#N HE WAS LIKE 'SCOTLANDS BEEN AROUND LONGER THAN THAT SONG KID'

[moonxbat98]

Before The Dawn

Gregory/OC

Three months before the Thompson family move to Scotland sixteen year old Alice Ellington is the new kid in town and no one has ever seen her out with her parents, or knows where she lives; except for Gregory. He knows her parents are dead and she’s a street kid, living like a squatter in an old house on a hill. What he doesn’t know is that she isn’t as fragile as she looks, or that she’s not human. But that’s a secret Alice intends on keeping for as long as she can.

A/N: Will contain graphic depictions of blood, gore, violence, and death. Will notify readers of any changes within the ratings of nudity, sexual themes, and strong coarse language.

Restless and Relentless

Song for the chapter: Shortest Day by The Gathering

—

Gregory’s POV

Something didn’t feel right about this night, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He scratched his head in deep thought and still came up blank; what was it about tonight that had him on edge?

Other than the fact they, his family, were getting even closer to the night of the first comet in three hundred years. Three hundred years spent, seemingly wasted, hunted down relentlessly by vampire hunters and searching endlessly for the stone of Attamon; a piece of rock that was said to break curses.

That they, his family, believed would break their curse. The curse of vampirism. Honestly, it wasn’t so bad.

Gregory scowled at the thought of being reduced to feeding on animals, remembering the times his family used to descend upon unsuspecting families in the dark. Those times had been simpler.

Until the vampire hunters became a bigger issue and his father, Frederick, began growing soft.

Retreat, his father had said.

We must find some place to hide, his father had said.

We must no longer draw attention to ourselves, his father had said.

When Frederick grew weak, Gregory had thought it was outrageous. Their family used to be ruthless until a change began stirring inside of Frederick and it was decided then they would no longer feast like king’s upon mortals.

The want to become human again became an obsession for his father and Frederick soon learned about a mysterious stone through Von, which was believed by conspiracy theorists to have broken off of the comet Attamon and was said to possess serious magic.

Ever since then they’ve been wandering around Scotland, in a desperate search.

Gregory was starting to lose hope, he often thought it was a goose chase.

Also, did he really want to be human again anyway? He was only a month away from turning sixteen when he was bitten in his sleep. His hormones had been all over the place, all the noblest females seemed to flock at his beck and call; only one woman had he wanted the attention of.

And that woman betrayed him, so in a time of great rage Gregory later ripped out her throat with his shiny new teeth. She didn’t deserve to be immortal, in his eyes anyway. Though she had begged for him to change her until she no longer spoke a breath.

Not to mention Gregory had a long standing feud with Malachi; another boy who, in the village, became like the other noble families with a thirst for blood.

But now Gregory was reminiscing. He needed to get out of his head before the anger started to grow like a fire in the pit of his belly, blinking his eyes against a heavy rainfall that overtook Scotland with random surges of wind. Though his clothes and hair were sopping wet he felt no cold.

He stood atop a store building with a bright neon sign hanging in it’s window, looking down at the empty streets below. He’d found himself hopping from one store rooftop to the next in a new shopping center that was recently built. Not like he would ever enter these buildings during the day and only one inside the shopping center was still open.

Except only one mortal was inside, behind a wall of glass for protection and leaning lazily on the countertop thumbing through one of the magazines behind the odd booth. Other than that one person Gregory sensed no other humans around.

Although they were on the opposite side of the shopping center than him Gregory inhaled the sweet, tantalizing scent of lavender and vanilla from where he stood. He growled and dropped to sit on the ledge of the building he was on, leaning in to get a closer look at the unsuspecting human.

His vision was perfect, no mortal eyes could see as well as he could in this downpour. To his delight he could see her so clearly he noticed the shiny metal in the young woman’s face; it was everywhere. In her nose, on her succulent bottom lip, even her eyebrows glinted with silver.

She was intriguing, for a mortal. What was that metal on her face? And her hair was colorful, or at least had streaks of color in it. Red, blue, purple, and green mixing with black. The young woman popped gum in her mouth and Gregory noticed shiny, silver metal there too.

His fingers gripped the edge of the building tighter, nostrils flaring as he picked up a stronger scent coming off of the young woman. Gregory grinned toothily as the scent registered in his mind; it was her blood. A sweet musk that came only from a woman’s monthly cycle, at least to vampires it was intoxicating.

She was dangerous to him.

The unsuspecting young woman had no idea she was being watched, or rather hunted. But something had stirred her from her lounge position, even as Gregory jumped from the ledge of his perch and landed silently on the wet ground below. Her eyes flickered over to stare out her glass booth and through the building door, although Gregory was sure she still could not see him through the unrelenting weather.

He could see her well. He saw her eyes, big and full of just as many colors as her hair. Blues, greens, golds, and browns.

Alice’s POV

The rain outside was relentless tonight, beating heavily on the windows of the cleverly named smoke shop; Blaze It Up, her boss clearly a stoner in his mid–thirties. There was a time she would’ve laughed at the absurdity, but something felt off about the sudden change in weather.

Some big bad thing brewing in the late night storm as she languidly leaned against the counter, chewing on a stick of Juicy Fruit while she delicately flipped through the latest Rolling Stones magazine like it was the holy Bible.

To onlookers, if there had been any in the last hour, Alice would’ve appeared calm and peaceful; content, some would say. On the inside she was on edge, there was an itch in her bones that had her combat–booted foot tapping behind the glass box.

She couldn’t stay still and had a harder time focusing on the magazine she’d plucked from the file–holder style shelf behind her. Other titles jumped out from the magazines, but none interested her as much. Vanity Fair, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, etc.

The newspapers held more intrigue as it’s headline practically shouted: Another Teen Slain by Rogue Beast!

Alice thought to herself, who reads the newspaper anymore?

The article continued on with a warning for residents of Scotland to be aware of your surroundings, travel in groups. Even saying the police are in a feud with state officials concerning the possibility of needing to issue a curfew.

She had no idea she was currently being watched, other than an eerie feeling of her hair standing on end; on the back of her neck, gooseflesh appearing on the skin of her arms as the AC blew down on her from an overhead vent.

It wasn’t the cold that had her hair raising, nor the pimples rising on her skin. The black turtleneck sweater and her leather jacket kept her covered almost completely.

Her senses were on high alert and her eyes narrowed in on the rain outside, searching. She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but her eyesight was impeccable.

Even through the downpour Alice could see the street lamps lining the cobblestone sidewalks, the store front buildings in the new shopping center; going past the glass windows of those buildings and looking into the stores themselves. She saw everything and nothing at the same time.

That’s when she heard it, from miles away; the faint sound of an approaching engine. A normal human wouldn’t have picked up on the sound it was so quiet, but roaring to her. Her nostrils flared in annoyance, reaching under the counter for the sawed–off shotgun her boss kept.

It was real, the gun, but the bullets weren’t; salt rock shells made to hurt. Not to wound. The sawed–off was kept purposefully for protection, not murder. She hoped like Hell they would do more than just bruise, if she had to squeeze the trigger.

Unlocking the only door into the “protective” box she stepped out and loaded the gun with a couple shells, appreciating it’s double barrel with her fingers before snapping it shut. As delicately as she had touched The Rolling Stones magazine, prepared to fire.

Walking into the rain outside with her long, single–slit on the side skirt billowing around her stocking–covered legs Alice held her weapon in one hand and waved her other in an arc over her head. The torrent of water coming down from the sky followed her movements, creating an umbrella effect over her.

She glared into the darkness down the road as a single headlight began forming in the distance, the distance that separated her and the rogue beast for only a minute.

#Little Vampire #Gregory Sackvillebagg #Dean Cook #ofc #fanfic

[ibelieveinharrystyles]

Chapter One: Something New

this is the first part of my new series i hope you enjoy it :)

Forever? Masterlist

31st October 2015

Somehow Ashley was late, well she wasn’t late late, just later than she had said she’d be, who knew getting two trains from Holmes Chapel to Sheffield could be so time consuming. She panted heavily as she approached the security at the back entrance to the arena, showing them her driver’s license, and they checked her name off of the guest list, Paul led her down the corridors and through the arena to catering where Harry was sat eating food from the buffet, they hadn’t seen each other in almost a month, but they still managed to speak pretty much everyday. She quietly approached her best friend who was sitting across the table from Niall, clearly involved in a heated debate. “Guess who?” she chimed, covering his eyes with her hands.

“Susan Boyle?” he joked, before Ashley lightly slapped him round the back of the head.

“You’re a little shit, you know that don’t you?” she told him as she placed her bag and jacket on the chair beside Harry.

“But you wouldn’t have me any other way would you?” he replied, standing up and hugging her from behind, his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders, his exquisitely decorated arms holding her tightly. “I’ve missed being your little shit.” Harry told her, “Food! Do you want some food? I told Sarah to make your favourite because I knew you were coming.”

“You’re a soft bugger aren’t you?”

“I think I prefered little shit.” Harry chuckled, his cheeky grin stretching from ear to ear.

“So how’ve you been?” Harry asked eagerly as the two of them found a space at a spare table, Ashley tucking into her plate of cheesy pasta and salad.

“Not bad, It’s weird not being in education, when I decided to take a gap year I thought I’d be buzzing, but I’m so bored.” She explained, twirling the pasta on her fork.

“Well I’m just happy to have you here love, I missed you.” he smiled, picking at Ashley’s pasta.

“I missed you too H, do you reckon you’ll come back home when the break begins?”

“For a little bit, I’m back at Christmas, but it looks like I’ll be in LA for New Years this year.”

“Oh I bet you will,” Ashley teased.

“What do you mean by that?” Harry smirked.

“You know exactly what I mean Styles! I do use social media you know, I’ve seen the pictures of you and Kendall, as long as you’re happy I’m happy, you are happy aren’t you?” she replied.

“I am Ash, I think I am.” Harry replied, sitting back in his plastic chair.

“What do you mean you think?”

“Alright Ashley? How’s tricks?” Louis asked as he took a seat beside her.

“Not bad, not bad, I hear congratulations are in order though, dad! that’s pretty crazy.”

“Yeah it’s mad innit, I’m excited though, lookin’ forward to it.”

“I’ve seen you with your Doris and Ernie, you’ll be a great dad.” she assured him.

“Cheers darling that means a lot,” Louis replied.

“I’ll see you two later.” Harry stood you, prepared to slip away before the topic of conversation turned back to him.

“Hey Styles! You didn’t answer my question.” Ashley called after him.

“Forget what I said, I’m happy. Promise.”

The final show was less than an hour away, the boys and their respective family and friends were all sat in catering together, the mood was different, everyone would always be so hyped up for a show, but today they were mellow, there was the same laughter there had always been, that was unmistakable, but it was different, everyone was reminiscent, talking about their favourite memories of the band that had been such a massive part of their lives. Ashley could sense Harry was quieter, he sat next to her twiddling with his thumbs and fiddling with his hair that Lou had only just fixed. “You wanna go for a walk?” She whispered, nudging his arm, he nodded.

The pair found themselves sitting on some steps behind the stage, the shrieks and chatter of the fans surrounded them as they did, “What’s eating you up H? I don’t think I’ve seen you like this before.” She rubbed her hand up and down his back, letting him know she was there if he needed her.

“Do you think we’re making a mistake?” Harry asked, looking at the floor.

“I think you’re making the right decision for you, look at it this way, you wouldn’t drive a car from London to Scotland without stopping off in Liverpool for petrol on the way, and you ,might decide not to stay in Liverpool too long, but on the other hand you might like Liverpool a lot, and you might decide to stay in Liverpool longer then you’d planned. What I’m trying to say is H, the last five years have burnt you all out, you wouldn’t be human if they hadn’t, no one would blame you Harry, how could they?” Before the band Ashley had always looked to Harry for advice, like she would an older brother, but ever since the X Factor final the tables turned, Y/N would always assure Harry that somehow everything was going to be alright.

“I’ve been offered a solo record deal.” Harry told her quickly, like it was a plaster he’d been meaning to rip off of his skin.

“That’s good isn’t it?”

“It’s three albums, no time scale, no pressure.”

“Looks like you’ll be stopping off in Liverpool a little longer than originally planned.” She told him, causing Harry to let out a loud chuckle, he rested his head on her shoulder and let out a relieved sigh, “Do you remember what I told you that night at the X Factor Final? when you were a skinny sixteen year old in baggy jeans, and I was a little fourteen year old with a terrible fringe.”

“No I don’t, that whole night is a massive blur.” he replied.

“You were anxious about the future, I told you that moment was just the beginning but you weren’t sure, and I said to you, tell me that in five years when you’ve got number one albums, won awards and sold out arenas, and frankly Harry my sentiments remain the same, you are going to do amazing things in the next few years, and the world will get to see the real Harry Edward Styles.”

The final show had drawn to an end, there were tears, before, during and after the show, mostly from the mums, tears of joy that their sons had accomplished so much, but also tears of sorrow, the feeling of uncertainty, not knowing what the next few years would hold. “You alright?” Ashley asked Harry whilst they were standing at the bar in the midst of the after party.

“Yeah, just about, come here,” he wrapped his arms around her, swaying from side to side as the music changed, “I’m so lucky I get to call you my best friend.”

“It's that song H, the one that Gemma had on that day we first met.” Ashley told him, gazing up at her best friend.

“We best go dance to our song then.” He replied, taking her by the hand and leading her to the dancefloor, the two of them dancing how you would expect two slightly drunk people to dance “But you don’t pull my strings cause I’m a better man moving on to better things!” Harry shouted, as they continued to dance together, laughing hysterically as Ashley held onto Harry’s hands.

“Strong dance moves Ash.” Niall chuckled as she returned to the bar, “Oh this is Matt, he’s been part of our tour crew for the UK leg, Matt this is Ashley.”

“Nice to meet you.” His Geordie accent thicker than any she’d heard before, his hair was combed back on top, and short at the sides, leading her to infer he was a peaky blinders fan. “Those were some impressive dance moves.”

“I’ll leave you two to it.” Niall announced taking his beer from the bar, “don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” He whispered to Ashley, sparking a small grin on her face.

“What are you drinking?” Matt asked as she took a seat on the barstool beside him.

“Heineken.” She told him, he raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised, “Were you expecting me to say white wine or something?”

“Usually I can tell what sort of drink someone would go for, how about you grab us a table and I’ll bring your drinks over.”

Ashley had no clue what possessed her to invite Matt back to her hotel room, he said he fancied a chilled one where it was quieter, and she quite agreed, the music was intense and the chance of having a proper conversation was slim to none. “So how long have you known Harry?” he asked, taking a swig from his beer bottle.

“Ten years, we were neighbours when we were kids, and I guess we’ve just been best friends since then.” She explained.

“So you’re not together?” He asked.

“God no, Harry’s like my brother, he’s always looked out for me, I’ve always looked out for him.” She explained.

“And what does your boyfriend think of how close you two are?”

“I haven’t got one.”

“There’s no way someone as fit as you doesn’t have a boyfriend,” he told her, edging closer to where she was sitting on the bed, placing his hand on the bare skin of her thigh, gradually sliding it up, under her skirt.

“You’ve got protection haven’t you?” she asked, reciprocating his kisses.

“Of course I do.” He told her, unbuckling his belt, his kisses became more intense as he hovered over her, there was no connection, not on Ashley’s part anyway.

“Rise and shine sleepyhead.” Ashley stirred from her sleep to see Harry knelt beside her bed, “I bought you some food petal,” He told her, stroking the hair from her face, before passing her a face wipe to remove last night’s makeup from her face.

“What did I do to deserve a friend as good as you?” She asked, sitting up in bed as she took a croissant from the plate Harry had placed beside her bed to nibble on.

“You’re clearly just born lucky.” He told her, “So tell me, where did you and Matt get to last night?”

“Oh shit.” she fell back against the pillow, hiding her embarrassed face from Harry, “We slept together,” she whispered.

“And he’s not here now? He’s literally just left you here? If I weren’t the calm person I am I’d be out of here looking for him.” Harry exclaimed, the anger in his voice apparent.

“If I’m honest H, I’m not bothered whether I see him again or not, he wasn’t the best I’ve had.”

“Who was?” Harry asked, clearly intrigued who his best friend had been with.

“Luke.” She shot him a knowing look, waiting for him to figure it out.

“As in Australian Luke? When did that happen?” He asked.

“The Take Me Home Tour Show in London, it was only one night Haz.”

“How come you never told me?”

“Do you tell me about every aspect of your sex life?” She replied quickly.

“I best leave you to get ready,” he stood up, making his way towards the door, “Quick one love, if you are going to have sex next door to me in the middle of the night could you keep it down a bit, these walls are paper thin.” He turned on his heel, smirking cheekily as he strolled out of her room.

“You’re a little shit Harry!” Ashley shouted after him.

“Love you too!” Harry shouted back, sighing to himself as he left the room.

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #lockscreen #niall horan #harry styles #thoughts #one direction #one direction memes #solo harry #fanfiction #harry styles best friend fic #best friend harry #choose love #stay home stay safe #treat people with kindness #timothee aesthetic

[bewitchingwitch]

Constellations Pt. 15

Hey guys I’m so sorry for along so longtime o Update I’ve had writers block for such a long time. Thank you for encouraging me to fight through it and a special thanks to @lexxierave @hannah-mic @bowtrucklescamander and @fricktheitinerary for commenting on my posting and inspiring me to keep in writing and for showing me how much my work means to you! :)

So here it is part 15 featuring Adonis as Liam Hemsworth. I believe @newletas said that she saw Adonis as Liam Hemsworth and for this chapter it was very fitting! This is for you

Word count: 3, 170

Songs: One Of us- ABBA for the first part of the chapter and then My love, my life- ABBA for the second part

Your head was swirling, you were being practically pulled part as you struggled against Adonis. He had apparted away with you in his arms and you had been trying to pull away. You had no idea what would happen if you separated during a transportation, but you didn't care. Newt and Theseus were in danger. And so were Queenie and Jacob.

But it was no use he was holding onto you too hard. Wherever you were going it was taking an awfully long time. You never liked appartating or using portkey to travel it always gave you nausea. You much rather preferred driving in your car or walking. You felt lightheaded, you closed your eyes in a hope that it would ease your stomach.

How could you let this happen? You should have just gone back with Adonis when he had asked at the Quidditch game. And none of this would have happened. No. You should have never left home for that year. You should have stayed and prepared for the wedding. Then you would have never gotten the Scamander brothers mixed up in your family drama.

Your thoughts crashed down around you as you came to a jerky stop. You felt ground finally settled underneath your feet. You began to open your eyes and your vision came back into focus. At first you had no idea where you were but as you looked around you noticed certain features of this room. The high ceilings, the crisp white walls, the golden curtains that surrounded the roof high windows. They fluttered around encasing the whole room.

The sunlight streamed in covering the piano in a yellow glow. You hated playing the piano, during the summers your grandmother would make you practice your scales over and over on her grand piano until your back hurt from sitting in the small stool. But she would never let you leave because it was never good enough for her. A black tabby cat laid lazily atop of it. It stared at you with unnaturally golden eyes. It hissed at you. At that moment you knew exactly where you were.

You were back in a place you never hoped to see again. You were in your grandmothers house. 

A big black cat that was easily the size of a dog sauntered into the room. It's eyes glowed yellow, no pupil, no iris, just golden light emitting from its eyes. The cat that was laying across the piano sat up at attention and jumped off. It began to trail the big cat and one more similar to the other followed. Another dog sized cat sat in the corner of the room it's eyes cast downward.

The cat slowly began transforming into an older woman covered head to toe in white. One of the small black cats jumped into her arms while the other circled around her feet. It was your grandmother. "(Y/n)." She spoke stiffly.

"Grandma." You responded dryly.

"Lyra dear. Aren't you going to welcome your own daughter home. " Your grandmother called out to the cat like creature that was still tucked away in the corner.

You watched as your mother transformed into herself. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, she had the same hair color as you expect it was streaked with strands of grey. "Hello darling." Her voice was hollow. She seemed to be sucked out of life when she was here, when she was with your father was when she was happiest.

Your mother has fell in love with your father at a very young age, which was a scandal all on its own. But the fact that he was a muggle made it even worse. She was supposed to marry this rich wizard from Scotland but instead she ran off with your father. Your grandmother was disgraced by this. In hopes of reclaiming your family's pure blood legacy she was going to marry you off to Adonis. It was accident that you met him, you were supposed to marry the son of the rich Scottish wizard but when you met Adonis your grandmother was over the moon. He was of much better status. And you gladly content with marrying him. Which was fine until he went crazy and came to get you 3 months early.

The black cat that circled around your grandmothers feet was staring at you. You hated cats and yet it seemed ironic that your family curse was indeed cats. All of the women in your family had the ability to transform into these cat like creatures that were the size of dogs.

"So I see you're back early." Your grandmother clucked her tongue as she sat down in a chair motioning you over to sit next to her. You remained standing.

"Not at my own free will." You shot back. You crossed your arms over your chest. Your grandmother looked you up and down you could see the disapproval she had as you surveyed your messy hair and crumpled dress.

"Greens not really your color kitten. Neither is blue." Your pet name that your grandmother had for you made disgust run throughout your veins.

"I think it looks nice." Your mother spoke up from where she was standing. She was being so quiet you had forgotten she was even there.

You paused before answering. "Thanks." You were a little betrayed that your mother didn't think of warning you about Adonis arriving.

Adonis was still had a grip on your waist. He was starting straight ahead. His stubble was still very evident and he still smelled of alcohol. He was obviously drunk when he came to fetch you from the club.

"I can't say I was too pleased that Adonis decided to come and fetch me especially at your command." You glanced over at your grandma. She just gave you a sly smile.

Your grandmother lifted her hand in the air and snapped, the sound ringing throughout the house. Immediately Adonis stood at attention and dropped his hand from your waist. He moved to stand at your grandmothers right side.

"Adonis what are you doing?"

"Whatever I say. You see deary Adonis didn't come to get you at that Quidditch match."

Your interrupted her. "Wait how do you know about the Quidditch match?"

"I did."

"What?"

Your grandmother smirked at you while your mother cast her eyes downward.  Your grandmother took out her wand from her coat pocket and held it to her lips. "(Y/n) where's your ring?" As she spoke so did Adonis he was like a moving puppet. You were horrified

For the first time you noticed how his normally brown Carmel eyes glowed golden like your grandmothers did now.

"What did you do?" You asked with a quivering voice.

"What I had too." Your grandmother placed her wand down but still Adonis was in her control. Her butler brought her a cup of tea in a white cup and she took it, taking a small sip. She stared at your through the smoke, her golden eyes looking like headlights piercing through fog. "You see there was a article in the  Daily Prophet a couple of days ago, saying that you were gallivanting around with the most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding world. Theseus Scamander. "

You remembered the paper and your were shocked that someone had managed to get a picture of the two of you kissing. It was supposed to be a private moment but it soon became the most talked about gossip in Paris.

Your grandmother continued. "Now you can imagine my surprise when I saw that my engaged granddaughter was running around with a ministry official. It wasn't long after that I received a visit from Adonis he came here drunk crying his eyes out. He was devastated that you were cheating on him-"

"I wasn't cheating on him I-" your grandmother help her hand for silence and if by magic you stopped.

"He was completely broken, I'd never seen a man so raw before." You snuck a glance at Adonis, your heart softened, you never intended to hurt him. "Anyway I welcomed him in of course and we sat here on this very couch. Now I knew your actions could not go with out consequences. I sat him down and offered him a cup of tea. He took it and he begged me to help him get you back. And I asked him if he would do anything for you. And he said I'd do anything. Are you sure I asked in return. And he responded with all my heart. And that was all I needed."

"You didn't."

"Oh but I did." Your world shattered around you. Your grandmother had done the unthinkable. She had put your family's special spell on Adonis. This spell when combined with a cup of tea, spiked with a bit of magic, those who agreed to the terms and drank it were under there control. Your grandmother was famous for it, it was how she "handled things."

You should have known before from the harsh words Adonis has said at the Quidditch match, to the way he was so rough and violent at the dance. He was under a trance. She had been speaking through him, manipulating him in her game.

Your grandmother set her teacup down at the coffee table and picked up her wand. She mumbled the counter curse and Adonis slumped forward, catching himself of the back of the satin couch.

He shakily probed himself up. He placed a hand to his forehead letting out a small groan. He blinked as if his eye sight was still blurry. You watched as the golden light seeped out of his eyes tricking down his cheeks like tears. "W-whats going on." His voice was raspy like he hadn't spoken for days.

You turned to your grandmother. "How could you."

"You left me no choice." She stood up and sauntered over to you. She was a couple inches shorter than you but none the less you cowered at her stance. "What was a supposed to do pray tell me dear granddaughter? Was I just supposed to let you do whatever the hell you wanted. You are no longer a kid (y/n), you need to stop acting like your actions won't have repercussions. I did what I needed to do for this family, I suffered for the sake of my family's legacy, I married a horribly abusive man for the sake of keeping our bloodline pure." You felt your eyes grow wide at this. You never really knew your grandfather, he never seemed to be around. But as you thought more about it your childhood memories seemed to resurface. You remembered visiting your grandmother and seeing purple bruises decorate her skin. But she never seemed to show any pain around you.

You wanted to hate your grandmother but this memory caused you to bite your tongue and let her continue her rant. "And here is a young man who loves you, who wants a life with you! For Merlin's sake actually cared about you and us not marrying you for your bloody namesake." Tears began to form at your grandmothers eyes as you looked you dead in the eyes, gesturing to Adonis behind her. He shot you a weary smile. "You are so naive. What must it be to not only hold the Keys to this boys hearts but to dangle those two boys in strings in your little love game. You think it doesn't affect them, you are so naive.  You are so stupid! You know what you have to do (y/n). Grow up and do what is right." She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked back at you and for a moment you could see just how much she had suffered for your family. This did not make you forgive her but it made you understand her. "So yes I did what I had to. I did what was best for you and for this family." She held her head high starring you down.

You looked around the room surveying those in it. Your grandmother had done her duty to the household and yet she was miserable. Your mother had followed her heart but at the same time cost her family everything. And in the end was she even happy? How could you be happy being separated from the love of your life and only being allowed to see them every once in a while. You came to the conclusion that no matter what you did you would always be stuck in this pressure to do what was right. So you made you decision.

You lifted your head up and looked your grandmother in the eyes. "Fine I'll marry Adonis." Your grandmother looked shocked at your words, as if she had not expected you to agree. "But for the family." You said the last part softly, but at the Adonis turned to you and you couldn't bring yourself to look him in the eyes.

********************************************

You sat in up in your room your grandmother had for you. It still looked the same after all these years. The walls covered with posters featuring musicians or famous muggle artists. You laid across the bed on your back staring up at the sealing, the family crest painted up there. When you were younger you tried to paint over it but no matter what you did it burned through it. You could still see the faint outline of various murals you had attempted to do.

You tossed and turned it was a early in the morning but sleep seemed to have abandoned you. Reluctantly you transformed into your cat like state, you always seemed to sleep better this way. You paved around the bed, kneading it before you settled down. Sleep was slowly approaching when you heard a knock at your door.

As you jumped off of the bed you transformed back just in to open the door. As you did you cake face to face with Adonis. "Hey." His eyes were tired. He had changed out of his clothes and had slipped into an oversized ravenclaw sweater with sweat pants.

"Hey."

"Can I come in?" He rubbed his hand up and down the nape of his neck in a nervous manner.

You didn't say anything you just opened the door further and sat down on the bed. He followed and sat down weighing his side down. "I came to talk about to earlier. I'd didn't  mean to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course I did it wasn't you saying those things to me. It was my grandmother speaking through you." You kept your gaze cast downward.

You could feel his stare on you. "What did you mean when you said you'd marry me for the family."

"Adonis don't do this." You felt the lump forming in your throat. You felt the weight of the bed shift as he moved closer.

"Look at me."

"I can't."

"Why my love?"

"Please don't call me that. I'm unworthy of that title."

"Don't be silly." You felt his hand cup the side of your face. He ran his thumb over your cheek bone in a soothing manner. "You are the love of my life." You looked up at him. "I love you (y/n)." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your lips. You didn't even respond. He pulled away but kept his hand on the side of your face. You laid your hand over his.

His eyes watered, his face was stilled stained with golden tears and now new ones accompanied them. "Did. Did I ever have a chance?" His Adam's apple bopped up and down.

You felt tears escape your eyes and well. "Of course." You saw his shoulders relax. "But-" His shoulders tensed and he let out a shaky breath.  You threw yourself into his arms and buried your face in his shoulder. You aren't strong enough to tell him to his face. His familar smell welcomed you but you knew that soon it would no longer be yours. "That was Once upon a time, we're no longer kids. "

"But you are my one and my only." His voice quivered. "I grew up with you and watched your transform into the person you are today. Was it a dream, a lie."

"Never." You broke down and gripped on tightly onto his sweater. You sniffled.

"But I can see it all so clearly." He ran his hand through your hair. " I'm now sitting here today close to you and yet I there is a distance. I could see it in your eyes when I came here." He swallowed hard before pulling you as close as he could. "I can't lose you."

You pulled back and looked him in his eyes. They were back to his normal Carmel brown color. You rand your hand down his face and stopped close to his mouth. He pressed a kiss to your palm. "You never could you are my love and my life."

He ran a hand through your hair before tucking it behind your ear. He gave you a sad smile. "But I no longer posses you." He asked as he held on a little looser.

Your silence was answer enough. "What are we going to do?" You rocked back and worth him holding you tightly now as if he was afraid any moment you were going to leave him just like his family had. "You are all I have." He whispered far to lowly for your to hear. "I know I don't posses you but tell me why it's so hard to say."

"I'm going to marry you." You refused to look back at him, you wanted to at least enjoy this moment, you knew that moments like this were over.

"Even though you don't love me?" His voice was dull. He shifted to where you were holding him. You were on your back and he was laying on top of you, his face pressed against your chest listening to your calming heartbeat, his words muffled. You wrapped your arms around him.

You lifted his face to yours. "I love you Donnie I'm just not in love with you." You sadly smiled as tears continued to trickle down your face.

"You will still be my one and only, my love, my life. If if I no longer posses your heart." Adonis said as he kissed you softly and it was only for a moment. But he knew even if you married him it was no longer for love but for obligation. This time you kissed back. It was your way of saying goodbye. And yet it was never enough, because how do you say goodbye to your first love.You kissed each other as the sun began to rise and as morning came you knew that you no longer belonged to one another.

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#fantastic beats and where to find them #newt scamander #crimes of grindleward #theseus and newt #newt and reader #newt scamander x reader #theseus fanfiction #fan fiction #newt fanfiction #adonis #fan fic writing #liam hemsworth #hp fanfic #newt angst #newt x reader #theseus ship #theseus scamander #x reader #theseus x you #newt x you #newt x y/n #x y/n

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Little Sadie, part IV - The Mondo Bongo, prison and a man (Sam Drake x reader)

Description: The only man who left you broken and destroyed, the one who was your whole life fifteen years ago and the one who was constantly on your mind lately, is back. Samuel Drake has risen from the dead and you bet your ass that the night wasn’t the last time you saw him.

A/N: Ok, so we should be in the last part - I guess. Thank @missdictatorme for being such a supportive sweetie and @samdrakeftw for being an amazing part of this fandom. 

Mood for this chapter: Well after a long reconsideration, it will be the song I named this chapter after - Joe Strummer’s Mondo Bongo. But to be honest, I ended up a playlist on Spotify named Sexy as folk and Winter Acoustics. 

Part one  Part two   Part three

Word count: 5 975

Warnings: Well go ahead and just see for yourself??? I guess? Jesus, I'm still terrible at this. Just kidding. Smut ahead! Yeah, finally.

And you hung up the phone, looking through the window to the distance and didn't believe to what have you done. You just seriously told your ex, someone, who completely forgave about you for fifteen years to come over? Did you just start to apologizing him in your eyes like he was some sick kind of a saint, or what was going on in your head?

Were you going crazy? Most probably you were. But Samuel was on his way to your apartment and since he knew where you lived, you had to be quick. 

There wasn't a place for your old football t-shirt or a messy hair bun, which was kind of cute but messier than the thoughts inside your head. You just dressed up into a tight yoga top, leggings and a crop top which was like three sizes bigger than you. You still looked tired, you had black and deep circles under your eyes, your skin was unnaturally pale and you definitely lost some weight in last ten days because of being in work almost all the time. 

Then you started to chaotically run and tried to clean up your whole flat. Just before you washed the last glass that you found next to your bed, a loud bell noise traveled through your apartment. 

You gave yourself a moment to get mentally ready, yet you didn’t even breathe properly and opened up the door for him. And you stood there, just looking at each other. 

He was smiling, slicking his heavy sweated hair the back of his head. To be exact, the sweat covered him up completely and yet he didn't look like a disgusting psycho and let's be real, it wasn't his bad that there was like a million degrees outside. It made him look like an even bigger man than he was before if it could. And thanks to that, you could see everything through that light t-shirt because it showed literally every muscle, that's how sweaty he was. Every single one you could name and imagine? Yup, you could see it. 

When you've seen him before and you didn't hold your emotions back then, it wasn't as bad as you imagined it for now; just standing right in front him and looking him in the eyes. You could even feel yourself smiling at him. You wanted to punch yourself because you were acting like a little girl. 

He was just a man, yet a very attractive man who reminded you of your old Sam, and you were just a woman. There was nothing to be nervous about. 

“I'm glad you invited me to come over,” Samuel said, when you stepped outside from the doorframe, suggesting him to come over. 

“Something to drink? Water, lemonade or tea? Whatever you want, Sam,” you left him wandering through your flat, looking at every single detail with a facial expression of a five-year-old boy.

“Some alcohol would do the trick, thank you.”

“Come on. It’s not rational to drink when it’s like a million degrees outside.” You answered loudly enough for him to hear it through the whole flat, boiling water and his playlist playing.

“You're acting like my mother.” Samuel laughed and appeared right next to you. You freaked out a little, putting a wrist over your thorax to make it easier for you to breathe. 

“Somebody of our trio has to be the clever one,” you laughed quietly. “It's not my fault that I’m the smartest, motorcycle boy.” You looked at him with raised eyebrows, but your eyes were starting to shine playfully. 

"This is the girl I missed," Samuel whispered and started to open cupboards in order to find glasses. You laughed quietly and step in front of him, getting on the top of your feet, opening the right one.

"We have a lot of things that we have to talk about." You reminded him in the tone of a businessman who came in for an appointment. He chuckled quietly and get two mugs and glasses down on your sector.

"A bossy tone means you are deadly serious," Samuel said from searching the cupboards for a tea.

"Hey, I would rather pour down you a drink than listen to this bickering." You opened your fridge and get him and an old bottle of rum and a bottle of Cola.

"Don't be mad," Samuel walked in front of you with slow, precise steps, swaying his sides in the rhythm of one of the songs. He took both bottles and he smoothed the top of your nose. "I don't really mind when you're bossy. Quite enjoying it actually, if I have to be honest." He joked and you gave him his well-deserved punch to the shoulder.

"Stop playing around and let's talk." You went to sit on a chair with a cup of coffee and a glass of cold water. He was almost immediately after you with a glass of rum with cola in his hand.

"Would you mind..?" Samuel sat down the table next to you and took out cigarettes from the pocket of his trousers. You stood up and went on to give him an ashtray. Then you opened a window and hot, unbreathable air just hugged you tightly. You were sweating immediately.

"Go on. I don't mind." You smiled at him a lowered the sound a bit because you wanted to hear every word, every syllable he's going to make.

"So start talking, Samuel. I'm curious and listening." You took a sip of your coffee and looked at him from under your lashes.

"Well, I’m going to talk then you should ask me some questions you want to know the answers for. I promise, that every answer will be the truth." Samuel licked lips in a quick, soft gesture almost as if it was a subconscious action and then he lighted up his cigarette.

It smelled exactly the way you remembered. It was a smell that you couldn't ignore, so poignant and disgusting on one side and seriously attractive on the other side. His gestures were still the same, he left his leg nervously jumping around, so his whole body was moving in a quick rhythm, he still could curl up his wrist in a hugely elegant way and he was still closing his eyes and enjoyed the cigarette like it's going to be his last.

He wasn't that sweaty now and maybe that made his hazel so eyes intensely not overlooking. He was looking like a fine man in his best years, reminding you of younger Harrison Ford, George Clooney or Patrick Swayze - not by his looks, but by the vibe he was sending all around him.

"So a basic one. Where the hell have you been? Why did you left me here all alone, brokenhearted and crying every single night waiting for you to come home?" You asked with a hint of sadness in your voice, feeling how it cracked with every letter you spoke.

And he started to tell you the story of meeting Raphael Adler, whom he called Rafe, and venturing out to Panama with him and Nathan. He told you about the prison guard named Vargas and the deal between all of them, with Sam being the one who knows everything about that thing they were after, Nathan was the muscle of the whole plan and that Rafe has paid everything. And when they were about to leave the prison, Rafe got a huge rage quit during the whole escape and killed that Vargas guy.

And when Samuel didn't manage to escape along with his brother and his ally, he got stuck in that prison for long thirteen years. He couldn't write to you nor his brother, it just felt like disappearing from the surface of the world.

And he was rotting there for a quite some time until Raphael found out that he's actually alive and managed to get Samuel out of the prison. Then it got pretty interesting and intense because he started to describe his little trip with Sully and Nate to Italy, Scotland and Madagascar which almost cost his, Nate's, Elena's and Sully's lives.

You were really mesmerized. It sounded like a plot of a movie, but as you were assured, he was speaking the truth.

"Look, Y/N." He stood up and started to take off his shirt, stopping near his ribs. "These are the wounds from Panama." He smiled at you and sat down, drinking his second drink.

"So I wanted to come home for Nathan, for Victor and mostly for you. I really wanted to pick up my phone and call you about what happened. But it was like a hellhole out there and word civilization was more like a curse word. I was dying there alive until Adler found me, and after we finished that thing in Madagascar, I rushed back here. And I couldn't find you for two months. Clearly, you changed the address and phone number, so I asked Nathan. And that's how the thing ten days ago happened." He laughed sadly, lighten up another cigarette and drank almost half of his glass in one try. "I now know that I should call you first, just say that I'm alive and here and give you the time to arrange the thing inside your head, but I was too eager to see you." Samuel smiled and it was like a hormonal slap right into your face. He still had his firm, small lips and oh boy, you started to remember how those lips tasted like. He definitely looked older and more tired than before, he had a much longer forehead and deeper wrinkles, but that were the details that helped him aged like surely fine wine.

But besides that, he was still smiling like that young, eighteen-year-old boy. His eyes were still a little bit closed because of those lips curling up. He was also a lot bigger than you remembered; not that he got taller, but definitely he got more muscular in the meantime he was in prison. And then, of course, there was his new tattoo. You always knew that Samuel was a rebel at all costs, but you couldn't personally decide if you like that change or not.

"Moving on," you sat back, trying to get the picture of his half-naked body out of your head. "Who you even are now?"

"I'm still the Sam that you used to know. That incompetent idiot without sense for discretion. The motorcycle boy. I haven't matured much since the day you saw me for the last time, darling. Just got a bit tougher and not so open about myself. That's all." Samuel smiled at you and you couldn't keep your eyes on your mug.

He told you so many things about his past and yet it everything added up to the last detail. Somehow you felt that he's not messing with you, maybe it was the calm and slow tone of his voice, maybe it was that expression in his eyes, you didn't know the reason why you felt so calm and cheered up by him being him so close next to you. You missed him a lot since he left you carried a deep black hole in your thorax near your heart. And no one could heal the tear in you, even though many men tried. No one was like him and no one knew the thing he knew.

And now you felt how that tear disappearing just like that. It was almost like coming home, feeling complete and alive.

“I’m glad you’re back. I really am.” You whispered and for a moment, you both shut up, listening to the playing song. After a minute or two, he jumped out of the chair, stood up and looked at you.

“Its a really stupid idea, but haven't you kept my old guitar, just in case I'm coming back?” He looked at you and finally looked like a human being and not a chicken which is being grilled. 

“You are so extremely lucky, Sam. It’s still here.” You got up and went into your bedroom. His old acoustic guitar was hidden next to your cabinet. You kept the guitar in its old leather case which Sam bought one day on a flea market and since that day, his guitar wasn't anywhere else.

You also took it to your friend, a musician, who had changed the strums, because you wanted to give the guitar to one of your friend's child. But thanks God you didn't do that. 

“Here it is,” you gave it to him. It was the only thing you kept from his belongings. You gave the rest to Nathan, to a nearby charity or simply threw out of your flat. But the guitar was something different. You fell in love with her, because it was a part of Samuel. The first year when he was gone, you just sat on the of the rooftop where Sam used to took you on hot summer nights, smoothing the strums with your fingers because you couldn't play a single chord.  But you sat there with your eyes closed and with a weak smile you whispered the lyrics of songs he used to sang on that rooftop. You still hoped he’ll come back to you. But he didn't. 

Not much longer after that, you have just hidden the guitar in your flat like a reminder of him. 

“You can still play?” You asked concerned, sitting back on the chair. You watched Samuel’s smile widened much more when opened the clinches and took his loved guitar out of the case. He hugged the body of his instrument by his big hands and witch the grace of queens, his left arm started to play chords. He wasn't even looking at his hands, he had his eyes closed and he was really quietly humming to the song.

You didn't know that one, you just saw moving his finger from the seventh to tenth fret, sometimes he wandered to the fifth one. You put your face in your hands, watching him quietly with a firm smile. The music from his playlist was muted and the only sound traveling by the stuffy air were the high notes played by the strums. 

“Yeah, almost forgot it back in there,” Samuel said all of the sudden, waking you up from the trance. “But the guys out there were huge music lovers. They taught me again to play and they even taught me new serenades and songs to play. I had thirteen years to memorize every last one of them and my only wish was to play them for you.” He smiled firmly and you felt, how are your cheeks getting hotter.

“Don't take this personally, Sam,” you breathed out. “I'm really glad that you’re back and somewhere near, I really am. But it's not the best idea to mix my life with yours and the other way around. But I would love to be your friend.” You smiled him, watching his eyes twitched and looking at his lips smiling even more firmly.

“I get it. I would never do anything you're not feeling like.” He smiled and then he started singing. It was slow, full of emotions and passions, as you could say. Suddenly, you recognize that music from one of the older spy movies.

“I know that song!” You pointed at him and smiled. You know that tune, but not the words, so you started humming as he did before. His fingers moved along the frets slowly, pushing the strums to them when he should. There wasn't no hurried moves or a bad fingering, not once. 

“Where do you know it from?” He looked at you meanwhile he played the break without looking back to the guitar. 

“It’s one old spy movie, Angelina Jolie played in this movie before Tomb Raider.” You stated, not even thinking that he wouldn't know her. She was a worldwide famous actress.

“Before who played where?” He asked amused. That hit you hard. He really had to be without connection to civilization for a fair amount of time. Just there you noticed, that he’s prolonging the break because he didn't feel like singing or moving the song forward. 

“Yeah, guess you're not only motorcycle boy or an idiot without the sense for discretion,” you stood up and poured yourself another glass of water. It was almost one p.m. Why did the time flew so fast with him? “You're a cultural primitive now.” You laughed and Samuel opened his mouth, then smiling and leaving your comment without a word.

“But we can manage that. I’ll help you with the last technical achievements and after that, you will be like a normal human being living in the 21st century. Even Sully knows Angelina Jolie!” You smiled at him and he finally broke the long break and started to sing another part of the song. 

“What will be your repayment?” Samuel put the guitar away, curled his body until he was sitting directly facing you and smiled when he saw your opened mouth. The two of you could play this game.

“Well, it'll be some physical work for sure,” you heeled over to him with a smile on your lips. His smile started to fade slowly and his breathing was louder at that moment. “You’ll be like really sweaty after that.” Your fingers put some of your hair behind your ear and your eyes widened.

“I'm listening, my love.” He stated with the breath stuck in his throat. 

“I need to help with some pretty heavy boxes to the top of my cabinet. You up to that?” You whispered. Well, Samuel was expecting something different coming out of your sweet lips, but this really amused him. He laughed loudly and you joined him in that, being all red and unintentionally cute.

“And that's all, you one bossy lady?” He got up, waiting for you to show him where to start. You got up next to him and led him to your bedroom. 

“Yeah, I guess I don't really need anything else right now,” you smiled at him and showed him the mountain of boxes you had next to your bed. His eyes widened. 

“You like killed somebody, or where did you get like... Twenty boxes of something?” Samuel asked in a quiet but playful voice. His face was acting like he was shocked and scared. 

“It’s clothes for a charity, which is like seven months away. And I haven't got the time to move them into the cabinet. Are you up or not?” You raised your eyebrows, putting your palms on your sides. 

“Well, I guess I don't want to be a cultural primitive anymore.” Samuel breathed out loud a caressed his own face with his palm. “Do I have another option?” He asked himself and went to lift the first one of the boxes.

It was a really fun afternoon, slowly turning into the evening. You spent like four hour moving the boxes to the cabinet, and you had to figure out how to Tetris them in, because there was a serious load of them. Sam got his breaks during that, smoking in front of the cabinet and watching it like it should move any time soon. Well, he was expecting it to break up, but that huge cabinet just kept standing. 

He was telling you a lot of jokes, some of his hilarious prison stories and you found your satisfaction in watching him standing in front the opened cabinet, sweated at places where he should be and messing his hair with fingers. He looked like an antique statue with these ridiculously perceptible muscles. 

If prison left him something, it had to be the ability to take care of himself and a body of a god. And at one moment, when you laid on your bed and watched how he smokes when the sun was slowly getting low, you found yourself wondering how that body feels like under the touch of your fingers.

You left those fantasies in a moment he turned to face you with a wide smile on his lip. 

“Well, boss, I think it's done. It was tough work, but your boxes are in your cabinet, as you asked.” He sat next to you and you smiled, lazily laid down on your bed.

“Good job, my slave.” You joked and Samuel laughed.

“I guess it’s time to be on my way. I will call you and we will discuss when we see each other for a class of cultural tutoring.” He stood up and some feeling hit you in the spot next to your heart. Why does he have to go? Why can't he stay a little longer?

“Actually, I wouldn't mind some playing on guitar if you’re not in a hurry.” You sat quickly with the sheets in your palms. You held them tightly. Samuel, who stood in the doorframe, slowly turned around with a playful flame in his eyes.

“I would love to play something for you, Y/N,” he whispered and disappeared on a moment. When he came back, he was holding his guitar and slowly sitting down on your bed. “What would like to hear?” He asked, playing with the strings and slowly pulling them out, making them do a high-noted sound.

“That song you played before was really nice. Can I hear it again?” You asked, lying a bit closer, curling up to the leg which was supporting the guitar. 

“I will play it every time you ask, angel.” He whispered and started to do make the guitar sound. It was angelic - his deep, husky voice singing such wispy words like a prayer, and you loved that. You loved that except for one thing. Just an itsy-bitsy tiny thing. 

You forget how big turn on his singing voice was. You felt pretty badly. You asked him to play for you like two minutes ago and it would be pretty weird asking him to stop. So you let him play that song, whispering those words as tenderly as how he would whisper them to your ear, and you were starting to breathe loudly. 

“Hey, boss?” He stopped all of a sudden, putting the guitar away and caressing your hair slowly. “You okay?” 

You looked at him. The hair of the Litlle Mermaid was nothing against your cheeks. You were on fire, looking at him from the bottom and lying on your back. It was so fucking hard not to do anything too unpremeditated. 

“I guess so.” You whispered and watched him, as he lowered himself on his elbow, watching you with those hungry eyes. 

“You guess you're alright or you know that? Come on, Y/N, stop playing around. We waited for this for fifteen years, why should we keep running when we're both here now?”  He asked, but didn't waited for you to give him a proper answer. He just did take your face in his hands and kissed you on the lips; first time gently as if he was waiting for a permit, then he started to be more eager. Not like he held you so tight it hurt, no way. His body just started to banging into yours more than before. 

You found yourself amazed, sitting on him and not knowing what the fuck are you doing. Where was your I would love to be your friend from before? Yeah, sure, you want to be his friend, but with benefits, as it seemed. You practically confirmed him that you lied about being friends with him, but the lust in you was just too strong.

“What are we doing?” You said from tearing that insanely tight t-shirt down. It smelled like a bunch of cigarettes and sweat of a man. It smelled like heaven. Both of you stopped for a second, looking at each other, just your loud breathing could be heard in the room. 

Yeah, good question. What the hell were you doing? You said yourself like two hours ago, that you want to be his friend for now and nothing more. Where did this come from? You straddling his lap with your hair being a mess, hot rosy cheeks, and a total shut down brain from being horny? Maybe it was his fingers on the guitar or him ordering that help with the heavy boxes and then, how he sweated even more than before? But that husky voice was a total panties destroyer.

You didn't know - and he didn't either.

You had to laugh quietly when you recalled the nickname you and Nate gave him when attended to go to university with the help of Sully and your parents. Mister Samuel “I will charm your panties off” Morgan-Drake. That's how you both called him. 

“I don't know, baby,” Samuel answered quickly and pulled that yoga top of your body. You were so much beautiful than he remembered. It was like the age gave you more and more beautiful each year. And having your breasts directly in front of his eyes was more than he ever needed. “But don't let me stop.”

“I would die if you stop, Sammy.” You swore under your breath, unable to look away from his face. You felt like he was about to cry, when his fingers slowly traveled down on your fair shoulders, slowly caressing every inch of your skin. It was like a setting on fire, those touches were so light and warm that you were still afraid that you're dreaming and he still isn't there after all. 

“Is there anything wrong, Sam?” You lowered yourself when he hugged your back and slowly hid his face between your breasts as if he was hiding before the whole world. You felt him kissing the little piece of your skin between your breasts and your neck, but you closed your eyes and held him quietly.

“No. But now is everything how it should be from the start.” Samuel whispered and raised his face, so his forehead was gently leaning back to yours. You were pressed one on each other, skin on skin and you could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest. Well, your heartbeat was as rough as his. “I should be here the whole fifteen years for you, by your side and helping you to carry those boxes to your cabinet every year.” He joked and you smiled, breathing hot air into his face. Your eyes were firmly closed, why he was watching every curl of your hair and a happy smile on your lips. “I just know that I'm finally where I should have the whole time. Inside arms of the woman, who was the only one occupying my head all that time, you know, princess?” Samuel kissed you again, slowly with a smile.  

You know what he was saying although his words may seem to be huge nonsense. He told you that he was home, that the huge tear in his thorax was now cured just like yours. And God, you know what peace he felt in that exact moment because you felt the same relief. 

“Then kiss me before I'll change my mind, big guy.” You whispered back with your eyes closed firmly. You didn't have to ask twice, he fulfilled your wish as if it was his own. You held each other tight, you were the safe harbors to each other, a place where your boats were destined to dock in. 

You became one soul separated into two bodies almost sixteen years ago and now it felt like coming together, the world started to make sense at once. He was not a man and with a woman in his arms, you weren't even two human beings hugging each other; you were just the lost and found souls. 

You didn't even notice yourself making a move, but when you opened up your eyes again, you lied on your back and he was laying on his elbow, watching you without a world by his tender eyes. Samuel looked like a masterpiece drawn by Michelangelo and you know, he should be exposed at the museum. The sun was drawing circles on his body, highlighting some of his contours and making him look so young, so innocent and fascinated. He looked exactly like the man who left. You smiled and caressed his hair with a sentimental smile, making him look rebellious. 

“What?” Samuel stopped whatever he was doing and just bounced on his elbows with an amused look on his face. 

“Nothing,” you shook your head and blinked twice. “I just missed you.” You hold up your arms around his neck and letting your legs hug his sides by a tight hug.

“I'm glad you did.” Samuel smiled and took the advantage of you raising that pretty little ass of yours to his flanks. Meanwhile kissing you, he started to rock himself against your lap. You got his point and started to pull your pants off. 

“Did. You. Missed. Me?” You got out of yourself between the passionate kisses, mourning into his lips. Then Samuel almost made you explode with the huskiest, erotic laugh in the whole world. “I did, my love, and you know that I did.” 

“You might need to show me how much you did miss me in that prison.” You let your legs out of his sides and scooped a little to get those stupid leggings down. 

“How much time do we have?” Samuel looked at your naked body with a pleased look on his face. You weren't the only one burning with desire and lust, he felt his body trembling with the overtook of the feelings inside him. He wanted to have your body right in the exact moment, he wanted to be all over you like a river, caressing every inch of the skin which tasted like salt and sun. 

“I have a shift starting at five a.m.” You whispered and the smile on his face widened. 

“That's enough time to show you three to four times. Maybe five, what do you say, my dove?” He started to climb down the bed with spit coming themselves to his mouth after seeing your legs so naughty opened apart, just welcoming him in that sweet valley of yours. You felt his hands everywhere around your thighs and his body moving down under the bed, kneeling on his knees. You closed your eyes, letting your hands lay down on your belly. 

“Think that five seems,” you wanted to joke, but a scream of pleasure just came of your lips. Your back arched themselves, his tongue making wonders on the most sensitive piece of your body let your mouth wide open and your lungs gasping for some air. Yeah, it was some time since you let somebody touch you and it was a while since you met someone who understood what you wanted, but this was a whole new level of skills. Well, not new, but you didn't feel that for so long time, you actually forgot how that tongue of his felt between your legs. “Alright...” 

You let him do the wonders with your pussy, letting him suck on that sweet little spot meanwhile his fingers send chills down your spine and showing you the edge of paradise. Whatever move he made, it felt just so fucking right. There was no need for words when you made those high-pitched erotic noises, music for his ears, yet you couldn't stop yourself from talking. You haven't say much, just thing like ”That's a way to go, Sammy,”, “That makes me feel so fucking good” and when he pushed you to the top but didn't let fall down, you mumbled “You’ll kill me if you stop, Samuel.”. You begged him to continue by moving your hips a little, but he didn't react to that. 

Instead, he just traveled to one of your nipples with his hand, squeezing it firmly, still working with fingers inside you and slowly blowing that ice cold breath directly to your weak spot. 

“What’s... The... Deal?” You panted heavily, unable to concentrate on your own words and stumbling on them, while he continued to blow. 

“There isn't any sort of deal, love. I just want to hear as much of these beautiful noises as you can make.” Samuel answered with amusement and then he pushed you over the top with that face worth riding your orgasms against, actually making you scream his name out loud when you lost yourself in the waves of orgasm. It was a pretty good one - not the best you had, but still a really good one. He stayed until the last contraction of your pussy with his lips sucked to that spot and with his hand holding to your breast.

“Everything ok up there?” He asked when you have shut up for a minute or longer, just breathing out that beautiful experience. You chuckled, looking down to him and smoothing his jaw tenderly covered in a short stubble. 

“Maybe I need another proof, dear mister Morgan.” You whispered and his eyes widened of pure joy meanwhile his palms started to take off his jeans. You were a small, irresistibly lovely demon in angles body worth the waiting in prison, definitely worth the slaps and arguments. Your look gave him more joy than any amount of money in this world. “I will gladly show you more than one proof, dear miss Y/N L/N.” He answered in a pure raspy voice. 

Making you feel so good had left marks on him too. His lips were slightly swollen, his cheeks were as rosy as yours and his eyes shine like the distant stars. Both of you were equally covered in each other’s sweat and it just felt so goddamn great. 

It wasn’t a tender lovemaking session as you would expect. He got into his element and practically tried to destroy your bed, broke it into two pieces with the rough motion of your bodies. He was trying to kiss you, hold his forearm against yours, but it was hard when you constantly bent your head backward with eyes closed and saying those curse word like holly praise. You only knew that your hands were tightly entwined and that your knees were high on his waist, holding him close firmly. 

It was a rough and animally raw act of showing you everything he kept inside of him and what he couldn't say out loud in words. Yet, or rather because of it, it was so damn rough, it felt perfect. You were just like two energies meeting and bumping into one another with a beautifully brutal force, changing each other forever.

When it was over, when the small infinity between you disappeared, both of you lied entwined together like two pieces of rope, without a single move. You just breathed and felt how Samuel kissed that small place under your jaw that he fell in love with a long time ago. You didn't want it to end, you were too afraid to let him go and lose him again. You closed your eyes, hugging him tightly and trying to calm yourself down.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, nuzzling his face into your neck with a satisfied expression. 

“That I’ll not survive if you leave me again.” You answered, closing your eyes and cuddling more into his warm body. 

“You wish,” Samuel chuckled, caressing your hip slowly. “You will speak differently after a month or two.”

“Maybe you don’t have to rush?” You smiled, completely changing the subject. He looked surprised, tilting his head over to you. 

“What?” 

“Next time you'll come to see me, bring yourself a toothbrush and some clothes. We’ll find you a place in my cabinet.” You giggled, letting his lips carefully caressing your face with soft kisses.

“Does it mean I have to rearrange those boxes with those dead bodies?” He looked at your cabinet as if it was his worst enemy. 

“I guess so...” You laughed, when he crushed his head into the pillow, leaving noises of pure suffering and a quiet “Oh God, please no.” 

#samuel #Samuel Drake #samuel drake x reader #Nathan Drake #imagine #uncharted fanfiction #little sadie #warm foothills #alt-j #victor sullivan #the last and final part #i promise #this is the end #Victor goddamn Sullivan #rafe adler

[geezeralert]

Deep Dive Duly Delivers

From my boxes: Some sleeves that came with Beatles’ 45 rpm records

(Second of three parts)

I still love Beatles music.

In my months of replaying and studying all the songs produced in the group’s eight-year recording period (1962-1970), I continued to close my eyes and listen raptly to the tunes, often over and over and over (my practice since youth for favorite songs; I’m like a little kid repeatedly playing a favorite video or asking for a re-reading of a favorite book).

From “She Loves You” to “All My Loving” to “Words of Love” to “No Reply” to “Tell Me Why” to “She Said She Said” to “Hey Bulldog” to “Penny Lane” to “With A Little Help From My Friends” to “Get Back” to “Two of Us” to “Let It Be” to “Glass Onion” to the “long medley” on side two of “Abbey Road” . . . the foursome’s pop output of 50-plus years ago remains among the most pleasant sounds to my ears.

That state of enjoyment is to be expected, I guess. These musical creations dominated the soundtrack of my taste-formulating teen years, ahead of other loves like Motown, Sinatra, the Beach Boys and the myriad of hits coming out AM and FM radio.

Of course, my knowledge of the Beatles’ songs is now greatly enhanced, which, I’m pleased to find, only serves to heighten my enjoyment.

Learning how individual songs were conceived and executed, and then hearing the eventual product and how (or if) it reflects — by design or accident —the artists’ intentions, adds layers of fun to the listening experience.

The same was true for songs I do not particularly enjoy, like “Rain,” as those I do, like “Penny Lane” or “Two of Us.”

For “Rain,” the revelation was that Ringo Starr considers his drumming work on the song his best ever. Song chronicler Ian MacDonald (“Revolution in the Head”) called Starr’s work “superb” while also lavishing praise on Paul McCartney’s “high register bass” as “sometimes so inventive that it threatens to overwhelm the track.”

Perhaps any “true fan” of the Beatles knew such details but I never paid attention to either the drumming, the bass line or just about anything else about that song. Now, listening to it with this new knowledge, I at least give it some respect.

Likewise, for many tunes I did listen to closely and often over the years, there were plenty of tidbits that make them even more fun to hear.

Like the painstaking attention paid by McCartney to the rather simple-sounding (to me) “Penny Lane,” the technically expert drumming of Starr on “She Said She Said” (called “the outstanding track” on “Revolver” by MacDonald, who says that album is considered by many the Beatles’ best) and the performance on “”Two of Us.”  

Hearing that last tune, with my new knowledge, had me choking back tears.

Understand, “Two of Us” was recorded for the Beatles’ second to last album, “Let It Be,” and I played it after months of reviewing their musical endeavors as boyhood chums (McCartney wrote “When I’m 64,” one of the classics from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band,” when he was 16), as a newly formed band spending hours at their craft in a foreign country, as an insanely popular pop group dominating the musical world, as a trend-setting studio creative force, as a drug-addled crumpling unit and, finally, as bitterly feuding individual musical achievers no longer interested in being a fabulous foursome.

But even as the storm clouds gathered, producing occasional thunder claps, there were still lightening flashes of what made the Beatles the Beatles.

Moments like the one, in late January 1969, when McCartney and John Lennon sang in beautiful harmony — a sound straight out of 1962 — strumming acoustic guitars, on “Two of Us.”

“The close harmonies of “Two of Us” reminded McCartney and Lennon of their teenage Everly Brothers impersonations and, during the second day’s work on it, they broke off to sing ‘Bye Bye Love,’” wrote MacDonald.

The image of these two boyhood chums and creative masterminds, after years of ups and downs, burying the hatchet for a few minutes while under the influence of nostalgia — well . . .  (insert cry-face emoji).

To be sure, that continued camaraderie for all four group members was captured in the “Let It Be” film, along with the more well-known contentiousness. They jammed to rock ‘n roll standards in the studio and played their last live performance as a group on the rooftop.

The books I consulted also told how these four individuals continued to work together despite all their mounting, serious differences, and, like the tale of the “Two of Us” recording, those passages were among the most noteworthy to me during my research.

MacDonald notes this this lasting togetherness showed the Beatles to be “in no respect an ordinary phenomenon.”

He continued:

“Many have spoken of the charismatic atmosphere that switched on whenever all four were together — a group-mindedness which kept them united through a further 18 months (after their “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper” successes) of in-fighting during which they recorded well over 50 more tracks and which continued, albeit less reliably than before, to function as the psychic antenna by which they maintained contact with the shifting currents of popular feeling at large.”

Listening to their musical creations while getting more details about how much they were starting to really hate each other in the late 1960s was a indeed revelation for this big Beatles fan.

It culminated with the tale told by the engineer Geoff Emerick (“Here There and Everywhere, My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles”) of the band’s final recording together, Lennon’s “Because,” as it wrapped up the “Abbey Road” album.

The tune brought their legendary producer George Martin back into the studio to orchestrate nine harmony parts. For technical reasons, it required John, Paul and George Harrison to sing their three-part harmony together live, rather than overdubbing each part one at a time, and then add two additional passes to add on the remaining six parts.

Emerick recounts how the three Beatles were totally into the effort.

“They knew they were doing something special and they were determined to get it right. There was no clowning around that day, no joking; everyone was very serious, very focused,” he wrote.

He continued:

“That day I saw the four Beatles at their finest: there was 100 percent concentration from all of them — even Ringo, sitting quietly with his eyes closed, silently urging his bandmates on to their best performance — all working in tandem to get that vocal nailed, spot on. It was a stark example of the kind of teamwork that had been so sorely lacking for years. It’s tempting to imagine what the Beatles might have been able to accomplish if they could only have captured and sustained that spirit just a little longer.”

For me, though, the “Because” effort was amazing for taking place at all, both in terms of the Beatles’ problems and just how long any group of performers can co-exist and produce excellence.

Another fascinating act of cooperation, in my judgment, was Paul helping John on his very personal “Ballad of John and Yoko.” By that time, Yoko One was an extremely divisive element in the groups’ universe so I found this friendly cooperation especially praiseworthy.

Speaking of Yoko . . .

Of course, all Beatles fans have read stories of how disruptive her constant presence was during the final years. But one of the biggest revelations I’ll take away from my project is just how badly she disrupted the group’s cohesiveness and creativity, from early 1968 forward.

Emerick believes much of the improved atmosphere in the recording studio during “Abbey Road” could be attributable to the absence of John and Yoko, who were injured in a car accident in Scotland.

When the pair finally were recovered enough to attend the recording sessions, John arranged for a bed to be brought into the studio for Yoko, complete with a microphone suspended over her so she could comment on the proceedings.

Yikes

Wrote the engineer:

“For the next several weeks, Yoko lived in that bed. Her wardrobe consisted of a series of flimsy nightgowns, accessorized with a regal tiara, carefully positioned to hide the scar on her forehead from the accident. As she gained her strength, so too did she gain her confidence, slowly but surely starting to annoy the other Beatles and George Martin with her comments.”      

Interestingly, as the Abbey Road sessions progressed and Ono got out of bed, she  was asked by John to stay in the control room while he, Paul and George performed what, in my opinion, was one of the most incredible feats of their later years: the three simultaneous guitar solos during “The End.”

I always wondered how that section of the song was done and was amazed to find that it was all three of them taking turns. I never tire listening to it.

Emerick says perhaps it was Yoko’s absence “or perhaps it was because on some subconscious level they had decided to suspend their egos for the sake of the music, but for the hour or so it took them to play those solos, all the bad blood, all the fighting, all the crap that had gone down between the three former friends was forgotten. John, Paul and George looked like they had gone back in time, like they were kids again, playing together for the sheer enjoyment of it. More than anything, they reminded me of gunslingers, with their guitars strapped on, looks of steely-eyed resolve, determined to outdo one another. Yet there was animosity, no tension at all — you could tell that they were simply having fun.”

I suppose knowledge of these scenarios, and the different parts played by the Beatles, in something that separates the really big fans of the Beatles from the really huge fans.  

The latter already knew those details. And they also can say what songs were played when and by whom without consulting the various books that I used.

And they know a lot of other things that were news to me in my research.

Like the fact that Harrison auditioned his classic “Something” (originally eight minutes long!) for the group during the “White Album” along with “Old Brown Shoe” and “All Things Must Pass” but had them rejected.

Perhaps even some “really big” fans also had picked up those tidbits over the years while I missed them.

In any event, here’s some of they other things that jumped out at me in addition to the inspiring, intermittent camaraderie and the depressing, disruptive force of Yoko Ono:

** The amount of drug use by the group and the effect it had on their music.

The marijuana, the LSD and, for Lennon, the heroin all took at least the two main songwriters into their various musical directions. MacDonald notes that 50 days after the soaring achievement of “Because” Lennon “was back in the studio howling his addiction in ‘Cold Turkey.’” He makes the conclusion that heroin was “flowing coldly around its composer’s body” at the “Because” sessions.

** The influence of their various girlfriends on their songs.

Many of the songs chart the various stages of McCartney’s romances with Jane Asher and Linda Eastman along with John Lennon’s marriage/breakup with Cynthia and, of course, infatuation with Yoko.

** The nonsense of their lyrics— many of them were just thrown together and others had strictly personal meanings.  

Under scrutiny, a vast number of their early songs are far better musically than lyrically. I guess the simple old “moon June” love messages sounded plenty deep enough to my teen ears.  The Beatles themselves got tired of them and rarely returned to basic love songs in their later years.  

Then we have a lot of phrases or passages that have meaning only to them, like those in “I Am the Walrus” (Lennon says it was a deliberate attempt to parody “the fashion for psychedelic lyrics” prevalent at the time) “Across the Universe”  “Savoy Truffle” and “Glass Onion,” to name a few.

Another example: McCartney and Lennon, in a fit of marijuana-inspired laughter, made up some Spanish-sounding gibberish for “Sun King” on Abbey Road.  

** The synchronizing of the songs — how they came at us on albums or singles — was far different than how they were conceived or executed.

I suppose this is pretty obvious to even the most passing fan but when you experience the songs in the order they were recorded, as I did by following MacDonald’s sequential presentation of them, it gives you a much different feel than what we originally had.

One example: “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever,” intended for “Sgt. Pepper” (they were the second and third songs recorded for that album, after “When I’m 64”) but released instead as a 45 rpm single, were followed in the studio by the intricate “A Day in the Life,” which eventually was put at the end of that album, giving it its unforgettable finale.  

That sequence presents a far different perspective on the songs than how they were publically presented and received.

Another tidbit: The last song recorded by the Beatles as a group was “I Me Mine,” a Harrison tune produced for the “Let It Be” album after it was played informally in the “Let It Be” movie. It was formally performed and mixed after the “Abbey Road” sessions had wrapped.

Lennon was absent for that session so it was ironic that the next time the former Beatles recorded together was when his three ex-bandmates gathered again, after his death, to play with Lennon’s home-produced tune, “Free As a Bird.” That tape (three songs recorded by Lennon) was provided McCartney by Ono at Lennon’s 1994 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.  

Another tidbit in that category: In between “Abbey Road” recording sessions for “The End” and “Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard,” McCartney recorded “Come and Get It,” playing all the instruments and double tracking the vocal.

The tune went on to be a big hit for the Apple group Badfinger and MacDonald calls it “by far the best unreleased Beatles song.” McCartney “knocked off” the recording in under an hour, he wrote. He offered it for Abbey Road.    

** In contrast to the Hall of Fame’s insulting choice to induct Lennon years before honoring McCartney, my conclusion from what I read and heard is that McCartney was the dominating force behind the band’s production, creativity and longevity.

He softened Lennon’s often-harsh musical tendencies and pushed all of the others to  better themselves, often to their annoyance.

In fact, McCartney’s criticisms of Harrison’s guitar playing was a major source of the friction in the group. There are several tales of McCartney going back into the studio to re-do the guitar solos for his songs.  

He also kept the group involved in challenging projects, like the “Magical Mystery Tour” film and attempts at stripped down recordings for “Let It Be,” at times when other members wanted to just end things.

And his continued musical endeavors surely pushed the others to also keep trying to explore and create.  

As a teen, Lennon was my favorite Beatle (every kid had to choose one!). Now . . . it’s complicated.

** A fun part of my listening experience was following the progress of the four Beatles as musicians, particularly McCartney on bass.

He was made the group’s bass player by default in their teenage beginnings. He quickly progressed to some great work on “All My Loving” and “Tell Me Why.” And from there, he perfected his skill on the instrument until it became a major contributor to a lot of the recordings, most especially “Hey Bulldog.”

I also was impressed by Starr’s drumming. He has been downgraded by some as a “human metronome” and a deep-background player in the Beatles saga but he gets a lot of credit in the books I read for his savvy, expert drumming. My own listening, as a simple fan, supports those conclusions.

Beatles songs were not about blasting percussion but needed the steady, consistent, skilled drum sounds that Starr provided.

** Another interesting part of the project was learning various music or recording terms.

These included: arpeggio (“the notes of a chord played in succession as a fan-like spread rather than as a single sound, as if on a harp”; used on “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “Sun King,” the middle of “Here Comes the Sun” and “Because.”); ADT (artificial double tracking, used often for Beatles’ voices and now a music industry stable); flanging (too technical to summarize here); and compression (“reduction of the overall dynamics generated by a voice or instrument”).  

The amount of what we hear (and love) that is affected by such studio tricks as ADT, flanging, compression, manipulation of microphones or drums, or changing speeds on recorded material (to name just some of them) was astonishing to learn.  

** Taking the Beatles’ catalogue as a whole over a short period of time demonstrated just how much effort the group put into always trying new sounds, new recording techniques and new musical approaches.

These could range from a simple change in how a piano was played (“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” “Oh Darlin’”) to an entirely radical approach like “Revolution 9.”

This was done out of personal musical interest along with inter-group competition and intra-group competition. It was a key to why the group remained together, creative and popular for far longer than normal bands, particularly those in the rock era.        

To be sure, the three primary songwriters in the group also borrowed liberally from what sounds were popular at the time — Motown, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, psychedelia, the Byrds, the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Who, the Kinks — but improved on them and created a sound all their own.

** MacDonald feels the McCartney song “You Never Give Me Your Money” was the earliest musical acknowledgment that the group was coming to a close, particularly its opening verses.

“To anyone who loves the Beatles, the bittersweet nostalgia of this music is hard to hear without a tear in the eye. Here, an entire era — the idealistic, innocent Sixties — is bravely bidden farewell.

“Having regretted this loss, the song shows us what it was all about in a quick kaleidoscopic resume of the group’s ambiguous blend of sadness, subversive laughter and resolute optimism. Everything hangs on the words ‘nowhere to go,’ arrived at ruefully but instantly spun around and seen from the other side: as freedom, as opportunity. The Beatles’ future may be gone but McCartney is determined to salvage their spirit, and that of the Sixties, for his future. ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ marks the psychological opening of his solo career.”  

** Emerick’s own conclusion about the Beatles’ breakup gave me a new perspective.

He begins with an opinion I found startling, given all his and others’ accounts of how well the Beatles could still get along even as their inter-personal troubles mounted:

“By the end, it’s fair to say that the four Beatles hated one another, for a variety of reasons. It’s actually understandable, considering all the time they’d spent together, stuck in hotel rooms and recording studios for year after year; no wonder they couldn’t wait to get away from one another. When the announcement was made, I couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that it had been almost four years since they’d done their last tour. For four years, they had been doing nothing but recording in that dank, depressing place known as Abbey Road.”  

Emerick goes on the discount the financial squabbles or presence of Yoko Ono as the key reasons for the end of the group, saying Ono was good for Lennon. He concludes:  

“No, I always felt that the main reason for the breakup was irreconcilable artistic differences. John, Paul, and George Harrison simply wanted to follow different paths. John wanted to make art; Paul wanted to continue doing pop music; and George just wanted to pursue his Eastern interests. Sadly, inevitably, there was no common ground anymore, only a common history.”

So, having digested all this material over the last few months, where does that leave me as a Beatles fan?

I’ll explore that in part three of this little exercise, coming tomorrow.

#Beatles #Music #Music history #Sixties #paul mccartney #john lennon #george harrison #ringo starr #rocknroll #beatles fan

[pretend-writer]

A Special Gift (Sam Drake x reader)

Summary: Y/N and Sam celebrates Christmas together. 

Word Count: 919 words

Warning: smut intended (sfw), sam singing hehe, FLUFF

✤  ·  ✤  ·  ✤  ·  ✤  ·  ✤

I’m sitting in my car, impatiently waiting for the light to turn green. The holidays turned the streets into disaster. The snow got the roads slippery, people were driving to their families and it was just all just too much. I just wanted to see Sam and enjoy our Christmas that we haven’t celebrated together in 2 years.

With Sam constantly away for his jobs few times a year, we never had the chance to celebrate Christmas together for the past two years. Thankfully this year, he gets to stay home.

As I finally get to my driveway, I parked the car into our garage. I quickly get out the car, speed walking towards the front door so I can get out of freezing cold. I unlocked the door and went into the house.

‘Sam, I’m home’ I sang, taking off my wet shoes and leaving it by the door. ‘Sam?’

‘Oops, you think I’m in love,

That I’m send from above!’

I followed where the voice was coming from, into the kitchen; Sam was cooking while singing with his headphones on. I gasped, trying so hard not to laugh.

‘I’m not that innocent!’

He turned around with a spatula on his hand, realizing that I was watching him. Sam face turned red from embarrassment and without another word, he took his headphones off.

‘Britney Spears, Sam?’ I laughed out loud, unable to hold on my laughter any longer.

‘Har har, very funny, Y/N.’ he rolled his eyes.

I continue laughing as I pointed to the spatula. ‘Aww baby, is that supposed to be a microphone?’

Sam the faced the counter to continue cooking. ‘No, I er— uhm.’

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I hugged him from behind, ‘It’s okay. I thought it was cute.’

‘I mean, her songs are quite catchy’ Sam admitted. ‘Also babe, I’m making pancakes for dinner. Your favorite.’

Ever since I was a little kid, I loved it when my mom made breakfast for dinner. I cheered as I kissed my boyfriend on the cheek, ‘I’ll get the tables ready.’ 

✤  ·  ✤  ·  ✤  ·  ✤  ·  ✤

After we were done eating our pancakes, we sat on the couch and watched TV. With my head rested on Sam’s lap, I looked up at him and smiled. 

'What’s with the grin babe? I didn’t think working on Christmas Day was a joy.’ 

‘No, it was torture but I finally get to spend Christmas with you.’ I cupped his face and rubbed my thumb against his cheek. He gives a peck on my hand. ‘I’m glad I’m here with you too, Y/N.’

‘Speaking of Christmas, you have to open your present.’ I said excitingly as I sat up on the couch.

‘Oh yeah, it’s been so long I almost forgot.’ Sam got up and reached for his present under the Christmas tree. I sat next to him as I watched him unwrap his present. 

‘So, I know last winter you had a trip to Scotland and when you came back, you were always complaining that you forgot your jacket back at the hotel.’ He pulls out a denim jacket from the unwrapped gift. ‘I know it’s not the same one as you had before.’

Sam’s face glowed up, joyful about his gift. ‘This is amazing babe, it’s better than the denim jacket I had before. Thank you.’ 

‘Anything for my Britney lover.’ I joked, but Sam didn’t laugh with me. Instead, he had a really intense look on his face. I could already tell that he was going to tell me something bad. ‘Sam, what is it?’

Sam sighed as he pulled out a back pack from under the tree. ‘I have to show you something.’

My heart sank, immediately thinking about the paperwork he was going to show me about his next trip. He was probably going on a trip tomorrow, since he did say Sully was trying to find a job in Iceland. 

‘Open it.’ that’s all Sam said as he handed me the back pack. I sighed and unzipped the back pack, but all I saw was a small box. Slightly confused, I opened the box and I saw a beautiful ring.

‘Y/N, the years that I spent with you we’re nothing but joy in my life. Since the day Nathan introduced me to you, I knew that you were special. I’m glad that you decided to stick around with an insane person like me. I’m lucky to have you in my life and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?’

As I teared up about the surprise that almost gave me a heart attack, I playfully hit Sam’s shoulder,  ‘Sam! You scared the crap out of me!’

‘Why were you scared? I didn’t say it was bad.’ Sam chuckled.

‘I thought you were leaving on a trip with Sully.’

‘So is it a yes?’ he asked sweetly.

‘Of course, you dummy’ I smiled, hugging him tightly. He pulled away and took the ring from the box, sliding it into my finger. I wrapped my arms around Sam’s neck and smiled.

 ‘Y/N Drake. That sounds perfect.’ Sam said before he kissed me. I kissed him back, feeling the moment getting hotter. Without breaking the kiss, he stood up.

‘You’re not so innocent after all.’ I giggled as I referenced “Oops, I Did It Again”. 

‘Aye, no more teasing me about Britney Spears’ he chuckled then carried me to our bedroom.

#Christmas fic #sam drake trash #sam drake x reader #samuel drake x reader #a special gift #FLUFF FLUFF

[kpop-uni]

Army Soldier!Yoongi Chapter 2 of TBD [Masterlist of other chapters] Words:5.7k A/N: I have been writing this chapter for so long and I finally pieced everything together. I’ll be writing a lot more since I’m done with school until August and I’m thinking of expanding this blog with a few solo artists... 

It had been almost a whole year since Yoongi visited and I got worried after three months of no calls. Jake also got worried throughout the first month, sitting near me and every time my phone rang he gave a hopeful look at it before getting serious again. Midway through the second month, Jake stopped being by my side and no longer got hopeful when my phone rang. When his dad called a few weeks later, asking him what was new and what had he been up to, Jake gave him the usual rundown of school and the things he’s done and what new things he bought, his dad sounding interesting while my sister was in the background pretending to sound excited about things.

Not once did he mention Yoongi.

On the third month, I was out getting groceries, my headphones in my ear as I filled the cart with what I would need for the next few days, looking over the list on my phone when an unknown number called and I immediately rejected it, thinking nothing more than a few kids trying to get a prank in before my phone rang again, the ‘unknown’ name popping up again and once again I rejected it. The third time took a couple minutes longer and I answered, sighing and stopping as I picked a few apples.

“Listen, I’m a busy woman and I don’t have time for prank calls.”

I froze at the little laugh, voices of men and women in the background. “Sorry, guess I’ll call someone else,”

“Yoongi?” I whispered, hearing the laugh again.

“Major Min, calling in for Miss y/n and the young Jake.”

I laugh, hearing the serious tone of his and shake my head. “Well, you have y/n, but Jake is in school right now, so he isn’t available until 3 o’clock.” I grab the apples and slip it in the plastic bag, tying it and putting it in my cart, hearing him hum.

“Guess I’ll be talking with you until then…” I could hear that smile and I tried to hide my grin.

“Looks like it…” I could hear the chuckle and a few men yelled something before he yelled a series of numbers, quickly apologizing to me.

“What are you doing?” I smiled, laughing a bit.

“That kind of information, I can’t give. Nor my location or where I’m calling you from, which is why this is unknown.” I could hear him give another set of muffled numbers, getting more vegetables as I  waited for him. “Where are you?”

“Me?” I asked, smiling.

“No, not you,” I could hear him laugh. “Yes, you.”

“Well, I’m getting groceries,” I laugh, getting a loaf of bread and waiting in line to order some ham.

“Grocery shopping, huh? I haven’t gone grocery shopping in three years.”

“You’re more than welcomed to join me next time you come around,” I offer with a smile, excusing myself and giving the lady my full attention, and thanking her as I got the packaged ham.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t called you in three months, I’ve been busy moving to different bases,”

“No, there’s no need to apologize, I understand that you’re busy. This is your career, after all.” I hear Yoongi hum and I continue to talk to him as I get the rest of the things I need; Yoongi occasionally asking what I was getting in that moment and helped me pick out what exactly I needed. I paid and thanked the guy, wishing him a good day and packing the things in my cart.

“Jake is almost out of school, right? Are you walking to get him?” I hum and start the car, connecting my phone to the stereo and listening to Yoongi as his voice filled my car.

“Yeah, I’m going to go straight there and get him, he’s been missing you like crazy,”

I smiled as the laugh filled my ears and my body, taking small streets to the school. “I’ve missed him too, I still have his letter in my pocket every day so I remember him.”

I hum and enjoy the comfortable silence between, us, hearing people talk in the background before Yoongi’s low voice broke the silence.

“I haven’t gotten you out of my head since I left…”

I blush a dark red, lowering the volume on the stereo, parking in an empty spot, waiting for Jake. “Same here… honestly, I’ve been missing you too,”

I heard his chuckle, the voice giving me goosebumps across my skin and my heart fluttering. “I miss you too, babe… I would say I’m going soon, but I get a week vacation and I’m going back home to visit my family.”

I hum, hiding my disappointment behind a grin. “That’s great! I’m sure they miss you,”

“Yeah, I miss them too…” I hear him trail off, silence creeping in again and I saw the kids getting out and I unplugged the phone, turning the car off and getting off.

“Ready to talk to your best friend?” I ask, walking to the patio, walking in the school and going to Jake’s classroom.

“Yeah, that’s why I called!” Yoongi laughed and I rolled my eyes, leaning on the door of the classroom and seeing the kids run by, Jake running up to me.

“Mom! I have found the secret!” He grinned excitedly, hopping in place and his hands under his chin.

“What secret?” I grinned back.

“I can’t tell you, mom!” He groaned and laughed.

“Well then I won’t tell you who’s on the phone for you,” I say in a sing-song voice, Jake looking at me with curiosity.

“Who?” He asked, reaching for the phone and I let him take it. He answered, and upon hearing the voice he grinned. “Major Min! I’ve missed you!”

I took his hand and walked to my car, sitting him in and buckling him up as he talked about every detail since his last visit, telling him of new toys and everything he did in school. We got home and he went straight to his room, telling Yoongi about whatever else he did while I made lunch.

As I finished making the food, Jake came into the kitchen handing me the phone. “Major Min has to go,”

I nodded and took the phone, hearing Yoongi ordering around. “Yoongi?”

“Hey, y/n, I have to go, but I’ll call soon, alright? I promise it’ll be sooner.”

With that, the line went dead and I looked at Jake, seeing him smile and hug me. “I missed him,”

-

Over the next few months, the calls from Yoongi ranged from over three hours long to a couple minutes, seeing as he was busy and he tried his best to keep up with us. He went back home and met with his family, and he texted me a couple times while he was over there, but I let him catch up with them and old friends, giving him space, even if I did miss him.

I came in from settling an offer from work to find a box on my front step with many different stamps and in large black letters, the word ‘FRAGILE’ scribbled on it.

I unlocked the door and set it in, unsure since it had no return address and the only thing, other than the stamps and scribbled letters, was my address.

I took out the box cutter I had hidden in a drawer and opened the box, seeing bubble wrap and on top, an envelope with my name. I eyed it curiously, taking mine and opening it, beginning to read it.

Y/N,

I know the lack of address and who sent it concerns you but I hope you’re smart enough to know it’s from me. I missed you guys a lot when I went back home and since I spent it walking around with some old friends and my family, I decided to send you a few things back home. I got you guys a bunch of snacks and candy so please enjoy them. I asked my friends to fill the box with anything you and Jake would enjoy so please, if you have any questions about anything, let me know when I see you, it should be soon.

-Yoongi

I smiled at the letter, folding it and going through the things, seeing different types of stationary things, makeup, and tons of snacks and candy. I laughed at everything, knowing Jake was going to have a field day when the doorbell rang and my mind going to the letter, grinning and running to the door, opening it. My smile falling to see a suited man, holding a manilla folder and looking at me.

“Miss, Y/L/N?” I nod and wrap the long, knitted sweater over my body, crossing my arms.

“Yes, that’s me. Can I help you?”

The man nodded, handing me the folder. “The parents of Jacob Davidson are claiming custody of the child. You have 24 hours to read this and I will be back tomorrow to bring the child with me to a foster home until this is settled.”

I stared at him in horror and he smiled sadly and turned to leave, my arm reaching out and gripping his suit jacket. “They can’t do that! Under the law, he is my child and I adopted him and he is mine!”

The man sighed and turned fully around, pulling his arm away and smoothing out his jacket. “Ma’am, I apologize, I wish there was something I can do, but I’m only here to deliver this to you,” The man gave me another sad smile and left, walking down the stone stairs and off to his black car.

I stood on the porch, running a hand through my hair and panting, feeling tears run down my cheeks before I ran in, slamming the door closed and going to my phone, calling the number that I hardly saw but memorized, hearing it ring.

“Hey, y/n-”

“Don’t you dare speak!” I cried, gripping the phone. “Don’t you do this, don’t take him from me!”

I heard the sigh and a whisper of my name. I could picture my sister sitting and squeezing the bridge of her nose, getting impatient with me. “We’re going to take him back, he’s our son,”

“No, you left him with me and I adopted him! I’m not letting you take him! He’s mine!” I screamed, hearing her quietly talk with her husband. “He’s starting school soon, don’t do this…”

“We’re going to homeschool him here while we live in Scotland, and then he’s going to a school in Africa while we stay there a few months-”

“He will not be going to different schools.” I snap, hearing my sister groan.

“I say he will!”

“My son will stay in one school and that is this one!”

“He’s not even your son, y/n! Just because you can’t have kids, doesn’t mean you can steal others!”

I gasped and covered my mouth, my sister staying quiet before muttering curses. “Shit, y/n… I didn’t… “ She tried finishing the sentence, but I didn’t let her as I hung up and tossed the phone, crying and screaming until my lungs burned. I laid on the living room floor, curled into a ball and ignoring the knocking on my door until it swung open, my neighbor worriedly rushing in and helping me sit up as two cops were with him.

“Hey, y/n, are you okay?”

I looked at him and up at a cop, seeing him looking around to see if anyone else was in the house before looking at me. “We got a call about screams and cries coming from this house, is everything alright?”

I looked down and nodded, wiping my eyes. “I’m sorry, I got some sudden news… It won’t happen again, officer.” He nodded and led the other one out, my neighbor watching me before I smiled and told him I wanted to be alone, and he nodded, hesitantly leaving and closing the door behind him.

I walked to Jake’s room and picked up his toys, putting them away and laying on his bed, cuddling the pillow and crying.

I heard my phone ring and I rushed over, seeing a text from the mom of Jake’s friend, saying they were dropping him off and I opened the door just as she pulled up to the empty spot, Jake grinning and rushing off, waving and saying his 'thank you’s as he ran into the house and hugging my waist tightly.

“Mom, I have to tell you all the animals I saw, come on!” I smiled, wiping the tears I had, following him in the house as he explained everything. He laughed at what he remembered and looked through his bag before looking at me and freezing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing baby,” I smile and sniffed. Jake walked over and hugged me tightly, rubbing my back.

“It’s going to be okay,”

I nodded, hearing him and crying more, holding his shoulders and sniffing, looking at him in the eye and getting serious. “Listen and listen closely, okay?”

Jake nodded and gave me his full attention, fear settling in his eyes. “Tomorrow afternoon, a man is going to come and take you to a foster home for a while. Your mom and dad are trying to take you with them… I need to know if you want to go or stay here with me,”

I watched, terrified of what he would say before he started crying and wiping his eyes. “I don’t want to go with them, mommy. I want to stay with you,” I cried and nodded, hugging him.

“I’m going to make sure you stay with me. I’m going to get a good friend of mine and I’m going to get you back home in no time, okay?”

Jake cried, nodding and hugging me tightly, sniffling before I pulled back and wiped his tears and mine. “How about I order your favorite pizza and we watch all your favorite movies? Hm?” I smile and he weakly nodded.

The rest of the day, Jake stayed glued to my side and ate pizza and not even the funny doings of the movies could make him smile. When he fell asleep, he fell asleep on my lap and I carefully helped him into my bed, going to his room and taking out his blue luggage I bought him when we took a trip over to Florida for him to see the Harry Potter world.

I neatly packed his clothes, adding his favorite toys and going to his room, packing the stuffed red dinosaur that I had gotten him that, even now at the age of seven, still sleeps with and brought it back to my room. I laid next to Jake, gently placing the dinosaur in his arms and hugging him, holding my tears until I couldn’t and I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, I made breakfast, as usual, Jake and I were quiet, knowing what was coming. At exactly the same time as yesterday, the doorbell rang and I trembled, walking over and opening it, the man with the black suit smiling at me before it fell, looking at me over.

“I’m here for the boy and his things.” I nod and silently let him in, going to get Jake’s bag as he walked into the living room, holding the dinosaur tightly. We walked back as I ruffled Jake’s hair, the man sighing and nodding. “I’ll give you two a couple minutes,” He walked out and I walked with Jake to the porch, kneeling and sniffling.

“I packed your favorite toys and all your clothes,” I slipped on his bag and fixed his clothes. “I also packed you some snacks and a couple juice boxes in your bag and a couple books you like to read, and some movies, okay?”

I watched as tears ran down his cheeks and I hugged him tightly, holding my tears. “It’s only for a little bit, okay? Just a little bit…”

The man walked over and gently pulled Jake. “We have to go,”

Jake immediately shook his head and gripping my hand tighter. “Mommy! No! I want to stay with you!”

I cried and shook my head, holding his arm. “Soon baby, just stay strong,” I watched as he was dragged into the car and I covered my mouth, crying and seeing him bang on the window, crying and screaming for me as the man drove off. I laid on the porch, ignoring the confused and concerned look on my neighbors as they witnessed the scene unfold. I stood up and weakly walked into the house, wiping my eyes and lying on the couch, wrapping myself in the sweater and crying.

Hours later, I sniffed and got myself up, wiping my cheeks and rushing to my room, sitting and going through the drawers and opening my address book, flipping through the pages and opening my laptop, dialing a number and hearing it ring.

I spent the rest of the day looking for lawyers that could help me but all of them were hopeless. I was recommended to others, those telling me that they were able but their case winnings weren’t convincing.

I rubbed my eyes and looked at the time, knowing I wasn’t going to find any offices open at this time. I ran my hand through my hair once again, seeing my phone ring and I quickly answered. “Hello? Yes?” I hurriedly asked.

There was a laugh and I froze, hearing him take a breath. “Good to know you’re awake. But I’m pretty sure I knew you weren’t going to sleep anytime soon since you have work.”

“Yoongi…?” I whispered.

“Did you expect anyone else?” He smiled and I shook my head before taking a breath and whispering out a soft no. “Is it too much to ask you to open the front door?”

My eyes widened and I got up slowly, walking to the front door and opening it.

He stood as he did all those months ago. In his boots, his camo outfit and a smile on his face. I took in a small breath and his eyes softened into concern when he saw me, his smile falling and he took a couple steps to me, hesitantly getting close. “Y/N, what happened?” His whispered voice entered my ears and I let out a choked sob and cried again.

“His parents, they took him from me… They took Jake and I can’t find a lawyer.” Yoongi closed the distance between us and engulfed me in a hug, shutting the door behind him and smoothed my hair down.

“Come on, you need to rest…” I let him pull me to my room and blindly hold on the wall as he turned the light on and looked around, seeing papers scattered. I pulled away and sniffled, laying on the bed and crossing my arms, curling into a ball.

I watched as Yoongi untied his boots and set them aside, looking at me and silently asked for permission to sit and I nodded, letting him sit and pull my head on his lap. His hands gently smoothed my hair down letting me relax.

I closed my eyes, falling asleep with his fingers in my hair and his soft breathing.

In the morning, I opened my eyes to hear ringing and Yoongi shaking my shoulder. “Y/N, your phone,” I sat up and pulled my phone out, looking at the numbers and sighing, answering calmly.

“Hello?”

“I went to visit him today and he doesn’t want to see us. What did you tell him?” My sister snarled, making me flinch before getting angry.

“I told him the truth, that you want to take him with you. Do you think that’s what he wants? To go with his parents who don’t even bother to worry and pretend like they care? To his parents who visit only when they need something? He isn’t a baby! He knows now, he’s not dumb!”

“My own son won’t talk to us! He yelled at us to leave him alone and that he hates us!” My sister yelled back and I grit my teeth.

“I sure as hell would hate you too if you never called and only visited to prove that you two were fit to be parents!” I yelled back and hung up as my sister began yelling back, making me toss my phone and wipe my eyes, huffing.

“Why are they doing this to me…?”

Yoongi’s arm wrapped around me and held me close, sighing while rubbing my arm. “Have you tried to find someone to help?”

“I’ve called lawyers but none of the best do this type of work… I don’t know what to do…”

Yoongi was quiet for a moment as I cuddled more into him, wiping my eyes and sighing. “I might have someone that can help me,” He whispered and I looked up at him, seeing him take out his cellphone and dial someone, listening. “Kook, it’s me… yeah, of course… I’m with her right now, but listen… I need help.”

I moved back as Yoongi got up and walked out of the room, heading to the kitchen and I heard the rustling of pans and the stove turned on, but he was still talking to his friend.

When I heard silence, I stood up and was about to head to the kitchen when Yoongi came in with two bowls of eggs and toast, handing me one and I began eating, letting him sit next to me.

“My best friend, Jungkook, is a lawyer, he’ll help you, okay?”

I looked up at Yoongi and nodded, sniffling and holding my tears in. “You didn’t have too…”

His hand on my cheek made me lock eyes with him, firmly holding my face. “Y/N, you and Jake mean so much to me… I can’t see anything happening to you both…” I stared at him, tears silently streaming down my face and I nodded, hiccuping.

“Thank you so much…”

Yoongi smiled and nodded, taking in a breath and letting go of my face. “Now eat, we have to go see him and tell him the good news and just hope for the best, okay?”

I nodded, quickly eating and then leaving my bowl on the bed, going to the closet and getting out clothes, going to the bathroom to shower. I avoided the mirror, knowing I must’ve looked like a huge mess and took a quick shower, rushing out and changing, brushing my hair and ruffling it before holding it back with a hair clip and going to the room, Yoongi fixing himself and moving aside as I walked past. I put on my shoes and I grabbed a long sweater from the closet, pulling it on and buttoning it up.

“How long are you here for?” I asked, looking at Yoongi who sighed and gave me his attention.

“Only a week…” I nodded and walked over, letting him hug me and I wrapped my arms around his middle.

We stayed like that for a while, Yoongi holding me close and rubbing my back as I breathed in his scent and wanted to stay like that. It felt like in that moment I could forget anything around me and just focus on us. But Jake was my priority.

“Let’s go,” I whispered, pulling back and Yoongi followed me out to the car, staying with me the whole time and holding my hand as I drove to the foster home. The ride was quiet and I could see Yoongi bobbing his head to the music from the radio that played softly, mouthing along to the words and his eyes looking around the town; I found myself softly smiling at him. I focused on the road before pulling into the large building near the center of town and parked, fixing my purse as Yoongi walks around and joins me, staying by my side and walking inside with me.

The office was all white with drawings the children hung up on the walls decorating the place. There were parents sitting on the couches and I froze when seeing my twin and her husband sitting on a couch, the two invested in their conversation to notice me. I felt Yoongi’s hand in mine and I turned to him, his lips curving into a reassuring smile, making me relax and ignore the two, passing them and waiting behind a father who was talking to the lady behind the desk.

“She looks like you…” He whispered.

“I look like her, she’s the eldest,” I whispered back, looking up at him and he smiled.

“Yeah but you’re way more mature than she is,” He winked and I rolled my eyes, looking at the man who moved aside, the desperate look on his face making me worried again.

“Can I help you?” The lady asked.

“Yes, I’m here to visit Jacob Davidson,” I spoke, hoping my sister didn’t catch me and the woman sighed softly.

“I’m sorry, the child requested he didn’t want to see anyone today.” The woman offered us a small smile in apology.

“Tell him his adopted mom came to see him and someone special joined me,” I looked up at Yoongi, the woman smiling and nodding asking us to take a seat as she called someone.

I took a soft breath, turning with Yoongi and taking a seat, keeping my head down as I sat, letting out a breath when I heard my sister clear her throat. “You are not allowed to see him,” She snarled.

“I adopted him, I have every right to see him,” I calmly spoke, Yoongi taking a seat beside me, the other parents looking at us.

“I’m his mother,” She glared.

“Yet you abandoned him,” I glared back at her, her husband about to speak up when I heard a cry and turned, smiling and crying at the sight of Jacob being brought out, wiping his eyes and slowly walking to us.

“My baby…” I cried and knelt on the ground, opening my arms as he ran into them and hugged me tightly, crying into my shirt.

“I want to go home mommy… please…” He begged softly. I nodded and whispered that I was going to make it happen soon. I let him cry on me, clutching my shirt before I gently pulling back and turned him to Yoongi.

“Hey, buddy… don’t cry anymore, okay?” I watched as Jake cried harder and flung himself to Yoongi holding him close and tightly.

“I want to stay with you, Major Min… Can I go with you to the army?” I smiled and sat on the couch, Yoongi chuckling.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, but how about we get you home first and then when you’re older we can talk about what you want to join, yes?” Yoongi asked, making Jake nod and sniffle, getting comfortable as Yoongi sat him between us, Jake curling into his side and holding my hand tightly.

I looked over as my sister knelt in front of Jake, rubbing his leg softly and Jake whined, trying to pull his leg back and scoot up to Yoongi, making him hold him tighter and let Jake relax in his hold. Jake’s father walked over and pulled my sister back, giving me a dirty look and Yoongi pulled me to his side, rubbing my side as he held us.

“Jacob?” The lady called and we all looked over at her as she smiled, walking over. “It’s lunchtime hon, we have to go for a little bit, okay?” The lady asked, Jake, beginning to whine before Yoongi softly kissed his head.

“You go and eat, tomorrow, I’ll come back with my friend who will help us okay?” Jake looked at Yoongi as he whispered and nodded, sniffling and hugging me tightly. I clung to Jake and picked him up a bit, ignoring how heavy he was and set him on the ground.

“You be good and try your best to make friends, I’ll come back tomorrow with Major, yes?” I forced a smile, Jake nodding again, looking down and silently going to the woman.

“Jake, would you like mom and dad to take you out to eat lunch?” My sister spoke up, offering Jake a smile.

Jake looked back at the two, his dad smiling, “We can go get you a hot dog and some fries and play in the park and bring you back, yes?”

Jake shook his head and looked away, making me roll my eyes and shake my head. “I hate hot dogs…” Jake spoke out and followed the lady to the back and held her hand.

I stood up, Yoongi standing up to me and hugged me tightly, my arms wrapping around him and gripping his shirt, burying my face in his shoulder. “He’s going to be fine, my friend knows what to do to make sure you get him back, okay?” Yoongi whispered, making me nod and relax.

Without another word, we walked out, heading to my car when I heard my name, turning to see my sister walking over and I stopped, Yoongi stepping aside to give us space. I watched as she stopped a couple feet away from me, licking her lips and gulping a bit, looking down at the ground.

“About what I said on the phone, I crossed the line…”

“No, you’re right, I shouldn’t be taking other people’s kids,” I answered back, my sister rolling her eyes.

“That’s not what I meant, I just meant that we want to be part of his life and take care of him… as his mother,” I kept my eyes on her, observing her before frowning.

“What’s the real reason?” I asked, making her stare at me before smiling and shaking her head.

“The income. We’re not making as much as we did and with Jake, we get the income we need, plus, he needs his parents, his real ones. Not one that is overprotective of him and someone who leaves for years.” She looked over at Yoongi and then back at me, making me glare.

“Look who’s talking. I have been with Jake when he got sick, you never even called when he broke his arm two years ago after you knew what happened! And Yoongi does leave, but always comes back and at least he calls Jake, even if it’s for a couple minutes.” I snapped, my sister beginning to retaliate before I turned and headed to my car, Yoongi going in his side and held my hand as I pulled out of the parking space, driving out of the lot and down the street.

“Let’s get a bite, my treat,” Yoongi whispered, pointing to a restaurant and I parked, staying quiet as we got out and got a table outside on the patio. Yoongi sat with me, sighing softly after a few people in the restaurant thanked him for his service and he smiled, politely bowing in thanks to them.

He sat next to me, asking for just water from the waitress and she smiled, leaving to get our drinks and he held my hand, rubbing it as I calmed down.

“Can you believe her? Them? I knew they only wanted him for the money, what kind of parent would do that to their child?” I asked, shaking my head.

“I know, it’s unbelievable…” Yoongi whispered, the two of us quiet and he softly thanked the waitress for the glasses of water, walking back inside. He turned to our hands before looking up at me, offering a small smile, making me return it. “Can I ask you something?”

I nodded, pulling my hand back and wiping my tears.

“What happened that made you get Jake?” He whispered, looking at me. I sighed, sitting back while thinking of everything that gave me Jake, smiling a bit.

“When I was in high school, my sister began dating her husband and they had this dream to travel the world, they made so many plans and they could see themselves traveling. A month before our last year in high school, she found out she was pregnant and began crying to me, her husband and her deciding that an abortion was the best because the baby was going to get in the way, but I talked them out of it and said adoption was a better option, so they agreed.”

I took a breath, biting my lip and going back to holding Yoongi’s hand. “When Jake was born, I was the first to hold him because they didn’t want to, and when they were going to put him up for adoption, I decided to take him, but I was signed as a legal guardian. My sister and her husband got married, finished school online and left, and I stayed to raise the baby.”

“I had help from my mom and my dad, but I used the money from my job to feed Jake and clothe him. I spent every last cent on him, and my sister and her husband only sent a hundred twice a year, if I was lucky three times.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “But in the end, I’m just Jake’s legal guardian, they can take him back, but I know they don’t want him.” Yoongi looked at me before looking down and bit his lip.

“Have you ever thought about having your own kid?”

I looked at him and held his stare, tearing up a bit and nodding. “I kind of need someone to stay by my side if I’m going to have a baby with them, but I can’t have kids. I had a bad injury and needed surgery, and since my wound didn’t heal properly, I lost my ability to have a child…”

Yoongi was silent before letting out a breath and scooting over, holding me tightly and wrapped my arms around him. “I won’t leave you, I promise you, okay?”

I tensed up and pulled back, looking up at him. “Don’t promise me things if you don’t plan on keeping them…”

Yoongi stared at me before smiling softly, holding my face in his hands softly. “I plan on keeping it.”

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[thepunklounge-blog]

R2R Scotland Edition: You Take The High Road, I'll Take The Low Road!

Pre-Rebellion Festival catch up with some of Scotland’s finest exponents of mayhem.

The Rebellion Festival, Winter Gardens Blackpool August 2nd – 5th   The biggest punk rock festival on the planet has been going (in one form or another) since 1996. More than just about the music, there’s an Art Exhibition, Clothing and Record sales, Healing Workshops, Tattooists, Poetry and so much more. Rebellion is one big family atmosphere under one roof.  Well almost, it has spilled out into the car park before! The Acoustic Lounge is popular as you can have a beer, chill and listen to some great music. You can even play Bingo with the mad cap punk Max Splodge every lunchtime! So, let’s hear from some of the Scottish Bands who are making their way to this year's festival.

FIRE EXIT 

https://www.facebook.com/FIRE-EXIT https://fireexitpunkrock.bandcamp.com Formed in late ’77, the band have a very long and fluid past. Gerry Attrik has been the main stay of the band throughout and is still the driving force behind the band. There’s not many gigs that Fire Exit have missed through the years. Well-known and well respected by bands and fans alike, Gerry may not quite be the Charlie Harper of Scottish punk rock, but he’s not far off it (and I don’t mean age wise). Their gigs have a festive feel to them as the songs are upbeat and influenced by punk/ska/rock n roll which give them a broad appeal. The rest of the band consist of Jess E Ska (Bass), Paul Thomson (Guitar), Arab (Drums) and Lil Charlie (Mouth Organ).

THE CUNDEEZ

https://www.facebook.com/Thecundeez/      https://soundcloud.com/thecundeez The punk/ska exponents from Dundee, consist of poet/writer/singer/bagpipe player Gary Robertson, Trotsky (Guitar), Stevie (Bass) and Tez (Drums).  And although he’s from "darn saff", he got his Scottish passport a long time ago! Sung in the local Dundee dialect, The Cundeez are known for their uncompromising songs. When it comes to playing “lehve” and with song titles like “Yir Talkin Shite” and “Ehm Feelin Teckle” they make no bones about what they sing about, so get “wi” the program! You’ll hear the cry of ‘taps aff’ at many a gig, which often results in various members stripping to the waist... but luckily, the signature kilts remain. If Gary’s voice doesn’t get you, the bagpipes will!

THE EDDIES

https://www.facebook.com/The-Eddies Another fine export from Dundee, the Eddies have been on the scene since ‘94. They are a 5 piece with Lee Guthrie (Vocals), Ed Middleton/Steve Clark (Guitars), Ian Sherriff (Bass) and Andy Cochrane (Drums). They have seen a few changes in line up over the years, but this version has been around for the last three. What you see is what you get with The Eddies. They have a strong setlist which has political and social commentary, well-crafted lyrics and strong well delivered punk rock. The songs often have a singalong nature to them and you’ll see their t-shirts at loads of festivals proving they have the respect of a lot of their peers.

FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT

https://www.facebook.com/4past/     https://4pastmidnight.bandcamp.com Punk Rock from the Streets of Glasgow.  That makes it 2 – 2 if it were a game ‘o fitba’. Two from Dundee and two from Glasgow. The band started life in ’89. The colourful Peter McCartney (Vocals) loves to project himself onto the crowd. And although diminutive in figure, he’s larger than life. They are also a 5 piece band that's had a few changes of line ups, but guitar stalwarts Tam/Fred have recently been joined by Dave and Martin on Bass and Drums. Having a frontman like Peter certainly means there’s never a dull moment. Catchy, well delivered pop punk songs with a real drive to them.  They are embellished by the flamboyant singer who will “Delete“ you in his mission to bring the “Re-invention Brilliance” to a venue near you.

DELINQUENTS

https://www.facebook.com/delinquentsdundee/    https://delinquentsdundee.bandcamp.com Pop punk outfit from Dundee (That’s 3-2 now!) have only been noising it up since 2015 so are relative newcomers. David Hennessey (Guitar/Bass/Vocals), Graeme Jackson (Bass/Guitar/Vocals) and Ryan Hughes (Drums) have a raw/chaotic demeanour and like to do their best to interact with their crowd. With the occasional swap between guitar and bass during the set (depending what David’s singing) it can get animated on stage. Writing material from self experience, the songs are often raw and from the heart (or the sleeve, depending where it’s being worn).

THE RED EYES 

www.facebook.com/pages/The-Red-Eyes/               http://theredeyes.bandcamp.com/ It’s a draw 3-3. Balance has been restored to the precedings. Who’s gonna take the High Road and who’s gonna take the Low Road? No matter, as it’s all about the journey. The Red Eyes bring their ’77 style punk rock to Blackpool.  Another 90’s band, formed in ’97, they do love a catchy tune. Their twin guitars work well like many pop punk bands have done so well in the past. The clearly delivered vocals make the songs accessible to a wider audience. Like all the other bands mentioned above, they gig on a regular basis. The band are Alan Bishop (Lead Vocals / R. Guitar), Alex King (Lead Guitar / B. Vocals), David Bradford (Bass) and Jan Hans (Drums).

ESPERANZA

(Picture courtesy of KSG Photography) https://www.facebook.com/Esperanzaska/    https://esperanzaska.bandcamp.com The Glasgow 9 piece collective/super group give the west coast the edge now (4-3 if you’re still counting!). They bring their infectious ska grooves to Blackpool again this year. Jake (Vocals/Guitar), Rab (Lead Guitar), Jess (Bass), John (Keys), Reagin (Trumpet), Fraser (Trombone), Brian and Lynsey (Sax) and Gary (Drums) will bring the energy and have the crowd bouncing. They have a busy gigging schedule but always have time for Rebellion. It’s the bands 10th Anniversary this year and where better to celebrate? Members have come and gone but the show goes on!

TRIPWIRE DC

https://www.facebook.com/TRIPWIREDC/      https://soundcloud.com/TRIPWIRE DC Reggae/Punk/Ska outfit, strictly speaking from Dunblane in Perthshire (but near enough Dundee for the purposes of the game! It’s 4-4).  The band are made up of David McCallum (Vocals), Ian Kaye (Guitar), Rich McGlashan (Bass & Backing Vocals), Peter Morrison (Drums + Backing Vocals) and they enjoy an occasional impromptu visit from guests on stage as well. The relaxed festival atmosphere matches their music perfectly. They released their debut album Dark Alleys last year and enjoy gigging up and down the country.   

Thanks to all the bands who have agreed to take part in this insight into their "Road to Rebellion"

  Q. Rebellion has been running since 1996, when did you first hear about it.

(Fire Exit) I was sitting on the toilet at home reading a magazine. It had an advert for Holidays in the Sun (Festival later Wasted/Rebellion) in Blackpool.  Mo and I were just ready to book Greece again and I shouted for her to wait.  After she read the advert, we booked Blackpool to see ATV & Sham 69. I think we went to an all dayer in bath before it.  (The Cundeez) As individuals, we were always aware of the Rebellion (and Wasted) festival. The line-ups were always fantastic!  Unfortunately, those early years for me were at holiday time and a young family came first. (The Eddies) That depends on which band member you speak to.  Some of us are a bit longer in the tooth and have been aware of Rebellion for many years. (4 Past Midnight) I first heard about it in 1996 when it was called Holidays in the Sun and held at the Dome Morecambe.   (Delinquents) My dad used to talk about going every year when I was a kid but something always came up. It was called Wasted or Holidays in the Sun back then. Blackpool is my old boy’s second home and he introduced me to punk rock. Ironically, we didn’t actually go to the festival together till 2013. We haven’t missed a year since and it’s been like a family holiday as such. (Red Eyes) We actually had a Stiff Little Fingers tribute band called "Hanx!" at the time (95-97) and we played at the very first Festival in 1996. It was called Holidays In The Sun and we played the Saturday afternoon in the Empress Ballroom. We were a very late addition and were only added a few days before as someone had pulled out. 3 out of the 4 of us were going anyway as punters. Think I first heard about it thru' either the NME or Melody Maker (not many people had the internet). It was at the Festival that we talked about doing our own music and from there The Red Eyes were formed. (Esperanza) About 2004, when i was at high school. I had tickets to go when I was 17 but that fell through, finally went in 2015 for the first time. (Tripwire DC) Some of the members of the band have know about it since it started.  

Q. What was your initial opinion of Rebellion, as a festival.

(Fire Exit)  Loved it and have done ever since. (The Cundeez) Initial opinion of Rebellion, was that it was the hottest ticket as far as going to see Punk and Skinhead bands was concerned. (The Eddies) If you’re playing any kind of Punk rock you’re going to know Rebellion is the biggest festival of its kind with a great reputation for taking care of its people and punters. (4 Past Midnight) My first initial thoughts tbh was how do I get 4pm on it Ha. (Delinquents) Well organised and chaotic if that’s possible. Well organised as you knew were everything was within an hour or two. Chaotic because you are literally running around wanting to see every band. Incredibly friendly, sounds cliché but the ‘punk rock family’ is the friendliest bunch of folk you will ever meet. (Red Eyes)  It looked great having a full weekend of Punk bands playing especially the fact that a few bands had re-formed just for the Festival. Slaughter & The Dogs for example. (Esperanza) Very exciting and full of variety.  (Tripwire DC) Used to think lots of people that went to Rebellion never supported their local music scenes.  

Q. Did your opinion change at all after you went for the first time.

(Fire Exit) Yes I thought it was amazing that so many bands appeared under one roof after so many years, dream come true. (The Cundeez) Our (The Cundeez) first impressions of going to Rebellion was that it was even better than we were hoping for - the totally professional set up, the people, the camaraderie, the banter. We have made so many friends for life. (The Eddies) Absolutely.  Even after all the positive reports and excitement about going it was still way more than any of us expected.  It lived up to its reputation and then some. (4 Past Midnight) I first went to it 1999 I found it pretty decent and a good time was had. (Delinquents) It didn’t but I certainly did things differently. Like drinking on the train at 10 am and thinking I can see a band playing at 1 am is just bonkers. (Red Eyes)  Great weekend from the very first one and has got better and better. I've only missed 3 years out of 22. (Esperanza) Not at all, it was amazing! (Tripwire DC) Yes Definitely, I met people from all over the U.K that I have also met at gigs all over the country.  

Q. Was it always your plan to play at Rebellion. What’s your history playing there.

(Fire Exit) I attended everyone even abroad.  In 2000 we were having a drink at the bar with Max Splodge & Daz Russell when "Timewall" was playing in the background (our first single released in 1979).  Max said to Daz "do you like that?", Daz said "yes love it".  Max said "that’s Gerry's band Fire Exit".  I was then asked to play the following year and have done since 2001, including Vienna, Venice, and Amsterdam (x3).  It's been great. (The Cundeez) As a band, we have been on the go in one form or another since 2007 so a fairly young band in terms of history. Of course we would always have wanted to play Rebellion. We just kept doing our own thing, playing as many gigs as we could and submitting our material to Rebellion organisers. Then some 5 years ago, Stevie (bass player) received a message saying ‘would you like a gig on such a date on a Thursday in Blackpool?’ Initially, he was like ‘I don’t think so’ until they said it was Rebellion! ‘Fuckin right we’ll do it! We’ll travel down yesterday! Hahaha!’ And so it began. We headlined the ‘Introducing Stage’ then followed on the Casbah, Almost Acoustic, Outdoor Stage, Empress Ballroom. It has been an unbelievable experience and the livers have taken some outrageous kickings! (The Eddies) An aspiration rather than a plan perhaps.  It must be on every band’s wish list.  We were lucky enough to be asked for the first time last year and had the opportunity to the play the Introducing stage which is a great platform for bands new to the festival.  It was a great experience and we’re over the moon to be back this year. (4 Past Midnight) We have only played it once in 2006, It was a pretty good experience ...It was called Wasted back then. (Delinquents) It was certainly on the bucket list. We played the introducing stage last year which was incredible. We will have been a band for three years this autumn so I still pinch myself that we are now playing one of the main stages this year. I pinch myself a lot with what we achieved in such a short space of time together. (Red Eyes)  Yeah after getting a taster of playing the very first one as Hanx! the goal was always to get The Red Eyes playing at the Festival. The Red Eyes first played in 2001 and then 2003 and 2011. I've played the Acoustic stage 7 times the first time in 2004 when the Acoustic stage was introduced. (Esperanza) Since being in Esperanza I have always wanted us to play and have tried for  since I joined 6 years ago. We're all looking forward to finally play at it. Since going I have had even more hope for playing and especially after joining Ex-Cathedra last year in the Ballroom. (Tripwire DC) We always wanted to play, but getting noticed was the hard part, but we are really looking forward to taking things to the next level and this year we are playing Rebellion Introducing Stage.  

Q. As a band, how will you get there, where do you stay.

(Fire Exit) Trains, cars. We stay at various B& B & hotels. (The Cundeez) We will travel down in car and always stay at the Lawton Hotel - the staff are brilliant! It’s always nice meeting all the different characters on the road south. (The Eddies) We’re trying to co-ordinate travel but some of us are traveling at different times.  A few of us are driving down on Thursday which is the day we play – 1.30 Arena Stage – it’ll mean an early start from Dundee so it could well get messy later in the day! (4 Past Midnight) We are all travelling down individually and staying in the surrounding hotels. I am staying at The Albany. (Delinquents) We head down in the car on the Wednesday, and stay at a B&B for the five days. I can’t actually remember the name of the place we are staying in this year haha! (Red Eyes)  3 of us going by train and one by car.  We'll be staying in B&B's. (Esperanza) We will all be driving down and staying in B&Bs. The festival is my summer holiday so I'll be there partying from Wednesday! I think most others will be down from the Thursday. (Tripwire DC) We will be travelling by car, some of us are booked into hotels, Rich goes every year and stays for the duration.  

Q. Do you have any stand out memories through the years.

(Fire Exit) Loads we definitely play our best at the festivals feeding off the crowd .but my best memory is when we sat with Lars (Rancid) and he went on stage during his set and dedicated happy birthday to Mo (my wife & mate for life).  (The Cundeez) Stand out memories would definitely be the first one headlining the Introducing Stage - absolutely shiting oor breeks! Actually, come to think o it, dinna hae any breeks on so shiting the kilts I suppose hahaha! (The Eddies) It’s got to be playing there for the first time. (4 Past Midnight) Well like I said we have only played once so only the one memory I’m afraid lol (Delinquents) Playing is obviously a stand out but Rancid headlining in 2012, The Damned’s set, Anti Flag in 2015 were absolute stormers. Frank Carter and Slaves definitely brought it last year. I got blind drunk and fell asleep in the opera house in 2016 during Peter Hook and The Light after queuing for ages to get in. His set was quality and full of Joy Division classics and I came to during one of my favourite ever songs ‘Ceremony’. Another memory is losing my phone, hotel key and trying to get all four members of The Zips in a taxi at about 3 am last year. It was like herding cattle. (Red Eyes)  Just all the years I've been lucky enough to play either with the band or solo acoustic. Made a lot of good friends over the years as well. The years when the Festival was in Morecambe were good as well. The Dome was a great venue (sadly no longer there). Got to see so many bands I'd never seen before and probably wouldn't have had the chance to if it wasn't for Holidays In The Sun, Wasted or Rebellion. (Esperanza) Playing with Ex-Cathedra last year was amazing, such a buzz. The year before that I ended up dancing on stage with Roy Ellis. (Tripwire DC) Yes.. Rancid in 2011 or 2012, were totally awesome, Jaya the Cat blew me away the first time I saw them, Dirt Box Disco in the ballroom with 4,000 people and a Rebellion Record of over 90 stage dives, Rich was one of these.  

Q. Do you have a routine for Rebellion, do you make a plan or go with the flow?

(Fire Exit) The best plans never work we rehearse the week before plan to see as many bands as we can , it usually gets blown out the water as you meet so many friends old & new and stat gassing to everyone you miss the bands you waited to see. But its fantastic atmosphere. (The Cundeez) General rule for us as a band - focus, play the best we can, entertain, get the job done then drink hard and play hard. (The Eddies) A bit of both really.  With so many great bands playing over the weekend you’ve got to have some kinda battle plan to make sure you catch the other bands you really want to see. (4 Past Midnight) We are preparing to put on a spectacular show ...With my Reinvention Brilliance Condeeeetion anything is now possible ...It will be a spectacular Extravaganza to say the least Count on That Brother !! (Delinquents) Always list the bands I absolutely don’t want to miss. I like to spend time at the RIS since its inception. Other than that I go with the flow. (Red Eyes)  Have made plans but they usually go out the window after the first beer lol....go with the flow. (Esperanza) No, fun, dancing, party. Bringing some Scottish ska to the masses! (Tripwire DC) we always have a plan, but plans don’t always go accordingly, especially if the sun is shining outside.  

Q. Any bands that are a must see this year?

(Fire Exit) Church of Confidence , The Red Eyes, 4PM . Control. The Boys, Splodge,TV Smith just loads far too many to mention. (The Cundeez) I’d be lying if I said we’ll be going see this band or that band. We WILL try and see as many bands as we can but for us, the social element is just as important and mixing and having a drink and a laugh with as many people as we can. Want to see the Buzzcocks, Exploited, Upstarts, GBH, Cockney Rejects. (The Eddies) Too many to list here but we’ve gotta put a shout out to the other Dundee bands Delinquents and The Cundeez. (4 Past Midnight) Most of the American bands Lagwagon, Lillingtons, Bonecrusher, But to be honest I am going to be focusing on my own band spreading the word passing out flyers putting up posters of Brilliance, We must Delete all the Non Believers of my Reinvention Brilliance Condeeeetion.    (Delinquents) The Menzingers, IDLES, The Wildhearts, Buzzcocks, Angelic Upstarts, Adolescents, Billy Liar, Aerial Salad, No Thrills, The Eddies and Face Up. (Red Eyes)   First of all a big shout out to the other Scottish bands who are playing - Fire Exit, The Eddies, 4PM, The Cundeez, Esperanza and The Delinquents...hope to catch them all. Heavy Drapes would have been a must see if not for the passing of Garry R.I.P. Theatre of Hate, The Boys, Macc Lads, Upstarts, Subs, Bar Stool Preachers, The Lee Harveys, TV. Smith, The Briefs, SLF, Ruts DC, Church of Confidence plus loads more....again that's the plan but whether it happens... lol. (Esperanza) Esperanza obviously . Definitely check out Faintest Idea, great ska band! And obviouslt The Adicts, the show itself is something else.  (Tripwire DC) Jaya the Cat , Millie Manders and The Shutup  

Q. Do you spend much time at The Introducing Stage?  Do you check out the bands before Rebellion?

(Fire Exit) Yes I try and get in as much as I can , it’s a great idea and lets you see other gigging bands. Some real diamonds came outta that stage, Heavy Drapes for instance. Yip get in and see new talent.  (The Cundeez) Like I say, we don’t plan our time at Rebellion, it really does roll and go with the flow but we do try to take in the Introducing Stage, always some real gems to be found there. (The Eddies) Absolutely.  There were some great bands played there last year, and this year will be no different.  It’s a great opportunity to catch bands you maybe aren’t as aware of. (4 Past Midnight) Well I have only been twice that was before there was an introducing stage , I'm sure I will venture to it to see whats what. (Delinquents) As mentioned previously it was a stage I frequented often last year. I actually try not to check them for the RIS as it feels completely fresh watching the band live without knowing what they sound like. I plan every other band, it’s nice to be surprised sometimes in music and sometimes I really miss that buzz of just discovering a band live without ever listening to them beforehand. (Red Eyes)  Popped in and out last year but not for long. Hope to check out a few more on that stage this year. Usually check out a few on youtube to see what I might like. (Esperanza) I really like the Introducing stage and its new place at the front door is very clever and much better than previously. Over the past few years I have discovered a lot of new bands through it. And yes, I do like to look up bands before it, especially with unusual names and ones I've never heard.  (Tripwire DC) Yes always spend time at the Introducing stage, I think it is the most important part of Rebellion, Bringing new bands through, old school bands won't live forever.  

Q. The main festival is over 4 days, do you plan to attend every day?

(Fire Exit) Of course every year, rude not to. (The Cundeez) Due to work or family commitments (or both) we can’t all manage the 4 days, usually 3 and then the liver gets hung out to dry on the washing line. (The Eddies) Oh yes. (4 Past Midnight) Yeassssss Brother all 4 days there are many Obsolete Mules to DELETE!! (Delinquents) Yes. Every year probably as long as I can. (Red Eyes)  No coming home Sunday (work commitments) 3 out of 4 days ain’t bad. (Esperanza) Yes! I will be in the Rose and Crown for the pre-party and then for the afterparty! (Tripwire DC) Yes will be there every day.  

Q. It can be a long 4 days, any tips for surviving the festival?

(Fire Exit) Yes pace it out eat a big breakfast start drinking as early as you can, sleep in between bands and have the best fun in your life. Oh eat something later as well then keep drinking don’t stop till Sunday night. (The Cundeez) Tips for surviving the Festival would definitely be - don’t drink with The Cundeez! Hahaha (The Eddies) Go easy in the afternoon - keep hydrated – look out for each other. (4Past Midnight) Yeasssssssssssssssss Plenty of rest , And if you pay me a visit and I knight you with the cane of Brilliance you will feel like the man thats super Delightful (Delinquents) Try and nap when there aren’t bands on that you want to see. Otherwise you ain’t lasting till 1am! Don’t get too drunk and lose your phone. Remember what hotel you are in and don’t try and blag your way into other hotels when you can’t find your hotel key. Just sayin. (Red Eyes)  Plenty of sleep and straight back "on it" the next day lol. (Esperanza) No. Esperanza normally play festivals of the same length but with camping only so it's very fortunate to have a real bed to go back to. It's a bit of luxury compared to our usual ones! (Tripwire DC) drink alcohol in moderation if possible, drink plenty water and remember to eat food.   

Q. As an artist, has Rebellion changed your outlook any? It’s a huge festival, more than a one off venue.

(Fire Exit) Yes it has. I can honestly say including ourselves half the bands would never have reformed or kept going if it wasn’t for the Rebellion festival.  (The Cundeez) As a band, playing Rebellion hasn’t changed our attitudes in any way. Yes, it’s a massive deal but we are always grateful for any invite and appreciate being part of a wonderful family of nutters! (The Eddies) It’s good to get a sense of achievement from playing and it brings a desire to push again for next year which in turn brings a creative focus. (4 Past Midnight) It hasnt changed my view tbh , I just wish a lot of the people who go would consider going to a small gig , There is too much of this Nostalgia nonsense going on People afraid or just plain stubborn who refuse to appreciate any of the smaller acts that are around only focusing on the bands of old, it's pretty sad really , Unless we move on and look to the future what chance has the Rock of Punk scene got? Before it totally DELETES itself . (Delinquents) I’ve always seen it as a huge festival. I call it the Wrestlemania of the punk calendar. The granddaddy of them all.  It’s becoming much more a melting pot over the years which have been really positive. Proper diverse, all different genres and bands from ska to folk to grindcore.  A festival that can book Misty in Roots, Dr and the Medics to Extreme Noise Terror is a winner for me. (Red Eyes)   It's great that you get all styles playing. I like a variety of stuff so there's always something for everybody. I always enjoy playing the Acoustic stage and have now played many acoustic gigs since that first one in 2004. (Esperanza) No. I really enjoy the experience and the way that artists are looked after considering it's so big.  (Tripwire DC) Rebellion brings people from all over the world together, this is a good thing.  

Q. Would you say Rebellion is the highlight of your year?

(Fire Exit) 100% definitely , we do gig all over the place but I think its fair to say It’s the best , biggest and most social gathering not just for Fire Exit but all the bands that play it. (The Cundeez) For The Cundeez, Rebellion is without doubt the highlight of the year for us. We were over the moon to be invited to play Dublin Rebellion in 2017 and very recently Amsterdam Rebellion but Blackpool is Blackpool - buzzing for it! (The Eddies) It’s certainly one of them. (4 Past Midnight) No..it is a great festival but there are always other things in life that become your highlight of the year . (Delinquents) Yes, definitely. You are lying if it isn’t. (Red Eyes)   Definitely the best weekend of the year! (Esperanza) Definitely, there is so much going, bands, stalls, fringe and a large gathering of great, friendly people. (Tripwire DC) Yes  

Q. Are you planning anything special for Rebellion? Perhaps a single, EP, or album launch?

(Fire Exit) No not this year we did last year our 40 year celebrations we released 2 cds > Fire Exit - 40 years 40 track double cd. Only £10. And we also recorded & released our Fire Exit live at The Wild at Heart (Berlin) Live cd.£9. and we gave away a Firecaster Guitar. (The Cundeez) The Cundeez are presently working on a fifth album but unfortunately it won’t be ready in time for Blackpool. Look out also, for an Acoustic album coming soon. The Almost Acoustic Stage with John ‘Huggy’ Hughes is tremendous. You get to hear bands stripped back and usually some good banter. (The Eddies) We’re feverishly working away on a new EP showcasing 5 new songs which we’re aiming to have ready for Rebellion (4 Past Midnight) We have nothing new to release , We have a new vinyl ep coming out in September ...Our plans for the festival that is rebellious is simple ...Come ...Perform , Make it a spectacular , And above all ...DELETE ALL THE NON BELIEVERS !!!...We Are The Reinvention Brilliance ..We are the DELETION ERA!! (Delinquents) If all goes to plan we will be dropping a brand new song called ‘Sober On Sunday’ as a digital single with a music video the week of Rebellion. That’s if it all goes to plan of course. We released our debut ‘About Last Night’ last September but had promo copies for Rebellion which ended up selling out of on the day. (Red Eyes)   We'll be playing the majority of songs from our new album "Man & Boy". (Esperanza) No (Tripwire DC) Possibly special T shirts  

Q. Out with the main Winter Gardens, do you go to any other venues?

(Fire Exit) I visit all the stages over the 4 days also Art / and acoustic stages. (which we also Play).  (The Cundeez) The only venue we go to outwith the Winter Gardens is Weatherspoon’s Pub fir cheap swally! (The Eddies) Yeah. There’s usually a lot of great gigs on around Blackpool across the weekend which gives you the chance to see other bands outwith the festival itself, or another chance to some who are but you maybe missed before. (4 Past Midnight) We are playing an after show at the Tache rock club on the Saturday Night 1am , A warm up as it were for the final and Ultimate DELETION!!  I also plan to go see a friends band  The Rock That Combats ..Clash Tribute on the Saturday evening 6pm I think (Delinquents) Rose and Crown/Scruffy Murphy’s but just for the beer! Sorry Winter Gardens but the beer sucks. (Red Eyes) If I can last the pace maybe an aftershow at the Tache....that's always a great way to end the night.  (Esperanza) Rose and Crown but I like to stay at the main festival because there's so much going on. (Tripwire DC) sometimes watch bands playing in other venues/pubs  

Q. When do you play Rebellion this year? 

(Fire Exit) on Thursday Fire Exit play our main set in The Arena stage at 8.20pm and the on Friday Fire Exit  play a Punkoostic set on the Almost Acoustic stage at 4.55.  (The Cundeez) We play Rebellion ‘Casbah Stage’ Thursday 2nd August 5.45pm this year. (The Eddies) Day 1, Thursday, Arena stage, 1.30.   (4 Past Midnight) Sunday August 5th ..Arena Stage 6.55pmm (Delinquents) 4.15 Pavilion Stage on Thursday. (Red Eyes)   We're playing the Pavilion on the Thursday 9.45pm - 10.30pm. (Esperanza) Friday night at 12.30am. Late night ska party! (Tripwire DC) We play on Saturday  Introducing Stage 17:45 - 18:15  

Q. Why should anyone come see your band, in a nut shell?

(Fire Exit) It’s a PARTY and it would be rude not to. We have a great line up and just want to spread the word that hey we can play we can have fun and you can leave your worries at the door and forget the outside world. Came and have Fun (The Cundeez) The Cundeez bring something a little bit different with a mixture of hard punk, Ska, bagpipes and bundles of laughter and smiles. Thank you Raymond for the interview and special thanks to Darren, Jennie, Jonny and the whole Rebellion family for havin us. (The Eddies) We’ll give you 30 mins of classic high octane Punk rock delivered with passion and pride, plus…..we don’t get to play Blackpool all that often, you’d be daft to miss us. (4 Past Midnight) WE ARE THE REINVENTION BRILLIANCE , WE ARE MORE , NO OTHER BAND IS LIKE US , WE ARE PUSHING THE BOUNDRIES OF THE ROCK OF PUNK , YOU WILL EITHER LOVE US OR HATE US BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DENIE OUR BRILLIANCE!!   WE ARE THE DELETION ERA!! Think that about sums it up . (Delinquents) We are a glorious mess. We’ll see you there. (Red Eyes)   If old skool 70's punk is your thing with top tunes and sing-along choruses then we're the band for you! Check us out on our facebook page and our bandcamp....Cheers! (Esperanza) We are an energetic 9 piece ska band and will put a smile on your face and make you tap your toes (at the minimum). True ska and all original material. If you don't believe us ask Bad Manners, Steve Ignorant, Bar Stool Preachers or The Beat! Basically, come see us, dance and party! (Tripwire DC) Tripwire DC are a Reggae  Rock Ska Punk band, we put our own individual style on these, whether we are playing in front of 5, 50 or 500 we always do our utmost to entertain   Massive thanks to Gerry Attrik (Fire Exit), Gary Robertson (The Cundeez), Ian Sherriff (The Eddies), Peter McCartney (4 Past Midnight), David Hennessey (Delinquents), Alan Bishop (The Red Eyes), Jess E Ska (Esperanza) and Rich McGlashan (Tripwire DC) for taking the time to answer these questions. Hope they have a great festival and please, show them your support by checking them out at Rebellion Read the full article

#4PastMidnight #Delinquents #Esperanza #Fireexit #TheCundeez #TheEddies #TheRedEyes #Tripwiredc