another life beyond the line

phantomrider

Oh, there was a time when she'd lie in the grass, and imagine the places she'd never go

phantomrider

Dec. 16th, 2023 at 5:56 PM

phantomrider

[Racing down the interstate as fast as they fucking can, Johnnie tugs Chrissy closer and ducks low over his bike. They're streamlined now, they'll pick up just a little bit more speed, and then they can outride this giant evil fucking wasp for sure -

His eyes blink slowly against the light in the room, and then he frowns and lifts his pillow from under his head and flings it at the alarm clock on the bedside table. That shouldn't work, except that it falls off the table and unplugs in the process, leaving the room blissfully silent.

And now he doesn't have a pillow. Shit.]

Ugh. Hey, you up?

[Like Chrissy could sleep through that.

Soon enough though, he rolls on out of bed, gets the water going, tugs fresh clean clothing out of his bag, then checks on that shower. Yep, nice and hot. Time to get clean and ready for the day.]

Whatcha think? Wanna check out the cafe for breakfast? Maybe we can make 'em do some eggs an' pancakes even though they're gonna say it's dinner only now. I hate when places do that, it's such fuckin' bullshit.

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Dec. 24th, 2023 08:59 pm (UTC)

[Well then, guess he doesn't get to make jokes about her going half-commando since her tongue isn't half anything, it's all in his mouth. But he grins when they pull apart again, and grabs up the handful of things he really doesn't want left behind, even though they're scattered around and getting harder to find in the dying light of the unmaintained fire. It's fine, they can stoke that back to life when they get back.

Knife, check. Pistol, yep. Wallet, keys... The rest of this is fine here, gotta be. The car is still pretty full of food, too, which is also probably the best place for it right now just in case there are desert bears.]

All right. You really goin' without pants?

[It's not a problem, it's just funny. But they're just going to hop in and out of the showers if they find them, and - oh. Right. Showers. He's halfway to the car door when he turns around to grab his backpack, since that's where his comb and towel and other shower necessities are.]

Dec. 24th, 2023 09:40 pm (UTC)

My shirt is long enough to kinda look like a dress.

[It doesn't, and she knows it, but she just doesn't want to put pants on.]

My knees are a little scraped up, and I don't want to get blood on my jeans. And I just don't want anything touching my butt right now. I mean, except for you. Obviously.

[So no pants it is, and she fixes him with a look that says she's perfectly fine making this hilarious and potentially embarrassing decision. He's too busy finding his backpack to catch it, and that reminds her she needs to find her own. Strawberry scented everything will be nice. She finds it discarded over by his guitar case, and she picks that up to bring along with them. It's better that doesn't get stolen if they're gone for a while.

Everything is put into the backseat, and she slides into the front so she can examine her palms in the dim car lighting.]

Dec. 25th, 2023 04:52 am (UTC)

Aw, did you get scraped up? Shit, babe, I'm sorry.

[He frowns in sympathy as he hops into the driver's seat and tosses his bag in the back, then holds out a hand to take one of hers. Poor girl, maybe they really should've gone with the tent. Well, now they know, and they'll get to make good use of it for the rest of the week.

He brings her hand toward him and curls her fingers so he can kiss her knuckles, then lets go so he can start the car and pull out of their spot.]

Well, we'll go get that all cleaned up. You want me to take over leavin' us a trail? If your hands hurt I don't want 'em doin' anything that hurts even more.

Dec. 25th, 2023 06:29 am (UTC)

Oh, it's okay. I can leave the trail.

[It's just some scrapes, it's not any big deal. So he drives and whenever he brakes and suggests it might be a good place to leave a marker, she gets out to put a can of cherry coke. The idea is genius really, and she's proud of him for thinking up something so clever.

Eventually they end up on the road that leads to the campsites, and Chrissy figures it'll be packed and lit up. It's not though, it seems like all the campers here are already tucked in their tents. Which is good, it means no one is going to see her without any pants on.]

I think the showers are right up there, see?

[It's the only communal looking brick building up ahead. What else could it be?]

Oh, and uh -

[She leans over to kiss his cheek, and rubs at his shoulder for a second]

You don't have to apologize. I got scraped up because I wanted to do things that way. I liked it. But we get pretty caught up in wanting each other sometimes, huh?

Dec. 25th, 2023 03:41 pm (UTC)

Sure do, but ain't it the best? If you're gonna have fun, might as well put your all into it.

[He tips his head sideways to nudge against hers, chuckling, then finds them a spot to park right next to the building.

Unsurprisingly, it's divided up into a men's and a women's side, but he doesn't plan on them actually using separate showers, obviously. He hops out and grabs up his bag, then leads the way to the men's side mostly because it's the closest one. The lights are on, but it's completely vacant at this hour, so he claims one of the larger shower stalls meant to accommodate a wheelchair and hangs his backpack on one of the hooks, then starts unpacking the few things he'll need.

The water here heats up faster than at home, which is a nice treat to discover - it's hot and steaming before his clothes are even fully off.]

Damn. This ain't bad at all! C'mon, let's get those hands of yours all rinsed off, babe. My poor little princess.

Dec. 25th, 2023 05:50 pm (UTC)

[Amusingly, she's a little shy about being in the men's room. It's empty except for them, and she knows that if anyone were to come inside, he'd block their view. But she's all flushed with embarrassment as she steps into the shower stall and waits until she's inside to start getting undressed.

There's a second hook for her backpack, and she gets out her things she'll need to shower. Thankfully there's some clean clothes stuffed in there too, because she definitely doesn't want to put on dirty things. After everything is unpacked and set out to be used, she turns toward him with a half-smile.

That hot, steaming water is an invitation all by itself, and she gladly steps beneath it with a drawn out sigh of contentment. It's really nice that it heated up so quickly! She lets it wash over her for a few seconds before she finds her way into his arms for a kiss. It doesn't draw out into anything more than just that, and it leaves a smile on her face as she steps back just enough to hold up her hands so he can take a look at them.

They're not too bad off, just some minor scrapes. Her knees are what will need the band aids. But the fact he wants to take care of her hilariously obtained sex injuries is really sweet.]

Maybe we could try sleeping when we get back? That way we can get up when it's still daylight and go see the canyon.

Dec. 25th, 2023 07:14 pm (UTC)

[Yeah, she'll be all right. They're just some scuffs and scrapes, and they've both had worse, he just feels a little guilty for having caused them. Only a little, though. It was real goddamn worth it, since she doesn't actually seem that bothered.

Now, he did remember to grab his shampoo when getting all his hair stuff, so he pours some into his palm and gets to scrubbing sand out of his hair.]

Sure, yeah, let's do that. I wanna see it in the daylight too, an' anyway this place isn't really the kind that's full of shit to do at night other than what we make up ourselves anyway. One a' those rare times that the day's just as fun as night.

[And he's happy to say so. It's not like he prefers the night on principle, it's just the best time to have the kind of fun that benefits from having fewer people around to see what you're up to.]

Dec. 25th, 2023 11:24 pm (UTC)

[She's honestly always has assumed he prefers nighttime over daytime, or he's just so adjusted to being out causing chaos at night that he doesn't function during the day. So having him agree to be up during the daytime and hearing him say he actually wants to see things in the daylight too?

She's ecstatic.

The grin doesn't leave her face as she gets strawberry scented shampoo worked through her hair, and she rocks forward onto her toes to stand a little taller as she hums happily. Once she's got all her hair piled up on top of her head in a sudsy heap, she glances over at him out of the corner of her eyes.]

Do you know what would've been fun? If we had found a video camera somewhere so we could record the Grand Canyon. We could've brought it back home to share with your brothers!

[But she guesses if they wanted to see the Grand Canyon, they probably would've by now. Maybe they already have. All she knows is that she's excited for tomorrow, and wants to share that joy with as many people as possible.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 12:17 am (UTC)

[His eyes raise in surprise, but then he thinks about it an extra couple seconds.]

Huh, yeah, we coulda looked for one, you're right. Well, maybe we oughta grab one sometime anyway. I guess I never really thought about havin' one myself.

[Video cameras, in his head, are for making movies or shooting TV shows or maybe for nerds. Recording something for later doesn't really enter into the calculation - why record something you did yourself to watch another time? You already experienced it, you don't need to see it again. And why watch someone else's vacation? Fuck that.

But there's nothing absolutely wrong with the basic idea of having a camera and he can definitely think of fun things to film with one, if you can then find a way to play the film back.]

Guess we'd need a projector or somethin'. Anyway, I dunno if they'd care about lookin' at movies of the canyon but maybe it'd be cool for like, proving you jumped part of it on a bike.

[They don't have a bike here with them but they also don't have a camera, so he shrugs, grinning.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 12:38 am (UTC)

[Her response comes about a minute later, after she's rinsed her hair and scrubbed her face, making sure to get the back of her neck and behind her ears.]

In the 80s, it's a little different. You can record things in color on VHS tapes. People use them to record just about everything, even things like Christmas morning or birthdays. My parents had one.

[But she guesses that's something that might be a little hard to come by, maintain, and explain if they bring it back to their time. Thinking of it as their time instead of just his time makes her take pause as she works conditioner through the ends of her hair.]

We probably shouldn't bring something like that back to 67 with us though. There has to be some kind of rule about breaking people's brains with future technology.

Dec. 26th, 2023 12:50 am (UTC)

[He thinks about that as he rinses off, getting the sand and soap out of his hair and then off of everywhere else, too. He definitely didn't have it as bad as poor Chrissy had, just some poky stuff scraping at his butt and knees, and sand in places that were a little uncomfortable. Good thing that's gone now.]

Really? I think the only rules for that are whatever we wanna make. It ain't like anyone else is doin' it.

[Why not break people's minds all they like? Sounds like fun.]

Besides, there's shit out there that's way more brain-breaking than some video recorders an' people go wild for the chance to pay good money to get fucked up on it. Or they did.

Dec. 26th, 2023 01:08 am (UTC)

[She shrugs as she grabs soap and takes that to the rest of her body. His answer isn't a surprise, and it makes her smirk as she finishes cleaning every inch of herself.]

Yeah, they used to. But they won't anymore.

[Something else will eventually pop up and take its place, but nothing out there seems like it could be as dangerous as vide noir. So okay, a camcorder is probably next to nothing compared to what else is out there.

As she finishes rinsing the conditioner out of her hair and the soap off her body, she takes a second to crouch down and try to get a good look at her knees.
Sure, she's washed up, but she wants to make sure she's got all the dirt out of the scrapes themselves.

After she pops back up to standing, she steps in close to him, hands going to run through his hair to make sure all the grease and dirt is out. It also gives her an excuse to get to be pressed in close and touch him, and she'll take every chance she can get to do that.]

I guess it doesn't matter what decade it is. People are always going pay good money to get messed up on stuff. We do, just about everywhere we go. So I guess it won't hurt anything to grab a video camera if we happen to see one somewhere.

Dec. 26th, 2023 01:22 am (UTC)

[He bends down a little so she can reach easier, smiling to himself. She really loves looking after him, and he just soaks up the attention. How could he not? And that feel of her fingers in his hair and on his scalp is always so damn welcome.]

Exactly! We can make our fun however we want. It's no different than ridin' my bike through all of the fucking past like we already did. An' yeah, people were confused by it sometimes but it ain't like their heads fuckin' exploded. People get used to shit. The weird gets normal.

[Once she seems like she's done fussing with his hair, he ducks down for a quick little kiss, then shuts the water off. He's feeling nice and clean, and his skin is pink-tinted from all that nice hot water - and so is hers, which is cute. But now it's time to hop out and towel off.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 01:36 am (UTC)

[There hasn't been a sound from anywhere apart from the two of them. But as soon as the water is turned off, it's like a switch flips and she's not sure they're really alone. She scurries over to press in close to the wall, like she needs to hide just in case.]

Can you peek out and make sure no one else is in here? Just double check?

[She has some clothes in her backpack, but she hadn't thought to grab a towel. Which is pretty stupid of her, so she'll just drip dry and then get dressed. Her curiosity about whether or not anybody crept in while they were showering wins out in a matter of seconds, and all too soon she's tiptoeing out to peek out of the stall to look around.

It looks clear enough so she laughs and shakes her head to try and get rid of some of the water.]

Can I use your towel after you're done with it? I left mine back at the campsite.

Dec. 26th, 2023 05:46 am (UTC)

[There's certainly nobody here but he makes a show of looking around anyway just to help her feel better about it, and then once she's clearly over that non-problem he grins and -]

Yeah, here you go.

[Rather than just handing her the towel, he takes it off himself and wraps it around her, then playfully shimmies it up and down, side to side like that'll help before letting her take over so he can start getting dressed.

It takes him very little time to pull clean clothes out of his bag and get them on. And if they're just going to go to sleep, no need to fix his hair back up. So he doesn't bother to do anything more than comb it back into some semblance of order, just to keep it out of his eyes, then starts zipping up his bag with comb and hair products and the rest all inside.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 06:07 am (UTC)

[His towel antics make her laugh, and she playfully swats at his hands as he hands it over to her. She gets her body dry the rest of the way, and wraps up her hair for a minute while she gets dressed in clean clothes. She's really glad she grabbed all the more casual clothes. Cute dresses and skirts are great and all, but she's become fond of the fast and simple things she can wear and not worry about getting dirty.

After she pulls down her hair, the towel is brought back over to him, though she doesn't just toss it his way. No, she decides that she has to slide it over his head and around his neck so she can gently tug him in for a kiss. She leaves it draped over his shoulders, tongue curling as she laughs and goes to get her brush. At least she can get the tangles out while he drives back.

She's humming a World Enders song as they leave the bathroom, and manage to bump into a middle aged guy that looks like he's about to pee his pants. Or worse. He's trying to hurry in, but when he spots Johnnie and Chrissy coming out together, she isn't sure if he looks surprised because he sees them as dead or because she's coming out of the mens room looking so happy.

Instead of saying anything to them, he just takes his wide eyed look and darts inside. Chrissy makes it three more steps before she bursts out laughing. She's nearly crying with her giggles as she tosses her backpack into the car and climbs into the passenger seat.]

Did you see the look on his face? He looked like he was about to pee himself!

Dec. 26th, 2023 06:14 am (UTC)

[Goddamn, some of the little cute things she does make him weak in the knees in ways he doesn't even want to describe. The towel tug for a kiss? Fuck.

He leaves that towel draped around his neck on the way out, and as that guy enters and gets that dumb fucking look on his face, Johnnie just boldly stares him down as he and Chrissy leave, with an extra ounce of swagger to his step. No, they didn't come in here to fuck, but if that's what the guy thinks, let him.

Chrissy's laughter immediately triggers his and he joins in, fucking howling with it as he hops into the driver's seat.]

Shit yeah I did! He already did, an' then it got worse when he saw us! Hell, he's probably all jealous.

[And they've probably woken up half of this end of the campground now, as he gets the car started and pulls away, but fuck them. Shouldn't have slept near the showers, morons.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 06:24 am (UTC)

[She doesn't give the people sleeping a single care. If they want to be loud, they'll be loud. And that's just fine by her. The drive back to the campsite is uneventful, Johnnie stopping every so often so she can get out to retrieve her beloved Cherry Coke. She sings the Phantom Riders song she was humming before, and stops every time they pause, only to resume when she gets back in the seat.

Needless to say, she's not exactly tired by the time they park and get out. That means she goes straight to trying to finish organizing and setting up their things. She pauses mid straightening, glancing over his way.]

We should save the rest of this for tomorrow and get really high before we go to bed.

Edited 2023-12-26 06:27 am (UTC)

Dec. 26th, 2023 06:32 am (UTC)

[To his credit, he does try to help organize. He could just sit and stretch out comfortably and watch the dying coals of the fire, but instead he makes an effort to get food locked up in the trunk and get their few valuables into the tent where they can easily watch them while sleeping. And all the while he hums or signs fragments of songs, too, now that she's gotten him started with her own signing.]

Oh yeah? Well, you know where the weed is, you can grab those joints I rolled up earlier.

[She's full of good plans. Getting extra high and giggly and snuggly as they sink into the sleeping bags sounds excellent. And so while she goes to find the pot, he gets their sleeping bags all unrolled and starts seeing if he can orient them so they zip together as one big bag. Probably easier to do that right now than while stoned out of his mind.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 07:06 pm (UTC)

[Since they've been singing and having a great time, she doesn't see the harm in making up a song about weed as she goes to get a couple of joints for them to enjoy. He's finishing up the boring work that needs to be done, and she shimmies her way over back toward the fire, singing about glorious weed and getting cozy and high together.

He's just about done by the time she gathers up a couple of joints and made her way over to get in the tent; and her gasp of surprise at seeing that he's trying to zip the sleeping bags together says that she's a) never realized that was a thing that could be done and b) is very delighted by the prospect of getting to snuggle together all nice and warm.

She gets her shoes off and goes to sit down inside the tent. Once he settles down next to her, she hands him his joint and glances over at the zip up doorway to the tent.]

Do you think if we close that, we'll be able to fill the tent with smoke and we can get extra high?

Dec. 26th, 2023 09:05 pm (UTC)

[Oh, this fucking song, what a good song. The kind of dumb shit he just wholeheartedly approves of, and once she gets close to even crafting something like a refrain he sure does sing that along with her. Too damn funny.

With everything ready, he pulls his shoes off, takes that joint from her, and then presses a nuzzle and a kiss to her damp hair right above her ear. Her question makes him snicker as he fishes his lighter out of his jacket, and he gestures to the zipper.]

Go ahead an' try it. Cars work good for that, maybe a tent will too.

[It has little holes for ventilation all over the top layer of mesh, but surely it won't be enough to let all the smoke out too fast.

With the joint lit, he holds it in his lips for the extra few seconds it then takes to get his jacket off and tossed to the end of the tent, then works on his jeans until he's wriggled his way out of those too. See, he didn't bother with clean clothes since he figured they wouldn't be in them very long. A naked cuddle in the sleeping bag sounds like the best way to keep warm.]

Dec. 26th, 2023 09:13 pm (UTC)

[Her idea getting approval makes her nearly glow, and she crawls over to get the front zipped up before she reaches for the lighter. Rather than lighting her joint right away, she gets out of the sweatpants and t-shirt she's in. It takes a little more fumbling before she's able to get out of her bra and panties, and the removal of those nearly causes her to fall face first into his lap.

She catches herself with a laugh though, and holds the joint and lighter safely in her hand. Figuring it's time to get that lit and relax, she holds it in her mouth so she can get a flame. As soon as it's lit she grins and walks over on her knees so she can get into the open sleeping bag and sit pressed up close against him.]

Maybe we could write a song together while we're out here. Like a real one, you know? The weed song was fun, but I want a good one we can sing on stage together someday.

Dec. 26th, 2023 09:20 pm (UTC)

[Somehow with some creative juggling of his joint and his clothing he manages to get undressed the rest of the way. He doesn't even shove too many limbs accidentally in her face, though she may accidentally get a flailed arm here and there - but since she just about faceplanted in his lap that seems fair. The tent is a small space. Cozy, though.

And once they're side by side under the covers, he pulls her close with an arm around her waist, and blows a slow plume of smoke out into the tent, then snickers and holds his joint so he can kiss her in one quick little affectionate peck.]

Oh yeah! Yeah, I'd love to do that. An' out here we got plenty of time for it. Y'know what I think would be a real fuckin' cool song would be about that voodoo shit in Louisiana, how we fuckin' did some weird ritual an' now we'll never be separated. Right? That's crazy shit. Everyone's gonna think it's some deep metaphor.

Dec. 26th, 2023 09:59 pm (UTC)

[She doesn't respond right away, because she's slowly blowing out smoke and watching with fascination as it hovers overhead. She turns her head to look over at him, pleased with his suggestion.]

I think that would be so cool, baby. Let's get started tomorrow after we're done seeing the canyon.

[As exciting as getting to do some daytime sightseeing is, she's equally eager to write a song together. But the here and now is just as nice, and Chrissy leans her head over to rest up against him.]

We could have a part where we say that we're so strong together now that the darkness turned on that guy and kept us from being sent on. I still can't believe that jerk did that. He really deserved to die.