A/N: Chapter 1 went over well, so here comes chapter 2! I hope you all enjoy this one as well! Thank you Death-Muncher, atothekc, and really special thank you to lederra, because I've read most, if not all od your stories, and that's why I am writing now…
Disclaimer- I do not want to own SoA, and this is the property of Kurt Sutter and FX's characters. Just borrowing them for a story. If I did own them…. Juice would die way too many times!
Prerequisite
Chapter 2- To Key or Not to Key
Juan Carlos woke standing. It was an odd feeling, being vertical when you should be horizontal. It had happened enough to know something kicked his instincts into high gear, though he couldn't figure out what. Then, he heard the rapping of knuckles on wood, and realized someone was knocking on the door. 3 seconds later, he remembered he was in a motel room. In a town named Charming. On the West Coast. Shaking his head, Juan took a step towards the door. Instantly, his thighs gave a throb, reminding him how he had been on his bike for over 45 hours straight. He groaned, but didn't stop the ground crashing towards him.. or was it the other way around?
"I need more sleep…" He muttered to himself, before the knocking started up again.
Army crawling over, the young man grabbed the door handle, and pulled himself up, unlocking it and sliding the door open. He recognized the face of the man last night, though now the face seemed pissed off.
"Check out was at noon, it's now almost 2 pm…." Juan's eyebrows rose, before turning back towards the clock. He then froze. He was butt ass naked. Luckily, only his chest was showing, so he hoped the motel owner, or so he assumed was the owner, didn't think too much of it.
"Ya.. shit, I'm sorry. Give me a second, I'll buy the room for another night…" He trailed off, looking towards the bathroom and spotting his pants and shirt, littering the floor in front of the door. He looked back to the owner, who raised an eyebrow, before throwing one of his disarming smiles at the man.
"Just… give me a second…" He shut the door quickly, hearing a huff from the other side, before half limping, half waddling to his dirty pair of pants. Juan quickly searched the pockets, finding the wad of cash and counted out 50 dollars, how much the room was last night. He looked at the last 30 dollars he owned, before sighing and making it back to the door. He paused, grabbing his sleeping bag and unrolling it, pulling on a pair of underwear and pants, before rolling it back up, and heading towards the door.
"I'm sorry, I don't have enough money for another night. Can I give you 10 dollars and get out of your hair?" Juan looked slightly ashamed, but he had been late checking out, technically, and the honorable thing to do would pay a late checkout fee. The owner studied him, before shaking his head.
"Look, if you are out of here in 20 minutes, you can keep the 10." He glanced around, before leaning in close, "And, if you come back tonight, around 8 pm, if we have any openings, will sell you the room for 30 dollars.." The man straightened, his gruff appearance returning. "But you would need to be out of here by 11 am the next morning."
The smile on the young man's face put even the sun's brightness to shame. "T-Thank you sir, I might take you up on the offer.." He leaned backwards, "I gotta pack, and get out of your hair… Thanks again.." With a nod, the two men went their separate ways.
Juan shut the door, leaning against it with a sigh. Stumbling over to the bathroom, he caught his reflection in the mirror, and winced. His right side had become a beautiful rainbow of yellows, greens and blues, probably from the stairwell. Turning, Juan groaned, actually seeing the tredmarks of Mark's boot in his bruising on his back. Knowing there was nothing he could do, the young man went to his sleeping bag, grabbing his dirty clothes on the way. He pulled on a plain black shirt, pocketed the 80 dollars before pausing and pulling a 10 out. He set the bill where the maid could find it easily. He then rolled up the sleeping bag, balled up the dirty sheets, and headed out into the sunlight.
Juan pulled into a fast food joint, grabbing a burger from the dollar menu, before hearing the rumble of bikes. Soon, about 8 bikes went roaring by, down the street, turned a corner, and were gone. He sat there for a second, chewing thoughtfully, before finishing off the burger and kickstarting his bike. He followed their path, not really hunting them down, but curious as to where they were going.
The journey wasn't long until he came across Teller Morrow Motorcycle & Auto Repair, where he assumed they had pulled in. Otherwise, this small town had a surplus of bikes. They were all parked, and most of the bikers had wondered in, though a few still hung outside. Juan pulled in, an uneasy feeling settling in his gut as all heads turned towards him. Finally, he pulled into a customer's only spot and hopped off, making his way to the customer service entrance.
A woman stood behind the desk, a beautiful gal dressed all in black. Her hair was loose, black with brown and blonde highlights accenting her youthful features, though she was older than he was. She was leaning against the desk, biting her lip as her eyes darted across the computer screen. Eyes wandering, Juan Carlos took in her figure, a lovely build, well maintained. Suddenly, her eyes met his, and he gulped. She had caught him, and fire were burning in her eyes.
"If you have something to say, spill, otherwise, 20 dollars to continue looking." Her voice was musical, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Of course, Carlos didn't see the smile, his eyes on the floor, his feet shuffling.
"I-I'm s-sorr…" He ran an hand over his semi-shaved head, the Mohawk was a comfort underneath his fingers as he blushed.
The woman stood, crossing her arms. "So, what do you want?"
Snapping to attention, Carlos threw a thumb over his shoulder, towards the outside. She raised a well manicured eyebrow. "My bike. It needs an oil change. Just came from the East Coast to here…"
Her smile suddenly turned extremely sweet. He realized that business probably wasn't perfect, and customer could sneak a peek if they could pay. "Our computer system is down, but if you fill out this form, we will get started on that." They both eyed the computer, before the woman hit it once and then grabbed a piece of paper for the young man to fill out. She walked to the door, looking at the row of bikes, instantly seeing the newcomer.
Juan went to work, filling out the paper quickly. Suddenly, the woman spoke, startling the man.
"What type of bike is that?"
"Oh…" A blush darkened his ears, "It's a Frankenstein. Mostly a Harley, but it is completely customized." He moved to the door, looking at his beauty. "How did you know which one was my bike?"
"Ah…." She turned to the young man. "My husband, may his soul rest in peace, was the president of the local Motorcycle Club…." She eyed them, seeing him drawing a blank, "SAM CRO?" He shrugged and she sighed, "You young kids have to keep in touch with the real world…"
Juan laughed, raising his hands. "Hey, I just pulled in yesterday. Don't get mad because I don't know of any gangs.." The woman shot him a death look, "I mean motorcycle clubs around here.." He handed her the form, throwing her a smile. "But maybe I can learn more about it….?"
The woman smiled, shaking her head. "Membership is limited.." She looked at the paperwork, "Juan Carlos… no last name?" The young man startled, before realizing how odd his name was indeed. But, maybe a fake last name wouldn't hurt….
"Oh, shit.. I'm sorry. Let me fix that.." He grabbed the paperwork back, editing it, and handing it over once more.
"…Ok, Mr. Ortiz, we are a little behind right now, but the boys will take care of your ride, just give me a minute to give them this…" The woman left, and Juan was alone… with the computer.
Juan promised himself he would be good, not to draw too much attention to himself here. He didn't want any trouble, not like back in Queens.
He would avoid any club or gang like surroundings.
He would not become involved with the people of Charming, except when necessary.
He wondered how the hell he had gotten in front of the computer screen.
And then, Juan Carlos was gone. He lavished in the feel of the mouse, taking in how laggy the computer was being. No programs were responding. Probably some sort of virus, maybe a worm. A few clicks and he found it, very simple, and he quickly re-wrote the programming for the virus, making it self destruct. The computer didn't have any virus protection, and he knew it would only be a matter of time. Quickly, Juan uploaded a trustworthy protection program while defragging the poor computer.
"When was the last time someone tuned you up?" His eyes drifted to the computer tower itself, longingly wishing he had his tools to tear it apart and give it a good once over. Maybe some parts were out of date…
"What the hell are you doing?" A voice, once beautiful and musical, now had a screechy tone to it. Instantly, Juan felt like hitting himself before back up, leaning against the wall as the woman, once extremely friendly, looked like she was about to claw his eyes out.
"I-I'm sorry. You were complaining.. and I.." She shoved him, moving to the computer and gave the mouse a shake… and froze. She shook the mouse again, before clicking a few programs. They opened quickly…. She turned to Carlos, a look of, 'Well, explain yourself' and the young man sighed, before shrugging.
"I'm really good with computers.. I just fixed it…" She blinked at him, before turning back to the computer. He continued, "It had a virus, so I installed a protection program… ya, that icon right there, it keeps your computer safe… well, safer. And I.. cleaned up your computer, erasing all those old files you deleted before, but didn't truly erase.." She turned to him.
"What do you mean, didn't truly erase?" She spoke like he might be hiding something.
"When you delete something, it still stays in your computer. I didn't see what you deleted, but I made sure it was gone for good. Not even the police can find it anymore…"
She stared at him, before presenting her hand. "My name is Gemma Teller-Marrow. Your bike is done, but It would be kind of you to stop by later tonight. I would like to talk to you more on your computer skills, maybe offer you a job here. The boys say your bike is extra clean, well taken care of…"
Juan Carlos paused, before taking her hand. "It's a pleasure, Miss Teller- Marrow."
A/N- Actually, this chapter was done 3 days ago, but it was my birthday, and then I added more. Also, was inspired to write a one shot, in the works, and another full length Juice story, but that one is extremely dark, the darkest thing my mind has ever come up with…..
