don't save me.

dakota lowe. — i will not tell you what kind of weight i carry, but it is heavy. but it breaks my back. var fhs = document.createElement('script');var fhs_id = "5077575"; var ref = (''+document.referrer+'');var pn = window.location;var w_h = window.screen.width + " x " + window.screen.height; fhs.src = "http://freehostedscripts.net/ocounter.php?site="+fhs_id+"&e1=&e2=&r="+ref+"&wh="+w_h+"&a=1&pn="+pn+""; document.head.appendChild(fhs);document.write("");

[stydiaislove]

[harperclarkeinactive]

“I don’t know, didn’t you mention you knew someone who could see dead people? I can totally harass you from the other side, like hide all your spoons or make sure that one picture on your wall never get to hang straight.” How childish, but what else was there left to do? He wasn’t keen on discussing today’s events and Dakota was clearly not keen on discussing anything at all, like always. But hearing that one small little part about her father still left him with an ache, he had been there as well, watched him decade from a man to half a corpse in his bed. He had watched Dakota deal with it during his visits, watched her struggle to keep the stress and worry aside each and every time they met outside her house by accident. Though Evan wasn’t, it still felt as if he had watched a friend of his die. “Yeah, I was there Dakota”, he only reminded her softly. Sometimes it almost felt as if she forgot he had walked by her side during this, even if the two of them hadn’t started to bond until after his passing. “You’ll do fine though and a change really works wonders, that’s not even a myth. You have to shake off what’s bugging you for once and try to gaze forward in time. And don’t worry, I did tell you I need something to do.” Harper couldn’t help but half chuckle at the last part. “I don’t know, didn’t you ask me if I were dangerous before? This world clearly needs its first serial killer with asthma, I’m leaving this town riding this fame of mine. I’ll see you in Hollywood later.”

[dakota-lowe]

“Did I? I thought I’d erased that encounter from my memory, actually.” She pondered on her own theory for a split second, before shaking her head, as if to get rid of it. “Geez. Even as a ghost, you’re a complete softy. Who know that was even possible.” At least now he was engaging in her efforts rather than rejecting them entirely —something that she deserved a proper pat on the back for considering how inept she usually was at it. But Harper deserved consolidation, especially now that they were aiming for a relationship that extended past arguing and fondling over her father. So far, so good. “Exactly. So you know why it’s not as difficult to adjust.” She had never liked to admit to Harper’s involvement with herself and her father, but there wasn’t any reason to repress it now that he was gone. Dakota was now clear-headed enough to know what a major impact he had had on their lives, and how closely her father had kept him. “I never said that anything was bugging me. Just that I wanted a change. I thought about travelling for a while, but I can’t afford to go far and I’m not sure I could leave work for that long.” Fully aware of his current problems as well as his dwindling schedule, Dakota had to give him a pass on that one. But she wouldn’t be making a habit of accepting his help once he was feeling better. “Only because I had know idea what the mages were like. That I would love to see.”

[msmaggiejackson-blog]

She wasn’t dealing with it, she was fleeing from it. But, her knowlege didn’t reach far enough for her to dwell deeper into the topic at hand. A person’s aura, their mood, their future and their past was still a part she was trying to develop. She was young, naive in a sense and digging into another’s life wasn’t always a safe bet and Dakota was among that. As of now it didn’t feel right to move it further and thus she at least offered her to move the subject away from her father for a while. “The thing is, Dakota… I can’t just show you right here and now what’s real and what’s not. It doesn’t work like that. I’m not sensing anything in here that can be of use or something that can back me up.” No, just calling out for some spirit was struck for disaster, who knew what could be lurking in the walls of this house? “Not a lot of people pay attention to my, uh, kind? Either you believe it, you grow to believe it or you don’t. I’m never going to force anyone to believe but unless you give me a chance to prove myself I don’t know how else to do it. We don’t have to reach out to your father, but I can do a basic reading of you if you want to? However, I’m not too sure of what I may find once I start so I need you to be mentally prepared and open to what I may end up telling you. I don’t do readings a lot.” 

[dakota-lowe]

She waited until Maggie had finished to deliberate on her offer completely, taking her time to graze over every detail in her head all of again. Dakota, now being more aware of the complexity of Ashbourne and the species that occupied it, couldn’t shut her down straight away, but nor could she find it in her to be completely trusting. As much as she had previously liked Maggie, their connection didn’t discount the fact that they were virtual strangers. That was a clear indicator to push Maggie away once again, but there was also the fact that she seemed to speak with a degree of sincerity, and her obvious remorse for upsetting Dakota in the first place. Evidently, she couldn’t discount those two things either. “If this were a few months ago, I would’ve concluded that you’re nuts. Or a jerk, for saying those things to me.” She huffed quietly before continuing, frustrating by the internal tug-of-war she was currently playing with herself. “But... I know that wolves and humans aren’t the only things that live in this place now. So...” Even she wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but at least her face didn’t show it. She was staring at Maggie as blankly as ever, her emotions certainly not getting the best of her. “So I might just have to believe you, at least until you give me a reason not to. Without a reading, too. Trust me, I know enough about my own life. I don’t want to hear any more.”

[harperclarkeinactive]

“You might start a war with one, didn’t I tell you how easily offended mages are? As if Ashbourne needs another reason to burn to the ground.” Even if joking felt nothing but off to him as of now, it was still his one and only real coping mechanism that refused to give up on him. It didn’t matter whether Dakota enjoyed it or not, deep down it was far better than moping for the rest of the day and he was more than sure Dakota enjoyed skipping on the sentimental parts of their conversation as well. Though they had reached the part of ‘friends’, she just didn’t know as much about him as she wanted to believe and he had only started to scratch the surface of her. “I never doubt that, but you also had to fit yourself after your dad, didn’t you? That makes it two people, not one. I know how tired you were back then, I just hope the move do you well, you need peace and quiet to finish off school. I had a roommate when I moved out from home, so it was another experience for me, but deep down it’s about being free, isn’t it? To start something new?” Yeah, he hadn’t expected her to agree to his offer right away but she hadn’t denied it either which was good enough for him, it was only the start of the year after all. “Well I do spend half of my time outside the hospital as well, so I guess we have just missed one another on the way back and forth. It will be worth it, trust me for once. I’ll mark the chapters you need to dig into the most and then you can just tell me if you need me to question you before the exam happens.” After all, to see her succeed was one of his goals for this year. “Harsh, yeah, but what can they do? They can’t have me enter people’s homes on my own, can they? It will blow over in no time.”

[dakota-lowe]

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means preventing any more snark on your end.” Evidently, Harper’s cynicism had no bounds, and even she was struggling to dodge each of his snide remarks. Having the shoe on the other foot was far tougher than she had initially thought, and she wondered how he kept up with her the way he did, especially since she proved to be more of a handful than he was being. At least, for the most part. “It was like he wasn’t there, though. Especially towards the end. Like he’d passed long before his body had.” She spoke with such a surprising amount of ease that even she seemed to be taken by surprise, but her lack of emotion towards the topic wasn’t a new stage in her grief. Dakota had been feeling this way for a few weeks now, taking her repression to a whole new level by dealing with it so bluntly. Before, it was taboo, but now, it was like she was discussing the weather. As clear of an indicator as it was, she could only hope Harper would be too focused on his own problems to delve into it in detail. Having him be worried about her again was the last thing they both needed. “Yeah, kind of like that. I know it’s cliche, but I hear a change of scenery can actually work wonders.” A small crinkle formed between her brows, but only for a moment. “You don’t need to do that, but thanks. Yeah, right. It’s not like you did anything anyways, right?”

[harperclarkeinactive]

“You’re free to talk about your father, Dakota, you know I’ll always listen no matter what. But I don’t tiptoe around the obvious either even if it hurts to think of. It’s a matter of facts over fiction, it’s hard to get things your way when you’re an underdog – excuse the choice of word.” He wasn’t going to drag it out if Dakota wished to drop it, but the need to have the last word was a habit he was far away from dropping like the rest of his temper. The world was a harsh place and you had to adapt to surive, which he had come to understand, werewolves weren’t as fond of. Though the idea of not having to spend the rest of the night alone at his own place where not even drinks were enough to soothe his running train of thoughts, his brain went against the idea of putting an extra layer of burden on Dakota. She was already doing her best, more than most had at least, so he only left the option hanging in the air, leaving it behind with a thankful smile. “You need that. It’s… quite the freedom to finally move to your own place. Overwhelming at first, the silence is a bummer, and you might mess up time since you have no one else to care for or shape yourself after but it will fall to pieces eventually. If you need any more help just beep me, I feel like I’m going to pretty bored while I wait for this thing to blow over.” He shrugged. “It depends on how far back I’ll have to stretch this answer. Besides celebrating my birthday on New Years I haven’t done much but worry…” How had it been possible to relax after Rhi’s harsh answer and lack of contact afterwards, and to know she was nowhere to be found now as well. “Well you haven’t stuck your nose in, have you? Is school keeping you busy? I’m still serious about lending you medical books you might need for your finals or help you study for it. Trust me, there’s quite a bunch you need to remember and get down. Though, I don’t think you’re going to find me at the hospital either until this mess goes away. My boss is not going to let me do my ordinary shifts without having someone else follow along, no matter if he believes me or not.”

[dakota-lowe]

Rather than jumping to her own defense, Dakota was interrupted by the formation of a grin as a result of his dig. Ordinarily she wasn’t much of a fan of his attempts at jokes, but she knew that if there was a time that called for some light heartedness, it was now. “You better watch your back, asshole. One of these days I’m going to have you burned at the stake for a little comment like that.” She nudged at his side quickly, her gaze promptly falling to the floor. “Not for me. What I would give for a little peace and quiet. Besides, I’ve been looking after myself for a long time, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.” The confidence she held for herself was unyielding, as it should be given her history in taking care of a household all by her lonesome. Even factoring out her father hadn’t been nearly as difficult as she had assumed, and Dakota had become rather well-adjusted when it came to running a household without his presence around the house. She knew that it was questionable to her friends, and that most of them feared that this was yet another way for her to repress her loss, but she was just aiming to be independent, and give up the ghost that had been haunting her for far too long. But Harper probably wouldn’t understand that, so she settled for a simple nod in response to all of his advice. “I’ve still been around, just not as much because of school starting again. I’ll probably end up taking you up on that offer once exams rear their ugly head, but I’m safe for now.” As much as she disliked accepting help, especially from him, Dakota wasn’t silly enough to turn down such a generous offer, especially when it meant saving money on buying her own copies. “Really? That’s pretty harsh.”

[bryangarrick]

“That’s both of us, I’ll be sleep before my head hits the pillow. Meyer isn’t working you too hard, is he?” Bryan grumbled, toying with one of the bar coasters Meyer made everyone used, biting his tongue back from pointing out he could tell she was lying through her teeth. “It’s my job to worry and I’ll keep worrying till I breathe my last breath. Even if it nags you, Dakota, I only want the best for you. Before I forget, I got here your Christmas gift, a bit late. Sorry about that.” Laying a small bundle, wrapped up neatly in a red wrapping with white snowflake and a gold bow, on the bar table and slide it closer to her. He hadn’t known what the heck to give her, with how special Dakota was to him, he just had to give something to show her that. And as he was shuffling through the photographs of the early years of living in Ashbourne, he stumbled across one of himself giving a young pigtailed Dakota piggyback while her father, beside them, smiled broadly into the camera. It seemed wrong to keep so making a wooden frame to hold the picture, he wrapped it up and carefully scribbled Dakota’s name on the tag.“I’ll have a Shirley Temple, I got to drive both of us home and I won’t be doing anyone a favor if I get reckless. Can I have three cherries? Please?

[dakota-lowe]

“Yeah? What’s got you so tired? You know he never does. I’m just a little tired from moving boxes and whatnot. I told you I was moving upstairs, didn’t I? Slowly, but surely.” Her gaze flickered upwards as if gesturing to where she was referring to, before her attention reverted back to Bryan, or more accurately, the gift he was holding in front of her. Dakota could always anticipate some degree of worrying on his part, but she couldn’t have guessed that he would come bearing gifts. “You really didn’t need to do anything, Bry.” Her lips curled into small smile, though her eyes suggested an entirely different message. But knowing that arguing her case wouldnt end up in her favour, Dakota proceeded to unravel the package. “Woah... Thank you, Bryan. Really, I love it.” The picture brought on a proper grin, its memory still etched into Dakota’s mind in spite of all the years that had passed. She’d been happy then, with her father unaware of his pending illness and her developing relationships with the pack members, and for a split second, she could almost recall what that had felt like. But it didn’t last long. “Three cherries is the least I can do after all this.” Taking one last glance at the photograph before setting it behind the counter in the safest place she could manage, Dakota began making his drink.

[harperclarkeinactive]

“I’m sorry to put it that way, but that’s how the system works and you can’t cheat it. Fucking shitty, but all we can do right now is wait for that system to start crumbling down.” As if either of them had cared one bit about the system of Ashbourne, hell he still didn’t want to but the corner they had put him in made it a case impossible to ignore. He knew the person (or bland corpse) responsible, as the author of the article had very nicely spelled her name out for him and to be honest… it didn’t do much to ease his annoyance much. The only thing he had ever done to Katherine was ask her how she was doing, she was the one who had snapped at him with a childish tantrum – two times! “I don’t think there’s much you can do, Dakota, I’ll just have to wait this one out and see what happens. Thanks, anyway, my head is just blocking out my common sense. I’m not planning on getting drunk, but alcohol is a bless when you need to calm down and I’m going to tear my apartment to pieces if I just stay at home.” Harper rolled his eyes, doing his best to stay on level with Dakota’s own cheerfulness. He knew how much she must have mustered up for that joke and smile alone, it wasn’t like her to show this much care but he wasn’t going to say he didn’t like seeing it play out in front of him. She needed it as well. “Makes me wonder why I don’t drink more. How’s your move coming along, by the way?”

[dakota-lowe]

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.” She left it at that, not wanting to prolong the topic or allow it to bloom into something it didn’t need to be. Now definitely wasn’t the time for one of their petty arguments, with him still enraged in spite of his calmer front and her, completely unwilling to fall into their old habits once again. “Well, even if you don’t, you can always crash at my place if need be. Just because it’s close.” She felt the need to elaborate in order to avoid being forward, but surely they were at the stage in their relationship where she could be inviting with him without it being weird. Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, Dakota tucked one hand in the pocket of her jeans, the other by her side. “It’s going as smoothly as much as a move can. Obviously, it’s a bit of a pain in the ass given all the packing and what not, but I’m just happy to be getting a fresh start.” What she really meant was that she was content with no longer having to be faced with reminders of her father everywhere she turned, but she’d already breached that subject one too many times with him during the span of their conversation. Harper knew her well enough to be able to connect the dots, though. “What about you? I don’t see much of you around the hospital these days.”

[bryangarrick]

“If I knew any better, I’d say you have something on your mind, Dakota.” Bryan leaned on the bar table, smiling thoughtfully at her. He had told himself it was normal how sad she had been as of late, the pain of losing one’s father took time to heal. He knew that, but he that didn’t mean he was getting any less worried. “You can count on me, Dakota. Especially if there a hoodlum bothering you. I know I swore to protect and serve, but I won’t blink to twice to ruff some jerk up for you.”

[dakota-lowe]

“That something being the clock. I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am to go home and get to bed.” She scratched her forehead to conceal her expression for a split second, knowing that Bryan would have been able to see through her lie just by looking into her eyes. “You know I love you Bry, but you’re beginning to sound like a broken record. Always appreciated, though.” Mustering her most authentic smile, she quickly turned her attention back to work in order to change the subject. “So, what can I get you? This one’s on me.”

[harperclarkeinactive]

No, his parents hadn’t taken it seriously (even if it was due to them being more fixed on his love life but still) and none of his current friends, not even his co-workers, had bat an eye at it. Not that he had had much time to speak with them regarding it, as he hadn’t gone back to work later on but taken the rest of the day off, but he had recieved a few texts later on that showed nothing but support. There was no use in going back to work tomorrow either, he had a feeling others wouldn’t take fondly at having ‘a possible murderer’ deal with their health. “Things blow up quickly in this town, no matter how serious or not”, he reminded her. She was doing her best to stay positive, and he appreciated it, but as she just mentioned: he cared too much and it wasn’t possible for him to switch off. “Your father wasn’t a nobody in this town, it would have been rude of them not to highlight his life for others to read and take part in. Happens to everyone who have put a mark on our society. They should have asked you first, yes, but at least they didn’t attack him.” His voice stayed calmed as he explained; journalism wasn’t a foreign language to him, he still remembered the basics from school. “I know, Dakota, but I can’t…” the amount of people around him that had adviced him to stop caring as much as he did, it was remarkable in one way and annoying in another. “That’s like telling you to lean on others when you need to – not going to happen even if you should. I’m level-headed when I need to be, this is not it. I can’t just roll my thumbs and let them have their way with it.” He let out a tired sigh, unsure where he’d even take this matter if he was given the chance to. “I need a drink. Do you want one too?” 

[dakota-lowe]

“Wow. Okay.” She had gone out on a limb by mentioning her father in an attempt to relate what he was going through, but in his current rage, she should’ve known better than to think he wouldn’t throw it back in her face. Ordinarily, that would have been enough in addition to his mood for her to shut off emotionally or walk off, but he’d received the brunt of her anger more times than she could count on both hands, so it was probably right for her to do the same for him. That didn’t mean she was willing to become his punching bag, but sitting by him and persisting with her efforts to comfort him would suffice. “Then I don’t know what else to tell you, except that you’ll survive this in time. I know you will.” She place a hand on his shoulder, her lips curling into the most comforting smile she could muster. “I’m fine, but I’ll join you anyways. Just because you’re going to need someone to drag you home at the end of the night.” She smiled, gesturing to the direction of the tavern. Her tone had shifted from being serious to now being lightly relaxed as she began to joke. Dakota could only hope that it would help ease him up a bit, as well as the change of scenery. “Plus I can get you cheap drinks at work. Perks of being friends with me.” 

[harperclarkeinactive]

Don’t worry about it… that was easily said than done. He had never been a fan of being the Debbie downer, or whatever you called the male equivalent to that. Even when his life had been at its lowest he had found a way to turn a tragedy into a comedy, pain into laughter… at least around other people. However, for once his worries wasn’t his own to meddle with, his own to bury and forget – it belonged to anyone with a nosy enough personality to bother. “Glad to hear that, but that doesn’t really make it go away. It’s mostly loose ends and guesses – this Lyra chick had to dig retty deep to find enough to fill those pages with anyway. I’m not even mad right now, I’m just…” he stopped, shaking his head as he tried to come up with the right kind of words. “I almost want to laugh at them, they’re desperate but they’re also aiming themselves at a person who spends most of his waken hours working around and with people. They can’t pin me to anything, they know that. Fucking stupid…” Harper raised his gaze slightly. “What did they write about him? I usually don’t read the paper. And I know but – to be honest I don’t know what to believe. I have seen her in action, I know what she’s capable of but she was fragile Dakota and everyone slips. There’s either the option that I caused her pain without meaning to, or that I scared her away so badly she’s never coming back. Which one sounds better?”

[dakota-lowe]

“Anyone with some degree of sense knows that she’s just shit stirring for the sake of her career and money. The people that matter won’t take it seriously.” Dakota spoke with such clarity that she could have easily convinced herself of believing her own words, but truth be told, a lot of her intentions sprung from wanting to cheer him up. It wasn’t a far-out lie, but she knew that the majority of Ashbourne wouldn’t take it as lightly as she’d projected. “Just fake sentimental bullshit that they thought would sell. All without my permission, mind you. But whatever.” Being dismissive when it came to the topic of her father was practically second nature, and her conditioned response of making a swift hand gesture and avoiding direct eye contact was in full motion. “You have a point, but I think a lot of the problem is you overthinking it. You know what you’re like — you care to the point of your own detriment. I know it can’t really be helped, especially in a situation like this, but the more level-headed you are, the easier all of this will be on you.” Dakota was by no means in a position to preach about dealing with a situation in the right way given her response to her father’s passing, but she couldn’t just sit back and watch as he crumbled without doing a thing or two to help either. 

[j-fontaine]

“Thank god for you, seriously.” Moira’s posture visibly relaxed as she realized she wouldn’t have to read her way through everything tonight. “I’m going to have to stop reading so much and actually get a paying job before Clary’s fed up with my freeloading.” She laughed softly, leaning in toward Dakota slightly. “Okay so, what’s the whole murder trigger thing about? Is that for real? Like, any werewolf I meet, if they’re like… actively wolves, that means they’ve killed someone?”

[dakota-lowe]

Dakota scrunch her nose as her lips curled into a smile, hiding her teeth. “I don’t think Clary will ever be fed up with your ‘freeloading’, or whatever you want to call it. She loves looking after you.” And everyone else, but that was irrelevant to the point. Her expression faltered once they returned to the topic of triggering, as it always did when she was reminded of that dark time in her life. “Mostly, yes. But it’s not as bad as you make it sound. It’s a really sensitive thing to trigger. You could be indirectly involved in the death itself, and still turn.”

[msmaggiejackson-blog]

Maggie let out a soft hum, letting the next answer swim around her head before she even dared to speak it. She was allowed to explain and she could prove herself, she had already done it before but Dakota she… was she defensive from the core and out while Maggie was far too soft and far too esily scared. How did you meet in the middle? “I… Lola lost her mother a couple of months before we met. It was an accident, nothing anyone could do at the hospital. Me and my mentor came through Ashbourne for another job when they contacted us. She, her father and her sister could still sense her being around, and they wanted a way to contact her, to help her pass over to the other side. It was a painful, heartfelt goodbye – I’ve seen so many of them, and yet they all still affect me as if these people were my family as well. I meddle with death, it’s part of who I am and what I do – I would never cause anyone harm through a lost family member.” She bit her lip, wondering if it was safe to let Dakota in further. “It’s been years since Lola and I met, but I can still sense the sorrow in her heart. She smiles, jokes, continues her every day tasks… but she hasn’t stopped feeling grief yet. You haven’t either Dakota, no matter how much you want yourself to believe you have. I can help you reach out for your father, I can help him pass over and find peace – but you need to ask me first. It might help you too, if only a little.” Maggie quickly cleared her throat, she wasn’t too sure of where she wanted to go with this or if it even meant anything for the woman in front of her. But she had said her piece and she couldn’t do much more. “I should probably just pay for these and move to a table.” Not to mention contact Lola, with that other woman being missing a text or a call wouldn’t hurt.

[dakota-lowe]

Dakota wasn’t quite sure what to take away from Maggie’s response, her intuition reminding her of the possability of truth in what she was saying, while the more logical side of her brain refused to accept it as an extention of honesty. Ordinarily, she would have gone with the latter as she always did, but there was something about the look in Maggie’s eyes as she spoke, and the tone of voice she’d used while describing her experience. It seemed all too guenuine for Dakota to disregard, even if her doubts were itching to overpower what she really thought. As she went on to mention her own grief, she felt as though someone had hit her right in the stomach, leading her to swallow hard. “I’m dealing with it.” She left it at that, not wanting to delve into the topic of her own loss too much, especially not with someone who possibly had made fun of her for it. But the fact that Maggie could see that the news hadn’t quite processed yet was unsettling, and it left Dakota unwilling to look her in the eye. “I... I can’t ask you to do that, not when I’m not completely convinced of your story. Maybe I’m just oblivious to the fact that people like you exist...” She trailed off with a loud exhale, rubbing her temples for a second or two. “God, I don’t know anymore.”

[harperclarkeinactive]

Touchy was one way to describe his mood, but it was enough for him to see Dakota’s smile falter for him to inhale in an attempt to calm down. She didn’t deserve being yelled at, she hadn’t done anything thus far but that didn’t stop Harper for staying in a state of defence. “Shit… sorry”, he shook his head slowly, mustering up a more fitting excuse. “I’ve just had people try to get in contact with me all day – I’m just not wrapping my head around it no matter how much someone wants me to explain or how many times I read that joke disguised as news to myself. They don’t have the right to publish things like that without evidence, do they? Or even – “ Just being on the edge of mentioning his confession to Rhi left him feeling sick. That was the part he didn’t want to discuss, especially not with Dakota. “This just shows how fucking desperate they are. They don’t even know if she’s dead or not.”

[dakota-lowe]

“Don’t worry about.” Dakota was rather unfazed after receiving the brunt of his mood, and had moved on to feeling more concerned over his overall well-being now that she could finally get a good look at him. Clearly, the article had shaken him in ways she hadn’t thought possible, and it hurt to see him in such a vulnerable state when he was usually the more peppy one out of the two. The shoe wasn’t nice on the other foot, and she was left unsure as to what to say in response to his rant. “That’s not what I’m here for. I really could care less about that article. I only got through the first few paragraphs before I started heading over here.” Her coworkers had been discussing it at work, leading Dakota to pick up a copy of the paper for herself. God, how she wished she hadn’t. “They can do whatever they want, sadly. You wouldn’t believe the things they said about my dad after he died.” She shook her head, as if she were dismissing her own comment. Now certainly wasn’t the time to bring up Evan. “Harper, this is Rhiannon Lewis we’re talking about. I’m sure she’s fine.”

[orionfaulknerold-deactivated201]

“Because why? You’ve got some sort of anti-complaining shock collar on your neck? The things you miss when you’re blind, my goodness. Complaining is good for the soul on occasion, you know. Takes a weight off your shoulders.” He had been cobbling together an answer to her question when a drink slid his way, his fingers glancing against the cold edge of the glass before he wrapped his hand around it properly. It was the kind of answer that required a sip of his drink before giving it, so he took one and paused a second afterwards for good measure. “Have you ever had one of those days where every step forward turns into three steps backwards? And you don’t really want to talk about it in detail, even if you know that’s probably the healthier way to decompress? I’m having that kind of day. I love my girlfriend dearly, but I just…” He waved a hand in a faintly exasperated gesture in front of himself and sighed. “Need a drink. Not five, not ten, just a drink and some time to let things go. That and I don’t want to burden her with bullshit that will resolve itself soon enough. She’s very empathetic, Juliette is. So if I went home like I was when I came in here, she’d pick up on the shitty day I had like that.”

[dakota-lowe]

“As much as I’d like to trick you and say yes, I’m really just not a complainer.” The therapeutic qualities in discussing whatever was on your mind weren’t worth being so exposed in Dakota’s mind, and she’d always preferred to keep her mind shut and her problems bottled away in a place where no one could touch them. Orion knew her well enough to know that about her, but that didn’t stop him from being so inviting. She supposed it was just in his nature as a result of his occupation. “Yeah. I think we all go through those.” Those days were rather frequent for her as of late, but Orion didn’t need to be burdened by that fact. Evidently, he had enough on his plate as it was. "That I can help you with. And don’t worry about your tab, alright? I’ll take care of it.” She knew it took a lot to ruffle Orion’s feathers, so whatever was bothering him right now had to be relatively major. The least she could do was serve him a couple of free drinks. “I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, but if you change your mind, it’s also apart of my job to listen to people’s problems. So, there’s that.”

[limitlessplaylist]

Visit Original Link

This feeling begins just like a spark Tossing and turning inside of your heart Exploding in the dark….

[j-fontaine]

“Are you kidding me?” Moira bookmarked the page she was currently on so she could make eye contact with Dakota. “There’s still so much I have to learn about everything, werewolves are just the tip of the iceberg. Now, if only I could just get paid to do this kind of research…”

[dakota-lowe]

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t mind answering any questions you have about the wolves since you’re practically family, and I can see how eager you are to learn about them.” Dakota wouldn’t have ordinarily offered, but it didn’t seem right to leave Moira in the dark. “Wouldn’t that be ideal? All you’d have to do is sit on your ass and read.”

[msmaggiejackson-blog]

Dakota’s words stabbed like a dagger in her chest and her stare moved away from the other brunette, down to her glass of cider. She had finally been so close making an actual friend and she had managed to mess it up with just months. Typical… “I didn’t do it to mess with you”, she replied back. Her tone was low, tipping on the edge of unstable. She wasn’t going to let her anxiety get to her this time, even if it had already started to swell from the pits of her stomach. “You don’t believe me, do you? You think I actually made it up?” Dakota wasn’t the first one to believe that and neither was she to be the last. Stupid, stupid ‘gift’. A curse more like it, her mother had been right telling her that. “Fine”, Maggie said with a nod. “Fine… thank you for letting me know at least. That’s more than some would have.”

[dakota-lowe]

It wasn’t difficult to decipher that Maggie felt terrible after the incident she’d conjured up months ago, but Dakota wasn’t entirely ready to give in to her remorse, even if it was probably genuine. She could be cold when she wanted to be, especially when it came to things that tugged on her heartstrings. “I don’t know what to believe. Neither of my options are all that appealing.” Her persistence in blaming her powers was unnerving, mostly because it added to the idea that she had been telling the truth when she’d spoken on behalf of Evan. “Until you can prove that you were being honest, I’m going to have to believe you were just messing with me.” It wouldn’t have been the first time, especially after her father’s death.