Small Town
Well I was born in a small town
and I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
and that's prob'ly where they'll bury me.
The two best feelings in the world are these: the feeling of bright stadium lights shining down on chilled skin, and the feeling a heart gets when one hears their name from a crowd. "Joestar" was just one of those names that wasn't just satisfying to chant, but much more satisfying to hear, and to Joseph, it wasn't anything new. But every time he ran out onto a football field, the sound still managed to be refreshing and revitalizing- really managed to get his engine going, if you will. The air was cool and crisp this time of year, and the lights warmed his skin while the chants warmed his heart. It was a great feeling, one everyone should experience, preferably more than once. Upon reaching the center of the field, close to the crowd, he turned to face them and raised his hands, encouraging them to get louder. It was fuel for his ego, a monster that didn't need fuel in the slightest, but it felt so damn good.
"Go get 'em JoJo!"
Oh, he was going to. The voice came from a tiny blonde situated as close as possible to the field while still sitting in the bleachers, though sitting wasn't exactly how Joseph would describe her current position. She was about halfway to falling over the family seated in front of her, bouncing and yelling and wearing what she wore to every game- a green and yellow Stormriders shirt with his last name on the back.
"Thanks Suzie," he mouthed, winking at her with an exaggerated point in her direction, arm fully extended. Slay 'em.
Slaying them, unfortunately, was not a thing that happened on his part.
Once out on the field, within the first half, he'd fumbled twice, tripped once, and nearly eaten a mouthful of turf. He had something else on his mind, and she was currently in the stands cheering him on, regardless of his off night. Luckily, his team could pull their own weight, and they finished out the game with another win. The Morrison Stormriders were well on their way to a perfect season… no thanks to Joseph. At least not this time.
After the game, he could hardly face the rest of the team. He made a quick exit as soon as he was able to change and get away from everyone, keeping out of sight as much as possible until he managed to find Suzie and his grandmother in the stands again, where they stood scanning the crowd for him. Smirking to himself, he climbed onto the bleachers a good distance from them, making his way up and around and coming to a quiet stop behind Suzie, holding his hands over her eyes.
"If you ever wanna see JoJo again, you gotta guess exactly what he's thinking about right now." His voice was deep and menacing, and all Suzie did was giggle. "This is no time for laughing, he's counting on you."
"Oh, he's counting on me? Okay then, I guess I'll play along," she says, grinning. "It sounds like the situation is pretty scary, so he's probably thinking about how afraid he is and when Miss Suzie Q is gonna come to his rescue." Granny Erina smiled at them with her eyes, watching the two of them play around, and Joseph made an obnoxious noise like a buzzer slamming down harshly on an incorrect answer.
"'Fraid not, but since you're obviously incapable of guessing, I'll tell you, " he says, bored. His voice immediately switched back to normal as he went on lightly, removing his hands. "He's actually thinking about milkshakes, and how badly he wants you to go get one with him. Like, a really big strawberry milkshake, specifically. With whipped cream. Sprinkles if you're feelin' fancy." He shook his hips a little.
Suzie turned to face him, beaming, and snatched the car keys hanging from his pocket, holding them up and dangling them in front of his face. "When could I ever turn down strawberry milkshakes?"
"Just make sure you drop me off at the house first," Granny Erina says, grabbing one of Joseph's hands. "You did a good job tonight, JoJo. But I'm old, and I'm tired."
Joseph felt his face get hot, and he pulled her in for a hug. He didn't have the heart to argue with her and tell her his game had been absolutely terrible. All she ever did was encourage him, and it would be rude to deny her that.
"Thanks, granny. We'll drop you off right now. C'mon, let's all head out."
The drive back home was peaceful and quiet. It was a bit tight with three of them, so Suzie had to squeeze into the tiny back seat, but she never complained. Long stretches of road with nothing on either side were commonplace when driving between towns around here, and it was dark everywhere the headlights couldn't reach. These were Joseph's favorite kinds of drives, and he would often use them to clear his head. Living in the middle of nowhere was something he'd come to appreciate rather than despise.
After they made it home and he'd dropped Granny Erina off and made sure she got settled back inside alright, he and Suzie hopped back into his car and she immediately turned the radio up. The radio in his car never left the classic rock station; it was just a fact, and one that anyone who rode along with him had to come to terms with quickly. Suzie was always a fan of his music taste, luckily, so they never fought about it when they were together.
"It's your favorite," she said, nudging him with her elbow as a new song started. REO Speedwagon. Nice.
"They were my dad's favorite, too," he told her, smiling. Dad had great taste when he was around.
"I know. You really only listen to music he liked."
As they drove past the only gas station and stopped at the only stoplight in town, Joseph found himself singing along, with Suzie joining in- a little off key, but it wasn't like he was ever gonna mention it.
"We climb and climb and at the top we fly, let the world go on below us, we are lost in time… and I don't know really what it means, all I know is that you love me in my dreams…"
They sang the whole song through, both of them a little exaggerated, as they made their way to the diner at the other end of town and pulled into the parking lot. Suzie was shivering when they stepped out of the car, so Joseph passed her his scarf to wrap herself up in. It was striped with the school colors, yellow-orange and light green, and… by the looks of it, they weren't the only ones wearing those colors once they got inside. The diner was of unremarkable size and full of people, and several of them turned to look in their direction as they entered and the little bell on the door chimed to signal their arrival. Normally, he would be happy to see everyone looking at him, but… news travels fast in a tiny town, and they all looked a little embarrassed for him. He was embarrassed for himself.
I played like shit, he thought as he found a table for two in the corner, plopping himself down in it and slumping forward. Suzie pulled her chair out herself, and sat down across from him. He tapped his foot on the old and chipped tile under the table, trying not to be a bummer. The team still won. They were still celebrating, but his pride was going to need a bit of tender care this evening. Suzie fidgeted with the little tear on the red plastic seat cushion she sat on, and then kicked her legs and spoke up, cheerful.
"You really did do great, JoJo," she said, leaning forward and propping her head in her hands. "Everyone has a few off games-"
Heading her off at the pass, Joseph said, "I think that was the worst I've played since freshman year. I can't believe I let all those catches slip right through my fingers. I can't believe I tripped."
"Oh, please. It happens to everyone."
Joseph groaned, kicking his feet right back. Oh boy.
"It doesn't happen to me," he protested. Suzie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I just… It doesn't matter. Thanks Suzie. I mean it. I'm glad you came again, and it means a lot that you aren't side-eyeing me from across the room right about now like those other guys. I guess I just had other things on my mind tonight. Distracted. Y'know."
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
Joseph laughed uncomfortably and shifted in his seat, feeling his face get hot. He was about to stammer out some sort of an answer when their waiter showed up, carrying a little notepad with a pen held ready to jot down their order. He was one of the only two waiters in the place, and as far as Joseph knew, both of them cooked, too. The place had loyal customers, but it couldn't really afford to hire more staff. Or improve. Nonetheless, Kenny and Jim did a hell of a job keeping up with it, even if it did look like it was a decade and a half behind the rest of the world. To be fair, though, the whole town felt that way.
"Hey, JoJo, Suzie Q." Kenny nodded at both of them in turn, and scribbled on the pad to warm up the pen. "You two know what you want tonight? The usual?"
"I think we decided earlier that we were craving the strawberry milkshakes," Joseph says, looking over at Suzie, as if to ask her if that was still the plan. She nodded, resituating the scarf around her shoulders.
"I want those little chocolate sprinkles on mine, if you still have them," she added sweetly. She started to work her hair into a braid absentmindedly, and Kenny laid the notepad on the table between them and doodled a little milkshake on it, with "x2" written next to it. He tilted his head thoughtfully, and then doodled some more, and this time it was a little basket of fries.
"The fries are on the house, JoJo. 'Always somethin' special on the house for the Joestar boy,' Jim always says. We gotcha."
He winked and turned away, and just to keep himself distracted, Joseph directed his attention to a girl picking out a song on the old jukebox. That thing had been there for as long as he could remember, and as far as he knew, the music selection hadn't even been updated. Good, he thought. It didn't need to be. The old stuff on it was perfect. The girl who'd been flipping through the selection huffed and walked away after a while without picking anything, and Joseph felt personally offended. He was usually the one to go over and pick a song, but tonight he didn't really feel like it.
He managed to steer their conversation away from the game both before and after they'd gotten their milkshakes and fries, and they spent the majority of their time laughing about silly things and talking about their week at school and how happy both of them were that it was Friday. Jim came out from the kitchen and spent a good several minutes talking with them as well ('how's Erina? She hasn't come in in a while… oh yeah? Good. You done any more work on that Mustang you got?') It didn't take them long to finish what they'd come there for, and pretty soon, Joseph was out of excuses and subject changes. As they stood up to leave, he was once again painfully aware of the eyes lingering on him, and it was hard to not just bolt. One of the regulars gave him a pat on the back as they walked out, and looked him in the eyes like he had something of the utmost importance to say.
"Don't worry about it, Joestar. Rough nights happen. But next week we won't be so easy on ya. Give those Foxes hell or we might boo ya outta the place."
Joseph laughed, but it was quite a bit louder and more forced than he intended. Next Friday was the homecoming game, and if they lost, they'd not only be losing the biggest game of the season, against their long-time rivals, they'd also be losing their perfect season. This man was not kidding in the slightest.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to kick 'em back into last year." Joseph stopped by the doorway, striking his town-famous touchdown pose, planting his stance wide with one hand up in front of his face and the other at his side. A majority of the diner customers' spirits seemed to lift, and they chimed in their support or clapped for him as he left with Suzie at his side.
He was glad he was able to get them to smile a bit more- his hometown was so tiny, everyone went into a bit of a sinking mood after football games ended. It was all they had to look forward to. Almost every house displayed the school colors in the yard, regardless of whether or not a student who attended lived there. School spirit was the most important thing to nearly everyone who lived there, and it was considered strange if someone didn't care or participate. Places like the diner and the corner store would actually close during Friday night football home games- everyone was at the school. Tonight, it looked like everyone had been watching from home.
"You really know how to work a crowd," Suzie said as they walked back toward his car. He couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not. "It's cute."
Cute was often a cringeworthy word, and Joseph was unsure how to feel about it in this context. He ran a hand over the hood of his car, and it felt cold and a little rough to the touch; it didn't have a finished paint job yet and was still rocking the primer he'd put on it… how long ago? Beauty took time, but restoring Aja was cleaning out his pockets good. Every little bit of money he earned went towards getting her exactly how he wanted her. It was a long process.
"It comes with the Joestar territory," he told her, offering a small smile.
"So… don't think I've forgotten, mister. Something's bothering you. It was bothering you for the entire game. You never answered me… do you want to talk about it?"
"Actually… yeah. Wanna sit in the car? It's breezy out here."
There it was. He was actually going to do it. He was going to talk to Suzie. There was no turning back. He sat down in the car and let out a huge sigh, and proceeded to rest his head on the center of the steering wheel, causing Aja to let out a comical beep at his distress.
"What's up, JoJo?" Suzie reached over and poked his leg, but he still didn't look at her. This stuff was difficult.
"So uh, I guess I should just… do it." Joseph laughed at himself, and turned his head so he was looking out the window, away from Suzie completely. "I was really nervous during tonight's game, I think, because I was spending the entire time thinking about this. I'm suffering."
"You're not suffering."
"You don't know what I'm feeling!"
"Oh, hush."
"Whatever." He sat up straight, turned to Suzie, and shrugged. "I know it's like, super late. But I wanted to know if you'd… be my Homecoming date."
The silence between them was painful. The air felt about ten times colder, and for a second, Joseph thought he may have forgotten how to breathe. Or maybe he was unable to, with the way the air around them had frozen both in temperature and time. He was sure he'd look back on this one day and laugh; surely the Homecoming dance couldn't possibly be that important. But it sure as hell felt like it was.
And just when he was about to combust, Suzie laughed. She laughed. And then she didn't stop laughing. And Joseph Joestar was mortified. She was going to say no. His life was going to be over. No one could know he was turned down flat by Suzie Q.
"Ahahaha- JoJo! This is what you were worried about?"
"I…? Wh.. yes? ...Should I not be? You're laughing. Stop laughing. Stop it!"
She had tears in her eyes, and it was embarrassing, and he was confused, looking at her with squinty eyes and a heart on the verge of either breaking or bursting, and he wasn't sure which one it was.
"JoJo, of course I'll go to Homecoming with you!"
Yes!
"You're my best friend!"
No!
Well, shit. The 'friend' word was exactly the word he didn't want to hear, and it sent a shock through his head that made him wince. Hopefully she hadn't noticed. He smiled at her and nodded aggressively, laughing with her in a forced sort of way and probably holding his eyes open a bit too wide. God dammit.
"Great! Perfect. I can't wait. I'm so glad I asked. Right. Do you have a dress picked out yet? I have to match the color or something, right? Yeah…" The worst.
She went on to tell him all about her light blue dress, and she was so excited that he was quite literally unable to stop her. It would've been cute under different circumstances, but he was practically wheezing at the pain of embarrassment in his chest. She never noticed, and he eventually dropped her off at her house, where she gave him his scarf back and graced him with… a hug.
A hug wasn't how he'd imagined the night ending when he'd thought about it for the last two weeks, but what can a guy do? He didn't even have flowers, or a nicely planned out date, or… anything. He never had money for anything. He barely had money for gas. At least he had a Homecoming friend. He could've asked any other girl in school to go with him, and he was confident they would've all said yes and been one hundred percent ready to be more than friends. But he didn't want to be more than friends with anyone except Suzie Q. And Suzie Q. didn't want to be anything more than friends with him.
Well, that wasn't completely true. To be fair, he hadn't asked her specifically to go as more than friends. He'd never asked her on an actual date before at all, actually. He'd just taken her places and she'd always assumed they did things together as friends. Maybe he wasn't completely out of luck- he'd just need to step it up and actually tell her what he meant when he'd asked her to be his Homecoming date.
The drive home was full of near constant thoughts about how the night had gone, and the rest of the night was spent at his house, rearranging the comic books on his bookshelves, alone, and listening to nothing but painful power ballads, alone.
You know. The usual.
(A/N: The title of this fic is the song Don't Let Him Go by REO Speedwagon. The chapter title is the song Small Town by John Mellencamp, and mentioned in the chapter is the song In My Dreams, also by REO Speedwagon. There will be a lot of classic rock referenced in this fic- it's my favorite genre, and the manga/show itself references it, so I highly recommend giving the songs a listen if you don't know them! Especially if I use them to set a scene.)