Tanner Wiseman could get it

“Nope, we’re watching Lord of The Rings.” You said, putting on one of his favorite movies.

“That’s mean” he laughed, dropping down onto the couch next to you. “You know I can’t resist Lord of The Rings.”

“I know” you laughed, pulling a blanket over your laps and leaning your head against Tanner’s shoulder.

You’d known him for a few years at this point. You’d met Dakota through mutual friends, but when he introduced you to Tanner the two of you hit it off right away. You’d had a little crush on him since day one, but he never seemed to show any romantic interest. He’d become one of your best friends and that was more than enough for you.

Not even 15 minutes into the movie, you could feel Tanner’s weight slowly shifting toward you and you realized he’d fallen asleep.

You quietly giggled and shifted on the couch so you could let him slide down and lay his head in your lap. You thought he’d woken up for a second, but he just pulled his feet up on the couch and snuggled into your lap.

“Silly, sleepy boy” you said, throwing the blanket over him and leaning back so you could try to get some sleep.

At around 9 in the morning, you woke up to Connor walking into the house.

“Sorry” he whispered, realizing he’d woken you up and that Tanner was still asleep.

You yawned and smiled. “You’re good. I’m just happy he’s slept this long.”

Connor nodded his head, wearing a slightly concerned expression. “He posts in the work Discord chat into the early morning most nights.”

“I told him he’s going to run himself into the ground” you quietly replied. “I’ll try talking to him about it later.”

“Good luck” Connor said. “He won’t talk to any of us about it.”

“Don’t worry, I can be annoying when I want to be” you quietly laughed.

A few minutes later Tanner turned over, now facing you. He ran his hand over your thigh before opening his eyes. “This is not a pillow.”

“It seemed to work just fine last night” you laughed.

“What time is it?” he asked, stretching and snuggling back into your lap.

“Almost 9:30”, you answered.

“That’s too early” he mumbled, trying to go back to sleep.

“Tanner, my leg is asleep” you laughed, running your hand up and down his arm. “Let’s get you to your bed.”

You could hear him groan before he almost fell off the couch trying to sit up. “I should just get up” he said, looking around blindly for his beanie and glasses.

“I’ll hand you your stuff if you promise to go back to bed” you tried to bargain, holding his beanie and glasses away from him.

“Y/n, If I got to my room I’m not going to fall back asleep. I promise.” He yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“Why can’t you sleep in your room?” you asked, curious as to what the heck that meant.

“No…I just meant…I’m too awake now. I’m just going to end up getting on my computer and working. I can’t fall back asleep now.” He hesitated at the start, almost sounding like he was…lying? Hiding something?

“Fine” you gave in, handing him his things. “But if you can’t sleep tonight, come and get me.”

Tanner looked at you for a moment, almost like he was going to say something…but instead he pulled you into a long hug before standing up and leaving the room.

A few hours later you wandered up to Dakota’s office. “Hey Dak?” you called out, knocking on the door.

“Come in!” he called back.

“You busy?” you asked, seeing him sitting in front of his many screens.

“I was actually going to go for a walk” he answered. “I’m going cross-eyed from looking at footage” he laughed.

“You want company? It’s totally okay to say no” you replied.

“Of course” he said, getting up and pulling on his shoes. “Maybe I’ll make it more than 5 minutes if someone else is walking with me.”

The two of you walked down the street to a neighborhood park that was at the center of the development.

“Can I ask you something about Tanner without you telling him I’m talking to you about it?” you asked.

“He’s my best friend, y/n. I don’t really keep much from him.” At least he was being honest.

“What if I told you I was just worried about him?” you continued.

“Why don’t you ask me what you want to ask me and I’ll use my best judgement” Dakota proposed.

“Fair” you laughed. You explained what happened the night before.

“I’m impressed you got him to sleep that long, honestly” was Dakota’s response.

“I didn’t know he struggled with his sleep this much until I stayed with you guys. When he’s slept over at my apartment in the past he always sleeps like a baby.” You felt like you were trying to solve a riddle. “Well, this morning he was totally happy to go back to bed with his head in my lap, but when I suggested he go get some sleep in his actual bed he said he couldn’t sleep in his room.”

Dakota made a ‘what?’ face. “He sleeps in his room all the time.”

You shrugged your shoulders. “When I asked, he changed his excuse and said that what he meant to say was that he’s too awake to go back to bed.”

“I mean, that would make more sense” Dakota replied. “Maybe you’re thinking too much into it.”

 “I guess” you sighed. “I told him he better come find me if he can’t sleep again tonight.”

“What did he say?” Dakota asked.

“He didn’t say anything, actually” you explained. “He stared at me for a minute, gave me a Tanner hug, and left the room.”

“You said you had a question, but I don’t think you’ve asked me anything” Dakota laughed.

“I guess I don’t know” you answered honestly. “Something in my gut is telling me something else is going on.”

“And the fact that you like him has nothing to do with it?” Dakota teased you.

“Oh, shut up” you laughed, shoving him. “I got over that a long time ago. I even went on a date last week.”

“Whatever you say”, he laughed, raising his hands in surrender. “All I’m saying is that according to you Tanner sleeps like a baby when he’s with you. Last night is evidence of that.”

“I don’t think I’m the variable here” you snarked. “I think it has something to do with his room.”

“Y/n, that makes no sense. I promise you I know for a fact he sleeps in his room. I have to wake him up when his alarm doesn’t” Dakota explained.

“Yeah, when he actually sleeps every three nights” you replied. “I think I’m going to cleanse his room or something. Maybe it’s haunted.”

Dakota laughed. “Do whatever you think you need to do, but if it was just his room you wouldn’t have found him on the back porch last night. You would have found him already asleep on the couch.”

You hadn’t really thought about that.

“Look, I don’t want either of you getting hurt, but I also don’t want two people I care about pretending that they don’t like each other. I have no clue how Tanner feels and maybe you’re telling the truth. Maybe you ‘got over it’. Just…before you get too deep into this, you should probably figure out how you actually feel. Connor already thinks you two are a thing.”

“What?!” you asked, looking over at a laughing Dakota.

“When he asked me earlier, I told him I didn’t know.” He explained. “Now that I know what he walked in on this morning, I get why he asked.”

“Dakota, you and I have cuddled on that couch and no one has ever questioned it” you pointed out.

“Y/n, the guys gave me shit about that for a month” Dakota laughed. “Everyone questioned it. They just know better than to mess with you.”

“You don’t seem to know any better” you laughed. “Tell Connor there’s nothing going on with me and Tanner.”

“Nah, Connor doesn’t dwell on stuff like that” Dakota replied. “I doubt he’ll even bring it up again.”

“He seemed worried about Tanner too, by the way” you added.

“I’ve known Tanner my whole life, y/n. He’s always been this way.” Dakota gave you a half smile.

When the two of you made it back to the house, you took a little trip to a metaphysical shop and got some stuff you hoped would fix whatever was wrong with Tanner’s room. When you finished your attempt at cleansing the room you realized how late it had gotten and that Tanner had been gone almost all day.

You decided to text him. “Hey! What are you up to?”

When you didn’t get a text back, you started to worry you’d done something to upset him that morning. Tanner always texts back. You decided to keep busy until he got home. You cleaned the upstairs bathroom, did some laundry, straightened up the spare room you were staying in, and baked a cake and still…no Tanner.

“What smells so good?” you heard Dakota ask as he came down the stairs.

“I’m stress baking” you answered, taking a bite of the frosted Funfetti cake right out of the pan.

Dakota laughed and grabbed a fork to join you, shoving a huge bite of cake in his mouth. “Is this about…”

“Don’t even say it” you interrupted him, pointing your fork at him.

Dakota mimed zipping his mouth…and then quickly mimed unzipping it to take a bite of cake before rezipping it closed.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re such a smartass.”

“He just text me, by the way” Dakota snuck in before shoving another bite of cake in his mouth.

“Is he okay?” you asked, throwing your dirty fork in the sink.

“He’ll be back in a bit. He said he was just clearing his head.” Dakota answered, grabbing a glass and going to the refrigerator for some milk. “Good cake.”

“I’m gonna go shower” you said, telling Dakota to cover the cake before he left the kitchen.

You showered and dried your hair before changing into some sleep shorts and a tank top. You decided that facing it head on was the best option so you went to wait in Tanner’s room. You realized you must have fallen asleep when you woke up wrapped in a sleeping Tanner. It still looked dark out so you went back to sleep. “Maybe he’s not mad at me” you thought to yourself as sleep overcame you.

The next time you woke up, the sun was fully out. The two of you had moved a bit in your sleep, but you were still very much wrapped in Tanner. His face was tucked into the crook of your neck, his leg was thrown over one of yours, and his hand was resting against your side under your shirt.

“Tanner” you said quietly, running your hand up and down his back.

“Five more minutes” he mumbled, not actually waking up.

“Tanner, someone is blowing up your phone” you said, hearing his phone ding for the 25th time.

“What?” he asked?

“Your phone keeps going off like someone is texting you” you answered.

He pulled back a few inches and looked at you, realizing that he’d moved A LOT closer in his sleep. “I’m sorry” he said, rolling over.

“What are you sorry for?” you asked, confused.

He looked back over at you with a guilty look on his face. “My hand…and I was…I’m just sorry.”

“You’re fine” you laughed. “I would have gone back to sleep, but your phone has been going off non-stop.”

Tanner sat up and grabbed his phone. “Shit.”

“Everything okay?” you asked.

“Yeah, I was just supposed to go on a hike” he answered.

“I didn’t hear your alarm” you said.

“I must have forgotten to set it” he said, putting his phone down and stretching back out on the bed.

“When did you get home last night?” you asked, realizing you didn’t know because you fell asleep.

“Around one in the morning” he said, turning to look at you. “Sorry I didn’t wake you up. You were asleep and I was tired as fuck.”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep” you laughed. “I was going to ask you if you were mad at me.”

Tanner furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and turned to lay on his side so he could fully face you. “Why the fuck would I be mad at you?”

“I don’t know” you sighed. “I was kind of pushy yesterday morning and then you left right away and when I text you I never got a response…”

“Y/n” he interrupted you, grabbing your hand. “I wasn’t mad at you. I don’t think I’ve ever been mad at you, actually. I just…” Tanner half smiled and sighed. “I’ve got too much going on in my head.”

“I don’t want to be pushy and overbearing or act like I have all the answers, but you know you can tell me anything, right?”

Tanner squeezed your hand before letting go of it. “I think this is something I need to figure out on my own.”

You didn’t know what to say for a moment, but you landed on “Screw that.”

“What?” Tanner asked, a little caught off guard by your response.

“Tanner, you’re the first person in line to help every single one of your friends and family, but you think you need to handle your own shit by yourself?”

Tanner rolled his eyes. “What happened to not being pushy?”

“I can’t help it” you answered. “I know it makes no sense and I sound like a crazy clingy girlfriend or something, but I just…I knew something was wrong and I was right. You’re suffering in silence instead of letting the people that love you support you…Why can’t…”

Tanner got off the bed and paced back and forth while you spoke, eventually interrupting you, frustrated. “I’m sorry I’m not like you and Dakota and I don’t have to talk about every single feeling I have with everyone.”

That made you physically flinch back.

Tanner dropped his head into his hands. “I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s my fault” you said, crawling off the bed and heading toward the door. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“Y/n!” Tanner called after you.

You left his room and went to the room you had been staying in. You aimlessly tidied up, not knowing what to do. About an hour later you heard a knock on your door.

“Tanner, I don’t want to talk about it” you called out, almost laughing at the irony of you saying that.

You heard the door open. “Don’t worry, it’s just me” you heard Dakota say.

“I fucked up” you said, willing the tears not to leave your eyes.

“Nah, this one’s on Tanner” he said, pulling you into a hug.

“No it’s not. You told me that I should figure out how I felt before I dove into this and I just…I really don’t want to talk about it.” You normally told Dakota everything, but you were embarrassed.

“You two need to actually talk” Dakota encouraged.

“Yeah, that ended so great last time” you snarked. “I’ll be fine. I actually just got a text that the power was back on in my apartment so I’m going to head home.” You were lying through your teeth, but you’d rather face the cold than spend the next week trying to avoid Tanner.

Dakota pushed back a bit, but eventually helped you bring your bags down to your car.

Later that night Tanner was back to sitting on the back porch, unable to sleep.

“I was rooting for you getting a third night of sleep in a row” Dakota joked, walking out back and sitting in the chair next to Tanner. “I think you would have set a new record for yourself.”

“I fucked up, dude” Tanner said, sighing.

“That’s funny” Dakota replied. “That’s exactly what y/n said earlier.”

“She didn’t do anything wrong” Tanner said. “I shouldn’t have let myself get so close to her when I knew she had feelings for someone else.”

Dakota looked at Tanner like he’d grown a second head. “Explain.”

“Don’t act like you don’t know” Tanner said in an almost bitter tone.

“Know what?” Dakota asked, wondering what the hell Tanner was talking about. “Theres only one person I know she’s had feelings for since I met her.”

“Yeah, you!” Tanner replied.

“For being two of the smartest people I know, you’re both really fucking dumb sometimes” Dakota laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tanner asked, a little defensive.

“Hold on, I promise I’ll get there but I have a few questions.” Dakota was going to get to the bottom of this if it killed him. “How long have you liked y/n?”

“Dak…” Tanner just stared at him.

“Hey, you started this.” Dakota replied.

“I’ve liked her since I met her, but it was obvious to me and everyone else that she liked you” Tanner said. “We’re like family, dude. You two were joined at the hip and I wasn’t going to get in the middle of that.”

“This is…” Dakota started to say funny, but stopped himself. “She’s like my sister. She likes you, jackass.”  

“Bullshit” Tanner said, sounding skeptical.

“Not a word of a lie” Dakota did the ‘scouts honor’ movement. “I thought I was being a good friend by keeping the trust, but now I wish I would have meddled a long time ago.”

“Well, even if that’s true, it won’t be after what happened today” Tanner sighed.

“What actually happened?” Dakota asked. “I really only heard what you said.”

Tanner sat silently for a moment, shaking his head back and forth. “I have tried to keep my distance and to keep my feelings in check because I thought you two were… but I’m putty in her hands, dude. All it took was her holding her hand out for mine the other night and I followed her inside like a love-sick puppy.”

Dakota gestured for Tanner to go on.

“She was upset that I told her I needed to figure some stuff out on my own” Tanner continued. “She didn’t know that it was about her so she was trying to get me to talk about it. I was an asshole. I just…”

“Turns out she was right. You should have talked to her about it” Dakota pointed out. “You know she’s been worried about you?”

“I can’t even make myself go back in the house” Tanner said. “The look on her face when I…”

“She’s not in the house, dude.” Dakota informed Tanner when he didn’t finish his sentence. “She said she got a text saying the power was back on in her apartment.”

“No it’s not” Tanner argued. “They can’t restore it until they fix the power lines and they aren’t even finished removing the damaged ones.”

Dakota shrugged. “Then she’s freezing her ass off in her dark apartment.”

“Shit” Tanner cursed, standing up.

“Good luck” Dakota said, following Tanner into the house. “Don’t fuck it up.”

Tanner turned back towards Dakota. “What if she doesn’t let me in?”

“You have a key for a reason, dude” Dakota pointed out.

You had bundled up and layered blankets on your bed before crawling in and falling asleep.

“Y/n” Tanner tried to wake you up, laughing at how many layers you were under. “Y/n, wake up.”

You mumbled something incoherent, not really waking up.

Tanner kicked his shoes off and crawled into your bed. “Y/n, let me take you back to the house.”

“I’m fine” you answered, waking up enough to realize what was happening.

“Well, I’m not” Tanner said, scooting up behind you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling your back to his chest. “I am so sorry for what I said. I really, truly didn’t mean it. I was just afraid that if I didn’t get you to stop, I was going to tell you the truth and I thought that if you knew the truth...”

You waited a moment to see if Tanner was going to keep talking before turning in his arms to snuggle into his chest.

“I was worried that if you knew the truth, I’d lose this” he said, tightening his arms around you.

“I told you that you could tell me anything” you reminded him.

“Y/n…” He started before pausing. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Just start” you encouraged. “I’ll try not to interrupt” you added, laughing.

Tanner sighed. “My ex did a pretty great job of convincing me I was too much. I’m too clingy, I’m too emotional, I’m too loud, I’m too touchy feely…I’ve tried to be less, but you just…you make it really fucking hard. I was afraid that if you knew how I felt that it would ruin our friendship and that would have killed me.”

“Your ex is a dumb bitch” you said when Tanner paused.

Tanner laughed. “We all have our dumb moments. This whole time I thought you liked Dakota.”

You rolled back on the bed laughing. “Are you kidding me?”

“Come back” he said, reaching out to find you on the bed, pulling you back to him. “Don’t worry. Dakota set me straight.”

“I’ve always loved how clingy and open and loud and cuddly you were” you said, moving your hands up his chest and neck to find his face in the dark. “I’ve always loved you exactly how you are.”

Tanner closed the distance between the two of you, his lips meeting yours. “God, I should have done that a long time ago.”

"Oh, we have lots of catching up to do” you agreed, kissing him again.

“Let’s get you back to the house” Tanner said, holding you against him and rolling to the edge of the bed. “Where’s your bags?”

“Still in my car” you laughed.

The two of you drove back to the house and Tanner dragged your bags to his room. “I don’t know about you” Tanner said, stripping out of his jacket and jeans. “But I’m dead on my feet.”

“Come here” you said, scooting back on Tanner’s bed and opening your arms.

Tanner crawled into the bed and cuddled against you. “I might not ever let you leave.”

“My apartment sucks anyway” you joked. “And it means you’ll actually get some sleep.”

Tanner lifted his head to look at you. “Do you know why?”

You shook your head no.

“Not to keep piling on my ex, but she made me really self-conscious about it” Tanner started, dropping his head back down to lay against your chest. “I have had nightmares most of my life. Not every night, but a lot. I can tell when they’re gonna be bad, so I usually just stay up and try to nap during the day.”

“I wish you would have told me”, you replied.

“I probably would have had to eventually, but I’ve never had a nightmare when I’ve fallen asleep with you there” Tanner explained. “Not once.”

You realized Dakota was right. It wasn’t his room at all. “I know you were kidding about not letting me leave, but…”

“No I wasn’t” Tanner laughed. “I’d move you in here tomorrow if it was up to me.”

You laughed, “I don’t know. You might get sick of me.”

“Impossible” he replied.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow” you said, feeling sleep overtake you.

The next morning, Connor walked into the house to help Dakota edit and heard some very distinct, interesting noises coming from Tanner’s room.

“Oh, they’re definitely together” Connor laughed, walking into Dakota’s office.

Dakota laughed. “I didn’t know if they’d stayed at Y/n’s apartment or come back here. I haven’t been to that side of the house yet.”

“I’m surprised you can’t hear them from here” Connor said, dropping his bag by Dakota’s desk.

“Oh shit, I remember her! Her and her friend host a paranormal podcast! Chelsea and her  actually messaged about us being on it.” Dakota handed the phone back to Tanner.

“Anything is better than this” Chelsea pointed out.

Alex pointed out that they still didn’t have a way to get them and all of their shit to the cabin. “Watch, she probably drives a tiny hybrid or some shit. Uber says it’s going to be an hour and a half wait for an SUV ride and then we have to convince them to make multiple trips.”

Tanner laughed. “Nope, she’s on her way in her Suburban and she told me to have the RV towed to her address.”

“I messaged the lady about hitting that site tomorrow night or the next night so hopefully we can get this show back on the road. Let’s film an update on one of our phones just incase we want to put this in the video” Dakota said, scooting over to make room for everyone to squeeze in on the couch.

Tanner set his phone up on the coffee table leaning against a lamp and everyone situated themselves on the couch.

“Hey fear fam, we don’t have a camera with us so we’re filming on a phone. We’ve had a rough start to this road trip and wanted to give you a little update.” Dakota started the video.

Chelsea and Alex detailed out the domino effect of shit shows that had plagued them.

“We’re hopefully on the road to redemption” Tanner added. “One of the fear fam is on her way to pick us up.”

“This could go horribly wrong and we want to remind you that you shouldn’t let strangers on the internet pick you up” Dakota laughed.

“BUT we’ve met her before and she was super cool and you might even see us on her podcast later this year” Chelsea added.

Tanner moved closer to the phone to read the notification that popped up. “Actually she’s almost here, so we’re going to cut this here. Hopefully in our next update we’ll be all smiles and have some good news.”

“Keep watching to see how this goes” Dakota said, waving at the camera.

The team grabbed the bags they’d brought with them and headed down to check out of the hotel and find you.

“How did you get so unlucky?” you laughed, waving as they walked out of the hotel.

“You don’t know the half of it” Chelsea answered, walking up to you and giving you a hug.

“Well hopefully this is where y’all turn it around” you laughed.

They threw the bags they had with them in the back of the SUV and piled in. Tanner in the passenger seat, Dakota and Alex in the middle seat and Chelsea and Connor in the back seat.

“Want to grab anything from the RV before we head to the cabin just in case it takes them a bit to tow it?” you asked.

“Actually, he said it would be there in like 2 hours” Tanner answered. “I think we can just wait.”

Dakota leaned forward between the two front seats. “I wouldn’t say no to stopping for food, though.”

“Oh my god, yes. I’m starving” Alex added.

“Just tell me where to” you answered.

When you finally got to the cabin after picking up food, everyone got comfy in the den, eating and talking while they waited for the RV.

“Don’t you live outside of Vegas?” Chelsey asked.

“I do!” you answered. “I normally have this listed on VRBO and AirBnb and stuff, but I just had a bunch of friends up here this last week.”

“What are the chances?” Alex asked.

“You guys have had enough bad luck.” You laughed. “You needed some good luck.”

You made sure everyone had the codes to the doors and wifi and such and showed everyone the rooms they had to choose from.

When the RV got to the cabin at around 4:30 in the morning they started dragging in loads of cases and bags.

“Sorry we’re making a mess” Tanner laughed, pulling out his laptop to try to figure out if they could swap out the RV or get it fixed.

“Mi casa es tu casa” you said. “don’t stress about the mess. This cabin has seen worse.”

“How long are you staying up here?” he asked.

“I’ll be here until y’all move on to your next location” you answered. “I was supposed to drive back tomorrow, but I’m not in a hurry.”

“Oh shit, we’re totally messing up your plans” Tanner joked.

You laughed. “Nah, I’m glad I saw your post. I couldn’t let y’all live in that shitty hotel for a week.”

“We definitely owe you for that” Tanner said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to film our overnight later tonight or tomorrow night.”

“There’s no rush on my part” you said. “There is plenty of food left, you’re more than welcome to take the truck to the store for anything y’all need, and you guys can use anything here. The bathrooms are stocked with shower stuff, there are games and shit in the den, we’re on a couple dozen acres of land so you have privacy, and there’s a hot tub on the back deck.”

“I’m pretty sure we actually tried to book this on AirBnb but the dates were unavailable” Dakota said, joining you guys at the table.

“Seems like fate had other plans” you replied. “Okay, I’m a night owl, but I’ve been up since like 7 yesterday morning so I’m gonna head to bed.”

“I think we all are” Alex laughed, grabbing one of his bags from the pile of things they brought in from the RV.

“I’m definitely sleeping in, but you guys are seriously welcome to make yourselves at home” you said as you got up and stretched.

“Again, thank you so much” Tanner said, standing and pulling you into a hug.

“Any time” you answered. “It’s cool to see y’all again.”

“I think it’s nice to have another girl around for once” Chelsea laughed.

“You guys can get some good fear club content if you let Chelsea and I subject you to some girly shit tomorrow.” You had a few ideas to kill some time.

“They don’t have a choice, actually” Chelsea said. “It’s my location pick so they have to do what I say.”

“Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?” Dakota fake whined.

Tanner pretended to brush his hair behind his ear. “I think they wanna braid my hair.”

You laughed and went to grab the suitcase you had dragged down that morning when you thought you were driving home. “Chels, just come to my room when you wake up. This is going to be epic.”

“Let me carry that for you” Tanner offered, grabbing the large suitcase from you and bringing it up to your room.

You thanked him. “Don’t think this is going to make us go easy on you tomorrow” you laughed.

“Oh I grew up with sisters. I doubt you’ll do anything to me they haven’t done before” he laughed.

The next day around noon Chelsea woke you up by jumping on your bed.

“Are the guys awake?” you asked.

“Connor is editing something, but everyone else is asleep” she said, almost falling when she tried to jump off of the bed.

“Let me change and we’ll head to the drug store” you laughed, telling her where the keys to the truck were. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

When you got downstairs you saw Chelsea and Tanner standing by the door.

“Pwetty Pwease” Tanner asked, sticking out a pouty lip.

“What do you need that is that important” Chelsea asked, crossing her arms and giving him a mom look.

“I just need to go to the store” Tanner replied, turning his pouty lip to you when he saw you walk up.

“Just let him come with” you laughed. “We’ll make him carry the bags.”

“And buy us coffee” Chelsea added.

“Gladly” Tanner said, running to his room to grab his shoes and wallet. When he came back out he was rushing you two out the door. “Dakota woke up. Move, move!”

The three of you laughed and ran to the SUV.

When you got to the drug store you banished Tanner to the side you weren’t shopping in for a bit while you filled the hand-held basket with things. When you were done you snuck around the end of the aisle and scared Tanner.

“Fuckin’ hell” he squealed, almost dropping his basket. “Chelsea has been a horrible influence on you.”

“That was her idea” Chelsea laughed, leading you two to the food aisle to grab some snacks.

Tanner’s phone went off and he grabbed it, reading the screen. “Good news. Dakota said we can do our overnight still. Not tonight or tomorrow night, but the next night. He already moved the next location by a day so we should be good as long as we can figure out transportation to the next location.”

“Thank god” Chelsea said, “Maybe this trip really is turning around.”

“Told you it would” you said, grabbing stuff to make s’mores.

“You think you can put up with us for that long?” Tanner joked.

“I couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed with you guys” you said, putting your basket on the counter so you could pay. “But now you definitely have to be on my podcast.”

The three of you checked out and headed toward the closest coffee shop before heading back to the cabin.

When you got home, you and Chelsea set up some cameras in the den and grabbed everything you’d bought at the store.

“Hey Fear Club, this is going to be an extra podcast episode since we have some time to kill.” Dakota intro’d the video.

“This will definitely come out before the videos drop from this road trip” Tanner explained, “but you may remember me posting on Instagram about the RV breaking down, the AirBnb cancelling on us, the car rental place being closed, and all of the other craziness that happened at the start of this trip.”

“But thankfully we were saved by someone from the Fear Club!” Chelsea interjected, dragging you into frame and pulling you down onto the couch next to her. She explained that it was her location pick on the trip and that since it got delayed, you two were going to put the guys through some girly torment.

“Okay, we wrote down a bunch of things on papers and put them in the hat and you guys are going to take turns picking. There are 12 things written down, but we’re only going to make you do 5. When you pick one, all 4 of you have to do it or have it done to you before we move on to the next one.” Chelsea explained the rules.

“I wanna go first” Alex said, reaching for the hat. “What kinds of things did you put in here?”

“You’ll find out” Chelsea laughed, holding the hat out for Alex.

Alex shuffled his hand around in the hat before picking out a wadded-up piece of paper. “Oh no” he whined. “It says wax strips” he held it out so the camera could read it.

“Wait, how much do we have to wax” Dakota asked.

“And what do we have to wax” Connor added.

“Each one comes with two and you get to put them wherever you want” you said.

“Why do I kind of want to do my armpits?” Alex laughed.

“That’s gonna hurt so bad” you said, laughing while watching the guys try to pull the two wax strips apart.

“I’m doing my leg” Tanner said. “I rarely wear shorts on camera anyway.”

Everyone ended up choosing their leg except for Dakota who put both strips on one arm.

Connor pulled his own off, but it took multiple tries. “I should have had someone else rip them off.”

“Do mine” Alex said, putting his leg in Connor’s lap. He squealed like a girl and almost knocked Connor off the couch.

Dakota had Tanner do his and Tanner said he didn’t trust anyone to pull his off fast.

“I promise I’ll do it quick” you said, offering to help.

“Pinky promise” he said, sticking his pinky out.

You laughed. “I pinky promise.”

You pulled them off back to back and fast as you could.

“That didn’t hurt nearly as bad as you guys made it seem like it was going to” Tanner laughed, feeling the now smooth spots on his leg.

“It does when you do the whole leg” Chelsea pointed out. “Who is picking next?”

“Not Alex” Dakota said, sticking his hand out for the hat. “Is it all bad stuff?”

“No” you promised. “Some of it is fun.”

Dakota shuffled his hand around in the hat and pulled out a balled-up paper. “Paint each other’s toe nails”

“Do we get to pick our color?” Tanner asked excitedly.

“I want purple!” Dakota shouted.

“There are plenty of colors to pick from” Chelsey laughed, dragging your basket of nail polish over while you put towels on the ground in case the guys were messy.

Connor picked green, Alex picked silver, Dakota picked purple, and Tanner picked black.

While they were painting each other’s toe nails Alex joked about this being clipped and ending up on a foot fetish site.

“We’ll start an Only Fans page called Only Fear” Dakota said.

“Let’s leave that to the two single people in the group” Connor teased.

Tanner laughed. “It’s just me and Dakota filming B roll barefoot at each location.”

Dakota laughed and added “I’m sure I could change a battery or turn on a REM pod with my toes.”

“Changing the subject” Chelsey interjected, shaking her head at the two guys.

“Hey, if your brother whoring out his feet on the internet gets us an RV that won’t break down, you better support him” Alex joked.

“Who is picking next” she said, trying not to laugh and holding out the hat.

“I’ll pick” Tanner said, pulling out a paper that said “fake nails.”

“Oh god, you’ve been trying to do this to me since we were kids” Dakota said.

“What does that even mean?” Connor asked.

“We’re going to put press-on nails on all of you and have you try to do some normal tasks to see if you can do them” you explained.

“Like super-glue them on?” Alex asked.

“We decided to go easy on you and we bought the ones with sticky backs so you could take them off” Chelsea said.

She pulled out a bag and tossed them each a little box of long, press-on nails.

“I’m gonna need help” Dakota laughed, ripping his box open.

“Help us!” Tanner dramatically wailed.

Alex laughed and said “I’m an independent woman, thank you very much. I don’t need help.”

“It can’t be that hard” Connor added.

Chelsea helped Dakota and you sat next to Tanner to help him.

“You have to sit still” you laughed, trying to put the last few nails on Tanner.

“I have ADHD! I’m trying my best!” Tanner fake yelled.

“Okay! Now that you all have your nails…” Chelsea started.

“I. Look. Fabulous” Dakota said in a silly voice.

Tanner added “I think we all look fabulous.”

“NOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE YOUR NAILS…” Chelsea interrupted. “We’re going to do a few challenges. Whoever gets the most points gets a free pass on one of the hat draws. First, each one of you had to pull a card out of your wallet. Your ID, a credit card, doesn’t matter.”

“Easy” Alex said, struggling to even get his hand in his pocket.

“Uh…not so easy” Dakota laughed.

“Got it!” Tanner yelled, holding his gym card in his hand.

“One point to Tanner” you laughed.

“Next!” Chelsea continued. “There are 4 quarters on the kitchen floor. You have to pick up the quarter without using anything but your hands.”

The guys rushed to the next room. It took them longer than you guys thought it would, but Dakota ended up winning that one.

“Dakota and Tanner are tied with 1 point each!” Chelsea announced. “Next, you have to text me the sentence ‘You’re the best ghost hunter in the world’ without any spelling errors and without using talk-to-text.”

“What the fuck?” Alex laughed. “I can’t hit the right letter with the pad of my finger.”  He ended up just talk-to-texting ‘you’re an asshole’ to her.

“My face ID isn’t working” Connor sounded panicked.

Tanner got the text in first with Dakota following closely behind.

“Two for Tanner!” you announced.

“Next” Chelsea continued. “You’re all wearing necklaces. You have to unclasp your necklace. You cannot just pull it over your head.”

After about 3 minutes, no one was able to do it so no one got a point.

“So Dakota has one point and Tanner has two points.” Chelsea recapped. “One challenge is left so Dakota has the chance to tie, otherwise Tanner wins.”

“Lets go!” Tanner yelled.

You handed each guy a Truly can and Chelsea explained the task. “After the countdown, you have to open the can and chug your drink……3….2….1….go!”

It took everyone a bit to get the cans open, but Tanner chugged his the fastest.

“Have you done this before?” you asked, laughing.

Chelsea laughed. “Tanner secretly wears fake nails when we’re not filming.”

Tanner flipped-off the camera. “Maybe I just want to feel pretty. You ever think about that?”

“I think you’re beautiful” Dakota teased.

“Thanks, buddy. You’re beautiful too.” Tanner replied in a flirty voice.

“Can we take these death traps off?” Connor asked, holding his hands out like they didn’t belong to his body.

“After the video” Chelsea laughed. “Who is picking next?”

“I’m going again” Alex said, pulling a crumpled paper out of the hat. “Fuck me, dude. I’m cursed. Someone else go.”

“Noooo, what did you pull?” Chelsea asked, reaching for the paper.

“I pulled ‘Period Pain Simulator’.” Alex said, slouching down on the couch and throwing the paper at Chelsea.

Chelsea dramatically jumped up and down. “Yes! I hoped you’d pull this one!”

“I’ve done this and it sucked” Tanner laughed. “I’m using my free pass.”

“I’m a wuss so I’m not looking forward to this” Dakota added.

Chelsea put them through the period pain simulator one by one.

Connor pulled the last hat pull of the night and laughed when he opened it. “We have to do each other’s make-up.”

“So it’s a normal night at an AirBnb” Dakota joked.

“You’re getting really good with the eyeliner stuff” Alex fake complimented Dakota.

“I just need to work on the lips now” Dakota said back.

“You guys are going to do mascara, eye liner, eye shadow, lipstick, and blush.” Chelsea explained.

The guys attempted to do each other’s make-up and it went horrendously.

“I think we’re going to end this here so I can wash my face and take these off” Dakota said to the camera.

Alex leaned in and said “All I’m saying is that my location is still coming up and I’m getting revenge on Chelsea.”

Chelsea replied “We still have my location to film. I’d be careful what you threaten me with.”

“Shit, I forgot.” Alex laughed.

When the cameras were shut off, Alex and Connor ran to the bathroom in their room since it had two sinks, Dakota ran to the downstairs bathroom, and Tanner was left to wait for them to finish.

“You look absolutely ridiculous”, you laughed, watching Tanner try to remove the fake nails.

“Blame Dakota” he laughed, trying to get mascara out of his eyes.

“Follow me” you said, taking him to your bathroom upstairs.

He followed you up the stairs. “I can’t get these fucking nails off.”

“Soaking them in soapy water helps” you said, leading him to your bathroom. “Sit on the counter.”

“Oh god, I just saw myself in the mirror” Tanner said, startled.

“Don’t worry, you’re still cute” you laughed, pulling out a pack of make-up wipes.

“Good to know” he replied, sitting on the bathroom counter.

You grabbed a make-up wipe out of the pack and stood between Tanner’s legs, starting to try to remove the make-up from his face. “Why did he put so much mascara on you?”

“I don’t know, but he kept saying I needed more ‘va-va-voom’?” Tanner laughed.

“Oh god, close your eyes” you instructed, trying to get as much of the mascara off as you could. “It just looks like you’re wearing a little bit of emo eye liner now.”

“Hopefully it comes off before we record the overnight” Tanner laughed.

“It should come off when you wash your face tonight” you said, moving on to remove the blush and lipstick from Tanner’s face.

“How many of those have you had to use?” Tanner asked about the make-up wipes.

“Only like four, but that’s mostly Dakota’s fault” you laughed. “I think I got most of it. The rest should come off when you wash your face.”

“Why would anyone wear these?” Tanner asked, holding his hands up to look at his nails.

“Some people just like them” you answered. “My favorite part is the head scratches after you take your hair down at the end of the day. Divine.”

“Can’t relate” Tanner laughed, taking his hat off and gently dragging his nails through his non existent hair.

“Just trust me, it’s the best part of having long nails.” You said, throwing the last make-up wipe away.

“Like this?” he asked, running his fingers through your hair and lightly dragging the nails against your scalp.

You stopped moving and closed your eyes. “Exactly like that.”

“Oh my god, you’re practically purring.” Tanner laughed.

“I told you so.” When you opened your eyes, you realized you were still standing between Tanner’s legs while he had his fingers in your hair and it all of a sudden felt way more intimate than when he had a face full of make-up.

“First purring and now blushing” Tanner teased, a smirk on his face.

“Hey, you’re not allowed to make fun of me. I know where you sleep” you joked. “I’ll find a way to get you back.”

He dropped his hands down to the counter. “Promise?”

“You’re such a flirt.” You rolled your eyes and laughed. “Lets go get those nails off of you.” You led him back down the stairs to the kitchen to soak his hands in a bowl of warm water with some dish soap in it.

One of the guys ordered dinner to be delivered and after everyone ate and it had gotten dark you put on a hoodie, grabbed the s’mores supplies, and let everyone know you were going to light the fire pit in your back yard.

Chelsea joined you first, helping you pull out a bunch of single and double camping chairs and grabbing a few blankets.

“Can I ask you a super awkward question before the guys get out here?” you asked her while you tried to get the fire started.  

“Oooo, girl talk?” Chelsey asked.

You laughed. “I take it you don’t get much of that with those goofballs inside?”

“More than you’d think, but no, not enough” she said.

“okay” you said taking a deep breath. “Tanner is normally flirty with everyone, right?”

Chelsey looked over at you and slightly narrowed her eyes. “He fake flirts with the guys all the time, but with women?.... I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen him flirt.” She was staring at you waiting for you to continue. “And I’ve literally known him since he was in diapers” she added, laughing.

“Don’t look at me like that” you laughed. “I think he was just playing around.”

“Tell me!” she pushed, throwing a marshmallow at you.

You briefly explained how your interaction from earlier ended and Chelsea was instantly fully invested. “Well, we have a few days left here. I’ll sneakily observe and get back to you.”

“Oh god, what if I’m turning this into something it’s not” you said, letting your head drop back.

“Tanner is a big lovey-dovey teddy bear but that definitely sounds like flirting to me. Just see where it goes” she encouraged you.

Just then Tanner opened the back door and started walking out to the fire pit.

Chelsea couldn’t keep a straight face so she turned to organize the s’more goodies you’d brought out. This made you laugh which made Chelsea laugh.

“What’s going on out here?” Tanner asked, adding more wood to the fire pit and taking over trying to get it started.

“Don’t worry about it” you said, still laughing. “I see you got the rest of the eye make-up off.”

“I did” he answered. “Hey, don’t change the subject. What were you two all giggly about?”

“Just girl stuff. No boys allowed” you said as you poked him in the side.

Tanner looked at you and said “again, I grew up with sisters.”

“If you get the fire going, maybe I’ll tell you later” you said, trying not to laugh at the look Chelsea gave you.

“I’m holding you to that” Tanner said, adding leaves and such to the growing fire.

The rest of the guys trickled out and you grabbed a long metal skewer, a marshmallow, a Reese’s cup, and two graham crackers before sitting in one of the two person chairs and roasting your marshmallow.

“Reese’s s’mores is genius” Alex said, following suit and sitting across from you.

Tanner grabbed the same and sat in the same chair as you, leaning forward to roast his marshmallow. You noticed Chelsea giving you a look regarding Tanner choosing to sit next to you. Thankfully Dakota and Connor started talking about aliens and the conversation distracted everyone.

“Oh my god this is delicious” Tanner said, failing to eat his s’more without getting chocolate all over the place.

Alex made everyone laugh by saying “I think for at least a few days I’m going to be thinking ‘could I have done this with long nails’ every time I do something. S’mores are not a long nail activity.”

Him and Dakota started naming things they thought they could and couldn’t do when you noticed Tanner still had chocolate on his face. “Come here” you said, wiping chocolate from the side of his mouth.

Tanner grabbed your hand and licked the chocolate from your finger. “That’s my chocolate” he laughed, shoving the rest of his s’more in his mouth.

“You are such a dork” you laughed, taking the last bite of your s’more.

“You love it and you know it” Tanner quipped, laying his arm across the back of the chair.

You just laughed, putting your feet on the edge of the chair and pulling your knees to your chest.

“I don’t hear a denial” Tanner said more quietly to you.

You looked over at him, failing to keep a straight face. “That’s because I’m a bad liar and…”

Dakota interrupted what you were going to say by asking the group if they’d bought alcohol when you guys went to the store.

“We didn’t, but the refrigerator in the garage is full of random cans that AirBnb people have left and there’s whiskey left from my friends in the cabinet above the stove” you answered.

“Yesss!” Alex cheered, him and Dakota hopping up.

“Anyone else interested?” he asked.

“I’ll take something fruity from the fridge” you answered. Tanner seconded your choice.

“Anyone mind if I grab a camera so I can get some footage of us around the fire?” Connor asked. No one minded.

You looked at Chelsea like ‘you better not leave’ and she stood up, using the excuse that she was going to use the bathroom, leaving you and Tanner by the fire.

“Chelsea is also a bad liar” Tanner laughed, looking over at you.

“A very bad liar” you agreed.

“If I remember correctly you promised to tell me what you two were giggling about if I got the fire started” Tanner said in a braggy, silly voice.

“I said maybe” you laughed.

“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad” he continued.

“I was just asking her for some girl advice” you said, knowing he wasn’t going to accept that as your answer.

“Go on” he said.

“Well, this goofball that she’s known for a long time is being a little flirty and I was trying to figure out if he just flirts with everyone or if he was flirting with me” you said, refusing to make eye contact with him.

“I see, I see.” Tanner said, sounding very casual. “Well, what answer are you hoping for?”

“I mean he’s sweet, and funny, and cute…” you started. “…and I think I could look past how obnoxiously competitive he is” you teased.

“I’m not THAT competitive” he laughed, poking you in the side.

“I kid, I kid” you laughed, poking him back.

“So what advice did she give you?” he continued.

“Are we back to pretending you don’t know who I’m talking about?” you laughed. “She told me to see where it goes.”

The two of you heard the door open and the rest of the gang joined you guys back at the fire. Dakota handed the two of you your drinks.

“Chels, can you throw me one of those blankets?” you asked, laying it across your laps after you caught it.

Dakota sat down and opened his drink. “I want to cheers to Y/n saving our asses and to the rest of the trip going much smoother than it started” he said, lifting his can in the air toward where you were sat. Agreement could be heard all around.

Tanner moved his arm from the back of the chair to open his can, but instead of putting it back, he draped it around your shoulders. The group had started talking again so he spoke quietly to you. “Cheers to seeing where it goes?” he asked, holding his can up.

You opened your can and tapped it to his. “I can definitely cheers to that” you said before taking a sip and letting Tanner pull you a bit further into his side.

The group stayed out for a while, drinking, talking about what they’d do the next day, telling funny stories, and talking about upcoming plans including when Chelsea would fly to Vegas so they could film for your podcast.

The next day the gang filmed a few random things for Fear Club, you all went out to eat, and you spent the afternoon in the hot tub. You and Tanner spent most of the day together getting to know each other better and listening to every other person in the group except Chelsea tease Tanner.

The next day was when they finally had access to film their overnight. Dakota and Connor had already made a trip with the equipment to get some b-roll and Alex, Chelsea, and Tanne were waiting for Connor to come pick them up.

“Be safe” you said to them after helping Chelsea fix one of her braids.

“This place scared the shit out of us last time” Alex said.

“I picked the location and I’m still scared” Chelsea laughed.

You could hear Connor honk the horn from outside.

“Wish us luck” Chelsea said, following Alex out the door.

“When do you think you’ll be back?” you asked Tanner, walking up and pulling him into a hug.

“We should be back by like 7-7:30 in the morning I’d guess” he answered, pulling you tight to him.

“You should definitely come cuddle when you get back” you said, looking up at him.

“I think I can make that happen” he smiled, his eyes briefly dropping to your lips.

You both heard Connor honk the horn again and Alex yelled something along the lines of “Hurry up lover boy!”

“You’re being scolded for taking too long” you laughed.

“They can wait a minute” he said, leaning down to press his lips against yours.

“Totally worth it” you said, pressing another chaste kiss to his lips.

“I’ll see you soon” he said, grabbing his bag and running out to the truck.

The next morning you were woken up by the sound of someone in your bathroom taking a shower. You quickly figured out it was Tanner when you saw his shoes and bag in the corner of your room. A few minutes later he came out wearing a pair of sweatpants.

“How’d it go?” you asked, pulling the blanket back so he could join you in bed.

“It was super intense, but it’s going to make for a great couple of videos” he answered, crawling into your bed and snuggling into your chest.

“I’m glad you guys made it back safe” you said, pulling the blanket back over Tanner and wrapping your arms around him. “You guys leave tonight, right?”

Tanner nuzzled his face against your chest and said “16 days.”

“What?” you giggled. Seeing this giant man try to cuddle himself into you for comfort was adorable.

“We’ll be back in Vegas in 16 days” he said.

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of chaos and shenanigans and spooky things to fill those 16 days” you said, rubbing one of your hands up and down his back.

Tanner went to move so his weight wasn’t on you.

“What are you doing?” you asked.

“I’m falling asleep and I don’t want to smother you in your sleep” he said, waiting for you to let go.

“You aren’t smothering me” you laughed, smiling at how sleepy he looked. “Lay back down.”

He looked at you for a moment before moving up to kiss you. “16 days” he said again before settling back down against your chest.

“Can I ask where you think you picked up that funky energy?” you asked as you walked toward the smoke cleansing display.

“Well…So my friends and I are paranormal investigators and we just got back from a haunted house tour.” He explained that they’d been to four locations, but that the last one felt super heavy. “Ever since we got home we’ve had weird stuff happen at our house and two of our other friends said they think they picked up an ‘attachment’ at the same location.”

“Ah, I gotcha. I take it you’re not doing any protection work before you go into these haunted spaces?” you asked, reaching for the Juniper bundle.

“What does that mean?” he asked, looking at what you had grabbed.

“Well, you’re walking into high energy spaces trying to capture some sort of evidence. Even if you’re respectful, you’re trying to provoke a response. It’s like walking into a rainstorm. If you just walk into the rain, of course you’re going to get wet. However, if you grab an umbrella and dress appropriately, you can still enjoy the rain but you can stay dry and warm.” You handed him the bundle and a card explaining what it was, how to use it, and what spiritual properties it held.

“I guess I never really thought about it” he laughed. “It is kind of like walking into a storm.”

“I see you’re wearing a cross so am I safe to assume you don’t dabble in witchcraft that often?” you asked, smiling when his cheeks went pink.

He smiled and shook his head. “I’m learning a little bit from a friend, but it’s definitely out of my comfort zone.”

“Well here” you said, grabbing a notebook and writing down a few things he could do to cleanse himself, his friends, and his house. You noted the importance of uninviting the things they didn’t want welcome. Then you wrote down a few things he could do before going into another haunted location. Ripping the paper from the notebook, you handed it to him. “This should get you all sorted.”

He folded the piece of paper up and put the Juniper bundle on the counter. “Thank you” he said, fidgeting with the folded piece of paper. “You’ve been super helpful. I don’t know what I expected when I came in here, but my friend told me this was the place to go.”

“Of course” you said, putting the juniper bundle in a small paper bag and handing it to him.

“How much do I owe you?” he asked, reaching for his wallet.

“Don’t worry about it” you replied. “Just come back and tell me if it worked.”

“I have to pay you” he said, holding the bag in one hand and the paper in the other.

“Nope. This one is on me.” You knew a few of the paranormal investigators in Nevada and you were curious if one of them gave him the name of your shop.

“Well, thank you” he replied. He had a big beautiful smile. “I’ll definitely be back.” He grabbed one of your shop’s business cards and left.

A few hours later as you were closing up the shop, you got a notification on your phone stating you had a new Instagram follower. You quickly realized it was the tall customer from earlier and followed him back. You lived above your shop so you double checked the shop door and headed up to your home.

You scrolled through his Instagram page as you cooked your dinner, laughing when you made it back to his college era. You decided to watch one of the Project Fear videos while you ate and you realized they really didn’t do any protection work at all. You noted then that you’d put together a little kit for them with better instructions.

“Great ghost hunting, but you guys really need to read up on the witchy woo, lol. Pentagrams aren’t used to summon demons, haha. I promise.” “And if you really want to get specific, if it has a circle around it it’s a pentacle, not a pentagram.” you messaged him on Instagram.

Tanner’s POV

“What’s that smell?” Dakota hollered as he came in the front door.

“I’m getting rid of whatever the fuck followed us back from the Sallie House” Tanner yelled back.

He’d opened the bag when he got home and realized you’d thrown in a few extras without him noticing. He put the hematite bracelet on and put the selenite sticks above the front and back doors as well as his bedroom door. He was currently walking around with the smoldering juniper bundle, cleansing the house.

“Thank god” Dakota said, tossing his keys on the counter in the kitchen. “Not only was our ring camera freakin’ out yesterday, but every time I tried to open the garage door to go outside it would close before I could get out.” He picked up the paper you’d written for Tanner and started reading it.

Tanner laughed. “My PC kept turning itself on in the middle of the night.”

“If this doesn’t work, we’re gonna be ghost hunting in our own house.” Dakota replied, walking toward tanner with the paper. “Where’d you get this?”

Tanner blew smoke from the juniper bundle toward Dakota. “I, uh…I went and talked to Colby’s friend.”

“Ahhh, you visited the witch” Dakota teased.

“You aren’t allowed to make fun of me if this works” Tanner laughed, putting the smoldering bundle in a dish to burn out. “Plus, she wrote down some things we can do moving forward so this shit doesn’t happen again.”

“I saw” Dakota answered, looking at the bundle of juniper. “Didn’t seem like anything too crazy.”

“Definitely not” Tanner said, secretly happy Dakota wasn’t giving him more shit. He picked up his phone and saw that you’d followed him back and had messaged him.

“What’s got you smilin’ over there?” Dakota asked, starting to pull stuff out to make for dinner.

“Nothing” Tanner said, closing Instagram. “Just laughing at the comments on one of our tiktoks.”

“Mmhmm. Sure.”

Your POV

 A bit later you got a response from Tanner. “Haha, how was I supposed to know the difference between a pentagram and a pentacle?”

You replied, “Google is free, ghost boy. Or you can let me educate you a bit next time you stop by.” You weren’t sure if he would, but you kind of hoped.

“I saw you had some classes at your shop. Maybe I’ll take the plunge and freshen’ up on my…what did you call it? Witchy woo?” Tanner was sitting in his room, scrolling through your shop’s Instagram page and was pleasantly surprised at how…not scary it all was?

You laughed. “You could! I don’t mind putting the basics all together for you, though. Might be a little less intimidating for your first go.” You’d continued watching the Project Fear videos throughout dinner and into the evening. “A little witchy packet read.”

“HAHAHA yes! I see you’re catching up on your Project Fear.” Tanner wondered what videos you’d watched. “Have you ever done any paranormal investigating?”

“I have! I grew up in a haunted house and I’ve been to a few cool local places” you answered. “I’ve got a few spirits who hang around the shop as well. Don’t worry, though. They’re friendly.”

“Wait, your shop is haunted?” Tanner asked.

“Yup. The building I’m in is like 100 years old. I haven’t looked up the history, but I’ve got a few ghosties.” You enjoyed the spooky shenanigans that happened in your shop.

“Have you ever used any equipment to talk with them?” Tanner asked.

“Not the kind of equipment you use, lol.” You used a pendulum and spoke out loud to them, but you knew that’s not what tanner meant. “You want to bring some equipment with you, ghost boy?”

“Oh, I’m definitely bringing something with me.” He sent back. “Do you have plans this Friday?”

“I’ll be at the shop all day! My friend is stopping by to drop something off, but other than that I’m free. Stop by whenever you want!” You were happy you had a few days to get the protection stuff together.

You put together some protection stuff for Project Fear over the next few days. A few sigils carved into a few stones. Some bracelets. Some instructions written down for creating a protection circle. A do and don’t list of things to say so they don’t accidentally invite any energies back home with them. Your favorite part was putting together a “history of witchcraft 101” packet so they understood what a lot of the terms they read in site histories actually meant.

Friday rolled around and you opened your shop. It was late in the day and you were finally filming a new tarot deck when Colby and Malia walked in.

“Y/n!” Malia called, skipping to the back of the store and setting a bag on the table.

“Hey!” you replied, standing up and hugging her and then Colby. “How was the trip?”

They sat at the table and talked about the beautiful places they visited on their vacation.

“Open it!” Malia pushed, pointing to the bag after telling you about a 150 year old apothecary they visited. “I can’t wait anymore” she laughed.

“Fine!” you laughed, getting up and grabbing a small bag with something you had bought her and Colby so she could open it at the same time. “Here.”

They had bought you an antique scrying mirror that had your favorite stone inlayed into the frame. “Holy shit this is beautiful!”

You had bought them matching amethyst necklaces and a dog tag for their pup that matched. Malia joked that they needed them since their dog kept barking at the empty corners of Colby’s haunted house.

You were doing a tarot reading for Malia when Tanner walked in.

Colby walked to the front of the store to chat with Tanner while you finished up Malia’s tarot reading.

“I swear he has the biggest man crush on Tanner” Malia joked.

You laughed and said “I can see the appeal” gathering the cards after Malia took a picture of the reading.

“Yeah?” she asked, looking between you and Tanner.

“I mean, he’s kind of adorable” you said, shuffling your cards. “He seems a little nervous around this stuff, but maybe I can be a bad influence on him.”

Malia laughed. “You can’t be a worse influence than Colby.”

“True” you laughed.

Tanner and Colby joined you in the back of the shop, Tanner putting some stuff on the table.

“I hear you two have already met” Colby said, sitting next to Malia.

“We have” you said, smiling at Tanner.

“She helped me un-haunt our house” Tanner laughed, pulling a folder out of his bag.

“I take it the Juniper did the trick?” You knew it would work, but you were still happy to hear it.  

“It did! Thank you. Even Dakota had to admit that it worked. No more weird tech problems or things going missing.” Tanner answered, sitting down next to you and sliding the folder toward you.

“I’m glad!” you said, opening the folder. “Oh my god” you laughed.

“What is it?” Colby asked, leaning over the table.

“He put together a packet of information about this building after I told him it was haunted.” You explained, pulling the papers out of the folder.

While you were reading the packet out loud to the group, Malia leaned over and whispered to Colby about what you’d said about Tanner earlier. The two of them looked like grinning idiots when you finished the packet and looked up.

“I’m gonna go grab my curb sign and lock the door if you want to set up whatever equipment you brought” you said to Tanner, looking at Malia and nodding toward the front so she’d follow you.

“Will do” Tanner said, starting to pull stuff out of his bag.

“You told Colby, didn’t you?” you asked her while you were locking the store up.

“You know he can keep a secret” she laughed, turning your “open” sign off.

“He can, but his face can’t” you said, looking back toward Tanner and Colby.

“If it helps, Tanner stared at you with a huge smile the entire time you read the packet” Malia said before grabbing your hand and pulling you toward the back of the store.

“If you say so” you laughed.

Tanner explained what the different pieces of equipment did. You noticed he seemed a lot less shy when he was in his element, nerding out about ghost hunting.

“Y/n, you should use your pendulum when he turns the yes/no box on” Colby suggested. He’d seen you get answers with it before and knew it would freak Tanner out.

“Ooo, good idea” you said, grabbing your Tiger’s eye pendulum.

“How does it work?” Tanner asked, grabbing the yes/no box and putting it in the middle of the table.

“Well…” you held the pendulum in one hand and held your other hand out below it. “You talk to your pendulum. You ask it what yes looks like…” your pendulum gently rocked forward and backward. “You ask it what no looks like” your pendulum gently rocked side to side. “And you ask it was ‘I don’t know’ looks like” and the pendulum gently swung in a circle.

“So….you’re not moving it?” Tanner asked, skeptically raising his eyebrows at you.

“You try it” you laughed, handing the pendulum to Tanner.

He looked over at Colby like ‘is she for real?’

“Do it, brother. It’s the real deal.” Colby was laughing.

“Oh god” Tanner laughed. “Okay. Am I holding it right?”

You moved the chain in Tanner’s hand so he could relax a little more while holding the pendulum and then moved his other hand to rest a few inches underneath the pendulum. “Close your eyes for a second and take a deep breath. Try to relax and feel the motion of the pendulum.”

Colby chimed in. “Now open your eyes and ask it what the answers look like.”

Tanner opened his eyes and took a deep breath. “Can you show me what yes looks like?” The pendulum started to gently swing forward and backward. “No shot.”

“Don’t overthink it” you said.

“I swear to god I’m not moving it” Tanner replied.

“We know” Malia answered.

“Can you show me what no looks like?” Tanner asked, his eyes growing huge when it gently rocked side to side. “Holy shit. Can you tell me what ‘I don’t know’ looks like?” The pendulum stopped moving entirely before gently swinging in a circle.”

“We should pick you out a pendulum before you leave” you said, reaching your hand out for yours. “Not everyone has a knack for it.”

“Iiiiiii…..don’t know if I’m ready for that but my mind is blown” Tanner laughed, placing the pendulum back in your hand.

“Let’s ask your spirits some questions” Colby said, turning on the yes/no box and looking around. He’d been there to witness a few of the odd spiritual shenanigans that had happened in your shop.

“What do you want to know?” Tanner asked, smiling as he watched you get the pendulum back in position.

“Hmm…Do you like that I opened a witchy shop in your home?” you asked, watching the pendulum move forward and backward. “Yes.” 

The equipment said “yes” about 2 seconds later.

Tanner shook his head back and forth in disbelief. “Is there more than one spirit that lives in the building?”

“Yes” you said, watching your pendulum.

“Yes” the equipment said a few seconds later.

“You said you think there’s three here, right?” Colby asked you.

“I think so” you answered. “Theres an older guy that smells like cigars and likes when I make tea or coffee, a young energy who likes to move stuff and play pranks, and I hear a woman singing.”

“Your pendulum is saying yes” Tanner pointed out right before the equipment spit out the same answer. “I’m still mind blown that you’re getting the same answers.”

Malia grabbed her bag and stood up so her and Colby could head out. “If you think that’s impressive, you should see her do it without the pendulum.”

“Don’t scare him” you laughed, standing up to hug Malia.

Tanner looked at you and then at Colby. “What does that mean?”

Colby went to hug Tanner. “Our friend has a few gifts” he laughed. “Always good to see you brother.”

Colby and Tanner talked about plans the guys had next weekend while you walked Malia up to the front.

“You guys didn’t have to leave” you said, giving Malia a look.

“We already intruded on your date enough” she laughed.

“It’s not a date” you retorted, unlocking the door and stepping outside with Malia. “Now that you spilled the beans about me being able to talk to ghosts I doubt there will be one anytime soon” you laughed.

“I don’t know” she said, a mischievous smile on her face. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since he got here. I think he’ll warm up to all of this” she said, gesturing toward the shop as Colby walked out.

You rolled your eyes and hugged them both again. “You two drive safe. It’s supposed to storm tonight.”

“Have fun with Tanner” Colby teased, pulling his keys out.

“Not you too” you laughed, waving goodbye and going back into the shop.

Tanner was holding your pendulum, looking at the pattern in the stone.

“You really should pick out a pendulum” you said as you sat back down at the table.

“I was considering it” he laughed.

The two of you used a few other pieces of equipment including a thermal camera, the SLS camera, and a REM pod, before Tanner asked if you wanted to use the spirit box.

“That’s what you use with headphones, right?” you asked, remembering it from a video.

“You can!” he answered, pulling them out. “It’s called the Estes Method.”

“You have to go first” you laughed, getting up to make some tea.

“I’ll go first if you do it after me” he said, bargaining with you. “I used the pendulum, you have to try to Estes Method.”

“I’m good with that” you laughed, making tea for you both while he got everything set up. The two of you chatting.

“What is this?” Tanner asked, sipping the tea. “It’s actually really good.”

“Ginger tea with a little bit of peppermint in it” you answered, smiling over at Tanner.

He took another sip and blushed when he realized you were still smiling at him. “You’re making me nervous” he laughed. “Why are you smiling?”

You laughed. “I’m just thinking of questions to ask” you answered. “Plus, I’m having a really good time. Nothing to worry about.”

“Me too, actually.” His cheeks stayed pink while he finished his tea, asking you random questions about various things in the shop.

“So I just ask questions, right?” you asked before he put the headphones on.

“Yup, ask whatever you want and I’ll say anything that I hear from the spirit box” Tanner answered.

He put the blindfold on and put the headphones on, giving you a thumbs up to start asking questions.

You thought for a second about what to ask first. “Who is your favorite customer that regularly comes in?”

Tanner was silent for a few seconds before saying “Gaia” out loud.

“Mine too” you laughed. She was an older woman who had been a tarot reader for like 60 years and she was the sweetest human on the planet. “I leave you guys treats on my alter in the back. What is your favorite thing I leave out?”

“Chocolate” Tanner answered, a few seconds later adding “Cigar” and “Roses”.

“Noted. I’ll make sure to keep putting those out. Do you like Tanner? The man in here with me right now?” You were curious. You knew they liked Colby and Malia and a few of your other friends.

“Cute” Tanner answered. “I think one of them is making fun of me” he laughed. “I just heard a little kid say ‘bald’.”

You laughed. “He is cute, isn’t he?”

Tanner said “Anxious” next.

“Be gentle with him. He’s a little intimidated by the witchy woo” you scolded.

“Sweet.” He said. “Empress” followed a second later. “I just heard the kid laugh again.”

“Ooo, interesting. I wonder what his life path tarot card is.” You noted that you’d ask what his birthday was after this.

Tanner took his headphones off and slid the blindfold up. “Is any of this making any sense?”

“Yes” you laughed. “All very direct answers except for the last one.”

Tanner turned the spirit box off and removed the blindfold. “It’s so crazy being under because you have no clue what questions you’re trying to answer.”

“It all made sense on this end” you said, grabbing the headphones when he handed them to you.

“Are you ready?” he asked, handing you the blindfold.

“I guess we’ll find out” you answered, putting the blindfold on and waiting while he turned the spirit box back on. “It’s so loud” you laughed before going under.

“Hello. My name is Tanner” he started, looking around the shop.

“We know” you said. “It sounded so like…robot-ey.”

Tanner laughed. “Are you guys okay with us using all of this new equipment in here?”

You answered “fun.”

“I’m glad” he answered. “You seem to be happy here with y/n.”

“Safe” you said next. “Respect.”

“She seems pretty great.” Tanner smiled, nodding his head.

“Blush” you said, wondering if he was blushing again.

Tanner laughed, rubbing his cheeks. “Is all of this witchcraft stuff as dark as people make it out to be?”

“Nature” you answered next.

“Like, it’s all part of nature? From nature?” He asked.

“Balance” was what you heard next. “Circle.”

“So it’s not all bad?” he continued.

“Intention.” You were worried when the next thing you heard was “you’re scared.” You pulled the headphones off your ears a bit to make sure Tanner was okay.

“I’m good” he answered. “Are you okay?”

“I just heard ‘you’re scared’ and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.” You explained.

“Ah, no I’m good.” He answered. “I have a few more questions if you’re okay with it.”

“Of course” you said, putting the headphones back on.

“I admit, all of this is a little new to me but being scared isn’t always bad” Tanner said. “Should I be scared?”

“No” you answered. “They said my name” you laughed.

“You said y/n’s name.” Tanner said. “What does that mean?”

Your last answer was “guide” before the power in your building went out scaring the crap out of Tanner. “I heard a woman laugh and then say ‘cute’.”

Tanner gently patted your shoulder to let you know to take the headphones off. “The power went out and I jumped a foot out of my chair” He laughed, taking the blindfold and headphones from you. “I think your ghosties thought it was funny.”

You laughed. “The storm is really picking up out there.” You walked to the front and saw a few downed trees in the parking lot and noticed that the traffic lights had also lost power.

“Holy shit” he said, following you up to the glassfront.

“You’re more than welcome to stay until this clears up” you said, grabbing a few towels to put inside the front door. Sometimes it flooded a bit if the rain picked up too much.

“Thanks. Probably for the best” he answered, helping you wedge the towels tight against the door. “People here already drive like idiots.”

“Truth” you laughed, pulling out your phone to use the flashlight. “Lets go get settled upstairs. I’m sure we’ll find something to eat that we don’t need power for.”  

“You live upstairs?” he asked, following you toward the staircase in the back.

“Yup” you answered, wondering what he’d think of your home.

“That’s so cool” he replied, taking in the space once he made it to the top of the stairs.

“I’ve got a few power banks if you need to charge your phone” you said, handing him a small tech bag. “I’m going to get out of my work clothes and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“Thanks” he answered, heading back downstairs to grab his stuff from the table.

You stripped out of your clothes from the day, including your bra, and put on a baggy hoodie and a pair of leggings. You text Malia to make sure they got home safe and to let her know you and Tanner would be watching movies on your iPad for the foreseeable future.

“It’s fate” she text back. “We got home safe and you get more time with tall, cute, and smitten.”

“shut up” you text back, grabbing a few blankets for the couch since it would undoubtedly get cold.

You could hear Tanner on the phone in the other room when you made it back to the kitchen.

“Nah, I’m good. It looks like the power is down for about a square quarter mile but she said she’s good with me hanging around here until it’s safer to drive home.” You didn’t know who he was talking to but assumed it was his roomie.

“Peanut butter and jelly or cold cuts?” you asked him from the kitchen. You lit a few candles and turned on a flashlight and set it on the counter so you could see.

“Hold on” he told the person on the phone, walking up to the counter. “I’m totally fine with anything. I’m not picky.” He smiled and told the person on the phone once more that he was fine and not to worry.

“Is that the famous Dakota?” you laughed, pulling out the ingredients to make turkey sandwiches.

Tanner put him on speakerphone and nodded ‘yes’.

“Dakota, I promise I won’t turn Tanner into a toad and I don’t even own a Ouija Board.” Tanner had told you earlier in the day that Dakota had teased him a bit about the witchcraft thing.

Dakota and Tanner laughed. Dakota responded with “Hey, you can turn him into whatever you want but make sure you film it so we can get views on YouTube.”

“Cross my heart, hope to die” you laughed. “We’re just going to watch movies on my iPad and eat fat sandwiches.”

“Well now I’m jealous” Dokota said in one of his funny voices.

“You should be” Tanner replied. “Her building is haunted and the spirits here are super talkative and kind of funny.”

“Alright, stop rubbin’ it in.” Dakota said. “Just be safe. I’m gonna go annoy Alex since you left me here all alone with nothing to do.”

“The storm was headed your way” Tanner reminded him after taking him off of speakerphone. “Don’t go too far.”

You finished making the sandwiches, grabbed some chips and the flashlight, and took it all to the living room.

“Make yourself comfortable” you said, running back to the kitchen to grab a few drink options and to grab your favorite tarot deck. You also snagged your Life Path book.  

“Thank you, again” Tanner said, kicking his shoes off and settling down on the couch. “When I asked if you had plans today, I didn’t intent to take up the rest of your night” he laughed.

“Don’t worry” you said, handing him a drink. “I’ve had a blast and shit happens how it’s supposed to happen.”

“True that” he replied.

“So I do have one more witchy woo thing to ask you” you said, pulling out your tarot deck.

“I’ll admit. I did have my cards read in New Orleans” Tanner confessed.

“I mean, when in Rome, right?” you laughed. “But actually, I wanted to know your birthday.”

“My birthday?” Tanner was Confused. “October 26th.”

“Year?”

“1992” he answered.

“Okay. Give me a second.” You pulled out your phone and added up each individual digit to get his life path numbers so you could find his Tarot life card.

1+0+2+6+1+9+9+2 = 30 and 3+0 = 3

“So, earlier you heard the word Empress on the spirit box, right?” you asked.

“Yeah, right at the end I think” he answered.

“Well, your life path number is 3 which I think fits you incredibly well and that means your Tarot life card is The Empress.” You explained.

“What does The Empress mean?” he asked.

You grabbed your Empress card so he could see it while you explained. “The Empress is one with nature. Don’t get caught up on the gender thing. Tarot is about archetypes, not what’s in their pants. She is the definition of having an open heart and isn’t quick to judge. She is creative and nurturing and sensual and kind and empathetic. She’s also connected to the divine so you probably have some gifts you either don’t know about yet or haven’t accepted.”

Tanner stared at the card, taking in the details. “That all sounds so flattering” he laughed.

“It sounds accurate to me” you said, “and your life path description fits too.” You flipped past the ‘romantic’ section and the ‘struggles’ section and read the general traits. “Charming, romantic, charismatic, and full of creative energy. You see the opportunity in everything and embrace life to the fullest. Great communicator, warm and inviting, and original in thought. Emotionally intelligent and always reminds you of the silver lining.”

“Again, it all sounds very flattering.” Tanner handed you back the Empress card.

“So you think they’re all written just to blow smoke up your ass?” you laughed.

“I mean, it’s like daily horoscopes, right? Such broad descriptions that it applies to everyone if you try hard enough” he answered.

“Well, why don’t you read some of the other life path numbers and see if you identify with any of them?” you challenged him, handing him the book.

He read through a few pages before going back to 3. “I hate to say it, but you’re right” he laughed. “Especially the stuff you didn’t read out loud.”

“Romance or struggles?” you asked, watching him read the page from the top again.

“Both” he said, finishing the page. He pointed to the bottom of the page. “So you can see who you’re compatible with?”

“You can, but it mostly points out the areas both people differ so you make sure you communicate and fulfill each other’s needs” you explained. “Like a ‘don’t forget this means a lot to the other person’ list.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” He said, handing you back your book. “What’s your birthday?”

You laughed, grabbing your plate and putting it in your lap. “I’ll tell you next time we hang out.”

He smiled and nodded, following your lead and getting comfy and grabbing his dinner. “I think I can get on board with that.”

“Pick a movie” you said, pulling up what you had downloaded on your iPad. “I’ve got Hunger Games, The Fall, Immortals…”

“Ooo, I haven’t seen Immortals since it came out in theaters” Tanner said, taking a giant bite of his sandwich.

“Immortals it is!” you said, hitting play and setting the iPad up in it’s stand.

The two of you ate and finished the movie, getting jump scared by a boom of thunder after the credits had gone quiet.

“Holy fucking shit that scared me so bad” Tanner said, his hand resting against his chest over his heart.

“Yeah, I don’t think the power is coming back on anytime soon” you laughed, taking your plates to the kitchen.

Tanner grabbed one of the power banks and plugged your iPad in so you two could watch another movie. “What is The Fall?” he asked.

“Ooo it’s an incredible Tarsem movie with Lee Pace in it!” you answered, kind of explaining the plot briefly.

“I’m down” he said, getting up to use the bathroom before settling back down on the couch and hitting play.

About 30 minutes in you could feel your eyelids drooping and you realized you were slowly leaning toward Tanner.

“Sorry” you said, rubbing your eyes and sitting back up.

“Come here” he said, moving to slide down the couch a bit so he was laying down and opening his arms for you to cuddle in next to him. “It’s getting super cold in here anyway. I can’t let you freeze.”

“That was smooth” you laughed, throwing the blanket over both of you and snuggling into his side. “Please wake me up if I’m crushing you or talking in my sleep or doing any other embarrassing thing.”

“Oh, absolutely not” he laughed, reaching to turn the iPad toward where you two had moved. “I’m bound to do ten times more embarrassing shit than you so I’m going to enjoy yours.”

“Rude” you laughed, “and I doubt it.”

“I don’t know, Colby already pointed out a few things and even your ghosties made fun of me tonight.” He said the last part louder into the room like he was sassing the ghosts.

“First, my ghosts like you. I asked.” You looked up and realized he was still wearing his hat. “You don’t have to sleep in your hat. I told you to get comfy.” You smiled when he tossed it on the table. “And second, Malia has been giving me shit since you walked into the shop” you laughed.

“We’ll have to figure out a way to get them back somehow” Tanner laughed. “Why was she giving you shit?”

“What was Colby pointing out?” you rebutted.

“Touche” he laughed again.

You startled awake around 3am when various electronics and appliances in your home turned back on.

“You okay?” Tanner asked, his eyes squinted now that a bright light was on in the room.

“Yeah” you laughed, stumbling your way off of the couch to turn the light off. “Something in the kitchen beeped loud as hell and scared me.”

“I wonder if the street lights and stuff are back on” Tanner pondered out loud.

“You’re more than welcome to check, but you don’t have to leave. There’s still going to be downed trees and shit. I’m going to go brush my teeth” you said, adding a ‘blech’ sound after realizing you hadn’t brushed them after dinner.

“Can I steal some mouth wash?” he asked, finding his glasses and following you.

“I have an extra new toothbrush” you said, pointing to a cabinet in the bathroom and starting your normal nightly routine. You washed your face and brushed your teeth, moving so Tanner had access to the sink. When you went into the kitchen to grab water bottles, the power went out again. “I bet they have to fix a downed power line or something” you called out.

“It’s really awkward brushing your teeth in the dark” Tanner said with a mouthful of toothpaste.

You laughed, going to the living room and grabbing your phones. “Here” you said, turning on the phone flashlight.

“Much better” he said, rinsing his mouth out.

“Come on” you said, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward your room. “You’re a giant and my couch isn’t that comfortable.”

“Hey, I was sleeping great until you got jump scared by the power coming back on” Tanner replied.

You crawled into your comfortable giant bed. “You can sleep wherever you want, but I’m not opening the shop tomorrow so I’m going to crash in my comfy bed and hopefully sleep like a baby.”

“I think I like your plan” Tanner said, walking around to the other side of the bed and climbing in.

After a minute you turned over and scooted over toward Tanner. “The couch did have its perks” you said, snuggling into Tanner’s side.

“I’m glad you agree” he replied, wrapping his arm around you. You could feel his laugh in his chest.

The next morning you woke up and noticed Tanner wasn’t in your room. You brushed your teeth and walked out into the main living space and heard him coming up the stairs.

“Good morning” you said, noticing the bag and cup holder in his hands.

“Good morning, sleepy head” he said, eyeing your crazy bed head. “Your power is still out so I ordered breakfast to be delivered.”

The two of you talked and ate. Tanner explained what him and the boys were doing later with a live stream and you shared your plans to go hang out with your friend since you couldn’t open the shop. You finally gave him the protection kit you’d put together and answered all of his questions.

“Before you go, you’re picking out a pendulum” you said, walking him downstairs after he’d packed up all of his stuff.

“How do you pick one?” he asked.

“I normally tell people to hold them and try to ask them questions they know the answers to so they can find one they vibe with, but I’m pretty sure I know which one you’re gonna like” you answered.

“What one?” he asked, looking at the display of pendulums. “Oh” he said when he noticed only one was gently swinging back and forth. It was made of smoky quartz.

“Try it out” you encouraged him.

He asked it for it’s ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘I don’t know’ and then told you to cover your ears and close your eyes.

“So secretive” you teased, closing your yes and covering your ears, humming so you couldn’t hear him.

He looked around the shop. “Ghost buddies, I need your help.” The pendulum answered yes. “God, I feel like a middle-schooler. Does y/n like me? Because I think she likes me and I definitely like her and all of this witchy stuff is still new territory for me but she’s kind of incredible and I just….” Tanner was rambling until he noticed the pendulum swinging a wildly obvious yes. “Thank you” he smiled. “I’ll be back soon.”

Tanner reached out and pulled your hands away from your ears. “You get the answers you needed?” you laughed.

“I think so” he said, showing you that he’d picked the smoky quartz pendulum.

“Perfect.” You added it to bag you were holding and walked him out to his car. “Please drive safe. That storm really ripped through town.”

“I promise to drive like a grandma the entire way home” he laughed. “We need to plan something else soon.”

“I’m here almost all of the time and you are always welcome.” You pulled him to you and into a hug. “You don’t need an excuse to drop by or call.”

“Good to know” he said, holding you tight to him for a moment. “I have to drive up north by myself next week if you want to join me.”

“I have a few people who can cover at the shop” you answered, going up on your tip-toes to kiss his cheek. “Text me the details and I’ll make it work.”

“I absolutely will” he said, ducking his face for a second. “I had an amazing time and if I don’t leave we’re going to be standing in your parking lot for an hour.”