not much to say here

       “Listen, you can join the club with all the other haters.. you guys are what give me fuel to succeed. Which I definitely do.. driving is a skill. I’m just—creative at it.” Taking a decent swig of her drink, she can’t help but smile amusedly. Of course she knew she was a shitty driver, but she wasn’t going to let anyone have it without a fight! Like a deer caught in headlights, however, his latter question had her stumped and frozen. With a sharp intake of breath, her mind reels to find an excuse. Any excuse. “Nope. Nothing that won’t bring down the mood of the night, anyway. And we don’t want that, do we Mueller? This is our escape. We need to playa. game or something.” 

                                                                  * * *

“You know I’ll never be a hater, Flores. I could never.” He grinned. It was true, Braedan doubted he could possibly hate her for anything. He teased her about her awful driving – like pretty much everyone in town – but hating her, never. She was fun – hilarious, even – and knew how to make him forget his shitty days at work. He could see from the look in her eyes that his question was a bit too personal, though. Maybe something he’d rather not cross. Or at least not tonight. Her words confirmed his thoughts. She mentioned a game, and he arched a brow, obviously curious by whatever curious plan the brunette sitting in front of him might have. “A game?” He repeated. “Like truth or dare, but without the truth?” He suggested. “I’m a bit too old to play pranks on the waitresses, I don’t want to get banned from one of the only places that serve drinks in mystic you know.”

starter for: @travishawthorne​ & @itsbraedanmueller location: rock ‘n bowl  time: 7:30pm, friday 

Since Sam’s epic misunderstanding and subsequent humiliating display of making an ass of himself with Braedan and Jamie, the single dad’s club of mystic hadn’t really had a chance to meet. Or rather, Sam hadn’t wanted to meet with Braedan. But since mending fences at the beach party, Sam figured a drink or two, some good pizza and, for the heck of it, some good old bowling was probably overdue. He’d called his friends and arranged a time they could meet up and now, here they were.

Letting go of his lime green bowling ball, Sam sent it careening for what he hoped would be bowling pins. At the last second, the ball instead dropped off into the gutter. “Damn it!” he groaned, before turning back to their chairs and plopped down on his in defeat. “Okay, someone please explain how on earth you two agreed to bowling when we all know damn well I shouldn’t be allowed to step foot in a bowling alley?” he chuckled glancing between his two friends. 

                                                          * * *

Braedan couldn’t remember the last time the Single Dads Club had reunited for a few beers, pizza and fun. Definitely before that strange night when Sam made a scene in the middle of the restaurant after seeing him and Jamie having dinner together. Thankfully, after a talk and a few drinks at the beach party, the two men had finally fixed their relationship and the story was now forgiven – because obviously, he would not forget to crack a few jokes about it to his friend.

When he received the call for a bowling night, he knew that he could not refuse. Not that he was an extremely talented player – oh hell no – but he knew that this night would be great, and he missed their little group dynamic. He pleaded his sister to watch his son for the night and headed to the Rock ‘n’ Bowl. Entering the place, he looked around. It seemed like the décor had never changed, and he felt a bit nostalgic for a short moment, before being interrupted by the sound of his friend’s voice. His gaze turned to find Sam, and he quickly turned to see the ball roll into the gutter. Laughing at the man’s question, he smirked, picking up his own bowl, knowing too well that he was not exactly better. “Because it’s great to see you send the ball straight in the gutter. It comforts me.” He joked, before letting go of his own navy blue ball. He was not much more successful. Just as he thought he was going to hit the bowling pins, the ball curved to the right, and fell into the gutter. “What the hell, I was super close! It’s so unfair!” He complained, laughing. “I’m gonna grab some beers. This game is rigged.”

“Did you know that they want to ban them now though? And you know when they ban the menthol cigarettes, that’s when everyone else will be into them.” Emir joked lightly. He didn’t understand kids these days, they really would anything to be cool. Most of his friends follow that sort of things as he grew up, but not Emir, he always thought that it was because he was ahead of what other people discovered. His family never sheltered him or tried to hide how the real world worked, which made him a realist from a very young age. He hated to be predictable, since the other man had read into him pretty easily upon talking to him, but he was one of those rich kids that only cared about booze and drugs once upon a time and eventually, he grew out of it. Luckily for him, his addiction weren’t drugs; he was an adrenaline junkie, perhaps that was why he couldn’t stay put for too long. “Eh, I mostly use when I’m bored, if I’m honest. And pot is also one of my favorites, there’s nothing that a nice blunt can’t get your mind out of, you know?” He did party favors here and there, but he had never reached a point where he needed substances to keep existing. “Nice to meet you, Braedan. I’m Emir, just got into town. If that wasn’t obvious. Thank for the heads up with the watered down beer, by the way.”

                                                                 * * *

“I was never into menthol. I’ve been smoking the same brand since I was a teen.” He paused, chuckling. “But I thought the new thing was vaping now? At least with teens, I know they’re all into it because of the fruity flavours and stuff.” He didn’t get the new trends, and he sincerely hoped his son would not smoke later. He doubted Camden would ever be into it, as the child kept harassing him to quit smoking, but who knew with teens. They tended to do silly things only to drive their parents crazy. He nodded slowly when the man mentioned the blunts. “You’re definitely right about that. A blunt and a beer, best way to wind out after a long day.” He replied, taking another drag of his cigarette. He nodded at the man’s introduction, and grinned. “Welcome to town, then, I guess? It’s not actually a bad town, the beer is pretty great when you get it at the bar.” He joked, cocking his head to the side while looking at the man. “What brings you to Mystic? Have any family around here?” It was clearly none of his business, and in his normal state, Braedan would never have asked him, but the alcohol made him more talkative, and his filter was long gone missing after several drinks.

-

       In response to Braedan’s comment, Travis chuckled, lifting the lapel of the brightly-coloured Hawaiian shirt up to his nose. Whether or not he was getting a whiff of the meat grilling beside him, he could almost confirm that the aroma had clung to his body in some way, shape or form and nodded his head in agreement. “You’re probably right. Although I’m not sure that putting these clothes back on afterwards will help. I think you’re destined to have a plus one that smells a whole lot like ground beef. Just be thankful it’s that over body odour or hot trash.”

       Following his friend’s gaze, Travis eyed the bar, feeling it taunt him from across the beach. While he certainly knew his place as a volunteer, it was hard not to want to step away, even for a little bit. “Pretty sure I’m supposed to be here until I run out of meat and I can’t exactly leave things unattended… you don’t happen to know any professional eaters, do you?” He teased, eyeing the refrigerated cooler holding all of today’s supply.

                                                                * * *

Braedan let out a small chuckle when Travis smelled his shirt, shaking his head when he mentioned he would be stuck with the haunting smell of ground beef. “I guess it could be worse, yeah. Ground beef is definitely better than hot trash under the sun.” He joked, grimacing. He noticed his friend was now eyeing the bar too, and smirked, before glancing at the fridge next to the grill.

“No professional eaters, but I saw a bunch of teens playing volleyball earlier, that’s pretty much the closest you get to professional eaters. Hopefully you’ll see them soon.” He replied, smiling at his friend. “Do you want me to grab you something to drink, since you’re stuck here? Or you’re not allowed to drink on duty?” Braedan teased, crossing his arms.

       “I don’t blame you. People can be disappointing.” Placing her trust in others had always been easy for her; but with the amount of times people had broken said trust, she’d grown harder and colder than ever anticipated. Still, she had hope. “That’s fair,” she nodded, not knowing a single thing about being a parent. She knew children were curious creatures, and that it would probably be something Braedan would have to deal with in the future. It was absolutely none of her business. He’d offered far more than he needed to and now it was her turn to open up. “Yeah, you definitely couldn’t miss Rosie. She’s too much of a talker.. and uh,” she inhales a deep breath, releasing it in a weighted sigh. “No, you have a right to ask. I mean, you opened up to me. I guess I’m letting go of.. well, trying to let go of all the pain in my past. Embrace this fresh start in Mystic. —I’ve had a lot of heartbreak the last few years.” Of many kinds. “It feels heavy carrying it around all the time.” 

                                                                * * *

❀

       An amused grin tugs at her lips as she raises her brows at him, shaking her head some. “See, this is why you and I get along.. we prefer the harshness of the truth over anything warped with lies.” The truth was safe. The realm of truth enabled her to breathe, knowing nothing could betray nor blindside her. “I guess I’m happy to see you too,” she retorts with a teasing smile, grateful that they now had drinks in hand as she brings hers to her lips. “First of all, I’m taking that back, asshole. I am not a bad driver! It’s everyone else’s fault they’re in the freakin’ way. Second of all, I..” Where did she even begin?! “Honestly? There’s been nothing exciting going on. In fact, it’s been downright boring as hell.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. She clears her throat, then, taking another lengthy sip. 

                                                                   * * *

He laughed at her response. It was definitely better to hear the brutal honesty than being lied to, or at least in Braedan’s opinion. He didn’t appreciate liars and was nearly incapable to be dishonest himself. Camila and him were on the same page about that, and it clearly made it easier to maintain their friendship over the years. He smirked when she got offended by his question about causing an accident, grimacing when she mentioned not being a bad driver. “Seriously? Not bad? Sometimes I wonder how you achieved to get your license.” He joked, shaking his head. She spoke again, and he doubted by her previous reaction that there was indeed nothing going on. “Like really nothing, or nothing you want to talk about because it’s too personal?” He asked, his brows knitted into a frown.

When starting a conversation with Braedan, Elias hadn’t anticipated the… dialogue to follow. Or that he’d have to help propel it forward. He was used to finding other people who could take a single greeting or even a word and run with it. But, in the other man’s defense, Elias hadn’t exactly given him much to go on. He knew it was probably strange for Braedan to hear Elias piping up after all this time, but there was no time like the present, right? 

“Yeah, yeah, sure, no problem,” he began, as if he was testing the words out. “I, uh, I have been here in town for just over a year and I realized I’m a grown man with no friends.” To punctuate that revelation, Elias cracked open his beer and took a long swig. An admission like that would normally inspire shame or guilt in another person, but Elias just found it… honest. It was true, after all. The man had a way of getting directly to the point of most matters, when it came to, well, most things. 

“Uh, nope. I’m not really a social butterfly, if you couldn’t tell.” And even Elias couldn’t help but laugh at the truth and irony of his own statement in this setting. 

                                                                   * * *

Braedan had never really questioned why Elias never talked. He just assumed that he wasn’t too fond of small talk, and he could not really blame him. He was also very bad at it, and usually rambled nervously and sounded ridiculous when he was with strangers. Except that they were not technically strangers, they had been working together for several months now. But still, he wasn’t that guy to force people to have conversations.

He chuckled lightly when the other man mentioned that he had been here for over a year, and had made no friends since then. “Yeah, I guess it can be boring sometimes.” He felt a bit bad for him, but didn’t say it. Maybe he should have made more attempts at small talk, instead of leaving the poor guy alone to himself.

Letting out another small chuckle, Braedan shrugged at his words and took another sip of his beer. “Oh, you know, I don’t really blame you. A lot of people are like that. My Dad wasn’t much of a talker either and he was always able to run his business. I guess as long as you talk to customers it’s all good.” He smiled politely.

“I’d offer you to grab a beer at Mooney’s or the 401 but I got no babysitter for the night, but maybe another time if you want?” He realized he didn’t know much about the man in front of him, and maybe it was about time to finally break the ice and befriend his employee, instead of giving him small nods to say hi, and basically ignoring him.

There's a pause at the question, and he nervously brushes his hands on his jeans, thinking of an appropriate answer. "I really wish I could do that.” He pauses, scratching his beard as he thinks of his final answer. “But I’m pretty sure it’s illegal, so unless I find myself a fucking good lawyer, I just need to hope she won’t suddenly reappear someday.”

😳 for a confession text

It's a very tricky question? I'll say true.

- I love being a mechanic. But I hate the paperwork and being the boss sucks. On the other hand, being a firefighter is just great. You help people, you save lives, plus you get free access to the gym. But I'd never get rid of the Auto Shop.

False. Like really false? Jamie and I dated back in high school for a few months and I'm not really sure it can count as a real relationship, because it was not serious at all. I don't think I can imagine ourselves dating, especially since Sam is one of my best friends, and it's been almost thirty years since I've known her? It's just overall a very weird scenario.

False. I don’t think I always look on the bright side of things. I get occasionally depressed, I just don’t show it or talk about it.

🙃 for a text asking for a favor