For the Sake of the Story (Open)

[Scout Morgan]

Virginia was a lot different than Alabama. It was cooler for one. Even though it was summer and a lot of the locals were complaining about the heat, Scout was moseying on through her day in jeans and a tank top. Her honey colored hair hung loose under a cowboy hat as she made her way down the street. A messenger bag crossed her chest, carrying the essentials. A notebook, a digital voice recorder, and of course her ID.

Fang was at her side. From anyone's perspective it would seem as though the massive sized dog was on a leash. The end of it was wrapped around Scout's hand. In reality though, his thick fur hid the fact that the collar wasn't clasped. It didn't need to be. Fang was trained, he was her friend, and he wouldn't run off after a cat or chase someone down unless they were a threat to Scout.

Scout was on her way to see an informant. Someone who had said that they knew where Scout could get her hands on a story about something that was right up her alley. Unfortunately they wouldn't give her the details over the phone. They were paranoid, maybe a little insane. That would be something to check into once Scout met up with the person. Everyone had a story, supernatural or not.

"I do not like this." Fang's rusty voice filled her head. "Too much curiosity. Some caves should not be explored."

Scout ran her fingers through his thick, warm fur in an attempt to sooth him. "Don't worry." She smiled at the over sized canine. A mix of Siberian Huskey and wolf. His fur was darker than a Huskey's should be, but his eyes were a piercing blue. "We're just going to get a little information and then we'll be out of there."

She smiled at Fang reassuringly, named for his sharp canine teeth. "Even if something does go wrong, I've got you to protect me." He looked up at her with a gaze that said he still wasn't happy. "I'll pick us up some steaks afterwards, okay?

Fang snorted through his nose, but their mental conversation ended for the moment. Adjusting her Cowboy hat, Scout continued down the way. She was supposed to be meeting this person behind a restaurant. A back alley meet. It wasn't the first time, and besides, Scout preferred that since most places wouldn't let Fang in. Scout always took risks in the name of the story, or maybe just to satisfy her curiosity. Then again that was never really satisfied no matter how many answers or stories she found.

It didn't matter though. The deadline for her column was coming up and this was the best lead she had at the moment. Glancing around for a moment to make sure no one was watching, Scout casually turned and started down the alley.

[Harrison Kendall]

Harrison was nervous as he sat in the back office of the restaurant. Interviews always made him nervous. This was his third in two weeks and the first two hadn’t gone well. First he’d tried for a job at an electronics store, but he hadn’t had the qualifications they were looking for. Then he’d tried for a job at a newspaper, but they said he was over-qualified. Now he was interviewing at a restaurant, out of desperation really.

The room was small, more like a closet with a desk and a folding chair crammed into it than an office. When the manager closed the door Harrison instantly felt trapped. He loosened the tie around his collar and cleared his throat nervously. Suddenly he remembered his phone. Had he shut it off? Set it on vibrate at least? He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t start digging around for it now. Then he’d look unprepared. What if it rang during the interview? Would this guy automatically write him off for something like that?

“Well, Mr. Kendall, I’ve looked over your resume,” the manager said. “Looks like your full-time job is teaching, which is fine. I’ve heard of teachers working other jobs on the side. My only concern is that you don’t seem to stick with your side jobs very long. Would you be up for maybe working part time once the school year started back up, or are you looking to cash in your chips in August?”

Harrison swallowed. He was having a serious case of dry-mouth.

“Well, that depends, sir,” he said. “I’m not unwilling to stay on the schedule if that’s what you’re asking. But, to be honest, my experience with my side jobs, as you called them, hasn’t been very good when it came to balancing them with my teaching.”

Crap. That sounded bad. He shouldn’t have worded it that way. Now it sounded like he couldn’t handle two jobs.

“How so?” the manager asked.

Oh, good. He was asking for an explanation instead of just assuming.

“I think it’s because in the summer I have an open schedule, so I can work whatever hours I have to,” Harrison explained. “But then once fall rolls around I have to build my schedule around my teaching job. So either I get scheduled for hours I can’t really work, or get taken off the schedule.”

He shrugged and resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair. That would make him look nervous. The other man nodded in understanding.

“I see. So you would be willing to stay on after the summer if you were able to work the hours you requested.”

Harrison nodded.

“Sure. I teach during the day, so I could work most nights and weekends. Sometimes I have parent/teacher conferences and stuff like that, so I’d have to take those nights off. But I’d know about those in advance to let you know.”

The man behind the desk nodded. The rest of the interview was full of the typical questions. What sort of experience do you have in food service? Are you a people person? How much are you looking to make? When Harrison left the building he felt a lot better about this interview than the last two, but he still wasn’t sure if he’d get the job. As he started walking down the sidewalk toward where his car was parked he saw a woman walking a dog disappear into an alley. That was kind of weird. Who walked their dog in a shady back alley? He approached the alley and peered down it, wondering what she was doing.

[Scout Morgan]

Scout wasn't sure what she was looking for or who. Someone had to be around here though. Pulling out her notepad she double checked that this was the address. It was. This disgusting smelling alley was where she was supposed to meet her informant.

Except she didn't see anyone. Besides a few trash bins and a dumpster there weren't too many places to hide. What she didn't like was the fact that the alley wasn't open ended. It almost seemed like a set up - But to what end? It wasn't like Scout had any dire information that would make or break someones political career. Unless Destiny had somehow tracked her down after Scout got her expelled in high school for being a devil worshipper, well she was in the clear.

"We have company." Fang smelled the man before Scout knew he was there. She followed the canines head as he turned to look behind the man at the end of the alley.

He was sort of gangley looking. Tall and thin with stragley blond hair. He was dressed sort of spiffy as though he was going to work or school. Either way, this had to be him.

Scout smiled at Fang. "Well let's go introduce ourselves."

Fang snuffed and followed her lead. "I still don't like this.

"It'll be fine."

The entire conversation went on without Scout moving her lips. Her connection with animals was telepathic. It was sort of weird, but she'd grown accustomed to it over the years.

Scout approached the man cautiously. She was curious not stupid. "Hey there. Are you the informant?" It was abrupt and up front, but Scout was known for that. Besides what was the point of beating around the bush?

[Harrison Kendall]

Harrison peered down the alley and saw the woman standing there with her dog. She seemed to be looking around for something. He wrinkled his brows curiously. What the hell was she looking for in an alley? Maybe he didn’t want to know. The only thing he could think of was that this was some kind of drug thing. He’d seen one of those reality cop shows where they were trying to bust a drug deal, and sometimes people dropped a “package” off and left, then whoever was picking it up showed up separately to get it. Harrison guessed it was supposed to make it less obvious, or save at least one party for getting arrested if someone got caught.

Just as he was thinking he should probably get away from the drug alley if he was in fact witnessing some kind of exchange, the woman spotted him and headed over. The dog followed not far behind.

“Hey there. Are you the informant?” she asked.

Harrison blinked.

“Uh… informant?” he asked.

He ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t exactly an expert on drug lingo, but last he checked “informant” was more a cop word. Did this woman think he was some kind of confidential informant? Possibly a drug dealer? Oh, wow. He really had to get out of here.

“No. No, I don’t inform anybody on anything.”

He held his hands out in front of him as he backed away slowly.

“So if this is some kind of, you know, drug thing or a sting or something I’m not the guy you’re looking for. I don’t do drugs, I don’t sell drugs, I don’t know any cops, and if anyone asks me I never came down this alley and I didn’t see anything.”

He was actually getting ready to turn around and sprint for his car. He bet he could outrun the woman, especially if she wasn’t expecting him to run away in the first place. The dog would be a little tricky. But risking getting bitten was better than risking getting arrested for being a supposed drug dealer or stabbed for being a narc.

[Scout Morgan]

Scout almost pouted when the man said he wasn't the informant. Source would probably have been a better word, but Scout didn't know if the person she was meeting was an actual source, or someone just yankin' her chain. It happened that sometimes when you worked for a tabloid. Informant was good enough till she knew better.

"I told you this was a waste of time." Fang told her. He sat down and lifted his leg to scratch his ear.

Scout looked at Fang and was tempted to stick her tongue out at him. Then she realized how odd that would probably look to the already seemingly nervous man.

“So if this is some kind of, you know, drug thing or a sting or something I’m not the guy you’re looking for. I don’t do drugs, I don’t sell drugs, I don’t know any cops, and if anyone asks me I never came down this alley and I didn’t see anything.”

Fang and Scout both tilted their heads, wondering what he was talking about. "Drugs?" She laughed a bit at that. He thought she came down here to do a drug deal. Well she supposed it was more believable than the actual truth.

"No, no!" She called after him when he turned away. "I don't do drugs! I was waiting on someone who was supposed to give me a tip for my column! I thought you might be him!"

Absently she pulled a treat out of her pocket and handed it to Fang. The wolf/dog took it willingly. It was just habit. She always carried goodies for him and gave them to him sporadically through out the day.

If this guy wasn't the informant or a source, Scout wondered what he was doing down the back alley. He peaked her curiosity. Though in truth it didn't take much.

"So if you're not my informant or source, or whatever you want to call it - What were you doing down the shady back alley where you assumed drugs were being sold?"

[Harrison Kendall]

As Harrison was backing away from the woman like he expected her to attack him she gave him a curious head tilt.

“Drugs?”

He was mid-turn, ready to book it back to his car when she called after him.

“No, no! I don’t do drugs!”

He’d taken two running steps and stopped, looking back over his shoulder as she continued, saying she was waiting for someone to give her a tip for her column. Apparently this was a case of mistaken identity. He turned back around slowly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. Of course if he had walked in on a potential drug exchange, it wouldn’t be too smart of the people involved to admit to it. But, Harrison decided this woman really didn’t seem like the back alley drug deal type and relaxed.

“Oh,” he said. “I guess that makes a little more sense.”

He watched her feed a treat to the dog. Wow, what a scary looking animal. He seemed tame enough for the moment, but he looked like he could really do some damage. He also looked a little like a wolf. He was about to ask what breed the dog was when the woman asked Harrison what he’d been doing wandering down that alley if he suspected a drug deal. His eyes widened.

“Oh, no. I wasn’t… I didn’t think there was a drug deal at first,” he stammered. “I just saw you come down here and thought it was odd, so I wanted to see what was going on. I was actually on a job interview in that restaurant before I came out.”

He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and loosened up the tie quite a bit, letting it hang messily around his collar. Suits and ties weren’t really his thing.

[Scout Morgan]

Fang got up and moved towards the man, sniffing him. The leash was long enough that it looked like the harness was still wrapped around him. If he pulled too hard though it would fall off.

"He smells of food."

Scout rolled her eyes at Fang and looked at him. "He just said that he came from a restaurant. That's what the should smell like."

She looked back up at the man gaze narrowing. The unbuttoning of his shirt and pulling on the tie could be considered nervous habits. He was quick enough to run when he thought something shady was going on. Though, technically, well Scout wasn't sure if it would be considered shady so much as insane.

"I'm Scout by the way." She nodded towards the dog. "That's Fang. He doesn't bite. Well unless someone tries to hurt me."

Fang snuffed as if to comply for the man's sake. He smiled a bit, as much as dogs can and showed teeth. Scout moved on paying no mind to it.

"So you were at a job interview, saw me walk into an alley and thought 'what the hell, why don't I follow the lady into the alley?'" She raised a brow at him. "Either you've got quite the curious streak or you're really, really bored."

With Fang watching her back, Scout turned to check out the alley again. She wondered if anyone else was going to show up. Would they see this guy in a suit and take off? They'd told her to come alone, but most sources did. They didn't want a lot of people knowing they were leaking information.

Seeing no one she turned back to the man standing in front of her. Well at least the day wasn't wasted yet. "Kinda spiffy for a restaurant interview. Chef? Waitor? Maitre D? Bus Boy?"

Fang moved back over and sat next to her.
"You did promise me steaks."

"I'm kind of hungry myself," She told both Fang and the man. "So, can you cook?"

[Harrison Kendall]

Harrison’s eyes widened as the dog moved over to sniff him. Animals sometimes didn’t like him. Maybe it was a side effect of being a werewolf.

“I’m Scout by the way,” the woman said. “That’s Fang. He doesn’t bite. Well unless someone tries to hurt me.”

He tried to be reassured by that, but the dog still looked pretty intimidating, especially when he bared his teeth a little.

“That’s good to know,” he said warily. “I’m Harrison.”

He looked over at Scout again as she observed that to follow her into an alley he was either curious or bored. Harrison thought about that for a second.

“A little of both, I guess,” he admitted. “Probably more curious than bored, generally.”

She looked back down the alley and Harrison kept his attention on the dog. He wondered if one word from Scout would have the animal ripping a person’s throat out. He decided not to think about it.

“Kinda spiffy for a restaurant interview,” Scout observed. “Chef? Waitor? Maitre D? Bus Boy?”

Harrison laughed.

“Uh… anything, actually,” he confessed. “I’m sort of in slightly desperate need of a job.”

God, that sounded bad. Why couldn’t he think before he talked?

“I’m kind of hungry myself,” Scout said. “So, can you cook?”

Harrison blinked in slight surprise. Did she want him to cook her dinner? That was kind of weird. She’d just met him.

“Um… well… yes, I can…” he stammered.

He’d worked at a few restaurants in his time and managed to cook himself dinner most nights without doing any serious damage to himself or his kitchen.

[Scout Morgan]

Fang sniffed the air again and narrowed his gaze at Harrison. "He smells not right."

Scout flicked her gaze to Fang, watching him curiously. "What? Like sex, drugs, fear? What do you mean by not right and why didn't you bring it up before?"

"I thought perhaps it would be fleeting, but it stays.

"Awesome." Scout realized she said that out loud and moved to quickly cover her tracks. "That you can cook I mean."

Harrison seemed a bit shifty and nervous so Scout raised a brow at him. "I mean that's not to say you have to cook for us. It doesn't look like my source is going to show up and I'm sorta hungry. I just moved to town so I don't know a lot of people. It'd be nice to have dinner with someone other than myself." She smiled warmly at him.

"Hey! Fang looked up at her with a narrow gaze. "We eat dinner together every night."

"True, but I can't exactly say to him that while Fang is a great conversationalist, it'd be nice to have another friend who isn't a canine."

Fang huffed at her. "At the very least find another human to have dinner with. His smell is odd. Unlike other just humans."

Scout raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "When have you scented not just humans?"

"Perhaps this is not the best time to have this conversation." Fang inclined his head towards Harrison. Scout followed his gaze and flushed.

"So uh, anyways," She cleared her throat hoping he didn't think that Scout and Fang were in some sort of odd staring contest. Not that she was really worried about seeming to be odd. Most people thought that of her anyways.

"Like I said if you don't want to have dinner that's fine. My night's blown, and my story it seems, so I can look for leads or just curl up with a book or something."

Scout realized she was rambling and promptly changed the subject. "So why are you desperate for work? It is it because of the economy? Did you get fired? Some sort of scandal? Though honestly you look a little young to be in politics. Do you only work in restaurants or is it sort of a side job?"

"Scout." Fangs tone was one Scout had heard many times before. Too many questions at once. She was probably freaking the poor guy out.

She cleared her throat again. "Eh, sorry. I'm a columnist. I tend to be nosey."

[Harrison Kendall]

Scout seemed to be considering something, glancing over at her dog.

“Awesome,” she said. “That you can cook I mean.”

Harrison shrugged in reply and she continued, saying she didn’t mean for him to cook for them. Apparently her source had stood her up and she wanted to get something to eat.

“I just moved to town so I don’t know a lot of people,” she explained. “It’d be nice to have dinner with someone other than myself.”

Harrison returned her smile. It wasn’t too often a young woman asked him to dinner for any reason, so it was a little surprising – especially since he’d just met Scout and her dog under strange circumstances.

“Oh… Okay,” he said.

He wasn’t really sure how to respond. Obviously this wasn’t any kind of a date – or if it was he was worse than he thought at judging women’s signals. She kept looking at the dog and Harrison wondered if she was watching to see if the animal got aggressive. Harrison had been watching himself, not wanting to get a chunk taken out of his leg for moving wrong.

Scout cleared her throat and assured him he didn’t have to go to dinner with her if he didn’t want to. She’d find something else to do. Harrison thought for a moment.

“Actually –”

He was about to say he could go for some food himself with Scout continued.

“So why are you so desperate for work? It is it because of the economy? Did you get fired? Some sort of scandal? Though honestly you look a little young to be in politics. Do you only work in restaurants or is it sort of a side job?”

Thankfully, she stopped talking abruptly and apologized.

“Eh, sorry. I’m a columnist. I tend to be nosey.”

Harrison chuckled.

“That’s okay,” he said. “I’ve actually been on the receiving end of more ruthless lines of questioning than that.”

He was aware immediately that sounded bad, especially when the person listening was looking for a scandal.

“I’m a teacher,” he explained quickly. “High school English. I’ve had my share of inquisitive students and over-zealous PTA members going for my jugular. School’s out for the summer, so I need something to keep my lights on at the very least until the fall.”

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers, relaxing a little bit, but still keeping a wary eye on the dog. He didn’t completely trust the animal, but to Fang’s credit that was mostly because he’d been caught by surprise by a dog or two looking to assert their dominance.

[Scout Morgan]

“I’ve actually been on the receiving end of more ruthless lines of questioning than that.”

Scout raised a brow, as did Fang. Scout's naturally curious nature wanted to know more, but she knew that Fang was being cautious. He was part wolf part husky. He was as loyal as the came and he was always worrying about Scout and her choice of company.

"Really? How's that?"

“I’m a teacher. High school English. I’ve had my share of inquisitive students and over-zealous PTA members going for my jugular. School’s out for the summer, so I need something to keep my lights on at the very least until the fall.”

"A teacher huh?" She nodded slowly looking him up and down. "Yeah I could see that." Scout chuckled and absently started petting Fang.

"Why can't you just teach summer school or tutor or something? I mean you're an English teacher, maybe take on some editing jobs? There has to be something out there better than busing tables."


"Scout." Fang's tone was almost bored.

Scout flushed a bit. "Right, sorry. Pushy too. I have quirks. Lots of them. Sorry about that.

"So, Harrison," She continued on as though she hadn't just been being nosy as hell. "What say we get out of this musty old alley. Coffee, food? None of the above? All of the above?" She was going a mile a minute.

"Scout!"

She cleared her throat. "Right, sorry. Maybe I'm a little overzealous too."

[Harrison Kendall]

Scout studied Harrison, saying she could see him being a teacher. He looked down at his now messily unbuttoned shirt collar and loose tie and smirked. He probably didn’t look all that professional at the moment.

He looked up as Scout went on to ask why he wasn’t doing something else, like teaching summer school, tutoring, or editing.

“Well, I…”

He was about to say he had looked into teaching summer classes and hadn’t considered editing when she quickly apologized for being pushy. Harrison shrugged. Everybody had their “quirks.” He had his fair share. Curiously intruding on situations that were none of his business being one she had witnessed.

“So, Harrison,” she said. “What say we get out of this musty old alley. Coffee, food? None of the above? All of the above?”

Harrison shrugged. He could always go for coffee and he was a little hungry. He was trying to think of somewhere they could go when Scout cleared her throat to apologize again. He gave her a questioning look, knitting his eyebrows curiously.

“That’s okay,” he said. “Coffee, no coffee. Either works as long as there’s food. Have you been to any restaurants around here? I know a place if you don’t have a preference.”

He pulled his car keys out of his pocket. He was beginning to think Scout was more insecure than he was with the amount of times she’d apologized just for being who she was. Maybe most people got tired of all the questions early on.