âBOOKERâ  THE  GIRL  HUMMED,  HER  HEAD  turning  to  the  man  who  stood  next  to  her,  âyou  consider  me  your  best  friend,  right?â  she  asked,  giving  booker  no  time  to  response,  âi  deserve  the  finer  things  in  life,  right?â  she  continued,  walking  out  of  the  elevator  and  into  her  apartment  complexâs  lobby.  she  waved  at  the  front  desk  receptionist,  âi  like  her  jacket.â  she  whispered  to  herself,  making  a  mental  note  to  ask  her  about  it.  âi  forgot  what  i  was  sayingâŠi think  i  need  a  little  fresh  airâŠand  a  latte.â
BOOKERâS CONCERN GROWS THE longer luci speaks without allowing him to speak in return, his brows slowly furrowing as he wonders exactly what sheâs getting at. knowing luciâs track record of doing things booker, or most people, wouldnât he doesnât suspect itâs anything good. âi...â bookerâs brows are furrowed as he looks at the receptionist and then back to luci, bewilderedly saying, âi think you were implying that you want me to steal that womanâs jacket for you?â bookerâs confusion only last a few more moments before heâs making a point to gently lead luci out of the building by a hand on the small of her back, casually adding, âbut you know what, a latte and fresh air sounds a lot more doable, so letâs go with that, yeah?â booker reaches around luci to push open the door, brow arching at her as he adds, âand hey, if you forget about this little heist, iâll even throw in a donut.âÂ
juno felt half bad at bookerâs reaction to her yanking him aside, knowing that most people were not prepared for a good yoinking at any given moment. making her way to the counter, booker in tow, she whirls around. âa hand signal? canât i just, like, ca-caw,â a poorly executed bird noise, âand then youâll know that your presence is needed?â folding her arms across her chest, she glances over her shoulder as the bell dings that another customer walked in. to say that she was easily distracted would be the understatement of the century, but she quickly pulls herself back to the situation at hand. âalso, bad? are you really bad, or were you just saying that because,â a small laugh escapes her, âitâs kinda genius. leaves me no choice but to flee and care for my dear friend. unless youâre really bad, in which case, jesus, whatâs wrong?â
BOOKER STUMBLES A BIT AS juno whirls around, blinking down at her in surprise for a moment before his lips are twitching in amusement at the sound of her bird call. booker will never understand how juno has such raw confidence. all heâs doing is standing next to her, and yet here he is rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he glances about to see if theyâve attracted any attention. âi mean, yeah that would definitely get my attention, but it would probably also get the attention of the person youâre trying to escape from. i mean, your bird call while incredibly accurate,â booker adds jokingly as he slowly grins. âisnât the most subtle?â booker blinks as junoâs attention deviates, curiosly following her gaze for no more than moments before heâs startling as she turns back to him with... an unexpected line of questioning to say the least. âuh... nope. nope, youâre right, it was just... genius.â bookerâs brows arch with his shrug, âjust my incredible quick thinking and wit, which is of course available to you at any point that you may need it, juno, you know that.â booker awkwardly shoves his hands into his pockets then, rocking back and forth on his heels for a few moments before his brows are furrowing as he adds, âbut since weâre on the topic, why... are we fleeing by the way? was jeff just... being jeff or was he actually bothering you?â thereâs a tinge of concern in bookerâs gaze as he sincerely adds, âcause you know, if he was being gross, we could probably get him banned or something...â
        A  LAUGH  ESCAPED  THE  BRUNETTEâS  LIPS  -  it  would  have  taken  the  town  long  enough  to  finally  get  a  spotify  account.  âiâm  going  to  go  around  and  ask  for  peopleâs  passwords  because  i  donât  wanna  pay  for  mine  anymore.â  she  laughed  looking  over  at  the  boy.  her  chin  sinking  into  her  hand,  disappointed  in  his  question,  âi  donât  know.  my  brain  just  comes  up  with  things,  dude.â  she  shrugged,  âso  are  you  telling  me  youâre  not  down  for  a  dance  battle?â  she  asked,  her  bottom  lip  jutted  out  in  a  pout,  âyou  gotta  shake  what  your  mama  gave  you,  i  have  a  feeling  itâll  bring  in  aaaalllll  the  customers.â
âI MEAN, IâD LET YOU USE MINE if i didnât think youâd use that power in all the wrong ways.â booker teases easily, his eyes crinkling with his grin even as he shrugs and adds, âitâs the same reason i fear you ever getting superpowers. i just know you would find some way to use that power for the wrong reasons like... using superspeed to go to italy for pizza.â booker canât help but shake his head at luciâs suggestion, his brows raising as he moves to put the record in his hands back as he says, âluce, you know i canât dance. if anything me going out there and shaking my ass will probably deter customers from ever coming into the store, like, ever again. our reviews would plummet. people would probably report us for... something. maybe public indecencyâ booker glances at luci with playfully narrowed eyes as he asks, âwait, is that why you challenged me? cause you know youâll win?âÂ
flicking through a stack of new records, juno nodded absently toward the man talking to her, occasionally adding in a âhm,â or âuh-huh.â jeff, a middle aged regular at the shop, seemed to always stop in as juno was walking through the door. he was on some tangent about the beatles now, and while juno could talk for days about music, sheâd rather stub her toe than talk to jeff about anything. adult men liked to talk down to her about most things, and she had very little patience for it. âhey!â she shouted, whipping around and facing the person nearest her - her saving grace, âhow are you? we have to catch up, i have so much to tell you. jeff, i gotta go, weâll talk later, yeah?â not waiting for an answer, she whisked the other away toward the counter.Â
BOOKER REALLY WAS JUST minding his own business, headphones in as he browsed through the stacks. he was admittedly, barely paying attention to what was happening around him, which was why he honestly nearly had a heart attack when juno turned to face him. âholy--! what?â booker tries to ask as he pulls down his headphones, glancing down at juno for a few confusing moments before he glances between her, and the admittedly painfully talkative jeff and slowly puts two and two together. âuh... yeah. of course. we, uh, we need to catch up. iâve been... bad. how... have you been?â booker replies awkwardly as he glances between the two, that is before heâs being taken away before he can thankfully embarrass himself any further. âokay, iâm going to need you to maybe warn me before the next time you do that. can we establish like...â bookerâs nose wrinkles as he gestures stiltedly, âa hand signal or something goinâ on?â
â§ÍâșË*àŒâŸ open starter / @recklesstartersâ
SHE  WAS  LATE.  NO  BIGGIE  -  she  always  was.  today  it  was  because  the  line  at  classics  was  long  and  they  happened  to  be  short-staffed.  so  of  course  it  wasnât  her  fault.  she  entered  the  record  store  with  her  cold  brew  in  hand,  âdonât  worry,  iâm  here.â  she  called  out  to  whoever  was  listening  as  she  moved  through  the  store  and  to  the  cashierâs  counter.  setting  her  cold  brew  down,  she  looked  out  into  the  almost empty  store,  âwhy  is  it  dead  today?â  she  yelled,  leaning  against  the  counter  and  rested  her  chin  on  her  hand,  âshould  we  go  out  front  and  challenge  someone  to  a  dance  battle?â
BOOKER TRIES TO STIFLE HIS amusement at luciâs announcement, currently chilling behind the counter despite still not technically working here for years. âwelcome to the land of the living.â booker comments teasingly as he turns over the record in his hands casually, glancing up at his best friend before arching a brow in surprise. âoh, and she comes with coffee. very classy, luce.â booker moves to get out from behind the counter just as luciana moves to get behind it, arching a brow at her question as he looks around as if seeing the store for the first time. âuh, maybe... everyone in town collectively decided to get a spotify account?â booker blinks at lucianaâs offer, brows furrowing for a moment before heâs gesturing slowly as he asks, â... okay, you wanna explain to me how you got from point a to point b? dead store... equals dance battle? â
âȘ Â austin abrams. cis man. twenty four. he/him. âȘ Â is WES BOOKER here again? gosh, they really love it here. they have been coming to reckless records for THREE YEARS. theyâre always requesting HOME BY TOM ROSENTHAL to be played. everyone says theyâre +INTELLIGENT and +THOUGHTFUL but can also be -PARANOID and -OBSESSIVE. Â oh look, theyâre in aisle 10!
ABOUT THE MUN.
what is that! that freaky thing! yes, thatâs right, itâs a naked mole rat.
hello all, itâs me. pepper. if you read that in a hello god itâs me margaret vc we are simply meant to be <3 but omg yeah i really was out here plottin for mika and completely forgetting booker exists skjsdk sorry king. you deserve better. anyways, down below will be a bit about the boi because i am too lazy for a google doc !! maybe weâll make it later weâll see.Â
BIO.Â
*doesnt check my academic email* everythings OK
wesley booker was an accident. letâs not sugar coat things here. he was a big fat fuckin mistake. you see his parents were on their way to retirement when he came into the picture. all of their other children were grown up, some even with children of their own. and then booker and his twin sister showed up. they werenât exactly thrilled about the whole thing.Â
i mean, they werenât dicks about it. they fed the twins and clothed them and gave them like basic love and all that. but they definitely didnât put as much energy into the last two kids as they did into those before them. so booker and his sister pretty much were left to their own devices majority of the time.Â
so the twins very quickly learned to entertain themselves. they had each other for company and that was fine. for the most part the twins were actually pretty codependent until they got a bit older and found themselves when more friends. but to this day they are still quite close.Â
whenever their parents got tired of dealing with them they would send the twins over to their uncle robs shop. customers probably got pretty used to the two kids running around reckless screaming their heads off, and playing hide and seek excitedly through the aisles. they gave poor rob more grey hair than a man should ever have at that age, but hey, they gave the shop character. booker and his sister spent pretty much majority of their childhood at reckless to be honest. they went their after school so that rob could take them home once the shop closed up. they were there one weekends, when they parents didnât particularly want to deal with them. and later, when at least booker became of age, he even worked there.Â
booker worked front counter at reckless for all of his high school career. and honestly, he was good at it too. he had the kind of thoughtful, detail oriented personality that worked well in that kind of environment. he started working at reckless when he was fourteen, and by the time he was in his senior year he was even assistant manager. things were good. really good. while rob was more of a chill boss, relaxed boss, booker actually had the ability to keep things organized and keep majority of the store under control. things were actually running smoothly while he was there. his uncle got extra sleep. all the customers were happy.Â
and then booker quit to go to university. and well. the place dissolved into the good old chaos it was before. honestly, booker finds the disposition kind of stressful, but mostly funny. his uncle begs him to come back at least once a week, but with booker now being in graduate school and working as a side gig as a teaching assistant and tutor, well, he simply doesnât have the time. he comes by often enough though, just to laugh and his uncles woes and occasionally force him to take a nap as he organizes the books for him, maybe watches the place.Â
but bookerâs real focus at the moment is his masters in film. your boy wants to be a director, so you can often catch him waxing poetic about classic movies or looking like a zombie after his exams.Â
HEADCANNONS.
how do you deal with anxiety? i let it fuck me up and then i go to bed.
a responsible boi ! honestly booker has been a tiny adult since he was a child. when he was a child he looked a lot like little luke crain from haunting of hill house. now he has contact lenses.Â
a huge nerd. loves movies and comic books and classical literature. really such a dweeb. very smart, and quite humble about it but also a damn nerd yk.Â
has an old beat up pickup truck he drives everywhere that he mostly fixes with duct tape skjdsj it was his dads and heâs only keeping it because he canât afford another one but god,,, we hate it here.Â
a push over honestly. super kind. if you need anything just as him and he will probably give it to you. very skeptical and paranoid of people he doesnât know quite well tho. the duality of man <3
your boi has anxiety <3 he do be stressed! you can probably catch him studying for his exams and such in the back because i feel like he just ??? stays above the record store a bunch because itâs closer to where his school is that his family home yk
has a film journal that he rates literally every film he sees in. also has a regular journal and lowkey writes poetry in his spare time but he would die if anyone read it. the type to fall for someone and write a lil poem about them in his journal yk!!
but yeah!! thatâs my boi pls like this if you would like to plot !!
WANTED CONNECTIONS.
might fuck around and read a 500 page physical published book in one sitting like itâs 2006 and Iâm being bullied in middle school so I take refuge in the library and inhale books at a frightening speed that I have not been able to replicate since
best friends, old coworkers, old high school enemies, an academic rival maybe, his twin sister but i am gonna put that in as a wc, exes, fwb or ewbs, someone he can confide in, a study buddy, someone he sees/discusses movies with, and an opposites attract vibe maybe!