prompts ;

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There's a pretty good chance he hates her. His mother reprimands him for even suggesting that he hates a girl -- she tells him it's not gentlemanly and demands that his father teach him properly. Of course, he doesn't. He just chuckles, kisses his wife on the cheek and tells her their small child will grow out of it, that someday he won't be able to get enough of them, that she should value their time before he starts fretting over them. Let him fear their cooties for as long as he can, soon he'll want in Tara's pants. That only encourages the child, making him gag and cast dirty looks at the tiny brunette. He'll never like girls. Especially not that girl. She pushed him in the mud, she's the reason his action figure is missing an arm, she's the reason he was put on time-out at school. If she can destroy his things, why can't he pull her hair? He didn't get it, he'd never get it.    There's not a chance in hell he doesn't hate her. She's playing with another boy, batting her eyelashes and flirting -- he really doesn't understand what it means, but he keeps overhearing his mother use that word. Aw, look at Tara flirting with that little boy! She practically squealed every time she said it, making him slap his hands to his ears and glare in the girls direction. He hates her. He hates that boy. He really hates his mother and that stupid thing growing in her belly. He ends up throwing his basketball at the boy, making Tara yelp, his mother scream, and the boy cry. Even his dad seems amused and that's enough for him. Now, he's satisfied. He still hates them, but he's glad he ruined their lunch, he's glad that Tara can't keep flirting with that kid -- his own punishment would be worth it later.    The baby is born and he hates her. For such a little kid, he seemed to have a lot of hate to go around. He hates her because she gets all the attention, he hates her because he had to give up half of his room to make space for her toys, he hates her because every time he brings Tara over, even she fawns over the baby. He follows Harper around instead because he's losing his best friend to a baby, he keeps asking her if his new sister was going to replace him, if Tara would have time for him now that she had a new best friend. It didn't make sense, even to him, but she was his only friend and there was this dumb baby that chased his father off and made everyone forget he even existed.    He gets it now. He gets why everyone told him to be nice to Tara and why the baby got so much attention. She was beautiful and talented and every time he looked away, a boy was making moves on her... And his sister was okay too. He had learned to love her, even if she destroyed his shit and interrupted whenever he was with a girl. Then again, Tara did that too and he was pretty sure she was the only person outside his family that he loved. Which is why he thought it was perfectly acceptable to latch onto her at every given opportunity and beat up anyone that even made her frown. Or smile, laugh, blush, glance in their direction. He was pretty much content to beat up anyone that had a penis and thought it was okay to share the same oxygen as her.    For the first time in ten years, he wasn't spending the summer with his best friend. He wanted to be, they talked almost every day, but their lives had gone in different directions and he was miserable about it. Call him clingy, but he wasn't sure what to do with himself when she wasn't around. He could drive around town, which took all of fifteen minutes, he could play hockey or find something productive to do, but a month after school ended, he had run out of things to do on his own. He'd never sought out the company of others outside of his comfort zone, he didn't feel it was necessary. He had never been good at making friends, he had a hard time breaking out of his quiet shell, but now he almost wished he had.    A girl sits beside him, a girl not sharing the Wilson or Alcott name. It felt... strange. She was a tiny blonde thing and he didn't remember her name, but he knew he had seen her around town. She belonged to a different group of friends and being as withdrawn as he was, he never introduced himself. He vaguely remembered a time when they may have exchanged hello's or good morning's, but it wasn't anything more than he had shared with the rest of Pegram High. She's asking questions and being polite, though he really didn't find it necessary -- he was fine listening to the engine of his truck hum along the deserted road. It's only when she says Tara's name that he opens up.    Spending time with someone that wasn't his best friend was unnerving. He had had girlfriends in the past, but things had always been strained, he had always done something to 'prove' that Tara was more important than they were and they fled. He was used to it and he was prepared for her to return to Pegram and the blonde to go running much the same way. No matter how much time they had spent together, she wouldn't be comfortable playing second fiddle to another girl. So he makes the best of his time before that happens. She's mid-sentence, talking about a movie they just watched, when he cups her face and kisses her for the first time, maybe the only time. He doesn't know, he doesn't care -- he acted on impulse.    Another blonde straddles lap, he seems to have developed a penchant for them, fingers threaded through his hair. He didn't know her name, he didn't care what her name was, he had way too much to drink and he can't stop. This isn't his first time, but the last person he had hooked up with had been weeks before he met Claire and since he had never done anything with her... No, he couldn't even think about her anymore. He was kissing another girl, thinking about the one he just dumped was going to ruin the moment. He focuses on kissing the blonde and keeping her butt from hitting the horn. It only takes a few seconds to remember why he sought her out.    Three texts wait for him when he wakes up, making his hangover all that much worse. Last night was his last night as a free man. Today, he was getting married to the woman he loved and wanted to be with for the rest of his life. Guilt twists his stomach and he can barely get out of bed. He can't think about her, he can't think about how badly he misses her, but this is all her fault. What started as a fling to ease his broken heart had turned into more and unlike her, Savannah wanted to be with him and only him. She loved him and was good to him and he loved her. Reminding himself of those things is the only thing that hauls him out of bed, seconds before Tara comes barreling into the room, even hours before getting married, she doesn't bother to knock.    There's a pretty good chance he hates all of them. He hates everyone that let him get married, everyone that let him move to New York. He's not sure how to behave or what to do and he's almost positive he's having a panic attack. He hides the Xanax from his wife because he doesn't want her to fret, but it's the only thing that keeps him from freaking out... most days. Today, it doesn't work. She's pregnant and he can't tell anyone because he knows what he told her to do is wrong. Kitty's standing in front of him, hands on his face, his arms wrapped around her, talking him through the anxiety, asking him what's wrong, hiding him from his employee's in a back room. How can he admit what he's done to people that think he's a good person? She's the only one that's seen him like this and maybe that's why he lets her past the walls he's built, but even so, he can't tell her how miserable he is or what he's done or how badly he wants to run away. _____________________________________ ENDINGS