so many drabbles
title : the in between
pairing/fandom : mini x alo, grace x rich, some franky x matty
rating : m - swearing, drinking, drugs, some sex
word count : 8500
summary : Mini is having the greatest summer ever.
So this is a series of drabbles taking place from right after The Wedding that Was to just after the end of 6x01.
It was supposed to be 100 drabbles, but that was just taking too long. It was getting too dragged out.
http://100-prompts.livejournal.com/692.html - this is what I was working with, but I went off the list a bit.
mellow
Mini didn’t know if she ever met anyone as laid back as Alo.
She follows Alo and Nick as they weave through the forest, somewhere towards the van. Hopefully, anyway.
She glances back at Franky and Matty, who were trailing behind, hands entwined and giggling about something. Probably something overly intellectual and posh, but Mini couldn’t help but smile at her best friend’s happiness.
“So, Minerva,” Alo said, falling instep beside her. “I see you’ve finally accepted that the elder Levan is good enough for our young Francesca.”
“If she’s happy, I’m happy. If he breaks her heart, I’ll break his neck.”
Alo laughed loudly at Mini’s empty threat. “Whatever happens happens, right?”
eternal
After a trip to a local mechanic and two long hours of driving, Alo finally stopped in front of Mini’s home.
“Alright, McGuinness, it’s been a blast, but I have to get home before Mumgabe starts to dig the grave,” Alo says with surprising happiness.
Mini wrinkles her nose. “Is she still a bitch to you?”
Alo throws his head back and lets out a loud laugh. “Always and forever, Mins. But she’s my mum. She kind of gets the right.”
Mini shakes her head and opens the door. “That’s not really how it works, Farm Boy.”
subtle
Mini was never exactly a master of stealth.
She was too loud, too outgoing, too jingly and shiny.
She was never one to observe the people around her, preferring to focus on surface impressions and explicit conversations.
Still, she can’t help but sneak glances at Alo every once in a while. Times when she’s sure no one is looking.
She’s mesmerised by the way the sun glistens through his hair and his encouraging smiles and how he laughs with his whole body, throwing his head back and his arms out when Nick manages to crack a joke that is actually funny.
She tries to stop, but it’s becoming a bad habit.
cheat
“Oh, fuck off, McGuinness! Fuck off right now!” Alo screams passionately.
“Don’t be such a sore loser, Farm Boy. I won fair and square,” Mini says with a triumphant smile across her face.
“Like hell!” Alo pouts. “You used Gracie’s general niceness to your advantage!”
Grace laughs loudly, organising the abandoned Monopoly money into neat piles.
“Oh, and you didn’t use Rich? He just gave you all the reds!”
“And Nick gave you all the greens!” Alo turns to Nick. “I thought we were best mates,” he says, betrayal seeping into his voice.
Nick shrugs carelessly. “I kind of owe her one, mate.”
transparent
Mini has always lived behind walls.
It was easier this way. It was too risky to let people see who she really was. Nick once slurred after a long night out that it was her daddy issues that made her this way.
Maybe he was right. After all, if her father couldn’t love her for who she was, how could anyone else?
Alo wasn’t like that. He was a horrible liar. He couldn’t filter out his thoughts or feelings from spilling out, even at the most inopportune moment.
She wanted to hate him for it, but every time he smiles at her when her guard slips, she can’t help but be thankful for her friend’s transparency.
believable
Mini loved getting compliments. She loved it when men complimented her hair, her legs, her clothes. She never really believed them, though. After all, she knew what they were after and she also knew there was no way they were going to get it.
Alo was different, though. Every once in a while, he paid her a complement concerning her appearance. He was impressed by how she did her hair or the way she meticulously lined her eyes.
Most compliments he gave her were unique, though. They were things other girls were praised for but never Mini. Intelligence, wit, reliability, friendship skills and just the shear belief that she could do anything.
She always believed Alo.
repeat
“Come on, McGuinness!” Alo says loudly into her ear, steering her towards the dance floor. “It’s our song!”
Four rum and diets down, Mini laughs loudly as the thudding beat stirs memories of their first dance.
They move in a way entirely different than the first time. Mini’s inhibitions around Alo have been gone for a while. Alo was no longer shocked that the most popular girl in college wanted to dance with him.
He sloppily spins her around and they hold each other’s arms as they jump up and down and thrash around the dance floor.
Different, but for the better.
addicted
“Fuck, Creevey, have you ever heard of a porn addiction?” Mini asks, examining the walls surrounding the van’s bed.
Alo looks taken aback for a moment. “I don’t understand the question.”
Mini rolls her eyes and manoeuvres on the bed to get a closer look. “These women aren’t even real, Alo! How are you ever going to get a girlfriend if this is what you’re looking for?”
She hears Alo shift and suddenly, he’s standing behind her. “I don’t expect any girl I date to look like that, Mins.” Alo sighed, pointing towards an overly-siliconed woman. “It’s all in good fun. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can take them down, though.” He shrugs and flops down next to her on the bed.
“Really?” Mini asks, shocked.
“‘Course. You’re my mate. You obviously mean more to me than porn.” Alo puts his arms behind his head and watches her tear down the carefully chosen pictures with enthusiasm.
write
“But Mins, I didn’t know that they even made cards for seven month anniversaries!” Alo whinges as Mini carefully thinks out a message dedicated to Grace and Rich.
“Ugh, you need a girlfriend, Creevey.” Mini sighs before biting down on the end of her pen.
“Just let me sign with you!” He begs. Mini looks over at his pleading face and clasped hands and hates herself a little when she relents.
When Grace and Rich open the card, they look at each other oddly at the inscription written inside.
”Gracie and Richard,
Here’s to many more memories!
Congrats on not breaking up.
Love, Mini and Alo xxx”
soulful
Alo sings along with the radio entirely too loud.
It’s even worse when Liv calls shotgun.
The two were currently embroiled in an over-the-top duet to “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”.
Mini is wedged in between them, trying to keep a stern face despite the fact that they actually didn’t sound terrible.
“Damn, Als,” Liv laughs when the song finally comes to a close. “You actually aren’t half-bad!”
“He had to be good at something eventually,” Mini jokes.
“Cheers, Minerva,” Alo drawls sarcastically. “You always know how to boost my self-esteem.”
broken
Mini sighs as she looks at herself in the mirror.
Another year. Another birthday.
Another milestone where her dad doesn’t contact her.
Another morning that her mother stumbles in the door, heels in hand, mascara smeared.
Nothing ever changed.
Liv and Franky escort her to the bar where her small group of friends shout happily at her and seem genuinely pleased that she’s around.
Alo gets her a card that plays Girls Aloud and they take turns torturing Rich with it.
Her family may be fucked up, but at least she has fantastic friends.
When she blows out the candles on the cake Jeff and Geoff decorated with hot pink flowers, her only wish is that she doesn’t mess up this year.
stop time
Mini sneaks out to the smoke pit, dragging Alo and Nick with her.
“This is the best birthday ever!” She exclaims happily, posing for Alo’s camera.
“It’s a pretty fucking good one, that’s no lie!” Nick agrees, eyeing a pretty redhead in the alley.
Alo fiddles with his camera, trying to figure out the complexities of flash. “Smile for me, McGuinness!” He encourages before taking another snap.
alcohol
Alo buys Mini another birthday shot. “After all,” he says, steering her towards the bar. “It isn’t everyday my favourite blonde turns seventeen, is it?”
“I think you’re just trying to get me drunk, Farm Boy,” she slurs as she looks down the shot he places in front of her.
“Yes, because I just adored holding your hair back like last weekend,” he jokes lightly, pulling on a lock of her hair.
Mini, even in her inebriated state, cringes at the memory. “Sorry about that. I washed your shirt, I’ll give it to you later.”
Alo smiles brightly at her. “That’s what friends are for, Mins. I expect you’ll return the favour one day.”
They click shot glasses and toss back the burning liquid in unison.
pauses
Alo grabs her elbow to steady her as she stumbles in her high heels.
“Careful, Mins. Don’t want to start your seventeenth year with your face all scratchy,” he chides, pulling her to a stop.
Nick, Liv and Franky continue walking down the nearly abandoned street, chatting loudly. Their laughter echoes off the brick buildings.
“You’re a fan-fan-fantastic friend,” Mini slurs, throwing her arms around his neck. Alo’s laughter vibrates in her ear. She pulls back, her hands on his shoulders and his still on her back, holding her in place. “Thanks for proving that not all men are pricks.”
Alo gives her a wink. “I try.”
helping hand
Alo is by far the most helpful in the group.
He tries to be. He goes out of his way to make sure his friends feel loved or accepted.
It’s his positive attitude that forces Mini to sulk around the kitchen, helping Alo bake a cake for Nick’s birthday.
“He didn’t even get me a card and we dated!” She pouts, trying to give Alo her best set of puppy dog eyes.
“He’s my bro, Mins. Be a sport.”
She wrinkles her nose at his response. “I’ll help you if you stop calling him that,” she promises.
“I guess I’ll do it alone, then.”
breeze
Mini hops out of the van first, savouring the wind drifting through her hair.
“You need to get that air conditioning fixed, Farm Boy,” Mini says, fanning herself with her hand.
Alo waves her complaints off and moves to help Nick with the cooler. “Minerva, for the next three days, we’ll have nothing but the sun shining, good bands and great weed. And no air conditioning, so get used to it.”
Rich pushes past them and runs to the gates. Mini turns to Grace with a questioning look.
Grace heaves a sigh. “He’s missing the only metal band.”
get up
Rich and Grace lock themselves up in their tent. Rich is upset he missed the only band he could like un-ironically. Grace is mad Rich is being anti-social.
Mini thinks Grace should have thought of that seven months ago, but doesn’t say anything.
Alo sits down next to her and grips his heart dramatically. “This is worse than my parents fighting,” he says sorrowfully. “Not that me da’ really stands a chance there.”
Mini lets out a short laugh before getting to her feet. She pulls on his arm until Alo stands as well. “Whatever, Farm Boy. I paid for this festival and I’m not going to let Rich ruin it for me.”
villain
It’s hard to be the bad guy sometimes. Mini knows this all too well.
Sometimes its needed, though. Someone has to insult these people to whip them back into shape.
“Nick, stop being a miserable wanker and help me set up this tent!” She screams as her handwork tumbles to the grass. “Fuck!”
Alo walks up behind her and gently pulls her away. “I’ve got this, McGuinness,” he says easily before setting to work.
He finishes in less than twenty minutes, stepping back to admire the tent.
“How the fuck did you manage that?!” She exclaims, embarrassed she couldn’t do it.
Alo shrugs easily. “I used to camp on the farm when I was younger.”
Nick comes up and swings an arm around Alo’s shoulders. “We did that last week, Big Al.”
Alo smiles over at his new best friend. “Which is when we were younger, Nicholas.”
worst day
They trudge back to their tents exhausted and caked in mud.
Mini longs for a shower, but the line is way too long. She never thought she’d actually miss Alo’s van until it was gone.
Grace and Rich were still arguing, their anger fuelling the already dower mood among the group.
Mini hated this feeling. She hated being dirty.
Alo, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a problem with it.
“You need to embrace the dirt, McGuinness,” Alo says sagely, throwing an arm around Mini.
Mini tries to sneer up at him, but the pure joy on his face makes it impossible.
“Stop trying to cheer me up, Farm Boy, and let me be miserable.”
Alo shakes his head, a huge grin crossing his face. “A few beers and a spliff and I promise you, this day will get so much better.”
She hates it when he’s right.
bewitching
All their friends coupled off, Liv and Nick traipsing off with their respective randoms. Franky and Matty were likely staring at each other lovingly in the techno tent. Grace and Rich were still zipped away in their tent.
Alo drags Mini down on the grass, urging her to lay down with him. With nothing better to do while waiting for the next day of music, she complies.
He jokes with her and lavishes praise regarding her dancing skills. He points out constellations and boils down complex legends into jargon, diluting them with allusions to cartoons and video games.
Half way through a myth, she sits up and stares down at him. In that moment, he was far more bewitching to her than the night sky.
jubilant
He gets bored of telling her stories after an hour and the two set out to explore the field.
She winds her arm around his, her mind befuddled at the heavy feeling in her chest.
If Alo’s put off by her affection, he doesn’t let it show. Instead, the weave through the tents, joking around about the hundreds of teens tripping off of psychedelics with the hippies who refused to acknowledge Jerry Garcia’s death.
They stop at a drum circle and Alo sweeps her into a complete failure of a waltz, trying to swing Mini around as she dissolves into laughter.
languid
The next morning, everyone has a bit of a lie in. The good bands don’t start till the later half of the afternoon, so they sit on a picnic blanket, quietly sipping the first beers of the morning.
Mini starts to get restless first. There was nothing she was worse at than relaxing and the drive to do something overtook her.
Alo quickly gets annoyed by her insistence at finding something to do and pulls her down to lay on his chest. She freezes, those crazy thoughts swirling in her head again.
“Just chill out, Mins.”
obsessive
When they get back home from the festival, Mini becomes obsessed trying to label her feelings.
She knew it wasn’t friendship. She knew what it was like to feel that platonic pull towards Alo. She was used to that one.
It obviously wasn’t love. At least, not romantically. She was sure she loved him as a friend and as a person, but not as anything beyond that.
She knew she only had one option left.
She knew she had a crush on Alo.
Suffice to say, she wasn’t over the moon about it.
recoil
Initially, after coming to this disappointing conclusion, Mini tries to avoid Alo.
Her crush just had to be a result of spending too much time around him. After all, he was the only male friend she had that wasn’t currently in a relationship or who cheated on her with her best friend. Considering he was fun, loved to party and was a generally nice guy was a plus. She knew she was attracted to him. All the elements were there and that made him prime crushing material.
Still, she knew this couldn’t go any further.
Staying away from him was harder than she anticipated, though.
vehement
“Come on, Mini-Moo,” Grace begs over her mobile. “Come to this bar with us!”
Mini grimaced. If Grace was going, Rich was going. If Rich was going, Alo was going.
Suffice to say, if Alo was going, Mini was staying home.
“I can’t, Gracie. I feel so rotten,” she lied, wincing slightly.
It was so hard to lie to Grace. It wasn’t like with Liv. Mini knew that Liv could see right through her. With Grace, she just felt so bad about it.
“Aww, poor baby,” Grace coos. “If you feel better, come out and meet us!”
“Sure,” Mini says softly, losing her resolve the longer she holds Grace over the phone.
But there was no fucking way she was going out.
collide
Two hours later, Mini can’t hold out anymore.
After all, no matter how uncontrollable this crush thing was getting, she still wanted to be able to hang out with her friends. She still wanted to be able to hang out with Alo.
There was no reason he needed to know about her feelings. If he didn’t know and she never told him, there was no reason why she couldn’t keep acting like nothing’s changed.
When she walks up to Alo at the bar, he turns from the girl he’s been flirting with and pulls her into a friendly hug, loudly saying that he’s glad she’s here in her ear.
locked
“Why are you glaring at the girl Alo’s talking to?” Grace asks Mini innocently.
Mini takes a side-long glance at Grace and immediately wishes she didn’t.
“I have the same outfit,” Mini mutters, taking a long sip of her drink. “It looks better on me.” She adds for emphasis.
Mini turns back to glare at the girl, just for a little longer. Boys come up to try and hit on her, but she can’t tear her eyes away from the flirting ginger.
It wasn’t fair. If she had to have a crush on him, certainly he should have to stay single, right?
punch
When she can’t take it anymore, Mini drags the girl Alo’s flirting with out for a fag.
They make aimless small talk for a few minutes and Mini can’t help but ask about Alo.
“Ew, that loser? Unlikely! I’m just getting him to pay for my drinks.”
An ire rises in Mini that she can’t suppress. Before she knows it, she’s slapped the girl standing in front of her.
“What the fuck!” The girl screams, her hand holding her quickly reddening cheek.
“Don’t be such a bitch,” Mini states firmly and throws her cigarette butt on the ground. “And leave him alone,” she adds, before gracefully turning on her heel and stalking back to the bar.
lust
She was okay when it was just a little crush.
Well, not okay, but she was dealing with it.
This is an entirely different beast.
Mini tries not to think about the way Alo’s hands feel when he tugs her around whoever the fuck’s house they’re currently trashing. She suppresses a shudder as his breath sweeps past her ear as he asks where Nick is. She ignores the urge to drag him back to her bedroom when he places a sloppy and drunken kiss goodnight on her cheek.
Still, when she’s alone the feelings surge back to her and she’s powerless to stop it.
memorial
Alo always looks so comfortable in her room. She tries to make it bother her, but she can’t help but file the mental picture away.
He rummages through her closet as she puts on her make-up, getting ready for whatever adventure the night had for them.
“Oh my god!” He exclaims as he pulls out a faux fur vest from the depths of her wardrobe. He turns to her with an expression of pure joy on his face. “Remember this?”
Mini rolls her eyes and turns back to the mirror. “It’s just a vest, Alo.”
“Not even!” He protests. “It’s a symbol of our everlasting friendship!” He presents it with a flourish, revealing in his dramatics.
She wears it to the party and fails in convincing herself it isn’t for him.
disaster
“I can’t believe this is where you want to go camping,” Mini huffs, looking around the cement-covered lot. “You live on a fucking farm!”
Alo replies with an easy shrug. “I was thinking of you, Minerva! I know how much you hate the farm. And animals. And nature.”
“I’m going to have to side with Mini on this one, Als,” Nick says, coming down the stairs of the van and wrapping an arm around Alo’s shoulders from behind. “This is a bit shit.”
blush
She can feel his eyes linger on her longer than platonically acceptable. Her face inexplicably heats up at his attention. This only happened with him.
Mini’s mind wanders and she tries to pretend he’s staring at her longingly, searching for the words to express his feeling. She pretends he likes her like she likes him. That there’s more to it than her bra cut top and hot pants.
Mini never really had a great imagination, though.
nimble
Alo dodges her grab with an easy laugh. “Fuck off, Mins, this is my beer.”
“I want it, though,” she drunkenly pouts. She clasps her hands in front of her chest and tries to look as cute as possible.
Alo raises an eyebrow down at her. “Don’t even try. I’ve built up an immunity to your cuteness, McGuinness.”
Her heart swells at this, but she persists. He teases her with it, moving it just a bit out of her grasp each time. Finally he relents and passes it over.
“Don’t say I never gave you anything.”
remain
They all decide to stay at the “camp ground” for the night. After all, they are all way too drunk to drive home anyway.
The sleeping arrangements are cramped, but none of them really care at this point. Mini, Liv and Franky squeeze on the small bed while the boys take the floor. Grace and Rich are sealed up front and none of them want to know why.
Mini looks over her sleeping friends and felt a comfort she never really had before.
She had never been so grateful for apologising as she was now.
snore
Mini sneaks out of the van and finds Alo leaning against it, joint dangling between two fingers.
“You can’t sleep either, eh, McGuinness?” Alo questions, handing her his spliff.
She inhales gratefully, holding the smoke in her lungs and shaking her head. She exhales with a sigh. “Fuck, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Matty and Nick must be the loudest snorers in Bristol.”
Alo shoots a smile. “Must be a family thing.”
done
They finish the joint, crouching low to the ground.
Mini struggles to think of a reason for him to stay. It wasn’t like they were talking in depth about their lives and feelings. They were really just shooting the shit, filling the quite parking lot with the muffled sounds of whispers.
She liked having him there, though. So close and so easy to talk to. It was easier to be with him alone, when she didn’t have to put up a front.
Alo sighs and stands, holding out his hand for her. “Shall we?”
Mini hesitates before giving in.
accent
“You’re Scottish accent is awful, by the way,” Mini says harshly as she settles into her seat at the diner.
Alo looks surprisingly indignant at Mini’s insult. “I was a little pre-occupied, Mins. I didn’t know I had an audience.” He smirks over at them and waggles his eyebrows. “How much of the show did you ladies catch?”
Liv laughs loudly and Mini can feel the heat seep into her cheeks.
“Shut the fuck up, Farm Boy,” she mutters before taking a sip of her diet coke.
indirect
Alo’s changing into his goth gear when Liv swings her head over to Mini with a knowing smile.
“Oh my god, I cannot believe you fancy Alo!” She whispers excitedly.
Mini’s eyes grew. “I so do not!” She denies quickly.
Liv scoffs. “You can deny it to yourself, Mins, but remember that I know you the best.” Liv pauses and puts a hand on Mini’s knee. “We don’t have to get him laid if you don’t want to.”
She’s shaking her head in the negative before she can stop herself. “Don’t be stupid, Liv. Of course I don’t fancy the farm boy. Let’s just get him laid so we don’t have to ever see him jerk his shrivelled cock in my bedroom again.”
Liv raises an eyebrow but drops the subject.
haze
She can’t see anything in this dingy goth bar Liv dragged them to.
A part of her feels like she shouldn’t even be here. She can feel her heart getting heavier the longer she scans the club for an acceptable match for Alo. A voice whispers in the back of her head that she should just sleep with him. It was better than trying to suppress her feelings.
A larger part of her disagrees, so she points out some girl at the bar and silently hopes Alo fucks this up.
puzzle
“Are you sure you don’t fancy him, Mins?” Liv asks again.
Mini tears her eyes away from Alo and the goth. “Stop asking that, Liv. It’s getting annoying,” she scoffs, looking at a spot over Liv’s shoulder. She could never lie to Liv for long.
“I’m just trying to figure out why you’re staring at them like you’re his jealous girlfriend or something,” Liv shrugs.
“I am not jealous!” Mini snaps. Thankfully Alo stalks off to the bathroom before Liv continues her interrogation.
try again
Mini places a comforting hand on Alo’s arm and spend too long inspecting his injured nose. She pretends to not notice Liv’s piercing stare on the side of her face.
“Don’t worry, Farm Boy,” Mini says soothingly. “It doesn’t make you look any worse.”
Alo attempts to sneer at her, at least as much as one can with kleenex shoved up their nose, and pulls away from her slightly.
“We’ll try again tomorrow, Als,” Liv says, tossing back another shot. “Maybe we’ll go to Oceania?”
Alo laughs suddenly before wincing.
reap
“Did you see the way Alo just jumped off stage and kissed that chick?” Liv asks suddenly. She and Mini were currently leaning against the cold brick wall outside the massage parlour, waiting for Alo to come back out.
Mini drags her eyes away from the door and looks over at Liv. “What did you say?” She asks distractedly.
Liv smiles slightly to herself before speaking. “I was just saying that now we know Alo’s a good kisser.”
“He was bound to be good at something,” Mini shrugs before turning her attention back to the door.
settle
Liv takes her time in the loo and Mini is sure she’s still convinced of Mini’s suppressed feelings.
Mini wishes she could tell Liv that she’s right.
Alo, in the meantime, takes to fixing a nest for him and Liv to share on Mini’s bedroom floor. He nestles in, not speaking a word to Mini.
“I hope you never fuck a prostitute again,” Mini says sternly, laying down on her bed and staring up at the ceiling.
Alo laughs weakly from his spot on the ground. “Yeah, me too.”
treat
She rolls on her back and doesn’t bother to suppress the grin that has occupied her face since Alo admitted to still being a virgin.
Not even him wanking in her room (again) could dampen her spirits.
She knew he wasn’t going to stay single forever. After all, one day some girl was going to notice what she tries so hard not to. One day, some girl will see the wonderful, funny, awesome person he is and he’ll run off and fuck her and leave Mini to drown in her feelings.
But at least that day wasn’t today.
notice
Mini knows he’s attracted to her.
After all, Alo has never been particularly great at hiding things. He was a far too open person for that.
She catches him checking her out from time to time. His eyes linger on her longer than Nick or Rich or Matty.
She knows he likes her, at least as a friend. He’s always thrilled when they hang out. He jokes around with her and seems to actually have a fantastic time when she’s around.
Still, he’s a horny bastard. Mini attributes everything to that.
She sees the girls he fancies, even if it’s only ever for a day or two. They’re quirky and funny and alternative. They didn’t go to three Tescos to find Nadine Coyle’s album and they don’t cry over the X Factor. They don’t treat the vast majority of humanity like complete shit.
least
Least of all, the girls Alo tends to fancy are actually nice to him all of the time.
Mini loves Alo (platonically). She really does. She loves all her friends.
She’s just… not a nice person. She never has been.
She tries from time to time, but it just never fits. She’s too easily agitated. People are annoying. Even Alo annoys her sometimes and she has… feelings… for him.
Still, she hopes against hope that he can find something in her to redeem her bitchy ways and like her back.
Though she doesn’t know what she’d do if that happened. It’s almost better that he doesn’t fancy her so she doesn’t have to deal with that.
exception
Mini can’t tell anyone about the way she feels. Liv would gloat. Rich and Nick would tell Alo. Franky would just tell her to tell Alo.
Grace was different, though. Grace was the exception.
Mini sighed heavily, checking to make sure her door was still closed and her phone was off.
“Mini, you’re worrying me!” Grace says urgently. “Tell me what’s wrong!”
Mini pauses and stares down at her hands. “I think I fancy Alo,” she confesses with a sigh.
She didn’t know what to expect, but Grace’s loud squeal of happiness was not it.
rule
She’s getting really sick of this.
She doesn’t know if she can take it anymore. Her rapidly developing crush is just too distracting.
Even at the gym, with the instructor screaming in her ear, her mind still wanders to the sound of his laughter and his genuine smile.
She tries as hard as she can to push the offending thoughts out of her mind. She even takes to bargaining with herself, promising a trip to the mall for each day she doesn’t have an inappropriate thought about her ginger friend.
She gets even more frustrated when she realises she hasn’t been to the mall in weeks.
correct
“I think you should test your feelings for Alo,” Grace says as she peruses a rack of bikinis with Mini at the mall.
“Grace!” Mini hisses. “I told you never to talk about it ever again!”
“He’s a nice guy, Mins. He’s not going to reject you,” Grace promises sincerely.
Mini scoffs. “Like I’m scared of that.”
She was, though.
Terrified, really.
“He’s not worthy of me,” Mini explains.
“That’s bullshit and you know it, Mini-Moo,” Grace scolds.
Yeah. Mini knows that.
harm
It isn’t that she thinks he isn’t good enough for her.
It isn’t that there is something inherently wrong with him that somehow makes him unworthy of her feelings.
She just couldn’t take the pain. Mini knows men at this point in her life. She’s seen them play with her mother’s emotions. She knows what it’s like to be hurt by the one you think you love.
She couldn’t risk Alo on a crush. She can’t let him hurt her.
strive
It’s getting hard not to think about him all the time now.
Really hard.
She does everything she can think of. Tries to think about other boys at Roundview. Tries to think about Ryan Gosling. Trolls around asos.com and her celebrity gossip site of choice. Updates twitter like a mad woman.
She even tries to re-ignite her feelings for Nick once or twice, before grossing herself out and turning back to Ryan Gosling.
No matter how many distractions she tries, her mind keeps drifting back to the ginger.
temperamental
She knows that she’s been cruel to him lately.
She’s just so… touchy when he’s around. She’s glad she couldn’t find a real job this summer. It would be too hard to balance work and her unwanted feelings.
It’s getting absurd. She snaps at him whenever he mentions a hot celebrity or cool girl he knows. It can’t be great for his self-esteem, but it isn’t long before he stops mentioning them in front of her.
He mentions a crush on Emma Stone and Mini snaps that there was no way she would go for Alo when she has Andrew Garfield. After all, if he couldn’t even get a goth, how could he get Emma Stone?
A look of hurt flashes across his face briefly and Mini finds a new reason to hate herself.
divided
Her resolve was breaking down. It is even worse in Morocco than it was in Bristol. At least in Bristol she could retreat to her own house or the mall or Top Shop when her feelings became too much.
Not here. Not while Alo was by her side all the time. She didn’t know if she wanted him to stay or leave. Did she want him to find someone else or just keep looking at her with confused green eyes.
Was it worth losing one of the best friends she ever had? For sex?
Mini can’t decide.
victory
She slaps her hand over her mouth to muffle her moans as her other hand twists in Alo’s hair.
Weren’t virgins supposed to be bad the first time?
Alo certainly defied the odds.
Her body spasms and she watches with half-dazed eyes as Alo sits back on his heels, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looks down at her, unsure of what he’s supposed to do.
Mini sighs blissfully and beckons him down to her. He leans down and presses a kiss on the side of her face.
“I think we should probably shag now, Farm Boy,” Mini says, winding her arms around his neck.
The smile on Alo’s face is worth whatever comes next.
delivery
Never in a million years did Mini think that she would be standing inside a cubical in a public toilet in fucking Morocco receiving oral sex from Alo Creevey.
Of course, she never really thought that she’d ever be friends with him.
Maybe it was time to stop planning that sort of thing.
His hands gripped her hips firmly, though not tightly enough to leave a bruise. After all, no one could ever know.
She moans his name as she comes and he smiles up at her before helping with back into her shorts and kissing her lightly on her hair before they sneak back into the party.
ballad
She’s only home for six hours before she calls Alo. His dad is sympathetic to him, after suffering a near-loss of a good friend and persuades his mother to lay off of him for a few days.
It takes him half an hour to get there. He lays down next to her on her bed and they stare up at the celling. It isn’t too long before Alo laments that Rich locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone.
“But I’m his best mate,” Alo sighs.
Mini twists her head to look up at him.
“Just give him time, Alo.”
all I can ask
It isn’t long before Mini sits up and rearranges her pillows, twisting so her back is pushed against him.
“Can you just…,” she trails off, hoping that he understands. She doesn’t know why she can’t get the words out, but Alo understands.
She’s hardly surprised. After all, it’s Alo.
He winds his arms around her waist, pulling her close. His nose pushes into her hair and he sighs heavily, the weight of his responsibilities resting on his mind.
“This doesn’t mean I’m your girlfriend or anything, you know.” She says, knowing it’s unnecessary.
Alo lets out a small chuckle, the first joyful sound she’s heard in far too long.
“I couldn’t afford you, Mins.”
fire
He stays the night, lying to his mother over the phone that he was sleeping at Nick’s.
He falls asleep first, arm thrown lazily over her. His hand is pushed under her t-shirt, laying flat over her stomach.
It scares her just how much she loves the feel of his hand. How she still craves it desperately. How it doesn’t even cross her mind to kick him out, even though she knows it would be for the best.
His slow breaths sweep past her ear and she can’t bring herself to care about what’s best.
lies
Alo leaves the next morning, after making awkward small-talk with her mother and her mother’s latest boy toy.
“I’m so happy you’re dating that Alo. He’s so lovely,” Mini’s mother coos lightly. “You need a nice bloke in your life, Mini.” Mini grimaces, thinking her mother wouldn’t be that happy if she knew about the wanking incident.
Actually, her mother would probably be flattered.
“We’re not dating,” Mini says firmly, counting her vitamins out.
“But you must have feelings for him, right?”
Mini hesitates for a moment, looking down at her pills.
“No.”
stormy
“Fuck,” Alo says as he pulls away from Mini, rummaging quickly for his mobile. “Sorry, Mins,” he mutters softly before answering.
Mini watches him, half-listening as he soothingly consoles Nick over the phone, promising that Matty would call any day now.
It was a lie, of course. All of the faith and trust Mini had built towards Matty had crumbled the moment he ran away, leaving Grace and Liv on the side of the road.
She shivers lightly as thunder cracked overhead. Alo furrows his brow at her and moves to pull her against him. The rain clinks on the roof of the van and Mini’s eyes drifted close.
She hoped it would all be over soon.
terrible
Mini groaned and slammed her hands over her ears.
“Stop laughing, Farm Boy!” She whispers sharply as he buries his head into her pillow to muffle the laughter. “It’s not funny!”
Alo pulls himself together. “That’s such a fucking lie, Mins. It’s hilarious.”
“My mom getting poorly nailed by someone two years older than us? Hardly.”
Mini winces as her mother’s headboard makes contact with their joint wall and the boy’s grunts drift through. This sets Alo off again.
“I’m not fucking you again today,” Mini says sharply, crossing her arms over her chest.
Alo’s laughter wanes at the threat and he frowns up at her. “That’s cruel.”
decay
It gets harder to be in their little group.
Rich cuts himself off from everyone except Alo. He refuses to see anyone but his best friend and his band, preferring to lock himself in his room, practising the bass and listening to metal music.
Franky decides to wallow in her own guilt. She forces Geoff and Jeff to send Mini and Liv away each time they show up. Once they sat on her stoop for three and a half hours, yelling up to her window. After getting yelled at by the old couple across the street, the two friends looked at each other sadly and trudged home.
Nick’s eyes rarely drift from his mobile’s screen. He tries to keep up with the group, but he starts to drink alone. He’s barely comprehensible these days.
Mini can’t help but mourn the loss. She never knew how badly she wanted them until they were gone.
dramatic
She tries to pick fights with him from time to time. Just to remind him that they aren’t happy like Grace and Rich were. That they weren’t meant to be or in love.
He rarely falls for it, but every so often, she hits a nerve.
“If I’m so useless, then why don’t you stop calling me?” Alo spits, rummaging under her bed for his abandoned top.
“Because you’re a good fuck,” Mini shrugs, pulling on her robe. She crosses her arms and observes him as he angrily belts his trousers.
Alo runs his hands through his hair and grips the ends.
After a long pause, he finally speaks. “You’re such a bitch, Mini,” he says with a sneer before slamming his way through her house, leaving her alone in her room.
panic
Every time their fights reach this level, Mini panics.
It would be too much, not to have him around. Not when she’s barely clinging onto Liv as her only support.
She didn’t know how much she relied on having her new friends until they were gone.
It’s a test of self control, seeing how long she can wait before calling him. This time she made it four and a half hours.
“I’m sorry, Farm Boy,” she says as soon as he picks up the phone.
She hears him sigh on the other end of the receiver and her anxiety rises.
“I didn’t mean it. I was just… it’s hard for me to…” she stutters, unable to convey her feelings.
“I know, Mins,” Alo says, still dejected, but understanding. “It’s okay.”
with you
Her mother had told her they would leave after she slept with them. They got what they wanted, so why would they stay?
Mini was counting on it.
After all, if he left her, she could stop her… feelings. He would fuck off like her dad and Nick and every single one of her mother’s boyfriends. She could put him on the list of men she didn’t trust and move on.
She couldn’t help but be surprised every time he called or showed up at her door. When he stayed longer than he had to or asked her to watch TV with him or share a spliff.
The shock was fading and she was terrified.
killing
“Why won’t you just fucking die!” Mini exclaims as she slams her thumbs down on buttons of the video game controller.
“You’ll never beat me, Minerva!” Alo replies with a laugh. “I’ve been training my whole life for this!”
Mini screams as Alo’s character beats hers and throws the controller down.
“That’s so not fair!” She whinges, her lip pouting out.
Alo carefully puts the controller on Mini’s coffee table and leans over to place a kiss on her temple. “You can’t win everything, McGuinness.”
jump
Sometimes she thinks that she should have put more thought into sleeping with Alo.
It just seemed to make so much sense at the time. They were on vacation. He was depressed. She was horny.
Serendipity, right?
It didn’t help she had been harbouring feelings for him for most of the summer, but Mini prefers not to think about that.
She wants to pretend she wouldn’t have jumped into this, but the hardest lies are the ones you make to yourself.
waste
She still goes on dates from time to time. It never makes it past the first, but she pretends to try.
They’re all nice guys. They’re good looking and popular, but there’s something missing.
They never make her laugh like Alo does. They don’t kiss her like Alo does. She doesn’t trust them like she trusts Alo.
Alo doesn’t seem to care that she goes out with these other boys. Like he just knows she’ll be coming back to him.
It’s when she starts making out with them in front of him that she can really see his heartbreak. He keeps letting her come back, though, so she keeps doing it.
passion
Mini doesn’t know why she went the whole summer trying to suppress her feelings if this was what she was missing.
Alo’s hands have her hips in a death grip as she rides him. Her hands grip on his upper arms and she can’t help the noises that escape her throat.
His hands trail up her back and he drags her head down for a kiss. She loses a bit of rhythm, but can’t bring herself to mind.
She doesn’t know how Raven could reject him. He was such a good kisser!
But there was no accounting for taste.
flying
She collapses off of him and lays next to him on his tiny bed. They both struggle to regain their breath.
“Fuck,” Alo says in appreciation. He slaps a hand on her knee. “Well fucking done, Mins.”
Mini laughs, happy for the moment of levity. “Cheers, Farm Boy.”
He reaches over her and grabs a spliff he rolled before she came over. He offers it to her first and she happily takes it.
“Orgasms and getting stoned. Two of my favourite things with my favourite Scot.” He winks at her and she rolls her eyes.
drought
She waits two days before contacting him again. He tells her he’s going to try and hang out with Rich for a bit and she leaves it alone.
She thinks about calling Liv, but feels guilty about going out without Grace. Franky is still moping, drowning in the guilt she pins on herself because no one else is there.
Mini finally give up and calls him. He answers the phone after what seems like a million rings.
“Go for the Ice Man!” He slurs into his mobile.
Mini pauses for a second. “What the fuck?
“Hello, pretty lady,” he laughs with the humour only someone several drinks down can.
“Just come over,” she sighs, upset with herself that she doesn’t care how drunk he is as long as he ends the drought.
sword
Alo stumbles into her house.
“Stay quite!” Mini scolds as he slams the door behind him. “My mom and her new boyfriend are here!”
Alo nods as solemnly as he can. “I brought you a present,” he whispers in her ear.
Mini suppresses a shiver, slightly ashamed he can make her feel such a rush of lust even when he’s drunk. She drags him to her room and delves into her stash of booze.
After all, it wasn’t creepy to fuck him if they’re both drunk, right?
Alo rummages around in his pocket and pulls out a pink plastic cocktail sword. “I got the girliest drink just for you,” he says, placing a kiss on her cheek.
She takes the small piece of plastic out of his hands and looks at it closely.
“It reminded me of you,” he explains without her prompting.
skill
Mini sometimes wishes that Alo wasn’t so good at sex.
If he was bad at it, surely she would be able to get over him easier. She just knows she could.
If Nick was anything to go by, it’s not supposed to just get better, no matter what Cosmo says.
She tells herself that she’s only in this for the sex, but even she knows it’s a lie.
powerless
They sneak off to Alo’s van after Doug’s speech in the common room.
Mini knows why she’s there. She knows she has to end things with Alo. After all, they’re back in school now and every summer fling has to end, right?
Mini was sure that’s how it works, but she’s not exactly an expert on these things.
She turns to him, ready to let him off the hook when he slips a hand behind her neck and pulls her into a kiss.
Her hands twine in the collar of that nasty Cosby sweater and she knows she’s not ready to let go yet.
pairing/fandom : mini x alo, grace x rich, some franky x matty
rating : m - swearing, drinking, drugs, some sex
word count : 8500
summary : Mini is having the greatest summer ever.
So this is a series of drabbles taking place from right after The Wedding that Was to just after the end of 6x01.
It was supposed to be 100 drabbles, but that was just taking too long. It was getting too dragged out.
http://100-prompts.livejournal.com/692.html - this is what I was working with, but I went off the list a bit.
mellow
Mini didn’t know if she ever met anyone as laid back as Alo.
She follows Alo and Nick as they weave through the forest, somewhere towards the van. Hopefully, anyway.
She glances back at Franky and Matty, who were trailing behind, hands entwined and giggling about something. Probably something overly intellectual and posh, but Mini couldn’t help but smile at her best friend’s happiness.
“So, Minerva,” Alo said, falling instep beside her. “I see you’ve finally accepted that the elder Levan is good enough for our young Francesca.”
“If she’s happy, I’m happy. If he breaks her heart, I’ll break his neck.”
Alo laughed loudly at Mini’s empty threat. “Whatever happens happens, right?”
eternal
After a trip to a local mechanic and two long hours of driving, Alo finally stopped in front of Mini’s home.
“Alright, McGuinness, it’s been a blast, but I have to get home before Mumgabe starts to dig the grave,” Alo says with surprising happiness.
Mini wrinkles her nose. “Is she still a bitch to you?”
Alo throws his head back and lets out a loud laugh. “Always and forever, Mins. But she’s my mum. She kind of gets the right.”
Mini shakes her head and opens the door. “That’s not really how it works, Farm Boy.”
subtle
Mini was never exactly a master of stealth.
She was too loud, too outgoing, too jingly and shiny.
She was never one to observe the people around her, preferring to focus on surface impressions and explicit conversations.
Still, she can’t help but sneak glances at Alo every once in a while. Times when she’s sure no one is looking.
She’s mesmerised by the way the sun glistens through his hair and his encouraging smiles and how he laughs with his whole body, throwing his head back and his arms out when Nick manages to crack a joke that is actually funny.
She tries to stop, but it’s becoming a bad habit.
cheat
“Oh, fuck off, McGuinness! Fuck off right now!” Alo screams passionately.
“Don’t be such a sore loser, Farm Boy. I won fair and square,” Mini says with a triumphant smile across her face.
“Like hell!” Alo pouts. “You used Gracie’s general niceness to your advantage!”
Grace laughs loudly, organising the abandoned Monopoly money into neat piles.
“Oh, and you didn’t use Rich? He just gave you all the reds!”
“And Nick gave you all the greens!” Alo turns to Nick. “I thought we were best mates,” he says, betrayal seeping into his voice.
Nick shrugs carelessly. “I kind of owe her one, mate.”
transparent
Mini has always lived behind walls.
It was easier this way. It was too risky to let people see who she really was. Nick once slurred after a long night out that it was her daddy issues that made her this way.
Maybe he was right. After all, if her father couldn’t love her for who she was, how could anyone else?
Alo wasn’t like that. He was a horrible liar. He couldn’t filter out his thoughts or feelings from spilling out, even at the most inopportune moment.
She wanted to hate him for it, but every time he smiles at her when her guard slips, she can’t help but be thankful for her friend’s transparency.
believable
Mini loved getting compliments. She loved it when men complimented her hair, her legs, her clothes. She never really believed them, though. After all, she knew what they were after and she also knew there was no way they were going to get it.
Alo was different, though. Every once in a while, he paid her a complement concerning her appearance. He was impressed by how she did her hair or the way she meticulously lined her eyes.
Most compliments he gave her were unique, though. They were things other girls were praised for but never Mini. Intelligence, wit, reliability, friendship skills and just the shear belief that she could do anything.
She always believed Alo.
repeat
“Come on, McGuinness!” Alo says loudly into her ear, steering her towards the dance floor. “It’s our song!”
Four rum and diets down, Mini laughs loudly as the thudding beat stirs memories of their first dance.
They move in a way entirely different than the first time. Mini’s inhibitions around Alo have been gone for a while. Alo was no longer shocked that the most popular girl in college wanted to dance with him.
He sloppily spins her around and they hold each other’s arms as they jump up and down and thrash around the dance floor.
Different, but for the better.
addicted
“Fuck, Creevey, have you ever heard of a porn addiction?” Mini asks, examining the walls surrounding the van’s bed.
Alo looks taken aback for a moment. “I don’t understand the question.”
Mini rolls her eyes and manoeuvres on the bed to get a closer look. “These women aren’t even real, Alo! How are you ever going to get a girlfriend if this is what you’re looking for?”
She hears Alo shift and suddenly, he’s standing behind her. “I don’t expect any girl I date to look like that, Mins.” Alo sighed, pointing towards an overly-siliconed woman. “It’s all in good fun. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can take them down, though.” He shrugs and flops down next to her on the bed.
“Really?” Mini asks, shocked.
“‘Course. You’re my mate. You obviously mean more to me than porn.” Alo puts his arms behind his head and watches her tear down the carefully chosen pictures with enthusiasm.
write
“But Mins, I didn’t know that they even made cards for seven month anniversaries!” Alo whinges as Mini carefully thinks out a message dedicated to Grace and Rich.
“Ugh, you need a girlfriend, Creevey.” Mini sighs before biting down on the end of her pen.
“Just let me sign with you!” He begs. Mini looks over at his pleading face and clasped hands and hates herself a little when she relents.
When Grace and Rich open the card, they look at each other oddly at the inscription written inside.
”Gracie and Richard,
Here’s to many more memories!
Congrats on not breaking up.
Love, Mini and Alo xxx”
soulful
Alo sings along with the radio entirely too loud.
It’s even worse when Liv calls shotgun.
The two were currently embroiled in an over-the-top duet to “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”.
Mini is wedged in between them, trying to keep a stern face despite the fact that they actually didn’t sound terrible.
“Damn, Als,” Liv laughs when the song finally comes to a close. “You actually aren’t half-bad!”
“He had to be good at something eventually,” Mini jokes.
“Cheers, Minerva,” Alo drawls sarcastically. “You always know how to boost my self-esteem.”
broken
Mini sighs as she looks at herself in the mirror.
Another year. Another birthday.
Another milestone where her dad doesn’t contact her.
Another morning that her mother stumbles in the door, heels in hand, mascara smeared.
Nothing ever changed.
Liv and Franky escort her to the bar where her small group of friends shout happily at her and seem genuinely pleased that she’s around.
Alo gets her a card that plays Girls Aloud and they take turns torturing Rich with it.
Her family may be fucked up, but at least she has fantastic friends.
When she blows out the candles on the cake Jeff and Geoff decorated with hot pink flowers, her only wish is that she doesn’t mess up this year.
stop time
Mini sneaks out to the smoke pit, dragging Alo and Nick with her.
“This is the best birthday ever!” She exclaims happily, posing for Alo’s camera.
“It’s a pretty fucking good one, that’s no lie!” Nick agrees, eyeing a pretty redhead in the alley.
Alo fiddles with his camera, trying to figure out the complexities of flash. “Smile for me, McGuinness!” He encourages before taking another snap.
alcohol
Alo buys Mini another birthday shot. “After all,” he says, steering her towards the bar. “It isn’t everyday my favourite blonde turns seventeen, is it?”
“I think you’re just trying to get me drunk, Farm Boy,” she slurs as she looks down the shot he places in front of her.
“Yes, because I just adored holding your hair back like last weekend,” he jokes lightly, pulling on a lock of her hair.
Mini, even in her inebriated state, cringes at the memory. “Sorry about that. I washed your shirt, I’ll give it to you later.”
Alo smiles brightly at her. “That’s what friends are for, Mins. I expect you’ll return the favour one day.”
They click shot glasses and toss back the burning liquid in unison.
pauses
Alo grabs her elbow to steady her as she stumbles in her high heels.
“Careful, Mins. Don’t want to start your seventeenth year with your face all scratchy,” he chides, pulling her to a stop.
Nick, Liv and Franky continue walking down the nearly abandoned street, chatting loudly. Their laughter echoes off the brick buildings.
“You’re a fan-fan-fantastic friend,” Mini slurs, throwing her arms around his neck. Alo’s laughter vibrates in her ear. She pulls back, her hands on his shoulders and his still on her back, holding her in place. “Thanks for proving that not all men are pricks.”
Alo gives her a wink. “I try.”
helping hand
Alo is by far the most helpful in the group.
He tries to be. He goes out of his way to make sure his friends feel loved or accepted.
It’s his positive attitude that forces Mini to sulk around the kitchen, helping Alo bake a cake for Nick’s birthday.
“He didn’t even get me a card and we dated!” She pouts, trying to give Alo her best set of puppy dog eyes.
“He’s my bro, Mins. Be a sport.”
She wrinkles her nose at his response. “I’ll help you if you stop calling him that,” she promises.
“I guess I’ll do it alone, then.”
breeze
Mini hops out of the van first, savouring the wind drifting through her hair.
“You need to get that air conditioning fixed, Farm Boy,” Mini says, fanning herself with her hand.
Alo waves her complaints off and moves to help Nick with the cooler. “Minerva, for the next three days, we’ll have nothing but the sun shining, good bands and great weed. And no air conditioning, so get used to it.”
Rich pushes past them and runs to the gates. Mini turns to Grace with a questioning look.
Grace heaves a sigh. “He’s missing the only metal band.”
get up
Rich and Grace lock themselves up in their tent. Rich is upset he missed the only band he could like un-ironically. Grace is mad Rich is being anti-social.
Mini thinks Grace should have thought of that seven months ago, but doesn’t say anything.
Alo sits down next to her and grips his heart dramatically. “This is worse than my parents fighting,” he says sorrowfully. “Not that me da’ really stands a chance there.”
Mini lets out a short laugh before getting to her feet. She pulls on his arm until Alo stands as well. “Whatever, Farm Boy. I paid for this festival and I’m not going to let Rich ruin it for me.”
villain
It’s hard to be the bad guy sometimes. Mini knows this all too well.
Sometimes its needed, though. Someone has to insult these people to whip them back into shape.
“Nick, stop being a miserable wanker and help me set up this tent!” She screams as her handwork tumbles to the grass. “Fuck!”
Alo walks up behind her and gently pulls her away. “I’ve got this, McGuinness,” he says easily before setting to work.
He finishes in less than twenty minutes, stepping back to admire the tent.
“How the fuck did you manage that?!” She exclaims, embarrassed she couldn’t do it.
Alo shrugs easily. “I used to camp on the farm when I was younger.”
Nick comes up and swings an arm around Alo’s shoulders. “We did that last week, Big Al.”
Alo smiles over at his new best friend. “Which is when we were younger, Nicholas.”
worst day
They trudge back to their tents exhausted and caked in mud.
Mini longs for a shower, but the line is way too long. She never thought she’d actually miss Alo’s van until it was gone.
Grace and Rich were still arguing, their anger fuelling the already dower mood among the group.
Mini hated this feeling. She hated being dirty.
Alo, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a problem with it.
“You need to embrace the dirt, McGuinness,” Alo says sagely, throwing an arm around Mini.
Mini tries to sneer up at him, but the pure joy on his face makes it impossible.
“Stop trying to cheer me up, Farm Boy, and let me be miserable.”
Alo shakes his head, a huge grin crossing his face. “A few beers and a spliff and I promise you, this day will get so much better.”
She hates it when he’s right.
bewitching
All their friends coupled off, Liv and Nick traipsing off with their respective randoms. Franky and Matty were likely staring at each other lovingly in the techno tent. Grace and Rich were still zipped away in their tent.
Alo drags Mini down on the grass, urging her to lay down with him. With nothing better to do while waiting for the next day of music, she complies.
He jokes with her and lavishes praise regarding her dancing skills. He points out constellations and boils down complex legends into jargon, diluting them with allusions to cartoons and video games.
Half way through a myth, she sits up and stares down at him. In that moment, he was far more bewitching to her than the night sky.
jubilant
He gets bored of telling her stories after an hour and the two set out to explore the field.
She winds her arm around his, her mind befuddled at the heavy feeling in her chest.
If Alo’s put off by her affection, he doesn’t let it show. Instead, the weave through the tents, joking around about the hundreds of teens tripping off of psychedelics with the hippies who refused to acknowledge Jerry Garcia’s death.
They stop at a drum circle and Alo sweeps her into a complete failure of a waltz, trying to swing Mini around as she dissolves into laughter.
languid
The next morning, everyone has a bit of a lie in. The good bands don’t start till the later half of the afternoon, so they sit on a picnic blanket, quietly sipping the first beers of the morning.
Mini starts to get restless first. There was nothing she was worse at than relaxing and the drive to do something overtook her.
Alo quickly gets annoyed by her insistence at finding something to do and pulls her down to lay on his chest. She freezes, those crazy thoughts swirling in her head again.
“Just chill out, Mins.”
obsessive
When they get back home from the festival, Mini becomes obsessed trying to label her feelings.
She knew it wasn’t friendship. She knew what it was like to feel that platonic pull towards Alo. She was used to that one.
It obviously wasn’t love. At least, not romantically. She was sure she loved him as a friend and as a person, but not as anything beyond that.
She knew she only had one option left.
She knew she had a crush on Alo.
Suffice to say, she wasn’t over the moon about it.
recoil
Initially, after coming to this disappointing conclusion, Mini tries to avoid Alo.
Her crush just had to be a result of spending too much time around him. After all, he was the only male friend she had that wasn’t currently in a relationship or who cheated on her with her best friend. Considering he was fun, loved to party and was a generally nice guy was a plus. She knew she was attracted to him. All the elements were there and that made him prime crushing material.
Still, she knew this couldn’t go any further.
Staying away from him was harder than she anticipated, though.
vehement
“Come on, Mini-Moo,” Grace begs over her mobile. “Come to this bar with us!”
Mini grimaced. If Grace was going, Rich was going. If Rich was going, Alo was going.
Suffice to say, if Alo was going, Mini was staying home.
“I can’t, Gracie. I feel so rotten,” she lied, wincing slightly.
It was so hard to lie to Grace. It wasn’t like with Liv. Mini knew that Liv could see right through her. With Grace, she just felt so bad about it.
“Aww, poor baby,” Grace coos. “If you feel better, come out and meet us!”
“Sure,” Mini says softly, losing her resolve the longer she holds Grace over the phone.
But there was no fucking way she was going out.
collide
Two hours later, Mini can’t hold out anymore.
After all, no matter how uncontrollable this crush thing was getting, she still wanted to be able to hang out with her friends. She still wanted to be able to hang out with Alo.
There was no reason he needed to know about her feelings. If he didn’t know and she never told him, there was no reason why she couldn’t keep acting like nothing’s changed.
When she walks up to Alo at the bar, he turns from the girl he’s been flirting with and pulls her into a friendly hug, loudly saying that he’s glad she’s here in her ear.
locked
“Why are you glaring at the girl Alo’s talking to?” Grace asks Mini innocently.
Mini takes a side-long glance at Grace and immediately wishes she didn’t.
“I have the same outfit,” Mini mutters, taking a long sip of her drink. “It looks better on me.” She adds for emphasis.
Mini turns back to glare at the girl, just for a little longer. Boys come up to try and hit on her, but she can’t tear her eyes away from the flirting ginger.
It wasn’t fair. If she had to have a crush on him, certainly he should have to stay single, right?
punch
When she can’t take it anymore, Mini drags the girl Alo’s flirting with out for a fag.
They make aimless small talk for a few minutes and Mini can’t help but ask about Alo.
“Ew, that loser? Unlikely! I’m just getting him to pay for my drinks.”
An ire rises in Mini that she can’t suppress. Before she knows it, she’s slapped the girl standing in front of her.
“What the fuck!” The girl screams, her hand holding her quickly reddening cheek.
“Don’t be such a bitch,” Mini states firmly and throws her cigarette butt on the ground. “And leave him alone,” she adds, before gracefully turning on her heel and stalking back to the bar.
lust
She was okay when it was just a little crush.
Well, not okay, but she was dealing with it.
This is an entirely different beast.
Mini tries not to think about the way Alo’s hands feel when he tugs her around whoever the fuck’s house they’re currently trashing. She suppresses a shudder as his breath sweeps past her ear as he asks where Nick is. She ignores the urge to drag him back to her bedroom when he places a sloppy and drunken kiss goodnight on her cheek.
Still, when she’s alone the feelings surge back to her and she’s powerless to stop it.
memorial
Alo always looks so comfortable in her room. She tries to make it bother her, but she can’t help but file the mental picture away.
He rummages through her closet as she puts on her make-up, getting ready for whatever adventure the night had for them.
“Oh my god!” He exclaims as he pulls out a faux fur vest from the depths of her wardrobe. He turns to her with an expression of pure joy on his face. “Remember this?”
Mini rolls her eyes and turns back to the mirror. “It’s just a vest, Alo.”
“Not even!” He protests. “It’s a symbol of our everlasting friendship!” He presents it with a flourish, revealing in his dramatics.
She wears it to the party and fails in convincing herself it isn’t for him.
disaster
“I can’t believe this is where you want to go camping,” Mini huffs, looking around the cement-covered lot. “You live on a fucking farm!”
Alo replies with an easy shrug. “I was thinking of you, Minerva! I know how much you hate the farm. And animals. And nature.”
“I’m going to have to side with Mini on this one, Als,” Nick says, coming down the stairs of the van and wrapping an arm around Alo’s shoulders from behind. “This is a bit shit.”
blush
She can feel his eyes linger on her longer than platonically acceptable. Her face inexplicably heats up at his attention. This only happened with him.
Mini’s mind wanders and she tries to pretend he’s staring at her longingly, searching for the words to express his feeling. She pretends he likes her like she likes him. That there’s more to it than her bra cut top and hot pants.
Mini never really had a great imagination, though.
nimble
Alo dodges her grab with an easy laugh. “Fuck off, Mins, this is my beer.”
“I want it, though,” she drunkenly pouts. She clasps her hands in front of her chest and tries to look as cute as possible.
Alo raises an eyebrow down at her. “Don’t even try. I’ve built up an immunity to your cuteness, McGuinness.”
Her heart swells at this, but she persists. He teases her with it, moving it just a bit out of her grasp each time. Finally he relents and passes it over.
“Don’t say I never gave you anything.”
remain
They all decide to stay at the “camp ground” for the night. After all, they are all way too drunk to drive home anyway.
The sleeping arrangements are cramped, but none of them really care at this point. Mini, Liv and Franky squeeze on the small bed while the boys take the floor. Grace and Rich are sealed up front and none of them want to know why.
Mini looks over her sleeping friends and felt a comfort she never really had before.
She had never been so grateful for apologising as she was now.
snore
Mini sneaks out of the van and finds Alo leaning against it, joint dangling between two fingers.
“You can’t sleep either, eh, McGuinness?” Alo questions, handing her his spliff.
She inhales gratefully, holding the smoke in her lungs and shaking her head. She exhales with a sigh. “Fuck, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Matty and Nick must be the loudest snorers in Bristol.”
Alo shoots a smile. “Must be a family thing.”
done
They finish the joint, crouching low to the ground.
Mini struggles to think of a reason for him to stay. It wasn’t like they were talking in depth about their lives and feelings. They were really just shooting the shit, filling the quite parking lot with the muffled sounds of whispers.
She liked having him there, though. So close and so easy to talk to. It was easier to be with him alone, when she didn’t have to put up a front.
Alo sighs and stands, holding out his hand for her. “Shall we?”
Mini hesitates before giving in.
accent
“You’re Scottish accent is awful, by the way,” Mini says harshly as she settles into her seat at the diner.
Alo looks surprisingly indignant at Mini’s insult. “I was a little pre-occupied, Mins. I didn’t know I had an audience.” He smirks over at them and waggles his eyebrows. “How much of the show did you ladies catch?”
Liv laughs loudly and Mini can feel the heat seep into her cheeks.
“Shut the fuck up, Farm Boy,” she mutters before taking a sip of her diet coke.
indirect
Alo’s changing into his goth gear when Liv swings her head over to Mini with a knowing smile.
“Oh my god, I cannot believe you fancy Alo!” She whispers excitedly.
Mini’s eyes grew. “I so do not!” She denies quickly.
Liv scoffs. “You can deny it to yourself, Mins, but remember that I know you the best.” Liv pauses and puts a hand on Mini’s knee. “We don’t have to get him laid if you don’t want to.”
She’s shaking her head in the negative before she can stop herself. “Don’t be stupid, Liv. Of course I don’t fancy the farm boy. Let’s just get him laid so we don’t have to ever see him jerk his shrivelled cock in my bedroom again.”
Liv raises an eyebrow but drops the subject.
haze
She can’t see anything in this dingy goth bar Liv dragged them to.
A part of her feels like she shouldn’t even be here. She can feel her heart getting heavier the longer she scans the club for an acceptable match for Alo. A voice whispers in the back of her head that she should just sleep with him. It was better than trying to suppress her feelings.
A larger part of her disagrees, so she points out some girl at the bar and silently hopes Alo fucks this up.
puzzle
“Are you sure you don’t fancy him, Mins?” Liv asks again.
Mini tears her eyes away from Alo and the goth. “Stop asking that, Liv. It’s getting annoying,” she scoffs, looking at a spot over Liv’s shoulder. She could never lie to Liv for long.
“I’m just trying to figure out why you’re staring at them like you’re his jealous girlfriend or something,” Liv shrugs.
“I am not jealous!” Mini snaps. Thankfully Alo stalks off to the bathroom before Liv continues her interrogation.
try again
Mini places a comforting hand on Alo’s arm and spend too long inspecting his injured nose. She pretends to not notice Liv’s piercing stare on the side of her face.
“Don’t worry, Farm Boy,” Mini says soothingly. “It doesn’t make you look any worse.”
Alo attempts to sneer at her, at least as much as one can with kleenex shoved up their nose, and pulls away from her slightly.
“We’ll try again tomorrow, Als,” Liv says, tossing back another shot. “Maybe we’ll go to Oceania?”
Alo laughs suddenly before wincing.
reap
“Did you see the way Alo just jumped off stage and kissed that chick?” Liv asks suddenly. She and Mini were currently leaning against the cold brick wall outside the massage parlour, waiting for Alo to come back out.
Mini drags her eyes away from the door and looks over at Liv. “What did you say?” She asks distractedly.
Liv smiles slightly to herself before speaking. “I was just saying that now we know Alo’s a good kisser.”
“He was bound to be good at something,” Mini shrugs before turning her attention back to the door.
settle
Liv takes her time in the loo and Mini is sure she’s still convinced of Mini’s suppressed feelings.
Mini wishes she could tell Liv that she’s right.
Alo, in the meantime, takes to fixing a nest for him and Liv to share on Mini’s bedroom floor. He nestles in, not speaking a word to Mini.
“I hope you never fuck a prostitute again,” Mini says sternly, laying down on her bed and staring up at the ceiling.
Alo laughs weakly from his spot on the ground. “Yeah, me too.”
treat
She rolls on her back and doesn’t bother to suppress the grin that has occupied her face since Alo admitted to still being a virgin.
Not even him wanking in her room (again) could dampen her spirits.
She knew he wasn’t going to stay single forever. After all, one day some girl was going to notice what she tries so hard not to. One day, some girl will see the wonderful, funny, awesome person he is and he’ll run off and fuck her and leave Mini to drown in her feelings.
But at least that day wasn’t today.
notice
Mini knows he’s attracted to her.
After all, Alo has never been particularly great at hiding things. He was a far too open person for that.
She catches him checking her out from time to time. His eyes linger on her longer than Nick or Rich or Matty.
She knows he likes her, at least as a friend. He’s always thrilled when they hang out. He jokes around with her and seems to actually have a fantastic time when she’s around.
Still, he’s a horny bastard. Mini attributes everything to that.
She sees the girls he fancies, even if it’s only ever for a day or two. They’re quirky and funny and alternative. They didn’t go to three Tescos to find Nadine Coyle’s album and they don’t cry over the X Factor. They don’t treat the vast majority of humanity like complete shit.
least
Least of all, the girls Alo tends to fancy are actually nice to him all of the time.
Mini loves Alo (platonically). She really does. She loves all her friends.
She’s just… not a nice person. She never has been.
She tries from time to time, but it just never fits. She’s too easily agitated. People are annoying. Even Alo annoys her sometimes and she has… feelings… for him.
Still, she hopes against hope that he can find something in her to redeem her bitchy ways and like her back.
Though she doesn’t know what she’d do if that happened. It’s almost better that he doesn’t fancy her so she doesn’t have to deal with that.
exception
Mini can’t tell anyone about the way she feels. Liv would gloat. Rich and Nick would tell Alo. Franky would just tell her to tell Alo.
Grace was different, though. Grace was the exception.
Mini sighed heavily, checking to make sure her door was still closed and her phone was off.
“Mini, you’re worrying me!” Grace says urgently. “Tell me what’s wrong!”
Mini pauses and stares down at her hands. “I think I fancy Alo,” she confesses with a sigh.
She didn’t know what to expect, but Grace’s loud squeal of happiness was not it.
rule
She’s getting really sick of this.
She doesn’t know if she can take it anymore. Her rapidly developing crush is just too distracting.
Even at the gym, with the instructor screaming in her ear, her mind still wanders to the sound of his laughter and his genuine smile.
She tries as hard as she can to push the offending thoughts out of her mind. She even takes to bargaining with herself, promising a trip to the mall for each day she doesn’t have an inappropriate thought about her ginger friend.
She gets even more frustrated when she realises she hasn’t been to the mall in weeks.
correct
“I think you should test your feelings for Alo,” Grace says as she peruses a rack of bikinis with Mini at the mall.
“Grace!” Mini hisses. “I told you never to talk about it ever again!”
“He’s a nice guy, Mins. He’s not going to reject you,” Grace promises sincerely.
Mini scoffs. “Like I’m scared of that.”
She was, though.
Terrified, really.
“He’s not worthy of me,” Mini explains.
“That’s bullshit and you know it, Mini-Moo,” Grace scolds.
Yeah. Mini knows that.
harm
It isn’t that she thinks he isn’t good enough for her.
It isn’t that there is something inherently wrong with him that somehow makes him unworthy of her feelings.
She just couldn’t take the pain. Mini knows men at this point in her life. She’s seen them play with her mother’s emotions. She knows what it’s like to be hurt by the one you think you love.
She couldn’t risk Alo on a crush. She can’t let him hurt her.
strive
It’s getting hard not to think about him all the time now.
Really hard.
She does everything she can think of. Tries to think about other boys at Roundview. Tries to think about Ryan Gosling. Trolls around asos.com and her celebrity gossip site of choice. Updates twitter like a mad woman.
She even tries to re-ignite her feelings for Nick once or twice, before grossing herself out and turning back to Ryan Gosling.
No matter how many distractions she tries, her mind keeps drifting back to the ginger.
temperamental
She knows that she’s been cruel to him lately.
She’s just so… touchy when he’s around. She’s glad she couldn’t find a real job this summer. It would be too hard to balance work and her unwanted feelings.
It’s getting absurd. She snaps at him whenever he mentions a hot celebrity or cool girl he knows. It can’t be great for his self-esteem, but it isn’t long before he stops mentioning them in front of her.
He mentions a crush on Emma Stone and Mini snaps that there was no way she would go for Alo when she has Andrew Garfield. After all, if he couldn’t even get a goth, how could he get Emma Stone?
A look of hurt flashes across his face briefly and Mini finds a new reason to hate herself.
divided
Her resolve was breaking down. It is even worse in Morocco than it was in Bristol. At least in Bristol she could retreat to her own house or the mall or Top Shop when her feelings became too much.
Not here. Not while Alo was by her side all the time. She didn’t know if she wanted him to stay or leave. Did she want him to find someone else or just keep looking at her with confused green eyes.
Was it worth losing one of the best friends she ever had? For sex?
Mini can’t decide.
victory
She slaps her hand over her mouth to muffle her moans as her other hand twists in Alo’s hair.
Weren’t virgins supposed to be bad the first time?
Alo certainly defied the odds.
Her body spasms and she watches with half-dazed eyes as Alo sits back on his heels, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He looks down at her, unsure of what he’s supposed to do.
Mini sighs blissfully and beckons him down to her. He leans down and presses a kiss on the side of her face.
“I think we should probably shag now, Farm Boy,” Mini says, winding her arms around his neck.
The smile on Alo’s face is worth whatever comes next.
delivery
Never in a million years did Mini think that she would be standing inside a cubical in a public toilet in fucking Morocco receiving oral sex from Alo Creevey.
Of course, she never really thought that she’d ever be friends with him.
Maybe it was time to stop planning that sort of thing.
His hands gripped her hips firmly, though not tightly enough to leave a bruise. After all, no one could ever know.
She moans his name as she comes and he smiles up at her before helping with back into her shorts and kissing her lightly on her hair before they sneak back into the party.
ballad
She’s only home for six hours before she calls Alo. His dad is sympathetic to him, after suffering a near-loss of a good friend and persuades his mother to lay off of him for a few days.
It takes him half an hour to get there. He lays down next to her on her bed and they stare up at the celling. It isn’t too long before Alo laments that Rich locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone.
“But I’m his best mate,” Alo sighs.
Mini twists her head to look up at him.
“Just give him time, Alo.”
all I can ask
It isn’t long before Mini sits up and rearranges her pillows, twisting so her back is pushed against him.
“Can you just…,” she trails off, hoping that he understands. She doesn’t know why she can’t get the words out, but Alo understands.
She’s hardly surprised. After all, it’s Alo.
He winds his arms around her waist, pulling her close. His nose pushes into her hair and he sighs heavily, the weight of his responsibilities resting on his mind.
“This doesn’t mean I’m your girlfriend or anything, you know.” She says, knowing it’s unnecessary.
Alo lets out a small chuckle, the first joyful sound she’s heard in far too long.
“I couldn’t afford you, Mins.”
fire
He stays the night, lying to his mother over the phone that he was sleeping at Nick’s.
He falls asleep first, arm thrown lazily over her. His hand is pushed under her t-shirt, laying flat over her stomach.
It scares her just how much she loves the feel of his hand. How she still craves it desperately. How it doesn’t even cross her mind to kick him out, even though she knows it would be for the best.
His slow breaths sweep past her ear and she can’t bring herself to care about what’s best.
lies
Alo leaves the next morning, after making awkward small-talk with her mother and her mother’s latest boy toy.
“I’m so happy you’re dating that Alo. He’s so lovely,” Mini’s mother coos lightly. “You need a nice bloke in your life, Mini.” Mini grimaces, thinking her mother wouldn’t be that happy if she knew about the wanking incident.
Actually, her mother would probably be flattered.
“We’re not dating,” Mini says firmly, counting her vitamins out.
“But you must have feelings for him, right?”
Mini hesitates for a moment, looking down at her pills.
“No.”
stormy
“Fuck,” Alo says as he pulls away from Mini, rummaging quickly for his mobile. “Sorry, Mins,” he mutters softly before answering.
Mini watches him, half-listening as he soothingly consoles Nick over the phone, promising that Matty would call any day now.
It was a lie, of course. All of the faith and trust Mini had built towards Matty had crumbled the moment he ran away, leaving Grace and Liv on the side of the road.
She shivers lightly as thunder cracked overhead. Alo furrows his brow at her and moves to pull her against him. The rain clinks on the roof of the van and Mini’s eyes drifted close.
She hoped it would all be over soon.
terrible
Mini groaned and slammed her hands over her ears.
“Stop laughing, Farm Boy!” She whispers sharply as he buries his head into her pillow to muffle the laughter. “It’s not funny!”
Alo pulls himself together. “That’s such a fucking lie, Mins. It’s hilarious.”
“My mom getting poorly nailed by someone two years older than us? Hardly.”
Mini winces as her mother’s headboard makes contact with their joint wall and the boy’s grunts drift through. This sets Alo off again.
“I’m not fucking you again today,” Mini says sharply, crossing her arms over her chest.
Alo’s laughter wanes at the threat and he frowns up at her. “That’s cruel.”
decay
It gets harder to be in their little group.
Rich cuts himself off from everyone except Alo. He refuses to see anyone but his best friend and his band, preferring to lock himself in his room, practising the bass and listening to metal music.
Franky decides to wallow in her own guilt. She forces Geoff and Jeff to send Mini and Liv away each time they show up. Once they sat on her stoop for three and a half hours, yelling up to her window. After getting yelled at by the old couple across the street, the two friends looked at each other sadly and trudged home.
Nick’s eyes rarely drift from his mobile’s screen. He tries to keep up with the group, but he starts to drink alone. He’s barely comprehensible these days.
Mini can’t help but mourn the loss. She never knew how badly she wanted them until they were gone.
dramatic
She tries to pick fights with him from time to time. Just to remind him that they aren’t happy like Grace and Rich were. That they weren’t meant to be or in love.
He rarely falls for it, but every so often, she hits a nerve.
“If I’m so useless, then why don’t you stop calling me?” Alo spits, rummaging under her bed for his abandoned top.
“Because you’re a good fuck,” Mini shrugs, pulling on her robe. She crosses her arms and observes him as he angrily belts his trousers.
Alo runs his hands through his hair and grips the ends.
After a long pause, he finally speaks. “You’re such a bitch, Mini,” he says with a sneer before slamming his way through her house, leaving her alone in her room.
panic
Every time their fights reach this level, Mini panics.
It would be too much, not to have him around. Not when she’s barely clinging onto Liv as her only support.
She didn’t know how much she relied on having her new friends until they were gone.
It’s a test of self control, seeing how long she can wait before calling him. This time she made it four and a half hours.
“I’m sorry, Farm Boy,” she says as soon as he picks up the phone.
She hears him sigh on the other end of the receiver and her anxiety rises.
“I didn’t mean it. I was just… it’s hard for me to…” she stutters, unable to convey her feelings.
“I know, Mins,” Alo says, still dejected, but understanding. “It’s okay.”
with you
Her mother had told her they would leave after she slept with them. They got what they wanted, so why would they stay?
Mini was counting on it.
After all, if he left her, she could stop her… feelings. He would fuck off like her dad and Nick and every single one of her mother’s boyfriends. She could put him on the list of men she didn’t trust and move on.
She couldn’t help but be surprised every time he called or showed up at her door. When he stayed longer than he had to or asked her to watch TV with him or share a spliff.
The shock was fading and she was terrified.
killing
“Why won’t you just fucking die!” Mini exclaims as she slams her thumbs down on buttons of the video game controller.
“You’ll never beat me, Minerva!” Alo replies with a laugh. “I’ve been training my whole life for this!”
Mini screams as Alo’s character beats hers and throws the controller down.
“That’s so not fair!” She whinges, her lip pouting out.
Alo carefully puts the controller on Mini’s coffee table and leans over to place a kiss on her temple. “You can’t win everything, McGuinness.”
jump
Sometimes she thinks that she should have put more thought into sleeping with Alo.
It just seemed to make so much sense at the time. They were on vacation. He was depressed. She was horny.
Serendipity, right?
It didn’t help she had been harbouring feelings for him for most of the summer, but Mini prefers not to think about that.
She wants to pretend she wouldn’t have jumped into this, but the hardest lies are the ones you make to yourself.
waste
She still goes on dates from time to time. It never makes it past the first, but she pretends to try.
They’re all nice guys. They’re good looking and popular, but there’s something missing.
They never make her laugh like Alo does. They don’t kiss her like Alo does. She doesn’t trust them like she trusts Alo.
Alo doesn’t seem to care that she goes out with these other boys. Like he just knows she’ll be coming back to him.
It’s when she starts making out with them in front of him that she can really see his heartbreak. He keeps letting her come back, though, so she keeps doing it.
passion
Mini doesn’t know why she went the whole summer trying to suppress her feelings if this was what she was missing.
Alo’s hands have her hips in a death grip as she rides him. Her hands grip on his upper arms and she can’t help the noises that escape her throat.
His hands trail up her back and he drags her head down for a kiss. She loses a bit of rhythm, but can’t bring herself to mind.
She doesn’t know how Raven could reject him. He was such a good kisser!
But there was no accounting for taste.
flying
She collapses off of him and lays next to him on his tiny bed. They both struggle to regain their breath.
“Fuck,” Alo says in appreciation. He slaps a hand on her knee. “Well fucking done, Mins.”
Mini laughs, happy for the moment of levity. “Cheers, Farm Boy.”
He reaches over her and grabs a spliff he rolled before she came over. He offers it to her first and she happily takes it.
“Orgasms and getting stoned. Two of my favourite things with my favourite Scot.” He winks at her and she rolls her eyes.
drought
She waits two days before contacting him again. He tells her he’s going to try and hang out with Rich for a bit and she leaves it alone.
She thinks about calling Liv, but feels guilty about going out without Grace. Franky is still moping, drowning in the guilt she pins on herself because no one else is there.
Mini finally give up and calls him. He answers the phone after what seems like a million rings.
“Go for the Ice Man!” He slurs into his mobile.
Mini pauses for a second. “What the fuck?
“Hello, pretty lady,” he laughs with the humour only someone several drinks down can.
“Just come over,” she sighs, upset with herself that she doesn’t care how drunk he is as long as he ends the drought.
sword
Alo stumbles into her house.
“Stay quite!” Mini scolds as he slams the door behind him. “My mom and her new boyfriend are here!”
Alo nods as solemnly as he can. “I brought you a present,” he whispers in her ear.
Mini suppresses a shiver, slightly ashamed he can make her feel such a rush of lust even when he’s drunk. She drags him to her room and delves into her stash of booze.
After all, it wasn’t creepy to fuck him if they’re both drunk, right?
Alo rummages around in his pocket and pulls out a pink plastic cocktail sword. “I got the girliest drink just for you,” he says, placing a kiss on her cheek.
She takes the small piece of plastic out of his hands and looks at it closely.
“It reminded me of you,” he explains without her prompting.
skill
Mini sometimes wishes that Alo wasn’t so good at sex.
If he was bad at it, surely she would be able to get over him easier. She just knows she could.
If Nick was anything to go by, it’s not supposed to just get better, no matter what Cosmo says.
She tells herself that she’s only in this for the sex, but even she knows it’s a lie.
powerless
They sneak off to Alo’s van after Doug’s speech in the common room.
Mini knows why she’s there. She knows she has to end things with Alo. After all, they’re back in school now and every summer fling has to end, right?
Mini was sure that’s how it works, but she’s not exactly an expert on these things.
She turns to him, ready to let him off the hook when he slips a hand behind her neck and pulls her into a kiss.
Her hands twine in the collar of that nasty Cosby sweater and she knows she’s not ready to let go yet.