@mmuscles
rcbinbvckleysโ:
robin didnโt necessarily directly associate cole with what she had accidentally witnessed all those years ago. yet being where they were right now, it was all she could possibly think about when confronted with him. the other jock, whoโs name currently slipped her mind, had died in the โmall fireโ. and the two of them clearly had something special back then. she couldnโt imagine how cole felt just being in the location where it actually happened, it was almost haunting.
โoh! cole, i recognise you,โ shit, was that too obvious? โfrom back in high school.โ she added quickly, in case he somehow figured out where she actuallyย knew him from. though unlikely. โwait, how do you know steve?โ steve hadnโt previously mentioned that cole was a friend, weird. sheโd have to ask the former about that much later, when she was much more sober. โitโsโฆ going. itโs just super weird being here though, right? you know, because of what happene-โ yeah, obviously he knows about that, idiot.
xx.
Cole caught a glimpse of Robin's expression and froze. Of course he knew her, but why did she know him? Did he stand out for some reason? He was probably just tipsy and paranoid, but still, it was enough to put him on edge. Still, he trusted that Robin meant nothing by it and choked out a laugh, "Oh yeah? I didn't realize I was so popular."
Steve. Maybe Steve had said something to her, and that's why she was being weird. "Just... you know, I was the water boy, he was a jock, impossible not to know him," he shrugged, burying the truth in his plastic cup. Cole nodded, a grim smile pushing his lips together. "Yeah. God, you were here, weren't you? That must have been fucked up," he said, though his gaze was vacant. What if she'd seen Adam that day?
who: cole & @goldenboyrichardsโ
where: the Richardsโ house
Since Adam died, Cole had made it a habit to check on his sisters at least once a week. Heโd been quite close to them when Adam was alive, as he went over to the Richards house once or twice a week for English tutoring. Mrs. Richards, particularly, loved Cole for ensuring her son passed English, and always had some sort of baked good in the oven on tutoring days. Heโd loved coming over to the Richardsโ, to get a glimpse of a functional family and a father who was fairly involved with his children. Besides, Cole had always wanted a big family, so he was never annoyed by the girlsโ footsteps and giggling filling the hallways.
Now, though, the energy in the household was different. For the first few months after the fire, Cole almost dreaded going over-- it broke his heart to see the family so devastated. But in the last year or so, it had gotten easier; theyโd sort of mutually decided that remembering Adam together was better than suffering alone. It was a somber occasion, still, but bearable.ย
Today, Cole had picked up Dirty Dancing at Family Video, because Cindy had been talking about it lately and he figured heโd give it a shot. He always had a soft spot for Cindy (and Patrick Swayze). Cole approached the familiar house on his skateboard and stopped short by the curb, glancing at a guy around his age sitting on the porch. Had they invited cousins into town he didnโt know about? Or maybe it was the neighbor?
Untucking the VHS from his arm, Cole walked up the steps and tried to get a closer look at the guy without seeming weird. He immediately recognized Adamโs old hat-- the beat-up Notre Dame logo, with bleach spots from a botched wash, was unmistakable.ย โHey, man,โ Cole said, trying to get his attention.ย โI donโt know if youโre a guest or whatever, but you shouldnโt touch Adamโs stuff,โ he said, trying to keep the resentment out of his voice. What kind of asshole just helped himself to a dead guyโs belongings? Cole wanted to snatch the hat off of the guyโs head, but he resisted.
Cole still hadnโt quite recovered from discovering that Family Video in Hawkins, Indiana had a copy of Maurice. That had been a few months ago, and heโd forced Max to check it out for him so they could ogle Hugh Grant together. Well, so he could ogle Hugh Grant and Max could sigh disapprovingly. Anyway, today he was on a mission to find Full Metal Jacket; some film major had told him that Kubrick was shaping up to be theย โvoice of their generation,โ or something, so Cole figured heโd give it a try.
But of course, heโd ended up wandering the entire square footage of the store. He was glancing at new releases when a familiar voice asked him a question. He hadnโt known Barb well in high school, given that she was a year above him, but he knew her as Nancyโs friend. Cole smiled warmly at her and peered around to see her options. He wasnโt much of a comedy guy, so he didnโt recognize many.ย โHmmm,โ he studied the shelves, then had an idea. He ducked into another aisle and came back with The Lost Boys.ย โItโs technically horror, but I promise it isnโt scary. Just... a cheesy vampire movie. Itโs my go-to,โ he said, holding the title out for her.ย โOther than that, Iโm afraid Iโm out of suggestions.โย
Where: Family Video Who: Barb & ??
Barb had become reliant on video tapes since sheโd come home. She couldnโt afford anything beyond the basic cable package, and even then, the reception in the postage stamp she called an apartment wasnโt the greatest. So sheโd been checking a lot of books out of the library โ even more than usual โ and renting plenty of video tapes. She had started out renting her favorites, like the 1978 version of Lord of the Rings, along with Grey Gardens, All the Presidentโs Men, and One Flew Over the Cuckooโs Nest. But in the past few weeks, sheโd started to branch out. She started with political thrillers, because they were fairly familiar ground. Marathon Man, The Odessa File, Sleeping Dogsโฆfrom there she began watching action movies, like Jaws, Alien, and Star Wars: A New Hope.
Tonight, she was perusing the comedy section, which was definitely unprecedented ground for her. โOh, shoot,โ Barb muttered, as the movie she was looking at turned out to be rented already. Seeing someone out of the corner of her eye, she turned to look at them. It wasnโt like her to seek the advice of a stranger, but since she was already trying a new genre tonight โ why not? โHey, would you recommend anything?โ she said, gesturing at the shelves in front of them. โThese movies arenโt really my thing, soโฆyou could really tell me any one of these is great, and Iโd sort of have to believe you.โ
who: Cole & @willthewizeโ
where: Main Street
Cole had just gotten off work and was a few blocks into the skate home. On days when he had nothing else to do, which was most days now, he liked to pass through downtown via Main Street. It was nice to see the activity and be reminded that people were here and going about their normal lives.
Since the camping trip fiasco, Cole had felt phantom pains in his ankle from where... whatever it was... had dragged him underwater. He was pretty sure it was all in his head, because Adam hadnโt been feeling the same thing. But still, Cole stopped and sat on a bench to give it a break. He studied it closely, looking for any sign of contact or inflammation, but there was nothing. Maybe Hawkins was making him crazy.
Thankfully, he was interrupted by footsteps on his side of the street. Snapping his head up, Coleโs face broke out into a smile.ย โHey,ย Will,โ he called, hoping the other wasnโt in a rush and would come over. Heโd been meaning to talk to him, anyway, ever since heโd spoken with Joyce.ย โWhat are you up to?โ he asked. Cole vaguely recalled that Will had been at the camping trip, too-- but he mustโve been with a different group.ย โHow was the camping trip for you?โ Cole had heard whispers about weird stuff happening in a cabin, but he had admittedly been too focused on his almost-drowning to gather any details.
MAX: ew
MAX: since when do you know religion freak?
MAX: oh.
MAX: well, you are an asshole, but not for this. was the situation a lapse in taste? definitely, but you didn't do anything wrong or whatever.
MAX: i'm guessing adam didn't take it well?
COLE: my grandparents dragged me to church like, once
COLE: yeah.
COLE: i mean, technically i didn't, but... it sucked.
COLE: i don't think he's like, mad. hurt, probably?
COLE: i don't know. we haven't talked and i'm trying not to freak out.
xx.
Cole had always been a loner. It never bothered him, really-- in school he was content to sit by himself at lunch with a book and in the back of every classroom to share the occasional snarky comment. But because of that, he really didnโt know how to handle conflict. Heโd never really cared enough before to be bothered if he happened to piss someone off. But now, after everything heโd shared with Max and sheโd shared with him, he felt pretty shitty about the way things had been left.
Not shitty enough to apologize-- he didnโt think he was wrong for sticking up for Adam-- but shitty enough to jump at the chance to talk to her. When Max called, he closed out his tab at The Hideaway and thanked his lucky stars that heโd skated instead of driven. An easy smile slid onto Coleโs lips at the familiar sight of Max skating in the dark.ย โHey, Maxine,โ he greeted, tucking his skateboard under his arm. His expression darkened as he got closer, immediately clocking the state of her face.ย โWhat the fuck?โ he exclaimed, wrapping an uncertain arm around her in the half-hug.ย โShut up. What happened?โ he asked, ignoring her question. Things were weird, but he was still concerned about her. Heโd always worry, probably.ย
WHO: max mayfield & @loverboymontgomeryโ WHAT: vibe check! WHERE: the skate park (where else)
although it seemed like neither one of them wanted to say it, things had been weird since they went to the weapons store with chance and adam. there werenโt any lines drawn in the sand that night, but max hadnโt been the most stoked to find them with such differing opinions of what was going on. she also hadnโt gone out of her way to talk to cole between then and now. but since she kind of got her shit rocked? rocked her own shit? at the junkyard, max was maybe able to chalk up that whole experience to tensions being high after a funeral. she didnโt fully buy into her own narrative though, so, she supposed she would have a more clear picture of where they stood after today.ย
max finally swallowed her pride about the whole scene cole had made in adamโs name and called him up to meet her at the skatepark, after hours, of course. she was skating in and out of the empty bowl and blaring tina turner from her headphones when she spotted cole approaching. she stopped at the top of the bowl, paused her music, and slid her headphones off.ย โyo, walden.โ she met him, trying to be as normal as possible. gently as possible, max scratched the side of her broken nose and asked him,ย โnotice anything different?โ she didnโt wait long for an answer before pulling cole into an uncomfortable side hug. did they hug often now?ย โwhatโs happening with you?โ max asked, sitting down on the concrete.ย
Cole hadnโt realized what heโd gotten himself into by volunteering to bring a keg-- scratch that, multiple kegs-- to this shindig. It might not bother everyone, but the sticky beer dripping on the linoleum made Coleโs spine shiver, so he dug into his backpack for something to clean it up with. Digging to the very bottom, he found a black handkerchief. Perfect. Cole wiped down the side of the keg and the floor beneath it, and decided to perch nearby in order to nag people not to let it drip on the floor. Really, how hard was it?
In his bag, Cole caught a glimpse of his cigarettes and felt a familiar pang in his gut. Surely it wouldnโt be in bad taste to smoke inside, given the circumstances? Absentmindedly, he tucked the bandana in his back pocket and grabbed a cigarette.ย โHope no one minds,โ he mumbled, mostly to himself, and lit up.
Shutting his eyes, Cole allowed the blaring music to distract him from the fact that he was inside the mall where the love of his life died. Light stuff. He wasnโt mad at the music choice, surprisingly. Cole tried not to be pretentious about music, but he could only take so many days of people coming into the Music Center asking for the new Rick Astley or Whitney Houston. Thankfully, this music had some teeth. He wondered whoโd been recruited to play it.ย
When Cole opened his eyes to take another drag, he was shocked to see Eddie Munson running right at him. Cole leaned back instinctively, confusion written on his face,ย โUh, sorry. Whatโd you call me?โ He followed Eddieโs eyes to his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief.ย โWait-- flagging? Iโm cleaning up the keg because these goddamned kids canโt be bothered to catch their beer...โ he paused, suddenly curious.ย โWhat did you think?โ
where: blue quarry mall who: eddie + cole ! @colemontgomeryxโโ
despite the inital apprehension, because he really didnโt need the hawkins police department all up in his business again, not when heโd been a murder suspect barely two years ago, eddie slowly felt himself relax, some of the tension slipping from his body. not all, ever since that upside down debacle he hadnโt been able to relax fully. but the beer helped - bless that kid whoโd brought the keg - and the general air ofโฆinsanity that lingered amongst the party-goers and protesters.
the sounds of black sabbath filled the mall, eddie felt himself nodding along to the tune, and, hey, he really didnโt care that most of the people here had never heard of ozzy osbourne in their lives. they all seemed to have a great time, anyway. so he didnโt even need to whip out that tape of 1988โฒs top of the pops heโd recorded, just in case theyโd want to burn him at the stake for seducing them with his evil satanic dnd music.
he leaned against a pillar, let his eyes wander among the crowed, took a sip of beer and - hey, there he was, that kid with the keg. definitely not a kid now that he got a proper look at him. eddie tilted his head, his mouth dropped open slightly and he craned his neck, pushed himself off the wall, becauseโฆ wait a minute.
wait a damn minute. he narrowed his eyes, looked down and. holy shit. well, if his eyes werenโt deceiving him then that - yeah that - that was a bandana. dangling from his - coleโs - back pocket. on display. he nearly choked on his beer, coughed and, taking another sip to ease said cough, he booked it across the mall, tapped him on the shoulder.
โhey, man - cole.โ, he said, held eye contact with him for perhaps a tad longer than was appropriate. cleared his throat, gestured down towards his own back pocket. a quick look left and right, they werenโt in hearing distance of anyone else. still, he lowered his voice.ย โhey man, are youโฆ are you flagging?โ
walden "cole" montgomery / 21 / junior at indiana state / manager at the music center / the loverboy* penned by nikki
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