[hr][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/AHXqrGC.png[/img][/center][sub][@OfWindAndRain][@Mr Allen J][/sub][hr][hider=Blind Melon - No Rain][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu7JkZK78No[/youtube][/hider][hr][hr]

[quote=Zoey]"How have I been? How have I been?! Did you see the weird-ass lightshow that took place last night!? After that shit went down, all sorts of weeeeeird-ass shit happened at cliff-side. The fucking cash register was randomly fried, and the door melted. Can you believe that shit? Like the door melting. What causes that? I honestly think a friend of mine put a damn hex on the cafe... Oh, yeah, one of my friends went missing last night... she was there at the cafe at the height of the weirdness, and now she ain't even answerin' my texts anymore. Maren West. Might just my paranoia, but look around you, weird shit's going on all around us, and can we really ignore it?"[/quote]

If this was a video game, somewhere near the top of Dexter's line of sight a quest would have activated. He could imgaine the quest directives already.

>Find Maren West
>Ask around for any sightings (optional)
>Investigate the cafe (optional)

Actually, he had no special abilities as far as he was aware of that would allow him to just hunt her down. Dexter mentally scolded himself. Waaaaay too much time spent playing Skyrim and Witcher. Bad Dex, very bad Dexter. Human life was not something to trifle with. Weren't people who saw life interactions as menial as those in games considered like, psychopaths or something? Oh god, did that make him a psychopath?

>Find the button to turn self in (optional)

Dexter mentally slapped himself again. He normally wasn't this unfocused. Must be the weather.

"Yeah, I was out reading when the lights came out. Reminded me of pictures of the auroras in Alaska that I've seen." he said. But the other things Zoey mentioned were like, [i]really[/i] odd. Cash register frying? A door melting? Like, a wooden door or a metal door? How would a wooden door even melt?

"I definitely saw some storms predicted in neighboring METARs that weren't there before?" Dex said, lifting his hand to his face and cupping his chin in a thinking pose. A METAR was pilot speak for Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report. Basically, everything you see on the weather channel but current and waaaaay more detailed. He doubted she'd know what a METAR was, but Zoey would probably be able to use context clues to get an idea.

"I mean, a lightning strike could've fried the cash register, but... I have no explanation for a melted door. Did you snapchat that?" Dexter questioned, pulling out his phone to browse through the repertoire of people in the town that were his age. Granted, there weren't many of them, but he took pride in having [i]just[/i] about everyone's snapchat. Unfortunately, Zoey's story was completely blank. What? What kind of teenager with social media doesn't document the fact that a door just [i]melted[/i]. That's like, a supernatural once-in-a-lifetime type of event right?

"Yeah this is... not what I expected of a natural light show," Dexter commented, trying to ignore his own disappointment that he didn't get to see a photo or video of a melted door. He turned to look to his car and found himself dramatically and audibly wincing as some stranger pulled into a parking space dangerously close to his vehicle. He shook his head when the other person's car turned off and looked away, back to Zoey. Out of sight, out of might right?

"I'm sorry about Maren, uh, do you want any help finding her? Could-ougg" he began, only to be quite abruptly cut off by arms being thrown around his midsection. He spooked, turning and looked down quickly. As he made his sudden movement he noticed shiny blue fingernails and has his neck craned and turned he noticed straw blonde hair and those trademark uggs and and just... ugh!

The rain's pace quickened, not by a lot, but noticeably.

AlexwashugginghimAlexwashugginghimAlexwashugginghim.

His male mind went into some form of hyperdrive and in an effort to sustain some form of cognizant ability it shut off his ability to speak or make any sounds besides make what had to sound something like the attractive and ever so romantic neanderthal mating call. He mentally scolded himself. [i]Ougg[/i]? Really?

He looked to Zoey, a panicked and somewhat forced grin on his face and motioned down to her and at himself rapidly. He made a heart shape with both hands, which was rather awkward considering one was holding an umbrella being used to shield what was now three people from the rain, and then pointed down to Alex once again. This was his way of nonverbally saying [i]'I like this girl please help me not embarrass myself further please please please'[/i] as if it wasn't the most obvious thing ever. If it was anything that this town could count on with all of it's strange turning of events, it would be that: grass grows, birds fly, and that Dexter Quinto has had a hopeless crush on Alexandra Bell since sophomore year. Of course, as Murphy's law would dictate, Alex had yet to notice. Due to Dex's inability to man up, and his lack of a father figure to really talk to him about how to ask a girl out, he had professionally friend-zoned himself as far as he was aware. 

Go figure.

At that moment, Dexter's lips decided that they knew how to work again.

"[i]Heyyy Alex![/i]" he said, reaching around and giving her and awkward backwards hug (because she's behind him and he's all twisted around) with one arm while simultaneously trying and failing to shield everyone from the rain. Unfortunately this kind of reaction wasn't all that uncommon for Dexter. It was oftentimes played out in different ways because of positioning [i]but[/i] this one had gotten him especially hard because it had been so surprising.

He looked at her hair, and felt how firmly she was hugging him and almost instantly knew something was wrong. There were a few unique patterns that he had noticed about this girl and one of them was that she only hugged him with this tightness when she was upset. Then he realized that he had gotten to the point where he was categorizing her hugs based upon tightness and realized that he was [i]such a loser[/i]. Isn't that like, creepy or something? He opened his mouth to ask what was bothering her, but decided against it. He didn't want to embarrass her. Not in front of Zoey. He would ask later. Instead he decided to redirect his moving jaw.

"Wa-was just going to ask Zoey if we could go to the cafe and look for her friend. Wanna join?"

Perfect transition. He mentally high-fived himself. Talking with purpose, great fluidity all things considered, and now he had a mysteriously interesting factor going for him.

Nailed it.