Ivy and Ellie

Sunday, December 14, 2025

OC RP Han

"Are you sure you're not missing something?" Ezra was being pesky lately. He came over anytime he wanted and ate all the fudge his mom was sending him.

"What are you getting at?" Han was trying to tidy up. Delia might drop in, and he wanted the place to look inviting and not too much like a gym locker.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Han looked back at him while he was trying to see if he could get the dishes rinsed still in the stale, cold, and gray water of the sink. Maybe they were clean enough after all this soaking. "Did I leave something behind?" He couldn't think of anything but stinky socks, and Ezra could keep those.

"Nothing. Forget I even asked," he mumbled with a piece of fudge in his mouth. He mentioned something about Christmas shopping, but he never had time to go.

"You could come with Delia and me?" Han shrugged after the good rinsing of two black plates and silverware that he was certain Delia gave him.

"It would be intruding." Ezra's face said it all.

"Come on, now. You know, you wouldn't." Han sighed. Damn if Ezra couldn't deflatten any happy thought he might have about being with Delia.

"No, thank you. I don't even care about Christmas, anyway." Still, he popped another square of chocolate in his mouth to savor.

"Do you want Delia to find you a date?" Han didn't know what else to say.

"No, thank you."

"Can you shut up about the No Thank Yous?" It just made his dry lips crack a little more, making Han bitter. He might be getting a fever blister. He touched it, then hoped Delia didn't find out. It would be pure agony if she doctored it. God knows, she was giving him raw lips from all the kissing.

Ezra gave him a go to hell look. They were just as much friends as they were enemies. Why was it always like that?

Sure, he'd been a pest and a smoocher to Ezra, but now the tables were turned. Han didn't like it.

"I'm not here to mess with your love life."

It seemed to Han that his down-and-out Ezra was becoming a little imp.

"Would you mind vacuuming for me?" Han knew he needed to get that done pronto. Delia would surely notice.

"No, thank you," Ezra said on his way out.

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

OC RP - Ezra

Ezra was trying not to be hopeless. Yes, he showed up at the Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving that Frankie hosted for the tenants. He was happy to know someone like her, and Fiona's Matty was pretty sensible too. They were there for him. And he guessed Nav was, too, but Ezra was going solo these days especially around his best friend Han and Delia.

Yes, he knew he could have been with Delia so easily. But even now, he scoffed at the idea. Those two belonged together, evidently. It was like the tables were turned. It was so goddamn annoying. Ezra couldn't help but scowl at the thought of those two together doing nerdy things, no doubt.

And here he was all alone in his little apartment. It felt so cold, and he dreaded the thought of Christmas. But then one day, when he got home from work, he found this large box in front of his apartment door. His name was on it. But still?

It baffled him. He thought something like this would be at the office, but it wasn't. Just a big box addressed to him. He couldn't imagine who the giver might be, but he scooted the box in quick enough, thinking what if. What if someone stole it?

Of course, he wouldn't know about it. He put on his kettle for some peppermint tea and toasted a bagel while he scrambled himself some eggs and ate them right out of the pan. It wasn't exactly gourmet, but efficient. He knew something was missing. He looked in the fridge and found the cheese. He'd have to shred it, and he didn't have a shredder, which would mean going to Fiona's, and he was too tired for that.

He looked back at the box as he ate scoops of soupy eggs (just the way he liked them) and finished his toast. Ezra stared back at the box. He couldn't imagine it being very important, as it stood there. His luck, some antiques his grandmother left him.

He yawned as he got to his mint tea. It was still not quite the peppermint he was expecting, so after one more look at the box, he went to take a shower.

Finally, he felt refreshed and pulled on his favorite sweat pants and hoodie and finally got back to his tea. He sat for a while, hoping he would doze off. He almost did. It was true, this was hibernating weather. And there was snow. Even strangers. But he'd managed to get back on his e-bike. The streets weren't bad, and he wore goggles and a helmet to keep out of the cold. Yes, it would pass, but it felt like that would be next year.

He really did feel like nodding off on this very short day, but he looked up to stare at the box and sighed.

"Let's see what's in this thing." He went to get a little knife from the kitchen drawer. Of course, he had to turn the box where he sliced through the taped opening. This led to a crazy amount of bubble wrap, and underneath something in plastic looked to be trapped, as if under a lake of plastic.

He thought he could make out hands. Ezra snarled a grimace. "What the fuck?"

Ezra tilted his head to one side, then the other. It gave him a shiver. What if it were a body? Somebody had sent him a body.

Immediately, he got up and went to find his phone on the kitchen counter. He thought of calling 911, but they might ask him questions he didn't even want to think about. After all, it was in a box. It came to him in a box.

He licked his dry upper lip and went back to the plastic and edged the knife down the sides, hoping not to cut anything important. When he pulled back the tight plastic, whatever it was pranced out like a wobbly little Bambi.

Ezra took in a deep breath as if he might scream, but he didn't. His heartbeat sped up a notch as he stared at this thing, but there was something magical, too. He cracked up in laughter.

It was a life-size doll with two blue braids and possibly an anime face, but not entirely. Of course, she was giving him a "What's so funny look."

Still, a part of him was a little frightened and entirely wide awake now.

Monday, December 8, 2025

5 Sentence Story!

Snow. Fireplace. Gloves

Wren didn't think much about it when it began to snow while she was out on her walk. But the temperature was falling, and her fingers began to become numb from the cold. Why hadn't she thought about gloves on this cold December day? After all, she was just in her favorite hoodie, but she knew her best friend Dylan was close. Thankfully, the fireplace was glowing with warmth when she arrived.