Hello all. This is my first foray into the TSCC fanfiction. I do not own any of the characters, etc... I just like to watch them on the awesome show. That is all. Please R&R.
John listened to the code being punched into the telephone as he awaited the sound of her voice. Riley's chipper "Hi!" made a smile stretch across his face, a nice reprieve from his gloom and doom existence.
"So what are you doing all afternoon?" John paused and tucked around the corner as Cameron walked into the opposite side of the room.
"Probably studying, staying here until mom gets back with some supplies."
"Supplies? Sounds so… formal. Well anyway, you aren't staying home. The fair just opened up and you are coming with me. I think we both need to get out of the house. Come and get me in 30 in front of Brewster's." Riley hung up before John could protest. Sighing, He turned back around the corner, right into Cameron.
"Who called?" Cameron cocked her head in an inquisitive fashion that irritated John. Must she try to mimic humans so well? Was she trying to make him forget what she was? Well she couldn't, her soulless eyes would see to it.
"None of your business." John grabbed his jacket and began putting it on while Cameron watched in the same head-cocked fashion.
"Where are you going? Your mother said…"
"I know what she said. The same thing she always does. I have to get out of this house. Get away from you for a while." John stopped and thought about that. Had she been human such a statement would have crushed her. Cameron didn't flinch.
Still, something got the better of him as he turned back toward the machine. "That was Riley, ok? She wants to go to the fair. Probably only be gone a couple of hours."
Cameron finally moved her head, only to cock it to the opposite side. "I've never been to a fair. They seem to be quite dangerous. Non-regulated, complaints of worker intoxication and sparse inspection records."
"Listen, nothing bad will happen, Riley and I will go there for a little while, ride a few rides, eat stale popcorn and then come home."
"I am coming with you."
"No, you're not. You creep Riley out and I want her to have some fun for once. I want to have fun for once." Not giving Cameron a chance to argue or analyze, John closed the door and jumped into the truck. Its engine roared to life and as John watched Cameron walked right into his path.
Frustrated, John threw up his hands and collapsed back in his seat. Running over her was out of the question, although for a moment he wondered what would happen. With a fresh smile on his face he pressed the accelerator and the truck rocked and snarled. Cameron stood motionless and looked through him, daring him to do it.
John steeled himself and put the truck in drive. His heart raced and his hands began to sweat. He had no intention of driving over her, but he wondered how she would react to his little game of chicken. He held the brake and hit the gas again and the truck lurched forward. Cameron remained unfazed.
The truck lurched again, inching closer to the machine. Cameron stood her ground and remained motionless. The truck was now right on top of Cameron, and the next jump would hit her. Both looked at each other as John gritted his teeth. That same feeling swelled up inside of him as he threw the truck into park. "Damn." John jerked his head with a "get in" gesture. Cameron smiled.
"I have seen that game before." It had been ten gloriously quiet miles since anyone had spoken, but Cameron's admission broke the silence. "On a late night movie. The kids in the town wanted to dance, but the town leaders wouldn't let them. The new boy played by Kevin Bacon was an outcast that few people liked." Cameron went silent as she thought about something intently. Was she thinking? John could imagine all her data paths lighting up; cities of circuits flashing like a time elapsed city scene.
"Few people like me." Cameron stared at nothing out the window, and John felt a pang of guilt.
"Well you are a little hard to get along with. You are not what people would consider outgoing. You actually kinda freak people out."
"You are not outgoing either John. Not now, not ever." The conversation ended as the truck silently droned down the highway to Riley's.
"They played chicken with tractors." John didn't care to hear about a scene in a movie he hadn't seen, but listened anyway.
"Ren won the match when Chuck got scared and veered off the road. Did you get scared? I would not have moved."
"No I don't suppose you would have. And no, I didn't get scared, I just wouldn't have ran over you."
"Why?" Cameron turned her gaze back to John and the hint of curiosity in her eyes did scare him.
"Because mom would have been mad if I had damaged the truck." Being fed up with the conversation, John whirred the knob on the radio and music began blaring about the cabin. Cameron looked out the windshield, seeming to pout, and John liked that display even less than the others.
The truck pulled to a stop in Brewster's parking lot and John spotted riley sitting at a table with blue jeans and a blue shirt that brought her eyes to a lovely green. It was a nice contrast to the all black that Cameron had on. The sun's light caught her hair just right, making it glow about her head, and for a moment John got to forget machines and war and doom.
Riley waved upon recognizing John and hopped off the bench she was perched on; shattering the picturesque scene she had just been a part of. As she got closer, her smile faded. Snapping back to reality, John opened the door. "Stay here."
"I see your sister had to come along." The words hissed out of Riley's mouth, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled.
"So are we going or what?"
"Now is as good a time as ever."
Riley climbed up in the vacated front seat while Cameron glared at her from the back. The always happy blonde gave the machine a curt smile, then let it fade as she looked back to John. Riley motioned to Cameron with her eyes. John shrugged as Riley's hand slid over his.