#maeve never should’ve left them alone together

[eleftherian]

Rowan, with gravity: we have to leave now

Aelin, internally: if this is to protect me because I’m a princess…

Rowan with an evil grin: so we can come back later and cause more chaos

#they both have so much chaos energy #maeve never should’ve left them alone together #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #heir of fire #throne of glass #sjm #sarah j maas #books #reading #booklr #adrian reads #my posts

[spenciegoob]

Swing to the Stars

this fic swap is for @reidgraygubler​ ... I really hope you like it, shadow :)

A/N: AAAAH! this is my first fic swap and I’M SO EXCITED!!!!

Summary: Spencer meets someone in his little hiding spot, and desperately hopes to see them again.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral!Reader

Category: fluff with a dash of angst

Content Warnings: mentions of Maeve & William Reid, talk of a case involving teens, mentions of bullying, mentions of guns and pepper spray (not used)

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.4K

___

The first time I climbed that treacherous hill, dirtying my converse for all to see what my night activities truly consisted of, I was alone. I enjoyed it like that, I came here by myself, and I intended to keep it that way. When I sat on the swing dangling by two dangerously flimsy ropes, I thought how ridiculously large the slap of wood used to make it was. My elbows were bent a little over a 90 degree angle just to reach both sides, but I never thought past it. I had other things on my mind that night.

I thought about my mom. I knew she would have loved a secluded, little space like this. She would’ve probably read to me here, using different voices that held deep emotion to convey each story with a precise amount of dedication and love. Each story to her was special, and I silently thank her every day for passing that trait down to me. 

Unfortunately, if I thought about my mom, I thought about my dad. William was never a kind man, and I could pride myself on one thing; I would never be like him. He didn’t deserve to know a place like this. It was too serene, too beautiful to house a man so willing to abandon the two people who should’ve been the most important to him. I was glad he would never get the chance to sit on this swing.

I thought about my family. How Garcia would jump with excitement at the prospect of having a picnic overlooking the city, yet quiet and missing the sounds of cars zooming by or overlapping chatter. I thought about JJ, and how Henry would beg her to push him in the swing, because to a little kid, it was perfect. He didn’t look at the frayed rope and fear that it would snap. I hope he never starts to fear the world like that.

The second time I found myself back at the bottom of the hill, I made it halfway to the top before seeing a couple getting up from the swing they were sitting together on. I realized then why it was so comically large; it was meant for two people. Thankfully when I reached the top only half out of breath, the two were starting their descent to where I came from.

This time when I sat down, I thought about Maeve. I would’ve brought her here, shared the little secret corner of the world I built for myself. She would’ve loved something like this, and I know if life wasn’t so cruel, and I was given the chance to show her, we would’ve talked for hours. So that’s what I did that time; I talked to Maeve. To anyone else, I probably looked like a crazy person talking to himself, but much to my delight, not many people made the trip up the hill to find this place.

Now I go whenever I need a break from my mind, which unfortunately is more times than my schedule allows me to take that leisurely walk. I spend my nights sometimes after a particularly hard case there no matter the time, using the ropes that scratch my hands as my lifeline down to Earth. I watch the stars, screaming and cursing at the world in my head and waiting for the sky to respond. It never did, and the next case always came in the following morning.

This particular time that I found myself at the bottom of the grassy hill waiting to be climbed, the case I just returned from involved kids across the board. A teenage unsub was killing his fellow classmates that have wronged him. Unfortunately, the BAU had to witness his stressor recorded for the whole school to see. It involved vile insults being thrown at the young, defenseless boy only for the bullying to escalate to violence.

It was awful.

As I trudged up the hill with less excitement to look into the vast unknown than usual, I couldn’t stop thinking about the unsub. All he wanted in life was a friend, someone to talk to, laugh with, share memories together. No matter how wrong it was, I saw myself in him. Our souls held the same scars given to us by people who had no right to go digging for such a deep part of ourselves. If I didn’t make it, would I have turned out like him?

When I reached the top, completing my journey once again, I saw them. Sitting there, staring out into the sky, mimicking my thoughts to do the same on the jet ride home. I could only make out half their face lit up by the light casting down from the full moon, but I didn’t need to see more to know they were breathtaking.

I would have turned around to return home to nothing more than books reread thousands of times and stale coffee, but I already made the mistake of stepping on a rather large branch that broke in half. The crunch coming from their right immediately had them on edge, and reaching for their bag that I could only assume had some sort of weapon inside. I hope it was legal.

I felt terrible for breaking them from the trance they were in. They were deep in thought about something that was probably going to become a solution if I hadn't interrupted their musing. 

“H-hi, I’m sorry to scare you. I didn’t expect anyone here this late. Not that you being here is a problem! I didn’t mean to disturb you,” I frantically shouted, although there was less distance between us than I originally thought, and probably seemed crazed by my volume level.

They just giggled at first, but upon seeing my distraught expression, their face turned more kind than humorous.

“That’s okay. I’m just glad I didn’t jump so fast to pepper spray you. That would definitely be the worst case scenario.” I let out a breath of relief for some reason. Here I was, in front of a total stranger thankful that their weapon of choice wasn’t a gun. I’ve been on the wrong end of too many during my years.

“Did you know Chemical Mace, more commonly known as pepper spray, was invented in the 1960s by a man named Alan Lee Litman and his wife Doris Litman at the time. Their reason was actually because one of Doris’s female coworkers was attacked and robbed, so they thought to create a nonlethal weapon with easy accessibility and use, considering not everyone is able to use a gun. It wasn’t until 1987 however that the Litman’s sold their creation to Smith and Wesson where it was mass produced and later sold to law enforcement.”

“Wow, I don’t think I did.” They laughed again, but something in my heart told me it wasn’t meant to come with malicious intent. “Do you do that a lot?”

“Do what?” I asked, even though I had some inclination of what they were referencing.

“Spout random facts. I’m not complaining, that was very cool, but I am fully intrigued.” They smiled again at me fondly, the kind of smile that left me a little breathless, even more so than the 45 degree incline I had to climb to find myself in front of them. There was nothing to convince me they weren’t authentic in every word they stated.

“I do it quite often, yes. It gets annoying after a while though.” It was true, I was told on many occasions that my rambling got old very fast. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re close to me for too long. I tend to stop being the awe-striking genius, and become the nagging, walking encyclopedia.

“I don’t see how that could become annoying.” It sounded sad coming from them, like I had insulted their oddity. I would never, and I was really hoping to find out what it was.

I had nothing further to say that would express my shock, and slight fondness over their praise, wary of its honesty even if it did come from them. I hadn’t known them for more than 4 minutes and 36 seconds, but it was enough to figure out that they weren’t a liar. It wasn’t from profiling either.

“You know, there is room for two people here if you wanted to join me. I’m sure you didn’t climb that hill for nothing.” They continued for me. If they noticed my surprise, they said nothing about it. 

Usually, I would be skeptical of being in a close proximity with a stranger, but as I approached them carefully, even if their hand was no longer reaching for mace, I felt the passing between our eyes. It was as if we had shared every part of ourselves with eye contact, and as crazy as it sounds, I felt the somber thoughts that lingered from their previous reflections.

So I sat down, grabbing onto only one of the scratchy ropes, and enjoying the way I could rest my elbow against my side now that I was using the swing to its fullest potential. I stopped caring about the probability of the ropes snapping under our combined body weight. The worst that could possibly happen was I bruised my tailbone a little bit, but I wouldn’t care past the initial embarrassment. At least I had someone to show that with.

“Do you ever think about what’s out there?” They asked once I was settled on the wood slab as comfortably as I could muster. Being boney didn’t necessarily help. Before I could answer, they continued. “I can tell you’re a man of science, if the fact dump wasn’t any indicator, but I mean beyond the facts, and the known.”

“No, I don’t think about it.” It was a lie, I think about it every time I’m here, but I wanted nothing more in this moment than to know how they saw the stars.

“I do. Quite frequently, actually. I mean, I’ve read every book there ever was about the stars and space, but there is still no answer to my question.”

“What question?” I had to know.

“What’s exactly written in the stars,” they replied, using their hands to showcase the sky above us. I sat back and thought for a while. Like the books they’ve read, I too didn’t have the response to their question. God, how I wish I did.

I don’t know how long we sat there quietly. One of the perks of total darkness in the dead of night is that the moon couldn’t tell time the way the sun did. We got lost in the cosmos together, contemplating sharing our own troubled thoughts with each other. It would have felt right if we did, but alas, the ringing of my cell phone dropped a pin in our reflections.

“I- I’m sorry, I have to take this,” I rushed out before standing up and accepting the incoming call from Penelope. I knew it was a case before her bubbly voice rang through my celular. I allowed the disappointment to bleed through my tone when I told her I would be back at the BAU shortly, hoping that the small release of the emotion would be enough to ward it off in time to turn back around. 

It didn’t.

They were already looking at me expectantly when I made my way back to the swing, bending down to retrieve my satchel I had abandoned on the ground. The amount of guilt on my face must have been enough to tell them I had to leave abruptly, despite the fact that the only thing I wanted to do was stay for even just a second.

“That’s okay,” they spoke softly, giving me a tight lipped smile. “We’ll see each other again.”

“How do you know?” I couldn’t help but be skeptical. Life never did work out in my favor. They looked up at the sky once more before answering.

“Just a feeling.” I let a full grin break out at their response, the first one I’ve had when visiting this place. I turned around to start my journey back to the office where dark, and twisted things lurked behind manilla folders. Before starting my descent however, I spun around quickly, almost losing my footing and taking a tumble.

“Woah there tiger, don’t hurt yourself,” they giggled at me, one that I returned with my own breathy laugh.

“I just don’t know your name.” It baffled me a little bit that I hadn’t thought to ask before this, but they just gave me one last smile, tilting their head in faux contemplation.

“Ask me next time.” I will.

***

It’s been a year since I met them, and I haven’t seen them since. Not for a lack of trying however. After that case, I went there every night until a new one arose, this time taking me to Oregon. They hadn’t been back, and part of me wondered if it was because of me. Did I not try hard enough the first time? Should I have ignored my ringer until my phone had 5 missed calls from Penelope?

But then my eidetic memory swooped in to save me from going down that road, one of the only times it wasn’t the cause of my self destructive thoughts. Because while I replayed the conversation over in my head wondering where it went wrong, I remembered their eyes, and their smile.

I remembered what it felt like to sit with them, and thankfully that was enough to convince myself our meeting wasn’t in vain.

I never was the kind of man to believe in the universe. The whole notion that “everything happens for a reason,” felt like a lie created to somehow blame an external force on the chaos in one’s life. There were so many things in my life that had no reason for happening, and to blame that on anything or anyone but myself would be a cheap excuse of a way out.

But for some odd reason, the universe aside, I believed in them, and strangely enough, I don’t think they would have blamed me for the life I had to live. So, as I sit down tonight on this familiar piece of wood, I choose to stare at the stars instead of the ground, and believe that if I spoke aloud, maybe they would hear me.

And they did, because my efforts to sit on one side of the swing in case they returned to me were not in vain. I didn’t look over, I didn’t have to to know it was them. I had already relaxed once their presence was known in my peripherals.

“Y/N,” they spoke, causing me to change my view on the stars to their side profile. It wasn’t all that different than staring at the constellations spread around us. “My name’s Y/N.”

___

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[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

SECOND CHANCE

Prompt: Just some good old fluff with Finny boy

Word Count: Long, bitch! So fucking long

Pairings: Finn Bálor x Reader

Warnings: Angst, fluff, smut (implied)

Editor: @thenightmareismyreality

Tag: @theworldofotps , @new-zealand-chic , @sassymox , @waywardwrestlewritingwaif , @yungbludjazz360 , @starwithaheart

Notes: Found this in an old file (wrote this about two years ago, maybe?) But I kinda like this little story ❤️ If you’d like to check out my previous works, you can find them on my Masterlist 😉

A deep sigh of relief left my lips as I brushed my damp hair. I heard a commotion in the living room, and began to dread the potential fight I would have to break up between a four and six year-old over a remote control.

“Mommy, mommy, mommy!” Caleb screamed in excitement, while bursting through my bedroom door like a maniac

“You’ll never believe who’s downstairs with us” He jumped with a cheeky smile

“Cal, who’s downstairs?” I ask worryingly, instinctively reaching for the gun that I kept in my nightstand

Caleb laughed and ran downstairs again.

As a homicide detective, my cop instincts combined with my motherly instincts took over me and I ran to the living room in only a tank top and panties, with my gun already aimed to shoot.

Although, the last person I thought I would see standing there, braiding my daughter Maeve’s hair in a style reminiscent of queen Elsa, and watching Caleb showing off his somersault technique was HIM…

That caught me off guard and he must have sensed it, because the first thing he did was look up.

“Hi” He said shyly

“What are you doing here, Finn?” I asked, putting my gun down on the dinner table

“I swear I didn’t break in” He laughed, attempting a joke

“What do you want?” I decided to ignore the small talk...there was no need for that, not after everything he did

“I have an injury. So I have some time off for a while and I wanted to stop by to see the kids and you” He whispered the last part

“Injury, huh? Is it bad?”

Even after everything he did, I couldn’t help but worry about his well being, you know, for the kids sake!...

Ok fine, I still love him, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“No, nothing serious. But I got two months off and I was excited to see my family” He looked at me when he said that

“Are you going to see your parents?”

“Yeah and I was thinking if it would be ok with you if I take the kids with me?”

“Of course! Why would I mind?”

His family was always very loving and kind to me, and we became very close once the kids were born. Sometimes I would take them to Ireland on my vacation so they could see their grandparents or they would travel to New York so they could see the kids.

“Because of...you know” He trailed off

“Neither your family or the kids have anything to do with that. I’m a grown woman, Finn. I know how to separate the sheep from the goat, ok?!”

I could feel the air becoming thicker with the tension, until Maeve said

“Mommy, why aren’t you wearing any pants? Are you feeling hot? I can get you the Japanese hand fan daddy gave it to me, if you’d like” She smiled

“Thank you buttercup, but that won’t be necessary. I’ll be right back”

......................................................................

Now, properly dressed, I made my way towards the kitchen to get dinner ready.

“Do you need any help?” Finn asked from behind me

“No, thank you. You can go stay with the kids” I didn’t even bother to turn around to face him

“Y/N, can we talk?”

I sighed “There’s nothing worth talking about, Finn”

“Please?”

“What can you possibly say that will change what happened? Nothing! It will be a bunch of empty sorry’s and excuses, so let’s just save it, ok?!”

“It’s not empty, I truly am sorry”

“You should’ve thought that before you believed the bunch of lies she told you”

He opened his mouth to say something but Caleb began calling for him to go watch the cartoons with them.

......................................................................

“Mommy, can daddy have dinner with us?” Maeve asked

“Of course, pumpkin. If he would like to”

“Yay” She screams “Daddy, come!” She beckoned him

The subjects of conversation at dinner were mostly controlled by the kids. They, as per usual, asked me how many bad people I had taken down that day, but also asked Finn about his traveling, which state or city he liked the most, the best foods he’d eaten, which LEGO set was he building, if the hotel beds were soft and ‘what about the blankets?’

“Alright, I know you two are very excited to see daddy, but we need to brush those teeth! So, let’s go kiddos” I got up from my chair

“I’ll do it” He grabbed both kids, resting one on each side of his hip and went up to brush their teeth

When he came back down alone, I give him a questioning look

“They’re asleep” He smiled softly

“Oh, you already put them down for bed?! Thank you” I said, cleaning the kitchen island.

He nodded “I just didn’t bathe them because they said you already did”

“Yeah, that’s the first thing I do when I get home. Or my mom does it for me if I get caught up in a case, but most of the time I do it”

“How’s work?” He asked, sitting down on one of the high benches.

“Good, Richard is my superior again, so he helps me a lot with my shifts, because of the kids” I smiled

“The old man is still working?” He laughed, amused

“Yeah, he already said he will only leave his badge when he’s dead” I cackled “How’s road life? Amazing, I presume”

“Nah, don’t let the bright lights fool ya” He laughed, bitterly “I love wrestling, being in the ring, performing for the audience, but once I pass through the curtains backstage it gets lonely” A little bit of sadness could be heard in his voice “It’s very lonely... it’s different from when I came back home to you and the kids. Now I just get back to an empty apartment, wishing I could get back home” He looks at me

“Finn, please”

“I love you! Why can’t we just try again?”

“Because no!”

“Why?” He pleaded

“Because you don’t know what it was like ok?! You don’t know how much it hurt me, the things you said, the fact that you believed some envious woman’s gossip about me having an affair with Lucas! He’s married for fuck’s sake! To a man!”

“I- I didn’t knew Lucas was gay, Y/N”

“Yeah, you didn’t! And why is that? Oh yeah, because you did not trust your own wife, all you saw was the fact that he is a man and my work partner so you just bought the assumption that woman sold you, choosing to believe her instead of me!”

“It wasn’t like that, ok?” He tried to explain

“It wasn’t like that, you say? When you were the one who came in here filled with accusations! Saying that I had an affair with him, that I cheated on you, that you wished you would’ve slept with half of the women who throw themselves at you everyday, doubting that those kids upstairs are yours, when they’re the fucking spitting image of you! You said all those horrible things, Finn. Not me!”

He stared at his knuckles as I continued, now crying

“How do you think that made me feel? To listen from my own husband how much he wished he had cheated on me. Bragging about all of the hot young women who are waiting to be fucked by a wrestler...You know it was always hard for me to accept that you wanted me and not some hot girl in the locker room, that you had chosen me, that I got lucky enough to not only marry a man who’s physically breathtaking but also such a beautiful person on the inside. And still, it was that same Prince Charming who became the frog! I never thought that” I had to stop myself from saying the next horrible words roaming through my mind

“You never thought that, what, Y/N?”

I shook my head

“Say it”

I shook my head again and he got up from the bench, coming to where I was standing

“Say it, love. I can take it”

“I don’t want to say it” I whispered as more tears rolled down my cheeks

“Shhh, it’s ok, love” Finn pulled my head to his chest “Please don’t cry, I hate when you cry” His arms are tightly locked around me, providing me the sense of comfort that only he could give. And I hated that!

“Let me go” I tried to push him away

“What’s wrong, Y/N?”

“Just don’t touch me” I said, shoving him away

He knew that I was closing him off, I could see it in his eyes

“Say it! You never thought that what?” He insisted, more forcefully this time

“I never thought that someday I would regret meeting you! Marrying you, starting a family with you. If I could do it all again, I wouldn’t!” I spat

“You wouldn’t?” He scooted closer

“No” I answered with venom in my voice, trying to turn my undying love for him into hatred

“But I would!” Finn said firmly

I shook my head in denial, as he cupped my cheeks in his calloused hands, making me look up to meet his blue eyes

“I would do it, all over again. Meeting you, dating you, marrying you, having kids with you, in the future seeing the kids graduate high school, college, be at their wedding, take our future grandkids to the park, and spend the rest of my life with you! I would choose you over and over and over again! I choose you everyday, Y/N”

I squeezed my eyes shut

“You’re lying! Stop lying, Finn” I whispered

“Am I though? Open your eyes and look at me. I was never able to hide ANYTHING from you, I can lie to anyone but you. You can always see through me, so just look at me and tell me if I’m lying. If I am, then I promise you, I’ll leave this house right now and you’ll never have to see me again! Just open your eyes” He kissed each closed eyelid

After a few minutes, I gathered the courage to finally look at him and I could only see love, regret, pain and truth.

“I love you Y/N and always will. Yes, I was dumb to listen to some random gossip and I’m paying the price for it, but the only thing I ask you is: please, don’t give up on us! I’ll give you whatever time you need, just promise me that we’ll fix it. That we’ll be together again...You, Caleb and Maeve are my life! I would die to save you in a blink, love. If I had to choose between your life or mine I would choose yours, becau-“

I placed two fingers on his lips

“Stop talking like that! You know I don’t like it. It attracts those bad vibes, you know?”

Finn lightly chuckled “But I mean it”

“Stop! I don’t like when you talk like that... I hate to think that something bad could ever happen to you. You know, because of the kids” I tried to hide my feelings

“And you wouldn’t miss me, not even a little bit?” He teased

“I miss you everyday” I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth when I realized what I just said

He smiled sweetly, leaning down to place sweet and innocent pecks all over my face.

Finn started on my forehead, then he went to my temples, followed by the cheekbones, apple’s of the cheek, jaw, chin, side of my lips. Finn pulled back to search for any resistance signs and when he found none, he kissed my lips. A lazy kiss, that grew more urgent by the minute.

“Fuck, I missed you so much” He moaned, now kissing my neck

“Finn, wait. Wait a minute” I tried to pull his head back by his hair but that only made him moan.

“Finn!” I said harshly, finally having his attention

“What’s wrong, love? Don’t you want it? I thought that-“

“Have you seen anyone since we broke up?” I asked, not even letting him finish his sentence

“We didn’t break up! You asked me for some time and-“

“Finn, just answer the fucking question please” I pleaded

“No, I haven’t been with anyone in those 8 months. Except for my hand when I look at your pictures” He smirked

“You’re so ridiculous” I whispered in relief as my arms circled his waist

“So...do you still want to make love?” He eagerly asked

“We never made love, Finny. We’ve always fucked senseless” I laughed

“No! We’ve always made love it’s just that we’re more frantic about it” He chuckled

“Ok, we sleep together and then what?” I asked

“Then you stay here and I go back to my apartment” He simply said

My heart sunk in my chest as a faint “Oh, ok” left my lips

“So I can pack my clothes and bring them back home” He said, as a devilish smile grew on his face “That’s of course, if you want me here”

“Asshole” I lightly punched his chest “I thought you just wanted a one night stand and that’s it. You scared me!”

Finn chuckled, beckoning me closer to him

“You could never be just a one night stand, love. You fuck too good to be just a one time thing” He winked

“So you just want me for my bedroom skills, huh?” I teased

“Yes and no” He giggled “Yes, because no other woman fucks like you do” He bit my neck, growling “And no, because there’s so much more about you than the bedroom” He hugged my waist “You’re my best friend, my nurturer, my supporter, the air that keeps me alive, my everything!” He kissed me passionately

“Can we try again? Start over and leave all that shit behind us?” He whispered

“If you promise me that if we get back together, you won’t listen to other people’s gossip and will come to me whenever you hear somethi-“

“Yes!” He pecked my lips excitedly, as a wide smile took over his face “I promise you, love! That’ll never happen again, you have my word!” He gave me a bear hug and spun me around the kitchen

“Finn!” I squealed, when we almost fell to the ground “We’re going to wake up the kids” I giggled

“Oh no, shhhh” He shut me up with a kiss “We can’t let that happen! Because as much as I love our children, I haven’t gotten any in eight months and I can’t wait to change that with you right now” He pushed us towards the couch and laid on top of me

“But I thought you were going to go and get your clothes”

“I don’t need clothes, woman! You know I like to sleep naked” He winked

And roamed his head down to...

Please, if you’re comfortable with it, let me know your thoughts on this? Feedbacks are always appreciated 🥰😘

#finn balor one shot #finn balor x reader #finn balor fanfiction #finn balor imagine #finn balor #nxt x reader #nxt imagine #nxt #nxt wrestling #wwe nxt #nxt fanfiction #masochist writes

[hercleverboy]

time

spencer reid x reader 

summary ↠ spencer learns the truth about why the reader left the team so suddenly during his post-prison showdown with cat adams.

category ↠ angst

warnings/includes ↠ cancer, main character death, crying, pleading someone not to die, please do not read if these are triggering for you.

word count ↠ 3.6k

“Death is peaceful, easy. Life is harder.”

Breast cancer had a history in Y/N’s family. Her grandmother had died from it, and it seemingly skipped her mothers generation. Y/N was not so lucky.

When the doctor told her, she stared blankly she’d at the wall. He was talking at her but she only seemed to pick up on parts of what he was saying.

“Breast cancer”, “stage 4”, “has unfortunately spread to other parts of your body,” “eight months if you’re lucky”

Lucky?

If she’s lucky?

The doctor sent her on her way after discussing some treatments with her. He told her what the side effects of those treatments were going to be, and she’d shaken her head. The doctor looked shocked, but Y/N had just given him a small smile. If she was going to die, she was going to spend her time doing everything she wanted to, not being poked and prodded and given treatments that were unlikely to work anyway.

Initially, she didn’t tell anyone at the BAU. She certainly didn’t tell Spencer, who she’d been crushing on for years at that point. They were best friends, they had been since she started all those years ago, and they were always there for one another. She was always too nervous to tell him how she felt, but it’s funny how finding out your days are numbered will encourage you to do things you never thought you’d have the courage to. So one night at the end of the work day, when the bullpen was empty apart from her and the resident genius, she threw caution to the wind and walked right up to his desk.

He grinned at her as she approached. “Hey, Y/N. Did you want to grab something to eat before you head home? There’s that new Chinese place a few streets over-“ He was interrupted by her saying three words he never thought she’d say to him.

“I love you.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

“You what?” He manages to get out, his mind was spinning.

“I love you. I’ve always loved you. I’m sorry, you just have to know.”

“Y/N I don’t know what to say I-“ He stumbled over his words, trying to find the right ones. Truthfully, he was in love with her too. Though his own insecurities and stupid thoughts always got in the way. Y/N took his lack of response to mean that he didn’t feel the same, and so she took a deep breath and smiled at him reassuringly. Before he could tell her that he was very sure he loved her too, she was gone, the bullpen’s doors closing gently behind her.

Y/N felt the weight lifted off her shoulders. Despite her thinking Spencer didn’t return her affection, she still felt the sweetest relief imaginable. Because fuck it, if she was going to die she’d be damned If she did so without telling Spencer Reid how much she loved him.

And now he knew.

It brought her a sense of peace.

She told Hotch, but that’s only because she had to give him a real reason as to why she was leaving, after he heard the lie she’d fed the team.

“I’ve been offered a job in the orginised crime unit, I just can’t turn it down.”

“Y/N, can I speak with you?” He’d asked after she’d announced to the team that she was leaving. He led her to his office, closing the door behind her. “I’ll get straight to the point. There is no new job with the orginised crime unit, I would’ve been notified if you’d been offered a new position. What’s going on?”

She couldn’t lie to him, she knew that much. So she took a deep breath and spoke. “I’m terminally ill, sir. I haven’t got long left. I would like to live what is left of my life.” Hotch was understating. He didn’t show it, always very good at masking his emotions, but his heart was broken. He’d even hugged her, telling her what a pleasure it was to work alongside her, how the world would suffer greatly from the loss of her kind heart and unmatched intelligence.

On her last shift, which was a paperwork day thankfully, the team got together and threw her a little in-office going away party. Y/N felt guilty about not telling her friends, her family, the real reason she was leaving but they shouldn’t have to bear that burden, they shouldn’t have to carry around the guilt. And she didn’t want their pity or worry either. Hotch had been surprised at how soon she’d wanted to leave the BAU after telling him of her condition, but she told him it was because she wanted the team to remember her how she was. Strong and confident. She didn’t want to them to see her so weak and vulnerable, how she knew this disease would reduce her to.

JJ found out that day, unintentionally. After laughing and eating some cake with the team, Y/N felt incredibly nauseous (she found she was struggling to keep food down these days), so she excused herself to the bathroom, and was violently sick in the toilet of one of the stalls. JJ had followed her in, noticing how she’d barely touched her cake earlier and that she looked awfully pale as well.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” She asked, opening up the stall door behind Y/N, who was panting over the toilet bowl.

“I’m fine, JJ. I promise.” She smiled weakly but JJ wasn’t buying it. The two women had become best friends over their time in the bureau, almost like sisters.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” JJ joked as Y/N stood up on shaky legs.

“No, I’m not pregnant Jayje.” Y/N couldn’t look her best friend in the eye, tears filling her eyes.

“Hey, don’t cry. It’ll be okay, what’s wrong?” JJ’s motherly tone made Y/N wanted to laugh but she couldn’t force one out if she tried. Y/N’s lack of response frightened JJ.

“Y/N, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong, please.” She begged.

“I’m sick, JJ.”

It didn’t take the blonde long to figure out that she didn’t mean a common cold. Tears filled JJ’s eyes.

“I haven’t got a lot of time Jayje.” Y/N cried, and JJ began to sob, pulling Y/N into a tight hug.

“Well there are treatments right? Chemotherapy or something? Something has to work.” JJ was begging, praying that there was something. Her heart shattered all over again when Y/N shook her head.

“I won’t spend the rest of my time hooked up to countless machines receiving treatments that may or may not work. I don’t want to fight this. I’m already so tired, I just want to go peacefully when the time comes. Please?”

JJ just cried harder. She understood Y/N had already made peace with her fate.

After calming down slightly, Y/N pulled back, holding JJ by her shoulders. “You can’t tell anyone. Only you and Hotch know. I won’t burden anyone else with this, okay?”

“Y/N, this isn’t a burden. You’re sick. The team deserve to know, they deserve their turn to say goodbye.” JJ tried to convince her.

“Please. You can’t say a thing. I know they deserve that but god I can’t have them all pitying me. Garcia will buy me gift baskets to compensate, Derek won’t know what to do with himself so he’ll make jokes, and Spencer, god Spence will go into overdrive trying to fix me. I just want to live out my days peacefully, please let me have that Jayje.” She begged, and the blonde nodded.

“I understand, Y/N. But Spence.. he’s one of your best friends. He has been for years now. I know you told him you love him and he didn’t say it back but.. this- this will kill him.” She whispered the last part and Y/N looked away as she fought to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.

“I know. And I’m sorry if it’s selfish but I’m dying, I think I’m allowed to be a little selfish.” Her attempt at a joke was met with a stern look from JJ.

5 months after Y/N left the BAU, Spencer ended up in trouble in Mexico, and before anyone could do anything he was awaiting trial in a prison cell. He had lot of time to think over the three months spent behind bars, staring at blank walls, fighting to survive long enough for the team to prove his innocence. Every night he slept in his bed he thought of Y/N.

How much he missed his best friend.

How much he loved her still.

He realised how stupid he’d been to let her get away. He regretted not going after her that day in the bullpen and promising her he felt the same way she did. He promised himself the moment he got out he would tell her how he felt, and they could make up for the time they’d lost. He yearned to see her, and If prison taught him anything, it was that time was precious. And he wanted to spend all of his time with her.

When JJ turned up to the prison one day, he’d never felt a relief quite like it.

“We’re taking you home.”

He was relieved that now he could focus on finding his mother, and once that was done he could prioritise Y/N. He would tell her how he felt, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, no time to waste. He could tell her the words he’d thought a thousands times of the last three months.

I love you. So much.

He just had to win one final time, play Cat Adams stupid game and then everything he’d ever wanted would be his. He could live the life he’d dreamed of when he was in prison, Y/N by his side.

“Even if you are pregnant the baby’s not mine.” Spencer was mortified that she was really trying to persuade him that her baby was his, let alone that she was even pregnant in the first place.

Cat clicked her tongue. “Except for the part where it is.”

“That’s preposterous, you’ve been in prison. And besides we’ve never-“

“So have you, and I know we never...” She trailed off, that smirk on her lips. “Ask me how I did it.”

Spencer was really losing his patience. He didn’t care for, nor did he want to play Cat’s little game anymore.

“Come on, ask me.”

“How did you do it?”

“I had Lindsey dose you in Mexico. You lost time.” Cat smiled at the look of confusion on Spencer’s face. “I told her to pretend to be Maeve.”

That hurt Spencer more than it should’ve. 4 years since the tragic death of his girlfriend, and the wounds were still fresh as anything. Of course Cat knew about Maeve.

“But perhaps it would’ve worked better if I’d told her to pretend to be Y/N, the best friend that you’ve always loved but never told her. It’s a shame that you might never get the chance now.” Cat snarled.

“What do you mean I’ll never get the chance?”

“Oh my god. You don’t know, do you?” Cat teased, and Spencer gripped the edge of the table so harshly his knuckles turned white.

“Know what, Cat?”

“Dear little Y/N has terminal cancer. She was given around eight months to live, from what I know. That would mean-“ She theatrically looked at Spencer’s watch that sat on her wrist. “Any day now, if my timings right.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.” Cat’s head cocked to the side. This wasn’t part of her original plan, but any opportunity to mess with Spencer even more was not to be missed.

“Yes you are, that what you do.” Spencer seethed, the words like venom on his tongue.

“I’m not. Just ask blondie in there.” Cat pointed to the double sided mirror. “She’ll tell you. It is her that Y/N chose to confide in, after all.” She teased.

Spencer shot up from table with loud bang and stalked out the room, slamming open the door to where a gobsmacked JJ stood.

“Is it true?” Spencer asked, his tone cold and unforgiving.

“Spence..”

“JJ! I asked if it was true?” He shouted, slamming his hand on the wall next to them. JJ flinched, and for the first time in their friendship JJ was afraid of the man in front of her.

“Yes.” Her voice was small.

He whipped out his phone, calling Garcia. “Garcia I need you to look up Y/N Y/L/N’s medical records.”

“Our Y/N Y/L/N? Why?” The chipper woman replied, confused.

“Just please, Garcia!” Spencer shouted desperately.

“Okay okay, I’m looking and everything seems fine- oh wait- what’s this?” Garcia murmured to herself as she clicked through the files, her eyes widening and tears forming in them as she gasped. “She’s sick? W-why didn’t she tell us? Oh my god.”

“She’s alive, right? Oh god please tell me she’s alive?” Spencer begged.

“She’s alive, but she was admitted to the hospital 2 weeks ago after she collapsed. They’re keeping her in the hospital, just trying to make her comfortable- oh god I can’t read anymore.” Garcia was sobbing down the line and JJ had a hand clasped over her mouth to keep her own sobs at bay.

Spencer sobbed too, for the first time since he went to prison. Everything seemed to hit him at once.

After a moment, JJ’s trembling voice reached his ears. “Spence, I know this is a lot to take in but if you want to find out where your mother is you’ve got to carry on.”

He’s knew she was right, but he just glared at her coldly. “How long have you known?”

“Since she left.” JJ cried. “I’m so sorry, but she begged me not to tell you, or anyone else for that matter. How could I deny her that?”

Spencer understood it wasn’t JJ’s fault but he was still so angry. The anger burned within him like a wildfire and he didn’t posses the restraint to put it out. “There was no new job in the organised crime unit, was there?”

“No.”

“Fuck!” Spencer shouted, pushing some files that sat on the table onto the floor with a loud crash as he cried.

“Spence-“ JJ attempted to comfort him but he was downright inconsolable.

“You know she told me she loved me. Before she left.” Spencer spoke quickly and fiercely, though the tears trembling down his cheeks told a different story. He finally looked JJ in the eye, and she nodded. “I didn’t get to tell her I love her but I do JJ, god I do and now I’m gonna lose her.” He let out a heartbroken cry and JJ felt so guilty.

“Spence you have to go back in there and win her little game. Save your mother, and then you can worry about Y/N. Okay?” JJ tried, and this time it seemed the words sunk into him.

Spencer hated that she was right. So with a sniffle, he wiped the tears from his eyes with the sleeves of his blazer, before taking a deep breath and returning to the room with Cat, one even more determined to win.

After winning the battle against Cat, Spencer escorted his mother back to the sanitarium. As soon as she was safe and settled, Spencer was immediately on the phone with Garcia.

“Garcia, which hospital is Y/N at?”

Once he got the address he was there in minutes.

He sped up to the front desk, panting as he spoke. “Hi, I’m here to see Y/N Y/L/N.”

The receptionist nodded, typing away on her computer. Spencer stood as he waited to hear what room she was in, tapping his foot impatiently on the white floorboards. A doctor who had been standing near the desk stepped towards him, and he looked him as she approached. “Sorry sir, Did you say you’re here to see Y/N Y/L/N?”

Spencer turned to her, his voice desperate. He prayed he wasn’t too late. “Yes, yes.”

The doctor looked at him with a small smile. She looked him up and down, coming to a conclusion. “Are you Dr Spencer Reid?”

Spencer gulped, unsure what to say. “Yes. How did you know?”

“Y/N- She talks about you, when she’s in between consciousness. She showed me pictures a few weeks ago, told me all about the man she loved who she was so sure didn’t love her back. She’ll be so glad to see you.”

He wanted to smile at the information but he felt so sick that he couldn’t force his lips up into even a grimace. “How is she?” He dared to ask.

“I’m sorry, Dr Reid. Y/N is incredibly ill. We’re just trying to make her as comfortable as we can, I’m afraid it won’t be long now. Follow me, she could use your company.”

His heart broke but he followed her, attempting not to breakdown in a fit of cries.

When he saw her his heart broke even more. Her cheeks were sullen and she was thinner than he remembered. But she was still so beautiful to him. He thanked the doctor and pulled up a chair next to her, taking one of her frail hands in his. She turned to look at him, flashing a weak smile.

“Spencer? Are you really here?”

“Yes sweetheart. And I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” He choked out, attempting to smile for her sake.

She nodded, and he brought his lips to her hand to place a gentle kiss on it.

“I’ve missed you.” She whimpered out. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve missed you too.” He felt like breaking down but he had to be strong for her. “Y/N, I have to tell you, if this is the last chance I get I- I love you. I always have done. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all those months ago. I’m here now, but I’m too late.” He sobbed.

“Hey, hey. . It’s okay. It was a privilege to love you, Spencer Reid.” She smiled, moving her frail hands up to cup his face. It made him sob harder.

“I wish we had more time.” He cried, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I know, me too.”

They talked for the whole evening, and then, when she got too exhausted to continue conversation, he pulled out her favourite book from his satchel. He read to her, listening to the sound of her shallow breathing.

The team visited, all too shocked to say much, but they came to say goodbye. Y/N was barely conscious enough to realise what was going on, but she still managed to give the team a weak smile and a whispered, “Love you guys.”

JJ and Garcia had to leave the room so they wouldn’t collapse in tears front of her.

When the heart monitor went flat in the early hours of the next morning, that loud blaring sound filling Spencer’s ears, his sobs started again as he rested his forehead on her still chest.

“Please. Please don’t go. Come back, I love you.” Spencer begged, his shoulders moving with the sobs that wracked through him. He’d never felt so utterly heartbroken. Not when he watched his father leave, not when he saw his mother’s condition worsen, not even when Maeve was killed right in front of him. None of that compared to how his chest burned and his throat was sore from the sobs that ripped from him, and the tears that relentlessly cascaded down his cheeks.

“Please, baby. Look at me. Let me see them gorgeous eyes, yeah?” He begged, he prayed to every god there ever was that she’d look at him again with those beautiful orbs that he’d fallen so In love with. Those stunning eyes that would never open again.

The doctor, with tears in her own eyes at the scene before her, moved to turn the heart monitor off, the obnoxious withstanding beep cutting off. It made Spencer’s head ache.

Spencer clutched Y/N’s hand desperately to his chest, his head resting on her chest as he cried. He squeezed her hand, and some foolish part of him almost believed that if he squeezed hard enough he’d wake up from whatever nightmare this was. He twisted his eyelids shut and dreamed. He dreamed of waking up next to Y/N, in a bed that they shared, wedding bands on their fingers and their children’s footsteps and laughter filling their home. He dreamed of a life with her, of raising a family with her. He dreamed of the life she deserved.

He wanted to scream. How was this fair? How were murderers and serial rapists walking around with no consequence but people like Y/N had their lives ripped from them?

It was unjust.

But the world was cruel, Spencer knew. It was cruel and it was cold and it was unforgiving.

He raised his head from her chest, using the hand that wasn’t holding hers to place his hand on her cheek. He pushed forward, placing a gentle kiss on her cold and lifeless lips.

it was a goodbye. one that needn’t be spoken.

“I love you, Y/N. I’ll honour you for the rest of my life, I promise.”

Spencer Reid never recovered from losing Y/N Y/L/N.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #mgg x reader #mgg #spencer reid one shot #criminal minds x reader

[juniorgman187]

The Bones (Reid Series) Part 1

Summary: Almost a year after Maeve’s death, Spencer reaches out to the recipients of Maeve’s donated organs to reconnect with his lost love. However, when the receiver of her heart, Reader, doesn’t write back, Spencer goes on a poorly-motivated mission to find her. 

Playlist: “The Bones” by Maren Morris & Hozier   (BONUS: song includes major foreshadowing)

A/N: There is an OC in this story because to me, writing “(y/n)” over and over again cheapens the story and doesn’t flow well. It was a personal decision, and to anyone it sincerely bothers, I’m sure there’s a way you can insert your own name instead. This fic is also inspired by “Things We Know By Heart” by Jessi Kirby. Category: Series, Soft Angst, Eventual Smut + NSFW content* Pairing: Spencer Reid POV x Fem!OC Content Warning: allusions to death, mourning, loss, recovery, arrhythmia (this is an intro chapter, so it’ll get more interesting from here I promise) Word Count: 2.2k

This will be a multi-part series.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

It all started that first autumn after Maeve’s death - just five weeks past a year since I parted with her. I was absentmindedly reading when, rather out of the blue, Mary Donovan called to inform me about a Mrs. Rachel Larsen. 

Although we didn’t learn her actual name until later, she was first known to us as the recipient of Maeve’s liver. Not a single one of the three of us - Maeve’s parents and me - had expected a recipient to be in contact with us. That inability to predict such an event was caused by my neglect to remember Maeve was an organ donor. It wasn’t particularly relevant in the grand scheme of things, and for that forgetfulness, I was truly ashamed, but after reading Rachel Larsen’s letter together with the Donovans, it all came back to me. 

Every single thing. 

You see, despite the anonymity of the person writing to us, it was as if I could actually feel Maeve’s soul coming alive again, as strange as that sounds. 

She was still here with me ... in some form. 

Later that night, when I would return to an empty apartment, I would wonder why I hadn’t thought of reaching out to the recipients before. Even though I’d already started writing a thank you letter back to Rachel, the thirst for more of Maeve became increasingly insatiable. 

While I did have fond memories of her to live by, I couldn’t thrive off of them in the way that I did with that letter. Our only moments together worth reliving were those spent over the phone, a time when I didn’t even know what she looked like. But that letter from Rachel Larsen ... it was somehow more wholesome and pure than any memory of the living Maeve that I could cultivate.

You could say I was doing this to ease my mourning, meaning it should’ve made me feel better, but that didn’t stop the guilt from eating away at me piece by piece as I wrote letters to the rest of the recipients. 

The Donovans had no idea I was doing this, but I reasoned to myself that they would appreciate the surprise. Though they were still undeniably riddled with grief, smiles embellished their sullen faces when they read about Rachel’s quality of life now with a new liver. So maybe, just maybe, hearing from the rest of the receivers would be good for us all. At least, that’s what I told myself.

In one of those rare moments when inspiration strikes and it courses through your veins at the speed of lightning, I found myself being more productive than I had been in nearly a year. By midnight, I’d successfully composed five letters, each dedicated to the receiver of one of Maeve’s major organs - none of which, though, included my identity.

Given the fragile process of contacting the transplant coordinators, getting consent forms, and premeeting counseling, it would be months, if not years, before I would be able to really speak with these faceless people. Nothing against Donor Family Services - I’m sure they do the best they can - but for me, their best wasn’t good enough. So instead, I enlisted the help of someone I knew could never let me down. 

“Are you sure you want me to do this?” Penelope peered up at me from her seat, her pinky finger hesitantly hovering over the ‘enter’ button. 

“Yes.” 

With just one click, she discovered the addresses of each one of those faceless people. This singular operation, albeit somewhat unethical, was the final piece to my puzzle. All there was left to do now was send the letters to them, with the tenuous hope they might send one back. 

Luckily for me, not a single recipient questioned how I managed to find them or why this process wasn’t being handled by Donor Family Services, but I suppose if they did wonder those things, they didn’t feel comfortable asking me. Especially not after they learned who I was in relation to their donor. I didn’t intend to guilt-trip anyone with what I wrote in my letters nor did I want to take advantage of anyone’s empathy, but how could you possibly make a foe out of your organ donor’s grieving boyfriend? Exactly - you can’t. So you don’t. Instead, you send an inviting letter back, telling me you’d love to meet. Which is what four of them did.

Only one person didn’t reply, and while an 80% success rate was great, I simply couldn’t let this one go. Trust me, I would have ... had it been any other organ. 

For quite some time, I was the one with Maeve’s heart. 

I just needed to see where it was now.

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

The heart has several definitions and corresponding connotations. 

Scientifically speaking, the heart is a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. However, figuratively, the heart can be seen as the central or innermost part of something. The heart of a city, for example. But in literature, the heart is symbolic of love. It is often regarded as the source of all knowledge, which is where the comparison between the head and the heart comes from. The head operates logically, whereas the heart functions emotionally, but despite the rationality the head holds, the heart is what people advise you to listen to because it holds the ultimate truth. 

The heart, because it is equipped with your truest feelings, supersedes any logic and reason the head might hold. 

But you see, I only ever knew Maeve’s mind. I could understand the inner workings of it - I’d probably be able to navigate through her consciousness if I entered it given the fact that our intellect matched one another’s - and I shared nearly identical thought processes with her, but that was all that I ever knew. 

And if that was how much knowledge she held in her head alone, then, undoubtedly, her heart held so much more.

Science defines the heart as an organ. Figurative language uses the heart to establish a focal point. Literature likens the heart to love. But I compare her heart to the ocean. Like the sea, Maeve’s heart was 80% undiscovered, and exploration was simply calling my name. 

For that reason, and that reason alone, I couldn’t abandon my pursuit of it. 

That’s not to say I wasn’t ashamed of this mission, though. If anything, shame for the man I had become in the face of Maeve’s death was the only feeling I was truly capable of anymore. Any other emotions were fleeting or insincere. 

Unfortunately, that slimy, disgusting feeling was only amplified times ten when I found myself driving two hours and forty-five minutes to get to Virginia Beach. 

No sane man would drive this far on a weekday for even their most prized possession, and yet here I was, exactly 180 miles away from home, seeking out someone who hadn’t had the courtesy to even write me back, let alone agree to meet with me. Who knows if she’d even give me the time of day. 

She being Valerie. 

“Valerie Elise Bishop was born on August 5th, 1988 in Henderson, Nevada, to parents Andrew and Sara, but when Valerie turned seventeen, she was diagnosed with arrhythmia,” Garcia explained to me over the phone on the car ride here. “It’s when-”

“When the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don't work properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly,” I accidentally cut in. Realizing I interrupted Garcia, I brought her back into the conversation by asking, “I know there are more than 3 million cases per year in the U.S, but isn’t it usually common for ages 60 or older?” 

“You are most certainly correct, Boy Wonder. It is more common in ages 60 and older, however, her maternal grandmother passed away from arrhythmia, so the family history increased the likelihood.” 

At the sound of this news, I had to pull the car over and physically stop just so I could grasp the weight of what I was really doing. 

“In Henderson, Nevada ... maternal grandmother passed away ... family history increased the likelihood …” Garcia’s voice rang in my head. 

It was then that I came face to face with the gravity of reality. 

Valerie wasn’t just a faceless name or a recipient of Maeve’s heart, she was a person. And her humanity only became more apparent to me the more Penelope spoke. 

For god’s sake, she and I grew up in the same state. She and I saw the same sunsets from the same little corner of the earth. She drove down the same highways and byways - we might’ve even crossed paths at one point or another! Not to mention that she lost her grandmother to the same disease that she was suffering from, and if there was one thing consistent about arrhythmia, it was very likely she’d been living with it for decades, if not her entire lifetime. It’s a long term disease that takes years to improve but only seconds to kill. All it would take is just one irregular beat, and she’d be dead. How can you possibly live with that constant fear looming over your head? 

She is a person. I had to remind myself. Not just a means to explore more of Maeve. 

“Hey, Garcia,” I turned the car back on. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” 

“What do you mean?” I could just feel panic begin to rise in Garcia. 

“No, I’m not talking about life, I’m talking about this.” Though she couldn’t see, I grandly gestured to the location, the car, and the passenger seat that was cluttered with files on Valerie. “I don’t feel right invading her privacy like this. It’s just selfish.” 

I wasn’t the only one mourning something here. 

“Are you sure?” Penelope clarified. Which was ironic considering she was the one who was unsure of doing any of this, to begin with. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have dragged Garcia into this. Something as immoral as this was totally against her character, but she did it anyway because her loyalty to her friends conquers all. 

Like I said, my shame multiplied times ten. If not for Valerie, then certainly for Penelope. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m heading home.” 

“Okay,” She softly returned. “Be safe.” 

“Oh, and Garcia?” I asked before ending the call. “Thanks.” 

“Of course. Anything for you, Dr. Reid.” 

By the time I ended the call, the sun was already setting - that’s how long I’d been on the road for. The nearly-three-hour drive I would have to make for the second time today meant I wouldn’t be home in time to beat the pitch-black sky, so considering I was already in for a long night, I made a little detour for the one thing I couldn’t go home without.

A piping hot cup of coffee. 

I felt something as rewarding as caffeine was well deserved for the self-restraint I demonstrated minutes ago. And maybe it was my exhaustion, both mental and physical, that brought me to the near conclusion that I would truly let this go, but I was honestly feeling like I could accept this. An 80% acceptance rate. Not bad, right? 

Though I was basically half-asleep while waiting for my coffee, I could not miss the barista when she said, “Valerie! Your order’s ready!”

What are the chances?

A jolt of energy surged through my body and brought me back to life, causing me to whip my head around at the slightest semblance of movement. On instinct, my gaze gravitated to the woman walking towards the front counter. My pull to her was so strong that even if I hadn’t studied file upon file on her that included pictures of what she looked like, I still would’ve recognized her in a heartbeat.

I just knew. That’s her. 

I had no plan whatsoever for how I should approach this, and yet I still rose from my seat, motivated by nothing more than the single belief that I needed to.

Was this the universe telling me that I was meant to run into her after all? That I needed to meet the woman with an oceanic heart?

But when I finally got to where she was, she glided effortlessly past me, not paying any mind to my presence. Why would she though? To her, I was no one. To her, I was the faceless person. 

“Excuse me!” I bolted to the front counter after realizing I might’ve just missed my opportunity. The barista, stunned and concerned, furrowed her brows while she waited for my question. “Is that girl a regular here?”

“Valerie?” She pointed in her direction, to which I nodded rapidly. “Oh, yeah. She comes in here all the time. She works just across the street.” 

When I came to this coffee shop, it was simply by chance. It wasn’t even the closest cafe, but it was the one I chose to go to for some inexplicable reason. 

I’d like to think it was fate. I was meant to be here after all. Because right behind me stood the storefront of a building I had only briefly read about in Valerie’s file.

The Bones,  Art Gallery & Studio

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

PART 2 HERE!

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[definitelynotkatesblog]

Sundays l Spencer Reid Fic

Pairing: Fem! Reader x Spencer Reid

Category: Angst

Summary: Reader helps Spencer grieve the loss of a loved one, and loses parts of herself in the process.

A/N: Full disclaimer, angst is NOT my strong suit and for that reason, I’ve been sitting on this fic for a while. Mostly because I wasn’t sure if I liked it, wasn’t sure if it was sad enough, wasn’t sure if a Maeve-mentioned content would interest anyone, and wasn’t sure if I could keep staring at this god damn draft anymore. Alas, Sundays is here and I hope it hurts :)

And of course a huge thank you to my lovey betas @imagining-in-the-margins and @wishingwellwriting for helping me make this as painful as possible!

Content Warning: Season 8 spoilers, mention of drinking/being drunk, mention of death, grieving, a brief kiss, unrequited love

Word count: 4.1k

Sundays were his hardest days.

Sundays were their days.

I had been there for hours, doing dishes and tidying up the living room while he slept. I never minded, he needed it. He needed a break from the constant sadness that seemed to radiate from inside him. I never knew so much sadness could exist in the same place at one time.

I turned to see him sitting up on the couch with his shoulders slumped, an empty expression on his face.

Grabbing the coffee on the counter, I crossed the room and placed it on the side table before sitting on the coffee table in front of him. I took his hands in mine and rubbed my thumbs across the backs of them. They were cold and bony, almost inhuman.  

He swallowed hard and looked up at me, meeting my eyes for a brief moment before tears started to form. His face had thinned too, his cheeks sunken and the hollows under his eyes colored a dark purple. He’d stopped eating weeks ago.

He bit his bottom lip before his gaze dropped back down to his lap.

His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, but closed again. A broken breath shuddered from his lungs, and I thought it might only be a moment before the sobs ripped through his body. He wasn’t saying much these days, which was unusual for Spencer. He was a fountain of knowledge who often loved to share what his eidetic memory had ingrained in his mind, but as of late the light normally found behind his eyes was dull and uninviting.

I gave his hands a final squeeze before I reluctantly got up to finish tidying. It was enough of a mess inside his head without his home being a mess, too. I knew how that could be; to have your only reprieve be what’s in your head. Lately, he preferred to be alone. I thought sometimes that if I didn’t have a key, he wouldn’t even have let me in.

Sometimes he would fall asleep on my shoulder or my lap, depending on how we were situated. It wasn’t so much a matter of comfort, but convenience. Whatever position we were in before he slipped into unconsciousness became our marble sculpted pose until he woke. Sleep seemed to be his only solace- the only place he could be happy and I wasn’t keen on disturbing that.

Sometimes he would cry in his sleep, and all I could do was try to comfort him in his unconscious state. Sometimes, he would ask me to hold him while he cried, but those times were few and far between. In the years I’d known Spencer, we never really touched. He hugged me once, briefly, then never again. The first few days I’d spent at his apartment with him were spent offering condolences from across the room. He recoiled at my touch- a hand on the back or an accidental brush against his arm. When he started to seek the contact, I knew something was wrong. A man so touch-averse leaving his fingerprints on me should’ve felt like heaven after years of wondering, but all it did was worry me.

He had asked me to dance once. He said they’d always talked about dancing to a song they both really loved and how badly it hurt to know he’d never get the chance to dance with her. I agreed, partially because he had spent so much time telling me how VR therapy was on the rise and helping grieving parents with the loss of their children, and partially because... well, how exactly are you supposed to say no to a grown man drowning himself in memories that weren’t quite made? You don’t. You let him wrap his arms around you and pull you down under the waves with him so he doesn’t feel so alone.

We swayed in the living room for the better part of an hour. He nuzzled his face into my neck and ran his hands along the contours of my back, occasionally resting them on my hips. I tried catching his eye when he shifted positions but he wouldn’t ever look directly at me. I wondered if he was trying to imagine her under his fingertips instead. When he would start to cry, I could feel the wetness soaking into my shirt. I did the only thing that felt safe to do in that moment- held him tighter and kept quiet.

My hands found themselves in his hair as we swayed, his arms snaking tighter around my waist, pulling us closer together. I did my best not to think about how good it felt to be wrapped up in him, or what about this felt good for him or for what reason.

I wondered what song he was playing in his head. He never actually turned the song on, and asking felt like an intrusion on the memory he was trying to create with her while I was busy trying to twist this memory myself, with him.

When we finally broke apart, his hand came to cup my face as he choked on a sob. His eyes were bloodshot and still forming new tears.

God, my heart hurt for him. I reached my hand to cover his still pressed against my cheek and offered a small smile. He blinked hard, forcing the tears brimming in the corners of his eyes to fall while he placed his other hand on my jaw. As he pressed his forehead to mine, I closed my eyes and let his silent sobs shake both of our bodies.

It wasn’t until his hands started guiding my face to his that I realized what was happening.

His lips pressed to mine between broken cries, desperately searching for the response only she could give him.

I froze.

His thumbs ran across my cheekbones as he stifled a cry, guiding my face back to his.

Before our lips could connect again, I turned away, the kiss landing on my cheek instead.

“Spencer,” I said gently, fearing that my words would rip apart the bandages I had so carefully wound around his heart. “Spencer, I’m not her.”

I knew it would be wrong to be jealous of a dead woman, but when I spoke those words, they weren’t born out of jealousy or wishing I was her so I could finally feel wanted by Spencer... Those words were for Spencer. For his grieving. For him to be able to discern reality from the place he had run off to in his mind.

His eyes stayed closed for a moment.

“I know,” he breathed as his hands dropped from my face to his sides.

I licked my lips and took a step back, trying to create some space between the memory he had just made and who I actually was. I could taste him on my lips and did everything I could not to savor it.

“Maybe you could take a nap, hm? I’m gonna go to the store.”

He turned away and shuffled toward the couch, slowly sinking onto his side.

“I’ll be back, Spencer.” I waited for a response that I should have known wasn’t coming. Pulling the door closed behind me, I heard a muffled sob from the other side of the wood.

——

Fumbling with the key in the lock, I finally kicked the door open enough to shoulder the rest of my way in. Upon entering the apartment, I was met with an absolute mess. Books had flown off the shelf and littered the carpet. The flower vase I’d brought over to foster some sense of life in the apartment now only existed as shattered fragments on the floor.

“Spencer, what the hell?” I walked through the landmines of glass and literature on the floor to put the bags in my arms on the counter. I looked out across the room to find him casually draped in a chair in the corner with a bottle of brown liquor resting on his knee. His arm rested on the back of the chair while his legs spread in front of him like he was waiting for a lap dance.

“Are you drinking?”

“Why are you here?” He sneered, turning his nose up at me. “Have I been so hospitable that you just can’t stay away?”

Shooting him a look, I hung my key ring up by the door, taking a moment to swallow the thought of him not wanting me here anymore. “I told you I was coming back,” I replied evenly.

He snorted and took a long sip from the bottle, wincing as he swallowed.

“You don’t even drink. Where did you get this?” I crossed the room and snatched the bottle from his hand. He didn’t try to stop me.

“What else am I supposed to do?” He asked. His tone was cold, but his voice was so clearly pained.

“Not this.” I walked back over to the sink, stepping over the remnants of the vase to pour what was left of the bottle down the drain.

“If I believed in God, I’d pray,” he said with a bitter laugh.

Silence from the rest of the apartment crept in to fill the space between us. I stared at his slumped figure in the chair but he remained unphased, staring at the floor with his brows knit together. I grabbed a glass of water and the broom before making my way over to where he’d slumped down further in the chair.

“Are you gonna throw this one on on the floor, too?” I asked before extending the glass to him.

He just stared at it in my hand like he wasn’t sure. I took a chance and placed it on the table next to him and turned back to start sweeping the mess he had made.

“Sorry, let me–” he slurred.

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have–”

“Shit!” He hissed from behind me, undoubtedly stepping in the shards of glass.

“-shoes on” I finished. I turned to see him hobbling back towards the chair, stumbling and limping with one foot pulled up awkwardly.

----

He sat on the edge of the toilet with his foot in my lap as I tweezed out the remaining splinters of glass from the tender skin. He winced and jerked and hissed as I worked.

“Spencer, stop moving, that’s only making it hurt worse.”

“Yeah, well–” he started.

“Haven’t you been shot before?” I asked, stopping to look up at the grown man squirming while perched atop the porcelain throne.

He grumbled an answer while I took to finishing up the excavation attempt. Satisfied with my work, I stood and offered my hand for him to stand as well. He looked at my outreached hand then my face, stood on his own and tested putting some weight on the foot.

I dropped my hand and looked down at his foot instead.

“Does it hurt?”

“It all hurts,” he said matter of factly, shifting his weight back and forth between his feet. I knew he wasn’t just talking about his foot but I’d run out of comforting words weeks ago.

Silence hung between us for a moment while I tried to find something to say to him.

“Well why don’t you shower? It’ll help with your foot and hopefully sober you up.”

He snorted, but reached for a towel on the rack behind me anyways. I scooted past him in the small room, backing up against the wall to slide past him. He made no attempt to move as my chest skimmed his, turning his head to face me head on instead. The smell of the liquor on his breath fanned across my face and choked me.

“And brush your teeth, too.” I quipped before closing the door a little more forcefully than necessary on my way out.

I had never seen Spencer like this. I paced the living room, chewing my bottom lip. He had never had a drink in the years we’d been friends, let alone gotten drunk. Grief makes you do dumb things though, right? He was just coping. He was coping with the loss of a loved one. He was numbing that pain. He needed to get away from the pain.

But god, this wasn’t Spencer. At least, this wasn’t my Spencer. Although, he never really was my Spencer, was he? Maybe it was me who needed a break. I gathered my bag and keys from the table by the door, silently running through the checklist in my head– keys, phone, wallet, sweatshirt.

Shit.

My sweatshirt was still in his bedroom where we’d spent the day reading yesterday. Things had felt almost normal for just a few hours, both of us lost in our own worlds between pages. Fiction providing a long enough distraction for him to relax, to let normalcy slip past the walls he put up. I made my way back to the bedroom, hoping to slip in and out before he was finished in the bathroom.

I had just picked up my sweater and thrown it over my arm when he emerged from the bathroom in a pair of clean pajamas, rubbing his hair with a towel. He did a quick once over of the contents in my hands and stopped drying, his arms falling to his sides.

“What are you doing?” he asked, a slight panic hidden in his tone.

I pointed my thumb towards the door. “I’m gonna go.”

“Well.. I mean… why?” He seemed genuinely confused.

These past few weeks had changed him, and had been changing me too. I’d somehow allowed myself to get swept up in the fantasy he had created to not feel so alone. In becoming a part of that, I had never felt so alone in my life.

“I just think I should go. For tonight, at least. I’ll swing by again soon.” I hitched my bag higher onto my shoulder and gave him my best attempt at a reassuring smile.

He looked at the towel in his hand and around the room, as if the answer might be there.

“Please don’t go,” he said quietly when he couldn’t find the answer he was looking for. I wasn’t even sure if he said it or if I was imagining things, wanting to stay more than I wanted to go.

“Spence–”

“Please. I’m sorry for earlier. I’m so, so sorry. I just–” He took a step towards me, wringing the towel in his hands and swallowing the apparent lump in his throat. His eyes were rimmed with red like he’d been crying in the shower. “I need you.” He hung his head like he was ashamed, like he never intended on saying that out loud.

He’d never said that before. He’d thanked me for being here for him, for helping him with his apartment and being a literal shoulder to cry on, but he never told me he needed me or asked me to stay. Even if it was unbeknownst to him, I knew when he said he needed me, he was using me for her. And that’s all it really was.

My heart fluttered in my chest at his words, but there was a part of me that was telling me to go.

The door and his face tugged at me in their opposite and respective directions. His next question made the decision for me.

“Lay with me?”

I stood still for a moment before moving to drop my bag from my shoulder. “Okay.”  

Just like that, any sense of self preservation flew out the goddamn window.

He nodded quickly and clamored into bed, like if he moved too slowly I’d change my mind. And maybe I should have. Maybe I should have done a lot of things differently- I should have left. I should have set boundaries. I should have better protected my heart instead of so willingly getting lost in him that I’d lost pieces of myself. I did none of those things.

Instead, I kicked off my shoes and pulled my sweatshirt on over my head before climbing into the cave he’d created with his arm holding the sheets up for me. As soon as I was sitting with my back against the headboard, he curled up into me and rested his head on my chest.

I leaned my cheek against the top of his head for a moment, taking in the scent of his shampoo as I reached for a book on his nightstand. He snaked an arm around my waist and sighed.

“I’m sorry for earlier,” he hiccuped. “I don't drink, you know. I don’t like this feeling.”

“I know.” And I did know. I knew he didn’t recognize the shell of a man he’d become. Spencer was many things, but empty had never been one of them.  

We sat in silence for a while. I read while he stared at the wall, undoubtedly watching the events of their only meeting unfold on loop like he always seemed to be doing while quiet. I was starting to worry that he hadn’t spoken in a while when he broke the silence.

“I was used to being alone. It was comfortable... She was the only thing better than my solitude,” he whispered.

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet and watched him. He chewed his lip then lifted his eyes to mine.

“And now you’re here.”

I searched his eyes before he broke our gaze and laid his head back down. The heart that was currently in pieces in my chest knew what he meant, but my brain wasn’t willing to meet the same conclusion.

I’m not her, Spencer.

I know.

Our conversation from earlier replayed in my head, remaining as confusing as it was earlier.

As his lids got too heavy for him to hold open and his breathing evened out, I got ready to head out, satisfied with the seemingly stable state of him.

His arm around my waist tightened as if he could sense my plan to leave. “Stay with me.” He begged, his voice groggy and almost childlike in his demand.

I stayed still for a moment, weighing my options against my best interest. I didn’t know if this would be another dancing situation. I didn’t know if this would help him or hurt him, or more than likely- hurt me, but I was willing to try for him anyways.

How was I supposed to look at the sweet boy in my arms and tell him I wouldn’t do anything to make him feel whole again?

“Okay,” I resolved, closing the book and placing it on the nightstand. I sighed and pulled the covers up higher over him.

“I talked to her about you,” he said quietly, fighting sleep. He exhaled sharply through his nose, a small smile forming on his lips. It was the first time I’d heard anything resembling a laugh in weeks. “She asked me if I was married because it sounded like I was talking about my wife when I talked about you.”

I shook my head on a laugh but I couldn’t hear whatever else he said over the sound of my heart cracking in my chest and the ringing in my ears. It wasn’t lost on me that in a very real and fucked up way, I was jealous of a dead woman, but it was more than that.

I was jealous of their love. I was jealous of the fact that in a matter of 10 months, she had managed to intrigue and enthrall Spencer without them ever having laid eyes on one another. They’d never met, never touched, never kissed. And even still, no one could deny the love between them was real. Not even me.

Was it shitty? Absolutely. The support and happiness I felt for him during those 10 months was genuine. But it still hurt.

It seemed selfish to tell him that while I held him in my arms as he cried that I was racked with jealousy and the realization that I would never be the one for him. That I would never be the one he loved in that way. In his head, she was the only one who had the capacity to love him for everything he was but I had been doing that for years. The truth was, I loved him first. Life rarely plays by the rules of dibs, though, so that didn’t matter- I loved him first but she got him.

And that’s not to say he was property to be owned. I could have said the same for my heart, but even without trying, it was his. Even if he didn’t want it, it was his. And his was hers. And she was dead.

None of these truths changed the way things were in their current state, so I held him. I stroked his hair and watched his chest rise and fall into a steady rhythm. I watched as his face softened until it was no longer twisted in a painful grimace from replaying the same bloody memory. His eyes finally got to rest from their constant tears.  

I hoped his mind was letting him dream of quantum physics or string theory instead of her. Not because of how I felt, but because he deserved anything that would let his mind rest.

My position sitting up against the headboard started to become uncomfortable hours before, but I wasn’t ready to risk moving and waking him up. When I decided he was deep enough in sleep that I could, I wiggled down in the bed until I was lying normally. I huffed a triumphant breath at being able to rest my head on the pillow when he stirred next to me.

I held my breath and froze, hoping it was enough to not wake him. He took a deep breath in and draped an arm over me, nuzzling his face into my neck.

I took a deep breath in, committing the scent of him to memory and wondered who would put me back together again when it came time to rip the pieces of myself out of Spencer, namely the parts he’d grown and twisted around like ivy.

Tears filled my eyes at my own, sad reality.

That I’d found love where I shouldn’t have– in the sad eyes of my best friend that were filled with tears for another.

I’d found love in the heart of a man who had been so irreparably damaged that he couldn’t tell where his pain ended and began.

I’d found love in the form endless literature had been written about– irrevocable and unrequited.

As I drifted off to sleep wrapped up in him, I pretended that he was clinging to me and that I wasn’t just in his bed to fill the void that Maeve left behind.

For now, and for as long as he needed me, I would be there for him, however he needed me to be. Even if that meant I wasn't myself at all. Even if that meant I had to be her.

Even if this was all a lie, I decided ignorance was bliss. And right now, ignorance meant his arms around me. Ignorance meant a place in his bed that wasn’t mine. Ignorance meant the sharing of his love even if I couldn't keep it. This was as close to bliss as I would ever get.

***

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[cmncisspnandmore]

Don’t Let Me Go

Hello my lovely readers! This is a fic i wanted to write because i have been feeling kind of down in the dumps lately and I wanted some Fluffy Reid to make me feel better. Not that my Fiance cant cheer me up but sometimes you just need to feel a little love from the guys you’ll never get ya know? Anyways this is a new series, i’m not sure how many parts this will be but enjoy!

Pairing: Spencer Reid X Reader Warnings: Anorexia, eating disorders, depression, drug use, mentions of past character death, extreme fluff? is that a warning? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

27 hours.

It had been 27 hours since you took the last bite of food. All that had passed your lips in the past 27 hours was black coffee and water.

Pulling open the door to the conference room, your team turn to look at you. Each member giving you a smile, and Dr. Spencer reid pulled the chair next to him out slightly, a steaming paper cup set in front of it.

“Alrighty my pretties. We got two women, one a Sandra Morey, 35, divorcee. Two kids that live with their father Henry Morey. And we have Aubrey Willison, also 35, has two kids that live with their dad a Mr. Ralph Willison. Both women were found in their homes with a single gunshot wound to the chest, that pierced their heart. Both ex husbands have been ruled out as suspects, and the icing on our lovely murder cake is that they were killed within 3 days of each other.” Garcia clicks through the slideshow of the victims.

The team listens intently, but your food deprived mind starts to drift, and you find yourself staring blankly down at the paper cup in front of you. There were 2 calories in black coffee. 1 in espresso, over the past day you had consumed 23 calories. 10 cups of piping hot coffee and an espresso that you grabbed on your way here. The barista gave you a weird look when you ordered a single shot of espresso, nothing else. No cream, no sugar, normally people ordered a latte, or a cappuccino. But not you. There were far too many calories, you didn’t even enjoy the taste of black coffee, it was far too bitter and left a gross taste in your mouth. But the feeling of the hot liquid sliding down your throat warming your permanently cold chest, was euphoric. You savored the way it felt in your empty stomach.

“Y/n, are you cold? You’re shivering..” Reid’s hand on your arm startled you, and you gave him a shy smile.

“Sorry, I should’ve grabbed a sweater before coming in I guess,”

“Here use mine.”

You watch as Reid shrugs off his brown cardigan and wraps it around your thin shoulders. You were surprised it fit. You felt like a elephant, your wrists were too thick, your thighs touched and your ribs didn’t stick out when you laid down. Your collarbones were hidden under puffy, mushy fat that clung to you like glue. You hated the way your stomach protrudes when you sit down. You can’t stand when people brush by you in small spaces, people should be able to effortlessly slip by you. If they couldn’t, then you were thin enough.

“Thank you, Reid. I appreciate it.” You smile lightly, a small blush creeping up your cheeks. Across the table Morgan watched as the Dr. smiled back, his hand lingering on your shoulder just a moment too long. Morgan smiled to himself, he had an inkling that the genius liked you as more than a friend. You had been the saviour for the doctors self destruction when he fell to the cold hand of Dilaudid. You had been fairly new to the team when Reid was kidnapped, and you didn't hesitate to hold Reids hand as he was carried away on the stretcher, and you actually got into a verbal argument with Hotch, when he told you to leave for the night to go home. You stuck by his bedside the entire night, and when he was discharged you even insisted you sleep at his house until his wounds healed.

Spencer at the time wasn't aware that you had known what it was like to be completely alone when fighting something you couldn't control. You knew that the Unsub had drugged Reid, you had found the vials, when Reid was suddenly acting strange a few months after the incident. When he had been cleared for the field again, and you picked up on it instantly. You had made it your personal mission to help him with this.

As you helped Reid get over his addiction to the harsh drug that had been forced upon him, your friendship grew, and for Spencer it grew into more than that. When Maeve died you were right there for him as well. You spent nights sitting outside his apartment door, reading him lines from his favorite books. You brought him coffee and just listened to him cry. You were the equivalent to a guardian angel for Spencer.

You had helped Spencer more than anyone could have imagined, and in return the kind, awkward Doctor had started to bring you coffee, and you would spend nights at his place and listen to his read his favorite books. You would often gift books to each other, share random facts you found interesting with one another. It was the small things that made Spencer fall for you, the way your nose crinkled when you found out what the names of the Unsubs. How you had to make sure that everyone got home safe after a case, and how you bought Garcia endless colorful pens for her office.

“Wheels up in 20” Hotch, grabs the file from the table in front of you and you jump. Your brain felt foggy, and logically you knew you needed to eat something if you were going on a case, but the calories you burned when you fasted for this long. When you fasted for this long, you desired to feel light and airy. Like nothing in the world could weigh you down.

“Y/N, are you okay? You’re awfully jumpy, and you barely drank any of your coffee..” Reid stood up, his brow knitted together in worry. Reid may be a profiler, but so were you, you knew what he was looking for, a tell, a sign that you werent okay. You hated that you had to lie to him, and to the team but if they knew what was happening with you they would call for you to have a evaluation and that would get you taken from the field.

You could handle this, only 15 pounds left, then you would finally be where you needed to be. Reid and the team, they would think you looked amazing. Morgan would be able to lift you up when he gave you a hug after a hard case. And Reid, he would be able to lift you off his lap when you fell asleep as he ran his long fingers through your hair, as he read to you. You would be able to ask for a smaller size of your vest because the bigger ones the rest of the team wore would restrict your movement. You would be able to wear spencers cardigans and have them hang to your knees, your slim legs would look great in them and you wouldn't feel like an elephant anymore. All you had to do was fast for another day or so and then you could allow the 300 calories you felt would be acceptable.

“I’m fine, Spence. I promise, just tired, I had a hard time sleeping last night.” You smile up at him and he holds out his hand for you, you greatly take it and wrap your thin fingers around his, and allow the tall Dr. to assist you in standing.

You walk with the rest of the team to the jet, everyone wearing light sweaters in the warm breeze, while you wrapped your down jacket around you a little tighter, the wind forcing violent shiver through you. You stood next to Spencer and JJ, waiting for the stairs of the jet to fold down. You couldn’t wait to sit in the last booth across from the Dr. as he read another book that you picked up from him on your way in to work this morning. You always picked the longest books you could find when buying books for Reid. His eidetic memory making reading books a short task for him, but he humored you often and tried to slow his reading so you wouldn't feel bad for taking a while longer to read the selections he picked for you.

You put your go bag in the compartment above the bench you claimed as your own, and sat on the bench, as Spencer sits across from you. “Oh Spencey. I got you this.” You reach into your purse a hand him the book, and he gives you a smile.

“Thanks Y/N, I’m sure im going to enjoy it. I always do,” He takes the book and tucks in under his arm and shrugs off his messenger bag. Placing it on his seat, he walks over to the cabinet on the back of jet and grabs a water for himself and brings you one.

“Here, i know your ears pop when you take off.” He hands you the bottle his fingers brushing against yours, and it takes everything in Spencer to not pull back from your alarmingly cold hand. Spencer had noticed over the past few months how you had dropped a few pounds, and at first it wasn't alarming, with the amount of cases increasing all of your diets had suffered. But when things had evened out and you were still dropping weight. And now that the last 6 times you had crashed at Reid’s apartment you refused dinner and the following morning breakfast, settling for a cup of black coffee on both occasions.

He had also noticed how you stopped carrying a lunch bag with you when the team was at the office, and had often opted for a protein bar you had in your purse. And now with the zoning out during meetings and the way your cheeks sunk in just a hint further than normal Reid was concerned. He had always thought of you as beautiful and he fell for you despite your looks. Your caring personality and your willingness to help a person who you only knew for a few days when Spencer was going through the aftermath of being held captive by Tobias.

He had fallen in love with you for everything about you, not just your looks. Spencer had hoped to talk to you about it this weekend but with the case he was afraid that he wouldn't make it in time. That something would go horribly wrong before he got the chance to confront you and help you with whatever you were going through. Like you had done for him twice before, Spencer took the book from the seat and sat down resting one arm on the armrest and flipped to the front page of the book, eyes scanning across the page, he got lost in the authors writing for a few minutes before movement across from him caught his eye.

He glanced up from the book and watched as you laid your head down on the seat, pulling two of the blankets provided over you, still in your down coat, and closed your eyes. Spencer watched for a few moments as you drifted off, shivering slightly in your sleep. Spencer had read a few books about eating disorders as a kid, when his mom first got really sick, he thought she might have one and read up on it to try and help her. But when he figured out his mother had Schizophrenia he stopped reading up on the topic.

But he recognized the signs in you as slept across from him on the plane. He knew it wasn't his job to save you but at the same time he felt like he needed to be the one to save you because he knew that in your mind your mind you were saving yourself, but in trying to save yourself you were killing yourself. When Reid had been on drugs you were the one to reach into his life and help him. Now it was his turn, he just needed to figure out how, he knew that this case would probably take up most of your time, seeing as you were a dedicated agent. When there was a case you threw yourself into it. He wouldn't be able to talk some sense into you over this case, he would either have to pull you away from the case or wait until after it was over.

His one hope was that it wouldn't be too late for you by the time the case was over. He could tell by the way you moved and how after you stood up you took a few moments too long to start walking that you were walking a dangerous line right now. You bumped into the table on the way out of the office, and now as Spencer watched you sleep he could see a bruise forming on your forearm. You barely bumped into the table but a bruise forming like that was a sure sign of later stages of anorexia.

Spencer fearing someone was watching his contemplative stare would try to figure out what he was looking at you for and draw attention to it. Something he knew could cause you go into a downward spiral, being publicly called out about this could damage you. Something Reid didn't want to happen, for he already thought you were just a little too fragile.  

#spencer #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #spencer x you #spencer x reader #spencer x y/n #reid x you #reid x y/n #reid x reader #Criminal Minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x you #criminal minds x y/n #criminal #minds #x you #x reader #x y/n #series #dont let me go

[legxllyblxndc]

dance/pool party ( @foreverwednesday )

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: It was gone midnight and the party was in full swing - Arlo was already hammered, having the time of his life. He hadn't been out of the pool since the party had started and he didn't think he'd be getting out anytime soon, either. He spotted Iris at the other side of the pool and a huge grin came to his face; he swam over and dunked her quickly from behind, laughing loudly as she came back up. "Gotcha!" He laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "This is the fucking best party ever, Iris! You could do this for a living." He laughed. He thought she'd done an amazing thing for her cousin, but more than anything she'd just thrown an incredible party. He didn't think there was anybody here that wasn't having a great time.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Okay - I couldn't find the exact ingredients for sex on the beach, but this is the closest I could do. I think it tastes good - and I slipped when I was pouring the vodka so there's a hell of a lot more in there than there's supposed to be, so be careful." Dodie grinned as she brought a drink over to Grayson, handing him the cup. "Are you having a good night?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow. She thought it was almost impossible not to be, the vibe around the place was so amazing - it was hard to remember they were actually somewhere they weren't supposed to be.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "-- You know what Pen, we're definitely okay out here for now - you have fun though!" Wren laughed as his sister tried to force him and Blake into the pool, shaking his head. "Sorry about that, it's her way of trying to get to know you. And trying to get me into the pool so she can dunk me." He chuckled as he looked to Blake. They had already been in earlier and that was more than enough for him - he was just happy sitting with Blake now, a drink in his hand. He was having the best night just talking to her. "Did you ever wish you had siblings, or are you happy being an only child?" He smiled. He was so interested in finding out everything there was to know about Blake. He loved having a little sister, he couldn't imagine it just being him.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I can't believe I just had to queue for a drink at my own birthday party." Mia laughed jokingly, ducking under Noah's arm as she rejoined the group, taking a sip of the drink she'd just been to pour. They'd been together for the majority of the night and it had been really nice, she hadn't really even had to think much about it. She was having the best night - she still couldn't believe her friends had actually put this together for her and it made her so happy to know how much effort they'd put in. She'd spent half the night in the pool, but she was definitely ready for a little break now - especially if that meant drinking some more. She was definitely drunk by now and she thought everybody else would be too.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Here, I managed to swipe some orange juice without anybody forcing vodka into it." Landon laughed as he handed Annie a cup, sitting down and taking a sip of his own. They'd both decided to switch to soft drinks for a little while - he was having a good time, but he didn't always like being out of control drunk around people, especially not when he was one of the oldest there. Even more so when his little sister was around and she definitely didn't seem sober. "Is there anything more amusing than watching drunk people when you're sober?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "And both of our sisters seem to be up there with the drunkest." He and Piper weren't close, but he was always going to watch out for her - she was his little sister, after all. He always wanted her to be safe.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Arlo!" Nancy squealed as her cousin ducked Iris under the water, splashing the water over her way. She laughed though, shaking her head and swimming away a little bit. She didn't think the night could be better than this, it was so much fun and she thought the idea to come to the pool had been genius. She spotted Ben on the side and swam over with a smile, pulling herself up slightly on the side of the pool. "You're not coming in?" She smiled, holding out her hand to him. She knew he hadn't been too keen on the idea originally, but she really hoped he would - she was drunk enough not to really care about what anybody here thought, especially when she trusted pretty much everybody here now. And she wanted to properly spend time with Ben. She knew she'd have an even better night if she could.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve's teeth chattered slightly as she climbed out of the pool, but there was a smile on her face - she had been pretty much dead set against going in, but somehow once Tobias had suggested it she'd found herself climbing in and spending what felt like ages in there. More surprisingly, she'd actually had a great time. "I can't believe I let you convince me to put my head under, I'm freezing." She laughed with a shake of her head, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked for her towel. This was so opposite to Maeve's usual scene, she would usually be sitting on the sidelines and watching - but she was really happy she hadn't, although she definitely hadn't expected to be so far out of her comfort zone tonight.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Wow! And I really didn't believe you could do it - it must be all that cheerleading!" Ogie laughed as Piper showed him a trick she could do under the water, clapping his hand enthusiastically. All the sadness from earlier had completely drained out of him - he was spending time with Piper, she had kissed him at midnight and they hadn't left each others sides ever since. "Can you teach me how to do that? I always wanted to be able to do a handstand under the water but I always fall." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders fake-sadly. As long as he was spending time with Piper, he didn't care what they did. He just loved being around her.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD joined the chat

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris screamed as Alro dunked her, swallowing a whole tonne of water. She was spluttering a little as she came back up. "Oh my god, you asshole!" Iris laughed as she pushed her friend a little but she wrapped arms around his waist anyway. She was having such a fun time and she was so glad that everyone else seemed to be as well. "Oh yeah, we've already said that if the acting things doesn't work out for Lyds, then we're doing it." She laughed. Iris loved law but she was sure that she would absolutely love to throw parties for a living. "How drunk are you right now because I hear tequila calling my name.."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Grayson laughed as he listened to Dodie, "Yeah, sure you slipped. That's definitely what happened." He chuckled but he was mostly just teasing her. He thought that this was so much fun and it really did seem like everyone else was enjoying themselves too. He took a sip of his drink and scrunched his nose, "This is so strong. I love it!" He laughed and nodded his head. "Of course I am! Are you?" He asked her with a smile. Gray thought that he would always enjoy himself somewhere that Dodie and Ogie were so this was pretty perfect.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: There was an amused smiled on Blakes face as she watched the interaction between Wren and Penny. The pair seemed so different and she was so intrigued by that. She shook her head as Wren apologised, "No, no. It's fine." She laughed. "I'd be the same if I was her, to be honest." She shrugged her shoulders. She had really enjoyed spending most of the night with Wren but Blake didn't really have any desire of getting back in the pool right now. She had just warmed up again. She shrugged her shoulders at Wrens question, "I don't know. Having siblings looks fun but - I dunno if I wanna give up that attention." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you wish that you had more?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I can't believe you let them make you queue at your own party. Should've just barged in." Noah chuckled as he shrugged is shoulders. He'd spent the most of the night with Mia so he was pretty happy about that. He felt pretty comfortable when she was around, after all. He thought that she was having a really good night and that was all he could hope for. "Where are Penny and Ivy? Have they finally decided to leave us alone?" He asked with a shake of his head. He didn't mind Mias friends at all but they had been around them all evening and he was glad to get a little time with Mia alone now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Oh, thank god." Annie laughed as she took her cup from Landon. She had been drinking for most of the night and she was feeling a little too tipsy for her liking. Especially with how drunk her siblings seemed to be. She wanted to be able to be relatively sober so that she could keep an eye on the two of them. She would hate for something to happen to one of them. "I can confirm that there absolutely is not." Annie laughed as she nodded her head. "Well, it is Mias birthday so she gets a pass. Piper doesn't really have much of a tolerance, right?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin hadn't been in the pool yet. He felt a little awkward in his trunks, even though everyone else was in the same so he was sat at the edge of the pool, waiting to see if he would feel comfortable enough. He smiled, though as Nancy came over to him. He hadn't thought that she would. Though he figured that these were her closest friends so he was glad that she didn't mind. He shrugged his shoulders as she spoke - but he couldn't say no to her so he took her hand and climbed into the water. "You having a good night?" He asked her with a smile.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias had been having such a good time and even though he had kissed her, he had never thought that, that fun would be with Maeve. He chuckled, though, as he listened to her and shrugged his shoulders, "You can't get in the water and then not get your head under, princess." He winked at her before he climbed out of the pool. "I have a towel in my locker .Want me to grab it for you? Maybe warm you up a little?" He thought that his sister had done an amazing job and he was really glad that Maeve seemed to be having a good time too.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I told you how flexible I was! I can't believe that you didn't believe me!" Piper laughed. She felt like such an idiot for coming to the party with someone else when she was having such a good time with Ogie now. She couldn't believe that she had let her friends get to her head like that. She wrapped her arms around him and raised an eyebrow, "You can't even do a handstand? There's no chance!" Piper laughed before she pecked him quickly. The two had been pretty touchy feely for the majority of the night - since they had kissed - and she didnt see why they couldn't. "Okay..." She pulled away from him with a laugh. "You just need to put your hands flat on the floor and kick your legs up. You can do it, I have faith! "

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo couldn't stop laughing as Iris swore at him, shaking his head as he tried to stop it - he had so much fun around her, no matter what they were doing. "Maybe I'll sabotage her so that you guys have no other choice but to go into business, then you can throw parties for me every day of the year." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders as though he'd solved the problem. "I am so fucking drunk, but I can always fit some tequila in. You think we can get somebody to pass it into the pool so we don't have to get out?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow. He kept his arm around the other, lifting her slightly so he could move them both to the side of the pool. "HEY! Somebody bring us tequila!"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I did, I slipped! I didn't say it wasn't on purpose." Dodie laughed, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. She would never make Grayson drink anything he didn't want to, but she knew he wouldn't mind - and she didn't think it was too strong. She laughed as she saw him scrunching up his nose, though. "Do you want me to go and grab some more juice?" She giggled, taking a sip of her own. "Yeah, I am! This is such a fun night, I never thought sneaking into somebody else's university could be this much fun." She laughed, taking a seat next to her friend. She always had fun with Grayson and Ogie, but this was even more fun than usual.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren laughed, raising an eyebrow. He really liked how cool Blake was with pretty much anything - she didn't let anything phase her and she thought that was absolutely something to be admired. "Oh, you would try to dunk me?" He chuckled, shaking his head. He thought they were on the same page though, they had finally gotten warm again and he didn't want to go back in just now. "That's understandable. Being an only child must mean a lot of one on one time with your parents?" He asked with a smile. He still found it so curious that Maggie was Blake's mother, when they seemed so different. "Absolutely not. I love Penny, but I don't think I could handle another one of her." He laughed softly. "My parents are already so busy, I think three children would've just meant so much less time with them." He shrugged his shoulders.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I tried, but the floor is so slippery it just seemed like a recipe for disaster." Mia laughed, shaking her head. She hadn't really minded about having to wait, she'd gotten talking to a few different people in the queue and now she had her drink, anyway. She laughed as he spoke about her friends, nodding her head. "Yeah, I think they finally picked up on some of those hints you were throwing out." She laughed. She loved her friends and she loved being around them, but they found it hard to pick up on the hints sometimes and she was absolutely glad to be alone with Noah for a little bit. This was definitely the part of the night she was excited for.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon smiled as Annie took her cup; he was really glad to have somebody like her around, especially at parties like this. Annie was a little piece of home for him - where they lived was so calm, so chilled out and with these parties often being the opposite, it was nice to be able to take a little bit of time out with her. "And it's even better because they're gonna wake up tomorrow and forget everything they did and we'll remember forever." He laughed, raising an eyebrow. "That's true - I mean, it's New Years Eve so technically everybody gets a pass." He chuckled. "It doesn't look that way, does it? I'm gonna offer to walk her home before I go back to the house tonight, I trust your brother but he doesn't exactly seem sober himself." He laughed.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy thought Benjamin might feel awkward, but she thought it would only make him more so by bringing it up - she just wanted to help him feel comfortable around these people, around her. She smiled brightly as he climbed in, squeezing his hand gently. "Yeah, I'm having the best night! And now it's even better." She laughed softly, smiling slightly bashfully. "Are you having a good night?" She hoped he was.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve laughed as Tobias spoke, shaking her head. "Well, I know that now! Thanks to you." She chuckled as he winked. She had never even thought she'd enjoy something like this, never mind enjoying it this much - and she was sure it was because of him. "Oh yes, please. If you would. I feel like I'm about to freeze up." She laughed. She hadn't anticipated getting into the water so she hadn't even brought a change of clothes - or a towel. She felt stupid for that now, but grateful that Tobias had one.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I know, I know! It's not that I didn't believe you, I just - I didn't think anybody would be able to do that in water!" Ogie laughed, shaking his head. He had all but forgotten about the fact that Piper had come to the party with somebody else, Ogie forgave very easily - especially when it was somebody he cared about as much as Piper. "No chance?! No! Don't say that!" He laughed. He didn't have very good balance and he'd never been able to do any kind of trick very well, but he thought it was fun to have a go. "Okay, okay... So I have to go all the way under?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow as he got ready to try.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris had known Arlo for as long as she could remember and she didn't remember a time when the two of them weren't having fun. They were always laughing together and she really appreciated that in her friend. "Oh god, are you really gonna try and make an enemy out of her? Even I'm a little intimidated by her." She was joking, though Iris could definitely see how someone would find Lydia intimidating. She really liked spending the time with her. "Oh my god, yes." Iris nodded her head as she looked around them. "Mia! Noah! Can we have some tequila please?" She called over to her cousin.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I think that, that's exactly what on purpose means though. That you didn't slip." Gray was laughing as he spoke, though. He didn't really mind, though. He was pretty drunk but he thought that, that was the whole point of all of this. It was New Years Eve, after all. And he was enjoying himself with Dodie, so he thought that, that was what was important. "We couldn't have predicted this but it is so much fun! Maybe it's because we're doing something bad. That's what they say, right? If it's bad, then they'll enjoy it."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake shook her head, chuckling, "No, I meant that if I was your sister, then i'd do the same as Penny. I'd wanna know everything about whoever you were seeing." She laughed. She figured that was pretty much what she and Wren were doing after all. They had been spending a lot of time together, after all. She thought that it made sense. "Yeah, exactly. I don't think my mum could've split her attention if she had another kid." She laughed as she shook her head. Blake really did love her mum but she thought that she wasn't particularly great as a mother. Blake laughed, though, as she listened to Wren and she nodded her head, "Yeah, she seems like a bit of a handful" She didn't see anything bad about it, though. She thought that Penny was a really fun person.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Oh yeah. You and that floor is probably a disaster waiting to happen." Noah nodded. He didn't think that Mia with the state that Mia was right now, that being near a slippery surface was good for her. He was definitely drunk but he was on the right side of it so that he could still be a little in control. He wanted a smoke soon though, that was for sure. "I don't know what you're talking about." He muttered as he shook his head. He didn't mind her friends but he found them a little annoying sometimes.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie wasn't sure what she would do if landon wasn't at the parties with her. Sometimes, they got a little mad for her and she had no idea what to do if she was on her own. Landon was her little bit of normal. He made her feel pretty norma, when if it was down to the rest of them , she would feel quite the opposite. "Oh yeah, absolutely they are. And we can come up with whatever kind of story we want with all of them." She laughed. She thought that, that was never really something that she and Landon would do but it was fun to think about anyway. "I'll walk back with you guys." Annie nodded. "Because yes, I love my little brother but those two being that drunk will absolutely get lost on their way home."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin didn't quite look like the others. He wasn't fat by any means but he wasn't very slim or particularly athletic, like some of the others. He didn't think that it was important but he thought that standing next to Nancy, he probably looked terrible. He beamed, though, as she spoke and he nodded his head, "Yeah? Well, i'm glad." He chuckled. He was glad that she felt comfortable enough to be with him like this now. "I am now ,yeah."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias nodded his head, "It absolutely is my pleasure." He chuckled. Maeve wasn't someone that Toby would've ever glanced twice at when they were at school. They were in completely different crowds so it didn't make sense for the two of them to be friends. He liked her a lot though ,more than he would've ever thought that he would. "Yeah, no problem. Wanna come with me?" He asked her with a smile. If he was honest, he would like to get away from the others for a little bit with her. He could feel eyes from a couple of the others.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Well, I am very skilled. So don't underestimate me again." Piper laughed. She was so happy with Ogie and she thought that, that was one of the most important things in life. She had seen how her mum and dad had been and they were best friends. She thought that she and Ogie could be that too - though she wondered if she was getting too far ahead of herself with that. "Okay, i'm sorry. Pretend I didn't say that!" Piper giggled but she nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's it. I'll catch your legs and we'll do it together!"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Iris was Arlo's best friend, he loved being around her more than anybody else - and maybe there was a little bit more to it than that, maybe he liked her as more than a friend... But he didn't really wanna think about that, because it made it a lot more confusing. A lot more serious. He didn't know if he was ready for that. "You? You're not intimidated by anybody." He laughed, shaking his head. He really did believe that, Iris was so brave to him. "But no, I'm not making an enemy out of her - she scares the shit out of me." He laughed - he meant it, too. He would hate to be on Lydia's bad side. "Pleaaaaaaase!" He called over to Mia and Noah with a laugh as Iris asked for the tequila, his voice letting louder the longer it went on.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Hey, if you can question my excuses then you're not drunk enough. Drink up." Dodie laughed, tapping the bottom of Grayson's cup with a grin. She had brought spare clothes with her, so she'd shoved a big t-shirt on over her swimming costume once she'd climbed out of the pool - she was so comfortable and pretty drunk too, so she was having a great night. "Is that a saying?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow. "I definitely think that's part of it. And knowing we can't get in trouble, because we don't even go here." She laughed. That's what she thought, anyway - even if people knew they'd broken into the pool, it would be the students here that got in trouble for it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren laughed as he realised what Blake had actually meant, nodding his head. "Well, that makes a lot more sense. I was worried there for a second." He chuckled. "I think I would be the same, though. If Penny was dating somebody, I would definitely want to interrogate them a little - although I don't know if I'd go about it in exactly the same way." He laughed. He didn't know if he and Blake were dating, he didn't realise he'd said it until afterwards... But he hoped that was where they were going. "Are you close to your mum?" He asked with a little smile. Somehow, he couldn't imagine them being so close but he didn't want to make assumptions. He thought people could probably assume the same of he and his mum, but he could go to Fleur about absolutely anything.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, I got that when I nearly went headfirst into the punchbowl." Mia laughed, raising an eyebrow. "I guess I'm just gonna have to stand still for the rest of the night." She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't think she was any more drunk than any of the others, but it was her birthday - and she wasn't planning on stopping drinking just yet. She just hoped everybody was having as good of a night as her. "Oh yeah, sure you don't." She rolled her eyes playfully, but it was clear she didn't mind - she was glad her friends had finally gotten the hint. She couldn't help but laugh though, as she heard Iris and Arlo. "For gods sake..." She laughed. It seemed like everybody was determined for them not to be alone tonight. She grabbed the bottle of tequila from the table and moved towards the pool to give it to them with a laugh.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon was honestly a little surprised sometimes, by how drunk the people around here seemed to think it was normal to be - when he saw people who could hardly stand, who could hardly keep their eyes open, he had no idea how they could be having any fun. "That makes us so powerful. We could be tricking them all into believing they did all sorts of embarrassing stuff and they'd have no idea." He chuckled, although he'd never do anything like that. "Maybe we could get an Uber or something, then? If there's four of us." He shrugged his shoulders. He thought that would probably be better than them all walking home soaking wet, anyway.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Although Nancy knew that Benjamin didn't look exactly like some of the others, she thought he was the best looking guy there - she really liked him and she had no idea that he was even a little bit insecure. She laughed as he said he was glad, nodding her head. "Oh yeah, and why's that? Because you're such a water baby?" She laughed, pulling him just a little further into the water. Everybody that was at the pool was somebody that she trusted - and she didn't think anybody would be paying attention to her anyway. She just wanted to be around the guy she was seeing, like anybody else.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve hadn't had a lot of friends in school - she'd had a couple of people she'd hung around with just for the sake of not being alone, but she wouldn't exactly call them her close friends. She had always seen people like Tobias and Lydia with their huge groups of friends and wondered how they managed it, but now that she spent time with him she saw how - she thought he was just wonderful to be around. She couldn't imagine how anybody wouldn't have a good time. "Yeah, sure." She smiled as he asked her to come with, pulling her wet hair back so that it wasn't sitting on her shoulders. "I don't know why I didn't think to bring a towel, anyway." She laughed, shaking her head.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I promise, I never ever will." Ogie laughed. He never wanted to underestimate Piper - he just thought she was the most amazing person he'd ever met, he was constantly surprised by her and her kindness. "It's erased from my memory - just don't say it again." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Gah, I'm scared!" He laughed, going to duck under the water before he got scared again and laughed. "Okay, I'm actually gonna do it this time!" He grinned, plugging his nose before he ducked under and kicked his legs up, his palms finding the bottom of the pool.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: The feelings that Iris thought that she could have for Arlo was something that she was really trying hard to ignore. He was her best friend. That was it. She couldn't risk things turning into something else because she couldn't risk their friendship. And she wasn't even sure if she wanted something else from him. She thought that it was pretty natural for her to be confusing platonic and romantic relationships. At least that was what she was telling herself. "You're right. I'm not. But if I would, it would be by Lydia." She chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders. "So she should. She'd easily kick your ass." Iris chuckled, but she was teasing him mostly. "YES!" Iris laughed as she grabbed the bottle from Mia. She took a big swig of it before she handed it to Arlo.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Alright, alright. I'm drinking." Grayson laughed and took a big gulp from his cup. He had never really taken to the taste of alcohol but he did like how it made him feel. It was a lot of fun, he thought. Like Dodie, Gray had brought a spare shirt that he could be in whilst he wasn't in the pool. He didn't really like the idea of sitting around with no shirt on. "I have no idea. I think I've made it up." Grayson laughed, shaking his head a little. His head was a little fuzzy, if he was honest. "Oh yeah, absolutely. No-one gonna say anything to us because they have no idea who we are." He nodded his head.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "How are you as a big brother? When she has boyfriends? Or girlfriends?" Blake asked him. She didn't really know much about Penny but she didn't want to sound ignorant, either. She thought that Wren would be a pretty interesting big brother, she thought that he would be really good. "How would you, then? What do you do?" She laughed. She thought how he was with his sister probably said a lot about him and she thought that this was all about getting to know one another, after all. Blake shook her head, "I'm not really close to either of my parents." She shrugged. "You are though, right?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah couldn't help but laugh as he listened to Mia and he nodded, "I mean, there would've been worse places for you to land." He chuckled, though. "s'alright though. That's what birthdays are all about. Everyone can get you the stuff that you want so.." He shrugged his shoulders. He knew that he probably should have offered to get her the drink but he didn't really think about it. He never really thought about that kind of stuff. "I like your friends, Mia. They're just fucking annoying." He laughed, shaking his head.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie, like Landon, couldn't understand why people were able to get drunk like this time and time again and not feel like they were going to pass out. she was sure that she would've absolutely lost her head if she got drunk as often as her cousin and Arlo. "Oh it makes us so powerful." She laughed, "It's a good job that neither of us are ever gonna succumb to that kind of temptation." She nudged her friend. She was having such a nice time with Landon. "Oh, yeah, that would probably work." She nodded her head. "Means it'll be easy to get Ogie home, if Piper isn't gonna be going with him. Should we let her go with him?" She didn't doubt that her brother would look after Piper but they were both so drunk right now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin had always been pretty insecure about the way he looked. He was always shorter than the others, he hit puberty before all of his friends so that changed things for him. He just never knew how to voice all of that properly. "Yeah, that's it. I'm the son of Poseidon, love me the water." He laughed and then after a couple moments, he shook his head. "Nah, more because a beautiful girl is showing me this much attention."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias smiled and nodded his head as Maeve said she would join him. "It's because i'm the smart one. Just admit it." Tobias laughed as he looked over his shoulder to her. Toby had never thought about spending time with Maeve but he was really glad that he was. He thought that she was beautiful - always had - but she was a really interesting person too. she was much more interesting than most of the people that he would usually hand out with her. He wanted to kiss her again but he didn't want to push it.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Good. As you shouldn't." Piper chuckled as she nodded her head. She really thought that Ogie was one of the most special people. He was kind, he was funny and he was everything that she could've ever hoped to meet, to be around. She would've never thought that someone like him would've been interested in someone like her - she didn't think she was anything special - but she was so glad that he was. "Oh my god, just go!" Piper laughed. She cheered as he finally did and quickly moved to grab his legs, attempting to keep him upright

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo had never been in a serious relationship before, he'd never been in something where he didn't know it was going to end - and he didn't want that with Iris. He didn't want to ruin their friendship like that, he didn't want to hurt her like he had done with other people. But he didn't know how much longer he could keep ignoring what he felt, it was getting more and more obvious to him. He laughed at what she was saying, nodding her head. "Yeah, I actually believe what. Where the hell did she get the right to be so scary?" He laughed, although he had seen her parents before and he definitely understood where she got it from. "Thank you!" He called over to his cousin and Mia with a loud laugh, taking the bottle from Iris and taking a gulp, wiping the back of his mouth with his hand. "Tastes much better in a shot glass." He laughed.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "How is it?!" Dodie asked eagerly, mirroring Grayson and taking a big gulp of her own drink. "Eugh, it's really really strong!" She laughed as she felt the burn in her throat, wrinkling up her nose. It hadn't been so bad with the first sip, but now she'd drank a lot of it she could definitely feel it. "That wouldn't surprise me at all, but hey - just because you made it up, it doesn't mean it's not a good saying!" She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Exactly, we're nomads here. It's the ideal position to be in." She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders before she took another gulp. "Oh my god, look at Ogie - is he trying to do a handstand?" She laughed loudly, pointing over at their friend.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Girlfriends." Wren answered with a smile, nodding his head. "And I think I'm pretty cool about it all - cooler than Penny is, anyway." He laughed, shaking his head. "I know she can handle herself, she's like my grandma in that way - she would hate it if she thought I was trying to protect her so I have to keep it in." He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. Penny was more than capable, he knew that. "I guess I would just actually try and have a conversation with them? You know? Try and get to know them properly, without putting all of the pressure on them." He nodded his head. He never understood why people would try and get to know somebody by intimidating them. "How come?" He asked curiously as she said she wasn't close to her parents. "I am, yeah... I mean - me and my mum have the whole theatre thing, I basically grew up wanting to be her." He chuckled. "And I have a lot in common with my dad too. It's nice."

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Oh, for sure. Drowning in three litres of vodka doesn't sound like the worst way to go." Mia laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She wasn't especially clumsy, but she thought anybody who was even a little bit drunk would have a hard time balancing around here. It was like a slip and slide. "That's true, maybe it's time to start ordering people around." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She laughed again as he spoke about her friends, nodding her head. "I know, I know. They're a lot. Looks like they've moved onto bugging somebody else now, though." She smiled. She loved her friends, but Penny especially liked to interfere more than Mia would like her to. She laughed as Arlo thanked them, rolling her eyes playfully.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "We'll just have to see how bored we get, right?" Landon laughed, shrugging his shoulders. Although he knew they would never do that. "I mean, she can do whatever she wants to do. I just want to get her there safely." He chuckled. Piper was eighteen, Landon wasn't about to tell her where she could and couldn't stay - he just wanted to make sure she was okay and he didn't think he trusted Ogie and Piper walking home together in the states they were in. Especially since the party hadn't even finished yet, they were probably going to be even more drunk. "Are you staying at our house, or with your parents tonight?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. To Landon, their house was his home - he hadn't stayed with his parents in years.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Although people might not think it, Nancy had always been insecure about the way she looked - she felt a lot of pressure to look the way she did, to look perfect and she always felt a little bit like she didn't quite reach those standards. "I knew it, you were just biding your time to come in and show off." She laughed quietly, shaking her head at him. She smiled brightly as he spoke though, ducking her head ever so slightly. "Well, if that's all it takes then it's my prediction that you're about to have a very good night." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She had every intention of spending the rest of the night with Ben and she hoped he wanted that too.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve laughed as Tobias spoke, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, being the smart one is the only thing I've ever had. Don't try and take that away from me now." She laughed jokingly, shaking her head. She absolutely thought that was true, but she didn't mind it - in fact, she liked being the smart one. It meant a lot to her. There was a smile on her face as she followed after him; although it made her nervous, she liked the idea of being alone with him for a little while. She wondered if he wanted to kiss her again - it had been on her mind since he'd done it earlier, but she didn't think she'd be brave enough to ever make the first move.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie maintained his balance for all of two seconds, before his legs wobbled and he came back up for hair, spluttering with laughter. "I did it!" He laughed, punching the air triumphantly. "I've mastered the handstand!" He grinned, wrapping his arms around Piper and pulling her to him happily. "Hey - do you think you might wanna stay at my house tonight?" He smiled hopefully. He didn't expect anything - not at all, he wouldn't even want to when they had been drinking, he just liked the idea of spending the whole night with her.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris would just rather deny whatever she felt for Arlo, than to try and fail something with him. She would rather be with people that she might not be as interested in, if it meant that she got to keep Arlo as her best friend. She'd have a couple of potential boyfriends or girlfriends leave because they didn't like her relationship with Arlo, they thought that it was more than it actually was. She had always denied it but recently she wondered if there was anything in there. "Have you seen his mum and dad? That's where she got it from!" Iris laughed. She actually really respected Lydias parents. "Oh, it absolutely does. And we get drunk quickly this way." Iris took the bottle from him again and took another big swig. She didn't think that either of them really had any ideas of being sober.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Grayson nodded along with Dodie, "Yeah, it's super strong." He muttered. "But other than that! It's alright." He nodded. "It's going to go straight to my head though, that's for sure." Gray didn't have the highest tolerance so he knew that this would pretty much floor him, though. He didn't think that it was necessarily a bad thing, though. "This is why I like you, Dodes. You indulge me. Make me feel smart." He chuckled. A lot of people made him feel the opposite - never with his closest friends . "Nomads. I like that." He nodded and as he turned to look at Ogie, he burst out laughing. "Oh wow!" He cheered as his friend fell.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake nodded as Wren confirmed. She liked that Penny was comfortable with it all, though. "I dunno - Penny seems pretty cool." She shrugged her shoulders. Blake would really like to get to know Penny, though she didn't know how much the two of them would have in common. "That's pretty healthy, actually. Most prothers would've completely freaked out at their sister getting interest in anyone." The girl laughed as she shook her head. SHe couldn't say for sure but that was what it seemed, anyway. "I'm just - we're nothing alike. I'm more like my dad but I don't think they really get my brain." She laughed. "I'm really close with my Aunt Betsy, though. She's a performer too. She's amazing." Blake smiled. It was clear how much she admired her aunt. "That's fair. I think I grew up wanting to be her too." Blake laughed.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Exactly. Would've been the dream if you ask me." Noah nodded. As far as deaths went, he thought that, that was probably the better option. Although Noah liked his drink - and a little extra every now and again - he rarely let himself get to a point where he wouldn't be able to control himself. Especially not in a big group like this. There were people that he liked there but not many that he really trusted. Just Mia, his sister, Iris and Arlo. "It was time like, an hour ago." Noah chuckled. He knew that he wouldn't really do anything on his own birthday. "Good." Noah nodded. "You having a good night, though?" He asked her, squeezing her shoulder gently.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "We could start making stuff up for our own entertainment." Annie laughed. It was fun to imagine but she knew that, that would never be something the two of them would do. "Yeah, that makes sense." Annie nodded. She knew that she could trust Ogie and, honestly, right now she thought that the two of them were probably as drunk as one another. She didn't think that it was anything to worry about. She just over thought everything. She wanted everyone safe and happy. Annie shrugged her shoulders at Landons question, "Depends where Piper is staying. If she's staying with Ogie then at home. If not, i'll stay with my parents to look after him in the morning."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin thought that Nancy was one of the prettiest people that he had ever met. He would have been absolutely shocked if he heard that she felt insecure. He didn't think that she had any need too. "Yeah, that's exactly it. Was just biding my time. Didn't want you lot to feel embarrassed by my skills?" He laughed, shaking his head as he did. He knew that he was probably being really stupid but he didn't think he would ever be making a fool of himself around her. "Oh really? That sounds like we've got a plan, then." He smiled and nodded his head.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias shrugged his shoulders, "Well you better buck up your ideas, my friend, because I am a super genius." He laughed, though. Toby wasn't dumb. He just wasn't the smartest person in the world and he didn't really mind that. He thought that Maeve was so clever and that was absolutely something that he found so attractive in her. Once they were in the locker rooms, Toby moved over to his and grabbed the towel. He held it out to Maeve with a smile, "Since I've rescued you from your frozen death and all - what do I get in return?" He chuckled. he knew the wouldn't talk to her like that if he hadn't had a drink.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper laughed as Ogie fell back into the water but she nodded her head, "You did it!" She was still laughing as he pulled her to him. She really liked being around Ogie. He made her so happy and she hoped that the same could be said vice versa. Her smile widened as he asked if she wanted to stay over and she nodded her head, "I would love that." She nodded her head. She hoped that his parents wouldn't find it strange, especially since they hadn't gone to the party together.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, I've seen them - didn't look right at them though, I was scared I'd turn to stone." Arlo laughed, shaking his head. He knew people found his uncles scary and he understood why, but he thought the Davenports were ten times as terrifying - and that included Lydia. He'd seen people wither under her stares one too many times. He laughed as Iris took the bottle from him to take another swig, grinning as he took it back and did the same. He was already hammered, but he wanted to be more so - every lesson he'd learned from his house party before had gone out of the window. He was having a great time and his best friend was by his side - he didn't want her to be anywhere else. He had no intention of spending tonight with anybody but Iris.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, once you get past the burn it actually tastes really nice!" Dodie laughed. Her parents had always let them have a little bit to drink once they get old enough, so that they didn't go crazy when they old enough to drink alone - and it had helped her to build up a pretty good tolerance. "Aw, that's sweet - and I always will. Somebody has to." She nudged him teasingly, laughing along with her best friend. She burst out laughing as Ogie fell, shaking her head. "Oh my god, he looks ridiculous." She chuckled, still watching. "They look sweet though, don't they?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "She's the coolest, just not when it comes to subtlety." Wren chuckled. He thought that was absolutely something Penny got from their mother - when she was after something, it was totally obvious and he loved that about them both. "I mean don't get me wrong, I've definitely had my over protective moments - she's my little sister, you know? But I try not to be." He smiled. He liked that Blake thought it was healthy. He nodded his head as she spoke about her family - he found it really interesting that she wasn't all that close to either of her parents. "That's really nice, that you have somebody to relate to. Your aunt is Betsy Abbot, right?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I saw her a few years ago - me and my mum went to see Dreamgirls. She was incredible." He smiled. He loved that he and Blake had that in common, too - relatives on the west end.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia laughed at what Noah was saying, shaking her head. "Well, lets up the big man upstairs is listening to what you want." She laughed, rolling her eyes playfully. Mia didn't believe in god, but she didn't think it did any harm to joke around. "Then I've got time to make up, haven't I?" She laughed. She wasn't really the bossy type, though - and she didn't think she'd like people running around after her, but it was a funny thought. She smiled as he squeezed her shoulder, nodding her head. "Yeah, it's perfect - next years birthday's got a lot to live up to." She chuckled.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon laughed, nodding his head in agreement. "People would probably believe it too, this lot is so crazy." He laughed. He was honestly so grateful to have a friend like Annie - she and Josiah were his best friends in the world and he felt like anywhere they were, was a place he would feel comfortable. He nodded his head as she spoke about where she would be staying. "Yeah, so we'll get those two dropped off and then head home? I'll ask Jo if he wants us to pick up any food on the way." He smiled. It was a little tradition of theirs - if they ever stopped for food, they would bring him something back and the three of them would sit in the living room and catch up on their nights while they ate.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I knew it. It's really kind of you to hold off, in that case." Nancy laughed softly, raising an eyebrow. She liked being able to mess around and just talk nonsense, especially with Benjamin - she felt like she was always smiling around him and that was something she could absolutely get used to. She smiled as spoke, nodding her head. "I think so." She laughed. "We just have to stay away from Arlo because he's on some kind of mission to dunk everybody in sight - I've managed to escape it so far." She laughed, shaking her head.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I guess I have a lot more work to do then, I can't believe you're taking over my title." Maeve laughed, shaking her head. Nobody she went to university with would joke around like this - she had almost gotten used to that, but she was enjoying herself so much. She smiled gratefully as he handed her his towell, wrapping it around her shoulders quickly, already warmer than she had been when she first got out of the pool. She laughed almost nervously as he spoke - she wanted to kiss him, but she wanted to make totally sure that was what he was referring to first... She hated the idea of doing it and then looking like an idiot. "Well - what do you want?" She laughed softly.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie's smile matched Piper's as she said she would stay over - he really wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend soon, but he didn't know if it was too soon with them only just getting things back on track tonight. He loved the idea of getting the whole of the next day with her, though. "Perfect!" He smiled, biting down on his bottom lip for a second before he leaned in to kiss her. He hoped she didn't mind, but he'd been wanting to do it since they'd kissed at midnight earlier.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "They're really not that bad, Arlo. We need to get you a backbone, my friend." The blonde laughed, shaking her head. She was teasing him, though. She knew that the Davenports could probably be pretty intimidating if they wanted to be - all four of them - but she had never really seen that of them before. She thought that they were decent people. They'd always treated her decently, anyway. Iris' head was spinning but she was having too much fun. "Alright - can we play dares or something? I wanna do something. What do you want to do?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow as she looked to her best friend.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "The burn is how we know it's fun, right?" Grayson asked as he raised an eyebrow. He had never really tried any alcohol or anything before he had turned eighteen. He was pretty scared to try it, if he was honest. So he had never really had the chance to try anything like this. It was a lot of fun, though. "Yeah. I know. You're stuck with me for life." He nudged her. He really did think that he and Dodie would be friends for life. He nodded as he looked over at Ogie before he nodded, "They are. I just hope she doesn't do this to him again." He hated how she had made his friend feel.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Are you scared she's gonna tell me something I shouldn't know?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. Though she was playing with him. She thought that she and Wren were an open book to one another - she hoped so anyway. "I think it's a right of passage for any older brother, honestly." Blake shrugged her shoulders. "At least you're not like some of the others around here." She had no idea what she would be like as an older sibling but she thought that Wren was probably the ideal sibling. "Yeah, she is." Blake smiled and nodded her head. She thought that Betsy was incredible. She really, really did. "Oh, yeah! Seeing her in that was when I knew for sure that I wanted all of this. I saw her and I just - I wanted that, you know?" She had always wanted to perform but that was when she knew it was possible.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "If he exists. Lets hope so." Noah nodded his head. Though he was joking. He definitely didn't believe in god. He never had done - but especially not after Elias. "You do, you've gotta make up for it." He chuckled as he looked down at her. He smiled as he listened to her. He didn't care about much but he was definitely glad that she had, had a good night. "You know what would make this better?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow. He pulled out the little bag that he'd brought with him - coke. he thought it would probably lighten the mood. "Was waiting till Penny went elsewhere so she didn't want some too."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie laughed as she listened to Landon, "Especially if they're as drunk as some of this lot are." She smiled. She looked over at their siblings. She thought that if they didn't slow down, they weren't going to do very well tomorrow. Annie nodded as she listened to Landon. She wished that Josiah was invited to these kinds of things. She always felt bad leaving him on his own. "Sounds perfect."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I know. I'm like that though. I'm really kind. You're lucky to know me." Benjamin shrugged his shoulders. He always felt more confident when he was around Nancy though. He wasn't sure what it was about her that made him feel that way but he liked it. "Okay, good." He chuckled as he nodded his head. He looked over at her cousin and Iris as she spoke about him and nodded his head, "He looks pretty preoccupied, though. Jeez."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "You do, i'm sorry to say it. You're just not up to scratch." Toby laughed. He knew that he was probably the least intimidating of his family - though he had his moments. Tobias just didn't see the point in trying to intimidating people from the get go. He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. "What do you think I want, Maeve. I think that's more interesting, if you ask me." He laughed but he meant it. He wondered if she thought the same as he did.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper thought that she had been crazy before the party by going with someone else. She had no idea how things would be the next morning but she thought that It would be fine, regardless. She was so glad that Ogie had forgiven her so quickly. The girl smiled as he reached to kiss her and of course she kissed him back. She thought that, that meant that all of this was really good.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, you're bound to say that, she was your girlfriend. She's not exactly gonna be mean to you!" Arlo laughed, rolling his eyes jokingly. As intimidating as the Davenports were, Lydia had always been pretty nice to him and he could appreciate that she was fun to be around. "Dares? There's no way you're rounding this lot up and getting them to play a game right now. Look at them, everybody's coupled off." He laughed, shaking his head. "We can do whatever you want, Ris." He smiled, shrugging his shoulders before he took another swig of tequila. He would always do pretty much whatever Iris wanted them to do.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "That's my boy!" Dodie laughed as Grayson spoke, taking another long drink of her concoction. She was having such a good night and she was glad that it didn't have to end soon - unlike a club, there was no closing time here and nobody seemed exactly ready to leave. "Hey, I'm pretty happy about that. Who else would give me inspirational quotes all the time?" She laughed, nudging her friend back. She knew the boys were her friends for life. "Me too... But he trusts her, so we have to as well. Right?" She thought that was how it worked, especially with Ogie - they had to trust his judgement, at least for now.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "There's nothing about me I wouldn't want you to know." Wren smiled - he was speaking truthfully, he was pretty much an open book where Blake was concerned. As much as he was enjoying himself, he was also excited to get home - now that she had agreed to stay over at his place, it was all he could think about. "Yeah, there are definitely some more protective brothers than me around here." He chuckled. He didn't think he would ever be on that level - he knew Penny would hate it. He smiled as she spoke about watching her aunt, nodding his head. "That makes a lot of sense - I can see how that performance would inspire you. Do you have a dream musical to be in?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. Ever since he'd seen Newsies, he had longed to play Jack.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Fingers crossed." Mia joked, shaking her head. Although she knew she had amazing friends, she'd never expected them to do anything like this for her - not only had they completely surprised her, they'd thrown her a party that was so perfectly her and she loved it. She raised an eyebrow as Noah spoke about making the night better, smirking slightly as she realised what he was getting at. "God yeah, don't let her see. She'll run off with the bag." She laughed, rolling her eyes fondly. Even so, she stepped slightly in front of Noah so that she was shielding what they were doing from a few of the others. She didn't have a key or anything on her, so she just put a little bump on her finger and did it quickly, blinking a few times as she waited for Noah to do the same. She didn't think it was a big deal - it was her birthday, she wanted to have the most fun she could and she knew this would help.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Right? There are going to be some sore heads tomorrow." Landon laughed, raising an eyebrow. That was one of the reasons he didn't like to get past tipsy, really - he hated having to deal with a hangover the next day, he thought it was a waste of the whole day and he hated that. "Is it bad that I'm already pretty tired? I hope they tire themselves out soon." He laughed, shaking his head as he pulled out his phone to check the time. "Jesus, it's already three in the morning. I don't feel bad about being tired anymore." He had no idea what time everybody would want to stay 'til, but he didn't think they were anywhere near done yet.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy looked over to see what Benjamin was talking about, laughing as she saw that Arlo was with Iris. "Oh no, he's just with Iris - they're probably just plotting how they're going to get people." She laughed. Never in a million years did she think the two of them would ever be anything more than just friends. It had never even occurred to her. "You wanna get out of the water soon? I'm getting really cold." She admitted with a laugh. She thought she would probably be ready to get changed and go home soon - although she was hoping that Benjamin might want to go with her.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Wow, harsh. You could've at least tried to sugarcoat it." Maeve chuckled, shaking her head as though she was disappointed. Not for a second had she thought she would end tonight alone with Tobias in the locker room, but she was trying not to get into her own head about it. Especially once he spoke and she realised that the next move was entirely down to her - she knew that if she didn't do anything now, the moment would be over... But she was scared that if she did, she would have the wrong end of the stick and make an idiot out of herself. Regardless, she knew she just had to take the plunge. She leaned up on her tiptoes to touch the side of his face gently and kissed him, pulling away after a couple of seconds. "Something like that?" She laughed nervously.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie smiled as Piper kissed him back, staying as they were for a while before he pulled away and wrapped an arm around her waist, a happy smile on his face. He didn't think things could really get any better than this. "Hey - have you seen my sister? It's her birthday and I've barely even seen her around." He laughed, looking around the room before he spotted her with Noah, chuckling slightly. Of course, he couldn't see what they were doing. "There she is. Have they pretty much spent the whole night together?" He asked with a laugh, raising an eyebrow. "That's cute." It was just the drunkenness talking - he was actually usually a little worried about what was happening with her and Noah, but tonight it seemed like the sweetest thing in the world.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "We did break up though so - who knows." Iris knew that hers and Lydias relationship hadn't exactly been healthy. So she didn't know how much that Arlo was saying was really true but she thought that she would go along with it. "I meant just us two." She laughed as she looked around them when she realised that he was right. They were all pretty much coupled off and she wondered what that meant for her and Arlo. "What do think to them?" She asked him, nodding to Ben and Nancy. She thought that she was happy as long as Nancy was. She took the bottle from him again, taking another swig. "Shit. It's almost empty!" She giggled.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "You taught me well, haven't you?" Grayson asked as he raised an eyebrow. He was definitely more comfortable here than he would have been if they went to a club or something like that. It was just the people wo they all liked and he felt so happy with all of that. Grayson nodded his head, then, "I'll do my best to always be that person for you!" He smiled. He would always be there for Dodie, as long as she would want him to be there. Grayson nodded his head, "Yeah, I guess we do. Not much we can do about it, is there?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Oh really?" Blake asked before she smiled, "I like that. I like that you're an open book." She thought that she probably way as well. Nothing that she had done was something that she wouldn't want Wren to know. She felt really happy that they were on the same page with all of that. "And sisters." She chuckled, nodding towards Annie. She didn't think that they were overly protective but she thought that it was sweet how much she wanted to look after them. "Oh loads." Blake laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "I think right now, I'd say Heathers. I would genuinely die to be able to play Veronica." She laughed. "But I also really want to be in The Bodyguard, too." She shrugged, "What about you?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah smirked as he saw the look on his face and he was really glad that she agreed to it. He didn't think he would have asked her if he didn't think that she would. He quickly followed suit after Mia took her bump and he instantly felt a little better. Noah was just glad that no-one had seen. He didn't want to deal with the hassle of some of the others finding out. "There we go." He chuckled as he nodded his head. He put the bag back in his pocket.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I guess it's their own fault though." Annie shrugged her shoulders. She thought that they were all old enough to know what was going to happen if they pushed it so she didn't really feel all that bad for them right now - she might be different in the morning, though. "I'm so ready for bed." Annie laughed and nodded, "I'm so glad that I'm not the only one!" She smiled as she looked at her friend. that one of the reasons why she liked Landon being there. He understood her brain. "Oh really? God. Do you think we're gonna have to be here much longer?

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "No, I know." Benjamin nodded his head. He figured that much. He'd seen them around one another and he hadn't even seen a hint of anything more, he didn't think. "Not gonna lie, i've been hoping you'd say that." He chuckled as he nodded his head and moved over to the side so that he could pull himself out. He had enjoyed himself but he was definitely ready to go home soon, he thought. It was getting pretty late . "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Do you know who I am? We don't sugarcoat things." Tobias laughed. He figured that most people knew the Davenports and knew how he and his family could be. Being with Maeve like this was probably the last thing he would've expected but he was glad that it was happening. He didn't think that he would've ever spoke to her like this before now. And as she realised what he was saying, he smirked. Tobias happily kissed her back, though. It was what he had wanted after all. He nodded his head as he heard her speak and chuckle, "Yeah, something like that works."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper was more than happy as Ogie kissed her. She felt like it was right. There were butterflies in her stomach as he pulled away. Piper thought that the two of them were going to be happy like this. She really hoped that all of this was going to be good. She hoped that it would, anyway. Piper smiled as she looked over to Noah and Mia and she nodded her head, "Yeah. I think they have." She smiled. "Do you wanna go talk to them? We can get out, if you want?" She asked him with a smile.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Just us two? Yeah, we can play dares!" Arlo laughed, nodding his head enthusiastically. He loved that he and Iris could have so much fun when it was just the two of them, they didn't need anybody else around. He turned to see what she was referring to, laughing as he saw Ben and Nancy. "Them two? I dunno, they seem like kind of a weird pair, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow. Ben was pretty different to anybody else he'd ever seen Nancy with. "No! I can't believe we finished it." He laughed, taking the bottle to check it out from himself. "You think we get another?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren smiled, nodding his head. "I mean, I try to be. I want to know everything about you, so - I figure it's only fair to let you in on the same." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. He liked how open he and Blake were with each other, how willing they were to let each other in. He had really liked Annie, but that was where everything had fallen short - even when they'd kissed that night, he'd felt totally shut out afterwards. "And sisters." He smiled fondly. "You would be an incredible Veronica!" He smiled, nodding his head. "Jack, in Newsies. He's been a dream ever since I first saw the show." He smiled. He thought that if he ever got to play Jack, he would know he'd made it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: After the drama that had happened last time, Mia was glad that this was something that was just between her and Noah - she didn't think anybody else needed to be in on it, because otherwise people started having their opinions. "There we go." She repeated with a little laugh. She was happy just to be spending a bit of uninterrupted time with him; she knew she was really starting to like Noah and standing alone with him, with the buzz of the coke kicking in, she leaned forward slightly, about to kiss him when she heard her brothers voice getting closer and groaned slightly. "For gods sake..." She turned her head slightly, wondering what he wanted.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I absolutely do!" Ogie laughed as Piper suggested getting out, moving over to the ladders and starting to climb. He was in that kind of drunk mood where it seemed like the most hilarious thing in the world to be annoying - especially to your big sister and he couldn't wait to get over. He was already laughing as he approached them, turning to make sure Piper was following him as he called out to his sister. "Mia! Mia! MIA!" He laughed, stopping when he got close to them. "Hey guys! How's it going?!" He laughed, a big cheesy grin on his face. He didn't mean any harm, he was just having fun and he thought they would want to be doing the same.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "You're right." Landon chuckled softly, nodding his head. He thought Annie would always be the type to look after anybody around her though and especially her own siblings. "The idea of getting home, jumping in the shower, eating and getting into my bed sounds like pure heaven right now." He laughed. His room was his safe zone, his own little space and he loved getting back there after a full night of being social. "I hope not. I mean, how long can it really be until they get tired? Surely we won't be here past four." He raised an eyebrow. He thought that would just be far too late, he wanted to be asleep by then. He was usually asleep by now, most nights.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy laughed at what Benjamin was saying, raising an eyebrow. "You should've just told me you wanted to get out!" She smiled, shaking her head. She didn't want him to feel like she had to call all of the shots, because she knew she could be pretty bossy without realising sometimes. She turned so that she could jump up onto the side and climb out of the pool, moving to pick up her phone - she'd left it on the side near her drink, knowing that nobody here would touch either. "It's just gone three! I didn't realise how late it was." She laughed. She was pretty surprised that all this time had passed since they got here and just seeing the time made her ready to get home.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: As Tobias kissed her back, Maeve felt a jolt of relief that she hadn't misread things - this was what he wanted too and she couldn't help feeling pretty happy about that. Although their backgrounds were the same, they came from entirely different social circles and she'd never expected somebody like him to be interested in her for even a night, so it felt pretty surreal. She smiled as he spoke, nodding her head. "And now we're even?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Yeah!" Iris laughed, "alright. Dare me to do something." She nodded. She thought that she and Arlo were always going to have fun together. They always had. She knew that they could make their fun, whatever happened between the two of them. She was almost certain that it would last. He would be in her life for the rest of her life. She had to believe that. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Iris nodded. She had no idea what Nancy was thinking but she hadn't said anything to her about it. Iris didn't respond to Arlo. She swam to the side of the pool, climbed out and went to get them another bottle, "We absolutely do!"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake smiled fondly as Wren spoke. She liked that he also wanted to know everything about her too. She liked that the feeling seemed absolutely mutual towards the two of them. "Well, that's really good to know." She chuckled and nodded her head. Blake really wanted to know what it was that was going on with Wren and Annie, before she got in too deep, but she wasn't completely sure that right now was the right time with all of that. She beamed as he complimented her and she shrugged her shoulders. "I really, really want to play her." She laughed. "Oh god, that's actually perfect." She nodded.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Of course Noah knew that his relationship with Mia had already been up and down - it wasn't really a relationship - but he thought that they were having fun and that was all that mattered. Noah was pretty sure that Mia was about to kiss him ... when she pulled away because of her brother. He shook his head slightly as he looked at him. He looked to Mia, hoping that she would tell her brother to go away. If she didn't, then Noah would tell him, himself.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper chuckled as he moved over to the ladders and she followed suit. She was freezing as she got out of the water. She sat down on the side of the pool, waiting for Ogie to be finished with his sister. He thought that it was so sweet how much he, obviously, loved his siblings. Piper wished that she had a relationship like that with her brother. She wasn't sure what she had done to make him pull away so much.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Oh, you and me both." Annie muttered as she nodded her head, "I am so hungry, Landon. I honestly think we're gonna be stuck here for forever." She rested her head against his shoulder, sighing. Landon was one of her best friends. but it wasn't often that they were touchy feely but she didn't think that it mattered right now. "I don't know with Mia. We've gotta stay till she's gonna go, right?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Nancy, "I didn't really want to get in but when a pretty girl asks - how can I say no?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't really mind though. He thought that she probably helped how much fun the two of them had. He didn't think he would really do all that much if it wasn't for her. "Oh really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: The last thing that Tobias had expected, was for the two of them to have kissed - never mind kissed twice. But he wasn't gonna complain about it. He couldn't help but wonder what his sister would think about the whole thing though. He smiled down at her as he pulled away from her and he nodded his head. "For now we are. Yeah." He nodded.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Alright! I dare you to... I dare you to go and push somebody into the pool!" Arlo laughed loudly at the thought, wondering if Iris was going to do it or not - he didn't think she'd ever back down from a dare though and that made him laugh even more. "Weird... I'm sure she'll be over it soon." He chuckled. He thought he knew his cousin well enough to know this wouldn't last forever, that it wasn't a big deal. He smirked as Iris went to get them another bottle, clapping his hands as she came back. "You inspire me everyday, Saracen." He laughed, reaching out to take the bottle and unscrew the top.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren absolutely felt as though what was between he and Blake was something they could both feel - he hadn't felt like that in a really long time, that what he felt towards somebody was completely mutual. "It would be perfect for you. Hey - are you auditioning for Hairspray? My mum and my Aunt Willow are holding auditions next week." He smiled. He was really excited to see what they did with the show and he would love to see how much Blake would shine in it - he knew his mum would absolutely see every shred of talent she had and be wowed, just like he was.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia didn't really bother thinking too deeply into what it was that was going on with she and Noah - they were having a good time, they enjoyed each other's company. What more was there to talk about, really? She sighed as Ogie spoke, turning to him with an annoyed expression. "Ogie, go away." She told him bluntly, making it clear that she didn't want to play along right now. As he continued to speak though, she rolled her eyes. "Ogie, I said go away!"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie had pretty much just expected his sister to play along, to come and join him and Piper but as she didn't, he still didn't leave. It was her birthday and he wanted to spend some of it with her, to have fun and he thought she was probably just messing around, that she wasn't really annoyed. She had been with Noah for most of the night after all, he didn't see what was more annoying. He laughed as she told him to go away, finding it all even funnier. "Mia, c'mon! It's your birthday, you haven't even been in the pool for ages! Come on! You can't just stand over here all night!" He laughed, shaking his head. "Mia! Come on!" He laughed and reached forward to pull his sisters arm slightly, disappointed as she shrugged him off.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon smiled as Annie rested her head against him - they weren't the kind of friends that were often very tactile, but it was late and he didn't mind it at all. He patted her shoulder gently - slightly awkwardly, but well meaningly - and laughed at what she was saying. "I'm starving... I really want Chinese or something like that, you think anywhere will still be delivering?" He raised an eyebrow. He felt like they'd been there forever. "You want to wait for Mia to be done? I think we're going to be here until next year, in that case." He chuckled. He was sure her friends would make sure she got home safe, but he knew Annie probably wouldn't rest until she knew her sister had gotten home safe.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy laughed, shaking her head. "I should've known all that water baby stuff was a lie." She laughed quietly, nudging him. She didn't think he minded though, he'd seemed to have a lot of fun and she knew she had as well. "Yeah, I guess time passed pretty quickly." She smiled, pushing her hair away from her face. "I think I'm gonna go and dry off and then maybe head home. But uh - all my housemates have gone home for Christmas, so it'll be quiet if you fancy coming with?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow. She really hoped he didn't say no, mostly because it would be pretty embarrassing - but also because she definitely wanted to spend even a little bit more time with him.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve smiled as Tobias spoke, raising an eyebrow - she wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she was interested to find out. "Good." She laughed quietly, nodding her head. "Come on, people will be wondering where you are." She laughed, wrapping the towel more firmly around herself before she started heading back out of the locker room. She thought people were probably more likely to realise he was gone than her, but either way they would notice if they were in there much longer.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris laughed as she heard Arlos dare. She knew that it probably wasn't very fair but, on her way back to the pool, she realised that Piper was sitting on the side and she couldn't help herself. She pushed her friend into the pool before she climbed back into the pool and went over to Arlo with a laugh, as though she had never done anything. She wrapped her arms around him with a laugh, "As I should!" She laughed and took the bottle from him again. She took a big swig of her drink before she sighed, "hm, what should your dare be?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake really hoped that the feeling was mutual. She thought that it was but then he had been interested in Annie a few weeks before so she really wasn't sure what it was that was going on in his head. She would ask him sooner rather than later. "Of course I am." Blake laughed as she nodded her head, "You are too, right? Or do you not need to because you're already, obviously, the perfect Seaweed?" She asked. "I would kill to hear you sing Run and Tell that!" She was really nervous to audition for Willow and Fleur but she knew that she needed to do it

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: The more that Ogie pushed , the more annoyed Noah got with him. He didn't want to snap at him but he didn't know if it was the alcohol or the drugs in his system. He was pissed off with Ogie pretty quickly. "Mate, she said to go away!" Noah snapped and without really thinking about it, he shoved the other. It was with more force than he had wanted to be and everything that happened in the next few seconds, happened in slow motion. He was literally unable to stop any of it, even as he reached for Ogie to stop him from falling.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper had been watching Ogie with his sister .... until Iris pushed her into the pool. She was so shocked and she came up coughing and spluttering a little. She was pretty disorientated when she came back up for air too. It took her a couple of seconds to have her eyes refocused. When she did, she looked to Mia and Noah and was confused as to where Ogie was. She didn't see him on the floor at first.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie knew that Landon probably didn't really feel all that comfortable so after a couple of seconds, she lifted her head from his shoulder. She wasn't going to make him feel uncomfortable if he didn't like it. "I have no idea. i hope so. If not, we'll just have to get a shitty pizza or something on our way home." Annie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Wouldn't that be when Piper and Ogie want to go home?" She shrugged her shoulders. Though her eyes went wide as she saw Noah push her brother - and then saw him fall. "Ogie!" She shouted, standing up quickly.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin laughed, shrugging his shoulders, "Ah but you bought it for a little while, right?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow. He thought that he probably wouldn't have had as much fun if he had sat on the side of the pool for the entire night. "It does when you're having fun, right?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow. He smiled as Nancy suggested him going home with her and he nodded his head, "Yeah, i'd like that, yeah." He chuckled. Though it fell short as he heard Annie shouting. He didn't think he had ever heard her shout before.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias didn't think he was making much sense but he didn't particularly care. He thought that the two of them were always going to have a lot of fun together. "Alright then." He nodded, before he started out of the locker rooms. He was glad that the two of them had at least had a little bit of time together. He raised an eyebrow, though, as he realised what had happened out there.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie was used to being the annoying sibling; he always pestered his siblings and it wasn't usually a big deal, so he definitely didn't expect Noah to shove him and he wasn't prepared for it. He stumbled as the stronger male pushed him - and without the floor being so slippery, he probably would've been able to maintain his balance, but the water under his feet only made him slip faster and before he could even register what was happening, his head was hitting the stone floor with a deafening smack and Ogie was out cold.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia usually had more patience for her brother, but the fact that he'd interrupted her and Noah had annoyed her and that coupled with everything in her system had just frustrated her further. She raised an eyebrow as Noah snapped at him, feeling like it was probably justified - but she was about to say he didn't need to shove him, when the words vanished from her mouth as she watched her brother hit the floor, her hands flying to her mouth as it fell open. "Fuck,[/i -- Ogie!" She screamed as she heard his head hitting the ground, looking from Noah to her brother for a split second before the adrenaline spiked and she moved down next to him, trying to see what had happened - if he was okay.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo literally had tears of laughter rolling down his face as he watched Iris pushing Piper into the pool, clutching his stomach as he roared away - he literally felt like his stomach was going to explode he was laughing so much. "You are fucking incredible!" He laughed as she came back and he was about to respond to her query about his dare when everything happened. He wasn't sure what was going on, he just saw Ogie falling to the floor and his eyes went wide. "Oh fuck -- fucking hell...." He muttered, starting to swim over. "What the fuck happened?!"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I absolutely still need to audition. In fact, I think they're probably going to hold me to a higher standard." Wren chuckled, raising an eyebrow. He would never want a part without working for it and he knew his mum wouldn't want that either - but that didn't mean he wasn't really hoping to play Seaweed, it was absolutely one of his dream roles. As he heard Annie shouting, he turned his head quickly - he had never heard her sound like that before, but he soon saw why. "Oh my god..." He muttered, getting up and running over to the boy, kneeling down next to him. "Ogie?" He asked softly, putting a hand on the boys shoulder.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon laughed as Annie spoke about food, nodding his head. "Yeah, it's probably going to be shitty pizza - but don't get me wrong, I'll still eat it." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. He looked over as he heard Mia telling her brother to go away - he thought it was just normal sibling banter, but his eyes went a little wider as he saw Noah push him and as soon as he fell, Landon was on his feet. He looked over at Ogie for a second - and then he saw he wasn't moving. "I'm calling an ambulance." He said instantly, pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialling 999. He knew they weren't supposed to be there, he knew they could get into trouble - but Ogie wasn't moving, so none of that mattered right now.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy smiled as Benjamin agreed to go home with her, about to turn to go and get changed - when she saw everything happen. It happened so quickly and then everybody seemed to jump into action, but Nancy wasn't sure what to do. "Oh my god..." She whispered, her eyes wide as she looked from Ogie to her brother. She knew he hadn't meant to, that much was obvious - it was an accident, but it didn't look good. "Is he - is he knocked out?" She asked, looking to Benjamin as though he would know the answer.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve still had a smile on her face as they walked out of the locker rooms, but it soon faded as she saw Ogie on the floor. "What the --..." Her eyes went wide. As selfish as it was, her first thought was that they weren't supposed to be there - she knew how much trouble they could be in if people found out they were there, especially now somebody had gotten hurt. They all needed to get out, but she didn't know how people would react if she said that. She looked up to Tobias, wondering if he'd been on the same page as her.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Lydia had spent the majority of her night chatting with different people, making the rounds and having fun - but it was hard not to notice what was happening as Ogie's head hit the floor and everybody went silent. She looked over to Annie and saw her reacting, saw that Landon was calling an ambulance... And she knew it was time for the rest of them to go. She and Iris had been the ones to take the key and she knew how much trouble they could get into if they didn't leave now. She moved quickly, going straight over to her brother and grabbing his arm. "Move, we gotta go. We need to get out of here." She snapped.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: As soon as Annie saw her brothers head hit the floor, she ran over to his side. She fell to her knees beside him. She could see that he was breathing, that was the main thing that she needed to know. She looked up at Noah, then, "What the FUCK do you think you were doing?!" She screamed at him. Annie didn't think that she had spoke to anyone like that before in her life but she was so scared. Ogie had hit his head. He was on the floor and he was hurt and he wasn't waking up. And Annie was terrified. After Thomas, she didn't think that, that was much of a surprise. She looked down again at her brother, just hoping that the ambulance would hurry up.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah didn't even think that he had pushed Ogie that hard. He had no idea that the other would lose his footing. "I -- I didn't mean too." Noah muttered shaking his head. As he heard someone say that they were calling an ambulance, he didn't know what to do. If he stayed there, he was going to be in so much trouble but he didn't know what to do. He looked to Mia. He wanted her to tell him what he should do. "I'm so - i didn't mean too.." He was trying his hardest to keep himself together. He didn't want to freak out in front of the others.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris had no idea what was happening behind her but as she heard Noah, as she heard her cousins shouting, she turned around to face what was going on. She was so shocked to find Ogie on the floor. "He's not moving.." Iris whispered. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say. A part of her wanted to go. She had set all of this up. If someone told someone that it was her then she knew that she would be in just as much trouble as Noah. But this was Ogie. She didn't want to just leave him. She looked to Arlo, her eyes wide.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper was so confused by all of the shouting but then she saw him. "Ogie..." THe girl muttered. She was stood in the water watching him but she didn't know what to do. There were tears in her eyes as she looked at him , as she watched to see if he was moving or anything else. Piper couldn't move though. She was afraid if she moved, that things would get worse. She didn't know what to do.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blakes eyes went wide as she saw what was happening else where. She looked over to them and shook her head, slightly. She placed her hand on Wrens shoulder. Part of her thought that he should probably leave this to Ogies sisters but she knew that it wouldn't be fair to drag him away from that. "Everyone - Everyone who isnt' - You should go. Everyone just leave." She called around to the others. She figured that they should probably have their privacy.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin had no idea what had happened but he heard the smack as Ogie hit the floor and he turned to look over at them. He nodded his head as he heard Nancy. "Yeah, yeah. I think he is." He sighed. Then he heard what it was that Blake had to say. "We - er - we should probably go, Nance. Whoever is left here is gonna - we should go." He nodded.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias was so surprised as he saw Ogie on the floor and then he heard his sisters voice. He turned to face her before he nodded his head. "Yeah, we should .Yeah." He nodded. He looked down at Maeve, then, "Are you coming?" He asked her. He knew how much trouble his sister would be if they found her there and that was the last thing he wanted.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Everything seemed to have happened so fast and Mia had no clue what to do - but as she saw Noah looking like he was about to freak out, it almost felt as though she jumped into action. "Hey, it's okay - he slipped. He slipped!" She snapped as Annie screamed, shaking her head. Noah hadn't even pushed him that hard and she knew that if the floor hadn't been wet, it would've been totally fine - she had almost slipped enough times herself that night. "Oh god..." She muttered as she looked at her brother, chewing on her lip. She knew how much trouble they could all be in for just being here. "Noah, it's okay - he slipped. Just - go, okay? Go. I'll meet you outside." She told him quietly, her head becoming more clear by the second. She didn't know if he would want that or not, but she didn't want him to be on his own. Not now. She sighed and leaned back down next to her brother, looking at him carefully. There was no blood, which she thought was a good sign - and then he opened his eyes and she let out a massive sigh of relief.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: The room swam in front of Ogie's eyes as he opened them a tiny bit - his head was pounding, it felt as though somebody had hit him with a hammer and everything was blurry... But it was getting slightly more focused as he came around. He groaned slightly, his face ashen. Everything was far too bright and he felt nauseous. "I don't feel good..." He muttered, his words slightly slurred. As everything became a little clearer, he opened his eyes properly, looking at his oldest sister. "What happened?" He muttered.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon told the ambulance exactly what had happened and where they were and as he got a promise that they were on their way, he put his phone away with a sigh and moved over to Annie. "The ambulance is on its way, he should get checked over even if he's coming around..." He muttered, squeezing her shoulder gently before he made his way over to his sister. "Piper, I - uh... Do you want me to call mum and get her to pick you up? I'm gonna go to the hospital with Annie, I don't want her to be on her own." He didn't think anybody else was sober enough to go up with her and he wanted to be able to be there for her anyway. But he didn't want his sister having to make her way home on her own. He didn't think it was safe.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo watched Ogie with wide eyes, not knowing what to do - he didn't want to be a bad person by leaving, but he thought he and Iris were in a different boat to some of the others here. They actually went to this uni and Iris had been the one to break in here... They could be in so much trouble and Arlo could only imagine his dads face if he got expelled. "We need to go, Ris. Like - now." He muttered, taking her hand and beginning to move over to the pool ladders as quickly as he could. He knew they couldn't risk being here when the ambulance got here, they would be in too much trouble.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren reached up to cover Blake's hand with his own when he felt it on his shoulder, looking to Annie with a worried expression. "Do you want me to come with you to the hospital, Annie?" They hadn't spoken very much since they had kissed, but the Saracens were still like family to him and he would always be there if they needed him. He breathed a sigh of relief as Ogie came around though - he was pretty sure he'd be fine, he'd just been knocked out for a second or two, but it was still good for him to be checked out. "You got knocked out buddy, but you'll be alright. Ambulance is on its way." He smiled. Selfishly, if Annie said she didn't want him to come then he wanted to get he and Blake out of there as soon as possible - he knew they shouldn't risk being there when the ambulance arrived.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy knew that Benjamin was right as soon as he spoke - they couldn't afford to be found at the pool, not when the girls had broken in and they weren't supposed to be there. She was happy to see that Lydia and Iris seemed to be making a move too, she thought they needed to. "Yeah, let me just grab my stuff..." She muttered, practically running to go and grab the bag she'd left by the side and moving back to him. "Let's go." She looked over to her brother, trying to gesture for him to join them. She didn't want to leave him here, but they needed to get out. "Noah! Let's go, come on!" She called, starting to walk towards the door.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Lydia knew that Ogie's siblings were going to take care of him, she knew he was going to be okay - but she also knew that if she and Iris didn't get out of there, they could be in a lot of trouble. They could potentially lose their places in their respective schools and she couldn't risk that. "I don't fucking care if she's coming, move!" She demanded frustratedly as her brother paused to speak to Maeve, pulling on his arm as she started walking. She didn't care about Maeve, she wasn't waiting around and getting into trouble just because her brother felt sorry for the girl.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Maeve nodded her head as Tobias spoke, looking from Ogie to the door. She knew she had to go, she couldn't risk the trouble she'd get into if they knew she'd been at the party - not when Ogie was awake now, when he seemed okay. "You go, I need to grab my stuff. It's fine, honestly." She told him with a calm smile, before she moved to go and grab her things. She didn't expect Tobias or his sister to wait for her and it was clear Lydia wasn't going to anyway.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie knew that she had probably been a little harsh on Noah but she didn't care. Her little brother was on the floor, he was knocked out and Noah had been the one to push him. She didn't understand why he had, had to do that. She smiled, though, as Ogie came back too and she nodded her head, "You're alright. You just hit your head. Do you want some water or something?" All she could focus on was Ogie but she shook her head at Wrens question, "No. We'll be fine. Thank you." She muttered to him. She didn't really know how to talk to him, if she was honest. She thought that she might've been more on edge if he was there.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Everything had happened so quickly and Noah really didn't know what to do but he nodded slightly, as he listened to Mia. And then he heard his sister shouting at him. It was like that was enough to snap him into action. He quickly followed after her. He knew that he couldn't stay there, none of them should've been there in the first place. "I'm gonna wait for Mia. You guys go." He spoke over to Nancy and Benjamin. He didn't want to leave her and, if he was honest, she was the only one that he wanted to see right now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper looked from her brother back to Ogie as she listened to what it was that he was saying but she shook her head. "No. No. I - I wanna come with you." She knew that the smarter idea was probably to get out of there but she wanted to be with Ogie, she wanted to make sure that he was okay. She knew that if she went home, she would just be texting Landon to find out what was happening, anyway.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris knew that they were going to be in a lot of trouble and if it had been anyone else, she would've been one of the first ones out of there. When she realised that Ogie was coming too, though, Iris nodded. She quickly followed after Arlo. "I just need to grab my stuff." She muttered - and quickly moved to the locker rooms to grab what she had left in there. She took Arlos hand again as she came back to him. "Alright - do you wanna go to mine?" She asked him. She didn't live that far away and she thought that, that was probably would be a good idea to get there.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake had quickly scrambled to get her stuff whilst Wren spoke to Annie. She didn't want to leave him, especially since they had agreed to go home together. Once she heard Annie telling him that she would be fine, Blake held out his stuff to him, "We should go, Wren." She could only imagine how mad at her, her mum would be. This wasn't something that her mother would've dreamed about doing when she was her age.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin really didn't think that everyone staying there would help Ogie so he didn't see the point of it. He just wanted them to get out of there. He looked to Nancy once they were outside. "Where are we going?" Benjamin asked her. He knew that she had asked if he wanted to go to her house but if she decided that she wanted to go with Noah, then he wouldn't blame her.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias wanted to put up a fuss. He wanted to stop and make sure that Maeve was okay - but he knew that Lydia wasn't gonna get it and he knew that his sister needed to get out of there so he quickly followed after her. "Mum and dad are gonna kill us." He called after Lydia. He was certain they were going to be angry - but he was also sure that they would be able to get rid of all of this for them.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, I think I need some water..." Ogie groaned thickly, touching his hand to his head lightly as he tried to figure out what on Earth had happened. Apart from his head pounding, he felt okay - he didn't feel like he was really injured or anything, but he'd had quite a lot to drink and it was definitely not helping with the confusion. "I'm gonna sit up." He muttered, using his hands to push himself into a sitting position and putting his head into his hands. It helped a little, not having to look at all the bright lights. After a few seconds, he looked up. "Did you say somebody called an ambulance? Maybe we should just - maybe I should just go home. I feel okay, my head just hurts." He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want anybody to get into trouble because they'd had to call an ambulance and he was glad to see that most people had already cleared out.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia was so relieved to see that Ogie seemed okay - especially when he verbally confirmed it, she was sure it was all a lot less dramatic than it had initially looked. "You feel alright?" She asked, wanting to make sure. "I dunno, maybe he doesn't need the ambulance..." She figured that if he thought he was okay, he probably didn't need to go up to the hospital - but then she heard the sirens and knew it was too late. "Do you need me to come, or can I --?" She trailed off slightly, looking from Annie to Ogie. If it was anymore serious, it wouldn't be a question... But Ogie seemed fine and Noah hadn't, he'd seemed like he was on the edge of freaking out a little bit and she wanted to be there with him. She wasn't going to leave him on his own. Not only that, but she wasn't sure the hospital was the best place for her - she'd had a lot to drink, but she'd also taken something.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon chewed on his lip for a second as he listened to his sister - he didn't feel like they were close enough for him to tell her what to do, but he also didn't know if her coming up to the hospital was a good idea right now. He didn't know if she should be there when the ambulance got there. But he knew how she felt about Ogie and he didn't think it was fair to ask her to leave. "Okay - do you wanna grab your stuff and find somewhere to get changed? I'll call us a taxi to follow the ambulance up to the hospital." He muttered, hoping that was the right thing to do.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy was just glad that her brother listened to her and started moving - she thought he could be in more trouble than anybody else if Annie decided she wanted to tell the paramedics that he'd pushed Ogie and she didn't want him around for that. She knew she couldn't tell him what to do though, she had no chance of changing his mind so she simply nodded as he said he was going to wait around. "Okay. I'll call you in the morning." She said softly, reaching up to wrap her arms around him in a hug quickly. "We'll go home - to mine. If you still want to?" She asked Benjamin, holding out her hand to him. She didn't really want to be alone, now more than ever after everything that had just happened.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, me too..." Arlo muttered, moving quickly to grab his things and pull on the joggers and t-shirt he'd brought to change into before he found Iris again, squeezing her hand gently. "Yeah, sounds good..." He nodded his head. He didn't want to risk his parents waking up and asking questions when he got home and he knew that Bridie wasn't going to do that. She trusted Iris a lot more than his own parents trusted him. "We should go quickly..." He muttered as he heard the ambulance, starting to pick up the pace. Ogie had seemed fine when they left, that wasn't his concern - it was what was going to happen if they were seen at the pool.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren nodded his head as Annie said she didn't need him to stay. "Okay - will you let me know how he is, please?" He raised an eyebrow. He cared about Ogie like he did Penny and he knew that he was going to worry about him, even though he seemed pretty much fine now. In fact, if they had been anywhere else, he probably would've advised that they forgo the ambulance and just take him to his own house so that his father could check him over. "Yeah, let's go." He smiled slightly, taking his things from Blake gratefully and taking her hand as he started to move. "Are you okay?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Lydia could tell that part of her brother wanted to wait for Maeve, but she just didn't think she could risk it - she had no idea what her school would do if they found out she'd stolen the key and broken into the pool with Iris, but she didn't think it would be good. She just hoped that if it came to it, her parents could make it all go away. "They might not even need to know, okay? As long as Annie keeps her mouth shut about who was there." She raised an eyebrow. She thought the girl would - it had been her sisters birthday party, after all.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie nodded and quickly got up from her brother so that she could get him a glass of water. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the glass. She just had to keep reminding herself that he was okay. He was sitting up. That had to mean that he was okay. She sighed as she moved back over to him and sat down, "Here." She muttered, handing him the glass. "No, Ogie. You're going to hospital. You don't mess around with head injuries." She turned to Mia then and nodded her head, "Yeah, go." If she was honest, she was a little disappointed that she would even want to leave but she didn't see the point in bringing that up. Landon would go to the hospital with them so it wasn't like she would be on her own.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: The louder that the sirens got, the more anxious Noah got. He needed to go but he really didn't want to leave Mia. She said that she would meet him outside. He was pacing outside of the building as he waited for her. Ogie was awake. He was fine. He hadn't done anything wrong. But then, if he was okay - why was the ambulance still coming? He felt like he was going to lose his mind just waiting there.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper didn't know what she would do if Landon told her that she couldn't stay. She knew that Ogie seemed okay but she wanted to be there for him. She really cared about him and she didn't think that being at home right now was going to do her any good. And it certainly wouldn't harm him. Piper nodded her head as he spoke about her grabbing her stuff. "Yeah, okay. Alright." She muttered. She quickly moved into the changing rooms and got into the stuff that she had come to the dance in - she hadn't thought to bring anything else.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin knew that he would be the same as Annie if it had been one of his younger sisters. That was scary for him and Ogie seemed fine when he had left. He just hoped his dad wouldn't be mad at him for leaving his cousin. He'd give the others a call in the morning to make sure that everything was okay and that Ogie was feeling better. "Yeah, lets go to yours." He nodded. He really thought that needed to be out of there before the ambulance got there so he was glad that they was making a move now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris would only feel comfortable when they were back at her house and they could be alone. She was pretty sure that her mum would be staying out somewhere - probably at Avas - so she thought that she and Arlo would have the time to themselves. Iris nodded as Arlo agreed and quickly started toward home. It wouldn't take them long, just five or ten minutes, which she was grateful for. She kept her hand in Arlos, though, not wanting to lose him. "I can't believe that just happened." She whispered, shaking her head. Annie was her cousin and she trusted her - she really didn't think that she would tell the paramedics that someone had pushed him, who had broken in.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake felt better as soon as they were out in the fresh air. She didn't know what they were going to do if someone told, though. While they had been inside, she had basically forgotten that what they were doing wasn't good. That they had broken in somewhere and if anyone found out, they were going to be in a world of trouble. "I'm alright." Blake nodded as she looked up at him, "Are you?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias felt really bad for leaving Maeve - especially after they had kissed in the locker room but he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do. They couldn't be seen there. He couldn't risk it. It was his university. He knew that he couldn't risk his spot there. That was just a stupid thing for him to do. "Do you really think she's gonna, though?" Because Tobias didn't. He didn't think that she would want to listen to anyone.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Thanks, Ann." Ogie said quietly as he took the water, feeling better after a couple of sips. He sighed as she said he had to go to the hospital - he felt like a bit of an idiot because he really did feel okay, but he understood why his sister was worried. "I really am okay, though." He sighed. He nodded as he heard Mia. "Go, it's your birthday. I'll probably be home in like an hour." He smiled. He didn't want Noah to feel bad for pushing him - as harsh as he thought it was, he knew he hadn't meant for him to fall. He looked around for a second, wondering where Piper had gotten to - he wouldn't blame her if he'd left, he didn't want her to get into trouble but he would've really liked to see her.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia knew her sister was annoyed with her from the bluntness of her answer, but she took it anyway. "Okay. Call me when you know anything." She muttered, leaning in to kiss her little brother on the cheek before she got up and grabbed her stuff as quickly as she could, heading outside. She didn't know if Noah would've waited or not - and as she got outside and saw him, she breathed a little sigh of relief. "Hey - we should go, we should get out of here." She said softly, beckoning for him to join her. She thought they needed to go before the paramedics got there.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon nodded his head as his sister went off to get changed, glad that he and Annie had gotten dried off and dressed earlier on in the night - it made everything a lot quicker. As they waited for the ambulance to arrive, he found an Uber on his phone and grabbed a couple of bottles of water, figuring they might need them in the waiting room. He thought they might be waiting a while, he didn't think they'd class Ogie as an emergency right now. "Are you okay?" He asked softly as Piper came back. He could see how worried she looked and he wanted to at least try and be a comfort.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: If she was honest, Nancy thought they probably should've waited to call an ambulance - it had all happened so quickly and he really did seem okay now, but she got why they were so worried. She thought she might be the same if it was Noah. She just worried a lot about what the consequences of them breaking into the pool were going to be. She smiled as Benjamin said he was still coming back to hers, nodding her head and starting to walk. "At least he seems okay, right? He was sitting up and everything." She sighed, starting to pick up speed as she heard the ambulance.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo felt just as comfortable at Iris's house as he did at his own - he was there all the time, he even had clothes there he knew he could get changed into and he knew he would feel better once they were there. In fact, the further away from the university he got, the better he felt. "I know..." He muttered, shaking his head. "But he's fine, he's totally fine. He just hit his head. Could've happened to anybody." He muttered, shrugging his shoulders. He had to keep telling himself that. He just really hoped Annie wasn't about to tell on them all. "Did your mum stay at Ava's?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: As soon as they were outside, Wren felt massively disappointed in himself - with it being New Years Eve and Mia's birthday, he hadn't even really thought about the fact that breaking into the pool was really not a good thing. He'd just been having fun and going along with everybody else, but now he didn't know what he'd been thinking. They could be in a lot of trouble for this. "Yeah, I'm just - I don't know. It was a pretty stupid thing for us all to do, wasn't it?" He sighed, raising an eyebrow. He thought Blake was probably going to be on the same page as him.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Lydia wouldn't have been so harsh if she hadn't been one of the people to instigate the break in, she wouldn't be panicking so much - but she went to such a prestigious drama school, she didn't think they'd hesitate to give somebody else her place. Plus, her brother actually went to this university. They couldn't risk it. "She better do." She said with a raise of an eyebrow. She would be really unhappy if she found out that Annie had told anybody it was her and Iris that had broken in.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie shook her head, "You are going to get your head checked out. That's it." She was being harsher than she would've usually been but she had been so afraid when he had been knocked out. It was hard for her to come down from that. As she heard Mia, Annie nodded her head, "Yeah, i'll call you when we're home." She muttered. She really wished that her sister would stay but she knew better to try and force it. She wasn't going to make her stay if she wanted to go. She felt relieved as she heard the sirens. They sounded pretty loud now and she knew she would feel better as soon as Ogie was looked over.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah jumped slightly as he heard Mias voice. He didn't know if it was what he had taken or the situation they had found themselves in, or both - but Noah was on edge. He quickly followed after her, though, as Mia said that they needed to get out of there because he knew that it was true. They couldn't be there when the paramedics got there. "Is he alright?" Noah asked her. He could barely get his head straight and at this point, he wasn't sure if he had seen Ogie wake up or if it was something that he had made up.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper looked over at Ogie as she walked back into the main room. He was sitting up and talking to his sister and she thought that, that was a good sign. Ash she heard her brother though, Piper nodded. She felt like she was going to burst into tears at any given moment but she didn't want to annoy him with that. "I'm okay." She squeaked, her voice breaking a little as she spoke. She moved to Ogies side, then, and took his hand in her.s. She didn't want him to think that she had left him. "We're coming to the hospital with you guys." She whispered, as she glanced up and Landon. "My brothers booked us a taxi so we'll be there when you guys are."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin was the same as Nancy. If they had waited to call an ambulance, then they maybe might not have needed too. But he also understood that this was their brother and they were going to be worried about him. Especially since he had passed out. It was a hard hit. "Yeah, i think he's fine." Benjamin nodded his head. "I think it was probably just the shock of it all, more than anything else."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: It was just Iris and her mum at the house - so they welcomed the company of anyone else. Arlo, Johnny, Nancy, anyone. They liked to make the house as busy as possible. Iris was so scared. If someone at the school found out that she was the one to break in, then she could lose her place at the university and if she didn't have that, then she didn't' know what she would do. She hadn't thought about all of that before they planned the party for Mia, though. " I think so. She said that she was going too anyway." Iris shrugged. And once they reached the house, all of the lights were out so she figured that she was right. "Do you want a cup of tea or something?" She didn't think they would sleep any time soon.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: It had been so easy for them to get so wrapped up in everything that was happening - the party and all of its events - that Blake hadn't even stopped to think how much trouble they would be in, if someone had found them out. She had no idea just how bad things could be, though. "Yeah, I guess it was." She nodded her head. "My mums gonna kill me." Blake whispered, shaking her head. that was the main reason she and her mum weren't close. They were such different people. They didn't really understand one another.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Tobias was pretty sure that once they told their mum and dad - after the initial shouting - they would be able to make all of this go away. He hoped so anyway. Because if he lost his place at university, he knew that his dad would lose his mind. He was sure that he would. "What are we gonna do if she doesn't?" He asked her. Because he thought that they needed to at least have a contingency plan.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Okay..." Ogie said softly, knowing he had no chance of fighting his sister on this. He thought it probably made sense for him to get checked over anyway, he knew head inuries could be tricky. He smiled as Piper came over, squeezing her hand gently. "Are you sure?" He asked with a little smile. "I really am okay Piper, it's fine." He could tell how upset she was and he just really wanted to be able to make her feel better about it all. He felt okay.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia was surprised as she saw Noah jump; she hadn't realised just how on edge he was, but she understood it. "Yeah, he's okay. He's fine. He's sitting up and everything. Everybody knows it was an accident, Noah." She promised him, sighing slightly. At least, she thought they would when they really thought about it. "What do you want to do, where do you want to go?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't know if he wanted to be at his house, if he wanted to be alone or not... She just wanted to help.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I've got an Uber for Piper and I, we'll meet you up at the hospital. He'll be fine." Landon promised Annie, squeezing her shoulder gently. He couldn't believe just how much had happened in the past however many minutes, but he was more than sure it was all going to be okay. To be honest, he was pretty surprised that Mia wasn't going up to the hospital with them all, but he didn't think it was his place to say anything about it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, you're right." Nancy nodded in agreement - now that Ogie was okay, she was more worried about what was going to happen if anybody found out they'd all been there. "They have no way of knowing we were all at the pool, right? You don't think Annie will say anything?" She asked worriedly, looking up at Benjamin. She figured he knew Annie better than her, she was his cousin after all. She could only imagine how much trouble they would all be in if anybody found out - she thought her parents alone would be furious.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo never really thought about the consequences of anything and if he was honest, he hadn't even considered the fact that going into the pool might be a bad idea. He'd just thought of how fun it would be, how much of a laugh they would have. He smiled slightly as they reached Iris's house, feeling instantly better as he stepped inside. "Just a big glass of water, please. And maybe some toast or something?" He raised an eyebrow. He was pretty hungry now, he was starting to realise how late it was but he wasn't tired.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: As they walked, Wren wrapped an arm around Blake's shoulders and pulled her a little closer to him. "She might not even need to know, you know?" He said softly, raising an eyebrow. "Ogie seemed fine, he should be home within a couple of hours and I really don't think Annie will say anything." He hoped not anyway and he didn't think they had another way of figuring out who had been there. "My house isn't far away, we're almost there." He told her - it was pretty cold and he couldn't wait to get in and get changed.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Lydia sighed as her brother spoke - she knew they needed to think about what was going to happen, but she didn't particularly want to. "If we need to, we'll tell dad and he'll fix it. Just keep your mouth shut when it comes to mum." She raised an eyebrow. She loved and trusted her mother, but she thought she was more likely to have a go at them than their dad.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper nodded her head, "Yeah, I don't think Landon wants to leave your sister, anyway. And I don't want to leave you so.." She shrugged her shoulders. Sometimes, she wished that she wasn't so like her mum. She knew that her mum would be crying if she was in a situation like this and Piper just really wished that she could be strong for once. She didn't like that she broke down over every little thing. "Besides, i'm staying with you tonight, right?" She gave him a small smile before she reached to kiss his cheek.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie nodded as she listened to Landon. "You guys don't have to come. If you want to go home, that's fine." She wasn't going to make them go with her but she knew that she would definitely appreciate it if they did. She would appreciate having someone there with her. She just didn't want Landon to feel like he had too. Annie wondered if she should call her mum, have them meet them there. She looked at Ogie, "Do you want me to see if Mum and Dad will meet us there?" She asked him. She figured that, that one could be his call.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: If Ogie hadn't have woken up, Noah didn't know what he would've done. That was why he was so on edge. He never meant for that to happen but he knew that he should've thought twice about pushing someone that close to the pool. He nodded as he listened to Mia though, "I've never heard your sister shout at someone like that before.." He muttered. He thought that if Annie hadn't, then he wouldn't have felt as bad as he did right now. "We'll go to mine. It's not fair away. It's a mess, though." He hadn't been expecting company.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Ben shook his head at Nancys question, "I don't think so. She goes to that university too, doesn't she? She can't risk it for herself." He shrugged. He thought that if she lost her place at university, then Annie would have lost so much. He didn't know if that was really fair. "I didn't even think about all of that, you know? About sneaking in somewhere. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: If Iris had thought things through, she might have realised that none of this was a good idea but she knew that there was nothing that could be done about it now. She just had to hope that no-one would find out about it. "Yeah, no problem." Iris nodded. She felt a little spaced out, not sure what to do with herself. But she set about making Arlo his glass of water and something to drink.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake couldn't help but smile as Wren wrapped his arm around her. She felt safer when he was beside her. She shrugged her shoulders. "My mum is his mums best friend. She knows I'm at a party with him and if Minnie knows, then my mum probably will." She was sure of that. Blake had never really done anything wrong. She had always had her eyes on the prize, known what she wanted. She never let herself be put in a bad situation - until now. "Okay. Can I get a shower when we get there please? I wanna get the chlorine out of my hair."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Don't tell mum?" Toby repeated. He didn't know how he felt about that. He, of course, got what Lydia was saying. Their mum would be so angry about what had happened. She would definitely kick off. He thought they both knew that. But he didn't like the idea of keeping this from her if they were going to tell their dad. He thought that their dad might tell him anyway.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I feel like we might be waiting a while." Ogie sighed - it was A&E on New Years Eve, he didn't think it was going to be exactly an in and out job... Although he thought they might rush it a little bit because head injuries could often be worse than they looked. He hoped that wasn't the case with his, though. "Of course you are." He smiled as Piper kissed his cheek, squeezing her hand gently. He really hoped that they were home soon, tucked up and watching a film - he just wanted to spend time with Piper, he'd never expected the night to end up like this. "I - I don't know. Maybe call them, but tell them not to come. I don't want them to panic." He sighed. He didn't like the idea of them running out to the hospital at this time of night.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "We're absolutley coming." Landon cut Annie off with a shake of his head. There was no way he was going to let them go to the hospital without him, let Annie wait on her own all night. She was his best friend and he knew she would do the same for him. "Looks like the ambulance is here." He muttered as the doors opened and the paramedics came in - he could already see that they were wondering what the hell they were doing in there. And as he heard more sirens, he knew the police were on their way too. "We're gonna have to go, Ann - we'll see you at the hospital. Piper, come on." He muttered quickly, moving towards the second exit.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia shook her head as Noah spoke about Annie - without knowing everything Annie had been through, she could see why the shouting had been so shocking. "She's - not good with stuff like this. She'll honestly calm down as soon as he gets checked over." She promised. After Thomas, she thought it was natural for Annie to panic, but Ogie really had seemed fine. She nodded her head as he said they would go to his. "That's fine, it's better than going back to mine." She didn't think they would want the company of her housemates right now. "Do you have stuff I can change into?" She had just thrown her dress back on over her swimming stuff and it was freezing.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, but she's in trouble no matter what. They're literally finding her there as we speak." Nancy pointed out with a raise of an eyebrow. She didn't know how Annie was going to talk her way out of that one, she just hoped she wasn't going to drop the rest of them in there too. "Me either, I just - I mean, I didn't really think about any of it. It just seemed like fun." She sighed, shaking her head. They'd barely been walking ten minutes when they got to just outside Nancy's student house and she let them in, turning on the light as they did so. "Do you want a drink or anything?" She asked, hanging up her jacket as they walked into the living room.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "It'll be fine, Iris. Even if Annie does tell them who was there, she doesn't know who took the key." Arlo said with a raise of an eyebrow. Only a few people knew that and he knew that none of them would say anything. "I promise, it's going to be fine." He wouldn't let anything happen to her, not if he could help it at all. He stood up and went over to wrap an arm around his best friend, trying to comfort her as much as he could. "Sit down, I'll make your tea. Okay?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren sighed as he realised that Blake was totally right - it would be a miracle if Maggie didn't find out and he felt awful at the idea of her getting into trouble. "Well, if Milo knows then it means my dad will. Which means my mum is going to go crazy." He sighed. He could only imagine how angry his mum was going to be. "Of course you can. I'm going to jump in after you, my hair will be a nightmare if I leave it until the morning." He chuckled., shaking his head. "I have some stuff you can get changed into as well, I'll leave it out for you while you're in the shower." He smiled, getting out his key as they arrived at his student house.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Well, can you imagine her fucking reaction? She'll just start going mad and telling us we could've had the party there instead, like it's not already too late for that." Lydia rolled her eyes. She thought her dad would be less interested in what they could've done and more interested in making sure they didn't get in trouble. She thought there was a clear way to handle all of this and she just hoped everybody went along with it.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "That's okay." Piper nodded. She was tired but she didn't think that she would want to sleep until Ogie had been checked over, until they knew that he was going to be okay. Tonight was full of surprises. She had never thought that she would kiss Ogie at midnight, she had never thought that she would have agreed to stay over and she never thought that they would have to go to the hospital. She really, really hoped that he was okay. "We'll see you there." She smiled at Ogie before she let go of his hand and moved over to her brother.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie nodded as Landon insisted and she smiled at him, "Okay. Thank you." She would've hated to be sat at the hospital on her own so she was definitely glad that Landon was going to be there for her. She just hoped that Piper would be okay too. Annie looked up as she heard the doors go and took a little step away from her brother so that they could get access, "We'll see you there." She smiled at them and as the paramedics sorted her brother, she quickly rang her mum. She knew she wasn't going to be happy but it needed to be done. She hadn't even thought about how this was going to look to the university.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah knew that there had been some difficult stuff for the Saracens but he had no idea how much Annie had been through recently. He just didn't understand why she would scream at him like that. "I hope so." He sighed. "I really didn't mean to hurt him, Mia." Noah had the image that he didn't care about anyone, that nothing could bother him and he knew that, that absolutely wasn't the case. He thought that Mia probably knew that now too. "Yeah, you can have some of my stuff. It's fine." He shrugged.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "No, I know. But it's a bit different if it's just the two of them and it being this big party, don't you think?" Benjamin asked. He had no idea what they were going to do to Annie after finding her at the party and he just hoped that it wasn't anything bad. He knew how much her schooling meant to her. "Yeah, same here. I didn't think. It was stupid." He muttered, shaking his head. He thought that his mum and dad would've thought something like that through. They wouldn't have gone at all. He hated that he had just gone along with it all. "Just a glass of water, please." He nodded.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "There aren't even that many of us that go to that uni, Arlo. They're not gonna think it's someone outside of the university. They'll just punish all of us instead." Iris really didn't know what to do. She thought that it would be better for Arlo and Annie and the others if she just told them that it was her. But she didn't know if she could risk her place at the university by doing that. Iris looked up at Arlo as he wrapped an arm around her, "I'm okay." She muttered. She thought that she might prefer to be doing something - but she couldn't slow her brain down at all.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake couldn't remember a time when her mum was truly angry with her but she definitely thought that tonight might be the night. She knew that her mum just wouldn't understand. She looked up at Wren as he spoke, "You think?" She asked him. She definitely wouldn't like to be on the wrong side of Fleur. "Yeah, sounds good." Blake muttered, nodding her head. She didn't think that she was going to sleep any time soon. She wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or something else but she felt completely wired. "Thank you, Wren." She smiled before she reached up to kiss him quickly. She wanted to do that again after it had gone midnight.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "You don't think Dad will tell her and be even angrier at us for keeping it from her?" Tobias asked her. He really didn't think that keeping it from their mum was a good idea but he wasn't going to do anything to contradict Lydia if she really believed what it was that she was saying. He just hoped that all of this would be as easy to fix as they were thinking that it was.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "See you there." Ogie smiled softly, his attention being taken as the paramedics came over to look at him. He was grateful that they didn't ask anything about why they were at the pool, because he wouldn't have known what to say - they just focused on how he was feeling, what had happened, where he'd hit his head. And within a few minutes, they were getting he and Annie into an ambulance and making their way to the hospital. "I'm sorry, Annie..." He whispered quietly. He felt like he'd ruined everybody's night and he hated that.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "The taxi is just outside." Landon said quietly as he and his sister left the pool and he headed over to where he saw it parked, climbing into the front seat and leaving Piper to get into the front. He couldn't help but feel a little bit awkward - he and his sister never really spent very much time together and so he wasn't sure what to say to comfort her. He just wanted them to get up to the hospital, so that Annie wasn't on her own and they could find out that Ogie was okay.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I know. I wouldn't be here if I thought you'd meant to hurt him." Mia told him honestly, reaching out to give his hand a gentle squeeze. "It could've happened to anybody, I know that." She had been the only one to see it happen properly, other than Noah and she knew he had only meant to push him gently. She had no idea what her parents were going to think though, especially her mum. "Annie knows it too, she's just protective. She had all this stuff happen last year and now she's just -- protective." She repeated.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy nodded her head, although she thought it would be obvious with one look at the place that there'd been a party. "I thought that we'd all help to clean up before we left and everything would be normal by the time anybody went back in..." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't know what her parents were going to think - she didn't think they'd be happy, but she just hoped there was no reason for them to find out that she or Noah had been there. She nodded her head, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard and filling it with water before she handed it to him. "I think I'm gonna jump in the shower quickly, but you can sit in my room? You don't have to sit out here?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow. Despite everything, she was glad that Benjamin had come back with her.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "There's enough of us that they won't know who did it." Arlo shrugged his shoulders. He thought that was true, anyway - him, Iris, Mia, Ivy, Annie, Landon and Tobias all went there, he didn't know how they would simply guess who'd taken the key unless somebody opened their mouth. "They don't even know who was there. Just Annie and Ogie. Not the rest of us." He sighed. He really didn't want to believe they were going to get into trouble. "I know you are... Just wanna do something for you." He gave her a sweet little smile, shrugging his shoulders. He thought Iris had a lot more to lose than the rest of them and he didn't want to believe that she could lose it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I know." Wren corrected, sighing slightly. "She just won't be happy that I've taken the risk of getting in trouble for pretty much nothing." He shook his head. He wasn't even a huge party person, he didn't know why he'd agreed to go in the first place. He smiled as she reached up to kiss him, leaning down slightly so that he could kiss her back, a smile on his face. "No problem." He told her softly, letting her go through the door first before he closed it behind them. "My room is this way, there's a bathroom attached." He smiled as he showed her through. "I'll let you go in first."

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "She's going to be fucking furious either way, I'd rather take the risk." Lydia raised an eyebrow - she thought they just had to hope it would all be fine. She looked up as she realised they'd already gotten to her street - she and her brother didn't live far away from each other at all. "Okay - I'll call you in the morning? See what we think after some sleep?" She suggested.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie talked to her mum quickly. She explained what had happened - that Ogie had slipped - but that she was handling it, they didn't need to come. She hung up the phone as she climbed into the ambulance. When she heard her brother, Annie shook her head and took his hand in hers, "You don't have to apologise, okay?" She whispered to him. "You haven't done anything wrong." She gave him a small smile. "Why don't you tell me what happened with you and Piper? I didn't think you came together?" She asked. She was trying to distract him, as best she could.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Okay." Piper whispered. She climbed into the back of the car with a sigh. She had thought that her brother would've sat with her but she wasn't going to say anything. As they drove there, it took everything in Piper not to cry. She thought that it was the entire night events that had caused her to be like that, not just Ogie. She swiped at any stray tears quickly. She didn't really want her brother to realise.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah nodded his head as Mia told him that she knew. All of his life, Noah had been told that he wasn't going to amount to anything, that he was like his uncle Elias and he would be in and out of jail. And if Ogie hadn't woken up, he knew that, that was exactly what would have happened. He didn't know how to process that. "You don't need to keep standing up for her, Mia." He muttered with a shake of his head. He was just glad when they reached his flat. It was tiny and messy - and the landlord didn't really look after it - but it was his, for now. "Do you want to go to sleep or..?" He didn't think that he would be sleeping for a while.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin, like Nancy, thought that it was obvious but he hoped that people would give Ogie and Annie the benefit of the doubt. "That was the plan, wasn't it? I guess that's what happens when you have a load of drunk people around a pool, though." The more he thought about it, the more stupid he thought that they had all been. He couldn't believe it. He felt more relaxed once they had reached Nancys place and he nodded as he heard what she had to say. "Yeah, alright. Thank you." He smiled before he started up to her bedroom.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "All it takes is for one of them to talk, Arlo and them bam. I'm - Uni is done for me." Iris felt like such an idiot. She couldn't afford to lose her place on the course. It was just her and her mum and Iris had been working her arse off to make sure that the two of them could make it. That they would be okay. Her university course helped them on that way - her loan was so important to just their ability to get food. She didn't know why she would've risked all of that. "Okay.." Iris nodded as she looked up at him. But she didn't go and sit down. She didn't want to. Instead, she stayed next to him, her arm around his waist.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake sighed as Wren spoke. She hadn't even thought about what their schools would think about all of this. "Oh god, you think it'll come back on us? With school and stuff?" She asked him. Because she thought that, that would probably be what Fleur would be mad about. Blake didn't know what she would do if she lost her place at drama school. She knew that it would be easy to replace her. "Okay. Perfect. Where are your towels?" She asked him with a small smile. She half wanted to tell him to just join her in the shower, save time but she wasn't quite that brave just yet.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Alright, alright. Fine." Tobias nodded. He had no idea if it was the right thing but he didn't want to fight his sister on it. He thought that they had better things to do with their time. He sighed as he looked up and realised that they were at hers. "Yeah. I'll talk to you in the morning." He nodded. He reached over to kiss his sister on the cheek before he started to his place. He messaged Maeve as he went, just to check she had gotten home okay.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie smiled as his sister took his hand - he felt really awful, because he was starting to feel okay apart from a splitting headache and now she was having to trail all the way up to the hospital with him. He couldn't help but smile as she asked about he and Piper though, laughing softly. "Um, well - she came over to me at midnight and she kissed me. And then we pretty much spent the rest of the night together." It was clear from his face how happy he was about that. "She was going to stay at our house tonight so we could spend the day together tomorrow." He smiled. Even now, he couldn't believe how lucky he was that somebody like Piper was interested in somebody like him.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: With how similar Piper was to their mother, he knew she would probably be pretty upset right now - and he was never good at knowing how to deal with that, whether it was Amber or Piper. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked her, looking behind him slightly. He wished he was better at being comforting, at being a big brother in general - but he really was trying his best/

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: With how similar Piper was to their mother, he knew she would probably be pretty upset right now - and he was never good at knowing how to deal with that, whether it was Amber or Piper. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked her, looking behind him slightly. He wished he was better at being comforting, at being a big brother in general - but he really was trying his best to be there for her. He knew it couldn't be nice, knowing that the person you were interested in was being taken away in an ambulance that very minute.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I'm not. I'm just saying - she didn't react that way just because of you." Mia said with a raise of an eyebrow. She didn't want him thinking he was this terrible person, just because an accident had happened and Ogie had slipped. She felt relieved when they got to his flat; it was at least a little bit warmer than outside and she put her bag down on the sofa, shaking her head at his question. "I'm not really tired anymore." She shrugged her shoulders. "Do you want to go to sleep?" She wouldn't mind staying up if he wanted to sleep, but she didn't think she'd be able to sleep for a little while.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy nodded her head. She didn't see how none of them had seen the cons of this plan from the beginning, but she thought it was probably a little bit pointless to feel like that now. She smiled as he started upstairs and followed him up, grabbing a towel and her pyjamas from her room. "I won't be too long." She smiled, pausing for a second before she leaned down and kissed him quickly before she headed out of the door, to the bathroom.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo shook his head. "Nobody is going to talk. Okay? Nobody?" He sighed. He really wanted to believe that - Annie was Iris's cousin, he couldn't see why she would ever tell anybody that she had been the one to take the key. He knew how much this all meant to her, though - if he lost his place, he would be in a lot of trouble and he would be pretty disappointed. But there were other options for him. There weren't any for Iris. He pulled her closer to him as she said he could finish the tea, doing everything one handed so that he could keep his arm around her. "Here." He passed her the cup with a soft smile, but stayed standing where they were.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "That's what I'm worried about." Wren admitted with a sigh, rubbing his temple for a second. "I guess we just have to hope that it doesn't." He said with a wry smile. "There's some clean ones in there, just on the shelf." He smiled. He was a pretty clean and tidy person, he kept everything organised - something he'd learned from his dad when he was growing up. His sister was the total opposite. He waited until Blake had gone into the shower before he grabbed some clothes for her - just some joggers and a t-shirt, laying them out on the bed and then moving into the kitchen to put the kettle on for them. He wanted her to feel comfortable there.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie smiled as she listened to everything Ogie was saying to her and she nodded her head a little. She still didn't like how Piper had just dropped him but she could see how happy her brother was and she wasn't going to do anything to dampen his mood right now. "Well, you can still spend tomorrow together. What do you think you guys will do?" She really just wanted to forget where they were, at least for a little while. Though she knew that it wouldn't be all that long before they got to the hospital. She hoped that they let her stay with him.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper sniffed and nodded her head as her brother turned around to look at her, "yeah, i'm okay." she muttered. She knew that he wasn't very good around her or her mum when they were like this and she didn't want to make him look after her. Although think about all of that - her relationship with her brother - just made her more upset. She didn't understand why he didn't want to ever be around her. "Are we almost there?" She whispered

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Yeah? Remind me that when my dad finds out." Noah knew that his dad wouldn't hurt him - but he also knew how angry he was going to be about all of this and he didn't think that he really wanted to deal with any of that. He just hoped that his dad didn't find out. "No." Noah shook his head. "You want a coffee, then?" He asked her, flicking on the kettle before he even got an answer. He knew that he needed something anyway. If he was honest, he would've preferred to keep drinking but he didn't think it was a good idea to mention that.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin felt a little stupid, if he was honest, he should've realised how bad things were going to get. how bad it could be for all of them. Ben knew that it didn't really effect him - he wasn't going to university - but he didn't think that it mattered. He didn't want any of the others to get into trouble. He smiled, though, as Nancy kissed him. "Yeah, see you soon." He nodded.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris nodded as Arlo spoke but she didn't know if she really believed him. She didn't see why someone wouldn't. She thought that if she was one of the others, she might have been tempted to say something. She had no idea what she would do if she had to explain to her mum that she wouldn't have that income coming in anymore. "Thanks." She muttered as she took the cup of tea from Arlo but she placed it on the side and looked up at him. "I'm really glad that you're here." She whispered. She would've hated coming home to an empty house and having to deconstruct everything that had happened tonight.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake chewed on her lip as Wren said he was worried about school too. "All we can do, right?" She sighed. She would be devastated if this meant that she lost her place. She didn't think that it would be the same for Wren. He was talented - so was she - but he also had the Morley name. She was sure that if he used that, he could get wherever he needed to be. She didn't see the point in mentioning that, though. "Okay, thank you. I'll be back in a little while." she nodded. Blake was quick in the shower. She just needed to give herself a quick rince over. She stepped back out into his room and smiled as she saw he had laid her a few things out. She quickly got changed.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie knew his sister was just trying to distract him, but he honestly appreciated it - it was taking his mind off everything that was going on and that could only be a good thing right now. "I don't know, we'll probably just chill out, you know? Watch some movies, maybe order some food." He smiled. He thought he would have fun whatever they did - he had fun just being around Piper in the first place. He really hoped they were going to let Annie stay with him once they got to the hospital, he didn't want to have to be there without her.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: It wasn't that Landon didn't want to be around his family, any of them - he just didn't know how to be around them and it was a constant reminder that he didn't really fit in. That he wasn't really like them at all. And he hated that. But he was going to be there for his sister, or at least try to be. "I think we are, yeah." He nodded his head as he looked out of the window - he didn't think they could be further than a couple of minutes away, anyway. He hoped they wouldn't be there all night, it was already so late and despite the adrenaline, he was exhausted.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Your dad doesn't have to know what happened. We can just say he slipped." Mia shrugged her shoulders. She thought that was only fair, since it had clearly been an accident - in fact, she thought she'd actually be a little bit annoyed if people started going around saying Noah had pushed him. It made it sound like something it wasn't. She hated how determined people seemed to believe that Noah wasn't a good guy. "Yeah, that'd be great." She nodded her head. She felt pretty wired, if she was honest - they hadn't even taken the coke all that long ago, so it was still taking affect and it felt weird just doing normal things now.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy tried to be as quick as she could in the shower - but she didn't want to look bad in front of Benjamin, so once she'd gotten out she moved into her housemates room to get her pyjamas on and dry her hair, putting on a little bit of makeup - just enough that she looked nice, but little enough that he hopefully wouldn't notice she had any on. She knocked on the door of her room once before she walked in, a little smile on her face. "Hi. Sorry, that was a little bit longer than I thought. It's just so cold, I didn't want to get out." She laughed quietly, shrugging her shoulders.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo just had to pray that nobody was going to drop Iris into any kind of trouble - she did everything for anybody and he knew he would be furious if anybody tried getting her in any kind of trouble to save their own skin. She might've been the one to break into the pool, but everybody else had gone willingly. He smiled slightly as she spoke, nodding his head. "Of course I'm here." He told her softly, as though it was obvious. "I'm always gonna be here for you, you know?" There was nothing he wouldn't do for Iris.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Absolutely." Wren nodded. He knew he was in a more privileged position than Blake was, but it didn't mean he was totally safe - besides, he didn't want any favours from his mum or his granddad, he wanted to make his own way. He didn't want a get out of jail free card. He made them both a cup of tea and headed back into his room, smiling as he saw that Blake was already out of the shower. "Hey - I thought I'd make us a tea, it's pretty cold. Heating's on now, though." He smiled. "Mind if jump in quickly? I won't be long."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie would always put her siblings before herself. They were everything to her, they always had been. So it made sense that she was the one in the ambulance, instead of Mia, with Ogie. "Sounds like the perfect hang over day." She chuckled. "You'd need to order Maccies though. That makes it the most perfect day." She sighed, though, as she realised that the ambulance had stopped. "I think we're here." Annie muttered. She stood up then. "Am I okay to stay with him?" She asked the paramedic. And she was relieved when they nodded their head.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper would've been heartbroken if she knew that Landon felt like he didn't fit in with them. She knew that he was a little different to the rest of them but not for a second did Piper think that, that mattered. He was her big brother and she loved him, no matter what. "Okay. Good." Piper whispered. She wiped at her face again, trying to get rid of any evidence that she had been crying. "Do you think Annie will be staying with him?" She asked as they pulled up. Piper had no idea what the protocol was. She hoped that Ogie wasn't on his own, though.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah nodded. He thought that it would all come out anyway but he wasn't going to say that. He didn't see the point in saying it. Noah had always been a pessimist. He couldn't help it. He had always found it easier to look on things in a bad lightly. He nodded and grabbed two mugs for himself and Mia. "Did I say sorry for this place already?" He asked her. He hated the look of it all but he knew that he couldn't do much about it. There was no way that he was going to go back to his mum and dads, after all.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin was just scrolling on his phone as he waited for Nancy to come back. He sent a quick text to Annie, to make sure that she was doing okay. He smiled, though, as he heard the door. "No problem." Ben muttered as he shook his head. He was pretty sure that she was wearing makeup still but he didn't see the point in asking her about it. He liked that she still wanted to make a little bit of effort.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: All Iris had wanted was for everyone to be able to have fun tonight. She had wanted to do something for Mia. She hated that her cousins birthday had, had to start with all of this. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it and she would apologise to Mia in the morning. She nodded, "I know you will." Iris smiled. She always felt safe when Arlo was there. She knew that he would always look after her. She wasn't sure if it was the events of tonight or just because she wanted too - but she really had the urge to kiss him, as she looked up at him. "I love you." Iris whispered.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake was really trying to think of a contingency plan. She wanted to be able to think about something, if it meant that she was kicked out of school. She wanted to be prepared. Blake smiled as Wren came back into the room, "Hey." She smiled. "Thank you." She reached out and wrapped her hands around the cup of tea he had handed her. "Yeah, no problem." She nodded her head.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie laughed softly, nodding his head. "Yeah, that would definitely make it a perfect day. What do you think you'll do tomorrow?" He asked with a smile. He would really love for his sister to find somebody to be with, to make her happy - he thought she deserved it, but he understood that she just wasn't ready yet. He was really happy that they were letting Annie come with him and before he knew what was happening, he was being moved and they were in a little room, just he, his sister and a nurse taking some details.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Um, here... I have a tissue." Landon said quietly, pulling a tissue from his pocket and handing it to his sister. "It's clean." He promised, slightly awkwardly. He nodded his head at her question. "Yeah, I can't see why they wouldn't let him - he's not in any immediate danger, I think they'll just need to check him for a concussion and maybe give him some pain relief or something." He nodded his head. He thought they would probably let Annie stay. "Thank you." He told the driver as he pulled up, getting out and moving to open the door for Piper. "I think the waiting room is this way."

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia shook her head as Noah apologised, a little smile on her face. "You know I live with Penny and Ivy, right? You don't have to apologise." She laughed. She had never imagined herself being the tidy one, but Ivy and Penny were so messy she automatically was. "Besides - you have your own place. Could be a cardboard box and I'd still be impressed." She laughed quietly, moving to sit cross-legged on the sofa. She thought this was probably better for him than still living with Ava and Jude.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Have you heard anything from your cousins?" Nancy asked, seeing that he was on his phone - although they'd seen that Ogie was okay, she still wanted to check. She smiled as he spoke though, moving over so that she could climb onto the bed next to him, reaching for the remote to turn on the TV. "It was a good night though, right? Before everything happened. It was nice." She smiled as she looked over at him. She had really been enjoying herself before it had all gone downhill and she hoped he had been too.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo knew Iris well enough to know that she'd be feeling guilty about how her cousins birthday had turned out and that was just another reason he loved her - she was so selfless, she cared so much about other people, even now. He smiled as she spoke - he liked that she at least knew he'd always be around. Arlo looked at his best friend as she said she loved him - they'd said it a million times, they said it almost every day but for some reason, as she said it this time... He got the urge to lean in and kiss her. Whether it was the alcohol in his blood or the events of the night making his emotions stronger, he didn't let himself think too much about it before he leaned in and did so, pressing his lips to Iris's gently.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "No problem. Five minutes - you can do whatever you want, if you wanna put the TV on or something." Wren smiled as he moved into the bathroom to shower quickly. Whilst he was in there, he thought about what he was going to do if they ended up in trouble for being at the pool party - if he would have to rely on the Morley name to get out of it or if they'd be able to explain, if they'd be able to tell the university how they hadn't thought, how it had just been a harmless prank for their friends birthday. He had no idea. He just hoped it would all be okay. He was less than five minutes, just quickly rinsing off and washing his hair before he dried himself off and pulled on a pair of shorts, walking back into the room. "Better?" He smiled, laughing softly.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie shrugged her shoulders as Ogie turned the question to her. "Probably just lounge around with Landon and Jo. We'll watch TV or something. I don't think we'll get food tonight so probably will tomorrow instead." She shrugged her shoulders. She usually cooked dinner for the boys so after tonight, she thought that she would probably end up doing that tomorrow. Annie was quiet, other than explaining what had happened to the nurse, as they checked over Ogie.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Oh, thank you." Piper smiled as she took the tissue from Landon. She really appreciated him at least trying with her, even though she knew that this wasn't his forte, exactly. Piper nodded, though, as Landon continued. "Okay. Good, good. I don't think he'd like to be on her own." Piper nodded her head. She followed the signs to the waiting room and she hoped that it wouldn't be long before they all got to go home. "Are you okay?" She asked her brother as she sat down. "I - How've you been in general? I missed you."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah smirked before he nodded his head. He thought that, that probably made sense. "Yeah, i guess you have a point." He was really trying to put everything to the back of his mind but he didn't know how. It just kept going around and around his head. "I couldn't stay in that place." He muttered, shaking his head. It hadn't really felt like it was home since his uncle had died. Everything had changed. He knew he couldn't stay there, though, not after Nancy had moved out. "I would've lost my fucking mind." He handed over her coffee.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I've texted Annie, to make sure that everything is okay, but she hasn't replied yet." Benjamin really hoped that they got to have some update on Ogie soon. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had heard from them. He thought that the longer they waited, the worse it was going to get. "Yeah." Ben nodded his head, "Yeah, it was nice." He smiled. He wrapped an arm around Nancy, then, "I'm really glad we got to spend time together.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris had no idea what was about to happen until his lips were on hers. She had never expected him to do it but she was so glad that he did. There was instant electricity between the two and she thought that she felt butterflies. Iris wasn't sure that she had felt that with anyone else before him. She didn't break the kiss, though. Instead, she wrapped both of her arms around his neck, pulling him a little closer to her.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake flicked on the TV as she waited for Wren. She wasn't really paying attention to anything that was going on, she couldn't. Her head was a mess. If she lost school , she knew that she would lose her mind. She wouldn't know what to do. She smiled, though, as Wren came back outside and Blake nodded her head, "Much better." She felt really comfortable in his stuff, in his room.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie listened as the nurse talked and waited patiently as she checked him over, trying to understand what she was saying. "Everything seems fine so far, but the doctor is going to want to run some more tests to make sure you're okay to go home. You'll have to wait in here a while, but she'll be with you as soon as she can." The nurse smiled, telling them she'd bring them some water in a minute but to make themselves comfortable in the meantime. "Guess we're here for a little while, then..." He sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he looked to his sister. "What did mum and dad say?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon nodded. "Yeah, I can't imagine he would." He thought Ogie definitely seemed like he would be better with his big sister around and he didn't blame him. He raised an eyebrow as Piper spoke - he wasn't really sure how to answer that question, but he knew she was just trying to make an effort. "I've been okay, yeah... Just busy with uni and stuff. Third year is pretty crazy sometimes." He shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't help but smile a little bit, as she said she'd missed him though. "Yeah, I missed you." He nodded. They'd never had much in common, but he did love his sister. "How are you?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia nodded as Noah spoke about what home had been like - Jude and Ava seemed like good people, but she knew he didn't have the best relationship with them and the fact that he was talking about it now, showed that he needed to - that was what she thought, anyway. It wasn't often he offered up a lot of personal information. "Thanks." She smiled softly as he handed her the coffee, wrapping her hands around it to try and warm up a bit. "What was it like?" She asked quietly, listening carefully. She knew he'd had a really hard time after Elias had died.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy nodded her head. "They probably don't have a lot of signal up at the hospital. I'm sure she'll let you know as soon as she can." She thought Annie definitely seemed like that type of person. She smiled as he put his arm around her, resting her head on his shoulder and pulling the duvet up over them a little bit. "Yeah, me too... And I'm glad you actually got in the pool." She smiled teasingly.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo hadn't known whether he was going to kiss Iris or not until he did and he instantly felt the electricity between them - he'd wanted to do this so many times before but had never been able to build up the courage, but now he was so glad he had because he couldn't think of anything else. As her arms went around his neck, he moved his own to wrap around her waist, putting into the kiss everything he'd wanted to for the past however long. He didn't know what would happen when they finally pulled away, what this was going to make of their friendship... But he couldn't think about that right now.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren smiled and walked around the bed so that he could slide into place next to Blake, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I think we're going to be okay, you know? It's not like anybody had a guest list or anything, they don't know who was at the party - the only people they know were there is Annie and Ogie and I don't think they'll say anything." He could tell that all of this was on Blake's mind and he wanted to at least try and provide some comfort for her.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "But that's good. That they don't think anything is wrong." Annie nodded. She thought that, that might mean that they were going to have to wait a little while before they were seen but she wasn't about to be ungrateful. She sighed as he mentioned their parents. "She wants me to ring whenever we have updates. They're going to stay up so - when you get in, they'll be waiting." She shrugged. She knew she would've been the same if she was their parents though so she couldn't exactly blame her for that.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper knew that she would be the same if she was in Ogies position. She would want her older brother. She didn't know if it was because they were older, but she thought that both of them just felt safer when their elder sibling was around. Piper definitely did. "Yeah, I can imagine." Piper smiled as she nodded her head a little. She definitely understood that he was busy. "You - Why don't you come home very often? Did we do something?" Piper asked him. She wouldn't have asked that if she hadn't had a few drinks but she really wanted to know what he would say.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah sighed as he sat down beside Mia. He didn't talk about what his home life had been like. he didn't really think that he had a reason to complain about. They had always been good - it was just that they butted heads quite a lot. He shrugged, though, "It was fine before my uncle died." He sighed. Noah really missed the older man. He thought that it would never really heal, properly. "Dad became a different person. Guess I kind of did too." He shrugged. He couldn't look at Mia. He was really struggling to keep himself together. "He was our best friend. And then he was just - gone.."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Yeah. She'll tell me when she knows something." Ben nodded. He had no doubt about it. He knew that Annie had a lot on her plate though, so he didn't see the point in holding anything against him. He just hoped that she would tell them something soon. He felt really comfortable next to Nancy. "I didn't think that you were gonna be able too." He chuckled, as he shook his head.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris didn't want to pull away from him. If she pulled away from him then she knew that they would have to think about it, they would have to talk about it and that was the last thing that she wanted to do. She just wanted to kiss him, to be with him. She didn't think that the rest of it mattered. Iris had forgotten about her tea, his toast. All she could think about was the kiss and she hoped that he thought the same. She wanted to put everything that she had into that kiss - everything that she couldn't say. She wanted him to know.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake smiled as Wren wrapped an arm around her and she snuggled into him a little bit. She shook her head, though, as he spoke again, "Can - Can we not talk about the party? Just for the night?" She thought they could think about it all tomorrow but, right now, she wanted to be able to ignore it all and just spend time with Wren. "Can I ask you something else, though?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, that's definitely good news. Do you think you could text Piper and let her know?" Ogie asked, looking to his sister with a little smile. If she was out there in the waiting room, he at least wanted her to know that he was okay. He sighed slightly as Annie told him their parents would be waiting - he knew he should've guessed they would be but he hated that he'd disrupted their night and made them wait up for him. "Were they mad?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't think he'd ever really see them mad, but he thought this might do it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon couldn't help but sigh as Piper asked why he didn't come home - he didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to sound like he was being rude or ungrateful. He knew their parents were fantastic people and Piper was too, he just... didn't fit in. "It's not --..." He started and stopped, trying to think about what to say. "You didn't do anything, none of you. It's just - I don't know. Sometimes I don't feel like I fit in very well when I'm at home. And that's nobody's fault. I'm just different to you guys. And I don't feel like I fit in." He sighed. He thought that about summed it up, although he didn't think he would've been as honest if he hadn't had a couple of drinks.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia nodded as Noah spoke, watching him carefully as he sat down. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and make him clam up, not when he'd been the one to initiate the conversation. She could tell that he was emotional and her heart hurt for him as he spoke. "I can't imagine how fucking awful that was..." She whispered, shaking her head. "He lived with you, right? In that house?" She asked quietly. "What was he like? Your uncle?" She had only ever heard little bits, but never from anybody who knew him as well as Noah did.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy thought that if she was in Annie's position, if it was Noah in the hospital then she'd probably be the exact same - she would be up there with him, waiting for any little bit of news. So she got it. She laughed as Benjamin spoke, shaking her head. "Oh, I always knew I'd be able to get you in there in the end." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She had hoped so, anyway.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo had never expected this to happen, not tonight - deep down, he knew he'd wanted it for a long, long time. But Iris was his best friend and he'd never wanted to mess that up; he hadn't even known if she'd felt the same, but she was kissing him and she wasn't pulling away and he couldn't help being ecstatic about that. They kissed for a few more minutes, his arms tight around her before he pulled away the tiniest bit. "I - do you want to go upstairs?" He asked quietly, hopefully.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren smiled as Blake snuggled into him, nodding his head as she asked not to talk about the party. "Yeah, absolutely. Party talk over." He agreed. He thought that probably made sense, if they were going to try and put it to the back of their minds then they needed to stop speaking about it. "Of course, is everything okay?" He was definitely curious about what it was she had to ask him.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Yeah, of course I am." Annie smiled and nodded her head. She wasn't going to deny her brother anything, especially not right now. She thought that he should get everything that he wanted. She shook her head as she heard his next question, "Of course they weren't, Ogie." She sighed. "They - I think they were a little surprised. Disappointed. But they weren't mad." She didn't think that she had ever seen her mum and dad truly angry. She respected them a lot for that.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper nodded as she listened to her brother and it broke her heart a little bit to think that Landon felt like that. She knew that her mum and dad would feel really sad about it as well. "You are different, though." Piper spoke and then quickly followed up with, "But that's not a bad thing. It's actually really interesting. I love listening to your stories. To what you think .I - I don't - I wish you didn't feel like you were left out." She sighed. She would do anything to make Landon feel a bit better. "Is - Can I do anything? To help you feel like you do fit in?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah nodded his head as Mia spoke, "Yeah. He did. I don't think my dad really wanted him to be on his own." He shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't really blame him, though. Noah had never really seen how bad he was back then. But looking back now, he could see it so clearly. He wasn't sure where to start when describing his uncle. "People say that I'm a lot like him but - I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders. "He was wickedly funny. He never really let things get too deep but he was fun. I had my first drink with him." Noah chuckled. He clenched his hands as he felt the tears prick, "I miss him."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin knew that he would be exactly the same if it was one of his sisters that was in the hospital .He could only imagine what Annie was thinking right now. "Of course you did." Benjamin laughed as he nodded his head. "You get your way a lot, then?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow. He was laughing though. He thought that he was already wrapped around Nancys little finger.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris didn't know what was going to happen after tonight but she knew that she didn't care. She had wanted this for so long and she thought that it was pretty clear. She hoped that it was. She raised an eyebrow as Arlo pulled away from her. She wondered if he was going to tell her that he wanted to stop, that he didn't know what came over him - but then he spoke and she smiled. "Yes." Iris whispered. She took his hand then, and quickly led the two of them up the stairs, to her room. They had to be quick, she thought, before their sane brains caught up to them and they realised what they were doing.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: If Blake was honest, she just wanted to forget about everything that had happened for tonight. At least for a little while. Blake nodded her head and pulled away a little bit from him. "Yeah, everythings fine." She smiled. Blake knew that right now probably wasn't the time to talk about her and Wren, of him and Annie but she had to ask. She needed to know. At least before she got in too deep. "What happened with you and Annie?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie nodded his head. Disappointed was probably worse than angry, he thought - he never wanted to disappoint his parents, but he knew they weren't exactly going to be thrilled about the fact that they'd snuck into the universities pool. "I guess that's only to be expected." He said with a little bit of a sad smile. He would apologise to his parents as soon as he got home and he thought Annie would too.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon smiled slightly as his sister said he was different - he liked that she didn't deny it, because he knew it was true. He hadn't expected her to think the things she was saying though - he didn't know whether she was saying it to make him feel better, but it did. "It's not - it's not left out. It's just... I don't know." He didn't want to feel like he was a disappointment to his parents. He saw the look on his mothers face if he didn't want to play a boardgame with the rest of them, or his dads face if he didn't laugh at a joke - and he never did it to be rude, he just didn't think the same as them sometimes. "You don't need to do anything, Piper. You're a great person. And sister." He promised her, nodding his head. "Maybe - I dunno, maybe sometimes I get into my own head about it. I could try and come home a bit more?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "That's understandable." Mia nodded her head. She thought she would do the same for any of her siblings, if they needed it. She smiled as Noah spoke about Elias - it was obvious how much he loved him just from his words. She laughed softly as he spoke. "That sounds like you." She said with a little smile. Her heart broke for Noah as he spoke the last words and as she saw his fists clenching, she reached across to cover one with her own hand gently. "He sounds like he was a fucking great person, Noah." She whispered. She didn't think she'd heard a lot of people saying that - but from the way Noah described him, from the way Bridie did... She didn't think anybody who was loved that much could be a bad person.

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WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy laughed as she heard Benjamin, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at him. "I guess you could say a lot, yeah." She laughed softly. She was the youngest sibling and she was a girl - she got her own way pretty much all of the time and she knew just how to do it, too. She didn't think she was exactly spoiled, she just knew how to get around a lot of people. "But you had a good time, right? So it all worked out." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders slightly. She felt so comfortable with him, even though this was the first time he'd stayed over.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo panicked for the second it took Ivy to respond - he didn't know if he'd overstepped, if he'd made things weird between them - if by pulling away, he'd ruined the moment and now Iris was going to say that she didn't know what she was thinking, but a smile came to his face as she said yes. He let himself be led upstairs, closing the door behind them as they got into Iris's room and turning to her again, an almost shy smile on his face. He looked at her for a second, before he pulled her to him and kissed her again.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren smiled, but he was definitely a little confused as Blake pulled away from him - he really hoped he hadn't done anything to mess all of this up already. As she spoke, he was a little relieved but also wary - he wasn't sure how to answer the question. He wanted to be honest though. "Honestly? Nothing too much. I think it started after the birthday party she had at her house? I stayed over that night, but nothing happened. We did stay in the same bed though. And I stayed over again after the party Arlo threw, the one where he had to go to the hospital." He raised an eyebrow. "We kissed just the once and I stayed the night, but honestly... Annie went a little weird with me afterwards. She didn't seem to want to talk to me anymore and I'm not sure why." He shrugged his shoulders. "I did like her, but it's done. It never really even started." He hoped that was an honest and fair answer.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie thought the same as Ogie. She hated to disappoint her parents. They were her idols. She had only ever wanted to do something that would make them happy. She knew that this was going to be the opposite of that. She should have known better. "It's probably more me, than you though Ogie. Don't worry." She nodded. She never wanted her brohter to worry - especially not now

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper was a little naive but she wasn't stupid enough to think that Landon was like her or her parents and she thought that she could understand why he would feel on the outside because of that. She didn't like it but she understood it. "You don't know what?" She asked him. She really wanted him to feel like he could say anything to her. She made a mental note to make more of an effort with her brother. Sometimes, she let herself get led and she didn't really know where the time went and then when she thought about it, it had been far too long. She was never sure where to start with him. "You know you can talk to me though, right? I mean - if you're in your head about it or whatever." She reached out and took his hand, then. "I want to be there for you, Landon."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Usually, when someone touched Noah like Mia, he would pull away. But tonight, he didn't want to. He felt comforted by her being there. "I thought so. Dunno how many other people would agree." He shrugged his shoulders. Noah had gotten a lot close with Bridie after Elias died. She felt like the only person who understood how hurt he was - even his Aunt Alba didn't quite seem to understand. "He was fucking talented too." Noah hated talking about him in past tense. "I saw him in Little Shop of Horrors - I think that's what it's called - when I was a kid. He was so good."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin smiled as he heard her laughing. That was all he ever really wanted to hear from her. "Bonus of being the youngest?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He had never gotten his way all that much when he was growing up. There wasn't really much that he would've wanted for, though. He nodded, "Yeah, I had a good time." He smiled. He couldn't believe everything that had happened tonight - least of all staying with Nancy. But he was more than happy about it.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris had no idea what they were doing but she was really trying to ignore all of the noise in her head that was telling her to stop. She didn't want to. Iris knew that she had waited this long for the two of them to have something. She didn't know if they would do this again. Iris knew that it was probably the drink and the heightened emotions but she didn't care. She didn't think that there was anything wrong with wanting this. Friends did this all the time - right? When he kissed her again, she knew that nothing else mattered.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake just really didn't want to get into something with Wren if he had feelings for Annie. She wouldn't let herself get into that kind of thing with him. She wouldn't be the second choice. She nodded, though, as she listened to what had happened between the two of them. "She ghosted you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Blake had thought that the two of them had been getting on really well - but it definitely seemed to make sense to her that it ended before it even started. "Okay. Alright. That makes sense." She nodded. "I just didn't want us to get into anything if you still liked her."

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie didn't know why, but when they had all been talking about the party and planning how to get his sister there, it just hadn't seemed like a big deal - he hadn't thought about how much trouble they could get in or how bad it was to actually break into private property. But now he thought about how his parents must be seeing things and he saw it all so clearly. "I don't want them to be disappointed in you either, though..." He sighed, looking at his sister apologetically. He wished he hadn't had as much to drink, then the whole thing probably wouldn't have happened.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "I really don't know what I was trying to say." Landon chuckled softly, shaking his head. He was happy that he was opening up to his sister a little bit, but he still wasn't quite ready to tell her absolutely everything he felt. He smiled as Piper spoke, nodding his head. "I do now." He told her. He really was going to try and make more of an effort - he hadn't realised that anybody would even notice his lack of presence, he just assumed they would all be fine and happy without him. "Thanks, Piper. Really. Thank you." He smiled, patting her hand slightly as she took his.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia wasn't sure if she'd expected Noah to pull away or not, but she was glad when he didn't - she just wanted him to know it was okay to be comforted, to want comfort from somebody. Everything he said about Elias, she could see why people said they were so similar - the way his sister looked at him reminded her of the way he spoke about his uncle. She smiled as he spoke about Little Shop of Horrors, nodding her head. "We saw that. My granddad took me and Annie and he came and spoke to us afterwards. He was brilliant. Made Annie cry with how convincing he was." She laughed quietly at the memory.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Absolutely. Well - Arlo is younger than me, but he was always going to be the golden boy with his miracle birth." Nancy laughed, rolling her eyes playfully - she loved hearing the story of how Arlo had been born though, even though she had been there she had been too young to remember anything. "I wonder what happened when they saw all the mess in there..." She said with a raise of an eyebrow. She thought it would've been obvious they'd all been partying in there and she just hoped they didn't get in trouble for it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: If he hadn't had a drink, Arlo thought he would be thinking a lot more into this - about how he could potentially be messing up the most important friendship he had, about how he wasn't ready for anything serious, about how much Iris meant to him... But he just wanted to quiet all of those thoughts and live in the moment. This was something he'd wanted for a really long time, he wasn't going to ruin it now. Not when Iris was kissing him just as much as he was kissing her, not when it was clear that neither of them wanted to stop.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren actually really respected Blake for asking a question like that - it showed how much she valued herself, how she wouldn't let herself get into something where she was going to get hurt. He thought it was admirable. "I guess, technically - I think she probably just wasn't sure how to let me down." He chuckled softly. He did feel like a bit of an idiot for what had happened with Annie, he wished she'd just told him she wasn't interested - he would've been fine with that. "I don't. I mean - I like her as a friend, we've known each other forever. But not like that, not anymore." He smiled, shaking his head.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie almost wished that her parents would get mad at her sometimes. She thought that if they just shouted at them and got it over with, then things might not be that bad in the end. "It's okay. I should've thought things through a little more before I let everyone have the party." She knew that now. She was the eldest. She shouldn't have let them all do something so stupid. "How're you feeling, though?" She asked him. She thought that, that was the important bit for right now. She wanted her brother to be okay. He certainly seemed okay, anyway.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Okay." Piper nodded, shooting him a quick smile. She was really trying to make sure that Landon would feel comfortable around her. She hated that he had been thinking about all of this and he had never said anything to her or her parents. She wondered if he had talked about it to Annie or Josiah but she had a feeling that he hadn't, that he had just kept it all in. "Okay, good." Piper smiled. As long as he knew, then she couldn't really do anything about it. She just hoped that he took it. "Oh, no. You don't need to thank me." Piper shook her head. "You're my big brother, Landon. I love you."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah hoped that Mia knew just how much it took for him to be like this with her. He wasn't someone who let people in all that easily. He hadn't even let his mum or sister see him like this. "He was fucking brilliant." Noah nodded. He only took his hand away from Mias to put his head in his hands. He didn't want to see her as he cried. Noah had only ever cried once about everything that had happened and that wasn't even at the funeral. He refused to let anyone see him so weak, so vulnerable. "I miss him so much, Mia." He muttered. He didn't know how to deal with the grief.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Miracle birth?" Benjamin raised an eyebrow. He didn't think that he had ever heard that story but he was definitely interested in hearing it now. Anything to be able to talk to her, to know more about her and her family. He figured that it was going to be something interesting, though, that was for sure. "I guess we'll find out some point soon, right?" He asked. He had no idea what was going to happen but he had a bad feeling about it all. Right now, he just wanted to focus on being there with Nancy, though.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake liked to lay things out. She liked to know that things were going a certain direction, even if they didn't really make any decisions about what they would be right now. "Okay." Blake nodded. She didn't see anything that would cause her not to believe him. She thought that he had been pretty open with her. "Then - I guess - what about us?" She asked him. "What about me?" She couldn't seem to help herself. She thought that whilst they were all being honest, she might as well ask him about it. Even if it was nothing right now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris hadn't let herself think about everything that had happened. She didn't want to. But now she was laid beside Arlo and she wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't awkward - it was just new. And she didn't know what to do with that. "Erm - do you want that toast now?" Iris asked with a laugh. She grabbed the blanket from the bottom of her bed and wrapped it around herself, almost like she would do with a towel. She was well aware that he had already seen everything but it felt different now.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie knew his parents were never going to drag anything out, they were never going to purposely try and make their children feel bad - but just knowing they were disappointed was enough to make Ogie wish he'd not gone to the party. Or at least, that he'd told them where he was going. "I feel okay, really. My head just hurts, but it's only like a headache. Nothing bad." He smiled. The painkillers had taken most of it away, so now it was just a dull ache and he could absolutely cope with it. He hoped the doctor came soon, because he felt more than ready to go home now. And to see Piper.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon really didn't want Piper or his parents to feel as though they'd done anything wrong or that he didn't like them, because it had never been like that. He didn't even resent them - he had just learned to accept that he was different, but now he realised that acceptance might've been a little hasty. They might still be able to have a relationship. He smiled, nodding his head. "I love you too." He rarely ever said those words, so it was a pretty big deal for him - but he wanted to be able to say it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia had never seen Noah like this; she didn't think many people had, she didn't think he got a chance to talk like this all that often and that was why it was so emotional for him now. She wasn't a massively emotional person, but she felt tears spring to her own eyes as he started to cry and she blinked them away hastily - she wanted to be there for him. It wasn't as present as it was in her siblings, but she was still a Saracen and she still would always care for people. "I know..." She whispered softly, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. She didn't say anything else, she didn't think she needed to - she would just be there for him and let him cry.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Have you never heard the story?" Nancy laughed, raising an eyebrow. It was told so much in her immediate family that she almost forgot it wasn't common knowledge and she thought the story was brilliant. "It was at my Auntie Alba and Uncle Aaron's engagement party, she had no idea she was pregnant she just thought she had cramps. Then like, an hour in they were so bad she couldn't even walk and my mum realised what was going on and a little while later - out came Arlo. In the middle of the party." She laughed, shaking her head. "Thank god my mum was there." She smiled. She nodded as he spoke, but she was on the same page as him - they didn't need to go through it all right now.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren always tried to be as open as he could, especially when it came to relationships - he had seen a lot of other people end up having issues in their relationships because of a lack of communication and he just didn't think it seemed worth it, really. He smiled as she asked about them, raising an eyebrow. "How do I feel about you?" He asked softly. "I really, really like you Blake. I really think there's something here and if you think so too, I'd - I'd really like to make something of it." He smiled. He hoped his honesty wasn't coming on too strong, but he didn't see a point in disguising his feelings. He didn't think that was healthy.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo laid with an arm around Iris's shoulders, looking up at the ceiling for a second - he didn't feel awkward, but he was silent for a couple of minutes as he thought about everything that had just happened. He wasn't sure what was going to happen now, but as Iris spoke he couldn't help but burst out laughing. He nodded his head, a smile on his face. "You know what? I absolutely do." He chuckled, reaching for his joggers and pulling them on. He was just glad that things didn't seem awkward between them - that would've been the worst thing he could imagine.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie always felt responsible for her siblings. She was the oldest and that should mean that she looked after them. She really wished that she had done that tonight. She wished that she could've prevented this. She also felt bad for snapping at Noah like she had done. She didn't really know if that was fair. "Okay. That's good." Annie nodded her head. She smiled as the door opened again. She hoped that, that would mean that they would be able to go home some time soon. She looked up at him expectantly as she waited for him to check over Ogie.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: The last thing that Piper would have ever wanted, was for her and Landon not to have a relationship. It felt like there was os much that could've been lost from a relationship that they hadn't even tried to have. She wondered if she should've tried to make more of an effort with him. Even though he had said that she hadn't done anything wrong, she couldn't help but feel like this was all a little bit on her too. Piper smiled widely as her brother said that he loved her too. She squeezed his hand gently before she let go. "Do you think it's going to be long before we hear something?"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah didn't know how to deal with his emotions and he didn't know how to talk about it. He and his dad had been at odds with one another since Elias had died and he had never felt like his mum needed anything more to deal with it. So he kept it in, as much as he possibly could. After a couple of minutes, Noah shook his head and stood up. He felt stupid for getting so emotional. "I'm fine." Noah muttered, shaking his head. He wiped at the tears on his face before she grabbed his cup of coffee. It was cold but he didn't care. He needed something to do with his hands.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I don't think that I have." Benjamin laughed, shaking his head. His eyes went wide, though, as Nancy explained the story and he couldn't help but laugh along with her. "Wow. That's - wow." He had never heard of someone having a baby like that but he thought it was mad. "She had no idea?" He wouldn't have a clue what he would do if someone that he was with had been in that position.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake smiled as Wren did and she nodded her head a little. Her smile only widened as she heard what it was that he had to say. "I like the sound of that." Blake laughed. "I really like you too." She confirmed, though she didn't really think that it needed to be said, she wanted him to know that they were on the same page. "Make something like what?" She asked him. She thought that she was being a little pushy but she didn't really care. She wanted to make sure that the two of them were on the same page with all of this.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris was really glad that everything between the two of them weren't awkward. She didn't know what she would do if it was. Arlo was one of her best friends. Other than her friendship with Nancy, her friendship with Arlo was one of the most important in her life. She wouldn't know what she would do if she lost that. "Alright then." She laughed and nodded her head, "Come on." She held out her hand to him then. Iris didn't think that anything needed to change between the two of them, though. She didn't even know if they needed to talk about it. She couldn't wait to tell Nancy, though.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie didn't think Annie was anymore to blame than the rest of them - and she'd jumped into action so quickly, everything was okay now. If anything, they should all be grateful for her, though. He smiled as the doctor came in to check him over again, answering all the questions as best as he could and letting him check all of his vitals. "Everything looks fine, Ogie. I think you're more than ready to go home - just make sure you drink plenty of fluids and if you have any problems at all, call us."

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon preferred being on his own a lot of the time - even with his housemates, he preferred his own company mostly and he knew that was nothing to do with them, it was just the way he was. But he'd always felt as though he was upsetting his parents when he'd spent time in his room, or gone out for a walk rather than sitting down with them all. With his housemates, they never made him feel like that. "I don't think so - Annie said the doctors just gone in to check him out, so if everything is fine then he should be out soon. Which it will be." He smiled. He was glad about that - glad that Ogie was okay, but also glad they got to go home to bed soon.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia watched as Noah stood up - she didn't think he was going to be happy that he'd cried, but she hoped he at least felt like a little bit of weight had been lifted off his shoulders for letting it out. She nodded as he said he was fine, reaching for her own coffee - she didn't really want it anymore, but she didn't want him to feel like she was just sitting watching him. "Yeah, of course." She smiled, taking a sip and wrinkling up her nose as she realised it was cold. "You mind grabbing me some clothes or something?" She asked, mostly to give him something to do but also because it was pretty uncomfortable sitting in her dress and swimming costume, still.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy laughed at the look on Benjamin's face, nodding her head. "It's crazy, isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow. "Nope, nothing at all. She didn't even believe my mum at first, she didn't think she could have any kids but obviously Arlo defied the odds." She laughed, rolling her eyes fondly. "Isn't that like, the scariest thing?" It was definitely one of Nancy's biggest fears, even though she knew it was pretty irrational since it barely happened to anybody. It was still scary, though.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren smiled as Blake told him she'd liked him too - he knew they'd both probably known they were on the same page, but it was still nice having it put into words. A verbal confirmation of the fact that they both wanted something out of this. "Well, to start with I'd really like to take you on a proper date." He laughed softly. He'd loved tonight and all the other parties they'd been to, but he thought it would be nice to do something just the two of them. "And maybe, eventually... I'd like there to be more than that." He smiled. He knew they'd have to see how things went, but he wanted her to know that he was in this for something serious - it wasn't just fun to him.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo smiled and took Iris's outstretched hand, getting up from the bned and following her downstairs. If anything, he was even more awake now than before - and he thought he had a lot to think about. He was glad that nothing really seemed different between them, though. He would've hated for that to be the case. "You got any jam or anything? Oh, maybe some Nutella? Or peanut butter?" He laughed, beginning to root through the cupboards. He felt so at home there, he knew it wasn't even a big deal - and he was starving.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie sighed a sigh of relief as the Doctor said that Ogie could go home. She hated the idea of him having to spend any more time there. "Okay, thank you so much." She smiled before she stood up. "I'll call mum and ask if she can pick us up." She still wanted to be able to go back to her student house tonight but she thought that it would be better for Ogie to be able to get home with their mum, rather than a taxi. She knew that Minnie would be waiting up for their call regardless.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper couldn't say that she really understood her brother. She loved spending time with her mum and dad. She would rather be with them, than on her own. she didn't understand why Landon wouldn't feel that way too. But she also didn't think that, that was a reason for him to feel left out. She never wanted him to feel like that when he was around all of them. "Okay." Piper nodded her head. "I'm going to stay with Ogie tonight I think but - we could maybe go and get a coffee or something tomorrow afternoon?" She was determined to make more of an effort with her brother now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah definitely knew that he could be like this around Mia without having to worry - but that didn't mean that he actually liked it. He'd grown up thinking that his emotions made him weak and he absolutely believed it. He never wanted anyone to think that he was though. So he kept it all inside and most of the time, it came out as anger. He didn't think that most people got that. He didn't know how to say it to them. "Oh, shit. Yeah." He nodded and quickly moved over to the drawers, grabbing her some clothes. Just joggers and a t shirt but he thought it was better than what she had right now.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin nodded his head before he laughed again, "Yeah, really crazy." He didn't think that he coped with surprises very well so he had no idea how he would cope if something like that happened to him. "She didn't think she had kids? Shit. That's the shock of the century." He shook his head. "If it was anyone, though, I'd have put money on it being Arlo." He chuckled, shaking his head. He figured that, that made sense for him. "Absolutely terrifying." He nodded. "What would you even do in that situation?!"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake had thought that they had both been pretty obvious about how they felt towards one another - especially after they had kissed at midnight - but it felt really good for the two of them to have it out in the open, have it said. Blake smiled as he spoke about a date. "Oh yeah? What would our first official date be?" She asked. She couldn't wait for it though, whatever it ended up being. "Yeah, I think that sounds good to me." Blake smiled before she moved to rest again Wren again. It felt really good to have all of their thoughts out in the open.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris definitely didn't think that she would be wanting to sleep any time soon. Even if they weren't going to talk about it, she thought that she probably had a lot to think about - Like what the hell this all meant. She didn't even know that simple fact just yet. Iris definitely thought that, that was where Nancy came in. She was sure the other would be able to help her. "We have all three." Iris laughed. "Nutella and peanut butter is on the top shelf, jam is in the fridge." She shrugged. She put two slices of bread in for Arlo and one for herself.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Thank you, thank you so much." Ogie smiled as he got up, picking up his things and nodding as Annie spoke. "Yeah, good idea." He knew their mum would be up anyway, there was no way she would go to sleep until he was home and it would be nicer than getting a taxi. "Are you staying at home, or at your other house tonight?" He asked, a little smile on his face. He always found it crazy that Annie technically didn't live with them anymore and the same with Mia. He didn't know when he was going to move out, but he didn't think it would be soon.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Landon nodded his head. He wasn't totally sure how everything was going to go from now on where his family was concerned, but he knew he was going to start trying to make more of an effort. "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'll text you in the morning?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He thought it was nice that she would be staying with Ogie, especially since he was pretty much fine. He smiled as the doors open and he saw Annie and Ogie, giving them a little wave. "Hey guys, everything okay?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia wanted Noah to know it was okay to cry, to be emotional - especially when you were speaking about the loss of somebody you really loved, but she didn't think she needed to tell him that. "Thanks." She laughed softly as he realised she needed something to wear, taking the clothes and moving into the other room to get changed quickly. It was a lot more comfortable than what she'd had on. She moved to sit back down on the sofa next to him, crossing her legs underneath her. She looked down at her phone and saw a text from her brother, confirming that he was fine. "Ogie's fine, he's being sent home." She smiled, raising an eyebrow. She was pretty tired now and only just realising, but she would stay up if Noah wanted to.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy knew she would want kids one day, but that day would be very far in the future and right now it was the last thing on her mind - so she would hate for her choice to be taken away like that. "Literally, the biggest shock ever. But yeah - it was always going to be Arlo. And he gets spoiled to death because of it." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. "God, I have no idea. I mean, I like to think it wouldn't - my mum is a midwife so I think she's instilled in us all every single sign to look out for." She laughed, shaking her head. Ava had always told them to be massively careful, because of what had happened to her.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren laughed quietly, raising an eyebrow for a second as he thought about their first date - he'd given it some thought before, but never really in massive detail. "Well, I thought I would probably pick you up and we could jump on the tube, head to the theatre cafe and get something to drink, maybe watch a couple of performances." He smiled. The theatre cafe was one of his favourite places to be. "Then we'd catch an actual show, something new - one of the smaller ones, so it's not as loud and busy. Then we'd go and get something to eat. Where's your favourite place to eat?" He asked her with a smile. "Anyway, after that we could come back here and dissect the hell out of the show, because that's everybody's favourite part of seeing anything, right?" He chuckled. He smiled as she leaned into him, wrapping his arm around her again.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo knew he should be shattered by this point, but he still didn't think he'd actually be able to get to sleep - there was too much on his mind, too much to think about. He was certain that would keep him awake even if he tried going to sleep. "Perfect." He grinned as she told him where to find everything, getting out the peanut butter and the Nutella ready for his toast. "Do you want another cup of tea? Can I have this orange juice?" He asked, holding up a carton of juice he'd found in the fridge. He was so, so comfortable around Iris and her mum.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "I'm going to stay at my uni house." Annie nodded. She really wanted her own bed tonight. She didn't know when it happened but she found that she was more comfortable at her student place, than at her childhood home. Though she was glad that she knew that, that would always be there for her. She smiled as she saw that Piper and Landon were still there. She was so grateful to the both of them. "Yeah, everythings okay." Annie confirmed. "I'm just gonna ring my mum. She'll take us all home." She whispered before she stepped off to the side to ring Minnie.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper nodded her head, smiling up at him, "Yeah, I'd love that." She smiled. All Piper wanted was a good, strong relationship with her brother and she really hoped that this was the start of that for the two of them. She loved him so much, admired him, she thought that she would do absolutely anything for him. Piper smiled as Ogie and Annie came back out of the door and she quickly moved over to him so that she could hug him, "How are you feeling?" She asked him. She was so glad that they had made up.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah felt like an idiot, he felt ashamed. The last thing he would've wanted to do, was break down on Mia like that but he couldn't control himself. He had let himself down and he didn't really know how he would look her in the eye again. He sighed a sigh of relief, though, as Mia said that Ogie was okay. "Alright, good." He nodded. He didn't know what to do now, though. He didn't really want to talk anymore. "We can go to sleep if you want?" He asked her. Noah didn't think that he was going to sleep anytime soon, though.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: At some point in the future, Benjamin definitely wanted kids, he just wasn't sure when, yet. He figured that he needed to get his life in order a little bit before he did all of that. Settled down, had kids, got married. He didn't think that it would be for a while. "That makes so much sense now." Ben nodded. "I swear, if I'd have ended up in the hospital like Arlo, id' have been in the fucking ground." He knew that his mum would not have reacted kindly to that, anyway. "Yeah but she was around when Alba was pregnant too, right? So who knows." He shrugged.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake was enjoying herself. She liked to know there was some kind of future between the two of them and that he had thought about it. If he didn't have an answer, she probably would've been pretty worried. She smiled, though, as she listened to what it was that he had in mind. "I love the theatre cafe." Blake chuckled and nodded her head a little. She had only been a couple of times but it was one of her favourite places to go. "I [I]love[/I] mexican food. So anywhere that serves that." She laughed. Blake continued to nod her head, though. She thought that his idea of a date was pretty perfect and absolutely something she would enjoy. "Oh god, yeah, it's definitely the best thing about seeing anything!"

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: If Iris had thought that she would be awake, she might have come up with some reason to call Nancy now. She really wanted to hear what her friend had to say about all of this. She looked down at her phone, "Oh, Ogies okay. Doctor checked him over." She felt like that was at least one thing that they didn't have to think about, now. "I'm getting a cuppa, yeah. But you can help yourself. You know that." She smiled at him. Iris knew that her mum would never complain about not having something, if she knew it had gone to her or Arlo.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Good - did they give him any painkillers or anything?" Landon asked, raising an eyebrow. Even if he was technically okay, he couldn't imagine that his head was feeling very good right about now. He nodded and smiled as Annie said she was going to call Minnie - if he was honest, he was pretty grateful that they didn't have to wait around for a taxi. He smiled as he watched his sister with Ogie; whatever doubts he'd had earlier had pretty much dissolved now he'd seen how worried she was about him and how much she cared. He thought they made a pretty sweet couple.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Ogie smiled as soon as he saw Piper and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He was so glad she'd stayed, he wouldn't have blamed her if she'd wanted to go home to bed - but it meant a lot that she hadn't. "I feel okay, really. I feel fine. My head just hurts a little bit, but even that's going away now." He smiled. He knew it could've been a lot worse, so he was honestly just grateful that he was okay. "Do you still wanna stay at ours? Annie's getting mum to come and pick us up." He smiled. He hoped she did - that way, they could still salvage what was left of the night and the next day, too.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia felt a lot better now that she knew Ogie was going to be okay, but she thought she could see Noah closing back in on himself and she hated that. She wished she could make him see that it wasn't a bad thing. "It's up to you, if you're not tired we can just put something on TV? I can just fall asleep here." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't want him to just have to lie there in silence if he wasn't tired and she knew she'd be fine just falling asleep on the sofa, especially now she'd gotten changed. She just wanted to make things okay for him, to help.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Nancy laughed, nodding her head in agreement. "Oh yeah, if that was anybody else they'd still be grounded now - but that was never going to happen. My Uncle Elias used to make fun of him for it, called him Wonder Boy." She laughed at the memory. "You're right... Now I'm scared all over again." She laughed, shaking her head. "She's been in the game a lot longer now though. That's what I'm telling myself." She chuckled. She thought her mums career was amazing, but she knew she could never do it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren was really happy to know that Blake saw a future between them just like he did - although he didn't have any hard feelings towards Annie, the lack of communication there had been pretty confusing and he was glad that wasn't an issue here. "Mexican food it is." He laughed, nodding his head. He loved Mexican food too, mostly because of the vegetarian options. "I'm glad we agree on that." He smiled. He wondered how his mum was going to react when he told her he was seeing Maggie's daughter.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Arlo didn't know who he was going to tell about this - the person he usually told everything to was his mum, but he didn't know if this was something she would want to hear so he didn't think he would this time. He definitely wanted to be able to talk about it with somebody, though. "Oh good, is he going home?" He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks!" He smiled as she said he could help himself, pouring himself a glass of juice and drinking it thirstily, pouring some more in once he'd finished.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie nodded as she turned back to Landon, "Yeah. So his head isn't too bad right now. Mum will make sure he's stocked up when he gets home." She knew that her mum would make sure that Ogie was okay, no matter what. "Alright, you two, mum is coming. She said she'd be outside in like five minutes. Come on." She smiled as she looked at them. She then looked back up at Landon with a smile. "Jo isn't gonna want food, is he?" She laughed.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Piper nodded as she looked up at him. She was just so glad that he was doing okay. "We'll just have to keep you topped up with pain killers and water, right?" She asked him. She was glad that they had stayed at the hospital, though. She wouldn't have felt right if they had gone home, not knowing what had happened. "Yeah, I still wanna stay if you still want me to stay?" She asked him, smiling. She wouldn't be offended if he said no, not after everything that he had been through that night.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah knew that if Ogie was okay, then there was less of a chance of his dad finding out what had happened and that definitely felt like a weight was lifted from him. He wouldn't know what he would do if his dad found out. He knew how angry he would be. "It's alright." Noah shook his head. "I can sleep." It was a lie but he really didn't feel like having to try and make conversation. He didn't want to risk something like that happening again. He just wanted to sleep. It was a little studio apartment so it wasn't like there was much space for him.

- joined the chat

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin laughed as they spoke about Arlo, "Yeah, that sounds about right, actually." He shook his head. He didn't think that he had ever seen anyone be treated like how Arlo was treated but after hearing the story, he thought that it made a lot of sense. "Here's hoping." Benjamin laughed as he nodded his head. He was pretty sure that he would do what he could to support someone if they ended up getting pregnant but it was the last thing he really wanted right. He grabbed his phone when he heard it go off and smiled as he saw the text, "Ogies fine. He's going home."

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake was always about communication in a relationship. She wanted to know what the other was thinking, especially if it was something bad. She wanted to be in the loop with all of it. If whoever she was seeing wasn't feeling it, then she thought it took a lot of balls to be able to admit that. "Perfect." Blake was already pretty excited about the date and she hoped that it wasn't long. She laughed then, though. "I still can't believe our parents dated." She shook her head a little. She was so glad that they hadn't ever been anything seirious.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris wondered if asking him what he thought about all of this would be a good idea or not. But she didn't want to make things awkward and she thought that she ought to think things through a little bit before she said anything to him. She thought that she needed answers of her own before anything else. "Yeah, I think so." The blonde nodded. "She's not said but I assume if he wasn't, she'd have said." She shrugged her shoulders. "You wanna go and drink that in bed? We can watch TV up there if you want?"

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Of course she will." Landon chuckled softly. He thought Annie probably had the mumsiest mum there was and it was no surprise that she'd be Ogie's personal nurse for the night after all of this. He followed Annie as she started to walk, chuckling softly at her words. "If Jo hasn't been asleep for the last three hours, I'll be very surprised. We can get him something tomorrow to make up for it." He laughed. He didn't think Josiah would've waited up for them, it was almost five in the morning - he thought he would've been asleep a long time ago.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "That's what the doc says." Ogie laughed, nodding his head. He really did feel fine, he wasn't just saying it - and he was glad that there wasn't much of a reason for anybody to fuss, because he felt bad enough as it was. "I absolutely still want you to stay." He smiled. He couldn't think of anything better - they had missed out on so much time tonight with not actually being each others dates, he wanted to make it up. Even if they spent a lot of it just sleeping. He was really tired by now and excited to get home. He smiled as he heard his mum was on her way, following his big sister outside.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Mia nodded her head - to be honest, she was pretty glad that they were going to bed because she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be very coherent with no sleep. "Sleep it is." She smiled tiredly, getting up from the sofa with a stretch. "You know, as birthdays go - this one's had the weirdest start yet." She smiled softly, shaking her head as she started to head over to the bed. It didn't even really feel like it had been her birthday after everything that had happened, but she was just happy that her brother was okay.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: When she had been younger, Nancy used to get really annoyed by the way Arlo was treated - he could get away with everything where she and Noah couldn't, but as she got older she mostly found it amusing. Especially because he got annoyed when they teased him about it. She looked over curiously as Benjamin grabbed his phone, smiling as she heard that Ogie was okay. "Amazing. I'm glad he's okay." She smiled, sighing softly. "Think we can try and get some sleep now?" She knew there'd been no chance of sleeping whilst they were waiting for news on Ogie, but she was absolutely exhausted now that she properly thought about it.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: Wren couldn't help laughing at the sudden change in conversation, but he nodded his head. "No, neither can I." He laughed, looking to Blake with a smile. "You know, my mum practically has a fit every single time it's mentioned. She hates that it ever even happened." He chuckled. His mum loved his dad so much that even the idea of him with somebody else sent her into a rage and he always found it pretty humorous - he knew it was just because of how much she really, truly loved him.

WMH LK MS LD MHS OS DA NH AG: "Yeah, probably." Arlo nodded, distracted for a second as he spread one slice of toast with peanut butter and the other with Nutella, putting them onto a plate. He smiled at Iris's suggestion, nodding his head. "Yeah, that sounds perfect." He smiled. He hoped that after something to eat and a bit more time, he might actually be able to get some sleep. He wasn't sure, though.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Annie loved her mother. If she was half the woman that she was, then she knew that she would be absolutely over the moon. She knew that she wanted the relationship her mum had with her, with her future children. "That's very true." Annie laughed as she nodded her head, "I'll make us some breakfast in the morning." Even though she knew it was going to be very, very late before they got to sleep, Annie knew that she probably wouldn't be asleep for very long. She never liked spending too much time in bed. She didn't want to feel like she was wasting her day.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: "Okay, good. That's really good." Piper smiled, nodding her head. She wanted nothing more than for Ogie to feel okay. After the way that he had hit the floor , she had been worried that he wouldn't. She had been so scared when she saw him on the floor. She was just glad that he was okay now. "Okay, good." She took his hand then. Piper really wanted to stay with Ogie for the night and she was glad that he seemed to want the same thing. "I'm so tired." She giggled. She didn't think that she had ever been up that late before.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Noah was already feeling bad about his little break down - and then he remembered that it was Mias birthday. He had already felt like he shouldn't have been like that and now he was even more sure about it. "Oh shit." Noah muttered, shaking his head. "Yeah, happy birthday." He nodded before he climbed into the bed. He figured they'd be able to make up for all of this the next day.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Benjamin had never really been around anyone who was treated like Arlo before he started hanging out with them all. He found it so interesting though - and it definitely made sense for the person that he was. "Yeah, I think that's probably best." Benjamin nodded his head. He had no idea what time it was but he had no idea if he would sleep - he thought that he was pretty tired now though.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Blake laughed along with Wren. She found it pretty funny too. Knowing her mum and his dad - as much as she knew his dad - she could definitely understand why the two of them had gotten together. She could see them being pretty compatible. Though it seemed like compatibility didn't really matter all that much. "Oh my god, really?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. She didn't know how someone could still be jealous over all of that when they were so far removed from it.

AS NH BAM GC IS BA PK IK TD: Iris' mind was running at about a million thoughts per second. She had no idea what she and Arlo were going to do, were going to be - but she was excited about whatever it was. She couldn't wait for the two of them to figure it out - even if it was unsaid. She cared about Arlo and she thought that, that was enough for now. "Alright then. Come on." Iris smiled before she headed back upstairs. She pulled on her PJs quickly when they got there and laid down next to him. Settling in for the night.

#chatzy #london

[dontshootmespence]

So Little Left to Give

A/N: This is a piece where Spencer is always the sounding board for his friends, but while Spencer is happy to help his friends because he loves them, none of them seem to be able to read the fact that he is unhappy himself. @coveofmemories @sexualemobitch @jamiemelyn @unstoppableangel8 @iammostdefinitelyonfire26

Warnings: Depression

                                                              -----

“Hey, Reid,” Garcia said, her voice shaking slightly as her heels clicked on the pavement. “Do you mind if I come over for a little bit? I’d really like to talk to someone.”

Sighing, Spencer pushed up the bed, his head heavy after such a horrible nap following an even worse headache. Though it had been over a year since Maeve had died in front of him, he still dreamt of her. It always started out well. They’d be sitting in a coffee shop discussing the works of Arthur Conan Doyle or dancing, badly of course, in the middle of a barren moonlit street outside his apartment. Just as he would slip into sweet reverie, he’d be pulled out by a drastic change - a car hurdling towards them, her skin peeling off before his eyes - something that woke him up in a panic, the sweat drenching him to the bone. “Sure, Penelope,” he said, even though his head was pounding. “What’s wrong?” He could tell she was trying to conceal the tremor in her voice, but it wasn’t working well. 

“Sam just broke up with me.” While he did feel awful for her, his interrupted dream played through his head. Sam had probably called things off because of their schedules; they hadn’t had much time to spend together, but at least he was alive, at least she didn’t have to see her lover get shot in front of her eyes not just once, but over and over again every time she closed her eyes. That wasn’t her reality; but it was Spencer’s. “He said that we never get to see each other, which we don’t. Work gets in the way a lot, but I really cared about him and now he’s gone. He’ll go on with someone else and I’m just sad...”

Spencer took a deep breath and exhaled, trying his best not to give away the fact that he didn’t really want to play the shoulder to cry on right now. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, forcing some levity into his voice. “Come on over. I have some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the freezer.”

The way her voice immediately picked up made him feel guilty about wanting to turn her away so he could drown in his own interrupted thoughts. “Thanks, Boy Wonder, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

As she’d said, Garcia arrived moments later and Reid gave her a hug, swaying back and forth in the doorway of his apartment. She cried at first. After her parents died, she’d never truly been alone; she hadn’t allowed herself to be for fear of what that loneliness would bring. But after letting the tears out on his shoulder, her spirits picked up, and they both sat on his couch, watched Doctor Who and ate cookie dough ice cream until nearly 2 in the morning. He had a good time while she was there, and he did feel good knowing that he’d helped his friend through a difficult time, but the minute he closed the door behind her, his thoughts turned once again to his lost love, which then spiraled into thoughts of not being good enough, of not doing enough to help people, of not ever having someone to share his life with. As he walked into his room, a lone tear fell from his eye. The lone tear turned into puddles, and soon after, he fell asleep drowning in them. 

                                                             -----

It was always. Whether it be Penelope pining over Sam, or even Kevin, who she’d broken up with years ago, or JJ unloading on him after a disagreement with Will, or Morgan breaking up with yet another girlfriend because of their hectic schedules. It was always something, and he was always there. If his friends needed him, he was there, no matter what he was doing or how he was feeling himself; he always did it, because he didn’t know how to be anything else. No matter how good he felt helping others, he had to admit it was exhausting - watching as other people walked away with smiles and hope while he was left with neither. He was so tired.

A buzzing in his pocket snapped him out of his thoughts. That always seemed to be the way. He’d be off in another world, thinking about everything that had gone wrong in his life and how lonely he felt, and then someone would need comforting. When he picked up the phone, it was Blake. She and James had had a fight and she wanted to talk to someone. Of course, Spencer agreed to see her. He loved every one of his teammates, but with Blake it was different. There was something about his relationship with her that he couldn’t deny. Maybe it was because she reminded him of his mother - who his mother would’ve been if it hadn’t been for her diagnosis. 

Before long, he found himself once again sitting across from a friend in need, giving of himself when he had so little to give. “What happened, Alex?”

“James wants me to go teach with him...at Harvard, but I’ve worked so hard to get back to where I am in the Bureau. I just can’t.”

This was the first time he’d heard about Blake leaving. Even the thought made his heart jump. They’d gotten so close. She couldn’t leave. Not her too. “What did you say to him?”

“I told him I can’t do that,” she replied. “He misses me. Having a relationship like other people do, and I miss that too, but one of the things that made me fall in love with him is that he understood that the job came first. I’ve worked too hard to get back in good standing with the Bureau, but I don’t want to lose James. He’s been my only constant.”

“Do you want to know what I think?” he asked, fully expecting her to say no and being taken aback when she stated otherwise. “I had what you had for a short time, and I’d give anything to have it again. If it were to come down to choosing between James and the job, I’d choose love, but considering that the two of you have managed your relationship the way you have for so long already, I think you just need to express that to him again. That you can’t leave yet. Maybe one day, but not now.” The last word was barely audible and he cleared his throat in an attempt to mask his desperation. 

Alex chuckled softly. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. Thanks, Reid.”

“It’s nothing,” he said. In a way it was and in a way it wasn’t. “It’s what friends are for.” 

After a little more conversation, more trivial than serious, Alex gave Reid a hug and thanked him once again for being the friend she’s always needed. “See you at work?”

“See you at work,” he replied. And with that they both turned away from each other and towards home. Presumably, Alex felt better having talked out her troubles with someone that was thinking with a level head, at least an assumed level head. And Spencer should’ve felt better, knowing he’d helped a friend, a good friend, through a difficult time, but once again he felt hollow. His friend walked away with her fears allayed, at least for the time being, while his fears and sorrows crept in closer and closer, and threatening to engulf him while he slept. He wanted to give so much, but there was only so much he had left to give.

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fic #dontshootmespence #so little left to give

[carterthornton]

The Third Wave | Chapter Twenty Two: Roommates

        As Aiko's alarm sounded, shrieking and chanting, she clumsily rolled off her bed, her forehead impacting the floorboards with a hard thud. "Fuck!"

       "Aiko?" Yuko popped her head up, wondering just what caused her sister to exclaim in such a way. "Aiko...?" The giant metal woman got out of her sleeping bag and gently hopped over Maeve's empty air mattress, making sure she didn't shake the room. She then looped around Aiko's bed, poking her head out to get a better look at Aiko, who was lying in a heap on the floor and groaning quietly to herself. "Aiko!" She picked her sister up, shutting off the alarm as she did so. "Are you okay?"

       "Yup, I'm-... I'm fine..." Aiko held the palm of her hand against her forehead, taking a moment to realign her vision before moving around. "Argghh... I'm gonna get a goose-egg, aren't I?" Aiko looked over to Maeve's bed, noticing her absence. "Where's her majesty?"

       "I dunno," Yuko shrugged her shoulders as she laid face down on Aiko's bed. "She left without saying anything."

       "Maeve probably went down to get some grub. She's not big on small talk, or rather, talking with other people in general," Aiko sighed as she walked out into the hallway. "I'm gonna go the bathroom and have a shower, Yuko." Aiko turned to her left and drunkenly stumbled down the hall until she stopped at the bathroom door, then she twisted the knob, entering the washroom.

       "Ah!" A voice in the darkness yelped.

       "Ah!" Aiko screamed in response, falling onto her back and clutching her chest as she saw Maeve's pale face emerge from the shadows. "Maeve, what-? Why are the lights off?!"

       "That's how I do my makeup!" Maeve shouted back at her.

       "Why?!" Aiko stood up in a huff, no longer feeling drowsy like before.

       "I don't know, that's- that's just how I've done my makeup, okay?!" Maeve held a hand on her heart, calming herself down.

       "Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack..." Aiko bent over and placed her hands on her knees, bracing herself as she caught her breath. "A warning would've been nice, you know?"

       "Well, you should've knocked!" Maeve pouted, sticking out her jaw as she scoffed at Aiko.

       "Why would I knock on a bathroom door when the lights are-?!" Aiko stopped arguing and gave up on Maeve, who seemed to make every situation impossible. "Okay... never mind," Aiko grumbled as she strolled over to the shower, removing her pyjamas as she opened the sliding glass door.

       "W-wait!" Maeve stuttered as she pulled Aiko's top back down, shielding her eyes at the sight of Aiko's bare stomach. "What are you doing?"

       "Having a shower, why? You can do your makeup while I'm in there, can't you?" Aiko proposed as she pulled away from Maeve's grasp on her pyjama top, sliding out of her pants and tossing them to the side. "I always have a shower at six-thirty."

       "And I always do my makeup at six-thirty, by myself," Maeve rushed over to Aiko's pyjama pants and handed them to her, still looking away from Aiko's bare legs. "I don't want to see that!"

       "Maeve, we're both girls, and it's not like you're jumping in here with me..." Aiko's eye began to involuntarily twitch as she groaned at the realization of why Maeve was so jumpy with her. "Is this because-?"

       "Because you are a homosexual, yes..." Maeve nodded as she kept closing her eyes. "Carlo informed me of this."

       "That sonofa-..." Aiko balled her hand into a fist as she cursed Carlo's big mouth. "Maeve, I'm not trying to hit on you if that's what you're getting at, "Aiko shook her head as she stepped into the shower with her PJ's still on, removing them only after she closed the sliding door. "How's this? You won't see me behind this glass since it's all cloudy, and the steam will hide me even better."

       "I suppose that will work," Maeve replied, trying to empty her head as she began to fervently brush her hair. "So... what did your grandparents think of me at dinner last night?"

       "Um..." Aiko closed her eyes as she began to scrub shampoo into her raven hair. "They thought you were, err-... they thought you were nice."

       "I see..." Maeve's voice became soft and mouse-like as she thought back to how anxious she was at the dinner table. She could almost hear her father's words in her ear, 'Treat your hosts with the same respect you treat me with, young lady!'.

       "Oh, n-no! They really did like you! They were just taken aback a little by your politeness and your, err-... what's the word? Eloquence?" Aiko noticed Maeve's disappointment and forced a laugh, hoping to reassure her. "My grandparents aren't great with first impressions!"

       "And what of your cousin Ivy? What did she think of me?" Maeve wondered.

       "Ivy? She's um-... well, she thinks of everyone equally as sheep, b-but that's just her thing as a goth I guess. Ivy's not a first impression type of gal either!" Aiko fumbled her words a few times as she rearranged them in an order that didn't seem to harsh or too vague, but sadly it ended up just coming off as awkward and messy. "Uh... what's your favorite colour?"

       "What?" Maeve froze in place just as she was about to use her straightening iron. "Why ask me that-?"

       "Oh, just curious is all!" Aiko chuckled as she rinsed out her hair, grabbing a bottle of conditioner and squirting some of its white goo into her hand.

       "Purple," Maeve answered as she held the iron close to her hair, pausing for a moment before working up the nerve to ask Aiko. "What's yours?"

       "Hmm... dark red? Yeah, dark red, like the kind of red you'd see on chokecherries," Aiko described, trying to give Maeve a good picture of the colour she was referring to.

       "I've never had chokecherries before," Maeve remarked as she began to run the iron along her red locks.

       "What?! You've never had chokecherries before?" Aiko stood in the shower, stunned by Maeve's statement. "Your grandmother never made you chokecherry pie? That's like a Vancouver Island delicacy!"

       "Ah, well, my grandparents live in Scotland," A small grin spread across Maeve's face; she felt a lot more secure knowing she was capable of civil conversation with Aiko. Maeve had not had such a casual discussion with another girl her age in a very long time. "But when I visited, my grandmother would always make me caramel shortbread. I was twelve last I saw her, but she occasionally sends some of her baking to me in the mail."

       "Can you bake?" Aiko inquired, washing the conditioner out and ringing her hair.

       "No," Maeve sighed as she applied perfume, packing it away into a bag along with the rest of her toiletries. "I've never had the time to learn."

       "Seems like you don't have a whole lot of time on your hands," Aiko said as she reached around the shower door to grab a towel.

       "No..." Maeve set her hands on the bathroom counter for a moment, remaining motionless as she stared into the sink. "It feels like I could've done something more with-..." She stopped herself, grabbing her bag and walking out into the hall without batting an eye at Aiko, who stepped out of the shower in a towel. "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."

       "Alright..." Aiko nodded uneasily as she plugged in her hair dryer.

****

       "So, let me get this straight..." Ivy spoke in her usual monotone voice, raising a brow at Maeve, who sat next to her on the living room couch. "You're like... a dragon?"

       "I am no real dragon. I am a Mythical Beast Mark-user— the rarest Subclass of the Beast Class," Maeve announced with pride, keeping her chin up high in a posh manner. "My powers emulate what we humans believe fire-breathing dragons can do."

       "Cool," Ivy grinned as she thought of all the interesting things she could do with such a power. "So, where's your Mark? I wanna see it."

       "Um..." Maeve's face flushed red at the question, and she quickly turned to Aiko, who was placing textbooks into her backpack. "When are we leaving?"

       "Oh, no... is it somewhere lewd?!" Ivy snickered as she lifted Maeve's arm to check for her Mark, catching the fire-headed girl off guard in her embarrassment. "Lemme see!"

       "C'mon, Ives, leave her be!" Aiko scolded her cousin as she pried her off of Maeve, who was not used to dealing with a fourteen-year-old girl as invasive and in your face as Ivy. "Just because Opa and Náanaa are gone shopping for a few hours doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! How can I trust that you'll behave yourself all alone while they're gone?"

       "It's not like you've got a choice to stay behind and not go to school just to babysit me," Ivy sneered as she stuck her tongue out at Aiko. "I'm not a kid anymore, Aiko, I can take care of myself!"

       "Coming from the kid who just stuck her tongue out at me," Aiko rolled her eyes as she picked up the backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. "Now go get ready for school, Ivy. And could you pack a lunch this time, please?"

       "Yeah, yeah..." Ivy grunted as she perused the pantry.

       "Ready to go?" Maeve asked.

       "Yeah, I'm all packed— just gotta wait for Yuko to get dressed," Aiko replied, waiting at the stairs leading to her room. "Yuko, you good?"

       "Yep, yep, yep!" Yuko sang as she pranced downstairs, her frilly pink dress bouncing with her every step. "Do you like my dress? Náanaa sewed it together for me out of her old clothes!"

       "You look very pretty, Yuko," Aiko complimented her bubbly companion as she and Maeve followed her to the garage door. "See ya, Ives! Make sure to get to school on time today, okay?"

       "Yeah, whatever..." Ivy whined as she watched Aiko leave, making sure the coast was clear. "Asshole." A mischievous grin spread across Ivy's face as she practically skipped over to the kitchen stovetop, rolling up the left sleeve of her blouse. "Alright, let's see what else I can do with you."

       On Ivy's shoulder was a Mark of unique design. It appeared to be some kind of soaring bird with outstretched wings, but it also appeared to be engulfed in flames and hovering over some kind of mound or pile of some substance. With Marks, one could only assume the meaning of the design until the powers it held were utilized, and Ivy had been experimenting with it for a few days off and on, hence her numerous late-slips she received in first-period Mathematics. She acquired her Mark only a few days ago whilst writing poetry in the park, sitting alone on the swing set. There had been several odd occurrences that day: unusually dark clouds and an exceedingly thick fog sticking close to the ground. Not only that, but she had an unshakable feeling of dread. Then, all of a sudden, as she turned to the next page of her notebook, she was met with the Mark that would glue itself to her body. Since that day, Ivy had been making several conjectures about her Mark based on its appearance, and through trial and error, she identified her Mark's primary focus, fire. Her body seemed to be totally immune to fire and heat, and she tested the extent of this ability at length on her grandparent's stove.

       Ivy placed her right hand on the gas stove, and with her left, she turned it on. Flames shot out of the nozzle, engulfing her hand, yet she felt nothing; it was as if her body and clothing had become entirely flame-retardant. She shut off the stove, feeling the back of her hand, expecting it to be scalding hot. To her surprise, it felt the same as it did before she touched the stove. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Ivy decided to try something new; she clenched her fist, visualizing the stove's blue flames. Then, suddenly, her whole hand became engulfed in blue fire. Giving into her primal fears, Ivy immediately panicked at the rapid expansion of the fire as it spread to her forearm, and to make the transformation even more horrifying, embers were beginning to shoot out of her arm. Soon after, the overhanging fire alarm sounded, and Ivy quickly placed her hand in the sink, drenching it in cold water. As the water quelled her flames, Ivy's panting slowed to a halt and she regained her composure, then she swiftly grabbed one of the kitchen island's chairs, placing underneath the alarm and shutting it off.

       "What the hell are you?" Ivy asked her Mark as she hopped down from the stool, hoping it would answer, but its lips remained sealed. "Yeah, I thought so..."

****

       Yuko scooped up a large forkful of pancakes drenched in maple syrup and shoved it into her wide maw, chewing delightedly and gulping it down with a syrup-laced smile. "Yum!"

       "Uh, hey, Yuko..." Jace nudged his neighbour's metallic elbow as he looked down at the decapitated fork in her hand. "Where's the top of that fork?"

       "Oh dear," Maeve cringed as she heard metal fragments getting ground up in Yuko's teeth.

       "Um..." Yuko held the dismembered tool up to let Aiko take a look at it. "Did I-?"

        "You bit the top off of it again," Aiko sighed, shaking her head at Yuko. "You gotta stop biting down so hard."

       "How many has she-...?" Carlo trailed off as he stared at his own fork.

       "This is her fifth one so far," Aiko let out a tired chuckle as she finished her last piece of bacon and handed Yuko her fork. "Don't let this be the sixth, okay?"

       "So... Aiko..." Jace's eyebrows moved up and down at a rapid pace as he made a rolling sound with his tongue.

       "Carlo told you too, huh...?" Aiko slowly turned her head, shooting Carlo the stink-eye.

       "What, I'm the bad guy?! Jace was gonna start hitting on you pretty soon!" Carlo exploded, tossing his hands in the air in frustration.

       "This is actually pretty dope," Jace sneered as he munched on his tuna fish sandwich. "I've never had a gay friend before."

       "Neither have I," Carlo added.

       "Okay, okay, I know where you two are going with this!" Aiko objected as she gathered up her dirty dishes. "I'm not gonna do guy shit with either of you, or gossip about girls, or do any of the fuckin' bullshitty shit that you think I'm gonna do with you!" Aiko took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself down. "And you know what? To be honest, I kinda thought you were gay, Carlo."

       "Me?! Really?! That's bullshit..." Carlo looked around the lunch table, trying to find support from the rest of his team, but they all seemed to avert their eyes. "Really, you guys?"

       "Heh heh..." Maeve cracked an awkward smile as Carlo's eye glazed over her.

       "Well, now that she mentions it... you kinda do dress a bit too fashionable for a guy sometimes," Jace shrugged his shoulders as he polished off the rest of the tuna that fell out of his sandwich. "I mean... I know you're not, but still. That green hair doesn't really help your case either."

       "Oh, and what do you wear every day, Jace?! Cargo shorts? Fuck off," Carlo scoffed as he pushed away his breakfast tray. "I like wearing good clothes."

       "Your vest is cool," Mura grumbled as she took one last bite of her toast with liverwurst.

       "Thank you, Mura!" Carlo shouted as he got up from his seat, bowing to Mura. "Once again, Mura gets it!"

       "But you're all too god damn loud." Mura let off an aura of malice and death that seemed to darken the space around them, silencing them all. "Thanks."

       After a few moments of calm, Carlo leaned forward to talk with the stoic, blue-haired girl. "So, Mura... I know you just told me to put a lid on it, but-."

       "What do you want?" Mura wasted no time with Carlo.

       "I was just gonna ask you where you got that jean jacket..." Carlo smirked at Mura's straightforward approach to conversation.

       "Oh," Mura nodded, checking the tag of her jacket. "Salvation Army."

       "A thrift store, huh? Nice steal," Carlo said as he scratched the tuft of hair on his chin. "How much?" Mura seemed reluctant to reply, and Carlo quickly caught on to this. "Ah, it's cool. I can make an estimate."

       "So, how's Aiko's house?" Jace asked Maeve, who seemed a lot quieter than usual.

       "Oh, it's-..." Maeve glanced over at Aiko, who she worried would be offended if she spoke her mind. "It's different, but I'd take this punishment over suspension."

       "So, when are clubs gonna start? Does anyone know?" Aiko wondered (she had lost her school calendar on the first day).

       "Beginning of next week, I think," Carlo answered her inquiry as a cafeteria worker picked up all their dirty dishes. "They probably want us to get settled into our regular classes this week."

       "Yeah, right," Aiko nodded, looking over to Maeve, who was avoiding eye contact with her. "Hey, you okay?"

       "Oh, I'm fine!" Maeve smiled with faint tinges of woe in her voice. "I'm just a little tired is all." She didn't seem so sure of her own words; they sounded like someone else's. "I thank you for asking."

#novel #series #book #literature #manga #anime #action #adventure #action adventure #alternate universe #alternate history #epic #comedy #huge #big #expansive #romance #dark #mature #violent #gory #funny #wild #wierd #crazy #cooky #wacky #super powers #super human #cool