Are you Alien or Alie-out?

Sonny Joon, 23. Extraterrestrial Enthusiast. A question wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a Koko Kringle package.

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

"I’m from Bayport, a small harbor town up north." Joe said quickly before putting on a bemused face. "You and Nancy? Hah, wow small world indeed. What were you two doing in New Zealand? Oh wait, she was on that game show… were you one of the contestants?"

[sonny--joon-blog]

"Ah, that's cool!" Sonny exclaimed wondering if he should take a trip and explore that town. He was getting bored after all. Briefly Sonny regretted his mentioning of New Zealand. After all he still felt terrible for everything that happened and specifically everything that happened to George. "No, nope. Can't say that I was a contestant," Sonny laughed sheepishly. "I was more like the production manager? And kinda sorta the whole reason Nancy and George were there in the first place?" he said in a rush.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Pumpkin Spice | Sonny & Nancy

[therealnancydrewdeactivated]

"Ah. Right. You don’t think the moon’s interesting?" Nancy asked, eyebrows raised. "I would’ve thought you would be into anything space-related."

"I’ve been feeling a little restless lately, myself," Nancy sighed. "It feels like I haven’t been on a case in ages. But I think it’s good to stay in one place for a while, you know? I do miss this when I’m other places,” she said, looking around and smiling slightly at the familiar streets. “Yeah? Jamila? Honestly, in a million years I never would’ve guessed that you guys were friends, let alone working together,” she told Sonny, shaking her head.

[sonny--joon-blog]

"Well it's interesting in that it's the moon and it was the first planet we went to as a species outside of earth. Buuuuuut there are a lot of cooler planets out there. Especially once you consider that there are so many planets out there and some of them could support life," Sonny said growing more excited as he went on before grinding to a halt when he realized that she was probably just humoring him.

"You haven't, huh?" Sonny asked somewhat surprised. It seemed like, when he was keeping tabs on her, that she was always going someplace of another. It was odd to him that she was staying in one place. Sonny followed her gaze to the empty streets. A calm sort of drowsiness still pervaded the town as most of it's residents were still sound asleep, but it felt comfortable. "This is a nice town you've got here, so I can see why you'd miss it," he murmured. It still didn't feel like home to Sonny, but then nowhere really felt like home to him. "I don't think she would have either," Sonny laughed shaking his head. He'd been surprised by her willingness to work with and understand where he was coming from. "I'm glad that she did though. I've learned a lot about archaeology from her and she's always fun to hang around."

[sonny--joon-blog]

Pumpkin Spice | Sonny & Nancy

[therealnancydrewdeactivated]

"Right," Nancy said, nodding and still trying to maintain a straight face. "That’s true. Probably get moon rocks and stuff in it and everything. Best to be left to the earthlings."

Nancy held up her hands in surrender, grateful that he wouldn’t try to wheedle her anymore. At least, for now. “Oh, no? That doesn’t sound like you. Although the jumping in the leaves thing sounds fun. I haven’t done that in years. You still planning on staying here for a little while?” She was a little amazed he had stayed this long with his penchant for wandering. 

[sonny--joon-blog]

"Moon rocks? Nah, they wouldn't get that in the coffee. I doubt they spend very much time on the moon. The moon isn't all that interesting even though humans seem to be obsessed with it," Sonny mused before cracking a grin. He was happy that Nancy was entertaining his beliefs that he knew she didn't subscribe to.

"No, it sure doesn't," Sonny reported sadly. Unfortunately River Heights didn't provide many opportunities for him to get up to trouble. "Oh you should definitely give it a try sometime. There's nothing like seeing a perfect pile of leaves and then just obliterating it," he said eagerly. Sonny paused. He really didn't know how much longer he planned on staying in River Heights. It was a nice town and he did like it here, but he was starting to feel restless again. The pull to wander, to see and experience new things was getting stronger. "I don't... I don't really know," he said scratching the back of his neck. "I was thinking about maybe visiting Jamila for a little bit. Well for as long as she'll tolerate me and my attempts to help. But I don't know..."

[sonny--joon-blog]

Pumpkin Spice | Sonny & Nancy

[therealnancydrewdeactivated]

 ”Sure, Sonny.” She couldn’t help but smile, having expected him to take her comment more seriously than she had intended. “Too bad they’re not Annunaki, huh?” she said with as straight a face as she could manage.

Nancy raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you, now. Huh. It’s nothing, Joon,” she insisted, smiling. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. Really. So what kinds of trouble have you been getting yourself into lately?” she asked, hoping he would accept her claims of being all right and move on.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny laughed at the suggestion that the Annunaki could make coffee and shook his head. "Nah, I feel like they'd make terrible coffee. It is a delicate art after all," he said. Plus the Annunaki probably didn't have any interest in coffee. It was a too mundane and earthly thing for them to concern themselves with. Which was sad really. Coffee was pretty damn delicious after all.

"Nope, I really don't," Sonny responded with a smile. "Alright, I'll believe you. For now. But don't think that I won't be bugging you about this later," he informed her rather seriously. Nancy was his friend and he hated seeing his friends (few as they were) struggling. "Mm, me? Not too much trouble unfortunately," he grumbled. "Just a slight touch of redecorating," Sonny had taken to painting on his walls, "jumping into any and all leaf piles I see, and, you know, work. Pretty boring stuff." he shrugged wondering when his life got so dull.

[marchingclocks]

Brendon Urie | The Citizen

[sonny--joon-blog]

Pumpkin Spice | Sonny & Nancy

[therealnancydrewdeactivated]

"Pumpkin spice, you say?" Nancy asked, perking up at the mention of the seasonal drink. She vaguely remembered Bess chattering about the return of the beloved beverage a few days ago, but her recent inability to sleep was really messing with her memory. "Yeah, well, Halloween is coming up. Maybe they’re witches,” she snorted. 

"You could say that," Nancy said mysteriously, forcing a bit of a smile so as to make it seem like she was trying to be coy. In truth, the nightmares had been at her again last night. They seemed to keep getting worse and she was getting more worried with each sleepless night. To her, getting help wasn’t an option. She was determined to figure out a solution herself.

[sonny--joon-blog]

"Yes indeedy, Nancy. Pumpkin spice is back in all of it's spicy-not-even-remotely-pumpkin-flavored glory." "Oh... OH. Maybe it is. It certainly would explain a lot of things. Like how many of them I buy once they come back and just how willing I am to fork over five dollars of every single one of 'em," Sonny mused. Yeah, witches seemed like the most plausible answer he concluded. And really he couldn't fault them for taking over this time of year. It did seem like their only chance to shine after all. Plus they weren't really using their powers for evil. Just for profit.

"You knooooooow," Sonny said dramatically tapping his finger to his chin as he scrutinized Nancy, "you don't sound all that convincing. I don't know if I should believe you," he said matter-of-factly. "What's really keeping you up at night Drew?"

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Joe was glad Sonny picked back up the conversation, cause it was getting uncomfortably awkward. “No yeah, I’m new. I mean I’ve visited before but now I’m here to stay… for a while. My friend Nancy lives here. Nancy Drew.” He hoped he knew who he was talking about otherwise he’d sound like an embarrassment saying his friends name like she was a celebrity.

[sonny--joon-blog]

"Ooooo, you are? Where are you from?" Sonny asked eagerly. It had been awhile since he had met someone not from River Heights and he was now glad that he asked. At the mention of Nancy's name Sonny perked up. "You know Nancy too? No way, it really is a small world after all," he said with a slight laugh as he restrained himself from singing that infernal song. "I met Nancy not too long ago back in New Zealand, but well, I've known about her for awhile. certainly longer than she ever knew about me," Sonny recalled fondly. A part of him missed the days where he was always one step ahead of Nancy because it meant he got to travel more and that he had an excuse to leave a mess of notes and KoKo Kringles behind.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Pumpkin Spice | Sonny & Nancy

[therealnancydrewdeactivated]

Nancy twisted her lips as she glanced over at her alarm clock. The glaring red numbers informed her it was half past five and she huffed out a breath, deciding there was no way she would be adding to the measly three hours of sleep she had gotten the previous night. She yawned as she pulled on running clothes and sneakers, hoping a jog would wake her up.

Half an hour later, Nancy chugged to a halt, rubbing at her eyes as she realized the run was having the opposite effect of what she had intended. Frowning, she glanced around at her surroundings and raised her eyebrows when she noticed that the coffee shop was just across the street. Rarely did Nancy indulge in caffeine, but everyone needed a little pick-me-up now and again. She crossed the street and stood in front of the cafe, tapping a rhythm with her feet until she noticed she wasn’t alone. She smiled as she recognized the man intently gazing at the door, waiting until he had looked at her to speak. “Hey! Oh, you know,” she shrugged. “Didn’t get much sleep. Need a little something to wake me up and the jog didn’t do it.”

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny hummed, nodding his head in agreement even though he didn't really know if there was anything for him to even be agreeing to. "Saaaaame here Nancy Drew. Same here," he empathized, trailing off with a yawn. "It's pretty cool of you to try running to wake yourself up. But me? I go straight for the caffeine first chance I get. And they just brought pumpkin spice back and it's basically my favorite thing, so really I can't stay away from coffee even more now. You'd think that they put something nefarious in those to hook you and keep you coming back every year," he rambled, casting a sideways glance back into the still closed store. Sonny had never been one to exercise in the morning. He found it hard enough just getting out of bed, let alone getting up early enough to run. "So, how come you couldn't sleep?" Sonny asked, finally slowing down enough to observe just how tired Nancy looked. "Got some mystery keeping your brain occupied all night?" he asked curious.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Pumpkin Spice | Sonny & Nancy

Sonny stood outside of the coffee shop, staring rather forlornly at that workers who were still getting ready to open. He knew when he had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning playing video games that he would regret it. Morning shifts weren't his forte after all and now it was looking like he might have to suffer through without caffeine. And he honestly didn't know if he could handle that. Caffeine was no laughing matter after all. The workers continued to cast slightly worried looks out the door as Sonny glanced down at his watch. If the sign on the door didn't lie, then they opened in 15 minutes. So, by his calculations if he got in and out without any complications that would put him at 20 minutes leaving 10 to get to work. And if he was very, very lucky he'd make it. Sonny was so caught up in his staring contest with a see through door that he didn't notice that someone else was staring at him until they cleared their throat to get his attention. His head whipped to the side and his face turned slightly scarlet at the sight of the familiar face. "Heeeey Nancy. What brings you here at this ungodly hour of morning?"

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Joe had the widest grin the entire time Sonny was playing the song. He didn’t expect the singing, but he definitely enjoyed it. When Sonny started to blush, Joe reacted almost the same. He slowly accepted back the guitar and cleared his throat so he could speak once again. “That was… perfect. I’ll — I’ll take it.” They both stood silently for a moment, neither of them hurrying to the register.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny continued to stand there, probably making the entire situation more awkward than it already was, but if there was anything he was good at, it was definitely ignoring awkward things and just plowing on through. "So, uh, are you new here?" Sonny asked. "Cause I don't think I've seen you around before. Not that I've seen everyone in town because I'm pretty new here too, but somehow you just seem newer. If that even makes any sense."

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

His jaw dropped and he rose out of his seat. “You play too?” Joe handed the guitar over to Sonny, not feeling the least bit guilty about moving the spotlight over. “Come on, play something good. Show me it plays fine and I’ll buy it.”

[sonny--joon-blog]

"I, uh, yes?" Sonny said raising his eyebrow, his statement turning into a question at suddenly having a guitar thrust into his hands. This was a turn of events that he wasn't really expecting, but he wasn't going to complain either. Alexei wasn't too fond of him playing the instruments in the shop, but now Sonny had a legitimate excuse. Sonny fiddled with the guitar as he tried to think of a song to play. Halfway through tuning a string that was slightly off, the perfect song hit him. "Alright, I think I've got a good one," he said with a slight grin and blush. He started playing an almost flawless cover of 'Don't Stop Believin,' it took Sonny a little while to realize that he wasn't just thinking the song lyrics, that he was actually singing them. With a bashful expression Sonny finished the song. "So. I didn't mean to actually sing it but, that uh, well it happened. But hopefully I passed your test?"

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Joe broke into a grin as Sonny rambled on about what he liked. They seemed to share many similar opinions. “Pop punk! Yes! There was a time when that was all I’d listen to.” He felt his cheeks starting to blush a bit when Sonny started handing out compliments. “Oh. I taught myself when I was about eleven. Sorta stopped a few years ago. Guess some things you can’t unlearn huh?” He half-laughed as he got up and swapped out guitars.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny matched Joe's grin when he said he liked pop punk too. "Really? I totally get that. Sometimes it seems like there's just something inherently nostalgic about it," he said. Sonny's grin widened when he noticed that Joe was blushing. It wasn't often that he saw guys smile, let alone him being the cause of it. "Self-taught?" Sonny asked sounding impressed. His respect for this guy had just shot up an insane amount. He had always struggled learning musical instruments. "That's so awesome. It took me ages and like four different teachers to learn. But it wasn't their fault. I wasn't the most... attentive student," he mused. "Yeah, I guess some things are. It's like riding a bike. Or roller skating. Orrrrr... yeah I can't think of any other examples," Sonny trailed off scratching the back of his neck, his smile turning sheepish.

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Sonny Joon? The name sounded very familiar, but he couldn’t figure out why. Joe had met dozens more people than the average teenager so keeping track of names was a bit of a challenge. He decided not to dwell on it and focus on the guitar he was holding. “Yeah country’s not my favorite either. I prefer easy listening stuff. Oh, and rock. Though I guess I enjoy listening to that more than playing.”

When he finished tuning the guitar, Joe started to play and old campfire song he learned when he was twelve. It was like riding a bicycle; it just came to him naturally. After about a minute he stopped and looked over at Sonny, who was intently listening to the music. “Guess I was better than I thought.”

[sonny--joon-blog]

"Fair enough," Sonny said. "Country has it's merits but sometimes it's just too... melancholy for me. Rock is pretty good, though I think I'm more of a fan of alternative rock or like, pop punk. Pop punk is just so pop-y and fun. Not to mention you can dance to it..." Sonny trailed off, realizing that he was rambling and, as Alexei had no problem pointing out, rambling wasn't exactly professional.

Sonny listened closely as Joe began playing and had a hard time keeping the rather ridiculous grin off his face. Joe was better than he was expecting him to be. Sonny had continually been surprised at the number of people who came into the store looking for instruments that couldn't actually play them. Whenever that happened Sonny had to try really, really hard to keep the pained expression off of his face. So this was a nice surprise to say the least. "Better then you thought? You're really good! Like seriously, when did you start playing?" he asked grinning.

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Joe followed the employee a few steps across the store floor and his eyes went straight for the half dozen old guitars leaning against the wall. All of them looked old, but no more than 20-something years. It was exactly what he was looking for! He smiled excitedly. “Oh I think I’ll find the right one for me.”

He picked the coolest looking one up and carried over to the chair, where he sat down and studied how it looked and felt in his hands. When he was asked what he liked to play, Joe had to give it some thought. “Um, I know a couple country songs. It’s been forever since I’ve actually gotten to play. My brother Frank hates it when I make noise. Oh, I’m Joe by the way. Joe Hardy.”

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny grinned as the guy got excited over the old guitars and he sort of felt like he'd found a kindred soul. He leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching as the guy looked at the different guitars before selecting one. "Country never has been my favorite of the genres, but I can't deny that it's got some good songs. Not to mention some even catchy ones," Sonny mused. In his experience country music was too much of a downer for him to really enjoy it. He preferred more upbeat and... bouncy music. "Well doesn't he sounds like a big ol' stick in the mud," Sonny observed sympathetically. "Well nice to meet you Joe, I'm Sonny Joon," he grinned, happy to finally have a name to put to the face. That and Sonny always liked making new friends.

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Joe was barely paying attention to what the guy was saying, half because he was kicking himself for acting like an idiot and the other half because he was still distracted by the man’s looks. Normally Joe knew how to act around someone he found attractive, but this guy was different. The man gave off a friendly and welcoming vibe and it completely threw Joe off.

He forced himself to stop just looking and to also listen. “Acoustic, definitely. Electric ones are cool if you’re wanting to party or show off and stuff, but acoustic guitars have a little more… feeling to them. If that makes any sense.”

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny recognized that Joe was acting a little flustered and at a loss for words, but he didn't really know why. However Sonny didn't really think much of it, he was used to people reacting to him a whole lot of different ways. Admittedly he was more used to people giving him strange looks than having them acting flustered. Sonny perked up at his answer. "No, that totally makes sense," he reassured him with a grin, enthused to know they had the same view of acoustic guitars. "Alright, so acoustic it is then! Let me show them to you," Sonny said gesturing for the guy to follow him to another corner of the shop. "We don't have that many, but hopefully we'll have something that you like," he said with a grin as he pointed him towards the line of acoustic guitars. "So, what kind of stuff do you like playing?" he asked companionably.

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

[joehardydetective]

Joe’s gaze was still was locked on the old clock when the other man spoke. He slowly pulled himself away from the antique to properly greet the employee. “Hey. Yeah I guess I’m just look —” When he caught a glimpse of the tall young man with wild man he momentarily lost his train of thought. “Uh, look, um, looking. But uh, do you… do you have any guitars here? Like uh, not super old ones but… something cool.”

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny paused to ponder the guy's question. "Guitars, huh?" he said with a thoughtful expression, mentally thinking through the different guitars in the shop. "Are we talking electric or acoustic? Cause that's a pretty important distinction. But either way I think we have some pretty cool ones," Sonny said, wondering what would be the best to show him. The electric guitars were all pretty fancy in their own right, but he had a soft spot for the acoustic ones. Sure, they were a bit more battered when they entered the shop, but Sonny just thought that gave them more character. Like they had more stories to tell or something.

[joehardydetective]

Friend of a Friend // Joe + Sonny

Originally Joe had planned to bring all of his belongings with him to River Heights. But Frank stepped in and (after telling him multiple times how just plain ridiculous he was being) insisted on leaving some of their things back home in Bayport. Joe did as he was told and left behind things he didn’t think he needed with him. However there was one thing he soon regretted not taking with him, his guitar.

There were none at the flee market and the only music shop was a joke. He was ready to reluctantly order one online and wait until he spotted the antique shop across the road. Feeling a bit curious, he wandered inside and began looking around. He was staring intently at a curious clock when he heard someone exit from the back room.

[sonny--joon-blog]

Sonny was in the middle of inventory when he heard the bell above the almost ancient front door ring, hurriedly he made a notation of his place and exited the back room. Alexei always hated it when he got so lost in his task that he didn't greet costumers and Sonny was doing his best to improve. Rounding the corner of the shop, he was greeted with the sight of a young blonde man staring intently at one of the clocks. "Hey there," Sonny chirped. "You looking for anything in particular or are you just looking?" he asked happily. He had a slight preference for the costumers who asked for his help because that meant he was allowed to talk to them more, but he couldn't fault the ones who just wanted to browse.