Human
Written by Megs.
35 posts.
18 years old.
ladies man.
I am Male.
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Post by Elliot Munson on Jun 7, 2022 1:35:06 GMT
“Jesus, Eli, you growing a fucking rug on your chest or what?”
Blake’s voice drew Elliot out of his head, eyes cutting to his friend’s grinning face before dropping to his chest. He winced at the sight, looking back at the boy as he shrugged. Perhaps he'd been attempting chest hair over the summer. So what?
“Babes dig it, Griffin,” he shot back, running his fingers through his growing chest hair for emphasis, “Like having something to hold onto when they ride.” He winked at Blake, and the boy threw his head back as he howled out in laughter.
“You’re fucking wild, man,” he chuckled, toweling off his hair before pulling on his t-shirt, “When’s the next party going to be? It’s been a while since we’ve wrecked your place.”
Elliot laughed as he rubbed his own towel down his arm, drying the droplets of water off his skin. The pair had just finished showering after gym class, having run laps around the track as they shot the shit until the coach called them into the locker room. It had been a while since they’d had a chance to catch up. Blake had been so wrapped up in his own friend group and his little lady friend while Elliot had been spending most of his time with Sadie and his boys over summer break. Eli had been elated when they found out they were going to have gym together this year. He’d met Blake sophomore year of high school, both sat in the back of Ms. Meyers biology class as they admired the curved anatomy that was Haliey Green’s breasts. They’d caught one another staring and shared a snicker. That was all it took for the pair to become friends. They hung out at lunch when neither of their other friends were available and Blake was a constant presence at his house on weekends—either chatting up a girl at one of his parties or sat at the foot of his bed as they battled each other in Smash Bros. They were no stranger to shooting hoops at the court at the local park, making a game out of trick shots and throwing the ball at one another. They were friends—not best friends, but friends nonetheless. They knew that the other was busy with life and didn’t hold it against each other. They had phones and texted often. The boys didn’t need to see each other to keep the relationship alive.
He didn’t answer until his own shirt was over his head, smoothing down the collared long-sleeve shirt and tucking it into his khakis. He caught Blake pressing the back of his hand to his lips to stifle a laugh, but he didn’t say anything. Blake knew it was Fancy Friday. He knew better than to comment on it. It was still a sore subject. Leo had left three years ago, but Elliot hadn’t missed a single Friday. When they were little, his older brother would dress them up in their church clothes to celebrate the end of the week. It had always bothered their dad, and when Leo came out it made things a little clearer as to why. His brother didn’t text him often and Eli struggled to reach out first, but they did talk occasionally. He couldn’t shake the feeling of abandonment, couldn’t fathom ever leaving his parents or Wyatt the way Leo did. Pulling his belt through the loops and fastening it, he composed himself. Leo chose to leave just as Elliot chose to keep up the tradition. He wouldn’t betray their day. He wasn’t like that.
“My parents haven’t traveled in about a month,” he explained and Blake nodded—he was only able to have them when his parents were away, “Besides, I didn’t think you’d have time with the way you’ve been chasing after Sabrina.” He couldn’t stop himself from jabbing, grinning from ear to ear as he dodged Blake’s attempt at whipping him with a rolled up towel.
“Fucker,” Blake hissed, “You know it ain’t like that.”
“Like hell it isn’t,” Eli laughed, tugging on his shoes as the period drew to a close, “Don’t act like you didn’t whine about how she left you when we first met. Couldn’t believe you guys weren’t dating with the way you bitched about it.”
Blake was red in the face, embarrassed and so grateful that none of the pack shared this class. It had been easy back then to spill his guts to an outsider. He hadn’t imagined still being friends with him or he wouldn't have said anything about Brina. “It really isn’t though,” Blake said, a little defeated as he finished dressing himself, “I’m just happy she’s back is all. I don’t think she feels the same and I don’t want to push it.” His back was turned to Eli, but he didn’t have to be looking at him to know what his face looked like. Elliot pulled his backpack on before stepping over to Blake.
“Hey, man,” he set his hand on Blake’s shoulder and the boy raised his eyes—hazel meeting coffee brown, “I’m just fucking with you. She’s to you what Mae is to me. If you need some tips, I’m here for you. I know it’s tough going to your guys when they’re friends with her.” Blake nodded, thankful and not able to voice his thoughts. “Tell you what,” he said as he stepped away, clapping his hands together, “My parents are leaving tonight for Oregon. I was just going to hang with Wyatt and the dogs, but I can set up a little kickback for my guys and your friends, yeah?”
“Sounds great, man. Nice way to kick off the school year,” Blake added. It was the first Friday of the year, the end of their last first week of high school.
As they walked out of the locker room, Eli hummed, “I’ll text you the details before the day’s over.”
“Perfect, Eli,” Blake gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder, the bell ringing overhead and he was quick to jump, “Fuck, I was going to meet Brina at her locker. Damnit.” When Eli wiggled his brows, Blake cursed, “Oh, fuck off, you ass.” He moved to step away, not looking where he was going. Blake bumped into a girl, quick to right her before she could stumble and hissing, “Oh damn, I’m sorry, Jay-Bird. Don’t tell Ash or he’ll rip my balls off.” He side-stepped the girl and jogged off towards the left. "Send Sadie my love, you dick," he called over his shoulder as he trotted away.
Eli was quick to step forward, hand hovering a few inches from Jade's arm because he didn’t want to touch her without knowing her. “You’re the dick,” he yelled after his friend, to which Blake flipped him the bird over his shoulder, before Eli turned to the girl.
“You alright?” He knew her from Blake, something about being Ashton’s girlfriend—-Ashton being someone he didn’t know extremely well, but enough to call him an acquaintance. “Blake can be a fucking bulldozer sometimes. I’ll kick his ass if you want,” he joked, smiling at her as he came to the conclusion she was fine.
“Jade, right? Eli,” he moved his hand from where it had been above her shoulder to offer it for her to shake, “I’m in your Economics class.” Which was next, and he couldn’t stop himself from offering, “I can walk you there? Be a shield for any more Blake-sized assholes?”
He was known for his hair. Tall and thick and from the ‘80s. Running the hand that wasn’t held out to her through his damp waves to push it up, his eyes danced over her face. She was pretty. Really fucking pretty. Ashton was a lucky guy and he knew better than to say that aloud.
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jun 7, 2022 21:29:44 GMT
For thirty minutes Jade had fussed over her hair, combing and curling and combing some more. Fifteen minutes to pick her outfit. To smooth the material of her skirt, stand on her tiptoes in front of her mirror to check how much of her ass would be on show if she leant over ever so slightly. Not too much, thankfully. It was a Friday and Friday had been date night for a month or so now. A simple cinema trip was on the agenda tonight but... well, Jade couldn’t lie, skirts made date night a lot easier. The first week of school had been a blur, schedule in hand half the time as Jade seemed to have twice as many classes as she needed to and had lived in minor fear all week long that’d she miss one and be behind for the rest of the year. Lunch was no longer lonely. Jade couldn’t get a peaceful lunch anymore. Ashton would be sat next to her, hand drifting up her leg despite how many times she kicked him under the table to stop because it was “only the third day back, Ash, we cannot make out in coach’s office again!”. Yeah, truth be told, Ashton and Jade hadn’t spent much time in the cafeteria yet. When they were there, the others were, too – if their schedules aligned. Blake would be sat opposite them, eyes lingering on whatever Sabrina was doing which was usually having a heated argument with Murphy. Topics included why Khloe Kardashian was the best Kardashian sister, why preheating the oven was or was not necessary and why cheese was necessary for most meals. The bizarre arguments had been rather comforting to Jade, reminding her of her own random ramblings that Ashton and Erin put up with. Earlier in the year, Jade and Erin had been relaxing on their trampoline, the night progressively growing colder and colder, she’d still felt so new to town. A baby deer standing up for the first time. Wobbly and unsure. Now, Jade felt fairly certain of her place in school. Even if the pile of homework she had to work on over the weekend made her want to walkout and never ever come back.
It should not have taken Jade an hour and a half to get ready for school but she’d have no time after to get ready to see Ashton so she’d needed to maximise her beauty time. Ha ha, beauty sleep felt far more like what she needed as she stepped into the girl’s bathroom between classes and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were tired, a smidge of purple colouring the inner corner. Taking a moment to close her eyes against the mercifully empty room, Jade’s hands gripped the ceramic of the sink. It was easy, far too easy to act like everything was fine. But being comfortable and settled felt far deadlier than being a fish out of water. Sometimes, Jade would start awake in the middle of the night, a door slamming in their home, jolting her upright, blankets tossed this way and that as she waited and waited. She always expected her bedroom door to burst open, one of her parents snapping to get packed and leave. What would she say to her friends? How could she just drop off the face of the earth and leave them behind? It had been easy before, she’d never formed attachments. Erin had been all she’d needed. A built-in best friend from the womb. Someone who would stand by her side for life and never let her down. But she was definitely far too attached now. Going over to the cabin had become one of her favourite things. Talking to Jensen about his upcoming plans with Iris, asking Sabrina about her latest shifts at Sal’s, slowly winning a smile from Murphy, asking Blake about some girl from her class because somehow he seemed to know a little something about everyone. Most of all, the cabin was Ashton. It was late nights tucked into his side, her fingers tracing the muscles on his chest as he hummed a quiet tune. It was carrying two overly full mugs of coffee up to his room in the morning and Ashton playing licking the coffee off of her fingers despite her protests not to. It was misty afternoons in the summer where a small rainstorm would pass through and they’d watch a movie together, the rest of the world hidden in the pouring rain. Just the two of them.
Waiting for the inevitable next move was wearing down on her. Every smile shared with her friends adding to the purple around her eyes. Moving after they graduated was one thing. That Jade could prepare for. Being ripped away from the fragile life she’d formed here in the blink of an eye? Jade sighed, eyes fluttering open and relaxing her grip on the sink. She knew she shouldn’t think like this. This was negative and grey, gloomy and unnecessarily pessimistic. That was not Jade. Or not the version she’d presented herself to be. Erin was meant to be the grumpy one. But sometimes Jade wanted to be grumpy, too.
What was she doing? It was Friday – Date Night! Forcing a smile to her face, Jade did a once over of her outfit (for about the 30th time that day but let a girl live). Fitted white t-shirt, little daisy necklace, black skirt that truly was too short for school, an oversized blue and white shirt which she’d stolen from her dad’s wardrobe. Her shoes were simple white Converse, she’d contemplated heels but the stress of them jabbing Ashton in the eye whilst her legs were over his shoulders had held her back. They hadn’t rushed to do anything, they’d taken their sweet time to get to that final step but now that that boundary had been crossed, Jade couldn’t help herself. She’d play coy for five minutes and then give in. Except there was no giving in. She wanted him. She needed him. Looking at him for a minute too long made her skin itch, desperate to have him on top of her, inside of her, lips locked together and legs impossibly tangled. No better than every single other horny teenager.
Shaking her head, Jade’s head buzzed with her teacher’s words, history lessons droning in her ears which would be forgotten by the time the bell rang at the end of the day. Jade was smart and she enjoyed learning but only some parts. The logic and rigour of science lessons honed Jade’s attention, all thoughts of moving, of Ashton, of the rest of the world ebbing away as the mixture of chemicals in the tube in front of her spun together. Everything else seemed silly. Well, saying silly felt silly. Scrap that, everything else felt pointless. What was Jade going to do with facts about the Berlin Wall? She’d slipped out of class a little early, feigning a migraine. In reality, she’d just needed a break from her teacher’s monotone voice.
People would be streaming into the bathroom soon, desperate to touch up their makeup and relieve themselves before their next class. Which, and Jade audibly groaned at the thought, was economics. “Let’s drop out,” Jade suggested to her own reflection who, of course, did not reply. Rolling her eyes, Jade picked her bag back up, slinging it over her left shoulder and stepping into the hall where other students were slowly starting to mill about.
“Jade,” a familiar voice called and Jade smiled before even locking eyes with Sabrina. “How long were you hiding in there for?” Sabrina asked as Jade closed the distance between them, her left hand holding the strap of her bag up whilst the other flapped aimlessly.
“Uh,” glancing at the clock above the stairwell, Jade grimaced, surprised at how much time had passed. “I promise I wasn’t in there pooping,” she offered before inwardly cursing, why the fuck did she say that.
Sabrina didn’t seem bothered and just laughed, hands sorting through something in her locker, “no judgement if you were,” the girl replied, hair swishing in a long ponytail which seemed to be Sabrina’s preferred hairstyle, particularly on days she had shifts at Sal’s.
“Will you be at Jensen’s later?” Jade asked, casting a glance toward where her class was. The bell was still silent and Jade needed the distraction from her thoughts. Sabrina had arrived seemingly overnight back into the boys’ lives but Jade had just been thrilled to have another girl around even if Sabrina seemed constantly busy with work and her sister. In the quiet minutes they had alone together like this, Jade always tried to make conversation with her.
Sighing, Sabrina pushed her locker shut, “don’t think so, there’s a freshman tradition of flocking to Sal’s on the first Friday of the school year so they’ve scheduled a load of us to work. I doubt I’ll get off early.” Nodding, Jade offered a weak smile, she didn’t have a job. Had never even really considered it. “But, I’ll hopefully see you over the weekend?” Sabrina added, giving Jade’s arm a gentle squeeze.
“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be around,” Jade replied with a laugh because she always seemed to be around. She was surprised Murphy hadn’t demanded she pay rent yet. “I gotta go, have a good shift!” Jade called, backing up and waving back at Sabrina before hurrying along. She was just approaching the locker rooms when the bell sounded, still caught up and replaying her pooping comment in her head to be fully aware of what was going on. Classic Jade.
Why was she always crashing into these boys? First Ashton, now Blake and she’d met Jensen because she’d crashed into some random person. She had to start paying attention to where she was going. Like seriously needed to focus. Thanking herself for wearing flats, Jade’s hands brushed across Blake’s arms as he murmured an apology which had her shaking her head teasingly, “oh, I’m texting him right now. Enjoy being ballless, Blakey.” He was gone before he could reply, rushing away with parting words to the boy Jade now found herself with.
Watching the two boys interact with amusement, Jade didn’t notice Eli’s hands until he turned back to her. Unsure what to do, Jade – and truly, Jade would be screaming about this interaction into her pillow for weeks – simply high fived his hands, “yeah, good as gold.” She replied before looking away and closing her eyes for all of two seconds because wow, Jade, that was fucking weird. How she’d gotten a boyfriend she had no idea when she seemed to have the social skills of an alien who only knew about human interaction through Sesame Street.
“I’ve been called a bulldozer before so, it’s okay, I’ll survive.” Jade offered, repositioning the bag on her shoulder and offering him what she hoped was a normal smile and not one that suggested she was a complete psycho.
Thankfully that seemed to be a winning smile and this time Jade could actually read social cues and shook his hand back in a perfectly normal way, hopefully. “Nice to properly meet you,” tugging the daisy on her necklace chain, Jade nodded, smile growing brighter. “Definitely, especially if you also offer to be my shield from Mrs. Wallace’s questions about the reading we were meant to do,” which Jade had been too distracted from doing with Ashton sat on her bed, complaining that her room was too hot and peeling his top off and promptly chucking it at the back of her head. They couldn’t study together. Could barely act in a socially acceptable way most of the time at the moment. Maybe they should skip the movies completely.
Maybe Jade was no better than Blake, speaking of which, “Blake running off to see Sabrina?” Jade hadn’t brought it up to Ashton or any of his friends. She didn’t want to shatter whatever precarious dynamic the friends all had now that Sabrina had returned. Suggesting that one of them had feelings for her would surely do that but Eli seemed to be Blake’s friend more than the others so maybe he was a safe person to talk to about this. How no one had mentioned anything was ridiculous. Jade had known Blake for a few months before Sabrina and whilst they hadn’t been the best of buds, he seemed completely different now. In a good way.
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Human
Written by Megs.
35 posts.
18 years old.
ladies man.
I am Male.
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Post by Elliot Munson on Jun 9, 2022 15:17:07 GMT
That was weird. Elliot hesitated for a moment, glancing at his hand as she slid her own into his grip. Did she—did she just high five him? Yeah. She did. Strange. Cute, but a little ditzy. That seems about par for what he knows of the girls Ashton tends to have swimming in the wake he left behind him as he strutted down halls of this school as if he owned them. The guy was full of himself. An ego bigger than Eli’s hair. He was handsome and charming and fucking perfect enough that even Sadie, a lesbian, was drooling over him. Elliot didn’t hate him. He had no grounds to hate him, but Ashton was annoying. He’d known the boy for a few years now. Over the summers, he would waltz through his front door with Blake just a step behind him. He was all smiles and lingering touches on the pretty ladies on Eli’s couch. It hadn’t bothered him then. They would swap stories about Blake and different girls before one or the other got dragged away. He would even consider the guy a friend, but that was when he was only here for a few months. Now? Now he’s taken Elliot’s claim to fame. Ashton was the new pretty boy, the one the girls flocked. Even now, knowing the guy had a girlfriend they would bat their long lashes at him and hope for just a glance their way. To his credit, and it was the only thing he thinks that kept the guy as just annoying and not hated, Ashton didn’t give them a second glance. At least not since he went public with Jade. He’d talked to Blake about it, the shock that Ashton had settled on one when he had always been a boy of many, and Blake shared the sentiment. It was an interesting turn of events and if Eli was anything like Blake, he would have done some snooping on this new girl. As it was, and as intriguing as it all seemed, Eli wasn’t nosey. He was busy. He didn’t have time to worry about Ashton’s new girl or what that meant, and really, he didn’t care past that short conversation with Blake. Friend was maybe too strong of a word, but acquaintance felt too detached. He didn’t know what Ashton was to him, but in the grand scheme of things, his love life didn’t particularly matter to Elliot. It was only because the boy’s girlfriend was standing before him now that he was even thinking this.
Her hand was small and soft in his, his own rough from years of work under the hood and in the yard. Eli liked to keep moving, he didn’t like staying still. If he wasn’t at Munson Motors, he was in the preserve with Sadie snapping pictures of wildlife—hiking miles as they talked and captured moments on film. There was something so powerful about wielding a camera. Time was under his control, then. He got to choose what was memorable, what was printed onto film for the rest of eternity. Moments were so fleeting and forgetful, but not the ones he cherry-picked with his camera’s lens. Sometimes the pictures were damning. Sometimes he wishes he hadn’t taken them at all, but he had. He can’t forget the photo of Mae he has tucked in his nightstand. He can’t forget the way her cheeks were bright and rosy with the force of her laughter, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back as she clutched her stomach. She had been laughing at something he’d said and the camera had been in his hand before he knew it—shutter echoing in the room as he took the picture. It’s been three years, but his heart still aches for her. He wonders if they would still be together if it hadn’t been for Leo leaving. He wonders if he had been stronger, would he have still pushed her away? He didn’t know and that kept him up at night. Even now, he couldn’t meet her eyes in the hallway or in class. He couldn’t face what he’d done because he had never meant to hurt her. But that was a burned bridge. That wasn’t something he could ever repair. Besides, they were just kids. They couldn’t really know what love was then.
“So what I’m hearing is that if I see you in the hall, I should steer clear,” he laughed, finding curiosity tugging at him. So she made a habit of running into people and high-fiving strangers (and with the way she had cringed after) by accident. She was an odd bird, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to know more. Now that she was right here, he wanted to know: what made her so special? Special enough for Ashton to settle down? He cringed as she mentioned their teacher, not able to hold the reaction back. Economics was hard enough to pay attention to, but when the teacher not only looked the like receptionist from Monsters, Inc., but sounded like her too? It was rough. Only one week in and he hasn’t retained a single shred of information. Despite this, he found himself saying, “Of course, Jade. I’ve got you.” And he didn’t know why. Blame curiosity or that she was pretty or his general annoyance towards Ashton and knowing that him befriending her may get a rise out of him. “She’s scary as hell, but I think I can field a few questions for you,” he teased, because he did do the reading even if he didn’t quite comprehend what was said. Elliot wasn’t the brightest. He was averaging a B in most classes that weren’t electives. So he wasn’t stupid, but he wasn’t a candidate for valedictorian like little Sadie was. Honestly, if it wasn’t her constant pestering, he probably would have spent last night playing video games instead of sitting on her floor as she styled his hair—tugging at his roots any time he got distracted from his readings.
Sometimes he wishes she could love him romantically. He didn’t think he would ever get along with another girl the way he did with her.
But then again, maybe they wouldn’t be the way they were if feelings were involved.
He perked up at her inquiry, his hands dropping into the pockets of his khakis as he looked off in the direction Blake had disappeared into. Elliot didn’t talk to many of Blake’s friends. Ashton was a rarity, only at parties or in passing. Murphy was not at all, the two had nearly gotten in a physical fight more than once. But Jensen? Jensen was friends with Gavin and they occasionally found themselves at each other’s side on the bleachers, watching Gavin chase Steven, Zach, and Freddy around the field with a lacrosse stick. They would talk about Blake, really their only common interest. Elliot had tried to ask questions about Sabrina, especially after the girl came back into Blake’s life, but Jensen was a closed book. He could respect that, could appreciate that he was holding onto Blake’s secrets. He was a good friend, but he knew something. That must mean the others did too, right? He just didn’t know them well enough to ask. But as Jade asked that, it warped his idea of the situation. He only knew it from an outsider’s point of view. He hadn’t talked to Sabrina. Blake had kept him away from her the best he could despite knowing that Eli would never say something to her that would jeopardize the boy’s feelings. Blake was just paranoid. Ashton seemed clueless to everyone but himself and Murphy, well, just didn’t seem to care. So he didn’t know if Blake talked about it with anyone else—he had made such a big deal about it being a secret with Eli, but maybe other people were finally taking notice now that the pair were back in communication. Blake wasn’t subtle, especially not around Sabrina from what he’d seen in passing. He couldn’t help but smile whenever he saw the two, laughing later with Freddy about how head over heels and obvious Blake is. It was nice to see his friend so cutesy and sweating over the little things. Blake had been, quite frankly, a slut. It was because Sabrina had left, and now that she was back, it was like the switch was flipped. The boy had still snuck off with a girl at his parties, but it was much less frequent—dwindling into none at all. It was fascinating to watch, but Eli couldn’t help but worry for his friend. Sabrina had left before. He was hesitant to talk about it with Blake because of how passionate he was regarding her, but he really felt the need to sit him down and talk about his change in behavior. Yeah, it was good that he wasn’t whoring himself out to numb whatever it was that was bothering him that day, but at the same time, he was almost obsessive over Sabrina. Eli was just worried, was all.
His eyes traced over Jade’s face for a moment as he picked his words carefully. It was hard. She was very distracting. Her make-up enhanced her beautiful features and he had to force his eyes down—and he wishes he hadn’t. Because holy fuck. Talk about a mini-skirt. He quickly averted his gaze and willed the pink from his cheeks. He couldn’t help it. He was a hot-blooded teenage boy. He thought about his dad in a bikini. About Wyatt when he was sick and had snot dripping down his face and into his mouth and yeah, that did the trick. Fucking gross. He repressed a shiver and instead reached out to gently tap her elbow and nod in the direction of their class so they wouldn’t be late. They could walk and talk.
That is if she could multitask like that. With the comment she made, he worried that she’d run into someone else. He wanted to let his hand hover behind her as a precaution, but he didn’t. It may come off weird or overbearing. Or she might try to high five him again.
“Yeah he is,” he finally said, in step beside her as they moved through the throngs of students in the hall—most of them still learning where their classes were, “He’s been really happy having her back. I met him just after she left that friend group and he was a mess for a while. I’ve never seen him like this.” He looked at her then, head turned her way as he moved his hand through his drying hair. Maybe he could fish for some more information from her. He knew Blake moved in with Ashton and with how Ashton was, Jade must be over all the time. Maybe she has the inside scoop he couldn’t get from the man himself. She must know Blake at least a little well, especially with the way she had joked with him as he’d jogged off.
“He’s something else, man,” he chuckled, looking back ahead of them so he didn’t turn into the bulldozer. “But he’s a great guy. I just hope she doesn’t hurt him again. I don’t know Sabrina well at all, just what he’s said, so I guess I can’t really speak on the situation too much.” He didn’t care for gossip, but when it came to his friends, he liked to know enough to help keep them safe and in line when needed.
“But you,” he playfully nudged her with his elbow, smiling down at her briefly, “You’re Ashton’s girl so I imagine you see Blake a whole lot more than I do. Does he act this stupid at home? It’s like his head is screwed on too loose ever since she’s come back.” And maybe it was a more blunt approach for information, but he wasn’t as suave as Blake was when it came to gathering secrets. He just cared about his friend and wanted to make sure he was going to be okay.
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jun 11, 2022 22:44:18 GMT
Ah shit, she hadn’t completely gotten away with that high five. He hesitated because of course he did, he was a normal human being and not one prone to moments that had them questioning their own sanity. Well, that’s what she could tell anyway. Not that she’d known him for longer than a minute. Jade just hoped the damage wouldn’t last too long and maybe, by some small mercy, he’d forget about that. But, and Jade didn’t know this yet, luck was not going to be on her side these next few months.
Well, at least she’d painted her nails precisely the night before in a soft pink colour with just the faintest pearl to them so they glinted under the violent white lights of the school hall. The thought to bat her eyelashes to distract him for a moment from any thoughts of ‘this girl is a freak’ did cross Jade’s mind but she quickly decided against it. Being seen as a flirt was no better than freak. Or... maybe it was better? No, no definitely not when you’re in a very well-known relationship, Jade. Why did she care what he thought? She didn’t know him. Then again, why did she spend so long getting ready this morning? Why was she careful with what she said around Ashton, halting her tongue from reacting with a string of swear words when something caught her off guard? Why was she asking herself all these questions? Why, why, why? Jade knew why, of course. Shitty ex-boyfriends were the culprit. Retract that, one particular shitty ex-boyfriend. Not that Jade had had a handful. In fact, she’d only had him. Robert Slotter. What a horrible name. Jade Slotter had a particularly janky ring to it. But everyone had just called him Slots. She’d met Robert when she was freshly 16, fairly new to whatever small town they’d found themselves in for that season and she’d completely misjudged the number of paces she needed to take whilst doing hurdles. She’d fallen at the first one, knees scraping against the ground and hands red raw as they took the impact of her tumble. She’d slumped down, wanting to completely sink into the ground beneath her because how was she going to stand up, look everyone in the eye and say she was fine? Because there was definitely blood trickling down her leg and her eyes were stinging from holding back tears. Someone had come to help, a girl in her class who was looking for an excuse to not run track for the next half hour offered to take Jade to the nurse. Jade couldn’t even remember her name now. The Littles hadn’t stuck around in that town for long and none of it felt worth remembering in much detail. Except for Robert. For five minutes Jade had sat in the nurse's room in silence, waiting for the nurse to finish some paperwork whilst Jade’s white sock slowly turned pink. Robert had strutted in then, lip bust up and cheek a step away from being completely purple. “You should see the other guy,” he’d said, throwing her leg a look, eyebrows bunching together. “Nurse won’t be back for ages. Her paperwork breaks are code for hooking up with the math teacher.” Jade had frowned, raising her leg up to check the damage. She’d managed to wash the majority of grit out from her hands but the slice across her right knee need a Band-Aid at least. “No need to frown, pretty girl. Doctor Slots will help.” And that had been it, the beginning of a rapid descent into falling for him. Pretty girl. She’d hated pet names for the longest time after everything had crashed and burned with him. He’d crouched down before her, fingers brushing down the outside of her leg, Band-Aid precariously hanging from his teeth whilst Jade’s heart drummed against her chest, hands near shaking from the feather light presence of his touch. “If only all my patients were as calm as you...” He’d trailed off, eyes cutting up to meet hers whilst knelt before her. If Jade hadn’t been blushing before, she’d certainly turned a lovely strawberry shade then. “Jade,” she’d offered, voice a little too high pitched but he’d only smiled, smoothed the band-aid across her cut knee and stood up.
In hindsight, Jade should have just let him walk out of the door. Instead, she’d stood up with him, the action taking Robert by surprise for only a second before a Cheshire Cat grin crossed his face and he eyed her up and down once more. He was a senior. He’d already toyed with most of the girls in the high school that he’d deemed interesting enough to entertain. Jade was new and shiny. Jade had been something to win. “If you give me your phone number, Jade, I can give you a follow-up appointment later.” And she did. Without a second thought she’d typed her number into his phone, reading it back twice to make sure it was correct before handing it back to him with a giddy smile.
That night Robert had called her at 10pm, she’d already been ready for bed, silently swiping through apps on her phone when it had started urgently vibrating. For a moment, Jade had frozen, unsure what to do. She’d never bothered to entertain guys before. But she just hadn’t been able to ignore him, or the way her body had felt with his fingers drifting across her skin. From that day on he always rang her, sometimes it was just after dinner, other times the sound of her phone going off at 1am would wake her up in a blind panic. Still, she never said no or to call her back another time. She didn’t want to be difficult.
Still didn’t want to be.
She’d done such a thorough job at trying to block thoughts of Robert from her mind. Sometimes he still crept in. Taunting her. Always fucking taunting her.
She could push the thoughts of him away for now. Now she had someone new in front of her. A distraction. Per-fucking-fect.
“Oh, yeah, I’d advise a good 5 foot radius to avoid any accidents,” Jade replied, a chuckle escaping her, grateful that they seemed to have moved past the high five. Surely it would have made sense for Jade to be adept at meeting new people after swapping schools so many times, right? Well, she could get on with most people, finding it easy to wiggle your way into someone’s good books with a few smiles and kind words. But that first initial encounter? Yeah, something normally went a little haywire.
Scrunching her nose up in delight, Jade was suddenly very grateful for Blake barrelling into her. Eli seemed like someone handy to have around. Nice, too. With hair that Jade chanced a glance at, impressed by how he had quite so much of it. “What a hero,” Jade replied, voice light and bright. Pleasant. Pleasing.
Right, they needed to get to class. Falling into step beside Eli as they eased their way through the crowds. Being a senior had its advantages with many of the freshmen keeping to the edges of the crowd or veering off completely when they saw seniors coming. Which was probably for the best as Jade was more focused on what Eli was saying about Blake than where she stepped. Probably not the best idea when she’d already collided with one person today. Looking up at him just as he seemed to turn his attention back to the ever changing path in front of them, Jade’s lips pressed together, contemplating. She’d only known Blake a short while before Sabrina had come back and at first Murphy and Blake had felt rather interchangeable. Obviously now Jade knew how different the boys could be but the first few times around them had been a blur of dark-haired boys and feeling nervous. Wanting to impress. Wanting to fit in. Wanting, wanting, wanting to be... what?
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Jade would lay awake, mind rattling with questions of what and who she would end up being. She had little desire to be a hunter. Only when others were hurt did she ever feel that need to step in and pick up a blade. The most interest Jade had ever shown for that field was understanding how and why. It was pure scientific curiosity. But spilling blood was low down on her to-do list, somewhere close to completing her economics reading and hoovering the dust bunnies from beneath her bed. Their parents hadn’t bothered to train them all that thoroughly and, thankfully, Jade didn’t feel too much pressure to follow in their footsteps. But if she wasn’t following them, what was she going to do? Those thoughts could keep Jade awake for hours, tossing and turning as she devoured webpage after webpage on her phone, completing stupid quizzes in hopes they would offer some guidance on what to do. Mercifully, she’d found a way to cope with it. Or, had realised how quickly those thoughts would melt away when Ashton’s arms tugged her body against his, burying his head in the crook of her neck. She’d fall asleep within minutes feeling completely safe within his hold. When she slept alone, sleep would come far more slowly. She’d end up turning a random video on – top picks were aquarium livestreams, cleaning product reviews, and city guides for countries she’d probably never visit – and drifting away with her head full of fish or flashing images.
It scared her a little. How much she was starting to rely on Ashton. After Robert she’d told herself to not go back down that path. To not be the answer to someone’s every beck and call. But she needed him. She couldn’t deny it anymore. She craved him when he wasn’t around. Of course she noticed the way other girls still stared at him and the looks she’d sometimes catch them giving her did enough to make her blood turn to ice. But she wouldn’t react. Not when she knew she’d be the one tugging at his hand as they walked past without bothering to acknowledge any of them.
At least Eli didn’t seem to be giving her dirty looks because of who she was dating. Then again, that would probably be a little odd if he did. Or maybe not. Love is love and all that. Laughing as he nudged her, Jade rubbed a hand against the side of her face. Ashton’s girl. No one would call him ‘Jade’s boy’, Jade wasn’t the one with the pick of the crop when it came to Beacon Hills’ eligible bachelors. She was the prize. Not the picker. She’d been part of ‘Slots’ Sluts’ after all. Still, Jade made sure she mimicked Eli’s smile. What to say to Eli’s question? Rambling usually did the trick. At the very least, it was a distraction enough that people often forgot what their question was to begin with.
“Blake’s a lot of fun,” Jade agreed, recalling an incident during the summer where a heated water balloon fight had ensued at the cabin and Blake had somehow managed to land a balloon perfectly across Jade’s face. She’d been sputtering water for hours but the pair had laughed themselves silly, mimicking her reaction for the rest of the night, complete with dark trails of mascara easing their way across the slopes of her cheeks. “I didn’t know Blake that well before Sabrina came back but, jeez,” for a split second, Jade hesitated. These were her friends. She didn’t want this to come back to them as her gossiping. “Everything I’m about to say is just between us, Eli, you heard none of this from me.” She had no reason to believe he’d run over to Blake and fill him in on what she’d said, but better safe than sorry.
“I feel like no one else notices. Maybe it’s just how Blake and Sabrina were when they used to be friends so it seems normal to the others. But, oh my god, Eli, they cannot leave each other alone. If we ever have to pair off, they always look at each other first. They never even need to say it. It’s like, it’s just a fact to them that their partner will be each other. I get being really close friends but... there’s close friends and then there’s them.” See, word vomit. Always does the trick. “I think they seem sweet but I wouldn’t dare mention it to that group and disrupt whatever friendship dynamic they all have going on.” Learning that they all (minus Sabrina) lived together had been a shock at first. They acted more like brothers than friends. Always there for one another without having to be asked. It was the kind of bond Jade had longed for when she was younger until she realised that of course she had that bond. Erin. Forever bound together. If only Erin and Ashton could stand to be around each other a bit more. “From what I can piece together, Sabrina regrets the time she spent away from her friends so, I don’t think she’s going anywhere any time soon.” Jade hadn’t wanted to pry. The situation had seemed so sensitive when Sabrina came back so she’d kept her questions to a minimum. Instead, she’d just tried to be a friendly face whenever their paths had crossed. Over time, Sabrina had opened up, offering an abbreviated version of why she’d fallen out with the others. A change in family dynamics or something along those lines.
Jade waited for her words to sink in, for Eli to process what she’d said before she asked, “but you, you’re Blake’s buddy, how’d you two meet?” Parroting back his words from earlier, Jade even threw in the playful elbow nudge. Blake and the others had all met when they were kids and were now fairly inseparable. It felt rare for Jade to see one of them with completely different people so she couldn’t help being a little curious with Eli.
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Human
Written by Megs.
35 posts.
18 years old.
ladies man.
I am Male.
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Post by Elliot Munson on Jun 13, 2022 0:20:12 GMT
Eli was not known for being very perceptive. He wasn’t dense. He caught most social cues, but more often than not, Sadie’s elbow was digging deep into his ribs as he zoned out on something in the blurry distance. He could be a bit slow on the uptake, he wasn’t afraid to admit that, but he wasn’t stupid. Okay, maybe he was a little stupid, so what. Point is, he wasn’t like Blake. He didn’t pay attention to every single word that slipped past a person’s lips and how it was said as well. He paid attention to the bare necessities to prove that he was paying attention and almost nothing more. Where this varied, though, was with his friends. He was extremely invested in his friend group. Sadie was like his sister. It was like he shared a sixth sense with her. When she was in pain or when something was going wrong, he felt a twist in his chest. Like a string tethered them together and it was being yanked when she needed him. It was a silly thought and she’d teased him for it before, but after being stitched together at the hip for five years, he just knew. He knew when she was freaking out over an upcoming test. He knew when she was being picked on for her obnoxious socks or her preference in partners. He knew her. He knew when Zach needed a pep talk before a lacrosse game, the blonde jock needed to score every game to guarantee a full ride into a good college and often worked himself up. He knew when Gavin needed a distraction, his head so damn lost in his textbooks that his hair was thinning from where he’d been pulling at it. He knew when Steven needed a place to stay, his parents were loud and mean and not accepting of the man their son was becoming but Eli was. He knew when Freddy needed an alibi, the crazy fucker always causing a ruckus wherever he went and desperate for a scapegoat. He knew his friends. One look in their eye and he knew what words needed to fall from his lips and what he needed to do with his hands. He needed to be needed. He liked that he was the one they could turn to without fail. Wyatt said he had a hero complex and after glaring at his little brother until the boy explained what he meant, he agreed. He didn’t find fault in that. What’s so wrong with being the hero?
Maybe if he’d been more intuitive to Leo, maybe if he’d caught on to the signs of distress sooner—maybe he wouldn’t have left. Leo had needed a hero.
But did Blake? There were times the boy sought Eli out, needing to drop something heavy onto his shoulders that his other friends couldn’t bear the weight of, and he was happy to listen. He was happy to help. But this situation with Sabrina, it seemed so much deeper than he could comprehend. He wishes they were closer, that he knew more about the girl and what happened and how her return has really been, but he wouldn’t press. That wasn’t him. He cared, but he wouldn’t go looking for more than what Blake was willing to give. That felt like crossing lines they never established. Blake would tell him what he wanted Elliot to know and nothing more. Jensen wasn’t going to budge on any information, and he was not going to approach Murphy. The guy scared him. He was man enough to say that. Most people wouldn’t go near James.
This wasn’t digging though. Jade was here and happy to talk. He was making conversation. He was killing two birds with one stone. He was curious about Jade and who she was, and she just happened to know the ins and outs of Blake’s friendship with Sabrina more than he did. There’s nothing wrong with what he was doing. He wasn’t going to ask for secrets, but it seemed she was more than happy to share them.
His brows piqued with interest as she dropped her voice and made it very clear that something would happen if he shared this conversation. “Promise not to tell a soul,” he said before she dumped the information on him, pressing his palm to his chest as he joked, “Scout’s honor.” Not that he’d ever been a boy scout, but she didn’t need to know that.
What she said was, well, interesting to say the least. It sounded like Blake was whipped. Eli bit his lip, nibbling on the plush flesh between his teeth as he mulled over the information. It was a different story than what Blake had told him, but that’s what he’d been expecting. He glanced away from Jade, studying the faces in the hall. He didn’t know quite what to do with that. He supposes it isn’t really his place to do anything at all but keep an eye out and comment on it when the opportunity presents itself. He wouldn’t seek out Sabrina. He wouldn’t confront Blake. But it was good to know.
A small elbow playfully knocking into his side pulled him from his thoughts. His eyes were bright with mischief as they met hers, lips twisted around a smirk. That was cute. Eli was fairly easy to impress. “I feel like they do notice,” he said before answering her question, eyes batting over her face before he looked back out ahead of him. As he did, his eyes caught onto a familiar set of hazel. Mae was at her locker, textbook pressed to her chest as she talked to one of her friends. Their eyes locked briefly, a shy smile crossing her lips as her fingers waved slowly at him—brows drawn in close as she caught sight of Jade. Eli instinctually stepped away, unable to return her kindness out of shame. His eyes dropped to the floor, making his motion seem as though he was stepping around something and not moving away from Jade because of the proximity. He didn’t see the way Mae’s face fell. He couldn’t bear that. “Jensen is friends with my buddy, Gavin. I’ve asked him about it before and he won’t talk to me about it. Says it’s nothing but his eyes say something different, you know? So they may act like it’s nothing, but his friends know about it. Or, well, at least Jensen does. I think,” he rubbed at the back of his neck, laughing sheepishly as he turned his head to the side. He spared a glance over his shoulder, eyes tracing over the shape of Mae’s back and fighting to keep the frown off his face.
He remembers meeting her for the first time. They’d been in fifth grade, put together in a group to work on some silly math project for an hour in class. He’d stuck crayons in his ears and up his nose to get her to laugh and it worked. He found that he quite liked the sound of it. He spent the next six years trying everything he could to get her to giggle—to spread that sugary sweet noise across his ears. He’d asked her out not long after his second girlfriend and him broke up. It had been another month long fling where they’d just drifted because it wasn’t exciting anymore. Mae had her hand on his shoulder, not saying anything as they sat on a bench in the school’s courtyard after school. The sky promised rain, clouds heavy and dark as they drifted across the sky. Elliot had leaned into her touch, eyes turned towards the gloomy grays as he sighed, “I don’t feel like this dating thing would be so hard if you were my girlfriend.” She had gone stiff, head turning so quickly to the side that she knocked their foreheads together. They each had clutched their heads, laughs ringing out loud and pitched as they rubbed at the sore skin. “Was that your way of asking me out, El ” She had asked, disbelieving and breathless. Eli was speechless, eyes searching hers as he realized that it had been. “Yeah, I guess it was,” he chuckled, reaching out to tangle their fingers and she let him. “That was a pretty awful proposition,” she teased, squeezing his hand, “But I’ve been waiting long enough that I guess it'll do.” He leaned in, acting on impulse as he sealed his lips over hers. The sky broke open, a loud crack of thunder as the heavens rained down upon them. It felt perfect. Mae had told him when they were young that she’d always wanted her first kiss to be in the rain like in those cheesy rom-coms.
The break-up hurt the most because she’d been a friend first. Before Sadie and Blake. Before the boys. Before Leo left. She’d been his and he fucked it up. He didn’t deserve those shy smiles or little waves. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness or for her to hold out hope. He shouldn’t have broken up with her. He shouldn’t have said what he had. Those words still haunted him. They were never meant for her, but she’d been the one there to hear it. Leo hadn’t.
Eli faced forward again, reaching out on instinct to grab her wrist to lead her into the classroom as they came upon it, but he stopped short. He wasn’t used to being around new faces. It was either Sadie or some girl he was courting for the hell of it. Jade was taken and he really couldn’t be bothered to deal with Ashton’s temper. Instead, he moved his hand behind her back and guided her without making contact. “Like I'd said,” he started, finally getting to her question, “I didn’t meet him until after Sabrina had left. Sophomore year in Biology class.” He smirked, not able to stop himself as he recalled exactly what it was that sparked their initial conversation. “We had mutual interests and just clicked.” He motioned towards a table near the back of the class, assuming she was going to join him so they could keep talking—or at the very least so he could help her dodge the teacher’s questions.
He pulled her seat out for her before taking his own. Mrs. Wallace hadn’t forced any assigned seating from the start which was a rarity. Her rule was that students could move around for the first week, but starting Monday of the second, that was their assigned seat for the first quarter of the semester for grouping purposes. If Jade ended up not liking his company, she still had the opportunity to change on Monday. But as he looked her way as she scooted her seat in and gathered her notebook and pens, he found that he didn’t want her too. She was nice company so far. Better than the girl who’d been trying to weasel her way into his space for the majority of the week—who was now glaring at the taken seat beside him as she marched into class. Oh well, Jessica. Suck it up. He flashed her a sparkling smile and that seemed to do the trick, sitting in the closest empty seat to him a few tables away.
Eli pulled his notebook out of his bag, setting it on the table beside his pencil. He fished out his glasses case, slipping out the frames and settling them on the bridge of his nose. He only needed them for reading, his vision being iffy from having his phone too close to his face, his mother said. He glanced at the clock and saw that they still had a few minutes so he picked up where he left off. “We don’t hang out much outside of class. Sadie and the boys keep me busy. Occasionally we’ll play a game of ball, but more often than not it’s either hanging out at school or he’s at my parties.” And yeah, so what if his chest puffed out a little then as he mentioned that he threw fucking ragers at his place.
He smiled her way, resting his chin in his palm as he propped his elbow up on the table. “My parents travel a lot for work so I’m left with the house pretty often. I’m actually planning to throw something together tonight if you wanted to come? I already invited Blake and he was gonna ask his guys so you’d get invited regardless,” he hummed with excitement, pausing for a moment before teasing, “And besides, you haven’t been to mine yet. I think even your sister has stopped in before. Erin, right? Real moody looking girl? She gives that Murphy kid a run for his money. They’re fun to watch together,” he chuckled, shaking his head slightly—his hair shimmering and shifting with the movement.
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jun 13, 2022 20:48:48 GMT
That interaction. Jade noticed it. She wasn’t always aware of everyone around her. Call her a little narcistic but why spend half your time caring about what others were up to? But that, oh Jade picked up on the girl across the hall and Eli’s change in demeanour. Why didn’t he wave back? Jade offered the girl a quick smile to make up for Eli’s complete lack of response to her. Even if the girl’s face still dropped. Which, duh, Jade, you’re not the one she was trying to get attention from. Jade was half distracted from what Eli was saying, noting how he chanced a glance behind him, back to the girl. Something must have gone wrong between them. People didn’t act that way if they were on good terms with one another.
“Jade, you have to stop crying,” Robert had demanded, voice a low but sharp whisper in the back of the school hall. “Come on,” he’d hauled her away before she could argue back, hand wrapped around the top of her arm, pulling her through the halls until they found an empty and unlocked classroom. The music from the Christmas party was muffled and distant but it was all Jade could focus on as Robert sat himself down on a desk opposite her. She just stood there. Face damp. He stared at her in silence for a minute, each second dragging on for eternity. Eventually, he spoke.
“Why are you crying?” “Are you an idiot? I have fucking feelings, Robert.” “Oh, so I’m Robert tonight?” “Clearly you’re not my boyfriend if you think it’s okay to bring me as a date then spend half the night with every single other girl here. Then the rest of the time, you’re barely looking at me or talking to me. No, you’re watching everyone else.” “Baby, come on, you’re being ridiculous. These are my friends. It’s my last Christmas party here. I know you’re new to all this but these parties are a big deal.”
Ridiculous, she was the one being ridiculous? He had to be out of his mind. Or maybe she was being too sensitive. Maybe she just wasn’t used to this sort of event and ceremony. She had few traditions in life. Maybe she just struggled to grasp how important they were. He reached out then, tugging her closer until she stood above him, eyes locked on one another.
“I am your boyfriend, Jade. Everyone knows that. We’ve been talking for months now. This is new to me, sorry if I’m a little slow on the uptake.” His hands had drifted over the material of her skirt then, tugging it up to reveal the creamy inside of her thigh. “Let me make it up to you,” he’d murmured, the words vibrating across her skin and all fight had gone out of her.
A month later, that illusion had shattered. Jade had slipped through the school halls like a ghost and begged her parents to move them somewhere else at every opportunity. But Jade’s fight had disappeared long before that. Robert knew how to make her forget when she was angry. How to distract her into thinking she’d been the one in the wrong. Months later she’d realised it. Soon enough she’d met Ashton and all those lessons had felt more like guidelines. Ashton was different. She didn’t feel like she was on a constant backfoot with him, like she was in a game that she would most definitely lose. Slots had been that – always one move ahead. She’d been infatuated with Slots. Head over heels and ready to kneel when he called. Ashton felt different. She felt like she could love him. Maybe already did.
Why was she thinking so much about Slots today? He was irrelevant. She’d never see him again. He was blocked on everything. Number deleted. And the last thing Jade heard was that he’d gone to college in Canada. Thank fuck. Their paths would never need to cross. She’d hate to see his smirk at the knowledge that he still crossed her mind. Because he didn’t. Only today. She should take it as a sign that she was beginning to care too much again. She needed to lighten up and thankfully, Eli seemed like a perfect candidate for that.
Jade struggled to imagine a situation where the boys would keep secrets from one another. How could they when they lived on top of each other? But Jensen would make sense as the person to go to with a worry. He was kind and always happy to lend an ear. Jade wasn’t close enough to ask Jensen his thoughts on the situation nor did she want to stir the pot for the sake of satisfying her own questions. She’d just have to wait and see if anything came of it.
Eli was a gentleman. Gave Ashton and his Texan charm a run for its money. Stepping into the classroom, Jade did a quick sweep of the available seats, spotting the two open desks just as Eli motioned towards them. At least she’d have someone to swap eye rolls with now. The lesson earlier this week had felt rather lonely, tucked away by the window and trying to distract herself by counting how many leaves had started to change colour in August instead of paying attention to what Mrs Wallace was saying. She’d be more inclined to listen if she could groan about it with someone afterwards.
The chair move was a surprise and Jade, damn herself, grinned a little. What was she playing at? She could brush the grin off as finding it amusing that he was taking such care for her when they’d only just met. He was just friendly and polite. Like her. Slipping into her chair, Jade rummaged through her bag, fishing out the light pink notebook she’d received from her parents for her birthday, ‘J Little’ embossed on its cover in silver foil. Her pencil case had far more stationery in it that necessary. Little post-it notes, pastel highlighters, five different coloured regular pens, a few pencils, a small roll of tape. You name it, she probably had some to offer. The cream of her pencil case had seen better days, the edges a little worn and dirtied but it was the only one she owned big enough to fit everything inside. Settling in, Jade turned her attention back to Eli, meeting his eyes for a second before some girl was shooting daggers their way. Well that wasn’t new. Laughing quietly, Jade shook her head, cracking open her notebook and writing the date in the right hand corner. When she looked back up, Eli had transformed. Glasses now framing his face.
As Eli started talking about some party that night, all Jade could focus on was his outfit. Finally clocking how overdressed he seemed compared to everyone else. So maybe she didn’t reply for a few seconds, an amused expression dancing across her face, pen tapping against her page as she spun it between her fingers. “Bad news,” she started, adding drama into her tone to get a laugh out of him, “it’s date night so my schedule is fully booked.” Dropping the pen, Jade mimicked his pose, her fingers pushing up her cheeks as she spun around in her chair to look at him more easily. The room was still filling up and Mrs Wallace was nowhere to be seen, yet. “As much fun as it would be to see the notorious party pad, Ashton’s been talking to me about how much he wants to see this film all week.” A small frown, so well managed that it was only really noticeable as her eyebrows pulled together, crossed Jade’s face as she relaxed the pressure on her face from her hands. She wasn’t bothered about going but she’d had no other date night idea worth fighting for and if it made Ashton happy, then she was happy. It was only for a couple of hours after all.
“Be careful Erin doesn’t hear you calling her moody or you’ll find that she makes Murphy look like an angel,” Jade warned, drawing back but the lightness was returning to her face at the thought of her sister making a reputation for herself. Jade was well aware of how other people viewed her twin but the Erin she knew was completely different. Still a little rough around the edges but she had her softness, too. Besides, they had each other’s backs – always – and that was all that mattered. “Murphy’s a bit of a tough cookie to crack, but I feel like I’m making good progress with him. I don’t expect him to ever call me a friend but maybe one day I’ll be ‘acquaintance he doesn’t dislike’.”
Casting a look towards the door, Jade couldn’t help but comment on his outfit. They still had time, after all. “Now, I know why I’m dressed up... but why are you? Do you normally host parties in your Easter Sunday outfit?” She was teasing, a gentle smile on her face to make sure he knew that. “Or are your parties not actually parties but some cult-like event?” Jade had to admit, it was nice to see someone dressed up. It made her feel a little better for spending so much time getting ready. “But hey, at least we’re matching. Stripe gang.” She added, holding up the sleeve of her shirt.
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Human
Written by Megs.
35 posts.
18 years old.
ladies man.
I am Male.
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Post by Elliot Munson on Jun 14, 2022 1:34:21 GMT
It was subtle. A tightness at the corners of his smile, eyes narrowing just slightly behind the square lens of his glasses. His shoulders tensed, fingers flexing where they rested on his lap. All little movements of discomfort that wouldn’t be caught by less than a keen eye—movements he hadn’t meant to make. Eli had obviously expected Ashton to come up in conversation, it was inevitable, but he hadn’t expected it to bother him so much when it did. It wasn’t that she couldn’t make it tonight. It wasn’t that they were doing something Ashton wanted and she didn’t. It wasn’t anything he could comprehend. In reality, he had no valid reason to dislike the guy. Eli, in most senses, was very similar to him. They were both cocky, pretty boys who could pull almost any woman they wanted. They were devoted to their friends and tough as nails. Blake had mentioned that Ashton was a boxer, and while Elliot was by no means a trained fighter, he was no stranger to bloodied knuckles and busted lips.
Wyatt had been six, just a frail little kid and an easy target. Kids were mean, cruel for the hell of it. Boys from the grade below Elliot had taken to him, shoving at him and ripping at his goofy ass bowl cut their mom had given him. Eli had noticed the bruises lining the boy's knees, the cuts on his hands. His little brother was a shit liar and Eli was a persistent and intimidating presence. Wyatt cracked quickly, tattling on the bullies. Elliot was waiting outside Wyatt’s class the next day, hands curled into fists as he walked up to the group that was moving in on his brother. He didn’t ask questions first. That wasn’t how he worked. Elliot had been dragged off the kids by the collar of his shirt, a teacher separating the boys as his hands dripped with blood and the kids cowered and covered their scattering of cuts. Wyatt had looked up to his big brother then, a mosaic of horror and wonder in those hazel eyes and parted lips. Their dad had been called to collect them, cutting the principal off before he had the chance to lay into his parenting style. Elliot had gotten off with a day of suspension, the boys were given a written warning about their actions towards Wyatt prior to the fight. They wouldn’t meet Elliot’s eyes as they were forced to apologize to the little boy. It had been his first fight, a taste for heroics and power and victory. It was far from his last.
Elliot blinked then, watching the way Jade’s lips shaped around her words. No, he didn’t have a good reason to be bothered at the mention of Ashton. He couldn’t say why he found him annoying, there was just something about him. Something wrong. Something bad. He felt like he was the only one who saw it, who saw the dark cloud that shadowed his chiseled jaw and Texan twang. Ashton was bad news. He wondered if Jade knew that or if she was blinded by the snake’s slick charm. He didn’t know which option was better.
“Damn shame,” he hummed, hoping he hadn’t been obvious with his reaction to her date night. He didn’t want to seem weird. Was that weird? He shook the thought. “It’s gonna be a blast. Sadie would have so much fun with you, I’m sure. She’s got this weird infatuation with Ashton and she doesn’t know when to shut up so she’d quiz you for hours about him,” he laughed, then realized how fucking weird that sounded, “Sadie’s a lesbian, to be clear, but she thinks he’s too pretty to be a human or something. She’s a strange girl, but you know, my best friend, so,” he shrugged, lifting his head as he used the palm that had been propping him up to rub at the back of his neck awkwardly. “Plus you’re pretty too so she’d get to drool over the both of you,” and fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Elliot was not suave. He didn’t always have a way with words. More often than not, the ladies didn’t flock to him for his devilish tongue, but the cute way he babbled over compliments and made them feel special with his attention—another way he and Ashton differed. The results were the same, but the methods were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
“And I’m gonna make it clear now that me saying that was an observation and not me hitting on you,” he laughed, hoping the bright sound would help smooth over what he’d said as he raised his palms in defense, “And I’m also hoping that you don’t tell Ash because I don’t want to end up ball-less like Blake. I like my balls. Super attached to them.” His cheeks were pink and tingling from the force of his nervous grin, eyes cutting away to check the door for the teacher, but as always, she was running late. Her old, stumpy legs taking twice the amount of time to reach the room than it should.
“Anyways,” he cleared his throat, dropping his hands to his lap after pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “Noted about Erin. I’ve never actually talked to her, but Blake can’t keep his mouth shut and he told me about her.” He didn’t want to say that she sounded like a waste of time, that he felt like no matter how hard he tried, he’d never break through her layers to reach some level of friendship. “I feel like your goal with Murphy is far-fetched, though,” he mused, eyes finding hers once again—amber waves and auburn hues meeting frosted cerulean and winter shades.
If she hadn’t made that joke, if she hadn’t softened her accusation, Eli might not have been able to hide the shift in his demeanor so well. He was used to the question, but it didn’t stop his eyes from stinging at the corner, his throat from burning and swelling enough that when he spoke, his voice was a pitch lower. He forced a smile, gaze locked on her out of pure will. He’s had this conversation almost every Friday of his life since he started school, someone or another questioning his choice in clothing. It was touchy, but he was asking for it. Kids were kids and he’d gotten in enough fights that half of his striped polos had bloodstains. Jade didn’t mean anything by it. He knew that.
“It’s Fancy Friday,” he said with an air of cheeriness, exclaiming it as if he was shocked she didn’t know. He was a good actor, but not a great liar. So he told the truth through a smile even though it stung. “My older brother used to dress me up every Friday. Said it was to celebrate the weekend. I’ve been doing it since Kindergarten,” he explained, plucking at a loose string on his khakis before catching what he was doing and forcing his shoulders back as he relaxed into the chair, “He’s been gone for three years, but I haven’t missed a Friday. Silly as it is, it’s a tradition and it’s important to me.” He shrugged, taking a moment to process his words before laughing and clarifying, “He’s not dead. He’s in New York. A long, not so happy story, but he’s okay.” He didn’t have to say that he did this because he missed him, because he wished with everything in him that Leo would come home and just talk to him. He’d been five that first Friday. His brother had dressed him that morning while their mother was busy fussing over baby Wyatt. A plaid button-up and tan pants. He’d even tucked his feet into his church shoes. Leo hadn’t celebrated a Friday before, but something in him that day made him do it. They matched, nearly identical when their mom found them waiting at the kitchen table. “What’s all this?” She asked around a bright smile, searching for her camera to capture the moment. “Fancy Friday, momma,” Leo beamed, Eli tucked under his arm as the boys grinned up at the lens, “It’s his first Friday of school ever! And then the weekend is after! We get dressy for important things and this is important.” Leo was only nine then, but so damn insistent that their mom had let it slide. Every Friday after was the same. Olivia had gone out to the department store and invested in more ‘fancy’ clothes so her boys had a variety. It was something special she didn’t want to discourage, a flame she stoked even when their dad tried to put a stop to it. Even now, Eddie sent a shrewd look Eli’s way if he caught him on a Friday, careful to not say anything but his eyes spoke volumes. He ignored it. Of course he did. He was daddy’s golden boy. He couldn’t acknowledge that he was doing something to disappoint him.
He had the picture of their first Fancy Friday tacked to his photo board. It was the only photo he had of Leo still up. He couldn’t handle the reminder that he was gone, but wasn’t able to take that specific photo down.
“Nothing cultish about me,” he chimed on a brighter note, hoping she hadn’t caught how bothered he’d been because he really didn’t want this conversation to be their last. He was enjoying her company and, let’s face it, he could use another female friend. Jade felt like a safe option. She was taken and wasn’t looking for attention in him that every other girl was. Speaking of, he gestured discreetly to the girl that was still tossing dark looks their way, “Aside from my loyal following, of course.” Teenage girls were so strange. Of course he appreciated their devotion and attention, but in times like this, he wished he had a Murphy bone in his body so he could just be left alone to make a friend without feeling like he was sinning.
“I’m sure you’re used to that, though,” he turned back towards her as Mrs. Wallace finally waddled in, “With Ashton being a God or whatever.” The look he gave her was full of mirth, proving he was only teasing. The teacher had yet to call attention to herself, taking her time as she prepped her supplies for the class period.
“That’s cute, by the way,” he nodded at her pink notebook and assortment of stationary, smirking as he added, “Another observation.”
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jun 15, 2022 20:05:51 GMT
Often, it was easier to overlook how other people reacted. Life was far simpler with blinkers on. Only seeing what you wanted to came with its drawbacks, sure, but it had many perks. Your surprise birthday party was never spoiled. You didn’t catch onto your friends sending messages about you to one another whilst in a group conversation. You avoided the specifics of people’s whispers. It was easier. Less stressful. Not peaceful exactly and probably a terrible trait for a hunter to have but it worked for Jade.
Especially after Slots.
Fuck. Why was that little, ratty bitch in her head? Was it her subconscious warning her that Eli was just like him? That all those traits she’d fallen for before were once again right in front of her? No, surely not. Eli didn’t go by his last name so that was a good sign.
“Jade Little to see...” Jade’s voice had trailed off, hands gripped onto the handle bars of her bike outside of the large black gate that cut off Robert’s house from the rest of the town. “Robert Slotter,” she added even if saying his full name sent a shiver down her spine. It felt wrong. No one called him Robert. Even the principal referred to the school’s star hockey player as Slots. The security guard had laughed for a second before waving her through as the gate pulled back, revealing freshly cut lawns and flowers in full bloom despite the changing seasons. As Jade cycled through the gently curving roads, she counted three homes with fountains outside and another three homes with what looked to be a weird princess turret stuck to the side of them. Robert’s house was one of the last, backing onto the golf course with views of a large lake in the middle of the course visible from most of the home. On her little blue bike, white wheels starting to wear down, Jade felt out of her depth but before she had time to turn around and pedal as fast as possible, Slots was there. The dark oak door swung open, Slots pulling both sides open wide to reveal sparkling marble floors and a flower display that had to stand at least eight-foot-tall filling the centre of the atrium.
“I could have had you picked up,” Slots said in way of greeting, stepping away from the house and towards her on quick feet. No time for running now, Jadey. “You don’t drive?” He’d asked as Jade tried to – as gracefully as possible, which wasn’t very – slip off the seat of her bike without flashing the entire street.
“I haven’t been 16 for that long,” she’d replied, glancing around the immaculately manicured lawn for a space to rest her bike. “And I like the exercise,” pressing a smile to her lips, Slots took the bike from her hands, one hand guiding it towards the house and the other beckoning for Jade to follow.
That had been her first night at his house. His parents were never in. Jade only saw them one time. Right at the end when everything went so disastrously wrong.
That night they’d eaten pizza in a lounge that was big enough for thirty people to comfortably find a seat but they’d sat side by side, legs crossed over and hands gently exploring. A light tickle across Jade’s arms. Jade’s hand slipping into the soft curls of his black hair. As the film they were watching droned on, their exploration got more daring. Jade was new to all of it. Her giggles had filled the room as his lips pressed against her neck, the room spinning above her. She’d kissed a couple of boys before. But they’d been no one and nothing. Slots was someone special. She’d known him for a couple of weeks by this point. Spoke to him most nights on the phone. In school, less so. He was always so busy and they shared no classes. If their eyes locked he’d grin but that was as far as the acknowledgement went. But here, in his house, just the two of them, well, Jade felt like the centre of his universe. As Slots’ lips met hers and he manoeuvred their bodies so that she was resting comfortably and he was positioned above her, Jade felt ready to lose it all. “Now I’ve got the prettiest girl in the school,” he’d murmured, Jade’s body reacting to the compliment immediately. “And I’m gonna make sure everyone knows that.” The rest of the evening was a blur. She’d woken up the following morning in an empty room, the other side of the bed empty. Stretching her hand out, Jade tapped the spot where Slots had been. It was still a little warm. He couldn’t have been gone for long. Sitting up, Jade looked around, trying to find her phone but she had no idea where it was. What time even was it? Scrambling across the bed, Jade blinked, scanning Slots’s phone to check the time. This was before she walked around with blinkers on. She barely even acknowledged that it was only six in the morning. No, her eyes went to all of the messages on his phone. 20 unread texts. 5 missed calls. Most from other girls whose names Jade vaguely remembered from school. She was out of his house within ten minutes, only slowing down when she caught sight of the state of her neck and chest. God, she really was marked up. There had to be over fifteen love bites decorating her skin, each seemingly darker than the last. She’d found her phone buried in the cushions of the sofa, a couple of missed texts from Erin the only notifications to stare at as she cycled slowly through the deserted estate. No one else was awake at this time. Before long, Slots was ringing her. When she ignored him for the third time he came after her. Why had she been cycling so slowly? In his car, he caught up to her within a minute, hair damp from his shower and clothes haphazardly thrown on. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to sleep with someone and run, Little,” he’d called, keeping pace with her as she carried on cycling towards that tall black gate. What if the security guard didn’t let her out? No, he would, surely, he had to – right?
This would have been the part where she told him to fuck off. Except, she didn’t. “Erin needs me, I’ve got to get home,” she lied, keeping her eyes fixed on the horizon and not on his stupid pretty face.
“Let me drive you, Jade. It’ll be a lot faster and I’ll feel happy knowing you’re home safe.” That pulled Jade up short, her brakes squeaking as she came to a stop. “Get in, pretty.” He’d said, nodding towards the trunk of the car before getting out and pulling it open and pushing the back seats down with a fluid motion that made it seem like an action he’d made countless time.
She should have argued back.
She should have left him there in his private housing estate and deleted his number.
Instead he drove her home that morning and every other morning after that. Half the time she’d wake up alone. Every time she’d torture herself, staring at his phone and at all the names and pretty smiling faces. She didn’t need to know what the messages said. She knew they were there.
She wasn’t his only one, not really. Even if he was hers.
So if Eli’s reaction was a little strained, Jade didn’t bother to give it much thought. The comments about some girl named Sadie... yeah, they had Jade’s smile dropping just a tad until Eli’s clarification which had Jade pressing her lips together, trying to smother a laugh. Lesbian. Right. Not a threat to her.
She sounds great- was what Jade was about to say until Eli complimented her. Stunned silence echoed around her brain. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Fuck. Her mouth fell open a little, laughter slowing down as she struggled with what to say. Probably best to not say anything, right? It was sweet. Nothing more than that. And in the context of their conversation, not a big deal. So, she ignored it. With Eli’s next clarification, Jade sagged a little in relief. She was a loyal girl. Loyal to her sister and family. Loyal to Ashton. Loyal to the hunting community. She wasn’t about to betray her family. She wasn’t about to go and kiss some other boy when she was happily in a relationship. She wasn’t about to go and befriend a load of werewolves... right?
The surrendering action of his hands had Jade dropping any concern. Completely innocent, clearly. “Well, thank you for the observation and feel free to send Sadie my number, we can have a gossip.” Jade said even if she realised that he wouldn’t even have her number to send. Anyway, semantics. Not important. “Your observation is safe with me, don’t worry.” She added, noting the way his cheeks had turned a little pink. It was a rather sweet picture. Glasses and all.
Whilst Eli was looking back to the door, Jade kept her gaze on his profile, intrigued by Eli the party host. Eli the lesbian ally. Eli as Blake’s friend. It painted an interesting picture. When he turned back, Jade had to blink, dropping the eye contact quickly. “I like a challenge, Eli.” And Murphy was the probably the biggest one Jade had faced in a while but he would occasionally, maybe, smile at her sometimes so that had to be a win. Jade could be patient.
Dropping her sleeve, Jade listened to Eli’s explanation closely. Fancy Friday. Of course, how could she be so stupid. Rolling her eyes at the words and the emphasis he placed on them, Jade’s teasing stopped when Eli carried on. Family stuff. No wonder he was suddenly acting a little out of sorts. A little less sure of himself. For the short while Jade had been around him, she could tell that he was rarely the type to doubt what he was doing. At least not in public. Jade’s eyes turned slightly pitying. Not dead but gone nonetheless. She couldn’t imagine being apart from Erin. It didn’t feel like Jade’s place to say sorry and after their high five earlier, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze felt off-limits. She didn’t want him to think she was going in for a second one.
What would it be like to have a tradition so near and dear to your heart? The closest Jade had was the trampoline. But that was an object. It wasn’t an event or a special activity. It was just the twins’ safe space. She wouldn’t be lost without it. Sure, she’d miss it but she could move on. She’d moved on from plenty of things.
“Oh yeah, I’ve even got my own following. Although they’re more a hate following than a ‘he’s so handsome’ one.” Jade replied, matching his energy even if it felt a little forced coming from him.
Wait.
Wait.
Did she just call him handsome? No, no. Surely that was a given that girls flocked to him because of his looks? Or maybe he’d think she was referring to Ashton’s following. Yeah, yeah. Sure. He’d think that. Hopefully.
Thankfully Mrs Wallace had turned up, the class beginning to quiet down. It made Eli’s next words even more obvious to her. “You love your observations,” Jade replied, voice dropping low as she turned towards the front. “Balls are hanging by a thread,” she added, chucking him one last amused look before Mrs Wallace finally began speaking.
With Eli sat beside her, economics went by a lot more easily. Least of all because he did step in and either answer a question outright for her or flash her a look of his notes beforehand for her to parrot back to the teacher. She would definitely be sitting beside him come Monday – whether he liked it or not. Before long, the class was drawing to a close, Mrs Wallace reminding everyone of her partnering rule just as the bell rang. Right. Sitting beside him would make them partners. Well, not partners but economics partners. Buddies. Friends. School colleagues. Whatever was the least offensive description. Jade had no idea how Ashton would react to some guy chasing after. It was always the other way around. Would he brush it off? Would he care or would he trust her enough to know it didn’t matter the same way she did?
As their class started to pack up, Jade leant back in her chair, tipping her head back and closing her eyes for just a minute. “Any remaining energy I had has been stolen by that teacher,” Jade mumbled, the tiredness she felt from earlier returning. “How do I convince my boyfriend to not go the movies, Eli?” Jade asked, cracking open the eye closest to him. She liked saying his name. It was fun. A little unusual. Like him.
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Human
Written by Megs.
35 posts.
18 years old.
ladies man.
I am Male.
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Post by Elliot Munson on Jun 17, 2022 3:12:17 GMT
Elliot was silently kicking himself for spewing word vomit all over her—especially borderline flirtatious word vomit on a girl who was in a relationship with someone he knew and was known to be quite testy. He was always doing this. Sadie had coached him several times, always exasperated and amused. Always wondering how he was known to be such a ladies man when he was a goofball with a loose tongue and endless banter. He would always shrug, saying he had a pretty face and girl’s liked it when he’d babble compliments their way. He was rough around the edges and had a ledger with red stains. He was a bad boy, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He threw parties and got too wasted sometimes. He’d beat a bully until his knuckles were busted and his shirt was being tugged as an authority figure pulled him off. He drove an old sports car and played music too loud and batted his lashes at girls as he looked for his next lady Munson, but he wasn’t awful. He would hold a girl’s hair back as they threw up in his parents bathroom, whispering calming words as he smoothed his palm between her shoulder blades. He’d tuck her into bed and stand guard outside the door as the party raged on. He would tear into a guy for shoving someone smaller, someone he didn’t know—just because it pissed him off that they thought they had the right to do that. He’d smirk at the principal as the man sighed and issued another punishment to the proclaimed hero. He was the type to have girls crowd around him, but not the type to dip his fingers into each. Elliot didn’t use girls. He didn’t toy with their hearts or their bodies. He had girlfriends, often fleeting, but he was loyal and attentive until something caused a rift and he faltered. He liked having a pretty little girl on his arm, liked the weight of her against his side as they watched movies in his bed or left sweaty palm prints on his fogged windows as his car rocked in some field of flowers. He couldn’t do what Blake or Ashton did. He couldn’t keep a girlfriend for longer than a few months either. He knew why, but it was hard to admit. Mae’s eyes would catch his, so hopeful and lost and he’d break up with the girl the next day. He felt guilty. Like he shouldn’t be happy—which wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t what she wanted but he was a dumb boy and so fucking dense.
He needed to talk to her, to apologize, but he couldn’t. It was the one fight he knew he would lose. It was the one person he couldn’t face. What he’d said to her, he never knew he could be so awful.
The crunching of tires on gravel still echoed in his ears. Leo had left an hour ago, deaf to his brothers' begging—to Elliot’s desperate sobs and Wyatt’s weak cries. All Leo had heard was Eddie’s husky growls. His cruel words and hurled insults. They were so dark. So nasty. Elliot’s eyes burned, cheeks damp with tears that wouldn’t stop trickling down his cheeks and dripping onto his lap. Olivia hadn’t said a word. A silent little bird. Wings clipped and feathers shuddering as her husband’s voice boomed off the house's green walls. Green was a happy color. It made him sick. Made his stomach churn. He couldn’t be inside, couldn’t look at the teal bathroom walls or the jade kitchen or emerald accents to the living room. Green. Green green green. Leo’s eyes were green. Elliot knew that. He knew each fleck. They’d had staring contests, eyes wide and unblinking as they pestered one another until Elliot caved. He always lost. He always lost to Leo and now he’s lost Leo. He couldn’t take his eyes off the small bear that sat near where Leo’s car had been. It was a little blue stuffed bear that had fallen in his rush. Olivia had knitted it for him when they were younger. Each boy had one. It was strange. So stupid but so symbolic. Both the bear and the boy abandoned. Leo hadn’t said goodbye in his hurry. He was a flurry of sniffles and pleads and whines. Of blues and greens and browns. He was gone with a squeal of tires and the crunch of their fucking gravel driveway. It was loud. He used to love the sound. It meant dad was home. It meant that they were a family again. It meant something so different now. Gravel. He cringed as the sound tickled his ears, eyes raising from the bear to find a sky blue Beetle pulling to a stop. Mae. Mae and her pretty little smile and golden hair and Volkswagen that he’d helped piece together. Mae who knew him better than almost anyone, who had tears in her eyes as if she deserved to. “Your mom called,” she whispered, for the first time not knowing what to do around Eli. Her hands knotted around one another, hair a beautiful halo as she leaned over where he was sat on the front porch. “She told me what happened, El,” her voice was so soft, so pretty—it made his heart sing and twist and his tears spill faster, “Talk to me. I’m right here, Elliot.” His name broke him, eyes snapping up towards hers as he frowned. “Nothing to say, Mae,” he warned, but she still pushed.
“I know that’s not true,” she sighed, taking a step closer—her hand reached out to stroke his damp cheek, but he shot up before she could dip her fingers into his tears. His palm was warm where it snagged her wrist, eyes wild and hair sticking up from distressed yanks. He was taller than her, still just a boy–barely fifteen, but tall for his age. “Don’t,” he growled and she whimpered. This wasn’t him. He was rough and mean and violent but only with boys. She had never been scared of him, but the heat in his eyes had her pulling her arm against his hold but he wouldn’t let go. “El, please,” she begged and he relented. Mae stumbled back a step, eyes wide and round and wet. It didn't register. Where Leo had been deaf, Elliot was blind. He didn’t see her fear. He didn’t see the redness on her wrist from the force of his grip. “Go,” it was dark and moody and demanding.
“No,” her voice was sharp, because despite her shock at his aggressiveness, she still loved him and knew he was acting out, “I’m not going to leave you like this. I get it, okay!”
“You don’t, Mae!" Elliot shouted back, throwing his hands up and he wasn’t blind now—he saw the way she flinched, “Your family is perfect. You have your nice house, and your siblings all love you and your parents don’t fucking push them away. Your cousins live in a fucking mansion! My dad isn’t a deputy and I’m not perfect like you!” She was crying quietly, not used to being the object of his aggression, but refusing to back down. Her shoulders quaked with agony as his shook with rage. There was a fire lit in his belly. He took a step forward and she stumbled back one. “You shouldn’t have come. It’s your fucking fault anyways! If you hadn’t been so needy, and desperate, and bitchy then maybe I would have noticed something was wrong with Leo. Maybe if you would have not been so fucking clingy, I would have been here for him, but god—fuck! He’s gone. He’s fucking gone and I wasted a year with you that I could have spent with my brother! I could have saved him, Mae. If it wasn't for you, I could have saved him.”
“You don’t mean that, El,” she sobbed, shaking her head, “You’re just upset. Your mom thought I could help, but I—I think I should go.”
“Yeah,” he huffed, voice low and thick and drenched with misery, “Go and don’t come back. Because I do mean it," he didn't, not a damn word but he couldn't stop talking, "You were a waste of fucking time. My brother’s off on his own! He’s fucking gone, Mae. This isn’t about you and you still show up needing more from me. I have nothing left to give you!”
“Elliot, stop,” she shouted, tears streaming and voice choked, “That’s enough. I understand you’re hurt, but I’m not your punching bag.”
“And you’re not my girlfriend either,” he deadpanned. She shook her head, ready to protest but he took one step forward and she scurried back—tripping over the bear and landing hard on the gravel. She let out a cry of pain, bringing her hand to her chest and clutching it as blood dribbled onto her white blouse. The blinders were off. His eyes blinked owlishly and lips curved in a circle of shock.
“Fuck, Mae,” he started, moving to help her but she was quick to push to her feet and scamper back, “Wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”
“Stop. Just, leave me alone, Elliot,” she said in a rush, getting in her car and pulling away before he had the chance to chase after her—the deafening crunch of gravel freezing him in place.
Elliot stared blankly after her, watching the little Beetle turn the corner. The engine hummed in the distance, something he’d created with his own hands taunting him. He crouched down, grabbing the bear and clutching it to his chest as he cried.
“You’re an idiot,” Wyatt said from the porch, only eleven then—his voice pitched and whiny. Elliot sighed. He hadn’t heard him come out, didn’t know how much his brother had heard. His dad was still shouting in the house so he knew his parents were oblivious. Maybe it was better this way.
“Yeah, I am,” he sighed, turning towards his little brother and holding out his arm. Wyatt didn’t hesitate to run out to him, gravel loud and piercing as he stepped up to him. Elliot hugged his brother tight, bear pressed against his back as the other carded through his awful haircut. “I’d hurt her more if I let her stay,” he said and Wyatt didn’t understand it then, but he would later. He watched Elliot pummel guys into the dirt, blood coated beneath his nails and splattered on his cheeks. He watched the way he’d stare at his phone, eyes wet and red as he waited for Leo to reach out. He watched him bring a girl home and play nice for a few weeks before the excitement faded and he became reclusive. Sadie was a constant, a rock where Wyatt hadn’t known how to be. Elliot had tried to chase her off too, but she wouldn’t budge. Both of the boys were grateful for her resilience.
Mae had called a few days after, but Elliot hadn’t picked up. She tried speaking to him in school, but he’d spin on his heel and walk off. She asked him to leave her alone and he was. He couldn’t let her close. He was too scared to have someone leave him again so he made sure to leave first. Fuck. Maybe it wasn’t Mae at all. Maybe this was all Leo’s fault. He just couldn’t bring it in him to hate his brother.
But Mae hadn’t deserved what he’d done and he knew that. He had to apologize, but he couldn’t even meet her eye. How the fuck could he say he was sorry when he thought he’d been saving her by pushing her away? Fucking hell. He didn’t know how to do it, but they had to do something to move forward and it was him who had to take that step.
Maybe if he hadn’t been caught on memory lane, he would have noticed the way Jade's eyes had been trained on his face when he turned her way again, but he didn’t. Between thoughts of Mae and his foolish little spillings of ‘cute’ and ‘pretty’, he was too distracted to catch it. Not that he would have known what to do with that information regardless. His shoulders sagged with relief as she cleared him of punishment, choosing not to note on her comment about her number just yet because he was confident he would get it from her. If not today, then soon. For friend purposes. Or class work. Something completely platonic, sure. Of course.
“Murphy is certainly a challenge,” he hummed, thankful she didn’t comment on his little sob story because Fancy Friday and seeing Mae was what brought on the memory and he really didn’t want to relive it again. He wanted to be in the here and now. He wanted to get to know Jade and see what made her so special.
His eyebrows rose a little at her slip up. Handsome, huh? He smirked, but didn’t mention it, for once mindful of the situation and wrangling his tongue from having its way with words. “Point these haters out to me and I’ll put them in their place, Jade,” he charmed, serious though it sounded cheeky enough to come off as a joke. She didn’t know him, didn’t know his reputation. She didn’t know what he would do in the name of what he thought was good and right.
Elliot playfully pulled his fingers in front of his mouth and ‘zipped’ his lips at her comment about his balls and decided maybe it was best to keep his observations to himself. And he did for the rest of class. He helped her stay off of Mrs. Wallace’s radar and offered her his notes when the teacher was insistent on receiving an answer from her. They made a good team, he thought. He wouldn’t mind her being his desk mate for the rest of the year. She was smart and funny and quite kind. A good friend, he thought.
The bell rang as Mrs. Wallace was reminding them of her partner rule. Elliot was quick to pack up his stuff, ready to head to lunch and spill to Sadie how stupid he’d been by calling Jade pretty just because he knew the girl would get a kick out of his embarrassment. He laughed at Jade's comment, tucking his glasses back in their case before slinging his bag over his shoulder. Fingers ran through his hair—now dry and much taller and more voluptuous than it had been when he’d ran into her earlier. It was his signature piece. His look. It was what he was known for. “Yeah, she zapped me too,” he chuckled, leaning against his desk as he stood and faced her, “Good thing I have lunch or I think my next class would be a waste. She just drones on and on and on." His grin was beaming. Always so charming and dashing and brilliant. At her question, he smirked. Mischief sparking in his auburn eyes as he leaned forward just barely and teased, "You convince him to come to my party instead."
His name on her tongue sounded sugary sweet and like flowers in bloom. He realized then that he hadn't introduced himself with his full name but didn't want to correct her. Was it so bad that he liked the way Eli sounded on her lips?
Yes. Yes it was incredibly bad.
Elliot's lips parted, hand moving to rest on the desk—leaning his weight on it as he moved just an inch closer. He was going to say something teasing, something to get her laugh to ring out like a church’s bell.
“Munson,” the voice was deep—twangy and growling and a subtle warning, “That you?”
Elliot sprang backwards, caught off guard by Ashton’s sudden appearance in the classroom doorway that he couldn’t even pretend to not look like he’d been doing something wrong. He laughed anxiously, rubbing his hand through his hair before letting it rest on his neck. Fuck. Better to play it off as nothing because, well, it was nothing. Eli was messing with Jade. He wasn’t flirting. He wasn’t a homewrecker and after being reminded of his messy break–up with his childhood best friend, well, he wasn’t exactly eager to go hitting on someone anyways.
“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants,” he teased, sharing a mischievous look with Jade before stepping back and turning towards Ashton—having to look up to meet his eyes. The boy was smooth and swift as he stepped to Jade’s side—his palm large and burning and like a brand as it settled on her waist. He used his hold to pull her tight against his side, meeting Eli’s gaze head on before he tipped her chin back with his other hand and placed a searing kiss on his girlfriend’s lips.
Elliot’s nose scrunched up at the gross display of possession, not affection. It was unnecessary, but Ashton has always been territorial and over the top. He turned away, fidgeting with the string on his bag and considering just leaving when Ashton pulled back—a string of spit tying him to Jade, a thin, wet tether he severed as he licked his lips. His gaze was seering as he met Jade’s, hand shifting to cradle her jaw as he studied her face. He’d heard their conversation, had heard how jovial and easy she’d sounded talking to him as he’d made his way down the hall. It had made his stomach churn, his fists clench and heart pound. He was jealous. Ashton knew it wasn’t fair, but fuck, Jade was his. And he was hers. Half hers, but still hers. If he could cheat on her, she could do it right back. It hadn’t taken him any convincing to be unfaithful and he feared Jade would be ditzy enough to fall for Eli’s charm. He wanted to get mad, to throw accusations and get defensive, but he knew he couldn’t. She didn’t know he was a werewolf, but she was a hunter and would put it together quickly if he mentioned something no human should have overheard. If he got heated now when she was just talking to a guy, albeit a known flirt and ladies man like himself, she could turn that question on him and he wasn’t prepared to play faithful boyfriend with this irritation brewing beneath his flesh.
After a long moment, seemingly satisfied with the love-struck look in her eyes, he placed a much more gentle kiss to her lips before glancing at Eli from the corner of his eye. “Real funny, Elliot,” the name fell from his lips roughly, brows arched in silent accusation and the boy just rolled his eyes. He wanted to know what Eli’s game was. He knew Jade was his, what was his motive? Ashton couldn’t believe that this was a purely platonic interaction.Elliot must have something to gain from this. But maybe that was the guilt talking.
“Yeah, I know. I`m a real clown, Ash,” Eli sounded much different talking to Ashton than he had to Jade or even Blake. Tired and irritated and already so over it. Ashton huffed.
“Princess,” he glanced back at Jade, dropping his hand from her face and to his side, but keeping his grip on her waist tight, “What’s this about convincing me to go to a party? I thought it was date night. I was going to order the tickets to the movie at lunch.” He looked between the two but ultimately leveled those raging forest and envious emerald eyes on hers. She’d cave. She’d give him the answers he wanted.
Elliot shifted uncomfortably, not really caring for this pissing contest or the way Ashton spoke down to Jade like she was an object. He watched her from the corner of his eye, curious as to how she would act around her boyfriend.
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jun 24, 2022 19:45:50 GMT
Lunch. Right, of course and dammit Jade had plans that didn’t involve sitting down in a vegetative state somewhere whilst slowly scooping fries into her mouth. She and Imogen already had a mountain of biology homework to sort their way through. They’d settled on meeting this lunchtime to split the load between them. Arguably, it was a form of cheating but quite frankly their biology teacher was being highly unreasonable for their first week back. Even if half of the topics felt like common sense to Jade. Even if she’d read biology books and academic papers produced for people about to graduate college and beyond. Difficulty she could handle. The absolute mass of work? Less so.
Especially with a party invite dangled in front of her nose.
Both eyes fluttering open as Eli leant towards her she shook her head, laughter bouncing out of her. At least he was a little persistent with the idea. Hopefully that meant she hadn’t been too annoying during the lesson. He could just be a polite guy, that was most definitely a possibility. The outfit helped with that narrative as well. But since she’d already seen him shut down that girl in the hall and their classmate, Jade had to guess that his parties weren’t necessarily an open invite to absolutely everyone. Or maybe they were and she was just reading into it? Reading into him more like it. “I’m not very good with wordsuasion,” Jade admitted after a beat before covering her mouth with her hand to smother another chuckle. “See, that’s what I mean,” she added, dropping her hand and biting down on her lip.
Wordsuasion had been a dumb thing she used to say to Erin when one – or both – of them were about to get in trouble. “We just need a little wordsuasion,” Jade would whisper in Erin’s ear as they stood, hands behind their back at whatever mischief they’d caused – broken vase, mouse in the house, bathroom filled with mud – “wow, Little Wordsuasion,” Jade had added that fateful day where they’d collided with the birdbath in the garden and sent the pottery flying in a hundred different pieces. Both girls had come away injury free save a handful of bruises but what they’d feared was their parents’ lecture. The Littles had always been fairly strict. It came with the nature of their work. You couldn’t have two unruly daughters who were looking to put themselves in danger at any given opportunity when you knew just how detrimental that danger could be. Still, the twins had found small ways of rebelling. Playing too loudly. Running through the house. Chasing each other through the garden when the sun was a speck and the moon swinging into view. What Jade had never quite figured out was how to best get out of her moments of rebellion when she was caught. So her rebellious side had slowed down and faded away over time. Seeing Slots had always felt rebellious. Half the time she just left without saying where she was going. The rest of the time her excuses were valid but she rarely said who she was actually going to see.
“Maybe you can convince him for me,” Jade said, shifting in her seat a little as she looked up at Eli, curious to see what he would say next. At the very least maybe he could give her some pointers on how to be convincing. Sure, Jade could be very convincing sometimes but she wasn’t sure Eli would want to hear about how she went about getting Ashton to bend to her will when she really wanted him to.
She hadn’t even noticed Ashton appearing in the doorway until that familiar deep voice which had lulled her to sleep on countless occasions as she tucked her body against his like a puzzle piece rang out. There was an edge to that familiarity which had Jade’s head ducking down, pulling her pencil case and notebook together and dropping them into her bag in one swift motion before standing up on the opposite side of her desk than Eli. In the few seconds that took, Elliot had created even more distance between them. Jade’s eyes slowly flicked between the two boys. An odd tension had crept around the room, seeping into Jade’s skin to the point where Eli’s anxious laugh barely made an impact and she only managed a tight, miniscule smile that didn’t even reach her cheeks let alone her eyes when Eli made a teasing comment. A minute ago, she would have laughed, would have rolled her eyes but the joking words went in one ear and out the other as her attention fell back to Ashton.
She hadn’t expected to see Ashton yet and her head was split between panicking about whether she looked okay or panicking that maybe she’d double-booked herself for lunch and she’d have to let either Ashton or Imogen down. Neither option sounded pleasant. Imogen felt like the one person in Beacon Hills who was Jade’s friend and Jade’s friend alone. But Ashton was, well, Jade would do anything to make sure he was happy and that she didn’t let him down. She couldn’t disappoint him. What if he got bored and left? What if his disappointment in her grew so strong and dark that he would one day just up and leave her in a pile of dust with nothing but cruel words and the truth she’d been pretending wasn’t there laid out before her. That’s what had happened with Slots. It was her fault. She was the issue. She wasn’t enough to keep his eyes and hands from straying and exploring other alternatives. She wasn’t funny enough or mature enough or smart enough to be around all the time. She, she, she. There was no room for mistakes with Ashton. There was a line hundreds of girls long to take her place if she fucked up. So as Ashton stepped up to her side, Jade made sure she melted into his touch, eyes glancing to Eli’s for the briefest of moments, a small sorry written in them before her head was being moved.
So close to Ashton, Jade couldn’t have wiggled away even if she wanted to. Which she half did with Eli just a small desk away. Sneaking off into an empty room was one thing and even if Jade’s heart hammered the whole time she and Ashton were alone during their lunchtime rendezvous she still managed to find her release, to relax and enjoy the moment. But this time, when Ashton’s lips locked around hers, her body locked up a little. Relax she urged herself, forcing her posture to soften, for her lips to respond naturally, for her breathing to be a little less shallow. You’re fine, you’re fine. Never before had he kissed her and she’d reacted negatively. She was normally hanging onto his lips for more, fingers twining through his and tugging for more, more, more. More time. More of him. More of everything. Kisses in front of his friends felt different, they were normally sweet and caring with Murphy rolling his eyes in whatever corner he’d slumped into. This, even to Jade, felt like a display. She wasn’t stupid enough to not know why. She’d been smiling at a guy but surely Ashton wouldn’t lash out at that? She’d never done anything to give him a reason to doubt her commitment to him. Had she?
As Ashton pulled away, Jade’s face was a blanket of concern which she tried to change as quickly as possible. Ashton’s gaze on her face had her blinking, pushing a little smile to her cheeks in hopes he wouldn’t look too closely into her eyes. He didn’t know that her thoughts had been drifting off to Slots all morning. That he’d just caught her on a day where her head was spiralling and staring at a cinema screen of past memories. Hell, Ashton hadn’t even really asked about her past relationship beyond the very basics and Jade wasn’t ready to offload that sob story onto someone else. Least of all Ashton. Which was wrong, right? She needed to get out of her own head. A party sounded like the perfect cure for that. But right now, she was still caught, Ashton’s hand a warm presence against her face. It was comforting really. Even if inside her thoughts were a miserable rainstorm on the little candlelight of warmth that was her relationship with Ashton, she had to pretend. So, her smile got a little bigger, eyes reflecting the joy she forced herself to display as she looked up at Ashton. The picture of a smitten girlfriend. Hopefully.
The kiss that followed had Jade mellowing, concern of if she’d upset him fading away and allowing her to actually enjoy the kiss they shared, even if it was short lived. As Ashton responded to Eli’s teasing remark which now that Jade felt Ashton wasn’t mad at her, she could appreciate. It was too late to laugh at it but she attempted to offer Eli a glimmer of the mischievous look he’d given her when he’d said it.
Elliot. Of course, that made more sense but Jade shifted a little in Ashton’s hold at the longer name. It didn’t fit quite as well. It felt far too formal and rigid, even for ‘Fancy Friday’. No wonder he’d introduced himself as Eli. But so much of Eli had changed in Ashton’s presence. His voice was a different mans. Someone who had no time for Ashton. Jade dropped her gaze, eyes studying the linoleum floor beneath her for a moment. In the fluorescent light, the thin, light line of her scar she’d got that fateful day she met Slots glinted on her knee. It was small and fairly neat despite the lack of proper care it had received. Still, it was an imperfection, which, sure, she brandished for all to see by wearing such short skirts but most people wouldn’t look that closely. It was just Jade finding flaws within herself. As long as she found them first it was okay. She could deal with them. Spin a funny story or brush it off completely. Being caught unaware was an entirely different situation. Although those situations always had one thing in common – embarrassment. A sick, cloying feeling that had choked Jade of all sense when the list of ‘Slots' Sluts’ had been shoved in her locker along with enough pictures and screenshots to have bile burning in the back of her throat. It was an impossible balance. Not wanting to know what everyone was doing or thinking and not wanting to be embarrassed. She’d always lose one way or another. But at least if she was caught unawares it was an understandable embarrassment. She wouldn’t stick around with a hundred red flags lining their front yard like she had with Slots. Better to know nothing and swallow her pride than get the worst of both sides.
With the release of her face, Jade was able to move a little even if her side was still glued to Ashton’s. Lifting her gaze from the ground and the memory of that darn scar, Jade’s head scrambled to come up with some useful words. She’d said nothing since Ashton arrived, not even a hello. She couldn’t look to Eli for help now, not like she’d done with Mrs Wallace. This was her boyfriend. Her conversation to sort out. She’d pick the easy option, especially with the way she’d already been doubting every little detail of herself today. “Eli had just been telling me his evening plans and I thought they sounded fun but I already told him we had date night so, Eli will have to entertain Blake without us.” Maybe mentioning Blake would soften it all. Make it seem like it was a plan far bigger than the two of them, which it was. “But of course, we will go watch that film,” Jade amended, running a hand through the ends of her hair, a little nervous habit. “Or we could go watch the film tomorrow, see our friends tonight and do both, happy middle,” Jade continued, rambling a little as her thumb and forefinger twisted a strand of her hair around and around. And because she was rambling and still a little skittish from earlier, Jade perched up on her tiptoes – the same action she’d done countless times that morning – and whispered a few quick words to Ashton, “it’s the perfect place to sneak off.” She was pulling back within a second, brushing a finger along his jaw.
It was easy to pretend. Not that she was pretending. She was just acting up to it. Diffusing the tension in the room. Trying to stay on everyone’s good side. “It’ll be fun and I’m sure Blake will like us there,” she needed to stop talking. Casting a nervous look over at Eli, Jade waited for him to weigh in or for Ashton to agree or for someone to tell her to just the hell up.
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Supernatural
Written by Megan.
299 posts.
18 years old.
two timin' hoe.
I am Male.
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Post by Ashton Pines on Jun 27, 2022 23:38:30 GMT
The change in Jade was both immediate and unnerving. Both of the boys tensed at how quickly she shifted into this meek persona, unfamiliar with how anxious the girl had suddenly become.
Eli’s eyes traced the nervous twirling of Jade’s finger, her hair winding tighter and tighter between her dainty digits as she shifted her weight. Gone was the silly girl cracking jokes and sharing panicked glances with him as Mrs. Wallace waddled around the classroom. Wordsuasion, the word felt heavy on his tongue—something so goofy and fitting for the Jade he’d been chatting with but not the one pinned to Ashton’s side. This new Jade was so small, so defeated. His stomach twisted, lips in a frown as he moved his eyes to Ashton. This isn’t what love looks like. Ashton’s posture was dominant, more than just to intimidate Elliot. He was towering over Jade, hands on her like she was a doll he could move and manipulate. He didn’t like it. Maybe he just didn’t like Ashton, but he shook that thought. Something felt off about this, there was a churning in his gut—an instinctual feeling that this was wrong. Eli had learned to not ignore that feeling. He couldn’t afford to. He’d missed the signs of misery in Leo. He kept a keen eye out now, but what if Jade didn’t want him to? He kicked himself for immediately jumping on the defensive. He didn’t know her. Hell, he didn’t really know Ashton. It was kind of weird of him to get so invested so quickly, right? He didn’t know what to think, but he didn’t like this. He knew he shouldn’t stick his nose in it, Zach and Gavin would be chastising him later for being so persistent, but Freddie and Steven and Sadie were so much louder in his head and told him to trust that something was off and play hero. Besides, there was no harm in it. He was making a friend. If Ashton wanted to be a little bitch and cry about it, well, that says a lot about his security as a man. He smiled at the thought, catching Ashton’s eye.
Ashton’s jaw locked, teeth pressed so tightly together as the scents swirled around him. Eli didn’t smell guilty. And that should have soothed him, despite the acidic taste of anger that melted off the man, but it didn’t. It didn’t because Jade smelled guilty. He didn’t understand it. She was resistant, hesitant when she kissed back and not meeting his eyes. His fingers flexed at his side before he hid them away in his pocket, loosening his hold on her waist because he feared that in this fit of mixed emotions, he may forget his strength and hurt her. And he didn’t want to do that. Not physically. Hell, he didn’t want to do it emotionally either but that wasn’t exactly an option anymore. He hadn’t planned on Erin pursuing him. He hadn’t planned to cheat on sweet, baby Jade with her toxic twin sister. He hadn’t planned on any of this. But he wouldn’t stop now. He could, he thinks. He thinks that Erin would keep her mouth shut to save her own relationship with Jade. They could pretend they never fucked and write off the last seven months as if it didn’t happen. They could, couldn’t they? They just didn’t want to. He didn’t want to give up the way Erin would shove at his shoulders, pinning him down to the mattress as she slipped a hand between their waists to unbutton his jeans. He didn’t want to give up the way she kissed him like she was starving, pulling at his bottom lip with her teeth until it bounced back plumper than before. He didn’t want to give up her. Ashton was an asshole. Oh fucking well. Jade would cry about it later, but right now? She was his and he wasn’t going to let prissy fucking Elliot Munson get any bright ideas.
Emerald merged with cerulean once more, letting Eli's hazelnut hues trace over Jade’s body language as Ashton shifted his focus away from Eli and back to Jade. He didn’t know why he felt so threatened. He was superior to Elliot in all ways, he felt. More handsome. More charming. Better physique and killer personality. Eli wasn’t a threat, but Ashton had reacted so viscerally to the idea that Jade was talking to another guy other than the ones he allowed her to that he realized the problem was in him. Fuck. He knew what this was. Fucking guilt. He hated it. He’s never felt guilt like this before. He’s never had a girlfriend to cheat on before. He's seen the stupid fucking posts on social media, the quotes in some fancy font scripted over an unrelated nature photo. He’d scroll past them, not paying any mind, but they were true. He was trying to pass the blame. He was trying to find an excuse to justify his sins. He was looking for the bad and the dirty where there wasn’t any.
He knew Jade wasn’t doing anything wrong with Eli, but he wished she was. It’d make this sickly fucking feeling in his chest a whole lot less heavy.
Jade’s voice had always been heaven, but as she spoke now, it grated on his ears. His eyes cut to Elliot briefly, sizing the man up as she pleaded his case. It was fair to go to the party tonight and movie tomorrow. Friday night dates had been her idea and if it was for any other reason, he would have been happy to change plans because he liked making her happy. But she was doing this for Eli. She was asking him to rearrange his day to make Munson pleased. It pissed him off. He wanted to raise and lip and snarl but Ashton knew better. That little cheesy ass picture flashed in his mind. If he started acting on his impulses, he’d give away the game. Jade didn’t mean any harm and he had to nip this in the bud before a forest of jealousy bloomed in his chest. She used Blake as a bargaining card. It was smart and dirty. It twisted that poisoned dagger a little deeper in his gut.
She made pretty little promises as she rose onto her tippy toes and brushed those soft lips on the shell of his ears. Ashton’s eyes were on Eli as she spoke, the dark smirk that curved his mouth leaving no room for Elliot to mistake what was said. His cheeks went pink, suddenly more uncomfortable now than when Ashton was glowering over him. Eli’s gaze dropped to his feet. Of course the pair had sex. This was Ashton, they had to have. But seeing Jade whisper something he hadn’t heard but there was no doubt it was of sexual nature twisted the view of this cutesy, innocent girl. He didn’t want to think she was like the rest. He was intrigued by the idea that she was something so special that Ashton made her his, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. Maybe she was such an amazing lay that he couldn’t let her go, and Eli frowned at the thought. That wasn’t fair. He slept with plenty of girls and he knew better than to shame someone for fucking around. He glanced back up at the pair, resolutely deciding then to take a step back from whatever this situation was. Ashton had him worked up and he didn’t want to risk being an asshole to Jade by making her boyfriend jealous and upset with her. That wasn’t fair.
However, he wasn’t backing down. He liked her company. If Ashton couldn’t handle her having a guy friend, he needed to re-evaluate himself.
As she settled back on the balls of her feat and chimed out his best friend’s name once more, Ashton let his shoulders sag. It was a losing battle, but he could play her game. He forced a smile onto his lips, his face cool and collected as he glanced at Jade. His hand was balled tight in the confines of his pocket, a darker note to the green of his eyes. He knew he reeked of rage, the fire bubbling and brimming but he kept it at bay. He was thankful that neither of them were wolves or his guise would be useless. To them, he seemed to have merely been settling from his initial shock, but this was Ashton. Nothing was ever so simple. He’d once held a grudge over Jensen breaking his Hot Wheels car for years—and the fact that he still remembered that may mean he hadn’t forgiven him like he’d thought after all. Ashton knew he wouldn't be letting this go anytime soon.
“You just met the guy and you can’t wait to go home with him, huh?” Ashton’s tone was light, a crinkle at the corner of his eye as he chuckled. It didn’t sound forced, maybe because he was laughing at himself for not being able to stop himself from saying it. Eli’s cheeks were a light shade of pink at the insinuation, but he just rolled his eyes and rebutted, “Real classy, Ash.” His eyes lingered on Jade briefly before seeking out her boyfriend. It was an interesting reaction. Ashton seemed more calm now, so maybe he’d misread the situation. If he had a girl like Jade and saw her talking to a handsome devil like Eli, maybe he’d get a little possessive too. Maybe. It’s been so long since he’s had a girl he’s been crazy about that he couldn’t say for sure. He didn’t want to be an Ashton sympathizer, but he wanted even less to be a problem for Jade. It wasn’t his place now, but he’d keep an eye on the boy because it would be his place soon, he was sure. He was charming as hell and once Sadie met Jade, he knew that the girl would be in their circle whether she liked it or not.
Ashton pretended to mull over his decision, making a show of pressing his index finger to his chin after pulling his hand from his pocket, eyes narrowed on Jade before he purred, “Whatever you want, darling. Date nights were your idea, s’long as you’re happy and we get to watch the movie sometime soon, I’m fine changing plans.” But he wasn’t. Ashton was a good liar. He’s fooled her this long, this little fib was nothing. No tension in his eyes, just a slip of the tongue and a flash of his pearly white. Dazzling to her, but shark-like as they glinted in the low light to Elliot.
He always knew just what to say to settle her down. His hand squeezed her hip softly as the other dropped back into his pocket. “So how about I walk you to the library for your little study date with Gen,” see, not a completely awful boyfriend, he did pay attention to what she planned—though he chose to ignore that he only did because knowing where she was helped him know where not to have Erin, “And then go find Blake and kick his ass for introducing you to Munson,” he teased, voice liquid velvet and calming. Ashton threw a look towards Elliot who huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
“It’s not me you have to worry about, man,” he insisted, jovial and laid back once more now that the end of their interaction was drawing to an end, “Sadie’s been eyeing your girl for a while. If there’s anyone you should feel threatened by, it’s my girl and her observations.” He shot a wicked grin at Jade, wanting to wink but knew that would be taking it too far.
A look of confusion passed over Ashton’s face as the pair shared what seemed to already have an inside joke. He gritted his teeth, knowing the pair were looking at one another long enough to let his resolve slip. Fuck this. “Too bad Jade would rather save a horse and ride a cowboy that play arts and crafts with your girl,” he tried to say in a joking manner, but it sounded cruel even to his own ears. He pulled Jade closer to him then, ready to go before he made a mess he wasn’t ready to clean up.
“We’ll see you tonight, Elliot,” he dismissed, taking a step back and guiding Jade with him, “Text the info to Blake and he’ll fill us in.”
Elliot hesitated for a moment, that gut feeling burning. What Ashton had said had been an embarrassing show of cockiness at her expense, but he didn't know what to say. So he lifted his hand in a wave and smiled cautiously at the pair, not wanting to bring more attention to it and make it harder for Jade to swallow down. “See ya, Ashton,” he paused, eyes finding Jade as he nodded her way, “Was nice to meet you, Jade. Whatever wordsuasion you used was perfect.” He beamed at her, not quite understanding why he felt so bothered by letting her go with Ashton. He didn’t know her. It was just him wanting to play hero again, but did she even need to be saved?
From Ashton? Everyone needed to be.
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jun 29, 2022 21:17:01 GMT
At Ashton’s smile, Jade’s heart lifted, floating higher and feeling lighter than it had since he’d entered their classroom. This was her Ashton. This was her boyfriend. Her little slice of happiness amongst what was a fairly boring and standard town. That was, excluding the higher than average supernatural population who seemed to casually roam the streets. Jade’s smile came a little easier now, her posture finally relaxing for real.
Or at least it had been until Ashton opened his mouth. It was a joke but it was all too familiar to what she’d heard before. The laugh that Jade made herself give was short and not exactly sweet, more of a gasp for breath than anything. “Jade Little,” the other girls had crooned at her after school, waving lists of names at her face, “don’t think you’re the only one who goes over and gives it all up first time. Slots is effective like that.” The other girls hadn’t been vicious towards her, more concerned really, but the words had stung all the same. Whilst Ashton’s words were teasing and his laugh genuine, they echoed too close to home and the sentiment was too similar to what she’d heard before.
So, if Jade’s cheeks ended up matching the pink of Eli’s, she tried to cover it with her hands as Eli cast his gaze toward her. Her fingers stayed there, covering the warmth of her cheeks as she held Eli’s eyes for a moment, an apologetic look in her eye. At least Ashton no longer seemed to be in overly-protective mode. Not that she was in danger. Fact of the matter was, if Jade hadn’t been sat next to Eli she’d have been more in danger from Mrs Wallace’s questions which would have put her in an even worse mood.
Attention shifting back to Ashton as he thought over their potential evening plans, Jade’s hands slowly dropped down from her cheeks, hanging aimlessly by her sides as she waited. His response had her smiling again. All they wanted to do was make the other happy. Why did that feel so scary to communicate? “I’ll even get you the biggest popcorn on offer,” Jade promised, scrunching her nose a little as she smiled up at him. Best of both worlds, right? Party tonight with her friends and some new people to get to know, and still get her date with Ashton over the weekend.
And he remembered what her lunch plans were. So, she hadn’t double-booked herself. What a relief. At Ashton’s answer, Jade’s smiled grew a little brighter. Was this why he’d sought her out? Facial features softening at the realisation that he’d come out of his way to just walk with her for a few minutes. It was moments like this that had Ashton earning gold stars in Jade’s mind, placing him on a pedestal 100 miles higher than Slots. It was Ashton separating out the red and purple skittles for Jade because he knew they were her favourite. It was Ashton surprising her with her own pyjamas and towel for the cabin so she’d have her own things when she stayed over. He made her feel important when she didn’t think she’d be able to again. Or not even again. She’d never felt important with Slots. But she’d felt desirable and wanted and that had been enough.
Before Jade could even say thank you, Ashton was addressing Eli again who Jade could tell was really not up for playing this game of bat and ball. Or maybe Jade was bad at reading people today as Eli’s reply wasn’t snippy which had Jade grinning a little. A grin that only grew, a giggle crossing her features at Eli’s next words. Yeah, he and those pesky observations were something to look out for. Jade couldn’t help but find it sweet and endearing that Eli referred to Sadie as his girl, that even though there was nothing romantic between the two he still cared for her in such a way and was happy to display it publicly. I’d love to hear them – the words were on the tip of Jade’s tongue, mouth cracking open and ready to spill but Ashton got there first.
Jade froze, the world tumbling into slow motion as even the leaves outside seemed to still their midday rustling and the clouds overhead ground to a halt. What – and Jade couldn’t quite fathom it – the fuck?
Head snapping to the side, Jade’s mouth clamped shut, all amusement gone. She knew she should stay quiet. She knew she should let it slide but commenting on her sex life so crudely in front of some guy she’d known for the better part of an hour? That was a line she hadn’t expected Ashton to cross. He was putting her in the limelight with that comment. He was putting her under fire. And for what? Because Eli had made a joke that she’d laughed at? Her breathing changed, low and slow as she tried to still her mind and that rapidly blooming wave of embarrassment. Not even that, it took Jade a moment to catch what he was implying which felt highly insensitive towards Sadie. Jade’s face was the picture of shock, eyebrows furrowing together in a way that was all too obvious now. “Ashton,” Jade began to say but the rest of those words died on her lips as he made parting words to Eli. No, no. Jade didn’t just want to walk away. She didn’t want to be guided away by Ashton’s arm around her when he’d just started such a scene. But she let herself be tugged away even when it made her heart heavy. Even when it felt like another nail in the coffin of giving up on herself just a little for the sake of being perfect for him.
Taking steps backward, Jade’s eyes trained onto Eli’s, a strained smile passing her face at his words. When did she ever just smile or laugh because it was natural? When was her happiness not masking some other feeling? Perfect. Yeah, if only. If only every action didn’t feel so premeditated. If only every sentence around most people wasn’t carefully selected which was shocking based on how much of a complete ditz she seemed most of the time. But even that felt like an act half the time. It was only in moments like that stupid high five where her decisions felt genuine – no matter how foolish they made her seem. There was no need to impress someone like Eli. She’d found a group of friends already and she had Ashton. If Eli wanted to spend time with her that was entirely his choice, she didn’t depend on it. Even if she would be disappointed if come Monday he chose to sit on the opposite side of the classroom to her. Frankly, she wouldn’t be able to blame him after the clusterfuck that had been this interaction with Ashton.
Fuck.
No. She did care if Eli wanted to be her friend. She wanted him to like her but how could he if she let his friend be spoken about in such a way. “Not that perfect,” Jade responded, knocking Ashton’s hand off of her and grabbing it with a sudden new-found strength. “I’ve got to talk to my boyfriend about manners before I let him go to a grown-up party.” And with that, Jade pulled Ashton out of the classroom. She had to stand up for herself. She had to stand up for Sadie. Ashton would have to deal with it and after the performance he’d just displayed it he needed to be told off.
The hallway was swarming, people gathered by lockers and making out by the water fountain and whilst Jade knew she’d end up being late for Imogen she couldn’t let this slide now. “What was that?” Jade asked as she guided them through a pocket of freshman, the young teens pulling to the sides as they recognised who walked between them. “Making a joke about me riding you in front of him, Ash? Seriously? Did you wake up with a micro penis this morning?” Uh oh. Word vomit. Thankfully the exit door to the building was ahead and Jade swung the door against its hinges with slightly alarming force which had her cringing. What’s the point in making yourself look sweet in the morning, Jadey, if you’re going to go all Hulk like on a door? Shaking her head, Jade pulled them over to a picnic bench and releasing Ashton’s hand pointed down at the bench, “sit your ass down.” She said, chucking her own bag onto the ground as everything around her started to feel too tight and too small. What was she doing?
Rubbing her hands up and down the tops of her arms, Jade stared at Ashton, confusion mixed with annoyance written across her face. “Ash, baby, I don’t understand.” That little flame of anger was starting to fade now and every word she’d uttered was starting to taste like acid in her mouth, panic creeping in. She wanted to forget it. To forget that she’d been mad at him. That he’d been able to upset her and get a rise out of him. Oh god, what if he thought differently of her now? She’d tried so hard when he’d first come into the room to play along so that he didn’t and then she’d ruined it. For herself and for some girl she’d never even met.
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Human
Written by Megs.
35 posts.
18 years old.
ladies man.
I am Male.
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Post by Elliot Munson on Jun 30, 2022 15:28:33 GMT
Eli got it now. He understood why Ashton chose Jade. She wasn’t some ditzy little girl who was spineless against Ashton’s charm. She wasn’t kept at his side purely because of the way her curves lifted her skirt’s hemming or, and his blush darkened at the thought, how she rode him. He didn’t want to imagine it. He didn’t want to let his mind flicker with pornographic images of Jade. It felt dirty and wrong to silently add to her embarrassment. Even if she never knew. It made his stomach twist knowing that Ashton had won that battle, that his words had been effective and for a brief moment, Eli could only see Jade atop her asshole boyfriend. Fuck. Could he not act like a horny teenage boy for one second? Ashton was laughing at Jade’s expense right now, god damnit. She deserved better than this, than him letting the illusion of intimacy blur his vision. This wasn’t fair to her. Eli cut his eyes to the side, ashamed of himself for letting his mind run wild, but he got it. It wasn’t because of her body or what Ashton so crudely insinuated. Jade wasn’t just a pretty face. She was good. She was strong. She was funny as hell when she’d been whispering out of the side of her mouth about how Mrs. Wallace’s handwriting looked like Latin. She was a human being. Not some doll, despite the way she dressed herself as one. Not some pawn. She was her own person and it finally made sense why Jade got the pretty little crowned title of girlfriend when no other girl had. She was standing up to Ashton. Eli never thought he’d see the day a girl put King Pines in his place.
And for him. No, not him. Not even herself, he thinks.
Sadie.
It took him a moment, the corners of his lips raising into a blinding grin as he put it together. It wasn’t too hard to connect the dots. Jade was playing hero too. Upset not just at the insult to her own character, but a girl she’s never met. A girl she didn’t even know existed until an hour ago. His heart swelled in his chest, everything seeming too tight and small as he watched the way her hand grew firm on Ashton’s wrist. There was a giddy, glorious feeling brewing in his stomach at the look of confusion and horror on Ashton’s face as he was dragged away from the room. It was kind of hot, but Eli was quick to drown out that flaming thought. Bad, no. She had a (shitty) boyfriend and he didn’t even know her. But he wanted to. He could use more friends like her, and well, he thinks she could use the same.
Elliot watched them turn the corner, shaking his head as he waited for a beat before following them. He watched them go, Jade stomping and Ashton’s face growing red. She was saying something that Eli couldn’t hear, his eyes trained on her mouth—trying to make out the shape of words, but he’d never been good at reading lips. He cringed when she threw the door open, jumping a bit at the sudden force before letting out a shocked laugh.
“What’s so funny, Ellie?” Sadie’s voice was loud and bright beside him, causing him to once more bounce on his heels in shock. He hadn’t heard her sneak up on him, the halls so loud and crowded that her normally heavy footfalls were drowned out. The girl couldn’t be discreet to save her life. Elliot beamed down at her, his arm settling on her shoulders as he pulled her into his side. “I met your little crush,” he teased, turning them to head towards the cafeteria where he knew Freddy was sitting on the table while Zach berated him for getting his ‘ass dust’ all over where they put their food. Gavin would be snickering at them from behind his book while Steven leaned in and tried to get him to bet on who he thought would win this argument today. Eli liked the routine, he liked knowing what he was going to be walking in on. He liked that no matter how hissy and pissy Zach and Freddy would get, Freddy would always end up with his shoulders pressed to Zach’s once he finally sat on the seat and they stole each other’s food. He liked that Gavin and Steven would pass the same ten bucks back and forth each day because the outcome would always vary. He liked his friends. He briefly wondered if Jade would too.
“Who? Lottie? Willow? Jamie?” Sadie offered up and Elliot rolled his eyes as they maneuvered through the crowds, “Because one of those girls is gay, I’m telling you.” They shared a laugh, and he shook his head.
“Sure, because your gaydar is never wrong,” he chuckled and she winced, because yeah—it definitely has been before. If she hadn’t had the boys in her corner, she would have been crucified for flirting with the wrong cheerleader. But they always had her back, and she couldn’t put into words what that meant. “Jade,” he finally explained, and she lit up, “I ran into her before class and got her to sit next to me. She’s coming to the party tonight.”
“Party?” Sadie’s brow drew close, and he let out a breathy laugh.
“Oh fuck, yeah. Party,” he forgot he had only just planned it and hadn’t actually told anyone else yet, “Blake wanted to hang out so I told him I’d throw something small tonight. Mom and dad are leaving around four, so I was thinking you get there around six and the party starts around eight? You can bring Ollie so Wyatt has company. I invited Jade.”
“You have piss poor planning skills, but hell yeah,” she laughed, a sparkle to her eye at the idea of getting to know Jade, “I can’t believe she said yes. Does that mean?” She didn’t have to ask, and he didn’t want to answer.
“Yeah. Country fuck is going to be there,” he sighed, replaying their interaction in his head, “He was a real asshole about it, though. Like, more than normal levels of Ash being a dick.” Sadie frowned, a slight concern in her eyes at what that could mean, but she knew Elliot would spill all the details later. He loved the boys, but there were some conversations for just her and him—so as they entered the cafeteria to find Zach pushing at Freddy’s leg as it got too close to his lunch and Steven and Gavin had their heads thrown back as they howled with laughter, he steeled himself to talk about it later as they prepped the party. “He said something a little crude about you and Jade said something before I got the chance,” and her eyes widened at that because Elliot was always so quick to snap at someone for being cruel to her, “She is a really cool girl.” He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he recalled the strength she’d shown. Most people would crumble. Even he had bit his tongue and now he was ashamed for doing it. He just hadn’t wanted to overstep his boundaries as a relative stranger looking to stay in her good graces, but maybe he should have.
“Ooo,” she dragged out the vowel sound as they settled into their seats, each pulling out their respective lunches, “Does Big Hair have a crush?”
“Fuck off, Sades. I do not,” he insisted as he fought to keep the blush on his cheeks from darkening, “She has a boyfriend and I just met her. If you try playing matchmaker, I will,” he didn’t know what he would do—he couldn’t be mean to her, “Cancel our trip to the preserve for that photoshoot.” It was the best he could think of, and she gasped, palm pressed to her chest.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed.
“Wouldn’t I?” He wouldn’t.
The boys perked up then. Freddy slid off the table and sat beside Zach. Gavin sighed and slid a ten dollar bill to Steven who was grinning from ear to ear.
“What’s this about our lord and savior having a crush?” Freddy purred, chin held in his palms as he perched his elbows where his ass had just been. He wiggled his brows and Elliot shook his head—cheeks alight and eyes turned towards Sadie who was shrugging as if she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Nothing. No crush,” he said firmly, but with no heat. The boys laughed, but didn’t have the chance to press as Elliot went on to say, “Blake wanted to hang at my place so I’m throwing a party around eight. A few of his guys will be there—”
“And Jaaaade,” Sadie said in a sing-song voice, batting her lashes his way as his shoulders went tense and his blush darkened.
“And Jade. Maybe a few others. You all coming?” He tried to keep his tone even, but no one was fooled. They all agreed, happy to spend the evening getting drunk and causing trouble.
As the conversation turned and they began eating, Eli sent a text to Blake and the boy was quick to respond to his question. Jade hadn’t had the chance to give him her number, but Blake didn’t hesitate to shoot it his way—not asking any questions which felt out of character, but he must be distracted with Sabrina.
“Hey guys, smile,” Elliot instructed as he turned the camera towards himself and the group, making sure everyone got in the frame before snapping a selfie. He had a charming grin, his hair pushed back and eyes alight with happiness. Sadie was pressed against his side, a peace sign thrown up as she laughed. Gavin had a polite smile while Steven put bunny ears up behind his head, his long hair dipping out of frame. Zach had his arms crossed over his chest and a look of tired disbelief on his face as Freddy stuck out his tongue and held his index fingers to his forehead like devil horns. Elliot smiled down at the picture before he typed out a quick text to Jade, “Hey! This is Eli. Got your number from Blake. I hope you don’t mind. Party is going to be at my house around 8. Your boys know where I live, but any of us can give you a ride too. They’re excited to meet you.” He hesitated, reading over it a few times before finally attaching the picture and hitting send.
He tucked his phone into his pocket and focused back on his friends with a weird feeling thrumming in his chest. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so excited for a party—excited to see someone. He liked Jade. Not like like, he insisted even to himself, but he thought she fit in well with not only his dynamic, but would fit with his friends too. She was cool and kind and sweet and, well, she deserved better than what he’d seen. The girl who had high-fived him and joked in class was not the one who left with Ashton and he didn’t like that.
But it wasn’t his place to intervene, so he’d befriend her instead. She didn’t need a knight in shining armor, but maybe a break from the stiff posture she held herself in around Ashton and his friends. That’s all.
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Supernatural
Written by Megan.
299 posts.
18 years old.
two timin' hoe.
I am Male.
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Post by Ashton Pines on Jun 30, 2022 18:50:25 GMT
The sharp crack of his name had his smile faltering, his eyes shifting from Elliot to Jade as her body grew taut and uncomfortable beside him. He arched his brow at her, silently asking what her problem was because, yeah, his joke hadn’t fallen as well as he had wanted it to but it wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever heard him say. Ashton wasn’t known for being polite. He had a viper tongue and said what he wanted, using his southern charm to twist his words into something favorable. He knew it would bother her the moment the words spilled over his soft lips, but he hadn’t expected her to get mad. She’s never been mad with him before. He stilled, gaze dancing over her face and finding hints of her twin in the crease of her brow and dip of her frown. It wasn’t often he’d see Jade in Erin and even rarer to see Erin in Jade. In the afterglow of sex, Erin would curl into his side, fingers drawing dainty shapes in the sweat that chilled on his chest. She’d be coy and sweet and dazed. She’d be a lot like Jade was during the day—soft smiles and tender kisses. But Jade was never like her sister, not until now. He looked at her differently, as if he didn’t recognize her and he didn’t. Jade was an angel. She was a heaven-sent, a princess, a doll. She wasn’t supposed to look at him with disgust. Her eyes were only supposed to hold love and trust and care. Something rotten simmered in Ashton’s gut—a hot, rancid emotion turning and toiling. He wanted to laugh it off, to push his fingers into her hair and tip her head back and kiss that look right off her face, but he couldn’t. She was mad. This wasn’t just some petty girly shit. He’d genuinely upset her and this feeling settling on his chest was sickening. Ashton felt bad. He wanted to be angry that she reacted this way, but that wasn’t his initial feeling. No, instead of raising to his full height and leveling a domineering look upon her, he cut his eyes away and his cheeks flushed. It was a slap in the face. Jade had only seen him as perfect until now. There had been little bumps, but nothing so severe and blinding. He’d worked so damn hard to be a good boyfriend (ignoring the fact that he was sleeping with her twin, of course). He’d do anything she asked, desperate for that smile and desperate to get this sickly fucking weight off his chest by doing something generous. He couldn’t put it into words. He cared for Jade. He needed Jade. But he liked the time he spent with Erin. He wanted Erin. It was night and day. He couldn’t have one without the other.
But now, with Jade moving from his hold and belittling him to Elliot of all people, he couldn’t help but think they were one in the same. Jade and Erin. Erin and Jade. Both had a vice grip on his heart and yanked his chain how they wanted.
His face grew hot with shame as his small, baby Jade pulled at him with all of her might. Elliot’s eyes were a brand on his back and strangers ogled at them as they parted for the couple. Whispers echoed in his ears, words catching his attention dragging his glare onto those who dared speak as if they knew him. The students balked and shrank under his power, turned away as Jade continued to lead him and he let her. Ashton could stop her. It would be no challenge. He could plant his feet and watch her struggle, but he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to upset her more. He didn’t want strangers to overhear this conversation.
Ashton was an actor. His inner turmoil only showed with the glow on his cheeks. Behind the green of his eyes was chaos, but he threw on a smirk and kept up the charade that he believed he wasn’t in the wrong. He knew he was. He always was, but he’d always pretend otherwise. He didn’t show his embarrassment or his shame or his bubbling anger. He couldn’t. Not with Jade. He still couldn’t cope with the heat in Jade’s eyes, the way she looked at him like a villain. “We both know what kind of dick I woke up with,” and the word ‘baby’ was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t say it, "Darlin'." Baby was for Erin, but that’s how Jade was acting. It was hot. His blood was warm, and his jeans were tight because fucking hell, he was attracted to Jade being dominate because it was so much like her sister. God, he blinked at her, trying to find his Jade and he couldn’t. Fucking Elliot. What did that guy say that had his girl turning against him? It was getting harder and harder to keep his cool. Ashton couldn't decide if he wanted to bend her over and fuck her senseless or trap her in a corner and remind her just who exactly she was talking to. “It was just a joke, Jade,” he tried to defend, eyes widening as she threw the door open and the crack of it hitting the wall had his ears ringing. He wanted to laugh, but instead he winced, eyes narrowing as the sun blinded him and her words rang out sharp. He was overstimulated both physically and emotionally and happily took the seat she forced him to.
A sigh left his lips as his hands fell clasped between his parted knees, head hung low as her broken voice settled around them. There she was. That was his girl. Sweet, docile Jade. Giving up her fight and caving to his pouted lips and slumped shoulders. His Jadey Baby, the only time he could let that word meet her ears anymore. He’d made that mistake once, calling her baby in front of Erin. The older twin's eyes were dark and cruel, her nails sharp and piercing when she’d dug them in his chest—demanding that he tell her who his baby girl was while she writhed atop him. Her. Only her. Erin was a jealous bitch, but God, wasn’t Ashton a selfish prick too?
Inhaling slowly, he straightened up and raised his gaze to meet hers. With her standing before him, his chin was tipped up. He reached out for her, a display of hesitancy before he curled his fingers around her hips and urged her closer to have her stand between his knees. His eyes wandered briefly—over her face and over her body, admiring the way she’d pieced herself together this morning. She was always so damn beautiful, so perfect, but his stomach twisted again as his fingers flexed against the fabric of her skirt. It was short, so damn short. Normally he’d have a field day with something like this. He’d hike it up that little extra bit and slide right into her, but now it made him sick. Who else was looking? Who else caught a glimpse of the tops of her thighs when she bent over?
Anger brimmed under his skin, and he fought hard to keep his eyes from flashing red. He didn’t have the best control and as alpha he should have, but he was just a boy. His gaze caught hers again and he settled. He found an anchor in the hurt in her baby-blues. She looked so scared, like he was going to leave her over her little hissy fit and God, that was fucking empowering. He tightened his hold on her, offering a pitiful little smile as he fell into the apologetic boyfriend role he’d adopted long ago. Prim and perfect and so easy to deceive the poor girl.
“Jade,” he started sadly, voice low and raspy and hurt, “I just, I’m sorry.” Good start. He never apologized before he met the Littles, but now he feels that all he does. Soft sorries for Jade when something goes wrong. Apologetic promises to Erin as they bask in the intimacy of one another. He’s sorry he was late picking Jade up. He’s sorry he has to keep Erin a secret. He’s sorry and he’s guilty and he’s a monster. “I shouldn’t have said that. I know that. I—God, Munson has just always gotten under my skin. It wasn’t you, it was him and I shouldn’t have used you as a way to get him riled up. I shouldn’t have been jealous because I trust you, Jade, but not him. He gets girls like Blake used to,” which was wrong, but only sort of. A half-truth. “And you’re so sweet and nice that I didn’t want him to take advantage of that. I panicked and I’m just a dumb stupid boy who's protective of his girl and I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. I just wanted to make it clear with him that you’re mine.” And he was rambling. He knew that, but she found it cute. She’d always blush and look away when he got vocal with how he felt about her. He pulled at her hips again, causing her to lose balance and fall into him. He buried his face in her stomach, the underside of her breasts brushing over the top of his head. “I’m so sorry, Princess,” he purred into her shirt, the sound of his voice muffled against the fabric, “You know all I wanna do is make you happy, right?”
And the words felt toxic on his tongue knowing he was going to be the reason she would hesitate to fall in love again, but that didn’t stop him from saying it. He was going to get his fill until she turned him away. Ashton didn’t want her to break, but there was no outcome where she didn’t. He just had to keep her whole as long as he could and maybe that would lessen the blow of guilt when their little false reality shattered.
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Hunters
Written by Jasmin.
132 posts.
18 years old.
in looooove.
I am Female.
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Post by Jade Little on Jul 1, 2022 16:17:06 GMT
An angry Jade was rare. She’d taught herself to not be too sensitive. A hunter wasn’t effective when they acted irrationally. They made mistakes. They got hurt. Anger, grief, and other melodramatics would only get her in trouble. But as Ashton pushed that it was just a joke, Jade felt her stomach drop, anger twisting quickly like an agitated serpent. A snake that was content living in her stomach until someone disturbed it. She was dangerously close to lashing out. Her and Erin weren’t just twins because of their birthday. No, no. Whilst most people saw them as completely different – polar opposites – they could be strikingly similar at times. Usually not for particularly good reasons. The moments of similarity were few and far between and typically only witnessed by their parents who would roll their eyes and tell them to grow up. Ashton knew Erin enough to recognise the anger as a shared thing between the Little twins. But, wait, Ashton couldn’t stand her sister. This was only making it worse. Still, as she stood there, watching him hang his head down, his words from the hallways bounding around her head, that serpent didn’t completely settle. He wasn’t taking her concerns seriously. This was fun to him. Her right hand had moved to rub across her brow when Ashton reached out, the movement taking her by surprise. If she’d been more focused she would have resisted, played at least a little harder to get back in his good graces whilst her confusion coiled around her heart. This felt far too close to a disaster of a conversation. Was this not the exact position she’d been in when she’d called out Slots at that stupid Christmas party? Jade’s pulse quickened, memories from that night flashing through her mind again. Crying in a pretty dress, mascara streaking down her face, Slots’ voice cold and unbothered, bare trees outside as branches snapped against the window as Slots perfected his distraction and kept Jade on his good side. But this was different, right? Ashton was tracing his eyes over her now, admiration shining in his green eyes. Jade softened at the look, that serpent inside burrowing back down as the immediate danger of heartbreak and embarrassment seemed to fade away. The flex of his fingers against her skin had Jade’s concentration falling apart just a little. Her anger had slipped away now. With no one else paying them much attention she could drop her defensive act. No one else would witness her giving in or bowing to Ashton’s will and words to save themselves an argument. The wariness crept back in, tugging at the cuffs of her shirt as she met Ashton’s gaze letting the effect of what he’d said flash for a moment. A moment of hurt and upset that he’d discuss her in such a way in front of others. Most of all was her worry, worry that she was acting too much like someone she knew he disliked, worry that she’d go too far or say the wrong thing. Sorry. So was she. Trust. The word had Jade’s jaw clenching, teeth worrying her bottom lip. Because it shouldn’t have even been a question. She never spoke to anyone else to cause concern. She wasn’t sneaking off and not telling him what she was up to. No, Ashton usually got a lengthy message in the morning of her plans for the day or a detailed explanation in the morning as she attempted to find wherever her bra and ended up. She wasn’t a liar. She didn’t hold secrets. To those she was friends with, she was an open book. Well, minus the whole hunter and supernatural element of her life but that was entirely different. Revealing that wasn’t her call to make. Jade didn’t know what to make of his explanation. She so wanted to just believe it. To fall for every word that tumbled from his perfect lips and move on. But there was just a little tugging, something pulling on her heart that was sending a low rumble of alarm bells to her ears. The alarm was distant – far, far away and peeling off of a deep recess of her mind. A buried down pocket with a padlock hidden somewhere else with a single warning on the padlock. Slots. No, no, Jade knew he was different. She wasn’t waking up in the middle of the night to him gone, to his phone constantly going off, to other girls sending her pitying looks without bothering to actually say anything just yet. She needed to get out of her own head. She was so fixated on her own internal worries to crack a smile at his words, to melt under the force of his eyes. When he pulled against her, she stumbled, hands reaching out to land on his shoulders on instinct to prevent a complete faceplant with the table. With his face buried against her, Jade allowed herself the smallest of eyerolls, eyes falling shut as she moved her hands so that one rested against the back of his neck and the other weaved its way between his short, soft hair. “Shh, it’s okay,” she replied even if she didn’t mean it. She was just over the sickly feeling of worry brewing in her stomach. Pressing her lips to the top of his head, Jade inhaled, relaxing at the familiarity of him. “You’re an idiot, Ash,” she mumbled as she straightened back up, brushing her hands over his shoulders. The words were said softly, warmth seeping back into her tone as the familiarity of him calmed her. “No more jokes about scissoring, okay? It’s not cool and I’d mentioned you plenty to Eli so don’t worry, he knew and he was just being friendly. You’re the only person in this school, in this town, that I want to be with.” The fact that she even had to say it was ludicrous. Sure, other people in Beacon Hills were attractive and had an appeal to them but none of them were Ashton. None of them could make her breathing hitch just be glancing her way and make her act stupid by flashing her a smile. “You know that I...” and Jade stalled then, eyes flaring wide for a second in disbelief at what was at risk of tumbling from her lips. “I only want you, okay? You’re stuck with me I’m afraid but if you comment on my riding abilities again in front of a random guy, I will bite your dick off next time I’m down there.” Jade said with a grin that grew as she hit the end of her sentence. “And we both know there’s better things I could do than that,” she added, a playful look edging its way onto her face. Glancing back towards the front of the building, the door mercifully still in one place, Jade frowned. “Baby, I’ve gotta dash or Imogen will give up on me for being a terrible friend.” Lifting Ashton’s head up, Jade smiled, all thoughts of annoyance gone as she looked into his eyes, “I’ll see you later,” she promised before leaning down and placing a fleeting kiss on his lips because if she lingered for too long she’d end up not leaving. Pulling away from him, she gave him one last smile before grabbing her bag (purposefully ensuring her ass was towards Ashton when she did so) and rushing off. Fishing her phone out, Jade sent a quick message to Imogen promising that she was nearly there as she navigated the throngs of students once more. Maybe she was a pushover but she’d rather be happy than fighting with her boyfriend. Reaching the library with a cheery, “hey, Im-dog,” that had Imogen rolling her eyes but responding “J-dog” nonetheless. Jade and Imogen got to work, quickly dividing the work between them and deciding to start on the most complicated piece together when her both buzzed. Grabbing it from where it lay face down on the table, Jade laughed, reading over the message a couple of times before opening the picturing and zooming into the individual faces. She’d seen most of them around once or twice but had no idea on names or any information beyond that. “Ooooh, is that the boyfriend?” Imogen ogled from opposite her, eyebrows wiggling. The question had Jade’s grin faltering for a moment before she shook her head, “nah, just some guy from my class but it’s a funny picture.” She replied, flashing it to her friend who looked at it before shrugging and returning back to the equation in front of her. “ Stalker.” Jade texted back before pulling open her own camera and flashing a smiling picturing, Imogen hunched over in the background, oblivious as she tried to balance their formula. “ Thanks for the invite, I’ll be there with less biology work – hopefully lol.” She added, sending the picture along with it. As she set her phone back down, Jade couldn’t help but unlock it once more and add, “ Sorry about Ash and what he said about Sadie. She looks super sweet ”. With that, Jade put her phone on silent mode as lunch was very quickly running out.
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