Madison "Mads" Pierce (shesamaineiac) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-06-02 07:16:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #october 2017, nick |
Who: Mads and Nick.
When: Saturday, Oct 28th; early evening.
Where: Juniper Inn, Nick’s Room.
Status: Complete.
“Fuuuuck,” Mads groaned, resting her hands and head on the top of her steering wheel. She was sitting in her truck which in turn was sitting in the parking lot of the police station. She’d just gotten off her shift - well her shift and a few extra hours - and was just done with the day. The phones had kept ringing which wasn’t uncommon, but there was a higher number of ridiculous calls than usual. People kept going on about seeing strange things, some even insisting an officer come out to check if everything was kosher. Mads didn’t like having to do it, but she knew it needed to be done; a citizen that felt their concerns were being addressed was one that would be more willing to listen to them in the future.
All of these claims of sightings were frustrating her more than usual. Most of the time she would gladly humor the more superstitious members of the community with no fuss but today was different. Today she was actually being influenced by these claims. All day long she was plagued with random figures popping up in her peripheral and fading away just moments after turning to look at them. She kept telling herself they were just some silly hallucinations and that it was a trick of the light or her mind was latching onto the ravings of apparitions, but with every sighting she was finding it harder and harder to believe that. It was especially challenging when it appeared she and JC saw the same figure standing outside the station earlier that afternoon. Mass hallucinations were a thing but she couldn’t get herself to latch onto that explanation with any certainty. It confused and irritated her.
Thankfully, she had other things to concentrate on, like getting some take-out and visiting Nick at his place. Well, his room at the inn. Mads briefly wondered if he planned to stay there for his whole stay in Point Pleasant or if he would breakdown and rent a place. It didn’t seem like he would be leaving anytime soon, or at least she hoped he wouldn’t be. She started up her car and started on her mission.
About 20 or so minutes later, Mads was standing in front of the door of Nick’s room, a plastic bag filled with take-out hanging from one of her hands. She gave the door a couple knocks to announce her arrival.
Nick had had a much quieter day, though it hadn’t been any less haunted. It had started out with a jolt when he’d woken up that morning to a woman dressed in what looked like a costume at first just sitting in a chair across from the bed. She hadn’t seemed to be watching him, just staring straight ahead. It had only lasted a moment, and then she was gone. Nick had seen plenty of ghosts in his time, so it had just been interesting beyond the initial startle.
Especially when he kept seeing them throughout the day. Outside the window down at breakfast, walking ahead of him down the hallway once or twice. All of them in that same 1700s-looking garb, none of them lingering very long. He’d mostly stayed occupied with work in his room for the day, but he’d seen a figure or two there as well. During a brief staring contest with a male ghost, Nick had tried to ask it what it wanted, but it had vanished the moment he started to speak. These were the first apparitions he’d seen in this Inn, so he wasn’t sure what to make of them.
Once he knew Mads was coming over, he’d cleaned up his room a bit, stashing sensitive documents deep in the closet inside of his suitcase, tossing trash, making the bed. He took a shower and watched some TV while he waited. She hadn’t sounded in her texts like she wanted to go out, so he hadn’t bothered with shoes. Nick was fine with a cozy night in. He muted the television when she knocked, and had a warm smile ready for her as he opened the door. “Hey there,” he greeted, leaning in to peck her lips before he made room for her to come inside.
Mads returned the smile and pushed out her lips to meet his. “Hey,” she greeted warmly, stepping over the threshold and into the room. Her eyes scanned the place as they were wont to do when she entered a new area. She liked to know the lay of the land; it made it easier to react and take action should she need to. It looked like a standard hotel room with a bathroom, table with a couple chairs, and a bed that could easily fit two comfortably. Even when one of those two was a big as Nick.
“Can’t say I’ve ever seen the rooms here. Looks nice,” she commented. She placed the bag of food onto the table and shrugged off her jacket, hanging it on the back of one of the chairs. She was still in her police uniform with her hair pulled up into a bun, and the belt that held her equipment was around her waist though the gun she usually carried was markedly absent. That was safely tucked away in a lock box in her truck. She kicked off her shoes so they landed under the table, then unhooked the belt and rested it over the top of her jacket. There, now she could make herself comfortable.
“Hope you’re hungry. Think I went a little overboard on the food.” She chuckled as she pulled out the containers and set them onto the table. “But Dino’s was having this special on the wings and I couldn’t not jump on that.”
Nick had stayed in more hotels than he could count, and the room was pretty nice by his standards. They’d at least tried to make it more homey-feeling than your average motel room. Even though he’d been there a while, it was still pretty impersonal. Nick didn’t know yet if he would just stay at Juniper or get a place to rent somewhere else, but he’d reported to his superiors that he could definitely stay for a longer haul. There was a lot to unpack in Point Pleasant, he felt like he’d barely scratched the surface of anything.
After locking the door, Nick watched Mads get settled in, smiling faintly as he ambled over to peer into the food containers she’d brought. It all smelled great. “Just so you know, you never have to apologize for bringing me food,” he told her lightly. Nick moved in behind Mads and slipped his arms around her to get her to stop moving for a second. Not for long, because he was hungry too, but for a minute. He leaned in to kiss her cheek and then the side of her neck. “No such thing as too much.” Nick gave her a nuzzle. “Long day?”
Mads leaned back and rested her arms on his with a smile, reveling in the embrace and kisses. This was just what she needed. “Yeah. No break in the Lucas case, calls that wasted everyone's time, and I've been...” She paused. Should she mention what she had been seeing? And if she did, how would she tell him? Would she say her mind was playing tricks on her or call them actual apparitions? Nick would believe her if she said she'd been seeing ghosts, but the problem was she didn't quite believe it herself. She just couldn't get herself to embrace the idea of spirits, but she couldn't shake off the possibility it could be. So many people had seen them yet she couldn't see much of a connection between them. Though, to be fair, she hadn't really been looking for one. If she really thought about it, maybe she could find a link that could explain what was going on logically.
“Tired,” she finally finished. “Got me seeing things. So weird, huh?” That was a good way to put it, right? At least she admitted she'd been witnessing something; she hadn't done that when talking with JC. Her stomach rumbled quietly, protesting not having the delicious smelling food within it. “Hmm as much as I love this, we should probably eat before my stomach starts a riot.”
Nick would’ve accepted that she was tired without question. In a town like this, he didn’t know how the police force kept going at all, especially being so understaffed. But the seeing things part, combined with Mads’s assertion that it was weird ... it was hard to just bypass that. Interesting. Nick wasn’t going to push her on it yet though. He grunted his agreement and smooched her cheek again before he let her go and plunked down into one of the chairs. There was a mini fridge within reach, and Nick leaned to pull the door open before glancing over at her. “You want a water? Beer? I’ve got some Gatorade too, but that sounds gross with wings ...” He didn’t keep sodas or anything on hand, those were treats, but now he kind of regretted it. It was hard to be a good host from a hotel room. Maybe he really did need his own place.
“Let’s go with a beer.” Mads settled into the other chair that had her stuff hanging on it. She kept herself mostly to the front of the seat for easy eating and because of the junk she had put onto the back of it. In retrospect it didn’t seem like the best place to put her belt, but it was done. No use complaining about it. “I need it,” she added with a faint laugh in an attempt to turn it into a joke despite her honestly believing she needed it to relax. Her muscles were tense and her head was a strange combination of foggy and overly active. A little bit of comfort food and drink would help. She leaned over and distributed the empty containers to hold the messy food over as well as discard the the bones from the wings. “So what have you been up to?” She asked opening the containers housing the stack of wings and fries.
Nick grabbed a couple of beer bottles with his fingers and cracked them open before he set Mads’s in front of her. He nudged the fridge door shut and took a sip while he hungrily eyed the food she was setting out. “Doing some writing, went for a run when I got up,” he said, then gave her a slightly apologetic smile. “Much less hectic day than yours, I’m sure.” Nick grabbed some napkins to keep on his side of the table, then reached for a wing to dig into it. It was the perfect level of spicy, and he grunted some appreciation as he polished it off pretty quickly. He was glad Mads had gotten a lot, honestly, he hadn’t had much lunch, and it took quite a bit of food to keep a man his size going. “What, uh ... what kinda things were you seein’?” Nick’s tone was casual as he glanced up at her from reaching for some fries.
Mads picked up the bottle with a grateful smile and took a swig. Yep, the beer was a good choice. Perfect with the wings. "Sounds like a nice day. I’ll admit I’m jealous.” Though was that really all he did that day? Her thoughts wandered back to the conversation with Ty earlier in the week about him being some kind of secret agent and she very nearly broke out laughing. She kept her composure, though, a widening smile the only outward indication of the amusing thought in her head. She picked up another wing and moved it to her mouth when Nick posed his question. There was a pause. Ah, the question. She knew he would eventually ask about that. She bit into a wing, using it as an excuse not to answer right away.
“Am seeing,” she clarified, albeit a bit reluctantly. Mads hadn’t been able to shake off the sightings just yet. “Look like figures of some sort. Like people. It’s probably just a trick of the light or something.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself rather than him. She took another bite of the wing dangling from her hand. “But... it’s weird,” she continued, voice dropping some and seeming a bit unsure. “I’m not the only one seeing them.”
Nick was too busy eating to really notice the amused look that crossed her face. He paid attention to how she sounded when she answered him though, and that little tug of suspicion he’d had got stronger. The last part was practically a confirmation. Nick chewed on his current mouthful and looked across the table at her calmly. “Do they kinda fade out after you look straight at them?” he asked like it was a completely normal question. “Wearing old-timey lookin’ clothes?” If she was saying it was a trick of the light, he was willing to bet that they’d been seeing the same things. Just in different places. Which made the sudden appearance of spirits in the Inn after weeks of nothing make a bit more sense. Maybe it was something happening to a lot of places around town.
Surprise was evident on her face. Mads had not expected Nick to nail the description of whatever it was she was seeing so perfectly. This meant he either heard it from someone - a good possibility considering the calls to the station - or he had witnessed it himself. She didn't know how to feel about him possibly seeing the same thing. "Yeah...," she confirmed with a slow nod, dropping another stripped down bone onto the container. "Are you seeing it too?"
He already knew she was a skeptic, of course, and Nick wasn’t holding that against her. Mads seemed like an intelligent, practical woman, and not many of those believed in the supernatural. She was a cop too, which usually came with an analytical mind. It didn’t seem like Weird Shit had really happened right in front of her face to make her believe, which was probably what it would take. Nick munched a few more fries before he answered, then met her eyes again and nodded. “I’ve seen a few of them today. Two different women and a man. Just around this place,” he said, waving a finger at the ceiling. “Pretty sure they’re spirits.” Nick said it matter-of-factly, already expecting Mads to argue.
“You think?” She questioned, uncertain but not dismissive. If anything she seemed almost agreeable to the statement because, well, in a small way she was. What was happening was hard to understand and her mind was obviously reaching out for something to explain it. It was what humans did; if they couldn’t understand a thing or event they simply made up something to give it a reason and source. Maybe she was finding herself accepting the absurd idea of spirits running around because she was having a hard time finding a more logical reason. “If they are spirits and not some kind of mass hallucination” - that little bit of skepticism again - “Why are they here?”
Nick nodded a bit at the first rhetorical question. He did think, because he’d seen them before. He’d seen a lot of shit that Mads probably wouldn’t believe existed. Humans did have a tendency to try and make things up to fill in their knowledge gaps, but some things were far too evident to be dismissed. It was a hard pill to swallow though, he knew, in today’s world of limited scientific proof. He looked as thoughtful as he could while eating another wing. The ‘why’ was often a fruitless question, but he’d been asking himself the same thing in this case. “I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “This town has a lot of activity anyway ... maybe because Halloween is close? It was originally about the veil between worlds being the thinnest, after all. How many did you see and where?”
“I guess it does…” Mads wasn’t sure about the whole ‘lot of activity’ thing. If the superstitious sort of the community were to be believed then, sure, there probably was, but she was still holding on to the skepticism despite her slowly opening mind to the possibility that maybe the stories could have some truth to them. It was a very slow process, that opening of the mind thing. “Yeah, the gourd jack o’ lanterns were meant to ward off evil spirits during it.” She may have thought the stuff was hogwash but that didn’t mean she didn’t have some knowledge. Mostly thanks to Fin and random facts to keep things interesting in school. “Four or five. One at the station. Others while on patrol. At least one near the woods.” She grabbed some fries and shoved them into her mouth. “And, uh, one near my trailer,” she admitted. That had been her first ‘sighting’ that she assumed - no, knew? Yeah, knew - was from sunlight hitting her car mirrors. “Mostly the male looking one, I think. A couple women shaped.”
Four or five in all those different places was a lot to see and still not believe, in Nick’s opinion, but the power of denial was strong. Even when faced with other people seeing them. “And were any of the calls you got today about the same thing?” he asked, looking at her curiously. Mads had mentioned calls that were a waste of time, after all. If it was happening to the whole town on some level, that would be something, wouldn’t it? Nick wasn’t going to completely rule out a mass hallucination -- there had been that incident with the violence-causing fog recently -- but it didn’t seem like it to him. “Weird that they’re all dressed the same,” he added in a mutter, mostly to himself. Nick took a thoughtful swig of beer. It didn’t seem to be just any spirit coming from any time period, it was almost like there was a running theme.
Mads nodded. “There were a few,” she confirmed. “All the same thing too. Male or female, weird clothes, the works.” Which, knowing this, really should have made her less skeptical about the sightings being legitimately supernatural related but denial ran deep. “I figured they were tricks of light and talks of spirits running around made people start seeing what wasn’t there.” She didn’t sound too certain of that assessment mostly because she liked to think she wasn’t so susceptible to that kind of suggestion yet here she was seeing those things. It would explain things, though.
“Is it weird?” She asked, taking a swig of her own beer. “Wouldn’t it make sense they are dressed the same? I mean, they obviously have to be linked somehow, right? Why would there suddenly be so many different sightings all at the same time if they weren’t? Hauntings are a bit more sporadic usually, right?” She chuckled a little, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Why was she getting so into this when she didn’t even believe they were ghosts? She didn’t believe they were... right? “Or not. I’m kinda just pulling things out of my ass. If you couldn’t tell.”
Nick gave her an amused smile at the last bit. “Not a bad place to pull things from,” he commented, snagging a few more fries as he sat back in his chair a bit. “But you’re right though, they all have to be connected somehow, which isn’t usually how hauntings work. And if it’s because of the veil getting thinner ‘cause of the upcoming holiday, I would expect to see all kinds of ghosts milling around, not just from one time period, you know?”
Nick munched thoughtfully for a moment, gazing off over Mads’s head. “You remember seeing those people in costume at the Witch’s Festival?” he asked then, refocusing on her again. “It was the same sort of period garb, if I remember right. What I’ve been seein’ lines up with that time period. Maybe somebody did somethin’ to disturb the spirits from around then? If anybody wasn’t resting quietly around here, bet it would be the Six and their kin.”
“Yeah,” she commented for the sake of letting Nick know she was listening. Mads didn’t have much to give in terms of input so kept quiet but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested. Quite the contrary. This was a mystery - supernatural-based, sure, but one nonetheless - and she always loved working to solve a mystery as evident by her cold case hobby. There was just something thrilling about the process and if the mystery was solved during it? All the better.
“I remember the costumes.” She nodded, looking a bit contemplative. “And now that you mention it, the images did look like they were wearing the same kinda thing.” Picking up her beer, she took a swig and leaned back in her chair somewhat. “Well we just had that festival all about them, give them a reason to want to hover around, I would think.” She shrugged. “What kinds of things generally get spirits all bent out of shape? Seances? Summoning circles? A festival focused all around that stuff would get people wanting to try it. Especially if it could get them in contact with the stars of the show.”
Nick had to smirk a little when she called them ‘images,’ because that was such a skeptic way to put it. Mads followed it up with ‘spirits’ though, so maybe she was kind of coming around to believing such a thing was possible. Or at least entertaining the idea for the moment. “Wouldn’t surprise me if some of those things happened,” he answered with a nod. “And when you get amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing trying to contact the other side ...” Nick shook his head and clucked his tongue a bit, then lifted his beer for another swallow. “Things can go wrong.” He hoped this wasn’t the beginning of a Problem developing in town. Ghosts were usually harmless, but these hadn’t been your ordinary run-of-the-mill people in life, if the stories were true. “None of the ones I saw felt really threatening though,” he continued. “So hopefully they’ll just ... fade out again.” They could possibly get threatening, but they’d cross that bridge when they came to it.
Things can go wrong. Wasn’t that the truth. Even on a practical level, people going around trying to summon ghosts could cause problems. Trespassing, destruction of property, loitering - the list went on. “I hope so. Clear up the phone lines.” Mads shook her head and leaned forward, grabbing a couple of fries before settling back into her seat again. “I’ll admit, almost feel like I’m being stalked,” she commented after a moment. “Just keep seeing this one guy. It’s probably just my head putting some kind of face onto the things.” She shrugged some, trying to hide her slight embarrassment at admitting those feelings. “Been staring at a lot of faces lately. Bound to happen.”
Nick lifted an eyebrow at the admission, aware in a dim way that she hadn’t quite wanted to own up to that. Mads was just that type of woman. “Or it could be the same spirit,” he suggested gently, picking at the label on his beer with his thumbnail. He could accept her skepticism, but Nick was pretty sure he knew more first-hand than Mads could ever dream of, and he was convinced these were ghosts. Not just tricks of the light or an overworked brain or mass hallucinations. Ghosts. He found it curious that one in particular seemed to keep cropping up for Mads though. “That’s not a good feeling though,” he said, just to give her some sympathy. “Are you scared of it?”
“Or it could be the same spirit,” she amended. Mads still couldn’t get herself to fully embrace that idea though. Part of her wanted to, but another louder part was screaming at her for being stupid enough to consider it. She considered his question, then shrugged. “There’s nothing to be scared of,” she answered, taking a swig of her beer before setting it down onto the table. “It’s just strange, that’s all.” She stood up, stretching for a moment. “I’ll be right back. Don’t eat everything,” she said with a playful grin. She took a few steps toward the bathroom, then stopped suddenly. It was there again. The light or hallucination or spirit or whatever was near her - to the side. She could see it just out of the corner of her eye - just like all the other times.
“You see him... don’t you?” She asked quietly, almost sighing. This wasn’t just a hallucination or a trick of the light, was it? Not if he could see it and, even without an answer to confirm, she knew he could. It was the same face she had been seeing all day and if Nick could describe it correctly without her ever telling him? Well then, maybe he wasn’t so silly to go on about ghosts after all. She slowly turned to look directly at the spirit, slightly startled when she realized how close it was. All the other times it had appeared it had been at a distant, at least a room’s distance away. This time, however, he was practically next to her. Its eyes met hers, causing a shiver to run down her spine. They looked so real. “What do you want?” The question left her lips before she could even think about it.
That whistling-in-the-dark skepticism was kind of adorable -- there was nothing to be scared of, oh, if only she knew -- and so was her stretching. But the warm feeling he got didn’t last long. Nick had turned in his hair to watch Mads head to the bathroom, and he saw the ghost right when she did. His body went still and his heart started thumping faster. No matter how many times he encountered something, it always gave him a physical charge. Especially when it was so close. It wasn’t fear exactly, not anymore, it was just ... a different kind of energy. A heightened awareness that made the back of his neck prickle.
“Yeah I see him,” he murmured back to answer Mads’s question. “Dark hair, sunken cheeks, blue shirt ...” The spirit was kind of fuzzy around the edges, like the woman in the chair had been. It seemed to be staring right at Mads, which was a little unsettling. Nick stood up slowly just to watch. The spirit didn’t flicker an eyelash at her question, just stared for another several heartbeats. It moved then, stepping forward and walking straight through Mads, in a straight line to nowhere. The apparition faded out a second later, still walking toward the far wall. The skin between Nick’s shoulder blades crawled, and he moved to step in closer to her, just concerned with her now.
Mads nodded very slightly to confirm Nick's description. He was right – the dark hair, blue shirt, the sunken cheeks and those eyes. Nick probably couldn't see them well considering his angle, but she sure could. They were blue like his shirt, piercing, and she had no will to want to move her gaze from his. She was about repeat her question, but was silenced when the spirit walked through her. She gasped and shivered as her body was suddenly overcome by an intense chill. It slowly started to warm again once the spirit had move away from her but she still found shivering, only now it was for a completely different reason. She turned to see the spirit disappear through the wall before looking over at Nick, eyes wide.
“I...” Her words trailed off. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Her eyes drooped somewhat and her shoulders sagged a bit as she moved to go into Nick's arms. She suddenly felt really tired, like all of the energy had been sucked out of her. “What happened?” Her voice was tired and uncertain. “What did it do to me?”
That had only happened to Nick a couple of times, but he knew what she was probably feeling. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, and it often left one feeling drained and bad for a little while. He was right there to wrap his arms around Mads, and since they seemed to be truly alone again, he guided her toward the bed to sit down. “C’mere and relax,” he murmured. “It’s okay, that’s just ... what happens when they touch you. Freezing cold and then totally drained.” She would probably be scoffing at him right then if she hadn’t just seen undeniable proof that ghosts at least were real. Nick sat with her, keeping his arm around her shoulders so she could lean on him, and he gently rubbed at her back. “You’ll be okay, but it might take a few minutes to wear off.”
Her eyes closed when he wrapped his arms around her. He was so warm; it helped melt away the remaining cold that still lingered. It was a strange feeling being overcome with cold and fatigue so suddenly. She could tell the fatigue was slowly fading as she sat on the bed with Nick until, as promised, it wore off after a few minutes. Mads didn’t move despite her renewed energy, preferring to remain leaning against him. “So that’s a ghost.” It felt odd saying that. It was all so surreal. She didn’t want to believe it, but the proof was there. To deny it would be willful ignorance. “I liked it better when they were just light,” she commented, half jokingly.
Nick waited patiently with her, more than happy just to sit with Mads and help her feel better in any small way he could. He gave a deep chuckle at her half-joke and turned his head to gently kiss her temple. “Sometimes they are,” he murmured, compelled to be informative as well as comforting. He wasn’t going to dump too much on her at once, but he wasn’t going to lie to her, either. There was a lot out there to know about. “But that was ... unusually clear and present. I dunno what’s going on today, but it’s something. They’re usually harmless, though.” And Mads had handled it beautifully, with zero freaking out like some people would have. Nick was sure it would take a bit of time to process, but calm was good.
Her calm was due to a combination of training and shock. As a police officer she had to keep calm and level-headed in uncertain and intense situations. She had to be the calm within the storm so she could get things done. As for the shock... well, everything she thought she knew sort of went topsy turvy. It would pass, that initial shock, and who knew how she'd react once it did. Probably the same until she was alone and felt she could freak out without judgement.
Usually harmless. Madison's thoughts briefly moved to the numerous paranormal thrillers that displayed the less harmless side of ghosts. All fiction though she supposed they were based on some sort of truth? No, it still didn't feel right to consider the existence of spirits a truth. She would eventually, because she knew it was, but it'd take time. "They better hope I never find out who caused it because I'll smack them," she commented with more humor than before. Humor was a good coping mechanism.
She tilted her chin up, giving Nick a small smile. She wanted to show him she was okay, even if that wasn't entirely the truth. "I'm glad you're here. With me." If this had happened when she was alone the result would have been much different.
Nick huffed an amused sound at her joking threat -- or not so joking, if one single person had been responsible for this ghost infestation, they deserved more than a good smacking. It could’ve been an accident, but that was why you didn’t fuck around with things you didn’t understand. It was a rule of thumb that so many people didn’t follow. A lot of them came to regret it. He rubbed Mads’s back again when she looked at him, and planted a kiss against her forehead. “Me too,” he murmured. He would rather be there to support her than to have her witness something like that while she was alone.
Nick gave her shoulders a brief squeeze, then moved to stand up. “This calls for another beer or five. You wanna stay the night?” He made the question casual, glancing around at Mads with a raised brow before he bent over the mini fridge to grab them a fresh round. Nick would understand if she didn’t want to stay in the inn now, but he also thought company through the night could maybe be comforting.
“I’d like that,” she answered with a grateful smile. She had actually planned to ask if she could stay the night. While the encounter might have caused others to avoid the area it happened in, Madison knew that the place didn’t really matter, not with this particular ghost. It had been following her around all day; it just happened to get close when she was at the inn. There was a good chance it might try it again and she would much rather be with someone close than alone at her trailer. “I think I’ll sleep easier with you beside me.” If she wasn’t still shaken up by what had happened with the ghost she might have been embarrassed by her words.
Nick had been hoping for an overnight as well, but for different, sexier reasons. Best laid plans, right? The supernatural never cared about what was convenient for you, he’d learned that a dozen times over. Nick cracked their beers open and came back to sit down next to Mads, offering hers out before he took a sip of his own. Maybe they didn’t know each other very well yet, but he would rather she not be alone too, in the face of having her world rocked like this. She was handling it well, but Nick knew it had to be disorienting and upsetting. “Well I’m here for ya,” he murmured deeply, toying with her hair a bit with his free hand. “If you wanna talk about it too, or not. I know it’s probably a ... shock.”
As soon as she encircled her hand around the bottle Mads had it to her lips. Alcohol had a great power to mellow someone out and she definitely needed that. Outwardly she seemed calm as a cucumber, but internally she was a mess, a ball of confusion and uncertainty. “Maybe later,” she replied, taking another large gulp of her drink. At some point she’d want to talk - she was already contemplating how and when she was going to tell Fin about her encounter - but not tonight. “Think I’d rather just forget. Enjoy the beer and company.” She rested her hand on his leg, leaning a bit into him to rest her head on his shoulder. “As if none of this ever happened. Just for tonight.”
He smiled faintly, resting his cheek against Mads’s head. Her hair smelled nice. He kept playing with it, pulling it off of the front of her shoulder and stroking his free fingers through it. “What even happened? I dunno what you’re talking about,” he murmured warmly. Weird as it was, ghosts weren’t really a big deal to Nick, and if Mads wanted to ignore it, he could do that pretty easily. “I got plenty of both,” he added, turning his head to kiss her temple. “Wanna watch TV or something distracting?” He wasn’t going to push anything onto her; just getting comfortably out of their clothes and stretched out in front of a movie sounded good to him too.
Mads chuckled softly. She was glad Nick was willing to ignore the evening’s strange events despite it being something that would no doubt pique his interest. This was what he based his life around, or at least his works. It wouldn’t surprise her at all if he suddenly went into investigator/researcher mode. He didn’t, though, and she was thankful. “TV would be great,” she answered, lifting her head from his shoulder and giving him a peck on the cheek. He had been so generous to give her a few kisses it only seemed right to return them. “I should probably change.”
It was an intriguing event, that was for sure, but he knew he wasn’t going to find actual answers tonight. So many things didn’t have obvious causes or ultimately any rhyme or reason behind then. He would gather some more stories about encounters, he was sure, maybe find a common thread between them. Until then, Mads was more important. He nodded and patted Mads’s back, giving her a crooked little grin. “Don’t mind me, be my guest,” he murmured with just a bit of flirtation. “Did you bring any other clothes? Need a t-shirt or anything?” He had plenty of clothes that would be roomy on her ... but he wouldn’t complain if she didn’t want anything at all, either.
That hint of flirtation was a nice thing to hear. It meant the ghost hadn’t completely put a damper on their evening and also helped her to better forget it even happened. “No. To both questions.” Her smile was small and flirtatious as she pulled from his side and got up from the bed. “I think I’m done with the wings. If you want to put them in the fridge or anything.” The encounter had ruined her appetite. “I’ll be right back,” she added, then made her way to the bathroom.
Mads left the door open a slightly, enough to give her privacy but not enough to completely section her off from Nick. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was a bit worried and maybe a little paranoid that the ghost might pop up again. He had been following her all day - what did he want from her? She did her business, flushed the toilet, and then went about undressing. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, she was sporting only a pair of panties (the boring, but practical kind) and a basic white tank top she generally wore under her uniform. In her arms were her bra, socks, and uniform neatly folded. She set the clothing down onto the chair she had previously occupied and glanced over at Nick.
“Still a little cold.” This wasn’t entirely untrue, but it wasn’t said to raise alarm. “Care to warm me up?”
While Mads was in the bathroom, Nick got up and cleared their food off the table. He didn’t have much appetite left either, but he did clean off a wing or two before he put the rest of it away. It would make a good cold midnight snack if this night improved. He stripped down to his boxer briefs and pulled the sheets back, getting nice and propped up on pillows against the headboard. Nick smiled faintly as Mads came back, unable to help the way his gaze followed the curve of her body in such little clothing. He could keep his hands to himself if that was what she wanted, but there was no harm in looking, right? “Got plenty of warmth over here,” he answered with a warm little smile. Nick patted the bed next to him. “Come on in.”
Mads smiled, walking to the other side of the bed and pulling back the covers. It was done slowly, deliberately. She had noticed Nick's wandering eyes when she left the bathroom and wanted to give him a nice little show. It felt good to be admired and kept her thoughts from wandering to things she had hopes to forget that evening. Sliding onto the mattress, she cuddled up close to Nick, draping an arm over his lap and nuzzling her face into his shoulder. "Thank you," she murmured. "For being here with me."
The vibe she put off wasn’t lost on Nick in the slightest, and he let his gaze drift over her once again as she climbed into bed with him. There was a lot there to admire, if you asked him. Nick curled his arm around Mads, pulling the covers up over their legs with a lazy little smile. He turned his face to kiss her forehead, lingering a moment to breathe her in. Whatever shampoo she used, he liked it. “You’re kinda in my room, I don’t have lotsa places to go,” he murmured first, just to tease her. Nick chuckled softly and gave Mads a squeeze. “Nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said more sincerely. It was true enough at the moment.
The teasing comment earned him a jab to his stomach with her finger. “Jerk,” she murmured back, obviously more amused than annoyed by the teasing. He gave her a squeeze and amended his comment, encouraging her to give him a peck on the cheek. “Better. Thought I was going to have to get rough. Teach you a lesson.” She chuckled and kissed his jaw before shifting slightly to get into the most comfortable up against him. “What do you want to watch?”
Nick snickered and let out a teasing-intrigued ‘ooo’ at that threat. He might have been much bigger than her, but he had a feeling she could give him a run for his money in a wrestling match. Maybe someday they would give it a playful test. “Let’s see what’s on,” he murmured as he picked up the remote and turned the TV on. Nick didn’t watch a ton of TV, just binged certain shows sometimes on the streaming sites, but he was game to find something light and relaxing to have on. Hopefully they wouldn’t have any other dead visitors, and they could sleep through the night undisturbed.