( better when we're wasted )

graham kent. twenty six. part time obituary writer, full time pancake lover. ------------------------------------------------

[addisonharker-blog]

“Then I guess I’m in the right place.” She said with a slight smile. “Oh I’m so glad I’m not alone in it! I honestly never thought I would miss the sounds of cars and emergency services sirens. Hm I might have to look into getting one, I’ve just been leaving the tv on in the background. I’ve grown kinda use to infomercials lulling me to sleep.” Addison laughed a little, thinking about mops and blenders at 3am. “Well, I’d rather you than me! Well I hope you get your long burn career, the world could always do with an extra Anderson Cooper. Have you been writing it for long?”

[grxhamkent]

"Ah, yes," Graham said, grinning, "The sound of human suffering - everyone's favorite nighttime fare." But the teasing was light - after all, he, too, missed the sounds that prevaled in cities. "And I bet Boston is nothing compared to New York - I haven't spent any long time there, but it is the city that never sleeps, right?" He sat forward, instantly excited. "Right!?" Graham said. "One is just not enough. But I can only hope to reach Cooper Echelons." He laughed humorlessly, dry, verging on sarcastic - but the harshness of it wasn't directed towards her, it was just... a strange situation. "Would you believe I haven't even started it? I was sent here on a lead, but everything has fizzled out. There hasn't been anything to report on, and I don't know where to start looking for anything."

[addisonharker-blog]

“That sounds slightly ominous.” Addison smiled a little in relief over his words and laughed lightly at his wink. “So you get many people hiding out here then? I’d never heard of it till last month. Though - I guess that does make it the best place to hide out.” She was hoping that Northpoint proved to be a good distraction more than anything else, just somewhere that would help her sort her life and thoughts out. “It is slightly strange only having to walk like, one block for a coffee instead of four. Also, it’s so quiet here!” she said, eyes widening a little. “Yeah, I can’t say I’ve read many obituaries, much too depressing.” She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Is it going to be your big break?”

[grxhamkent]

"I think more people come here to hide out than you would think. Northpoint is a good place to clear your head and get away from it all." It's true, Northpoint was a tiny place - it was barely present on any maps, and if it was mentioned, it was only in connection to Winthrop. "Right, but then you only have one or two choices of coffee, as opposed to the many in the city. So if it sucks, you're outta luck. Thank you! I've been saying that since my first semester in college. It took me forever to finally wise up and get a sound machine with a city setting. I suggest that, by the way, if you have trouble sleeping for all of the silence." Graham chuckled. "Yeah, if you think reading them's depressing, try writing them. ----- Maybe it will be, who knows? I'm not too concerned about having a big break, I'd rather have a steady, worthwhile, Anderson-Cooper-esque career than burning out too quickly." Though it had been a somewhat contrary statement, he softened it with a smile and a shake of his head. "But who knows what will happen! The story has to get written first, so I'm not even bothering looking that far ahead."

[grxhamkent]

Is the phrase “I love you” used too loosely? When should it be used?

“I don’t think that’s something that I have authority on, honestly. I think that it should be used sincerely, but that doesn’t mean it has to be used sparingly or anything like that. If you honestly love things, or if you honestly love people - then let it be known. Just don’t be dishonest with it - either through withholding it or saying it when you don’t feel it.” 

[grxhamkent]

Do you get jealous easily?

“No, I don’t, or I try to reject feeling jealous as much as possible. There’s not much use to comparing yourself to someone else, or worrying about what other people have or are - just embrace what you can control, and let the rest go! Wow, sorry to sound like a self help book!” 

[grxhamkent]

Have you ever fallen in love?

"I have, at least twice. I’ll be the first to admit it - I’m pretty quick to fall in love.” 

[addisonharker-blog]

“I better.” She sighed a little dramatically, but laughed at his overly bright smile. “True, I would have missed out on seeing so many interesting outfits as well. Oh I’m sure we would have met at some point. I get that vibe from this place.” She smiled a little. “New York. And, it’s a long story, but I made some…shall we say bad life decisions for a while that affected a lot of my… relationships.” Addison let her eyes look down at the table, trying to stop her mind listing all the wrong choices she had made lately. “Boston, huh?” she said, looking up again and smiling like nothing was on her mind. “You’re quite a way from home. Ooo, anything I might have read?”

[grxhamkent]

"Yeah, it is a small place - but you'd be surprised at the things that can sneak up on you," he said thoughtfully. Graham waved a hand, waving away whatever she was dancing around. "You don't have to tell me about bad life decisions," he said, giving her a quick wink. "Northpoint is a good place to hide out for a while," he assured her. It was more difficult when the incident you were hiding from took place there - but nevertheless, Northpoint had a sense of otherness about it, where everything else felt far away and distant, like a fog had settled over them. It was only once he'd gone back to Boston that he realized how much he missed it during his time in Northpoint, and just as quickly, he was sent back to Northpoint. "New York? Then I can imagine how small this place seems to you," he said, shaking his head. "Closer than you. ----- No, I don't think so. Until recently, I've only done obituaries for the Northpoint Gazette. I'm working on my first big piece for the Globe, back home, but it's still a ways away from being ready."

[addisonharker-blog]

“Oh no, I am getting someone to come out and install some of that high quality fast working internet thingy.” She waved a hand in front of her as she tried to think of the right words. “I need my internet.” Addison lifted an eyebrow, her lips quirking upwards slightly. “I don’t think many people would call me ‘real’ where I’m from, so that’s a nice change. And I’m glad my not caring attitude is coming across so well.” She said with a laugh, hoping he wouldn’t take her too seriously on that last part. It’s not that Addison didn’t care, she just didn’t like to show it. “Winthorp. That’s the town over, right? So you’re like, a native to the area. Have you never left?”

[grxhamkent]

Graham chuckled, shaking his head as he raised a hand in a lazy, insubordinate salute. "The internet may be high speed, but the service definitely isn't --- but you'll get it. You should get it! But then you won't get to hang out in our lovely cafe and meet new people. What if we had never met?" He grinned, overly-bright and dramatically winning. Smarmy, almost. "Oh? And where's that - where are you from, I mean," he said, an eyebrow quirked at the fact that she wouldn't have been described real elsewhere. She didn't seem like someone who hid behind and veneers or tried to be anything but herself. But then - Graham had only known her for a few minutes. But he was a romantic, who needed very little time to start building people up in his mind, one way or the other. It was only once he got to know them that his opinions and thoughts were realigned and reconfigured, and even that could be a slow process in comparison. "Oh, no, I'm not a native," he said. "I'm from Boston, originally. I went to college in Winthrop," he amended. "I went home for a few months earlier this year, but I was sent back up on assignment. I'm writer," he explained.

[addisonharker-blog]

“I’m sure they would, but I don’t really want to start my first day off by complaining about something. Seems like a bad impression.” She paused as she thought back over her current conversation and let out a laugh. “Which is probably what I’m making right now with you!” Addison shook her head, starting over somewhere new was starting to become a lot harder than she had anticipated. She had forgotten what it was like having to make new friends in new towns. And Northpoint was clearly the sort of town where you had to have friends for things to run smoothly. “I suppose I could do with something easy.” She mused. “Have you been here long yourself?”

[grxhamkent]

"Fair enough," he agreed, raising his coffee cup to her in a small, lighthearted toast. "Give it a week, at least. And who knows - maybe today is just a slow internet day. And maybe it has been since you got here," he added lamely. He laughed and shook his head. "No, not a bad impression. People around here tend to be very cheery, so you seem... real, I guess. Not like you're trying to make a good impression, at least." And that honesty was something that Graham was learning to appreciate more and more fully, recently. He was back in Northpoint with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, more cyncial than he'd been last time he'd come to town. "A while, yeah. I went to school at Winthrop, and have stuck around ever since."

[addisonharker-blog]

“It’s where the job was, I didn’t really have much say in the matter. I mean I guess I could have asked them to relocate…” Addison trailed off with a slight frown as though she was truly thinking the idea over. “No, no that wouldn’t have worked. So I guess I’m stuck with the sand.” She raised an eyebrow at that, a slight smile tugging at her lips. “Oh, I do love a good scandal, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out.” She nodded, tossing her hair over one shoulder. “Yes, just last week in fact. Any advice on the place?”

[grxhamkent]

Graham frowned, once again sympathetic at the fact that she'd been relocated. He, too, had been sent back to Northpoint after finally moving south again ---- and for what? Some story that had gone underground as soon as he'd arrived. But his editor insisted he stay, told him to dig around. But the things was ---- Graham didn't want to dig around. He wanted to leave everything as it was, and get back to Boston. "Surely they'd understand if you explained the internet issue to them." He didn't know what she did, but there was very little that didn't depend on the internet these days. "You'll get used to it," he assured her, grinning once again. "Well, welcome. I can't say I have any particular advice ---- it's a pretty easy place to get along in."

[addisonharker-blog]

“But my house is in the town, so by default it is an issue with the town. And don’t even get me started on the sand!” Addison threw her hands up in annoyance, her list of issues with the small town growing by the day, despite the charms it did have to offer. “And I’m sure this place doesn’t need such bad press, it would really conflict with the peaceful nature that is promised on the lettings agents site. Not that anyone would know, what with the lack of wifi and all.” 

[grxhamkent]

"If you have a problem with sand, then moving to a seaside town might not have been the brightest idea," he pointed out. "You can't blame the town for that one, it's just not fair. Eh -" Graham tilted his head thoughtfully. "Don't let its apperance fool you, this town is full of scandal. You just have to know where to look." And - of course - what to look for. He let the topic fade, though, face relaxing into a curious smile. "You just moved here, then?"

[addisonharker-blog]

“Oh har har.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head a little. “I suspect the pony express would work faster than the internet at my house.” Addison let out a laugh and put her iPad down, folding her arms on the table and leaning forward. “Oh, of course, wouldn’t want to overwork the poor ponies, it would be a shame if they got hurt!”

[grxhamkent]

"Ah, so the truth comes out - the issue isn't with the town, it's with your house!" He shook his head, sighing in apparent exhaustion at the woman's mistake. "Well, that's fortunate, really. It's much easier to fix one house than the whole town." But really - Graham was sympathetic. His work depended on the internet and computers too heavily for him to take something like malfunctioning internet lightly. "It would be. We'd have all of the animal rights groups on our asses, cluttering up our streets and our beaches. Can't have that."

[addisonharker-blog]

Addison looked up from her iPad, both eyebrows raised as she took in the boy at the opposite table. “You can keep the vibe and still get with the times. It’s almost middle ages not having it in at least five more places. How do people around here check their emails and things?”

[grxhamkent]

"Email? What?" Graham asked, grin deepening. "Haven't you noticed? We still use telegrams and the pony express. Which, by the way ----- watch out for the horses - we're on our record of one hundred and seventeenth days without a pony-express related injury. Don't wanna mess that up."

[addisonharker-blog]

“At least somewhere in this blasted town has some free wifi.“ she grumbled. 

[grxhamkent]

Graham couldn't help chuckling, having just caught the quiet murmuring of the girl at the table opposite his. "Come on," he chided gently, a wicked smile on his face, "Having wifi everywhere would ruin the pastorial vibe this place has going on."

[b00gerlips]

[kaylafavetea-deactivated2017050]

Kayla shrugged at him, letting her laughter bubble over. “But why can’t I move on? For all we know Jack did! Plus, as far as I know I have no unfinished business to keep me hanging around in that creep place.” She paused and raised an eyebrow as she considered his words. “How did you mange to call me both smart and stupid in a single sentence?” Kayla laughed a little before grinning at him. “The dead have no conscious darling, and I’ll be the one haunting you, so really you should be extra nice to me.”

[grxhamkent]

"You're going to be murdered or posessed, or whatever, by the demonic twins - I'd say that would sour your spirit," Graham pointed out, "But don't despair, we would be stuck together for ever and ever and ever." Graham paused for a minute, trying to recall his exact wording - if he'd called her stupid, it hadn't been on perfect. But he could roll with it. "Hey, I said no such thing!" Graham said through a laugh. "You die first because your intelligence is a threat. They have to get rid of you to get to anyone and everyone else. --- I would be a boring person to haunt, though. What are you going to do, spill my coffee every morning?"

[kaylafavetea-deactivated2017050]

“Oh really? Well when you find me an inquiring mind, you just let me know and I’ll spill all my thoughts to them” She grinned, shaking her head a little at him. “Hm that is something to consider - and hope for - but I’m still going to be killed by the twins aren’t I?” Kayla let out a dramatic sigh and tried to suppress her laughter; there was something about discussing their own fictional demise that was vastly entertaining to her. “Why is it that whenever we talk about films we both seem to end up dead?”

[grxhamkent]

He gave a silent, exaggerated wince. "Ouch, blondie, that hurt." But he couldn't hold the charade for long, and he smiled. "Yes, you absolutely are. And then you'll be stuck haunting the hotel for the rest of your afterlife - who knows what happened to Jack in the end." Graham laughed, loud. This was why he loved spending time with Kayla - the two of them could get up to just about anything, any sort of conversation, any sort of antics, and they would have a great time. "I blame you. You're the brains of this operation, but somehow end up dying first, leaving me with absolutely no hope. Let that rest on your conscious. If you weren't dead, I would haunt you."

[lilynolan-blog1]

          “That’s a good question-— I’m gonna need a minute to think about that.” Lily stifled a soft laugh unsuccessfully when her eyes met Graham’s. “What happened? Are you okay?” Her tone of voice may have remained light, but her features softened visibly, an edge of worry present.

[grxhamkent]

"Yeah. And when you figure it out, clue me in, because I could use some help," he said, laughing. He shook his head as he noticed the softening of Lily's pretty features, and he quickly held up a hand, showing off the bandage wrapped around his thumb. "Got a little loose with the knife this morning - nothing to worry about, and certainly nothing that won't happen again." He grinned.