Causeway Parking Lot to the Mainland; Later Tuesday Afternoon

[totalwildcard]

It might not have ultimately been too much of a surprise which car in the parking lot was Harley's current ride. At least if you happened to know the Chevy Impala was Dean's provided it was even present on Tuesday. The funky 1970s green Chevy Chevelle sedan (four doors, see what she'd said about the back seat?) was of course Harley's: a classic look, but not so flashy as to attract too much attention and immediately get her in trouble as soon as she'd grabbed it from where the very unfortunate previous owner had left it.

Although the main hint that it was hers was still probably that she'd parked her butt on the hood of the thing as she waited for Marc to get there.

Call it a freebie.

(for that guy, continued from here!

Comments

[totalwildcard]

Sometimes the important things stuck, apparently!

"Obviously," Harley replied, on a laugh, "but even I can't make out in the back of a moving car I'm also driving. Unfortunately! 'Cause the adrenaline rush in that sounds amazing."

[hasaknightjob]

Funny how that happened sometimes!

"I can believe you've at least tried though," Marc said.

[totalwildcard]

Harley shook her head.

"Only in the front."

[hasaknightjob]

Which did provide Marc with some mental images of what she might be referring to. Regardless, "I'm okay if you focus on driving for right now."

[totalwildcard]

Harley shrugged, easy and light.

"Ah well, your loss."

It really wasn't. But, oo, a stretch of road to go faster in, don't mind if she did!

[hasaknightjob]

In a way this brought up a thought that had been on and off in the back of Marc's mind since the last time he saw Harley. He debated saying something, really wanting to not because saying shit so often did not work out for him. But then he figured fuck it. Things he normally did didn't exactly have a good track record of being the right thing to do with Harley so sure. Do what he usually wouldn't.

"You know you don't have to do anything to surprise me, right?"

[totalwildcard]

Harley looked over (yes, while going fast, she still had a sliver of her attention on the road, it was fine!), looking like any significance in what he'd just said wasn't really computing.

"Okay?" she said, in a tone that suggested she was just grasping at a guess of a correct response.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc shrugged. "I'm just saying."

With not nearly enough words, no.

[totalwildcard]

"Okay?" Harley said again, thankfully turning her gaze back to the road again. "Didn't think I was?"

[hasaknightjob]

"Good," Marc said, like that settled it.

And then something in the very far back of his mind - or possibly someone - gave him a nudge.

"You mentioned it about the last guy is all. That you felt you needed to."

[totalwildcard]

Harley frowned, her gaze flicking to the side towards him, then to the road ahead again.

"I wasn't tryin' to surprise Mister J," she said, "I was tryin' to impress Mister J, there's a difference."

She wasn't touching any of the potential implications inherent in the way he said 'the last guy'. Nope.

[hasaknightjob]

That's good because neither was Marc.

"Well you don't have to do that either," he said. "You're plenty impressive. And surprising."

[totalwildcard]

"Yeah, you keep sayin', I've heard ya," Harley pointed out. "What's the point, did it seem like I was trying just now?"

You were going to give a girl a complex, Marc!

[hasaknightjob]

"No, I just - " Marc shrugged, thinking that this was why he tried to avoid talking. "Just saying."

[totalwildcard]

"Wasn't trying," Harley muttered to herself, eyes firmly on the road now. "Wasn't tryin' anything at all."

Maybe not entirely true? Except for the surprising and impressing.

[hasaknightjob]

"I know you weren't," Marc said. "I'm saying in general. If you ever wondered. Which I guess you didn't so sorry I brought it up."

[totalwildcard]

Was Harley pouting, now? And not in the fun way?

Maybe a little, but she would've said she wasn't, which clearly had to count for something!

[hasaknightjob]

Marc sighed, but at himself. Next time he'd listen to his first instincts. "I fucked up. Not exactly news, huh?"

[totalwildcard]

Well, at least one of them didn't really spare any thoughts for whether she should say things or not?

"I just don't understand where that came from," Harley complained. "All I was tryin' to do was see if you wanted to stop somewhere to finish whatcha started back on the island! And I would call that more of a selfish thing on my part, so I just don't, I don't get it."

Big breath, and...

"I'm workin' real hard on not getting trampled again, you know."

[hasaknightjob]

"It didn't come from anywhere," Marc said. He gestured to his head. "Sometimes shit's just in there. I thought it, I said it. I dunno. Maybe it was because you were being yourself and I didn't want you to think you ever had to stop."

[totalwildcard]

Well, that shut her up.

"Oh."

Apart from that.

It likely wouldn't last very long, she just needed to... chew on it.

[hasaknightjob]

"I'm trying to... " Marc made a vague gesture. "Not do what I've done before. I suck at it. I know. Lucky you, you're getting me when I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'm sorry."

[totalwildcard]

Harley was quiet for a few more beats as she took that in.

"Sometimes that's better than acting like you do know when you don't," she offered, finally.

[hasaknightjob]

"How do you mean?" Marc asked.

[totalwildcard]

"Like a lotta people are going around faking it 'til they make it."

Weird how fixed her attention on the road her eyes had become, huh? It was definitely not for safety concerns.

"And sometimes it'd be much better to just... be honest. About not knowing what the fuck you're s'posed to be doing. Put ego aside and let it show."