《OLIVER LEE (as told by an autistic boy)》 Why dont you talk more? (KAI¡¯S POV) > > > > An acquaintance I talk to in school asks me, ¡°Why are you so quiet? You should talk more.¡± < < < < I¡¯m out with friends, having Chinese food. Looking at the chopsticks, Izzy frowns. ¡°How do I use these?¡± I start, ¡°Uh, if you look at the side of the holder-¡± Talking over me, Charlie says, ¡°Maybe see if it¡¯s on the paper thing?¡± I try again, ¡°Y- yeah, if you turn it you¡¯ll see-¡± ¡°It¡¯s on the back, Izzy.¡± Sam talks over me. I lower my head and focus on my own plate of food, not caring anymore. < < < < We¡¯re out on Halloween, and Sam squints at the sky. ¡°Does it look like it¡¯s about to rain?¡± I rub my arm. ¡°It¡¯s definitely going to rain soon.¡± Charlie raises an eyebrow. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Well I just got bit by like, two insects...¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°Well bugs do that before a storm. They can sense the change in barometric pressure and know they need-¡± ¡°OKAY, KNOW-IT-ALL!¡± Charlie interrupts, ¡°Anyways! We don¡¯t need to worry about rain because I have an umbrella with us.¡± < < < < I¡¯m sitting with Lori and her friends at lunch, and they¡¯re joking about the Homo-Neanderthalensis (AKA, cavemen) Lori jokes, ¡°For all we know, they rode dinosaurs around.¡± I say, ¡°Well, actually, there¡¯s archeological evidence that dinosaurs and cavemen never actually met each other. The cavemen fossils are above the layers of earth the dinosaurs are all buried in. There¡¯s a huge amount of time difference estimated... uh, I don¡¯t remember the exact number but I know it¡¯s millions and millions of years worth of difference.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Looking up from her phone (that she just pulled out) Lori gives a rather pointed, ¡°Sorry what were you saying?¡± Catching her tone, I tell her, ¡°Uh, Nevermind.¡± < < < < Blythe notices something and groans. ¡°Ugh... where is my earbud?¡± As she starts looking around her seat, I joke, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s lost in Narnia.¡± Blythe looks at me confused. ¡°What?¡± ¡°N- Narnia... it¡¯s... it¡¯s a place from a book... uh, my sister makes that joke all the time- heh... about, uh... things getting lost...¡± I quickly realize she doesn¡¯t care what Narnia is or what jokes my sister makes. < < < < Jana is venting to me about a person she¡¯s messaged, and this guy is trying to hit on her but he just won¡¯t take the hint and keeps texting her things that make her uncomfortable. ¡°And then he said I¡¯ve heard that one before- like what?¡ä Trying to be helpful, I offer, ¡°If it¡¯s bothering you, ask him to stop.¡± Jana looks at me, seeming annoyed. ¡°I did. He didn¡¯t stop.¡± I look back at her. ¡°Then block him(?)¡± ¡°You¡¯re not listening!¡± ¡°... What?¡± ¡°Ugh. Anyways, I told him that I was telling the truth and he was like yeah sure whatever and I was like -¡± < < < < Owen Hayes stops me. ¡°Wait, what did you just say?¡± I repeat slower, ¡°I have a pillow that looks like that...¡± Hayes snickers a bit. ¡°Oh my gosh...¡± ¡°What?¡± Instead of explaining, he taps someone else on the shoulder. ¡°Listen to the way she pronounces Pillow! Haha¡± < < < < We get numbers assigned to us to know who uses which calculator. Every so often, the teacher changes the numbers. Andrew (who sits next to me and chats with me) just got calculator 11. Aww~ I¡¯m jelly~ I note, ¡°You know, in the bible, 11:11 usually is assigned to a passage detailing some sort of judgement, even in disaster form.¡± Andrew gives me a weird look. ¡°What? It¡¯s a random fact I know...¡± ¡°Some random fact...¡± < < < < My mom and I are talking about the actions of historical figures. I add, ¡°Well George Washington was a...¡± the word gets stuck in my mouth, and I vocally stumble. ¡°A- a- s... sh... sho... sho... suh... s...¡± I close my mouth and give up, feeling embarrassed. Why can¡¯t I say the word ¡®soldier¡¯? I managed ¡®pepperoni¡¯ the other day! My mom puts an arm on my shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know what you meant.¡± Just feeling more ashamed, I look away from her and let her hand slide off my arm. < < < < Ajax sneers, ¡°Your voice is so annoying¡± < < < < A little girl asks, ¡°Why do you talk like that?¡± < < < < Tara laughs. ¡°Is English really your first language?¡± < < < < Molly sing-songs: ¡°Boring~¡± < < < < Charlie says, ¡°I don¡¯t need all that extra detail.¡± < < < < My sister whines, ¡°That¡¯s because you weren¡¯t listening!¡± < < < < Interrupting me, my English teacher shakes her head. ¡°Kai, you gotta finish this up. We don¡¯t have time.¡± < < < < My dad says, ¡°You need to tone it down, Kai.¡± > > > > I look down and shrug while mumbling, ¡°I dunno...¡± Comfort items I sit down in my next class, feeling frustrated and exhausted. It''s just been a bad day. Between sensory issues and forgetting my phone at home and losing my math notebook (with my notes and homework in it!) and bumping into stuff and just a general bad mood - It''s not a good time. I tug on the straps of my backpack like I usually do, but I notice the edges of the traps are hurting my hands a bit because of the rough texture and how tight I''m gripping them. Crap... too much happening... but- no- I don''t wanna accidentally SIB (* Self Injurious Behaviour: autistic people stim, often in accordance to their feelings, so negative emotions often lead to intense stimming that may be harmful. Think like "tearing out hair" or "scratching into arms", or in Kai''s case, hitting her head on a table. More often than not, Autistic people don''t want to do these things to themselves but it''s like an urge you can''t avoid) I need to calm down.... On impulse, I grab the small Squishable hanging off my backpack. It''s an orange and yellow icecream cup but the cup has a cow''s face. Sam gave me it recently because she got a new backpack decoration and thought it''d be funny to give me it (to be ironic~) I haven''t played with anything like this in years but here I go! As I silently squish the calm-faced animal, I feel all my energy focus onto that object. In seconds, the mental chaos and static and fizzing has been rounded up and kept in one place. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Then it evaporates. Holy sh!t... that worked??? I continue to rub my finger over the soft fabric, and a wave of relief washes over me like the feeling of easing into a hot tub. As soon as I realize this, my first instinct is to throw this thing into the garbage... Then my next thought reprimands myself for even considering harming this little half-icecream half-cow squishable. (it''s so cute!) But it''s a plushie... Well... so what if things like this calm me? It calms me and it''s not hurting anyone. I don''t care... Why did I stop carrying stuff like this? When I was little I always had a small hand-sized plushie or a fidget toy with me... ... Oh ...I remember now. I was 11. Mom took me to someone else''s party at a bowling alley. I had a small Squishable in my hand but I noticed nobody else had anything like that. I felt embarrassed like I was being immature. If they don''t need it, I don''t either. The next day, I abruptly stopped carrying anything with me and within a week, my parents noticed this. They praised me for not needing "security items" anymore and I took it to mean I was right to think it was a sign of immaturity. After that, I gave away every single small squishable, fidget toy, and plushie I owned to anyone I could. I felt angry at myself. It felt like I had been kicked in the heart. (I realize now the kicked feeling is because of separating from those things too harshly) I remember that for a while, I''ve silently looked down on Bella because she carries around most the stuff I gave her- and still does to this day. Mom and Dad have never told her not to have those things with her, and even praised Bella for having a quick easy way to calm herself. (That conversation happened way more recently than me separating from my stuff so I doubt it was favoritism... not that I care) Sigh... yeah... I need this WHAT- no you don''t- cave people lived for thousands of years without it so you can too! But I really do feel a lot better! Then go be a circus clown and bring me some popcorn because you''re being silly!! >> Kai carries her thing to study hall and her friend Makayla (surprisingly) instantly likes the thingie and Kai is shocked, and starts to feel less shame around it << I... guess... it''s not THAT weird then... uh! It''s not like that makes me happy or anything MY OC VS THE SORTING HAT ((If my OCs had to face the Sorting Hat.)) ????? ???? ???? My name is announced. "Sam Diaz-Alvarez" I excitedly head up to the sorting hat. This is it! This is the deciding moment of my life! Now everyone can see what kind of person I am!(??) ... wait... crap! Now everyone can see what kind of person I am!(??) When the hat is put on, he seems intrigued. "So much cunning... true cunning and ambition and perseverance... you''d make a marvelous Slytherin." Any remainder of excitement leaves me. "No..." "But you would fit right in. You really have all the traits that would make a-" I hiss, "I cannot be a Slytherin! My parents and grandparents and my great-grandparents and my uncle and my friends and myself would end me." The hat almost seems annoyed."Really now? ... maybe you''re a very tricky Hufflepuff." "I mean, I could be a Huffelpuff but like- you know when you think of the history associated with Huffelpuffs-" "Ravenclaw." "Was it because I said history? Oh... well I mean I am an air zodiac sign and Ravenclaw is the air but you know- I think maybe I am not quite a fit for all the intensive-" "GRYFFINDOR!" "Wait! I wasn''t done talking!" "You''re out of options!" "Wait! Gryffindor? Oh! That''s great! Thankyou!" I skip off the stage, content. I knew I was a heroic chivalrous girl. No doubt at all. ????? ???? ???? I feel a bit annoyed as my full name is called. "Charlotte Jhonson" I slowly make my way up the stairs, feeling kinda tired and just wanting to eat food and then go to sleep. Do you have any clue how long that train ride was? The Hat says my name like he''s tasting it. "Charlotte..." I murmur, "Charlie is okay..." "Hmmm... I think you could be a Gryffindor." I lower my voice. "I know the Gryffindor types... I am no Gryffindor." The hat yells, "Slytherien!" I look at Sam''s abhorrent shocked face, and I smirk and wink at her. Her eyes widen and she turns away, pouting like a child. This''ll be fun. ????? ???? ???? I was spacing out when I heard my name called. "Kai Lynn" Trying to seem like I was paying attention, I hurry onto the seat, and the Sorting Hat is put on my head. "You... are very steadfast and goal-oriented... however... hmmm..." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The hat is sure taking a long time on this! "You... your energy to move forward is... ah... hmmm..." Oh come on! The last person was quick and easy but I take long?! "When you focus on your self... no... we''ll..." If this is a punishment for cutting in line for the train toilet, I''m sorry or whatever! It was either the train seat, my pants, or the toilet! "When you really truly put your mind to something, I think you... well maybe..." STOP - I CAN FEEL MY HAIR GROWING, DUMB-CLUCK! The Sorting Hat mumbles, "no ... yes... perhaps ... wait... ummm..." PLEASE, I just wanna shower in a dorm and go to sleep! "When the time gets tough... tough? Tumble... rumble... mumble... oh!" TIME IS MOVING SO SLOW "A burning... wait... what-" AM I AGING ON THIS DAMN SEAT?? "Burning... I''m... oh dear, something is burning... I think-" I think this bloody f#cking thing is broken! The hat resolves, "When we eat kale-" That''s it! "Can I help you?!" The hat jumps. "Ravenclaw!" F I N A L L Y ...Oh cool! Isn''t that the smart one? Wait... why didn''t I think of that? ????? ???? ???? I was yanked out of my daydreaming when I hear, "Hugo Diaz-Alvarez" I hurry onto the seat, getting impatient. The hat says, "Ah, Diaz-Alvarez... I remember your sister." I mutter, "I''m not shocked." "Well... your chivalry could use some work... but you''re very brave and bold, so I know where to put you." This didn''t take too long! "Really?" "Griffondor!" I sigh. Darnnit, I''m in the same group as my sister! ????? ???? ???? I shudder a bit when the headmaster yells, "Alex Kim" The sound travels in this room a little too well for my liking. It''s so big in here... so many people... too many people. As I walk closer to the Sorting Hat, I just really hope that thing is clean. The hat is put on. Ewww, why the f#ck is it crusty? I''m definitely washing my hair first chance I get. "Ah... I know your type." "I''m a type?" I swear if he announces that I''m autistic...! "Yes... there''s only four real options with you types." "But there''s only four hou-" "RAVENCLAW!" I wince at the yell. ????? ???? ???? The Headmaster calls my name next. "Bella Lynn" When Mister Sorting Hat is placed upon my head, I silently pray that he is clean. "I can assure you, Bella, no children have gained lice from me." The hat sounds annoyed. I repress a gasp. "Sorry..." ... this hat needs proper repair. I fear it may break apart on someone''s head! "You have such a quick mind... a strong memory... I''m sure you could be a Ravenclaw." I don''t want to disagree but I also don''t know... I mean, my sister is a Ravenclaw but she and I are pretty different... "I... guess so." "Hmmm... however... your desire for social harmony and comfort tell me you could be a Huffelpuff." Oops... I think he read my thoughts again. "Oh well you don''t have the change your mi-" "HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shrieks. ????? ???? ???? I gulp nervously as I hear my name. "Lucas Vale" I take a deep breath, calm myself, and head up to the seat. Even though I keep cool, I feel anything but cool as the hat is put on me. The hat is looking into my soul, I think... Don''t say anything embarrassing please. The hat mutters, "Alright I won''t." Ugh... wait ... How in the world does the hat even talk? "Ravenclaw!" ????? ???? ???? I know I''m up when I hear a loud, "Colton Ebare" The hat tells me, "You have a lot of courage. You stand firm in what you believe in, and encourage the same in others." "Thankyou" "You think of what there is, and all that can be, and how to strive for it." I nod out of habit again. "Okay." "Stop nodding. I''m on your head." "Sorry- force of habit I guess?" "This is easily a Gryffindor! ????? ???? ???? I want to hide when I hear the headmaster yell, "Oliver Lee" I stumble out of my seat and it feels like the weight of the room is on me as I walk up to the seat. I can feel the eyes on my back. I hope this is done fast. The hat is barely on my head when he yells, "Hufflepuff!" I''m shocked (not by the house- my whole family is Hufflepuffs) but "How- how did you know so fast?" "The tenth clumsy introverted Lee that comes through here? - I think I know a pattern when I see it!" "Oh... wow..." So my dad''s side of the family were all really similar.... The hat laughs, before yelling, "Next!" I quickly thank the hat then head to the Hufflepuff table. ????? ???? ???? I stand up as soon as I hear "Jackson Apfel" Alright... I only will get two judgment days... here''s the first.... I walk to the seat and sit down, and the Sorting Hat is placed on my head. Ah- I''m kinda nervous. "Jack... hmmm... quite a life you have lived. Helping your family on the farm every day without complaint." I look at the ground. "Yes sir." "Look up, Jack." I look up. Wow... this is crazier than my confirmation... "You have a strong moral compass and respect tradition." "You could be a Hufflepuff..." Oh... I''m surprised... most the guys in my family were- "GRYFFINDOR!" Yeah... wait- what ????? ???? ???? The headmaster calls my name. "Michael Delax" When the hat is on my head, it is quiet for a moment. "Hmmm... how do you feel about Hufflepuff?" I admit, "I would rather be in Gryffindor." "How come?" "They have the best quidditch team." "Griffondor!" ????? ???? ???? The headmaster eventually calls, "Dilly... uh... Walper... schnout... lee??? I call back, "It''s Whippersnapperly." I hear a few people suppress a laugh. Perfect. My fake last-name worked. When the hat is on my head, he seems deeply disturbed. I roll my eyes. "Is something wrong?" The hat is beyond baffled. "What the- why- there''s nothing in this kid''s head!" I joke, "Ooh! The procedure worked!" "What?" Dumbledor seems worried. The hat cries, "I can''t even tell if she''s lying!" "Ah- I''m not a she, or a he, or even a they!" "What the devil are you?" I laugh, standing up and setting the hat down. "I''m a magical being that defies the laws of the known universe, and in one moment, you''ll forget this happened!" Three Two One (*S N A P*) TIME DOESNT FLY (ft. OliKai) ~ Kai and Oliver meet in late February of 2023 in a college computer class during Kai¡¯s first year of college and they become friends. ~ January 16, 2024, Oliver confesses feelings to Kai, and Kai asks him to be her boyfriend the next day and then they¡¯re officially a couple ~ In late April of 2026, Oliver and Kai move into a small apartment and live together, splitting their finances evenly and eating together and living together. Kind of a test run to life together seven days a week.) At this time, Oliver still has film classes with a college, and Kai still is working to work in a library full-time. Living paycheck to paycheck and working jobs. ?? ?? ?? ?? First week of May, 2026 (KAI POV) ¡°Cha?o bu??i sa?ng, Baby~¡± (Good morning) Technically we¡¯ve been up for a while but I haven¡¯t said anything cohesive yet. We haven¡¯t moved off our bed, even though the sun is up. It¡¯s a Saturday, so there¡¯s no rush at all. We¡¯re just cuddling/snuggling each other. This is to make up for all the mornings of weekdays we were in a cuddle-mood but had to separate and do outside-life. But now it¡¯s just us. Me and my Vanillabean angelic cinamonroll boyfriend. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I¡¯m around the peak of my asexual-fantasies when Oliver puts his hand on my arm. ¡°Kai, Sweetie-¡° I stop him. ¡°Sweetie?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Olly blushes. ¡°Well you call me so many cute names, I thought I¡¯d try something with you.¡± He¡¯s being so f#cking cute I turn my head away. ¡°Well you¡¯re gonna have to do better than Sweetie. I don¡¯t think it suits me, Angel.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Okay¡­ Darling.¡± My heart misses a beat (or three) SERIOUSLY?! It was that easy?! ¡°Ooh, you like that one~¡± My face heats up and I look away from his adorable smile. Why is Darling what makes me blush?! ¡­ I guess I know how Olly felt when we realized he likes being called Baby. He grins at me. ¡°Darling ?¡± Oliver rubs my back, feeling the entirety of my spine, making sure to linger on the back of my neck, a place I¡¯ve recently discovered is sensitive to touch. I close my eyes and murmur, ¡°So you¡¯re sticking with that?¡± ¡°Darling ? we really should be getting out of bed soon¡­ weekend or not, I still have my morning routine.¡± Oliver is the kind of autistic person that¡¯s developed a routine that entails stretching in the morning before breakfast, then after eating then brushing teeth, taking a one-lap walk or jog around the block. Meanwhile I guess my ADHD has kept me from developing anything like that. Usually I just roll out of bed, get dressed, brush my teeth and leave the house for work/college. On weekends, I would normally wake up a little before lunchtime (noon). Oliver adds, ¡°Plus, I need to give Buddy his breakfast soon.¡± Buddy is Oliver¡¯s pet bunny (Oliver having a bunny just makes so much sense~). When Olly was 20, he moved into a small apartment complex that allowed him to keep pets, and he¡¯d always wanted to try having a bunny, and bunnies aren¡¯t overly expresnive aside from the initial costs of things like the cage, bedding, foodbowls and whatnot. ¡°If I asked for ten- for five- more minutes¡­?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Oliver caresses my cheek. ¡°Ten minuets.¡± I let out a contented sound and squeez Olly tightly. He runs a gentle slow hand down my arm. ¡°You¡¯re so strong~¡± ¡°I¡­¡± My face heats up as I grumble, ¡°I was until you did that.¡± I nuzzle into Angel and we continue to cuddle and gently kiss and murmur sweet things. At some point, Oliver asks, ¡°How much time do we have?¡± I reach over Oliver and pick up my phone. ¡°It has been six minutes.¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t feel like six minuets... felt longer.¡± Oliver shrugs, ¡°and they say time flies when you¡¯re having fun.¡± ~ I¡¯m suddenly overcome with what I can only describe as a poetic epiphany ~ ¡°I think when you¡¯re in love¡­ it¡¯s both¡± ¡°When you¡¯re with someone you love¡­¡± Moving back under Oliver¡¯s arm, I continue, ¡°You cherish every single thing in that moment¡± ¡°Every scent, every sound, every word, every sight¡± I nuzzle closer to his ear. ¡°Every detail means the world in that moment, where time slows down.¡± ¡°A long beautiful magical moment that we draw out on our own in the pursuit of romance¡± I press my head against his neck. ¡°But as soon as that moment is done¡­¡± I slide back away from him to look at him. ¡°All that magic feels like it¡¯s been ripped away, and you can¡¯t help but think that moment wasn¡¯t long enough.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why it feels long in the moment but short afterwards.¡± In my normal way of speaking, I say, ¡°Or something like that¡­¡± Oliver looks amazed, completely in awe. ¡°... I can see why your hobby is writing¡± I cover my face with my hands. ¡°I made that up on the spot- please forget everything I have said¡± ¡°That was gorgeous.¡± ¡°Shut up¡± ¡°You¡¯re gorgeous¡± ¡°Olly!!¡± ¡°Come on Darling, it¡¯s almost 10, we really should feed Buddy.¡± Oliver sits up slowly. For whatever reason, I suddenly feel full of motivation. "Alright, let''s go down~" I literally jump out of bed and grab one of my jackets off the floor on my way out, Oliver following behind. My Bestie, my Blood (Kai & Bella) Bella misses how she and Kai used to be . . . Even as an unspeaking baby, Kai was distant and a bit cold and tried to distance herself from others (just a result of developing an Avoidant-Attachment style due to being adopted) but Kai has always had a soft spot for her sister. Maybe it''s because Bella was and still is a clingy girl with a desperate-to-please Anxious-Attachment style, or maybe it''s because a part of Kai always knew Bella was biologically related to her, or maybe she just truly felt like Bella would always be there. Whatever the reason, when they were little, Kai had no issue entertaining everything Bella wanted, and took pride as Bella''s older sister (even if it''s just by 15 months.) ~ ~ ~ 4-year old Bella tugs on Kai''s arm. "Read it again! Read it again!" "Okay, but this is the last time! We need to get to bed before Mom and Dad tell us!" Kai clears her throat and starts reading Hop on Pop again. ~ ~ ~ Under a few chairs and all the blankets the girls own, a 6-year old Kai calls, "Get under here, Bella!" "I''m coming! I found the flashlight!" "Great! We can search through the tunnel now! We can navigate" Bella repeats the word "Navigate". Kai nods. "Yep. Navigate. It''s finding your way through something." "Okay! Let''s navigate to find lost treasure!" ~ ~ ~ Kai laughs as her sister tries to imitate Pinkie Pie''s voice while playing with the small pink pony doll. "She doesn''t sound like that!" "Well you do it then!" Kai does a super low and slow voice on purpose. "I ... am... Pinkieeeee... pieeeee" Bella falls over laughing. ~ ~ ~ Kai puts up her hands like a monster. "I''m gonna catch you!" 6-year old Bella starts running and squeals,"NOOO~" through her laughing. "I can run faster than you!" "No you can''t!" Kai quickly catches Bella and pulls her onto the couch. "I''m gonna tickle you!" Bella screams and laughs, then Kai holds Bella close and shushes her. Kai then says, "Ah~ This pillow feels so nice~ Naptime!" Bella laughs. "I''m not a pillow!" "Shhh! Pillows don''t talk." "Kaiiiiiii!!!" ~ ~ ~ "Hey Bella." "What?" "The floor is Lava now!" Bella laughs and jumps onto the couch. Kai puts her blanket onto the floor and gets on it. "Bella, jump onto the raft! We have to sail around and find another island!" ~ ~ ~ Saturday morning, Bella and Kai would get up early because they wanted to always catch the newest episodes on Nickelodeon. By the time their parents let them see TV on their own, it was 2012 and things like Wonder Pets and Backyardigans and Spongebob and Dora the Explorer and Winx Club were their favorites to watch. Anytime the Winx transformed into fairies, Bella jumped up and spun around like she''s transforming too, and so did Kai, and they''d both twirl around, singing along to the Enchantix song. They''d watch things like Littlest Pet Shop and Power Puff Girls and Sofia the First and My Little Pony, too. ~ ~ ~ Bella suddenly cries, "I lost Lottie!" Kai knows Lottie is Bella''s favorite stuffed animal, a bunny. "We''ll find her, don''t worry." Kai spent ten minutes helping Bella find Lottie. ~ ~ ~ Kai declares, "I''m the teacher now!" Bella, along with a "class" of stuffed animals, listen attentively as Kai explains to the class how to properly peel a banana: stab it with whatever you can then pull it out of the skin. ~ ~ ~ 8-year old Kai taunts, "I can finish the drawing faster than you!" Drawing the same thing, Bella replies, "No you can''t! I''m almost done! ~ ~ ~ 8-year old Bella announces, "And this is how you host a tea party!" Keeping one of the plushies from falling on the plastic cup Bella took from the kitchen, Kai asks, "It is?" "Uh... this is what it looks like in books!" "But these are normal cups." "Just pretend it''s tea cups!" ~ ~ ~ They''re out with their mom getting icecream. Bella hides from the sun in her 10-year old sister''s shadow. Kai laughs. "What am I? A palm tree?" Bella leans against Kai happily. "Yes" "I''m not a tree!" "But you''re getting so tall, Kai!" "I guess I am~" "Well I haven''t grown in years!" "Maybe you''ll catch up to me one day." "Really?" "Nah. I''ll never let that happen." "Why?" Stolen novel; please report. "Because I wouldn''t be able to do this." Kai picks up Bella and starts to spin her around, Bella screaming with laughter. ~ ~ ~ It''s a loud and stormy night. Bella pushes Kai''s door open. It''s late at night, though Kai is using a flashlight to read the second book of the Percy Jackson series. Bella murmurs, "Sister... I''m scared... can I sleep in here?" Kai nods and lets Bella come next to her and she lays her head on hers. ~ ~ ~ (Bella, Age 11) "Can you hold my hand, Sister?" "I''m not holding your hand, Bella." (Bella, age 12) Bella comes into her sister''s room and sees her playing video games. "Sister, do you wanna go to the park?" Not looking at her, Kai says, "No... go ask mom to go with you" (Bella, at age 13) "Sister, do you wanna draw?" "You can draw on your own." (Bella, age 14) Kai finds her sister sitting on the bed in Kai''s room. "Bella, get out of my room!" "But the new season of Winx is coming out today..." "I don''t care. Watch it with Dad or something." ~ ~ ~ (BELLA POV, AGE 15) If Kai didn''t braid my hair every morning, I''d think she was unaware of my existence. I know Kai is kinda abrasive, but in the past, I was always the exception to her cold edge. Now she only nods as I talk like she''s about to fall asleep. (I don''t know if she''s even listening) I want things to go back to how they used to be... But how do I ask that? And even if I knew how- what would I say? It''d probably just be annoying to her anyway. It seems like everything annoys her now. I think even I annoy her (past just the usual sister annoyance) I think it''s the teenager-years making Kai more emo and broody. I don''t understand why- I mean, I still feel happy and bright. Sometimes I feel down but I still wanna talk with my sister. Now she only talks with me if I ask her to, like for help with my homework or something. I just Want to hear her say (or for her to show me) That she loves me still (KAI POV, AGE 16) As I sit on the bus, I look at Bella out of the corner of my eye. I''m so bored... I watch as Bella talks excitedly to her new friend, Rayla. She used to only talk to me on the bus... A memory of me and Bella always playing tag after getting off the bus appears in my brain. Don''t think about that... stupid. I don''t know how but... I guess I''ve drifted apart a little from my sister. Okay - maybe a lot and I know deep down it''s my fault because that''s just what I do- I guess- ruin sh!t. But I''m not just walking up and telling her that! She won''t believe me or something! And it''s not like it''s exactly easy for me to reinsert myself! Bella mostly just chats with me in the early morning and I''m too tired to think then. When we get home from school, she''s always busy playing roblox or working on her art (not that I''m much different, I have my video games and anime and my writing) But it''s not like I''m incapable of putting that down and spending time with her... ... But I''m not gonna actually ASK her. If she wants to spend time with me, she''d ask me, right? She''ll probably say no anyway. She''s got hobbies of her own and new friends now. She doesn''t need me. She always seems happy when she talks about all her new friends and the Art Club... meanwhile... I can barely speak enough to be marked down for attendance... How lame is it my only friends are two people who go to different schools that barely text me back... and my little sister? And she''s started hanging out at her friends'' houses more and more... But anytime she asks for my help, I''m going to give it. Maybe I''m not in a position to be her emotional comfort blanket, but I can still help her anytime she needs it. Even if it''s just some of her math homework, I can''t deny (to myself) I feel good about being able to help her with something. I just want to feel... needed. (or whatever! It''s not like I really care that much or anything!) ~ ~ ~ (That week ~ Kai POV) It''s lunchtime, and usually I eat on my own, but Bella has come to me. "Kai, I need some help, I think..." I resist the urge to half-joke "I basically live for those words at this point" and just give a chill "What''s up?" She sits down next to me. "Uh, remember that boy, Chase, I mentioned?" Uh, no... sh!t... sorry... "Yeah." "Well I told him to stop flirting with me but he won''t stop... and it''s starting to get really uncomfortable" Wait.. WHAT? How did I overlook this? "Did you tell a teacher?" "Yeah but... that doesn''t really stop anything..." Of course. Ugh- I hate it when this happens. And not my sister! She asks, "What should I do?" Maybe it''s the frustration of other various things building up right now, but I direct all that energy into a plan. "Leave it to me, Bells." I smirk and tell my sister not to worry because I know what I need to do, and only ask she try her best to hold out for a few days. (three days later) As soon as the lunch period ends, I follow Bella back to her classroom, walking with confidence. We get to the room and she points to Chase, and I tell her to stand back because I don''t know how this will go. This is incredibly stupid... but I am going to teach this slob a lesson the best way I know how: being a d!ck. After pushing my hair from my face, I yell, "Hey! Chase!" He turns and looks me up and down. "Who are you?" Projecting like I''m on a stage, I answer: "Doesn''t matter. I''ve got a little surprise for you." Everyone in the classroom watches as I pull out a long slip of paper with 30+ signatures. "What the heck is that?" "This is the list of people you''ve p!ssed off. Most of them girls you couldn''t take a damn hint from, some of them boyfriends who don''t like that you harassed their girlfriends, and many others who despise everything you do." "What?" "By signing this, they agreed that if anyone sees you harassing anyone again, well" I let a heartless smirk come onto my face. "F#ck knows what 30+ angry teenagers could do to you if we let them loose." The other people in the class are shocked to silent stillness, and the teacher is just staring at me with stone eyes. Chase looks bewildered. "Are you threatening me?!" I give him my coldest glare and speak clearly. "Of course not... I''m warning you, Chase... Don''t mess with my sister... or anyone else... again. You hear me?" "You''re kidding." I move closer. "I am very serious, actually." Suddenly, a girl stands up. "Let me sign that list." Another girl stands up. "Me too." Another girl adds, "Me three." I look at them amazed. "Thankyou." The teacher finally speaks up. "Alright alright, everybody sit in their seats!" Everyone sits down, including Bella, but I stay standing since I don''t have a seat in this room. "What is your name?" Feeling my adrenaline running out, I answer, "Kai ... Lynn... uh, Ma''am... er- Miss...(?)" Bella points at me. "She''s my sister" "I figured as much." The teacher walks up to me. "Well, Kai, you... are a very brave person." Chase yells, "What?!" The teacher snaps at him, "Quiet, Chase. I think the Principal will have a fun time listening to me inform him that there are over thirty accounts of you harassing other students, including people in this room." I stare at the woman, amazed. She asks me, "Where''s your next class?" I tell her, and she writes me a hall pass so I can get there without being penalized for being late to class. I''m amazed. I was sure the teacher would get me in trouble... but guess she knew Chase needed a stern talking-to. Teachers pay more attention than you think! Then I''m amazed at myself! I did that! I actually spoke infront of a whole room of people! And I didn''t even stutter or stumble! I hope he doesn''t bother Bella again... (At the end of the day) I wait near the bus, knowing my sister will want to talk to me. As soon as Bella sees me, she runs and gives me a hug. My sister hasn''t hugged me in... a long time. For a moment, I let myself feel happy, and acknowledge how much I need this hug... But then that part of me that always comes in times like these fizzes up and I gently push her away. "That was amazing!" "It was?" "All the girls in my class were talking about it! They were saying it was about time someone stood up to Chase, and they all thought you were so cool!" I laugh. "I''m just glad the teacher was so nice about it... and I hope this works. I really do have thirty two people who promised to make Chase''s life heck if he doesn''t get his act together." "Wait, I wanna see the names" I hand Bella the list, and she gasps. "So... so many of these people are in art club!" I look away from Bella. "I... kindaaa sortaaa found them and asked they help you out... they all seem like really nice people." "Yes! But, who are these other people?" "Like I said... many people have been flirted with by Chase... they don''t like knowing he''s still at it. I asked anyone in any class I could to help" "You did?" "Yeah... I mean it was nerve-wracking talking to all those people... but I thought it''d help you" "I think it did! Thankyou, Kai!" Bella hugs me again. Closing my eyes, I mock-scold her. "Alright, that''s enough. Get off. I still have a reputation." The bus horn honks and we remember we need to get on. As we get on the bus, Bella sits next to me for the first time in a while, and she starts talking about how shocked she was as I told off a fairly popular guy in front of a whole classroom. When the bus drops us off at our stop, I nudge Bella''s arm. "Hey... remember how we used to race home?" "Yeah? You always beat me!" "I bet I can still win." I run off, and I hear her whine, "Hey! No fair! I wasn''t ready!" Bella and I laugh as we run down the sidewalk. This just feels... so much better! The next day, Bella ate lunch with me (usually I''m on my own) and for that, I decided to play a song from My Little Pony on her phone. She really loves the song "Flawless". Suddenly, someone from one of my classes- Finley- stops. "Are you watching My Little Pony?" I quickly turn away from Bella. "She is." Before Bella can whine at me, Finley says, "Hey, no shame- My Little Pony is the best." I raise an eyebrow a bit before nodding slowly. Finley walks on, and I murmur an apology to Bella. "Sorry... reflex." "It''s fine." She smiles at me, and I believe her. DOING COKE(A-COLA PEPSI) ft. Lucas (This starts as a flashback to when Oliver was 13 and Lucas was 14) (OLIVER POV) We''re on a school field trip, but since it''s taking the whole day, we stop for lunch in a restaurant. I''m sitting next to my best friend since- well- birth, Lucas. Lucas has a noticeable lisp when he talks but I can understand him fine. Plus, over the years, he''s gotten better and better as speaking. Everyone has already gotten their food and drinks, and I''m looking at my chocolate milk curiously. I wonder aloud: "I wonder why my cup is smaller than the others." Lucas finishes chewing his food then says, "Well milk is notably more condensed than most the drinks they serve here so it makes sense that proportionally, they''d serve it in a smaller container. Plus, that''s styrofoam which is only used once, while these big glasses can be cleaned over and over." "I... guess that makes sense." I''m kinda glad Lucas is friends with me because he knows a lot, and I ask a lot of questions. Some people get annoyed when he talks about random facts but I enjoy it. I even get to tell other people. "Also, the only milk served here is chocolate milk which is considered a little kid''s drink, hence the smaller size and you''re the only person here with a lid on your cup." I suddenly regret my choices a bit. "Wait- so..." I lower my voice. "I''m the only person here with a little kid drink?" "Uh," Lucas averts his gaze from me. "On the bright side- if you think about it- what you drank was more hydrating and nutritional and filling than what most the people at the table''ve got." I glance at Lucas'' brown bubbly drink with ice curiously. "What did you get?" "Diet Coke. Want some?" Oh... what?? "I can''t have that." "Why?" "I''m not supposed to. My parents always said never do coke" Lucas looks... confused "You know, it''s just one of those things you''re told..." I look up at the ceiling briefly. "Which I never understood because they drink Coca-Cola and other Pepsi stuff all the time..." Lucas suddenly seems like he''s had a revelation. Then he laughs a bit. "Olls... do you mean cocaine?" This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "What?" "I think your parents meant don''t have cocaine ... not Coca-Cola..." My mouth drops open and my eyes widen. "What?" "Buddy, are you serious?" "What-" "I mean carbonated drinks aren''t the best for you but unless you''ve got a sugar issue, I highly doubt anyone would say don''t ever drink it." "Wait, I wanna try some right now." Lucas moves his glass towards me. I notice his straw, so I decide to drink from the side of the cup instead of from the straw. I have zero clue what to call what happens next anything other than a warped out of body experience. What on earth was that and can I have more of it? Lucas looks amazed. "That was... the best reaction to a Coca-Cola ever!" "I wasn''t expecting it to be..." I''m just surprised. "My tongue tickles" Lucas leans forward as he laughs. "Can I have another sip?" "Yeah." But Lucas adds, "You could always get your own drink." "We can ask for a second drink? I know there''s like- refills, but..." "Yeah, it''s fine." Lucas pints at a nearby waiter, talking to another tabel. "Call that waiter over and ask if you can have a drink." I whisper, "Can''t you do it? Please?" "No" Trying to help me - I guess- Lucas whispers, "You can do it." I look down at my hands that fidgeting with each other. Ugh- why is this hard? I see the waiter walk past. "Uh, excuse me...?" the waiter doesn''t stop. I think I''m too quiet... aaa, this is embarrassing... Lucas sighs, before raising his voice."Excuse me?" The waiter turns around, and Lucas nods at me. Here it goes... I ask, "C... Can I have another drink?" One of our classmates jokes, "Yeah, get''m a Mickey." Lucas rolls his eyes. "A Coca-Cola, please." "Just one?" I nod. "Yes please." "Alright, I''ll be back with that." Lucas and I both say thanks. I then thank Lucas for calling the waiter over. "No problem. You just need to be a little louder next time." ~ ??~??~ ?? ~??~?? ~ That''s one of my favorite memories with Lucas. It''s kinda silly since there''s been a lot of other great moments we had, but that one just sticks out to me. Anytime I even see a Diet Coke now, I smile and think of that time. The time I basically had what''s called "a brother from another mother". Lucas was my neighbor and we went to the same school and we''ve just always been around each other. I would go over to his house all the time and sometimes we argued and got tense like brothers, but more than anything else we were best friends and were always together. But the summer after I graduated high school, which was the year after he graduated, Lucas got accepted into Carleton University- one of the best universities in the capital of Canada. (Ottawa) Ever since we were little, Lucas has always loved science- especially anything about rockets or space- and I always knew one day he''d do something amazing to help everyone, just like he''s helped so many people in Leduc County. Including me. I think I was too busy cheering him on while he studied his hardest to get in to realize what getting accepted would mean. Lucas was leaving Leduc County... leaving Alberta... and moving to the other side of the country. Throughout my life, I''ve cried around Lucas a lot (ranging from me falling on my face as a toddler to me getting just overwhelmed as a teenager) but when Lucas had suitcases and was standing in front of his dad''s truck, I didn''t cry, because I was just shocked this was really happening. But for the first time ever, I saw Lucas crying, so I finally comforted him for once. I guess it was scary for both of us. I mean imagine having someone whose always just sorta been right there... just not being right there anymore. I mean it''s not like he died or anything, but still. Now, Lucas is pretty busy with the workload of university, but he still texts me and we still FaceTime a lot. Sometimes I get worried he''ll forget about me since he''s got a bunch of new friends now, but everytime we FaceTime, he looks incredibly happy to see me. I always tell people about my best friend Lucas, and I always feel very proud of my bond with him. I''ve even told my lover about Lucas a lot. Speaking of which, my phone is making electrical bubbling sounds so I know it''s my reminder to meet Kai at a restaurant for our date. >>> ??? <<< "What can I get you to drink?" I say, "I''ll just have water, please." The waiter looks at Kai, who says, "I''ll have a Diet Coke. Please." I suddenly feel a smile crawl onto my face. Kai and I thank the waiter, who takes the menus then leaves. Still smiling, I ask, "Hey, wanna hear a funny story about Diet Coke?" "Sure." "When I was ... like... 13, I think, I was on a Field trip, and ~ " That Lucas is Dead (childhood friends change) (OLIVER POV) Me and my friend Lucas (who lived next door to me for most my life) are just texting as usual. ME: So what are you doing right now (you usually multitask when we text) LUCAS: I am enjoying jello ME: That¡¯s nice, what flavor is it? LUCAS: Blue That¡¯s it? No deep dive into the contents of a food? It¡¯s nutritional value? Just a color? ME: ¡­ What? LUCAS: It¡¯s blue jello I laugh (this is probably just him being silly) ME: That¡¯s not a flavor LUCAS: So? ME: The Lucas I know would be very specific about ingredients and look to see what the actual flavor is LUCAS: That Lucas is dead Wait what? Why? When did this happen? Or is he joking? Good grief- texting makes it hard to tell if people are kidding! Uhh! Just answer light-heartedly and hope it works out! ME: That¡¯s a shame. He helped me try coca-cola for the first time and learn that it doesn¡¯t have cocaine in it, and he explained why chocolate milk containers are smaller Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That¡¯s one of my favorite memories ever. LUCAS: What did old-Lucas tell you? Because one is cheaper than the other?¡± He doesn¡¯t remember? Uh, that¡¯s fine ¡­ it was a while ago, too. ME: Actually he told me it was because of a difference in density LUCAS: That sounds like something I¡¯d say (is that a good thing or a bad thing?) ME: He also said it¡¯s because children drink less and usually the children are the ones asking for chocolate milk LUCAS: Makes sense ME: Why is ¡°old¡± Lucas dead? I liked him a lot and he was a nice human LUCAS: Are you saying I¡¯m not nice anymore?¡± Is he mad? Crap! I didn¡¯t mean it like that! I meant it in the way people in passing are like ¡°oh I knew that person! He was nice!¡± I try to avoid the urge to cry right now on the spot as I type as fast as I can without making an error because I know he¡¯d correct me on it (or maybe he won¡¯t now that he¡¯s ¡°new¡± Lucas) ME: No! You are nice! All versions of you are nice! I¡¯ve known you since you were learning to walk! We¡¯re still friends aren¡¯t we? LUCAS: ¡°All versions¡± of me? How many other Lucas-es do you know? ¡­ what? Uh- that doesn¡¯t matter - I need to assure him I still think he¡¯s nice, even if he¡¯s trying to tell me he¡¯s changing! ME: We wouldn¡¯t be talking like this if we didn¡¯t get along really well, yeah? That takes a kind person to manage almost two decades of friendship, right? LUCAS: (sends a cat meme) ¡­ DON¡¯T GLOSS OVER WHAT I JUST SAID! I poured out my heart for a minute and you¡¯re just brushing it off with cute cat photos? ME: Aww, it¡¯s a cat LUCAS, I¡¯M SORRY!! CAN¡¯T YOU SEE MY RAMBLINGS ARE JUST A REALLY INDIRECT APOLOGY FOR SAYING SOMETHING THAT YOU TOOK AS AN INSULT??? > > > > In the end, we just ended up ending the conversation. Lucas kept sending cat images and I kept saying nice things about each to show I was paying attention, but he stopped sending them and I didn¡¯t ask him to keep texting. Ugh¡­ I hope this isn¡¯t a sign he was mad. I rarely text Lucas (or anyone) because I usually prefer to facetime people so I can get a guess at how they¡¯re feeling¡­ That was a nightmare. I really hope tomorrow he¡¯ll wake up and forget this happened so we can go back to our usual way of talking. Or if he does bring it up, I¡¯ll just apologize right away and directly clear up what I meant. Even if Lucas doesn¡¯t care about specific facts and logical connections anymore, or if he stops correcting everyone¡¯s grammar, or even if he stops having his perfect-student complex and stops caring about following rules, that doesn¡¯t change that he¡¯s basically my big brother and a person who grew up by my side, stood up to bullies for me, was always there for me, and influenced a lot of who I am as a person now. I just hope that me making a careless comment doesn¡¯t make him forget that. ~ ~ ~ (Let¡¯s all agree Oliver needs a hug for the anxiety he goes through every time he¡¯s unsure how something he said came across) (Also Lucas does talk to Oliver again in the near future and it seems things are okay) Meaning in everything… a hoodie? (This is early in the OliKai relationship.) (OLIVER POV) Kai and I are laying on the bed in her room. In the past when we came to her room, we¡¯d just cuddle immediately, but we were having an engaging conversation while grabbing some snacks from the kitchen. We talked about mythology, and we made our way into Kai¡¯s room and just sorta sat down on the bed. The conversation shifted to a discussion of theology and at some point, we shifted to laying on our backs, side by side. The conversation is basically done, so now we¡¯re just enjoying the quiet and each other¡¯s company. Funny enough- despite having the same amount of family members- Kai¡¯s house is quieter than mine. That said, Kai has explained in the past that it¡¯s a bit more complex than that: On weekends, her mom is busy in the next town over, caring for Kai¡¯s step-grandfather, whose nearing the end of his life in a nursing home. Her dad is here but he usually stays in his room (Kai jokingly calls it a bat cave) playing video games or watching anime. ??I can see where Kai gets her interests. That said, it makes sense: between being a clergyman for the church and having a decently demanding office job and all those meetings and lots of ¡°homework¡± - I¡¯d probably spend my Saturday hibernating too. As for Kai¡¯s sister, Bella, she usually spends the weekend away with her boyfriend or hanging out with friends. Lots of sleep-overs. Kai has often jokes that the whole Lynn family¡¯s natural energy for socializing went to Bella. I guess I must have been mulling this over for a while¡­ ¡­ and Kai must be bored, because she randomly asks: ¡°Where in the world did you get a hoodie that looks like an egg and says egg-celent?¡± ¡°There¡¯s an actual Cafe called Egg-celent.¡± ¡°Did you go there?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Aww, you got merch.¡± I feel my face heat up. ¡°It was good food!¡± Kai lightly laughs for a moment (an enchanting moment¡­) Looking at me with a smile fading off the laugh, Kai notes, ¡°You wear this one a lot.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I tell her ¡°Actually, this is my favorite hoodie.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s fun, because I¡¯m currently wearing my favorite hooded-jacket.¡± I can''t help but titter a little. ¡°Of course it¡¯s black.¡± Kai points out, ¡°There¡¯s dark grey here.¡± ¡°Is that why you like it? Because it¡¯s dark colors?¡± Most of Kai¡¯s wardrobe consists of dark colors. Kai puts a hand over her face and also it seems like she¡¯s repressing a laugh, ¡°Ah¡­ I DO like the colors since this goes with everything¡­ but no, that¡¯s not why it¡¯s my favorite.¡± She moves her hand off her face and her her head away from me a little. ¡°It holds some meaning for me¡­. Uh, it¡¯s kind of a dumb story but when I first got this- I randomly decided to cut thumb-holes into the bottom of the sleeves.¡± This is interesting, since she has a lot of stuff that already has thumb holes. She told me it¡¯s less about the look and more about helping with touch-sensory issues and whatnot. ¡°The reason it¡¯s kinda funny is because normally when I consider changing anything about clothes, I always go back and forth about it because I might mess up and regret it¡­ usually I don¡¯t do anything like that- but for some reason- I did it with this within 30 minutes of buying it.¡± Ah, I see the meaning now. Kai¡¯s still staring at the sleeves. ¡°Beyond the feeling and the look, it kind of reminds me that sometimes just doing what feels right in the moment is better than over-thinking everything can be a good thing.¡± Kai looks away from her sleeves and glances to the wall. ¡°And also it looks cool- or whatever.¡± This person ¡­ ¡°That¡¯s really cool that you have that feeling attached to it.¡± With sarcasm, Kai nods. ¡°Uh-huh, sure.¡± ¡°I mean it.¡± Kai jokes ¡°Anyway- I told you my life story.¡± Kai asks, ¡°So why¡¯s that one your favorite hoodie?¡± ¡°Egg-celent¡­¡± I look down. ¡°and the pocket is a little yolk??¡± ¡°Any other reasons?¡± I mindlessly play with one of the hoodie-strings. ¡°I wish I had a cool story like you did, but for me, I just like the way it looks and feels.¡± Kai rolls onto her back, looking at the ceiling. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Comfy stuff is best stuff.¡± I grin. ¡°Facts.¡± ¡°And look-good feel-good is more true than you¡¯d think. Like I always feel better about life after putting on my ear cuffs and ring¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Back to the original topic¡± I move onto my back too. ¡°The way everything about you has something like a story behind it is amazing.¡± Kai almost immediately throws the compliment away and insists ¡°Oh please, it¡¯s dumb a- and weird.¡± Surprised she used the word that way, I ask, ¡°I thought you liked being weird?¡± ¡°Maybe not weird- but¡­¡± Kai rolls over so her back is facing me now. Her voice comes out quieter. ¡°It makes me a damn sap¡± I roll into my side, just looking at the back of her head. I can never understand why Kai gets embarrassed over things like this. If I thought about things the way she does, I¡¯d spend all day talking about every single one. I lower my volume to match hers. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make you a sap¡­ being syrup on a pancake would be sappy.¡± I hear her snicker a little. ¡°Nimrod.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious though.¡± I gently tug on her arm, and she rolls onto her back and looks at me. Her eyes are a little narrowed, so I know she doesn¡¯t completely believe me. Trying to come up with how to get my feelings across, I tell her: ¡°It¡¯s not something to feel weird about.¡± I try to think of the words to say. ¡°The way you think deeper about everything, and ¡­¡± What else? ¡°see the world with- with all its hidden details¡­¡± Kai¡¯s face makes an embarrassed smile and a ¡°Tch¡± sound. I continue- ¡°and even if you can talk about all sorts of connections and details¡­ you still always have more to wonder about.¡± Kai glances at the ceiling. ¡°So I¡¯m very inquisitive?¡± She is smiling a bit, but I feel I can make her smile more. ¡°Yeah. I love that about you.¡± Kai averts her eyes from me but doesn¡¯t turn her head away. ¡°Well you ask a lot of questions too.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why I like it: we¡¯re like-minded people. But the way you put deeper meanings to things¡­ it¡¯s beautiful.¡± Her eyes widden, and her expression softens. Kai turns her back to me again, and her voice comes out like a small hiss. ¡°Fuc¡­ step off.¡± ¡°Everything you do is beautiful. You¡¯re beautiful.¡± I mean I feel like I¡¯m making word vomit¡­ but it¡¯s all true, ¡°Doofus.¡± Kai pulls the hood of the jacket over her head, and her voice comes out a little breathy, which I¡¯ve learned by now means she¡¯s trying to keep calm when she¡¯s flustered. ¡°Umm¡­ well¡­ thanks for that.¡± I can¡¯t help but smile imagining what her expression looks like right now. (KAI POV) Stop being precious, idiot. I¡¯m already crazy for you. You don¡¯t need to make Cupid fly by me with ten arrows again every time I am with you I’m staying with you (ft. Little Lucas) (It¡¯s 2009. Oliver and Alex were born 2003, Lucas in 2002) (THIRD PERSON) As little kids, Oliver, Lucas and Alex are playing together Oliver accidentally hits Lucas in the face with the foot ball and makes Lucas¡¯ nose bleed. Oliver freaks out and runs away. > > > Lucas yells, ¡°Oliver, wait! Come back!¡± Alex stops Lucas from running after Oliver. ¡°Loo! Stop! Bleeding!¡± Lucas tries to shake Alex off. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I need to make sure Oliver is okay¡± Alex yells a little louder. ¡°Wait!¡± Lucas stops moving and turns to his friend. Alex happened to have an unused napkin in [her] pocket and gives it to Lucas to shove in his nose so he doesn¡¯t bleed out. After clumsily shoving the napkin in his nose, Lucas starts running again. Alex gasps. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°I need to find Oliver!¡± ¡°Uh, okay! I¡¯ll tell your mom!¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± Lucas then runs as fast as his little-kid legs can take him, looking carefully for Oliver. He shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find considering he¡¯s in a yellow hoodie that has a smile made of lemons as a pattern. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Soon enough, Lucas sees Oliver kneeling down by a tee behind some bushes. It¡¯s in someone else¡¯s yard but Lucas is more worried about Oliver than some adult getting mad for trespassing. Oliver is facing away from the sidewalk and is crying quietly. Lucas stands on the other side of the bush. ¡°Oliver? It¡¯s me, Lucas¡± The little freckled boy relaxes a little knowing it¡¯s not a stranger, but then gets worried again because it¡¯s Lucas. ¡°Oliver? Can you come out?¡± ¡°No.¡± Oliver sobs. ¡°I¡¯m a monster¡± Lucas frowns. ¡°You are not a monster.¡± ¡°Yes I am!¡± Even though Oliver is yelling, Lucas keeps calm. ¡°No, you¡¯re not a monster. You¡¯re my best friend.¡± Oliver cries, ¡°But I hit you with a football!¡± ¡°On accident.¡± ¡°But it hurt you!¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t hurt that bad.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just trying to be nice!¡± ¡°Okay- Oliver¡­¡± Lucas feels a little annoyed that Oliver won¡¯t believe him but keeps calm. ¡°I know you would not hit anyone with a ball to hurt them on purpose.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Oliver quietly cries some more. ¡°Look at me.¡± Oliver slowly turns and sees his friend reaching out to him smiling, his other hand busy keeping the napkin in his nostril. Oliver is amazed to see the smile Lucas doesn¡¯t look mad at all He¡¯s just smiling and offering his hand. The younger boy wipes away his tears. ¡°You really aren¡¯t mad?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°And you still want to be friends?¡± ¡°Yes¡­. Uh, and I want you to come out of that bush.¡± Oliver finally stands up and moves his way onto the sidewalk, now standing infront of Lucas. Lucas is still offering his hand. ¡°I think in a minuet, I¡¯ll stop bleeding, and we can play again.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just be more careful with the ball.¡± Oliver nods and smiles but then wipes his running nose on his sleeve. ¡°Ewww.¡± Lucas pulls out the napkin. ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Use this¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s bloody ¡­¡± For some reason, this makes Lucas laugh, and Oliver starts laughing too. Hand in hand, they walk back to Lucas¡¯ house, and Alex and Lucas¡¯ mother are standing in the front yard. Lucas¡¯ mom gasps. ¡°Oliver! Lucas! Alex told me you ran off! Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± Oliver winces at her tone, but Lucas stands infront of him. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We won¡¯t run off again.¡± Unsure what else to do, Oliver gives Lucas a hug. He¡¯s kind of confused, but he hugs back, and Alex joins the hug. Lucas promises his mom, ¡°We¡¯ll all stick together.¡± ~ ?? ~ ?? ~ ?? ~ ?? ~ ?? ¡°Dad? Dad!¡± I¡¯m shaken out of my thoughts. ¡°Are you gonna throw the football?¡± ¡°Oh! Yeah- sorry- I just was busy thinking.¡± ¡°About what?¡± I smile at the ball. ¡°An old friend.¡± ??OliKais first Christmas It is Christmas season in Leduc County, Alberta, and everyone¡¯s spirits were high as the lights of the holiday joy shined bright and touched the hearts of all the - >> (OLIVER POV) >> - WHAT DO I GET FOR KAI? I consider asking her friends (since her friends are kinda my friends) but isn¡¯t that kind of lazy? I mean I¡¯m her boyfriend - I should be able to go above and beyond for the one I love. I know that¡¯s not what Christmas is about (Christmas movies have said this enough times for me to know) but seeing everyone else want to make their loved ones happy with gifts, how can I not want to do the same? And besides! It¡¯s KAI. Knowing her, she¡¯s probably had gifts for everyone she knows lined up for MONTHS! And she probably made a spreadsheet and a chart and graphs about it too. She loves giving gifts and she¡¯s great at it. She puts 100% into things she cares about. It¡¯s just right to want to give that same amount of effort back to her. And besides¡­ How would I feel if she got me some awesome gift and I gave her something disappointing? I¡¯d be an insult to¡­ well- everything! Wait wait wait This is KAI (??) She¡¯s not going to get upset because a gift didn¡¯t blow her mind. ¡­ right? Or Maye I only THINK that because she¡¯s only held me to friend-standards? Maybe now that we¡¯re dating, she expects more? Wait, ¡°more¡± what? Uh Uh Wait¡­ WHAT DAY IS IT? How long do I have before Christmas is here? If I order something online too late, it might get lost among the other gifts piling in last-second!! What do I do? Wait, wasn¡¯t I thinking of calling her friends? WHO DO I CALL? ~ (ONE MENTAL RANT LATER) Alex picks up excitedly. ¡°Hello Branch!¡± I smile at the familiar voice and nickname. Alex calls me Branch because I¡¯m ¡°an Olive Branch from a tall tree¡± and we both like the TROLLS movies. ¡°Hey Alex -¡± I hear something fall. ¡° ¡­ Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± I hear her strain something. ¡°That was just Lucas¡¯ present. Or- the means for it- rather. I¡¯m making our brother-in-arms a friendship bracelet but the bracelet maker thing is kinda hard to use. I promise, I¡¯m listening to you though. What¡¯s up?¡± I smile a bit because I can clearly imagine her clumsily making a bracelet. ¡°Uh, I wanted some advice about another friend of ours.¡± ¡°Do you want gift ideas for Kai-Kai?¡± How did she know? Actually- it¡¯s Alex. Of course she knows. I scratch the back of my head with my free hand. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah¡­ I¡¯m kind of overthinking everything and I needed another voice in my head other than myself¡­ Sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t apologize! Your lover is tough, and I mean that in every way.¡± Alex¡¯s energy goes down a bit. ¡°Kai-Kai loves giving gifts to other people and she¡¯s pretty good at it, yet she¡¯s not great with getting gifts.¡± ¡°How come?¡± I already have my guess that it¡¯s because Kai is extremely practical, but I wanna hear Alex¡¯s side. ¡°She¡¯s just not easy is all. That said, I¡¯ve learned the secret to how to make¡¯er happy with a gift!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Alex sounds like she¡¯s trying not to laugh. ¡°You¡¯re her boyfriend. What do you think it is?¡± Oh goodness¡­ ¡°Umm, give me a second to think please¡­¡± I¡¯ve been dating Kai for almost a year and I have been her friend for almost two years now¡­ How do I not know this?? There¡¯s so much I know about Kai. She has a very unique way of thinking yet she tries hard to understand other people. When she reads books, her face tells you almost exactly what kind of scene it is. She taps her pointer finger and thumb together when she lies, which isn¡¯t often. But there¡¯s so much I don¡¯t know about Kai. Honestly¡­ ¡°Uhhh ¡­¡± What would make the coolest, smartest, most down-to-earth person I know .. happy? Wait¡­ down to earth¡­ ¡° ¡­ Is it a gift that shows you pay attention?¡± Alex cackles loudly. ¡°BINGO! I knew you¡¯d get it!¡± It was so obvious! Why did that take me so long? ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Alex starts talking at the speed of light again, and I¡¯m kind of glad she can¡¯t see my expression right now¡­ ¡°The year I became close enough to buy a gift for her, I noticed she gets really fidgety, but I also noticed she doesn''t like most fidget toys because she feels they¡¯re too attention grabbing to other people. So I bought her a dark-colored small squishy ball. No extra detail or noise and it¡¯s subtle and not overly noticeable to other people. She was over the moon for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, Alex.¡± I¡¯m trying to focus on what my friend is saying but I¡¯m kind of mentally lagging behind. Why did that take me so long? I admit, ¡°I¡¯m kind of embarrassed¡­ I feel like I should have thought of this myself¡­¡± Alex¡¯s voice calms down again. ¡°You did, Oliver. I didn¡¯t tell you. You already know that you have everything you need. I just helped you remember that.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Unsure what else to say, I ask, ¡°What are you getting her?¡± Alex jokes, ¡°Trying to steal my ideas, Branch?¡± ¡°I dunno- I just wasn¡¯t sure what else to say¡­ though I wouldn¡¯t mind knowing I don¡¯t accidentally get the same thing as you.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ Okie-dokie! In that case, I am getting Kai-Kai a book from a series she likes. I know she gets anxious over buying books when she¡¯s at a store because she thinks people may look at her weird for liking certain things but I have no shame!¡± That¡¯s¡­ Brilliant. How do I do something as good? Hours later, after I¡¯ve hung up, I¡¯m unsure what to do. Since when have I worried this much over a gift? Usually I just kinda¡­ GIVE. Like my dad collects dragon figurines so I always got some for him. Mom always likes new jewelry so I get some for her. Oriana likes fashion stuff so I get her hair clips and whatnot. And my friends¡­ I¡¯d just get them a bag of their favorite treat. But Kai isn¡¯t just a friend anymore. Then again- did I ever really see her like that? Now I kinda wanna see her¡­ (just to feel that calmness I get from her) Wait, is that weird? I¡¯m feeling a bit down so I wanna see her but the reason I¡¯m feeling down is kind of related to her¡­. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t - QUACK! (phone notification sound) I startle a bit, but quickly relax and turn my phone screen-up. (new message from) ¡°Kai?? totally-tubular-tastic is what she suggested I put in¡± : *Hey Hun-Bun?? I was wondering if you wanted to hang out soon? Everyone in my family is running back and forth for all their plans and it¡¯s kind of annoying. Can you be my excuse to not be dragged through miles of glitter and tinsel? (I mean that in the most loving way ever)* I smile. Well, if she wants to see me, then I guess it¡¯s alright. Besides, knowing her, I¡¯m sure she is kind of tired. I¡¯ve learned the long way that Kai adores her family¡¯s enthusiasm for -well -everything, but she lacks that energy for most things so it¡¯s still kind of a lot for her. I tell her ¡°of course¡± and we arrange for me to come over to her house tomorrow since her dad will be at the church with Bella, so it¡¯ll just be her and her mom in the house and we can relax. ~ (THE NEXT DAY) ¡°I¡¯ve missed this~¡± Kai murmurs while she pulls me closer as we cuddle, laying on her bed in her room. I agree with her. Between the chaos of the holidays and our different jobs and finishing up stuff for college before Christmas break, we haven¡¯t gotten to see each other as much as usual. I think back to how I thought of wanting to see her right before she messaged me. I give my lover a small kiss on the top of her head. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you too.¡± She buries her face into my chest and grumbles something I can¡¯t make out. Probably more tsundere-ish insults. For whatever reason, I find some comfort that she still gets flustered over stuff like this. That way I¡¯m not the only one. I close my eyes and focus on the sound of Kai¡¯s breathing. After some time passes quietly, Kai mumbles, ¡°Olly?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°... I¡¯m kind of thirsty¡­ but I don¡¯t wanna move.¡± I try not to laugh (she¡¯s so cute). ¡°I can get something for you.¡± Kai tightens her embrace. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to move either!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well then we¡¯re in a predicament¡­¡± I can hear Kai¡¯s smile. ¡°Nice use of the word predicament¡­ Bella keeps using it wrong, haha.¡± A few minuets pass and she asks, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Now that she mentions it, yeah. ¡°A little.¡± We have been cuddling here for a while¡­ ¡°Then let¡¯s get up. I¡¯m still thirsty anyways.¡± I almost cringe as I feel her move away from me, but we should probably move a bit. We might become potatoes at this rate. ~ ~ ~ As I watch Kai pur a drink for herself, I see her do one of her usual habits. Kai has little things that she does. I call them habits because everyone has things they do (even if Kai is autistic), but she calls them ¡°dumb-sh!t ticks¡± because she finds them embarrassing for some reason. When she pours a drink for herself, she always grabs a clear glass/cup, and she always puts three fingers to the side of the cup and only fills it up to there. She told me why a while back: She handles smaller portions better. That¡¯s why she also cuts up stuff like pizza when she eats. Kai gently bonks my head and I turn to her. ¡°Drink water. It¡¯s good for you.¡± I smile and take the cup of water from her, which unlike hers, is filled to a normal amount. Wait¡­ WAIT I KNOW WHAT TO GIVE KAI FOR CHRISTMAS!! My thoughts are interrupted. ¡°Olly? You good?¡± ¡°I¡¯m great. Why?¡± ¡°You were staring off into space.¡± ¡°Well space gave me a good idea.¡± ¡°Ooh. What?¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± Kai looks a bit confused, but she shrugs it off, and starts talking about the health benefits of water (I love her so much~) (CHRISTMAS DAY) As we agreed, we meet up at the cafe the night before Christmas morning to exchange gifts. Kai got there first and she¡¯s sitting at a two-person table with a green plastic bag that¡¯s tied closed at the top with a christmas bow. I gulp in anticipation, hoping I made the right choice with my gift. ¡°Hey baby~¡± Kai greets me with a hug. My face heats up a bit. ¡°Hi Kai.¡± She looks at the wrapped box under my arm. ¡°Wow, you wrapped yours and everything¡­ I just have a boring bag I¡¯m reusing.¡± ¡°Nah, you reusing the bag makes it cooler.¡± ¡°Sush, dork.¡± Kai looks down and smiles. ¡°Do you wanna open yours first or do you want me to go first?¡± Getting right into it! (maybe she¡¯s eager to see my reaction too?) I hand her the box, and I dumbly quip: ¡°Ladies first.¡± She cringes a bit so I try again: ¡°Okay. Esteemed-Kais first.¡± Kai¡¯s face heats up. ¡°Ugh, you¡­¡± She takes the box and opens it, trying not to make too much noise with the wrapping paper since we¡¯re in public (even though nobody else aside from the staff are in this cafe). I already opened box so after she takes off the paper, she sees what it is right away. (KAI POV) I open the box and see four bright colored containers with lids. I pick one up and realize¡­ I laugh. ¡°Ah! They¡¯re tiny cups!¡± ¡°Yep! And they¡¯re plastic so they won¡¯t break easily and they¡¯re easy to clean.¡± ¡°These are so cute! Thankyou!¡± Oliver asks, ¡°Do you like them? I thought you¡¯d like small cups because you like to just drink a little at a time.¡± Wait¡­ WHAT I look at him in shock. My voice comes out soft. ¡°That¡¯s why?¡± He remembered one of my dumb-sh!t ticks¡­ And¡­ He got me these because he knows I feel better with smaller portions? That¡­ stupid¡­ perfect¡­ I put a hand to my mouth. ¡°Oh my god, I love you.¡± DID I JUST BLURT THAT OUT? (I mean I¡¯ve it before but still!) Oliver¡¯s eyes widden. ¡°So I made a good choice? - I mean- I love you too! Sorry!¡± I get out of my seat and give him a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize!¡± Wow¡­ I just can¡¯t believe he did this for me! This is completely from a place of giving. He¡¯s not making fun of my portions-thing (unlike my family) ... he¡¯s actually encouraging it and made a way to make it easier¡­ Sh!t¡­ I might cry- No!! DONT CRY! DONT CRY! You¡¯re in public, Wimp! It¡¯s just dumb cups!! I pick up one of the tiny cups and put three fingers against it. I gasp. ¡°It¡¯s only a little bit over that!¡± Oliver looks shy. ¡°Yeah¡­ I measured three fingers of height and figured a cup that holds around five ounces would be about the same¡­¡± I try to blink back any feeling of crying. I love him so much¡­ I¡¯m so happy. ¡°You put so much thought into this! Thank you, Oliver!¡± ¡°Of course. Merry Christmas, Kai.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand- this means so much to me.¡± I look at the ground. ¡°I think you know this but I¡¯m kind of ¡­ touchy about my¡­ habits¡­¡± ¡°Well I promise, I have nothing against your habits. As far as I¡¯m concerned, there¡¯s nothing wrong with them! And I¡¯m the same way- like- anytime I put numbers in a microwave, I can¡¯t put 1:10, it has to be 1:11.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I know.¡± I hug him again and tell him I love him again. . . . I hope my gift can make him just as happy¡­ you won¡¯t believe the over-thinking I put into it! Good thing I called Alex the other day! (A/N: Isn¡¯t that crazy ~? Can we just give a shout out to Alex for being the greatest friend ever~?) (OLIVER POV) ¡°I¡¯m going to give you yours now, okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Uh, because this gift comes in parts, is it okay if I hand each to you slowly?¡± Parts? Slowly? What IS this gift?? (excited) I nod. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± She reaches into the bag and hands me a picture frame upside-down. I take it and turn it over. Seeming shy, Kai murmurs, ¡°It¡¯s the first time we went to the fair together¡­¡± ¡°I remember this.¡± In the photo, Kai and I have ketchup on our noses from the corn dogs we were eating. I feel very touched seeing this as a physical photo in a frame. ¡°That¡¯s one of my favorite memories.¡± I laugh. ¡°We were there so long, one of the foodtruck staff told us we had to either buy more food or leave the table.¡± I¡¯m about to say thanks but Kai interrupts me by mumbling: ¡°They¡¯re hang-able and prop-up on a table¡­ able¡± as she hands me another frame picture-upside down. I set the other frame down carefully and look at this next one, and this one touches my heart too. I grin. ¡°It¡¯s the CIS room¡± The computer lab is where we met! Kai nods, looking even more shy, and she can¡¯t seem to meet my eyes. ¡°Y- yeah¡­ Remember? We .. we accidentally were kind of matching like the yi- ying-yang symbol¡­¡± Sure enough, I have a white hoodie on and she has a black long-sleeve on. I smile at this memory too. ¡°Yeah¡­ you said it was a good omen we¡¯d remain friends.¡± Kai is actually turning red now as she murmurs, ¡°Yeah, yeah, here¡¯s the last part, Doofus.¡± I smile as I set that frame down and she hands me one more frame. I turn this one over and I¡¯m surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen this image before!¡± Kai hides behind her hair. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s me and you at the rollerskating rink! But it doesn¡¯t look like a selfie we took like the other two were¡­¡± ¡°Charlie¡­ took that image¡­ I¡­¡± I look at the image again. Kai and I are leaning on each other laughing, and it¡¯s so sweet and touches my heart because it feels the most ¡°us¡±. Still red, Kai huffs, ¡°I know it¡¯s not a pretty picture but I just thought you¡¯d appreciate it because you like candid stuff like that!¡± ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve never shown me this one?¡± I finally tease her a little. ¡°And why you¡¯re turning red?¡± ¡°I¡¯m turning red?¡± Kai whines and covers her face. ¡°UGH!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay- I love these photos! Thankyou so much!¡± Kai ignores that. ¡°It¡¯s so bad! I look like I¡¯ve been stabbed in the kidney!¡± ¡°No you don¡¯t!¡± Seeming to have not heard me, Kai rants: ¡°I know you kept worrying about photos in your phone because of storage and whatnot so I thought you¡¯d feel better with some printed physical photos! So I overcame my embarrassment and now you can keep images of us together and see my stupid expressions!¡± Unsure how else to calm her, I pull her close and kiss her nose. She stops talking and turns redder somehow. ¡°I love the gifts. Thankyou. Merry christmas, Darling.¡± She covers her face. ¡°Merry christmas.¡± The cafe staff member says, ¡°Merry christmas to you and to all a good night. Unfortunately, we¡¯re closing soon. Wrap it up, sweethearts.¡± . . . (insert the random laughing zoom-out closing cartoons like to do) Im glad (Bye Buddy) Warning: this depicts someone grieving their pet. This gets sad. (KAI POV) The same year that I met Oliver, he had gotten a pet bunny that he named Buddy. Olly had always wanted a pet all his childhood, but his family just never got around to it since he was the only one who wanted a pet. Now it¡¯s years later- Oliver and I are parents to a wonderful boy we adopted, named Danny. Danny is six right now and Buddy passed away today. Yes. Buddy is gone. It happened this morning. I was sitting down to watch cartoons with our son when I heard my husband yell in distress. Oliver barely ever raises his voice, so hearing him scream scared me. I scooped up Danny in my arms (unsure if we needed to evacuate) and ran to where I heard Oliver. I come in and he¡¯s just kneeling by Buddy¡¯s cage, tears streaming down his face. I immediately know what¡¯s happened. I murmur, ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Danny, confused, asks, ¡°Daddy? What happened?¡± He whispers, ¡°I thought he was just sleeping in¡­ but I checked ¡­¡± I can tell Oliver is trying not to ¡°make a scene¡±, so I make a split-second choice. Keeping my voice calm, I tell our son, ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll explain later. For now, how about you go back and watch the cartoons? Finish your breakfast, eh?¡± I put Danny down and he walks away, youthfully obvious. I¡¯ll think of a way to properly tell a six year old about losing a pet later. For the moment, my husband needs my full attention. (OLIVER POV, present tense) Buddy has lived 13 years, which is a lot, even for an indoor-pet rabbit. I did my best to care of him. I knew he was getting old but still To walk up to his cage like I have for the past decade¡­ And to realize that he¡¯s ¡­. Trying to not cry too loud, I move away from his cage and once my back is to the room¡¯s wall, I pull my knees to my chest and bury my face there. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I can faintly process my wife telling our son to go back on the couch for a bit and she¡¯ll explain what¡¯s happening later. I can feel my tears making my clothes damp but for once, I don¡¯t care. A part of me feels like I¡¯m being selfish and unfair to Kai and Danny right now but I don¡¯t think I can help it. I know I need to handle this like an adult but what adult would be calm when their friend of a decade just passed away right here in this house? A decade is a decade ¡­. Waking up every morning to feed Buddy and see him look at me excited. All those late nights studying, hearing Buddy shuffling near me, imaging him cheering me on. All those times I played with Buddy while I phone-called Kai, imaging him teasing me for falling in love. ¡­ Buddy in a pet carrier at Kai and I¡¯s wedding. ¡­ Buddy being so confused when we came home with Danny. And the way Danny couldn¡¯t say ¡°Buddy¡± or ¡°Bunny¡± right so it kept coming out like ¡°Buff-wee¡±. None of that will ever happen again. Buddy won¡¯t flip his ears or jump around or nuzzle me. I begin sobbing, unable to be quiet anymore. I feel Kai sit next to me. She just wraps her arms around me. She whispers, ¡°Danny¡¯s in the other room. Let it out. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay to cry.¡± I wrap my arms around my wife, and I hold her tight, almost scared she and Danny may leave me too, unexpectedly. I wish Danny was in here so I could hold him too, but I also know he doesn¡¯t need to see all this. He¡¯s only six after all. A few minuets later, after I¡¯ve stopped sobbing as loudly, I manage a quiet: ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± Kai looks at me, not having heard me I guess. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ glad¡­ that Buddy¡± I raise my voice to my normal volume. ¡°¡­ got to be around for when I met you ¡­ and Danny.¡± Kai smiles at me but I can tell she¡¯s sad too. ¡°Yeah¡­ Buddy took some time to warm up to me but he was a real sweetheart once he did.¡± Did ¡­ I look down as I add, ¡°And Buddy met Lucas¡­ during our wedding week ¡­ and I¡¯d show him on FaceTime.¡± My voice shakes. ¡°and Alex met Buddy a bunch... And he met Blake.¡± Kai nods thoughtfully. ¡°Yeah.¡± I manage a genuine smile, but it¡¯s small. ¡°He got to see everyone that¡¯s most important to me before he left.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Kai tears up, which is unusual for her. ¡°I¡¯m glad too.¡± I sniffle, and Kai hands me a tissue. ¡°I¡¯m sure he was so happy to know you- and all of us.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m¡­ glad¡± I try to hold in tears. ¡°But it still hurts.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Kai pulls me close and I cry some more as she rubs my back. . . . I quiet down again, then Kai eventually says: ¡°You know, when all the fish Bella and I took care of died¡­ my dad once told me¡­ all animals and pets go to a place. It¡¯s their own special spot in heaven.¡± I move back and look at Kai. ¡°They do?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s called the Rainbow Bridge. On one side, the animals rest and play and thrive together. On the other side is where the people live. But, when an animal has bonded with a human, they take that feeling and it helps them across the bridge. One day when you¡¯re in Heaven, Buddy will be right there to greet you.¡± Will he? I can almost see it. I smile. ¡°That¡¯s beautiful.¡± I laugh weakly. ¡°And heart-wrenching.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I look down. ¡°You¡¯re gonna make me cry again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m crying too.¡± > > > I feel too shaken up to move, so I just sit with Danny while Kai digs a small grave in our back yard for Buddy. Danny is in my lap. Kai explained to him in a gentle way that animals die too (he already knows what death is) My son asks, ¡°Dad? What is Mom doing?¡± ¡°When someone dies,¡± Kai replies a bit slowly since she¡¯s putting most her strength into digging. ¡°We put them in a special little¡­ dug-up spot that we call a grave.¡± Curious, Danny asks ¡°Why?¡± I try to clarify his question. ¡°Why do we call it a grave?¡± ¡°No, why do we put them there?¡± That¡¯s a good question ¡­ How have I never asked that? ¡°I don¡¯t know, actually.¡± ¡°Lots of reasons, really.¡± Kai finishes digging up the dirt. ¡°But the most important one is respect.¡± ¡°Respect?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kai sets the shovel down. ¡°We respect Buddy and that¡¯s why we¡¯re putting him in here.¡± Kai wrapped Buddy¡¯s body in a spare cloth we have. She¡¯s using another cloth to hold him since she doesn¡¯t wanna directly hold him. She looks at me. ¡°Oliver, do you want to say something before I put him to rest?¡± Oh, curse-word¡­ I don¡¯t wanna cry again. But I don¡¯t wanna say nothing. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ve never been great with words but umm ¡­ I¡¯m glad I knew you, Buddy. You were a good friend. And I¡¯ll miss you.¡± There¡¯s a moment of quiet. Danny babbles, ¡°See? You¡¯re good with words, Dad.¡± I unintentionally let out a small laugh, though it¡¯s more like a weird pant. ¡°Thankyou for that, Son.¡± Kai looks at me, and I nod. Turning to the bundle of blankets, Kai says, ¡°Good bye Buddy.¡± Danny repeats, ¡°Goo-bye ¡­ Buh¡­ Dee.¡± I whisper, ¡°Goodbye, my friend.¡± I try not to cry on Danny¡¯s head. Kai places Buddy in the hole, and puts the dirt over him. Earlier, while talking with Danny, Kai picked up a small rock and used paint to write Buddy¡¯s name in it. She places the rock on top of the spot, concluding Buddy¡¯s funeral. Alex & her mom: Errand Day It''s Alex''s final year of high school. Today is Errand Day. Errand Day is basically what it sounds like: various errands such as buying food or delivering mail or returning library books. Alex Kim gets annoyed that she had to come along because she''d rather be home, and sometimes it''s a pain, but deep down, Alex does enjoy getting to be out and about with her mom. After Allison Kim hears her daughter''s seatbelt click, Ally starts the car. "You ready for this?" Alex''s voice is soft and slightly tired. "What are we doing today?" "Not too much this time." Ally starts to back out of the parking lot. "We have to get some groceries from the supermarket and pick up your dad''s medication from the store, and that''s it." Alex leans back into her seat, distracting herself with her imagination. She''s imagining if all the music that cars play was visible and each car was filled with something like a painting to show the kind of music that person was listening to. The car parks into the parking lot of the supermarket soon enough. The young girl looks a bit reluctant but she asks, "Mom... is this going to take long?" "Uh, it shouldn''t. Why?" Alex mumbles, "I''m having a bad sensory day." Her mom expected as much. This morning Alex was stimming a lot more than usual. "We only have 7 things in the list. This won''t be too long." She looks down. "Then I guess that''s okay." "Alright." Ally asks, "You got your headphones?" These are the kind of headphones that don''t play music but they make things quieter. Alex holds up her small backpack she always has. "Yeah, let''s go in." "Okay well first, I have more for the plastic bottle return." Ally gets out of the car and grabs the trash bag full of empty plastic pop bottles. By the time Ally has slung the bag over her shoulder, Alex has slowly gotten out of the car, headphones on, hands in her jacket pocket. Ally nods at the store. "Alright. In we go." Alex follows behind her mom, preparing for the sensory mushroom-cloud that is the supermarket. It''s bright, loud, just not a good time. The bottle return station is a small room attached to the side of the supermarket building, and it''s stinky, loud, poorly lit, and worse of all, crowded. When they get inside, Alex cringes and her mom notices this. "You good?" Shrinking herself, Alex murmurs, "The smell..." "Yeah it''s bad. Let''s get in and out." Ally turns her attention to the machine and starts putting bottles in. But Alex feels more and more discouraged as thundering glass bottles are sent down the angry, poorly-made tubes. Ally frowns. "Seriously? There''s only one open?" Alex quickly decides this won''t do. She moves behind her mom and puts her mouth by Ally''s ear. (Alex has this thing where she mostly prefers to whisper in her mom''s ear than talk aloud in public. Ally finds it weird but is okay with it.) "Mom, can I take the list-" "Oh yes please, my hands are full." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Alex takes the list and holds it firmly but leans in again. "I mean to go in the store and look." Ally seems a bit surprised, but glad. It seems her daughter is getting into the swing of errand day. Then again, Alex has been here enough she can go on her own. With a clear approving tone, Ally says, "Yeah, go for it." Alex nods and with the list in hand, leaves the nightmarish bottle return station,and makes her way into the store. As soon as the doors slide apart, Alex looks down, hating the long strong white lights on the ceiling. She''s just glad she has her headphones. The hum of electricity and bags rusting and carts clicking and people moving just are too much. Moving into the store, she looks down at the list and sees the first item is waffles and eggs - breakfast foods. The next item is ramen bags and shrimp rice bowls, which Alex eats a lot of. As she moves through the store, Alex hums to herself a bit, and some people give looks... in an small town in a province of Canada comprising mostly of white people, it seems a Cambodian girl with a blank expression and headphones and a hum are worth weird glances, but Alex doesn''t care.(I think) Alex makes her way to the area with all the freezers, and she looks at the aisle labels to find the frozen foods. She quickly sees the specific waffles her mom likes, and at the end of the aisle are the shrimp bowls. Now holding two boxes of waffles and two shrimp bowls, Alex realizes she should''ve grabbed a cart, because the coldness is bothering her and it''s hard to hold the four containers. In her mind, she curses herself for forgetting something obvious. She then heads to the cart area, but sees Ally coming from the cart area with a cart. Alex seems very pleased with herself as she plops the containers into the cart. Not whispering in her ear this time, Alex announces, "I found some things~" Ally nods. "I knew you would. What''s next on the list?" Without looking at the paper, Alex answers, "Eggs and ramen bags." Ally knows where those are, so they head there and find them quickly. "Next on the list is juice." The aisle is long. Many of shelves have drinks but none of them are juice. "Maybe it''s the flavored water aisle?" "I think the juice is by the milk." Possibly having not heard her daughter, Ally asks, "Can you check down that flavored water aisle?" The autistic teen seems hesitant (because she was sure the juice is by the milk) but she nods and speeds down the aisle, looking carefully, but seeing no juice. She then walks around the aisle, and sure enough, opposite to the row of milk is a wall of various juices. Ally has gotten here too. Alex smirks. "Hey, I found the juice." "Yeah, I have no clue why it''s back here... there''s not even an aisle label." The young girl shrugs, focusing on finding the juice they usually get. ~ ?? ~ ?? ~ Food in the car trunk, the two are getting their seatbelts on. This time, Alex is sitting in the front seat next to her mom. Ally asks, "So, how was that?" Alex bobs her head slowly, rocking side to side. "All... right. I don''t like the lights." "Yeah, those things are bright." "And loud." "Loud?" Alex turns her head at an odd angle while tangling the seatbelt in her hands. "... I... think... I can hear the lights... they buzz and hum..." "With your headphones on?" Alex starts rocking back and forth. "No, I can''t hear it then. I don''t want to hear it." Ally nods thoughtfully. "Hmmm.... I think I have an idea. We''re going to make a small detour before we go to the pharmacy, okay?" With a groggy monotone, Alex whines. "I don''wannaaaa." "Don''t worry, this won''t be noisy or too bright, I think." "Pharmacy" Alex insists impatiently. Patiently, Ally gently says, "Later. I want you to see something first." Tired, Alex makes an annoyed verbal stim. Ally responds by turning on the car''s Bluetooth so "daylight" by Maroon 5 starts playing Alex calms down, preoccupied with humming and singing along. Soon enough, they arrive at a notably smaller building. Alex is stimming a lot, so her mom isn''t sure if Alex is paying attention. "Alex, honey, we''re here. This is a mini-market. What we were at was a super-market. Let''s go in, I think you''ll like this better." Her daughter wordlessly complains, but she puts her headphones around her arm and gets out of the car with her mom. "So this place is fun- you use quarters to take your carts." "Quarters?" They approach the cart area. "Yep." Ally points at a little coin slot. "You put one in, you get the cart, and when you''re done, you bring it back and you even get your coin back." A man walks up, bringing his cart back. "Oh, do you need a cart? You can take this one." Ally smiles. "Thankyou, but I''m teaching my child how these carts work." she gestures at his cart. "May I?" The man takes his singular bag out and Ally takes it. She connects it to the other carts, and a coin pops out of a small compartment in the handel. Ally starts talking again, but instead of listening, Alex quickly grabs the quarter and hands it to the man. He smiles at her and thanks her, though Alex already turned around. As the man walks away, Willow leads Alex into the store. Alex doesn''t have her headphones on, and she immediately notices it''s way quieter. There''s less people, there''s none of the clicking beeping rattling nonsense. Any noise there is doesn''t bother Alex at all. The only remotely bothersome thing is the faint hum of the lights, but it''s so soft, Alex could tune it out if she tried. Ally explains, "This place is mostly food, but there''s some home goods and various nicknacks." Alex looks at this, impressed that the smaller space still holds so much, but it''s not the overwhelming walls of options like the supermarket. "Minimarkets have less so people don''t come to these as much, and there''s a smaller selection of things, but for a quick grocery run, this isn''t too bad." Just then, one of the ladies from church spots Ally and waves hello. Alex waves hello back. While Ally starts chatting with the lady, the autistic teen wanders off, not interested in the small talk, and her mom lets this happen since the store is small. Alex notices one aisle that''s nothing but random items. Ally catches up to her. "Ah, this is the aisle of shame." "Why the aisle of shame?" "Because it''s full of good deals on good stuff for your house." Ally gets sidetracked by some pink kitchen ware. "Mom, nooo. It''s the aisle of shame, remember?" "Okay, okay." They head to leave the store, though as they walk, Ally points. "See over there? This place is a self check-out, so unless you needed help with the machine, you wouldn''t even have to talk with anyone." Alex visibly smiles. "Maybe I''ll work here... organizing or cleaning or something." "You could." "It would be alright to spend some hours in here each day." "maybe." The OliKai proposal!!💍 < < Kai and Oliver meet in late February of 2016 in a college computer class during Kai''s first year of college and they become friends. > > Oliver smiles warmly at Kai. "You know, I think you and I are gonna be friends for a long time." < < January 16, 2017, Oliver confesses feelings to Kai, and Kai asks him to be her boyfriend the next day and then they''re officially a couple. > > Kai laughs. "Lets hope you can deal with me for that long." < < In late April of 2021, Oliver and Kai move into a small apartment and live together, splitting their finances evenly and eating together and living together. Kind of a test run to life together seven days a week. At this time, Oliver still has film classes with a college, and Kai still is trying to work in a library full-time. > > Oliver nods. "I''m a pretty patient person." ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Between working to gain their ideal careers by taking college classes and just adulting in general, Kai and Oliver didn''t seriously think about marriage much. I mean 5 years of knowing each other, in addition to living paycheck to paycheck, marriage in it''s practical sense just seemed too lofty of an idea. Like, they already have true love and endless cuddles and romance. Their love survived COVID-19. Why would they need to join finances right now (and what finances?! they were sending all that to credit and taxes and debt!) The real world ain''t a fairytale where you can marry whenever just because you really want to... ! Unless you''re really lucky or really rich or an actor, lol The decision to live together in an apartment was 70% "I love you and I wanna try living with you" and 30% "if we split our rent and food costs, maybe it''ll be easier". After one year of friendship and four years of dating, many of the issues most couples run into at the gateway to marriage have already been mostly ironed out with Oliver and Kai. They know their weird habits, their beliefs, values, plans, goals, who they are deep inside their hearts. Kai and Oliver are more than willing to seriously share their lives and settle down. (so, mentally speaking, they''re married) After all, a lot of the time as they''re being lovey-dovery and snuggling, they''ll scream inside their heads how much they love each other and they wanna marry someday. Better yet... OliKai are finally in a time in their life they can actually marry. However, umm . . . let''s just say they haven''t been this antsy since they were trying to summon the courage to confess feelings to each other. ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ~ April 2021 My boyfriend tells me, "I''ll make dinner. You can relax for a bit." Setting my bag down, I look up at him. "You sure?" "Yeah." I rub Olly''s head. "Thanks~" Marriage material! Marriage material! ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ Did she just pat my head? ... ah- that felt so good~ marry meee I feel my face heat up a bit and I turn away, trying to refocus my brain on cooking. ?? ?? ?? ?? May 2021 It''s the weekend, and I wake up, and my boyfriend''s arm is still over me. I don''t move, not wanting to wake him up. Sigh... look at that face~ I love that the first person I see each day is my angel. I wanna live like this forever~ ... Why the f#ck is my face heating up right now? I''ve woken up next to him for months now! Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. What the hell am I saying? I''m not marrying that dorky ketchup-hating NERD! I keep my gaze on Olly as he starts to wake up. Nah... I''d totally marry him. ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ I open my eyes, and I realize Kai is already awake and looking at me. Even though I know I look like a slob in the morning, Kai is smiling at me like this is the best thing to ever happen to her. For a moment, I just dumbly stare at her smiling face. I could get used to waking up to this... like, forever~ I pull her close and give her a kiss on the nose, and I notice her face is really warm. Huh. She hasn''t blushed this much in a while~ I wonder what''s on her mind? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? May 201 I am having my boyfriend watch Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 one, obviously) with me because we entered a debate over Mister Darcy. I say he''s overrated as a fictional heartthrob. Olly says it''s completely justifiable. Watching the movie for the first time in forever, all I can say is: Oliver... Why the hell do you have a clear type? Between me, Mister Darcy and Aqua Hoshino, I am seeing a pattern... Currently, the iconic proposal scene is happening (the second one) Then... Oliver and I glance at each other. Wait... why- I quickly glance away, and resist the urge to mumble a lie like: It''s not like I''m thinking of marrying you or anything! ?? ?? ?? ?? June 15, 2021 (KAI POV) My boyfriend and I are eating breakfast together. I have my thing about eating dinner food for breakfast (I''ve got a microwavable shrimp-fry rice bowl) and my Angel has some peppered hard-boiled eggs over toast like a normal person. I have big plans for this day. I decided on this idea last night. I begin my planned conversation starter. "Hey Olly? You know how there''s- like... random names assigned to days? Like National Chocolate Day and whatnot?" "Yeah?" "Well I randomly got curious and I saw today is Nature Photography Day." Not looking up from his toast, he answers, "Nice." I put my hand over Olly''s and now he''s looking at me. "Why don''t we go out on a nature walk this afternoon? You could bring your camera and get some good footage to edit." Olly''s face lights up. Now I''ve got him. He asks, "What about you?" Considerate~ "I get to enjoy seeing you get excited over filming~" I play with his fingers a bit. "And we could both use some fresh air." "True... and we haven''t gone on a good nature walk in forever." "So that''s a yes?" Olly grins. "It''s a date~" I exaggeratedly roll my eyes. "Well duh." Olly laughs and gives me a hug. So precious~ It''s crazy that Olly hugging me (because he''s a hugger and hugs a lot of people) used to freak me out. I''d get tense because I wasn''t good with being touched, but with time and me letting him hug me, I don''t flinch at touch anymore. Or at least, not his. (LATER THAT SAME DAY, in the evening) It''s been hours and Hunny-Bunny has been having a blast filming close up of leaves, trail prints, small bugs, and beautiful visuals of the nature walk path. That aside, we''ve been chatting and talking as always, laughing together and smiling together, which only makes me more sure of my ... plan. Now, we''re heading back to the main park which is basically a field with some benches and a little playground next to a small parking lot. The sun is starting to go down soon, but I ask Olly that we walk around the park a little and enjoy the sunset. When Oliver finishes taking a few photos of the sunset, I ask, "Did you enjoy this?" My boyfriend looks at me with that heart-melting excited expression, and nods. "This was great! I had a lot of fun." "So did I." Olly puts his camera in his bag, then looks at me. "You know - it''s funny. I never used to enjoy going on nature walks. Outside has - you know- dirt, bugs, poison ivy... But I always love going on nature walks with you." I let out a small laugh/sigh. "You''re so cheesy." Oliver grins. "I may be cheesy but I''m honest." ... well... this is honestly really f#cking corny and dumb place to consider doing this- and I hate it- but- uhhhhh Sigh. No. I don''t hate it. I love this. I love him. (Third person POV) Kai mutters, "Okay well this seems like as good a time as any so... uh, I''m just gonna do this then..." Kai gets down on one knee, and pulls a box from her pocket. "I know I suck at timing but..." Oliver gasps and puts a hand over his mouth and starts to tear up. The Vietnamese girl''s eyes widen. "I- I haven''t even said anything yet!" "Sorry! Sorry! I just.. Uh- sorry!" "Don''t apologize, doofus, I''m trying to - ! ..." Kai looks down and takes a deep breath and calms down. Kai looks back up. "Olly, we have known eachother since February of 2016. It is June 15 in 2021. I could count those months and days in numbers, but they can''t describe the feelings I have... and, well, I feel like I really want to f#cking marry you..." Wait- I said I wasn''t gonna swear during this!! ~ Kai looks away again and mutters, "Ugh, sh!t- mean- crap... uh... ugh- this is awful..." Kai throws her head up and yells, "Oliver Weldon Lee! Will you marry me?" In a rushed mess, Oliver says, "Yes- absolutely, Yes! Uh! Also! Uh, how dare you because - uh -I was gonna ask you and... I have a ring too!" "What?" "Yeah..." Oliver pulls it out of his hoodie pocket (that was there all along?!) "I just wasn''t sure when to do it... I mean we had talked about marriage but..." "Oh Oliver..." "Kai -" "Wait wait wait... let me finish my bit. Then you can say yours to me." "O... kay..." Kai opens the box and in it is a gold ring on a very thin silver chain. "I know you aren''t good with stuff on your hands so I thought you would wanna wear the ring on a necklace... though the ring does fit you if you want to slip it on" Oliver picks up the ring and sees a small engraving of "O K" is on it, for OliKai~ Kai looks away, as if this isn''t the most meaningful thing ever. "Technically... I''m supposed to be doing this with an engagement ring but I just felt like using the ring we''re gonna put as the wedding band because I don''t get the engagement ring thing." "But... I did the same thing!" Oliver opens up his box and shows Kai a nice gold ring with. Now it''s Kai''s turn to tear up. Oliver mumbles, "I was planning for us to put the date of the day we marry into the rings later..." "Well... I asked you to marry me... I guess it''s your turn(?)" Kai looks at Oliver expectantly. Oliver blushes a bit, but he gets on one knee while Kai stands up. Oliver is about to speak but he ends up crying instead. Kai just hugs him and rubs his back. At some point, Oliver shakes Kai off and he manages, "Well... Kai Lynn... you are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with and I don''t actually have a good speech... but umm... will you marry me?" "Yes. A hundred times- yes." Getting teary-eyed, Kai jokes. "I mean... wow- I mean, I''m going to become Kai Lee. Either people are gonna think I''m a Kyleigh or just keep thinking I''m Chinese... but yes." Kai tackles Oliver in a hug, and the two hold each other, laughing and still tearing up a bit. All it takes (ft. childhood Tonex) (just reminding you that Tony and Alex have know each other since 1st grade ~) I''m weak and uncoordinated and clumsy. Everyone knows this. Nobody picks me first for sports. Today in gym class, we are playing Capture the Flag. Sigh... I love this game but it seems the team has low faith in me. From past times we''ve done stuff like this, I could tell I wasn''t wanted from the eyerolls of whoever gets stuck with me. The gym teacher often picks two captains to pick the teams evenly. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Today the teacher announces, "Tony! Brett! You are gonna be captains today. Pick a side of the gym." It''s been a while since Tony was team captain. Tony''s in my home room, and we''ve talked a few times. He''s incredibly smart and pretty good at sports, but he''s always kind to people. Or at least, kinder than Brett. After Tony and Brett pick their sides of the gym, the teacher has them call heads or tails on a coin. After flipping it, he says, "Tony, you get the first pick!" Tony picks his best friend, Drew. When it''s his turn to pick again, Tony calls, "Alex." Wait! what? "Alex- Alex Kim? Me?" He smiles at me. "Yeah, come up here." Drew hiss-whispers, "Tony, what are you doing?" Tony looks at Drew with a confused expression. "What do you mean?" "Why would you pick Alex?" Yeah... good question He should listen to Andrew... I down at the ground, feeling a sense of shame. Tony responds at normal volume: "You know, Andrew, sometimes it''s not about how fast you run or how strong you are. Sometimes it''s good to hear a teammate be encouraging and enthusiastic." Wait That''s why? Does he ... Does he think I''m encouraging? And enthusiastic? I guess I do always try my best, even if sports aren''t my thing. And I do talk with the other team members and try to be uplifting. He notices that? ... I smile at him. Thank you for choosing me, Tony! I won''t let you down! Ancient WHAT (ft. highschool Tonex) Just walking down the hallway of the highschool, Alex overhears Tony talking to a friend ¡°Yes next semester I think gonna be taking Ancient [¡­]¡± HE IS OUT OF EAR-SHOT Wait! What class are you thinking of? F#ck- what class here is about ancient stuff? In my brain, I scream ¡°COME BACK, TONY! What class are you considering?! I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT''S HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE!¡± Ugh¡­ why can¡¯t I catch him alone So we can talk like we used to? I miss my friend¡­ and yet he was five feet away from me seconds ago! UGH - WHY does he have to have a girlfriend?! (And why is he only getting more and more handsome?) Now if I talk to Tony, people might think I¡¯m flirting when all I honestly want is to say hi to my childhood friend! ¡­ actually, Tony wouldn¡¯t think that. He¡¯d set it straight¡­ Or would he? It¡¯s been so long. Maybe he¡¯s not who I remember¡­ Maybe he¡¯s not still that brave, considerate ray of sunshine I remember, who always wants to make sure he says what he means, and nobody feels excluded or left behind¡­ Maybe he¡¯s changed. Maybe he gropes women¡¯s butts and laughs about it with his friends now. No, he¡¯d never fall that low. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Maybe Tony has become even MORE brave, and more charming. Maybe his kindness will reach more people than ever. Maybe he¡¯s finally overcome his fears and told his parents he doesn¡¯t want to follow in their footsteps and he¡¯s pursuing his own goals- living his best life. And¡­ maybe he¡¯s still scared, like he once told me he was? Maybe he still gets anxious that people find him annoying (which I find hard to imagine) And maybe Tony still worries that people secretly don¡¯t like him for him. That his talents or high-end social life are all he¡¯s good for. Maybe nobody is there to hold the tender, quiet, unsure side of him that he had shown me. ¡­ nah. He doesn¡¯t need me. Never did. (How silly can I get?) He¡¯s in highschool now! He¡¯s got all his buddies- surely he¡¯s happier with these people. And he has a girlfriend. A beautiful shining girlfriend. (I¡¯ve seen pictures online, she really is the envy of any TikTok girl) I¡¯m sure Tony told her all the hidden parts of his heart, and she¡¯s caring for that piece of him better than I could ever dream. I¡¯m sure they are lucky to have each other. I pray for their happiness¡­ Even if I kind of envy her. < < < < (A few moments ago, Tony POV) I¡¯m so f#cking bored¡­ Mark is a nice guy but we may as well be talking about the weather or something. Whatever class I take is nothing impressive- especially when it¡¯s a matter of what credits will look best on a transcript. Alex? There she is. And her cool rolling backpack. And all those colorful keychains she put on even though it seems she just got that. It suits her. As usual, Alex is just looking down as she passes. I wonder if she¡¯ll ever realize I¡¯m here? Any time Alex passes me, she just rushes past, not looking up from whatever notebook she¡¯s carrying to her next class. I wonder what she¡¯s doing right now? And I really wonder how has she not noticed we ended up at the same highschool? Surely if she saw, she¡¯d wave and say hi, you know? I¡¯d say we were pretty close! Or¡­ Maybe she doesn¡¯t remember. She¡¯s probably met lots of other people since I changed schools. I wish she would pass me when I¡¯m alone. Then I could stop her and catch up for old times sake. Mark catches my attention. ¡°Tony, are you listening to me?¡± I smile politely, but even I can tell it doesn¡¯t reach my eyes. ¡°Yeah- sorry. Just a lot on my mind, you know?¡± Mark almost seems energized by my response. ¡°See? That¡¯s what I was saying! All the homework classes give is just dumb. I wish [¡­]¡± Mark¡¯s voice fizzles in and out of my ears. That¡¯s right¡­ I¡¯m never alone. I¡¯ve got all these¡­ ¡°Friends¡± I shouldn¡¯t feel lonely at all. That¡¯s just ungrateful, you know? (This is basically the summary of them in highschool) I just feel the need to remind you they had no intention of disrupting the flow of things- they just REALLY wanna talk again COVID-19 (Hugo POV) March 12, 2020, worries about Corona began to rise into the public media March 17 2020, the Capital of Canada (Ontario) goes on lockdown By April 28, half the planet is on Lockdown Hugo and Ashton would have been 18 at this time > > > > One girl groans. "Ugh! This is literally the worst thing that can ever happen!" A boy asks, "Wait, what''s going to happen now?" Another girl starts sobbing. "I''m not ready for this. I''m not ready for this." A different boy slowly falls back into his seat. "This isn''t happening." As the teacher starts trying to calm everyone, I retreat into my brain What the f#ck ... Just a few days ago, we were waving our hands down and saying "Yeah, there''s no way COVID is gonna come''ere, eh?" Just a few hours ago we were all laughing together and saying we couldn''t wait to graduate. This was supposed to be a good final year of highschool. The "best year ever". There''s no way this virus is worth all the panicking the people around me are doing ... Right? My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my hoodie pocket. It''s my friend Ash. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ASH: Covid is getting serious, apparently ASH: my homeroom is freaking out ME: same ASH: How are you feeling? ME: kind of shocked ME: this is gonna sound weird but I guess I get to go home and tell my Doctor/Mother she was right ASH: she probably saw this coming ASH: I sure didn''t ME: I''m not even entirely sure what''s happening with all this My phone buzzes again so I know someone else is texting me. I look and see it''s from my sister. SAM: Have you seen the news? Parts of the world are calling this virus a state of emergency ME: from the way my homeroom is freaking out right now, I can believe it SAM: are you worried? ME: I''m kind of too numb to worry but I''m some way- yes? SAM: you me me both. Even my classmates at the college are really anxious over it too ME: good grief, is anyone not freaking out? SAM: this isn''t the kind of news people take lightly > > > > It''s the third day of lockdown. Sam stays in the kitchen and does her zoom call classes, and I''m with Google Classroom. Neither of us are adapting well to it but grades are the least of my worries right now. This morning, I noticed Sam has started tugging on her hair. Early this afternoon, I noticed she must be pulling it out because there was a small but forming pile of hair on the floor behind her. I kind of expected something like this since my sister is autistic and doesn''t handle a change in routine well. But still. Seeing my 22 year old sister this worked up when even a family''s death didn''t shake her is kind of scary. Now, it''s a little before dinner time. Mom is still at the hospital and Dad is busy trying to figure out working from home... Sam is anxious but I can keep calm. I can be strong for her. And for me, that means keeping positive. "Hey, Sam. You have a minuet?" She looks tired. "Hey. What''s up?" "You wanna know what we haven''t done in a really long time?" "What?" "Remember when I was in middle school and you had us do reaction videos together?" "Oh yeah!" Sam laughs, and for a moment she looks more herself. "I''d put something in the Spanish dub and you''d make me turn on the subtitles." "We heckled Sailor Moon and MLP hard." "You do heckle very well." "You''re funny too." Damm- complimenting her feels weird. But also kind of reliving for some reason. "Let''s turn something on. I''ll even let you pick. If you want, you can record it. Just like we used to." "You sure?" "Yeah." She looks happy. This won''t keep her happy but for today, I hope it''s enough. "Besides~" I grin. "I''m sure that DiligantlyDistracted misses my charm." "Oh please. You''re just lucky sibling stuff gets attention quick." "I don''t think that''s true." "Are you kidding me? Have you seen those videos where people have family members guess character names? That stuff is really getting popular!" "Oh my god I love those!" We both laugh, and for a moment, we can pretend this is just like any other night. RANDOM ROMANTIC MOMENTS (My OC pairs starring in "imagine your OTP") (**Taken from various posts online) (note one: this will jump across various points in the timeline so just go with it) (note two: Mike and Charlie are a Queer-Platonic-Relationship but I lump them in with the pairs) ???????????????????????? ("Me, my partner, and another thing in bed" meme) ~ NOTE, the labels may be inconsistent as different characters will sleep in the same bed at different times (TONY POV, about Alex) "Me, my girlfriend, and her phone playing One Direction ballad love songs" (ALEX POV, about Tony) "Me, my boyfriend, and his iPad saying Candy Crush. in a deep voice with the occasional BING sound" (KAI POV, about Oliver) "Me, my boyfriend, and his racy little manga in bed" (OLIVER POV, about Kai) "Me, my lover, and her laptop in bed" (BELLA POV, about Jack) "Me, my husband, and a large copy of the holy bible in bed... I''m not sure how to feel about this." (JACK POV, about Bella) "In bed: Me, my wife, and her phone to edit stories in google docs." (ASHTON POV, about Hugo) "Me, my boyfriend, and three old animal plushies in bed" (HUGO POV, about Ashton) "Me, my boyfriend, and some script for some play in our bed" (SAM POV, about Lori) "Me, my girlfriend, and an old moldy sandwich in bed... finding that was so gross" (LORI POV, about Sam) "Me, my girlfriend, and her bracelet weaving kit in bed" (MIKE POV, about Charlie) "Me, my queer-platonic partner, and her large bunny Squishmallow in bed" (CHARLIE POV, about Mike) "Me, my forever-roomie, and ... well... us and my Squishmallow don''t leave room for anything else in bed..." ???????????????????????? (at a restaurant, sitting together) Charlie asks, "What do you think you''re gonna order?" Mike looks at the menu. "Uh... jeez, that''s a lot... uh, you pick something." "Dude, just order it yourself." "Whyyy?" Mike whines. "Because" Charlie groans, "I''m gonna order something for you and then you won''t like it or you''ll think mine looks better and then you''re gonna eat some of mine!" "I would never!" ~ ten minutes later, Mike is leaning against Charlie, eating some lasagna off their plate, ignoring his pile of chicken wings. Arms crossed, Charlie looks mildly annoyed. "You know you''re the only person that can get away with this, right?" Taking a sip from Charlie''s drink, Mike grins. "I know~" ???????????????????????? Oliver, Kai, Charlie and Bella are eating lunch together, and they''re sharing some onion rings. Playing with his hoodie strings, Oliver mumbles, "You know, I think onion rings are basically vegetable doughnuts." Used to Oliver saying stuff like this, Kai nods. "Yeah, that makes sense." Seeming more confident, Oliver adds, "I have a theory that your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed." Charlie laughs a bit. "Okay." Oliver starts rocking back and forth a bit as he continues, "Lasagna is just spaghetti-flavored cake." Charlie''s smile fades quickly and turns to a look of displeasure. Not noticing this, Oliver keeps talking. "Lobsters are mermaids to scorpions." Bella facepalms. "Okay, that''s enough." Kai shushes her sister and turns to Oliver. "No, continue, please." Kai looks at Oliver in adoration as he keeps talking, while Bella and Charlie are just like ?????? ???????????????????????? Jack texts Bella *Read Genesis 29:20, that''s us* After a few minutes, Bella replies, *Did you just tell me you love me... with a bible verse?* *Yes* *That''s hot.* ???????????????????????? Hugo''s family has a Australian Shepherd dog named Jeni-fur (Jennifer) and every time Ash comes over, she steals Ash''s attention. "Your dog is so cute!" Ash grins and starts snuggling with Jenny, not even looking at Hugo. Arms crossed, Hugo turns away and scoffs. "You say cute, but I say absolute demon." Ash pets Jenny. "Hey! Things can be cute and absolute demons. Just take you for example." Hugo''s eyes widen and he steps back. "You- you think I''m cute?" Ash''s face reddens. "Well... not as cute as this little pupcake~" Ash resumes fawning over Jenny. Hugo mutters, "Never in my life did I think I''d be jealous of a f#cking dog." ???????????????????????? "Do you know your gay name?" Lori asks. Sam almost laughs. "My... gay name?" "Yeah, it''s your first name..." Lori gets down on one knee "... then our last names combined." ?Tortas voladoras! (what in the name of flying cakes is happening?!) ???????????????????????? Jack is currently trying to repair the rideable lawnmower, and Bella is there to help. (though she''s mostly just talking at him as he works) Jack asks, "Uh, Honey, can you give me a hand?" Bella places her hand into Jack''s. Jack grins briefly before looking back at the lawn mower. "You''re sweet but that''s not what I meant." ???????????????????????? Alex texts Tony: *Hey, I''m home alone and bored* Within a minuet, Tony replies, *Ooh, so your parents arent around???* *Nope?? we can do whatever we want??* *So we can play hide and seek in your whole house?* *Yes! ~ I love you so much* ???????????????????????? Iris moves closer to Lucas'' face "Truth or dare." Leaning back a bit, Lucas mutters, "Truth." "Do you wanna kiss me~?" Lucas'' face turns red, but he tries to look annoyed. "I change my mind- dare." "I dare you to kiss me." Lucas looks away from Iris. "... Never have I ever-" "THAT''S NOT THE GAME!!" ???????????????????????? PET NAMES ~? Alex: She didn''t use petnames for a while but she randomly called Tony "Vanillabean" as a joke and it made him blush, so she started using it more and more. She also uses "Bean" for short, and sometimes she uses "Babe" but it''s usually humorous Tony: he uses pet names in a joking way but outside of that, he calls her Alex. Though a few times, he''s called her Honey, and she didn''t mind. Kai: she calls Oliver MANY things like Olive, honey-bunny, Olly, doofus/dork(affectionate), thi¨ºn th?n (Angel) but her favorites to use are Baby and Angel Oliver: he doesn''t usually use pet names, but sometimes he calls Kai "Darling" Bella: she calls Jack the normal pet names- Darling, Honey, my love- but her love of France has added Mon-Amour, Mon-Cher Jack: aside from the usual stuff like Honey and Darling, he calls her SugarPie Sam: basically every Spanish petname has been used, but her favorite to call Lori is Coraz¨®n (which means heart, meaning you''re someone I can''t be without), and Novia (GF) then Posa (shortened version of the word Wife) Lori: she usually just calls her Honey or Baby Charlie: since she''s in a Queer-Platonic-Relationship, petnames aren''t really used unless it''s humorous, though she calls Mike "My Forever-Roomie" and "Dumbass"(affectionate) Mike: since he''s in a Queer-Platonic-Relationship, petnames aren''t really used unless it''s humorous, though he has nicknamed Charlie many things like Charles and Charr Hugo: babe, baby, and Hugo has nicknamed him Ashie or Asha-boo, Asha-Babe Ashton: he gets shy about using names with Hugo but he''s nicknamed him Hugh. Ashton used to call Hugo sunshine mockingly but now he still uses it sometimes. ???????????????????????? Oliver smiles and waved at Kai. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Her face heats up and her heart does those silly flips it always does around her crush. (Kai runs to Charlie) ~ because she needs a hug from her best friend. "What''s up?" Kai grumbles, "I can''t take it, I''m f#cking killing him" Charlie rolls their eyes. "Or you can toughen up and ask him out." Kai''s face heats up. "Uh... killing... killing is... easier..." ???????????????????????? "Alright, bye Honey." Jack is about to leave for work. Bella calls, "Jack! Wait! Aren''t you forgetting something?" "Oh, sorry!" Jack rushes back and kisses Bella. Face red with blush, Bella shrieks, "Your keys, Jack!" ???????????????????????? Lucas grins. "I know you''re in love with him." Alex''s face heats up and she yells, "I''m not in love with Tony!" The older-brother figure''s grin widens. "... I never said it was Colton~" ???????????????????????? Mike and Charlie are shopping for groceries, but they''re being stalled... by oreos. Charlie laughs. "Mike, no." "Oh come on! Look at this! Cheeto-Flavored Oreos! We gotta try it!" "No, because it''s gonna taste bad and we''re not gonna know what to do with them, like the Kettle Corn Oreos and the Kraft Dinner Oreos" "This is different though! I mean look at that: CHEETO! COOKIES!" "Mike, let''s just get normal oreos like normal people and head home." The tall jock-bodied man whines like a child. "But I wanna try the Cheeto-Oroes! What if we come back next time and they''re out?" Charlie puts a hand on their hip. "I highly doubt anyone has bought any of those since they were put on the shelf." ???????????????????????? Bella leans in to kiss Jack. Jack, face red, slides to the side and pulls Bella into a hug instead. Bella is surprised. "Jack, wha...?" "S- sorry... I... panicked..." Bella bursts out laughing, hugging Jack back. Jack pulls his baseball cap over his face in embarrassment. "Don''t laugh!!" ???????????????????????? "Kai~~" "Yeah?" I look up at Oliver. "I can hold the whole world in my hands." I start, "That''s impossi-" Oliver cups my face in his hands. That DOOFUS! My heart flips and skips and it finally turns to mush as my face burns hot. I look away from Oliver and slowly push him away. "Shut up, you dopey moron, I have a reputation." Oliver pulls me into a hug anyway. ???????????????????????? The Judge asks, "How do you plead?" Mike looks at Charlie, who mouths *not guilty* With confidence, Mike pleads to the judge, "Hot Milky." Charlie face palms. "Just lock him up." ???????????????????????? Bella looks at Kai curiously. "So you gave Oliver some flowers and he liked it?" Her sister nods. "Yeah, Primroses are connected to the month of February and it was his birthday and... yeah." "I never thought of giving a guy flowers." "You should give Jackson flowers. Guys need to be given more flowers." "Hmmm... maybe I''ll try that." (a few days later) Bella looks up with a small smile. "It''s February and Valentine''s Day is soon, so for now, here''s some roses." Jack''s face gets red and he shyly takes the small bouquet of roses. "Uh... th- thanks, Bella." Bella grins, deciding she will do this more often. ???????????????????????? WOULD THEY EVER HAVE KIDS ~? (Answered by the writer) ~ Alex and Tony Ebare are psychically unable to make a kid or have In-vitro fertilization (IVF). For a whole, they''re reluctant to even consider raising a kid anyway. (Alex worries if a disabled person can really raise a whole other human, and Tony worries he may end up putting his kid through the pressure he felt) It will be eight years after they marry that they adopt a Chinese boy and name him Ian Ebare. Ian is a bit of an air-headed and impulsive and isn''t good with controlling his emotions but he has a good heart and is kind. ~ Due to be asexual, Oliver and Kai Lee will adopt a boy from Vietnam after five years of marriage. They name him Danny because it''s gender neutral (Just in case). Danny is a bit similar to Oliver, though Danny prefers Super Hero comics over manga. Danny is very smart like Kai, and the boy is chattier than Oliver and Sam combined. He isn''t neurodivergent, but being raised by neurodivergent parents has given Danny similar mannerisms, and he''s very kind to neurodivergent people. Kai makes sure Danny doesn''t grow up touch-starved like she did. When he gets older, Danny vents to his dad more than his mom. ~ Eventually, Jack and Bella Apfel have three kids in total. All with biblical names: Mathew(Matt) >>looks like Kai<<, John (two years younger than Mathew) >>he''s a male Bella with lighter skin and brown hair<< and Esther "Essie" (four years younger than John). >>is a female Jack<< ??Matt looks a lot like Kai and has a similar energy in being calm and quiet, though Matt has talent in singing and playing guitar. He tries too hard to act cool. ?? John is basically Jack but sportier and aspires to play football. He''s the most devout out of the three children and the quickest to follow rules. He''s got a bit of Please-look-at-me "middle child syndrome" ?? Essie is the youngest and very sweet and pure, but she''s got an adventurous and curious side, and her dream is to become a baker. In highschool, Essie comes out as bisexual (secretly, Bella thought it''d be Matt or maybe possibly John that''d turn out to be Queer. Also- she was expecting an asexual like Kai, haha) ~ Lori and Sam Alvarez-Madlock use In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and Lori births a Hispanic-looking girl named Emma Alvarez-Madlock, and Emma calls Sam Mam¨¢ and Lori is Mom. Emma is a very quirky and energetic girl who came out to her parents as straight (the horror! Lol) and she loves painting. Sam taught Emma Mexican-Spanish, and Emma picked it up way easier than Lori has (Sam likes to be able to switch back and forth as she speaks). When she gets older, Emma lives in the cottage core aesthetic? Emma and Danny meet a lot since their parents are friends, and the kids become cousins because Kai is Emma''s godmother and Sam is Danny''s godmother. They behave a little bit like an older brother and younger sister: lots of teasing and being annoying but strong family bond. ~ Ashton and Hugo Herrington could adopt a kid if they wanted but Hugo and Ashton don''t think they would make good parents so they decide against it. (that said, they love seeing their friends'' kids. Hugo particularly loves Danny and Ashton particularly loves Emma) That aside, the animals Ashton takes care of are the children. Secretly, Sam believes Hugo could be a good father in the ways that count. ~ Mike and Charlie would probably not raise a kid because they''d have to either make a kid or adopt a kid and they just don''t feel the need for that. However, Mike and Charlie love taking care of Danny and Emma and sometimes Bella''s kids. They get a dog named Maxie and their dog is the child. ???????????????????????? "Uh, Honey, I think it''s time we talk about... uh... the birds and the bees with our son." Alex agrees with Tony. "He is 15..." "Yeah..." Her husband looks at the ground and scratches the back of his neck. . . . Alex speaks up: "I can talk to him." "Oh thank god." Tony waits in the kitchen, curious what''ll happen. "Ian, can you pause that, please? I need to talk with you." Lightly annoyed, Ian pauses the video game and looks up. "What''s up?" "Well, your father thinks it''s about time we discuss the birds and the bees." Ian''s eyes widen briefly, but he relaxes quickly. "Oh, Mom, I already know about-" "Did you know bees are rapidly declining?" Ian titles his head. "...What?" "Get your shoes on, son, we''re going to save the bees!" Tony just watches in a mix of amusement and confusion and adoration as Alex drags Ian out of the house. As he hears his wife yelling something outside, Tony hopes she does know what he actually meant. ???????????????????????? Iris: you wouldn''t want to date me! I''m a handful! Lucas (deadpan/calm): I have two hands. ???????????????????????? Sam accidentally drops something on her foot. "Ayy! F#ck me!" Lori smirks at Sam. Sam laughs. "That wasn''t an invitation" Lori moves a little closer to Sam. Sam''s smile wanes. "Lori...?" Lori gets even closer, slowly. Sam gulps nervously, whispering, "W- wait...!" Lori''s sexy smile and ravenous eyes are mere inches from Sam''s face, and Lori lets out a brief low hum. By now, Sam has been backed to the wall, and she''s blushing so much, it''s slightly visible even with her light brown skin. Lori puts her hands under Sam''s chin, and pulls her close. Sam closes her eyes expectantly, but instead, Lori whispers in her ear. "I think we should have Mexican for dinner." Lori then turns to walk away, swaying her hips. "Lori Madlock!" Sam stomps her foot like a kid. "You utter tease!" How dare she talk about food after doing that to me!! Sam Diaz-Alvarez. "... wait... I''m Mexican..." As if on cue, Lori quickly turns back, pins Sam to the wall, and begins aggressively making out with her. ???????????????????????? Oliver gushes, "Oh my gosh, the newest episode of [insert some anime] was so amazing!" Isko Abe laughs. "Wait, you seriously watch-" The Asian male stops himself when he sees Kai''s cold glare, warning him to not tease Oliver. Unaware of Kai''s expression, Oliver nervously plays with the strings on his hoodie. "uh, well, I just sorta-" Isko, a bit nervous, says, "Hey, I was just joking. You were saying?" "Really?" Oliver lights up and happily info-dumps at Isko. ???????????????????????? Bella sighs. "Do you think he''s thinking about other girls?" Kai thinks for a moment. "Jackson is very loyal but you never know with guys..." *meanwhile* Jack and Damian are hanging out. Bella''s boyfriend murmurs, "I wonder if I''ve ever eaten an egg from a chicken I ate?" Damian''s eyes widen. "YO! That''s wild!" (ALTERNATELY) Ethan is sitting in his shared room with his younger brother, Ash Herrington. Ashton sighs. "Do you think Hugo is thinking about other guys?" Ethan shrugs. "You never really know..." *meanwhile* Hugo is laying on a couch with his friend Wyatt. The half-Mexican asks, "If I sat on a voodoo doll of myself, would I be able to get up?" Wyatt sits up. "... BRO -" ???????????????????????? Mike gently shakes his eternal-roomate. "Charlie?" ... "Charlie, get up." ... "CHARLIE!" Charlie startles awake. "AHH! What?" "You''re snoring and I can''t hear the movie." Charlie rolls over. "Then turn it up." "So you can get annoyed that it woke you up? No thank you!" "You already woke me up, dumb a$s!" Charlie''s eyes widen. "OOH! Wait, is that How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World?" Charlie sits up and moves next to Mike, all annoyance forgotten. ???????????????????????? Ideal activity / date ~? ~ Alex knows Tony isn''t one for the stereotypical movie date, (and neither is she) so she always likes to plan unique things. She eventually admits a lot of the dates she planned were from an article called "50 unique dates ideas and more". Tony plans things centered around Alex because he''s considerate. Stuff like museums and aquariums and the zoo make her excited and she loves being able to be excited with someone. ~ Oliver and Kai mostly stay inside, watching anime together or enjoying parallel play (it''s a neurodivergent thing) as they engage in their hobbies or just chatting about whatever. Their go-to date has always been essentially touching grass together, just walking around outside and around town and seeing where the day takes them. That''s not to say they never do stuff like enjoying a skate park or late-night fast food runs. Stuff outside of their norm is usually prompted by a "double date." Charlie and Mike would often bring Oliver and Kai out to dinner, and sometimes Sam and Lori would invited Kai and Oliver to join in their various fun mini-adventures. Sometimes Kai and Oliver are roped into doing stuff with Bella and Oliver and the Lynn family. Oliver and Jack are just too different, but they are there for Bella and Kai. ~ Bella and Jack would go on the classic date. He''d pick her up in his car, give her some flowers, they''d go to dinner, catch a movie at a theater, go out for some ice cream, and be home before 9 PM ~ Sam and Lori like to watch TV together (they turn on whatever and make commentary and laugh and joke aroundy) When they want to have fun, they do the most epic stuff on a whim (attending a theater dinner or trying an escape room or seeing a comedy act together) but also, they like driving for long hours and visiting wherever on little mini-trips. ~ Ash and Hugo when they first start dating, they''d do lots of high-energy things together like competing in an arcade or participating in a scavenger hunt. As they get older, it''d calm down to stuff like Aquarium dates. Hugo unexpectedly loves shopping (let''s go to the mall together!) and Ash would have an unknown love of picnics (let''s look at clouds and enjoy nature together!). I think nature walks would be one of their favorite things. ~ Mike and Charlie aren''t a couple so they don''t really go out on dates but I think they''d go out to eat dinner together often since they both enjoy a good meal, and they''d go to see movies together in the theater. ???????????????????????? Ash answers his phone. "Hugo, why do you insist on calling me on the phone?" His boyfriend hums, "It''s more fun this way, right?" "Not really.. Just text me..." Hugo admits, "Sorry, but I just.. Really love hearing your voice." Ash blushes, and he''s glad Hugo cannot see his flustered expression. ???????????????????????? Iris proclaims, "I have no fears~" Oliver asks, "What if you woke up one day and Lucas was taller than you?" Iris'' eyes widen. She looks away and murmurs, "I have one fear." ???????????????????????? "Please, it''s getting late, come to bed." Typing more of her story into her computer, Bella mutters, "I don''t need to go to bed yet. I''m not tired. It''s fine." Jack''s voice is soft. "But Darling, it''s so lonely over here, come here and curl up in my arms~" Bella finally looks at him. "Oh... Are you trying to bribe me into healthy sleeping patterns?" "Is it working?" "... a little..." ???????????????????????? Hugo''s eyes are wide. "I can''t believe you hid my game controller!" Ash turns Hugo''s face to him, caressing his cheeks. "Not your game controller, Sunshine, ... my competition!" ???????????????????????? ~HEIGHT DIFFERENCE~ >>Height changes over time with age (growing or shrinking) and most my character meet at a point in their lives where they''re still physically developing but this will be the main height differences on record<< Alex is 5''3 feet (160.02 cm) and Tony is 5''5 ft (165.1 cm) so there''s two inches of height difference. Back when they were kids, they were about the same height. Kai is 5''6 ft (167.64 cm) and Oliver is exactly six feet tall (182.88 cm). Olly is six inches taller than Kai. Sam is 5''3 ft tall but she''s almost always in heels that put her to around 5''5 ft, while Lori is 5''2 ft tall (157.48 cm) - so naturally, Sam is one inch taller, but in heels, she''s three inches taller. Bella is 5''3 feet tall, while Jack is a little under 5''10 feet tall (177.78 cm), meaning that''s seven inches of height difference. Hugo is a 5''6.5 ft (fully grown) and Ash is around 5''9 ft (fully grown). That''s less than three inches in height difference. For the first half of his teens, Hugo was 5''3 ft, and Ash was 5''7 ft. *I have to clarify growth because Hugo and Ashton met younger so they were still growing, while the rest the cast was mostly done growing in height Iris is 5''6 ft and Lucas is 5''4 feet (162.56 cm) so she''s two inches taller than him. Mike is under 5''10 feet tall (give or take) and Charlie is a little over 5''4 ft. That''s six inches of height difference. ???????????????????????? Bella: What''s your favorite color? Jack: Err, I''m not really into small talk. Bella: Okay. Uh, deep down, do you think you''re a good person? Jack: ... yellow. ???????????????????????? Bella squints. "Sister? What are you doing up so late?" Seeming a bit frantic, Kai answers, "Making chocolate pudding" "It''s past midnight" "So?" "Why are you making pudding at midnight?" Kai wails, "Because I lost control of my life!" Sitting at the kitchen table, Oliver speaks up, "Kai, it''s fine, I''m not that hungry..." Bella blinks slowly (didn''t even realize he came over...) ???????????????????????? Hugo and Ash are sitting in the study hall of school, and Hugo has been reading through some textbook, but as he does, he''s been fidgeting with a pen. Ashton usually has no issue with Hugo''s stimming, but the sound of a pen being hit against a wood table is annoying. He''s tried to let it be, but ten minutes is ten minutes. "Hugo!" Ashton finally breaks. "Enough with the pen!" Hugo sets it down with a small, "Oh..." "Seriously! How would you feel if I banged you on the table?" Hugo''s heart skips a beat. "... uh... I''m not sure how to answer that..." Ashton realizes what he just said, and his face burns red. "I- Ugh!" Ashton tries to act cool. "Obviously I just mean hitting the pen- I''m not banging you on a table." Hugo''s is blushing too, but his light brown skin kind of hides it. "It''s not like I want you to! It''s just how you made it sound! YOUR fault! Dumb Ash!" "Me? You''re the one banging a pen on a table!" . . . Hugo smirks. "You jealous~?" Ashton''s face somehow gets redder, but he tries to remain calm. "You''re just twisting my words." With zero logic or reason, Hugo tries to sound naughty. "I can twist something else??" "... what-" "I have no clue- please kill me now." Sam & Charlie VS Oliver (how are you be good) >> Kai is only soft for Oliver Oliver ¡°finally has a spine¡± They¡¯re more honest and authentic and comfortable around each other >> Kai¡¯s friends are so confused ¡­ WHAT DID HE DO TO KAI? Since when does she smile like that? That¡¯s not her usual ¡°I¡¯m making fun of people and being annoying on purpose¡± smile, or her arrogantly smug ¡°I¡¯m the smartest person in the room¡± smile, That¡¯s a gentle sweet ¡°I¡¯m so happy to be here¡± smile. WHAT DID YOU DO?? ~ ~ ~ (Oliver POV) Sam, Charlie, Kai and I are having dinner together at a restaurant. Apparently, Charlie treats just Kai and Sam to a meal on a regular basis (something they¡¯ve been doing since highschool). Those three have known eachother since primary school. I¡¯ve known Sam since highschool since we went to the same one. But now, we¡¯re all over the age of 20. I¡¯m dating Kai (who I met in college and I didn¡¯t know she knew Sam) and Kai had me meet Charlie during the year before Kai and I started dating. The point is- I am friends with all of them so I guess that¡¯s why Charlie often asks I join in their usual dinner meet-up. This is the fifth time I have joined in, and I¡¯ve realized by now that the dinner is always in casual places, very laid-back environments. Right now, the four of us are at Seoul Bites. (It¡¯s a Korean food place, so good) Shortly after we find a place to sit and all order food, Kai heads to the washroom (or the bathroom as some call it) Sam hums, ¡°So now that Kai¡¯s gone, let¡¯s gossip about her.¡± I look at Sam with mild surprise, because I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s being serious or if she¡¯s joking. Sam is a very lively person but even after all these years, I still can¡¯t really read her very well. ¡°Ayy! Don¡¯t give me that surprised look- we¡¯re not gonna slander her.¡± Oh. Good. Frankly, the idea of gossiping about my girlfriend and best friend doesn¡¯t sit well with me, but I guess talking about Kai with her friends is alright. Charlie does a mock-vocal-fry. ¡°Like, one time, she took the last slice of pizza.¡± Sam snickers. ¡°Ate the last of your poutine.¡± ¡°Drank my Cherry Soda. Oh! Here¡¯s actual gossip: Kai always chews on straws and it p!sses me off.¡± Sam¡¯s face becomes dramatic. ¡°Ayy, I knowwww¡± I feel bit surprised. ¡°Huh, I never noticed this.¡± Charlie asks, ¡°Has Kai ever drank a drink you had? Like I order drinks sometimes and she thinks it¡¯s so f#cking funny to steal little sips of it.¡± ¡°Not really¡­ I mean she has asked to share a drink with me before but she never did it without asking.¡± Charlie almost seems annoyed. ¡°Lucky.¡± They¡¯re annoyed? Uh¡­ I add, ¡°But that also may be because Kai knows I get iffy about who touches what- especially relating to food or drinks.¡± Sam leans forward. ¡°That¡¯s so real though! Like, I¡¯m so glad I have a younger brother because if I had a sister thinking she could borrow my clothes or my accessories or something - I am telling you- that girl would be twelve feet under.¡± Charlie looks at her. ¡°I¡¯ve borrowed your make-up before. And hair clips, I think.¡± ¡°That¡¯s different- I let you have those things because I¡¯m nice.¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not, you¡¯re a demon.¡± It takes me a second to process Charlie was joking, so I force a small laugh. Sam looks at me with what I interpret as an apologetic expression. ¡°Sorry- we were talking about Kai¡± Sam gets us back to the original topic. Charlie relaxes back in their chair. ¡°Being in a relationship with Kai must not be easy, eh?¡± ¡­ what? Unsure where this is going, I simply say: ¡°I mean¡­ no relationship¡¯s easy.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Sam flips her hand and pointed glances to the side. ¡°Oh everyone says that.¡± Yeah¡­ Wait- is that a bad thing? Umm Wait- what was I supposed to say? Maybe more detail? ¡°Uh, well, for Kai and I- we don¡¯t always see eye to eye, and we¡¯ll disagree at times, but I¡¯ve been told over and over that stuff is normal.¡± I glance up at Charlie and Sam who seem interested. I continue, ¡°Besides, she and I typically resolve things within a day or two. We just make sure to be honest and-¡° Sam interrupts me. ¡°That¡¯s sweet, but I don¡¯t mean fights, Oliver. I mean Kai has an avoidant attachment style.¡± Oh¡­ that¡¯s what she¡¯s asking about? Why? Also, that was kind of out of the blue, right? ¡°Wow, that was¡­ very blunt.¡± I try to laugh it off. ¡°Um, y- yeah. I know.¡± Charlie tells me, ¡°I¡¯m sure it must be tough.¡± Not really¡­ Do they think I¡¯m having a hard time with her? Why would they? I repeat, ¡°Tough?¡± ¡°Yeah, you haven¡¯t noticed?¡± Sam checks her nails as she talks. ¡°She can be really distant at times.¡± I try to mull this over in my brain. ¡°Hmm¡­ definitely at first, it was tough, as you put it. You know we were friends for a whole year before we started dating, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Well I¡¯d say that first year was probably the bulk of the ¡­ I guess- tougher parts of a relationship.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± I don¡¯t think Kai would like me to go into that¡­ frankly, I don¡¯t either. Those were sensitive moments for her and me. I keep my tone light. ¡°I don¡¯t need to go into that¡­ besides, if you know the term avoidant attachment style, then you probably can guess some struggles.¡± . . . This is kind of weird, . . . Am I supposed to say something more? Charlie prompts a slightly chilling ¡°And¡­?¡± Unsure what to say, I gently prompt back: ¡°And what?¡± Charlie and Sam look at each other before Sam asks, ¡°What did you learn from these¡­ struggles?¡± What did I learn? ¡­ I decide to finally address the pondering of my mind: ¡°I¡¯m sorry if this comes across rude, but¡­ why are you asking all of this?¡± Sam looks at the ceiling, while Charlie sighs before giving an explanation. ¡°We have known Kai since the tail-end of her learning to speak.¡± Sam adds, ¡°We were around for her emo phase, and when she first got into mystery novels.¡± Kai did tell me she had a goth phase¡­ that¡¯s different. Charlie continues, ¡°And we were around for the times she entered relationships.¡± Wait what- I clarify: ¡°Do you mean romantic relationships?¡± Charlie answers slowly. ¡°Yes. And it¡¯s just¡­ uh¡­¡± Sam picks it up. ¡°And it¡¯s just, uh¡­ in all that time, Kai has never behaved with anyone the way she does with you.¡± I dumbly make an ¡°oh¡± sound. Then the statement catches up to me, ¡°Wait- what do you mean? Charlie glances at the ceiling briefly before looking at me. ¡°Dear god! Buddy- she smiles around you! She talks about feelings! She¡¯s¡­¡± Charlie tries to find the words. ¡°gentle? Soft?¡± Sam chimes in. ¡°and when she talks to you, it¡¯s so different.¡± ¡°What?¡± Charlie almost seems agitated. ¡°Well with us- it¡¯s like- everything is wrapped in a veil of irony or some hidden playful insult.¡± Sam nods. ¡°It¡¯s like talking to a little boy, I swear! Kai is like my brother Hugo and he¡¯s four years younger than me! ¡°Meanwhile she talks to you like she¡¯s your wife or something.¡± My voice cracks. ¡°My wife?¡± Kai and I being married in the future¡­ (dreamy sigh~) Wait¡­ what? Sam leans forward. ¡°How did you do it, Oliver Lee? How did you wife-up the immovable iceberg emo?¡± I feel my face frown. ¡°She¡¯s not an emo. You know she doesn¡¯t like it when people mistake her for an emo.¡± Sam flips her words again. ¡°I know she¡¯s not an emo- I¡¯m just playing around.¡± I¡¯m starting to see why Kai behaves differently with me¡­ Wait, that was a rude thought¡­ Thankfully, Charlie gets us back on track. ¡°Anyways! How did you get Kai to go soft for you?¡± Soft¡­ My voice comes out a little nervous. ¡°I don¡¯t know - I just sorta ¡­ behaved as my natural self and that worked.¡± Sam makes a confused sound. ¡°I don¡¯t know! Kai says I was special. To me, nothing I ever did felt extraordinary or anything.¡± Sam asks, ¡°What does she tell you?¡± ¡°She sometimes tells me that I¡¯m really patient and a great active listener- and umm- she told me I am very respectful for not forcing anything¡­ but isn¡¯t that just being in a relationship?¡± Charlie and Sam stare at me before yelling, ¡°¡­ WHAT THE F#CK???¡± Am I hallucinating? This feels unreal- two people are looking at me with¡­ very intense eyes. Why isn¡¯t Kai back from the washroom yet?! Charlie¡¯s voice is still loud. ¡°NO - THAT SH!T ISNT F#CKING NORMAL!¡± I shrink into myself a bit. ¡°It¡¯s not? I feel like it should be¡­¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re joking!¡± Sam says, ¡°Forget listening to my needs - I WOULD KILL FOR MY BOYFRIEND TO LOOK UP FROM HIS PHONE!¡± ? ? ? ¡°Wh- why won¡¯t he look?¡± Sam cries, ¡°I DON''T KNOW! Wah ??¡± Sam clings to Charlie, making a scene. Knowing people are starting to look, I try to calmly ask, ¡°uh, have you told him how you feel?¡± Sam wails, ¡°y- yes¡­ and he said I¡¯m fLat! Like a pancake!¡± ¡°Oh no¡± (wait- how is that related?) Charlie pats Sam and holds her close. ¡°You are not flat, baby, you have wonderful boobs.¡± What in the world¡­ I whisper, ¡°Uh, sorry to interrupt but- We¡¯re still in public¡­¡± Sam suddenly sits up, angry now. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s cheating on me!¡± Charlie sways her eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Chica, that b!tch got knocked up.¡± What¡­ is happening? Suddenly, I feel someone standing behind me. Is that a staff member? Are we in trouble? But then I hear a low, cold, ¡°Oi¡­¡± I don¡¯t need to turn around to know Kai¡¯s expression is very scary right now. Sam and Charlie¡¯s wide eyes and small mouths tell me as much. Kai¡¯s voice is low and dangerous. ¡°First you make Oliver uncomfortable, then make a scene in a restaurant?¡± Charlie yells, ¡°It was Sam¡¯s fault.¡± Kai whispers, ¡°Charlie.¡± Quieter, Charlie apologizes. Sam nods: ¡°Sorry mommy!¡± Sam looks at Charlie and whispers, ¡°I hate you.¡± Charlie looks up at Kai. ¡°Sam just really wanted to know how Oliver wifed-you-up!¡± Sam yells, ¡°It was not just me!¡± I look back at Kai, whose eyes tell me she¡¯s kinda confused by the question, but I can see from the edge of her mouth she¡¯s almost amused, too. She repeats, ¡°How did Oliver wife-me up?¡± They both nod. ¡°Yeah!¡± Kai puts one hand on my shoulder, then slides into the seat next to me. I¡¯m slightly sidetracked by the electric sensation on my shoulder, but I process Kai saying, ¡°he¡¯s a gentleman, and he¡¯s adorable. My two favorite things.¡± [brain goes blank for a moment] My heart misses multiple beats. She¡­ thinks I¡¯m a gentleman? And adorable? My face heats up and I look down shyly. Kai!! I hear Sam snicker. ¡°What- like- holding doors open and stuff?¡± In a mock-male voice, Charlie chortles: ¡°Ladies first!¡± I see Kai roll her eyes. ¡°The term gentleman extends beyond just chivalry. Of course, you two wouldn¡¯t know that considering the ruckus you just made.¡± Sam and Charlie both sigh, and change the subject and keep calm. Kai¡¯s rubbing my back! Ahh~ Now the electric feeling is like a waterfall! I¡¯m probably blushing way too much¡­ ¡°Adorable¡± and a ¡°gentleman¡±, eh? I hope she means that. I¡¯m so happy. Ah¡­ also¡­ today I have seen¡­ That Kai is the ¡°older sister¡± of her main friend group¡­ It kinda suits her. Helping care (ft. newly domestic OliKai) (During the first month Kai and Oliver live together) I notice it¡¯s getting late, and Kai hasn¡¯t come to bed yet. I head to the kitchen and see she¡¯s there, on her laptop. Walking up to her, I say, ¡°Darling, it¡¯s 10:40. Are you still working on homework?¡± ¡°Nah, I finished my college stuff for the night.¡± I stand beside her and I see she¡¯s playing some video game. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come to bed with me? It¡¯s late.¡± Kai turns her nose up. ¡°I do what I want.¡± But it¡¯s late and staying up like this isn¡¯t good for you! It¡¯d be one thing if you were working on homework but you¡¯re just playing video games on your computer right now. What do I say? I start with a small, ¡°I know that¡­¡± What do I say? What else would Kai want- more than playing video games? Oh¡­ Wait¡­. Feeling less worried, I relax myself and move a little closer to her, putting my hand on her shoulder. ¡°and ¡­ I know that you¡¯d want to¡­¡± I pause as my face heats up, but I lean down to her ear anyway. ¡°¡­cuddle me in bed?¡± I slowly put my arms around Kai, leaning down until my head is resting on her shoulder. ¡°¡­ so you can make me feel safe and - and loved and¡­ whole again?¡± Kai tilts her face down. Hopefully this is working. Her voice comes out way softer now. ¡°Wh¡­ uh¡­ are ¡­ are yo- you trying to charm me into healthy sleeping habits?¡± I kiss the back of her head by her ear before I whisper, ¡°Is it working?¡± She¡¯s quiet for a minuet. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. When she finally moves, her hand just clicks PAUSE and then SAVE and powers-off her computer. Kai doesn¡¯t turn to me as she quietly answers, ¡°Just let me change and brush my teeth, eh?¡± I smile. Mission complete! Hopefully this will make tomorrow morning a little easier for her. I know some people just are not morning people, but I cannot help but feel going to bed a little sooner would help her. Kai turns around suddenly and since I¡¯m leaning down, she¡¯s able to gently rub the top of my head, her hand brushing against my hair. Head pats! AHHHH She smiles at me for a moment before walking past me and getting ready to go to sleep. (KAI POV) As I brush my teeth in the bathroom alone, I silently grumble to myself. Hmph! Dumb gentle idiot, trying to take care of me! If anyone else was telling me to get to sleep earlier, I¡¯d insist with my usual ¡°being tired tomorrow morning is a problem for Future-Kai¡± or just a good old-fashioned ¡°F#ck off, Mom¡±. But I can¡¯t say stuff like that at him. I¡¯d apologize for using the F-word in his presence even if it¡¯s not directed to him. Ugh I hate that guy. Making me all squishy and sappy and sh!t. Before leaving the bathroom, I change out of the clothes I wore today and change into shorts and a tank top (it¡¯s the best way I fall asleep) I come back to the bedroom crawl under the blankets then Oliver and I pull each other close to cuddle our way to sleep. Easing into his embrace, I sigh. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to do your whole charming bit¡­ I would¡¯ve come to bed eventually¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡± I quietly mumble, ¡°I can take care of myself, Dork.¡± He rubs my back and I un-tense some more at his caring touch. ¡°I know you can. I¡¯m just helping.¡± Sigh. ¡°Thank you.¡± This man is going to be the death of me. I¡¯m going to get to a point where I won¡¯t know how to live without him. This doofy freckled giraffe that smells like a spring day made of happiness. I nuzzle into his neck. Mmm?? and the scent of watermelon shampoo?? that¡¯s so satisfying?? Wait, sh!t, this is so weird! I pull away and turn my face away from him. His voice comes out quieter than usual. ¡°Kai?¡± (Screw you ??) I look back at Olly, expecting him to ask why I turned away, but instead he places a tender kiss on my nose and sweetly wishes me good night. (?? I hate you so much) Damm the fireworks going off in my whole body! It was ONE TINY F#CKING KISS!! I cover my face and move my head under his chin. How dare he do something I¡¯ve fantasized about so much!! Wait- sh!t- I¡¯m supposed to respond. I try to say good night but it comes out like ¡°god knit¡± Oliver snickers which just melts my heart more. Even with the lights off, I can see that laughing smile of his in my mind¡¯s eye. He pulls me close again. He murmurs, ¡°Your face is so warm¡± I grumble, ¡°Shut up.¡± He teases me gently. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you still blush¡± I turn my face down. ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s different. You know¡­ we¡¯re living together ¡­and whatnot.¡± ¡°Are you enjoying it?¡± F#cking fireworks are going off in my whole body and I can hear an orchestra right now. What do you think? I mean ¡­ Everything is changing and being an adult isn¡¯t getting any easier, Yet having you here with me at the end of each day makes this hell-hole we call ¡°life¡± bearable. Meeting you has changed me for the better. And for that, I would spend the rest of my life at your side, through all the nonsense that comes with existence. ¡­ I can¡¯t say something as corn-sh!t as that. That¡¯s so f#cking lame. Feeling like I¡¯m shrinking in size, I grumble a small ¡°Obviously¡­ I¡¯m here, aren¡¯t I?¡± before I tell Oliver to go to sleep and call him a nerd. I think by now, Oliver¡¯s realized there¡¯s more behind my words than what I say aloud, so he just responds to this with affectionate warmth. ¡°I¡¯m glad to be here too. Goodnight, Darling. I love you.¡± Then Oliver kisses my forehead. UGH ?? I take it all back- someone kill me now. "I love you too" Breaking a sucker Bella and I have study hall at the same time, and we usually sit together just to keep from having to talk with anyone else. The study hall we have is actually calm about people talking or being on their phones as long as they¡¯re not being too loud or disruptive. Usually Bella and I just sit silently and work on our work, or don¡¯t do our work. Sometimes I use study hall to read a book that¡¯s not for school or I scroll Pinterest, and sometimes Bella uses study hall to draw her characters. I''m pretty sure Bella doesn¡¯t pay attention to me but out of the corner of my eye, I will glance to see what she¡¯s doing. Sometimes it¡¯s because she is drawing and I like seeing her drawings (I can barely make a stick figure). Sometimes it¡¯s because I¡¯m secretly hoping she¡¯ll need my help with math or science - which is dumb and not actually my problem, but if she needs help, I mean?? I guess I HAVE to, right? Or sometimes it¡¯s just to make sure she didn¡¯t run away, which rarely happens but once or twice she¡¯s had a meltdown and run off without telling me. I currently have my noise-cancelling headphones on and I¡¯m pretty focused on this big essay I have to do on causal analysis in the context of childhood trauma. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. It¡¯s not like I have experience with that or anything- I¡¯m a perfectly chill person. No mental hindrances or scars on my metaphorical heart at all. I¡¯m pretty focused on writting until I feel my sister tap on my elbow. I slide off my headphones and turn to her with an expectant ¡°Yeah?¡± Bella¡¯s voice sounds like a child who just broke something. ¡°Uh, sister?¡± I let out a needless sigh. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I broke the Blow Pop.¡± Sure enough, Bella is holding a purple sucker and the stick is way shorter than it should be. I repress a ¡°pfft¡± sound. Dumbass. With an exaggerated tone, I scold, ¡°Bella!¡± She¡¯s trying so hard not to laugh too loud. ¡°I didn¡¯t even mean to!¡± ¡°How did this happen?¡± ¡°I was taking the wrapper off and it broke.¡± ¡°How did you open it?¡± ¡°I opened it normally and it broke!¡± What¡¯s ¡°normally¡± for you? I cross my arms and lean back in the chair, amused. ¡°That¡¯s gonna be tough to hold. Or you can hold it with your teeth so the sucker doesn¡¯t go down your throat.¡± Bella holds the damaged candy up, laughing. ¡°Honestly, what IS this anymore?¡± ¡°A choking hazard.¡± Bella sighs at the sucker. ¡°This is ridiculous.¡± ¡°I know, you¡¯re gonna be really choked up once it falls down.¡± ¡­ ¡°Kai, you¡¯re not funny.¡± Wh- what? You used to love my puns! ¡°I don¡¯t try to be funny, Bella. That pun wasn¡¯t intentional.¡± Bella just holds the sucker in her mouth and resumes drawing. Tch. Sucker. I feel a small smile on my face before I turn back to my homework and put my headphones back on. How I met Kai (future love of my life) >> February ~ second semester at Leduc County¡¯s community college >> >> Kai was newly 19, it was her first year of college, Oliver was newly 20, it was his first year too except he had taken a gap year after highschool >> >> Both of them were there on scholarships >> ~ ~ ~ (OLIVER POV) CIS class in the computer lab is fun. I mean, surrounded by high-power computers and large monitors, learning to understand softwares and applications and navigate files and stuff like that. I definitely need this because in order to fulfill my dream of being a film & video editor, I need to be good with technology. I can¡¯t help but feel a bit excited! What I¡¯ll know by the end of this class will far surpass my basic knowledge with using my laptop. This may not directly be related to using computers in the way I will be, but all knowledge is good knowledge. Or at least that¡¯s what I think. I feel like there¡¯s probably someone who can validly disagree with me. Speaking of people¡­ There¡¯s someone next to me I find curious. Now I didn¡¯t sit next to this person on the first day- I chose a spot and they sat next to me. Anytime I can, I go for the same spot in a classroom. The first time I ever got to choose my seat, I decided that the second row was close enough to the teacher to pay attention easily, without the stress of the front row seats. Picking the seat closest to the wall is to be out of the way from most the movement people do, and it¡¯s loosely reminiscent of the main-character-seat in anime. This person just happened to end up in the seat next to me, and since then, I¡¯ve just been so curious about my seat neighbor! I think the main reason is just that this person is very visually distinct. First, I don¡¯t know if they are a guy or a girl or nonbinary or something like that. This person dresses in a very gender neutral way (regardless- their accessories are really cool) with short black hair that¡¯s partially shaved but the top part is longer, and sometimes I can¡¯t see this person¡¯s eyes from sitting next to them because of their hair. Someone being visually distinct and aesthetically pleasing is probably a dumb reason to be curious, but I kind of get curious about everyone. Or maybe it¡¯s the fact this person sits in criss-cross applesauce style in a chair. (A/N: somebody tell him it¡¯s actually called the Tailor Sit¡­) Or maybe it¡¯s because they always carry around a to-do list like I do. Also, their notebook has those textured stress-relief stickers with breathing exercises! I wanna see those stickers up-close! Or maybe it¡¯s because I just wanna know if I¡¯m misgendering this person by mentally referring to them as ¡°they¡±. Or maybe it¡¯s because they have headphones that are the same brand of noise cancelling headphones I use! I use those sometimes because I¡¯m autistic, but this person almost always has them. Is my seat neighbor neurodivergent like me? So many questions, and all it would take is chatting with my seat neighbor- because that¡¯s what people do. People make friends. But¡­ How in the world would I start a conversation? This person is probably really cool (they have a fairly distinct presence) so I highly doubt nerding out about the computers surrounding us would be interesting. And I¡¯ve learned the hard way that nobody wants to listen to me infodump about anime. Well- technically my mom and my friend Alex listen but that¡¯s my mom and my sister-in-arms. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Good grief, I¡¯m rambling. What day is it? I check my phone. It¡¯s February. I¡¯ve been sitting next to this person for weeks now. And the odd thing is that we haven¡¯t talked and yet they also haven¡¯t moved. I¡¯d assume someone would move if the person they sat next to doesn¡¯t talk with them. Wait- maybe my seat neighbor doesn¡¯t wanna talk with anyone? Or maybe they can¡¯t talk at all? ¡­ I think I need to take my mind off this. I feel like a creep. That reminds me, when was the last time I cleaned out my backpack? I open the outermost zipper of my bag and some snacks fall out. Oops. Wait, maybe this is why my backpack is getting harder to shove books in (and also the extra stuff I put in here)¡­ I should get rid of those snacks to lighten the load. But how will I do that? I like having snacks with me! I get at least a waffle or something from the vending machine by the cafeteria every other morning! I don¡¯t wanna eat all these right now, but I don¡¯t wanna throw them away. What if someone else wants a snack and asks if anyone has one, and I knew I HAD snacks to give but wasted them in the garbage?! What do I do? Uh¡­ oh look, a human! (KAI POV) ¡°Do you want a waffle?¡± I turn to the guy next to me, surprised the cute seat neighbor I¡¯ve been curious about is finally talking. I slide my headphones off my head. ¡°Sorry, what?¡± I heard him, but I wanna make sure I¡¯m not delusional. He glances down. ¡°I just have a lot of snacks I¡¯ve stocked up on and they¡¯re taking way too much space in my bag and I thought maybe I¡¯d offer you a snack since you¡¯re right next to me.¡± Aww f#ck, it¡¯s one of those god-awful plastic pouches with a smelly blueberry waffle in them. But I missed breakfast today because I overslept and was running late¡­ Ugh! I try to not cringe at the scent or the feeling of the bag. ¡°Uh, sure.¡± I take the bag from his hand and stare at it, then remember to add a ¡°Thanks.¡± He responds with a nice, ¡°Thank you. Now I¡¯m one waffle lighter.¡± He has a great smile¡­ Also, One waffle lighter? A small smile sneaks it way into my face. Wait- what just happened? Ugh- weirdo. What kind of idiot eats these f#cked-up waffles willingly anyway? ~ she says as she proceeds to hungrily eat the waffle ~ (OLIVER POV, the next day) I wonder if my seat neighbor will talk with me again? ¡­ No, that¡¯s unlikely. Afterall, I had zero clue what to say afterwards, and they just put their headphones back on, so we didn¡¯t say anything else. I got here before my seat neighbor as usual. As I see them walk in, I tell myself: ¡°yeah, there¡¯s no way. They probably don¡¯t even remember I sit next to them.¡± ¡°Hey¡­ uh¡­¡± Wait what I look up and turn sideways to see my seat neighbor standing right infront of me. YOU CAN PERCEIVE MY EXISTENCE? This person¡¯s voice is very clear. ¡°Since you gave me a waffle yesterday, I thought it was only fair to give you a snack too. Wait- no way! That¡¯s so nice! ¡°So here.¡± They hold out a small plastic bag of cereal. ¡°They¡¯re Lucky Charms. Uh, I¡­ I didn''t know what snacks you like but I just sorta f- felt like¡­ nobody can complain about dry cereal.¡± (A/N: reminder, Kai naturally has a small stutter. This isn¡¯t really an indication of her feeling nervous. She actually felt pretty calm in this moment) That¡¯s so true! Dry cereal is great! You can do anything with it! I take the bag happily. ¡°Thank you so much! You didn¡¯t have to give me a snack in return but I¡¯m glad you did. Now I can take this home and enjoy it with milk.¡± (KAI POV) I¡¯m glad he liked it! Also, now that I¡¯m hearing it again, this guy has a very soothing way of speaking. Most guys talk in a very direct and attention-grabbing way, but this guy is almost kind of soft spoken. That¡¯s a cool little detail to notice. I sit down at my seat. I am expecting to just get to work and that¡¯s the end of that, but he surprises me. ¡°Do you want another waffle? I still have plenty.¡± I turn and see him holding up his backpack, and the front pocket of it is full of those damn waffles. I tilt my head a bit. ¡°Do you just get a blueberry waffle everyday?¡± ¡°Uh, I get a waffle every other day. And it¡¯s not always blueberry. Sometimes I get strawberry.¡± He just said that like it was a revelation¡­ What is with this guy? I swear he¡¯s autistic like I am but I¡¯m gonna hold off on asking that. Normally I¡¯d just shrug that off and get to work, but instead, I continue the conversation. ¡°Just saying, I think that bag of Lucky Charms is gonna be way better than those waffles.¡± ¡°Do you want some?¡± What? I retell it aloud: ¡°Do I want some cereal¡­ from the bag I gave to you?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± He mulls it over. ¡°You giving it to me makes it my bag. So¡­ I¡¯m offering some cereal from my bag- ah- if you want some, that is. You don¡¯t have to.¡± Weirdo. He seems so sure of this line of thinking, yet he¡¯s delivering it in such a zephyr-like and benign way. You intrigue me¡­ Going along with it, I tell him: ¡°I¡¯ll just take a few. The rest is for you.¡± > > > > I¡¯m stuck on this part of the homework¡­ maybe I should ask my seat neighbor. (Asks him, gets help) ¡°Thanks¡­ but the way, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. What is your name?¡± ¡°Oliver¡­ Oliver Lee.¡± ¡°Wow, I haven¡¯t met anyone named Oliver before.¡± ¡°Uh, it¡¯s from my grandpa. So is my middle name.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your middle name?¡± ¡°Weldon.¡± ¡°Oliver Weldon Lee¡­ OWL?¡± He laughs. ¡°How did you realize that so quick? I didn¡¯t realize until I was like- 14!¡± I smirk, feeling pretty good about myself, ¡°I¡¯m just that cool.¡± ¡°By the way, what is your name?¡± ¡°My full name is Kai Layne Lynn. ¡± (A/N: Oliver is thinking ¡°it suits her so well!) ¡°That¡¯s kinda funny. Just like you haven¡¯t known any Olivers, I haven¡¯t met any Kais. I¡¯ve met girls named Kyleigh but that¡¯s different.¡± ¡°Yeah- the thing is that when I say just Kai Lynn, people think that¡¯s my first name, like I¡¯m a Cailin.¡± ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± ~ ~ ~ And from that day on, there was never a day I didn¡¯t want to talk to Oliver Lee.