“Thought you would’ve been halfway to Paris by now, what made you decide to come with us?”
Whoop, there it is. Katie’s stomach jumped into her throat as Leon’s words spilled from his mouth and entered her ears. For a brief moment, she thought her white mocha was about to make a return appearance on the hot asphalt of the parking lot, but luckily for everyone involved, she was a pro. A little nervous energy wouldn’t make her puke. Leon, bless his heart, dropped it faster than he’d picked it up, waving away any inconsistencies as he rationalized her surprise arrival. Before she could spout her well rehearsed line about Carter’s passport being stolen, and the trip being cancelled, Leon was off to brave the wrath of Val and AJ. Better that way. She wasn’t quite ready for her friends to begin poking holes in her weak ass lie.
As the conversations around her began to flow, Katie closed her eyes, and reflected for the briefest of moments on how fucking stupid she was. Lying to her friends, poorly at that, was inevitably going to fail. She knew that, somewhere, deep below the writhing masses of self-loathing and regret. She’d watched enough TV to know that a lie always made its way out. Foolishly though, another part of her believed that she would be the exception to the rule. Katie forced that part, the confident, devil may care, fucking invincible version of herself, to the front of her mind. She opened her eyes to see Chris and Aleks strolling towards her. Woman up, Katie. Woman the fuck up.
They approached side by side, Aleks still smiling innocently at Chris’ playful jabs. His typical nonchalance was usually a virtue, and he hoped it would be the case here too. They had limited time to make a good impression before AJ came out of the RV like a tornado, whirling towards whatever straw he felt weighing most heavily upon his back. For everyone’s sake, Aleks hoped it would be him; AJ’s tantrums rarely struck him directly, but when they did, it was hard for him to lose his cool. The same couldn’t be said for Katie, who was clutching her coffee tightly towards her as though she feared it shooting up into her face or spiking into the ground.
”Privyet, Katie,” he said politely, lifting his own white mocha up to her and rattling the ice in the half-empty cup, proof he came in peace. “Nobody told me you were coming, but I’m happy you are. If you’re still planning on going to Europe maybe I can hide in your carry-on bag.”
He grinned and winked at her, with a playful jerk of his head towards his brother-in-arms beside him.
“Katie, I don’t know if you have met Chris Reyes in his full glory yet,” he said, favoring his friend with the same coquettish grin. “Chris, you’d know if you met Katie in hers. Katie, do you know if Carter--”
Aleks looked up at Katie, meeting her eyes directly for the first time, and then flicked to the car behind her. Many things, from Ivy’s invitation to Katie’s more insular demeanor, clicked into place halfway through his sentence. Oh fuck. Christ.
Well, he had already said the name. What a shame. Aleks had felt kind of proud of helping Katie pull that heist off. He had felt kind of like consigliere when they swept prom.
“--Forget it. RV is crowded as is. Chris, say hi already. Make friends while we have the chance.”
“Hi.” Chris responded rather obediently. “I think we’ve met before, but probably not in our full glory.” He laughed in recollection of how… messy AJ’s parties could get. “I don’t know what you might’ve heard about me, but I swear I’m only half as much an asshole as I look. I hang with the gearheads, but I go to a different school. Nice to formally meet ya.”
Chris gestured with the carbohydrate-filled “olive branch” he held in a bag, fresh from his mama’s kitchen. “Have you had breakfast? My moms made pandesal to feed my friends, she does that. It’s flip food, like a nice sweet roll. Mango jam too, if that’s your thing.” he said in offering.
To Katie’s credit, her smile didn’t falter as Carter’s name came tumbling haphazardly out of Aleks’ mouth, only to be shoved aside the moment he put it all together. She should’ve figured he’d be the first to figure it out. Rather than panic, she focused on Chris as he reintroduced himself. “Nice to meet you too, in your full glory,” Katie said, cracking a playful grin. She accepted the bag with a thank you, and opened it up to find a roll, and a jar of mango jam.
She spread the jam across the roll, and bit into it, an involuntary moan of pleasure escaping as the pastry met her taste buds. “This is really fucking good. Your moms just changed my life I think,” Katie said through a mouthful of pandesal and jam. “So have you two started taking bets on whether or not AJ actually survives to see this road trip start? The way Val looked, I say it’s a fifty-fifty chance we go in and find his body.”
”I doubt it,” Aleks replied mildly. ”The best thing about Val is that most people can hold her at arm’s length without much trouble. AJ should be fine as long as she doesn’t sink any teeth in.”
He was glad that Chris’ mother’s cooking had gone over so well. Most of the Gearheads had been the willing recipient of one of those rolls at one point or another; they usually worked surprisingly well on hangovers, and along with some coconut water and a very casual walk in the morning, they were one of Aleks’ private cures. They were another little occasional perk of California that he was going to miss.
“It’s only the rest of the trip we have to worry about now. You have a hell of a lot of nerve, you know. Really. I like it.” Aleks’ lazy glance drifted over his shoulder to the RV, almost as though he expected it to start rocking with violence any second - and with a surprising lack of concern at the notion. ”I know things are going to be tense. And I know you’ll do everything in your power...assuage AJ’s temper.”
The playful smile grew on his face again.
”The new Tarantino movie is coming out at the end of the summer. If you haven’t killed one another by then maybe I treat you to tickets. Chris, bratan. You like Tarantino? I started watching Tarantino movies when I came to LA.. The best. I think three tickets means we get a family deal. A little Icee or something.” He nudged Chris’ arm with his elbow and smiled brightly at Katie. “We call it a...trip rewards program or something.”
“Who the fuck doesn’t like Tarantino?” Chris replied with a scoff. Gratuitous violence was the peak of cinematic entertainment, in his humble opinion. Aleks’ russian commentary would no doubt make it all the more entertaining too. “Don’t know if we’ll need the flick if we’re about to embark on our own Tarantino plot though.” He glanced at the RV for emphasis. No signs of fire or even smoke yet.
Chris looked back to the source of some of the upcoming tension now, one Miss Callaghan, and smirked. “Speaking of… not to go back on saying I ain’t an asshole or anything, but like, I’m just curious... What made you want to come on this trip?” From what AJ had to say about Katie, Chris would be led to believe that she was just a shit starter and probably decided to come just to cause him woe and grief and be an all around evil bitch. But… sane people weren’t really like that, right? She seemed normal as hell so far, nervous, even. This blondie in front of him seemed nothing like the big bad Katie of AJ’s tales.
“To make a long story short, I needed out of the Hills, and I knew AJ was leaving today. It was either brave the wrath of Alfie James Tyler, or spend the summer with Jamie and Marshall, experiencing Greece through the magic of FaceTime.” Katie smirked, glancing quickly at Aleks. She didn’t want to draw any more attention to the Carter story, and she hoped her intentional vagueness wasn’t lost on the Russian. Hopefully he’d keep his observations to himself, for now.
“I know AJ probably still hates me, but I walked in on him and Jamie having sex so many times, I probably know his ass better than my own. Pulling up in Jamie’s car was,” Katie paused and gave the boys a grimace before resuming, “poor taste. In all fairness, mine’s in the shop. The point is, he’ll get over it. Everyone knows AJ can’t resist some famous Callaghan charm,” Katie said.
Aleks’ eyebrows danced for a second, shrugging themselves slightly with a little roll. Katie had always been his Callaghan of choice, but that was about the same as the choice between a chocolate sundae and a baseball bat to the teeth.
“Most people here can lapse into occasional bouts of gaucheness,” he demurred, eyes bouncing between Jamie’s car and Jamie’s sister. “I wouldn’t worry about it for very long. It’s not coming with us, it’ll be out of everyone’s minds in a few days or so. Just as long as we’re not one-upping each other as far as dick moves go.”
His eyes found her coffee and he sipped at his own mocha, mostly out of reflex.
“Greece, huh? I spent the summer in Mykonos last year. I wish I remembered more of it, it was probably a hell of a place.”
When his friends started talking about their lavish vacations in foreign locales, Chris usually checked out of the conversation. Generally, he tried not to be bitter about it, but jealousy is a human emotion and Chris is all too human. He hadn’t even been able to visit his mother’s birth country yet, but he had made a promise to himself that someday he would, and he’d take her too, he just needed to work hard and save up for it. He usually checked out of these conversations, but today involved a pretty girl, so he kept interest for a time.
“You’re trouble.” Chris remarked in reference to her earlier explanation of why she was here and why she arrived in Jamie’s car. “But no more so than the rest of us, I think. Cept, you really shouldn’t call him that again. Like seriously.” Chris knew a thing or two about not wanting to be called by your own cringe-worthy name.
Katie laughed. Chris’s warning reminded her of the one Jamie had given her back when he’d divulged what AJ stood for over smores and their parents’ vodka. “Oh trust me, I know. I made that mistake once already. You would’ve thought I’d come after his mom or something.” Katie grinned. “Enough about AJ though. I have a feeling I’m going to come out of this trip with enough AJ memories to last me a very long lifetime.” She glanced around at their friends, scattered in groups across the parking lot. “Aleks, you read people like a book, and Chris you’ve seen us all at our most blacked out, who do you guys think hooks up in the RV first? My money’s on Ava and Ivy. Don’t think, just go with your gut,” Katie said looking back at the boys, the famed Katie Callaghan energy rolling off of her, now that her mood had begun to turn around.
“I dunno…” Chris mused for a minute, then looked at the RV and nodded his head towards it. “If all goes well, the two that are in there fighting. Maybe then the rest of us could start enjoying this trip.”
”You and me, with any luck.” Aleks swished a mouthful of white mocha around his cheeks and gulped down before cocking his head in the same direction as the RV again - but this time, at the people standing outside it serving looks and pancakes respectively. “Sami and Reyna. Easy money. It’s been building for a while and he’s already working his crowd.”
Katie’s mouth formed an O, but she was proud to report that Aleks’ comment did not make her blush. She wasn’t fifteen anymore and compliments from cute boys did not send the blood rushing to her cheeks. They did however, get her heart racing. Maybe it was the realization that this was the first time in almost three years that the words could actually lead somewhere. Despite the accompanying guilt and Carter’s voice in her head, Katie’s look of surprise morphed into an easy going laugh. “Oh luck will certainly be in play for that one. Luck and vodka. Although,” Katie said, without really thinking about the consequences, “Vegas is known for having copious amounts of both.” She considered winking, decided against it, and moved smoothly back to the topic.
“AJ and Val would be a sight. Honestly, I wouldn’t be that surprised. The way they fight, it makes you wonder,” Katie said, playfully tapping her finger against her temple. “Sami and Reyna though, that would be cute as shit.”
”They look good together, yeah. I give it by Colorado, Reyna is not shy by nature..” He shrugged and looked back towards the RV containing his fearless leader and his shoulder devil-sized cohort. “You know, fuck if you might not be right. They’ve been in there a while. I was sure AJ’s Spider-Sense would kick in by now.”
Chris had been glaring at Aleks for his very obvious flirtation. Hell, that wasn’t even a flirt, it was a full on proposition. Shy, my ass, lyin’ russki. The look of irritation subsided when Katie used ‘cute’ and ‘Sami’ in the same sentence. He was a good looking dude, but cute was a word reserved for like… puppies and soft shit, and Chris was pretty sure that Sami left his house last night to either beat or get beaten by someone, so “cute” Sami was an amusing thought.
“Damn right I’m right, why else do her claws come out whenever there are too many girls around him.” Chris said as he fished around in his jacket pockets for his vice. They were about to be trapped in an RV for four hours, maybe more, so he figured he’d might as well indulge while he could. He lit up a cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke away from his conversational companions. “Man, I hope I’m wrong though, there ain’t enough windows on that thing to air it out properly.” He said with a grimace.
Katie watched as Chris pulled a cigarette from his pocket. She didn’t smoke, not cigarettes at least, or maybe it was more accurate to say she hadn’t smoked in a while. She’d gone through a phase where she wanted to feel rebellious and badass, but Carter had hated them so she’d stopped for him. Having just realized that she could flirt without cheating, she was also struck with the realization that she wasn’t bound by any of the concessions she’d made during their relationship. She had no desire to start smoking again, but Katie Callaghan also liked doing things just because she could. “Chris, could I steal a cigarette from you?”
Chris raised his eyebrows slightly and flicked some ashes towards the ground. “Full of surprises, aren’t you?” Most of AJ’s friends, Chris had thought all of them until this moment, did not smoke. In fact, he usually got side eye when he lit up around them. And he got more than just side eye if he smoked in Aleks’ car. So, this was a welcomed turn of events and, somehow, Katie just got a touch more attractive. Chris tapped the pack against his hip and slid a single cigarette further out with his thumb to offer it to her. “Sure thing. You need a light too?”
“That would be amazing,” Katie took the rolled up tobacco from Chris, placed it between her lips, and she leaned in, eyes locking as Chris held the flame up. It danced between them for a moment, before her inhale drew the waltzing flame into the cigarette, igniting it. She resisted the urge to cough as the familiar taste of smoke filled her mouth, and exhaled, up and away so that the smoke drifted off into the air. It tasted like shit, but she’d been expecting that. “Smoking in my former high school’s parking lot. Check that off the bucket list,” she said before taking another drag.
“Maybe on the way back,” Aleks murmured, lips playing in a little grin around his straw while he watched Chris light Katie’s cigarette. Truthfully, there was nothing he really had against smoking, as long as Chris didn’t get it anywhere in the interior of one of his cars, but it was already threatening to be a motherfucker of a trip to Vegas based on the parking lot dynamics of this volatile crew. The last thing he needed was to start hitting cheap Newports on a venti mocha and half a pancake. That would mean getting into the booze rations early to compensate for illness, and then...blugh. Just a nightmare for all involved. “I ran here, not drove. I’m still a little winded for a cigarette.”
His eyes found Chris again. Sly little fucker. It’s not like Aleks hadn’t offered. His grin widened.
“Which reminds me, Chris, we’re going to need to move on AJ fast. Make sure we’re not sitting first shift in that fucking meat locker--” his head lolled backwards towards the van, as though he’d been rear-ended by it “--with Nate and Leon. Good guys. Fun guys. But I’m going to feel like I’m being human trafficked to Las Vegas instead of vacationing crammed between them.”
He looked at Katie and laughed for the first time since they’d walked over to her.
“Now you, you are screwed,” he teased. “He’s going to try and shove your ass out of sight, out of mind the first chance he gets. Val will concur. You should stick with us until we’re safely on the road. Unless you’d prefer Leon, which, I mean. Fair play.”
Katie smiled, a knowing smile, and took another drag. “You two are the road to salvation, huh?” she said once she’d exhaled. “Could be worse I guess.”
"Cool.” Aleks grinned and finally heard the sound of empty suction within a straw. He’d finished his last Los Angeles mocha, and he rattled the ice in the cup sadly. ”Would anyone like to impress me and shoot this into the bin before I do? Chris, this is your big chance. You play basketball, right? Nyet? Katie?”
“I'd probably miss, it's been a few months." Chris said to avoid the potential embarrassment of actually attempting it and missing. “That's all you, Katie." He said before taking another long drag. “Or you, surely Russians can do more than just hockey and communism." He said with a smirk.
“You have no idea. The lab they grow me in, the boys who miss their shots, they shoot them,” Aleks deadpanned, his natural Russian accent rising to the surface for a moment. “Very well. Katie?”
Katie rolled her eyes at Aleks’ comment, but still proceeded to hand off her own mocha to Chris, before taking the empty cup from Aleks and stuffing her own trash inside. She looked over at the bin, well aware that she had no natural gift for basketball, or any other sport, but exceedingly confident nonetheless. Her arm swung up, arced, and released the cup, sending it sailing towards the trash can. It hit the rim of the bin’s opening, and swirled around, and around, and around before clattering off and onto the ground. “Well, that was anticlimactic.” She walked over and threw away the oh so painful reminder of her fresh failure, and returned. “So, were you impressed?” she asked, retrieving her coffee from Chris.
Aleks was laughing as she walked to the bin and back, chewing on the end of one lip of his mischievous grin. “Halfway impressed me, actually. You hit the bin at least. It takes courage to try.”
He was humming in thought a little.
“Russians, British, I don’t think we’ve ever actually won a medal for basketball. We suck like motherfuckers at it.” He plucked what remained of her mocha out from Katie’s hand, bopping the bottom of the cup so her grip was loosened and then gently prying it into his own hand. “Oop. Spasibo.”
He drained it thoughtfully, bottom teeth gently chewing the end of the straw closed as his eyes marked the patch of ice cubes where his coffee lid had burst open.
“Gymnastics, volleyball. Hockey.” He grinned at Chris. “We dominate the medals here. Basketball, not so much. Probably a bad comparison, you are right. Maybe if I thought of it like baseball--”
He lobbed the empty cup with about the same amount of force that Katie had, although he also kicked his knee up and tossed it as though it were a baseball, instead of an arcing free throw motion. It wasn’t particularly pretty, not being a ball and having nowhere for him to place his fingers in place of seams, but it bounced off the interior of the bin and toppled inside. The near-empty trash bag flapped from the force of the throw and the object settling at its base. Aleks leaned backwards against Chris’ shoulder, still biting back the true smug force of his grin.
“No bullet holes in me yet, baby,” he drawled, still with the full weight of his home accent. “Sorry about your mocha. I promise I’ll buy your first vodka in Vegas. Chris, may I please have a roll now? That was tense.”
“Yeah, of course," He offered the whole bag of fresh-baked goodies to him.
“Moms will no doubt text me in two hours or less asking if I gave my friends breakfast, and Asian moms have a sixth sense, she'll know if they're not all gone. Eat two." Chris responded before stamping his cigarette butt out on the ground and walking it over to flick it in the trash can.
”Spasiiiibo, brataaaan.”
Katie smirked, and finished her own cigarette before turning to Aleks. “I expect top-shelf. Don’t try and skimp me,” she said, before returning to the trash can to throw out the cigarette butt. She was starting to feel as if, maybe, she might actually survive the summer. Emphasis on maybe.
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