So we decided to take a road trip. I can't believe I didn't think of this before.
Sometimes I hate Liz.
"So, Jackie-boi, when're we setting off?" she asked.
"I'm thinking…the day after classes end. Get in maximum travel time, ya know?"
"How 'bout right after classes end? I don't think any of us have a class after 12:00 on Friday, so why don't we have lunch and then take off?"
"GO WEST, YOUNG MAN!" Blink bellowed from the other side of the room.
"OK, no more Red Hot Chili Peppers, (or any loud rock music, for that matter) EVER again! It's makes you WAY too hyper!" Jack bellowed.
"I KNOW!!" Blink bellowed back. "AIN'T IT GREAT?!?!"
"NO!" we all yelled, and, to our amazement, he reached out and shut off the music.
"ANYWAYS, oh, sorry! Anyways, so, are we gonna take off on Friday? Is that OK with the rest o' youse?"
There came a chorus of "Sure, OK, whatever" from all over the room.
"OK! Well, shall we decide who's riding with whom?" asked Spot, showing the first iota of interest so far.
"OK. Do any o' youse care about where you ride?"
There was a general murmur of "No, not really, who gives a flying fuck?" from around the room.
"Ok, then, I'll take…Snitch, Skitts, Spot, Race, and Bumlets. And Jack can have the rest o' youse. I'll see y'all on Friday!" And she turned and left the room, her blonde hair swinging behind her.
The day we set off, the sun was shining, but it was only about 45 degrees out. October in New York. Oh, freakin' joy. And Jack was holding us up immensely, we were trying to get out of the dorm, but he kept forgetting stuff.
Finally, I just got so fed up, I went up the stairs yelling, "Sometime TODAY, Jackie-boi!", and then physically dragged him out of the room.
"Whatever youse forgot, we can always get on the road somewhere," I said, dragging him by the collar. "You are majorly holding us up, and we're trying to get out of here before nightfall. Let's go, already!"
I loaded Snitch, Skitts, Spot, Race, and Bumlets into my car, and Jack corralled Itey, Pie Eater, and Blink into his little four-seater Taurus. I clicked on my walkie-talkie, and tested out the connection.
"Fireball calling Alfred Lord Tennyson." That, for some reason, was what Jack had chosen to call his car.
Yeah, I don't get it either.
"This is Lord Tennyson, Fireball. It works, OK? Over and out."
"Over and out."
"OK, girlies, let's get outta here!" I said, gunning the engine, flooring the gas, and we SHOT out of the parking lot. I try to be a careful driver, obeying the speed limit, checking my mirrors, looking over my shoulder, and all that, but when I get my friends in the car, Dashboard Confessional blaring, I kind of get the urge to go quite a bit faster than I normally would. But on the New York interstate, everyone goes faster than they normally would. So I'm not the ONLY idiot out there on the roads.
I popped in the 'Spiderman 2' soundtrack CD I'd gotten the day before yesterday, and Dashboard Confessional's 'Vindicated' came on.
"Oooh, I love this song!" Spot said gleefully, reaching over and turning it up. He'd called shotgun, so he'd appointed himself 'Supreme Ruler of the CD Changer and Supreme Volume Controller'.
Yeah, he's gay, and he's my cousin. Ain't life a kick?
"Spot! Just leave it somewhere, will youse?!" yelled Skitts from the backseat. "I'm gonna suffer from permanently changing volume, even when I'm not in a car with you. You are insane, youse know that, right?"
"Righty-O."
"Just checkin'. Just do we're clear."
"Skitts?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up! You're interfering with Dashboard!"
"Oh, heaven forbid!" I laughed, grinning over at Spot. "As we all know, Spot worships Dashboard Confessional as gods, am I right, Spot?"
"Righty-O."
I rolled my eyes. Spot is a bit of a dork, but he's my cousin, and I love him to bits. At least, most of the time I do.
Oh. My. God. This car is so. Freakin'. BORING!! I just looked over at Liz's car, and everyone's laughing their heads off, and I felt a little pang in my heart. I've kinda been a loner all my life, and I've always wanted friends like that. I noticed that Blink had put Red Hot Chili Peppers in the CD player, but, in deference to Jack, he'd put it at about half volume, and it made some very nice background music. I reached for the walkie-talkie, and radioed Liz's car.
"Itey calling Fireball! Mayday! Mayday! Extreme boredom and hunger! Can we stop at a gas station sometime?"
"Hey Itey, hon" came Spot's voice. "Liz says we can stop at a gas station in about half an hour. Think you can hold on that long?"
"Sure" I said gratefully. "Half an hour's better than nothing."
"Oh, and by the way hon, I LOVE those piercings you got recently. Very sexy. Were they for…you know who?"
I blushed. I kinda have a thing for Pie Eater. Problem is…I haven't told him yet, and I need to, or I'm gonna go insane!
"Kinda" I said. "I also felt I needed a change."
"Uh-huh" said Spot, like he knew something I didn't.
"Spot. Just shut up."
"Yeesh. Cranky much?" asked Spot jokingly.
"Shut up, fruit. And tell Liz that's a good Dashboard song."
Spot laughed, and relayed the message. "She says she knows. That's why she bought the CD in the first place, for all the good songs on it. Listen, she's yelling at me to save the batteries, so we'll see ya in 20 minutes. We'll call somebody's phone, and coordinate a place to stop. See ya, Itey. Over and out."
"Thanks, Spot. Over and out."
"What's up, Itey?" asked Jack, after I'd shut off the walkie-talkie and put it back.
"She says one of 'em will call one of us, and we'll stop somewhere, get out, stretch, use the bathroom, and all that jazz. Sound good?"
"Will there be a music store where we stop? We've been listening to 'By The Way' for the last hundred miles!" Pie Eater complained. "Can we PLEASE listen to something else now?"
"Yeah, Blink? No more Red Hot Chili Peppers for awhile, OK?"
"O…K" said Blink, very reluctantly
He removed 'By The Way' from the stereo, and put it in its' case. "Well then, if not the Peppers, then…what?"
"Dashboard Confessional" said Pie Eater at once. "I believe Itey brought their CD along, didn't ya, Itey?" He grinned at me, and gave me a very tiny wink.
My heart skipped a couple of beats. "Yeah," I said, when I was breathing normally again. "Yeah, I did. Here it is." And I pulled the case out of my bag and handed it to Blink.
"Ooh, they have 'Vindicated' on here" he said, perking up slightly. "Maybe this ain't so bad after all."
"See? You get weaned off RHCP, and you are much better off" said Jack, smiling slightly.
Blink pouted, rather cutely I must say, and stuck Dashboard in the stereo. The first notes of 'Vindicated' came blaring through the speakers, and Pie immediately launched into air guitar. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Who're you supposed to be, Pie? Jimi Hendirx?"
He gave me a mock-serious glare. "Yes," he said with dignity. "And I'm gonna be famous someday. I'll be a big star."
Where she sings karaoke every night!" I sang, off-key, I'm sure, but the song fit the occasion.
Jack looked back at me. "Sing the song on the stereo, or don't sing at all" he said, sounding just like my mother.
"VINDICATED! I AM SELFISH, I AM WRONG! I AM WRONG, I SWEAR I'M RIGHT!" I sang, in a half-assed effort to pacify him.
He shook his head in mock-dismay. Then my cell phone rang.
"Insanity Express, Itey speaking" I said into the receiver.
"Hey hon" came Spot's voice. "Liz says there's a gas station 10 miles ahead, we'll stop there. It's two exits after the one we just passed. Sound good?"
"Sure," I said. "I definitely need a potty break. And somethin' to eat. Does Liz know where we're stopping for the night?"
"Hey, give me that!" Jack said. "She never told me where we were stopping, to tell you the truth."
I handed him the phone, and he took it eagerly. "Hey Spot, put Liz on will youse?…Thanks." Liz came on a second later. "Hey, Lizzy. Where exactly are we stopping for the night?…Pennsylvania? Did you book a hotel room or two?…Good. OK. Yeah, that's fine. OK, see ya in 10 minutes. OK, bye." He handed me back the phone. "Spot wants to talk to youse for a second."
"Hey Spotty" I said. "What's up?"
"Itey, I want you to do somethin' for me. I want you to…" He lowered his voice. "By the end of this trip, I want you to hook up with Pie Eater, 'K?"
I gasped. "How'd you know?" I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Hon, it's only one of the most obvious thing is the world. Anyways, you as good as admitted it 20 minutes ago via walkie-talkies. Work on it, OK?"
"OK" I said cautiously. "I'll most definitely work on it."
"Good" said Spot, sounding pleased. "See ya."
"See ya."
I cut the connection, and looked up. No one seemed to have heard, or cared about what he was saying. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Good.
"Look!" said Blink, bouncing up and down in his seat. "There's the exit! Can I get some snacks, Jackie-boi?"
"It's your money, Blinky-boi," he said, shooting him an amused glance. "Spend it however you want, I really don't care."
Blink perked up significantly. I think the prospect of caffeine and processed cheese excited him.
Ha ha ha. I love playing matchmaker. I also love doing my nails, but that's not the point. If I can get Itey and Pie Eater together, then this trip'll be worthwhile. Hee hee hee. I'm so bad. BAD TO THE BONE! WAA WAA WAA! BAD TO THE BONE!! OK, not really, but you get my point, right? Get it? Got it? Good.
"So, Spotty, you're one to be giving relationship advice, when you're not in one yourself," said Liz seriously. The CD had moved on to Maroon 5's 'Woman'. "So I'm gonna give you some: Before this trip is over, I want you to hook up with Blink. It is obvious you have a thing for him. And vice-versa. It's kind of like your gayness: You exude an aura, and the same thing when you're around Blink. You perk up more, you sit up straighter, you fidget with your hair. Kind of like me, when I'm around Dutchy, ya know?"
I blushed. "Yeah. But…how'd you know?"
"Like I said before, it's extremely obvious. That, and the fact you talk in your sleep."
I blushed hotly. "I do NOT!" I said vehemently.
"You do too. You dozed off a couple of days ago while I was in your room, studying, and you started talking. You didn't actually from coherent sentences, but I heard stuff like, 'Blink…Mmmm…that feels good…little lower'. You know"-She grinned wickedly-"Stuff like that."
I felt my face get hot again. I never knew I talked in my sleep. Mental note to self: Never go to sleep with Liz in the room again. She'll find out about stuff that's supposed to stay firmly locked in my mind, and then she'll blackmail me with it. She did it in high school, so why should college be any different?
It won't be.
"Just promise me you'll never mention this to anyone else," I said, looking over at her warily. I'm sure my voice cracked from embarrassment, but I didn't care.
"Aw, you're secrets safe with me, Spotty. What are cousins for?" she asked, punching me on the arm lightly.
"Liz. LIZ! THERE'S A CAR COMING!!" Snitch yelled from the backseat. She kind of jumped at his voice. I guess she assumed they had been making out in the backseat the whole time.
"SNITCH! NO YELLING AT THE DRIVER!" Bumlets yelled.
"HOW 'BOUT NO YELLING, PERIOD?!" Liz shouted at the whole car.
"OK!"
"There's our exit, oh wonderful driver cousin of mine," I said sarcastically. "We don't wanna miss it, Itey might die from hunger, and then where would we be?"
She laughed, put on her turn signal, and then pulled over to the exit.
This rest stop was long overdue.
SHOUTOUTS:
Trolley: I LOVE the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And I agree, they do rock hard. LOL, thanx for the review!
Coin: I can't wait to write what happens on the road trip. Plenty of slashy goodness, I promise. Gotta love it. Love ya, thanx for reviewing!
Erin Go Braugh: Yes, this will most definitely turn out funny. But good? We'll see. 'Eh, who knows?' as my friend Lindsey says. Thanx for the review!
Authors Note: Don't own any of the really good Dashboard songs mentioned here, or any others on the 'Spiderman 2' Soundtrack. Actually, I own nothing! (cries) Toodles, I love you ALL!!