Here we are, ;D I'm glad some people like it– and yes, the character Tegan is indeed a mutant. She has cat-like abilities(used way too many times, i know) I'd love to tell you more.. But i can't cause it'll ruin it all, lol. OH! The title of this fanfic is from a song by Nelly Furtado called, you guessed it, Picture Perfect. Well, enjoy the chapter and Read and review!
Chapter One
Logan let out a long sigh as his scratched the top of his ear. He brought his hand down slowly and watched as he passed the bright highway lights. The orange tinted lights allowed him to see beyond the darkness and he turned his lights a bit brighter.
He lazingly turned the radio a bit louder as he leaned back into his seat. Beside him, Tegan had curled her feet up under herself and she leaned her head against the cold window- causing her strands of her hair to curling upwards. Her breathing was slowed to a steady beat and Logan could hear the faint beating of her heart- thanks to his sensitive hearing.
A plink plonck sound caused Logan to tear his gaze from the sleeping woman and rain drops had made themselves known on his windshield. Logan's finger flickered on the windshield wipers and watched them sail back and forth.
"Where are we?" A soft voice asked and Logan looked over at Tegan for a moment. Her eyes were open wide and we're filled with question.
"8 or 9 hours away from Calgary.. but with the rain and snow- I doubt we won't make till tomorrow afternoon."
"Ahh.. hey if your tired- I can drive."
"I'll be fine." He responded- eyes fixed on the road. "I'm thinking about stopping in-"
Suddenly a very loud shrill ringing was heard in thier ears and Logan yanked the wheel to the left in an automatic unconcious act. The truck twirled left and he faintly heard Tegan scream in pain as the loud shrill ringing rang louder. Finally Logan let go of the wheel and held his head between his hands tightly.
Suddenly the ringing stopped and the truck spun a couple of times before crashing into a ditch. Logan opened his eyes slowly and looked at the hood- smoke was rising up quickly and the OIL light in his dashboard was flashing quickly before the truck died. Logan looked beside him and spotted Tegan with wide eyes looking at him- her hands were placed near her head- showing Logan that she was doing the exact thing, holding her head. Her hair was blown everywhere and she made eye contact with him.
"Are you alright?" He spoke roughly. Tegan nodded slowly and shook her head, "Yes or No, Kid."
"I'm fine.." She paused, "But what the hell was that?" She asked softly.
"Hell if I know." Logan spoke, taking off his seatbelt and opening the door before hoping out. His feet crushed the snow before he walked over to the hood. He opened it up and took a quick peek. The oil tank was torn right out of the thing and the battery was flipped sideways- which crushed the brake fluid, and twisted the master cylinder. "Fuck." He swore outloud and he hit the front of the truck in fury.
Tegan jumped as he punched the truck. Damn.. it sounded as if he'd just punched someone's lights out and torn their skull apart. Her shaky hands went to undo the belt buckle and she watched as he opened his door. "We're going to have to stay here till morning... Then we'll head out to the nearest town."
"Which is...?"
"About two miles." Logan responded, leaning away from the truck.
"Two miles? holy shit.. I have to walk two miles?"
"Do you wanna stay here by yourself?" He asked, looking up at her and making eye-contact. Tegan shook her head. "Then we'll leave when the sun rises.. which is in about.. Oh- 7 hours?"
"We're leaving at 7?" Logan nodded, "..Oh. Well.. alright."
"Take your blanket." He ordered as he closed his door. Tegan reached behind to the back seat and grabbed her blanket. She then opened her own door and jumped out. The cold air stung her arms as she walked towards the back- where the camper's door was wide open. Tegan walked over the rod that connected the truck to a trailer behind them- filled with, what seemed, to be a motorcycle and a tarp covering other things.
Tegan pulled herself in and spotted Logan making a bed. One bed, a single bed.. One bed. She gulped while walking over- the blanket folded over her arms. "Where am I going to sleep?" She asked and Logan turned to look at her.
"Right here."
"Oh.." She looked down then back up at his eyes- "And you?"
"Right here.." He spoke slowly as if it were the most logical thing.
"...Oh..."
"Look- I'm not going to touch you or anything okay? So far you've trusted me on this road trip- you can trust me for this thing, alright?"
Tegan nodded, "Yeah."
"Okay." Logan nodded in response, "Go ahead and get up there- I have my own blanket.. you can use yours."
She nodded once more before moving around him and she looked up to the bed which was located at the top.. you'd have to climb the little ladder at the side to get up. Tegan placed her palms down on the flat of the cushions and she hoisted herself up- her upper muscles sighed in relief once she laid down in the small yet long space.
She took her blanket and immediatly curled herself into it. She felt Logan get up onto the bed and lay himself down. She turned onto her side- back facing away from him- and softly spoke, "Goodnight Logan."
"Yeah.. you too."
Tegan forced her eyes shut and in a moment sleep over took her.
The first thing he felt was his left arm wrapped around something. His right arm was lifted above his head and his hand was raising up and down..
Logan opened his eyes and a strand of navy hair in his face. Logan retreated his head back in an response- what the hell? Logan looked down and realized his arm was wrapped against her waist and her stomach was causing the rising and lowering of his hand. He retreated his arm back- careful not to wake her- and looked up at the cieling window- the sun was just rising.
Should he wake her?
Logan looked back down at the woman, who was sleeping peacefully. Logan shook his head before rolling over and hopping silently off the bed. He walked as quietly as he could master outside. His jeans instantly turned cold and he regreted not putting on anything over his white wife-beater.
The scenary outside was breath-taking.. the sun's rays were just touching the snow on the mountains and fields- breath taking.
He shook his head once more before heading over to the hood of his truck. He opened it and took a better look- yes the battery had completly smashed the brake fluid and master cylinder. "Dammit." he cursed outloud- almost about to repeat what had happened last night.
"That bad?"
Logan looked up from the hood and spotted Tegan- wearing a black sweatshirt. "..yeah.. that bad."
Tegan let out a sigh, "Well- I'm ready to walk." As she spoke her breaths were visible and she inhaled deeply before letting out a loud yawn.
Logan nodded. "Let me get my coat."
A moment later they were walking down the highway- silent filling between them. Logan had grabbed his favorite leather jacket and locked the truck doors and camper doors. When Tegan had asked him about the trailer filled with stuff- he only snorted.
As they walked, Logan took out a cigar and lit it. He inhaled deeply and exhaled the smoke. "I didn't know you smoked."
Logan rose an heavy eyebrow- "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean- you just don't strick me as that kind of guy.. I mean I know you drink but smoke? Man you're going to die young." She commented- hugging herself tighter.
"Yeah." If only she knew half of it.
Tegan fiddled with her hair before moving it behind her ears- but she quickly pulled it back to in front of her face- not wanting to show Logan her ears. Logan witnessed her move the hair back down- but decided not to comment on it.
They walked- oh how they walked- for another 45 minutes before Tegan commented. "What're we going to look for first?"
"A restaurant."
"Good- cause I'm about to eat you." Logan stopped walking and looked right over to her. "OH! God! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Tegan protested staring at him. Logan shook his head at the comment once more before they started to walk. "I didn't mean it I swear."
"Tegan- it's alright."
"Oh wow.."
"What?" Logan grunted- looking over to her.
"You said my name.. I was beginning to think that you were going to call me Kid for the rest of my life." Tegan said, smiling over to him.
"Don't get used to it."
"How old are you anyway?" She asked- unconciously moving closer to him.
"Old enough." Logan replied- not looking at her, but rather- finding the street to be awfully more entertaining.
"Okay- honest answer." Tegan shook her head and she too looked out to the street. "You look from 35 to 40... are you 37?" Logan didn't answer her, and she sighed. "Well- I'm 22.. if it makes a difference."
Logan didn't reply to that either- just kept walking. Tegan took the hint and immediatly stopped talking. The only sound was the snow crunching beneath their feet, and Tegan let out a long sigh. Logan didn't respond..
After another hour before the made it to the outskirts of town. Tegan's feet groaned in pain as she walked in her black boots- invisible thanks to her blue jeans lowering over them. Speaking of her jeans.. they were soaked from the bottom up to the mid calf- the snow must've really melted against her leg's body heat.
Logan dropped his third cigar onto the snow and stepped on it as they kept walking. His eyes spotted a red sign sporting the words Momma Dee's. He grinned and pointed it out to Tegan- who smiled widely and began to walk towards it- Logan hot on her tail.
The walked into the restaurant with heads turning towards them. Once their audience realized they were just 'normal' people- they went back to their own business. Tegan and Logan looked at each other before she shrugged and they made their way to an empty booth.
They sat down on the bright, red cushions- both settling in. Finally after a moment a young teenage girl walked up to them in a yellow dress-like uniform. On her head was a yellow cap and underneath looked like piles and piles of blue hair. "Hi, I'm Shayoko and I'll be your waitress. Today's specials are the crab soup lunch- with a side plate of greek salad and any drink you'd like. Also we're serving some specialty steaks. First can I start off with your order of a drink?"
Tegan looked at the girl and nodded, "Yes- Can I get two beers please? Molson Canadian if you will."
The teen nodded before putting down some menu's and scurring away. Once she was gone Tegan looked across the white table to Logan- who was looking out the window. When the waitress came back Tegan tore her gaze from him. "Why thank yo-"
Before she could finish her sentence the girl accidently dropped the glass full of the yellow liquid. It immediatly fell onto Tegan's lap and she lept from the biazzare coldness of the drink.
Shayoko gasped before placing down the tray of drinks on the table and taking a cloth out from a pouch on her side. She immediatly started to clean up the mess that was on Tegan's lap and thighs. The older woman took ahold of Shayoko's wrist and smiled at her- "Dont worry about it- I'll go and clean up in the bathroom."
"Are you sure- I'm terribly, terribly, sorry!" Shayoko exclaimed- taking her hands away from Tegan.
"Don't worry yourself." She nodded before heading to the women's washroom.
Shayoko looked at Tegan in amazment before looking back down at Logan- "Here, sir."
"Can I get another re-fill of that beer?"
"Can you give me a second?" Shayoko snapped at him- she immediatly covered her mouth with her free hand, "I mean- yes. Just hold on a minute." She smiled sarcastically at him before walking off to refill the glass.
Logan's brows drew together as he shook his head and took a long drink of his beer. Tegan came out a moment later, her sweatshirt wrapped around her waist. "See? Didn't take that long!" She exclaimed- sitting down.
Logan nodded. "I'm going to ask for directions as soon as we're done here."
"Here you are sir." Shayoko's voice rang out as she gave Logan the other beer, "Now- can I take your order?"
"Yes.. uhm- I'll have the egg toast special with a glass of milk and Logan will have a.." Tegan looked up from the menu and towards Logan.
"Eggs with bacon. Make it quick." He sneered looking up at the teenager, who caused him alot of anger in the three minutes since he'd known her.
Shayoko bit back the sarcastic comment and smiled. She nodded before turning around and heading to the back. "You're one mean bastard.." Tegan mumbled under her breath and Logan shrugged.
Once their meal was back- the two dug in. They didn't talk much- Tegan doubted she'd ever really know the guy, and soon the breakfast soon became scraps and Tegan had asked for a doggy bag to take back to the camper.
They were up at the till- about to pay the cheque- when Tegan asked Shayoko, "Do you know a good auto-repair place?"
Shayoko stopped dialing in the numbers and nodded. "Yeah- The LeBeau Auto-Fix.. just down the street- can't miss it."
"Alright, thank you." Tegan nodded at her before her and Logan left. "Alright.. LeBeau... Hey doesn't that mean The Beautiful in french?"
Logan shrugged, "Do I look like I took French?"
Tegan shrugged, "You never know."
Once again they found themselves walking. The town was a simple one.. kind alike a One-Main street town with a bunch of buildings crammed together with houses building off of it- and hotels and apartments here and there to rent.
They were walking on the side-walk when Logan reconized the building. On the top was a big sign- proclaiming that it was defiantly the LeBeau family business. Tegan and Logan crossed the street and entered; clearly a bit cold from the walk.
It stunk. Like oil and rotton gas.. Tegan wanted to cover up her nose and just barf- but instead she followed Logan's lead and went into the back. A car was hoisted up on a large pole and a man was underneath it- examining it closly. He was standing up and looking underneath the car- his red locks gently falling here and there. When he heard them enter he turned to look at them- smiling, "Hello there!" He greeted walking up and holding out a hand, "Welcome to LeBeau Auto-fix. How can Remy help you?"
Logan shook his head and retreated it back, "I'm looking for a specific peice one for..."
Tegan tuned out the men as they talked and looked over to the side. Piles of tires were found all over and grease cans seemed to have ruled the joint. In the front-corner was an office and Tegan got a little peek. On the desk was a picture of the waitress that had served them at Momma Dee's.. maybe they had something-
"Tegan?" Tegan tore her gaze away from snooping and looked up at Logan. "Whaddya think?" He asked, stuffing a hand into a pocket.
"Uh.. yeah- sure." She responded- nodding her head in agreement.
"Alright- so it'll take five weeks for it to get here?" Logan asked, looking away from Tegan and back to the man known as Remy LeBeau.
"Around there.." He drawled in his french accent, "But Remy can probably pull a few strings and make it four."
"That'd be good... well how much is it going to cost?"
Remy sucked in a breath- "4 thou.."
"Holy fuck." Logan rubbed his chin, "Alright- but I won't be able to pay you till it gets here."
"Oh that's fine- Remy completely understands."
Logan nodded, "Thanks bub." He then turned away and began to walk out. Tegan held her own hand out to Remy before following him out. The cold air hit their face and caused them to shiver.
"I think that mans seeing that waitress Shayoko.."
"Hrm?"
"Yeah... I mean I seen her picture on his desk."
"And you seen this how?" Logan asked, looking over at her. They were now walking down the main shopping road ont he side-walk, side-by-side.
"I was just looking!" Tegan quickly defended herself.
"Sure." Logan sighed, "Well let's stock up on some grub and clothes- then we'll head back to the camper, alright?"
Tegan nodded, silently agreeing.
Together, they both walked down the frozen sidewalk. Tegan had long since took off the sweatshirt on her waist and pulled it tight on herself. She then immediately stuffed her hands into the pockets of jeans- listening to the sound of the passing cars. "Why don't we just buy a car?" She suddenly asked- looking up to him.
"I'm not exactly rich." Logan replied- keeping his eyes ahead of them.
"Couldn't tell." She replied dryly- pulling the hood ontop her head.
Logan suddenly stopped walking and looked at her. He rose his right hand and gave a sort of glare at her, "Look- if you don't like it, leave. But right now I need to go and find a job so I can pay for my truck so I could get to Alberta- alright?"
Tegan nodded and Logan started walking ahead of her. She stood frozen for a moment before following him. "Hey- I'm sorry.. I mean, I didn't mean it the way it sounded.. just..."
"Yeah." he interrupted.
"Alright, glad we got that off our backs." She thought rubbing her arms together.
Finally Logan turned into a building and Tegan followed. The sounds of shopping carts rang in her ears and the tingy smell of fruits and vegetables made her want to eat the whole damned placed down. Logan took a couple strides before picking up a green basket and walking down an aisle. Tegan followed him- looking at things in silence. He randomly grabbed some food- pouring it into the basket. Tegan groaned inside before grabbing the basket and held it tightly. Logan looked over his right shoulder- raising his right eyebrow, as if asking 'What?'
"You said it yourself, you're not made of money." Tegan took the basket into her hands before breaking eye-contact and taking out the random things they didn't need. She placed them neatly back before walking in front of Logan and grabbing food. Her fingers danced among the many canned soups, and goods before settling with 5 cans of tomatoe soup, 4 of mushroom, and about 9 of chicken soup(it was half off).
"You really know what you're doing, eh?" Logan asked, smirking to himself as Tegan grabbed a 12 pack of toilet paper. She didn't respond to him but continued to pack away the important things.
"Does your fridge work?" She asked as they made their way to the cold foods.
"If you have loads of propane."
"Yes or no, Kid." She spoke, sarcastically looking at him.
Logan pointed to her before letting it sail down, "Yeah, just grab what you want."
Tegan reached to the large bottles of milk and picked up two. "We're going to need another basket." She spoke, looking down at the over-flowng bucket. "Wait no.. we should be fine.."
"Alright."
Both turned and walked up to the cashiers. All was fine until they heard that messaage ring out of the radio beside them. The staticy voice of a doctor rose out proclaiming that the over-populating mutants should be hunted down and taken in for testing, then-obviously- killing.
Tegan tensed up as she looked over to the radio. She finally took her gaze away from it and smiled at the cashier. Logan swallowed before taking out his scrunched up wallet and pulling out a torn up twenty. The plump lady took it and rang it up. She gave them their reciept and the bag boy handed them their three bags of goods.
Tegan and Logan walked out of the the grocery store and Tegan gave a groan, "Do we have to walk back?"
"Start whining again and I'll make you sleep outside."
"I'm walking."