D A Y 0 2

[founds]

CHAPTER 1

NOV 1ST | 58℉☂

▸ In a sad turn of events during last night's activities, local teenager Bela Gage was found dead at Gainsbourg Resort as festivities were wrapping up. Local authorities have opened up an investigation regarding the circumstances around her death.

▸ Several houses were egged in height of last night's events. Locals are offering a small reward to anyone with information that may lead to identification of the culprits.

▸ Now for the weather, expect light showers from late morning to mid afternoon. Blackwell is expecting the storm to keep rolling through overnight, so drive safe!

▸ That's the News In today. Now back to your regularly scheduled tunes. This one goes out to the Gages, may you find peace in these difficult times.

THE RISING IS NOT IN EFFECT

Comments

[singlestrand]

[ this'll be the first time ben sees izzy in relatively normal clothes. she's dressed for the fall weather-- jeans, boots and an oversized sweater in a plum color. since she had no desire for ben to meet anyone in her family, she burst out of the front door of the house the second she heard the motor of his bike. (why would she? they'd just ask too many questions. particularly ones she really, really isn't that interested in answering for anyone. including herself.)

isabella holds her hands over her head in a feeble attempt to stop the rain from getting in her hair before she decides she doesn't care, running the rest of the way to his bike. she snatches the helmet, getting it onto her head quickly. ]

It's in this strip mall on 8th. Do you know where that's it?

[eternalboy]

[ he's looking very much the same in his suit and overcoat since his ghost costume wasn't really worth mentioning. he raises the visor of his helmet to reveal a wide smile when he sees Izzy approaching and clicks it down again as she climbs on the bike. ]

Shouldn't be too hard to find.

[ he googled the place. they'll be fine. he revs the engine and off they go. ]

[singlestrand]

[ she uses his back as a shield from the rain, setting her face in it. it's not like he can hear her when they're zooming down roads on this thing anyway, right? her arms tighten around him when they go around a corner-- did she ever mention she wasn't a fan of motorcycles? yeah, well she won't ever because that would be very uncool, but they still make her uncomfortable. ]

[eternalboy]

[ well that's unfortunate because he's going faster than usual, perhaps unconsciously trying to impress her because what would be more impressive than a near death experience? ]

[ but eventually they arrive to the strip mall and the bike slows down to a stop. he places his feet on the ground to stop the bike from falling over and looks over his shoulder. ]

How was it?

[ he did feel her hold of him tighten. ]

[singlestrand]

[ isabella eagerly hops off the bike and strips herself of the helmet, setting it back on the handle. she shrugs her shoulders. ]

It's just a ride. How was it supposed to be?

[ she wiggles her eyebrows at him before heading inside to get out of the rain. the coffee shop was definitely local-- playing soft indie rock with a bunch of west virginia's finest hipsters sipping coffee with their laptops and oversized glasses. it was great.

she shook out her curls and waited for ben to follow along. ]

[eternalboy]

Great?

[ laughs to himself as Izzy is already heading inside. he takes off his helmet, slides off the saddle and follows Izzy with the helmet tucked under his arm. ]

[ closes the door behind himself and looks around. so this is where all the hipsters meet. ]

Well this is... nice? Find us a table and I'll get us drinks. What would you like?

[ already walking backwards toward the counter. ]

[singlestrand]

Uh, coffee? [ she's caught off guard. oh, he was really going to make this a date-date wasn't he? with the gentlemanly paying and everything. isabella eyes a booth that she can totally nab for them. ] Just a mocha. Oh and one of those chocolate chip scones.

[ with a wink, she wanders off to steal the booth before a hipster can. ]

[eternalboy]

[ she agreed to go out with him so he's doing his best to make it a date. he nods and winks back. ]

[ a moment later he's already making his way to the booth, balancing two cups of coffee and chocolate chip scones on a tray. ]

And you here you are. My turn to be the waitress.

[singlestrand]

Trust me, it's not something you ever want to pretend to be. [ scone! she slides it over to herself while taking a ship of her mocha. ] I would much prefer your job. Maybe you can put in a good word for me in your department.

[eternalboy]

Sure. They won't listen to a rookie like me though.

[ takes his coffee from the tray. ]

Maybe in a couple of years when I'm running the show.

[singlestrand]

Ah, is that what you're planning on doing then? Going to take over?

[ isabella holds the warm cup in her hands, tapping her fingers against it. ]

Ambitious.

[eternalboy]

It's gonna happen anyway, who am I to stop it.

[ smiles at her over the cup. no, it's not really his goal. he'd make a terrible leader. not that he personally sees it that way. ]

And you? You want to become the chef one day?

[singlestrand]

[ the day ben takes over as head of the rcso would be an interesting time for randolph county. ]

Who ever said anything about me being a chef? Waitress to chef isn't usual.

[eternalboy]

Just guessing. I understood you like cooking, so.

Is there other stuff you're interested in?

[singlestrand]

Yeah, but we're in the middle of nowhere West Virginia. The cooking everyone wants here is chili and... sandwiches. It's not exactly something super profitable here.

[ she doesn't see it that way, anyway. ]

Not really. I'm super lame.

[eternalboy]

Nothing wrong with chili.

[ laughs because he gets it. West Virginia is not the best place for every profession. he was lucky. ]

Why do you say that?

[singlestrand]

Because it's true? I have no idea what you are seeing in me.

[ the tone of her voice makes it clear she's making a joke. isabella takes another sip of her coffee before continuing. ]

[eternalboy]

[ leans back, trying to seem like he had to think about the question. ]

Well, at first I didn't see anything because you were a ghost. But now I see a lot of stuff.

Like, you have long hair. [ motions with hand toward her everything. ] For example.

[singlestrand]

[ there's an eyeroll. ]

Were you too busy staring at my uniform at work to notice the long hair before?

[ takes a sip of coffee. ]

[eternalboy]

I was busy staring at the menu.

[ right. ]

C'mon, you must have something else you're interested in.

[singlestrand]

I don't know. I like romantic comedies, especially if Katherine Heigl is in them, and singing along to Lady Antebellum.

[ does that work ]

[eternalboy]

Really? You must introduce me to one of them. I can take almost any movie as long as they don't last over two hours.

[ and there's explosions. ]

[singlestrand]

... You've never seen a rom-com? Aren't you supposed to be some sort of ladies man or something?

[ come on. ]

[eternalboy]

Whatever gave you that idea?

[ it's kind of flattering. ]

[singlestrand]

It's just the vibe you're trying to give off. That you're this suave guy. [ she watches him for a moment, continuing to tap her fingers on her cup. ] But it's not working, obviously. Never seen a romantic comedy, asking the boring, basic date questions. [ izzy clicks her tongue against her teeth while shaking her head. ]