#elocs

HSHQ ADVENT CALENDAR: DAY 20

~~Emeto warning below the cut~~ This story contains graphic descriptions of vomiting. 

It had been an extremely, unbearably, long day. All Connor wanted to do was go home and go to sleep, even if it was only 5:00 PM. He had a monster of a headache after taking the kids on a field trip to the zoo, keeping them in line all day. By the time Connor was finally shoving his key into the lock on his door, his hands were trembling and there were fireworks behind his eyes.

“Connor?” he heard Julia from within, “that you?”

“Yeah, babe, I'll be in in a sec.” he called back, and then immediately wished that he hadn't raised his voice when the pain in his head sparked angrily.

Connor paused to lean against the door frame and close his eyes for a second before entering, tossing his bag on the floor. He made his way to the living room, where his girlfriend would surely be, and found her sitting on the couch, laptop open and legal documents spread all over the coffee table.

Connor

Appearance: 6'2, muscular, but lean. He has fairly tanned skin. Short, dark brown hair and usually clean shaved. He has a 4-inch scar under his right pectoral muscle from his time in the army. It was a severe enough stab wound to puncture his lung and affect his diaphragm. He won't specify to anyone how it happened past that it was during hand-to-hand combat of some sort.

Personality: He's tough and disciplined from his service, but he can also be kind and funny. He's gotten more accustomed to civilian life in the two years he's been back. He tries not to snap at or insult anyone, but sometimes he does have flashbacks and minor PTSD episodes that can leave his tense and irritable.

Back story: He grew up in Wisconsin with his moms, who adopted him when he was 2 years old. He had a pretty normal childhood, played football, and had a lot of friends (mostly female) and went to college at UW Madison with his best friend, Shannon. His school was paid for by ROTC, and he studied for 4 years to become an elementary school teacher. He served 5 years in the army before he was wounded (mentioned above) and was honorably discharged. He went on to meet his long-time girlfriend just months after coming back. They moved in together after about a year of dating. He currently teaches first grade in Montana and has a side-job as a personal trainer. He's still in contact with his parents, and Shannon recently moved to his city with her wife. He grew up methodist and rediscovered his faith when he met Julia, as she's catholic.

Julia

Appearance: 5'8, curvy and fit, but not very athletic. She has curly, dirty blond/light brown hair and light brown eyes. Her skin is fairly dark naturally, and she gets super tan during the summer.

Personality: She's very honest and straight to the point, but she's intelligent enough emotionally to know when it's more appropriate to sugarcoat something. She's also patient, and can sometimes be just a hopeless romantic.

Back story: She's Spanish, but she moved to the United States with a long-term work visa to become a senior partner at a law firm. She graduated from Universidad de Oviedo. She grew up in Gijon with her dad, who worked hard to support them, but struggled sometimes. They were never homeless, but they did sometimes have to stay with her grandparents. Her grandmother introduced her to Catholicism, and she'd a devoted Christian. However, she's very open-minded as far as social issues such as LGBT issues, despite the common teachings of her church. About a year after moving to Montana, she met Connor while visiting Wisconsin on a business trip. They maintained a long-distance relationship for a while, and then Connor moved to Montana with her.

Shannon

Appearance: 5'2, curvy and strong. She has ringlet curly red hair, very similar to Julia's (aside from the color) and blue eyes. She's pale and has a lot of freckles all over.

Personality: She's very bouncy. Growing up, she wanted to be an actress, so she's dramatic and energetic. Something is seriously wrong when she's not smiling.

Back story: She lived about a block away from Connor as a kid, and they hated each other until about 5th grade, when they bonded over their similarities. She actually played on the middle school men's football team too, as a defensive guard, but the high school varsity team wouldn't let her play. She was angry about it for a while, but it turned out to be a good thing because it allowed her to discover her passion for theater. She had two loving parents, but her mom died in a car crash on the way to her college graduation ceremony. She'd still scarred by it, and the anniversary of that day is always one of the rare times that she doesn't smile. She met her wife, Zhalai in their senior year, and they immediately clicked. She studied to become an accountant, and received her master's degree. They married about three years after they met and moved to Montana together.

Zhalai

Appearance: 5'6, fairly thin, with very prominent features (sharp cheekbones, etc.). She's of Arabic descent, and has fairly dark skin. She wears a hijab, and has hazel eyes.

Personality: A lot of people think she's pretentious because she's so philosophical and poetic all the time, but she's actually pretty down-to-earth. She's warm and loving, a hopeless romantic.

Back story: She grew up on the opposite side of Wisconsin from Connor and Shannon with her parents and three brothers. She's a triplet, and their other brother is three years older than she is. She's close with her family, she always has been. When she met Shannon and told her parents, they didn't understand at first, but after a few months and a lot of talking, they came to accept and like Shannon. They were thrilled when Zhalai got married. She works as a therapist, and got her degree in psychology. She was wary of Shannon's friends when they first moved to Montana; she actually didn't like Julia much at all, but it only took her a few weeks to warm up to them.

Caleb

Appearance: 6'0, muscular, curly brown hair and green eyes.

Personality: He's kind, but a little bit rough around the edges. He'll do anything for the people he's close to, but he doesn't really trust new people. It takes him a long time to open up to people.

Back story: He grew up in a small town in Montana, and hated it. Basically everyone was homophobic and it was exactly what could be expected. His family was homophobic too, and he was pretty much forced to live in the closet all through his teen years. When he graduated, he got out of there right away.   He moved to California and went to a college in the inner city. He spent a few years getting drunk and struggling really badly until he got into an awful abusive relationship with a guy named Darren. He was physically and mentally abused for almost three months before he finally got out, and then he realized it was time to go home. He moved back to Montana and stayed with an old friend for a while, and then met his current boyfriend Chris. Chris was kind of a reality check for him; he got him back in shape, sobered him up, and in the process they fell in love. They now live together, and Caleb is working part-time as an adult competitive swim instructor while he finishes nursing school online.

Chris

Appearance: 6'4, athletic build, blond hair that wears a little shorter on the sides and longer on the top.

Personality: He's a really happy-go-lucky kind of  guy, and he has a hard time being serious. He's not the smartest,(he's not dumb, just kind of a stereotypical jock) but he makes up for it by working really hard, and with his charm. He's quick to get close to people, but not quick to let go.

friends are SO 18 years ago... what a bore! 🥱 how about...

milf-frothing frienemies?? certified lover boys, george x zhaohui🤰🏽👨🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻🤰🏼

friends with benefits?? eloa x ionie 

friend...zoned?? ireti x sten ( ireti deserves a hoe phase ) 🤷🏾‍♀️

forced proximity...friends?? levente x nasira

friend of a friend... but make it enemies?? luciana x leonor 🍝

friends to lovers?? andrew x vitoria