- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - masterlist❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Welcome to Sapphire Falls, a town where many things are bound to happen soon. For everyday of December you can find out a little more about this town. Will everything turn out alright for everyone? Stay tuned!
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - Where are they now #2 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Ever since Livia and Syverson announced the pregnancy, how are they doing?
Word count: 1k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
It had been a crazy three days, but now the door is closed and we are hidden away from the hospital, nosy citizens of Sapphire Falls and it’s just the three of us. The three of us.
‘We made this,’ I whisper, as I lean against the headboard while I stare at my lovely Sy, who’s holding the baby in his strong arms. ‘I can’t believe that.’
Sy smiles, catching himself getting choked up again. He did that in the hospital a few times already and when I woke up from a deep sleep after giving birth, I saw how he was gently holding our little Luke, whispering all kinds of sweet things to him, with the tears burning in his eyes. ‘Liv, I don’t think I can ever thank you enough.’
I start to chuckle. ‘Honey, you… You don’t have to thank me. This is a co-production.’
He carefully gets up from the edge of the bed and sits next to me, as Luke opens his eyes and takes us in. ‘If I cry again, will you ever take me seriously again?’
I nuzzle against his side, before kissing his cheek. I always take you seriously, Sy.’
●・○・●・○・●
‘You know,’ Liv says as I hold up my phone, ‘You resemble your sister when you take photography so seriously.’
I offer her a stern look. ‘Don’t say that.’
Chris and Abigail are visiting Sapphire Falls, meaning we finally have a trusted babysitter around. I don’t like other people around my baby, so whenever Liv and I want to go out for a date, we bundle up Luke and take him with us. He’s a very calm and sweet little baby, but to just stare at my Liv, it feels like a while ago.
‘You look beautiful,’ I tell her and she smiles.
‘Sucking up to the model,’ she notes. ‘I see what you’re doing.’
After I took a few photos, I grab my chair and sit next to her. ‘I love you,’ I tell her, as I wrap my arm around her shoulders.
●・○・●・○・●
‘Within two years, Caleb Syverson knocked me up again,’ Liv chuckles as she enters the bedroom. After putting Luke to bed–who insisted on having his mom kiss him goodnight–she steps on the bed and straddles my lap. ‘And not with one baby, but with two.’
I lovingly cradle her stomach. ‘I’m an overachiever.’
She smiles at me. ‘You better not freak out, like you did with Luke.’
‘I did not freak out with Luke.’
Livia cocks an eyebrow. ‘Honey, you totally freaked out. And that’s okay, it was our first time having a baby, but I would prefer it if you tried to stay calm. This time around I have to push out two.’
●・○・●・○・●
Finally Sy picks up. ‘Look look look,’ I say with a squeal, pointing the camera of my phone to our twins Felice and Jason as they walk ahead. ‘I bought them matching outfits.’
Sy does not match my enthusiasm. ‘Really? It looks like they are wearing school uniforms.’
‘That was the point! Sy, keep up, will ya?’ I call out the twins’ names and they stop walking, looking over their shoulders.
‘They are so stinkin’ cute,’ Sy notes and when I look at my screen, I can tell he is lovingly staring at his. ‘You coming home any time soon? I miss you.’ He has been like this for a while now. With Luke going to kindergarten now, these two are a needed distraction. But we’ve been shopping and Sy’s been at the farm.
Sometimes it’s hard on him not having a kid around and I totally understand.
‘You two wanna go home?’ I ask them, once I caught up. ‘To dad?’
‘Yes!’ they both exclaim.
●・○・●・○・●
Livia sniffles as she looks at Luke. It’s a hard day today. While the twins aren’t starting kindergarten for another two months, this fella is going to first grade.
And that’s been hard on Liv. ‘I cannot believe this,’ she chokes out, ‘my first born going to school.’
She stares at Luke, her oldest son, who is leaving his kindergarten days behind. She clears her throat, before she walks over to him, holding his face in her hands. ‘Mom, what’s up?’ Luke asks her.
‘I am so proud of you, my darling,’ she whispers. ‘Oh, so proud of you.’
I can’t help but smile, as I see how Luke consoles his mother. From the two of us, Livia is the more emotional parent–though I’m softening up as the years go by. While these milestones make me incredibly proud, they make Livia a little sad. She reminds me of my mother, who always cried whenever Abigail and I started a new school year.
Luke gives his mom a kiss on her cheek. ‘I love you, mom,’ he mumbles.
‘I love you too, my sweet boy.’
●・○・●・○・●
‘You really said copy paste with our kids, didn’t you?’ Sy notes as he stares at the picture of the twins. ‘Luke looks just like you. These two look like you.’
Livia turns to the side. ‘I pushed three kids Syverson size out of my vagina. The least they could’ve done is resemble me.’
Sy can’t help but chuckle. ‘Okay, that is true,’ he laughs.
●・○・●・○・●
‘Okay, okay, I’m ready!’ Livia says.
‘Mom, you look beautiful!’ little Felice says with a smile. ‘I wanna be like you when I grow up.’
Sy’s eyes have widened, a little in shock to see his wife like this. Normally she wears comfortable clothes as work around the farm does not permit you to wear designer clothes, but with date night around the corner, she went all out.
While their sons Luke and Jason compliment their mom too, give her a hug and a kiss, Sy gets up from the couch and walks over to her. ‘For fuck’s sake, Liv,’ he mutters in her ear, loud enough for her to hear it, too soft for the kids. ‘Good thing Chris and Abigail are here, because we’re not coming home early tonight.’
Chris walks into the room and says: ‘Okay kids, hot chocolate in the kitchen with aunt Abigail.’
‘Bye mom, bye dad!’ they all exclaim, before rushing to the kitchen.
Chris cocks an eyebrow. ‘I can recognize that gaze from anywhere,’ he says. ‘If you’re quiet, the shed’s all yours.’
‘The shed is always all ours,’ Sy notes.
Chris chuckles. ‘Just keep it down a notch, okay?’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - Where are they now #1 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: It has been a few years since the proposal. How are Abigail and Chris doing?
Word count: 1.3k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
‘I cannot believe we’re married now,’ I whisper, nuzzling my nose against my wife’s.
‘Me neither,’ she whispers back. ‘I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day.’
It’s the middle of the night and we lay in the kingsize bed of a lovely cottage hidden away in the fields of Sapphire Falls. It had been a long, but amazing day. We decided early on the wedding had to be on Honey Bee Farm. Abigail looked beautiful. She loved being the center of attention, and I loved watching her enjoy it all.
The rest of the night was spend in bed, until the sun rose again.
●・○・●・○・●
‘Babe, stop right there.’
‘I’m in the middle of the street!’
‘Just stop!’ Chris already has his phone in hand, and starts taking photos, while I’m standing in the middle of the street, holding a little bouquet he just bought me for our first anniversary.
The smile on my face only grows bigger, especially when I see him crouching down, leaning left and right, just to take a good picture.
‘You look beautiful,’ he smiles.
Suddenly I hear a car honk loudly, and I run to the sidewalk. ‘Goddamn, these pictures better be worth it.’
●・○・●・○・●
Mornings were my favorite since Chris and I got married. Especially our weekend mornings, because those were our lazy ones, the ones we slept in, ate breakfast in bed. Just like today.
‘You are a saint,’ I smile softly, as Chris hands me a steaming cup of coffee. He winks at me, looking as handsome as ever. Sometimes I still wonder how I managed to pull this kind of man, but damn, am I grateful.
‘I think we’re gonna stay in bed all day and watch Friends,’ he says, throwing one more look out the window. The sky is cold and grey, and in the distance I can see dark clouds coming.
Chris is about to jump back into bed, but stops when he sees me reaching for my camera.
‘What are you up to?’ he asks, cocking his eyebrow.
‘You, my love, look like a thirst trap right now. So, I’m gonna take a picture of you because I don’t think I can withhold this from the world,’ I chuckle. ‘If you’ll do me a favor, stand still please.’
He patiently gives me a minute, before jumping back into bed, and we stayed there cuddled up for the rest of the rainy day.
●・○・●・○・●
'Chris!' I hear a familiar voice from behind. Not even a second later I feel a pair of strong arms around my neck, and I feel Abigail's soft body pressed against mine. 'I'm so proud of you!'
We, the Chicago Bulls, had just won the nationals. And that might be thanks to the three pointer I scored in the last second. I hadn't seen Abigail after the game; I was busy with interviews, while she ran around taking pictures of everything as she was still in charge of the team's social media presence.
'Couldn't have done it without you, love,' I say, lifting her up to spin her around. After I was done with the interview, I freshened up, and went to a celebration party one of my teammates decided to throw where I'm finally reunited with my wife.
We are inseparable all night, having the time of our life. But deep down I know I have to tell Abi soon that I'm thinking about retiring after next season.
●・○・●・○・●
Once the basketball season was over, we'd travel. We had started doing this the first year we got together, and we don't plan on stopping soon. We'd go to different places each time, but we'd always end with Sapphire Falls. A few weeks there was all I needed before going back to work.
Right now, we are in Portugal, where my husband is trying to take a picture of me.
'Don't tell me you still don't trust your husband to take good pictures.' He holds my camera completely wrong, as always. 'Just sit still, and be pretty.' He winks at me, and I decide to do as he says.
'Whatever you wish, babe,' I answer. While I do my best to do as he says, I cannot help but burst our in laughter when he accidentally turns on the flash.
●・○・●・○・●
The basketball season is about to begin again, so what do you do when you haven't played in a while? You go to the basketball court near your house late at night of course.
Luckily I have Abigail to join me. She is sitting against the fence, playing with a basketball between her feet.
The idea of retiring had only grown stronger the past weeks. I hadn't told anyone, but now might be the time. 'Abi?' I call out.
'Mhm?'
'If I retired after this season, would you mind?' I loved the game, and always will. But I get older, and so does my body. I need more and more time to recover after each training, each game. It's time to listen to my body before it breaks down completely.
'Would I mind? Honey, if you feel like it's been enough, that's your decision. I'm with you, whatever you decide,' she smiles. 'But I wouldn't mind the extra time we'd get together.'
I toss the basketball away, and sit down next to Abigail. 'Maybe we could find something else to fill our time with.' I nudge my shoulder against hers, and grab her hand.
'What do you have in mind?'
'Maybe it's time for some mini you's and mini me's to start running around.'
I look to the side, and see Abigail's eyes lit up. She presses her lips against mine, and I know we're on the same page.
●・○・●・○・●
‘There is my favorite niece!’ Chris exclaims as he engulfs the little girl in his arms.
‘I’m your only niece!’ Felice yells. Chris is twirling and swirling her around, while she is laughing loudly.
Felice is the sweetest child ever, and I love spending time with her. And as all kids, sometimes they need a little one on one time with their aunt and uncle. So, as any good aunt would do, I flew to Sapphire Falls, and flew back with her.
We had arrived home an hour ago, waiting for Chris to come home from one of his last basketball trainings.
‘You ready for a weekend of fun sweetie?’ he asks Felice, still holding her in his arms.
‘Yeah!,’ she yells. ‘But you gotta shower uncle Chris, you smell.’ She pouts, exactly like Livia, and Chris barks out a laugh. He puts her down on the couch next to me, gives me a kiss, and with a shaking head he walks away towards the bathroom.
Hopefully soon, we’ll have one ourselves, I think to myself, smiling at the idea.
●・○・●・○・●
'Chris! Come down here!'
Frantically I run down the stairs, afraid something's on fire, but when I reach the living room where Abigail is screaming from, everything seems fine.
'Why are you screaming like a mad woman?' I say. She is sitting on the floor, next to our faux Christmas tree. It's a sad one to be honest, kinda small and not very full. But we scored it our first Christmas together. We were way too late with buying one, thus this was the only one left. We got it, and thought it was to funny to buy a new one a year later.
'I need you're help putting up the decorations,' she pouts, making grabby hands at me.
'Alright, alright.' I sit down next to her on the floor, and help her putting the fairy lights in.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a wrapped box I'd never seen before. 'What's that?'
'Maybe you should open that,' Abigail smiles.
Hesitantly I open the box, but my mouth falls wide open once I see what's inside.
A pair of the exact same sneakers as I have, put these are small. So very small. They are for a baby.
'For real?' I ask, while standing up.
'For real,' Abigail smiles. I wrap her in my arms, feeling like the luckiest and happiest guy in the world.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - New Years Special #4 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: How is Abigail doing a year later?
Word count: 1.9k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
It’s always nice to come back home on the farm. I love Chicago and I wouldn’t leave that place any time soon, but there is something so peaceful about coming back to the place I will always call home. The place where my roots lay.
It feels good to be back. Especially since Livia is pregnant with my niece or nephew. I wish I could be there everyday, to support her and be part of the whole experience. But we FaceTime nearly everyday instead, so Chris and I are still as involved as possible. I cannot wait to be an aunt, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they have everything they need, be spoiled rotten, and be the cool aunt they tell everything to.
I’m looking at Livia, who is sitting opposite of me at the kitchen table. She looks amazing, pregnant and all. She has this type of glow you only get when you’re carrying, and is definitely rocking it.
We have just arrived home after they picked us up at the airport. The drive back home was chaotic, we all had so much to say. So now we are enjoying a cup of coffee, while Livia is asking a million questions about all the basketball players I meet due to my job and if certain rumors are true (she's obsessed with dating scandals and to be fair: me too). But also about the jet and our flight.
Our flight was heavenly because my boyfriend, and yes I love saying that, has a private jet. No annoying queues, delayed flights, annoying chatty people beside me. And the most important one: the amount of space. Not being crammed into a seat next to other people is a blessing. I’m not tiny or small so I always felt burdened while flying. Therefore, flying with Chris’ private jet is incredible.
I believe Livia has finally run out of questions, as she hasn’t asked one in the last ten seconds. Sy is sitting next to her, rubbing over her belly, having a look of pure adoration on his face.
‘Are you sure you’re not gonna name the baby Abigail if she happens to be a girl?’ I ask.
‘The answer was no, is no and forever will be no,’ Sy grumbles.
‘Mhm, I’ll still call her Abigail junior if it’s a girl.’
Sy throws me a death glare, and I laugh loudly.
‘Guys, I love catching up with you, but I gotta say hi to my babies,’ I say.
‘No!’ Livia exclaims while I’m about to stand up.
‘Don’t tell me Sy killed Honey.’
‘No, of course not! But, it’s a mess there. Sy, honey, why don’t you help me with that?’ Livia bats her eyes at him, and I can tell something’s off. I just can’t pinpoint what.
‘Sure thing,’ Sy answers while avoiding my gaze. They storm out of the kitchen leaving me and Chris behind.
‘C’mon, let’s get comfy on the couch,’ Chris says.
●・○・●・○・●
Chris and I made ourselves comfortable on the couch, while Livia and Sy were running around. They have finally finished whatever they had to do, and are currently making some drinks.
From the couch, I look at the kitchen, to witness my brother getting something from the top shelf. This house was built with tall people in mind and I can tell Sy isn’t too happy about Livia standing on the tiny stools that are now littered around the house. Livia told me he takes care of her a little too well, however she is quick to add that she doesn’t mind, that she just rolls her eyes and continues on with something else.
As Livia prepares her own cup of tea, Sy whispers something in her ear and she starts to giggle. Sy lets his guard down with her, a smile toying on his lips. He wraps his arms around her, placing his chin on top of her head, his hands protectively on her belly. He’s content, he’s happy.
They are so in love. They are married and ready to start a new chapter of their lives. Sometimes I wonder if I am ready for something so domestic. Chris and I are living quite intense and fast paced lives in Chicago, but every time we close the door of our apartment, we play house. Pajama nights, cooking together, joking about taking care of our plant babies. Those moments are the ones I enjoy the most.
But we don’t move like Sy and Livia. It would be useless to compare two different relationships. While those two had shared intimate and beautiful moments with each other even back in high school, me and Chris hadn’t. We had to get to know each other on a different level. We needed time to explore who we were together as a couple. What we wanted and needed from each other.
Besides, being in a relationship after being on your own for so long, was difficult and it had felt uneasy to adjust to something like that. I was so just being by myself, I didn’t know what a healthy relationship could mean. While he was there for me, whenever I needed him, I still felt this burden when I wasn’t feeling alright, or was bothered with something. One day, when I was shutting him out, he pointed it out, and told him how it made him feel.
It was then when I realized I had to put in the work myself. It wasn’t only Chris who had to work for our relationship. I had to learn to let him in, to let him take care of me. I had to learn I didn’t have to do everything alone, that he was there for me, that I could discuss my thoughts with him. I had to learn to be loved.
But after we were past that, we were a match made in heaven.
I snuggle close to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. ‘I’m so happy you’re here with me.’
He smiles, and tightens his grip around me. ‘So am I.’
Sy and Livia enter the living room, taking place in the giant lazy chair. Livia makes herself comfortable on Sy’s lap, and yawns loudly.
I notice how my brother, who never ever chuckles, chuckles at the sight of it. She has him wrapped all around her finger, and I know for sure he doesn’t stand a chance against the little one.
‘Why don’t we go out for a walk? Get some fresh air?’ Chris says. ‘Let those two have a moment.’ He points at Sy and Livia, the latter falling asleep against Sy’s shoulder.
●・○・●・○・●
It’s not as cold as last year, no snow, no ice, but Sapphire Falls is still beautiful. The sun is setting, painting the sky in the most amazing colors. Chris walks beside me, holding my hand. He hasn’t said much since we came outside. Something is definitely off, because ever since we got together, he has created the habit of talking my ears off when we’re on a walk.
But he is still holding my hand, gently squeezing it every now and then.
We reach the end of our land, a beautiful spot, a little secluded, adjacent to Sapphire Lake. I used to come here a lot when I was younger. There is a little gazebo behind the giant hedges we approach where I came to read, or just relax.
Chris silently leads me towards it, and I suddenly feel the air between us change. His hand has become sweaty, is he nervous?
Wait, why am I hearing goats?
‘So, uhm,’ Chris mutters, pulling me with him as I slow my pace. We turn around the hedge, and I cannot believe my eyes.
The gazebo is decorated with fairy lights and flowers. A path has been made from where we’re standing, to the gazebo, with little white pebbles.
And my babies, my goats, are happily jumping around.
‘Chris!’ I gasp. ‘What, what is all this?’ My heart is beating in my chest, and I feel goosebumps all over my body.
‘Come,’ he simply says, a big grin plastered on his face. He gently tugs at my hand, and luckily my legs know what to do, otherwise I would not move an inch.
I follow him in the gazebo, and when we stand inside, I look up and see the entire ceiling is covered with lights, like little stars.
When I look back in front of me, I notice Chris has gone down on one knee in front of me.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.
With my hand in his, he starts talking: ‘Abi, my life with you this past year has been all I ever wanted. I love waking up next to you everyday, I love knowing you’re there when I have a game, I love our pajama night and I even love watching The Bachelor with you.’ He stops for a minute, as he takes a deep breath. The tears had already formed in my eyes, and I spot a little shimmering in his eyes as well.
‘You make me a better person, and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you. You are the love of my life, baby.’
I don’t think I can smile any bigger. So many emotions are racing through my body, and all I want to do is answer the question that he is about to say.
‘Will you please marry me?’ he finally asks.
‘Yes, one hundred percent yes!’ I yell, and I pull him to his feet before our lips crash into each other. We pulled each other closer as our kiss deepend, completely lost in the moment.
When we break apart, to take a breath, I feel like I’m on cloud nine.
‘You do have a ring, right?’ I tease.
‘Matter of fact, I do,’ Chris snickers. ‘Where is she?’ he adds, almost inaudible.
‘Where is who?’ I ask, but then I notice my not so little Honey approaching us with a little package dangling from her neck. ‘Oh my god!’’
Honey jumps forwards, happily bumping into me, and I provide her from the needed scratches. Chris removes the little package, and shows me the most beautiful ring.
He slides in on my finger, and everything is right about it. It’s 100% me, and so was this proposal. The secluded spot, the fairy lights, the goats, and his speech. I couldn’t have been more perfect.
I grab his face, and firmly press my lips to his while wrapping my arms around his neck.
‘I so have to tell Livia and Sy about this.’ I laugh, after we needed to take another breath. Chris has me engulfed in his arms, as we watch Honey and her friends jumping around us.
‘Look to your right,’ Chris whispers, and when I do, I see both of them, hiding behind the bushes. Livia jumps up and down as far as possible in her condition, holding a camera, while I notice Sy is smiling. He is actually smiling at me. I don’t know what surprises me more, that Chris proposed or that Sy is smiling at me.
I turn my attention back to Chris, and I let out a heavy sigh. ‘You have no idea how happy you make me,’ I whisper, leaning my forehead against his.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - New Years Special #3 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: How is Sy doing a year later?
Word count: 1.2k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
My mornings always look the same. Getting up, pressing a kiss on Livia’s forehead and start my day. Cleaning the stables, feeding the animals (including those very scary goats, who I think are warming up to me) and once I’m done with that, I start preparing breakfast for me and Livia.
It’s a routine I appreciate and I know that she does too. This pregnancy has been rough on her, especially with the morning sickness and the sleepless nights. Every morning, with her hair wild from all the tossing and turning, she sits on the chair, takes a few sips of tea and then flashes me one of her beautiful smiles and says good morning.
And now I watch her holding both of our coats in her hand. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ she says.
‘Liv, they are landing in four hours. It’s an hour drive, so we don’t have to leave just yet.’
Livia glares at me, before hanging up the coats over the back of the chair. ‘What if there is traffic?’
‘It’s Sapphire Falls, sweetheart,’I tell her, ‘there is no such thing as traffic.’
She plops down on the couch next to me and says: ‘I am just really excited.’
‘Me too,’ I say with a smile, ‘but we’re not just gonna wait three hours there.’
Livia and her sense of time is a little off, dare I even say pregnancy has made it worse. Though I will never tell that to Livia, because she’ll either cry or become very offended and I don’t want any of those reactions. Instead, I say: ‘Everything is ready for the proposal, the animals are well fed, there is no more paperwork. I am thinking two things.’
‘Tell me.’
‘One, you can write a little. Two, you can take a nap.’
She yawns, almost on cue. ‘A nap sounds good.’ She nestles against my frame and within no time she’s drifted off to sleep. These last few weeks, she’s been sleeping less and less. Whenever I wake up, she’s also up and even when she sleeps in, I can tell she’s dog tired. Sometimes I try to get her to rest a little, however Livia wouldn’t be Livia if she didn’t fight against it and tells me she’s fine. I’m glad she listened to me now, because I know these days, leading up to Chris’ proposal, have been eating her up alive.
I resit a little, make sure she’s comfortable and I hold my Liv close in my arms. Like she always does, she drools a little on my shirt, but it’s alright.
This last year has been amazing. I can’t believe Livia is my wife now, is gonna be the mother of our kid. Sometimes I wonder if we go too fast, but then I realize this is Livia, my sweet Livia.
There are times where I almost fear I love her too much and with this new little one on the way, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so vulnerable. The whole idea of something happening to Liv or the baby, those are the things that keep me up at night.
I place my hand on her slightly protruding stomach and let out a deep and content sigh.
This is my life.
●・○・●・○・●
We’re waiting in the car because it’s cold out and we have a few minutes to kill before Chris and Abigail arrive. The nap did wonders for her. She isn’t consuming as much coffee as she did prior to this baby and she actually mentioned something about coffee withdrawal. Out of solidarity, I don’t drink as much coffee anymore, just like I adjusted my entire diet for her and I’m the designated bin for everything she doesn’t want to eat anymore.
‘So, what do you think of the name Maple for a girl?’ Livia says.
‘Maple as in Maple Syrup?’
She scrunches her nose. ‘Never mind.’
I let out a chuckle. We’ve been discussing names for quite some time now, but there hasn’t been a name we both liked. Thankfully we have a few months ahead of us, but I know it would calm her mind if we have a name ready now.
Without using words, I think it’s safe to say we are using the name Syverson. While Livia still writes under the name Livia Darmandi, she took the name Syverson instantly, telling me she never really cared for her last name anyway. So, we have to think of names that match the name Syverson which is both a constriction, as a blessing.
She leans to the side and says: ‘Are you sure everything is ready for the proposal?’
‘Yes, sweetheart, everything is ready.’
‘One hundred percent sure?’
‘One hundred percent sure.’
Livia looks up and says: ‘I can’t believe Abigail is gonna be an Evans. Let alone the wife of Chris Evans, NBA player.’
‘To me she’ll always be my annoying little sister.’
‘And to me she’ll always be my greatest friend alive, just like Chris will always be the annoying Chris who peed his pants in kindergarten.’
‘He also had an accident on our porch,’ I note.
‘Maybe I will write a biography about him,’ I say. ‘Then I’ll interview his closest friends and we’ll have a book filled with embarrassments.’
I snicker. ‘But we can’t mention the B-word.’
‘But how can we not mention the B-word in a biography about Chris?’
‘You’ll figure out a way.’
She chuckles. ‘What do you think a biography about you will say?’
‘The main theme would be you.’
‘You are so obsessed with me,’ she jokes, sitting up straight as she zips up her coat. ‘Luckily I’m obsessed with you too.’
Liv and I are waiting for Chris and Abigail to appear and I hate to admit it, but I am really looking forward to having them over, especially because Chris is finally popping the question.
Abigail dumps the suitcases with Chris, before she makes her way over to Livia, letting out an excited scream in the process. She unzips Livia’s coat and says: ‘Hi baby, how is my favorite niece or nephew doing?’
‘Is this how it’s gonna be?’ Livia asks. ‘You’re gonna ignore me and love this baby more? I knew you first.’
Abigail looks up to see a Livia pout. ‘Oh no, honey. Of course not.’ She wraps her arms around Livia and says: ‘You look so cute.’
Chris manages to bring all of the suitcases with us and says: ‘No, babe, I don’t need help. I can miraculously grow five extra arms from my upper body to carry the suitcases.’
Abigail smiles. ‘I knew you got it covered.’
While I give my sister a hug–and didn’t want to die or had to resist the urge to push her– Chris hugs Livia and I hear him say: ‘Damn, I’m gonna be an uncle. That’s pretty cool.’
‘We can talk in the car,’ Livia says, ‘because I’m freezing!’ She grabs Abigail’s hand and the two of them walk towards the car, leaving me and Chris behind.
‘You ready?’ I ask him, grabbing a few of the suitcases.
‘More than ready,’ Chris says, a beaming smile on his face. ‘Fuck, I can’t wait to wife her.’ He turns to the side and says: ‘No threats? About how you are gonna chop me in pieces if I hurt her?’
I shake my head. ‘No, I’m not gonna do anything that can put me in jail. I’ve got a wife and a kid on the way.’ I let out a snicker and say: ‘But know that I know people.’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - New Years Special #2 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: How is Chris doing a year later?
Word count: 1.5k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
Life with Abigail in Chicago is everything I ever dreamed of and so much more. I can’t even imagine my life without her anymore.
After last Christmas, Abigail joined me in Chicago soon after. Although we said we’d take it slow, she moved in with me right away for multiple reasons. One, she didn’t know anyone here except for me. Two, the amount of rent you have to pay for a decent apartment is insane. And most importantly, three, we wanted to be with each other whenever we could.
We did however take our time exploring our relationship. We went on countless dates: getting breakfast, catching a movie at the cinema, taking a cooking class, and so much more.
We took our time, and we needed it. The start of our relationship had not been as easy as Sy and Livia’s for example. Abigail and I had some bumps in the road. Ourselves.
For her entire life, Abigail had felt like she needed to do everything by herself. She’d never ask for help, or share what she really felt. Back when we were younger, I had been there for her. I helped her whenever I could, whenever I saw she needed me. But after all this time, Abigail and I had grown apart for a bit. And we needed time to reconnect. I needed time to get to know her again, and get to know who she is now, so I knew when she needed me, just like then.
Abigail on the other hand needed to learn how to let me in, really in. She had built up these walls around her, and she needed to break them down for me. We both knew that it wasn't done overnight, but with patience, tears, and love, we got there.
I also had to overcome some bumps. After a miserable relationship, I had to learn how an actual loveable relationship worked. I had to accept Abigail was there for me, like I was for her. That she wanted to help me too, that I had someone to rely on. Something I didn’t have before.
But we put in the work. And after a few months, everything fell into place.
My injury healed, and I got back on the court soon after. Abigail had already been adopted by my teammates, and their partners. The entire team is absolutely in love with my girl and rightly so. She gets along great with the other wives and girlfriends of my teammates, however I still hear her late at night calling with Livia, who will forever remain her number one friend.
The Chicago Bulls hired her instantly as their photographer, after they saw the upgrade of my Instagram page when I started dating her. It’s nice having her around me when we play, dare I even say that I’m playing better with her around. Taking the best pictures for our team and it warms my heart to see her excitement when she gains a few more followers.
Besides that, she had started freelancing. She got a few jobs immediately, and it has been an immense success ever since. I couldn’t be more proud.
I take a sip of my coffee, and overlook the skyline of Chicago out of the window of our apartment. Once Abigail started to feel at home here, she wasted no time to put her stamp on it. So, I got a hundred more plants, much more accessories, and an increased amount of candles. But I love it.
Oh, and I had to build her a new closet. Which she is now rummaging through.
‘Are you almost done?’ I yell, looking at my own, ready, suitcase near the door. In a few hours we will fly to Sapphire Falls, to spend New Years with Sy and Livia.
‘Almost!’ I hear something fall down, and I make my way towards the bedroom. ‘Where is it, where is it?’ I hear Abigail whispering.
‘What are you looking for?’ I ask, once I have her in my sight. She is sitting on the floor, in the middle of what looks like the entire content of her closet.
‘Mhm,’ she answers, searching for something in the puddle of clothes. ‘This!’ she exclaims, holding up a pair of Adidas sweatpants.
I put aside my now empty cup of coffee, and crouch down next to her. I take her face in my hands and say: ‘You are the weirdest person on this planet. What’s wrong with the sweatpants you’re wearing now?’ I peck her lips, and she playfully rolls her eyes before I help her stand up.
‘I told you, I got my niece or nephew a matching Adidas set like mine, so it’s obvious we’re best friends. I even got them those cute little sneakers.’ Abigail lights up when she talks about Sy and Livia’s baby. Sometimes I think she is even more excited than the parents to be themselves. But I’m not going to lie, that baby is going to be spoiled rotten by me as well.
‘You got them 5 pairs of sneakers, babe. That kid has already grown out of them before they even wore them.’
‘Thankfully we’re flying private,’ Abigail says, kissing my cheek, ‘because with the amount of baby clothes I bought for my niece or nephew, I think I need an extra suitcase.’ She looks up and smiles innocently. ‘Am I too excited? Will that scare Sy and Livia?’
For a few moments I’m just lost in her eyes, especially because I realize that during this trip, I’m gonna propose.
Pop the question.
Getting down on one knee.
I’m going to marry this woman.
‘No,’ I say, finally answering her question. ‘That will not scare Sy and Livia.’
‘Good,’ she smiles, and continues packing her enormous suitcase. I sit down on the bed, watching her.
I had been thinking about proposing to her for quite some time now and I finally decided to let the two people I trust the most–besides Abigail of course–in on my plan. Thanks to the wonders that is FaceTime, they helped me with picking out a ring. I knew they couldn’t leave the farm, so through FaceTime, they helped me decide on the perfect ring.
I knew from the start she was the one for me. She had always been. But we needed time to be ready for a big step like this.
One night I just knew. We had had a long day. I had a big game with the Chicago Bulls, and Abigail ran around all day. Taking pictures of the team in the dressing room, during warm up, the game, and after we won. We had to celebrate of course, and I had been so tired once we came back home. Normally I wanted to be alone when I felt like that.
But when the door closed behind me, and I looked at Abigail kicking off her shoes, smiling softly at me, before taking me with her to the bedroom to get all cozied up in bed, I knew I never wanted to be apart from her ever again.
She is my safe haven, my rock. And all I want to do is to take our relationship to the next level. To show her, she will always be mine, like I’ll be hers.
You could say that since I proposed once, it’s gonna be a piece of cake now, however I can safely say I am experiencing some difficulty. Maybe because the stakes are higher. Maybe because I really don’t want to screw up.
Thankfully Livia always knows what to do. Secretly we came up with a plan, and I can’t wait for it. I’m nervous, but not because I’m scared she’ll say no, but because I want it to be perfect. For Abigail.
She is done packing, and currently trying to close her suitcase. Which won’t close because it’s way too full.
‘You can sit there, or help me,’ she sasses, lifting an eyebrow at me. I chuckle, but get up to help her. With quite some force from both of us, we manage to close it.
‘Please tell me you haven’t forgotten anything,’ I joke.
‘Oh, god.’ Abigail gasps. ‘My toiletries!’
With wide open eyes I look at her. ‘You’re kidding, I hope?’
For a second, she keeps the innocent look on her face, but then she breaks. ‘I’m kidding hun.’
I roll my eyes, and wrap my arms around her frame. I lift her up, and throw her on the bed, landing on top of her. ‘You’re very lucky I love you,’ I say.
‘And I love you,’ Abigail smiles, before her lips meet mine. Within seconds we have shredded ourselves of our clothing.
Luckily I have a private jet, so we can determine when it leaves.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - New Years Special #1 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: How is Livia doing a year later?
Word count: 1.8k
Warnings: None
A/N: Surprise surprise - a little sneak peak in the life of Livia! Be on the look out for the other three in the upcoming three days!
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
A year has gone by, however this time around we are not graced with a white Christmas. While I am a little disappointed, there is something so beautiful about a typical Sapphire Falls Christmas: no snow, a little colder than usual and every night Sy and I sit outside with a blanket wrapped around us, to look at the beautiful sky.
‘Are you sure you don’t want my help?’ I ask Sy, who is standing on a ladder, decorating the house. I feel so useless, standing here at the bottom of the ladder, craning my neck to look at him. ‘I can help out.’
He looks down to glare at me. ‘No ma’am,’ he tells me in a stern voice. ‘You are carrying precious cargo, I don’t want you on this ladder. Besides, I’m almost done.’
I look at my buff Sy, whose ass looks formidable in those jeans. It’s been a year since we’re officially together and it has been such a wonderful one. Sometimes I thought it was a dream, but later on I realized: this is my magnificent reality. No pinching my arm and waking up to a life so dull.
Around Valentine’s Day, Sy and I decided on a whim we would get married and thanks to Abigail, we had the most beautiful wedding pictures. It wasn’t a very big thing, but it was perfect for me and Sy.
My book ‘Multiple Choice Love’ was one of the easiest books I’ve ever written and in September it hit the New York Times Bestselling List. That same month, I went on my book tour. The first part of the tour, Sy was with me, and when he had to go back to the ranch, Chris joined me and for the last few stops, Abigail and I spent our time together. It was nice to be with my sister-in-law. We had an absolute blast, despite the fact I felt a bit off the last few stops. Abigail joked that maybe I was pregnant.
That joke turned into us taking it seriously when we bought three tests and they were all positive.
Meaning one thing: I was pregnant.
Sy and I weren’t even planning for a baby. Sure, we would’ve liked it, however it was something for the future, not the present. I felt a bit hesitant and nervous about telling Sy, but I was quickly reminded that we were talking about Sy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so ecstatic as I did when I told him.
And since then, he has been watching me like a hawk, making sure I’m not overworking myself. He always did most of the work at the farm, simply because he loves working and he is a billion times stronger than I am, however now he just tells me that I have to sit there and be pretty.
Sy gets down from the ladder after he hung the last few lights up and wraps his arm around my shoulders. ‘Looks good, doesn’t it?’
I nod. ‘It does,’ I agree.
Life with him is never dull, despite us being around each other almost twenty four seven. Being around him is never dull, mostly because we work so well together. We always did and we still do.
Sy and I walk inside of the ranch and he helps me out of my coat.
‘So, everything is ready?’ I ask him. ‘We really can’t screw this up, Sy.’
‘I know, I know,’ he says, non verbally telling me I have to sit down on the couch. He walks to the kitchen and comes back with some water and chocolate. Goodness gracious, he knows me way too well. ‘We won’t screw up.’
He sits down in front of me on the coffee table, one he built with his dad when he was younger.
‘This is a once in a lifetime thing,’ I say to him. ‘At least, for Abigail it is. Chris already has some practice in.’
Sy shoots me a look. ‘You cannot tell him you said that.’
That takes me by surprise. ‘Since when do you care about his feelings?’
He opens the chocolate bar, before he says: ‘Since you’ll break Abigail’s heart when you say that. The B-word is strictly forbidden here on the ranch when she’s here, directly or indirectly.’ He holds out some chocolate for me, which I’ll happily take. ‘So, what are you not gonna talk about?’
‘The B-word,’ I say. ‘I know that.’
I can tell that since Abigail went her own way, the twins have been closer than ever. I sometimes catch Sy calling his sister or he takes a picture of the demonic goat gang and sends it to her. While he’s not gonna express out loud how much he loves her, I think his actions speak volumes and Abigail knows and appreciates it.
She often tells me to thank him for the pictures, the reminders of Sapphire Falls he sends them to her, not wanting to be too sentimental.
He leans in closer to press a kiss on my lips, not caring I have a mouth full of chocolate. ‘How’s the little one treating you?’ he asks, placing his hands on the outsides of my thighs.
I wrap my arms around his neck and say: ‘Little one is being good. Who do you think they’ll resemble?’
‘You,’ he says without missing a beat. ‘One thing is gonna be clear: saying no to them is gonna be impossible, especially because I already can’t say no to their momma.’
While I can tell he has been softening up ever since I moved back to Sapphire Falls, the whole ‘I’m becoming a dad’-thing has turned him into a mushy pile of human. He doesn’t want anyone to know (though I already sent Abigail and Chris a few videos of it), but whenever he has the chance, he’s talking to the baby. Sometimes leaning over to say a few things against my stomach (because he wants them to know and recognize his voice) and other times when he is working and I’m sitting close by as I write, he shares valuable lessons.
But that softness, that sweetness to him, that’s reserved for at the ranch. When we’re out and about–to do groceries or something–Sy makes sure everyone knows I’m with him, a heavy arm draped around my shoulders and a peck on the temple every once in a while.
He has turned a lot more protective, which was expected, because we’re talking about Sy. While I know his tiny heart doesn’t match his brutal appearance, I am already envisioning how he’s gonna be when he holds the little baby in his arms.
I just know he’ll be a magnificent dad.
●・○・●・○・●
In a few days, Chris and Abigail will arrive and since Chris needs our help, we’ve been secretly texting for quite some time now. They’ll leave in a private jet (Chris is that rich, I love him for it). I can’t wait to have them around again. It’s always nice to have our own found family in the same house.
That night, Sy and I get ready for bed, after we did a little check around the entirety of the property. Sy’s never cold, I’m always cold, so he hands me one of his long sleeved shirts, that is more like a dress for me and he then hands me the thick socks. I slide underneath the blankets and after he shreds himself of his shirt and pants, leaving him in only his underwear, he gets underneath the blankets too.
My husband sure has the hottest body in the entirety of Sapphire Falls, if not beyond.
After I moved in last Christmas, we slowly redecorated the house a little, made it a little less minimalistic and a bit more Livia. Because Abigail couldn’t bring all of her plants with her, I am head of watering plant duty, the only chore Sy doesn’t like and all he lets me do nowadays.
I twist my hair up in a bun and I turn to the side, only to see Sy with a goofy grin on his face, looking at me. ‘What?’ I ask him.
‘You’re so beautiful.’
‘You are disgustingly sweet,’ I note.
He presses a kiss on my lips, placing his calloused hand on my cheek. But the kiss tells me enough, I know where this is leading–him being insatiable and obsessed with me, preferably sans clothing, it’s how I ended up pregnant–but I don’t mind. Instead, I lean in closer and with a certain expertise, he pulls me on his lap.
Before he can slip his hands underneath my shirt, I stop him. ‘Will there be a day where you’ll get enough of me?’
He scoffs. ‘Come on,’ he says. ‘We’re talking about me, you know I could never.’ He presses a kiss on my nose. ‘If I ever get enough of you, shoot me, please.’
I pinch his arm and he lets out a chuckle. ‘Are you sure?’
‘You’re gonna be the mother of our child, Liv. No way I’ll ever get enough of you.’ He places his hands on my lower back and after a short peck on my lips, he whispers: ‘I’ll show you how much I love you.’
●・○・●・○・●
Sy wraps his arm around my waist, after he helped me back in his shirt and as he presses his chest against my back, he whispers: ‘Good night, sweetheart.’
His hand slips underneath the fabric and places it on my bump. Engulfed in his embrace, I whisper a good night back, and I can feel Sy drifting off in a deep sleep instantly. I can’t help but smile, realizing how soft my big bear of a man is becoming. He works so hard, oftentimes I think he is overworking himself, especially now I can’t help him out like I did before, however he never complains.
Every morning, he gets up at an ungodly hour, while I sleep in, a habit I’ve only picked up since the first weeks of my pregnancy. It was draining, especially because I was so nauseous around ninety percent of the time and in one week, I puked more than I had in a lifetime.
Sy starts to work and at around eight in the morning, he has prepared breakfast for me. Sometimes he brings it to bed, other times when I’m already up, he sets the table.
I’m impressed with the hard and efficient way he works. He never complains, is always ready and willing to help out, even before you finish the question. I see so much of his dad in him and I can tell that the older he gets, the more chill he becomes.
I know Dottie and Bernie are looking down on us and they are proud of him, I’m sure of it. I really hate how he has to miss both of his parents and sometimes I regret the fact that me and my parents have no bond at all. Part of me thinks that a kid needs grandparents, but I realize we have something so much better.
We have the entirety of Sapphire Falls. We have Abigail and Chris, the greatest aunt and uncle you can ever imagine.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 25 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: It's Christmas in Sapphire Falls.
Word count: 2.5k
Warnings: None
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! While our advent calendar is over, please make sure you keep an eye out for the remainder of December, because we got a few fun things planned 😘
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
The next morning I wake up with Abigail in my arms. She is still asleep, and I don’t think I have ever seen her this peaceful. She is always in a hurry, always needs to do something. You’d always sense that when you were with her, but since it happened between us, it’s gone.
I peek outside, and see dark clouds approaching Sapphire Falls. I haven’t seen those clouds in quite a while, Sapphire Falls is one of those towns where snow is unique.
Since Abigail is still softly snoring, I try my best not to move too much. It feels so good to have her in my arms, I just want to enjoy this tranquil moment.
But when I notice something outside, I know I have to wake her up. ‘Morning baby,’ I say, tracing the outlines of her face with my finger.
She stirs, groaning, but doesn’t open her eyes.
‘C’mon, you have to see this.’
Slowly she opens one eye, and I can’t help but smile. I lean down, and press a kiss on her soft lips. I help her sit up, and point towards the window.
‘No way.’ She is suddenly wide awake. ‘That’s impossible!’ Snowflakes are falling onto the window, and they are getting thicker and thicker.
‘If it keeps snowing like this, we will have a thick layer of snow before we know it.’
‘I can hardly remember the last time we had snow here.’ She rests against my chest, and we intertwine our fingers.
‘Sapphire Falls in the snow is something else,’ I add.
‘Where’s my camera? I have to take pictures of this.’’ She looks around the room, before she presses her forehead in the palm of her hand. ‘I left it at home.’
‘We can take a walk to the farm?’ I propose. ‘If you’re nice, I won’t throw a snowball at you.’ Quickly I peck her lips, smiling.
‘I was already planning on throwing some at you,’ she smirks back.
●・○・●・○・●
Once we were dressed, we make our way outside. The temperature had dropped incredibly, and naturally I pull Abigail closer to me. With our arms interlocked, we leave the ground of the hotel.
We are almost outside the fence, when I notice the janitor dragging sleds outside a shed.
‘Sir!’ I yell.
‘What are you doing?’ Abigail squeals when I pull her with me towards him.
‘Getting us a sled, c’mon!’
Once armed with a wooden sled, we continue our way to the snow. It is still early in the morning, most people sound asleep. We barely meet a soul on our way to the farm.
I remember we would come across a giant hill on our way. The hill we spent hours on when we last had snow in Sapphire Falls. Many years ago, as Bennie Syverson was still around.
The whole town came to the hill, sledding down the hill, having snowfights, or simply watching everyone have fun.
Abigail and I would go ice skating on Sapphire Lake or sledding down the hill, while Dottie Syverson would bring us hot chocolate. Bennie would repair our sled on the other hand, after we wrecked it for the millionth time.
I smile to myself, the memories I have of the Syverson are dear to me. Because of them, I am who and where I am today.
Suddenly I’m pulled out of my thoughts when I feel an ice cold snowball hit my neck. ‘What the heck!’ I exclaim. After I turn around, I see Abigail laughing at me. I realize we had already reached the top of the hill.
I bend down to make a snowball, when she doesn’t waste another second and comes rushing towards me.
Once I’m standing again, she is face to face with me. ‘Don’t even think about it,’ she says, before grabbing my face to pull me in for a deep kiss.
The freshly made snowball slips out of my hands, and I wrap them around her.
‘You ready to go down this hill,’ I say, when we need to take a breath.
‘We’re so gonna wreck this thing,’ she answers. ‘I wish dad was here, to fix it.’
‘Me too.’ I press a kiss to her forehead, and we take a minute.
Abigail takes my hand, and we take our place on the sled. She sits before me, and we chuckle as we hardly fit on it together. ‘10 bucks we won’t even make it down the hill,’ she jokes.
‘You’re on.’ I give us a push, and with loud cheering, we slide down the hill.
The next hour is spent sliding down the hill, laughing and shrieking as more and more people wake up in Sapphire Falls, joining us on the hill.
●・○・●・○・●
Ultimately we reach the farm. All giddy we make it inside, and shred ourselves from our coats and wet shoes.
‘You two look ridiculous,’ I hear Sy say, who appeared in the kitchen door.
‘So do you, as always.’ Abigail flicks her brother the finger, but has the biggest smile on her face. ‘Lovely to see you, twin bro.’
He gestures to us to come inside, and we are welcomed by someone else sitting at the kitchen table.
‘Well, well, well,’ Abigail sings. ‘Who do we have her, early in the morning, sitting at our kitchen table?’ She approaches Livia, who springs up to give Abigail a hug. I look past them, and notice Livia’s suitcases in the hallway.
Livia whispers something in Abigail’s ear, before they both smile, and hug each other again. Once they sit down, they start whispering with each other.
Sy shares a look with me, and we both know what happened. He finally got together with Livia, and he knows I did with Abigail. ‘Coffee?’ he asks. I nod and stand next to him, looking outside the window, admiring the Syverson fields covered in snow.
‘So, Livia?’ I say.
‘Mhm, about time right?’ he answers.
‘Damn right.’
‘Can say the same about you two.’ He hands me a cup of coffee, and starts making one for Abigail. ‘Just so you know, break her heart and you’ll never play basketball again.’
‘I know.’ The bond between those two may not be of many words, but they will die for each other. ‘It won’t happen, I’m not planning on losing what’s most important to me.’
‘Good.’
We join the girls at the table, and Abigail takes a grateful sip of her coffee. She smiles softly at me when I sit next to her, and I can’t help it to place my hand on her soft thigh.
‘I’m so happy you two got together,’ Livia says, who has placed Sy’s arm over her shoulders. ‘Isn’t it kinda stupid of all of us to have been so oblivious?’
‘We could have saved quite some time,’ Abigail adds. ‘But I am happy we’re here now.’
‘I have seriously thought so many times you two dated already in high school,’ I say, nodding at Sy and Livia. ‘Only for you two to keep telling me nothing had happened.’
Abigail suddenly barks out a laugh. ‘Oh, you can’t be serious,’ she says, still laughing. ‘You really believe nothing happened between those two?’
Sy starts shifting uncomfortably on his chair, while an innocent smile shows on Livia’s face.
‘Yeah?’ I answer, already knowing I couldn’t be more wrong.
‘After prom, me and mom couldn’t sleep. So we went to the kitchen, to drink a cup of tea,’ Abigail starts. ‘We stand here, talking, when we notice a light is still on outside. Mom and I go outside, because we need to know what it is. What if an animal has escaped and decided to make itself at home in the shed you know.’
I look over at Sy, who looks absolutely mortified, and Livia, whose eyes I have never seen bigger.
‘So, we are outside, getting closer to the shed when we suddenly hear noises. Quickly we realize it is coming from inside it. We did the math, so yeah, mom and I had known all this time,’ she finishes, with a grin on her face.
‘This is so embarrassing,’ Livia finally says.
‘Oh no, it was really funny at the time. I remember mom saying: ‘will those two finally stop being such idiots?’ She was definitely rooting for you two. If she was here, she couldn’t have been happier.’
I reach for Abigail’s hand, and give it a squeeze, I know she misses her mom, and Christmas without her must be hard.
‘She’d been so happy to see you two as well,’ Livia says. ‘Maybe Sy and I have been dancing around each other for so long, you two did as well. And your mom and dad knew, why do you think they spent so much time with Chris, and me?’
Abigail and I smile at each other, before she rests her head on my shoulder. This is going to be the best Christmas ever.
We’ve only experienced one white winter. Together with Sy, the two of us are standing on the porch, staring over the white landscape. All this land, it’s all part of the Syverson legacy. Sy stands behind me, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and therefore also around me, as he holds me close, placing his chin on top of my head.
‘Christmas has never been so fun,’ I whisper.
‘I can remember a very wonderful Christmas,’ Sy notes. ‘You were fourteen, the tree fell on top of you. That was the greatest Christmas I’ve ever had.’
‘Why?’ I ask.
‘Because we were all together. Mom, dad, Abigail, Chris, you and I. It was fun, because Chris, dad and I went outside, to give the animals some extra food, while you, mom and Abigail were inside, preparing dinner. And then you were in charge of picking us up and you put on my coat and ran towards us, the biggest smile on your face.’ Sy gives me a kiss on top of my head. ‘Dad said that it was only around Christmas time or when I was close that that smile of yours was so bright.’
I lean back against him, letting out a deep sigh. ‘Your dad always knew,’ I say. ‘Sometimes, when we went out for walks, he told me about how much he loved Dottie, how he can recognize a man in love from miles away. He never said how that was the case for us, but the older I became, the better I knew.’ I stare over the landscape, almost seeing Bernard and I standing in the field.
Bernie taught me a lot. Taught me valuable lessons about how to change a tire, how to use certain equipments and more practical things that helped me out later in life, but he also taught me about the things my parents failed to teach me.
‘I remember the week before he died. I helped him out, because he needed someone small to crawl underneath a place. It was also the day you weren’t too fit, so you were bedridden. I told him that I would take care of you in a minute. Then he said to me: “I trust you to forever take good care of Sy.” He continued on to say how Syverson men tend to take care of others and not be taken care off and boy, did I know.’
Sy laughs. ‘He was right about that.’
‘But somehow, I managed to take care of you, Sy all the way throughout high school, just like you took care of me. But I dropped the ball on that one.’
He presses long kisses on my temple. ‘That’s okay, darling. You’re here now. Finally and officially my girl.’
I shiver against him from the cold, but the whole idea of being his girl, makes me smile, makes me giddy. ‘And I’ll be your girl forever and ever. Though I’m still absolutely mortified that your mom and your sister heard us, but I think you and I can manage to forget that.’
He lets out a chuckle. ‘Here I was: thinking it was our little secret.’ He tightens his embrace a little. ‘Do you have to go back to New York City anytime soon?’ he asks.
I know that has been bothering him for a while now. Yesterday and today went by so quickly and I didn’t even consider going back any time soon.
It’s just I haven’t told Sy about that.
‘No, because I can write from anywhere.’ I turn around in his arms and wrap mine around his waist. ‘Besides, the only place I wanna be at, is right here.’
‘Good,’ Sy says, ‘because I might not have let you go if you were planning on going back.’
‘Shoot, had I known, I would’ve lied and see how you were going to restrain me.’
He holds me in a closer embrace than before. ‘Something like this,’ he chuckles.
‘You know, I can sleep in the shed,’ I say. ‘A nice place for me, tranquility all around.’
He scoffs. ‘No way, you’re staying right here with me.’
I stand on my toes to give him a kiss. ‘You know, I don’t think I want to go back to New York. I… Maybe when the holiday craziness is over, I can go back to get my stuff. To… Settle back here.’
His eyes light up. ‘I’d love that. You know, since Abigail and Chris are going to Chicago soon, we can leave the farm with them when they return and you and I can go together. You can show me all the great things in New York.’
I smile widely. ‘Of course, Sy! I would love that even more. You think there is room for me and my stuff here? I wasn’t kidding when I said I can sleep in the shed.’
‘There is room enough for you,’ he tells me. ‘And I don’t want you in the shed by yourself. Come on, you slept in my bed last night and I plan to keep it that way. Don’t be ridiculous.’
Waking up next to his handsome face was all I’ve wanted. I remember waking up next to him many times when I was younger. I either fell asleep in his truck, on their couch or that one time in the shed. His shoulder was always available for me to rest on, but now I can drape my entire body over his and he happily holds me closely.
Because Chris and Abigail are back at the hotel–Chris wasn’t necessarily subtle with the reason why–the house is empty and just for us. ‘How about you and I go to the shed? Sans clothing?’
Sy cocks his eyebrow. ‘Sans clothing? Excuse my French, but sans means without, right?’
I chuckle. ‘Oui.’
He throws me over his shoulder and I let out a scream.
‘Sy, I can walk,’ I laugh, slapping his back.
‘I know, but this is faster.’
Trying to wiggle out of his strong hold is useless, so I just let myself being carried to the shed. I look at the farm, my safe haven back when I was younger. My safe haven now. I can’t stop smiling. New York City was a nice pitstop, but I just know that this is the place where I wanna be. Where I wanna live.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 24 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Abigail and Chris finally talk, just like Sy and Livia have a heart to heart.
Word count: 2.9k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
After the debacle at the Christmas fair, I go straight to the place that brings me comfort. The demonic goats. It still baffles me how Sy thinks they are truly demonic, but that might be because I have set them up against him. I should start talking nice things about him to them, because they can’t give him a hard time once I leave this place.
But first I need their advice.
Once again.
‘Do you think Chris and I can be together one day?’ I ask as I scratch Honey behind her ears. She bleats loudly before jumping off to annoy her mother. ‘You’re no help,’ I tell her. ‘Why is the universe so set on ruining my chance to be with him? You’d think three times is a charm, but we have almost kissed three times now. And every time we got interrupted. Maybe we aren’t meant to be together after all. Maybe I should give up,’ I sigh.
Honey comes rushing back, begging for more scratches.
‘You think I should give him another chance? I don’t know if I can do that.’ Tears start to form in my eyes, and I feel like such an idiot. ‘What’s wrong with me? Why do I always have to be second best? I cannot live a life where I feel like the ex fiance is always around the corner.’
All of a sudden I hear someone scraping their throat behind me. Quickly I turn around, to see Chris.
‘How long have you been standing there?’ I ask, wiping away the tears. Apparently I had not heard a thing in the last few minutes, because I see his truck parked in our driveway.
He walks closer to me, but I hold up my hand, needing space between us. I need room to think, but I can’t do that with him so close to me.
‘Abi,’ Chris says, ‘that text, it was Bethany telling me she had cleared my house from her stuff.’
That was unexpected. ‘What?’
‘She’s gonna leave. I told her we’re never gonna work and that she needs to get her stuff out of my house.’ He smiles and says: ‘She’s blocked. She’s banned from my life. Forever.’
‘I don’t… I don’t get it.’ I’m having a hard time comprehending what is happening. Is he saying what I hope he is saying?
‘She is gone. She finally understood I don’t want her in my life, and she only texted me to tell me she had collected her stuff from my house and left the key.’ Chris slowly closes the gap between us, and I let him.
‘Because all I need is you, Abigail Syverson.’
I have always hated crying in front of people, therefore avoiding it like hell, but I can’t help myself right now. Tears stream down my face, not sad tears, more like I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening-tears.
‘Really?’ I choke out. Chris is now in front of me, only an inch between us. He gently removes my hands from my face, and takes them in his.
‘Yeah,’ he says softly, placing his hand on my cheek, wiping the tears away.
‘Why?’
He barks out a laugh, and pulls me even closer to him. ‘I confess my love to you, and you ask why?’
‘I mean, you can be with someone like Bethany, why would you want to be with me? I’m not her, I don’t even remotely look like her. I’m not in your world, I bet there are other girls who are. Who fit in.’ I see a look of hurt in Chris’ eyes, and while I don’t want to personally ruin the moment I have always dreamt of, I have to express my concerns.
I have loved Chris Evans for so long, and now that I can get him, I start wondering what life with him would be like. I’d have to go with him, to Chicago, which I would love. But do I fit in that world full of superstars and supermodels?
‘Stop that,’ Chris says, he places his other hand on my face as well, and makes me meet his gaze. ‘You are nothing like her, because you are so much more. You are funny, kind, caring, sweet, talented. And you are so beautiful.’ He presses a kiss to my forehead. ‘Your smile lights up a room, your eyes are my favorite color.’ A kiss on my nose. ‘And I can talk for hours about what your body does to me,’ he ends, his voice darkening.
He presses his forehead against mine, and we stand like that for a moment. My tears had stopped, and I wrap my arms around his neck.
‘So, you think you like me back?’ Chris softly nudges his nose against mine.
‘Ever since you held my hand in third grade,’ I chuckle and I close my eyes as he leans in, his lips hovering inches from mine.
‘I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,’ he whispers, his voice low and husky.
‘Me too.’ My own voice barely above a whisper.
And finally we closed the gap between us. After all these years, after all these attempts, we finally kiss. It is everything I hoped for. My entire body is on fire, and I feel like I’m flying.
Chris’ hands are everywhere, and so are mine. His hard body is flush against mine, and before I know it a moan escapes my mouth.
And the sound he made following that, sent shivers down my spine. ‘‘Maybe we need to go somewhere, you know, private,’ I whisper in between our kisses.
Chris hums in response, still pressing kisses on my jaw, neck, cheeks, lips. ‘Let’s go upstairs.’
I’m about to agree, when I suddenly realize something. ‘Fuck, no. Sy’s home, I think.’
Chris stops kissing my neck, and grabs my hand to pull me with him, out of the barn. ‘We’re going to my hotel. I mean, if you want to?’ He waits for my answer, and when I tell him yes, we make a run for his truck.
●・○・●・○・●
A few hours later I wake up next to Chris. In his hotel room. In his bed. With my head on his naked chest. Am I dreaming?
I realize I am not dreaming, but am wide awake. A grin as wide as possible forms on my face. If you’d told me a month ago that Chris Evans and I would express our love for each other, I would have laughed in your face.
But now, I feel a happiness I never felt before. Slowly I draw circles with my finger over his tattooed chest. Mine.
He stirs a little, and I feel him placing his hand on the swell of my back. The sun is slowly disappearing, painting orange and red strokes on the wall.
‘Hi baby,’ he hums, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. He sits up a little bit, so we’re eye to eye again. I definitely can get used to this.
A smile forms on my face, and without hesitation I lean forward to peck his lips. I never felt comfortable enough to do so with previous partners, but with Chris? It feels like it was meant to be.
‘You look beautiful.’ He wraps me in his arms, and we lay like that in silence for a moment.
‘Would you come to Chicago with me?’ Chris breaks the silence.
‘Is it weird if I started packing my bags mentally already?’
‘Please tell me you’re not bringing all your plants with you,’ he laughs. ‘I doubt I have the space for that.’
I smile, but think about his question in the meanwhile. Yes, I want to go with him. Yes, I would love to go to Chicago. But what would that look like? Will I move in with him immediately? I don’t think I’m ready to go from nothing to basically married.
‘Chris?’ I say.
‘Mhm?’
‘Can we take it slow?’
Chris props himself up on his elbow, to get a better look on my face. He smiles softly, and nods, encouraging me to elaborate.
‘I just want us to take our time to get to know each other like this. Enjoy every step of this way.’ I place my hand on his face, and he presses a kiss to the palm of my hand. ‘I don’t want to rush into this.’
‘As long as I get to spend time with my favorite person, you. I will take all the time you, we, need, okay? There is no need to rush things. We have a lifetime ahead of us.’’ He pulls me in his arms, kisses me tenderly, and we won’t leave the bed till the sun rises again.
I don’t know how much time went by, but my arms feel sore by the time I actually take a break. Maybe I’m not fuming anymore, but damn I’m still pissed. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so angry. That idiot and my Liv left the bar.
There had been times where I was angry, maybe even jealous when someone else spoke to her, but I could be rational about it. But this is different. Fuck, this was totally different.
‘Is there a reason, Caleb Syverson, you’ve been ignoring my calls?’
Her voice.
‘Sorry,’ I mutter, without looking up.
Footsteps come closer and she stands in front me. Her black platform boots are covered in sand and a little bit of mud. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Do I look okay?’
‘Want an honest answer?’
I finally look up, only to see her looking serious and her default state of sadness still present. ‘Go for it.’
‘You look like shit,’ she tells me. ‘And for that I’m sorry. That was my fault, Ian’s fault.’
I stand up and tower over her, even with a few feet between us. ‘Why did you even go with him?’ I ask her, my tone a lot harsher than I intended. ‘You just told me he was your ex and all of the sudden you’re taking him to the doctor?’
Livia blinks her eyes, almost like she’s confused by what I said. ‘Well duh,’ she says. ‘Of course I had to check whether or not he had an internal bleeding. It’s you versus him, Sy. Do you really think I have to check on you, when you didn’t even have a scratch and I had no idea if he was vomiting blood or if it was his lip leaking?’
Okay, she makes an excellent point.
‘You know,’ she continues, ‘after I took him to the doctors and it turned out he was completely fine, just peachy, I told him we’re over. That he and I never worked and that nothing could ever change my mind.’
‘Oh.’
‘He understood and we’re over.’
We both don’t say a thing, however she’s the one who breaks the silence.
‘I wasn’t lying, you know,’ she continues. ‘I really wished we didn’t spend so long apart. I hate how you didn’t have me forever.’
I clench my jaw, but that’s mostly because I have know idea how to respond to this. Back at the bar I knew, I wanted to further elaborate once we were talking, but then Ian happened.
And now words just don’t flow.
‘You know, I hate myself everyday for not coming back,’ Livia says. ‘Because while New York City was great for me and my writing career, I never was truly happy. I set foot in Sapphire Falls and I realize that you have always been my reason for happiness.’
My vocabulary has been reduced to zero percent, because I still have no clue what to say to her and this revelation of hers.
‘It’s always been you, Sy,’ Livia says. ‘The reason I never said that to you, is because I didn’t want to lose the greatest friend I’ve ever had. The things you and I could discuss, that meant so much to me. I saw how my parents’ relationship barely worked and I was afraid I was too much of a Darmandi and would end up like them. That I would screw up whatever we had.’
‘Liv,’ I manage to say, finally finding my voice back, ‘you know you could never screw up. Come on, if someone had to do that, it would’ve been me. We’re talking about me.’ I rub my hand over my short hairs.
‘But don’t you see that I have always been the one to hold you at arm's length?’ Livia sighs and says: ‘We kissed, prom night happened and what not. I had a taste, but every time I thought about getting closer, developing a real relationship with the one I truly loved, I backed out. I was scared.’
Livia runs her fingers through her hair and I can see she’s gently pulling it, before she does that one thing that tells me how uncomfortable she is: she pats herself on the head again.
I hate seeing her in distress like that.
She chews on her bottom lip and whispers: ‘Sy, I’m so sorry.’
‘Why are you sorry?’
‘Because I yet again screwed up.’
I detect some tears collecting in her eyes.
‘Come here,’ I say, pulling her gently in my arms. Livia, always our little and tiny Livia, buries her face in my chest and whispers soft apologies. ‘Stop that.’
‘What?’ she asks. ‘Stop crying? How do you think I can just do that?’
Realizing I phrased it wrong, I whisper: ‘No, stop apologizing. You have nothing to feel sorry about and there is no need to feel sad and cry. It’s always been you too, Liv. I… No woman is ever good enough, not when I know there is you.’
She places her chin on my chest and through her tears looks at me. ‘You waited eleven years for me?’ she asks.
‘Yeah, I guess I did.’
‘Damn you, Sy, that’s the sweetest thing ever.’ She wiggles herself out of my arms and wipes away her tears. ‘How do I compete with that?’
‘It’s not a competition,’ I tell her. ‘Liv, know that we’re not competing for who is the most romantic. All I care about is that I never lose you again. Because I don’t know if I can handle that.’
She’s shaking and I feel so bad that all these emotions are coming out like this. All the anger I felt just minutes earlier dissolves like that. ‘Caleb Syverson,’ she whispers, ‘I love you so much.’
I never expected to hear those words from her ever again. Those important words coming from her lips. And yet, here it happens. ‘Livia Darmandi,’ I say, ‘I can safely say: I love you more.’
Despite her tears, she lets out a laugh. ‘Took me eleven fucking years to realize that.’
I take a step towards her, gently hold her face in my hands and use my thumb to wipe away the tears. I press a kiss on her forehead and she relaxes against me. ‘That’s okay,’ I whisper against her forehead.
‘Don’t ever let me go,’ she says in a pleading tone.
‘Of course not,’ I tell her. ‘How about you kiss me, Liv?’
She stands on her toes, fisting my lumberjack blouse in her hands before she presses her lips on mine. Eleven years passed, eleven years since our last kiss, but I finally get to kiss her again. I pick her up and gently place her on the nearby wooden fence, so she doesn’t crane her neck and I don’t turn into a hunchback. She locks me in between her legs and from her eagerness I can tell she doesn’t want to let go.
But neither do I.
I finally have her back.
●・○・●・○・●
After we eventually managed to break apart our kisses, we took a bit of a walk, her hand securely in mine. We walked passed Sapphire Lake, all the barns we had and the stables, almost like I wanted to show every animal that this woman is mine now and that there is no way I would ever let her go.
We stop in front of the shed. In these last few years, I’ve taken good care of this place. Abigail often said I should rent it out, but I can’t. I can’t rent out the place with one of my most sacred memories. ‘Remember prom night?’
‘You think I could forget?’ I ask her. ‘You’re my first and the only one I care about.’
She leans against me and I press her a kiss on top of my head. I gently tug her with me, as I unlock the door. As she walks passed me, for a second I’m back years ago. Almost like she never left, as she makes herself comfortable on the bed. Smiling, at ease and so beautiful.
I plop next to her and she smiles. For the first time in forever, I don’t see her anguish, her sadness.
She’s serene.
‘Are you happy, Liv?’
‘Happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I realized I’ve done nothing but chase hopes and dreams, when all I had to do was to chase you.’
I give her a kiss on her forehead. ‘It was worth the wait,’ I tell her.
‘Sy, can you promise me to never let me go?’ she asks in a soft tone, nuzzling her face in my chest. ‘There is a one hundred percent chance I can’t live without you.’
I shake my head, wrapping my arm tightly around her. ‘I’m never letting you go, ever again.’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 23 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Chris knows what he wants, and is figuring out how to show Abigail, while Livia finally comes through.
Word count: 1.3k
Warnings: sorry
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
After my talk with Sy, I realized I had to put on my big boy shoes and talk to Abigail. While we already did that, I had to show her I am serious about her. And what better way to show her how much I care about her, is taking her with me to the Christmas fair and take pictures of her?
‘No, no, no,’ I say, ‘I know what I’m doing, Abigail,’ I tell her. ‘I’ve learned a lesson or two. Okay, now turn to the side a little.’
Judging from her glares, she’s not liking this, however when she notices I’m insisting, she does what I ask her.
‘Livia, Sy and I spend years listening to your commands,’ I say, ‘the least you can do is do the same now.’
‘Fine, fine, fine,’ she says, however I can tell she doesn’t mind. If I interpreted that glimmer in her eyes correctly, I think it’s safe to say she is even enjoying this.
We are in front of the flower stand, and she looks beautiful. It’s not hard to take a good picture, when the model is this pretty.
‘Alright, alright. ‘That’s enough!’ Abigail laughs. ‘We should probably stop occupying this stand and let people shop.’
I jokingly roll my eyes. I offer her my arm, and she hooks it through before we continue strolling past the other stands. She grabs my phone out of my hands, and starts scrolling through the pictures I took. ‘I am gonna post this on instagram,’ she smiles.
●・○・●・○・●
●・○・●・○・●
The Sapphire Falls Christmas fair is one of the biggest events of the year, and I can tell the people really go all out for it. All the stands are decorated beautifully, and there are so many homemade things to buy.
We reach the square, and hear music playing while a few kindergartners walk to the middle. We walk towards the grand oak, and stand underneath it to watch the show. Once they start performing an incredible cute dance, I can’t help but think back of prom.
‘You know,’ I tell her, ‘I’ve always regretted not dancing with you on prom.’
‘What?’ Abigail asks.
‘Yeah, I wanted to dance with you, but I was afraid you would say no.’
She stares at me, absolutely dumbfounded. ‘Oh.’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’d have said yes.’
I smile down at my feet, and am about to open my mouth when she adds: ‘Don’t even dare ask really.’
I look up at her, and notice she inched closer to me. She is shivering a little bit, which is understandable since she is only wearing a sweater and a jean jacket. ‘You could have worn an actual coat, you know,’ I say but stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. Our faces inches from each other, and I can’t help but press a kiss to her cheek. She lets out a soft chuckle, and covers my hands with hers. We stand like that for a moment, watching the children’s performance.
‘Kiss, kiss,’ I suddenly hear a little kid say.
Before I can wonder why this snotty kid is interfering in my business, I realize we’re standing underneath a mistletoe.
While the kid is dragged away by his mom, I look at Abigail. ‘The kid is right, you know,’ I say. ‘We’re underneath a mistletoe after all.’
Abigail smiles. ‘Yeah, I guess so.’
‘We don’t have to,’ I say. But I want to.
She turns around in my arms, and places her hand on my cheek. ‘Maybe I want to,’ she says softly.
The loud beeping of my phone drags us out of our trance. I look at my screen and I see it’s one last message from Bethany.
When I’m about to swipe it away, I look up, only to see the color drained from Abigail’s face. ‘No, no,’ I say, realizing this misunderstanding can ruin everything we both want. ‘Listen to me, Abi, it’s not what you think it is.’
But she stammers something and then turns around to walk away. She’s fast and disappears into the crowd. I want to walk after her, but a group of teens gather around me. ‘Chris, Chris, can we have an autograph.’
No. But I don’t say that. These last few days they gave me distance, left me alone. While this is the most inconvenient moment for me to be surrounded by people. ‘Yeah, yeah, of course,’ I say, while deep down, I want nothing more than to run after Abigail.
To explain myself to her.
Ian is fine. No moved organs. No internal bleedings. Just a deep cut in his lip, a nasty nose bleed and probably some bruises tomorrow. I’m sitting outside of the only doctor’s office we have here and even then I had to call the doctor awake from his midday nap.
I surely missed Sapphire Falls.
‘I’m alive,’ I hear someone say from behind me. Instead of looking up, I stare straight ahead of myself. ‘Livia?’
‘You have to go, Ian,’ I say. ‘Really. Having you here in Sapphire Falls, is not helping. We’re done, we’re over and you don’t belong here.’
‘Come on, we’ve had fights before.’
‘Yeah, but it’s truly over. Don’t you see we don’t work? We both say things to each other we don’t mean, but you really hurt me the other day.’
‘It was nothing.’
‘Ian, what are you gonna do about it? Drag me by my hair, to go back to New York?’ When he doesn’t answer–and from the looks of it, he is actually considering it–I stand up from the park bench. ‘Damn you, Ian,’ I exclaim. ‘How hard is it to take no for a fucking answer?’
‘Livia, we can’t be over just yet.’
‘Yes, we can. Me being here, made me realize the person I was. I… The person I am in New York, is not the person I wished I would become once I grew up. I belong here. And you don’t.’
Ian sighs, shaking his head. ‘What about your book deals?’
I somehow manage to not scoff. ‘We don’t live in the eighteen hundreds anymore. I can call, I can facetime. I can figure something out. But I need to stay here.’
Ian runs his fingers through his hairs. ‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously, Ian. Come on, you have to see we don’t work. If you truly love each other, do you say the things we have said to each?’
For the first time it seems like Ian understands. His face and hard expression softens, realizing that if we did love each other, we wouldn’t say things like that to each other. ‘You’re right.’
I never expected to hear him agree with me on this. ‘Sorry, what?’ I ask, desperate for some confirmation I was not hallucinating.
‘You’re right,’ he repeats. ‘I’m sorry, Livia. I… I think you’re right.’
Parts of me want to turn around, but I can’t just yet. Almost seven years of us, that’s a lot. ‘Ian,’ I say, ‘I learned a lot from you and our time together.’
He chuckles. ‘Yeah, I learned a lot from us too. You know, I… I guess I loved the idea of us working, but I am an idiot who didn’t appreciate you enough.’
I smile. ‘Likewise,’ I say. ‘Sorry for yelling at you.’
‘Sorry for calling you all the names. Fuck, I’m such a screw up.’
‘Me too.’
We let out an awkward chuckle.
‘You know,’ I say, ‘thank you for everything.’
‘Thank you for everything, Livia Darmandi.’
●・○・●・○・●
After Ian and I said our goodbyes and actually managed to be pretty decent with each other, both realizing we don’t fit together, I continued on to call Sy. However he doesn’t pick up.
For the umpteenth time, I call him, but straight away I’m going to voicemail. ‘Come on, Sy,’ I say, as I wait for the beep.
‘Leave a message.’
‘Hi,’ I say. ‘It’s me, Livia. Again. I was just wondering where you were. I kinda want to apologize. For what happened. I also want to talk. I guess you’re at the farm. I’ll see you there. Okay, bye.’
I want to talk to Sy, I think to myself. We almost spoke about it, almost spoke about the night in the shed.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 22 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: The Syverson twins have a little heart to heart.
Word count: 2k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
The deal with loving Chris Evans as much as I do, is that you’ll inevitably get your heart broken. No, wait, it gets ripped out of your chest and someone puts it on a juicer, only to make me feel that gut wrenching feeling.
Why don’t I stop loving him?
I sign deeply as I stare out the kitchen window, a cup of steaming hot tea in my hands. When he showed up in town again, I was afraid of letting him back in my life. But on the other hand, it felt good. So good.
Now that I got a taste of having him back in my life again, I don’t want him to go away. But I don’t know if I can deal with him if we’re only friends. I don’t want to be just friends. I never wanted to be, but back in high school I didn’t have the confidence to ask for more.
And I regret that. I regret not telling him what I wanted. I regret one particular moment. Going to prom. As friends.
●・○・●・○・●
I knew that when the school asked me to be the photographer for prom, I’d be riding solo a lot. Despite arriving with Chris. Of course I didn’t expect him to be by my side all night.
However it did hurt when that happened. After we arrived at prom, he guided me towards the photo stand. He stayed with me for a few minutes, but then the first girl came to ask him for a dance. He politely declined, but when another one came, I just told him to go. I didn’t want him to go, but how could I deprive him of dancing at prom? Of having fun?
That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I saw him dancing with another girl, followed by three more.
What I hated even more, was that they were slim, pretty and wore gorgeous dresses. Of course Chris would dance with them. I couldn’t even get my dress at that one store in town they all brought theirs. Mom took me to another town, to a store for grown ups where they had dresses I fit.
I took pictures all night long and usually it was enough for me to be distracted. Seeing Livia and Sy being the designated wall flowers, a lot of the players of our school’s basketball team managed to sneak in some alcohol and I could safely testify that alcohol did not increase their ability to dance.
The night luckily went by quickly. I took the most beautiful pictures, but it didn’t feel like my prom. I hadn’t been on the dancing floor, not for even a second. And that stung to be honest.
Somehow I figured Chris would come ask me for a dance. I should have known he wouldn’t, not when he had all those other girls to dance with. I had to say, they were beautiful, so of course he wouldn’t ask me.
As I was packing my bags at the end of the night, my heart felt heavy. I had no business feeling this disappointed. I had no business feeling so hurt. Chris Evans would never choose me. It was clear he had a type, as every girl he danced with tonight was pretty and skinny.
And I was not. I was the best friend. Just the funny best friend. The sidekick, never the main character,
‘Hi,’ I heard behind me and I looked up, only for my eyes to meet Chris’. A spark of hope ignited inside me.
‘Hi,’ I said.
‘Are you ready to go?’
It was clear, the last spark of hope I had, where he asked me for one more dance, despite no one being here, dissolved into thin air.
But who was I kidding? I never stood a chance to date Chris Evans.
‘Yeah, I’m ready,’ I said.
He grabbed the bags from my hand and said: ‘Let me show you the way to the fancy carriage.’
And that was how it would always be: me and Chris would remain friends.
Forever.
●・○・●・○・●
Why did I always put other people before me? I regret not standing up for myself back then. Prom broke my heart, and while it’s no use now, I should have spoken to Chris about it. Or at least Livia. But as a true Syverson, I bottle feelings up.
Just like I haven't told Sy I’m not happy at the farm anymore. I’ve put everything aside to be with the one bit of family I have left, but… Maybe it’s time for me to be a little selfish and put me first. I bet that if Sy knew how I was feeling, he would… Understand. I hope.
And maybe I can still do the logistical parts of the farm from wherever I am. It’s just calling, arranging and answering emails. I don’t want to burden Sy with that, because that would just give him more stress. Plus, I’m actually good at it.
There has to be a way for us both to be happy, right?
I realize I have to talk to Sy. Today.
There is a possibility I have reached top tier rage. I cannot believe she went with him. Fucking Ian. By the time I got out of the bar, Livia and that asshole were nowhere to be seen. We were about to discuss something important. I now know she remembers our night in the shed, but fuck, I need to know more about it, about how she hoped my wish came true and I had her forever.
All before Ian had to ruin it.
The last thing I remember was that look. Her pleads, telling me it’s not worth it. This happened many times before and I hate how even then she was my external conscious and nothing has changed.
Not even after more than eleven years.
●・○・●・○・●
There was blood running down my face, while Livia gently tugged me with her. ‘You didn’t need to do that,’ she said once we entered the kitchen of the farm. Thankfully no one was home, meaning no one was gonna ask questions. ‘Sit down.’
Like I was a little puppy, I plopped down on the chair, while she grabbed the first aid kid. ‘That’s not necessary.’
And then she looked over her shoulder with probably one of the sternest looks I’d even seen on her. ‘Shut up,’ she told me, before she grabbed a cloth, as she turned on the tap.
‘Liv, I was only trying to protect you.’
‘Who says I need protection?’
‘Didn’t you hear the things he said to you? It was racist and sexist. You can’t possibly think I am gonna let some asshole talk about you like that?’
‘Violence is never the answer,’ she deadpanned once she made her way over to me. She carefully cleaned the wound and now she had a certain expertise. She had done this a few times too many in the last year. We both knew why.
Dealing with losing my father hadn’t been easy and my temper was evidence of how hard I found it. But because I felt like my dad’s role of protector was now resting on my shoulders, I lost my patience and temper way too quickly.
So when that shitface said those things to Livia, I just couldn’t help myself.
I remembered clearly when my dad, Liv and I were in town. Livia was already ahead of us, when my dad heard some dipshit say something racist to her. While I was already fuming, my dad kept his cool, but managed to terrify that guy. My dad told her he would always be there to protect her.
But he wasn’t here anymore. Now I had to protect her. But I wasn’t that calm and collected like my dad.
’Sy,’ Livia whispered, as she held my chin, ‘promise me you won’t do that again.’
I shook my head. ‘I’m not promising that,’ I told her. ‘I’m not going to stop protecting you. Ever.’
She scoffed. ‘I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?’
‘You did see the other guy, didn’t you?’ I asked her as the vivid memory of the intense nosebleed ran through my mind again. ‘I’m not gonna get hurt.’
She placed her hand on my cheek, before shaking her head. ‘Sy,’ she whispered, ‘you can’t get hurt. Please. I can’t lose you too.’
I wrapped my arm around her waist, to pull her into an embrace. ‘You’re not gonna lose me.’
She rested her chin on top of my head and whispered: ‘I know that losing your dad hasn’t been easy. But maybe, instead of throwing a punch at everyone who looks funny at you or me, consider counting to ten.’
‘Mhm.’
‘And know that I always want to listen to everything that is on your heart,’ she said.
‘I know that.’ I pulled back and asked: ‘You’re not gonna tell me off because I hit the guy?’
‘No, because he did deserve it. Can you just try to count to ten?’
I nodded. ‘Yeah, for you I will, however whenever someone says something like this to you ever again, I will not.’
‘I fear I have to live with that,’ she said with a chuckle. ‘Now sit back and let me take care of these wounds.’
●・○・●・○・●
‘I know you’re angry and shit,’ I hear a voice from behind me, ‘but I need you to listen to me.’
‘I’m not in the mood, Abigail.’
She stops in front of me and I glare at her. For fuck’s sake, she doesn’t care whether or not I want to listen to her. She is going to spill the beans and I am not here for it. ‘I don’t care whatever it is that’s going on between you and Livia and that Ian guy and since you are such a Syverson, you will not listen to my advice anyway.’
I don’t even pretend to not be offended. ‘Okay.’
‘I don't wanna live here anymore,’ Abigail says and I thank the stars for my immaculate poker face. ‘You know how photography is my life, but you also know how farm life isn’t for me. I put my life on hold when mom died, because you are my brother and I couldn’t leave you behind, but… I am not happy, Sy.’
While Chris prepared me for such thing, this does come as a surprise. However, I will not let Abigail in on my shock. ‘Oh, okay.’
She blinks her eyes. ‘Did you even hear what I just said?’
‘Yes,’ I tell her. ‘I heard what you said. I… I guess I took you putting your life on hold for granted.’
She is utterly confused. ‘I can still do some logistical things from a distance, until you find someone who can do that.’
‘Okay.’
‘For fuck’s sake, Sy, you gotta give me more than an okay. I just told you I wanna leave. I must mean something to you, for you to give me a better reaction.’
I sigh. ‘Okay, I appreciate having you here,’ I say, ‘but you are right. This was my dream. Honey Bee Ranch was always gonna be my future. But you were made for other things. A life outside Sapphire Falls.’
Abigail smiles sadly. ‘I’m gonna miss this place,’ she then says. ‘And I promise you I’ll be back, so you can do whatever you wanna do. So you can visit Livia.’
I scoff. ‘Like that is ever gonna happen.’
‘Do I want to know?’
I shake my head. ‘Nope.’
‘Well,’ Abigail says, ‘I wasn’t planning on leaving tomorrow or anything, but… This upcoming year, I have to spread my wings.’
‘I know,’ I tell her. ‘And you’re gonna conquer the world. Mom and dad would be proud of you.’
She smiles. ‘Likewise.’ She sighs and asks: ‘Is this a moment where other siblings would hug?’
‘Perhaps, but we ain’t like other siblings. The day I hug you, is probably the day I die.’
She flips me the finger. ‘You’re an idiot, I hate you.’ But then she smiles. ‘Sy, thank you, for being so understanding. And know that wherever I am, I’ll always come back.’
‘I know.’
‘I will also leave behind some instructions on how to deal with the goats.’
‘You’re not taking the demons with you?’ I jokingly ask.
‘No,’ she says with a smile. ‘But don’t worry, from now on, I’ll only say sweet things about you to them.’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 21 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Livia goes to the bar to make up with Sy, but are interrupted.
Word count: 1.9k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
After kicking Ian out of my hotel room and venting to myself for a good hour, I get myself ready for today. It’s not necessarily that Ian being here causes me to feel like this. It’s seeing Sy so hurt. So lost. It had been a long time since I had seen him like that. Back in high school, when I would catch a hopeless and lost moment like that, I would engulf him in a hug and tell him all was fine and that I was there for him.
If only I hugged him now, told him Ian meant nothing to me anymore and therefore means nothing to me, maybe I wouldn’t be alone now. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so lonely and lost.
The remainder of this morning, I stroll through the streets of Sapphire Falls, until I see a bar nearby. It’s been a long time since I went here, mostly because I continued on to be way too young to actually go to the bar during regular opening hours. The owner was a friend of Sy’s parents, meaning we could hang out there from time to time, playing pool or help him do the dishes. Or in my case: crawl underneath the tables to clean there, because I was the smallest.
When I walk in, I almost bump into Leo, the owner of the bar. ‘I heard rumors about our sweet Livia coming back,’ he says, giving me a tight hug. Once he holds me by my upper arms, so he can take me in, he smiles widely. ‘Oh, you have grown to be a fabulous young woman.’
‘Thank you,’ I chuckle, almost blushing at Leo’s compliment. ‘The place barely hasn’t changed.’
‘It sure hasn’t. I like to keep it this way.’ He nods towards the bar. ‘Your friend is already sitting here. You know, back in the day, the two of you were always attached to the hip. We often joked that if we lost one of you, we should just check the whereabouts of the other, because there would be a one hundred percent chance the two of you would be together.’
I let out a soft chuckle. We were indeed attached to the hip.
Leo barks out a laugh at the memory–and possibly my uneasiness with the realization of how close Sy and I were in high school–before he says: ‘I’ll be right there, sweetheart, because I take it you want a drink.’
‘I do, thanks Leo.’
I walk towards the bar, where I see Sy’s broad and recognizable shoulders. I slide on the barstool next to him. ‘I’m paying for all your drinks.’
He takes a sip of his beer, not at all startled by my sudden presence and voice. ‘Why?’
‘To make up for what happened,’ I say. ‘Really, I’m sorry about Ian. I had no idea he would come over.’
‘You can’t help your ex is an annoying piece of shit.’
In one sentence I know exactly what Sy thinks of Ian.
‘I know you don’t like him,’ I say, ‘but promise me if you see him across town, you don’t hit him with your truck.’
He smirks, turning to the side and says: ‘Okay, I promise.’
I order a beer for the two of us by the time Leo gets behind the bar and when he’s out of hearing distance, I ask: ‘What did you want to talk about?’
‘Just your book,’ he says. ‘I… I really liked the story. Very unique premise.’
I nod. ‘Thank you,’ I say, though I’m not too sure whether or not that’s the only reason he came by. The Sy I know would’ve just called, told me he liked it and that he’s picking me up in approximately half an hour.
‘I hope you make it into a novel,’ he continues. ‘I… I think this has a lot of potential. No wait, I know.’
‘Well, thank you,’ I say. ‘That really means a lot. You know, Sy, you’re absolutely wonderful. I… I just know that one day you are gonna make someone very happy. She’ll be one lucky gal.’
That appears to take him by surprise. ‘You think so?’
‘Yeah, I… I know you really well and I know all the great things you’ve got to offer.’ I just wished that girl could be me.
We both grab our beer bottles and clink them against each other.
‘I hereby promise you that I will dedicate this book—if it ever gets published—to you.’ I place my hand on his strong under arm and ask: ‘Feel special yet?’
‘I really do. A whole book dedicated to me.’ He smiles. ‘Next time we have a newborn animal at the farm, I’ll call her Livia.’
‘Are you sure?’ I hesitantly ask, a not so happy memory catching up with me. ‘We all remember what happened to Livia the chicken.’ That poor girl choked in on a grain of wheat.
He doesn’t want to laugh, but nonetheless, still allows a chuckle to escape. ‘That was really unfortunate.’
‘What if my name attached to an animal is just bad luck in general?’
‘We’ll see,’ he says, ‘but I bet that won’t happen again. If we get a new horse, I’ll call her Livia. Horses usually live pretty long and aren’t doomed to choke that easily.’
‘You’ve got yourself a deal.’
My hand is still on his arm and he places his other hand on top of mine. His large hand folded over mine, his calloused thumb softly caressing the back of my hand. ‘Just promise me you’ll come back more frequently,’ he says, his eyes ever so sincere and beautiful. ‘It’s nice to have you back.’
‘If you name a horse after me, I might move into the shed.’
Damn it, now I mention the shed again. First reminding him of our prom night, then the shed where the thing happened we never spoke about again.
He nods. ‘Right, the shed.’
You still think about that night? Do you remember it as clearly as I do? Have you ever wondered what could've happened between us, had we actually spoken about it? Had we figured out a way to keep in touch?
Would you and I have a wonderful eleven years behind us?
I part my lips to say something to him about it, because I feel like I finally mustered up the confidence to do so. ‘Sy,’ I say, ‘about the shed.’
He looks up at me. ‘Yeah?’
‘Do you still think about that night?’
Sy has a faint smile toying on his lips. ‘Of course I do,’ he says. ‘Do you?’
I nod. ‘I wished we didn’t spend so long apart,’ I whisper. ‘I wished… I hoped your wish came true. That you had me forever and vice versa.’
Before he can answer what I just said, we’re interrupted by a very familiar voice coming from behind us.
‘What the hell, Livia?’
The sudden intrusion doesn’t only get our attention, but also the attention of Leo and probably of a few guys sitting here in the bar as well.
‘Ian, what are you doing here?’ I ask, as I turn around and retract my hand from Sy’s warm embrace.
He ignores my question. ‘What’s going on?’
‘That is absolutely none of your business,’ I say, not liking his attempt to mark his territory. ‘Goodness gracious, we are over. I told you to go home.’
Ian looks at Sy, who has turned around as well. Not a word is exchanged and while I’m not fluent in male stares, there is something unspoken happening here.
‘Ian, just leave, okay? We’re done, we’re over. There is no way you actually think we can fix this.’
‘We haven’t even spoken about it.’
‘We did and you must realize we’re done. Come on, you were calling me an ungrateful bitch in my apartment. How on earth do you think I can take you back after that?’
Sy has officially entered the conversation. ‘You called her what?’
‘This is none of your business,’ Ian says.
‘Well, your voice travels,’ Sy notes, turning around, to look at him. ‘Think it’s everyone’s business now.’
Everyone at the bar stopped with whatever they were doing and instead were looking at us.
I take a shaky breath, because I’m the center of attention now and I hate that role. My hand travels up to my head, slowly patting the crown of my head.
No, no, no, I don’t want this.
Tons of memories where my parents started unnecessary fights with me whenever they thought it was necessary, not caring where we were, are flooding back.
Please stop…
‘Look, Ian was it? You’re making Livia uncomfortable. Just go away and leave her alone.’
My mind goes blank, as I turn my back to Ian and I try to get the white noise out of my brain. It was like this when my parents fought and boy, did they have loud arguments. I hate fighting like this, but especially when I am caught in the middle of it. Sometimes it was my fault, since I was mainly the reason why they started arguing in the first place.
I hate fighting, though me and Ian had a lot of fights. I guess I hated fighting with people I care about, people I truly loved.
But what is happening now, involves Sy. And I love Sy so much.
I turn to the side, to look at Sy, who appears to be fuming. Someone grabs my arm, but I barely am able to process it.
‘Don’t fucking touch her,’ Sy hisses through clenched jaw, stepping in between me and Ian.
And then all hell breaks loose.
Ian isn’t a fighter, but he has experience in some martial arts, though he never really was consistent or any good. Besides, sometimes I thought his mobility was a bit off, but that was always a bit of a thought in the back of my head.
I fear I’m gonna find it out for real.
‘Guys,’ I start, however I witness Sy throwing the first punch. I let out a yelp, bringing my hand to my lips. ‘No, no, no,’ I say, but it seems like no one listens to me. I don’t know what it is with men and fights between others, but they all huddle around them. They block my view, but I don’t think I want to see it anyway.
Why is this happening? I don’t want them to fight over me. No matter how much I don’t like Ian, how quickly my love for him has faded, I can’t witness this. I push myself through the crowd and see how Sy is literally witholding himself from smashing Ian’s head in. I quickly stand between them, as Ian is making an awful bloody mess on the floor.
‘Stop it, please,’ I tell Sy. ‘It’s not worth it.’
His jaw is clenched and all of the sudden I’m sixteen again, seeing the tense and frustrated Sy, using his brutal strength to cope with his father’s death.
‘Please,’ I say, my voice soft as I plead.
It’s barely noticeable, but Sy nods. My eyes scan my broad friend, only to discover nothing’s wrong with him. I then turn around and crouch down next to Ian.
‘Come on,’ I say to Ian, dragging him up by his arm. ‘I’ll get someone to look at you.’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 20 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Chris and Sy have a little heart to heart.
Word count: 1k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
Chris
My mandatory walk every day for my knee injury is a lot less annoying in Sapphire Falls. I can walk around without people rushing past me, or asking for a photograph. It feels nice to be a normal person for a moment.
Today’s walk is through the center of the town. I spot people doing their last minute gift shopping, and kids admiring the giant Christmas tree on the main square.
The last few days the temperature had dropped. Snow rarely happens in Sapphire Falls, but maybe this year it could happen. It surely feels like it.
I’m almost back at the hotel, when I walk past the bar, spotting a familiar pair of shoulders inside. I open the door, and am greeted by the owner. Thankful for the warmth, I take off my jacket and hang it on the coat rack before I make my way to the bar.
‘No ax in sight, so I think it’s safe to sit here?’ I joke, pointing towards the bar stool next to Sy.
He grunts in response, but removes his jacket from it. I’ll take that’s a yes. ‘Abigail told me not to murder you, for now.’
‘Thank God for that.’
‘I’m only honoring her wishes because she will kill me in return otherwise.’
I shake my head, laughing. Leave it to the Syversons to threaten each other with murder. I wave to the barkeeper, and order a beer for me and Sy, who’s almost done with his drink.
‘You done being an idiot now? Or do I need to keep a sharp ax near me in the future?’ Sy asks, finishing the last of his old beer.
‘You can store the ax. I’m sorry I hurt her, Sy. It was not my intention.’
The barkeeper places the beers in front of us, and we both gratefully take a sip. While we had been friends for a long time, talking about our feelings wasn’t something we did with each other. He did that with Livia, and I did that with Abigail.
But we both knew we had to today.
‘What are your intentions then?’
I fall silent. What are my intentions? I want to be with her. That’s for sure. But how? I can’t stay here. I have to go back to Chicago soon, and I want to pick up my life there again. While I love Sapphire Falls, I do miss the big city after some days. I can’t just expect Abigail to drop everything here and come with me, but maybe she would?
‘I care about her, and I want to be with her.’ There. I said it. Out loud and man, did it feel good to have it out in the open.
‘Yeah, we all knew that obviously.’ Sy smacks the back of my head. ‘But what are you gonna do about it? I can’t let you break her heart, you know.’
‘I don’t know,’ I sigh. ‘I wish I could take her with me to Chicago, but I can’t make that decision for her. I have to go back there, but what if she wants to stay here?’
‘That’s her decision indeed. One I won’t make for her either. But if she wants to go, then she should go. I mean, it’s nice having her around, but I don’t own her life. But I doubt she would ever want to leave this place for good.’
‘Mhm,’ I hum. ‘But what about you and Livia?’
‘What about it?’ Sy says, a harsh tone in his voice.
Okay, I’m stepping on some toes here. ‘Oh come on, you two have been dancing around each other since you were kids.’
Sy gulps down the rest of his beer, and immediately orders two more. Quickly I finish mine in order to keep up with him.
‘Her ex is in town.’
Oh. OH. That explains the tension in his shoulders, and the dark look in his eyes when I mentioned Livia. Sy had always been a protector, especially of Livia. He always felt like he needed to look after her, to stand up for her. Livia stood her own ground, but Sy had her back. Just like his father. After he died, Sy only became more protective of Livia. So after hearing the stories about her ex from Abigail, I understand Sy’s anger towards him.
‘You can kick his ass out of town. Bet he doesn’t dare coming back,’ I suggest.
‘Livia wouldn’t approve. Damnit, why don’t the girls in my life approve of some ass kicking?’ He slams his fist on the bar, and shakes his head.
I bark out a laugh and say: ‘Maybe because they don’t want to see you in prison.’
‘Mhm.’
‘So, this ex of hers, what is he like?’ I ask.
‘He’s a fucking idiot,’ Sy grumbles. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever hated someone with that much passion. He looks like an idiot, talks like he has his entire life in order. I just wish he wasn’t here. He was at her hotel room, you know.’
‘Oh, did you talk to Livia?’
‘I did, but I… I couldn’t talk about the story she had written, not with him eavesdropping.’
I turn to my friend, seeing how much this is eating him up alive. Deciding not to talk about her ex anymore, I say: ‘I bet you’re happy that she’s back.’
‘I’m more than happy,’ he says. ‘I love having her here.’
‘You’re upset she’s gonna go back to New York?’
‘Of course, but I hope we can keep in touch. We both want that.’ He takes another sip and says: ‘I just wish she could stay.’
‘I get it.’
‘Her friendship means the world to me.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’
‘What?’
‘I’ve known you since we were kids, I know your feelings towards Livia and I can guarantee she feels the same way about you.’
Sy shakes her head.
‘I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you are blind, Sy. You love her and vice versa. Everyone knows.’
The bartender who was doing a good job at pretending he wasn’t listening in, turns around and says: ‘It’s true, everyone knows.’
Sy rubs his face. ‘Fuck,’ he mutters.
I smile and say: ‘I think we need to talk to them, Sy. You and Livia, me and Abigail.’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 19 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Sy wants to talk about Livia's story, but he encounters someone unexpected instead.
Word count: 1.6k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
I usually identify as a slow reader, but this short story of hers… I flew through it. After Livia finished editing the second part and got it printed, I read it in one go.
And now I want to talk about it. I need to talk about it, because this story almost seems autobiographical. Almost like this is how she and I could’ve ended. Her short story had two storylines intertwined. One was if the main character left the small town she grew up in and the other was if she stayed.
When the main character Alyssa left town, she “fell” in love with others, but never quite attached. The other storyline of how she stayed in town, meant realizing how she’s in love with the farmer she always gushed about, even in the other storyline where she left town.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s how our lives could’ve gone, had she and I not lost contact.
So, I take it upon myself to make my way to her hotel room and take the first step. To talk about it. There is so much unspoken between us. I want to ask her about everything that has kept me busy these last few years.
What if I actually left the farm a few times and went to visit her in New York? What if she came back, knowing I would happily welcome her with open arms? What if she was here to attend my mom’s funeral? What if she had said I love you to me one more time, so I could take that step and ask her to love me forever? What if she never stopped kissing me?
All those possibilities.
I knock on the door of her hotel room and it takes a while before the door opens. But when it finally happens, it’s opened by a dude. ‘Hello,’ he says. I wonder if I’m at the wrong room, but this really is her room number. ‘Can I help you?’
He’s polite, looks like a guy who has it all together. Blouse, straight jeans, shoes that don’t have mud on them. ‘Is Livia around?’
‘Livia is busy.’
‘Yeah,’ her annoyed voice sounds from the back. ‘With packing your suitcase, so you can get out of my face. You should’ve just arranged a room for yourself.’ She drags him away from the door and smiles briefly when she sees me. ‘Hi Sy, what’s up?’
‘Uh…’ All words are forgotten. ‘Is this an okay time?’
‘Yeah, Ian was just leaving.’
Ian. So this is that ex-boyfriend. He looks like the type of guy who is the nerdy friend of the jock. An excellent description. ‘You know what,’ I say, ‘we’ll talk later.’
‘Are you sure?’ she asks. ‘Is something wrong? Is Abigail okay?’
‘Abigail is fine,’ I say. ‘Nothing’s wrong. I… I’ll talk to you later, Liv.’
She nods. ‘I’m sorry,’ she mouths.
I frown, not understanding why she’s apologizing.
‘For Ian.’ Without making so much of a noise, she apologizes for something she didn’t do.
I nod at her, before I walk away, but by the time I’m outside, I’m fuming. I could’ve and should’ve known that in the time that Livia went to New York, she’d meet other guys, she’d spend time with them. Livia is a gorgeous woman and I know she would have the entire campus chasing after her in no time.
But there is a part of me that is absolutely livid to know that this lowlife of a man was her boyfriend. The man who had broken her heart. Who is probably here uninvited.
This son of a bitch touched her and loved her, in a way that isn’t good enough for Livia.
While she deserves perfection and I know I can’t live up to that, I do feel like I know my Liv well enough. At least better than that jerk Ian.
I for instance would never break up with her, let alone more than once.
Once I’m back at the farm, Abigail and I bump into one another. I can go days without seeing her, without bumping into her, but now when I don’t want to see anyone, I see her. ‘What is up with you?’ Abigail asks.
‘Get out of the way.’
‘No, no, wait,’ Abigail says, not allowing me to pass. Sometimes I forget she’s also a Syverson, meaning she’s strong as heck. ‘You look furious.’
‘Liv’s ex-boyfriend is here.’
‘And?’
‘He looks like an idiot.’
She chuckles. ‘Are you jealous?’
‘Why would I be jealous of a guy who’s her ex?’
Abigail sighs. ‘I’m not even going to sketch an image for you, because you might kill me in the process.’
I groan, because now I have sketched an image for myself. Wonderful. ‘I was gonna talk to her,’ I say. ‘Talk about everything.’
‘Talk about how you two belong together?’
I hate to admit it, but Abigail is right. ‘Maybe, yeah. She wrote a story and I think it’s about us. And the possibilities of us together.’
‘I’ll be damned. Caleb Syverson wants to voluntarily talk about his emotions and feelings. I am shocked.’ When she sees I can’t see the humor in it, she stops chuckling. ‘Wow, Sy, you really love her. Guess I always knew, but… This is on another level.’
I clench my jaw. ‘I don’t want to talk about it. I… Just like you don’t ever want to talk about whatever you and Chris have.’
Her eyes darken. ‘You’re right. Get lost, Sy. We won’t talk about it again.
I walk passed her into the field, hoping to find myself a chore to distract my racing thoughts.
●・○・●・○・●
I’ve always hated it when people would look at Liv. Unbeknownst to herself, she had this way of attracting people, forcing them to look at her. Girls wanted to be her, guys wanted to have her. She herself was convinced that wasn’t true, but it was. The only reason no one asked her to the homecoming dances and basketball games, was because they knew she would go with me.
But they stole glances.
And weren’t necessarily subtle with it.
Liv and I were in the noisy cafeteria, while Abigail was at basketball practice, taking pictures of Chris and the team. She was the school’s designated photographer and since the death of our dad, she had been picking up more photography gigs here at school.
‘Sy,’ Liv said, still as oblivious as always, ‘why would the main character of a book intentionally screw up her relationship with her best friend?’
As usual, Liv was nose deep in a book, enamored by what was happening. The thing was, that I didn’t read and she loved to read. Since this was mandatory reading for class, she did the reading and told me all about it, usually packaged in these types of questions. Sometimes she’d read me the book, while I was at work on the farm, but she hasn’t done that in a while.
Mostly because the last few times she did that, she read the book for both me and my dad. Dad loved listening to her, because–and these were his words–she had a way with the written word. Her Christmas cards were elaborate, the way she would enjoy books was miles apart from my hatred towards them and her reading books aloud, often prompted my dad to tell her she should become a voice actress.
‘I don’t know,’ I mumbled. ‘Because the best friend is a bitch?’
She glared at me. ‘No, because she has attachment issues. Horribly sad and inconvenient.’
‘How is it inconvenient?’
‘Her friend has the answers.’ She closed her book and said: ‘You’re frowning, Sy. What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ I said, but that was a lie. I hated the way the guys three tables over were looking at her.
It had been four months since my dad died and I could feel myself fuming now whenever someone was looking at her. At first, I just hated it, but now my entire body would tense up and a feeling of overprotectiveness would rush through my veins.
My dad had been the protector of the ranch, of my mom, of Abigail and me, but also of both Chris and Livia. He believed in Chris’ potential to become a NBA player and was the fatherly type Livia needed, with her own parents being more concerned about themselves, than the wellbeing of their daughter.
Dad would go on long walks with her and they’d talk. Sometimes I was curious about what, but I realized she never asked about my private conversations with my dad, therefore I didn’t press.
But now he was gone and I missed him. I realized I put my mourning into taking care of everything, by being the man of the house and therefore made sure that Liv was okay. Sometimes she stopped me, other times she let me.
‘Don’t lie to me,’ she said. ‘Everything’s wrong. Clenched jaw, balled fists, tense shoulders.’ She leaned over and whispered: ‘You know people can look, right?’
While she always denied that people were looking, she also knew that was what was bothering me. Instead of telling me off, Liv pushed the book in her backpack and told me that we were going. I didn’t ask why. Instead, I followed her and we sat down outside on a bench.
‘Sy, you are my best friend, but you can’t have that much anger building inside of you when people are just looking. This is not good for you.’ Livia wrapped her arms around my shoulder and tugged me closer, before she said: ‘I know you miss him, but you know your dad would never want you to feel like this.’
I knew that. And maybe the anger had intensified after my dad died, but these feelings I had for her, they had always been there.
Because I had always loved her and maybe even more so now.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 18 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Abigail and Chris make up and decide for an impromptu photoshoot.
Word count: 1.8k
Warnings: Usage of THAT photoshoot 0.0
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
‘So,’ I tell Honey and the rest of the apparent demonic goat gang–though I think they are more of an angelic goat gang, because those faces are so damn adorable–‘Chris was a total idiot and I hate myself for falling for him.’
Honey bleats and I interpreted like she’s agreeing with me on Chris being a total idiot.
‘Sy is currently weighing the pros and cons of murdering him, and I think Livia talked to Chris, because that’s what she always does. I just don’t know what to tell him when he does manage to come here.’
It’s now Honey’s mom's turn to bleat.
‘You think I should tell him to fuck off?’ I ask her. ‘That is what I most likely want to do. He really broke my heart, you know.’
Mom bleats loudly again, and jumps away. ‘You agree with me, right?’
Honey jumps up and down in front of me, begging for some attention. ‘I’m currently asking for love advice from goats. I think I’ve reached another low point in life.’ I sigh deeply.
I never thought Chris and I could be together as a couple. I dreamed of it, obviously, hoped even, but every time we would get close, something would happen. It was like the universe was telling us it was a bad idea.
So when he showed up again a few days ago, and asked me to the benefit as his date, I started to think that maybe our time had come. But yet again, the universe had different plans.
However unlike the other times we were interrupted, Chris could have done something about it. He could, no should, have said something.
I thought about that moment over and over, and my anger has made place for disappointment. But the anger was still there.
The front door opens, and I hear Sy coming out. I turn around, and he gives me a little wave before he gets in his truck while waving with grocery bags. I turn my attention back to the goats, thinking about the situation over and over.
After Sy left the ranch, it takes approximately five minutes before Chris walks onto our land. Which tells me he has been lurking.
I want to say he needs to leave, that he can drop dead for all I care about and that he needs to go back to Bethany, however I don’t say that, because I don’t mean it. Deep down I’m glad he continues on to try to talk to me and with Sy away, we maybe can talk to each other. Dealing with one stubborn Syverson twin at a time might be hard enough already.
But what do I say to him?
Chris slowly approaches, and doesn’t say a word as he stands next to me, keeping a safe distance between us.
‘Can we talk?’
I thought I wanted to talk to him, but hearing his voice and him say the word ‘talk’ actually awakens the anger in me. ‘Talk? So, now you have something to say?’
‘Abi, I’m sorry. None of that should have happened.’ Chris sounds nervous. He even looks nervous, shifting from his left to his right foot. ‘I shouldn’t have let her talk to you like that.’
I snort, followed by a fake laugh. ‘And why didn’t you say that when that skinny bitch was hanging around your neck? That’s the moment you should have talked.’ I spat out. ‘But it was clear you’d rather be there with her anyways, not me.’
‘I freaked out. Seeing her was difficult. But I did not want to be there with her. I wanted to be there with you, only you.’ He inches closer, and because in my heart I want to believe him, I let him.
‘So, because you freaked out, you let her talk to me like that?’
He rubs the back of his neck, and he opens his mouth a couple times before he finally talks again. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Chris, you just don’t get it,’ I say to him. ‘I’ve never been someone’s first choice. You have, you are always the first choice, but not me and I am sick of being second.’ Sick of being your second.
He falls silent for a moment. I feel like going crazy, I want to kick him out of the barn, to be alone again. ‘I’m sick of you walking out on me,’ I add with a small voice.
‘You’ve never been a second choice,’ Chris suddenly says, scraping his throat.
‘What do you mean?’ I scratch Honey behind her ears, unable to keep my hands still. What does this mean?
‘You’re mine.’ He scratches his beard, and when I look to the side, I don’t see the usual confident Chris. No, I see the insecure Chris, the Chris who is looking for words he cannot find, the Chris who wishes he could disappear through the floor. Usually, when I saw this Chris, he would make sure he would get out of the situation as soon as possible. But he was still standing next to me, not making a move to leave.
‘I’ll always pick you first, Abi. I know I’m not great at showing that, and I’m so sorry for that. I wished I acted differently at the benefit. I guess I was overwhelmed, not prepared for something like that to happen. That is not an excuse, let that be clear,’ Chris says. ‘I hate that I hurt you.’
Chris had never been a man of many words, especially not emotional ones, so hearing him say this, meant something for me.
Now it was my turn to fall silent. He’d pick me first. Pick me first how?
‘I promise you, I’ll never let something like that happen again, okay?’ He softly grabbed my hand, and nudged his shoulder against mine. ‘And I will never walk out on you again. I know I did, but that was the biggest mistake I ever made.’
‘Okay,’ I smile and I turn to look forward to him. ‘But seriously, not another time. I cannot handle that,’ I add. Chris nods, and I can tell he knows I’m serious. ‘This does not mean I have forgiven you 100%.’
‘I know.’
We look back at the goats, watching as Honey chases her mom.
I think about what we just said, and while it was a good talk. I still had questions. I still need to know what he meant. What did he mean when he said he’ll always pick me first? I want to ask, but I’m also terrified by the answer. What if it’s not what I want it to be? Or what if it is what I want to hear?
‘What do you mean by always picking me first?’ I ask, my heart racing. I had to ask, and I know it was now or never. If the moment was over, I knew I would never ask.
‘What do you want it to mean?’ Chris throws a curveball, a smile toying on his lips.
I take a moment to think about the answer. I do know what I want, but I also know I’m terrified to actually say it.
‘Do you mind if I take a little time to answer that?’ I stare at my hands, avoiding Chris’ gaze. I am speaking the truth, I need more time to be honest with him. I need more time to open myself up, to let him in.
‘Anything you need.’ Chris softly grabs my chin, and makes me look at him. His eyes bore into mine, and I feel like my entire body is on fire. I’ve been through so many emotions in the last couple of minutes, and I feel like my body is about to explode. Especially with Chris touching me.
The green shirt he’s wearing is driving me insane. I need to get out of here, before I do things without sorting my thoughts out.
‘Why don’t I grab my camera, and we go out for a walk?’ I suggest.
●・○・●・○・●
Chris and I walk through the forest, and chit chat about daily life in Sapphire Falls versus Chicago. I feel a sting in my heart when he tells me about life in the latter. One day I hope to see it with my own eyes, to live a life like that myself.
Maybe with him by my side.
He did hurt me, but maybe I overreacted. I tend to react quickly to situations, while Chris had always needed a moment to react. Outside the basketball court at least.
‘I’m glad I brought my sunglasses today,’ Chris says, pulling me out of my thoughts. ‘I love a bit of sunshine in December, but damn, this is insane.’
I laugh, the weather in Sapphire Falls has always been weird in the winter. It could either be stone cold or fairly warm. Snow on the other hand rarely happened.
Today is one of those days where it was fairly warm. Chris had already left his jacket at the barn, and I left my jacket home as well, wearing a sweater being warm enough.
We approach Honey Bee Farm again, and Chris lowers his speed. ‘You have not taken a picture of me today,’ he abruptly says.
‘Do you want me to take a picture of you?’ I chuckle. Photographing this man was not unpleasant to say the least.
‘Hell yeah!’ He stops walking, and spreads his arms out wide. ‘Where do you want me?’
‘Just walk around I guess?’ I lift my camera up, and start taking pictures of him as he moves around, picking up random items lying around the farm.
He suddenly runs away, disappearing behind some bushes. ‘Where are you going?!’ I yell after him.
‘Look what I’ve found!’
I walk around the bushes, to find him stretched out on a lounge chair. At first I want to laugh, but seeing him sprawled out makes my heart beat faster.
Quickly I raise my camera, capturing the moment. He even had the audacity to unbutton the shirt, to reveal his chest tattoos.
Chris moves around on the old lounge chair, while I give him directions on where to look. The looks he throws at me are sending shivers down my spine.
Before I could turn into a puddle, the lounge chair starts making a noise. And another one.
A loud cracking sound followed, and Chris suddenly wasn’t on the chair anymore, but on the grass underneath.
We burst out in laughter, and I tighten the grip on my camera.
All of a sudden we hear a truck driving onto the driveway. Sy’s back.
‘I think I should go, before Sy murders me,’ Chris says and we had finally stopped laughing.
‘That might be a good idea. I should tell him he can stop sharpening his axes,’ I smile.
Chris shakes his head, and pulls me in for a hug. I rest my chin on his shoulder, and take in his scent. A little musky, earthy.
The hug lasts a little longer than the usual ones, and once we let each other go, I start thinking maybe I should let Chris back in, to see what could happen.
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 17 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Livia has finished her short story and asks Sy to read it.
Word count: 1.7k
Warnings: None
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
Okay, so the first few chapters of my short story are finished. No, wait, that’s a lie. The entire thing is finished, but only the first few chapters are readable. I called Sy, wondering if he could offer me a lift and he gladly did. Driving me to the copyshop went by faster than the navigation predicted, but that is all thanks to Sy’s “chased by the devil”-driving style.
I grab my hand bag, before I hop out of the truck. I make my way to the copyshop, quickly give the print order and within ten minutes and only costing me two dollars, I’ve printed out fifty pages of my short story. Securely tucked away in the handbag, I walk back and get in the truck.
‘Done.’
Sy nods. ‘Ian called. Again.’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ I exclaim, really getting tired of his stupid antics. I grab my phone that I apparently left in the car and block his number. ‘I should’ve done that sooner,’ I note. ‘Blocking was the answer to everlasting peace.’
When Sy drives back, he asks: ‘How did you meet Ian?’
In the time I’ve been back in Sapphire Falls, I’ve mentioned Ian, but I never told him the details about my tumultuous relationship with him. Especially not how I met him. ‘I met him at a bar during college. He was a bit of a… What should I call it… The loveable nerdy friend of the jock.’ I turn to the side and add: ‘If that makes sense.’
‘Oddly specific even.’
‘Well, we hit it off, started dating, broke up, got back together, and repeated that cycle a few times. You know, the on-and-off relationship cliche. Really, it’s not even worth talking too long about. What about you? Did you ever date?’
Sy shakes his head. ‘I got no time for dating,’ he says.
‘Well, if it’s true love, you make time,’ I note.
I wonder what Sy did in the years we spend apart. He might not have dated and pursued relationships, he must’ve done something.
However, that thought makes me feel oddly jealous, so I push the thought of Sy and other women aside.
‘Well, you’re not in a rush, right?’ I ask him. ‘Unlike the rest of town by the way. Your truck was spotted and everyone inside the shop started drooling. It’s borderline pavlovian.’
Sy smirks. ‘What did you print? Or am I still not allowed to ask about it?’
‘Well, I printed out the first fifty pages of my short story. I finished the entire thing, but the rest is not readable yet.’ I turn to the side and take in Sy’s attractive features. The small bump on his nose, the thick beard and the deep frown. ‘Do you want to read it?’ I ask him.
The frown becomes deeper. ‘Why do you want me to read it?’
‘Because I want your opinion on it. Please, Sy, would you? It would mean the world to me.’
‘Ah, even from the corners of my eyes I can see that damn pout of yours,’ he says. ‘Stop that.’
‘Only if you read it.’
He groans. ‘I’ll read it. Fifty pages is doable,’ he says.
‘Yeah, that’s the spirit. Thank you.’
He nods with a smile. ‘Sure thing, Liv.’
●・○・●・○・●
I spend my time on the farm, gently petting the sweet goats. At first I thought Sy was exaggerating when he said the goats didn’t like them, but I saw the way they looked at him and I realized he might be right.
I walk over the large landscape and I see Sy sitting in the shed he built when he was younger. The shed where I have one of my most hidden, yet most beautiful memories stored with him. Part of me wants to bring it up, wants to tell him how much I loved that night and therefore how much I loved him, but I don’t.
I can’t.
That next morning, after we woke up in the shed, we pretended like nothing happened. I handed him back his shirt, quickly put on my own pajamas. We sauntered back to the house. The last thing we sort of said about the matter was when he brought me to my room. He stopped in the doorway and gave me one soft kiss on my forehead. A brief smile was toying on his face, before he nodded, squeezed my hand and walked away.
I wonder if he remembered that night as clearly as I do. I kinda wish he did.
‘Liv!’
I look up, to see Sy jogging up to me, my partial manuscript in his hand.
‘You’ve got more, I hope,’ he says.
I let out a shy chuckle. ‘Because you thought it was good or because you want to smack me with a thicker pile of paper, because I suck?’
‘What? Liv, this is absolutely amazing.’ He smiles and says: ‘I love your writing style. It’s quick, yet poetic. Not dragging at all.’
I take in the compliment. I love people talking about my writing, but a compliment from Sy just hits different. ‘I have more. Just have to give it one more check.’
‘If you are done with that, I’ll drive you to the copyshop again.’ He looks at the papers in his hand before he asks: ‘Oh, and the handsome farmer is totally based on me, right?’
I smack his chest. ‘No,’ I mutter, though that is totally a lie. ‘Maybe.’
Sy laughs. ‘Well, you dragged me along to the copyshop, now I’m gonna drag you along.’
‘Where to?’
‘To my bedroom.’
Don’t do this to yourself, Livia. Do not let your mind wander.
‘Why?’ I manage to choke out.
‘Because…’ He awkwardly scratches his beard. ‘I’ve got your books there.’
I’ve heard from Abigail that he bought my books, but he hasn’t mentioned it himself just yet. It’s almost weird to hear it from him. ‘Oh… Did you read them?’
‘Every single one of them,’ he says. ‘Mom was obsessed and always forced me to go buy them. I bought copies for myself while I was there.’
I know how Sy has never been the type of guy who would read. He never appreciated books in the way I would. I remember when we were younger, we had to read a book for school. Sometimes I’d force him, but other times I would read them to them, while he was working on the farm. Whether he’d be cleaning the stables, organizing logs or building the shed, I’d be near him, the book in hand and I’d read it to him, adding ridiculous voices and what not.
It was the only way to get him to read a book, so he wouldn’t fail class.
But that was back in high school. I thought that after I had left, he’d never pick up a book again.
And now I hear it from him.
He read my books.
I follow him inside, into his minimalistic room. ‘You liked them?’
‘I loved them,’ he says. ‘I always knew you would make it as a writer, but these books were amazing.’ He pushes some things aside and grabs all the books I’ve written. ‘They were my only connection to you.’
‘Sy,’ I whisper. ‘That is… So sweet.’
‘I can see your main characters are like you,’ he says with a gentle smile, placing the books on his desk. He plops down on the bed and adds: ‘Mags from the Game Over series managed to wrap everyone around her finger.’
I frown. ‘Mags had the gift of manipulation.’
Sy shakes his head. ‘You don’t. You don’t manipulate. You… Ah shit, how do I say this?’
Realizing he is trying to word it correctly, but can’t seem to find the right words, I decide to help him out.
‘Mags does it on purpose, I don’t?’
He nods. ‘That’s right.’
‘What about Roxy from Verified?’
He smiles. ‘Roxy is fearless.’
‘I’m not fearless.’
‘You are, Liv. You moved to New York City of all the places in the world. By yourself. I call that pretty fearless.’
I grab the chair of his desk and say: ‘I’m not fearless, Sy.’
He lets out a deep sigh. ‘To me you are.’ The words linger in the air and I try to find the correct words, but now I’m at a loss. ‘And this new main character, Alyssa, she’s just as magnificent as you are. Kind, sweet and patient.’
Sy’s eyes are vulnerable, open and I wonder what I should say to him.
‘People change,’ I say. ‘I changed.’
‘You grew up,’ he says. ‘You matured. Of course you changed, but who you are to the core, that will never change.’
My mouth is dry and then I feel a tear burning in my eyes, followed by many more. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I whisper. ‘I’m sorry for disappearing.’
He pushes himself from the bed, before he crouches down in front of me. His hands on my thighs. ‘Don’t apologize.’
‘You kept up with me, while I never kept up with you. I thought about you, I have my first suitcase with daisies, stored with memories, but… I never came back, because the more time went by, the scarier it became. I’m a horrible friend.’
‘No, you are not,’ he says. ‘Because you did come back.’ In his own rough way, he brushes the tears from my cheeks. ‘And we’re going to do better now, the both of us. Come on, I could’ve gotten on Instagram and found a way to message you. This is not on you, this is on us.’
I hold his face in my hands and I nod. ‘We’ll do better.’
I already part my lips, wanting to tell him something, when we hear the doorbell. Judging from the absence of Abigail’s truck, I know he has to open the door. I let go of him and he hesitates for a second, before he gets up. ‘You go sign the books,’ he says.
‘What?’
‘Come on, the author of my favorite books is here.’ He chuckles and says: ‘And you better make it personal.’
- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛ Welcome to Sapphire Falls - chapter 16 ❜┊˚̥۪͙۪◌
Basketballer!Chris Evans x Abigail Syverson (plus size!ofc) & Farmer!Syverson x Livia Darmandi (Asian ofc)
Summary: Chris is still processing what happened at the benefit.
Word count: 1.6k
Warnings: None.
The Advent Calendar (a.k.a. the masterlist)
To say I have screwed up, is an understatement. The look on Abigail’s face is imprinted in my mind. What happened at the benefit, was partially out of my control and partially very much in my control. And I feel terrible about it.
The second Bethany showed up at the benefit, I knew there was going to be trouble. Bethany lived for trouble, it was her sole motivation to get through a day.
I should have sent her away as soon as I saw her. But before I could even comprehend what was happening, she clung to me, and started ranting about how she missed me, how she regretted everything that happened. It happened too quickly, I just froze.
I’m a fucking idiot.
Just when I was about to tell Bethany to fuck off and leave me alone, Abigail saw us. She walked towards us, and I stood there, still frozen.
The night should have ended differently. Had I not been the world's biggest coward, the night could've ended differently.
Abigail looked so gorgeous. That dress, it should have been illegal. I could hardly tear my eyes away from her. She radiated beauty, and her smile lit up the room. I could see men staring at her, but she was on my arm, and I made sure that was known by holding her hand, or touching her in any way.
The best part of the night was having her by my side. It felt so good, so natural. She made everything better. The boring conversations were not so bad, but when they were, she got us away with a subtle excuse.
For a moment I thought that it would be the night we would get closer together, finally. But then Bethany showed up, and I saw the look in Abigail’s eyes.
How did I hurt Abigail so bad and why does this continue on to happen? Why does something go wrong every time we are about to go from friends to something more?
●・○・●・○・●
It was the end of summer. Of a great summer. I spend nearly every day on Honey Bee Farm, with Abigail, Sy and Livia. We’d find something to do, helping Bernie Syverson with the farm work, playing a game of basketball, or simply hanging out.
Bernie had put up a basketball hoop on their driveway, and he wouldn’t miss a chance to play a game with me and Sy. I loved those moments, he really believed I could become an NBA player, and I needed that kind of faith in me.
School will begin again tomorrow. I’m about to go home, and look back at Honey Bee Farm one more time. I’m gonna miss these days, I thought to myself.
I started to walk away, when I spotted Abigail sitting on the fence overlooking the meadow. She and I spent a lot of time together this summer, maybe due to Livia and Sy sneaking off all the time, but we, or at least I, wanted to as well. We had been best friends for a long time now, she knows everything about me. Except for a few things.
That I thought about kissing her, for example. She wasn’t aware of that, and I’d like to keep it that way.
I made my way over to her, and she smiled softly once she spotted me. She tucked a strand of her copper hair behind her ear as I took place next to her.
‘Last sunset of the summer,’ she said.
‘At least it’s a beautiful one.’ Burned orange, red, and a splash of pink colored the sky.
‘I should grab my camera.’ Abigail jumped off the fence, but so did I and placed my hand on her arm. She tensed a little, but didn’t move away.
‘Don’t.’ I stared at her, and when she cocked her eyebrow at me, I remembered I actually needed to explain why she shouldn’t leave. ‘You won’t make it back in time. The sun will have set once you're back.’ And I don’t want you to go.
‘Mhm, that makes sense.’ Her body relaxed again, and she leaned against the fence. I moved next to her, and shoulder to shoulder, we watched the sun settling down.
All summer we spent time together, but this time felt a little different. Like there was something in the air.
The sun was almost gone, and I turned to look at her. Her hair had fallen into her face again, so I lifted my hand, and brushed it behind her ear again.
‘What are you doing,’ she chuckled. She turned her body to me, and I couldn’t help but look her up and down.
She definitely looked like a Syverson, and She definitely looked like a Syverson. She had gotten her height from both of her parents, standing tall above most, like an amazon. You'd also knew with one look that she was strong. If she got into a fight with Sy, I'd actually bet my money on her because she didn't have Sy's temper. Cool and collected, a trait inherited from her father. Unlike the rest, her reddish hair stood out, which made her stand out even more.
But what I admired the most, were her curves.
I knew she hated them from time to time, she said it made her different, not like other girls. Being friends with someone as petite as Livia, she felt like she was constantly being compared to her friend. But little did she know that's what I liked about her. Maybe even loved about her. She was Abigail Syverson and not someone else. I tried to tell her she didn't have to be like other girls, because she was perfect the way she was, but as a true stubborn Syverson, she wouldn't have any of it.
We were still staring at each other, and we both didn’t know what to say. I knew I shouldn’t stare at her lips, yet I did.
My hands sneaked their way to her full hips, and I pulled her closer. I gently nudged her nose with mine, and I felt her breath on my lips. Her hands had moved to my chest, and I was about to press my lips against hers, when we heard a horse whinnying.
Abigail instantly pulled away from me, breathing shallow.
‘I guess, I mean, I should check that out. I think,’ Abigail rambled. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, at school?’
She had already started to walk back to the farm as I said: ‘Of course.’ I doubt she even heard me.
I looked after her, feeling a little embarrassed and disappointed. I had now tried to kiss her twice, and failed twice. Maybe I should take the hint.
●・○・●・○・●
I want to make it right with her, so badly. But Sy doesn’t let me near Abigail and to be entirely fair, I do understand it. The walls of my hotel room are closing in on me. I need some fresh air.
With my basketball under my arm, I make my way to the basketball court. Luckily it’s empty. While I love teaching the local kids some tricks, or watching them play, I need some time alone now.
The first few shots I shoot aren’t even going near the basket. But somehow I can turn my mind off, and I manage to score quite a lot in the following minutes. I get lost in the game for a moment, until I hear a feminine voice behind me.
‘Hi Chris.’
Oh no, this reminds me of high school. There were many times I screwed up and Livia was always there to pick up the pieces and make sure everything was all fine and dandy. But she had her own peculiar way of doing so and this sweet greeting isn’t really comforting.
‘Hi.’
‘So, last night was interesting.’ Not holding back, I deserve that.
‘It sure was.’
‘How are you?’
I turn to the side, to see Livia standing next to me, holding out her hands for the basketball. I throw it to her and as she slowly dribbles, I say: ‘I’m still processing.’
‘Must’ve been a shock to see your ex-fiancée again?’ she asks. ‘What was her name again? Brittany?’
‘Bethany,’ I correct her, though I know Livia knew that. Names are her forte and Bethany made sure yesterday that everyone knew her name. ‘But yes, it was a shock.’
‘Have you spoken to Abigail yet?’ she asks, looking up.
I shake my head. ‘No, Sy was pissed and told me to get off the property, holding an ax, so I did.’ Yet I think she was also very aware of that.
‘Hm.’
‘Livia, just spit it out, okay? I can’t deal with this build up.’
Her eyes darken and she throws the ball to me. I shouldn’t have underestimated her throw, because damn… ‘Chris, you fucking imbecile.’ She’s not holding back. ‘Abigail is your friend,’ she continues. ‘Ex-fiancée or not, you must love her enough to protect her against those vile words? For fuck’s sake, have you any idea what you caused?’
I fall silent. I know I hurt Abigail, but I don’t really know why.
‘I can’t believe you let this happen,’ Livia says. ‘I know I’m not fully aware of what is happening between you, but you have to make this up. This is already a hard time for both of the Syversons, with Christmas around the corner, but now, your best friend is sitting in her room, incredibly hurt by your ex-fiancée. Because of your doing. So you better make this up, because I know Sy is contemplating actually murdering you and to be fair, I totally understand and will not stop him.’
She turns around, shaking her head. As she walks away, she says: ‘You better make this up, Chris Evans.’
She’s right. I have to talk to Abigail. One way or another.
