Mac

Noah didn't actually forget. In fact, it was one of the few things he'd remembered: how shitty his dad was about the fact that Noah would drop his bat and run away when the ball was thrown in his direction. Noah liked to call it early onset survival instincts. He laughed about it now though, and smiled when Mac said they'd actually been on a team. "Okay, first of all, I'm good at like... only two things. Rollerskating, and photography. Everything else unfortunately falls flat and I suck at maintenance. But maybe this is the cosmic reminder I need to actually take care of that car before it leaves me stranded on the side of the road in a bad way," he chuckled. He definitely wasn't a car man, but it's not like he didn't want to be. It just wasn't really on the forefront of his mind most of the time. But that's what he enjoyed about his friendship with Mac. He liked thinking of things outside of his two very specific interests and thinking about other things that were important, too.

Mackenzie felt like Noah was better at a lot more than just rollerskating and photography. He was a people person too and that was a skill Mac certainly lacked in and one that was quite useful to society and being a part of the community. Even though Noah wasn't a local he sure fit in a lot better than Mac did having grown up in Shrike their whole life. "The more often you take your car in for routine maintenance the less it's going to cost you in the end," Mac pointed out to Noah. Mac's own vehicle was in nearly perfect condition because of how often they brought it in and got it looked at. They were certainly of the mindset that they'd rather catch something early before it became a problem even though they didn't need to worry about the cost to their pocketbook. They were just looking out for Noah who didn't have the luxury of having a family of mechanics to lean back on.

"Yeah, totally! Whenever you have free time and desire to want to," Noah said. Mac had already helped him enough, and he didn't want to take up more of their time than he needed to. Thankfully, he wouldn't be stuck at that parking lot for the next few hours. "I can't remember what I was doing at ten. I think maybe failing to hit a tee ball. I don't know, memory's hazy, I'm attempting to forget how terrible I was," he said jokingly, smiling and shaking his head as he turned to head towards the food court.

"I'll let you know," Mac promised. At some point they'd be willing to sacrifice some of their time to teach Noah a new skill even though they didn't feel like it right now. "I guess that's another way we're different. I was already on a softball team at ten," Mac explained with a smile. They'd always enjoyed sports. It was only ever on a team that they ever really felt a part of something and that was likely why they'd tried out for so many different ones throughout school.

Noah was incredibly grateful. Not only had Mac saved him a trip down to the shop, they'd also saved him the cost of labor and whatever else mechanics even charged for. Noah wasn't incredibly savvy when it came to that kind of thing. "Please, I'm off this weekend, so if you mean it, I'm so ready for it," he mused. "Nobody in my family really messed with cars. I mean, I maybe had an uncle or something on my mom's side, but I'm not close with anyone there," he said absently, shrugging off the fact that he wasn't close with any of his family outside of his grandmother.

"Unfortunately I'm working this weekend, so we'll have to rain check that," Mac laughed. Even though they'd offered to teach Noah how to change a tire a moment ago they didn't exactly want to spend the few hours they had between shifts working on cars any more than they had to. "Well it's a good thing you know me. I was raised the opposite. I was changing oil before I was ten years old," Mac explained. Their father hadn't taught them all the essentials they'd needed growing up but he passed on all the wisdom he had in his expertise that's for sure.

Location: Shrike Mall Parking Lot Closed: Mac ( @mackenziefm )

"I don't know what the fuck I would do without you, seriously," Noah said, sighing at Mac. He'd never really been a car guy. Sure, he'd been in and around cars, but he'd never been under a car really. It wasn't like he'd had anyone teach him much about them, either. He remembered the panic he felt the first time he got a flat and a kind stranger helped him change it. But Noah was the sort of person who needed to see it done a time or two before it really clicked. So when Mac was around for his second flat again, he sighed in relief.

Mac was used to helping people out with their cars. It came with the profession they were born into and it was in Mac's nature to help whenever they could for those they cared about. "Don't sweat it," Mac insisted as they finished up changing out the tire on Noah's Volvo for him. They had a kit to do so in the back of their own car and they made easy work of the fix.

"Don't be ridiculous, I packed you a sandwich, too," Maya replied, reaching into her massive work tote to pull out a brown paper bag. "Just in case." Maya was the kind of person to plan their day out to a T first thing in the morning, and as she heard the forecast on the 6 a.m. news, she already made this plan to get Mac to come out to the park with her. So, obviously, Maya had to make sure she had prepared for the chance that Mac wouldn't have packed their lunch today. Just like in the rest of her life, every eventuality was planned for.

"Really?" Mac questioned as they cocked their eyebrow. All of this was news to them. They didn't even know how Maya knew that they'd be working today at Dick's let alone that they'd be lunchless today. It was a level of planning that Mac didn't follow in their own life. They lived very day to day and didn't plan ahead very often let alone for various potential outcomes. Maya really left Mac in a position that they were unable to say no to the invitation.

Of all the people Maya had befriended over the years in Shrike Heights, Mac had to be one of her favorites. Their easy banter was a nice way for Maya to fill her lunch break whenever Mac was working at the mall and Maya got a chance to sneak out of her cavern (office). She swept into that Dick's Sporting Goods like she owned the place and she leaned against the back counter with a mischievous grin on her face. Whenever she invited Mac out anywhere, it always seemed to have a flirtatious undertone, though Maya had learned after her failed attempts at charming Mac when they first met, it would never go anywhere.

"When's your next break?" Maya asked, eyes twinkling. "Because the weather is so nice the park is just screaming our names. Can't you hear it? Maaaaaac!" She whisper-shouted. "So, you should come out to the park and have lunch with me."

Mac had been working more at Dick's than usual lately. They were saving up for some new parts for their car and as much as she loved the boys back at the auto shop it was much easier for them to pick up an extra shift or two at the mall. It seemed everyone was always giving up shifts and Mac didn't mind the steady pace that working at Dick's provided. While they still had to interact with people it wasn't nearly as intimate as they did back at the auto shop where everyone knew their name.