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ChromedOutCortex

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  1. ChromedOutCortex
    The weeks blurred into summer, school fading into the background until all that really mattered was us. Not in some dramatic, all-consuming way, but in the quiet rhythms we built together, one day after the next. Most nights, we ended up at Sarah’s townhouse. Her schedule kept her out late more often than not, and Jamie’s place became ours by default. We’d stretch out on the sofa, some random movie flickering on the TV, but I barely followed the plot. My favorite part was always the weight
  2. ChromedOutCortex
    As she got closer to the shop, the anxiety and apprehension climbed in her chest. How could she test him? How could she find out what was really going on? There wasn’t a handbook for this kind of thing. She’d Googled it once, late last night after tossing and turning for hours “how to tell if your boyfriend is gay.” The results were ridiculous. Lists written by strangers: He compliments other men too much. He’s too clean. He doesn’t like watching sports. None of it sounded like Dean. He was
  3. ChromedOutCortex
    My partner and I were talking about food (my favorite topic) the other day and we got together and slammed this out (music by Suno - lyrics by me, and him). Fun little song all about ramyeon.
  4. ChromedOutCortex
    The next few days blurred together for Kris. He’d wake up early, make a quick breakfast, and catch the first bus to the hospital, thinking to himself to try and get used to it. The same route, the same faces, the same uneasy silence. He’d spend most of the day in his mom’s room, reading the same magazines, watching her sleep, or chatting softly whenever she was awake enough to hold a conversation. Between check-ins with the nurses, his phone was never far from reach. Each buzz made his puls
  5. ChromedOutCortex
    Sunday came and went without much change. Kris stayed by his mom’s bedside most of the day, speaking with the nurses and doctors whenever he could. They all said the same thing: her vitals were steady, the scans looked good, she just needed time. “Some people take a little longer to bounce back,” the doctor said kindly. He’d heard that before. Years ago, when his dad was in the same hospital bed, they’d said the same thing to his mom. He could still hear her whispering prayers at his f
  6. ChromedOutCortex
    As panic spread through him, Kris drove faster, trying to keep close to the speed limit. A ticket would only make things worse; they could barely afford gas as it was. The world outside blurred into streaks of color, the road stretching endlessly ahead. Twenty minutes later, he turned into their street, braking hard as gravel spat under the tires. He jumped out before the car had even settled, slammed the door shut, and sprinted toward the house. “Mom! Mom, where are you?” No answ
  7. ChromedOutCortex
    For the first time all day, I felt ready. Date night was tonight, and I couldn’t wait. I punched the address into the GPS and followed its directions through winding streets that grew quieter with every turn. The neighborhoods shifted subtly, lawns broader, hedges trimmed with precision, houses pulling back from the road as if to remind strangers they were guests here. By the time the SUV rolled to a stop, my chest felt tight. The house stood out even among the stately homes around it.
  8. ChromedOutCortex
    Found this on YT - great little 8min short!
  9. ChromedOutCortex
    Kris woke to the smell of toast and the low hum of the radio coming from the kitchen. For the first time all week, he hadn’t needed an alarm. The morning sun was already cutting through the blinds, thin bars of light striping his bedspread. His mom was home he could tell by the soft rhythm of her footsteps and the faint sound of her humming along with the music. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. The air in the room was cool, faintly dusty, carrying the smell of laundry detergent
  10. ChromedOutCortex
    After Leah left, Dean locked the front door, flicked off the neon OPEN sign, and pulled the blinds shut. Half of them were bent, the rest didn’t do much of anything. Just like this town, he thought. Broken, and nobody bothers to fix it. Satisfied, he headed back to the garage. “Hey, Randy, I’m heading out. You got the rest?” “Yeah, man. No problem. Been having a dry spell anyway,” Randy grinned. “Enjoy Leah.” “Yeah, sure,” Dean muttered, tossing his rag on the workbench and h
  11. ChromedOutCortex
    VERY SOON! 🤞💕
  12. ChromedOutCortex
    Sunday. I found Cindy in the hospital restaurant, at the tail end of her shift, hair thrown up, tea steaming. “Hey,” I started, sitting down at the table. “Is it… weird if I buy Jamie a gift? He gave me his blue hoodie and I, I don’t know the rules. First boyfriend rules. We went to the mall on Saturday, and went into a lot of stores. I don’t think he was hinting at anything, but I really want to buy him something.” Her mouth tipped into a smile. “There aren’t rules, there’s intention
  13. ChromedOutCortex
    Mad Tsai - finally premiered his music video for Bite.
  14. ChromedOutCortex
    That reminded me of Big Bang, Fantastic Baby (Jeez...that's an old song, 2012 !!!)
  15. ChromedOutCortex
    Kris woke earlier than usual, the first light of dawn sliding through the thin curtains. For a moment he lay still, listening to the quiet hum of the house. His mother’s room was down the hall; he could hear the faint whir of her fan and the occasional creak of the floorboards as she turned in bed. He sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and swung his legs over the edge of the mattress. The chill of the floor made him wince. Another long day. After showering, he dressed in his usual
  16. ChromedOutCortex
    New song from Hoji...
  17. ChromedOutCortex
    Damn! Thanks for the catch. ...and, it's fixed.
  18. ChromedOutCortex
    Kris got to the office, and like every other day, grabbed a coffee from the kitchen then punched in and went straight towards his station. The soft hum of fluorescent lights filled the open floor. He passed Ethan’s glass-walled office, where his manager sat scrolling through something on his monitor. Ethan looked up, caught Kris’s eye, and smiled. He lifted a hand and gave a small wave then motioned him inside. Kris hesitated, glancing behind him to see if Ethan meant someone else. But
  19. ChromedOutCortex
    “Mom, I’m home!” I called as I walked in the house. “About time! Jeez, I’ve been slaving over a stove since you left!” Jay shouted back, voice thick with fake suffering. He appeared from the kitchen with an onion in one hand and a knife in the other. Was he really cutting onions? Doubtful. “Hey, Jay,” Jamie called. “Oh hey, about time you brought him home. I’ve been losing my mind here,” Jay said, dramatic as ever. “Cut the drama. This is the first time I’ve left you to
  20. ChromedOutCortex
    Kris felt lucky to have the job. Lucky, that’s what everyone told him. The call centre had been hiring just as the recession hit, and fresh out of college, he needed a paycheck more than a dream. Tech support wasn’t what he’d studied for, but it paid the bills, barely. As long as he didn’t eat out and nothing unexpected came up they could meet bills every month. His mom said that he was the first in the family to finish college. That had meant something once. Now it just meant sitting
  21. ChromedOutCortex
    Honestly - I'm trying so hard not to make 'em dark. This one ends... 😉
  22. ChromedOutCortex
    Dean was always the first one at the shop. Always. He was just an employee here, but Terry liked his “boys” in by eight, even though the man himself rarely showed before nine, sometimes later. In high school, Dean had dreamed big. He wanted to work on race cars, maybe even build one someday. But dreams didn’t pay rent, and this dying town didn’t have much use for them anyway. “Motherfucker!” The wrench clattered to the floor. A bright line of red opened across his knuckles. “
  23. ChromedOutCortex
    Thanks!
  24. ChromedOutCortex
    Hi - I'm working on a story, and am setting the future publish date on them but I made an error and need to change it for two chapters recently posted. How can I do that? Did I just miss something? Do I need to delete those chapters and just add them again?
  25. ChromedOutCortex
    Dean had always been good with his hands, fixing what other people broke, tightening bolts until they stopped rattling, keeping engines alive long after they should’ve died. Machines made sense to him. They didn’t talk back. They didn’t lie. They didn’t ask him to feel anything. He liked it that way. In the shop, the air was thick with oil and the smell of burnt rubber. The noise filled the space where thoughts tried to form. He could lose himself in the rhythm of it, wrench, turn, rep
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