An Alternate Meeting (!)

▀▄▀▄▀▄An Alternate Meeting▄▀▄▀▄▀ (𝚐𝚗!𝙼𝙲)

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝙸𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚍: 𝙲𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝙷𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝙱𝚊𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚀𝚒𝚞/𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚗 𝙻𝚒𝚗 (𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍) 𝚃𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙱𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚗 (𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍) 𝙹𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚎 𝙻𝚊𝚜𝚝 (𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍) 𝙼𝙲 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 (𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙾𝙻:𝙽&𝙵)

𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝: Baxter and MC go to Sunset Bird for their summer vacation, choosing to be roommates for the short time despite being there for seperate reasons. Takes place in Step 3 of OL:B&A.

(𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗)

It was an average day in Sunset Bird- well that's what it seemed like to Cove as he helped the ORCA clean up the remenants of a party that happened last night on the shore line. Despite Cove loving the summer, after all school was offically out and he could go surfing if he pleased- but the part he disliked severely was the vacationers who come here just for the summer and leaving their mess everywhere only for it to be swept into the sea.

The seafoam haired boy was lost in his thoughts, silently cursing the ones who left such a mess behind before his focus was broken by a voice behind him, making him jump slightly.

"Excuse me, but- may I ask you a question really quick?" He turned around to see a boy behind him with white and black hair, a hand in his pocket and his phone in the other- wearing a half black and half white button down shirt. Cove rose to his feet, not bothering to wipe the sand from his shins and knees- unbothered by the texture. "What can I do for you?" Now don't get me wrong- Cove was not a people person, but he wouldn't allow himself to tarnish the ORCA name by showing his frustrations to someone who was obviously one of the previously mentioned vacationers. "Sorry to interupt your work, but I'm looking for my friend- their name is MC and they said they'd be helping the ORCA today. I have a picture of them if that'd help." The black and white boy turned his phone around, showing Cove a photo of two people. One was a person in a white sweater with gray-blue acents, they had long brunette hair and a grin plastered onto their face as their arm was loosely wrapped around the other person in the picture. The first was unfamiliar, but the second person- who was adorned in a slightly larger, heavy dull green puffer jacket with fur lining, also grinning brightly with a peace sign up- was definetely familiar. "Their name is MC, they volunteered with your group for this summer." The boy provided a bit more insight after getting no reply from Cove as he analyzed the image. "Yeah- I recognize them. They were stationed here with me for a bit, but went to get waters for us." He explained before- as if being summoned, MC came jogging down the shore with a small cooler and more garbage bags. "Mr. Holden! I'm back! Sorry that look so long!" they shouted a bit, catching the attention of both boys- that's when they noticed the black and white boy with their teammate. "Oh! Baxter! Hey!" their voice slowly quieted down as they neared the two, slightly panting from the mix of jogging and the heat they were definetely not used to- it was much cooler in Golden Grove, even in the summer months. "There you are, I came to check how things were going and met your team mate- I am so sorry I never got your name...and I never told you mine. How rude of me. I'm Baxter Ward, it's a pleasure to meet you-" He introduced himself, leaving the last sentence to be contiued by the blue eyed boy. "Oh uh- Cove Holden. Also- MC I told you before, Mr. Holden is too formal. Just use my name, please." He said, taking the cooler from MC and checking it's contents- seeing multiple waters and cut fruits.

"Oh- uh, somebody named Jamie dropped by the ORCA headquarters and left the fruit for you. I brought it with since there's still work to do and I heard you mumbling about being hungry before I left, hope that was okay?" They explained, causing a light blush to spread across Cove's cheeks- slightly embarrassed to be called out for his muttering, how much had they overheard? "Thanks, uhm- sorry." His slight embarassment contiued, growing slightly when the two tourists chuckled a bit. "Don't apologize, seriously. We've been out here since ten cleaning up after these people- it's completely valid to be hungry after four hours of work." MC offered him a smile. "Anyways- now that I'm here, if you'd like I can help out? Make this go faster?" Baxter offered, slipping his phone into his beach short pocket. "I'd be alright with it, but Cove- is it fine if he helps out? Just for right now." They ask to which he nodded, he was not going to turn down an offer to help. "Sure, not like an extra hand could hurt any. Plus, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can return to HQ." He was quick to drop down to the ground again, picking up trash once more- this time being joined by two others. "So- not a fan of summer tourists huh?" MC said with a smirk, not looking away from the ground as they clean. Baxter gasped in mock offence, playing along. "Oh goodness! We barely know each other and you already dislike me Cove?! Oh woe is me!" he said over dramatically, obviously acting, making both MC and Cove laugh. "It's not that, I'm just- annoyed at the ones who think they can leave all this trash around as if it isn't doing any harm. The ORCA is one of the few clean the beach programs in Sunset Bird, so it sucks that the work load practically triples in the summer when we all could be doing something starting a fundraiser or enjoying the beach properly." He rambled a bit once the laughter died down, the look in his eye showed how passionate he was about the ORCA's mission. "Y'know- you remind me of one of our friends from Golden Grove. She's just like you about keeping her forest clean, it's how she earned the title Queen of the Forest." MC explained with a light chuckle, smiling at the two boys who kept cleaning but were listening intently. "You make her sound so peaceful MC, Tamarack gets super protective over you- it's scary!" Baxter quipped back, chuckling a bit. "She isn't scary, try angering Autumn back in middle school! They're the one who gets scary when being protective!" MC stated back before looking to Cove with a smile. "Sorry, Autumn is another one of our friends-" they had started before Baxter cut them off "You mean your partner~?" he teased, making MC flush pink. "Baxter! We're not together!" they sputtered out quickly before clearing their throat to contiue. "He's another one of our friends, from Golden Grove. We all grew up together, similar to you and Jamie I assume?" they offer him an easy in to the conversation. "Oh- yeah. Me and Jamie met when I first moved here, they were the first friend I made here in Sunset Bird." He replied with a thankful smile, before the conversation continued peacefully as the three cleaned. Chatting about how they met their friends, memories, and getting to know each other as the day passes slowly. Although it'd be temporary for one of them- this was the start of a beautiful summer blossom friendship.

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 1,192

▀▄▀▄▀▄Their Warm Embrace▄▀▄▀▄▀ (𝚏𝚎𝚖!𝙼𝙲)

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝙸𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚍: 𝚀𝚒𝚞/𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚗 𝙻𝚒𝚗 𝚃𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙱𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚗 𝙾𝚙𝚊𝚕 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝙲 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 (𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙾𝙻:𝙽&𝙵)

𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝:

Step 2, as the request says- so the main trio are all 14! I'm also going to take the insecurity part a bit further- so warning for that.

(𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗)

The sun was beaming down on the town of Golden Grove, most would see this as good- but for one girl in particular, it felt like irony. She was best friends with some of the prettiest people in Golden Grove, at least in her opinion- and yet as the sun shone brightly on the small town she felt...out of place. MC Second, that's the girl silently suffering from her own thoughts on herself- hiding behind a carefully crafted smile that's been almost perfected through her most recent years of life. Middle school was rough, it's when everyone started to develop physically and everything started to change from a happy, colorful, childhood day dream to a dusty gray, worrisome, life hazard. But like I said before- she had almost perfected that sunny sweet smile. Almost. Most people wouldn't be able to see past the blinding light of that smile, those who knew MC best- people such as Tamarack, Qiu, and her mother could see something was wrong. The three were worried for her, after all- even when asked she'd avoid the question and give them that sickeningly sweet smile, her own mask.

It had been around a week since MC had taken time to hang out with her friends outside of walking to and from school back to their homes in the cul-de-sac, or lunch periods- which they've even noticed she had been eating far less then usual, it only made them worry more. Autumn was the first to bring it up without MC around to her mom, seeing if she knew what was making their friend act so differently. Sadly, it was a dead end from her as well- Opal's work had been more demanding lately, resulting in her coming home late into the night.

When he had discussed it briefly with Tamarack, hoping he'd get something from her- but she also knew nothing due to being busy with strings practice. Soon they knew they'd have to take the initive and confront MC personally, and that's where we stand now. Autumn standing right outside his best friend's, and crush's, door- waiting for an answer after knocking.

(𝚀𝚒𝚞'𝚜 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎)

When I received no answer, my worry grew ten-fold. MC wasn't the type to not answer the door, hell they used to rush excitedly to open it- the memory made my cheeks warm slightly but I shook it off quickly. Now was not the time. "Luckily I know where the spare key is kept." I muttered to myself, quickly grabbing it- unlocking and opening the door as quietly as possible. I carefully closed the door behind me, being as quiet as possible as I slowly searched the house for MC. Once the first floor was cleared I headed for the stairs, before hearing a loud thump of something hitting the wall before clattering to the floor. I quickly rushed up to her room, hearing soft crying on the otherside of the door- cautiously I entered the room. The sight broke my heart. Seeing MC balled up in the smallest corner of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest and crying into herself- her room was a mess, old photos from before she moved torn to shreds and her phone on the ground. The screen was shattered, it must have been what hit the wall.

"MC? Hey- sorry for barging in, but... what's wrong?" I ask softly, taking off my blue plaid jacket- putting it on the floor as I slowly approached the bed, her gaze snapping up to meet mine. Her eyes were wide, red and puffy- she had been crying for awhile that much was obvious. "Q-Qiu! Oh- uh-" she said, wiping harshly at her eyes- trying to hide the evidence despite being caught. "I'm fine! Just...saw a sad ad for an animal shelter! Yeah..." she lied through her teeth, avoiding eye contact as I sat on the edge of her bed carefully.

"We both know that's not true. MC...what's really wrong? You've been acting strangly for awhile, but this last week- you've been so closed off from both me and Tamarack. Did we do something wrong, or did someone say something to you?" I asked, ready to track down whoever would dare to hurt my MC- er my best friend. Yeah. Best friend. Her eyes widened drastically before she jumped forward towards me a bit, quickly shutting down one thing I had said. "No! No. You and Tama did nothing wrong I swear- I just...." she cut herself off with a sigh, visibly deflating.

Carefully I reached out, gently grabbing her forearm- rubbing small circles into the skin. She offered me a small smile in return- forced but genuine. "Lately I've been feeling...insecure? I think that's the word for it- but it's not just insecure y'know? Everything seems to be so dull now, I just- I feel so out of place. I mean- it's like I'm on auto pilot, my mind is so foggy..." she explained, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes again. "Foggy?" I asked softly, slowly pulling her closer to me to wrap her in a small hug.

She nodded and leaned into my chest gently- she appeared fragile, ready to shatter at the slightest gust of wind from the wrong direction. "Like I'm viewing myself from outside of my body...I don't know it's hard to explain." she said softly as I gently fiddled with her hair, hoping it'd help her calm down a bit. "I get it, thank you for telling me- but why'd you hide this from me, Leafy, and your mom?" I asked carefully, noticing she stiffened slightly.

"I didn't want to be a burden..." she said softly- had we not been this close, which totally wasn't making my heart pound, I wouldn't of heard her at all. I wasn't going to have that- nobody, not even her, could speak that way about my best friend. "Now you listen here and you listen good, okay? You will never be a burden to any of us MC. You're important to all of us. You're the sturdy bridge that holds me and Tamarack together, and you hold me together as well. Always keeping an eye out for others yet never keeping one out for yourself. You are one of the kindest, beautiful, and self-less people I know MC." I said quickly without thinking, making eye contact with her to ensure she was listening- making sure she knew I meant it to the ends of the earth.

Her cheeks seemed to brighten in a pink hue, eyes fluttering as she stammered for words. I give her a soft smile, pulling her into a proper hug. "You mean the world to me MC. Never let yourself forget that, but if you do? I'll just keep reminding you, over and over again." I whispered softly, holding her tightly to my chest so she couldn't see how red my face or ears had gotten. Though I doubt she didn't hear my heart racing.

She started to shake and shiver before the damn in her eyes finally burst, crying into my sweater- sobs coming from her as she finally let it all out. Softly I smiled, glad to see she was letting it out now- no longer hiding behind that sticky sweet smile she wore so well as I gently traced shapes into the back of her shirt.

"And about those insecurities of yours? I'm going to show you that those kinds of thoughts are so incorrect that they defy all known logic." I say softly, but trying to make her laugh even just a bit- I was successful as she giggled lightly through her choked sobs.

"Oh yeah? How exactly are you gonna do that Autumn?" she asked, looking up from my chest with a smug smile- cheeks still damp from tears. "Well- what are you insecure about?" I ask returning the smug smile full force as my heart fluttered at the use of my nickname. She took a moment before looking down at herself, puffing her lips out a bit with a pout. "My looks mainly...I mean- you and Tama are so pretty and then there's just me. Average MC." she degraded herself- pinching and pulling at her skin. I grab her hand to stop her from contiuing to do so.

"Average?" I started with a chuckle, deciding to focus on being called pretty by my crush later. "MC you are far better than average! You may not see it but I do. Your eyes are so gentle yet whenever you are standing up for Tamarack or settling an arguement- the look of determination gives them this shine I swear the stars wish they could replicate it. And don't get me started on your hair! It's always so pretty! Even when it's a mess because of the humidity of spring or tangled because you just woke up- even then it's so soft and compliments your complextion as well as your stunning eyes!" I rambled, letting out every single detail I've noticed about them- it was natural.

(𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗)

Qiu continued to go down the list- naming the smallest things about MC and explaining why every part of them was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. They didn't even notice how long they'd been rambling until they heard a small embarassed whimper come from the very female he was praising for earnestly. That's when he saw just how red her face was and their's quickly began to glow an even brighter red. Both incredibly flustered for what Qiu had so shamelessly spewed on about- as if MC was a hyperfixation he just couldn't look away from.

From outside the door, Opal stood and watched the two fumble about- embarassed. She smiled softly, glad that her daughter was feeling better with Autumn's help- and proud of the selection of friends MC had made four years ago when they first moved here. Quietly she retreated to the kitchen, deciding to make something sweet both teens would enjoy to snack on after such an emotionally taxing day.

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 1,678

Hello my lovely readers I apologize but I will not be able to keep up with my consistent posting like how I was doing in the beginning. I have fallen ill- so I need to beat the shit outta this before I can return to writing daily. Sorry again, but I have some one-shot ideas in my drafts that I'll work on soon I promise. Love ya'll, mwah <3 /p

I have this funny idea of my head of this meme

The meme is called "Love Revolution meme"

Hey I saw the one shot u did and now I want one. May I request a one shot of step 3 of OL: BA where the female MC and Cove get into an argument over Baxter, with Cove disliking Bax but MC saying Cove disliking Bax is childish. Cove runs to the field and MC finds him there and they make up (and maybe kiss 👀)

Aww I remember replying to you in the notes! I'll get to work on this request now, so it should be done sometime before 6:30am EST- that said keep an eye out for it! For others seeing this, since this is the third fem!MC request please know I can also write for masc!MC and gn!MC- it's not limited to just feminine readers I promise, just a common theme with the requests! Thank you for your time and I'll get this request started asap! :D