Squid: What are you "blind" to? “I think I ignore a lot of red flags sometimes because I justify behavior that isn’t very healthy.”

Boo: Do you get jealous easily? “Nope, I don’t think so”

 “Presley? That is a unique name! I like it - Its pretty.” She told her with a bright smile shaped on her lips. “Hm, so you mean egg, bacon, waffles? That sort of combination?” she asked her out of curiosity. “That is fair! I am all for a proper meal before anything else, but if you insist on dessert, I might be willing to compromise.” She chuckled. 

“Thank you!” she said, “My mom reallly liked Elvis” she laughed then nodded, “Yeah exactly!” she said then smiled “I think dessert is always an option, honestly.” she flexed her brows suggestively and laughed. She looked at the waiter as they came to take their orders, deciding to order herself waffles and saved the menu to look over the dessert options for afterwards.

“I’ve always thought that it would be fun.” Sam replied knowing that there was so much more to the job than just helping people find a book to read and signing out those books. He was just thankful that she didn’t think his life choices would incredibly lame, because this wouldn’t have been the first time for it to happen.  “There is nothing wrong with having big dreams, especially while you are still young. You should talk to the woman opening the new community theatre. Someone told me that you used to be on Broadway. I know it’s not the same, but she might be able to give you some sort of tips.” He added with a small shrug. “Although there is also nothing wrong with just vibing.”

“Its different” she said with a smile “Like I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was wanting to be a librarian, I’m not gonna lie- I’ve never even like thought about it when thinking about jobs. I like that its different” she said with a grin. “What made you choose that?” she asked curiously, taking another bite of food. Her brows lifted curiously at the mention of a theatre “Oh?” she questioned “Do you know who it is?” she asked genuinely interested. “I work at the cinema down the street at the moment but I also like; do kids birthday parties where I dress up as a princess character, mostly from Disney but not ‘disney’ cause ya know... copyright...” she flexed her fingers around the word Disney. “but thats not steady enough for me to like do fulltime or anything.”

“It’s okay.” Sam replied, never knowing what else to say to people. Although in reality it was all far from okay. Some days he still felt like he was drowning and other days he wondered if it was going to get better. “I am sure you’ll get used to it eventually. It’s just a matter of figuring out where you actually want to go and what areas to avoid.” He added with a small shrug. Sam had a feeling that she would be fine. “It’s reading a lot of stories yes, and studying them for significance and stuff. I want to be a librarian eventually.” He elaborated knowing that it wasn’t the most exciting of choices for most people. Once the food arrived he started cutting into the food as well, popping the first piece into his mouth.

She nodded a bit, knowing it wasn’t actually okay but she understood how it could be hard to talk about so saying it was okay was easier than trying to talk about everything that wasn’t okay. She chewed and listened to him, nodding every so often before speaking. “A librarian-” she repeated, then grinned “That’s so cute” she laughed “thats a cute job.” She took another bite of food and hummed happily as it met every need she had, “I really wanted to be an actress” she said “Like since I was a kid, but you grow up and things like that sort of seemed really far fetched after a while. I went to drama school for a few years, and i was in a bunch of like plays and stuff back in Salem but I don’t know how to make a career from it, getting started seems so” she shrugged “difficult. So I’m just kind of vibing through life right now” she exhaled a laugh

“Yeah, it becomes a little hard to ignore once it starts happening to people you know.” Sam replied, shaking his head. He’d managed to ignore a lot of what was going on in Ashton until his best friend, Robin, had disappeared. After that it had become far too real. “It doesn’t take too long to do that, since Ashton is pretty small. But there probably isn’t anywhere around here that I don’t know about.” He joked. “I’m studying English Literature.   What about you, what brought you here?”

The girls lips turned down as he spoke, “Oh I’m sorry” she said, “I can’t imagine.” she frowned. She offered a small smile “Oh good.... cause I’ve gotten lost way too many times i the last few months” she admitted “but I’m really not great at directions” She shrugged a bit “I dunno really” she said “I spent my whole life in Salem, which like sounds exciting but its not.” she laughed “I just kinda wanted a change and I was looking at jobs all over and this place just kinda stuck out to me” She explained, “English literature, that’s like... studying stories and stuff?” she asked, unsure of what it really was about but that was her best guess. She grinned excitedly seeign the plates of waffles being brought to the table, “oh yum” she hummed, immediately grabbing her silverware and cutting into the waffle.

“Oh I am more of a dinner than dessert type of person myself to be honest with you.” She laughed, even though she had some what of a sweet tooth, she still prefered some propper food in her before ahe treated herself to the sweet stuff. “No of course! Please feel free to join me!” She smiled, gesturing at the chair in front of her. Diana was a social butterfly and enjoyed getting to know new people whenever she could. “I am Diana, by the way.” She introduced herself.

Presley smiled wide and happily moved into the free chair, “Presley” she returned the introduction. “Okay but what about breakfast and dessert” she offered with a small grin. “I love dessert, I’d probably eat it for dinner if it was socially acceptable and ya know... healthier”

“Well, that explains why I haven’t seen you around then. I haven’t gotten out much these last few months.” Sam replied with a shrug, feeling like he didn’t need to explain himself more than that. Things had been tense lately. “I’ve lived here for a little over five years now. I moved here for high school and then stuck around for college.” He added with a small shrug, knowing it was the easiest way to explain it. 

She nodded a little “Yeah, I can imagine..” she paused, biting down on her lip “I think with everything going on its been a bit rough on everyone” she said, not wanting to dive too deep into it, just in case. She nodded a bit as he spoke, taking another sip of her water as she did. “Oh so you probably know this city like the back of your hand huh?” she smiled “What are you in college for?”

“I guess that is understandable. Ashton is seemingly like a bit of a lonely place recently.” Sam replied knowing a lot of people were staying home as much as possible. People just didn’t feel safe being out and about, and he couldn’t really blame that.  When the waitress came over he ordered his own waffles before turning back towards the female. “I’m Sam.” He added with a small smile. It wasn’t that often he met people in Ashton these days mostly because he didn’t allow himself to get close to people. “Have you lived in Ashton long?” 

“Its a pleasure to meet you Sam” she grinned, shaking her head at his question “Not too long, I moved here like” she paused, lifting her eyes as she thought back “Uh like two ish months ago I think” she replied. “What about you?” she asked, “Have you been here long?” Her attention was caught by the waitress setting her drink down and she thanked her before tapping the straw on the table to break it through the paper before sticking it down into her water and taking a sip.

Sam had gone back to looking at his own menu trying to decide if he did actually want to get his usual order or if maybe something else was a better idea. After all, nothing was really normal at the moment. He was lost in his own thoughts when he heard the girl speak again. “No it’s fine, go ahead. Although I can’t promise that I am the best company at the moment.” He added with a small shrug. Sam wasn’t sure he’d want to be around himself at the moment.

She grinned, happy he’d agreed and then shrugged a bit as he said he probably wouldn’t be great company. She slipped into his booth, opposite of him and leaned back against the seat, “Thats okay” she said “I’m just not great at being by myself” she admitted. “It makes me feel really alone.” she exhaled a laugh. “If that makes sense, but even just being around someone helps- so thank you” she said, looking up at the waitress as she came to take their orders, she decided on waffles with strawberries and a water. She glanced back over at the male after the waitress walked away “I’m Presley, Like Elvis” she introduced herself.

“Oh yeah, the topping list is on the back. I don’t know why they don’t have it on the same page. It’s a poor design if you ask me.” Sam replied with a small chuckle. He was used to it at this point, but he still didn’t understand it. “I am definitely getting waffles myself. With bananas and chocolate sauce.”

She nodded softly and flipped the menu over seeing the list “OH... thank you” she replied before letting a brief silence fall over them. She tapped her finger against the table gently before glancing back up at him and leaning over the table towards him. “Excuse me” she said again. “Sorry... I don’t mean to keep bothering you” she exhaled a breathy laugh. “Do you maybe mind if I sit with you?” she asked, Presley didn’t really care for being alone and she normally tried to find someone to befriend if she was.

Closed.

Mira was still determined to find a part time job to support her family back home and her aunt. Although she had neglected her search slightly lately, she finally decided to get back on track and work on that. She just left her CW at some of the local stores and restaurants, before she entered the cinema, smiling at the girl who seemed to be working there, as she approached her. “Hi. Excuse me? Could you please tell me, where I can leave my CW?”. She asked politely, hoping she didn’t come in vain. 

@notelvis​

Presley was leaned over the counter, fist pressed against her cheek as she slightly got herself lost in a day dream. It was slow sometimes during the middle of showings and she often found herself drifting off to keep herself entertained. She snapped back to the moment hearing the girl enter and leaned up as she walked towards her, “How can I help you today?” she said in a cheery customer service voice before the girl spoke, her eyes shifted to the form before back at the girl and she looked slightly lost for a moment. “Oh, uh.” she brushed pink hair behind her ear. “I’m not actually sure” she laughed. “I can give it to the manager for you though, I’m pretty sure they all go to her but if not she’ll know more than I do” she babbled on slightly. “Sorry. I jsut started here like... a month ago so I don’t know much more than popping corn and candy recommendations” she laughed

 Diana had been headed home fro ma double shift at the hospital. She had attempted at distracting her thoughts as much as possible with work, and so far it had been working. However, she had not wanted to go back home immediately. She was in no mood to make her own food and had decided to treat herself for once. She sat down in the seat she had been guided to, scanning the menu with her eyes, as she looked over to the other once they spoke. She offered her signature smile before she shrugged, “I have never been here before myself, but I am keen to try the burger as I find how a place makes their burger says a lot about them.” She said. 

She gave the woman a smile and sat back against the seat, nodding as she spoke “I was looking at those myself” She said “But I was a bit torn between that and waffles, I’m a sucker for breakfast for dinner” she laughed a little. She pressed her lips together firmly and inhaled a breath, “Would you totally be opposed to sitting together?” she asked curiously, not wanting to really sit alone. It’d be a lie to say she hadn’t randomly sat down with strangers before, but she’d made some of her best friends back in Salem by doing so.

Wren had settled into her booth at the diner with a plate of cheese fries as her reward for studying and she read through the chapters in her Art History textbook. She knew that a lot of her classmates complained about those classes, but even though their major was interior design, Wren thought it was still good to learn about different art styles and how they could connect to what she was doing.

When she heard someone speak, she looked up with a small smile, “Honestly, most everything is good, but they do great burgers. I mean, most diners do, I guess. And I have a personal preference for the cheese fries.” she added, gesturing to her own plate. “They do a pretty good fried fish too though, actually, if you’d prefer something different.” 

The girl nodded as the other listed off a few things, crinkling her nose at the mention of fish. “No fish” she shook her head and chuckled to herself. “Burgers sound okay” she said out loud but mostly to herself, humming a bit as she tried to decide on which one. “What kind of cheese do they use?” she asked, her attention on the girl again. “Is it like.... just melted shredded cheese or nacho cheese sauce?” she elaborated. “Cause there is a difference”

-

Chanel was suppose to be meeting someone here, but it looks like they were running late or they weren’t showing; she couldn’t see the future and the predictability on people was becoming harder and harder to understand, nonetheless she gave them the benefit of the doubt allowing the pink haired femme to sit opposite her so she didn’t look so alone; “I was eying the chicken kiev with rice, actually one of my favourites actually” and she hadn’t had it recently so why not; “Do you have any allergies?” wanting to make sure she didn’t need to ride in an ambulance to the hospital with the other tonight.

The pink haired girl looked at the other curiously “I have no idea what that is” she said honestly with a laugh then shook her head “Oh no... no allergies... at least I don’t think so. I’ve never had any issues before” she said pursing her lips as she thought.

Mal tried to give the other woman a small smile, “I think right now I wouldn’t turn one down.” she admitted softly. “I’m sorry, I know everyone is upset about this I just, I let myself think that somehow this would all have a happy ending. That them going missing would even straighten things up around the town and when they came back it’d be safe here again. I honestly can’t believe how naïve I was.” 

Presley hadn’t been in town long, but even the news struck her and was upsetting and she hadn’t known the people involved. She couldn’t imagine how hard it was hitting people who did and she wrapped her arms around the womans shoulders, pulling her close. “I understand” she said softly, gently pulling away from her a bit to be able to look at her. “I don’t think it was naive,” Naive was something that was used to often describe her- but she didn’t think that hoping for the best was naive. “Being hopeful is kind of all we have in situations like this” she said, hoping it made sense. “I’m sorry you’ve experiencing it though” she rubbed the girls shoulder.

Sam hadn’t been sleeping well or really doing anything well since the body had been found. It made him worry even more about Robin and he couldn’t help but worry that his best friend might also be dead. Whenever he tried to sleep he found himself having nightmares about his best friend being locked up somewhere and hurting. Or worse, he had nightmares about being the one to find her body. It was due to this he found himself out so late at night. Anything was better than being home alone.

Sam was still looking at the menu himself when her heard the girl speak, although he knew it pretty well after the amount of times he’d been here. “I guess that depends on what you are in the mood for.” He added with a small shrug. “I am a huge fan of the waffles here myself, and thankfully they serve them all day.”

Her lips pulled into a grin as he spoke “I was looking at those” She said glancing back at the menu. “Do they have toppings you can add?” she asked attention back on him. “I don’t see the like option anywhere and I normally like adding strawberries” she informed with a small laugh. “Is that what youre going to get?” she asked curiously.

Sarah liked to spend a lot of time on her own, especially in Ashton. She was never worried about the potential kidnapper for two reasons - she seemed to be out of their age range, and she also knew she could fight whoever it was off. So she took herself off to the local diner for her dinner, because she didn’t want another night in her apartment and she also couldn’t cook to save her life. She had her headphones on as she listened to her playlist, tucking into a plate of waffles. She saw someone look at her out of the corner of her eyes and took her headphones off, giving the stranger a look. “I suggest you eat anywhere other than here,” she said before taking another, rather contradictory, bite. “The food hygiene rate of this place is probably below zero. But hey, it’s cheap,” she shrugged. To her the pros outweighed the cons. She went to put her headphones back on, the guitar from the song blaring loudly from them.

Presley stared at the woman, unsure if she was joking or not before blinking and looking back down at her menu then back to her. “Are the waffles passable?” she asked, staying away from the word good again. She wasn’t really great at taking hints but if she had been Presley probably wouldn’t have continued on the conversation, however she was a social creature and hadn’t made many friends in past two months of being here so she took every chance to talk to people. She focused on the earbuds in her ear and could hear the beat of something but she couldn’t place it. “What are you listening to?”