Blue Royalty | Miscellaneous Thread

[astxrism]

{ tune in: Stacy’s mom | 2039 }

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With Lexie sleeping and her other kids God knows where, Elodie was in the kitchen in her yoga gear, baking. Or to be more precise, waiting for her cookies to be done. That afternoon Lexie was helping her with preparing everything, and by helping I mean just sitting there, being cute with her chubby cheeks and big blue eyes. Things have… gotten a bit easier for Elodie. Not the being alone without her husband part, but her relationship with this adorable little girl. It was almost like it was supposed to be from the very first day she was born and that got Elodie hopefully that things will be perfect again, eventually. They… have to be. It’s been three days since her daughter caught her crying and luckily she hasn’t asked more questions, or she did but Elodie ignored them all, just like she did that day. Three days since the Montoya birthday special post where she was described as a free woman. Of course, she didn’t know that and you can’t blame her for what was about to happen.

”They are not home,“ no, Phoebe and Amelia were not home and Ryan knew that. It was important for his little plan, important that only Elodie May ex Taylor-DeLoughrey was alone. You thought no one would take that BR post seriously and there actually won’t be a line of guys taking their chances on this woman? If you did, you were terribly wrong because there were already bets going around and Ryan was not wasting time. ”I checked… Hey, I’ll see you all when I end up winning her over,“ today will be the day he gets Elodie. And his friends on the phone hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Standing in front of the door in his half unbuttoned shirt, Ryan fixed his hair before ringing the bell.

Whenever Elodie hears the bell her heart skips a beat, only one thing on her mind. Opening the door she’d see Riker, he was coming back home and everything was finally alright. That one possibility that never ended up happening and today was also not that day, but don’t judge her for hoping. Nervously approaching the door, for a second she stopped with her hand on the handle, trying to put on a sweet smile - she didn’t want her unexpected visitor to see her disappointment in case what she actually wanted wasn’t on the other side of that door. ”Hello,“ and of course it wasn’t. There was a boy she’s never before, around Amie and Phoebe’s age. ”Can I help you?“ A friendlier smile appeared on her lips, not noticing his eyes wandering all over her body. ”Is Amelia home?“ Returning the smile, the boy finally looked her in the eyes, his hands casually placed in his pockets. Now that was his plan… he was going to pretend Amelia was his tutor since he heard she tutors some students and with her not actually being home he could say: ”She told me she’d be home soon and I wouldn’t have to wait for her.“ ”N-no. She is not here and she…“ She didn’t tell me anyone would be coming over? No. She, for some reason, wasn’t speaking to her so how could Elodie know this boy was supposed to be here? Opening the door and stepping to the side, she continued. ”You can- I guess you have to wait for her now. I’m sure she’d be here soon,“ a light chuckle, letting the boy step in before closing the door behind them.

”I don’t mind it. At least I have a lovely company,“ he was quick to reply, a playful smile on his lips Elodie did not see. And that compliment, she didn’t think much about it, he was just her daughter’s friend and he was being nice. It only made her smile sweetly as she was walking toward the kitchen again to check on her cookies, glancing back at the boy. ”Not as lovely as the company of my daughter. Do you want to drink something?“ ”She never told me she has such a beautiful mother,“ following her, he continued with sweet words. ”Do you maybe have wine? It helps me… work,“ or it was just a romantic drink every woman likes. It’s been a while since someone compliment her. And once again she just let him say whatever he wanted, thinking he was just this charming young guy who maybe wanted to impress her because he had a crush on her daughter? I don’t know… ”Wine?“ Turning to face Ryan who was now resting his elbows on the kitchen island, his eyes not leaving her, Elo raised her brow but there was still a smile on her face. ”How old are you…“ ”Ryan.“ Did it matter? No. She was already picking up the glass and pouring him some wine she had that morning. Not like she wasn’t drinking at that age… can’t be a hypocrite now. ”Ryan. I guess that doesn’t matter, does it? Here you go,“ handing him the glass, there was a long moment when his hand rested on hers, a weird vibe she couldn’t ignore. His gaze was on her, a weird smile on his lips… Okay, there was something wrong about this. ”Thank you, ms DeLoughrey.“ ”Taylor-DeLoughrey,“ there was not a single time she didn’t correct someone. Even now when she had no idea what was happening with that… If… It will stay like that. Clearing her throat, she turned away from the boy and awkwardly continued the conversation, ”What do you need help wi-“ And Lexie saves the day. Hearing her crying, with an apologetic smile she looked at the boy again. ”Sorry, I have to leave you here. I’ll give Amie a call now and see if she’s near,“ with that she left the kitchen and rushed upstairs.

Uhm… baby? Ryan had no idea there was a baby in the house. Since when does she have more kids? And she’ll call Amie? Yeah… that doesn’t work. He’s not dealing with kids and he’s not waiting for that call and that awkward moment when she finds out he was not there because of Amie… He quickly left the house, losing.

[Littlefeets]

Kasper Drake

Wedding Day Chaos

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Ah weddings. Don’t you just love them? Love, happiness, cake, a male maid of honor, a female best man, rock music, ok… maybe that last one is just because of the groom being a rockstar and the bride certainly isn’t a traditional girl either. But who can really blame them when the couple in question is Ketziah Drake and Andy McAllister? Let’s be clear, neither of the pair is known for doing things in a way most would consider normal. That being said, there were a few ways in which Ketziah wanted to keep with tradition. It had been years since the loss of her father, the man who would never get to be there to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day, but that didn’t matter. There was someone else just as deserving of the role. Kasper Drake, her older brother, the man who put his life on hold to step in to finish raising her. Ketziah may not have had her father, but she had Kasper there to fill the job.

Hold on… let’s back it up a minute… Oh, Kasper… such a big day. After all, it’s not everyday your baby sister gets married. Though, even for someone who keeps things more low key like dear Ketziah, that day may as well have been pure chaos in Kasper’s eyes. Not that he would let his sister have any idea. After all, he didn’t want to send the bride into a complete panic just before her wedding. Let’s just say, if it could go wrong, it seemed it would go wrong for Kasper that day.

“What is so important that you had to call me today? It’s my sister’s wedding today.” Kasper said over the phone to one of the employees at the restaurant. “I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” Sorry Kasper, but it can be that bad. “Fine. Fine. I’ll be there in 10.” There Kasper was, all ready for the wedding, and having to take time out of his already stressful day to deal with work. Luckily, Kasper was able to get the situation at the restaurant back under control without too much difficulty, but… let’s just say unexpectedly stepping on a wet floor while there are literally too many cooks in the kitchen is not a good thing… a fact made all the more clear when Kasper hit the floor in such a way that, had the room been silent, one could’ve heard a snap in addition to the breaking of a plate that hit the ground with him. Kasper knew he was short on time, even the blood dripping down his arm wasn’t going to stop him, but… when he tried to stand up, he didn’t get far, ending up right back in the same spot he was, where he would remain, much to his dismay.

Despite his protest, it was insisted that an ambulance be called. Though he didn’t know it, that was the best thing that could have happened to him. On the way to the hospital, he looked to the paramedic bandaging the cut on his arm. “I’m fine really, just drop me off on the side of the road somewhere.” The redhead gave him a “you’ve gotta be kidding me” look before looking over and lightly touching his leg as well as slightly moving his wrist, to which he clearly winced in pain. “You’re sure? I’m sure you’re not fine.” Kasper gave the girl a pleading look. “I… fine. It’s just that I have a wedding to get to.” The girl paused for a second, looking him over. “I’m sure your… fiancé? would understand you being late because of this.” It was a guess that made Kasper immediately shake his head in response. “My little sister. I’m supposed to be there to walk her down the aisle in less than two hours, and she will freak out if I’m not there. I have to be there.” Kasper watched as the girl simply nodded, remaining silent as he looked to his phone to send Riker a text saying Call Me Though, then a thought came to Kasper’s mind, he was barely going to be able to walk. How was he supposed to get there? “Damn it…and now I can’t even drive either.” He muttered. For what reason, he had no idea. Perhaps she didn’t know what made her think of it either, but she still gave the offer as they arrived at the ER. “This is my last call for the day, and I don’t have anywhere to be, so I can get you to your sister’s wedding. That’s not something you want to miss.” Kasper didn’t even know what to say, or even if he should take it as an actual offer, and even he could see that she wasn’t sure either. Though the chance to respond was soon gone as his phone rang. Riker.

Kasper had just gotten to the ER, and he knew he was going to be late, so who better to keep Ketziah from asking questions than Riker. “Promise me you won’t tell my sister any of this.” Kasper began. No matter what, he knew she couldn’t know that he was in the ER, even for something minor. He didn’t want it to ruin her day, or worry her. “I’m fine, but I’m in the ER right now. I don’t know how long I’m going to be, but I need you to stall for me, and don’t tell my sister what’s going on. I’ll let you know when I’m on the way, but just make sure Ketziah doesn’t think something is wrong.”

Kasper may have said he was fine before, but a couple hours, a walking boot, and a cast on his arm later, he was actually considered fine to go. Though, how was he going to actually get there? He didn’t have his car, not that he could even drive it with the boot. Stepping out the ER doors, he came face to face with the answer, one which he didn’t expect. “I told you, you weren’t fine.” The paramedic from the ambulance. For whatever reason, something even she didn’t know, she decided to make that offer real. “If you still need it, I can help you get to your sister’s wedding.” Kasper paused, stunned somewhat by it, before nodding. “Thank you.” He answered before extending his non-broken hand towards her. “I’m Kasper.” The girl shook his hand with a smile, unaware that she had just made the best decision of her life. “Mia.”

---

@benitz786 - Riker
@CerealKiller - Andy mentioned too

[benitz786]

𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘴,

𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘒𝘺𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 12𝘵𝘩, 2021 𝘢𝘵 9 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦,
𝘋𝘢𝘥

Did Jordan Williams write a damn letter? He damn well did. Could you blame him? For about the past month… well… really ever since bailing his daughter out, she had been avoiding him at all cost. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had blocked his phone number by now because every time he called it went straight to voicemail… which… yes, it upset him. He sent texts, asking what was wrong… asking her to just call him back… and so… yes, he sent a formal ass letter hoping it would somehow catch her attention enough so she would just… come to brunch. He missed her… he missed his little girl and it was hurting every single part of him that she was treating him like… this. A moment, that’s all he needed - to talk… to catch up with a girl he hadn’t talked to in weeks.

That very morning, his entire house was abuzz. Jordan had gotten caterers to come, and a Michelin star chef to cook brunch. Suffice to say, everything was perfect… at least… well… currently everything was perfect. He didn’t know how his… kids would react to the news… and… well… Sadie…didn’t react… you know what, this isn’t a brunch about that. Rather, it’s a brunch about her. Sitting in the middle of the living room playing with the dogs was his fiancé, a smile on her lips as she pet their dog, Michael Jackson. Walking over to her, Jordan wrapped his arms around her, taking a seat behind her as he kissed her cheek and laid his head against her shoulder. “How are you feeling Tink?” he whispered. There was an ease in his body the instant he found himself near her - something that he realized Jez simply had the power to do… from a look, a touch, a kiss - it was a trait she possessed far before they were even friends. Maybe that was why he had a crush on her when they were children, there was just always… something about her that drew her in.

She didn’t have a chance to respond to his question when he heard the doorbell ring - indicating that his kids had arrived. Or… well… a kid meaning it was Daniel Parker… with popcorn soon followed by Laurel who had arrived with him. “Dan… what are…” he didn’t really get the chance to get that question out when he saw his kids also walking up behind Daniel and Laurel, distracting him from what would have been the kindest “please get out” from Jordan. Though, it seemed that wasn’t the case as they all settled into their seats. Jezebel was seated across from him at the end of the table and next to her was Laurel. Dan had situated himself across from Laurel, clearly making sure he was in the middle of the table. His daughter, Kyra, was sitting next to him - asking Jez more than a few questions about being CEO. Let’s just say the kid had aspirations. And Justin was on the other side of Daniel. The only person missing was…

Before he could even have that thought, he heard the doorbell ringing. It was… more than a few minutes late but a sense of relief filled his body when he saw his daughter coming through the door - soon sitting next to Justin, but as… far away from him as possible. Jordan didn’t usually feel nervous, but in this case he did. As the food was brought out, Jordan’s hand was on top of Jezebel’s - a smile on his lips as he looked towards her ever now and again.

“Well… before we eat… why don’t we all say grace?” Jordan asked - a tradition that he passed on to his kids in an attempt to make them grateful for something that… well… he didn’t have access to when he was a child. Kyra immediately started, saying grace for the food on the table, followed by Justin who added that he was grateful that college was going well. Amen to that. Dan said he was “grateful” that they didn’t run out of butter popcorn at the store, which caused everyone to give him the look and it went around - though Annie stayed quiet. “And there is something I’m grateful for… I’m grateful for this beautiful woman right here who… is going to be a part of our family very soon,” with that, Jordan picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, whispering I love you before looking back at his kids. “What I mean by that is… Jezebel and I… we’re getting married and I really want all of you to be involved with everything because I lov-”

Jordan didn’t get to finish his words, because before he did - Annie stood up from the end of the table and begin cursing. “Mariana sit… down,” he started, but before he could even mention how inconsiderate she was being, she continued - mentioning that Jezebel was pregnant. The shock on his face was instant - he didn’t… how did she know that. He knew that Jezebel had told her family but… he didn’t think his daughter would find out that way. He couldn’t even say anything in his defense as Annie continued. Dan was sitting casually in the middle, eating his popcorn, and Kyra and Justin looked just as surprised as he did at their sister’s outburst. “Annie… that’s not… this isn’t a replacement family. This is our family, including you. I just… I don’t know what’s gotten into you recently,” he sighed - the only thing keeping him together being Jezebel’s hand still on his.

Seating Chart

@novella @Littlefeets

[raviola]

Cherry Chapstick

.,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,. 2036 ,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…

Hera pulled loose baby hair strands out of her ponytail, kneeling on her ottoman. Was it a weird way to sit? undoubtedly. At this point though, it had gotten too comfortable for them to stop. The last house she was in didn't have chairs, Mr Walsh sold practically everything inside the house so he could get beer. Was it bad that she missed it?

To be honest, anything was better than their current home. It would be perfect if Killian and Megara weren’t here. You might think Hera would give them the benefit of the doubt because of #gayrights, but no, she hates everyone the same <3. If anything, they hated these people a little bit more. In fact, she was currently getting pretty to sneak out. Her bedroom window netting was already way torn, she carved a big, gaping hole in it the night she got there with their pocket knife. Don’t ask.

Okay, maybe there’s one valid question that stems from that. Hera, is that imprint not a little too obvious? Yes, yes it was. And the fair maiden did not give a damn. Their mothers had security cameras installed when Hera got there. They didn’t even try to hide it that they thought she was no good. If they didn’t expect anything good from Hera, what was the point in hiding her flaws? If anything, she’s giving them what they want. A challenge. That was all she probably was to them. They imported a child from africa because it made them look nice, and when that got old, they took her in. The poor child, desperate for their salvation. How insufferable do you have to be to think like that? The girl rolled her eyes at the thought of it.

It was whatever, really. Hera just needed to escape this pretty prison. So they uncapped their Cherry Chapstick and rubbed it all over their lips for when the ice cold wind rippled through the crisp air, fanning at her roughly. It was wintertime in Beryl Heights, but Hera didn’t need a jacket after all of the winters she spent without conditioned air, without warmth. The Montgomeries decided to take her in around the holiday season, so she wouldn’t spend another winter out in the cold. To Hera though, they only made the holidays worse.

Every year, on christmas eve, and the morning after, she sat in a crowded room. Surrounded by peoople, yet still so alone. Every few months or so, they were placed with new people. She didn’t have the chance to get close to any of them. The kids at school always described the holidays with their families as annoying, everyone finally had to confront their problems when they were united by the fireplace. I mean, at least they didn’t have to deal with that. But in a way, it made them jealous. Yes, Hera threw hands with basically every other kid she had lived with, and they always had reasons to hate eachother, but at the end of the fighting, there was no love to reunite them. No bond built from years upon years.

The only person that they were beginning to feel like that with was a girl by the name of Daiane Meyer. She was unlike anyone she had ever met before. She was kind, and cute? It was strange, Hera is usually percieved as unemotional and lusty. However, this woman had them under some sort of spell that made her soft. Hera didn’t realize it though. Not even a little bit. In fact, in their mind, she was just going to visit out of boredom. They’d hung out a few times and she only memorized Daiane’s schedule (physics, geometry, eglish, lunch, fashion design, theatre, us history, physical education), favorite color (baby blue), mother’s maiden name (ribeiro), school email (M7694@students.cerulean./org), favorite movie (moonlight), book she’s reading right now (the space between), address (5059 redfruit lane) and many other random things that are perfectly normal to remember about a friend. Totally.

Speaking of the girl’s address, Hera had to go before her little angel went to bed. They found it astonishing that anyone could go to sleep that early when there’s so much to read, sm0ke, and worry about. That was her night routine, at least, when they get home at like 1am. It’s almost impossible for Hera to just let herself relax, that’s the way it’s always been. She’s always needed to be on high alert. The one time she fell asleep before everyone else out of exhaustion, her roommates shaved her head. But we’ll cover that later.

At last, Hera stood up and dusted herself off. Then, ripped another bit of the netting in the fishnets she wore under her denim shorts before poking through the window into the frosty weather that probably should have fazed her but didn’t, heavy boots dangling as they reached for the tree branch to climb onto. When Hera was latched onto the tree, she slowly climbed down before letting go when it was safe to drop (and by that i mean she squirmed down the tree like two steps and then stopped caring.) Her feet hit the slow with a thump, her legs bending slightly for her to let out a short breath of belief that formed a cloud in front of her mouth, bringing back memories of pretending to sm0ke with the other kids when she was a small child. Oh, to go back to when the clouds in front of her mouth were fake and the ones in the sky felt real.

Quickly, the tall child ran off, into the more open part of the neighborhood. Her adoptive mothers’ house was a bit secluded by the forest, so this place seemed much brighter. They had streetlamps, and wide sidewalks. It was everything Hera pictured her life could be one day. She didn’t even have to think twice anymore about walking around alone at night, that was how safe it was. She still did it, habitually carrying pepper spray in her bag, but one day it would fade. Hopefully.

Eventually, the girl knew she found Daiane’s street when the green board read “Redfruit lane.” Don’t worry, Daiane knows that Hera can find it. However, Daiane’s parents did not. Hmmm Hera thought, questioning how to work with this. Oh!! It finally occurred to Hera that she could text her. This phone was Hera’s first, now that they had someone to pay the bill, so they often forgot they could use it as a resource. Most of the other orphans were covered by their grandparents, Hera never knew hers though. They had virtually no apps downloaded, only ever really using it to talk to Dai.

To: Ane
Hey.
Look outside your window

Ane. That was what they’ve called the girl from day one when they met at the party and she said to call her whatever they like. Ane called out to Hera. Apparently no one else called her that, which made Hera sad. To everyone else, she was Dai. Fitting name for a girl who was born right after her sister’s death. According to her family, that’s who she is. A symbol of grief. Hera felt like the first person to see her for something other than that. To Hera, Ane’s smile was brighter than the intricate christmas lights outside of her house, and her eyes were much deeper than the grave people think of when they see her.

They rushed to back up to a place where Ane could see her, up against the brick wall of her next door neighbors’ house, looking up in pure admiration as the girl presented herself at the window in her pajamas. She had no make up on, with bags under her eyes, hair in a messy ponytail like theirs. She’d never looked more beautiful. Hera was in pure awe, that was until she saw the reaction to her arrival, that made her laugh way more than it should have. Everything Dai did brought them so much joy. “Let me in, loser” She joked.

.,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…, @unsungcheerio…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,.

[benitz786]

December 23rd, 1998

Play This Side of Paradise

Love. How does someone truly know when they have it? Adelaide Parker was only 17-years-old… well… for a little while longer at least. In a few hours, she would be 18… one year older… one year closer to graduating and being an adult and… trying to figure out how to navigate her family life with her true passion of enacting change in policy… if her parents would ever allow her to do it. Anyways, back to the whole point of this… 17-years-old… could anyone really know what love was at 17? Maybe… maybe not. Either way… this thing that Addie had with Leo… if it wasn’t love, she didn’t know what it was. Adelaide had loved before, but only towards her siblings and family. She had never… had this. Even with her ex-boyfriends… she had… never felt like this… like her day was brighter simply by his presence in it. She had never felt like she had a need to be around someone, but with Leo she wanted to be around him whenever she had the chance… she felt butterflies when he touched her… when he looked at her. She found an endless smile on her lips when he was with her and she… really loved that feeling. He made her want to be better… he challenged her… and she loved that part the most. Adelaide was quick-witted, but he didn’t hold back either, and it worked.

It was currently 10:51 PM and Addie was alone in Leo’s apartment, a book in her hand as she laid on his couch in a fully decorated condo. There was a tree in the corner right next to a window overlooking the entire city - and honestly, it was probably her favorite view in Beryl. She couldn’t count the number of times she and Leo just sat on the patio, enjoying the night sky together with their arms around one another… which usually ended with her falling asleep and somehow ending up in the bedroom. 7 months together and… god… she just wanted more - so, yes, Adelaide Parker considered this to be love. On the topic of her boyfriend, Leonardo hadn’t been home for the day - having some work to complete for his dad’s business leaving Addie alone to finish decorating. Most of the decoration had been put up together over the last few days. Her mind went back to the laughter that left both of their lips as they went tree shopping, the way he had let her jump on his back to put the angel on the tree, the way she had to argue and win against him that real trees were better than that fake stuff that just reached the market. So what if it left a little mess? Nothing could beat the smell of a fresh Christmas tree. And… Christmas: It honestly was her favorite holiday and… maybe it had something to do with the fact that her birthday fell the day before. Though, if anyone asked Adelaide, it was just… all of it. She loved decorating, she loved the cold, and especially the snow - which is why the window was currently open letting the freezing cold into the condo as Addie snuggled under a blanket in one of Leo’s shirts - and, she bloody loved desserts.

Currently Gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate sat on the counter, cooling from when Addie had finished baking just minutes earlier. The smell was divine and it just brought memories of happy days. Maybe the worst part of Christmas in Beryl, however, was that it had yet to snow. Usually, by now, London was filled with the fluffy white substance. Beryl, however, was a harsh cold with no snow in sight, and honestly, Addie was just waiting… hoping for some snow before her birthday… though the weather forecast wasn’t too optimistic.

Addie was lost her train of thought, however, when she heard a short buzz from her Nokia. Her eyes moving up from the book that she had supposedly been reading for the past hour (though honestly at this point she had just reread the same three paragraphs over and over again, retaining none of what was written). Looking at the device, she found a small message from Blue Royalty, and the instant she had received the notice, Addie heard a doorbell. With a sigh, she walked over to the door knowing exactly what to expect: outside the door was a letter from the famed game that she was regretting joining. Why Addie had joined… well… for the fun of it but she didn’t realize how bloody manipulative it was. Thankfully her tasks hadn’t been too bad, but the ones she didn’t like she just opted out of. Unlike most other students, Addie had actually read the 100-page waiver the school made her sign to participate in the game. What did she learn about the game?

1. You have to bloody sign most of your rights away at the beginning, whether you’re playing or not. Either way, non-participants can still be involved and participants are not allowed to utilize any help during said “tasks”. Any reveal of the game to outside sources can result in the game suing you for breach of contract charges. Oops… Addie had already broken that rule. Honestly, she wasn’t too keen on hiding things from her boyfriend and usually ended up telling him about the game and she had even told her brother in the past.
2. Even if you’re participating in the game, you have the choice to not finish the task - something Addie used more than once. If there was one thing Adelaide would never do, it was hurt people she cared about. So, she often avoided tasks involving her friends. The one she did partake in involved bringing these two kids in her Chemistry class together - but they already had an obvious crush on each other and Addie thought that was adorable.
3. Five winners of the game would receive the title of “blue royalty” and have the ability to gain connections that would allow them any path of life they wanted. And… maybe this was the only part that interested her. Maybe… maybe this game could possibly help Addie connect with a female politician… get help on how to change the Monarchial system in England to allow girls the chance to join the house of lords.

Oh… and the note… Right… what was on the note?

Merry (early) Christmas and Happy (early) Birthday Adelaide,
We hope you didn’t think you could have a break from us. Blue Royalty is just getting started. This is your notice to keep an eye out for our next message over the next few days for your tasks. Completion of these tasks will be time-sensitive, and we hope you don’t dally when you get them. Reminder, you’re currently sitting at 6th place. Maybe with your cooperation, you’ll be in the top five. Good luck.
-Yours Truly, Blue Royalty

Time-sensitive? That was… well… mostly a new one. Usually, they’d give Addie the span of a party or event to complete the task so she couldn’t help but wonder how this was different. Either way, Addie didn’t have time to contemplate this question when she heard the door unlocking. There was an instant grin on her lips when she heard the door open, and without a second thought about the letter, Addie dropped it before going over to the door and wrapping her arms around her boyfriend before he could even fully get in. “You really bloody had to be gone all day?” she whispered, finding his lips on her own soon and easing into his touch. It was a while before he pulled away, though keeping her body near his as he looked into her eyes “I’m sorry Addie,” he whispered, bringing goosebumps on her skin, “but…” he added, finally letting her go to walk back outside and pick up a gift box. “I needed time to get your gift.”

Addie gave him a skeptical look, shaking her head with a soft laugh before pointing under the tree which was surrounded by gifts the two had bought each other and those her friends had bought for her and Leo. “Love, I think we bought enough presents you didn’t need to buy another Christmas gif…”

“This one isn’t for Christmas though, Addie… it’s actually for your birthday which according to my watch is… right about…”

Addie found her eyes widening at his words. Adelaide hadn’t told the man it was her birthday… part just didn’t want to make it a big deal about the day. She just wanted to spend it with those she loved which included him and her brother. Though, she found him looking at his watch and then smiling after a few seconds, “…now” . Addie looked back up at him before turning to the clock in his condo and finding that it was midnight. In her distraction of decorating, reading, and thinking - an hour had passed by and her birthday had arrived.

There was a feeling of warmth that overcame her as she wrapped her arms around him for the second time. Yes, love. No one could tell her differently that that was what she felt for the man. Adelaide hadn’t even looked in the box when she heard a little yelp from it - causing her to pull away and give the man a surprised look. He simply nodded towards the gift, and after a second, Addie pulled the top off to find the cutest little furry animal looking back at her. “Oh my…” she whispered, pulling the puppy out and holding the girl in her hands as she immediately started licking Addie. “Well hello to you too,” Addie whispered at the precious little puppy in her hands.

“What are you going to name her?”

It was a question Leo asked her after a few minutes of simply playing on the ground with the puppy. “She… looks like a Holly,” Addie grinned, picking the puppy up again and walking over to where Leo was standing - currently munching on a gingerbread. “You know I love you right? Merry Christmas Eve, my love,”

While this was only the start of the day for the two of them, it was a good start in Addie’s mind. Putting the puppy down, she grabbed Leo’s hand and led him out to the patio and as they often did. Laying her head on his shoulder, Addie found herself whispering “I wish this moment would never end,” though it was one that simply became better as a snowflake fell. “Leo…” Addie added with a sense of excitement. She didn’t say anything else, rather, immediately pulled him back inside - picking her puppy up as she ran to the elevator with him. The moment they were back to the lobby, she raced outside, standing under the night sky with her tongue out. Could this day… get any better?

Little did she know that nothing could stay perfect for too long, even if it was the perfect start to her birthday.

@Littlefeets - Part 1 of 2

[astxrism]

{ Long flight with Zoe | 2048 }

---

”Nooo. You have to start from the very beginning,” his sixteen-year-old daughter laughing and shaking her head was on a flight to Los Angeles and her first big audition. Who would’ve thought this girl would want to be an actress? Many people probably… yes. She made that pretty clear. And would you be surprised if I told you Dorian was right there next to, slouched in the seat? You wouldn’t, but no, he wasn’t there just because of that, he was going to visit his old teammate… That didn’t mean Zoe was not that same old little daddy’s girl she used to be. She was, and she loved this very moment they were sharing on that long flight. A movie was playing in front of them, one of those old rom coms Zoe adores but they were both ignoring it. ”You know that part, your mom loved to tell you stories and you all loved them. I’m sure how we met was one of them,” and it was. Zoe does remember stories her mom used to tell her and her siblings and she always loved hearing about her parents’ adventures when they were younger but Dorian was never good with that. Stories were not his thing. ”Fiiiine, fine, but then tell me about mom aaaand everything she never told me,” and now that they were alone and had so much time to waste, Zoe wanted to hear more about the relationship of her parents she always adored. All the details of ending up with five siblings… Just a result of being surrounded with so much love growing up. ”I’m sure she told you everything you need to know,” Dorian looked at his daughter, trying to hide his playful smile. She was resting on her side, with her old teddy she got from her dad in her hands, staring up at him with a forced frown. That teddy was still one of her favorite belongings especially on days like this - flights that made her nervous, audition that will soon make her more nervous. A little piece of childhood that would always comfort her. ”Come on daddy, I’m not little anymore. I want your side of those stories and I’m sure she hasn’t told me everyyything.”

”Then ask me whatever you want to know,” Dorian answered after some time of simply looking at Zoe, crossing his arms and making himself more comfortable. It was a matter of time before she demanded to know everything and with three hours of their flight left, what else were they supposed to do? It’s not like Dorian never wanted to talk about this with his kids. ”How did you fall in love with her?” ”How did I-” a loud chuckle escaped his lips, seeing his daughter rolling her eyes at that. But really…. how, when did that happen? ”I always loved your mom, and you can’t tell her this - I thought she was the prettiest girl I know. But she didn’t deserve to find that out after everything she put me through like that time she dyed my hair… You know how she was so proud of that, plus she was my best friend.” ”You can be in love with your best friend,” Zoe’s statement made Dorian look back at her with a raised, questioning brow. A moment of silence between them. ”Do you-” ”This is not about me!! You didn’t answer my question!” The look Dorian had was replaced with a smile that said fine. ”I didn’t really understand what I was feeling then…” ”Mom said you had a girlfriend then,” ”Did she also tell you how she kissed me while we were both in different relationships?” ”Wh-NO.” Zoe shocked expression mixed with entertainment discovering this little piece of her parents’ past made Dorian start laughing, shaking his head as he thought back to that day.

Flashback

A simple day Dorian thought would never end with him going to a college party and ending up making out with his best friend. How could they just say no to that invitation? How could Dorian ever say no to doing something with Jessica? It was not possible, no matter how much he hated some of her ideas and things she would make him do… there was really nothing else he’d rather be doing, nothing that would make him happier. So here they were, finishing their game of strip poker when someone mentioned 7 minutes in heaven. ”We are not doing that,” leaning in closer to Jess, he whispered with his hand casually placed on her back. Strip poker was one thing but this… it was a fun game, that he couldn’t deny and since they were both a bit tipsy it shouldn’t really be that big of a problem, but he knew they were both in relationships and they shouldn’t be doing this. Before he could add anything else, and drag her away from this group of people or let’s call them their new friends, they were already dragged into the game. This was a moment when Dorian wished Lyonrad would show up… he said he might drop by later and if he did, that would probably get them both out of this situation… But why was it so important to Dorian for this not to happen? A bad feeling maybe? Not wanting to be stuck with a random girl while he had a girlfriend. Not wanting to watch hi-… Not wanting to watch his best friend spend 7 minutes with some stranger… when he had to watch her every day with Lyonrad. No… it was not that, that was silly. He respected her relationship and was… happy for her?

But nothing was stopping them and soon he found himself in a closet with Jessica. His friend he had absolutely no feelings for. He couldn’t. It was just not possible, right? Silly thoughts. Unlike Jessica, Dorian was too sober for this situation so the only thing he could say was, ”We’re not doing this.” He even laughed at how ridiculous this was until he heard her say that rules are rules. Unaware that what was about to happen will be all he’ll crave in her future. His best friend’s arms around him, her lips on his. At first he froze, feeling her arms around his neck, pulling him down but then he let that innocent kiss turn into something more. He let himself enjoy that moment, confused with how that was making him feel. Not knowing that this was what had to happen for him to realize that he was in love with his best friend. That he always was. That same confusion making him let her believe that those marks she had on her neck the next day came from her boyfriend, and not him.

End of flashback

”Why didn’t you tell her what happened?” Looking as if she heard the juiciest secret, Zoe almost yelled at her dad. She enjoyed this story, enjoyed this conversation she was having with him and now there was nothing that could draw her attention away from that, Dorian was well aware of that. ”I didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t really the best situation and seeing she was pretending not to rem-” ”She was pretending? And you knew that?” ”No… I found out four years later,” that was the moment when his smile faltered, remember everything that happened in those four years. That… wasn’t something he was willing to speak about with his kids. It meant he’d have to talk about his actions and the way he was towards their mom but that… that was something he was ashamed of. He didn’t want his kids to look at him a different way but it was a big part of their lives. His relationship with his wife. So at least he had to mention it. ”After that your mom left town without saying anything to anyone… I haven’t seen her in four years after that and it’s not a secret I wasn’t mad at her. I guess just felt betrayed and hurt… she was the only person making me happy and she left me like that. But she had her reasons. She had good reasons and you can’t blame her for that. You know your mom loves family more than anything and she needed to help your aunt. That’s one of many things I love about her. She would do anything for them and you, all of us. You know… you’re lucky to have such a wonderful mom,” a soft smile appeared on his lips, shifting his gaze to the tiny window and letting the silence take over for a moment.

”Before I realized I was a complete assh0le there were a few times I was stuck with her against my will. We almost spent the night in a cell because of your mom, she also jumped out of my car when I wanted to take her home one night… no, she actually crawled out of the window and it was pouring outside-” ”SLOW down. You two went to jail together? When- how did that happen?” Back then, he hated that day… hated thinking about it and remembering how he was feeling in that cell with his cousin and Mikel. A mole in that happy group. But now… when everything was perfectly fine, that only made him laugh. ”We had a family dinner and of course Jess had to be there because, as you know, she was family… Your grandma made me drive her home but we ended up being pulled over because I was driving too fast and your mom got into a fight with that cop… That’s the story.” ”Should I be surprised mom did that?” Laughing with her dad, Zoe was now resting her head on his shoulder. ”We both know an answer to that question… That other thing I mentioned- your mom was unfortunately drunk and I ended up getting the call to pick her up from a bar. And… no matter how mad I was I could never let anything happen to her. You don’t do that to people you love and I never stopped loving her. It’s hard dealing with that emotion when you still feel so hurt… but I once again ended up driving her home when she decided to crawl out of the window of my moving car and just lay on the grass.” ”What did you do?” ”I joined her. That was the night we kissed for the second time and once again pretended like it never happened- no,noo, I think she was actually ignoring me.” ”Was mom mean to you then?” ”No, she never was. She tried her best but… you would’ve hated me if you knew me back then.” It’s a funny thing but he was the type of a guy he didn’t want his daughters being around. He didn’t like his daughters being around guys in general but that’s not something he could control… The only thing he could do is act as if he was this overprotective, tough guy whenever they would bring someone home. ”I haven’t talked to her at all before our camping trip. That’s when we-” Clearing his throat, Dorian shifted in his seat trying to avoid that conversation even if Zoe would’ve loved to hear all about their time in the lake. She wouldn’t care that it was weird hearing her parents’ sex story. It’s a normal thing… ”We forgave each other and were slowly going back to the place we were once at.” ”But you weren’t dating?” Zoe straightened up, noticing her dad was not saying something but she was too busy trying to grasp this mess of a story to ask him what he wasn’t telling her.

”No. That happened when we were about to finish high school.” Now smiling again, the memories of those first times he could let himself feel love for her again came back to him. There was a whole part of their relationship he skipped - Kai, Jess getting stabbed after disappearing again… After that man treated her so badly. If you were still confused with why Dorian hated Kai - that was why. That night Jessica came to him crying and then disappearing. Getting stabbed when she came back. Everything could’ve been avoided but that’s not a story for their kids. At least Dorian would never give them that “satisfaction” of knowing the name of a man who hurt their mom. ”She was in the hospital because she got hurt-” ”What happe-” ”She just broke her leg, nothing bad. And I finally asked her on our very first, official date and… It was the worst date of my life,” just like everything else, it wasn’t funny back then but now it is. And seeing his daughter looking at him with eyes full of curiosity, he continued. ”The whole universe was working against me that day, I swear. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, gone wrong. And the fact that your mom couldn’t walk only made it worse.” ”What did you do?”

Flashback

Do you know when was the last time Dorian actually planned a date? Actually cared about it? That never happened until now. And he has never felt so nervous… It shouldn’t really be a big deal, Jess was his friend and they’ve done a lot of things together and this shouldn’t be any different… But it was. It was a date. A fcking date. ”Hi,” leaning against the door frame, a smile appeared on his lips the moment he met her eyes. “So I see you have no food in your hand which is an automatic strike in the bad dates column,” But that smile for a second faltered as he rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed to give his friend a hug. ”Since when do you care about food?” An attempt to joke hoping that their little banters would make him less nervous, but there was another thing that distracted him from that - them bumping their heads. That happens… it’s nothing. It’s funny. Haha. If nothing, it gave them something to joke about. ”Wait, you… still can’t walk,” trying to hide his cheeky smile, Dorian pointed at the wheelchair. ”That changes my plans….” Her reaction, throwing her tongue out at him made him finally chuckle to himself as he stood up, holding his hands out for her. ”Come on now, before I change my mind about this,” his stupid smile softened the moment Jessica was up on her feet and so close to him, a second of him just looking down at her. After so many years, things were finally going back to the way they were. And were even getting better. He wanted this to be perfect. This had to be perfect.

This was not perfect.
He just had to get het wheelchairs stuck and struggle with it for a couple of minutes, refusing to ask for help literally anyone around him. Got mad when someone helped them because that was supposed to be him and was now standing in front of his car, trying to fix it because it. Wouldn’t. Start. Why was that happening? Fck if he knew that. Was this the universe trying to tell him “nah, you were awful, you don’t deserve her”? Probably. All signs were pointing to that. “Everything okay?” Dorian heard Jess’s voice, taking in a deep breath before answering. ”Yeah… Kind of. Don’t worry,” don’t worry… Nothing was fine. He cursed to himself so many times while trying to figure out what was wrong with his car but in the end he couldn’t. The only thing he could really do is call someone for help and that resulting in the waiting for an hour for someone to show up. So now that he could finally drive again everything was supposed to be good again…. No. It was only getting worse and worse. And Jessica talking about anything that came to her mind surely didn’t help because Dorian was p!ssed. He had this cute plan of getting food from different place and taking her to their spot but either the restaurants didn’t have that or Dori and Jess would get the wrong order. If the next place they go to doesn’t have the food they want he’ll- “Hey… it’s okay love,” a simple touch of her hand calming him down just a little bit. An attempt to smile at her and believe in her words. How can this be okay? It was a disaster.

Remember the universe hating him thought? Yeah, now he was 100% sure of it. Once they finally arrived to their spot at the lake, Dorian was in the middle of carrying Jess to the blanket he set before it flew away. His attempt of catching it was a big failure so the two of them ended up sitting on the grass once he got the food out of the car. It was not that bad… it was just a blanket. Sure, he was annoyed but after his car not working and the mess with the food, this was nothing… Deep down he was stressed because of this whole situation and as much as he wanted to just let it go and enjoy this very moment, it was hard. He couldn’t lie. And he knew his bad mood was only making it worse because once again Jessica was the only one talking, trying to save this date. Which… helped. As a kid he’d get annoyed every time she’d open her mouth because it meant he was in for stupid, irrelevant comments but now, now he could listen to her talking about anything. It did calm him down - her little jokes, stories of her life in London followed by a slap when he’d try to steal her fries. And that was it… This is what their date was supposed to be like. He’d lean back, plopping himself up on his elbows and with a sweet smile just look at her. Listen. Let those old, pushed-down feelings free. ”I’m happy we’re here,” Dorian quietly started, his features soft. There were so many things he could’ve said, wanted to say but before he got a chance out of nowhere it started to rain. No. It started to pour… once again there was something ruining this day. Ruining their food. The whole mood. And being the last straw.

Dorian immediately straighten up, his hands now covering his face as if that was somehow supposed to help with the anger he was feeling. Like that would stop him from exploding… It did not. Almost yelling, ”You have to be fcking kidding me,” Dorian got up kicking the ground. Walking away from Jess and cursing to himself. Why did everything have to go this way? Wasn’t one thing enough? Could he not do something nice for once and be a sweet guy? Could he not be happy for one day? Felling Jess’s arms around him, he let out a breath, closing his eyes. ”This was supposed to be perfect… it just,” felling her hands on the sides of his face, he opened his eyes to look at her, a mix of sadness and frustration visible in them. Up until now he didn’t even think about how she got there to him, possibly struggled since she still had trouble walking, so he immediately wrapped his arms around her for support while listening to her talking about how it didn’t have to be perfect and other excuses. ”This was awf-” But before he could finish what he started, Jess asked for his phone and once she got it, she played a song and asked him to dance. At this point he was tired of everything… too tired to protest or question what she was doing so he simply held her tightly against him. They simply moved in the rain and he just listened to her like he’s been doing this whole day. A comment that he got better at this finally making him weakly smile. ”I worked hard, thank you,” jokingly adding, his voice quiet, Dorian gently kissed her cheek before the blanket that betrayed him brushed against his leg. It was soaked but so were they, so he laid it out and that’s how their date ended. With them sitting again next to each other and this time doing something more than just talking.

End of flashback

* * *

Standing outside waiting for Dorian’s old friend to pick them up and drive them to a hotel, Zoe now knew almost the whole story of her parents. After telling her about the date, Dorian told her about everything that happened after - their breakup, his lost chance to propose, different partners, and then their first baby, Shay. ”What if she ended up marrying that guy?” Confusion washed over his face, looking at his daughter and at first not understanding what she was trying to ask. It’s been an hour of them not talking about it but here she was, starting the conversation again. ”Trevor? Well, then you wouldn’t be here now, would you?” Laughing, Dorian shook his head, taking out his phone to check the time or see if he had a missed call from his friend only to be met with Zoe’s serious expression once he looked up again. ”That’s not what I’m asking… Would you-” ”Would I try to ruin her marriage?” Zoe stayed silent, just looking at her father. Yes, that was her question but she meant to ask him in a nicer way. ”I made a lot of mistakes, and letting your mom walk away from me that first time was the biggest one.” Holding onto the suitcase as he turned to face Zoe, now he was the serious one. ”But if I saw that she was happy with him… I would never take that away from her… Would I be selfish enough to hope that it doesn’t work out between them? Yes, I believe I would always only want her.” ”You better. I quite like being alive,” a little mischievous smile appeared on her lips and following her gaze, Dorian noticed a car stopping right next to them and his friend coming out of it.

[Littlefeets]

Jezebel Mallory Parker

It had honestly been a whirlwind couple of months, and Jezebel had found a happiness unlike she had felt in so many years, all because of one person. Jordan Williams, her first love, and really her only love. What she felt for Jordan was nothing like she had ever felt for anyone else. Nobody else had ever been able to compare to the man who had her heart since their first date, the man who could always make her feel at ease. So much had happened and changed over the years, but one thing that had stayed the same was how Jordan made her feel. They both grew up, lived their own lives apart from each other, raised children, even spent years not talking to each other, but he still was the person who could make her feel like the worries of the world didn’t matter, with only a simple smile. He was still the person who she always wanted to be her forever. Even since they were just young teens, Jezebel knew she wanted to spend her life with him, to marry him, and have a family with him. Now it seemed that after so many years that dream she had long thought was lost, was finally coming true. Jordan, the man she loved, father of her child, her fiancé.

19 years, for half of her life now, Jezebel had been a mother. A mother to a daughter that truly meant the world to her, and in some ways it was them against the world. Mother and daughter, they had each other. Of course, there was the rest of the Parker family, but since that day a 19 year old Jezebel found out she was pregnant, her daughter had been her entire world. There were so many things Jezebel knew she could have, or even should have done differently in raising Laurel. So many things Jezebel wished she would have known then. Now, now things were different. Everything was different. Jezebel wasn’t that kid she was in high school with no idea where she fit in life. She was a grown woman with a close support system, a career, experience, and someone she loved so, so much. So what had been the concern Jezebel had on her mind, oh yes, how to tell her 19 year old daughter that she was going to be a sister. Jezebel was pregnant, so she would be having another child, almost 20 years apart, which was terrifying in itself, but there’s only so much time to tell people before they start to figure out what’s going on. Of course, the first person she told was the person who most deserved to know, Jordan. She wasn’t going to make the mistake of not telling him right away like she had once, a lifetime it seemed earlier. Then came the reveal to most of her own family, and telling Laurel herself. Since the day she told her, Laurel had been… distant. Jezebel understood that it was a lot to ask of her to handle and process, even without the news that she was getting married, but if there was ever a time Jezebel wished for the closeness that had been between them when Laurel was just a young child, it was now.

Despite the distance between her and Laurel, Jezebel was happy. There was a side of her that was terrified and worried about all the ways things could go wrong, but there was that other side that was just happy, hopeful, that side that Jordan brought out more of in her. So when Jordan came walking over towards her while she was with the dog, she couldn’t help but smile, simply feeling so much more at ease with his presence. Even since they were young, from the moment she started to first get to know him, all it took was a look from him to feel like everything would be alright. Although he asked her how she was feeling, she didn’t even get the chance to answer him when the doorbell rang. Though, at the door, was someone who had not been invited. More like the opposite, as Jezebel explicitly told her brother not to come, but there was Daniel Parker, uninvited and bringing popcorn. Not cool Daniel, even if Jezebel couldn’t deny that she wanted some of said popcorn. Was it the time and place for it, no, but the small human inside of her said otherwise, so what could she really do? Delicious popcorn aside, Dan being there certainly wasn’t a help, but he wasn’t going anywhere as Laurel came with him and Jordan’s kids were right behind them.

Despite one of Jordan’s kids, Annie, not being there yet, they sat at the table and it was actually going well for the most part. Laurel sat next to her, but stayed focused on her phone, doing who knows what, hacking, texting, simply playing a game, Jezebel wasn’t sure. Then there was Jordan’s daughter, Kyra, sitting across from Jezebel, asking questions about being CEO, which were questions Jezebel was happy to answer. Jezebel was glad to be having a conversation, a normal conversation with one of Jordan’s kids. Before long, Annie did arrive, which also brought a clear shift in the mood, but that was only the beginning. With her hand with Jordan’s, he began to make the announcement of that they were getting married, an announcement which not everyone took well… Laurel clicked her phone off, looking up from it for the first time since she got there, surprised by the announcement. Then there was Annie, with an outburst, much like Dan must have been hoping for, including bringing up how Jezebel was pregnant, having found out not even from Jordan. There was a part of Jezebel that wanted to say something to Annie, tell her how she wasn’t trying to cause more problems and be part of replacing anyone, but what could she even say. She was Jordan’s daughter, and the most she could do was keep ahold of Jordan’s hand, looking at him before looking to her own daughter, who was about to get up from the table herself. “Laurel…”

@benitz786 - Jordan & Dan
@novella - Annie

[unsungcheerio]

“Cherry Chapstick” - 2036

Today was a bad day for her father. Though that didn’t say much, as his supposed “good” days were beginning to look a lot worse than they had several years ago. Which. Was how Alzheimer’s worked, she knew, but reading articles and listening to doctors was totally different from having to watch the disease’s progression.

It was hard for Daiane to picture the man he used to be. The surgeon, completely calm and composed, his motions steady and purposeful to the seething old man in front of her now, red in the face and raging at the poor nurse for something she did. Well not her exactly, but the her that he was perceiving her as. A stranger, maybe. It didn’t really matter.

Her mother was working and therefore wasn’t there to de-escalate, so Daiane was walking further into the living room, attempting to gather the little energy she had left to deal with another one of the many problems that had erupted over the course of today.

Her face remembered its practiced smile, and her expression transformed with ease, her mouth curving upward in its ever-positive, placating smile. “Daddy?”

His angry eyes turned on her, but she saw the softening as they landed on her, the way his face relaxed almost immediately and for a second she thought that maybe he was seeing her—

“Aline?”

—And her hopes came crashing down. Not Daiane. Never Daiane. She paused, looking to the ground for a moment before she was back again, smiling and walking toward him with purpose. “That’s right, Papi, it’s me.”

He was calming already, his confusion extinguished by the comforting familiarity of his daughter—they weren’t even blood-related but she was the one he always remembered, while memories of Daiane barely even dented his consciousness. She would never understand why it was fair for her to have been totally robbed of a relationship with her own father, being forced to play the role of someone who wasn’t even his in the way that she was. … It’s not that she resented her dead sister—if anything, Daiane resented being born so late in her father’s life. It was… a different kind of pain to have to watch Alzheimer’s age him. Knowing that she was slowly watching him die. And that she couldn’t do anything about it.

She could do something about this, at least, and it was in these small moments that she took her comfort. Daiane extinguished the growing flames between her dad and the nurse, Laura, dismissing her for the night and getting him ready for bed herself. Playing the role of her eldest sister came somewhat naturally to her now, after all of these years, but it was a different kind of exhausting. Daiane was the one helping him bathe, helping him put on his pajamas, tucking him into his bed like she was the parent—Aline wasn’t doing any of that. But if he remembered these moments, he would remember it being her, even though she’d been dead for over a decade.

Walking into her own room, Daiane softly closed the door behind her, resting her hand on the doorknob for a couple of moments longer than necessary. She exhaled, a chill passing over her body as she felt her defences loosen, the smile falling off her face. At least here, in her room, there was no one she needed to pretend to anymore.

She wasn’t tired, not really, but she went through the motions of getting ready for bed anyway: washing up, taking out her contacts, and tying up her hair. Dai pulled on an oversized band shirt and a pair of shorts—it may be December, but that didn’t stop Dai from always feeling hot beneath her blankets—and was about to turn on some movie to watch via her laptop before her phone rang with a text from Hera.

A smile sprung to her lips.

The gorgeous Hera Zhou. From the moment Dai met her, she’d found it hard to get her off of her mind—and even now, the simple sight of her name, created an army of anxious butterflies to seek refuge in her stomach. Hera could just see her, could see beyond her layers of positivity in a way that not many other people did. It was new and scary and… thrilling.

Her Mami saw Hera’s thrillingness as a threat to Daiane; she thought the girl was damaged goods, someone who had seen too much and been through too much to ever be anything but a bad influence to her youngest. This assessment had been made over the span of a visit, and afterward, she had made it clear to Daiane that she didn’t want her dating Hera.

Usually, Daiane was agreeable, liking to just go along without question, but this was different. She hadn’t even given Hera a chance. If she had, she would’ve seen what Daiane did—the girl was something special.

From: Hera

Hey.
Look outside your window

As she read the text, her brows furrowed. Daiane tapped out a triplet of question marks to express her confusion before she headed over to her window, where she looked out to see Hera, illuminated by the moonlight. Her jaw fell open in surprise, the butterflies making their presence known once again. She fumbled with the window lock, pulling it open with much less grace than she would’ve preferred, but she wasn’t exactly a pinnacle of grace otherwise, being dressed for sleep. “Hera?” She whispered, her voice coated in surprise. The cold air blew into her room, inciting a shiver from Daiane, but despite her body’s reaction, she didn’t feel any more cold.

“What are you doing here?” The smile easily curved her lips, even as she tried to suppress the extent of her happiness. “It’s late,” Daiane said dumbly. “And- you know I’m not really supposed to see you anymore 'cause my mom doesn’t… doesn’treallylikeyou.” Even as she said this though, she could feel her heart pushing against the barriers her mother had tried to impose on her. And anyway… “But she’s not here right now.” It was meant to be a thought that remained in her head, hence its relatively low volume, but she’d accidentally spoken it aloud, and the words hung in the space between them. Her cheeks burned in a mix of embarrassment and longing, and she looked down, suddenly finding the structure of the window to be deeply fascinating.

@raviola don’t respond fast ok

[benitz786]

Back to the Future… and Back to the Past - November 2039

Play Sweater Weather

How did Daniel Parker become… well… Daniel Parker: renowned hacker extraordinaire, tech trillionaire, and, of course, extremely good looking? Well, can’t promise there’s a cheat code to the last item on that list. But the other two? Easy. Have a fcking traumatic experience when you’re a kid. Yep, it was really that simple. Oh… also a high IQ, guess it’s not that easy after all, but for Daniel Parker who dreamt of vengeance for his sister one day, it was a piece of cake. The memory of the night his sister was taken haunted his childhood… it was the reason he moved to Beryl to get away from those very memories… those… nightmares. Maybe Dan didn’t show it… but he was just as fcked up as the rest of his family. Who would have every thought huh? It was the reason Jessica followed him… Hell, it was the reason Daniel Parker became “Daniel Parker.” Let’s be honest, if his sister was never taken, there may be a very different man who held his name…. but… that wouldn’t be very fun, would it? I mean… where would everyone be without Daniel Parker? Where would poor Dorian be without his arch nemesis? Probably not with Jessica because let’s be honest, it was because of Dan that they even met in the first place. Either way – this was it: Daniel fcking Parker. Correction The Handsome, Daniel fckign Parker.

Back to his sister now, Charlotte Parker. A girl who was a mere 5 years younger than him – a girl who was only one when she was stolen out of her nursery when Dan really should have been in her place. From the age of 13 to 21, Daniel looked for her… tried to find any trace that she was alive… any trace that could allow him to find his sister’s remains so that he could finally get a sense of closure. Here’s the problem though, for an incident that happened when he was a child – it was bloody hard to find an electronic trace. Daniel had searched the bank account number that the kidnappers had given his father to deposit millions of dollars into – all he found was an endless number of pings that lead all over the world. The money his dad sent had, indeed, disappeared. It was all just… dead ends and there was nothing for Dan to do anymore. This was the only case in Daniel’s 37 years of life that he could never fcking solve and… maybe after a while, he had given up. He had rather put his time into cases he could solve… saving other kidnapped girls… protecting girls from rape, murder, and pain that he could never do for his sister. Over the years Daniel had created tech that had saved millions – his face recognition software being better than anything any agency had ever seen in the world. Daniel had also funded the instillation of more security cameras all over the world to prevent this… this place Dan was stuck at. So yes, maybe Daniel Parker did blow his money on creating useless underground hideaways and maybe interviewers called him as eccentric, a waste of space, blah blah whatever else. However, he always did everything he could in his power to give back to those who needed it the most. When it mattered – Dan was there, at the forefront of the issue. While he was doing this, his sister became a simple thought in the back of his mind: one that he never forgot about… that he couldn’t forget about… but one that he simply pushed away.

Well.

Until today.

Play Feeling Myself

“Hello losers, it is me, your almighty king god gracing you today with his presence”

There was a sense of pizzaz in Daniel’s voice as he entered a board meeting for his company for the first time in… two… years? Yeah, that sounds about right, two years. Honestly, the Co-CEO title was just a name. Jezebel did 99% of the work and really had a hold of most of the company’s innnerworkings and Dan was just there if things became critical or he had an invention he was willing to share. Want to guess what today was? In the room were about 20 people Daniel had honestly never met before. Wait… scratch that. That’s annoying dude number 1 on the left with the awful green sweater – he was the one that always called Dan if something techy wasn’t working, in other words, the company idiot… Jez said he was head of technology and innovation but Dan honestly didn’t belive her. A few seats down there was annoying gal number two … who did something in HR? She was always the one who told Dan he needed to host a “conference” and say sorry for something he had said… in other words, the girl Dan ignored. Oh and there was Emmy who was shaking her head at her dear cousin… chill kid. While Daniel hadn’t met most of these people, a few familiar faces did stand out – specifically Jezebel, his dad, and, of course, Emmy who all look highly disappointed at his entrance. “Hey fam, how’s it going? Whatcha talking about? Let me guess? New phone? Please don’t tell me that the best the tech department could come up with was increasing the size, and changing the colors?”

As Daniel spoke, he ignored… well… everyone else (including Jezebel who was saying something but Danny heard NONE of it). “You don’t mind if I?” Dan asked the boy presenting to the team with a sh*t ton of infographics in the front of the room and a nervous shake about him as he moved aside for Dan. Though nothing mattered as Daniel took over the presentation, plugging his flash drive in so that the board could understand his genius. On the screen, in BIG letters was BACK TO THE FUTURE – and it was words that he really let the rest of the room take in before speaking. Yes… Dan could see the young idiots who had never seen the movie… god damn the new generation…he could also see Jez putting her head in her hands “Anyways, about a month ago little Peter wanted to watch a time travel movie and like the good dad I am, I took him to watch the fcking epic ‘Back to the Future’ franchise. Long story short, kid travels back in time, then forward in time, them super back in time. Anyways, Peter loved it, what a champ. But what I also realized is that no one in the fcking world has figured the flying car yet. Flying hoverboard? Yes. Robots who feed you at franchises like Mcfcking Donalds? Yes. (please don’t tell Jess he said that) But Flying cars? Nope that’s the one part of the movie that hasn’t come to life so I thought why not do it myself which is exactly why…” Dan started, clicking the screen so the next part of the PowerPoint would come on the screen “I did,”

On the screen was a video of Daniel getting into a highly teched-out car, explaining some of the changes he implemented, and then, after the click of a button, the car started hovering above the ground. “I’ve done various tests and found that once the wings come out, the car can achieve around 35 thousand feet in the air. I implemented the “green energy” thing from the movie, so it mostly runs on solar energy with a little boost from plutonium. Now I know what you’re going to say “BUT DANIEL THAT’S RADIOAC-“ Dan didn’t get a chance to finish his speech when he heard his phone ringing, and picking the device in his hand – no, not a “Parker” device, one he created for himself because why not – he found Jessica calling. Putting his finger up to essentially tell everyone else in the room to shut up, Dan pointed to his device without another word, answered right in the middle of the meeting. “Love, how are you? Oh Please don’t tell me this is a call to say you’re pregnant again… rather… pleasseee tell me that you’ve broken up with that idiot DeLoughrey… no… still married? Bummer.”

There was something about the tone of Jess’ voice that put him into higher alert than he usually was, but it was her sentiment of “I’m in Beryl, I need to talk to you and Jezebel right now,” that really caught his attention. She didn’t give him the chance to ask why before hanging up. Though, there was a ping that he got from her with the address to her hotel. “We’ll have to finish this meeting another time, Jez, I’m going to need you,” It wasn’t really a question as he grabbed his sister’s hand and pulled her out of the meeting, dragging her downstairs without truly an answer to anything. Most of the time she was just yelling at him for ruining the meeting and something about the plutonium, but Dan was too distracted ion what Jess needed to pay attention.

“Jez for the love of god, I’m sorry…ish. Okay not at all. Either way, get in the passenger seat and buckle up.”

---

Play Love Nwantiti

So… Daniel knew Jez didn’t like cars or driving. He did… truly… so… was it a bad idea to take her on a spin in his flying car that had never been tested on anyone but him? No… probably not. She looked absolutely petrified as Daniel lowered the car in the parking area of the hotel that Jess needed them at even though it was COMPLETELY… okay MOSTLY safe. “You have to admit, missing all that traffic was fu-“

Yeah, she slapped him and started yelling how he almost crashed into 5 buildings which he TOTALLY did not. Either way, Point taken. Oh well. Grabbing her hand for the second time, Daniel walked into the hotel and up to Jessica’s floor – his sister arguing the whole way. “Jess, thank bloody god. Save me.” Dan started the instant he walked into her room and saw her – a news story playing in the background about people “seeing” a flying car in the city. SeeE Jez should be grateful she got to be in that car instead of just witnessing it.

There was something else Daniel noticed in that moment. 1. Jess looked anxious which wasn’t normal for her and… 2. Akielah Azure was sitting on the couch with her. “Akielah… thoughts about my flying car?” Dan asked casually taking a seat next to the girl with a soft smile – not even asking why she was here. Over the years the girl had become a sort of… protégé of his. Azure or not, he had to admit, she was smart.

“Dan we can talk about that lat… your flying car? Really? Okay… whatever… never mind… thank you all for meeting me here on such short notice… the reason I wanted to see you… well… god how do I bloody say this… Daniel… a few years ago I decided to look into your sister’s disappearance. I know you gave up and…”

“Jess, don’t bring her up and spoil the mood it’s not worth it. Clear…”

“Oh for fcks sake. Dan, Akielah is Charlotte. Your… sister… and… your half sister Jezebel.”

Any joking smile that remained on Dan’s face disappeared for a brief second as he looked over at Akielah who held the same skeptical look he did. “You’re funny, Jessica. But I would really appreciate us moving past this joke now,” Dan stated. How could the girl be so damn inconsiderate. She knew how he felt about this subject an…

“Dan… Akielah. I’m… not lying. You two are siblings… and you always have been,”

@Littlefeets - Jezebel + Akeilah
@unsungcheerio - Danny boy
@CerealKiller - Peter
@astxrism - Dori the idiot

[Littlefeets]

Laurel Danielle Parker

How is a 19 year old supposed to react when her mother tells her that she’s pregnant? Please, if there’s a rule book out there, Laurel would like to see it. You live your whole childhood with your life a certain way, and just as you become a young adult everything starts to flip upside down, what are you supposed to do? First of all, there was a reason her mother had seemed off, she was pregnant. That was certainly a shock. Not once did it ever seem to Laurel like she would ever have a sibling, especially not on her mom’s side. On her dad’s side, fine, it wouldn’t be too far out of the realm of possibility in Laurel’s mind, but her mom? It was a complete shock. It wasn’t easy for her to process, but she could understand. It’s not like her mom had even been trying to get pregnant, she just did. Laurel knew that accidents happen, afterall she wasn’t exactly planned either. She just needed some space to deal with it and figure out how she felt about everything. What more could you really ask for? When Laurel found herself at the table with her mom, Dan, Jordan Williams, and his kids, she focused on her phone. She didn’t really want to be there, the idea of being around her mom in general still seemed weird, but there she was to hear the announcement that her own mother was getting married. For 19 years of her life, Laurel had watched her mom, seen her try to date, but nothing ever lasted, not with her dad, not with a guy she dated for a year when Laurel was little, not her first love, not anyone. She’d seen her mother try to put her heart out there, for what? To just end up right back at square one? She’d heard who Jordan was to her mother, that first love, that first heartbreak, someone she wasn’t around or even wanting to talk about for years, how was that reassuring that Laurel wouldn’t be left to pick up the pieces of her mother getting hurt. That being said, that new baby could change things. By Annie’s reaction, it was no secret that she was blindsided by the whole situation as well, even bringing up the baby and how it seemed like their parents were making their own replacement family, which Laurel could actually agree with. Laurel knew her mom, and knew it wasn’t intentional, but it sure felt like her mom was just getting a do over. This time she wouldn’t be the young single mom with her daughter, trying to make it through and do her best, she would be raising a kid in a stable family, knowing exactly what not to do. Its not that she didn’t appreciate her mom, had a bad childhood, or even blamed her mom, but that kid would get everything she didn’t have growing up, that perfect little ideal family she never had. Laurel was still struggling in processing the fact that she would be an older sister, but this was the icing on the cake.
“I just can’t right now.” Laurel said, shaking her head as she stood up. She looked at her mom who was trying to ease the situation between them. “I’m not dealing with this mom.”
“Laurel, please… can we just talk about this?”
“No mom, I don’t want to talk about it. Its not like anything I say would make a difference. You’re just starting over, and I just can’t just sit by and watch you try to do what you and dad didn’t even try.” Laurel slid her phone into her pocket, pushing her chair back in and turning to walk away, pausing only for a moment to give her mom a look that clearly said she didn’t want her to follow. Laurel just needed space and time. It was all just too much right now, and she just needed to get away.

@benitz786 - Jordan, Uncle Dan
@novella - Annie

[benitz786]

The “Something Old” - 2031 - Part 5.3

Aw okay this was kind of cute and adorable. Jessica was enchanted by her mother’s story, but it was also… really weird to know that her mother was doing tasks. Maybe Jess should flip back and read some of the tasks her mom had to do just to see what the hell was going on thirty years ago, but right now, Jess was invested in the current story. Winter… and her mom’s birthday was always a big deal in their household and Jess knew her mom loved everything about that holiday. Anna and Jess always believed that their mother could usually tell when it was going to snow, hours before it did. Adelaide always just had a feeling and usually, they were correct. But the other interesting thing was… well… Holly was Anna and Jess’ dog growing up. The puppy died when she was around 13, but Jess knew how much her mother loved that dog and Jess could see it killing her mother when Holly died. What Jess didn’t know was that her mother’s ex-boyfriend had gotten her the dog.

“Hey, you still awake?”

“Hey…” Jess whispered after pulling her eyes away from the journal, smiling as she saw her fiancé holding their sleepy baby in his hands - one who clearly missed her father by the way she tightly held on to his hand. “Yeah I’m a little attached to reading what happens next, just like Shay is clearly attached to you right now,” Jess put the book down as the man took a seat on the bed beside her, and immediately laid her head against him - kissing her daughter’s forehead and caressing her softly. “I want another one Dori,” Jess whispered, looking at her daughter lovingly. Jessica had never hidden the fact that she wanted a big family, though it was never something explicitly talked about with Dorian. “I do too,” There was a soft smile on her lips as she looked up towards her fiancé, bringing her lips to his for a second - until she found her daughter stirring, a soft cry leaving her lips at being awakened. “Shh my love, it’s okay,” Jess stared as Dori started bouncing her slightly to calm her down. “How about I read you a story?” Jess whispered - opening her mother’s journal again and starting where she left off.

“Hey, idiot, I love you,” Those were the very words I said to Leo the moment I woke up in his arms the morning of my birthday…

@astxrism - Dori
@Littlefeets - Leo

[Kristi]

---

“Yeah, long time, indeed.” he replied with a bright smile. Cynric loved to smile or well at least when he was around her, Ari noticed. He was usually an idiot around her, but an idiot Ari could accept. After all they were ‘friends’ again if she fully gave him the honor of that title. “Sorry, I’m sorry!” He lifted his hands up as if to lazily give in to the police. “Are you really?” Ari scoffed, crossing her hands. Sure she was technically the one who bumped into him but then again, did she care about the fact? Not a single bit. “Congratulations for the best reunion idea, Cynric.” Ari laughed, “I guess you’re still an idiot.” She teased.

“You’re looking beautiful as always.” Ari flipped her hair, “Of course I do, I wouldn’t be Ari if I didn’t look effortlessly beautiful every time.” She responded. Ari tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as Cynric kicked off the confetti into the side and cleaned the last of them off from his shirt. Ari wanted to ask what had happen, but then again did she want to know? “How are you? Anything you’re up to right now?” He asked. Ari hmmed, should she give him the privilege of deciding what they should do? yes because the narrator has no ideas “I was having a good day until a girl decided to ruin my mood. Like geez just because I told everyone the truth about you doesn’t mean you can ruin my day.” Ari rolled her eyes, “And i’m up for anything, what do you want to do?” Ari leaned closer to him, “Maybe make out?”

@Nil - Cynric

[Kbail]

The Prank: Summer of Junior year

It was a normal Saturday evening and Elijah was feeling groggy from staying up all night while watching television. It was one of those odd days where both of his parents were home. Unfortunately he didn’t have anything to do today so he just crashed on one of the living room’s sofas and flipped through the TV station. “Why isn’t anything ever on?” He mumbled while running his hand through his messy hair. All of a sudden, his phone went off and he had a feeling who it was. It was Gerald Mulliney Gerald was your typical preppy guy who was pretty much living the rich life and getting into trouble because he was bored. He was fun to hang out with when he had nothing to do.

“Hello?”

“Hey man, everyone’s at the park right now you should come.”

He rolled his eyes, wondering why he never had anything better to do. “Eh….Okay I’m coming.”

After leaving the house, He saw Gerald standing in the middle of the park laughing with a bunch of random guys that he usually goofed around with, and some new people Elijah had never seen. “Here we go.” He said to himself. His time out with Gerald on this particular day was surprisingly enjoyable. Usually Gerald was bossy and always wanted everything to go his way, but they did end up having fun with whatever he decided to do. On this particular day, they decided to annoy the neighbors and play childish games. “HEY COME BACK HERE!” The cashier yelled after them as they escaped the store, laughing. They all sat down at the park again and ate some snacks and Gerald spoke to him about something. “Hey, I think we should play a prank on someone from one of our schools.”

“How?” He really didn’t want any conflict with anyone but it sounded fun enough.

"I know pretty much where everyone lives. Don’t ask me how I just do.” Elijah really didn’t want to know how. It was probably something illegal.

“Well…who do you have in mind?”

“That kid Napoleon who goes to your school. I think he needs to loosen up a bit.”

“But how do you even know him?” They were truly on two different spectrums and Elijah didn’t know him that well either, they were just in the same classes. Plus, Napoleon already seemed to dislike him.

“I have a friend of a friend who knows him, and I met him through them.” He dismissively waved his hand in the air. “ Whatever it doesn’t matter.” With that he stood up and looked at the bag of items he had for pranks.

“This is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna put the whoopie cushions just outside his door, then we’re going to use this remote controlled rat so when she gets scared he has no choice but to step on them. It’s going to be so hilarious to hear the fart sounds every time he jumps around!” He burst out in a fit of laughter.

Elijah started laughing while imagining it. “That does sound hilarious. Whatever I’m in” With that, they got up to go to Napoleon’s house.

✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹✹

Gerald gently placed the fake rat on the doorstep as Elijah quietly placed the whoopie cushions on the first stair step. Then they went to the closest bush after knocking on the door. “Hey.” Gerald said, nudging his shoulder. “We were supposed to use these water balloons today for something else but I’m using them now.” He said with a grin. Elijah realized he must have had this Napoleon prank planned since the beginning. I mean, who has a bag of pranks for no reason.

To be continued @Caticorn - Napoleon

[astxrism]

{ School | One week after the wedding }

---

What a beautiful and not exciting morning. After the wedding there was really nothing fun happening, except his struggles with some personal problems that are catching up. A real definition of a not exciting morning. Maybe he shouldn’t be complaining about that, as long as there is nothing happening he has time to fix his life but at the same time, he’d probably handle everything better if there was something distracting him. Pick up. Cursing to himself, Zek was standing in the parking lot of the school, holding a cigarette as he tried to get ahold of his mother. For the 6th time. She’s just busy… that’s what we’re going to go with. She wants to talk to him and help but she’s just busy. Super busy. Super super busy and her phone died. Yeah, her phone is dead. She is too bush to charge her phone. Perfect. Locking the phone as his grip on it tightened, Zek finished the cig he was holding before throwing it down and putting it out with his foot.

Looking up once he was ready to continue his journey to hell school, Zek noticed a girl almost at the entrance of it. Oh she’s not getting away. ”Good morning, sunshine,“ Running to her to stop her from getting inside, Zek casually wrapped his arm around her shoulder, a friendly smile on his lips. Getting away from what? Well, this. Not waisting a second he pretended to point at something to the side of the school, gently turning her around and dragging her into that direction, away from their dear friends. ”Oh, look at that over there!“ Keeping his smile and positive attitude on that will soon disappear, Zek looked behind them before attempting to push her against the wall and that way get more privacy… It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. ”What’s wrong with you?“ And that’s when he started, visibly frustrated with the girl. For her own good… Look, he could understand that she had some troubles with her parents, especially with Jordan and he couldn’t judge her for that. But he could judge her for not going to her dad’s wedding. He was not afraid to call her out for that - he was never afraid of doing such things. How could she not go? One day she will regret that, or at least that’s what Ezekiel believed in. ”Sorry… What’s wrong with you?“ Realizing he was probably being a little too harsh, he lowered his voice, repeating the same question with a forced pout this time. ”Please tell me you were at that wedding and I somehow didn’t see you?“

---

@novella - Annie

[novella]

---

It was a week, and Instagram still hadn’t been cleansed of the many wedding-based posts, mainly on the newly-weds but still partially bringing up her and Sadie. F^ck that. She put her phone away as she began to make her way to the entrance of school, though was brought to a quick stop by Ezekiel Griffin who attempted to distract her in order to get her away to talk in private. Annie raised her eyebrows at her friend as her back hit the wall. “Woah, keep it in your pants, Zek, it’s, like 8am or somehing,” Though her eyebrows lowered again when it seemed Ezekiel wasn’t here for that. Or even a joke about that. Annie looked at him in confusion, she couldn’t remember distinctively when she could have p!ssed him off - what had she unknowingly done this time? “I mean, you might want to be specific, we could be here a while otherwise,” She told him while tilting her head as he vaguely asked what was wrong with her.

She sighed and looked away from him as his reasoning revealed itself. She did not need this. Not today, or preferably ever. What was it to him whether or not she went to her father’s wedding? “No, you would be correct, I wasn’t there,” Annie confirmed. “What reason would I have to go and see that happening?” She vaguely responded, as she knew it wouldn’t be hard for him to believe that she didn’t show up just for the sake of not showing up. However her reply clearly was not sufficient, as he continued to push for… what? Another answer? An apology? “Ezekiel, there’s no f^cking… deep reason behind that, I didn’t want to go, so I didn’t go, get off my back,” Annie snapped at him, her joking-nature coming to an abrupt end before turning back to the entrance. Sure, she was usually an easy-going person, but when necessary she will mercilessly push people away. But in this case, who was she protecting? Him from her or her from… literally everything.

---

@.astxrism Ezekiel Griffin

[raviola]

Cherry Chapstick

.,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,. 2036 ,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…

Hera smiled lovingly as she watched Ane’s currently dull, full lips moved. “Whatever you want me to do,” they replied, putting her hands into her pockets casually. It was a reference to Daiane’s introduction to her, fairly playful for what Hera usually goes for. Their flirting can be quite sexual most of the time, and to be fair, it still kinda was… as Hera gave Ane a look that said all the words they were thinking. However, Hera was not going to speak her mind just yet, for their potential was not to be wasted on a hit and run. Besides, Hera was still testing the waters with this one. Her heart, to them, was vast acres of unexplored territory.

Awwww, Ane thinks 9 is late. “Oh, so you want me to leave?” They teased, amused by how easily the girl had set herself up. They knew that she wanted her to stay. Call it intuition, or arrogance, she knew. Perhaps, it was trust… Nahhhhh. Trust was never a Hera thing. The only person Hera has ever allowed herself to rely on since their mother overdosed was herself. That was why they were so confident. There’s no one to look up to. However, there was no one worse than them either. Hera thought she sucked because they constantly gave into their addiction, not that it mattered much. No one cared what happened to her, so why should she?

You think maybe she’d try harder to make her mother proud, but no, she remembered too little about that person to know what she’d want from her. Plus, they highly doubted she was “watching from above” or down here on earth right next to her, or anywhere. She was too tired to believe in a god who disappointed her. There was no heaven, there was no hell. The only thing she could trust was the earth. As well as the moon above it.

Ane started to speak again now, her brown skin glowing a blue tint under the patch of open sky above them. Features soft, like a whispered prayer, words gently guiding the flame of the candle in your hands side to side. They pretended to be nonchalant about the view in front of her, twirling her hair around her finger, stopping abruptly as Ane finished her sentence, loosing her smile.

Hera was not suprised that Mrs Meyer didn’t like her. Somehow though, she was still disappointed. By now, she was used to people calling her a no good. No money, no manners, no good grades, no future. Yet, Daiane still found a way to be her friend. Or perhaps… more than that. She never acted on her desires, though. Shoutout everyone who has an opinion on Daiane. She always listens to them. And although it made her kind, Hera didn’t want her to get hurt.

“What do you want, Ane?” The street lamps shined on Hera, but now, all eyes were on Ane as the landscape came to life. It was a genuine question, which Hera tends to dislike asking because of her natural born politeness, but this one could not be avoided. Plus, she was okay with being honest here. Ane’s presence made talking less of a struggle. Hera has been with many women, so of course she knows how to talk to them, but when she’s with Ane, the words hold substance.

At last, the girl hinted at what she truly wanted, Hera smirk-smiling at the compliment. That’s what it was to them at least, figuring she had to be pretty special in order for Ane to second guess her parents. Then, the girl obeyed her light’s signal, taking heavy steps through the snow until she put her hands on the rough bark of the tree that stood just a few feet from Ane’s brick wall, propping one foot up and climbing swiftly from there to the top. Every branch was weak, and so Hera had to step quite delicately. The fragility of nature felt similar to the way Ane feels in her naked form. Figuratively, of course, knowing Ane she was probably waiting for the right person. A part of Hera hoped she’d be that person, the rest of her hoped she’d find someone better.

Carefully, they reached their hands onto Ane’s windowsill, from which she then began climb in, hitting her boots against the wall to get the snow off before entering. As her legs slipped into the threshold, Ane took a few steps back, startled by the fact that Hera was actually here. Seeing the look on her face, Hera chuckled shyly, heavy boots dropping onto the floor. The girl stood up, closing the window behind her so Ane wouldn’t be cold anymore.

“Nice place.” She observed confidently, leaning back one the wall, hands in her pockets. “No wonder your mom doesn’t want me in here messing it up.” She joked lightly. It’s not the room she needs to worry about Hera thought, staring up and down Ane’s body. The girl was wearing astoundingly short shorts, and a skin-tight shirt. It was hard for Hera to look away. For now, she wouldn’t say anything, though. Ane isn’t just that to her.

.,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…, @unsungcheerio…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,.

[astxrism]

---

Did Zek get the reaction he thought he would get? Of course. What else were you expecting? An actual explanation in a calm way? If he wasn’t so set on, what could only look like attacking Annie, he’d joke with her about keeping it in his pants. But it really wasn’t time for that… sadly. It really did look like that, didn’t it? Ah, that would’ve made his morning better… Anyway, if he expected her to defend herself then he shouldn’t really react to her answer, but no - Zek’s brows slightly furrowed, shaking his head in disbelief once she dare to say what reason would I have? What reason? ”That’s your dad, Annie,“ he whispered, trying to keep this conversation calm. ”What reason would you need? Was that really it… “I just didn’t want to go”? That’s…“ for a short second Zek stopped, looking away from the girl as if he was trying to fight the urge to say something he knew would sound bad. Would you call it luck that Annie ended up snapping before he could even continue what he started?

Zek was a little taken aback by her reaction and as she started walking away from him, he just stared at her for a brief moment before once again running after her. ”Annie,“ he called out, stopping right in front of her not that close to the entrance but where people could surely notice them. That’s why he lowered his voice and finally continued, ”I’m not done.“ He gently placed his hands on her arms, stopping her that way as well. ”That’s so ungrateful. I just… you’re going to regret that one day. How do you… That was a really shtty thing to do.“ Was he too much? Yes, but he’s not sorry. He’ll never be sorry for that because he was telling the truth.

---

@novella- Annie

[novella]

---

As Ezekiel continued talking with his own opinions on her actions, the initial slight-p!ssed-off attitude Annie had began to develop further. “How the f^ck is this any of your business, Ezekiel? Oh, yeah that’s right, it’s literally not,” Annie interrupted him, with genuine confusion as to where this was coming from, why it bothered him so much that she didn’t go. “This just doesn’t effect you, like, at all, so stay out of it,” But of course he wasn’t done, why wouldn’t he be done? God forbid him staying out of this, Annie flinched away from him trying to stop her from leaving.

“Yeah, that’s my dad, but we don’t exactly have the perfect f^cking relationship,” WHAT THE HELL was this guy on? Her words didn’t even begin to reflect the anger that had been long burrowed floating to the surface. He had no idea what he was talking about, and yet was acting as though he did. “Which, obviously, you’d know all about after you watched it become even worse after he thought I set fire to a f^cking forest,” OH YEAH SHE WENT THERE, because who is he to sh*t on her for jeopardising her relationship with her father what he was the f^cking one to take a blow at it in the first place? Zek let this happen, and now he was blaming her for it. “And it’s fine, it literally is fine, I don’t even care that happened, but don’t get on your f^cking high horse now when you belong right down here with me,” Annie took a step back from him as a loud silence lingered for a moment too long. “And maybe I am just ungrateful and sh^tty, I’ve never claimed to be otherwise. So are we done here?” She asked him with a fury in her eyes telling him that yes they were very much done.

---

@.astxrism Ezekiel Griffin

[astxrism]

---

Thiiiiis was not how their conversation was supposed to go. Ezekiel’s intention was never to hurt Annie with his humble opinion, but it looks like that’s the only thing he ended up doing. Or was she just being too hotheaded? Whatever you would like to think. Listen… he might’ve said more than one would expect but that’s what he’d always do, it doesn’t help when that other person doesn’t cooperate. Maybe she had a good excuse, maybe there really was something stopping her other than her stubbornness but she didn’t give him a reason to believe in that. So excuse him for trying to understand her. She could’ve simply said her parrot died or something irrelevant like that and he’d leave it at that with an apology.

Too bad she decided to throw some shade. Out of everything, that wasn’t what he was expecting. ”Wow,“ was the first thing he managed to say, immediately letting go of her arms and raising his in an almost defensive way. He took a step back from Annie, unlike her trying to approach this in a calm way. First of all, not for a second did he drag her father into this… not in the way she’s making it to be. Why tf was the fire thing important now? And when did he ever say he was above her in any way? ”I never asked you to do that. You could’ve just told the truth and nothing would matter then. I don’t know where… that…. is coming from but right now I’m not going to be someone you let out all your built up frustrations on because I told you something I believe in,“ his voice lowering, Zek shook his head as he looked away from her, now placing his hands in his pockets. There wasn’t a moment of silence since he quickly continued. ”Feel free to find that person because you clearly need it. And I’m saying that for your own good… I didn’t come here to fight, so yeah… We’re done,“ turning around and walking away from the school, he gave her that pleasure of not having to deal with him anymore.

---

@novella- Annie

[benitz786]

Daddy’s Expiration Date - 5 Years Old

Aria Pierce felt tears bubbling in her eyes as she looked at her daddy’s driver’s license. Why she had the item? Well, she was bored and her daddy’s things where just layyinnnggg there waiting to be played with. When she got a hand on his wallet, she immediately emptied the contents, and so currently, everything was laying around her. On one side, was his preeetyyy credit cards of all different colors. On another, there was a picture of mommy and her. There was coins and green paper that mommy used to buy Aria Ice cream. And there was this… a card with a picture of her daddy. So why was she crying? Well, under her daddy’s name, there was an “expiration date” set for November. The problem… IT WAS OCTOBER AND HER DADDY PROMISED HE WASN’T LEAVING EVER AGAIN.

Within a few seconds, more tears fell down her eyes and sobs left her lips as she tightly held the item and went to her dad who was sleeping on the couch. Her mom had gone grocery shopping with Toby, so it was just her and her dad. “Da…da…daddy,” Aria cried to the sleeping figure, soon struggling to get up on the couch and laying on her dad’s chest as she cried on him. She didn’t want her dad to leave… or expire… did that mean he was going to die? No… it wasn’t fair. He said he wouldn’t go.

She felt him shift, putting his hand on her back and rubbing it as he whispered “What’s wrong princess?” Her dad always woke up with the smallest of sounds - not that Aria was exactly being quiet as more tears fell down her features. For a few minutes, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want him to make him sad and make him cry with her… but why did he have to expire? “I…I…I don’t… want you to expire daddy,” she cried - unable to keep it in and she felt her dad pull his driver’s license out of her hand and slightly laugh. Why was he laughing? This wasn’t funny. He was gone for soooo long and she didn’t want him to leave again. She’d miss him too much and toby wouldn’t get to know their daddy. It WASN’T fair.

Buuuuttt thennn her dad explained that he wasn’t expiring, the picture was and he just had to take another pictureeee. “Yo…you promi…promise?”

@Littlefeets