Outside the Condo {OPEN}

[grantmiddleton]

Grant glanced up from his phone when he felt a shadow hang over him and found a giant, behemoth of a man who didn't speak much but grunted a lot at the other two movers. "Hmm? Oh, just put everything in the living room. I'll take care of it all later. Thanks."

He went back to his phone, typing rapidly as he replied to text after text from his mom. He grinned to himself. She was a worrier, always had been, always will be. And this was the first time her only child lived further than an hour away from her. So he was distracted when he heard a crash and looked up to see a hundred year old dresser on the ground.

"Hey! Careful! That dresser is worth ten times your pay today!" The movers all grunted, which Grant assumed was an apology. He swore under his breath, immediately tattling on the movers to his mom who was, unsurprisingly, pissed at the thought of any Middleton furniture being treated so carelessly. He shook his head. It was a shitty old dresser that belonged to his uncle and really not worth getting angry over. He hated the thing anyway -  it was fifty shades of ugly. He hated most of the things coming out of the truck. But appearances are key, and if any of his family happened to come for a visit, they'd expect to see certain key pieces on proud display in his home. Even if the crap clashed horribly with his home.

He sighed and asked how much longer the move would take. When he got a "One more hour" out of the movers, he groaned. Moving sucked. Moving really sucked when you were slightly hung over and wanted a nap.

Comments

[grantmiddleton]

Grant really shouldn't have told his mom about the dropped furniture. Now she threatening to drop everything and fly up there to give the movers a piece of her mind. Which was the last thing in the world that he wanted, because that meant she'd have his dad in tow. He had to flick on the charm and talk her down....well, text her down. He told her he inspected the dresser and it was undamaged (it was falling apart) and the movers were horrified when they dropped it. It seemed to appease her, because she closed the conversation with a sweet "Well, let me know when you need me, honey" and he decided to turn off his phone.

He looked up when he heard a new voice, surprised it wasn't another grunt. He was used to minimal conversation after today. "Hey. Um, you wouldn't mind? These guys have been milking the whole 'pay by the hour' thing."

[alfiehaywood]

Glancing at the movers he couldn’t help shaking his head. They did seem to be moving slower than expected. If he carried customers’ luggage at that speed to their cabins at the lodge, he’d receive a lot of complaints. “Not at all.” Stated Alfie, “Moving is exhausting enough without having to deal with furniture and movers. I’m Alfie Haywood by the way.” Taking his jacket off, he slung it gently over the nearest raised surface. “Just point to where you want things to go and I’m on it.”

Moving over to the truck, he glanced at the furniture. Much nicer than he’d ever be able to afford, but then his parents’ house was filled with this kind of stuff. Things that had likely been passed down from grandparents. Alfie just had lots of silly little things from his grandparents. Things that everyone else didn’t appreciate the sentimentality of and were happy to throw out. Turning back to the other man, he asked, “Have you travelled far?”

[grantmiddleton]

"You are a godsend, Alfie Haywood. I'm Grant Middleton. I think I'll just have everything hang out in the living room for the time being." He gave Alfie an appreciative smile and followed the new acquaintance over to the truck. That's when he realized most of this stuff he didn't even ask the movers to pack up! Mom. He groaned to himself. Like he didn't have enough random furniture to move, but his mom had apparently filled in pieces she felt like her son needed when he wasn't looking. Grant planned on just buying new furniture if he realized he forgot something. At this rate, he wouldn't have room for everything. "Orrrr I'll be having a yard sale."

"Across the country, thankfully. I'm hoping familial visits will be minimal," he gave a grin.

[alfiehaywood]

“Cool, sounds like a plan.” Moving into the truck, he picked up what appeared to be some sort of chair or seat. Propping his arm under the seat. No doubt he’d be able to work out where the living room was, there’d likely be some sort of couch or electrical to give it away. He remembered the first day in his new flat, the realtor had arrived to drop off the keys and had looked stunned that the only pieces of large furniture he seemed to own were a mattress and a widescreen TV. Priorities, Alfie liked to think he had them.

Hearing the comment about a yard sale, he grinned, nodding at the next comment. “I hear yah, left mine down south in the hope it’d be too cold up here for them. They’ll no doubt keep finding excuses for me to go back down though.”

[grantmiddleton]

Grant felt a bit bad about taking up Alfie on his offer to move and decided to help as well. Which would be...the first time in his entire life to actually move furniture versus telling someone "I think that looks better on the opposite side of the room." He picked up the matching chair.

"Man, I wish mine were averse to cold. Unfortunately they lived in Siren Cove before, so I'm pretty much counting on a surprise visit in the near future." He carried the chair into the condo and tucked it out of the way. "What part of the south are you from?"

[alfiehaywood]

Despite not being the most obviously built individual, Alfie was pretty used to carrying large or heavy items around. It came from years of woodwork, helping his grandfather and benefitted his current line of employment. Walking in through the front door, he tried not to be too obviously nosey. Based on its location near the sea, it was likely to be really to be impressive but still, a little discretion. Walking into what he believed to be the front room, he carefully placed the furniture down.

Grinning, Alfie nodded his head, “Well, I wish you luck with the surprise visits. I wouldn’t put it past my Mum though.” Rolling his sleeves up, he added, “Arkansas, tiny place no-one has ever heard of.”

[grantmiddleton]

Grant surveyed the room. He'd definitely have to get rid of about half the furniture if he wanted to be able to freely move around and not stub a toe at night.

"A true southerner. And full of that southern hospitality I've heard so much about. How long have you been here?" He went into the kitchen, pulling an ice cold bottle of water out of the fridge. "Want anything to drink?"

[alfiehaywood]

Laughing, Alfie added, “Oh believe me, my entire family is such a cliché for what everyone thinks the south is. I hope to only represent the more positive aspects.” Moving toward where Grant was stood, he answered, “Just a water would be great, thanks. And I moved here about a month now, although it feels like a constant fluctuation of having only just arrived and having been here ages.”

[grantmiddleton]

He handed Alfie a water and laughed. "I'm sure you'll be fine. So what made you move to Siren Cove? Other than getting away from your family. Not a lot of people know about this place."

[alfiehaywood]

“Thanks.” Accepting the water, he took a quick swig, before nodding. “Yeah, I hadn’t heard of it at all, but I saw a job advertised at the lodge and resort outside of town. Looked like a really nice place, pay was pretty good and the owner seemed like a cool guy when I called. So he made the offer, I took him up on it. How about yourself?”

[grantmiddleton]

"You work at the lodge? That's a cool place. We used to hang out there a few weekends during the summer." He jumped up and sat on the kitchen counter. "I guess I wanted to get away from my family but get away to a familiar place. I haven't been back to Siren Cove in a decade, so I figured it was about time. I guess my biggest motivator was a job, like you. I'll be starting with SCPD tomorrow."

[alfiehaywood]

“Yeah, pretty awesome job. Meet lots of people and get to be out in a beautiful landscape. I certainly can’t complain. Jealous I didn’t have somewhere that nice to hang out when I was younger but plenty of time now.” Alfie nodded as he listened to Grant speaking, taking another swig of his water. “Ah, well, if you’re a cop then I should straight away state that I am over 21, I just have a baby face. But that’s a pretty important job, serving and protecting. Least it’s not somewhere really dangerous like New York.”

[grantmiddleton]

"You'll definitely have plenty of relaxation time out there." He laughed. "You do look much younger. I'll be sure to keep that in mind if I ever see you drinking. Sire Cove is quiet when it wants to be. But it can be just as bad as New York at times. Depends on everyone's moods."

[alfiehaywood]

“Thanks, the cop back home always forgot. I swear he ID’d me every time he saw me near a bar. Never my younger brother though, he always remembered he was of age.” Shaking his head slightly, Alfie shrugged as if to say ‘what are you gonna do about it’. “Really? Anyone in particular I should be avoiding or looking out for?”

[grantmiddleton]

"I'm going to take a gamble and bet I have a better memory than that cop. Or maybe he just didn't like you. No worries, I have no reason to dislike a guy who volunteers to help move furniture for me."

He scrunched up his face, thinking. Glancing Alfie over, Grant wondered if he knew what really went down in Siren Cove or not. "Ever see that creepy castle at the edge of town? That's the Grimhilde manor. Definitely stay away from that place and the people in it." He chuckled a little. "Haunted house stories and all that. We would avoid that place like the plague on Halloween."

[alfiehaywood]

“He’s definitely a lot older than you, so it’s a distinct possibility he kept forgetting me. The unofficial Deputy liked me though. His name was Rusty and he was the cutest Jack Russell I’ve ever met. Anyway, I should probably get back to moving furniture.”

Unaware of the thought process going through Grant’s head, he finished the water. “Someone lives there? Wow, I just assumed it was abandoned now, looked like it needed some repairs when I last past it.” Huffing out a slight laugh he tapped his fingers against his leg, “Yeah, I can imagine the local kids all try and get each other to go in and things.”

[grantmiddleton]

"May be abandoned now? But I doubt it. The Grimhildes have a long line of history in this place. I bet someone still lives up there. I wouldn't put it past them to purposely make the place look dilapidated, they always loved the creepy, dark decor."

He hopped off the counter, dusting off his hands with a sigh and headed back toward the truck. The movers were finally making progress. "I'll be more than happy to go to work tomorrow. Moving is such a hassle."

[alfiehaywood]

“Well, I suppose house that big on your own may be a bit of a handful and might fall into disrepair. Can’t say I’d like to have to run it solo – but then I’m not a huge fan of keeping myself at home for extended periods of time.”

Following Grant back outside to the truck, he moved to pick up another item of furniture. “I totally get it, I barely had anything when I moved and it still felt like an effort unpacking it. Just wanna crawl into bed I bet.”

[grantmiddleton]

"Outdoors guy?"

"Exactly how I feel. I just wish I could open the door and have everything all placed and unpacked for me." He sighed dramatically. "But I'm an adult and all that now."

[alfiehaywood]

“Yeah, I’m not really one for being stuck indoors. Get kinda antsy.”

“If only. About now I wish I’d got an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Just sort of zap everything into place, right?” Unaware of anything potentially uncomfortable about the statement, he rearranged his hold on the piece of furniture in his hands and started moving back towards the house.

[grantmiddleton]

"Siren Cove is a damn good place for you then. It's beautiful out here."

"If only things worked like Hogwarts, right?" He grinned, a little tense but still a grin. Be careful what you ask for. Grant picked up another piece and followed Alfie. "So you don't know any of the history about this place?"

[alfiehaywood]

"Yeah, definitely have to take a camera out there one day, but for now I'll just enjoy actually seeing it."

"Yeah, although hopefully without ghosts. I imagine they'd be kinda weird." Alfie didn't notice any change in Grant's attitude, too busy setting down the furniture he was carrying. "Not really, my boss told me there are a lot of historical myths around, but then he's the one telling guests to beware of bigfoot so..." Smiling, he gave a slight shrug.

[grantmiddleton]

Grant laughed, a little out of breath as he lifted a large piece. "I can promise you I've never seen a bigfoot out there, but if it keeps the guests rolling in, whatever floats his boat tben. But he's right about the other myths. There's a lot of history here. Bad blood between families." He smiled. "But they throw great parties."

[alfiehaywood]

Nodding, Alfie stated, "Believe me, they love that stuff. Probably the kids more than parents. But they've had a few bigfoot enthusiasts before apparently. Got some printings on the wall of articles written about it. Blurry picture of what I think is one of the cherry pickers, but is apparently the legend himself."

"Ah, one of those 'trying to out do each other' type things?" He asked, watching a pair of movers shuffling in the next room.

[grantmiddleton]

"You maaaay or may not have a picture of me in a bad suit hanging on a wall somewhere." Grant laughed. "Teens, you know."

"Oh yeah. Who can have the best charity event, who hires the more talented celloist, who has the nicer tableclothes. Sometimes the town wins, most of the time it doesn't." He shrugged, peeking inside a box because at this point he had no idea where anything was. "Lotta expectations around here."