The universe was conspiring against her, or it seemed very, very like that. In the space of about thirty seconds Bernadette had lost both her target and accomplice. It was not so much that she minded in either case, but damnit she had had a plan for Brendan. Next time , waving as she felt Tyler's pa...

(I am so sorry everyone. :() Nose crinkled, Bernadette knew that Tyler could not have known that that sweetly meant gesture was the final piece that clicked every other scrap of mad-genius ideas that had haphazardly formed since she had seen that look across the room. From his grin though? Maybe he...

[Bernadette Thomas continued from Spare Tires ] The bristles of the still-rejected paintbrush came into contact with Tyler's nose, giving Bernadette a small moment of childish victory before letting him paint exactly the way he wanted to . It was still tempting to try one more time though, just bec...

The face that accompanied the polite reminder did not hold any immediate recognition, so Bernadette could only assume that the girl thought that by default of appearance that she was the most rational of the three sitting there talking about philosophy in a library. It probably had more to do with t...

Bernadette managed to bite her tongue at the insinuation that Tyler counted as an uptight model citizen - in some ways, he wasn't wrong – stemming her usual teasing in a bid to let an actual conversation take place between them all.  But she did wonder if one very intense look could convey all the i...

A chair moved off to the left, distracting Bernadette enough that whilst she was still listening to the conversation going on beside her, she had a moment to smile back at Alessio as he left the library. There was no reason not to be friendly after all, and he had been nice to enough to smile their ...

A few months ago she would have done everything to make sure that no one, least of all someone like Tyler, saw the moment that her green eyes tighten at the corners. Now, she added another more meaningful squeeze of their joined hands, and did her best to ignore the residual pain. "Just the usu...

[ Bernadette Thomas start!] Funny , Bernadette thought as she carefully put her bag down at the edge of the nearest bookshelf, that is exactly what I was thinking. Then without a second thought she dove forward, arms wrapping around Tyler's shoulders, squeezing lightly as if to say ‘not a threat' b...

Clarice and Cassandra both had very good points. Sunday was, as far as Bernadette was concerned, one of the best days going. Most people preferred Saturdays, filled with activity and crowds and things to do, but Sunday was ultimately superior to her despite its immediate connection to Monday. Then a...

Concealed from the concrete pathways by sight, tucked behind a bush that lined them – that was where Bernadette hid. No one bothered the girl curled up and completely immersed in the pages of the book in her hands.  A lovely interlude between walks despite the cold; a chance to really imagine the ch...

It felt right to have Tyler here when she needed support and companionship, but her parents, despite their inclination to give her some extra space, would react, well, like parents. It would probably be after her boyfriend had awkwardly shuffled his way out of the house too, escaping like she could ...

Just like that whatever had been holding her happiness at bay washed away, gone without a trace and leaving a smiling Bernadette in its wake. Not relief, nor surprise. Simple acceptance that what she thought they had had a name, and at the same time realising that none of this needed a label because...

The smiling did not stop at his question; it was pretty much all Bernadette could do to convey just how right he was, that this was. It was as she kept staring that she realised she wanted to kiss him again. Not to confirm anything, just because it was fun and joyous and an unbelievably perfect way ...

Her mother's quest to get her daughter into comic books had started somewhere between starting elementary, and moving onto middle school. For as long as Bernadette could remember she knew she had always been fascinated by the multitude of worlds that had existed in panels and spanned across decades ...

[Collaborated with Doc] Each little clink of thin metal on glass was one more flower free, and another pin added to the little pile on the coffee table just in front of the couch. It helped keep her hands busy, and if she had been at all tense it would have been a relaxing exercise. Right now, it w...