I'm back from vacation, and as promised, here's chapter four! Hope ya like it, its beta'd by KagSanlover.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!
Soon, Jay left the car to go buy cigarettes, leaving Emma, Spinner and Sean alone in the car. Emma couldn't help but smile to herself that Jay took the keys with him. She knew that Jay thought he couldn't trust Spinner as far as he could throw him.
Sitting in the car awkwardly making small talk for nearly ten minutes, the heat in the car was stifling. The air-conditioner was off, and even with all the windows down, Emma could feel her head start to go fluffy. It would be more than drop dead embarrassing if the heat got the better of her in front of the guys. She stuck her head out of the window and breathed in the air. She clamped her eyes shut but could feel the guys eyes burning into her.
She was distracted by Jay slamming his car door loudly. The whole vehicle shook as he sank into his seat forcefully. Manny had an icy cold stare on her face too. Emma wondered what exchange between the two had sparked such hostile reactions. Jay started the car without even checking if everyone was good to go. As soon as they got on the open road, he resorted to steering the car with his knees as he flipped open his cigarettes and lit one, taking a long, long drag.
Emma considered asking him not to smoke, but the stern dagger face he was currently sporting urged her to reconsider. She was dying to know what had gone down between Manny and Jay, but she knew better than to start running her mouth in a stormy situation. Then she had a brain wave.
She whipped out her cell, slid it up and punched in a short, to the point message to Manny, tilting the screen away from Jay, on the off chance he may be snooping out of interest.
"Why does J look so pissed?" Send: Manny Cell.
Emma heard Manny's cell vibrate in the back and waited tentatively for her response.
"Nothin. Don't worry. M x" Send: Em Cell.
"OMG, Manuela. Don't lie!" Send: Manny Cell.
"We had words. Tell u later. M x" Send: Em Cell.
In time, Jay calmed down. When they stopped to re-energize at Tim Horton's, he seemed almost jovial.
"You've brightened up. Wonder why." Manny snapped at him, sarcasm coating her words. She shot a look at Jay then a sideways glance at Emma, which she thought she didn't notice, before strolling over to Spinner and Sean.
"Uh, OK. What was that all about?" Emma threw an accusing look to Jay that said I want answers.
"I dunno." Jay shrugged, his attitude changed.
"What did she mean, Jay?" Emma tried again.
"Greenpeace, for fuck's sake, shut up! This ain't 20 questions, OK?" Jay ordered shortly.
- - - - -
Emma sat opposite Jay in Tim Horton's, next to Manny. All the boys were sat on one side of the booth in a huddle. Spin sat central, with muscle-y Sean on one side and broad shouldered Jay on his left. Spinner looked to his left, then to his right, and smiled broadly.
"Isn't this cozy?" He remarked. "How is it over there in 'plenty-of-space-to-move-around-country'?"
"Woah, could you come up with a worse name?" Sean laughed. Emma noticed a small grin dance across Jay's lips.
"Donuts and coffee! Awesome!" Emma exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically. She was desperate to get away from the awkwardness. She discretely nudged Manny in the ribs and shot her a look that cried "help me!"
"Yeah, you can't beat... good old Timbits!" Manny said slowly, unsure of what to say.
"Man, I could live off these things!" Spinner said jubilantly, swallowing three glazed Timbits in one large gulp.
"Man, are we ever Canadian!" Sean mused dryly.
Manny was in the bathroom – again – Jay was filling up the Civic and Spinner was depositing ten quarters into the Skittle machine to receive a huge sticky handful of the colorful candy. Emma took this time to liaise with Sean and try and get some answers.
"Sean, do you know what's going on with Jay and Manny?"
"Jay and Manny? No, why do you?" Sean asked, his interest perking up.
Emma rolled her eyes hopelessly at Sean. "No! That's why I asked you! Anyway. They're acting so snappy. Why is everyone acting funny around each other?"
"I don't know." Sean said slowly. Emma couldn't work out whether it was just his density, or whether he was hiding something. Sean wasn't willing to divulge anymore, so Emma was left to sit and stew.
- - - - -
Back in the car, it was awkwardly silent. Spinner had suffered the opposite effect to his Skittle induced sugar high, and was sleeping in the back with his mouth open, snoring slightly. Sean and Manny were sharing a headphone each, listening to some tinny tune that Emma could hear so clearly she'd memorized the first verse.
"You know, I've just realized a fatal flaw in this whole road trip thingy." Jay said softly.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Emma whispered back.
"I'm the only driver. Which means I'll be the only sober one, the boring one. The driver..."
"What about S- oh I understand. You wouldn't trust Sean with your baby." Emma smiled widely.
"Right." Jay confirmed smiling back.
"Uh, Jay you haven't looked at the road in like a minute." Emma hissed, pointing toward the windshield, peels of laughter coming from her mouth.
"Oh, right yeah!" Jay turned back to the road and threw his hands around the wheel. He laughed at himself. "What an idiot."
"I never thought I'd heard Jay Hogart call himself an idiot." Emma mused.
"Actually, I was talking about you." Emma's face fell in mock devastation. "I'm joking! I never thought I'd be back on speaking terms with you after... you know." Jay trailed off, leaving out the obvious.
"I don't hold a grudge. And besides, life's too short. If the stuff with Rick taught me anything, it's to not let the past grind you down. Look forward, and it can't go wrong."
"I would agree with you, but thanks to that, my life changed for the worse. I can't see it in the same light you do."
"Jay, that was your choice. I have no sympathy for you on that one." Emma said flatly.
"I know. I wasn't asking for forgiveness for Rick dying. I know that will never happen. Not from anyone. But what we did, we all payed for it in one way or another."
"Time will heal all of that."
"You sound like you stole that from song lyrics." Jay joked.
"No, it's all in here, boy." Emma joked back, tapping her chest where her heart was. She smiled widely and went on to change the subject. "Hey, I have another one. I never thought I'd be in a car with sixteen independent speakers again."
"Ah, there are only twelve now. I did overnight in a cell for noise pollution and refusing to get rid of two of the speakers. So they booked me for one night, took my license for a month and made me get rid of four speakers."
"So it would've been better to just do what you were told in the first place." Emma observed, a smile still fixed on her pretty face.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that, hey?" Jay quipped.
"I knew you wouldn't bow to the demands of the law without a battle." Emma arched her eyebrows and realized then that she couldn't stop smiling. She was lost in the charming, alluring, power in Jay's striking blue eyes.
"What?" He asked, a small nervous smile forming on his lips. His eyes flickered between her face and the road. "Quit it, Nelson!" He said a little louder, breaking her trance. "Are you purposely tryin' to make me crash the car?" He swept his hand quickly over her leg before dropping all connections and turning his attention fully back to the road.
Hope it was OK. Please leave a review, all comments are appreciated!