Chapter 6

Johnny rested his head in his hand as he looked out the window, the sounds of the other people on the bus were drowned out by his own thoughts, a heavy sigh escaped his lips as he turned his head to look at the message on his phone.

"Don't worry bro! you can do it!"

The text was from Lance, he had been pushing Johnny to tell Ash how he feels about her for awhile now, he was getting even more persistent lately, especially after Johnny mentioned the trip he was about to go on, he looked beside him to see Ash, whose head was bobbing up and down, struggling to stay awake, usually this would have made him chuckle or smile, but it only made him more nervous, he thought back to how he ended up in the situation.

A couple of days ago Buster called everyone to a meeting, since the theatre was still under construction it was held at Eddies Pool house.

"How's it going everybody?" Buster had a huge grin on his face. "I've called you all here today because, we have been invited to stay at Nana Noodleman's extravagant beach-side hotel this weekend, free of charge!"

Everyone gasped with excitement, the room filled with laughter and cheer, but in a moment of realisation, Rosita raised her hand.

"Oh! Mr Moon, do they have a room big enough for 27?"

Buster chuckled at her question before giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Rosita, it's all taken care of." Rosita exhaled a relieved sigh before joining the others in their celebration, Johnny however, slumped in his seat, the idea of spending a weekend at the beach was really appealing to him. but could he really leave the garage to Lance for a few days? was he ready for that? these questions bounced around in his head for a few minutes before a pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind, he jumped up, pulling the person up with him, who then wrapped their legs around him.

"Cheer up big guy! we're going to the beach!"

Johnny turned his head to see Ash clinging to his back, she ruffled his hair and smiled at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. "Yeah I know, I'm just worried about the garage that's all"

"You worried Lance will fuck things up?" Ash said half-jokingly.

"Sorta, he's been been doin' pretty good lately, but still..."

Ash rested her head on Johnny's shoulder. "You worry too much, a beach trip will do ya a world of good" Ash then rolled her eyes. "If Lance fucks things up, well... just worry about that when it happens"

Johnny thought about it for a moment before relenting. "You're right! cheers Ash" he smiled at her, every time he felt unsure about something, she was always there to take away his doubt, that may have been a big part of why he fell for her. the two walked over to join the others, with Ash still clinging to Johnny's back, they all had a good time as they discussed their plans for the trip.

The next day Johnny asked Lance if he would be able to handle the garage for a few days without him.

"No prob dude! I can handle that!" Lance said while tapping his own chest with his thumb. Johnny was still a little unconvinced. "Ya sure ya can handle it?" Lance walked over and patted Johnny on the back. "Yeah, I got this" Johnny closed his eyes before exhaling a happy sigh. "Alright, I believe ya" The two began working on a clients car, for awhile the only noise in the garage was the metallic clicks of the wrench Johnny was using to loosen a bolt, until Lance broke the silence with a question. "So you are gonna tell Ash you like her on this trip right?" Johnny stopped dead in his tracks with one loud metallic click, he turned his head towards Lance. "Wh-why would you say that?"

"C'mon man! you're going to the beach with the chick you like! why wouldn't ya tell her" Lance reached over to grab a cloth to wipe the grease off his hands. "I've never been one for that lovey-dovey romantic shit myself, but hey, I never thought I'd end up fixing cars either, shit happens" Lance then gave Johnny a thumbs up. "Just go for it!"

"Why do you want me to tell her so badly?"

Johnny was wondering this for a while, Lance narrowed his eyes, he threw the cloth he had onto the bench, and placed his hands in his lap before making eye contact with Johnny. "Look dude, I hurt her, I fucked up, and..." Lance bit his lip. "You're the best friend I've had in a long time, I know I'm not easy to get along with, the kind of friends I attract are shallow assholes just like me..." Johnny's eyes widened in surprise. "...You though, you have to be the nicest dude I've ever met, you helped me out when I needed it most, I guess, I just want you and her to be happy"

Johnny walked over and put his hand on Lance's shoulder. "Thanks Lance, y'know you're better than you think you are" Lance looked up at Johnny. "Ya mean that?" Johnny averted his eyes, a slight frown appeared on his face. "Everyone makes mistakes, some bigger than others, but it's the people who don't try to make up for them that are the real terrible ones, you, really are better than you think you are" Lance smiled at Johnny, instead of a casual smirk or a lazy grin, it was a genuine smile filled with gratitude. "Thanks man I appreciate that" Johnny nodded with approval before sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll try... to tell her how I feel"

"Like I said before man, you can do it!" Lance replied, Johnny walked back over to the hood of the car. "C'mon lets get back to work, we can go grab a drink afterwards" Lance raised an eyebrow with surprise. "Whoa, it's usually me who has to ask you to hang out after work"

"Well, I'm in a good mood, what can I say?" the two chuckled before returning to work, their friendship had definitely grown a bit stronger that day, however when the day for the beach trip came, Johnny's nerves were way worse than he thought they would be, which brings us to the present. Johnny was snapped out of his deep thought by a sensation on his right side, Ash lost her fight with her fatigue and fell asleep leaning against him, he clutched his chest trying to stop his heart from beating faster than it already was.

Johnny looked out the window to try and calm himself down, he saw the vibrant green colour of the trees disappear as they were replaced by beautiful mix of gold and blue, the beach was now within sight, as well as a huge building that said 'Noodleman Hotel' on it, Johnny took a few deep breaths before taking one last look at Ash's sleeping face, as the distance between them and the beach started to close, Johnny clenched his fist and thought.

"OK! I can do this!"

Chapter 6 End