regrets collect like old friends

“Call it intuition,” the brunette suggested once she was seated in the car with the door closed and her backpack placed strategically on her lap. It took her a brief moment but after situating herself green eyes finally peered over at the driver in question with that same smile playing on her pink lips. “But it is key, you’re right about that.” Juliette extended her reach across her frame, holding out her hand to the man in an effort to break the whole stranger dangerous scenario that Juliette knew wasn’t likely to occur but her siblings would have a field day knowing she got in the car with someone she didn’t even know the name of. “Juliette. What do you wanna be called mister…?” 

"Giuseppe, Pep —  anything but mister." He responded, nose wrinkling at the term. It reminded him of a chimney sweep boy with an old London accent, courtesy of Marino religiously watching Oliver Twist every Sunday when his brother was on a come down. "It's nice to meet you, Juliette." His hand clasped around hers and gave a light shake before he returned his hand back to the steering wheel. "Any reason an aspiring cop is hitchhiking?"

“I guess if Ned can’t find the right bribe, then that really says something,” she said with a laugh. The idea of Ned and Pep getting into a spirited debate over the Lord of the Rings seemed so far-fetched, and yet, she’d love to see it. Truly, though, she couldn’t see Pep getting into orcs, and magic, and hobbits. “Is there any series you’d sit down and endure a marathon of?” Even tonight, he seemed reluctant for just one movie, three hours or not. She didn’t miss the way his leg bounced, like he might hop out of the seat and make a break for the exit. It was a quirk of his she’d picked up on over the years, and she’d oftentimes used it as a cue for when to try and help him escape a situation he didn’t seem to want to be in anymore. It made her want to ask him if he was absolutely positive he was okay being here, but then she remembered that they’d met here. He could leave any time he wanted, and she half-expected him to before they made it to the halfway mark. Still, it crossed her mind that she could always rent the movie later, too. This wasn’t her one and only chance to see it if he ended up being that miserable. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to enjoy it if she could tell he was bored right next to her.

“Hey, no one’s trying to outsmart Ned here, Riccitoni,” she teased back. Oh god, that was horrible. Delete, delete, delete. She wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or not that everyone started to get quiet around that time. Now it just had time to sit and taunt her with how bad it was. “Good point,” she whispered, knowing it was hard to keep up with everything on the internet some days. She still found memes occasionally that were new to her, but apparently well over a few years old. Scared to talk too much more and be shushed, Luna gradually began to pay attention to the movie, eyes glued to the screen as scene after scene passed. It wasn’t a bad movie, though she hadn’t come into this thinking it would be. She wasn’t particularly picky when it came to movies, tv shows, etc. And the CGI fights…damn. It was amazing how far they’d come just from when she was a kid. She could see the rest of the crowd react when she did, hear the gasps, and the loud cackles at some of the jokes. Sometimes she forgot how fun it was to see a movie in a large group like this. It wasn’t until she heard Giuseppe’s voice that she pulled herself away from the action, leaning closer to him so that she could hear him against the loud noises on screen. She turned so her mouth was close to his ear and she could try to explain what was happening to the best of her ability, catching a whiff of his familiar scent in the process, still unsure if it was cologne, soap, or just him. “Yeah, that’s Thanos. The green one is the Hulk. He’s from Earth, and Thanos is somewhere from space, I think? Hulk is like a not-as-bad version of Jekyll and Hyde. He’s a badass.” She’d watched all the movies leading up to this one, and yet somehow she still felt lost trying to explain what was going on. With a knowing smile, she tried not to laugh before she spoke again. “The good guys are called The Avengers.”

"You ever seen Our Planet? Narrated by David Attenborough himself, the legend. That I could watch all day." Though he was a fan of factual programmes, anything surrounding the species of planet Earth was contributed from his dad. Pep could remember countless hours in the hospital watching them on repeat, sometimes it was the only thing that could stir his father from his constant slumber. Even in his last days, the low hum of the narration was ever present in the background. While it brought a certain sadness upon him, Giuseppe felt childishly closer to his father when watching them. A little nod to him, he liked to think anytime it was playing on the television. Luna needn't hear that though, he thought to himself, nor did she need her movie experience ruined by his ever constant questioning. That was something he could take to Twitter for answers later on. He was on the fence of dismissing himself when Luna spoke, one of her many attempts at a nickname for him firing out on cue. The corners of his lips betrayed him, revealing the bemused smirk that lingered on his lips. "That sounds like one blinder of a cocktail to me." It wasn't the worst of her pitches, but it was far from being the best. And he intended to make a meal out of teasing her for it. Only, she seemed so emerged in the movie that even he couldn't bring himself to pull her from it yet. "I shouldn't be surprised, what with a face like that being called Thanos almost seems normal." Giuseppe finally spoke when the conversation picked back up, ensuring to keep his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear. Or at least, that's what he encouraged himself to think despite being painfully aware of it being otherwise. Thanks to his own heightened senses, he could hear even the quietest of whispers in the crowded room. And with Luna being so close, he could hear her breathing almost as clearly as he felt his own.

To hell with them he thought, though deciding to keep his tone hushed regardless. "I see," he mumbled, though it was evident he was barely following. Perhaps he should have done some research beforehand, yet reason lead him to believe that would have been hopeless in itself. Reaching over to scoop a handful of popcorn, Giuseppe occasionally popped a piece in his mouth as his vision focused on the big screen. It was all too far fetched for him, that he had already decided, now he was merely watching out of courtesy. To try and tide over enough time he thought to be reasonable, Giuseppe saw no better way to entertain himself than to nitpick. Unfortunate for Luna, but necessary for him. "I assume the bad guys go by no association? 'Seems a little impractical. Oh no, it's the bad guys — anyone with sense would immediately look to your buddy Hank over there. I reckon he's scarier looking than the purple one — Thanos." He was about to give a quiet chuckle when a sharp shhh came from over his right shoulder, the air catching in his throat at last minute and leaving a short breath in it's place. The once unguarded expression he wore — a rarity for only those he knew well —  immediately fell back into his usual bored demeanour, eyebrows knitting together as irritation bubbled and simmered within him all at once. "You know what Luna Eclipse, I'm starting to think this was ill advised." Though he felt guilty and a slightly disheartened to leave her behind, what little patience he managed to muster had quickly wore thin. "I'll be off and leave you to enjoy the movie in peace."

“But I’m nottttt tired,” he huffed as he ordered one more drink. “If I go homes and sleeeeeeps, then I’ll wakes up a do it again, if my maid don’t stopssss me first,” he said with a chuckle as he tossed the drink back, standing up. “Now I’m gonna gooosssss home…an’ an’ an’ write a letter tooo everyone that bloody hurted me!” 

After giving a look to the bartender, who proceeded to get the man another drink despite his subtle warning, Giuseppe sighed internally. He didn’t sign up to play uber, babysitter or agony aunt, and yet, here he was. “Yeah, writing a letter in your state will have no difficulties, I’m sure.” Maid? Sometimes he forgot how loaded many of the residents in town were. “Have you got anyone that can give you a lift home?”

“A phone?” she parrotted as she lifted her sunglasses from her face when he asked about a phone lying around. Maya looked around for a moment before she shook her head. “Sorry, no phone lying around,” she told him honestly. “I can look around for you, if you want.”

“I wouldn’t refuse the help,” Giuseppe responded, though his attention was far more focused on the ground beneath his feet. Another thorough sweep left him confident his phone had been picked up by a stranger, as he was certain he was last with it on this very bench. “I reckon it’s been swiped,” Pep finally said, shoulders sagging in defeat.

Ah, the familiar feeling of discomfort about herself Ria always felt whenever Giuseppe was around. She could understand not wanting to be read like an open book, but it wasn’t the most pleasant feeling. Not the kind of thing that a cute boy was supposed to feel about her, not the kind of thing she wanted to feel on dates. Her situation was a catch-22, since her magic, unlike so many others, actually gave her an insight to the heart of whomever she was talking to. Lying about it was understandably not an option, but being honest about it led to this. 

Not all the time, though. Giuseppe was just one in a sea of many, and she’d like to think it had all worked out. “Have you taken any photos of yourself? I’ve wondered about that. You’re always behind the camera, when are you in front of it?”

"These aren't really the type of cameras that are ideal for selfies," he responded, a wry grin tugging down at the corner of his mouth as his gaze flickered to Ria. "No, not really. I prefer to be behind it, less incriminating evidence that way." Even though it was a joke of his own, it tasted bitter in his mouth. Poor choice of words on his part, because it all it did was serve as a nudging reminder of how he came to stand here. A free man. And of course this blip in his usual kept together self would occur when around Ria — the empath. Changing the subject as quick as he could without drawing attention to it, Giuseppe faced the camera towards her. "What about you? Are you the type to blend in a crowd, or stand out from it?"

Boy if today was the day to have a hangover, then the Drinking Gods must hate him, especially when he was blathering on about absolutely nothing, other than the things he didn’t do that apparently people were blaming him for. “…if I didn’t kill the Arch Duke of Ferdinand, they’ll blame me, the only person in the world who was innocent…like a little ant, y’know…” he slurred, though he really didn’t kill the Arch Duke of Ferdinand….”But you know what? I’m gonna sit here and wait till they blame me for something else so so so I can say that I didn’t do it!” 

In truth, Pep had only caught half of what the man was blathering on about. At first, he had decided to ignore him all together. It was proving to be a task though, as three minutes went by and the bloke was still chattering drunkenly. “Mate, don’t you think you should call it a night? I don’t think anyone around cares about what you did or didn’t do. If it were me, I’d take the win and head to bed.”

“I shouldn’t be saying this because I’ve written an unpublished manuscript and everything, very serious writer, all of that, but I don’t care about the differences between those words.” He didn’t know, as they kept talking, if Juice’s reaction was to the alcohol or to the suggestion of a double date, but he’d seen his best friend down worse alcohol without always reacting like this, so maybe he’d just split the difference and say both. He couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at the mention of the dark side,  choking back a laugh at the thought of Nagitha. “First of all, the dark side is, you know, being in love, which is pretty great. Second of all, you think every girl who wants to see you more than three times is a a ‘loony,’ what’s that about?” 

"Very serious writer," Giuseppe repeated in his best impersonation of Ned — which included a more deadpan expression than his usual one— before his brows raised. "Do you realise how conceited you sound mate? And here I thought you were the more laidback one out of the pair of us." Refraining from rolling his eyes when Ned went on to defend his — in Giuseppe's opinion — poor choices, he instead leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. "Whatever you say, but as a very serious writer, your settlement for the word great is both concerning and unconvincing." Pep was only teasing though, finding enjoyment in ruffling his best mate's feathers at any chance he could get. "That's not true." He protested, defiance mixed in his features as he thought for a moment. "There was that girl, in that place, we had more than three dates." Truth to be told, he was grasping at straws by now. He could barely remember half of the girls names he had dated, given the evergrowing string of dates he had been on. "Alright, no one is coming to mind right now but I know I've been on more than three dates with one girl."

Maya stretched as she leaned back on the bench, glad that she decided to take a break from work and everything else. Her lunch was next to her, along with a drink she could sip on…oh yeah. Life was good at this point. She had her eyes closed, taking a nap and silently humming to herself when she opened her eye. “Not in,” she said in a lazy tone. “The lawyer’s on vacation for a while.”

"Not looking for business," Giuseppe replied quickly, shrugging off her presumption as he looked around her with a furrowed brow. "Did you see a phone lying around when you got here?"

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.” Lily said, sounding flustered. “Are you okay?” 

"I'll live," Giuseppe mumbled, looking down at his shirt in disdain after Lily bumping into him caused his drink to spill over him completely. "Can't say the same for the shirt, though."

The University campus was big, the kind of place Logan would have gotten lost in if he hadn’t lived in town almost all his life and had several siblings attend the institution. His mission for the day had been to figure out how to enroll for the upcoming fall semester: what he needed to submit, which diagnostic tests to take, how to access university HoH assistance, and what, most importantly, he wanted to study. He could be a vet, if he really wanted to. There were tools he could use to ensure he was actually aware of all of his pet patients’ symptoms. Teaching, too. Being a preschool teacher at Little Rascals didn’t require more than a high school diploma, and he loved it. 

Right now, as he approached his Jeep in the parking lot, Logan didn’t have to decide anything. As he neared his destination, however, he found an interesting sight— two dudes apparently yelling at each other— or at least they looked very mad— and a small crowd of people surrounding them. Tapping the person closest to him on the shoulder, Logan pointed to the two men and mouthed, what?

Giuseppe took a step backwards when he felt a hand brush against his shoulder, the contact being a surprise despite his heightened senses making him aware of every presence surrounding him. Ruling it under being distracted by the outburst happening a few feet from him, the werewolf settled his features into an even expression before turning to the person who had tapped his shoulder in the first place. Oh. Though he had some experience with signing after the handful of classes he had taken when Ella's eldest daughter was born with a hearing defect, Giuseppe was considerably rusty. "They're fighting over a girl," he said, moving his hands as he spoke, still not entirely confident but continuing anyway. "The one in the blue—" He gestured to the fairer headed male, who was now squaring up with the other "— was caught kissing the other bloke's girlfriend."

Like a scene right out of a movie where the girl got picked up by a mysterious stranger, or a familiar face she had yet to find out, Juliette stood on the side of the road, her arm extended and thumb sticking out, a universal hitchhiking sign. Which must have worked because before she knew it the twenty-two-year-old was leaning against the car talking to the driver through the passenger window. “So, what do you say? Give me a ride back into town and when I make the police force I won’t give you a speeding ticket every time I see your car?”

It wasn't a habit he liked to make, picking up random people from off the side of the road. Giuseppe had watched far too many documentaries that ended gruesomely for the very same reason. As much as he wished for his life to have been different, he was still very grateful for it, therefore being butchered by a pretty brunette was way down on his bucket list. Still, after looking her over and recognising her, he eventually began to nod and unlocked the doors in open invitation. "When you make the police force?" Giuseppe asked, a sly smile creeping on to his lips as she got herself comfortable in the passenger seat. "Confidence is key, I suppose."