Author's Note: Yes, yet another KeelexMeredy oneshot from Tales of Eternia. This is a modern AU fanfiction, no spoilers. I also took liberties with Meredy's speech patterns because it gets really, really tiring to write and I didn't think she'd speak in third person in a modern era setting.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Eternia.
Joy Ride
Keele ran his hand down the smooth, unblemished hood, grinning arrogantly as people stopped to stare at his shiny new convertible. It was his pride, his joy, his baby, and above all, his newest technological toy.
Keele continued to admire the glare of the midday sun from the gleaming car as he waited for his old friend, Reid, to arrive. He was always secretly looking for a way to outdo Reid Hershel, whom he often referred to as the "egotistical meathead jock" at their school. No, Keele didn't consider himself to be selfish or haughty—he was just the innocent scholar who spent most of his time holed up in the library, researching the effects of global warming. It just so happened that he got his kicks out of subtly beating Reid, whether it was in the math class they shared or their chemistry course.
When his parents finally decided to buy him a car for doing so well in school, Keele jumped at the chance. Not only did he desperately want a nice convertible, but he also saw it as yet another chance to beat Reid.
Hmm. Maybe he was just a tad overconfident. Keele shrugged and quietly rubbed a piece of dust from the red paint—contrary to popular belief, red was his favorite color (and more often than not, the color of his face)—when he heard another car coming down the street. The familiar rev of the engine, the horrible music spilling from the overpriced stereos...
Keele turned stiffly and saw him smirking from the front seat of a compact black car. Reid Hershel. The name alone was almost enough to make his blood boil.
"Whoa! Nice car, Keele. I wasn't expecting something that cool from crybaby-"
"Reid!" Farah's stern call came from the passenger's seat as she jumped out and smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "Come on! Can't you be proud of Keele for once?"
"Yeah, yeah." Reid rubbed his shoulder and shook his head. "I already said it looked nice."
Keele opened his mouth, a witty retort already on the edge of his tongue. But a bubbly, excited shriek shattered his thoughts and sent his mind reeling backwards.
"Hweel!" Meredy half jumped, half-fell from the backseat of Reid's car and skipped up the driveway, flinging herself at Keele's convertible. "Wow! Keele's car is so shiny, I can see my reflection!"
"I-I-I-" Keele stuttered uselessly as the girl bounced around his new car, occasionally crying out in a strange language only she knew. Keele had figured earlier she probably learned it somewhere on the internet, but he wasn't completely sure.
'Damn you, Reid!' he cursed silently, still convinced that Reid was out to ruin his plan. He clenched his fist, resisting the urge to punch the jock in the arm. Although, he figured that even if he tried, his punch probably wouldn't even be as painful as Farah's teasing one.
"I'm surprised you didn't get one of those fuel-efficient cars," Reid said casually, running his hand along the side of the vehicle. "You're always going on and on about that global warming stuff."
Keele swallowed. "Er, yes..." he muttered, barely taking his eyes off Meredy. "And stop rubbing your fingerprints on the car."
Reid jumped back, holding his hands up innocently. "Sorry, jeez...someone's touchy."
Farah rolled her eyes at Reid and turned back to Keele, smiling encouragingly. "Congratulations, Keele! We're all happy for you. Aren't we?" She glanced meaningfully at Reid.
"Uh, yeah," he replied absently, placing a hand on his stomach. "Hey, Keele, got anything to eat? I'm starved."
Keele sighed, although he was happy that he had thought ahead. "There are snacks in the garage."
"Baiba!" Meredy had already wriggled into the passenger's seat of the convertible and was running her hands along the dashboard. "Keele, can you take me on a ride? I've never ridden in a car like this before!"
Keele blinked a few times and unconsciously rubbed his nose. "I, uh, well..."
"Keele would love to give you a ride," Farah interjected, winking at him. She nudged him towards the driver's seat. "Have fun, you two!"
"Yeah! And thanks for the snacks!" Reid called through a mouthful of pizza pockets. Keele glared at him over his shoulder; this had to have been planned from the beginning. It was probably revenge for the time their gym teacher, a scary man with a strange obsession for guns and cats, shot a dodgeball at them and Keele had miraculously jumped out of the way, letting the ball smack Reid in the face.
That had to be it, Keele decided, placing the keys in the ignition. Meredy bounced excitedly in her seat, staring at him with bright eyes.
"This is exciting! Where are we going to go?"
"Around the block, I suppose," Keele replied uneasily, gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled fists. He saw Farah waving him and wishing him luck from his driveway.
He was going to need luck if he wanted to make it through this drive.
He knew that Farah and the others were probably aware of the fact that he had secretly had his eye on Meredy after she joined their group midway through their previous school year. He detested her at first—she was an exchange student from another country, and he considered her unnecessarily hyperactive and easily excitable, two traits he found undesirable in a person. But slowly, as time went by, he came to like her and enjoyed her company, no matter how red his face turned whenever she simply smiled at him or took his hand in hers.
At first Keele drove the car very slowly, watching houses and tree-lined sidewalks crawl by at a sluggish pace.
"You can drive faster, Keele," Meredy urged, smiling widely as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He involuntarily shot to the side, causing the car to lurch across the road.
"Baiba! Keele is not a good driver." She giggled, sending even more shivers up his spine.
He drove up the next street, pressing his foot steadily against the accelerator. Meredy seemed to be enjoying herself, leaning back in the passenger's seat as the wind blew her hair across her face. She occasionally glanced at Keele, chatting incessantly despite his current inability to respond properly to her questions.
"Reid and Farah told me that you got a new car, and I wanted to come see it!" she said, clasping her hands in her lap.
Ah. So Reid wasn't trying to get back at him for the dodgeball affair.
"But I wanted to see you, too, Keele!"
His heartbeat accelerated when she said that. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and saw her smiling at him innocently, fingering the round blue barrette holding her hair from her eyes.
Feeling uncharacteristically bold, Keele took one hand from the steering wheel and placed it on hers. She hummed happily in response, squeezing his hand in her own. Keele smiled; this wasn't turning out to be so bad after all.
The car suddenly lurched and shuddered. He jerked his hand from Meredy's and threw it back on the wheel, quickly searching the dashboard controls for the source of the problem.
Meredy jabbed her finger at the needle pointing to a white E. "The gas tank is empty!"
Keele resisted the urge to slap himself. Of course the gas would run out when things were finally going well for him. The car slowed to a stop and he banged his head against the steering wheel, muttering inaudible curses against modern science under his breath. He should have gone with a fuel-efficient electric car.
Meredy patted his shoulder. "It's okay. I still had fun driving with you! We can do it again when you refill the gas tank."
"How are we going to get the car back to my house?" he wondered aloud, leaning back in his seat.
"Reid can push it. Reid's strong!" Meredy suggested, flexing her own muscle-less arms for emphasis.
Keele looked back down the street. They hadn't driven too far, but it still looked like a fairly long walk...for him, at least. With a resigned sigh he pushed the car door open, took the key from the ignition, and slammed it shut. Meredy jumped out of her seat and skipped to his side.
"Reid will probably only stay until your fridge runs out of snacks. Let's go! Reid eats fast," she said, taking his hand.
Keele felt his face heat up, but smiled weakly and said nothing. Meredy only smiled and gripped his hand tighter, pulling him across the shaded sidewalk. Hopefully Reid didn't eat too fast—this was one walk he wanted to last for as long as possible.