i am starting this off that i gave you all forewarning that i suck at intros ! @westerlyintros
name: matthew chase bennett
nickname: matty & matt
age: 32
date of birth: january 28, 1990
place of birth: westerly, RI
neighborhood: misquamicut
gender & pronouns: cis man, he him
sexual orientation: questioning.
occupation: mechanic. auto shop owner.
song: willow
bio. pinterest. stats. connections.
in gist: born n raised in westerly, his family owned an auto shop in misquamicut that he now owns. was a golden boy growing up though spent his nights getting up to mischief. senior year he caught his father cheating with his favorite teacher and spiraled out throwing all of his college dreams out the window and joined the military. served for 10 years before his accident ( he was 28) that resulted in his ptsd and other trauma. came back to westerly and has been running the auto shop while ignoring all of his problems.
other facts & wanted connections.
devoted & loyal friend
would give his last dime to someone in need
takes one ‘ need you’ call or text and he’s there
his younger sister has become a sort of lifeline for him. she means the world to him.
giant teddy bear though he comes off grumpy
ultimate hype man
penny is his service dog, she’s a three year old Bernese mountain dog that his friends and family helped get for him and he treats her like his child.
super impulsive when things start to go downhill.
secretly adores fruity alcoholic beverages and pumpkin spice lattes. At the shop he hides a pumpkin spice creamer in his fridge and says it’s his moms.
Restoring things has become a passion and a therapy for him so he definitely tries to get his friends to give him their old Knick-knacks that don’t work.
Recently started volunteering at the VA hoping it would help him instead of self medicating.
99% of the time he has noise canceling earbuds in to help him stay calm. The music is 00’s pop.
He hasn’t spoken to his father since his parents divorce.
His dad has destroyed his hope in love as he dreads he’d make the same mistakes but he definitely falls in love slowly, but when he’s there he’s picking out rings.
Connections
obvs someone new , most recently situationship/relationship
direct neighbor pls give me platonic fluff
neighbor growing up
therapist / confidant
trauma buddies
lil sister ofc
someon he fixes things for
family friends
the person who his dad cheated with
hookup/fwb/one night stand
freq customer who goes to the auto shop bc their car breaksdown often
there’s an eerie calmness to the parlour lounge after its doors are locked for the evening. soft music always plays in the background while the remaining waitresses tally up their sales and tips for the evening, a low buzzing in the air while some of them carry on conversations. but in true isobel sawyer fashion, she sits at a table by herself with receipts and notes spread out before her, the butt of her pen tapping gently against the notebook in front of her. there are still patrons in the lounge, most of them wrapping up their drinks or mingling with the staff, but she never minds that. it’s a comfortable place to settle in, and as she feels a presence in the chair across from her, isobel lets a small smile tug at her lips, her eyes still trained down. “awful brave coming over here to sit with the town recluse,” she teases, a quick glance cast in her company’s direction before she’s back to crunching numbers. “i didn’t even see you slip in in the first place. it’s a nice surprise.”
he’s not exactly sure what drove him to the parlor that night, usually preferring the other bars around town for his vices, but alas there he was sipping on a whiskey. matthew grins when he spots isobel eyes sparking with a mischievous glint in them as he slides in opposit her. “I’ll take your company over the lot of them anyday.” he assures with a wink knowing she’s not looking at him to catch it. “Thank you, thank you I thought it was about time I came and bothered you so you are welcome for the generous surprise of my company.”
gigi pursed her lips and shook her head as she looked up from the counter towards matty. it was only then she realized how close she actually was to him. she sucked in a deep breath and before she knew it, he was gently moving her away from the kitchen. ‘ if i recall correctly , you practically begged to make me dinner. ’, gigi corrected him while easily giving in and moving towards the cooler. after pulling out a bottle of red that she had brought over a weeks ago , gigi took two glasses from the cabinet above the cooler and poured a serving each. the girl took a seat across from the other leaving the island space to separate them. before taking a sip from her own glass , she pushed over the other towards matty. it had been quite a while since she last let him cook and she couldn’t help but to think about the past. a small smile creeped up on her face that she just couldn’t help. ‘ hey. ’, she started. ‘ remember when you used the blender , but forgot the lid. it looked like a murder scene. ’
Snorting out loud at the comment matty can’t stop the rolling of his eyes. “I don’t think it was actual begging.” he rebuffs quite defensively. she may be right that there had been some convincing that had to be done, but to call it begging ? nope, matthew bennett doesn’t beg not even for giovanna galante. grabbing the offered glass he doesn’t make it to his lips before he feels like his heart stuttering at her smile. a rare sight that always leaves him in awe. “I truly thought that the lid was on. God it took forever to clean up, I think that there’s probably still tomato stains in the grains of the ceiling.” his laugh dies down and he takes the chance to take a generous sip of the wine especially if they’re going to be reminiscing. ”It reminds me of when I almost had you convinced that Thanksgiving was a week away and you didn’t need to prep.” pausing to set the wine aside. “That was actually hell, I think you kicked me out for almost a week”.
a bitter swill of caffeine would do wonders in restoring the lost pep in evanie’s step . muttering a sweet ‘ thank you ‘ , she poured a half-helping from the thermos into an awaiting polystyrene cup , sloshing the first creamer she could find in the fridge to make the dirt-black liquid somewhat palatable . “ thank god there’s somebody around here with a scrap of decency left . you know , i’ve had a woman tryin’ to convince me her mama died when she was a kid , only to do a 180 and tell me she was lyin’ the whole time !! god , i thought my little heart was gonna burst right from my chest . i didn’t ask for a second servin’ of whiplash while i’m waitin’ for my service , “ it was that same naivety — paired with a willingness to divulge her life story to anybody with the ears to listen — that directed her into such situations , an overspilling kindness exploited by those looking for a cheap laugh . splaying her palm in matthew’s direction , dimples sunk into her cheeks ; “ i promise you she ain’t doin’ it on purpose . honestly , it’s probably a little part my fault . i can get pretty carried away listening to the radio sometimes and take those speed limits more as suggestions , “
eyebrows scrunching together as he tries to wrack his brain for a clue as to who might’ve been the one to tell her that story but comes up empty. “Hopefully it wasn’t one of the employees because I’ll definitely sort that out.” he assures whole heartedly. smile returning to his face he shrugs his shoulders carelessly shaking his head. “We all have those moments of taking it as suggestions. I’m glad it’s not completely her fault then there’s hope for her yet.”
“I need you to be honest with me,” Helena said regarding the person nearest to her, pulling a face of absolutely seriousness. “Do I smell like lobster? Maybe beer? Because I’ve showered three times since the incident and I don’t know if I’m having like… hallucinations or if the smell is still there. I want you to picture this with me – it’s almost closing time down at grand ole Captain Lobsters, I’m the only person on the floor, even though the seafood gods have said ‘fuck you specifically Helena, enjoy a packed house.’ But whatever, I can handle it, industry vet or whatever. So I’m minding my own business, carrying way more than I can possibly handle because I want to go home and I’m too confident in my abilities, manage to perfectly hit the smallest spill – and I mean like, someone dropped half an ice cube and it melted small, totally fuckin’ bottom out. I’m talking feet above my head, seven cups and two full lobster dinners flying through the air like I’m some goddamn Ringling brothers juggling act. I think I blacked the next few seconds out, or maybe it’s a concussion – not important. What’s important is a come to to a restaurant of horrified faces, covered in beer and crustaceans. All that to say, if the smell is sticking, I’ll pay you to help me load a U-Haul and pick my new city.”
listening to helena’s telling of her day as intently and in all seriousness matthew could muster though he might’ve slipped out a laugh when she described how small the puddle was. “ Hate to break the news to you Hel, but you might want to get your checks out because-- “ he pauses leaning onto his forearms a smile spreading across his lips. “Because I was wondering if you’d pay for drinks tonight and no you don’t smell like lobster. Maybe we should take you to urgent care and get you checked out for a concussion possibly though if you’re still feeling off.”
elena held his gaze for a little longer, in a contest she knew she’d lose. she gave up, letting out a sigh as her head tilted back. “okay fine! just don’t choose any svu’s, i don’t want a tractor.” that’s what felt like being next to one, let alone drive it. the only big family she had was an extension through her siblings. elena didn’t need a big car to stay in a small town like westerly. “what? no, no. i’m sure it’s got my name on it already.” she said with a wider smile. “how about you babble all about henrietta,” the name she had given her honda civic, “while i have my cup of happiness?”
he tries not to show too much excitement that he won their little stare off let alone winning the possibility of talking elena into a new vehicle. “ I would never let you buy a suv.” matty throws out quickly eyes scrunching in distaste. “Not after working on henrietta these years.” elena wasn’t a terrible driver or car owner, but suv’s annoyed the male and if he was going to be working on it then he was not going to suggest them. rolling his eyes in defeat he shrugs in compliance and opens the door to his office where their coffee’s were sitting at his desk. “ C’mon then... Why don’t we just try to find another honda civic?”
her shower routine was infamously long , but each day she needed that hour plus or else everything else would be off. so once the two of them got back from hiking , gigi locked herself away for her daily ritual. she was still drying her hair when she came out of the room and towards the kitchen , giving penny a pet with her free hand as she rubbed against her leg. her once neutral demeanor was quickly replaced with an annoyed one. ‘ panko ? you seriously were looking for fucking panko ? ’, her blue eyes narrowed at the other just before she set the towel down on the chair. ‘ just move , get out the kitchen. i’ll finish it. ’, gigi demanded , settling in next to matty and examining everything he had out already.
immediately laughing at how quickly her mood sours matthew rolls his eyes. “I’m only kidding Gi--” the reply thrown out too late as she makes her place next to him. moments like these he tries to memorize the most, sear them into his brain for the times that he needs remembering of something good. “ Hey you can’t kick me out of my own kitchen Galante, you knew the rules when I invited you for dinner.” he teases eyes moving from the ingredients to gigi’s. “So go grab you some wine and micromanage me from across the bar.” gently pushing her towards the wine cooler he installed for her specifically when she had made the comment that his fridge never got the wine to the right temp she liked. sometimes it’s haunting the routines that the two of them fall into almost like their past never happened, but it did and the remembering felt like ice cold water thrown in your face. so instead of showing the discomfort he turns back to his recipe.
dark eyes flicked between matthew’s face and the awaiting coffee , the twirls of steam spiralling into the air only to dissipate once they mixed with flying dust and the thick scent of motor oil . a painted fingertip jutted towards the guest mugs , asking in the sweetest of tones , “ can i grab myself a lick of that ?? “ , wanting permission instead of delving right into the caffeine reserves that weren’t hers . in all honesty , she attended the garage with enough frequency that she might as well have applied for a job there ; did she have any mechanical prowess in the slightest ?? not one bit , which was made obvious by the state of her vehicle , but she was already there enough times throughout the month — perhaps in future , she could be the one to fetch the coffee . “ you don’t do loyalty cards , do you ?? ‘cus i reckon i’d get a row of stamps before christmas comes at this rate . i don’t wanna jus’ sling her into the scrapheap , but .. “ a defeated sigh , a roll of her shoulders in a shrug , “ she’s becomin’ more trouble than she’s worth , ‘specially with her new love of wild animals , “
nodding a yes at her question before verbally responding. “Please help yourself there’s some flavored creamer in the fridge if you want some, and we also have the powdered kind and sugar in the drawer.” he rambles on laughing at the suggestion of the loyalty cards. though it didn’t sound like a bad idea to throw at his customers.. “We don’t right now, but that is an idea throw in. You get a free service once you hit ten stamps or something.” frowning at how defeated she sounded. these were the times when he hated his job and wished he could just help everybody out for free or have a magic cure all for the customers deeply attached to their cars. “Hey I promise we will do our best to make sure she doesn’t end up on a trailer to the scrapyard yeah? Her love for wildlife though might serve as a problem unless you want a huge bumper guard on her.”
the neon lights flicker, a bright red OPEN glaring at him through the dark thickness of the night. he can’t see any stars right now, all hidden, clouds coming and going, a premonition for the rain that should fall soon enough on their little town. auggie just got off shift, a small 10 hours, during which shit literally hit the fan. no matter the time spent scrubbing underneath his nails, his forearms, his hair– death wouldn’t come off him. still filled his nose and haunted his head. he wanted to be clean again, pure. immaculate.
while auggie always prided himself in being able to detach himself from his emotions, to being a level-headed man in sticky situations, today was just…just hard. harsh. horrible. the hand holding the cigarette he’s smoking, back against the cold metal of his car, is shaking. he’s hesitating, coming inside. as long as they have known each other, matty had always been the softer edges to his harsh ones. where gigi and auggie were mean, difficult, matty was. as the sun, positive and warm and ever present.
a chill makes its way into his jacket, his wet hair. he sniffes his inaction away, removes his sunglasses as he enters the shop. no one’s there, but noise can be heard in the background. “hey, matty? you there?”
There was something therapeutic about late nights in the shop. Matthew almost felt at peace when all of his employees had left for the night, lights dimmed to a warm hue and he could bring in any project he wanted to. Late nights were reserved for the days when his head couldn’t stop spinning, when the noise of the air compressor had him jumping, and quite frankly for when he just needed to settle the hell down. He couldn’t tell you what time it was or exactly how long he had been tearing down the 350 block set in front of him, something that on a regular basis he'd have done in 30 minutes, but for right now was taking his time, inspecting every part slowly. His mind finally quieted when he heard auggie’s voice breaking him from his spell.
“Over here” he croaks out suddenly aware of how dry his throat is, he reaches over with oil stained hands for his water bottle and gulps it nearly empty. It doesn’t take much deduction to know that auggie’s had a shift. matthew gives him the warmest smile he can muster once he’s in view, heart aching at the sight of his best friend. “I’d hug you but I think I might stain you and let’s be honest gigi would never forgive me for ruining your clothes.” attempting to lighten the mood he teases though he knows it won’t do much. As much as he hates it matthew knows the look in auggie’s eyes all too well. “Whatever happened you’re still a good doctor Aug.” he reassures softly.
“Oh, absolutely.” He gives the answer as if it’s the most obvious. “It’s all about how the grapes grow, the climate, the harvest. Each year reflects all of that.” Sam continues to explain while he pops open a bottle of the aforementioned red – a 2016 Merlot. “A buddy of mine own’s the vineyard this one’s from.” He nods to the bottle in his hand, a small chuck passing his lips. “He’d give you a whole TED Talk on the process, but I’ll spare you. They produce some of the best stuff out of Bordeaux.” Sam shrugs as Matthew continues, corking the bottle before approach the other man with a glass. “It’s kind of like building a car? You have to have a good engine,” he nods to the glass in hand, “You have to have a good vineyard if you want to get anywhere. It’s all about location.” He could go on and on about this kind of thing, but he opts to stop himself there, knowing he’ll surely bore Matthew if he continues. “You know what I mean?”
there was something about the way sam explained everything that held matthew’s attention like no other, sometimes reminding him of his drill sergeants except sam was way nicer. he soaks in everything that the other shares mentally making notes as if he was about to start his own vineyard. location. climate. type of grapes ?? “Yeah, I think I get it now. You have to have the right tools and such for it to succeed. Honestly didn’t think that much could go into it, but it makes sense.” matty murmurs back taking a sip of his own glass. eyes widening in shock at the taste he gives sam an amused look . “Okay yeah there's more floral notes in the 2016 than what the 2012 was that I had. “ laughing lightly at how amused he actually was about wine. “ Look at me I might just become sophisticated yet.” he jests at lightly even if there was some half truth in it..
Lucas honestly could not help but smile at the other’s words. He was indeed thankful and grateful for the other’s friendship. He was glad he had someone in his life that he trusted and talk to, also someone who looked out for him. It was something Lucas always wished he had, someone there for him. “Fine,” he said smiling and playfully pouting before laughing loudly for a moment. “No rush I will be here waiting, I know how easy you can track me down.”
snickering at the last comment matthew gives him a playful pointed glare in the doorway of his office. “You should remember that next time you decide to ghost me for a few days.” the jests are light-hearted and matty only means well. worried that the younger male doesn’t exactly have the best track record of taking care of himself. running inside his office quickly to throw on the extra clean shirt he keeps before coming back out. “Have any thoughts of where we should go ? Cause I am starving though I don’t exactly have an idea for what.”
So, Eliza had done all of the stalling she could muster. She’d taken an extensive tour of the house to see every little thing Matt had fixed up (as if she hadn’t been back two weeks ago), she’d spent entirely too long on the ground with Penny and Chase, she’d even gone to get dinner. And now Chase was in bed and she and Matt were sitting at the dining table with the wine she’d brought back. Eliza’s insides were waging an all-too-familiar war: the desire to tell her big brother everything, to crawl into his arms and let him fix it all, versus her need to not become a burden, to not add to his list of worries. It was certainly long enough.
Tracing the wine glass absentmindedly, Eliza lifted her eyes to meet her brother’s. He always knew when she was holding something back, damn him. “Are you sure it’s okay for us to stay? I won’t be offended if we need to stay at the inn or something. Chase has a lot of energy these days. And the questions! Fucking never-ending,” she said, though her lips quirked up in a smile at the mention of Chase. He really was exhausting and demanding and wonderful and, most days, the reason she got out of bed. “It might be…” she paused, lowered her gaze. “It might be a longer trip, is all.” Eliza told herself she didn’t want to burden Matt, but really? Underneath that, she was ashamed at the way her life had imploded. Embarrassed to admit that she’d caused it. “Things just… aren’t good right now. With Ivy, with work. It’s no big deal, but I think we need a break from the city.” It was the most truth she could muster.
Matthew prides himself on being hard to surprise, proudly boasts it like it’s his greatest accomplishment in his thirty-two years of life to any that try or hint at it; however eliza bennett was definitely the one to surprise him the most. His baby sister is keen on keeping matty on his toes, and he doubts that it’ll ever change. So to say he was surprised would be a bit of an understatement for the eldest bennett when said sister and nephew showed up at the shop asking for a place to stay. Always happy to oblige he had said yes in a heartbeat selfishly wanting the company. Even if he was remodeling their family home matthew doesn’t think he’ll ever get rid of the memories that haunt the walls, reminding him of simpler times so he will take any attempt at new memories of his nephew’s laugh and sister’s smile.
He’s not sure why eliza’s back. It's been only two weeks since her last visit and he had told her then that he was fine, no need to be making monthly trips to check in on him. Deep down he knows something’s wrong with her and can see it in the way she keeps hiding from his gaze, but he reminds himself not to pester. Believes wholeheartedly that she would tell him if she wanted or needed because they share everything together. No secret worth keeping between the two of them. He rolls his eyes quickly at her question, scoffing under his breath. “ Are you seriously asking that ? This is your house as much as mine, the two of you are always welcome. Honestly, I’m excited for the questions Chase’ll make the house feel more homey.” matthew explains quickly, smile widening with eliza’s. She really was the best mother and matty couldn’t be more proud of her. Gaze softening he sets aside his wine glass and shrugs his shoulders. “I’m sorry El… Do you want to talk about it? Seriously though stay as long as you want, I really don’t mind. ”
"It looks like you were very busy. You don’t have to grab lunch with me if you still have tons of work to do,” Lucas said as he leaned against the wall as he looked at his friend. Lucas liked hanging out around Matthew, they had develop a strong bond over the years and in a way Matthew had become like a brother to Lucas. Looking out for him and making sure that he ate, as much as Lucas said he hated it but deep down he did like it. Lucas was an only child and growing up he did not have anyone that cared about him and he always wished he had a brother, a big brother.
“Don’t give me any look Matt,” he said with a smile chuckling and smiling.
immediately matty rolled his eyes at lucas’s comment despite knowing the male wouldn’t be able to see it since he was hidden underneath the hood of a car. “Don’t be ridiculous Lu our lunch plans are still on. How else am I to insure you’re going to eat at least something today” he jests lightly shutting the hood and wiping his hands on the rag in his back pocket. lucas had become like a little brother to matty and with eliza coming and going lucas gave matty an outlet for all of his brotherly worries to go. “Just let me clean up real quick and we can be on our way, yeah, I shouldn’t be too long.“
evanie-may’s duck egg blue chevrolet pickup had thrown in the towel once again . you would think , for a motor that had survived three years of off-roading and late night drives through shallow waters , it would have more life to give ; that didn’t prevent her from ending up at the garage once a fortnight , the pages of a glossy magazine splayed between painted fingernails . if only , back in the pouring prairie she once called home , she had taken the time to identify each and every whirr , whizz and creak . catching the prying eyes of an onlooker the magazine was lowered , peering over flimsy pages , a dimpled smirk sinking in the porcelain flesh of her cheeks . “ i ain’t lookin’ forward to them mechanic fellas tellin’ me what’s wrong with the ol’ girl this time . my last visit they told me there was a darn possum in my front grille — i mean , how the hell did he get in there ?? that weren’t me , no sir-ee . “
mattthew had left the garage ro fulfill his promise of caffeine for his employees since their communal coffee pot decided to kick it. the crew had half the mind to hold funeral services for the machine that had saved them from matthew’s crankiness, but the eldest bennett swore he’d get it fixed. in the meantime brewed awakening’s coffee would be a daily occurrence. he returns bearing drinks and of course a PSL for himself when he makes eye contact with evanie. he grimaces at the idea of finding any type of animals in the vehicles of his shop, but a possum definitely wasn’t the worst. “ It could’ve been trying to find a nice warm spot and just got tangled up.” matty offers rather grimly, he sets aside the drinks. thankful he grabbed some extra coffee in a thermos he sets it beside the mugs used for guests. “ I’m sure it’s not that bad though maybe we should start offering you some discounts since you’re becoming quite the regular. “ he attempts a joke to lighten the mood knowing full well the attachments his customers have for their vehicles.
matthew bennett can count exactly on one hand how many times gigi has allowed him to cook for her so when the rare chance she agrees to it arises he jumps at it head first without any thought. he’s learned from minimum experience that having all of the stuff prepped for dinner before gigi’s arrival is a must if he doesn’t want to be micro managed so that’s what he’s doing when penny barks alerting him to gi’s presence. “ I hope you’re in the mood for chicken parm because that’s all I got. “ matty pauses his prepping to look up at her. “ They were out of panko bread crumbs though.” he teases fully knowing that he has some she made for him stocked up but wanting to see her infamous glare.
She was never any good at owning a car, especially growing up in New York City–– but it was deemed a necessity for her time in Westerly with her mother and soon enough, she learned how much maintenance a vehicle took.
Despite how tedious it was for her, she couldn’t help but grin as soon as she saw him for what should’ve been their last interaction. She let out a laugh and shook her head at him, practically skipping in his direction. A part of her internally judged herself for being so giddy to see him. ❛ Oh, wow, says the big guy himself. I’m flattered, it’s an honor, ❜ she was sure he was keeping his business in line with her check included but she’d take the compliment any day. She looked over at the car itself then back at him, huffing gently. ❛ Do you really think this is the last time you’ll see me? These things are unpredictable! ❜ She pointed her at the cars lined up around the garage.
he’d be lying to himself if there weren’t any sort of anxiety swirling about him whenever zoe was around. most of the time matthew was trying his best to not embarrass himself too badly. laughing at her observation while shrugging his shoulders. “ I don’t think they’re as unpredictable as you think they are, it just depends on how you take care of them and the driver.” he muses on setting aside the grease rag once he was content with how clean his hands were. “But if you’re especially worried I could probably give you a quick run down on some light maintenance over drinks if you’re free. “ a light blush coats his cheeks at his attempt of asking her out.
CLOSED STARTER.
↪ for matthew bennet ( @ruinmc )
↪ auto shop
“yes, i know i should get a new car instead of keep begging you to rescue me.” it was starting to feel like that, even to elena. but maybe she had a sentimental attachment to her first car, the one thing that hadn’t disappointed her ever since moving out of westerly at 17 years old. “but can you just tell me how much i owe you this time and we can do this little dance again next time?” she joked. they both knew she’d get back at his store sooner rather than later. elena looked around to make sure no one was listening them before taking a step too close, not quite tall enough to speak to his ear but it was the thought that counted. “and what about that pumpkin spice latte?”
matty could understand her attachment to the vehicle even if it was barely hanging on, however it was starting to become more of an investment keeping it running than what it was worth. “ We’ll meet in the middle and call it 100 if next time you at least let me show you some other vehicles yeah ? If it comes back I might just not fix it. “ he teases though he would never do that to elena. eyes widening at her comments of his guilty pleasure, sighing heavily with a roll of his eyes. “ Your cups in the office though maybe I should just give it to someone else since you didn’t even let me get the two cents in about your driveline. “
