[$] Bad Moon Rising (Filled with ARC)

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

He just smiled at him, eyes remaining partially-lidded. To be honest? He really hated steak. He wasn't a big fan of it, but he was doing this completely on purpose. He had too. Everything he was doing had a purpose behind it. He sucked on his teeth then and shook his head. "You don't look like you're completely enjoying that fish," he said, cutting a piece of his steak and holding it up on the fork. He leaned his elbow on the table, cheek into a fist. "If anything, I'd say you'd very much prefer this rare steak instead, don't you think?"  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

Alistair's eyes shifted to the small piece of meat speared onto the fork, nostrils flaring. He could practically taste it, it was so close. He looked back to Max, watching him for a moment. "It does smell good." he said, "But I wouldn't have ordered fish if I didn't want it. Besides, rare isn't how I like my steak." right, because he liked his steak bloody, raw, and preferably still mooing at him.  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

"Huh... really?" he asked, setting the fork down. The waiter came by, asking if they'd like dessert. "Sure.. can I have this boxed up? I'm done with it, but some of that pie sounds amazing. You want anything, Alistair?" He watched the waiter turn towards his date, eyes determined. He was trying to pick this guy apart, and hoping to break him at some point. Hoping... he wasn't sure if he'd succeed.  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

Max was definitely up to something, but Alistair couldn't tell if he just wanted to have sex or if his plans were more far-reaching. No matter, he wouldn't let it get too far. He looked the menus over quickly, shaking his head. "Nothing for me." none of it really looked that appealing to him. Besides, sweets didn't usually sit well with him unless he took food aids to calm his stomach.  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

"Hmm," he shrugged his shoulders and stabbed his fork into his pie, eating that a bit quietly. The pie he was actually enjoying, so that he was taking his time with. Once finished he actually paid for the meal. It was a partial date. "Hey," he said softly, the leftover steak being tossed into his car so he could grab a smoke. "I gotta know... with all the odd things happening around here..." He lit his cigarette and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was staring at Alistair.

"Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with the people?"  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

He just watched the other eating, noting that he seemed to be enjoying the pie much more than he had the steak. He protested Max paying for the meal, but the other wasn't taking no for an answer. Alistair huffed, following him outside.

Oh, so they were back to the interrogation then? He was just beginning to think that this had just been two guys enjoying a meal together. "You mean besides the fact that it's almost painfully cliche here?" he said, "No. They all seem very content with their lives and relatively well adjusted. If someone were acting out of sorts they would have been noticed a while ago."  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

He wasn't thrilled with that answer, but didn't press the matter. Instead, he took a deep heavy breath and a very long drag. He licked his lips and stared up at the sky. "When's the next full moon?" he asked. What a weird question to ask. "People always get weird around it, so I wanna avoid it and know when most of my students are going to be absent."  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

Okay that was not a question a normal person asked, even if they were eccentric. This guy knew something, or thought he knew something. Alistair huffed, "How should I know? Do I look like an astronomer to you? Why don't you use that fancy phone or yours and just look it up?" he snapped. "And while you're at it, why not just consult it for all of your other ludicrous questions. I feel like I'm in the most informal police interrogation here. You're pretty bad at dates." okay, so maybe it was a date. Was it so bad to go on a date with a guy you barely knew?  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

He shrugged. "I figured you'd know because you look like the kind of guy who likes to look at the sky at night." He flicked the cigarette butt away. "Nothing wrong with that though." He gave the other a genuine smile. It was rather warm and gentle. "I think that's pretty romantic. To be honest, I've never met another person who'd like that sorta stuff. I do, just never seem to stop and take the time to look at the beautiful things in life."

He kicked a stone that was on the ground away and watched it skid into the darkness. "How'd you get here? Car, walk? Bus?"  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

He flushed, temper deflating slightly but he still felt frustrated. "Even if I did like looking at the sky, It's not as if I track the moon cycles. It's too tedious." boy was that true. And a giant lie. He tracked those moon cycles like it was his job. He knew when the next full moon would be exactly. 24 days from tonight it would be full, and he'd be miserable again. Well, he was pretty miserable now too. Just when he thought he got a grip on Max's personality the guy flipped on him.

He sighed heavily. "I walked. I like walking places and the town is small enough for that kind of thing. And I usually don't have to be anywhere at any particular time so I can take my time getting wherever I want to go." he explained.  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

"Want a lift?" he asked, unlocking the doors to his car. It beeped a few times before he opened the passenger side door for the other and held it open. "And relax. You're bigger than me, so it's not like you can't pummel the hell outta me. I don't even have to take you the whole way home if you're wary of me knowing where you live. You can lie. Get me as close and I'll drop you off, deal?" He was being nice. Not a fake nice either, but a sincere nice.  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

Alistair glanced warily at the opened car door and then up at Max. He was normally pretty paranoid even without people asking odd questions and giving him more reason to worry but he agreed, he could always beat the other unconscious an give him amnesia or something. "Thank you." he said, sliding into the passenger seat and waiting for Max to come around the other side.  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

Max got into the drivers side and looked at him. "Okay... I need directions," he stated, fixing his mirror. "And put your seat belt on. In this car, I drive safely." Someone was a**l about the law, wasn't he? He glanced to his driving mate and smiled. "Why made you move to this town? Kinda seems like an out of the way sorta place... Like the kids grow up to move outta here, not come here."  

[Tik Tok in the Coffee]

AutumnrainChaos

He sighed but did as he was told and buckled up. He then gave Max directions that would take him a few blocks from his house, feeling that was probably safe enough. "I like the quiet," he said in response to the question, "Cities can be fun, but they're loud and crowded and so cold." he shrugged. "What about you? Surely there are positions for an English professor in other towns?"  

[AutumnrainChaos]

Tik Tok in the Coffee

"Honestly?" he said, pulling up to a corner and stopping short of where he was told too. He turned off the engine. "It's the same reason. Quiet towns... I grew up in them. Can't get them outta my blood. If there's a job open in a small place like this, I go..." He trailed off. He had more reason as to why, but surely he could spout it off to Alistair. If Alistair wasn't what he thought he was, the other would think him crazy!

He drummed his hands on the steering wheel. "Go out with me again."