Harlow laughed and got into the car, settling comfortably as she eyed the raccoon. "Can we call him Reggie for short?" It was kind of the first thing from Point Pleasant that they were putting in their small house. Everything else they had brought from North Carolina, or had been there first. With the animal in her lap, she glanced out the window towards the carnival. It was packed, like it was the weekend. But it was a Wednesday afternoon. "Is it usually like this in this town? Something fun shows up and everyone in town is drawn to it?" It was as if people took time off from their jobs to spend the day there.
The place was pretty crowded, but Reid hadn’t paid much attention to it all. He didn’t have a lot of reason to keep track of the day of the week anymore, and hadn’t for a while. As Harlow commented on it, he glanced around the parking lot and shrugged. “It gets boring as fuck here,” he said. “In between bouts of like, total insanity. So I guess people just wanna flock to something that’s fun instead of awful.” Maybe that was an oversimplification, but he wasn’t sure how else to explain it. In any case, Reid was a little relieved to get the carnival behind them as he drove toward Seaview. All he wanted was to be alone with Harlow again.
"Sounds like most of the world," she murmured. Insanity seemed like the status quo and everyone had gotten used to it. Harlow rested her head against the back of her seat, studying Reid's profile as he drove. After a moment she reached over to take his hand and bring it up to her lips. He was driving so she didn't plan on distracting him too much, but she kissed his fingers before nuzzling his hand against her cheek. "I like this town. I like imagining you growing up here." She knew Point Pleasant held bad memories for Reid but there was good to be found here too.
The worst times in Reid’s life had happened in Point Pleasant, but some of the best too. It was a mixed bag for a lot of people, he knew that, and while he kind of hated it in a way, it was still home in a lot of other ways. Harlow’s lips on his skin made him relax some more, as her touch always did, and he smiled faintly. “I like it a lot more with you here,” he told her warmly. As conflicted as he felt about the place, he was glad that Harlow was enjoying it so far. Maybe he could learn to see it through her eyes and appreciate it in a different way. Time would tell. Reid brushed his thumb against her cheek and smiled a bit more. “I’ve definitely never felt this ... protected, here, growing up. It’s different.”
Harlow smiled before nipping playfully at one of his knuckles. "That's because I would never let anything happen to you." Reid was not a damsel in distress by any means, but she would still burn alive anyone who tried to put a finger on him. "Different is good, though. I feel different too, being away from the mountains and my sisters, but it's not a bad thing. I feel stronger somehow. Maybe it's the town's energy, I don't know. I like it in a way that I'm sure others would think I'm crazy for."
Reid didn’t feel weak or emasculated about appreciating that level of protection -- he could hold his own in certain ways, he was far from helpless, especially lately. But he knew there were bigger, stranger things in the world that he was completely vulnerable to ... but Harlow was not. For the first time in his life, he felt safe from those things. It was empowering, like so many other things she exposed him to. “Others are idiots,” Reid said mildly, a little smile on his face. “It kinda doesn’t surprise me though ... that you can feel this place and you’re into it. You never shy away from the dark.” He sounded admiring as he said it, because he was. Harlow had taught him a lot about the balance of light and dark.