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yukidragon · 3 years

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Our Life, but as Dark Fantasy

Okay, so, Our Life: Beginnings & Always by @gb-patch is probably the softest story I’ve ever fallen in love with. (And I will always scream from the rooftops that people should play it because I love it so much and it’s free to boot!) It’s slice of life and low stakes and the focus is entirely on the characters living life together and their relationships.

Despite this and enjoying working on my personal sorta novelization and adding in new scenes that fit the mood and add more excuses for fluff... suddenly a light banter scene from one of the parts of the game spiraled out of control into a plot thread of a dark angsty canon divergence with fantasy elements.

Like, I have no intention of writing a full blown story about it or anything. (Not like I’m doing for my preferred route through the game at least.) But, dang it, my passion for this game can’t be contained, and it’s running away with me. Plus, hey, why not grant Cove his deepest wish to finally meet a mermaid?

In other words, I took a fun and fluffy scene from the game and threw in an ominous note of foreshadowing to it at the end, which then blew up into its own post-game scene. Am I going to show it? What the heck, sure. Here’s the scene under a cut. Maybe someone else will enjoy it too.

Disclaimer - my version of Jamie might not match yours, and this is written in third person, so if you’d rather not read about that kind of fan content for Our Life, play the game instead. The writing will be rougher than what gets posted on @dragonandtiger, as this is first draft fooling around. Also, spoilers for Step 3.

...

Cove pretended to sigh as he hung his head. “Maybe it’s for the best.” He peeked through strands of his hair at Jamie as he tried his best to keep a straight face. “Let’s say a merperson did happen to wash up on shore one day…”

He let the suggestion hang in the air for a moment as he turned to Jamie, wearing a faux doleful expression that did nothing to hide the smile in his eyes. “I could’ve lost my girlfriend to their magical underwater world.”

Jamie failed to stifle a chuckle, which quirked the corners of Cove's mouth upwards in response. "Sure, I'd go with the merperson," she teased, "but only if you could come with us too."

Cove didn’t try to hide his grin this time, his eyes lighting up with delighted surprise at the unexpected answer. “You’re a nice person, Jamie,” he said sincerely before he got back into character. He arched an exaggerated eyebrow, doing his best to display serious skepticism. “But what if they didn’t want me? Would you seriously stay on land?”

Jamie placed her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed look. Despite the ridiculousness of the conversation, she wasn’t about to joke on this point. There was nothing in this world that would make her choose to leave Cove behind - not even for some hypothetical mysterious other world full of magic and adventure. Though she offered no words in response, she grabbed onto his arm and clung to it with excessive possessiveness.

Despite the hint of actual seriousness that had crept into the playful debate, Cove couldn’t help but nearly chuckle when Jamie latched onto him, her silent message coming across loud and clear. He couldn’t help but smile softly and think of just how cute his girlfriend could be when she was, as he liked to call it, stubbornly affectionate.

Still, despite the moment of fondness, he wasn’t about to let the joke drop just yet. “If a beautiful, kind merperson falls for somebody, I’m pretty positive the sensible response isn't to turn around and say, ‘No thanks, I’m gonna stay on land with a normal guy.’”

“I don’t want that,” Jamie huffed. She puffed out her cheeks in an exaggerated pout, and Cove couldn't stop himself from chuckling a bit at the sight. She broke character to smile triumphantly at that, before she suddenly straightened up, her eyes lighting up with a brilliant idea. “I should get to be the mercreature, and then I’d invite you to the underwater world.”

“What?!” Cove blurted out, caught completely off guard by the suggestion. He stared at Jamie with wide eyes, his mind immediately already picturing the possibilities of what she might look like as a mermaid. It wasn’t too hard to visualize considering she was already wearing a swimsuit, and the image turned his cheeks pink with heat.

“That's…,” he began, only to falter for a moment. “You… as a mermaid…” He had to take a moment to again picture it, his mouth hanging open just a little in wonder. “That’s… I mean…”

When the idea finally finished crystalizing in his head, Cove couldn’t help but feel thrilled by it. “Yeah,” he said with a brilliant smile. “It’s a good idea.”

Jamie smiled, pleased to have had such a profound effect on her boyfriend. She adjusted her hold so that she held his hand in both of hers. “I’m glad you think so,” she said before her voice grew tender. Her dark blue eyes glittered with adoration as she peered deeply into his eyes of bright aquamarine. “Would you come with me?”

“I…” Cove faltered, staring at Jamie with wide eyes as his pulse quickened. Her gaze was electric, turning into nervous energy inside him that couldn’t be contained. Although he hesitated to remove the hand she held so tenderly, he fumbled with his free hand for something to fidget with and found the sunscreen bottle he had dropped earlier. He flicked at the cap, snapping it on and off again in an erratic rhythm.

After a moment, Cove closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to compose himself. “Of course I would,” he finally answered. He tried to keep sounding playful, but the words came out soft with his sincerity. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Jamie was beaming, her smile as brilliant as sunshine.

“Thanks, Cove,” she said as she laced their fingers together. “I’d be a happy merfolk.”

Cove returned the gesture, squeezing Jamie's hand as little giggles escaped him. While the whole conversation had been intended as a lark, he couldn't help but feel deliriously happy by the little fantasy they had crafted together.

Jamie leaned in closer to her boyfriend, pleased by how much of an impact her words had on Cove. She couldn't help but imagine the scenario like he was at that moment. It would be such a lovely story.

Or at least, it would have been if it only remained nothing more than a fantasy.

Jamie was swimming like her life depended on it. Limbs thrashing through the water, propelling her closer and closer to the shore. She fixated on nothing else but making it back to Sunset Bird and…

“Cove!”

…

Cove Holden was a wreck. It had been two weeks since Jamie had disappeared, and the police had nothing to offer him but empty promises that they were trying their best to find his girlfriend.

He tried to hold out hope and remain patient, but the longer Jamie was gone, the more he could feel himself breaking down. He had the support of those who cared for him, but it wasn’t enough to hold back the despair that grew just a little deeper each day that she remained missing.

Despite the fact that Cove and Jamie had moved out of their childhood homes not that long ago, he was now spending nearly every day at the Leimomi house like he did during his childhood. Only, instead of going there to visit Jamie, it was to help her moms get through this crisis - it was the closest he could come to feeling like he was actually doing something more than just waiting in agony.

Cove also took to wandering through the old neighborhood more. He knew it was irrational to expect to find Jamie in the places they hang out throughout their childhood, especially when he, her family, and the police already thoroughly checked the areas. Despite this, he found himself at the top of poppy hill.

It wasn’t long ago that Cove and Jamie were both running down the hill, laughing and playing together like children as they raced ahead towards their future. The moment had been so peaceful, so wonderful. He remembered wondering what he would feel when he thought back to that day.

He had his answer now - an overwhelmingly painful longing.

The poppies were gone, just like Jamie. The hill was just as green as it always was, even in late fall; the ocean was just as blue as it beckoned to him not far away. Yet, to Cove, poppy hill felt desolate.

Cove had intended to leave by sunset, but he had been lost inside his head until he noticed the moon hanging in the sky. Despite the obvious reminder that he needed to go home, that he had work in the morning, he found himself lingering still. A part of him dreaded returning to an empty apartment and a bed meant for two by himself.

Looking at the moon and the ocean reflecting it along with the stars above, Cove was reminded of the first time he met Jamie. The sight of the horizon was the same as back then, but the heartache he felt then was nothing compared to the hell he was going through now.

Cove didn’t bother fighting the tears that spilled from his eyes, as he wished desperately for a miracle. “Jamie…”

Only the sound of the waves answered Cove. He closed his eyes listening; he could almost swear he heard Jamie’s voice answer him from somewhere far away, calling his name.

Then his eyes snapped open wide as Cove realized he wasn’t just imagining it.

Cove was off like a shot, running for the oh so very faint sound of Jamie’s voice. He shouted her name, and he heard his in return as he raced down the hill towards the shore. Once he reached the sand, he scanned the empty beach for signs of life, for the barest glimpse of blue hair and even darker blue eyes.

Movement on the waves drew Cove’s eye back to the ocean. Someone was swimming towards the beach, stretching a pale hand towards the sky in a frantic wave for attention as they surfaced.

“Cove!”

Cove kicked his shoes off before reaching the water, diving in without hesitation. The choppy waves fought him, but he cut through each one with the experience of a lifetime of swimming in the ocean brought him.

“Jamie!” Cove shouted so that Jamie would know he was coming for her. In the dim light of the moon and starry sky, Jamie kept disappearing among the waves, the blue color of her long hair serving to blend in with the dark water.

But Jamie answered in a voice aching with relief, and he knew she had heard him. “Cove!”

When Jamie reached out her hand again, this time Cove was close enough to grab it. He seized her body close and for a moment there was nothing the two of them could do but hold each other, salt water and tears mingling together as their shuddering bodies pressed close while buffered by a turbulent sea.

It was a moment of relief so exquisite that it was almost painful.

Unfortunately, the moment couldn’t last long. The water was too rough to remain there, so Cove shifted his hold on Jamie, hooking her right arm around his shoulders and guided her weary body back to shore. It wasn’t until his feet touched back down on the sand that he realized Jamie wasn’t doing the same, instead heavily leaning against him like a dead weight.

“Cove,” Jamie whispered, her voice hoarse from yelling and heavy with exhaustion. She reached out to him with her left hand, and the sound of metal clinking accompanied it. To Cove’s horror, he saw a shackle on her wrist, still dangling links of a broken chain. “Sorry… I need you… to carry me…”

Cove turned to Jamie, panic rising as questions rushed to his lips, when he finally got his first good look at her. He froze, his mouth flagging open as his eyes went wide and round as the moon.

Jamie’s legs were gone - in their place was a large fishtail covered in shimmering blue scales.

#Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #Our Life #Cove Holden #Jamie Last #or rather #Jamie Leimomi #My Writing #yes I gave my version of Jamie a distinct last name #the developers sounded keen for players to at least give Jamie unique last names #so I just went for it #I should probably give a tag to this au for my personal tumblr #since I suspect this won't be the only blurb I throw up here #Mermaid Jamie

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deaky-disco-queen · 5 years

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Joger Week - Day 3: Enemies to Lovers

A/N: I know Nothing About car racing except what’s left of waatching F1 with my dad About ten years ago so this is probably not accurate at all but I wanted to write it anyway.

+++

Roger snarled in frustration, pulling off his helmet and threw it to the ground angrily, Crystal would yell at him for it later but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now as he stomped past his boxing crew, ripping off his gloves.

He could see him. Just the next box over there was John Deacon, celebrating his win with his crew, all of them yelling and shouting and hugging him and Roger grinded his teeth hard enough he could already feel a headache coming.

He hated John Deacon. He hated him so much.

John had beaten him by the fraction of a second and Roger had never been so angry. He had won the past four races and a win today would have meant not only staying on top of the ranking but also extend his lead by a good amount. But John Deacon had ruined it and while he was still on top, John was right behind him and they only had a handful of more races this season.

With his luck, it would probably end up like last season and it would be a really close call. Last year, Roger had come out on top but Deacon had updated his crew and something had changed as his team worked much more smoothly. It could get really tough this year and Roger was angry about it.

“Hey, you spoiled brat! Do you think we have enough back up helmets for your hissy fits? Take better care of your equipment!”

Crystal threw a water bottle at him but Roger managed to catch it and flipped him off before drinking half of the bottle in big gulps. His eyes were drawn back to John and their eyes met.

He grinned- all smug and proud, that bastard- and Roger growled, turning away and chugging the rest of his water. The bottle was thrown into the trash with much more force than necessary.

Crystal showed up again with Roger’s helmet under his arm and a towel in one hand. He pushed it into his face and ignored the blond’s yelp as he rubbed his face down. Roger kicked at him and Crystal backed off, laughing and Roger swatted at him half-heartedly.

“Clean up! The trophy ceremony starts in five minutes!”

He scoffed but washed his face before making his way towards the podium. He was stopped several times by people who wanted to congratulate him and he put on his best fake smile because he was still so angry but he didn’t want to let out his bad mood at them. Especially the fans didn’t deserve that when they just asked for autographs or pictures.

Eventually, he made it to the podium where John and the third place, Tim Staffel, were waiting, talking animatedly with some other people Roger didn’t recognize.

They were ushered up their respective places and got their trophies under loud cheers and Roger was almost blinded by the camera flashes. And then it was time for Roger’s favorite part: spraying champagne everywhere.

It lifted his spirits momentarily as he was too busy getting getting the viewers and especially the big officials drenched. It was fun until he made his way back to the podium, thoroughly wet himself- thanks, Tim- where he was confronted by John. He was grinning, tooth gap visible and eyes crinkling and Roger’s smile froze.

He didn’t look smug now. That was the worst part. He was all proud and smug around Roger but at the ceremonies and the interviews he was always so genuinely happy and it made it hard being mad at him. Because Roger knew how it felt like.

Something crossed over John’s face and Roger was about to make a comment about it but then he grabbed his face and brought his champagne bottle to Roger’s mouth.

He had no idea what was happening but he could hear the people cheer and he just swallowed what John poured into his mouth, their eye contact never breaking.The whole thing lasted only a couple of seconds but it dumbfounded him enough that he stumbled backwards when John let go of him, his mouth full of champagne.

After the podium ceremony, Roger was ushered away by Crystal to a more secluded area for a round of interviews.

He managed to pull through them despite the fact that his head was still reeling and when Crystal showed up again to pull him aways, he was relieved. All he wanted was a shower and a nap.

After leading him towards the changing room, Crystal said his goodbyes and left him alone. For a moment, Roger played with the thought of taking a shower here but he knew once he got under the warm water he wouldn’t want fall asleep pretty soon.

With a sigh, he finally got out of his racing suit, dropping it to the floor and reached for his dark jeans. He slipped into a soft green sweatshirt and attempted to tame his hair but it was pretty useless.

He was just slipping into his boots when the door opened. He thought maybe it was someone from the crew who needed something or maybe an over enthusiastic reporter- it had happened before- but when he looked up, John Deacon was standing there.

He had changed, too, and was wearing a pair of light wash jeans and a loose, white button-down instead of his yellow racing suit. Roger blinked.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

Roger didn’t had the energy to have a fight with John right now but he could feel the irritation and anger underneath his exhaustion.

“You were good today.”

John leaned against the wall, arms crossed with a small smile on his face. Roger scoffed and stuffed his jacket that was still in his locker in his bag and zipped it up a little bit harsher than he probably should have.

“Thanks.” he sneered. “I try to be good at my job. It kind of got me here.”

He couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy! What was wrong with him that he just showed up in Roger’s changing room to make even more fun of him? He threw his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his racing suit to place it where the crew could pick it up for cleaning.

A warm hand on his arm stopped him and he yanked it free with a growl, swirling around angrily.

“What? Anything else? Want to make fun of me? I’m fucking tired, leave me alone, Deacon!”

John looked taken aback at that and Roger waited for a second just to see if he would say anything else but he didn’t and he stormed off then, rushing to the cab that has been called for him.

+++

Roger won the next two races. John won the race after that. Prenter won the fourth one and that was probably worse than losing against John.

He slammed the the door of his locker shut, flinching at the loud crash. It didn’t even stayed shut, just bounced right back open and Roger pushed it close again.

“Be careful, you’ll hurt yourself otherwise.”

Roger turned around and there was John again. He had left him alone after the little incident and Roger had been thankful for that even if it had weirded him out that John was doing nothing. Not even giving him one of his smirks when he caught Roger staring at him. He just did nothing. He acknowledged Roger but there was nothing of their usual rivalry. It had Roger on edge.

“What do you care?” he snapped.

John frowned and shook his head. He looked sweaty, his hair clinging to his temples. Roger grabbed his water bottle and pushed past him, back into the garage just to stop dead a couple of steps into it.

His crew wasn’t here. Usually, no matter how long Roger took to get changed, somebody was there for him to bid his farewell to, sometimes somebody still needed something from him but there was never nobody. He frowned as he had planned to use that to get rid of John.

“I don’t actually want to see you hurt, you know?”

John appeared at his side again and Roger rolled his eyes at him.

He felt himself getting irritated again. For weeks, he had left him alone. No jabs, no sneers, no smirks, no off-hand comments and now of all days, John decided to annoy him again. Roger didn’t understand him! He couldn’t wrap his head around anything John does! It wasn’t just his behaviour in the past weeks but the past years.

Both of them had started their career early and Roger faintly remember watching John’s first race at a go-kart track when he was about sixteen. Roger himself wanted to participate but couldn’t due to a broken arm. After that, they kept running into each other at races but never really talked until both of them got into professional racing and then- somehow- it had spiraled into their rivalry.

Roger wasn’t even sure who started it but the media ate it up and so nobody really discouraged it.

“Did you want anything?” Roger asked. “Because if not, I want to go back to my hotel room and take a nap.”

“You’re not even going to the party?”

Roger barked out a laugh and carded a hand through his hair. He heard John chuckle.

“And listen to Prenter bragging and being a general dick to anyone?”

“Isn’t he like that every day?”

He snorted, then sighed. John was staring at him and Roger frowned, not knowing what he was supposed to do. This wasn’t what they normally did. John licked his lips, his head angled slightly to the side and it felt like he was sizing him up. Roger straightened up, squaring his shoulders which only served to make him chuckle.

“Do you want to work out some anger?”

Roger blinked. John was still smiling.

+++

John pushed him up against the wall and Roger groaned, the sound muffled by John’s mouth. He whined and pulled him closer, slipping a leg in between his and grinned when he moaned and rocked up against him.

They grabbed, pushed and pulled at each other, stumbling through Roger’s hotel room towards the bed and losing their clothes in the progress.

This really wasn’t how Roger had thought his day would be going like this, especially not with John Deacon of all people but when John nipped his way down his neck, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He moaned and tangled his hand in his hair.

Their mouths found each other again, teeth clacking together and Roger swapped them around, effectively straddling John who let it happen with a grin and settled his hands on his hips.

“You’re gonna fuck me?” he panted and Roger nodded.

It surprised him, if he was honest, because he had thought there would be a bit of fighting over who gets to top but John seemed more than happy to bottom, asking him where he had lube and condoms and getting them.

Roger fingered him open thoroughly, fascinated by the way his face scrunched up in pleasure and the sounds he made. John was quiet in comparison to most of the people he had slept with but he realized he wasn’t bothered by it.

“Come on, Roger, get to it.”

“Getting impatient?”

John wrapped his legs around his waist and pulled him close, causing him to almost lose his balance. Roger rolled his eyes at him but ripped open the condom and pulled it on. John sighed happily when he sank into him and pulled him into another kiss.

He was a great kisser, Roger had to admit.

Once John gave him the okay to move, he set a hard and fast pace and John’s finger digged into the flesh of his shoulders in the best way. He leaned down again, muffling his moans against his lips.

+++

John left after they were done and they didn’t talk about it. Roger didn’t get upset anymore when John appeared in his changing room. He started showing up in John’s changing room, too.

#jogerweek2019 #joger #dealor #smut

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

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Ghostbusters (The Eighties Blasts Collection, Part 7.)

Description: Jim Hopper died as a hero. But with that, one certain problem rises up - who will now lead the cops of Hawkins? Hopper thought of that - he decided to write a letter, naming his niece, nineteen-year-old student of Indianapolis police academy, Y/N Hopper as a sheriff deputy in a letter. But anybody in the town doesn’t have a clue that being a cop in Hawkins is way more dangerous than it might seem.

A/N: The story is finally starting to settle down and I am into that big time! Also, I almost freaked out myself during writing this part, inspired by The Upside Down and Stranger Things from Stranger Things Soundtrack for season one by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.

Warnings: THE MONSTER.

Word Count: 2.7 K

Tagging: @charmed-asylum @nemodoren

Master list: The Eighties Blast Collection

The car's engine got quiet when you stopped the machine in front of the old lady's house. It didn't stench when you smelled the air with closed eyes and breathed deeply. But you turned your head to Steve.

"Do you... Smell anything?" - You asked with a frown and Steve shook his head. Then he inhaled another air to his nose and shook his head again.

"No. I don't smell a thing. That means that there's nothing to investigate and we can go back to the downtown..." - He tried to sly his way into your head, but you only checked your loaded revolver and the battery on the tight leather belt. You swooped the black turtleneck sleeves down and adjusted your uniform a bit. You got this.

"Where are you going? It's just an old house, Y/N, really, it's nothing." - Steve asked as you put your raincoat and stepped out of the old Chevy truck. When he figured out that you're not coming back, he got our too and ran after you in his jacket, staying by your side.

"That is definitely not professional, Steven." - You said annoyedly and knocked on the door.

"You're only nineteen and you're a cop. Shut up about professionality, Jesus." - Steve rolled his eyes and looked around. It was a quiet neighborhood and the houses were far away from each other - this is what small-town intimacy meant.

Nobody could say what is going on unless you were loud or liked to express yourself in other ways. So it wasn't as unusual when nobody knew what is going on in your own yard. But something wasn't adding up then. Why would anybody called the cops if they didn't know what it's up? Somebody must've seen or heard something. It couldn't just be a... Stench. Could it?

"There's something that isn't adding up to me, Steve." - You mumbled and almost jumped away when the door opened all of a sudden. But you kept your feet cold and your face serious. You were an authority after all. Steve had an answer on his tongue but decided to say anything in the end.

It was an old lady in a red jumper, with black-ish hair and glasses. And your blood froze down when you saw her. She was pale like a dead man, her eyes were weirdly stuck out and insanely blue just as her lips and teeth were in a tense, stuck smile. She looked like her face has a spasm. She looked... Weird.

There was something completely and utterly wrong about that woman. But you couldn't name what exactly it was. And you were not allowed to judge since you were a cop, someone who has to help and protect people no matter what. So her face? That wasn't a thing that should scare you away.

"Hello, Mrs. Duffer. I am a local police deputy Y/N Hopper and this is my colleague Steven Harrington. Would you mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?" - You smiled at the terrifying woman and controlled the walkie-talkie on your shoulder. You needed to tell Anderson if you would decide to investigate the house.

"Of course, come in, come in." - Her low, gnarling voice told you as she turned back to walk into her house. Her movements were weird, to say the least. She moved like a... Puppet. It wasn't natural at all. You checked Steve with a quick look before turning your walkie-talkie on.

"Anderson? This is Hopper. Do you copy?" - You muttered and turned away from the door. But the signal was just quiet like there wasn't anybody on the other side. - "Anderson? This is Hopper. Do you copy?" - Just as the first time, the wave was silent.

"Can it be the boys playing around with the signals? Could they mess it up somehow?" - You asked him quickly, but he shook his head. It was a Thursday midday - you two were at work, of at least you should be, and the boys had a holiday. Also Cerebro, some machine that Dustin had created wasn't disturbing the other radio waves normally.

"Okay. Anderson? This isn't funny. It's Hopper and I'm going in. Over." - You put the walkie on your shoulder and looked at Steve. You silently touched his shoulder and made him turn away for a moment. - "Something is... Wrong. My walkie-talkie went dead just like that. It shouldn't be a problem to reach here from the station... But... It's completely dead. I can't even hear the static, nothing. Like there are no radio waves here."

"Your walkie talkie went off on its own?" - Steve asked and touched it so he could try on his own.

"Steve Harrington here. Do you copy?" - He tried as well and stood there for a moment with his hand on his hip. He looked you in the eyes and rose his eyebrows. - "Yeah. It's out."

"Oh, thank you, mister genius." - You took it out of his hand and hooked it back on your shoulder. - "Now listen to me. You need to stay close, if anything happens, don't forget that I am the cop and that I will protect your kids, okay? Stay close, don't talk and do as I say. Nod if you understand." - You pointed your finger right up to his nose. He slowly nodded and you nodded as well.

"Alright, Mrs. Duffer. I and my colleague are now coming in." - You yelled and walked into the small hall. The house was definitely old and dusty, that lady wasn't the cleaning type. But something still felt kind of... Odd. - "Mrs. Duffer? Where are you?" - You walked into the silent, dark kitchen and looked around. Like if that weird, old lady just disappeared into the thin air. She walked out of nowhere, freaking you out.

You looked at Steve and remained silent. You were the authority, you were the cop - and for that, you needed to stay as calm as possible.

"I wanted to prepare you some cookies, do you like them? I heard that youngsters like cookies and sweets." - Her tensed face watched the both of you like she wanted to bite your head off. You just tried not to look at her and instead you looked all over the place. There were opened chemical bottles next to the sink, but the house was definitely not clean. Torn newspaper laid around the table, there was mud on the floor, almost a thick layer of it. Like if somebody dumped that place in water. The cabinets were full of broken plates... Something happened in that house.

But then you saw it. A family photo hanging next to her fridge. The woman there was relaxed, smiling, she was fine. She didn't have that weird, tensed expression, she wasn't looking like a clown. Whatever was with you at that house, it wasn't Mrs. Duffer at all.

Then you shook it off. It could just be an old photo. And people change over time. That was it.

"That's nice of you, Mrs. Duffer, but I don't want any. I just ask you a few questions and then we'll leave." - You smiled at her, still not looking to her face while standing up next to Steve. Something made you feel unsafe - and he didn't feel as well. Then it hit you. That disgusting stench. The thing the neighbors described to Anderson. You almost threw up on the spot.

"Okay... Shall we?" - You looked at her with an urge to puke into the sink and she nodded at you with her weird, puppet-like moves. She almost broke in her waist when she tried to sit down and you heard as something... Broke inside of her.

This was your first time doing something serious as a cop and Anderson sent you to some freak house. Great.

"So, have you noticed something weird in your neighborhood?" - You took out the notepad out of your back pocket and clicked your pen, smiling sadly while you took a deep breath in with your mouth. Steve checked you with his look and leaned his ass into the counter behind him.

"No. Should I, dear?" - She looked at you with those crazy eyes and you nodded, writing something down and showed it to Steve while you glanced over the lady. He read it in the most secret way he was capable of.

'CHECK THE FAMILY PHOTO AND TELL ME IF YOU THINK THAT SOMETHING IS GOING ON'. Steve nodded almost invisibly and went to check the photo out.

"No disappearing food, maybe chemicals? A strong stench? You couldn't smell it?" - You asked, eyeing Steve's back. Mrs. Duffer was, thanks to god, watching you with her bestial and hungry eyes. You felt like a slice of fucking grilled pork.

“Oh, I didn't, darling.” - The old lady smiled at you again, showing you her mouth of fake teeth. You didn't have anything against that - just their condition was scaring you like hell. They were yellow and bloody. At that moment, Steve gave you a slight shook of his head, which was just the signal you needed - just to be interrupted by a creaking on the attic.

And it wasn't any creaking which could be just dismissed like that. It was so loud that you almost jumped on the spot. You shot your look there, looking at the old lady with a question.

“What was that, do you keep some... Animals out there?” - You asked in a breathy voice. Mrs. Duffer just laughed it off. At that moment, your brain was completely empty. What should you think about that lady? She looked like she crawled right out of Steven King’s novel, her house was looking like if a fucking hurricane stormed through the place and a strong stench could be smelled all over the place. Plus that loud creaking. You were on thin ice - this was your first intervention ever.

You tried your best to stay professional, but it was bringing you just chills.

“Oh no, sweetheart, I have just ghosts out there.” - She laughed as if it was a joke, but it sent chills down on your spine. It sounded like squeaking in your ears.

“Can we have a look there?” - Steve asked out of blue. You shot a look at him and he carefully rose his fingers to calm you down. You subconsciously touched the revolver on your belt. - “You know... Investigation purposes. We will just have a short look and then we will leave. Alright?” - Steve said in a calm, slow tone. He was actually pretty good at this, you needed to say. He was humble and charismatic, and that actually calmed you down.

“I mean, if you need to, darlings, I will let you look there. You are not going to find anything there anyway, I tell you that.” - She laughed again and then reached her palm for Steve to help her stand up. He did and he was really gentle with her. Steve couldn't tell you, but he felt how ice-cold and sticky her skin was, which actually scared him. Old people were usually nicely dry if you know what Steve had on his mind.

She led you to the ladder which was leading into the attic and said that Steve can open it up. The stench that came out of that place almost made you faint. You gagged in your own mouth a bit, turning away from that place.

“Go on, go on, I will wait here.” - She said quickly, throwing her hand in the direction of the attic. Steve entered first, giving you his hand to hold on it as you climbed the stairs up. And men, something definitely rotted there. At first, you had the feeling that the old lady maybe went mad and she was killing animals.

“Jesus, can you smell that?” - Steve turned his head at you and tried to cover your nose with your sleeve, so you didn't have to smell that.

“Yeah. Yeah. Try to search for the source. If she’s truly abusing animals as I think, there must be some rotten corpse.” - You reached your hand to lighten up your surroundings. There were only two small bulbs for a huge attic, so you couldn't see shit precisely; at least you got your flashlight prepared.

There were a ton of old things covered under sheets - old furniture, paintings, some boxes with clothes, old cages for small animals. You stopped for a minute at those. To your bad luck, it could be seen just with the eye that those cages weren't used in ages. They were old, rusted, the metal was basically crumbling under your fingertips.

“You got something over there?” - You stood up, turning your flashlight at Steve.

“I can't really see for... Shit, was is that? Ew!” - He shouted loudly. You slowly walked across the huge attic to him, looking at weird, brown jello on the ground. Late you realized you were staying in a track of blood. But it wasn't normal blood there was something abnormal about it. Before you could inspect that, you heard creaking on the other side of the attic. But before you could catch glimpse of anything, there were only sheets moving caused by the wave of air something created. Steve rushed to the attic stairs while you followed the trail through countless rows of boxes.

“Y/N, where is that old lady?” - Steve shouted to the back so you could hear him, but his question was abrupted by your screaming, coming from the depths of your lungs.

Before you could stop yourself, you threw up to your right side. There was a rotten, staggered body laying down on the ground - parts of it were even missing. Clearly, you could still say that it was an old lady before that - the short curls, eyes, lips. Whatever spoke with you downstairs, it wasn't Mrs. Duffer. Because you were looking at her corpse. You were too shocked to even move or make a single sound, your eyes were glimpsing at the body with its left forearms torn away just as her bitten leg and stomach and scratched neck.

Whatever killed her, it was brutal and animalistic, yet it had found the decency to hide that body. It was showing some kind of... Intelligence.

You didn't even notice that Steve was standing beside you, looking at the corpse. A creaking made you look from it again. You wanted to point your flashlight at it, bit stopped working. Just like the bulbs. You could only see its silhouette - a slim, almost sinewy pale body resembling a human one, standing on two legs with something that looked like a head.

“Oh no, no, no...” - You could hear Steve whispering, but you couldn't tear your look away from that thing. It was moving slowly and its bones were cracking inside of it. It was walking on two feet like a normal human being, yet those moves were uncoordinated and puppet-like. You took the revolver out, ready to shoot at it any minute.

“Stop, or I will be forced to shoot you.” - You yelled at it with a high-pitched tone. But it didn't stop. It only hissed back at you as a form of an answer. But then it spoke to you in the exact same voice you heard downstairs.

“There is no need for that, honey.” - It said and hit your palm, so you let your revolver fall down. Before Steve or you could fo literally anything to stop it, it caught your forearm in its limb and held it so tightly that it almost crushed your bones. It opened up its head like a flower, showing you countless rows of sharp teeth that could tear your hand away just like that.

Steve was moving around you, screaming at you and maybe even at the creature, but you were paralyzed by fear.

The creature in front of you was the Demogorgon.

#the upside down #stranger things by kyle dixon & michael stein #stranger things #stranger things netflix #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x hopper!reader #jim hopper #the demogorgon #ah shit #here we go again

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p4nkow · 5 years

Text

Why the hell not?

just a Roger fluffy one-shot. Basically that’s it.

Summarise: Reader is in tour with the boys and after the show in Montréal Roger proposes her a thing

Warnings: none. just fluff, fluff, fluff

It is set in 1981 during the show in Montreal. I pictured the real life Roger for this but it can also be read as Ben!Roger

Let me know what you think! My DMs and my Inobx are always open

Gifs not mine so credit to the owners

“Okay, so what if-” Fred was immediately cut off by Brian.

“No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“Every time you start with what if, we end up being in some sort of ridiculous trouble we don’t need to be.”

You couldn’t help but giggle at the little spat between the boys. Sound check wasn’t supposed to last that long but Fred kept showing off some ideas for the upcoming show. You guys were currently in Montréal, the second to last stage of The Game Tour.

Roger spent two whole months trying to persuade you to join them in the tour and at the end you gave in to his request. You were glad you did- you were having the best time of your life with your favorite people in the world.

When the boys were too tired to leave the hotel you guys spent the nights playing scrabble, in which you really sucked. There was no way you could win with a player such as Brian.

Nevertheless you spent most of the nights off partying. You had lost the count of the amount of times you had dragged Deaky into the dance floor. He really had the best moves and that’s the reason why Roger started calling him ‘Disco Deaky’.

Roger, on the other hand, was way more hot-headed than John and didn’t like to dance that much. He enjoyed watching you dance, though. Whenever you were on the dance floor his gaze was constantly on you, following closely your movements.

A thing which he really enjoyed was getting piss drunk. There were times when Brian had to help you out to carry him into your room.

“I swear it! Don’t you believe me?” You eye-rolled at his words, groaning as you tried not to loose you balance while you made your way to your room.

“Yeah, mate. I believe you.” Brian supported most of Roger’s weight- tiny as you were there was no way you could do it on your own.

“Roger...”

“The floor really keeps coming at me!” His voice was squeaky due to the bender.

“I’m sure it does, love.” You tried not to giggle as you exchanged an exasperated look with Brian.

When you finally made it to your room you gently leaned Roger to the bed.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” You said to Brian, thankful for his help.

“And I don’t know what we’d do without our drummer so we must keep an eye on him.”

You thanked him again and walked him to the door before coming back to Roger.

“I made it, love.” He murmured with half of his face sunk on the pillow. “All by myself.”

“Yeah, Rog.” You chuckled and shook your head in disbelief. You were starting to get undressed as you thought he had fallen asleep but he didn’t.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He mumbled and your heart grew full of love.

“Rog you’re piss drunk, go to sleep.” You leaned to him and he sat up in the corner of the mattress. You stood between his spare legs, hands starting to stroke his fluffy and messy hair as he put his hands on your hips.

“I probably am but it doesn’t change the things. You’re so fuckin’ beautiful.” He placed a kiss on your bare stomach and you couldn’t help but smile. “I wanna start a family with you.”

You coughed a bit, taken by surprise by his words. However you didn’t let yourself take him too seriously, he probably wouldn’t have remembered none of it in the morning so you decided to humor him.

“That would be fantastic.”

“Just imagine a little peanut on this beautiful belly of yours. A little drummer.”

“Or a little bass player.”

“Not in a million years.”

You chuckled and placed a kiss in his head. “We’ll see, love. Let’s go to sleep now.”

But that had been a week ago and he hadn’t brought the subject back so you just thought he didn’t remember anything of that night. After the sound check the time flied and the boys had only half an hour before the show started.

“How do I look?” Roger turned towards you, spreading his arms for you to take a better look.

“Handsome as always.” You leaned towards him, surrounding his chest with your arms and holding him close to you. You placed a kiss on his cheek and took a better look of his face.

“Do you like me?” You looked at him confused as he hugged you back.

“I’m your girlfriend, of course I like you.”

“One can never be sure.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I lost my pants!” Freddie had a worried look on his face as he looked for his clothes.

“How exactly did that happen?” John didn’t seem too concerned. As a matter of fact that had happened a lot during the tour.

“Darling, I don’t know! One moment they were here and then they just weren’t!”

You exchanged a confused look with Brian, who said “I’m pretty sure clothes don’t disappear just like that.”

“Brian, I just said-”

You stopped paying attention to the tiff as soon as you spotted a pair of trousers casually hanging over a chair in the corner of the room. You walked away from Roger’s hug to go get them, holding them in front of you as you asked Freddie “Are they these by chance?”

“Darling, you are my saviour!” Fred placed a kiss in your head as he took the trousers you handed him and disappeared behind a door.

A woman stopped by the room and she had the look of being an assistant. “Ten minutes to go!”

“Already?” Brian asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid.”

“Love, follow me.” Roger grabbed your hand and you followed him through the hallways. You met tons of people which were working really hard to make the show as best as it could be. You admired them- Queen shows were beautiful as they were also thanks to them.

Roger noticed the look on your face and gave you a little smile.

“You nervous?” You asked and he nodded at your question, taking a deep breath as you arrived to the backstage.

“I always am.”

“I know, love” You murmured, placing your hands in his face. You slowly caressed his cheeks, looking at him right in the eyes. ��You’re gonna do great. You always do.”

He leaned his forehead to yours and you could easily sense his nerves.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“I am too. Thanks for bringing me.” He smiled and kissed you, putting his hands into your back to hold you close to him.

“Hey, lovebirds! Five minutes to go!” Miami interrupted your kiss and you bursted into laughter while Roger swore under his breath for the interruption.

“I’m sorry for stealing your boy” You told him and glanced at Roger, who was still holding you.

“Don’t worry that much, he’s way more focused when you’re around.”

“Oh fuck off” Roger shot back as he let you go in order to get ready for the show. He started to warm up the muscles as the other boys arrived too. Freddie immediately started to imitate him, warming up his muscles as well as his voice. Deaky already had his bass in shoulder, just like Brian with his beloved Red Special, and you took a step back to give them more space.

“You gonna be right here, right?” You smiled at Roger and nodded at his question.

“Sure as hell I am. The whole time.” He just gave you a nod and a little smile before turning his back at you. The lights in the stage signaled the beginning of the show and after a sign from the boys to the main the show officially started.

Here we go.

One by one the boys entered to the stage and your smile grew wider as they started to play. You stood there just like you told Roger you’d do, right next to Miami, Chris - Roger’s assistant - and the rest of the crew. Everyone in the backstage was ready to act just in case something went wrong during the show.

A few songs went by and you sang along with the crowd. Roger glanced at you a few times and you happily waved at him with a big smile on your face. You spent most of the time looking at him, not being able to stop thinking about the fact that he was hot. He was even more attractive while drumming and you weren’t surprised girls went crazy for him. You went crazy for him, too.

Your attention was caught by Deaky, who had started to show his dancing moves. Disco Deaky was back and as soon as you caught his gaze you smiled at him. You tried to reassure him because you knew he tended to overthink.

You looked at Freddie, who was also dancing around Brian. The chemistry that they had was magical. Freddie really owned the stage and the crowd was under his thrall. They loved him.

He sang Somebody to love with all his heart and despite you promised him not to, you got emotional. Miami looked at you with a smile and surrounded your shoulders with his arm to reassure you. Roger looked at you and you smiled at him, despite the fact that you were wiping away your tears.

After performing Killer Queen it was time for I’m in love with my car, and you sang along with Roger. His voice, which always sounded so soft, was now hoarse. You know what that song meant to him and you’ve always been his supporter on that matter.

At some point Chris handed you a chair and you gratefully thanked him. The show went on and it was time for Love of my life, which meant that Roger was getting off stage.

You stood up as he walked towards you. Chris handed him a bottle of water and a towel, which he immediately used after thanking him.

“You’re rocking it!” You threw your arms around him and placed kisses all over his face. Roger bursted into laughter as he hold you.

“Careful, love. I’m all sweaty.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You okay? I noticed you cried a bit.”

“Yeah, Freddie’s fault. You know how he makes me feel.”

“Yeah, I know.” He stroked your hair as Fred started singing the first lines of the song, accompanied by Brian. Roger sat on the chair Chris had brought you and you sat on his lap. He immediately put his arm around your hips, re-reading the set list.

He distractedly stroked your hair as you felt your eyes become glossy again due to Freddie’s voice.

“You’re cute when you get emotional for a song” He whispered into your ear.

“Oh, stop it.”

“I’m serious, love. I love how you get involved into things.”

“Roger, get ready!” Chris glanced at him as he handed him a new pair of drumsticks, so you had to stand up and let him go. He placed a kiss between your hair as he run back in the stage, taking his seat behind the drums and waiting for the boys to get ready in order to start playing again.

Time flew by quickly and before you could tell the show was already over. Once you were back in the dressing room you congratulated with the boys. Montréal had been a hell of a show.

Roger was ecstatic that he finally had the chance of a solo performance and he kept talking about it while we has getting ready to go back to the hotel. You were honestly happy for him: he had the chance to live his dream and he was doing it fully and without regrets.

“You ready to go, Boo?” He asked you while he was making sure he didn’t forget anything behind. You nodded and said goodbye to the boys before following him out the building.

Once you got to the hotel and got ready for the night you leaned into him, snuggling with him. He hold you close, so that you could use him as a pillow.

“Did you like the show?” Even if you were alone in the room his words were nothing but a whisper.

“Yeah, it was really awesome. I loved it.”

“Also my drum solo?”

“Especially your drum solo” You reassured him with a smile.

“Love?” He asked after a few moments of silence.

“Hm?”

“Do you remember the night I got piss drunk? The one of the floor thing.”

You chuckled as you remembered his ravings of that night. “Of course. Although I didn’t know you did.”

“I remember most of it.” You weren’t sure of where it was going.

“Something’s wrong?”

“You also remember the conversation we had when we were alone, right?”

“Rog?”

“Yeah?”

You lifted your head to look at him in the face, immediately meeting his gaze. “Are you trying to tell me you want a baby?”

“Basically, yeah” He giggled, but you could tell he was feeling insecure. “I know I’m always on tour and I’m always busy with the band but-”

“Yes” You said firmly.

“Yes to the fact that I’m busy or yes to-”

“Yes, I wanna start a family with you and I want you to be the father of my children. So yes, I want to have a baby.”

“Right now?” He asked with a big, bright smile. You couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why the hell not?”

#roger taylor #roger taylor fic #roger taylor x reader #queen #ben hardy #ben hardy fic #ben hardy x reader #bohemian rhapsody

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pagesuponstpages · 5 years

Text

through the seasons

ofc: mallory jacobs

warnings: some curse words scattered about, a slight mention of cheating, & a teeny bit of alcohol

word count: +3.2k

synposis: snapshots of calum & mallory through a year, from their fateful meeting to falling in love, deeper than either of them expected.

a/n: so at 1 am on calum’s birthday, I decided to write a fic in celebration for the one and only c-dizzle thomas hood’s 23rd birthday (happy belated birthday cal). also purposely writing in lowercase, it being an artistic choice. also also welp meant to finish and post this on the day of, but this weekend was unusually busy. :( but hope you enjoy.

w i n t e r

the first time they met, it was at a party. to be specific, calum’s birthday party.

mallory was freezing her arse off, while waiting for ashton to buzz her and katie into his apartment building. ash was hosting said party at his place, which was something along the lines of being big enough to have all their friends come over (katie thinks that it might have been better if they rented out a club or something).

“irwin! hurry the bloody hell up!” katie yelled, standing right below the open window of his apartment.

“geez, i might as well not let you in,” he said through the intercom.

katie rolled her eyes. “yeah, say that to the people that has all of your drinks,” she said, smirking, as if he was standing in front of them. mallory pushed katie to the side, so she could talk into the intercom.

“oi, stop fighting and let us in. it’s bloody cold out and i’d rather not freeze my toes off.” and the door buzzed, notifying them that it was unlocked.

although both mallory and katie hailed from the uk with their blindingly cold winters, they got used to the la weather too quickly. and now, if it even reached in the 30-degree-range, the both of them would gripe and complain to all of their friends’ dismay.

“you didn’t have to do that, he would’ve let us in.”

mallory looked at her best friend with a raised eyebrow. “yeah, sure but with the both of us having nearly frozen off our fingers and toes.”

katie shrugged, both walking into the elevator. “it’s all irwin, not me.”

mallory scoffed, but didn’t push any further.

despite only knowing ashton through katie, mallory guessed that there was this unidentified thing in their friendship that had them both snarky and biting towards each other, which seemed to start when they both moved to la. mallory thinks they need to either have a sit-down chat or fuck with their feelings (either might not end well, to be honest).

once they both got to ashton’s floor, mallory knocked on the door, while katie rambled on about some guy that bumped into her right after she got her usual iced coffee in the morning (don’t ask her why she gets iced coffee in the middle of winter, both mallory and ash have tried and failed).

“look who showed up!”

mallory grinned at luke who answered the door, while katie just walked right past him.

“thanks,” she said, as luke took two out of the four bags that she was holding, each full of different types of alcohol and soda.

“no problem,” he said, as they walked into ash’s kitchen. “put some of the drinks in the ice bucket and the rest in the fridge.”

mallory nodded, dividing the various beers, soda cans, and bottle waters into their respective buckets on the floor by the counter.

“jacobs!”

she turned, to see ash with a wide grin and his arms spread out, about to tackle her in a hug.

“when’s the birthday boy coming?” she said, her speech muffled into ashton’s shoulder.

“soon,” luke said, who was standing by the kitchen counter with an amused expression at her and ash’s exchange.

“is it really that cold outside?” ash asked.

mallory raised her eyebrows, waiting for the rant that was about to come.

“fuck yeah!” katie yelled from her spot on the couch. “it’s below freezing!”

mallory had to stifle a laugh, as katie and ashton continued back and forth.

“so do you think that they’ll ever fuck?” luke said, leaning on the counter next to her.

“don’t know. at this point, it looks promising,” she said with a wry look.

luke chuckled.

there was a buzzing sound, one that was barely heard over ash and katie’s arguing.

“i’ll get it,” he said, standing straight.

“i’ll go too, i don’t want to be a witness to whatever this leads to,” mallory said, directing her hand to the two in front of them. she trailed luke to the door, watching him as he pressed the intercom button.

“whooo is it?”

“it’s us you fucks! let us in; it’s freezing out here,” michael said, his voice cracking through the small speaker by the door. luke and mallory shared a look, both trying not to burst out laughing.

“some people beg to differ the temperature outside,” she said, pressing the button to talk.

“i think it’s pretty obvious. i can’t feel my knees,” michael said.

luke giggled, then pressed the button to let them in. “alright, but only because we kinda need you to have your legs for the band.” they heard unintelligible voices, followed by the familiar buzz of the door unlocking.

a few moments later, the door knocked, signaling their arrival.

“they’re here!” mallory yelled, swinging the door open. the argument in the living room stopped suddenly, while there were babbles of ‘happy birthday’ along with shouts of greetings as each guest walked into ash’s apartment.

“mal, you’ve met everyone in the band except for the man of the hour,” michael said, directing her attention to the curly-haired, gold-skinned boy standing tall over her head. mallory chuckled, shaking her head at mikey’s words.

“hi, i’m calum,” he said, his dark brown eyes meeting hers.

“mallory. pleasure to meet you.”

s p r i n g

mallory thinks that she spends too much time with calum. or at least, more time than friends usually spend together.

“do you think this goes?”

mallory was sat on the couch, slouched to the point of her long-sleeve shirt riding up to the middle of her back. calum requested her help in sorting through his wardrobe, figuring out what would stay and what would have to go.

“i think so,” she said, looking up from her phone. he was clad in black slim-cut trousers with a white printed dress shirt on top.

“c’mon mal, this is serious,” he frowned.

mallory sighed, sitting up on the couch. “but isn’t that ash’s top?”

calum looked down at the shirt, the red poppies staring back at him. “probably. after touring together for so long, i think our wardrobes started mixing together.”

“do you think he needs it anytime soon?”

calum shrugged, putting his hands into the pockets.

“looks good. keep it,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. mallory wondered why she got herself into this mess, watching calum try on different outfits, matter of fact that all of them looked good on him. he nodded, walking back to his room to change.

“what do you want to eat?” he said.

“don’t know,” she said, raising her voice just enough that he could still hear her.

“you say that all the time.” calum sat on the couch next to her, now wearing grey sweats and a white t-shirt.

“can’t help it. i’m fine with anything.”

he gave her a look, a dark eyebrow raised.

“okay fine, maybe not everything,” she frowned.

“i’m ordering chinese,” he said, pulling up the website menu on his phone.

“done with wardrobe cleaning?”

he shrugged. “we got through most of the things that i wanted you to look at, but i did some the other day by myself.”

mallory nodded, focusing back on the tv, which was playing an episode of chopped.

“oh! can we get the eggplant dish and the salt and pepper squid?” she asked, suddenly remembering.

“i thought you said you didn’t care?” he said, staring at her with a hint of a smirk.

“shut up,” mallory said, pushing his shoulder.

calum called the restaurant, his voice being the background of the four chefs cooking on the tv. their food arrived about forty minutes later; calum went to the door downstairs, picking up the bags of takeout and tipping the delivery person. mallory told him to tip a little extra because they had to drive about three kilometers from the restaurant along with the rain coming down quick outside.

“for you,” calum said, giving her one plastic bag as he set his on the coffee table. they unpacked and opened their boxes, before digging into their food.

“hey! eat your own food!” mallory exclaimed, swiping away at his hovering chopsticks.

“i thought we were eating the food together?” calum said, his voice raising higher.

“dude, we’re eating next to each other, not sharing food,” she grumbled, turning her back to calum. he reached over her shoulder, snatching a rather big piece of salt and pepper squid and popped it into his mouth before she could react.

“it’s family style, ‘cause we ordered at the same time.”

mallory huffed, turning back to facing calum and extended the box of fried squid to calum.

“you sound like my uncle,” she said, taking a piece of his kung pao chicken.

“how?” he was happily munching on the sauteed eggplant, to her frustration.

“whenever my family would go out to eat, we would normally order dishes with the intentions of having it family style. but this one time we went to a thai restaurant, where we ordered our own dishes. my uncle practically asked everyone at the table if he could have a bite of their food, and my aunt was so mad at him for doing that. but all he replied was ‘if your food looks good, it’s family style,’” mallory said, shaking her head at the memory.

“did you give him some of your food?” calum asked.

“yeah,” she sighed, “but at least he was considerate enough to offer his food first before taking a bite of mine, unlike somebody i know.” mallory was looking straight at calum, her eyes narrowing.

“hmm, wonder who that could be,” he mused, with a smile creeping onto his face.

she punched him in the shoulder. which she didn’t realize, was that her chopsticks were in the hand that she threw the punch, thus the chopsticks flew in the air, past the other end of the couch.

“oops,” she said, her eyes widening to his now narrowing eyes. “oh look at the time, have to go!” she said, dropping the takeout box in hand to the coffee table and ran to the door.

“you’re not gonna get away with that!” and then calum took off after her, running around his apartment to avoid capture. at one point, duke jumped in the chase, which distracted mallory enough for calum to tackle her to the ground. “gotcha,” he said, his face inches from hers.

she was staring at his eyes, them not breaking eye contact for a few moments. then he leaned in, meeting his lips with hers, before she could even realize it.

s u m m e r

when the weather gets warmer, people usually take out their swimwear and jump into a nearby pool. but calum and mallory were laying on the ground in front of the fan and sharing a bowl of ice cream. duke was content with his own doggie ice cream above their heads.

“here,” calum said, tapping the spoon to mallory’s lip.

“thanks love,” she said, swallowing the cool and creamy flavors in her mouth.

“why can’t we go to the pool?” he said, taking a spoonful for himself.

“coz ash wanted to come too.”

“where is he?”

mallory sat up, looking down at calum, who was taking another bite of ice cream, before giving her another spoonful. “shouldn’t you know more about your bandmates than me?”

calum raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “you did know him before meeting me.”

“that was because of katie.” she laid back down, which duke then took the opportunity to lay his head on her forehead.

“oh right.” calum gave her another spoon, barely avoiding duke from taking a lick. “did they fuck yet?”

mallory snorted.

after calum’s birthday, the two girls started spending more time with the guys, thus leading to katie and ashton having more tension than she’s ever seen. to make it even worse, katie would complain about ashton to her, when they would drive back to their shared apartment.

“i’m 75% sure that they already are. but no.”

calum chuckled. “i wouldn’t be surprised if they are, but also that they’re both dealing with different things, before that would even start.” and mallory had to agree.

katie and her previous boyfriend broke up due to him ‘being jealous of her with other guys,’ despite finding out that he’d been cheating on her with multiple girls. ashton also had a rough breakup, the facts not being clear, except for the few tidbits that calum tells her here and there.

“i just hope that they figure it out,” she finally said. calum was silent, not even moving to eat more ice cream. mallory turned her head, to fully see calum. his eyes were closed, but his eyebrows were scrunched with tension. she schooched closer to him, until her chin touched his shoulder. duke got up after mallory moved, and he settled in between them, laying down right by their ankles.

“i can’t tell if you’re asleep or not,” she whispered, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. “but by me touching you right now, i’m assuming not.” the fan continued to whirr in the background.

“fuckin’ hell, why are we doing this? we should be in a pool right now.” despite the heat, her hands were cooler than the rest of her body (some phenomenon that she’s always had, ever since she was a child.

“but nooo, we have to wait for ash and probably the other boys.” it felt calming, her cooler hands touching his skin which was nearly blazing in the summer heat.

“we don’t technically have to wait for them,” calum suddenly said, opening one eye to her.

“jesus!” she jumped, dropping her hand back down from his cheek.

“don’t stop, like that,” he mumbled. so mallory raised her hand back, stroking his cheek, with her now slightly less cool hands.

“don’t stop, doing what you’re doing,” she hummed under her breath. calum groaned, instantly recognizing the song she was humming.

“i don’t even know why you’re my girlfriend.” mallory stopped, freezing at his words.

“girlfriend?” he turned his head, his nose barely touching hers.

“guess i did that to myself,” he mumbled. she continued to stare at him, while she heard the faint noise of a car door slamming and voices coming closer.

“so whaddya say, do you wanna be my girl?” his lips spread into a lazy grin, with his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“hmm,” she bemused, leaning closer so their noses were now touching.

“i think yes.”

a u t u m n

as soon as the leaves changed into the lightest shade of red and orange, mallory dragged everyone to the nearest pumpkin patch. which happened to be about an hour drive to a city between thousand oaks and santa clarita.

“are we almost there yet?”

“didn’t you ask that ten minutes ago?” katie said, turning from her seat to ashton who was squeezed in the third row with luke and luke’s girlfriend.

“so?” mallory pushed katie so that she was looking forward at the road ahead of them.

“calm down children, google says we have a couple more minutes until we get there.” katie and mallory’s neighbor graciously let them borrow her minivan for their little road trip, as long as they returned it with a full tank (katie and mallory were gonna make the boys pay for it). due to mallory not fully trusting any of the guys driving the borrowed minivan and katie was no good with bigger cars (when she was practicing for her driver’s test with her mum’s suv, she didn’t make the turn and rammed into a tree. thankfully no one was hurt and the car didn’t have significant damage, but mallory would try to be the only one driving in their friendship).

“we’re not children, we’re grown men,” she heard luke say, with a gruff tone. she snorted.

“yeah, keep telling yourself that, mate.” and all the girls in the car burst out laughing.

“calllum, your girl’s being mean to me,” he whined, tapping on the bassist’s shoulder in front of him.

“lukey, ‘ya brought that one on yourself,” he said, laughing.

“i don’t know how you can survive on one tour bus for months on end, if you lot are like this,” mallory said. “by the way, we’re here.”

once they found a parking spot, everyone hopped out and took off in their own groups.

“guess it’s just you and me.” mallory looked up from her phone, replying to her neighbor’s text about the drive, to calum, clad in his green hoodie and grey beanie.

“how unfortunate,” she said, clicking the key fob twice, to make sure it was locked.

“fine then. i’m gonna find ash and luke then,” he huffed dramatically and stomped towards the entrance of the patch. mallory rolled her eyes, but then quickly stuffed the keys in her pocket and after calum, grabbing his hand.

“alright, alright, calm your tits,” she said, tugging at his hand. “you’re not unfortunate, you’re just alright.” he looked down at her, side-eyeing mallory

“just alright?”

“eh,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. calum scoffed, pulling her closer to him.

“wow, this is the kind of treatment i get from my girl.”

“only the best for the bassist of 5sos,” she quipped. calum laughed, shaking his head. they walked through the pumpkin patch that was behind the store, with their enclasped hands swinging back and forth.

“see anything worth picking up?” calum said, his eyes sweeping the pumpkins that they walked past.

“don’t know. has to be the right one. like, the one.” every year once autumn would just hit, mallory would pick the perfect pumpkins for carving, plain decoration, and even pumpkin pies that she fell in love with once she moved to the states.

“the one, you say?” calum said, looking at her with an incredulous look.

“yep,” she said, nodding her head. “i need nice round ones for simple decoration and carving, and ripe ones for cooking and stuff.” calum nodded, his eyes still scanning for mallory’s “perfect pumpkins.”

“this one any good?” they both stopped walking as calum picked up a decently size one that was mostly round. mallory still held onto his hand, while studying the pumpkin, from what seemed to be at every angle.

“it seems like a good contender.” he nodded, placing the pumpkin in the little wagon that he had been dragging. mallory tugged at his hand, already moving on to another pumpkin that caught her eye. after a few tugs, he let go, seeing her walk faster to a pumpkin towards the end of this row that they were walking by. she squat in front of it, carefully rolling it to check for any patches or dark-colored bumps. he caught up to her, standing a few feet away with his phone out to capture the moment. calum laughed, seeing her eyes continue to scrutinize at the pumpkin while clicking her tongue in satisfaction.

“what?” she said, looking at him with wide eyes. he shook his head, the smile still spread on his face.

“nothing. just love you.” mallory stood up with the pumpkin in her hands. she stepped towards him, putting the pumpkin in the wagon next to the other one.

she held onto his sweatshirt, tiptoeing to meet his lips.

“i love you too.”

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hufflepuff-ravenclaw-reviews · 5 years

Text

Proven Innocent Season 1 Episode 4

This review contains discussion of abortion and miscarriage/loss of a baby

We begin with some old news footage, of a Muslim woman wearing her hijab, walking into court through a hoard of protesters screaming about abortion. Somebody dumps something red all over her, and the poor woman is made to sit in court, covered in the substance.

In the present, Madeline watches this footage with disgust over how the judge could make the poor woman sit in court like that. The lady's lawyer says that the judge wanted to go out of his way to show how much of a monster that the woman was. He asks that Easy and Madeline take over her case, because he doesn't think that he can continue to do a good job.

Our client du jour is a Muslim woman who was charged both with feticide, but also the murder of her baby. What doesn't help with this is that she had bought “abortion pills” from Mexico, although she insists that she never took them because she'd changed her mind. Her story remains that she went into premature labor, and the baby was delivered as a stillborn. But then she panicked and threw the dead baby away in a construction site dumpster.

As Madeline and Easy drive away from the prison, they fight about the case. Madeline is obviously on the side of their client, as she always is. But it's not exactly black and white for Easy. He's pro-life, and eventually decides that he doesn't want anything to do with this case.

Meanwhile, Bellows talks with the talk-show host. She knows that “Rosemary's Law” to ensure the rights of the victims, and to ensure that literally nobody ever gets out from jail, even if they never committed a crime, is a fat load of bullshit and will literally never EVER pass. However, they kind of gloat over the idea of Madeline taking on the “Muslim babykiller” case. Ugh.

Later, a senator, Isabel, and Bellows watch the talk show lady talking about “Rosemary's Law”. The senator also knows that Bellows is full of shit. However, Isabel quickly says that she'll go to the press and say that the senator won't endorse crime bills! She also says that she'll run against him... and that she'll probably win because she young, female, and Hispanic. Ugh. The entire thing makes my skin crawl.

Even later, Bellows dramatically burns a picture of Rosemary. No, I don't know what that's about. But I just thought that I'd mention it, in case it becomes relevant later.

Madeline and that reporter have sex. He's surprised the next morning to find her asleep on the floor at the foot of the bed, which is something that we've seen her doing from time to time. He also takes a look at her Rosemary's Murder Wall.

In court, Madeline argues that feticide laws were used to protect mothers, not to punish those who wish to harm their own unborn child. The judge doesn't see it that way, which seem fair, I suppose. However, this opens the door for Madeline to get one of the two thrown out, because either the client murdered her fetus, or she murdered her child. It cannot be both, because that's physically impossible. The judge is reluctant, but grants her this.

Later, Madeline explains to Violet about the “lung float test”. It's a test that's used to determine if an infant took a breath outside of the womb or not by dropping it into water. However, as Bodie is quick to point out: it's about as reliable as dunking young women in the lake to see if they'll float or drown to determine if they're a witch or not. He also comes with good news: he has an expert witness who'll testify that the float test is junk science.

Violet and Madeline go meet the man who is... er... an aging hippie. He's literally just a tinfoil hat away from being a crackpot. However, he agrees with their assessment that the float test is a load of garbage, and should never have been used in the first place. However, before he can appear in court, he needs a... make over. Violet gets a super flaming homosexual friend of hers to help give the guy a haircut and shave, and Madeline puts him into a suit.

He testifies in court about how easy it is to get a false positive on the float test. However, the judge thinks that it's just as likely that the test was correct. He also doesn't give the prosecutor any chance to ask questions of her own, because he asked them after Madeline presented her witness. Madeline is steamed about the judge's obvious bias towards her client.

Madeline then goes to visit Rosemary's dad. He's exceptionally pleased to see her, and acts like a proud uncle about all of the work that she's been doing. Madeline then asks about reopening Rosemary's case. He tells her that he hired a PI to try and crack it open, but the guy came up with nothing. However, he feels like it's too painful for him to deal with now. Madeline understands, and leaves.

However, he changes his mind a few days later, and calls Madeline up again. They go to a storage locker where some of Rosemary's things are. While looking through a box, Madeline finds a bottle of adderall “hidden” in a sock. Mr. Lynch is surprised over this, and even more so because the prescribing doctor is Heather's dad, who was treating Mr. Lynch for... something. In short, he's not the kind of doctor who would have prescribed something like adderall to a teenager.

Madeline then goes to find Heather, who denies knowing anything about any of that.

Bodie, meanwhile, goes to pick up his detective girlfriend, who's undercover as a prostitute. After they have sex (off screen; this isn't freaking HBO), they get into a fight because Bodie wants more than just casual sex, and she's... afraid of something.

Easy goes to speak with his pastor about the case. He was in court to support Madeline, even if he was just watching the trial and not asking questions or helping to find evidence. The pastor asks why Easy is so upset by the case, and then argues: even if she did have an abortion, does she really deserve 25 years for it? He then reminds Easy of Jesus's teachings of kindness, compassion, and mercy. Their client deserves all three.

Easy goes back to the office, where he says that they need to figure out what was going through their client's mind at the time. This leads them to find her parents, who weren't at the trial, and they sure haven't visited their daughter in prison. However, they tell Madeline and Easy that they'd stopped talking with their daughter some time before she became pregnant, so they wouldn't know what her state of mind was during her pregnancy.

However, this raises some questions, because during initial interviews with their client, she said that she'd hid her pregnancy because she was ashamed of what her parents might think. This leads them to the conclusion that, not only had she had premarital sex, but it had been with a non-Muslim, white man. They ask their client who he was, but she says that they'd broken up before everything happened. She doesn't want to ruin his life, and doesn't want him to go through this.

Bodie tracks the guy down, where he works at a gun range. He refuses to testify about everything at first, and offers up his fiancee as more evidence that his life is great. However, Bodie says that he'll leak to the press about the “Muslim Babykiller's” dad, so either way, this is getting out.

He goes to testify, where he says that even though his girlfriend bought the abortion pills, she was upset over the entire thing. He flushed them down the toilet. However, much like with the expert witness earlier, the judge asks all of the questions, rather than the prosecutor. He asks if the client couldn't have bought more abortion pills later, which the boyfriend can't say either way. Despite the fact that the only reason why he flushed the first pills down the toilet was only because he had said that he wanted the baby, and that he'd wanted to be with his girlfriend. So at this point, I feel like it's pretty safe to say that it's a wanted baby.

Later, Bodie is in bed with his detective girlfriend, when he brings up the issue of them being in a relationship again via a metaphor for their client and her ex-boyfriend. This leads to how imperfect that the police department can be at times. She's so upset over the entire thing, even though she clearly knows exactly what he does for a living. She storms off in a huff.

However, she later pulls him over, and invites him back to her place. So she'd clearly missed him, and reconsidered having ended their arrangement.

Back in prison, their client says that she didn't want for her ex-boyfriend to testify, because she didn't want to ruin his life. (He said as much on the stand, that his fiancee broke up with him after this came out. Which... she sounds like a piece of shit anyway.) She keeps insisting over and over that all of this is God's way of punishing her. However, Easy then turns the tables on her religious talk. He asks her if God is punishing her... or testing her. He also mentions this phrase: The Lord works in mysterious ways. She responds by saying that they have their own saying: God knowith. This convinces her to keep on fighting.

She takes the stand on her own behalf, but, as you might imagine, the judge made up his mind over what had happened a long time ago. It doesn't do any good. After court recesses for the day, Madeline catches up with the prosecutor. Both of them know that the judge is a piece of shit who shouldn't be on the bench. Madeline asks to cut a deal, but the prosecutor refuses, saying that Madeline will go back to Chicago when this is over, but the lady still has to work with the judge.

Later, Madeline gives closing statements. However, as I keep mentioning, the judge has already made up his mind long before it got to this point. He hates the client on principal, and refuses to listen to facts. The prosecutor stands up and says that she's filing for “improper disposal of a fetus”, which is what Madeline wanted, and wants to let the client off with time served. Madeline then says that she'll push this all the way to the supreme court if she has to. The judge doesn't want to continue this nonsense with Madeline, so he agrees to the plea, and releases the client.

Finally, Madeline goes to prison, where she meets up with her former prison girlfriend. They were together for a long time, clearly, and obviously once madly in love. Or at least, their options were limited because they were in prison. Madeline tells the woman about how she's dating a man, and she really likes him. There's a lot of hand touching, and then they kiss.

#Proven Innocent #The Ravenclaw mod

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bytheangell · 6 years

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What about one with all the shadowhunters being thankful and nice to magnus after he’s lost his magic. I’m thinking some sort of raid on his loft with alcohol and cheesy movies? Thanks! And congrats on 100 followers 💓

(Read on AO3) The knock on the door was entirely unexpected, causing both Magnus and Alec to turn away from where they stood washing dishes, their entire bodies moving to face the sudden echo of noise behind them. It took Magnus a moment to process the sound - it was nearly two weeks since he went to Edom and made the deal with his father, and he hadn’t slept more than one or two hours at a time since then. Any sleep the former warlock got was plagued with nightmares: every time he closed his eyes he saw Asmodeus taking his magic, he saw himself showing up too late to stop Jace from using that arrow, and almost too late to save Alec as he bled out. He fought sleep until he nearly collapsed rather than face them again a second sooner than he had to, and his exhaustion showed in his delayed reactions.

Alec watched the slow realization on his boyfriend’s face with a worried frown, growing more concerned by the day. Magnus turned down every invitation to leave the loft and most requests for visits, only allowing Catarina to come by because he needed her to reinforce the wards he could no longer keep up himself. Alec knew Magnus felt useless and empty without his magic, as if he wasn’t himself any more, but when he couldn’t find a way to process it all he shut himself down instead. Even Alec could only do so much to help, at a loss for how to break his boyfriend out of this downward spiral. It wasn’t difficult to see that every smile was forced, every laugh just a sound he produced for Alec’s benefit. This was the first time since they got together that Magnus closed himself off to him, and it threw the entire balance of their relationship off center.

The knock sounded again, bringing them both out of their heads and back to the present.

“Expecting someone?” Magnus asked, doing his best keep the edge out of the otherwise casual question, but his shoulders tensed visibly as Alec only shook his head no.

Unplanned visitors brought the couple more anxiety than either would openly admit - neither of them was foolish enough to overlook the fact that the former High Warlock made an easy target without his magic, even though neither of them spoke about it. Alec shook his hands out over the sink to clear them of the soapy water but Magnus shook his head. “I got it,” he said, motioning for Alec to stay where he was before moving to the door.

One glance through the peephole and his hands moved easily to the locks on the door, undoing the sliding latch at the top. Alec relaxed knowing it was somebody he knew. Except it wasn’t just one somebody, but multiple somebodies - a variable crowd huddled in the hallway outside the loft, a small murmur of chatter amongst them falling silent when Magnus opened the door.

“Is it alright if we come in?” The voice belonged to Isabelle, drawing Alec out of the kitchen in curiosity. Next to her stood Simon, and a little ways behind them Jace. Clary’s absence was always noticed but never mentioned. Just another unspoken new reality they were adjusting to.

Alec’s first thought was that something was wrong - something happened at the Institute, or there was news on what happened to Lilith or Clary that night. But everyone seemed happy enough, if not slightly hesitant.

“What’s all this?” Magnus asked, eyebrow raised at the bags in their hands.

“Movies!” Simon says cheerfully.

“And drinks. The good kind. Looks like you’ve been burning through your own supply pretty fast lately.” Isabelle gave him a wink but the implication of concern was there - he spent a lot of the past two weeks drinking, much more than his new mortal tolerance would allow.

Magnus gave Alec a look but Alec only shrugged as the trio made their way into the loft, towards the sofa. He was just as clueless as he was.

“And you didn’t ask to come over because…” Alec said, eyebrow raised as he waited for an explanation.

“Because you’d say no,” Izzy replied knowingly. “And if you aren’t going to leave the Loft, then we figured we’d have to bring some of the outside world into you instead.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Isabelle, but I really don’t think this is necessary.” Magnus said, and though there was a small smile on his face Alec could tell it didn’t belong there. Magnus sounded like he wanted to argue but was simply too tired to do so. He wondered if the others could see it, too.

It was Jace who finally spoke up in the unsure silence that followed, still standing halfway between the sofa and the door as if he wasn’t sure if he should stay or slip out before anyone would notice. He was still uncomfortable around Magnus, refusing to relinquish his own feeling of guilt over the deal he made to free him from Lilith. He barely met the warlock’s eyes as he spoke. “Maryse told me what helped her the most these past weeks was that we didn’t let her hide away, even when she thought that was what she needed most. She said that she was wrong - we always need other people, even when we don’t realize it.”

“Especially when we don’t realize it.” Izabelle added.

Magnus looked from face to face, taking in not only their concern but also their love, the support behind the simple display too touching for him to turn them away now. Alec remained tense, as if sensing the potential for all of this to backfire at any moment.

“In that case,” Magnus drew the words out, as if still deciding even as he spoke whether he was truly up for agreeing to all of this. “I suppose I should dust off a few more glasses.” There were two out already, for himself and Alec, and he turned to grab three more from the cabinet in the kitchen.

And just like that, the energy in the room shifted. Everyone relaxed, Isabelle moved to open the first bottle of liquor while Simon popped Star Wars into the DVD player and Jace brought several bags of popcorn over to the microwave. The evening started off quiet, with everyone testing boundaries and feeling out the mood, but by the end they were laughing and joking, with Jace occasionally throwing a piece of popcorn at Alec for almost falling asleep, or Simon having to explain something for the 4th time before he realized that Izzy knew exactly what was going on and was only asking to mess with him. Even Magnus laughed at that, and Alec was pleased to hear that it sounded more genuine than anything else that day, even that whole week, and practically beamed when he saw his boyfriend’s shoulders move up and down with the sound, the tension from before faded entirely.

When the credits rolled and he gathered the empty glasses to walk over to the sink, Jace followed close behind, making sure they were alone before speaking.

“Look, I’m sorry if this felt like an ambush. Izzy insisted, and Simon just blindly agrees to anything she says, and-”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Magnus said, placing the glasses down gently on the countertop, one by one. “You were right before. I didn’t realize that I needed this, but… I did. Thank you.”

Jace shook his head. “No, thank you. For everything you did for us. For me. I know there’s nothing I can ever do to truly repay that, but this will have to be a start.”

A look of mutual understanding passed between them, the moment broken only when Alec stepped into the kitchen, eyes darting from his boyfriend to his parabatai. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“Not at all, Alexander,” Magnus replied, a smile falling easily into place. “I was just telling Jace that we should do this more often… if that’s alright with you?”

Alec nodded eagerly. “It was fun! And maybe now Simon will finally stop harassing us about Star Wars now that we finally watched it.” He added under his breath.

“Oh, Young Padawan, you have much to learn. There are 5 more movies in the series, you’re far from done with the full experience.” Simon called in from the sofa. Alec sighed - Vampire hearing, right.

Magnus laughed at the disgruntled look on Alec’s face, and Alec knew in that moment that he would watch 500 more Star Wars movies if it meant bringing this side of Magnus back out into the world again.

#Malec #shadowhunters #Magnus Bane #Alec Lightwood #simon lewis #isabelle lightwood #jace herondale #I know Star Wars doesn't count as 'cheesy' probably but #I hope this fits the prompt and what you were looking for! <3 #I let it get away from me at the start there but I ended up with some unexpected feels that I wanted to play with #sorry it took me 700 years to answer this one #and it is also 5 am and I haven't slept yet so sorry if this is total garbage and I won't realize until I wake up and re-read it jfklsafjlsk #elle writes a few deadbeat lines #ask rune #anon glamour activated

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collateralfiction · 5 years

Text

Third Person Perspective

It was one of those days again where Mrs. Bank was preparing to head in to meet with her husband again. This time around, it would be strictly her and Detective Jason arriving today, minus her own daughter. She’d given Rayne a chance to relax for a bit because she knew that these meetings were becoming tiresome. The only good that seemed to come out of these strenuous meetings was the fact that Mr. Banks finally agreed to use Adrian as the main suspect. Although Rayne didn’t know his true intentions with visiting her sister that day, she knew something was wrong because soon after, Bailey didn’t want to talk about the encounter at all with her. Besides, even Ryan had his own intuition that it’s Adrian; it was all about proving it. Grabbing a water bottle from her stainless steel fridge, she sat it aside on the counter and quickly went upstairs to grab her bag of the day. She’d more than likely be gone all day long and with Rayne still in bed sleep, she was frightful of having her here alone.

Luckily for her, Chance had offered to stay behind and watch over Rayne just in case and to ensure protection fully, they were able to get a few of Mr. Banks old security members who were trustworthy and proved they were loyal countless times to surround the perimeter of the house and to also make sure that the two civilians in the house were alright. Just as Mrs. Banks came down from the staircase, her doorbell rung and instantly she thought of it to be Chance. But still, she looked at one of the monitor screens that were all over her house and sighed in relief upon noticing that it was in fact him. She dashed to the door in her comfy UGG loafers, pulling the heavy wooden door back.

“Chance!” she smiled, enveloping him in a hug. With how much Chance has been apart of Bailey’s life is the equivalent of how much he’s been apart of the parents and Rayne’s life. They pretty much look at him as apart of the family and have for a very long time. Chance had yet to tell Mama what he saw yesterday night in Dave and Buster’s, one main reason being that Mama Banks wasn’t in the city. If Chance could, he would have been delivered the news but now is the perfect time and with this piece of information, it just might put them one step closer or at least he hopes so.

Chance was utterly confused at seeing this mysterious man beside Bailey and he couldn’t quite grasp who it was and what was his importance. It definitely threw him off and it made such matters even more difficult with a new name that he has never heard before in his life; Kennedy. Who the hell is Kennedy? It definitely caught him off guard to the point where he wanted to speak up on it but the look in Bailey’s eyes told him otherwise or was it Kennedy’s? This was the bullshit Chance had to deal with last night. “Hey, mama,” Chance smiled back, greeting her with a tight hug. “How you been?”

“Fine, fine,” Mrs. Banks waved off. Regardless if Bailey was here or not, that couldn’t stop Mrs. Banks from her life because she still had to be around for Rayne and show the same amount of attention to her as before. She stepped aside so he could come in and in one hand, he held a bag full of snacks because Mrs. Banks is usually a health guru but times like this called for a fatty snack. “Rayne is upstairs sleeping still so she won’t be a bother much. Uh, I left a couple of twenties on the table in case you guys want to order out. You know the routine,” she laughed lightly.

“Cool,” he nodded. “You think I can talk to you for a second before you leave?” he asked, adjusting his L.A. Dodgers hat.

“Sure, sweetheart,” she said over her shoulder. The two of them both walked into the kitchen and while Mama Banks went to finishing off the home cooked meal she made especially for her husband, Chance took a seat on the mahogany colored stool, attempting to find the right approach to this situation.

It was better to be blunt than stall, he thought. “I saw Bailey last night,” The knife that she was using to cut the chicken fell out of her hands and slid down the marble counter until it came to a halt. There was no way she heard correctly. Spinning on the soles of her feet, she stared at Chance with a raised eyebrow. Clearing his throat, he went to further explain his statement before Mrs. Banks jumped to any conclusion and this ended up backfiring on him. “A few of my boys and I had went to Dave and Buster’s last night. I don’t know when and where she came from, but like she ran up on me and caught me by surprise, you know? I was shocked as hell, so I pulled her to the side and asked her what was going on. She totally dodged all my questions and repeatedly stated that she was okay and she’s fine but that just tells me the complete opposite,” he blurted.

Mrs. Banks stared with a very puzzled facial expression. “Was she alone?” Was the first and only question on her mind at the moment. If Bailey was out and about, why wouldn’t she come home freely?

“That’s where things get messy. I think she was on a date,”

Mrs. Banks was definitely perplexed. “A date? Are you sure?!”

“To be honest, I’m not. But, she was with somebody and they left out together,” This was just new information that caught her by surprise and the worst case scenarios began to invade her mind fiercely.

“Willingly?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Like, she refused to go!” Chance’s frustrations with Bailey’s behavior was very noticeable. There had to be a strong reason as to why she didn’t want to leave with Chance. Ultimately, it would be a reason neither Chance or her mother would understand and that just might infuriate them even more. “She left with him,”

“And who was this him? Did you catch a name?”

“No, I can describe him for you but I ain’t catch a name. However, Bailey was going by the name Kennedy,” Now that was when things were starting to make her confused and red flags were being waved around in her head. Why would she possibly change her name? In Mrs. Bank mind that only meant one thing and that was the worse case scenario in her head. It was only supposed to be Mrs. Banks making an appearance today but with Chance’s latest revelation, this might put a change in the game. He just might have to come, and not only might he have to come, this might throw off everything in their mind and distract them from their actual target, Adrian, and actually cause them to question Lonnie, who they are not familiar with yet and it would take way longer just to find out who he actually is.

“Change of plans,” Mrs. B announced. “I’m going to wake up Rayne and we’re all going down there together,” she threw out as she went to go get her daughter. Chance sighed, placing his head in his hands. It really fucked with him in knowing that Bailey was right in front of his face and she had no motivation at all to leave. Chance didn’t know who she was with and it was literally frying his mind to come up with a possible name. He knew that Mr. Banks had Ryan and Xavier working on this thing too and he had wondered if he should have said something to them but decided against it.

It’ll eventually get to them, just by knowing how tight of a circle Mr. Banks keeps with everyone involved. “Alright,” he mumbled. He didn’t know what to expect from this, but it will certainly be eventful. He’s known Bailey’s dad for quite some time, way before he was incarcerated and he’s a tough guy to crack. The first time Bailey brought Chance around to informally meet her pops, it seemed as if Mr. Banks was getting ready to square up and knock Chance out. The first thing that came out of his mouth was; do you take an interest in my daughter? There’s no denying that Bailey is gorgeous but not every female friend Chance encounters does he want to fuck or date. Why can’t he just have a normal friend of the opposite sex? If Bailey didn’t see him in that light, he wouldn’t either. It was pointless.

“Ma, calm down. I barely have my sneakers on and you’re pushing me down the steps!” Rayne snapped, clearly aggravated by her mom’s sudden behavior. Rayne huffed, flopping down on the floor to properly put on her favorite pair of sneakers. Her mom didn’t seem fazed by her irate behavior because ever since Bailey’s been gone, that’s her way of rebelling. At first, it wasn’t such a big deal to her mother because she too understood her daughter’s frustration but just because her daughter is missing in action, she will not let her younger one disrespect her. It just won’t happen on her watch and if she has to, she’ll bring it to her father’s attention who will make sure she understands. “Now can you explain everything again?”

“On the car ride there,” her mother stated, quickly calling up Detective Jason with new information that’ll be useful for today. The three of them left the premises of the Banks family, climbing into the all black Escalade that was originally just waiting for Mrs. Banks. With everyone finally situated in the car, the engine was started, and their personal driver drove off down the isolated roads with ease. It would take at least an hour and half to arrive at the state prison and during that time, Chance explained everything in great detail one more to so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. Rayne sat pissed at what was revealed, believing her sister was stupid for not walking away with the right person. But despite her attitude towards it, she couldn’t do much but just wait it out like everyone else.

“Jason,” Mrs. Banks called out upon meeting him in the same make shift conference room quite frequently. He stood, reaching to hug her and Rayne and gave Chance a handshake. Mr. Banks usually made his entrance fifteen to twenty minutes after they were all settled but nonetheless, they all waited, sitting in pure silence besides Mama Banks and Detective Jason’s sporadic conversation. A little after they all settled, the only entrance and exit door opened, revealing two men. One, an officer and Mr. Banks trailing behind. Mr. Banks was definitely surprised to see not just his wife but his daughter and Chance as well as he went around greeting everyone. He immediately knew something must have went wrong if everyone showed up.

“What happened?” he asked sternly, locking his hands together.

Mrs. Banks decided to speak on what Chance had told her, just to save Chance if Mr. Banks possibly gets upset. “Good and bad news. Good news, Chance saw Bailey last night,” Mr. Banks face didn’t move a muscle. If his daughter was seen, why isn’t she in front of his face? “Bad news, she was with someone,”

“Someone like who?” he questioned.

“We don’t have a name right now, hunny,” Mrs. Banks spoke softly, hopeful that her tone will only lessen the blow to hearing such a thing. “Right now, there’s only a description of him,”

“What is it?” he gritted.

“The nigga is tall, muscular build, light skin…” Chance continued to be descriptive as possible, so Mr. Banks had a great mental picture. Mr. Banks continued to stare at Chance and once he finished talking, he still remained quiet. He wanted to be joyous that his daughter was seen somewhere but that was irrelevant if his daughter wasn’t in front of him. “I really don’t know why she was out with him to begin with. It appeared to be a date,”

“Is that what she called it?” he asked bitterly.

“Nah, but-“ Chance began but Mr. Banks interrupted him before he could say anymore.

“So, it wasn’t a date,” he declared sternly. If his daughter didn’t call it that, it definitely isn’t one and not only that, she’s technically missing and the last thing on her mind is dating. Or is it? “So, you saw her and what happened exactly?” he questioned again, attempting to really clarify what was being told to him because for some reason, it seemed hard for him to believe.

“She didn’t want to leave,” That seemed to be the only important message Chance got out of his encounter with Bailey. Ever since Bailey transferred to NYU, he’s always known her to be truthful and obvious. You would easily know when something is wrong with her because she shows it; whether intentional or unintentional. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not she trulywanted to leave or she was just acting as if she rather stay due to whatever fear was put in her. Either way, he didn’t see any good in any of this madness. If it was the former, Bailey would be stupid for wanting to stay but if it was the latter, then he felt truly sad for her. “She said to tell everyone she was alright, but I doubt that’s the case,”

“Agreed,” Mr. Banks mumbled, nodding his head.

“Oh, and her name is Kennedy, at least that’s what the guy called her,” Now, Mr. Banks sat completely perplexed. A new name would only mean one thing and that meant a new identity. Why would someone need a new start? Well, if they’re kidnapped they would; that’s for sure. But for Bailey, not Kennedy, to be walking around as if she’s not was a question they all had in mind.

“I don’t like the sound of any of this shit,” Mr. Banks said, clenching his jaw involuntarily. “My daughter doesn’t want to leave wherever the fuck she at? Fuck the consequences, if she home, she’s fine!” he yelled, becoming irate. On the one thing his daughter chooses to be stubborn on, it’s her own kidnapping. There had to be more to the puzzle that Mr. Banks just wasn’t picking up on. “You got any news, Jason?”

“Actually, I do,” he stated with confidence. “This Adrian fellow you’ve guys been talking about I found out some interesting information regarding him. As you know, he was involved with Ryan but Ryan claims to know only certain information about him or at least, what he knows. But besides that, he has stated that there is some type of vendetta he’s holding against Ryan and Bailey was the target after all of that,” Mr. Banks nodded, remembering Ryan’s words a while back. “Adrian has a record. Not too steep, surprisingly, but a record nonetheless. He was just released from the state about a year ago, but he’s been remaining low key,”

“Did he follow up with any of his parole officers?” Mr. Banks asked.

“For the first three months that were required. That was it,”

“Anything after that?” he questioned with a follow up question.

“No involvement with the law. The location of where he listed his residence, he actually doesn’t live there. He’s renting fake space,” He put in simple terms.

“Any relatives out in New York?”

“Mother, sister and nephew,”

“No father?” Mrs. Banks spoke up for the first time in a while.

“Uh, of course. But there is no visible communication; no apparent reason either,”

“And what about this sister of his?”

“She has the quite the history. Her son had been kidnapped,”

Everybody looked in the direction of the detective, their faces showing complete interest and giving their undivided attention. “How?”

“It’s uncertain right now but for sure the child was in the father’s possession,” Little did they know the father was the one on the date with Bailey. They would soon though. They were so close but yet so far away. “I’m going to do a background check on him as well. Anybody is a possible contender and could potentially have a part in this. And while I’m at it, I’ll also start looking for people with those descriptions you gave of, Chance,” Everyone nodded but Mr. Banks mind was still running with theories and possibilities.

“Do me a favor. Get in contact with his mom,” Mr. Banks declared. “Don’t make it obvious but don’t let her get away without finding out something,” Detective Jason nodded. Lucky for the Banks clan, he had already managed to get information and locations on where the mother currently resides. From what he’s read, she’s unemployed but benefiting off of real good income that is supplied by her ex-husband and she’s known to be a socialite among the crowd of New Jersey. It would be nothing to talk to her since she seems to be nosy in the first place.

“Done,” What Mr. Banks didn’t know is that as soon as the word done was said, Detective Jason immediately headed in the direction of the address he was giving to by a fellow peer, entering into Camden, New Jersey. He neatly maneuvered around the driveway and parked behind a feminine looking baby blue BMW. He then looked up at the decent size home and nodded. She’s probably the only one who lives there, and it would make sense to live in less space. Fixing his attire with ease, he began to approach the cobblestone door and pressed the dark colored doorbell.

Mrs. Andrews, taking on the last name of her ex-husband, was alternating between watching a rerun of the Real Housewives of Atlanta and trying to complete Fifty Shades Darker. She was having a relaxing day thus far with minimal contact from the outside world. Today, she actually liked it that way. The sudden ringing of her doorbell didn’t faze her or made her jump, but she did question who that could be. Maybe it was G, her ex-husband. But when he usually stops by, he comes straight in because he currently still lives here. Dropping her book on the glass table, Adrian and Justine’s mother walked towards the main foyer, noticing a shadow standing on the opposite side. He was tucked in a nice crème suit. Hmm, Mrs. Andrews hummed to herself.

She unlocked the door before pulling it open to reveal the person clearer. Before she had a chance to open her mouth, he beat her to the punch and smiled while talking. “Hi there. My name is Detective Jason and I have a few questions concerning your children or more so child, Adrian,” Mrs. Andrews instinctively grew defensive because she wasn’t sure what the purpose of this man was. Although Mrs. Andrews doesn’t have the best relationship with her son or daughter, that didn’t mean she would totally neglect them. She’ll try time and time again regardless and in this instance of the illegal things Adrian decides to do every once in a while, she was going to do her best in covering it up.

“Oh, I see,” she nodded, leaning against the doorframe. “As in right now?”

“Presumably,” he said, taking a glimpse inside her lavish house.

“Sure,” She opened the door wider and stepped out of the way, allowing him entrance. The trail of cologne swept past her nostrils as he made his ascent across the threshold. Mrs. Andrews peaked outside the door and stared at his car. He could do better, she thought. Closing the door behind her, she led him in the direction of the kitchen, not bothering to offer him anything to drink or eat. Why feed someone something when they’re only using you to benefit for themselves? However, that didn’t stop Mrs. Andrews from heating up last night’s lasagna and grabbing a cold bottle of water. “So,” she went on, staring at him with a blank expression. “How can I help you?”

“Questions concerning your son, Adrian. How is he?” Mrs. Andrew gave him the side eye, knowing that he was going to do this reverse psychology type of thing. She’s been around this way too long to know what not to do and what not to say. It’s common sense but common sense is rare.

She gave him a tight smile. “He’s fine… better,” she elaborated.

“He was just released a year ago from state prison, correct?” he said.

“I’m pretty sure since you claim to be a detective, you would already know that. So, questioning me would be trivial,” she said casually, shocking the hell out of him. He was definitely taken aback but masked it well.

“The need of clarification is very important,” Detective Jason said. He could tell this wouldn’t be an easy one so whatever he asked would have to be more complex in order for her to lack a witty comeback as such. “And FYI, I need your cooperation,” Mrs. Andrews smirked, nodding her head in the process.

“Of course,”

Adrian

There was only one thing I felt the need to do before hopping my ass on my private jet. Ever since the bombing incident, I stuck to using rentals and hiring a personal driver to chauffeur me around so the chances of anyone catching me slip is low; especially being that it was Ryan that did it. Who else could it have been? It had to be at least two hours after everyone had departed for T&C and although everyone fought me on wanting to come along, I couldn’t just yet. I’d be there anyway, just not leaving the same time as them. “Right here is fine,” I spoke up, unlocking the door myself. I didn’t wait to see whether or not he verbally responded back because it didn’t matter; he knew what the fuck his job consisted of. Bypassing the multiple doormen, I traveled up the stairwell towards the seventh floor.

I dug into the front pocket of my True Religion jeans, pulling out a key. I inserted it into the lock and turned the key to the right, hearing it unlock without a hassle. I opened the door wider and took note of all the lights that were currently off, but a reflection of the television was made clear for me to see. I know for a fact this bitch is here. Shaking my head, I treaded towards the kitchen, flicking the closest light switch on. I grabbed the largest pot I could find and filled it with ice cold water. While the water ran into the pot, I made my way towards the bedrooms in the back, pulling each open as I went.

In the master bedroom laid Elsa and a nigga I did not know. Well, damn. It takes her no time to jump on the next dick. Chuckling lightly, I returned back to the kitchen with the pot filled of ice cold water. Niggas was ‘bout to do the ALS challenge, shit. Treading slowly towards the bedroom, I made sure not an ounce of water was wasted on the way there. Elsa was looking too fucking comfortable right now as if she had the perfect life she found on her own when it was in fact me, who supplied her with it. This crib she up in, I paid the rent for. Half the shit in her closet is with my money but I’m not sleep.

“You were thirsty for me ‘bout a month ago. Here’s some water for you and your nigga,” I muttered, making sure to dump the cold water on her and his frame. With quick reflexes, both of them jumped up with yelps coming from their mouth as they stared around like deer caught in headlights while they panted heavily. An accomplished grin appeared on my face. I turned on the lamp, noticing that both of them were trying to make out my figure. “What a pleasant surprise,” I said, taking a seat in the corner of the room where a comfortable chair was located.

“Adrian!?” Elsa shouted, ridding the water off of her face with her hand. The nigga that was lying right beside her seemed to tense, almost as if he was gon’ square up against me.

“Stay the fuck still, nigga. I don’t know you, you don’t know me. Don’t say shit, won’t be shit, alright?” I said, holding the gun to his eye level. Looking in the direction of Elsa, I motioned for her to get up. She looked quite fearful and that’s exactly what I want. But being that she knows better, she threw the covers off of her damp body and slowly crawled out of the bed. “Come here,” I instructed, pushing her in front of me. She stumbled before catching her footing.

“Adrian, I-I can explain,” she stuttered.

“Oh, so you have something you need to confess to me, huh?” I chuckled bitterly. She was no good from the fucking start. I knew there was a reason why I wouldn’t commit to her and not only that, I should have stuck to my gut instincts and never allowed this bitch into my crib.

“What? No,” she quickly backpedaled.

“Too late,” I gritted, grabbing a hand full of her hair. “I should make you give me head. Your mouth was always great. Any fucking way, tell me how you know ‘bout Bailey’s pops? No need to lie, I already know the truth. I just need to hear it from your mouth,” I didn’t know but she’d never know that, and she wouldn’t dare question how truthful I was either.

She was definitely trembling and stalling over this shit. The sooner she let me know, the quicker I could be out. I didn’t have any set ideas in what I could do to her after any of this is out in the open, but I’ll find someone to handle that shit. I got too much on my plate as is and Elsa is the least important factor. “Y-your mother,” she cried. I stared at her in confusion; what the fuck my mother got to do with anything? I barely talk to the bitch; she shouldn’t be a factor. I waited for her to elaborate. “I ran into her at Whole Foods. I asked if we could talk and she agreed to do lunch with me,” My eyes closed momentarily as my mind drifted off to Austin’s homecoming.

I didn’t even meet your mother, her words echoed throughout my mind. She was the most interested in meeting my mom and she was trying to the whole night and I stopped that completely. Now, when I’m not around she had the perfect opportunity and ran with it. Fuck! “For what?!” I barked.

“I-I wanted to get to know her,” she muttered.

“And by doing that, what the fuck did y’all talk about?”

“You the whole time,” she said as tears continued to fall down her face. “Your mother was the one to bring up Bailey to me. She thought that we were in a polygamous relationship and wanted answers,”

“And?” I asked, urging for her to tell me what I really wanted to know. If she was taking this in the direction I was thinking of, there would be more than one person I would be cutting off permanently. There’s just been too much fuckery in opening up old wounds.

“She told me about Bailey. Well, I asked and she told,”

“So what else do you know!?” I asked harshly, gripping her forearm.

“That’s all, Adrian! That’s all she told me about her. That’s all she would,” Clenching my jaw, I ran through a list of possibilities that my mother could have went to in order to get such information. Not many people knew; hell, it was just the guys and I that did and most of them my mom stayed away from. But that’s beside the point. If it came to the point where my mother was talking to one of my boys’, I would have been heard about it. I needed to talk to my mother but the question of whether she would cooperate with me or not would be a different story. She would only open her mouth if it benefited her. And for the mere fact that I hadn’t talked to her in a minute would only give her ammunition to hold things from me. But who could my mother possibly be talking to?

It was always one thing after the other of this never ending bullshit.

Third Person Perspective

“Stay in the room, alright?” Ryan’s voice was deep, showing off how stern he was currently being. Time was cutting close and he had no time to fuck around. As much work he thought he was putting in was doing some good, he wasn’t where he needed to be, and Mr. Banks let him know that whenever he had the chance to meet up with him or when his lawyer was given the chance to give Ryan that very message. Jessie stared back at the soon to be father of her unborn child. The fact that she had to be secluded away from everyone else, almost as if she was to remain a secret, did in fact hurt her feelings. Through all the good Jessie has done for him and now he can’t even reciprocate the same love? That was bullshit.

“And do what? Watch T.V. till I die of boredom? Why can’t I go outside and sit on the couch? I won’t be a bother,” she attempted to plead.

Ryan knew better than to allow Jessie to step out, only because he knew that it would cause great confrontation from a certain someone. “Naw, stay put. I’ll check up on you periodically, alright?” Jessie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning the other way from his face. It was just like him to do this shit. She honestly didn’t see how Bailey could put up with him for such a long time and with that immediate thought, she began to feel guilty, especially with the circumstance Bailey’s in. Jessie isn’t completely innocent, but Ryan is definitely at fault for allowing things to progress the way they did. “Don’t be like that. You know the deal,” Ryan sighed, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Jessie is not what he wants at all. Now, he’s potentially stuck with her for at least eighteen years and the idea of him being a father first off scared him. However, what he does want isn’t even near him and he knows that there is a low possibility of Bailey and him reuniting even if she did come back. “Who was you talking to back there?” Xavier asked, propping his Converse clad feet up on the table in front of him. Ryan sighed harshly, loathing the fact that Xavier seems to be here every fucking day. Xavier doesn’t have to be here as much as he is but knowing that it bothers Ryan, he’ll do it just to irritate him even more. It works so why not continue?

“Nigga, none ya fucking business. You ain’t paying the phone bill, damn,” Ryan said, plopping down in his lazy boy.

“Why? You need help? You slackin’?” Xavier questioned, just to get under his skin. Ryan sucked his teeth and ignored Xavier, but Xavier had something on his mind still. “So, you got to do your car bombing and shit, now what?” Xavier’s purpose was to really look over Ryan and make sure that he’s doing what he’s supposed to. If Ryan makes a mistake, it’s on him. Xavier can tell him otherwise on something not to do but won’t enforce it; because at the end of the day, Xavier will do as he pleases, and Ryan will do the same. One has a better method and that method shall prevail.

“Well, I just wanted to see if they would react and what it would be,” Stupid, Xavier thought.

“And?”

“Nothing has happened,”

Xavier began to chuckle. “Know why? These niggas ain’t threatened,” Ryan attempting to do something out of his element was an amateur doing a professional’s job. It was ludicrous. “They’re not going to retaliate off of that. Trust, if they were, they would have done something by then,”

Ryan’s plan for the car bombing was to simply bomb it and see what would be the reaction of that. If it wasn’t obvious before but this is a whole different ball game than being a hit man. You would think Ryan would connect it somehow and make it work, but it’s been a struggle and the only way something will happen that’ll push these two forward is by Xavier doing most of the heavy work. That’s exactly why Mr. Banks called on Xavier to get the job done. Mr. Banks could no longer trust Ryan. If this was all up to Xavier, he would simply and easily use what resources he knows and meet the nigga head on. What’s with all this procrastinating Ryan does, he thought. That shit isn’t working, and it doesn’t seem like he has any motivation to change it either.

“You’on know these niggas,”

“You worked with the nigga and you still can’t catch him,” Xavier retorted with a smug look.

“Shut the fuck up,” Ryan snapped. It’ll only be a matter of time before these two go blow for blow with one another. Before Ryan had the chance to say something smart back, the doorbell had rung. He stood up and trailed towards the front of the house. Ryan had his good friend Lonnie swinging by. Usually, they would meet up at the club or at a bar and go out for a round of drinks, but Lonnie immediately put that to an end when he said being in public was the last place he wanted to be. Lonnie and Ryan knew each other from way back. They ran in the same circle for a few years before actually speaking to one another one day. Turned out they had more similarities than what they thought initially, since they both came from different backgrounds. “Aye!” Ryan expressed, opening the door but the smile on his face dropped soon upon noticing the bruises along his friends’ face. “Damn, who fucked you up?” he questioned bluntly.

He stepped aside, allowing him entrance. “Got into a fight with my baby mama brother,” he grumbled, still bitter about what transpired.

“Damn, bruh,” Ryan mumbled. Ryan doesn’t know much about Lonnie and his child because it wasn’t a topic they spoke on often for obvious reasons. They rather leave that in the past where it belongs. However, Ryan does know what connection or lack of, Lonnie shares with Adrian. You would think that would be of some use to Ryan but since Lonnie doesn’t share any sort of friendship with Adrian, he wouldn’t know shit. “What exactly happened?”

“Shit, give me a beer and I’ll tell you everything,” Lonnie said, staring down at his phone that cracked during the scuffle.

“Got you. Just to let you know, I got company over here. Bailey’s cousin,” Lonnie nodded, not really having a clear account of Bailey. The name was familiar but he’s not too familiar with her face. Matter fact, the pair have never met. Bailey wasn’t interested in getting to know a majority of Ryan’s friends to begin with and she was way too busy with college during her first two years to socialize. However, Lonnie has met Kennedy instead.

“Cool,” After grabbing the three beers, Ryan introduced Xavier to Lonnie and vice versa. Xavier has never heard of this nigga but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be on his toes around him. The first thing he noticed with this nigga was the bruises on his face so that immediately told him that he was a rough character or else he wouldn’t be getting involved in fights.

“So, what’s been going on with you? I haven’t heard much from you in a minute,”

“Shit, I’ve been fucking with this chick for a while now. Not even something long term. Just for the moment type shit,” Lonnie muttered, dragging his hand over his face. Lonnie had the tendency to treat women below their worth but with Kennedy, he tried to do the opposite. He truly had nothing bad to say about her. She was genuinely a good girl, but his attitude and quick impulse did get in the way and maybe it was for the best of things. “I’ve took her out on dates and shit for about a straight month. Spent more money on her than I have on myself in a day alone. Yesterday night, I take her to Dave and Buster’s. I’m already in a shitty mood ‘cause of a deal that didn’t happen properly,” Yeah, Lonnie fucked with drugs. It was a quick scheme that made even quicker money. Who wouldn’t join? “My attitude really did reflect my behavior ‘cause I guess I was lashing out on her and she wasn’t feeling that,”

Ryan and Xavier both shook their heads, knowing that, that wasn’t anyway to act towards a girl especially if you were trying to get some pussy. “Shit, in my mind state, I was thinking sex would cure all issues. Naw, bruh. She wasn’t having that and made it seem like I was trying to rape her,” Xavier eyes widened, already growing a strong distaste for this one. Although Xavier could be a little rough around the edges, he would never push himself up on a female. It was never that serious.

Ryan on the other hand sat perplexed, not really sure how to respond to something like that. He didn’t think Lonnie would stoop that low with anybody. “Damn,” Ryan cursed.

“You apologized?” Xavier spoke up after clearing his throat.

“Haven’t had the chance. But the funny thing is, she ain’t answering any of my calls. Her phone is deactivated,” Lonnie gritted, anger seeping through his words. Lonnie might not have graduated with honors, but he has basic knowledge that no one can go wrong with. He explained how only a few hours later did Adrian come and confront him on a supposed rape and how he had this belief that Adrian was connected to Kennedy and this was all a set up and how the scuffle ensued. Lonnie left out the tidbit of Justine, but he saw nothing wrong in calling Justine his bitch because she’d always be his one way or another.

“Wait, what’s ol’ girl’s name?” Xavier asked. Ryan might not have picked up on anything, but Xavier sure did. This is something that’ll probably always separate and distinguish the two.

“Kennedy,” Lonnie said. The last time Xavier had spoken to his uncle was nearly a week back and they were finally moving along with the idea of Adrian being the main suspect now that they ruled out every other possibility and with Xavier being informed on Adrian’s ties to Lonnie, it definitely rose suspicion. Since Xavier hasn’t heard from him in seven days, anything could have changed, and new factors could have been added. Although this Kennedy chick Lonnie speaks of could potentially be irrelevant, it was someone in close ties to Adrian which could potentially lead them in the direction of Bailey.

Xavier simply nodded, leaving it at that. He pulled out his phone and toyed with it a bit before heading into his notes section. Since Ryan seemed oblivious to it all, it only made sense that Xavier move on his own terms. Fuck Ryan. Xavier captured a photo of Lonnie while the two fuck boys conversed. Xavier slipped away and headed towards the bathroom in the back and just as he was about to open the door, the door opened and revealed a girl a bit taller than Bailey. She looked shocked to see Xavier standing before her and immediately backed up. This was their first encounter, and this automatically told Xavier who she is. “Jessie,” he smirked, his eyes lowering to her stomach that was noticeable. He shook his head. “You sure Ryan the father?”

Bailey

“It’s so fucking hot!” Justine muttered, peeling her light pink cardigan off her body. The weather wasn’t even that bad, she just wanted to complain. The flight was a good four hours long, including a small delay but it wasn’t as bad as most flights I’ve been on. But since I took a nap on the flight, I wasn’t as tired as most and wanted to go out on the town and see what the people were like. So, Justine, Brian and August agreed to go along with as we ventured off into Cockburn Town which was the capital. Austin was too tired to keep up with us, so Justin and Caiden agreed to say back; truth is, they didn’t want to go out to begin with. But after a few hours socializing with the locals, we decided to head back to our Villa in Providenciales where we would be staying for however long.

“It’s really not,” August grumbled, taking the key out for our conjoined rooms. The Villa was absolutely impeccable. All rooms were different but held a certain theme, especially with the color scheme.

“You used to the southern hot weather, that’s why,” she said. I shook my head and followed into the Villa with a few bags in my hold. The idea of actually sleeping in my bed seemed amazing now that I had run out of energy. I trudged towards my room in the back and kicked the door open with my foot. The lights were turned off, but I thought nothing of it as I dropped the things I purchased onto the closest chair by memorization. Slipping out of my sandals, I traveled towards the large, fluffy bed. I would have made it there in a perfect stride if someone’s sneakers weren’t in my way.

“Fuck,” I cursed. I stared at the sneakers, only then realizing that it was Adrian’s. I quickly walked around the bed and towards the lamp, tugging on the string to light the room. “Adrian!” I squealed, jumping on the bed besides him. In true Adrian fashion, he groaned and turned over on his side. “Nuh uh. Wake that ass up! When’d you get in?” I grinned, moving so I could face him directly.

“No ‘hi, Adrian. How are you’?” he questioned sarcastically, running his hand down his face. He had no new bruises so that meant he wasn’t fighting. Good.

“We’ll get to that later,” I giggled.

“I came in ‘bout thirty minutes ago and knocked,”

“In my room?” I smirked.

“Naw, baby girl. This is myroom. We come here often so we got our own private section. They purposely put you in my room,” The smirk that was once on my face disappeared the moment he said that while he laughed as if something was funny.

“How nice,” I huffed, seeing that Justine, who was put in ‘charge’, did this purposely.

“Very nice,” he smirked, grasping my hips and pulling me on top of him. “How you like it so far?” he questioned as I placed my hands on his chest.

“It’s better now that you’re here,” I winked.

“I bet it is. We fucking here or naw?” he questioned causing me to gasp. I hit him in the chest playfully, but I knew he was dead serious. It’ll come eventually but not this very moment. I’m ready to sleep.

“What’d you do in New York?” I asked, completely swerving his question and burying my face in the crevice of his neck. He smelled of the same Ralph Lauren cologne that day I encountered him at the warehouse. At first, it was a scent I hated instantly, only because of how he had me shook but now it was something so intoxicating and I grew to love it on him. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, placing a kiss along his jawline.

“Not right now,” he said, pulling me closer. “I don’t want to rain on your parade like this,” I frowned and pushed back a bit, not amused at how secretive he just became.

“Alright,” I said, sliding off his lap and getting out of the massive bed. The bed shifted, and I heard him suck his teeth clearly before he evacuated the room. I don’t think I said or did anything wrong but if he chooses to remain mum on things - fine. I just hope it doesn’t involve me if that’s the case.

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himenation · 6 years

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MONSTA X 2ND WORLDTOUR IN AMSTERDAM (LIVE REPORT) - AFAS 20.06.2018

This is a long live report containing things how I even became a fan, to the AMAAAAAZING (not) queue, setlist, live, m&g and random moments. All fan cams and fanpics are uploaded on my twitter which I linked in this post too!

I went to Monsta X’s 2nd Worldtour in Amsterdam this month! I started to get to know Monsta X during their Beautiful promotions and when I heard they would come to Europe the first time (in 2017), I was doubting whether I should go or not. I knew like 10 songs and another fan could go instead of me. It was not close anyway, so I decided to take part in the campaign for Amsterdam. For people who don’t know MMT. MMT is a fan dedicated promoter, in which you can request an artist to come to your city and if you have enough ‘makes’ (so points) they’ll talk with the artist.

Anyways, I took part in the campaign in august 2017. Uni was about to start and I kinda forgot about the lives for a while. Until it was around the DRAMARAMA period (and their first win omg!), I followed them again; so after their MBC performance, I got a text message from MMT that they’re starting to talk to MONSTA X. At this point I would give this presale code to somebody else, but I didn't know when the actual concert was supposed to be so I waited. So while I was waiting for their JEALOUSY comeback, I started to watch their shows because I was bored and I LITERALLY FELL INTO THE FANDOM (and not just the music). I loved these guys so much? They were so precious and funny. I really wanted to see them live and regretted not going to the Beautiful Tour. So for their Jealousy comeback, I even bought The Connect; I texted every time they had a show and streamed their MVs so they could win another win (and they did!) (I've only done this for BTS before). So just around the time of the MV release, they announced they would be coming to AMSTERDAM. I was so happy. Flash forward to the ticket sale: I went to uni early, had a computer; laptop and my phone ready and immediately bought 2x VIP tickets!!

After counting down the days to the concert, I was finally here. I couldn't wait to hear Destroyer and Lost In the Dream live (My fav songs of the new album). Fans were allowed to queue from 11, but no-one seemed to listen to it :’) Every standing type had to get a wristband (VIP included). So I was kinda late and arrived at 12 , but my wristband number was 139. I quickly had sushi with my sister at ICHI-e and went to Starbucks (and a grocery store) to get some food and drinks for the queue. Just when we were about to leave the restaurant, I got a message from MMT that they messed up the wristband numbers for VIP and it was now FCFS (First Come first Serve). It was also the hottest day of the week, yippie :’)

Queue The queue was one big mess... Fans were incredibly rude and mean and staff didn’t do anything about it either. Girls were screaming at the security and talking very rudely, fans saying to each other ‘shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down’ (this is an actual phrase someone was screaming behind me). The venue staff gave us WATER IN A BUCKET and it wasn't until a monsta x staff came and gave everyone bottles. I also met two very sweet fansites! They gave out free stuff and were overall very sweet! They talked a lot to us and were next to us in the queue. We also met two friends who wanted to go to their friends, but since people were rude; my sis stopped them and they were next to us. Even though we were strangers, me and my sis shared our food and drinks with them. During the queue certain people started to push fans and we told them to stop and they started to fight with us??? and basically telling us ‘are you blind’ :)) (also they thought the fansites were Korean so they were all nice to them but shitty to other people, but the fansites turned out to be Chinese so these rude koreaboos were really boo boo the fools) at around 18:00 we were allowed to go inside but everyone started pushing each other so we were really stuck and could barely breathe. Once we were inside we had to wait another 2 hours and I was so tired, but wow I was 4th row! Live I also made a big thread of Monsta X on my twitter. Fancams Fanpics Okay first of all, this group has no visual hole. THEY ARE ALL SO VISUALS I COULDNT BELIEVE MY EYES. Honestly they're so beautiful irl??????? Although I knew they were all handsome, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw IM, Kihyun, Shownu and Hyungwon DAMN.

The live was amazing, they kept playing DRAMARAMA, SHINE FOREVER and STUCK in the venue and we were so hyped! Once the live started; they all came in Swaroski Suits (they looked so expensive) singing Jealousy. The fan chants (at least in the VIP) were A M A Z I N G. AAHHH I finally saw monsta x im sobbing. They then played Be Quiet (it’s one of my fav older songs) ;; and BEAUTIFUL IN SWAROSKI SUITS GUYSSSSSS. They didn't do the jacket dance since, yeah the jackets were pretty expensive HAHAHAH. Too bad.. They then had a long MC and started with Gravity and Tropical night (still wearing the suits). After changing their clothes (some kind of harness?) they sung Crazy In love (finally a full version) and All In. The crowd really loved All In!!!!!!!! Then we had 20 minutes of solo stuff; the solo of Wonho, Minhyuk and Kihyun were my absolute favourite! It was so cute. The other solo’s were really good too!! The crowd died at Hyungwons and IMs solo though. AAAAAAAAAAAAAH AFTER SOLO they sung From Zero (Seven member version) and oh my god Wonho looked so beautiful??? This song is so cute?? I can't remember much of Because of You im sorry ;; White love was really emotional, they didn't expect the banner project (1000days with monbebe) at all and really loved it. Rollercoaster was so cute live as well, they all pretended to sit in a rollercoaster lol. After they went off stage, the destroyer MV played AND I SCREAMED SO LOUD I WAS NOT READY, NO ONE WAS READY NO ONE! LITERALLY IM DEAD. But they bloody sung LOST IN THE DREAM and I was really lost in the dream, wow....... The vocals..... wow.. Im........................... it was so beautiful live. Guys, ive heard Kihyuns iconic high note (well a lot of people shouted OOOOFFFF BUT I STILL HEARD ONE OF MY FAV SONG I! CANT! BELIEVE!). Also very random to mention but Jooheon is one hell of a good performer, he was not even nervous and the stage was HIS BITCH, his rap and his stage aura are so mind-blowing.

I always joked they should play lost in the dream and destroyer after each other to let the fans die but they really did IT! The choreo of Destroyer was so good and fitted the song. In the beginning Wonho waved and gave a finger heart though... I was never a fan of Shine Forever, but It was so nice and also doing the fan chants! Rush is a song I used to skip but ooof, it was also very nice to hear. Monsta X really enjoyed singing Special too AND YESSSSSSSS FINALLYYYYYYY TRESPASS THE WHOLE CROWD WAS SO LIT WE ALL RAPPED ALONG AND IT WAS HONESTLY ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMANCES SO FAR IDGJKDSGS. They all positioned to the Dramarama pose and yes they did Dramarama!!!! but now the concert was about to end too :( Monsta X said they love Falling, Ive heard people say they love performing Falling and yes they REALLY LOVE FALLING. My heart was so full of uwu when I saw them performing falling, I love these babies so much :’). We showed them the banners during If Only again and Wonho, Minhyuk and Kihyun were really emotional and it was so sad to see this ending :( But I was about to meet these guys as well AAAAAAHHH. I dont know if it was Minhyuk or IM but one of them took of Wonho’s shirt lol and he threw it in a crowd. Before that they also took a group pic ;; tbh I wished they did Stuck and Hero as well, but overall I really loved the setlist so much.

Meet and greet Order: Wonho - Shownu - Kihyun - Minhyuk - Hyungwon - Jooheon - IM Usually when fans meet artist, fans are the ones talking to the artist but now Monsta X was rather talking to the fans, they were so sweet and they all had the most genuine and sweetest smile ever. The M&G was unfortunately very fast and I could only say Wonho: I think he was still very sad and looked like he cried too but his hands are so soft ;; I thanked him and he nodded and gave a thumbs up lol Shownu: I knew it was his birthday in London so I told him a happy belated birthday ;; and he said thank you as well! Kihyun: ok, I may have said I love you instead of thank you AHHGHGHHGHAHAHG and yeah that was kihyuns reaction too he laughed and said thank you lol Minhyuk: He said thank you very much!! NO THANK YOUUU (while smiling so sweet) Hyungwon: Somehow he was very giggly but we both said thank you to each other!! Jooheon: We both said thank you to each other aaaaaahh IM: Since I barely had time (after hyungwon) I just told him thank you and he said the same ;; We then got a poster from the tour and the show was unforunately over :(( MMT announced a week before the concert there would be no merch so I didn't have a lightstick either so it was nice having a poster as a reminder (and the fans we got from the fansites ofc). Setlist (duration 2,5hours) 1. Jealousy 2. Be Quiet 3. Beautiful -- 4. Gravity 5. Tropical Night -- 6. Crazy in Love 7. All in -- 8. Wonho, Minhyuk, Kihyun - Neol Hada 9. Jooheon, Shownu - Versace on the Floor 10. Hyungwon, IM - Fake Love (Drake) 11. Hyungwon, IM - How long // another IM solo (not sure) -- 12. From Zero 13. Because of you 14. White Love 15. Rollercoaster -- 16. Lost in the dream -- 17. Destroyer 18. Shine forever -- 19. Rush 20. Special 21. Trespass -- 22. Dramarama *ENCORE* 23. Falling -- 24. If Only *Group pic*

Random moments - They talked a lot of Dutch such as ‘I am...’, ‘I love you’, ‘I miss you’, ‘Fries with Mayo’. IM also wanted to say Sexy but he didn’t say Sexy and Jooheon said to erase our minds LMAO KSJKD he was so embarassed - In the beginning when Kihyun was talking about Hyungwon, Hyungwon looked at him and he kinda slapped away his face (Kihyun to Hyungwon) - Just before Crazy in Love, the group was devided into two to talk with fans (one group was changing their clothes) and Jooheon was doing a weird movement with his hand and was saying AY AY AY and the fans said it too, but then the other group came (Kihyun, Shownu, Hyungwon and Minhyuk) and they all looked honestly so confused and Kihyun was like ‘AY go change your clothes now’ and then Kihyun and Hyungwon were showing off their dance moves lol - Also during the live I started as the fourth row, but people behind me kept pushing and I was suddenly 2nd row and there is a higher place for the first row so my knees kept going on that and it hurted so much lmao - Shownu, IM and Jooheon went to Beyonce the day before and talked about how amazing it was (lmao fanboying on their own concert KAJDKSFJFS) and they also said we will make it possible for them to perform there one day ;;A;; - The day of the Amsterdam concert would be 1000 days with Monbebe we would show during If Only, but since London got cut off we weren't sure whether we would hear If Only and decided to do it during White Love. - Wonho, Minhyuk and Kihyun got teary at If Only - Their reactions to White love were so sweet :(( - Our group hyped up every member whenever they were close to us. Hyungwon, Kihyun and Wonho noticed us a lot lol. Hyungwon waved at us too ;; - During FALLING Kihyun was drinking water and then he came to our side and you could see in his face he was about to do something and when the beat dropped he threw WATER ON US and I got so wet :((((( the fan next to me, her fan was all wet lmao. - I got a lot of confetti in my face :’)

#monsta x #monstax #2nd worldtour #the connect #monsta x 2nd worldtour #afas live #amsterdam #livereport #live report #shownu #wonho #minhyuk #kihyun #hyungwon #jooheon #im #changkyun

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loversclubbing · 7 years

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Boys (Reddie)

Word Count: 2,136 Trigger warnings: transphobia, panic attacks, implied alcoholism Tags: trans!richie, reddie, first kiss Dedicated to: @reddiestenbrough, for being an absolute Gem and sticking with me through every single stage of writing this fic and being pretty much solely responsible for my happiness recently 💚 Also available: Here

Everyone kind of knew the Richie situation, even if they were too polite to say so. Richie never spoke of it, always turning the topic of parents into a joke about Eddie's mom. It was impossible not to notice, however, the way that he walked home through snow in the winter, the way his clothes were never mended and sometimes not even washed, the way he'd joke about every inappropriate subject except alcohol. They'd all caught on when his dad stopped showing up to parent teacher conferences, school plays, and birthdays that he wasn't around anymore.

As with many situations, it was all okay until it wasn’t. Richie was in good spirits, cracking jokes and screwing around, and it seemed to Eddie that nothing was significantly worse than usual. That was until he showed up one day dressed up to the nines with a face like thunder. It felt like a scene from a movie, where he walked down the hall and every face turned to stare.

Richie Tozier, the Richie Tozier, nerd of the year, the boy who never shut up about the length of his dick, was wearing a dress. His long-ish black hair was tied back with a pastel pink ribbon, his face smeared with makeup (that he seemed to have struggled against), and his feet clad in pink sneakers.

In fact, if it weren't for the soda bottle glasses magnifying his tear-filled eyes, he would be totally unrecognisable.

Eddie knew about Richie's past. He, Stan, and Bill had been sworn to secrecy the summer after fourth grade, the first time they went swimming at the quarry.

Richie had told them how, aged 7, he’d stopped living as a girl and his parents had to move the family from Nebraska to Maine to keep Richie safe, because people are evil, especially if you're anything outside their idea of normal. He arrived in Derry in the middle of the third grade with an awkward haircut and an even more awkward personality. He was introduced to the class as Richard, and nobody, not even the teachers, knew that he had ever been anything else. It had to be that way, but through a combination of trust and fear that the water would turn his white underwear see through and expose his big secret, Richie came clean. It hadn't really been mentioned after that, and the longer Richie lived as a boy, the more confident he became. It was the safety and security of being true to himself that turned him into the wise cracking asshole he is today.

Well, not today. On this day in particular, there wasn't a hint of the rude comedian. He was a shell, quiet and anxious and on the verge of a total breakdown.

Eddie didn't know what to do other than grab Richie’s shaking hand and pull him into the boys’ bathroom. Stanley and Bill followed nervously, shooing away all their giggling and jeering classmates. Once in the bathroom, he checked that all the stalls were empty and starting telling everyone what to do.

“Stan, watch the door from outside. Don't let anyone in until I've got Richie sorted. Bill, run to my locker. The combination is 5-12-32. There’s a pair of red galoshes and some jeans. Bring them here, as quickly as you can.”

At that moment, he turned to Richie and his tone changed. Instead of being in full on leader mode, his voice became softer and his movements more gentle.

“Rich? Richie, dude, I need you to listen to me. I have a spare shirt in my backpack, and Bill’s bringing some pants and shoes. Okay?” Richie didn't nod, so Eddie continued. “I have baby wipes as well, I can get the makeup off you. But you gotta calm down first, okay? I can't help you until you're breathing normally.” “Sorry.” Richie gulped, the tears he'd been blinking back beginning to spill. “I’m sorry.”

Eddie looked to Stan in the doorway, making fearful eye contact. Richie Tozier didn't cry. Richie Tozier had three emotions: ridiculously positive, intensely angry, and terrified. This was none of those things- this was sadness, distress, pain. Richie Tozier didn't feel pain. Richie Tozier was unbreakable.

And yet here he was, broken.

Bill stumbled back into the room, passing the clothes to Eddie. Eddie smiled gratefully, and gestured for Bill to go stand outside with Stanley.

“Richie? It's just us in here. I've got clothes you can put on, and then we can sort out the makeup, okay? I need you to try and calm down first, though, I can't help you while you're crying.” “Sorry.” “You don't have to apologise, okay? But I have to help you and I can't do that quite yet.”

Richie sniffled and threw his arms round Eddie, sobbing and sniffing into his shoulder. Eddie pulled the taller boy closer into him. He was trying the ignore the intrusive thoughts of how many germs were in the snot streaming from Richie’s nose onto his shoulder. Things like this were the reason Eddie brought spare clothes, but obviously he didn't need them as much as his friend today.

After a few minutes, Richie's tears calmed down and he pulled away from the hug. Eddie found himself missing the contact.

After a deep breath to steady himself, Richie untied the laces of the pink sneakers and tossed them carelessly to the side. He smiled weakly as Eddie passed him the jeans and slid them on under the dress. He pulled the ribbons from his hair and slid his glasses off his face, and pulled the dress off over his head. Keeping his head bowed to avoid eye contact, he took the blue shirt from Eddie’s grip and pulled it on with shaky hands.

Eddie glanced out of the window and acknowledged the rain, pulling off his canvas sneakers to replace with the galoshes. He got sick easily, and rain seeping through his shoes always ended up giving him a cold. He didn't mind giving away the sneakers until Richie had his regular shoes back.

When Richie's outfit was all on, he spoke again, his voice still sounding a little cracked and broken. “You can look now.” “Thanks.” Eddie shifted his gaze from the window back to his friend, and it was heartbreaking to look at. With his hair down and regular(ish) clothes back on, he looked more comfortable. But the smeared makeup had taken on a kind of grim comedy, and Eddie clocked for the first time that Richie’s nails had been painted a pearly pink and were digging into his palms with force. Eddie’s breath caught in his throat, but he knew realistically that it was the wrong time to panic or cry. Richie was his priority right now.

“Mind getting a little closer?” Eddie asked, rifling through his fanny pack. Richie silently moved forward so the knees of their crossed legs were touching. “Thanks. I'm gonna take off the makeup now, is that alright?”

He was careful to say the makeup, not your makeup. He didn't want to make it seem like the girly stuff was a part of Richie. The shaky boy nodded and Eddie carefully dabbed at his face with a baby wipe that he’d pulled from his fanny pack. The room was eerily quiet as he gently removed all the makeup, so Eddie started rambling.

"These wipes are hypoallergenic so you're not gonna break out or whatever. They smell pretty good too, I mean not that you smell bad or anything but, you know, it's nice." "Cool." "I used to have another brand that smelled great, but they weren't hypoallergenic and they made my face sting so my mom changed which ones she got. It's important to have wipes, y'know? Like, what if you spill something and you need to clean it up? They're overlooked." "Eddie?" "Yeah?" "Shut up."

Eddie smiled a little, because this was the first time ever that Richie was telling somebody else to stop talking.

“Can I see your hands? I need to use some antiseptic where your nails have dug in.” “Is the makeup gone?” “Totally. You wouldn't know it was there.”

Richie reluctantly placed his hands palm up on Eddie’s knees. They were shaky, but no longer to the point where Eddie couldn't work on them. He dug into his fanny pack again, taking out two pre-packed antiseptic wipes, two cotton pads, and a small bottle of acetone. l

Taking Richie’s left hand gently into his own, Eddie tore open the first wipe packet with his teeth and started wiping away the grime and hints of blood from his palm. When he glanced up, he noticed that Richie was staring dead at his face. Eddie offered an encouraging smile, and the corners of Richie’s mouth turned up in response. He pasted some small band aids over the crescent moon shaped gouges, and repeated the process on Richie’s right hand. He then poured the acetone onto the cotton pad and started clearing off the nail polish. They both stayed silent while he did, listening to each other's breathing to keep calm. A few minutes later, Richie looked just like he always did.

“Thanks.” Richie murmured quietly. “No problem man.”

It felt odd to not be flinging insults back and forth. That wasn't the only thing that felt strange. Seeing Richie like this was scary- he was quiet, he was emotional, he was afraid. It hurt seeing him that way.

There was an unspoken agreement among the Losers that Bill was their fearless leader. Beverly was the mother of the group, Stanley was the logic, Ben was the brains, Mike the emotional support, and Richie was the comic relief. When he wasn't cracking jokes, the world seemed to lose its balance.

This wasn't like the serious moments where he’d initiate a group hug, or speak quietly to Bill until the leader stopped tearing himself apart about Georgie. Eddie knew Richie was capable of turning it off when the situation called for it, but this didn't feel switched off; it felt like the light had been forcibly torn out of him. There were no words for it, nothing he could think of to say. Eddie felt like he was forcing himself to hold back tears.

His voice cracked as he called “Stan? Bill? You can come back in.”

The other boys walked in- Bill looked as nervous as Eddie, but Stan was totally normal.

“Nice shirt, Trashmouth.” he said, smirking at the slightly-too-small bright yellow shirt that read ‘I WAS A PARTICIPANT IN THE 1988 DERRY SUMMER FAIR HALF MILE FUN RUN!’ Richie’s eyes lit up at the insult. “Thanks, I borrowed it from your mom last night.” “Not likely, little boys full of shit aren't her type.” “Awwww, Stanley, no need to project your mommy issues onto me.” “Fuck you, Tozier.” “That’s Eddie’s job.” he winked, and Eddie spluttered, blushing for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and pulling Richie into the tightest hug of his life.

Bill, being Bill, dropped to his knees and joined the hug, holding the boys as close as he physically could. Stan also edged down to join them, gently draping his arms over the huddle of trembling preteen boys, because despite the image he tried to present, he cared deeply about Richie, as he did all his friends, and seeing Richie in that state had shaken him somewhat.

They stayed that way for almost thirty seconds, before Stan came up from his awkward squat and shook his hands off.

“I love you dearly, and I’m glad you're alright, but that floor is fucking disgusting and I think I just knelt in piss.” “What level disgusting? Eddie’s mom’s face, or Eddie’s mom’s underwear?” Eddie gasped, swatting Richie on the arm. “Dude!”

Richie just responded with a shit eating grin, and jumped to his feet, signalling that it was time to leave the bathroom. Stan and Bill walked out side by side, and Richie hung back for a few seconds with Eddie. He turned to face him, and the cheeky smirk slipped from his face again.

“Thank you for this. I mean it, sincerely. I didn't want any of you seeing me like that.” “I get it.” “You don't. You can't, but thank you. Of all the loser hypochondriacs in the world, I’m glad I found you.”

Eddie looked almost ready to protest, but Richie quickly silenced him with a peck on the lips.

“I-I-I-” Eddie tried to form a coherent sentence, but was too busy acknowledging the fireworks in his stomach and the smirk on Richie’s face.

Before he had a chance to respond, Richie bounded out of the room, hollering “Don't be late for geography, Eds!” as he went.

Eddie waited for the blush on his cheeks to die down before following.

#reddie #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #trans!richie #richie tozier/eddie kaspbrak #it #it 2017 #wes

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bestofthemoth · 3 years

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Perfect Moments

Brian Finkelstein

The standard commitment to work at the Humanitarian Suicide Hotline is six months. Most people work six months, and then they leave, quickly. A few make it a year. Nobody usually goes beyond a year. I was a volunteer there for four years. It started when I was twenty-two years old, and I was young, and I believed in things. I thought maybe I could help the world. I was that age.

So I show up one Saturday morning and walk into this church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and there’s a bunch of people milling about. And I see this guy who is clearly in charge. He tells us his name is Glen, and even though he’s got this corporate Jewish metrosexual hippie thing going on, he’s also got a little bit of drill sergeant because as soon as he starts the training he’s weeding people out.

One of the most important things Glen weeded out was people who either lost somebody of suicide, or had contemplated or tried to commit suicide. At the end of two weeks of training, out of 58 people, there were only four of us left, because Glen was really good. But I will tell you right now, I was better.

What Glen didn’t know about me was that four years before this, I lived in San Diego, CA, and I was dating this girl Tracy. Tracy was addicted to meth, and I was addicted to Tracy. So Tracy would do meth and I would try to do her; neither one of us would ever be satisfied. That’s addiction.

One day Tracy slept with my best friend, and I’d had it. And I bet you Glen didn’t know that I took a bottle of tequila and a .38 and jumped in my car and drove to Torrey Pines Beach. I drank about half a bottle of tequila and then I stuck the gun in my mouth. And I’ll bet you Glen has no idea how good it feels to stick a loaded gun in your mouth, it feels incredibly good to have some control over something. And I sat there, and I was trying to contemplate doing it, and then... I threw up.

And there’s nothing that snaps you out of a suicide impulse more than throwing up on a gun. And I felt really good. I felt this moment of clarity. I was at this beautiful beach and I went into the water. It was late at night, a full moon and the waves sort of washing over me, and I realized that’s what life is. Moments of beauty and then it’s horrible. But then for a moment it’s good again, and for me, that was enough. But I bet you Glen didn’t know any of that. Because I never told him.

Now, the training basically says that when you answer the call you say, “Humanitarian Suicide Hotline. Thanks for calling.” Then you shut up and listen. At the end of twelve minutes, it’s time to end the call. But before you end the call, you have to evaluate the person’s level of suicide. Glen said the closest thing to a warning sign that you have is if somebody says, “I don’t want to die. I just want the pain to stop.” If you hear somebody say that a bell should go off. That’s a person who’s on the edge.

So four years later, I’m working at the hotline. It’s just me and my shift partner, Adam, working the overnight shift. And around 4AM the phone rings and I pick it up.

“Hello, Humanitarians, can I help you?”

And this very young, cute, scared voice comes on the phone and says, “Hi, My name is Amy. I’d like to talk. I was just calling because I was feeling a little sad.”

And I was like, “Oh, what are you sad about?”

And she goes, “Ah, I don’t know, things are pretty good. I have good grades at school, and my parents don’t get it, but they love me, and, you know, I have a good friend back in Tennessee where I’m from, and NYU’s good. I have good friends here.”

Right away I pictured her, the way you do when you talk to somebody on the phone. I pictured her in her dorm room, and I pictured a quilt, and I pictured her with long hair, sitting on her bed, you know... I got her figured out. And so I said, “Well, that sounds good. But you said you were sad. What do you think about when that happens?”

She felt what she described as a hand coming from behind her and sort of pushing her down. And she felt this crippling sadness, and that there are people who are clinically depressed, but she thought maybe a lot of people overuse that word, or use it as an excuse, and she was worried she might be like that.

I noticed it was about time to wrap it up, but Amy started telling me this story about going to some place with her family one day, and their father bought ice cream, and it was a great day. But then Amy started to slur her speech a little bit. I said, “Amy, what’s going on, are you okay?”

And she goes, “Yeah, I know it’s selfish but I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to die. I just want the pain to stop.”

And I woke up.

“Amy do you feel so bad that you think about suicide?”

And she said, “Yes.”

“Do you have a plan for how you would do it?”

“Yes.”

“Have you set a time for when you’re gonna do it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Amy have you taken any steps today to kill yourself?” (on phone, taking notes) “Twenty high-strength painkillers? What kind of painkillers? You drank too? Amy, given the fact that you took twenty high-strength painkillers, and that you drank, and that you haven’t thrown up, do you understand that you could die, within an hour? Amy, look, do you want help? I can do something but only if you ask. Great, what’s your address? (to Adam) Adam, call 911. (to Amy) What kind of ice cream was it that your father bought you? You mentioned that your father bought you ice cream. What kind was it? (Silence) Amy? Amy?!”

But it was silent. And it was silent for two minutes. And then five minutes. And I’m supposed to hang up the phone, but who the hell could hang up the phone? And around fourteen minutes I heard people knocking at the door, and then I heard it crash open, and I heard the phone being picked up, and a voice said, “It’s okay. We’ve got her.”

Click.

I went home. I was supposed to go back to the hotline for a debriefing based on that call. I called Glen and told him I quit. And then I did all the things you’re not supposed to do. I obsessed about it. I stayed up, and I drank, and I smoked, and I drank, and I searched the internet and the papers and finally, after three days, I found it. In the Daily News, page 23.

But I didn’t know until that moment that she was dead, and I was the last person to talk to her. Not her mom in Tennessee, or her best friend, or some boy at NYU that probably had a crush on her but never talked to her.

Me.

And the thing of it is, I have had bigger personal tragedies over the years. I spoke to her for less than an hour twenty years ago. But I think about it every day. She’s me, in that car. If I had pulled the trigger, that would be me. And she never got to find out what I got to find out, which is it’s terrible sometimes, but there are these perfect life moments. And that’s enough.

Live at The Moth

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prettylittleliarsxxxx · 7 years

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Shay Mitchell may be done with her Pretty Little Liars days (for now…), but she's still reeling over that series finale. In an exclusive interview with Elite Daily, Mitchell talks about life post-PLL, her typical workout/morning routine, and yes, clues about A.D. on Pretty Little Liars that she and the rest of the cast missed.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the series finale of Pretty Little Liars. If you haven't watched it yet, but still want to, turn back now.

The final episode of PLL finally revealed to fans that the mysterious A.D. was Spencer's twin, Alex Drake (played by the same actress, Troian Bellisario). After an intense, dramatic episode, Drake ends up in prison and we flash forward a couple of years to get an update on the liars' lives. Everyone got a happily ever after, basically. Some people loved the PLL ending, and some didn't. Mitchell is of the former, obviously. When asked about the feedback the PLL finale has gotten, Mitchell tells Elite Daily,

I think it's great! Everybody was really shocked. Troian obviously killed it, she was so amazing and incredible playing Spencer and twin and all that. But I think, for the most part, I read only good things, so that's really awesome to hear.

During the final season, fans developed a “Twincer” theory that said Spencer had an identical twin, and that's who A.D. was. They ended up being right. Mitchell says the show's creators threw in clues to A.D.'s identity throughout the entire final season of PLL, but they're so small, even members of the main cast missed them. She tells Elite Daily,

I think if you would definitely go back and re-watch the season from start to finish, you'd pick up on a lot of different things. You know, what I was told with Spencer was with one character, she had bangs, in another character, she didn't. So when she was coming back, there was a scene with her and Hanna, she didn't have her bangs in. You can kind of pick up on little things like that. Even I, myself, will go back and pick up things that I wasn't even aware of. Marlene [PLL’s showrunner] said that, she was like, ‘I suggest you guys all look and see the clues that we put in there that even you guys didn't realize.' She was right.

The next time you'll see Mitchell on-screen is in the upcoming horror film Cadaver, which sounds completely horrifying just based off of the name. (Cadavers are dead bodies, in case you didn't know. So that's nice.) Mitchell tells Elite Daily her fans can expect to see an entirely new side of her in Cadaver. She also suggests that you don't see the film by yourself; you'll want someone to hold onto. Good to know.

She says her character, Megan, is “just somebody that's completely different from who [fans have] known and grown with, Emily.” She continues,

It's a completely different role. This movie is terrifying. I saw a little teaser of it and I was super scared. I was even scared somewhat during the filming of it. But it's a really, really fun movie to go and watch. I suggest seeing it with friends, and maybe seeing it in full, complete daylight.

She's definitely older than Emily. She's been through a lot more crazier experiences, even though that's kind of nuts to say because Emily went through her share of it. But those are different kinds of experiences. I think it's just a different sort of mentality that Megan has.

In the film, Mitchell plays a disgraced cop/former addict who takes a graveyard shift at the hospital that helped her get clean. Then something happens involving dead bodies, so you know, good family fun.

Mitchell's life post-PLL is all about focusing on work and exercise. Later this month, Mitchell will participate in the first-ever Propel Co:Labs Fitness Festival. The Co:Labs event is a two-day fitness festival hosted by Propel featuring celebrity trainers Harley Pasternak and Gunnar Peterson, whom Mitchell has trained with in the past and adores for their unique exercise routines.

She tells Elite Daily her typical workout consists of whatever she feels like doing when she wakes up. (For me, it's none of them.) Some days she wakes up and works out first thing, and other days she waits to workout until later in the day to avoid the LA heat. Mitchell's favorite workout at the moment, however, is running the stairs of the football stadium at UCLA. (Bless her for this bravery.) She says,

Recently, I've been running the stairs at the stadium steps at UCLA. I would want to do that usually earlier in the day or later, otherwise I'll have heatstroke. I think you've got to pick and choose your times depending on whether it's outside or inside.

And just like any fitness fanatic will tell you, Mitchell says the most important part of any workout routine is hydrating before and after the workout. She says,

I like to start the day with a large bottle of water and lemon. I like to finish workouts with — honestly, one of my favorite drinks — Propel Electrolyte Water. [It's] really great after [a workout] because you're sweating out so many different sweat and toxins that the electrolytes put back in, so that's what I like to do after a workout. I think it's all about hydrating, especially before and after a workout. So those are things I like to try and do.

Mitchell doesn't subscribe to any specific diet or nutrition plan, however. She says she just makes sure she's eating clean and is currently trying to focus on a plant-based diet. She says, “I think it's everything in moderation, but I don't necessarily work out to burn off anything that I've eaten. And I don't necessarily eat something just because I've had a great workout.” Bless.

Let's be real, making a habit of working out every day takes a sh*t ton of willpower and time. If you're struggling to reach your fitness goals, Mitchell has some advice for you. She says,

Get a friend, make a commitment to either meeting them at a class, or meeting them for a workout because then you owe it to somebody else too. Sometimes I wake up and I'm just like, ‘Ugh, I don't feel like it. I'll just cancel this class.' But if you know you're meeting somebody there, you don't want to cancel. So I think having a workout buddy is something that's really great.

She says she's excited for the Propel Co:Labs festival because it will give her an opportunity to connect with fans and hopefully inspire some people to stay motivated about their fitness goals. The Propel Co:Labs Fitness Festival will take place August 12 and 13 in LA and will feature a bunch of different classes with celebrity trainers Pasternak and Peterson.

And if you're wondering if I picked Mitchell's brain about those Pretty Little Liars spinoff rumors, don't worry. I did. The PLL finale hinted there is a possibility for a spinoff series in the future, and the entire cast agrees that if it does happen, it should be about Alison.

Alison's character has a really dark past, but as the finale showed us, she gets her happy ending when she marries Emily Fields, Mitchell's character. So if the spinoff does center around Alison, is there a possibility that Mitchell's Emily Fields will be involved?

Mitchell thinks it's a definite possibility. She tells Elite Daily,

You never know! You never know what could happen. Anything can happen in Rosewood, as I say. But yeah, I think that would be really fun.

Did you get that, liars?! Shay Mitchell is down for a Pretty Little Liars spinoff. Ohhhhh, man. I can already smell the drama.

#pll #pretty little liars #link #shay mitchell #cadaver movie #cadaver #exercise #emily fields #fitness

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jj-ktae · 7 years

Text

Romanticised

Title : Romanticised

Author : Myself

Pairing : Im Jaebum x You (reader)

Summary : He had planned everything for both of them, including a newly born romantic side.

“All set?”

“Yeah, I have the wine bottle.”

It was hard to see where you were both going, but the firm grip on your hand was like a guide in a secret forest, full of fantasy.

The summer had granted both of you a cool evening, with a soft breeze and no sweat. You were grateful to be able to go out without melting like snow and your boyfriend was slowly walking toward the secret place he had told you about. This date was a total surprise and you could almost see the happiness paint itself on your significant other’s face, signalling he was enjoying your little adventure.

“Are you sure we’re not going to get lost?” You inquired, glancing awkwardly at the tall palm trees and flowers blocking the view.

“Of course not, I’ve been there already.” Your boyfriend walked faster and jumped a tall step, turning around to reach out to you.

“Come on, I’ll catch you babe.” He said and you kneeled down, ready to fly in his arm like a small sparrow reaching for its mum. You landed safely in the comfort of his chest and he took the opportunity to brush his nose against yours, smirking.

“Are you happy?” the question felt surreal, coming from him.

“Of course, Jaebum. Why are you asking?” You questioned, not getting the sudden need for sappiness.

Jaebum wasn’t the kind of guy who could pull of such romantic skills, let alone mushy phrases under the moonlight. He was more of a smooth operator, juggling with sensual and serious, then mixed with desire. In short, Jaebum was a typical jazz song, not pressing and dictating, but guiding and suggestive. His deep velvety voice could whisper the sweetest things, but also the dirtiest words with the same tone, unwavering.

You often found yourself evaporating under his hungry eyes and plump lips every time he’d whisper the things he’d do to you. He wasn’t usually doing this to make sure you were okay with it, but for you to know how deep his envy was. You had no words to say in how your flesh was belonging to this person who was suddenly smiling at you like a schoolboy.

“I’m happy. I feel like I’m not saying it enough. You know it, right?” You parted from him and met an insecure face you knew too little.

“Well, I am happy.” You concluded and he acquiesced, knowing you were just like him when it came to sappy and sugary moments. “Hurry up.” He said and readjusted the backpack containing all the things you needed to spend a quiet moment together.

When he had asked you if you were free for the week-end, you were surprised, because Im Jaebum was never free during the week-ends. He’d always have some errands to do. Write a song, compose, rehearse, sleep, eat, anything that would only leave a couple of hours for you two. You were not complaining though, because he had made sure that you were aware of what cruise you were boarding on when you agreed on dating him.

It wasn’t as close as to be called a cruise anyway, but more of a solitary journey, but the short moments spent together were enough to offset whatever lonely feeling you once had.

Jaebum was delicate enough to read you without asking too many questions anyway. He was the quiet type, and while you were more of a communicative human being, he was into searching answers with his eyes and body, not leaving room for yelling.

He could yell too, though, and it was rare but electric, like a slap in the face without a warning.

To sum up, your boyfriend was the definition of simple, with a hint of impulsivity and no time for frivolity.

Living the moment was his motto, a saying you heard so many times you could see it painted all over his delicate features.

He stopped you in your thoughts by letting go of your hand, showing the place surrounding you.

It was a small cove, with a wooden shed. The color had faded with time and an abandoned surfboard was lying next to it, damaged by erosion and sea wind. The place looked raw and small bushes were peeking around patches of sand, reminding of its initial owner.

“Do you like it?” he asked, putting the backpack between you too and opening it.

“It’s...so pretty...” It was truly wonderful. Soft waves were lulling the place, surrounding them in a thin layer of peace and serenity.

Jaebum was busy with the huge beach towel, and he placed it neatly in front of the sea, seating. He looked up to you, patting the spot next to him.

“I only came once here, with the boys. I thought it could be good to show you. It’s heaven.” He said, taking out the bottle of wine and two boxes full of snacks.

You took this moment to lay down, the fluffy material of the towel soft like feathers around your heated body.

“Shall we swim first or...?” Your boyfriend’s voice made you jump out of your reverie and you sat up straight, eyes panicked.

“I didn’t bring my swimsuit, Jaebum.” The boy had kept the place secret, not giving any hints.

“...and?” he asked as if he had never heard such a stupid question. Your mouth took the shape of a small coin and you saw his very one turning into a huge smile.

“I didn’t bring one either anyways.” He stated, already taking off his large tee-shirt.

So this is where he was going. You were not that surprised anyway, because coming from Jaebum, it was like a simple cuddle on a Sunday morning.

Except it involved two naked body in a public place, no matter how deserted.

“I don’t think we should...I could keep my...” You tried, because who knew, who knew what could happen? If another person was to pass by you’d die of embarrassment.

“Your clothes are gonna take forever to dry, babe.” He answered and finished opening the wine bottle, handing it for you to taste.

You took a sip; aware it wasn’t the best way to appreciate wine and continued “But we can’t go naked!”

Jaebum’s deep laugh made you roll your eyes “Why not? The place’s empty. Get up!” he took the bottle and drank rapidly before settling it against a small rock behind you two.

A second later, his short and boxer were on the floor, and his body was greeted by the wind and exposed for all to see, included your stunned eyes.

“You’re crazy.” You breathed and saw him walk toward the shore, his toned butt dancing with every step and increasing an unintentional blush across your cheeks.

“Come on! The water’s great!” His feet kicked the small waves, splashing water and he continued walking in, his body slowly disappearing into the dark depths of the sea.

You looked around once more and slowly took off your tank top, while Jaebum started swimming, his hair slicked back by water. You made a face and quickly took off your short and underwear, almost running to the water and toward a laughing Jaebum.

“You’re going to fall, babe.” He stated when he heard you swear, your body disappearing in your turn and leaving only your head out of the black swaying water.

“I can’t believe I’m naked in the middle of night. What if somebody steal our stuff?” Panicking was your style, and Jaebum knew it way too much to let himself fall into your mother-like frenzy behavior. You threw a glance to the abandoned squat and sighed, hoping that Jaebum wasn’t going nuts for good.

“Relax, nobody’s going to come...” You felt a body behind you, and soon enough, you were seated in the water, your feet into the sludge while Jaebum was hugging you from behind.

It felt soft under your toes, and his lap welcomed your bottom, making you sit on him like a child. The tip of his hair drew incoherent pattern on your skin when he started kissing your nape, arms locked around you like a rubber ring you didn’t need.

The calmness of the water was helping you both keeping some stance, and the soft waves were revealing your breast, hit by the wind and free of movement.

Jaebum looked like he noticed, because he started swimming deeper into the sea, your body upon his while his arms were guiding both of you to a way darker place. Your wet hair was cupping your face, strands wild and disheveled.

His mouth was close to your ear when the arms made you turn around to face him. Your feet weren’t touching the bottom but he was standing in front of you. He lifted both of your legs to make them circle around you and you felt all his hard glory brush against your most private parts, making you hiss and pulling a smile off his not so peaceful face.

You took it as a sign to cling on to him, keeping your body at the surface and he started rocking back and forth, your face nuzzled deep into his neck.

“How do you like it?” He asked and it made you wonder why on earth was he so keen on asking if you felt okay today. Not that he wasn’t that considerate usually, he was just less...blunt about it.

“I love it. You’re acting different, today.” You asked, aware that he wouldn’t be able to deny it.

“Yeah?” He asked, falsely surprised. His hands caressing your back started cupping your face and his eyes entered you like a laser into a dark room, shiny and sharp.

“Yeah. Don’t act surprised.” You mocked and he laughed, acquiescing.

“I thought about doing something different, that’s it.”

“And why is that?” You continued your teasing, because Jaebum was way too honest to hide anything anyways.

“I want to unveil all the sides of me.” He stated and your head tilted, puzzled. He took it as a sign to explain more.

“I want you to know every single thing about me. Until now, I had barely showed anything romantic. I want to give you everything, this included. This way you won’t get tired of me and my nasty personality.” He said and you we sure you saw a spark of insecurity in his eyes.

“There’s no way I’d get tired of such a great person.” He scoffed and walked toward the shore, supporting your body light like a ball of cotton in his large arms.

“There no such thing as forever if we don’t put in some individual efforts.” He added and you found yourself completely naked in his arms, like a toddler, in the middle of a deserted cove.

“Keeping the passion up tension?” He slowly crouched on the sand and laid down, your body over him like a soft silky sheet and he hummed.

“It’s not about passion. It’s about me being worthy of your love.” He said, pulling on your head to kiss your face.

“You’re being incredibly mushy, Im Jaebum.” His body was wet and slippery under yours and you planted your feet into the sand, creating contact with his body.

“Want me to stop then?” he asked and his lips met yours in a short kiss. Hands were cupping everywhere they could, kneading the cool flesh.

“I want you to do whatever you’re comfortable with.” You concluded and he smiled against you, tongue licking your mouth completely and taking you off guard.

“Then there’s something I’d be comfortable with, right now.” He said and you finally noticed how hard his body was.

“Here is the Jaebum I know.”

“Shut up and kiss me.” Came the whispered complaint.

The bottle of wine was long forgotten, just like the clothes around it when two bodies met, adding to the radiant heat overwhelming the already saturated air around them.

“I love you, babe.” Echoed in a long breath, short and halting against wet skin.

“Me too, Jae.”

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kansascityhappenings · 4 years

Text

Prosecutors do not announce charges in George Floyd’s death but say ‘justice will be served’

https://newsource-embed-prd.ns.cnn.com/videos/newsource-video-embed.js

Prosecutors looking at the death of George Floyd on Thursday asked the people of Minneapolis for patience while they investigate the case that has riled the city and the nation.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after pleading for help as a police officer used his knee on Floyd’s neck to pin him — unarmed and handcuffed — to the ground. His death sparked outrage and protests across the country, demonstrations that continued Thursday.

Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said he must look at all evidence.

“My job in the end is to prove he violated a criminal statute. And there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge. We need to wade through all of that evidence and come to a meaningful decision and we are doing that to the best of our ability.”

About 90 minutes later, Freeman’s office released a statement, and told CNN that Freeman misspoke about “other evidence.”

“Evidence not favorable to our case needs to be carefully examined to understand the full picture of what actually happened,” the statement reads. “This happens in every case. “

During the news conference, federal prosecutor Erica MacDonald told reporters she has hoped to brief them on a new development in the case but couldn’t at this point.

“We are going to investigate it as expeditiously, as thoroughly as justice demands,” Freeman told reporters. “That video is graphic, horrific and terrible. And no person should do that.”

Both MacDonald and Freeman said the investigation requires more time.

“I am pleading with individuals to remain calm and let us conduct this investigation,” she said. “Our highest priority is that justice will be served.”

“Sometimes that takes a little time and we ask people to be patient,” Freeman said. “We have to get this right.”

The Minneapolis Police Department this week fired the four officers involved in Floyd’s arrest. The incident is being investigated by local, state and federal authorities.

All four officers involved in the death have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination, Freeman told CNN following the press conference.

Minnesota governor activates National Guard

Minneapolis’ police chief on Thursday acknowledged his department had contributed to a “deficit of hope” in the city after the — and he and other officials called for calm following a night of destructive protests.

“I am absolutely sorry for the pain, devastation and trauma Mr. Floyd’s death has left on his family, his loved ones,” Minneapolis and the world, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said in a news conference.

“I know there is currently a deficit of hope in our city … and I know our department has contributed to that deficit as a whole,” Arradondo said.

In Minneapolis, protests transitioned to rioting and looting south of downtown, with people smashing their way into stores and setting businesses and other buildings ablaze. There was more looting Thursday in St. Paul, the state capital, next door.

Gov. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard to watch over the demonstrations.

On Wednesday night, Minneapolis’ second day of protests transitioned to rioting and looting south of downtown, with people smashing their way into stores and setting businesses and other buildings ablaze.

One of Floyd’s brothers cried Thursday morning as he said his family wants protests to be peaceful, but stressed people are struggling with seeing another black man die following a police encounter, this one over the passing of an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill at a store.

“I want everybody to be peaceful right now, but people are torn and hurt, because they’re tired of seeing black men die,” George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“These officers (involved in George’s arrest) need to be arrested right now … and held accountable about everything because these people want justice right now,” he said.

A man was fatally shot overnight near the protests, police said early Thursday. One person was arrested, and police said they’re investigating the nature of the incident.

As the protests developed, demonstrators threw water bottles and firecrackers at officers and a police precinct building.

Fires eventually broke out at businesses in the area, including an AutoZone. Flames lit up a building under construction, one floor eventually collapsing.

At a nearby Target, video shows people taking cartloads of goods and loading them into their cars.

People also raided a grocery store. On Thursday morning its exterior glass lay shattered and the floor was littered with groceries as a interior fire sprinkler system sprayed water.

An unspecified number of police officers and other people suffered minor injuries in the protests, Arradondo said, without elaborating.

Demonstrations were held elsewhere in the country Wednesday night. In Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters marched. At one point, some attacked a California Highway Patrol car.

In Memphis, Tennessee, police in riot gear responded to a protest and at least two people were arrested, CNN affiliate WHBQ reported.

The unrest followed shock and anger that spread through communities across the country as bystander video of Floyd’s last moments alive began circulating on social media.

The 46-year-old man was arrested Monday evening after, police said, officers were called to investigate alleged forgery at a corner store called Cup Foods. Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, an owner of the store, told CNN a staff member called police to report someone using a fake $20 bill.

Police arrived, and Floyd, a suspect in the incident, was handcuffed and pinned on the ground. As he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe, a police officer held him down with a knee on his neck. Three other officers also were at the scene.

Floyd’s family wants charges against four officers

Floyd, a 46-year-old Houston native, worked security at Conga Latin Bistro in Minneapolis for five years, according to its owner, Jovanni Thunstrom.

He moved to Minneapolis for work and to drive trucks, his friend of more than 20 years, former NBA player Stephen Jackson, said.

Jackson said Floyd, a father of two girls, was like a brother to him, and they used to refer to each other as twins.

“He was just a great dude … somebody that wanted to be a protector and provider for everybody around him,” Jackson told CNN Thursday.

“It sucks that the whole world had to see my friend go that way. … He didn’t deserve that, but the way that people are supportive of him and standing up for him … his death will not be in vain.”

No charges have been filed in Floyd’s death, but his family say they want murder charges for all four fired officers.

Who the officers are

In a news conference Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also called for criminal charges to be brought against the officer who kept his knee on Floyd. That officer was identified by his attorney Tom Kelly as Derek Chauvin. Kelly has not released a statement on Chauvin’s behalf.

Chauvin had 18 complaints filed with the police department’s internal affairs division, according to MPD.

It’s unclear what the complaints, which were all closed, were for and no details were provided by police.

Only two of the 18 complaints against Chauvin were “closed with discipline,” according to a public summary from police. The “discipline issued” column listed a letter of reprimand for each of the two complaints.

In an interview aired Thursday, Frey told CBS News that he believed Floyd’s death constituted murder.

“I am not a prosecutor, but let me be clear: The arresting officer killed someone,” Frew told CBS. “He (Floyd) would be alive today if he were white.”

The other three officers were identified by police as Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng.

Thomas Plunkett, representing Kueng, said, “At this time, out of respect for Mr. Floyd, we are declining all invitations to discuss these painful events.”

Earl Gray is representing another of the officers involved but has declined to say who his client is.

Officers told witness Floyd resisted arrest

Police said they arrested Floyd Monday after responding to the forgery call and finding him inside a car.

Police said he “physically resisted” after he got out of the vehicle.

Surveillance video obtained from a nearby restaurant shows some of the officers’ initial contact with him and doesn’t appear to show obvious resistance from a handcuffed Floyd. Eventually Floyd is escorted away from view.

Donald Williams, a witness, told CNN he was about to walk into a store when he noticed commotion. He said he saw Floyd “panting for his life, begging for his forgiveness.”

Williams’ description of events matches a video captured by one bystander in which Floyd can be heard calling for help, saying, “I can’t breathe,” and that his body was hurting.

Williams said he tried to approach an officer and ask what was happening. Officers said Floyd was “resisting arrest.”

“I said, ‘Officer, he’s not resisting arrest, you have your knee on him and you have handcuffs on him, he’s detained at this moment,’” he said. One officer responded by saying “this is what drugs do to you,” according to Williams.

Floyd was declared dead at a nearby hospital a short time later. A medics team that responded to the incident worked on an “unresponsive, pulseless male,” according to a Minneapolis Fire Department narrative released by police.

Minneapolis police have not yet released bodycam footage from the officers involved.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/news/prosecutors-do-not-announce-charges-in-george-floyds-death-but-say-justice-will-be-served/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/prosecutors-do-not-announce-charges-in-george-floyds-death-but-say-justice-will-be-served/

0 notes

icechuksblog · 4 years

Quote

Watching trapped Omolola Ajayi’s video, as she wept and lamented her fate in Lebanon last week, Oluwole Williams, a retired civil servant could only thank his God, even as he got emotional about what he termed ‘Nigerian’s wickedness to fellow Nigerians.’For over a year, Williams had been passing words around, seeking contacts on how he could send his unemployed son to work in Dubai or any of the Middle-East countries. According to him, he had heard stories of how some agents help unemployed Nigerians get big salary jobs in these countries and would like to pay his first son’s way through. He could no longer bear to see his graduate son jobless nearly a decade after graduation and eking a living doing security jobs and other menial stuff. But watching that video, which like the proverbial can of worms, opened his eyes to the possible horror his son could have walked into, he just realised that his ‘fruitless search’ all this while was by providence.Omolola Ajayi, 23, mother of one, who said her parents lived in Offa Garage in Ilorin, Kwara State, is just one of thousands of Nigerians who have been trafficked into slavery and other forms of hardship, albeit unwittingly, all in a bid for greener pasture. In that short video in which she passionately appealed to fellow Nigerians and Pheminique Life Support, to come to her rescue, she spoke of how she was tricked into travelling on the pretext of going to teach English language and how she ended up a slave, sexually harassed and without access to medical care in Lebanon. Thankfully, Ajayi has been rescued by the Nigerian Embassy in that country and as you’re reading this piece, should be back in Nigeria safely. Ajayi’s bold move has also inspired several other girls in her situation in that country, such that according to Abike Dabiri, Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, 15 others were taking refuge in the embassy as at the end of last week.Like it did for Mr Williams, one can only hope that Ajayi’s case would have helped in throwing enough searchlight on the activities of these scammers in the name of travelling/recruitment agents.I slept with fifteen men daily for two yearsMy name is Lawal Zainab and I am a native of Osogbo, Osun State. I recently returned to Nigeria from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where I was tricked into prostitution. Before I travelled, I was living with my aunt in Abuja, where I was learning hairdressing, but the need to raise money to pay for my graduation and buy my equipments put me under pressure.In the course of this, I met the agent who told me he would facilitate my trip to the Whiteman’s country, where I would make hair for big people and make big money.But I ended up in Cote d’Iviore, where I saw hell. The first sign of scam I noticed was that the man, my agent, Mr. Ben, took me to a place where we boarded ‘The Young Shall Grow’ bus. I asked, ‘I thought we’re going to fly?’ But he allayed my fear, telling me the bus was to take us to where we’ll board the plane. He even lodged me in a hotel for one night. On arriving Cote d’Ivoire, he took me straight to a village. There he handed me over to a woman, Madam Beauty, who told me my agent had sold me to her and that I would work for her for two years for her to recoup her money, 2.1million CFA francs.Then she made me drink a certain water, which she said was an oath binding me to her. She warned me not to try to run away or betray her, else I would run mad or die.She then told me it was prostitution job that I had been bought to do, she showed me a room in an area they called ghetto, from where she said I would be operating and that I would be delivering 20,000 CFA francs to her every day.At this point I recoiled, saying I could not do that kind of job, but she said that would mean me refunding her 2million, which I couldn’t raise. She then reminded me of the oath water and the threat. We charged 2100 CFA (an equivalent of N1,200) per customer; and she gave me 500 CFA for feeding.All other money, I submitted to her at the end of each day. Any day I did not deliver 20,000 CFA francs, she would harass me, sometimes, beat me. And I dared not tell her that I was tired or not feeling well.Also, I had no access to medical care of any kind.There was a day she had a case with the Nigerian Embassy officials and I tried to capitalise on that to escape, but it seemed like there was a conspiracy with them, as they simply told me to go and settle with my madam and pay her money. So I resigned myself to my fate and continued praying to God to come to my aid.How do I even begin to narrate my ordeal at the hand of Madam Beauty or shall I say her customers? Sometimes the men would go violent and beat me up. Some would slap me; one even broke a bottle and stabbed my hand. He said he paid money and I didn’t service him well. It was the security men standing guard who saved me. Some would even demand their money back.One told me if I was tired, I should go back to my country. On the average, I slept with 15 men to gross the amount I needed to deliver to my madam; sometimes, more. On a particular Sallah day, because they are mostly Muslims, I slept with nearly double that number and raked in 200,000 CFA francs for my madam.Sometimes, they would drug themselves and come and sleep with me. On such occasions, the condom would break and I would have to drink salt and water as the only antibiotic that I could afford, because my madam would not give me any money for medication or invite a doctor to examine us.All she was interested in was the money. At other times, the customer would use as long as one hour or more on top of me.FreedomThat was how I carried on for two whole years until one day when she threw me out. That was in November 2019. I left Nigeria in October 2017.She said she had recouped her money and that I was free and should go and fend for myself, or possibly go and scout for somebody that would work and make money for me. But I have sworn that I would not enslave a fellow human the way she did to me.Besides, this was a job I would not recommend to my worst enemy. She gave me two days to work and raise money for myself towards my next move, but I just couldn’t.It was while I was pondering over my next move that I met one of the women who came to sell Nigerian food to us, who took pity on me and agreed to squat me in her apartment. It was at about that time that I stumbled on Sister Motilola of Project Ferry on Instagram, followed her and sent my video after an initial doubt. Long story short, she intervened and helped me come back home.I went through a lot in that country, and every time I think of what I did with my body in that country, I just wonder if I would ever be able to marry or have my own children.Booming s.e.x tradeLet me tell you, the Nigerian population in that country is really huge and prostitution is the only job they are into; except for those who are married. Let nobody fool you that she is going there to do some high sounding job.Some, when they gain their freedom, would become patrons like madam and continue enslaving others. My madam said she balanced 3million CFA francs in her time.What did I not see in that country? Sometimes I even think my situation is better. There was a 17-year-old Nigerian girl they brought into the job; she is still there serving my madam. There was another, just 15.Sometimes, the girls would come in pregnant and they would abort the pregnancy and put them into the sex trade. Some came as virgins and they used eggs to break their hymen. There were also Ghanaians and Ivorians in the trade.I believe the divorce between my parents partly led to my situation. It was because my mother remarried that I had to drop out of school and go and live with my aunt in Abuja. Otherwise, I may not have met the agent who sold me into slavery.I’ve been back since December now but I can’t even go visit or call my mum because she would ask for money, and if I told her I don’t have, she’d think I am being wicked. I currently squat with one ‘mummy’, she’s a member of Project Ferry, the organisation that helped me relocate to Nigeria. She feeds me and is also helping me to look for where I would update myself in the hairdressing job.Did she try to run away?No, because of the oath water I drank. I don’t think it was phoney because I saw ladies who ran mad; I saw some dying in mysterious ways; some just for stealing or keeping some of the money due for their madam.I excreted and urinated on my body to secure my freedomMy name is Ibitowa Oluwatobi, a graduate of Sociology from the University of Ibadan. After service, I got a job in Lagos, working in one of the Jumia warehouses, but I wasn’t cool with the hustle and bustle. So I thought of packing it all up and going into food because I have a passion for food.One day, I saw the WhatsApp status of my friend advertising international catering, teaching jobs and all that. I chatted her up and she linked me up with her sister who was into the business.I told her I preferred a teaching job in Dubai; she requested for my CV and a five minutes video of me teaching, which I did and sent to her. I also sent my full photo and N250 thousand as requested.I called her three weeks later as agreed and she told me there was a hitch, that the only visa available was Oman visa. I was a bit disappointed because I had never heard of Oman.Notwithstanding, I went online to research about the country and eventually gave in since the only thing I found a bit odd was the weather.I thought if it’s going to be the same job and the same pay, I might just take it. But she told me the pay in Oman was even better. However, when she eventually brought the visa, I found out it was a housemaid visa, so I protested.But she said that was only to get me into the country, that they could always change it. All this should have warned me but I chose to trudge on.Something else happened at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, which should have served as another red flag. This was on May 7, 2018. We were made to pay additional N40 thousand to the immigration officers, which they called boarding pass.Aside that, from the way the agents and the Immigration officers interacted and their exchanges, I got to realise that something was fishy and illicit and the officers were well aware of it.They lined us up and were asking, who is your agent? The agent would step forward and say I have settled this person, I have settled that person. But again, I ignored.Plane-load of slavesAlmost all of us in the economy class of that Emirates flight, well over 100, were being transported for the same purpose. Young girls and women of different ages. Even sickly looking people and those that were not of age – 15,16-year-olds, who inflated their ages.There were numerous stark illiterate Hausa ladies. Frankly, that was when I should have followed my instinct and got off the plane and damn the money I invested.I know of a particular girl, Blessing; she is still slaving away in Oman. Another was lucky – so to speak. They said she had Hepatitis B, so she was returned after three weeks.It was when I got to the airport in Oman that everything really began to fall in place. They collected our passport immediately we got off the plane, and I thought that wasn’t right and protested.But the driver of the agent, who came to pick us, tried to shut me up, saying, ‘You talk too much’. So I restrained myself.Another major thing happened. Two girls from among us ran away at the airport. It is possible they were informed or they just had their plans.And then when we got to the agent’s office, the Nigerians we met there and other nationals of Ghana, Uganda and Bangladesh were all looking unkempt and shabby. The place was looking like a slave market. Again, I spoke up and this time.I asked why were the girls looking like that. Certainly, I didn’t want to turn out like that. And then the girls started cautioning me, moving their fingers across their necks, meaning, I could get killed. At this point, I really got scared and was like, ‘What have I got myself into?’I requested for my phone to speak with Idris, my agent in that country. They had collected it at the airport, though I had a smaller one in my luggage, which I knew better than to let them know about.But they gave me their own phone and the agent was like I should shut up, that when did I get into the country that I was already acting like I knew it all.And that was the end of the conversation, because he cut the line. Funny enough, the agent I really knew was in Nigeria, Adeola, who happened to be the outsourcer for ladies for Idris.And then the bigger shock came. We were going to be working as house helps and the salary was paltry – about N64,000 when converted.Again, I started protesting, saying that was not our agreement; that we were told we’d be earning N200,000 and working as caterers and teachers. It turned out that we were conned right from the beginning.Eventually, I was locked up in a room attached to their office. They had become fed-up with my troubles. Two other girls were also locked up, but in separate rooms. Others had capitulated and accepted their fate. I was there for three weeks and was only given water.At a point, it dawned on me that I couldn’t remain there and solve the problem, so I mellowed down and agreed to work. The man that came to pick me was a policeman. He had a small family of himself, his wife and his kid, which looked good.But they live in this big compound like what the Yoruba call agbole, with relatives and extended family, and I ended up serving all of them. Sometimes, they even took me to other homes and as far as Dubai to serve their relatives; so I became frustrated and almost depressed.To make matters worse, the man of the house would come and start opening his wrapper, showing me his manhood. That was another danger, because I’d heard stories of how the women poison maids and throw away their corpses, once they suspect that their husbands were as much as showing interest in them.I was like, ‘How could I advance in this kind of job, me, a university graduate?’ The first month, I was paid in full; the second month, I was paid half and the third, I wasn’t paid at all.So I changed it for them. The wife noticed but I told him there was no problem and even faked happy calls home to my people. I was perfecting my plan.Finally, I unleashed. I started urinating on my body, excessively. While cleaning their rooms, kitchen, even prayer room, I would urinate. I even pooed on my body. Soon, everywhere started stinking, and they hate smell.I even refused to have my bath. I’d get in the bathroom and only wash my face, hands and legs, so the smell persisted. They took me to a hospital and the doctors said they would have to operate on me. I was glad because I knew that they don’t like spending on maids.God blinded them that they didn’t even think of running a test on me. Even the hospital officials were running away from me.They took me back home and their grandma was like, Halima (that’s the name I gave them since they couldn’t pronounce my name) can work – let’s just manage her and give her a room near the poultry. They took me to the office and those ones said they would get me drugs.I told them to take me back to my country to get treatment, but they said no, that they’d treat me in Oman or take me to Kuwait.At the agency office, I was kept in the room they detained me that first time. Some other girls were in the other rooms. So one day, I disconnected the pipe that supplied water to the apartments and they had no choice but to send us down the street to fetch water.That day I was ready and immediately bolted. A police van saw me, picked me up and took me to their station, where they questioned me and eventually invited the agent. They told him to settle with me.Didn’t he see that I was sick or did he want me to die in the country? They seized his ID Card, without which he couldn’t work or make transactions and told him to return my passport. I also got my phone back and started chatting people up.I’d chatted with some celebrities, intimating them of my situation, but nothing came out of it. Then I chatted Sister Motilola of Project Ferry and one-time she replied me.That was how we kick-started the publicity. She got in touch with my agent, Idris, and he was livid. He said I was publicising him and spoiling his business. And I was like, ‘Fine, get me back to my country.’He insisted that I paid him N800 thousand, the balance of the N1.2million he paid on my head. I reached out to Sister Motilola and the money was raised. That was how I got back my freedom and returned to my country.Message to NigeriansThey shouldn’t just stick their nose into anything right now. Modern slavery is real, there is no greener pasture anywhere. And it is not just happening in the Middle-East; it is happening even in the modernised English speaking countries.One last thing. Please tell the world that I need a job. Nigerians should please help, I have suffered really badly.Culled from The Nation Newspaper

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#http://icechuks2.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-i-slept-with-15-men-daily-as-sex.html How I slept with 15

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