Nick Iacoletti (cookedbooks) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-02-27 17:29:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #october 2017, nick |
Who: Madison and Nick
When: Tuesday, Oct 3, evening
Where: Moxie’s
Status: Complete
The flight into Maine had gone smoothly, and it had been a nice drive in the rental car from the airport to Point Pleasant. Nick liked to drive, and if he hadn’t been under a time crunch to get to his destination, he might’ve just made a road trip out of it. Especially considering he didn’t know how long he was going to be there. But having a rental SUV to tool around in was nice too -- it was clean and bigger than his personal car, so he had plenty of necessary leg room as he rolled into the small town. It looked idyllic and lovely from the outside, a real Mayberry by the sea, but Nick knew those were the sorts of places that hid the darkest shit.
He’d arranged to have a room at the Juniper Inn, a little bed and breakfast that looked ten thousand times nicer than the only other motel he could find in the area. It was pricey, but that was all right. If this ended up being a long project, Nick was sure he could find a place to rent if he had to. He got settled, took a long shower and then a short nap, and woke up famished. Finding out the best places to eat in a new town was top priority, and on the recommendation from the girl behind the desk at Juniper, he headed toward a spot called Moxie’s.
It smelled delicious as he walked in, and Nick’s stomach rumbled. He got settled into a booth, setting the iPad he’d brought with him to the side, and picked up the menu. It listed all your standard diner slop selections, but fuck if it didn’t all sound good in that moment. He ordered a soda to start with and alternated between eyeing the people in the restaurant and what was on the menu in turns.
Mads pulled up into the parking lot of Moxie's, freshly showered and clothed after a long day at work. Things were finally beginning to settle after the chaos that was last week and she was thankful for it. The weather had caused a lot of issues - some more serious than others - that had the police running from one side of town to the other. And then all the violence that erupted out of nowhere... that had baffled her. She had never encountered so many instances of battery and aggravated assault at one time in her life and that wasn't even counting the two murders that had occurred. It had been unnatural. Not that she didn't believe it couldn't be explained logically because it definitely could. They just hadn't found a good explanation yet.
She greeted the waitress as she entered in diner and settled herself down at the counter. Without needing to ask for it, a mug was brought over and filled with coffee along with a menu. Mads knew she shouldn't be eating out what with the portioned meals Fin had made her for the week, but she couldn't help herself. She had been eating out consistently for the last year and that was not an easy habit to shake. Once she had placed the appropriate amount of milk and sugar in her coffee, she turned in her seat somewhat so she could look over the diner. She recognized everyone... well, almost everyone. There was a man sitting in one of the booths that she'd never seen before. She wasn't sure if he was new to the town or just one of the few locals she hadn't gotten a chance to meet yet.
“Hey,” she said in greeting to the man. Mads waved and flashed him a friendly smile.
Nick noticed the woman come in and sit at the counter, because of course he did, he noticed everything. Or tried to. Attractive women were always the easiest things for him to notice, sure, but that was beside the point. He didn’t stare at her, however, going back to browsing through the myriad of milkshake options as she settled in, and not thinking much of it. Until she spoke to him, that was. His eyes and brows lifted at the same time to make sure he wasn’t mistaking her talking to someone else, but they were close enough in proximity that he was the only option. And she waved, how cute was that? God, Nick loved small towns. He put the menu down and smiled back. “Hi there,” he answered.
“Hey,” she repeated once she had gotten a return greeting. Now that he was facing her she was able to get a better look at his face. It was attractive, but more importantly, new just like she had thought. He was also friendly or at least enough so to engage her in conversation. This only solidified her suspicion that he was a visitor or new resident as opposed to an elusive citizen. “If you're having trouble deciding on something, I recommend the pancakes,” Mads casually suggested. She picked up her coffee and took a sip before tilting her head curiously. “First time at Moxie's? Can't say I've seen you around before.”
“Pancakes for supper? Interesting choice,” Nick said, looking amused. He always tended to like the breakfast-anytime sorts of people. He was one himself, since he completely lacked a normal schedule, but he was feeling like having something more ... hearty, tonight. Travel always made him hungry. “Yup, first time. I just rolled into town today. Your recommendation is noted, but the girl at Juniper raved so much about the burgers here, I think I’m obligated to have something to tell her when I go back.” He wondered if everybody just watched out for strangers in Point Pleasant, or if this woman was vigilant for any particular reason.
“Fair enough,” she replied with a shrug. “That would've been my second suggestion if breakfast for dinner wasn't your kinda thing. You definitely should try the pancakes sometime if you plan on staying a while.” Mads had no idea if he planned to stay a while or was just passing through, though she was fairly certain it was the former. The picturesque coastal town aesthetic was more attractive to tourists in the summer than mid fall. “I'm Madison, by the way. Call me Mads.” She smiled and raised her mug some. “What brings you to Point Pleasant, if you don't mind my asking.”
Nick liked the presumption that he would be calling her anything at all. She was cute, and he liked forward women. They bullshitted around less. Nick eyed her for a beat, then made a small gesture at the other side of his booth. “I’d mind it less if you would join me, Mads,” he said, giving her another smile. He didn’t much care about being overheard, but it was much nicer to have a conversation with someone sitting across a table instead of across an aisle ... and she was cute. If she was ballsy enough to just strike up a conversation with him, he doubted she would be too shy to sit and eat with him.
“Don't mind if I do.” She picked up her menu and slid into the seat opposite of him with a smile. Mads didn't need to be asked twice. Talking across the aisle was all well and good, but it'd eventually become a problem when she ordered her food. She'd have to turn away from him to eat and she wasn't fond of the idea. He seemed willing to talk and food was always better when eaten with company. She set her coffee onto the table and set her menu to the side before leaning forward onto her arms. “So who am I joining for dinner and conversation tonight?”
And just like that, he had a lovely dinner date. So far, Nick was choosing to see that as a good omen for his luck in this town. He offered his hand across the table to shake with her. “Nick Cooke, it’s a pleasure,” he said warmly. He didn’t mind handing out his last name, though he didn’t blame Mads for not offering hers. Nick was sure he would find out soon enough anyway. “I’m here to write a book.” That was the simple version, anyway.
Mads took his hand in hers and gave it a solid shake. “Pleasure's all mine,” she returned, letting go on his hand and returning her arms to her previous position on the table. “Coming to a small town to write a book? Sounds very Stephen King-ish,” she commented with an amused smile. As an author coming to Maine to write he would likely find humor in her statement. Maybe. “What kind of book are you hoping to write, Mr. Cooke, or is that something you'd rather keep on the downlow?”
Hoping to write, that was cute. Like he didn’t already have close to ten titles under his belt. Nick supposed even if he didn’t want to talk about his genre right then and there, she could always look him up. His name was out there even if it wasn’t well known to anyone outside of the paranormal fan community. “I write about the supernatural,” he told Mads casually, with no shame. It had been a good career to him, no matter what anybody thought of it. And Nick had run into plenty of ridicule before. He just didn’t care about it. He knew better. “So it is pretty Stephen King-ish, only non-fiction. And I’d like to do a book about Point Pleasant.”
Her brows lifted some. A non-fiction writer of the supernatural. Huh. Mads hadn't expected that answer, though thinking about it, she probably should have. Who comes to a place like Point Pleasant to write a book if it didn't have some kind of supernatural aspect to it? There were other perfectly good coastal towns that didn't have a history of weird happenings a writer could go to if they wanted something scenic and inspiring. “So you're a paranormal investigator?” she asked, interested. Mads held no belief in the supernatural, but she knew many people did including her best friend, so she didn't make it a habit to scoff at others when they expressed that belief. Besides, there was a lot more to a person than their belief in some boogie-man running around. “I can see the interest. This town is pretty strange, I'll admit.”
The waitress came by with a pot of coffee in her hand. “Since I have it out here. Care for a top off, officer?” She asked. Mads smiled and slid the coffee over so she could fill the mug with a thank you. She looked over at Nick then back to Mads curiously. “You two ready to order?
Nick had pulled an ‘eh’ sort of face at the words ‘paranormal investigator.’ Technically speaking, he kind of was, but that phrase had weird connotations now, with the rash of ghost hunter shows and things like that on television. It was all too cheesy for him, and most of those guys were idiots barking up the wrong trees. He didn’t get a chance to explain right away though, because the waitress showed up. The way she called Mads ‘officer’ of course got his attention, but he had the good sense not to ask right off the bat.
Smiling at the waitress, Nick put in an order for a burger and fries, then let Mads tell her what she wanted. Once they were alone again -- as alone as one got in a restaurant anyway -- he returned his attention to the woman across from him. “I prefer the term researcher,” he said. “Semantics, I know. But I don’t run around haunted places with crazy machines or try to hold seances like some kind of ghost hunter hack. I mostly interview people and gather accounts of experiences, research the history of places, that kind of thing.” He paused, arching a brow at her. “Should I be calling you Officer Mads?”
Mads chuckled some, amused by his distaste for the paranormal investigator label. It was understandable. Those ghost hunters running around were ridiculous and as someone who seemed more historian than anything she could see why he’d want to separate himself from them. “I don’t know, seems like it’s a bit more than semantics when you define the two,” she commented before he presented his question about her title. A small grin came to her lips. “It’s Officer Pierce, actually, but no. I’m off duty.” For once. She shook her head, her grin turning into an amused smile. “Just call me Mads. Please. It reminds me that I actually do have days off.”
Madison Pierce. Officer Madison Pierce. That name went down in Nick’s mental notebook, but he had the feeling he wouldn’t be forgetting her anytime soon. If she was a cop, that would explain her assertiveness and interest in him, a stranger. Small town cops could either be great fun and extremely useful or a pain in Nick’s ass, there didn’t seem to be an in between. They usually weren’t so pretty, though. He leaned forward with his crossed arms on the table, smiling back at her. “Sounds like you need more reminding than you’re getting lately,” he commented, already kind of glad that he’d met her out of uniform first. The badge changed things sometimes, and getting the right foot in the door of the Point Pleasant PD could be greatly beneficial. “Been a busy fall so far?”
Mads shrugged her shoulders and bobbed her head back and forth slightly with an 'eh' expression. “A bit, but that's what happens when you have a small force and an active population.” Nevermind all the strange occurrences but she was sure Nick would be hearing all about those when he started interviewing people. “Had some thick fog and a power outage last week. The amount of fender benders that were called in...” She shook her head. “Good thing you missed it. Would have had a hell of a time driving in. Might've even been one of those phone calls.” She picked up her mug and gave him small grin. “Glad you weren't. First meeting over food and coffee trumps meeting over a dent in a car any day.”
Nick knew some about the fog already, from chatting up the desk girl at Juniper and browsing a few obscure message boards. Fog wasn’t too unusual by itself, but he’d heard a bit about how it had affected people, and that was unusual. But also possibly false. He was tempted to start questioning Mads about it, to see what she would tell him, but it was probably too soon for that. Besides, her little grin was more intriguing at the moment. “Caffeine and carbs always put people in better moods than traffic accidents, that’s for sure,” he agreed with a broader smile of his own. “Though if somebody in uniform had to come deal with it, I wouldn’t mind it bein’ you.” He let his Georgia drawl out just a bit and picked up his own coffee mug for a sip, but his eyes didn’t leave her. “You lived here long?”
“Flatterer.” Mads chuckled lightly, her grin widening slightly as she brought the mug to her lips. “Only a couple weeks,” she said after a moment of contemplation. “But I used to live here as a kid and visited every summer when I moved away so you could say I'm a local. Sorta.” She was about as knowledgeable in the going-ons of Point Pleasant over the years as a local would be at least. Not that she was particularly interested in talking about it at the moment. She wanted to know more about this handsome stranger that had driven into her town. “And where might you be from? South, though I can't place the accent to a specific place. Enlighten me?”
Nick never minded being accused of flattery, he usually deserved it. Flattery and flirting greased all kinds of wheels with men and women alike, it was a skill he’d honed over the years. It wasn’t always genuine when he doled it out, but a lot of times it was. Like now. He made a mental note that Mads had left this town and then returned, that was always interesting to him. Certain places were like magnets, and he wondered if that was a normal sort of occurrence in this town. “Originally from Decatur, Georgia,” he told her. “But I’ve lived in LA for quite a few years now. When I’m not travelin’ around for work, that is. Where’d you move to when you weren’t living here?” It was boring small talk, perhaps, but that was all right, she was smiling and that was all that mattered.
“Nowhere near as interesting as you have been apparently,” she chuckled, pushing some hair back behind her ear. There were times Mads wished she could travel and see some of the things the country - hell, the world - had to offer, but that just wasn’t practical. Too much work to be done at home especially now. “Been in Bangor most of my life. Very faraway and exotic, I know. Envy of all the world, I am.” She stuck her tongue out playfully for a moment, then shook her head with a soft laugh.
Nick chuckled along with her, shaking his head for a different reason. “Nothin’ wrong with Bangor,” he said. “Being a cop makes everywhere more interesting, I bet. It’s not like Decatur’s some cultural gem of the country.” Nick rolled his eyes affectionately. There were a few museums and Atlanta was very close by, but still. He hadn’t come from much, materially speaking. Nick had built his life with purpose, and that was easier to do from LA. “What brought you back to Point Pleasant to stay? If you don’t mind me bein’ nosy.” He hoped not, otherwise she would be useless to him.
“I love Bangor, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a bit homely compared to somewhere like LA. Definitely not a place people seek out.” She paused a moment, reconsidering her statement. “Well, beyond wanting to see Stephen King’s place and all the stuff related to him.” Mads could definitely understand the draw, but like most Bangorians, she wasn’t particularly hung up on the author as a celebrity. Just another neighbor with a kickass fence who happened to be famous as far as she was concerned. “And, yeah, suppose being a cop could make a place more interesting. It does allow you meet some interesting people, that’s for sure. For better or for worse.” There were definitely some people she would have much rather never knew existed.
“Needed a change of scenery,” she answered easily. There was a little more to it than that, but that wasn’t something she freely discussed. “And this place has always been like a second home so I figured I’d come here. I have friends and the station needed another set of hands. Seemed like a no brainer.” She smirked some. “And I don’t mind you being nosy, Mr. Cooke, as long as you don’t mind me being nosy as well.” She grabbed for a packet of sugar, suddenly deciding her coffee needed a bit more sweetness. “I’ll admit you have me intrigued. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Ah yes, Stephen King. Sometimes Nick wondered if that man knew more than he let on, just from reading his work, but they’d never crossed paths. There was a solid wall between the fiction and non-fiction worlds in the paranormal literary universe, mostly built up by the fiction authors to protect their legitimacy. Slap a ‘fiction’ label on something and it suddenly became more credible, how was that for irony? Nick nodded a bit at her reason for moving back, sensing there was more to it, but he wasn’t surprised she didn’t spill her guts to him right then and there. She was a cop, they usually had more sense.
Nick watched Madison’s hands as she put more sugar into her coffee, a smile crossing his face at what she said. “Please, if I’m calling you Mads, you have to call me Nick,” he told her with a chuckle. “And I don’t mind nosy, I’m an open book, no pun intended. Usually even more talkative over dinner and a couple of drinks so ... can I take you out sometime?” Nick wasn’t at all a real open book, but he could fake it well enough to get by.
A single brow rose. “An open book, huh?” She studied him for a moment - a small smile on her lips as she did so - her finger tracing the top of her coffee mug idly. “Hm, I’ll believe it when I see it.” Nick hadn’t done anything to make her doubt his statement, but she knew no one was truly an open book. Everyone had their secrets, something they didn’t willingly reveal to just anyone, and she was curious to see what his were. Her smile grew. “My schedule is a bit erratic, but I think I could manage to find time just for you.”
“Yeah? Well now I feel special,” he rumbled with a grin. Nick leaned to one side a bit to pull his phone out of his pocket and open up the contacts. “So does that mean I can have your number? Or do we set up a time to meet somewhere and hope for the best? It’s been a long time since I had a date in a town this small.” He did his best to look a little sheepish, like he didn’t get many dates at all -- which was sort of true, Nick supposed. He didn’t really date in the traditional sense anymore, he was on the move too much, and just didn’t have the time to give to any one woman like that. But a little fun fling with a local lovely police officer? Nick could swing that. Before Mads could answer, their food arrived, and Nick slid his phone out of the way while the waitress laid it all out.
“You should. My time is very valuable,” she replied with a grin. She watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then proceeded to do the same thing as the waitress came by with their food. After giving the waitress a smile and a thank you, Mads returned her attention back to Nick. There was a hint of amusement in her eyes. “Dates in a small town aren't so different than ones in the big city. Just fewer places to take a girl to.” And fewer options in general, truthfully. “And I’ll give you my number. I never trust things to go as planned.” Not in a place like Point Pleasant. “You text me yours?”
“That’s probably wise, not trusting plans.” Given the differences Nick had seen between city girls and small town girls, he wasn’t sure how true that was, but they’d been talking more about places than people. Nick could get pretty creative when he had to, he thought he could come up with something fun for them to do around Point Pleasant, and just hope Mads hadn’t done it a hundred times already. He nodded, then entered Mads’s number into his phone as she gave it to him. “And there’s mine,” Nick murmured as he set her a quick Nick here text. He looked up with a bright smile; he certainly hadn’t expected to land a date his first day in town. But you never knew, that was the fun of life. “Now to see what all the fuss is about,” he added, rubbing his hands together as he eyed the burger in front of him. A good meal with lovely company was certainly a good start to this venture.