storm;

ALEC HALSTEAD. 30. Murrayville. Mechanic at Nuts & Bolts Garage. dad of two devils angels.

[alechalstead-blog]

NAOMI:

                                A grin broke out over her face, unable to help it at that point. There was a reason why she loved those kids so much, more than the fact that she was there from the beginning. It was more along the fact that Alec had proven over and over again what special place in her heart she had for him, like the brother she always needed but never found in the three she already had. “That’s because I’m the coolest adult they’ve ever met, no offense. Aunt Naomi kind of always takes the cake. Are there none of those pool vacations coming up? Can we make that happen?” She winked in Alec’s direction and bumped her elbow against his, before she was dropping her jaw, and gasping back at him. “I hardly touched you!” She said as she kept her hands up in defense, continuing to mess with him. It was something she always did, and it seemed like without fail, Alec fell for it. “What, are you daring me to break it?” 

“You clearly are.” Alec had always been happy that Naomi was part of his children’s lives. They deserved someone like her, someone who loved them unconditionally and always provided for some fun and a tight hug whenever they needed it. “I don’t know, I want to, but my bank account’s side-eyeing me for even thinking about it,” he admitted, pulling his shoulders up with a sigh. “But hey, if you convince me with another wink, we’re totally making that happen this summer.” They all deserved a vacation after all, didn’t they? He hadn’t had a single one in all his life. Raising his brows as he looked at her, he folded his arms over his chest. “What if I am? Would you really do that?”

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SABRINA:

“I tried punching it. Softly, of course.” She smiled at him sheepishly, knowing full well that it was probably the stupidest thing she could have done, but it’s not like she was hurt or anything. “This isn’t anything I’ve faced before, so I’m over here, trying to figure out my superhero origin story.” Jokes were the way she got over embarrassment. It almost always went her way that way, but there were a few times when people thought it was weird. She asked, “I mean, what would help? One of those scrape things?” 

“Punch it, huh?” He smirked, shaking his head a little as he folded his arms over his chest. “That sounds very original, but I doubt that will actually help -- ice doesn’t care about punches, as far as I know.” But what did help? Alec did have one of those scrape things, as she called it, and it worked fairly well whenever he needed it. “Yeah, actually. But I’m guessing you don’t have one of those?”

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EVERETT:

                   In all his time spent in Wilmington, Everett had kept few friends other than those from college who’d happened to live in the same city. Thankfully his bonds with those back home had solidified his social skills, but he still found himself taking pause whenever he came across a new face. The man standing before him, black coffee in hand to match his rather weary look, was a new face. Having remembered his manners, Everett smiled, releasing his pencil long enough to wave the man down to sit. “Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been here for so long, I almost forgot other people might want a spot.” Offering a hand, he did his best to make up for his previous behavior. “Everett.”

“Please, it’s fine. I’m sure you can easily get lost in that,” Alec smiled, gesturing towards whatever it was the other man was working on. Brushing a hand through his hair, he was rather relieved when he was allowed to take a seat, setting down his coffee to be able to take the hand extended for him to shake. “Alec, hi. Am I interrupting your work here? Or is that a free time thing you’re working on?”

[alechalstead-blog]

SABRINA:

“Look,” Sabrina started, smiling as sweetly as she could muster. She was talking to no one in particular, just the frost on the window of her car. She hadn’t been able to use her car since the storm hit, and now that it was over, she could finally drive. “I know that it was chilly until like, yesterday, but now the weather is sort of normal and I want to attempt to use my car again. Even if that means that I’ll be driving two miles an hour. So melt. Please.” She turned around, slightly annoyed, to go get whatever she needed to clear it, then realized the other person standing there, watching her. Sabrina’s face flushed. Her body was so hot now that if she stood closer to her car, maybe it would melt. The only place she wanted to be in right now was under a rock, under sea, with Patrick star. Maybe she should learn to stop talking to random objects, situations, and feelings as if they were people. “I’m not yelling at ice!” 

            Alec had been on his way home from work when he passed someone who was clearly taking to their car. Or the ice on their car, as he realized once he listened a little closer to the words hitting the air. A slight frown appeared on his forehead as he stopped, hands still buried in the pockets of his jacket as he glanced at her. “No, you’re clearly just asking it to melt nicely,” he said, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Don’t you have anything on you to get rid of it? I’m not sure if talking will help all that much, and all that quickly.”

[alechalstead-blog]

EVERETT:

                  It was more than likely common knowledge that you didn’t just make yourself at home at local coffee shops. Sure, one could cozy up next to the window while they enjoyed their cup of joe for an hour or two, perhaps even litter the tables with textbooks as they got some last minute cramming in. But when the cup is empty and the morning frost has melted, that’s usually when most take their leave. Which is why Everett failed to be surprised by the slight frowns of confusion he’d been receiving from coffee goers for the last 8 hours. He couldn’t quite blame them, as he was practically lounging across the only couch in The Workshop, without much remorse. But thanks to the snow storm, his power had yet to turn back on, and he had a deadline for a well paying client he didn’t intend to miss. So, sketching ( and lounging ) in the coffee shop would just have to do. Smudging some of the lines on his canvas with his middle finger, he failed to realize the person standing over him until their shadow blocked his view. “I know, we’re gaining on the next hour…tell you what, next coffee on me?” Everett mumbled absentmindedly, still well preoccupied with his work at hand. 

           Alec didn’t think he’d want a break from his kids after freaking out because he couldn’t get into contact with them throughout several hours when the freak storm first hit, but only days later, he definitely needed a break. Being stuck inside with them when Zoe had a knee sprain and couldn’t move was exhausting, so he grabbed the first chance he got to enjoy an hour at The Workshop all by himself. He’d just accepted his order of a strong black coffee when he noticed it would be hard to find a place to sit. Eventually, he approached a guy who had clearly taken over the couch. But who knew? Maybe he had a seat to spare? “No need, I only need this one coffee. But do you mind if I sit down here?”

[alechalstead-blog]

HEATHER:

        The expression on her face reflected Alec’s as she was explaining it, as she couldn’t believe it either. She might have done stupid things before, but nothing that nonsensical. “I know, right? Rather get an awful taste than something that would actually poison me. And even if it didn’t poison me, that’s just disgusting. It’s so not healthy, man.” Heather turned her face back on the camera to talk to her viewers, mostly family and friends. “And if any of you,” she glared at the lens with judgy eyes, “have done this dumb challenge unsubscribe right now.” The camera had been rolling for over 20 minutes and she considered that it was an appropriate amount of footage time, as she could edit the video later and cut it down if necessary. “And if you haven’t unsubscribed and you guys are sticking around, thanks for not being a dumbass,” she winked at the camera. “And thanks to you too, Alec. Thank you for joining me. I believe that’s all the discussion we have for today. I’ll see you all next time, whenever that is. Bye!” Hopping up from her seat, she abruptly ended the recording with a delicate laugh. “I don’t know what kind of outro was. It was really fast, but I guess I just don’t waste any time. No need for a good farewell anyway. Not like I have a big audience to worry about.”

           “Absolutely. I mean, that stuff could easily be poisonous. And even if it’s not, it’s definitely not made to go into the human body, so... I don’t know, I really think the last thing one should do is put that in their body. I would lose a hundred challenges if I had to.” Then again, Alec didn’t often worry about what others thought about him, at least not when he was younger. Now he often worried whether others might think he was a bad dad, but that was a different story -- it would never persuade him into partaking in something like that. Watching Heather, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he just nodded as she jumped up to stop the recording. While he was happy he’d managed to get through it without any blackouts or something like that, he had to admit it had been more fun than he thought it could be. “I think it’s great. Short and sweet. Why waste your time saying goodbye? And honestly, you’re a great interviewer. It surprises me you don’t have a bigger audience, whether you want it or not.”

[alechalstead-blog]

CAROLINE:

A garage was not the first place she would’ve looked for sanctuary, but beggars can’t be choosers, especially in this clusterfuck of a winter storm. Bundling Honey as tightly to her as she could, the woman hummed to herself for courage until the door opened, thankfuly rushing inside. “I’ve b-been much b-better.” Care told him through chattering teeth, more cold than anything. “D-do you guys have a - a fire or something? Thank you s-so much for letting me in!”

          A worried frown on his forehead, Alec nodded quickly. “Yeah, no problem. No one should be out in the cold.” Brushing a hand through his hair, he glanced at the dog in her arms. “No fire, but our changing room is pretty warm right now, we can go and warm you up there. I can get you some coffee? I’m sure we have some extra jackets flying around as well.”

[alechalstead-blog]

THALIA:

        There had been numerous calls regarding children this evening, and it had mostly been parents over-worrying about their son or daughter, which she figured was normal given the circumstances. Though she did not have the same relationship with her parents, and in fact, she had not even checked in with them, nor they with her. Nonetheless, she tended to the young girls knee, which was pretty swollen and bruised up. “It’s swollen slightly, and seems to be sensitive.” By the reaction Zoe had given when the rubber gloves ran over the area in question. “Looks like it’s just been bashed pretty hard, the swelling should go down, but I’ve got an ice pack here.” Seconds later, she grabbed one out of her medical kit, cracking it over her knee to initiate the cold surface before wrapping it in the closest cloth and pressing it gently to the knee, soothing it. “There ‘ya go.” The brunette instructed before smiling, then proceeding to look up to Alec who had requested the visit. Rising to her feet, she wondered back over to him before reassuring that everything was fine. “She’ll be good as new in no time. Just let her rest it, and if the swelling doesn’t go down, just let me know.”

           Alec always thought he’d never turn into one of those always worrying and over-sensitive parents, and yet here he was. He wanted to think that he was only overreacting because he had been separated from his kids without no idea how they were doing for hours when the storm first hit, so hopefully, that was a good enough excuse. “Okay, that sounds great,” he said, relief washing over him as he watched her get out an ice pack, pressing it to Zoe’s knee. The little girl winced, but seemed to visibly relax at the cooling sensation. A tense smile on his lips, he nodded. “Yeah, thank you so much. I was just a little worried, she never hurt herself so badly before.” Until this moment, it had mostly been cuts and light bruises, nothing so intense. “Do you maybe want a coffee or something? I’m sure you can need the caffeine right now, it must be crazy for you.”

[alechalstead-blog]

THALIA:

Thalia had been doing the rounds, and who knew what call this was tonight — possibly in the realm of the late seventies. Maybe she was being optimistic in thinking she was going to be able to continue soldiering through this kind of chaos, the weather alone was making it hard work, let alone the constant calls for assistance; whether it was a sprained wrist, or trapped under a tree. As she reached her next location, she began to unpack her bag, the kit sprawled out so she could see what she was working with. “It’s fine — everybody’s going to be fine.” She assured them the best she could, but admittedly, her patience was wearing thin.

          Alec thought once he had his kids back by his side, nothing bad could happen. Being stuck without them and no idea whether they were fine for hours had been awful enough, after all. Yet, of course, Zoe and Lucas managed to turn his luck around. While they were safe inside, they were also bored, and while he was trying to pull up some sort of meal for them, they played in the living room -- causing in a scream and loud crying as Alec was halfway done with cooking. Zoe’s knee was looking bad, and while it was probably nothing, he had always been a worrying dad, causing him to stare at the paramedic with raised brows. “Great that you think so,” he agreed, shaking his head a little. “It’s probably nothing but uh... her knee looks pretty bad, and I have no clue if it’s something worse than just a bruise.”

[alechalstead-blog]

BEXLEY:

Bexley leaned her head back against the cool tiled wall, letting herself take a deep breath. It felt like the day was endless and one bad thing was happening after another. Her pager didn’t stop, her knee throbbed in it’s immobilizer, and it felt like other’s blood was still on her hands. Blue orbs fell shut as she tried her best to breathe, to move through all of this. She just needed to get through this storm and she knew that vacation she’d been promising herself was finally going to happen. But her name drew her away from the trance she had found herself in, the energy drink still nestled between her grasp. “I’m Dr. Maxwell, is there something you need?”, she asked gently, smoothing her surgical cap off the top of her head.

           Alec had been incredibly relieved to get his hands on his children after Naomi had taken care of them while he was stuck at the repair shop. And while the storm fortunately hadn’t destroyed his apartment, and hadn’t hurt him or his kids, it was just his luck that being stuck inside put such crazy ideas inside of his children’s heads that they managed to hurt themselves anyway. Alec was still trying to convince Lucas to tell him what had happened as he held Zoe in his arms, a dark bruise forming on her knee. Therefore, he found himself back at the hospital, unsure just how bad her injury was. He was hoping it was just sprained, but he was no doctor. Looking up from his son as someone approached him, a crooked smile appeared on his lips. “I just need someone to look at my daughter’s knee. It’s probably nothing, but I didn’t want to stretch my luck in this storm.”

[alechalstead-blog]

CAROLINE:

Expecting a brief winter chill, Caroline had been less that prepared for perhaps the worst storm she’d seen in her life. Half of her jokingly felt like she was in the movie 2012, with the severity of the weather in the town she now called home, but she’d managed to find shelter - very barely. Honey had been more than game for her walk earlier that evening, but Caroline resented herself for not deciding to stay home once she felt the bite of the wind hit her face.

She hadn’t made it far before she began stumbling, unable to support herself in the face of the storm but too into it to turn back. Picking up her whimpering, thankfully still rather small beagle, she used shaking fingers to knock on the door of the first establishment she saw. “Hello!” The woman called out, voice straining to be heard over the whistling of the wind and snow. “Hello! Can someone help me?” Honey whimpered again, and Caroline felt guilty all over again for having the poor animal out in this. “Please! I have a puppy, she can’t be out in this!”

         Being stuck at the garage was probably the worst thing Alec could have imagined in this storm. It was one thing to have to work there, an entirely different thing to be stuck there with no idea when he’d be able to make it home safely. He didn’t think anyone would still be out in the storm, so when he noticed a knock at the door, at first he figured it was the wind. Looking up, he saw a woman standing there through the window though, and he quickly made his way over to pull the door open and let her inside. “Are you okay?”, he questioned right away, his brows furrowing on his forehead as he scanned over her and the dog in her arms. 

[alechalstead-blog]

NAOMI:

                          “Aw, are you suggesting that my babies miss me? Don’t worry, they should know I miss them too. I’m about to go steal them from you on my next day off so Zoe doesn’t forget what I look like and Lucas doesn’t run off and try and draw other people pictures.” Naomi knew how it sounded, how protective she was over two kids that weren’t her own. With Alec as close as he was, it was hard not to be, especially when she was around when their mother up and fled the scene before the two young kids even had a chance to grow attached to the female figure. God help the woman that attempts to swoop in and play mommy for them someday, or if their mother actually ever came back. She scoffed, shaking her head some. “You say that like I’m not already going on those family vacations. Someone has to remember to take the pictures and make sure you don’t make them go through some boring tour they don’t care about. All they’re going to want to do is spend the entire day in the hotel’s pool, so save yourself money and go big on the hotel, less on the other lame Dad attractions.” Naomi joked and nudged her elbow against Alec’s side. When they moved around the corner she accidentally smacked her foot up against one of the larger vases with an obnoxiously large plant spurting out the top, the sound of her heeled boots clicking against it making it wobble and create noise. “Way to go, Alec!” She hissed, smacking at his bicep.

            “Of course they miss you. You don’t even need me to say that to know it.” Naomi was probably one of his kids’ favorite people, and he was happy about that. She had helped him out a lot, and they both adored her to pieces. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only grown up they depended on or looked to for directions. They definitely needed someone like Naomi in their lives. “You know they’d love that. They can’t get enough of you.” Rolling his eyes at her, he shook his head. “You really think I’m going to pull out the Dad attractions card? I’d be happy to lie by the pool for a whole day, but something’s telling me it won’t be as relaxing as that sounds. Even if you tag along.” There was always something going on when you had kids, after all. Besides, Alec wasn’t sure whether he really ever would be able to afford a vacation in a hotel by a pool. It was a dream, but one that had to wait for now. He winced slightly as she smacked him, looking over at the vase. “Stop hitting me!”, he hissed back, crossing his arms over his chest. “If you don’t like that vase, at least give it a proper kick so it topples over.”

[alechalstead-blog]

AUBREY:

‘‘Definitely,’‘ Aubrey nodded in agreement. Realizing what he was saying, she chuckled to herself, and then rushed to explain it to him, so she didn’t seem completely insane. ‘’Now that you mention it, I literally spent years staying home because I believed that my parents would be sad if I left. Turns out, they couldn’t wait. Now they’re living the life, you know. So I have no doubt that everything falls into place in time.’’

         “Really?” An amused laugh escaped his lips and he shook his head. Hopefully, by the time Lucas and Zoe wanted to move out, he’d want them to move out as well. They’d probably be annoying young adults by then anyway. “Well, let’s hope I’ll feel the same way your parents did, otherwise them moving out will just leave me shattered,” he said jokingly.

[alechalstead-blog]

CALVIN:

                             Calvin ran his hand through the thicker blonde locks, shuddering at that thought alone. “I give them props, man. I definitely wouldn’t have the balls do endure an hour of that.” He didn’t know of anyone who did. “You doin’ it on your own?”

          “I saw a woman at the grocery store the other week who just went about her shopping list while her kid was lying on the floor, crying his lungs out. I was pretty impressed with that,” Alec chuckled, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to keep his composure the way that woman had. Nodding a little at the other’s question, he shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I am.”

[alechalstead-blog]

HEATHER:

        “Same here. Not for all of the money in the world. I’m sticking to my opinion. Sure I’ll be rich, but again, a taste you can’t come back from.” Her eyebrows shot up as she let out a brief chuckle. It wasn’t like being presented with a cheesy poptart with thousands or millions of dollars as a prize would actually happen, but it was fun to imagine. She saw that he was truthfully unaware of the challenge that had been circling around the internet, so she felt a smidge secondhand embarrassment for the explanation she was about to spill. She grimaced before speaking her next sentence. “I’ll preface this by saying you don’t wanna know, so apologies in advance for subjecting you to learning this kind of information. It’s unbelievable. People — I’m talkin’ teens, are ingesting those tide laundry detergent pods and posting reaction videos,” she responded, shuddering at the idea. “Most people online are mocking it as a joke while not actually participating, but some are seriously biting into the pod only to spit it out for views online, I guess. This generation is weird,” she sighed.

          Alec wasn’t entirely sure what he had expected from this challenge she was talking about, but as she started to explain it, his brows arched higher and higher on his forehead, his mouth opening in disbelief. He was kind of happy something like that hadn’t yet existed when he was a teenager -- and at the same time, he was quite worried about what would be going on in this world once Zoe and Lucas hit that age. Hopefully, they would never end up doing something like that. “That’s just crazy. Who in their right state of mind would do that? Challenge or not, that’s just plain stupid and so not worth it. I’d eat a cheese pop tart over such a pod any day. That can’t be healthy either, right?”

[alechalstead-blog]

SABRINA:

“I know how it goes. Usually someone older will just lecture me on getting a real job,” she shrugged. It was difficult to explain to people why she was going out for this role in the first place. It wasn’t her usual cup of tea, and she knew the implications it would give people in this day and age. She turned to the mirror and pulled her shirt down a little, as he said. “Maybe this works.” 

         “A real job instead of finding a sugar daddy? But you just said that’s not what you’re doing here, right?”, he questioned with raised brows, watching her as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Depending on what you’re trying to do, yeah. It could work.”

[alechalstead-blog]

HEATHER:

        Using her best game show host voice, she sat up tall. “You wouldn’t do it, not even for ten thousand dollars! Yes, yes. I’m talkin’ about trying a cheesy poptart for ten thousand smackeroonies.” She drumrolled on her lap, then clapped her hands and shook it around to try and hype it up for enthusiastic effect. She didn’t have fancy theme music running in the background or a corresponding supermodel to announce prizes like they would do on television. She agreed with her show guest, smiling that they weren’t and refused to be, in fact, victims of the ice cube cereal fad. “I don’t find it humorous either. Wait up,” she waved a finger in the air. “This isn’t food related, but it is another one of the internet’s viral trends and it has to do with consumption. You heard about that dumb tide pod challenge?” She winced, shaking her head thinking about the youth of today. It was a good time to be out of middle and high school, Heather thought. God knows that’s all what the pre-teens and teenagers are raving about. “Like, that’s what I wonder…how is that funny?”

          “No, not even for ten million dollars,” he agreed with a laugh, finding the situation more and more amusing. He was even relaxing a bit more into it, finding that Heather had a great way of making it all appear casual and relaxed. Nothing like what he had first expected of this whole agreement. Head tilting to the side, he listened to her next question -- but Alec had to admit, he had no clue what she was talking about. Was he really that old? Or maybe he just wasn’t too into social media, and hardly read anything about viral trends unless it was about something interesting for parents. Slowly shaking his head, a soft chuckle fell from his lips. “I’m sorry, what? A tide pod challenge? What is that even about?”