#| interaction mikey callahan. |

[cartwrightxnathan]

Interacting with: @mikeyxcallahan.

Location: downtown AB.

Aurora Bay's annual Halloween party was just an hour away, and Nathan was feeling nervous. He walked along the downtown streets, struggling to calm his nerves. The thought of his Doctor Strange costume sitting in his car made the upcoming event feel more real, causing the surgeon to shudder. Trying to shift his focus, he noticed Mikey ahead, and a familiar grin spread across his lips. "Mikey, hey," Nate greeted Mikey as they crossed paths. They both shared a deep appreciation for the military, and the older man was grateful for their friendship because of it. "It's been a while. How are you doing?"

[jaceberg]

He could hear his friend mumbling something, but the words were too garbled to decipher. Knowing his friend, it was probably a smartass remark. He let it slide off his back, his shoulders relaxing as he began to pour the syrups into a coffee cup.

He couldn't help but scoff at her comment, shaking his head as he replied, "Actually, no - she's a pumpkin spice fan, and I absolutely refuse to make it." It was a blatant lie; he had whipped it up for her countless times before. "But if you're really interested, I'm trying to think of ways to improve the fall menu."

@mikeyxcallahan

"You are sad and mopey." Mikey wasn't going to let him deny it. "Fine. I'll just talk to her myself." She muttered under her breath, hoping he didn't hear it because she was going to do it whether he told her to or not.

"What kind of drinks are you making? Any Emerson would like?" Now she was just being an asshole.

@jaceberg

[jaceberg]

He couldn't help but let his eyes widen in horror. "Mike, Mike, Mike," he said, repeating her name several times to grab her attention. "Were you really about to say twenty?" he asked, as concern etched across his face."We talking twenty, twenty-five, or just five?" uncertain whether they should be here or in the hospital trying to get his friend a banana bag.

"Listen, I..." he began, running his hands through his messy hair, his eyes closing as his best friend continued. "Once again, I've spent a good quarter of my life living on a boat, so you'd think I would’ve seen something by now. But, you know, weird stuff happens in Aurora Bay. I mean, come on, Carl Engers - the guy who gets the whipped cream for the horses - said he saw a UFO yesterday."

"Only tw-five? Four? I don't know. How many have you had?" Mikey huffed and continued making her way to the dock. "I don't know how being in Aurora Bay will make you more likely to see one, but I would hope so. I've never been here at the witching hour, have you? Maybe that's why neither of us have seen one because we're not here at the right time."

@jaceberg

[jaceberg]

He can feel himself getting defensive, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not sad or mopey,” he says, rolling his eyes at what his friend is trying to imply. He has no reason to feel that way; after all, he was the one who called everything off. He lets his shoulders roll, hoping to ease some of the tension building inside him. “I don’t know, man,” he finally says, bringing his gaze back to his friend. “Can we change the subject?” he asks, starting to move around his kitchen again. “I need someone to try these drinks before I put them on the menu,” he says, pulling out a variety of homemade syrups from a cabinet.

@mikeyxcallahan

"I'm not enjoying it, Jace. There's nothing about seeing my friend sad and mopey that I find enjoyment in. I'm making jokes for both of our sanity. Now, tell me exactly how the conversation went down. I mean, what did you even say?" Mikey set her bowl down on the counter so she could give him her full attention. "You meant something to her, right? I don't think she will just completely blow you off or anything."

@jaceberg

[jaceberg]

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his friend's failed joke, his hand ruffling through his messy hair as his blue eyes narrowed in on her. "I'm glad to see someone is enjoying this," he remarked, the snark slipping out more than he intended, but the situation was one he took seriously. "Listen, I really appreciate you wanting to help," he added sincerely, "but I'd rather not get a third party." He spoke truthfully, "I don't think she'd be a fan of that either."

@mikeyxcallahan

"That's rough, buddy." Mikey told him before crunching on another bite of cereal. "Did she actually call you Houdini? You think she listens to that Dua Lipa song and thinks about you." The idea was so stupid that Mikey couldn't help but laugh. "Listen, I think you just a need a little help. Let me put in a good word for you! Were you a dunderhead? Of course you were, but even dunderheads can grow and realize their mistakes. See? I'd be good at this."

@jaceberg

[jaceberg]

Lying in bed, he debated whether he should even bother investigating what had made the noise loud enough to rouse him from his slumber. Whatever monster was on the other side of the door could at least wait another ten minutes to be uncovered, while he did his morning sulking over his life choices. But when he hears another noise—this one resembling a fridge door slamming shut—he jumps out of bed and quickly throws on a pair of sweats.

His brows furrow in confusion as the sound of chewing grows louder with each step he takes toward the kitchen. It's when he spots a messy head of blonde hair on top of his counter, he rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Glad to see you're making yourself at home," he says sarcastically as he strides toward the fridge, rummaging through the cluttered shelves. He tosses an empty carton that once held milk into the trash. Unsure of how to answer the question about her—and hesitant to confront the painful truth. He simply shrugs and turns around, a cold egg roll from the night before in his mouth. "I don’t know how to fix things when I messed up like I did," he says, his words muffled. He finally allows himself to take a bite, leaning back against the fridge as he speaks again. "According to her, you might as well start calling me Houdini, because my vanishing act is allegedly top notch."

@mikeyxcallahan

closed starter: @jaceberg

where: jace’s home in fisher’s cove

Jace was a childhood friend and it’d been ages since he and Mikey had spent any time together, but Mikey was delighted when she heard he was moving next door to her Gran, even more so when they picked up right where they left off. Jace made Aurora Bay seem less lonely and maybe that was why Mikey was over his house or asking him to hang out any chance she got.

Sometimes, however, she would invite herself over. Like now. She knew where the spare key was so she let herself in and made herself at home with a bowl of cereal as she sat on the kitchen counter.

“Good morning! You’re gonna want to buy more milk.” Mikey said with a mouthful of cereal. “Have you fixed things with Emerson yet?”

[cartwrightxnathan]

@mikeyxcallahan.

"I'm glad to hear that! I'm doing well," Nathan replied. It didn't take long for him to examine Mikey's costume, and he quickly became a fan of her choice. "Yeah, I'll be at Sharky's tonight dressed as Doctor Strange. You're looking great, Maverick." The compliment flowed easily from the surgeon's lips; she pulled off the Pete Mitchell costume perfectly. "Should I be on the lookout for Goose or Iceman at all?"

Mikey was so excited for Sharky's party that night! The first time she ever attended was last Halloween, her first Halloween back in town in years! It was everything her child self had dreamed of it being and maybe that's why last year she went a little crazy. This year she was so excited for her costume and to hang out with friends.

Mikey heard a familiar voice call to her and she looked up, pulling her aviators up to sit on top of her head (because she, of course, had been wearing her Pete Mitchell costume all day) as she looked at Nathan. "Hey! I'm great, how are you? Oh! Please tell me you're going to the party tonight."

@cartwrightxnathan

[jaceberg]

He couldn’t believe how far Mikey had made it with her dark aviators covering her eyes, the moonlight being their only source of illumination on the unstable wooden path. God, he was way too sober for this. “Well, if you…” he starts, just as the woman begins to remove her glasses. “How many drinks did you have again?” he asks, turning his head to glance back at his friend trailing behind.

"I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but I’ve lived on a boat for a quarter of my life, and I’ve never come across one.  But then again, we're in Aurora Bay, so who the fuck knows what is out there?"

@mikeyxcallahan

closed starter: @jaceberg

when/where: sneaking out of Sharky's past midnight to go to the docks

"If we don't see anything I'm gonna be so mad. I already can't see anything." Mikey complained only to burst into a fit of giggles as she realized her aviators were still on her face. "Oopsie!"

Heading out to see if there were actually merfolk lurking by the docks late at night while drunk wasn't the best idea. But Mikey didn't have the greatest ideas even sober. "Do you believe in mermaids?"