#i am clutching the emergency break like a mother whos kid is driving for the first time

[violencebian]

i want to see villain lloyd bc im fucked up and evil and love angst but i dont want to see villain lloyd because that would cause me personally emotional damage. hope this clears absolutely nothing up !!!

#-jinx #i am clutching the emergency break like a mother whos kid is driving for the first time #ns16 spoilers #ns15 spoilers #ninjago spoilers #ninjago crystalized #crystalized spoilers #<- just in case

[bitches-who-write]

you guys said in other posts that Henry and Patrick likes to scare. can you write a story on a reader whose naturally jumpy and scares way to easily. maybe a story about what they do to her? if you can make it reaally scary and teasy I like that. your guys writing is out of this world. thanx

Your wish is our command!

Scaredy Cat

Description: Reader is easily scareable/jumpy. Henry and Patrick take full advantage of this. Featuring Belch & Vic (Spinoff of our haunted house fic)

Word Count: 2,979

Warning: Suspense, Terror, Foul language,

We hope you enjoy this story as much as we enjoyed writing it. It’s our longest post yet so we’re feeling proud!! It definitely brings on Halloween Vibes for those of you who are as obsessed about Halloween as we are!

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Everyone knows Eddie Kaspbrak is a nervous kid but Y/N, Eddie’s sister is even more of a scaredy-cat. Henry and Patrick could smell your fear a mile away. It’s the day before Halloween and the town of Derry is celebrating their annual haunted house attraction. Typically the last walk-through is at midnight, but Henry and Patrick have an alternative plan for their easily scareable victim.

It’s the middle of the afternoon and all anyone at school can talk about is how terrifying the haunted house attraction is going to be. I sit at an empty cafeteria table alone working on my history homework when suddenly I feel a hand grab my shoulder. I practically jump out of my skin, already feeling on edge from all the Halloween talk. I abruptly turn around to face whoever is behind me. To my surprise, it is Patrick Hockstetter and Henry Bowers. I shiver feeling the mixture of Patrick’s cool metal rings and callused hands slide down my arm, gently caressing my sides. I try to lean forward to escape his unwanted embrace, both of them still snickering from my startled reaction. “Holy shit dude, you weren’t kidding she is worse than her wimpy brother.” Henry chortled. I look up at them with a confused expression which only makes Patrick look even more satisfied. “That's right Y/N, I’ve been watching you...studying you....taking a few notes.” Patrick takes a dramatic pause, grinning before continuing; “ I’ve learned a lot of interesting things about you. Like what your fears and phobias are, and what scares you the most- which is a lot coming from you.” Henry chimes in “We noticed the way you glance over your shoulder when you’re all alone, and how you quickly turn on a light when you get home so you’re not in the dark for long.” My eyes widen in shock, realizing they’ve been stalking me without me even knowing it. I finally mustered up the courage to speak but unfortunately for me, my voice dripping from uncertainty and apprehension; “What do you guys want?” With a playful smirk, Henry grabs a chair and turns it so the back of the chair is facing me, resting his arms over it as he sits down. Patrick takes a seat directly next to me but slings his arm around my side, trapping me against him and the table. Henry, never breaking eye contact, finally speaks up first. He licks his lips before leaning in close, his voice full of malice, “We just want to spend time with you. Be ready by midnight we’re picking you up.” They both begin to stand up and walk away but Patrick slowly turns back towards me, “Oh and Y/N... that’s an order.” With that, they both exit the cafeteria leaving me trembling in fear.

I anxiously get ready knowing they will be here in another 10 minutes. I told my mother I was spending the night at a friend's house. Eddie had already gone to his sleepover at Richie’s house so I couldn’t even warn him about my whereabouts for the night. As I finish getting ready, I can’t shake the uneasy feeling that I’m being watched. I chalk the feeling off thinking I’m just being paranoid at this point. I walk into my closet to grab a jacket. When I reach for the pull string to turn on the light, of course, the lightbulb is dead- just my luck. I begin to slide each jacket down the rack trying to find the one I want when suddenly something-or someone grabs my wrist causing me to scream in terror. I pulled my wrist back with such force that I stumbled backwards falling on my ass. I try to scoot back to get away from whoever is now slowly approaching me. The tall dark figure slowly emerges from the dark closet, stepping into the light of my bedroom. My eyes widened in both panic and shock seeing Patrick standing there with an eerie smirk plastered on his face. In a mocking tone he says “You ready princess? It's time to go.” Still sitting on the floor with my back up against my bed, I then feel someone squeeze my sides from under the bed. I let out another blood-curdling scream as I jolt forward frantically crawling towards Patrick now, not knowing where to go anymore. I distinctly hear Henry’s laugh from under the bed sounding satisfied that his little prank was successful. “Fuck, it’s a good thing your mom is such a heavy sleeper.” He says in an arrogant tone. Patrick flashes him a knowing smirk adding to Henry’s observation. “Yeaaah. I’m sure those pills probably helped, too.” This made both guys laugh hysterically. “What?! What did you do to my mother?!” I ask in utter disbelief and confusion. “Ohh calm the fuck down, she’ll be fine she’s just having a good...rest.” Patrick says now guiding me by my shoulder towards the door to leave the house now.

We walk out to a blue car sitting outside the front of my house; Belch in the driver seat, chuckling. After about a 15 minute drive, we finally arrived at our destination. I had no clue where these two psychos were even taking me up until now. I look up and see a nightmarish haunted house attraction. However, for a place that is so popular in Derry, especially the night before Halloween- not a soul is around. I hesitantly step out of the car; Belch giving me a big taunting smile from his place in the car. “Good luck, Y/N” and with that, he sped off.

I try my best to be brave but my facial expression and voice says otherwise. My eyes nervously look around taking in the scenery, the palms of my hands are sweaty, and I feel a lump in my throat as I try to swallow. “W-W-Where is e-everyone? Why is n-n-nobody here?” I instantly begin to blush as they laugh at my shaky, nervous voice. Patrick’s smirk begins to grow into a wider smile as he becomes giddy in excitement, unable to stand still in one place. He jumps in front of me, facing my direction as he holds my shoulders. I glance over at Henry who is looking over at us with a knowing smirk. “That is the best part...you’re gonna love it Y/N; It’s gonna be a scream!” I continue to feel uneasy since Patrick still hasn’t answered my question about why no one else is here. Finally, Henry speaks up. “Let’s just say the Bower’s gang gets special treatment when it comes to getting what we want. Now we have the whole place to ourselves.” My stomach sinks realizing they probably terrorized the poor workers into closing the attractions. Patrick grabs my hand forcefully pulling me into the makeshift haunted house building. I tried to dig my heels into the ground to stop us but that obviously didn’t work as he is much stronger and taller than myself. Even if it did work, Henry would be right there to catch me so there is no use in trying to escape them.

Henry takes the lead opening the black curtain into the house, revealing a long dark corridor. The only light source illuminating the path was from the moonlight. I look up at Patrick who is on my left side. With pleading eyes I begin to mouth the words ‘no’ over and over again at him. He just smirks and shoves me forward. I clutch onto Patrick's arm as the three of us venture down to the first room...a Medical Experimentation Chamber.

As I walk into the room I frantically begin to look around at my surroundings. The room is dimly lit yet there are disorienting strobe lights flickering, blinding me. I squint my eyes to focus on my surroundings better. It looks like there's a lot of twists and turns ahead. I see medical tables equipped with thick straps and buckles for restraints. Alongside these tables is medical equipment that looks dented and rusty...or is that blood?. In addition to the visual distractions, there are deafly loud sound effects of patients screaming and the sounds of surgical tools being played on a loop. I was so distracted by my surroundings that I didn't notice Patrick trailing behind me. He proceeds to pick me up from behind and lays me down onto the medical table. Henry walks over and holds me by my arms and legs so Patrick can strap me in. They both back away from me laughing as I see someone enter the room. The man that walked in was dressed as a surgeon in all white, I could see he was covered in blood. My eyes widen in hysteria as I notice his facial features. His eyes were very sinister, his nose looked as if it was broken with a gashed cut on the bridge of his nose with a jagged hack job of stitches. My eyes began to fixate on his mouth which was spread wide and sewn into a gruesome smile. His teeth were jagged and sharp. As he leans down towards me, lowering his surgical tool; I begin to scream and thrash against my restraints. Suddenly everything becomes pitch black and the deafening noise vanishes. The only noises left in the room were the sound of me screaming and crying along with Henry and Patrick laughing their asses off. The room became dimly lit again as Henry began to undo the restraints. As he works to unbuckle me I frantically look around trying to find the surgeon who was just in here, but suddenly disappeared. I sat up slowly trying to compose myself although my body is trembling excessively. Patrick gave me no breaks as he continues to push me forward towards the next room...The SlaughterHouse.

As we walk into the next room, I am desperately holding onto the back of Henry’s shirt begging to go home. I can hear him chuckle  arrogantly as he feels me gripping his shirt. Patrick whispers in my ear from behind, his hands placed firmly on my hips, “But the fun is just getting started princess.” I take a deep breath before asking no one in particular, “Can someone hold my hand? ..Please?” My voice filled with terror and practically pleading. They both look at each other at the same time, laugh and respond with a mocking as they imitate my voice- “noOoO.” I look down at my feet feeling so small until I can hear what sounds like metal clanking together- echoing louder and louder. I completely stop dead in my tracks, my legs feeling so wobbly as we enter a room with hooks. So many hooks with prosthetic pigs hanging on them! I hear Patrick from behind me chuckle and say in a taunting sing-song type voice, “Come on Y/N~ keep moving.” Henry looks at us, laughing in amusing sporting that same smirk that never left his face. Henry slowly approaches me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. His voice is low and cold, “ Hey Y/N ever wonder what it felt like to be a pig hanging on a hook?” My eyes widen as he says this and I quickly try to make a run for it but Patrick is fast to grab me before I could. He begins to carry me over to Henry effortlessly despite my squirming. Patrick puts me down then shoves me into Henrys chest. Henry then picks me up and places me on one of the metal hooks, putting a hole in my favorite black jacket. I begin crying..again this time sobbing uncontrollably as I struggle to say, “G-Guys this r-r-really isn't f-funny. I wanna gah-g-go home now. Get me d-down pleasee!” They both laugh at my breakdown and begin to walk out of the room. Patrick peeks his head back in, “Just hang there for a sec princess, we’ll be right back ~” Henry chimes in “I wouldn’t give the butcher a hard time if I were you. He hates when you struggle...” I hear them laugh in the distance as they walk off again. That's when I heard it...that's when I heard the sound of a chainsaw and heavy footsteps charging towards me. I scream so loud I start to lose my voice a little, but it doesn’t stop me from trying. A man that looks well over 6ft tall with broad shoulders walks in. He looks like he came straight out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. At this point, I’m bawling my eyes out, screaming and desperately calling for Henry and Patrick’s help. Although realistically I know the chainsaw has no blade on it, it’s still equally terrifying. The butcher brings the saw somewhat close to my face. I wince, closing my eyes tightly as the strong scent of gasoline invades my nose, along with a faint musty smell coming off the chainsaw, as well as the man in front of me. I brace myself for the impact which never came. I opened my eyes to see the man lowering the chainsaw instead. I let out a sigh of relief thinking he is going to let me down but instead he pulls out a blindfold. At this point, I can literally hear my heartbeat pulsating through my ears. I’m trying to kick aimsley now that can't see anything. That’s when I feel someone grabbing at my legs. My blindfold drops down as I see Patrick looking up at me with his famous smile. Henry begins to get me down as he mockingly says, “I told you he hates it when you struggle, didn’t I?”

I am violently shaking from adrenaline to the point that they have to keep me upright, sandwiched in the middle of them both. I look at them and ask between sobs, “Are we done yet? Can I go home now? Please?” Henry condescendingly pats my head as if I am a child while Patrick chuckles and says, “We have one more room to complete and you’re their special guest...they kept vacancy just for you!”

As we exit the slaughterhouse we suddenly are displaced into a parking lot. A rush of confusion washes over me. Patrick just said there’s still one more room left, why are we outside? I shiver out of fright as Patrick rubs his hands up and down my arms, his head tilted as he looks at me with a teasing smirk. Henry nudges me and points up to a sign which reads “Motel” with a crooked red light flickering. It reads ‘Vacancy’. The makeshift motel looks runned-down and absolutely filthy. Henry and Patrick lead me to the front office. Opening the creaky wooden door on a spring, I walk in cautiously. I quickly become distracted by several different TV scenes that display [fake] murders taking place in the motel rooms by masked men. Blood-curdling screams fill my ears, making me even more thrown off guard. As I look around the office more, Patrick takes 2 long strides towards the front desk and rings the silver bell that is placed on the corner of the desk. I jump, flinching as he looks at me smirking. “I don’t think anyone is home.” He says in a sarcastic voice. Henry shoves me forward towards the back room now. He kneels down and opens a trap door. He looks up at me, “Ladies first.” Patrick snickers behind me as I cautiously started entering the crawlspace on my hands and knees. As I am crawling forward in the dirt ground, I feel Patrick smack and grab my ass causing me to jump, hitting my head in the cramped, narrow space. Patrick lets out a satisfied laugh. “You know, your ass is your only redeeming quality princess… that and your fear.” This earns a laugh from Henry, as well, who reaches under Patrick and grabs my ankle  unexpectedly; pulling me back. I let out a little yelp and eat dirt. They both start laughing again. Finally, we reach the end of the crawlspace. Patrick reaches over me and pushes up on the door to open it. I feel Patrick lift me slightly so I can pull myself out. I take note of my surroundings. That underground path lead us from the motel office, to now one of the bedrooms. As I straighten myself out, Henry and Patrick follow closely behind, climbing out of the craw-space, as well. Before I move forward I made the decision to grab Patrick’s hand despite what he said earlier about hand-holding.

Patrick looks down at me smirking but doesn't say anything. In fact, he actually holds my hand back, intertwining his fingers tightly between mine but I can tell there’s an ulterior motive behind his actions. The door handle to the motel bedroom begins to violently shake and jiggle. The door slowly opens revealing two men wearing masks. They are headed right towards me, their long legs approaching quickly. I try to back up but sadly I was still holding onto Patrick... or should I say he is holding onto me. At this point, Patrick picks me up and literally throws me onto the bed. The weight of his body is holding my legs down. As I’m struggling against Patrick, Henry walks over and holds my arms tightly above my head giving Patrick a better hold of my legs. The two masked men walk over and one of them pulls out a knife. Unlike the chainsaw from earlier, this was a very real and very sharp knife. In a taunting way, the masked men walk over slowly- one going to my left and the one with the knife going to my right. I begin to scream but it is quickly muffled by the man on my left covering my mouth. My anxiety takes over now, not able to take any more scares. I begin to see black slowly starting with my peripheral vision as it slowly covers the rest of my eyes. I begin to drift into unconsciousness. The last thing I head was the laughter of 4  recognizable guys and the muffled talking of Henry, Patrick, Vic, and Belch.

I woke up in my bed, the sun glaring down on my face. I sit up slowly, trying to remember how I even got here. Last thing I remember was being held down by those assholes in that terrifying motel room. I get out of bed and begin to stretch when I notice something hanging on my closet door. I hesitantly walked over to my closet seeing a note stuck to the door. The paper note was help up by a knife.. the same knife from last night! My breathing becomes shallow and hands shake as I read over the note. Still feeling jumpy, I jump when I hear Eddie’s and Richie’s loudmouths enter the front door. I bring my attention back to the note which reads~

I can’t get your screams or your scared face out of my mind. How about we try to recreate them in the bedroom? -Patrick

You’re my number one target now..scaredy-cat - Henry

#headcanons #henry bowers #henry bowers x reader #imagines #patrick hocksetter x reader #patrick hockstetter #victor criss #victor criss x reader #belch huggins #preferences #bowers gang headcanons #bowers gang #horror movie #horror #suspense #request #movies #it fandom #it movie #it 2017 #halloween #spooky #haunted house #halloween fun #dark fic

[undercoveravenger]

Glass Ceilings

Pairing: Actor!Hamish Duke x Male!Reader

Requested: Yes

Original Request: “Hi for the fairy tale au could you do a Cinderella kinda story where he has a bad family but then against their wishes he goes to a party and meets the famous actor and singer hamish duke and they fall for each other”

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Hamish Duke hated parties.

Well, that wasn’t really true; he didn’t hate all parties, just the galas his mother threw to raise money for one charity or another. Hamish really didn’t mind that the parties benefitted charities, but he didn’t like the way that the wealthy people who attended them used them as an excuse to show off just how much better than everyone else they thought they were.

He would avoid them if he could, but with his newly-found fame brought on by a lucky break in the entertainment industry, his mother had started dragging him along to all of her over-the-top events since she thought that her son’s fame would drive up attendance.

Of course, she had been right about that, but that also meant that Hamish spent the duration of each of the grand balls hosted in his family’s manor being mobbed by people that were far too old and had been married far too long for him to feel comfortable dancing with them.

It was one such night and Hamish had only narrowly escaped the clutches of Mrs. Smith, a wizened old woman with beady green eyes who always dug her overly-manicured nails into his shoulder when he danced with her the way an alley cat might sink its claws into a mouse, when he ran directly into one of the servers. The waiter’s tray tipped at the sudden impact, spilling champagne over them both.

(E/c) eyes widened almost comically behind the uniform black mask that all of the staff were wearing as he realized what he’d done. “I’m so sorry,” the waiter exclaimed, seeming torn between trying to wipe the champagne away with the decorative towel slung over his arm and being too nervous about ruining Hamish’s suit further to try. “Are you alright?”

Hamish chuckled, the first genuine laugh that had escaped him all night. He was nearly as surprised by the sound as the (h/c) that had accidentally assaulted him. “I’m fine. I’m tougher than I look,” he teased.

“Well,” The (h/c) started, “That’s good to hea-”

He was interrupted by the sound of an older woman shrieking, calling out loudly for someone to help her in the kitchen.

The server winced, panic flooding his otherwise beautiful (e/c) eyes, and Hamish felt the sudden urge to intervene. He peered over the crowd in an effort to track down the disgruntled woman before he reached out, taking the stranger’s wrist in his hand and gently tugging him along behind him until they’d made it out of the ballroom.

“Where are we going?” Hamish’s new companion asked, clearly confused. “I should really be getting back to work before my manager has a conniption.”

“Your manager, huh? Was that the lady that was yelling for you?” Hamish asked, curious what could possibly make someone work for someone who seemed so mean. “Why do you put up with her?”

The stranger nodded slowly, like he was afraid he’d give too much away. “I don’t really have a choice.”

“Really? Surely there’s better options out there,” Hamish protested, thinking back to the way the woman’s face had flushed red as she bellowed at her employees before the event had started.

He shrugged, tugging awkwardly at the sleeves of his jacket as he tried to focus on anything but the conversation. “She’s also my mother.”

Hamish stopped in his tracks, stunned. He turned to look at the former server with wide eyes, “Your mother…? How is someone as nice as you related to someone like that?!”

His companion huffed a light laugh and Hamish felt pleased that he’d been able to brighten his mood, “Well, technically she’s my step-mother, but she’s all I’ve got left and I can’t really pay for college without a job so…” He shrugged again, brows furrowing as a thought hit him, “Hey, you never said where we’re going?”

The blond grinned, tugging a fraying tapestry out of the way to reveal a hidden hallway. “Do you trust me?”

“I don’t even know your name,” he retorted, crossing his arms over his chest protectively.

“Well, that’s easy enough to fix,” Hamish grinned. “My name’s Hamish Duke. What’s yours?”

“(M/N),” he answered reflexively, eyes widening as he recognized the name. “Wait, Hamish Duke? Like the actor? Like the son of the lady hosting the party?”

Hamish laughed, nodding. “Yes, just like that.”

“I’m dead.” (M/N) said resolutely. “I’m dead because my mom’s going to kill me when she realizes that I spilled champagne all over one of the most famous people in the state.”

The blond rolled his eyes, cocking his head toward the tunnel again, “You coming with me or are you on your way to the graveyard?”

“Very funny,” he started, cutting himself off as his step-mother’s voice echoed down the hallway. “I’m right behind you.” Hamish grinned, taking (M/N)’s hand in his and tugging him along the hidden path behind him.

--------

Moments passed in almost complete darkness and companionable silence as Hamish led you through the twists and turns of the hidden tunnel, until finally the two of you emerged out into a dimly lit room with the furniture pushed back and out of the way, leaving the center of the room bare.

“What is this place?” You asked quietly as Hamish released your hand and made his way to the center of the room.

He hummed his acknowledgement softly as he started to unbutton his suit jacket, tossing the wet garment aside and sprawling out on his back to look up at the ceiling. “Come join me?” he asked quietly.

You followed his gaze upward, breath catching in your throat as you realized what this room was meant to be. Instead of finding an ordinary ceiling the way any other room might have, the ceiling here towered above you in an arching dome made out of crystal clear glass, allowing the two of you a flawless view of the stars.

“Wow,” you breathed, edging forward to lay down beside him. “This is incredible.” “Yeah.” Hamish agreed, “Breathtaking.” You couldn’t bring yourself to check, but the weight of his gaze had you suspecting that he wasn’t talking about the stars. He remained quiet for a long moment before letting out a quiet sigh and beginning to speak, “I used to come here a lot when I was a kid. When my problems always felt so big and it seemed like that was all there was, I’d sneak up here and look up at the sky and it would remind me that there’s more to life than the moments you feel trapped.”

You hummed softly as you pondered his words. “It’s hard to imagine that someone like you could ever feel trapped,” you mused.

Hamish laughed, tipping his head toward you so he could look at you, “I wasn’t always an actor. I am a law-school dropout, y’know?”

Your brows furrowed incredulously as you turned to meet his eyes, “Really?”

Hamish nodded solemnly, ocean blue eyes glimmering in amusement, “Oh, definitely. I spent a lot of time up here after my father found out about that decision.”

You hesitated as you realized just how personal this observatory was to him, eventually forcing yourself to ask the question that had been weighing on you, “Why did you bring me here?”

“I’m not sure,” he said after a moment of thought. “Does it sound crazy if I say that it felt like I was meant to know you?”

You shook your head, turning back to face the glimmering stars. “No. I think things are meant to happen for a reason.” You huffed when your phone chimed in your pocket, wincing when you noticed your step-mom’s name as the contact before reading the text. “I have to go; the party’s ended and the staff has to leave. I’ll be lucky if I’m not fired when I get home.”

“Everything happens for a reason, huh?” Hamish murmured under his breath, eyes fixing on you determinedly as you pushed yourself back to your feet. “Hey, you said you only work for her to pay for college, right? What if I offered you a better job?”

Your brows furrowed as you turned back to look at Hamish, “What are you talking about?”

“Your stepmother? You only let her treat you like that because you need the money?” Hamish prompted, getting to his feet and moving to stand before you, “What if I make you a better offer?”

You smile but shake your head, getting ready to refute his questions.

Hamish pressed on, interrupting your line of thought, “I’ll give you ten thousand dollars if you agree to go on a date with me.”

Your heart stopped in your chest as you struggled to comprehend what Hamish had just told you, “Hamish, no. I can’t accept that-”

“Please,” he said, taking your hand gently in his. “You deserve so much better; give me a chance to give you that.”

As the clock began to chime midnight and the stars glimmered merrily through the shining glass ceiling, you leaned forward to kiss Hamish, resolving to yourself that, even though you weren’t going to take the money from him, this would not be the last time you saw him.

#hamish duke x male reader #hamish duke x male!reader #male reader x hamish duke #male!reader x hamish duke #the order x male reader #the order x male!reader #male reader x the order #male!reader x the order #fairy tale au #cinderella au #fairytale au #male reader x #male!reader x #male reader insert #male!reader insert #male!reader #male reader #x male reader #x male!reader

[13uswntimagines]

Ice Cream and a Baby (Pregnant!Emily x Reader)

Request: pregnant sonnett and goes into labor prematurely while reader is at camp and reader rushes to be with sonnett

Author’s Note: So I have to thank @literaryhedgehog​ for helping me out with this one! I hope you enjoy! Hit me up with comments, requests or if you just wanna say HI!

You groaned settling onto the wooden bench. You were freaking exhausted. Between your wife Emily’s 2 am pregnancy cravings and Vlatko’s new workout routine, you were 99% sure that the universe was trying to kill you. You just hoped that in a month when your little tater tot was born, things would settle down a little bit. 

Lindsey settled on the bench next to you, giving your shoulder a comforting pat, and trying not to laugh at your obvious exhaustion. While you were usually pretty good at corralling her best friend, the past 8 months of negotiating with Emily’s hormones was wearing down your resolve to say no. 

You groaned as your phone began to ring in your bag and you slumped down, digging through the messy duffle in an attempt to find the offending device. If this was another stupid craving call, you didn’t know what you would do. 

“Hey babe, what’s up?” You answered the device when you found it, biting your lip. 

“It’s an emergency.” Your wife’s voice sounded panicked through the phone, and you kept to your feet despite your legs feeling like Jello. 

“What’s happening, are you hurt?  Do I need the baby bag?” You asked frantically, searching for your regular shoes in the bag. 

“No, it’s worse. We’re out of ice cream but I can’t go to the store. Can you grab some for me?” She asked, her voice muffled slightly by what you assumed was a spoon in her mouth. You froze, your eyebrows furrowing as you settled back into the bench, rubbing your eyes. 

“Em, I can’t miss another practice. Mark will kill me.” You tried to reason. Ever since Emily had to stop practicing with the thorns, it seemed that every time you were at practice, she needed something. Mark had even threatened to bench you for your repeated attendance infractions. He understood that your wife needed you, but some of the reasons you left were kind of ridiculous. Emily was pregnant, not helpless. 

“Mark will understand that your pregnant wife needs you right now!” She growled through the phone. 

“Why can’t you pick it up yourself babe? We live like two blocks from the supermarket that has the Ben and Jerry’s you like,” you sighed, resting your forehead in your hand. Lindsey patted your back sympathetically, smirking at your predicament. You sent her a glare. There was nothing funny about this. It was a lose-lose situation for you. If you left, Mark would be pissed, and if you didn’t then Emily would be pissed. When did your career and the love of your life become mutually exclusive?

“My stomach hurts and I need you to get up off your ass and get me my ice cream,” She growled through the phone, and you could practically see her stomping her foot in your mind's eye. 

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head slightly. God, you loved this very silly woman. “You know, maybe the three pints of ice cream that were in the fridge yesterday have something do with your stomach pain.” You snarked back. 

“That’s just mean and I’m pretty sure that the stomach pain is more to do with the contractions. But I need ice cream now!” She whined and your eyes widened, the phone nearly slipping through your fingers in shock. 

“CONTRACTIONS?” You yelled, clutching the phone tighter, as Lindsey straightened beside you, elbowing Tobin. The entire locker room went silent. 

“Yes, that’s what I just said. Fuck fuck son of a … alright, it’s gone. Now the ice cream, I don’t want any of that low sugar crap you tried to sneak in last time. Here. I want the-'' She winced over the phone. Lindsey rubbed your back as your face contorted in pain, and you attempted to get your breathing under control. You had to be calm, or else you wouldn’t be able to get any information out of Emily, and then she would freak out and that would be bad. 

“Em baby, back up. Did you time the contraction,” you said softly, rubbing your eyes with your hand and resting your forehead in your palm. 

“Not actively, but they’re about 7 minutes apart, why?” She mumbled worriedly into the phone. And you took a deep breath. 7 minutes apart wasn’t too bad, it meant you still had time to get to her and then to the hospital. You hurriedly began to put your shoes on, pinning the phone to your ear with your shoulder. 

“How many seconds did it last?” You asked quietly into the phone, gesturing for Lindsey to throw your cleats into your bag. 

“This isn’t important, what’s important is that you get me the right flavor of my Ben and Jerry’s,” Emily huffed, annoyed that you kept trying to change the subject. It was too early for the baby to come, so what mattered was that you got her the ice cream she wanted. Hadn’t you ever heard the saying happy wife happy life?

“Just… humor me, please?” You pleaded into the phone, pulling on your Thorns Jacket. You needed to know just how many speed laws you had to break to get to your wife in time. You just hoped it was less than 20 seconds. 

“You know I love it when you beg,” She moaned into the phone, her voice dropping an octave, and you rolled your eyes. This was not the time for sexy things (Emily had been insatiable for nearly her entire pregnancy).

“Not the time Em,” you grumbled. 

She sobered after your serious tone. If this was important to you, then it was important to her. “Do you want me to put you on speaker so you can time the next one?” She asked you softly. 

“Yes, is it coming already?” You murmured back, putting your phone on speaker so you could time it. 

“Yes,” She said through gritted teeth and you started the time. You encouraged her as much as you could, standing frozen in the middle of the locker room, watching the seconds tick by. You heard her breath a sigh of relief at 40 seconds, and you knew it was over. 

Your eyes were wide as you stared at the phone, stuck in a trance. 

“Holy shit,” You said breathlessly, you were about to be a mother. Tobin snapped a finger in front of your face, pulling you out of your daze, and handing you your car keys. Now was not the time for an existential crisis. 

“When did you notice you were having contractions?” You questioned as you waved at the girls (who gave you various thumbs-ups) as you rushed out of the locker room. 

“A couple of hours ago, but I thought it was Braxton Hicks or whatever. The baby’s still not due for another six weeks,” She shrugged, a worried edge taking over her tone. You raced to the car, settling in and thanking god that you had Bluetooth so you didn’t have to hang up. 

She heard the door close and the car start in the background, and your heavy breathing. 

“Has anything else happened,” You urged, revving the engine. 

“Well…” She said hesitantly, and you felt yourself pressing the pedal down harder, to get to her faster. 

“Emily,” You scolded sternly, almost like you were talking to a child. You could practically see her biting her lip. 

“I’m pretty sure my water just broke,” She hummed guiltily, and had you not been driving, you’re fairly certain that you would have headbutted the steaming wheel. 

“Pretty sure?” You quirked your eyebrow up. Who could one not know if their water broke? God, you need to get to her before your little superstar decided she didn’t want to wait anymore. 

“You know this kid has been playing soccer on my bladder for the last 3 months,” Emily rolled her eyes at you. You were the panicky one during the pregnancy, which was ridiculous considering she was the one growing the tiny human. The tiny human who couldn’t seem to sit still. 

“I know babe, I’m almost there,” Your voice was suddenly calm as you shoved your feelings down -- you needed to be the level headed one, because you were sure that panic would only make the labor go faster, and you didn’t want that. 

“Make sure you bring the ice cream,” Emily demanded something that sounded like a spoon clinking in the background. 

“Emily Anne Sonnett-y/n, you’re in active labor, I’m not stopping to get you ice cream,” You growled sternly. You were racing to not miss welcoming your daughter into the world, the last thing that the three of you needed was for you to miss her birth because You had to stop for an unnecessary frozen treat. 

“Y/n” She hissed sternly and you winced at the tone. But you had to remain firm. You were about to become a mother and there were too many things that could go wrong if you waited to get to her for too long. 

“If you have to have a C-section you’re not supposed to eat,” You tried to reason, stepping in the gas and trying to your very crazy wife faster. 

“If you want to be alive for the birth of your child, you will show up with 3 pints of the good ice cream,” She retorted, and you sighed as you turned into the store parking lot down the road from your house. This woman was going to be the death of you. 

****

You stood in the hospital room with a little pink bundle cuddled up in your arms. A little pink bundle that was only an hour old, and holding onto your finger like her little life depended on it. 

Your eyes traced her perfect nose and rosy cheeks that reminded you so much of Emily. 

Camren Elizabeth Sonnett-y/n had come into the world screaming merely two hours after Emily had called you with her ice cream emergency. And she had immediately stolen your heart just like her mommy had. 

“You’re so beautiful, yes you are. Your Mommy did such a good job,” You whispered, placing a very careful kiss on your daughter's forehead, taking in her baby scent. 

“She gets all her good looks from you,” Emily said through a mouthful of Ben and Jerry’s brownie batter core ice cream.

You sent her an indulgent smile, winking at her. “Hmm, that’s debatable,” you mumbled, returning your attention to your daughter who had let out a little squeak when she realized you weren’t paying attention to her. You cooed down at her, your eyes shining with the amount of love you had for this tiny being. 

“See this moment would have sucked without ice cream,” Emily laughed and you sent her a withering look. Her stupid ice cream had made you break about a dozen traffic laws and almost made you have to deliver your baby in the back seat of your car. 

“Whatever you say, babe,” You rolled your eyes good-naturedly at your wife, brushing your fingers across your daughter’s puffy cheeks. 

“Hey ladies, I believe there are some very excited aunts out here,” The doctor interrupted, knocking on the door. You were fairly surprised that the doctors and nursing staff had kept them at bay for as long as they did. You sent a concerned look to your wife. She was the one who had just pushed a tiny human out of her body, so she was the one who got to decide if you were accepting visitors. She nodded in your direction, and you in turn nodded to the doctor. 

“Send in the crazies,” 

#uswnt imagine #uswnt x reader #uswnt imagines #emily sonnett x reader #emily sonnett imagine #literalhedgehog

[yhs-silly]

Kneel

They were on their way home from school, Sam and Taurtis were just messing around and swinging off the lampposts, the usual. Grian seemed a little grumpier then usual, maybe he'd gotten a low grade on his test, he wouldn't say. But he was adamant that they had to get home as soon as possible, so when Sam and Taurtis started doing their checking both ways gag he was ready to snap.

He groaned and pushed them aside. "You guys are idiots! There are never any cars on this road!" He rolled his eyes and stormed into the middle of the road and stood there with his arms out, glaring at the duo. "See! There's nothing here! I'm perfectly sa-afe..."

He trailed off at the sound of a car horn, turning to face the speeding car, his face falling in horror.

Sam's hands tightened around Taurtis's arms, Taurtis hadn't even realised he'd moved to rush into the road. He just went still and just stared, with wide, tear filled eyes as the car came closer and closer.

Grian was right, there were never any cars on the road. It was very rare that a car came down the road, and if it did, it was usually at night- and always speeding. That was the unwritten rule; speed past the school zone, with luck you might hit one nof the crazy kids. The other towns around were never fond of the academi students, not used to such diversity, neurologically or otherwise.

Ironically, it was most likely the least mad of the students being hit, all the others looking on, glad it wasn't them. The acidemi students were never known for their empathy, only a few students really cared for the Brit. Those that did care already had tears welling in their eyes at the sound of flesh against metal and the grinding of the breaks as the car came to a halt.

The guy driving the car didn't even get out, he just sat there in a state of shock as Taurtis and Sam raced over to Grians side. Taurtis had tears spilling freely down his cheeks and even Sam was panicking, Sam gently lifted Grian off of the floor and checked his vitals. He was still alive, but struggling.

Okami had seen the whole thing go down and had called and ambulance as soon as she'd heard the car, it didn't take long for it to turn him. Sam threatened the emergency response team to let him and Taurtis ride with Grian in the back.

They were so worried, Taurtis had begun sobbing uncontrollably, this was just like before, just like with...

Salex.

Why did everyone he love have to die? Why was it always a car? He pauses, did he love Grian? As a friend of course, he's one of his best friends... he's still hung up on Salex...he hoped and prayed beyond his belief that Grian would not follow her. He couldn't loose someone else so close to him, he wouldn't know what to do.

Sam wasn't as affected but he was still terrified of loosing Grian, he'd never really dealt with a death close to him since his mother passed. He watched as Taurtis fell to his knees, sobbing. He felt so awful, if it wasn't for his and taurtis's insisting that the road wasn't safe, then Grian would be safe. For once Sam didn't feel pleased with being proved right, he wished he was wrong. For once he wished it had been Grian who was right, he could just see Grian's triumphant smirk, the sparkle in his eyes at the idea of being right.

Sam had noticed how much Grian reacted to a little bit of positive reinforcement, he'd used it to get his way before, but now all he wanted to do was tell Grian just how highly Sam valued him. Grian deserved to glow like he always did when praised, Sam was just scared he'd never get the chance.

After a while Grian got better, he still hasn't spoken but the doctors had said he was free to leave. One their way home, Sam and Taurtis had done nothing but pamper and adore him. It was the least they could do for him, but something was off with Grian, his behaviour wasn't normal.

Taurtis was worried about him, he hadn't said a word to either of them since he'd gotten out of the hospital. Sam wasn't as worried, but it was clear he was concerned by how little he'd been mocking Grian lately. But neither of them seemed to be getting through to him.

He's been taking naps lately, it was almost all he did. He never did any of his work and Okami was on the brink of pulling him aside for a quiet word. Everyone was growing increasingly worried about him, they figured he had gained some sort of brain damage.

This all culminated in that one night, Taurtis had stayed up late gaming. Sam was asleep and Grian was probably also sleeping, or so Taurtis thought. He'd turned his head at the sound of footsteps to see Grian standing there, clutching the mop like a staff. He glared intently at Taurtis, a strange fire behind his eyes that made Taurtis shudder.

"Taurtis." Grian's voice was rougher, darker then his usually was. Even his posture seemed heavier, he held himself in a higher sense of pride and power then the anxious, drawn back Grian that Taurtis knew and loved. "Remove yourself from the magic mirror, I require your counsel."

Taurtis was slightly confused, but he'd played enough fantasy games to understand what Grian meant. He switched the tv and game crab off, concerned as to how Grian seemed.to have forgotten what a tv was. He shifted to the side and patted the sofa next to him, with a gentle smile. "Ok Grian, what do you need buddy." He was really happy that Grian was finally speaking again, although those subtle changes did worry him.

Grian didn't sit down however, he continued to stand and just stare at Taurtis expectantly. "Well?" He began to tap his foot. "Stand."

Taurtis was surprised but did so without thinking, watching in confusion as Grian nodded in approval and moved to take his seat. Grians posture while sitting was also more confident Taurtis noticed, how hadn't he noticed before? He goes to sit down but Grian raises his hand to stop him.

"No, kneel." Grian spoke with a command, more adept at control then Sam. But Taurtis wasn't just going to obey, he just frowned at Grian in concern. Then his eyes widened at Grian put the mop to his shoulder and forced him down, Taurtis would've been impressed by Grian's control on the mop if he wasn't currently being forced onto his knees. He stares up at Grian in concern as the blonde nods in approval.

"Grian..? What the hell..?"

Grian raised his eyebrows a little at that, smiling gentle. "Oh? Is something the matter Taurtis? I must admit, I am also a little thrown off by our predicament but it is alright, you have your king to guide you."

Taurtis frowned deeply, king? Grian wasn't a king? He now had concerns about Grian's sanity, he had to play this carefully. He just quietly nods, smiling up at him gently. "No, nothings the matter Grian. You said you wanted to talk about something?"

Grian smiled back and nodded. "Ah yes, it was actually about this predicament... I'm unsure as to what happened but these clothes aren't mine? And I've never seen such powerful magic then there is here, it rivals even the likes of me... that's another thing. I've found myself unable to perform spells recently, I attempted to harness the power of this strange looking staff but it doesn't seem to like me."

Taurtis just nodded. "Alright...well what do you want to do?"

"I wish to return home, is that not obvious?" Grian scoffed. "My kingdom needs their king."

Taurtis nods and slowly and cautiously gets to his feet. "Okay...so I think the best thing to do right now is go back to bed and figure out what to do in the morning."

Grian nods and stands. "That does seem like the ideal plan, I trust you to gaurd my chambers?"

Taurtis just nodded in response, watching Grian head back upstairs. His knees where shaking, he sat on the sofa, feeling horrible.

Tears bunched in his eyes as he thought about how his poor sweet friend had completely lost his mind, Grian was supposed to be the responsible one! Now he seemed to believe he was some magical fantasy king... Poor guy was always a nerd, Taurtis figured that he must've latched on to a favourite fantasy story as a coping mechanism after the accident.

He felt so bad for poor Grian, he didn't ask for this, the poor guy didn't even understand what was going on. He felt the hot tears run down his face and looked down at his shaking hands, he realised that he had to tell Sam, he had to.

He slowly got to his feet and crept upstairs silently, knocking gently on Sam's door. "Sam? Sam wake up."

Sam eventually came to the door, looking sleepy. "Taurtis..? What's wrong?" He was surprised to see how worried Taurtis looked, he instantly also began to get worried.

"It's Grian." Taurtis spoke quietly, as if he was afraid of disturbing said blonde. He speaks slowly and carefully. "He's gone mad...he thinks he's some sort of wizard king..." He sniffles and wipes some tears away. "I'm just so worried about him..."

Sam felt his heart pang, he didn't know this feeling, it was almost guilt, almost responsibility, but it was neither- and it certainly wasn't pity, Sam knew what it was like to be the mad one. Only thing is, Sam was never really mad, just not normal. He nodded slowly, brain working harder then it ever did before at this time of night, heart hammering in his chest just like that day. "Alright...so what do we do?"

They made eye contact, the best thing to do would be to call the authorities, tell a teacher, get him to the hospital, to do something. But they both knew they couldn't do that, they didn't have the heart. Taurtis slowly began to speak. "Well...his delusions aren't tha-"

Sam put his hand up to stop him. "No, we can't go along with his delusions, that wouldn't be fair on him." He sighs and hums in thought "Is there really anything we can do..? I think he might be fucked."

"Don't say that!" Taurtis squeaked, quickly lowering his volume quickly. "We have to do something, we can't just leave him to his delusions." He was getting choked up again, Grian might not have died, but Taurtis still felt that he'd lost him.

They barely slept that night, simply discussing what they could do. They didn't really come up with anything that hadn't been said before, but eventually they decided they'd treat his delusions like how a parent treats a child's fantasies, playing along to a certain point.

And so they did, they managed this for around a week, but unfortunately people began to notice that Grian was behaving strangely. Eventually, Okami pulled the trio aside to talk to them.

Sam was glancing around and making sure there were exits, Taurtis was wringing his hands and glancing at Grian every five seconds. Grian himself had his arms crossed and was glaring daggers at Okami for being so rude.

Okami sighed softly and smiles at the boys. "Now, I'm sure you know what's going on. But none of us do, so could you please explain why Grian is behaving like that."

Grian scoffed and begun to speak, before Taurtis gently shut him down and spoke instead. "We're sorry Sensei, he's just a little banged up from the accident still..." He shrugs and smiles awkwardly.

Sam glances at him nervously, Okami frowns and then Grian speaks up. "What accident? I am not 'banged' up? Taurtis what are you talking about?"

There are gasps from both boys as Taurtis glances at grian nervously and Sam quietly hisses. "Grian, shh!"

Grian glares. "Don't you tell me to shh!" He stomps up to Sam and gets real close, getting up on his tippy toes trying to look intimidating.

Okami sighs and looked concerned. "Grian, sweetie, what do you mean 'what incident?'? Do you not remember what happened?"

Grian looked at her in confusion, his face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. He goes to speak when Taurtis steps in and clears his throat.

"Sensei? We're so sorry for trying to hide this...but he's gone mad."

"I am not mad! How dare you!"

Okami pauses and looks at Grian, seemingly looking for something, but whatever she was looking for, she didn't find it. She sighed and gently put her hand on Grian's shoulder. "Grian, sweetie? Can you calm down for me? Try and explain what you think is going on."

Grian began to speak, about a magical kingdom he rules over and how Sam and Taurtis were loyal to him. Okami turned to the boys and mouthed at them to go and fetch Rowan.

Taurtis's heart was hammering in his chest, that was so impulsive of him, but at least Grian was going to get the help he needs. He looks at Sam, seeing the obvious pain his friend was trying to hide, he sighed. He never expected to have to be the normal one, it was too much pressure for him. But if that was what it took to keep his best friends safe and happy, then that's what he would be.

It was Taurtis who explained the situation to Rowan.

It was Taurtis who comforted Sam as Grian was taken away.

It was Taurtis who knelt besides the bed that night, and for the first time in all his life.

Taurtis prayed.

#yhs #yhs grian #yhs sam #yhs taurtis #yhs okami #yhs rowan

[chimtaesty]

serendipity

pairing: jimin x reader | 2.2k words

warining: mentions of blood

plot: A severe car crash leaves you on a killer shift in the hospital and one of jimins kids asking for your apple juice

a/n: don’t be too harsh on me here, i’ve written this at 2 am and i kinda like and dislike it but to be honest with you, i could care less if it’s bad because at least this story is out of my head.

masterlist

The night is a whole mess with you sweating through your fourth jacket and your hands elbow deep in blood from who knows how many people. The hospital is fuller than usually and that means emergency operations while the operation rooms are full.

You’ve been on your shift for thirteen hours and you can’t even speak anymore. Your body doesn’t belong to you anymore while you close the hundredth wound in front of you. “As clean as ever, Y/N” Jaehyun pats your shoulder. “No one would believe me if i told them that you have been working for thirteen hours now” you nod slightly and get up from your seat to let Jaehyun clean up the wound. “This mass car crash just had to happen at the end of my shift” he sighs as well and gives you a small smile “How about you get yourself some juice and i’ll beep you when we really need you?” you are quick to shake your head “don’t give me that, for fucks sake, you’ve been up for a whole day now and not to speak of your thirteen hours shift. Out now” he pushes you out of the room and puts some coins in your hand.

“I love you, you know that?” he nods and pats your head “I know, now get your ass to bed.” you chuckle and leave the corridor to the vending machine. Before you do anything else you go to the toilette to get rid of the dried blood. Your hair is a mess, to not even start of your black eye bags. There still is some blood on your white jacket but you don’t really care, you are going to get rid of it as soon as you go to sleep.

 You buy yourself a bottle of apple juice and take a seat on the empty chairs in front of the machine. With a sip of the juice you close your eyes, just to get rid of that pounding in your head. You wouldn’t fall asleep you tell yourself, just a quick rest.

“Dad, the pretty lady dropped her juice” a small voice whispers. You can’t really open your eyes with your head pounding like that. Not resting for so long really has quite the effect on you. “Can i have a sip, pretty lady?” have you been sleeping? You open your eyes slightly just to see a small boy standing in front of you with your juice bottle in his tiny hand “Jiwon, leave the doctor alone” a rather exhausted voice calls out. “But, the juice” he whines lightly. “You can have it” you rasp out catching both of their attention.

Jiwon takes a step towards you and places his hand on your knee “Thank you, pretty doctor lady” you move a little just to be met with your whole body aching. “Come here Jiwon, I’m so sorry for him bothering you but he has been eyeing your juice for two hours now” you give him a confused look, two hours? You have been sleeping on this uncomfortable chair for two hours? “I couldn’t buy him one since i have no money on me” he whispers and you nod “No problem, what are you doing out here for two hours anyways?” you ask as you open the bottle for Jiwon and he keeps his hand on your knee. This kid actually has a quite calming effect on you. “My sister is sleeping because she got hurt while we were driving” the boy is faster to speak.

You understand immediately. They are victims of the awful car crash. Now that you take a closer look at the man whose kid holds on to your knee, you remember him. His daughter was one of the people you operated on. “Haewon” you whisper. The man's head shoots up and he gasps “Did you-?” he chokes on his own words.

So much blood. “Y/N, press the wound or we’ll lose her” someone screams and you do your best to put pressure on the little girls stomach without choking on your own sobs. “Y/N, we need you over here” someone shouts and your heart stops. No, you can’t leave her. “I won’t move from her, Minoh is standing over there” you shout back. The blood doesn’t stop, so much blood. You sweat so much and you hair just sticks to your forehead. In the split of a second you lift your gaze off the small girl in her hello kitty hoodie to find a man crying and shouting towards you. He’s struggling against the security guards who hold the man in utter pain and tears back. She’s his daughter. “I’ll keep you alive, no matter what”

“I operated on your daughter” you whisper and he sobs again. Jiwon leaves to look out of the window with the juice in his hand. “You saved her, i saw you.” You nod and shift uncomfortably. You normally don’t do that, you don’t talk to families. “I did what i had to do” you whisper back. He shakes his head “I heard your shift was over ten hours long and you still managed to save my baby” he chokes up the words. You nod “thirteen hours to be accurate or longer now that i’ve slept here but, that’s not the point. I’m happy i could help Haewon” you answer. “Daddy, I’m hungry” Jiwon drops to his knees dramatically. His father sighs and gives his son a apologetic look. “Jiwon-a, you know i don’t have any-”Do you two maybe want to join me on a meal in the cafeteria?” You interrupt the man

“Yes! I’m so hungry Doctor Lady” Jiwon smiles and you nod “Call me Y/N” you smile back at the boy “I’m Park Jiwon and this is my dad. His friends call him Jimin-a” the boy walks over to you and Jimin is fast to catch Jiwons hand. Jimin, huh? Suits him 

“We wouldn’t want to bother you” he declines with tired eyes. “I wouldn’t have invited you if you bothered me, you and your son could use a meal right now, Mr.Park” you smile and his eyes widen a little “Thank you very much, and please call me Jimin” you nod and take the hand Jiwon is offering you. Just as you take your first steps your vision blurs a little and you halt. “Y/N-ssi, are you alright?” Jimin clutches your shoulder in panic. “I’ve worked the double amount of hours i normally do so i’m a little exhausted but i’m fine”

Jiwon tightens his grasp on your hand and starts to pull you forward. “Can i have a chocolate pudding?” you chuckle and ruffle his hair “Yes you can”.

In the cafeteria you take a seat at the very back of the room just to avoid coworkers to congratulate you on the highest number of operations in one shift. Jeahyun talked to you about it once. It’s this weird tradition where people congratulate each other on how many people they’ve operated. It’s kinda weird to you, why would you celebrate the amount of hurt people which ended up hurt in the hospital?

Jimin walks over to you with Jiwons and his plate in his hands. He gives you a small smile and sets the plates down to help Jiwon onto his chair. „Thank you for paying“ you smile and wave it off „No big deal, sharing is caring right?“ You quietly start eating as you notice Jiwon struggling with his pudding container. You reach out and open it for him just to earn a warm smile from Jimin „I could’ve-„Be quiet and eat your burger“ you chuckle and continue to eat your cup of ramen.

„So, what do you do for a living?“ you break the silence and Jimin‘s head snaps up “Umh- I currently have a part time job at a small cafè just around the corner” he answers and you nod “Then I have to check it out” he smiles and you fall back into silence. Is starting a new conversation a good idea? Should you keep quiet? “Can I go play over there?” Jiwon breaks the ice and both of your heads move in his direction. For a moment you wanted to tell Jiwon to be careful as he left but then you remembered that he isn’t your kid.

Now that Jiwon isn’t there to shield you,Jimin locks eyes with you. “How severe was it really?” He whispers his question and you’re caught off guard “What-“Her injury, how bad was it really? The nurses told me you couldn’t talk to me because you already operated on another person right after Haewon. But, i need to know how bad it was” you look at the table trying to find the right words.

“I can’t find the cause, there’s too much blood” you shout in distress. There’s so much noise, so many people crying, shouting, dying. “There’s too much blood” you shout again.Yet you would to whatever you could to save this little girl. Just in the glimpse of a second you found the artery which caused the ungodly amount of blood to leave the girls body “I’m stopping the blood flow now!” You shout and Jaehyun is by your side to place the light right where you need it and suddenly the blood stops and you sigh in relief “I’m closing her” you say and a disagreeing grunt reaches your ears “She’s my patient so I’m closing her” you growl at the first year next to you.You don’t know what got into you, but the father’s face just wouldn’t leave your mind.

“She lost a lot of blood and I was very close to not finding the cause of it. But I stopped it and closed her wound myself. She’s a very strong girl and I know for sure that someone else wouldn’t be breathing after how bad she was injured” you whisper your last sentence. He sobs and you move closer to him “I couldn’t stop the car in time” he cries and you breathe out shakily. The soft hand of his finds yours and you tighten your grasp “I’m not a therapist but I know that you shouldn’t blame yourself. Over two hundred people were involved in the car accident and they couldn’t stop their car either. That’s what car accidents are. You have no fault in that” he nods and lowers his head into his hands.

“I have to stay here with Haewon, but Jiwon can’t stay here anymore” he speaks more to himself than to you. “What about their mother?” he frowns at you and shakes his head “They don’t have one and my parents live all the way in Busan” he cries out silently. They don’t have one. So he’s a single parent. 

You think for a second. “You know what, I can take Jiwon back to rest with me and you can stay with Haewon. When you want Jiwon to leave you can just ask for me at the counter. He gets some sleep and you can rest as well. How does that sound?” His head snaps up. “I can’t possibly-“Jimin, you need to sleep a little. And as much as you love Jiwon you can’t do that when you worry about both of your children. Jiwon’s safe with me, I’ll even have him brush his teeth. But if you really don’t like that I’ll just let you go to Haewons room and not bother you anymore” you give him a warm smile

“I like the thought of Jiwon sleeping a little” he nods and you pat his hand. “Jiwon-a, come here” Jiwon is quick to return to the table. “Do you maybe want to go and take a nap with me? I have cozy blankets and hot cocoa if you’d like some” you smile and he thinks for a moment. “But where is daddy going?” Jimin frowns, he knows that his son isn’t going to go with someone he just met. So you have to make something up, anything that could prevent Jiwon from being glued to his dad “He is going to be strong for Haewon. He is going to stay with Haewon until we have loaded our energy to guard Haewon” he tilts his head and nods “I’m gonna guard Haewon after daddy is finished” he agrees and you smile. Are you really about to take care of a complete stranger’s son? 

You take Jiwon into your arms and leave Jimin at the stairs “Wave daddy goodbye, Jiwon” he waves at Jimin and nuzzles himself into your chest ready to sleep “Thank you so much, Y/N. I’ll forever stay in your debt.” you smile and lightly push him into the elevator. “Go and sleep a little.I’ll take care of Jiwon.” he nods and gives you a teary smile as the elevator doors close. Maybe taking your mind off of the bloody bodies would be quite nice. 

#bts #BTS jimin #BTS jin #BTS jungkook #bts jhope #BTS suga #BTS au #BTS a #bts angst!au #bts angst #bts fluff #bts series #bts scenarios #bts hybrid au #bts hosoek #bts hobi #bts rm #bts reactions #bts taehyung #bts texts #bts imagine #bts drabble

[aggressivelyclueless]

The Boy Who Ran Away To The Circus

prompted by @gottacatchghosts "Full ghost Danny AU based on the episode Control Freaks. How does being a full ghost affect the influence the orb has over Danny?" Words: 5904 Warning: a bit dramatic, brief ghosty blood, is begging for a sequel

      The phantom hid away from the sun.  He'd crammed himself into a little shady area under the roof, but he wasn't comfortable.  At least his sister wouldn't find him up here, he thought, in an effort to keep from getting too irritated.  He'd escaped one of her psychology lectures earlier; for some reason, she always seemed to think that he had taken up the same interest in the human brain as she did, and would routinely try to rope him into discussion - or worse, helping her study.       He wasn't having any of it, and had flown out to his best friend's house to wait until she got home from school.  He could see her coming up the block, and he brightened.  She'd always listen when he vented about his parents or his sister, and in return he'd usually help her pull petty get-backs against her own parents when they got on her nerves too much.  He watched her head up the paved driveway and into the house; she appeared in her room a minute later, dropped her backpack by the foot of her bed, and kicked off both her boots.       "I'm home," Sam announced, opening up her window and giving the yard a quick glance.  "Danny - you around?  C'mon in."       "Yeah, I'm around," he answered, appearing in the shadow of the overhanging roof.  He slipped into her room, glad to escape the daylight outside.  He tried to stay out of the sun if he could help it - it had felt just a little bit wrong on him ever since he'd died a while back - and that made Sam's room an ideal hang-out spot.  Gotta love goths.  They get it.       Sam flopped back onto the bed to decompress.  "Man, I can't wait," she groaned, "This is gonna be the coolest circus in the world.  I just know it.  Opening ceremony's tomorrow - you'll get me out of first-period, right?"       "Uh, yeah, duh, old fire-alarm routine?  Piece of cake," said Danny, draping himself across the foot of the bed and letting his ecto-tail hang over the side.  "Wouldn't miss it.  I don't even remember the last time I saw a real circus.  You think your parents'll be mad when they find out?"       "Take a look at this," Sam said flatly, handing him the pamphlet she'd gotten in the mail when she'd ordered the tickets.  "You think they'd want me paying money to see that?"       Danny took the pamphlet and gave it a look-over.  The ringmaster posed dramatically on the front, holding a flashy red staff with a bat on it.  Danny found himself staring, and entirely missed whatever else Sam had been saying.  "Huh?"       "I said I was counting on them not finding out about it," Sam repeated, taking the pamphlet back and stuffing it into the secret compartment of her backpack.  "Good thing about my parents is they'd never even think you were giving me a hand."       "Yeah," said Danny, still somewhat distracted.  Something in his mind had just been plucked at, but he couldn't tell what or where - he frowned for a moment, but then dismissed it.  He was just getting a bit excited, that was all.

      The northern Amity Park train station had been abandoned years ago due to a fire.  The building still stood, but its interior had been gutted by the city after the disaster.  Graffiti and creeping vines bedecked the sturdy brick walls, and one of the front windows had cracked into a spiderweb of shards, still managing to hold together but threatening to throw itself down to the concrete platform below with anything more than a slight breeze.  The two front doors of the building remained vigilantly shut against any intruders, but they had been ignored for almost a decade - on the nights when vandals came through, they always preferred the broken window on the eastern side of the station.  One disused pair of rails ran alongside the platform.  They hadn't been touched in years, despite the routine traffic from the depot half a mile down the line.       It was along this last weed-ridden track that the ghastly train rumbled, disturbing nothing.  It was almost dusk.  Twisting green letters painted on the side of each car caught the last dwindling rays of sun and, as the train slowed to a crawl, a deep and chilling mist began to roll between the rails underneath the cars.  The wheels screeched to a standstill at the same moment that the sun disappeared, and the train gave a mighty hiss of steam as it was allowed to settle at the station.       The circus had just arrived in town.

      The big-top tent had been pitched in the field on the other side of the tracks.  They arrived early - Sam had said something about wanting to get a good seat - but they were far from the first ones there.  A small but growing crowd of goths had begun to assemble by the train, and Sam recognized a handful of them from school.  She acknowledged a couple of them with a dead-inside half-nod, receiving the same in return, and turned to Danny.  She'd loaned him an oversized purple hoodie, knowing he'd be recognized as the Infamous Ghost Kid otherwise, and thought smugly to herself how easily he slipped in with the crowd here.   "C'mon, don't lose me.  I'm going in for a good spot."  She grabbed his hand and then made her way up to the front of the crowd, keeping her eyes on the front of the train.  It was almost nine - the opening ceremonies would start any minute now, and she'd kick herself if she missed even a second of it.       "Hey, hang on," said Danny, spotting a pair of wooden crates stacked off to the side, "Over there - those should be good.  Otherwise I can pull you up as high as you want."       "Hey, good eye," Sam ducked through the crowd, hopping up onto one of the crates.  Danny was right - this was a pretty good spot.  She could see the train without problems, and she could make an uninterrupted beeline for the tent to get good seats when the show started.  "Man, this is gonna be so cool - "       The side of the first boxcar rolled open slowly, and the crowd fell silent.  The inside was hidden in shadow; the ringmaster stepped out, an entertainer's grin plastered across his pale face.  "Greetings, fellow outcasts!" he announced in a comical, slightly-unhinged sort of voice, "I am Freakshow, your Master of Ceremonies - are you ready to smile, relax, and forget all your troubles amid the pleasant diversions of the circus?"  He was playing it up; his grin widened, and he held out his hands to invite a response from the crowd of misfits assembled before him.       The crowd indulged with a collective, "No!"       "Then you've come to the right place!" Freakshow declared with a flourish and a little wave of the staff in his hand.  His eyes swept over the crowd, and after a dramatic pause he continued: "Prepare to be disturbed and appalled by a small sample of the bizarre and abnormal world of Circus Gothica!"       Danny didn't catch anything that happened after that.  His wide-eyed gaze was affixed on the ringmaster's staff - specifically, the enormous red crystal ball on the end of it - and his thoughts slowly started to float away from him.  He was caught in the hypnotic swirl of the crystal the ringmaster held, and his mind went blank.  He stared, unblinking.  Through the fog that clouded his head, he saw Freakshow - and Freakshow saw him.  Though he entertained the crowd, he spoke to Danny directly: come, ghost. Danny was compelled to obey.       - - -       Sam could hardly believe it.  She was finally seeing Circus Gothica live - she'd dreamed of it every night since she'd heard they were coming to Amity Park, and she'd forked over much more for the tickets than she would ever admit to anyone.  Even her best friend was with her - how much better could this day get?  She turned with a grin to remark something along the lines of look at us, a goth and a ghost at the freak circus!  Do we belong here or what? or, man, you're the best - I'm so glad I skipped class for this.       Danny had disappeared.       Sam's smile vanished.  "Danny?  Where'd you go?"  She turned to the crowd with a frown.  She couldn't see a trace of him anywhere - not even by the popcorn vendor - and despite herself she began to worry.  Where'd he disappear to?  He didn't even say anything about it - is he okay?  She tried to shrug it off.  He'll be right back, she told herself, but something still didn't feel right.       "Sam?"       She froze.  If she'd been prepared, or at least been given a ten-second heads-up, she'd have made a run for it and disappeared into the crowd.  Instead, her hesitation doomed her.  Above even the pearl-clutching frets of the oncoming mob of parents, she heard the clicking of her mother's heels as she approached.  Sam turned; there stood both her parents, poised at the head of another one of their pointless protests.  Can't they just have day jobs like regular human beings, if they're so intent on being normal?       "Samantha!  Just what do you think you're doing out here!" her mother exclaimed, "I distinctly remember forbidding you from attending this repulsive display of immorality!"       Sam was too angry for words; the ringmaster, on the other hand, was not.  "Oh, critics!" he crowed, jumping up onto one of the crates just to make sure they could see him, "There's a heckler in every crowd, of course!  What do you say, freaks, should we really let the rantings of the closed-minded norms beat us down?  Or should we show them our true colors - and by true colors, of course, I mean all black!"       The crowd obliged, nearly breaking into a riot right then and there.  Angry goths threw insults and empty soda cans without hesitation, determined to drive the protesters back.       Sam would have slipped away, too, if her mother hadn't grabbed her by the arm with a disapproving scowl.  "Sneaking out of school?  You are so grounded, young lady!"

      "Are you sure you haven't seen him anywhere?" Sam asked with a frown.  Class had just let out; she and Tucker had met by her locker for an emergency discussion.  Neither of them had seen Danny at lunch, either.       Tucker shook his head.  "I mean, he comes by my house like twice a week, so - "       "No, I mean today.  He came with me earlier when we ditched first-period, remember?  We were gonna watch the opening ceremonies - I thought he just flew off when my parents showed up, but I haven't seen him since.  You think maybe something happened?"       "I don't know," said Tucker, "If it's all the same to you, I'd really rather not go to a spooky goth circus to find out.  No offense."       Sam huffed.  "Ugh, look.  That's the last place I saw him, okay?  He might be still around there.  I just wanna make sure he's okay - "       "Sam.  He's a ghost.  He's fine."       "Then how come he hasn't showed up?" Sam persisted, "He should have at least dropped by during lunch.  He does that literally every day.  Come on, Tucker, you gotta admit something's a little off."       Tucker finally relented.  "Yeah.  I guess that does sound a little fishy.  Alright, Sam, you win.  Guess we'll scope that circus out."       "Thanks, Tucker," she gave him an appreciative smile, grabbed her backpack from her locker, and the pair headed down the hall.  "I've got to grab some stuff, just in case.  I'll meet you down by the station."       "Sure," said Tucker, "Meet you there."       Sam only stopped by her house for a few minutes.  She dumped all the school junk out of her backpack, stuffing it instead with a handful of snacks, a flashlight, and some emergency eyeliner (a goth can never be caught without it, she knew from experience).  She knew her parents weren't home; they'd no doubt still be marching around in circles outside the big-top, and probably would continue to do so until later in the evening.  With luck, she'd be home by then, and she and Danny would be upstairs making fun of how stupid her parents were.       Still, that was assuming things went well.  Something told her they wouldn't, and she did her best to ignore it.  I'm sure Danny's fine, she told herself for the twelfth time.  She scrawled out a note for him anyway, leaving it taped to the window in case he came looking for her before she was back.  With that done, and with everything she was certain she'd need in her backpack, she sneaked past her none-too-observant grandmother and back out to meet up with Tucker.       She found him behind the train station, out of sight of the relentless protesting parents, and quickly ducked around the side of the building so she wouldn't be caught.  "You see him anywhere?"       Tucker shook his head.  "Out here?  Nope.  No ghosts - just goths."       Sam took a quick peek around the corner, hoping to spot an easy way they could sneak past her parents.  "Come on.  Maybe he's inside."  She grabbed his hand, pulled him behind a stack of supply crates, threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear, and then darted around behind the big-top.  She pulled the massive canvas flaps apart, and the two of them slipped inside.       In an instant, Sam completely forgot why she was there.  A spectacular breath of fire erupted from the center ring, where a pair of performers danced effortlessly on either jaw of a massive prop bear trap, and calliope music swelled in time with their act.  The crowds of goths in the stands exploded into cheers; the smell of popcorn and cotton candy hit her over the head, making her sway on her feet.  For a moment, all her focus was gone, and she was overcome with excitement.  The fire-breathers let loose a concluding double-arc of flames, took a bow, and then vanished in a puff of smoke.       "Whoa," Sam breathed, "That's so cool..."       "Um, Sam?" Tucker asked, not having been quite so enthralled by the performance, "What about Danny?"       Sam jolted.  "Right - " (gotta focus, Sam!) " - see if you can get up in the stands - maybe you'll be able to spot him from higher up.  I'll come up the other side."       Tucker nodded once and then ran off.       Sam turned.  Stay focused.  I know you're at the circus - once we catch up with Danny, it'll be fine.  We'll catch the show after that.  All three of us  It'll be fun.  Despite herself, she turned in the hopes to get a glimpse of the next act.  Freakshow's voice thundered across the tent: "And now, please welcome a performer who puts the death in death-defying act - The Grim Reaper himself!"       Sam stared in amazement.  Balanced precariously up on the high-wire was a single acrobat, draped in a dramatic black cloak and armed with a scythe.  Focus, Sam! she told herself half-heartedly, but it was in vain.  She was mesmerized; when the acrobat balanced the scythe on the tightrope and then hoisted himself up by one hand on top of it, she was left speechless.       Her senses came back to her when the reaper's act drew to a close.  She watched him descend from the platform and duck quickly out of sight, and a crazy thought presented itself in her head: I gotta get back there.  Before she dared allow herself to think twice about it, she crept along the dark corner of the second ring.  The sign overhead read Cast Only but she pushed the flaps open anyway.  Her heart was pounding.  She spotted the cloaked acrobat amidst a wide array of assorted props and, if she hadn't been so hopelessly in awe, she might have noticed that the tattered edge of the reaper's cloak hung in the air.  "I - " she started, telling herself not to slip into a fannish ramble and immediately doing it anyway.  "That was incredible out there - I know you probably get this like all the time but - "       The reaper turned.  From under his hood came a burning stare, and the scythe in his hands glinted in the low light.  He floated down to her; his face was blank, but his eyes had become red and bloodshot.  From up on the high-wire, the hood had masked him, but up close it no longer mattered.  He was unmistakable.       "Danny?" Sam gasped, taking a step back.  "What are you doing?  I've been looking all over for you!  Come on, we should go - "       "Can't," said Danny vaguely, as if in a trance.  He held her stare, unblinking.  "I belong here now."       "What do you mean, can't?" Sam demanded, unamused, "Cut it out.  I'm serious - "       A hand on her shoulder made her yelp.  She whirled around, suddenly finding herself face-to-face with the ringmaster.  He still held his staff in one hand, and his face had hardened into an irritable snarl.       "What are you doing back here?" he demanded.  His glare shifted to acknowledge Danny, and his eyes narrowed.  "And you!  What sort of miserable excuse for a performance was that?  You call that an act?"       Danny took it in silence, his face paling.  His gaze fell.       Sam's eyes darted between Danny and Freakshow.  What on earth was going on?  "Danny - come on, you're just going to let him say that?  I know you!  You never take it like this!"  She turned back to Freakshow, anger filling her.  "This is your fault, isn't it?  What did you do to him?"       Freakshow rounded on her instead.  "Oh, figuring things out so quickly?  Goody for you!  You think you'll protect this little ghost, now, don't you?"  He gave a sardonic laugh, unhinging just for a moment, and then bent to be level with her.  His face stiffened into a practiced grimace, and his voice became a threatening growl.  "Who - pray tell - will protect you from him?"  He gave the staff a little flick, and turned his attention to Danny.  "Redeem yourself, ghost.  Don't you hear those poor souls out there begging for more?  Give them the encore they want."       Danny said nothing.  He grabbed Sam by the arm and they both vanished from sight as he pulled her upwards to the high-wire platform.       "Danny, what're you - hey!"  Sam protested, landing on the platform and immediately taking a step back from him.  She was well aware of how small the platform was; one foot nearly slipped off the edge, and she had to regain her balance so she wouldn't fall.  She could see Freakshow below, narrow-eyed and unblinking.  The crystal mounted to his staff cast an insidious glow over one side of his face, and he tapped it once, as if an orchestral conductor might give a ginger flick of his baton.       Danny advanced, scythe in hand, and pressed her back.  His bloodshot eyes were locked on her; he wore the same scowl as the ringmaster, but as she backed slowly out onto the tightrope the corners of his mouth twisted instead into a crooked smile.       "Danny, stop it," Sam pleaded, casting another gut-wrenching glance down to the ring far below.  "I mean it - this isn't you!  Danny, please!"       He neither heard her nor answered.  He took a step out onto the wire after her, and then another.  His eyes were fixed on her, daring her to make a misstep - he swung the scythe at her once, just to make her scream, and his unnatural grin widened.       His blade and Freakshow's staff moved in tandem, one mimicking the direction of the other, and Sam put the pieces together.  He wasn't joking around - he was being controlled directly - but it was too late.  Danny gave the scythe a dramatic twirl before bringing it down and slicing the wire in two with a maniacal cackle.  It fell away from under him, but he was unaffected; Sam, on the other hand, was not.       She fell with a shriek, making a wild grab for the hem of his cloak.  Failing that, she at least found the severed end of the rope, and swung down to a rough halt at the side of the ring.  It wasn't a solid landing by any means; it took her a moment to collect herself and shake the dizziness out of her head.  The crowd was in an uproar but she didn't care - as she staggered back to her feet she saw Danny descending gracefully after her, scythe resting on one shoulder.  She took another step back.  "Danny, please listen to me - snap out of it, quit scaring me like that - "       Danny loomed over her with a ghastly snarl, his face only an inch from hers.  "How should I scare you...?"       She swallowed hard.  She realized just how hopelessly he'd been crushed by the power of the ringmaster's crystal - was there anything that could pull him out from under Freakshow's spell?  She was beginning to doubt that there was.  She watched, speechless, as Danny stepped back to the side of his new master.       Freakshow's scowl deepened; it was clear that he hadn't expected her to survive that little stunt, but he'd accept the outcome for the moment.  "Consider that a warning, girl," he sneered, stalking back off to the second ring with Danny still in tow.       Sam pulled herself together.  She couldn't save Danny on her own and she knew it - she had to find Tucker.  Still shaken but reassuring herself, she turned to the stands and scanned the crowds for him.  She could see him partway up; he was the only one among them who wasn't a goth, and it made him incredibly easy to spot.  He darted down to her, eyes wide.  "Sam - are you okay?  I saw you up there - you nearly gave me a heart attack!"       "Tucker!" Sam exclaimed, "I found him - I saw Danny, but he's under some kind of spell - it's Freakshow's staff, I think it's controlling him!"       "Controlling him?  Is there a way to stop it?"       "I don't know," Sam admitted, "We've got to figure out a plan.  Come on," she led him quickly to a darker corner of the tent - someplace where they wouldn't be seen, ideally - and cast a worried glance back to the center ring.  Earlier, she'd been transfixed; now, after what happened, it just sent a shiver down her spine.       "I'm gonna see if I can get any dirt on - man, you're not gonna believe this," said Tucker, interrupting himself mid-sentence as both eyebrow shot up.  He'd pulled out his PDA, and as he scrolled through the notifications on the screen he read them aloud: "Jewels reported missing by police - bank vault found empty - rash of mysterious burglaries - circus owner offers show to concerned parents - " (he gave that last link a tap with his thumb) " - get a load of this one.  Says here he's reaching out to skeptics to prove it's all 'harmless entertainment.'"       "Harmless?" Sam scoffed, "Harmless for himself, maybe.  Hey, see if you can find anything on the spell he put on Danny.  Any idea how to lift it?"       "Hang on, let me see - " (he tapped furiously for a moment) " - no, I'm not finding anything.  Not even a mention of anything like it.  Sam, what're we gonna do?  We can't just leave him - "       "I know we can't!" Sam snapped.  Tucker flinched, and she let her breath out all at once.  "Tucker, I'm sorry - I can't stand to let this happen to him either, but we don't have any leads, and we don't know how to lift the spell, and my parents are going to be in here for the show tonight, and we can't even let them see us - "       "Sam," said Tucker, as calmly as he could manage, and put a hand on her shoulder.  "Quit freaking out about it.  We'll save him, okay?  Plus the more you freak out about it the more it makes me wanna freak out about it, y'know?"       Sam forced herself to take a deep breath.  "Yeah.  Okay."  She swept the what-ifs that had been plaguing her away, redirecting her focus.  "What about the staff?  We have to get it away from him.  That might be the only way."       "You think he'll ever set the thing down?" Tucker asked, "I mean - "       Sam's resolve hardened.  Seeing Danny manipulated like that - his flinching shame when he'd been berated - lit a fire in her, and she nodded.  "He's got to."       Tucker turned as the crowds roared into applause again.  "After the show - he's gotta tire out sometime, right?"       "Yeah, and I know just the thing to snoop into in the meantime.  Come on," Sam rose to her feet, leading him around the back of the tent and out underneath the heavy canvas.  She checked both ways, in case the crowd of skeptical parents had spotted them.  Unseen, she pulled Tucker away and back toward the abandoned station.  The sun hadn't set yet, but there wouldn't be much time until it did.  She could see the crowds from the show filing out - earlier that morning, she'd have said she wouldn't miss the finale for the world, but she no longer wanted a part in any of it.  She knew their window would be short.  She pulled Tucker up beside the train, staying carefully out of sight of the crowds.  "Stay close by me," she whispered, spotting an open boxcar ahead.  They crept closer, and Sam caught a glimpse of the ringmaster before ducking under the carriage in a panic so that they wouldn't be seen.     "Excellent work, drones.  I'm certain dear Lydia will be joining us as soon as she's finished with her little performance.  Ah, and here come the stragglers.  A bit late, are we?"       Sam watched as Danny appeared in the air with another ghost beside him.  Freakshow's will had overpowered him, turning his eyes from green to a dark blood-red, and in one hand he held something small and glittering.  He descended, offering the trinket to his master.       Freakshow paused.  "Now, where did you find a little jewel like this?  Perhaps you're not entirely useless after all..."       Sam didn't catch anything after that.  The door of the boxcar rolled shut, latching with a hard clank, and she gave Tucker a nudge with one elbow.  "C'mon, we gotta get in there."       She got up to her feet as the engine gave a roar of steam.  The entire train shuddered; the wheels screeched against the rails as it struggled into motion.  She pulled Tucker out from underneath the boxcar, keeping his hand as she darted for the space in between the cars so she could jump up.       They paused in the confined space, and Sam's mind raced.  She could see the big-top already beginning to recede behind them; the train accelerated slowly and in great chugging shudders, but once it got moving she knew there'd be no stopping it.  Where would they end up?  She shook the thought out of her head.  One thing at a time.  Save Danny first.  She clambered up the side of the car, Tucker keeping close behind her.  There had to be a way in somewhere - she spotted an emergency hatch on the next car ahead, and the two of them made their way across.       Tucker pulled the hatch open just a little so he could peer inside, and he turned back to Sam with a nod.  "C'mere, I see it - "       A beam of ghost-energy hit them both square in the chest, sending them sprawling.  Sam made a grab for Tucker but missed; he flew clear off the train, tumbling to a halt somewhere in the tall grass below.  "Tucker, no!"       She turned to see Danny floating over her, finger-gun still smoking.  His eyes had been taken over completely by the red haze of Freakshow's hypnosis, and it had begun to creep like infectious roots under his skin.  He stared her down, his face betraying neither satisfaction nor regret, and he formed a full-sized ball of ghost-energy in one hand.  His eyes narrowed; he released the ball of energy and made the shot.       Sam only barely avoided the attack as she scrambled back to her feet, nearly toppling off the edge of the train.  She didn't dare take her eyes off of Danny for more than a second - she knew he'd chew her up and spit her out if she did - and she squashed down the terrified knot that had begun to form in her gut.  "Danny, don't do this - he's controlling you, you've got to listen to me - !"       Danny paused, as if idle, as the ringmaster appeared behind him from in between the cars.  "Looking for this?" he crowed, staff in hand, "Did you really think you could just take it right out from under my nose?  I may be a freak, girl, but I'm no fool!"       Sam steeled herself.  "Let Danny go!"       "Let him go?  Oh, that's charming!" exclaimed the ringmaster, breaking into hysterics.  "You're going to defeat me, are you? and single-handedly, no less!  How heroic!"       Danny advanced, eyes aglow.  His will had been all but crushed under Freakshow's; he wore the same grim glower, and even the way he moved had begun to mirror the ringmaster's own mannerisms.  He floated closer, nearly overwhelming her.       Sam took a step back.  "Danny, I know you're in there somewhere - you don't want to do this - "       "Save your breath, girl.  He doesn't stand a chance against me - and you don't stand a chance against him," said Freakshow in amusement.  He gave Danny only a look, but his orders were clear: finish her.       The ghastly glow in his eyes spread into a crimson aura, and he was forced to obey.  He made a grab for her, catching her by the arm, and spun her around to face him.  His grip was like ice, but his stare was burning.  "Come on," he growled, "Scream for me.  Just once."       "Danny, please!  It's me, Sam - I'm your best friend, remember - ?"       "I'm a ghost," he snapped, the corners of his mouth twisting back up into the too-wide grin, "I have no friends."       Sam's mind raced.  She realized - or, at least, was forced to acknowledge concretely - that there was no getting through to him.  He was no longer merely under Freakshow's command; his mind was beginning to warp because of it.  He was toying with her.  Whatever there was left of him inside was too far gone.  No, she insisted, he's not gone.  I have to save him.  She only had one shot.  The fire in her returned, and her hands balled into angry fists.  Despite herself, she still couldn't meet his eyes.  "Let go of me."       Danny's twisted smile widened to an impossible degree, and he burst into sardonic laughter.  His grip tightened.  "You couldn't make me!"       Sam forced herself to meet his stare.  She hesitated, but only for a moment.  "I'm sorry, Danny."       She decked him in the nose.       Danny's facade faltered; he flew back, skidding to a halt on the metal surface of the train.  In a daze, he lay still.       Sam rounded on Freakshow, her blood boiling.  She refused to acknowledge she'd just punched her best friend; she couldn't afford to hesitate now, and she took a step forward.  She was certain she'd beat him, now that he was on his own.       He seemed to know it too; his eyes widened, and he opened up his mouth to make a sorry excuse for himself.  "Please - er, just a moment, now, I don't think there's any need for - "       "Sam?"       She turned.  The fire in her began to fade in an instant, and chilling realization crept into its place.  She saw him, propping himself up on one hand, the other held over his nose.  Bright green blood ran through his fingers and stained the glove of his suit.       He refused to meet her gaze; his voice was broken.  "Sam, you - you really hurt me..."       She caved, overcome in an instant with remorse.  "Danny, I'm so sorry - I had to," she knew it wasn't enough.  She ran to him, knelt beside him, and carefully set one hand on his shoulder.  "Danny, please, I didn't mean it - "       He finally turned to her.  His wicked grin returned.  "Gotcha."       Freakshow sucked in his breath.  "Oh, bravo..."       The ground on either side of them seemed to fall away as she realized what had happened.  He'd baited her, and she'd fallen for it.  "Danny, I - "       He was faster.  He grabbed her, floating upwards and pulling her off her feet.  He turned, holding her for a moment over the side of the train, and with a little wave of his other hand he dropped her.       She fell with a shriek.  Time seemed to slow with her descent, and for a fleeting moment everything went silent.  The last thing she saw before she hit the river was Danny, floating triumphantly with the ringmaster at his side, as the train sped away.

      She pulled herself up onto the riverbank and collapsed.  The cold water had numbed her skin; her failure numbed her mind.  I lost him.  She lay on the bank - panting, exhausted, and soaking wet - and couldn't even bring herself to burst into tears.  She stared blankly up at the tracks on the bridge overhead; she could almost still see him, but she knew he was gone.  She knew she'd never see him again.  Freakshow had won.       She still had to drag herself home.  She turned her gaze to the steep ravine, dreading having to climb up the side after she'd just emerged from the water.  She only let herself rest for a few minutes, and then forced herself to her feet.  What am I gonna tell Tucker?  She knew he wouldn't take it well.  He'd known Danny longer than she had, and he'd had a rough time after Danny had died a while back.  She clambered slowly upwards, knowing better than to take her chance against the loose earth of the ravine and setting her sights on the supports of the bridge instead.  She hauled herself over the top and lay in the grass, unable to take another step.       She'd never see Danny again.       It was the next morning when she finally arrived home.  She'd just had the longest night of her life, and she couldn't even find it in her to protest when her parents began to fuss over her.  She let them.  At least she was home.  She was sent immediately to bed, and the next thing she knew it was evening.  Her mind still in a haze, she checked the time on the cell on her bedside table.  It was almost nine, but that meant little to her.  She found, instead, a text from Tucker waiting in her notifications.       Heard what happened, hope you feel better soon! get back to me when you can bc i have to tell you smth important. its abt danny. i found the schedule for the gothica tour! theyre setting up next month in oregon and i really dont wanna go by myself. i miss him too. hope you get better. we'll talk then

#danny phantom #phic phight #phic phight 19 #team ghost

[a-second-hand-sorrow]

Dance With Me? (Brian May X Reader)

WC: 3121

Warnings: Some swearing, its Very Australian, y’all it is so fucking cute

Summary: Y/N returns home to Brisbane for Christmas with her boyfriend Brian who is very shocked at how different Christmas is in Australia.

Tagged: @antoouu @ceruleanrainblues (If y’all wanna be tagged in any of my future works lemme know and I’ll do it)

A/N: I’m actually really proud of this one so I hope you guys like it! (Also all temperatures mentioned are in Celsius not Fahrenheit fyi)

BORHAP MASTERLIST

December 17th, 1978

 “Yes mum, I know. I am coming home for Christmas, don’t worry.” Y/N said, glancing at the clock on her bedroom wall. It was 10 at night and she had stayed up late so she could call her mother in Brisbane.

 “Well that’s good to hear. Are you bringing that rock star boyfriend of yours?” Y/N groaned at her mother’s question, her eyes going to the bathroom where Brian was currently taking a shower.

 “I don’t know. Maybe, but it depends on his schedule. You know how busy he is, mum.” Y/N said, twisting the cord of the phone in her hand. Her mum let out a sigh before taking the conversation away from boyfriend-related matters.

 “Mum I love you but its past 10 and I really need to sleep. I’ll talk to you soon, ok? Bye.” Y/N said, hanging up the phone and leaning back against the pillows. Y/N noticed that the shower had stopped, and soon enough Brian was emerging from the bathroom in nothing but his boxers.

 “Who was that on the phone?” Brian said, pulling the covers back and getting into bed next to Y/N, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Y/N snuggled into Brian, feeling calmer now that he was in bed with her.

 “Just mum. She wants to know if you’re coming home with me for Christmas. I said you might, but you’ve got such a busy schedule and my home is on the other side of the bloody world.” Y/N rambled, waving her hands about as she spoke, and Brian gave her a smile before kissing her cheek.

 “Tell your mum I’m coming home for Christmas.” Brian said, and Y/N stopped, her eyes widening in confusion.

 “I mean that’s great Bri, but what about recording and press releases and all that music industry stuff?” She said, and Brian chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

 “I’ll find a way to get out of it. It’s Christmas after all, and I would want nothing more than to spend it with you and your family half way across the world.” Brian said, and Y/N felt herself smile, leaning up and gently kissing his lips.

 “I love you so much, Brian May. You mean the world to me.” Y/N said genuinely, looking up at Brian with love in her eyes. He smiled back at her, pulling her against him so her head was resting on his chest.

 “The same goes for you, love. I think the Earth would stop spinning if you weren’t in my life, Y/N Y/L/N.” Brian said and even though his words were sweet and sentimental Y/N let out a laugh.

 “Bri, that’s not possible. You’ve practically got a PhD in astrophysics, surely you know what makes the Earth turn and it isn’t me.” Y/N said, poking his chest lightly and Brian groaned, rolling his eyes.

 “God I was trying to be romantic and you went and fact-checked me. Seriously, woman.” Brian said, running a hand through his curly hair. Y/N just laughed, reaching over to switch off the lamp on their bedside table.

 “I love you Brian.” Y/N said, pecking his cheek as they slowly drifted off to sleep, tangled together under the covers.

December 22nd 1978

“Jesus Christ!” Brian exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead as they stepped out of Brisbane International Airport, towing their luggage as they walked.

“Told you it was hot.” Y/N said smugly, adjusting her top as they waited for her sister to arrive with the car. Brian was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt that had become stained with sweat and long black pants. Paired with his thick dark hair, he was a hot mess in the December sun.

“Yeah but I though you meant England hot, not this hellfire.” Brian said, and Y/N laughed, rolling her eyes.

“It’s only 35 degrees, Brian. I’ve had to deal with summers where it gets to over 40 degrees.” Y/N said, and Brian groaned in disgust at the thought of weather that hot.

Suddenly they heard someone blaring their car horn loudly and Y/N looked up to see her sister Lucy sitting in the driver’s seat with a wicked smile on her face. Y/N grabbed Brian’s hand and dragged him up to the car, telling him to open to boot and put their luggage in.

“Luce! How are you baby sister?” Y/N said, once Brian had sat down next to her in the back seats of the car and Lucy had started driving.

“I’m good. I finished my nursing degree last year and I got a job at the Mater private hospital in town earlier in the year. How about you? Would you care to introduce me to the handsome man you’re sitting next to?” Lucy said, and Y/N scowled, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

“Oi, I’ve been back in the country for ten minutes and you’re already trying to nick my boyfriend. Lucy, this is Brian. Brian, Lucy.” Y/N said, and Brian gave Y/N’s sister a wave from the back seat.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Lucy. Y/N talks about you a lot.” Brian said, and Lucy chuckled, nodding with a smile on her face.

“All good things, I assume, Brian.” Lucy said cheekily, and Brian laughed, taking Y/N’s hand in his as he nodded. 

“Good. It’s nice to meet you, Brian. All Y/N ever talks about when we’re on the phone is Brian this and Brian that. So, tell me, what do you do for a living?” Lucy asked, and Brian smiled, shooting Y/N an amused look before answering.

“I do work in astrophysics, mainly. A bit dull but I love it.” Brian said, and Lucy nodded, turning off the highway onto one of the smaller streets.

“Y/N has always had a thing for smart men. Particularly ones with glasses, but I see you’ve broken that streak.” Lucy commented, and Y/N scoffed, leaning forward to smack her sister on the arm.

“Piss off, Luce. Can you just turn on the radio because I am quickly becoming reminded of why I left this place.” Y/N said causing her sister to roll her eyes before turning on the radio.

The song playing was incredibly familiar, and Brian straightened up as soon as he heard it. “Oh this is a good song.” Lucy said, turning up the volume on the radio, Bohemian Rhapsody playing louder through the car.

“Luce, do you know who sings this song?” Y/N asked cautiously, and Lucy shot her a look as they pulled up into the street Y/N grew up on.

“Of course. I’d be a total dumbass if I didn’t recognise a Queen song when I heard it.” Lucy said, stopping the car after parking in their parents’ driveway. Y/N and Brian laughed with each other as they took out their bags and pushed them up to the front porch.

“Guess who I’ve got with me!” Lucy announced as she swung the door open, causing her parents and other relatives to rush into the hallway. 

“Y/N! You made it!” Jo shouted, pulling her daughter into a tight hug. Y/N chuckled and hugged her mum back fiercely, glad to see her again given that it had been a year since her last visit. They walked into the dining room

“Oh it’s good to see you mum, however I have someone I’d like to introduce you to. Mum, dad, this is Brian.” Y/N said, stepping aside as Brian gave a small wave to her parents.

“We’re so glad you could join us. I know you’re always busy, so it means a lot.” Jo said, and Brian smiled as she hugged him tightly.

“Busy with what? Monitoring planets and doing boring sums?” Lucy said, cutting up a mango in the kitchen. Y/N’s parents looked at each other strangely as Brian let out a chuckle.

“Lucy, sweetie, Brian is in a band.” Jo said, and Lucy pulled a face, popping a piece of mango into her mouth.

“What do you mean? He told me he was an astrophysicist.” Lucy said, sitting on the kitchen counter. 

“I am, yes, but my main job is playing guitar in a band.” Brian said, and Lucy’s eyes widened as Y/N fought back a laugh.

“What band then, space man?” Lucy said, and Y/N frowned, walking over to the kitchen and stealing part of her sister’s mango.

“Only I get to call him space man, Luce.” Y/N muttered, and Brian laughed at their dynamic.

“I’m Queen’s guitarist, actually.” Brian said, and Lucy’s jaw dropped, her eyes the size of saucers.

“What? No fucking way!” Lucy said, causing her parents to let out a noise of protest at her swearing.

Brian and Y/N laughed, nodding in confirmation of Brian’s statement. “Yeah, I took a break from working on our new album to visit you guys for Christmas.” Brian said, slinging an arm around Y/N’s shoulders as they sat down at the dinner table.

“Y/N you are a terrible sister. I can’t believe you let me listen to a Queen song not knowing that the bloody guitarist was in the car with me. Tiffany is not going to believe me, I have to call her. Be right back.”

December 23rd 1978

“So how do you guys celebrate Christmas in Australia?” Brian asked over breakfast, a glass of orange juice clutched in his hands.

“Usually it’s loud and chaotic. People are swimming and there’s always water on the deck somehow. There’s a lot of fruit and seafood and champagne is drunk by all.” Jo said, and Brian chuckled, interested to see how this very different Christmas would go down.

“We do have some similar traditions, though. If you want, tonight we could go and check out some Christmas lights. Mum and dad used to put them up competitively when we were kids, but they’ve stopped which is disappointing.” Y/N said, sipping from the mug of hot tea she had.

“That sounds like fun, actually. I do love Christmas lights.” Brian said, and Y/N smiled, pecking her boyfriend’s cheek before stealing the bacon from his plate.

“Y/N!” Jo scolded, and Y/N gave her mum a kind smile, eating a piece of bacon before speaking.

“Mum, Brian is a vegetarian who is too polite to tell you that he doesn’t want bacon. Luckily, his girlfriend adores the stuff.” Y/N said, winking at Brian who had a dumb smile on his face.

“Ok, now that that’s all sorted out you two can go off and have fun somewhere. Your father and I can clean up.” Jo said, kissing Y/N’s cheek as she began cleaning up the table.

“You heard mum. Let’s have some fun.”

“Brian Harold May, don’t you dare!” Y/N screamed as Brian picked her up, holding her in his arms. They were by the Y/L/N family pool and Brian was holding Y/N over the water.

“I thought you said you loved swimming.” Brian said nonchalantly, a smirk on his face as he rocked on his heels, causing Y/N to let out a shout.

“Not when my dickhead boyfriend is threatening to throw me in the pool.” Y/N said, and Brian sighed, pausing for a moment before dropping Y/N into the water, laughing at her face as she fell.

Brian was in tears laughing once Y/N had resurfaced, her hair plastered to her face. She could tell that Brian was distracted so she leaned up, grabbing Brian by the ankles and dragging him into the pool.

Brian was gasping for air and Y/N was laughing hard, treading water next to her boyfriend. “What goes around comes around, May.” Y/N said, splashing Brian in the face.

“You are awful, you know that?” He said, splashing her back. Luckily Y/N avoided most of the water, but her eyes widened once she saw Brian’s hair.

“Oh my god Bri, your hair! You look like a wet dog!” Y/N said, cackling at her boyfriend’s now flat hair. He frowned, playing with his hair slightly.

“So what if I do? Is that a bad thing?” Brian said, swimming closer to Y/N. Y/N rolled her eyes, noticing that Brian was standing up while she still had to tread water.

“Just think you look funny. Not bad, but funny.” She said, wrapping her legs around Brian’s waist. His hands instinctively went to her hips, holding her up even under the water.

“I’ll take that.” Brian said, pressing his lips to Y/N’s. There was a hint of chlorine in the kiss, but it didn’t bother then as Y/N ran her fingers through Brian’s wet hair.

“I love you, poodle boy.” Y/N said, smiling brightly at Brian once the kiss was over.

“And I love you, you weird Australian.”

“It’s Christmas light time!” Y/N announced loudly, squeezing Brian’s hand as they left the house.

“It certainly is.” Brian said, smiling at the excitement his girlfriend had for Christmas lights.

“Sorry if I’m a lot, it’s just that I’ve always loved Christmas and whenever I see the lights they make me happy. Plus they remind me of my childhood which is a nice bonus.” Y/N said, and Brian nodded, kissing her forehead as they began walking along the streets.

“It’s all good, Y/N. I think you look adorable when you’re excited. I mean you look adorable all the time but still.” Brian said, adjusting his shorts with his free hand. 

The couple walked along the streets for an hour or two, checking out varying displays while Brian complained about the mosquitoes. “God they’re awful! How do you deal with them?” Brian asked once the sun had fully set and Y/N chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.

“Cover yourself in insect repellent. That’s my only advice.” Y/N replied, linking her arm with Brian’s as they entered another street. By 9 they returned home and decided to call it a night.

“Thanks for today. It’s been wonderful.” Brian said, playing with Y/N’s hair as they laid in bed together, the soft glow of Christmas lights from outside casting a red and green shadow on their faces.

“There’s no one else I’d rather spend Christmas with, Bri.” Y/N said, unknowingly echoing Brian’s words from the night he agreed to come home with her for Christmas.

December 24th 1978

“Ok we’re off to church, we’ll see you two later tonight.” Jo said, kissing Y/N’s cheeks before leaving the house with her husband and youngest daughter.

Once the door was closed and the house all but empty, Y/N smiled at Brian. “I’ll put the kettle on and make us some tea. You get comfy on the couch, mister.” Y/N said, resting a hand on Brian’s chest before kissing him softly.

“Yes ma’am.” Brian muttered, watching as Y/N sauntered into the kitchen, popping the kettle on the stove and leaning against the kitchen counter while she waited for it to boil.

Brian decided to ignore Y/N’s instructions and crept over to the record player in the living room, finding a copy of the Jackson 5’s Christmas album and placing it on the player. As soon as the music started Y/N smiled, recognising it instantly.

“I thought I told you to get comfy on the couch, May.” Y/N called from the kitchen, making tea for her and Brian. A smile settled on Brian’s face as he entered the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Y/N’s waist.

“I was in the mood for some music. Besides, you look so beautiful tonight.” Brian said, pressing a kiss to Y/N’s shoulder. Y/N felt herself blush, picking up a mug and turning around so she could hand it to Brian.

“And you look very handsome. Maybe it’s the sunburn but you’re just glowing, love.” Y/N said, and Brian pulled a face, taking a sip from his mug.

“Don’t bully me. I’m English, we never see the Sun at home.” Brian replied, and Y/N shook her head, setting down her tea and grabbing Brian’s wrist, leading him into the living room with her.

“Dance with me?” Y/N suggested, wrapping her arms around Brian’s neck as he nodded, his hands sitting on Y/N’s waist. The two swayed in time with the music and Y/N hummed along to the Jackson 5’s rendition of ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’.

Suddenly an image of the small velvet box in the drawer beside their bed came into Brian’s head, and he took in a shaky breath at the thought of it. He had been wanting to ask Y/N to marry him for a while, but earlier in the day he asked Y/N’s dad for permission and he granted Brian with it in spades.

“Stay right there. I’ll be back in a sec, I promise.” Brian said, pecking Y/N’s lips before rushing to their shared room. He quickly found the box and slipped it in his pocket, adjusting it so it wasn’t too obvious before returning to the living room.

“Took you long enough.” Y/N said, and Brian huffed, rolling his eyes before taking in a deep breath.

“Y/N, spending the last three years of my life with you have been a dream come true. You are a strong, beautiful, caring woman who takes shit from nobody, including me.” Brian said, chuckling as Y/N nodded at his statement.

“I love you so much and I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Brian said, dropping onto one knee. Y/N gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock as she looked at Brian.

“You’re the love of my life, even if you decide to make fun of me sometimes. Which is why I decided now would be the perfect time to ask you, Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, if you’ll marry me.” Brian said, opening the box and revealing a beautiful diamond ring that was small enough to sit comfortably on Y/N’s hand, but big enough to get people to ask about it.

“Yes, you stupid man, of course I’ll marry you.” Y/N said, crouching down and holding Brian’s face in her hands, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips. Unfortunately, Brian lost his balance slightly under Y/N’s body and slipped slightly, toppling backwards with Y/N on top of him.

They burst out laughing, unable to believe that this beautifully romantic moment had been ruined by Brian’s awful balance. “Where’s my ring, May?” Y/N asked once the laughter had subsided, and Brian smiled at her, taking the ring and sliding it onto her ring finger.

“Y/N May. That has a lovely ring to it.” Brian mused, and Y/N chuckled, pecking both his cheeks. 

“I’ve got a nice ring to me as well.” Y/N said, waggling her left hand in front of Brian’s face, showing off her new engagement ring. Brian let out a loud laugh, pressing kisses all over her face. 

“I love you so very much, Y/N. You’re the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.”

#queen #bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody x reader #bohemian rhapsody imagine #brian may #brian may x reader #brian may imagine #gwilym lee

[shirleylawson]

R&R in Scotland

May 2014

I am telling you! You could not make this shit up!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am convinced I am jinxed. Someone is stabbing a wee voodoo doll with my face on it, and the bastard is not perturbed even though I keep fighting him/her and pretending like it’s water off a ducks back, with my, "bring it on" jinx fairy attitude! And still my jinx keeps trying to break me. But it’s a weird kind of jinxed because I personally feel extremely lucky and blessed, even though the jinx still keeps throwing me shit.

My latest jinxed story is this week I’ve had in Scotland. One week today I’ve been here. I so badly needed a little ME time and to decompress. Scotland/home seemed like the answer but I can't say it' been therapeutic.

I was only here a few days when I woke up with stabbing pains in my chest and an ambulance was called by my Lesley, and the next thing I knew I was lying in the Emergency room in my pink, fluffy, panther onesie (well Lesleys onesie, but it wants to be mine)! I could see on the sphyg that my blood pressure was 250/110 , geezo I thought, didn’t know numbers went that high on these machines! Digital age eh? A lovely, lovely young 1st year resident doctor boy child, who had really just gone into third year at school surely, gave me an IV of morphine and valium that buzzed and whooshed it’s lovely, lovely LOVELY way to my limbs and head within one single minute. Onsie on, hands behind my head, laying back, sun shinning outside and right onto my little stretcher bed, life felt pretty good for about 20 minutes, for the first time in too long to remember. Lesley even managed to get an unexpected day off as ‘’carer'’ to her friend, ‘’NO SHE DOESN’T HAVE ANYONE ELSE TO GO WITH HER, IT’S ME, ONLY ME!!!’’, I heard her scream to her boss down the phone as I was wheeled passed by the paramedics to the ambulance! By the way, when you hear the mee maw mee maw of an ambulance in the distance, and you know it's coming for you, it's the freakiest shit! That was a first for me, it wasn't on my bucket list, but still, it was a first which is always a positive. But I’m lying there, in the emergency room, thinking, in my comfy onesie, where will we go for lunch I wonder. See Mr. Jinx? I really don’t care most of the time, you’re wasting all your good tricks on me really! Things don’t freak me out that much, I’ve pretty much done that seen most of it before so nope, the whole chest pain, ambulance (sorry to tell you but I actually loved the ambulance ride, I was so pleased as I’ve never ridden in one before and always wanted to see the inside), the whole taken to hospital thing was nothing really. I’ve been in more hospitals as a nurse AND as a patient than Mr. Jinxy’s had hot dinners, so he’ll need to try harder. All well, and by the next day I’m lying in Lesleys bright yellow bikini lapping up the ‘’normal’’ sun you get out of Dubai in her garden. A couple of days up North will sort me, get out of the city! So off I go…

No stress, no worries, no pain, no work, no editing, no clients, no husband and no kids…nothing! (all references are not in order of importance!) I felt quite chirpy on my drive up! I was awwwwing and ooooohhhing in all the right places at the beautiful scenery, window open, sun on my face, music on, out the car a couple of times to take pics, all well - not even getting upset that there was road works and I was jammed for an hour, nothing was a bother.  I could smell Loch Lomand…I was a bit euphoric actually! The last 2 hours of the 4 hour journey, my euphoria was taking over by pain in my ankles. I was finding it difficult to use the gas and clutch pedals continuously for 4 hours because of my RA and my ankles and shins were complaining! By the time I swung round that bend that takes you into Oban, and that view that catches your breath from the top of your hill, wee fishing village, typically Scottish with it’s white houses and flowered gardens, it wasn't the view that was catching my breath... it was the agony of my ankles!! I found a place to stay pretty quickly and when I took my socks off in my room, it confirmed my suspicion. Red balloon legs and feet! I thought I’ll go have a shower, get the journey off my skin, take my meds and get into bed. On my drive up, I had stopped at a garage for petrol and also bought some cute little pink lady shaving razors, quite exited me, since I’d been here a week and had about 2 weeks of gorilla legs! So shower and a de fuzzing was waiting. When I get these flares, I get hundreds of little red, what look to me like blood blisters, on my skin wherever the flare is happening, in this instance, the legs. They disappear after the flare goes. You can probably guess what happened next! I’m drying myself outside the shower, in the guest houses fluffy, big, white bath towel and I notice my legs (and big fluffy white towel) were covered in blood! I’ve only gone and forgot about my little red occasional guests and shaved all their heads off!!! Blood!? Whatever they are, these blistery things, they are connected to a direct internal blood vessel system for sure, because they would…not….stop…BLEEDING!  I get myself plugged up with around 100 wee bits of toilet paper stuck to my legs to stop the bleeding. You know, like the kind you see on mens faces after they’ve shaved sometimes? Well, same as them, but only 98 more! I was not gonna be stopped, onwards with my me time, I’m going out for fish and chips!!!!!

Fish and chips didn't prove to be such a good idea either as it turned out. Spotted a lovely wee bench, right on the sea front, all to myself with a view of little old fishing boats and the cry of seagulls, perfect. I'm eating away (great fish and chips I have to say) and I make the first fatal mistake of throwing a bit of fish out on the pebbled shore for the gulls. There's an instant swarm (or should I say flock) of seagulls, screaming and fighting over this piece of fish. Once it was eaten by the most definite gang master, as he was the size of a dog, he looked over at me and I swear he caught my gaze for at least 10 terrifying seconds. He had found the food source! That was the end of it all. I was dive bombed and swooped upon, well my box of chips, which was sitting on my lap was swooped upon. I tried to swipe them away by shouting a shoo shoo kind of chant noise and trying to act as if a swarm of birds attacking me wasn't bothering me as I was now entertaining the entire pub across the road who were all enjoying the lovely evening outside, all watching and pointing at me! I made a quick decision and threw the box down and bolted. Well bolted in my hobble kind of way at the moment, which I'm sure entertained the onlookers even more. An old lady passed me and disapprovingly shook her head at me, ''ohhhh you should't have done that!'' she said. I looked around and every seagull that has ever visited, stayed or immigrated to Oban was in the 4 foot space in front of my bench, fighting and squealing, a mass of feathers and beaks. I decided to give up in this particular day and head back to the guest house to watch the football.

At this point in a flare, I would normally sigh and think well that’s the next 4-5 days gone then. Cancel clients, prepare myself to be horizontal for at least a few days, and not in the horizontal good way, and generally prepare to disappear till it was over (except Facebook of course) Nope, I was there to de stress, me time, that’s what I was told I needed, some ME time, so I wasn’t going to let a flare get in my way. Cutting a very long story short, not a good move, going out, even for fish and chips and seagull gladiator games, didn't improve my flare. To cut another long story short I hobbled my way up to the doctors surgery first thing in the morning, hoping they would take me before three weeks on Wednesday and perchance even today? My luck was in. Jinx was teasing me. Half an hour later I’m having a 4 inch needle of cortisone injected into my ankles and sent away with a 5 days supply of steroids, bliss!  I hobbled back to my guest house at twice the speed of the first time. Still slower than the 80 year old couple I was chatting with along the way, but still, it was progress. I hobble past my guest house and head for the car park as my ticket expired one hour before. Is there any point on telling you what was on my car? £60 fine! Exceeding the paid amount of time parked. No, no i don’t care I tell myself, my flare feels so much better, I might even be able to drive tomorrow and leave, not getting upset, it's  only money (shit) and I feel better which is more important. I go to the machine and pay enough to last till 9am the next morning. I sit in the passenger seat, door open and write the nice traffic warden person a note. I say, please don’t give me another ticket if i don’t manage down before 9am. The doctor at the surgery can confirm I’m not able to walk well at the moment due to an illness, here is my phone number, I am staying at a guest home 5 minutes away. Nice note. Should do the trick. I stick the note to the inside of the passenger window and a gust of wind blows the newly bought ticket out of my hand. I tried to grab it but landed on my knees from the car door. Kneeling on all fours, head bend back watching the ticket swirl around in the wind was the first time I thought, it really is getting to be a bit much this jinx business! I don’t have anymore change. I have a £5 note. I head off down the street to find a shop to get change. I pass a young mother sitting in her garden bench on her ipad, trying to ignore the constant moaning and screaming of her three small children playing around her. I really felt sad thinking how she’ll regret that when they leave home, and wished she had spent every second looking at their wee faces instead of an iPad. Then I realise I sound like an old granny and stopped that train of thought. First shop I pass is Farm Foods (a frozen food store) and I decide an ice lolly would be just the thing. Of course it’s a whole sale, bulk buying freezer place, so I can’t buy ONE ice lolly. I buy a box of 6 and give 5 to the woman on the bench for her kids as I pass her again. Kids are delighted!

New ticket on the car, the note is there too, I’m back in my room, legs elevated, medicated up, just watched the Italy game (world cup) and wondering what tomorrow will bring.

Start of a new week, my second week in Scotland starts tomorrow.

But all said and done, I must ask the new tenants in Rome if they threw away the dish of frozen water in the freezer with the two frozen names written on pieces of paper in it? I don’t think I told them about it and explained what it was. I told the last renters and I know it was there last summer coz I saw it, so they hadn’t touched it in 3 years. I think the new renters have thrown it away. Those two names I had in the freezer will have escaped! My spell will be broken. They will have put their jinx back on me… I’m sure of it! Although that wouldn’t explain all the jinx’s when they were in the freezer these past three years now would it? Hmmmm I don’t think this white witch spell works actually now that I think about it.

My phone has just broken, screens just gone black. I can still hear it ring or sms’s come in, but I can’t reply or answer as it’s just black. Shame I sold that new phone last week. :(

The end

[vizhi0n]

Sawney - Part 2

Ehhh I is back. Sorry for such a late upload - it’s finals week for this quarter and I’ve been dyin, as well as swamped with other shit. But alas, here it is!

Part 1

Tagging le homies. (If you want to be tagged or untagged, let me know)

@i-am-negan-trash @lucifers-trash-stash @jasoncrouse @kellyn1604 @crzcorgi @superprincesspea @negans-network @ladylorelitanyfanfiction @genevievedarcygranger @kijilnn @backseat-negan @heartfulloffandoms @strangersangel9 @heartfulloffandoms @manawhaat @mypapawinchester @lovingzombiechaos @my-achilles-heel @gremlinfuck @wolfhart18 @rickydillion @simons-thirst-squad @embracetheapocalypsewithme @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash

Warnings: Negan’s potty mouth. Next chapter is when we get to explore my fucked up mind lmfao

Do it. It’s what Mother and Father instructed you to do. You sacrifice for the greater good of the group — your life isn’t any better than the common man’s. Everyone dies, eventually.

Desa had no weapon. The only real option was to do something rash so that Negan or his henchmen Simon would be forced to kill her.

When all else failed, you were to choose death. Those were Mother and Father’s words, their rules. But Desa couldn’t bring herself to obey them. Not while she was under Negan’s cold, scrutinizing gaze. It was as if he’d seen right through her from the start. The entire time they loaded up the trucks, Negan kept an eye on her, even when they began driving. Simon was in the front seat, hands on the steering wheel, while Negan had insisted that he sit next to Desa. She hadn’t objected — it wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. She didn’t like Negan being so close to her. She didn’t like anybody being so close to her.

“You said some rich asshole owned the house before?” Negan, his baseball bat resting in his lap, grinned. “Is there a pool? Maybe a jacuzzi or some shit like that?”

“Yes, but it’s empty.”

Negan huffed, looking disappointed but not surprised. He ran a gloved finger over the handle of the bat, murmuring, “Lucille doesn’t fucking like water, anyway.” 

Desa winced, eyes flickering towards the baseball bat. The way Negan was stroking it, staring down at the object almost lovingly, sent very, very odd vibes coursing throughout her entire body.

“You named that thing?”

“Fuck yeah I did. Lucille. Sorry for not properly introducing her to you earlier,” Negan winked. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

“…I guess.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. You’re awfully fucking shy, girl,” Negan clapped his hands together, and Desa jumped in alarm. “Loosen the fuck up! You’re still alive, aren’t you? That’s always something to smile about.”

“You’re optimistic.”

“I have to fucking be. Can’t be moping around all depressed and shit.” Negan replied. “It doesn’t fly. Not at fucking all.”

The car slowed, and Desa lifted her head. She saw Simon turned and smile back at her, pointing with his free hand at the massive, multi-million dollar mansion before them.

“I’m guessing this is it?”

Negan gave a whistle of appraisal. “Holy shit.”

The caravan came to a full stop. Desa couldn’t help the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, though it wasn’t caused by fear. It was caused by realization. The courtyard was empty, and she saw none of the guards. Mother and Father were typically out lounging in the sun, enjoying the fresh air.

Negan strolled right up to the wrought iron gate surrounding the perimeter of the mansion. About a dozen saviors stood, all armed and prepared to fire at a moments notice. Simon kept a firm grip on Desa, nails digging into her skin.

Negan wrapped a hand around the reinforced gate and shook it. The gate rattled, but did not budge. The noise was loud enough that someone had to have heard it.

Desa kept her head down. She didn’t want to give anything away. Not when the situation was so dire.

“Nobody’s home?” Negan glanced back at Desa, then at Simon. “Shit. Guess we should have fucking called first. You sure this is the right place?”

“It is,” Desa answered.

“You know what happens if you fucking lie to me?” Negan pointed his bat — Lucille — at Desa, letting it linger. “There are — were — a lot of rich assholes before the world went to shit. This could be anyones place.”

“Those fences are reinforced to keep the biters out. The grass is cut. Hell, there’s a garden growing,” Desa mumbled. “This is it.”

“Then where the fuck, pray tell, is everyone?”

“I don’t know.”

Negan rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Desa could see him contemplating what to do — she was amazed he hadn’t just gone ahead and slaughtered her. His men were on a hair trigger, ready to fire. Shuffling from the woods caught everyones attention, most expecting it to be the residents of the Estate emerging from hiding.

It wasn’t.

“Take care of those,” Negan gestured to Simon and a few others. The biters shuffled from the underbrush, teeth snapping, gnawing on air. Simon went to make a movie but stopped, hand clutching the hilt of the knife in his belt.

That’s a lot of biters. A lot.

They came in a shuffling mass. The explosion of gunfire was deafening. Desa winced, letting out a cry and a Savior became victim to gnashing teeth.

“Negan, we need to go,” Simon called. “Before we’re overwhelmed—”

“I fucking see that, dipshit — grab the—”

Desa made a split second decision. In the back of her mind she recognized the sheer stupidity of her actions, but she didn’t have time to sketch out a well detailed plan. She just needed to get away and, if possible, drag Negan with her.

You know the protocol.

The moment Negan approached she reared back and kneed him in the crotch, hard. He grunted, and she saw Simon spin and raise his weapon. Before he could fire a shot and before Negan could fully grasp her actions, she wrenched Lucille away. Negan seemed more distressed at the loss of his bat than the potential injury Desa had caused to his nether regions.

That’s telling.

She ran like a bat out of hell. Bullets whizzed past her ears and she burst into the woods, hearing Negan’s frantic voice peppered with insults. The dense trees masked the sound of gunfire and screaming saviors, reducing it to a thrum.

Desa ran, arms pumping, Lucille clutched in her hand. She didn’t dare slow — she was smaller than Negan, faster, but she could hear him barreling through the forest after her like a raging bull. He was being carried by sheer rage and Desa was being carried by fear and determination. Both cancelled each other out.

After what seemed like eternity, when the sound of gunfire was only a light disturbance in the distance, Desa stopped and spun. A moment later Negan burst through the brush, face streaked with blood.

He’d drawn his knife — the thing was as long as Desa’s forearm. His composure hadn’t broken, and he still held that arrogant swagger. Except for now, he wasn’t being humorous or mocking. He was legitimately mad.

It’s a bat. Why does he care so much?

“That was a bad fucking move.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean I regret it,” Desa panted. “And I’m not going to regret this, either.” 

A dark shape dropped from the trees above. Negan slashed at the masked figure, knife scraping through flesh. Both men went down in a tangle of limbs.

A groan prompted Desa to turn. A dead face with rotting teeth groped for her throat. With a cry of alarm she shouldered the biter, but the thing was far to big for her to move alone.

Shit. Shit, shit —

Negan and his attacker wrestled on the ground, both struggling for the bowie knife. Desa didn’t have time to observe or intervene. Her fingers curled tight around Lucille and she swung, bashing biters head in with a vicious cry.

The thing toppled. She lunged to assist in restraining Negan, but he’d already been rendered unconscious.

The masked figure stood, removing the bandana from around his mouth.

“That went well.”

“Is everyone okay? Is Jack okay?”

“Yeah,” Mason replied. It was good, seeing a familiar face. Especially one with a permanent smile. “Everyone’s fine. We’ve never had to use the sewer before, so it was a hassle getting everyone down there. Especially the kids.”

Especially Jack.

Desa’s brother hated smaller, smelly spaces. Despite the fact that she’d assisted countless others in making the tunnels as habitable as possible, the constant, raunchy odor would probably never go away.

“What are we doing with him?”

Mason glanced down at Negan’s unconscious form. For once, they’d break their rule. Mother and Father would want to meet him, for sure.

“Taking him back. We’re all in the tunnels right now — as soon as those guys are gone, we can start moving everyone back in.” 

“Did you guys have enough time to get everyone out?”

“We had ten minutes.. Allison was the one who saw the caravan and radioed it in.” 

Desa nodded. She shot a glance down at Negan, glancing around before gesturing for Mason to help her life the much heavier man.

“Mother and Father will be so proud of us,” Mason practically salivated at the concept. Desa said nothing, keeping a firm grip on Negan’s ankles. ‘“They won’t be able to say that we didn’t work. They won’t.”

“They never say that we don’t work.”

“They’ve said it about me. I’ve overheard them,” Mason said. “I probably shouldn't be repeating this, but I heard them one night say that—”

“Mason, please don’t.”

“I forget you’re not a gossiper.”

“I never have been.”

“I’ll keep quiet, then. Wouldn’t want to blab something out that I shouldn’t,” Mason chuckled, grunting as he heaved Negan upwards. They approached the entrance to the sewer, staring at the grated pipeline, overgrown with vines and poking from a hill in the ground. They only had to wait a brief moment — the on-duty guard revealed himself, peering between the bars.

“Is it safe to go back up?”

“Don’t know. We were busy with something else,” Desa jerked her chin down at Negan. “He’s the leader. And that caravan? That’s just the start.”

“Mother and Father have been anxious,” the man murmured. Desa could smell him from a yard away, and she suddenly had doubt about going into the concrete pipeline. “Mason, go back up and check if they’re gone. I want to get out of this hellhole as fast as possible. You, come with me.”

Mason nodded, bounding up the hill and out of sight. The sewer grate popped from its mooring and the man, whose named had escaped Desa, emerged and grasped hold of Negan, hoisting him up along with Desa’s assistance.

“Did Allison lure those walkers?”

“Of course she did. The little freak can practically command those things. I’d like a puff of whatever it is she’s smoking, but I’m scared I won’t come back the same.”

“If you want crazy, just wait until you meet this guy,” Desa shot a look at Negan as they hurried down the vacant, dim tunnel, feet splashing through the water. Desa could hear slight noises deeper within, and she beamed at the sounds of her people. “Just you wait.”

#vizhi0nW #negans thirst squad

[ricandhaiz]

#LostSouls, Part 4

Week 4

“Why do you stay with him?” Mary asked as she glanced over at Emma, who was sitting beside her on the grass, while she slowly swung back and forth on the tire swing.

That was a question that Emma found herself asking more and more often as she thought about how to respond to Mary’s question. With each passing day, she was finding the gulf between her and Miguel growing ever wider and more unbridgeable. Most days, she was left to her own devices while he worked on different parts of the house. Mealtimes had become awkward affairs permeated by painful silences that often made her want to cringe in her seat and flee at the earliest possible opportunity.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Mary said after a long pause.

“It’s not that,” Emma replied as she batted a fly away from her face while trying to keep her mind focused on the person and conversation at hand. “You’ve got enough on your own plate to worry about without me piling on you with all my grown-up problems.”

“I don’t mind,” Mary said. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Emma smiled and said, “I’m glad you think that.”

“Then answer my question.”

“Relationships are complicated,” Emma replied slowly, “and sometimes when problems come up they’re not always easy to fix no matter how much you care about the other person.”

“Do you still love him?” Mary asked with an arched brow. When Emma nodded, Mary added, “I thought people who loved each other were supposed to be happy.”

“We were. It’s just that…when Eva died I…”

“He was careless,” Mary said in a rather tactless way. “If he’d been watching her as closely as he should have been, she’d still be alive today. You have every right to be mad at him. It’s his fault she’s dead.”

“No,” Emma replied weakly.

Mary pressed on. “But isn’t that what you’re thinking? Why defend him?”

“I just want to be fair,” Emma replied as she recalled Miguel’s account of what had happened. “He told me that he had turned his back on her just a second before…”

“He’s making excuses,” Mary interrupted. “Do you think he’ll stay with you now that Eva’s gone?”

“I don’t know,” Emma replied. “With the way things have been going between us lately, it’s beginning to look less and less likely.”

“I’d never leave you,” Mary said as she got up from the swing and sat just out of arm’s reach of Emma on the grass. “I like being here with you. I hate it when you have to go.”

“That’s a sweet thing for you to say,” Emma said in a cautiously sympathetic tone. “But wouldn’t you rather be spending time with kids your own age?”

Mary frowned and then shook her head as she said, “You’re all I need.”

“Don’t you have any friends at school?”

Mary shook her head again. “They all made fun of me and pushed me around when the teacher wasn’t looking. I hated school and everyone in it.”

“Have you tried to talk to anyone else besides me about what’s going on with you at home and at school?”

“No one cares about me except you. I’d stay with you all the time if I could.”

Emma felt a mixture of concern and pity at Mary’s words and thought that a hug or a quick hand squeeze might be in order. But when she asked her young friend if that would be okay, she was surprisingly met with a fervent rebuff.

“You can’t touch me,” Mary cried out in alarm as she scrambled away from Emma with undue speed and haste. “Not yet. Too soon.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Emma replied with some surprise. “I didn’t mean to upset you…I just thought it might make you feel better.”

“Are you mad at me? Do you want me to go away now?”

“No,” Emma replied. “I’m happy to stay here with you as long as you like. I just don’t want you to get into any more hot water with your stepdad Sam by coming here and talking to me as often as you do.”

“He can’t talk or do much of anything nowadays,” Mary replied with a malicious grin. “I made sure of that.”

What does she mean by that? Emma thought with a shudder as she envisioned Mary exacting revenge on her stepdad in a myriad of ways.

“I can take care of your husband too if you want me to,” Mary offered. “You don’t need him anymore. Make him go away, or I will.”

“Please don’t talk like that,” Emma said as she rose to her feet. “You’re scaring me.”

Just then, Emma heard the patter of paws coming closer. Oddly enough, the moment she turned to face the little gray mutt that was bounding toward her, it stopped cold in its tracks, bared its teeth, and began to growl.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” exclaimed a gray-haired woman who came rushing after the dog. “Dolly’s usually not nearly so standoffish.”

Fearful that the dog might pounce at any moment, Emma moved to step in front of Mary when she came to the realization that her young friend was now nowhere to be seen. Where did she go?

“Hello. My name is Casey. Aren’t you Miguel’s wife?” When Emma nodded, Casey added, “Your husband has told me so much about you. It’s so nice to finally meet you in person.”

“Get rid of her,” Emma heard Mary’s disembodied voice thunder in her ears. “Now.”

What’s going on? Emma thought as she spun around to see if she could find where the little girl’s voice was coming from. Am I going crazy?

“Are you okay?” Casey asked, looking concerned. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Emma replied with a vigorous shake of her head. “I don’t mean to be rude but this really isn’t a good time for me. I think I need to go inside now.”

Oh, Okay,” Casey replied as she watched Emma turn away and rush toward her house with her head bowed and her arms folded in front of her.

 As Emma walked away, Casey bent down and wagged her finger at her dog as she said, “Dolly, that was rude. Why did you do that?”

Just then, a ferocious wind began to whirl around Casey as her dog whined and tucked its tail between its legs. She looked up at the sky and then towards the lake with a growing sense of unease as she gazed as water on the surface and took note of the fact that it was perfectly still. It wasn’t long before things quickly went from bad to worse.

The sound of girlish laughter filled the air as Casey felt like she was being pulled toward the edge of the lake by a pair of strong, unseen hands. Try as she might, she found that she was unable to resist the force that was pushing her inexorably forward. But then, to her great surprise and relief, the driving wind and the laughter abated just before the tip of her shoes hit the water’s edge. She quickly said a prayer of thanks as she clutched her hands to her chest and tried to catch her breath.

“Casey, it’s been too long. Did you miss me?”

The hairs on the back of Casey’s neck instantly stood on end at the sound of the oddly familiar voice while her dog whined ever more loudly at her side.

“Tell your mutt to shut up before I break its neck and throw it in the lake.”

“Leave her alone,” Casey replied as she snatched the dog up into her arms and then glanced at the young female form which was somehow floating just above the water. It was Mary. Casey’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened as her brain tried to make sense of the incomprehensible scene that was unfolding right in front of her eyes. Mary was wearing the same pleated skirt and tattered navy blue sweater that Casey had often seen her old classmate wear to school over fifty years earlier. But her disheveled hair, sickly white and translucent skin, and malevolent smile clearly put Casey on notice of Mary’s nefarious intentions as far as she was concerned.

“You don’t look at all happy to see me. Why is that?”

Before answering, Casey glanced at Mary’s old house and then asked, “What do you want with that young woman?”

“Why should I tell you?” Mary replied with a sneer. “You saw what Sam was doing to me and what did you do? Nothing. He beat me almost every day and sent my mommy away.”

“What does that have to do with her?” Casey asked while pointing to the house.

“She’s nice to me. Did you know that she lost her daughter? She was so sad when I first met her. But she’s getting better now, and it’s all because of me.”

Alarm bells immediately rang in Casey’s head as the pieces of the puzzle that had been floating around in her head quickly fell into place. “Emma has a husband that loves her. She belongs with him.”

“Not for long,” Mary replied. “And when he’s gone, it’s going to be just her and me.”

“No, Mary,” Casey said with all the courage she could muster. “You have to let her go.”

“She’s mine!” Mary screamed as Casey was sent reeling into the water by a stinging blow to the chest. After flailing on the surface of the water for a moment or two, she was dragged underneath it by what felt like a pair of iron weights shackled to her ankles. The words I’m dying, were the last conscious thoughts she formed in her mind just before her world went black.

 Less than two hours later, Miguel found himself walking through the sliding doors of the emergency room at Kensington Memorial Hospital. He had been approached less than half an hour earlier by a visibly shaken woman in her thirties who identified herself as Kendra, the daughter of George and Casey Wick, in his driveway. She told him that her mother had nearly drowned in the lake that afternoon and was asking for him. Although he was tired and hungry, he readily agreed to follow the Wicks’ daughter to the hospital.

Once there, Miguel went straight to the ICU and was greeted by George with a hearty handshake just outside Casey’s hospital room.

“She’s lucky to be alive,” George said, shaking his head. “If it hadn’t been for a couple that just happened be walking by the lake when she hit the water then I think I would have lost her for sure.”

“Thank God they were there to pull her to safety in time,” Miguel replied as he patted George’s shoulder. “Do you know what happened?”

George nodded. “I’ll leave it to Casey to give you the details. I tried to convince her to wait but she was adamant about having either me or my daughter bring you here tonight. She told me that it was a matter of life and death.”

Miguel nodded gravely and said, “Would it be okay for me to go in and see her now?”

“I think the nurse is just finishing up checking her vitals. Let me check.”

A matter of life and death? Miguel thought as he paced back and forth in the hallway and wondered about what Casey so urgently needed to tell him. Within minutes, George emerged from the room behind the nurse and motioned for him to come inside Casey’s semi-lit room.

Casey looked fragile and weak as she lay in bed while hooked up to various monitors. A faint smile crossed her lips as he moved closer. “Miguel, I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I came as soon as I heard what happened to you,” he replied as sat in a chair by her bed.

“Thank you. How is your wife?” Casey asked in an anxious tone.

“Fine, I think,” Miguel replied with a quizzical look. “I haven’t seen her since lunchtime. I was working on the basement with a contractor most of the afternoon and had just come from Home Depot to get more supplies when your daughter asked me to come here.”

The rising fear he saw in Casey’s eyes as he watched her reaction to what he’d just said immediately filled him with dread.

“She wants her. I know it,” Casey said as she reached out to Miguel. “You have to get her out of that house before it’s too late.”

 “Who wants her?” Miguel asked as he grasped Casey’s hand.

 “I saw Mary,” Casey replied as tears began to well in her eyes. “The girl that used live there when I was a child. She looked exactly like she did back then. I know it sounds impossible but it’s true. And…and she wants Emma. Don’t you see?” He did. She quickly added, “She tried to get rid of me because she thought I’d get in the way of her plans. I tried to escape but she was too strong and pushed me into the lake. She was holding me under when that couple pulled me up. I thought I was going to die.”

 After exchanging a few more words, Miguel rose from his chair and thanked her before leaving the room. To his great surprise, George volunteered to go back to the house with him and offered to ask a retired priest that he knew to meet them there to bless it. “If what Casey said is true,” George offered as they both stepped out onto the hospital parking lot, “it won’t hurt to have a man of the cloth with us to cleanse that place while we’re there.”

 It was a little past seven o’clock in the evening by the time Miguel turned his car right onto the narrow, tree-lined street leading to his house. All seemed quiet and peaceful as he drove up to his driveway and parked. Still, he found himself fumbling for his house key in his haste to get out of the car and check on Emma. He made the sign of the crows when he looked to his left while exiting his car and saw George being approached by a white-haired gentleman in black clerical clothes. But when he turned toward the front of the house, any semblance of calm that he may have felt was instantly shattered by the sight, through the picture window, of flames wreaking havoc in his living room.  

 “Oh my God,” George exclaimed as he caught up to Miguel. “Your house is on fire!” And indeed it was, in more ways than one.

#hailee steinfeld #ricardo gomez #horror #ghost story

[unholy3rinity]

Camp Runaway (Chapter One)

1//

Death is imminent. And it happens to everyone when we least expect it. You're supposed to outlive your parents I understand that but they aren't supposed to be taken from you so suddenly, so quickly. And in a way you can't explain without wanting to bang your head against the wall. The police told my sister and I it was a car accident. Some man was driving on the wrong side and my parents veered off and hit a tree. They said somehow my mom's lower half of her body was thrown out the windshield and my dad stayed in his seat clutching at my mother's hands.

My sister also tells me I'm really morbid and need to stop explaining that part to people. But I don't really see what the problem is. It wouldn't stop them from being gone.

I sat on the bench outside our house, stomping my feet against the wooden panels. There was another one of those gatherings going on inside again. My parents' death happened exactly six months and one weeks ago and my sister insisted on having family and friends come over at least once a week. They all liked touching a lot. And kissing my forehead. And saying things like "You're so strong. Your parents would have been really proud of you."

It wasn't like I was trying not to be a sobbing mess around everyone. My sister took care of enough crying and wailing for both of us. I had cried to myself in a much more private, personal way.

By the lake.

I looked back through the window of our house and tried to see if my sister was looking. She doesn't like me going to the lake by myself at night and I couldn't blame her. But I needed this visit more than she can imagine.

I flipped my wrist to look at my watch. 11:55. It would take me exactly five minutes on my bike to get to the lake in time. I gave the window one last glance before jumping from my seat and grabbing my red bike from the bottom of the stairs. It always takes me a few seconds to get used to balancing myself on the bike but once I do, I'm off in a flash.

I remember riding my bike down the hill of my street. The breeze, the sun, the feeling of complete and utter bliss was indescribable. I was on the edge of my first taste of sadness because I knew I would never be in a moment, at this time in my life, ever again.

God, I really really needed to get to the lake.

I reached the lake in minutes to spare and leaned my bike on a nearby oak tree. The air around was warm but the breeze made everything slightly chilly. It was still summer anyway, the temperature wasn't ready for fall quite yet.

I sat on my favorite spot, a toss between smooth rocks and sand, and took in a deep breath.

Finally.

I looked down at my clock on my phone it was exactly midnight so she should be coming soon.

Every Friday since my parents death I've been in this spot and right across the lake in one of the biggest cabin type homes there was a girl (well a person I just assumed it was a girl) who would sit on the sand and occasionally flash her light in my direction. We probably both needed to know that each other were there and listening even though we were far enough away where we wouldn't hear anything at all. It was comforting to have someone be there for you and know all the right things to not say.

Right on time, I saw a dark figure emerge from the cabin and sit right on the sand. She gave a tiny wave and I returned it.

"I'm so glad you're here." I exhaled.

In response she flashed her light at me. In response to that, I smiled.

"It's been tough these past few weeks. I've been crying less which is great and all but I still haven't spoken to any of my friends. They haven't really spoken to me either but I can't blame them. I'm not as happy to be around as I used to be. I wouldn't want to be around me either."

The metallic colored moon shimmered across the water and I sighed. "I can't help feeling like there is something better out there ya know? Somewhere that doesn't involve so much pain and constant reminders of your past. Not just..." It wasn't just about my parents death it was something that stretched farther than that. I felt off and shut down way before they left my sister and I. It was a silent timer and these past few months have only made it worse.

"My best friends Mindy and Alex are much happier without me anyway. They only look sad when they see me in the hallway. But it's summer now and hopefully I can spend my time traveling or reading more books. Not that I need to add to my bookshelf its already tipping over." I shook my head and laughed humorlessly. My mother would always wondered how I could fit so many stories in my head. I would always tell her that it was because each book gave me a different feeling for any occasion so I could read a different book twice, maybe three times a day and still crave more.

"I hate them for leaving me." I whispered. I looked up and saw her nodding her head. I know she couldn't hear me but it was still comforting. "And they left me with my sister no less. She's been so overbearing lately its ridiculous. I thought she was bossy when we were kids but now... now it feels like she's been given this golden opportunity to control my life. It sucks."

Ava had a habit of asking questions that would normally be asked by a parent. For the first few weeks it was understandable and even welcomed but two months in it was infuriating to be told what to do by someone who is only three years older. She complains that I don't do anything useful and that I'm always away from the house.

I'm away because I have to get away or I'll scream.

"Man I bet you don't have to deal with any siblings. I bet you are an only child who is super popular and have these two crime fighting parents that kiss you every night even when you tell them how lame it is. And I bet you could care less about a seventeen year old girl spilling her soul out to you at midnight by the lake." I shook my head. I am ridiculous.

"Thank you regardless. Thank you for being here with me."

I couldn't tell for sure but from the distance it looked like she smiled.

"And where the hell have you been?"

Home sweet home amiright?

"I went out. I'm back and safe, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you left without telling me where you were going and it's way past midnight no less." Ava had her hands on her hips and everything. If I told her she would be pulling a move like this years ago she would have laughed in my face.

"Ava I just went by the lake because I needed a break. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Oh so you were at the exact place I told you I didn't want you to go." She threw her hands in up in frustration. "What on earth is with you lately? You've been going to this lake for months now and you are as vague as possible when I question why. Why is it so difficult to confide in me? I'm your sister and I care about you." Oh god. This part was worst than the crying.

Ava was so emotional and so dramatic she would fit perfectly on a soap opera. I knew she cared about me but she didn't need to expect me to spill out my emotions to her. I have to speak to a complete stranger--who can't even hear me--to feel better for god sakes.

"Oh no don't use the sister card on me." I started to head up the steps before she called out my name. I stopped mid-step and turned around. "What?"

Ava stared at me for what felt like a long time. "You know mom and dad would be so disappointed in you for sneaking out like this."

Instead of crying like my eyes so desperately wanted to I gave her a sweet smile. "That's my only goal in life. To disappoint you and my dead parents." And with that I walked up the stairs with my head held high. Not because of pride but because that was the only way the tears didn't slip down my cheek.

I already desperately wanted to go back to the lake but I knew I had to contain myself until tomorrow night. I could do that couldn't I?

#shonelle #write #writing #this is a story that I should maybe pick up again?