The year was 1992, and the people of Grand Musko were preparing for the tourists that would eventually come knocking on their doors in two weeks when summer vacation would finally hit all those who lived in Canada. The coastal town had a few bed and breakfasts but since the early '80s, three new hotels had been built, giving their town more revenue.
Grand Musko was known for its large strip of beach, and the boardwalk amusement park, The Citrine Boardwalk, or just The Boardwalk by the locals. Every year there seemed to be more and more people who came to visit, causing some city council members to wonder what else could be put up to attract more tourists.
The town also seemed to be facing one of the hottest weeks of the year. A heatwave had entered Grand Musko three days earlier and like a tourist, it seemed to refuse to leave as it overstayed its welcome. Those on The Boardwalk were trying to distract themselves that late Friday afternoon with some fun.
The line for the only dark ride seemed to go on further than the others. People needed the cool air the inside held. The many gargoyles inside would randomly blow cold smoke into the faces of the riders.
Duncan Murphy, the current ticket collector of Cursed Castle, was losing his mind over the heat. Even in the small bit of shade the entrance of Cursed Castle gave him only did as good as a tree in a park would. He could feel himself losing his mind over the heat, last week it was in the lower 60s, now? It was hitting close to 90 degrees. He would kill for something cold to drink.
"I didn't know you were working today." Came a voice.
Duncan turned to see Gwen Anderson, one of his friends. Even with the heat she still wore a black tank top and dark blue jeans. She was behind the metal railing, another 15 minutes before she could even get on the ride.
He ignored the customer, telling him to just peel it himself and go ahead. He leaned over the railing, "What are you doing here? I thought you were too cool for The Boardwalk?"
"Cables out. Also, you know me, the adrenaline junkie." She shrugged.
He let out a snort. "Right, and totally not because it was supposed to be Trent's shift."
"Oh, shut up." She forced an eye-roll, but the blush that came to her pale cheeks was easy to read.
"Such a little stalker." He chuckled, tapping his thumb against the metal barrier between them as he began to think. "Hey, wanna come up here."
"Why?"
"Come on, you said you always envied me for my job. Give you a front-row ticket of personally being responsible for having kids pee their pants." He told her, reaching down to grab her hand and help her get over the barrier.
"They give you way too much power here." Gwen mused, looking at the machine that caused the carts to move forward.
"Super easy, you just push that button and send them on their way." Duncan waited for her to press the button that caused the mother and child to go through the opened doors.
"I guess that was pretty fun." She mumbled, taking the ticket of the next four customers.
"Super cool, here you'll need this." He smirked, taking off his name tag and handing it to her.
"Wait what?" Gwen's confusion turned to annoyance as Duncan went over the barrier and made his way away from his workstation. "Duncan!"
He could hear her scream his name several times before he got out of earshot of her.
If it weren't for the logo of The Boardwalk on the back of his shirt people would assume that it was a normal blue shirt. He spotted one of the many food carts. The bright blue letters read Drinks and Cotton Candy, and Duncan knew he had found the promised land. He shoved his way past the customers and got to the front.
"Coke." He ordered causing the worker to turn around.
Shit. It was Courtney Flores, the biggest buzz-killing pain in the ass. She thought herself to be the boss around The Boardwalk even though everyone knew it was Grant Myers.
"Sorry, we can't serve wildlife." She told him, reaching past him to give a customer a lemonade.
"I'm dying out here, give me a Coke."
She heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes at him. "Duncan, aren't you, I don't know, supposed to be at your shift?"
"What about you? You don't work the food stations. What, the Farris Wheel too much for you?" He said, placing his arms against the counter to pull himself over the window to look into the food station.
Courtney was distracted by taking out the funnel cakes from the deep fryer. The pop machine was placed right by the window. He waited for Courtney to start her rant as he put half his body through the opened area to fix himself a Coke.
"Lola is out sick, thank you very much. I actually help out my fellow workers unlike you who probably shoved your job onto Geoff or DJ."
He rolled his eyes as grabbed a lid and straw. "And my heart bleeds for you, Princess."
"I'll make you bleed." She grumbled, putting the sugar onto the funnel cakes.
"Love the way you talk dirty." He mused, shoving the straw into the lid.
"I swear-." Courtney cut herself off as she turned around and spotted the male's torso inside her workspace.
"Now, as much as I love our little repartee's, I gotta go." He told her, moving his body out of the window and onto the ground.
He made sure to get out of there before Courtney could grab him. He made his way throughout The Boardwalk, wondering to himself what he wanted to do. Did he want to go on The Tornado, a round-up ride, or Hell's Fire, the wooden roller coaster. Something that would give him enough thrill to make himself forget the hellish weather.
He needed to kill another hour until he could go home. His parents were able to get his work schedule from Courtney. You steal one car and a case of beer and all of sudden they treat you like a crook, who knew? Duncan knew he had to be more sneaky when it came to his activities after his parents threatened to take his summer away from him by sending him to some camp for teens who needed correcting.
Blue eyes spotted Geoff Moore and DJ Gillespie. Geoff was working the balloon and darts. DJ was throwing a dart and successfully hit one of the red balloons.
Duncan got to his side, taking a sip of the soda before he placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Nice."
"Thanks." DJ smiled, his face soon became confused. "Hold on, aren't you supposed to be working at Cursed Castle?"
"Gwen's covering for me."
"Dude, she doesn't even work here."
Duncan gave a simple shrug to DJ's comment before he nodded his head to Geoff. "What's he doing?"
Geoff was sitting on a chair, his elbows on the counter as he propped his head up. A dopey smile on his face as he stared across to the Ring Toss. Duncan followed his gaze to see that Bridgette Smith was working. She was encouraging a child to toss a ring at one of the many fish. She let out a cheer as the six-year-old was able to get one.
Duncan jumped over the counter and walked over to where his friend sat. DJ gave him a glare as he got in the way of his shot. Duncan let out a laugh when he missed a balloon. He bent down and placed his arm around Geoff's shoulders.
"Man, that Bridgette sure is hot."
"Oh yeah!" Geoff agreed, not taking his eyes off her.
He sighed, pulling his arm away and giving his friend a sympathy pat on the back. "Too bad, the guy who's crushing on her is such a creep."
"Yeah." He let out a dreamy sigh.
Duncan and DJ stared at him, waiting for him to realize just who the creep in this was. Geoff quickly snapped his head to face Duncan.
"What? Nuh-uh, you take that back!"
Duncan let out a laugh as he sat on the counter. "Dude, you've been staring at her for a long time, that makes you a creep."
"Well, what's the appropriate amount of time then?" Geoff asked, causing Duncan to look at DJ.
"I think 6 seconds is good. Anything after that's gonna freak her out." DJ stated, throwing a dart at another balloon.
"What else am I supposed to do?" He asked the two.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe go and talk to her?" Duncan commented, emphasizing the word 'talk' as he mocked him.
Geoff was about to respond before his eyes widened as he looked back over to Bridgett. "Who's that?"
Duncan lazily looked over to her stall and saw three surfer dudes. "Out of towners."
"Probably wanted to visit the place before it got too crowded," DJ commented as he threw his last dart, hitting a red balloon. "Oh yeah! Geoff get me that pink bear."
Duncan raised a brow.
"What? It's for my momma, she just got that book deal."
"Guys she's laughing!" Geoff stated, grabbing at Duncan's blue shirt.
He was swatted away by the annoyed teen. "Yeah, that usually happens when someone says something funny."
Geoff desperately looked to Duncan. "I'm funny right?"
"Dude, calm down, so what if some out of towners are flirting with her? Not like she's going to date them." Duncan rolled his eyes at his friend.
"Man, desperate does not look good on you," DJ commented, grabbing the bear himself.
The two continued to make fun of their friend for the next couple of minutes. All that was left in Duncan's cup was just ice. He looked over to where Bridgett was wondering if the surfers decided to leave, maybe then Geoff could at least perk up a bit. He cocked a brow as he noticed Bridgett's once sunny demeanor now annoyed.
He nodded his head over to the direction allowing the other two to see what was going on. She got in front of the fishbowls and pointed a finger at one of the surfers. One of the other teens decided to jump over the counter to snag one of the fish. The other grabbed the hand that was pointing at him, keeping Bridgette in her spot.
"Get it, Kevin!" He laughed as his friend was deciding on which one to grab.
"Hey! Let me go!" She demanded, trying to pull away from him.
DJ and Duncan watched Geoff hop over his own counter and make his way to the stall. Duncan shrugged as he looked at DJ. "Can't let him have all the fun."
He hopped off the counter and the two followed behind Geoff. He put his hand on the teen who held Bridgette in place. Duncan placed his drink on the counter before jumping over it and grabbing the other who was about to drop one of the fishbowls onto the ground.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Geoff asked, his calm nature slightly taking the surfer off guard.
As he was distracted Bridgette grabbed his wrist and gave it a firm twist. He let out a groan of pain as he quickly let go of her.
"She won't give us a fish." The one beside DJ stated.
"I have every right to not give you the fish, thank you very much." She glared before looking back at Geoff. "They called them just some stupid fish! I can't let them go to their new homes with some jerk. Then, then I heard them joke about feeding one to a dog!"
"Dude, that's messed up," DJ stated, placing his hand on the one beside him, making sure he didn't get away.
"Yeah, what'd the fish ever do to you?" Geoff said, gently shoving the male away from the stall. "Just do yourself a favor and get out of here."
"Yeah, and what exactly are you three going to do about it? Last time I checked three on three is a fair fight." He asked, jerking away from Geoff's hold.
"There's four of us!" Bridgette pointed out, arms crossed as she glared up at him.
He gave her a mocking laugh, "Oh, okay, three plus one tiny girl."
"You really need," Geoff began, reaching over to grab Duncan's now lidless cup, and tossed the ice onto him, "chill the hell out."
"Dude." Duncan sighed as he had this Kevin guy by his shirt. "It's hot as shit, I was gonna eat those ice chips."
He let out a laugh, "Ops, sorry, man."
Kevin reached over and grabbed one of the fishbowls and threw it at Geoff's head.
"Rocky!" Bridgette shouted before she jumped and grabbed the bowl before it made contact with the back of the clueless teen.
Duncan pulled back his fist, ready to clock him but was stopped by Bridgette. "Not in here, the fish!"
"For the love of- come on!" Duncan groaned, shoving Kevin toward the counter before kicking him over it. "Happy?"
"I didn't want the fish to get caught in the crossfire of your dumbassery." She stated, placing Rocky back onto the table.
Duncan rolled his eyes at her before he got over the counter to stand in front of Kevin who was still on the ground. He looked over to DJ who's large hand was on top of one of the guy's head, the teen pathetically trying to punch him as he was held in place. Duncan found himself laughing at just how comically it looked. He glanced at Geoff who was trying to tell the guy to calm down but was only met with a punch to the face. Duncan's laughter stopped and charged at him, tackling the guy to the ground.
Now having the upper hand, he pulled his fist back, ready to punch the stunned male. His actions stopped when he heard a familiar cough. It was pretentious and self-righteous. He looked up to see Courtney with her hands on her hips.
"What exactly is going on here?" She asked, her eyes glaring daggers into Duncan.
Duncan was silent for a moment before punching the guy. Courtney rolled her eyes at his need to continue the violence.
"Nothin'." His simple statement caused her to let out a tired sigh.
"DJ, let him go." She spoke, her words that were once casual became sharp when her hand touched Duncan's shoulder. "Get off of him."
He scoffed but did what she said. "They started it."
"Likely story. Duncan, I swear I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
Courtney helped the guy up. Duncan crossed his arms over his chest. He felt a familiar annoyance come to him as he noticed the guy acting more pathetic than before. Courtney was asking if they were okay and what caused the attack to happen.
Duncan could only stew for so long before his rage began to boil over. "You can't be serious!"
"Duncan's telling the truth, Courtney," Bridgette spoke up, reaching over to help Geoff onto the counter.
"Enough." She raised her hand up, halting all conversation on the matter. "Why don't you guys follow me, I need to write down this report. Duncan, you come too."
Geoff looked from Courtney to Duncan, and removed his hand from his bleeding nose, "Sorry, bro, looks like you might get canned."
"No worries." Duncan shrugged before he followed behind them.
That was a lie. He would be shoved onto a bus and say goodbye to his lazy days at The Boardwalk. He could convince Grant that the punks started the fight. He had some people in his corner.
He glared at Courtney as she let the surfer lean against her. Apparently, his name was Joel and he was just some poor unknowing customer who got attacked by Duncan. He got up beside them and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "Didn't know a punch to the face could cause such a limp."
"You tackled me to the ground." He shot back.
Courtney let go of him. She moved her body to be in front of Duncan and ordered him to knock it off. It didn't take the group long before they got to the service building at the front of The Boardwalk. She opened the door, motioning the teens inside. Duncan made sure to glare down at her to which she gladly returned it.
The service room seemed to be a time capsule of the 1970s. The carpet's color could only be described as pea soup. A table held a coffee pot and cups. There was a brew that was made that morning by Grant. Wood walls and a matching five-foot-tall counter. It held a stack of papers, a pen holder, Rolodex, and a phone. Behind the counter were grey file cabinets that kept all of the park's records.
Courtney got to the counter and opened a cabinet drawer underneath it and pulled out a camera. "Alright boys, go stand up against the wall."
"Documentation for the injuries?" Kevin asked, him and his boys walked to the wall, all confused.
She waited for them to stand still before she took the photo. "Not exactly."
"What for then?" Joel watched as she went back around the counter.
"Need a photo for the documentation of banning you three at The Boardwalk." Her statement caught all four males off guard.
"What. That worker tackled and punched me in the face! Listen, sweetheart, I don't think you understand what liable means, but I can sue this boardwalk. See how that fairs with the future tourist, knowing that they could be attacked whenever by your crazy workers." Joel stalked over to her and slammed his fist onto the counter.
"Listen here, sweetheart." She smiled, setting her pen down. "From where I stand The Boardwalk is not liable at all. You were punched by an ex-employee. As you can see he holds no name tag, and he was walking around The Boardwalk, not a care in the world. The only thing he did was refuse to give back the shirt."
Duncan smirked as he played along with her. He took off his shirt and threw it towards her. It hit the wall behind her, falling down onto the filing cabinets.
"You want it so bad, you can keep it!"
"Thank you, Duncan." Courtney sighed, forcing herself not to yell at him before she turned her attention back to the three. "Now what I did see was that you, Joel, punched one of our employees unprovoked."
"He threw ice on me!" Joel was quick to point to his wet shirt and damp hair.
"Ice? That just looks like sweat to me." She grabbed her pen back up. "Now reason for banning is that you attacked one of the staffers and what else?"
"He grabbed Bridgette by the wrist, while that douchebag attempted to steal one of the goldfish." Duncan pointed out as he sat on one of the red chairs.
"So one battery and another assault charge? Not to mention stealing." Courtney let out a whistle when she finished the report. "Now you boys are lucky it's just a banning, legal trouble would get so messy."
"I got witnesses!" He yelled.
"As do I. Duncan how about you go get Brigette, Geoff, and DJ. So including them, I now have four eyewitness reports. This might be a tricky case, I see nothing coming from it honestly." She spoke, her faked kindness quickly leaving her as she glared them down. "Now get off my boardwalk."
They were at a standoff for a moment. Joel glared down at Courtney who didn't budge. The tension could be felt by his group and Duncan. Duncan, however, wished he had some popcorn to go along with this interaction. Finally, Joel let out a curse before he made his way to the door, his friends following after him.
Courtney grabbed Duncan's shirt and threw it at him. "Did you have to take off your shirt?"
"What? Wanted it to look convincing." He chuckled as he put his shirt back on. "And don't deny it, you totally wanted to check me out."
"Did not!" She snapped, her blush betraying her. "As if I'd want to look at you!"
She went back to writing down the form. Duncan occupied himself by placing his face against the window air conditioner. Even the inside felt hot, the air conditioner did nothing for the room. But with Duncan's head an inch away from it he truly felt that relief.
He heard Courtney let out a groan which caused him to look up and see her opening Grant's office door. That caught his attention. He quickly followed her inside.
"Whatcha doin'?" He brought his hand up to stop her from closing the door.
"I need a different form. Why so nosey?"
"Not nosey, Grant still has my pocket knife." He smirked, his strength winning against Courtney's as he got into the room.
The office looked exactly like the service room but the green floor could not be seen. Papers littered the room. The desk fan slowly blowed another piece onto it. Courtney ignored the mess, sidestepping to get to his desk. She sat down and began to look over the wooden drawers. Nothing. She spun around to face the few cabinets that were behind the desk.
Duncan looked around the room as Courtney mumbled to herself about the forms. Now, where would his knife be? Desk drawer? He got to where Courtney sat, the desk chair against the drawer where the confiscated items were held.
"Move your butt, Princess." Duncan said, grabbing the chair to shove it away.
Courtney planted her feet on the ground, shoving it further into the area he wanted to get to. "How about no?"
"Don't be a bitch, just move." He grumbled as he placed one hand on the top and the other on the chair's arm.
"Wow, such a gentleman." She mocked, pulling out the right form. "Really how do you stay single?"
"Hey, I can get any girl I want. I choose to not be in a relationship." He glared down at her, who in turn looked like she wanted to laugh.
"Oh, that is so sad." She wheezed, twirling the chair around to face the desk. "Anyone who says that are total losers, you know that right?"
"What's your excuse then?" He mused, bending down to pick the lock on the drawer.
He raised a brow. It was unlocked. Grant must have been slipping. Good for Duncan, though. The drawer was deep and filled with junk. Baseball, a shoebox filled with lighters. Some of the stuff seemed like Grant found them and decided to keep.
"I'm way too busy right now. Just from school, homework, clubs, and work alone I only get an hour to myself at night." She mumbled, scribbling on the form.
"And may I ask what her highness does in that hour?" Duncan mused as he searched the depths of the drawer.
"I read, mostly."
"God, you're so boring." He breathed, his fingertips touched the edge of his pocket knife.
A silence fell between the two. The only sound in the room came from the fan and the slight rustle from the papers. Duncan had put the pocket knife in his pocket before he decided to walk around the room. He looked at the pictures on the wall. It was The Boardwalk over the years. It had been passed down several hands. The Boardwalk's Board of Directors would hire someone and they would be the manager until the day they died or retired. He saw one from the previous manager from 1975, the one before him 1970. Duncan snorted, he didn't last long. The next one was the first-ever owner who stood outside The Boardwalk the day it opened. 1945.
"You know," He began, looking over to Courtney who finished the forum, "when your anger isn't directed at me, it's kinda hot."
He noticed the way her shoulders went rigid. Did he catch her off guard? He smirked at the thought. Three strides and he was at her side. He placed his hand at the side of the form as Courtney stared at it.
"Are you blushing?" He bent his body to get a better look at her face.
"It's the heat! I mean, me, blushing at what you said? Please, don't flatter yourself!" Courtney forced a laugh, eyes closed to not make eye contact with him.
Duncan weighed his options. Snarky comment, tell her she was in denial, or make a big spectacle? Which would cause the best reaction? A snarky comment would be met with another snarky comment. Stating the obvious of her being in denial would give him the same reaction. Big spectacle it was.
He moved his body to get onto the desk. Sprawling himself onto the papers (Courtney was quick enough to pull her paper up).
"Oh, Mrs. Flores, take me!" He shouted, his mocking tone not being missed.
"Jesus, Duncan, do you always have to act like such a freak?" She scolded, quickly standing from the chair to glare down at him.
He snickered before he waved his hand over his torso. "Come on, you know you wanna get with this."
She scoffed, ready to yell at him some more when the door to the office opened. Their attention was quickly taken by Grant walking into the room. He looked over his office and to Duncan who remained on the desk. Duncan kept a nonchalant attitude as Courtney quickly tried to defend the situation that Grant might have thought was happening.
"I just came in to get a form! I had to ban some people. I can leave this here for you to read what happened and why they had to leave."
Courtney's desperation to make sure Grant knew nothing happened now made it seem like something did happen. Duncan couldn't help but stifle a laugh, prompting Courtney to glare down at him.
"That's fine." Grant's usual cheery tone was gone, he sounded too quiet for it to be him.
He stumbled into the room, causing Courtney to quickly walk over to him. "Are you alright? Dehydrated? Duncan, go get him some water!"
Courtney's order was responded with him giving her a mock salute before he got off the desk. He brushed past them as she led Grant over his chair. He didn't take long getting the water from the water fountain but it wasn't fast enough for Courtney as she quickly scolded him for taking too long.
"Get off my dick, will ya? I got the water." Duncan sighed, handing the water to Grant who gladly took it.
"Do you have to be so crude?" Her scoff was met with a shrug.
The two waited for Grant to get done with his water. Grant always had a farmer's tan but today he looked incredibly pale. Once he finished the water he still remained unusually silent. Duncan gave a look to Courtney who had the same sense that he had. Something was weird, and it was affecting Grant, and it certainly wasn't the weather. He came to work with the Flu one day and was still a ray of sunshine, much to everyone's displeasure.
"Do you want to go home early? It's okay, I can make sure things run smoothly tonight." Courtney offered.
It took a moment but Grant finally answered. "Maybe I should. Courtney, can you please throw away these papers?"
"Of course." She nodded, her face showing the slight confusion she held for throwing away papers that might be important documents. "Duncan, can you please take Grant to his car?"
"You sure? Maybe I should call him a cab. You feeling okay enough to drive home, boss?" Duncan looked at the middle-aged man who slightly nodded.
"Grant, maybe Duncan's right about that cab. You just rest and I'll get you some more water." Courtney's voice was incredibly soft, which took Duncan off guard, also she agreed with him, it was a double whammy.
They were silent when they left the room. Courtney closed the door to the office before she noticed Duncan looking down at her. Her once soft features became harsh.
"What?" She demanded.
"Nothin'." His words were condescending as he walked away from her, not taking his eyes off her.
"Just call the cab." She snapped before going over to the water fountain and filling up the cup again.
There was silence in the office as Duncan flipped the phone book to call the number for the cab before he decided to speak up. "You agreed with me."
Courtney's squeezed the cup, causing water to run down her hand. She didn't answer him and just threw it away and grabbed another one that was next to the coffee pot. He let out a snort before going back to the numbers.
He finally found the number and called. They would be there in five minutes. He went back in and watched Courtney hover over the man who was starting to slowly drink the water. He was gulping it down like a fish earlier which caused him to think that she ordered their boss to slowly drink the water because it was unsafe for a dehydrated person to drink too quickly.
"The cab will be here in five. Might wanna start making your way to the front parking lot." Duncan announced, causing Grant to let out a groan as he stood.
"I might as well make my way there." He mumbled as he went out the door.
Courtney got to Duncan's side and the two watched Grant throw away his cup in the trash can. He stood by the service counter for a few minutes.
Without looking up Courtney whispered, "Go with him."
"What. Why?" He asked, looking down at her with an arched brow.
"Because he is obviously not okay."
He looked over to Grant who continued to stare off into space and shrugged, "Seems fine to me."
"He could seriously hurt himself. He's not as young as he used to be."
"Okay, first of all, he's 42, he should be fine. Second of all, why can't you do that?"
"I have to take care of this office." She stated matter-of-factly, her right hand shoving him forward. "Now. Go. Help. Him."
"Fine, whatever." He grumbled, before adding. "If I don't you'll just continue to bitch at me."
She crossed her arms and watched him pat Grant on the back. The two left the service room and made their way to the parking lot. Duncan kept silent as he watched The Boardwalk goers walk either to their cars or to the entrance to have a fun night. Now that he stood beside him, Grant did seem out of it.
He let out a whistle as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "So… Should I, like, tell the driver to take you to the hospital or what?"
"No, no, just need some rest." His words were not convincing.
He was sweating, but his face looked cold and clammy. Duncan leaned against one of the pillars of the front entrance as he continued to watch him. It wasn't as if he was actually worried about him, Grant was relatively healthy for his age. He would go surfing every morning and would only eat vegetables so he was already ahead of the game when it came to every other 42 year old. Besides, everyone had an off day. His off day was just mixed with him being incredibly dehydrated.
A honk caused Duncan to pull away from his thoughts. He saw the cab for Grant and walked him to the car, opening up the door for him. He expected Grant to make a joke about being treated like some fancy pants businessman, but nothing came. Duncan's body put most of its weight on the door, his thumb tapped at the edge of it.
"Take care, man. But seriously go to the hospital, I'd hate to go and take your ass to the hospital tomorrow morning." Duncan told him before he shut the door.
He tapped the top of the car and off it went. He felt that Grant would not be listening to him. He let out a long sigh as he pulled out the cigarette packet that he kept in his left pants pocket. Nothing like a cigarette break as he waited for his shift to be over. Well, that was what he planned until he noticed a specific punk who was walking up to The Boardwalk.
It was his second eldest brother, Ed. That asshat wasn't supposed to be home until the second week of July. Duncan calmly moved his body to behind the pillar. If Ed found out he was smoking he would most definitely tell their parents just to get the damn basement back. Hell, he was probably going to the Cursed Castle to be a pain. If he got there and Duncan wasn't working he would definitely have enough ammo to get what he wanted. That asshole had another thing coming.
Cigarette still in his mouth, he briskly walked back to the service office. Courtney was on the floor of Grant's office putting the neatly stacked papers into a box. Duncan didn't have time to question her methods.
"I need a favor."
Courtney never looked up from her spot on the ground. Her voice was bored, her eyes scanning one of the papers she picked up. "Wow, the great Duncan asking me for a favor? And here I thought you were too much of a badass."
"Shut up. You know my older brother Ed?"
"Yes, the last time I saw him he put gum in my hair. I had to cut it." Her face showed her disdain for him as she placed the next few papers into a box.
"He's here, and if he sees me he's going to rat me out to my parents and force me back into my old room."
"Then go back to the Cursed Castle and, I don't know, do your job?"
"Cute, but if I go back there Gwen's going to chew me out for dumping it on her. And by the time she's done Ed's going to be there and-."
"You'll be kicked out of your room." Courtney rolled her eyes as she finished putting the rest of the papers into the box. "Seriously Duncan, this must be the biggest first-world problem I've ever heard."
"You don't have siblings, Princess. If I get kicked out of the basement that means I'm closer to the parents, which means I can't sneak out."
"So dramatic. But fine, help me take these boxes to my car, and I'll let your mom know that you really helped me out today." She sometimes felt she went too easy on him.
Unlike her, who seemed to act as if it was completely normal to talk to the parents of her coworkers/ classmates, Duncan stared at her in shock. Courtney did a lot of weird shit but this seemed to cross a line.
"Wait, you talk to my mom?"
"Yeah, I give her weekly updates on your behavior. Why?" She looked up at him, brow quirked. Oh, God, she didn't even know how weird it was.
"Besides being fucking weird? How would you like me talking to your mom about how much of a pain in the ass you are."
She stared at him for a moment before she busted into a fit of laughter. He took a drag of the cigarette, he needed to calm his nerves because some brunette weirdo was stressing him out. He watched as she tried to stop, but only continued.
"Sorry, I just, come on Duncan you calling my mom? That's just silly. Besides I offered to help ease her mind after you got into a fight with that one tourist."
"That prick deserved it! He started messing with Geoff, and I, being the great friend that I am, told him to fuck off. He's the one who decided to punch me, not my fault that my fist broke his nose." His smirk caused her to scoff.
"Seriously Duncan, you need to stop acting like such a Neanderthal. Not only will no college accept you, but no one's going to hire you full time if you act like that."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you cared about me." He put a hand over his heart and feigned a painfully sad expression. "Gonna make me cry."
She quickly stood up and shoved one of the heavier boxes into his arms. "Shut up!"
He let out a snort, making sure that the stick stayed in place within his mouth. She reached up, ready to take the cigarette from him.
"You shouldn't be smoking in here." She chastised, quickly changing the subject.
"Hold on," he mumbled as she took hold of it between her index and thumb, "Lemme finish."
She rolled her eyes but allowed him that simple request. She kept her fingers there, as some form of control over the situation. Duncan also thought it was because she didn't think it through when it came to shoving the box into his hands. Her fingers smelled like funnel cake. The sickening sweet smell mixed with the scent of the cigarette's smoke was almost suffocating, yet also nice. Her skin was barely brushing against his lips that he realized how oddly intimate this interaction was.
He kept his eyes on her and she seemed to refuse to look away from him. He took a long drag, finishing off the stick. Still, he made sure not to burn her fingers, making sure the butt of the cigarette stopped right before it touched her.
Even if he didn't stop he felt Courtney would just pull back before he could finish since she was so quick to pull it out of his mouth. She didn't look away as she put the butt out on the ashtray Grant had. Apparently, he could smoke in there, yet Duncan couldn't. He did have to give it to her, she could probably win many eye staring contests by her inability to look away from him.
He let out the smoke cloud over her face. He cackled as she tried to wave the smoke away with her hands, eyes closed, and coughing. Too bad, Duncan won this battle.
"Jerk, what if I had asthma?"
"Do you?"
"So not the point." She glared, moving to pick up her box of papers. "Great, now I'm going to smell like cigarette smoke, my mom is totally going to grill me when I get home."
"Calm down. Just stick it outside and it should be fine." He stated, following her out of the office. "Besides everyone here smokes, just say that you hung around some friends who smoked."
"You haven't dealt with my mother. If I even mention that one of my friends smokes she'll just assume I smoked with them." She told him, he could hear the bit of resentment that she held towards her mother that made him let out a chuckle.
"God, I think I'm starting to understand you more and more, princess."
They got to Courtney's car. Duncan had to admit that she had good taste. A black 1991 Audi Coupe Quattro, with a beige interior with leather seating. He was envious of her, all he had was mooching rides off Geoff in his old hippie van he got from his parents. If only Duncan's parents were like that, but apparently he had to show them he could handle a car. And everyone knew that that wasn't going to happen.
Courtney opened the trunk's door and placed her box onto the trunk's floor. She motioned for him to do the same. The dry heat from the inside of the car wafted out. It felt like opening up an oven. He even felt relieved when he pulled away and was back into the 90-degree weather.
"So why are you taking these home?"
"Well, why would I throw them away? I'm just going to go through them and decide what should stay and what should go. Grant will thank me for organizing them again!" She smiled, clearly proud of herself, closing the door and locking it back up.
"Really? Because I feel like he's just going to ask you why you just didn't throw them away."
"Zip it!" She snapped causing him to laugh. "Stop laughing! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make sure Bridgette's okay."
"I guess I could go check up on Geoff, who knows maybe he finally scored with Bridgette."
"God, is he still making goo-goo eyes at her? He really needs to get it together, it's starting to freak her out. Nothing is more unsettling than to have a guy constantly staring at you."
The two fell into silence. Duncan didn't have anything else to bicker about, and he guessed Courtney liked to listen to the happy Boardwalk goers yell from the attractions and the loud sounds from the games. They were able to get to where they left them not 45 minutes ago. Geoff and Bridgette weren't working, Bridgette holding a napkin to Geoff's face as he laid on the counter. DJ was drinking some water that he must have got when they left.
Courtney, ever ready to scold, stopped when she heard something. It was a deep voice that caused her demeanor to go straight into the fight instinct.
"Well if it isn't Duncan. You still working here?"
The two turned around to see Ed Murphy. He, like Duncan, had several piercings on both ears. He had a black neck tattoo that went down to his chest but was covered by a gray tank top. He was with some of his boys. He looked over to Courtney, doing a once-over.
"Love the hair." He winked.
"Hello, Ed. How's the VD? I heard from your mother that it was causing you some problems." Courtney's response was quick and her smile prominent. "Enjoy your time at The Boardwalk!"
She made sure to flip some of the loose strands of brown hair over her shoulder as she turned away. Duncan, along with Ed's friends, began to laugh. Ed clenched his fists, ready to yell at her but was stopped by Duncan, who got in front of him to block his view of her.
"I'd be careful, she just kicked some guys out today, so she's a little bit on a power trip." His statement caused his brother to grunt in irritation.
"Tell your girl to stay out of my business!" Ed threatened, punching his brother's shoulder.
Duncan stood his ground, pretending that the punch didn't hurt. He wanted to tell Ed to shut up and that Courtney was not someone he'd even remotely consider as a person to date. She was the opposite of what he wanted in a girlfriend. She was naggy, thought she was the boss of everything, and also she just did not know when to get that pole out of her ass. However, he also knew that his brother would use it as a means of cannon fodder. He didn't know how, but he would.
"I'll get right on that." Duncan's response was sarcastic. He wasn't going to deny the statement, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give him a sarcastic response.
Ed's response was to harshly shoulder check the same one he had punched. Duncan stared at his brother and his friends as they walked away. Ed glared at Courtney as they passed by but quickly moved his head forward when DJ noticed him. Ed, no matter how badass he thought he was, did not want to be on the other side of a fight with DJ who stood at 6 foot 8 inches.
Duncan made his way over to the others. Courtney had taken the napkin off to take a better look at Geoff's face. He sat up for her to inspect it.
"Should I take him home?" Bridgette asked, leaning over the counter to look at the two. "He doesn't seem to have a concussion, and it's not broken."
"Yeah, that might be the best idea." Courtney's tone was sympathetic, it was the second time that day that left Duncan in slight shock. "If you still feel bad tomorrow you don't have to come in. Also, if you want to press charges, my uncle's a lawyer."
"Nah, suing someone totally goes against my code," Geoff stated as he got off the counter.
"And what code is that?" Bridgette laughed, getting out of her station.
"To not cause financial harm to another dude. If I sued someone for just punching me in the face, now that just seems so stupid, y'know?" Geoff smiled, which caused Bridgette to let out another laugh.
"That is a rather respectable code."
Duncan stared at the two. Geoff was staring down at her, her staring up at him. It was as if no one else mattered. That itself made the mohawk sporting teen want to throw up. On one hand, he wanted to high-five Geoff for making headway, but on the other hand, he wanted to break their sweet little moment up because it was so off-putting.
After another ten seconds, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He shoved Bridgette into Geoff's arms. He continued to stare lazily forward.
"You two can get going, traffic's going to get bad soon." He told them.
They separated, Bridgette quickly apologizing for almost stepping on him. He let out a nervous laugh. His cheeks began to redden, he hoped the others just thought it was from the heat.
"No need to worry about it! Duncan, drive my car home!" He looked over and tossed him the keys.
At Geoff's call, he raised his hand, swiftly grabbing the keys that came his way. He watched the two walk off. They looked happy. It seemed, at least from Duncan, that Bridgette was slightly growing to like Geoff in a romantic sense. Once out of sight he looked over to Courtney who was talking to DJ. They were talking about who would be able to take over Geoff's shift the next day.
"Princess, when you call my mom tell her that Ed was being a real jackass." He interjected, causing Courtney to raise a brow at him.
"Wow, Duncan, I never pegged you as a snitch. Thought it went against your 'delinquent' code." She asked, Duncan could have dealt without the air quotes.
"A guy loses his morals during war." He spoke, walking forward to get to the Cursed Castle, he needed to at least let Gwen off the hook.
"This isn't war Duncan, it's a bedroom!" She yelled after him.
He didn't turn around, but he raised his index finger, furthering his point as he called back, "War!"
The rest of Duncan's day went rather well, in his opinion. Gwen was suspiciously fine that he ditched her, his mom made his favorite dinner, and most of all Ed was shoved into what used to be Duncan's old room. He would never say this, but Courtney was good for something with her need to act like one of the adults running the place. The only thing that was bad was he had to go into work early the next morning. A Saturday morning. He had to get up at 6:30 and be there by 7 because Courtney was going to be there that morning taking over Geoff's shift and she did not like tardiness and after not being treated like the criminal of the house he wanted to at least hold onto it until Monday.
His parents still refused to get an air conditioner, stating that where they lived it never got too hot for it. This was the second time that day that he envied Courtney and her gifted life. Luckily, the outside weather calmed down to a nice 75 degrees, making his bedroom more bearable to stay in. He got to bed at 12:30 in the morning and became dead to the world as he pointed his fan at his face.
His sleep that night was deep. It was as if he just blinked and soon woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring at him. He reached out, feeling around his bedside table for the device. Finally, his hand reached it, he lifted it up and turned it into a fist. He hit the snooze button that caused him to stop the noise. He let out all his aggression on the clock, he hoped he didn't break this one too.
He grabbed his uniform and put each arm through the sleeves. He spotted his reflection on the mirror that his mom placed in there for storage. He grabbed at the clothes he threw on it to cover it up. He stared at himself, truly he would never get used to what he looked like in the uniform.
The blue polo felt restricting even without the hot weather. He ran his hand through his green mohawk. It had become relaxed during the night and he wondered if he should just take a shower. Did he have time to do that? He looked at the alarm clock. 6:45, when the hell did that happen? He got to the basement bathroom and noticed that his mom had been in there and decided to clean up a bit. That or it was his father who was trying to find something Duncan could be hiding. It truly sucked to have cops as parents.
He leaned his head into the sink and ran the water. He ran his hand through his hair a few times before he stood back up. That would have to do, for now, he didn't have time. He reached for the old hairdryer and quickly did the best he could. It seemed dry enough to apply the product for his mohawk. He finished in the bathroom and ran upstairs to head out the front door. He, for once, was the first up and the first to leave.
To his surprise, Courtney had yet to arrive, which was weird because she was the Queen of arriving 10 minutes early and then scold those who came on the actual time. Man, she is going to hate how he got there first. He couldn't stop the smirk that came to his face, what a way to make his morning.
He saw the black Audi and gave her a wave as she moved to park it. He watched her get out and walk towards him. She seemed annoyed, probably saw Duncan, and got pissed he got there first.
"Yo." He greeted, Courtney just rolled her eyes and scoffed at him.
He followed behind her. "You're late."
"I couldn't find my shirt." She grumbled as she fixed her name tag.
"Oh, that's a nice picture." He mused.
The image of Courtney walking around half-naked in her bedroom, her face annoyed. Her nose would scrunch up as she shifted through everything in her room. Cursing not only the shirt but God.
"God, you Murphy boys are such-." She stopped herself from cursing as her pace quickened. "Honestly, I don't know how you came from your mother! How would she feel about her son sexually harassing a coworker?"
"It's a compliment!" He yelled, trying to defend himself as he matched her pace. "I just said you had a nice body!"
"That is such a typical male response." She laughed.
That laugh was not the laugh someone would make when they found you funny. That was a signature laugh Courtney held when she was fed up over a situation. She wouldn't yell or scream, just laugh out her annoyance, which was always a bad sign.
"What bit you in the ass this morning?" His response was met with nothing as she continued to walk in silence.
Crap, he never got her so angry she stopped talking to him. He didn't know why his stomach was tied in knots at the thought of her being this angry. Was it fear? He hoped not, he never feared Courtney. Quick, he had to change the subject to not make her not annoyed at him.
"Anyways, Gwen seemed to be fine with working the Cursed Castle, maybe we hire her?" He suggested.
"That's because I told her she'd be paid for not only the hour she worked but also the hour before since you decided to leave in the middle of your third hour." Courtney's response was spouted out so matter-of-factly that Duncan stopped in his place.
"You what?" He yelled after her.
He easily caught up with her. He made her stop in her tracks as he stood in front of her.
"What did you think was going to happen, Duncan? That I would just let you ditch your job and get paid while you lazed about?" Courtney matched his tone of annoyance as she poked his chest.
"Quick question, do you just live to be a bitch? Like, I'm serious, no matter what you always have to be this-."
"Do you have to be such a jerk? Every bad thing you do just makes everyone think you're yelling, 'Pay attention to me! See how much of a badass I am!' but on the inside, you are just some boy that never got proper attention from an adult figure."
"God, you always think you know everything! Silver spoon in your mouth all your life, you don't know anything about me."
"Yes, I come from a wealthy family, but just because you have problems doesn't mean you can be.." Courtney's angry comment was lost as she noticed something behind Duncan. "The Cursed Castle, it's still on."
"Bet you're going to blame me for that." He grumbled as he followed her eyes.
"Duncan, that thing wasn't on when I left last night."
Their argument now forgotten, he watched Courtney jog over to the Cursed Castle. He kept his pace slow as he followed behind her. He got there as she began to press the button that allowed the buggies to pull to the front. One by one she was inspecting them. He watched, leaning against the railing as he did so.
"What are you expecting to find? Only people with a key can turn on the rides." He commented, the annoyance from the fight still there.
"I know that Duncan," she glared, "but still it's weird that it's on."
The sixth car came out and sitting in the front was Grant. The right side of his face was covered in a thick liquid. It coated his face, trailing down his neck and becoming a deep red as it soaked into his loose white shirt. Courtney let out a yelp as Duncan laughed.
"Nice one, Grant. The blood looks sick, where'd you get it." Duncan asked, but he didn't respond, causing Duncan's brow to raise. "Aw man, did he fall asleep?"
Courtney rolled her eyes as she walked over to the car. Grant did a good job with the prank, fake blood splattered over the dark purple seat, and on the paneling on the front. There was even a pool at his feet. She stepped inside, hoping that the fake blood didn't stick to the bottom of her shoes.
Courtney scrunched her nose, something smelled awful. It was something she had never smelled before but it was putrid. She reached over and placed a hand on Grant's shoulder, giving him a light shake. She grimaced at the feeling of the fake blood. It felt more real than she thought. His shirt made it feel so thick and sticky that she almost pulled away when she paused her hand's motion.
"Grant, wake up." She ordered but got no response.
She gave him another firm shake. Nothing. Her hand drew back only an inch. That enough caused Grant's body to slump towards her. The side of his face that seemed to be slightly clean leaned against her shoulder. Something hard and metal hit the car's floor. Her eyes followed the noise and saw a handgun on the floor next to his feet. She now noticed the sound of flies, they rang in her ear causing her to look down. There, four inches away from the temple was a circle. The blood had caused strands of hair to clot.
She yelled Grant's name, causing Duncan to straighten up. He watched the usual calm and collected Courtney frantically shake the man as she repeated his name.
"Duncan, he-he's not waking up." Her voice was desperate, her eyes never leaving his body. "Grant!"
Duncan briskly walked to her side. He grabbed her shoulders and, as gently as he could, pulled her away from Grant. His body fell onto the seat without the support from Courtney's upper torso. She kept trying to string a proper sentence together as she eyed the body.
"Courtney!" He kept his voice firm as he caught her attention.
Her eyes tore themselves away from Grant and to Duncan, his yell somewhat startling her. His hands relaxed against her shoulders, now knowing her eyes were on him. He noticed her eyes drift back and gave her a gentle shake.
"Hey, hey, look at me." He kept his voice low and gentle as he slowly moved his body so Courtney now had her back to Grant. "Courtney, you need to go call 911. We need an ambulance. Okay?"
Her head nodded slowly but then picked up as newfound adrenaline rushed through her veins. "Yes, yeah, I'll go do that."
"Good." He gave her shoulders a light squeeze before he let her go.
He watched her. She ran down the ramp of Cursed Castle and through the empty boardwalk. She was quickly gone from his sight. He turned and brought his attention to Grant's body. By the sight of the flies, and the smell of the body Duncan already knew he was dead. Funny, Duncan felt that he should actually be feeling something. He didn't though. He saw that it was Grant, and knew that it was Grant, but it was as if he was also detached from the situation.
He forced himself to look away from the body, away from the gun, and towards the outside of the ride. He just needed to wait for the police to get there and explain what had happened. He didn't trust Courtney to be in the right mind to speak. She'd probably break down during the middle of the story.
He let out a curse, his hand weaving its way through his hair. He couldn't help but think about the fight he and Courtney had as they came in. It seemed so stupid now. There they were fighting and Grant's dead body was waiting in the car to be discovered. His thoughts quickly left him as he heard the sirens of the police, and of the ambulance. He took a step outside the Cursed Castle and saw Courtney jogging over to where he stood. She had some of Grant's blood over her Polo and name tag.
"Duncan!" Hearing his name he turned and saw that it was his dad on the scene. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Duncan mumbled before he looked over to Courtney. "Not really the one you should be worried about."
"Christ. Courtney the blood.." His dad's attention was quickly put onto Courtney as she stared down at her shirt.
"It's Grants." Her voice was low, shock taking over as her attention seemed to be a mile away.
"Alright, my friend here is going to make sure you get something to change in." He looked over and motioned for the other officer to come over.
The two watched as Courtney was pulled away from the scene. Duncan looked back to his father. Michael Murphy and Duncan never got along. Ever since he was four his father knew he would be trouble when he drew on the wall with a purple crayon. Michael tried to reason with his son many times. He tried to reason with him when Duncan was 10 and stayed in detention for most of his 6th-grade year. He tried when Duncan was suspended from school only two months before his 8th-grade graduation. He stopped when he had to arrest him for robbing a local Kmart.
Michael walked away from his son and up the ramp that would lead him to Grant's body. He tilted his head as he examined the amount of blood in the car. He tore his eyes from the blood and to the body when he heard Duncan walk up the stairs.
He let out a sigh as he watched the EMS make their way to them. "So you and Courtney found him?"
"Yeah, we came in and Courtney saw that the ride was still on, and said it was shut off when she left last night."
"Your mom did say that she decided to take over the manager's duty while Grant went home." Michael looked back to the dead body. "How was he acting yesterday? Far off in thought, maybe?"
"That's leading." Duncan's voice didn't have the same snark he usually had, taking his dad slightly off guard. "But, yeah, he was acting strange. He kept staring into space and shit."
Michael questioned Duncan for about five minutes until his partner came back. Duncan noticed Courtney as she sat at the steps to the arcade that was right across the Cursed Castle. He walked past the other detective and heard his father whisper that it was suicided. Something about the anniversary of something, Duncan didn't stick around to eavesdrop.
He made his way to Courtney who now wore a green shirt that was from the merchandise shops. In a big font, it had the words, The Citrine Boardwalk, the backdrop being the outline of the Roller Coaster and Farris wheel. He took a seat beside her, taking out a cigarette. He needed something familiar. As if he needed the cigarette to calm the nerves that never seemed to have shown.
He leaned his back against the stairs and placed his left arm behind Courtney. The two watched as some grunts came in to take pictures of the scene. Duncan took a drag, blowing the smoke out he tried to cover the scene in front of him. He looked over to Courtney, her eyes never left the scene, that thousand-yard stare still showed on her face.
"They say it was a suicide." The words came out as if he needed to fill the air between the two. He looked back to his dad telling people what to do.
Courtney was quiet for a moment. "Yeah."
"I'll drive you home." He knew the offer would get turned down, Courtney probably thought she was okay to stay and close up The Boardwalk for the day.
"Okay." She sounded tired, defeated by the situation.
He looked back at her and saw that even with that thousand-yard stare, her lip began to quiver a bit. He straightened up and brought the arm that was behind her to pull her in a side hug. She didn't feel stiff, her body becoming relaxed against him.
"Don't worry about The Boardwalk, I'll tell Michael to put up a barricade." He told her, he tried to give her as much reassurance as possible over the situation, not like he could tell her that everything was going to be okay. That just seemed like some empty promise at the moment.
She didn't say anything, only nodding her head into his chest. The two sat there for a minute as the Cursed Castle became crowded with cops and EMS. Duncan nursed the cigarette more than he needed to, something inside him didn't want to leave The Boardwalk yet. He wanted to stay until they brought Grant out, felt only fitting in a way. To think in just two weeks tourists would be walking this boardwalk, enjoying the games and rides, not knowing that someone had committed suicide in a place that was meant for fun and laughter.
Authors note: This is my first fic for TDI, so I hope you liked it. I honestly had this idea stewing in my head for a while now! Shout to my friend, you know who you are, who gave me the inspiration of what happened to Courtney's hair! I am sorry that the first chapter is so long, lol. I don't plan to make every chapter this long, promise! Also most characters I'm adding in are OC's because I refuse to get any canon character killed or suspected of murder, I love them all too much lol.