Call on Me

* ✶ —

cass took a moment to look at the sun. it wasn’t often that she could just sit down and enjoy the sunset, take a breather and calm down with company she enjoyed, people who could put a pause to the constant flashes and headaches. hunter was one of those people. bonus points for his cooking abilities, too, because they were literally a life-saver. “yeah, we only have an hour or so left, i’d say. d’you want to get home before dark, or…?” hey, it was still new york, after all. but hunter knew her couch was always available if he wanted to crash, and as far as she knew, zelda hadn’t invited anyone over tonight. “you’re a hero! i’m pretty sure zelda did groceries yesterday or so, we should have some good stuff.” at the very least some vegetables. “how are things at the restaurant? do you have a little chef in your hat yet?”

☆

Hunter usually tried to enjoy his time by himself when he had off from all of his jobs. He would make an exception for Cass, though. Most of the time they both just enjoyed sitting in silence and laughing about memes. “Nah, I mean...I still wanna eat. I don’t think I could make it home before dark without starving.”  He let out a dramatic sigh as he draped his arm over the side of the chair. “What are you thinking you want? I can try something new for you if you want or if you want to play it safe that’s fine too.” Hunter let out a laugh as he sat up a little straighter. “I mean not yet as far as I know. I think it comes with my next promotion!”

. ✧ . * . ˚  

       ❝  GOOD ,  BECAUSE I DON’T ENJOY  chasing after people .  it would make me feel extremely uncomfortable , ❞  a small chuckle escapes her lips ,  shoulders giving the lightest of shrugs .  while helena appreciated her friends ,  few as they were ,  the woman knew when to give them  space ,  especially when they were busy .  in fact ,  it made her happy to know that hunter was keeping himself full of things to do ;  she imagined those things made him happy ,  &  that was all she could wish for the man .  it was what he deserved .

        the moment he offered to pay for her coffee ,  helena couldn’t help laughing in response ,  a hand rising to make a dismissive gesture .  ❝  no ,  there’s no need for that at all !  in fact ,  this is  my treat ;  just let me know when you’ve picked from  the menu  &  i’ll order for both of us !  ❞  she stated confidently ,  giving her friend a curt nod paired with a bright smile .  ❝  now ,  tell me about  everything  that’s been going on with you lately .  what’s new ?  ❞

☆

“I don’t really enjoy being chased after so it works out for both of us.” Hunter flashed her a bright smile as he let out a laugh. He wished he had thought to make enough time for his friends lately, but honestly it seemed like all of the space in his head had been occupied with something or other lately.

Hunter’s hand stopped about halfway to his pocket as he went to set his wallet on the table. “Oh jeez are you serious? I guess I’ll take you up on that offer then! I’ll have to spot you next time.” Hunter let out a laugh as he reached over and picked up the menu in front of him. “Hm...I don’t know if anything’s really new. I mean I got a couple solid solo gigs coming up because of open mic nights! What about you?”

* ✶

hunters slight concession of annoyance was probably way more satisfying than it should be to any normal well adjusted person. but alex wasn’t any old person — he was a petty asshole. and so he was going to take any small victory he could get; if he was going to be miserable and on edge this entire conversation the least he could do was drag his conversation partner down with him. “ don’t get your panties in a twist, i’m not about to question the sanctity of this place as a fancy restaurant ” he waved off flippantly. just the people that worked there and their hiring practices, though that probably went without saying. 

the implication behind hunter’s last barb did have him shifting slightly more into fight or flight mode, though. it was a little more targeted than he was expecting. he understood what he meant, of course — that alex had the benefit of a privileged upbringing and so didn’t have some of the same worries. and in a lot of ways he would be right ( alex wasn’t ignorant of that ) though the implication that he didn’t understand hardwork or being passionate about something didn’t sit right. “ maybe not, but if i was truly passionate about something and thought i could make it i would throw myself into it with everything i had ” he was a rather all or nothing kind of guy — once he decided football was what he wanted, there was no looking back, he dedicated most of his waking hours towards building that goal. he’d be doing that regardless of life circumstance. alex may have a wealth of other undesirable traits, but lack of persistence or tenacity certainly wasn’t one of them. “ i wouldn’t be dipping my toes in halfway. unless you’re not confident the diddy tunes are going to take you where you want to go ? ” 

☆

The killer thing of it all was that Hunter really felt like they could have been friends if the circumstances were different. But then Alex had to go and be a petty asshole and start the whole thing all over again. “Alright. I mean you can question me all you want but my boss is a good lady.” If anything would really get him to fight Alex it would probably be that.

Hunter didn’t appreciate the jab at him to say the least. How could anyone who knew him at all accuse him of not being passionate about his music? He actually frowned at that. “Who’s to say I’m not throwing myself into it? I’m doing what I can with it so I don’t become a literal starving artist like half of the dopes in this city.” Hunter loved his music but he wasn’t about to sacrifice any small creature comforts he had for it. Not yet at least. “I’m more than confident and I’m all in on it. Thanks for the lecture,” Hunter flashed Alex a bright smile. He could at least try to cover up his annoyance.

ϟ

it took him a little longer than a normal, decent person to take the other’s hand and shake it in a semi-friendly manner. “Felipe,” he muttered in reply, then let go of Hunter’s hand. In any case, he’s looking around, his eyes squeezing together at the many flashing screens. He remembers very vividly that he used to go to one of these with some friends. A brief feeling of bliss crossed him before snapping out of it. 

          “Yeah, the pinball machine is fine,” he said. Feli used to have these back in the day too, but all the others were rather unfamiliar. They used to only have the small machines, but now they seemed to have grown in size and with different props. Is he actually feeling excited to try all of these? “Do you think we need coins or something?”

☆

Hunter couldn’t help but feel a little awkward as he waited with his hand outstretched. “I figured,” he laughed as he finally shook the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you, I guess.” It felt weird for him to be on a date in general. Let alone in an arcade with someone he didn’t even really know.

“Those are the ones I know the best. I mean if they have Pac-Man, I’m also 100% down for that,” he admitted without an ounce of shame. Hunter wrinkled his nose as he turned to face the man behind the counter again before he fished a ten out of his wallet. “I guess give me this in change?” 

❈

“ugh,  believe  it.  back  in  my  uni  days,  some  of  my  classmates  made  me  do  all  the  work  in  the  kitchen.  it’s  fine,  though.  it  helped  me  better  than  i  was,  and  them,  and  look  at  me  now.”  rosie  added  on  with  a  smirk.  it  was  very  pleasing,  too,  when  she  heard  how  envious  some  of  her  classmates  were  back  in  britain  over  her  success.  she  simply  enjoyed  trampling  people  who  thought  she  couldn’t  do  anything  otherwise.

she  grinned  brightly  and  works  on  chopping  up  the  vegetables  in  her  meticulous  way,  down  to  the  smallest  detail  of  it.  “i  never  say  no  to  a  challenge,”  she  jested  back.  her  eyes  easily  lights  up  at  the  mention  of  open  mics.  “well,  it’s  not  like  i  have  much  to  do  in  the  weekend  these  days.”  or  more  like  she  doesn’t  have  to  spend  her  weekends  wondering  if  she  should  do  something  special  for  frank,  then.  now  she  regrets  wasting  her  time  trying  to  please  a  man  who  never  loved  her  to  begin  with.  “i  expect  a  song  for  me  too,  if  i’m  coming.”

☆

“Did they end up passing or did you get the satisfaction of seeing them fail after they put extra work on you?” Hunter raised an eyebrow at his boss. He had classmates like that too. Nothing made him more angry than shit like that. At least he didn’t have to worry about that with most of his coworkers now anyway.

“Hard to believe you don’t have a lot to do on the weekends,” Hunter raised an eyebrow. “You can make a  request! If I know it, I’ll play it for you or else I’ll learn it.” He turned and smiled at his boss. He had no problem if he would have to learn another song if it made his boss happy.

“Oh I don’t have a kink for exorcist.” She is quick to clarify. It wasn’t a secret that Hana was an atheist so anything that related to any kid of religion was instantly shut down. She doesn’t have to explicitly express it though. The people who know her will get the picture and Hana is pretty sure Hunter gets the picture. “And besides, wouldn’t want to be with someone who would most certainly bring demons into the relationship.” The kind of demons with horns and fangs anyway. Everyone have their own brand of ghouls that would certainly try to destroy any given relationship. But that wasn’t something she felt like thinking about. So she rolled her shoulders into a shrug and released a breath that dispel all those thoughts away.

“At this point I’ll eat anything. So I trust your sage decision making skills.” There’s a grin on her features. This entire interaction, seeing him, was a welcome sight. Truth be told she doesn’t know what would have been of her if she hadn’t quite literally ran into him. She might have just been in front of the cafe, staring at the open sign debating whether to go in or not. All that being said, she felt bad for skipping another day of work. But dealing with strangers while having a raging storm within her sounded like a very bad combination. This was a safer way of getting out of the apartment.

“I didn’t think you did,” Hunter deadpanned. Then again, he didn’t feel like he could really judge people for what they liked. “Someone believing in ghosts isn’t exactly a religious thing, though,” he shrugged his shoulders “I don’t think they would bring demons into the relationship when it’s kind of their job not to,” Hunter let out a laugh.

“I’m glad you trust my opinions especially on food!” It was his profession after all. With a bright smile on his face, Hunter began to lead the way down the road. “I know they have some pretty fancy stuff but it’s honestly worth it even when I’m not behind the grill...or stove. Or whatever they have to use to cook what you want to eat.”

۵

with an eye of the birds still flying around, Harley nodded. “I don’t do these too often, especially with too many kids in the audience.” Luckily, today’s audience wasn’t that full of children, mostly older kids and definitely some adults as well, so this was quite the special occasion. “Sure, I can let you know.” Harley took out his phone and handed it to Hunter to fill in his information. “Count on it anytime now, in this weather, more adults decide to come visit, so your chances are higher I will give another show like this.” He offered another smile after putting everything in his compartment. “I’ll text you right away, so when you have some questions, or some other things, we can keep in contact.”

☆

“That’s understandable,” Hunter shrugged his shoulders. He honestly thought the big birds would freak out some younger kids. They looked a little too much like a pterodactyl to anyone with enough of an imagination. “That would be awesome,” Hunter grinned as he began to type in his contact information.” He had never really been a shy person even as a kid. Anyone who even just met him could probably tell. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” he laughed as he handed the man his phone back. “Sweet! I really appreciate it, dude.”

ϟ

felipe really didn’t intend to come at first. When the envelope was dropped on his mat, he was definitely curious as to what it was in the first place. It was around Valentine’s, and he usually got some love letters from middle-aged single women, but this was different. The mark on the envelope was something he had seen before, when he got the invite to Saturnalia. Rather excited now ( given the exclusivity of it all,he does live for that ), Feli opened it and read its contents. As much as the other party excited him, the less this one did. A pairing, for Valentine’s.  If there’s anything he hated more it was the gross holiday you don’t even get a day off for. 

          However, meeting people was kind of his forte, so the logical thing to do was to just go, even if he had totally misread where this arbitrary date was going to take place. When he arrived and told his chauffeur goodbye his heart sunk once more. An arcade. Are you kidding him? Does he look like a seven year old? He might as well have left, but here he already saw the guy at the back that looked like the picture sent with the letter and approached him. “Yeah,” he replied with disinterest ; he’s not in the best of moods, sadly. “Are you familiar with these … things?” He said, just trying to make a conversation now. 

☆

Hunter stepped forward and held out his hand to the older man. “Cool. Nice to meet you. I’m Hunter. I mean you probably already know that but it’s still.” It was always good to be polite but Hunter felt like he couldn’t stop himself rambling. 

He glanced around the arcade for a few seconds before he shrugged. “Honestly? I recognize a few of the older machines but I don’t know a lot about the newer ones.” Count on an arcade to make him feel old. “Do you know anything about any of them? The pinball machines are pretty easy I think!”

* ✶

like clockwork, as hunters easy smile grew, alex’s frown only deepened. for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction and all that, and it was like the more casual ease the other man seemed to wear, the more annoyed alex got. and really, hunter hadn’t even done anything. not now, or really not in the past, at least in the grand scheme of things, and not anything he hadn’t ever apologized for. alex just … didn’t like him. he wasn’t stupid enough to not recognize his own pettiness, but he was also pigheaded enough not to care. 

“ i have a hard time believe you’re the best at anything, ” alex countered with a roll of his eyes. “ so maybe the whole parent trap trick is a little more plausible than you think. but seriously, isn’t this supposed to be some sort of higher class fine dining place. ” which to him sounded like the kind of place you needed some amount of experience for, or at least a degree. not that he could assume hunter hadn’t gone to culinary school, mind you, but there was the aforementioned shitty musician thing. hunter was right though —the idea some of his favourite food he’d enjoyed could have been made by hunter was a sour one, and he didn’t particularly enjoy having that pointed out. “ i guess you took don’t quit your day job pretty literally there then, huh. not confident in your musical prowess ? ” 

☆

Hunter would much rather be friends with someone like Alex than fight with them all the time. Maybe that had something to do with why he always seemed to react positively to any insults he usually threw at him. Plus, nothing the other man said ever really bothered him to the point where he wanted to lash out back at him. If anything, he was more amused than anything.

“Oh well, I don’t need you to believe it. All that matters is that my professors and my boss believe it,” his smile grew a little wider if even possible. “It is a higher class fine dining place.” Hunter’s tone was a little more flat this time. That felt too much like a potential insult of his boss than him at this point. “Which is why they hired me when I flashed them my degree from culinary school,” he explained with a shrug. Hunter pursed his lips as he drummed his fingers on the back of the chair opposite Alex as he thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t say that. I just gotta pay the bills before I really get on my feet with my music. You wouldn’t understand what it’s like.”

He hadn’t been to an arcade since he was a little kid. The sounds of the machines were a little overwhelming as he stepped into the building and checked his back pocket for his wallet for the millionth time. Hunter moved over to the prize counter and started making conversation with the person behind the counter as he waited. He didn’t have to wait too long thankfully as he turned to see someone approaching him. “Hey what’s up, man. You’re Felipe, right?”

@heavensuproar​

❈

“  luckily  for  us,  i  don’t  hire  just  anybody.  so  there’s  an  abundance  of  people  knowing  what  they’re  doing.  “  despite  rosie  giving  off  that  more  family-friendly  sort  of  camaraderie  with  her  employees,  it  did  not  mean  she  ignores  quality.  for  some  reason,  she  would  know  just  by  looking  at  someone  if  they  were  going  to  cause  future  problems  in  the  kitchen.  and  frankly,  she’s  released  enough  potential  candidates  simply  off  that  assumption.

rosie’s  eyes  lit  up,  pleased  with  hunter’s  actions.  “  ah,  my  mincing  skills  are  about  to  be  put  to  the  test,  then.  you  got  it,  chef.  “  she  replied  with  a  soft  laugh,  grabbing  the  nearest  chef’s  knife  and  pulling  the  green  onions  and  garlic  towards  her.  as  she  preps  the  board,  she  asked,  “  how’s  your  music,  going  by  the  way  ?  any  gigs  i  should  be  attending  sometime  soon  ?  “

☆

“Lucky for both of us! I don’t think I know what I would do if I was surrounded by people who just made me do more work!” He rolled his eyes dramatically. Hunter considered himself to be pretty patient but even he had his limits. He wasn’t sure if he would have worked here even this long if he had to pick up the slack for incompetent people.

Hunter let out a laugh. “A pretty easy test for you, I bet. Next time I’ll make sure to really test you,” he shot her a playful wink as he went back to his own work. “It’s going pretty good! No big gigs anytime soon but I think there’s a few open mics this weekend if you really wanna come!  Maybe you’ll be lucky and get a dedication.”

۵

soon, the birds were being called back to their cages and Harley is able to wrap up on his show. There really was no time limit for him ; he’s one of the few working with the birds, and he usually just helped out where he’s able to. The bird show was something that’s his entirely, however. It’s something he’s able to fill in however he wants, and his ideas were endless. “I have a few acts that involves visitor,” he offered a smile. “I don’t do this one too often, but I am picky with whom I choose. I won’t let a child try this.” His skills of picking out the right people for his shows has definitely improved over the time he’s been working at the zoo. “Don’t tell anyone, but I also have an act where an eagle swoops just over the visitor’s head, so they can snap a good picture.” That might be one of his favourites too. 

☆

Hunter had always liked being in nature. He had never really given much thought to things like big birds of prey that he had encountered today. He let out a low whistle as he listened to Harley explain more about his shows. “Well, I guess I should feel a little special about being chosen to do this super cool shit.“ Hunter let out a laugh. “I can’t blame you for not letting a kid do something like that though. I can see one of them getting hurt or somethin, you know?” His eyes widened as he took in this new information. “Wow holy shit, really? If I give you my contact information, can you let me know when you have that one planned? That sounds wicked awesome!”

“Every time I light a candle Taeil appears out of nowhere and starts singing church music…” A beat of silence followed and she laughed, “At least that is what it sounds like. Sometimes I think he is trying to summon Satan just so we can get a cute exorcist into out apartment so he can set me up with them.” You’d think it is a far fetched idea but it isn’t that out there when you think about it. Her roommate had always wanted her to find someone to love and that loves her but she had been so against the idea that now he just tries anything to get a reaction of her that he could enjoy. She doesn’t fault him, Hana knows it is all in good faith. “You face flatters me.” She joked back with a laugh. Right now she feel a semblance on normalcy she hasn’t felt in weeks and it just makes her heart swell with gratefulness.

Work is officially canceled and it somehow makes her feel better of not going in today. Though she’ll make sure to text the manager but if worse comes to show, Hana will have to quit. She doesn’t want to, but right now work isn’t in her list of priorities and there’s probably someone in more need of it than her. Money is no longer an issue anymore. With a laugh, Hana shook her head amused. “Is that so? Lead the way.”

☆

“I can see why you wouldn’t want to light any candles then,” Hunter dead-panned. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the other man. He didn’t really have a reason to, but he just thought that he was more talented than Taeil was. Hunter never said he wasn’t confident. “A cute exorcist? That sounds a little different. Whatever floats your boat though, I guess!” He shrugged his shoulders. Hunter didn’t think he was one to judge anyone for whatever reason and he always tried his best not to. “Oh, why thank you!”

Hunter wasn’t always the best with dealing with emotions when it came to other people, but it was the least he could do to be supportive of his friend. “That depends if you want something fancy or not! I have two options for you, my friend!”

. ✧ . * . ˚  

          AFTER A FEW VISITS  to her favorite café at unfortunate hours  ( that being when it was at it’s most crowded ) ,  helena learned when exactly to come  &  go from the location .  what times where best for some peace  &  plenitude ,  without having to worry about people causing a commotion just for the chance to sit next to her .  it may have seemed like a ridiculous concern ,  but it had happened before  —  &  she’d be damned if it happened again .  perhaps that bit of fear is what startles her when she hears fingers drumming against the glass ;  yet as gentle eyes find the source of the sound ,  a bright smile appears on her sculpted lips .  hunter .  it was hard to say when or how exactly the two became friends ,  all helena knew was that from the moment she first saw him ,  she felt that he could be trusted .  that if something were to happen ,  something she couldn’t run from ,  he would be there to help her through .  it was a strange feeling ,  but comforting nonetheless .   ❝  hunter !  happy to know you haven’t forgotten me ,  ❞  she jokes with a small laugh ,  a cup of coffee resting between her hands .  nodding towards the seat across from her ,  the brunette offers him a smile .  ❝  make yourself comfortable !  shall i buy you something to drink ?  i feel like it’s been ages since we last hung out .  ❞

☆

Hunter was always friendly so it was no surprise that he was able to make friends with pretty much anyone no matter who they were. Most of the time, anyway.  “I could never forget about you, Helena,” he flashed her a bright and charming smile. Hunter was definitely ore on the busy side, lately, but he still would never forget any of his friends. It was just a little harder to make time to see a lot of them sometimes. 

Hunter lowered himself down into the chair across from Helena and let out a sigh. “I won’t say no if you want to,” he laughed. “It has been ages! Honestly, I’ll take any excuse to hang out with you! I’ll even pay for your coffee if you really want.” Hunter glanced around the coffee shop as his brain started to turn about what he might actually want.