#hallobride

❝Are you doing anything Halloween? I imagine,yes,but just in case you're not,I'm throwing a huge birthday bash this year. You can bring Eric too,if you want.❞

scout doesn't care about the flashy stuff,hell - nobody had to get her jack shit,and whoever did,she was gratful for whatever it was,no matter how big or small the gift / present was. she smiles up at shelly,feeling content at her radiant smile forming on her face,she can feel her dimples twitching upwards. she hugs shelly,warm and wholesome.

''this card is amazing,its so cute and i love the stickers. thank you.''

𝖓𝖔𝖓𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖇𝖆𝖑 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖊 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖘.

⸻ bare walls & scattered boxes already spell out home perfectly in eric's view . yes , the creaky old loft is a bit of a fixer upper with its cracked paintjob & curtains of cobwebs which dwell high above their heads in the drafters , but as their very first property owned as a couple , the place couldn't be more IDYLLIC .

" this place is really starting to shape up , isn't it , eric ? " / " oh sure , fourteen more coats of paint and the housing authority might approve it ! ! " / " oh , you're just so funny , wise ass . i happen to think it looks very nice . " / " very nice . . . "

their pathetic tube television , bunny ears & all looks lonesome sat between two of shelly's plants . fingers tap at his chin in thought while he gazes at the negative space above it . his eyes fall upon one of many opened boxes , & inside lays masks portraying TRAGEDY & COMEDY they'd picked up at a garage sale in preparation for this very day . mask that grins is hung with care , its frowning partner held in a moment of pondering . . . eric's sideways glance shows him an oblivious shelly with her face in a magazine . he'll hide an impish smile with the mask held to his face & creeps over -- ❝ BOO ! ❞

𝖒𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘!

𝖒𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘!

❝You're not the first one to think so,Shelly.❞She mumbles,nose sniffling,not willing to admit she was on the verge of tears - she did this to herself,had only herself to blame and had to keep up the persona of being the strong,badass metalhead chick she was and has been for years,ever since she had her near death experience,that triggered something within her,she had been an emotional kid growing up,but that really changed her,from age 10 everything went downhill,emotion wise and she bottled it up,hence why Shelly was telling her this,facts she knew about herself and never wanted to admit her friends were right.

❝If I wasn't so stubborn,things would be different. I just feel like I owe it to myself to be strong,you know? I just feel obligated,and I-I want to do that but I think I'm scared.❞

❝I guess they didn't have many names to choose from back then. Because I don't know if I could live with myself naming my kid that.❞

𝖘𝖊𝖝𝖚𝖆𝖑 𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖙𝖘.

⸻ it’s no secret to eric of all people just how much the stress of shelly’s work has been eating away at her . he’ll support her strong endeavors no matter what ( & it’s a damn good one , too ) but perhaps a bit too much like him , she’ll chip away ‘till she drops . he peers over the cover of a well - loved book in time to see nimble fingers working at the buttons on her shirt to let some air in . face down on the tabletop it goes , abandoned to tend to a stubborn shelly .