03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Mikey had spent so much of his life avoiding the shop. He'd had a wrench or a flashlight in his hands since he could walk sure but he never found any great love for cars. Only about a year and a half ago or so he had packed up his things and left sweetwater in the rearview mirror. He thought then that when he was saying goodbye to the shop for a loooong time. Only to find himself here lying unser a car again, covered in grease. He wasn’t honestly even a good mechanic considering his active aversion to learning about it. But he could do oil changes reliably and this time of year there was no end to them. With only his older sister working full time he had to get his hands at least a little dirty or they would have to make their customers wait days for pick up.They had a part-timer but buissness was more than steady. Turned out their dad had been doing enough work for two or three people and they just didn't have the experience or man power to keep up.
So until they could hire another experienced mechanic Mikey had to do more than just accounting. Here he was finishing up some minor repairs. His hand slipped and he dropped a wrench straight on his face. Cursing underhis breath he wheeled himself out from under the car and stood up to stretch. Instinctively he looked over to see how the part timer was doing. He honestly wasn't even that much younger. It was the first time he had worked alone in the shop with the guy. Since his sister had taken a rare day off. Mikey honestly wasn't sure how to feel about it since he was technically in charge but he hardly knew what to do with himself let alone tell someone else to do. He had met Casey once or twice in passing but he wouldn't have said he knew much about the guy. Now that he had to talk to Casey directly the whole air felt awkward. A loud silence that was daring one of them to bring up the ghost in the room.
Casey had rolled into work after school as usual. The unusual thing however was, instead of working with his late bosses daughter, he was working alone with Mikey. He didnt dislike the guy, he just didnt know him. The few times that he had actually seen Mikey were during heated arguments with his boss. He just had no idea what to even say to the guy. Hey sorry your dad died? That didnt seem very compassionate. Casey wasnt well versed in comforting or showing compassion. So he just awkwardly crawled under a car and got to work. The oil wasnt going to change itself.
While under the car, he thought about the last conversation that he had with his boss. Casey had returned the firebird that his boss had lent him, only to be handed back the keys. The dude had actually given him a car. The guy had become the most constant person in Casey's life, and now he was gone. Now that Mikey and his sister were in charge, would they even let him continue to work there? No one had really mentioned it, so he figured as long as he did his job and kept his head down, they might let him stay. The auto shop was one of the very few good things in his life.
Casey was brought out of his thoughts by a thud, followed by Mikey moving from under the car. Crawling out from under the car he was working on and he studied the guy. Judging from the red spot, Casey figured Mikey must have caught a tool to the face. He had definitely done that a time or two.. or 100. Casey walked over to the refrigerator and peered inside. "Hey, do you want a drink or something?" he asked as he brushed his hand through his hair. "Or maybe something cold to put on your face. Looks like that wrench really got the best of you." He added in a joking manner, trying to break the awkwardness.
"No-no I'm fine-well…yeah I guess I better put something on it." Great, now the kid was taking care of him. No. He knew that pang of irritation was misplaced. Mikey wandered over and accepted a cold drink from Casey to hold up to the growing evidence of his mishap. He felt like an idiot. Not for the first time since coming back to sweetwater either.
It wasn't on purpose that neither sibling had explicitly told Casey he could stay. Far from considering letting him go they had talked about increasing his hours if possible. Sweetwater was a small town so there was honestly no telling how long it might be before they found a new mechanic to hire. They were lucky that the shop wasn't struggling. They had some runway to figure things out. That had been the first thing V handed him was the shop's books and the insurance papers. Some might have thought that cold but they had an understanding. It was better to keep busy. That's how he found out about the car. He had been going over the will. He had V do the actual hand over for the keys. They both knew it would be better for Casey to hear it from her. That and he didn't think he could bring himself to do it. He didn't want the car. Not really. Sure he had helped his dad with it at some point but he had helped his dad work on lots of cars. It was a physical reminder. That Casey was closer to what his father had wanted than what Mikey himself had grown into. He knew that wasn't Casey's fault of course. But it still left another layer of heavy awkwardness in the layer cake of heavy air at the shop. "Um it's pretty late, maybe we ought to take a break. I don't know how - well I don't know when you decide to take breaks normally but….don't feel like you have to push yourself. They'll….understand…if some of the jobs are late." He managed to say. Though it probably didn't need to be said out loud…and also he was the one that needed the break.
Post by Casey Marshall on Apr 5, 2023 17:56:32 GMT
Casey looked out of the garage window as he absentmindedly ran his tongue against his lip ring. The sun had set in the sky and the moon was starting to peek out from the clouds. He would have normally taken his break whenever the food came. His former boss always made sure that he had some kind of food around for Casey. Almost as if he knew Casey was a werewolf and always hungry. He never let on if he did though. Things were so different now. The shop was so quiet and definitely didn't smell like pizza. Man did he want pizza right now. All of the cheesy goodness. " This is looking like a long night, do you want to order a pizza or something?" He asked, but was already scrolling through his phone for a good pizza shop. He noted that Mikey seemed to be out of sorts, but he had no idea how to be a friend in this situation. His uncle would just tell him to suck it up and go fetch him another bottle of whiskey. He really didnt want to be like his uncle. " Hey, umm. Sorry your dad died." As soon as the words left his lips he cringed internally. Why was he so bad at this? " I mean, if you want to talk about,,, like feelings and stuff. We can." he added sincerely.
Pizza did sound good. It was only then that he realized he hadn't eaten since breakfast….which hadn't been the most healthy option either. He had a habit of grabbing whatever was convenient and eating it on the way out of the house. "Oh yeah actually…oh uh I'll pay, you can order. I'll eat whatever. " There was a beat of silence presumably because Casey was looking at pizza only for Casey to ring him a surprise gut punch. He wondered if it was so obvious he had been thinking about it. No, it made sense they would both be thinking about it here. He was over the worst of it…or at least he thought he was. "Uh thanks.." Mikey replied because while he appreciated the offer he wasn't actually great at talking about said feelings. "Maybe later." He wandered over to the somewhat dusty old leather couch by the fridge and sat down. It hadn't felt real for a while. It only crushed him after the funeral. The first time he set foot in the empty auto shop. He had been a mess for a few weeks and now it was all a numbness again. There was regret, and a lot of it but part of him felt guilty for not being….sadder. "Life just keeps going, you know…"
Post by Casey Marshall on Apr 11, 2023 20:36:43 GMT
Casey was never one to turn down a free food offer. He quickly put the order in before the other male could change his mind. Once he had pizza on the brain, he would never be satisfied until he had it in his stomach. He watched Mikey move to the sofa and followed in suit. He put his phone in his pocket and leaned back into the leather . He closed his eyes for a moment and let the smell bring back old memories. "When i lost my parents I was a mess." he kept his eyes closed as he continued. " Losing your dad was almost as rough." He admitted before finally opening his eyes and looking down at his drink. After sharing that much emotional stuff, he couldnt bring himself to look at Mikey. He was always taught that showing emotion was a sign of weakness. He didnt think that this particular male would hold it against him.
He cleared his throat and snapped out of his trip down memory lane. "So are you finished with college then?" He knew that Mickey had been away at school, but he never bothered to ask what he was studying or how long he actually had left.
Mikey felt the weight of Casey sinking into the couch beside him. He hadn’t known that Casey lost his parents. Well he actually didn't know very much about Casey at all. He had been pretty wrapped up in his own issues that much was obvious. It was then that he realized maybe Casey had said that more to be allowed to talk about their shared loss than to give Mikey the opening. "Yeah. I guess it would be." He replied softly as he sort of felt rather than saw Casey awkwardly avoiding looking his way.
For Mikey he still had his sister and his mother. He had never worried about ending up alone. Considering how many near death experiences he already had he thought that it would be himself in the casket early. Not his father.
Oh. Right. College. He was sort of old enough for that to be a normal question. Especially considering most kids around here only went to the community college for 2 year associates and called it done.
"Yes…no..I got through two semesters but with what happened and the shop..I'm going to finish off an associate at the community college and the….maybe I'll transfer again and trade up." He had waffled a bit on what associate to take as well considering going to the community college hadn’t been his first choice and the options were different than for a four year program. There certainly wasn't as much on offer either due to a lack of professors.
Post by Casey Marshall on Apr 17, 2023 7:48:31 GMT
Casey leaned back into the couch. He wasn't sure why he had just opened up to Mikey. He barely even knew the guy. The little bag of weed in his car was really calling to him about now.
He was glad to hear about Mikey's college plans, anything that wasn't emotional. It did suck that Mikey's plans had to change. He didn't have any plans to attend college himself. "Yeah I'm a senior. " he took another drink before replying. " I guess i just planned on getting more hours here." It sounded kind of bad after he heard it out loud. Should he want more out of life? Was he really content to live in the trailer park? Of course he was. He didn't need a fancy degree. He wondered what fancy degree Mikey would get. However, Mikey hadn't offered up the information and he wasn't one to pry.
Casey leaned in closer to look at the spot where the wrench had hit Mikey. "It looks a lot better. You might end up with a nice bruise though." Casey grinned before sitting back. He gave himself a shiner the same way about a month ago.
He honestly wasn't too sure what fancy degree he wanted himself. The reality was that no matter what degree he got he would likely have to move away again if he wanted a job. That used to be the reason he was doing it but now the idea wasn't as appealing as it once was. He chuckled " well that shouldn't be too hard. We're hardly getting through jobs on time as it is. " he took the can away from his face and sort of grimaced as Casey leaned in to look at the bump.
"Super" he grumbled dryly. Though he wasn't very vain, the idea of walking around with a huge bruise in the center of his face wasn't too thrilling. He awkwardly played with the can of soda in his hands. "If you want…we could probably put up some money to put you in one of the auto tracks at the college? Maybe training to pass the ASE ? ….it's not the same as learning from …..but anyway I think it would make mom happy." Apparently his dad had spent quite a bit of time talking about Casey and mom knew how close they were. His sister had already been certified but she wasn't really the teaching type and by the looks of their empty inbox they might not get another mechanic in the shop for a while. So she was stuck doing any of the more complicated jobs on her own. That and if Casey did decide to move away he would have something to take with him if he got certified.
It suddenly took a lot of concentration to open the soda. "You don't have to decide right now….just an option…if you want." Regardless of whatever his personal discomfort it was clear that his mom and sister saw Casey as some part of the family. But neither of them was good at saying that directly (especially considering how his mom spoke broken English) so it had somehow fallen on Mikey to do the communicating despite knowing Casey the least.
Post by Casey Marshall on May 23, 2023 5:56:00 GMT
Casey let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. They were planning to keep him on and he could pick up more hours. He wouldn't have to get a second job flipping burgers. Not that there was anything wrong with that, he just didn't have the patience to deal with hangry customers.
As soon as his brain processed Mikeys words, Casey sat straight up. "Wait, are you serious?" He could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was one thing to give him a car, but to to invest in his future. No one had ever thought he was worth that. He stood up and paced for a moment with his hands on his head. This was the nicest thing anyone ever did for him, but would it be rude for him to accept or would it be rude not to. "This is amazing. I mean.. yes, I would like to do that."
He had never pictured himself as a college dude. He was barely passing high school. That would have to change. Maybe this was a bad idea, what if he didnt pass and wasted the money. He put his hands down to his side and bit his lip as he thought. " I really dont know how to process all of this. Do you smoke? I think im going to go out back for a quick smoke break before the pizza gets here." He grabbed another drink and headed for the door before he started doing something weird like cry. " I Also have something a little better than cigs, if you are interested. Unless you are the kind of boss that frowns on that sort of thing. And in that case, I was totally joking and have never touched weed in my life." He stood there kind of awkwardly waiting for Mikeys reply.
Mikey wasn't so surprised to see the offer came as a shock. His sister hadn't done a ton of formal training to get her certifications. His family also hadn't considered Mikey a college boy and yet he'd up and left. A lot had changed though. It was a little bizarre getting used to the new shape of things. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little jealous of the way his mother and sister were so worried for this random kid. On the other hand they had spent so much time worrying in the wake of his dad's death. Worrying about the funeral, worrying about the shop, dragging him back home so they didn't have to worry more about what trouble he might be up to. If this took one less thing off their plates then he wasn't going to complain.
"Yeah, really. don't thank me I just checked the books to see if we could actually afford it. It's V's idea…"
He watched Casey pace through his slightly blurry vision, wiping off a bit of the water left on his forehead from the improvised ice pack. Mikey took a swig of his drink as Casey invited him to a smoke break. He was in the middle of considering breaking his cold turkey everything streak for a cig only to be offered something much more worth breaking the streak for. He offered a laugh and a genuine smile "you are so lucky it's me. That 'something a little better' is sounding very good right now." His dad never would have gone for that. He was as straight-laced a military man as could be. Or at least that's what he tried to front. V had definitely caught him smoking with some old buddies once. Mikey knew his head was going to start throbbing any minute now and being a bit high might help him deal with…everything. He stood up and motioned for Casey to lead the way. He wanted to give the guy time to think about it without putting any pressure on so he changed the subject a little "so…what do you do…? Like outside of school and here?"
Post by Casey Marshall on Jun 8, 2023 15:02:23 GMT
Casey nodded at Mikeys reply. Even if it was V's idea, Mikey still put in the effort to find the money, which Casey was very much appreciative of. "I guess I will have to start actually going to school so I can graduate." He didnt want to, but he would start putting in the effort. He never really had a reason to before.
At Mikey's acceptance of his invitation to join him in his delinquent activity, he finally relaxed. He always pictured Mikey as uptight and a bit judgemental. But if dude smoked weed, he had to be cool, right? Casey thought so. He led the way to the back alley that he liked to smoke in. He paused at the door as he heard Mikey's question. He obviously couldnt tell him that his hobbies included howling at the moon and running through the woods sporting a fur coat. "Most of the time, I just find excuses to not be home." he admitted honestly. Casey pushed the door open and took a breath of fresh air as he stepped out. He wondered how much Mikey knew about his life from his family. He held the door open with his foot and polled a joint and a lighter from his hoodie pocket as he waited for Mikey to come through. "I like working on my motorcycle." he admitted. "What about you? What do you like to do when you arent here?"
Mikey offered an easy laugh at casey's comment about attendance. He might not have skipped out that often but he understood the temptation. Towards the end of his time there he took just about any excuse he could use to get away from the school, or more precisely the other students. He followed casey out into the alley and noticed the hesitation to answer his question. He chalked it up to general awkwardness. The answer hit home a little though he could sense without knowing the details that casey was avoiding home for very different reasons. " gotcha...." well motorcycles wasn't the worst hobby to have in a small town. If anything it made sense that V had taken a liking to Casey. She had always been into that sort of thing where as he had really only been into motorcycles during his adrenaline junkie phase. Even then he has done more crashing than fixing. It was a short lived hobby for him.
" That tracks, seeing as you work here." He settled leaning on the wall near Casey and shrugged " Sometimes I help run the volunteer radio station for the college, but I used to spend a lot of time out in the mountains, climbing and caving." The year before he left he had spent almost all of his time outside doing something a bit reckless. He'd had a lot of 'safer' hobbies when he started high school like collecting comics and fixing up old tech. Somewhere along the way all his hobbies started to get increasingly dangerous. A trend that debatibly got worse when he moved to the city. He would have liked to have said that it was just a werid phase he went through but the truth is he would still be thrill seeking if his dad hadn't passed. Some part of him had expected to die long before his dad either at the hands of some one night stand, doing something dumb while drunk or high or both, or the most likely option at the bottom of some cave. It was as though at some point he had quielty decided on slipping out of his own life and no longer burdening anyone.
For now the shock and numb of it all had slowed everything down. Now he was feeling the uneasy strain of being relied on. Asked to step in places he had willfully forfeited years ago. "I used to not come home for days just camping out, but I can't get away with that sort of thing now. The truth is neither dad nor V ever really kept good track of the books." Some of the work load was just straightening out what the shops actual profit was considering there were plenty of jobs coming in but more than a handful of IOU's and other barter like payments written in for some jobs. He couldn't really blame his dad for having a good heart but it did make it sort of messy to figure out who still owed a tab.