#like 2 days ago i bought frozen pizza and he had to put it in the oven for me

[emmafallsinlove]

the fact that the only thing i made myself for breakfast this week is toast with extra cheese and tomato is embarrassing

#like all my friends and family (including my siblings) knows how to make stuff in the kitchen without having a panic attack #like my sister is 21 and she cooks and bakes since she’s 12 #and my brother who’s gonna turn 17 next month knows how to make stuff as well #like sometimes if he weren’t around to take care of me i would’ve starved (jk lol) #like 2 days ago i bought frozen pizza and he had to put it in the oven for me #and i think it’s the same shit with why it took me ages to start driving lessons #it’s kind of how in b99 jake gets so proud of himself for boiling an egg #and amy says it’s a big step and she is so proud of him #so this. #or speaks now

[copias-thrall]

How would Mary goore react to hurting someone he genuinely cares about? I absolutely Love your writing!💕

Hello, nonny! Thank you, I love this ask!

This was going to be  alist, but it got away from me! 😅 

Enjoy 😘 

It wasn’t anything big.

Just a few of Mary’s favorite beers (the craft kind—not the shitty beer he drank on his shoestring budget), some of that chronic shit you’d scored and have been saving for a special occasion, and a VHS box set of horror movie classics.

***

Mary comes in and out of your life at will, and that was something you accepted—knowing he was As Is or not at all. And honestly—no, really—you liked that. You had your own shit going on, and being Mary’s expected caregiver was NOT something you wanted to add to that list.

(If someone else wanted to try to tame him and pick up after him, well…kudos to them. Less work for you.)

Mary showed up on your pivotal days and he rubbed your feet and always invited you out to trivia. You'd held him when he was coming down from a bad trip and listened to his grievances and gave him a place to stay when he was persona non grata at his own. And in a way, that made you always feel like #1 in Mary’s world…and that was good enough for you.

***

A few months ago, Mary had been lying on your couch, picking the label off his beer bottle.

“I’m gonna be away for a bit,” he’d said.

“Oh?” you’d responded as you’d mashed the controls on your gaming controller.

“Yeah. I mean, I’ll be around…but I got some shit going on.”

You’d paused your game.

“Bad shit?”

He’d waved you off.

“Neg. Just tryna get myself out there. Signed up for open mics and shit.”

He’d shifted, his long legs receding from around you and folding under him.

“So, like…I got my job at the bowling alley…but nights and weekends are kinda shot.”

You’d tried not to let the disappointment show on your face. You supported Mary’s dreams, and that meant not making an issue that he was finally trying to do something about them.

This wasn’t against you. It was for him.

When you’d taken too long to respond, his face had scrunched.

“But if you want—”

“It’s fine, Mare,” you’d said as you’d made yourself smile. “This is important to you, so it’s important to me.”

You’d unpaused your game.

“Just don’t expect me to not beat this game without you.”

He’d grabbed the controller out of your hands with a snarl, causing you to cry out when you died.

“Fuck the game.” His hand had fisted your shirt. “Give me a night to remember.”

You had. Twice.

***

Mary had texted you occasionally over the next few weeks—a few memes, a few drunken key-smashes, a dick pic, and 2 grainy videos of his performances for critique—but such contact was sporadic, and you’d never seen him in real-time. 

He’d blown in one night, five weeks in, with a box of pizza just as you'd been heading out to meet your crew. When you’d told him you’d made plans, he’d looked so crestfallen that you’d caved and canceled on them.

While he’d been there, he’d given you a date in 3 weeks.

“That Saturday I have nowhere to be,” he’d said as he’d chewed. “I can spend the whole day with you.”

You’d been careful not to seem too eager.

“Oh yeah? Should I plan shit?”

He’d crammed the whole crust into his mouth and had given you a doughy grin.

“Why ’’ya think I told you?”

You didn’t know what you’d expected, but when he’d had to bounce 90min later, you were still surprised. (That was hardly enough time to digest!)

“Sorry,” he’d winced. “I gotta be on a bus in 45min.”

He’d left, and you’d been too embarrassed to join your friends who were only just going to the second bar.

Having fun with your man ;) ? one of your friends had texted.

What do you think? You’d texted back before changing into your pjs and turning on Netflix.

***

So maybe you were low-key excited about your day with Mary.

Perhaps you’d spent those 3 weeks figuring out the perfect date—something that said, “I missed you,” without saying “But in a clingy way.”

Beer and horror were two things the both of you were totally into, and you knew he’d be exhausted, so it seemed perfect. You’d bought the boxed set off of eBay and splurged for expedited shipping; you’d borrowed your brother’s old dual TV/VCR from his college days; and you’d forgone your weekly Chinese takeout for the craft beer funds. (And if things got steamy, well…even better.) 

***

A few days before The Date, you’d run into Mary on the bus. You were coming home from a shift, and he was going to his.

He’d brightened and waved you over—as if you weren’t already on your way—and you’d plopped down beside him with a tired grin. You’d told him of the latest entitled asshole, and he’d showed you another clip of him on guitar.

Before your stop had come up, you’d tentatively placed your hand over his.

“We still on for Saturday?”

He’d blinked at you a few moments before grinning.

“Yeah.”

“Should I plan a whole day for us, then?”

His arm had crept around your shoulders before pulling you into him to kiss your temple.

“Yeah, why not.”

***

That morning, you wake up happy. 

Mary will be over soon.

You roll over and grab your phone.

When should I expect you? :-* 

It takes him an hour to respond. You aren’t surprised—Mary isn’t known for being a morning person—so when your phone dings, you grab it up excitedly.

An excitement that dies when you read his text. And reread. And re-reread.

not 2day 

goin upste 2 show 

You blink.

What show? Didn’t we confirm? 

yeah. got me thinkin 

why no show? 

so i chked 

i missed one 

gotta do it 

Rage blooms hot, then cold behind your eyes and down your cheeks.

But you said we had the whole day. I made plans. 

save em 

ths is impt 2 me 

We’ve had this planned for weeks. 

i thot u suprted me 

on a bus cnt tlk 

You send a few more irate texts, but he doesn’t respond, and you toss your phone across the room with a shout of frustration. You scrub the hot tears from your eyes before they can fall.

And…on paper, Mary isn’t wrong. Nothing you had planned won’t keep: movies, beer, takeout.

But…

It gives you a stark look at what you mean to Mary. He gave you this date and confirmed it. He knew you were making plans.

How long was he going to wait to tell you he wasn’t even in the city anymore?

You fight the urge to kick the VHS tapes across the floor, but you open the fridge and grab a beer. If Queen Elizabeth could have beer for breakfast, then it was good enough for you.

Once you’ve downed all eight, you move on to the jug of vodka you keep for cleaning.

When you empty only liquid from your stomach into the toilet, you grab your frozen fries out of the freezer. You roll a handful of the cold ones in your mouth as you wait for the others to crisp in the oven, and once you’ve consumed the cooked ones, you go right back to the vodka.

***

Opening your eyes the next morning is a mistake, so you take a few deep breaths and go back to sleep.

When you wake again, your heart is fluttering, your stomach turns, and it feels like there’s an ice pick behind one eye. Shuffling slowly, you make your way out to your kitchen where you take some painkillers, drink some pickle juice, and eat two slices of plain bread.

The sense that you did something awful stays with you, but you’re in no condition to find your phone and see what you’ve done. Instead, you go back to bed. It takes more deep breathing to settle yourself, but once you do fall asleep, you’re out for hours.

You don’t feel amazing when you swim to consciousness again, but you feel at least like a human being. 

Your phone is dead when you find it under the sink, and waiting the 5 or so minutes for it to charge feels like waiting to face the executioner.

It’s both better and worse than you expected.

You breathe a sigh of relief to see that there are no vague social media posts, and you didn’t drunk dial any of your friends, but…

The texts to and from Mary are ugly.

Apparently, you’d managed not to send him angry texts until he’d sent you another clip of his performing. But then the floodgates had opened.

You’d started with telling him you didn’t give a shit about the show, how he was an inconsiderate ass, and then you'd devolved into incomprehensible, typo-ridden texts that accused him of using you, that you were only something to do when he didn’t have anything better to do, that he was an entitled man-child and if he didn’t apologize, you were done.

Mary’s texts in response range from him being angry at your disregard, to heated retorts you were blowing this out of proportion (and he didn’t appreciate your “ad hominem” attacks), to a cool detachment that this wasn’t working over text and he’d finish this in person.

You put your head in your hands but are too dehydrated to cry.

***

Mary doesn’t text you again during his self-imposed time frame.

You don’t text him either, but that’s more out of self-preservation than pride. There’s no point exacerbating the situation…and you’re pretty sure there’s no coming back from this, so why speed up the inevitable?

The horror tapes taunt you every time you walk by them, and you wonder if you can return them (you can’t). You give the TV back to your brother, and when he asks you how it went, you plaster a smile on your face and say, “Great!” with forced enthusiasm you hope comes across as genuine.

The primo weed goes over to your friend’s house, and the two of you wax poetic all night about existential claptrap as you devour two cheese pizzas and a bag of bbq chips. You talk about Mary without talking about Mary, and you get a heartfelt, “Sorry, dude.”

You beat the video game anyway, but it’s mostly because you needed something to occupy your mind and less out of spite (though that’s there as well).

***

Despite waiting on tenterhooks to hear anything from Mary, you truly don’t really expect to. You know you’d been atrocious, even if it had been prompted by his careless disregard, and you know Mary isn’t really the kind of guy that troubles himself with relationships that are hard.

Not that you’re in a relationship.

So when there’s a knock on your door a week later and Mary’s behind it, you’re genuinely surprised.

You gape through the peephole in shock.

“Fuck. If you’re there, just let me in, ok?”

Fumbling with the chain, you unlock the door and crack it open.

“Mary?”

“You gonna let me in?” he rasps.

You shrug and step away from the door, and he shuffles inside. He looks around like you’ve changed anything (you haven’t), before turning around to face you.

You close the door and stare back.

He folds his arms. “Breaking up with someone over text is tacky.”

What you think is, So you’ve come to do it in person, but what you say is, “Can’t break up if you’re not together.”

He winces and runs his fingers through his hair. 

“Yeah…apparently I’ve ‘taken advantage' of you.”

This…isn’t what you’re expecting.

“I…what?”

“Can we sit down?”

You nod, and Mary sits rigidly on the edge of your couch. You curl up in the chair on the opposite side.

He rubs his palms down his greasy jeans before he speaks.

“I mean…you pissed me off, ok?”

You nod.

“But, like—you weren’t wrong, ok? I kinda knew that deep down, but I’m a dumbass, you know?”

You don’t nod.

“And I kinda bitched about the whole thing…but the resounding response was that I was the asshole.”

He angles his body toward you.

“I guess I’ve kinda been treating you like my best friend that I fuck sometimes.”

Your entire face flushes—you’d always thought you’d maybe ranked a little higher than that—and you duck your head so he can’t see the tears that you blink back.

There’s a swish of fabric, and you startle hard when Mary’s hand is at your chin. He jerks back with a Sorry.

“Shit—that’s not what I…” he blows out a breath and puts his hands behind his head before looking back up at you.

“But you aren’t, and…fuck this is harder than I thought.”

So this is it.

Waiting for him to do the deed is clearly going to be excruciating, so you take charge of this whole shit-show.

“I understand,” you say flatly.

“You do?”

“It’s ok, Mare-Mary. It’s my own fault for reading too much into it. I just…I saw what I wanted to see, I guess. I know you don’t need…” you look down into your lap, “…my shit in your life.

He makes a noise low in his throat, and then he’s squatting in front of you, his hot hands planting on your knees.

“But I want your shit in my life.”

You squint your eyes at him.

“But what I said…”

He grasps your hands in his.

“Pissed me off, yeah…cuz I wasn’t fucking thinking, ok? You’re like one of the only people who gives a crap about what’s important to me. And all I could see was you suddenly…not.”

Anger wells up in you again, and you yank away your hands.

“Weeks, Mary…weeks of you all over the tri-state area, and you thought I didn’t care because of one night?! A night you promised to me?”

He sits back on his heels. “I know…fuck. Ok? At the time, it just felt…like the show couldn’t be rescheduled. Our night could.”

Because you’re what he does when he’s bored.

You curl in on yourself.

“Shit.” He leans forward again. “Fuck, I’m sorry, ok? I’m fucking on my knees here.”

You blink at him. 

What? 

“Please, please don’t break—say we’re done.”

“What?”

“Look, we can go into my shitty fucking psychological profile on why I fuck around later…but right now I need you to know that I knew it was you before I fucking knew it was you.”

You uncurl.

“That…’what’ was me?”

He knees forward and presses your hands to his face.

“The one I wanna spend my free time with. The one whose opinion means the most. The one who was the first person I wanted to share all my good shit with. You’re the one I missed, and—after that awful fucking night—everything felt pointless because I knew I couldn’t come over and jam about it.”

“Mare—what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’m a fucking dumbass. I’m saying I thought I was pissed at you, but I was pissed at myself for fucking it up.” He sighs. “I’m saying no fucking one was on my side and they all told me to get my shit together.”

He looks up at you with wide eyes, and for the first time, you can see how they’re outlined in red, his subtle crow’s feet more pronounced.

“So, you’re not done with me? I’m not…too much trouble?”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “What? Shit, no. I’m asking you to not be done with me. I’ll give you all the nights you want. Fucking text me, and my ass’ll be here posthaste.” He shifts up, and his thumb ghosts over your lips. “Anything to get you to give me that secret smile again.”

“Secret smile?” you ask while trying to perform the action.

Mary actually blushes.

“Uh…yeah. You get this…” he makes a motion across his face, “…when you’re giving it back to me.” His fingers shove back through his hair as he casts his eyes down. “You don’t give it to anyone else.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’ve made a study of it.”

You’re a swirl of emotions. Mary’s apologized—has admitted he was wrong and has asked for…more—but you’re still hurt. And embarrassed.

But he’s looking up at you with wet, hopeful eyes.

“Do you…” you start carefully, “…do you know why I got so mad?”

That statement was clearly not what he was expecting, and he blinks at you a few times before nodding and looking down at the floor.

“I made a…uh, commitment…to you. And I treated it like it didn’t mean anything.”

He gives you a look like, Did I get it right? and that’s close enough—even if he’s missing some of the nuance.

You nod. “And I know I…wasn’t…the best.”

His face contorts, and your heart sinks.

“You…” he shakes his head. “You said some awful things…some hurtful shit—and it really got in my head.”

Mary gives you a complicated look.

“Shit that you’d been pissed about for a while.” He traces your knee. “Shit you could’ve said to me…but shit I should have noticed. Fuck.” He presses his forehead into your knees, and you can’t stop yourself from sinking your fingers into his hair.

He takes it as encouragement and presses into you before looking up again.

“I just kinda wanna put that whole night behind us. It feels like a fucking ouroboros of fault. And like maybe I created it. But let’s agree to like…not do that again.”

You look down at him, and his eyes search your face.

“Ok…but what does all this mean, Mare? I can’t…I need to be something to you, ok? More than just your friend.”

Mary nods emphatically, and he takes your hand and curls his into it.

“No more fuck-ups, and no one else…can we start there?”

He’s saying all the right words, but you’re still trepidatious—you know Mary, and he doesn’t like constraints.

“I…just…how can I believe you?”

He shakes his head like he can’t believe you even have to ask. He rises and awkwardly reaches out to touch your face before drawing his hand back.

“Cuz you’re important to me. I care about you, and I don’t want to lose you. Ever.”

And yeah. Ok.

#asks #mary goore #gender neutral #hurt/comfort #my writing #original post

[thran-duils]

Doll Me Up (P.2)

Title: Doll Me Up (Part Two) Summary: Fem!Reader x Dark Mob!Tony Stark. On good days, you and Tony were a power couple. You, a perfect trophy wife with your hands in local charities to promote a wholesome image. Tony, business man but sullied with organized crime. He indulged in his illegal gambling, extortion, and political corruption. And he indulged in his escort business. Hell, that is where he had found you. You were a brat, and he loved a challenge. Words: 4,175 Warnings: Unhealthy relationships, smut, daddy kink, dom/sub, manipulation, death, violence, possessive behavior

Author’s Note: For this chapter specifically, there’s mention of the possibility of being kidnapped/assaulted. Just a TW.

Part One || Part Three || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

A little more than a year and a half ago…

You giggled, running your finger down the nose of some guy who had grabbed you on your way back to your booth. Tony had taken you to a strip club, dressing you almost as bare as the girls there. You had gotten up to go grab a shot and had been on your way back to the table when a man had turned around in his seat, mistaking you for a dancer. He was not bad looking and he held out three twenties to you, just to touch you and hold you close. You did not see the harm in that.

Until you were yanked to the side and you stumbled in your high heels.

“Hey!” you called out as the guy shouted in protest when you were torn from his grasp.

You looked up seeing Happy as he pulled you along.

He tossed you into the booth and you glared at him, “That hurt!”

“You passing out free shit tonight?” Tony growled in your ear, catching your attention. Happy moved away from the booth again, keeping an eye out around the club.

You turned to Tony and stuck out your bottom lip. “He gave me money.”

“Who are you here with?” Tony asked, his tone tight.

Giving him an innocent look, you played with the collar on his shirt. “You, daddy.”

“That’s goddamn right. The next time that happens you better fucking remember that!”

You held up the money to him and said, “Do you want it?”

“Oh, princess… you shouldn’t go teasing me like that… waving another man’s money in my face when I already paid for your attention. I don’t respond well to that. It only makes me jealous.”

“Then I guess we can just give it back to some of the bitches here,” you said rolling your eyes, slamming the bills on the table. You huffed indignantly and adjusted your skirt, facing away from him now.

Tony had your arm in a tight grip when he yanked you back to him, causing you to yelp. He pointed in your face, his other hand coming down to grip you under the chin.

“You listen and you listen good,” Tony growled, his hand tight around your throat. Your noses were practically touching. “I don’t care how many people are in here. You keep acting like a brat, I’m gonna bend you right over my knee and leave your ass stinging. You understand me?” Your lips parted, staring into his eyes. His fingers flexed and you choked. “Understand me, kitten?”

You nodded quickly and his fingers relented.

His fingers caressed your cheeks and he said, “Princess, I know you’re used to a lot of attention. But when I have you with me, you’re with me and me only. You don’t have to want for anything with me. Isn’t that right?”

You said, “Right.” Shimmying closer to him again, trying to look as apologetic as possible to further calm him down. “I’m sorry, daddy. Old habits die hard. I can’t help it.”

Tony ground his teeth, contemplating what you said. You gave a flirtish smile as his eyes searched your face. He suddenly grabbed at the bills from the table. You watched him wrap one of the bills around his forefinger before he forced your legs apart. You began to protest but he told you to shut your mouth. His finger slipped past your underwear and was at your wet folds. You clenched against the paper and he laughed darkly, “With how wet you are, kitten, you won’t be uncomfortable long.”

“Don’t!” you said putting your hand on his shoulder attached to the hand inside you, trying to push him away, thinking of him ruining the bill and wasting the money.

His free hand wound up in your hair, yanking it back. “You’re worried about a twenty?” He nipped at your ear as his finger delved deeper in your pussy. “This is pennies to me. Honestly, even less. When I have you – and I’m going to from now on – you won’t even turn your head for this. And not only just because you don’t find value in the bill, but because it’s not me asking for your attention. You got that?” You whimpered, trying to buck away from his finger. “You got that? You’re going to make sure you help it?”

“Yeah,” you confirmed, giving him pleading eyes.

He chuckled, removing his hand and when it came back, it was empty of the bill. His fingers fluttered across your folds. As wary as his temper made you, he was right about one thing: you were wet. His dominance set you alight every time and he seemed to want to play now.

“P---please,” you stammered, pressing back on him now, wanting more contact.

“Begging for me already? You’re pathetic,” he hissed the word against your ear, and you bit your lip, nodding. He chuckled at your response, loving the degradation you thrived on. His fingers moved deeper, flicking against your clit. “Needy, wanton…”

“I want to forget everything but your name, sir.”

That sent Tony over the edge. Just like you planned. You had become a weakness of his by submitting to him as you had. His fingers were gone, and he ordered you to follow him because he was taking you to a private room.

<><><>

Xavier stood by as you pulled the money out of the ATM, blocking you from view. You were pulling out a grand and he did not want anyone passing by on the sidewalk to see. You put it safely in your purse and took your card back from the machine. There. If Tony was going to cut off your fun early, you would at least have a backup. In the boutique down the street though, you used your card to buy yourself some sandals and pair of jeans and shirt.

The two of you spent the better part of the late morning and early afternoon walking around the shops nearby the hotel and treating yourselves to small things. Xavier was hesitant to let you buy him something, but you insisted. It felt good being able to buy him something that made him happy. The smile on your friend’s face made it worth it to see him checking himself out in the mirror.

It was getting late in the afternoon, so you told him you were craving pizza. You guys chose on a place nearby that sold by the slice, it was just going to be a little bit of a walk. Xavier told you it would make him feel better after he ate three slices anyway because he had three in mind he wanted to have.

You handed over your card to pay for the slice of pizza and pop you had bought, only to have the cashier tell you it was declined.

You did not think Tony was actually going to do it and you asked them to try again. It was declined for a second time and you snatched it back, apologizing to them for it not working and handing over the twenty you thankfully had in your wallet rather than a hundred for such a small order.

Xavier had rushed back to grab a booth so he was not there to witness the exchange. When you sat at the table though, he immediately knew something was wrong. “What’s wrong?” he asked with his mouth full.

“He did it. He cut my fucking card off!” you snapped, tossing your purse and bags to the side on the inside of the seat to the wall. Xavier’s eyes widened and he slowed his chewing. You let out a frustrated noise, digging your phone out of your bag. He had not texted or anything. Such a power move on his point, making you have to call him. And beg like he said he was going to make you.

You made eye contact with Xavier across the table and sneered, “I don’t want to have to call him.”

“Want me to do it?” Xavier tried to joke. You glared at him and he shrugged, trying to not laugh. “Sorry. Bad timing.”

Throwing your phone down, you picked up your pizza. “I’m at least going to enjoy this and not go into it completely hangry.”

“Probably a wise decision.”

After your food had settled, you took a deep exhale, picking up your phone.

He sounded so goddamn smug when he answered. “Yes?”

“Wh—I don’t know what you want me to say!” you blurted.

“’Sorry’ would be a good place to start,” Tony suggested. You gritted your teeth, anger swelling at the mention of it. Before you could answer, he pressed on. “But we can wait for that later. Your flight is at 7:30pm. You better hurry and get to the airport. Your name is on the ticket and they’ll have it ready for you.”

“How do you expect me to get to the airport if my card is frozen?” you demanded.

“Same way you got to the hotel. Ask that dick you were riding—”

“What? I wasn’t riding any—” People were walking by, trying not to stare at you having a heated conversation on your phone at the table.

“Don’t lie to me!” Tony barked. “Plus, I saw you pulled out a grand this morning. I’m assuming you haven’t found a way to spend it all in this short amount of time.”

“You were the one who started all this—”

“No! You threw a fit because I told you that you couldn’t go to the Maldives!”

“Exactly! You don’t let me do anything without you—”

“Oh, you little—” Tony started to say and then inhaled sharply. “I’m getting sick of this backtalk. Y/N, that card is a privilege and you’ve gone far beyond fucking losing that privilege. So, get your ass to the airport and get on that goddamn plane. This game is over. And you’re flying coach.”

You let out a disgusted scoff and clenched your free hand. “No, you can’t—”

“I already did,” Tony snapped, and his voice dropped, dangerous. “And don’t you fucking tell me what I can’t and can’t do. You got that?”

Huffing, you grated, “Yes.”

“Good. I don’t know where this attitude is coming from, Y/N but it’s going to fucking stop right now,” Tony spat. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

He hung up the phone and your shoulders slumped, defeated. You stared down at your phone, on the edge of tears. What you said was true, or at least what you tried to say again. You never got to do things on your own. He always had to be there, and you had just wanted to go on a trip with one of your girlfriends.

“That went… terribly,” Xavier commented finally, breaking the silence.

“I don’t want to be in coach,” you sniffled.

“You really are spoiled.”

“Shut up, Xavier!” You let out a groan and threw your arms out. “I guess I gotta go to the airport. What even time is it? Also, thanks by the way for talking to him earlier! He for sure thinks I had sex with you!”

“Ew,” Xavier said, making a face, only serving to make you even more upset. “Oh, sweetpea. You are attractive. Just not to me.”

You muttered darkly, “Try telling him that.”

<><><>

As soon as you got to the airport, you marched up to the airline counter. When you were called forward, you gave your information and then asked, “Can I change the time of my flight? Earlier if possible. That’s actually preferable.”

Tony could possibly just wait around for the next flights coming in from Seattle to see if you were on them if it was later.

The attendant scrolled through, “Hmm. It looks like there’s a flight leaving in 25 minutes. And there’s an available seat because of a late cancellation.”

“I’ll take it. What terminal?”

“D gate, same one. But it’s a $75 fee to change it.”

“That’s fine,” you waved him off, pulling out your wallet.

You took a pic of the airport, ready to send it to Tony. At least he would think you were following his stupid directions. Tearfully, you said goodbye to Xavier, forcing a hundred into his hand. He protested and you told him it was for the gas like you promised and for him to get himself dinner or whatever since he was yet again being robbed of time with you. You hated leaving him behind and waved at him right before disappearing down the hall to board the plane. You just wanted to stay for a little bit and were being denied that.

Before you turned your phone off, you texted with yours and Tony’s friend Liam telling him you needed a ride. Thankfully he responded quickly, and you briefly mentioned you would need to stay the night. Liam knew immediately what was going on – he had seen it before and was hesitant but agreed to.

This was just digging yourself a deeper hole but goddamnit, you were going to get a second night away even if it killed you.

<><><>

Tony paced outside the terminal exit as people began filing out. It was going to take longer than normal because of the fact he had purposely put her in coach. Starting her punishment right from the beginning.

The trail of people trickled down until there was no one. She still had not emerged. Happy was watching Tony carefully, sensing the anger beginning to ebb and flow again. The tell tale signs of the vein on his temple with his clenched jaw, his fingers rubbing together as he paced.

Tony approached the flight crew coming out, “Excuse me. Is the plane empty?”

“Yeah,” the stewardness nodded.

“You’re sure? My wife was supposed to be on this flight.”

“Yes, sir,” she told him.

Tony exhaled sharply before turning on his heel and storming back toward where Happy was waiting.

“I’m gonna belt that little bitch,” he growled.

<><><>

“I really shouldn’t be doing this,” Liam muttered taking a left, onto his road shaking his head.

“Yes, you’ve said that plenty of times,” you told him, fixing your lipstick in the mirror now that he was on a smoother road. “It’s just for the night. I’ll leave super early… like 6am.”

“Aren’t you already in trouble? That’s how you got into this mess in the first place.”

“It’s not a mess.”

“It’s always a mess when you two are ‘fighting’. Do you think I’ve forgotten the last time you decided to hole away for the night with you friend? Cassandra? Wasn’t that her name? Anyway, with her after you ran off on him?” Liam asked, shooting you a scathing look.

There was no doubt in your mind he had not forgotten that scene. Tony had shown up at Cassandra’s later that night high as hell after some lines and practically dragged you out of the small get together by your hair. And no one had really done anything because they were afraid to. You had lost your car for a week as punishment.

“He’s got a temper,” you said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yeah, I fucking know. I’m his friend too, Y/N. I’ve seen it firsthand. Aren’t you afraid he’s going to divorce you?”

“Doubtful.”

“You’re right,” Liam muttered, shaking his head. “Not with how obsessed he is with you. Maybe he’d rather lock you inside for the rest of your life.”

“That’s more of a possibility. But I would just bat my eyes at him, and he will eventually relent. Plus, I’m a little over a month along,” you admitted, patting your stomach.

Liam looked gob smacked as he pulled into his house, turning the car off. You practically hopped out of the car, ready to just lie down.

“Excuse you. You don’t get to just drop that bit of information and then act like we aren’t going to talk about it!” Liam called after you, following quickly. “Have you thought about this?”

He was unrelenting in his questioning as he led you inside. This conversation was going to take a while.

<><><>

Your phone was ringing, catching both yours and Liam’s attention. He rose his brows expectantly, standing up and walking off to give you some space. He stopped in the kitchen where he could still see and hear you but he was not too close. You sighed, answering it. “Yes, daddy?”

“Where the fuck are you?” Tony practically shouted.

“Lying down on a couch.”

“Y/N, I am not in the goddamn mood for this. I specifically asked you to get on the plane and come home. Why can’t you fucking listen and do what you’re told?”

“I’m in LA,” you said, examining your nails. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Tony’s laugh was wry and short. “You’re just asking for trouble.”

“No, I’m looking to be left alone and you won’t let me even have a couple fucking days to myself!” you retorted. “If you loved me, you would do that.” Liam sucked his teeth at that one and you shot him a look. “I’m home. Back in LA—”

“Where. Are. You?” Every word was enunciated, his tone cutting like a knife.

“On the couch at a friend’s,” you repeated. “I’ll be back home in the morning.”

Tony hung up the phone and you pulled your phone away, staring at it. That was new.

<><><>

“I’m sick of this shit,” Tony snarled, tossing his phone on the seat next to him. Happy eyed him through the rearview mirror warily. He pulled his computer out, to access find my phone on his plan. He had given her all the chances to just come back on her own, but it seemed he was going to have to do it himself, as per usual. His little brat was pushing boundaries she should not be pushing, and she was going to learn that. Once and for all. And so was whoever was helping her.

It was going to have to get physical. It would not be the first time. Just for different reasons this time.

<><><>

Less than a year and a half ago…

“O-oh,” you stammered as a man stepped in your path, blocking you from moving forward.

“Didn’t you hear me calling out to you, darling?” he asked, peering down his nose at you.

Of course you had heard his cat calling but you were doing your best to ignore him. You had simply just been taking a walk around the boardwalk and grabbed a candied apple on your way back to the patio where Tony was enjoying drinks with some of his business partners. Their talk had become boring, and you asked if he would mind if you took a walk. At first he had insisted you take his other guard besides Happy with you but you waved it off, saying you were not going far.

You shrugged, “Could’ve been talking to anyone. There’s a lot of beautiful women here.”

“There is, but I was talking to you,” the man said, and you felt movement behind you. You snuck a look over your shoulder, seeing another man had appeared there looking as sinister as the other. People were walking by like nothing was happening out of the ordinary, going about their late evening business. The man in front of you stepped closer, “What’s your name?”

“Cindy,” you lied with ease.

“You don’t look like a Cindy,” he chuckled.

“Well, that’s my name.”

“You’ve got a nice dress on there, Cindy.”

<><><>

Across the way, Tony happened to look over and he sat up slightly seeing that a man was standing in front of Y/N, another standing behind her. Even from here, he could tell by her body language she was uncomfortable. The men were pretty close and looked like they were up to no good.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said cutting his friend off, holding out his hand. “Hap.” He gestured over to where Y/N was standing. Happy followed his gesture and saw what bug was up Tony’s ass all of a sudden. Tony was already out of the chair before Happy or his other guards could react. “I’ll be right back. Excuse me.”

<><><>

“It’s not a dress. It’s a jumpsuit.”

The guy laughed again and said, “My apologies. I’m not a fashion guru. Regardless, it looks really nice on you. The floral pattern is a nice touch.”

“Is that all?” you asked, keeping your voice even. You were thinking of if you had to slam your candy apple stick into his eye to get away if this got bad.

The guy behind you let out a low whistle and the man in front of you cocked his head to the side. “Not even a thank you? That’s rude.”

“I didn’t need you to tell me, I already knew.”

The man looked amused, “Stuck up, aren’t you?” He stepped closer this time and you took a step back before hesitating, remembering the other guy was right there. Leaning in closer, he told you, “You know, I have a solution for stuck up women.”

“Leaving them alone and finding someone more agreeable?” you asked, your voice warbling only slightly.

His hand came up and he traced along your hip up to your waist. You slapped his hand away and he took the opportunity to grasp your wrist, forcing it down by your side.

“Hey!” you exclaimed. “Let go of me!”

That caught a couple people’s attention, but you hardly had time to take notice of them with how quickly the man was to closing the space between you. His nose was inches from yours as he warned you, “If I were you, I would keep quiet.”

“My fiancé—” you started to say just as you heard his voice.

“Something wrong?”

Tony was standing there, Happy with the other few guards not far behind. You felt a wave of relief wash over you at the sight of them, but Tony only had eyes for the man holding you. He looked calm and collected to the outside eye, but you could see the twitch in his jaw at the man’s hand on your wrist, holding you so close. You tried to yank your hand away, but the guy held tighter.

Tony’s smile did not reach his eyes. “I would suggest letting my fiancé go.”

“What are you going to do about it, old man?”

What an idiot, you thought to yourself seeing Tony’s cruel smile only grow.

Behind you, you heard the other man stammer before saying, “Um… Ian… I would…do as the man asks.” Tony’s eyes shifted to the other guy, his brow furrowed in confusion at the guy’s inability to speak. You heard the guy take a couple steps forward. “I’m sorry. We didn’t know. That she was with you! Mr. Stark, can I say…I’m such a fan.”

He must have noticed the faint glow peeking from the top unbuttoned part of Tony’s shirt and put two and two together.

In the two men’s hesitation in their realization, you successfully yanked your wrist away and looked down at the marks where his fingers had dug in. The other guards had come closer causing the man behind you to take some steps back, raising his hands up in surrender.

Tony noticed and said, “Hmm, no. You’re not going anywhere.”

“I swear. We didn’t know—”

“I don’t care,” Tony cut him off.

The guy shot his friend in front of you a look before turning and taking off. It only took the other guy a few seconds to follow suit, breezing past you and shoving you out of the way in the process. You fell down on the ground, your apple bouncing away from your grasp.

“Shit,” you heard Tony snap, and his hands were on you, pulling you to your feet. You hissed feeling pain on your hands where you had caught yourself from your face hitting the cement. They were scraped up, small droplets of blood on your palms. “Fuck. I’m sorry, doll.” You looked to where the guys had run off, seeing the guards were tailing them. “They won’t be walking when they get their hands on them. Trust me. Especially not after that last fuck up.” His men were doing the dirty work of making sure to beat the two guys into a bloody pulp. Tony never dirtied his own hands like that. It was not smart. He brushed at your hands and you winced. “Are you okay?”

“My apple,” you complained, spotting it.

“Are you alright?” Tony repeated with more force.

You gave a half-hearted shrug. “I guess. I’m glad you were here because that wasn’t going great.”

“I could see that,” Tony responded darkly. “Let’s go get you cleaned up. And, Y/N, the next time I suggest taking one of the guys with you, you listen, yeah?”

You nodded subserviently, letting him lead you back to the safety of the patio.

~~~

Forever tags: @coconutqueen21, @kvzctam

#tony stark x reader #dark!tony stark #dark marvel #dark marvel fic #dark tony stark #my shit

[braincoins]

I ordered groceries yesterday. This is not uncommon, given that I can be hospitalized if I get a bad enough cold, let alone SARS-CoV-FUCKING-2. And also that Pengy and I are inherently lazy people.

My shopper was Robert, who was very nice and understanding about all the heavy-ass shit in the order (cat litter, case of Coke, 12 pack of mini Pepsi, entire box of Ensure...) and I gave him five stars and a decent tip, which is what I pretty much always do, honestly. You start at five stars with me and I deduct stars as I feel that you, personally, done fucked up, which is rare with this sort of thing. 

Now, as is also fairly freaking common, I didn’t get everything on my list. One of the things I had to have was the iron supplement pills (because guess whose iron levels are stupid low?) and one of the things I really wanted was what I call CFP: cheap frozen pizza. Look, sometimes you don’t want quality, you want the nostalgia of the shit you bought and ate in college because it was all you could afford.

Well, neither of those things were in stock yesterday. I always put No Substitutions because I hate going back and forth with a stranger about The Exact Thing I Want. Communicating with strangers is best done as little as possible, and I still have this inherent feeling that “having standards” is the same thing as “being selfish.” So when these two items didn’t show up in the order or receipt, I figured it was a matter of that No Substitutions rule.

Earlier today, I went to the grocery store myself. I had forgotten to put my also-much-needed omeprazole on the list, so I had to get that, and I wanted to pick up those iron pills. I had initially planned to trek over to get the CFP and some cereal (another forgotten item on the list), but I wasn’t feeling well, so I just got those two items (and, yes indeed, they had another brand but not the one I specified, so that was the only problem there) and a Sprite and returned home.

But a little while ago, I thought, “Well, let’s see if I can get those items now.” I was hoping they’d be in stock, but, if nothing else, perhaps they’d have the CFP. I had put a 4 pack of them on the list, but I was hoping they’d have some individuals. Part of me felt like I was “going behind Robert’s back” which is silly, but I didn’t worry about it too much ‘cause I’ve never had the same shopper twice.

“Hi, I’m your Shipt shopper Robert. Again lol.”

I WANT TO DIE

I hurriedly type in about forgetting items (which was true), and he told me he does it all the time. He also said that since I gave him five stars, I’m more likely to get him when he’s working and the time slot I’d chosen - the same as yesterday’s, coincidentally - is the last slot of his shift on days he works. 

I am just mortified for reasons I can’t even really analyze and, frankly, don’t want to. I dive back into watching old John Oliver clips and try to forget that this dude probably remembers the pizza at least and may even now be saying to himself, “Bitch, they didn’t have it yesterday...”

He does end up contacting me though to tell me that, basically, only two of the items I wanted were even available. So I ask him, with many apologies, if he can cancel the order? I feel even worse now, because now he’s not getting a tip, y’know? 

“I can do that, no worries. See you next time!”

oh god I don’t know if I want that or not

At least he already knows where to go and won’t drop our shit off at some random other building?

But now I have no CFP upon which to nom. So I guess I’ll just... I dunno, have fudge bars and kettle chips.

#socks babbles

[queenofgotham800]

35

(Roman Sionis x Reader)

Requested by: @stardancerluv

Warnings: Gramatical Errors, Anxious soft Roman

Summary: Celebrating Roman's birthday will be different this year.

(A/n): I did Roman bit of OOC (out of character), hope you don't mind that. @stardancerluv, your fanfiction Gotham lockdown 2020 is awesome 😍, I highly recommend it to ya all!

It was 6 am and Roman Sionis was standing in front of mirror, looking at himself with worries. Tomorrow he was turning 35. He felt kinda old. On his birthdays he always took you to some fancy restaurant and you both did whatever he wished and wanted. But this day was not like he expected. He hoped that these worries will be gone soon.

He looked at you. You were sleeping peacefully. How did he deserved you?

He got dressed and walked out of the room to living room, which he also used as dining room and meeting place for friendly bussines.

"Boss?" Victor came to Roman and gave him two coffee cups.

"Thanks Victor," Roman mumbled and put one coffee cup down, "I'll bring that one to (Y/n)."

"Okay boss."

Roman turned and went back to bedroom. You were still sleeping and he put the cup down on bedside table, sitting next to you. He brushed his hand through your hair, kissing you on forhead.

"Babe, I brought you coffee. Victor made it."

You slowly opened eyes, just to meet Roman's beautifull ocean blue eyes.

"Good morning honey," you mumbled.

"Morning," Roman whispered.

"Oh, my god! I.. Forgot.." you suddenly yelled, getting up, running to bathroom to take a shower.

Roman walked to you, "What did you forgot?"

"Ehm..Nothing, I just have a lot for today," you turned and closed the doors.

Your oddly behavior made Roman think about his age again. Was he too old? Somewhere in his mind was lurking scary question, which he didn't wanted to bring to light: What if you don't love him anymore becouse of his age? There was few years difference between you two, but what if you preferred younger guys. What if somebody took you away from him? What if you left with that somebody?

With these thoughts Roman left down to club. There was few people, which was normal, becouse it was morning and this was night club. Tears were falling down from his eyes, so he just sat to the corner of the club, waiting for Victor.

After 30 minutes of waiting, Roman decided to call him through the phone.

"Victor? Where are you? I am waiting in club, I thought you would be here on time," Roman said.

"I.. I am sorry boss, I have terrible headache and I think it would be best if I stayed home for today," Victor said and after that, Roman cancelled the call.

"Did he bought it?" you asked Victor, giving him bags with gifts.

"Yea.. I.. Don't know he cancelled the call. Besides that, where you want to bake the cake?" Victor asked. You opened the trunk of the car for Victor who carefully put the gifts next to each other.

"That could be bad.." you entered the car and waited for Victor, "Roman has one safe house close to the Wayne building.. So there. I bought all ingredients that we need, flour and stuff."

"Yeah," said Victor. He was worrying about Roman too. You and Victor were preparing surprise birthday party for Roman, which you never did to him before so you were bit stressed about his reaction.

You started the car, leaving shopping center parking lot.

"But what if he's not going to like it? I mean.. he looked so anxious this morning."

"I noticed," Victor said and pointed to the right, "Here turn right, it's a shortcut."

"Okay, but seriously Victor. I'm afraid that if we leave him alone for whole day, he could do something bad," you said and turned to the right.

"We have to hope he's alright," Victor sighed and looked from window. When you parked your car near the safe house, your phone started beeping and you exchanged with Victor worried look.

"It's Roman," you whispered.

"Pick it up (Y/n)," Victor mouthed and you nodded.

"Hey honney, how are you," you asked Roman with a sweet tone, which you regreted afterwards, since it was very suspicious. Luckily Roman didn't noticed that.

"Hey, where are you? I can't find you anywhere, could you please come to apartment please, I am not feeling well and I need you today," Roman sounded desperate and sad. It poked your heart and you looked on Victor, putting the phone away.

"He's not feeling well," you whispered to Victor and then took the phone back to your ear.

"Babe, please, I'll be there, but I have some business to do now. But I promise i'll be back as fast as I can," you said and watched Victor to unlock the doors of the safe house.

"Okay," Roman sniffled and you wanted to run back to Black Mask club to hug him and comfort him.

"Victor, we have to be fast with baking that cake," you cancelled the call and told this to Victor who just nodded.

Whole afternoon, you two were baking birthday cake and then, when it was finished, you smiled and hoped Roman is going to like it. The cake was filled with chockolate and strawberies, decorated with flowers from sugar paste.

"Victor? Launch the operation party time," you turned to Victor who smiled and pulled out his phone, "from now on, it's mostly on you. I'll go for Roman."

You walked to the car, picking the phone calling Roman, "Hey, babe I am comming, could you please wait for me in front of your club?"

"Hey darling, sure," Roman sighed and cancelled the call.

You were sure you crossed the driving limit more than five times, but you had to be there first.

When you finaly saw the club and Roman waiting outside, you parked and exited the car.

"Roman," you hugged him, you saw that he had red eyes from crying.

"I missed you," he hugged you back and gave you quick kiss. Roman was usually confident, but when he was anxious he was either very angry or slightly depressed.

"I missed you too babe, but we have to go to the safe house, becouse I have some informations that somebody wants to attack the club today," you said, pulling him to his car.

"(Y/n)... I.. What?" Roman was upset, but exhausted.

"I'm taking you to safe house," you have him another kiss, but he moved away.

"Roman..What happened?" you cupped his cheeks. You didn't wanted to make your birthday boy sad or upset.

"Nothing, let's go," Roman entered to car, and you hoped that Victor and his friends will handle the preparations for the party.

Even after entering the safe house Roman didn't spoke to you.

"Babe, what's going on?" you asked him. Roman just hugged you and held you in his arms, "I don't want to lose you (Y/n). You mean so much to me. Please don't leave me."

You were surprised, but hugged him anyways.

"Why would you think I would leave you? Romy, you know I wouldn't leave you. I love you so much," you smiled, one tear dropped from your eye. Was this the reason he was sad?

"I just.. I'm getting old and today you have been so distant.. After a long time I felt.. Lonely," he sniffled into your jacket.

"Don't say that. I'm here now dear," you whispered and when Roman pulled away you fixed his suit, "What would you say on special dinner Mr. Sionis?"

"I would love that," Roman smiled.

These situations were so often, that neither of you were stressed. Situations where you had to hide in safe houses which were all around the Gotham.

You were calm becouse you knew this was just a distraction. Roman was calm, becouse he knew you both are safe here.

For dinner, you brought some frozen pizza in Roman's car, since you had to leave your car in front of Black Mask club becouse it was filled with gifts for Roman. Victor had keys and everything was perfectly planned. When you left the safe house 1, where Victor stayed, he called his friends to stop by, take the cake in refrigerated van. You had no idea from where those guys took it and in first place, why they had it, but you rather didn't asked. After you left with Roman to safe house 2, Victor and his friends would decorate the club.

"Babe, I think the pizza is finished," Roman looked into oven and tried to open it without burning himself.

"Ohh.. Handle it to me princess," you laughed and opened the oven to get out the yummy pizza. After it was out, Roman closed the oven and caught your hips, hugging you from behind.

"Who do you call princess, my queen?" Roman laughed and kissed your neck multiple times.

"So.. Before or after pizza?" you smirked.

Birthday day

"Romy, wake up," you whispered and gently tapped him on cheek.

"What?" he asked half asleep, half conscious.

"I am leaving you. I can't do this, I can't be with you anymore," you told him and Roman's eyes widened in fear.

Roman woke up, with drops of sweat on face. He immediately turned to your side of bed to assure you were there, with him. But you weren't.

"(Y/n)?" Roman got up, from bed. You just exited the bathroom, closing the doors behind you.

"What happened?"

"I.. Nothing, just a nightmare," Roman mumbled and went back to bed with you. You slept on his shoulder, since Roman insisted on holding you in his arms.

You weren't protesting, you felt safe.

"Love? Good Morning," Roman was sitting next to you on bed, giving you cup of coffee.

"Morning my king," you smiled and took a sip from hot coffee, "Thank you, and happy birthday Roman."

Roman smiled and gave you a kiss. You looked on clock to check time, it was 10 am. Party was planned at 8 pm and you hoped everything is going according plan. Few years ago, you asked Roman if he ever had surprise birthday party. He said that he never had one. You did not wanted to risk it back then, becouse you didn't know why he never had parties like these. Maybe he did not liked being surprised. As time went, you learned that Roman actually loved surprises and only reason why he never had this kind of party was becouse nobody ever prepared something like that for him. When you learned that, you were kind of sad for him, becouse you knew that Roman was always bringing you, but only you with him out on his birthday and he bought you expensive things. Of course you always gave him gifts, Victor did too, but sometimes you had that feeling that Roman is giving more than recieving. Once he told you that others are giving him gifts just becouse they are afraid of him. This didn't targeted you, but you knew that nobody would want Roman as an enemy.

After breakfast, Roman took you out for walk and lunch to most famous restaurant in town.

In restaurant troubles began, since Victor texted you that something is wrong with preparations.

"So, I told him to go back there and he.. (Y/n)?" Roman called your name, when he noticed you were texting with someone.

"What? I'm sorry, I.. Just.. Sorry," you looked away from phone, listening Roman's stories. You wanted to pay attention to him, since it was his birthday, but your thoughts were dwelling on the party problem.

-You have to fix it, fast. I'm with Roman in restaurant, I can't speak to you right now.-

You wrote Victor and gave a reassuring smile to Roman.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Roman asked you with raised eyebrows, slowly sipping from his glass of vine.

"I.. Got a text.. It's about bussines," you told, slipping your phone back to handbag, hoping that Roman is not going to ask anything about it.

"Can I help?"

"No!" you answered too fast and Roman noticed. You knew that his worries from yesterday didn't dissapeared and you had to hope that he's not thinking about you, cheating on him on his birthday. Roman was paranoid, of course he already thought of that, but still he wanted to enjoy his birthday with you. He frowned and put the empty glass down. He didn't wanted to think about losing you now.

"Babe, you know that if something bad happens, I'll help you with it," Roman caught your hand and you smiled.

"I know, thanks."

After lunch you both went to shopping place. Roman bought you 3 expensive dresses even when you didn't wanted him to give you gifts, becouse it was his birthday. But that was just how Roman was to you. After another coffee, you looked on watches, seeing that it would be ideal time to go back to club.

"Darling? We should go back to club."

"But babe, it's only six. At seven we have dinner in the restaurant where was our first date..." Roman started and you gave him little smile.

"Aww, that is so cute... But unfortunately we have to go back to club. Just to pick up something," you nervously hugged him, but Roman pushed you away.

"What's going on with you (Y/n)?" he was nervous and afraid.

"Nothing, just.. Please," you made puppy eyes at him and he nodded.

"Alright, alright."

Way to club was silent, but when you closed the doors on the car and went to check Roman, who was sitting in backseat as usual.

"Hey, are you going?" you knocked on car window.

Roman opened it and sticked his head out.

"No."

"Babe, c'mon, don't be so stubborn," you laughed, but already thought how are you going to get him out of the car.

"I said no."

You frowned and opened the doors.

"Don't you even think about locking yourself there, I have keys."

"Alright...I'll go, but for an exchange.. You will have to do somethi.." he leaned to kiss and you kissed him, in middle of his sentence. After you parted from eachother, Roman exited the car and you opened the doors into quiet and dark club.

"Are you sure it's safe here?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, sure," you put down your coat and ran to club.

Roman turned to you, but you weren't anywhere near.

"Babe?" he called into club, slowly approaching it.

As he entered the club, colorful lights lighted up and Roman saw group of people standing in middle of the dance floor.

"Happy birthday!!" everybody yelled and Roman covered his mouth with hands. He was surprised in a good way.

"Happy birthday babe," you slowly came to him and gave him hug.

"I... Thank you..." Roman was speechles, smiling on you, Victor and people who were there. He knew all of them very good, they were his good friends.

You gave him gift wrapped in golden paper. Roman opened it and found inside the box watches that he always wanted.

"Thank you (Y/n)," he gave you gratefull smile.

After he opened all gifts, in which were paintings and new suits, you brought cake. Roman loved it and that was when his worries about losing you dissapeared.

"Will you dance with me Mr. Sionis?" you came to him and offered him hand. Roman laughed and kissed your hand.

"Of course Mrs. Sionis," quiet slow music started to play and Roman took you on dance floor. Victor was running around with camera, assuring that there are gonna be lot photos from this birthday party.

As you danced, Roman pulled you closer and music stopped. Others clapped and you blushed, hiding your face in shoulder of your loved one.

Faster music started to play and others joined the dancing too.

Everything went good, and in late hours, when party ended, you went with Roman upstairs to shared apartment.

"Thank you. I loved this. I love you," Roman kissed you, holding you in his arms.

"I love you too," you kissed him too and he pulled you into bedroom, closing the doors.

#roman sionis #birds of prey #roman sionis x reader #roman sionis fanfiction #the black mask bop #roman sionis x oc #roman sionis imagine #the black mask #roman sionis x you #Ewan mcgregor #ewan mcgregor fanfiction #black mask x reader #The black mask x Reader

[captainchrisbaby]

Give It Time

GIF Credit to @evansensations​

Andy Barber x Reader

Summary: The pain over your loss plus the trial has slowly been swallowing you up but Andy’s support and growing friendship has kept you going through it all. He is very professional but you would be lying to say you didn’t know he has feelings for you too.

This is my entry for our Weekly Challenge #2! The prompt I chose was “I can’t lose you!”

If you would like to enter click here!

_________________________

You take a huge sip of your wine and tilt your head back against the couch. You let out a sigh and tears well in your eyes. You think back to this afternoon, Andy, your lawyer had come over to discuss your case like every other day this week. You had never intended on catching feelings but the chemistry between you both was powerful and it made it hard to not become a little flirty.

You were on trial for the murder of your father, it was absurd to you that anyone could think you would ever harm your father but you were there the night he overdosed by injection and his wealth that would all be handed to you upon his death deemed you to have motive.

The pain over your loss plus the trial has slowly been swallowing you up but Andy’s support and growing friendship has kept you going through it all. He is very professional but you would be lying to say you didn’t know he has feelings for you too.

This afternoon you had a moment of weakness. He laughed across the table as he picked the mushrooms off his pizza and placed it on your plate. He would usually order his food without mushrooms but he knows how much you love them so he asks for extra and gives them all to you. He poured you another wine and got back on topic.

“Andy,” You queried, “I have to know. Do you believe I’m innocent?” Your voice shook as you asked the question you have wanted to ask since day one of working with him.

“Y/N I’m your lawyer, it doesn’t matter what I think.” He reminded you.

“I know, but it’s important to me that I know.” You pressed.

He gave you a reassuring smile and slide his hand over yours.

“There is no doubt in my mind, I know you didn’t do it.” You smile and relax your shoulders.

After dinner he stood in your kitchen washing the dishes as you cleared the table. When he was finished he dried his hands and stood with his back leaning against the sink. You finished wiping the table and walked over to place the cloth behind him in the sink, as you leant past him and drop it, your shoulders connected sending butterflies through your stomach. When you pulled back your faces were inches from each other and you felt his warm breathe on your cheek. His face nudged forward shrinking the gab between you even more.

In that moment your mind pushed all other thoughts aside and  you grabbed him, pulling his lips to yours, he kissed you back hard for a few seconds but it was quickly cut short when he pulled away shaking his head.

“I can’t.” He breathed “I’m working, this isn’t right.” You felt sick immediately. Had you just ruined everything? “I’m so sorry.” He added, looking genuinely pained. And that was it, he grabbed his brief case and left.

You cringe as you run through the memory. It was only hours ago so it was still fresh in your mind. Now you sit here alone with a bottle of red wine to drowned your sorrows and nothing else to do but drunkingly ponder on your future. Will Andy hand the case over to someone else? Your father was the only family you had, what will you do now? Will you be in jail by the end of this year?

You let out a cry and skull what’s left in your glass. You turn and open the bottle and refill desperately, When you stumble to put the bottle down your full glass slips out of your hand and soaks the lounge. “Fuck!” You cuss, but you smile when you realise the glass is fine and can easily be refilled. You go through the process again and fill your cup then falter to your feet. You walk outside and stand facing the pool with tears streaming down your face. The alcohol is invading your mind causing the worst thoughts to take over.

You skull again struggling to stand up straight then throw your empty wine glass aside letting it shatter as it hits the ground. Staring down at the freezing water you think how the sting of the cold will feel on your skin then you whimper at what may come after that… numbness. The things you would do to feel completely numb. Without a second thought you lift your arms out beside you then float forward, your body crashes into the water and you sink.

You were right, it does sting. The water was a few degrees off frozen and it instantly makes your head throb but you don’t give up on finding that feeling. You hold your breathe at the bottom of the pool and the sting slowly subsides. Now… you begin to feel numb. Your lips curl up slightly as your whole body deadens and you feel completely weightless.

You forget you have to breath and you just enjoy the silence a little longer, until a loud thud erupts through the water. You open your eyes and see a dark figure swimming down towards you. You are broken out of your trance and realise you desperately need oxygen, you were almost drowning yourself. Arms wrap under yours gripping your torso and lifts you towards the surface, when your head finally rises above the water you gasp for air and begin coughing hysterically. Your frantic fight for oxygen distracts you while Andy drags you to the step of the pool and carries you to safety. He lays you on the ground holding your head up in his lap and you begin to calm down.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Andy yells. You roll out of his arms and lean on your hands looking into the pool. You notice a rose floating in the water and your brows furrow with confusion. “What is that?” You cough. Andy follows your gaze but ignores your question.

“What are you doing at the bottom of the pool Y/N?” He presses again.

“I just wanted to go for a swim.” You nervously explain.

“You’re drunk.” He growls.

“Who cares?” You snap back.

“I do!” He informs convincingly. “I can’t lose you!”

You meet his gaze and watch the water trickle over his skin and down to his lips. Oh the things you would do to kiss him again.

“Y/N I’m sorry about this afternoon, I really am but you can’t go doing irrational things like this! Imagine if I didn’t find you.” He worries. “I didn’t mean to just walk out today but I was really confused. I care about you a lot but it’s my duty to stay professional.”

You nod as you accept his apology.

“I bought you that flower to apologise and I was going to tell you that when the trial is over and you’re a free woman then I would like to take you out for dinner.” He smiles as he notices the relief on your face.

“Really?” You mumble.

He leans down and plants a soft gently kiss on your lips. He pulls away but keeps his face close to yours.

“Consider that reassurance. But for now, that’s all.”

_______________________________

@optimistic-dinosaur-nacho​ @donutloverxo​

@cheeseburgersstuff​​ @goavengers​​ @xolovegrace​​ @randomsevans​​ @iamwhoiamtmblr​​ @chris-evans-indian-fanfic​​ @lilbabycee​​ @dailyteamcap​​ 

#captainsweeklychallenge #andy barber #Chris Evans #One Shot #Imagine #x reader #challenge #defending jacob

[toodivineforhumanmind]

chapter 1 - this will sound dumb 

chapter 2 - we need rules

chapter 3 - we’re in this mess together

chapter 4 - just don’t do anything i wouldn’t

chapter 5 - so fucking special

chapter 6  - it’ll mess everything up

WEDNESDAY 15:06

Two weeks had passed fairly quickly in Eleonora and Edoardo’s fabricated relationship bliss. Each day that passed they felt slightly more comfortable with each other, and each day they shared a bit more of themselves to each other. Every now and then Eleonora let herself sink into the relationship bliss, letting the facade fall - and to be honest, it felt nice to sometimes pretend that what they were doing wasn’t pretending. Sometimes she’d look at Edoardo, and she’d feel genuine dedication to him, and every now and then she could feel Edoardo looking at her in a way that had been very different just a few weeks ago. The line between play pretend blurred for a few seconds at a time, but Eleonora never let it go too far.

Eleonora was even making friends with some of Edoardo’s closest friends - Chicco and Federico, to be exact. The boys were surprisingly genuine and easy-going, and were very taken with Edoardo’s newest girlfriend. The two of them had revealed that Edoardo had usually dated girls that had no interest in being their friends, and usually had avoided any sort of conversation with the girls that Edoardo usually  spent time with. It felt strange to be so genuinely accepted by Edoardo’s friends, even if there was nothing genuine about their relationship. They had fooled everyone around them - maybe even themselves.

Eleonora pulled out her earphones as she approached Edoardo, Federico and Chicco on the school hallway after their last class, waving her hand at the boys as she stopped beside them. “Hi.”

“Eleonora,” Fede and Chicco said nearly in unison, their tones playful. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just passing by,” Eleonora stated with a smile as Edoardo’s arm wrapped around her almost instinctively, and he pressed a kiss or two on to the girl’s forehead - the gesture felt almost protective.

“But I did have something to tell you,” she continued, tapping Edoardo’s chest. “Filo wants to have dinner with us. Tomorrow? Around eight?”

Edoardo clicked his tongue, leaning back on his heels as he quietly relived the horror stories of family dinners at the Sava household. Shitty asparagus risottos and burnt pizza, the staples of Filo and Eleonora’s homecooking - at least according to her. “Uh, depends who’s cooking. You or Filo?”

Fede was grinning as he watched the conversation unfold, clumsily trying to stifle his laughter.  Eleonora glared at him for a fraction of a second, then turned her attention back to Edoardo beside her. “Neither. We’re ordering pizza.”

Edoardo’s worried look melted into a smile so bright his eyes twinkled, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Okay, then. I’ll be there.”

“Great!” Eleonora said, sounding genuinely excited for Filippo and Edoardo to actually meet. They had that episode that one night weeks ago, but quite frankly Eleonora had doubted they’d still be doing this little play pretend by this point, so she had never really bothered to actually let the boys to get to know each other. “But I gotta run. Eva and the girls are waiting for me, we’re getting coffee together.”

Edoardo felt truly happy to hear that Eleonora had gotten new friends, and he let it show. He squeezed Eleonora’s hand with his own, reassuring her. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Eleonora nodded, looking slightly nervous for whatever - was it the girls or tomorrow night? Edoardo couldn’t quite read her, but he stopped worrying as soon as Eleonora got up on her tippy toes and pressed a kiss on his cheek, smiling. “Bye.”’

And then she was gone, hurrying down the hallway towards doors to get to her friends. Edoardo stared at her until she was gone from his view, disappeared around the corner. And even after that he stood there, frozen, his cheek still burning from Eleonora’s kiss. Fuck.

“You guys wanna go to my place and play Fifa?” Fede interrupted Edoardo’s daydreaming, and he felt himself physically flinch.

Edoardo cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his head absent-mindedly as he forcibly tore his gaze from the spot where Eleonora had disappeared. “Sure, sure, sure.”

THURSDAY 19:47

Eleonora jumped off the couch when the doorbell rang, knowing it was Edoardo since the pizzas hey had ordered had arrived five minutes earlier. She entered the hallway and raced her way to the front door of their apartment like an excited child, making Filippo chuckle in the kitchen as he sipped his wine. Eleonora stopped at the door, taking a deep breath as she gave herself one last look in the mirror hanging on the wall; her own, agitated eyes stared back, red lips curved up into a nervous smile. Oh, let this evening be normal. Just one normal dinner. Just one.

Eleonora opened the door, and a smile twitched at the corners of her lips as soon as her eyes set on Edoardo. The boy was wearing a white shirt that was in drastic contrast with his dark curls that were now almost falling onto his eyes. He started smiling when he saw Eleonora, his eyes lingering on the girls’ features for a few, extra long moments.

“Hi,” Edoardo said.

“Hi,” Eleonora echoed breathlessly, leaning against the door.

They stood there staring at each other like complete idiots for a few more seconds until Eleonora realized to awkwardly step back to let the boy actually enter the apartment. Edoardo looked thoughtful as he pulled off his leather jacket, hanging it on the wall before looking at Eleonora again. “You look good. The lipstick, it… Suits you. You look nice.”

Eleonora chuckled as Edoardo seemed to stumble over his own words, struggling to put them in an order that didn’t make him sound like a nervous child. Eleonora looked at Edoardo, stroking one runaway curl from his eyes. “You sound nervous, Incanti.”

The boy smiled, glancing towards the kitchen where Filippo was making a lot of noise perhaps to give the two of them a private moment. Edoardo leaned down to whisper: “It’s not everyday you meet your fake-girlfriend’s brother, now is it?”

The two of them shared a silent, meaningful laughter at the whole absurdity of the situation, and Edoardo couldn’t stop himself from staring at the girl. Fuck, she was beautiful. How had it taken him so long to realize how beautiful she was? Edoardo gaze turned to his hands when he felt Eleonora’s hand grasp his, and he followed without a word as she started leading him down the hallway towards the kitchen. They stopped at the doorway, and Filippo looked up from his phone when he heard the pair enter the room. He put down his phone and got up on his feet in an awkward attempt to greet Edoardo properly.

“Hi again,” Filippo said, his tone suggestive. Filippo Sava, the flirt. He offered his hand to Edoardo, and the pair shook hand as Edoardo attempted his best to seem proper.

“Filippo,” he said as he let his free hand fall back to his side. “It’s nice to meet you again. It seems that last time Eleonora seemed to be in too much of a hurry to actually let us have a chat.”

Eleonora rolled her eyes at Edoardo, making both of the boys smirk at each other - if there was something that was easy to do, that was getting Eleonora riled up, and they both had learned the art of it. Edoardo quite quickly, which Filippo admired. And though he clearly had learned how to get under his sister’s skin, there was also something about the way he looked at her; something completely bare, something so honest yet something so well concealed. They were a strange pair, but one that made a good fit, nevertheless. It felt good to know that Eleonora was with someone who looked at her with such intensity it nearly made everyone else want to look away as if not to interrupt their private moment. And that’s what Filippo did, suddenly feeling like he was imposing.

Eleonora broke the silence in the room. “So, what do you guys wanna drink?”

Filippo raised his wine glass to signal that he was good, but Edoardo shrugged. “Beer, if you have any.”

“Well, Edoardo, there’s not a single person in this household that drinks beer, but luckily I thought ahead!” Filippo said, gesturing towards the fridge where Eleonora found a six-pack of beer that he had bought hours before.

Eleonora offered the glass bottle to Edoardo as they sat down, but before Edoardo could have the chance to thank her, his eyes noticed something on the girl’s bare upper arm. It was a black tattoo of a spider, the design in such a dark contrast with Eleonora’s light skin that it felt silly that Edoardo was just now noticing it. “You’ve got a tattoo, Sava?”

Filippo looked like he could’ve just about choke on his wine as Edoardo tried to grab at Eleonora’s arm to examine the tattoo better. Eleonora was quick to yank her arm back, and she leaned back in her chair as both of the men were now staring at her with different looks on their faces. Filippo looked like an excited child who had just won a prize, Edoardo just purely confused, his eyes still slipping back to get a second look at the tattoo on Eleonora’s arm that she had now hidden behind her back.

Filippo grabbed his wine glass, turning his gaze to Edoardo. “Do tell him, Franky.”

“Franky?” Asked Edoardo, now even more confused as his eyes kept shooting between the two siblings sitting at the table with him. Eleonora was staring at Filo, and it was clear that they were having some sort of a wordless communication that Edoardo didn’t quite comprehend: Eleonora widened her eyes, her lips pursed together. Filo merely shrugged at her, smiling.

Eleonora huffed out all the oxygen in her lungs, forcing out the words: “It’s a stupid nickname. From my second name Francesca. Filo knows that I hate it.”

“She hates all the nicknames I give her, so I like to rotate them so she doesn’t get sick of them. Franky, annoying little rat, the less attractive Sava, Che Palle…” Filippo went on and on, and Eleonora felt mortified. She buried her face into her hands, shaking her head as Edoardo chuckled next to her.

Eleonora peeked at Edoardo, her cheeks heating up. “I have never heard half of those nicknames, I swear.”

“I never said that I call you by them to your face,” Filo interrupted, taking an extended sip from his wine glass.

Edoardo followed the sibling’s bickering with an entertained smile, sipping his beer as he let the two of them go at each other at full force. Eventually, as it seemed like Filippo was ready to stand down, Edoardo asked carefully: “So… The tattoo? What’s the story behind that?”

Eleonora glanced at her hands on the table before looking at Filippo, giving her brother her wordless consent for him to tell the story. Filippo’s entire demeanour seemed to change, and he propped himself up on the chair like an excited child as he peeled his long sleeve back a few centimetres to reveal an identical tattoo on his own forearm. “See, this was a few years back when our mom found his new boyfriend and decided to move to Lecce,” Filippo started, his voice tender as he talked of the clearly touchy subject.

“And Eleonora and I were pretty crushed, of course. She was never the greatest mother, but to up and leave-“ Filippo stopped himself, shaking his head. “Anyway. I saw how sad Eleonora was, and I did what I do best. I pulled out the vodka, and we got tipsy together. And after five shots we got the genius idea of getting matching tattoos to remind ourselves that no matter what happens, there’s always something permanent in our lives.”

Eleonora cringed, the entire sentiment seeming quite dumb years later. She could feel Edoardo’s eyes on her, but she didn’t return the gaze. Instead she kept eyeing the tattoo on her arm that she often tended to forget about, remembering it only whenever other people noticed it and would point it out in their curiosity.

“And you know, it obviously felt like the greatest idea after a half bottle of vodka,” Filo continued, rolling his eyes. “And we went to this nearby tattoo parlour, which was very shady to be honest. But the dude got the job done, even though Eleonora has the pain tolerance of a toddler and nearly started crying-“

“FILO!” Eleonora interrupted, laughing. She could hear Edoardo laughing as well, and the boy glanced at her with bright eyes.

“And!” Filo kept going, not giving any notice to his sister’s protests. “That night ended up with me holding up Franky’s hair in the bathroom as she swore that she’d never drink again,” he said, glancing at Eleonora with a grin, “How’d that work out for you, again?”

Eleonora’s eyes widened at the hint of another possible embarrassing story, and yet again she called out her brother’s name to stop him from spilling out more of their drunken adventures. The siblings were sharing yet another moment of wordless conversation that this time seemed to end in Eleonora’s victory, as Filo shrugged and turned his gaze on the slice of pizza on his plate.

“I swear we’re not related in any way. He’s adopted.” Eleonora joked, her expression pained.

Filippo shook his finger in Eleonora’s face. “Actually, little rat, I called mom and she said she can’t find your birth certificate. Oops.”

Edoardo couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped through his lips when he heard Filo’s words and how they affected Eleonora: the girl shook her head again and took a bite of her pizza clearly just to stop herself from saying something she would regret. Filo followed her with his eyes, his grin widening at the sight of his sister’s frustration. He took a sip of his wine and looked at Edoardo as he said: “Honestly, Edoardo, if I we’re you I’d run for the hills.”

“Because of you, he just might,” Eleonora muttered under her breath.

Edoardo shook his head, a genuine smile twitching at his lips. “No, I’ve had my share of crazy families. I feel right at home here.”

“We are a bit crazy, aren’t we?” Filippo asked, grinning at Eleonora. “But it’s all fun and games. After all, I do love this little rat.”

The rest of the dinner was fairly peaceful, aside from the occasional quips and bickers from either Eleonora and Filippo. They were a fairly entertaining pair, Edoardo had to admit to it. And after a few hours, more than a few glasses of wine and tons of laughter later the three of them were lounging in the living room couches, Filo seemingly half-asleep.

“Edoardo, are you staying the night?” Filo asked, his eyes still closed.

Edoardo glanced at Eleonora. “Uh, no. I’m driving home.”

“Ah,” answered Filo as he scrambled up from the soft couch. He ran his hand trough his platinum hair with a yawn, eyeing his bedroom door across the hallway. “Well then, I’m off to bed. Edoardo, it was nice meeting you and so on. You two be good.”

“Same to you,” Edoardo said with a genuine smile, and Filippo left the room. Eleonora and Edoardo stayed still and quiet until they heard Filippo’s bedroom closing with a quiet thud.

Eleonora slowly got up from the couch, then offered her hand to Edoardo. The boy stayed still, looking et Eleonora. “Where are we going?

“Just trust me.”

And Edoardo did. Eleonora led her out of the livingroom and into her room, but they didn’t stay there: instead she led him out of another door that was cracked open. It lead to a roof terrace so filled with plants Edoardo had to watch where he stepped to avoid stomping on any of them. The terrace was illuminated by fairy lights hung on the wall, on the plants, anywhere you could possibly hang them. The night air was warm, calming and quiet. Edoardo was used to living so close to the city centre that he was used to the constant, defeaning noise of Rome, day and night.

This was something else. It was like its own little world, closed off from anywhere else. “Are these all your plants?”

Eleonora leaned against the edge of the terrace, her eyes peeled on the city lights before them. “Yes. Some of them are Filo’s, but it’s me who takes care of them.”

Edoardo joined her on the edge, leaning against it. For a brief second he felt nostalgic. “You’re like my mom, then. She always piled up our houses full of plants. Everytime we moved, the plants came with us. They were like a lifeline to her.”

Eleonora smiled at the though of Edoardo’s mother, suddenly remembering the coffee mug that he had been drinking from at his eyes. The same, dark curls, the same smile. Of course. “Well, I have to meet her then.”

A silence so deafeningly loud fell between the two of them, that Eleonora knew that she had said something wrong. Edoardo gave no indication of it though, with his gaze locked on the horizon as his fingers tapped on the ledge. The rhythm was irregular, and after a minute the boy finally turned to look at Eleonora. “She, uh, passed away. Car accident.”

Eleonora could physically feel her lungs run out of air, she could feel her heart skipping what must’ve been at least five beats in a row. She looked away from Edoardo, closing her eyes. “Edo, I’m so sorry,” she whispered, forcing herself to look at the boy. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

But Edoardo merely shook his head, almost smiling at the though of his mother. “Don’t worry about it. She was an amazing woman. She’d hate for us to remember her and be sad. Mom was always the life of any place she went, so I figured that’s something that should be remembered with joy rather than sadness, you know?”

It was a beautiful sentiment, it truly was. Eleonora nodded, her hand slowly brushing against Edoardo’s in the dark. “I get it. It’s nice.”

Edoardo’s hand grasped hers even though his eyes were still stuck on the view before them. His fingers started drawing patterns on Eleonora’s skin, making her shiver under his touch. Edoardo turned towards Eleonora, taking a deep breath as his eyes dropped to their joined hands - he looked almost like he wanted to get something off of his chest, but Eleonora was too nervous to look at him. Even when she could feel Edoardo’s gaze moving from their hands to her face, trying to catch her gaze with his own, she just couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Eleonora was burning. Fuck, she wanted to look at him.

And when finally did, Edoardo was there waiting for her, his gaze intense. He took a step closer, but Eleonora felt like she was frozen right where she was standing. Edoardo’s hand let go of Eleonora’s, but it moved up to brush a lock of hair from Eleonora’s face, but instead moving away he let it stay there, on her skin, burning her. And when Eleonora caught his eyes with her own, Edoardo leaned in closer, so close she could feel his cool breath tickling at her skin, making her heart race in her chest.

Edoardo’s other hand found its way on Eleonora’s waist, pulling her closer. They stood there, nearly intertwined, but too afraid of everything and anything to do anything even though Eleonora’s entire being was yearning to be closer. She was resisting every single cell in her own body, and when she finally pulled away from Edoardo, it was like tearing flesh.

“Dont,” she whispered, turning away. “It’ll just mess everything up.”

FRIDAY 13:30

After the night before, Eleonora had been actively avoiding Edoardo the entire school day. She had made sure not to cross paths with the boy, she had nearly skipped a class to avoid seeing him on the hallways. She had barricaded herself in the bathroom when she had seen Fede and Chicco approaching. Fuck, it was childish, and it wasn’t like Eleonora wanted to do it - she wanted to see Edoardo. She missed him already. She wanted to hear his laugh, he wanted to tell every single detail of her day to her. But she was terrified of last night and her own feelings. If there was something she would not be, it was another girl fallen for Edoardo Incanti’s charm.

But when Eleonora heard Edoardo’s voice echoing through the empty halls, his voice agitated, his words rough, Eleonora couldn’t stop herself from feeling worried. Why was he so upset?

It wasn’t until she peeked around the corner that she realized that the boy was conversing - or rather arguing - with Elena in one of the deserted hallways. Eleonora couldn’t stop the feeling of devastation that was quickly spreading acorss her chest, numbing her. Of course, what else had she thought? Elena was the reason that Edoardo and Eleonora were a thing, after all. It would’ve been silly to assume that the boy who would come up with a ploy this elaborate to rile up another girl would be over said girl. And even though the sight of Edoardo and Elena was like a stab straight through Eleonora’s lungs, she couldn’t help herself from listening on.

“You were the one who broke it up!” Edoardo hissed, his words sharper than knives.

Elena sighed dramatically. “What am I supposed to say? I made a mistake, Edo! People make mistakes! And I know that breaking up with you was a mistake. I realize it now.”

“You can’t do this to me again,” Edoardo said, pained. “You can’t mess with my head again. Not like this.”

“I’m not messing with anything, Edoardo! I love you.”

“What am I supposed to do? Wait for you like a little puppy dog on the off chance that you’ll leave your new boyfriend?”

“I am leaving him,” Elena said, but her small voice was unsure. “I am.”

“Whatever,” Edoardo said, groaning. Eleonora could hear his voice go quieter - he was walking away.

Eleonora felt like her heart had just about fallen out of her chest, but she couldn’t move. She was frozen, all her hopes and misguided beliefs about Edoardo suddenly shattered. Elena still had control over him, over them both - she would call, and Edoardo would answer. Fuck.

Eleonora pulled out her phone and searched Edoardo’s number from her recent contacts. She opened their WhatsApp conversation, her fingers hesitating on the keyboard. What the fuck was she supposed to say? Hey, you almost kissed me last night but today you’re basically ready to take back your ex-girlfriend, and I know this because I was listening on your private conversation? Ugh. Eleonora sighed, then figuring that it would be easier to give no context or explanation whatsoever - a sharp, clean cut.

Eleonora Sava I don’t think we should keep doing this.

Edoardo Incanti What do you mean?

Eleonora Sava This thing. We should just end it. I’ve got new friends, Elena is officially jealous. We’re good. I think we’re done.

Edoardo Incanti Ele, don’t do this. You can’t do this now. There’s still the pool party tomorrow, you’d promise you’d come.

Fuck. The pool party. Fucking hell, Eleonora had forgotten all about it. She hesitated on her message again, erasing it multiple times before finally writing:

Fine. But after that we tell everyone that it’s over.

#incantava #skamit #skam italia #eleonora sava #edoardo incanti #eleonora x edoardo #edoardo x eleonora #skamit fanfic #skam fanfic #skam italia fanfic #incantava fanfic #skamit au #skam au #incantava au

[1dliveshere]

The Last Summer Ch.6

Before the sun was even up Kayla decided it would be a great idea to make muffins for everyone. The smell of blueberry muffins awoke Niall and Alyssa.

“Are those Kayla’s famous blueberry muffins I smell?!” Niall and Alyssa yelled in unison.

“Of course they are” Kayla laughed, “I’ve been making them ever since we became friends 7 years ago.”

As everyone began to make their way into the living area Kayla happened to look outside, “Y’all we should go watch the sunrise from the top of the RV while eating breakfast!”

“Kayla you sound like a seven year old that just got told they were going to a candy store”

“Louis, says the person that acts like said 7 year old”

After everyone got their breakfast they headed out of the RV.

“I just have one question how the heck do we get up to the top of the RV??”

All the boys looked at each other and knew exactly what to do. Each one wakes up to their girlfriend and picked them up and attempted lifting them up.

After struggling for 2 minutes and making all sorts of grunting sounds the boys finally gave up.

“You know what us girls got you. Time to put our cheer into practice ladies.”

“Letssss goooooo” Alyssa yelled across the parking lot.

All at once the girls ran over to where Zayn was standing and got into their forms and lifted Zayn all the way to the roof of the RV.

“What the fre-woah it looks so cool from up here.”

After quickly boosting all the boys up to the roof they all helped one another up there too until it got down to Kayla and Alyssa.

“Well crap how the heck are we going to get up there?” Alyssa looked at Kayla.

“I got you boo. It’s time to bust out the two people pyramid.” Kayla smirked

A bunch of high pitched ooooooos left the girls mouths while the guys looked at one another with confused expressions.

Kayla quickly got on her hands and knees while alyssa climbed on top of her back. Slowly Kayla started rising while Alyssa transitioned her feet to Kayla’s shoulders and then head. Kayla slowly starts to stand up while screaming.

“This seems like a really bad idea.” Liam states.

“No Sh-dip Sherlock”

After screaming for literally 30 seconds Kayla got Alyssa on top of the RV. Alyssa then proceeds to lay on her stomach while the other girls lower her down the side of the vehicle. Kayla grabs Alyssa’s hand and uses it as a climbing rope while walked up the side of the RV.

“FREAKING YOU DID NOT JUST PUT YOUR FREAKING DIRTY DIRTBAG SHOES ON THE SIDE OFMY FREAKING SPARKLING RV”

“Take a chill pill. At least we are all up here and have everything we need.”

“Uhh I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but....... I forgot the milk”

“Louis you had ONE freaking job” Kayla pointed at Louis.

“Wait I got you” Louis approaches the windshield and slides down it onto the ground. Leaving a streaky butt mark all the way.

Harry makes a shocked face and is frozen like that until Louis appears with the milk.

“Great now we have to go to the car wash” Harry grunts.

After sitting and watching the sunset everyone slides down like Louis did to go get ready.

***

“I don’t know what to wear” Alyssa flopped on the bed in the master bedroom.

“We just washed all of our clothes, how could you not know what to wear?” Kayla looked at Alyssa through the mirror as she finished her makeup.

“It’s not that I don’t have anything to wear. It’s just I don’t know what to wear. What are you going to wear?”

“My light washed ripped jeans, with this button up shirt, and my white converse.”

“You’re going to look hot boo”

“Thanks girl” Kayla smiled and laughed “I’ll help you pick something out”

Kayla chucked Alyssa’s suitcase onto the bed and started digging through it.

“How about this?” Kayla help up a pair of green pants, a graphic tee, and white shoes?”

“How the heck do you do that? I’ve been staring at that same suitcase for twenty minutes and found nothing.”

“I’m just that talented.”

After quickly applying some light makeup and fixing their hair, the girls were ready.

“Finally. We can go.” Louis breathed out.

“Oh shut of Louis, you are usually the last one done so this is a first.”

After the short drive to the Sunflower Field everyone hopped off the bus. Surprisingly it wasn’t super busy. They appeared to be the only people there besides the woman that owned it.

“Hello! I need 10 tickets please.” Harry flashed his signature smile at the lady.

“That will be $30”

After exchanging the money for the tickets the group was off to the beginning of the maze.

“Okay according to this sign the maze is 2 miles long. So luckily it won’t be too difficult.”

“Speak for yourself” Kayla laughed. “Liam you are in tip top shape so even if it was 12 miles you would still say that.”

“Guys I just had a great idea!”

“What is it Maya?”

“What if all the couples have a competition? We all time ourselves to see who makes it out on the other side first.”

“That’s a great idea! Let’s do it!” Gigi whips out her phone.

After everyone was paired with their boyfriend/girlfriend they all started their phone timers and took off running in different directions. Everyone was yelling so loudly to each other that you could hear their voices coming from inside the maze.

“Liam we need to turn this way!”

“Maya are you sure??”

“Harry run!!!!”

“Watch out for that bee Louis!!”

“Ahhhhh”

“I’m so freaking confused Alyssa”

“Me too Niall!”

“We just went in a giant circle!”

Everyone beside Louis and Eleanor had made it out on the other side.

“What is taking them so long?” questioned Zayn.

While everyone was discussing where they had gone their conversation was interrupted by a screaming Louis.

“Guys!!!!!! Run!!!!!”

Without even questioning what was happening the whole group took sprinting as fast as possible to the RV. Once inside Harry slammed the door shut.

Once everyone caught their breath they all turned to Louis.

“What was that all about?!”

“Louis here thought it be a good idea to knock a beehive down.”

“Eleanor I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“How’d you manage to do that?” Liam asked through laughter.

“I couldn’t stop running and I ran into a tree and knocked it down.” Louis sheepishly responsed. “Whoopsie”

“Oh my gosh Louis” Gigi cackled.

“Can we just forget that happened? Wasn’t my brightest moment.”

“Sure thing Lou” Kayla smiled.

“Well that was fun! I’m starving though so can we get food?”

“You’re wish is my command Niall. Kayla, I’m sick of driving, will you drive for a little bit?”

“Yeah that’s fine babe.”

Once everyone was seated and ready to hit the road again, Kayla headed to the local Walmart to stock up on food.

The sun was just setting as they approached Walmart. Luckily it appeared Walmart was not busy at all.

“Okay, Kayla and Harry, you are in charge of healthy food; Alyssa and Niall, you are in charge of junk food; and the rest of us will get drinks and any other stuff we need.” Liam spoke quite proud of himself that he had everything organized.

Everyone that was listen went running in all different directions to get to the aisle they needed.

Kayla and Harry bought fruit,veggies, and some other healthy snacks.

Alyssa and Niall bought chips, chocolate, and ice cream; quite the combination.

Everyone else bought pop, water, milk, and random snackage because they knew the other two couples wouldn’t buy enough to live on.

Everyone met back at the cash register to pay for it. Harry insisted on paying for everything.

“Harry you are not going to spend $100 on food for us.”

“Liam shut up. I can do what I want.” Harry smirked as he quickly gave the card to the cashier.

All the boys refused to let the girls carry anything so they all had bags piled on both of their arms as they ran across the parking lot. Once inside everyone out the groceries away and made supper.

“What’s on the menu tonight M’lady?” Zayn tipped an imaginary hat towards Gigi.

“Well I’m making baking chicken with honey mustard dressing and then we are having side salads.”

“I’m happy we brought you. Without you we would eat pizza every night” Niall laughed, “not that I’d complain or anything.”

During dinner everyone was spread all over the RV. Kayla and Alyssa were in the front; Zayn, Gigi, and Niall were on one couch; Harry, Louis, and Eleanor were on the other couch; and Liam and Maya were at the table.

The conversation was filled with fun things they had done throughout the day and things they wanted to do during this trip. Liam was currently discussing how he had never been to Chicago in his entire life.

“Liam that’s literally so random. I’ve been to Chicago at least 10 times.”

“Well that’s easy for you Harold. Your sister goes to college there.”

“I didn’t realize Gemma was going to Chicago University.” Gigi half yelled, “we should go visit her.”

“Oh my gosh Harry we should!! Cmon I’ll even drive.”

“I don’t know guys. She might not want to see us all.” Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh come on. It’s Gemma! She loves us!” Alyssa smiled.

“Ok ok. Fine. We can go for a couple days. That way I can see her and Liam can see Chicago.”

The whole bus erupted in cheers.

“Plus I’ve heard Chicago clubs really know how to party.” Louis wiggles his eyebrows.

“Umm Lou, in case you forgot, we aren’t old enough.”

“Don’t worry Eleanor. I got that covered.”

Everyone looked at one another, eyes filled with excitement and confusion at what Louis had just said.

All of the girls pitched in to clean up the kitchen. While Kayla headed towards the interstate that would take them straight into Chicago.

Niall called all the boys to follow him into the back bedroom because he has news. The girls were extremely confused why they all ditched them.

Once all the boys were in the room, Niall shut the door and turned to look at them. “I’ve made a life changing decision. I’m going to ask Alyssa to marry me.”

[boymeetsweevil]

For Science 5/7

Grouping: Reader x Nerd!JK 

Word Count: 17.5k haha wtf (NSFW)

Warnings/Themes: omg okay swearing, Boobies, graphic-ish Cunnilingus, endangement of Hoseok’s chin, Spit :/, Masturbation, mentions of porn haha, Making out, (Hoseok’s) male gaze??? Idiot!Kook, Jealous!Kook, Violence? (lmao it was very mild violence and mention of blood but not graphic), gratuitous use of soap-opera level drama

Summary: Jungkook asks you to let him watch you get off. For science.

A/N: I’m tagging  @m-icdrop , @jiminslye , @ephemeral-mindset, @sugarandpoppy, @monstar95, @sweetestkth, @limitlesxxsxx, @simplyfinessin, @park-geemin to let you know that this is here! If any of you would like to stop being tagged with each FS update, let me know. And if anyone would like to be added to the tag list, also let me know :)

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 6, part 7

Being a good friend, as you’re realizing now, is so terribly hard and you wish someone had told you earlier in life so you could make the informed choice of becoming a nun. Or maybe just a plain old hermit.

Either way, waking up in the middle of Yoori’s bedroom finds you feeling less rested than you would have liked. Probably because you dreamt that you had been transfigured into a dog by Hoseok wearing a witch’s costume and forced to be the family pet to Yoori and Jungkook’s 16 children. You end up waking with a jolt, still in Yoori’s bed and covered in cold sweat, wanting nothing more than to go home and leave everything at school behind. 

Still, you soldier through the rest of the night, staring at your laptop instead of doing work, only eating half of the pizza she ordered for you and numbly carrying a large Tupperware container that held the leftovers back to your apartment.

You end up eating the pizza for breakfast the following morning in some meagre effort to comfort yourself. Nothing helps, though. Not using the special body wash that you usually reserved for special occasions. Not putting on the velvet joggers you wore when you needed a pick-me-up. So, you try going in the opposite direction. Instead of putting in extra effort, you put in zero. You don’t bother stressing about putting your hair into an intricate style so you’ll look more put together. You don’t bother trying to buff your skin to a shining, baby glow. Instead you slather your face in moisturizer and throw your hair into a bun, which seems to do the trick. Giving up on some of the tinier details that would often gnaw at the edges of your collectedness improves your mood slightly. So does taking the rest of the pizza in with you for lunch.

The universe takes pity on you and the day goes by quickly. On Friday, It feels almost as though you only blinked but now the sun was setting around 4:30, as had become habit.

You wipe the drool that was pooling at the corner of your mouth while you tried some old number theory problem sets from a class you took freshman year. It had been difficult because you’d forgotten how shitty proofs can be, but it had also been just the time sink you needed.

Coming to the usual study spot you and Yoori established a few hours prior was bittersweet. Normally she would be there, perhaps with a steaming mug of something calming waiting for you, ready to work in companionable silence with gossip breaks sprinkled in between. Today, she wasn’t there, so you had the whole table to yourself. You sit in her chair to throw some novelty into the mix. And because you miss her. But now that your momentum is broken, you decide to turn to the window instead of people watching. Even though there’s none of the softly falling snow Yoori always raves about, the view is still nice.

The last few rays of the winter sun are stretching out, leaving the campus bathed in blood orange light and catching the reflective parts of the packed snow on the ground. There’s something picturesque about the way the campus pond, now frozen, sits in the center of the landscape and frames the sheet of mountains running in the distance. But it feels very lonely as well.  

You check your phone and find no text messages from Jungkook and only one from Yoori asking if you have plans for Saturday night. You tell her no and begin packing up.

Normally, you’re not a big going out person, but you find your lack of plans for this weekend a little bothersome. You know Jungkook and Yoori will obviously be busy that evening, and perhaps even the whole weekend. But that leaves you with Taehyung and Hoseok to have a good time and the prospects for that seem weak. You try sending a text to the two of them asking if a bar sounded like a fun idea but Hoseok messages back that he already bought drinks for tonight. You suppose you’ll have to try again next weekend.

Taehyung’s words of assurance about how Jungkook suddenly getting a girlfriend wouldn’t change the group dynamic float into you’re head. But you’re not so sure you believe them in this moment. Things don’t seem as fun and you’re not sure if it’s just because you’ve spent the whole day moping or if it’s because Jungkook has been carrying the group dynamic on his back the whole time and you never even noticed until now.

It’s a frightening thought and it’s also a little unfair to Hoseok and Taehyung. Although you’re not as close to them as you are to Jungkook, it’s not like they’re strangers. You’ve spent a great deal of time on your own with both of them, and even though you fight with Hoseok from time to time, you have made some nice memories with the both of them.

As you walk to Taehyung’s apartment for game night, you’re reminded of the times you’ve spent with the both of them. Like when you needed to fulfill your PE requirement for the year, so you and Hoseok took a snowboarding class together. You can admit, albeit reluctantly, that you bonded over many nights of numb toes and icing each other’s injuries. There’s also the time that you and Taehyung thought learning Russian would be a fun idea. You ended up leaving the Russian club after the first weekly meeting, but Taehyung still goes and is now the club Treasurer. It had been a fun hour of your life, though.

“Hey,” Taehyung chirps when you finally arrive at his apartment.

“Hey!” You fling yourself at him, full of emotion from the walk down memory lane you just took. He’s stiff in your arms for a moment, but settles into the hug after a beat.

“What’s this all about?” He chuckles, patting your back affectionately.

You extricate yourself from him and drop your things at the doorway before turning to Hoseok with a determined look. He snorts at you but doesn’t try to hide from your grabby hands, much to your surprise.

“I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m really glad we’re all friends. You mean a lot to me,” you mumble into the collar of Hoseok’s shirt as you press wrap him in a sincere hug.

“Are you not wearing a bra?”

“Except you,” you push him off you roughly. “Not you. I don’t like you.”

“Aw, come on!” He grins wryly at you from the floor. “You know you like me.”

You make a show of brushing the residue of your hug off the thin and oversized sweater you’re wearing. “No, sorry. I was a different person 20 seconds ago. I’ve changed. I’m better now.”

Hoseok hops up and chases you around Taehyung’s tiny dining room table until he manages to trap you in a corner by the kitchen entrance and wrangle you into a bear hug. You play dead to deter him, but instead he just laughs at the limp way your feet drag on the floor and waddles with you still in his grasp to the living room. Taehyung looks for the right game to play.

He chooses Wii Resort, which is not even remotely close to being your favorite, so you sit out and let the third controller lay unused on the ground. Instead you find yourself seated with your back against Hoseok’s chest in the La-Z boy, feet stretched out to rest in Taehyung’s lap as he sits on the matching ottoman.

“It’s fucking freezing in here,” you whine.

“I told you to wear layers. I’m trying to lower my utility bill,” is all Taehyung says as he moves his mii into yet another jungle setting for a mini game.

You pout. “This sucks.”

“It really doesn’t,” Hoseok interjects, “This is one of the better game nights we’ve had in a while.”

“You’re just saying that because this is the only time you’ve been able to win at a game.”

“Be nice to Hobi.” One of Taehyung’s hands drop down to dig into the arch of your foot as a warning. You squeal, knee kicking out wildly and without your permission, forcing your head to crack back against Hoseok’s chin.

“Ow! Fuck! What the hell is wrong with you, Tae?” Hoseok reaches up to clutch at his face, controller falling into your lap.

“Dude, I was defending you! How is this my fault?”

“You know it’s against the rules to tickle her when another person’s nearby unless it’s a tag-team.” He whines and taps you on the shoulder. You turn to face him sheepishly, knowing it’s partially your fault too. “Am I bleeding?”

“Thankfully, no,” you coo after a careful inspection. “But if that were any higher up on my leg, I don’t think you’d still have a face.”

“I know.” 

You pat his hair soothingly, but turn back around soon after Hoseok stops cradling his face. “Maybe we should call it a night.”

“We can’t! I’m not even buzzed yet. And we haven’t gone all the way around the board.”

“Tae, this game is trash. I don’t want to just sit and watch.”

He waves a hand dismissively, unpausing the game without even looking at you. “It’s not my fault you’re a fake Nintendo fan.”

“Ooh, are you gonna take that,” Hoseok’s eyes widen at Taehyung’s comment.

“I’m not even gonna dignify that with a response,” you sniff. Reaching out, you grab at the closest, non-empty beer bottle you can reach and take a swig. “But I am gonna get going so you can enjoy your shitty game by yourselves.”

“Come on!” Hoseok whines again from above you and from your vantage point it looks like his face is starting to swell. You silently hope that it doesn’t get bad until after you leave. “You can’t leave. Then it’ll just be two guys playing Wii resort.”

“Arriving in 13 minutes.” You burrow further into his chest to steal some warmth for a minute. You vow that the first thing you’re doing once you get home is taking a hot shower.

“Let her go, Hob. She’s not cool like us.”

Taehyung’s Mii reaches the top of the mountain at that moment. The victory cry he releases is entirely too loud and definitely not appropriate for someone only playing Wii Resort. He gets up from his chair and starts gyrating at the TV where Hoseok’s mii is crying large blue tears.

“Congrats on your victory. I’m out.”

The ride home turns out to be less relieving and more depressing as you get closer and closer to your apartment. Jungkook and Yoori are probably somewhere having an amazing date and will probably then go have amazing virginal sex in the backseat of Hoseok’s frat brothers’ car that Jungkook borrowed for the occasion. Taehyung and Hoseok actually like Wii Resort and will probably spend the rest of the night getting drunk off their asses playing that and having more fun than is objectively reasonable. Meanwhile you will probably stand naked and shivering in your bathroom for, like, 8 whole minutes waiting for hot water to make it through your plumbing.

Nothing like depressing thoughts to start your weekend off well.

Perhaps the universe decided to take pity on you once again because when you get home and disrobe, you only have to wait 6 minutes for the hot water. And it doesn’t run out after another 5. You also let yourself sing loudly to your Spotify ballad playlist titled ‘lady heartbreak’. Normally, you only cry to that playlist, so you think of it as personal growth.

Once you’re out the shower and your voice is hoarse from the ‘singing’, you change into light pajamas. Despite the fact that your heater is fixed, you still keep it firing at almost full blast because you prefer the heat to the cold.

Before you can flip back the covers on your bed when you hear a loud knock on your door. You figure its either Taehyung or Hoseok, or both of them, looking for something to do now that the game has lost its charm after a million rounds. But a quick glance at your phone shows no text messages from them saying that they’d be stopping by, which they usually do. The door thumps like someone’s body is slamming against it and you pray that its one of your stupid friends just being inconsiderate and disorderly.

You’re about to leave your room to see who’s at your door when another loud sound startles you. Its as if someone is carefully trying to rattle the window leading to your fire escape. All the while the loud knocking at your front door continues to ring through the apartment. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re certain you saw a news special about something like this. Pairs of burglars come to innocent women’s houses after they’ve stalked them long enough to learn their schedule and see if they live alone. Then they both show up to the house at different spots to distract the victim and break in more efficiently.

In this scenario, you’re certain they’re expecting you to go to the front door. But you’re smart, dammit. You decide to give them a surprise and approach the window first instead, phone clutched in your hand with the police a button-press away. You yank back the curtains and quickly activate your flashlight mode to see who is trying to break into your house. The pair of wide eyes that greet you back almost make your drop your phone.

“Jungkook,” you hiss incredulously.

Carefully, you unlock your window and slide it up so he can climb off the fire escape and collapse face first into your room. Clearly, he is slightly inebriated.

“What are you doing here?”

“Shh,” he sticks a finger into your face, “She’ll hear you.”

“Who’ll hear me?”

The apartment is eerily quiet when you realize that the loud knocking is replaced by jingling of keys and the sound of the front door being pushed open.

“Jeon Jungkook, who the hell is that in my house?”

“It’s Yoori,” he whispers with genuine fear in his eyes. “Crap!”

You can’t do much besides react on auto-pilot and pull back the many blankets and comforters lining your bed for him to dive under. The sound of Yoori’s slow, stumbling footsteps as they make their way into the heart of the apartment are better than any horror movie soundtrack. You find yourself diving into bed too, knees bent, hoping that you look casual and can hide Jungkook’s shape. He pokes his head out and grins at you from the shadows between your bare knees.

“Is anyone home,” Yoori calls from somewhere in the living room.

“I’m in my bedroom,” you respond. “It’s the last door on the right in the hallway.

A few moments later, Yoori is peering curiously from behind your door. You realize she still hasn’t seen your room despite the fact that she’s been to your apartment in passing a couple of times now.

“Hey, Yoori.”

“Hey. Wow,” she hiccups, “This is very you. I like the tapestries.” She turns in a circle to take in all of your room’s décor.

“Yep. So, uh, what brings you here?”

“I asked Jungkookie to drop me off here.”

“Oh, you did? Where is Jungkookie now,” you ask neutrally before casting a brief but discrete annoyed look down at Jungkook’s semi-visible face under the covers.

“I think he’s probably filling up the car’s tank. He has to return it to the fraternity before it gets too late.”

“He didn’t want to come in with you?”

“No. I told him I wanted to have some girl time with you to talk about the date. But then I got to your door and remembered that you don’t like to talk about romantic stuff like that.”

You shove your hands down into your lap and over his face so he can’t see the way yours heats up in embarrassment.

“W-well that’s just because he’s my good friend, you know. I didn’t mean much by that.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” She smiles down at you sleepily before walking over and moving like she’s going to sit with you in bed.

“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you shoot your hands out to keep her sitting.

“Why not?”

She pouts softly down at you. You wince knowing that her feet probably hurt from a night in heels and all she wants to do is sit to rest. But your loyalty lies elsewhere at the moment.

“Because…I have no pants on.”

“Really?” She grins and peeks down like she hopes to see through the blanket covering your lap. “That’s okay with me. You probably don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. And if you did, who cares?”

You decide that you won’t probe her about that and instead redirect the conversation.

“Yeah, but I’m kind of shy when it comes to that stuff.”

“That’s right. I forgot.” Yoori sighs sadly. “Maybe one day we’ll get there. That should be our next friendship goal. Getting you to feel less shy around me.”

“Y-yeah, okay.”

You watch as she swings her heels tiredly in her hand and searches for a nearby cab. She finds one relatively quickly and gives you a one-armed hug around your shoulders before scooping heading out. You wait a few more minutes, just in case she magically returns for something she left behind despite the fact that she left the spare key on your bedside desk and the front door locks from the inside automatically. Once you’re certain you won’t be found out, you rip the sheets back angrily.

“Explain yourself quickly, Jeon.”

Jungkook squints up at you now that the dark cover of your blankets isn’t shielding his eyes anymore. He’s lying on his stomach between your bent legs, propped up on his elbows. It’s a compromising position that you’re glad Yoori didn’t catch you in.

“I told her I needed to fill the tank, but I told her I was doing it at the gas station on 5th street instead of the one across the street from here.” He grins up at your cheekily like he’s done something extra clever.

“Yeah, I figured as much. But why did you do that? And then why did you risk falling 20 feet to climb up the fire escape and come in through the window.”

“I wanted to hang out. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in a while.” His hand reaches out to stroke at the expanse of your bare thigh.

“Jungkook, you’re dating Yoori,” you sigh and move your leg away. “The weekend stays are over now.”

“We’re taking it slow, though.”

“Not slow enough for this to still be a thing.”

“It is slow enough.” At your raised eyebrows, he stammers. “We-we haven’t even held hands yet.”

“Really,” you can’t help but ask. The pang of satisfaction you feel knowing that Jungkook still hasn’t taken things further with Yoori makes you feel a bit guilty. But you can’t help it.

“Really. So we can still do this, right?”

“I don’t know, Kook.” Your lip ends up tucked between your teeth in indecisiveness.

“Please? I missed you,” he whispers quietly. It’s all you’ve ever wanted to hear from him and you give a quick nod lest you start shrieking from joy if you open your mouth.

He shuffles until he can pull you closer by the hips. When you’re on a slight incline, your multiple pillows holding you up, Jungkook removes his glasses. You watch silently as he places them next to the spare keys before leaning into your space, eyes dropping closed.

You let your jaw relax in anticipation of his mouth. But you’re surprised when the first thing you feel is the dry press of his lips to your cheek. It’s sweeter than you were expecting, but you’re not complaining. Eventually he makes his way over to your mouth and begins kissing you in earnest. Small pecks transform into languid caresses of his lips over yours. Your tongue comes out to swipe at the seam of his lips and he immediately opens up to let you in, groaning at the feeling of you in his mouth.

He lets a sharp breath leave his nose and surges forward, pressing himself to you as close as he can after having shuffled you even closer so he could lean over you. When you suck on his bottom lip, he lets out a low snarling sound. His hands come down to clamp onto your waist like a warm vice. Carefully, you entangle the fingers of one hand in his hair, while the other smooths down the curve of his broad shoulders. The feeling of the muscles in his back flexing under your hand is a feeling you didn’t realize you could take for granted. But somehow you have because its amazing to have it back.

The two of you make out for a while. Jungkook tastes of dessert wine and cheesecake. Its not necessarily a combination that you find unpleasant, but it reminds you that he just came back from a date. And while he left that date and came straight to you, you still don’t like it. You kiss him harder with the hopes that it’ll take away the remnants of his time out with another girl. A girl who is your friend. He whines and lets you ravage his mouth. Little do you know that each swipe of your tongue against his own has his growing harder in his slacks.

“Wait a minute,” he gasps against your mouth before slowing down a bit by planting small kisses on the hinge of your jaw and the soft skin of your throat.

“Too fast?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles bashfully.

You’re content to let him come back down from his fast-approaching high by sucking lightly on the skin near the collar of your white tshirt. There will probably be some light bruising that you’ll have to cover up if you’re still going out with Yoori tomorrow, but you don’t care about that right now. Instead you’d rather revel in the sensation of Jungkook’s traveling kisses. Though they started at the hollow of your throat, they’ve collected on your clavicle and he’s now trailing them over the fabric of your shirt by your sternum. It’s sweet.

And then its suddenly not so sweet as you feel his heated breaths puff over your nipple.

Obviously, you’re turned on and you’re not wearing a bra because you thought you were going straight to sleep. So its completely understandable why your nipples would be hard, then. What you’re not certain of is what Jungkook is planning. He’s no longer continuously pressing kisses into the shirt and is now sporadically planting them around the stiff peak that is raising your shirt material slightly, just breathing heavily over it. The heat you feel doesn’t do anything to calm you down and instead it has you squirming in his hold.

One of his hands comes up to rest some of his weight on your shoulder, effectively keeping you flat to the bed. A quick glance at him has your breath hitching loudly in your throat. He’s staring intently down at your breast, like he’s trying to make a tough choice. The moment is so thick that you don’t dare move. Not to encourage him nor to inquire what he plans. Instead you lay with bated breath, watching him slowly descend the last few inches. You squeeze your eyes shut milliseconds before his mouth envelopes your covered nipple.

“Oh shit,” you curse quietly.

Despite the thin cotton barrier, you can feel very clearly the hot, wet pressure of his tongue swirling around your nipple. All of the movements so far are experimental, hesitant in their rhythm. He hollows his cheeks softly and sucks and all of the sudden a long, drawn out moan leaves you. It gives him the confidence he needs to take his free hand and pinch at the other side, fingers mimicking the rhythm his mouth is setting over you.

Quickly, though, the shirt becomes unbearable and you get annoyed at the thought that such a stupid barrier exists between you and Jungkook’s mouth. You wriggle resolutely under him until he huffs in annoyance and pulls away to see why you’re interrupting him. When he sees that you’re merely hiking the shirt’s hem up to your armpits and exposing your breasts to him, he hums contentedly. He swoops back in, this time to the other side, and begins laving at the tightened bud. Your hands scrabble for purchase and eventually make their way back to his neck again.

“Jungkook,” you breathe raggedly into the crown of his head.

“Hmm?”

“What’s the—mmh fuck—the occasion for all this?”

He comes up with a slick popping sound, looking up at you with dark and hooded eyes. The sight sends a bolt of arousal to your core.

“Just been wanting to.” With that, he returns to making a mess of your chest.

Somehow, in the series of achingly long minutes that follow, you manage to get his button down and undershirt off. The sight of the smooth planes of his skin make your hands itch to feel him. You try to pull him up so you can have better access, but he won’t budge as he begins to kiss lower once both of your breasts have been thoroughly marked. You give up and try to predict what he’ll do next as he digs his fingers into your waist appreciatively and kisses a ring around your belly button.

He proceeds lower, his destination becoming increasingly obvious as he playfully flicks at the tiny ribbon decorating the front of your panties before halting. Tentatively, he pushes an index finger underneath the elastic lining where your thigh meets groin. You can feel what you suppose is the puff of his breath across the crotch of your panties.

“Can I—”

“No,” you blurt, legs snapping closed. Jungkook scoots back just at the right time to save his head from being crushed. “S-sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” He runs a hand through his hair nervously. “Do you just…not like it?”

“I’ve actually, uh, never…” you trail off until the words are lost in the mounds of pillows surrounding your head.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve never really had anyone go down on me before.”

“Really?” His eyebrows shoot up behind his slightly damp bangs. “Not even with Yugyeom?”

You wince at the mention of your ex. Yugyeom had been your first and only boyfriend and you had a good run and even what most would call an amicable breakup. But one of the more bitter moments was the one time you’d attempted to get him to go down on you only for him to wrinkle his nose and tell you ‘he wasn’t into that sort of thing’.

“He just wasn’t interested.”

Jungkook nods understandingly for a minute before his gaze is drawn to the space at the apex of your clenched thighs again.

“Are you? Interested?” His tone is heavy with implication and the way he casually hovers over you while sitting back on his heels just makes you feel tiny.

“I-I mean, I guess I am,” you stutter.

“Okay.” He gets back onto his stomach, hands gently prying your knees apart until there’s enough room to accommodate his broad shoulders. “So can I?”

“Go for it.” Your words come out in a squeak.

“Thanks,” he smiles softly.

You can’t see anything because you’ve thrown an arm over your eyes self-consciously. Normally, these moments between the two of you have your stomach in knots for a different reason, but now you’re just plain nervous. You’re diligent about hygiene and you remind yourself that you just took a shower. But it had just been a normal shower and not a booty-call shower. What if he thought you smelled weird? Or that you tasted weird? For some reason, this felt more intimate than all the times before this where he was merely watching and you were the one doing the work down there.

Jungkook hooks his fingers into the waist band of your underwear, pulling it down with your help when you lift your butt. You bite your lip nervously and lift your arm slightly so you can watch his reaction.

He doesn’t have any sort of adverse reaction once you’re completely bare in front of him, though you suppose he’s familiar enough not to act surprised by anything. But you’re not expecting him to dive in suddenly until he’s less than an inch away from your sticky folds. You shouldn’t be embarrassed that you got turned on from making out, but it’s like everything has flipped and suddenly you know how he felt during those first few times together.

You can’t take the silence anymore. “What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re so quiet.”

“I’m just trying to decide what to do first.”

“Oh. Sorry I can’t be of service.”

He smiles at how awkward you’re being before moving a tiny bit closer and taking a large inhale. Your eyes widen and you move to clamp your legs closed to shut him out, but he’s ready this time. One hand presses down on your pelvis while the other one presses on your hip, effectively pinning you to the bed.

“Calm down. It’s just me,” he whispers before inhaling deeply once. Twice. Three times more. All the while you can’t help but squirm. But he only increases the pressure of his hands with each antsy wiggle of your hips.

As soon as you decide to be still again, he releases your hip to spread you open with two fingers and presses a gentle kiss to your clit. You nearly jump off the bed at the foreign sensation.

“Jungkook, wait, I—” but you don’t manage to get the words out before he kisses you again.

This time his tongue flicks out to collect some of arousal that’s been steadily collecting despite your nerves. As soon as the flavor spreads on his tongue, he freezes. You wonder for a moment if he’s going to pull back and say he’s made a mistake. But then he surges forward again and begins licking broad stripes across you, catching your clit every so often.

He watches you carefully to gauge your reactions to what he’s doing. Taking in your heated face and dewy skin, he deduces he’s going in the right direction. And when he drags the flat of his tongue over your entrance as if to drink from you, your lip automatically gets stuck between your teeth and your eyes flutter shut. It’s a good series of reactions, but he wants more from you. He wants to get you to do that thing where your back curves up off the mattress or get your hands to scrabble at his arms to ground you while you shake under him.

“Oh god. Right there,” you gasp when he wraps his lips around your clit randomly and sucks.

Jungkook nods resolutely before re-wetting his lips and repeating the action. You moan loudly when his tongue brushes against you in the midst of the suction. Your hand finds its way to the back of his head and presses until the lower half of his face is almost entirely flush with you. You remove your hand almost immediately once you realize what you’re doing.

“Sorry,” you mumble, “I got carried away.”

He pulls back with a wide grin and shining cheeks. “It’s okay. It’s good to know its going well.”

Your hand falls back down to rest tentatively near his head. You watch the shining brown mop of his hair return to bobbing between your legs and feel another rush of arousal gush forth. Even if you couldn’t feel it, Jungkook’s following groan of pleasant surprise and the wet sounds that follow have your eyes rolling to the ceiling partly out of acute pleasure and partly out of disbelief. Why couldn’t your life always be this nice and worry-free?

Jungkook’s gently circling fingers around your entrance have you snapping back to the present. You wonder if tonight is going to continue being a night of firsts when you remember that Jungkook probably hasn’t done much ‘internal’ work.

“Would it be too much?” Even though he doesn’t specify, you know what he’s asking.

“Just go slow.”

You’re already quickly approaching an orgasm, but hopefully this will get you there quicker. You feel almost sluggish with the fiery heat that’s seemingly been spreading from your core to the rest of your body in time with each pulse of his tongue. But when he inserts the first finger, you feel impossibly warmer.

His jaw drops open as your warm heat envelopes his digit immediately in a wet, vice-like grip. He can only imagine what it would feel like if he could be inside you the way he wanted to be, but even that pale phantom grip in the back of his mind is enough to have him bucking into the mattress. He leans in to press lingering kisses to your lower lips while twisting his wrist in matching time. Soon you’re clutching at his shoulders, gripping his hair, kicking your feet anxiously as your high approaches. You can almost taste it and stars are collecting in the corners of your vision as Jungkook continues to lap at your center messily. As if he can read your mind, he withdraws only to enter again with two fingers this time. It’s just enough thickness to stretch you the way you want, but the angle is off.

“Jungkook.”

“Hmm?”

“Bend your fingers back and press up.”

“Like this,” he asks while making some motion, concentration creasing his brows.

You quickly reach down and re-orient his wrist. With great care, he reproduces the motions at the new angle and delights in the fact that you’re now quaking above him. Broken variations of his name tumble from your lips as the waves of your orgasm take over. Your legs kicks out as they characteristically do and so he positions them to hang more safely over his shoulders, despite the fact that your ankles tickle at his sides. He presses a chaste kiss against the skin of your inner thigh and hopes you don’t notice the way he nuzzles into the skin to wipe his face off a bit.

When you’re limp and your breathing has returned back to normal, he crawls over your legs to lay beside you.

“Was that good?”

You turn to face him and take in his sweaty face and pleased expression. You roll your eyes and shove at his chest, but he just grabs your hand and squeezes it before releasing it.

“It was good. But don’t get a big head, you still have to climb back out the window later.”

“Am I banned from the door?”

“I’m still mad you decided it would be a good idea to climb the fire escape when you’d clearly been drinking.”

“Not a lot, though. I was still able to drive.”

“That’s not something you should advertise,” you laugh.

He shifts a little awkwardly next to you and you realize he might not have gotten the same thing you did from eating you out. He notices where your gaze travels and grins shyly, shoving a spare throw pillow over the tent in his slacks.

“Ah, sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I just wish I wasn’t so tired. Otherwise, I could—”

“Don’t feel like you have to. I was just gonna take care of it myself.”

“Oh. Like, right now?”

“Yeah? If that’s okay.”

“Okay.”

You sit back and watch as he slowly shirks off his dress pants and briefs in one go. His erection springs forward and from the almost angry red flush across the shaft, you figure he must have been pretty uncomfortable. He strokes it absent-mindedly and realizes that he doesn’t have any lube before turning to you.

“You wanna do the honors,” he asks with his palm out. It takes you a while to understand what he’s asking.

“Like, you want me to…?”

“Yeah.”

With all your remaining energy, you attempt to spit into his palm in an attractive manner. You’re not sure if you succeed, because as soon as you’re done he gets to business. The way he moves his hand over his length is rough and fast. Almost as if he’s trying to play catch up; not necessarily with you, but maybe with himself. With whatever thoughts had been plaguing him earlier while you came on his fingers and tongue. His breath leaves him in little punched gasps and the sounds are so pleasing that you lean forward and capture his lips with your own.

You wouldn’t quite call what you’re doing kissing. It’s more like a series of brushes of lips as his erratic hand movements cause him to move in and out of your space. Though he occasionally stops to steal a few kisses, they only seem to egg him on further until he can only touch his forehead to yours while he brings himself over the edge, spilling into his hand.

“Better?” You pull away to grab some wet wipes out of the side table drawer.

“Definitely,” he sighs. “I can put these sheets in the wash before I go, if you want.”

“Oh,” you blink up at him. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I have to get some sleep. I promised Yoori I’d take her to breakfast at Dreamies.”

“Wow. You’re taking her to Dreamies? Are you sure you’re not more serious than you’ve been letting on?”

“It’s not like that,” he laughs stiffly as he tugs on his clothes. “We’re getting food to-go and then going to a butterfly garden.”

“Well, that sounds fun too.”

You can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Dreamies is the diner you and the rest of the group frequent when you’ve all done too much drinking the night before and need good hangover food. It’s also open 24 hours, so sometimes it’s where you all go when you have nothing better to do or when you just want to have a wholesome time. A lot of good memories have been made in Dreamies, but its always been with the whole group. The idea of Jungkook bringing Yoori there for a private date doesn’t exactly sit well with you. Though it’s not like you can say anything because no one ever did establish that Dreamies was a group space exclusively. And even if someone had, who are you to make demands about where Jungkook and Yoori go out on dates?

Jungkook makes good on his promise and puts your sheets in the wash and even makes your bed while you wait for the washer to stop. He leaves when the dryer cycle finishes, pulling you in by the waist and kissing you deeply before strutting out the door with a flourish.

“I come bearing clothes,” you say as soon as Yoori opens the door.

She’d told you over the phone to bring some things to go out in after bugging you about firming up weekend plans. It still isn’t clear where you’re going, so you have brought a variety of outfits to cover the spectrum of possible events. You figured that you would get ready at her place as soon as you found out where you were going. But when she opens the door with makeup already done and her hair already curled, you’re a bit confused.

“Hello! How are you, my lovely?” She envelopes you tightly in a hug before taking the clothes out of your hands.

“I’m great. I got all excited on the way over because I thought we were gonna glam up together here, but it looks like you already did that.”

“I know,” she grimaces. “It’s just that Jungkook asked me if I wanted to go to the arcade out of the blue after we got brunch and I didn’t know what type of atmosphere that might be, so I just got as ready as possible. And then we went on a drive. We didn’t actually interact with any other humans. I could have worn my PJs.”

“That’s Jungkook for you,” you snort dryly. “So, uh, how was that drive?”

“You don’t have to ask me how our date went. I know it’s awkward to talk about dating your best friend. I’ll spare you.”

“Thank you.”

Yoori hands you a glass of your favorite wine, something she’s been keeping regularly stocked in her wine fridge since you became friends. You toe off your shoes before heading into the living room with her.

“Do you want tonight to be a surprise or do you want me to tell you where we’re going?” She reaches out to play with a loose string on the throw blanket adorning the couch, watching you with wide eyes as you drain your glass.

“Tell me. So I can pick out my outfit accordingly.”

“Okay. Just…promise me you won’t knock it before you try it.”

“I wouldn’t do that unless you said we were going somewhere ridiculous.” You tilt your head with a no nonsense stare. “And we wouldn’t do that, right? We’re not doing anything ridiculous?”

All she does is beam at you before pulling her phone out and scrolling through her photo album until she comes to the right image. She hands you the phone silently, lip bitten in anticipation.

“Hell no,” you say as soon as you see the flyer she’s taken a screenshot of. It’s advertising a Lady’s Night at a club with an open dance floor and drinks at a discounted rate. Immediately you hand the phone back and wish for more wine to magically appear in your glass.

“Please? I feel like it would be so fun, and it’s supposed to be a really great place. Pretty please?”

“Why can’t we just stay in and order Thai? I like your place, you don’t have to take me anywhere.”

“You make us sound like an old married couple. Besides, you never spend your weekends anywhere other than with those boys.” When you give her an unamused stare, she backpedals. “Charming as they are. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all. But don’t you think it would be fun to switch things up? Neither of us go out enough. We’re wasting our youth and beauty.”

“Excuse me. You’re dating my best friend, remember?”

“And by ‘we’, I meant not me.”

You roll your eyes and opt into searching for the wine bottle she used to pour your first drink. It catches your eye across the room where it sits at the long cherry dining table. You move to get up, but Yoori clamps down on your wrist with a pleading expression.

“Please?”

“I don’t want to spend the money.”

“I’ll pay for both our cover charges. Please?”

“The drinks will be shitty and I’ll need to be drunk to enjoy it.”

“We can drink here first and call a cab. Please?”

“I didn’t bring any makeup.”

“You left some over here from last time. Pleeease?”

“But the guys there will—“

“I’ll protect you,” you frown, unconvinced. “Please? I’ll even stay sober the whole night so nothing gets by me.”

“Fine. But only for an hour.”

“What? That’s too short, nothing good can happen in an hour. That’s too unrealistic. Two hours.”

“I’ll give you an hour and a half. After that, we’re coming back here and I’m sleeping over. Deal?”

She considers your conditions for a brief second before finally letting you get up. “You have to let me do your makeup and let me put pictures on my Instagram story.”

“Sure, but that will cost you another 15 minutes.”

Your back is turned to her as you fill up your glass, but you can practically see her writhing with indecision. Schooling your features into neutrality, you turn back to face her, and she straightens up.

“Deal.”

It takes much longer than it should have to get ready, but in the end, that’s a good thing because Yoori had originally wanted to show up to the event on time. Though you don’t get out much, even you know that arriving fashionably late means a better chance at getting there when everything is in full swing. Much better than getting there when there are 10 people in the whole club and no one is having any fun yet.

You let her apply your makeup, but you don’t let her pick your outfit much to Yoori’s chagrin. It doesn’t matter though because you’re no less miserable as she drags you into the bathroom to take a series of selfies.

That’s not to say that you hate selfies or that you never take them. You take them when you’re bored, when you’re texting the group chat, when you’re talking to your mom, when you’re home alone and feeling yourself. Next to Yoori, though, you can’t help but feel a little intimidated. Yoori doesn’t know your angles, Yoori doesn’t know your favorite filters and it’s not something you can just ask someone to change. Specific filters and angles are the bread and butter of anyone’s best selfies, and they’re not easily interchanged for someone else’s. As an engineering student, you can appreciate the complex science that is selfie-taking. And as much as you love Yoori, you don’t want to be the eyesore on her Instagram and cost her followers. Part of you hopes she gets drunk so you can take her phone and delete them later.

But she stays true to her word and doesn’t drink any more after leaving the apartment to go to the club. You stay true to your word as well and toss back another drink as soon as you get there, hoping that it will calm your nerves. In all honesty, you know there’s nothing to be nervous about, but you still order a second drink at the bar immediately after so you have something to do with your hands. You look good and you most likely won’t see any of the people at the club ever again, but you still feel out of place.

“You look terrified,” Yoori whispers in your ear. She’s been watching your expression carefully the whole time and has started to regret bugging you about coming.

“I am.”

“If you want, we can just go home now. I didn’t realize you hated going out this much.”

“It’s not that I hate going out,” you shout over the music. “It’s just that I can never let go off what other people might be thinking about me. And if I can’t do that, I can’t have fun.”

Yoori nods in sympathy. Although, she also doesn’t like the feeling of being scrutinized, she knows you’re coming from a different place. You’ve spoken candidly to her a few times about you feel like the two of you make an odd pairing. She remembers the way you spoke about her, all laudatory words, and then how you spoke about yourself. Yoori wants to compliment you the way you do her, but she knows that certain kind words only act as cold comfort for you.

“What can I do?”

You ponder the question for a bit. You figure, if you can manage to fake having the time of your life for 10 minutes, you can trick yourself into actually having fun for the rest of the night. With that thought, you finish your drink in a few large swallows before grabbing Yoori’s hand.

“Do you wanna dance with me?”

Yoori blinks down at you with wide eyes but nods somewhat shyly. You let her guide you into the throng of dancing bodies. As the song washes over you, you do a simple two-step while you decide what type of vibe to go for. Quickly the song grows on you, and you begin to put more energy into your dancing. At the sight of you enthusiastically swiveling your hips to the beat of the song with a smile on your face, Yoori beams.

The night unfolds like that. You manage to throw away your inhibitions in favor of dancing for hours. Yoori takes a couple videos of you when the right song comes on and puts you into a sexy musical trance. You take turns shooing random guys away who thinking they can casually fist pump their way into your sacred space. A few girls much drunker than you wander over to you and you welcome them with open arms and dance with them for a few songs, but they always float away after a while. Not without Yoori inquiring where their friends are and waiting until said friends come to collect them first, though. All in all, it’s more fun than almost all of your game nights combined. The thought makes you guilty for all of .3 seconds before you remember that none of the guys would ever go out dancing unless it was a means to an end of getting laid.

When the clock strikes 1:30—much later than you had originally promised to stay out—you collect your things and let Yoori guide you once more. This time she leads you outside to get a ride back to her place. She lays her pristine white leather jacket on your sweaty shoulders when she sees you shivering from the drastic temperature change that comes with leaving the balmy dance-floor.

“Tonight was so fun,” you drawl on the way over. Your head lolls onto her shoulder and she smooths the stray strands of hair off your forehead.

“It was. I was worried for a minute that you wouldn’t like it.”

“Mmm, me too. Yoori, this was great.”

“You never say my name.” She gets out of the car first before paying the driver and then goes back in to get you, slinging your arm over her slender shoulders.

“I know. Feels weird if I do.”

“I like it.”

“M’kay.”

As soon as the door opens, you race for the bathroom. One of the prices to pay for a good night out is dealing with a wine bladder and a hangover. The peeing, you could handle. The hangover, though, dwells in the back of your mind ominously as you brush your teeth and hastily remove your makeup. You’re pretty sure you haven’t taken all of it off when your face hits the cushion of the couch, but the couch is leather so you don’t care. Yoori, however, does care.

“Oh, no you don’t. Come here,” she grabs at you until she gets a hold and can walk you the remainder of the way to her room.

“I don’t wanna walk.”

“You don’t want to sleep on the couch either.”

“Where we goin’?”

“To bed, silly.”

You nod and let her escort you there. Immediately, you slide your skirt down and scramble to take off your crop top. As you fumble with your sleep shirt, Yoori respectfully turns away to change into her own pajamas, cheeks burning.

The covers feel pleasantly cool under your hands as you wait for her to finish changing. “Which side d’you want?”

“I usually sleep in the middle, actually. But I can sleep on whichever side you don’t pick tonight.”

“I sleep on this side.”

“Okay,” she nods agreeably.

“Tomorrow, do you wanna get Dream—oh wait. You went already. You probably don’t want it a second time. I’ll just go to Starbucks or something on my way back.”

“N-no! I’d love to go tomorrow. I was hoping to try their waffles at some point, anyway.”

“Okay, great. Goodnight, Yoori.”

“Goodnight,” she says quietly after the lights have been turned off.

Emotionally, the following week is fine, but it’s hard on your body. 

Your hangover takes over your whole Sunday, leaving you to slightly behind on work Monday. It creates a spiral of catching up on work that has you staying up further and further past your bedtime and unable to be as social as you’d like. Yoori lets you know via Snapchat that she misses you but that Jungkook has taken your spot at your usual study table. The two of them look adorable in the little puppy ear filter Yoori’s put over the short video. You watch with mixed feelings as Yoori blows a kiss and then remembers that Jungkook is there and ushers him into blowing a kiss as well. It’s not nearly as enthusiastic and stiffer than the one Yoori sent you but it still sends your heart into a fluttering tizzy.

Friday couldn’t come soon enough. But as soon as you wake up that morning, you feel jittery and off. All your warm clothes are in the hamper, none of them salvageable for one last wear. And all your motivation has been zapped after the week of constant working you just had. Classes prove to be no better despite the fact that they give you time to get out of your head. 

The rest of the day is syrupy, leaving you struggling through it even as you try to go with the flow of the sluggishly passing hours. Normally you aim for productivity, but as soon as your final lecture for the day ends, you find yourself unable to pass time with work. You take a walk through campus and even venture all the way over to the theatre department, on the other side of the common grounds. You try to sit on the frosted benches looking out over the man-made pond students often frequent, but your joggers aren’t prepared for the extreme cold and you realize maybe familiarity, instead of novelty, is what will make the time pass by quicker.

You decide to text Taehyung. His schedule is something that you’ve come to passively memorize after weeks of the information casually floating through past conversations.

You: Im bored

BigBoi: Where r u I’ll pick u up

You: @ Seemond’s pond…

BigBoi: ???

Taehyung arrives not ten minutes later, cheeks flushed with exertion from hustling over. He’s also not at all dressed for the weather, but doesn’t look bothered by it either in his university hoodie and thick knitted scarf. His beaten sneakers crunch loudly on the thin layer of white that’s collected since the last snowfall a few days ago.

“Oh my god, Tae, aren’t you freezing?”

Immediately you approach him and pull the hood laying limply along his shoulder blades over his colored hair. The roots have since started growing in and the color has faded enough to give him more of a coppery rose gold look. It’s a color so many Instagram influencers would have shit themselves over last summer trying to perfect at a professional salon, and here Taehyung stands with it after a bleach-happy accident in his dorm’s communal bathroom sink.

“Not really. I was actually nearby looking for a printer in BPD hall.”

“What for?”

“Financial aid forms,” he sighs. You grimace in sympathy before shirking your oversized black mittens.

“At least put these on if you’re not even going to pretend you checked the weather this morning.”

“What about you?” He gestures to the parts of your bare hands that he can see poking out from the sleeves of your own large puffy jacket.

“I’ll be fine. This has fleece-lined pockets. Meanwhile,” bending over, you peer into the front tummy pocket of his hoodie. “You only have a tootsie roll lining.” You dig your fist into the pocket and pull out the scraps of trash he’d been hiding in there with only mild disgust marring your features. “How do you live like that?”

“Dunno, just do. Maybe it’s because people like you can’t help but throw it out before I get the chance to get sick of it and do it myself.”

“Fair enough.”

“What should we do?”

“I don’t know. I’m cold and I don’t wanna do work.”

“How about a movie marathon?”

“Sure.”

* * *

“This isn’t what I thought you meant when you said movie,” you huff as the black opening credit scene dissolves and a French couple in a black and white colorscape whisper to one another in a moonlit alley.

“You said you didn’t care what we watched.”

“That was under the assumption that I would be able to understand it. There’s not even subtitles.”

“You don’t need them.”

“Yes, I do, because I don’t speak French. And neither do you.”

“That doesn’t really matter. You can read their body language and get all you need to from that.”

You try to fix your stare on the couple who is now running from the police with a pair of bloodied knives in their hands and smiles on their faces.

“This isn’t a horror movie, is it?”

“No,” he trails off suspiciously. When you whip your head to the side to glare at him, he cracks. “What? It’s not! It’s a thriller.”

“Anything that could give me nightmares is a horror movie, Taehyung.”

“It’s not even that scary,” he says right at the moment when the couple is seen carving into a police man’s face with the previously shown knives.

The cinematic effects are gross but clearly dated and if you were a reasonable person, you would find it laughable. But instead the dyed corn syrup dripping off the actor’s face just makes your stomach clench and you grab onto Taehyung’s arm out of disgust and anger.

“Why would you put me through this?”

“To get your mind off of Jungkook,” he says matter-of-factly.

Your mouth drops open when you realize partly that he’s right and partly you haven’t had a single moping thought about Jungkook and Yoori in the near hour it took to pick up snacks from the convenience store and walk over to Taehyung’s place from the pond while avoiding ice patches. It’s honestly a brilliant plan, but you hate him for it at the same time.

“You’re a dick.” You punctuate the statement with a sharp punch to the meat of his shoulder and revel in the bashful look he gives you while rubbing at the spot. “But thank you. If you wanted to get my mind off it, you didn’t have to use horror to do it.”

“True, but my options were limited since, one, I don’t have cable, and two, I don’t want to watch reality tv.”

“We could make fun of shitty rom-coms. That’s a good compromise.”

And that is how you end up watching a slightly watered down knock off of Fifty Shades with the TV remote in hand, rewinding, so you can point out where you can see the camera person’s reflection in the female lead’s pendant necklace.

“That’s a huge oversight. I can’t believe these people walk around like they’ve dedicated their lives to a certain level of craft only to do this”

“I mean, the fact that they used Papyrus font in their online movie poster should have clued you in,” you snort.

Both of you watch as the male lead swims up to his co-star where she stands at the foot of the pool he’s in. The grin he flashes her is blindingly white and his teeth resemble pearls in an unattractively artificial way.

“Why do people think veneers like that look good,” you sigh and shift so you can reach over and play with the faded pink strands of Taehyung’s hair. He leans in unconsciously and shrugs.

“I don’t know. Maybe they think people won’t be able to tell the difference.”

“I suppose that’s fair. But with everything being filmed in high definition these days, there’s less wiggle room for that sort of thing.”

Male lead reaches for the slender ankle of his co-star and tugs her into the pool, soaking her dainty white eyelet dress. When she comes up for air, she pouts for a second before swiping at him and missing. She nearly falls face first back into the water but he reaches out with a condescending laugh and catches her with ease despite what physics would predict to be possible. The moment turns serious quickly as the pair stare into each other’s eyes. You don’t understand how she’s supposed to be the homely girl next door when she’s got what you know are the most expensive mink lash extensions on the market and the most symmetrical, albeit oddly familiar, face you’ve ever seen.

“Wow,” Taehyung scoffs as the actor pulls her in for a heated kiss. “They really think that’s what buildup looks like. It’s fifteen minutes in and we still don’t know his name. And didn’t they just meet for the first time the day before this?”

“Keep up, Tae. Don’t you know all women want in life is to get rawed in the pool of the mystery guy who cut them off in the supermarket 24 hours prior?”

“Ah. That must be why my sex life is so grim.”

“Look at that,” you gesture to the couple that is now stumbling out of the pool and into the man’s perfectly lit mansion in a race to get to the bedroom. “That could be you if you had decided to take your dad’s car this year and cut some random girl off in the parking lot of the Price Chopper.”

“Damn. Would I have his mansion too?” You nod gravely.

“Probably.” You finish plaiting the hair of his sideburns and leave him with a little inflexible pink braid poking out from his temple.

“How’s it look?” He gestures to the side of his head with your handiwork on it.

“You look really great. You might not even need to break the rules of parking etiquette to snag a hot date.”

You both return your attention to the TV only to find the movie couple in a fairly compromising position. The lead actress is bent over the arm of a sofa as the camera ‘artistically’ captures the rapid way the actor drills into her from behind. It catches both of you off guard and a nervous laugh bubbles its way out of you.

“This is ridiculous.” Taehyung rolls his eyes and turns to laugh at the display with you.

“Yeah,” you say half-heartedly.

Even though the movie is horribly done and nothing in its execution per se turns you on, it is Friday. And your body has gotten pretty used to your weekend schedule. Which, up until recently, would have meant that at this hour Taehyung and Hoseok would be out somewhere looking for a place to vape while you helped Jungkook out of his pants at his apartment.

But that’s not what’s happening right now because Jungkook is probably on his way in a rental car to pick Yoori up for their third official date. To the movies. Still, that doesn’t stop your body from revving up more than it should after watching such a stupid romance movie. If you close your eyes, you’re sure you could remember with scary accuracy the feel of Jungkook’s hands on you.

“Hey.” At your awkward silence, Taehyung’s voice lowers and he leans in to tease you, “You’re not actually enjoying this, are you?”

“N-no, of course not.”

He lets out an incredulous laugh. “Holy crap, you are. You’re into this.”

“No, I’m not! Stop!”

“This is hilarious. I can’t believe you like this.” He stares at the screen with a baffled smile on his face, trying to see what could be so appealing about the affected look of arousal on the male lead’s face as he bites his lip with zero finesse. “Is it him?”

“It’s not him,” you scrabble for an answer, “I-it’s the actress.” At that his eyes widen and he looks at you like he’s seeing you for the first time. “I mean, I recognize her from a porno, that’s all.”

“No way,” he says before studying the woman’s face. When the actor pulls tightly on her ponytail and forces a whining moan out of her, his eyes light up with recognition. “Wait, yeah, you’re right.”

“Told you.”

“Hold on. You watch porn?” You roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I watch porn. Sometimes I need some visual stimuli too. And she’s been in a few of them.”

“Hmm,” he says finally, “Never would have thought you’d like her stuff.”

“You say that like you’ve thought about what I’d watch.”

“Well, you’re just so—“

A sharp sound comes from near the front door as Hoseok barges in hurriedly, nearly falling and spilling the grocery bags in his hands. He places them on the small table outside the entrance to the tiny kitchenette.

“Tae, I tried calling you like 5 different times about getting the door. Why didn’t you pick up your...phone,” Hoseok trails off as he takes in the fact that you’re in Taehyung’s apartment, very early to the Friday game night, seated very close to Taehyung with a flaming cheeks on the couch while what looks like soft-core porn plays in the background.

“My phone must have died from the cold. Bro, I’m really sor—“

“What the hell are you two doing,” he sneers.

“We were just watching a movie,” you pipe in when you sense a weird shift in the mood.

Obviously, you’re closer to Jungkook than you are to Taehyung or Hoseok, but you really don’t understand the strange energy in the room. Hoseok looks angrier than he should about Taehyung not helping him with carrying some snacks and Taehyung looks overly imploring. Perhaps this is just how they are when they’re annoyed, but it still strikes you as odd even from a slightly distant perspective. When no one says anything you get up slowly, like you would around wild animals in a territory death match, and move towards Hoseok to help him with the food.

“Here, I’ll help you put these away,” you say quietly with a soft hand on his back to get him to break his cold glare. “Don’t be mad at Tae, he didn’t do anything.”

The glare is only slightly softened as he turns to you, jaw clenched. “Well, what about you?”

“What are you talking about?”

The genuine confusion on your face seems to dissolve whatever’s left of the sudden rage that filled him, and he breaks down and lets you take the bags he’s still holding from him. While your back is turned, Hoseok looks suspiciously over at Taehyung, who is still staring back with large, nervous eyes.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly when you finish unpacking the first bag of chips and come over to him to take the next one.

“Whatever,” you huff good-naturedly. “As long as you leave me out of your little lovers’ quarrel, I’m fine. Go make up, I’ll finish with these.”

You watch Hoseok amble over to Taehyung and begin whispering frantically before they finally come to some sort of agreement and hug it out.

When you come back to the couch, Hoseok has taken your spot next to Taehyung and has man-spread all over the rest of the free space. Even the back of the couch is claimed by his outstretched arms. Both of them stop their whispered conversation and turn to see why you’re hovering.

“What’s up,” Hoseok inquires suspiciously.

“Are we gonna do anything tonight? I could be in bed right now, but instead I’m here.”

“We have to pick the game first. My vote is for poker.”

“No poker. You still owe me like 80 bucks from last time you thought you could bluff,” Taehyung crosses his arms in a huff.

“That’s in the past, I’m a new man now. This Hoseok doesn’t owe you anything.”

“You’re an ass.” Taehyung springs to the side and quickly locks Hoseok in a sloppy headlock.

You watch them struggle on the couch in mild interest until Taehyung loses his footing and Hoseok’s wiggling underneath him pitches them both onto the floor. Someone’s head hits the coffee table on the way down, and you wince in sympathy, but they carry on like nothing happened.

The idea of letting them tire themselves out seems appealing at first but when Hoseok sinks his teeth into Taehyung’s hoodie-clad bicep and draws out a yelp, you intervene as neutrally as possible.

“Why don’t we just start with Gin Rummy?”

“Okay.” Hoseok drops Taehyung’s arm from his mouth, suddenly content.

You give him a wide berth and wait until after he goes into the kitchen to hunt for a deck of cards to offer Taehyung a helping hand up off the ground. He doesn’t make eye contact with you as you make your way over to the table, so you can’t silently grill him.

“How many is it? 5 per person,” Hoseok asks while shuffling the cards.

Small Styrofoam bowls are neatly laid out across the center of the table, each one filled with the chips from earlier. You perch in the chair next to Hoseok so you’re close to the Cheetos.

“It’s 7, I think.”

“Cool,” is all he says before handing you your cards.

You go around the table for a few rounds, placing cards down that you don’t need, picking up cards that you do and the occasional chip. Halfway through the first round, Taehyung gets up to turn off the fluorescents and turn on the fairy lights Hoseok won’t stop teasing him for having. You sync your phone up to his speaker and play music in the background and revel in the fact that you’re getting back into the swing of having fun with them. Without Jungkook.

“You still got beer, right?” Hoseok doesn’t look up from his cards since he’s very close to winning the round and he needs only 1 more card.

“Yeah,” you say, slapping down another card. “We picked some up at the convenience store. I’ll go get a pack for the table.”

“Thanks. I think I’m gonna call out for food too. What do you guys want?”

“I want pancakes,” Taehyung smiles brightly at the prospect of something other than the sad deli meats in his fridge.

Opening the door to his fridge leaves you confused. “You have stuff for pancakes.”

“Yeah, but I have to cook it,” he pouts at you through the window in the kitchen wall.

“It’s your turn,” Hosoek informs you.

You load up with supplies for making pancakes and head over to the table to distribute the ingredients amongst yourselves. Taehyung cracks eggs when it’s not his turn, Hoseok levels out the dry ingredients. You’re pouring milk into a bowl when one of your favorite songs from high school starts blaring through the speakers.

“Oh shit! Do you guys remember when this came out?”

“They played it at my homecoming dance,” Hoseok grimaces at the memory while you gyrate and mix the ingredients in a large bowl. “And then they played it on the radio for, like, 3 months straight afterwards. It was fucking annoying.”

“Yeah, but it’s been so long now. It’s good again. Come on, get up.” You pass Taehyung the bowl and creep towards Hoseok.

“What are you doing?” He smiles up at you like you’re crazy. You lace your fingers together and pull him out of his chair.

“What does it look like? I’m making you dance with me.”

“But you can’t dance, though.”

“Don’t ruin the fun,” you whine.

At first he doesn’t dance with you. He just continues to stand and lets you mouth the words at him and occasionally wave your hands in his face or pinch his cheeks when the lyrics get good. He even lets you bump hips with him and pretend to grind on him from behind.

Despite himself, your good mood is infectious and when you scamper back in front of him for the chorus, he surprises you by taking you into waltz position. It doesn’t fit the song, but it’s funny because you end up doing a bouncy-looking two step that resembles a sped-up prom dance. Taehyung hoots supportively from where he stands in the kitchen, melting butter on the stove.

Hoseok bends you over into a theatrical dip, causing you to let out a shrieking laugh and clutch at him so he doesn’t drop you. The song ends, but he jokingly holds the pose until your thighs are burning and you’re yelling for him to pull you back up. The front door clicks open while you bicker lightly.

“Look who decided to show up,” Hoseok drawls and finally brings you back up slowly, so you don’t get a head rush.

You blink away the stars that were starting to form in the corners of your eyes and realize Jungkook is, in fact, back from his date. At 9:43, no less. With Yoori in tow.

In your opinion, it’s much too early for someone to be back from date night with the long-time love of their life, but you can’t bring yourself to say anything. Instead you fiddle with the hem of your sweater nervously. Something about Yoori and Jungkook being present in the same room makes you a bit anxious. Perhaps its because it makes your policy about stopping your weekly rendezvous until things get physically serious between the two of them seem very flimsy.

Yoori and Jungkook are both clearly tipsy. You can tell from the way Jungkook hangs himself off her petite frame like he’s looking for support. You roll your eyes and go over to wrestle him from her and waddle him over to the dining room table where he can sit.

“How was your date,” you turn to Yoori who is hovering behind you with sleepy eyes.

“It was alright. The movie was a little boring,” she stage-whispers into your ear. “Don’t tell Kook.”

“You didn’t like the movie?” His head lolls back so he can look up at Yoori with doe eyes. Disappointment makes them look extra round and shiny.

She raises her brows guiltily. “I thought the new superhero movie would have been more your speed. I didn’t mind the idea of seeing it. I like action films.”

“Oh.”

You scamper out of the dining area as fast as you can to join Hoseok and Taehyung in the kitchen. The awkward couple moment they’re having isn’t something you think you should be privy to anyway.

Taehyung chuckles at the mortified expression on your face while Hoseok’s considers you stoically.

“Are they being too mushy in there?”

“No, not really.” You sigh. “It’s just weird realizing that I’ve never really been around them when they’re together. I don’t like the idea that I can’t get a read on the situation when they’re both good friends, you know?”

Hoseok snorts dryly. “Well, you know what they say. Dating changes people.”

“Yeah, but this is Kook we’re talking about,” Taehyung murmurs while stirring the hidden flour patches at the bottom of the bowl back into the batter. “Do you really think he’s changed that much?”

You shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe you’ve changed,” Hoseok suggests.

And maybe you have. Not in the normal way, where you outgrow people. But maybe something about you has changed since you started being intimate with Jungkook in such a way where you can’t be just his gaming buddy or his companionable silence partner. Gone are the days where you could push down your infatuation long enough to sit pressed close to each other on the couch when the Iron Man movie series is marathoning on TV. You’re not sure if that’s made things easier or harder on you. Perhaps its been a little bit of both.

“What are you guys up to?”

Jungkook has managed to amble over to the kitchen while staying upright thanks to Yoori’s guiding hands. Now he’s peering into the entrance of the kitchen after the way you, Taehyung, and Hoseok whispering to one another piqued his interest. Yoori lays on the sofa, recovering from too many glasses of complimentary movie chardonnay.

You keep your head down and pretend watching Taehyung ladle batter onto the griddle is fascinating enough not to reply. Thoughts of whether or not something crucial has shifted occupy your mind too much for you to speak.

“Just playing cards and making pancakes,” Taehyung shouts over the crackling sound of the first pancake hitting the hot skillet.

“The usual,” Hoseok jokes before pitching his voice into a slyer register. “How was the date?”

“It was fine,” Jungkook answers shyly, eyes glued to your silent form. The button down he’s wearing suddenly feels too tight and he undoes the top button to give himself some air. “How was your night?”

“Here, I’ll take over,” you mumble.

You take the spatula from Taehyung’s hand and motion for the guys to leave  the kitchen while you flip the pancakes. It’ll give you something to do, and Taehyung’s thoughtful enough to go without asking questions. They don’t move far and instead Hosoek and Taehyung crowd Jungkook just outside the kitchen doorframe. Hopefully none of them notice how you turn the heat down so you can listen better. A masochistic part of you is curious to know how the date went even if you’re not sure if you can face him without combusting.

“Come on, tell us what happened. It’s just us guys,” Hoseok hisses before remembering that you’re you and you’re probably listening. Suddenly he feels like a douche. “We’re all friends,” he corrects himself. Jungkook, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be aware of your eavesdropping and complies.

“I…what do you wanna know?”

“Where’d you go?”

“To the movies. To see Cloud Break.”

Taehyung whistles lowly. “That’s supposed to be the number one date movie of the year.”

“It was very romantic,” Jungkook cracks a small, shy smile. “But I don’t think she really liked it.”

“Stil. Sounds like our boy is a real Casanova, huh?” Hoseok pats him roughly on the back with a wide grin. “The movies, though. Did you make it to third base?”

“Jeez, don’t sound so excited when you ask that,” Taehyung says with a cringe.

“What? I just wanna know if he’s any closer to swiping that V card. So,” Hoseok turns to stare, “Did you?”

“We’re taking it slow,” is all Jungkook says, eyes shifting behind the guys, towards you.

“Pancakes are ready,” you call from the kitchen. You figure it’s safe for you go back out, so you load a plate up with a tall stack and turn the stove off. Yoori’s head pops up at the sound of fresh food and hops up to come join you.

After you put the plate down, you wait until everyone is seated. Oddly enough, Jungkook and Yoori both sit on either side of the head of the table, leaving you to sit in between them.

“Thanks for cooking,” Jungkook mutters as soon as you sit down.

“No need to thank me. I’m just doing my part to have a fun Friday,” you answer awkwardly.

“These look better than the ones at Dreamies,” Yoori beams over at you. She cuts her pancakes happily before shoving a large, syrup-laden bite in her mouth. She gives you a cute thumbs up that breaks your serious mood for a moment.

You give her a warm squeeze on the shoulder. “Thanks for the high praise.”

“So, uh, what else have you guys been doing,” Jungkook inquires politely.

“Well,” Hoseok mentions nonchalantly through a full mouth, gesturing towards you. “I caught these two watching porn earlier when I came in with groceries. And this one couldn’t keep her hands off me after that.”

“Oh.” Jungkook’s cheeks start to heat as he looks between you and Hoseok and then you and Taehyung.

You almost choke on your own food as Hoseok’s words register. “That is so inaccurate. How are you so comfortable lying like that?”

“Is it not the truth? Kook, you even saw her when you came in. Seems like she’s a real minx when she gets going. Who knew all it took was Fifty Shades.”

Taehyung tries to come to your rescue. “We weren’t even watching Fifty Shades—”

“So, it was actual porn,” Hoseok’s eyes narrow at him suspiciously.

“Oh my god,” you raise your hands in surrender and then push your plate back. “I can’t do this. I’m freezing and you’re annoying. Tae, I’m stealing some clothes. Yoori, you look cold. I’ll bring you something too.” You storm out of the dining room and make a beeline for Taehyung’s room. 

While you were used to Hoseok’s ribbing, today you were extra sensitive to it and you needed some air. But you are actually cold, so you do spend a few minutes rummaging through Taehyung’s immaculate wardrobe until you find a sweater that has you smiling widely at the memories it evokes.

“I can’t believe you still have this,” you remark with arms out to showcase the sweater when you come back. The four of them all turn to see the sweater you’re wearing.

It’s a run-of-the-mill sweater until you look at the picture that’s been screen-printed onto the front. It’s a picture of you and Taehyung in your freshman year that was taken minutes after the annual Mud Run. It had been a split-second decision the two of you made after a terrible set of midterms, but the smiles on both of your slightly rounder and muddied faces don’t indicate any inkling of regret. You give Yoori the only cashmere you could find that wasn’t on the floor.

“Of course he still has it,” Hoseok smiles proudly, “I put my blood, sweat, and tears into making it. And I was there to take the fricking picture at the end of the race at 9 am on a Saturday. Do you not still have yours?”

“Sadly no. I lost mine when I moved into the sophomore dorms.”

“I wish I had been there to watch the race. I should have stayed on campus,” Jungkook chimes in, cheeks full of pancake.

“Yeah,” Hoseok counters, “But if you had stayed, you wouldn’t have ever gotten Yoori’s number in the first place. So, it all worked out in the end, right?”

Suddenly, you’re not hungry and the lively mood that the night started with has disappeared. Taehyung must sense the subtle downward shift in your shoulders and runs to get the bottle of wine Hoseok bought for you that’s been chilling in the fridge.

“Why don’t we play another game,” he suggests once he’s back at the table and filling your glass.

Yoori perks up. “That’s a great idea! Let’s play something old-school. Do you have any board games?”

“I don’t think either of us has played a board game since before 2010. Much less owned one,” Jungkook winces.

“Really? Well, it doesn’t have to be a board game. Why don’t we do another old-fashioned one. Like Charades.”

Hoseok places his head in his hands elegantly, face the picture of innocence. But you know better.

“Yoori, how do you feel about Truth or Dare?” You squeeze your eyes shut and hope she says she’s never heard of it. Or that she hates it.

“I love Truth or Dare! Let’s play once everyone’s done eating.”

You curse under your breath, but return her excited smile when she turns to you and fills your cup once more. As a safety precaution, you finish the single pancake you’d served yourself earlier before taking another sip. Its not that you’re hungry, but you’d rather not be drinking on a completely empty stomach.

When everyone has had their fill of food, new bottles of booze get taken with you to the living room. There, you all rearrange the couch and the various upholstered chairs that Taehyung has collected until everyone is seated comfortably. Taehyung sits down last because he was in his room searching for his trusted 20 sided die.

“Okay, who’s who?”

“I call 3’s,” Hoseok calls with a hand raised straight in the air.

“No way,” you huff, “You’ll have way too many chances to be It. Pick multiples of at least four or I’m banning you from playing.”

“You can’t ban me from playing. Tae, can she ban me from playing?”

“I’m gonna go ahead and say yeah,” Taehyung says casually. You smile at Hosoek smugly.

“Fine. I pick 5’s.”

“I’ll take 3’s,” Yoori says once she understands the rules you all are operating under. No one goes to argue against her.

“I call even primes,” you say. You’re really not interested in playing this game.

Hoseok rolls his eyes at you. “Why even play if you’re gonna be like that?”

“You’re both wrong,” Taehyun grins. “Odd primes is where it’s at.”

“I guess I’ll take leftovers,” Jungkook sighs. He’s equally unenthused to be playing, but mainly because every previous time he’s played the game, Taehyung has dared him to smack Hoseok’s ass as hard as possible. It never ends well. “What is that? 3, 4, 5, 8 and what else?”

“14 through 16,” you supply automatically.

“Wow,” Yoori coos and latches onto your arm. “You’re so smart.”

“Alright! If everyone has a number, let’s play,” Hoseok shouts.

In the first few rolls, Taehyung and Yoori get the majority of the turns. Yoori is kind and sticks with truths for the most part, forcing Taehyung to bring up the strawberry shaped birthmark on his ass and Jungkook to talk about how he still doesn’t know how to ride a bike. Things pick up a bit when Hoseok manages a roll and Taehyung makes the mistake of choosing Dare. In response, Hoseok tells Taehyung to pull down his pants and show everyone the birthmark. You and Yoori exchange wide glances and giggle quietly as Taehyung downs the rest of his drink for some liquid courage.

“Taehyung,” Yoori giggles behind your hand as you attempt to cover her eyes. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t feel comfortable.”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice,” he grumbles before turning to face away from the group. He tugs his pants and boxers down a few inches before the pert curve of his butt. There, just south of the equator on the globe of his ass lies a very strawberry-shaped birthmark.

Immediately, Yoori chokes on her drink trying, and failing, to stifle her laughter at the pure ridiculousness of the mark. Meanwhile, you aren’t doing much better.

You pull your lip between your teeth as you hold back the cackle you desperately wish to let out. Instead, you opt for reaching out and pinching at the nearest cheek. The way he jumps slightly out of your reach while cupping his junk and glaring weakly at you sends you over the edge.

“Not bad,” Yoori snorts out between giggles.

“Yeah, wait a minute.” You gasp. “You have a cute little ass, Tae. I thought you said you didn’t have time for the gym.”

Taehyung’s face flushes, but he still smiles a self-depricating smile as he pulls up his pants finally. “I don’t. This baby is 100% homegrown.”

“I see. Must be all the tater tots,” you say with tears nearly rolling down your cheeks.

“And all the La-Z boy sitting.”

“Nice.”

Jungkook huffs audibly. He crosses his arms as he watches the game unfold, suddenly infinitely less interested in playing than he was a few minutes ago. “This is stupid.”

“Are you not having fun?”

He turns to Yoori quickly while remembering that he’s seated next to her. His own cheeks color with a bit of shame that he’d been caught being petulant.

“It’s not that. I mean…I just thought this would be a bit more mature.”

Yoori cocks her head to the side to appraise him and takes a sip of wine. “Is Truth or Dare known for its sophisticated gameplay?” A reserved and unreadable smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

“Not really,” he stammers. “I just figured you wouldn’t be interested in immature stuff like this.”

“Hmm. I’m actually having quite a lot of fun. Don’t worry about me and loosen up.”

Jungkook swallows roughly and mentally chides himself for being weird. Even he’s not sure where the pouting spell came from. Regardless, he smothers down the party pooper vibes and tries to enjoy the game as best he can.

Taehyung rolls a 10 and pouts at not be able to get back at Yoori. After all the laughter and the handful of swipes she’d made at his birthmark, he’s eager to pay her back somehow. But all he can do is turn to Hoseok with a bored expression.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare. Do you worst!” Hoseok sits excitedly at the edge of his seat while waiting for Taehyung to come up with a juicy truth or dare.

“Uh, I don’t know, bro. I dare you to do, like, 30 pushups or something.”

“That’s such a shitty dare.”

“I couldn’t think of anything. I was hoping Yoori would roll so I could give her a taste of her own medicine,” he says while locking eyes with Yoori. The two engage in a semi-serious staring competition for a while before they break into laughter.

“This is bullshit,” Hoseok mumbles as he rises from his chair and gets into position to do the pushups.

The room is quiet while everyone waits for him to finish. Sound of his exertion floats over from his section of the circle and you swipe through your twitter feed in the meantime. But you become so engrossed in a recipe for spinach dip that you don’t realize Hoseok has rolled a 2 and is calling out to you.

“What,” you say, distracted by the amount of leafy greens going into the dip.

“Put your phone away,” Hoseok whines, “It’s game night rules.”

You don’t look up from your screen. “Doesn’t count when we’re not playing video games.”

“You suck.”

“So do you.”

“Truth or dare.”

“Dare,” you say on autopilot before realizing the mistake you’ve made.

You let your phone clatter to the ground and prepare to take back what you said, but you can see that its too late from the smirk Hoseok is wearing. It’s the worst kind, too. The smarmy one that lets you know he’s thinking about doing something greasy. You’re willing to bet all the money left in your student account balance that he’s going to dare you to show him your boobs.

“Dare you to kiss Yoori,” he says smugly, like he’s got you cornered.

You’re only slightly surprised and let out a breath of relief. The idea that he might dare you to shed your layers to sit in Taehyung’s freezing living room in just your bra and bottoms was really worrying you.

“Really, Hoseok? What are we, 13?”

Taehyung chimes in with concern. “Yeah. They might not be comfortable with that.”

“I’m fine with it,” Yoori perks up slightly in her seat.

“Okay,” Taehyung hesitates, “But Jungkook—”

“Might not approve of it? Why don’t we ask him,” she supplies before turning to Jungkook. “Kook, what do you think?”

“Well, I—”

“Why the hell would he care,” Hoseok cuts him off. “Dude, you don’t care, right? It’s harmless and its 2018.”

“Y-yeah, I guess.” He pushes his glasses up with his ring finger, a nervous tick you’re familiar with. Your first instinct is to go over and see what’s wrong, but you quell the urge. 

“Holy shit,” Hoseok mumbles to himself when he realizes this is really happening. You get up to join Yoori in the love seat she’s occupying. Before you can change your minds he speaks up. “No pecks. It has to be real.”

“Figured as much,” you roll your eyes and gesture for Yoori to scooch closer to you. She sends you a smile that’s hidden from the others by the shiny curtain of her hair. You mirror it back automatically.

“For 60 seconds,” Hoseok shouts. Yoori’s eyes widen at the time condition but she doesn’t say anything.

“That’s too much.”

“30 seconds, but you have to use tongue.”

“Hoseok!” You and Taehyung yell simultaneously.

“Fine,” he says before thinking for a beat. “45 seconds but no lame stuff. Final offer.”

You check in with Yoori to see if she objects, but she merely rests her cheek on your shoulder and gives you a thumbs up.

“Deal, you damn pervert.”

Hoseok scrambles to get his phone timer launched while you and Yoori arrange yourselves accordingly once and then a second time when Hoseok says he can’t see. You whisper an apology on his behalf, but Yoori waves it off and pulls you in with a gentle hand resting at the base of your neck. You can’t help but notice that even from a few inches away, her skin is flawless. Its almost unfair.

“Alright. Start.”

Yoori swoops in and immediately parts your lips with her own. They’re soft and taste like the moscato she’s been drinking, and it’s honestly a very tantalizing sensory experience. You let her take over, let her press you closer until her nose brushes your cheek and she sucks your lip into her mouth. It takes you by surprise and when you gasp softly, she teases the border of your lips with her tongue ever so lightly. You let out an appreciative hum, surprising yourself. She smiles, nearly breaking the kiss, before nipping at you once. Tentatively, you brush your tongue against hers. She surges forward and works over your mouth until the soft chiming of Hoseok’s alarm alerts you that the dare has been completed.

You pull away first with hot cheeks and a slightly swollen mouth. Yoori looks pleased with herself as she looks over your flustered state. Neither of you see any of the guys’ shocked, wistful expressions. Yoori moves to smooth down the flyaways she created when she pressed you into the seat’s upholstery.

“You kiss just like Jungkook,” she laughs before pulling away slightly. The others murmur in the background as they strain to listen in.

“Wait, what?” Her words are slow to register at first. “You guys have kissed?”

“Yeah. Loads of times,” she snickers, “On the way to the restaurant, in the parking lot of Dreamies, in the back of his car. My apartment. We’ve even—” She takes in the mortified look on your face and grimaces. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I know you don’t like to hear about this stuff. I’ll stop.”

You make mental note of all the occasions she’s mentioned. One of which was their first date. But just yesterday Jungkook had told you that they hadn’t even started holding hands as a couple. And while he hadn’t made a comment about anything else, the implication behind the statement was that they definitely hadn’t done anything more than that. Something about his more daring behavior struck you as unusual. But if he’d been getting other practice elsewhere, it wouldn’t be odd at all.

He had lied to you. And you wonder what else he’d been lying about.

When you turn around to face Jungkook, he looks pale and scared. You’ve only ever seen him look like that a handful of times and it was when he was in deep shit and it was his own fault. During those times, you’d somehow managed to show him why he was wrong while also making him feel supported. This time, though, there was no way you could do that. Not without throwing away what little dignity you have left from getting into this heinous arrangement in the first place.

Taehyung, Yoori, and Hoseok look on silently as you and Jungkook exchange the long look. Jungkook’s chest rises and falls rapidly as adrenaline runs through his system. When you stand up, he stands up at the same time, a hand instinctively reaching out.

You ignore him in favor of grabbing your things without a word and pulling up the bus schedule app on your phone. You’re not going to force yourself to wait around for an uber to pick you up, but you’re also not going to subject yourself to further torture by walking home in the middle of winter. Once you see that the next bus is coming in 20 minutes, you put on your jacket.

“I’m heading out. I’ll see you guys around.” You wince as your voice cracks a little bit, but don’t bother lingering to see if people noticed. You hurry out with the hopes that you can find a place to hide and wait for the bus before Jungkook can follow you out. He calls your name, softly at first, but you don’t acknowledge him.

But you don’t get any further than a few meters away down Taehyung’s hallway before Jungkook’s catching up after having sprinted out after you.

“Jungkook, stop,” is all you can trust yourself to say as you stare at your shoes.

“I can explain.”

“Fine.” You look up at him, gaze sharp. “Explain.”

He seems taken aback like he didn’t think you’d let him speak. His demeanor turns sheepish. “I didn’t mean to lie to you. It just...happened.”

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe that? You made a choice, Jungkook. It didn’t just happen. I want to know why you chose to lie.”

“I just…wasn’t ready for the weekends to stop.”

“Look, I get it. You got used to getting your rocks off. But we had a deal. It shouldn’t have mattered that you didn’t want it to end. As soon as you and Yoori got physical, we were supposed to go back to normal.”

“That’s not why I decided to lie,” he hisses.

“Then why did you?”

“Because!”

“Because?” You scoff. “That’s not an answer.”

“Because I,” he stammers, not sure of what to  to say. “I didn’t feel comfortable detailing mine and Yoori’s intimacy to you.”

“You didn’t feel comfortable?” Your voice is carefully low, but raises as you continue. “You didn’t feel comfortable telling me, the girl who has been your best friend since we were kids, about you and your new girlfriend? The girl who you had spit into your palm yesterday so you could jerk off in her bed yesterday? You didn’t feel fucking uncomfortable then, Jungkook!”

“Well, you’re always talking about my comfort. Shouldn’t it matter when I’m uncomfortable? Even if its at a weird time?”

“Fine. Let’s say you were uncomfortable. You still should have told me.”

“Why is it your business?”

Your jaw drops open. “Maybe because yours and Yoori’s relationship is the reason this whole thing started? And maybe because if you’re going to be running between the two of us and swapping bodily fluids, I should know? For my own fucking health?”

He stammers when he realizes that reason never came to mind once. Its a losing argument, he knows. As a last ditch effort, he turns things around.

“Is that the only reason why you’re mad? Because you think I would have given you an STD?”

“Are you serious,” your voice cracks again as tears take hold of you. “You think that’s all I care about?”

“You haven’t made any other points,” Jungkook sniffs like he’s indifferent to your shimmering eyes. “What else am I supposed to think? Is there something else?”

“I can’t believe someone so smart can be so stupid. You really don’t get it? I can’t keep sneaking around with you like this because you’re dating a girl who’s my friend now. But even if she weren’t, I can’t keep doing this because I have feelings—”

The front door opens and Hoseok slides through and closes it softly. He takes in your bowed shoulders, watery eyes, and shaking hands before pinning Jungkook with a glare that’s so potent he steps back a bit.

“You okay,” he nods his chin at you subtly.

“Y-yeah, Hobi. I’m fine. Me and Kook were just talking.”

“Just talking, huh?”

“Hoseok,” Jungkook grits through clenched teeth, anxious for you to continue what you were about to say. “Go back inside. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Oh, I think it does. I mean, she’s my friend and you’ve been screwing her over figuratively and literally for the past month now, haven’t you?”

Your eyes widen and tears of embarrassment slip over your waterline. “You knew?”

“Of fucking course, I knew. You were walking around like you were suddenly getting laid and Kook was showing up to TA sessions with hickies on his neck the week after we made a joke about you taking his V card off his hands. All at the same time that you magically have to start staying over after game night at his place for tutoring,” he spits the word out. “You’re the smartest girl I know. There’s no way you actually have that much to learn from Kook of all people.”

“Oh, come on,” Jungkook drawls and steps in between you and Hosoek. “Don’t pretend to care about her now.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re always picking fights with her. You don’t care what’s going here, you’re just trying to feed the flames.”

“Kook, stop,” you rasp from behind him, but he ignores you and shoves a hand into the center of Hoseok’s chest.

“Say more,” Hoseok smiles darkly, egging him on. The two of them stand inches apart, each one poised to attack the other at a moment’s notice.

“You’ve been itching to see things fall apart for me because you can’t handle being the oldest and the least accomplished in the group.” You try not to gasp but it’s hard because you’ve never heard him say something so nasty to anyone, let alone to someone you would both call a friend. “You’re just mad that your…your indifferent stoner, beta cool guy act hasn’t paid off and you’re still alone with your hand on the weekends. I can tell when someone wants what I have. You’re like every other stupid bully from high school, but with none of the popularity.”

Your mouth drops open, but you can’t find any words to stop the situation from escalating any further. Jungkook smirks at his silence. But Hoseok merely raises a casual eyebrow before turning to look down at you from over Jungkook’s shoulder.

“If you wanted sex that badly, you could have just come to me, you know. Offer still stands now, too.”

Before you can counter anything either of them has said, Jungkook’s fist collides with Hoseok’s jaw. The sound resonates in the empty hallway with a loud crunching sound followed by Hoseok tumbling to the floor and Jungkook yowling in pain at his damaged knuckles. Jungkook automatically turns to you, grimacing and cradling his hand, but you swerve past him to check on Hoseok.

He’s still very much conscious, but the blow took him by surprise and he lost his balance. There’s a little bit of blood when Jungkook’s fist split the skin on the side of Hoseok’s jawline and you can tell already that there will be swelling and bruising. But he should be fine and he doesn’t show any of the signs of concussion that you remember reading about a while ago.

You pull him up by the hand and sling his arm over your shoulder when he stumbles once upright. Together you hobble back into the apartment. Taehyung and Yoori are sitting stiffly at the dining room table when you come in and both rush forward to help you. Jungkook shuffles in after, at a loss for what’s going on.

Wrapping a bag of frozen vegetables from Taehyung’s freezer in a dish towel, you tend to Hoseok’s minor wounds. Taehyung looks tired and frantic as he looks at his friend in pain.

“I don’t get it. What happened out there?”

You hang your head in shame and to avoid both Taehyung and Hoseok’s watchful gazes. Thankfully Hoseok doesn’t say anything, but you’re so embarrassed and disoriented that nothing satisfying comes out.

“They were fighting. And Jungkook punched him.”

“But why would he do that? Hoseok, did you say something?”

“Don’t blame Hobi, he was trying to help me,” you whisper so Yoori can’t hear. You’re not sure you can handle breaking the news to everyone just yet. “Tae, I haven’t been honest with you a while now. Things have been going on between me and Kook and it hasn’t been right. All I can say is that I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t fix anything, but its been eating me up.” 

Jungkook watches as Yoori stands off to the side, looking lost and a little out of place as she tries to parse out where the boundaries for her are. She looks between you and him with uncertainty in her eyes before she finally comes over to check in with him first. He waves her off and watches her naturally gravitate towards you.

When Yoori comes asking you what’s happened with worry in her eyes, you look back at Jungkook for a moment before bawling your eyes out in the middle of the kitchen. Yoori envelopes you in a hug immediately, and you let her comfort you despite the fact that you’ve been secretly highjacking her relationship. Sobs wrack your body for a moment before your phone chimes to let you know your bus is coming soon.

You whisper in her ear that you’re sorry and you’ll explain when it’s the right time. You squeeze her soft hands to your cheek and stutter out that you don’t deserve a friend like her, but that you hope you can remedy that sooner rather than later. With that, you whisper a goodbye and head out, giving Jungkook a wide berth.

He turns around just in time for him to catch one last glimpse of you before the door swings shut behind you.

#btssmutclub #bangtan bookclub #networkbangtan #bttnetwork #btswriters #bts smut #bangtan fanfic #bangtan scenarios #bangtan imagines #bts scenarios #bts fanfction #bts imagines #jungkook fanfic #jungkook imagine #jungkook scenarios

[god-hunter]

Things Have Changed Too Much

It’s only been a month since I moved in and already so much has changed.  Too much has changed!  Remember how I said last time that by the end of this, we’re gonna come out in a completely different place?  Well... I’m in the different place.  And I hate everything about this Future/Now.

Almost everything...  There are Silver Linings.  And an Orange little ball of light that entered my life, 3 weeks ago.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  I want to balance the good with the bad, and run you week by week as best as possible.

Forget dates, but we’re ranging from 4/12 - 5/11.

In that first week of living in my new pad, I’ve been owning the whole single bachelor lifestyle.   After the pizza ran out, I had a well-stocked fridge full of frozen meat and other basic essentials, thanks to Mom.  I needed to buy more pans and stuff though, so off to Target, I was.

Within those first 2 weeks, I was going to Target like, every other day.  Always thinking of something new, or buying something that caught my eye.  I’ll spare the details, but I will bring up furniture.

As I brought up in the last entry, I didn’t have a couch anymore...  So I tried to rock that Amazon Prime, and order a quick comfy chair to get the job done, while I take my time to research and order a good couch with the correct Dimensions to get through my narrow door...

Well, ordering that fucking chair was a mistake, because it took forever to come through.  So long, in fact, that I found a better thing at Target for less money and just picked that up instead.

So in week 1, in my living room, I was rocking two kitchen chairs.  One served as my sitting chair and the other was a make-shift table...  In week 2, I got a tufted comfy chair from Target, which was the shit.  It absolutely did the job, as my back was KILLING me, once again.  [This happened during my last move as well].  I’d be on the phone with my parents pretty much nightly, and my Mom told me that I’m probably doing so much without realizing it.  I did do a lot within just 3 days alone. I definitely recall taking a break to recuperate.

That make-shift bed was a disaster too.  My Dad pulled out the mattress from their couch and let me borrow it to give myself more back-support when I sleep.  So now I had a couch and a bed to research, but I was not up for it yet.

In week 3, the original comfy chair I ordered from Amazon came, and it was.. mediocre.  But paired right next to the Target chair made for an interesting make-shift Loveseat, while the other two kitchen chairs buffed around the sides to serve as end tables, almost.  Soon enough, I bought an inexpensive leather ottoman from Target as well and my Living Room was starting to get a little cozy.  I might have ordered my couch at that point and I was just waiting for it to come in.  In another day or so, I was finally ready to look into getting a proper bed delivered.  That process was a train wreck in itself, but... I found something I really liked.  I took a gamble on a hybrid mattress.  Half memory foam, half spring coils.  Time would tell if this was a good choice, but at the very least, I was very happy with the bed frame and box spring.

That same week, something magical happened.  This one merits a date.  On Wednesday 4/22, I got a Kitten!  It wasn’t planned, but the Ex caught word from her sister that an Orange Cat needed a home and I hit her up instantly. That day Fate intervened man.  Suddenly I was a Cat Dad for real, and I couldn’t be happier in that regard.  But... we’re not done...

The next day, my parents were really excited to meet my Kitty cat and see the apartment for the first time. A couch was still on its way, unfortunately.  We were even half-expecting it to arrive that day, but that didn’t happen. Well...  After my Mom walked up a flight of stairs to my 2nd floor apartment, she was winded and needed to sit down.  This surprised us, as she didn’t look well. She was kind of gasping and didn’t even take her coat off.

After asking if she was alright, she said, “No...” and explained that she felt faint last night. She’d been having trouble breathing since the night before.  This made me really worried.  She didn’t think it was Covid though.  Just something we’d all keep our eye on.

I got her water, and in 10 minutes she felt better.  Good enough to walk around and check out my rooms.  And hold the baby kitty cat. We went to his 1st Vet appointment together, which entailed a lot of sitting around and waiting in the car, since they don’t let you in.  It was good to chill in the car with them while my little boy was getting taken care of.

We got back in the apartment and AGAIN, she was winded.  This was bad... When they left, I felt really bad and I was really worried about Mom. Our phone calls became daily from that point on. It was definitely somewhere in this period that I was calling her and updating her about my bed purchase, which was a pain in the ass.  I was definitely yelling, and upset, because my online order didn’t go through and I hadn’t figured it out yet. That next morning I was able to update her with good news that I was able to place the order on the phone and it even cost less.  She was so happy for me.  It was a really good conversation.  She even went over all these changes I’ve been through since February, and how bit by bit I’ve been taking each of them on like a champ.  She expressed how proud she was of me, which wasn’t unlike her.  But... sometimes I wonder if this was precautionary... I think... I had the couch delivered, I just didn’t put it together yet.  I think she knew about that.  She also knew that I had a bed coming that week on Thursday that was going to be fully put together and set up for me.  I remember her feeling really good about that.

Well, it was absolutely on Tuesday morning - 4/28 that I put together my couch, with minor issues, but I got it done.  I was SO happy.  The kitty cat was playing with the giant box and foam stuff that it came in.  I filmed it for FB.  It was really cute.  I went to the bathroom, and I was washing my hands, I got a call from the house phone.  I was really excited, because I was just about to call her!

Only... it was Dad, and he had terrible news.

That morning at 5AM, Mom had another breathing fit. [One of 3, which I had not known about!!!]. My Dad decided enough was enough.  He was calling the Ambulance.  She agreed.  This was an Emergency and needed to be looked at.

The ambulance got there within half an hour and gave her oxygen.  She immediately felt better as they took her away.  My Dad was not allowed to go with her.  He kissed her on the forehead and told her that he’d see her later.

My Dad received 3 phone calls that day.  I think I’ll just spare the details and say that on the 3rd call, they told him that she didn’t make it...

The rest of my week was a nightmare. Nothing mattered anymore...

My Middle Brother took on the role of calling up the Hospital for as much information as possible and organizing the Funeral Arrangements for her.  I was the emotional support for my Dad and Oldest Brother, who was a pain in the ass this whole time.  My Middle Brother mostly had it together, but I was there for him too of course.  There were a lot of Zoom phone calls late at night now.  With both Family and Friends.  The Cousins reached out and really made us feel better, simply by talking about it.  We weren’t alone or so distant, despite our vastly different locations.  We were connected.

I Zoomed a lot that week, and that’s important, but we’re not done yet.

My Mom’s Funeral Service was put on Zoom, for my friends and family to attend.  The Service was limited to 10 people only.  Everything sucked.

The same day we put my Mom in the Ground, the Honeymoon was officially over at the Apartment.  My Landlord’s Brother took it upon himself that day to complain for a 2nd TIME that I had been zooming at night with phone calls that are so loud that its as if I’m in the same room with him.

I apologized and explained my situation.  But I was more put off and upset at this.  How fucking dare he!?  Does he have ANY IDEA what I’ve been through!???  The short answer is no, but also... he doesn’t care.  It doesn’t change the fact that I’ve kept him from sleeping for at least 3 nights in a row.

For that I apologize, but these 2 go to bed at 10PM!!  I’m sorry, but even when I’m working, I go to bed at Midnight.  We’re under Quarantine, dude...  I get tired between 12 & 3 now...

I told my Landlord that I don’t want his brother knocking on my door to complain to me anymore.  I’m standing up for myself. But the other part of that discussion was that they’re going to Soundproof the Ceiling of his room so he doesn’t have to hear me.  I am taking it upon myself to do the same to the room above him, which is my studio.  It was a project I was going to take on anyway, but...  I never would have worked on this right after my Mother’s death...

GOD!  Are you fucking KIDDING ME!!!?

These emotions are raw, folks...  I’m still so perturbed by the fact that the 1st two Zoom calls were in my LIVING room.  I was talking NORMALLY.  I wasn’t yelling.  Yes I was laughing at 2 AM.  100%.  The third time was even with Headphones on!!!  But again, we’re under quarantine and we’re all adults.  You gotta be fucking kidding me.  So that’s what I said to my Landlord in a very respectful text.  We need to respect each other’s lifestyles.

That bed came in by the way...  2 days after my Mother had perished.  I was numb the whole time.  Here I was getting this beautiful gift and I was no longer in any mood to receive it.  I couldn’t tell her about it... Same goes for the couch.  Right after I set up that couch, I got the bad news, so I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Now it’s a little better.  I’ve gotten over it.  It’s quite comfortable actually, albeit a little small for me.  I’ve definitely passed out on it a bunch already.  Which is exactly what I was TRYING to do, when the Landlord’s fucking brother came at me a 2nd time about the Zoom calls. The 1st time was enough!  No new information was exchanged.  I already knew they were gonna do the soundproofing thing!! He was probably really trying to impress upon me that it’s disturbing and to try to not do that, but guess what.  You’re not my Dad Motherfucker.  In fact, you’re not even my Landlord.  And then I came to find that he doesn’t even fucking pay RENT.  So his Say, is NOTHING...

FUCK THIS GUY. Absolutely.  Whole-heartedly.. Fuck Him.

There’s more reasons why I am saying that, which are none of my business, let alone yours.  I found out a lot about him from my old Co-Worker - the very same one who hooked me up with this apartment.  Which almost segues perfectly into the latest development in my life.  This Co-Worker tried to set me up with a new girl that she knows.  This one’s a 32 year old Single Mom, and she’s got a cute face.  I don’t know the rest of her body, but I know she’s a bigger Woman. That doesn’t really bother me, but after my Ex, that kind of thing is important to me.  Because if you don’t have your Health...  I can’t really take care of you...

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  This is truly, the newest development since about 4 or 5 days ago.  My Mom has passed...  I’ve been working on this Fucking Soundproofing project.. and something came over me, that...  I think I’m ready to meet new people.

On paper it’s only 3 months since we broke up, but it feels like longer, because week:month ratios are funny like that.

On the Female Front, I haven’t really been trying.  I had mentioned before that things have gone cold with almost all parties. When I was living alone, I fell into a pattern of playing WatchDogs2, watching Wrestling Reviews and even enjoying Manga Readings of DragonBall Super.  It was becoming a reliable little routine, before the kitty came into my life.  I was it’s savior, but then a week later when my Mom died... this little guy is my savior.

I never thought about it, but I really do believe that animals come into our lives for a reason now.  Exactly when they’re meant to.  Someone or something knew I was going to need this comfort in my life...  And I’m so grateful for that.  This is the sort of thing that could even get me to believe in God. But... I already believe in a higher power, so that’s enough...

::sigh::

This entire Era, really fucking sucks.  Now I’m my Dad’s emotional support partner.  Who counts on me and asks me to visit all the time.  And... that’d be fine if he wasn’t so hard to talk to.  All he wants to do is talk about himself.  When she was alive, he talked about how lucky he was to have met Mom...

So now those stories are just grating, frustrating and Exhausting!

But... he needs me.  And I guess I need him... The brothers need to be united too.  My Oldest Brother I’m worried about.  He’s always been the angriest amongst the 3 of us.  And most reliant on my Mother for help.

But I was talking about Women for a second...

Like I said, most of the novelty of keeping in touch has faded. My Social Distancer, might still want to go on that catch up date when this is all over, but when we talk, I don’t feel the warmest of vibes from her.  I feel like I annoy her, which is the worst thing to ever bring up to a girl you’re talking to. Almost the same goes for Canada Girl.  She’s practically off my radar, we talk so infrequently.  The vibe is definitely cooler, and fuck knows if she’ll ever want to really come over like she said she did. Zombie Mama is really sweet, but we barely talk.  She receives my messages very warmly and has definitely still expressed interest in getting me out of the house when this is all over.  So I love it.  I’ll absolutely take her up on that. In the exact contrast, you won’t be hearing about Bakery Girl anymore... I decided to hit her up again for the first time since she found out about the news.  I tried to have a normal conversation/re-ignite flirting, but Nope.  It was a short conversation that dwindled fast.  And when I brought up that I’d like to stay in better touch and text more if that’s okay, she absolutely said, “Aww that’s sweet, but I’m such a terrible texter.  I’m not the one, lol.” That terminology was so weird.  Did she catch my vibe?  Was she politely letting me down??  I caught that vibe and didn’t make it a conflict.  But I did say, “In other words don’t count on you?” And she was like, “Yup, lol.” ::shaking my head::  What the fuck ever... [I also looked it up and that’s absolutely a thing that girl’s say when they’re not interested, so...  fuck it.]

I actually shared that with Original Crush Twin, who was surprised, but also reassured me that she wasn’t looking for anything and always just sort of did her own thing anyway.  I’m not broken up about it.  It’s just annoying. If anything it’s given me more of a direction.

I can pretty much forget about everyone else. Gamer Girl is just a friend, Green is a bad idea and way too Polyamorous... Significant Party has had their own problems with the other half and I’ve stayed out of it.  I’m there, but it’s none of my business.  When they found out my Mom died, they were very supportive and told me to call whenever I needed.  I haven’t needed to vent at 6 AM, although the gesture was really sweet.  However, one night of flirting wasn’t really received due to bad timing from their own  drama and... I just can’t with that right now.  That’s the type of shit that fucked up this relationship last time.  But they know how I feel and we’ve been in touch a lot this week. We’ve definitely been naughty in other ways, so...  I think our Open Friendship is just fine  But now I have other things going on.  And I need to start focussing on moving on.

Which brings me to new girl.  We’ll call her Mama Girl. Its too soon to tell how much chemistry we actually have.  This person has a 3 year old and Dad is out of the picture, although it’s not without its own drama apparently.  I’m still learning her.  As my Co-worker said, she’s definitely sweet and silly.  She laughs at basically everything, so she seems easy going enough. But as she is a Mother, she’s busy for most of the day.  At around 9:30 the kid goes to bed, and that’s when it’s go-time to talk.  We have a window until about 11.  Sometimes she’ll push to midnight to stay up, but she’s already shot by that point and is quick to excuse herself for the night. One thing that I like about her is that I know when the conversation is over... But last night, I found out that this bitch is moving in 2 years!  Like Away, not to another town.  So should I even bother???

Right now I’m taking it with a grain of salt.  She’s a new person to talk to, is a self-proclaimed open book, has a million stories and is happy to hear mine.  She knows about Mom thanks to good old Facebook...  She apologized for the news and said she’d never mention it again unless I wanted to talk about it. She’s really sweet.  And she sends little hearts when I say things she likes, or even when she says goodnight.  Last night she used the emoticon with all the hearts around it when saying goodnight, so... I guess that's something, lol.

So not only does she like my pictures, but I guess she likes me.  She definitely likes the company and talking to another adult.  I can only imagine what it’s like to deal with a 3 year old all day.

But I can certainly say that waiting for 9:30 for whatever minimal conversation we can squeeze out is a fucking drag.  So...  I’m trying to take it in stride.  It’s not like we can actually go out anyway...  This Social Distancing World we live in is indefinitely prolonged until further notice.

But...  Today is a new week.  I’m on my 7th week of Unemployment, I’ll have had my kitten for 3 weeks this Wednesday, my Mom hasn’t been with us for 2 weeks - tomorrow, and I’ve been split from my Ex-girlfriend for 3 months.  I’ve had a place of my own for 1 month, and soon I’ll have known this new girl for a week...

Who knows what the future will hold...?

I’m not excited for it.  At all...

Finances are no longer a Fear... My Mom’s investments had investments... She is leaving us Well Off!

But that is hardly a silver lining at this time...

My New Normal is going to suck. The World is in peril. And I swear to God, every time I actually think about it, I swear I want to just crack.  I feel fucking defeated man...

But, it’s not over.  And each day, I remind myself that too.  And somehow I find it in me to move on.  One fucking moment at a time...

#Things Have Changed Too Much #1 month report #Bachelor Life #CatDad Life #Furniture Journey #Comfy Chairs #New Couch #New Bed #Mom #Dad #Zoom #The honeymoon is over #Female Front #Social Distancer #Canada Girl #Zombie Mom #Bakery Girl #Gamer Girl #Green #Significant Party #Mama Girl

[purplesurveys]

900

1. What’s the last thing you ate? Shawarma. It was a usual meal of mine at school so I’ve been missing it a lot during this quarantine, and I was happy when my dad got me a couple ones yesterday.

2. What’s your favourite cheese? I haven’t been super experimental when it comes to cheese mainly because the better ones are a little expensive and I’m more willing to spend my money on other foods...but the best one I’ve had is feta.

3. What’s your favourite fish? My favorite cooked or grilled fish is tilapia and eel; as for raw fish I love tuna.

4. What’s your favourite fruit? I don’t really like fruit but I’m open to eating avocado-flavored things like shakes and cheesecake; and I’m okay with strawberry-flavored candy hahaha.

5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I’ve never liked olives. I take them out of my pizza and such.

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? I never *liked* beer but sometimes I’ll have a bottle if and only if it’s to socialize at a party. I just keep the grimace to myself lol because I personally never found it good. I had my first beer at Marielle’s debut, four years ago.

7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? High school. That was when my palate started to expand and I wanted to try being more adventurous with food. I got into shellfish pretty early on and my mom even used to buy a kilo of mussels just for me. 

8. What was the best thing your mum/dad/guardian used to make? I love my dad’s laksa, risotto, curries, and chicken wings. My mom doesn’t cook much but I do like her spaghetti.

9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? My city doesn’t have native food of its own; and I’m not sure about my province’s specialtes either only because cuisines from other provinces are far more popular. I can say though that most visitors who come to the country often try adobo, sinigang, kare-kare, and bulalo.

10. What’s your comfort food? Cheeseburgers, samgyeopsal, pad thai, and chicken wings.

11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? Milk chocolate. And it gets a lot of flak because it’s not actually chocolate, but I do enjoy the flavor of white chocolate too.

12. How do you like your steak? Rare.

13. How do you like your burger? I like mine with caramelized onions, a mayo-based sauce, and brioche buns; barbecue sauce or jalapeños are add-ons I have no problem being put in my burger. I don’t like tomatoes, pickles, and lettuce.

14. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled if on toast; omelette with cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, and bell peppers if with rice; and obviously, poached if on top of an Eggs Benedict. I don’t have a preferred style for eggs.

15. How do you like your potatoes? As French fries or mojos.

16. How do you take your coffee? If someone is making the coffee for me, I request for lots of cream and sugar. I’d drink any kind of coffee but black. If I’m at a coffee shop I typically get caramel macchiato.

17. How do you take your tea? I enjoy lemonade iced tea. I don’t really like hot tea.

18. What’s your favourite mug? I suppose my favorite is the only mug I own, which is a white mug that changes colors depending on the temperature of the drink inside.

19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? I can’t stand biscuits anymore because those are what my grandma/mom packed for my recess nearly everyday throughout grade school. I don’t like store-brought cookies either because they taste super processed, but my favorite as a kid were the Presto peanut butter cookies.

20. What’s your ideal breakfast? Garlic rice, a packed omelette, and hashbrowns if I’m somewhere fancy. Scrambled eggs and hotdogs when I’m at home.

21. What’s your ideal sandwich? Monte Cristo or banh mi.

22. What’s your ideal pizza: Quattro formaggi. If we’re talking more experimental pizzas, barbecue pizza is a guilty pleasure.

23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? I’m not a big pie person but I do love savory a lot more, like chicken pot pie. I think most of the sweet pies out there are fruit-based anyway.

24. What’s your ideal salad? Spicy tuna salad. I’ve been having such a craving for it :(

25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? We always have white bread, eggs, my mom’s cranberry juice, and veggies.

26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? In the freezer we never run out of various meats and frozen meal packs, like frozen bangus, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, French fries, etc. We also often have ice cream, but it’s not a must-have for us obviously.

27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? Pasta, canned food like luncheon meat and corned beef, cup noodles, various condiments like soy sauce and fish sauce, 3-in-1 coffee.

28. What spices can you not live without? I can’t cook but I do know I like salt, pepper, paprika, and cumin. I’m sure I’m missing other essential ones lol

29. What sauces can you not live without? Sriracha, bagoong, banana ketchup, gochujang, peanut sauce, gravy, barbecue sauce, aioli, mayonnaise.

30. Where do you buy most of your food? My parents don’t have a supermarket preference; they just go to wherever is most convenient for them at the moment. Once I start doing my own grocery shopping though I would rather go to a supermarket where they’d have a wider selection for foreign foods, like those that would have Pop-Tarts and sriracha sauce. Just the foodie in me that constantly has to have food from other cultures.

31. How often do you go food shopping? My parents do the groceries once every two or three weeks, I think.

33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? Aside from the obvious ref or cooking range, probably the coffee maker. Not sure how much it cost my parents but it’s supposed to be branded haha.

34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? Dad bought a couple of pans because he didn’t like how our old ones were starting to get too many scratches.

35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? Refrigerator. So many things would spoil without it...that’s why when we get blackouts the first thing we worry about is how long the ref would stay cold.

36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? I’ve only done it once.

37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients?

38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? Crocodile, carabao, lamb.

39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? Don’t remember exactly when but it has to be sometime recently. I’m not too grossed out by this.

40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? I have never done this.

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi – Indian, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican. This question is a teeny bit annoying and a little offensive. How would you like it if I referred to American food as ‘ribs’ lol

42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – Vodka, rum, (some) whiskey. I don’t drink brandy because that’s what my grandpa, who had alcohol issues, used to drink.

43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – Aniseed, garlic, basil, ginger, lime, mint.

44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. –

45. Bread and spread: I don’t really munch on this particular food. Toast and butter is enough for me.

46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? It’s either KFC or Jollibee. In KFC I get a Zinger and a brownie; in Jollibee, I usually order the chicken-spaghetti set, large fries, and a Yum Burger. If they have tuna pie on the menu I’d get that too. My appetite gets exceptionally large when it comes to Jollibee hahahaha.

47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? I no longer remember what exactly I ate but I had a blaaaast eating in Bali. I also had a sushi platter in Fukuoka that I’ll never forget.

48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? I don’t drink regularly but if I’m out with friends and we want to chill after a tiring day, we get a pitcher of a mixed drink.

49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? Eggs and hotdogs for breakfast. Probably with bread.

50. Are you hungry now? A little bit, considering it’s nearly 10 and I still haven’t had breakfast.

51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? I’ve been having it everyday now because I’ve been home for...most of the year...sigh. But I skipped it all the time when I was in school because getting to class on time and having a clean attendance record mattered to me more than filling up my stomach. 52. At what time do you have breakfast? On weekdays I have it between 9-10 AM. On weekends when my parents are home, we have brunch instead at around 10:30-11 AM because they wake up late.

53. At what time do you have lunch? I normally skip lunch now. In school I just had tiny eating breaks throughout the day, but I didn’t have lunch per se.

54. What do you have for lunch? My usual purchases were instant noodles/kwek-kwek, tapsilog from Rodic’s, or shawarma rice. Thrived on these three for my entire college life.

55. At what time do you have dinner? 7-8 PM, depending on whenever my dad is finished cooking.

56. What do you have for dinner? My dad likes changing up our dishes everyday :) It’s one of my favorite things about quarantine. Outside of the quarantine, I’ve never had a main dinner dish.

57. Do you light candles during dinner? No.

58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? 6 chairs. We don’t have a ‘main’ chair that’s larger than the rest, but my dad is the one who sits on the chair on one end of the dining table, or what we call the kabisera in Filipino. My mom, siblings, and I sit on either side of him. 

59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? I use my right hand for the spoon and my left hand for the fork. I drink with my right hand most of the time.

61. Mention the veggies that you like most: Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, asparagus, string beans. Idk what eggplants and bell peppers are but I like those too.

62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? Cucumber and ampalaya. 63. You like your fruit salad to have more: Air. Hahahaha I do not like fruit salads.

64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: I love vegetables but don’t really eat vegetable salads? I don’t think I’ve even heard of those.

65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? Whatever goes on banh mi.

66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Whittaker’s peanut butter chocolate.

67. What’s your favourite dessert? I really love macarons, cupcakes, and cheesecake.

68. What’s your favourite drink? Just water. Other drinks make me fuller more quickly.

69. What’s your favourite snack? Pringles, French fries, corndogs...anything deep-fried, really.

70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? Strawberry, or just the original bubblegum flavor.

71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Salted caramel, queso real, or cookies and cream.

72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? Original or sour cream and onion.

73. What’s your favourite soup? Miso. Have to have it whenever I have Japanese food.

74. What’s your favourite pizza? Already answered this, but I will always order quattro formaggi if I see it on a menu.

75. What’s your favourite type of dish? I have lots of favorites, but I think chicken curry takes the cake for me. 

76. What food do you hate? Fruits, any dessert with fruits.

77. What’s your favourite restaurant? Yabu. It’s a Japanese restaurant that doesn’t even serve sushi (because I’m still ticked off by that sushi question lol).

78. Do you eat homemade food, or food delivered from outside? These days I eat food cooked by either parent. But when I’m on my own, I buy my food.

80. Who cooks at home? My dad does most of the time. My mom will make breakfast on the weekends.

81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? I’m not on any.

82. How do you keep yourself fit? I just moderate my food intake in general and make sure I stop eating once I feel full. I don’t work out or count calories and stuff.

#survey #surveys

[jj-lynn21]

The Stay starring Bill Skarsgard as Chris Ryan ch 1

Notes/warnings: introduction, eeriness.  Original characters and story.  photo of Bill my edit courtesy of ninedaysfilm on Instagram. Bill will be portraying Chris & main character’s ex-Mark in this fiction.

ch 2 ch 3 ch4

There’s this rundown motel that has been closed for years on route 5 just outside Cleveland, Ohio. Now it has reopened under new manager/owner Chris Ryan. He bought the place on an auction website. It was a great price. And he was looking to get out of Main to a nice quiet Midwest state like Ohio. So, when he had his inheritance money all squared in his paypal account he jumped on this real estate venture.

Aletha Barron speeded down route 5 on her way from a bad destructive breakup to anywhere but there. Her eye make-up smeared from tears dried up hours ago. The light was fading in the sky. She was hungry, tired and still a little pissed off at mostly herself for staying with such an abusive person like Mark for so long. She needed a break. Just one break to feel safe again.

When she saw the dilapidated sign, she didn’t expect much. She needed cheap and with a sign that unkept it had to be. It was only a few more miles down the freeway that she saw what looked like it could be the motel the sign was pointing towards. There was no motel signage on the building but the few cars in the parking lot insinuated it was open.  She parked across from the part of the building that had a red office light flashing in the window. Then went inside.

When Aletha rang the bell, a man ducked out of the dark back room. She jumped back when she saw him. Her heart began to race. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead. He was practically a doppelganger for the guy she was running from. Other than the man standing before her was thinner and his hair was parted to one side slicked down.

The man put his hands up. “Hey, its ok. What’s the matter? How can I help you?”

His voice was so sincere and kind. She didn’t know a man’s voice could be so soft. She was still hesitant to approach the desk he stood behind.

“I, is this the motel on the sign a few miles back?” She said hesitantly.

“Yeah,” He sat down in a chair with his hand clinched in front of him. “Do you want a room?”

He had kind eyes and almost looked as scared of her as she was of him. “I do.” They both just stared at each other blankly for a few moments.

“I’m sorry If I scared you.” He still didn’t move. “If you walk up to the desk and sign the ledger I will put the keys on the counter. You look like you’ve been through a lot and I won’t question you about it. I won’t make any sudden moves towards you. Ok?”

“Yeah, its been a bad day.” She watched him closely as she steps up to the counter. Mark would often tell her it was fine to come closer to talk. Then he would grab her roughly to pin her against the wall to scream in her face about things he thought she was doing wrong. Often causing bruising on her arms. When he slapped her this last time she ran.  

She jumps back again when he moved slightly. “Its ok.” He said reassuringly. May I reach for the key to a room?”

She nods yes still watching him closely. “How much is the room?”

“$35 a night.” I gave you a suite away from the regulars. I don’t mind giving working girls a room for the evening to do their business that helps them support their kids, but I understand most people don’t want to near that sort of thing. Or to hear anything going on and the walls are thin around here. I plan to fix that when I earn enough.”

“Everyone needs a job.” She finished signing the ledger and grabbed the keys. “But I do appreciate you putting me farther away from their business. Is there any restaurants that deliver here?”

“I’m afraid not at this hour. There are some vending machines with junk.” He thought for a moment as she turned to leave. “wait,” He didn’t move knowing it would freak her out with the way she was already acting towards him. “I have some French bread pizza in my freezing. I can get you one. There is a toaster oven in your room.”

She turned back around slowly. He did stun her again but she could tell his voice wasn’t any closer. “I would like that. Thank you.”

“I will have to walk from around the counter over to my living area.” He points to an archway to her left. “Is that ok?”

“Go ahead,” She said. Her eyes still on him. She was ready to run or kick him in the crotch like she did to Mark if she had to. “What’s your name. I feel if I’m stealing your dinner, I should be polite enough to get you name.”

He chuckled as he slowly walks around the counter and back towards his place. It wasn’t a scary chuckle. It was sweet. Almost like the chuckle of a child. When he came back, he handed her a box of two individual frozen pizzas. “My name is Chris Ryan. You’re not stealing my dinner. I bought a whole case of these which barely fit in my freezer. If you need anything, I am available all hours.”

“Thank you, Mr. Ryan.” She managed a polite smile.

“Your welcome Ms. Barron,” He said smiling with his dimples on display and his green eyes shining.

She left to go look at what $35 a night could possibly get her. She hoped it wasn’t as decrepit as the rest of the place looked.  When she got inside the room it wasn’t all that bad. A little musty from being closed up but opening the one window helped quickly. She didn’t plan to leave it open for long. She put on the air conditioner on circulate to help. Then she put one of the pizzas in the toaster oven and the other in the small refrigerator/freezer. She closed the window and locked it pulling to see if it would still open with the lock in place. It didn’t budge. She quickly went to grab a coke from the machine just a few steps from her door. Then settled in for the evening falling asleep watching Friends reruns on TBS. 

Someone was watching her the whole the time.

#the stay #original story #original characters #starring Bill Skarsgard #bill skarsgard #suspense #horror #fantasy #writing

[chainmailpurse]

hiya

Sunday was a wonderful day I did laundry at dads and he gave me a bottle of sweet orange essential oil to use as perfume which is very sweet . ( he also went on an anti vax spiel again . I can respect his opinion and listen but its a little painful knowing im fully vaccinated as he's telling me these things .. but for now I don't mind listening to what he feels he has to share with me even if I don't really fully agree with it ? its definitely not the time to tell him yet lool anyways )

I saw mikayla afterwards and omg I just love her so much im so thankful 4 a solid homie like that .... im lucky. she came over to my mums when I was back home around 3 ish ,and we hadn't seen each other in weeks so we had so much to talk about . immediately we have the most amazing cathartic conversations and do a deep dive and she showed me her music , like a few songs written n recorded by her they were wonderful me and mikayla will be in a really hot sexy girl band one day and we will tour the world. yeah . she generously ordered us all these sexy dinner salads they fucking slapped bro . later on I ordered her a ticket for a concert that I bought a ticket for months ago it was supposed to be this month but got postponed to may 12 next year. . anyways I can't wait 2 go with her . Monday I got my period & it was a day off so I watched 90s movies and did a load of laundry I had at mums . then got cute 4 picking up my book and groceries . we had bbq chicken and gluten free dairy free frozen pizza 4 dinner so gourmet u know ? fell asleep after eating n vampire tv n my November vogue .

woke up at six cuz I leaked onto my white sheets in the night lolz , wasn't mad about it tho I got up and scrubbed my undies n sheets and put fresh ones on my bed. then I made my bed and decided 2 smoke a wood since ill be gone with my dad most the day and im spending another night there for my birthday tmr . I think today im gonna get the doc marten quad platform or the doc marten collier bex lace to toe leather platforms . the collier bex ones are cooler in my eyes so im gonna get those honestly . they will have my size at the doc marten store cuz the universe has got my back !

anyways being in my cocoon of a room and rolling my lil blunt and putting a fur coat on to smoke it as the sky gets light outside .... so beautiful . so peaceful and quiet and sleepy and chilly .

also want to get some perfume like I love scents and I use perfumes ( mostly natural rose scents and oils ) but id love a fancy eau de toilette or something u know .. like I want Chanel juice to spray on me b4 I leave the house u know ?

I ordered these bongo low rise buckle jeans on depop yesterday so cunt can't wait . today will be a wonderful day !!!

ever since I realized again a few weeks ago that the subconscious / unconscious mind is pretty much a computer that u can program ive been doing things everyday to program things I want into my brain and life . . . . . it feels like its actually working now that ive been consistent for weeks and its amazing . wow

#text

[foundcarcosa]

cccvii.

* Do you have problems with money? >> I have a problem with not having enough money for my purposes. Otherwise, I think my spending is pretty logical and balanced -- it’s just that I don’t ever have enough money so it seems like I’m running out all the time. * How much have you spent this year so far on pants? >> I haven’t bought any. I want to go to the Goodwill soon, I was thinking about going tomorrow but we’ll see. * How many pairs of shoes do you have that you have worn fewer than 5 times? >> I think I’ve worn my rain boots less than 5 times. * Are you addicted to anything besides nicotine or caffeine? >> No. I have like, compulsions -- sniffing menthol, and chewing bubble gum -- but I wouldn’t call those addictions. * Do you call anyone "sexy"? >> Sure, I call a lot of people that.

* What is your favorite type of science (chemistry, biology, etc.)? >> Astronomy and astrophysics. * Have you ever seen anyone have a heart attack? >> No. * What is the last favor someone asked you to do? >> I don’t remember. * Do you need to go to the bathroom right now? >> Nah. * Do you have the money to buy someone a ring, if you wanted to propose? >> No. I’m already engaged, anyway. * Do you have an ex that you just can't forget? >> I haven’t forgotten any of my exes. That’d be a strange thing for me to just straight up forget. * Do you smile a lot? >> I don’t know. Maybe? What defines “a lot”? * Do you like to go whale watching? >> I’ve never been. * When did you last go bird watching? >> I’ve never gone bird-watching. * Have you ever carved in a tree? >> No. * When and who did you last lie (to)? >> I don’t remember. * Have you ever slept in the same bed as a dog or cat? >> Yes. * Have you ever played Sim City? >> I used to have SimCity 2000, for the computer I had when I was a child. I liked it but I didn’t really have a good grasp on it. Eventually my cities would be rife with riots and abandoned districts and I’d gleefully bring down a natural (or unnatural) disaster to purge the place. ... The disasters were my favourite part. I think sometimes I’d just build cities to destroy them with the alien robot. * What is your opinion of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail? >> I have never seen it. * Do you like corn? >> Sure. * When did you last go fishing? Where? >> I’ve never been. * Why did you go to the place furthest from your house that you've ever been? >> The furthest away I’ve been since moving here was New Orleans, and I went there because I had the money for once and I wanted to see Her again. * Have you ever worked on a farm? >> No. * What is your favorite fruit? >> I’m not sure. I like most of them, I think. * Do you believe you'll find someone better than who you're with now? >> Better how? I don’t even know how to quantify this. * What is your favorite brand of frozen pizza? >> Digiorno, I guess. I haven’t had many different brands. * Your mom calls you at 2 AM. Do you answer? >> --- * How long was your shortest relationship? >> A little over a month, I think. * Do you like to ride on buses? >> For citywide transportation, sure. Anything long-distance, I prefer trains or planes. * Have you ever blocked someone on a website accidentally? >> No. * When is the last time you went to a different county? >> Never. * Have you ever had a nanny? >> No. * Do you hate anyone you work with? >> ---

* What color is your favorite jacket? >> Black. * Do you like coffee? >> I like it but caffeine doesn’t like me. * Have you personalized your answering machine/voicemail? >> No, I just use the standard “you have reached [number]” recorded message. * What do you feel like eating RIGHT NOW? >> Nothing. * When was the last time that you were genuinely happy? >> I don’t know. * Think back five months ago, were you single? >> No. * Who is the last person you saw really drunk? >> Me. * Was the last person you hugged a boy or girl? >> I don’t remember the last time I actively hugged someone. * Who was the last person you had a serious talk with? >> Hunh. * If left alone for a few days, could you fend for yourself? >> Yes. * Have you ever worn bright red lipstick? >> No. * Do you plan on moving out within the next year? >> No. * Has anyone put their arms around you in the last 5 days? >> Yes. * Has anyone ever called you perfect before? >> Probably. * In the summer do you see yourself in a relationship? >> Sure. * Do you hate anyone? >> No. * Who was the last person to compliment you & what did they say? >> I don’t remember. * The person who hurt you most recently says sorry, what would you say? >> I don’t remember who that was or what they did. * What's your favorite color out of these five: green, yellow, pink, blue, purple? >> Hmm. * How many times have you dyed your hair? >> Around 5 or so. * Which movie did you last see in the cinema? >> *grimace* Infinity War... * Do you own more than one working cell phone? >> No. * Was your last text message from a male or female? >> Female. * Ever hurt yourself playing Wii? >> Nope. * What was the last drink you had? >> Water. * Would you ever go to Hawaii? >> Sure. * Anything you would change about your life right now? >> Where I live. * Has anyone said ‘I love you’ in the past week? >> Yes. * Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile? >> “Always” is asking a lot, but there are people with high success rates. * Where is your boyfriend/girlfriend right now? >> Sparrow’s asleep, Can Calah is where he always is. * Have you ever shaved your head? >> Yes, all the time. 

#surveysofsamedi #surveys

[canaryatlaw]

okay, so today was pretty good. I woke up to my alarm at 11:45 for PT, got ready and walked there. The session was fine, nothing very remarkable about it. Afterwards when I was walking home there were people from charities out canvasing which is a fairly common sight, I ended up stopping and talking to a guy from one called People’s Action who are working to end mass incarceration  and advocate for a fairer legal system (I told him up front that I was a student and had no income so I couldn’t donate, but we had a pleasant conversation anyway). We were very much on the same wavelength about things, we talked about the new DA in Philadelphia and how he was instrumental in getting Meek Mills released from prison recently, he was talking about reforms the Chicago SA has been instituting and I was telling him about the JTDC and how there were children locked up in there for sometimes over a year. They’re currently pushing for a bill that’s in the Illinois legislature to end money bail throughout the state, basically meaning if someone is arrested on a low level offense, they would be booked and processed, but then released subject to bail conditions such as ankle monitoring and such, the idea being that nobody stays in jail simply because they can’t afford to pay their way out, which is a huge reason for incarceration and the main cause behind most of the inmates at the Cook County Jail right now (note jail is different than prison, prisons don’t usually house people who are pre-trial). So he gave me the name of that legislation and how I could talk to my elected representatives about supporting it (he said he was pretty sure the rep for where I live was signed on, but it’s always good to let them know we’re supporting their position). So that was a pleasant little discussion (pleasant being a relative term, of course). So I got home and started on my baking projects for the day, one being the bread I wanted to make into cheesy garlic bread. I had bought a package of frozen pizza dough a while back, and there’s a recipe on the back to turn it into italian bread instead, and I had let the last one I had thaw out yesterday so I could cook it today, first I had to split it into two loaves and then leave it to rise for 2-3 hours, so I set that up, then started working on my caramels. It was the same recipe I used before and liked, I’ve just learned to change up the temperatures according to how I like them lol mainly leaving them on longer so they get harder and chewier, which is how I like them. there were a few potentially dicey moments when I was adding the heavy cream and butter (if you’ve ever made caramel before you know when you add the heavy cream it legit starts bubbling violently and can be rather intense) probably because I added too much too quickly, and it threatened to bubble over but eventually subsided. I then left them on until they got to like 260 instead of 240 like the recipe said before taking it off the stove and pouring it into a pan to harden, then topped it with sea salt because any good caramel has to be salted these days. It was around 4 at that point and they were supposed to sit for 3 1/2 hours, so I had some time obviously. I did the dishes in the sink, then finally started to finish cleaning my room. I had done a good bit of it last week with cleaning up the clothes that were really the main issue, but I just had a lot of other clutter and random things hanging about that I mainly stuffed either under my bed or in my closet, because those are really the only places I have to put stuff, lol. Hopefully this weekend I can get around to pulling out my clothing and deciding what I want to do with what exactly, keep it or hand, or store, or donate, so hopefully that will work out. Around 5:30 when the bread was done rising I put it in the oven, then when it was done I sliced one of the loaves open and started the cheesy garlic bread part, which is actually very easy because it’s only melted butter, garlic powder, and shredded cheese (of course you could go for the more authentic garlic flavoring by using actual garlic, but in my experience the garlic powder tastes fine). Once that was done I sat down on the couch and had some time to kill before Arrow came on, so I watched last week’s Blindspot that I hadn’t gotten around to yet. I think I only have last night’s Krypton to catch up on now, though I’ll have another Blindspot episode to watch tomorrow night, but it’s the season finale so I’m almost done with that. I’m gonna have to find some good shows to binge over the summer when all my shows are over and I need to decompress from bar studying. Soon enough after that it was Arrow time. Now, to be clear, the only reason I was watching was for Dinah Drake, Black Siren, and Sara Lance, I didn't really give a fuck about anybody else (besides like, Quentin, I guess). Oliver I really don’t give a shit about at this point, and even Felicity has become pretty meh to me because they can’t seem to write her as a character independent from her relationship with Oliver. The opening with them attacking the police prescient with the FBI was pretty bad ass, and done really well, so they get credit for that. The episode went on, I was worried for a moment that they were gonna kill off Rene when they had him call his daughter and I was like OH GOD DO NOT DO THIS TO ME so I was glad they got out of there alive. Then there was Quentin clearly only caring about getting Laurel back, and I’m sorry but I refuse to believe you can GPS track A FUCKING PACEMAKER even when I know they’ve done it with someone else on here at some point, but as soon as he said it to Oliver I was like okay that’s gonna be important so it was good that that was picked up soon. I mean, literally everyone knew they were gonna kill Quentin, and that it’d most likely be in the form of him sacrificing himself to save Laurel, so when he quite literally took a bullet for her that wasn’t really a surprise. When she called him “Dad” my heart definitely broke a little bit. Then everyone else stormed in and I was really just wanting Laurel to rip that stupid collar off her neck and scream at Diaz, but actually having Dinah come to her assist and help her get Quentin out of there was like, such a really well done moment for both of them, I loved it. Then of course there was Oliver being stupid with Diaz and not just putting a fucking arrow into him like he should’ve, like you could’ve grabbed that USB data off his neck if he stopped breathing??? We know thinking isn’t your strong suit buddy but come on. Not gonna lie, Laurel coming in and being like “oh, that movie you were talking about, it was old yeller” before literally blasting him off the building with her scream was so fucking great, I just wish it had actually killed him so we didn’t have to deal with anymore of this bullshit. If he’s actually like, a villain next season I’m gonna be pissed because he needs to just be done. Then of course we had everybody at the hospital with Quentin in ~stable~ condition going into surgery, and getting to have a nice long goodbye chat with Oliver, only for them to have Sara show up after he already went into surgery so she didn’t get FUCKING SAY GOODBYE to her FUCKING FATHER and just shows up in time to hear that he’s dead, because has the universe not dealt Sara Lance enough heartbreak already, you really gotta keep killing the people she loves???? that shit pissed me off, because it would’ve been so fucking easy for them to have her there earlier and at least get to say goodbye, this was just being unnecessarily cruel. I did appreciate that she at least got to speak to Black Siren, I would’ve liked a more in-depth conversation but it’s a start at least. I did of course feel for Laurel as well, we know she has to be dealing with a lot of grief and heartbreak based on the relationship her and Quentin had built up over the last season and him quite literally becoming a father to her. And now of course she has nobody, like who is going to help her now? the only other person who maybe would was Oliver, and OH WAIT he’s getting taken off to prison now. I mean, I guess they could have Dinah reach out to her which my DinahSiren shipper heart would adore, I would be really happy if that happened for next season, but I don’t really want to get my hopes up about it. But yeah, about that whole Oliver getting arrested thing. I know I was going on two weeks ago about how brilliant it was that they ended the case the way they did because it put double jeopardy rules into play so they couldn’t try him again, but double jeopardy doesn’t apply to federal charges (which is frankly something a lot of people, myself included, think is unconstitutional, but it’s the law for now), so he could be charged under federal statutes for crimes, however they would have to establish federal jurisdiction over the crimes, such as them occurring on federal land, or a series of other factors, because federal and state jurisdiction isn't always concurrent. It is of course very rare that federal charges are brought after someone is acquitted of state charges for the reasons I outlined above, it may not be double jeopardy by law but a lot of people view it that way regardless. They also made it really unclear as to what his situation was, like was he getting charged and going to trial or had he essentially entered a plea of some sort? I mean, if the charge is for like 35 murders (or however many they can claim federal jurisdiction for) there’s no way he’s getting an actual plea less than life in prison without parole (as opposed to the death penalty) so idk how that would work. but I really didn’t feel emotionally invested in that plot at all because I just didn’t believe the stakes, like sure he may spend a few months in prison until next season starts but we all know he’s going to get out and somehow take up his vigilante identity again. I wasn’t surprised that he went public about being the green arrow, I mean, Oliver did it in season 10 of Smallville so at this point I was pretty sure it was gonna be happening any time now. As far as the scene of him walking through the prison to his cell, that’s bullshit, because they would have him in protective custody being that like half the people in the prison want to kill him. but yeah, I guess that’s where we’re leaving off for now. I honestly really hope they make season 7 the last, it’s a solid place to end a series without it getting too drawn out (because let’s be real, it’s already being drawn out) and at this point I feel like they’re just getting close to Oliver’s narrative journey. Of course the characters can still be a part of the universe and show up in crossovers or just make cameos in the different shows, so it’s not like they'd really be going anywhere permanently. As far as the news coming out of the CW Upfronts today, I did chuckle a little at Supergirl getting moved to the Sunday night slot and Legends permanently taking over Monday (sorry SG fans) and it leading into Arrow, because that’s apparently the way they want to do things now. As far as the fact that Batwoman/Kate Kane is going to be part of the crossover next year, I can’t have much of an opinion there because I’m not terribly invested in the Batman mythos to the point where I’d really have any knowledge about her, the most I’ve really seen was watching Batman The Animated Series and of course that isn’t very much, so I guess we’ll have to see where they go with that. Someone on twitter said Legends should be leading the crossover next season, which I very much agree with, they've definitely earned it at this point. Well, once Arrow was over I just watched the Great British Baking Show Masterclass which is just the two judges making their perfect versions of the different challenges they had the contestants make in the bake off, because it’s very soft and British and does not hurt me the way the Arrowverse does, so that was pleasant, and I watched that until I started getting ready for bed. I have an early morning, it’ll be my first day at my mini internship at the DV Clinic, just on Fridays through the end of June. I would really have liked to have known about the NY job by now so I could have a better idea of how I stand there, but I guess I’ll just have to be pulling out all the stops to make myself the most useful worker that they won’t want me to leave, whether I end up needing a job or not. That’s the plan, anyway, as far as things I’ve already done there I’m pretty good at all of them, I can do OPs of course and I’ve interviewed clients, both over the phone and in person, and of course I can step up in court on status updates and such which it sounds like would be most of what I’m doing in court, so that’s all good. Well, it’s 12:30 am and I have to wake up at 6:55 am to get there by 8:30, so I really should be getting to bed now. Goodnight my loves. Happy Friday. 

#daily journal #May 2018 #Rachel watches Arrow

[benjamingarden]

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: January 2021

  The new year has finally arrived!  I'm not sure what grocery shopping looks like in your neck of the woods now that there's yet another rise in COVID cases, but it's actually not too bad in ours.  For the most part you can select curbside pick-up or delivery if you desire.  And lately I desire.

The photo above and info below outline our monthly grocery shopping.  We will need  a few additional items: milk comes from our farmers market as does coffee for Jay (probably another $20.00 total for the month), and I may get some fresh greens in another 1-2 weeks (less then $10.00).

Our groceries for January came from BJ's and Healthy Living, a local health food store.  Typically we would also do a Hannaford order or a trip to the commissary, however, we are really well stocked on pantry and freezer items.  You'll notice there is no meat purchased.  Our freezers are fairly well stocked and we will actually be bartering with a farmer friend - our products for some of his chicken and pork, this weekend.  We are finally (FINALLY) getting eggs from the Coop Girls, and as you know, we put up a lot of veggies in the freezer from the summer garden.

I don't plan on returning to Healthy Living until March so I stocked up with that in mind.  We will probably place another BJ's order mid February-ish.

The total spent for January is anticipated to be $439.41 or just over $100.00/week.

 $269.41 (groceries already purchased) + $140.00 (bartered meat) + $30.00 (coffee, milk & greens anticipated to purchase throughout the month) = $439.41.  Our January purchases are partly for January and partly for the months to come.

Healthy Living - $174.84 (almost half of this amount is from 2 items....the dandy blend and the goji berries)

BJ's - $94.57

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Our Groceries:

Healthy Living:

The Dandy Blend Herbal Coffee Alternative is AMAZINGLY good.  I absolutely love it for iced or hot "coffee".  It's kind of expensive and a bit of a splurge.  I purchased 2 bags which will last me through April or so.  The 14 oz bags cost $22.49 each.  I've looked on Amazon and they sell a slightly smaller (11 oz) bag for around the same price so this seems to be the best deal.

The Goji Berries are added to a trail mix (we already have the other ingredients on hand) for Jay that he eats daily.  Macular degeneration runs in his family and goji berries have been shown to help prevent this.  Plus they are high in antioxidants so we decided it was worth it regardless of whether or not it works to prevent M.D..  These bags are 8 ounces and $12.49 each.  I should have bought them at Amazon because I'm pretty sure I could have gotten them cheaper.  I'll research it and purchase them there going forward if it makes sense to do so.  The 2 bags should last him just about 2 months.

I know there are cheaper dairy alternatives then Oatly ($4.99/carton) but I really love Oatly.  I prefer the lowfat version but they were out of everything except for these 4 cartons. 

We bought 12 pounds of mixed yukon & red potatoes ($1.99/lb) and 5 pounds of sweet potatoes (I splurged and bought my FAVORITE Japanese Sweet Potatoes at $2.99/lb - I call them "cake sweet potatoes" because they are soooo sweet).  Oliver and I are on the last of the sweet potatoes that we harvested and stored in the fall.  I can't believe they are almost gone!!!  We go through a moderate amount of potatoes and only purchase them organic, and the absolute best ones we've found are at Healthy Living.  This is easily a 2 month supply of each.

I have a few apples and mandarin oranges left for fruit but Jay prefers grapes so I bought a bag of grapes ($2.99/lb) and I treated myself to a couple of grapefruit ($1.49/lb).  I typically try to only buy fruit that is $1.99 or less per pound (exception being the frozen berries & cherries), but that definitely didn't happen this month.

Que Pasa is our new favorite brand of tortilla chips.  They are organic, non-GMO, and reduced sodium.  We very rarely have chips but when we do it's tortilla for the win.  They were on sale (although I'm wondering if this is a permanent sale because they were on the same sale a few months ago when I last bought them...) at $2.99/bag.

I usually make my own bread and tortillas but I like to have a bit of each in the freezer just in case.  I've used up my freezer stash of both so I purchased a loaf of Dave's bread and a pack of limited ingredient corn tortillas and whole wheat flour tortillas for the freezer. 

BJ's:

Not shown in the photo, we also bought a bag of frozen organic sweet cherries and a bag of frozen organic blueberries (3 lb bags for $13.99/ea.).  We have 2 bags of each in the freezer already.  We each eat a 1/2 cup of a mix of the two every single day so we should be good for a couple months.  I also bought Kiwi (3 lbs for $6.49) as yet another splurge because we haven't had them in forever and one bunch of organic bananas (2 lbs for $1.59).  We've found that our very favorite bananas are organic Chiquita.  They seem to be the creamiest.  I have no idea why, but the non-organic Chiquita's and other brands organic and non-organic just aren't the same.  Strange....

I keep riced cauliflower on hand in the freezer because it's one of the cheapest ways to buy cauliflower off season.  (I roast it from frozen in the oven to use as a veggie side)  I wanted to make some buffalo cauliflower though for veggie tacos, and I need pieces instead of having it riced so I bought a bag (2 lbs for $4.29).  Jay likes cooked cauliflower with cheese sauce so he'll have that as a side a few times too. 

We eat a lot of mushrooms and BJ's seems to have the best price on them so I bought 2 which will get us through a few weeks.  (24 oz containers for $4.99/ea.)

Pom Juice was a special request by the husband.  We don't usually buy juice but he requested it last month for the first time in a long time and has been enjoying it.  (48oz bottle $8.99)  I'm running low on frozen peas and frozen corn and BJ's carries the organic at a reasonable cost (each is 4 lbs for $6.99) so I stocked up.  I'm low on carrots too and their price isn't bad (5 lbs organic for $3.99).  Also not shown is a 3-pack of frozen pizza.  We keep a couple vegan frozen pizzas and a couple meat/cheese frozen pizzas on hand all of the time for the days we need something quick.  We still have 2 of the vegan so we just stocked up on the meat version (3 pack DiGiornio $13.99).

January's Meal Plan

My goal was to start posting our meal plans again, per request from many of you, but to also add photos of some of the meals this time around.  Unfortunately, I have yet to get in the habit of photographing dinner before it's served.  I hope to add this to the posts as I remember.

A Note About Our Meal Plans

I create monthly meal plans because it's what I've found to be easiest for me.  There may be some change but usually not much.  Changing works because I rotate the same 30+ meals so we would use the ingredients at some point over the next 30-45 days.  If we have perishables that need to be used up then that becomes priority and I may make changes to avoid food waste.

I usually make 2 separate meals - Jay and I eat completely different at this point.  He used to be willing to eat what I eat as his side but not so much anymore.  He's not a fan of whole grains and can only tolerate one type of veggie per meal.  So.....you can see that I tend to eat the same thing multiple nights because it's easy and I don't mind at all.  Where there's only one meal noted, I make a meat & cheese version for him and a vegan version for me.  Where there's no veggie side noted for him I use whatever I've got that needs using up or I select a frozen veggie.

You will notice that for Jays meals there are a few noticeable rotations.  

In general, chicken meals are Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  Pork is Tuesdays.  And Beef is Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  This is in part due to the fact that he tells me it's illegal to serve chicken 2 days in a row.  (insert eye roll)  

Also, other then the occasional new recipe that I try, his meals rotate about every month and a half (a different rotation will show up for summer).  

Our Sundays rotate around the same 5 meals (Tamales, Tacos, Homemade Pizza, Pot Roast, and Meatballs) because it's our farmers market day which means I want something super simple to make.  I do not make the tamales, we love those by Tucson Tamale (not an affiliate link).  Around us we can find a small variety at Healthy Living.  Tucson Tamale offers meat, vegetarian, and vegan varieties and they are sooooo delicious.  They do use oil in all of their tamales so if you are completely oil-free this is unfortunately not an option for you.

Recipe Links:

If I have posted the recipe or use a recipe posted by someone else this month then I will link to it below.  If there's a meal you'd like to see the recipe for let me know!

Quick & Easy Chicken Parm

Homemade Pizza - this is the pizza dough recipe we use

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta (Budget Bytes)

Apple & Stuffing Stuffed Pork Chops (Betty Crocker)

Oven-Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

Hamburger Potato Casserole (You Tube - The Hillbilly Kitchen)

Chicken Pot Pie Muffins (You Tube - The Hillbilly Kitchen) *I used this as a guide - I use my pie crust recipe and my pot pie recipe and bake it as muffins as shown in the vlog)

Honey Mustard Chicken (Bowl Of Delicious)

Bourbon Dijon Ham Steak (Martha Stewart - is delicious without the bourbon as well)

Mac & Cheese

Easy Weeknight Chicken Cordon Bleu

Scallops Gratin (Food Network - Ina Garten) - I use this recipe without the alcohol

Slow-Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

Veggie Stew with Black Pepper Biscuits (vegan) (Vegan Richa)

Split Pea Soup (Vegan) (Simple Veganista)

What about you?  Do you have favorite meals that you rotate?  Do you have to cook multiple meals for different eaters?

Monthly Meal Plan + Grocery Haul: January 2021 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)