𝔤𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔫

nate pulled his blackjack winnings out of his pocket, flashing them in his opponent’s face. he’d stepped away from the table a few hands before the other, while he was ahead. “hate to burst your bubble, mate, but i did see it indeed,” the brit replied, a smile on his face. “let me buy you a drink, though. it’s the least i could do after the fight you put up over there.”

“jamie lee curtis,” he replied, his manchester accent getting more and more thick the tipsier he got. “and here’s why: dwayne ‘the rock’ johnson, while a pro wrestler, is a gentle soul. he could never seriously hurt someone like jamie lee curtis, who is smaller than him. however; jamie lee curtis has been eating her activia, and it shows. she would take him down instantly, no-pity, easy win for j.l.c.”

he hadn’t really gotten to know anyone in lighthouse cove yet, so nate saw this party as an opportunity to expand his social circle. he’d prepared a few anecdotes about his time playing for manchester united, minus the knee injury, of course. however, a little liquid courage in his system wouldn’t hurt things, but it did startle him a bit when the girl next to him began speaking. “i’m not sure. i’m looking for the drinks myself,” he said, looking down at her; he towered over her at his six-foot-two stature. “we could go look for the bar together...?”

@natesmithmanchester: i clean up nicely i guess? #yachtparty

“a whiskey man. nice. i’m more of a gin man, myself,” he said, following the barber to the chair. he sat down in the seat and explained what he was looking for. “it’s a bit long right now. i usually like it short on the sides, with some of the length left on the top, but honestly you can do whatever you’d like to it as long as you get it out of my eyes.”

nate slid the ten into his pocket, pouring the man another drink and sliding it down the bar toward him. “thanks for the tip,” he said, punching the transaction into the computer. “having a good night so far?” he asked, making the usual across the bar conversation. “is this the end or the beginning of your night tonight?”

nate shook his hand, giving him a gentle smile. “nate smith. pleasure to meet you.” now he remembered, of course. he decided to spare the man’s ego by not telling him he’d never actually seen one of his movies. the trailers played during halftime at his soccer games in manchester. “so, what’s a big-time movie star like yourself doing here in humble little lighthouse cove?”

usually, people brought baked goods over to their new neighbors when someone moved in. usually those people had lived in the neighborhood for a while; however, in this neighborhood, literally everyone was a new tenant. so nate decided to try and bake everyone in the neighborhood (or at least on his street) something. today was brownies, being delivered to 310 lighthouse way, a house just a few down from nate’s own. “hi,” he said once the homeowner answered the door. “i’m nate. 302 lighthouse way. i hope you like brownies; no nuts in there, since i didn’t know whether or not you were allergic.”

hi, i’m nate, i live a couple of streets over. my dog’s been acting weird and i was hoping you would maybe take a look at him. someone told me you’re a vet tech. he practiced the words over and over before knocking on the door, determined for his social anxiety not to get the best of him. “hi, i’m nate,” he said, very rehearsed as the door opened. “someone told me you’re a vet tech—er,” wrong order, wrong order. “is there any way you could take a look at my dog?” he asked, going off script. “he’s been acting weird since we moved in.”

an important part of moving to a new place was finding a barbershop; nate had learned this the hard way when he’d moved from manchester to london, and had gotten a rushed, bad haircut the day of an important interview. now, he was scoping out a new place in lighthouse cove, the bells on the door jingling as he entered. “hello,” he said, greeting the first face he saw with a smile. “do you have any availability right now? need a bit of a haircut.”

wiping down the bar counter after the lunch rush shift at the pub where he’d just begun work, nate’s eyes shifted to a man who seemed a bit too... put together to be at this joint. “’scuse me,” he said, a charming smile on his face. “can i get you a drink? or a menu or something?”

nate was taking a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, familiarizing himself with its ins, outs, twists, and turns, when he spotted a vaguely familiar face. “ex... excuse me?” he called, his manchester accent prominent as he spoke. “do i know you from somewhere?”

also, hi everyone! i’m maggie! if you were on the cove before the revamp, i played jace khouri! i’m really happy to be back and rping again, it’s been a while for me! please message me if you want to be friends either here or on discord (rami malek fan club president#3182), i would love to get to know all of you!