𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍

"why  am  i  not  surprised  it's  pink?"  a  grin  displayed  and  his  head  shook  just  a  little.  "ok  but  does  it  actually  work?  how  tiny  is  the  screen?  if  i  remember  those  combos  had  screens  no  bigger  than  laptops."  he  needed  to  know  so  if  there  was  a  chance  any  of  these  were  feasible  to  watch.

This was a coincidence, completely and totally. Even if Elaine had been lingering and staring, it wasn't like she'd followed him into the store. One minute she was flipping through Bob Dylan albums, and then in the next she'd glanced up to spot a face that she'd only ever seen in photos, but somehow knew deep in her bones. Simple as that. Perhaps it was some sort of divine intervention (fate, her mind echoed distantly)... or just the allure of Bigfoot's yearly sale. Either way, she knew better than to ignore a sign from above.

Slow and steady, Elaine made her stealthy approach. She aimed for nonchalant as she meandered down the same aisle as Lucas, picking at a bin here and a bin there, finally pausing when she was just a few feet away. Sliding a vinyl from the stack, she examined it for a moment before angling it towards the other while asking, "Ever listen to this one?" Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska -- an album she'd heard plenty, but now wondered if his dad had ever played it after she left.

the  sale  hadn't  drawn  luke  into  the  store.  mostly  his  presence  and  meandering  about  the  records  was  to  kill  some  time.  his  late  father  had  passed  on  his  appreciation  for  vinyl  and  since  the  wheelman  had  settled  in  cascade  he'd  purchased  a  player  and  had  a  small  collection  going.  so  far  his  browsing  had  only  produced  a  mobb  deep  record  held  in  one  hand  while  his  other  flipped  through  the  sleeves  on  the  shelf.

with  his  heightened  awareness  luke  sensed  the  nearing  proximity  of  the  woman  without  looking  her  way.  the  energy  felt  weird.  in  a  way  that'd  caused  for  him  to  shift  his  weight  but  he'd  kept  minding  his  business  until  she  was  close  enough  for  conversation  and  spoke  up  to  him.  with  a  turn  he  looked  down  at  the  record  held  out  and  his  lips  pursed  momentarily.  "nah,"  head  shook,  "but  i'm  pretty  sure  my  dad  had  that  record."  his  old  man  had  been  big  into  springsteen,  had  a  collection  of  his  music,  yet  luke  couldn't  recall  him  listening  to  any  of  them.  maybe  that  was  where  his  own  aversion  came  from.  his  eyes  moved  over  the  woman  and  there  was  a  strange  sense  of  familiarity.  "rather  than  play  that  record  though  he  spun  this  a  lot  more..."  pulling  a  record  he  turned  the  cover  of  steelheart's  she's  gone.

One last job, one last IOU for 'Tom'. Though Tom every couple years reared their ugly influence that Micah was supposed to be well out of years ago. Just when she let the Toms slip her mind, here she was. A random house party in Mercury Flats where no room wasn't flooded with a blurry filter of smoke, bodies everywhere, sweat and a mix of liquor in the corner reminding her of a frat house. She was meant to blend in— which, if it wasn't for the backpack with her own high schools emblem on it, she maybe could've. (Could've sworn it was supposed to be a duffel with a flower power stitch for her ride to recognize — guess not) She had bigger hopes now no one would notice her at all, now with a classic turned up to eleven, "Jesus christ, it's hotter than a whore in church in here," Also the case, fanning herself, patting her sweaty shoulders, letting the bag fall to her feet. Languidly lounging, she thought it could be him. . . "Did you leave the oven running in Narnia?"

despite  the  distance  luke  tried  to  keep  with  anything  resembling  pertaining  to  the  life  he'd  been  on  the  run  from  for  years  he  somehow  found  himself  sitting  on  a  couch  at  a  shit  house  party.  at  least  the  music  was  good.  his  head  bobbed  as  he  tried  to  look  casual  as  possible.  as  though  he  belonged,  just  one  of  the  crowd,  and  not  someone's  getaway.  all  he  could  hope,  or  maybe  not  if  he  wanted  some  blood  pumping  action,  was  that  they'd  walk  out  chill  rather  than  run.

this  is  what  he  did  and  what  he  was  good  at.  driving  like  he  belonged  in  a  fast  and  furious  movie.  each  time  he  did  it  though  it  could  call  attention  from  the  people  he  needed  to  stay  hidden  from.  just  when  he  began  to  think  his  subject  wasn't  going  to  show  some  chick  sat  beside  him.  his  eyes  dropped  to  the  bag  she  let  fall  to  the  floor  between  her  feet  and  noted  that  she  was  a  bit  old  for  a  high  school  backpack.

"I'm putting my money on Mercedes. Antonelli has been nothing but magic this season." She'd been to a few F1 races over the course of the last few years—perks of having a friend date someone who is invested in one of the teams. The conversation had come up at the party, and she couldn't get past the diehards of certain drivers. All she could do was roll her eyes as they fantasized about their inconceivable bromance before locking eyes with Lucas. "What about you? Mechanic perspective, or do you not dabble outside of your shop?"

"by  shop  you  mean  driveway?"  a  grin  easily  formed.  "thanks  for  the  glow  up."  luke  worked  out  of  his  home  garage  and  driveway.  which  was  why  he  took  one,  maybe  two,  clients  at  a  time.  his  eyes  moved  to  the  others  standing  around,  gauging  reactions  and  clocking  body  language.  there  was  no  blaming  passionate  fans  but  he  was  curious  whose  feathers  ellie  was  trying  to  ruffle.

"Just the worst movie. Like, have you heard of an animated movie from 2002 named Alibaba? It's an incredible feat of animation," she said, voice thick with sarcasm. "Was it The Happening? That one's soooo bad. But I enjoy a lot of M. Night stuff. You just have to be in the right mood for it. Helps if you're not sober also. I had a great time seeing Old."

"oh  shit."  surprised  by  the  fact  and  the  brutality  of  it,  luke  couldn't  say  he'd  disagree  with  it.  "people  really  laughed  at  that  like  it  was  a  joke?"  despite  that  he  realized  he  now  knew  someone  that  had  interesting  insights  along  with  the  film  industry.  something  he'd  always  been  a  bit  nerdy  about  himself.

"never  heard  of  it  but  now  i  think  i've  gotta  see  it  just  to  know."  sometimes  he  had  too  much  time  to  kill  and  boredom  could  wreak  havoc  on  his  psyche.  "i've  gotta  confess  i'm  not  into  animation  much  so  that's  probably  why."  it  was  also  difficult  sometimes  to  catch  things  when  you  lived  minimally  with  a  life  on  the  run.

Nilay wasn't entirely sure how long they'd been here. Nur's grandparents had her for the week and went down south to Disneyland, and the furbabies were taken care of before they left hours ago. Aside from ordering drinks and some food, they hadn't interacted with anyone since they entered. Home felt suffocating. Talking with people felt suffocating. The random drinks didn't help either, but if they remained sober any longer, they would combust. Yet even in their inebriated state, they couldn't stop staring at the same web pages on their phone's browser. They couldn't stop the same train of thought that kept returning to them. There was a position available at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and they were interested in giving Nilay the position.

They repeatedly looked through the GEM's website. They repeatedly looked through Cairo's rental properties. Their thumb kept hovering over WhatsApp as the urge to text their Egypt contacts coursed through them. The urge to run back to their home was tempting, tantalizing. Everything has fallen apart and Nilay was crumbling. There were many reasons to take the offer; the same way there were many to stay.

They had been ignoring their neighbour for awhile, not listening to him mindlessly drone on as he tried to hit them up. Barely any sounds of acknowledgment left the professor, eyes locked on their screen and drinks flooding their system. Finally, the fly-like buzzing of his droning became irritating. "I need to go," they interrupted, annoyance as he tried to take it as a sign and offered to give them a ride. "No, I'm good," they quipped, carefully getting out of their stool. Their eyes rolled as he continued on, slapping down a hundred dollar bill to cover their tab before looking at him. "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, do you ever shut up? I'm. Not. Interested!"

Something snapped in the man, yet they didn't realize it until he grabbed their wrist as they began to move. "For fuck's sake, I said 'no'—" They gasped sharply as a shot of pain coursed up their arm. Nilay sobered up immediately and stared him straight in his eyes. This wasn't their first time rejecting someone, yet they froze. Their heart pounding in fear as rage stared back at them. With how long they spent not interacting with anyone, they weren't sure if anyone had noticed them and the man. If anyone was looking their way and realized the situation had gone far south. And while they normally wouldn't have been afraid to chuck the remainder of their drink in his face, kick him in the shin, and knee him in the groin, they couldn't move suddenly. "L-Let me go," they finally whispered out. Whimpering as the grip tightened and nails dug into their skin. "Please... Let go of me, please."

🏛️𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: nilay öztürk & open to two [ 0/2 ] ( @cascadestarters )

🏺𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: any bar of player's choosing

the  man  had  an  uncanny  talent  for  minding  his  own  business,  keeping  to  himself,  while  also  having  a  heightened  sense  of  his  surroundings.  every  place  he  walked  into  luke  scanned  his  surroundings,  always  aware  of  any  possible  goon  lingering  and  laying  in  wait  in  any  dark  corner.

when  the  commotion  started  he'd  been  nursing  a  beer  straight  from  the  bottle  while  his  eyes  were  practically  glued  to  the  mounted  tv  screen.  luke  wasn't  even  into  baseball  all  that  much  but  for  the  time  being  it's  ensnared  his  attention.  well,  until  a  woman's  word  shot  straight  through  him  and  perked  his  ears  while  straightening  his  spine  in  the  booth  he'd  been  lounging  in.  'i  said  no'.

immediately  his  hazel  eyes  found  the  tall  brunette  woman  and  the  man  grasped  onto  her.  there  was  half  a  second  he  gave  to  the  fella  to  respond,  to  come  to  his  senses  and  apologize,  pull  back.  when  he  didn't  recoil  as  he  should,  luke  was  out  of  his  seat  and  making  swift  but  easy  movement  to  the  commotion.  he  preferred  to  lay  low,  always,  just  not  when  something  like  this  happened  around  him.

a  large  hand  attached  to  a  muscled  arm  settled  onto  the  accoster's  chest,  back  by  a  powerful  and  strong  body  that  was  well  versed  in  fight.  "no  means  no,  and  she's  told  you  to  let  her  go  more  than  once.  you've  got  three  seconds  before  i  break  your  jaw."  despite  the  warning,  luke's  strength  was  already  pushing  against  the  aggressor.  the  guy  let  her  go  but  didn't  back  away  instantly  and  retreat  with  apologies,  and  that  raised  luke's  brow.

with  an  unwavering  gaze  he  straightened  up  a  little  more,  feeling  the  impending  challenge  as  the  other  man  considered  it.  shoulder's  squared,  and  his  athletic  6'2''  build  imposing.  then  luke  saw  it  click,  the  other  realizing  this  was  not  a  fight  he  wanted  and  his  hands  went  up  in  a  white  flag  gesture.  "yeah,  you're  not  just  gonna  go  hang  out  further  down  the  bar.  leave  or  i'll  throw  you  out."

the  moment  she  said  'give  me  a  moment'  he  trusted  her  completely.  something  in  the  way  she'd  held  herself  and  the  confidence  in  her  response  comforted  luke.  the  whole  time  he'd  been  there  so  far  he'd  felt  out  of  place,  this  was  far  from  his  element,  though  he  supposed  that  was  the  idea  of  mingling  and  trying  new  things.  "oh,  nah,  i  don't  need  anything  vegan.  no  offense  or  anything  i  just  like  whatever  i'm  having  to  be  pure  and  unmodified."  he'd  seen  vegan  steaks  and  whatnot  and  they  were  almost  uncomfortable  for  him  to  look  at.  "that  all  sounds  great.  everything  you  have  to  pair  with  your  wines.  i've  gotta  be  honest  though...  as  i'm  sure  you've  already  discerned,  i'm  not  really  versed  in  wines.  at  all.  i  don't  hate  it  or  anything,  it's  tasted  fine  whenever  i've  had  a  sip,  it's  just  never  been  my  go-to."  he  wanted  to  ask  more,  but  he  had  a  feeling  she  needed  to  be  busy  with  everyone  rather  than  babysit  him  through  this  experience.  "so,  where  i  can  find  that  stuff?  is  there  a  buffet  table  i  haven't  seen  yet?"

as  she  said  it  his  eyes  began  scanning  around  the  crowd  like  a  typical  large  and  hungry  man  for  those  appetizers  floating  about.  "i'm  here  for  the  experience."  a  grin  was  beamed  at  her.  "i'm  used  to  bars  and  beers  and  liquor  and  pub  food.  i'm  also  an  independent  mechanic  so  i  thought  mingling  wouldn't  hurt.  people  network  at  these  things  don't  they?"  his  eyes  moved  over  her  face,  noting  how  pretty  she  was  and  how  posh  and  polished  she  seemed.  basically  someone  he  likely  wouldn't  meet  outside  of  circumstances  like  this.

"i  know  it's  a  real  film,"  he  was  quick  to  say  and  then  paused  as  a  thought  snagged  him,  "hopefully  not  based  on  a  true  story..."  if  it  had  been  then  luke  definitely  had  missed  that  and  truthfully  was  probably  better  for  it.

"you  read  my  aura?"  brow  raised,  slight  skepticism  rested  on  his  expression  as  his  gaze  narrowed.  his  hand  did  the  motions  of  accepting  the  transfer  of  the  edward  cullen  cutout,  but  luke  wasn't  exactly  paying  attention  to  it  yet.  "without  my  permission?"  the  slightest  bit  of  amusement  was  then  readable  in  his  features.

while céleste might've only picked up remnants of what her parents had pictured when they first concocted the idea of onyx vines, she knew enough to be certain that this was more than they'd imagined. the place bustling with guests, a live jazz band filling the air with music, the sweet scent of almost ready for picking grapes scenting the air. it wasn't an earned pride for her yet - she had to put her own mark on the place and céleste knew she hadn't yet had enough time to do that yet, but with people touring the vineyard and enjoying a summer day - it was hard not to be in good spirits. "did you come for a tasting?" a smile beams on her lips, approaching the newest arrival with a warm confidence. "i know it's national wine and cheese day - but we do have alternative options too, if you're interested in those. or there's a game of croquet about to start. but don't ask me for the rules - sadly the most i can do on that front is point you in the right direction." truly, they'd gone above and beyond this go around, and while she'd helped here and there as much as she could when she was younger, it was all the more rewarding to do it now that she fully understood her parent's love.

wine  tasting  wasn't  luke's  thing.  he  wasn't  even  sure  he  liked  wine.  it  was  something  to  do,  though,  and  he  definitely  appreciated  cheese.  so  he  moseyed  around  and  recognized  a  few  people  he'd  fixed  car  issues  for.  also  dodged  a  few  trying  to  offer  little  tastes  of  their  labor  from  the  vines.  it  was  a  nice  day  so  he  couldn't  complain,  except  that  he'd  yet  to  find  the  cheese.

"of  the  cheese?  yeah..."  a  lopsided  smile  formed  as  he  peered  at  the  woman  that'd  approached.  "i've  yet  to  come  across  any  though  so  i'm  starting  to  feel  a  bit  bamboozled  on  coming  here."  nothing  more  than  a  tease  really,  there  were  worse  ways  to  spend  a  day.  "alternative  options?"  brow  quirked  at  that,  luke  encouraged  her  to  elaborate.

Hands in pockets, Rhiannon admires the old, decrepit and abandoned house like one would a piece of fine art in a museum or vintage uranium glass in an antiques shop (she adores uranium glass). "You know, they say he experimented on people. The good doctor," she says, looking their way. "By people I mean women, of course. Personally, I'd have experimented on men and women. Equal opportunity torture. Human Centipede style. " She takes a beat for that declaration to sink in, then adds, as casually as ever: "I don't believe in any of that, though. FYI."

mild  curiosity  turned  to  concern  as  he  stood  there.  first  taking  in  the  information  as  he  looked  at  the  house,  wondering  what  the  big  deal  was,  then  somehow  ending  up  with  human  centipede  stuck  in  his  head.  that  was  imagery  that  was  hard  to  erase.

"in  what...  the  experiments  or  the  human  centipede?"  slight  bewilderment  looked  her  way,  hoping  she'd  say  both.