doing it my way

She cocked her head slightly, “Is that how you got yours?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest, instinctively defensive as he stepped closer with all the energy of a caged tiger. 

“Okay, we need to start with the fact that I never, ever held a torch for you. You were the one that asked me out,” she reminded him, bluntly, “I would rather shove a torch up my-” she stopped herself short, remembering that she wasn’t in the school yard, she was in her new office, in a professional setting, surrounded by people who expected her to be a professional at all times, “Second, I didn’t know you were here- how would I know that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, “Unless you have it plastered all over social media which is stupid- especially for a cop, you should know that,” she added, feeling a little smug about it if indeed he was foolish enough to share his information with the world for no good reason. “I’m here because-” No. No fucking way was she throwing Hanna under the bus. How hard would it be for Tristan to find out where she worked? What she did? Who she knew? He’d relish in the opportunity, not to mention the fact that he was sure to use the information to turn Nik’s personal life into a joke once he was done with her career, “-it’s actually none of your business,” she decided bluntly, “I’m here to do my job, not to give an oral presentation on my autobiography. I can’t imagine why I entertain you, I’m not an interesting person, I don’t do interesting things so it shouldn’t trouble you too much not to know the details,” she added, turning it back on him.

■

“You just couldn’t let yourself forget that could you? Me asking you out.” Tristan twisted Nik’s words to make them work to his advantage and annoy her in the process. “It was probably one of the very top of your high school memories I bet,” he went on with a teasing smirk and tilt of his head, arms crossing over his chest breezily. It mirrored Nik somewhat but did not hold the defensive energy her stance held at all. Yes, he did ask Nik out. Yes, she did say no. And no, he didn’t want to admit he remembered the details correctly. 

“Shove a torch up your what?” Tristan was beaming, wildly impressed he’s gotten her this wound up so quickly. Not to toot his own horn but has this just gotten easier? Or has he just gotten better? He’s been out of practice but no doubt he got better. No doubt.

Tristan scoffed at the accusation. “Of course not. I’m a responsible cop. I know things.” He was tempted, sure. But Tristan knew the rules. That’s how he operated so well. Quite interested to learn what brought Nik to Beaver Cove, Tristan couldn’t hide the disappointment in his features when she cut herself short. Oh, c’mon! It was as if there was a child within him and it whined because Nik didn’t want to cooperate with him. “You probably wouldn’t know how to give an oral presentation if your life depended on it,” Tristan shot back childishly. Terrible time to be making blowjob jokes? Yes. But he was huffy he didn’t get the deets he wanted.

“Glad you’re aware of that now. Took long enough for me to drill it in your head back then. I did it for the people you know–” And before Tristan could go on any further and flame Nik to the point of no return, the Captain returned. Shit. “Capt! Hey, yeah, just... you know, making buds with the new addition. You know me, proactive and all that.” Proactive enough that he should really consider giving Tristan a promotion but you know, if he wanted to take his sweet time he could do that too. Just as long as he didn’t croak before Tristan got what he wanted.

“That’s a pretty vague statement, something terrible happens daily, whether we witness it or not is a different story.” Zahra scoffed, plopping down on the bench. She was glad to have a spare minute before work, but the last thing she wanted was to deal with Tristan’s mind. Zahra didn’t necessarily mind it, but when preparing for a long shift, it was a lot to take in at times. “Just turn on the news, and I’m sure you’ll find at least a dozen things that happened globally. I mean, you know on average 120 people die each second.” 

■

“Wow, who pissed in your cereal today, Basar?" Tristan asked, content to drop his dramatics to address her somber and matter-of-fact retort. "And here I thought I was upset.” Zahra made a fair point. More grounded, more real. But boring and nowhere near as entertaining as Tristan’s tingling sixth sense. “Is that one of the many fun statistics you learn as an EMT? You guys are just the cheeriest aren’t ya?” Tristan teased sarcastically.

“Contrary to popular belief. They like me more because I’m an actual child.” He clarified, pointing a finger at the other. “I get their memes, I get all the lingo going on right now. Which I’m sure you can’t say the same.”

"Riiight.” Lame-o. That was because Tristan was an adult now and acted as such. He didn’t care about memes or dumb lingo that didn’t make sense to anyone above the age of eighteen. “Do pray tell, what fun lingo are the kids using today, Cool? Side note: painful that that’s your last name by the way.” Really irritated Tristan knowing Elijah got the privilege of being called that despite being an absolute nerd. God, it was such a shame losers like this just got to walk around and exist without punishment.

nora didn’t mind the rain . in fact , she loved it . there was something so pure about it . the only thing she disliked about it , was when you would have to walk around in wet clothes . she span around and giggled softly as she threw her hands out , her smile softening as she felt the raindrops slam against her face . she was well aware that she probably looked like a complete idiot , but she didn’t mind it one bit . as she came to a stop , nora noticed that she had gotten a little bit of a crowd . “ what? ” she laughed softly , “ come on . it’s amazing , i promise , ” she said and grinned wickedly while keeping her gaze on the other person . 

■

What? Was she seriously asking ‘what’? She looked like an absolute weirdo spinning around in the rain in the middle of the road. Teens these days. Tristan may have done some weird shit when he was a teenager but never this weird. “Yeah, I’ll take your word for it, kid, but probably a good idea to get out of the road. Cars coming through and all that.” Though weren’t any cars right this second didn’t mean there wasn’t going to be. “This is just whimsical teen crap, right? Not gonna have to work a breathalyzer test on you?” He asked from where he stood nice and dry under the cover of The Loose Cannon’s storefront roof.

Jamel turned over to the voice next to him and shrugged not in a place to tell the other that he was wrong. “In this town I feel like that is always a fair assumption to make.” He added offhandedly, while Beaver Cove was his home it was hard not to notice that there was an eerie underlying atmosphere lingering around. Though he was sure that was to be expected when the town spun disasters into a capitalistic mockery. “Let’s just hope it’s a bearable terrible and not tragic.” 

■

“Yeah, let’s hope,” Tristan repeated. Though, it wouldn’t kill him if something out of the ordinary happened today. Not a drowning or anything that extreme but maybe a mugging or two, something to get that cardio in. “See anything weird around town lately, Wells?” He asked. “You get up to weird things don’t you?”

Though Nik could have easily have predicted as much, it appeared that despite the decade that had passed between them, Tristan Hacker hadn’t changed much. He certainly hadn’t matured. 

Anika’s muscles tightened with a familiar form of anxious energy as she took a couple of steps toward him, wary like she was approaching a rabid dog or ready to negotiate with an armed offender.  “Chicago P.D., Toronto Police Service- and I did ten weeks at the National Academy in Quantico,”  so shove that, Tristan Hacker, she thought to herself before the realisation that her professional history might pale in comparison to hers. The Tristan she knew was connected, slimy as hell but a go-getter without a doubt, God knew what he’d achieved in the years since high school. “Besides all that, your superiors seem pretty impressed with me too,” it was nice to say ‘your superiors’ to Tristan, when she wasn’t aware of anybody else that had ever qualified for the title when he was on top of the teenage food chain, except for Matilda Worthington perhaps. “So, I don’t see what’s so funny,” she stood her ground, though maybe it was the weight of all the butterflies in her stomach anchoring her to the floor instead of her resolve. 

■

“Look at you knowing all your big girl police names. Very cute,” Tristan commented patronizingly, looking Nik up and down, sizing her up. Despite the uniform (which he still isn’t convinced she didn’t pay for on eBay or something), it was still the same old Nik. To him anyway. Awkward new girl trying to find her footing at a school that was going to eat her alive. Except now they were just playing on a different field. Though the elements remained relatively the same in Tristan’s mind. There was still very much a hierarchy, she was very much going to be eaten alive if he could do anything about it, and Tristan was very much above her despite whatever his ‘superiors’ had to say about her.

He stepped closer and poked lightly at the sewn-on name tag. “How much did you pay for that on Etsy? Like 15 bucks? Or did you take up sewing in the last ten years as one of your many exciting hobbies?” To anyone else, it would be a shame how quickly Tristan slipped back into his high school role. But to Tristan, he was just glad he hadn’t lost touch. The slight venom in his voice was still there, the predacious demeanor... all signs of a great intimidator. “You’ve always just been so entertaining to me, West. I think you know that.” If the way he met and subsequently made her his target for the entirety of his senior year had anything to say about it. “Alright, I’ll bite. You’re a cop now. Why Beaver Cove? Still holding a torch for me?”

Nik was in good spirits to say the very least. Having just completed her official tour of her new detatchment, she was eager to get to know her new collegues and most of all, impress them. She was a good cop, as far as she was concerned. She’d never been the subject of any disciplinary action, she’d never had any formal complaints lodged against her, she kept her uniform neat and tidy and her intentions were sincere. Even though she was new to Beaver Cove, it didn’t stop her from feeling the compelled to prove herself as a helpful member of the community.

Any semblance of the good spirit that had possessed her that afternoon was swiftly snatched away, the moment she was lead into the room where her new desk sat near a window. Near a window where Tristan Hacker was mouthing off about something. The residue of her teenage self urged her to demand a transfer, to warn them that there was a wolf in sheep’s clothing in the Beaver Cove office and that she would never, ever, ever, work with the creep that stood just feet from her new desk. The desire to impress her new boss, however, far surpassed her impulse to call Tristan the fuck out right then and there, despite the raging battle between flight or fight that was making her stomach twist into knots.

“Wow, what a view,” she said instead of voicing even a shred of what was troubling her. Perhaps if she pretended Tristan didn’t exist then he wouldn’t. Perhaps if she didn’t look him in the eye, he wouldn’t recognise her, despite the name WEST sewn onto her uniform. 

■

Tristan was hardly ever wrong. When something was up, something was up. It was only ever about waiting until his attention was brought to it. Despite his fellow colleague, Jenkins, telling him that a totally normal and boring day was allowed at Beaver Cove, Tristan wasn’t convinced. And rightfully so. Because with a turn of his head, he spotted a bad omen right there and then. For a second, he thought it was an illusion. His mind playing tricks on him in an effort to make a seemingly mundane day exciting. But after a moment’s focus and narrowing his eyes, he knew what he was seeing was true despite how absolutely nuts it was. He’d recognized those bug alien eyes anywhere. 

Tristan waited till the Captain left Nik’s side before setting down his tumbler of hot tea and walking over. Boss Man didn’t need to see him tend to the trash.

“Well, well, well. Do my eyes deceive me or is that little ol’ Westy I see. Please tell me this is an elaborate plan you’ve worked up to make me laugh and that you’re not an actual cop.” Because West? A cop? Tristan’s never heard of a bigger joke in his life. “This is a long ways to go to get my attention. You could have just hit me up on Facebook.” Not that he’d accept her friend request but you could totally send someone something via Messenger that they could also... totally ignore.

Today was a turning into a long day at work for Daniel, not that he minded. His shift had almost been over when there’d been an emergency call for a Mama dog and her puppies running around by the docks. Naturally, he volunteered to go on the call with a coworker. There was a lot of scouring the area but thankfully once they’d located the little family huddled in a crawl space, it didn’t take too long before everyone was safely and soundly in their care. He brought mama and her pups to the vet to get checked out, and the team told him it’d probably be a couple hours so he figured he might as well grab a snack or something while he waited. Besides after all the running around, a frozen hot chocolate sounded real good right about now. Stepping into the cool air of Tim Horton’s, Dan’s eyes scanned the other occupants. His gaze landing on a familiar face, he nodded their way. “Well look who finally got out for some fresh air.”

@beaverstart·

■

“Weeell, the mom wanted donuts so donuts she gets,” Tristan explained as he tucked his change and the receipt in his back pocket. His mother was probably the only woman in the world that could get him to do anything without complaint on his part. Especially getting him to leave his desk now that September was nearing. “How goes it, Bauer? Save any puppies from drain pipes lately? Get any kittens out of trees? That’s what you guys do, right?”

Open Starter - @beaverstart·

To describe how Lilith was feeling right now, tired would be an extreme understatement. She had a very long week at the doctor’s office of running around doing exams and filling in charts. As well as taking care of the locals that regularly came in for check ups. In order to truly enjoy this weekend to the fullest, she decided to stop by the library to pick up a few new books and return the ones she had finished. As she wandered the aisles looking at possible books to read; she spotted a book that a coworker of hers had told her about on the top shelf of the philosophy section. There was no way she was going to be able to reach it. A person turned into the aisle she was in, so she decided to ask for help. “Hey, do you think you can reach this book for me or help me find a ladder?”

■

Random acts of kindness were commonly drawn out from Tristan one or two ways: how attractive the person asking was and if he was on the job. Right now, he wasn’t on the job. So the prior applied. “Which book?” He pointed at the section in front of the stranger. “This one? A little light...” He squinted, narrowing his focus to spot the name of the section. “–Philosophy,” weird choice, “to kick start the weekend or are you picking it up for someone else?” Hopefully not a boyfriend if Tristan wanted his afternoon to go as planned.

@beaverstart·

“The world being weirdly random can be comforting if you really think about it,” Johnnie mused to no one – he just loved hearing himself talk sometimes. “The world itself being not sentient? It can’t want to help you, nor can it want to hurt you. It just exists, you know?”

■

A second or two as Tristan tried to process that. And even with some time, he couldn’t. “Okay, if you’re on drugs, you’re obligated to tell me if I ask so...?” He titled his head – a wordless prod– as he waited for Johnnie’s reply.

“Today has been such a good day, and I can’t even explain why.” She bobbed her head back and forth to the imaginary song in her head, as a smile tugged at her lips. “I’m sorry. Welcome to the Ugly Mug Cafe. What can I get for you?”

@beaverstart·

■

“A less cheery demeanor and a green tea please,” Tristan groaned. “Hot and chuck full of lemon and honey,” he added before he pressed his fingers to the bridge of nose in an effort to feel the slightest bit better. He woke up with the nastiest cold today and he was going to blame it on those stupid kids his neighbors had that were deeply incapable of not making noise. Not getting his nine hours were really taking its toll on the RCMP officer.

“Can you even imagine that this is from the first spider-man movie with Tobey Maguire, from 2002? I mean some of my students weren’t even born then. And look, it still fits.” He said, placing the mask on his head. “You can’t really see out of it very well. But it is eighteen years old.”

@beaverstart·

■

“Do your students hate you more or less because you’re an actual child too? Not a dig, a genuine question.” That happened to conveniently double as a dig.

@beaverstart·

“Ooph, I have a killer headache,” Robin groaned. “Hey. Do you have Advil on you by any chance? I keep forgetting when the drugstore opens. And, gah, I can’t handle bright lights right now.”

■

“Well, lucky for you, the new neighbors that moved into the place next to mine have a gaggle of demon children...” Dramatic pause as he walked over to Robin. “...So I’ve been popping more Advil than usual.” And happen to have some on him because those tiny savages were unbearable. From his pocket, Tristan retrieved a packet of Advil and held them out for Robin. “Long night at the bar or did your neighbors make the mistake of having kids too?”

—  MEET TRISTAN ;