Jade took a moment to compose herself from chasing after the man, gripping the counter and taking deep breaths. When she opened it, her next customer was there. Why she ever took this job was beyond her. Jade was not a people person. “Sorry about that. What can i get you?” she asked tone friendly but her facial expression was still annoyed. “yeah i know. lucky him it’s not a moon night.” she growled. Jade didn’t normally condone killing at all, but accidents did happen.
Wes liked Jade, she was his mother’s favorite coworker and anyone who Claudia liked sober, was good in his books. “I’ll just take a regular, black,” he said, his order as unpretentious as he was. “Thanks.” Nodding to her statement, he pursed his lips into a thin smile. “Yeah, I don’t know where people get off with an attitude like that.” He used to encounter them more in the city, less so in Barton Hollow, but an asshole was an asshole no matter where you were.
She set down her pencil, pleased enough with the sketch on her paper before finally looking up, sending Wes a quick and polite smile— the smile became a little more genuine when he actually stepped a bit out of the way. “Thanks.” It hadn’t been much of a problem, but it had been slightly annoying, seeing as Wes had just stopped next to her without really saying anything. “Claudia clocked out earlier, if you’re looking for her.” Val herself had clocked out when Claudia had, but the Morning Buzz wasn’t that busy at this time of day— which was why she was still here.
He would ask more about the drawing, but maybe it was private. Katy would all but murder him if he looked into her diary/journal, so he knew not to pry. “Oh, she did?” There was surprise in his voice, because he had expected her to be here, and Wes couldn’t mask the big of an exasperated sigh that left his lips. Clearly people going places without giving him a heads up was the order of the week. “Was going to give her a ride home... nevermind. Thanks.” And then, adding due to some curiosity on his part. “You on a break?”
“And if not, well I have some friends to talk to.”She replied with a small chuckle escaping her lips. “You never know, he may not wait that long, give him a day or two and he’ll be back in here trying to either repeat or not repeat what happened tonight.”
"Oh yeah, for sure...” Wes nodded, and the words faded into deeper thought. He knew the habits of drunks very well, thanks to his own mother. Watching the guy outside of the bar, his eyes followed the drunken man stumbling around, and as luck would have it, approach where Wes’s car was parked. Curiosity made him pull his brows together, but instead of trying to break into the car, he quickly realized the man had unzipped his pants and was now pissing on one of the tires. “Oh....great.” That’s what he got for wanting to be social.
“I would say that I have experienced being like that before, but to my knowledge I haven’t. Unless some of my friends have kept something from me, then I would have to have a word with them.”She admitted. “I sure hope that he doesn’t wake up with both a hangover and a really bad feeling in his head.”
“If they’re real friends, they’d tell you all about it,” he said, taking a drink. He kept to himself here in Barton Hollow, but back home in Tacoma, he could remember a few pretty wild nights with his group of friends. “He’ll probably wake up with both, then come back here next Friday to do it all over again.”
Valerie deftly sketched the building out the window, well-practiced fingers carefully outlining the arches and angles of the roof. It was detailed, but not too detailed— it wasn’t particularly interesting either, but she was tired of taking notes. Seriously, there were only so many pages she could read before she needed to take a break. Her body hunched forward as she began to shade in the lines, taking care to document even the smallest of shadows. The pencil she was using may not be the best for the job, but it would do for now. To the world she looked as though she was consumed by her art— and she was, but that didn’t mean she was oblivious to the sound of footsteps nearing.
“You’re blocking the light.” Still, she didn’t bother to look up at the newcomer.
The sketch caught his eye, and Wes didn’t even notice how he had hovered over Valerie upon entering the cafe, taken by the act of drawing, shading, a talent he had zero capability for but certainly admired in others. He realized what he was doing only too late though, when she chided him for it. “Oh, sorry.” He quickly stepped aside to give Val back her light. “Looks nice, though.”
Anya was supposed to be on her way back home after a study session at the cafe. It wasn’t often she took this way, but her friends mentioned they’d be at the bar, finally coaxing her into the joining them. As she turned the corner she watched as a fell into the telephone post. Most people ignored him, but that wasn’t like Anya. She instantly went over to the stranger, kneeling down next to him. “Are you alright?” the brunette asked, voice laced with empanthy. Anya could never resist a person, or creature, in need. “Here come sit down on the curb.” she said to the man, helping him steady himself. She looked up, catching the eye of a man who had been watching.
“Excuse me sir? May you get me a glass of water from inside please?” she asked as she took out her phone, the plan to order the man an uber home.
Wes watched the commotion from inside the bar, the moment not as funny as he’d assumed when the man stayed down on the ground. When a second man came inside, with the order of getting a glass of water, Wes took it upon himself to help out. Call it his inability to watch people suffer, even to whatever minor degree. He took over the directive from the other man — he’d finished drinking and was just about done here, anyway — and grabbed that glass of water to bring outside himself.
More than that, when he approached the man on the ground and the girl next to him, he found her face to be familiar. “Hey,” he greeted. “Here,” he handed her the glass of water, not sure if giving it directly to the guy would have him dropping it, or what. He seemed in a somewhat disorientated state. “You alright there, buddy?” he asked, this time to the guy in question, observing him for signs of head injury of some sort, hoping a ride to the clinic wouldn’t be needed.
If there was ever a time for people to not be testing Jade’s patience, it was today. She rubbed her temples as she listen to the customer gripe about waiting an entire five minutes for their coffee. And she was at her limit. Job be damned. “Okay listen you over privileged, pompous, absolute blemish on this earth. You want to know how i know you haven’t been here 20 minutes? Because i clocked in 10 minutes ago. I held the door for you, which of course you didn’t notice because you were too busy giving someone a migraine on the phone. im also the one who took your order after this sweet woman here, 5 minutes ago. Now take your mocha choca whatever and get the fuck out of this cafe.” she growled. @bartonstart
Dealing with entitled customers was something Wes had also experienced, in his years of working at the auto shop. It was why when, watching her dress down the customer two before him, Wes did his best to conceal a small formed smile. They deserved no less, really, for making this much of a deal about a coffee. Wes caught her eyes as soon as the irritable customer had left, mumbling something about not coming back here again. “Some people...”
“He’s been pretty quiet. Think you can call your brother get me a name or an address of some parents?” he asked Wes. “you’d be saving me a butt load of time. I’ll owe you a drink at the bar.” Wes was one of the few people Erik actually liked and trusted in town.
Wes wondered how he didn’t think of that. Ty was at the fair too, currently being taken around the stalls by Katy, probably buying caramel apples. “Y’know what, that’s a good idea. I’ll grab Ty and bring him here.” The kid looked confused, if not a little distressed, best to find out who he was and they’d know how to deal with the rest from there on.
Claudia Burke [Demi Moore] — 48, former advertising associate. Currently: part-time waitress at Morning Buzz Cafe.
Steve Johnson [Paul Rudd] — Deceased at 33. Author & worker at a lumber mill.
Katherine ‘Katy’ Johnson [Kaitlyn Dever] — 21, library assistant and student at Hollow Community College.
Tyler ‘Ty’ Burke [Owen Vaccaro] — 7, elementary school student.
Wesley ‘Wes’ Johnson [Logan Lerman] — 27, Mechanic and car repairman at B.H. Automotive. Hunter.
Family Headcanons/History
Wes is named after Westley from The Princess Bride, a favorite movie of both of his parents. He hates his full name though, and would much rather you called him Wes.
Ty is the son of an on-and-off again boyfriend of Claudia’s, Kyle. It took a long time for both Katy and Wes to warm up to him, but then they did. They’re currently ‘off’ though, and Ty doesn’t get to see a lot of his dad since he lives in Tacoma.
Claudia and Steve met in college and were together ever since. She became pregnant with Wes while still in college, and despite all her friends’ advice, decided to keep him. A 3 month old Wes can be seen in her college graduation photos.
Steve was attacked one night while coming home from work and killed by a blood cult vampire. It rattled the entire family, leading Claudia to alcoholism and Katy and Wes to becoming emotionally numb.
Claudia put both of her kids in therapy but Wes was particularly unresponsive to it. She took him to a shooting range though and he greatly enjoyed that, and learning to shoot became his therapy.
Unbeknownst to Claudia Wes was also learning independently all the manner of ways to kill and dispatch vampires. He swore to make sure not to let what happened to his Dad happen to anyone in his family, or anyone around him, again.
They moved to Barton Hollow because Wes thought it would be safer a place to live in away from vampires and other creatures, than Tacoma. So far it’s proven to be the case, but he isn’t naive and knows danger could lurk at every turn.
“She’s Katy. She’s always with me.” she almost laughed at herself then but where there was that sarcasm there was truth and truth be told she felt almost a little sentimental at the thought, “Just yeah— no, not physically. With me. With me. I’m sure she’s fine though. No dial and hang-ups, no bizarre hallucinogen related texts to worry about. Not that she ever would but given the occasion. She’s probably just, out and uh, out and about. Being Katy…”
Wes raised his brows, not sure if she meant that in the literal sense (the girls did hang out a whole lot), or in some spiritual, hippie-dippie way of rounding about his questioning; either way. A smirk played up when she confessed that Katy wasn’t physically here, and just as soon as he was satisfied she was telling the truth, a sigh of annoyance. Directed at his sister of course, not the girl before him. He shook his head, pulling out his phone and shooting a quick ‘Where tf are u. I’m at London’s and ur not here’ text to her. “Well...sorry about this,” he apologized, feeling a little awkward now, standing on her doorstep like some kind of tool. “She told me she was at your place.”
Silences frequently coated the room when the two of them worked together, seeming to favour the sound of machinery, and the metallic clank of tools than the sounds of their own voices. It was perhaps the only reason Augustine stopped in the first place, the need not to talk was a trait he’d come to enjoy in others. Resignation heavy in his shoulders, he follows his drunken coworker out of the bar- thoughts wandering to what liquor he has at home. Praying there was something left in the bottles.
“Was going to wind down, not that it’s needed, really.” Resting his back against the wall, Gus only lets his eyes wander to Wes in quick glances. Instead favouring looking out to the nothing that rest under the street lamp across the road, “If you need a ride home, some say it’s safe others don’t. Regardless, you don’t look a state to drive.”
Wes nodded, understood. Days off were so slow they practically went by at a crawl for him. He didn’t like them. Too many hours to fill the space of. Taking another exhale, he looks over at Gus, then pulls out his pack of cigarettes to offer to him silently; it’s the polite thing to do.
“Nah, I’m good man, I got it,” he said, refusing the offer of a ride. He had only been on his second pint, and didn’t plan on drinking much more. Two to three were a good amount he could handle and still drive. “Were you at work today? How was it?” he asks, with nothing much else to really say.
Tanya was glad that she had the day off the next day,she decided to treat herself and head out to a bar to have a drink or two before grabbing something to bring home to have while watching movies. She found herself at Bridgeport Bar,which seemed good enough for her to just have one or two drinks before heading on home.
The brunette ordered herself some wine and took a look around at the other patrons of the bar,not paying much mind to any of them. However it was the man hitting into a phone post caused her to laugh just a little bit. “I’m surprised he didn’t feel it now, that was a loud noise he made hitting it.”
Wes smiled at the remark, it amused him somewhat. “ ’Be surprised all the things you can’t feel when you’re all the way gone like that.” He’d been there personally, once or twice, though he didn’t make a habit of drinking that much. He always (well, mostly) pulled himself back from reaching that state.
She appreciated Wes, she really did. He was a blank canvas she felt like messily splashing with nonsense whenever she had the chance, he was her best friends brother that was insanely protective. It may have annoyed her back in high school and occasions like this where their cross referencing got a bit skewed, but she respected him. A mock brother she was slightly still afraid of and never fully comfortable with. Which was also why, here and now, she was cursing Katy on the inside because as best friend since 2014 Katy never got rid of her old tricks. Not even at twenty-one. “I think, uh, I think it’s really late and Katy’s you know, asleep. She’s probably really comfortable and will be home by noon tomorrow. Girl loves her slow wake ups, coffee and cream. Big breakfast. So maybe expect her around one. Yeah…” She had a loyalty to her friend too, wherever she was, the new boyfriends perhaps? She wasn’t exactly lying just, reassuring Wes. In a way.
If Wes was good at anything, it was spotting when someone was not telling the truth, and what London was saying? Not a chance. Not only did it make no sense for Katy to be asleep just then, it wasn’t physically possible. She had an assignment due tomorrow, and Wes knew his sister pulled long all-nighters to get them done. The more London talked, the less sense any of it made, and the look on Wes’ face was, unsurprisingly, one of incredulity and disbelief. He shifted from one foot to the other, scratching at his temple. “She’s not with you, is she?”
“Okay but level with me here, are we talking The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan-esque mermaids here or you know are we talking, like, The Lure, Night Tide….you know the whole lure men to their deaths thing cause..” Atticus’ eyes widened as he let out a nervous laugh. “One of those things definitely warrants more caution than the other”
@bartonstart
"Pretty sure it’s the second one,” Wes said, something of a grimness taking the lower corners of his mouth. He had no clue what movies Atticus spoke of beyond the Disney ones mentioned (and that too because of his younger siblings), but he could hazard a guess what they were about. “You know, all the other supernatural folk... have any of them been cute and cuddly?”
“whoa there easy kid. How about you stick with me until I find your babysitter huh? Would you like that?” Erik asked the child, asmile on his face. He noticed someone walking by and stood up. “You don’t happen to know who this kid belongs to do you?” he asked. “hasn’t said a word since i found him.”
@bartonstart
Stopping before Erik and the familiar looking kid, Wes tried to remember his name with little success. “Sure. He’s Ty’s friend,” he said, knowing most of the kids his brother hung out with by name. Not this one, although he’d seen him around their house and Ty’s school more than a few times. Wes smiled faintly at the kid, doing his best to look unintimidating. “You lookin’ for someone, big guy?”
