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Apr. 19th, 2025 at 7:28 PM
[A few hours of open road makes for easygoing fun. It's great to be traveling again, and the feeling of Chrissy leaning up against his back, holding on tight while he whips ahead on a wide-open freeway through the pitch black of night is like nothing else. The last time they were racing up and down this freeway, they were on the way to go burn a bunch of people's lives down - but now that's hours back, back with the rest of the city. They've left the lights and have nothing to look at but the pavement in Johnnie's headlight, the glimpses of stars shining weakly through hazy clouds, and occasionally an oncoming car.
Johnnie hasn't exactly been trying to tune in to his senses or abilities or whatever it is he has - he's just been cruising, letting the night go by, enjoying their plunge northward without a care or a thought. So it is deeply irritating when the pavement quickly fades to a well-worn dirt track that almost tosses him and Chrissy to the ground, and it takes all of his skills to get the front wheel under control and to slow down before they hit a rock that really might launch them into the nearest alfalfa field. Or whatever it is that's here, whenever they've found themselves. Somewhere pre-freeway. Boo.
But there are a few lights ahead, and he did need a stop to pee, so, fuck it.]
Well, shit. Y'know, I dunno exactly where we are. Last sign said San Jose was still fuckin' hours off. You good? That was kinda shaky.
[As long as this dirt road stays packed, they can drive it, but it's going to be slow. Good thing they're almost to somewhere.]
Johnnie hasn't exactly been trying to tune in to his senses or abilities or whatever it is he has - he's just been cruising, letting the night go by, enjoying their plunge northward without a care or a thought. So it is deeply irritating when the pavement quickly fades to a well-worn dirt track that almost tosses him and Chrissy to the ground, and it takes all of his skills to get the front wheel under control and to slow down before they hit a rock that really might launch them into the nearest alfalfa field. Or whatever it is that's here, whenever they've found themselves. Somewhere pre-freeway. Boo.
But there are a few lights ahead, and he did need a stop to pee, so, fuck it.]
Well, shit. Y'know, I dunno exactly where we are. Last sign said San Jose was still fuckin' hours off. You good? That was kinda shaky.
[As long as this dirt road stays packed, they can drive it, but it's going to be slow. Good thing they're almost to somewhere.]
Comments
I think she just isn't ready to admit she believes all of it.
[That has to be right.
Why would they both be lying about something like dying, or all the things they've seen and done?]
I'm gonna get you something too, though. I mean, it's not exactly a present. Your birthday is already over. But I want to find you something fun. Like a surprise.
[Which gives her an excuse to strike out on her own in one of the towns they end up in. He'll probably love that for her, because it means he gets to have his own space for a while. He's not getting that now though, because she wants him right where he is.]
[He grins as he says it, presses a kiss to her forehead, then another to her lips. She's too damn cute. And maybe he'll think of something to get her, too - it's been a minute since he gifted her some little trinket. She does always love those little bits of jewelry and things he finds for her now and then.
Those couple kisses quickly turn to slow and easy making out, as he just can't resist the taste of her, and for a moment he forgets they're in a hotel waiting for pizza until there's a loud knock at the door. It makes him jolt in his seat, and he laughs as he nudges Chrissy off his lap.]
Must be dinner time.
[Or lunch? For everyone else, lunch. Must be why there wasn't much of a wait. He grabs his wallet and goes to get the door, and turns around a few seconds later with that hot box of food smelling of salt and grease. Perfect.]
Damn, I miss when people didn't see us sometimes. I hope we get to a time where they can't believe in ghosts so hard we're invisible, I coulda fucked with this guy enough to get him to run off an' leave this for free.
It's opened as soon as she sets it down, and she contently sighs as the delicious smell hits her right in the face.]
Oh my gosh, it looks so good. It's worth every penny.
[Her head turns so she can glance over at him in gratitude, but of course she sympathizes with his desire for free pizza.]
Next time we order something, we'll have to try and be ghosts again. Then we can eat for free.
[She's pretty sure he did that back when they first met actually, and laughs a little at the memory as she grabs a piece and digs right in. Her cheeks puff up a little as she tries to devour half the slice in a single bite, and then spends a minute solid trying to chew it all without burning herself.]
Hey, I'm gonna go find some change and get us some sodas. There's gotta be a vending machine somewhere.
[The focus on getting something cold to drink is so strong that she forgets she's entirely naked and goes over to their bags to try and find some coins. She almost makes it to the door before she pauses and realizes, and then turns around to hold the coins out to him with a pleading look on her face. It's not like he'd want her to have to get dressed, right? Not when she's so comfortable and so nice to look at.]
Yeah, you gotta keep the show for me only, I'll get 'em.
[Poor girl. He snickers as he swipes the change and then gives her a playful swat on the ass as he steps past to slip his feet into his shoes.
Vending machines aren't hard to find at all - there are a couple lined up near the entrance to the hallway, right by the pool and lobby doors. There's a family in the pool now, with two young boys splashing around, but he doesn't pay any attention beyond that brief notice as he picks their drinks and heads on back to their room.]
There you go babe, one for you, one for me.
[He sets down her cherry Coke on the table, then sets his mysteriously-labeled New! Coke next to it with a grin.]
I gotta know what the hell this thing is. You had one a' these?
[She pauses as she cracks open her cherry coke and gleefully takes a sip.]
In 1985, I mean. I haven't tried it, but I remember some kids from school used their family's camcorders to record themselves drinking it and talking about it. Like anyone would ever want to watch that junk.
[Now that she has soda though, she's more than happy to go sit on the bed with her piece of pizza in one hand and her cherry coke in the other. As she finishes off her first piece, she hops up to go grab a second.]
It's kinda weird we've never seen it in the future, but I guess we haven't looked that hard at their drinks. Do you like it?
Chrissy getting up for another slice makes Johnnie decide to just bring the whole box with him to the bed. Fuck it. They'll try not to get too much grease where they're sleeping but he doesn't want to run around the room every time either. He braces his soda can on his knee, then, to pop it open before having a taste.
Hmm. He has another sip, then shrugs.]
It's not bad. But it's like... Parallel world coke. Kinda the same, but kinda different? Like if someone tried to copy coke from memory. It's fine. I don't really get it, but I'd drink it again. Maybe I gotta do a side by side.
[She grins, leaning over so she can kiss him. It tastes like pizza on his part, but more importantly, she thinks she tastes like cherry coke since she just took a drink. Even if not, it's just nice to sneak a kiss. It's not like she's trying to make out or anything, they have pizza to focus on.]
Mmm. You taste like pepperoni.
[That makes her giggle as she leans back to her own space, and works on finishing up her second piece.]
You know, it's a little weird they have that here. Like...I was pretty convinced this version of Earth isn't the same one I lived in. Not everything is the same here. But I guess Coke is the same no matter where we are.
[Like yeah he's vaguely aware that her time and his time are probably not just separated by time - there's more to it than that. She knows music he's never heard of, and vice versa, even when one should have existed in the other, just in another decade. But also, they're pretty damn close so who cares about the details? Does it even matter? There must be hundreds of Earths just next to each other with coke and pop tarts.
He briefly mulls this over while working on a slice of pizza, then looks around for the remote and turns on the room's TV, flipping idly through the channels.]
This is all pretty fuckin' foreign to me no matter what. I guess if we wound up in another version of the 60s, maybe I'd be able to tell better. But I dunno how much it matters. I guess if it does matter, it'd be that you could blow up Papa in one world an' I'd still be okay though!
[He doesn't really want that, though. Dude's an asshole but he has plenty of ways to die that don't involve her tearing a hole in spacetime specifically to destroy him. He feels a little bit weird about that, that's all. Maybe he shouldn't.]
Do you really think you'd be able to forgive me if I did something like that?
[To his Papa, to someone else he knows and maybe even cares about. It's hard to believe their relationship would survive. In fact, she could easily see herself becoming some kind of threat that the Enders feel obligated to dispose of. Not through actual fault of her own, but not being able to control her emotions and what she does when she loses control is kinda her own fault. She never wants to hurt someone, but it definitely happens more and more often these days. Eventually, someone she cares about is going to be hurt.
She just hopes it isn't Johnnie or anyone he cares about.
Seeing him look at her like she's a monster or a dog that needs to be put down would destroy her.]
Prob'ly shouldn't find out. Anyway, it's not like we're ever gonna need to run into him again. Better not.
[And best not to even waste time thinking about it, it's making his pizza less delicious. He does his best to shrug off the whole topic as he enjoys some long stretchy cheese that didn't quite want to separate from the slice, before the whole thing winds up in his mouth ultimately anyway.
Once he's finished, he has a long chug of his new! coke, decides it's pretty good after all, and then tosses the empty can in the direction of the trash and flops backward on the bed.]
Pizza was the best fuckin' idea.
Pizza really was a good idea.
[That's easy to agree with, and words trail off into more kissing as she enjoys casual making out for a few minutes. Or maybe it's a little longer, she doesn't really keep track.]
Are you still gonna head out for a few hours? I'm pretty tired now that I'm full.
[He may not be riding on that energetic high as much as he was earlier, but he's still excited to be in a new city and wants to give it plenty of exploration. New city, new road trip, and who knows what he'll find.
One more kiss, as he brushes his fingers through her hair, and then he sits up and stretches. He does need to get up and get going or the pizza will make him lazy.]
Yeah, I wanna go look around. But you rest up, okay? I'll come getcha when it gets dark out.
[That last part is murmured, and she scoots up so she's resting against the pillows and is able to get under the blankets. Typically she might ask him to tuck her in, but she's actually pretty tired and it's easy for her to let her eyes drift closed. She's asleep before he ever leaves the room, and rests soundly for a long while.
He's still not back when she wakes up, and that's okay. It gives her time to get up and moving, to get in her yellow dress and to put on her makeup. She's in the middle of styling her hair when she hears the door open, and peeks out to see Johnnie walking in. He's given a bright smile and a wave before she pops back into the bathroom to finish up. If they're going out, she has to look good.
And that means dark red lipstick and lots of eyeliner.]
Did you find any trouble out there?
[It's called out as she works another layer of mascara on her eyelashes, her face pressed in close to the bathroom mirror.]
By the time he comes back, his curiosity isn't fully satisfied, but the wandering felt good anyway. He barely understands the city any better, but it felt good to get out. Feels good to walk in the door with a bag full of treasures, too, mostly shoplifted or snatched when he could get away with it, bought only when he had to. The eighties are just too damn expensive.
He grins as he looks her up and down.]
Damn, babe. You're gonna be the hottest thing in the dance club tonight. Those chicks out there on the streets got nothin' on you right now.
[As for her question though, he goes to upend the bag on the bed. Boxes of pop tarts only make up a small part of it - mostly it's goodies from glove boxes, and things utterly mysterious to him too. More than a few cassette tapes are in there mixed in with a modest amount of cash, jewelry, and pills he's never heard of but that might be wanted by the right people.]
Not nearly enough trouble goin' on during the day, but I guess there's still plenty of people in your time who leave shit wide open for the taking. You know any of these?
[He grabs a few of the tapes and brings them over. Madonna, Sting, and a group called Wham!, punctuation included, which makes him grin.]
[She's grinning as she looks through the tapes, but holds up Madonna.]
I hum her songs all the time. We'll have to listen to this one together later.
[The fact that he got her something at all makes her want to snuggle in close and kiss him, but she's even wearing lipliner tonight and doesn't want to mess it up. She doubts he wants to get red on him either, so she'll just save kissing him for later.]
I want to stop somewhere before we go out dancing. I know there's skintight and short dresses in some store around here, and I have to find one to wear out.
[If they're going to be in the 1980s, she wants to look her absolute skankiest without it being trashy.]
I think I'll head out for a few minutes to find one while you're getting ready, so you have the bathroom to yourself. But I won't go far, and I'll have my knife on me.
[In case he's worried about her getting lost or hurt or something.]
It is not the first time that it has hit him just how much she's changed since he met her, but shit, this is a fun reminder. He grins as he pulls her in for a kiss - to the forehead, where he can't see any easily smudgeable makeup, so it's probably safe.]
Sure, baby girl, you have fun. Hey, wait, but whatcha think, am I gonna stand out too much dressin' like usual?
[Not that he cares if he does, but he's not opposed to finding something to wear, just this once. Every now and then the mood strikes him. But out on the street, jeans and a leather jacket didn't really stand out all that much so he's probably fine. Maybe if anything he should just tweak the way he styles his hair somehow.]
[It's so hard to not kiss him, but she blows him a kiss on her way to get her knife and tuck it into her bra.]
If I'm not back in an hour though, maybe come look for me?
[There's always a chance she could wind up arrested or something stupid. She can break herself out, but she doesn't want to ruin their trip by accidentally blowing a hole in California or something.]
[He means that in a teasing way but actually, that's probably realistic. She's going to look for dresses until she finds one she likes, after all, right?]
An hour though, got it. Hey, there's some nicer kinda stuff if you turn left out the front door an' go that way, toward downtown. Gets kinda shitty the other direction sooner. You have fun, all right?
[He's not that worried. Only slightly. She can mostly take care of herself, just that sometimes things go real weird when she does. He chuckles at the thought of her turning a city block into a black hole, and lights himself a cigarette meanwhile.]
[She winks, and blows him one more kiss before she heads out the door. Of course she listens to his suggestion and heads toward downtown. It takes her a couple of attempts to get going the right way, but eventually she finds the nearest pretty dress store and heads right on in.
It's a little harder to steal a whole bunch of things when the store's about to close and she's the only one inside, but she definitely tries. All she ends up able to grab are some new hoop earrings. It's the next clothing store down that's already closed, and she breaks in through the back to enjoy the store that's aglow with ambient lighting.
She takes her time in there, being quiet as she grabs things that catch her eye. If she wants to bring some 80s clothes back home with her, she wants to pick out the best ones. Grabbing everything just for the sake of doing it doesn't feel right, so she fills up two bags with what she views as essentials. It's on her way out that she finds the perfect sequin minidress on a mannequin, and she pulls it off to head back into the fitting rooms to change into it. Her beloved yellow dress is folded and put in the bag, and she puts on her stolen hoop earrings. A pair of heels tops off her new look, and she puts her sandals in the bag to make it back to the hotel.
It's dark when she gets back, and since she didn't grab a room key she has to knock lightly at the door so Johnnie will let her in. As soon as he opens the door she gives a spin, and heads inside so she can set her bags down.]
See? I look better now than I did in that other dress. And I got all the stuff I'll need to bring back home with me, so you don't have to go to any girl stores!
[Both arms raise up into the air, which makes that minidress rise up far enough that there's little left to the imagination.]
So after trying a few styles, he decides it's just not fucking worth it and slicks it back like normal, and enjoys himself some TV and another smoke until she's there at the door in dazzling glittery blue. It's just about enough to get him hard then and there - shame she spent so long on that makeup, since that's all that's stopping him from shoving her against the wall.]
Oh, goddamn. 'Bout takes my breath away. I mean that. I dunno how I'm gonna make it dancin' with you all night.
[He'll never get his hands off her. Even now, his palms go to her hips and guide her in close. Fuck.]
We're gonna have such a fun night. We'll dance until you can't keep your hands off of me anymore, and then we'll find somewhere you can show me how irresistible I am.
[She's never had much of an ego, but she's feeling confident and attractive tonight and wants to let it show. It's nice to finally accept how much she's changed the past handful of months, and really wants to celebrate the woman she's becoming by going out and having a hedonistic night of indulgence.]
Are you ready to head out?
[He smirks and takes a step back so he can take her hand and pull her into a little spin, but then lets go so he can triple check that he has what he needs. Knife, wallet, smokes and lighter, pistol not because he thinks he'll need it but because he doesn't want to leave it somewhere it could get stolen. Better if it's safely tucked away in his belt.
The hotel key is one last thing to grab, and he goes to hold the door for her on the way out to the bike.]
That little dress is gonna ride all the way up with you sittin' behind me, y'know.
[He snickers as he leads the way and hops onto his bike, then offers her a hand up.]
But I found some real fun-looking spots when I was out earlier, so let's go see if some a' these bands playin' shows tonight live up to all the praise on the posters.
[Maybe her butt hanging out, but they'll be driving so fast it's not like anyone will really get a peek. And even if they do, who cares? She looks good and everyone should get to see that. She's still grinning as she settles in behind him on the bike, and her arms wrap around him nice and tight.
He seems to have an idea of where he wants to take her, so she just enjoys the short ride. It's no time at all before he's parking and helping her off the bike, and she takes hold of his hand and leans in for a kiss before he leads her inside.]
Club DV8? Oh! I get it! We're about to deviate, huh babe?
[She does a silly little dance as they reach the doors, where they're promptly stoped by a giant bouncer who asks to see Johnnie's ID. He notably doesn't bother mentioning that he'd like to see hers.]
C'mon, man, you got an invite list or somethin'? I'm twenty one, gimme a fuckin' break.
[Honestly, the guy will probably do something shitty like bend his card in half if he hands one over, once he reads the birth date. And these things are expensive and annoying to get, he doesn't really want to lose one. Benny Garcia is useful at home.
The bouncer is not swayed whatsoever by his attitude and holds out a hand as one last request.]
Prove it, then, bucko.
[Johnnie glances over at the door. There's probably a back way in, every club and bar has a kitchen door somewhere. The smart thing to do would be to step back, give up, and find that alternate entrance, or have Chrissy let him in from the back.
But he's not smart, he's annoyed, so the fleeting thought disappears as Johnnie stuffs his wallet back into his pocket instead.]
Fuck you, man. You don't wanna fuckin' mess with me. You lemme in there or you're gonna have some real fuckin' regrets in a few seconds here.
[To which the bouncer looks him up and down, grabs him by the jacket and shoves him away from the door to make room for a couple who have just come up behind him.]
Come on, we'll just go in the back. And if we can't do that, I'm killing that guy and we're going in the front.
[They stroll along to the back, where Chrissy gets distracted from actually finding a service entrance by pushing him against the brick wall to kiss him. It definitely gets a little red on his lips, and she laughs as she wipes it away.]
I think a band is going to the side door. Let's follow them in.