Korra fished around in her pocket for the simple instructions she had been given and looked over them again. In elegant handwriting they read "Meet me in the Taco Bell parking lot. Don't be late."
She glanced around but saw no sign of the man she was looking for. The Taco Bell was just down the road from her house, so she had cut across her neighbor's property for a quicker trip.
After a couple minutes of waiting, she decided to walk around the building towards the other entrance. Once she turned the corner, she finally spotted him, leaning again a '61 Cadillac, the dull black paint striking a contrast to the cream colored sidewalk.
"There you are!" she exclaimed, rushing towards the man clad in a dark grey suit with a shimmering black tie to complete the look. The neutral shade really brought out his piercing blue eyes and Korra silently cursed at herself for having noticed such things about a man clearly older than her.
"You're late," he replied in a stern tone, holding is watch in front of her. In brass roman numerals it read 1:48.
"Really, Amon? You're upset over three minutes?" Korra sputtered out in disbelief before elaborating, "I was waiting for you on the other side, so technically I wasn't late."
"Well I parked closest to the entrance, figuring you would see me when coming from the main road. And do not call me by my first name, I am your mechanics teacher and you will show me respect."
"Yes sir," she responded with a roll of her eyes.
He let an agitated sigh escape him before getting in the car, Korra following suit.
"Here," Amon grunted, shoving something cold into Korra's hands as he started the car.
"What's this?" she inquired, and paused to look at it before buckling her seat belt.
"A Frutista Freeze," he replied, not meeting her gaze as he began to maneuver through the stream of vehicles.
"How did you know I like them?" she asked, confusion evident on her face.
"You're always slurping on one in class. I got here early so I went inside to kill a few minutes."
"Wow, well, thank you very much," Korra thanked him before digging into the frozen treat.
They rode on in silence for several more minutes before Korra broke it by awkwardly saying "Um, I really appreciate you taking me to find the parts I need for my car. If anyone can help me find the transmission for a '73 Challenger, it's you," she ended the sentence with an unsure smile.
Amon gave a simple hmmph in return. He seemed to want to keep it a quiet trip, but the silence was driving Korra crazy. With one final attempt to create some background noise, she asked if she could turn on the radio.
"Fine," the agitated man replied in a resigned sigh as Korra immediately began to fiddle with the buttons to find a station she liked.
They were unable to agree on a station and battled for control until Amon finally flicked the radio off. He offered a compromise though; Korra could pick what they listened to if she selected it from his collection of cds.
She spent several minutes flipping through his worn out leather cd case, but found herself unfamiliar with most of the artists. After a few more pages she came across a cd that caught her eye. It was labeled "The Bouncing Souls" and was scrawled in red ink that didn't match her teacher's penmanship. The name interested her, so she figured it would be worth a try.
Once she slipped the cd in, she noticed Amon give a slight nod of approval. After a few songs had passed, she noticed how he began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel and mouth the words. The sight fascinated her because the man in front of her seemed so different from the stoic mechanics instructor she was used to.
To her surprise Korra found herself actually enjoying the music and she unconsciously began tapping to the tempo as well. They had a bit of a punk rock feel to them and would make a nice addition to her music collection. She made a mental note to remember to look them up when she got home. She still wondered whose cd it was though, but didn't want to come across as creepy for having recognized that it wasn't Amon's hand writing.
Almost as if he could sense her question, he broke the silence "My brother made me this cd. We actually saw them in concert together; they performed with another band, The Gaslight Anthem. Would you like to listen to them once this cd ends?"
"Sure, I would enjoy that," Korra piped up, intrigued to see her stoic teacher opening up so much, both in demeanor as well as speech.
They continued in a peaceful silence and Amon's rigid posture relaxed. He even rested his arm on the center console while he drove with one hand. The student found her gaze fixed on her teacher's fingers fiddling with a stray string on the cup holder and she began to notice many scars going all the way around his digits and the dorsal of his hand, crisscrossing over each other and intersecting at callouses. She struggled to resist the urge to lay her hand on top of his and softly trace over each bit of marred skin.
After another moment she snapped out of her daze and once again scolded herself for such thoughts that didn't even make sense to her. This was her tightly wound mechanics teacher who was taking her to a junk yard to look for parts for her car, and that's all she wanted. She had to repeat this in her head several times to make sure it was clear.
As she came back to reality she also noticed that the sun was beating down on them, glaring slightly against the windshield. Korra pulled down the visor in attempt to refract the blinding rays, but accidently caused an avalanche of papers and envelopes to fall down in the process.
While picking up the scattered debris, she noticed the name on them and couldn't resist asking the question now burning up her mind, "Wait, I thought your name was Amon, why are these under the name Noatak?"
At her inquiry, Amon immediately straightened up, hands gripping the steering wheel and eyes focused straight ahead. All traces of his relaxed demeanor vanished, he replied through clenched teeth, "Noatak is my name only by birth, and it is in your favor to never speak of it again."
"I'm sorry, I- I didn't realize it was a sore subject," she mumbled while staring at the ground, feeling guilty that she had prodded such a tender topic. A tense, nearly suffocating atmosphere settled between them.
The rest of the ride Korra focused on the landscape instead of risking saying something else that would upset her travel companion. She was unfamiliar with the area they were in and was captivated by the sprawling hills filled with trees marked with the warm colors of autumn.
She was so enthralled with the nature just a step away, that at first she didn't notice that they had come to a stop. She glanced over to Amon and saw him pulling the key out of the ignition so she decided to follow suit, unbuckling her seat belt and stepping outside the car.
She stretched while getting a view of the junkyard they had arrived at. There were many vehicles scattered about, most of them older muscle cars with various pieces missing. It was hard to tell how far back the array went, but there were several dirt paths winding through brush and rusting cars.
"This way," Amon broke the silence, tilting his head towards the path furthest to their left.
Korra followed behind him, eyes and mind focused on finding the model of car she needed. The man in front of her walked with priority, almost as if he already knew the location of the transmission they were after.
"Amo- Sir, this is pointless. We have gone through nearly all the paths with nothing to show for it and the sun will be setting soon," Korra huffed, wiping the sweat from her brow. She had an athletic build, the miles they had walked didn't faze her, but the heat was starting to get to her. How the hell can he not have broken sweat wearing that stuffy suit she wondered to herself.
"Well we can return to my car and leave if you want… or venture down one path I haven't shown you yet. Be warned, it is not one to tread lightly, though it is less travelled so it may have the part you need untouched," he answered her pointedly, though she couldn't ignore the slight excitement that seemed to creep into his tone at the possibility of adventure.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go before it gets too late!" Korra exclaimed while on her teacher's heels. She felt lively again at the possibility of finally getting the missing part.
"Right this way, ma'am" Amon replied with mock respect before steering them to the right and pushing through the brush until another path, previously hidden, came into view.
Korra jogged to catch up to him, but by the time she made it he had let go of the branches, which swung backwards, catching her in the face. A low groan escaped her as she made her way to where he was, and she decided to get her revenge. Crouching low she snuck behind the unsuspecting man before throwing herself forward and knocking him to the ground in the process.
Amon released a startled gasp as he collided with the well-worn path and grunted as he struggled to push his student off of him. He brushed the dirt off of his suit, ignoring Korra's gaze, but when he met it she was given a sharp glare though all she could muster was an impish grin in return.
"And what, pray tell, was that all about?" he asked, but even a man as uptight as Amon could not hide the subtle amusement in his tone.
"You hit me with the branches, I wanted pay back," Korra replied while shrugging her shoulders and continuing on the trail with her eyes closed in a nonchalant manner. She continued this way for a few more steps before a hand suddenly grasped her shoulder causing her to stop and turn around with a questioning glance.
"Well Miss I Can Do It Myself, you almost walked down a sudden hill," Amon said, still holding her shoulder. The girl under his calloused hands looked to where she would have surely fallen down and injured herself. She gulped as she realized how lucky she was that he had been paying better attention.
The teacher took the lead again and slowly made his way down the sharp decline. Korra carefully stepped around the stones and used crevices to get a good grip. The last thing she wanted was to tumble into Amon again, this time accidental. Once she reached the bottom she had to catch up to him again, and couldn't help but admire how he seemed to simply glide through the terrain, no matter how difficult it was.
"There it is, I told you it would be here," Amon said, a small grin breaking out over his face as he gestured to a faded green '73 Challenger that seemed to be in better shape than the cars on the other paths. Korra made a beeline to the aged car as the older man silently trailed behind her, watching her with amusement. She quickly scurried to the bottom of the car and crawled under in search of the transmission. A few minutes passed, then Amon heard muffled curses as his student returned empty handed. She was about to continue looking elsewhere for the part when suddenly Amon appeared behind her, gripping her wrist.
"Korra, wait," he breathed, hold on her wrist tightening as she cocked her head at him. He held a silent finger up to his lips and she strained her ears to listen; nothing at first, then a low growl that was soon accompanied by several more, the closest coming from under a nearby car. The student straightened up, pressing against her teacher for any protection he could provide as he slowly began to back away, holding her flush against him so as to not risk getting separated. She stumbled slightly in the overgrown weeds, which sparked a plan for Amon.
"Hold on tight and say nothing," he whispered to her, his lips hovering over her ear before he twisted around so that she was on his back, hiked her up, and took off running at his fastest speed, only slightly weighed down by his companion.
Korra heard the growls intensify as they seemed to be closing in on them from all sides. She held on tighter, but still risked glancing back to see what the source was and noticed several Dobermans beginning to catch up to them. She had been careless and not even thought to prepare herself for junkyard dogs.
"Get ready," was the man's simple warning before he leapt onto a tree, fingers barely wrapping around a branch five feet off the ground. He struggled for a moment to pull them up, but as soon as they were he continued up one more branch before he let his mind relax and shifted so that his student could sit on the branch beside him, but Korra refused to let go.
"It's fine, the dogs can't reach us up here, you can let go," Amon elaborated, though she still wouldn't break the iron grip she had around him. Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she rather enjoyed the feel of holding him close and the protection that came with it.
The agitated man let out a defeated sigh and leaned against the tree, giving in to the girl's insistence to remain hooked to him. Deciding to seize the chance and try her luck, Korra shifted her arms so that they were around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder.
"I suppose I make a comfortable pillow," Amon said, shifting slightly and folding his arms. He wasn't sure how to react to her, but was afraid that if he lashed out it may cause one of them to fall from their safe haven.
"How long has it been?" Korra asked with a yawn as she left her comfortable position against her teacher and began to stretch as much as she could from a sitting position.
"Two hours and 38 minutes," came the slightly groggy response and instead of questioning why he knew the exact amount, she instead focused on her surroundings. It was completely dark and she couldn't tell if the dogs were still out so she told Amon to find out somehow.
After a moment of thought, he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a cylinder. Korra strained her eyes in the moonlight and saw that it was a pack of Mentos. She gave him a questioning glance but he ignored her and focused on the task at hand. He dug into the pack and removed a few, which he then threw to the ground below. They waited for any signs of the dogs still being there and were met with the response of several angry yaps.
"Great," the girl groaned and slumped against Amon again.
"We may have to stay out here all night. In the morning they will leave for food and that's when we can make our escape," he sighed, his voice holding a distant tone as he tried to plot the best route for them.
"Well, my parents are away for the weekend so it doesn't really matter I suppose," she told him as she settled her back against his chest.
"Yes, just go ahead and make yourself at home," he replied sarcastically, though Korra did take him up on his offer and rested her head against his collar bone. He sighed in defeat but realized there was no point in arguing so he wrapped his arms around her instead. Dangling by his sides made him feel like he was going to fall, but this way he too felt secure.
Minutes ticked by slowly, and though Amon was content to stay in silence, he knew that it drove her crazy so he took it upon himself to think of something to talk about. He looked to the sky for inspiration and was struck with an excellent idea.
"Tell me, do you know much about constellations?" he asked, eyes still fixed on the stars.
"No, can't say that I do," Korra replied, shocked that he was inviting conversation.
"Well, over there is Ursa Minor, and over this way a bit is Sagittarius The Archer," he informed her as he lifted her hand in his to point at the various star arrangements and traced over them in the air.
"Which one is that?" she inquired with wonder, pointing to another cluster.
"That's Bootes the Herdsman. Below him is my favorite constellation, Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer" he continued, still gliding their fingers across the air.
She stared in awe at both his vast knowledge of stars as well as the sprawling sky above them. After he was done he went to lower their hands and was about to release hers, but she intertwined her fingers with his to keep him still. He complied and they laid together in comfortable silence as Korra gently traced over each mark on his hand as she had yearned to do in the car.
While trying to memorize every detail about the feel of his hands, she began to slowly doze off. Amon noticed her grip tightening as she slipped further into sleep and he rested his head on top of hers and spent his time memorizing her smell and the texture of her hair before he too nodded off.
The earliest rays of sunlight stirred Korra from her slumber, causing her to shut her eyes tighter and nuzzle her head into the soft object she had believed was her pillow. However, as she felt her "pillow" breathing and noticed her upright position, the events of the day prior came crashing back to her.
She looked below her and noticed that Amon had been right and the dogs had fled. She was about to wake him but took a moment to study him first. She had never seen him with his defenses lowered before and it was only highlighted by his wrinkled suit and how his normally pristine, slicked back hair was now spiked at odd angles from turning in his sleep. However he beat her to waking him up as he opened his eyes to catch her staring at him.
"Good morning to you too," he spoke, a smirk breaking out across his face.
Korra huffed and turned her head, desperately trying to hide the blush that she could not understand nor control. She shimmied to the edge of the branch and gracefully dropped herself below. Amon cracked his neck then followed suit, landing silently beside her.
The continued in comfortable silence though when they reached the troublesome hill once again, Korra held onto his wrist for support that she didn't need, simply because she craved the contact. After they made it up the hill she continued to hold his hand, and even persuaded him to intertwine their fingers again. She may not have gotten the part she was looking for, but she found something else she hadn't realized she was missing.
AN: Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it and welcome any feedback you may have. I would also like your opinion on whether or not you would like this story continued. Once again, thank you!