beyondtheline | (no subject)

(no subject)

[Chrissy falls into a deep, dreamless sleep. She doesn't wake up until he pulls her out of sleep the next day. Despite knowing that Hawkins lies ahead of them, she's in a rested and good mood as they pack up their things and get ready to head out. They stop at a diner about thirty minutes away, and don't waste too much time eating. That probably has to do with the fact they both inhale their food and then some, and Chrissy's pleased to note that the waitress can see them just fine.

So maybe he's right, and they're only half dead. Either that, or starving ghosts can make themselves be seen in the name of getting food.

They go wash up in the bathroom before heading out from the diner, and Chrissy almost tries luring him into one of the stalls with her. But she behaves herself, feeling a little tense as they head back out to his bike.

The drive to Hawkins both feels like it takes forever and goes by too quickly. They listen to music and quietly chat about their childhood, and Chrissy keeps her arms wrapped tight around him the entire drive. Occasionally she presses a kiss to the back of his neck or his leather clad shoulder. The affection is easy and natural at this point, and he doesn't seem to mind her giving it to him anymore. It's just part of the way they are together.

That easy affection continues as they pull into Hawkins and Chrissy feels sick to her stomach. It's late afternoon by the time they pull up in front of her house, and her legs feel like they're made of Jello as he lifts her off the bike. She takes two steps before stumbling right into him, clinging hold of his hand for dear life. ]

I don't know if I can do this.

[She whispers, feeling so stupid. He's here with her, she can do this. She just has to be strong like he's teaching her to be.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sure do. Might be a couple years outta date though.

[Or like decades, but thankfully the main roads haven't actually changed, and the rest he's fine with figuring out as he goes. As long as he doesn't somehow slip too much farther in time, it should be all right. If things start looking like they're all glowy and there's flying cars then he'll have to reassess.]

Can't really figure out when I'll end up next. Guess we'd better hope you're stuck with me as long as we're together. I'll warn you though, it gets weird. I drove through Iowa during the Prohibition, made that place even more boring than you'd ever believe.

[Pants and underwear and a plain black t-shirt on, that's close enough. Next, time to hunt down his comb.]

[Sure enough, she does find a fold out map of the US. She pulls it out and goes back to sit on the bed, curling her legs beneath her as she unfolds the map. She leans over it and studies it closely, trying to see if anywhere stands out to her as being interesting. It doesn't really matter where they go, just as long as they stay together.]

I'm not going anywhere. [She pipes up as he talks, looking worried at the prospect that she might be separated from him. But that kind of thinking will ruin the mood, so she just shrugs it off and continues looking over the map.]

It might be fun to see the east coast. There's a lot of little beach towns there. I don't think it really matters when we go. Just as long as we get to see everything.

[Comb. Nice. He makes an attempt to de-spike his hair, and then finally turns around to look at her to discuss their destination. He was already smiling (making fun of Iowa will do that, after all) but now his lips part as he sees her, and he's both surprised and quite pleased. He chuckles a little and gives her an approving nod as he smooths back his hair.]

Well, that looks damn good on you, don't it? Look at you, reppin' my crew.

[Yeah, he already knew she needed a leather jacket but now? Extremely convinced.]

Maybe before we clear outta town, we'll have to pick up somethin' like that for you.

[She feels her cheeks grow warm as he takes notice of her in his jacket. It's hard not to look so sweetly pleased at his praise, particularly when she thinks of their acquiring one for her.]

Yeah? [Her head ducks as she grins, looking so smitten in that moment that she's a little embarrassed.] I'd really like that.

[As she glances upward to look over at him, the sight of him standing there nearly steals her breath away. Oh gosh, she's got it so bad. But he is really handsome, with his wet hair combed and the way he's looking over at her. In order to distract from the fact she looks completely in love with him, she picks up one of the bed pillows and tosses it over at him.

Her grin is wide and toothy after doing it.]

Want me to fix your hair for you?

Hey-

[He lets the pillow slap him full-on in the face and chest, then grabs it up as it flops to the floor and tosses it back onto the bed.]

Yeah, since you just fucked it up.

[He's laughing, though, obviously not actually bothered. He's all too happy to come sit down next to her on the edge of the bed and hand her the comb, then drags the map over so it's partly on his lap and they can both look at it.]

Y'know, we're real close to Nashville. Really oughta go down there, try an' catch a show, scout out some unknown legends-to-be at a bar. An' then afterward, head for the coast, I won't keep you from your beach.

[Grooming is the kind of thing that Chrissy lives for. Taking care of him in little ways makes her happy, and she's delighted as she rises up on her knees and shifts to rest behind him so she can comb his hair for him. She tries one style before combing and attempting another. ]

Nashville would be a lot of fun. I could go to a few bars finally! And —

[It's right then that the door knocks, and Chrissy gasps in alarm before she remembers they ordered a pizza. There's one last comb to his hair to make sure every last strand is in place, before she dips down to press a wet kiss to his cheek.]

Money is on the table, baby.

[Just in case the delivery driver can see into the room, she's quick to crawl under the blankets so they won't see any part of her. The second he has their food haul and the door is shut though, she's crawling out from the blankets to stand on the bed.

She's bouncing in excitement, which turns to an all out jump as she lands flat footed on the carpet. After everything, she's starving.]

[All right, he can sure get used to this. Chrissy can play with his hair all she likes. It feels nice, and he's content to close his eyes and enjoy the attention.

He pats her shoulder in thanks as he gets up and swipes the bill off the table, then swings past the bathroom so he can have a glance at how she did. Nice.

The door, well, he does approach with some caution and peer through the peephole first. They kinda did just set a whole bunch of fires in a town to the north, after all, and while it would be tricky for the police to have found them, given his unlicensed out-of-state bike and some probable witness confusion over their inconsistent visibility, it's not impossible. In fact, it's probably a good reason to look cleaned up and groomed and not wear his jacket, just in case.

But instead, no, it's the pizza delivery. Sweet. He opens the door, then grins as the pizza guy clearly peers right through him, looking for whoever opened that door.]

Ah man, you're havin' a fucked up evening, huh? Lookit you. You want this?

[Johnnie slaps the twenty against the wall right at eye level. The delivery guy's hands are full, one with a pizza box and the other with a bag containing the rest of their order, but he sees the money, that's obvious. Probably figures it's taped there. The guy crouches down to put down the goods, and reaches for the bill, but Johnnie slides it up the wall, then down, out of his grasp and erratic.

As the delivery driver shouts and falls backward, startled, Johnnie scoots the food into the room, folds the twenty into a tighter little bundle, then flicks it out onto the pavement past the door. And just to be an asshole, as the guy starts standing, then reaches for it, he gets a swift kick to the ass to keep him down a second longer.

But that's enough fucking around, he's hungry, so Johnny while crowing with laughter, nudges the door closed and locks it, then brings their victory prize in and sets it on the table.]

Jesus, that guy's face! You shoulda seen it. Poor dude's got a hell of a story for his coworkers now.

[Time to dig in, though, finally. He sits himself down and grabs a slice and promptly gulps down a huge bite. Mmmm, hot cheesy goodness.]

Johnnie!

[Chrissy tries to scold him. Really, she does. It's just that it's hard to do when her mouth is full of pizza and she's busy laughing at his antics. She feels a little bad for the delivery driver, but it's not like he actually was hurt. So it's easy to just laugh it off and playfully roll her eyes like she can't believe how childish he can be.

That doesn't stop her from going to sit in his lap, turning sideways when she sits so they both can continue eating with no issue. She's still in his jacket and probably shouldn't be while eating something so messy, but she figures he'll say something if he minds.]

I bet he'll come back here with friends to see if the room is haunted.

[She thinks to reference Ghostbusters here, but she's pretty sure he hasn't seen the movie yet.]

[His jacket has seen a lot worse in its day. He just smiles and bumps his nose against the side of her head, rather than smudging pizza lips on her when she's all clean, and then reaches over her to grab one of the bottles of coke and crack it open for a drink.]

Yeah, well, I'll be ready for 'em if they do.

[And on the one hand that sounds hilarious, so he's all in favor, but on the other, he probably should get a solid night's sleep after everything that happened today. They sure did a good job of ending it on a high note.]

Anyway, I guess it technically is haunted right now, they wouldn't even be wrong.

[His answer makes her giggle, and she doesn't even care that her mouth is full. Manners are overrated when someone's seen you naked a few times over. ]

I'm feeling too happy to really care if they come back. We'll just have to scare them if they do.

[It feels strange to say that she's happy after everything that's happened. But he's really done a good job of turning things around for her. She still is thinking about what happened back in Hawkins, but they feel so removed from it now that it's easier to repress the memories. And he makes her feel so safe that she doesn't think there's any threat out there he wouldn't be able to take on if it meant keeping them together.

After she swallows the bite that's in her mouth, she takes the bottle of Coke from him to take a drink. A kiss is pressed to his cheek, leaving a greasy little lip mark behind. She has to laugh quietly at it, but she's kind enough to wipe it away so he won't see when he looks in the mirror later.]

Can I ask you something?

[She sure does like swiping things from him, doesn't she? Not that he ever minds. If she's the sort who loves being extra-close, sitting on his lap while having pizza and stealing his soda and his weed and whatever else at any given time, then all the better. It's cute how affectionate she is.

Her question does make him raise an eyebrow though. He shrugs before replying, given he has a mouthful of pizza, but then swallows.]

Yeah, of course you can.

[Asking if she can ask something is what you do when it's the kind of question you're afraid to ask, but he'll keep casual until he hears whatever she's about to say.]

Do you mind this?

[She knows that he's the kind of guy that would be direct if he did mind her up in his space, but she also thinks that maybe the connection they've formed could put him in a place where he wants to spare her feelings.]

Us being like this, I mean. I'm not sure what we even are, or if it needs a label.

[But there's something about the intimacy and the ease with one another that they have, that makes Chrissy's chest ache. It's maybe a big topic to bring up over pizza. But she'd rather have the talk out of the way by the time they fall into bed together.]

[Okay, he's not sure what he was expecting but it somehow wasn't... this? It's true that they've taken to each other with a shocking amount of ease, and that he's finding himself enjoying every moment of it.

True, too, that he wants her to stick around. That if she decided she'd had enough, and wanted him to drop her off somewhere, he'd actually have a hard time with that for a while. He's not sure that he's ready to call it love, but whatever he feels, it's true, and it's pretty intense.

Well, all right. A few minutes' thought proves enough to him on the topic that he can give her an answer, and it'll be a genuine one. So the moment's surprise softens on his face as he hugs her close with one arm, given the other hand is still occupied by pizza crust.]

Why would I mind this? Chrissy, you're... I dunno, you're one of the better things that's ever happened to me. I can't get enough of you. I want you to stick around, an' come back with me to California. Fuck, babe, don't worry about anything, all right? An' - I mean, you want a word for it? Pick your favorite. All that matters is it's you an' me.

[Have a pizza kiss, because that's the only kind he's got right now.]

[Well, it's not a garlic bread kiss. And really, any kiss from him is a good kiss. Which means she smiles against that pizza kiss, and chases after his lips as he breaks away.]

I'm not worried about anything.

[It feels important to clarify that. She reaches for a breadstick and munches on it as she tries to think of how to best put her thoughts into words.]

It's just that the longer we spend together, the harder it is not to tell you how I feel. Sometimes it feels like it's going to burst out of me. And I didn't want to scare you away.

[Her smile is starting to take over her face again, and she winds up briefly leaning to press her head against his in an effort to hide it.]

You're right, though. All that matters is that it's you and me. It's us against the world now.

[She's feeling a lot, then, isn't she? He probably should've predicted that. Virgins get clingy, or so it's always said. But who the fuck cares, because he wouldn't trade this for anything. As long as they keep getting along so well, then he'll just call it good fortune they found each other.

He rubs her side as he polishes off the crust of that pizza, then takes the bottle of coke back to wash it down.]

Don't be scared of shit like that. That's your feelings, they're important. That's what makes you you, y'know? That's the shit that inspires poetry an' music an' everything that makes people memorable.

[It also tells him pretty much exactly what she's struggling not to say though and yeah, she does have a point mostly in that they've known each other for all of a few days. But really, if anything, he's flattered. He's made one hell of an impression, and judging by what he knows of her life back in Hawkins, it was a desperately needed one.]

[She makes a vague sound of agreement, more a hum than anything. Honestly, she's pretty embarrassed by saying anything at all. A large part of her worries that she's too clingy, but she reminds herself that he wouldn't be rubbing her side right now if it bothered him.]

Okay.

[Her voice is barely above a whisper, and she covers her face with both hands for a few seconds. All she can do is laugh at herself at this point, and she waits for her blushing to die down before she crawls out of his lap and off the bed.

His jacket is shrugged off and set on the table, since it's not like she's going to wear it to sleep in. No, she's definitely doing that naked. Her arms stretch out above her head as she saunters back to the bed, perching carefully on the edge.]

Do you want to watch TV or something?

Uhh... actually, yeah, we're still in your time, right? What's TV like in the 80s?

[Hold on, as he stuffs a breadstick in his mouth, then holds onto it like that while he scoots his pants off. Food and naked snuggling, two simultaneous desires in conflict in one body right now. But with pants off, and with the end of the breadstick ripped off so he can chew what's in his mouth, he pulls his shirt up over his head and tosses that onto the back of the chair for tomorrow, shimmies out of his underwear, and brings the rest of the breadstick with him as he comes to join her. Of course, he wants under those covers because it's kind of chilly with no clothes on suddenly, so he gestures for her to either get in or move aside so he can wrap himself in blankets and enjoy his carbs.]

'Cause so far it's not all that different, except you guys have some cool new music an' the cars look different, but they still do the same things. Man, I hope we get to show up in like the year 2000 and see flying cars eventually, that would be fuckin' cool.

[His energy really is something else. She's amused as she watches him, but does eventually situate herself beneath the blanket beside him. It's about ten seconds after that she realizes there's no remote on the bedside table, and she has to crawl back out to go mess with the TV.

It's one of the older models, probably from the 70s. But she gets it on and settled on some comedy show with a laugh track that feels a little surreal and annoying right now. Blocking it out is easy, and as she gets back in bed she situates herself so she's cuddled right back up against him. It would be a shame to not do it, since he took the time to get just as naked as she is.]

You might be disappointed. I don't think very many things will change by 2000. But it would be really cool if there were flying cars or hover skateboards. Maybe robots will have taken over the world.

Man, imagine that. Bet you could do some cool tricks with a hover skateboard. Rather that than see the world taken over by robots, but maybe it'd be fun to smash through 'em an' set that shit right.

[Man, he suddenly has mixed feelings on the future. A world run by robots sounds absolutely miserable. But, who knows if it will ever even happen, and so he's not actually going to worry about it. Instead, he settles back with her at his side and works on finishing that tasty bread.]

Wonder if we'll ever go so far into the future the world won't be recognizable at all. Or, maybe we don't ever go farther forward than the 80s, you know? Like there's some kinda cutoff. I dunno how this shit works. Universe is fucked up, that's all I know, it's not like I understand the reasons behind it.

[Johnnie enjoying the breadsticks inspires her to grab one more for herself. She more or less picks at it, and winds up handing over the second half to him so he can finish it.]

Maybe there isn't any reason. I was thinking maybe we can go through time so easily because we're dead. But you know what? We haven't run into anyone else like us.

[Which has her wondering if maybe they're some kind of anomaly or something. It's probably better not to think about that, because her mind goes straight to the way they both died.]

We should try finding other people like us. There have to be some in a big city like Nashville.

Well... I'm pretty sure I know why I can.

[Subject to the whims of the astral plane or something, but hell, he has breadsticks and a cute girl, and no amount of angry thrashing around and yelling will fix his problems so he might as well enjoy the upsides and hope that she gets to come with him as long as she sticks close, like he'd said earlier. Let him warp time and space with her right against his back on the bike.

Anyway, she's right about the rest of that, and dwelling on the whole being horrifically murdered in the most evil way he knows isn't something he wants to do either, so. Other people, sure.]

I hope we find some, yeah. We'll have to keep our eyes an' ears open. Probably won't even be obvious to us, considering we'd see 'em just fine. Oh shit, I wonder if there's some kinda secret ghost bar.

[Her mood grows a little more somber at the thought of potentially being left behind. It's actually a pretty distressing thought, but she tries her best not to let it show. She's good at smiling through what she's feeling, but his mention of a secret ghost bar puts a genuine grin on her face. She even gasps a little, jaw dropping as she halfway sits up, her arms briefly outstretching in her excitement.]

There has to be! Once we get back to California, I bet we'll find one.

[The thought of there being new life in ghostly locations once again contents her. She's grinning ear to ear by the time she presses a kiss to his shoulder.]

We'll have so much fun, drinking and dancing until we're ready to pass out.

That's every bar, babe, ghosts or no ghosts.

[He laughs and squeezes her close.]

Really can't wait for you to see California though. I really miss those guys. Just hope I get back to 'em, right time and all. When I started on my ride I really didn't mean to ditch for good, you know, once you're part a' somethin' like that you're there for life. An' after, in a way. We always remember our own.

[Family's family, even if it's forged through nighttime riots and burned-out buildings. Or maybe especially if it's forged that way, because it means nothing can stand between any one of them when they've all worked so hard as a team to pull off such amazing works of destruction.

Hm, he's craving a smoke. Well, he can convince himself to flop over out of the covers and dig through his bags until he finds his cigarettes and lighter, they're here somewhere - aha. Success.]

[The thought of getting to meet the guys that he clearly cares for so much is exciting. Maybe they haven't put a label on things, but she's not a one night stand. And he wants to bring her back to California with him. That means they're a little like her family too, and she grins as she flops over and watches him get his cigarette fix in.

They fall into a nice quiet silence as they watch tv, Chrissy cuddling back in close to him despite the cigarette in his hand. The sitcoms that are on are a little silly, but enough they both laugh here and there. She's surprised he's capable of laying so still for as long as he does, actually. Johnnie always seems to be in motion, unless he's sleeping.]

Do you think you could teach me to drive your motorcycle?

[She asks out of nowhere as a McDonalds commercial plays.]

I just think all the guys back in California would accept me better if I had a leather jacket and could drive a motorcycle.

[Being both pretty worn out and actually happy with her in his arms and food in his belly goes a long way toward keeping Johnnie actually content to stay in bed, that's for sure. And it strikes him, while watching TV here, that it feels weirdly like a vacation more than it feels like being dead. If he was at home there would always be something to do, especially at night. A party, a gig, some sort of business to handle or mayhem to revel in. It's like he's taking time off. It's weird.

Her question, like so many things, makes him laugh.]

Sure. Learn well enough and we can probably get you your own, too. But, uh, yeah - I actually was thinkin' about that earlier. If somethin' happens an' I can't drive, I'd want you to be able to. We can start you off on some farm roads out around here where there's nobody on 'em and they're nice and straight.