𝐍𝐎𝐀𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐒

Once their skates were out of the way, Sunny tilted their head at Noah, and then jumped up to their feet. Give it a couple of minutes and they’d be caught up in their game —- this was just the boring bit. “I’ll always keep you company,” they responded with a slight wrinkle of their nose and shake of their head. “You can buy me a Sprite. I need a drink. But I will never say no to the hotdog.” Laughter followed and they skipped on over to get their shoes, along with both him and the kids.

Shoes obtained and lane booked, it wasn’t long at all until they’d plonked themselves down onto the little stool in front of the screen, punching in everyone’s names. “Alright, so who do you think’s going to win?” They turned to one of the kids, expression becoming serious for a moment. “Is it going to be you?”

“ if i had a dollar for every time i told people not to keep their coffee near their laptops .. “ well , he would be able to pay off all his medical bills and simultaneously buy out half of the forbidden planet’s stock room . there were certain things that he had to repeat practically every day and , despite thinking that keeping electronics and liquids separate was a move of common sense , he was surprised with how many people stared at him , doe-eyed , like the advice was new to them . once the laptop was rested upon the countertop he got to work giving it a once over , opening the lid and flicking on the power , narrowing his eyes at the blue screen of death he was presented with . he may not have been a qualified doctor , but he was more than qualified enough to run these sorts of diagnostics . “ noah , it’s not the nineties . i very much doubt it’s a virus . i don’t think anonymous try and ilfiltrate the computers of mechanics — no offence , “ 

     Rubbing the palm of his hand against the back of his neck , Noah looked at Jaden who spoke about how many times he had told people to not keep coffee near their laptops , then he would pretty much be rich . “ Yeah , I’m well aware that it’s my fault . ” Truth be told , he probably should invest in a new laptop soon . It’s a pretty old one and it’s been lagging and being shit for a while now . But , laptops cost money and while he did have a job , he didn’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a new laptop . Therefore , he wanted to get someone to look at it first and give him the news .

           judging by the other’s reaction , he was slightly taken aback my emmett’s presence . ❝ you thought you were alone ?? you’re never alone out here, dude . ❞ which was true . not to get all philosophical ; they had a rat problem - the dumpsters infested with them . emmett had a theory that it was whatever meat was tubed into the hotdogs they served . called them out from high and low . ❝ yeah , i got one in my locker . you good to wait a sec and i’ll go get it ?? ❞ he was a casual smoker . no way could he afford to make it a habit . ❝ but i’m telling my boss i’m helping a customer , so i don’t lose time off my breaks , if anyone asks … ❞

     Noah chuckled and shrugged casually when the other asked if he really thought he was alone and how you are never alone out there . “ Actually , you got a good point . ” He turned his head around as he heard a noise , which had been made by what he guessed was the others that the other male had spoken about . Nodding his head , Noah moved closer to where the other was who said that  he had one in his locker . “ Absolutely , man . Thanks ! ” he said and a chuckle fell from his mouth and he nodded . “ Yeah , yeah , of course . Besides , you are kind of helping a customer , so you’re not technically lying . ” 

“Hmm,” Grace nodded, nodding to the waiter as he walked away to put in their order. “You obviously haven’t tried the mint chocolate shake here. It changes you.” 

Grace didn’t think of herself as a particularly unfriendly person, however, she did struggle at times to try and get to know new people. In the Forbidden Planet, she could pull conversation topics from the shelf and ramble about them for days. Here, now, at the Crashdown with someone she had just met – the scenario was a little more intimidating. 

Thankfully, Noah seemed more natural at making conversation than she was. She listened intently as he explained his upbringing in Roswell and living in the trailer park. She laughed, imagining a mini Noah. “Wow. You must know everyone, then. I’m jealous.” She shook her head. “No, I moved here a few years ago from DC. I needed a change and Roswell is… I mean, out of this world.” She offered a small smile. “My mom remarried and my step-dad and I don’t really get along so. Anyway. Here I am – oh, wow, milkshakes.” The waiter had arrived just in time to cut-off her inappropriate oversharing. She immediately dunked a crispy fry into hers and brought it to her mouth. “You should really try mine. I bet that it’s better.” 

     Chuckling softly , Noah looked over at Grace who walked away to put their order in . “ Well , yes , that is true . I haven’t tried the mint chocolate shake here . I’m not a huge fan of mint , but maybe I’ll give it a go sometime , ” he said and grinned at the femme who sat opposite of him . “ Wow , changes you ? That’s a pretty big statement to throw out there , G , ” Noah responded and looked at her with raised eyebrows and a growing smirk on his lips . He spoke about how he grew up in the trailer park , and honestly , Noah wasn’t embarrassed of it . It was part of his story –– the place had made him . 

      “ Ahhhh , see .. While I have been here my whole life , I don’t know that many people , actually . Uhhh , guess you can say I liked to stick to my own little group of people , ” he said and chuckled softly , shrugging his shoulders casually . He licked his lips and listened to her speak about how she moved to Roswell from DC and how she needed a change . “ Well , Roswell is definitely a good choice for that , ” he said and let a small chuckle fall from his mouth . When she spoke about how her and her step-dad didn’t get along , he was about to speak but then the waiter came over with their drinks . 

malee: there's a first for everything, noah.

noah: well, that first ain't here just yet.

“Well, thanks, really. You went above and beyond.” She laughed, standing outside of the Forbidden Planet. Despite the casualty of her reply, Grace couldn’t help but feel touched by Noah’s words. As a woman, she had experienced this kind of discomfort from public spaces before and it made her hesitant to enter them frequently. Acknowledgement from someone else was more validating than she liked to admit. “Great.” Grace smiled, beginning to walk in the direction of the diner. “By the way, the pin looks great, babe.” She teased.

Once at the diner, she beelined for her favorite corner booth in the back. “Of course! Leave it to me.” She slid into her favorite spot by the window and placed the bag of comics on the table. When the waiter came by she requested a mint chocolate milkshake. “And a large fries please.” She winked at Noah. “Thought I didn’t catch that? The fries and milkshake dipping combo can’t be beat.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Also, please don’t bully me for liking mint chocolate, okay?” She’d heard enough of that over the years. What was wrong with mint? It was refreshing and delicious. 

While waiting for the shakes to arrive, Grace felt a little anxious. She drummed her fingers on the tabletop, trying to think of something to say. “So,” Her eyes flickered around from the window to Noah to the table. “Have you lived in Roswell long?”

     “ Ahhh , you are more than welcome , babe . Don’t worry about it , ” she said and chuckled softly , looking at Grace as they stood outside of the Forbidden Planet . He turned his head around and looked at the femme , grinning widely as she said that the pin looked great , which made him laugh and look down towards the pin . “ It does look pretty good , doesn’t it ? Definitely a good choice , ” he replied and grinned as he looked back up at her . 

     Once they got to the diner , Noah blinked and looked a Grace who beelined for what looked like her favorite corner booth in the back of the restaurant . He licked his lips quickly and followed her movements , sliding into the spot opposite of her and he watched as she placed the bag of comics on the table . When the waiter came , Noah watched her as she requested a mint chocolate milkshake and a large fries , which made him grin . “ Hell yeah . Fries with milkshake is the best , ” he responded and smirked . “ ALthough I have to admit , I’m more of a chocolate and vanilla kind of guy than anything else . But hey , you’re allowed to like mint chocolate all you want . ” He ordered a chocolate milkshake for himself . 

“Oh, fuck off,” she snorts, picking up his hat and tossing it at his chest with a flick of her wrist. Like a frisbee. “I was obviously kidding. Does this look like the kind of place with a fuckin’ dress code? One lap around the bar and you’ll see at least two different ass cracks on any given day. Guaranteed.” Barely an exaggeration and still no easier to look away from now than they were three years ago. Fuck, had she really been here for three years? The thought is a bomb dropped, clearing away everything until there’s nothing left but ‘three years, three years, three years’ swirling around her skull, echoey and looming like a deadline. Victoria Adsuar, a bartender. Still here. Still here. 

Her hand shakes a little as grips a bottle of Tito’s by the neck and empties it into her cup full of half-melted ice before popping the silver pourer off and dropping the bottle into the recycling. “Who would’ve thunk,” she echoes, unruffled if closed your eyes. But her usual slow, cool movements are replaced by a hint of something frantic, clawing to get out. “And at the fuckin’ Pony, no less.” A humorless laugh as clumsy fingers reach for her purse, shoved haphazardly into one of the compartments under the bar alongside boxes of straws and a stale bag of Jelly Babies that’d been there for at least six months. The bar is a shield and she ducks down just long enough to fish around for the loose pills collecting lint and chase one down with the vodka. She feels better immediately, even if it won’t take affect for a bit and bounces back up with a casual swipe of her sleeve over her lips. “Remember when I got banned and they had that like, wall of polaroids and fakes? And now I’m fuckin’ pouring the drinks.” Not in LA, not in New York. Still here. “I think a lot of people would’ve thunk. You still over at the shop?” 

     “ Honestly , I have no idea . Who the hell knows , right ?? This place could totally turn on you and surprise you with having a dress code or something . ” He chuckled softly , shaking his head as he looked at the femme on the other side of the counter . He tilted his head back and laughed , the sound louder than usual . “ Ahhhh , yes . You got a point . Hell , you don’t even have to take a lap or anything like that . You can pretty much see it from here . ” He had to admit though , he was shocked that she was still there . For some reason , he didn’t think she would be still in Roswell . He really would have thought that she’d be somewhere else ; like Hollywood or something extravagant like that . 

     He wrapped his fingers around the glass , looking at the woman as she gripped the bottle of Tito’s by the neck , emptying it into the car of half-melted ice . “ Mmmm . Who would have thunk . Exactly ! ” Noah chuckled gently and bit his lip , looking at her as she disappeared behind the counter for a bit . He raised an eyebrow at the movement and when she came back up , he listened to her speak . He snickered and shook his head . “ I’ll admit , I thought you would be somewhere else . Probably bathing in money or something . And yeah , I’m still at the shop . Still , you know , working on other people’s cars , fixing shit they’ve done to it and having to tell them it’s not their fault when it is their fault .  ” 

a change of scenery was a welcome change to the now stay-at-home dad . his profession meant that jaden could still remain working full time , but switch most of his working hours to the comfort of his own home in jupiter valley instead of hopping from the homes of his clients , one by one . it was easier that way , and meant that juniper could get the peace from a screaming , milk-guzzling baby that she so desperately craved . perched on a napkin was a half eaten pb&j ( for , despite being a dad himself , he still ate like a four year old ) and jaden wiped a smudge of peanut butter from the corner of his lip as noah approached , thumbing the tissue as he listened to the laptop’s symptoms like an attentive physician . “ for sure , i can help with that , “ he responded , “ now — and i gotta ask — did you spill anything on it ?? coffee , water .. beans ?? “

“I definitely did my best, back in the day.” She mused, remembering sneaking around her Mom in high school to talk to boys. It really became a heist mission at times, sneaking them in and out of the house. It wasn’t like Grace had even had time to date until she became a young adult and moved to Roswell. Back in DC, she was always busy helping her Mom run the family restaurant or working some other string of part-time positions to get by. “Now she’s a little more comfortable with the idea.” It wasn’t exactly true. Her Mom probably wasn’t that okay with her dating but they had become estranged since Grace moved out. Getting into that conversation wasn’t her idea of fun. 

“Thank you, babe.” Her smile widened and she grabbed the two pins after the cashier scanned them. She carefully released the needle from one of them and threaded it through Noah’s jacket. “Awww, see? It’s perfect.” She might have been playing into this more than was necessary. A part of her just wanted to match Noah’s energy, who was unsurprisingly very good at pretending. She pinned the matching one to one of the front pockets of her jeans and then looked up at the cashier expectantly as if to say hurry up. 

Grace grabbed the bag of comics and was ready to run out the door but Noah stopped. She had to use all of her self-control so she didn’t burst out laughing as Noah threatened the employee. Not because of Noah, who really was way too good at this, but because the cashier looked terrified. She inhaled slowly, trying to keep any giggles from escaping, and stepped forward to wrap one of her arms around Noah’s. “Let’s go, babe.” Her eyes lingered on the cashier for a second and then she turned and pulled Noah out of the Forbidden Planet. 

Once outside, she burst out laughing. “I cannot believe you said that. I think he might quit after that!” She suddenly realized she didn’t need to hold onto his arm anymore and released it quickly, taking a step back. “Thanks for that. So, milkshakes?” She hoped that segue wasn’t as awkward as it seemed.

     “ Riiiiiight , ” he replied and laughed softly , nodding his head and looking at the female as she spoke about how her mother is now comfortable with the idea . Tilting his head a little to the side , Noah rubbed his lips together and he sank his teeth into his bottom lip as he listened to her speak . “ For some reason , I don’t know if I believe that . I feel like your mother definitely , you know , would do everything in her power to make sure you’re okay and safe . Which is what a parent is supposed to do , of course . ” When Grace thanked him , and called him babe , he laughed and nodded , the grin on his lips continued to grow . He watched as she threaded the pin through Noah’s jacket . He looked down at the pin that she put on his jacket and he smiled brightly .

    He gave the cashier a wink , before he turned around and joined Grace , who pulled him out of the Forbidden Planet . Once they got outside , Grace start need to laugh which only made him laugh too . Shrugging his shoulders when she said she couldn’t believe he had said that , Noah licked his lips . “ Well , he was an asshole and, you know , you don’t deserve to feel uncomfortable when you’re shopping or ever to be honest . ” He looked down at her hand , which was still wrapped around his . He cleared his throat and nodded , when she asked if they were to get milkshake . “ Milkshakes , ” he agreed and nodded . 

malee: yes.

malee: but you weren’t doing too hot to begin with, so no loss 🤷🏻‍♀️

           fifteen minutes of break time never seemed long enough . especially not on nights where two birthday parties were set in the lanes , and roller derby was about to start . even if the air outside was chilled , emmett needed it . maybe he’d sneak an extra five . it’s not like anyone would say anything about it . back settles against the brick , eyes closing until someone near by starts to utter cusses . lids fluttering open , a stare cast in their direction . ❝ you good , dude ?? ❞

     Turning his head around , Noah looked towards the direction of where the voice had come from . He took a deep breath and blinked , looking over at the male who had suddenly appeared . Clearing his throat , Noah smiled and nodded . “ It’s all good , ” he replied and nodded , looking at him . “ I mean , I’m all good . I just ... Do you happen to have a lighter on you ? I forgot mine at home it seems like . ”

“Absolutely 100% serious.” Although he was serious, Brook also knew from experience that he wouldn’t actually find any of the creatures he believed in. That didn’t stop him from looking, though. He was far from the devoted conspiracy theorist type common to this Alien Town™, but he liked to maintain a healthy belief in what his people called di ingon nato (the supernatural). He may have ended up empty-handed whenever he searched for these mythical beings, but it made for good adventures, at least. “My question is… would you like to help me find the ungo in Roswell?”