Another glorious day opening the Sunshine Diner. Who was supposed to be here? Wesley, of course. Where was he? Gone, of course. Granted, Wesley had done a relatively good job before Dustin had showed up — the lights were on, the chairs were down at the bar, floor had been given a quick sweep, and the kitchen equipment was switched on; to top it all off, there was a pot of coffee made. BUT, they needed onions peeled and chopped. People loved onions in all kinds of shit, including breakfast shit.
Did Dustin want coffee? No way, he went straight to the ice cream machine. With a huge mug in his hand, he pulled the lever and dispensed a 6:45 AM chocolate milkshake into his glass, and took one last look around the empty restaurant in a valiant effort, before sighing. “Now, where is that asshole?” The slurping noise of the ice cream through the straw echoed throughout the building.
Did Dustin want coffee? No way, he went straight to the ice cream machine. With a huge mug in his hand, he pulled the lever and dispensed a 6:45 AM chocolate milkshake into his glass, and took one last look around the empty restaurant in a valiant effort, before sighing. “Now, where is that asshole?” The slurping noise of the ice cream through the straw echoed throughout the building.
Meanwhile, in the refrigerator…
Finally. Wesley finally had a moment to himself, finally had a brief reprieve from the responsibilities of life. He was hiding in the fridge in the building he was employed at, with his phone in his hand. Connected to the WiFi, named ‘Pretty Fly for a WiFi,’ Wesley had a cup of coffee sitting beside him as he sat on the floor, resting his back against the cold cardboard of a box of condiments. He slipped his headphones into his ears and tapped the Netflix app; like clockwork, exactly what he was looking for opened:
Wesley rubbed his hands together and took a sip from the coffee as the show buffered for the briefest of seconds — seriously, why was the internet in this shitty building so fast? They didn’t make enough money to pay for it — then it began, picking up where he left off the night before:
The scene focused on a Sentinel action figure, clutched by a small hand, hanging by one of the arms from hand of a child, and it slowly zoomed out to show the child staring at the real thing, making eye contact with the Sentinel himself, dressed not in the stark white of his Coalition uniform, nor in the black of the uniform he had been wearing recently, while participating in criminal activities. Dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit that declared him a resident of Wayne County prison, Nathaniel Shroud was led into the courthouse, where he was to make his plea.
The interior of the courtroom was shown now, a cacophony of noise. Enraged citizens, some angry about the crimes he’d committed, some on his side. Sitting on one of the benches in the front row was his entire team — former team? — in civilian clothes. As the doors opened and the master of magnetism himself was led in, the courtroom exploded again, screaming at him, even throwing things at him.
There was a pounding of a gavel on the desk of the judge, and a shout from the judge, an elderly man behind the podium. A new level of ‘media circus’ had been reached with this case, but he would have quiet in his court. “Order in my courtroom, or I’ll have you all held in contempt. Now, I understand that you’re defending yourself, is that correct?” The Sentinel looked at the judge and gave a short nod, before he was brought behind the stand, and he briefly made eye contact with Serenity, before she shifted uncomfortably and quickly averted her gaze. “Nathaniel Nicholas Shroud, you are charged with destruction of private property, destruction of public property, four charges of grand larceny, five charges assault, three charges of attempted murder, and seventeen charges of murder. How do you plead?”
“I plead —”
The scene focused on a Sentinel action figure, clutched by a small hand, hanging by one of the arms from hand of a child, and it slowly zoomed out to show the child staring at the real thing, making eye contact with the Sentinel himself, dressed not in the stark white of his Coalition uniform, nor in the black of the uniform he had been wearing recently, while participating in criminal activities. Dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit that declared him a resident of Wayne County prison, Nathaniel Shroud was led into the courthouse, where he was to make his plea.
The interior of the courtroom was shown now, a cacophony of noise. Enraged citizens, some angry about the crimes he’d committed, some on his side. Sitting on one of the benches in the front row was his entire team — former team? — in civilian clothes. As the doors opened and the master of magnetism himself was led in, the courtroom exploded again, screaming at him, even throwing things at him.
There was a pounding of a gavel on the desk of the judge, and a shout from the judge, an elderly man behind the podium. A new level of ‘media circus’ had been reached with this case, but he would have quiet in his court. “Order in my courtroom, or I’ll have you all held in contempt. Now, I understand that you’re defending yourself, is that correct?” The Sentinel looked at the judge and gave a short nod, before he was brought behind the stand, and he briefly made eye contact with Serenity, before she shifted uncomfortably and quickly averted her gaze. “Nathaniel Nicholas Shroud, you are charged with destruction of private property, destruction of public property, four charges of grand larceny, five charges assault, three charges of attempted murder, and seventeen charges of murder. How do you plead?”
“I plead —”
Wesley’s head snapped up a his headphones were torn from his ears, and he made eye contact with his boss. “Man, what do you want? I did all the opening shit! Are you seriously drinking a chocolate milkshake!?” His voice was sour as he stood to his feet and pocketed his cell phone.
“Need you to chop and peel onions, my dude. And yes, I am drinking a chocolate milkshake. I know, I know. I’m a mad lad.” Dustin replied as he slurped down on the drink, “What were you watching anyway? I bet it sucked.”
“The Coalition season 2—”
“No way! I didn’t know that was out yet. Don’t care though. Go chop onions.” The sheriff replied, stretching his arms out and leading his assistant manager out. “It’s just me and you, y’know. And that new girl is getting here in like a half hour, so I have to train her and introduce her to you fuckers. I can’t do fuckin’ everything. Good job though, you did alright, surprisingly.”
“Why can’t you have Lenny do it?” Wesley complained, and Dustin rolled his eyes.
“He ain’t here yet, and he’s probably too goddamn high to peel onions. Let alone fuckin’ cut them, so get to it dammit. You’re the man.” Dustin said, pushing Wesley toward the kitchen as the man let out a huge groan.
“Okay, fine. FINE. But I’m taking an extra break to watch the fucking show.”
“Whatever, man.”
“Need you to chop and peel onions, my dude. And yes, I am drinking a chocolate milkshake. I know, I know. I’m a mad lad.” Dustin replied as he slurped down on the drink, “What were you watching anyway? I bet it sucked.”
“The Coalition season 2—”
“No way! I didn’t know that was out yet. Don’t care though. Go chop onions.” The sheriff replied, stretching his arms out and leading his assistant manager out. “It’s just me and you, y’know. And that new girl is getting here in like a half hour, so I have to train her and introduce her to you fuckers. I can’t do fuckin’ everything. Good job though, you did alright, surprisingly.”
“Why can’t you have Lenny do it?” Wesley complained, and Dustin rolled his eyes.
“He ain’t here yet, and he’s probably too goddamn high to peel onions. Let alone fuckin’ cut them, so get to it dammit. You’re the man.” Dustin said, pushing Wesley toward the kitchen as the man let out a huge groan.
“Okay, fine. FINE. But I’m taking an extra break to watch the fucking show.”
“Whatever, man.”
Meanwhile, outside…
Collab with @Lovely Complex
Across the street of her new job, a job where she will be the first face customers would see at the Sunshine Diner, a fun sized (meaning tiny), young red haired beaut stood beside a Lexus LS 2018 freaking the fuck out. “Am I too early? I’m probably here too early. What if I lose the job? I’M GOING TO LOSE THE JOB.” The teen couldn’t handle the anxiety she was feeling right now.
To the point that her cousin, with a similar red tint to her hair, leaned over to the driver’s side, where her boyfriend was sitting and looked out the window at the back of the head of the massive curls that belonged to Juno Connolly, “Oh hush, Jujubee! If anything, Dusty will find you admirable for being this excited to get to work! Isn’t that right, my Alpha~?”
Was it too early for this? Yeah, yeah it was. It was 6:30, goddammit. She didn’t have to be here till seven! Why were they here already? Olivia wasn’t even awake yet… at least Connor figured she wasn’t — she seemed to be spending the night with the Snyders more and more often, probably filling a void since Noli had all but moved out, Freya was gone, JJ was busy all the time, Eternity did whatever it was she did, Aaron had not one but TWO girlfriends, and Dawn was… well, Dawn. It took some pressure off of Connor though, so he didn’t mind; and he made sure to thank Jenny very often and very sincerely.
“Uh, yeah. Dusty is gonna find her totally adorable. Look, Juju why don’t you just go inside? He’s probably in there. I know he gets in at like five every day.”
“You say that! But what if I embarrass myself ROYALLY. Connor. Melody. Why are you two so calm?! This is a big deal. Watch. I’m going to ruin everything and uncle and auntie will send me back to Ireland. Sending a note to my father: this was a mistake.” If there was one thing Juno and Melody had in common, they were definitely dramatic.
“Hey, baby, maybe we should get her high before she goes in there…” Connor suggested quietly to Melody, before he shut off the car, his finger looking like it didn’t want to hit the button — and to be honest, he didn’t. Getting out of the car meant he’d have to do WORK. “We’re so calm because we know Dusty, and we know that literally no one ever would be mad because you show up early to work, especially not him. Just go in there and show him that you have, uh, spunk.” Connor said, enunciating his statement with a wide yawn. Their bed called to him, even though it was waiting in the room he shared with Melody, halfway across town.
With a pouty face on, Juno’s blueish grey eyes went from Connor, then to Mel, then back to Connor, then back to Mel, as if she was seeking one last push, having not caught the exchange between her cousin and her cousin’s man.
“Maybe not on her first day of work…” Melody softly replied to her love before darting a glare at Juno, “You either go inside right now, or you know that shopping spree I invited you to? With Belle, Kylie, and their moms? Yeah, you can kiss that goodbye! No pretty clothes for any Ty Summer bash that is bound to happen. You’ve never been to a Ty party, so I’m sure you’re dying to go to one. Isn’t the main reason you came here to quote live and experience life unquote?”
“W-wait! That’s not fair. This is my first job. I’m allowed to be nervous, aren’t I?!” Juno squealed.
“Time is ticking.
“Okay, okay! Thank you guys!!” And with that, the petite redhead scurried across the street and to the front door of the Diner. Oh man, she was nervous. Does she just… go in? Is the door locked? The door is probably locked…
Knock. Knock.
The door swung open, and in front of the newly employed Juno stood her new boss: the sheriff of the Sunshine Diner, the man himself, Dusty Waterman. “You must be the new girl. In fact, I’m very confident in that, because I can see Melody and Connor behind you.” At Dusty’s words, Connor gave a half assed wave, but the rest of his body was very busy pushing Melody against the wall and sleepily sucking her face off.
What? It had been nearly twenty minutes since they’d done this.
Holy mother of--
There was a sudden pause in Juno’s expression as she looked up at him, who she assumed was her boss, with bewilderment. This man had the kind of face that could stop anyone in their tracks. A blush did grace her cheeks, which could’ve been a dead give away, or it could’ve been translated as: this girl was nervous as fuck. He had tousled light brown hair that she wanted to run her hands through and his hazel eyes, mesmerizing, hitting her straight in the heart.
What was this feeling?
His face was strong and defined, chiseled by the gods, and his hands looked rough from working. With that muscle mass too, he could easily pick her up, without breaking a sweat.
WHY WAS HER BOSS SO HANDSOME?!
Like damn.
Hey, Mr. Waterman… so who might you be? and could you be, like, with me? Take me on a wild trip I wouldn’t ever forget? The experience I’ve been waiting for… could you be seen with me and still act proud? Hold my hand… pull me close… take me to your office and--
Interrupting her thoughts, that she didn’t even understand necessarily, Cooper Dalton, the designated loiterer, shimmied his way past the new girl and the MAN of the diner, “Dusty, my dude! Looking good. Open early I see! I’m just gonna help myself in. Cute newbie.” Before he got deeper into the Diner, he looked back at the girl and gave a childish grin, “Call me Coop, I’m sure you’ll see me often if you come back after today.”
Completely embarrassed at where her mind went, Juno cleared her throat and gleamed at the other boy, disregarding the tingling sensation coursing through her body, “Juno! And I’m sure I will.” She then brought her attention back to Dusty. “Sorry for coming a bit… early. I’m going to be honest, I’m kind of nervous. I really don’t want to let you down.”
“Cooper help Wesley chop some fucking onions.” Dusty said to Coop as he slipped past him and into the Diner, then he turned his attention back to the girl in front of him, looking her up and down with admittedly hungry eyes. Not bad, worth it. “Hey, you’re not gonna let me down. You dragged Connor out of bed this early, so you must be good at something, come inside.” He gestured and then gently tugged her wrist to pull her inside after him, letting the door shut behind her, before he poked his head back outside, leaning over her shoulder and around to the door. “Don’t you dare fuck her on my sidewalk, Connor!” He let the door shut again.
He’s touching me…
To the point that her cousin, with a similar red tint to her hair, leaned over to the driver’s side, where her boyfriend was sitting and looked out the window at the back of the head of the massive curls that belonged to Juno Connolly, “Oh hush, Jujubee! If anything, Dusty will find you admirable for being this excited to get to work! Isn’t that right, my Alpha~?”
Was it too early for this? Yeah, yeah it was. It was 6:30, goddammit. She didn’t have to be here till seven! Why were they here already? Olivia wasn’t even awake yet… at least Connor figured she wasn’t — she seemed to be spending the night with the Snyders more and more often, probably filling a void since Noli had all but moved out, Freya was gone, JJ was busy all the time, Eternity did whatever it was she did, Aaron had not one but TWO girlfriends, and Dawn was… well, Dawn. It took some pressure off of Connor though, so he didn’t mind; and he made sure to thank Jenny very often and very sincerely.
“Uh, yeah. Dusty is gonna find her totally adorable. Look, Juju why don’t you just go inside? He’s probably in there. I know he gets in at like five every day.”
“You say that! But what if I embarrass myself ROYALLY. Connor. Melody. Why are you two so calm?! This is a big deal. Watch. I’m going to ruin everything and uncle and auntie will send me back to Ireland. Sending a note to my father: this was a mistake.” If there was one thing Juno and Melody had in common, they were definitely dramatic.
“Hey, baby, maybe we should get her high before she goes in there…” Connor suggested quietly to Melody, before he shut off the car, his finger looking like it didn’t want to hit the button — and to be honest, he didn’t. Getting out of the car meant he’d have to do WORK. “We’re so calm because we know Dusty, and we know that literally no one ever would be mad because you show up early to work, especially not him. Just go in there and show him that you have, uh, spunk.” Connor said, enunciating his statement with a wide yawn. Their bed called to him, even though it was waiting in the room he shared with Melody, halfway across town.
With a pouty face on, Juno’s blueish grey eyes went from Connor, then to Mel, then back to Connor, then back to Mel, as if she was seeking one last push, having not caught the exchange between her cousin and her cousin’s man.
“Maybe not on her first day of work…” Melody softly replied to her love before darting a glare at Juno, “You either go inside right now, or you know that shopping spree I invited you to? With Belle, Kylie, and their moms? Yeah, you can kiss that goodbye! No pretty clothes for any Ty Summer bash that is bound to happen. You’ve never been to a Ty party, so I’m sure you’re dying to go to one. Isn’t the main reason you came here to quote live and experience life unquote?”
“W-wait! That’s not fair. This is my first job. I’m allowed to be nervous, aren’t I?!” Juno squealed.
“Time is ticking.
“Okay, okay! Thank you guys!!” And with that, the petite redhead scurried across the street and to the front door of the Diner. Oh man, she was nervous. Does she just… go in? Is the door locked? The door is probably locked…
Knock. Knock.
The door swung open, and in front of the newly employed Juno stood her new boss: the sheriff of the Sunshine Diner, the man himself, Dusty Waterman. “You must be the new girl. In fact, I’m very confident in that, because I can see Melody and Connor behind you.” At Dusty’s words, Connor gave a half assed wave, but the rest of his body was very busy pushing Melody against the wall and sleepily sucking her face off.
What? It had been nearly twenty minutes since they’d done this.
Holy mother of--
There was a sudden pause in Juno’s expression as she looked up at him, who she assumed was her boss, with bewilderment. This man had the kind of face that could stop anyone in their tracks. A blush did grace her cheeks, which could’ve been a dead give away, or it could’ve been translated as: this girl was nervous as fuck. He had tousled light brown hair that she wanted to run her hands through and his hazel eyes, mesmerizing, hitting her straight in the heart.
What was this feeling?
His face was strong and defined, chiseled by the gods, and his hands looked rough from working. With that muscle mass too, he could easily pick her up, without breaking a sweat.
WHY WAS HER BOSS SO HANDSOME?!
Like damn.
Hey, Mr. Waterman… so who might you be? and could you be, like, with me? Take me on a wild trip I wouldn’t ever forget? The experience I’ve been waiting for… could you be seen with me and still act proud? Hold my hand… pull me close… take me to your office and--
Interrupting her thoughts, that she didn’t even understand necessarily, Cooper Dalton, the designated loiterer, shimmied his way past the new girl and the MAN of the diner, “Dusty, my dude! Looking good. Open early I see! I’m just gonna help myself in. Cute newbie.” Before he got deeper into the Diner, he looked back at the girl and gave a childish grin, “Call me Coop, I’m sure you’ll see me often if you come back after today.”
Completely embarrassed at where her mind went, Juno cleared her throat and gleamed at the other boy, disregarding the tingling sensation coursing through her body, “Juno! And I’m sure I will.” She then brought her attention back to Dusty. “Sorry for coming a bit… early. I’m going to be honest, I’m kind of nervous. I really don’t want to let you down.”
“Cooper help Wesley chop some fucking onions.” Dusty said to Coop as he slipped past him and into the Diner, then he turned his attention back to the girl in front of him, looking her up and down with admittedly hungry eyes. Not bad, worth it. “Hey, you’re not gonna let me down. You dragged Connor out of bed this early, so you must be good at something, come inside.” He gestured and then gently tugged her wrist to pull her inside after him, letting the door shut behind her, before he poked his head back outside, leaning over her shoulder and around to the door. “Don’t you dare fuck her on my sidewalk, Connor!” He let the door shut again.
He’s touching me…
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