DS STARTERS.

TIME: MID-NOON ON A SUNDAY

STATUS: OPEN STARTER | @devinstonestarters​

     Whenever Nate had the rare day off from the vet clinic, he could be found in a number of places whether it be at the local bar playing a gig with his band or on a run with his husky in tow. On this particular day, however, he was wandering along the aisles of the animal shelter, mooning over the pups who had their furry tails wagging and tongues hanging out at the sight of their familiar visitor (it was fairly obvious that he came here often). He was content to hang out with his non-human, overly jumpy friends all day, but a voice snuck up on him from behind, asking if he was planning on taking one of these pups home with him. “Uh… I totally would if I didn’t already have one waiting for me at home. This is just what I like to do with my free time.” Turning his head around to face them, Nate mirrored the question back. “What about you? Any of these guys catch your eye?”

Evie was panicking. No, she was anxiety ridden with worry as she whistled and gently called for her pup to come back home. She did everything right, went through the proper steps the trainer had told her to follow, but still, Hepburn somehow got out the back gate, slipped through the cracks, like the tiny thing she is. With her phone and Hepburn’s pearl leash in hand, Evie ran out her front door in a disheveled looking outfit, something she would have never done if she was in the proper state of mind, and was on the brink of tears. Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, she thought, as her eyes darted from yard to yard, trying catch sight of her king charles cavalier pup.

 Evie had never been good under compromising situations, her mind would immediately go to the worst possible scenario, going through the many lists of ‘what ifs’. Her mother would scold her for it, and her father would tell her to grow up, which ultimately caused her to quiet her voice in more ways than one. Unable to run any further, she spotted someone stalling in their vehicle, and in desperation she approached their passenger side window, “Hi, excuse me. I’m so sorry, but have you seen a puppy running around here?” Evie questioned, realizing how weird this scenario was in reverse, “I swear I’m not psycho or anything.”

It was late, she was aware, but a quick walk through the woods was relaxing to her, it was calming - especially after the day she just had at work. She butted heads with one of the office administrators, who insisted she took their lunch, which she didn’t. Tess was notorious around the station for taking the last donut, stealing the last snack or making a cup of coffee without filling it back up. But she’d never take another person’s lunch - that was disrespectful, and she had more respect for food. 

Grasping her keys, she fit each key in between her fingers, making a more dangerous version of brass knuckles, in case anyone tried anything funny. And if that didn’t work, she always had her pepper spray. As she walked she thought about Hannah, how they often visited these woods together as kids, running through them and telling each other town folklore, which scared them half to death, they would end up running all the way back home. And when Tess heard footsteps behind her, she immediately thought she was going to have to make a run for it. She noticed a light  shine in her peripheral vision, so she turned around quickly. “I have fucking pepper spray!” She screamed, thinking how stupid it was of her to scream that out, being a detective, you’d think she’d be smarter than that. 

God, she hated new jobs. Her last waitressing job had been a fairly stable one - she’d been there for a good three years. But before that, she’d been hopping all over New York, and with each time she’d had to run a first shift somewhere, she’d hated it even more. It was always so chaotic, so tiresome, always feeling like you were messing up. Her feet hurt, her legs felt heavy, and she smelled of grease and burgers by the time she’d made it outside. And, even though she knew it was a bad habit, the cigarettes she kept in her purse for emergencies were just close enough within reach for her to get one out and light it up, dreading the walk to her car and the ten minute ride it would take to get back home. Or - well, to get to the house. It wasn’t a home yet, not by a long shot.

Then, as she looked out in the darkness, she sighed audibly when the first drag hit and exhaled slowly before she spoke. “My shift is done for the night. Whatever you need, ask someone inside.” She didn’t even bother looking at them, feeling the stare on her back was enough. “And yes - I know these will kill me. Don’t worry, we’ve got a bet going on,” she continued as she looked at the cigarette between index and middle finger. It had been weeks since she’d smoked. 

Who: Open @devinstonestarters​

Where: Anywhere

She worked six days a week. So the one day she had off was sacred to her. It was the day she could have entirely to herself. Usually she could be found perched somewhere sunny, coffee in hand or very close to her, and a sketchbook open. This day was different only in that she was on her way to some sunny patch of town, coffee in hand and bag slung over her shoulder. 

She tried not to worry about things, though most days that was impossible. This time, however, she decided that she wasn’t going to worry about a damn thing more than a perfect art piece today. She would worry about bills and then twelve missed calls from her mother later. That’s how she ended up dancing down the street, headphones in her ears as she hummed along. As she approached the corner she didn’t think to look, instead just doing some quick little step, and a spin. 

Eyes widening as she saw movement coming around the corner she tried to move out of the way, her ankle twisting and her entire body meeting the pavement, coffee flying out of her hand. All she could do was laugh and breathlessly speak. “Are you okay? I am so so sorry! That was all my fault.” 

              It wrought a sour end to the one who threw the first punch, no matter, acute aim allowing the wrongly assumed victim to sucker punch the other and scowl off, leaving Noemi; ever nosy to take charge. She couldn’t help the initial snicker that danced from her lips, hand outstretching in tandem to help the other from the ground, nose now scrunched in mock distaste.

              “You know, if you throw the first punch that usually means you should come out the winner too. You’re lucky I didn’t bet money.” A hairpin curve of a grin pulled at the mien, free hand reaching for napkins to blot the blood which now flowed from the other, “You know them?” A follow up inquiry, candid to her prying ways as she nodded towards the bundle of napkins, a silent request asking if she had the go ahead to care for their mild wounds, an uncharacteristic gesture for Noemi. 

WHEN:  4-5-2020 Sunday anytime

WHERE: Anywhere

Crossing her legs and slouching in her chair Summer gestured to the few people here and there going about their lives as if nothing or no one else existed. The fact that there were people in the world right now who she had never known and would likely never knew blew her mind. Then as if her mind was working against her she thought of her mother. How she was existing somewhere right now. Summer wasn’t sure where, or what she was up to - only that she hadn’t bothered to reach out to her in over ten years. Ten years gone and it still hurt. Clearing her throat Summer tilted her head towards them and with a disinterested sigh that betrayed the puttering of memories berating her heart she rolled her eyes, “Narcissism is real and fleeting. This statement was narcissistic because it valued how other people tend to make things about themselves, and not about me. So who’s selfish, me or them?”

When: Saturday morning

Who: Open | @devinstonestarters​

One of his favorite things about being a teacher was the fact that he was able to change someone’s life. Call it a bit dramatic, but Andrew felt like he was doing so much more to the world than any other hero out there. Every single kid he met in his ten years in the profession changed him in some way, and he liked to believe he managed to change something in their lives, too. If it was just the way they behaved, an honest smile he would get by doing a little thing that was important to them or just a warm, sincere hug at the end of the way, all of those things mattered to him and made it all worth it. Anyone that knew him would never think he would’ve made it. Back in the day he was as much of an idiot as much of the boys he saw walking down the corridors of the school, but somehow he changed, he grew and saw that there was some bigger picture in the end.

As they reached a new season, the school was getting ready for the final months until Summer knocked on their door and another circle ended, and with that, Andrew would find himself more busy than ever. He tried to get involved in many things as he could, helping out in the school plays being one of his favorite activities to do. He wasn’t all that talented in the end, but he managed to do some pretty good props when needed and all the fun that came with it, was worth it. 

Running late – as always – to get back to the school theater to help out with another set of decorations, Andrew stopped at the hardwood store to get a few supplements that were left, trying to load his car as fast as he could as he could while his phone didn’t stop ringing. “Jesus fucking Christ, can’t those fucking kids just chill?” He grumbled organizing things on his car trunk as fast as he could, realizing that he was probably obstructing the sidewalk with some of his packages. “Sorry, I’ll just get those.” He said to no one in particular as he saw a shadow on his peripheral vision.

“He– Hello? Hello? No, can-cel it.” Enunciating each syllable with force, Alex had one hand on his ear as he pressed his phone close to the other, trying to work through the bad connection. It was 2020, wasn’t there supposed to be cell service all over the world? “Yes, everything. The whole trip is cancelled.” As if bad reception wasn’t enough, he was fairly certain the woman on the other side of the line did not speak English well enough to be the recipient of the phone call. “Yes, I know it was. But it’s cancelled. The - hello? The wedding is off. We’re not coming. No, hello - no, there’s no honeymoon.” He couldn’t believe that of all things, the one thing he’d forgotten to cancel was his own honeymoon. Typical. “Yes. Cancelled. What? No - I know, no refund. That’s okay. I said - that’s okay. Yes. Just - can you just email me the invoice? E-mail. Invoice. The costs,” he said, trying to speak as clearly as he could, nodding along as if that would somehow help. “Yes. Thank you. I said – Thank you. Okay. Bye.” Then, exhausted as he put his phone away, he sighed audibly as he raised his eyebrows.

“Well, that’s fourteen thousand dollars down the drain.”

Something she hadn’t expected to happen, happened. Riva was not in any mood to be bothered but, given she was in a public place, and knowing her luck, she would probably run into someone she knew while she tried to remain inconspicuous. The blonde glared at her cell phone; an old flame, someone she hadn’t heard from in a long time had contacted her and sent her back some pictures he’d taken of her, as a ‘hey, remember this??’ and she just glared, praying to not be remembering anything or throwing back to anything with him. It was his communication after so long that reminded her she had been supposed to call him but, she’d been busy with other things. As the messages from him continued to rain through, her cell vibrated each time, she hissed at the guy (the device) hoping it would cease, “I wish you’d just fucking stop it!”

There wasn’t a lot of danger in Devinstone. There was danger of getting side-eyed by a rich blonde woman named Barbara, and there was always the looming danger of finding a single piece of litter on the side of the road - such horrors. It was easy to get bored here, which was something Felix was only just now realizing. Things had never really been boring while he was with… 

Well, anyway.

So now, here he was, swinging from a fire escape, and jumping onto a rooftop, sliding from there to the ground, all in the name of avoiding the barbed wire on the top of a locked gate. Some dangers had to be manufactured, these days. Desperate times. He preferred barbed wire to Barb the Boomer any day, anyway.

There was always some parkour involved in street art, he’d learned. The dangers in the city were more about guns than falling from heights, but as he slid off this rooftop, he realized this one might be scarier just now. He hadn’t anticipated missing the ground entirely, but here he was in a dumpster. A softer landing than the ground, maybe, but a much smellier one. He popped up from it only to find someone staring at him. They blinked. He blinked back.

“Lovely evening, isn’t it?” he smiled.

WITH: @devinstonestarters​

“Either her friends are as delusional as she is and thinks she can actually sing, or they just don’t have the heart to tell her she sounds like a dying cat.” Kit winced as he knocked back the last of his whiskey, but not at the sharp sting it left in his throat but rather at the increasingly terrible singing coming from the karaoke machine. A karaoke bar definitely wasn’t Kit’s first choice for a drink but he had agreed to meet an old high school friend there for a couple drinks. He had to be considerably drunk to ever sing in public, but his friend however had always been one for attention, even in high school so Kit had the easy job of knocking the drinks back while she belted out a song or two. “Another round, please.” Kit waved down the bartender before glancing down at the time on his phone. It was getting late, but… It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be. 

With: Anyone @devinstonestarters​

Sweat had long beaded his hairline, slipping down the sides of his face as he threw fist after fist at the punching bag. Being back in town only a few weeks, he wasn’t really sure how to go about reaching out to those he knew. For many of his years in the army, he wrote letters and kept in touch via social media when he had the chance. Logan came home on any holiday that he could and managed to get a little too drunk with his buddies that were in town around the same time. He and Megan came back together and she charmed her way through his family, through his friends. These thoughts bombarded him, forcing his fists to hit the punching bag harder and harder. When would the agony end? 

He was hoping for a quick recovery when in fact, spending ten years with the love of your life only to have her ripped away in attack was not going to render that. Barely three months had passed between the incident and now. He hadn’t thought it was getting easier. Perhaps worse. He was lost in the sound of his fists making contact with the bag. thud. thud. thud. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of a voice did he slow down. Logan wasn’t sure that the person was speaking to him or to someone near him, but it pulled him from this trance. “Sorry, what did you say?” Logan lifted his wrapped hand up to his face, wiping at the dripping sweat with the back of his hand.