Blue Royalty | Miscellaneous Thread

[benitz786]

A lost baby

Do you know what the worst part about being pregnant was? With a former Pierce - the answer should really be an easy one. After all, with Jessica, it always came down to food. Not being able to eat what she wanted was terrible - especialllllllly when lil nugget number three that was inside of her said no. In other words, throwing up the entire breakfast Jess had made her family. HOW COULD YOU NOT LIKE WAFFLES KID? ARE YOU EVEN MY CHILD? Well… fine it was growing in her stomach so probably her child but still. Rudee. "Darling… we might need to reschedule the mall trip. Jess sighed as she felt her husband’s arms around her on the bathroom floor. The two had been planning to go to the mall for a little shopping for their first baby boy who would soon be in dire need of clothes and by soon - it was only two and half months away that this kid would be in their lives. Jess would have suggested doing it another day if Dorian hadn’t assured her he would be fine with the kids alone. Would he? Would he really? Well… Jess trusted him.

Walking out of the bathroom with the man, Jess told Shay and Zoe about the slighhhht change in plans which resulted in Shay yelling at her little brother (aka her stomach) to “STOP THAT RIGHT NOW” . Suffice to say, lil bro wasn’t in the mood to listen. Placing a kiss on her daughters’ heads - Jess let the three of them go before stuffing herself in a little ball on the couch and falling asleep for the second time. Did she expect the chaos that would soon occur in the mall without her knowledge? No… it’s safe to say she did not.

---

Jess woke up a few hours later - ate some ice cream, chilled by herself before her husband and kids finallllly returned from the mall. It took long enough, though Dorian apparently brought a good haul (including a looooooooot of little versions of shoes that Dorian already had) and both Zoe and Shay couldn’t stop talking about the little doggies they were playing with. In either case, after a long day for both of them and finally putting the kids to sleep - Jess laid on the couch with her husband’s arms around her as they watched a random movie playing on the telly. For the past few minutes - neither had really been paying attention, rather just talking about her husband’s Soccer conference in a few weeks though, Jess’ eyes fluttered close as she felt her husband’s lips on her neck. Moving her own lips to his, the two continued down a rabbit hole as she felt his hand move up her leg. All would have been FINE if in her distraction she didn’t hear someone on the TV go: "Hello E insiders. Breaking news today as famed soccer star, Dorian DeLoughrey, lost his 4-year-old daughter at Miami City Mall. Watch this exclusive footage of the star frantically looking for the little girl.

Her eyes snapped open as she watched the screen of the man who was clearly her husband asking people if they had seen a little girl with Zoe in his arms. “Dorian… DeLoughrey. Did you lose my daughter in a mall,” Jess asked, pulling away from him so she could look at him with a scowl on her face. “Nope, not me,” she heard from her husband as he tried to turn off the TV and go back to kissing her neck. “Sources say he found the little girl in the pet store about half an hour later. So you tell us - is Dorian DeLoughrey a terrible father or…” Finally, Dorian grabbed the remote from her grasp and turned the TV off. “You lost Shay. Doriannnn,” Jess sighed, met only by him shaking his head. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about Jess. I knew she was there the whole time,” Rolling her eyes, Jess turned to face him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “So let me get this straight. That video was doctored and you definitely knew where Shay was during the entire trip to the mall?”

“Exactly,”

“You bloody idiot why didn’t you tell me,” Jess sighed, playfully pushing him “I’m going to murder you I swear to…,” though before she could hit him again she found him jumping up avoiding her and then disappearing for a few seconds only to come back with a sleeping Shay in his arms. Ahh… protection… touché DeLoughrey. “I admit to nothing. See. She’s here. Alive, well, and adorable… Shay sweetie, didn’t you love the doggies?”

The little girl moved in his arms before tiredly replying a quiet “Yes daddy,” only being followed by her snuggling tighter to the man. “You’re evil” Jess sighed, taking a second to stand up before wrapping her arms around her daughter and kissing her cheek. And with that, she looked up at her husband and smiled.

“I’m getting a default favor, thanks,” and with that, she walked towards the bedroom with a wink, shaking her head at the idiot in the living room.

@astxrism

[benitz786]

My life is kindaaaaa crazy - 2033

This all started when my mom met my dad and they fell in love and had me Hi! My name is Shay and my life is kinda crazy. Maybe you’re wondering what’s sooooo crazy about a 2 year-old’s life. Well let me tell you - A LOT. Like, a lot. Like just yesterday my mom, dad and I were jumping in puddles outside which was sooooo much fun. And then, a feeewww days agooo my god nugget Andy brought me on stage at his concert and I got to dance with him and OHhh My mom’s also pregnant and about to have my little sister soon. SO things are only gonna get crazier but that’s okay because Shay DeLough…Delow…D…laww…reney… okay however you say her last name it’s kinda hard… anyways, she was excited to have a little sister. Well… mostly okay. What if her parents didn’t like her as much when her sister came? That wouldn’t be fun… Or fair…

That was a sad way to start her morning - thinking that her parents won’t love her soon. Shay had just woken up in her ice cream bedroom room - “ice cream” because her mama decorated everything like she was in an ice cream sundae it was sooooooooo amazing. Her mommy always tucked her in saying she was the cherry on top. Anyways, It was a Saturday and her daddy had told her he was going to teach her how to play soccer for the FIRST time ever. Like actually teach her. She had grown up kicking her dad’s ball but she just played with it. Her dad had never actually taught her before. This was so exciting. Jumping out of bed with her toy gir…girrafeey in hand, Shay ran out of her room and straight to her parent’s room.

Struggling with the door handle - she had to bring a chair from her playroom to the door and stand on it to reach the handle but THANKFULLY after a loonnnng time she got it open. Immediately, Shay ran into her room where her daddy was hugging her mommy and attempted to climb on the bed. It was hard okay… why did the bed have to be so tall. Every time she thought she was close she would fall off again. She was about to go grab her chair again when she felt her daddy’s arms wrap around her and pull her up into his arms. “Da…daddy do…do you…k…know what today is?” she loudly whispered so her mommy wouldn’t wake up… though let’s be honest, her whispers weren’t exactly quiet. A laugh emitted from her lips when her dad tickled her before asking her "What’s today sweetie? before going on and on about everything it wasn’t. Nooo’s left her lips as her dad guessed what today was. No it wasn’t her birthday. No, it wasn’t national cake day… or maybe it was. That would be cool. No it wasn’t a school day. “No daddy don’t be sill…silly. We…we’re p…playing soccer,” she said with excitement in her little voice as she hugged her father. She felt a kiss on her cheek and looked up to see her mom’s smiling face. “Brush your teeth first, and then eat some breakfast and then you can go play okay?” Shay nodded, turning towards her momma and hugging the woman. Her mom’s stomach was SOOoooooo big but her mommy and daddy told her that’s where her little sister was. Kissing her mom and then kissing her little sister, Shay jumped off the bed and pulled her dad with her to help her because brushing teeth was hard okay. You had to go up and down and to the left and to the right and diagon…diagonna… um… Diagon Ally and do it for a certain amount of time and… hard see? But her dad made it fun.

After brushing her teeth and eating the yummy food her mama made, she pulleeeeed her daddy to the back yard smiling as he gave her a little ball and grabbed a bigger ball for himself and thennnn the lesson begin.

---

Okay. This was hard . Daddy kept telling her to control-ler the ball and… well… she kept falling. Her dad kept telling her to have fun but HOW was she supposed to have fun if she couldn’t do it right? What if her dad didn’t like her and gave up on her when her sister came? No… she had to get it right. Slowly dribbling the ball between her feet, Shay ran towards the goal her dad set up but when she went to kick it she tripped and fell again. This time, however, she scraped her knee and a splotch of blood came out of the wound. Immediately tears begin to pool her eyes as she saw the blood. In the midst of her crying, she felt her dad’s arms wrap around her telling her it’s okay but it’s notttt okay. “But…bu…but I… I… can’t…do…do it…” she cried, stuffing her face in her dad’s chest. She felt her dad’s arms wrap around her as he brought her inside and sat her down on the couch - leaving her alone. See. SEE he was already forgetting her. More tears fell down her eyes before her dad returned with a red box with bandaids and stuff. As he fixed her boo boo, he kept telling her it was okay and she simply shook her head. “No…no it…it’s not… b…becau…se… what if… I can’t… do…do it…and then…you don’t…li…like me any…more,” She heard her dad laugh as he finished and put a princess bandaid on her leg before pulling her onto his lap. “When…when my…sister…comes…wh…what if you…you forget…ab…about me” . These were valid concerns okay. OKAY? They were. See. Her life was KINDA CRAZY.

But all her dad did was shake his head and kiss her before telling her that he would always love her. It took a lil convincing but fine, Shay believed him and after a quick ice cream snack break the two were back at it again - outside kicking the ball and GUESS WHAT. She finally got it. After a lil practice, and a lot of her dad’s help, she was somewhat not terrible at it. “MOMMY MOMMY L…LOOK,” Shay screamed as her mom walked outside - Shay kicking her little ball into the net.

“That was amazing my love… how about you show your sister too?” her mommy said, looking at her dad with a it’s time look which caused her dad to go “Wait… right now?” . Well… I told you didn’t I? Shay’s life is kinda crazy.

@astxrism

[astxrism]

{ Girls throwing themselves but HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND}

---

Life was finally great. Except for this one little detail… Dorian’s girlfriend was now living far, far away. Why didn’t anyone tell him this long distance relationship would be the biggest torture when he got used to and wanted to spend every single day with her? ”Coming tonight?” ”Hm?” Useless classes and a bunch of strangers, that was also a part of this attending college new life he didn’t like, but at least he was spending more time out on the field. At least he met some better dudes who shared the same passion and wasn’t stuck with a bunch of addicts and fboys. Okay, that other part… It might be questionable. Locker slamming finally made him look up and actually pay attention to the guy standing next to him, this new soccer friend he made on the first day. Can they all let him check his phone to see if he can call his girlfriend with his amazing skills in the time difference in peace? No? ”Oh… Yeah… Yeah! You think they’d let you in without me?” A subtle smirk forming on his lips, Dorian threw his phone back in his bag and without another word, without waiting to see his friend rolling his eyes, walked past him and out of the room. Apparently way more parties were also a part of this whole college package deal… not like Dorian could say no to that but he’s been a little distracted these days with his own thoughts. Trying to figure out when he could give Jess a little surprise visit…

”Hey. You dropped this.” Let’s talk about girls for a second, shall we? It was way worse than in high school and that he was honestly not expecting… Or maybe he was? No, he never really thought about it because he had no reason to think about it. He was happy and he didn’t need to pay attention to random girls he’s probably never seen before even if they are always around just casually leaning against the wall across the locker room. No, really… if he was really paying attention he could see those cheerleaders every single day in the same spot, acting as if they were not glancing towards the door. If he was paying attention he wouldn’t be surprised that one just stopped him from walking away. Turning around, he didn’t even try to act as if he wasn’t interested in the conversation, his hands in his pockets now, staring at what that girl was holding. A jersey. How original. A simple hi without stupid excuses to say something could be nice… not like he would care about that. ”I didn’t.” With those words and a subtle shrug of his shoulders, Dorian walked away from her. Oh how I would love to see that girl’s pov. Unfortunately that wasn’t the last time something like that happened. The last that same girl would get shut down, as well as many other girls before they all learn not to keep trying. How things have changed…

Later that night Dorian found himself at a club with his new friends, a plan they talked about earlier. For a while things were going great, he was just there having fun with other guys as he liked to do back in high school and back in high school what happened next would’ve been something Dorian initiated… but not now. Now he groaned, watching his friends making their way toward the group of girls who seemed like they were just waiting for that moment. Giggles and tight dresses luring them in so what else was Dorian supposed to do? Just stand there by himself? No, he had to try not to ruin the night for them so he followed them with a slightly positive attitude but no intention of being overfriendly with those girls. As their eyes fell on him, he simply smiled for just a second before looking away uninterested. Please take that hint… ”Let me guess…” He said please. Looking up, a girl with a wide smile was standing in front of him, a little too close. When he didn’t say anything, she continued, placing her hand on his shoulder and moving closer to him since the music was loud. ”They dragged you here to make sure they don’t make a mess and you’re already sooo tired of their sht?” ”Something like that.” A chuckle escaped his lips but he took a step back in that exact moment, watching the girl move her hand, her smile faltering. ”Same thing here,” quickly throwing on yet another charming smile, the girl tried to continue, expecting… hoping to get a better response. Cmon, a hoooooot guy like that must be exciting. That’s what she was thinking, okay? Yeahhh, who wouldn’t? But all Dorian said was, ”Sorry,” before walking to his friend who was still not engaging in any conversation. Save him… But it couldn’t be that easy. There she was again, that same girl but now dragging her friend with her. Okay… you know what? Dorian could have a little fun… And possibly ruin his friend’s night, but who cares?

”Drinks, boys?” Pointing towards the bar, the girl was looking at Dorian but he was looking at his friend, the sweetest smile on his lips. ”What do you say, babe?” Yup, that was the moment he could see his friend wanted to strangle him, but before he could say anything, Dorian continued. "I forgot… he doesn’t drink anymore. I’m very proud of him,” the grin remaining on his lips, Dorian got closer to him. ”I’m also gonna skip,” leaving his friend confused and speechless, he shifted his gaze to those disappointed girls, slightly frowning. As they walked away, Dorian turned back to him, patting his shoulder with yet another cheeky grin. ”Thanks for that.”

* * *

That’s not how his nights would usually go. As the time passed, he simply started stating he was not interested for obvious reasons but the girl from his college, who we’re going to call Lucy, still didn’t know that… or was pretending not to know. Obviously those cheerleaders including Lucy would always be around and his friends never missed a chance to stop and talk to them. Poor Lucy would even try to talk to Dori but she’d always get a simple, friendly hi as he was walking away and leaving his friends to charm those girls. As long as they let themselves get distracted after their practice it was fine… But there were times when Lucy would pretend she was going back inside at the same time Dorian would, taking that opportunity to talk to him. ”Your coach seems nice.” ”I suppose he is,” mhm, just wait… But what was this conversation? Can he skip? Approaching the door and opening it, being the good guy he is, Dorian waited for her to walk in first but she stopped in front of him, turning to smile. ”Lucy,” fixing her mini skirt to draw his attention to it, she finally introduced herself. But what did he do? ”Can I pass?” Just watching her blocking his way, Dorian asked impatiently. Okay, let’s not be rude… ”Dorian,” after she stepped to the side, he simply stated before walking toward the changing room.

Maybe he was playing too hard to get? Or was just a grumpy guy? Grumpy/sunshine is the best trope after all… don’t give up girl, no matter what your friends are telling you. Of course they asked his friends about him and found out some things, found out he has a girlfriend but will that stop them from setting up Lucy with him? No. Just a week later they were all having a thing in an amphitheater and that was the perfect opportunity to do something. Not like Lucy minded that… she just didn’t expect to end up on his lap because her friend accidentally pushed her. It took him by surprise too because for a moment he was just looking at her confused, which gave her time to react. ”Sorry, looked like a good seat.” His friends were the only ones entertained by this whole mess since Dorian could hear their oooohs, he on the other hand… not even a little bit. ”Is it? I heard this seat next to me is better,” trying to keep his calm, force a smile, he referred to his friend who was sitting next to him. ”My lap often gets warmed up, don’t you worry. Now please get up.”

[unsungcheerio]

“Cherry Chapstick” - 2036

Her heart was beating loudly in her ears; it almost made Daiane wonder if Hera, from her location outside of her room, could hear it too—that’s how loud it felt. The heartbeat increased, her face visibly falling as she saw Hera misinterpret her comment. Rushed clarifications built up behind her lips just as the light went back on in Hera’s face, her teasing chuckle relieving Daiane of her stress. “Good,” she said softly.

Hera climbed their way into Dai’s room—a move that made Daiane feel like she was in some sort of fairy tale—to which Daiane made a remark about there being many other ways in which they could’ve (safely) gotten in. Hera’s response initially gave her warm butterflies, but she almost didn’t catch the full meaning of it, confusion setting in a beat late as she realized that the sentence did not particularly make much sense. Dai turned back to look at her, the puzzlement clouding her expression, before she registered Hera very clearly looking her up and down. The puzzlement gave way to a fierce blush, her cheeks alight. Her mouth opened, then closed, and she turned away, deciding to ignore the comment entirely. Still, their words lingered in her mind, replaying over and over as if Hera was repeating themself. Daiane could already tell that comment would easily join the group of thoughts that kept her up at night, long after Hera had left.

She settled herself onto her bed, adjusting the pillows so that they were propped up against her blue headboard, her back reclined against them. Dai looked at Hera sitting on her bed, laughing lightly as she saw how close she was to the bed’s edge. “Hera, this is a Queen bed; there’s more than enough space for you to not be ready to fall off.” She patted the empty space of mattress closer to her, a gentle smile on her face.

Bless Hera and her ability to keep conversations light, she thought to herself as her blush receded some. Daiane recognized it would’ve been easy for her friend to tease her about it, revel in her humiliation, but she was really glad that Hera hadn’t. “I mean, I was going to try to sleep, but I don’t think you can help very much with that.” She tossed a glance Hera’s way with a small chuckle. "So no, just you being here is enough for me.” Dai smiled, restraining the grin to a softer one, as she turned her attention to her laptop to open up Netflix.

When she had first suggested that they could watch a movie, she’d hadn’t been thinking about some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. And yet, that’s what they ended up watching. She didn’t mind, of course—childhood shows brought her back to the simpler times she didn’t think she’d miss—but she didn’t think Hera would’ve been as cool with it as she was. They came off as… tough. Hard. The kind of dog who was all bite. And though with time Dai was beginning to see that they weren’t really so stone-hearted—maybe as they wanted to seem—it was moments like these in which she felt that Hera was revealing themself to her. Maybe she was reading too much into it. But maybe, she thought as Hera’s hand moved to rest on top of hers, maybe I’m not. Her eyes flicked to Hera’s for a moment, a breath, then returned to the screen, her hand remaining nestled underneath Hera’s protective palm.

Daiane hadn’t realized how much she had needed a respite until she had been given one, and this cartoon show was allowing her a moment to just, be. These days she had so little time for herself, and she wasn’t, wasn’t resentful or anything, but this leisure time right here was so, so precious to her. For a few minutes, she closed her eyes, trying to memorize the feeling of Hera’s hand and the sound of the cartoon laughter and way that the butterflies tickled her insides.

When she opened her eyes again, the next episode had begun, and she was hit with a memory that untied the sadness resting within her—the sadness Hera’s presence had made her forget—and the emotion bloomed like a rose, sucking up the happiness that had, for a second, existed. This was the episode her dad had wanted her to play for Andressa and Nadalia, as if they were kids again; this show was just another reminder of her father’s rapidly deteriorating condition. The tears slid silently down her cheek before she could stop them. She was tired of never being seen by her own father… she just wanted him to know her as Daiane. And present Daiane, not Daiane the baby or Daiane the unborn fetus or anything else but the person she was right now. More than anything, she wanted the childhood that Aline had had with him. And it killed her to know that she never would have that sort of relationship with her own dad.

“Ane?” Daiane turned to Hera, surprised to see that she, too, had the remnants of tears falling down her cheeks. “Why are you crying?” She laughed humourlessly, wrapping her arms around herself. “I just remembered that my dad asked me to play this exact episode on TV for Natie and Andressa. My older sisters. They haven’t been kids for years now.” She shrugged, the forced smile falling off her lips. “Why are you crying?” Dai asked, her head turning to regard Hera. “I never had anything to watch this stuff on as a kid.” Daiane nodded, eyes moving back to the screen of her laptop. “Both of our childhoods were pretty sucky, huh?” Dai remarked with a dry laugh, wiping away her tears.

“But anyway, let’s turn this off then, if it made both of us cry.” Daiane paused the show and closed her laptop, sitting up and twisting over the edge of her bed to place it onto her nightstand. She sat back on her bed, adjusting her position so that her body was turned towards Hera. Daiane didn’t know what to say, but for once, she didn’t say anything, instead let the silence rest between them like a comforting fog.

“You know, I kind of hate most things, but I think you’re okay, Meyer.” A grin split across her lips. She could practically feel the depth in Hera’s words despite the indifferent air about them and she held them close to her heart. “I think you’re okay, too,” she said, repeating Hera’s sentiment word for word.

“What did you want to do next?” she asked Hera, leaning a shoulder on the headboard of the bed. The ideas that Hera suggested were so far beyond things that she would ever do, Daiane couldn’t help but laugh, a roll of her eyes accompanying the sound. “Right,” she said, her brows knitting together in amusement.

Any ideas? She paused, considering. “Just one,” she said, after a few moments’ pause, eyes raising to meet Hera’s. Daiane was feeling bold, suddenly, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Her heart was screaming at her to movemovemove before she chickened out, fingers twitching with anticipation. Perhaps Hera’s boldness had rubbed off on her, or maybe it was her subtle insinuation that had acted as fuel—whatever the cause, Daiane could feel herself burning with a sudden, clear desire that she wasn’t sure how to handle without action. “We can do this.” She leaned forward, pressing her lips against theirs. Her confidence exploded in a burst of emotion, happy noises filling the silence in her head, but the confidence’s influence faded almost as quickly as it had appeared; it had only been a few moments before she was pulling back, eyes searching Hera’s. “But we don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she was quick to add, her gaze dropping to study her hands fidgeting.

@raviola

[astxrism]

{ Post breakup hookups }

---

It’s been a while since Dorian had to pay attention to anyone but his girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend now. But it also took him some time to actually realize he’d have to start doing that again. It shouldn’t be a problem, he’s been doing it for as long as he could remember but why does it feel so wrong now? Easy - because he still loved someone who clearly didn’t love him in that way. The only problem was that most girls now knew not to do anything if they don’t want to get embarrassed and shut down immediately, which wasn’t a problem, it only meant he’d have to make the first move but… he didn’t want to. He didn’t want them to make the first move but… He was confused. He was hurt. He was really hurt. And for a while having fun with someone was the only thing, besides soccer, that could help him get his mind off his problems, so don’t judge him for finding someone to bring back home a week after Jess broke up with him. Was he thinking straight? No.

For a whole week Dorian was ignoring the situation as if nothing happened, pretending everything was fine, he was still happy and in a happy relationship, there was a ring he still had a chance to use… pushing everything away and bottling up those awful feelings because he couldn’t understand it. What happened? What did he do to change her mind? That confusion and insecurity making him not do anything that day and let her simply walk away from him. That same thing will later make him try to push her away completely, not pick up her calls because why would he? She obviously didn’t need him and he didn’t need that constant reminder. It will also make him go back to his old ways. Remember Lucy? Dorian did, just not her name because he really didn’t care about that at the time… Not like he cared about it now, but it was a good beginning.

It was the morning of the day he really fcked up. That day when Jessica returned and found Dorian with another girl. Left her key on his counter. What a great memory…But that morning Dorian was on the field with his team, their cheerleader friends out as well but now things were a bit different. Now he was the one distracted, he was the one wanting distraction. Finishing up, this time Dorian joined his friends as they made their way to the group of girls in their little skirts… Hesitantly. It felt wrong… but he was still there, doing it. His tshirt came off the moment he started following his friends, meeting the girl’s eyes only when he found himself standing close to her. The corner of his mouth curled, his gaze traveling down her body only to look away and talk to his friends. He started it but she can continue. Maybe it would make him feel less guilty… It didn’t. There was nothing that could make him feel less guilty even if there was nothing that should make him feel that way because he was single. He was single while still thinking about only one girl as he was trying to make another girl take the bait. But at least that was working. Once again following his friends inside, he glanced back with a subtle smirk only to find the girl already looking which was followed by her turning to her friends probably asking did you see that?

Later that day, he hoped to find her in one of his classes and luckily she was there. Casually walking up to her, out of all the empty seats he took the one right next to her, not saying a thing, not even looking at her but he could see from the corner of his eye that she had a smile on as she was writing something down. He just had to make sure she doesn’t leave after, but would she really? Hm, I don’t think so… He had a lot of time to think about his next move so once the class was over and everyone got up, Dorian quietly laughed to himself, making Lucy look at him. ”Am I the only one who doesn’t understand a thing?” With a mix of a cheeky and “embarrassed” smile, he finally turned to her, running his hand through his hair. ”You don’t understand a thing?” Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Lucy repeated after him, watching with entertainment. ”Don’t tell anyone. Or… you could help me?” Keeping his smile on, Dorian quietly asked. Do I have to explain how that ended? Yes? Well, if you insist. That ended with Dorian taking the girl back to his place and doing everything but class stuff. Everything… okay, one thing only. The moment they walked into his apartment he had her pinned against the door, his hands and lips all over her body but never on her own lips. Taking each other’s clothes off on the way to his bedroom. An hour of letting himself forget about everything which he’ll soon learn was a big, big mistake. Okay… she was there and… she heard everything. Good. Fun. Yeah…

”I hope that helped,” now standing in the kitchen, Lucy was leaning against the counter fixing her shirt, a little flirty smile on his lips. Placing his hands on the counter on both sides of her, Dorian simply nodded,”Mhm.” Leaning down to kiss her neck was when he saw it. The key that wasn’t there when he got back. The key that wasn’t supposed to be there at all because Jessica had it. Oh sht. No. No, she was not in here. His gaze immediately flew to the door and a second later he moved towards it to check something. Unlocked. Of course. ”Everything… okay?” The girl carefully asked, walking over to him and resting her hand on his bare back. No. Everything was far from okay, but why should he care? This was not his decision. ”Y-yeah… I just… remembered my brother is supposed to come here today,” clearing his throat he turned back to face her, trying to force a convincing smile. ”Aha… I’ll see you?” Grabbing the rest of her things, Lucy got on her tippy toes to kiss him but he pulled away, looking to the side as he opened the door for her. ”Mhm.” And that’s how that thing ended. As soon as she left Dori went back to the key, throwing it across the room and going back to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

After that day there was no reason for him to hold back. Doing what he thought would be the best he continued ignoring his friend and doing God knows what with God knows who over the weekends. That whole mess did make him more focused on soccer, in a way that’s how he got his anger out and that seemed to be working out for him. He was making progress and that’s the only thing that matters, isn’t it? Love life? Yeah, he doesn’t need that. What he does need are cute girls he could have a little fun with here and there. He never really got with the same girl more than twice, counting Lucy - we don’t want another Emily situation. Speaking of Emily… Maybe he even found her this one night in a club and broke his rule of different girls. Let’s not talk about Emily… Aren’t you supposed to be avoiding her, Dorian? That all came to an end when he met Kennedy who he… never really loved as much as he was supposed to. Who he proposed to only because the only girl he ever wanted to propose to was planning to marry someone else.

[raviola]

---

Cherry Chapstick

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

Sweet - Cigarettes After S"x

“Unless” Hera began, once again dropping the act and getting kind of serious when they saw that Daiane looked like she wasn’t taking it as a joke. “Seriously though I’m kidding.” Hera eyed Daiane’s hand, wanting to grab it in order to reassure her, but they stayed still. Not only because of the physical distance, but also the emotional space that Hera kept between herself and others. That would be far too much affection. Too early. No one likes that. Not anyone Hera’s ever known. Not from her.

They continued speaking after Hera got up there. She was getting more self conscious, just not enough to keep her from flirting boldly. It was kind of a struggle not to chuckle when Daiane blushed. Hera was honestly flattered asf. Her old girlfriends all grew up hearing lots of crazy, out of pocket stuff too, so Hera was just a charming pest. Maybe that was what made saying bold stuff so easy for them. Once you hear “Hey there kid, can you help me pull my fake ID out of my v4g?” From a middle aged drug addict on a tuesday afternoon when you’re 8, flirting starts to seem like a walk in the park. Daiane probably heard some weird stuff from her dad too. Since his mind is in one world and his body is in another, and all. Yet for some reason she blushed at HERA. It almost made THEM wanna blush back.

They looked at her shyly, scooting closer to Daiane obediently. “Of course it’s a queen bed, Ane. Or should I say, your majesty.” They smiled and then looked around, taking in the perimeter and putting her hands into little fists, gently pushing them into the mattress like a cat fiddling with it’s paws. Hera wanted to flirt some more, but they honestly didn’t know if Daiane’s shyness could take it any longer, so she bit her tongue on her words.

Daiane said that she was going to sleep, but unfortunately, her plans had been ruined :( And Hera chuckled. They’d probably be putting her to bed soon, but she didn’t want to just yet. She just seemed so approachable to them. Hera could talk to her for hours if Daiane ever let her. She was just so gorgeous, and cute, and kind, and responsible. Out of all of those attributes, Hera could only relate to one of them. (Being gorgeous, of course.) Perhaps kind, if we were talking about the cherry pie that Daiane was baking out of the person Hera was when they met her. Perhaps cute, if she opened up enough. And perhaps responsible, when the high of her teen years disappeared one random night and she woke up sober. “I meannn… I could, but why would you want to sleep when your other half has arrived?! I actually have a king sized bed.” She smiled proudly. And there’s plenty of room for you in it if you ever want to come over. She thought, but she didn’t say it in an attempt to be considerate with Daiane’s fragile heart and rushing blood. They simply gave her a look that said everything on their mind.

Hera was suprisingly quite the happy camper watching Mickey Mouse, goofy reminded her of Daiane, because they’re both goofs. And a little bit Minnie, because she’s so sweet. Mostly Donald though, because of all of his attitude. tHiS iS a QuEeN SiZe BeD HerA. She found a bit of Daiane in everything really, from the flowers at the supermarket to the rising moon. Oh envious moon, it’s beauty was nothing compared to that of Daiane. It killed them to be outside in the cold. Her arms had no goosebumps, but she craved to be shone under her light, for she provides for her what the sky above never could. Hera now has a roof to live under, but Daiane was what was beginning to feel like home.

When Daiane saw Hera crying, they couldn’t help but laugh, leaving the girl’s hand to bury their face in their arms. They looked so stupid!! Hera hates crying in front of people. Like, so much. It always got her picked on in her foster homes. They were always taught that vulnerability is an equivalent to weakness, similar to love, or joy, because too much light will blind a person. So now she felt dumb. All she could do was laugh at herself, there was no use in trying to make it look like her eyes were sweating or something now, Daiane would never judge them for something like this. She felt safe enough to smile. Safe enough to cry.

She realized Daiane was upset, though. And their sad laughter ended. "Hey, don’t be sad.” Hera got closer to her and then paused for a second, evaluating if what she always told her peers was actually helpful or not. In the foster system, the kids usually just told eachother that crying wasn’t going to fix anything ,which is true, but it might sound harsh. “I see you for who you are and I think you’re incredible.” They admitted without reluctance, a but surprised at her words after they left her mouth. She wasn’t upset by them, though. They tasted right.

“That’s probably for the best.” Hera admitted shyly, as Daiane stirred in her seat to face her. At this point, Hera’s eyes just naturally found their way into Ane’s as she sat up, like rockets shooting into the multiverse that was her gaze. Eventually, she felt the need to reassure the girl. So that she’d know that Hera wasn’t just saying what she said to get Daiane to calm down, although it was definitely going to sound more like sobered, unemotional Hera now that she brushed herself off. Thankfully for her, the conversation lost it’s gloominess when Ane grinned and returned the sentiment. “Wow, that’s so flattering Ane” Hera responded sarcastically, putting a hand on her heart. Followed by more sarcasm from Ane when she agreed that Hera’s proposals were completely doable and some of them legal. However, Daiane did seem to have one idea.

“We can do this.” Hera’s heart began to thump loudly as Ane got closer, realizing this was all she thought about each night before falling asleep. Every part of her was saying to just run to her, and, for once she listened. Hera put her hands on the girls waist and heaven became a place on earth. Her lips encaved Ane’s top lip, melting them into a slow rhythm as she kissed her. This simple touch felt so warm, and she tasted so sweet. Like cherries, no, like cherry chapstick, just like theirs. It felt like an eternity, which she never thought would happen while kissing this pg. Innocence like this was just so rare, like some red-fruited tree in the middle of a tundra. She wished that it would last an eternity right before her lover pulled away, sitting back on her knees.

“But we don’t have to if you don’t want to” Hera rolled their eyes with a smile, pulling her right back in, rediscovering the taste of her cherry chapstick as if she’d gone a thousand years without it, whispering into her lips before kissing her again. “Of course I do.”

---

The End.

---

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

[Kristi]

---

November 16, that was the day Angelina Marion Astor-Burton (Now Astor-Seymour) was born. The day that put Kaida into tears. She had been trying for a baby for a long time, and when she finally got pregnant, a month before the baby would be due, it died. Then the next time she got pregnant, the baby died again. Kane, the name she would have given the baby if it survived, died immediately after birth- yeah life really had it out for her. After that, Kaida and her husband tried again and finally they had a baby that survived. Though the baby was born prematurely and Kaida was worried whether it would be another Kane situation, the baby (Angelina) did successfully survive but Kaida was still worried. She knew that being premature will affect the baby’s growth and lead to a lot of side effects, she also knew that Angelina might not be treated the best within the Astor family community, yes they could have their big family a community and? Either way Kaida was worried.

Kaida glanced at Angelina, who was now 5 and playing with her dolls. Angelina looked just like Jeffrey, which don’t get her wrong, it wasn’t a bad thing but she didn’t really seem to have strong ‘Astor’ features or whatever her cousins and distant cousins called it. This didn’t stop Kaida from loving Angelina, after all why would it? Angelina was the only child that survived, a gift from heaven and although when Angelina grew up she would be considered ‘plain’ by Astor standards, to Kaida she was the most beautiful little angel she had ever seen. She looked just like her father, how adorable.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Angelina ran to her and Kaida’s heart melted.

“Yes, darling?”

“Can I go to Emily’s birthday party? It’s going to be this big.” Angelina widened her hands to show how ‘big’ it’s going to be, “Not bigger than any of my parties of course, but big.” Angelina clapped her hands, “And emily is going to have a bouncy castle, Can we buy a bouncy castle? Mommy mommy?”

Kaida smiled, she could never refuse her little girl anything. “Whatever the little princess wishes” Kaida said bopping her daughters nose as she laughed.

A year later, Jennifer and Cleopatra were born. Kaida has chosen the name Cleopatra for the youngest twin that was born, as Cleopatra looked just like her when she was a baby- with cute chubby cheeks and Jeffrey has chosen the name Jennifer, the name of his late grandmother who he was close to and the female version of his name.

“Mommy, are this my sisters?” Angelina asked as she looked down the crib clutching her mom’s dress.

“They are, aren’t you excited?”

“Not really,” Angelina said and Kaida was taken aback, “Emily thowd me that she was a-adopted and her Mr and Mr. Rowley got her from an adoption center, can we put them in an adoption center?”

“ANGELINA!!! We are not putting your sisters for adoption” Jeff shouted with anger visible in his voice and Angelina scurried to hide behind her mother’s back.

“Jeffrey?” Kaida said with a ‘calm your fcking voice down’ tone before turning to her eldest daughter. “Why aren’t you excited that you have sisters Angie?”

“Because their ugly.” Angelina said crossing her arms, Jeffrey raised a brow at this, “And b-because I don’t want you and dad to stop loving me.” She muttered kicking a piece of paper that she found on the floor.

Kaida bent down, "It’s impossible for me and dad to ever stop loving you, you’re our eldest daughter, we will love you even when we die.

“You promise?”

"I do.

“You promise to love me more than my sisters?” Kaida blinked as she turned to face Jeffrey who responded as softly as he could with, “Honey, as parents we can’t love another child over another”

Angelina snorted, “Sure can! Emily’s parents love her more than her other siblings” Gosh damn, maybe Angelina shouldn’t be allowed to hang out with Emily again.

“Of course they don’t”

“Nuh uh, I saw it with my two eyes.” She said pouting as she crossed her arms. Kaida looked at her husband again and leaned in close to him to whisper, ‘just pretend’

“Ok we promise”

Angelina smiled as she looked down the crib, “They don’t look ugly anymore!!” Jeffrey snorted. “But mommy and daddy will still love me more so-” She stuck out her tongue at the babies who started crying.

---

Cursed Astor club + young Cleo

---

If there was something people got wrong about Cleopatra, was her relationship with her elder sister. No Cleopatra didn’t hate Angelina and yes she couldn’t stand the thought of being locked in a room alone with her sister- but she didn’t hate her, their relationship was just complicated. And hate was a really strong word, Cleo liked to think about it as Angelina and her having a mutual disagreement towards each other- but Cleo knew that Angelina didn’t really see it that way.

See, Cleopatra had always idolized Angelina just like Jennifer. She was 5-6 year older than them and the ‘perfect’ elder sister, she would take them on an ‘adventure’ once they learnt to crawl and would play games with them once they learn to walk- Jennifer had learnt faster and Cleopatra became frustrated, why did Jennifer had to learn things faster than her? But Angelina had smiled and held her little hands and helped her practiced walking and her adoration for Angelina grew even more.

According to Cleo, when she turned 7 she stopped idolizing Angelina but in truth her idolization for Angelina grew as she got older though it was more in a jealous way. The thing is, when Cleo turned 7, she noticed how well Angelina and Jennifer (especially Angelina) fitted into their family, like puzzles that were meant to be put together and she also noticed how she didn’t fit into the family at all. She noticed how smart and pretty like a Disney princess her sisters looked like and how she was like Fiona from shrek-meh. And so Cleo began hating idolizing her sisters in a negative connotation. Though, she idolized Angelina more than Jennifer… Jennifer was ok, she was her twin and mom also preferred Angelina over her but Jennifer was perfect- Cleo grabbed her hair in frustration, she f*cking hated that word. It reminded her of everything she was not, her teachers are like ‘humans aren’t perfect and they have flaws and blah blah’ then how do they explain Angelina? Was Angelina not human? gasp or was she a banana monster like she saw in that movie once? Cleo giggled, Angelina did look like a banana and Cleo was more talented that her!! And stronger Cleo did martial arts and trained with cousin Gaston to become tough and strong! Cleo also had abs, she said as she walked towards a mirror and opened her shirt to show her stomach- ok, she didn’t have abs but she will soon have them unlike Angelina.

Lmao ok who was she kidding? She felt like a clownish rabbit, Cleo frowned- why did she say a clownish rabbit? Why does February only have 28 days? Why was lime just not called light green? Was lime just trying to be special?

Moving on, today was the Astor family reunion and Cleo was kinda excited. She wasn’t usually this excited for reunions, she was excited because today she would be meeting Artemis- her cousin that apparently no one but the Lucas- Astor (cousin hades and Madeline family) have met before, and if Uncle John didn’t really let anyone see her that would mean he was ashamed of her right? and if he was ashamed of her that would make her the black sheep of the family, the outsider right? And Hades already seemed to hate her and say she’s not a real Astor, so she’s kinda a really big outside, this is great!! Yeah yeah Cleo should not be excited by another person’s sorrows or whatever they preach in school, but she was glad she wasn’t the only outsider in an Astor family. UGH! She couldn’t wait to meet the black sheep, Artemis.

As they arrived in the usual reunion place, Cleo pushed her way through the adults and tried to look for an unfamiliar face- someone that looked sad and could be Artemis. And viola! She found the person putting her feet’s inside the swimming pool water.

“Omg you’re the black sheep” Cleo coughed “I mean you’re Artemis right? i’m Cleopatra you’re cousin”

@Ouijaloveletters - Artemis

[Ouijaloveletters]

Artemis Astor was exhausted despite not having done much that day. She blamed the fact that she was at a god forsaken family reunion. God, why? She sighed, putting her feet in the pool. She’d brought a swimsuit, but didn’t feel like getting in the pool. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and a voice behind her. “I-I’m the what? Yeah, I’m Artemis…uh…hi?” Arti asked, confusion written on her face. Was She a cousin she didn’t know existed?
@Kristi - Cleo

[Kristi]

Cursed Astor club + young Cleo

---

Cleo stared at her, “You’re uncle John and Aunt Sarah secret child that no one knew of until now, right?” She asked ignoring the girl’s question as she stared at her with big hazel-ish brown eyes. The girl had to be Artemis Astor, her cousin, Uncle John’s daughter- though she didn’t resemble him, she looked just like how Hades described her when he was ranting about her. Cleo smiled, “I’m your aunt Kaida’s daughter” Cleo said as she inserted her leg into the swimming pool and stared at the girl again, making sure to get a good look.

Yup she was definitely the black sheep, Artemis Astor. She had dark hair as described (well to be fair every Astor had dark hair, dark brown eyes and a face like international sugar-pop star (a character from one of her fav shows) Lixie Mandor. Cleo moved closer to Artemis and gasped, Artemis was taller than her and she was younger than her- Cleo thinks, she looked about a year younger than her- Hades age or kinda the same age as Madeline. “i’m 9, how old are you?” Cleo asked as she moved her pat Artemis head, wow- she couldn’t believe she was real. She wasn’t just a myth, wowww.

“What’s your middle name?” She asked as she stared at Artemis. She wanted to learn more about the ‘black sheep’ she couldn’t believe she found another imperfect person eeek!! “Are you into martial arts?” She asked as she moved really lose to Artemis, forgetting Person space was a thing that exited. Cleo also wanted to ask why Uncle John doesn’t usually bring her to family reunions but she knew what the answer was or at least she hoped she was right.

---

@Ouijaloveletters - Artemis

[Ouijaloveletters]

“Secret love child? Wha-?” Arti blinked in confusion. “Well…yeah. I guess you could say that.” Oh, it made more sense when Cleo explained who she was. Artemis blinked when Cleo gasped. “What?” She then asked how old she was. “Oh, I’m eight. Like Hades.” Arti narrowed her eyes when Cleo asked her middle name. “Adromeda. Mom and dad are insane.” She muttered, pouting. She shook her head when Cleo asked if she liked martial arts. “No, but it sounds cool. Do you do karate?”
@Kristi - Cleo

[benitz786]

Sometimes living feels like death - 2023

So what exactly happened after Jessica lost her kids? After… Daniel Parker brought her… practically back from the dead? Would you be surprised that it wasn’t an easy transition? Despite having Jezebel there to help pull her out of her own head, most of the time, Jessica Pierce just wished she was dead. She still just… wished she had died that day all those years ago. Her nights were filled with screams as the memory… the all-encompassing feeling of losing her kids filled her nightmares. The piercing pain in her abdomen was on repeat every single night and the only thing keeping her from falling off the edge was Jezebel Parker wrapping her arms around her and staying with her until she passed out from the exhaustion of crying.

Daniel had forced her out of London and back to his home in Beryl so that he, and Jezebel, could watch after her. Apparently, he didn’t trust her alone… though Jess couldn’t blame him. She didn’t trust herself. Danny had taken over her classes - creating some sort of online AI to basically do all her assignments for her. Honestly, Jessica didn’t know the exact mechanics of it all, and honestly, she didn’t care - all she knew was that she was taking every single day one at a time. If it wasn’t for her cousins, Jessica probably would be in bed all day repeating what had occurred weeks earlier in the crib she bought her child. However, they forced her out… forced her to shower… forced her to eat… forced her to live.

Losing her kids was only one piece of the pain she felt… after all, Jess had lost Dorian too. She couldn’t go to him with this… she couldn’t… ever put this pain on him. Just… imagine the way he would look at her. It was one thing to leave him when she still loved him, it was another for him to know that she lost his children because of her own idiocracy. It had been three weeks since she called him last… since she heard his voice because Jessica was set on him not pushing her away… until her accident that is. It had been 4 months since she had his arms around her body… his lips on her own. When her dreams weren’t filled with the pain she experienced a few weeks ago, it was filled with him: some real, some simply nightmares. The most recent one featured a look of disgust as Dorian realized what had happened, followed by him turning away from her and kissing someone else - followed by… well… sounds she heard that night she had gone back to him.

“What… really happened Jess?”

Jessica was laying in bed as she often did nowadays with Jezebel holding her tightly. It was another one of those nights - 1 am screaming followed by her cousin rushing in and wrapping her arms around Jess until she stopped hyperventilating. To calm down, Jez had grabbed Jessica’s phone and begin scrolling through the photos to try and bring her out of her own head. Jezebel knew how Jessica’s mind worked - how she could enter memory and have it fully take over her senses. A few of the more recent photos was with her and her cousins - a fake smile on Jess’ lips as she pretended to have fun. Though this time, Jez accidentally scrolled back to photos and videos with her and Dorian. Jez was going to close it - realizing what she did but Jess stopped her at a video of her a few days before the break-up.

“I loveeeee youuuu, you bloody idiot,”

---

Flashback:

A big smile met Jessica’s lips as she stood outside in the rain, looking up at the lit apartment she had come to know so well over the last year and a half. Jess had a little school holiday meaning she had the chance to visit her boyfriend, and wouldn’t you know, it was raining the night she got there. Of course, that meant that instead of coming up to his apartment to surprise him, she simply called him down uncaring of the fact that she was getting drenched alongside her suitcase. Did she scream into his window a few time? Yes. Did the neighbors probably think she was crazy? Very likely. Despite that, I love you were the first words out of her mouth (alongside calling him an idiot because this was jess) as he came outside, immediately wrapping his arms around her body. “I’m the idiot? You’re absolutely crazy Jessica… and I love you for it,”

End of Flashback:

–

Jess had her video on during that moment, recording as her boyfriend came down to greet her but rewatching the moment just made her… sad. It reminded her that she hadn’t talked to the man in weeks… and how could she talk to him? What would she even say?

“He deserved better than me,” Jess responded to Jezebel’s question as the girl closed the video on her phone. “I’m going to… I’ll be in the bath Jez… don’t worry… I’ll keep the door unlocked,” Jess said as Jezebel resigned any questioning she had about the subject. As she walked towards the bathroom at 1:32 AM, Jess simply sat in the bathtub - no water running as she looked at her phone. Jess didn’t know what pushed her to do it… but she found herself going to Dorian’s Social Media. He looked… happy. His recent photos were with friends… with… girls. Though, seeing something pop up - she found that right as she went on his page - the man had gone on live.

She couldn’t help herself… she clicked it… watching as on of Dorian’s friends met the screen - the two clubbing together. Jess watched as her boyf… her ex tried to grab his phone to get out of the live, though the friend clearly seemed relentless - answering questions that were being posed by the thousands of people who had joined alongside her. Hearing Dorian on the live was the most she had heard from him in months. Though she had heard his voice weeks ago… even then, it was mostly voicemail or he’d pick up, talk to her for a second before making an excuse that he had to go do something and it wasn’t like Jess could visit him. She was… as his coach told her… a distraction.

Though… as she continued to watch the live, she found Dorian practically giving up and walking away from his phone, though the friend turned the camera so they could watch Dorian as a girl immediately walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jess heard the friend scream give the audience a show and it seemed the girl conceded because soon her… ex… was making out with the girl. That was when Jess closed her phone, hugged her knees, and closed her eyes. He deserved… he was happy. That’s all that mattered. Did that mean she wasn’t in pain seeing that? No. Rather, her heart was racing. Jessica Pierce didn’t know what happened but… something within her needed to get out. Walking outside the bathroom, she looked at Jezebel who was still on her bed. “Let’s go out Jez.”

---

Play Feel Like Sht - Tate McRae

Was it a good idea? Probably not - but clearly, her cousin would take any reason to get Jessica out of the house and back out into the real world… or she realized there was no talking Jessica out of it and it was simply better just to tag along. Either way… here she was, at a club where the music was so loud that it was hard to think. It was… the perfect distraction. Well… for a while it was. Jessica didn’t know how long she was there, dancing, drinking… forgetting about all the sht going on in her life. Until… she saw him. Or… so she thought. Jessica stopped on the dance floor, looking at the back of someone’s head on the other side. She could have sworn… it was… was it not… “Dorian?” Jess asked, going towards the man and putting her hand on his shoulder - only to realize that the man who turned around clearly wasn’t Dorian DeLoughrey. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

“Jessica? You’re Jessica right?”

Jess looked up again at the man who looked like her ex, her mind connecting the dots that she did, indeed, recognize him from somewhere. “Jason. I was on the Cerulean High Soccer team with Dorian,” . Great. Small talk that she didn’t want… though… after a few seconds of talking to the man it wasn’t… terrible. She found herself dancing with him… and then… she found his lips on hers. For a few seconds, she let it happen. She let herself lean into his touch… she let herself wrap her arms around his neck because he reminded her of him… he reminded her of the person she wanted to be kissing. But… Jason wasn’t… he wasn’t Dorian. Pulling away, Jess apologized before rushing away - walking outside where she was alone and falling to the floor against the side of the building as she let her head rest against the brick.

Her heart was racing again… and she found herself acting without thinking as she pulled her phone out… calling the one person she couldn’t stop thinking about. The phone rang until going to voicemail… She should have given up there… should have left it at You’ve reached Dorian DeLoughrey. I’m away from my phone right now but leave a message and I’ll get back to you when I can, but she couldn’t. She… she just… needed him… so she tried again, hearing it ring three times before someone picked up from the other end. “H…hi stranger,” Jess whispered at the silence on the other side. Jess could hear the beat of the music from the other end and after a few moments, she finally heard his voice. “Hey…Jess…” Jess heard people talking around him, someone - a girl - clearly trying to get him off the phone. “Hey I’m a little busy…”

She felt her eyes flutter close… just… needing his voice… needing even the smallest part of him. “Yeah…yeah I’m sorry I… I know it’s late I just… never… never mind. I just wanted to call and say I hope you’re having fun and … take a shot for me okay?” and with that… Jess hung up, not letting him say anything else as she found herself alone again. Alone… maybe this was what her life was supposed to be. No kids… no… Dorian… no love… just her. This was… it. Though was that really the case? After all, soon she was joined by her cousin who asked no questions but stayed with her as tears fell down her eyes.

@Littlefeets - Jezebel
@astxrism - Dorian

[Kristi]

Cursed Astor club + young Cleo

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

Cleo grinned when Artemis told her she was 8, “Knew it!” She fist bumped the air, “That makes me your older cousin! You have to refer to me as senior Cleo!” Cleo said with a grin as she pointed to herself, “Come on say it, Senior C.l.e.o” She spelt out her nickname- wait, nickname! She forgot to give Artemis one, and now that she’s a member of the cursed Astor club, something Cleo just made up cough she will need a nickname. Hmmm Arty? Sounds to basic, Madeline called her that before, so taken. Artie? Sounds the same? Missy? Perfect!

“So missy, how is it being the black sheep?” Cleo asked, not caring about how her words my hurt her or surprise her, she was way too excited to care. “We should start telling each other things, being part of the Cursed Astor club” Cleopatra added. “How do you live with yourself? How do you sleep knowing you will never be like your family? I don’t sleep badly, well sometimes but how do you sleep?” Cleo blabbered.

Cleo then asked her what her middle name was, and Artemis responded by saying “Andromeda? Like the galaxy Andromeda?” Cleo asked with a frown, she has also heard that name in this story book about per-per-per, peragon? Shrug, oh well. “Mine is Angeline, basic” Cleo grumbled, she didn’t know what mom was thinking by practically giving her a version of Angelina’s name and she shared the middle name with Jennifer! So it was not unique at all, hmm.

“Yes! But I also do judo, Taekwondo and Sambo- oh, I also box!” Cleo said using her hands to count the things she does, “What do you do?” for a moment Cleo’s nose wrinkled, “Don’t tell me you read a lot of non-picture books like Jennifer.” Cleo groaned “That would make you really boring and add to the reasons why people might find you a bore.”

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

@Ouijaloveletters - Artemis

[Ouijaloveletters]

Arti blinked. This girl was weird, and that was saying something. “Fine. Senior Cleo. There.” Wait. Did she just call her Missy? Let’s just ignore that happened. “Aren’t you the black sheep too?” Arti asked, giving her large eyes. “I sleep fine. I really don’t care. They’re all buttheads.” Cleo asked if it was like the galaxy, and she nodded. “Yep.” Cleo listed off the multiple martial arts She did, and Arti stared. She glared when asked if she read non-picture books. “I read some. I do like pictures, though. Ever read Peanuts?”
@Kristi - Cleo

[Kristi]

Cursed Astor club + young Cleo

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

Cleo frowned, “You said it wrong.” It sounded so fake hmm, there was no enthusiasm in how she said it! “Make it seem like you enjoy calling me Senior Cleo”. Cleo gave her a light poke on the stomach. “Are you ticklish, missy?” Cleo asked with a smirk as she shifted closer to the confused 8 year old. Artemis seemed boring-ish but ok, Cleo could make it work. She was part of the ‘Cursed Astor club’ so she will try to make it work and make her less boring and more like Cleo herself.

“Aren’t you the black sheep too?”

Cleo blinked, “Yeah but like it’s different, my parents never hid me.” Cleo smiled, "Besides you’re a bigger black sheep than me and that’s what makes us the perfect duo for the ‘cursed Astor club’ Cleo didn’t mean it to come out as insensitive but she didn’t know which other way she could phrase it. She was just excited to meet another person like her, or another person who was going through way worst and someone to join her club. And besides, Cleo was telling the truth about missy and the situation she was in.

Ok sure, Uncle John was a try-hard and kinda boring unlike uncle Henry but he wasn’t a butthead. And cousin Draco and Drizzy were cool. “He’s not a butthead.” She defendended her uncle, “He’s ok-ish.” She added pointing her finger up.

Cleo frowned, “Does peanut have pictures?” She asked, “If not, ewwwww.”

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

@Ouijaloveletters - artemis

[Ouijaloveletters]

Arti tried not to facepalm “ok, sorry.” She gave a brilliant smile and said “Senior Cleo! There, better? Sorry, I’m not very good at being excited on the spot.” Arti gulped in horror when Cleo asked if she was ticklish. “Uh…no…?” She scooted away. “Yeah, that’s true. Like Bonnie and Clyde! I think…probably wrong duo.” She said, shrugging. “Well, you don’t live with him. If you did, you’d know.” Cleo asked more about Peanuts, and Artemis stood up. “Hold on.” She said, getting up and returning with a book. “Check it out. It’s a comic.”
@Kristi - Cleo

[Kristi]

Cursed Astor club + young Cleo

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

Cleo frowned, “Well, we know which one of us isn’t going to be an actor anytime soon.” Cleo grumble quietly to herself. It was better than before but not quite, it didn’t have the same enthusiasm as she’s seen Jennie call Angelina. Cleo gasped realizing something, “Is it because i’m not Angelina you can’t act it better? Is it because i’m way to adorable and cute to be seen as a senior?” she blinked, big brown hazel-ish eyes staring at her cousin as she tried to find a way that would prove she’s better than Ang. Though, her cousin probably didn’t even know who Angie was… but who cared? Certainly not Cleo. Cleo placed her hands on her face and gushed, “I’m just so cute it hurts, I don’t see why mommy and daddy prefer Angie and Jennie.”

“You’re not ticklish, Missy?” Cleo asked again an evil expression on her face as she moved closer to Missy who shifted away. “Can I try to see?” Cleo didn’t wait for a response before she tickle-attacked Missy. “Grrr i’m the tickle monster.” Cleopatra laughed at Missy’s expression, she loved tickling people.

Cleo frowned, “Bonnie and Clyde?” She’s never heard of them before but they sounded fun. Were there Missy friends? Someone only missy knew? Cleo pouted, she wanted to know them too- well, maybe she didn’t. Missy seemed to hesitant to mention them, she would ask uncle Harry.

. “Well, you don’t live with him. If you did, you’d know.”

Cleo stood up and stomped her leg on the ground, “I don’t need to live with him to know.” If Missy had called him boring or a try-hard Cleo would have believed it, but she didn’t. Sure, Uncle John would be considered a butthead for hiding Missy for so long and probably being embarrassed by his own child and treated them like a black sheep, but Mom and dad weren’t buttheads and they obviously favored her other sisters above Cleo-they also tend to show extreme favoritism and tends to forget about some of Cleo and Jennifer’s important days but they weren’t buttheads. So obviously, Uncle John wasn’t a butt head.

Missy returned with a book and Cleo made a face, was she going to force her to read a non-picture book? If that was the case, Cleo would remove. her from the ‘Cursed Astor club’ “Check it out. It’s a comic.” Missy said and Cleo’s eyes brightened, “A comic?”

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

@Ouijaloveletters - Artemis

[Ouijaloveletters]

Cleo muttered something, but Arti shrugged it off. “I don’t know who Angie is, but you’re definitely adorable. You’re going to get all the boys when we’re older. Trust me.” Artemis yelped when Cleo began to tickle her, toppling into the pool. She resurfaced a minute later, spitting up water. “Might as well go change into my swimsuit now.” She giggled, climbing out of the pool. “Well, maybe he’ll get better. I do love my dad even if he is annoying.” She nodded, handing Cleo the book. “It’s all pictures. I love it.” She said. She was just happy her book was ok. She then ran off to get in her swimsuit.
@Kristi - Cleo

[Kristi]

Cursed Astor club + young Cleo

-. - . -. - .-. - .-. - . -. - . -. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .-. - .

“And girls? Angelina said she used to have a girlfriend, will I get all the girls too?” Cleo asked batting her lashes. She wanted to do everything Angelina does, but better because she’s better than Angelina. Sigh, or at least she would be when she grows up. She’ll grow up big and be better not prefect but better.

Cleo gasped as Missy fell into the water, should she help her? Could missy even swim? Should Cleo just sit down and cheer that she could do it? Probably, Cleo shrugged and began cheering that Missy could do it, “You’re not going to d!e! I believe in you” She cheered as she paddled her feet on the water. When Missy resurfaced a minute later, Cleo was proud. It was obviously because of her cheering that Missy made it, maybe if Cleo told mommy and daddy this they would love her. Cleo chewed on her lips as she pondered about this, not even noticing Missy leaving to change to her swimsuit.

“Well, maybe he’ll get better. I do love my dad even if he is annoying.”

Missy said, straying Cleo from her thoughts. Huh what? Why was she suddenly talking about Uncle John, Cleo’s mouth opened in an ‘oh’ shape as she remembered what they were talking about. Uncle John was annoying, like really annoying and according to Aunt Selena- he’s being annoying even when they were kids.

@Ouijaloveletters - Artemis

[Ouijaloveletters]

“I’m sure you could get anyone you want! You’re cute like that.” When she fell in the pool, she internally laughed when she heard Cleo cheering for her from under the water. “I wasn’t going to die, don’t worry. Thanks for cheering, though!” Arti said, grinning. Cleo was loud, but she couldn’t help but like her. Her happiness was contagious.
@Kristi - Cleo

[benitz786]

~ More of Grayson’s Train of Thoughts~

Hi again you! Reader - I think we’ve already gotten past the introductions at this point right? I’m Grayson, but of course, you remembered that. I mean… again… cutest one in the room, Hellooooo. Ignore Ethan, he’s irrelevant. I don’t care what people say, we totally do not look alike because I AM CUTER. So, you might be wondering what happened after that wedding where my mum and dad were RUDE and ignored me… well, I guess they kinda made it up to me. We went to a place called Old York… New York? I don’t know man, I’m 6 months old, do I look like a map? It was something York. It was sooooo cold but GUESS what? Dad hugged me the entire time so I wouldn’t get too cold - so that was pretty awesome because I got allllll of my dad’s attention - even when Zoooee was like “pick me up, pick me up”, daddy told her to go to those booorrring nannies because he was preoccupied with this cuteness - perks of being the youngest, amiright? So yeah - we went allll around the city. Mommy and Daddy and Shay and Zoe and Aidan ate this weird triangle looking thing, but it was fine cause I got milk and that’s the actual good stuff - and some affection from random people because again, I’m adorable.

Though APPRENTLY his dad thought it would be cute to put him and Ethan in a pile of something called snow. Like WHAT THE HELL DAD. I was all cozy and warm and then you put me on top of the freezing thing. “Baa bddas baaa daaa maa seee,” Grayson got out with a pout wondering what the hell that was all about - maybe for a photo or to show him snow which was really just coooollllldd ice cream he couldn’t eat. How did he know he couldn’t eat it? Well, ask Ethan. Boy tried and mommy said no. Though… it’s not that he could really eat ice cream either but mama gave it to him sometimes when dad wasn’t looking which was prettyyyyy great. Anyways, let me translate what I said for you non baby speakers. DAD THIS IS BLOODY COLD, HOLD ME AGAIN THIS INSTANT, THANK YOU and like a good dad - he obliged. See - the real people who ran the world were babies. Adults just didn’t know it yet. “Fck” . MY GOD SHUT UP ETHAN. Ever since Ethan learned his new adult word, he kept saying it for attention. Like WE GET IT ETHAN. Stop being an attention wh0re. And… Gray was totally not saying that because he couldn’t say it yet. Look, he tried copying Ethan, it was just hard. “Ff…ff…fbereabanantm” see… couldn’t say he didn’t try.

ANNNNYYYWAYS, overall it was a good week. We went eveeryyyyywhere in this york place and it was nice (cause HELLO I GOT ALL THE ATTENTION). Well… it was GOOD until mommy and daddy took all of them to the park in the center to tell them some big news. You know what the big news was? WELL APPARENTLY SHAY KNEW cause SHAY told all of them that mommy was going to have another baby. EXCUSE ME. ExCuSE mE? His mommy even came over to RUB it in his face saying “Are you excited to be big brothers?,”

“Fck”

YES FCK ETHAN. BECAUSE WE AREN’T GONNA BE THE YOUNGEST ANYMORE. Put your big boy pants on Ethan, because we gotta make sure that doesn’t happen. So what did Grayson do? Well. He cried. Of course, he cried. Mommy and daddy just broke his little heart. How. Rude.

PART 1 - There’s gonna be more I just don’t have time rn for all the time skips

@astxrism