tread softly--

Johnny had never been the type to look a gift horse in the mouth and he knew that the hospital did its best to keep up with the café there in-house. They tried to make sure that pastries were stocked and there was coffee available for visitors and staff alike. He just…wasn’t fond of it. Sure, it did the job when necessary and there was nowhere else to go, but if he had a break longer than ten minutes, he was going to run away. That’s just how it was. Today was really no different as he had snuck away to a coffee shop down the street. It wasn’t exactly the tops either, but at least it was better than what the hospital café served and he had been good. He deserved the treat.

So, after purchasing his hazelnut latte and a scone – because he deserved a treat – Johnny was feeling quite happy with himself, somewhat lost in his own little world until he saw a familiar face. It wasn’t that uncommon, not when you worked at a hospital and saw all sorts of people day in and day out, but he always acted as if it were some level of amazement when he ran into someone around Grimmbrook. Outside of his hospital staff buddies, his own siblings, and the childhood bonds from his youth, Johnny couldn’t say that he knew too many people well enough to consider them friends. Yet, still, whenever he ran into a familiar face, he did his best to put on his brightest smile.

“Hey! Stopping to get your caffeine fix too? You should grab a scone too, they smell great!”

Frankie was on her third cup of coffee, and probably shouldn’t be indulging in another, but she’d stayed up all night finishing the video editing for a piece Harriet needed today. She’d probably gotten a handful of hours of sleep before she’d had to been up and running, and following Gus around to all of his interviews that day. Needless to say she was running on fumes, and could use the picker upper.

Seeing Johnny there, getting his own cup of joe was a surprise, and Frankie sent him a grin and a wave, “Oh really? Do they have the strawberry ones? I love those!” Heading to the front of the counter, she quickly ordered her overly sugared drink, and a few different scones and then moved back to sit across from him. Inviting herself without a second thought. “So, how is your day? What are you up to? Did you see any weird medical marvels today that you can share with me?”

          “Oh no, you’re fine.” It wasn’t like she was carrying anything expensive or messy as Danielle reached down to pick up her backpack before she slung it back over her shoulder. Part of her was wondering why she’d come back the Chronicle in the first place ― Harriet wasn’t expecting her and it might have been a spare thought to see the other woman and wonder if they wanted to get a drink. Or maybe something to eat in hopes that it would appease some of the latent guilt that she continued to feel. 

At least it was only Frankie, easing her nervousness tenfold already as she gave the other a small smile. “What are you doing anyways? If you’re not careful, you’re going to back into traffic.” Her gaze flickered between the street that wasn’t too far behind them and back again. “There might not be another person to walk into and save you.”

“Dani!” Frankie’s eyes lit up as she caught sight of just who she’d run into, and instantly she moved to pull the other woman into a hug. It was quick and then over with as she remembered that she still hadn’t quite figured out just how much physical contact Dani liked from others. “What’re you doing here?” 

Glancing over Dani’s shoulder, she realized just how close she was to the edge of the street and grinned, “Hey, if I do back up into traffic, then it’s my own fault, right? And then I don’t have to worry about getting this picture for my deadline. Win-win!”

“Poppy. Poppy. Poppy. Poppy.” Frankie murmured under her breath as she tracked through the casino, searching for Poppy. Frankie didn’t really have a reason for being at the casino other than to bother the other woman, but she’d come under the pretense of working on an article. She’d bully Gus into writing something up to justify the pictures she planned on taking, but this way she had an excuse to see Poppy. And a possible excuse to keep from being kicked out of the casino altogether. There was a part of Frankie, that if she’d just taken a moment to think on it, she probably could’ve just texted the other woman, but--she’d woken up that morning needing to see that she was okay. And that all the weirdness in the town, as of late, hadn’t affected her. And as she caught sight of the familiar silhouette, she called out a bright, “Poppy!”

@frankiefitz​

She was out painting downtown. People were staying in more and more these days. It was nice to have so much space to paint. She liked painting outside where she could have more elements to inspire her. And there were always different people out, so there were always different views. She thought the mist was a good inspiration for her paintings, but she didn’t want to get too close without her siblings by her side. So she found herself painting just a general view of downtown.

Ruth bit her lip, her eyebrow furrowed, as she concentrated on her painting. Her hand moved with expert skills, and the brush glided across the canvas. She took a step back, to look at it in perspective. She scratched her cheek, smearing paint across her face. She saw someone walking her way, and she made the silhouette out to be Francesca. She smiled as she approached. “Hey, Frankie. All is well for you I hope? I’m sure you’ve been really busy with work.”

Frankie had been trying for the better part of an hour to get a good picture of the mist for the Chronicle, but not matter what she did the pictures never came out how she wanted. Either the mist was too obscured, or it looked like it wasn’t even there. She’d thought it’d be a good addition to the next news article, but it was already turning into a fruitless endeavor. Walking along, she hadn’t even realized anyone was out there right then till she heard Ruth’s voice. “Ruth?”

Perking up she crossed over to where Ruth was working, and tried to get a look at what she was painting, “Oh, as busy as a photographer for a small town newspaper can be.” Though she was much more interested in what she was waiting, “This looks beautiful! Did you paint this?” Frankie only realized how obvious that answer was, when she thought back on it and let out a soft snort, “I mean duh, of course you painted it, unless there’s an invisible person nearby that you stole it from.”

          “Yeah, no, it’s fine,” she muttered to herself when another person walked by and left her on the curbside with more boxes than she could haul up to her apartment than she could take in one go. Most was her equipment, having put it in storage when she first arrived but after closing on the lease to her seemingly new apartment ― Alana planned to put everything in there. What she hadn’t planned on was being left on the street with everything that she brought with her to the country without any additional help. “I’ve got this. I’ve got all of this.”

She let out a small huff before giving up trying to figure out how to move everything as she ended up sitting on one of the boxes instead with her face in her hands. From there she could at least stare at the people that passed her by, wondering once more how she’d ended up here as she glanced out to see the rising mist in the distance that closed in not long after her arrival. “This might be first place in the world that I’ve been that has mist like that, but sure ― this is normal.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Frankie started calling out her apologies from halfway down the block, hugging her camera bag to her chest as she power walked to where her new roommate was struggling with her things. Frankie had been taught better, you had to be kind and courteous to the people that were going to be forced to live with you for extended amounts of time. She’d intended to be there before Alana arrived, but Gus, as usual, delayed her getting out of work and she’d had to practically run the whole way here. “I’m so, so sorry!”

closed;

“Alright, if I win then you’re going to owe me…” Drake paused to look at the coffee cup in his hand. “Whatever you call this. For a month.” 

He still didn’t know what it was and it was already half done. It was definitely not coffee, which wasn’t really a bad thing and he had gotten the surprise he had asked for when she ( @frankiefitz​ ) had offered to grab them an afternoon snack. Drake half thought it might have also been an excuse to take more photos, but he couldn’t really blame her. From what he had seen of her work, she was damn good at it. At least in his opinion. He didn’t know much about photography outside of what Frankie told him. He could criticize as well as the average pedestrian.

Frankie’s eyes narrowed as she looked between the cup in Drake’s hand and his face, debating whether it was worth it to take that bet, but--ah, why not. “Deal.” Reaching across the small park bench they were sat upon, she held out her hand for their somewhat convoluted handshake that signified a new bet between the two of them. “You win, you get free boba for a month. And if I win, I get free boba for a month!” In Frankie’s eyes, it was a win-win. She loved boba, and either way she’d be getting it for a month, because if she was going to be buying it for Drake, she’d definitely be getting one for herself.

Nickname(s): Frankie 

Age: twenty-six

Gender: gender fluid (currently female presenting)

Sexuality: pansexual

Education: College,  NYU Tisch

Occupation: Photographer / Videographer at Grimm Chronicles

Hometown: New York City, moved to Grimmbrook 3 years ago