*/ SOUTHERN CONSTELLATIONS

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

Here they were again. Around town, after having taken the city bus this time, mostly because Denny wasn’t much in the mood to walk and the ride across town was about seven minutes faster than it would have taken to get there on foot. He figured, based on the last time he and Annie had been here, the faster they got in and out, the better off they were. So the bus just seemed like an easy, frankly affordable trip, but that didn’t mean they had to take the bus back to his - or rather their place. It was still hard to get used to the fact that Annie was moved in and living with him, but not nearly as hard of a concept to grasp as it had been two months ago. In any case, Denny was pretty content with not having to live alone anymore, considering he kind of hated being alone. At least completely alone. He’d be just fine if just he and Annie were lazing about in the apartment, which he was still getting used to calling the apartment instead of his apartment. He didn’t like a lot of people, but he didn’t like being alone either. But that didn’t matter too much right now because the bus was rolling slowly to a stop, the very stop that Denny knew he had to get off at and walk the rest of the block until he found his parents house.

Yeah, that was what was happening. This time, it hadn't been Denny's idea - though he couldn't clearly remember if last time had been his idea or not. In any case, he couldn't be blamed for this, and he hoped everything would be okay because his mother had forced him into bringing Annie over for god only knows what, and she promised that his sister - with her habit of being feisty around people that she'd never really met - would be out of the vicinity for a few hours. Whether or not the youngest Hurley had actually done what she'd been asked, Denny didn't know, and he wouldn't until he noticed either the presence or absence of his sister. Truth be told, he loved his sister, but he'd already gone to the ends of the Earth for her with little repayment - not that he'd really been seeking too much of it - so he really just wanted her to keep her mouth shut and deal with what he brought home if she really wanted to be around when he was there. Otherwise, she may as well just go live in Alaska, because the last thing Denny wanted as another Thanksgiving event.

Well the bus finally stopped and Denny stood first, moving into the aisle so Annie could walk past him and off the bus before him. They'd only been on the bus for a total of five or six minutes, but the air was cooler than it had been in a few days, and Denny didn't want Annie to freeze before they ever made it to his old abode. Either way, they got off the bus and Denny sighed, watching his breath materialize a bit before his eyes. It was that cold, but the house was only a few blocks of sidewalk up the street from where the bus stop was. So Denny grabbed Annie's hand and started walking, but not without smiling at her because he was just so grateful that she'd even agreed to coming here again. After the last time, Denny had thought Annie would never want to even see or speak to his family ever again, and though that would be hard to understand as for his parents, he could take that as some sort of blame to his sister. But she was there now, which really kind of just meant a whole lot of world that Denny couldn't really explain. "Ready?" he asked, just because of all that had happened on Thanksgiving.

Annie stopped though. Denny hadn’t been expecting that, so he had to stop short in order to not fall over her. He straightened himself before Annie turned, looking at him instead of the block ahead of them. She wasn’t completely smiling, but something about her expression didn’t seem half as nervous as it had the last time they’d been down this road. Well, that was a good sign at least. Denny wasn’t prepared what happened next, but that wasn’t exactly a bad thing. Annie kept a hold on his hand and moved closer to him, which he would never object to if he were as sane as he was now, even if that wasn’t exactly too sane to begin with. Whatever; that didn’t really need to be crossing Denny’s mind at that time anyway. In any case, Annie moved closer again until there was hardly any space between her body and his, which Denny was not against, not even in public. Location didn’t matter with Annie, so he just let her do what she wanted right there, in the cold air, even though he didn’t really notice the weather after just having got off the bus. She just held onto his hand and, with her other hand, reached up around his neck and brought his face down to hers.

Oh, well if this was what Annie wanted, Denny was in no way going to abstain. His hand found that familiar place on her face too, while his other stayed firmly in her hand. He didn’t care if his parents were standing outside watching, thought hat was a little creepy, and he didn’t care if any passing bystander stopped and watch – which was infinitely creepier than his parents, people he at least knew. Either way he didn’t really care, not with Annie’s face against his, her lips trying to make themselves a part of his own lips, and not with her hands on him and his on her. The whole affair sounded so intimate, and honestly it was to them, but they were just standing on some corner in the middle of Cape Cod kissing, and even though Denny didn’t really mind where they were or who was around them, he did mind the fact that this was something he’d rather just save for his own experiences, not everyone else’s. But it wasn’t like he was speaking at the moment, so he wasn’t just going to stop kissing Annie just to tell her to get somewhere more private. Besides the fact that he didn’t want to do that, it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

Instead, Denny just stood there and kissed Annie, smiling through it all because he just couldn’t stop himself. His hand on her face slid to her waist, pulling her closer than it could have from her cheek. He let her put her hands wherever she wanted, mostly because she had him completely and therefore she could do whatever she wanted. She could even walk away now, with him in toe of course, and he would follow. He’d have to make a call about a (fake) sickness as an excuse for not showing up at his parent’s house, but he didn’t really see that as anything he’d object to. And this time, he didn’t pull away; he was notorious for doing so, but he actually waited for Annie to do the pulling back before he sighed and smiled. She seemed much more out of breath than Denny did, but that was probably due to the fact that his lungs were fitted for flying and breathing against gusts of wind currents, and hers were fashioned for running. That didn’t make too much sense, but it was what Denny used as a scapegoat. In any case, he just smiled and held her hand again, not saying anything as he lead the way. His hand left hers but found itself slithering to her opposite hip, resting there just to be able to walk down the block.

He counted the houses, recognizing who lived where instantly. The family of the snotty girl he'd known in high school was across the street; he was pretty sure the only dude he'd considered a good friend in high school was still living here, with or without his parents, two houses down from his own. There that was that creepy demon dude that still lived four houses down the block from his old home and across the street; Denny had been told to stay clear of that house and that man since he was little. He'd never actually gone to the house or disturbed the dude, but then again he'd never seen anyone or anything move behind those windows, and he'd never seen the door open or close. Then again, Demons were so different from Shifters that Denny could hardly understand their existence, so he just didn't mind the myths or the rumors - and he never had. And now was not the time to start wondering, so Denny kept on moving with his arm across Annie.

Finally they came up to his parents' house, and Denny leaned in so that they'd turn up onto the few little steps to the door together. He took the hand not around Annie and rapped on the door in that over-used little rhythm with the ta-ta-ta-ta-ta TAP TAP and whatnot. They waited for the door to open, but it seemed like too soon when that happened. Suddenly, Denny was looking at his mom again, and he felt almost like Thanksgiving had been yesterday, rather than a matter of months ago. But they had no time to really care about that - Mrs. Hurley, or rather Donna, leaned forward and grabbed Denny, then quickly let go and did the same to Annie, only pulling away half as fast as she had Denny. Donna just smiled at the two of them and said, "Finally! You're late, but I don't care. I'm just glad to see the two of you!" She moved a bit and let the two of them in. Denny chuckled, shook his head and lead the way by a step, noticing now how all of the windows in the house were open but the heat was on.

Mr. Hurley - Eric - wasn't visible, but Denny could smell the pasta boiling and the garlic sauce being sautéed. He could hear some metal clanking around int he kitchen, which meant that, at least for a while, it would just be Denny, Annie, and Donna. While that would have been a buzz kill in any other situation, this was his mom, and he had to hold some sort of respect for her at the least - and then there was the fact that, without his mom, there was no Annie. Yeah, just the minor things made the biggest difference, no big deal. Donna came around the two of them standing in the middle of the room and just continued to smile. "I pawned your sister off on some of her friends. She was a bit peeved she missed you but she didn't seen too bothered to actually get out and do something for once." Denny knew she meant that last part because his sister was 19-ish, not currently going to school while all of her friends were, and still lived with their parents. Either way, she wasn't there, which meant there was one less person to get on Annie's nerves, and not really particularly on the angry side.

Denny smiled and shrugged. Donna looked at Annie with that same smile on her face, obviously just as intuitive as Denny was - that was the parent one could blame for that trait, in any sense. "So Annie, how've you been?" Denny was a bit surprised his mother was so openly addressing Annie, as if she was just another member of the family - but that thought excited Denver because......well, outside of this house, Annie was pretty much most of the family he had, if not all of it. The thought made him smile even more, and he pulled Annie closer to him from her hip, turning his face so that he was smiling right at her. Maybe this trip to his parents' house would be better than the last one.


um i lost count okay words -- cora why did i just call you seren/annie <3 -- op i made it all words to four year strong okay -- okay denny's just wearing that thing that blake wore at the mtv photoshoot like the jeans/button down shirt/tie -- okay so hai this seems cute anyway hope you like :)

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

Something in the pit of her stomach felt very off, and the entire day Annie had reflected the way she felt. She felt it in her body, starting there and moving out making her limbs feel like rubber to her. It wasn't a bad feeling, or one of her notorious moods, it was just... off. Throughout their relationship things had been worse than this. Today it was a light feeling, like there was just something going haywire in-between her body and her skin. Something was just not letting her actions and thoughts and feelings match up exactly, making her feel like she was tripping when she actually seemed fine. But overall, Annie had been feeling good these past days, or at least acting like that. Things were getting fixed. There were more people in her life, and it threatened the ground work she had laid down for herself. 

Suddenly she was walking this line between what she knew, what was safe, and the rest of the world, something that she had little experience with in actuality. The overall good mood was proof that she was getting more confident and stable, though. A twin? Someone that looked exactly like her but was infinitely different? Months ago Denny would have had to lock her up. He'd have to hold her down like she was a danger to herself and others (she always was, but she'd been slowly inching towards a way to ignore that). She would be tearing her hair out and feeling like everything was being ripped away. Stuff like that didn't work for her and she hated feeling like her sense of normalcy was thrown off. Now she took it coolly. Annie found a way to say okay, that's logical - because it really was. Her walls were back up, separating her thoughts and actions. She was back to holding things in. The only difference now was that there were gates, almost. There were ways to let it out that didn't lead up to things like how she had been after the last dinner with his parents. It wasn't like she broke down every time she and Denny got alone, it wasn't like she was a ticking time bomb. There was buildup that could get dangerous, but for once Annie felt very confident in herself. She felt confident in Denny, his abilities to handle her, and their relationship.

It was like now she had a sanctuary, the safety of the apartment where she had Denny and there wasn't anything expected of her. That was what she needed to keep from breaking down; a place where she could break down safely, freely, and feel stable. Denny provided that for her, with everything he gave her. They could hang out with friends - because for once they were social and it was weird for Annie to get a hold of, but Denny was there to back her up and her confidence in him gave her confidence in herself. In that aspect, maybe their relationship was unhealthy, but in all honesty Annie didn't think so. It felt healthier than anything she bad ever had, and it worked for them. It was like they could go out and laugh and look like the couple they usually felt like. Good. Lovely. Annie didn't feel a need to hide behind anything and sometimes she and Denver would just have that moment of eye contact and smile and think damn, this is beautiful. Because it was. And there was always the reassurance of going home and having no expectations. A place where everything was okay, and she always had that place with Denny, which was a thought that made her giddy.

Dinner with his parents again, though... she didn't really know what she thought about that. Walking up the sidewalk her main thought was gonna have to go a couple hours without much contact from Denny. Maybe he would surprise her and take chances that she wouldn't because she didn't know much about behaving like in a societal way. So she stopped walking and got close. Denny looked confused but smiled. Annie didn't know if she did or not, but she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him. When he matched her she fell back to going flat on her feet. She didn't think about anyone else because to Annie there was no one else. Other people were just like supporting roles; she didn't feel much for them because this was her story. His hand slid down her waist and a shiver sent her closer to him and she felt happy. She needed this before walking into his childhood home. Kissing Denny was one of annoys favorite hobbies, no matter the situation; light greeting kisses, dead ended make out sessions, deep kissing in bed, anything Annie could get or imposed upon him. It was something she was good at, and so she went with it. Annie pushed herself until her lungs burned and then pulled back. His hand stayed on her back, holding her close by her hip and Annie just leaned against him, and sighed. 

Her heartbeat quickened when they walked up the steps and for a second Annie wanted to shake her head and pull Denny home, where they could see where making out brought them. She wanted to race home and say that was a close one, and then just kiss him again and see where her body gravitated to. But she swallowed the feeling as Denny knocked, and threw on a smile just to see how it looked. Playing parts wasn't Annie's thing. She could do it, but it was harder to do stuff like that after Denver had torn down all her defenses. His mom answered the door and Annie was immediately unnerved by her exuberance; she couldn't help it. Stuff like that threw a wrench into the works for Annie, she just wasn't used to it. And then the hug, she barely returned it and she was stiff, at that. Caught off guard, but not exactly, Annie just felt tired by it. Contact was something Annie had to ease into, something you had to ask for permission for with your eyes. She didn't have a good explanation as to why she was like that; she just kind of was. She mutely followed Denny inside, staying close because the heat from his body was like a magnet for her. Plus this was his territory. It was so... domestic and Annie didn't know what to do with it. His mom rattled off some lines about his sister and Annie was reassured by the thought she wouldn't be there. And then Annie was surprised when she turned to her. She tried to keep her look of "deer in headlights" to a minimum. 

How had she been? Annie had to stop and repeat the question in her head. How had she been? She thought about what her answer might look like if she opened the can of worms that was the truth. Well, Donna, funny story actually. After we left your house, I had a complete mental breakdown on your son's roof, and then I may have corrupted him, depending on your religion. Oops! And the next morning, we got into a fight over my bulimia. That's only in the time right after thanksgiving, too! Haha! And then I guess things were okay, until I got pregnant. And let me tell you, that was no immaculate conception. Look at me, miss jokes, haha. Anyway, I didn't know I was pregnant. Don't know if you caught the part about bulimia, but after christmas I alienated myself from your son so I could starve and burn myself in peace. Happy new year to me! And finally there was a huge breakdown scene. It was touching, really. After that things were bad, but we were together so maybe not that bad. Until, you know, the miscarriage. Whoops, there goes your grandchild due to the way I torture myself! This got good after that until Denver called me a whore a while after. Yeah he's got an alter ego thing going on, and I used to be a prostitute. Fun, right? Things are going good now, though. Except I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of marrying Denny. But that's okay because we're in love, and that's what matters, right? 

God, were they really that dysfunctional?

Instead, she merely smiled at her. "Good," she said, avoiding the word fine because she knew Denny didn't like it. She licked her lips and looked up at Denver, forgetting his mother was there because she just looked at Denny and her skin felt warm where he was touching her, even through the dress she was wearing. It wasn't like the last dress at all, though. It was one of those dresses that was like a sweater, snug but not too bad. It covered her arms, which is why Annie had picked it. Not only was she self conscious about the scars, but she didn't want his parents to freak out and think she was a mental case because they hadn't been there before. The dress was a little low cut, and exposed her collarbones, though. As long as no one walked behind her, the back of her knees were safe. But she pushed that out of her mind and watched Denny, how he was smiling brightly. "I've been really happy, you know..." she kept watching him for a little bit before looking back at his mom, and her smile did dampen a bit, but it was more sincere than the smile she had given her earlier. 



1601 words -- this is paigels coding and image ok -- idk she's just wearing a sweatery dress thing etc etc -- idk like it didn't give you anything to work with blah

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

So far, this trip across the city was going pretty much two times as smooth as the last time he and Annie were here. Sure, he could tell that Annie was a bit tense and maybe even a little strung out, but he didn’t feel like her emotions and feelings were so extensive that the whole day would turn sour in a moments notice. Besides the fact that Denny knew nerves and emotions were going to run high, he seemed to feel the easiness in the air of the house. Sure, it was a bit warm, but that wasn’t what Denny was focusing on. He was more determined to focus on Annie, just in case something was said or done and the rest of whatever happened today went horribly wrong. It was safe to say that he’d be ready to say a quick goodbye and save Annie the humiliation of freaking out right there, in front of his parents. He had faith in her enough to strongly believe that wouldn’t happen. He had to; otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to come. And maybe his faith was a little misguided because not only had their social life finally picked up a bit, but now apparently Annie was a twin! Something just didn’t add up about Evan, but Denny didn’t really care. He was more worried about Annie’s reaction to her sister’s sudden appearance than Evan actually being around.

He’d rather rush after Annie to keep her semi-sane then after Evan just because she was new and connected to Annie in a way that Denny couldn’t understand completely. He didn’t have a twin, but then again, Annie hadn’t even known she’d had one for nearly twenty-one years. That was another reason he had to believe in Annie – otherwise, he would have kept her hostage in fear of losing her mind in the presence of the only people that actually meant something monumental to him, besides Annie of course. But Annie wasn’t holed up, wasn’t backing down. She was keeping herself together, and seeing that made Denny feel like Gandhi. His pride didn’t become him, but rather made him feel at peace, like all of his work to fix things wasn’t just time wasted. Not that he’d really think that – it was just nice to be reassured that hard work really paid off. Watching his mom and Annie interact in such a way was like watching a million dollar box-office movie to Denny. He had to admit that his mom was a bit over friendly, but he also had to come clean with the fact that he didn’t care. That was just how she functioned. And Annie didn’t seem to be totally repulsed by it.

Denny could see Donna through the very corner of his eyes, but even that was enough. His eyes were trained to see the littlest movements, considering he became a bird of prey when he shifted. His whole family was that way for the most part, but the fact of the matter was that through that little bit that he could see of his mother, he could blatantly see her huge, extremely extroverted smile. It was clear to him that she could just see what he saw, if only at a lesser extent. It wasn’t like Donna could actually see how much of Denny was all in thanks to Annie, but she could definitely see how much of his world loved her world. She could just see how in love Denny was, and from the way he could see her, Donna looked almost like she was about to ask where the rings were. But she didn’t; she just looked between her soon and Annie, still too happy to speak, it seemed. That only lasted about as long as it took for Denny to turn to Donna; not because he was tired of looking at Annie or anything, but mostly because the silence was getting a bit too awkward for his taste. Donna’s excitement seemed to dim a bit, but only enough for her to seem more humble than anything else. That was the beauty of Denny’s family; they were honest in their emotions, but they were able to change those emotions easily, at least with years of practice in the people pleasing department. “Good. Wonderful!” Even though her face and demeanor had changed, it still sounded like Donna could hear wedding bells in her very near future. Honestly, Denny thought for a moment that his mother was more excited about Annie and Denny getting married than he and Annie were themselves.

Donna wasn’t quite finished, and it almost irked Denny how commanding of the situation she was – but then again, he was sure that if his mother didn’t take command of the conversation, there would be no conversation at all. He was too awkward to try to get Annie and his mom to converse on their own, and Annie was too……not introverted and not anti-social, even though the latter of the two really did seem to be the only word that even closely described Annie. So whether or not it really bothered him, Denver let his mother go on with whatever she wanted. It seemed safe and it seemed like the only thing that would keep the air as calm and peaceful as he felt it was now. “I hope Denny’s been treating you right!” Okay, he had to admit that was a little out of bounds. Of course he did; Donna had raised him better than being an abusive scum bag like some of the guys he’d known – like the guy his sister had tried to hook up with drunkenly at that party that had changed his life. But he couldn’t think about that, because that would just worsen his mood. He didn’t want that in the least bit. “I like to believe I raised him as well as I could.”

And it was a huge wonder as to why Donna still thought that, even after Denny had taken the fall for his sister’s fuck up and gone to juvenile detention. He’d become a delinquent by that point, outcast by everyone that didn’t know the answer to why he’d done what he had done – except his parents. His father hadn’t been too keen on the fact that his only son had been to jail before he’d graduated high school, but eventually Eric had gotten over it and accepted Denny. Donna……well, Denny’s mom had seemed much more understanding. She hadn’t really held it against him for too long, and after a while she’d pretty much just pretended like it had never happened. Maybe that was why Denny held a preference to his mother over his father, but he couldn’t really say. That was just….how he felt. In any case, he couldn’t say anything against his mother’s words because of her understanding when no one else seemed to feel the same way, so he just rolled his eyes and smirked. But just because he couldn’t say anything about her assumption, that didn’t mean he couldn’t respond. “Of course I have, ma.” He stopped looking at Donna then, and back at Annie. He didn’t need her to tell his mother that yeah, he did treat her as well as he possibly could or that he was taking care of her; Denny knew all of that, and no one’s outside opinion could sway his confidence in that alone. Not even his mother’s.

Just before Denny could say anymore, his father walked into the room. The air changed a bit, but not so much that it was really all that noticeable on an emotional level. The room just smelled more of the food that was cooking in the kitchen, which was nice because the stale air from the heater had started to bother Denny’s nose to the same point that the air around him had changed. Eric took a look at Denny, then Annie, then joined Donna and formed a sort of square in the living room, which did seem a bit awkward but to such a small amount that it really didn’t make too much of a difference. Everything seemed so minute, but really there was a whole new person in the room, so how small could everything be in reality? “Denny,” Eric said, stepping forward to just simply embrace his son quickly before pulling back. Much less of an extroverted person, Eric just smiled and held his hand out to Annie with a quick, “Annie,” following, probably at such a pace to just get past awkward introductions (again). He sighed, straightened up and stood next to Donna. “Nice to see the both of you again.” And that’s the way it had always been in the Hurley family; Eric would rather be outside flying than inside cooking, but after Denny was born things just had to change. They had a third bird mouth to feed, and then a fourth two or three years later. That domestication that came with having a steady job and now a steady family and slowly deteriorated parts of Eric Hurley, and suddenly he was just a quiet lawyer from Boston that held down his family and hardly spoke to anyone except his wife, who happened to not only be the love of his life, but also his best friend. Sometimes Denny did fear that this would become him – that he would one day be the same person his father was because of that domestication and the dreams he had with Annie becoming a reality, and the fact that Annie was indeed the love of his life and his best friend.

But Denny was more like his mom in more ways than he was like his dad. Sure, the situation was similar, but Denny was more of the kind of person that would rather not be alone. He’d rather not be in solitude, and even more so now than before, he’d rather be talking to people. Denny didn’t always want to fly, at least on a level where he could control his immediate wants and needs. Sure, he would always itch to be a part of the sky, but there was an even bigger part of him that just wanted to be with Annie, all the time. And besides that, Denny had no interest in being his father – he’d find ways to keep himself and Annie from being his parents. That wasn’t too hard on Annie’s part because Annie was nothing like his mother, which was good because when it came down to it, Denny would rather not think of Annie that way. That was creepy. He had to push the thought of his mind to not think that now, and quickly he refocused on Annie. “Yeah, sorry you guys haven’t heard from us in a while. We were…….busy,” Denny said, almost wanting to add in a little ‘to say the least’ but he felt like his mom would want to know what that ‘least’ was. Sure, because Denny could really just blurt out all that had happened in the last few months. He imagined the conversation being….comical, actually.

Mrs. Hurley would ask And what is that ‘leas’ that’s kept my baby boy holed away from us for so long? Denny would give her a ‘really, mom?’ face, turn to Annie to see what she would think, then turn back to his mom and, not being able to deny her the truth when she asked, would tell her everything. Well, let’s see. After we left her last I took Annie to the roof of my building because I go there – or I used to – when she wasn’t around because solitude is greater – or was – than company. Well she freaked out and so I told her I wasn’t ever going to leave – yeah, I signed my life over just as every guy I knew in high school said not to – and then we climbed down and um….well. Let’s say I had a Charlie Bartlett moment, even though you two have no clue what that is. Okay well anyway, after that we kind of made ourselves official. We spent too much time together, but we didn’t really feel that way, and then some red headed witch bad mouthed us at a show, or rather just shit talked about Annie right in front of me, so Annie gave her what she was asking for. Well after that Annie told me to wait at her place while she proceeded to skimper off in her little wolf-slash-manned wolf shifter self and got her ass kicked by a moose. Cool, right? Sure, until she came back to her place totally trashed, and I don’t mean drunk. Well then it was my turn to freak out, but I didn’t – self control for the win, as they say! – and instead I just kind of nursed Annie back to health? Okay, we’ll go with that. Well anyway after that, Christmas came around – and lemme tell you , that was some fun I had! Another Charlie Bartlett type night, until the next day. Annie kind of deserted me, and I slowly started spinning back into my depression – cute, right? Well then she called me. Or texted – whatever, that’s not important. What’s important is that she needed me, so I met her at this beach across town. She’d gone kind of nutso but I don’t have too much room to speak on that behalf. I just stood up and told her that talking to me was what was going to help fix this – or at least I hope that’s the message I got across. Either way, it got Annie back into my life and my depression at a complete standstill.

Oh, and then after she came back, we thought she might be pregnant! Ma, can you believe it? I was going to be a daddy! Well, Annie’s kind of had this little issue with an eating disorder, and because she hadn’t eaten too much while she was avoiding me, her body kind of rejected the pregnancy and dude, I almost fought a fucking doctor! Oh yeah, and that was only because of this secondary personality I have – this totally irrational monster that lives in my subconscious until it sees fit to take over. Oh and I left out the part where the monster had taken over and totally scared the living shit out of Annie the day after Thanksgiving. Aren’t I just a pleasure to live with, Annie? Anyway, so then we got Annie out of the hospital as soon as possible, and walked home because well neither of us really have a car, or can afford one. Moving along; then I grew a pair of real balls and asked Annie out on a date. Well that was fun, except that I can’t remember what movie it was that we were watching. Eh, that didn’t matter anyway. So after that…….the monster came back once and I swear to god it called Annie a whore because you know me and even if I ran some girl over in high school, I would never call her a whore. So Annie ran again but I kind of deserved that for being a total weak jackass. But then she came back and we made everything okay again and now…..now we’re here. So that was the ‘least’ that you wanted to hear about, mom. Are you proud of me? How about you, Dad? Good enough story to redeem my broken soul – ‘

That was where Denny’s immaculate thoughts cut themselves off. He couldn’t keep going like that. He had to look at Annie and smile, because that was what was going to keep him from going overboard in his explanation of what had happened the last couple of months. “Just been busy.”


TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT words -- cora why did i just call you seren/annie <3 -- op i made it all words to four year strong okay -- okay denny's just wearing that thing that blake wore at the mtv photoshoot like the jeans/button down shirt/tie -- drone drone drone but i'm really happy with this okay.