Summary: Just a group of friends spending their free time together at the town fair.
Warnings: angst, drugs, violence, smoking, cursing, fluff (?), smut is implied (oral), toxic relationships, bout all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: It is currently 3:33 AM as I am writing this, I have been listening to Rebel Radio in GTA 5 on loop since 11PM, I have a doctors appointment in a few hours due to the fact I need surgery for something, my inspiration actually sucks dick, spare me. The part with the Vette is based off of something I’ve been through. I’m over 6’3” and I sat in the back of a C7 Corvette with 4 other people, and it sucked balls I won’t even lie. I hated it. And sorry for how long this chapter is, couldn’t stop writing ig.
MASTERLIST — WEST COAST
—
Lana slid her hands in her pockets, she had been wearing the flannel that Austin gave her about a week ago since the drug deal. It smelled like fruit loops so she often wore it since it smelt nice. She hadn’t seen him at school either for the whole week, for some reason. Although from what she was told, he wasn’t missing any school, so he was probably just hiding. For what? God knows, and God only cared. Not like she was going to ask.
She was heading towards Tori’s place, she had been at home, got bored, and left so she could go hang out with one of her friends. She figured Tori would entertain her a good deal, so she dropped by her place. Plus, the town fair was tonight, maybe they could’ve went together. When she had headed to the driveway, she could see the black 1985 C4 Corvette parked by the sidewalk. Which told her that Austin was with Tori. In the driveway, was Tori’s firebird, and her father’s work truck. Which a Ford F150 crew cab. The garage door was left open, and she could see that there was a tool box with some motor oil on the top of it. With a pan beside it, meaning that one of the vehicles were having an oil change. Considering how Austin told Lana that he would often come to Tori’s place to fix the work truck, she assumed that Austin was changing the oil of the Ford.
She raised her brows curiously, and when she approached the front door. She gave three hard knocks, then stepped back, her hands behind her back. She could hear shouting from the inside. “Could you please get that?!” It sounded like Tori.
“Yeah no problem, Sanchez.” A hoarse voice answered, then she heard the door unlock, and with the twist. The door as pulled back, her suspicion was confirmed. There was Austin, wearing a white tank top that was stained with grease, the tank top was tucked in with the denim jeans he was wearing.
“Austin-“ Lana blinked.
“Hey,” he tilted his head as if he were a Labrador, confused as to why Lana was there. Lana could see Tori walk to Austin, and her brows raised when she saw Lana. Austin stepped to the side for Tori so she could stand beside him. Lana’s eyes were as big as eggs. She was taking in the image of both of them. Tori stood to Austin’s elbow, she was tiny.
Tori was wearing heavy makeup, but she looked beautiful. Her wings were sharp, and on point as always. And they were purple, which was her favorite color. She was wearing a purple crop top that looked like a sports bra, with purple sweatpants that were slightly sagged on the right side. It showed her panty line, which appeared to be purple laced panties.
They both had messy hair though. Austin was sweating, and Tori looked like she was sweating a bit too. What wasn’t helping was the fact that Lana could see Tori’s panties with ease. Not to mention, Austin’s lips looked red and raw, as if he had been just making out with someone.
Honestly, if Lana didn’t know any better. She would’ve assumed that Tori and Austin were hooking up. But she knew this wasn’t the case. Tori was dating Ashton, too dedicated and too loyal, for some reason. Austin, well- she didn’t know, he was just the mechanic.
“Hey Lana,” Tori smiled, “what’re you doing here?”
“Oh- I was just, bored at home y’know? Wanted to go out and hang.” She shrugged, her hands still in her pockets. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Hm?” Austin tilted his head. Lana pointed her index finger towards the Ford F150 that was out in the driveway. “Mr. Sanchez wanted an oil change, Tori called me over to help out with it.” He explained.
“We can hang out after Austin has changed the oil though.” Tori said excitedly.
“Are you gonna bring Ashton?” Lana asked.
“Nah, we got into a fight again.” Tori shook her head, waving it off.
“Shocker, huh.” Austin shrugged before wiping his lips, leaving a bit of grease on his face. Tori elbowed Austin before inviting Lana to come in, and she smiled, walking in the house. Austin shut the door, then left to go to the garage without saying a word to them.
Lana watched him enter the garage, looked over at Tori. “He comes here often right?” She asked, recalling how Austin told her he’d come by pretty much every day.
“Oh yeah, every day.” Tori laughed as the two of them walked over to the couch to sit down. “Sometimes sleeps here too.”
“Really? Doesn’t your mother or father mind?”
“No, they both like him.” She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails that looked like talons. Lana always wondered how women could always have those long fake nails. She was curious how they could do anything. They couldn’t even close their hand into a fist, or pick out their cards in those card readers at the gas station.
When Tori would take Lana with her to the gas station to obviously get gas for the Firebird. Lana would sit on the passengers side and watch Tori struggling to get the card out of the card reader due to her long nails, so Lana would have to get out of the car and get the card for Tori. Then Tori would do the rest while Lana would sit and watched, intrigued.
Lana was curious about Tori’s parents relationship with Ashton. “Do they like Ashton?”
“Obviously not.” Tori answered without any hesitation, but there was a smile on her face. A friendly smile, and Lana nodded her head. “They think Aus is a better man. My dad says he’s the best, but then again, I don’t listen to my dad since he never does shit around the house.”
Lana shrugged, leaning back on the couch. She half turned to look at Tori fully. “Tori, I ain’t gonna lie to you.” She began. “But Austin looked like he just made out with you, when he opened the door.”
“He was playing with my lipstick.” She said on the dime. “See,” reaching into the pocket of her sweatpants, she held out some lipstick. Took the cap off and the wax on the lipstick looked completely fucked, like someone had just eaten it for the shits and giggles. Her face distorted into a face of amusement, as if she was recalling the events, “Austin put it on, then ate it, for shits and giggles.”
“That doesn’t sound like him.” Lana murmured. Austin was always so serious. At the drug deal, he barely even said a word. When Alice was doing heroin beside him, he didn’t even protest, simply looked up, trying to ignore it. Austin just never fucked around, it seemed completely out of character for him to randomly eat lipstick for shits and giggles. But then again, he also slammed a bottle of vodka against Ashton’s head randomly. And also ate ice cream and drank milk and milkshakes even though he was lactose intolerant. So, maybe it wasn’t.
“Anyways, I was wondering.” Tori put the lipstick back in her pocket. “We should go to Jade and Jules house.” She suggested.
Jade and Jules were twins. Jules’ full name was actually Juliette, and Lana knew Jade well, but not Jules all that well in comparison. Lana would talk to Jules occasionally in the girls bathroom at school, whenever Lana would walk in on her smoking a cigarette. Usually Jules would be in the bathroom for a good five minutes, then throw the cigarette away and go back to class.
Jules was dating a football player named Randy, who was good friends with Ashton. He owned a Honda Civic, a 2022 Honda Civic to be exact. His mother or father bought it for him or something, Lana didn’t care much to find out. But what Lana did know, was that Randy’s car smelled nice as hell. Then again, the smell of a new car was heavenly, at least to Lana it was.
Jules and Randy were sex craved as well from what Lana knew. She caught the pair doing the old devil’s tango at a party, didn’t even say a word. Just opened the door to the bathroom, saw them both doing the deed, then shut the door and went to go pee in a bush. Why? Cause she was not going to pee with those two doing the deed, nor was she going to wait outside the bathroom for the both of them. Plus, Lana was high out of her mind when she walked in on the pair.
Jade, was the opposite. Lana had known Jade since she was a child actually. Lana wouldn’t call Jade her best friend, but they were close friends. Lana and Jade would roller-skate together for fun a lot, and would always go to each other’s birthdays. When Jade had found out about Lana’s overdose, she had cried for two days, Jules cried too, but not as much as Jade did.
Jade worried over Lana a lot, like- a lot a lot. But that was fine with Lana. Jade would often nag Lana as well about if she was doing any drugs or whatever, and Lana didn’t mind that as well. She knew Jade was doing it because she cared.
Jade was a quiet girl, real quiet, she was more of an observer. The way she handled things was different than Jules. Jules, in spite of her way, was never single, she felt lonely, craved love and attention. Jade however, would prefer to be alone, loved the feeling of not being loved, and loved not having attention on her, made her feel free.
Jade, due to her clean ways, would also make fun of the group quite a bit when she had the chance. Lana, Tori, Beth, and Alex didn’t mind. They all thought she had a point, she made a good point to make fun of them for taking drugs. Lana could remember full well when Jade had stood there eating ice cream while Lana was rolling around on the ground at a park, yelling about how she was a unicorn, then proceeded to eat shit by running straight into a pole and falling over. So yeah, Jade had the right to make fun of them.
Lana figured, she missed both of them. “Yeah, sure, we could go see them after Austin fixes the truck.” “Cool! I heard there’s a theme park, Ashton’s gonna be there so…”
Lana thinned her lips into a bitter a line. She knew what Tori was hinting at. Hated the idea, but in spite of that, she had been wanting to go to the city fair, so she agreed. “Yeah sure, I’ll go.” She got off the couch after, wanting to go see what Austin was doing to the truck. Tori got up after her.
When Lana had walked in the garage, she was greeted with the image of Austin laying underneath the F150. There as a torque wrench laying beside him with an oil pan, and then she saw him grab the filter wrench. She watched as he screwed the oil filter off, groaned in annoyance when some of the oil go onto his face. But got the torque wrench again, grabbed the pan, then screwed off the oil screw.
She watched him adjust the oil pan underneath quickly. He crawled out from underneath the truck, looking up to see Tori and Lana both staring down at him with curious eyes. His eyes fluttered obliviously, before he sat up to put the old oil filter of the truck away. “What the hell are you guys doing here.” He asked, grabbing a rag from the ground to wipe the oil off his face.
“Watching you,” Tori answered with a kindhearted smile on her face, “you’re interesting.” Austin got up as she spoke those words, and stood in front of Tori. He leaned down, his face a few inches away from hers. Lana stood in the middle of them, looking back and forth between them.
Austin smirked. “You are too.” He pulled his face away from hers, walking back in the garage to get the new oil filter. Lana stood there, brows furrowed, eyes narrowed while Tori kept a mischievous smile on her face when she watched Austin get the box for the new oil filter, ripping it open.
Was that just me or was that awkward…? Lana asked herself, before shaking her head. “Well, anyways,” she changed the subject, not wanting to focus or think about what just happened, “Tori says she wants to go to Jade and Jules’ house when you’re done with everything.”
“Who’s Jade and Jules?” Austin asked when he got the filter out, walking back to them.
Right, Austin was still new to town. He hadn’t made many friends. In spite of his looks, being a heartthrob and everything, the dude still didn’t know jack shit. “Right- you don’t know them. They’re our good friends, twins actually.” Tori explained. “Jules’ real name is Juliette… y’know Jade Stravinsky and Juliette Stravinsky.” Tori figured she had to tell Austin their last names, since he usually called people by their last names. She wondered how that would work for twins.
Lana already knew that Austin wouldn’t call Jade or Jules by their last names since they were twins. Since Dal and Tray were twins, he didn’t call them by their last names either. Austin perked up a brow, leaning on the F150 as he looked at the pair. “What’s their middle names. I can’t go by last since they’re twins.” He grabbed the rag off the ground to wipe his hands again, which seemed to get greasier the more he rubbed.
Tori looked over at Lana. “Jade’s is Wulfheim.” Then Lana paused, bringing her hand up to her jawline to think to herself. She had tilted her head to the side, thinking about Jules. “Juliette’s is… Spencer, I believe. Jade Wulfheim Stravinsky, Juliette Spencer Stravinsky.”
“Those are some fancy names.” Austin answered without missing a beat.
“Austin Butler sounds even fancier.” Tori commented, and Austin shot her a glare before laying back down on the ground. “I’m just sayin’ it sounds pretty fancy.”
“Butler is just a fancy word, I think.” Lana said, siding with Tori.
“Oh yeah, for sure.” She agreed, nodding her head with Lana. Austin smirked, rolling his eyes before half of his body was hidden underneath the truck. Tori and Lana both watched him and all they could see was his body moving as he reached for the torque wrench, screwing something in.
“Yeah well, say that to my parents.” He said to the both of them.
“What happened to them anyways? There’s no way that your mom kicked you out for arguing with her boyfriend.” Tori sounded unconvinced. Practically everyone in town knew that Austin got kicked out of his mom’s house for that petty reason. He never hid it from anyone, didn’t bother to.
“Ever since my mom divorced my dad, she got petty as hell.” He started. “My mom is a notorious sleeper, y’know.” Lana and Tori could hear him laugh. His laugh was high pitched and giddy, which was odd considering how he sounded like a 50 year old man half the time. The other half he sounded like a man who smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day.
“How so?” Lana crouched down and hugged her knees close to her chest. Austin always told interesting stories, since he was such an honest guy. Never hid anything, never filtered his words. Tori did the same, intrigued now.
They watched as he put the torque wrench down, grabbing the oil pan. “My mom has always brought guys over to the house, whenever my father was out at work.” He explained for her, crawling out from the truck, then leaned down to grab the oil pan to drag out. “I never told my dad, because I thought he’d never believe me. But, my mother brought guys over, so often that my siblings and I would always bet the days she would bring a guy over to the guest house.” Huffing, he sat in front of the duo with a pan in front of him.
Lana and Tori were silent now, completely invested in the story of his life.
“Alan, my older brother would always guess correctly.” He chuckled to himself, looking down at his hands. He was quiet for a few moments, his eyes narrowed towards his hands, as if he was frustrated. “My dad was absent most of my life, never had a good relationship with him… my mother was never really a mother. If anything the maid was more of a mother to me than my actual biological mother.”
“Oh?” Lana tilted her head.
“Yeah,” Austin smirked, “so if you ever meet Ms. Randle, and you lot are mean to her, I’ll beat your ass.” He warned, walking past them to open the hood of the truck. They both watched him get the oil.
“So, she raised you?” Tori asked.
“My siblings and I yeah.” He unscrewed the bottle, standing in front of the hood as Lana and Tori remained sitting. “She was there at my brothers funeral.” Leaning forward to pour the oil in the truck. “She and my sister are all I got.”
“Your mom slept with a lot of people before the divorce right? So, why did the divorce happen?” Lana asked.
“The yoga instructor was hot.” He shrugged, grabbing the other bottle of oil to pour it into the truck. “Bout it.”
Both Lana and Tori were silent for a few heartbeats, trying to process what they had just heard. They rarely ever heard of a woman leaving their really rich husband for a yoga instructor. For a lawyer or whatever, sure, but for a yoga instructor? For Lana that was cringe worthy. “Your mom’s boyfriend… is her yoga instructor?” Lana asked him, invested into the plot now.
“Yeah, he’s twenty-one or whatever.”
“And your mom is…”
“Forty-six.”
“Oh shit.” Tori blinked, and Lana felt herself cringe even more when she realized the age difference.
“He proposed to her and I argued with him about it, thought it was stupid, and yeah, got kicked out.” He chuckled when he finished pouring the oil in. “Ever since the divorce, my mom got a new boob job, got a new nose, new lips, new everything y’know? My dad gave her most of his money, and I hate it cause she doesn’t deserve it.”
“I can tell.” Lana murmured. “Her rack is fake?” She asked, focusing on the irrelevant stuff. “Please,” Austin scoffed, “her rack is faker than a stripper telling you that you’re their best customer.”
“That’s oddly specific.” Lana couldn’t help but smile at how specific it was. She was trying her best to hold back her laughter, but even Tori let out a little giggle from how specific Austin was being.
Austin had finished giving the F150 an oil change, and took it out for a quick test drive to make sure he hadn’t fucked anything up. When he was finished, he was paid 400 bucks by Tori’s dad. Who had been sitting on the recliner the entire time drinking his days away. Lana hadn’t even noticed him the until Austin was paid.
Lana and Tori were waiting for Austin by the front door of the house. Tori was leaning on Lana’s shoulder as Austin was standing in front of the recliner. “You’re gonna be taking my daughter out boy?” Tori’s father spoke.
“Yes sir, I am.” He nodded his head, keeping his arms clasped in front of him. He stood stiff, in a manner that made him look like a bouncer.
“Well I trust you boy, but you better not do anythin’ to her, you hear?”
“Yes sir, I hear.” He nodded once more.
“Alright, get.” With a wave of his hand, Austin was dismissed. He walked back over to the pair, opening the door for them. Tori was the first to walk out, then Lana.
Lana was sitting in the back of the Corvette, she was completely squished. Tori wanted to sit in the front and Lana didn’t bother to put up an argument. The problem was, was that Lana was 5’10” or 5’11” one of those two heights, she didn’t know. While Tori was small as shits, she was 5’3” for fucks sakes. Lana could barely fit in the back of the Corvette.
Austin was 6’1” and the dude already looked squished as is in the drivers seat, let alone a chic who was almost his height in the back seat of a C4 1980s Corvette. But, even though she was squished in the back of the Corvette. Austin’s taste in music was questionable. Not that it was bad or anything, but it was just odd that he was listening to the music he was listening to.
The guy was blaring country songs from the 90s and below. Lana recognized some of the songs too. The song that was currently playing was Johnny Paycheck - I’ll Be Hating You, which talked about a man who dedicated his whole entire life to his girl, started hating himself, and knew it wouldn’t be long till he started hating her either. Lana had to admit, it was a damn good song even in spite of it being country.
When Austin had stopped by a red light, a white Integra had pulled up beside Austin. Tori immediately recognized who it was, and panicked. “Oh my god that’s Ashton- fuck if he sees me with you Austin, I’m dead.”
“I don’t think he’ll see you, Sanchez.” He muttered, looking over at her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “What- what are you doing-“ his eyes widened when he saw her get up. “Aye- Sanchez!”
“Switch, switch with me Lana, c’mon!” She ordered as she stepped on the car seat.
“Don’t put your damn shoes on the car seats, Sanchez! You’ll ruin the leather!” He exclaimed in annoyance.
Lana leaned away from Tori, “Tori- I’m too big-“ Tori grabbed Lana’s shoulders to shove her over the glovebox of the car. “Aye god dammit Tori, I’m too fuckin’ big!” Lana felt her head slam into the seat of the Corvette.
While all of this was happening, the radio was blasting Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, which seemed ironic. Since Tori was trying to hide so she wouldn’t break Ashton’s heart in case they were spotted.
“What the fuck are you doing, Sanchez?!” Austin watched her.
“Oh my god Lana just switch.” Tori whined, shoving Lana out of the way again so she could sit in the back of the Corvette.
“Okay okay, fuck dude-“ Lana quickly unbuckled her seatbelt then the two of them switched places. Lana yelped when her head hit the window of the car, and she felt the car lurch forward when Austin shifted into first gear and slammed on the gas. She had rolled over and her head hit the bottom of the car, her shoes in Austin’s face now.
“Move your shoes, god dammit!” He pushed her legs away from his face.
“Shit Austin, I’d love to but as you can see, I’m upside down!” Lana said in an overly enthusiastic tone. Tori watched the chaos that she had created with a small smile on her face, amused. She could see Austin look out the window, exchanging a quick glance with Ashton who was sitting in the Integra. Tori could see Austin downshift into second gear, then suddenly slammed on the gas which caused the car to shoot forward.
The car was filled with the sound of the exhaust screaming for its life, and Tori poked her head out a bit. She could see the white Integra falling behind Austin’s car, gapping Ashton’s Integra. Lana was still struggling to even sit up right. A cop car which had been resting inside an empty parking lot had been spotted, causing Austin to slam on the breaks. As a result, Lana who still wasn’t upright had lurched out of her seat, her head once again hitting the ground. “God dammit, Austin!”
—
Tori hopped out of the Corvette, and Austin closed the door for her. Lana had crawled out of the Corvette, she had managed to sit upright after a good solid ten minutes of struggling. The whole struggle made her hair become a mess, but that was fine cause it was usually a mess.
Austin said nothing as Lana and Tori both walked to the front door of Jade and Jules place, knocking on the door. The trio waited in silence, with Austin standing behind Tori, she was leaning back against his chest, comfortable with his presence. While he kept his hands in his pockets, and Lana was zoning out while staring at the door.
At least 30 seconds later, the door opened up, and Lana was greeted with Jade. “It’s Tori and Lana!” Jade yelled, and she smiled at the both of them. “Hey,” she looked at Austin, her eyes widening.
“Tori wants to hang out. Go to the town fair.” Lana said calmly.
“Yeah sure, Jules and I were just about to go.” Jade responded, “just come in, let me get changed.” She flicked her head inside, opening the door wider so the three of them could walk in. Austin flashed a charming smile across his face before following Tori to the living room.
“Lana!” Lana could hear a familiar voice call her name, it was Juliette. When she had turned around, she saw Jules jump up and hug her tightly. Lana embraced her, patting her back awkwardly before Jules pulled away, then looked at Tori excitedly, hugging her as well. “Hey Tori!”
“Hey.” Tori smiled, looking back Austin who had been standing in front of Jade and Jules’ mother, introducing himself. Jade and Jules’ mother was a woman who was kind, very kind, in fact too kind in Lana’s mind. Jade and Jules’ mother had always been intimidated by others, she had a weak personality, could be pushed around easily, which Jules or Jade didn’t like. And quite often, their mother would break down crying. But at the same time their mother was unpredictable as hell.
This was also due to the fact that she was a drunk, would always be drinking a can of beer. She had maybe 18 DUIs or something. What didn’t help was that their father was also an addict, a heroin addict. Lana never knew what happened to their father, neither did Jade or Jules, but, it was whatever.
“Jack wrote to me. He wanted to tell you girls hi.” Jules started, seeming to not notice Austin.
Jack, or Jackal, was Jade and Jules’ older brother who was currently in the Marines. Lana could always remember his full name because to her it always seemed so cool and unique, which was Jackal Leonard Stravinsky. Which to others sounded weird as well, cause who named their child after a dog? But aye, to Lana it sounded dope as hell.
Jules, unlike Jade, already looked dressed to go out. Jules was wearing a baby blue hoodie with some gray shorts, she had her makeup done, which was very little. Her blonde hair was curled up a bit to make it look slightly wavy, and her mascara complimented her doe eyes. Lana couldn’t deny that Jules was indeed a beautiful girl.
“I haven’t seen you around here, you must be new.” Lana heard their mother say.
“Ah, yes Ms. Stravinsky, I’m new.” Austin smiled, before shaking her hand.
“Oh well, don’t do anything inappropriate to them.” “No ma’am, of course not.” He assured Ms. Stravinsky, before looking back at Tori, Jules, and Lana. His eyes fell towards Jules, and he was silent, seeming enthralled with her. And honestly, if he was enthralled with her, Lana couldn’t blame him. If Lana was gay, she would for sure go after Jules, no doubt. But, Jules was too busy talking with Tori. The both of them were holding each others hands, talking to each other excitedly.
Which made sense to Lana, they were both apart of the cheerleading team or whatever. From what Lana remembered, Tori was the captain, and Jules was… well… whatever she was.
Jade came walking down the stairs during the commotion. She dressed similarly to Jules, but in spite of them being twins, they didn’t share the same beauty. No doubt Jade was also a pretty girl, however she was never noticed much. Usually brushed to the side, while Jules got most of the attention.
Jade had dark orange hair, it actually kind of looked crimson at times. But it was dark orange no doubt, and she had brown doe eyes, while Jules had blue doe eyes. Jade’s hair was tied back in a bun, she wore a baggy unzipped jacket with some joggers, finished with a pair of Converse. But, she also wore no makeup, unlike Jules.
“Yeah! Jade and I were just about to go to the fair with Randy!” Lana diverted her attention towards Austin to see how he’d react once he heard Randy. She expected him to look away, and he did. His eyes went to the ground, and his expression which showed curiosity was now blank, unreadable. “He’s on his way to pick us up right now.” Jules finished, her hands behind her back as she was standing in front of Tori, who had an excited look upon her face.
“Oh? No way, you can probably ride with us if you like! We’re taking Austin’s car.” Tori offered.
Austin shook his head in disagreement, knowing full well that the Corvette didn’t have any space. Lana did a motion of sweeping her hand around her throat, shaking her head to tell Jules not to agree.
Jules let out a kind hearted laugh, waving her hand. “No thank you, I’m gonna take a ride with Randy.” She smiled at Tori. “I mean, maybe Jade wants to take a ride with you guys?” She looked over at Jade, who had remained quiet while watching them banter.
Jade stood there quietly for a few moments before looking at Austin. Who had a blank expression, his hands in his pockets, waiting for the girls to make up their minds. “Sure.” Jade came to the conclusion. She didn’t want to be with Jules and Randy, she knew that the couple would be all over each other, and she was not willing to deal with that.
Jules reached into her back pocket and held out her phone. “Oh, Randy’s here.” She read the notification that she got, then looked at all of them. “I gotta go, cya.” She opened the door quickly, and just as she was about to leave, Ms. Stravinsky got up to walk after Jules.
A crowd formed behind Ms. Stravinsky, where Austin stood all the way in the back. Leaning against the door, while Jade stood beside Lana, and Tori was to Lana’s left. As they watched Jules approach Randy’s Honda, they saw the windows roll down. “Randy!!” Ms. Stravinsky called to the jock, and his attention which was on Jules was now on Ms. Stravinsky.
“Yes Helen?” He replied.
“You better not do anything inappropriate with her!” Ms. Stravinsky warned, and the moment she said that. Tori, Jade, and Lana all started to make gestures from behind Ms. Stravinsky. With Lana putting two fingers towards her mouth, sticking her tongue out. Tori being the bold one and making the gesture of Jules deep throating by stroking the air, and Jade aggressively pointing her index finger towards the circle that she made with her other hand. All three of them mouthing the words, ‘USE PROTECTION!’
Jules saw all of that and couldn’t help but scoff at how immature the three girls were being before entering Randy’s car. Randy, who kept staring at Ms. Stravinsky was trying his best to hold his tongue. He didn’t want to randomly bust a lung while talking to her. “I won’t do anything to her Helen! I promise!” He crossed his heart before rolling the window up.
“And if you do, please wear protection.” Ms. Stravinsky murmured underneath her breath, turning around to look at the group who had fallen completely still. Then she turned back around to watch Randy drive off with Jules in the car. Ms. Stravinsky looked at her driveway, noticing the black 1985 C4 Corvette that was parked beside her car, which was an Acura. “Is that your car blonde?” She asked, looking back at Austin.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Do you guys have anyone else to pick up or is Jade the last one?” She asked.
“Beth and Alex.” Tori answered for Austin, who blinked in confusion. Not like he would protest though, whatever Tori wanted, he’d do.
Ms. Stravinsky scoffed as she looked back at the blacked out Corvette. Without any hesitation, she came up with a sly remark. “Good luck fitting in that, Jade.”
Good luck fitting in that, Jade. Definitely the best words. By this time, Lana had been completely squished up against the Corvette. The girl was struggling to breathe, with Jade sitting by her side, and Beth sitting on the far left. Alex was able to squeeze herself between Beth and Jade, but this caused Lana to be squished against the small sliver of a window that the Corvette had.
Lana who was struggling to breathe, knew damn well that Jade was most likely wishing she had taken the Civic. Enduring Jules cheesy banter with Randy was far better than this, at least to Lana it was. “Jesus Christ, this Corvette is cramped as hell.” Beth gasped for air, and Alex, who was squished was breathing heavily as well.
“Bradley, why don’t you just sit on someones lap?” Austin asked, glancing back Alex who kept gasping for air.
“There’s no fuckin’ space, god dammit!” Alex snapped at Austin. “If I sit on Jade’s lap, my head will hit the ceiling and then I’ll be in an awkward position.” She explained.
“Alright, fine.” When Austin saw the light turn green, he shifted into first gear, merged into the right lane, then slowly pulled over. Shifting in neutral, and he looked back at all four of them. “Sanchez, you’re five three, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Clark, you’re five ten?”
“Somethin’ like that.” Lana murmured against the glass.
“Okay, here’s the plan then, all of you get out.” He opened the door of the Corvette, then pulled his seat back. As if it was an opening for freedom, Alex desperately crawled out, pushing Lana’s face against the glass again, then Lana followed behind, Jade, then Beth. Tori as well got out from the passengers side, and all five of them stared up at Austin, who was glaring at them.
“As God is my witness, I hate your Corvette.” Alex complained, wiping sweat off her brow. It became hot as hell in the Vette because of how cramped it was in the back seats. Beth was sitting on the side walk, with Jade standing beside her arms crossed, Tori had her hands on her hips, Lana had hers in her pockets.
“Yeah, cause Corvette’s aren’t meant for six people.” Austin remarked as he stared at all of them blankly. “Listen, Sanchez, you’re the shortest so you’re gonna be sitting on my lap.”
“What?!” She exclaimed.
Before she could protest, Austin continued. “You don’t have a choice, you’re short, you can fit on my lap plus your head won’t hit the ceiling. Clark, you’ll get the passenger seat since you’re the second tallest. Wulfheim, Bradley, and Williams, you’ll sit in the back. You three are about the same height, so you three should be fine.”
“Bet you’d wish you took that offer with Jules huh, Jade?” Lana looked over at her friend.
“No,” Jade shook her head confidently, “I like Austin, the way he does things is entertaining. Everything is chaotic as hell, more entertaining than Jules and Randy being lovey dovey.” She smiled.
“Oh,” Lana blinked, “I stand corrected then…” She looked away before looking back at Austin who opened the doors.
Lana was the first to enter the car, sitting on the passengers side, then shut the door. Austin kept the seat of the Corvette rolled forward, Alex, Beth, and Jade all dove into the car. After maybe two minutes, they were able to get comfortable. Alex was 5’5” the shortest, so she sat in the middle. Even in spite of her height, she was hugging her knees close to her chest. Jade and Beth were both 5’7”-5’8” so they sat on the sides for more leg room.
When Austin finally made the seat roll backwards, he hopped in on his seat, then looked up at Tori who stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m not sitting on your lap, Austin.”
“That’s fine.” He shrugged. “Do you want to sit on Clark’s?”
“No.”
“Cool. So shut the fuck up and get on my lap.” He ordered, glaring up at her. Alex, Beth, and Jade all poked their heads out from behind the seats, watching.
“I-“
“Come here, Tori!” Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her down onto his thigh, then close to his chest. Slammed the door shut, and leaned back against the seat to make some room for her. “See? It’s not that hard. Why can’t you just be listen to me.” He growled in annoyance, shifting the car back into first gear, then flicked the turn signal to show he was going to merge back into traffic.
Alex, Beth, Jade, and Lana all sat in silence, amazed by Austin. “Woah.” Lana thought outloud as she watched them. “Tori, you’re a difficult lady.”
“Oh shut up, Lana!”
By the time they had arrived to the town fair, it was already 8PM. All of them had to get home by 11PM, except for Austin, who didn’t have a curfew because he lived with Dal and Tray.
Dal and Tray were at the fair as well, they were in a food truck selling crepes, and inside the crepes had baggies of cocaine or some sort of acid, just some hardcore drug. Dal would be the one who was out in the park, handing out these photo cards that had a smiley face on it. If someone had gotten one of those photo cards, that meant that they talked with Dal, and could get one of those said drugs that they were selling.
However, to get those photo cards, they’d have to pay Dal maybe 5 or 10 bucks, it depended on the drug that the person wanted. But, if someone didn’t have said photo card, then they’d just get a regular crepe with no drugs, no nothing.
Austin knew the whole plan and told the girls about it in case they wanted to get high, he also knew that if they did get high, he’d have to drive them home. In fact, he’d probably have to drive all of them home, which was something he was dreading the most.
The group had split up, Tori was with Alex and Beth. Jade was with Austin and Lana. They had planned to meet up at the time of 10:30PM in the parking lot so he could drive them back home on time.
Austin had parked in an area where the drift cars parked, why? Because apparently he knew how to drift, and had bought tickets to go out and drift in the track at the fair. But before parking there, he had to kick everyone out of Corvette first so it could be inspected. Which led to the group splitting up in the first place since they didn’t want to wait for Austin to get back, and just go on the rides, have fun, and do whatever.
Lana and Jade were willing to wait though. While walking from the parking lot to the fair, Beth had asked Tori how it felt to sit on Austin’s lap. Her answer? She simply said that he was comfortable, which led to all the other girls being curious.
Tori didn’t even sit on Ashton’s lap because she found him to be uncomfortable. If Tori wasn’t willing to sit on her own boyfriends lap because it was uncomfortable, but said her friends lap was comfortable, that must’ve meant something. At least- that’s what Beth said.
Lana and Jade had been sitting on the bleachers at the track, watching down below to see if Austin was going to appear in his Corvette. But, he didn’t. He did appear, but his Corvette wasn’t with him. Lana noticed that he wasn’t wearing his white grease stained tank top, he seemed to have changed into a black button up. He was ruffling up his messy blonde hair, leaned down towards someone to say something to them. To which they pointed to another car that was out in the track.
The car was a black and pink BRZ, and the person handed Austin the keys to the car plus the steering wheel. Austin gave a nod, then pointed to the bleachers towards Lana and Jade, saying something to the person while leaned down. He looked at the person for an answer, and they nodded their head. “Aye Clark! Wulfheim! C’mere!” He called to them. Lana and Jade both gave each other a bemused look.
Tori could see Ashton in the crowd, he was buying cotton candy, and he looked to be alone. She looked at Alex and Beth, then at Ashton, finally glancing at Alex and Beth once more. “Hey, I’m gonna go get cotton candy.” She said eagerly, they gave her a nod, telling her they’d wait before she left the duo.
When she went to go get the cotton candy, of course Ashton had noticed her, he walked to her side. “What the hell are you doing here?” Was the first thing he said as she gave two tickets to get a bag of cotton candy.
“What’s it look like, Ash? I’m getting cotton candy.” She smiled up at him, carefully opening the bag.
He stood still, staring down at her. His eyes checked her out, looking at the outfit she wore. “You look like a slut.” He said, glaring at her. “Looked like you just got fucked senseless by someone else.” His head flicked towards her laced panties.
“Maybe I did.” She kept that same snarky smile on her face.
“Why you-“ and without any hesitation he grabbed her wrist, dragging her away from the crowd.
Alex and Beth had been watching from a distance before seeing Tori and Ashton both disappeared into the crowd of people. “Cool, she ditched us for Ashton.” Alex grumbled in annoyance.
“Does that mean he’s taking her home?” Beth asked, looking at Alex.
Jade and Lana had walked down the bleachers towards Austin, who had a smile on his face. He grabbed another full face helmet and held it out to them. “Which one of you wants to go drift with me first?” He asked, and Lana looked at Jade. Who snatched the helmet without any hesitation. There was a gleeful smile on her face, showing her excitement for what was to come. Austin looked at Lana. “Your turn is next Clark, don’t worry.”
“Oh, I’m not. Jade can be a test subject.” She shrugged, brushing it off as she went back to the first row of the bleachers to watch. She could see Jade and Austin walk side by side. When they both reached the BRZ, Austin was leaning down to help Jade put the helmet on, the steering wheel on the roof of the car. He gently pressed his hand against the bottom of her chin to lift her face up so he could help her with the D strap that came with the helmet. When he helped her with that, he put his hand on top of her head, aggressively shaking it to make sure the helmet was secure. Nodded his head, handed her a pair of 100% gloves, which she gladly took.
Jade looked up at Austin. “Y’know, you’re actually way nicer than I anticipated.” She complimented, watching him slide his Icon Variant on with ease. “I thought you’d be some sort of dickhead like Randy or Ashton, but you’re actually super nice.”
“Oh?” Austin chuckled when he did the D strap to his own helmet. “Thanks, Wulfheim.” Sliding his gloves on, he leaned down to grab the door of the BRZ, opening it for Jade. “The BRZ has a roll cage, so lift up your leg, and duck your head when getting in, alright darling?” His voice was gentle, as if he was talking to a small child.
“Yessir.” She nodded her head, doing as she was told, Ducking her head, then lifting up her leg, she was able to get into the BRZ. She looked up, seeing Austin shut the door for her. She looked at the interior of the BRZ. It was pretty much empty, but the car had a hand break, something to adjust the nitro, a microphone, a fire extinguisher, a net window, no steering wheel, but it also had race seats. That tucked the person in to make sure when they crashed, the person wouldn’t go flying. She also noticed how the car still had cup holders, which she found cute.
Even in spite of the cars color schemes, which was black and pink, the inside wasn’t that pinkish. She heard the drivers side door open, and saw Austin holding the steering wheel. She watched as he was able to easily get into the car, grabbed the steering wheel off the roof, and with ease, clipped it onto the holder. There was a pink line in the middle of the wheel to show if it was in center. “You ready darling?” He asked in a gentle voice, slipping the key inside the ignition.
“Yep!” Her smile was audible.
Lana kept watching curiously, then she heard the car roar to life. The car was loud, and she could hear it quickly shift into first gear. It shot forward onto the track, its wheels spinning from underneath as if the car was trying to adjust to its own torque and speed. Lana watched the black and pink BRZ that was covered in sponsorships race down the track.
The exhaust roaring loudly, Lana saw the tires lock up, which caused car to go crooked. The car tires spun against the asphalt, smoke flying behind it, with the squeals of tires filling her ears. Lana could faintly hear a, “HOLY SHIT!” From the inside of the car due to the fact that it had net windows.
Lana was impressed, she thought Austin was bluffing when he said he knew how to drift, but he wasn’t. The dude knew how, and he was completely legit.
Ashton dragged Tori around until he finally reached the end of the fair, where the portapotties were. He grabbed her throat, tightly squeezing it to prevent her from breathing as he turned his body. Throwing her to the side of the portapotty. He slammed her so hard against the portapotty that it had moved a bit when she hit it.
“You really wanna be a bitch to me, right now?” He asked, glaring down at her. “Randy told me, about your little adventure with Butler.” He murmured, his nose was pressed against hers. Her hand weakly clawed at his, but he kept the same firm grip. “We got into a fight and you’re already out with another guy?!” He slapped the right side of her face, and she yelped from fear.
“Ashton, I didn’t hook up with him.” She mewled out weakly, her eyes stinging with tears.
“Oh? Then what the hell were you doing hanging out with him? Randy told me he drove you here. You weren’t hooking up with them then what? What?!” He demanded.
“My dad likes him, and asked him to change the trucks oil, that’s all.” She cried out, sobbing now. Ashton gently let go of her neck, stepping away from her. His hands were balled up into fists, and his brown eyes were glaring down at her, focused.
“Is that the truth?”
“Yes, it is. You can even ask my dad, Ashton.” She sucked in some air to calm herself down, her hands were trembling already. She was use to this type of treatment but for some reason she always had the same reaction to it.
Ashton kept staring at her, frowning when he realized how badly he hurt her. He walked towards the bench that was sat right next to the portapotty, turned to her with his hand held out. “Come here Tori, come here.” His voice was gentle, and she was quiet for a few moments. Hesitant, but she accepted his hand. She felt him gently pull him towards her, embracing her, he had wrapped his arms around her hips. Digging his head into her chest, her cupped his head, fingers fiddling with his hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, Tori. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She leaned down to kiss his head softly. “Just don’t hurt me again, please.”
“I won’t, I promise.” He murmured against her chest. But like every promise, Ashton would break this one as well.
Alex and Beth had met Veronica at the fair. She was telling them about Dal, while the pair was telling Veronica about how they were cramped in Austin’s C4 Corvette. Veronica found the situation hysterical and laughed about it with them, then she had told them where to find Dal and Tray. Although, Alex and Beth didn’t want to leave Veronica alone, they had known that she was high. Alex decided to stay with Veronica, and Beth would go off to go get some drugs from Dal and Tray. At least, that was what they agreed upon.
But, before they could even go get the drugs. Veronica had revealed to them that she was already with a group, but she got lost in the mirror maze, because of that she was alone. Which was fine, so the duo decided to just forget about the drugs and hang out with Veronica. They knew about Austin having to most likely take them home even if they weren’t high, and didn’t want him to deal with them being high.
Veronica told the duo that she had given some 20 year old head in the mirror maze. Alex found that to be weird, the image of a girl giving some college kid head in the middle of maze was just downright weird to her. Veronica begged to differ, she said that it was amazing seeing herself give this random guy that she had just met 15 seconds ago head in 50 different angles. Veronica had been able to see how deep his dick could go in her throat, due to this, she was able to confirm that she could indeed deep throat.
“You gave some dude head in a mirror maze to see if you could deep throat?” Alex asked, her jaw dropped.
“Well yeah,” Veronica giggled, “I’ve always been told I give good head, and with a mirror? I can finally see why.” She said with an excited smile on her face.
“You seem proud of it, and y’know what, if you are. Good for you, dude.” Alex smiled at Veronica.
“Yeah honestly good for you.” Beth agreed, and Veronica squealed in happiness, she was happy that the pair wasn’t judgmental over it.
“I think he ate cotton candy, his cum tasted like it-“
“Okay, that we don’t need to know, Onica.” Alex held up her hand, not wanting to know anymore of the details.
Beth blinked in confusion, tilting her head. “Wait, what you eat, your cum tastes like?” And Alex shot her a glare, wanting her to shut up. “Yeah!” Veronica answered excitedly. “That’s why people say when you eat pineapple, your cum tastes better. If you eat cotton candy your cum tastes like cotton candy. If you eat strawberries your cum will taste like that.” She answered, nodding her head as she was thinking to herself. “I’ve given enough head to know.” She proclaimed.
“How much head?” Beth asked, eating the caramel apple that Alex bought for her.
“Ten… twenty… thirty, I dunno, I lost count!” Veronica laughed, clapping her hands.
“Cool.” Alex bobbed her head.
Lana had put her full face helmet on, and was sitting in the same spot that Jade had just been sitting in. She could hear the snap of the wheel against the holder, looking at Austin. “You ready?” He asked her.
“For sure.”
“Make sure to record!” Jade reminded Lana.
“Oh yeah.” Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she held it out in landscape mode, leaned back in her chair, then gave Austin a thumbs up. She could see him turn the car on, and the BRZ roared loudly. Austin shifted into first gear, launching forward. The wheels spun from underneath as the BRZ was accelerating quickly.
Austin slammed on the foot break, pulled back on the hand break quickly. He kept a foot on the gas pedal, a cloud of smoke surrounded both of them and Lana couldn’t help but scream from the adrenaline rush that hit her like a rocket. Her body lunged to the side with the car, then Austin made the car straighten out again.
Jade sat in the bleachers wide eyed, holding her phone out to record the whole situation. Knowing how Lana was, in spite of the girl recording, it was probably filmed in the messiest way possible. As Jade watched, she could see the BRZ spinning in a circle with a cloud of smoke enveloping the car. Lana’s voice, which was usually deep, was now sounding that of a 2 year.
Austin kept the steering wheel pointed to the left, making the car spin and spin. Lana had kept her eyes opened the whole time, tucked against the race seat. She couldn’t stop laughing like a child who had just seen the greatest movie of all time, she was genuinely excited. Never in her life had she been in a car with such an erratic driver. All she could see was smoke surrounding her, the smell of burning tires filled her head. The car then straightened out again, growling loudly as it rolled out of the smoke, dropping down a gear, only for it to slowly start zig zagging across the track, the tires screeching from underneath, before it was launched forward again.
Lana’s head slammed against the head seat of the car. She wasn’t ready for the sudden torque to kick in as hard as it did. Austin was laughing like a school boy, then slammed on the break, which made Lana’s head hit the dash of the car. She shook her head before looking at Austin, who lifted up the visor of his helmet. He looked over at her, one hand on the wheel, a smile visible on his face. “How was that, Clark?” His tone was filled with adrenaline and excitement.
“Fuckin’ crazy.” Lana laughed, looking at Austin with a wide grin plastered on her face. “Where the hell did you even learn how to do that?” She asked, leaning back in the seat.
“Oh y’know,” he shrugged, “I lived in the West Coast.”
Dal was leaning on the wall, a cigarette popped into his mouth. He inhaled deeply, exhaling from his nostrils and mouth. He looked up from the ground, seeing Jules in front of him. He raised a brow, confused as to what she was doing. He assumed she came to the fair with Randy, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found.
Jules had gotten into an argument with Randy. Something about how she considered flirting with another girl to be cheating. While Randy disagreed and said that it wasn’t cheating. The topic only came up because when Jules left Randy alone, she had saw him flirting with some other girl, and had heard a bit of their conversation. Randy had left her alone after that, deciding that arguing with her was a waste of time.
Dal frowned when he listened to Jules complaining to him. But he knew why she was there, she was seeking drugs. He had given her a ticket then a photo card, telling her it was alright and that Tray will treat her fair when she asks for the drugs. She was happy when she got the photo card, thanked Dal for being understanding, then dipped. Dal too, would get high whenever he felt down, but then again- Dal never took hardcore drugs. He’d usually just smoke some pot when he felt down. But, everyone had different ways of coping.
When Jules had left, about a good ten minutes later, Lana, Jade, and Austin had appeared. They didn’t want to get any drugs, but in fact had gotten Dal some cotton candy. Actually, Austin was the one who got Dal the cotton candy. When they met, Dal could smell the scent of burning tires. “Were you by the track causing all that ruckus?” Dal asked, taking a deep drag from his cigarette, his eyes focused on Austin who handed him the cotton candy bag.
“Yeah, why?” Austin asked when Dal dropped the cigarette on the ground. Squeezing it underneath his Vans, he looked up at Austin lazily.
Blinking his dazed eyes, he smiled fondly as his friend. “Nothin’ it was just some damn good driving.”
Tray had leaned over the counter when he saw Jules outside, handing him the photo card Dal had given her. Tray noticed that Jules’ face was puffy, swollen, and red, as if she had just been crying her eyes out. Even her mascara was all ruined, and Tray felt a wad of sympathy for her. So, he gave her three crepes in total, but only one bag of acid. The bag had two pills inside, that were stamped with smiley faces.
Tray knew she was alone, and when a pretty girl like Jules was out alone, high? A man could take advantage of her. So Tray had given her the weakest drug he could, it would affect her no doubt, but not so much where she could be taken advantage of- or, so Tray hoped. “Thanks Tray!” Jules grinned up at him.
“No problem twig.” He shook his head. Twig was Jules’ nickname that Tray had given her. He called her twig because she was thin. Real thin. “You gonna go anywhere?” He asked her gently.
“Yeah, maybe to the mirror maze. Wanna see how it feels when you’re tripping balls.” She said in a giddy tone, excited for what was to come.
Tray frowned sadly. “You ought to be careful.” He said in a brotherly like tone.
“I know, I know.” She stepped away from him, glancing back. “Oh yeah- Jack says hi!” And with that, she had left Tray alone.
Dal was looking at the trio. “Why isn’t Jules with you?” He asked, looking at Jade.
“What? She’s with Randy.” Jade answered in a puzzled tone, she was confused as to why Dal was concerned about Jules.
“She didn’t tell you?” Dal blinked. “Randy and her got into a fight and he left her alone.” His eyes glanced over all three of them, Jade was wide eyed, Austin looked worried, while Lana was enjoying the cotton candy that was being shared. Worry had washed over Jade like those waves at the beaches that take those little kids from beneath.
Jade gulped her worry down, “Do- do you know where she went?” She stammered, not doing a good job at hiding her worry.
“If she went to see you, she’s with Tray right?” Lana piped up, finished the cotton candy.
“Yeah, he’s at the food truck.”
“Thanks.” Jade gave him two bucks for tips, and when she was about to leave, Austin had already been ahead of them. He was heading for the food truck.
When they went to the food truck, Tray told them that Jules was at the mirror maze, she wanted to go there and trip balls. Thought it would help her, and they thanked him. While they were walking towards the maze, Austin had began talking. “Listen,” he started, “I should probably get her.” He looked over at Jade.
“You barely even know her!” Jade protested, disagreeing with the idea. Lana agreed though, the fact that Austin barely knew Jules was actually a huge benefit. This was due to the fact that Jules had a habit of retaliating with her family members every time they tried to help her, or so… Jade told Lana.
“Yeah but she knows that I’m the reason you’re here right? Plus, she has no ride.” Austin countered, half turning to Jade.
“Actually, considering how Jules is. I think it’d be great if Austin went in.” Lana piped up from behind Austin. Jade glared at Lana, who had simply shrugged then grabbed some cotton candy from the bag Austin was holding to eat.
“You better not hurt her.” Jade threatened, and Austin smirked in response. He saluted to Jade jokingly, before handing in 4 tickets to go into the mirror maze.
“You don’t gotta worry, Jade.” Lana began, leaning down when she saw a can of Orange Fanta that was spilled on the ground. She picked it up, and took a sip out of it. “Austin wouldn’t hurt a fly if his life depended on it.” And Jade groaned, slightly annoyed with Lana. “Want some? It’ll cheer you up.” She held out the Fanta to Jade.
“Dude.” She sneered in disgust. “I am not going to drink that off the floor.”
“Aye man, as long as it has flavor, I think it’s still good.” Lana shrugged it off, taking another sip from the Fanta.
Jade squinted her eyes at Lana. She’s not even high and she’s acting like this. She thought to herself, looking back in the maze.
Austin had been staring down at the ground, which was also made of mirrors. But the difference was that he knew where he was stepping, and that there were lines and shoe prints the mirrors, which had basically showed him a trail so he wouldn’t get confused.
He could hear crying echoing throughout the maze as he kept walking, and he figured it was Jules. He kept his calm, listening to her sobbing in the maze. He couldn’t lie to himself, he was slightly excited to meet Jules. He didn’t say much to her, but she was rather beautiful. She looked sweet and cute. “Randy’s one lucky dude.” He whispered to himself, as he continued to carefully walk on the mirrors.
Before he had known that he even reached the center, he could finally hear the cries die down. Which caused him to look up, and he saw her. Juliette. She was standing in the middle of the maze of mirrors. Her face was covered in smudged mascara, face red, eyes swollen from crying too much. She noticed Austin walking in the maze, he had been staring at the ground the whole time, clearly having no trouble walking towards her.
Austin stood still, staring at her. He looked entranced, and for some reason this made Jules giggle at him since he looked a bit clueless. He looked like he had just seen the most beautiful woman, he looked starstruck, like his heart was stolen. He was in awe. Trying to process what he was looking at.
Jules could see that his arms looked dirty, as if he had been messing with yet another car. Tori had told her about how he would fix cars often, which was why he always looked so dirty. “What’re are you doing here?” She asked, breaking the silence.
“Your sister wanted me to come get you.” He said, walking towards her. He had his hands in his pockets when he stopped in front of her. Leaning down close to her face to examine her, without thinking he gently grabbed her chin. Took out a napkin from the depths of his pockets to wipe the mascara that was smudged all over her face. It was awkward, at least to Jules. But Austin seemed to focus on wiping her face clean to even notice. When he was finished, he put the napkin away, then walked passed her cooly. “C’mon, we gotta get outta here.”
“But—“ She began, whining already. He stopped walking to look back at her, then took her hand in his. Their fingers intertwining, without even saying a word to her, he led her towards the exit.
“Is Randy going to take you home?” He asked without looking at her.
“Nuh uh,” she replied like a toddler.
“Then I will.”
—
The ride back home was cramped, a little Corvette with 7 people was not at all ideal. In fact, Austin had gotten into a bickering session with Tori. Who had inherently refused to sit on his lap, more or less look at him, which made him grow frustrated.
“Listen Sanchez, I gotta take you, Bradley, Williams, Wulfheim, Spencer, Clark, and my ass back home! I understand that the driving conditions aren’t really ideal but we don’t really have a god damn choice now do we?!” He snapped in a tone that showed his annoyance. “Unless you wanna get Ash-“
“No!” She shouted at him, almost looking up at Austin but then looked down at his boots.
He sighed, then leaned down. His voice was as gentle as the morning dew. “Can you please just work with me here? Please?” He murmured, pleading with her. She looked at him now, their eyes locked. “If you’re not gonna come, I will leave you here. I have to take Clark home.” He flicked his head towards Lana, who had been staring up at a light pole, watching the moths fly towards the light.
Jade and Jules were standing side by side, watching Lana with a sneer on their faces. They were genuinely confused with what Lana was even doing. She looked high, truly, and utterly high. “That girl has one short attention span…” Jules murmured as they both watched.
“You said it…” Jade agreed, nodding her head slowly.
Alex slowly approached Lana, poking her on the shoulder. “Huh?” She turned around to face Alex.
“Get in the car, Austin and Tori have came to an agreement.” She ordered, and Lana gave a nod. She opened the passenger side, sat down and kept the door open in case someone would need to sit on her lap. With Austin pushing the seat down, Beth was the first to come in, then Jade, and lastly Jules. Just like Lana had predicted, someone would have to sit on her lap, and that someone was Alex. When Austin sat down in the drivers side, Tori had sat on his lap.
“It’s really cramped in this car…” Beth murmured with her head pressed against the glass.
“Yeah, no kidding.” Alex agreed, her head was tilted to the side because of how big she was. Her cheek was practically pressing against the ceiling of the Corvette.
“I’m gonna sell this god damn car and get a motorcycle if I keep hearing you guys complain.” Austin growled from underneath his breath. He was annoyed, mainly because there was 7 people in a car that was basically meant for only 2 people. Not only that but everyone was staining the seats as well.
Austin had dropped almost everyone off, except for Tori. The reason was because she asked him if he could stay over at her place, which he gladly agreed to. He hadn’t noticed the bruise that formed on her neck when Ashton had choked her at the fair. It was too dark in the Corvette and outside to even notice.
When Tori got home with Austin behind her, she had told him to change into a tank top and shorts after he got out of the shower. He obliged, nodding his head along to her words before he disappeared in the bathroom. Once she heard the shower head turn on, she looked in the mirror, staring at herself.
The bruise was of a crimson color, the handprint that belonged to Ashton. Austin was sure to see it, and she knew he’d freak out when he did. She didn’t know how Austin felt for her exactly, but she knew he felt somewhat protective over her. When Austin was finished with the shower, Tori braced herself in case he freaked out, but he didn’t.
Austin approached Tori quietly, looming over her. He had his hands in his pockets, staring at her figure in the mirror, before his eyes went to her neck. Tori noticed how his face slowly distorted into a glare. “Ashton?” He asked, grabbing her shoulders to turn her around so Tori could face him.
“Yeah,” she looked up at him, seeing him lean down to bring his hand to her neck. His finger traced the outline of Ashton’s hand.
“Damn him.” He said in a hushed tone underneath his breath. “I could kill him you know.” Looking at her eyes, he pulled away.
“No, don’t, I don’t want you to hurt him. I love him.” Like usual, Tori was defending Ashton for his behavior. Austin gave a her a solemn nod, telling her that he wouldn’t hurt Ashton, or even snitch him out. Turning his back on her, he walked over to her bed, laying down underneath the blankets. Tori was quietly for a few moments, noticing how he hadn’t said anything to her. “You won’t hurt him right Aus?” She asked, crawling into bed with him.
“No, I ain’t gonna hurt him, you don’t want me to right?” “Yes, I don’t. I don’t want you saying a word either.” She murmured, seeing his arm stretch out for her to use as a pillow.
“Then I won’t.” His voice was soft, reassuring her that he would listen to her, and she laid her head on his chest, her arm around his chest. With his arm lazily wrapped around her torso, he let out an annoyed sigh. “I won’t do shit.”
Warnings: angst, drugs, violence, spelling mistakes, bout all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: It is currently 4AM as I am writing this, I have been listening to PUKA A by spongebob on loop since 12AM, spare me. My inspiration sucks. And when I’m proof-reading this, I haven’t slept. At all. So if there are spelling mistakes, I apologize. Also, I know I didn’t write anything last week, I’ll try to drop another story this week idfk.
MASTERLIST — WEST COAST
—
Lana had been laying down in her bed, leaning back on the headboard. Her head was hung to the side, as she was staring down at her phone. Suddenly hearing her mother call her name, she got off her bed and walked down the hallway to the living room. Seeing the same tall blonde she met in rehab a few months ago.
He was wearing a casual denim jacket with his collar flared, and the jacket had been buttoned. With some black jeans to finish the look, his hands were dug into his pockets. “Austin,” Lana blinked her eyes, not expecting the company. He never called Lana, never gave some slight of hint that he would be dropping by for the weekend.
“You know this gentleman?” Her mother asked, pointing to Austin, who was looming over her mother. His eyes were half open, and Lana would be lying to herself if she said that he didn’t look baked. But it was clear he was tired. Unfortunately to Lana’s mother, she thought the same thing Lana was thinking. Austin looked high out of his mind, it didn’t help that Lana had noticed how her mother was holding a bottle of Scotch. Indicating that Austin had brought it over, most likely as a gift.
However, Scotch wasn’t an ideal gift. Since Lana had a history of being an addict, bringing Scotch was probably the worse thing he could’ve brought. She picked up that her mother was annoyed with the blonde for bringing such a gift like that.
Austin glanced at her mother once more, blinking his dazed eyes before fluttering them as if he was trying to stay awake. He looked back at Lana, smacking his lips while waiting for her to answer. “Yeah-“ Lana swallowed, “yeah, I know him. That’s Austin.” She confirmed, nodding her head.
“Austin, huh?” Her mother looked over at the blonde with a quirked up brow. “How do you two know each other?” She looked back at her daughter.
“Rehab.” Lana answered without any hesitation.
“Rehab?” Her mother echoed, now she sounded annoyed. “This boy was in rehab, and you expect-“
“Mom, he wasn’t a patient.” Lana cut her mother off before her imagination ran wild. “His brother was, I met Austin when trying to buy a snickers bar from the vending machine.” She clarified. “He bought it for me.”
“Oh,” her mother’s tone softened, and she smiled at Austin, “I apologize dear. I’m Sophia Clark.” She had reached her hand out to the blonde, and he shook it firmly with an understanding smile on his face.
“No worries, Mrs. Clark,” he shook his head, “I understand. I was the same way with my brother.” Chuckling gently, he stepped away from Mrs. Clark.
“So, what are you here for Aus?” Lana asked, sliding her hands into her pockets.
“Oh-“ he nervously looked at Mrs. Clark, coming up with a lie, “D says he wants to show you sum’n real important.” He said confidently.
“D?” Mrs. Clark looked over at Lana.
“D- for Devon.” Lana smiled nervously. She knew that the D stood for Dal, and she could speculate what the importance was for. “Austin and I are doing a group project with D, that’s all. Austin here came to pick me up once D finished his part- right Aus?”
“Yeah,” Austin agreed with the fake story. He raised his brows, impressed with how quick Lana was to come up with a lie. It was sure as hell better than his. Mrs. Clark smiled, and she had given permission Lana to leave with Austin.
Lana opened the car door and sat down inside the C4 Corvette. She buckled her seatbelt then looked over at Austin. “You serious? D? Really? Couldn’t have came up with a better lie?” “Listen Clark, lying isn’t in my blood.” He shot at her. Brows furrowed in frustration. This was true, Austin had hated lying more than anything. He was honest as hell, but also very loyal. So loyal that he was willing to lie for people which was hypocritical. But to Lana’s benefit, he was incredibly loyal to her. He would even help her sneak out.
“Right, whatever blonde.” She rolled her eyes, leaning back in the passenger seat. Austin’s hand rested on the gear shifter, and he shifted into first gear, making the Corvette shoot forward into the street. “So, what does D need us for?”
“Dal says it’s a surprise.” Austin shrugged. “And honestly, I think it’s a drug deal.”
Lana sat in silence for a few moments. She knew why Dal would take her to this drug deal, it was because he had promised her awhile back that he would take her to a drug deal, to show her the ropes and how things worked. How he got his drugs, all that good shit. The question was, why would Dal even bring Austin? He was a clean cut American boy, with cowboy heritage. The guy had no business getting involved with druggies, or drug dealers, or going to a deal.
So why the hell would Dal bring him? Why would Dal bother to bring this clean cut American boy. Who was the newest heartthrob of Campbell? Was it to ruin his reputation…? If— Austin even had such a thing.
Lana decided to ask him. “Why is Dal taking you? You’re clean.”
Austin shrugged, a smirk appearing on his face. “Says you always need at least one sober dude.”
“True.” Lana agreed with him. The amount of times her sober friends had saved her from some stupid dumb situation was pretty insane. She could remember how Tori had to drag her back to the Firebird because she was so high out of her mind, or when Dal had to carry her back home because she ran straight into a car from being too drunk.
Lana sighed when looking at Austin, who kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the shifter. Then again, Austin was a richie, that Lana did know of. But what she didn’t know was how Austin could even afford a 1980 C4 Corvette, which were expensive as all of hell. It was like owning a 1988 Mazda RX7, those things are expensive as hell. Yeah he was the child of divorced rich parents but they didn’t love him. They disowned him. “How could you even afford this car?” She asked him, sparking up a conversation.
Austin glanced at her with a poker face as he stopped at a red. “I worked.”
“You’re rich, you don’t gotta work.” Lana said arrogantly.
“That’s pretty ignorant of you.” He sounded unamused. “My parents are rich, not me. And, I worked on a farm during the summer, the owner was selling the ‘vette, and he gave me a pretty good deal. There, does that answer your shit?” “Yeah, it does.” She smiled in response, chuckling to herself. “Speaking of the car, are we taking this?” “No, we’re gonna take maybe some old two-thousand Chevy Impala or some shit. I dunno, some low under the radar car.” “A ninety-nine Civic would be nice, huh?” Lana thought. Those cars most of the time were riced the fuck out. They sounded horrible as well cause Civic’s didn’t have V8 engines, they had L4’s or something. So most of the time when the driver popped an exhaust on it. It sounded like a baby with a deep voice throwing up mixed with crying.
“With the computer, yeah.” Austin agreed, laughing to himself at just the very thought of a 1999 Honda Civic that was tuned to the shits that it had a computer. Shifting back into first gear so the Corvette could roll forward with traffic, he grew quiet again.
While Austin was driving, he had passed by Tori’s house. Lana had saw the Firebird that was parked out in the driveway, and behind the Firebird was Ashton’s Acura Integra. Lana sighed, knowing damn well that Ashton and Tori had gotten back together.
She was right, they were back together. When Austin had drove by Tori’s house. Ashton was at Tori’s place fucking the shit out of her. He was fucking her like a pig. Like usual, they had just recently got into an argument, and then right after Ashton would dick her down. He would loom over her, grabbing her by the throat. “You understand?” He would ask, and in response she would merely whimper from how hard the grip around her neck was.
Austin, had no idea about this. But Lana, who knew almost every detail about Ashton and Tori’s relationship, did know. She knew. And she hated it.
Lana shut the door to the Corvette once Austin had parked outside of Dal’s apartment. The both of them walked side by side, with Austin letting her walk up the stairs first, and him following behind. He grabbed the keys for the house, unlocked the door, and pushed it open for Lana to walk in first. She bid her thanks to him, and walked in.
“Hey Lana!” Dal smiled walking towards the pair. She smiled as they both pumped each other, then stepped back to Austin’s side. “I see you’ve met uh… Ozzie here.” He flicked his head towards Austin before looking back to wait for Tray.
Squinting her eyes and tilting her head, she looked over at Austin. “Ozzie?”
“My nick.” He murmured, scratching the back of his head before slipping his hands into his pockets. Tray had came walking out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on his black jacket. Dal and Tray were wearing matching outfits. They were both wearing white shirts, a black jacket that was unzipped, with some black baggy cargo pants.
“Ey, ‘sup Lana.” Tray greeted her, both of them pumping each other. Lana smiled, glad that Tray seemed to be just fine, considering their circumstanc
“Oh yeah Lana,” Dal started, her attention snapping over to his, “we finna pick some other people up if that’s cool with you.” “Yeah sure, I don’t mind.” She shrugged.
“Alright, cool… cause we’re gonna pick up this other chic.” He said, clasping his hands together lazily. “Pickin’ her up is part of the deal y’know?” He gently punched Austin’s shoulder before walking past him to leave the house with Tray following behind, who too, punched Austin’s shoulder gently.
That was a sort of greeting that told Lana that the twins had already accepted Austin as some sort of family. Austin followed them obediently, with Lana going after them like a dog. “Oh yeah Ozzie,” Tray looked back at Austin as the four of them were walking down the stairs, “you look like a motherfucker straight out of The Outsiders.”
“Yeah man, you look like a greaser.” Dal laughed, nodding his head as he grabbed the key fob to the car out of his pocket.
“Which one? Two-Bit?”
Tray shook his head. “Nah bruh, you look like uh.. Sodapop the really handsome dude.”
“No he don’t.” Dal disagreed respectfully.
Lana could see that the car the trio was heading towards was an old Chevy Impala like Austin had speculated. He must’ve went to multiple deals with them then. She thought to herself, her eyes focused on the blonde who remained quiet.
“Ozzie looks like… that Johnny kid, the kid who dies y’know? He’s got a baby face like Ozzie here.” Dal finished. Unlocking the car, Austin opened the door to the back seats, and he got in first to sit to the far left, while Lana sat on the far right, leaving the middle seat empty. Tray in the drivers side, and Dal in the passengers side.
—
Austin looked out the window when Tray pulled up to an empty motel. “What are we? Picking up a prosti…” He trailed off once he could see a woman making her way towards the Impala. Lana poked her head out from Austin’s shoulder, who was know unbuckling his seatbelt to scoot in the middle, then buckled his seatbelt once again.
The door swung open, and a woman in a short skirt, a crop top, who looked like she had just given head to an old man, leaned down to look in the car. “Get in, Alice.” Tray said calmly, and Alice blinked her siren eyes, staring at Austin for a moment before sitting beside him.
“Hi.” She smiled at Austin and Lana, who were looking at her with bewildered expressions. Austin had his brows furrowed with a sneer, and Lana was sitting there with her wide eyes. Turning to look over at Tray, she had wrapped her arms around his neck from behind the seat. “Tray when are we gonna go see Derek.” She whined.
“Soon, why the hell do you think we came to pick you up.” He muttered, pushing her arms away once he started the car again.
Austin blinked his eyes, looking at Tray. “Remind me, why’re we picking up a prostitute.” He asked, confused. “We’re not gonna have an orgy right?” “No!” Dal laughed, shaking his head. “Sorry for the rudeness Alice, but that there is Austin.” Dal turned to point towards the blonde, who looked at Alice with a smile. “The other is Lana, they’re both family, so don’t worry ‘bout em. They don’t mean any harm.” He assured her.
“An orgy wouldn’t sound so bad.” Alice shrugged when she looked at Austin again.
“He’s in high school, Alice.” Tray said protectively, his eyes visible in the rear view mirror.
“Oh, my bad.” Alice cringed then looked at Lana. “How’d you four meet?” She asked, her eyes examining all of them.
“Rehab.” Lana pointed to Austin, then she pointed to Dal and Tray. “I wanted to get drugs.”
“I see,”
“How’d you meet Dal and Tray?” Austin asked Alice.
“Drugs.” She smiled, and Lana smiled as well. The two of them nodded their heads and Austin sighed, sitting in the middle with a poker face.
—
Tray had pulled into a apartment complex. He was parked outside in the lot, and he had looked out the window with Dal. “I see em, wait here.” Dal told Tray, and Tray nodded in agreement. Dal popped the door of the Impala open, walked out, then shut the door. Lana, Austin, and Alice had watched Dal for a moment before looking away.
Dal walked down the side of the garages, there was a man with a baggy Hockey jersey on, he had a snapback, with frizzy hair. A face that looked like it needed to be shaved as well. Dal had his hands in his pockets when he stood in front of the man. “What’s good, Kyle.” They both shook each other’s hand.
“Did you bring Alice?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah bruv, I brought her.” “Good- you know how much she means to me.”
“Yeah man, I know.” Dal nodded his head, glancing back at the Impala before looking at Kyle. “Listen bro, we got the money, is King ready to see us?” He asked.
“Yeah, King’s ready. Go get Tray and I’ll take you to him.” Kyle nodded his head.
As the four of them sat in the car, Tray heard the passenger door pop back open. Dal had just lit a cigarette and he was leaning down. “Aye c’mon Tray, Kyle says he’s ready.”
“Slick.” Tray smiled. He turned to look at the glove box, and grabbed the lever to open it. Pulling the glove box down, he grabbed a stack of money, then shut the glove box. “Aye listen, Ozzie, Lana, and Alice, you three behave aight? Dal and I don’t want any trouble.” He ordered.
“Yeah we got it.” Austin said for all three of them.
“Shit man, just stay quiet aight?”
“Yessir.” Lana and Austin said, as Alice had grabbed a cigarette out of her purse to smoke. Tray opened the door, walking out of the car. He had left the three of them alone in the car, and Austin sighed. His eyes looking over at Alice as she rolled the window down to smoke. Lana as well rolled her window down, they didn’t want to create a heat box.
Dal, Tray, and Kyle were walking towards the apartment building that was on the second floor. Kyle had opened the door, and poked his head in. “I brought them!” Kyle shouted, and he looked over at Dal and Tray, allowing them to come in. Dal was the first to walk in, with Tray following close behind. Dal could see King sitting in the kitchen with a Glock in his hand.
There was a loose toothpick in his mouth that he was chewing on. It was most likely a cinnamon toothpick, which- those did actually taste very good. At least, to Dal they tasted good. Tray’s opinion on them was very mixed.
Beside King, was Kolton. He was young like Dal, but a bit younger. Kolton was at least 18 years old, and had gotten into the drug business by the age of 9. From what Dal knew about Kolton, he was rather nice to people who weren’t involved in this type of life. However, if someone was involved, he would be a total dickhead. Kolton was wearing a white tank top with some gray cargo shorts, with a gold chain. He had black frizzy hair. King had a black tank top on, a silver chain, and some black cargo shorts. The two of them both were wearing work boots.
Kolton was holding a Glock as well, and he stood still beside King. Who got up to walk over to Dal and Tray. “Hello boys.” He smiled, patting their backs. Dal smiled, and so did Tray. Dal looked into the living room of the apartment, they could see an old lady sitting in a wheelchair, with a cat sleeping on her lap. Her hand had been stroking the cat’s head between the ears.
“Hey King,” Dal smiled.
“You already know the drill.” King stepped back. Dal and Tray had both pressed their backs against the wall, lifted their arms up into the air and slightly spread their legs apart. Kolton had walked over to them, patting Tray down first. He could feel something thick in the pocket of Tray’s cargo pants. He had reached into the pocket, pulling out five stacks of 100s, he showed it too King, and King nodded. Letting Kolton put the stacks back into Tray’s pockets, then he pat Dal down first. He felt nothing but a cigarette box, and heard some car keys jingle.
Dal and Tray had pulled away from the wall, standing beside each other, they were told to walk towards the kitchen. They looked over into the little pantry closet, and could see a table inside, a man holding a rifle, and a suitcase that was in front of the table. Dal and Tray both knew who it was, his name was Kayden. He was quiet, didn’t say much. Dal thought back to himself. Have I even heard him speak?
“Did you bring anyone else?” King asked Dal.
“No,” Dal lied. Usually whenever Dal went to go do a deal with King. King never checked the car, but for some reason, King seemed to be a bit tight on the ropes.
“You ain’t fuckin’ lyin’ to me right Dal?” King pressed the nose of the Glock against Dal’s ribs.
And Dal calmly shook his head. “Nah sir, I ain’t lyin’ to you.” He said calmly. “What’s up with you? You’re never this on edge.” Dal commented.
“Some bitch snitched us out!” King snapped at Dal, who stared with slight wide eyes. “The police came by yesterday, thank god for Kolton’s quick thinking, we were able to get rid of the drugs.” “Oh…” Dal murmured, shaking his head. “Well King, I can promise you it wun’t us who snitched-“ “That don’t meat shit to me Dal!” King cut him off. He pressed the gun to the side of Dal’s neck. Dal kept his calm, keeping eye contact with King. “Give me your keys,” and Dal knew that the car was going to be searched. Shit. He bit his lower lip, but slowly reached into his pocket, taking the key fob out, and handed it to King who had held his hand out to take the car keys.
Kolton and Kayden both walked to King’s side, and King handed them the keys. Kolton and King walked out of the house.
While all of this was happening, Alice had been acting like a lunatic, at leas to Lana’s standards. Lana knew that this was a drug deal, and so did Austin. They were in the middle of this apartment, at 9PM at night, and most likely because of how ghetto the neighborhood was. The police could’ve showed up at any time for patrol.
Alice had taken out a small makeup box out of her purse, and she flipped it open. Inside the box was a needle, a spoon, and a bag of white powder. Lana and Austin both knew what it was, and nervousness hit them both like a truck. “Aye aye- Alice what the fuck are you doing?” She asked, leaning over Austin, who was leaning back to give Alice some space.
“What? It’s just heroin.” She smiled.
“Yeah no shit it’s just heroin. But why the fuck are you doing that here?”
“C’mon girlie, it’s fine.” She wasn’t even taking heroin but she was sounding high out of her mind.
“I don’t think doing heroin in the car-“ Lana looked out the window, seeing nobody, then looked at Alice, “-is a good fuckin’ idea! I mean, Austin is right beside you! Your fuckin’ needle could have STDs or some shit.”
“I don’t have STDs, Lana.” Alice grabbed the little baggie with white powder. She grabbed the spoon, open the bagged, and poured the powder onto the spoon. Then she grabbed the lighter, heating up the spoon from underneath. Austin gulped, scooting so far back that he was practically squishing Lana against the door.
“Jesus Christ Austin, give me some room here buddy I can barely breathe-“ Lana gasped, feeling Austin’s body scoot further back against her body, “-I’m serious dude give me some room.” “I can’t, Clark.” Austin looked back at her. He pointed to Alice who had now held her leg up. Her leg was on Austin’s knee, spreading her legs a bit. Lana and Austin both looked at Alice, seeing how she was wearing no panties from underneath her pink skirt. Austin looked up at the ceiling of the car, not wanting to intrude on what she was doing.
Lana’s jaw dropped in bewilderment. She had seen people do heroin sure, but she never saw people put heroin in their ass or inner thigh. “Dude, put that shit away bro.” Lana said without even thinking. She was disgusted but at the same time she was genuinely intrigued. It was like those videos were people pick out in grown hair or pop a zit, it’s disgusting, but she just couldn’t stop looking.
“Lana bear calm down, it’s just heroin.” Alice giggled like a school girl, and Lana watched as the needle had entered into her lower thigh, and for some reason Alice had let out a soft moan at the feeling of the needle.
“What the fuck- are you a masochist or something bro- put your crotch away man, nobody wants to see that loose hole of yours.” Lana looked out the window, groaning from frustration. No way my life has came to this. She thought to herself. She glanced back at Austin who kept staring up at the ceiling, she could see his Adam’s apple move from gulping down his saliva.
Suddenly, the door behind her popped open. “What the fu-“ She fell out of the car, her head hitting the asphalt first. She could feel a hand grab the back of her shirt, lifting her up onto her feet. “Woah bro- dude chill.” Lana said, and Austin stepped out the car. Lana was looking straight, she hadn’t known who was holding her from behind.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Dude I don’t even know.” She chuckled to herself, and she could see the man across the car help Alice up.
“What the fuck are you doing heroin at a drug deal, what are you a hooker?” The man sounded confused when he took the needle out of Alice’s inner thigh. A face of disgust, then he shut the door of the car.
“C’mon you three,” Lana could hear the voice behind her say. Austin was the first one to walk forward, sighing as he kept his hands in the air.
Dal could see the door open, he was greeted with Lana, Austin, then Alice. “I thought you said there was nobody in the god damn car, Dal!” King leapt onto Dal’s case. Tray kept quiet, watching the three of them. “What the fuck were you thinking bringing three people to a deal? Three people who I don’t even know huh Dal? Who the fuck are these people?!”
“They’re trustworthy King, believe me. Ozzie and Lana are like family to me.” Dal kept his calm tone, his dazed eyes blinking. Tray glared at King, and Kolton had thrown Lana to the wall, with Austin standing beside her. Alice stood beside Tray, the five of them were lined up against the walls.
“Nah, nah nah,” King chuckled, “I don’t believe you. Not after that stupid ass fuckin’ accident!” He shouted at Dal. His face was only a few inches away from Dal, but Dal kept his calm demeanor. “Strip, all of you!”
“What- wait,” Dal blinked his eyes in confusion, “why are we stripping-“
“You might have a wire.” “King you’ve known me for two years, what the fuck would I have a wire for?” Dal growled. Tray had taken off his jacket by now, and grabbed the hem of his shirt to take off.
“You gonna strip or are you gonna die?!” King pointed the Glock to Dal’s head again. And Dal glared at King, nibbling on his lower lip before taking his jacket off. He grabbed his shirt and threw it onto the ground. King looked at Alice, “you too, princess.” He snapped.
Austin and Lana both stood behind King, their body pressed against the wall. They were both in high school, and weren’t willing to strip purely because they felt uncomfortable. They didn’t even move a single time, just kept staring at King as he was too focused on Dal, Tray, and Alice.
King pointed the Glock to Kyle after, “you too Kyle! You strip!”
“I work for-“ King banged the grip of the Glock onto Kyle’s face. Bruising his eye.
“I don’t give a damn, strip.” King growled. “The only trust worthy ones here is Kolton and Kayden.” King grabbed the chair from the kitchen table. Kyle obediently listened to King, he unbuckled his belt that was holding his denim jeans together. King turned around to face Austin and Lana, who had kept quiet the whole time. He stood there for a moment, processing the fact that they hadn’t moved a muscle, they just kept staring at King. Lana had wide eyes, but Austin blinked slowly, a relaxed expression on his face. “Did you not hear me? I said strip.” King snapped.
Lana gulped her fear down, “I’m- I’m in- we’re in high—“ she felt King grab the hem of her shirt, pulling her towards his face.
“In high school? You two are in fuckin’ high school? Yeah that’s some bullshit excuse, I bet you’re a god damn hooker eh.” King pointed the nose of the Glock to Lana’s throat.
“No I’m seriously in high school I can show you my-“ She was thrown to the side away from the wall.
King looked at Austin, keeping the nose of the gun pressed against Lana’s side. While Kolton had been pointing his Glock to Austin’s head. “You…” He began, glaring at Austin. His eyes were checking the high schooler out. “You look like you belong on the Disney Channel, you don’t have to strip. You actually look like a High Schooler.”
“Uh… thanks…” Austin raised a brow, confused.
King turned to look over at Lana. “And since you’re too uncomfortable to strip, you’re coming with me.” He kept a tight grip around her arm, dragging her to the bathroom. Austin looked over at Alice, who was sitting on the ground with her top off, and her skirt lifted up.
Kolton pointed the Glock towards all of them. “Go to the kitchen, all of you.” He ordered, and Dal, Tray, Austin, and Alice walked towards the kitchen. Tray stood beside Kyle, Dal beside Tray, Alice beside Dal, and Austin beside Alice. Dal and Tray had both been covering their crotch, and Kyle seemed casual. Just letting it hang. Go you I guess. Austin thought to himself as he was staring at the wall.
Kolton walked towards Austin, his brow raised as he kept the Glock pointed to Austin’s ribs. He tilted his head as he was studying the blonde. “You do look like a high schooler…” Kolton murmured, leaning back to get a better look.
“Uh- thanks, I guess?” Austin murmured in a confused tone.
Dal blinked, looking at all five of them before looking at Kolton. “Aye Kolton, that chic is a high schooler-“
Kolton glared at Dal. “High schooler my god damn ass! She looks like a hooker!” “Hookers don’t wear flannels you idiot!” Dal countered, only to be greeted with a punch across his face with the nose of the Glock.
“Shut the fuck up, Dal.”
Austin stood still, thinking to himself for a moment for a moment. Dal did bring up a good point. Hookers didn’t wear flannels. Lana’s hair was messy as hell, she was wearing a flannel that was too big for her because it belonged to Austin. She was also wearing sweatpants as well. She looked like a hobo if Austin as being honest with himself.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom Lana was against the wall. With King pointing the Glock towards her. “Where’s your ID?” He asked her, and she pointed to the pocket of her sweats. He reached inside, taking out her wallet. Opened it up, and he saw the ID. Lana Clark, age 17. “Alright, here.” He gave the wallet back to Lana, and she put it in her pocket. “C’mon you.” Grabbing her arm, he dragged her out the bathroom.
Dude could’ve literally asked for my wallet out there why the fuck would he do it in the bathroom. She thought to herself, her eyes squinted in confusion.
Austin could see Lana appear out from the hall. Still being dragged by King, who had thrown her in beside Austin. Her side hit him, which caused him to slightly stumble, but he was still careful to not hit Alice. To which he knew, she was high out of her god damn mind. She looked completely out of it. She was leaning back on the wall, naked, staring at the wall with teary eyes, and messy brunette hair.
King breathed, looking at Kolton. “Kolton, they didn’t fuck around did they?”
“No sir, they didn’t.” Kolton shook his head. King smiled and walked towards the old woman in the living room who looked like their grandmother. King leaned down to whisper something into her ear. She looked up at him, telling him something quietly, and he nodded his head.
King walked back in the kitchen, pointing to Dal. “Dal, Grandma wants to talk to you.”
“Shit, alright.” Dal breathed, walking towards the grandmother in the living room. Lana raised a brow. Wait you’re telling me the Grandma is in charge? That’s pretty hard not gonna lie. She tried her best not to smile, but she was impressed. The fact that some old woman, who looked paralyzed, was in charge, and respected by King? That was impressive.
“Hello Dal,” The old woman said, looking up at him. Dal had kept his hands over his crotch.
“Hello Ms. Tran.” Dal looked over at the grandma. She had motioned for him to lean down, to which he did. He crouched down beside her wheelchair. “Yes ma’am?” He asked.
“Dal, I’ve known you for a long time. Since you first got into the business.”
“Yes ma’am, I know.” He nodded.
She smiled, patting his shoulder. In a sweet grandmotherly like tone, she spoke to him. “What the hell were you thinking bringing people who I don’t know along, when there we got raided not even a week ago hm?”
“Yes ma’am, I apologize for that.” He dipped his head respectfully. “But ma’am, I can promise you that they’re trustworthy.”
“Why should I trust someone who brings a high school student to a drug deal?” She asked him, looking at him curiously.
“Well, you see ma’am. I trust ‘em both. Austin, the blonde one- his brother was Alan, and as you know, he passed away.”
“Ah yes,” Ms. Tran nodded solemnly. “It’s a shame Alan passed away.”
“Yes, very.” Dal agreed sadly, “But, Austin got kicked out of his house. So he lives with me, and he’s also a business partner.” He explained. “For Lana, the one in the flannel with an attitude. I’ve known her for awhile ma’am, she’s like family.”
“So you trust them both, one hundred percent right?” She asked.
“Yes ma’am, I trust them both.” He narrowed his eyes, nodding firmly. “Even Tray trusts ‘em.”
“I see,” Ms. Tran breathed, nodding her head, “alright, tell King to proceed with the deal.”
“Just one question ma’am,”
“Yes Dal?”
“May we get dressed?”
Dal was standing in front of Kayden who had been sitting on the chair with his legs up on the table. He was holding the STG-44 close to his torso, glaring at Dal who had been waiting with his arms folded. Behind him was Tray, Austin, and Lana. Who had been watching the whole time quietly.
King had rolled in Ms. Tran who had been holding a suitcase, she put it down on the table, and then turned around to face the group. “You got the money Dal?” She asked him.
“Yes ma’am I do.” He looked over at Tray, who had reached into his pockets to take out the stacks of money. Dal took the stacks and put them down on the table. Kayden leaned forward to get the stacks, counting them up before nodding his head to Ms. Tran.
She had grabbed the suitcase and opened it, turning it over so it could face Dal. Lana poked her head out of Austin’s shoulder, seeing that the suitcase had at least three pounds of weed, and was filled with pill bottles. Dal nodded his head, taking the suitcase and shutting it closed. He looked over at Austin, who had leaned forward to pick up the suitcase, then turned around to hand it to Tray, who held it in his hands.
“Don’t forget, fourteen percent.” Ms. Tran pointed to Dal.
“Yeah, of course.” Dal nodded his head. “Thank you for your time Ms. Tran.” Dal, Tray, and Austin had dipped their heads in thanks, then they had left the little closet. With Lana waving bye to Ms. Tran, and the four of them left.
“Lana when do you have to get home?” Tray asked as they walked back to the car.
“Eleven.” She answered calmly. And Tray gave a nod, looking over at Austin who had was walking the furthest behind. They had left Alice with Kyle. When the four of them had left the house, Alice was already on top of Kyle having her fun. Which was fine to them, but Lana was curious how having sex would be like when high on heroin.
Austin opened the back door of the Impala for Lana, who sat down in the middle, refused to sit where Alice sat, and Austin had sat down beside her. Tray had thrown the suitcase into the trunk of the Impala, then went to the drivers side.
While Tray had been driving, Lana had been freaking out. “Man, did you see that guy? What was his name? King? I thought he was the leader but dude was working for the woman in the wheelchair?” She exclaimed, genuinely impressed and amazed that Ms. Tran was even in charge. “Who woulda thought that an old little woman would’a been the leader!” She laughed.
“Lana shut the fuck up!” Dal snapped at her. “You’re pissin’ me off man! We could’a died and you’re over there laughing?”
“Aw c’mon Dal,” Austin piped up, “you gotta admit, that goes pretty hard.” He defended Lana. “I mean, that’s pretty badass. How many old women do you know that is the leader of a gang.” He asked.
Dal chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “Just Ms. Tran.” He smiled, glancing back at them to look at them both. “Ozzie, you finna drop Lana off right?”
“Yeah, I’ll drop Clark off.” He nodded his head, and Dal smiled.
“Get her mother something, Ozzie.” Tray glanced at the rear view mirror.
“Yes sir.”
—
Lana was leaning back in the Corvette, and Austin was holding a bouquet of flowers. Austin drove passed Tori’s house again and could see the Integra that was still parked out in her driveway. She could see that it was just the Firebird and Teggy, indicating that her parents weren’t home. “Ashton has been at Tori’s place the whole day.”
Austin glanced at Tori’s house. Popping a bubble from the gum he was chewing on. “Yeah, Sanchez’ parents aren’t home.” He shrugged. “It’s their anniversary or sum’n but it’s not like they’ll spend it together.”
“What? How’d you know that?”
“I go to her house a lot.” He informed. Lana was surprised by this. She has known that Tori and Austin had grown close over the first month of school. But she had no idea that he went to her house. Kind of odd, considering how Tori was a blabber mouth. She figured Tori would tell her about it but Tori kept quiet. Maybe for Ashton.
“Why?” Lana asked.
“I go to her house to fix her dad’s work truck.” He glanced at her, smiling a bit. “Her dad likes me. So does her mother.” He murmured.
“Does Ashton know?”
“No. I sneak around. Basically.”
Lana smiled at his answer. Nodding her head when she saw Austin down shift into second gear. “Bro you sound like a god damn side hoe.”
“Thank you.” He chuckled lowly as he was pulling up to Lana’s place. He parked the car in the driveway, Lana popped the door open and she could see him hold the bouquet of flowers, walking towards the front door with Austin by her side.
He gave Mrs. Clark the flowers, and she had complimented his looks. Then had left to go make dinner for Lana. Just before he could leave, he had been leaning on the doorframe with a smirk on his face. Popping a bubble from the gum he was chewing on. “I’ll probably go to Sanchez’ place since she needs me for somethin.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket.
“You ain’t doin’ the doggy with her are you?”
“Nah man, I ain’t like that.” He shook his head, lowering his head for a moment to look at his boots then at Lana. “I’ll cya tomorrow yeah?”
“Yeah of course.” She smiled, and they both gave each other a bear hug. He smelled like his car, which had the smelled like Dal, and Dal smelled like fruit loops. Why? Because Dal and Tray were always eating fruit loops.
“Cya man.” He quickly ruffled Lana’s hair, turning his back on her to walk back to his car. She watched him enter the car and turn the engine on. The chop and blowps that came from the engine and exhaust of the Corvette was music to her ears.
Summary: Lana (oc) has just came back from rehab. While she was in rehab, she had met several different people, one of them having the name of Austin Butler who had just moved into town. Lana and him are invited to a party. At the party, one of Lana’s friends get hit on, to which Austin defends said friend.
Warnings: angst, drugs, smoking, cursing, violence, all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: I just needed to get a story out. I might expand on this plot I have no idea. Also, I have a passion for cars and I feel like this story low key shows that—? If there’s typos I’m sorry. I wrote this at 1AM and it is currently 4:43AM as I am re-reading it, spare me.
MASTERLIST
—
People say a lot of things can go down in the summer. Or not, sometimes people just have a boring summer. But for Lana, needless to say it was pretty exciting. To put it front she had overdosed in the first week of summer break and had to spend the rest of her summer in rehab. God knows what she has overdosed on, but she had visited her drug dealer buddy. Which that turned into something deadly, where she and her drug dealer buddy got threatened, and in as a result she overdosed. The experience for everyone was scary, except for her, she says: she was vibin. Needless to say everyone thought she was dead.
At least five days till senior year started, and she had just gotten back from rehab. She was standing in front of someone who she considered to be family. He was short, about 5’8” and had a scar going across his face due to a bike accident he had when he was younger. He had a buzzcut, always wore a Hockey cap. With the logo of the SJ Sharks. “So, you back?” He was looking up at her with a cigarette between his ear and head.
She stood in front of him, nodding. “Yep.”
“Aight, that’s what’s up.” He leaned off his chair, held out his hand and they both pumped each other. Leaning back then took the cigarette to light it up. “I thought you fuckin’ died man, sure as shit scared me.” He scoffed, blowing out a bit of smoke away from her.
“Nah, I’m good.” She shook her head. “How’ve you been Dal?”
Dal was a drug dealer. He owned a convenient store with his twin brother named Tray. Dal was the older brother by at least five minutes, he was 23, dropped out from the high school Lana was going to at the age of 17. His twin brother Tray also dropped out at a young age as well, maybe 14 or something along the lines of teen. Which Dal didn’t mind. The two brothers had their little drug business, plus with the store? They had a good amount of bank coming their way.
At first Lana was unsure about Dal. But after being friends with him for a solid year or two. Lana was sure about Dal and Tray now. She knew that Dal was a real and genuine friend, who actually gave some sort of shit about her. She trusted Dal and Tray, and the same went for the both of them.
“I’ve been alright.” Dal smiled, nodding his head for a few moments. “How’ve you been though, Lana.”
“Been alright.” She chuckled. “Hey, is Tray- still-?”
“Aw c’mon, you can’t be serious. You just got back.” Dal tilted his head, confused.
“Nah, I wanna say hi to him is all. I’m off that shit for good. No worries.” Lana knew that Dal was implying about the glass and powder that they sold.
“Oh aight, yeah he’s in there.” Dal nodded understandably. They both gave each other one more pump before Lana had smiled, skipping into the convenience store while he smoked his cigarette.
Lana opened the door to the fridge and walked inside. Finding Tray who was leaning back and listening to music. Tray was in nothing but a tank top and some sweats, wearing a silver chain necklace. He looked up, seeing Lana. “Yo! What’s up Lana!” They both pumped each other. “Thought you died bruv.” He sniffled, rubbing his nose.
“Seems like everyone thought I died.” She joked, a charming smile plastered on her face. Tray returned that friendly smile, nodding his head. “You got anything new?” She asked.
“Got some of that fuckin’ murky shit, check it out.” He grabbed a little baggie of powder. Holding it up to her face, she leaned down to look at it, nodding her head in approval. “Where you put that shit in the spoon and heat it up, Dal says it’s some strong shit bruv.” Tray smirked proudly before putting it down.
Tray reached into a little bucket, holding it out. The bucket was filled with bags that had at least three pills of LSD. “What type of acid is that?”
“It’s got levels.” He held up the bag to her. Which she took so she could look at it decently, nodding her head still. She had squinted her eyes. The pills looked to be formed in sugar cubes, and the other bag Tray held out had little smiley faces stamped on them. “Them sugar cubes is the shit bro!” His tone was filled with excitement.
Lana nodded her head, smiling a bit. She was happy that he was excited about drugs. Even though drugs were bad of course, the fact that Tray obviously had some sort of passion for them was low key pretty cute. Tray and Dal never took the drugs either, they simply held and sold them.
“What do they do?” She asked.
“Some psychological shit. One of the clients tripped out for two days straight.”
“Shit, that’s pretty dope.” Lana admitted.
“But ey man,” Tray snapped her attention from the drugs to him, “Dal and I really did miss you man.”
“I missed you too, Tray.”
Lana left the store after. Tray had given her an ice cream sandwich with a bag of cheetos. Which was her favorite snack. She had decided to walk home, with her hands in the pockets of her sweatpants.
While she had been walking, a familiar car had drove passed her, slowed down until Lana was walking beside the car. She recognized it, it was a blacked out 2000 Pontiac Firebird that the owner of said car actually bought with their own money. Lana side eyed the car, seeing their window roll down. “Hey Lana, is that you?!” They exclaimed excitedly through the window.
Lana leaned down, walking to the rolled down window. “Yep!” She nodded her head. She had already known who the driver was. Her name was Victoria Sanchez, aka Tori.
Victoria was fucking crazy to put it short. Absolute fucking psycho. At least to the boys who had dated her. Lana liked her, Victoria was always super nice to her, and in Lana’s eyes. Victoria had a heart of gold. She was small, about 5’3” had tan skin with black hair that was slightly wavy. With the perfect siren eyes, and perfect lips as well, and a small nose. Needless to say, she was a real treat n’ beauty.
The opposite could be said of her boyfriend Ashton Tucker. Ashton was a dickhead, a jock really. He was tall, about 6’3” so a solid foot taller than Victoria. Lana and Ashton didn’t get along at all, they actually got into a fist fight with each other in Freshman year due to the fact that he had tried to grope her at the school dance, homecoming to be exact. Which resulted into her decking him across the face, and the both of them went at it.
Ashton took pride in himself, he was the footballs team quarterback and their captain as well. He had brunette hair with a sharp jawline, good nose. Lana didn’t like thinking about him, but he was the school heartthrob at the time. Girls thirsted over him. Ashton though always had eyes for Victoria.
Their relationship was toxic needless to say. Lana had watched the two get into a screaming competition. With Ashton repeatedly calling her fucking insane, and Victoria yelling about how psychotic he was. It was a relationship that had the same taste as eating raw sardines with expired beans, joined up with soda that had no carbon. Lana knew all about it due to the fact she was good friends with Tori.
“Damn bitch, I thought you died!” Tori shouted, laughing. She was glad to see Lana after two months. Lana shook her head, happy that Tori seemed excited. “Come on in, I’ll give you a ride to wherever you’re going.”
“Appreciate that, Tori,” Lana opened the door of the Firebird, sitting in the passengers side.
“Oh my god c’mere bitch, you have to let me hug you.” Tori opened her arms and they both hugged each other. Tori leaned back in her seat, grabbed the gear shifter of the car and put it into first gear, driving forward. “I’ve missed you, Lana.” She smiled.
“Missed you too.” Lana responded. She meant that. She actually did miss Tori, in spite of them being polar opposites. Lana had missed the excitement and attitude that Tori had, it was rather entertaining.
“How was rehab?” Tori kept her eyes on the road.
Lana leaned back, thinking to herself before answering. “Pretty good, the people there were nice.”
This was true. The people at rehab all had problems and all were fairly nice. Nobody there was judgmental. They were all supportive of each other, plus, Lana had actually met a really cool dude there.
The doctors there were also cautious about the drugs they would give her every time something went down. At one point she asked the doctor for a specific drug, and they said to just stick with Advil and Tylenol, and in response Lana said she never wanted that doctor again.
He laughed at that response. He was a sweet doctor. Actually he was Lana’s favorite. His name was Mr. Gilbert.
“That’s good, hey-“ Tori turned to look at Lana, “wanna come hangout with Alex, Beth, and I for a bit? I’m going over to Alex’s place first to pick her up.” She asked innocently. Lana nodded, smiling. Tori giggled, she wasn’t over the fact that Lana was back. Lana looked great, her wavy brunette hair was cut short. Her tanned skin actually looked somewhat smooth. But she still had her eye-bags. Which was fine to Lana. It was completely okay considering the last time she saw Lana, she was a mess. To be specific, Lana was wearing a shirt she threw up on without washing it.
When Tori saw that, all she could say was: shit, drugs really do fuck you up huh? And to that statement. Beth agreed.
Lana sat in the car for a bit, watching Tori shift through the gears. “Hey,” she brought up, and Tori glanced at her, “has anything interesting happened while I’ve been gone?”
“Well,” she hummed, thinking to herself for a few moments before answering, “well… there’s this new kid that’s in our grade this year. I heard he just moved here.” She started.
“Oh.”
Continuing on, “I heard he’s super cute, his name’s Austin.”
Lana blinked, “Austin?” She echoed his name.
“Austin.” Tori repeated after her.
“Butler?”
“You know him?” Tori blinked, confused.
“Well- yeah.” Lana shrugged.
Austin Butler was a kid she met in rehab. He wasn’t a patient there, but was there to see his older brother who had overdosed like Lana. From what she could recall, Austin had been bored one day and walked to the lobby to which Lana was there trying to buy a Snickers bar from the vending machine.
Austin instantly recognized she was a patient due to the clothes she was wearing. And was happy that there was someone there that was at least close to his age. He approached her, offered to buy her the snickers since she had no money, and she gladly agreed. Didn’t want to spend money.
Austin was a super chill dude actually. And yes, Tori was right. He was a pretty cute dude. Although Lana could remember he had a super awkward smile. But, regardless, he was nice. Austin was a guy who was 100% clean, didn’t do drugs, drank, or smoke. Didn’t have any socials either. Lived his life low, he was a minimalist, which of course- considering Lana’s generation, was probably a real shock.
Austin told Lana he hadn’t done anything like that because of his family. He came from a line of addicts, and so he steered away from drugs. Plus, his relationship with his mom and dad weren’t so good.
Eventually Austin’s brother had left rehab. But Austin still came over every day to see Lana, check up on her since she was his only friend. Unfortunately, Austin had to come tell her that his older brother relapsed and passed away.
“Yeah,” Lana nodded her head, puckering her lips when she was thinking then smiled, “Austin’s a good friend of mine. He was at rehab with me.”
“A patient?” Tori seemed surprised.
“Oh no, his brother was a patient. Not him.”
“Oh- so you’ve met him?” Tori tilted her head to think herself. “Is he cute? Alex says he looks like someone from the sixties.”
“Yeah,” Lana agreed without any hesitation. She had no problem complimenting Austin, he deserved it. She kept nodding her head when she was thinking of him, “he’s good looking for sure. Tall, blonde, gray eyes, and he plays Hockey.”
“Hockey?”
“Yeah, he plays for the Campbell Vipers.” Lana confirmed. “Deep voice. Definitely the new heartthrob.”
“Oh…” Tori blinked as she kept trying to envision how he looked. “Ashton’s probably better.” Lana thinned her lips in disagreement. Ashton’s the spawn of satan. She thought to herself. “Speaking of him, we broke up.”
“Again?” This came to no surprise.
Ashton and Victoria probably broke up at least twice a month. Lana was actually low key sick of it. Tori would cry about him then the very next week she’d be getting dicked down by him. It wasn’t just Lana who was sick of it. Even Alex, someone who was passive, more passive than Lana, was sick of it. As well as Beth. The whole group was tired of it.
“The hell do you mean, again?” Tori mimicked Lana’s deeper tone.
Lana squinted her eyes at Tori. “Don’t you and him break up like forty times a year?” She leaned back further in the passengers seat, sweeping her hair away from her eyes.
“So? I love him.”
Lana chuckled to herself. “More like you lust for him.” She murmured underneath her breath, whilst staring out the window.
—
School had finally started and like usual they had a pep rally and an assembly to get everyone ready with what would happen for the school year.
Tori had picked her up because once again, she found Lana walking by herself. Why? Well because when Lana wasn’t sober. She couldn’t actually properly bike. At one point she actually biked into the lake, couldn’t retrieve her bike back then. Even Alex was shocked when she found out about the bike. And it took a lot to somewhat surprise Alex.
While Tori drove Lana to school, they talked about the usual which was obviously about the new boy that was coming to Preston. Frankly, he was the talk of the town. Which was one of the nuisances of living in a small town such as Campbell.
There was only about maybe 7,000 people living in Campbell, so pretty much everyone knew each other. Welcome to the suburbs. Lana had known that when she overdosed, she was the talk of the town. And it was the same for Austin Butler. If Lana was being truthful, she was slightly surprised that everyone had just found out about him.
But then again, it didn’t come as to much of a shock. Austin was always going to rehab, for gods sakes he even slept there overnight. So it made some sort of sense to Lana that not everyone knew of him. Tori had talked about Austin to Alex and Beth, who kept saying how they heard he went to jail, got kicked out of private school, was a richie bitch, he was a manwhore, couldn’t keep a girl for more than a week- maybe 3 days if the chic was unlucky.
Lana was bothered by this type of talk no doubt. She had known Austin for two months and what she did know what that most things said about him were untrue. She wasn’t urged to defend him however, why would she anyways? He was a Hockey player. Those guys can beat if they want to.
As she was sitting in the bleachers of the gym, she could see hordes of the other seniors walking in. And as she stared down at the crowd, she spotted him. He wasn’t hard to miss, he had golden hair, and honestly, it was nice. But not just golden hair, he was tall. Maybe one of the tallest kids in school. The tallest was Miller, who was 6’5”, then came Ashton who was 6’3”, then Austin who was 6’1”.
Lana got up from her spot and screamed his name. Which caused him to poke his head up from the bottom of the bleachers, and at an instant that awkward gummy smile of his peered on his face. Tori, Alex, and Beth looked up at Lana, confused why she was screaming. Then looked to where Lana was waving, and they saw the blonde walking towards them. “Austin!! Get the fuck over here!” She shouted with her arms waving around like there was no tomorrow.
Austin quickly walked up the stairs towards the top row of the bleachers. Wearing a backpack that was slagging off his shoulder, he reached Lana. With a smile, his hand went for hers, quickly dapped her up, then gave her a quick bear hug. “What’s up Clark? Didn’t know you went here.” Clark was Lana’s last name, Austin had a thing where’d he call people by their last name. Due to respect. But, this also taught Lana something about him. If he called someone by their first name, he probably didn’t like them, or he was pissed.
“Please, it’s either Westen, or here. And Westen is the private school, so fuck that.” Lana sat back down beside Tori, patting the spot beside her. Austin dropped his backpack between his legs before sitting down beside Lana.
He looked over her shoulder, flicking his head towards her group. “Who are these chics.” He asked innocently.
“This is Victoria Sanchez, she goes by Tori,” Lana pointed to her. And Austin smiled at her quickly. “The other is Alex Bradley, and that’s Beth Williams.”
“Sup.” He smiled at the three of them before leaning back on the wall. Tori stared at Austin, absolutely starstruck. The same went for Alex and Beth, who couldn’t keep their eyes off of him.
“Hey,” Beth started, pushing her blonde hair behind her ear, “Mason Cooper is hosting a party- a back to school party around five up till god knows what time, you guys wanna come?” She looked at the four of them. All of them except for Austin nodded, and Beth eyed the other blonde who sat at the end of the line. “What about you, Aus? You wanna come?”
The question was answered with silence. Austin was looking at Lana, as if he was asking for permission to come. Lana gave a nod, deciding to answer for him. “Austin will come, I’m sure he will.” Lana glanced at Beth then at Austin. “You’re comin’ right, dude?”
“Yeah, totally.” There was a small smile on his face. And Lana looked at Beth, confirming for her.
“I’ll pick you guys up then.” Alex answered. “I got the biggest vehicle out of everyone here.” She brushed her hair back. This was true, Alex own a white heavy duty 2010 Ram 2500 6.7 cummins mega-cab that ate up all her fuel. It took 6 miles to the gallon which was actually atrocious. The truck was beloved however so it wasn’t like she could get rid of it. The truck actually belonged to her father, he’s a contractor. But regardless, Lana and the group felt bad for Alex. Who was mostly complaining about the awful mpg.
Austin nodded his head, before speaking. “Y’all don’t gotta pick me up.” He waved his hand apologetically. “I’ll drive there myself- Lana, could you send me the address?”
“Yeah of course.” Lana looked over at Beth, who understood what Lana wanted. Then the three of them leaned back against the wall. The pep rally was starting and the music was blaring like there was no tomorrow. Tori leaned forward to look at Austin. Lana expected a conversation was to spark, and she was going to sit in the middle of it.
“So Austin, where are you from?” Yep, Lana was right. Tori was starting up a conversation with the golden boy.
Austin leaned towards Tori so he could hear her properly. Meaning his side profile was right in front of Lana’s chest. “I’m from the West Coast.”
“But you play for the Campbell Vipers?”
“How’d you know that?” Austin chuckled. “Lana tell you or sum’n?”
“Yeah! She says you play for them. I didn’t know you were a Hockey dude.” She leaned close to him, their faces just inches away.
Austin gave a measly shrug. Thinking of an answer. As if he was supposed to make one up to impress Tori. But simply gave her the truth. “I lived in the West Coast before moving to the next town by age five. I was in a daycare in elementary. And the teacher there was a Hockey coach in his spare time, he asked if I was interested and I said yes. I started off in the peewee league before being transferred to the Vipers.”
The Campbell Vipers was actually a good Hockey team, and mostly everyone was proud of them. Even in spite of them just being a team of high school players, the team was incredibly talented. The teams color was crimson and black, with their logo being the insignia of a saw-scaled Viper.
Lana didn’t know any of the players due to the fact that their jerseys didn’t have their last names or first names, just their number. Austin’s number was three, this was because he was the third youngest in his family. He had an older sister who played Volleyball in high school, and got a scholarship for it as well. Austin was trying to follow the same path of getting a scholarship for Hockey.
Lana sat in the middle of their conversation. Her eyes looked through the bleachers, finally stopping at the bottom row. She could see Ashton staring up at the group. Lana blinked her eyes, noticing how he was glaring at Austin. Who was currently having a pleasant conversation with Tori about Hockey.
Lana bit her lower lip, not sure how Ashton would possibly react to this considering he was a dickhead and a jock as well. But Lana knew that Ashton was too pussy to even beat Austin in school. Lana could remember all the times that Ashton would beat someone to a pulp outside of school purely for interacting with Tori. The only people who could interact with Tori were chics, and guys? Well good luck to that.
Lana listened to Tori giggling as Austin was telling her about his life, due to the fact that she was so curious about it.
Austin got kicked out of his house after his brother’s passing for fighting with his mom’s boyfriend. He couldn’t live with his sister because she was off in college living in the dorms so that was off limits. So Austin figured why not live with Dal and Tray. It was a surprise that Austin actually knew the duo, but he had revealed that because of his older brother, almost all his friends, if not all of them were drug addicts.
Druggies to Austin were probably one of the nicest people on the earth, just lost was all. He also revealed that he was close friends with Dal and Tray due to his brother being friends with them as well. The duo had been letting Austin live with them for free. Only thing was that Austin had to respect their mother, who was unfortunately ill. Since the blonde was so polite, and since their mother loved him, Austin was allowed to stay as long as he wanted.
Whenever Hockey season was over, Austin would work for a rancher that lived in Gilroy. He loved horses and cattle, knew how to herd them with the help of a trusty Border Collie. Austin was a clean cut American boy with a cowboy background. Word.
“You sound interesting.” Tori smiled at him. “We should hangout sometime.”
“Whatever you want, miss.” He shrugged. “What about you? Where are you from, huh?” His voice was as smooth as butter Lana admitted to herself. But at the same time she was dreading this conversation. She was sitting in the middle, Ashton the psycho was glaring at them, which meant something was gonna go down soon.
Lana looked at her surroundings. Seeing how there were multiple pairs of eyes looking at Austin. She knew he’d be the knew heartthrob, and she slightly hated that she was friends with said heartthrob. But, at the same time she liked it. It told her that not all good looking guys were actually dickheads.
Victoria was from a place that was the opposite of Austin. She didn’t come from a rich family but rather from just a middle class family. She was surprisingly the only child, and it was surprising because everyone else in the whole entire friend group, including Lana, had siblings. But not Victoria, she was the only child, and was low key spoiled.
Sassy and had an attitude. However, she was always willing to defend her friends. Victoria revealed to Austin that she hated her parents, her dad specifically because of how loveless their marriage was. Her dad had been sleeping on the couch for as long as she could remember. Always drinking beer and never interacting. And when there was some sort of interaction, it was met with screams and shouting. Since her parents had a loveless marriage, Tori would often fantasize about marrying a man who genuinely loved her for who she was. Fantasized about having a healthy marriage.
Which was actually really ironic considering that her and Ashton would have sex 24/7 and when they weren’t fucking there were screaming. Aye, but sex and arguments make the perfect cup of joe. He really must love her for who she is… 100%. Lana thought as she listened to Tori.
She loved makeup, and also did drugs now and then. She didn’t vape, but she smoked cigarettes quite often. Her favorite was Marlboro Red, the strongest. She told Austin how she was good friends with Dal and Tray. This- was false. She wasn’t. She knew them sure but she wasn’t actually good friends with them. Lana was good friends with them. Not Tori. Maybe Tori thought she was close with them due to the fact that Dal and Tray had this sense of protecting Tori.
Tori then revealed her on and off relationship with Ashton to him. She told him how Ashton was a dickhead, how he was probably psychotic with some anger issues he needed to work on. Ashton once grabbed Tori by the throat and slammed her against the wall because she pointed out the stain he had on his shirt. She told Austin how Ashton dumped her because he thought she looked like a whore. In fact, he would often degrade her outfits, calling her a when he got the chance whore. Even when they weren’t in bed. She had told Austin. “If he were dating me now, he’d probably say I look like a whore.”
Tori was wearing a gray crop top with some gray sweatpants. She honestly looked great. A bit of her cleavage was showing and so was her stomach, but the fact she didn’t even get dress coded was a miracle. In response to her statement, he shook his head. “You look beautiful, Sanchez.”
There was a bit of silence, as if she wasn’t expecting a response like that. Lana side eyed Tori, agreeing with Austin. “He’s right, you do.” She knew that Tori needed some sort of confirmation from her silence.
“You think so?” She blinked at them both.
“Of course.” Austin smiled.
“Yep.” Lana responded after Austin. Tori smiled, leaning back on the walk beside Lana. And Austin glanced at Lana before leaning back to watch the pep rally.
When the assembly was over. Austin had hung out with Tori for a bit. She wanted to show Austin the campus. He was leaning against the lockers as she was talking to him. Lana was quietly watching with Alex and Beth, wanting to see how Austin would treat Tori.
“Hey,” Beth hit Lana’s shoulder, who glanced at her. But then was able to see that Beth was pointing to Ashton, who was approaching the duo.
“Shit, something’s boutta go down.” Lana rolled up her sleeves of her flannel in case she had to do something about Ashton. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to him. Even though he was 6’3”, she was 5’10” which in her mind- wasn’t that big of a difference. Alex stayed quiet, interested in what Austin would do once he saw Ashton.
Austin had a smirk on his face the whole time when he was talking to Tori. He wan’t talking though, she seemed to do most of the talking, with him smirking and nodding along. Clearly interested in whatever story she was telling about her being the cheerleading captain, dating the football captain, which most of the time was a recipe for disaster.
Austin’s eyes slowly crept forward when he could see Ashton strutting towards the pair. The smirk on his face disappeared, and he stood up straight. Eyes narrowing towards Ashton. “There he is, there he is.” Beth said excitedly, slowly moving behind Lana as if she was hiding from someone.
Lana noticed how Austin stood in front of Ashton, his eyes still narrowed. He didn’t seem to back down. It was clear Austin had no visible respect for Ashton, not after what Tori had told him. He probably saw the jock as some sort of dickhead who needed to get his shit together.
Tori looked at Ashton, saying something before telling Austin something. In response to this something, he dipped his head and left Ashton alone with Tori. Walking over to Lana, Alex, and Beth.
“Something is definitely gonna go down at the party if Ashton goes there.” Alex murmured from beside Lana.
—
Alex, Beth, and Tori were all standing outside of Lana’s house. She opened the door, being greeted with the trio. Lana blinked, seeing how Tori was in a thin pink crop top that pretty much looked like a sports bra with a pink silk skirt. Beth seemed to have curled her blonde hair for the occasion. She was wearing a white tank top, with a pink wool jacket over it, and some denim jeans. Alex was just wearing a casual pink shirt with some denim high waist jeans with her brunette hair tied back.
Lana stood there, looking at the trio. All three of them were wearing pink, while she was wearing black. In fact, she was wearing a black oversized shirt with a jacket that was too big for her and some joggers. Beth had texted her that the theme they were gonna go with was pink, but she obviously had completely forgotten.
“You completely butchered the theme.” Tori said, her hand on her waist. Alex was smiling at Lana, thinking of how silly she was.
“I texted you- we chose pink- remember?” Beth held out her phone from the purse she was carrying. Lana slowly nodded her head before walking out.
“Sorry I have short term memory loss.” She joked.
Alex rubbed the nape of her neck, thinking to herself. “I have a pink bow tie in the truck. Want it?”
“Sure.” Thank you Alex for coming in clutch. She added in her head.
They had pulled up down the block of Mason’s house. The whole entire ride had been dysfunctional. With Tori stressing out about her makeup and Ashton, Alex continuously telling Tori how she shouldn’t worry about Ashton due to how beautiful she was. Beth trying to learn how to tie a bow tie and put it onto someone who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes, and Lana who was being uncooperative by screaming the lyrics to Nirvana songs that Alex had been blaring while telling Tori how beautiful she was.
“How the fuck do you tie a bow tie?” Beth stared at Lana, who was now calm.
“Ugh, it’s not hard Beth.” Tori rolled her eyes before jumping in the backseat. She plopped herself down in the middle, and looked at Lana’s neck size, adjusted it, put one side shorter than the other side, and began the process of tying a bow tie.
After that was finished, Lana hopped out of the truck. With Tori and Beth following behind, Alex hopped out after, then locked the truck. The four of them walked up the sidewalk side by side, Lana with her hands in her pockets. “You think we have to give Veronica a ride?”
“Onica gets too drunk to walk at every party. I’m sure we have to.” Alex answered. This was true. Last time Veronica got so drunk that she was about to be taken advantage of if it wasn’t for Tori who had walked in to stop the whole thing.
‘Get the fuck away from her!’ Was something she was excessively yelling, she even got a whine glass and broke it over the assailants head. On top of that, Lana was too high to function. So Beth and Tori were left with babysitting the duo while Alex had to drive them home.
As they were walking down the block to Mason’s house. Lana paused when she heard the sound of a V8, and she had already known what was making the sound. It was definitely a V8 engine joined with cams. And Lana could hear the blowp of the V8 as it rolled by.
She and Alex had their jaw dropped as they saw a blacked out 1985 C4 Corvette, with the cams inside that thing were making a beautiful sound. “Holy shit, Alex…” Lana breathed out as the car slowly prowled and had parked behind Alex’s car. They both were mesmerized by the beauty of the C4.
“Who is that?” Tori asked, clearly intrigued.
“A dickhead.” Beth answered without any hesitation. Corvettes weren’t really liked in town. Why? Because most of the drivers that owned a Corvette were dickheads, would often rev the shit out of their engine, make themselves known. The owner of this Corvette wasn’t as bad as the typical driver in Campbell, but due to the fact that he clearly installed a full exhaust system, with some new cams, meant he was close to that dickhead Corvette owner line.
The four of them stood still when they saw the door or the Corvette pop open. And out came Austin Butler himself. Lana squinted her eyes, slightly confused. “I didn’t know he could fit in that.” She whispered to Alex.
Alex nodded, agreeing. He was 6’1” and Alex had put a bet with all her money that Austin was cramped inside that car. He had been wearing a simple white t-shirt and some denim jeans, joined with a brown leather belt. He had a strong strut and he flicked his head towards them. “What’s up.” He smiled as he stood in front of Tori. Looking down at her, he kept that same charming smile. “Hey Sanchez.”
“Hey Austin.” She smiled as he fell in beside her.
“Sup Clark,” the two of them quickly dapped each other up. “Hey Williams, hey Bradley.” He dapped the both them up after with a smile. Alex was surprised that Austin had already learned their names. Especially Alex’s last name, he never spoke to her at the pep rally.
“Wow, you actually did come.” Beth said as Austin was now walking in the middle of the group. Tori and Beth were on his right, Lana and Alex were on his left.
He slid his hands into his pockets as he walked with them. “I mean,” he shrugged, “I said I would.”
“Austin always keeps his words.” Lana looked at Beth calmly. “Whenever he said he was gonna see me in rehab. He always did.”
When they had approached Coopers house. Lana could see Ashton’s car. Which was a 1998 Acura Integra Type R, that had brand new shocks, break discs, and was lowered just one inch off the ground. It was so low that the car scraped. Due to Ashton’s bragging. Lana knew that the car had a 1.8 liter 16 valve inline 4 engine, which from what she could recall was a good engine that was specifically made by Honda.
The Type R had only 195 horsepower. But considering that Ashton modified his car and had it dynotuned, it definitely made more than 195 horsepower. Austin was in awe when he saw the Integra. “Who’s car is that?” He asked, pointing to the white pearl 1998 Integra Type R that was parked out in Cooper’s driveway.
“Bitch, that’s Ashton’s.” Tori answered casually, rolling her eyes. Austin huffed, as he kept staring at the Integra.
“He’s a dickhead but he’s got a beautiful teggy.” Austin murmured to Lana.
“Tell me about it.” She rolled her eyes in envy. Ashton was a rich boy, so he had a lot of privilege and often got away with his bullshit. “Say Austin, you don’t even smoke, party, or do drugs, so why are you coming here?”
“The food.” He answered. Austin had a habit of often sneaking into parties and going into kitchens so he could eat the food there. He’s always raid the fridge first, and usually there was cake. Sometimes he’d raid the freezer and find Vanilla ice cream, his favorite. He was lactose intolerant but for some reason would down ice cream when he had the chance. Suffering for ice cream was worth it in his mind.
He’d watch the others drink, get drunk, then he’s raid the kitchen. The best thing he found in the kitchen was a full batch of 12 glazed Krispy Kreme donuts that were cold but they sure as hell weren’t stale. He downed all of them in less than five minutes, four bites per donut plus milk to him was the perfect combo.
When Austin had entered the party with the four of them. All eyes were on him. Apparently Allison and Ally had locked themselves in the bathroom when they saw Austin walk into the party. Immediately they began hyperventilating when they saw him. According to Tori, they thought he was so attractive that they hid away. Which was cringe on its own, but Lana still couldn’t blame them. She too was shy around attractive looking people, men or women, didn’t matter.
Allison and Ally had been in the bathroom for so long that there was a line forming. People were shouting about how badly they needed to go pee, and Beth was one of those people. She approached the door and banged on it like there was no tomorrow. “Allison, Ally? Can you open the fuckin door?! There’s like ten of us that has to go pee out here!”
While Allison and Ally were having a nervous breakdown over Austin. He was in the kitchen enjoying an ice cream sandwich. Across from the kitchen was Tori, she was with Ashton. He was trying to convince her to get back with him. With his hand over her hips, he was pulling her close. “C’mon Tori, you know I didn’t mean that. I love you.” He smiled, leaning down to kiss her.
“No thanks Ashton, you can go fuck yourself.” She pushed him away.
“What?” He hissed angrily, grabbing her wrist. Tori could tell that Ashton was obviously not in a sober state, he was reeking of alcohol and weed. Stunk, stunk real bad. Austin kept a close eye on the pair, grabbing another ice cream sandwich. “You did not just tell me that.”
“I just the fuck did.” She yanked her hand away, only to be greeted with a chokehold. Ashton could feel Tori shaking in his grasp, but she kept staring up at him. Inhaling sharply to catch her breath as his grip around her throat tightened. He leaned down further, his nose against hers as he kept a tight grip on her throat.
Before he could get a word out, Austin swallowed the chunk of ice cream. “Oi, buddy! She said she ain’t gonna ride your dick, now leave her alone, man.” He called to Ashton. Tori kept staring up at Ashton to see what he’d do, and he threw Tori to the side, whipping around to face Austin.
“What pretty boy?”
Austin took a bite from his sandwich. Gulping down, “…she said she ain’t gonna ride your dick.” He said as he took another bite. “So back up.” Speaking through a full mouth, Ashton stood there, glaring at Austin.
Ashton and Austin were both making a scene in the kitchen, and there was a crowd slowly forming to watch in interest. Alex poked her head out the corner, with Lana by her side. Alex saw Tori and without any hesitation had grabbed Tori to pull her out of the kitchen. Lana was gonna stay behind to watch what was to unfold. The pretty boy goes up against the richie bitch who’s dad owns half the town. Nice. Lana couldn’t stop smiling, for some reason, she was proud of Austin for going head to head with Ashton. Well I mean it makes sense, he plays Hockey.
While everyone else saw this as some sort of stand off. Austin was simply enjoying his ice cream. It was pretty wild if Lana was being honest. “Scuse me, who the fuck are you?” Ashton asked, slowly walking towards Austin, who was leaning against the fridge as if he was gatekeeping his ice cream.
“Hi, I’m Austin Butler.” He introduced himself to Ashton before taking another bite from his ice cream sandwich. Ashton narrowed his eyes, slightly squinting them in confusion. That was the thing about Ashton. Whenever he couldn’t properly intimidate someone, he would always get confused. But slightly fearful. Why? Because an opponent who has nothing to fear, isn’t someone you wanna fuck with. “Who the fuck are you?” Austin repeated after Ashton.
“What’d you just say-“
“Who the fuck are you.” He smirked, repeating the question for Ashton.
“You tryna fuckin’ start shit with me?”
“No, are you?”
“Nah man, seems like the fuck you are!” Ashton grabbed Austin’s forehead, forcing it back. The back of his head hit the fridge, and Ashton tightly gripped his hair so he could slam Austin’s head into the corner of the counter.
He fell to the ground, laying there as if he had just been killed. The crowd that had formed was silent, staring down at Austin. His blood had stained the kitchen counter, and Ashton stood over Austin. “Did he just fucking kill him?!” One of the bystanders shouted within.
“What the fuck is his problem?”
“Dude was just chillin!”
“He was eating a fuckin’ ice cream sandwich and got his shit handed to him for what?”
The crowd slowly started to fall apart in protest when they watched Austin. As he laid there, he let out a bundle of laughs, giggling madly before he got up to face Ashton once more. “Hey buddy,” Austin started, speaking softly as if Ashton was a child, “you tryna start sum’n with me?” A childish giggle left his throat. As blood was dripping down the side of his head and onto his face.
“What…” Ashton stared at Austin, genuinely weirded out.
“I said.” Now he stood still with his hands in his pockets. “You tryna start sum’n with me.” Narrowing his eyes towards Ashton. He saw the jock launch towards him, like instinct he stepped to the side quickly. His brain was now thinking like a Hockey player. He grabbed the bottle of vodka that was on the kitchen counter and slammed it onto Ashton’s head. Shattering it on the back of his head, and Ashton fell over. Instantly knocked into an unconscious state.
Austin stepped over Ashton’s body to walk back to the fridge to get another ice cream sandwich. Unwrapping it, he dropped the wrapper onto Ashton, taking a bite from the sandwich. Lana stood in the middle of the crowd, she had been watching the whole fight. And all she could really say was. “God damn.”
Examining his surroundings, he spotted Lana then pushed through the crowd. “Scuse me, scuse me.” He murmured as he approached her. They all moved out of the way for him. Their eyes still staring at Ashton.
“Holy shit…
“Yo? is he good?”
“Should someone call the ambulance?”
“Who? For Ashton Tucker? Nah that fucker deserves it bro!”
“Sup Clark.” Austin took a bite from his sandwich. “How’s Sanchez?”
Lana was blinking repetitively, still trying to process what she had just seen. “She’s uh- she’s- she’s um…” stammering through her words, while scratching the back of her head, “yeah man she’s- she’s good. Alex is taking care of her.”
“That’s good.” He covered his mouth so she wouldn’t have to see how full of ice cream it was.
Lana didn’t like Ashton, not one bit. If she could kill him she would. But the fact that Austin slammed a bottle of Vodka over Ashton’s head and just left him laying there while a puddle of blood was forming underneath him was both concerning and badass. Concerning because she didn’t want her friend to get in trouble, but badass because finally Ashton got what he deserved. “Aye you sure- you sure Ashton’s good?”
Before taking another bite from the ice cream sandwich, Austin was surprised by the question. “You friends with him?” He asked, confused why Lana was even worried.
Summary: A series that takes place in another universe based on four unique genetically modified soldiers that are sent on a wad of missions during a war they were raised to fight for.
Warnings: angst, vulgar themes, guns, death, blood, war, all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: Austin is referred to as TS-109 at the beginning. It’s a bit confusing at first with all the numbers. Bare with me. This chapter was made a month ago, and I never had the balls to post it. Still don’t. But yeah I wanna get rid of it so here we are lol.
MASTERLIST — SERIES
—
The man had entered the white room. His brunette colored hair was swept to the side, and he had one hand in his pocket, with the other hand holding onto a smaller hand. That of a child, who had blonde hair, blue eyes, and looked to be about 2 years old. They could barely walk, but it was something.
When he had entered the room, he was greeted with another person. They had worn a white coat with a blue button up, they looked down at the boy then at the man. “This is Austin.” The brunette said, gently leading the little blonde boy in front of him with his hand. “The one who has been chosen.”
“Ah yes,” the man in the coat said, leaning down to look at the little boy, “your son?”
“Yes.” The brunette answered. “This is my son. Although, he’ll never know it from this day forth.” They had glanced down at the boy who was holding his father’s hand still. He was looking up at the man in the coat, who was now kneeling in front of the boy.
“I see.” The man sighed. “Yes, he will do just fine.” He had scooped the small boy into his arms and frantically Austin had turned to look at his father. He reached out towards the brunette, as if he was pleading for him not to go. “Are you sure you want to do this?” The man asked the brunette, with the boy still staring back at the brunette.
“Yes,” the brunette had a confident tone, “I don’t want the boy anymore.”
“I mean he’s not a dog.” The man in the coat stated. “He’ll be treated inhumanly here.”
“So be it.” The brunette shook his head. “I don’t see why I should care.” Stepping away from the pair for just a moment. “I’m sure he’ll be a fine young man.” There was a tone of spite.
“Say goodbye to your father, Austin.” The man said, and the boy watched his father turn their back on him. Austin watched desperately, silent.
—
The blonde sat in his cell block, he was hunched over his bed. With his elbows placed against his thighs, which were bobbing up and down due to the shaking of his legs. In front of him was a metal door with a glass peep hole, which was his only way of seeing the outside.
He wore a white long sleeve shirt with a number written on the back, 109 it had read, finished with some white pants, he was bare foot, and his hair was cut short. His toilet was beside his bed, made of metal painted white.
However, he wasn’t alone in this cell. He was paired up with at least three more people. They all wore the same thing 109 wore, their numbers were different. 1408, 3589, and 6542. All paired up together, 109 was the oldest out of all of them, oldest as in: the most experienced one.
109 was the leader of the group, or so it seemed. The group had saw him as some sort of leader at least, and whatever he wanted them to do, they’d do. The squad were all chained together, with the metal chain wrapped around their torsos, all connected.
As 109 sat there, shaking like usual. 1408, who was laying beside him, was sleeping peacefully. In fact, all of them were. Which was the best thing they could do in an empty cell like theirs.
The conditions they lived in were horrid. From what 109 knew, the only way they could drink water was by drinking toilet water. Which obviously was not fresh, it tasted dirty, tasted soiled. They rarely got food, and when they did, it was usually sludge which was made from raw meat, grind up together to make this porridge like substance.
It was gross, and there was always one bowl of it. To which all four of them would have to share that said bowl. So they’d have to eat in small portions, a lot of the times the disgusting combination of food would make them throw up. If they couldn’t reach the toilet bowl in time, they’d throw up on the ground, and the ground was never clean. So, they’d have to eat it back up. Nothing was worse than that, in 109’s humble opinion.
109’s eyes looked at his squad-mates. With 1408 curled up beside him, his face was dirty and bruised. With his cheekbone stapled together to heal the cut that had been given to him in a previous test. He had short brunette hair as well, but he had green eyes from what 109 could recall. 1408 had lost his whole entire forearm in a test he had taken. The same went for his left eye.
They both were replaced with cybernetic parts. His right forearm was made from silver titanium, and 109 could hear the insides of the mechanical arm whirring away. 1408’s right eye was suited for augmented reality. 109 could remember as clear as day, when 1408 lost his eye. His head was held down by robotic claws, and then his eye was ripped out clean. 109 had been staring the whole time, his eyes wide, and he could remember hearing 6542 screaming out of pure frustration when he watched what happened to his friend. 1408 at the time had to process everything that had just happened, the shock was immense.
109 blinked his eyes out of his imagination. He didn’t want to think of that test, not at this moment. His eyes looked over at 3589, who had blonde hair so blonde that it looked white. With incredibly pale skin, so pale it looked snow white, to match it all off. His eyes as well were pale, ice blue eyes to be exact. He had his number branded on his neck, an indicator of who and what he belonged to.
6542 as well had blonde hair, but it looked almost brown, compared to 109 which had golden hair, whilst 3589 had bleach blonde hair. 6542 had blonde hair so dark it could’ve tricked anybody into him being a brunette. He was pale as well, but not as pale as 3589.
109 breathed in, hearing an alarm ring in his ears. The three boys who were sleeping beside him had shot awake, they all sat up in sync, with 6542 being pushed off the bed due to the limited space available. 109 got off the bed, walking to the door, with the other three boys following behind him closely.
As the alarm rang clear in his ears. He poked his head out of the cell, seeing another cellmate poke their head out. “Squad one-oh-nine may now line up.” He could hear the announcer say. 109 took a step out of the cell, lining up down the hall. Due to muscle memory, the squad had raised their hands in the air, bringing them behind their head.
“What do you think they want with us today?” 1408 asked from behind 109. The blonde glanced back at 1408, shrugging.
“I think it’s another test.” 109 whispered as the squad started walking forward in a neat line. “Actually,” he corrected, “it is a test.”
“It’s always a test you blumbering buffoon!” 109 heard 6542 spit through gritted teeth. “Until we ace a test we can actually finally fuckin’ leave and get outta here!”
“I’ve aced dozens of tests and I’m still here!” 1408 shot at 6542.
“Shut up fourteen,” 3589 butted in between the bickering, “we’re about to get tested.” He yelled in a whisper.
“Maybe Nine will just leave.” 1408 said, ignoring what 3589 was telling them. “Nine has been here the longest.”
“I’m not leaving you guys.” 109 saw the end of the hall now, seeing the door slide open into another room. As he was approaching the door, he inhaled deeply. “You guys are all I have.” He exhaled, entering the white room.
They approached the center of the lab, with all their hands behind their head. “You may now put your hands down.” They heard, and the four of them obliged. The white walls slowly faded away into transparent windows, and they all said nothing but look at their surroundings.
They were standing in the middle of a room, surrounded by windows. On the other side, were men and women with white coats, one of them seemed to be eyeing 109. As he stood there, he could see the man in the white coat standing directly in front of him. The two of them eyeing each other. In front of the man, was a microphone and button. Pressing down on the button, he spoke into the microphone. “Congratulations.” He spoke. “You four have been chosen.”
“Chosen for what?” 1408 whispered.
“Quiet shitface.” 3589 said through gritted teeth.
The man in the coat had pulled away from the microphone. 109 continued to stare at them in silence. Even in spite of the microphone being off, he could still hear everything. “Will these four do?” The man in the coat spoke, and 109 could see another man walking towards the window with his hands behind his back. He had dark skin, metallic hair, wearing a white button up, a blazer, with pants and dress shoes.
“Who are they?” He asked.
Turning back to press the button. “Introduce yourself boys.” The man in the coat spoke.
109 sighed, straightening up his posture. “I’m TS-one-oh-nine, enhanced senses.” He gave a brief introduction to himself. Haunching himself down so 1408 could introduce himself.
“TS-one-four-oh-eight, apparently I’m supposed to be the smart one.”
“TS-three-five-eight-nine, enhanced strength.”
“TS-six-five-four-two, bullseye.” 6542 finished off the greetings. 109 could see the man in the coat pull away from the microphone once more, looking at the man in the suit.
“One-oh-nine huh…” the man in the suit said under his breath. 109 kept glaring at him, “enhanced senses correct? Meaning he’s a tracker.”
“Yes sir.”
“He’s one-oh-nine, apart of the original tracker generation? The first two hundred?”
“Yes sir.”
“I’ll take him and the squad.” Reaching out his hand towards the other. “Pleasure to do business with you, Lorenzo.”
“Good luck with them, Hugo.” Lorenzo nodded his head, glancing at 109 who had been watching them the whole time. His eyes narrowed towards them with brows furrowed. “Muzzle them.” He ordered as Hugo turned their back on them.
The glass walls turned solid white, and 109 looked at the platform from beneath them. “So it wasn’t a test?” 1408 asked.
“We’re about to get muzzled and you’re worried about the fuckin’ test?” 6542 looked at 1408. All of them stepped back a bit to see the floor open up with a robotic like limb crawling out of the floor.
“Hey sixty-five, getting muzzled is better than getting tested on.” 1408 claimed defensively.
“We’re about to get muzzled and you two are still bickering?!” 3589 commented, and he stepped back. Which caused the rest of the line to step back with him. 109 exhaled sharply when he felt claws hold onto the back of his head to keep him still, his eyes staring down at the muzzle.
— CHAPTER 1
Ever since they had gotten chosen, they had been given new armor for themselves. They were given custom uniforms rather than the standard issue military uniform. They were all given black and gray armor, except for 1408, due to the fact he specialized in tech and medicine. He was given a lighter shade of gray with black armor.
109 had a black and gray helmet. The front of the helmet was painted with gray to outline the T Visor that the helmet had. The cheek bones of the helmet were painted with a darker shade of gray to define the the T Visor. The left side of the helmet had an ear cap which had held a rangefinder. The other side had a flashlight attachment for it. He had a gray chest plate with a black piece to shield his stomach. As well as gray shoulder pads with a black pauldron, black vambraces outlined with gray paint, and black tassets outlined gray as well. All finished up with a black leather holster that was attached to his waistline.
The rest of them had different designs on their helmets, and no pauldron. 1408 had a helmet with gray stripes pointing down the cheekbones of the helmet. With sharp like claws drawn on the dome of the helmet. He wore a magnetic backpack attached to his armor plating to carry all his medical supplies, plus his tech supplies.
6542 had a crosshair edged into the right side of his helmet, and with gray outlining the T visor of his helmet. His shoulder pad had a sharp wing to it, since he was issued with a standard silenced rifle. And that wing on his shoulder pad could be useful when he had to aim. He wore a black leather shoulder strapped gun belt as well.
3589? Well, he simply drew a gray smiley face on his full face helmet. And that was pretty much it. He kept it simple. Every helmet had a flashlight attachment they kept at all times. 3589 would wear a magnetic backpack that carried all their rations and ammo.
109 stared down at his helmet for a moment, he could hear the door in front of him open, and in came a woman. Her arms were crossed over her chest, she leaned back to look at the squad. 109 had noticed that she was holding a folder, a few papers poking out.
“So… you guys are Squad Echo.” She looked at the four of them. Noticing how 109 was standing in the center with his helmet in his hand. His squad-mates had seemed to not notice her, and if they had heard her, they obviously ignored her. But she looked at 109, intrigued with him. He had blonde hair, gold blonde hair, and a clean shaven face. She raised a brow, seeing how his head turned to look at one of his squad-mates.
A chiseled jawline, with a well built masculine nose, a high bridge, lips with a prominent cupids bow, golden hair that looked to be in shape of a soft mullet. She had seen many test subjects in her days. Most of them were good looking men, and 109 was no exception. “Oi, boys, listen up.” He chipped, and the squad fell silent. They all looked at him for a moment before looking at the woman who stood at the front of the room.She could see his dark eyes, seeming focused on her.
“Oh.” 1408 rubbed his nose.
109 folded his arms, looking at the woman. “You guys are Squad Echo correct?” She repeated.
“Yeah.” 109 answered for them.
“You guys have a name?”
“TS-One-Four-“
“No no,” she cut them off, “actual names. Not numbers.” This was met with an uncomfortable silence. With the squad forming up behind 109, their eyes glaring at the woman. “Okay… so… I’m guessing no.” She approached 109, standing in front of him with her head tilted back to look at him properly. “You look like an Austin.” She pointed to his chest. “You look like a butler too. So…” she tilted her head. “Austin Butler will be your name.”
109 stood there for a moment, his eyes looking over at 1408 who had a genuinely confused look on his face. “Austin?” 109 repeated once he looked back at her.
“Yes.” She nodded. “You’re Austin, and I’m Samantha.” She smiled patting his chest. She looked at 1408, “and you-“
“I’ll name myself.” He cut her off. “Austin sounds rather basic.” He smirked at the blonde, who stood there stiffly. “I’ll be… Delta.” He shrugged, coming up with a random name.
“No last name?” Samantha asked.
“You have our files there don’t you.” Delta pointed to the folder she was holding. “I’m sure they have our real names and everything…” he trailed off, “…so just give us those names.”
Austin looked at Samantha, “I bet my name was already Austin, anyways.” He claimed.
Samantha sighed, and looked at the folder, opening it. “Your names are quite boring. But yes Austin, you’re right. Your name was originally Austin.” She nodded her head, looking past Delta then at 3589. “Your folder just has what you’ve been tested on, how well you’ve done on each test, how long you’ve been tested on, and everything like that.” Samantha looked into the folder, flipping through the pages. “So… thirty-five, what name will you choose?”
3589 stood for a moment in silence. “I guess,” breathing in and rubbing the back of his head to think, “Riot.” He shrugged.
The rest of the squad looked over at 6542, wanting to see what name he’d come up with. “Bullseye.” He said simply.
“Alright, Austin,” Samantha pointed to the towering blonde, “Delta, Riot, and Bullseye, nice.” She nodded her head, pointing to each of them individually. “From what your folders say. You boys were tested on to be soldiers, superior soldiers, correct?”
They all nodded in sync.
“Austin, you have enhanced senses. You’re a tracker right?”
“Yes.”
“Alright well then that makes you the leader.” She pat his chest before stepping back. “I’m your commanding officer. Anything you guys do. You will report to me.”
“Yes sir.” Austin nodded, understanding.
“Good good, anyways your guys first mission will be on the outpost Labara.” Samantha flipped the pages of the folder. The four of them stayed silent, letting her debrief them. “We lost contact from them at least thirty-seven half moons ago. They’re carrying precious cargo, according to the senate that is.” She sighed, rolling her eyes. “So go get the cargo. And find out what happened.”
“And if we can’t?” Austin asked calmly.
“Then you’ll go back to the testing facilities.” With a smile, “Good luck.” She laughed, waving goodbye to them as she left their room.
Austin stood there for a moment, before looking at all of three. “Lets go.” He said calmly, putting his helmet on. The insides of his helmet pressurized, and he breathed through the filter.
—
Austin stood still, looking behind him as he could see the helicopter that just dropped he and his squad off fly into the distance. Austin said nothing, keeping his hands on his belt. They were in front of the outpost, it looked abandoned, long abandoned. Looked like shit to be frank.
The outpost was in a dome shape, dirty, and as Austin started walking to get closer to it. All he could see was scratches that surrounded the building. Blood stains as well, dry beyond their days. The odor of rotting flesh filled the air. “Smells like the testing facilities.” Delta commented.
“Smells like you.” Bullseye countered.
“I don’t smell like rotting flesh you dip-“
“I’m not gonna listen to you two argue!” Riot cut the two of them off. “You guys are annoying as hell.” He growled lowly. Still following close behind Austin, who was approaching the door of the dome outpost. Riot looked down at the ground, seeing the blood trail that lead towards the door of the building.
“Wonder what happened here…” Delta whispered as he stared at the trail of blood. It was clear someone had been dragged into the facility, there were handprints on the ground, as if they had been slapping the ground or even clawed it to stop themselves from being dragged in. Austin said nothing but look at the door, seeing the control console, he tapped on it gently. The door however, didn’t open.
“Riot.” Austin glanced back at his friend, stepping aside for him. Riot without any hesitation replaced Austin, he grabbed the edge of the door. Inhaling sharply, he pulled back, and the door slid open with ease. He fell back behind Austin, allowing him to enter first.
He pressed his hand on the grip of his gun, walking inside the outpost. He looked around, seeing wires falling from the ceiling, as well as the steel walls being bent up. While walking into the dome outpost, his eyes darted throughout the scenery. He looked down at the blood stained floor, crouching down to wipe it.
He brought his index and middle finger near his nose, taking in the scent. Old blood, smells about 37 half moons. Human blood… mixed with the scent of some sort of animal. He thought to himself as he stood up straight. “This post has been abandoned for over thirty-seven half moons that’s for sure.”
“And?” Riot asked.
“Human.” He continued on. “Definitely was eaten alive.” He added, walking forward once again. “Think the whole crew was eaten.” He inhaled deeply, something smelled bad, but it wasn’t a rotting body. Looking back down at the ground, he crouched. His fingers rubbing the ground again to take in the smell. “The thing that killed them is still in here.”
“So, what do you want us to do?” Bullseye asked, stepping to Austin’s side.
“Be bait.” He touched his helmet before looking over at Delta. “Think you can get into the communications?” He asked. “Locate if there are any life forms?”
“Already on that.” Delta was looking at his console, which was attached to his vambrace. His vambrace had at least five buttons attached to it. Through his robotic eye, he could see everything on the supposed screen displayed on the lens of his pupil.
Austin watched Delta as his fingers were tapping against the buttons of the console. Austin looked around in the empty ship, his eyes blinking from underneath his helmet. Riot and Bullseye were completely quiet, knowing Austin and Delta had to focus.
Austin heard the three of them breathing. Delta was calm, shallow. Riot’s was a bit heavy, while Bullseye was completely calm. He listened to the sounds of Delta’s cybernetic arm whirring away. “Found it.” Delta broke the silence, and Bullseye looked over Delta’s shoulder. “There is currently one life form. On the lower levels of the ship, it seems to be near the generator.”
They all looked at Austin, who began walking forward, he knew where the generator was. The three of them lined up from behind him, knowing damn well they could trust him. Austin had never let go of his pistol, he was able to find one of the doors that lead down to the lower levels. Austin walked down the stairs, Delta following right behind him.
Once he had entered the lower levels, he could hear the sound of deep ragged breathing. However, it was immensely cold down in the lower levels. Austin bit his lower lip, held up his hand, balling up his fist. “I hate hand signals…” Riot complained.
“Perhaps you should learn them then, Riot.” Delta side eyed his comrade.
“You memorize them!” He shot at him.
“I have!” Delta countered, shutting Riot up. He groaned in annoyance, knowing well he couldn’t actually think of a good comeback. Bullseye looked at them, smiling to himself. Delta had an attitude, and would often bicker with everyone except for Austin. And Bullseye understood why, Austin was their leader. He was the only one who earned Delta’s respect.
Austin grabbed the bottom of the metal door. A sharp inhale, he shot it up, slamming the door open. He stood at the entrance, finally slipping his pistol from his holster. He walked into the room, looking at his surroundings.
Delta stood by Austin’s side. Looking in front of him was another dome. However it was destroyed, the glass was broken, shards scattered throughout the floor, and Delta could see that it was some sort of test facility. “Were they keeping testers here too?” Bullseye asked, holding out his rifle.
Austin was silent for a few more moments. Delta could see computers lined up, and most likely he could connect his his console over to to one of the controls. “I’ll get the power on.” He said, walking over to the computer. He pressed his cybernetic against the controls, the wires of the cybernetic slowly slid out. Attaching themselves into the controls of the computer.
Delta stood still, and Austin walked into the facility. Still holding his pistol into his hand, Austin could hear the sounds of what sounded like low frequencies. As Austin listened to the sounds of Delta clicking the console. Tilting his head to the side, he could hear what sounded to be low clicks mixed with low frequencies.
It was above him. He turned around to look up, tapping the side of his helmet which turned on his flashlight. Austin could see water dripping down from the ceiling. Bullseye reached for the water, covering his hand in it. It was gooey, thick, slime. Austin kept his eyes on the ceiling.
Riot could see the animal that was attached to the ceiling. It was hanging off of it, staring directly at Austin’s face. It had the body of a salamander, but the nose of a mole, with a face of a coyote. “What the fuck is that…” Riot asked through the microphone of his helmet.
Without thinking, Austin shot at the creature. It roared violently at him, jumping down on top of the soldier. The creature was twice Austin’s size, and their talons slapped at his head. Austin punched the side of their face, Riot grabbed their tail, throwing them off of his friend. All three of them held out their pistols, firing off at the creature without thinking.
It shrieked, disappearing back into the vents. The power switched on immediately, and Austin looked around, slightly frustrated then clicked the flashlight off. Thinking on his heels, he jumped up, grabbing the wall of the laboratory. He began climbing up, attaching a grappling hook attachment to his pistol, he shot it at the ceiling.
“No! Austin- don’t-“ but he was already inside the vents. Riot sighed in annoyance, shaking his head.
“Well that’s Austin for you, always thinking with his gun.” Delta sighed, unfazed. Bullseye pressed the side of his helmet. When looking through his lens, he could see a heat source a few meters away in the vents.
From what Bullseye could see. Austin was rolling around in the vent. And he could see his friend punching the side of the animals head. A gunshot rang suddenly. “Austin’s got everything under control, clearly.” Bullseye commented slyly.
Austin felt the tail of the creature hit his torso. He fell through the vents into another room, scrambling onto his feet. He held out his pistol once more, aiming it at the head of the creature. He shot at it, only for it to dive down with its jaws shutting down onto Austin’s torso. “Aw fuck-“ he gasped for air before he was thrown at the wall.
The creature launched its head at Austin’s face. Who grabbed their jaw to hold them back, he could feel their tongue licking his torso, he couldn’t lie, he was grossed out. Which came as a slight shock, considering he use to drink toilet water for a living before getting chosen. Pushing back against the wall, he threw the creature down onto the ground. Holstering his pistol, he grabbed his vambrace. Reaching for the grip of his protoknife, he took it out of its sheathe.
The blade was in a form of a hunters knife. However the edge, tip, and heel gleamed midnight purple. The knife let out a small cackling sound. If Austin’s pistol had no effect, than maybe his protoknife did.
The edge of the blade began to heat up, and the creature lowly growled at Austin. Standing before him, saliva seemed to be pooling from underneath them. He stood still, holding the blade to brace himself when it launched. Quickly ducking down to dodge it, he slashed the knife into the stomach of the creature. The edge burned into its stomach, ripping it open which caused it to hit the wall, and he turned around. Wiping his T visor once he saw splotches got onto it.
The door slid open, and Delta stood in front of Riot and Bullseye. Austin shook his head, breathing through the air filter. He walked over to Delta, who blinked from underneath his mask. He knew that Austin was going to request something from him. “Have you found out anything about the outpost.” He asked.
Delta nodded his head. “Yes, as it appears. The last attempted transmission was sent thirty-eight half moons ago.”
“Oh, thought it was seven.” Austin commented. “The signal seemed weak.”
“Well no. But, you were right about how everyone in the crew perished. This animal here is a Molert, it’s being tested on to see it— correct me if I’m wrong—“
“Why would we do that?” Bullseye asked obliviously, cutting Delta off.
Delta glanced at Bullseye. “Because some of you can’t just shut up.” He answered. Austin cracked a slight smile from underneath the helmet. Riot let out an audible chuckle. With Bullseye nodding his head in agreement. “Anyways,” he continued on, “the creature, the Molert, is being tested on to put its DNA… in armor…?” He tried to explain.
“What?” Riot tilted his head.
“I’m just reading what my console says, Riot.” He looked at his friend before looking at Austin. “They have made some armor already, somewhere in this floor… I think that’s what Samantha wants.”
“Alright,” Austin nodded, “we’ll split up. Delta, you’re with me. Riot, you’re with Bullseye. Bullseye is always bickering with Delta.” He stepped away from them, and Delta nodded his head. Riot pat Bullseye’s shoulder, before the four of them split.
—
The four of them dropped the cargo in front of Samantha. She was sitting in her office, had her legs crossed. Looking up at the four of them, she was confused then looked over her desk to see the cargo they dropped.
Austin grabbed the bottom of his helmet, pulling it off of himself. His gray eyes dilated to adjust to the lighting. “We got the cargo.” He said in a husky tone, walking forward to push the box forward.
Samantha got off her chair, walking past her desk to look at the cargo. She crouched down, grabbing the locks of the cargo to open it. Without saying anything, she looked inside for a moment then quickly closed it. “This was at the outpost?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“Wow… I didn’t know this was there.” She murmured, Austin stared at her. Tilting his head a bit, he inhaled deeply and let out a slow exhale. He could hear Samantha’s heartbeat, it was erratic from what he could tell. He blinked his eyes, curious as to why her heartbeat was that way.
She stood up straight, chuckling to herself nervously. “Alright, thank you, I’ll be sure to tell the senate. Anything else?”
Austin stepped back. “The last transmission sent was thirty-seven moons ago, the attempted one was sent thirty-eight moons ago, they tried to contact Eleven but couldn’t… the Outpost got attacked by a Molert. Everyone at the outpost is dead.”
“They all got eaten.” Delta clarified.
“Alright… is that all for the report?” Samantha asked, her leg kicked the cargo to the side.
“Yes, sir.” Austin confirmed for her.
“You four are dismissed.” With the wave of her hand, he slipped his helmet back on. Feeling it pressurize around his head, causing him to breathe through the filter. Turning his back on Samantha, he left her office. Delta, Riot, and Bullseye followed behind.
Summary: Austin gets ready with his family to the Elvis premiere.
Warnings: Fluff, all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: Bro, I wrote this while watching Skate 3 clips. My inspiration behind my stories actually sucks.
MASTERLIST — SERIES
—
The blonde sat alone. His gray eyes bore into the wall, with his hands clasped up into a fist. He wore earbuds, as far as he was concerned, grunge was the perfect genre to listen to when he needed to focus. He was silent, a furrowed expression plastered on his face. He had to go to his premiere soon, it was only a day away. And he was stressing out.
He had a little girl, about six to seven years old. Who hadn’t been in the public much, would be under immense pressure. He didn’t want her to get overwhelmed. Understanding the fact that she wasn’t use to having photos taken of her, he didn’t want her to stress out, or panic. He was worried over her, very worried about her.
His wife on the other hand, had been calm the entire time. She was cooing to their daughter, comforting her. His wife had known how important tomorrow would’ve been for him, how special it was, how dear it was. She wanted everything to be perfect for him. She was seen crouching down in front of their daughter. “Are you excited for daddy’s big day, Leia?” She cooed, holding her daughter’s little hand.
“Yep yep!” Leia jumped up.
“Alright sweet girl,” she smiled, “which dress would you like to wear?” Holding out two black dresses.
“I want to match with daddy!” She decided triumphantly. His wife frowned slightly, knowing that she couldn’t pick up a suit.
“We don’t have a suit for you.” His wife shook her head. “Unless-“ cutting herself off and poking her head up, she could see her husband spacing out. Looking back at their daughter, “wait here, darling.” She kissed their daughter’s forehead before walking back to her husband. “Austin,” snapping him back to reality.
He blinked his eyes, looking up. “Hm?” Taking out his earbuds. “Yes, Rose?” His music was blaring through his earbuds. Quickly getting his phone from his pocket, he stopped the music. Clenching his jaw from embarrassment.
Rose sighed when watching him. She knew the song was Aneurysm by Nirvana, she could tell by the screaming. Which was irrelevant to what she wanted to discuss with him. She looked at Leia who was focused on playing with her toy cars. Then back at her husband. “Do you have any of the suits you wore when you were little?”
“Why do you ask? I mean I do— but why?” He got off the seat, standing in front of Rose. The feeling of going through his closet to find them seemed inevitable to him.
“Leia wants to match with you.” She pushed her hair away from her face before folding her arms across her chest.
“But…” Austin breathed, glancing at the two of them, “I thought you two were matching dresses.”
“No- Austin,” shaking her head, “she wants to match with you. Do you think your suits fit her?”
He stood still, thinking to himself before nodding his head. Leia was about the same height as him when he was seven. So he figured his old suits would fit her. “Yeah, I got somethin’ babe.”
“Good.” Stepping away from him, she reached back to quickly peck his lips in thanks. “I’ll go get her and you go find your suits.”
“Well it’s just-“
“Hurry up, the day isn’t young.” Walking away from him quickly. He raised his brows with a smirk.
“Demanding as always.” He said under his breath before making his way back to the closet upstairs.
Rose crouched in front of Leia again. “Do you want to try on daddy’s suits from when he was little?”
Leia let out an audible gasp. Indicating that she was eager to try them on. Rose smiled and held her hand, leading her up back to their bedroom so they could go into the closet to find something.
Austin was digging around in his closet. Grumbling to himself as he searched for his old suits. His mother had given them to him, in case Leia would want to see what he wore.
Rose was standing behind Austin, and Leia had jumped onto his back. Which caused his knee to buckle from underneath him, his head hitting the wall. Rose smiled when she heard the audible thump, trying to hold back her laughter. “Hey Leia,” Austin turned his head to face his little girl with his hand rubbing his temple, “what’s up, princess?”
“Momma says you have suits from when you were little.” She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah I do.” He nodded his head. Rose listened to him digging through his closet before finding a little blazer, some slacks, and a little button up. “Here, see?” Holding it up so Leia could see. He got up from the ground, feeling Leia’s legs wrap around his waist as she held onto him.
He turned back to see Rose in front of him. “You found a suit.” She smiled when she saw him holding it out. “Good, thank you darling.” Going on her tiptoes, she pecked his cheek. He nodded his head, smiling proudly before handing her the pieces to make the outfit. She took it in her grasp, laying them out on the bed. Then went behind Austin to pull Leia away from his back, carrying their daughter in her arms before setting her down on the bed.
“Well, I’ll be outside reading.” Austin got the hint that Leia would be trying on the suit he managed to find. “Call me when you need me.” Exiting the bedroom, he went back downstairs to the dining room to read.
Rose heard the door shut, then kneeled down in front of Leia. “It’s black,” looking at the blazer, “it matches daddy’s blazer. Do you want to wear this?”
“Mhm, definitely!” Leia was nodding her head as she reached over the bed. Rose plucked her off the ground, plopping her down on top of the bed.
Rose smiled at her daughter. Leia was a daddy’s girl, she had taken the same interests Austin had taken. He liked cars, and books. Would often read alone, but at times. Leia would sit on his lap, while he would read a little story book to her.
Austin owned a white 2017 Mustang ecoboost, that he was currently working on it. He completely took out the L4 engine of the Mustang to exchange it for a 5.9 liter 12-valve cummins engine. Which to Rose was insane, but she supported the idea. Due to the fact the Mustang somehow got better gas mileage. 30 miles to the gallon, which was impressive considering it use to be 14 miles to the gallon with the L4.
Leia knew of this little project of his. She was there throughout the whole project. Even watched her own father tear the Mustang apart to put a new engine in. Watched him throw the hood off, attach a new hitch on the back, debadge the car, add a new shifter to it, change the oil, Leia was there throughout the whole process. She loved watching Austin and the team down by the shop work on the car.
When Leia had put the blazer on, she stood in front of the mirror. Her blonde hair was braided in fishtails. Holding her blue Mach One, she stared at the mirror with a smile. Rose stood behind her. “Whad’ya think sweet girl?” She asked her daughter in a soft tone.
“Good!” She beamed, satisfied.
“Wanna show daddy?”
“Nuh uh, I wanna surprise him for tomorrow.”
“Good idea.” Rose admitted. She looked at the little clock that was on their nightstand. 8PM it read. Letting out a hefty sigh. “Alright, off to bed hm? You got a big day tomorrow.” She kissed the top of Leia’s head. Who let out a whine, but reluctantly nodded. Knowing that her father would read her a bed time story.
—
Rose could hear the bedroom door open, and she saw Austin walk in with a book in his hand. It had a bookmark clearly visible, and she smiled. “How’d the story go?” Her voice was gentle, soft and delicate, soft like the setting sun.
“Good.” His voice was the polar opposite, husky and ragged, reflecting that of used leather. Walking over to her, they both exchanged a quick kiss. Putting the book down on the nightstand, he sat on his side of the bed. His fingers stroking the nape of his neck, thinking to himself.
“You alright?” She scooted closer to him, her hands massaging his shoulders.
“Course,” glancing back at her. He took her hand into his, kissing her palm, “to be honest, I’m kinda just stressed out for tomorrow.” He revealed to her. She nodded her head before wrapping her arms around his torso from behind him, her cheek pressed up against his back.
“Well, Leia and I just want you happy.” She spoke softly. “That’s all we want, just you happy. Seeing you stressed, stresses us out too.”
He nodded his head, his fingers caressing hers.
“You’ll do great tomorrow.” She continued on, knowing full well that he was intently listening to her. “Just be yourself, nobody likes someone who is fake.”
“But-“ slightly turning his head, her eyes looked up. Seeing a bit of his jawline. A bit of worry slipped into his tone, “my voice-?”
“Austin, that’s just what happens when you change your dialect for two years straight.” She brushed it off, slightly annoyed with why he was bothered with his voice. She liked it, she always did. “I mean personally, me, I still like how you sound.”
“Oh.”
“You’re thirty-one, not twenty-one, there’s obviously gonna be a significant difference.” Pulling away from him. She kissed the back of his head. “Plus Leia, thinks you’re still good at telling stories.”
“Leia’s a daddy’s girl.” He acknowledged.
“Exactly.” Getting off the bed quickly, she went to the bathroom, and he got off to join her. Knowing full well that they would always brush their teeth together. Sometimes when Leia was still awake, they’d brush their teeth with her.
When all was done. They had both laid in bed together. With his arm over her waist, their hands intertwined, and her head on his chest. Rose listened to his heartbeat, her fingers tracing little hearts on his chest. As she felt his hands caressing her waist. Austin had taken note of the pink nightie she wore and how pretty she looked. It was pulled up to reveal some of her bare skin. Which was soft and smooth, it felt nice to touch.
“Y’know Austin,” Rose started, “never blame yourself for what’s to come, okay?”
“Huh?” Austin was confused, raising a brow. “Whad’ya mean, darling?”
“I mean- if anything happens to our family. Don’t blame yourself, okay?” She propped herself up on her elbow. Her brown eyes bore into his gray eyes, she was serious.
He gave a proper nod. “I won’t honey, but whad’ya talkin’ about? You’re my forever, nothin’s gonna happen to you.” He scoffed, holding her hand.
Rose frowned a bit but gave him a gentle kiss, then laid her head back onto his chest. She said nothing for a bit as she listened to his heartbeat. “Austin, just trust time, okay?”
“I know.” He had gotten this pep talk before. Rose would often comfort him in his days of doubt with those exact words. “I know, Rose.”
“Good.” She closed her eyes. “I love you, and I’m so so proud of you. You’ve came a long way. And I’m sure Leia is proud of you too.”
“Thank you.” He replied, followed with a few moments of silence, and before Austin had known. She was already asleep. Poking his head up a bit, he smiled at the sight of his sleeping wife.
—
Austin stood in front of the mirror with Leia in front of him. He tilted his head a bit, and he could hear Rose behind him searching for her earrings. He was checking his black cufflinks, with Leia copying every motion he was doing. His fingers went towards his gold wedding band, fiddling with it and making sure it was straight on his ring finger.
Rose fell to his side once she found her earrings, touching his chest so he could turn around to face her. He leaned down a bit when he saw her, and she touched his bowtie. “It’s crooked.” She muttered, straightening it.
“My fault.” He apologized, his hand resting on top of Leia’s head. His eyes watched her mother and father, intrigued with how Rose was treating Austin. When Rose pulled away from him, he looked back at the mirror with Leia. His eyes wandering over to her suit, it fit her, although the bowtie that was given to her was much too big. Due to the fact that it was fit for a fully grown man rather than a small child. “Honey,” he kneeled down to his daughter’s side, “you wanna put on my bolo tie instead?”
“What’s that?” She looked at him.
“You’ll see, darling.” He got up, and Rose had already gotten his bolo tie, as if they were thinking the same thing. He kissed her cheek and whispered a gentle thank you against her ear, then quickly kneeled down to undo the bowtie that Leia was wearing. Replacing it with his bolo tie, which was of a cow skull.
He looked back in the mirror, nodding his head in approval. Which caused Leia to nod her head in agreement. Austin put the bowtie back on the bed, glancing at the time, then stood beside Rose. “We should leave now, the driver will be here soon…” he began, glancing at Leia who climbed onto the bed. Holding her blue Mach One.
“I have everything.” Rose nodded her head, knowing what Austin was going to say. Her fingers quickly intertwined with her husband, she called Leia over to join the duo.
The duo, now a trio had made their way downstairs then to the door, and Austin opened the front door. Letting Leia run out to the car, she was greeted with the driver, who smiled brightly at her. “Matching with your father I see?” They laughed.
However, before Austin and Rose left the house. Austin felt Rose slightly tug back on his hand. Which had made him recoil, looking back at her.
“What is it, my love?” His tone was sweet, but a hint of worry slipped in.
“Y’know,” she began, letting go of his hand to cup his unshaven face, “whatever happens, you shouldn’t blame yourself.” Her voice was soft, and her eyes seemed to be looking deeply into his gray eyes.
He said nothing for a few moments. His brows slightly furrowed from confusion as to why she would suddenly tell him this, considering their talk the night before. His eyes darkened a bit, they had been examining her face. As if searching for an answer as to why she would randomly tell him this. After a few moments of silence, he spoke. “I won’t, Rose.” Promising her that, he gave her a subtle nod.
“Good,” she smiled at his words, going on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I love you, never forget that.”
“I love you too darling, I love you more than anything.”
“Never blame yourself.” She pressed her index finger upon his lips. He nodded his head once more, promising her he wouldn’t. She giggled lightly, thinking he was silly. Finally, she walked through the door, with Austin following behind.
—
Breathing heavily, he brought his hand up to his face. Rubbing his eyes harshly, he sat up. Blinking his eyes wildly, with his hands brushing his hair back. Clearing his throat, he looked down at his hand. Which was shaking madly, holding it still with his other. He dug his nail into his wrist until blood seeped out.
“Another dream?” He heard a familiar voice. He looked up, seeing his butler. Fredrick stood above him at the side of the bed. “Your premiere isn’t in another few hours.” He commented, as if he was trying to put Austin back to bed.
“I saw her.” He simply said, ignoring the comment, he threw the blankets off of himself. Then sat at the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. “It was real Fredrick, I could feel her. Her skin… everything, I felt everything!” He snarled from frustration, glaring up at him before staring back down at the ground. “She spoke to me.”
Fredrick watched calmly. “What did she tell you.”
“Not to blame myself.” He spat through gritted teeth. Balling up his hands, Fredrick grabbed a handkerchief to wipe the blood off Austin’s wrist.
He made Austin hold out his hand as Fredrick began wiping it off. Staining the white handkerchief with crimson splotches. “She loves you, sir.” Fredrick knew Austin needed to be consoled. “It isn’t your fault, none of it is.”
“If I had-“
“No,” Fredrick cut him off, “Austin.” He crouched down to look at his friend square. Who was now nibbling on his lower lip with furrowed brows, his eyes were bloodshot, watery. His leg was shaking uncontrollably, fiddling with his wedding band to calm himself down. Fredrick inhaled, “it’s not your fault. What happened to Rose, none of it, none of it is your fault.”
“You don’t get it.” He growled. “I promised to always be there for her. I swore I’d love her forever. I swore it Fredrick!” Pure spite towards himself was the only thing Fredrick could sense. “I said I’d always be there for her! But, when she needed me I wasn’t—“ he cut himself short, his nail digging into his wrist again. Huffing, he looked at Fredrick. Blinking his tears away now. “I trusted time, and what did it to me? It took my wife from me.”
Fredrick looked at Austin in silence. Searching for something, but, it seemed as if he couldn’t find it. Fredrick knew for as long as Austin lived, he would keep blaming himself every single night. He stood up and walked over to Austin’s bookshelf, grabbing a journal. A pen out of his pocket, he walked back over to Austin, “Well, you don’t want to forget her do you?”
Austin tilted his head, puzzled.
“You said you were able to feel her this time, correct?”
Nod.
“Then write it down. So you’ll never forget this dream.” Fredrick advised. “You write down all your other dreams that are about her anyways.” He glanced over at the bookshelf. “Even though none of them have ever made you this upset… regardless, it is still a dream of your beloved.” Trying to find a way to calm Austin down, his hands held out the pen and journal, waiting for Austin to take them. “I suggest you write before your premiere starts, sir.” He had noticed that Austin’s eyes weren’t watery anymore, he seemed calmer, not as emotional.
“Right…” Austin finally took the journal and pen, opening it to an empty page. “I just… I just miss her, Fred.”
“Aye,” Fredrick nodded, understanding his friend, “I too, miss her every day. But,”
“Hm?”
“She showed you the bests in life, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you have a daughter. Might I suggest,” Fredrick held his index finger up, tapping the air lightly, “you too, show her the best things your wife showed you.”
Silence.
“I mean, that’s what Rose wanted. To show you both the bests in life.”
Austin nodded his head in agreement. He smirked his head, shaking it before looking at Fredrick’s eyes. “Wanna know sum’n, Fred?”
Fredrick cocked a brow. “Yes, sir?”
“God played me with that fuckin’ dream, dude.” He couldn’t wipe that stupid smirk off his face. And Fredrick chuckled in both amusement as well as agreement, nodding his head.
Summary: Austin wins the golden globe and goes home to celebrate with his wife.
Warnings: reminiscing, and fluff, that’s it.
Tags: none.
Note: Tumblr is still deleting paragraphs so if this story is a bit screwed up, I apologize. I tried making this as happy as I could given the circumstances.
MASTERLIST — SERIES
—
The tall blonde sat in the drivers seat of his car. He had just won the golden globe, and was staring at his name. ‘Best Actor Austin Butler.’ He brought his hand to his unshaven face, scratching it. He felt the hair of his stubble poke into his fingers. After, he rested his hands in his lap. His fingers fiddling with his gold wedding band. He was nervous, it felt like his heart was pumping in his throat.
He skipped out on the after party, wanted to go home and celebrate with his wife and child. He knew his daughter was asleep most likely, but his wife had stayed up. She was always there for him, always. No matter what happened, she would always cheer for him. Even from far away.
Grabbing the handle to the door, he pulled it towards him, and the car door swung open. He kept the award inside the car, knowing he’d leave again soon, he shut the door behind him, made his way towards the garage door. Seeing it open, he already knew who was there for him. And looking up, it was Fredrick, his butler.
“Not attending the after party, sir?” Fredrick asked him curiously. Austin shook his head, waving it off. In Fredrick’s hand was a metal chrome tray, holding a white glass plate with what looked to be porridge, as well as a tea cup. Austin stepped to Fredrick’s side, looking down at the soup. “I made you supper sir.” He clarified, seeing Austin’s curious eyes.
“Thanks dude.” He nodded his head, walking past Fredrick and down the hall towards the living room. With Fredrick following behind quietly. He noticed how quiet it was, which made sense, considering how late it was at the time. “Is Leia asleep?”
“Yes sir,” Fredrick confirmed as Austin made his way towards the dining table. He pulled a chair out, plopping down on it. He looked at Fredrick as he placed the plate down onto the table, “I tucked her in like usual.”
“When did she sleep?” He asked, seeing Fredrick hand him a spoon.
“She went to bed after your speech.” He explained, watching Austin pick up the plate.
Taking a spoonful of the soup, he was immediately hit with a cold texture, causing him to spit it out. Smacking his lips, then wiping them with the back of his palm. “It’s cold!” He looked up at Fredrick again. Was he gone for that long? Did Fredrick really make supper so long ago that it was this cold? His brows were furrowed from confusion.
“It’s vichyssoise, sir.”
Austin blinked obliviously.
“It’s supposed to be cold.”
“Oh.” He gladly took another spoonful, eating it.
“Anyways,” Fredrick rolled his eyes at how ridiculous Austin was being, “she was asking about her mother.” He started, and Austin, who had been eating the soup like he had never eaten a day in his life. Took a quick pause to listen closely to Fredrick. “She understands what’s happened to her, sir, but she’s curious about you and Mrs. Butler.”
“Mm…” he hummed, putting the spoon down on the empty plate. He brought his hand to his lips again, and Fredrick quickly intercepted. Placing a towel down onto Austin’s hand before it touched his lips. “Oh- thanks.” He smiled, wiping his lips dry.
“You ought to tell her how you and Mrs. Butler met, sir. She’s quite curious.” He reached into the inside pocket of his tailcoat blazer, holding out a letter. “Here, she even wrote this for Mrs. Butler. She told me to tell you to not read it.”
Austin took the letter from Fredrick, tucking it into the inside pocket of his blazer. “I will.” He nodded. “And I won’t.” He promised. He stood up, sighing as he stood face to face with Fredrick. “Lets go check up on her.” He suggested, and Fredrick nodded in agreement.
The two of then walked side by side, making their way to the second floor, down the hall to Leia’s room. Serpent the Doberman, had been sitting quietly behind the doorframe to her bedroom, keeping watch as usual. Austin leaned down to quickly kiss his dog’s head, ruffling up his fur before walking into the bedroom.
He stood over his daughter for a moment, checking up on her. Without thinking, his hand went to his daughter’s head. He was caressing her blonde hair, his face frowning a bit. Sighing, he pecked her the side of her head, wishing her happy dreams and a good night. Then he turned his back on her, walking back over to Fredrick. “I’m going to go see Rose.” He whispered to his butler. “Down by the farm.”
“It’s awfully late for that, you’ll be there by sunrise.” Fredrick muttered, surprised by the sudden gesture Austin was displaying. The blonde pulled away from the bedroom, stepping out into the hall with Fredrick close.
“I want to celebrate with her.” He insisted upon it. “I want to, I must celebrate with her. She’s my wife, and she’s the reason I’ve come this far.” He continued on, watching Fredrick to see if he was listening closely. Which, the butler was. “I’ll probably spend a few hours there.” He nodded to himself, his fingers fiddling with his gold wedding band once more.
Fredrick noticed the fiddling, he could tell that Austin was nervous to meet his wife again. He hadn’t seen her in about a week due to a hectic schedule. “I understand.” He knew there was no point in trying to stop his friend. What was the point? And who was Fredrick to tell Austin how to celebrate this triumphant moment. “I’ll watch the house, and Leia…” trailing off, “…obviously.” He added underneath his breath in annoyance. In response, Austin chuckled.
“Thanks Fred.” Placing his hand on the butler’s shoulder. “Thanks for… stickin’ with me n’ everything.” He pat Fredrick’s shoulder, walking back to the garage. Fredrick like usual, stayed by Austin’s side.
They both walked downstairs, then down to the garage. Austin kept his hands in his pockets, while Fredrick had his hands by his side. “By the way do you know what Leia wants for breakfast?”
“Waffles, which are no problem to make.” Fredrick brushed off. “Also sir, she wants a Star Wars story book.”
“Will do.” Walking to the car to open the door. He sat down in the drivers side, and Fredrick spotted the golden globe award in the passengers side. “I’ll buy her the prequels. Can’t go wrong with that.”
“Of course, Revenge of the Sith is a cult classic.” Fredrick agreed happily. He watched as Austin shut the door, the car roared to life. Backing out of the garage, he watched his friend leave. Sighing, he rolled his eyes once more. “Does he seriously not know what vichyssoise is??”
—
Austin was staring at his daughter who was sitting in the baby high chair. She had a plate set out in front of her, with a bib around her little neck. She wore a pink onesie that his wife bought for her.
Austin was holding a little glass bowl of apple sauce, with a small spoon. He sat there staring at his daughter’s brown eyes, she on the other hand, was making grabby hands at her father, babbling away.
He reached the spoon filled with applesauce to Leia’s mouth. She slapped the spoon away, laughing at Austin who let out a frustrated sigh. ‘You sure it’s alright for her to eat this stuff?’ Austin asked his wife, he looked down at the label on the glass bowl. He glanced back, seeing her in the kitchen. She was making dinner for the three of them.
‘Oh for Gods sakes Austin, she’s almost two.’ His wife said.
‘I know Rose but still-‘
‘Don’t but still me you silly man.’ She started, walking out of the kitchen and into the dining room. He smiled when he saw her. She was wearing his white shirt, some sweats, and an apron. Her hair was tied back, and her face expressed annoyance. To him however, she looked perfect. Even when she was annoyed she was perfect.
He could hear her sigh, as she crouched down beside him to look at their daughter who helplessly sat there. Leia smiled at the pair, babbling and reaching out for Austin. ‘I don’t think she likes apple sauce, darling.’ He mumbled softly to her.
‘Well honey, she doesn’t like peas or carrots either.’ She shot at him with a sweet tone.
‘I don’t like peas or carrots.’ He countered. She side eyed him, but a smile seeped through her lips. He listened to her as she let out a lighthearted giggle, shaking her head.
‘Yes, you don’t. I suppose she gets that from her father.’ She kissed Austin’s cheek gently. ‘Here, give me that, love.’ Austin handed her the bowl of apple sauce and the spoon. She took it from him gently, then the spoon from him. Scooping up the applesauce, she held it towards Leia. ‘Say ahh.’ She cooed gently, and Leia opened her mouth.
Gently, she took the spoonful of apple sauce, and Austin watched quietly. The whole time he had a smile on his face, and Rose could see there was nothing but love in that smile of his. She rolled her eyes at him, charmed really. Leia blurbed her words, clapping her hands and bouncing up and down excitedly in her high chair.
‘See? She likes it, Aus.’ She leaned against his shoulder. ‘You just have to be patient with her. She’s about to become a toddler, y’know.’
‘Toddler huh.’ He breathed out, scratching the back of his neck. Falling quiet again, he watched his wife continue to spoon feed their daughter. Cooing to her in a gentle tone. Austin kept smiling at the pair. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too.’ She responded without missing a beat. ‘So does Leia.’ She added.
Austin knew Rose since he was a child. Somewhere in middle school, he had been pulled out to be home schooled. As a result their friendship went to a staggering halt, where they both didn’t talk to each other for a few years. It was only till he was around the age of 16-17, he had met Rose again.
He met her at a French cafe, at the time he wanted to buy beignets. When he revealed his name to her at the counter, she was shocked but happy to see he was okay. From that day on he would meet her every day at the cafe, where she would spend her break with him, talking about high school and how rude some customers were.
Eventually when they were 18-19 they moved in together. Rose knew about Austin’s acting career, but due to how insecure he was. A lot of the time he would doubt his acting skills, question himself. She however, never doubted him.
When those days came. She would cup his face, and whisper sweet things to him. How he was a talented man, and there will be a time when he would be recognized for his talent. ‘These things take time Austin, you can’t rush the future. You can’t rush time. Just trust yourself, your luck will come.’ She would say to him. ‘You’re a sweet man, as gentle as a dandelion, so don’t worry. Don’t rush this. Trust time.’ And he did.
He always listened to her. She was gold to him. To him, Rose was the most valuable person in this earth, most special person to ever live. She was the reason he breathed. He promised to be there for her always. Even in spite of their love, he was still a nervous wreck around her.
When the time came to propose. He was shaking like all of hell, and in fact, it wasn’t romantic at all. He blurted out that he wanted to marry her when the pair were cooking together. She was calm about it, and said she wanted to marry him as well.
He saved up as much as he could, and bought her an engagement ring. A year later, he married her. He was 20, and she had just turned 21 at the time. Their wedding was private, only four people attended. The priest, best man, his mother, and her father. That was pretty much about it.
Austin’s acting career was growing and more people were becoming his fans by the minute. Not wanting to attract any attention, they kept their marriage a secret until she became pregnant. His love for her grew by the day, and it was the same for her.
He adored her. He didn’t need to say it for she already knew. He didn’t need to say I love you, for she already knew that as well. But regardless, he would always tell her he loved her, any chance he got. When he would come home to her after a good days work, he’d kiss her and tell her he’d love her, maybe buy her flowers.
No matter what, he’d always adore her. It was the only thing he could do around her. Just stare and admire her for how perfect she was. Patient, understanding, and supportive, that was all it took. That was all he needed.
At one point in their relationship, Rose brought up the idea of a child. Austin agreed without any hesitation. He felt honored and happy that Rose would trust him with a child, that Rose would pick him to marry, and to have a child with.
When Leia was born, it was a bliss for Austin. He had a family with his forever, with the girl that he’d be with until his very last breath. He remembered the days when Leia and Rose had came home for the first time. He took care of everything, which was perfectly okay with him, he was happy to help.
At one point, when Austin was out for a drive with her. He brought up a touchy subject. ‘I was curious about something,’ he started.
‘Hm?’ She hummed in response.
‘I was wondering,’ glancing at her, ‘when you die- where would you want to be buried?’ He asked her.
‘Oh,’ she blinked, touching her jaw as she thought to herself, ‘hmph, never really thought of that.’ She tilted her head. Looked out the window for a moment, then back at him. ‘Make sure I’m faced between the west and east so I can always see the setting and rising sun, that way I can remember all the fine times we’ve spent together.’ She smiled.
‘That’s awfully descriptive.’ He scoffed, but nodded his head. ‘Will do.’ He grinned.
She smiled at his words, staring at his side profile. ‘What about you Aus? Where do you wanna be buried?’
‘With you.’
—
Austin desperately clung onto the few scraps of memories he had left of Rose.
He parked the car, and hopped out. He then looked at the farmhouse, holding the golden globe in his hand. He started walking towards the door, and held out his keys. Inserting the key into the keyhole, he twisted, pushed, and the door opened.
“Mr. Butler!” He heard a feminine voice. Blinking his deprived eyes, he shook his head. The voice sounded all too familiar.
“Ms. Coleman?” He called, and he could see a small woman poke her head out of the living room and into the hall. She had a bright smile on her face. “Have you been expecting me?” He asked curiously, walking to her side.
“Yes yes, Fredrick called and said I should be expecting you.” She nodded her head.
“I see,” he looked around his farmhouse, a house that he and Rose bought. Scratching his stubble, “are you usually up this early?”
“Of course! Someone’s gotta watch the stables!” She laughed, resting her hand to his arm. “I mean that is what you hired me for. To watch over the farmhouse and to take care of the horses and cattle.”
“Yes yes,” he chuckled lowly. He sighed, holding the golden globe with both his hands now, nervousness pricked at him like a rose bush. Gulping down his pumping heart, “is she…?”
“Oh yes,” Ms. Coleman gave a nod, “she’s waiting for you just outside, sir. Through the back door.” She pointed to the back of the house.
“Thank you Ms. Coleman,” he dipped his head in thanks before walking to the back door.
He was watching his dress shoes get dirty from the dirt he walked on. He looked at the horses in the ranch, then looked past them, to see a hill. He cleared his throat nervously again, his fingers fiddling with his gold wedding band. Nervousness was piling up, and he was as twitchy as ever. He hadn’t seen Rose in a solid week, and he was nervous as to how she’d react.
Walking up the hill of the meadow, he could see a headstone, and behind that headstone was a tree. He could see the sun rising beside the headstone, and barely he made out the words. ‘ROSEANNE BUTLER’ it read, and he bit his lower lip, nibbling on it nervously.
Stopping in front of the headstone, he stared down at it. Holding the golden globe with both hands, his fingers were kneading at it. “Hey darling.” He greeted her. “I um…” clearing his throat, “I won the golden globe.” Holding out the award, he crouched down. “I wanted to thank you, for encouraging me to continue acting. I wanna thank you for everything, for the happiness and joy you give me, for the peace you give me, I wanna thank you for existing in my life.” Gently, he placed the golden globe beside the headstone. “I wanna give this to you.” Standing straight again.
He stood in silence for a moment. Nibbling onto his lower lip once more, he could feel his heart racing in his chest. Absolutely trying his best to control his emotions, he was always a mess around Rose. Always. No matter what. Sucking in air sharply, he looked away from the headstone to stare at the rising sun.
His gray eyes showed nothing but sadness now. Now it felt like his heart was caught in his throat. His eyes welled up with emotions, and he stopped nibbling on his lower lip. Simply blinked his tears out, and he wiped his eyes. He expected them to stop, but they didn’t. “I miss you.” He revealed. “I miss you so much,” starting up on what he thought was a tangent, “I still dream of you every damn day. I think of you all the time. You should see Leia, she looks so much like you, hun.”
Sucking in some more air, he crouched down quickly to hide his face in his arms. Wiping his face again, he shook himself then stood up straight. He blinked repeatedly, trying to get ahold of himself. He wiped his eyes with the back of his palm like a small child would. A sharp inhale, and slow exhale. He stared at the headstone for a few moments. “Leia looks like you,” he started again, “Freddie… he uh, he says she looks like me. But she’s got your eyes. But um… she’s smart, Rose. She’s real smart. We read a book every night, loves Harry Potter… and I’m sure she gets-“ he paused, but, unfortunately cracked, “-she gets that from you.” He finished. “She- she wrote you a letter, actually. I dunno what it says, told me not to read it so. I’ll leave it here for you to read.”
Reaching into the inside of his blazer, he took out the little envelope titled ‘momma’ for Rose. Leaning down, as gently as he could, he placed the envelope underneath the award so it wouldn’t fly away.
Stepping back, he slid his hands into his pockets. If he was going to cry, he would cry. He wasn’t going to try to control himself. He was alone, out in the meadow, alone with his wife. “Y’know how, you told me you wanted to be buried between the east and the west to see the rising sun?” He looked towards the sky, watching the sun rise. “So we could dwell on the past.” He muttered. “I hope you like this spot.” He wiped his eyes again. “It’s real nice and pretty out here the meadow y’know,” looking at his surroundings, he stopped to look at her name on the headstone, “just wait a bit longer Rose. I’ll join you soon.” He promised. “I gotta make sure Leia is okay first, and I know you’re watching after us. But Rose, just wait a bit longer.” His tone, which was usually husky, now was soft and gentle, pleading with her, “just wait a bit longer for me Rose.”
Looking back at the sunrise, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. He could still remember her voice clear as day. Could still remember how she would fiddle with the strands of his hair to help him sleep. How she stepped on his dress shoes so they could dance to The Platters.
Rubbing face, he breathed in. Managing a smile, he looked at the headstone. “If you ever need anything, I’m right here darlin’ always.” He promised. “I love you, until the end of the time, I love you.”
Austin Butler is a single father who is a grieving widower, who often reminisces of his past life with his wife. He has a butler by his side, to who he seeks comfort in. The series explores his past.
THEMES
Fluff, angst, cursing, death, grief, widower, single father, awkward dad Austin, manifestation, reminiscing. All I can think of.
CHAPTERS
INTERVIEW - Austin’s daughter wants to be apart of an interview.
TIME - Austin hires a nanny to watch his daughter, and as a result the nanny hits on him.
LSD - Austin’s reaction to becoming a father.
GOLDEN - Austin wins the Golden Globes and comes home to celebrate with his wife.
TRUST - Austin gets ready with his family to the Elvis premiere.
CHARACTERS
— AUSTIN BUTLER: A single father to a little girl, he is often seen grieving. Quite temperamental and stubborn, however is very soft and gentle towards his daughter.
— FREDRICK: He’s the butler. Basically just keeps Austin in check.
— LEIA BUTLER: 7 year old daughter of Austin Butler.
— SERPENT: The dog, he’s a doberman and is about 7-8 years old. Austin got him around the time his daughter was born to keep her company.
NOTE
The series was originally gonna start off as a oneshot and you could read all three stories as their own. However, I just have fun writing for this plot/story, so I figured why not make it a series y’know, screw it.
A series that takes place in another universe based on four unique genetically modified soldiers that are sent on a wad of missions during a war they were raised to fight for.
THEMES
Vulgar language, vulgar themes, angst, gore, guns, death, torture, just… all around vulgar.
CHAPTERS
— PROLOGUE + CHAPTER 1: A chapter based on the inhumane childhood of the four soldiers. They go from being simple test subjects to soldiers.
CHARACTERS
— TS-109/AUSTIN B: TS-109 is the leader of the band and is the most experienced of the four. He’s quiet, blunt, and fearless.
— TS-1408/DELTA: TS-1408 is the smartest from the band. He’s annoyingly smart, quite temperamental, and bold.
— TS-3589/RIOT: TS-3589 the middle child of the group, and is the strongest. Often caught in the middle of Delta and Bullseye’s bickering. He’s humorless, loyal, and childish.
— TS-6542/BULLSEYE: TS-6542 is often bickering with Delta. He’s got an eye of one in a million, with expertise in marksmanship. He’s an instigator, a smartass, and vengeful.
NOTE
At the beginning of the series, they don’t go by names but rather numbers. So your boy Austin will be referred to as 109 for a good solid minute.
Summary: A story based in the late 60s, Austin who works for a famous man, sees a girl in need of help, to which he comes to her aid.
Warnings: fluff, angst (?), age gap, smut is mentioned, cigarettes, smoking, hippies, and cursing.
Tags: none.
Note: This story is shit, but I had to get sumn out this week. If Tumblr deletes paragraphs. I’m gonna lose it.
MASTERLIST
—
Opening the door to the house, the tall figure had his hand in his pocket. With his black hair greased back into a pomade, clean shaven face, he seemed ready for another day. As he entered the house, he was greeted with his boss. “There you are, Austin!” Hearing a boastful voice. He meekly looked to where the voice was coming from. “You know them hippies was here last night, smokin’ pot down the damn street or sum’n like that.”
His boss, Colt. He was a nice guy. Tall, with tanned skin but blonde hair that was slicked back. Colt Turner was a famous guy. Real famous, and well, Austin worked for him. Always.
Colt had found Austin one day down the street, and thought that he was suited for some work. Austin at the time who was homeless, had figured it was a good idea. So he took the deal. What was the deal? If Austin could drive Colt around, take him to where he needed to be, make coffees for him and etc. then Austin would be payed.
Austin was allowed to drive Colt’s car anytime he wanted to. Colt didn’t mind, in fact, he actually encouraged his friend to do it. Austin was the only person allowed to touch Colt’s beautiful and well maintained car. Anyone else who touched it without Colt’s or Austin’s permission, Austin was pretty much obligated to punch them.
Colt met Austin when he was in his late teenage years, and now Austin was reaching his late twenties, while Colt was reaching his forties. In spite of having to work for Colt for such a long time. Austin trusted Colt with his life, and it was the same for Colt. They both would probably risk their lives for each other.
“Should’a been here, I would’a gotten you to take care of em.” Colt said, when he took out a cigarette case from his pocket. Popped it into his mouth like usual and struck it lit with a lighter. Austin smirked, shaking his head, as he walked towards his friend. He approached the kitchen to where Colt was standing, seeing him holding a glass root beer bottle. He grabbed a bottle opener, snapping the cap off with ease then handing it to Austin.
“What’d you do?” Austin dipped his head in thanks when he took the bottle. “How’d you scare em off?”
“I didn’t. I’m too scared.” Colt smirked, shaking his head. Taking a drag from his cigarette, “You’re tougher than me Aus.”
“I’m a stick.”
“You ain’t a stick. You work out, I see you work out, you fix my roof n’ everything. You ain’t weak.” Colt was baffled by how Austin was underestimating himself. To which Austin shrugged, taking a swig at the root beer before walking back to the door of the house, Colt following right behind him.
Austin grabbed the keys to Colt’s car, which was a 1969 Dodge Charger. He walked over to the drivers side of the car, unlocking the door then pressed the button that allowed the passenger side to open. Colt swung the door open and they both sat down in their places. With the car roaring to life, he took the shifter in his hand and put it into reverse, Austin looked over his shoulder. Stomping on the gas, the car shot backwards, break, spun forward, shift into drive.
Colt’s back slammed against the car seat, he gagged from his cigarette almost going down his throat. “Holy shit Austin-“ he coughed out, looking at his buddy, “-you could at least fuckin warn me dude!”
“My bad.” Austin chuckled slyly, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. With his other hand on his side, eyes narrowed to focus on the road in front of him. Colt chuckled, leaning back as he shook his head. Both windows rolled down so when Colt could smoke, it wouldn’t fill the car up.
“Oh yeah Aus,” Colt looked over at his friend, and in response Austin glanced at him, “I bought a supercharger kit for the lady, I was wonderin’ if you could drop by home n’ make sure it’s arrived safely. Also a new camshaft.”
“Sure.” He shrugged, not minding a thing.
Austin pulled up to the building to where Colt worked. Popping the door open, Colt took one smooth motion to walk out. Leaning down to look at Austin through the open window, he held onto the door. “Oi take good care of her.”
“I treat lady better than I do my own.” Austin assured, and Colt smiled, patting the top of the door before pulling away to walk into the building. Austin raised a brow as he watched Colt. “Aye Colt!”
“Yeh?” Swiftly turning around to face him.
“Do you need more for the rest of the day?”
“No, do whatever you want. Good luck to ya.” Colt smiled, winking at Austin before he turned his back on him. Walking towards the door of the building and opened it to disappear inside.
Austin sniffled, rubbing his nose for a moment to process what he was going to do. “Well shoot alright.” He giggled like a school boy, starting the car back up. Slowly prowling back into traffic. He leaned over to the dash, deciding to blast the radio.
—
Austin had stopped by at a stop light, he looked through the windshield and could see a girl who was standing on the sidewalk with her thumb up. She was alone, and looked in need for a ride. He stared at her quietly, intrigued.
She was pretty, he couldn’t lie. But, she looked young, real young. He was curious, why was a young girl like her out on her own. Shouldn’t she have been in school? Where it looked like she belonged. Unless Austin was just assuming wrong, it didn’t answer the question why she was out in the street.
Well, this was the 60s, the late 60s, and many young people were homeless cause they chose to be. Hippies… hippies and sex. In spite of her being a hippie, and the stigma behind them. Austin couldn’t help but worry over her. He saw her at that spot every damn day, and he wondered if any men would take advantage her.
Austin could see the girl look over at him, instantly, a beaming smile flashed on her face. She waved at him, and he tilted his head towards her, waving. She pointed to herself, then down the street, the opposite direction where Austin was headed.
‘Wanna give me a ride?’
Austin shook his head, then pointed forward. ‘I can’t, heading that way.’ After that, he shrugged in sorry.
She pouted at him, expressing her sadness. Then mouthed the words, ‘how about next time?’
Austin glanced at the light, seeing how it was still red. Looking back at her, he gave a nod. Mouthing back to her, ‘when I got time for you.’ It was a firm nod, he knew he had to keep his word to her. She smiled, jumping up in joy. She had successfully read his lips, and just as the light shot green. The Charger prowled forward. He waved bye to her as he drove past, and she returned the wave.
Austin had rolled up to Colt’s driveway. Right as he rolled up, he spotted two boxes stacked that was just sitting in the middle of the driveway beside his own stink bug of a car. Austin raised a brow up, as he parked the Charger beside his own car. Popping the door open, shutting it, then locking it. He walked towards the box quietly with his hands in his back pockets. He could feel a few strands of his own hair loosen up in front of his face.
“Well shoot.” He looked down at the two boxes stacked on top of each other, seeing the name COLT TURNER. Leaning down, his arms wrapped around the box. It was a supercharger, and it was going to be the heaviest pile of dung heap in the world. So with as much strength as he could form, he swiftly picked it up. Stumbling a bit as he walked towards the door of Colt’s house. “Holy fuck.” He breathed, trembling from how heavy it was. He was practically holding a whole engine.
—
When Austin went to go pick up Colt from work. He could see the girl in the same spot, this time with what looked to be her friend. Who also looked way too young for her own good. Austin watched them both as they held out their thumbs, sitting on the bus bench.
The girl had turned around, seeing the similar black 1969 Dodge Charger, and when she peered inside. She could see the same man who looked like Elvis’ doppelgänger. As she looked at him, he looked back at her with a blank expression, a smirk slowly peering on his lips. “That’s the guy I was talking about Lila!” She exclaimed, nudging at her friend who looked off her rocker. The girl pointed to the doppelgänger, waving at him.
He smiled, waved back at her. She pointed to herself, with raised brows. He shook his head, pointing down the street. She flailed her arms, annoyed he had no time for her. He was a handsome man, and she wanted to see if she could get her way with him. He looked kindhearted too, looked like he was a good listener. Which was why she wanted to befriend him so badly. Maybe yap away if she could.
But to her dismay, he had shaken his head no. Then mouthed the words. ‘When I got time for you.’ Like always, every day. But she couldn’t lie, for a man as handsome as him, she’d wait willingly. He dipped his head, waving goodbye to her as he drove off, she jumped up and down, waving bye at him.
When Austin had went to go pick up Colt. He could see him holding a can of beer, and Austin knew he’d probably have to deal with an emotional Colt, cause when Colt drank, he was emotional. Meaning something at work as well went wrong. “Hey there Aus,” he greeted as he opened the door, sitting down in the passenger side.
“Hey Colt.” He smiled, seeing Colt take a drink from his beer can. “Bad day at work?” Looking over his shoulder to drive back in the street, when he didn’t hear an answer, his head turn to glance at Colt. “What? Samantha reject you again or somethin’?”
“Samantha is as crude as a woman gets Aus!” Colt complained. “Damn well threw her coffee at me and I needed a new suit and everythin’ man!”
“Why she throw her coffee at you?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know Aus sum’n ‘bout the damn editors, and that ain’t even in my department either! Sure I produce but fuck me, I don’t focus on the editors! She does! God dammit Aus, she’s a strange woman. I don’t even know why they hired her.” He wiped the sweat off his brow. Austin glanced at Colt, he wore a brown leather jacket, black shirt with some white slacks. “Fuckin’ hate producing movies with her!”
“Yeah I bet Colt… I bet… wanna watch The Good, The Bad, The Ugly back at home? Bet that’ll cheer you up.” He suggested, a cunning smile on his face.
“Good idea… I should’a thought of that.” Colt inhaled, nodding his head repeatedly. “I knew I could trust you!” Punching at Austin’s shoulder, he was laughing, happy that his best friend could always cheer him up.
—
The next day it was the same routine. Austin had dropped Colt off. And he told him. “Do whatever you want for the rest of the day. I don’t need ya. I’ll take Lady down by the shop to get that supercharger installed. So just explore ‘round, pick me up at nine.”
“Sure thing.” And Austin watched Colt walk off into the building. He said nothing but start the car back up, knowing damn well that if he ran into that hippie again, he’d have to give her a ride. Considering he would repeatedly promise to give her a ride.
And he did. He ran into her again, and she was sitting on that same bench. She waved at him once she spotted him, he waved at her. She pointed to herself, raised brows. He gave a nod, confirming he could give her some of his time. He could hear her squeal dancing around, wiggling her hips like there was no tomorrow. Kickin the sand around as she danced, the light green, he pulled over in front her.
She saw him stop the car in front of her. “Hey there.” She heard the casual greeting, as she had leaned down to look at him. She couldn’t help but smile at him, now up close he seemed more handsome.
“Hi,” she bit her lower lip nervously, twitching endlessly, “I see you finally made time for me!”
“Yeah, my boss says I can screw ‘round today before takin’ Lady down to the shop tomorrow.” He informed.
“Well… can I come in?”
He gave a nod. She swung the door open, plopping down in the passenger seat. She leaned up close to him instantly, he sat in the drivers seat, relaxed as her face was inches away from his. “Where you headed off to?” He asked her.
“Creek side.” She gave the simple answer.
“Oh.”
“It’s just down—“
“I know where it is.” He cut her off. She looked at him, surprised. But that smile remained on her face, and he smirked at her. “I’ll take you there no problem.” Merging back into traffic, sighing. “So,” he started as he glanced at her, “whad’ya do? Just hitch round all up in here all day? And you ask someone to take you to Creek side when you’re done?” He asked, genuinely curious.
“Well yeah, aw c’mon, tourists love me!” She laughed innocently at him. “They talk about me y’know? Tell people about that one pretty girl who made their ride the best experience they ever got! And an even better experience at Creek side.” She proclaimed confidently. Austin said nothing after that statement, simply shrugged and nodded along. Whatever you say. He thought to himself.
After a few miles of pure comfortable silence Austin had merged into the freeway. The girl had been staring the doppelgänger down intently, hadn’t yet learned his name yet. She could see how he had a clean shaven face, greased back black hair, one hand on the steering wheel of the car. He was bobbing his head to the radio, enjoying the sweet tunes that were playing. He wore a simple white shirt, jeans, with a belt and some cowboy boots.
Wanting to make conversation with him. “You remind me of Elvis.” She suddenly said.
Austin glanced at her. “The pomade?” He chuckled, quirking up a brow.
She gave a nod before leaning closer to him. “Only problem is,” she began, “is that your pomade unlike Elvis is messy.” Grabbing the loose hairs that was in his face, she slicked it back, then grabbed his face to force him to look at her.
His face was turned towards hers, but his eyes remained on the road. A small smile on her face as she let go so he could be fully focused on the road. She kept watching him drive. “Want me to suck your cock?”
He looked at her, raised brows at the sudden question. Licking his lips for a moment due to his amusement and not knowing how to react, he brought his hand to his mouth. His fingers rubbing his jawline, trying to hide his smile. She was bold, very bold. When he gave her another glance, her eager face distorted into a worried face, as if she was afraid that he’d reject her. “How old are you?”
“What?” She seemed offended by the question. “There’s no way you just asked me that.”
“How old are you?” Followed with a low chuckle. She could tell that he was serious. He shook his head, which caused her to believe he had already known.
“Wow man,” she thought about it for a moment. He was the first one to have ever asked her that in a long time. After maybe a hundred tourists it felt like, she was finally asked that. Shaking her head, “been a long time since someone asked me that.” She still didn’t answer his question.
He didn’t say anything but shake his head, amused by how she was avoiding his question. Glancing at her, he could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. As she watched him in those three seconds of silence, she had already went to the assumption that he was a good man. “Well,” deciding to press on, “I’m eighteen. There. Now can we get the show started?”
He revealed amused smile. Looking back at her with a face that showed he didn’t believe her for shit. “You got a drivers license? I need’a see sum’n that says you’re eighteen. Sure I’m givin’ you a ride but not that type of ride.”
She rolled her eyes, sitting back in the chair. “You’re obviously the fun one at parties huh?” She mocked, and he nodded his head. She kept looking at him, and now knowing that he wouldn’t lay a finger on her. She comfortably shifted in her spot, laying her head down on his lap.
He moved his hand out the way to let her, glancing down at her as she stared up at him in awe. “Why don’t you just do me? I mean, I’m sure Elvis would.”
“Because ma’am,” rolling his eyes, “if I’m ever gonna go to jail it ain’t because I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants for some chic who keeps lying to me ‘bout her age so she gets in bed with me.” He said with a scoff. “And I ain’t Elvis.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, I ain’t him, but I also ain’t like those stupid sons of bitches who take advantage of folk like you.”
“Folk like me? What? Hippies?” She wanted to clarify how he saw her, how he viewed people like her.
“Yeah,” he nodded, “you guys just got different beliefs. I ain’t gonna take that to my advantage. Most of you are young’uns.”
“You talk like you’re old.”
“I’m twenty-nine.”
“No you’re not.” She called his bluff. “You look like you’re some nineteen year old.” He scoffed but took it as a compliment. Reaching into his pocket to get out his wallet. He handed it to her, so she could take out his ID to look at it. She said nothing but take it, grabbing out his ID. She looked at the photo. He had a sultry look. With his lips slightly parted, dazed siren eyes. She kept looking at it, reading the information. “Name… Austin Butler, height is six-one, age is twenty-eight, sex is male… eye color gray…” she looked at his face to confirm that he had gray eyes. Which he did. Not only was he Elvis’ doppelgänger, but he even had the rarest eye color. Then looked back at the card, “…and Elvis’ doppelgänger.” She added. “Y’know, Austin Butler is a pretty badass name.”
“Badass?”
“Rolls right off the tongue.” She giggled childishly, kicking up her legs out of the car. “Austin Butler.” She repeated, still staring at his ID photo.
—
Pulling into the dirt lot of Creek side. He sat in the car for a moment, looking at the ranch site. He could see a few little sheds of the ranch that seemed occupied. Creek side was huge, it was like a little town actually in the eyes of Austin.
He looked at his surroundings, there were horses, cowboys, dogs walking around with old abandoned rusty cars, and of course, hippies as well. As he looked around with his eyes, he could see at least four of them were pregnant. Well, sex does make babies.
“Austin!”
His head shot towards the girl. “Hm?”
“C’mon.” She walked out the car. “I wanna introduce you to my friends!” She said eagerly. He sighed, hopping out the car and locking it like usual. He made his way towards the girl, and she reached out her hand. He took it, their fingers intertwining. She quickly walked forward, but he leaned back, slowing down her pace. Which had caused her to practically drag him behind her.
She was looking at her surroundings. So was he. And she saw at least only maybe 10-16 people there, when usually there was way more. “I wonder where everybody is.” She looked around, standing beside Austin, her hand still clutching his. “I mean, everyone is asking about this doppelgänger I keep talking about y’know.” As she kept walking around, she made her way towards another part of the ranch, a small little shop. Where a girl was walking towards her. And this girl looked to be a high schooler as well. “Hello!!” She called to them.
“Hey Connie!” The girl had ran towards them.
Connie let go of his hand, seeing that the girl wanted to embrace him, “Hey Angel.” They both exchanged a hug with a quick kiss. Austin slipped his hands into his pockets, watching them both quietly. “This is my friend Austin,” she looked up at Austin then at Angel. “The doppelgänger I keep tellin you guys about.”
“He does look like Elvis.” Angel looked at him up and down. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Yes.” Austin chuckled, his eyes looking at Connie then away from her.
Summary: Austin, who strongly dislikes the oc. Eventually falls for her, and isn’t afraid to admit it.
Warnings: fluff, cursing, enemies to lover trope, arguing, emotional cheating, all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: I don’t know what’s been up with Tumblr lately. But this app has been duplicating and deleting paragraphs. So if this story is a bit messed up. I apologize. This is also based off of something that happened to me with the chic I’ve been seeing. We’re about to hit two years so rad. This story is based off of mainly her perspective and to what she’s told me when dealing with her friends who use to constantly judge not only our relationship but as well as me as a person so that’s also rad. But yeah. Story based off of mainly how she sees me and why she loves me etc etc. I love her sm. She’s genuinely perfect. So… I guess you could say this is technically just a super long love letter to my girl. So if she sees this. I love you.
MASTERLIST
—
The blonde sat down in silence. His body hunched over the bench he was sitting, legs crossed, with a pen and sketchbook. He was constantly glancing at the reference photo of Venom that was on his phone. Sketching out some sort of figure of the Marvel Villain.
Behind him was a girl in black pantyhose, a black skirt and black shirt. She had raven colored hair, that was long. However compared to him she was quite little and petite. He hadn’t noticed her presence as he was quietly sketching.
The girl recognized him. He was Austin Butler, the most outspoken guy at the campus. A man who she had hated greatly, and she knew he felt the same way over her. The pair had gotten into several heated debates about controversial topics. He was never afraid to stand up for what he believed in. When she had met him, he was dating a girl named Ana. Who was very short compared to him.
She never understood how Ana could put up with Austin. A brash and blunt man who never seemed to know how to shut up. But, this was the first time he looked at his lonesome. And she watched him draw in his sketchbook.
He never had many friends either. He always looked to be alone ever since he and Ana broke up. He had such a cold expression on his face, he was emotionally unavailable most of the time. And he had changed since the breakup, still outspoken but less or more so.
She cleared her throat, wanting to compliment the drawing. “That’s a nice drawing you got there.”
The pencil stopped moving as he turned to face her. “Oh,” he blankly looked at her. Looking at his drawing again, then at her, “appreciate that. It’s Venom.” He had a simple tone. His voice was raspy, but it had a husky twist to it. Almost seemed unreal how deep someone’s voice really was. She forgot how deep it was in all honesty, even despite of their heated debates.
“Oh… Venom.” She whispered. “Mind if I sit with you to watch?” She asked quietly. She was expecting him to reject the offer, considering their deep dislike towards each other- or, so she thought.
“Yeah, go ahead.” He flicked his head, motioning her to the empty spot. She blinked, taken aback by this. But nonetheless, she had offered, he took it, so she should go through. She sat down at his side, close to him to watch the pencil move against the paper.
She said nothing for some time, not wanting to disturb him. During this time, Austin’s eyes would sometimes wonder off to her face. She was prettier than he remembered. In fact, he never thought she was pretty, purely cause they were typically yelling at each other. He figured he’d spark up a conversation. “You know anything about Marvel?”
“No.” She answered, glancing at his face. “I dunno much about Marvel.”
“Me neither,” he admitted casually, “I just like drawing.” Once the sketch was finished. He began to tighten up the drawing so it could look more of an actual figure instead of just circles and messy squiggles. “More of a Star Wars guy.”
“You like Star Wars?” Her eyes were now focused on his face.
“Yes.” His tone remained monotonous.
“I’ve never watched it.”
“Would you like me to tell you about it?”
“Sure. I’d love to hear about it.” She shrugged. Her brown eyes had remained on him. As he continued to sketch Venom, she listened intently to his words as he talked about the love he had for the series. He sounded passionate, and she couldn’t lie, it was interesting and attractive how someone could talk so passionately about something they felt fondly for.
Her head was slightly tilted the whole time as she listened. She couldn’t believe that she was sitting with Austin, casually talking to him. She thought he’d be mean or hostile towards her. But he seemed so casual and chill, like they had never once argued a day in their life. For some reason, this too charmed her.
She blinked, thinking it’d be awkward to mention it. But she decided to anyways. “I thought you’d be meaner.” She said once he finished his monologue about how great Star Wars was. Austin looked at her with half sleepy eyes. His face was unreadable but she assumed he was confused. “Cause well- y’know, you and I use to go at it.” She chuckled nervously.
“Oh.” He looked away for a moment. “Yeah well,” he started, “I know how to properly loathe people. You were debating with me because that’s the whole point of English Literature. You debate about topics and stupid shit like that. You were only doing it to get the A. I was doing the same. Nothin deep about it.” He shrugged it off. “It was professional, not personal.”
She was surprised by his laid back response. “But I mean— I would ignore you and everything too after that.”
“So?” He smirked. “Don’t matter does it? You’re talkin to me now.” This man was full of surprises. He was laid back. Incredibly so that it seemed unreal. But on his face was a smirk, a smirk that showed friendliness. “We’re still friends. You may not consider me one. But I consider you one. So, I’ll wait for you to talk to me. I’m like a dog.”
“You shouldn’t compare yourself to a dog.” She was taken back from how low he saw himself. Never has she seen someone refer to themself as a dog, and for some reason he didn’t seem too bothered by it. He just looked back at the sketchbook.
“It isn’t an insult to myself.” Beginning to shade in the parts of Venom’s body. “It’s not an insult if it’s true. I’m like a dog. I wait and wait. My ex girlfriend ignored me for a total of six months, and I waited for her.”
“Ana?” Scooting closer to him until their knees were touching. He gave a nod. She looked at what he was wearing. Black jeans, a white shirt underneath his Vans hoodie, with a pair of Vans sneakers. “She ignored you for that long?”
“Like I said Lyra,” he looked at her eyes now. She saw nothing but empty gray orbs. As if he was use to being treated that way. With a blank expression, “I’m a dog.” He returned back to sketching. “You hated me. Your friends hated me too. Most people on this campus hated me. Even my girlfriend ignored me. So… y’know you gotta wait till you’re actually used or some shit.”
“But… nobody should be treated that way.” She spoke softly.
“Oh? When I debated with your whole entire friend group. One of your buddies made a whole post about it on Instagram. Then I got attacked for it.” He scoffed, his tone still showing no range of emotion. He didn’t seemed annoyed, he didn’t seem sad, he didn’t show anything.
“We did that?” Not even being able to recall the event. Austin couldn’t help but chuckle when she answered him. He gave a nod once more, his brows raised in amusement. “Oh- I’m sorry about that. That was incredibly immature of us.”
“Yeah. It was.” He began drawing in the background of the sketch. “But I don’t blame you. It was him. Not you.”
“But I’m friends with him?”
“But, you’re not him.” He put the sketchbook away now. Closing it shut to put it beside him with the pencil on top. “So… I look at you differently. Like I said. I know how to loathe people. I never had the privilege to really loathe someone properly.” Their eyes locked with each other. They were sitting incredibly close.
Maybe she didn’t hate him. Now that she was actually talking to him. He seemed chill, interesting with the way he thought. Yeah, maybe she didn’t hate him. Maybe she believed she did because her other friends hated him, but her? No.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that.” She murmured, realizing that he was much different than she first perceived. He chuckled lowly once more, shaking his head. “Well- I don’t hate you either.” This caught his attention. Their eyes were still locked with each other. He had been listening to her intently, his arm over the bench, leaning back on it. With her hands underneath her thighs, with their bodies turned towards each other.
“You don’t?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I thought I did honestly. But now that I get to know you… you’re super chill.” Her hands pulled out from underneath her thighs, nervously twiddling with her fingers.
“Then I’ll see you here tomorrow, huh?” As if he was suggesting the idea to become actual friends. She had nodded her head in agreement. Not wanting to treat him like a dog, like the way he saw herself.
From that day on. The pair would meet up with each other on that bench every day. He’d probably bring some snickers, for himself mainly cause she didn’t like chocolate. But they had began to grow closer to each other as the days pressed on.
Lyra’s priority was always her friend group, and Austin wasn’t the priority. She cared more about her friend group than she cared about him. But at times, she would often catch herself talking about him.
“What’re you so focused on?” One of her friends asked. Noticing that she had been on her phone more, as if she was expecting a text message.
“Oh- a text from that guy I was talking about earlier.” She revealed to them. They quirked up their brows, surprised by the answers.
“You seem more interested in him.”
“Oh, well y’know he’s cool.” She brushed it off as if they weren’t even there. They had laughed at her new interest in him, going back to talking about whatever they were talking about. She had known that if they found out if she was talking to Austin Butler they would have made fun of him.
But for some reason, she began to prioritize him slowly. Slowly he was chipping away at her heart. At times when he would meet with her, they would just sit at the bench at talk. Get to know each other more. With his arm around her shoulder, and her leaning against him.
He was learning more about her. And the more he learned. The more he realized she wasn’t really a good girl like the front she put up for the audience. She wasn’t innocent nor pure like the front she put up. She was mean but she was also kind to him, she would listen to him talk about random things he enjoyed, or would vent to her about how the storage room flooded again at work.
She learned that he was a person filled with anger. He grew up in a culture where he was taught to never show emotion. So he was mostly monotonous with everyone he met. The only time he would actually show emotion was when debating with someone, but that emotion was usually annoyance, nothing more, nothing less. She learned he was impulsive and battled with his demons often. That he needed someone stable there to keep him calm, he needed someone who was patient and understanding. He needed that.
She learned that he was also a handyman. For some reason she found him to be the coolest in the room. He had revealed that he could weld, fix motorcycles, he knew how to cook, he had so many things about him that were surprising. Such as how his favorite color was pastel pink. She found this to be especially shocking due to the fact he was such a burly dude. Tall and blunt with no emotion, who really loved puppies and loved the color pink. When she needed him to help her with something, he was there. Always.
She learned that he would cope with himself by writing. His stories were always different in her eyes. With a world filled with nothing but hate, with a world that is constantly tearing itself apart, writing stories can help put it back together. Making up a poem on the dime for her just like that. She had figured that he’d write about her, about their friendship, about everything.
And so, she had came to the realization that she was slowly falling for him. For a man who was blunt, honest, unemotional, but that was fine for her. Due to the reality of him being an immature sweetheart.
—
At the time he had been talking to a girl for awhile. He would often vent to Lyra about the girl. About how she would belittle him and tell him how nobody would love him as much as she did, why Ana left him, why people treat him like a dog, etc etc. she would just go on with belittling him.
It was eventually so bad that Austin simply told Lyra. ‘I just want to be a good man.’ He would whisper in such a weak and soft tone, exposing his vulnerability to her.
Never before had a man expressed such a genuine desire to be good. Was he belittled so much that he genuinely saw himself as a bad person? To this. She would simply answer with: You are a good person.
And he was. He wouldn’t hurt a fly if he could. It was if he was afraid of hurting people. With his background, he didn’t want to hurt anymore people. He would always listen to Lyra, and she could be herself around him. Sometimes she would twirl, with his hand holding hers to help. Something she was embarrassed about but loved doing due to the skirts she wore.
He admitted to liking her skirts. He admitted to liking everything about her. Saying that she was kind and patient, which meant she was perfect to him. But she never believed him, however he believed his words with everything he had. He had fallen for her, and promised to protect her while they were friends. He had vowed his loyalty to her even as friends. So she could tell him anything she couldn’t tell her friends.
One day by the park, they had been sitting beside each other. She was eating ice cream that he bought for her. “You alright?” He asked.
“Yep! Vanilla is an awesome flavor!” She smiled up at him. A crack of a smile plastered on his face as he kept watching her eat quietly.
Austin had gotten a hint that maybe Lyra felt the same way he felt for her. He saw her as the most beautiful woman in the world. She wasn’t what he first thought of her. She wasn’t a bitch. She was kind, gentle, and understanding. She was whiney and bratty, but she cared deeply for him, he knew. She would listen to how he felt. She would listen. Which was all that mattered to him. Nobody, not even the girl he was seeing could even do that for him.
To him, Lyra was the most perfect woman in the universe. The way she would skip or sometimes ramble about stuff was what made her so perfect. The fact that she would comfortably lean on his shoulder without judging him. The fact that she wasn’t shy to smile. The fact that she was able to sit down with him. To look at him. It was all he could ever ask for from her. The way she would just wrap him up in all her love, the way she would touch his hair to make sure it was okay and not messy. Sometimes he’d just walk around in ripped up clothes due to how old they were and the fact he couldn’t afford anything, she never judged him for that.
He wanted to show her the world. He wanted to show her how grateful he was. Even with the girl he had been currently talking with, how he felt miserable. But with Lyra she would make him smile. Cupping his face as she spoke, gathering and stealing all his attention. Twirling to show off her skirts. For a short while, he thought he could never love again, not after that girl he had been actively talking to, not after the girl that made him feel miserable. But then Lyra found him that one faithful evening.
In all his misery, her calm and gentle smile, her soothing voice was there to save him. When he felt the most lost. She was there for him. She was his Juliet to his Romeo.
So on that day when he gathered up all his courage. He figured he would shoot his shot. “Do you like anyone?”
“Huh?” She gulped down, licking her lips. “You asked me this already.” Her tone showed genuine confusion. Puzzled why he would ask her this while she was eating ice cream.
“I was just curious. I hear things.” He shrugged. “So…?”
“I got a crush.” Revealing only that to him. “What about you?”
“Yeah I got a crush too.” Blinking his dazed eyes, she perked up a brow. Austin? Liking somebody? When he was seeing a girl? Of course he likes someone. Maybe he just wants to amuse himself.
She chuckled to herself. “Yeah? Is it the girl you’re seeing?” Continuing off the assumption that he wanted some entertainment.
“No.” With a shake of his head, he hunched forward off the bench. With his elbows on his thighs, pushing his lengthy figure up.
“Oh-“ she blinked, now she was curious. If it wasn’t her. Then who. “Alright then who do you like?”
“You.”
“What?”
“You.” He reiterated. “I like you.” With eyes staring at hers. She had froze in place. She couldn’t believe how casual he was about this. As if confessing wasn’t nerve wrecking. The bastard even had an arrogant smile on his face. Amusing himself with how shy she had evidently gotten. Her face flushed a light shade of pink, her knees rubbed against each other.
Hurriedly eating the rest of the waffle cone. “Well-“ she gulped down the last of it, wiping her lips with a napkin he gave her, “-I admittedly like you too.”
“I know.” He shrugged. “You don’t do a good job at hiding around me.” Leaning back on the bench. He stared into the sky as if this was an average Tuesday.
“How can you be so casual about this?” Lyra had gotten multiple confessions in her life. All of them were hosted with boys who had their heart pumping in their chest.
Austin shrugged, thinking about it. “I guess… because I’ve accepted that if I get rejected then that’s too bad for me.”
Now that she had known Austin returned those feelings. She wanted him. She wanted him all to herself. But, how could she even admit that. How could she even say she wanted him. Austin had let out a sigh, a disappointed sigh. Which then again caught her attention. Now with his body turned to her. “May I kiss you?”
“What-“ she was still having trouble that the man she use to spite was now a man who liked her, and the fact that she even reciprocated those feelings for him was more surprising.
“May I kiss you.” He didn’t lose his calm tone. Knowing that she was incredibly nervous. “I know you just ate ice cream but my heart is about to explode.” Even with half opened eyes and a relaxed tone, he was nervous.
“Okay.” She nodded, and she watched as his face inched closer to hers. Until she felt their breathing against each other.
“Close your eyes.” He instructed. And she did. He smiled a bit. She’s cute. Tilting his head, their lips now against each other. His arms snaked around her hips to bring her closer. Instinctively, she had her arms around his neck. With her hands going up to his hair. It was soft.
Pulling away from her, he pressed his forehead against hers before finally pulling away enough to get a good look at her. She blinked up at him, and for some reason he was reminded of a doe. He couldn’t help but slightly smile at how cute she had looked. As if she was processing she had just kissed him. “Not bad, huh.”
“Yeah…” she admitted. “Not bad at all.” Seeming breathless by him. A low chuckle that resonated deep within his chest was his only response to how breathless she was.
—
However with the girl getting in the way, he and Lyra couldn’t be together. Without Austin’s knowledge, she had been seeing another man, and eventually that man confessed to her. To which, she had accepted his feelings. And when he had found out, he grew furious.
“You’re dating him? Darcel?” He had his arms folded across his chest. Standing in front of her, with his eyes narrowed down to her. “That goober?”
“You did not just say goober, Austin.” She was trying to take him serious but with the word Goober. She couldn’t. She saw him as a childish guy. “Austin, I don’t even know why you care so much! You’ve been refusing to date me for the last two weeks!” She was sitting on the couch in the middle of his living room at his apartment.
“Okay who gives a fuck, Lyra! I want you. Be with me!” He shouted out of frustration. She blinked, surprised by how randomly he had just asked her out. “Just- who gives a fuck about her, yeah? Just be with me.”
“Oh well that’s a bit too late now. I’m not gonna leave Darcel for you.” She was calm, her legs crossed, folded arms.
He sat beside her now, staring at her eyes, frustrated. Gulping down his anger, he inhaled deeply to calm down. “Tell me this honestly. Do you love him?”
“Scuse me?”
“It’s a simple question Lyra, do you love the guy or not.”
“That’s rather rude of you.”
“Why can’t you just answer the question?” He scoffed, leaning back against the couch with his body turned to face hers.
“I-…” she trailed off, twiddling with her fingers again.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “So you’re playing him.” He muttered. Watching her hand reach out for his, he allowed her to hold his hand in hers. She looked down at his piano fingers, playing with them.
“Well y’know…” she began, “I just- I dunno. I love you. Not him.”
“So then be with me. Why play a dude.” He seemed to have calmed down now. She looked up at his gray eyes. Like usual, dazed and half awake. Proving it.
“Well, Austin. There won’t be an us. It’s over, between us.” She clarified for him. Wanting to make sure that he understood she wouldn’t leave Darcel for him.
“Well, might be over for you. But not for me.” He grabbed the remote of the TV on the coffee table, switching the TV on. She looked at him up and down. He’s got balls. She thought to herself. Something that she loved about him.
—
Darcel had seemed to get the idea that Austin had feelings for Lyra. He had spotted Austin standing uncomfortably close to her at a party the three of them had attended. With his head leaned down close to her face, from what Darcel saw. Austin’s eyes were so focused on her face, clearly listening to her words.
He had his hands on her hips to hold her. She seemed to be casually talking to him. Not noticing the gestures. She wasn’t even pushing him away. At one point, Darcel had overheard Austin telling her that he loved her.
“God Lyra, I love you. Y’know that?” His eyes looked her up and down. She was wearing his flannel jacket, underneath was a black shirt that showed a bit of her cleavage, and a pair of jeans. “You look pretty as hell.” He whispered.
“Yes. I love you too. Now hush down before people hear you.” She hissed.
“Darcel ain’t gonna know.” He shrugged casually. His eyes wandered across the party. Locking with Darcel’s who had been standing there was a cup of beer in his hand. His black hair slicked back. Austin had smirked at Darcel, flicking his head before Lyra had grabbed Austin’s face to force him to look at her, missing his attention.
“What’re you even lookin’ at? You’re making me whine again.”
“Sorry princess.” He wouldn’t kiss her. Even though he wanted to.
Eventually, Darcel and Lyra had gotten into an argument. He had yelled at her to cut Austin off. But due to her love for him, she had rejected the offer to cut Austin off. They would bicker multiple times about it.
He had enough of her now. He had dumped her there and then. “You stay away from him you hear!” He snapped, wanting the last word. “He’s in love with you.” Before slamming the door shut.
She stood there for a moment. Rolling her eyes, she had known that Austin was just a phone call away. To which, she took that phone call.
Just as she wanted. He had came over to her place. They were sitting side by side, her arms had been wrapped around his neck. He had smiled against the kiss, and she had finally understood that he was growing more comfortable with her. So comfortable that he had an actual smile on his face. He loved her. He did.
“So he dumped you.” He wanted to clarify. Even in spite of his blunt tone. She could tell it was a question. “Why?”
“Thought you had feelings for me and didn’t trust me because I refused to dump you.” She shrugged.
“Ah, I see.” He nodded understandably. “Well, guess you’re mine for the taking now.” He leaned down again to kiss her once more. Her hands digging into his blonde hair, with his arms tightly wrapped around her hips.
“Yeah, I guess so.” She smiled.
“How you gonna tell your friends that you’re with me?” Austin had known that Lyra’s friends hated him.
She shrugged. “I’ll figure out a way.”
“Rad.” He grumbled, scratching the back of his head. His brows raised as he sighed.
—
Lyra sat with her friends. All of them surrounded her. The eldest one had glared down at her. “You’re dating Austin Butler? The douche who is opinionated as fuck and doesn’t listen to anybody for shit?”
“You haven’t seen him.” She had a calm tone.
“We all talked with him!”
“Talking isn’t debating.” Not wanting any of this to get to her. She shrugged it off. “You haven’t seen my man.” Looking at them all. “He loves me and I love him, we decided to date. You haven’t seen him. You haven’t seen how he treats me. How he kisses me. How he looks at me.”
She believed that fully. His eyes would always soften when he looked at her. Leaning his head down close, or just leaning in her general direction so he could clearly hear her. The way he’d sometimes crack a smile from something silly she’d do. Or how he would teach her how to dance.
She would step on his Vans, and he’d hold her hand in his, with one hand on her waist. Showing her the steps to a dance.
The way he held her, with his arms propped up on her hips. Sometimes she’d straddle his lap, with her head on his chest. He would keep his arms around her hips, caressing them as he spoke to her in a soft tone. She would lay there, listening to how his heart would race whenever she told him she loved him deeply. But when they laid together. That to her was heavenly.
With her head laid on his chest, her arms around his surprisingly small waist with their legs tangled. She would listen to the beat of his heart, watching as her head would rise then fall in sync with his breathing. How deeply he breathed whenever he was asleep, he had looked like a relaxed baby.
How protective he was over her. How he would always hold the door open for her. Always holding her hand whenever they were out for a stroll around the city. She loved him, and he loved her. He was never afraid to show his love to her, he would sit with her and tell her; I love you, forever and always, with my heart and my soul. You have my heart. I love you Lyra. I love you forever.
None of them had seen her man. None of them had seen him. Seen him for who he truly was. You haven’t seen my man.
Summary: A story based in the 60s Austin and the oc runaway from home together. And they build up a life together. Eventually proposing.
Warnings: fluff, angst (?), runaways, smoking, traditional roles, all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: Gonna be real here. James from Zoey 101, is really the only person who makes Season 4 tolerable. Tumblr still being stupid and deleting paragraphs. Stop screwing with me Tumblr before I lose it.
MASTERLIST
—
The blonde was sitting down on the bed of his truck. Holding an apple juice box in his hand. Sipping on it quietly. He was parked at the side of a gas station. His eyes narrowed at the street in front of him.
The owner of the gas station, had walked up to him. “Austin, what the hell are you doin’ son? You’ve been sitting here for half an hour, when your shift ended. Sippin’ on that damned juice box.” He rubbed the grease off his fingers with a white towel.
Austin turned towards them. “Sorry boss.” he apologized, hopping off the bed of the Ford F-100.
“Get outta here, boy.” They grunted, turning their back on Austin. “Sittin’ there attactin’ lizards.” He muttered under his breath to Austin. Who stood there with one hand in his pocket, listening to it all. He walked up to the door, swinging it open.
—
Austin was pulled up in the driveway of the girl he had been seeing for a long time now. He’d been seeing her when he was 14, and now he was 18. He got out the truck, shutting the door and walking up the driveway to her house.
He went over to the gate that was the entrance to the backyard, reaching over to open the yard door. He shut it behind him quietly, walking down the yard to the grass. He saw the window of the room where his girl was. Walking over to it, he grabbed the screen window and tore it off.
The girl inside stirred, she had been holding a book in her hand. Putting it down face flat, she hopped off the bed. Walking over to the window, she could hear something being torn off. “Who…” she muttered to herself, opening the curtain to the window.
She was greeted with a blonde. A tall blonde who had an sweaty dirty face, with greased back hair, a few strands of his blonde hair had fallen forward to his face. He was wearing a denim jacket, his collar flared up, with a black shirt underneath, his hands were slipped into the pockets of his denim jeans.
She smiled the moment she had seen that recognizable dirty face, leaning over the rim of the window. “Austin..” she sighed, even though she had a smile on her face, she was disappointed in him for doing this stunt, for maybe the 40th time. “You know my papa and momma don’t like you.”
“Aw c’mon, doll.” He grabbed the rim to push himself up, their faces just inches away from each other. “That don’t stop us.”
“I know, idiot.” She whispered softly to him, he craned his head towards hers. Without even thinking she cupped his face with her hand, stroking his face. Soft and smooth, even in spite of the sweat and dirt. He had still looked amazing. “What’re you doin’ here though?”
“Seein’ you.” He made his way into her room, she stepped back for him. His dirty boots had stained the wooden floor of the room. Quickly turning to face her, their lips had locked together. “Missed you, doll.”
“Austin-“ she murmured against the kiss. He pulled away to look at her eyes, she had sighed at him. Cupping his face with her delicate hands. “-be quiet.” She whispered to him. “If momma and papa find out-“
“Oh mama, why don’t you just leave em?” He groaned in frustration, pulling away from her. “I could take care of you.” He was looking at her eyes, his face distorted into a frown. Eyes narrowed to her, as if he was searching for an answer. “Don’t matter if we’re eighteen mama, I’ll take good care of you.” His voice hushed into a whisper. “I promise, I swear. I’ll do blue collar work, and I’ll make you into a momma. I know you want that.”
“Austin that’s only a dream.”
“We can do it though.” He glared at her in determination. “Swear it mama, we can. I’ll give you a life.” By the tone of his voice. It seemed true. “I love you, Gale. I wanna take care of you.”
She stared up at him without saying anything. She couldn’t think of an answer. She did want to become a mother and she had known that Austin would’ve made a wonderful father. However, he was a poor street rat, with parents that didn’t care much for him. Everything he owned he bought with his own fair share of money. His friend group was a bunch of hoodlums but for some reason she still had fallen for him.
To her, Austin was different. He was kind and loved animals, which was something charming about him to her. Considering how he’d sometimes jump people. In spite of that, he had a moral code which was to never hurt women or kids. He was loyal to the core, and determined to take care of her. Everything a woman had wanted. Give a man a stick, and with determination he could create a kingdom she had known that.
While she had parents who had looked down upon the life that Austin lived. A poor boy with no manners and who was surely uneducated, was a recipe of disaster. A woman’s sole purpose was to find a man who could take care of her to make her happy, to do that. She’d have to find a well educated man, a rich man, a man with an actual future not an uneducated street rat with parents who didn’t care for him, who seemed to get in trouble with the police constantly. Not a man who worked for maybe 17 cents an hour, doing blue collar work.
But she loved him. She didn’t want a man who she didn’t love. She wanted a man who she did love. And she loved Austin. “Run away?” She finally spoke to him.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Leave all this shit behind.” His hands reached for hers, gently holding them. She felt how rough they were, they were greasy from the cars he worked on. “I know you wanna do it. I know you wanna.” He pressed on.
“It’s foolish, Austin.”
“But I can take care of you.”
“Austin…” she was unsure. How could they? They were just teenagers. But as she gazed at his gray eyes. All she could see was the love he had for her. Which was what she wanted. Love. “Alright Austin.” She whispered to him. A boyish smile which showed off his youth plastered across his face. “When?”
“Now.” He suggested, looking out the window. “Your momma and papa ain’t gonna know a thing.” He promised.
“I should probably-“
“Stop worrying so much, mama. Just c’mon.” He tugged at her hand.
“Hol’ on Aus,” she walked back over to her bed, grabbing her book. She then grabbed a few of her clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste as well, stuffing them in a bag before walking over to him. Austin got the clue and he jumped out the window, looking at her after. She handed him his bag, to which he took and held in his hand. His free hand reached up, holding out his hand to her.
She took his hand in hers, jumped out the window, landing beside him. She had snuck out to be with him multiple times, so this was easy for her. Both had walked out the yard and to his Ford. He opened the door for her, letting her hop in her seat.
Gale looked out into her house. Her arms resting in her lap. She could hear Austin throw her bag in the bed of the truck as he made his way to the drivers seat. She could remember the day that Austin had met her parents clear as a blue day.
Austin had argued with her father, yelling and spewing things that her father couldn’t comprehend due to his southern drawl. He spat the hatred he felt towards richies who looked at the poor in disgust. ‘You ain’t smart ‘nuff to work or to go to school! You’re so damn dumb that you’re nothin’ but a greased up mechanic, son! Ain’t lettin’ you touch my daughter!’
“Gale!”
She was snapped out of her mind. Her head whipped back towards Austin, who had one hand on the wheel. “Yeah?” She murmured.
“Sum’n wrong? Seemed lost in space there.” He reached towards her hand. Their fingers intertwined with each other, she rested his hand on her thigh.
“I’m alright Aus, no worries.” She promised.
“You dun gotta worry ‘bout n’un mama.” He smiled at her. “I’ll take good care of ya.”
“Where are we going?”
“Utah.” He said without any hesitation. “Lots of farm work to do there y’know. I’m sure it’ll be great.” He shrugged it off. “Plus mama,” glancing at her, “better than here. I heard the sunsets there are purple. With orange mountains. Dun you wan’ that?”
“Alright.” She seemed to be soothing herself. “Alright Aus.” She nodded. Her eyes locking with his. “I trust you.”
—
The pair had left the small town they lived in. Gale was unsure of herself the whole way. But Austin kept true to his word. He took care of her. In spite of them running away, and living in his truck. He still had made money somehow. He could still afford gas.
He’d roll up to rich neighborhoods and offer to clean their cars. To which they’d pay him handsomely with a maybe a one dollar bill, and he’d convert them into coins. He’d go to the gas station to buy himself two cokes for two nickels, then go back to the truck to give to Gale.
When they were sleeping together in the bed of the truck and she was cold. He would give her his shirt and jacket, then hold her. At times when he had enough money, he’d buy something grand for her, like a blanket for 3 dollars, or maybe a skirt that he knew she’d like.
He worked and worked. Worked hard. Which was something she didn’t mind nor care for. When he was off in the rich neighborhoods getting his fair pay, she’d be off exploring. She was smart, something Austin knew. So he trusted her. However she would always carry a knife in her boot. A switchblade that his friend stole from a liquor store then traded away for a nickel to buy a bottle of coke from what Austin told her.
While she’d explore, she’d skip and throw rocks. She never once thought of her parents which was something that Austin wanted. When he wasn’t off in those rich neighborhoods, he’d take her out to the woods with truck. They’d walk a trail hand in hand, go to a lake, and he’d show her how to fish.
Sometimes Austin would take her to a gas station so they could watch something up on the old TV that was set up in the corner. With her hand holding his, her shoulder against his arm. He’d stand still, smelling of sweat, soap, and grease. But he’d always be looking up at the TV, with the other street rats surrounding them. ‘Wonder what the crowd’s for.’ She would whisper to him.
When she would ask that. His attention from the TV snapped away, to finally looking around at the crowd of the rats surrounding him. He’d look at her with gentle eyes, but a confident smile on his face. ‘Here to watch The King mama,’ he would answer matter-of-factly, ‘why you think all us boys got our hair greased back?’ He smiled.
Elvis the King of Rock, the guy who embodied rebellion. The street rats had enjoyed him. They’d often gather around the TV to watch him. Most rats would grease their hair back to look like a pomade.
Austin did the same, expectedly. Always having the same pomade with a few loose strands, just the way she liked it. He had thick hair, perfect for one. She’d go up to him and kiss his cheek, tasting sweat.
But nonetheless, he would keep her occupied, distracted. So she’d never have to think about her parents and what they were doing back home. She could remember how at one point Austin said he’d get her pregnant to force their parents to like him, a silly little idea in her mind.
Austin would stay in a rich neighborhood for a week and move on to the next, so he always had entertaining stories. Mostly with jolly old women who were kind to him. One of them had even given him an old fishing rod to use for trips, why? ‘She told me her son don’t use it no more.’ Was the reason she had given him.
Unlike most rats. Austin never stole. Never. Worked his way through things. Earned his keep and share. But that didn’t stop him from accepting stolen items.
Eventually he had made friends with one of the people he was working for. They had owned a motel and offered him a room to live in once they found out he was a homeless rat with a girlfriend he was taking care of. ‘Findin’ blue collar work and kindness goes a long ways, son.’ Was their reason. They even personally handed him the keys.
Austin parked the truck. Walking over to Gale’s side to help her out. She kissed him thank you before watching him reach into the bed to grab her things. Holding her hand, walking to the motel. He opened the door for her to walk in, and she did, still holding his hand when she entered. He shut the door once they both entered. Standing side by side.
“Damn.” Austin breathed, chewing on his mint gum. He reached into his pocket to grab his change, fifty cents in total, then back into his pocket.
The motel had one bed, a TV, a bathroom, and that was pretty much it. “Welcome home, hon.” He placed a kiss on Gale’s lips. She could taste the mint gum, and parting her lips slightly for him, he slipped the gum into her mouth. Pulling away from him, she began chewing to taste the flavor.
He put her bag of clothes down. Throwing off his denim jacket to walk to the bathroom. “You gonna shower, Austin?”
“Yeah.” He was covered in sweat like usual. “Wanna join me?” He offered.
She thought about it for a moment, looking at his eyes to see if he wanted anything more. She hadn’t showered with him for awhile, plus, his gray eyes didn’t show malicious intent. So she shrugged and took the offer.
They both undressed themselves in the bathroom, with his back turned to her as he turned the faucet on to hot. Pulling on it so water could come out of the shower head. As he did so, she could see how lean he was. Which made sense considering how hard he would work. Cleaning cars took a lot of physical strength from what she understood.
He opened the curtain while holding his hand out, letting her walk in the shower bath first. She took his hand as she stepped in, Austin followed behind and shut the curtain. She stood in front of him, and he admired her curves as she stepped below the shower head. Without thinking, he had wrapped his arms behind her. His lips pressing on her shoulder blades.
She tilted her head back towards him. “Something up Aus?”
“You’re just beautiful.” He whispered to her. His lips tracing her shoulder blades. Going to the back of her neck, kissing her.
“You’re handsome.” She complimented as she bent over in front of him. He let go of her so she could get the shampoo of the motel. Turning to face him, he looked down at her, his head tilted to the side. “Lean down, I’m gonna wash your hair.” She cupped his face, bringing him down.
He kept his hands to her hips to bring himself closer to her. Feeling her hands dig into his blonde hair, massaging his scalp. She had looked at his face, then his eyes. They had been living together for a few years now. He always had a happy gaze around her. But this time he seemed to be lost in thought as he stared down.
“You okay, hon?” She asked him.
He sighed, shaking his head. “No.” He answered honestly. “Don’t feel like I’m doin’ a good job taking care of you.” He admitted to her.
“Why not dear.” She brought him closer to her, wanting the water to run down his hair as she was washing all the grease off.
“Dunno,” he shrugged, “are you happy with me?”
“Course.” She smiled up at him. Austin needed someone who was reassuring, understanding, and patient. Which was why he loved her. She was accepting of him, she was probably the first middle class person to talk to him and not treat him differently.
“I wanna provide for you and protect you.” His tone which was usually ragged was soft now. “That’s all I want mama, just to protect you and take care of you.” He kept staring down at the floor.
“Which is what you’re doing.” She made him look at her. “Alright? So don’t worry.” Her tone was now reassuring, “You found us a home for now. And now all you need’a do is find some blue collar work, right? So don’t worry. You got this.” She encouraged him. “I mean you’re a handsome guy. I’m sure you can find something.”
“I guess.”
“Austin,” she rolled her eyes, “women love a greased up man who just happens to be tall and handsome.”
“What about you? You like that stuff?” He asked in a southern drawl. Wrapping his arms around her hips tightly to lean down. Her head craning towards his, their lips grazed against each other. A gentle kiss, that he had tilted his head into.
Pulling away, with their foreheads pressed against each other. “Yeah.” She shrugged, her hands on his shoulders. “I mean it’s you.”
He smiled at her. Happy that she still loved him. They had ran away at least 2 years ago, he was curious if she would still love him. Even after 2 years living out in the road. But she still did. Why? Cause he was still the same boy she met those 4 years ago.
They both laid down beside each other in the new bed. Her head was on his chest with his arm on her hips. He kissed her head. “When’re you gonna make me a momma, Aus?” She looked at him. Propping herself up on her arm.
“We haven’t had a bed to ourself, mama.” He answered simply.
“Dun stop you from asking for head.”
“That’s different-“ he muttered, “-I can make you one right now.” He said casually, which made her sit up.
“Do it then. We’re at a motel.” She shrugged, leaning over towards him to kiss him. He kept his arm around her hips, sitting up to kiss her back. She had her hands on his chest, his hands were slipped down to the bottom of her nightie to take it off of her.
—
Austin had been washing a Mustang. Detailing each part of the car. The man who owned the car had been smoking a cigar, watching Austin clean. Austin had been cleaning the Mustang for about a month now. Every three days he’d come back to the neighborhood to clean it. The man, didn’t mind. He had grown fond of Austin. Saw him as a son. “Son,” the man had said.
“Yes sir?” Austin inhaled sharply, turning to look at him.
“At the motel. There’s a mechanic shop. Y’know we fix cars and stuff at the motel.”
“Yeah…” Austin slid one hand in his pocket.
“You’s a good lookin’ boy Aus. And I was wonderin’ how ‘bout you come work for me by the shop?” He asked. “I pay fifty cents an hour. You could get some good work done son. Plus, you’s a real handsome boy! Attract some customers y’know.”
“Think so sir?” Austin blinked.
“Course son. Plus, I know you got a girl, she’s pregnant ain’t she?”
“Yessir she is.” He confirmed. “‘S why ‘m… workin’ harder than ever now.” He chuckled weakly.
“So? Whatta say son? Fifty cents an hour don't pay so bad. Plus a free motel room? Son. You could take good care of your girl.” The man promised. Reaching his hand out to Austin for him to shake. “Son, I’ll take care of all your troubles.”
Austin thought it was too good of a deal. He grabbed the hand of the man, giving it two good pumps. “Course, Cliff.” He smiled, and Cliff returned the grin. “Promise sir. I got good hands.”
“I know boy, I know.”
Gale heard the engine of the F-100 roll up to the motel. She poked her head out from behind the curtain, seeing Austin hop out the truck. He walked to the bed of the truck, sitting down onto it. She watched him as he took out the radio from the bed, and she smiled to herself.
Walking out of their motel room to join him. “Aus,”
“Huh?” He turned to her. “Oh, it’s just you Gale.” He hopped off the bed to walk up to her. “Sorry mama, just wanted to listen to the radio. See if the King was on or sum’n like that.” He muttered, snaking his arms around her waist to pull her close. He leaned down to kiss her belly bump, smiling as he looked at her stomach then back at her. “How was your day?”
“Fine. Bored, at home. Y’know. While you’re off working.” She looked at his face, he seemed happier today. He usually was happy with her. But today, he had a spark in his eyes. “Sum’n happen at work?”
“I got a blue collar job mama.” He gleed. A charming smile on his face. “Got a job at shop, a car shop.” He leaned back on the bed of the truck, with her in his arms.
Gale had known how much Austin loved fixing cars. Ever since he was 14. He would work on cars. Know all sorts of engines. His favorite from what she knew was the V8, a strong engine. “Fifty cents an hour can you believe that?” He was astonished by how much he was getting paid. “Usually it’d be fourteen cents an hour for blue collar work. But fifty is good huh?”
“Yeah it is.” She nodded, agreeing with him. “Fifty an hour is good. You can afford way more now.”
“Definitely mama. With a job like that. I can take good care of you and the baby now.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Maybe go flyin’ one day.”
“Flyin’ huh?”
“Yeah, maybe. Bossman likes me. Who knows. He offered the motel and the job at the shop.”
“Maybe he’ll take you as an apprentice.” She had teased, gently pecking his lips.
“Maybe.” He muttered softly, his gaze grew clouded. She was confused now, just a moment ago he looked happy, but now he seemed to have a lapse in judgment.
“What?”
“I mean- it’s just- what if things don’t work out?” He kept his voice hushed and low. Gale tilted her head, confused. All of this was his idea. Running away from home and having a family. But for some reason, he seemed the most doubtful. Though, she couldn’t blame him. He was a man.
In his head, he had the duty and job of protecting and providing for her. Considering his status, a low income man. What happened if he couldn’t do that? If he couldn’t care for her. What happened if he got let off from his job? He wouldn’t be able to care for her anymore. She knew those thoughts were always in his mind.
“Mama, I always wanna take care of you. Always.” Their fingers intertwined. “Wanna make sure you got n’un to worry about. But, if I get laid off- then- I wun be able to take care of ya no more! I wudn’t be able to provide for you or the baby. And- and I’m s’posed to take care of ya and-“
“Stop Aus,” she pressed her index finger against his lips, “hush. You got a job now don’t you?” Her voice was soothing.
“Yeah,”
“So there ain’t anythin’ to worry ‘bout right?”
“I know I know but still- I just worry.”
“It ain’t a mans job to worry.” She scolded him, furrowing her brows. He hushed down, just as she asked. Listening intently now. “It’s mine. So don’t worry. You’re gonna take care of us, you got a job.”
He nodded his head solemnly.
“So?” She pressed her forehead to his. “You’re gonna take good care of us right?”
“Course mama.” He promised.
“Then don’t worry.” She mumbled, their noses brushing up against each other. “We have nothing to worry about.”
—
As time went on, Austin had provided more money for his girl, Gale. He wanted to marry her, not have a shotgun wedding or anything. But he has genuinely wanted to marry her. They were in a relationship.
Even in spite of that. Austin had no money, not enough to buy an engagement ring. He didn’t want an engagement ring either, he wanted a wedding ring. To skip out on the fiancée bullshit and just marry her, ask her to marriage, and give her the ring the same day. That was what he wanted. That was how he did things.
His heart was set on Gale. And he knew Gale felt similar. It was why she accepted him, why she had given him permission to impregnate her. She was the only one he saw, she joined him in his day dreams at work, she was the first one he saw.
So one day by the lake. With only 10 cents in his pocket. He was staring at her from afar, as she was standing in the lake. The water soaking up her pretty legs, she wore a pink skirt and a pink laced shirt. He matched that with a black laced button up, and some white slacks with a leather belt.
His laced button up was only clipped together by three buttons. Exposing most of his chest. He inhaled deeply, brushing the loose strands of hair away from his face. With the radio playing on the plaid blanket sprawled on the bank of the lake.
He fiddled with his fingers as he walked in the lake with her. Soaking up his slacks, Gale glanced back at him. An ear to ear grin on her face. With her hands behind her back. His heart pumping out his chest, caught in his throat. He stood behind her for a moment, admiring how her shirt hugged her belly perfectly, showing her curves. She looked to be going on five months.
“Gale.”
“Hm?” She turned to face him. Seeing his gray eyes, as his hands fell to his side.
All he saw was her. At that very moment. He gulped back all his nervousness, as he began. “You’re all I see Gale, just you. And, you know how I wanna take care of you.” He held both of her little hands in his. “I don’t got much to offer you, in fact, only ten cents. I ain’t well educated, nor do I got an office job. Your daddy would say I’m unfit but, Gale.” He inhaled, going down to one knee. She raised her brows, realizing what he was doing. “Will you marry me?” Tilting his head back to look up into her eyes. “Take my hand in marriage, and spend forever with me?”
She smiled at his words. “You silly man, you only have ten cents in your pocket? Are they in pennies or nickels, or is it a dime?”
“Pennies and nickels.”
“And you’re asking me to marriage?” She had remained calm, knowing that if she were to show an ounce of nervousness, he’d break down.
“Yes ma’am.”
She was amused with him. Giggling like a school girl, she nodded her head. “I guess, I have to marry you then.” Bringing her up to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, going on her tip toes to kiss him.
Summary: Austin’s reaction to becoming a father for the first time.
Warnings: fluff, just fluff.
Tags: none.
Note: I wrote this while listening to Monster’s Inc bass boosted on loop so sorry if this sucks ass bro. Tumblr has been dog shit and deleting paragraphs lately so. Sorry if some bits are missing.
MASTERLIST — SERIES
—
Austin had been there throughout the whole birth of his little girl, Leia. He was beside his wife, holding her hand and encouraging her to push. His wife, Rose, didn’t make much noises, she would just grunt from frustration now and then.
But her grip around her beloved husband’s hand would tighten every time she tried to push. He would watch, consoling his wife, cheering her on, telling her she was doing a splendid job, he was always there for her. He was there. And that was all that mattered to her.
Finally the sound of frustrated groans and grunts, was joined with cries and wails. Their daughter had been revealed to them. They both watched as their new born daughter was placed onto Rose’s stomach with a towel wrapped around her, and Rose brought their baby close to her. The first thing she did was tell their daughter how much she loved them. ‘Leia… Leia my sweet girl. Don’t cry, your momma and papa love you very much.’ She had cooed to Leia. ‘Hello honey, hello my love, hi.’
Austin by now, had fallen completely silent. He was staring at his daughter, trying to process that he was a father, and that his beautiful wife was now a mother. He kept staring at Leia, listening to Rose trying to calm her down. Deep inside, he felt happy, incredibly happy.
The moment he had gotten the news that Rose was pregnant he was ecstatic. Thinking of names for their cute girl, smiling so bright. He’d come home from work, give her a kiss, and her stomach as well. At times he’d simply kneel down to hug her stomach, wanting to show their baby love. Or he’d lay with Rose, his head on her stomach, talking to not just her, but their baby as well.
Now that their baby, their daughter was here. The same ecstatic feeling he felt when Rose told him was still there, greater than before. ‘Isn’t she beautiful, Austin?’ Rose’s sweet voice snapped him back to reality.
‘Yes,’ he agreed without thinking, ‘the most beautiful thing in the world.’ He had an innocent childlike tone. Rose smiled sweetly up at him, knowing that he didn’t know how to process what had just happened. She looked back at their baby, cupping Leia’s face to gently kiss her head.
Finally, once their baby was clean and taken care of. She was wrapped like a banana, and Rose had been embracing her the whole time. Leia was sleeping soundly, her father hadn’t yet held her. Austin was sitting by his wife’s side, too afraid to hold their daughter. Worried he was going to hurt her. Worried he was gonna hold her improperly.
He had his head against the rail, staring at them both in silence. ‘Baby,’ she looked at him.
‘Yes love?’ He responded, looking back at her brown eyes.
‘You should hold her, y’know.’
He was quiet for a bit before looking at their daughter then at her. ‘I’m… what if…’
‘You won’t hurt her.’ Rose soothed him. ‘You’re too kind for that.’ She promised as she leaned towards him. He had always listened to her, no matter what. So he did. ‘Hold her head, my love,’ she watched him hold his hands out. Gently taking their daughter into his arms, he held her head in his hand, his forearm underneath her. Cradling her in his arms.
He sat in the chair beside the hospital bed, his gray eyes stared deeply at his sleeping daughter. She had a small face, blonde hair, a button nose. She was snugged into the blanket, she looked peaceful, happy. Rose watched her husband with fond eyes, seeing how he was trying his best to be gentle. His thumb touched Leia’s cheek. ‘Hello.’ His voice was barely a whisper, trying his best to not disturb his precious girl. ‘Hi princess.’ He managed to smile.
Rose leaned back in the hospital bed, knowing that her baby was safe. Her eyes fluttered, trying to stay awake so she could watch how he’d treat Leia. He craned his head down, forward, planting a gentle kiss on Leia’s forehead. Watching her again as his thumb grazed her cheek. ‘I love you.’ Even though his girl didn’t know what that meant. He wanted to tell her either way. ‘Momma and papa love you so so much, princess.’ He croaked.
His head turned towards Rose, seeing her sleeping soundly. He looked back at his little girl. ‘Y’know, you’re named after Princess Leia. Your momma said you were feisty, and you’re a princess, so it only suited that you’d be named after her.’ He rasped out, still trying his best not to wake her. Leia wiggled a bit but, fell still once more. ‘Leia,’ he breathed out, feeling his eyes well up with emotions. He knew he was about to cry, which was odd. It had been a long time since he cried. ‘Oh, you beautiful girl.’ He squeaked, biting his lower lip to stop himself from crying.
He was happy. Euphoric. He had a little family with the woman he’d spend the rest of his life with. He had a family, a little family with his forever. A girl so sweet, so gentle and pure, something so innocent and cute. Something that he and his wife had made. He didn’t know why but he felt a sudden protectiveness over their new born. He vowed to protect his wife, and now that their baby was here, he’d vow to protect her too.
‘Momma and papa love you, we love you.’ He assured Leia, leaning down to kiss her forehead once again. ‘We’ll protect you, till the end of time.’
At times Austin would stand over the crib of their daughter, holding his hand to her. Her small delicate fragile hand would hold onto his thumb. He’d say sweet things under his breath while Rose would watch. Once Leia would fall asleep, he’d kneel down beside the crib to watch her.
After a few minutes, he’d walk back to Rose. Kiss her cheek and Rose would ask him to sit on the bed with her, to which he would. With his arm over her waist, her head against his shoulder. Their hands had intertwined. ‘You’ll be a fantastic father Austin.’ She looked up at him sweetly. Brought her hand up to his face to make her look at her. His gray eyes deeply looked into hers longingly, and she returned the gaze. ‘So don’t worry okay? We’ll be happy. We’ll be a happy family.’ Then, she brought her lips to his. Kissing him.
When they both pulled away from each other, Austin spoke to her softly. ‘I’ll protect you Rose, I promise. You and Leia. I’ll protect our family. I swear.’
‘I know.’ Rose didn’t doubt her husband for one moment. ‘I know my love. I know.’
—
Austin stared at his necklace, nibbling his lower lip. He inhaled sharply, clearing his throat. Turning his head towards the living room, he heard squealing in the background. Leia had been playing with Fredrick and Serpent. The trio were playing tag, with Serpent barking whenever he got tagged, slipping on the wooden floor.
Leia running around trying to chase Fredrick. Only to jump into his arms and exclaim, “I caught you Freddie!” With a bright grin on her face.
“Aw! Looks like ya got me, ma’am!” He complained.
Austin smirked, shaking his head. He looked back at his necklace, clipping it back around his neck. “Yeah, she is beautiful, Rose… she’s the most beautiful thing in this universe.” He kissed his wedding ring, getting off the chair to walk over to the trio, joining in on the fun.
Those were all memories now. Memories that Austin clung onto.
Summary: Austin’s a single father of his six year old daughter with a butler. He decides to hire a nanny to help around the house with his butler. The new nanny, who is a young college student, begins to make moves on Austin. Until things go south between the two.
Warnings: fluff, awkward dad Austin, single father, Austin is a widow, angst (?), loyal Austin, (mf is a loyal husband), manifestation
Tags: none.
Note: I guess this is… a continuation of INTERVIEW because why the hell not lmao. I loved writing that story so why not. Idfk what’s up with Tumblr but this app has been deleting fuckin paragraphs. So if things are missing. I apologize.
MASTERLIST — SERIES
—
Austin leaned back against the chair, looking at his computer. His hands were resting on the table, with his legs spread apart as he sat. He wore a black tank top with denim jeans, buckled with a brown leather belt, finished with white socks. Behind him was his six year old daughter, Leia.
She was holding a toy in her hand. It was her blue 1969 Mustang Mach One replica, something Austin had bought for her as a birthday gift. It was her favorite toy due to it being Austin’s favorite car. Not to mention, it looked just like his car.
Fredrick, his butler. Had been watching Leia quietly, making sure she was being safe. Austin could hear his little girl talking to her dog. “Serpent Serpent Serpent.” She repeated the dogs name. Austin looked back at the duo, seeing the Doberman having his head on her lap. Leia was leaning over Serpent’s head, her arms wrapped around his head, hugging him. She quickly kissed his head, and the dog’s little tail was wagging.
Austin looked back at his computer, his gray eyes focused on the screen. Fredrick had walked past Leia and Serpent, standing behind Austin. “Honestly Butler, I don’t know why you’re looking for a nanny when you have me.” Fredrick mumbled, a twinge of annoyance in his tone. He felt as if he was getting replaced.
“Yeah but it can’t just be you taking care of this whole mansion. I’m sure you need help. Plus,” Austin looked back at Fredrick, “Leia needs a female figure in her life. All she has is…” he trailed off, looking at Serpent, himself, then Fredrick, “guys.”
“Still.” Fredrick looked at the screen. “Oh, for Gods Sakes Austin.” He rubbed the back of his head.
“Daddy’s right.” Leia commented, causing Fredrick to look back at her. “Freddie needs a friend!” She got up to walk over to Austin. Trying her best to climb onto his lap. He had leaned down to pick her up, placing her down on his lap, and she scooted back until her back pressed against his chest.
“See?” Austin grinned arrogantly at Fredrick. “Leia agrees. She wants a nanny.”
Fredrick groaned from annoyance, rubbing his temples as if he was getting a headache. Letting out a sigh, he looked through the window of Austin’s office. May as well give in. He’s too stubborn for his own good. “I bet the young neighbor across the street could be her nanny.” He gave into the idea. “I’m sure you’d pay her handsomely.” He added.
Austin said nothing but look through the window. He felt his daughter fiddling with his fingers, holding his golden band on his left hand, making it twist around his ring finger. Austin blinked his eyes, then got off the chair, holding his daughter in his arms.
She wrapped one arm around his neck, looking forward as he walked towards the window. Fredrick had followed closely behind, Serpent following them as well. Austin stared through the window, cocking up a brow. “What do you think, sweetheart?” He asked Leia. “You think the neighbor will be a good nanny?”
“Mhm mhm.” She nodded eagerly, looking at Austin with her brown eyes. She wrapped her arms around Austin’s neck fully, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Alright sweetie.” He gave a nod. Looking over at Fredrick. “How old is she anyways?” He asked.
“She looks to be in college, sir.”
Austin kept a brow quirked up. Questioning if this was a good idea. A nanny in college only meant trouble for him. But if it was what Leia wanted, then so be it.
Later that day, Leia had taken her nap. Fredrick watching over her, and Serpent had laid beside her bed like usual. His eyes remained open, watching after the little girl.
Austin walked over to Fredrick who stood by Leia’s bedroom. He fiddled with his golden band, standing in front of Austin. He was gonna go to his neighbor, requesting if she could watch after his daughter and the house when he was off doing whatever his job needed him to do. “You’re gonna ask her in that?” Fredrick looked Austin up and down.
He wore a tank top, a tight one that seemed to hug his abdomen perfectly. Austin was a gym bro sure, but the guy was jacked. His abdomen was flexed naturally. Due to his tank top, Fredrick could see every muscle of his. Not to mention, he wore black slacks, and a black belt.
Austin quirked a brow up. “I always wear this.” He said in a confused tone. He found tank tops to be comfortable. At times he’d just wear them with a blazer over it to look nice.
Fredrick and him walked down the stairs of the mansion to the first floor. Fredrick guided Austin to the front door. “Y’know,” Austin started, “you’re my butler. You’re gonna start coming to shoots with me, since she’ll have a nanny now.” Austin grabbed the doorknob of the front door, a smirk plastered on his face.
“Do you even know what you’re gonna say?” Fredrick asked, his hands remaining at his sides.
“Sure. Just gonna ask if she has a job and if not. She could work for me. I’ll pay her, cash up front.” He shrugged it off as he stepped out the house.
Fredrick groaned, rolling his eyes at Austin. Watching his boss walk past the driveway then to the side walk. Austin looked both ways before crossing the street to his neighbors house. Fredrick watched quietly. “That boy is… ugh, he gives me such a headache.” Closing the door, he had walked back towards Leia’s room.
Hearing three knocks on the door. “I’ll get it!” The girl inside called to her parents, running up to the door. She quickly pulled it open, seeing a tall blonde in front of her. He had his hands in his pockets, his eyes looking her up and down.
She instantly recognized him. Austin Butler. Holy fuck it’s Austin Butler. “Hello.” He greeted her. She blinked, still trying to process it. She had known that he was her neighbor across the street, but she never thought he’d come to her house.
“H- hi.” She stammered, her face flushing from embarrassment due to her stammering.
“Honey, who is it?”
Austin kept still, tilting his head to peek into the house. “Oh it’s- it’s Mr. Butler! Our neighbor!” The girl answered. Austin blinked, wiping his nose then putting his hands back in his pockets. He could see an older woman and man walking towards the entrance.
Fred didn’t tell me she lived with her parents. Austin thought to himself, slightly annoyed. Maybe he didn’t know. He commented in his head. The idea had soothed the annoyance that had pricked up.
“Oh, Mr. Butler!” The older woman smiled. “You were in Masters of the Air right? My husband loves World War Two. And your show was so accurate, he really did love it.” Reaching her hand out to shake Austin’s. He took the offer and dipped his head to kiss the back of the older woman’s palm, pulling away from her.
“Yes, I did.” The husband nodded, slightly surprised from Austin’s actions. “You were great in that.” They smiled.
Austin dipped his head gratefully. “Thank you.” He started. “You three are?”
“Oh!” The woman exclaimed. “Excuse us. I’m Barbara, this is my husband Jim, and our daughter Maddie.” She pointed to all of them.
“Pleasure to meet all three of you.” Austin smiled, slipping his hands into his pockets. Maddie had been staring at Austin, seeming entranced.
“Do you need something, son?” Jim asked, curious as to why a famous actor such as Austin would even bother with them. Austin had rarely came out of the house on his own, only when he had to work. The only times when they’d spot the actor was when he was in his car with his daughter and butler.
“Oh, yeah,” Austin chuckled lowly, “see I have a little girl. And I need a nanny. I was just wonderin’ if your daughter had a job, and if not, she could come work for me. Y’know, watch after my little girl.” He had an enthusiastic tone. With a charming smile across his face.
“Oh,” Barbara blinked, surprised by the offer, as she looked back at Maddie, “well Maddie?”
An offer to work for Austin Butler? No shit I’ll take it. Without any hesitation she nodded. “When do I start?” She asked him, accepting the offer.
Austin kept his smile, but leaned forward, his hands still in his pockets. “Whenever you want.”
“Can I start today?”
“Sure.” He nodded, and she squealed from excitement. “Just y’know, get a change of clothes. I’ll be out here when you’re ready.”
“Okay, awesome! Thank you.” She turned around, running up the stairs.
Barbara and Jim had looked at their daughter. Then back at Austin. “By the way Mr. Butler,” Barbara said, catching his attention. “I’m sorry for what happened to your wife.” She sympathized. “How old was your little one?”
“She was two when Rose passed away.” Austin answered. “But, it’s alright. We see her just about every day still.” He smiled weakly, his own heart sank a bit when the death of his beautiful wife was mentioned. Barbara gave a nod, frowning in sympathy.
Maddie had walked down the stairs, wearing a thin t-shirt with some denim shorts. Austin looked at her, then at the couple. “I believe your daughter is ready.” He commented with a smile. “Well, I’ll cya Barbara and Jim.” He dipped his head in goodbyes, turning his back on them. He didn’t want to look at Maddie, she was wearing thin clothes, so thin he could see her breasts, and he thought about how much trouble he’d be in.
Maddie had bid her goodbyes. Her parents kissing her forehead, encouraging her. Austin stood at the sidewalk, hands by his side, waiting for Maddie to arrive. She walked over to him, looking at his broad shoulders. She had noticed that he had the physique of a swimmer, broad shoulders but a small waist.
“I’m ready, Mr. Butler.” She said, walking up to his side. She looked closely at his face. He had an unshaven stubble, wearing a chain necklace with the letter ‘R’ on it. She looked at his hand, seeing his wedding ring. There’s no way he loves a dead woman.
“Aight lets go.” He said once the street was clear. They walked side by side, she looked down at his shoes. Seeing cowboy boots, his shoe size looked abnormally big.
Opening the front door of his house, he walked in. Seeing Leia, Serpent, and Fredrick standing by the door. They had been waiting for him. “Daddy!” Leia squealed, running up to him. He leaned down, scooping her up into his arms. “Where have you been?” She asked him.
“With your nanny, see?” He looked at Maddie, who enthusiastically waved at Leia. Leia looked at Maddie, waving at her, then hid her head against her father’s neck. “Sorry,” he looked at Maddie as he carried Leia, “bit shy.” He apologized.
Serpent had walked up to Maddie, sniffing her, then stepping away to fall to Austin’s side. Looking up at Leia to make sure she was okay. Fredrick reached his hand out, and Maddie shook it. “I’m Fredrick, the butler. It’s a pleasure to meet you…”
“Maddie.”
“Pleasure to meet you Maddie.” He nodded. Fredrick wore a tailcoat tuxedo, despite being a few decades older than Austin. Fredrick looked fit, he looked young and decent if she had ignored his slicked back metallic hair.
For Leia, Maddie saw that she had blonde hair like her father, but brown eyes. She had assumed this was due to his ex wife having brown eyes. She had dimples, and clung to her father as if there was no tomorrow. Leia had her hair tied up in little buns, and she looked like Princess Leia from Star Wars.
Maddie was curious if Leia was named after her. But didn’t want to ask, thinking it was too rude. “It’s a pleasure to be working with you, Maddie.” Fredrick started, gaining Maddie’s attention.
“Oh- yeah!” She chuckled shyly. “It’s amazing.” She saw Austin put Leia down on the ground, holding both of her little hands in his. He was whispering something to her.
“Knowing Mr. Butler, I’m sure you start today at this very moment.” Fredrick side eyed Austin. “I’ll take you on a tour of the place.”
Whilst on the tour, Fredrick took her to the kitchen. On the kitchen counter was a photo of Austin’s late wife, Rose. Maddie had noticed that Rose had brown hair, she was beside Austin, kissing his cheek.
Maddie for some reason felt a twang of disgust just by looking at their photo. But, there was photos of Rose every where in the house. She had gotten the hint that perhaps Austin wasn’t over his ex wife, that he was still deeply in love with her.
But he’s single now… she started in her head, he’s been single… but he’s up for grabs. He’s Austin Butler, rich and famous. I’d do anything to get with a man like that. She thought to herself. Smiling a bit as she kept looking at the photo. Sorry Rose.
“You comin.” She heard a raspy voice, seeing Fredrick waiting for her to go to his side.
She caught up with him. “Sorry, I just noticed there’s a lot of photos of him and his ex wife.” She commented.
Fredrick glanced at her, his brow perked up. Calling Rose his ex wife is rather insulting. Just for that, Fredrick didn’t like the girl, at all. “Yes of course, he loves his wife. They were both incredibly happy, and were married for a decade until she unfortunately passed.” Fredrick agreed with her. “Rose- she’s the love of his life.” He added quietly. “She hired me just before she passed away.”
So Austin married her when he was 20? He must’ve been confident in their love. But, Maddie was also curious as to why Fredrick was hired. “Why?”
“She wanted someone to look after her hooligan.” He chuckled lowly, shaking his head in amusement.
—
Austin was sitting with his daughter, she was looking up at him. Touching his stubble. “Your face is rough, daddy.” She commented as her little hands kept patting his face.
“Do you not like it, sweetheart?” He chuckled in amusement.
“Noo!” She whined, shaking her head.
“What should daddy do then?” He cooed, smiling at his daughter.
“Take- take it off.” She kept brushing his stubble. “Take off your hair. It’s rough.” Her little hands pat his face. “It’s spikey, and rough.” She put her hands back onto his. “When you kiss it hurts!”
“You want daddy to take it off?” His voice was surprisingly high pitched. Maddie poked her head into the office of Austin Butler, seeing him playing with daughter. Their dog, Serpent, was right behind Austin. His body curled in a comfortable sleeping position.
“Take it off, daddy.”
“Alright sweetheart, daddy will take it off.” He promised. She squealed happily, standing up in front of him. Serpent had woken up, looking at the little girl. She toddled over to Serpent, sitting in front of him.
Austin smiled as he watched his little girl. Keeping his hand on her head. She leaned down to cup Serpent’s face, feeling his saliva on her fingers. “Eww Serpent!” She giggled, kicking her little feet in the air. “You’re all slobbery.” She leaned down to hug Serpent’s face. The dog licked at her face, and she smiled brightly. “Serpent!” She called his name, wanting the dog to stop. “Stinky breath.”
Maddie kept watching the two. Fredrick walked past her and into the office casually, surprising Maddie. Austin got up, looking at Fredrick. “I gotta shave. Watch her for me will you Fred?”
“Of course sir.” Fredrick promised.
Austin walked past Fredrick, looking at Maddie who was at the door. “Sup Maddie.” He flicked his head to her, a charming smile flashed on his face before he went to the bathroom. Just with that, Maddie felt her heart pretty much explode. Her adrenaline high, with her face flushed as all of hell.
Maddie watched after him in silence, following him to the bathroom. You could do with some help. She saw the bathroom door left open, seeing him get his electric razor. His body was leaned over the sink. “Do you need help shaving Mr. Butler?” Maddie asked as she walked in the bathroom.
“Oh no, it’s alright.” He brushed it off.
“You sure?” She stood by his, arm brushing up against his. He glanced at her, confused for a moment as he brought the razor to his face.
“No, I’m quite alright.” He smirked a bit before trimming his stubble.
“Well, I was just wondering. Since I’m the nanny and all.” She kept close to him.
Austin nodded his head in understanding. “I get that ma’am.” He emphasized the ma’am. “You’re the nanny. Not the wife.” His gray eyes darkened, eyes narrowing at Maddie. “So, I’m quite alright.”
“Right, sorry Mr. Butler.” She gulped down, stepping away from him.
After awhile, Austin had came back to greet his daughter. He had sat down on the floor of his office with her. She was playing with her toy cars. “Vrooom!” She hummed as she played with her Mustang. She looked up at Austin then, seeing how he sat beside her.
“Hey baby.” He cooed, and she smiled the moment she saw him. She had crawled into his lap, her doe eyes looking at his clean shaven face.
“What- what happened?” She asked innocently, as she cupped his face in her little hands. “It’s all gone.”
“Yeah daddy shaved his face.” Austin grinned at his little girl.
“Woah!” She giggled in amazement. “Your- your face is soft.” She kept patting all over his face with such an innocent smile. Austin couldn’t help but soften his gaze around her.
“You told me to shave, bubba.” He cooed. She couldn’t help but grin at her father. “How do I look sweetheart?”
“Handsome.” She wrapped her arms around his neck to rest her head on his shoulder, wanting her father to hug her. “You look beautiful daddy.” She looked at his face, her small fingers still feeling how smooth his face was.
“I look beautiful? Thank you, love.”
“I love you~!” She hummed, squealing happily.
“I love you too, sweets.” He kissed the side of her head. Looking back to see Fredrick smiling at the two, Maddie staying by his side.
—
‘The boss’s office, is off limits.’ Fredrick warned. ‘Only his close friends can come in.’
Well everyone is asleep now, so who cares. She brushed Fredrick’s warning off. Maddie stared at Austin’s office. He had left the door open, and she looked back at Leia’s room. The door was also left open, with Serpent the Doberman sitting at the entrance.
Maddie crept into the office of Austin Butler. She looked at his desk, seeing a photo of his family. He had a bright smile on his face, his hand intertwined with his ex wife Rose, who was leaning against his shoulder, a gentle smile plastered on her face. Between them was Leia, her blonde hair was tied in two buns, and she was holding her father’s hand, Rose holding her other.
They look… happy. Walking towards the desk, she opened a drawer. She was met with a singular locket and a pair of glasses, as well as a box with what seemed to be holding a ring. She leaned down to grab the box with a ring inside, she opened the box. It was a wedding ring, a beautiful wedding ring. It was a silver band that was covered in diamonds. In the box was a small note, written. ‘I love you so much, Rose. Thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin. Will you marry me.’ Without thinking, she took the ring out of the case. Slipping it onto her finger, it was a perfect fit. She smiled a bit. Married to Austin Butler wouldn’t be so bad. Bearing his children would be such a bliss. She continued in her head. Finally, she put the ring back in the box.
She closed the box, putting it back in the drawer. She felt jealous just by reading that little note. Then she reached over to the locket that laid beside the box. She unclipped it, opening the locket. It was a photo of Austin and Rose, his lips were pressed against her cheek with a bright smile on his face. The left side of the locket had Serpent and his little girl, with Fredrick crouched beside the pair with a bright smile.
He must love his family a lot. She closed the locket. Wouldn’t be so bad if I was maybe apart of that family. Closing the drawer of the desk. She looked around, seeing the toys that were left on the ground.
—
Austin had sat on his chair by the desk. His eyes staring at the photo he had of Rose and him. Opening the drawer of the desk, he stared down at it. Noticing how it looked different than the way he left it. He nibbled on his lower lip, annoyed. Fred wouldn’t go through my things. Unless that chic did. He grabbed the box with Rose’s wedding ring, opening it. He stared at the ring, anger boiling inside of him. Aint no fuckin way. He thought to himself. The ring inside the case was crooked. That bitch!
—
Maddie had been trudging around the house. Bored as hell. Fredrick took care of mostly everything as far as she could tell. He cleaned the house, and would at times walk the dog.
Serpent for some odd reason didn’t like Maddie. Whenever he saw her he would growl and bark like there was no tomorrow, seeing her as some sort of threat.
She walked down to the garage, looking at the cars Austin owned. She could see a blue 1969 Mach One Mustang, it looked just like the one that Leia would carry around with her.
She saw a few other cars that she didn’t recognize, as well as a motorcycle. Outside in the yard, was Austin Butler. What is he doing? She questioned. Approaching him, she saw Leia was with him. Playing with her Mustang. “Vroooom!” She sang, pushing the toy car around.
Austin was shirtless. She could see sweat dripping down his brow, covering his chest. He was leaning over his sports car, which was yet another mustang. She saw a cobra badge on the mustang, and GT500 was painted on the side of the car.
“Hey Mr. Butler,” she greeted him.
He looked back at her, breathing heavily. She could see that his fingers were black from the grease. Not to mention, his abdomen was covered in grease. It was evident that he had been wiping his hands off on his abs. “Hey Maddie.” He flicked his head, instantly looking back down in the hood.
“Whatcha working on?” She asked him, standing by his side.
“The shifting is a bit y’know,” he breathed out, “bit rough.” He bit his lower lip. He looked back at his daughter, seeing his Doberman sniffing at the grass in the driveway. Before turning around to face the three, he ran back to Leia’s side. Growling at Maddie already, his canines showed.
“Oi, Serpent. Not right now boy.” Austin said to the dog. Serpent hushed immediately, sitting beside Leia. Austin looked at Maddie, confused. “Wonder why he hates you.” He had a sarcastic tone, knowing damn well what Serpent was seeing in her.
“Me too.” She glanced back at the dog, clearly not catching onto to the sarcasm as she then stared at Austin. She brushed her side against his. “Want me to help you with this? Or get you a towel to wipe the sweat off your brow.” Her hand rubbed his arm that was resting on the hood of the car.
“No. I’m fine.” He said in a harsh tone. “Rather get Fredrick to help me.” He looked back down at the hood, leaning over to screw something in.
“Why Fredrick? Because he’s a man?” Maddie had a defensive tone.
Austin immediately turned to face her, his gray eyes darkened. “No, because he’s like a father, and knows about cars. Unlike you. You clearly don’t know anything about cars.” He growled lowly, not wanting his daughter to hear how he was treating the new nanny.
“I do too.”
“Oh yeah? What’s the year of this car. The engine size. The horsepower. The model.”
“…” Maddie fell quiet. “Well-“ she started, “-it’s a Ford Mustang. GT-five-hundred. Cobra.” Her voice was shaky, unsure. Austin nodded his head, wanting her to continue. “Erm…” she trailed off.
“Excuse me,” she heard a diligent tone, swishing around, it was Fredrick. He had glanced at Maddie, “I apologize for the intrusion Mr. Butler.”
“No worries, Fred.” Fredrick could see the relief on his friends face. It was obvious that this bimbo of a nanny was annoying his boss.
“But here you are sir,” he handed Austin an envelope, “invitation to the Met.”
“Oh shoot.” Austin blinked, looking at the envelope.
“And to answer your question. This is a twenty-fourteen Cobra slash Shelby GT-five-hundred, Ford Mustang. With six-hundred horsepower.” Fredrick side eyed Maddie, turning away to leave them both alone. “C’mon Leia, lets go.” He called to the little girl.
She looked up at Austin, to see if she had permission to leave her father alone. “Go on, love.”
“Bye daddy!” She waved bye at him, running to Fredrick, then held his hand. Serpent trailing behind the little girl, barking softly as he fell to her side. Fredrick held Leia’s toy, and Leia placed her hand on Serpent’s side. “Serpent, do you wanna play hide and seek later?” Austin heard his daughter innocently ask the dog, as if he was a human who could talk.
Austin watched the trio before looking at Maddie. “You’re her nanny y’know, you should be watching her.” He retorted before looking back at the car.
“Oh c’mon Austin,” she grabbed both of his hands, slipping in front of him. Her tone was suggestive, and she wasn’t hiding her intentions. She wanted to gain his attention. Austin stepped back, “you’re the Austin Butler. An incredibly talented and famous actor. You’ve been single for so long, don’t you want some fun?” She rubbed his arms. “I could be her step mother.” She suggestively said.
Austin glared at her, his face distorting in disgust. “I’m married.” He calmly said, pushing her hands away from his. “Happily. Married.” He added lowly. “She has a mother, and that’s Rose.”
“You’re not married.” Maddie cupped his face, forcing him to look at her eyes. “You’re clearly lost, and grieving, but Austin you’re single. You’ve been single. Just let go of her.” She tried her best to convince Austin to let go of his past. Moving so close to Austin that her breasts were pressed against his chest, her hips were rubbing against the front of his jeans. “You’ve got me, a young fling.”
Austin stared down at her with a blank face. “No.” He grabbed her hands, forcing them to pull away from his face. “I’ve got a fuckin’ wife. Maddie. I’m married. I never divorced her. I’m married. I got a daughter, a butler, and a dog.” He lowered his voice, so low it sounded like he was going to murder her. “I’m not gonna fuckin’ ruin that. Yes, Rose passed away. But I am still deeply in love with her. I dream of her every night. You’ve seen the photos of my wife everywhere in the house.” He stepped away from her. His voice firm, he knew what he was saying. He was confident in himself. “Fuck off Maddie. You’re the fuckin’ nanny. That’s all you are. A nanny. You ain’t Rose. You ain’t my wife.”
“Aus-“
“It’s Mr. Butler,” he grabbed her arms to push her away from the car, “and don’t touch my car.” He snapped angrily. “The only person allowed to call me Austin is my daughter and my butler. This isn’t personal darling, this is professional! So get your shit together and stop tryna fuck me.”
She had resisted Austin. Moving in front of him, her back rubbing against the front of the car. With her hands on Austin’s bare chest. “What- so Fredrick. Someone who works for you, can call you by your name? But I can’t? I work for you too.”
“Fredrick has watched over me since forever, Maddie. He’s like my father. He lives with me. You don’t, frankly. But he does. And my wife hired him.” He stood his ground. Craning his head towards Maddie’s face. “I’m not ruining my marriage for fucking some college whore.”
“Oh, so that’s how you see me?” She flinched, hurt from the comment.
“Yeah. Now get out of my fuckin’ face. I don’t wanna see you ever again.” He shoved her away from the car. Stumbling back, she had almost fell on the ground. “I don’t have time for your games. Not when I got a little girl.”
“Austin you can’t fire-“
“I’ll get the dog. I swear to god, Maddie. Leave!” He shouted.
“You wouldn’t-“ she was interrupted with a whistle. A wolf call. And in seconds she could hear barking coming from the house, and could see the dog running out of the garage.
Austin snapped his fingers, pointing to the floor. Serpent understood the command. Heel. And his body pressed against Austin’s side, looking up at him. “Leave.” He threatened her, and Maddie had walked away. Serpent watched after Maddie, growling lowly. “Good boy Serpent.” He leaned down to pat the dogs head. “I should’ve listened to you, buddy.” Kissing Serpent’s head. “You’re far more intelligent than I am, bubba.”
He cupped Serpent’s face. “Good boy bubba, good boy.” He cooed.
Summary: Austin’s daughter just wants to be apart of the interview.
Warnings: fluff, single dad, awkward dad Austin, all I can think of.
Tags: none.
Note: n/a
MASTERLIST — SERIES
—
The man sat on the chair, leaning against the desk. He had his hand clawing at his own hair, slicking his messy blonde hair back. His eyes narrowed down at the paper, he had been reading a script for a new movie he was working on.
In the bedroom beside his office, was his seven year old daughter’s room. He had been listening to her play with toys he bought for her. Which happened to be cars and trains, something he enjoyed when he was a child. He could hear her talking to herself about the sounds the cars made.
After a few moments, there was just silence. The blonde still continued reading the script, completely zoned in. “Mr. Butler,” he heard a voice that snapped him back to reality.
Looking back to see a man in a tailcoat tuxedo. The blonde raised a brow. “‘Sup Fredrick.”
“It’s eight-thirty-pm.” Fredrick had held out a pocket watch that had been tucked in his black vest. The blonde blinked, slightly surprised. The last time he checked the time it was 7:42PM. He must’ve lost track of time.
“Your daughters bed time.” They added, seeing how the blonde was zoning out. “I’ve tucked her in just like usual. Now,” pausing to look into his pale eyes, “you ought to read her a story. Harry Potter, perhaps?”
“For a butler, you act like my father.” Austin grumbled, getting out of the chair. He pushed the chair towards the desk. “And we have Harry Potter?” He asked Fredrick, walking by his side as they both made their way to the bedroom of Austin’s daughter.
“Why of course.” Fredrick answered, as if it was absurd to not own the books. “Leia loves them.”
“My daughter, Leia, reading Harry Potter, huh?” They both stood outside of her bedroom door that was just cracked open ever so slightly. Fredrick turned to face Austin, handing him the book that had been hidden in the blazer of the tailcoat. “Must get that from her mother.” Austin grabbed the doorknob, pushing the door open. He was greeted with a Doberman that was laying beside Leia’s bed, and Leia who was hanging off the bed to stroke the Doberman’s head.
She stopped the moment she could see Austin walk into her bedroom. Her eyes lit up, scrambling out of bed to run over to him. “Daddy!” She squealed, jumping up so he could lean down to pick her off the ground.
“Hey darlin’.” He hummed, smiling brightly when he held her in his arm. His other hand was holding the book that Fredrick gave to him. “Why’d you get outta bed, huh? Fredrick tucked you in.”
She kept her arms around his neck. “Fredrick isn’t you.” She looked back at the butler who stood by the door frame, his arms resting by his side.
Austin smirked, looking back at Fredrick then at Leia. “Still though darlin’, Fredrick doesn’t have to tuck you in, yet he does. Out of the goodness of his heart. You should stay in bed, make sure his work doesn’t go to waste.” He tried to explain as he carried her to the bed. Putting her down on the twin size bed.
She crawled to the middle of the bed, grabbing her blanket to cover herself. Austin looked down at his Doberman, leaning down to pat the dogs head. “Good boy, Serpent.” He cooed. The dog looked up at him lazily before resting their head back down on the wooden floor. Austin sat down on his daughters bed, holding the book out. “Fredrick says you chose Harry Potter.”
“Yes please.” She nodded, rolling on her side to watch her father.
“Right.” He smiled fondly, opening the book to the first page. “You comfortable dear?” He checked on her, and she had given him an eager nod. “Alright love.”
—
After two hours of straight reading. Leia had fallen into a deep sleep. Serpent the Doberman, as well had fallen asleep. Whilst Fredrick stood in the same spot, at the door frame. Austin looked at his daughter, smiling fondly. His gaze had softened every time he looked at her.
He quietly got off the bed, leaning over Leia to kiss her forehead. Wishing her a quiet goodnight, he turned to the lamp that was on her nightstand. Clicking the lamp off, he walked towards the entrance of the room.
Hearing paw steps on the wooden floor follow behind him. The moment he had walked out the door, he turned to see Serpent standing behind the door. Looking up at Austin, his head slightly tilted as if he was waiting for an order. “Y’know the drill Serpent,” he whispered to the dog, “watch her.” He ordered.
Serpent sat down, and Austin stepped back. Keeping Leia’s door open in case anything happened. He as well, kept his office door open.
“You have an interview tomorrow, shouldn’t you be asleep?” Fredrick asked Austin, seeing how he was still reading inside his office chambers. Fredrick was standing at the entrance of the office.
Austin looked back at Fredrick, thinning his lips. “I have to memorize my lines.”
“You can do that tomorrow sir, you have to wake up bright and early tomorrow for that interview of yours. I bet your publicist will kill you if they find out you stayed up all night.”
Austin groaned from the annoyance, but understood Fredrick’s point. He had visible black bags underneath his pale eyes, and usually, his eyes that looked ice blue were nearing the color of gray.
Austin got off the chair to walk to Fredrick’s side. His index and middle finger fiddling with his golden band on his left ring finger. He stood in front of Fredrick. “Y’know what Leia wants for breakfast tomorrow?” He asked Fredrick quietly.
“She said something along the lines of pancakes and sliced apples. Also wants to paint your nails.” Fredrick answered, walking beside Austin. “You should go and rest sir, I’ll watch over the house.” He promised.
“You sure?” Austin asked, raising a brow.
“Course sir. I can assure you, everything will be alright.” He dipped his head.
Austin stood beside Fredrick for a moment in silence. His fingers still fiddling with his gold band. “Honestly, don’t know why Rose even hired you.” He told Fredrick honestly.
“Your wife wanted to make sure you were well taken care of before she passed away, sir. You know that very well.” Fredrick smiled fondly. The gentleman was older than Austin by a few decades, he had a batch of slicked back thin gray hair, with a thin mustache.
“I know… sleep when you feel like it. I’ll cya tomorrow Fred.” Austin gently pat his butler’s shoulder in goodnight. Walking down the hall to his bedroom.
“Finally that stubborn man goes to sleep.” Fredrick grumbled, rolling his eyes. His left hand went to his head, rubbing his temples. “Gives me such a headache.” He groaned, walking towards Austin’s office.
—
Austin looked around in the studio. He stood with his legs apart, lowering himself for his makeup artist. “Did you not sleep at all last night? You look awful.” She commented.
“I slept fine.” Austin answered point blank. His eyes watching his daughter in the background. Behind all the cameras, and everyone surrounding him. His daughter had came along for the interview, and so did Fredrick.
She was holding a brown teddy bear in her arms, wearing a black dress, which had matched Fredrick and Austin’s outfit. Fredrick, who usually wore a tailcoat tuxedo, was just wearing a vest over his dress shirt. A tie tucked in beneath the vest, with black slacks and black dress shoes.
Austin wore a tuxedo as well. His bowtie was pink, it didn’t match the black slacks and blazer but he didn’t mind. Leia had picked out the bow, so he had worn it. His makeup artist looked at Austin’s hands which were resting by his side. “Did Leia paint your nails again?” She asked him.
“Oh, yes.” He answered, looking at his finger nails which were painted pink. “She painted them this morning.”
“Define morning, Mr. Butler because it’s currently nine-am.”
“Six, ma’am.” He clarified for her. His eyes went back to watching Leia, who was hugging Fredrick’s leg with one hand, with her other hand holding the teddy bear. He had been leaning down to pat her head, consoling her.
Austin’s makeup artist pulled away from him. Allowing him to stand up straight, after a few minutes of conversing. He had pulled away to talk to his daughter, acknowledging that the interview was going to start in a matter of minutes.
She had a bright smile when she saw him walking towards her, he leaned down to her eye level. “You alright, Leia?” He asked, holding both his hands out for her.
“Mhm! Freddie has been watching me! And he also gave me a cookie!” She jumped up happily
“You got a cookie? That’s awesome sweetheart!” Austin smiled boyishly, his hand ruffling his daughters blonde hair. “Alright listen,” he hushed his tone, “daddy’s gonna do his interview now, alright? So make sure to stay quiet.” He instructed, pressing his index finger to his lips.
“Quiet.” She hummed, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’ll be quiet! I promise.” She nodded, crossing her heart.
“That’s my girl.” He grinned, opening his arms so she could hug him. He picked her up off the ground a bit, swaying her body just slightly, then putting her down on the ground. He stood up straight, his hand going down to Leia’s head. His eyes looked at Fredrick, who had been standing in front of the duo the whole time. “How do I look?” He asked.
“Like a butler, Mr. Butler.” Fredrick answered solemnly.
“Nice.” Austin smirked, nodding his head in approval. “Alright,” he could hear his name being called. “I’m off.” He leaned down quickly to kiss his daughter goodbye, then slapped Fredrick’s back.
The interview was actually a little fun interview from what Fredrick could tell. Fredrick and Leia had been watching behind the cameras. Austin was holding a wad of flip cards that had an array of questions for him to answer.
He had been reading each question out loud, answering every single one in depth. With each answer he’d look at the camera, but his eyes would glance back at his daughter and Fredrick. Upon coming along a certain question, he had let out a lighthearted chuckle, amused. “What is Leia’s favorite toy?” He read, tilting his head slightly.
He looked at the camera for a moment, thinking to himself. Fredrick looked down at Leia who had been holding his pinkie, wanting to answer for her father. “My daughter…” Austin trailed off, looking at the producer, “can she answer?” He asked. “I mean she’s right there.” He flicked his head towards Fredrick and Leia.
The producer gave a nod. And Fredrick crouched down to Leia. “Go to your father, darling.” He whispered softly, flicking his head back towards Austin who was watching the duo.
“You sure?” She asked, keeping her hand on Fredrick’s.
“Mhm.” Fredrick nodded.
“Come here, sweetheart.” Austin as well nodded his head, sitting up straight in the chair he was in. The little girl smiled brightly, running over to her father, still holding her stuffed bear.
“Hello!” She greeted him, stopping in front of him. Austin leaned back in his chair, picking her off the floor and placing her down onto his lap. She leaned back against him comfortably, handing him her teddy bear so he could hold it. He saw her reaching her hand out towards the flip cards he held, and he allowed her to hold them.
“Hey Leia.” He couldn’t help but smile at how joyous she was being. She took the teddy bear from him so she could hug it, still holding the flip cards with one hand. Austin glanced at the camera, pointing to it. “Can you say ‘hi’ to the camera?” He asked gently.
She turned to the camera shyly, waving her hand then hiding her head against his arm quickly. He chuckled lowly. “Sorry, she’s a bit shy.” He pat her head, clearing his throat. “What’s your favorite toy, sweets?” He asked, watching her as she scooted up against his lap.
Holding the flip cards in her little hand, she looked up at him. “Mustang.” She answered simply.
“Which one the… the blue one?”
“The blue one yeah!” She nodded. “The one you like. You said it’s a mach one!” Smiling up at her father, he grinned. She was proud of herself for remembering her father’s words, and Austin as well was proud of her.
“Okay her favorite toy is the Mach One Mustang.” He confirmed. “Alright darling, flip the card over.” She did as instructed, flipping to the next card to read the next one. He read the words on the card aloud, joined with Leia humming a sweet tune, holding her teddy bear
Summary: Austin who is a US soldier for WWII is looking back at his memories when the Attack on Pearl Harbor happened, where he gets drafted and married. When he is finished with looking back at his memories, he is at the Beaches of Normandy, on June 6th, 1944 when D-Day occurs.
Warnings: fluff, angst, gore, war, guns, cigarettes, religion is mentioned, death, all I can really think of.
Tags: none.
Note: The story is pretty simple, Austin’s a farm boy, meets a pretty girl, and marries that pretty girl just before he gets drafted into the war, then he goes into the Beaches of Normandy. If that ain’t your type of story, don’t read it, if it is, then go ahead. There’s no smut in this because- I hate writing smut, I cringe at It very hard so, yeah. Just fluff and war mainly. You can imagine this with Elvis or Austin, I don't care, whatever y'all like yk.
MASTERLIST
—
The blonde boy was on the ladder. His hand holding a towel that was wiping at the dirty stained glass window. He blinked his eyes, leaning back to look at the window before cleaning it once more.
He held it steady, looking away as he could hear the choir near him beginning to sing. His eyes slowly glided towards them, wanting to listen to their tune. They had choir practice every afternoon, he would do his usual stuff which was listening to them every day, singing to him.
The tune had stopped after a while, which got his attention. “Why’d y’all stop?” He asked, his southern drawl prominent.
“We was wondering how we sounded.” The lead singer had asked him. She had wavy brunette hair, a bit worn down look. In spite of her old worn look, she still looked as fantastic as ever to the blonde, including her voice.
“Well,” the blonde started, “you sound like an Angel, ma.” He claimed, his eyes looking at the choir then back at his mother.
“Now now Austin,” one of the ladies had said, “y’know it’s a sin to lie boy. Especially here at a church.” She scolded him.
Austin cleared his throat, a cheeky smile appearing on his face. “Oh, I didn’t say y’all sounded like Angels.” He corrected himself. “Said you, meanin’ just her is all.” With a proud tone, he puffed up his chest. The women audibly gasped, but smiled at his joke.
He had climbed down the ladder when he was done. “Austin,” he heard his mother say his name. He looked her way, confused as to what she had wanted, “could you go by the hospital?” She asked, walking towards him. She had a book in her hands, and from what he saw, it was about anatomy. “Doctor Smith there gave me this read to finish and well- I already finished it in a day. I don’t have the time tonight so, could you? Your shift is over.”
“Yeah.” Austin kept his eyes on the book for a few more moments before looking back at his mother. “Course.” He smiled before shoving the paperback book in his back pocket.
—
Going to the door, trying to open it. Instead of pulling it back, it had been pushed forward. He could see four soldiers walk out. One of them had an eyepatch on the left side of their face, a slash running down. The other had a broken arm, the one behind him had half of his face burnt off, it looked like his face had been melted off. The last one was perfectly fine.
They all didn’t bother to glance at him. The last one holding the door open for Austin to walk in. He dipped his head gratefully, walking into the hospital. In front of him was a nurse. “Scuse me ma’am,” he walked over to her, “y’know where Doctor Smith is?”
“Oh yes, on your right.” She pointed down the hall. He dipped his head in thanks, a smile, then bid his goodbyes. Walking down the hall, he could see a man surrounded by the other nurses. He had his hand placed along the chest of a soldier who laid on the bed.
“We’re gonna fix you right up, son.” He promised, nodding his head. Austin walked towards Doctor Smith, waiting behind him patiently as the Doctor turned around to face him. His brows perking in surprise. “Hey boy,” he greeted Austin, “your ma send you?”
“Yes sir, she did.” He took the book out of his back pocket, giving it to him.
“Thank you.” The doctor had turned to his P.A and she grabbed it from him. “Put this in my office will you?” He asked in a gentle voice. She gave a nod, walking away from them. “Well, I must go now.” Smith had left Austin alone.
He scratched the back of his head for a moment, his eyes gazing at the nurses and the patients. They were all treating someone. Most of them were old, or just soldiers who had to be honorably discharged.
As his eyes crept the hospital room, he had looked into another room. Where he saw someone, a lady, who he thought was a beaut. Slowly, as if he was pulled to her. He made his way to her office, walking through the door, he saw her cleaning the bed. As he watched her movements, he couldn’t help but stand there. So this is love. He thought to himself.
For some odd reason, his heart was beating in his throat. Without even knowing it, he had stood at a straighter posture, as if he wanted to seem taller than he actually was. He knew that his ears were already going red, with buzzards going off in his head. This woman, was someone who caught his eye. She seemed neat, clean, and was smart, she looked kind. Kinder than a meadow filled with dandelions. In his eyes, she beamed brighter than the sun.
She stopped for a moment, her body turning to his direction. He had said nothing at the time, simply stared at her as she had stopped cleaning to return the gaze. “If you need your physique checked it’s the other room.” She brushed him off before checking the pillow. But, he kept still, standing there as if he was entranced with her beauty, he had a boyish smile on his face. She headed towards a small table to get a clipboard, looking over to see him still standing there. She raised a brow, “are you lost?”
“Lost in your beauty.” He said without thinking.
She raised a brow at him, confused. “Huh?”
“Sorry.” He shook his head, fluttering his eyes. He himself was surprised as well from what he had said. “I didn’t mean to say that.” A nervous chuckle left his lips, but he kept the same smile on his face.
She blinked her eyes a few times at him, still confused with what he had said, and why he had said that. “Well-“ she cleared her throat, “-thank you.” She smiled.
“What’s your name?” He pried at her.
“Belle.” She answered simply.
“Austin…” he breathed out.
—
He sat down at the table with his mother, the other side of the table had a plate, knife, and fork. The chair that was in front of the table sat empty. Austin swept his hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair. The screen door opened, and in came his brother.
A taller stature than Austin, about 6’3” or so. He had dirty blonde hair, that was greased back. He wore a garrison hat, joined with a tan colored field jacket and tan slacks. “You joined the Army, Hal?” Their mother had spoke.
Hal thinned his lips, taking his garrison cap off before pulling the chair back to take a seat in his chair. “Yeah,” Hal answered, meekly glancing at her, “all the other boys are doin’ it.” He justified.
“Don’t mean you do it either.” She swept at his hand, that had rested on the table.
He said nothing but gulp down, looking over at Austin for a second. Who looked between them. “When do you leave?” He asked.
“Bout a week.” Hal looked at the pot that was in the middle of the table. Then he looked at Austin and their mother. “I ain’t gonna sit back while all the other boys go to war. It’s wrong.” Hal kept his eyes on their mother.
“You ain’t supposed to kill, boy.” She sounded frustrated.
“Well ma, sometimes you got no choice.” He shrugged. “Plus, pa was in the war.”
“And your pa-“ She broke off before continuing on with the sentence, her eyes welling with emotion. Austin had already finished his prayer by then and was eating, not wanting to listen to the two bicker.
“Bout you Aus?”
He perked up when he heard his name. “You gon’ join too?” His older brother asked.
Austin looked at their mother, then back at him. He breathed in, grabbing his napkin before wiping his mouth dry from the stew he was chowing on. “Frankly,” he cleared his throat, “I wanna join. But- I can’t right now. Not today.”
“Why not?” Hal was curious, grabbing his fork and knife so he could cut into the steak their mother had served the two of them. “You met a girl or something?” His brother teased him. Austin said nothing, but thin his lips like his brother before him. “Aus?” Hal tilted his head.
“Austin?” Their mother as well looked over at him. “I didn’t know you talked to women…” She muttered.
“I-“ he broke off, insulted by the comment his mother made, but he couldn’t blame her. Austin was always with his brother, and when he was at church he would simply clean the stained windows, or ignore the church girls so he could go back home to fix the car he and his brother shared, or go out and read. “Yes.” He took another spoonful from his spoon, swallowing down. “I met a real swan back at the Hospital when I was returnin’ your book.”
“Oh?” His mother smiled.
“I’m gonna marry her.” Austin said a-matter-of-factly.
“That’s if she’s interested in you.” Hal smiled teasingly at his brother,
“I will marry her Hal, just you watch.” Austin swore, narrowing his eyes towards his brother.
“Right boy.” Hal rolled his eyes. As Austin continued to eat his stew, he glanced at his brother who sat there eating in his brand new uniform. He and Hal were together, always. The two of them had done everything together, both would fix cars together, they would help with the cattle out in the farm, both learned how to even herd cattle together, shoot together, and ride horses together.
With the fact that Hal was leaving for the war. He couldn’t help but feel saddened that he may not have ever seen his brother again. Hal was the bravest man he knew, wanted to be like his older brother.
But, in spite of all of this. Hal had made a point, there was no point staying home. While all the other boys in town were leaving for the war, fighting for their country. The Attack on Pearl Harbor had felt like a personal attack, the fact that they had went for a military base out there, attacking their home. It did feel like a personal attack.
Hal had been drafted, however, he had volunteered to leave early. Austin, hadn’t yet been drafted, he was only 20, one age away from the required year. His brother was 23, the required age for the draft.
The next day Austin had rushed out the house. He wore a simple white shirt that was tight around his torso, as well as a pair of tan colored slacks, and a pair of dirty boots to finish off the look.
Hal saw Austin run out the house. Looking back at his little brother with curious eyes. “Where you think you goin’ boy?” He called after Austin.
“I gotta meet that girl!” Austin was already at the gate of their yard. “Don’t worry Hal I’ll be back by suppertime.” He promised, already kicking dirt behind him.
Hal sighed, shaking his head. “Boys.” He grumbled, looking back at the car he was fixing.
Belle was looking down at a book that Doctor Smith had given her, she was sitting on the bed of the room. Hearing heavy footsteps, she looked up to see the boy from yesterday. He had the same boyish smile as before. “Austin.” She said his name, remembering it surprisingly. He had left an impression on her.
“Hello ma’am.” He walked over to her, looking down at the book she had in her hand. Pride and Prejudice. “That’s a good book.” Index finger pointing to the front cover of it. “Ma use to read it to my brother and I when we was little.”
“Oh, yes this is my fourth read. I asked Doctor Smith if I could borrow it again.” She smiled up at him.
“You like readin’?” He asked innocently.
“Yes,” She gave a nod, “reading is how I became a nurse you silly man.” She put the book to her side. “Anyways, I have to check up on a patient, is there anything you need before I go?” She asked him in a kind tone.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“You to go out on a date with me.” He said bluntly. Her eyes had fluttered, once again baffled by his bluntness.
“Pardon?” She wanted to clarify what she just heard.
“Will you go out on a date with me.” He clarified for her. He was brutally blunt with his response but she couldn’t lie, she had liked it.
She smiled widely, still shocked. “We’ve known each other for two days Austin.” She walked up to him, her head tilted back to look at him straight.
“Was I supposed to ask you on the third day ma’am?” He tilted his head, an innocent and pure gesture.
“You’re real different, I'll tell you that.” She said warmly, brushing past his shoulder. “Piece of work, in fact.”
“Is that a yes or a no?” His eyes watched her closely.
The two of them had sat in the packed theater. His face was turned towards hers so he could stare at how pretty she looked. He couldn’t hide the stupid smile that stayed on his face whenever he saw her, couldn’t wipe it away. Even when he had tried, he would still smile.
She had noticed his staring, glancing at him from now and then to take the popcorn from the bag he was holding. Glancing at him one final time as he stared, she had spoken to him. “What’re you constantly staring at?” She poked at him.
“You.” He answered, his smile turning into a grin. “I just think you’re real pretty is all.” He went on. “The prettiest.”
“Well,” she started, “that’s because you took me out during the night time.” Glancing over at him to make sure he was paying attention to her words, he nodded to confirm he was indeed listening closely to her. “So, you can’t see me very clearly.” She nervously laughed.
“No.” He shook his head, brushing off what she had said. As if she was speaking lies. “You’re just beautiful.” She was baffled once again by this response of his, clearing her throat as she felt heat rise up to her cheeks and ears. “The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” Their eyes seemed to be staring at each other longingly now. But, as she looked into his dark eyes. She could see nothing but a bundle of love that he wanted to give to her.
Glancing at his lips for a moment, her thoughts were broken from the music that boomed. But his? Didn’t seem to break. “Okay hush hush.” She quickly covered his mouth with her hands. “The movie is starting.” Her hands pulled away from his mouth, one of them pointed over to the big screen, he followed her hand to look up at the theater. Seeing images of the war that had played out in front of him.
Narrowing his eyes at the screen, he couldn’t help but think of his brother again. Someone who he had done everything with, was leaving in about a week. His brother was fighting for their country, defending their country, defending their home from the attacks of the second world war.
They both walked out of the theater, his eyes still tailing her face as they were side to side. They stood outside of the theater, she looked up at him as he held his glass bottle of coke cola. He swung it towards his mouth, taking a swig of it. “Do you wanna do anything else?” She asked, her eyes still watching him.
Pulling the glass away from his lips, making a pop sound. Satisfied with how it tasted. “Wanna kiss?” He looked down at her.
“What?”
“You looked like you wanted to kiss me in there.” His head flicked back to the theater room. “So, I’m asking you now before you slap me. If we can kiss.”
“You knew?” She perked a brow up.
“Ma’am, you’re not really good at hiding your feelings.” A teasing tone, she slapped his arm playfully. He chuckled lowly at her, amused by her playfulness as he took another swig. “Well?” Pressing on with the question.
“Sure.” She rolled her eyes, confirming with him. Leaning down for her, she went on the tip of her toes. Their lips against each other for a moment. She felt him tilt his head a bit, their lips caressing against each other. They both pulled away from each other at the same time.
She bit her bottom lip before he could open his eyes. Her face towards the ground. He’s actually not that bad of a kisser. She thought to herself, surprised that such a simple farm boy could actually kiss. Considering the stigma about them not having much education. “See?” Austin said, making her look up at him again. “I ain’t so annoyin’ after all.” He beamed.
“Don’t get too cocky, farm boy.” She had a cheeky smile plastered on her face. “Anyways,” going to his side so they could both hold hands, “can you walk me home?”
“Yes ma’am, I sure can.”
—
Austin and Belle had been seeing each other that whole week. He met her parents, and she had met his mother. From what he understood, she had came from a formal and traditional family that were French, they were rich in France and came to America to start a business. While his was just a bunch of simple farmers trying to make it by. Somehow though her father had liked him. The reason was cause he looked like a hard worker, a man who smelled of grease and oil was sure to be a man that worked hard, was what her father had claimed.
He was at the bus stop with his older brother who stood with him, looking down at Austin. “You take care of ma now you understand, boy?” Hal spoke in a gentle tone.
“Yeah, I got it Hal.” Austin gave a nod of understanding.
“Good,” Hal leaned down to grab his duffle bags, “cya in a.. well, whenever!” He laughed playfully before walking in the bus. He took a seat at the window that Austin was standing next to, poking his head out. “And that Dame of yours? She’s way outta your league!” He laughed boastfully.
“Aw be quiet you sly bastard!” Austin cupped his brothers head, before his brother returned the gesture. Feeling his brother press his forehead against his.
“Cya kid.” Hal smiled.
“Cya Harold.” Austin responded with his full name. With the whistle, the bus had started, driving off. Austin stood in the crowd of mainly women and mothers. He was actually the only guy there.
Watching his brother drive off in the bus, he couldn’t help but think to himself. I’m enlisting. He made his choice. Turning his back on the crowd of sobbing women.
Waiting in a line with about 10 more men, they all were around Austin’s age, early to mid 20s or so. He was the next in line, and he went to the officer that stood in front of him. Austin had done the physical that he needed to make sure he was fitted for the Army, and he signed the form that was handed to him. He handed it back to the officer, who firmly shook his hand. “Welcome to the Army.” The officer had given him instructions as to where he would get his uniform.
He was to leave in a week, his mother had known of his choice but not Belle. He looked at his rough hands, that seemed to already be filled with scars from the fixing he would do on cars, plus cleaning the stained windows at the church. Tomorrow, he were to pick her up in his Ford, and take her to the hospital for her afternoon shift. There, he would tell her that he enlisted.
—
As they both sat in the car, Austin had pulled up to the side of the hospital. Looking over at her, his eyes trailing her white uniform. She looked up at him, an eager smile on her face. “You gonna say something?” She asked, scooting close to him.
“Yeah,” nodding his head, he swallowed, “I’ve enlisted.” He said bluntly.
“Your brother just left yesterday right?” She asked him.
“Yeah… yeah he did.” Austin nodded, his hand wrapping around her shoulder. “Listen-“
“And then now you’re leaving?” She cut him off. Austin was full of surprises, she couldn’t even believe it. “You already enlisted? You’re leaving this week? You didn’t even tell me?”
“Well- yes, I knew you’d stop me, my mother tried stopping my brother and I so-“
“How’d you even know you haven’t even asked me!” She exclaimed out of frustration. Austin blinked obliviously, his hand touching the loose strands of his hair. “Do you know how many men go out there and don’t come back? You know how many of them I treat a day Austin?” She kept going. “I don’t want you to become like them, I don’t want to lose you.”
“Belle, I have to go.” He tried defending himself against her. His tone showing how desperate he was to join the Army. “I gotta go, I have to darlin’ all those boys are goin’, my own brother is goin’ too!” He leaned closer to her. “I love you with everything I got, but I love my country too. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, it felt like they were attacking my home.” Glancing out the window, then back at her welling eyes. He saw tears forming, as she intently watched him. “I don’t wanna sit back here in this town and do nothin’ I gotta go out there and fight.” He held her fragile hands in his. "Better than bein' a farm boy."
“You’re so brash sometimes.” She scooted away from him, grabbing her purse from the seat then opening the door. She closed it behind her. Watching after her, he saw her walk up the stairs, and just as she could enter the hospital. He ran out of the car to grab her arm, forcing her to look at him.
“Belle-“
“Are you gonna ask me to marry you?” She spouted strongly. Austin stood there, taken aback for once as to what she had just said. “Are you gonna ask me?”
“I thought-“ he did want to marry her, he knew he was going to, “I thought you didn’t want to marry me.”
“I love you, you love me, isn’t that how it works?” She questioned him, holding her purse in her hands firmly. “Plus, maybe you should ask me first, that way you’d know.”
“Alright, well-“ he straightened himself, “Belle, will you marry me.” He asked in confidence. She paused for a moment, not believing what he had just said. “I love you, you love me, I wanna be with you for the rest of my life, I wanna be with you till the end of time. You own my heart, and my soul. I will love you, forever. I know what love is, and I know I’m just a farm boy with no education but Belle, would you please let me have the honor of taking your hand in marriage?”
“Yes.” She answered without any hesitation. “I will marry you, Austin Butler. But- not today, I’ll marry you before you leave for the war.” She pointed her finger up at his face. “I don’t like you right now so— just go away.” She turned her back on him, walking towards the entrance that was wide open.
“Well- well I love you!” He called after her.
“God, you’re embarrassing!” She hissed at him before disappearing inside. The two nurses that stood at the reception had looked at the pair, then back at Austin with a smile on their faces.
“Hi.” He waved at the two nurses.
—
That all had happened about three years ago. But Austin would still remember that time with a good boyish smile on his face. He had kept his word and married her, he wore a gold wedding band on his ring finger, a basic band, and she as well had one on hers, a thin band, unlike his which was a few millimeters wider.
Austin sat in the steel boat. Looking down in his journal, the photo of Belle was clipped onto the page. He used her photo as a bookmark so she would always be there when he was writing.
“Damn!” He could hear beside him. Looking to his side, he saw Gecko. His real name was George Turner. “I wish I was comin’ back home to her, pal.” Gecko flicked his head towards the photo Austin had of Belle. “She a real doll.”
Gecko had became Austin’s buddy back in basic. They were right beside each other in the dorms, and would often talk about their days back at home together. Gecko wasn’t a farm boy like Austin, he was a city boy. Born and raised in New York until he got drafted. However in spite of that, they shared the same moral compass, and plus, everyone in the Army was one. They were all the same person.
Austin put his journal away. “We’re in France, you’ll meet plenty of French girls.” He smirked at Gecko, who raised his brows.
“Hey, you two, you folk scared?” The one who spoke was Captain Parker, he was actually fairly nice. Even though he was mean throughout basic, in the field, he was as nice as any other farm boy.
“No.” Gecko said in confidence.
“Should be.” Parker looked over at Austin. “You, farm boy, you’re the one with a banger.” Parker had handed Austin a bangalore torpedo, a handheld two piece torpedo that could blowup the seawall.
They were the third wave for Omaha, and from what all of them understood, the first to second wave was under heavy fire.
Before Austin knew it, the boat was lit with bullets. All 20 of the soldiers inside the boat had ducked down immediately. Waves of water rained down on them as the missiles hit the water. Shaking the boat violently.
“Incoming!” Austin heard the voice of his sergeant, whose name was Daniel, he went by the name of Roy however. A missile landed right beside them, shaking the boat so hard that it had almost flipped onto its side.
Austin felt Gecko push into him. “Drop the ramp!” Parker ordered. Without any hesitation, the driver had switched the button. The ramp dropping quickly, bullets flew into the other soldiers.
Austin dropped down to the floor of the boat. Looking at the bullets that had ripped into his friends. He saw Roy’s head rip clean off, the blood of his friend getting onto him. Looking around at the chaos, he saw blood pulling up on the floor of the boat. Booking it, he grabbed the sides of the boat, jumping over them. He had dropped down into the water, standing up immediately.
He tried to run as fast as he could to the beach, feeling the water and rain soak into his uniform. Running behind a steel cross, he could see Parker ducking behind it, and he fell down to Parker’s side. “Farm boy!” He shouted, Austin looking up at Parker, “stick to the plan!” He shouted through all the screaming.
Austin looked back at a boat that was hit by a torpedo, his vision going into a blur as it flashed a bright orange color in front of him, smoke flying out. He had looked to his side, seeing a soldier that had just lost his leg trying to get up with a pool of blood forming underneath him. A reservoir was spewing out of him, and he had toppled over like a domino. “Hey!” Parker got Austin’s attention again. “This is what you trained for boy!” He spat.
“Yes sir!” Austin nodded.
“Get to the seawall!” Grabbing his Tommy gun, he ran towards the seawall. Austin poked his head up, grabbing his M1 Garand that was strapped to his back, he held it tightly.
Fuck it. He thought to himself, doing the sign of the cross. He ran forward at least 20 feet, seeing soldiers falling all around him. He could see the bunkers straight ahead, a soldier with an MG42 that was inside was ripping away.
Austin dived down towards a truck, laying on the ground. He had poked his head out through the window, pressing the stock against his shoulder to look through his iron sight. He could see the flash from the MG42 firing off, helping him to line the shot up with the flash, and pointing up by a few centimeters. He pulled back on the trigger just twice, seeing the flash stop.
The beach was filled with nothing but dead bodies. He had been running through sand that was mixed with water and blood. He breathed in just before glancing at his ally who had dropped dead right behind him. Getting up, he ran towards five steel crosses, ducking down low.
Pressing the stock back up on his shoulder, he looked up into the bunkers. Making sure to stay as close as he could to the steel. His eye pierced through the iron sight, looking straight at someone who seemed to be close to the seawall. They had an MP40, a gun incredibly valued. “Stand still buddy.” Austin breathed in, staring straight at the German soldier before he pulled. Getting back up to run towards the wall that was built with nothing but barbed wire, cement, and sand.
He had pulled back on the wire, throwing the banger onto the seawall, he ran back behind the five crosses, the seawall had collapsed. Roars from the US Army flooded through his head, and he could see someone with a flamethrower make it to him. Letting hell set loose as he made his way through the seawall, Austin followed behind him without any hesitation.
Another soldier who had pushed past Austin had been shot down. He could see Gecko running to his side, pumping his trench gun as they both jumped into the trenches. Gecko held the stock up to his shoulder, pumping it. The pellets had entered into a German soldier with so much force their guts had exploded through their back. Leaving the trench floor covered in nothing but intestines.
Austin stepped over them, and so did Gecko. Pumping his shotgun again so he could shoot through another soldier. “They don’t call this motherfucker a Trench Clearer for no reason Aus!” Gecko laughed confidently.
“I didn’t say anything.” Austin muttered, holding his M1 Garand tightly. He made his way through the trenches, another pump with another German soldier flying back. As they walked up the mountain, they ducked down behind a truck, as well as a few rocks.
Looking up with his iron sight, he pointed his Garand towards a bunker, firing off three shots. All three of the enemies had dropped down, and the others had ran forward.
—
Austin’s squad had made it towards the city, he could see a tank rolling forward. Looking up at the sky, it was filled with Warhawks, Stukas, BF109s, Spitfires, you named it, it was most likely in the sky. He saw a Warhawk do a loop around a Spitfire that was spinning down towards the ground, with the siren of a Stuka ringing loud and clear.
The Tank’s cannon had motioned upwards towards the sky. Aiming right at the Stuka before it dropped down torpedoes. The tank had fired off at it, seeing the Stuka unable to pull back up as it hit the ground violently. Exploding into nothing but flames and parts, leaving nothing left.
They had made it toward the rally point, seeing the other planes falling back, as well as the other German soldiers. Austin stood there, holding his rifle in his arms before he made his way towards a tank that was being unloaded. He sat down in front of it, leaning back on the metal.
He got out his journal, looking at the paperclip that held a photo of his wife. Swinging his backpack over to his front, he unzipped a pocket open, grabbing a packet full of letters they had written to each other.
Without noticing it, Gecko had sat beside him. Looking over Austin’s shoulder, curious as to why he was looking at the letters. “Why you lookin at all the letters boy?” Gecko asked, grabbing a cigarette pack from his pocket to go smoke.
Austin looked back at Gecko for a moment, picking out an opened letter that was refolded. He unfolded the paper, there was a monochrome photo inside. The photo was held in his hand, and he had given it to Gecko to look at.
Gecko raised a brow but took the photo. “The others don’t know, only you.” Austin explained, flicking his head towards it. Gecko stared at the photo wide eyed, it showed a baby, and all he could assume was that it was Austin’s.
“Well I’ll be.” He chuckled lowly. “You’re a father, eh?” He punched Austin’s shoulder, and Austin gave a nod with a proud smile. “Got a little boy waiting back for you at home, and a wife? You better live boy.”
“Yeah, I know.” Austin looked back at his wedding ring, fiddling with it. He thought of his brother Hal, during the past years of being in the war. He hadn’t heard of his brother, he didn’t know what happened to him. He knew that Hal hadn’t returned home either, because Belle kept Austin updated on what was happening back in town.
I just hope he’s alive and well. He thought to himself, rubbing his temples.
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