Wednesday July 13th
Who: Nora, Callum and Finn What: Finn thinks he's being stalked Where: In town When: Afternoon Rating: PG
Most days were quiet days, but that came with working at the library. Nora liked quiet because it gave her a chance to watch people without them knowing. They were always so absorbed in their books, their work, she could stare at them for hours and they’d never know.
But noise was good, too. Being outside in the streets, hearing people talking, laughing, sharing secrets and telling stories. It was all so amazing. One of her many favorite times of day was when her shift at the library was over and she could walk downtown and see people, take their pictures (usually without their knowledge) and experience life. Mostly she saw the same people doing the same things, which was wonderful, but sometimes she saw new people, or rare people. Today she had a Rare Person sighting. Across the street was a young boy looking sulky and self absorbed and not very happy with the day. Sure it was cloudy and kinda humid, but that was no reason to be miserable. Pulling out her phone, Nora snapped a few pictures of the guy, zooming in on his face for a few shots to really capture the emotion. Happiness was normal to photograph; malcontent was new and interesting.
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Despite every instinct telling him to do otherwise, Finn was ‘outside’. Cal had left him sitting on a bench which was too cold and damp to really put anything on, let alone threadbare jeans, and the weather was not something he enjoyed here. Why anyone wanted to go outside and - what was it Cal had called it? - people watch, was beyond him. People were less interesting the more you got inside their heads.
Sure they looked innocent enough, playing on their phones as a distraction from misery but Finn knew better. They were scheming. Thinking of ways to get back at their exes, wondering if their new boss was going to promote them and how to manipulate to their favour, all sorts of stupid things that didn’t really matter.
Apart from one girl who kept pointing her phone in his direction. Finn straightened, scowl intensifying as Cal plopped down next to him, handing him an ice cream.
“What’s up?” asked Cal, sunglasses - come on, really? - perched on his nose.
“That girl,” said Finn darkly. “She’s watching us.” Harmless looking, but Finn knew better. Finn always knew better.
“What girl? Look, eat your Mr Whippy or whatever it’s called, you’re meant to be enjoying yourself.”
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Oh wow, the grumpy boy had ice cream now. This was going to be interesting. It was impossible to be annoyed when you were eating ice cream, but Nora had a feeling this guy would try. He would scowl and sulk and lick the frozen dessert, and that was just… so precious. Checking before crossing the street (for once), she flounced over to their side of the road, but kept a distance from the boy and the man who’d joined him. She didn’t want to interrupt the pout fest. Once she felt she was safely hidden behind a lamp post, the phone went back up, clicking pictures one after the other. Every so often she’d grin, and giggle a little, pleased with herself and her studies.
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Finn watched her. Couldn’t keep his eyes off her, in fact. He had to know what she was doing but that would involve two things which he wasn’t particularly fond of - speaking to people and moving. The bench might have been uncomfortable but at least he was sitting down. Sitting was practically a hobby of his these days.
Cal punched him on the arm a second later and he yelped. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Language! And stop perving at girls, we need to keep this whole arrangement for as long as possible.”
“I’m not perving at girls, she’s got a camera!” Finn went to point at her but faced nothing. Where had she gone? He glanced around, trying to find her. “She could be CIA, Cal.”
Cal gave a groan and stretched his legs. “She’s not CIA.”
“How do you know?”
“Because we are not wanted terrorists. Just eat your ice cream. I paid a pound for it, the least you can do is eat the flake thing - “
“I’m going to find her.”
“No, don’t…”
But all too late Finn was on his feet, stalking in a circle as he tried to find the source of his new mystery - girl with phone. He ignored Cal’s requests to ‘sit the fuck down’ and scanned the area, pacing up and down. He didn’t even notice the ice cream start to drip over his fingers.
“You’re being paranoid.”
“We’ve had this discussion already. I have every right to be paranoid.”
“But you don’t have every right to embarrass me so sit - the fuck - dow….”
Found her. Finn spotted her hiding not-so-expertly behind a lamppost and stalked towards her, ice cream droplets mingling through his fingers as Cal caught on too late.
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What a strange conversation these two were having. Of course Nora couldn’t hear any of it, but it seemed tense on one end and lighthearted on the other. Also grumpy was letting his ice cream drip, which was a shame because it looked really tasty. Nora made a note: Ice cream later. After a few more snaps, she took her face away from the pair to scroll through what she’d gotten, smiling fondly at all of them. Sure, a lot of them were repeat shots, but they were all good. Maybe there would be a clue in them as to why the young fellow was so down. “Aww, he looks nice,” she said to herself, about half a second before movement in her peripherals made her head snap up, and suddenly there he was, the subject of study, the gloomy gus. “Oh!” she exclaimed, then smiled. “Hello!”
For a second Finn lost his fight. She most certainly didn't appear to be CIA - but that didn't mean she wasn't some other secret organisation and damn good at hiding it. Finn put his free hand on his hip. He wouldn't be fooled!
"Who do you work for?" he growled quietly, narrowing his brown eyes to study her reaction. "Why are you following me?"
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Well that was a weird question. Nora’s brow furrowed, her phone momentarily forgotten. “Uh… well I work at the library, so… Miss Greene?” she offered, hoping she was being helpful. Maybe he was a survey taker so he needed to ask for statistical purposes. “But she didn’t ask me to follow you and take pictures. I’m doing that on my own. Actually I’m not even working right now, I punched out ten minutes ago and I was just walking down the street and then I spotted you. Isn’t that lucky! I’ve been looking for you and your friend for weeks now, you’re really hard to catch because I guess you’re always busy. But here you are today, finally outside in public! And I got some great shots of you, wanna see?” She turned her phone screen toward him, although since the camera was still on, all he’d get was her own grinning face looking at him expectantly.
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Either this girl was super good at her job or she was genuinely this ditzy. It took Finn a moment or two to catch up with what she was saying, finally feeling the sticky goo of the ice cream pooling around his fingers all too late. If only to stop it dribbling on his shoes he lifted his hand and quickly licked at his fingers. He’d never been into the library - shock - and didn’t know whether she was telling the truth, but he wasn’t going to take her word on face value alone. Too many people were secret actors and actresses. Secrets altogether. “No I don’t wanna see!” he said a little too squeakily. He resented the implication he was a hermit, too! Even though technically he probably was. “Why are you following me? What do you want?”
Perhaps having seen that the poor girl was practically being accosted, Cal appeared at Finn’s side a moment later, his own ice cream impressively almost half-eaten. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said tugging his nephew out of the way, “he doesn’t mean to be rude I’m sure, he just gets a little tetchy, he doesn’t get out much....”
“Quit holding me!” Finn complained and pulled his arm free. “She has pictures of us! Show him!” He gestured towards the girl.
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Nora didn’t know much about intimidation tactics, but if she did she would realize that Finn was terrible at them. One could not strike fear into another person whilst licking ice cream off their fingers. But because of her ignorance, she only looked upon him sympathetically, recognizing that it really was hard to eat ice cream without it getting very messy. Her tongue wasn’t fast enough either. Hey, they had that in common! Maybe when he was done being angry, she’d bring that up. “I wanna get you on camera!” she told Finn pleasantly, like it should have been obvious. “I need pictures of you to complete my mission!” She loved the term ‘mission’, it sounded much more important than just a job or a hobby.
At the arrival of the friendlier face, Nora grinned once more. “I do have pictures, you really should see them!” And once again she turned the camera around, only this time she remembered (a moment late) that she was still in picture mode. “Oh wait, hang on… let me get to the gallery…” Tapping the screen a few times with her fingers, then frowning, then repeatedly tapping the same spot several times, Nora finally held up the proper screen for the men to enjoy. “See? And you just scroll through like this, with your finger…” She demonstrated, as if they wouldn’t know the impressive secrets of her everyday technology.
Cal shot a frown to his nephew but took the phone from the girl’s hands. Something about her wasn’t right, sure, but it most certainly wasn’t an ‘I work for murderers’ vibe. He shot her a tiny smile if only to assure her he wasn’t as grumpy as Finn, and then took a look. “Hey, these aren’t half bad,” he said - mostly to himself. “You ever thought of taking this up full time?”
“CAL!” Said Finn. It had become painfully obvious that the ice cream would splat on the floor if he didn’t eat it so he said this through a massive mouthful of Mr Whippy. Once he’d wiped his lips he pointed to the girl again. “She said mission! Are you just going to ignore that? What is your mission? What’s your agent number?”
“Finn if you don’t shut up I swear to God…” Cal waited until Finn had the ice cream in his mouth again before he addressed the lady and handed back her phone. “My name is Callum, but you can call me Cal, and this is my nephew Finn. I apologise for him until the end of time. Nice to meet you.”
Behind them Finn made a noise - or tried to speak, it was hard to tell - but didn’t make any motion to stop him as Cal extended a hand.
“Agent number?” This guy was really confusing. She didn’t even have an agent! Did he think she was a model, or an actor? Maybe. That was sweet of him, since humans put a lot of emphasis on beauty and fame. Or maybe he wanted to know so he could become famous himself. Nora wished she could help with that.
“Oh, nice to meet you!” She took his hand and shook it like she had been taught, with a firm grip, two pumps, and release. It was a little more vigorous than necessary, but she wanted to make a good impression. “Cal. And Finn. Those are great names.” Peering past Cal’s shoulder, Nora offered an apologetic shrug. “I wish I could help you with an agent, Finn, but I’m not famous or anything. But you probably could be. Broody is in right now, isn’t it? Guys who just scowl and glower and stuff? You could be in movies doing that.”
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Cal’s brows raised in surprise and complete and utter pleasure as he turned to see Finn’s face crumple. Girl was funny. In fact she was just what Finn needed. Turning back to the snap-happy lady Cal smiled appreciatively. She had just given him six months’ worth of material. “Miss, would you like an ice cream?” Without even waiting for her to reply, he reached behind and dragged Finn towards her. “While he’s busy apologising I will go and get you one.” And then he hissed “Apologise” before he whacked him on the shoulder and left Finn very alone.
Alone with a girl who freaked him the hell out. “I’m not - I’m not broody,” he moped. That was first on his list. Then he shoved his hand out - the non sticky one - and sighed. ”I’m sorry. I still don’t trust that you’re not working for some secret government to get me, but I should have been -” what did Cal call it? “- gentler with my accusation.”
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Ooh, ice cream! Well this day was getting pretty good. She was more than happy to accept both the ice cream and an apology, although why Finn had to apologize she wasn’t totally sure. She did take his hand and shake though, just like she did with Cal. “A secret government? Why would you think that?” A pause, a thought, and then a realization. “Oh! Because I was taking pictures of you!” With mirthful glee, Nora shook her head. “Oh no, that’s not what they’re for. I’m-” Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, all amusement gone from her face. These people were humans. They weren’t supposed to know about her, about her studying, or her dry years. She was supposed to be keeping a low profile. And she had almost completely mucked it up!
“I’m a student working on my thesis. For my journalism class. It’s a human interest piece about local customs and how tourism and changing global economy affects them.” The line sounded rehearsed, because it was. She had needed to memorize a reason for study, if anyone ever asked her about it. “They’re just for research. People who live here and people who visit, that sort of thing.” Shoving her phone hastily into her pocket, Nora tucker her hair behind her ear. “So you live here, right? In town?”
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Now he had chance to look at her better Finn had no idea why he’d thought she was government. Her eyes glittered with innocence, her chirpyness was no facade. In fact he envied her, because she seemed to still be in the youthful stage of life being for glorious journeys, puppies and cupcakes. Though if she was studying human interests she might learn the opposite soon enough.
Wow. He really was broody. “Sounds fascinating,” he lied. There was no way he could manage to eat an ice cream without looking weird and hold a conversation. So he simply ate a bit more of the ice cream, sucking it enough so it would stop dribbling, and then cleared his throat. “Yeah I live here. About a year now. The Mayor was kind enough to accept us as a sort of emergency, so…” The less she knew about it the better so he changed subjects. “You like it here? You seem to like it here. People to watch and stuff.”
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Perfect save, Neued! She thought to herself, feeling very triumphant that she had fooled Finn so cunningly. “Oh, I love it here,” she gushed, putting both hands to her chest. “I’ve been here six months and I already just… it’s so interesting. So many different people from so many different backgrounds, everyone goes about their day not even knowing that the person beside them on the bench has great stories to tell! It’s kind of a shame how nobody seems interested.” It was a shame that humans didn’t seem to appreciate their own amazingness.
“Well where did you come from before here? Was it a city? Tell me about it, I’d like to know. I’ve never been anywhere but here.”
-------------------------------------------------- Finn paused. Something about never being anywhere but here but only being here six months registered in his mind but not brazen enough. He was thinking more about Michigan, his home and how things had been back there. Thankfully the ice cream covered his pause, eyes growing dark. “America. Michigan,” he said simply. “It’s a really nice place.” How else could he describe it? The memories his home had soured considerably when he’d had to abandon his house.
“I didn’t live in a city I lived outside it. East Lansing, it was nice. Nice home. Trees, bars, same as this. Cal lived a few blocks away. He’s my Uncle.” And that was that. He trailed off, casting a look towards the coastline.
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This guy really had that far off, wistful look down pat. Nora was getting more and more convinced that he did belong in movies. His character had jumped all over the place today. “That sounds nice,” Nora said softly, not wanting to ruin his nostalgic moment. “Do they talk another way in East Lansing?” She knew enough about accents to know hers was different than Finn and Cal’s, although they could understand one another so it had to be the same language. But the language she knew now wasn’t the same as the morgen spoke, though close, so maybe this East Lansing was similar. “I mean we speak… English here,” (she’d had to pause to remember what it was called) “but we all sound really different sometimes. That’s another great thing about this town, different people and stuff.”
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Finn turned away from his faraway gaze, looking to the girl with a bit of focus for once. She was a bit weird. A lot weird. It was like she wasn’t even human.
Which, now he paused to think about it, was pretty plausible. He’d met werewolves, vampires, witches - all non-human even though they appeared it. She seemed a little bit more disassociated from the culture though. “Yeah,” he nodded. “I talk like East Lansing people. Michigan people. Though I guess if you asked anyone here I’d just sound American. You don’t - really sound like you’re from anywhere, though. I mean you do, but not English. Not Welsh either, they go up and down like yo-yos. Your accent is smoother. Nice, like water.” He hoped he didn’t sound creepy by it, but it was an observation he had to make. “If you don’t mind me saying.”
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She sounded like water. This forced an awkward laugh out of her, one she tried to make seem as genuine as possible. “Water? That’s funny!” As emphasis, she playfully slapped his shoulder, the way guys did on television. “You’re so funny. Funny and serious looking, that’s you!” Thank God Callum was on his way back, and there could be a distraction. “Cal your nephew is really funny!” she called over to him. “And nice! I like him. I’m glad we’re friends now.” Turning focus back to Finn, she said again, “I’m glad we’re friends now. Hey, maybe I can take pictures of you close now instead of far away! Then I can get better shots and see your face really clear.”
Cal made a face as he approached, but he was glad to see they were at least getting along. “Funny, nice and likeable? Finn I think you’ve hit the jackpot here. Either that or the water’s been contaminated.” Finn growled and punched Cal on the arm much harder than the girl had slapped him. Cal didn’t flinch, though. “Here you go, one ice cream for the pretty if not slightly deluded little lady.”
“She’s not deluded, she’s new around here,” said Finn.
“Ah - then she has time to realise you’re weird.” Cal put his hands in his pockets. He’d finished his ice cream ages ago. Bonus of a big mouth. “If you’re taking pictures make sure you get his eyes. He’s got his mother’s eyes. Also, there are a few people who wouldn’t refuse a good photoshoot. You know the healer, Wesley? He’d have you photograph him all day. Reenie, too, she loves the camera. Camera loves her too, though, right Finn?”
Finn growled, possibly still not over the mention of his mother’s eyes. “I wouldn’t know. Look er- whatever your name is, why do you want to take a picture of me? Cal’s the better subject. He probably has more - what’s it… photogenic qualities.”
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Gladly accepting her ice cream, Nora attacked it with vigor, smearing some immediately on her cheek. She nodded to show she was listening, although the only person he mentioned that she knew was Reenie, and only because her handler had given her the list of people in charge, and Reenie was on it.
“Photogenic is dependant on what you want to capture,” she informed Finn, swallowing to clear her mouth to talk. “If I were going for polite, friendly and handsome, then yeah, Cal would be good. But you’ve got a more unusual face. Your body language is defensive, like you’re going to fight someone and you’re scared of it, but your face is angry and like… not mean exactly, but... Oops, got a drip.” Her tongue trailed up the outside of her hand, then the cone, then a sloppy swirl around the ice cream to keep everything contained. It really was a messy operation. “Intimidating! That’s the word I wanted. You’re trying to be intimidating.” She gave Finn a reassuring grin, to prove that this was all good stuff and he should be pleased with the way she had figured him out. “But it’s okay because between you glaring at people and the way your uncle is always looking around like he’s your bodyguard, I don’t think one will-” She paused suddenly, then leaned in to speak more quietly and privately. “Is he…” she asked Cal, but then turned to direct the question to Finn. “Are you the Prime Minister of East Lansing?”
The more the girl spoke, the more Finn’s face contorted into confusion, surprise, and a little bit of bashfulness. Cal meanwhile, was very happy that he had been called polite and friendly but more particularly handsome, and a smug grin was on his face even as the girl waxed lyrical about her observations.
“I’m not - trying to be intimidating,” said Finn, small. He had totally been trying to be intimidating but he didn’t want Cal to pick up on that. He hadn’t been called handsome just unusual. Family trait, apparently. The moment she thought he was important, though, Finn laughed. “I’m not - no, I’m not the Prime Minister of anywhere.”
“You sure act like it sometimes,” said Cal, eyeing a stream of tourists walking past them. Maybe Cal was his bodyguard. He seemed better at sensing danger anyway.
“Ignore him,” pushed Finn. “I’m just Finn. Normal. Well, not normal - not that anyone living here is truly normal - but you get the idea. What are you here for, anyway, besides studying? Why choose this place?”
Finn’s laughter was so unexpected, but at the same time it made Nora feel very pleased. There was something satisfying about making someone go from grumpy to lighthearted within a conversation. She liked the dynamic these two had together. It was definitely familial, and friendly. They seemed a lot like siblings more than uncle and nephew.
“I just picked this town because it’s close to home,” Nora replied with a shrug, not even catching on that Finn was clearly implying that there was something amiss with the residents here. “And it’s small. And it’s a nice town, you know? Quaint, I think is the word. Plus I get to meet people like you guys! Hey you should gimme your phone, I’ll put my number in it and we can text!” She held out her hand expectantly between them, intending on inputting her number into both their phones. After all, even though she had talked more with Finn, that didn’t make Cal any less worthy of texting and friendship. She wanted to collect friends like children collected Pokemon.
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Though Finn shot Cal a very worried look Cal had no qualms in handing his phone over, happy for her to input her number into his contacts. He had a thought to ask her to put his number on hers under “Cal the Hottie” but had a change of heart at the last second. She was much more into Finn than him and besides, he was probably twice her age. When she was done - he was glad she did it this way because he wasn’t sure of his UK number - he waited for Finn expectantly. Kid looked about ready to drop it but he passed his phone over. She would be the only contact in his list, other than Cal. His first friend. Cal would have felt proud if Finn hadn’t thought she was a spy at first.
“So - where are you living around here?” asked Finn, watching as she input her number. He hoped she didn’t notice the absence of people there. She could have simply put it under ‘girl’ and he’d know who it was.
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Despite only having known of cell phone technology for six months, Nora’s thumbs were speedy with their input of information. She put herself into Cal’s phone as ‘Nora from the Street’, in case he knew any other Noras. In Finn’s phone, she grinned dervishly, then typed her contact name as ‘Nora the Spy’. It didn’t matter if he only had one other contact; she would be one he’d never forget. Plus it was kind of funny. How could he think she was a spy?? Why would someone wanna spy on a broody little dude like him?
“Oh, I live in this… house thing. It’s kinda that way.” She waved in a general direction behind them. “I don’t remember the street it’s called but the number is seven and the front door is green.” Street names and addresses seemed irrelevant when you walked everywhere and only stayed in one town. She knew eventually she’d have to leave Salem to see more of the world and learn humans properly, but for now, here was good enough. “Hey where do you guys live? Can I come over tonight? You make dinner and I can bring dessert! I suck at cooking but the bakery owner knows me pretty well and he’s good at stuff. What time? I’ll be early, but I need a time frame.”
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Finn knew which street it was. All the houses had a quirk about them, some form of identity just like the individual powers inside of them. He mostly wandered the town at night, when it was quiet. He would wander the streets, little by little, sometimes humming to himself. Mostly it was to get the sea air. Sea air smelled different at night, made him feel different. Maybe it was the fact he was away from the unfamiliar square room he now had to call ‘home’ - the bed wasn’t his, the walls weren’t his, he felt odd there. By the time two months had passed he’d mapped out the entire town.
At ‘Nora the spy’s self-invitation to dinner Finn’s eyes widened. He went to say ‘no’ but Cal cut in before him.
“We live up there,” he said, gesturing to the line of houses overlooking the bay. “Blue door. Blue shutters. Can’t guarantee an amazing meal but I’ll give it a try. We’ll give it a try. This guy can make some mean garlic bread, all things considered, and I make a good pizza so we’ll go Italian, yeah?” He nudged Finn’s elbow. “We need to go shopping. Meet us say - seven? Gives us time to get the ingredients.”
Finn glared at him, but not for the fact he was agreeing to this. More for the fact he knew that Cal’s idea of making a good pizza was dialing the nearest Domino’s and having it delivered.
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Well this was exciting! Meeting hermits and then befriending them and then getting pizza and dinner out of the ordeal. How could the day go any better? “That sounds great,” Nora agreed easily. “I’ll be there probably at ten to seven, but I’ll try to get there closer to seven than not. I’m just always really early, I can’t help it. But I’ll bring dessert and it’ll be great! I can ask the baker what goes with pizza. Besides, y’know… more pizza.” Giving a laugh, Nora reached out to Cal to shake his hand, but then thought better of it and pulled him in for a hug instead. Physical contact wasn’t something the morgen did very much, but Nora had taken a bit of a shine to it. Not with everyone- some people were creepy or gross- but these two seemed all right. Next it was Finn’s turn, and she squeezed extra tight so he knew that she didn’t hold his previous behavior against him. The only thing friends held against each other were their chests in a good hug.
“See you tonight!” she declared before hurrying off, making her way immediately to the bakery to get suggestions and her part of the meal. Yeah, it was still hours away, but how was she supposed to wait when she could just do it right now?