“ what’s the strongest thing you’ve got that is still actually drinkable and enjoyable ? and preferably affordable, too. ” noah questions. “ because whatever it is, i’ll have that. ” he adds. “ in this totally safe and secure town that we live in, you mean. my day actually hasn’t been all that terrible, but there’s still time. ”

“i always go for a classic vodka cran personally.” he slid it over to him and nodded “yep that town.” he chucked a but rubbing the back of hus neck with his hand “well not terrible sounds pretty damn good to me.”

☻

“something fruity, yeah? feeling adventurous today,” monty grinned, his elbows finding the counters as his chin rested in his hands. a long sigh erupted from him as he continued, “why don’t you tell me about yours, mate?”

“okay fruity it is.” quickly mixing up a drink “it has been a day is pretty much all i can say about that. i have been spending most of the day wishing i was the one drinking instead of being the one dishing out the drinks, but like hell. what else is new?”

“I’ll take the strongest drink you can come up with.” Rosario replied with less energy in her voice than usual. They were tempted to rest their head against the bar counter, but resisted, knowing just how dirty they got from working at Karaoke Dokie. “Just peachy. Got called in to work on my day off because, well, you know, it’s Shrike Heights.” It was all she really wanted to say on the matter. Joking about what happened didn’t feel right considering one of her co-workers had been injured in the most recent attack. “What about you? Getting a lot of people coming in to drink their sorrows away today?”

“alright you came to the right bartender then super strong drinks are my specialty” he quickly mixed up one of his favorite drinks “it’s not the best flavor wise cause it’s like half liqour, but it gets the job done.” he nodded at her words learning a while ago asking people about work matter didn’t always bode well with the way things are in this town. “yeah it’s really put a bump in business if we’re being honest here.”

x

Karim was eating a candy bar as he sunk down onto the stool, although he was sure outside food was probably not allowed. Nevertheless, he seemed to take this thought as a challenge, finishing the final bite before speaking up between a mouthful of caramel. “You know like in movies when they just come in and ask for a beer? What’s with that? What if I did that? Hey, gimme a beer. Which one would you give me?” He rolled his shoulders, stretching his hands, one of which was still clutching the empty wrapper, over his head. “Well, far as local oddities go, I think my bathroom is radioactive. My shower drain glows in the dark. Real shit. But you mean terrifyin’ in other ways, yeah? I dunno. Do you think, like, Drano helps with radioactivity?” 

nate looked at karim deciding that he didn’t care enough about the candy bar to say anything, and he shrugged. “i’d probably ask what kind you want, but if i just had to guess i would probably send over a miller. it seems like a lot of people want miller.” he raised an eyebrow “aye you got to watch out for those radioactive bathrooms they can be wicked.” he chuckled and then shrugged “i think it’d hep, but like who knows with the chemicals in that shit it might like add to the radioactivity or something. you might come out of that bathroom with a third eye.”

@shrikestart​

nate stood at the bar chatting with some of the patrons until someone new walked in and sat down in front of him. “what will you be having?” he got the request ready, while striking up a conversation with them. “so how’s your day going, in the wonderful not at all terrifying town of shrike?”

dylan o’brien, bisexual, male + he/him ― hey look, it’s nathaniel parker! they’re twenty-three years old, they’ve lived in shrike heights for ten years, and they’re currently working at julio’s bar. i heard they’re pretty talkative, but i think they’re so welcoming at the same time. can they make it out alive? 

TW: death of a parent, parent walking out