Chapter Text
"welcome," the clerk mumbled with a slight nod that you return with a smile.
you didn't expect to find yourself out so late into the night but you couldn't sleep and needed a smoke badly.
you grabbed a pack of camels and glanced over at the magazine aisle to see a tan boy, he looked like he was trying to steal something but you didn't really care. you caught his gaze by accident and he looked at you like he was trying to figure you out. holding his gaze just a beat too long.
you turned your gaze back to the clerk who was ringing you up with obvious boredom.
walking back to your apartment you didn't notice the subtle scrap of his shoes 'til you were halfway down the block.
"are you following me?" you try to keep your voice confident but it wavered anyway. who knew what this hood was trying to do?
"you shouldn't be walking alone here," he said while his eyes were fixed on the ground.
"and you should?" you shot back.
he smirked, glancing up at you for a split second before looking back at a rock he was kicking around. and as much as you didn't want to admit it, he was cute.
at your building, you glanced over your shoulder one last time. he was still there, hands in his pockets. you smiled, just barely, before stepping inside.
and as he stared up at the sky from the lot he couldn't help but wonder about you. where were you from? you were obviously not from tulsa. what was your name? what were you doing in a dump like tulsa? he caught himself thinking about you and cursed himself.
"people like her don't stick around."
the blazing sun hung low in the sky, the heat unbearable. you wanted so badly to just return home to your fan and air conditioning but those dreams were crushed when the low-fuel light on your car flickered on.
you drove to the closest gas station you knew, the air smelling of motor oil and gasoline, and faint rock 'n' roll playing from inside the garage.
"need a fill-up?" a boy flashing an easy grin called out to you. you read the name tag on his uniform,
"soda."
"yeah," you said, brushing some hair out of your face. "my cars also making this noise when i drive but it's probably nothing, but…"
before soda could answer, someone emerged from the garage. the guy from the corner store, was wiping his hands on a rag. he looked older than the boy you saw the other night, not by years, but by the way he carried himself. grease streaked his forearm, and his bangs stuck to his forehead from the heat.
he noticed you instantly, his eyes flickering from you to car, like he was trying not to but couldn't help it.
"hey, cade," a boy named steve called out. "check out the chevy over here, it's makin' some kinda noise."
after tossing his rag onto a workbench he made his way over to your car.
"pop the hood," he said, his voice flat.
you obeyed, stepping aside to let him listen. he didn't say much.
soda wandered off after filling your tank to help another customer, and you could feel his presence more than anything.
"So..." you started, because the silence was suddenly too loud. "you work here."
he didn't even look up. "yeah."
"didn't picture you the type to fix cars."
he finally glanced at you, quick and sharp. "why's that?"
"didn't mean nothin' by it," you raised your hands in surrender.
you could tell he was curious about you. you could feel it in the way he snuck glances when he thought you weren't looking, but the second you pushed back he closed himself off like a bear trap.
he fiddled with something in the engine then stepped back. "you were running low on gas, but it ain't just that. belts loose. that's where the noise is comin' from."
"is it bad?"
he wiped his hand again. "could be. i'll tighten it up. won't take long."
you leaned against the fender watching him work again. sweat clung to his neck and his hands moved quick but sure. you couldn't help but wonder why he was so self-contained.
"johnny, right?" you asked, glancing at his uniform.
"yeah," he responded, voice even flatter than before.
then you made the mistake of asking, "so are you from around here?"
he froze for a second like you had struck a nerve then shrugged. "always been here."
you opened your mouth to say something else but he cut you off. "don't gotta make conversation, y'know. i'm just fixin' your car."
you felt heat creep up your neck and to the tips of your ears, and it wasn't from the sun. "i was just being nice."
how could he be so cruel when he walked you home just the other night?
johnny didn't answer. he just wiped his hands again, more out of habit than of need, and closed the hood with a thunk.
you paid for the gas and the repair. "thanks for the help," and without waiting for a response you got in your car and drove off.
as you drove, you caught a glimpse of him in the rear view mirror. standing by the pump, hands in his pockets, just watching as your car disappeared.
he told himself you were just another customer. that he shouldn't start things he can't end.
but he couldn't shake the way your voice echoed through his head like an engine that just wouldn't shut off.