Disclaimer: I do not own the House Of Wax movie, characters, plot or otherwise. I do however own any OCs and my own plot.
Sum: It was Ellie's job to make sure Harley was okay; her parents trusted her with managing sister's 'problem.' Harley and Ellie get a flat tire on the drive to their new home. Miles from anywhere a man in a beat up truck offers them a ride to the nearest town. This is a Vincent/OC fic (2005 movie)
I got the idea for this after hearing the song "Ten Faced." Look it up on youtube the cover by JubyPhonic. (Original is Japanese). I was going to title this Ten Faced but the ten doesn't apply here. If you know the song you'll immediately understand what's going on but it's okay if you don't yet.
Lemme know what you think so far.
In Pieces
"Shit!" A girl with bright dyed lime green hair in two braids shouted as she slammed her palms on the wheel of the pickup truck. One of the tires had run over a nail or something so she had to pull over to the side of the road.
"Harley you shouldn't curse." The brunette girl who sat beside her said with a frown.
"Mom and dad aren't here, Ellie, I can swear if I want to." Harley said with a side glare to the older girl.
"You're right." Ellie agreed quickly. Harley let out a frustrated sigh.
"What are we gunna do now? We're in the middle of nowhere!" Harley slammed her hands on the wheel again.
"It'll be alright, we have a spare tire in the back." Ellie assured her quickly.
"How do you suppose we change the tire if we don't have a tire iron, Ellie? Really, I'm very curious to hear your solution." Harley said before opening the door and getting out. Ellie let out a small sigh and got out as well. Both girls were thankful they wore boots as the ground was rather muddy. Harley crouched by the tire and examined the damage before standing up and kicking it.
"We can just call a mechanic." Ellie suggested.
"It'll be hours before they get here." Harley said as she took out her phone anyway. "We actually have signal though so that's a good thing." She said before shoving it back into the pocket of her dark green jacket. Ellie pulled at the sleeves of her sweater. "This was your stupid idea." Harley hissed. "We could've just taken a plane; we would've been there in a few hours!"
"I know I'm sorry, y-you know how I feel about planes…" Ellie said in a small voice. Harley's face softened immediately and she frowned.
"I'm sorry, El… I know it's not your fault we hit a nail. I should've remembered to get a tire iron before we left, I'm really sorry." Harley said as she bit her lip.
"No no no it's okay." Ellie said as she quickly went over to the girl and held her shoulders. "I'm not mad, it's okay." Harley attempted a smile before she continued to frown. Both Ellie's and Harley's watches suddenly beeped twice and Ellie went into the truck to grab her bag. "Here…" she handed Harley a water bottle and a pill bottle. Harley stared at the pill bottle as she continued to frown with almost a blank look in her eyes. "Harl?" Harley blinked and looked at Ellie with a smile.
"I know." She said before taking one of the pills and handing the bottles back to Ellie to put in her bag. "So..." Harley started but stopped as she heard something. "What are the chances…?" Harley mused as the two girls saw a beat up old truck driving towards them. After a moment both girls instinctively scrunched up their noses as the truck slowed to a stop close to them the tools hanging in the back clanking against the metal.
"Need some help?" A man asked as he got out of his truck.
"Uh, yeah we hit a nail or something." Ellie said as she tried not to let her disgust show. Harley on the other hand was holding her nose.
"What the fuck is that smell?" Harley asked.
"Roadkill." The man said bluntly. Harley glanced into the back of the truck to see a dead deer.
"You hit it?" Harley asked.
"Nah, I pick 'em up, bring 'em out in the woods to a roadkill pit." Ellie noticed Harley was still looking at the deer so she nudged her. Harley frowned slightly as she looked away.
"Is there anything around here? A town, a gas station?" Ellie asked. "We have a spare tire but we don't have a tire iron… and we're actually running low on gas.
"Bo should have one. Runs a station in Ambrose." The man said with a smile showing his teeth. Harley cringed while Ellie tried not to.
"How far away?"
"I could give you girls a lift." The man offered.
"Is it that far?"
"Only about… 20 miles up the road. Kinda hard to find less you know where you know where you're going." The man said with a shrug. Ellie looked at Harley.
"I'm not walking 20 miles." Harley said under her breath before she started looking into the woods surrounding them.
"I guess… if you don't mind…" Ellie said as if silently hoping he would.
"Hop in then." The man said before climbing into his truck.
"Dibs on window seat." Harley said with a smirk before Ellie could even blink. Ellie nodded with a slight sigh and the two climbed in.
…
Every now and then the man would glance at the two girls with a crooked smile.
"How do you work the windows?" Harley asked as she looked at the door.
"Sorry, truck's seen better days."
"Could you put yours down then?" Harley asked. Lester gave her a smile.
"Sure thing." He said before rolling it down. "Sorry, you get used to the smell after a while."
"Not likely…" Ellie muttered.
"You can get used to anything if you're round it long enough." The man said. "You get 'em in the early morning before the sun bakes 'em up they're not that bad. If they're fresh I just take 'em home. Why waste the meat?"
"I'm a vegetarian." Ellie said with an uneasy smile.
"Oh." The man said with a small frown as if he didn't think that was a possibility.
"I'm not." Harley said. "Definitely not a vegetarian." The man gave her a smile.
"Um, how much longer till we get to this town?" Ellie asked.
"Just up the road. Ambrose used to be a nice town before the interstate came in." The man said. Ellie glanced down and noticed the knife on his belt. He noticed her looking and smiled. "You like knives?" Harley quickly turned her head to look at him. "Tools of the trade. You wanna see it? It's a bowie-"
"No!" Ellie blurted. "No that's okay." She said as she leaned forward to block Harley's view. "C-could you please put that away?" The man blinked but nodded and put the knife back in its holder. Ellie leaned back in her seat and let out a breath. The man glanced over at Harley who was now glaring out the window. Ellie gasped loudly as the truck came to a sudden stop. "Why are we stopping? I thought you were taking us to that town."
"I am." The man said. "It's just around that bend." He said pointing ahead of them. "Just gotta flip my hubs into four-wheel."
"We can just walk the rest of the way." Ellie said forcing a smile.
"Come on Ellie the man's offering to drive us." Harley said. "And I don't' feel like walking." Ellie swallowed and gave the younger girl a look about saying her name in front of the stranger.
"It'll be no trouble, just gimmie a minute." He said with a smile before closing his door.
"Harley, this guy's a creep." Ellie whispered as she turned to look at the other girl. "I just wanna get the tire iron and go."
"Stop being such a baby, you are the older one right?" Harley asked. Ellie frowned and bit her lip. The man came got back into the truck.
"All set." He said as he started up the truck. "Sorry, I forgot this way in was all washed out." He apologized with a smile. Ellie clung to Harley as the truck bounced through the mud and water.
"Weee." Harley said with a smile and a small giggle. The man chuckled and grinned at her.
"See that wasn't so bad." The man said once they were back on a road. They went around the bend and saw the town.
"Awe, it's a cute little town." Harley said. "So do you live here too or…?"
"Nah, got a place out in the woods. Close by though." The man said. "Here's the gas station, Bo should be inside." The man said as he pulled into the gas station. He got out of the truck and walked around to let the girls out. "Sorry I can't take you girls back to your truck, I gotta get back ta work but I'm sure Bo'll be happy to." He said as the two got out.
"Thank you so much." Harley said with a smile. "I never got your name." The man blinked in surprise as if he never expected anyone to ask him his name.
"Name's Lester." He said with a smile.
"I'm Harley. It was nice meeting you, Lester." Harley said.
"You too, Harley." Lester said with a grin. Ellie grabbed Harley's hand.
"Come on…" she said quietly.
"Buh bye." Harley said with a small wave as Ellie pulled her towards the door of the gas station.
"Buh bye." Lester said as he returned the wave before getting in his truck and driving off.
"Oh lookey lookey…" Harley said as she pointed. "A House of Wax. We should go see it while we're here."
"I just want to get back on the road as soon as possible." Ellie said with a frown.
"Awe, you're no fun." Harley said with a pout. Ellie pushed open the door to the shop and pulled Harley inside.
"Hello?" she called over the bluesy rock music playing on the radio. "Hello?" Ellie called again.
"Just a second!" they heard a man shout from the back room. After a few moments a man came out and turned down the radio. He cleaned his hands on a rag as he turned to the girls.
"We're looking for Bo." Ellie said.
"You found him. How can I help you ladies?" He asked as he stared at Harley, mostly her hair, as she looked around the shop.
"Uh, we hit a nail in the road and we don't have a tire iron to change it."
"You got the spare?" Bo asked as he walked past the two.
"Yeah."
"You got a jack too?"
"No…" Ellie said as she bit her lip.
"I could always tow 'er in and do it for you." Bo offered.
"That's alright." Ellie said. "We-we just need the tire iron."
"You're so rude today, Ellie." Harley whined. "And I don't feel like changing the tire by myself anyways. We both know I'm the one who's gunna end up doing it." Ellie frowned.
"It'd be no trouble." Bo said with a smile. "Shouldn't be more than an hour to go out and get the car, bring 'er back and change the tire."
"Come on Ellie. We can go look at the House of Wax while we wait. Oh please. Can we, can we, can we?" Harley asked as she jumped up and down while holding onto Ellie's arm.
"Uh the House of Wax is closed." Bo said.
"Awe." Harley whined. "I wanted to see it." She said with a pout. Bo looked to be thinking something over.
"Well, as long as you promise not to touch anything." Bo said. Harley gasped with a smile.
"I promise! Pinky promise!" She held out her pinky to him. Bo blinked and chuckled before hooking his pinky with hers. "If I break the promise I have to cut off my pinky." Harley said with a smile. Bo grinned.
"Harl." Ellie hissed as she gave her a look. Harley frowned and she and Bo unhooked their pinkies.
"I'll meet you girls up at the House of Wax once I finish."
"Thank you, it's a dark blue truck, about 20 miles down the road." Ellie told him.
"Got it." Bo said with a nod before looking at Harley. "Remember, you pinky swore." He said with a smirk. Harley smiled back.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Harley shouted as she pulled Ellie towards the House of Wax.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Ellie said with a smile. Harley giggled and let go of Ellie's hand to run ahead. "Wait for me!" Ellie called as she ran after her.
"The whole thing is made of wax!" Harley said in excitement as she felt the outside walls before she went inside.
"Harley, wait up…" Ellie gasped as she followed.
"It's amazing Ellie!" Harley said as she walked around all the figures. "Look at these!" she leaned over a table of small figurines that were half human and half animal. Ellie made a face. "They look so cool don't they?" Harley asked.
"Um, sure…" Ellie said. Harley looked at the painting above the table.
"I wonder who Vincent is…" she looked at the other paintings to see they were all signed by a Vincent. "Isn't this place awesome, huh El?"
"I'm not sure… wax figures kinda… creep me out…" Ellie said. Harley stuck her tongue out at her.
"Well I think they're really cool." She said. She stood by the two dancers by the counter and mimicked each of their positions beside them.
"Did they have to make everything out of wax?" Ellie asked as she looked at the articles on the walls.
"Of course! Otherwise it wouldn't be called House of Wax it would be House With Some Wax Things Inside." Harley said. Ellie suddenly heard a creaking sound.
"What was that?"
"Hm? I didn't hear anything." Harley said as she continued to look at the paintings on the walls.
"I heard something."
"Well wax doesn't make a sound does it, so you must have imagined it."
"No…I…" Ellie sighed. "You're probably right."
"I wonder if this Vincent guy made any of the wax figures." Harley said as she admired the small half human figurines.
"Don't people normally put their names on them?" Ellie asked. "Just check the bottom."
"I'm not supposed to touch anything, remember? I promised Bo." Harley said. "Though he said nothing about you touching anything." Harley said with a small smirk as she turned to look at Ellie.
"No thank you." Ellie said.
"Awe, come on, Ellie, please?"
"If you wanna know then you look." Ellie said.
"But Ell-ie." Harley whined. "Come on, do it for your baby sister." She said with a pout and puppy god eyes. Ellie sighed.
"Fine." Ellie said and picked up one of the figurines. "There see, 'Vincent'." She said before putting it back down. "Now you know. Happy Harley?"
"Yay, thanks sis!" Harley said before going into another room. "El, come look at this dog."
"Dog?" Ellie came into the room Harley had gone into to see the girl reaching out to a wax dog. As her hand grew close the dog snapped at her with a bark before it ran off. Harley fell back onto her bottom and started to cry as if she were a child and not a 23-year-old woman. "Harley!" Ellie gasped as she rushed to her. "It's alright, he didn't get you. You're okay." Harley sniffled and wiped her eyes. "You're okay." Ellie smiled down at her.
I know this ended abruptly but the next chapter starts with a pov change of the same scene. Lemme know what you think so far. If you haven't gone to hear the song yet I wonder if you can tell what's up with Harley.