#apartmentct

You,

      Yeah, you. I wonder who you'll be. Maybe I'm just writing this because I'm frustrated and horny, but sometimes I really do wonder who the special person is going to be that opens me up to the world of sex. Virginity is a patriarchal construct and the word kind of pisses me off, but I guess that's what I have to dub myself as until you come around and whisk me off my feet.-- I'm not a romantic in that sense. I figure my first time will be kind of awkward, but I'm counting on you to help with that. If you're a guy, I'm giving you a list that I found once about how to properly do it with a girl, and if you don't think it's the best instruction manual you ever got, I'm not the girl you're going to bed with.

      Anyway, I want us to be able to have fun. Sex is weird, and people make it up to be this amazing thing or this super shitty not-worth-your-effort thing. That's why I'm writing this. I don't want my first time to be shitty, and yeah, I'd like it to feel good and blow my mind, but not in that big-screen love scene type way. You'll either have a dick or a talented tongue and fingers, so use them to your advantage, help me out when it's my turn because I don't want to leave you hanging. I want us to be a learning experience, I want us to have fun learning each others' bodies. Sex doesn't have to be nitty gritty, it just need to be fun, and that's all I'm asking.

      But again, I'm probably just writing this because I'm horny and frustrated.

Sincerely yours, 

SUBJECT: What will your character look like in ten years?

WHO: Anthony Crawford

NOTES: Sorry that this is late, I've been busy and asdfhgkskl. The ending is however the reader interprets it, ok? TRIGGERS ARE LISTED IN THE TAGS.

10 years later, Anthony Crawford is the same old guy he used to be. Except with more money. He didn't have a wife that lasted longer than eight months, his wine business was slowly crumbling to pieces. His parents died and he had nothing left to his name. It was cowardly what he was doing now but he didn't have a choice. He started a business, nothing like his old one. This one was a lot more---sinful.

      The lock screen on her phone will the a photo of the girl's she's coaching at present. Every time she gets a new team she gets a photo and keeps it close to her. That's what she looks at now while she walks up the path to her brothers house for her nieces birthday. There are blue and green balloons outside the door and on the fence to get onto the land. Emmett had done well for himself, and so had she. Before she's even at the door it bursts open and out comes a little red haired girl in overalls and a t-shirt, screaming with joy before reverting to very quick hand movements that Alana catches with ease. She signs back, "Of course I'll play with your new dump trucks, but I have to say hi to daddy and mommy first." The little girl nods emphatically and runs back inside.

      Alana walks up the stairs and runs right into her brother. "Hey look who it is!" She  greets him with a hug, and hands him the present she'd brought for Faina. "What is it?" He asks, and she laughs. "A volleyball, fit for a seven year old." Emmett simply laughs. "She'll love it." He ushers her in and she grins when she sees the decor. Emmett's kid is all over the place with likes and dislikes, and chop gender binary in half. They'd shown her the movie "Epic" when she was five, with captions for the hearing impaired and the little girl had immediately wanted to be a leaf-woman, seeing as there were lady leaf soldiers in the ranks. Her wardrobe quickly became most green. But that faded when they showed her "Brave."

      Since living in Haven her life has gone how she wanted it to, 2016 Olympic Games, representing Canada, they'd won a silver medal. And from there she'd played tournaments all over the world. She was given the coaching job at twenty seven and hasn't left it since. It's a great feeling to teach the athletes of tomorrow, and all her girls have held great promise with their skills. On a monthly basis she calls in some of her friends to play against her girls and is proud to say that Olympic level players versus these girls is fair game all around. She plays opposition against her girls and they perform remarkably.

      The party is full of family and friends and Faina's mother runs after the girl to act as an interpreter when she animatedly signs at the people who aren't as well versed in sign language as the family is. With something of a smirk on her face Alana sneaks into the kitchen where her brother is finishing up the cake in private. "I've got something for you." She says, and hands him a card. He looks completely confused but shrugs and wipes his hands off on a dish towel before taking the card from her. "You didn't have to get me anything." He says, tearing the envelope and pulling out the card. It says congratulations on the front and as he opens it a photograph flutters out of the card. She laughs and he stoops to pick it up, expression going from confused to elated in not time flat.

      "You did it! You and Helen did it!" The grin on his face is infectious and she nods. "She's pregnant, yeah, my eggs, her womb, perfect combo." Alana shrugs, and accepts the hug her brother gives her. "How far along is she?" He asks, getting a look at the sonogram photos. "Fourteen weeks." He nods. "I'm so happy for you." 

      A little later once everyone important had been told about Alana's good news, Alana again finds her brother while he's relaxing on the couch during cake time. She plops down next to him. "Do you know if Vera and Logan are coming? I remember you inviting them." Emmett nods. "Yeah, both of them said they'd be here post cake time so I'm assuming that's any time now." Alana laughs. "Faina will be so excited to see them." Now it's Emmett's turn to laugh. "You think, she barely stopped climbing on Logan last time he was here. And I'm pretty sure that ninja phase Faina had was because of Vera's dark and mysterious wardrobe."

      "Does she still call Logan rainbow man?" Alana asks, and Emmett nods. "Sometimes, now it's uncle Lo." Just then the doorbell rings and the sensors on the wall blink a few times. Alana's face lights up. "That must be them." Emmett rolls his eyes when she gets up to answer the door, almost as excited as his daughter will be when she sets eyes on his old neighbours.

~

      Alana runs a tired hand through her hair, heading straight for the coffee pot once she emerges from the washroom. With a yawn, she waves at her brother and smiles, still a little asleep. "Morning sleepy head." He greets, and she rolls her eyes. "I have three days off, I'm going to utilize them." She's barely slept in an extra hour. "Hey Emmett?" Alana says, as she pours herself a mug. "Yeah?" He replies.

SUBJECT:  What do you hope your character will look like in ten years?

WHO: Skylar Deureux

NOTES: No triggers, yo'

He still smells like liquor and cigarettes, only this time the liquor isn't drowning his nose and the cigarettes smell like one or two instead of the whole pack. He's grown a mustache too, and is smiling more. He hasn't dated anyone in three weeks but admitted to have flirted with the waitress at the restaurant he stopped by to get some lunch at. 

But Slater just smiles, nods his head and hugs his dad one more time letting his face sink deep into his neck. The last time he could remember a hug like this was well, a long time ago. Basketball game when he was fourteen, and his dad offered up his extra ticket to him after he'd gotten into a fight with Date Number thirty three. It felt nice to hug his dad again, to even be on talking turns. He even called him Slater Gator, and he called him dad.

And he'd be stopping by more often, flights from California to New Hampshire were killer and Mr. Carson refused to believe his son still liked a little town compared to his home in California. But Mr. Carson still managed to visit at least a few times a year. He'd ask Slater how things were doing, if he still wrote for the website, which he did only he added some writing in there too. The last script he wrote was going to be the pilot to an up and coming comedy show. He was offered a trip to the red carpet but he refused because his father was home then and no one would watch his kid.

At least one kid Slater wanted, maybe a girl or boy. He didn't really care. Maybe he adopted them, or he actually fessed up to someone and got married again (and made sure at all times Slater knew where they were before he ended up not being able to say goodbye) 

If it was a girl he'd name her Allison after his mom, and her middle name would be Holly like the flower she adored. His dad would smile at that and say she would have smiled if she was alive. And once a year when they would visit Mr. Carson he would give Allie the flowers this time and let her sit alone with grandma to talk to her about 'secret stuff'.

If it was a boy though he'd probably name it something ridiculously weird, maybe not. It'd have meaning though, something his parents probably didn't think after he asked what his name meant and his father googled it to 'someone who slates roofs'. He wants to give him at least one South Park name somewhere to thank the bastards at that place for giving him almost everything he had in his life. Kenneth maybe, or Stan. Probably Stan since he was his favorite. And Quentin for his favorite director. Quentin Stanley Carson and Allison Holly Carson, at least they had meaning somehow. 

And he'd hang out with them everyday he had a chance, playing dress-up and singing songs. He'd show them comedy movies and pretend dragons chased them and breakfast were feasts of pancakes and eggs. Beds would be checked every night, along with the closets. He'd try and take them out to games, do what his father did in his good moments, and remember to keep all their writings and pieces of art. He wanted them to be happy, he wanted them to have what he never had. 

Maybe, maybe he wouldn't be sleeping alone when the day was done. A husband, a wife even sitting next to him. Maybe they'll watch movies together, him complaining about everything while the other tried to tolerate him. Maybe they'll complain together. Or they'll read books, or cuddle, or do something. It would just be nice to be attached somehow, to someone or anyone. That would probably be the best part.

Or maybe he just had friends, friends he was making now, still his friends. He wouldn't be alone at least, having babysitters and hanging out with people whenever he could. He wouldn't die alone at least, hopefully. Maybe. 

"And in a worldwide exclusive, I can inform you that Mr and Mrs Marx have announced they will again be returning to-"

Mona jogged off the main stage and walked behind it, taking refuge in the shade it provided from the sun. Loose black curls were sticking to her face and neck. She'd given up on trying to make her hair behave during any of her performances. She always just got too sweaty and moved around too much. It was like trying to tame a wild animal. The summer heat didn't help. As much as Mona loved playing outside, it was more than a little uncomfortable. One of the event workers handed her a water bottle with the Warped Tour logo on it, and Mona thanked her. She unscrewed the top of the bottle and took a swig before pouring some down the back of her neck. It didn't just cool her down, but it helped bring some relief to a fresh tattoo that Mona had gotten about a week ago. It had been itching like crazy all day, and she'd been dying to claw at it all day.

She pulled her hair up and secured it into a messy bun, taking another long sip of water and trying to catch her breath. Playing always got her hyped up. The adrenaline rush didn't even die down for a few hours sometimes. "Mo!" Someone called behind her. She turned around and grinned when she saw Mike lift his guitar over his head and hand it off to one of the techs. "Good show," he said with a smile. The rest of the band came down the stairs after the two of them. Chris and Steve came down, and Melina was last. She was always last because she spent a few extra seconds throwing her drumsticks out into the crowd.

It was the band's fourth year in a row on Warped Tour, but they had only started headlining this year. Today was the Mansfield, MA date. Mona remembered going to that date year after year to see the bands she idolized. Now people were coming the see her band. Now people were idolizing her. It was the best feeling in the world. Playing at home only made that feeling even stronger. 

"Mrs. Marx?" Mona heard as she was glancing around for Landon. He usually waited for her after he watched their set. They'd hang out for a bit, and then he'd go off to play with his band. She turned towards the sound. It was another one of the event workers. 

"Call me Mona. Please," she said with an easy smile. 

"Mona. Right. Your husband's band got bumped. They're playing over in the amphitheater in about five minutes. He wanted to make sure you knew." The man said.

"Oh! Thank you so much!" She glanced over at her bandmates. "I'm gonna go see them play, guys. I'll meet you back on the bus after for the signing?"

The rest of Mona's band nodded, and Mona ran off into the fenced off area that was reserved for musicians. It made it a lot easier for them all to move around without being mobbed by people. She signed a few posters through the chain link fence before sprinting off towards the amphitheater. She got over there a few minutes before the guys had to go onstage and perform. Landon lit up when he saw Mona. She waved and smiled at the four other guys in his band before she rushed over to him and jumped up into his arms. "Thought you weren't gonna make it," he said quietly.

"Sorry. I just heard. Had to run over, and a few people wanted stuff signed, so it took a bit longer than I thought it would." Mona could never deny a fan anything. She loved seeing them and talking to them because she was one of them just a few years ago, and they meant the world to her. She would do anything for them.

"You wanna hang out after we play?" He asked.

"We actually have a signing in like, an hour. I have to run over there after your set, but I'll be finished by about...six thirty, I think. We can meet up then and head over to the catering tent and grab dinner. You guys did your signing earlier today, right?" He nodded. "Okay. Then I'm all yours after six thirty."

"Sounds perfect," he said with a smile.

"Good," Mona said before rising up on her toes to kiss him. "Good luck. I love you. Now, get the hell out there and kick some ass."

Lara sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it for a moment as she stared at the screen before her and searched for the right word. Perfection wasn't something that she usually felt the need to strive for in most aspects of her life. She just wanted to go with the flow and have fun. Writing was different though. Nothing less than perfection was acceptable to her when it came to her writing. If the words didn't sound right or flow correctly when Lara read them back to herself then she wasn't going to let them pass. Words had a funny way of fitting together. Lara had always had a talent for finding the ways that they did, and she was going to put that talent to good use.

The perfect word popped into her head, and she quickly typed it out. She read over the final sentence and almost instantly smiled to herself. There. The manuscript for her next novel was done. Lara was incredibly proud of it. It was good. It was really good. It was probably the best thing she'd ever written. She leaned back in her chair, closed her laptop, and sighed. That was a weight off of her shoulders. Her editor had been hounding her for the past few weeks about the manuscript, but Lara wasn't going to give him anything that wasn't just right. She'd told him that it would be worth waiting for, and she'd definitely been right.

A few more seconds of silence passed before Lara heard the front door open. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her that it was later than she'd though. Writing could keep her up all night sometimes. She sprang up out of her chair and left the office that had been set up for her in the home that she shared with the man that just came through the door. She passed a bookcase full of journals and topped with a row of novels bearing her name and various accolades. She almost tripped over her cat as she made her way into the hall. Phileas' orange fur had dulled a little with age. He was no longer thin and lithe, and he'd given up his habit of sneaking outside to go on adventures in favor of a more relaxed lifestyle. Nowadays he was perfectly happy curling up in one of his favorite spots in the house and spending a quiet day there. It wasn't uncommon for Lara to find him sleeping on her pillow or tucked into the corner of the couch in her office. She didn't mind one bit. Lara loved having Phileas around. She always had.

As she crouched down to scratch behind the old cat's ears, she found herself smiling again when she heard footsteps coming towards the two of them. Phileas stood and stretched, trotting over to a pair of thin legs clad in dark denim. Lara looked up and grinned. She was met with his smile. It was the smile that she'd been waking up to for years now, the smile that she'd fallen so desperately in love with. She rose up and wrapped her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head like he always did. Her smile widened. She smiled so much more often this days, and her smiles were always real. She was happy. She was finally happy.

Lara still couldn't believe it sometimes. How had things worked out so well? All she'd ever done was resist him from the moment they first met. Lara hadn't wanted to get attached to anyone. Attachment had been terrifying for her. All it had ever caused for her was pain. People were going to find their way into her heart and leave her. That was what she used to think. She'd never have the happy ending that the people in the books she read had. It hadn't been any way to live, but it had taken her too long to realize that. Of course, she'd gotten lucky somehow. Lara didn't know how it happened or where he came from, but he'd shown up when she'd needed him most, and he'd gotten under her skin. He'd loved her when nobody else would.

Her fingers curled a little, gripping at his shirt. She could feel him smiling into her hair. Anyone that knew Lara ten years ago wouldn't have imagined her to have turned out like they. They probably would have thought that she'd still be all alone, but somehow she'd managed to find someone that could accept and appreciate every part of her. Her best traits and her worst ones. Her merits and her faults.

She never would have written this ending for herself.