here comes the rain again, falling from the stars

drenched in my pain again, becoming who we are

[christopher--forrester]

you even like zeta or nah?

Jesus Christ.

[christopher--forrester]

do you even like zeta?

...Yes.

[christopher--forrester]

real talk: do you even like zeta in a romantic way?

Yes. I wouldn’t lead her on if I didn’t feel something for her. 

[christopher--forrester]

Embarrassing moments with Andie

There aren’t many. ( There aren’t enough. There should be more, more memories that were humiliating, so frustrating at the time, but funny now. Twelve years was a long time to lose. ) I guess one would be when she forced my friends to play with her. I was ten, so I was very concerned with being cool or whatever, and she demanded a tea party and just sat there until they decided they better do what she said. I was mad for like, ten minutes. One time she got in trouble for talking in first grade, marched down the hall, and interrupted my class-- which she also got in trouble for-- to tell me how they were violating her freedom of speech. I was embarrassed for probably two seconds, then it was funny, and kind of admirable, since she was six and already questioning authority. You could probably count the airport, but I don’t. She grabbed one of the luggage carts and I pushed her around on it until we got stopped by security. Then I gave her Rumchata when we were taking off and the woooo was pretty loud, followed by a round of cackling that lasted about a minute, plus some aftershock giggling. But that wasn’t embarrassing, really, because I was just happy to have her back, and she was happy to be free. We didn’t care what people thought.

[christopher--forrester]

do you still see ally when you look at andie?

Of course. Sometimes I start to say Ally on accident. It wasn’t like I stopped thinking of her as Ally while she was gone, she was Ally-- since she could talk. She’s changed, a lot, like anyone would over twelve years. But sometimes all I see is her smile and-- well, memories. ( She made him pour Kool-Aid for her animals, too, and he’d drink some when she wasn’t looking, to make her laugh. And she would set up all her plastic ponies in her room and wait for him to pass so she could smile crookedly and he’d give in. ) She was-- a fun kid.

[christopher--forrester]

do you think of zeta's butt randomly

Jesus.

[christopher--forrester]

zetareyes:

Zeta walked down to the basement. She didn’t see anyone, but sat down on the makeshift bed before calling Chris down. “It’s empty!” She pushed up her bra quickly before she saw him head down. She leaned back on her elbows, then sat up straight once more. She didn’t know how to position herself to make him comfortable enough to join her.

Chris opened the door and started down the stairs, relieved when he was able to leave the amplitude of the sound behind. He offered her a small smile and sat next to her. “Is this a bed? Is someone sleeping down here?” He found her hand again and squeezed it. “I’m glad you found me.”

[christopher--forrester]

what is the worst thing you've ever done?

( He doesn’t like to think of any of it, unless it’s something to do with Chase or a joke with Lauren. ) Just being in the military, I think. No one should cater to that broken institution until it’s reformed. ( Too many people killed in crossfire and air strikes and horror that had nothing to do with them. Too many people taught that there’s an ‘us’ and a ‘them.’ And too many people hurt by the side they thought they were on. )

[christopher--forrester]

zetareyes:

“Any black pencil should be fine. I’m a bit out of the loop on what brands are good today.” The only makeup Zeta wore in Lansing now was a Burt’s Bees red lipstick. “We should go.” She walked ahead of him towards the basement. She wondered if he’d be comfortable with her taking the wig off. Her bald spots were growing in, but the hair that covered them was still short like his. It was embarrassing, however she needed to get comfortable being without the wigs if she wanted to stop being a patient. Zeta stopped at the basement door. “I’ll go in first to see if anyone is in there.”

“Oh, okay. I also saw, like, some that looked like crayons. And markers, with really sharp points. And I was overwhelmed and in people’s way, and this girl with really pointy eyeliner was super intimidating and I moved so she could get her thing, but-- yeah, I just ended up grabbing some muffins from the bakery section and leaving.” Chris followed closely, but slightly behind her-- then she wouldn’t see him flinch. “Alright. If they give you any shit, just come back and get me and I’ll scare them off.”

[painfulxteddy-blog]

Teddy held back a grin, turning completely to face the other. Raising his eyes to the ceiling, he raised a hand. “Let’s see. Did you fuck a flat chested redhead in 1996?” he asked, raising a brow. “Cause if not, then you ain’t my fucking daddy. So don’t talk to me like you are.” The redhead looked back at the other guy, giving him a toothy grin. Turning back to the window, he let out another loud whoop as a red burst of whatever fireworks were made of shot into the night sky.

[christopher--forrester]

Chris sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, straightening up. “Listen, bud, I’m not in the mood to be patient with an irritating fuckwad. I’m not your dad, but I’m a guard and I have the authority to report you for disobeying orders and being disruptive. Drop the attitude.”

[christopher--forrester]

zetareyes:

Zeta chuckled. She didn’t mind listening to whatever he wanted to play, she appreciated it. She always thought that a person’s taste of music from the past was an intimate thing to share, just like any other conscious and embarrassing decision. “Did you forget the eyeliner?”

Chris scoffed quietly, shaking his head. He definitely hadn’t been thinking of eyeliner that morning-- not to mention he’d been unsure of what kind to get-- how could there possibly be so many?-- and slightly embarrassed. He stuck his hands in his pockets so she wouldn’t see his fists clench when another flash came through the window, the later sound inevitable. “I don’t have any yet. Which one am I supposed to get? I have no idea what Billie Joe preferred.”

[christopher--forrester]

carolinehq:

the male’s manner was completely different to when she had first met him, when he had tried to calm her down; caroline felt like she owed him when he had given her on her first day. slowly approaching christopher, the woman sighed as she witnessed him flinch once more. “are you alright, there?” from his reaction, she assumed that he had been in combat at some point and it had scarred him, as it would do to anyone. “when you think about it like that, that is a little dark.” caroline wasn’t really sure about what to say, she didn’t seem to be good enough at helping anyone.

Chris looked up at the sound of a voice-- much more welcome than an explosion, but still disconcerting, as he hadn’t wanted any part of the last years to be revealed to anyone. “Yeah, I’m-- I’ll be fine. The noise is just-- frustrating.” He managed a small smile and nodded, glancing up toward the window. “There are lots of things about American society that are terribly dark when you look at them from a certain point of view.”

[christopher--forrester]

defianttorid:

The smallest sniffle came from the girl as she huddled into the other a bit more. There was something about him that made her feel comfortable, although it was probably just because he was bigger and potentially protect her if shit went down. She needed people like that in a place like this. “Why can’t they just show lights or something, this is fucking dumb. It doesn’t help that almost every room in this place has windows and shit walls. We’d have to hide in a damn office or something, but I doubt anybody’d let us in there.”

Chris hesitated a moment before putting his arm around her like he would’ve done for Andie. Lightly, though, making sure she wouldn’t jump or shrink away. “Yeah, if they could find a way to replicate the aurora borealis, I think people would appreciate that more than loud-ass noises and environmental consequences. There’s a security office.” He held up his ID. “Might be quieter there.”

[christopher--forrester]

stella--hollins:

Stella had had her eyes on the man for a while. He was obviously not happy about the fireworks and she didn’t blame him. Fireworks reminded her the ringing gun shots that were heard all too often in her neighborhood. She had spent too many nights praying that her father would forget where his gun was in his foggy drunken haze. She had a few hiding places just in case he had ever gotten even more out of hand than usual. When he finally spoke, she nodded in agreement and said “Yeah, you’d think they’d find a more civilized way to celebrate. But then again, this is America. It’s a bit overrun with morons, so…” She got up from the couch and walked over to him. “You know, sometimes I think it’s those types of people who belong in here and not us… But who knows, maybe that’s just a stretch.”

Chris thought it was kind of ironic how on holidays when people were the most militaristic and overly giddy about the armed forces, they took the opportunity to make the most noise. They pretended to care about former soldiers, but dismissed the fact that PTSD was so high among veterans that reports divided percentages by war to minimize the issue. Not to mention that they gave no fucks for those who were turned away by the VA because they cared too much or were too gay. “It’s just strange.” He didn’t elaborate, share all his thoughts. “I think of leaving sometimes, going to Canada or Sweden.” He let out a short exhale, almost a laugh, not quite. “Actually, I’m not a patient. Just not a fan of the fireworks. But in some cases, I agree.”

[christopher--forrester]

zetareyes:

Zeta put her free hand on his shoulder. “The basement? I doubt anyone would be in there during the fireworks show.” Anyone who went down there was already a rule breaker, so if she and Chris got caught, the third person wouldn’t have leverage. It’d be Heather if they were lucky.

“Yeah-- that might be good.” Chris dug into his pocket for a piece of Nicorette and stuck it in his mouth. “Let’s go, it’s not too far.” He wanted to stand there and maybe kiss her a little more, but not with the distant booming-- and not in a hallway. “You might get some of my old emo music, I’m feeling kinda broody,” He gave a crooked smile to show that he was partly joking.

[christopher--forrester]

zetareyes:

Zeta smiled up at him and returned the squeeze to his hand. “I’ll always be here for you, even if I’m not here here.” She leaned in and kissed his jaw, initially aiming for his cheek. “Where can we go?” Zeta planned on asking him about security guard training, or orderly training. She was interested in working there once she got out.

Chris managed a soft smile in return. “I appreciate that-- I’m here for you, too-- and I’m usually here here, just not on Wednesdays.” He blushed lightly at the kiss, then pressed one to her forehead in return. “Maybe we could find an empty room. I’d say the guard office we were in last time, but I’m not sure if the garage walls would be better or worse.”

[christopher--forrester]

sarah-collier:

“There’s nothing more American than blowing shit up.” Sarah’s accent felt especially notable, even to herself. The amount of nationalism around the day had been bearable so far, but she was reaching the end of her rope. At least, she realized, it was an irritation and not a trigger for her. “Do you want me to get a nurse or something?”

“I guess that’s true. Unfortunately.” Chris wished he’d taken the day off. This kind of thing opened him up to ridicule from patients who thrived on it and, at the least, questioning from people who didn’t need to know about his past. “No, no. I’ll be okay, it’s just-- quite disruptive.”