Trash Panda

Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

To Jett, it wasn’t a huge surprise to find out that Anna was single. In fact, he would have been more astonished if she was taken, simply because of the nature of the show they had both joined. With production practically trying to shove all the cast members at each other in the hopes of sparking some summer romances, he didn’t think they would have accepted any auditionees who were already in relationships. The more people were available, the more chances the crew had to film some drama. It only made sense that they would try to do that, especially since he was starting to get the vibe that “Oceanside Strangers” was some weird spinoff of “The Bachelor.” Except they orchestrated it to leave the door open for quite a few hook ups, he added silently as he looked over the drunken crowd.

Speaking of drunken crowds, Jett was starting to notice that his fourth drink was affecting him much more than the last. He looked down at the half-empty glass in his hand, feeling fuzzy from its inebriating effects. One more of these, and he would be good and tipsy. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to push himself much further than that though. With a still unknown room to find, cameramen on every corner, and a house full of interesting people to meet, he didn’t want to turn himself into a stumbling drunk like some of the other cast members seemed intent on becoming. Making that good first impression was too important to him. So, once he reached five drinks, he decided he would cut himself off for the night, just to be safe.

Focusing in again on what Anna was saying to him, Jett was surprised that nobody was good enough for her. Even as someone who had been accused on many occasions of being picky, himself, he would never have had the audacity to say that nobody could meet his standards. Sure, he wouldn’t settle for any girl with a pretty face, but he at least had what he liked to think were realistic standards. All he wanted was a woman who could be genuine with him. Of course, a physical attraction had to be there too, but his biggest checkbox was just a down to earth kind of girl who wasn’t fake or crazy. Honestly, he guessed the fact that he hadn’t found anyone like that yet was probably just because of dumb luck. He probably even had fans who were like that, but somehow, he’d wound up meeting the psycho-murderer ones instead. It was because of misfortune, not pickiness, that had left him single and losing interest in looking.

Anna, on the other hand, seemed like a completely different story. Just the way she worded the phrase ‘nobody was good enough for her’ left him wondering just how often she shot down guys who tried to approach her. With her confidence and, not to mention, smoking hot figure, he wouldn’t have been at all surprised to find out that she got asked out all the time. Maybe she had just reached a point where she was sick of it all? Or—just maybe—she was like him: Always ending up with the worst of the lot whenever she tried to test the waters? After all, celebrities weren’t the only ones who could be hit on by creeps and weirdos. It wasn’t a long shot to guess that a woman like Anna had probably dealt with at least one or two guys who had gone after her for their own selfish reasons.

At her last comment, Jett grinned. “Who knows?” he shrugged, bringing his glass to his lips once more as he glanced over the crowd of ‘potential love interests.’ “I’m sure production would be ecstatic if you do find a lover here.” He inflected his voice in a mocking manner to mimic the announcer who had spoken to them earlier. Now that he was four cocktails in, he was starting to get a little looser with his speech. Swirling the remains of his drink in its glass, he chuckled softly and shook his head, “With the way they keep pushing romance on us, I’m starting to wonder if the perks of this show were a just trap to lure us all into one big blind date. I’d even bet you that our rooms are close together so we’ll all hook up.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I like it! I can't wait to see her and the other new characters you're planning to add in ^^

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Now that he had a way to keep warm, the pain in Crow’s body finally began to pass. He laid on the bed with his eyes closed, relaxing into the peacefulness of being able to breathe easily after spending most of the morning—or what he guessed was the morning—forced to hold his breath every time the ache got worse.

Absently, he noticed that the injury was making him grateful for things he normally didn’t even think about, such as simply being alive without pain or being able to inhale without his breath catching in his throat from said pain. The thoughts put him in a strange mood that he wasn’t sure he liked, but since he was trapped in the physician’s tent with nothing else to do, he couldn’t help but dwell on them.

“Thank you.”

Crow opened his eyes and looked across the room at Gavin, surprised to hear him speak up. Since Jane had left, the two men had fallen into a somewhat awkward silence. Crow hadn’t been sure how to approach him, since he was still just getting used to the idea that the knight didn’t want him dead anymore. He wasn’t sure what was going on in Gavin’s head, but it was clear that the other man didn’t feel comfortable speaking openly with him either. For him to say something now, especially an expression of gratitude, was strange.

“For what?” the thief asked, unsure what the knight was talking about.

Gavin shifted slightly in his chair. “I hadn’t said it before, but… I saw what you did in the battle,” he explained slowly, seeming uncomfortable with talking so openly with a criminal. “If you hadn’t stopped that sword, Penelope would be dead right now, so… thank you.”

Crow stared at him, not expecting to hear the knight say that he’d witnessed his exchange with Jaxon in the thieves’ camp. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “I just did what I had to,” he said with a shrug, looking away from the other man again to gaze up at the canopy. He could see Gavin observing him from the corner of his eye, and he wondered if the knight was going to add something else. However, before he had a chance, the flap of the tent pulled back as another person entered the room.

Crow turned, expecting that Jane had returned to check up on him again, but instead, his heart skipped excitedly as he saw Penelope step inside. His lip curved upward into a smile of its own accord, but in the next moment, he faltered slightly when he noticed something seemed off about her. She was acting quieter than usual, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened since the last time he’d seen her. What if the conversation with her barons didn’t go well? He swallowed nervously.

The thief watched her in silent contemplation as she spoke briefly with Gavin before walking up to his bedside. At her question, he paused before answering. In truth, he was feeling worse today than the day before, but he felt fairly certain his pain was only because of the brisk night. So, not wanting to worry Penelope unnecessarily, he chose to respond with a simple: “I’m alright.”

He offered her a smile and reached out to take her hand, longing for her touch. “I mean, I’m doing as well as I can be in this condition,” he added and then frowned as he held her gaze, hoping to find out why she seemed more subdued than normal. “Did you have a chance to speak with your barons yet?

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Really? That would be nice cx He deserves one after everything he's gone through

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

As time went on and Gavin didn’t return to the tent, Crow eventually fell asleep again, finding it more pleasant to be unconscious than it was to battle against the pain in his body. As always, he was unable to tell how much time passed before he was awakened by the sound of approaching footsteps. Blearily, he blinked his eyes open and glanced at the entrance of the tent, where two figures were making their way inside. He was quick to recognize Gavin and Jane, the latter of whom had an irritable look on her face as she walked over to his bed with a neatly folded blanket in her arms.

“Here,” the physician muttered with obvious resentment as she unraveled the thick fabric and draped it over the thief.

Right away, Crow could feel himself beginning to heat up, and he sighed in relief. Hopefully with something to keep himself warm, the cold wouldn’t do nearly as much damage, and he would be able to heal more quickly. He glanced at Gavin, wondering how the knight had managed to convince his comrade to help him. He had never taken the man to be very persuasive, but perhaps there was more to him than met the eye.

“Gavin, help me with the thief,” Jane grumbled as she began to set up her supplies to redress his wound. “I need him sitting up, so I can unwrap the bandages.”

The knight just nodded wordlessly in response and stepped up to the edge of the bed to help Crow get up from where he was laying. Once he was in an upright position, the thief leaned back on his hands like he had the night before while the physician got to work on treating his injury. He winced slightly at her rough touch, but made no verbal complaints, since she was barely willing to work on him as things were. Even though she wasn’t as gentle as Hazel, any treatment was better than none at all.

As the old bandages were removed, Crow snuck a peek at his wound, curious to see how bad it was since he hadn’t had much of a chance to look it over the last time Jane had redressed it. The sight of the stitching made him feel sick, and he swallowed nervously, finding his old aversion resurfacing a bit. He could see now why it was hurting so much. Even his old stab wounds hadn’t looked this gruesome. Thinking back on the battle, he remembered that Jaxon had twisted his sword before pulling it out. The motion must have torn into him quite a bit more than a normal stab wound would have.

He bent slightly at the waist, leaning to the left and right as he tried to feel the path the blade had taken on the inside of his body. As he did, he noticed a slight twinge in his back, and he frowned, bringing his free hand around to touch the spot the hurt. Before he reached it, Jane slapped his hand away.

“Stop that,” she chided sternly as she unraveled a new set of bandages for him. “If you play with the suturing, it won’t heal properly.”

Suturing? Crow thought bemusedly. It seemed that he’d needed to be stitched on both the entrance and exit wounds from the sword. The thought of being run completely through to such a degree made him shudder. He was glad he was still alive after enduring something like that.

After she finished redressing his injury, Jane put her supplies away and stepped back. “He’s healing fine,” she said curtly to Gavin. Her dark eyes flickered to the thief before she added: “Do you think you could guard him a little while longer? I have other knights that I need to tend to right now.”

Crow wanted to roll his eyes at the way she emphasized the word ‘knights.’

“Of course,” Gavin dipped his head politely. “I’ll stay as long as I’m needed.”

“Thank you,” Jane seemed to relax at his willingness to help. With no more reason to keep her near her criminal patient, she headed for the flap of the tent. “I’ll be back later. Make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble while I’m gone.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It's about time xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow wasn’t sure when he woke the next day, since there was no natural light in the tent. All he knew was that he was in pain again. Almost as soon as his eyes opened, he was aware of a deep soreness in his wound that made him cringe and forced him to take slow breaths. Closing his eyes again, he brought a hand to his chest, trying to breathe through the ache until it began to pass. Even though he knew he was healing, it looked like this injury was going to pain him for quite a while.

Secondarily, the thief began to take notice of how cold he was. The inside of the tent was frigid. He shivered involuntarily. With no blanket on the bed and only a pair of pants to cover himself, he’d had no good way to keep warm during the cooling night. He let out his breath in an irritable huff. That would explain why he was aching so badly—he must have tensed up in his sleep as his body had tried to stay warm, which had in turn strained his wound. He guessed that Jane had “overlooked” giving him reasonable accommodations for the weather, since she probably wanted him to take longer to recover.

Ridiculous noblewoman, he thought with a grimace as his injury sent an especially sharp burst of pain through his middle.

“Are you okay?”

Crow blinked at the sound of a voice and turned to see Gavin sitting off to the side. The knight was wearing an expression that was difficult for the thief to read as he watched him. “I can get Jane if something’s wrong,” the ginger man went on, shifting to stand up.

“No,” Crow said through gritted teeth. He took a moment longer to wait for the pain to subside before he went on. “It’s nothing,” he shook his head. “Just stressed the wound a little is all. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Gavin knitted his brow, seeming unconvinced as he hovered on the edge of his seat.

“Yes,” the thief nodded, closing one eye as he winced again. “It’s just the damn cold… I can’t relax.”

The knight studied him for a moment before rising to his feet, “In any case, I need to tell Jane you’re awake, so she can check on your progress.” He stepped towards the opening of the tent and then turned back to him to add: “I’ll request that she brings you a blanket.” With that, he exited the tent, leaving no time for the thief to respond.

Crow stared at the tent opening in mild surprise. He had been expecting Gavin to drop the subject after he’d insisted he didn’t need anything, but instead, it seemed like the knight was intent on making sure he was treated probably for his injury. He laid his head back on the bed to gaze up at the canopy in thought. Even though he’d noticed Gavin had accepted that he wasn’t an enemy, he was still getting used to being treated like a comrade by the stubborn man. After all, the knight had been certain he was just a loathsome snake until this point. His new attitude was going to take some getting used to.

Still, the change wasn’t a bad one. He closed his eyes again as another wave of pain wracked his body, suddenly hoping Gavin could convince Jane to give him better accommodations. It would be nice to spend the coming nights comfortable and warm instead of waking up cold and sore as he had today. He let out his breath in a long sigh, longing for the end of his recovery so he could get out of the knights’ camp for good.

Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy to make Anna play by his rules. Jett lightly bit the tip of his tongue when she called his bluff without even the slightest hint of hesitation. She knew that he knew why she would have said ‘somebody like him,’ and she wasn’t going to give in to his bait to make her explain herself. No, she was too clever for that. She was making him work for it—actually work for it—and that was something he wasn’t used to. Whenever he’d prodded at women in the past with such pointed questions, they would always get flustered and try to backtrack, as if he would be turned away if he ever found out they thought he was attractive. But Anna wasn’t like other women. She met him step for step without a care about his opinion. It was different, but he found her self-assurance alluring in its own way.

“I’m flattered that you think so, but I’m not seeing anyone right now,” Jett shrugged in answer to her question. Now that he knew she wasn’t going to play his game, he decided it would be easier to give her a straightforward reply. “Despite how much the media loves to blow up stories about celebrity couples, it’s not easy to meet people in my industry.” It was one of those things that had come as a shock to him when he’d first gotten into professional music years ago. Like most people, he’d been under the impression that the super-rich and famous could have whoever they wanted and didn’t have to suffer through the same awkward stages of dating that the rest of the world was forced to endure. But, surprise, surprise: only the first half of that belief had even been remotely true.

“At least, not anyone worth meeting.” He’d discovered pretty early on that there were, in fact, a lot of girls—and even some guys—who wanted to be with him as his name rose in popularity. It had been exciting to think that he had his pick of any of them. He’d even gotten his hopes up that he’d meet a girl he could eventually settle down with. After all, how hard could it be to find someone worth dating in a sea of people who were just waiting for him to ask them out? Well, apparently, pretty damn hard. After some horrible encounters with women who were crazier than his schizophrenic uncle, he’d decided to call it quits and made a personal rule that he would never go out with a fan again. Maybe by making that choice, he was missing out on meeting the girl of his dreams, but even if she existed, she wasn’t worth being held at knifepoint by a psycho chick with a singer complex—and yes, that had happened one time.

From there, he’d tried getting to know a few women in the industry, but that had just taken him back to square one with all the awkward small talk and the usual phases of attraction. By itself, that wasn’t too bad—he was confident enough in himself to power through the discomfort of a crush—but almost every girl he met had had a major ego or only cared about whether dating him would boost their own popularity. Even the one relationship he’d been in had turned out to be more of the same.

After six months of dating another pop singer named Jess Fuller who also lived in New York City, he’d learned that she had just been using their relationship to spread her name across his fanbase. Naturally, he’d broken things off pretty quickly after that, since he didn’t appreciate being led on by her, and the media covered the breakup as ‘a difference of interests,’ which he’d found degrading at the time because of how offended he’d been by the whole mess. Since then, he had come to feel glad that the real reason behind his split with Jess hadn’t been broadcasted to the world. With almost every other aspect of his life made transparent to the public, he liked to have a few secrets for himself.

“Call me old fashioned or picky or whatever, but I don’t date just any girl off the street—not even if she’s a good singer,” Jett stated with a nonchalant smile. “I know what I want, and I won’t settle for less.” As he spoke, his eyes wandered back to the drink table. Now was starting to feel like a good time for that fourth cocktail. Edging a little closer, he reached over to pick up a full glass and brought it to his lips. “Let me guess,” he studied Anna’s face when he turned back to meet her gaze. “I don’t know many committed girls who ask total strangers about their relationship statuses, so you must be unattached too. Am I right?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Finally got my post done xD

Olivia tried to get a little gossip out of Crow

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow sighed softly when he noticed Penelope hesitate to leave his side. He didn’t want her to lose any more sleep than she already had for his sake, especially when he was safely recovering now. His wound still pained him in its freshness, but it wasn’t unbearable, and it was already sutured, so there was no reason for her to concern herself with staying in the tent with him. He would heal fine as long as Jane looked after him, but the knight needed to get her own rest if she was going to get better too.

The thief glanced at Olivia and Gavin as the two knights shared their support that Penelope should get some sleep. He was relieved that everyone seemed to be in agreement, and he appreciated their willingness to guard him, so she wouldn’t worry. Glancing back at Penelope, he returned her smile and leaned up slightly to meet her lips when she kissed him. “I love you too,” he said, shooting her a wry smirk. “Now go and get some sleep, darling.”

Crow followed Penelope and Gavin with his eyes as they left the tent. As soon as they were gone, he yawned tiredly and stretched, wincing as the motion caused his injury to smart in response. Even though he had been unconscious ever since the battle, he could tell he was going to need a lot of rest to recover from a wound this serious. So, settling down on the bed a little more comfortably, he closed his eyes to take his own advice and get some sleep.

However, before he had a chance to drift off, Olivia spoke up from across the room. “I have to say,” she said, studying him with a bemused expression. After Gavin had left, she had moved to take his place in Jane’s chair. “I never expected to hear about a thief saving a knight. That was pretty wild.”

“Yeah, well,” Crow shrugged. “I’m full of surprises.”

Olivia eyed him for a moment longer, seeming to be deep in thought about something, before she spoke again, “You really do care about her, huh?” Her voice was oddly subdued compared to her normal loud attitude.

Crow looked over at her from the bed. “Of course I do,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “And I really don’t see why it’s so hard for you knights to understand that.”

“Well, you were working for the thieves who raided our camp,” Olivia propped her elbow on the nearby desk and rested her chin in her palm, smiling at him amusedly. “It certainly looked like you were just using her. Speaking of which: What was that all about? You helped the guy hide from us, and then you stood in front of his sword. I can’t help but feel like I’m missing some details here.”

“It’s a long story,” Crow exhaled wearily. “I’m too tired to get into it. Maybe I’ll tell you another time or, if you really want to know, you can ask Penelope. I explained it to her earlier.” He shifted again on the bed and closed his eyes. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Alright,” Olivia sighed, seeming disappointed that he wasn’t willing to tell her about what she’d missed at the moment. “’Night, Crow.”

“Night,” he yawned again as he finally began to drift off to sleep.