jo> (I missed that. Resend)

<Anna> <Anna> “Oh no you didn’t let me off the hook. And there was??” *Anna takes the bottle back from Jo taking another drink*

<Jo> *Hitting her forhead Jo sighs, pulling a face* “And there was my fight with Grey about… ….inappropriate techniques to make people stay and answer questions which was highly wrong. Of me.”

<Anna> *Anna snorts* “You used iron on him didn’t you?”

<Jo> “… Yes.” *Jo cringes taking the bottle back and taking two large gulps before continuing* “Shackles actually.”

<Anna> *Anna laughs slightly* “Wow and all I did was lock Gray in a room.”

<Jo> “Yeah, shut up, I know. Bad bad bad bad bad. I swear to god I thought he was going to blow up or somethin’… Can’t believe I did that honestly.” *Jo continues to drink for a few more seconds before offering the bottle over*

<Anna> *Anna takes the bottle laughing still before taking a drink* “I can, you used to threaten me with holy oil all the time and I think a few times you would have used it if it hadn’t been fatal.”

<Jo> “Difference is I didn’t like you back then. I blame your dick of a partner for getting me in a flurry before it happened.”

<Anna> “Gray held a gun to your head and forced you to shackle his twin?”

<Jo> *Jo sighs, shaking her head and running her hand through her hair* “No, he… Not the point. Just. I’ve been getting over my stupidass pride more, is all.”

<Anna> *Anna takes another drink* “Yep end of the world, were doomed.”

<Jo> “Glad to know I’m now a sign of the Apocalypse coming. Again.”

<Anna> *Anna smirks offering Jo the bottle* “Could be worse..could have been the apacalypse”

<Jo> “I’m not even going to pretend that was amusing.” *Jo shakes her head, taking another swig, changing topics dramatically* “Have you said ‘I love you’?”

<Anna> *Anna blinks and looks like a deer in the headlights* “What? How did we get onto this? What does this have to do with what we were talking about??”

<Jo> “It’s somethign different, we never actually said it, so I was wondering if you’d said it these days.” *Jo smiles slightly around the lip of the bottle, taking a smaller drink* “So, have you?”

<Anna> *Anna reaches for the bottle taking another drink* “If I didn’t say it you and you have human emotions, what makes you think I’ll say something like that to Gray?”

<Jo> “Cause. I’m an emotional cripple with no tact or seeming understandiing human emotion as it is. He at least knows what they are to eat off of them - so who knows you might have. Was just wondeirng.”

<Anna> “You seem to be getting better. Have you admitted to Grey they you really like him?”

<Jo> *Jo snags the bottle back, looking slightly serious though taken aback by Anna’s question* “He’s my best friend, and I love him. He knows that much. What makes you think I like him more than that?”

<Anna> “Because he seems to tolerate you even after pulling a stunt like iron shackles so there must be some serious feelings running deep.”

<Jo> “Tolerate sounds so cold… And it took a while but I think we’re past that - at least he doesn’t freak out when I touch his wrists any more, and I’ve been paying my dues for it. I asked why you thought /I/ really like him though”

<Anna> “You’re still with him and you’re admitting that you apologized and called him a best friend and you love him.” *Anna raises a brow at Jo* “He obviously has something that I didn’t to get you to move forward like that”

<Jo> “He just lets me be me is all. I’m just trying to fix the problems I’ve had in the friendships and relationships I’ve fucked up. Learn from mistakes and what not - make up for them if I can.” *Jo shrugs a shoulder, taking another drink* “You didn’t answer my question.”

<Anna> *Anna takes the bottle taking a drink trying to not feel bitter at hearing Jo saying she’s trying to work through her mistakes with Grey but didn’t try with her till the point everythign was wrecked.* “What was the question?”

<Jo> “Have you said anything about your feelings to Gray?” *Jo blinks at the slightly nasty look, but shrugs it off*

<Anna> “No.”

<Jo> “Because of what he is…?”

<Anna> “Because he isn’t the type to have deep emotional conversations”

<Anna> “you aren’t the only one learning from your past mistakes with people.”

<Jo> *Jo frowns slightly, before nodding her head* “Okay, yeah, I get it. You know, I’d like to be able to actually be friends after … all of this has blown past. The Crowley stuff. I mean it when I say I’m wanting to make up for things I do wrong - yourself included.”

<Anna> *Anna gives a small snort* “It’s funny that you think we will get through this.. but sure.”

<Jo> “Who knows, the guy might get so over inflated with himself he spontaneously combusts.” *Jo gives a wry smile back at her*

<Anna> “We aren’t that lucky.”

<Jo> “Never know. We might catch a break for goddamn once.”

<Anna> “Probably..arm, leg, spine…”

<Jo> “Already got the ribs covered, I say.”

<Anna> “So that just leaves the rest of the bones in the human body.”

<Jo> “At least a third are in the feet?”

<Anna> “Well thats one reason to stay in bed all day..”

<Jo> *Jo gives a laugh, taking another mouthful of the bottle, shaking it slightly* “Without the need for chains.”

<Anna> *Anna takes the bottle from Jo* “Funny..”

<Jo> “I think I’m hysterical.”

<Anna> *Anna rolls her eyes*

Jo and Anna talking for the first time after Anna gets her collar put on

<Anna> *Anna sends Jo a text with a long list of things she needs from the bar library closet asking her to bring it over*

<Jo> *It was easy enough to find the things Anna was after, it was the sheer number which was annoying as Jo fumbles her way to Anna’s apartment. Knocking once, Jo tries the handle, heading inside when it’s unlocked* “What on earth is with all this stuff, Anna? You planning on making some magical bath for your leg or something?”

<Anna> *Anna comes out of the bathroom after having a shower to work out the kinks out of her muscles from a day of failed attempts. Toweling her hair dry she points to the kitchen counter.* “You can put that there and no something else. Thanks Jo for bringing it over.”

<Jo> *Setting them down, Jo turns to look at the other, frowning at the shiny metal around her neck and the lack of bruising and problems* “No problem. …Where’d you get the jewellery from, that looks really familiar?”

<Anna> “Oh I thought you would have heard all about it from Grey.” *Anna raises an eyebrow, her voice a bit rough as she walks over looking through the bags and sorting them for each spell.*

<Jo> “Funnily enough, you’re not exactly a topic of conversation we have any more.” *She sighs, raising her brow back at Anna as she crosses her arms and leans back against the counter* “So.. what happened?”

<Anna> “Crowley, what else happens, beside Grey and Ruby. He put it on, Grey got a good laugh as he caught me walking home. Gray is pissed..by the way, thank you Jo. I don’t know what you said to him but thank you.” *Anna looks at her smiling some.“

<Jo> "Ah, that’s why it.. that makes sense. And I’m sure he did, this is the exact type of thing Grey finds amusing.” *Jo shakes her head, running a hand through her hair as Anna thanks her, shrugging a shoulder* “I let the guy beat up on me and told him he wasn’t allowed to do something, nothing too hard. I cleared up the stuff he was reading into you and Grey as well though.”

<Anna> “You alright?” *Anna could imagine if she caught Gray in a foul mood and tried to talk to him about her when he didn’t want too.

<Jo> *Shrugging again, Jo rubs at her neck briefly before crossing her arms again* “It’s fine. I’ve had worse from him before so it’s not so bad.”

<Anna> *Anna nods walking over to sit on the bed.* “Crowley’s given him a choice, he can either take it out on me or Crowley will bend him over he won’t and he isn’t.”

<Jo> “You sure Crowley isn’t just trying to worm his way into joining the two of you? Because that’s a new threat I’ve only heard the both of you get delivered.” *The flash of sympathy Jo feels towards Anna and Gray gets stomped down as hard as possible - at least those for the monster of the pair - with a quick spin to look away from Anna and fiddle with some of the bowls left out*

<Anna> “We aren’t exactly back together, just talking and no. I think Crowley is enjoying using me against him.” *Anna snorts softly as she shakes her head, it’s either laugh or cry at this time about the fact she’s a weakness for Gray.* “I keep hoping he gets bored with us but no luck.” *She bites her lip to stop from saying that she wishes he would go after Grey.*

<Jo> *Jo sends Anna a thoughtful look before tapping her knuckles against the top of the counter* “I’m sorry if I cant really get any sympathy for him about that - you sure, but him.. not really. I don’t want that asshole getting bored and snooping about my house.”

<Anna> “I know. Someone has to keep him busy while you kill him.” *Anna runs her hand through her hair and she sighs, she’s not used to stepping back from everything but it’s what she’s doing now.* “How are you doing in that?”

<Jo> “Good actually. I think I have a short list of spells which might do the trick, now it’s just a case of.. finding the right one, the right changes and the right ingredients.” *She sighs again, rubbing at the back of her neck awkwardly, giving Anna a look* “Any advancements on your end?”

<Anna> *Anna shakes her head* “I don’t know anymore I’m just stepping back before I mess anything else up for anyone.”

<Jo> “Stepping back and waiting for the horror again? Sounds…. dreadful.”

<Anna> “It is but hey at least I’m just a bitch now instead of a control freak bitch.” *Anna jokes weakly*

<Jo> *Jo just shoots Anna a look, shiftng to move to stand nearer the bed* “So… whats all this stuff for then?”

<Anna> “Trying to get my new jewelry off, can’t do any damage that way to anyone but myself. So far, I’ve got a sore throat and I feel like i’ve been run over by a truck.” *Anna shrugs some as she looks at Jo scooting over and making room for her if she wants to sit.*

<Jo> *Moving her weight from one foot to the other, Jo looks about and then back to Anna and the collar with a frown* “Have you got him to try and help with it? I know that Grey couldn’t get his off, even back when the two of them were joined and fighting against it.”

<Anna> “He tried when he saw it but hasn’t touched it since everytime anything happens it..well… Have you ever seen one of those collars a dog wears if it barks?” *Anna huffs feeling embarassed and annoyed at the same time, she still can’t stand the idea of what it represents.*

<Jo> *She nods, giving the plain metal surface a curious look before sitting down* “I recognise tha tlook on your face, I’m guessing it really fucking hurts when you try? At least it doesnt shrink?”

<Anna> *Anna nods and then she laughs* “Don’t say that too loud and give him ideas. And Grey can kiss my ass if he thinks I’m just going to sit here and wait for Crowley to take it off. He enjoyed rubbing that fact in my face.”

<Jo> “…You should be glad he hasn’t seemingly taken up any of my ideas yet, actually.” *Jo kicks her foot out against the floor, bouncing her ankle against the surface* “I’m sure he did, Anna, like I say, this is totally to his sense of humor.”

<Anna> “Sense of humor? It’s spite and hate, I’ve seen Gray have that same look in his face when he’s rubbing salt into a wound. Stop trying to down play it but we were good, no one touched each other.” *Anna snaps and then she looks at Jo as she realizes what Jo said.* “Wait, what are your ideas?”

<Jo> “Like I said, I’m sure he did. So long as no ones touching or hurting one another, I don’t care how much steam you blow up at one another, Anna. I know you’re just as likely to find enjoyment out of his being beaten and broken down as he is his, so I’ll downplay the both of you until someone bleeds.” *Her voice is blank as she looks back at her, shrugging a shoulder* “I gave him some suggestions when he was trying to make me his babysitter.”

<Anna> “Is these ideas anything I should be worried about?” *Anna ignores Jo’s comments on Grey but she raises a brow at the wording, no touching and no bleeding, maybe she can do something about the monster after all.*

<Jo> “..If you don’t like acid or starving to death, then yeah, I’d say so.” *Jo shrugs, picking at her jeans as she looks away from Anna with a frown*

<Anna> “Sounds pleasant.” *Anna looks at Jo studying her and she tilts her head to the side.* “You seem upset, what’s wrong?”

<Jo> “Definitely not pleasant. He seemed to find them enjoyable enough not to come after me with them, but I’d be on the look out if I were you.” *Anna’s question stumps her a bit, not really sure how she could explain in such a way that Anna wouldn’t see it as a free shot towards her housemate* “It’s nothing. Just my talk with your not-partner got me thinking about some stuff is all.”

<Anna> *Anna raises a brow.* “What do you mean?” *She tries to keep the edge out of her voice but she can’t help it a bit because Gray just started to talk to her again.*

<Jo> *Jo shoots the other a look, shrugging a shoulder again even if she wants to snap back at the tone* “Just stuff, okay? He’ll be fine”

<Anna> “No offense Jo, you generally have a small list of things you think about. How to kill, how to fuck, what to drink or eat and can you do the other two while killing something.” *Anna gives Jo a look to elaborate on which of these things she’s thinking about.*

<Jo> *Jo flushes, half in anger half in embarrassment, at Anna’s comment, crossing her arms and standing up* "Its not of your damn business, okay? I’ve just been thinkin’ is all and it’s not just about your guy.“

<Anna> *Anna holds her hands up in defeat.* "Fine fine but you seem like you have something on your mind is all.”

<Jo> “Yeah, well.. I do. But it’s fine.” *Jo scowls slightly, shooting Anna a look when she doesn’t seem like she’s about to fight it out with her about it* “It’s just.. I’m not acting like I should be but I’m not feeling weird about it. Which is weird, is all.”

<Anna> “So you’re not feeling like you want to kill him, is that what you’re saying Jo?” *Anna tilts her head as Jo seems really uncomfortable right now,*

<Jo> *Rubbing the back of her neck, Jo shifts her weight between her feet, looking anywhere but at Anna* “In a very dumbed down version, sort of. I want to kill him, I do, I just… don’t want to kill him all the time. He needs to be killed, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want to every second of the day.”

<Anna> *Anna snorts* “So he’s growing on you then.” *She’s trying to not smile, glad for some thing to make her laugh right now. She just never thought it would be hearing Gray is growing on Jo.*

<Jo> “/No/!” *Jo practically shouts back, digging her nails into the back of her neck to stop from throwing her hands upwards, scowling at Anna’s attempt to hide her amusement. Pacing a little way aways and then back, the scowl doesn’t shift at all, even as she rolls her shoulders and continues quietly* “It’s not that.. I don’t like him, I just.. understand him a bit. And it’s not just him, I’m not working properly and it’s throwing me off.”

<Anna> “He’s totally growing on you. Is that why you tried to get him to talk to me? Because if this had been reversed and I thought that you were dating a sociopath of a monster I would do everything I could to keep you from going back to him.” *Scooting back she gives Jo room to explode.*

<Jo> “He’s not! He’s a sociopathic asshole with no redeeming features at all and I have no clue how or why you like him at all and he’s just..” *Jo keeps pacing, not even looking at Anna and turning redder and redder as she talks, scowling fiercely* “He’s throwing me off! Him and his brother! I’m not acting right and it’s bloody pissing me off.”

<Anna> “Gray’s the psychopath, Grey is the sociopath.” *Anna offers helpfully as Jo keeps pacing. She’s not sure she’s ever seen Jo so red and she’s having a hard time keeping herself from laughing.* “How is the fact you’re starting to accept him, his fault for throwing you off and what is his brother doing to you?”

<Jo> *Jo growls at Anna’s correction, shooting her a look as she keeps pacing, running a hand through her hair like it will calm her down* “Because I /can’t kill them/! I just… I can’t kill either of them, and I know I have to or might have to but I /can’t/, Anna. And it’s making everything else harder and I don’t.. I need to kill that bastard, but I can’t because you’ll get upset and I can fucking /understand/ him! Dont you get it?!”

<Anna> *Anna’s eyes are growing wider as Jo explodes and she finally bursts out laughing.* “You can kill him. Just pull the trigger. And how do you understand him?”

<Jo> *The second Anna laughs Jo snarls back at her, hand jerking out of her hair in a fist and hits a punch at the wall closest to her enough that a few bits of plaster shake off* “It’s not fucking funny! I’m serious!” *Glaring, she pulls her hand back, stuffing it into her jean pocket before she can punch anything again, before muttering darkly* “You don’t fucking get it.”

<Anna> “There goes that deposit…” *Anna bites back her laughter as she looks at Jo’s hand to make sure she isn’t bleeding.* “Then explain it to me. Breath deep and explain how things have changed and why you can’t kill him and why you understand him.”

<Jo> *Scowling, Jo pulls away from Anna, starting to pace again while opening and closing her hands at her sides* “I just get him, alright? He says stuff and does stuff and thinks stuff that I do, and I just.. It makes sense, a lot of it. Not the psychopath crap but a lot of the other stuff, and… I can’t kill him, because once again, that would mean you’d kill … and I can’t have that either so it's just throwing me off of my game. I can’t /hunt/, Anna, it’s hard. It’s never been hard before, but now, I just..” *She slows to a very sedate walking pace, hitting her hands gently against her hips before sighing* “It’s messing me up.”

<Anna> “Welcome to how I started seeing Gray. At some level he’s a lot like us but just more bloody when he gets pissed off. Trust me he keeps growing on you. And Grey, is a lot more like his brother than you want to admit and you’re having a hard time with that because if you want to kill Gray then you should want to kill Gray.” *Anna raises a brow at Jo to see if she’s close to be right.*

<Jo> “I don’t /want/ him to, Anna. I want him dead, I don’t want to be thinking about this or to have that minute pause every time I go to stab or shoot something of ‘what makes this so different’. I don’t want to deal with that, I want him /gone/.” *Jo hisses back, hitting her fist hard against her hip as she looks back at Anna’s look* “And that’s not the case at all. I know what Grey’s /really/ like, not just the jackass he is around you or how nice he is around Harry, alright? He’s not hurting anybody or at least he doesn’t want to, Gray on the other hand just wants everyone to be hurt.”

<Anna> “Really? Then why did you go try not once but twice to get us back together?” *Anna can’t understand some of what’s Jo going through because she could still kill Grey without hesitation.*

<Jo> “I don’t know! You were upset, and he was being creepy, and I just..” *Jo hits her hip again before crossing her arms, frown firmly in place*

<Anna> “Have you ever felt bad for him?” *Anna gets up going to the freezer taking out a bottle of vodka she has in it and throws it to Jo*

<Jo> *Jo catches the bottle, waving it a bit to test how much was in it, almost surprised by the amount, before screwing off the top and taking a quick swig of it, starting to pace again* “…Why?”

<Anna> “Just curious.” *Anna goes back to the bed, sitting cross legged as she watches Jo. She sorta feels bad for her but not totally and she’s more than a bit pleased to know that Jo can’t just flat out kill Gray now.*

<Jo> “I felt bad for him putting up with your crazy moodswings, for one.” *She mutters in response, looking suspciously at Anna’s almost pleased expression*

<Anna> “I feel bad for anyone putting up with me.” *Anna prompts knowing that Jo puts up with her more than she should even now.*

<Jo> *Jo nods, tipping her head back for another mouthful from the bottle, not really feeling any better for it* “Yeah well, what the fuck else are we supposed to do for loved ones, right?”

<Anna> “Protect them?” *Anna smiles some watching Jo take another swig.* “So have you been feeling bad for Gray?”

<Jo> “…Other than that? Why should I?” *She mutters quietly, shoulders shrinking up as she frowns slightly* “I just understand him, doesn’t mean I give a crap what he goes through. I’d much rather not know anything at all and put a bullet through his frontal lobe.”

<Anna> “But does knowing make it even harder to put a bullet through him? You know before he left he said to take care of myself and watch out for you as well. Whatever you did, I think he’s going through a bit of the same because I’ve never seen Gray express concern for you.” *Anna’s voice drops some as she looks at Jo, thinking about Gray.*

<Jo> *Jo’d opened her mouth to speak at Anna’s question but cuts herself off when Anna continues talking, staring almost in disbelief at her* “He.. what? That’s not like him..” *She says the words but doesn’t really believe them, figuring that if she could find some kind of connection other than mutual hatred with him, then it’d probably be the same in reverse* “…It does make it harder, of course.”

<Anna> “Who knows, maybe if we all live through this everything will go back to normal or you two will actually not hate each other. Maybe there’s been some good come out of Crowley after all.” *Anna smiles some at Jo.*

<Jo> *The thought makes Jo shudder, taking another swig from the bottle* “It’s kind of depressing to think me and Gray are more likely to make ammends than you and his brother.”

<Anna> “That is a depressing thought but who knows, things could change. I would have never thought that I would witness the budding chance of friendship between you and Gray.” *Anna chuckles some as she holds out her hand for the bottle.*

<Jo> *Jo snorts at Anna, flushing out of anger for certain this time* “There will be no friendship - he’s a cold blooded murderer.” *She looks between Anna’s hand and the bottle consideringly before grumbling and handing it over, kicking her ankle against the side of the bed as she passes*

<Anna> *Taking the bottle she drinks and offers it back to Jo as the liquor burns going down, not feeling the best on her throat and she coughs some* “Well, friendship is a strong word. Acceptance of each other, let’s put it that way.” *Anna teases Jo some.*

<Jo> “You probably shouldn’t drink anything for a while Anna.” *Jo takes the bottle back, drinking another mouthful before capping it, setting the bottle on the kitchen counter as she stays back away from Anna again, slightly grumpy at the insinuation of potential friendship* “Again - he’s a cold blooded killer. It’s wrong, he can exist /without/ killing anyone or anything, and yet he decides not to. I can’t abide by it..”

<Anna> “Why are you holding him to human standards? He’s not and it’s not fair to expect him to go outside of his nature. It would be like asking you to stop hunting and go into, I don’t know raise puppies.” *Anna challenges Jo.*

<Jo> “I’m not, I’m holding him to the same standards I hold the rest of their kind: are they killing people? Are they intentionally hurting them? Do they have other options? Are they taking them? I get a yes, yes, yes and a no playing the 'Does Gray do this’ game. How 'bout you?” *Jo scowls, crossing her arms as she leans back against the counter* “They don’t /have/ to kill to survive, but he does it.”

<Anna> “No he kills because he wants too. But then again he was created because Crowley did something to Grey correct so he’s unique to the rest of his kind.” *Anna counters logically.*

<Jo> “Yeah, he’s.. ….He’s the part of Grey that didn’t want to stop being a monster, basically. All he does is do what he wants, no regard for anyone or anything else. He’s got no restraint or control - or rather, he has too much control and he just doesn’t care what he does with it.”

<Anna> “And he’s starting to change.”

<Jo> “He’s still hurting people, or he still wants to and will.” *Jo raises an eyebrow, shifting to sit attop the counter space since the table was broken and she didn’t feel like sitting in the table-less chairs or near Anna* “How come he is able to change, yet you won’t believe that Grey isn’t what you think he is?”

<Anna> “Because Gray doesn’t hide what he feels or is. Grey does nothing but work to make others forget he’s a monster but he has no problem acting like one if he doesn’t value your life. Sound familier?” *Anna shifts so she’s facing where Jo has decided to finally sit.*

<Jo> “He sounds like you, honestly.” *Jo looks back at Anna blankly, almost anticipating the response to that, even as she shakes her head at the, in her opinion, shallow interpretation of the monsters*

<Anna> *Anna shrugs* “I’ve got a higher body count technically than you all put together if you really want to talk about killers. Maybe it’s why I can seperate it easier between the two of them.”

<Jo> “Not because you wanted to though, and theres your difference.”

<Anna> “Killing an innocent though is killing an innocent. Why are you holding me different than Gray?”

<Jo> “Because you didn’t /want/ to. You didn’t do it because it made you happy or brought you joy - the same way Grey doesn’t. …While your guy on the other hand does it for kicks, and don’t even try to deny it - I know he does because I get the same when I kill something that I wanted to.” *Jo bites her lip as she finishes, staring at Anna even as she got quieter as she talked*

<Anna> “Then why do you kill the monsters that have no choice but to eat humans. Do they want to because it’s them or the human? How is that justified? Do you feel the same sense of satisfaction or is it simply your duty as a hunter?” *Anna’s expressions have almost vanished as she sits looking straight at Jo, unblinking.*

<Jo> “If they can’t control themselves and are hurting people, then it’s my duty to protect people. It upsets me to kill those that can’t help themselves - the monsters who can’t fight it and who aren’t aware or don’t know any more. If they have the ability to make a choice but decide to continue because that’s what they want?” *Jo shrugs her shoulder, feeling a little too analysed under Anna’s gaze* "Then I /want/ to kill them.“

<Anna> "But you’re hurting them. What makes humans so supperior to monsters? You don’t like it when the angels considered you little better than trash but you are more than happy to do it monsters.” *Anna’s voice still remains flat as she starts to understand more of why Jo is bothered by Gray.*

<Jo> “I don’t give a crap where any one is on the superiority scale - monsters, humans, angels, we’re all really the same, just different end destinations and paths on the way there. What I do give a crap about is whether something is killing a lot of things because they /want/ to and they want to hurt other’s and make them suffer. I care about that, and I know I fall into the second catergory but I'm trying to balance the lives that I save from being killed in future by something that can’t control themselves or want to murder them - with those I do kill. I’m hoping at the end of the day my good will balance out my bad, but if it doesn’t, then I get what I deserve as well.” *Jo shrugs again, tucking her arms tightly under her chest as she looks away from Anna, the stare completely unnerving*

<Anna> “Death is death. We all live with the comfort and delusion that by killing that one we save this one in the future but when it comes down to it. We are all killers.” *Anna speaks softer now as she watches Jo still, her expression softening as well.* “Gray enjoys killing and so do you but you seem angry at Gray because he doesn’t try and justify it like you do and he doesn’t feel guilt over it.”

<Jo> *Jo nods at Anna’s first comments, knowing that it’s a little childish to have that opinion but still feeling more comfortable with that theory to life. Her head jerks back around to Anna’s face at her observation about Gray, reaching a hand up to rub at the back of her neck* “..Maybe? He doesn’t care that he doesn’t have to, he’s got no reason other than his own enjoyment and he doesn’t even show any of his victims any /respect/. That’s… that’s wrong on so many levels. I’ve seen those bodies, I’ve spoken and seen some of them while they were alive.. …Ive killed them myself. And they’re just.. it’s /wrong/ how he treats them and how he acts, Anna, it’s pointlessly cruel and horrible and he just does it because its fun. Doesn’t even give them a grave or make it so the family can learn..”

<Anna> “Do you notify the next of kin of the monsters you kill that have no choice? Do you leave them a grave other than a pile of ash in the middle of no where? Have you ever taken pleasure in prolonging the death of something or torturing it simply because it’s not the same species as you?”

<Jo> “..Werewolves and skinwalkers. Rugaru’s I track the families. The rest it gets a little harder to identify and do anything for them, most of the time the families are dead already.” *Jo chews on her lip as she ducks her head, feeling a little ashamed of herself for admitting to even following further than her cases need to, like Anna was like the hunters from the Roadhouse who expect her to be tough* “Burning is the simplest, but even that’s the same as a grave given it’s a cremation. Gray just leaves the mangled remains where ever he’s finished with them. …And you know torture isn’t exactly my favourite thing in the world. Or something I take part in often, Anna.”

<Anna> “I believe Gray would disagree with you on the torture Jo.” *Anna breathes in and she pushes her fist question more. “Those are the ones that have human families but what about those like the kitsune and djinn? They have family, structure, loved ones, do you notifiy those families or simply track them to kill them?”

<Jo> “Gray is a special circumstance.” *Jo shrugs a shoulder as she says it, looking back at Anna curiously* “I don’t know, I haven’t crossed paths with a kitsune before or anything that I know have actual family structures.”

<Anna> “Maybe it’s because while I want to be human to feel things and I admire all that I have seen from you since you first crawled out of the ocean that I favor you and I want to stop you from being wiped out but it doesn’t mean I put you as a species above others. It’s no longer balanced, no matter how many people monsters kill, it won’t ever hurt you as a race and perhaps it’s just their time to go. I don’t hold you and higher than I do Gray. When I put Grey down for being a monster, it’s because angels are above him and humans, equally.” *Anna leans back giving a small shrug as she looks away from Jo finally and towards the bottle of vodka*

<Jo> *Jo nods her head, fisting her hands into her coat pockets* “Yeah, I know Anna. Though I’d think there were both humans and monsters who might disagree about that, but I get it. I know I favor my own kind, but I try to get rid of or have bad humans taken care of as much as I can without getting myself a one way ticket straight downstairs - and if I knew a monster who wasn’t hurting other’s needed my help, I wouldn’t say no if I could help them. It’s.. it’s hard to say though, given I’ve only met a few monster’s who try to control themselves and avoid killing and hurting people.”

<Anna> “I just think you need to stop holding Gray and yourself to higher standards. He’s who he is and so are you.” *She smiles some at Jo as she stands walking over and getting the bottle, taking a drink, trying to shake the feeling she has right now.*

<Jo> “He’s who he is, and who he is is against everything I stand for..” *Jo mutters in return, twisting her hands as she looks down awkwardly*

<Anna> *Anna chuckles as she takes another drink before handing Jo the bottle.* “Yet you can understand him.”

<Jo> “Let it never be said that my life isn’t complicated.” *She takes the bottle herself, sipping another mouthful and relaxes her shoulders a little*

<Anna> *Anna nods feeling hte collar and she starts sorting herbs again, her skin crawling. She feels like an angel right now talking to Jo about this and now she feels like the collar is choking her.* “All of our lives are complicated. Angels, monsters, humans all living together and being friends.”

<Jo> *Jo looks at her out of the corner of her eye as she scratches and presses at her collar, mouth tugging up on one side as she watches* “Or hating one another, depending.”

<Anna> “If history repeats like they say it does then you and Gray are going to be best friends by how we started out at each other’s throats.” *Anna teases as she prepares the ones that need ground in a mortar and pestle*

<Jo> “In contrast to the potential for you and Grey to start knocking boots if history really does repeat itself. …Not sure if I like either of those ideas, myself.” *Jo teases back, taking another mouthful of vodka and glad to finally feel a little less stressed or aggressive from it as she watched Anna* “…What are you doing?”

<Anna> “Working on new spells and I promis to not knock boots with Grey if you don’t with Gray.” *Anna smirks a bit as she stops for another pull on the vodka, clearing her throat some.* “What’s the worse this collar does, kill me?”

<Jo> “That’s a bit of a hard promise to make. Should probably get him to agree to it as well just in case.” *Jo half jokes, leaning around to look t what Anna was mixing* “Well.. I’d say yeah, killing. Or make you completely paraplegic maybe.”

<Anna> “Well, then I couldn’t feel it when Crowley decides that he finally wants a piece of me. Might be a blessing.” *Anna jokes weakly as she adds more herbs and begins to grind them.* “Won’t have to worry about having just lame foot then either.”

<Jo> *Jo swallows dryly looking at the other as she’s focussed on the herbs and grinding, folding her own arms and shifting a little away* “Just try not to blow yourself up while I’m in the splash zone..”

<Anna> “You watch to many horror movies. My head isn’t going to explode.” *Anna takes a knife, running it over the inside of her arm, next to the other cuts and she lets the blood mix with the herbs. Human blood she muses, if she had any grace left her blood shouldn’t work but it does.*

<Jo> “You can blame that on Grey these days; never know with Crowley though, do you Anna?” *Jo watches on in interest from as far away as possible*

<Anna> “Is he taking refresher courses for how to be a monster?” *Anna takes a cheap shot as she draws the marks on the collar in blood and then lights a match, taking a breath as she throws it into the bowl, speaking in Enochian only to have her words choked off as the collar activates*

<Jo> *Jo was meaning to reply to the crack when Anna seizes, not sure what’s going on at all and leaping off the counter to grab her as she starts falling backwards* “Anna? Anna are you okay?”

<Anna> *Breathing hard she just nods, not able to speak yet. Maybe doing the rests of the tests on the bed would be smarter as Jo doesn’t let her hit the floor. If she had thought of that earlier she probably would have a few less bruises*

<Jo> *She tightens an arm around Anna’s waist before pulling her back towards the bed gently, helping to set her down* “Okay, no more blood tests. I don’t think it’s going to work.” *Jo tries to shuffle Anna back as far as possible so any movement won’t have her rolling off the bed before stroking the other’s hair from her face with a small frown* “And no, he’s not. Though maybe you’re taking refresher angel ones - unless you’re just being completely stupid wiht these attempts. Does that happen every time?”

<Anna> *Anna nods, the shock easing and she coughs taking a deep breath* “It sucks and sort of hurts.” She whispers with a weak laugh. “Thanks.” She relaxes slowly, her muscles unclenching. “Refuse to believe that Crowley is only way out.”

<Jo> “Looks like someone was zapping you with fifty stun guns at once, Anna. That can’t be good for your heart..” *Jo sighs, looking at Anna’s clammy and sweart skin before holding up a hand* “Stay.” *She rushes into the bathroom and grabs one of the small hand towels, wetting it and coming back to rest it on Anna’s forehead* “Can’t help but think that he might be. Which is disgusting as all hell”

<Anna> *The cold feels good and she closes her eyes for a moment. Jo keeps bringing things up she hadnt thought off, the shock goes down her spine she never even thought about her heart.* “Just, demon magic, not like real electricty. Crowley won’t kill his pet.” *She’s breathing easier as her chest unclenches and she reaches up with a shaking hand to move the towel down her face* “Thank you again.”

<Jo> “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. He practically did kill Grey the first time he got him. Back when he had one of these.” *Jo reaches out and taps Anna’s collar with one finger gently before moving to pick up the towel for Anna and moves it as gently as possible, frowning down at the silver piece of metal* “I’d avoid doing that more than once a day though, just to be sure..”

<Anna> “He killed Grey?” *Anna blinks not knowing that and she lays her head back letting Jo move the towel over her skin.* “More than once, that was number 6 today..I think..”

<Jo> “I said practically. I don’t know the details, I just know it was bad..” *Jo frowns slightly, giving Anna a sharp look* “/Definitely/ no more tests today. Honestly, you thought that was a good idea?”

<Anna> “No. Never said it was. Only one that can’t hurt anyone else.” *Anna winces as she looks away as Jo gives her a look.* “Tried to get Gray to try and pull it off, just ignore the shocking but he wouldn’t. Never actually finished spell, hard to speak when your jaw locks up.”

<Jo> “I’d go ahead and hazard a guess that it isn’t coming off then, because I don’t know anyone who will willingly help you or hurt you.” *Jo sighs,folding the towel into a long strip and leaving it across Anna’s neck right near where her skin was slightly red from the collar’s reaction*

<Anna> “Maybe provoke Grey, he wouldn’t care.” *Anna reaches up, rubbing the collar.* “This sucks, trade problems? Can be upset over not wanting to kill someone you can have new jewelry.”

<Jo> “He’d know it was helping you, I doubt he’d want to do that..” *Jo sighs, sounding a little bitter when she says it before an idea strikes her making her laugh awkwardly* “I wonder if I had taken Crowley up on his offer if I’d have been given a key.. And I think I’ll keep my own problems, thanks.”

<Anna> “Offer?” *Anna looks at Jo blinking several times as she feels her body wanting to shut down but she doesn’t want to sleep.*

<Jo> “I keep you 'pets’ in line.. take you out for exercise, stop any harm coming to them - and Mom gets a free ride up to Heaven and a long happy life with no problems.” *Jo shrugs, looking down at Anna as she blinks blearily* “I told him to fuck off.”

<Anna> “Still doing it though. Won’t let Grey and I fight, telling me I’m stupid for this, bringing a cold towel.” *Anna’s blinks are getting longer as her words slur worse and worse. “Could use massage if pampering pets..”

<Jo> “I’d rather do it without the connection and feeling like I’ve sold my soul to the devil.” *Jo sighs, watching her carefully before smiling slightly* “You’re not a pet, Anna, 'least not to me. Roll on your front if you want, otherwise just nod off. I’ll take care of everything.”

<Anna> “Take care of Gray?” *Anna asks as she gives up the fight and let’s her body’s demand for sleep take her. She’s relaxed there with Jo, only other person besides Gray she feels totally at ease around when they aren’t fighting.

<Jo> *Jo looks uncomfortable for a second, frowning as Anna seems to slip off slightly* “I’ll see what I can do.” *She waits until Anna’s out cold to stand up, taking the towel with her as she starts packing away the bowl of herbs and generally cleaning up and replacing the towel with another before pulling out her phone to play with instead of just leaving*

#yay chatlogs

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bloodpacks-archive · 6 years

Note

girlll what happened

alright I’ve gotten four asks about this so buckle up, get urself some popcorn, and get ready for the wildest ride of ur life with a whole lot of background info cuz this is gonna get crazy.

So, it all starts in December of my freshman year, I had been texting this guy for a while when he asked me out. I said yes, despite my friends saying that it was a bad idea. So, three days later. Three. He asks for nudes. Of course, I say no and break up with him because, a bitch don’t need that in her life. But anyway, this kid says he still likes for a whole YEAR. It takes him a year to get over me, and he still texts me every now and then and because I’m a half decent person, I respond and make sure he’s doing alright because sometimes he concerns me.

But anyway, onto now. So in sixth hour today, I get a text from him with a song. Now, this is a common occurrence and I don’t think anything of it. I forgot to listen to it. Anyway, around 4:30 today, I get a text. And it’s lyrics from the song saying how he’s gonna turn his life around because he’s clinically depressed and he wants to start getting help for that. And I’m supportive! I’m really happy for him because he’s finally getting help!!

3 minutes pass. He texts me “it’s over.” So naturally I’m like ?? but then he’s like “Savannah” so i’m like “yeah?” and he says “There’s something I need to tell you, but if I don’t say it correctly it won’t sound right.” so I’m like “aight okay that’s cool” but internally I’m like what’s this boy gonna say to me I thought we was done u had another girlfriend who then cheated on u but what is going ON. And then he’s like “this is important to me, but I don’t think it’s the right time.” and I’m like alright….? AND THEN HE SAYS LETS LEAVE IT AT THAT

So at this point, I’m confused, I was watching netflix all safe and sound and then I get BOMBARDED with this and I have no idea what to do! But I’m a lil curious so I’m like “Well, you know if you ever like need to talk you can talk to me,” and at this point I’m thinkin im sly and that he’s gonna open up. I was wrong.

HE REPLIES WITH “not this one. At least not yet.” and then he goes back to talking about his mental health which like I’m still really happy he’s getting help for! and then he goes “My parents helped a lot.” and I’m like that’s good!! but then he goes “…but somehow, you helped more.” And like you know I’m really just trying to be a good person like 2018 is the year of LOVING OTHERS so I’m all about that. and I’m like “oh it’s nothing I’m just happy to help” AND HE SENDS :). THAT’S IT

So I like let that sit for a bit ya know, but then I text my friend and she’s like !!! Don’t leave him hanging like that make sure he knows that you’re supportive of him! So I say like “Just so you know, I didn’t want to just leave the conversation on that note but know that if you need to talk I’m here!” and he replies with “Let’s leave it there, you’re stuck with me now ;)” and!!!! It was real wild y’all. real wild. So anyway, if my ex says he still likes me after over a year and him dating another girl, I’m moving to Canada.

Also y’all feel free to reply to this because I’m interesting to see what y’alls reactions to this was.

#sav answers #anonymous

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shibascarf · 7 years

Text

I FOUND SOME FLUFF FOR YOU GUYS

Dug this out of my old chatlogs with @egoldtist

i think they and i both did a tiny bit of drawings for this one too

here is 50′s au:

sofa: its just the jli as a weird vaguely incompetent 50s biker gang who try to cause A Ruckus but more often than not they just band together to drive out neighborhood threats

sofa: in any period au ted totally kind of hits on booster as a joke, to like tease him, and boosters like haha yeah right funny

sofa : until the dawning realization takes him

shibe : i love that like.... paradoxically.... the more open and queer-friendly a time period is, the more closeted ted is for some reason

shibe: hahahhaha

sofa : yeah omg

shibe : like, the more likely his flirting jokiness is to be taken seriously, the more cautious he becomes

shibe : i feel like if gayness had a death penalty, ted would be running around playing gay chicken like HA HA

sofa : HONESTLY

shibe : what a strange chubby man

sofa : true but i love him

shibe : i'm just imagining biker ted's bike

shibe : which he clearly calls the bug

sofa : oh absolutely

sofa : he probably builds in a side car later

shibe : ahhhhhhh

sofa : because as is soon very apparent, booster should be no where near bikes

shibe : the sidecar is dubbed "skeets"

shibe : because its squeaks

sofa : YES

shibe : booster trying to look intimidating in that sidecare tho

shibe : big goggles and all

shibe : they pull up alongside a convertible and booster has to look UP to stare the driver down

sofa : hes pretty sour about it

shibe : he looks great when they're in the pool hall. he's got a nice leather jacket. he's tall. he's' buff

shibe : but then you follow him out to the parking lot and he hops into that sidecar

sofa : its all over

sofa : he tries to do something to prove hes intimidating which is mostly ted driving around while booster smashes what he can from his sidecar

shibe : with a crowbar

sofa : they knock an old lady's mailbox over but she catches them and theyre like OH SHIT

shibe : DRIVE TED DRIVE

sofa : she catches them and in order to avoid prison time they get stuck using up their whole afternoon fixing it for her

shibe : but they do genuinely feel pretty bad

sofa : true

sofa : they repaint it and everything

sofa : it looks pretty bad but they tried

shibe : bea and tora ride by to just... watch and shake their heads

sofa : honestly

sofa : even guy gets in on it

sofa : just to make fun of them

shibe : guy's the asshole that drives through a mud puddle nearby to get it all over them

sofa : guy better be careful that old lady'll get him too

shibe : are you kidding, he petsits her cats every summer

shibe : (no one knows)

sofa : no one can EVER know

shibe : i'm sure they all go to the ice cream parlor and dance at sock hops

sofa : oh man absolutely

sofa : only about 3 of them can actually dance everyone else is pretty bad

shibe : ted's an amazing dancer for sure

sofa : booster can probably lift up whoever hes dancing with

sofa : ohhh yes absolutely

shibe : BOOSTER AND TED DOING THE JITTERBUG

sofa : YES

shibe : booster being like man, ted, you ever get jealous that the chicks get to wear those poofy petticoats and poodle skirts?

shibe : ted's like whatt

shibe : "ahahhaha no nothing never mind"

sofa : yessss omfg

shibe : he totally has never been caught wearing michelle's when no one's home

shibe : it's not even a sexual thing, he just loves skirts and dresses

sofa : absolutely

sofa : they just look so GOOD its not FAIR

shibe : they're so SWISHY and POOFY and fun

sofa : theyre probably not as hot either

shibe : than leather? hahahhahah for sure

sofa : ted probably thinks about what he said later like

sofa : its not like he'd look BAD in them- ok wait nO

shibe : buys booster a jacket with a poodle on the back of it

shibe : like here

sofa : BOOSTER LOVES IT

sofa : he looks so happy about it

shibe : BEA COME LOOK AT MY JACKET

sofa : even though he cant wear it out much

shibe : tora tora toraaaaaaaaaaa look at this jacket

sofa : ted got it for me

sofa : teds the BEST

shibe : "why does it have a poodle on it booster"

[8 shibe : it's.... an inside joke

sofa : its between us...... 'friends'

shibe : "by 'friends' do you mean guys that make out in the boys bathroom and smoke together during homeroom"

shibe : BEA

sofa : THATS IT BEA

sofa : teds like "what cant two guys just pal around and kiss each other... for laughs.... come on"

shibe : "it's practice bea"

shibe : "we're practicing for junior prom. i'm gonna ask michelle out"

shibe : "NO UR NOT."

shibe : don't you even LOOK at my sister u creep

sofa : that's how ted realizes hes really, really actually gay

sofa : hes like kissing girls compared to kissing booster is not.. its not as good

sofa : fuck

shibe : he's at prom like "oh geeze"

shibe : "i've made a huge mistake"

sofa : hes so alarmed

sofa : on one hand hes trying to figure out how deep in denial he can be and on the other its like

sofa : what about booster

sofa : does booster like kissing girls more than kissing me

shibe : oh noooooooooooooooooooooo

shibe : booster's across the room slow-dancing with bea and sticks his tongue out at ted

sofa : ted just tries to act natural but hes totally thinking of asking booster to slow dance in private later

shibe : he's like "okay do i come up with an excuse or do i just ask him for real"

shibe : truthfully booster doesn't think kissing ted is like.... a huge amount better than kissing girls. it's just better with ted because ted is fun and good with mechanics and gets it when booster is complaining about guy stuff

shibe : but then when he considers that dating a girl would mean not kissing ted anymore he's like ........nah i'm good

sofa : no thanks

shibe : i'm dying, just think of bea/tora making a deal with booster/ted to be each other's beards

sofa : OHHH H YES

shibe : they even stage a fake pregnancy scare one time so that eveyrone thinks they're a totally sexually active teen het romance

sofa : the challenge is to not act too outrageous while theyre on 'dates' because ted will start cracking up at any stupid thing booster tries while 'dating' bea

sofa : OHH MY GOD U KIDS

shibe : bea's like "i dunno" but then tora points out that it basically means they get to go on dates for free b/c the guys have to foot the bill

sofa : it leads to extremely cheap dates

sofa : but extremely cheap dates they still don't have to pay for

shibe : i'm trying to imagine ted and booster like.... slow-dancing outside the gymnasium by the dumpster, with earth angel playing tinnily from the door

shibe : cry

sofa : ohhhh no that's too cute

shibe : michelle like... keeping watch on the steps, smiling fondly

sofa : shes very proud of her brother but also: his tastes

sofa : because despite the gang stuff teds obviously still a nerd

shibe : the sheer relief that ted doesn't want to date her for real

sofa : HONESTLY

sofa : im dying purely in thought of all the gestures booster must do that counts as "look we're going steady" but no one will like go out of their way to ask them about

sofa : like giving ted his jacket

shibe : or his ring

shibe : or his pin

sofa : or carrying his books or something

sofa : YEAH

sofa : TEDS SO FLUSTERED but hes gotta keep it cool

shibe : guy thoroughly beating the shit out of anyone that laughs about them behind their backs

sofa : its enough to scare ppl into backing off at least

sofa : guy def still teases them all the damn time tho

shibe : oh totally

shibe : but like, no one else gets to

shibe : guy cracks a joke at their expense and someone in earshot laughs

shibe : and guy just spins around like YOU WANT SOME

sofa : i bet all of them get detention together too

sofa : that's usually when they collaborate with what they have to cover up at least like, 3 of guys worst cuts, and also to fuck around and copy off of ted's homework

shibe : i love that ted is like... a nerdy biker delinquent

shibe : how charming

sofa : YEAH

sofa : ppl are like, hes a bright charming young man, but hes such a trouble maker

sofa : shaking their heads

shibe : FOR HALLOWEEN

shibe : for halloween

shibe : booster dresses in drag and finally finally gets to wear his poodleskirt

shibe : it's the only acceptable time

sofa : YES

sofa : ppl think its a joke and he plays it off as much

shibe : oh for sure

shibe : but inside, he's glowing

shibe michelle plays along and goes as a greaser

sofa : but he keeps shooting these sneaky glances @ ted and ted has to shove him like CMON

shibe : "get it, we're twins, we did a set"

sofa : yesss yes omg

shibe : and at the halloween dance booster finally gets to dance in his poodle skirt

shibe : and he looks amaaaazing

sofa : ted is on fire like. the whole time

sofa : drags booster out back like I NEED TO TALK TO YOU

sofa : (there is 0 actual talking)

shibe : ahahhahhahahha

shibe : yesssss

shibe : it's like, legitimately the best day of booster's life. and that includes the time he made the varsity football team

sofa : yes absolutely

sofa : boosters probably just really glad hes got so much goin for him

sofa : like the varsity team, and a group of people who genuinely like him, and also ted

shibe : and a sister that's really helpful and supportive when she's not teasing him mercilessly

sofa : yes

sofa : auuug h h i just realized booster must have the stupid football jacket too damn it

shibe : ahhahahhahhahahhahahh ayes eysyesyesyesyesyes

sofa : im also thinkin like....... what if...... ted needs glasses... like those really thick ones

sofa : he doesn't wear them unless hes working on something REALLY important but he still def needs them

shibe : ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

shibe : big old coke glasses

shibe : booster reading menus aloud for ted

sofa : yessss omg

sofa : ted also coming over to fix anything that breaks in the carter family house because he knows they cant really afford to hire anybody

shibe : ah oh noooooooooooooo

shibe : booster and michelle working a bunch of jobs to help their mom

sofa : y es omg

sofa : assuming of course teds family is still rich he probably like goes to... any number of their jobs and tips them with like. all his pocket change

sofa : booster keeps telling him not to but he keeps doing it

shibe : booster behind the counter of a soda-jerk place

shibe : and ted's like, yes, i would like to make a special order

shibe : "we don't do substitutions ted. i've told you this. repeatedly"

shibe : not even forrrrrrr twenty bucks??????

shibe : *sides bill over

shibe : ..... i'll go crush up some candy bars and put them in your milkshake. you're the worst

sofa : TED OMG

sofa : hes just there eating it

sofa : completely satisfied with himself

shibe : GOING TO THE DRIVE IN THEATER

sofa : OOHHH BOY

sofa : almost getting kicked out of the drive in theater

sofa : because theyre actually super obnoxious

shibe : tora working as a waitress at a drive in burger place with rollar skates

sofa : yesss yess omg

sofa : i bet tora like

sofa : puts special patches or something on everyones jacket

sofa : just so everyone knows theyre all apart of the gang, together

shibe : oh man of course

shibe : MAYBE TORA

shibe : embroidered the poodle for booster's jacket

shibe : at ted's request

sofa : OHHH YESSSSSSSSS

sofa : the exact moment tora figured out ted was sweet on booster

sofa : one step ahead of the game

shibe : when she gave it to ted, she was like "good luck ted"

shibe : he was like ????? thanks?

sofa : totally went off to gossip abt it with bea and beas just like yessss

sofa : i knew it

shibe : WELL THEY KEEP EXPERIMENTING IN THE BATHROOMS

shibe : it seems obvious in retrospect

-------------------------------------

shibe: do u wanna talk about 50's au

shibe: b/c

shibe: i had a heartbreaking idea

[8/24/2015 9:26:22 PM] couch seat hands: oh my god absolutely yes

shibe: OK SO

shibe: i was thinking about ted going to the dance with michelle

shibe: and i'm like first of all how did she say yes, and was it even his idea

shibe: and i realized like....

shibe: booster got a date with bea first. and then ted was like "well have fun buddy"

shibe: and booster was like NO ur coming too, and ted is like i don't have a date???? and tora's going with guy

shibe: so BOOSTER was like u need to ask michelle

shibe: and ted was like hahahha yeah, she'll never say yes in a million years

shibe: and booster's like no, dude trust me

shibe: she'll say yes

shibe: so the next day, he asks michelle and she does say yes??????

shibe: which is awesome but confusing, but really cool

shibe: but then all of the next few weeks leading up to the dance, booster is working tons of extra hours

shibe: and he tells ted it's cool and whatever, but he's looking really really tired and he keeps falling asleep in class b/c he's working late night shifts at the general store

shibe: and long story short, booster's working extra hours so he can pay for michelle to buy a really nice dress and get her hair/makeup done at a salon, which is how he got her to say yes to ted

shibe: and now ted's guilty cuz he's there with michelle and it's not like he imagined it would be at all, but booster worked so hard just so he could go with a girl

sofa: AAAAHHH OH MY GOD

sofa: this KILLS THE MAN

shibe: i'm awful

sofa: u gotta tell me they save a dance for each other

sofa: like 1 at least

shibe: this is the one where they dance back behind the gym so yeah, totally

sofa: OoHHh right

sofa: yesss

shibe: but michelle looks so gorgeous, she is the most beautiful girl there

shibe: and ted still wants booster instead

sofa: aaGGHH

sofa: to be fair the carter twins are probably the most beautiful sibs in school

sofa: but gOD TED

shibe: booster and michelle do a dance together, as siblings, obvs

sofa: yesss

shibe: and then ted's like "can i cut in" and booster's like "oh, sure, ted" and ted's like "... n o can we go talk... outside"

sofa: OHHH

sofa: i am lovin this as a good opportunity to be like so u know how we kissed each other for practice? Well,

sofa: Bc those are the type of scenarios that keep me young

shibe: and michelle followed them and booster's like "NO SHHHhhhhhhhhhhh" and michelle is like

shibe: plz

shibe: we're trwins

shibe: no secrets

shibe: i know all

shibe: just like u know that i'm not a virgin

sofa: DANG MICHELLE

sofa: Michelle and booster are probably like.... the two kids u would least expect to be messing around and generally being delinquents, Bc they look like fuckin hallmark kids and also one of them is a cheerleader and a football star

sofa: but here they are

shibe: they fight tooth and nail for that popularity, hahahha

shibe: michelle with grooming and social ladders, booster with sports and working five different odd jobs

sofa: i imagine any time booster like... fucks up or breaks something at work teds always like I'll cover it don't worry

sofa: cuz obviously he's got the rich kid perks, and spending his money that way pisses off his folks

sofa: booster keeps telling him to cut it out b4 he gets cut off or something

shibe: honestly, i wonder how they started smooching in the first place

shibe: like, given the setting and all

shibe: for the 50's au, i mean

sofa: well i mean i figure it was probably like a "have you ever kissed a girl" "not really.. you?" and they agreed that if they did it strictly for practicing only, at first, it wouldn't be gay

sofa: and then it was

shibe: something like, if it doesn't kiss when you kiss a family member, it doesn't kiss when you kiss a bro

shibe: and also all the anti-homosexual propaganda usually had to do with pedophiles so

shibe: maybe they were just like "well it's nothign like that so"

sofa: ahhh truuu

shibe: oh nooooo

shibe: ted being like "holy shit i'm the worst pervert, NO ONE IS SAFE"

sofa: NOO OMG

sofa: how would booster even sort himself thru it omg

sofa: OR TORA AND BEA FOR THAT MATTER TOO

shibe: i feel like tora and bea get a pass b/c there were totally like

shibe: dime novels about lesbians and shit

shibe: i bet booster would like

shibe: go digging through his history books

shibe: and come back to ted with a long list of non-straight people

shibe: and be like "look, this is so normal, you can still be an awesome inventor when you grow up"

sofa: boOSTER

sofa: GOOOOSH

shibe: but at the same time, being like "if you want to keep this totally under wraps, we can do it. i'm so willing to do that for you"

sofa: i m gonna die holy shit

sofa: ted probably agrees with it because obviously its safer to lie low but hes also totally lousy with guilt

shibe: which is funny, b/c booster doesn't feel bad about it at all?

shibe: he spends tons of time pretending he's not poor as shit

shibe: what's one more charade on the pile

sofa: covers face

sofa: booster gold has fucking. ruined my life

shibe: he's such a sweet kind, innocent, vain asshole

shibe: protect him, universe, just as he protects u

sofa: HONESTLY

sofa: HES FULL OF HIMSELF BUT LIKE.. WHAT ELSE CAN HE DO AT THAT POINT

sofa: pls. what else Does He Have

shibe: ted must have an awful family

shibe: like, a gross dad that wants him to go into business and a sad drugged out housewife ma

sofa: ur probably right

shibe: ted probably lives in a big house

shibe: and booster throws rocks at his window and ted is like I'M ON THE FIRST FLOOR PLZ STOP

sofa: OMG YES

sofa: consistently tries to get ted to sneak out with him in the middle of the night

shibe: he's always getting off work at night and dying to go out for a shake or something

shibe: he's one of those people that gets wired and giddy when they're tired

sofa: absolutely omfg

sofa: those are probably his moments of pranking ingenious

shibe: they put green dye in bea's shampoo

shibe: but then she likes it so much she keeps doing it

shibe: prank failed

sofa: they still try to take credit for it tho later on

sofa: like

sofa: yeah ur welcome

shibe: people giving bea shit for being a "spic" and everyone like JUMPING IN TO FIGHT LIKE HEY

shibe: even tora

shibe: tora straight up pulls a girl's hair out

sofa: OOOHH YES

sofa: tora is very nice, and sweet and polite, but she can be fuckin brutal if need be

sofa: that's why the gang loves her

shibe: they all have polaroids of each other with black eyes and huge grins

sofa: ahhh yes yes yesss omfg

#boostle #boostle trash #booster baby #ted dork #WELP HERE IT IS #this is what i offer to you in these trying times

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