beyondtheline | Tornadoes and skeletons and nacho dogs, oh my

[He finishes a swallow of his soda and reaches under the table with his foot to tap his toes against her - well, apparently ankle since that's what he found first. That works.]

Glad you like it so much. Some day it'll wind up on stage, promise.

[Whether the rest of the band wants to pick it up or not, since he can always do little solo gigs here and there. But he likes picturing it with a fuller sound, all four instruments going at once, maybe some hand claps. And why wouldn't they want to? Everyone loves a fun love song. It'll speak to more people out there than just the two of them.

He chugs down the rest of his soda as an excuse to wet his throat, then hops up out of his chair to grab his guitar. He's not afraid to sing without backing music, but it just sounds... naked. Funny thought considering he's wearing nothing more than an instrument right now, as he sits back down and slings the strap over his shoulders, but there it is. He strums a few chords just to tweak the tuning, since the guitar does pretty well on their journeys but they sure do lug the poor thing through some weird conditions, and then starts in, singing it for her with a pause here and there as he tweaks the melody before resuming.]

Startin' to come together, a little at a time.

[She's absolutely taken with him has he plays and sings for her, just the same as she always is. He has such a good voice and just his stage presence alone is enough to put her under his spell. She doesn't even really notice when he pauses, and fills in any pauses with some well timed claps to the beat.

Actually, now that she hears the hand claps along with what he's got going? It's pretty catchy and fun. As he finishes up, that musical clapping turns into actual applause.]

You're going to be a huge star someday.

[And she's going to be there to support him the entire way. It's great they're able to see and do these things after death, because with the rest of forever stretching out before them he deserves a chance to be a famous musician.]

I hope so. Might just be a star for ghosts, but I'll take it, I guess.

[It really remains to be seen just how things will work for them. Plenty of living people seem like they can see them just fine, but there are plenty who don't. And what if that changes over time? What if it depends on unknown factors? He's not worried about it, really, just curious how it'll impact his audience. And, more especially, his role in the band.

But, one day at a time, like he always does. He strums a few chords idly, not really part of any song in particular but just a progression he feels like thumbing through. The sun will be up in a few hours, meaning the hotel will try to contact people who won't actually pay for their room. They can probably squat here a while anyway before they get as far as trying to kick them out, but just in case, he gets up, stretches, puts his guitar away, then drags the chair he was sitting in over to the door and wedges it under the knob before sliding the deadbolt shut.]

There. I'm gonna bet those idiots downstairs don't try to drag us out tomorrow morning, but if they do, that'll slow 'em down.

[And now it's time for a post-meal cigarette.]

[He's thinking ahead and planning for the possibility of trouble. That makes her smile a little, and she gets up out of the chair to try and clean up their mess. Not all the way, just enough that the room doesn't start smelling like dirty food. She also goes to check on their washed clothes, which are all...still really wet. No surprise there.

She makes her way back out to him right after, so she can wrap her arms around him from behind and rest her chin on his shoulder.]

Do you want to try laying down and seeing if we can sleep? Just in case they do get in tomorrow morning.

[He smiles around the cigarette and settles an arm over hers, and takes his smoke in the other hand while leaning a little into her hold.]

I wouldn't mind tryin' to get some shut-eye. I think we've earned it, haven't we?

[Not that sleep needs to be earned, but the fact is they've done a lot lately and it's probably a good opportunity to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow ought to be a nice big full day, after all.

After another draw from the cigarette, he pulls away to set it down and grab his toothbrush. And once he's all good and ready, he wriggles his way under the blankets. If it takes him a while to actually fall asleep, that's all right. He has music in his head and now is as good a time as any to think about it some more.]

[On the other hand, it doesn't take Chrissy long at all to get drowsy. She fights it a little, curled up beside him and letting her fingers play with his. It's the kind of gentle fidgeting that puts her in a mellow place. Her foot rubs against his, and she finds happiness in the quiet stretch of time that draws out between them.]

Hey Johnnie?

[Her voice is soft and tired when she finally speaks up.]

Do you have any songs about the moon?

What, you hopin' for a lullaby?

[He grins and looks over at her, lying there so sweetly at his side, and strokes a hand down her back.]

Yeah, we got one. Just called Moon Song actually. One a' those things that was supposed to be a working title 'til it got a better one, but then it stuck. Guess I'll sing it for you, if you like, but I ain't gettin' my guitar at this point. Bed's too comfy.

["If she likes" meaning he knows she wants him to, so he's not even really going to wait for an affirmative there. Also this is one song that really deserves a lot more upbeat energy than lying in bed can achieve, but hell, he can pretend for now it's something more romantic. The lyrics almost sound like it is, anyway, until you listen harder and know a thing or two about their usual themes.]

Sing it for me?

[She requests, and of course she probably doesn't need to. He starts singing before the words are even all the way out of her mouth, and she listens carefully to the words. It's not meant to be a lullaby, that's for sure. But she thinks it sounds romantic enough. She's getting drowsy and doesn't listen to the words all that closely, but she definitely makes a note to ask him to sing it again later so she can learn the words.]

That was really beautiful, baby. [She whispers once he's done, and turns her head to kiss at his cheek.]

Maybe you could teach me the words tomorrow?

Sure, if you want. I'll play it so it sounds right.

[Or close enough to right, since it'll be acoustic. She must have really liked it though if she's wanting to learn the words to it, considering it seems the rest she's content to just pick up on as she hears them more.]

Get some sleep now, babe.

[She sounds like she's just about there. He kisses her on the forehead, and lets his eyes stay closed. Hopefully he'll get there too, soon enough. Maybe even stay asleep without weird dreams of moons and strange ancient beings from who the fuck knows where.]

[Her dreams are restless. They usually are these days. She dreams of giant monsters, and tentacle monsters in the dark place beneath Hawkins, and of fires that consume the entire world. She murmurs in her sleep, tossing and turning. The sun's already coming up when she jumps awake, sitting up and looking all around her. She's breathing hard, but the panic starts to subside when she feels Johnnie next to her.

She can't see him, even through the dim traces of sunrise coming through the windows. But his presence is unmistakable, as is the warmth of him against her. She settles back down against him, nuzzling up beneath his arm so it's wrapped around her. They wind up shifting together, so they're on their sides and his chest is pressed against her back. Whether he's awake and aware of it or he's just instinctively doing it doesn't matter to her. All she knows is that it makes her feel safe and sound.

That enables her to fall back asleep, until he starts to shift when he wakes up. Her hand grabs at his arm to keep him there, as her eyes flutter open. She can hear the door handle jiggling, the chair that's blocking it preventing someone from getting inside.]

I think they're trying to get in.

[Her hand taps at his arm before she moves to sit up, glaring over at the door for giving them a wake up call.]

[Once he falls asleep, he's asleep hard, this time. There are no dreams as far as he's aware, but a whole lot of black.

He wakes when she starts shifting around, though, and once he has her all wrapped up and cozy, and she seems to have settled, he lets himself doze. Maybe once she's up for real he'll give Alex a call.

Except he manages to fall back asleep somehow, only to wake to the sound of the door rattling, and the hair on the back of his neck stands up as he slowly sits upright and watches the knob.]

You'd think they woulda called first. Or left a note under the door. That's rude bullshit, there, for a fucking so-called resort. Glad I blocked it.

[He could yell toward the hallway but instead he grumbles and pulls on underwear and jeans. He'll deal with it if they keep it up, but maybe they'll give up first.]

Housekeeping!

[The voice outside the door calls, huffing in frustration as the doorknob doesn't give. Chrissy's already out of bed and is hurrying toward the bathroom to grab some clean clothes to wear, but stops when the attempt to get in the room dies off. She peeks out from the bathroom doorway, half-dressed and holding all their clothes in her arm like they might need to make a quick getaway.

That doesn't seem to be the case this time, and she's visibly relieved as she goes over to set their now dry things on the bed. She'll just stand around in her skirt and bra and fold everything.]

I guess we slept in until noon.

[Oops.

She doesn't mind all that much though, and laughs as she starts sorting their things into neat little piles.]

Maybe we should call your brother before we figure out lunch.

[Chrissy sure acts fast, and he appreciates that. He was ready to put up a struggle if anyone was there to try and kick them out, but she was ready to bail, and hell, it's good to be prepared to do both.

He just shakes his head as the housekeeping staff seems to give up and leave, and grabs a shirt from one of her piles to pull it on. Much better, doesn't smell like sweat and whatever all that other shit was anymore.]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin'. I'll see if I can get one of 'em to answer. Might be asleep.

[But whatever, if it was him he'd want to be woken up to find his missing brother was fine.

He sits himself down on the bed and grabs the phone to dial Alex. And it rings, and rings, and when nobody picks up he just tries again until eventually he gives up and tries Dale's number.

And it's Dale he gets, eventually, though the voice that greets him on the other end is so rough from sleep and a long night out it's nearly unrecognizable, and it makes him laugh.]

Rise an' shine, man. Yeah, I know it's early, but was there ever gonna be a good time? I tried Alex first, you oughta go kick in the door for me an' drag him outta bed.

[He talks with a big dumb grin on his face, waiting for the exact moment - ah yep, there it is, there's Dale flipping the fuck out into his ear loud enough Chrissy can probably hear.]

Took you almost a minute, asshole. Yeah, it's me. An' yeah, I died, kinda. This isn't a fucking joke, man, I mean it, I died. Did that weird guy ever turn up at the clubhouse? He was supposed to tell you guys what happened - oh, cool. Man, fuckin' Loonie is so on top of shit, I swear. Dunno what we'd do without her. Hey, look, I'm callin' 'cause I want you guys to know I'm comin' home. Just... Kinda needed to clear my head for a bit. Bein' black-brained, it's real fucked up. Hey, where is Alex, anyway, you said he's not home?

[They talk for a bit, and Johnnie reassures him that yes, he'll be there soon - maybe a week, because Texas is huge and who knows what's between him and LA, but he's on his way and yeah, tell everyone else because there better be a huge fucking party when he gets there. When he hangs up, he's smiling bright, happy in a way he hasn't quite felt since he died. Chrissy is great to have with him, sure, absolutely, but he missed his brothers and all his friends. Feels like reality is piecing itself back together again, just talking to Dale.]

[She's resting on the bed on her knees, finishing up folding the laundry while he calls. She's positioned in close enough that she can hear some of his conversation, particularly when his brother freaks out. That makes her smile, and she stops what she's doing to just look at the joy on Johnnie's face. He's waited so long to talk to his brothers. It makes her heart so happy for him to be able to finally have that.

He's happy in a way she's never seen him be before, and it feels like she's intruding on a moment in a life she doesn't belong in. But that's a silly thought, and she shoves it aside so she can try and make herself a part of things.]

Where was Alex?

[Clearly, they'll just have to try calling him again later.]

Out fuckin' with the preppers.

[Which is a complete and very reasonable sentence, until he realizes Chrissy has probably no context for that, so he stops and laughs and tries again.]

East side, there's crazies who think they can rough it out in the desert away from society, an' they got guns an' trucks an' whatever. He's... taking shit real serious. Gotta gear up, maybe take over one of their dumb bunkers so we can stash everything outside town until we're ready to bring it all in.

[He shrugs. It's a little overwhelming, if he really thinks about it. He knew Alex would take things seriously, of course he would because that's what he does, but most people don't get to see others try to take revenge after they died. He'll not only see it, he'll hopefully be right there with them all.]

Zazo fucked up bigger than he knows, that's for sure.

So there's plans to go after Zazo.

[It's hard not to smile when she says that, because she remembers talking about that back in Wilmington. It's good to know that Alex is really going for it, and that maybe they'll be back in time to be a part of things.]

I hope we get to help take him down.

[She makes a pretend gun with her hand and fires it, before laughing and leaning over to kiss him.]

We can try calling him again later. I bet Dale will tell him you called, and he'll freak out too. What all would he be wanting to stash that far out of town though? Just weapons?

Weapons, gasoline, I dunno. Whatever he an' the others find out there that they wanna bring in once they got it all ready. It's just safer to keep it there for now, I bet, not too many cops out that way who give a shit about the crazies, an' there's a lot of desert to hide in.

[But he shrugs. Stuff he can ask Alex about later, especially since he'll do anything he can to help and he's sure it's all well thought out.]

You know, we got stash houses in the city, I bet all that stuff will make its way in to one eventually. Just not great to have it all sittin' around until everything's ready 'cause the cops are always lookin' for our shit an' if they find it all before we get to use it, it's a lotta wasted effort.

[And some major prison time for anyone posted who might get caught. That's true enough anyway on a normal bust, but a house full of weapons? The cops are probably going to look at that differently than they would a house full of drugs and stolen things to flip.

Anyway, he gives Chrissy an easy smile and squeezes her close around the waist.]

I dunno what I expected, calling Dale. I guess part of me was afraid he wouldn't believe it was me on the phone. Glad I didn't get him while he was fuckin' high, that mighta been an even weirder conversation.

[She thinks all that he says over, slowly nodding as it makes sense. She had been imagining they were storing tanks or something out in the desert, but weapons and gas makes a lot more sense. Johnnie had to get his love of fire from somewhere, and it was probably Alex and Dale. She'll have to thank them for that once she meets them.

She hums a little, soft and sweet, and scratches her fingernails along his arm.]

Even if he was high, you calling like that probably shocked him into thinking clearly. You said something about a weird guy. Did he ever turn up at the clubhouse and tell them what happened?

[It sounded like maybe he did, and with the casual way Johnnie describes that he died, she can only imagine what Dale's thinking. And what he's going to go tell Alex.]

Yeah! He did, so that's why Alex an' everyone are on their rampage.

[He looks a little smug, like somehow that's his doing, like everyone is out to get Zazo at his request without the whole inconvenient step of having been fucking offed on some shitty back road to cause all that.]

I didn't get the full story, but I guess Loonie got word out once she heard, or somethin'. Anyway, Dale's holdin' down the fort for now. Guess I'm glad he an' the rest are the type to get pissed off and do something, when shit goes down, rather than sit and mope.

[And he's absolutely just wired full of energy to get out there and join them. A solid part of him wants to just get on the bike right now and go, no stops, no interruptions. But he looks at Chrissy and hell, he owes her a dance, and they might as well enjoy '67 while they have it, and with time being all fucked up as time is for him now, maybe rushing makes no real difference anyway.]

[She reclines so she's resting on her stomach, and rests her chin on her folded up arms. It's easier to peer up at him with affection that way, but also better to have a conversation.]

We could drive back now and not stop until we get there.

[A nervous, giddy energy fills her as she suggests it. They have other things they wanted to see and do, and time seems to not usually be on their side.]

It would give us a reason to go back out on the road sometime. To see the Grand Canyon and everything else we had planned, I mean.

[As much fun as they've had out on the road, she's grown a love for things like fire and chaos and wants to be in the middle of the action with his friends and family when it happens. She's pretty sure that he wants to be there too.]

Now that Dale's heard from you, they'll all be expecting you back. So we don't have to take a week to get there.

[His eyes widen a little, eager - and surprised, but pleased, that she's the one saying it.]

Well, if you're suggesting it...

[This is how he knows too well that he really cares about her. Anyone else, he'd just make up his mind and go, and say if they don't like it they can find their own way. It's not that he's prone to ditching people or being callous, mind - he likes his friends, he cares about them a lot, he'd hate to have to make a choice like that. But he'd still do it, for his brothers and for the gang. But for Chrissy? He was willing to hold back for her sake.

Guess there's no need for that, though.]

Yeah, we'll have plenty of time some day to go do shit. An' some of that we can still do on the way back, too, 'cause I've gotta get gas here an' there, we've gotta eat, maybe even sleep. We'll see a few sights. But I don't wanna spend several days in a city just dicking around, I gotta get back there an' help out! I wanna see that motherfucker's face as his whole goddam world goes up in fire!

[She's laying down, but he hops up. Time to grab his jacket, get his gun and knife back where they belong.]

I know we were wanting to go dancing, but we can do that back in LA.

[She explains as he hops up, and laughs as she moves to hop up to stand on the bed. Her hands clap as she gives a few bounces, and winds up jumping bunny hops to the edge of the bed so she can leap off. His energy fills her with her own, but the excitement of stretching into the final leg of their journey has her perfectly upbeat and hyper all on its own.

She hurries to finish getting dressed finally, and goes to pack their folded clothes away. That leaves her with needing to find her pistol and knife after she dropped them somewhere the night before, and she finds them both on the bathroom floor. The pistol is put away in their back, but she holds onto the knife. She feels a lot more in control with that than she does the pistol.]

This is a really great city, but we don't have to stick around. Let's find something to eat and then we can get out of here.

You sure? Don't wanna ransack a store on the way out, too?

[He grins over at her as he digs the map out to have a look at the route ahead. And with satisfaction, he traces a finger along the road out of San Antonio.]

Here, we can just take the 10 all the way in to LA, as long as it sticks around. That'll make it easy. We'll miss the Grand Canyon, but we can come back, like you said. That'll be a great camping trip. Maybe for your birthday, huh?

[Actually that sounds neat. Maybe Vegas and the Grand Canyon in one trip, why not. Take her gambling, go enjoy their winnings - or laugh at their losses. He folds up the map, and slings an arm around her.]

Yeah! [She sounds like a silly cheerleader as she almost shouts that, so excited about the idea of a birthday trip. That somehow feels both so far in the future it's hard to imagine it happening soon, but also so close that it's worth anticipating and being excited for.

Grinning, she leans up against him and wraps an arm around him as best as she can. Her head turns so she can kiss him, eager and a little distracted. There's so much on her mind that she's happy about, she can't just stand around and focus on kissing.]

Would you mind if we stopped at a store before we left though? I just want to get enough that I don't have to wash clothes every couple of days.

[A "shopping" spree sounds nice, but she can do that once they're back in LA. She's sure he'll take her out for an entire night of all she can grab antics once they're settled in and his revenge fight is over.]

I'll be really fast. I promise!

Sure, an' let's grab food too so when we wind up in a spot where we can't stop for a diner we can still have something in the bags.

[There's a little bit of jerky left and whatever else she had, sure, but it wouldn't hurt to have a lot more than that on hand. They can hurry home but that's different from rushing, unprepared, poorly-equipped to be of much use when they get there.

She gets a kiss back as a promise that yes, it's fine, but then pulls away with a swat to the butt so he can grab one of the bags and take one last glance around the room for anything missing.]

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