"Are you trying to kill me?!" Chesney shouted as the car came to a grinding halt. Little did Chesney Brown know that when he had volunteered to teach Sophie Webster to drive that he was putting his life in her hands. But then she had begged him. There was no way that she would do it with her mother. They would end up killing each other. So she had gone to her old friend Chesney in the hope that he would be free. And here they were on a Sunday afternoon in a parking lot trying not to kill his van's clutch. He now wished that he had just stayed home with Sinead.
"Ches! Come on, the car just stopped" Sophie whinged.
"The engine just stalled because you murdered the clutch," Chesney explained trying to calm down. She sighed, doubt in her eyes as her shoulders fell defeated. He looked her in the face and grinned. "You'll get it Soph" Chesney reassured her.
Chesney had known Sophie Webster his entire life. He had needed someone strong and kind like her to get him thru his early life. Chesney had never had a father or brother to protect him like most lads. His mother's rotating door of boyfriends didn't help either. In hindsight he had sought out Sophie because she had the strength that he needed. And she was dead funny, smart, and pretty in that no-fuss-way. All the lads were more interested in her chavvy sister Rosie, but Chesney knew to stay clear. Sophie was way better.
Not that she was perfect by any means. She had a mouth on her and could be quite shouty. He'd heard a few choice words out of her mouth this morning. Words that you'd never expect from a Christian he thought. Sophie was not one that you'd cross. Any shoplifters in the whole of Weatherfield knew to stay away from her. Get caught and she'd strip you bare with that tongue of hers. He would always remember how she had stood up for Fiz, even when her husband had done such terrible things to her family. Sophie had stood up to her mother about it, which was no small feat.
He knew, though, that Sophie also hid a lot of insecurity behind that stroppy mouth of hers. He'd seen her fall apart first after her parents divorce and then when she'd lost Sian. It had been rough not being able to help her when she broke apart. To be far though he always knew that she would pull herself back together. Never underestimate a Webster.
"I've just got to do this Ches. I just have to" Sophie said to him. There was a desperate look in her eyes. "Why is this so important Soph?" he asked. "It's just…" she struggled to say, then ran her hands thru her hair. "If I can drive then I can go places on my own…don't have to depend on my mum…I'll be independent…" she said excitedly. It took Chesney a minute, but then he got it. "You want to be able to meet more people like you" Chesney said nodding. Her eyes beamed excitedly. "I mean don't get me wrong Weatherfield's great and all but it's hard," Sophie admitted.
As a teenager, before he'd met Katy, Chesney had fallen hard for Sophie Webster. He had been a bit gutted when he'd found out that she was a lesbian. He'd never known a girl like that before. Of course he was okay with gay people, I mean he thought George Michael was all right. And Fiz liked watching Mary, Queen of Shops when it was on. But he worried that Soph would change because of this, and he would lose not only a crush, but a good mate as well. Luckily that had not happened. Sophie stayed very much the same, as she had told Chesney back then "It's something inside me, about the way I feel, but it's just one part of me." It had reassured him that Sophie was still Sophie.
"No, I get it" Chesney nodded. And he did understand that for her it must be proper lonely. And taking cabs all the time was expensive, Chesney thought practically.
"Well come on, I'm supposed to take Sinead to the movies next Friday and she'll be well annoyed if I'm still here trying to get you to understand how to shift" Chesney teased. She smacked him on the shoulder playfully.
"Cheeky!" she smiled. Then she got the engine going again. Chesney steeled himself. This might be a long afternoon. He just hoped that she didn't hit anything.