Chapter 7

On the road, 8:09 A.M.

Within a couple of minutes, the duo arrived in Wumpa Villa, the small town that was the closest to the Bandicoot home. Crash drove through the town and as what appeared to be a 50's diner came into view, Crash pulled the car into the parking lot. As both friends enter the diner and sit at a nearby table, a waitress walked to their table.

"Hi! My name is Abby, and I'll be your waitress for the time being. Now, can I start you off with drinks," asked the ever-so cheerful Abby.

"Coffee, black," Crash had said formally. "I'll have the same," Pasadena said softly.

"Okay then. I'll be back in a bit," Abby claimed, before leaving their table.

As their waitress had left, Crash rested his chin on his hand while staring at the table as Pasadena averted her gaze out the window. Deciding to break the silence, Crash chose to make a joke.

"You know, I thought I had to be at least 30 to actually enjoy coffee," Crash joked. Pasadena giggled and proceeded to join in on the conversation. "30, huh? More like now if you had my job."
"Is it that stressful or something," he had asked. Before Pasadena could speak, the bandicoot spoke again with, "That brings up something. What do you EXACTLY do at the Motorworld?"

Responding with a laugh, Pasadena replied, "It is kinda stressful. I work as one of those people that just happen to help with directions, or if people have questions."

"Sooooo, you would be like a helpful survey taker I take it?" After finishing his question, Crash chuckled while raising an eyebrow.

"Something like that," the possum answered with a following smile. After another few seconds of silence, Crash broke the silence with a witty question.

"You have no idea what you really work as, do you?"

"Not really."

After sharing a moment of laughter, they were stopped as Abby came back with their coffee. "Here you go," she said as she laid down their beverages. "Now what can I get for your breakfast? You can save money with a Couples' Breakfast."

Immediately, Crash and Pasadena blushed at the same time while showing signs of embarassment. Pasadena looked away and smiled while Crash rubbed the back of his neck while responding sheepishly, "Y-Yeah, sure."

"Ok, that meal comes with two eggs, two strips of bacon, two pancakes, and two sausage links. Is that good?"

"Yes," both marsupials replied at the same time.

"How would you like your eggs," the waitress had asked.

"Scrambled," both friends replied again in unison.

"Awww, that's so sweet that both of you are saying the same thing. Do you finish each other's sentences as well?"

"Oh, no" Crash responded. At the same time, Pasadena said, "Not really." After their replies, both look at each other with a "Seriously?" look. Meanwhile Abby laughed and answered, "Oh my! That is so cute! I'll be back with the food. Don't you lovebirds go anywhere!"

After Abby's departure, Crash facepalmed while Pasadena buried her face in her hands. Crash looked up with an expression on his face that said, "Ah, crap." Resting his chin back on his hand, Crash looked back at the table with a hint of irritation. Pasdena also looked up and noticed the orange hero's expression. "What's wrong?"

"I have to find a new diner."

Back at the Bandicoot House, 10:38 A.M.

"I can't believe it! Two weeks! How long does it really take to fix a car?" The words came out of an enraged Pasadena, angry at the mechanics who worked at the auto shop.

"Calm down, it could be worse you know," Crash said, hoping to calm down his friend. How did she get this pissed off, he thought to himself while remembering what happened earlier.

Flashback

After leaving the diner after their breakfast, Crash and Pasadena headed towards the local auto shop. "So, is this friend of yours really good at fixing cars?" Pasadena asked.
"Sal has been working on cars ever since he was a little tyke. Well, that's from his point. Anyway, I trust the old man with fixing my cars, and they've turned out okay," Crash had replied in order to calm down his American companion. "Trust me, he's the closest to an actual professional."

With a sigh, Pasadena said , "Alright. I'll take your word on it."

A couple of minutes and miles later, the two friends arrived at the shop. It looked pretty decent, as it was clean, save for the large dirty sign that read, "Sal's Auto Shop." Under the name, there was a slogan that read, "If we can't fix it, nobody can."

Reading the slogan to herself, Pasadena whispered, "Well that's confident." Crash was the first to leave the jeep, and Pasadena followed suit. As they went through the front door, they instantly heard the whirrings, drilling, and other various sounds you expect to hear at a mechanic's shop. Crash walked up to a nearby mole wearing denim blue overalls, who looked like he was in his late 50's. Due to the loud machinery, Crash had to shout to grab the mole's attention.

"SAL! HOW'S IT GOIN', PAL?"

"WHAT? OH, COME WITH ME TO THE OFFICE!"

Sal, Crash, and Pasadena went to a neaby corner, where there was an office which had windows with the shades halfway closed. After stepping in, Sal closed the door, which all of a sudden the noise was gone.
Pasadena looked at the door in bewilderment.

"I got sound-proof glass installed a few years back. Although, the guys keep tappin' on the window instead of coming in," Sal had spoke, following with a low chuckle. "So, Crash, how can I help you?"

"Well here's the problem. My friend here, her car broke down yesterday. I was wondering if you can fix it. After all you still owe me for that one time I moved you out of the bus's way," Crash said with a smirk. As Sal laughed, he stood up and pronounced, "Well Bandicoot. I'll do it. But there's one problem." With an irritated sigh, Crash responded, "What is it?"

Sal looked at Crash with a sincere look and said, "Joe and Mike are out of town. The only guys I got are Phil and Bill. And you know how those two are." As Sal finished his sentence, he pointed out the window. As Crash and Pasadena turned their heads, they saw two twin beavers slapping each other before getting into a fight. "Dammit," Sal cursed before he picked up a small microphone and shouted, "PHIL! BILL! Quit screwing around and get back to work!" After Sal's announcement, the beavers looked at the window with fear and ran into each other before running around each other to head back to work.

Pasadena spoke to break the silence, "I'm guessing they're the bad workers."

"Yep. And with their experiences, your car will be fixed within a certain amount of time," Sal had said flatly while tapping his fingers against the desk. Pasadena, with a worried tone asked, "How long?"

"Well..."

End of Flashback

Riiiiight...
Crash scratched his head as the memory faded away. As he looked towards Pasadena, he saw that she was still very pissed.

"And to top it off, I have no car to get around! How am I gonna get anywhere on this island?"

Crash nervously joked, "Well, you could always walk." After a sheepish chuckle, Crash cowered in fear as Pasadena looked at him with an angry look. "Really? You're making jokes now?" Pasadena had asked Crash a terrifying question that even Uka Uka would fear answering.

"Uhhh..no?" Crash closed his eyes waiting for the worst. After a few seconds, Crash opened his eyes to see his friend's face buried into a pillow. Feeling ridicously relieved, the orange bandicoot let out a small breath and moved near Pasadena. Seeing though as she was angry, Crash somehow knew she was really upset, or better yet more sad than angry. Putting his hand on her shoulder, Pasadena lifted her head and looked towards Crash. He saw that she was about to cry.

"Pas, what's wrong? You can talk to me. If you don't want to, I won't make you." Crash gave Pasadena a sincere look, letting her know he cared. Somehow, Crash felt that he should care. That he should do anything to help her feel better. Sadly, Pasadena shook her head without saying a word. Feeling like he needed to hear Pasadena say something, Crash said with a kind and gentle tone, "Please? Just anything."

"I thought you said-"

"I know. But it doesn't mean I'm gonna give up on you," Crash replied with a smile. Smiling back, Pasadena spoke while trembling, "Well...it's just that...If I can't get to the new park's location, I'll get fired."

Confused, Crash asked, "What? Why?" With a sniffle and a calm exhaled breath, Pasadena spoke, "I don't know what happened. I mean I did slack off, but VC was serious about it. I don't know why but I never saw him so mad. He told me my job was on the line. If I get fired, I can't pay rent and I'll be broke and jobless." Crash thought about what she said. Damn, now I know why she's really mad. Her job, her career is on the line and I was making a joke about it. I feel like a jackass.

Crash moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. Pasadena looked deep in his eyes. So clear and ever so hopeful, she saw that Crash really meant it when he said he wouldn't give up. Resting her head on his chest, the possum looked up at him. Without looking down, Crash said, "It's okay. I'll be damned if you do get fired. Even if you do, you can stay with me. No matter how it turns out, Pas, I can tell you this: Everything's gonna be fine." As he finished his sentence, Crash looked back down and smiled at Pasadena. As she smiled back, Crash wiped away her tears. Pasadena rested her head against her friend's chest.

As Crash moved back to lie down, Pasadena kept herself in his arms. Crash reached for the remote control that rested on the coffee table in front of him and flipped on the TV. Taking in a fresh breath, Crash exhaled as he looked for a movie. As he set down the remote and looked at Pasadena, he saw that she was watching TV as well, but with a smile. Crash looked back at the TV, but not before clearing his mind. After all the time he had, Crash finally had an answer...

I am in love with her...

Ok, that's another one down. Leave a review if you liked it. See ya.