glitter & gold

private mumu 1x1 blog

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑤 𝑥 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑦 )

Vicky watches Drew-a moment she’s okay with Drew being her mystery Tinder lady and the next she’s not; it’s too much to assimilate. At least that’s progress, right? “The exact opposite for Derek: when Derek shares everything to me, hell will freeze over”, she giggles nervously, taking into account Drew’s flirty giggle-that kind of drove her insane. But she had to keep it together-she shouldn’t show that she’s that flustered-or was it too late?

There’s no hesitation in nodding at Drew, when she asks this. There’s no hiding-hell they have probably repeated the same thing for a good amount of times. It was unbelievable in a sense. But thankfully, as time passed, it was easier to sink in. “Good-I’m glad we agree on that”, she smiles widely and gets a mild anxiety rush about the work she’d had to do, once she returns to work the next day.  “No, I don’t think I have?”, she squints her eyes. “But definitely heard of it”.

-

           drew can’t help but giggle again . although , she couldn’t imagine if james didn’t share everything with her like he did     the two sharing everything with each other was definitely a thing that had yet to come to an end . “ well , as long as it stays between us , ” she reminds herself that it’s her tinder lady & not just vicky that she’s talking about here     there was a level of trust between she & her white chocolate lover , “ i’ll keep you updated . ” she promises , even going as far as brushing her fingers over vicky’s arm . deep down , she longed for that physical connection . it’d make this all feel so much more real     feeling vicky’s skin against her own , even just the brush of her fingertips against her skin . 

          pulling her bottom lip between her teeth , she’s amazed at how they’ve seemed to turn things around between them . when this all came to light , she wasn’t quite sure if they’d be able to ... granted , maybe it was still too soon ; this could all go south at any given moment . “ it’s really nice , ” drew responds with a nod of her head & while she’s trying to keep her grin from really showing . “ maybe we can go after work one of these days . ” she suggests , happy to accompany vicky on her first time at amelie wine bar     a place that set a nice mood for a first date , in drew’s opinion . “ maybe dinner after , too ? ” because the place only had ‘ bar snacks ’ so to speak & not full meals , but she also suggests this simply because a part of her wanted to spend time with vicky , because things were different now & she saw vicky in such a different light ; spending more time with her was pressing .

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝑥 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎 )

“I’m so glad I’ve met you then. I’m glad that Peter introduced us” “ I don’t really mind if we slow things down or not. I just want to know that we’re at least moving in a sense?”, she smiles at him. “Oh you do-that’s great. That makes me seem like I overdid it a bit”, she giggles. “With the planners”. “I feel like it’s going to be okay…I’m just trying to get used to everything at the moment” “Washington Heights wow…that sounds awesome”, Monica says excitedly. “I get you”, she nods. “I’m up for anything; if we find the right place…so you can guide me through the process”, she adds.

“I guess he has missed having me here in New York. Sometimes texts aren’t enough. Or video-calls”, “So I bet you freak out together over the same things”, she giggles again. 

-

          “ the sentiments are mutual , monica . i know peter is good people , so i’m not surprised he knows a few other good ones . okay , that’s fair . what are your goals , as far as a timeline of when you want the big picture completed ? hey , as the kids say these days     you do you , no judgements here . in all honesty , i admire how organized you seem to be . i have two planners , yes , yet i still feel like in some aspects , i could be a lot more organized ... so taking a few pointers from someone such as yourself might do me some good ... washington heights is awesome , but it’s home for me , so i am biased , i can admit that . well , i’ve got a few places in mind     to show you , but first things first , what neighborhood or borough are you looking to post up shop in ?

          “ oh , texts & face time are no comparison to in person interactions , but you know this already ... ” marc pauses a second because that makes him chuckle , “ you aren’t wrong . i can admit that i tend to get quite passionate about the things i love & enjoy . myself & peter are the same in that aspect . so you can imagine how long our conversations can be . ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑘 𝑥 𝑗𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 )

The aura between them is to be lightened up some way but falls back to reality and there is not going to be any…them tomorrow. For James it feel inevitable now that Derek had pulled away from the hug. He looks down and just listens to him, say those things again. It doesn’t make anything better. “I cannot do this, Derek”, he whispers and takes an uneven breath; and it’s quite prevalent now that he’s stifling back tears.

He nudges Derek’s hands off his shoulders just to hold them for a moment. This was definitely ending and being sentimental wasn’t going to help probably either of them and he hated that. He squeezes them for a hot second and looks up at him, opening his mouth to say something and save some more minutes with each other. But being together or not now….everything felt heavy whatever they did. So probably it was better not to get attached for that last night. Cut those ties. “I’m gonna go to my room….and…”, he looks down as he takes a pause, “I don’t want you to follow me”, he swallows and lets some part of this sink. Meanwhile, he lets go of Derek’s hands and just stays there. With a very…swift and unexpected move (even for him) he takes the bottle of whiskey from behind him, and holds it tight. “Any last words?”, he mutters, as his tongue presses against his cheek; a temporary way to keep himself from crying and looks right up to Derek’s eyes. He really just wants to ask Derek out, once he’s out, as well… but…would it really be okay?

-

     derek expects it , yet when james tells him that he can’t do this & he’s nudging his hands off of his shoulders , his heart sinks a little bit . he doesn’t fight it either because this was ending . it shouldn’t have started to begin with , but derek’s self-control obviously needed some work ... there was something about james , though he hadn’t been granted enough time to figure out what it was about him that had him breaking the rules like he had the past few days . 

     surprise is barely apparent on his features when james mentions that he was going to his room & that he wasn’t to be followed . derek hadn’t thought out entirely , how this conversation would go ... but this seemed about right . “ okay , ” he hadn’t realized that it’d taken him a few of seconds to respond . he had to process it it , apparently . he watches as james takes the bottle of whiskey , & when that question hits him , he debates talking some more or staying silent . there wasn’t anything he could say to make it better , is what it came down to . “ no , ” derek mutters under his breath . “ nothing more than i’ve said already , ” it hurts him to say that out loud , just because he knows it wasn’t what the other wants to hear . 

     at this point , he’s avoiding really looking at james because he knows he could get sucked in . easily . before he leaves to his own room , he looks back at james , “ just ... take care of yourself , alright ? ” 

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑥 𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑖𝑒 )

“Well, apparently, I’m not”, he answers back. “Straight that is…”, he says and rolls his eyes for the sake of the mess of this situation. He does feel impatient with Liam, at this point; in a way…in his head…it showed. Most likely, it didn’t (since Liam seemed to be so surprised with it all)  but he definitely needs to stop blaming Liam for that: he decides and lets out a small sigh. “I think that it complicates things if I started telling you about me and my sexuality in that sense, if I actually liked you. If I didn’t face the music now….if you didn’t  throw innuendos, maybe you’d never know”, he admits and suddenly he feels sad about it? Or is he satisfied by it? It’s the first time that he is that drunk and so in tune with his feelings; it’s new and he doesn’t like it.

Alfie stares right into Liam’s eyes; the whole most important person in Liam’s life-what an honor-having that title make him want….to kiss him again. But the moment’s over; but he just could. It felt some kind of way and he liked that? He wasn’t aware that he would have a crush on someone like Liam and actually feel okay and not 100% tortured. Those thoughts didn’t last much when Liam described all that as “just a kiss” & “a silly crush”. Alfie doesn’t know why he lets Liam talk in the first place? But at the same time, he’s glad he’s hearing all that. He’s going to be more open with Liam about it and doesn’t want to hide under a rock like during that past period of time he was crushing on him. “Raincheck?”, he hums, a small smile appears on his face. “I am too drunk for the life of me and I think you’ve learned enough for one day”, he widens his eyes; mostly for himself because if he’d open up in any other case, he wouldn’t say that much.

-

     “ okay , ” liam huffs out & he forces himself not to show just how processing this brand new information was slightly overwhelming in that very moment . alf kissed him , confessed a crush on him & told him he wasn’t straight all in a matter of 5 minutes . “ that’s okay ! that you aren’t straight . ” he finds himself saying in hopes of letting alf know that despite liam’s surprise by it all , there was zero judgement here ( obviously , liam wasn’t exactly straight either ) . “ i’m your best friend though , alf     & i mean , who better to talk about those things with than me ?  ... i do know though , but that doesn’t mean i’m not     like i’m not going to not be there for you or something . ” the mere thought of alf going through that sort of thing alone makes liam a little ... sad . 

     alf doesn’t answer his question about it all just being a silly crush & instead asks for a raincheck . liam absolutely notices that & that has his chest tightening with slight anxiety     fear that things were changing , but not for the better . that’s slightly aggravating ; this newfound anxiety since shit hit the fan with his parents & liam was left out in this concrete jungle alone , it caused him to think the worst in most stressful situations that occured in his life     as such . “ yeah , of course . ” liam answers , trying not to sound like he felt , he also huffs out a chuckle & presses his lips together in a smile . “ i have ... learned a lot today . ” he wants to say more ( he talked entirely way too much , naturally ) , but he holds back because alf was done with this conversation & he was right , liam had learned e n o u g h for one day . “ uhm , yeah , okay , ” he forces his feet to move “     we’ll talk tomorrow ? ” liam asks , feeling quite hopeful as he moves towards alf’s office door , opening it & when he’s in the doorway , he pauses for a moment just to look at alf     it really has his emotions going for a loop , but he smiles anyways , offers up a little wave & steps out to rejoin the party .

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑚𝑖𝑎 𝑥 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑙 )

“Honestly? I want to try and get drunk. And I think this is the right time for that”, a giggle escapes his lips. He thinks that it’s also a good opportunity for him to deal with whatever Liam ( and he’s sure Liam has told Alfie about his texts considering Mia) has planned for him today. Even if Mia had insisted on the texts about Liam’s heart-eyes on Alfie, it wouldn’t surprise him if Liam sort of attacked him. “Let’s prepare for those games, shall we? Like right now?”, he says seriously and moves the bucket on Mia’s lap. “What can we ask them in Never Have I ever that might lose their shit?”.

-

     mia lets out an audible gasp as the genuine surprise she feels when hearing that dan wants to get drunk is quite apparent , her dramatized gasp comes off teasingly . “ you want to get drunk ? are you sure ? ... are you okay , dan ? ” after a good little giggle over that , mia gets a bit more serious . “ i mean , it is a good time though ! no one will be driving or anything & it’s just us . ” she finds herself pointing out before she reaches for a couple pieces of popcorn . “ hm , ” mia squints her eyes in thought as she thinks about daniel’s questions , snacking on the popcorn now in her lap . before she even says her thoughts out loud , she’s giggling & covering her mouth as if that’d keep her from saying her thoughts out loud . “ oh , my god , dan     ” she gathers herself , “     never have i ever kissed my best friend ... would probably have them losing their shit ? ” mia is laughing again because wow , that would do it , she thought . “ that’s so mean though ! right ? we’d be putting them on blast with that one . ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑘 𝑥 𝑗𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 )

James doesn’t really understand how he ended up being pinned against the wall; probably after he fell on it, most likely. He feels like he needs to be in control, but all of this feels sweet and Derek isn’t…who James thought he was. The annoying man who was looking after James didn’t feel that passionate about something or anything for that matter. And it feels like a good thing to let him do that? He doesn’t know how out-of-place he looks like at this point, but when Derek’s lips land on his neck, he is now sure he’s not in control. His hands almost freeze on his abs for a few seconds and he stretches his neck back, closing his eyes shut, just to take every bit in. Next second, he could feel himself squirming, just because…. because Derek’s lips just click not only against his but against any other part of his body, as well. His neck, now, for example. And the thought  of wanting Derek’s lips all over him comes true.

When those hands just…touch the skin of his waist, he realizes how much more he wants him. He’s not able to hide how much he’s squirming at this point and he claws his hands way up on Derek’s chest, just to stop that or slow that down. He really can’t hide what he’s feeling at the moment and he truly realizes that, when he found Derek staring at him for just a couple of seconds. And the next moment, his shirt is being pulled; and gasps rather loudly. Like the shirt felt heavy and at the same time he is a little self-aware because, Derek’s looking at him and oh-damn the heat just went over the top. But this time, the way the other presses into the kiss, pushes James’ buttons. Most of them.

He instantly responds to the kiss and his arms fly up to that beautiful face, cupping each side; his fingers pressing lightly, wanting to feel everything at once. This time though he knew what he wanted to feel. One of his hands slips up through Derek’s hair and pushes him closer, if that was even possible. After a couple of seconds, he raises his leg slightly just to wrap it around Derek’s; his balance thankfully lets him move it against his shin and it made it easier for their pelvises to start rubbing. Even if he loved having his hand through that luscious hair of Derek’s , he felt the need to indulge on his own joke and both of his hands moved down on the edge of the other man’s pants. He’d hesitate if not drunk, but(t) this time...his hands moved on their own. The more he explored the other man’s body; especially now that he was doing something he wanted to do while flirting and not so disheveled and half-dressed, the more turned on he became. He squeezed his ass lightly at first, but also pushed him even closer, trying to cause more friction between them.

It was way too early, in his head, but he wanted to moan again. And in his hot-and-bothered head, it is always a nice option to do that: he pulled away from the kiss again;but not completely. He pulled Derek’s lower lip between his lips and while keeping eye-contact for a couple of seconds,  he let it go. A second urge just arrived and flooded his chest: and that was to talk. “You-of all people-should give a warning sign when you throw stuff. Look”, his tone was low and completely unsteady-but this situation called for it all. His hands hold the hem of Derek’s shirt and pulls it slightly closer to him, before pulling it up and off of the other man. The sight of it all….though….made him want to freeze again for a couple of seconds. He doesn’t even realize when he throws the shirt on the floor “See…”, he gasps, his eyes still on his bare chest, his breath out of control; almost non existent. He lowers his leg down and without any second warning he leans to kiss him again, feeling slightly more confident into guiding them back in the room; but instead he pushes Derek to lean against the opposite wall. His hands already on his pants again, trying to decipher the clue of how to unzip them while Derek being all over him.

   time jump

He didn’t realize that time passed so fast and yet so..slow, that he wanted to rewind a couple of seconds and just relive the last moment. His back lands on the bed and he feels like he’s melting; all of him. And mostly his brain that is kind of living for that kind of situation. James manages to half open his eyes and stares at the ceiling and it just dawns on him what happened….and basically with whom. The whole bliss is partly replaced by anxiety of “what just happened”, but he decides to take a step back and enjoy it.

“Are you okay?”, he, then again, decides to mutter and he turns on his side to look at….the object of his affection: Derek. The one that was looking after him after he probably faced the murder of an innocent man. Suddenly he feels that “are you okay” is feeling a bit much but it’s so much better than “what the fuck just happened now”. The freaking out subdues and he just stares at him for a moment; Derek is who is he is…professionally, but that doesn’t take away the fact that he’s freaking gorgeous. James pulls his lower lip between his teeth and smiles. He probably was the only one that’d manage that to happen: sleeping with the FBI agent while he’s technically in danger.

-

     when it’s all over & derek is laying on his back , blue eyes fixed on the ceiling above him , james laying beside him likely doing the same , his chest heaves as he’s barely catching his breath     having lost it likely in the heat of climax mere moments ago . his body was still tingling from the orgasm , one that he hadn’t given himself ... it’d been a couple of months since he’d done anything remotely sexual with anyone & even before that ... it’d been even longer . maybe that was why he gave into james so quickly     as if on cue , that’s when james speaks up & his question hangs in the air . after a second ( his movements seem slightly delayed as he lay in post-coital bliss ) he turns to get a better look at the younger man & after another couple of seconds , derek huffs out a little chuckle , “ yeah , i’m okay . are you okay ? ” was he ok ? generally , yeah . was he freaking out a little bit over what just occurred ? yes , but it happened & there wasn’t exactly any taking it back . he had to face the music head on .

     “ i mean , ” derek speaks up again before james answers his question , “ i did just sleep with someone who is in my care while in witness protection , but yeah , no , totally fine . ” this makes him chuckle again . it was meant to come off more lighthearted than anything else & he hopes that comes across , at least in the way he’s got a grin on his face as he says those last words . in the back of his mind , derek was freaking out , but in the moment derek was very much living ‘ in the moment ’ . “ better than fine , even . ” he points out with a quirk of his brow , tone more on the playful side . “ are you ? ” he asks again , despite the smile on james’ face that derek felt was a give away that james wasn’t exactly regretting anything . then again , why would he ? he wasn’t the one technically ‘ on the clock ’ . 

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑥 𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑖𝑒 )

“The texts….are very different”, Alfie gets to mutter and takes a deep breath. “And since I wanted to talk but at the same time, I didn’t…I…had to drink”, he kept his voice low. “The only easy part is that….it’s you”, he smiled and it was kind of shy. Everything felt so new and so out of place. “It’s alright…it’s okay”, he reassures his….friend. That wasn’t much of a friend. But he had an infatuation cloud over that friend title, right at this moment. 

Even if there was confusion in the air, Alfie can’t help but roll his eyes a little too fondly with Liam’s next answer. And then back to confusion. How should he approach this whole situation when he was feeling so uncomfortable about it? He keeps staring at Liam and suddenly he doesn’t want to talk about Daniel. But Liam is trying to push that topic on the table to shake off the awkwardness away?, Alfie guesses.The tightness in his chest feels unbearable and he just wants to go live under a rock and never leave. “I don’t think that we should focus on Daniel at the moment? But I trust you on choosing the right drunk game activity to get him drunk”, he swallows. “I guess I pretty much….suck at this. Talking about things and maybe I waited for you to guide me through it on what you’d want me to answer. But I came off as slightly….weird? That it confused you that much”, he’s being way too honest for his own good. It comes in contrast with his father’s advice and he almost has goosebumps about it.

-

     liam still feels silly , his gaze is still averted & avoiding alf’s , but it’s only when he hears the  the only easy part is that ... it’s you that his eyes meet the others as if looking to see if he meant that . the almost shy smile makes liam smile , too & after a beat , he bashfully drops his gaze once more because he still didn’t want his eyes to give away too much . that brought him back around to his theory that started all of this     maybe in some way , his theory was right . “ it’s not okay , but ... thanks ? ” liam chuckles a little at that & shrugs a shoulder . rushing alf is the literal last thing he wanted to do . that’s what it felt like he was doing , now that reality slapped him in the face & he took a step back , & that wasn’t okay . he wanted to talk about how alf felt it was easy because it’s liam ... but at this point , that felt like a conversation to have in texts .

     the feeling of eyes on him doesn’t go away , he knows alf is watching him & he does meet his eye a couple of times , but not longer than a couple of seconds at a time . at least not until alf says that he doesn’t think they should talk about daniel right now which throws him off again ... but he doesn’t complain . “ okay . ” he says , finally meeting alf’s eye for longer than a couple of seconds because now it seemed alf was ... opening up , at least a little bit . liam chuckles a little bit again , but he’s noticeably relaxed . “ uhm ... a little bit ? i mean , i don’t know ... i think that i sort of ... came into this trip with too high of expectations ? i didn’t mean to , but i guess i got kind of ... excited about it all ... ” he tells alfie . it was seemingly a lot easier for him to open up than his best friend . that was okay though , maybe it’d eventually inspire alf to open up over time , too . “ i feel kind of silly over it ... or a lot silly , but we’re on the same page now . s w e a r . ” he smiles at the other & takes a little breath before he speaks again . “ i don’t think that i have many questions for you or that i want to repeat the entire convo we had in texts ... i just ... didn’t want to act like the texts never happened ? . ” liam shrugs his shoulders up as he says those last words . “ that’s all ... i don’t want to act like , despite how new & kind of crazy it is , like i’m not entirely smitten with my best friend , but i also don’t want you to be ... weird or tense , or    or awkward about it either ? so i’m just ... gonna let you set the pace here . you lead , i’ll follow . ” 

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑥 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑡𝑡 )

Scott thought that those couple of minutes he spent away from Peter would make him feel up and ready to deal with the consequences of his own words. But once he came slightly closer, held the paperbags with the presents tight and a nervous smile appeared on his face-still looking for Liam. “I don’t know”, he mutters, “I hope he’s gonna close the place?”, he said and added another thing to worry about on his new list. “I mean, I’m too new so that they could trust me on that”, he looks at Peter, with a scared look on his face. “He wouldn’t mind sure”, he rolls his eyes. The alcohol doesn’t help him to hide that reaction and he’s glad that Peter is as drunk as to not take it that seriously-or hopes so. Liam’s words flood his brain, as he heads to the door and looks back to see if Peter was following him.

“Full disclosure here”, he gasped, while he has forgotten how cold it was outside, as he opens the door, “I did drink those….cocktails….like all four of them. But I didn’t like them one bit”, he starts giggling. It’s like being out of the coffee house gives him the freedom to express that.

-

     a chuckle bubbles out of peter     a reaction to the rolling of scott’s eyes , of which he doesn’t take all that seriously . “ i t h i n k you’re in the clear , ” in all honesty , he doesn’t really know , but from the sounds of it all , scott couldn’t close the place himself anyways . naturally , peter does fallow scott as he leads the way towards the door & his smile grows slightly when the younger looks back at him . he takes a bigger step forward to get closer to the other , to listen as he speaks . his words making peter giggle . “ i’ve had worst , i think ... i didn’t mind them so much , but it’s just reminded me as to why i stick with beer , when i do drink . i feel like these cocktails go straight to my head whereas the beer takes a little longer to kick in & i mean , i’m a simple man , i guess ... liam seems to enjoy playing bartender . ” he ends his little ramble with an observation of his friend . at that point , he’s taken a step ahead to walk out the door , but to also hold it open for scott to walk through . “ are you uhm     sure ? about me staying at yours , i mean . because i    i can just ... get an uber or something home . ” despite how hesitant he was about it all , he was drunkenly putting this decision on scott     on if scott was actually comfortable with it . maybe he’d regret not taking initiative & denying the invitation in the morning ... obviously , he wasn’t think about that in the moment . the thought of staying at scott’s tonight made him nervous , but those nerves were outweighed by the crush he had on the younger man , making saying no in this moment a fleeting thought .

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑥 𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑖𝑒 )

Alfie closes his eyes tight with Liam’s next reaction. He doesn’t expect that response; wouldn’t that be normal? “I’ve already told you about how hard for me is to talk about it. Texts were one thing and now talking about it is another”, he decides to word everything out. “It is not that easy”, he mumbles and looks down , not realizing the reason the mood was changed so abruptly. “It’s not like that…we’ve been over this”, he pouts and kind of hates that there might be some sort of misunderstanding. “Can we please not talk about it again? I mean I know I’ve mentioned it…but I promise I won’t mention it again”, he grimaces as he looks up at Liam. “I mean you asking Mia out. This is the last time it’s mentioned and it’s me.Done. Won’t mention it ever again.”, he talks quickly and sighs instantly once he’s done. “I didn’t expect you to read my mind…it’s just a weird turn of events”, he chuckles awkwardly.

Alfie slides a step closer to Liam, as Liam, himself seems to step away. He doesn’t understand what’s going on, but…Liam’s next words make him stop on his feet. “Where can I find you, again?”, he squints his eyes, showing how confused he was. He blinks fast, as Liam’s changing the subject. All this...I should have been looking at you…he didn’t handle it well, did he? He stays silent for a couple of seconds too long staring at Liam dumb-founded. “I mean”, he tries to laugh it off but he’s still….thinking of how one of them derailed the conversation-and his money wasn’t on Liam. “Yeah probably…maybe even less if we play something else first”.

-

     liam lets out a sigh , slightly frustrated with himself because he knows this isn’t easy for alfie & yet he still hyped this meeting up in his mind . “ i know . i know it’s isn’t easy ... it was so easy in texts the past few days , & it’s you so i thought ... ” that it’d be easy in person , too , liam silently finishes . they weren’t strangers . they trusted each other . they were best friends . obviously , even with all of that considered , it wasn’t as easy for alfie & liam definitely needed to take a step back & cool it a bit . he fell into the idea of this so easily ( honestly , he had feelings about it all that he couldn’t help but wonder where they came from ) , that he hadn’t realized he’d been a few steps ahead of alf this entire time . “ yeah , we have been over it ... i’m sorry . i mean , i know it’s hard for you & i should be a l o t more understanding of that . ” lips press together in a tight , small smile . he is relieved to hear that alf wasn’t going to mention liam asking mia out again     even though a second ago , alf seemed very set on holding it against him . he liked this much better though . “ yeah , sure . we won’t talk about it again . ” had it upset alfie that much ? that he either would hold it against him or not speak about it ever again ? apparently .

     eyes on the floor , liam hadn’t actually noticed that alf stepped closer as he stepped away , until he looked over at him when his question hung in the air . that was ... slightly & briefly reassuring . he chuckles a little bit . “ for starters , i’m in the room down the hall from you for the next like , day & a half . after that , you’ll have to try your luck in catching me after work . ” there is those few seconds when alfie is looking at liam , but liam can’t quite meet his eyes just yet & after a beat , he’s finishing off the drink in his cup . now he wasn’t nearly as drunk as he needed to be right now . he felt silly . for having expected anything more than this when meeting alfie here in vermont . “ for sure . what are you thinking ? ring of fire , never have i ever , beer pong ? he’s bound to lose at that one , without a doubt ... well , any of those games , i think . ” he prattles on , reminding himself that he had to cool it . this was him cooling it . when alfie was ready , he’d talk ... right ? “ either way , we’re on a mission tonight     get daniel drunk . ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑥 𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑖𝑒 )

Alfie shakes his head: “Wasn’t planning on telling Mia, no. But I’m not going to stop teasing her and how she reacts around Daniel”, he laughs a bit. “Really though…that would be funny to see. Killing you with those teddy-bears”, he smiles and really indulges on the image Liam painted. He chuckles absent-mindedly. But that feeling doesn’t last long, because Liam comes for him and he puts his poker face on, when all he wants to do is run for his life. 

“No, I’m not going to”, he says and his eyes widen slightly. As Liam keeps talking about it, Alfie realizes that maybe they should stop; cause he just squints his eyes and the glare becomes much more intense. He just doesn’t want to think about it. But at the same time, he was the one who started it. “What is that theory?”, he blurts out and then instantly regrets it. He looks up at the sky, trying to figure out what he should do. “I haven’t drank enough for this”, he whispers his thoughts loudly-and that says a lot about how drunk he was at that point. He laughs a bit and shakes his head again, looking back to the object of his affection. This feels different already; even before when he had just a simple crush, Liam was still his friend. Right now…Liam wasn’t his friend. Just his friend. Everything had changed so drastically.

“Maybe you should have”, he says and decides to let that small amount of alcohol in his system guide him through this. Which wasn’t enough to get way too deep into the conversation, but enough to say what was in his mind right now. “But you’d never have imagined what happened in my head if I didn’t tell you”, he hums.

-

     immediately , liam knows that alf was pretty closed off , just by his reaction     the blurting out of that question & his whispered words . he wasn’t expecting it , but now he thinks to himself that he should’ve . “ it doesn’t really matter . ” he says , his own gaze falling to the ground ; he’s thinking that he should back off some . alfie didn’t seem open to talk like liam had hoped when coming out here to vermont . & if he pushed , there was a chance he could set alfie off . “ is that how it is ? you gotta be drunk to talk to me about it all ? ” he chuckles , but it’s humorless . because it isn’t funny , not really ... not to him . he thought they’d made some progress in their texts the past few days , but it seemed he’d somehow & unknowingly taken a few steps back with alf . maybe it was the sexuality thing ... liam being a guy & all     maybe alf wasn’t as accepting to that fact in person just yet . he couldn’t fault him for that either , if that were the case , nor would he try to rush it . it was one of those lines that had to be crossed by alf , & alf alone .

     alf had a good poker face , liam on the other hand ... not so much , but he was trying r e a l l y hard not to show how much alfie’s reaction just now kind of knocked his mood down a bit . his lack of a decent poker face has his gaze landing anywhere but on alfie , for the sake of his best friend n o t being able to read his face , or eyes . “ yeah , well , i guess i messed up not being able to read your mind , huh ? ” he’s being sarcastic , obviously , but it was lighthearted & he forced the sound of some humor through it . a tense conversation was the absolute last thing he wanted ( or expected ) tonight . 

     cup is brought up again for another hefty drink , his free hand is stuffed into his pocket & he absentmindedly takes a couple of steps away , because despite wanting to be closer to alfie , he didn’t feel as though that’d be taken very well at the moment     space ; maybe alfie needed that . “ well ... i guess when you aren’t so closed off ... you know where to find me . ” he forces himself , again , to laugh a little at that , playing it off as if it didn’t bother him like it did . he clears his throat . “ hey , wanna place a bet on how quick drunk uno will get dan drunk ? my money is on 10 minutes . ” he’s changing the subject     doing alf that favor , giving him an out of the conversation he so obviously didn’t want to have .

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑥 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛 )

“Yeah, Lisa is…. about six years younger”, he answers, nodding. “Oh come on, it won’t be that bad if it’s gonna be the four of us. I bet the girls will just have a lot to talk about…and we…are just gonna be….us”, he trails off a bit. “Everything happens for a reason”, he repeats with a small smile on his lips. “Oh well, maybe I had to get through all that to be taught some kind of weird lesson, hmm”, he hums. “To be honest, no. But I need to stay positive, so I might need to listen to Erin’s words of wisdom”, he chuckles. He raises his eyebrows in interest and smiles a little bit. “Like do what?”, he asks and actually considers to tag along with them. Something does push him back though. He generally preferred not to have much company when he went out at night. It felt sad for him for a hot second, because oh-my-god, how did he end up like that. “I’ll let you know on that-thanks for the invite”, he smiles with a nod. “Oh has she?”, his eyes widen. “That’s…..a huge thing to volunteer about?”, he gasps. “But I guess after the high school beard thing, what’s the worst thing that might happen?”, he teases Wells. “May 5th”, he answers instantly.

-

     “ i didn’t say it would be ! i just said erin drives me nuts . ” the chuckle tumbles out of wells easily as he says that . “ that’s all . i don’t mind though . we’ll have the disney movies to watch while erin & lisa talk about whatever it is they have a lot to talk about . ” they were planning on a sibling disney movie marathon , but cam was probably right ; erin could talk a lot . too much , even . “ maybe ... i really don’t know . sometimes , in my opinion , life & people are just ... really fucking sucky , you know ? we get dealt some shitty ass cards & it sucks , but you do need to stay positive . you can’t go on getting all negative , you have too much going for you to sink into that hole . two things some people would kill for : a great ass career & a family . both of which you have , cam . ” wells rambles a little bit , unsure if it even helps cam feel any better . pep talks weren’t his strong suit     it was erin’s . “ uh , we do a lot of shit , to be honest . hit up a bar for some drinks , sometimes a club , laser tag , bowling , the movies , paintballing ... whatever the hell we can think of & agree on ... yeah , sure ... it is a huge thing to put on the table . i feel like she has this image of me as a father that i don’t have just yet ... when the time is right maybe i will take her up on that offer     i mean , who knows where i’ll be in five years . may 5th - got it . i’ll put it in my calendar . you gonna have their party on the day or wait until the weekend ? ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑘 𝑥 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑦 )

Vicky watches her cousin and chews on her lip. She felt kind of happy for him in a way-even if it felt like she barely knew anything. “You put it on the table, but I’m good with it, if it doesn’t happen”, she shrugs with a small smile on her face. “It could get creepy”, she smirks at him. Raising an eyebrow, she’d surely have expected that. “Right…”, she pouts thoughtfully. “Saying that he is handsome is an understatement? But he also has that kind of mischief in his eyes, that Drew has”, she starts and realizes that she couldn’t say that to Drew herself, “ I’ve noticed that in Drew the last time and I feel like she and James are really good friends. I mean, she had told me herself, too…But…. Like they have a lot of things in common….But also getting into trouble, as well”, she chews on her lower lip. “On Tinder, she had even told me that she and James were mistaken as a couple most of the times, so imagine how they are interacting with each other? And they do look alike: kind of blond-ish…green eyes”, she swallows. And it just hits her like a thunderbolt, that she’s talking more about Drew than James; she barely knew James in person. “I hope you haven’t said anything bad about me to him”, she glares at Derek. “And I can also see the “hot” aspect you’ve mentioned”, she says, her smile getting bigger for a couple of seconds. “Just another common thing with Drew…that I drunkenly called her the other night, over text”, she nods, feelings more embarrassed than ever. But still…smiles about it.

-

     “ oh , you know i was kidding . ” derek points out , shaking his head at his cousin . “ erin is great , but the woman is simply infatuated with me & why is beyond me . ” it really was . he didn’t understand it , though it was flattering . he feels a sense of satisfaction when vicky agrees about james being so handsome , because he was . “ you got it right on the head     he is quite handsome & he does have that look of mischief in his eye ... it’s intriguing ... & drew , too , huh ? him getting into trouble & having that partner in crime doesn’t surprise me one bit ... they must be pretty close then . well , look at us , two peas in a pod dating two other peas in a pod ... what are the odds . ” he hadn’t ever thought he & vicky would share this sort of connection . then again , he had a sort of ... inside as to james & his mind now that this connection did come to light , information passed along from james to drew , to vicky to derek . “ oh , i’ve said all of the bad things .” he teases his cousin with a teasing grin . “ i’m just kidding . there’s nothing bad to even say . ” he could think up some things if he really wanted to , alas , he didn’t want to . “ well , you’re talking an awful lot about drew     someone’s a little ... s m i t t e n , ain’t she ? ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝑥 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎 )

“You keep telling me that, because I just met you and I don’t know when a lot….is a looooot, you know? To be honest, I didn’t expect we’d get down to business so fast and so easily, so yeah…I’ll try not to hold myself on that from now on. You have no idea how many planners, I’ve got?  Langley is awesome…but…it’s not New York. It doesn’t have the opportunities New York has. Exactly, just like that. You have no idea how much…I’ve missed it.…I also miss my older apartment. Brooklyn is my true love….and I know I’m still living there but….it’s not the same? Maybe I’ve over-romanticized it a bit?   But….what can you do? I’m trying to make myself comfortable in my newest one”. “Are you from New York, too? Or came here for college and decided to stay?”.

“Sounds like a conversation you’d have with Peter. You should see our texts-ha! Yeah….he must have driven you crazy? I mean, we tried to keep contact all those years apart…the best way possible”.

-

     “ & you’re saying that because you just met me . i’m very detail oriented myself , the more details i have about a project i’m taking on , the more confident i feel about delivering what my client wants ... so yes please do . you want to get things moving , yeah ? we can slow things down a little bit if you prefer ... i’ve got a couple myself , actually     planners , i mean . just two though . one for work , one for my personal life . something tells me that you’ve got me beat in that aspect of things . There is no other place like New York , just like I’m sure there’s no place like Langley ... ah , that’s a pain     over-roamnticizing an idea , just because you come in with expectations , but also unavoidable in some cases . you can ... make the best out of your place now . a remodel is my initial thought , but that’s a whole hell of a lot of work ... i’m from the city , yeah , washington heights , to be exact , & i’ve never left  . i love it too much to leave . 

     “ it definitely was . has been a topic of ours a few times in the past , too . hah ! that’d be something , i think     getting a glimpse like that into your friendship with peter . surprisingly , he doesn’t drive me crazy ! we match each others energy , so we’re right there with each other for the most part . i’m happy for you two , to see that you have kept in contact . ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑥 𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑖𝑒 )

Alfie hears and feels his heart beating so fast and so loud inside his chest, but his face remains calm-and it makes him wonder how well he hides it, or if it even shows. “I mean see…I knew it”, he says instantly and widens his eyes, as he looks back at Liam. “And I was talking more about Mia’s reactions and how much touchy-feely she is generally with everyone…but oh my God-with Daniel is a whole new level”, he rambles on.  “Yeah, maybe it’s a thing that they do for the parties….unbeknownst to us. Her mother must be driven insane. Especially….”, he coughs and turns around; his waist to lean on the hurdle and look at Liam better. “Especially now, that she wants me and her to potentially date. As I’ve mentioned on the party”, he throws that glare at Liam, again. He’s not going to forget. “She came to me and talked all about what a good girl Mia is and I was all like…..doesn’t she know that I and Mia are friends?”, he squints his eyes in an attempt to figure out her logic. “So, I’m guessing that’s why….”, he huffs, “….Daniel can’t continue to pretend all that”, he looks down and tries to analyze that newly-found information. He looks at Liam’s feet and realizes that there’s another bomb on his hands, ready to explode. And suddenly, he’s out of words, as he raises his head again. Because he may be drunk, but not drunk enough to start talking about….flirting and feelings to Liam.

-

     when alfie mentions that night again , liam lets out a quiet sigh because he should know that alfie wasn’t going to drop that . he’s also reminded of their parents & all of them ... had their flaws , mia’s parents reasoning for pushing alfie & mia to be together was one of them . as much as he loved that world for so long , he’s grown to despise it for the most part     now that he was an outsider ( thankfully , he wasn’t made an outsider with his group of friends , too ) . he lets a couple beats of silence fall between them as he takes a sip of the half full drink in his hand . “ yeah , maybe . all i know is what daniel’s told me though & i’d say our conversation has been pretty thought provoking for him . don’t tell mia though , okay ? not now . i think if she knew & he found out , he’d flip , not to mention , he might try to really killing me with those teddy bears . ” that makes him chuckle , “ he also might not t r u s t me anymore , so . ” 

     it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that likely alfie wouldn’t start this conversation that liam was itching to have . maybe he wasn’t ready ? they talked about a lot already via texts though . “ so you really aren’t going to let that go ? ” he asks this , but he knows alfie & he can’t even bring himself to be upset that he might not let it go , instead there’s just this sort of ... fondness that makes his chest all warm & tingly . “ just so you know , i didn’t ask mia to dinner because i have feelings for her or anything like that . i had this silly theory & maybe i was trying to explore things     like what could be there between two best friends     but ... i get that i was looking at mia when i should’ve ... i should’ve been looking at you ... ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑤 𝑥 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑦 )

Vicky widens her eyes in shock. “Uhm…maybe…not those couple of weeks, when we try to figure stuff out”, she tries to find a way not to show how much that freaked her out. But the sometimes-non-chalant, sometimes-passive agressive Vicky from work- persona she has built for work was out to be found. “I feel like I’m going to freak out on his face and our whole connection”, she chuckles in an attempt to hide her freaking out. “I mean…I’m good at doing that with you-and you’re doing the same thing. James hasn’t met two Vicky’s, though. And at the moment, for me it’s the James you’ve told me about and the one that Derek told me about. Which…again…in a million years, I wouldn’t even consider that this would be even possible”, she giggles.

“He is”, she confirms with a smile and bites her lower lip, feeling a little happy about this whole ordeal. “Derek just….is very stubborn and won’t reveal anything to me. He must be so different with James and how he reacts with him. I mean…obviously”, she rolls her eyes with herself. “But, if they’re still on that date front, maybe he slightly freaked on me, bashed on his ex and then, went on his text with James and flirted a bit”, she rambled on and a couple of seconds later, she placed her fingers on her lips, tapping them a little; just realizing that maybe she had revealed a lot? Maybe… “Multiple times through the course of the date…hmm….”, she repeats and chuckles. “I don’t think it would be just from the present….the dying”, she pulls her tongue out, kind of teasingly. But also, “He used that emoji on me, just to describe his relationship with James…..the more I think about it, the more I believe that James won’t be able to share anything with you”, she starts laughing and takes a sip of her drink, trying to stop that.

It is the first time after a couple of nervous minutes that makes Vicky start noticing Drew and how she reacts. She wishes it was much before and also that she stops being the nervous mess that she is. “ I definitely don’t see you as a rival right now. Even at work”, she confesses. “It’s been a few days; I am starting to thing that the competition isn’t just between us. And there are other fish in the sea-manuscripts that I need to focus on and promote. And my head was stuck on that yoga one”, she pouts and gets ready to answer, until her jaw drops. She takes the compliment in and exhales. She’d never expect Drew would ever say that and it shows because her jaw has dropped down on the floor like any animated character in looney tunes did. “I think”, she drags her jaw back up, “ that since we are figuring all of this, and since we are both positive about it that it…..We are going to be fine”, she smiles shyly. “I mean, if it gets too much to handle, maybe we can talk about it then. But, it would be just friendly competition and if the others are expecting a show from us, maybe we can act something out, right?”, she smirks at her.

-

     drew watches as vicky talks about her cousin ( aka james’ new romance ) & while she is listening , there’s a part of her that is thinking about how vicky here ... has been the woman she was falling in love with the past few months . suddenly she sees vicky so differently than she had before . she doesn’t want to give away too much about her thoughts or how she’s feeling after this surprising reveal , so she tries to keep her poker face on & she has no intentions of letting it falter just yet ; no intentions of showing a l l her cards too quick .

     having been a little lost in thought , drew pulls herself back into the conversation , “ definitely not just because of the present , no . ” she says , amused by her own words & the truth behind them , but those words are followed by a flirty giggle when vicky sticks her tongue out , talking about derek using that emoji . “ oh , trust me when i say that the day james doesn’t share everything with me when he’s dying over something , will be the day hell freezes over . ” if james didn’t vent it out his feelings , thoughts & emotions periodically , she swears he’d blow up or something . 

     there’s a little breath of relief when vicky confirms that she doesn’t see her as her rival anymore either . “ good , ” she says with a grin , bottom lip pulled between her teeth . another giggle tumbles out if her when she sees the surprise on vicky’s face when drew compliments her . “ i know - a lot to get used to , huh ? ” she says lightheartedly . “ of course . we’ll talk it out if it becomes too much ... admittedly , i do tend to be quite competitive ... obviously ... but you’re right it’s a friendly competition now & frankly , i am always down to put on a show . ” she meant this in more ways than one . eyes on her ? she never minded that . “ so ... we’re good then ... & about that date ... have you been to amelie wine bar ? ”

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑘 𝑥 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑦 )

Vicky stares at Derek, a playful pout formed on her lips; he was right. But Derek seemed to share information, whenever Vicky wasn’t aware she was asking for something. “Okay good; so you’re ready in all aspects for your date”, she stated and held herself not to ask; maybe since that was a statement, it would cause Derek to be confused and just….question if he actually was prepared. Vicky’s devious thoughts made her smirk and realized that she would be eligible to teach in  a program for the FBI on “How to not walk into your cousin’s traps”.  Derek starts talking next and a wide smile forms on her lips; just like the one when she was with Drew the other day. She didn’t expect all that would happen. But then Derek’s tone changed and instantly Vicky tensed herself up, just to glare at her cousin. “You can laugh now...this might happen”, she giggles. “We need to inform your fan club about all this mission of yours. And a mani-pedi is always on the table. While Erin reads us her Erin & Derek k-i-s-s-i-n-g fanfiction”, she shakes her head. “You know”, she nudges his arm with her elbow, “It is cute that Drew showed me a picture of James, the other day? And awww….can we talk about that?”, she said excitedly.

-

     “ i guess that I am . ” derek doesn’t see a sense in saying otherwise     vicky was , technically , right . he was date ready . he planned on going straight to james’ place after work ; he didn’t dress too bad for his shifts , anyways . he’d have on a nice outfit , nice enough for a date , in his opinion . “ mani’s & pedi’s aren’t happening , smalls . sorry to say . ” derek huffs out a chuckle , but what he doesn’t say is that he could likely be convinced . “ i’m sorry ? my fan club ? ” a look of genuine confusion takes over his features for a split second because vicky makes it known she’s referring to erin . that makes him laugh . oh , the flattery . “ okay , i was flattered for a second there , but then you made it creepy . ” half joking , of course . his cousin catches his attention again when she mentions that drew showed her a picture of james . “ did she ? ... talk about it then . ” he knew vicky wanted him to talk about it , but he didn’t always give her what she wanted right away . though he is curious as to vicky’s thoughts about his new lover .

[glittercndgcld-blog]

( 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑥 𝑛𝑜𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒 )

“That’s what Mia has been telling  me…about my guilty conscience. I don’t know…I can’t help it, I guess? Maybe he deserved worse but I somehow will always think of what I could have done differently and also fooling myself that there was also something important? I hate that.” “What do you mean? What could I have whenever I wanted it? Carter?....you know what, I think he might remember too? But I cannot confirm that without bringing the elephant in the room….and it was too awkward, even through text, that I’ve mentioned the marriage part. But…I guess…you know….we’ll see when we meet”. “Honestly, only good memories”, she smiles. “At least, he’s flattered and not telling you off or something? You know, straight men feel kind of insecure around men that are openly talking about their sexuality…and even more… in front of homosexual men. Could that be a case for Cameron, too? To not be straight when you’re alone with him? “ “Oh wow? ….Really? Is this like….top secret? Like….does Erin know that?”

-

     “ it’s in the past , he fucked up way before what happened with carter , i mean , he didn’t deserve you right from the get go anyways , in my opinion . so come to terms with it all     which is important , if you ask me , if you’re trying to date carter , & let yourself be happy . god knows he isn’t batting a fucking eye at the thought of what he did . so why are you ? ... that’s exactly what i mean     carter . likely , you could have him if you wanted him , you just gotta make it happen , noelle . oh , he just might remember , but yeah , my advice ? don’t bring it up just yet . maybe after you two hang out again a couple of times that conversation would come up . because it’s bound to come up at some point , wouldn’t you agree ? ... i don’t really know , to be honest . maybe not . ” of course , wells doesn’t mention cameron’s curiosity about men     she was too close to erin for him to bring it up . “ i don’t think i’ll ever be alone with him anyways . he’s a single father to a couple of twin girls , so his social life is likely almost non-existent . i might not ever find out . which is a little bit of a bummer , but that’s just my dick talking . i’ll just ... admire from afar . i’m pretty sure erin can guess that i’m attracted to him . there’s a lot i can’t hide from erin , not to mention the fact that she knows my type ... he definitely falls under that category . ”