Adam Parrish & Maggie Vera April 11th | Maggie's Arrival in Vallo mistaken identity aka face-twin shenanigans
RATING| Warnings
Adam wasn't usually making deposits in the middle of the day. There was a system to how he ran the shop—close down, count the till, organize the receipts, make sure there was an opening and priority jobs list for the next day. But then again, people didn't pay cash for the body work on a car. And Adam, antsy as ever about money, and about the fact that things were disappearing randomly, couldn't let it sit there all day. So he took his "lunch" break from Boyd's, and ran to the bank.
The whole thing had taken all of two minutes to greet the teller, make small talk, be momentarily self-conscious about the grease under his fingernails from an oil change, and make the deposit. As he stepped back out onto the busy sidewalk, checking the slip to make sure it was the right amount, Adam knocked shoulders with someone who came up on his left side. It was just enough of a jostle for his attention to catch on something falling from a girl's bag who was walking briskly in the other direction.
Moving quickly to keep it from being trampled, Adam scooped up the pouch and fell into the current of the stream of people on the street trying to catch up. "Excuse me, ma'am—miss—" His touch was gentle at her elbow, just to get her attention.
"You dropped this," Adam said, holding out the tiny zippered bag between them.
Even (sometimes) having the gift of foresight didn’t stop Maggie from colliding with someone else while she was just a little preoccupied with, well, everything here. It had been a shock going from witchness protection to Vallo and in particular to make that trip without her sisters. Maggie was a little lost, at least metaphorically, but was trying to make the best of things. She was studying a map on her phone and didn’t notice how close she was to the person walking near her until they’d bumped against one another.
“Oh, I am so so-” she started, taking the bag from him even as she started to look up and then she seemed to lose her ability to speak for a moment. When she did find her voice again, all she could manage to get out was, “Parker?”
Adam was already opening his mouth to shrug off her apology. Politeness and manners had gotten him far in life, and delivering a dropped bag was about as easy as it got. It was only when people dug deeper underneath those layers of plastered on civility did Adam's truer, sharper nature come out. But she seemed alarmed, confused almost, and his congenial smile faltered briefly. Adam was stunned by her surprise, and self-doubt told him he did something wrong.
"I—uh, no, Parrish?" Adam assumed Parker was a last name. Going to an all-boys private school where shouting each other's last names in the hall was a term of endearment, it was not a bad assumption. "Adam Parrish, miss," he added, a bit awkwardly. "I run the auto shop down the block. Are you—do you need help?" His attention snagged on her phone, a glimpse of a map, and he felt the need to offer.
Somehow, Maggie knew it wasn’t him, but the resemblance was really, really freaky. They could have been twins or something. They said everyone had a look-a-like out there, but she was still kind of thrown by this guy who looked exactly like her ex.
“Oh, um, sorry,” she said, “you look a lot like someone I [...] know.” It was something that would take some getting used to, but she gave him a little bit of a smile, not wanting this to be any more awkward than it had to me. “I’m new here, so I was kind of just trying to see what’s out there,” she added.
Adam seemed a little taken aback by the comment—he never looked like anyone. He had been unknowable all his life that even when he caught Ronan finally looking at him, that had been more than enough. Now to think this girl in front of him found him familiar? It was like feeling guilty for taking something that belonged to him; it didn't make sense. And still he offered up, "Sorry, that I'm not him."
He offered a smile back, even if it was a little strained. "It can be overwhelming, especially if you're not used to the magic here. Or even a big city." He stepped off a little to the side to make sure they wouldn't be run over by the people on the sidewalk. "I've been here a little over a year now and I still get lost. Were you looking for any place in particular? I'm familiar with this area at least to be of some help."
The magic part was easy to get used to, even if it was a little different from home. Being here without her sisters was more unsettling and running into someone who looked so much like Parker was definitely on the weird side, but at least magic in general was something familiar.
“Coffee,” she answered, giving him a grateful smile. “Someone recommended The Grind?” That the someone who had mentioned it was apparently an old man who looked like a teenager was just icing on the cake of weird.
Adam could already feel the rebuttal on the tip of his tongue—most coffee is overpriced and you're better off making your own—but that was not how he wanted to make introductions. He had barely shaken off the face double situation, he did not need to be known as: looks like someone familiar, and also an asshole.
"Yeah, I know it. It's just up the block." Adam pointed helpfully, which happened to be in the direction back to the auto shop. "It's on my way, and I can show you? That is, if you don't mind the company?" Adam asked, sounding unsure. He didn't know if looking familiar to this girl was a problem, if perhaps she didn't want the reminder. Part of him wanted to ask more, but it was rude. And those Virginian manners caught him by the throat.
"I apologize that I can't be more helpful on what's best to order. Can't say I drink a lot of fancy lattes or mixed drinks. I usually stick with the stuff we have at Boyd's." Cheap, bitter, but Adam didn't say that.
“That would be great,” Maggie said. Sure, it was weird that he looked like an ex-boyfriend who also happened to be part demon and probably at least a little bit evil, but she was grateful for the help and, honestly, the more this Parrish talked to her, the less she reminded him of Parker. “I mean, if you really don’t mind. I don’t want to keep you from something [...] more important.”
“I’m Maggie, by the way,” she added, realizing she hadn’t actually introduced herself. She was kind of kicking herself for the lack of manners there.
"Already did the important thing," Adam said, pointing back at the bank that was getting further away as they walked. "It's technically my lunch break but I own the shop, and most of the people that work with me probably would hope I'd actually take a lunch break to not run an errand." Half the time Adam spent his breaks catching up on homework, or bookkeeping, or some other task for the shop or the Barns that needed to be handled. The other half of the time was Ronan showing up with food because he knew Adam would forget.
He nodded with an amicable smile, saying "Maggie, pleasure, honestly," and continued on. "Are you the only one from your home so far?" The question might have been strange out of context, but given the way Outlanders came and went individually and in groups, he thought it was fair. "I'm sure you've gotten the spiel about friends and family showing up at any time. Maybe even—"
Adam pointed at his face, to say the guy that looks like me.
Maggie nodded. “Just me so far, I think.” She hadn’t really been in Vallo for that long, so there was always a chance there were others, but as far as she knew right now there weren’t. There was a time she might have appreciated the chance for some independence, but now it felt strange to be on her own.
She made a face at his implication before she could help herself. “Oh, I don’t know if that would be- our relationship is pretty, um, complicated,” she said. There were definitely others she’d rather see, but she didn’t think she could count on any of them. It could happen, but it might not.
“What about you?” she wondered aloud. “Do you have people here?”
The expression she made was enough for him to bite the inside of his cheek and not mention it again. There were a handful of people from home that Adam wouldn't want to see here, and would have a harder time seeing someone else wearing their face. He nodded in understanding. "I get complicated."
When she asked about people he had here, Adam opened his mouth to answer then paused to reconsider. Was it bragging? Was it going to make her feel awful for being alone? "Uh, yeah. My boyfriend, Ronan. He owns a dairy farm in the forest, if you ever make it out there. Tuesday and Thursdays we have a farmers market. Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, eggs from angry chickens. I do tarot readings in the afternoons there."
He continued. "His brother Matthew, and my best friend Gansey and his girlfriend Blue, and our friend Noah. My—" Adam stumbled a moment over what to call Persephone. "—mentor, Persephone and Blue's mom, Maura. There's a lot of us. But we didn't all arrive at the same time."
“That's really amazing.” Maggie couldn't say it wasn't on her nature to be jealous and if she was truthful, she did envy him a little, but that didn't mean she wasn't genuinely happy for this man she’d just met who happened to have a face that stirred up some complicated feelings. “I'm really glad you have them here.”
She meant it, too, even while silently hoping that she'd have that one day, too. Her sisters, their friends, it would be nice to have more of the truly familiar, but she wasn't going to begrudge anyone else having their people around.
“The farmers market sounds really cool. I'll have to check it out,” she added. “Maybe I'll let you do a reading for me, too.” It really did sound nice. Like the kind of thing that could start to make Vallo feel a little more like home.
Adam nodded in agreement. He was biased towards the farmers market; it was his boyfriend's livelihood and he always wanted to see it succeed. "I'd be happy to do a reading for you, anytime. You can let me know if I'm any good. No one has wanted a refund yet," Adam said easily, casually. Tarot readings were a new thing for him. He had gone from overachieving academic who based all his knowledge in facts and science, to giving into the more magical sides of himself and delving into futures. It was a curious thing he still struggled with.
He lifted his arm to point at a small brick building across from them as they approached. "Right there, is the Grind. If anything, you can have a moment out of the busy street. I've seen people co-opt a table all day and they seem alright with people hanging out as long as you buy something." He gestured down the street. "My auto-shop is about another block that way, if you ever need anything. At least you have a few landmarks to get by?"
Maggie nodded, offering him a grateful small. As awkward as their meeting had started out, she really was glad to have run into him. It made this whole freaky situation feel a little easier to deal with and, bonus, she’d found The Grind a lot faster with his help. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I might just take you up on that.” She offered him a little wave as they parted ways.