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?
Ferris parked outside the mechanic shop, killing the engine before reaching over to grab his fleece lined jacket. He shrugged into it as he stepped out of the lot, slamming the door behind him. It had been a while since he got any sort of oil change or inspection and one of the belts had started making a strange noise months ago. But he'd been putting it off because nothing seemed overtly wrong and he really couldn't afford to have work done. But he knew very little about cars and could afford even less to buy a new truck. So, before it snowed, he reasoned he should be responsible and have it checked out. Besides, he rather liked helping plow the streets in the winter.
He shoved the door to Fix-It open with his shoulder, finally separating his car key fob from the rest of his keys. He looked up at the desk, not surprised not to see anyone in the small office/lobby. Probably in the garage, if the vague sound of muffled music was any hint. He did a double take on the OPEN sign and then moved to the desk to look for a bell or something to announce his presence and gave it a ring.
Nothing. Ferris grimaced and then moved to the side door, intending to open it up and hail some customer service directly.
It was during school hours and his sister's off day. So Mikey was alone in the shop. He had a bit of music thumbing to avoid the eerie silence the garage but also so that when he inevitably dropped or banged into something he didn't have to hear his shame echo of the walls. He had just been in the middle of a routine oil change when he heard the jingle of the lobby door sensor going off. He finished up as quickly as he could and made for the door connecting the lobby. Before he could open it there was a familiar face swung the side door open. He felt an overwhelming urge to metamorphose into a stereotypical mechanic (take his shirt off). "well well, just can't stay away, huh~" He teased a mischievous grin lighting up his features. He tucked the cloth he had been using to wipe his hands into the back pocket of his mechanic's jumpsuit and unzipped the top portion a bit.
"I haven't even done anything naughty yet." He would be lying if he said he hadn't recently thought about sending out yet another unwarranted out of pocket text just to make sure he saw the read receipt. It was a one sided game but he so rarely got to play it in person.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 25, 2023 19:33:21 GMT
Seeing Michael, Ferris was hit with a pick-up truck full of emotions that he did not want to go through right now.
He had managed to more or less ghost the young man since he had moved here and discovered his secret shame wasn't so very secret. Not that Michael had seemed to understand that much for either of the two very prominent reasons why the then firefighter had determined it best to avoid the much younger man. Or maybe the boy's idea of 'friendly comfort and support' was to stake his heart out in the sunlight for all to see. But much like a classical fiction vampire, Ferris recoiled at the idea. He'd refused to give the man his number. Which only led to the college student calling Sweetwater Fire Station directly. So for multiple personal and community safety reasons, he'd cornered him and begrudging gave him his cell. He'd replied occasionally, to more (at least he hoped they were) benign texts. But not often.
It was a small miracle the man had never sent him any not safe for work images. Yet. the same could not be said for some of the words he'd sent him.
Michael's hand touched his jumpsuit zipper and Ferris did an immediate one-eighty. On second thought, he was pretty handy, he could probably find a video on youtube. Or come back when someone else was working. Maybe one of his employees was mechanically inclined.
"No," he said, not really hearing him, but the word 'naughty' inspired a red tint to his cheeks. Ferris fumbled in his pocket for his keys before recalling he was still holding them. But he did find his lighter and that sounded like a decidedly necessary act at the moment, as he once again shouldered through the front door.
He wasn't terribly surprised to see Ferris turning to tail it so soon. It did answer one question. Ferris hadn't tracked him down on purpose. That or he couldn't bring himself to ask for whatever it was he wanted. Only one way to find out. He followed Ferris back into the lobby and out the front door. "oh come on, Ferris. I won't bite." The amount of will power it took to stop himself from adding 'unless you want me to' was pretty high. Seeing Ferris fumble around in his pockets key in hand it clicked with Mikey that this was pretty much the only auto shop in town. "Look you need something or you wouldn't have driven out here, right?" He his hands up in a bit of a surrender. "If you're here for business I can play professional, promise." He did his best to make a friendly 'harmless expression' and then he held out a cigarette as a peace offering. Mikey didn't generally make a habit of chasing after customers. If it were anyone else he would have been plenty to have one less car to work on.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 26, 2023 2:31:16 GMT
He'd made the mistake of letting his guard down around Michael once and wasn't prepared to go through the wringer again. Hell, he shouldn't have the first time but those college kids had been awfully persuasive. And drunk. And horny. And maybe it was his fault, but regardless there would be no grounds for any sort of biting, literal or figurative. The 'yet' was implied. "Damn it, Michael," he growled, cutting him a dark look over his frown as the boy finally got it through his thick, pretty skull that the fireman's appearance was about anything other than perceived pleasure. He was aware of what the young man preferred to be called. More than aware of things he liked to be called, really. But using his full name put a healthy amount of social distance (and maybe it was his contrived and unhelpful way of offering respect he felt he owed the young man) between them.
The phrase 'play professional' only made his expression darken. He dropped his glare to the cigarette in the man's hand and stopped shaking one out of his own pack, attempting to decide if he thought the guy was serious based simply on the brand of smokes he used. Ferris' shoulders relaxed a notch. He was too tired for this bullshit. "Like hell you will," he grumbled the order firmly as he plucked the peace offering from his hand. He leaned against the building just outside the door and lit the cigarette, taking a slow drag. The flood of nicotine and warmth eased some of his frayed nerves. Not the amount he was used to, but it would do.
Ferris pinched the bridge of his nose and massaged his temples with his other hand, belatedly offering to light one for Michael in return. "My truck needs an oil change." Rather badly, he was more than twice the recommended number of miles between them. "And it sounds like one of the belts has a problem." Which belt and what problem, he had no clue.
Ferris was right to some degree. He had a little too much fun getting a rise out of someone so clearly torn up inside. He doubted he'd ever have the chance to find out what made Ferris so brooding. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to know. Without even know there was some weird sense of empathy for whatever Ferris was going through. His own life had been flipped on it's head recently.
Still it was hard not to let a little bit a smirk slip through. That growl in his voice just hit just right. Those dark looks and deep frowns also dissuaded Mikey a lot less than Ferris seem to hope they would. If anything they just fanned the flame of that forbidden fruit vibe that Ferris lovingly carried around. Though he supposed in Ferris' mind it was Mikey who was taunting him into the fiery depths of sin or some shit. Which was a role Mikey was actually fine with but he had recently reconnected with his own tempter. Not only that but found someone who was heartbreakingly sweet. So his teasing and chasing had gotten ever so slightly less desperate. At this point it was more to make sure Ferris was still kicking than any genuine thought that Ferris might give in.
Mikey took the lighter and lit up a cigarette of his own. He leaned next to Ferris on the wall before passing back the lighter. "Easy enough" His eyes scanned the parking lot and found Ferris' truck fairly easily. Trucks in general were pretty popular here. They were lucky enough to have a pretty large backlog of parts. so he had high faith that he wouldn't have to order something. Though he might have considered saying that they did need to order a part if he thought it might give him more chances to tease Ferris. "I should have what you need. It'll take me a bit though." He would have liked to stay and use the cigarette as an excuse to talk but he really did need to finish up what he had been doing. "drive it up to the first door and leave the key in the ignition, then you can wait in the lobby or whatever."
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 26, 2023 19:42:48 GMT
Clearly his disapproving approach wasn't having the desired effect. But despite that stupid cute smile and the light in his eyes, the boy laid off. It seemed the bare minimum he could do. The cigarette as a peace offering earned him a bit more grace, Ferris supposed, but that didn't mean he had to like the truce. They both knew it wouldn't be long before Michael said something out of the blue that would make him reconsider ever giving him his number or sleeping with him in the first place.
He pocketed his lighter when Michael handed it back, also turning his gaze across the lot. Seemed there were a few cars waiting to be picked up, some he recognized in passing, and still others the auto shop was working on. Personal projects maybe? He took another few breaths of smoke without saying anything, feeling some of his nerves over seeing the other man again settle.
Ferris glanced back at the young man next to him and raised an eyebrow wordlessly at the vague time frame. How long was 'a bit' anyway? Like, five minutes? Five hours? Hell, he'd walk back to town if that was the case, rather than subject himself to whatever clandestinely sexual moves the guy might direct his way while tuning up a car.
With or without an answer, he pushed himself away from the wall and walked back to his truck, turning the key in the ignition and pulling around into the door Michael had indicated. He turned everything off and left the key there, pausing outside to finish his smoke before heading back inside. It wasn't much warmer inside than out. He plopped down in one of the lobby seats, debating on if he should stay here for just aim to walk back and pick it up tomorrow.
Besides the smell of smoke permeating the cab, another jacket piled on the backseat, and a few odds and ends, the interior of his truck was cleaner than the outside. Clearly he didn't believe in carwashes, especially when it came to rain and eventually snowy weather. But he was often using he truck and while he liked his spaces to feel lived in, he also liked to keep it clean. His apartment was a different story.
He might have offered to drive Ferris back to town if he thought it would take more than an hour or so. Then again Ferris was practically jumping out of his skin for just being in the same room. Mikey could only imagine the level of protest that might rise from offering to confine him to essentially a smaller room.
He finished up what he had been working on when Ferris came in and then started checking out his car. It was a nice surprise to find it was fairly clean if overdue on the upkeep. There was indeed a hand full of the ordinary maintenance issues, one or two issues not worth fixing and an issue with one of the belts.
Before he actually got too hands on with Ferris' Truck He came back to poke he head aground the side door. "Shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Let me know if you need anything."
He disappeared back to work in the garage before Ferris could even sweat about him making some innuendo. Since it was routine work Mikey was able to do it on mostly auto-pilot. He completed all the maintenance tune up first, even checking the tired tread considering how icy the roads were about to get. His mind may have drifted to thinking about Ferris just a bit while working. It had been a pretty fun night.
Finally there was just replacing the belt. He wandered across the garage checking the part number on his phone. They stored the backlog parts towards the top of multi-level shelving that ran floor to ceiling. He climbed about halfway up the ladder and was checking the part number when a huge roach skittered out from one of the boxes onto his hand hand an spooked the shit out of him. His panic had him stumble on the ladder trying to catch himself and failing. He floundered backward over the side railing with a thud. If he didn't know any better he might have thought that his father had placed some anti-Mikey curse on the garage before dying. Probably as some passive aggressive move about all the times Mikey had said he didn't want to work in the Garage.
He didn't have much time to lament curses thought because he blacked out almost immediately.
last edited Oct 27, 2023 7:51:28 GMT by Mikey Royce
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 27, 2023 17:59:56 GMT
The cigarette helped. But he continued to rather forcibly repress his attraction and his unease around the young man. Despite it being years ago, he still hadn't found his balance with who he was and what he wanted. That night with the young man had been...eye opening. One of the first times he had ever admitted to those feelings in himself and done something about it. It had been liberating. And terrifying. But it was the night after, where he had contemplated his continued existance for the second time in his life, that haunted him.
Ferris nodded at the update. Once Michael moved back to the garage he sunk lower in the chair, deciding a nap was probably the best use of his time since it wasn’t worth walking back to his apartment or even the fire station. Thankfully, he had learned how to sleep just about anywhere.
--
He startled awake maybe forty minutes later, slumped over on his right side, arms folded over his chest. Ferris groaned and blinked away sleep, not sure for a moment what woke him up except that it wasn't him. The firefighter righted himself slowly, looking about the empty lobby and then stretching to his feet. Music still thumped mutedly from behind the garage door, echoing the uneasy feeling in his chest. Something was wrong.
He opened the door slowly, the music hitting him like a wall. His gaze was immediately drawn to the part of legs on the floor, sticking out from behind a toolcart. "Fuck. Michael? Come on, man," he called, moving to the young man's side, seamlessly transitioning to first responder mode. From the skewed ladder, he would guess that had been the culprit.
Ferris first made sure Michael was still breathing and had a pulse. Provided he only seemed unconscious, he next checked for any other obvious injuries, especially to his head. He pulled his phone out to dial 911 while quickly hunting down a first aid kit. Provided the man hadn't woken up yet.
The world came back into view like tunning a tv set. Fuzzy at first with a shrill ringing noise. Mikey groaned and reached up to cradled his head. Just his luck. He blinked until the bright lights on the ceiling of the garage resolved to a stricken looking Ferris. He groaned and sat up slowly the gravity of the situation taking a moment to catch up with him.
Mikey sat there on the floor just taking a minute then he reached back and pointedly took a wrench out of his back pocket. He half heartedly tossed it across the garage. It would probably be a very interesting bruise where he fell on it. With a little huff he turned to Ferris and it occurred to him to be relieved that he had been there. If he had been alone and had actually broken something he might have laid like that for hours before anyone came into the garage. He made a mental note to look into changing the storage or at least getting a better ladder. He patted himself down though wasn't really looking for anything "Well....looks like it's all still here."
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 28, 2023 13:59:34 GMT
He hadn't quite hit the call button when Michael groaned and started moving. He set his phone down and instead put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Not to keep him laying down if he really needed to sit up, but to at least help him balance and certainly prevent him from standing. "Take it easy," he cautioned, tone a lot warmer than anything he had used with the man recently. It wasn't entirely foreign. The wrench he pulled out and threw away like it had personally insulted his mother was amusing. Probably that had hurt.
At least in this instance, Ferris didn't pick up on the potential inuendo, too focused on looking the man over. He wasn't bleeding anywhere, his pupils looked okay... "Looks like it. You feel dizzy, nauseous, headache? Anything broken?" TLDR; was he calling an ambulance now or later? The mechanic seemed a bit out of it, moving slowly, but that in and of itself was rather standard. "You blacked out," he said flatly. And was probably out for a good minute. Not that it was the biggest concern, but a concussion was no laughing matter. It just remained to be seen if he had any other symptoms.
"You feel okay to move?" Which, if Michael said yes to, Ferris wasn't about to let him do that himself. He would pick him up gently and either find whatever served for a breakroom with hopefully a couch, or the next most comfortable place, which was the passenger seat of his truck.
The warmer tone in Ferris' voice hadn't gone un-noticed but in this circumstance it unsettled him as much as it comforted him. It must have looked bad for Ferris to show so much obvious concern. "Just dizzy..." he fibbed a little. He was also a bit nauseas and absolutely regretting his choice of music right about now. The thundering drums of indie metal were a lot less fun with the fresh headache of a mild concussion. A fairly devious joke came to mind and he just couldn't help himself. "Only...who are you??" He asked feigning amnesia.
He had sat up a bit slowly and was not so surprised to hear he had blacked out. "Yeah I think so-" Not that he would be climbing any mountains anytime soon but aside from the dizziness he felt he could move around fine. "whoah" He was surprised to be scooped up and princess carried over to the couch in the garage. Ferris was a fireman and Mikey was aware that Ferris had the ability to throw him around. Even so some part of him just hadn't expected the man to go that far. He knew that on some level Ferris was just doing his job but Mikey felt weirdly touched that Ferris was bothering to be this nice about it. There was some part of Mikey that had assumed in this sort of situation he would just check for a pulse, chew him out with a huge lecture and then fuck off.
Maybe he would have been pleased, but the part of him that was pleased, felt pretty guilty about it. wow. Did Ferris feel like this all the time. That sucks. No wonder he was so grumpy. He sheepishly pointed at the somewhat old stereo system "Uh, you mind turning that off for me?"
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 29, 2023 17:16:34 GMT
Mikey's teasing was met with folded arms and a clenched jaw hiding very poorly how much Ferris wanted to slap him in that moment. It wasn't funny.
"What were you doing?" Ferris grated once he set the man down, the sentence having gone through multiple drafts with various amounts of swearing, insults, and accusation. He folded his arms again, the small gesture of moving Michael, as set on it as he had been, still leaving him unsettled. He could feel that usual defensiveness about himself and his own emotions tightening like a noose. It made it hard to swallow.
The firefighter frowned as he moved to the stereo, dialed the volume off while he hunted down the power button and flipped that. The guy didn't have to say it directly to make it clear he had a headache. He moved away to pick his phone up off the floor before returning to the couch with an ultimatum. "Is my truck in one piece to drive, or am I calling an ambulance?"
"getting a fan belt." He replied glumly. Not that he had expected Ferris to take the joke well but somehow the quiet anger felt even harsher than a lecture would.
He really hadn't planned for a hospital visit today. He still had things to work on. His sister was going to kill him. The idea of riding in Ferris' car in this awkward tenseness was excruciating. Luckily he had finished all of the maintenance before getting the part and the weather had chilled. Ferris wasn't likely to overheat his engine just driving around town. Mikey decided that letting Ferris call an ambulance was slightly more embarrassing. "You'll be able to drive it for now...but you should still let me replace the belt soon."
He might have been deviously trying to think of ways to force Ferris to spend time with him but this certainly hadn't been one of the ideas. "but uh you really...don't have to do that.." He added not bothering to tease Ferris. He felt like such a loser.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Oct 30, 2023 1:29:46 GMT
He was tempted to drop a 'and was it worth it,' on the young man, but the defeated tone of his voice suggested he was properly regretful of his actions. "Get a better ladder," he admonished firmly, following through with his due diligence on the safety issue.
Ferris nodded. He understood enough to know the fan belt was part of the engine, but in a secondary sort of way. The truck was drivable, at that was alright with him. "Fuck, Michael, you had a concussion. You're going to the hospital and you're not taking yourself." And people said he was a stubborn idiot. But he'd rather not stick the man with the bill for an ambulance if he was right here. He'd figure out something else with his truck later, accepting the consequences of needing a tow or something.
"Keys in the ignition?" he asked, offering his hand to the young man to help him up.