Lucas Chuckles And Shakes His Head.

Lucas huffs a humorless laugh.

"I was going out of my mind and trying to make a sprained ankle heal faster."

He looks down at said ankle, still aching, but more or less fine. He kicks some small rubble off the side of the road.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Leadership wants a list of repairs or supplies that people need."

"appreciate, yeah," she agrees with a nod. in this place, all she knew was to enjoy the day light. things came out at night and the day time was the only time they were safe, at least as safe as they could be here. she looked back at lucas, face blank as she takes in his question. "fine, it was just another night." only it wasn't, it lasted longer than any she's seen before but she wasn't one to talk about the things that go through her mind during the nights. "what about you?" she didn't particularly care, but she knows it's polite to return questions.

Adrien shakes his head with laughter. He'd had some drinks earlier, but he could've sworn he wasn't that drunk.

"I don't know, but I'll still accept the help. And same to you, ya? I can totally talk you up to some pretty girl. Or big buff girl. Whatever your preference is."

He giggles.

" OH, DAMN ." cherry nods with sympathy at his sigh, moving to pat him on the shoulder in a way that's at least intended to be comforting . it's only half awkward with her tipsiness . " well, maybe your guy will get stuck here tomorrow ? love works in mysterious ways ." cherry's expression twists as he continue, her brows furrowing . " what ? no, i'm not here, i'm at the motel . what gave you that idea ?" cherry's head tilts in her confusion even as she reaches behind her for her cup of jungle juice to waggle her brows mischievously . " i could still do the wing woman thing though ."

Lucas returns the look and squeeze. Rae looks better than he did at the infirmary. Maybe it's the setting sun, or maybe it's just the relief after finally crying.

He chuckles. "Well, glad to know I rank above corpses as a conversationalist."

They reach the walkway up to Rae's house and they slow their steps as they approach the door. Almost like they both don't want this to end any sooner.

"Will you be okay on your own tonight? I could stay. Sleep on the couch."

“and you said it anyway,” rae half-muttered under his breath. he gave lucas a look, something between exasperation and fondness, as he squeezed his hand. then he focused back on his house in the distance.

“i guess i could use the help,” he relented. “plus it's hard to hold up a conversation with a corpse.” it would also cut the time in half, logistically speaking. he just hated asking for help...and accepting it. he'd been that way since he was a kid, even before losing his parents.

Adrien chuckles.

"Trust me, I've seen messier. My cousin Mack threw a party in the barn when Aunt Kay and Uncle Don were out of town. Looked like a tornado of bulls went through it."

If it's El's, then it's probably best he doesn't touch it without talking to them first. Instead, he starts helping Noah clean.

"I mean besides the murderous monsters that come out at night, it's not so bad here," Adrien says. "I'm meeting some cool people I never would've back home."

Noah nodded slowly when Adrien said El had sent him to check on things. That made sense. “Cool! Yeah, things are… messy.” He gestured to the mess of the garage. He had tried to pick up the mess as best he could, anyway. “But it’s getting there.”

He turned to look at the car on the lift that caught Adrien’s attention. “I’m sure that’s El. I’m not sure, though. It’s not mine, that’s all I know.” He wasn’t the most detail oriented, unless it was something he was directly in charge of.

“How are you finding it here so far?”

where: Chop Shop Mechanics when: the days after the storm open starter

Adrien opens the garage door for Chop Shop Mechanics. It's technically his first day, but he figured it's better to take some initiative. Especially after the storm.

He jumps when he sees someone standing on the other side of the now open garage door.

"Shit! Sorry. Wasn't expecting someone there."

He wipes his hands on his jeans, putting on a smile.

"Hi, I'm Adrien. New in town."

Adrien feels his smile soften from more forced to genuine.

"Thanks. It's seriously a lot to take in. Just give me a project and maybe some eye candy and I'll be good to go. Honestly real candy will probably work too."

He chuckles.

"So how did you end up here? And uh... how did this happen?"

He gestures to the leg, wincing again. Fuck, it looks really bad.

El offers Adrien a crooked grin, the kind that hints at a sense of humor even under the weight of pain. They shift slightly on the bed, trying to ignore the throb in their leg.

"Farm vehicles, huh? Well, lucky us. A tractor’s probably not far off from half the crap we’ve got to fix here." They let out a soft chuckle. "And hey, taking things apart to learn? That’s exactly the kind of brain I need in the shop. Radios, engines... Same concept, just different puzzles."

They tilt their head slightly at Adrien’s mention of how he ended up here, reading between the lines. "Hiking trip, huh? Well, welcome to the weirdest trail you’ll ever hike." There’s a pause, and their expression softens just a touch. "It’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get through it. And hey, if fixing stuff keeps you steady, we’re in good hands."

Lucas nods toward the dried up bouquet and watches Hollis pick up.

Before he can walk away though, Lucas speaks up.

"Actually," he says, voice trembling slightly. "Could you..."

His voice trails off. He's not sure what he wants Hollis to do but at the moment, he doesn't want to be alone.

Hollis kneels beside the headstone, fingers tracing the edge of the carved lettering. His tools, a small brush and cloth, rest on the ground next to him, though his works seems more like a ritual than any overly needed maintenance. Hearing Lucas' steps, he straightens up, but doesn't turn right away, eager to finish what he's doing. Eventually he stops, lifting his tools and placing them back onto his toolbelt before finally looking over at Lucas, his face a strange mix of distant yet observant. "If you want me to...I can give you some space." He finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper, afraid to disturb the air. He gestured with a small wave of his hand to the marigolds in Lucas' hand. "Or, I can replace those for you? Out with the old..." His fingers spread out into a small claw, waiting for permission to remove any old flowers from the site.

Tanner Buchanan | Behind The Blinds (2021)

Lucas laughs. "God, I'd love some real Tabasco."

He nods at the suggestion.

"I'll run it by Jim, Cam, and Santi later. Nothing's gonna be perfect."

He looks at her, studying her body language.

"When did you last sleep? Do I need to lock you in a cell so you'll take a nap?"

Anastasia forced a half-smile at Lucas’s grimace, the weight of Cameron’s name still lingering between them like a storm cloud that refused to pass. “Yeah, she’s still here,” Anastasia echoed, her voice softer, more resigned. “Lucky might not be the word I’d use, though.”

She folded her arms, glancing at the supplies between them. The mention of Kina sent a flicker of something painful through her chest, but she pushed it down. There wasn’t room for that now—not when so much needed doing.

Lucas’s weak chuckle at the old joke gave her an unexpected sense of warmth, though—a sliver of something familiar amid the chaos. She allowed herself a real smile this time, brief but sincere. “If one ever does show up, I hope it has coffee. Real coffee, not that powdered crap.”

She crouched down next to him, her knees protesting the movement. “We’ll figure out the rations. We always do. Maybe we set up a system—rotate who gets what, make it feel like less of a gamble.” She paused, exhaling slowly. “Not that anyone’s going to love that idea.”

"Shit! Airplanes? That sounds awesome. I've always wanted to get a look inside one. Hell, I've always wanted to fly in one."

He chuckles, though it sobers a bit when they ask him about his mechanic history.

"I mean, yeah, ever since I could hold a wrench. My dad taught me a lot of the basics before he and my mom... and then my uncle showed me a bunch of stuff after along with some family friends."

He blinks quickly so he doesn't tear up thinking about his parents.

"Yeah, I used to work on airplanes, it seemed fitting enough." Ellington shrugs, "But it just kind of became a thing. There'd been a few people who had some knowledge but not enough to get this town in shape when I first got here," they are tinkering about in the tool box, searching, "There was so much that needed fixing. Although I didn't necessarily have a lot of knowledge about anything other than airplane engines, you kinda just... figure it out? Plus, I've always enjoyed fixing things." Ellington approaches the vehicle again, a wrench in hand, "What about you? You always been a mechanic?"