I'm Still Here

Jim Hawkins. 26. Dad, Adventurer, Storyteller, in that order. Out here just trying to rattle the stars.

[callme-abby]

"want to come pick fresh strawberries with me?"

@happieststarters

[jxmhawkins]

Jim smiled at Abby. It was strawberry day, and Bonnie was over the moon about how excited she was to go picking. Jim, who was always one to go overboard with themed events had dressed her up in a cute little pink dress with red strawberries, and had tied her hair up with a deep green ribbon. Bonnie grinned and ran as fast a toddler could over to Abby.

"She's been excited all morning." Jim said, "She's really been looking forward to showing you her dress too."

[callme-abby]

Abby sat, sipping her drink casually as her eyes glanced around. "Cupid really needs to work their magic on those two," she said, rather bluntly, with a slight shake of her head.

@happieststarters

[jxmhawkins]

Jim took a sip from his own drink and tried to follow where Abby's eyes had led. Unfortunately he had much less of an eye for such matters between people. He loved gossip, but sometimes failed to pick up on some social cues others seemed far more attuned to.

"Who are we talking about?"

[callme-abby]

Abby smiled, recognizing the voice instantly. Her attention had been focused on the snack table, but she turned completely to face him when he handed her something. "Well, if your taste in snacks is anything like your taste in women, I would hope you would say sweet," she laughed, taking a sip of the drink.

"If you meant what do I prefer, it depends on the day. Right now I would say sweet."

[jxmhawkins]

Jim smiled the moment he saw Abby's face looking up at him. She was cute. Adorable even. Extremely so.

"Maybe we shouldn't use my history with women as a measurement," Jim joked, despite the heavier implications, Jim was clearly being lighthearted about it. "But someone sweet is ending that streak."

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in a little closer.

[callme-abby]

"Oh, how cute! Halloween themed snacks," Abby admired, looking over the options. She'd eaten before they got there, but she was never opposed to a good party snack. "Are you a sweet or salty person?"

@happieststarters

[jxmhawkins]

Jim said, coming up beside her with a drink in his hand for her, in addition to one for himself.

"I don't know," He said, aloof and a little flirty, "Why don't you tell me?"

[mistyxmorning]

Misty stood near the beer pong table, one hand resting on her hip, the other twirling a ping-pong ball between her fingers with practiced ease. The green and black of her Shego costume caught the glow of the string lights above, the shiny fabric hugging her in all the right places. Her dark hair fell over one shoulder as she glanced around the room, a confident grin tugging at her lips.

“I need a partner…” she called out over the music, voice laced with challenge and playfulness, “you down?” She inquired.

Her stance was open, expectant, daring anyone nearby to take her up on it. The sharp glint in her eyes made it clear she wasn’t just playing for fun, she fully intended to win.

@happieststarters

[jxmhawkins]

At the familiar sight of the game at hand, Jim grinned. It reminded him of his happiest memories growing up, despite how difficult his life had been. Parties had always been something special.

At the woman's challenge, Jim could not help but smile enthusiastically towards her.

"Speaking as the former Redwood Highschool champion all four years and in my military unit, I'm down if you are."

[jxmhawkins]

@happieststarters

Perhaps the pirate thing was getting too old---

--was something someone who wasn't Jim Hawkins would say. He could even argue that he was trying to keep up with some years long streak, but the truth was that he just really loved pirates.

It would surprise few people that before Bonnie, before the military (and hell, even in the military), Jim was quite the party frequenter. He had been cool, and he had always run with some of the biggest troublemakers in Redwood. Still did, for better or worse.

"Best candy to get trick or treating and worst candy to get-" Jim asked out loud, looking to start a conversation.

[callme-abby]

Abby shivered, wringing her hands together impulsively. The weather change happened so quickly, that she thought she'd have more time to prepare. "God... my hands are so cold..."

@happieststarters

[jxmhawkins]

Walking in the autumn air was nice. It had always been one of Jim's favorite things to do. Walking alongside a beautiful woman made it an even better experience.

When Abby complained about the cold, Jim knew he had to be a gentleman.

"Would you like my jacket?" He asked. So it was cliche, sue him.

[mxmorganmorph]

open starter for @happieststarters

It's great to be back! The three month business retreat they'd been on was certainly an educational experience--but they also had the displeasure of meeting some of the worst people possible. Their social-safety-net-loving, work-life-balance-respecting ass was not at home among the greedy, hustle culture types. It only furthered their anxieties that they didn't have what it took to run a business.

But--!!

Those feelings immediately evaporated once they were back on the crisp, clean work floor of the Transformations salon. No matter how bad they were at the expenses side of things, or how wonky the books looked, they knew they were home when they were transforming someone into their best self.

So they happily spun around at the bells of the door chiming. "Welcome! What can I do you for? We're having a "Home At Last" special," they declared, something they made up on the spot. They were in a good mood and they'd pass that along by having their customers pay less.

That's good business, right?

[jxmhawkins]

Upon hearing of Morgan's return, he had been restless to go and find them and see them. When he walked into their Salon and heard the sound of their voice he could not help but smile.

"Good question," Jim said. "What does the expert think I need?"

[callme-abby]

Abby had already taken her phone out as they were leaving, and started typing. One of the good things about being a psychology major and having a lot of friends was that she could type extremely fast. "Don't worry, I'm already on it," she answered, looking back at him with a smirk. "We can just go back to mine, it's private there."

It didn't take long at all for their ride request to be accepted. The company likely anticipated guests from the wedding needing rides. Abby got into the car first, scooting in so that Jim could follow behind. Before they left, she confirmed the address with the driver; you know, just in case. Once that was settled, she turned her attention back to the man whom she'd chosen to leave with.

"You're sure you're not having second thoughts?" she teased, leaning over to place a hand on his knee. "Because if you are, you could always jump out now. I'd be disappointed, of course, but I would understand." Abby paused a moment, before slowly moving her hand up his leg, her fingers gracing his inner thigh.

[jxmhawkins]

"I have never given adventure a second thought." Jim said. "Which may be the cause of most of my problems, but also most of the good things too."

Truth be told, he was not exactly having second thoughts, per say. He was doing this and he was excited to do this. It had been a long time though, longer than he cared to do the math on. Two years at least. He hoped that didn't work too hard against him. He had to decide, did he bring that up and make excuses up front, or did he keep it to himself and just hope everything came back to him like second nature.

"Besides, I pride myself on never disappointing a lady," Jim said, with a slight raise of his brow.

[shock-borror]

open starter @happieststarters

"Thank you, enjoy the movie," Shock half muttered in a monotone. She handed the ticket stub to the last person in the line for the latest dumb overbudgeted PG-13 comedy, and was then left alone at her podium by the lobby. Carthay Cinemas was pretty small, so all the screens were busy and focused on the new blockbuster. Shock had felt a twinge of pride, though, at learning that the only horror movie being shown there was doing quite well for itself. She would have to find some friend to drag along to it sometime soon.

Employees weren't meant to use their phones during work hours, but it wasn't as if Shock was any close to start caring. Soon she'd have her lunchbreak; her craving for a cigarette, however, could not wait the fifteen minutes there were still left for it.

She put the little sign on the podium, got out the backdoor to the narrow alley behind the cinema building, and pulled out a lighter and a cigarette pack from her jeans' back pocket. Shock was just trying to light it when she saw someone nearby. She tilted her head and shot them a look, unsure of what their deal was... Though she could guess.

"... Are you trying to sneak in?" she asked them with a little chuckle. "If you are, man, your skills could use some fine-tuning."

[jxmhawkins]

Jim recognized the voice without even needing to look in the speaker's direction.

"Of course not," Jim said. "I'm on the straight and narrow."

He walked over to her with a shrug, and good humored look. Truth be told he had just been wandering around daydreaming, he could not truly think of an explanation that did not just sound like an excuse.

"Also, if I was you would know as well as anyone that I wouldn't get caught."

[thekitisback]

.

"Mm... More coffee?" Kit asked, raising her cup. She had already seen this waiter before, but never talked to him. He seemed friendly enough. She was just about to leave him go ahead and place her order, when she decided she was itching for some talk and would subject this guy to her questions. It wasn't like more coffee was an urgency anyway.

"Not to be too annoying, but I'd like to ask you a couple questions," she said before he walked away. "Assuming you're a local, that is. I'm new in town. Obviously," Kit chuckled. She didn't think she looked that much like a tourist, but she didn't think a small town like Redwood was unaware of when new people showed up, either. At some of the other towns she had been to, news of an outsider spread fast, and shops would hurry to try to sell her things and take advantage of her supposed unawareness of the inner dynamics of the place. Redwood Hollow seemed too nice to do that sort of thing, but you never knew.

"... So, what do people do for fun around here, apart from skipping stones and go apple picking?" she asked him, leaning on her forearms. "And please, don't tell me the museum and the zoo."

[jxmhawkins]

"More coffee coming up," Jim said. Right as he went to walk away, he stopped as she continued speaking.

"Not annoying at all." Jim said. "Always happy to help."

Jim wrinkled his nose a bit at her emphasis on 'Obviously'. Jim was always happy to meet people, but he was growing tired of newcomers who saw themselves as above this little town. Like they were not living here now too.

"I mean, the Redwood Nature Reserve isn't exactly a zoo, but if you ask nicely Benak and Sabrina can give more hands on tours." Jim answered. Then he thought some more.

"There's a lot of events that happen...on the lower key side....you can find posters for things that happen around town. The mayor's assistant runs a film club, her name's Minnie....There's a casino, I know the owner, I might be starting a dungeons and dragons group. I used to have one but most of the members moved away."

[jane-pxrter]

"oh, hi jim" she greeted "it's okay, thank you for offering, that's a kind gesture of you" the way people were approaching her it was like ray had died. it was a loss and a painful one at that, but there was nothing but best wishes from one another before they parted ways.

"it's never nice having things end like they way they have, but i would've felt worse if he gave up that job opportunity for me"

[jxmhawkins]

Jim had, in ways, been where she was before. He knew just how much it hurt and he wished he knew how to comfort her better.

"I've been there," Jim said, "Losing someone so important, future being uncertain. A lot of people are going to tell you it gets better or everything happens for a reason, so I guess I want to say that I get just how much it sucks. Like it's ok to be sad or angry or anything about how much it just blows."

Jim sighed.

"Just feel like sometimes we feel like we have to handle things...with grace. Or that people just want to see grief handled so elegantly. But when I in the thick of it, I appreciated the people around me who just let me be messy. Didn't make me feel like I had to box everything up so neatly."

[jxmhawkins]

He had promised his mother that he would stay out of trouble. Especially at his big age. He could not help it though, maybe stealing car parts was a thing of the past, but art was....art. Even if the police did not particularly agree.

Jim jumped a bit when he heard footsteps behind him. He was in a secluded area slightly into the woods, where there stood a long abandoned, small building. The kind that had plenty of ghost stories back in town.

Jim stood there with several cans of spray paint, before an illustration he had started. He turned to face the person who had walked up behind him, and lowered the small mask that covered his nose and mouth.

"Didn't expect to see you, or anyone really, all the way out here. Guess you caught me." Jim raised his brow. "You out ghost hunting or something? Re-enacting the Blair Witch Project?"

@happieststarters

[princessphillipamontague]

"Blair Witch? Oh, I don't believe in ghosts," Phillipa murmured, a dismissive wave of her hand accompanying the words. A moment later, however, her bravado seemed to deflate, and she admitted defeat with a sigh. "The truth is, I was on this walk, enjoying the scenery, and I must have missed a turn or a landmark, and now I am terribly lost."

She exhaled slowly, a sound laced with frustration. "I've been walking for what feels like an hour, maybe more, and I have absolutely no idea how to get back to my place. My phone's almost dead, and the GPS is being useless out here." Her eyes, wide with a mixture of desperation and nascent hope, met Jim's. "Luckily, I heard your voice and managed to find some... well, help... potentially?" she asked, her voice tinged with a hopeful uncertainty, clearly banking on your ability to guide her out of her predicament.

[jxmhawkins]

Jim couldn't help but stifle out a small laugh at the woman's dismissive expression about ghosts in response to his joke. There was something so confident, almost proper about it.

"That is quite a predicament." Jim said. "Guessing you don't adventure too too much. But if you want my help, sure. What landmark were you originally looking for? Out of curiosity."

[thekitisback]

starter for @jxmhawkins

Benbow Diner was Kit's favorite spot to get breakfast. She always had a chocolate muffin and some coffee, and scrambled eggs too if she felt particularly hungry and hadn't eaten much the day before. The first time she had breakfast there, the morning after she had arrived at Redwood Hollow, she had the pancakes, and they were heavenly. She had already decided she would have these magnificent pancakes again once she had a reason to celebrate.

Kit went to her usual booth, where she would usually read a little Flannery O'Connor to start her day while she ate her food, one short story which by now she already knew by heart. That day, though, she kept her book tucked away in her backpack. She rested her arms on the sides of the booth and looked around, more interested in people-watching for once.

[jxmhawkins]

Another day, another shift or two or three at the diner. Jim made his usual round across all the tables. Technically speaking he was not a waiter, but it saved his mother money if he could help out more rather than them needing to hire additional hands. He liked talking with people too, which helped.

Jim stopped at his next table.

"Everything good here? Anything I can get for you?"

[callme-abby]

If someone were to tell Abby she'd be entranced by a handsome stranger at Tina Bell's wedding, of all places, she wouldn't have believed them. She wasn't looking for anything or anyone in particular, but now here they were, with several dates already planned and no plans to slow down.

She had no idea how far this would go, or if the two would just end up being friends after this, but who would she be to deny them the pleasure of trying? "Careful, I might start to think you're developing a crush on me," she teased, biting her lower lip.

Excellent was the first thought that came to her mind when he asked if she wanted to stay or go. She pretended to think about it for a moment, before placing a hand on his shoulder and rising on her tip toes to whisper in his ear. "Zero."

Heels back down on the floor, Abby grabbed his hand and pulled him gently but enthusiastically away from the venue.

[jxmhawkins]

Jim enthusiastically took Abby's hand as she pulled him away from the venue.

"So where would you like to go?" Jim asked with a smirk. He raised his eye brows just a bit. "And did you drive or should I call a lyft?"

[stardustrider]

D'Artagnan // The Musketeers (2014) // S1E8 // The Challenge

[callme-abby]

As their conversation went on, Abby was pleased to see that he was returning her flirty gestures and commentary. She knew that she could be a lot sometimes, but it seemed like this time it was just the right amount. It didn't bother her at all that he had quite a busy lifestyle, or a daughter, really. Those things happened in life, and she was never one to judge another for things like that. Everyone has their own past and history. All she cared about was whether there was reciprocation, which it seemed there was.

"Good. I would be thoroughly disappointed if we didn't meet again," she added, smiling innocently. "That's quite alright, I'm actually quite terrible at both, but I can hold a tune most of the time," Abby laughed, shifting so that she was leaning more into him than before. "We can dance terribly together; then it will look purposeful."

"OH! Well I know quite a few people who play. At least I think so... maybe I could reach out and put you in contact. I'd play, if you taught me." The more Abby learned about him, the more she wanted to know. How strange, she thought to herself. She had come to the wedding with the intentions to talk to as many people as she could to see if there was anything worth writing about for her project, but suddenly that was the last thing on her mind.

Her eyes lit up and widened when he mentioned the ren faire. "I love the ren faire; I actually haven't gotten to go in a while, but I would absolutely love to." The forwardness of his question sort of turned her on a bit, truthfully, and she made the bold move to run her hand up his arm. "Lucky for you, I most definitely do."

[jxmhawkins]

"Yeah, right on." Jim said. "I can do dancing terribly together for sure." Jim lit up when she mentioned knowing people who would like to play. "Of course I'd teach you. I'd be honored to have you at my table." Jim was excited when her eyes lit up about the ren faire.

"We should go to one soon. There's a few popping up here and there through autumn."

Jim felt some warmth rise to his cheeks at Abby running her hand up his arm. He took that as a queue to go and brush a strand of hair out of her face, brushing her cheekbone as he did it. He had not planned to hit it off with anyone any time soon. Truth be told he had not been trying. He had never been one to ignore the moment. He always chased what could be fun. He was also realizing just how lonely he was.

Jim leaned in.

"On a scale from 1 to 10....how married are you to the idea of staying here versus going somewhere else?"