why does this tylenol taste like REALLY BAD beef jerky
AAAAAA THANKYOUU
my brain is honestly not comprehending
like what do u mean iâve been alive for 16 years
âfine shytâ dawg just call me pretty, call me a delicate flower, SOMETHING, ANYTHING THAT DOESNT MAKE ME SOUND LIKE A FRESH DUMP
iâm lowkey excited weâre going to seafood city today (weird to be excited over that i know) BUTT itâs an hour away and valerioâs is right next to it and iâve been craving nilupak for a while
feeling like absolute doodoo water
âjust be normalâ i think your normal is very different from my normal !
AAAAAAAHH
literally had to take lil breaks in between reading âcause OU MY GODDD
Project: Killcode
batfamily + oc insert
tw: none
wanna read more? hereâs the table of contents!
want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand whatâs going on here? here it is!
ahaâŠ. ha⊠ha⊠theyâre not okay
part thirty
SUNDAY â JULY 29 â 5:11AM
WHEN BENTLEY OPENED HIS EYES ON SUNDAY MORNING, IT WAS REALLY BRIGHT IN HIS BEDROOM. And warm. And the ceiling was really⊠orange? And weeping willow-y? And his bed didnât feel like a bed at all?
With a sudden gasp, he sat bolt upright, panic and adrenaline flooding his veins like gasoline and sending a wave of volatile dread seeping through his entire body. His eyes flicked to the golden sunrise, to the fountain, to the grass he was sitting on, to the trees above him, to the building he was supposed to be in, to the Chloe that was laying on the ground next to him.
There was no way he hadâŠ
Chloe startled awake at his outburst, her face twisting up in confusion, eyes flicking around just like his had before she shot directly onto her feet. âOh shit!â
Bentley pushed himself off of the grass, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. âOh my God.â
It wasnât super late in the morning, at least, judging by the dim sunrise. He dug his phone out of his pocket in a panic and, squinting into it, he was extremely relieved to see that he had no texts. It was 5:13am.
Asten was so back at the dorm already.
How had they managed to fall asleep out there? He couldnât even seem to fathom deciding to sleep on the ground when he wasnât even supposed to be outside in the first place. All heâd been thinking about the previous night was Chloe and how stressed out her breakdown was making him. He never once thought about going to sleep. And yeah, heâd been pretty tired, but⊠sleeping there hadnât even been an option in his mind, yet somehow, he⊠theyâŠ
âHow the hell did we fall asleep?!â She half-shouted, whipping her phone out of her pocket and cringing at the screen. âMy roommates all knew I was coming out here to meet you! Theyâre gonna think we slept together!â
Bentley ran an anxious hand through his hair, glancing at her in confusion. ââŠDidnât we?â
Chloe looked at him with this absolutely gobsmacked, absolutely appalled look on her face, before she seemed to realize⊠something. âIâm not even going to begin to explain that to you.â
Bentley had no idea what she was talking about.
âGod, I⊠Iâm so sorry, Bentley, I didnât meanâŠâ Chloe scrolled through something on her phone, her cheeks flushing red, cringe deepening. âIâm so sorry!â
âItâs⊠okay,â He replied, though the fact that he was practically already vibrating from anxiety proved otherwise. He was so dead. Asten was literally going to murder him.
âItâs so not okay! Can you even imagine the rumors thatâre going to spread if I donât shut them up fast enough?!â She basically yelled, tugging at her sort of messed up ponytail. âNo, no, no. This is so not how this was supposed to go.â
Did she mean that everyone would think they, like, kissed? Or something? What did that have to do with sleeping next to each other?Â
When Bentley said nothing, but looked back down at his shoes, she continued: âYour roommates went to that party, right? Thereâs still a chance theyâre not back yet â you should go, now. This is such a disasterâŠâ
âLast time they came back before sunriseâŠâ He trailed off.
âShit. Iâm so sorry, Bentley, I didnât⊠and⊠God,â She ran a hand over her face. âOkay. Itâs fine. Itâs fine. Itâs all going to be fine.â
Bentley didnât say anything just kinda⊠stood, thinking about how much Asten was going to kill him.
âHey,â Chloeâs hands were suddenly on his shoulders, and he locked eyes with her, brown on brown. âItâs gonna be fine, just go now before anyone sees. And⊠and donât sleep with anyone till youâre married!â
Bentley didnât say anything to that (because didn't they just sleep together?!), but he did get out of his own head enough to comprehend that he needed to go back to his dorm. Like, yesterday.
So, without a word, he turned, and he went.
He was about halfway there when he realized he didnât have his keycard.
Which meant someone would have to let him in.
âShit,â He groaned as he came out of the stairwell on their floor, the sixth floor. He took a quick glance both directions down the long, wainscoted hallway, and when it came back empty, he quietly moved toward their door and whipped his phone out of his pocket.
He tapped on one of his very first contacts. It rang⊠and it rangâŠ
âBentley?â
Bentley sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. âHey, Bell⊠I need you to let me into the dorm without waking anybody up.â
He heard Bellamy exhale. âThat wonât be hard. Iâm the only one here.â
Bentley creased his brow as he walked up to their room. âWhat? Iâm at the door.â
Hardly a half-second after he spoke, the call ended, the lock clicked, and the door opened. Bellamy was standing on the other side â his hair was sort of messed up, and his big brown eyes were dull and sleepy. He was wearing some blue pajamas that reminded Bentley of the sailboat ones he used to wear.
âSorry, Bell, I didnât mean to wake you up,â He cringed as he stepped through the door, kicking it closed behind him.Â
âSâ okay. I donât sleep much anyways,â Bellamy replied quietly, shoving his phone in the pocket of his pajama pants. Bentley glanced around the dorm, his gaze landing on all four of the bedroom doors that were just⊠sitting wide open.
âWhereâs Varian? I thought he didnât go to the party,â
Bellamy shrugged, walking over to the living area and plopping down on one of the couches. âI donât know. Did you go to the party with them? I thought you were here all nightâŠâ
âIâm sorry, I wouldâve stayed if Iâd have known youâd be by yourself,â Bentley cringed (He was really good at this stuff, wasnât he?) âBut no, I didnât go to the party â I had to talk to someone.â
Bellamy creased his brow at him. âAll night?â
âI fell asleep on accident,â He replied, making his way over to the couch and plopping down next to him. âAfter I saw what happened to everyone last time they partied, I decided it wasnât for me.â
Bellamy didnât say anything, but just kinda looked down at his hands and fiddled with his pajama sleeves. Bentley could hear the little machines whirring beneath them.
âWhatâs wrong?â He questioned. Bellamy glanced back up at him, looking sort of surprised, but quickly looked back down.
âNothing,â He muttered.
âBellâŠâ
âItâs okay, really. I donât want you to feel badâŠâ He trailed off, and Bentley sat up a little straighter, turning toward him slightly.
âFeel bad for what?â
âIâŠâ Bellamy started quietly, glancing at Bentley then down at his hands again, tugging at his own sleeves. âI⊠I had a nightmare and⊠when I woke up, nobody was hereâŠâ
Bentley internally threw himself off a cliff.
Of course Bellamy would. Why wouldnât he? With Bentleyâs relationship with luck, he was surprised his roommates didnât just straight up die in the middle of the night.
Bentley exhaled heavily, watching as Bellamy continued to pick at his sleeves. âIâm really sorry, Bell. Was it bad?â
Bellamy just kinda looked down at his lap. âThe dream wasnât so bad, but then I got up and no one was here, andâŠâ
There was a familiar little quiver to his voice that made Bentley feel even worse about leaving than he had about Chloe.
Bellamy sniffed lightly, turning away. âIt was really scaryâŠâ
Bentley sighed lightly, lifting his right arm and draping it loosely round Bellamyâs shoulders. âIâm sorry. I shouldnât have left.â
âIt wasnât your fault I had a bad dream,â He shrugged, wiping at his eyes without turning back around. âIt just freaked me out, is all. I thought you were at the party and I didnât want to bother youâŠâ
âYou can call me for anything, no matter what Iâm doing. Iâll answer â I promise,â Bentley replied, squeezing his shoulder lightly. âI hate that you were by yourself.â
âItâs okay⊠it really wasnât a big deal, just⊠sometimes I canât tell if Iâm awake or asleep, and it made me really scaredâŠâ Bellamy continued, and Bentley frowned.
âThatâs how a lot of my nightmares are, too,â He replied quietly, with a soft sigh.Â
Bellamy looked over at him. âI heard that you had one the other night. Was it bad?â
Images flashed through Bentleyâs mind in quick succession â Varian bleeding out in Dickâs arms, Rockie getting shot right in front of him, Asten falling off the roof, Nico getting his head beaten in... âYeah. It was bad.â
âI thought so. I heard you⊠screaming. But I didnât know if I was actually awake so I⊠didnât come out. Iâm sorryâŠâ Bellamy trailed off.
Bentley patted his shoulder. âItâs okay, Bell. I wouldnât have, either.â
Bellamy sniffed again, glancing forward at the floor ahead of them with a few quick blinks, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes.Â
âDo you want me to do the frogs again? You seem tired,â
âNo, thatâs okay,â He replied with a small shrug. âIâm not that tired.â
Bentley watched him, observing quietly for a few minutes as his blinks got progressively longer.Â
âAre you sure about that?â He asked with a soft smile, squeezing his shoulder lightly. âItâs okay to be tired. Iâm tired and I just woke up.â
Bellamy smiled faintly in amusement, glancing over at him for just a split second.
Bentley sighed lightly. âItâs okay, you can go to sleep. I wonât go anywhere â I promise.â
"...are you sure?" Bellamy muttered.
"I'm sure. Unless you'd rather be alone,"
"No. No, being alone is..." Bellamy trailed off, picking at his sleeves. "Scary..."
A beat passed.
"My head hurts,"
Bentley rubbed his shoulder lightly. "Do you want some medicine?"
"No..." He muttered, fiddling with his fingers some more, like he was nervous about something. "Can I just..."
Bentley watched him carefully, but he never spoke again. He just sort of looked down at his lap. "Can you just what?"
Bellamy shrugged and looked away, abandoning his question entirely.
"You can ask. I can already tell you the answer is most likely yes," Bentley replied, earning a faint smile in response.
"I... was going to ask if I could..." Bellamy trailed off, continuing to pick at his sleeves. "If I could maybe..." His eyes flicked down to Bentley's shoulder, and suddenly, he seemed to understand.
"Oh, yeah," He replied immediately. "I'm not gonna say no to that."
âAre you sure?â
Bentley hummed. âSuper sure.â
With that, Bellamy settled himself down on the couch and grabbed one of the blankets from the back of it, draping it over himself. Then, with an attentive glance to Bentley, subtly and tentatively moved until the side of his head came to rest on Bentleyâs shoulder.
"Sorry if thatâs⊠weird, I justâŠâ
"Itâs not weird," Bentley replied, smiling faintly as he adjusted his arm so it was comfortable for both of them. "I've probably spent more time in the last three years sleeping with someone else next to me than alone -- so I don't mind. It's actually nice."
âOh⊠okay,â
A few moments of silence passed, and Bellamy settled in farther, adjusting his head against Bentleys shoulder with a quiet sigh. âYâknow, I⊠think youâre the best friend Iâve ever had.â
Bentley said nothing, only glanced at him. By the time heâd managed to work up a response, Bellamyâs eyes were comfortably closed, his breathing had evened out, and the machines on his arms slowed until he could barely hear them anymore.
If Bellamy kept talking like that, Bentley was gonna have to ask Bruce if they could take him home.
â
â-mustâve woken up and came in here,â Was the first thing Bentleyâs ears registered when his senses started coming back to him. He was laying somewhere, but it wasnât his bed. It wasâŠ
Oh yeah â the couch, in the living area. He wasnât sitting up anymore; He seemed to be laying across it, and there was a blanket thrown over him that hadnât been there before. Bellamyâs presence had all but vanished from his right.
âYou think he noticed you were gone?â
âI hope not. He was dead asleep when I left,â
It was Asten and Valor whispering â though Bentley probably wouldnât have been able to tell in his half-awake state if it werenât for their opposing accents.
âAre you gonna tell him?â Valor questioned.
âUnless he noticed I was gone, no. Iâm not hungover anymore, so it shouldnât matter,â
He wasnât hungover, so it shouldnât matter. It shouldnât matter that literally yesterday Asten had given Bentley a speech about not keeping secrets, and then did something the same night that he planned on keeping secret. (What kind of world was Asten living in where he could just⊠be all hypocritical like that? Bentley wasnât allowed but he was?)
Bentley fought the urge to huff dramatically and, instead, stayed eerily still on the couch, pretending to sleep. (He was pretty good at that.)
âYouâre welcome, by the way, for being the puke dad again,â Came a third voice, with a distinct Russian lilt.Â
âYeah, yeah, thanks for waking up and coming to the hangover rescue. Whereâs Koa and Rockie?â Valor questioned.
âKoaâs throwing up outside. I think Rockieâs out there with him,â
âJesus, that kid gets sicker than anyone Iâve ever met in my entire life,â Valor sighed.Â
âHe also gets drunker than anyone else,â
âBecause he's obsessed with beer pong. He played it at least thirty times last night,â
Bentley just listened as the voices moved about the dorm, a few doors opening and closing and sounds bouncing around. An unidentifiable amount of time later, the distinct sound of the dorm door opening and closing pierced the air â it mustâve been Koa and Rockie.
A few more voices came and went â small talk, mostly. Bentley didnât listen because he was too busy being absolutely pissed that Asten had the audacity to be such an arrogant hypocrite after he made Bentley cry about it the day before.Â
Eventually, the voices faded into the other rooms, and the dorm went quiet again.
Bentley, extraordinarily angry but not mean enough to disturb everyoneâs sleep, forced himself back to bed on the couch.
Heâd talk to Asten later.
Later came sooner than he wanted it to⊠but at the same time, took all too long to come around.
He shuffled back into his and Astenâs bedroom at nearly eleven in the morning. The dorm was practically dead â not a soul had come out into the living area since theyâd all returned earlier. Part of him kind of wanted to cry (because he couldnât be mad like a normal person.) and the other part of him wanted to, like, burn something down.Â
For now, he decided to find somewhere in the middle to float.
He went into his and Astenâs room, kicking the door closed behind him and glancing at the top bunk. Asten was laying up there under his blankets, but his arms and phone were sticking out, and his screen was on, signaling that he was awake.
âHey, B,â He greeted casually. âWhy were you in the living room?â
Bentley breathed in and out, staving down some of the anger that threatened to make him, like, yell. âBellamy had a nightmare. We were both in there, but he left,â He replied curtly.
He pulled his desk chair out and sat on it, then heard Asten shift, as though he were trying to look at him from his bed. He mustâve given up because his head never appeared from under the covers. Â
âI didnât hear you leave,â
Was he seriously trying to make Bentley think he was home all night?
Bentley shrugged with a short huff. âNot sure you could hear the door from Masonâs house, anyway.â
Astenâs head did pop out, then, and he sat up on the bed. âDid-â
âIâm not stupid, Asten. I was awake when you left, and I was awake when you were telling Valor you werenât gonna tell me,â He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. âWhat the hell?â
Asten didnât say anything, but worked his way off the top bunk and sat on Bentleyâs instead, crossing his arms. He looked tired, like heâd just woken up, but sort of offended at the same time. âNot everything I do is your business, B.â
Bentley narrowed his eyes at him, wanting nothing more than to set his hair on fire. âYou lied to me.â
âI didnât lie,â Asten scoffed.
âWell, you didnât tell me the truth,â Bentley spat, leaning back in the chair. âThereâs no gray area between an honest person and a liar.â
âWhat-â
âYou just gave me an entire spiel over keeping secrets just to go and keep secrets. So what, youâre allowed to but Iâm not? Iâm supposed to let it slide when you do it, but youâre allowed to get upset at me? Sounds pretty hypocritical,â Bentley hissed. Astenâs eyes went cold again, his expression darkening.
âYou have to tell me where youâre going because youâre an innocent little nepobaby whoâs naivety will get you killed,â Asten spat back. âYou donât know half the shit that goes on in this world â I do.â
â⊠So, because you had a shitty life, the rules donât apply?â Bentley asked, tapping his fingers on his arms. âYouâre allowed to go do whatever you want and expect me to just sit here at your command like a dog?â
âIâm trying to protect you,âÂ
âBullshit. That just sounds good. If you were actually trying to protect me, you wouldnât leave the three youngest roommates in the dorm overnight just to go get drunk out of your mind,â Bentley was practically fuming at the ears, but he made doubly sure not to raise his voice too loud. âI wouldnât even care about you going out and getting wasted if youâd just tell me first!âÂ
Asten rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. âWhyâs it such a big deal all of a sudden?â
âIt was a big deal to you yesterday,â Bentley replied. âBut I guess that doesnât matter, since youâre a hypocrite and all.â
Asten was glaring daggers. âBentley.â
âTell me Iâm wrong,â He ordered, locking eyes with Asten and forcing them to stay there no matter how uncomfortable it was. âYou said something. You did the opposite. Tell me youâre not a hypocrite.â
Asten was pissed â Bentley could tell. He had this cold sort of feeling that radiated from him when he was really mad; one that would make passersby afraid he was gonna punch them if they got too close. He opened his mouth to reply, but Bentley beat him to it.
âI may be younger than you, but you canât walk all over me anymore. You helped train that into me,â Bentley muttered. âSo if youâre allowed to go do whatever you want whenever you want without telling me, so am I.â
âBentley-â
âAnd Iâll start by telling you, now that itâs convenient for me, that I snuck out of the dorm and stayed with a girl last night. All night,â
Astenâs horrendously-pissed-and-angry face cracked a little to reveal something like disbelief, and vaguely, shock. âYeah, sure you did.â
âUnlike you, Iâm not a liar. Ask Bellamy, he had to let me back in this morning. Or you can consult my call history and find where I asked him to let me in,â Bentley replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tossing it on the desk with a bam! âOr maybe you can dwell on the fact that I was sleeping in the living room in different clothes than I went to bed in?â
Asten didnât say anything, but his mouth was open, like he was debating on it.
Then he huffed deeply, like he was really irritated. âWho was it?â
âNot everything I do is your business,â Bentley mocked, rising from the desk chair and pushing it in, grabbing his phone and shoving it back in his pocket. âIâm done arguing with a wall.â
âWhere are you going?â Asten asked as Bentley approached the door.
He swung it open, glancing back at Asten just long enough to say: âMaybe Iâll tell you when itâs convenient.â
Then he left their room, and he left their dorm, going nowhere in particular.
Everything in high school was bullshit.
--
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â just a bundle of nervous energy â call me Vela! â 16 years old â we do messy book rants, brain dumps, and all kinds of dumbassery
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