A/N: Ownership: I don't own Glee copyrights. I have tonnes of dvd's, cd's, paraphernalia which includes my Intellectual Property of Imagination.
I'm Australian, this has all great inspiration from our lovely island. This is a story of fiction, at places that are not.
I Want this to be an independent story, for the moment I'm going to publish here under our great love of Glee. However, as my baby, please substitute the following, and change to the cast mentioned.
Trigger Warning: Until I feel otherwise, I'll just prepare you for mentions of upsetting things, like mentions of Finn and dealing with loss of family members from their death.
Kurt - Scott, played by a very young Richard Gere.
Tina - Claire, played by Scarlett Johansen. ~ Blaine - Paul, played by Andy Garcia.
Every story needs some original characters, *Harley - played by Ashton Kutcher. *Charlie - played by a very young Kevin Kline. ~ Rachel - Charlotte, played by Makyla Smith.
Sebastian - Jaxon, played by Fabrizio Filippo. ~ *Isabelle – played by Rachelle Lefevre.
~ Read, enjoy ~
~ Travelling the White Line ~
Chapter Seven.
Charity.
It's a cold frigid morning that greets Rachel. It would be considered lovely and fresh if there were sunshine, but in the middle of winter there is no sun coming over the horizon at this early hour.
Still, she gets ready for her morning walk, jog, run, activity of some sort. Rugged up with gloves, ear muffs, beanie and tissues, she jumps a few times then turns her music to comfort level.
Yesterday she managed seven kilometres, today she's just going to see how far her favourite songs take her and come back again.
As she walks toward the corner house, she sees the lounge room lights are on and the curtains are open. And that car from the other afternoon is parked inside the house. She stops and looks around and then back at the brightly lit room. On the couch is the driver, apparently asleep.
Puzzled, Rachel makes mental notes of the state of interior of the house and of the driver. "Why would you park a car inside a house?" She thinks out aloud.
The house is as clean inside as it always is on the outside. The manicured gardens are one feature Rachel loves about the house, making it an ideal home. And now what she can see of the insides, clean and tidy. The wall behind the couch that the guy is on, is painted fire engine red, the couch is cream coloured, the blanket covering the said cute guy is also red. The carpet is cream and the other wall is painted cream. Behind the car is the kitchen and doorway to the rest of the house.
She's been in there once before, before the owner moved away and rented the property out. It looks inviting, except figuring out how he got the car in there, has her truly puzzled. She puts it in her mental notes of things to investigate soon.
She shakes her head, rubs herself over, 'cause it's just so darn cold and standing there has been letting the cold effect her, she continues on with her morning thing.
Her walk takes her down a right street, she starts jogging a little when she's nearly at the bottom of the hill. The music picking up pace and drum beats hitting her feet.
She jogs along a left short street, and then starts walking briskly up another road on her left again. When she gets to a roundabout she pounds her feet in time with the beat in one spot, looking for the road to be clear of traffic, which at this God forsaken hour it is. Crossing to the right she power walks the eight blocks of this street. This street which starts off with desirable neighbours, high fences, respectable scenery and after two kilometres becomes questionable of safety of a young lady on her own.
Knowing Finn would not approve, she continues on, charity might be in her blood, but since his departure living life recklessly is her new middle name.
Somewhere at the back of her mind, and woven in the threads of her heart, she's hoping that he'll miraculously reappear, like Edward when Bella was reckless. At least that way, she'll know he was real, once upon a time he was real.
Her footsteps have been quiet, quality footwear and being light adding to that wonderful illusion. However, dogs with better hearing are waking and notice her approaching their homes. Many are inside their masters buildings, they bark at the windows and try to push the curtains out of the way. They need to see who is threatening them.
The houses are back from the road, separated by fences and yards of varying sizes. Yards with manicured gardens and occasional piles of junk.
The sun is trying to push through heavy rain clouds, adding white edges in between and making the street lamps fight for lighting the way. Birds are rugged up with their feathered friends and those who braved to come outside are calling their greetings to others afar.
A BANG! is heard way off in the distance. A sudden thump is felt through the air, and a rumble touches the ear muffs and nudges through her music.
Rachel stops and looks to where the strange feeling came from, behind and right of her. This far down in her morning run, she's found herself on the side of a road without a proper sidewalk.
She'd been running away from the direction of her home, on a mixture of sealed road and gravelly road. A mistake that was not intended. Stopping as she had, looking back over her right shoulder, something long, black and thin is winding on the ground toward her.
Her breath stops, she carefully clicks the music off, her heart races and is forced to slow to a deathly pace by the surge of adrenaline that demands her body obey. She wants to cough, so bites her lip, very, very carefully. It slithers closer, stopping a moment to feel the air and check for danger.
There is not much danger present and the vertical looking object has stopped for it, to hopefully, maybe, climb up. The snake felt the air and ground go thump and raised its head up, it throws its sensors as far as possibly allowed, nothing untoward threatens it this close, but there is a rumble increasing. It leans back down and makes its way to the vertical item.
The item seems warmer than the other coldness around, this will be ideal for safety, for rolling up in and hopefully sleeping away aches and pains. The snake tastes the air, nervous tension and fear illuminate from the item, and something else. The snake moves its eyelids for clarity.
Tyres screech and cars can be heard racing frantically from the main town, toward the road that Rachel is on. She's some three kilometres down its length, with long grass on the left and an eternity of road unable to cross on her right. If she were to cross it though, there is too wide a gully to cross to safety.
Safety is not quite possible. She looks, without moving a muscle, over what she has on. More importantly the colouring of what she has on. Runners that are dark, track pants that are navy blue, a matching sweat jacket that is also navy blue, black ear muffs. The only part of her that has any visible possibility is the reflective tape, that is in her pants pocket. She's smack bang in between street lights, and the clouds are darker than before.
The snake approaches closer, one car turns the bend, its back end sliding out behind it. The wheels screech demanding traction, its lights point in the direction it doesn't want, the driver fights to turn it the direction he really wants. The car obeys, and is barreling in the direction that Rachel shares.
The car that is chasing it throws its back end around the bend, it bashes in to a trash can, the driver fights and throws it down gears to follow its prey. A cat hisses as the trash lid comes too close smacking it, dogs bark in unison in this song of trouble.
Rachel's eyes are wide, the car lights are heading her way, with two cars in tow. The snakes real size is now clearly visible, its thinnish and bloody long. Rachel throws a hand over her mouth, a scream being halted and her thumb is bitten.
She thinks rapidly, should she run? But where? Should she fall in to the long grass? But in to what? Maybe more dangerous than where she is, maybe it is hiding a deep body of water. Water that is ice cold and not jogger friendly.
The snake has stopped again, trying to figure out what the brightness is doing. The brightness has made the item move, the item is a threat. The item has made the air taste horrible. The brightness is getting closer, and the snake is moving as fast as possible to be out of harms way, should it coil up?
Rachel blinks as the cars are approaching, she can see the hesitancy of the snake, she can also see that the poor creature is too long. Tears gather behind the bridge of her nose, adding pressure to her sinuses. Some escape her eyes as she swallows and chooses to hold as still as possible. Closing her eyes, may be she'll wake up and not be here.
The second car hits its horn, revving up and close behind the leader. The leader's wipers move frantically trying to clear the mistiness of mixed temperatures to the outside world.
Inside the air is overpowering of men's spray deodorants and the heater turned up high. The music is deafening with pounding drum beats and lead vocals of Linkin' Park. The driver flips a look in his rear vision mirror, the headlights are still visible, therefore his pursuer is still some measured distance behind.
The driver raises his right eyebrow as a leering smile takes hold of his right lips and cheek muscles. His eyes smart and the wipers clear his vision of where he is directing his baby!car.
The road is currently sealed, he knows it well, it will become gravelly and he'll gain advantage over his menacing follower. Up ahead should be clear of traffic and animals. Up ahead never has occupants at this time of the day.
His eyes widen and a delicately spoken "Fuck!" escapes his mouth. He looks unbelieving. He flips a switch to brighten his vision, it is the same switch that illuminates a warning light to the follower, the pursuer, the one who is losing the race.
Far ahead, but not far enough, on his left he sees a silhouette of a human, smallish, dainty, stopped and hopefully won't bloody well move. He moves his baby!car to the right of the road, and catches sight of the snake as he nears it and barrels passed the two unexpected users.
Not even three seconds pass when the other car passes them. The cars continue down, another kilometre, to the end of the road and hurry around a left turn.
Rachel watched the lighting increase to a brilliance that forced her arm up to shield her, she held another breath and felt the air whoosh by. One car and then another passed her, bringing ice cold wind to wash around and she was hit in the side by a walloping object.
She fell to the ground, waiting for the world to still then stumbled to her hands, lifting her head up toward where the cars went, she sees their red lights quicken further in the distance and then they disappear as they turn the bend.
"Snake!" she says out loud, remembering the unfortunate creature. Unfortunate because so many people are scared of them, and unfortunate because there's no way it would have survived being run over.
A bolt of lightening cracks the air, and shows the whimpering creature lying by the long grass.
"I'm sorry." She says aloud to it, hoping that her regret will make some impact on its fate.
She brushes herself off, knowing the days moment of recklessness is over.
Turning back to where she came, she thanks the Lord above and heads back for home. Home, where she'll be safe from harm, safe from anything that she doesn't let in her walls of security.
Settling her nerves while her feet absorb the sealed road, she turns her music back on and searches for a song more settling and an appropriate tune to move to.
The cars are heard, by the town's residents. They're heard racing and thundering around the edges and straights of the town's roads. Quick revs down are heard, brakes and back ends sliding as they round gentle corners and sudden bends.
Those who manage to see in time, view the cars side by side racing up wider streets and quickly one yields to the other as the streets narrow.
They're two sports cars, cars of muscle, grunt and trouble. Low to the ground, quality exhausts, quality boom basing music machines.
Both are well looked after by their owners. If they were living, more than just metal and science mixtures, they'd be feeling the love of their masters.
They'd be boasting their strength and cocking out their breasts with pride.
As they head up the final hill Harley lets Sebastian get in front, once more. Seb guides them through the meandering streets, crisscrossing till he feels his adrenaline rush calm down.
As they approach the final bend, to Harley's rental, Seb clicks the remote. He turns his baby!car right and brings her to a purring stop. Letting Harley drive in first, the dividing wall closing down then Seb parks his baby!car.
The garage door closes down and the apparent still from the house conflicts with how the energy of the house was just a few hours ago.
Sebastian comes in to the lounge room, "You really should close those curtains."
Harley, sitting with his legs out of the open car door, makes his way to the wall remotes. "Yeah I suppose I should try to remember that. Thanks Bas."
As the heavy drape curtains close, Rachel rounds the corner to the street of her home. Her home where everything is safe, everything in its place.
She looks up at the corner house. She can smell that the cars came this way, she heard them come this way. But there's no sight of them now.
The curtains are closed now, and after her refreshing shower and nap, she plans on getting to know this new neighbour of hers.
Extra Kute little author notes: Little dedication to Dru and her munchkins. Also to some sweeties who are faving some stories and faving me. I'm humbled and blushing and chipper and inspired by your love, and our love of these hunnies. Also to MaHunny, mwah!