"Is it hot in here or is it just me?" Crysta asked, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Yea, it is a bit warm in here." Alex said, fanning her hand in front of her face. "What gives? I thought we had the air on."

"We do." Max said, looking at the dash and seeing that the air conditioner button was pushed in.

"Uh-oh." Crysta said as she saw smoke coming from the hood.

"Uh-oh is right." Alex countered. "Pull over."

"No, I'm going to keep on driving until the engine falls out." Crysta shot back as she took her foot off of the gas, signaled, and pulled over to the shoulder. As the car slowed down, smoke continued to pour out of the hood.

Crysta put it in park and turned off the engine. After making sure that the lane closest to the shoulder was clear, she got out and walked to the front of the car.

As she popped the hood Crysta heard Lydia say, "Don't let Max touch anything."

"Why?" Crysta asked slightly distracted as she tried to wave away the smoke that was still pouring out.

"It'll blow up."

"Hey, I resent that!" Max exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Do we have to revisit the flaming toaster incident, Maxine?" Lydia asked, looking at Max and raising an eyebrow.

"...shut up." Max grumbled while shooting daggers at Lydia, who was smirking, with her eyes.

"Hey Lydia," Crysta said, pulling her head out of the hood and back into the fresh air. "can you take a look at the engine? I don't think it's supposed to be smoking like that."

"No it's not, obviously." Lydia sighed, this was what she got for being the car-savvy one in the group; she always had to tinker around with their cars when something was hinky with them. Cracking her hands she said, "Hand me the duct tape, I need to do some auto repair."

Crysta just rolled her eyes and ambled over where Alex and Max were leaning against the back of the car. They stood there for a few minutes until they heard Lydia yell, "I don't suppose anyone's got nitro on them?"

"What!?" Alex exclaimed, bolting off of the trunk where she had been leaning against.

"Kidding! I'm kidding!" Lydia said, sticking her head past the hood and grinning like the Chesire Cat. "Mostly." Lydia then disappeared for a few more minutes then re-appeared asking, "Anyone got any pantyhose?"

"...why?" Crysta asked, raising an eyebrow.

"To replace the fan belt...duh." Max said as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world. The girls just looked at her with a mixture of shock and amazement. "What?" Max asked, shrugging. "I know things."

"So you tell us." Lydia said, making her way towards them. "I have no idea what's wrong."

"Great, we just had to take the shortcut that took us through the middle of Amish country." Alex grouched.

"Oh relax; I'll hitch a ride into the nearest town and come back with help." Crysta suggested.

"You sure you should go by yourself?" Max asked, leaning against the car. "'Cause that's how every horror movies starts; it'll be 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' all over again."

"I'll be fine." Crysta said, rolling her eyes. "I have my cell phone so I'll be sure to let you know if I run into a chainsaw wielding maniac."

"Only if it's attached to a bloody stump." Lydia called from the trunk.

"Oh yeah right, like I'd call you if I found one of those."

Lydia stopped digging through the trunk and raised her head looking at Crysta with narrowed eyes. "...you'd keep him all to yourself, wouldn't you?"

"Yup."

"Bitch."

"I love you too." Crysta replied smiling. She started down the road calling out, "I'll call when I'm on my way back with help."

"And we'll be right here."

Later...

"Ugh…How long do we have to wait until she gets back?" Lydia asked, raising her hand to shade her eyes from the sun's glare. Crysta had come back after getting a tow-truck to take the car to the nearest garage, which was an hour away, and promised to (somehow) borrow another car to pick them up since there was only room for one in the cab.

"It's only been twenty minutes since she left," Max said, not looking up from her book. She was lying on the grass just off of the shoulder using one of their small bags as a pillow while Lydia was sitting on another small bag with Alex doing the same as well. "She said that she'd call when she was on her way so just relax."

"But still, how long does it take to get another car?" Lydia asked as a trunk lumbered by.

"Hello, we're in the middle of Amish country; it's not like there's gonna be a car at the nearest farmhouse."

"Can't we just hitchhike?" Alex asked, sighing. "It'd be much faster than just waiting here."

"Alex, take off your shirt."

Alex just looked at Lydia like she had just gone off of the deep end, not that there hadn't been times before this that she'd thought the same thing, while Max was trying to (and failing miserably) hide a smile. "I'm sorry?" Alex asked, hesitantly, almost not wanting to know the reason behind the last statement.

"C'mon, we'll get a trucker's attention a lot more readily if one of us is topless."

"Why does it have to be me?"

Lydia sighed and looked at her friends. "'Cause…you know…"

"No I don't. That's why I'm asking."

"Your…ya know…"

"Is that so?" Alex stated, both eyebrows rising. "Tell you what, why don't you go lie down in the middle of the road? If that doesn't get their attention Lydia, then I'll go topless."

"After you scrape me off the pavement, right?" Lydia asked, flashing Alex a smile.

"Something like that." Alex said idly while watching another truck pass by. She sighed; they were going nowhere fast.

A/N: I have to admit that I'm like Max when around cars...I'm afraid that something's going to explode (even when I'm doing exactly what my dad tells me to do). Credit to darkestnova for the 'duct tape...auto repair' line. Standard disclaimers apply. Review!