Chapter One - Predetermined

Large, blacked out wheels rolled down the long stretch of back road. The doors of the 2013 two door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon had been removed and the soft top had been pulled back and strapped down to make the Jeep look, what other Jeep enthusiasts would call, 'naked'. A Maren Morris song blasted from the radio, the speakers vibrating so hard they were shaking the rear view mirrors.

In the trunk, there was a duffel bag filled with old shop clothes, most of them covered in grease and oil and a little bit of diesel, which sat on top of the old locked tool box that was cluttered with countless metal tools inside. In the back seat, there was a tattered, well used school bag that clunked around on the floor beside an 'on-the-go' duffel that was well stocked with dog chews, tug of war toys, poop bags, food, an emergency kit, and anything else that could be needed for the black and white Greyhound, and his bright brown brindle sister, both of whom at that current moment had their heads sticking out from between the bars of the Jeep with their tongues falling out of the side of their mouths, long ears flapping in the wind.

In the driver's seat, a tan skinned girl, with long brown hair that had been pulled back and scrunched up into a messy bun on the top of her head, sat behind the wheel of the vehicle. She adorned a pair of short jean shorts that showed off the Legend of Zelda tattoo that had been coloured in to her skin along the length of her left thigh, and a spaghetti strapped tank top that stopped just short of the rim of her shorts, showing off about an inch worth of her muscled abdomen as well as the tattoo sleeve along her right arm of a red, black, and gold dragon with cherry blossom leaves around its scales that took up all of the skin from the top of her shoulder to the bottom of her hand. Her hands and arms were dirty with grease and oil, and the underneath of her nails had to be cleaned out soon as she hadn't cleaned them in a few days. Her eyes, a unique, dark blue colour that was speckled with dots of hazel but looked gold under sunlight, looked along the dark cement to make sure there was no car coming in her direction, then passed an old Toyota Corolla that was going too slow for her liking. Whoever was in there must've recognized the Jeep – not that it was hard to do, there wasn't really any other Jeep that was nearly as big or modified as hers in this county – because he honked twice quickly and put a hand out the window to wave. The black and white Greyhound barked once, and the young girl raised her left hand to honk her horn twice at him too. The sound of an airhorn came from her Jeep as she did so, and the Jeep sped further from the car behind it as it crossed the dotted yellow line and drove on in her lane.

She pulled into a long driveway no more than seven minutes later, the giant treads of the tires kicking up gravel and dirt as she headed towards the house. A long, single story house that was perched in front of hundreds of acres of farm land sat to the right at the end of the long driveway and was covered by a canopy of tree branches that cast shade along the front left side of the house. A woman, who couldn't have been older than forty years old, sat on the porch in the three-person swing. She held a mug of what was probably tea in her right hand and was reading a paperback book in her left. There was two small dogs – a Jack Russell Terrier, and a Bull Terrier – laying on each side of her on the swing, more than likely both sleeping, but when they heard the sound of the modified Jeep rolling up the property the duo were quick to get up and spot the dark grey and black camo painted Jeep coming down the laneway.

To the left of the house, the way that the driveway took you, sat what looked like a barn for horses, except it wasn't. Though it was old, the outside had been renovated to look modern and snazzy, with three large garage doors that were currently closed, one light above each door to help see at night, and an attached lean too on the far right side that was closed off in the back. There was a window at the top, by the pointed roof, to give the inside natural light during the day, and some kind of circular decoration was hanging below that window, though she wasn't quiet sure why her mother had insisted that it should be up there. The inside of the building had been converted into her own garage, and remained impeccable. The floors were clean, the toolboxes were new, and snazzy, and shiny, and everything had a place. Though there was three available spots, only one of them got used for a running vehicle – her Mom's new Chevy Equinox was parked in there often, but normally her Jeep was in the lean too since it was too tall to fit in the actual garage, and the other working vehicle normally just parked along the fence line. At the current moment, though, she had an old project truck sitting in there but she was starting to reach the end of her rope with it, and if it didn't start cooperating soon she was planning on parting it out, and junking the frame. There was also an old import, something her boss had sold to her for cheap that she wanted to fix but had yet to really do any work to, so it sat there and collected dust.

She turned the Jeep around and backed it into the lean too before shutting the engine off and getting out, cranking up the emergency brake. The terriers that had been on the front porch suddenly came barreling away from the house and in her direction as she got out, barking their little heads off as they approached her. Upon hearing the yips getting closer, the black Greyhound with a spot of white on his chest and four white socks that sat in the back seat starting barking and huffing, moving restlessly to get out and annoying the brown brindle female Greyhound that was back there with him.

"Hold on, Olly, you gotta give me a second." She said as she reached behind the seat and pushed it forward. "There, get out, go play."

The black Greyhound jumped out of the lifted vehicle and to the ground just as the small dogs reached their location. The brown Bull Terrier began running around with Olly as the white and orange Jack Russell tried jumping on her leg. The brown brindle Greyhound stepped out calmly, looking up at her serenely as she shooed the Jack Russell away.

"Get off me, Hiccup, your nails hurt." She said as he dropped back to the ground. "Go play with Olly and Sully."

Olly, the black Greyhound, got down in a playful position as he barked at Hiccup, and the orange and white terrier turned and ran towards the front lawn alongside Sully, with Olly on their tail.

"C'mon Atari, lets go see Mom." She said, and the brown brindle Greyhound looked up at her human as she said her name.

The girl pulled her bag out of the back of her Jeep, then dropped to the ground and shouldered the strap as she headed towards the house.

"Hey Mom." She said as she reached the porch.

"Hey, baby. How was work?"

"Fine. Busy, I had an old Volkswagen come in that was in an accident, so I've got a whole engine rebuild to finish and the owner wants to get it back in, like, three days so I'm trying to work my ass off. How was your day?"

Her Mom shrugged. "Nothing unusual. A bunch of government crap, as per usual. Work is work. Did you see Harry on your way home?"

She shook her head. "No, I came from the other direction."

"Drop someone off or somethin'?" Her Mom asked her as Atari, the brown brindle Greyhound, inserted her head into her Mom free hand to get as many cuddles as she could get.

"No, Gramma called me, one of her friends told her she should get her tires rotated but she didn't know what that meant so she called me to ask and I offered to do it for her."

Her Mom nodded. "What does the mean?"

She smirked. "You just change which tire is where. Front goes to back, back goes to front; left, right; right, left."

Her Mom nodded. "How often do you have to do that?"

"Every six, maybe eight months. But I don't think Gramma's gotten it done since Grandpa died."

Her Mom closed her book after marking her spot and looked at her daughter. "Why does it have to get done?"

She leaned back into the chair, watching the three dogs wrestle with each other in the front yard. "Keeps the tires from wearing down unevenly. Makes 'em last longer. Well, people say so, but I don't find it really does that much to get it done so often."

Her Mom nodded. "Do ours have to get done soon?"

She shook her head. "I did the Equinox last month, and Harry's Civic should be good for another two months or so. Civic tires tend to only need it every eight months, Hondas are really reliable for stuff like that."

Just as she finished her sentence a white Honda Civic came rumbling up the driveway slowly, causing Olly, Hiccup, and Sully to stop playing and look over in that direction, before the little Bull Terrier barked and took off in that direction, while Atari sat up and watched them run off.

She heard the car shut off, and the sound of a man greeting the three dogs, before he came up the walkway and onto the porch. Olly ran after him, crossing the porch and jumping off the other side, before turning and running around the large front yard in a fit of so-called zoomies, with the two Terriers behind him.

"Hey Harry." She smiled.

He smiled as he walked over to them. "Hey Jess. Hey beautiful."

Her Mom smiled. "Hey, my love."

Harry leaned down to plant a peck on her Mom's lips. "How was your day?"

"Normal. Yours?"

He shrugged. "I drove an eighteen-wheeler for four hours with one load, and four hours back with a different load. Nothing new or exciting."

"Then watched it break down because you think Freightliners are decent trucks?" she teased with a smirk.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "For your information, J.J, Freightliners are great trucks."

"Maybe if you're trying to buy a new truck every week." Jess laughed, smiling at her step-father. "Should've gone with a Mack or Peterbilt."

Harry laughed at her, shaking his head. "Did you wanna pay for it for me?"

She laughed. "C'mon Harry, you're supposed use all that long haul trucker money you've got to buy yourself a good truck."

He laughed but shook his head. "One day, J.J, maybe you'll understand."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Okay, I'm heading in. Gonna shower, probably play around in the garage for a bit, work on the Chev, let's go Atari." She said as she stood up from the swing, reaching down to grab her bag and head into the house. "C'mon Olly!"

From the front yard where the black Greyhound had settled, chewing on a giant stick, Olly jumped up with a bark and ran in her direction as Atari walked in to the house. She held the door open for Olly as he broke his stride down to a trot, following his sister into the house. She kicked her shoes off in the mud room, before heading into the house and towards her bedroom with full intentions to strip down and take a shower.

X0X0X0X0X0

The sound of boots crunching on gravel got drowned out by the sound of metal clanging with metal as Harry approached the garage. The three garage doors had been yanked open to bring more light into the building, showing off the sparkly, well cared for tool boxes that line the walls. His Honda Civic was parked along the fence line, and Jessica's Jeep was parked under the lean too, looming over any other vehicle on this property in size. In the indoor spot beside the Jeep, there was an old, run down Chevy Silverado that had seen its best days in probably 1980, and was currently being fiddled with by the very girl he was looking for. Behind her sat some kind of old exotic import tucked under a vehicle cover that he knew she had plans to work on, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it yet.

The two terriers by his ankles yipped a few times, catching the attention of the two Greyhounds who were laying on the big dog bed at the back of the garage, causing Olly to get up and leave Atari's side in favour of trotting over to entrance of the garage in order to greet them.

The girl Harry was looking for grunted, pulling on something that he couldn't see – not that he would've understood it either – then wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist. He stopped at the pillars of the building and knocked three times, finally catching her attention.

"Hey J.J." he smiled warmly.

She turned her head to look at him, then smiled, a wipe of grease on her cheek. "Hey Harry. What's up?"

He shrugged. "Not much. Your mother headed in to town to mail something to your Aunt. But I was also wondering if I could pick your brain."

She wiped her hands off on her rag, nodding as she turned her body around and leaned her weight into the old truck. "Sure, shoot."

"So, um… I'm pretty sure this is gonna make ya laugh, but Hansen actually did break down while I was out on the road."

Jess's head tilted back and laughed hard. "Of course he did. Classic Freightshaker."

He shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Anyways, I'm thinking of selling him and looking for something more reliable, but I need your help."

She crossed her arms as Olly trotted back to her side, now carrying a tug of war rope in his mouth. "Well, what are you looking for, and what do you need?"

Sully, the Bull Terrier, trotted around the garage with his nose in the air, sniffing away as Hiccup, the Jack Russell Terrier, took a spot on Olly's bed as his own, lifting his head to sniff Atari's chin as she leaned away from him. Olly growled playfully and tossed his head around so that the rope he was carrying hit Jess's thighs.

She reached down and caught the rope in her palms in a firm grasp, then braced as he started tugging on it to try and win the game.

"Well, honestly I don't know. That's why I'm comin' to you, you're the one who grew up to be a diesel mechanic. I got Hansen 'cause my boss buys Freightliners so I figured that's the direction I should go on."

She nodded. "Yeah, that happens a lot. Um, okay so what about a Mack?"

"Aren't they super expensive when they break?" he asked her.

She nodded as Olly tried pulling on the rope harder. "They can be, especially if you buy new. So if you want mid range, what about Volvos? They're decent. Unless all you're looking for is reliable."

He shrugged. "I mean, I'd be willing to pay a lot but only if I don't have that many issues with it."

Jess let the rope in her hand go when Olly began pulling to hard. "Well, if you're looking for most reliable, then I'd say Peterbilt or Kenworth. They barely break, they make sleeper cabins, have some damn good engines under the hood, and they look pretty nice. You might pay a pretty penny for it, but with regular maintenance you won't have to fix it a lot."

He nodded. "Do you know the closest place to go looking for one?"

She shook her head slightly. "No, but I can ask my boss on Monday, see what he says."

He nodded. "Alright. Well, whatever he says I'll take you out for lunch before we go out for your time. Sound good?"

She nodded. "Deal."

He smiled. "Awesome. So, how's the Chevy comin'?"

She rolled her eyes. "Slow. Its ticking me off, I might junk him soon. I have another new part coming in so if that works I'll keep him but if it fights me he's gone, and I'll start workin' on the import, finally."

"Aw no, I was looking forward to seeing him all fixed up and for sale on the front lawn."

Jess smirked. "If you'd like, I'll put him on the front lawn for a few days and then sell him to you."

For a moment he seemed to consider it. "For how much?"

"Two gees." She smirked. "Fifteen hundred if I keep the tires 'cause I might keep those."

"And what do you want that much money for?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Olly trotted up to Harry, shaking his head with the rope in his mouth and barked behind his clenched jaw in an attempt to get him to play too.

Jess smiled widely. "Gotta start my next sleeve." She said, raising her left arm up.

The tanned skin looked pale in comparison to her right arm, which was covered in black, red, and gold ink, even underneath any dirt she was covered in.

He snorted. "You actually wanna spend that much money on more tattoos, J.J?"

She smiled a little wider, nodding. "You asked me the same thing when I got the dragon. Of course I would spend that much money to get another one, they're cool."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Ok, well I'm gonna believe in you that you can fix it. When you talk to your boss next, you know where to find me."

"Down the hall from my bedroom?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes ma'am. I think I'm gonna go waste some gas, if your Mom asks where I am…"

"He's out spending some bro time with his car, I know." She smiled. "You leaving the rats with me?"

She turned her head to see Sully and Hiccup laying on either side of Atari on their garage bed, both chewing on some toys that were already there as Atari dropped her head to the ground to try and continue napping.

"Don't really think you have a choice, they don't look like they're getting' up."

She chuckled with a nod. "I see that. Drive safe."

He got into the seat of his car, and the engine turned over as Olly walked up to a bush beside the barn and peed there. Jess turned and focused back on the truck in front of her.

About thirty minutes later, the sound of a Chevy Equinox had the three males barking and running out of the garage, stopping Jess in what she was doing to call the little dogs back so they didn't get hit.

"Hey, Hiccup, Sully, here." She yelled out, and a few moments later, through the barking and yipping, the Bull Terrier came running back into the barn.

"Hiccup!" she roared. "Here, now!"

The Jack Russell Terrier continued barking as he came running to her side, and she grabbed both dogs' collars to stop them from running. The Chevy came around the corner of the bush, with a black and white Greyhound running after her slowly with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Her Mom pulled her car into its spot in the garage and shut the engine off before Jess let the little dogs go.

"Okay, go get her." She said excitedly.

Hiccup barked once as they ran over to her Mom, who was crawling out of the car.

"Hey guys!" she cheered in a high pitched. "Hey, where's Har-"

"Gone for some bro time with the civic." Jess answered with a smile as she pulled her tool box opened.

Her Mom rolled her eyes. "Of course. Hows the truck?"

"Picky." Jess grumbled. "What'd you send out to Aunt Vee?"

Olly reached her Mom's side and her Mom grabbed his head in her hands to pet him. "She wanted a book that I had, we were talking about it a while ago and she wanted to try it."

Jess nodded. "The one you just finished?"

Atari got up from the bed and trotted over to try and get pets and cuddles from her Mom, who nodded. "Yeah, it was really good."

Jess nodded. "Where else did you go?"

"I had to run to WalMart to pick up Harry's prescriptions, he runs out of needles tomorrow. Oh, sweetheart I ran into Sarah at the pharmacy, she needs a babysitter next week, could you watch over Annie? She said she'd be fine with you bringing her to the shop while you're working."

Jess nodded. "Yeah, sure. The boys love my little Bellie-Button."

"Perfect, I'll call her to tell her. Are you gonna be out here for a while?"

Jess nodded, wiping her hands on her cloth again. "Yeah, I've gotta prep him for his new part coming in soon." She said, patting the Chevy's door.

"Alright, I'm gonna vacuum, can you keep Sully with you?"

The Bull Terrier, the little six month old pup who had been traumatized when they brought him home and he somehow got his tail stuck in the vacuum cleaner's tube, perked his little head up upon hearing his name, then tilted his head to the side when Jess spoke. "Yeah, I'll keep the pooches here. They've been workin' away at those toys lately."

Her Mom nodded. "Okay, I'll see you whenever you come in."

FIN

Date Started: July 2, 2020
Last Edited: November 3, 2020

Welcome, everybody, to the new rewrite of Long Distances, now named Predetermined. Currently rated T but I will most likely be raising the rating later on. In case anybody didn't catch it, J.J and Jess are the same character, she just prefers the nickname. There will be some differences that you notice, some things won't happen and some things that weren't there before will be happening, but overall I'm much happier with this than I am with the previous version of this story. I'm going to try to respond to all reviews, if I don't get around to it, I'll give you guys a shoutout after each chapter as well. I hope everybody enjoyed, leave some feedback if you'd like, tell me what ya think, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! I'll see you all later and until then, enjoy!