Shut Up and Drive

Chapter 4

After waking up ignoring the wrenching feeling in George's gut, he got up and began the process of cleaning. He attempted to do the living room, seeing as in his mind that's what needed the most help. As he picked up a bit he got annoyed at the slowness. George had gotten it to look decent but it was a process that he was gonna have to step away from and come back to, so he moved to the kitchen, starting on the dishes. The dishes had begun to pile up and George didn't know how long he had let them sit for.

He originally just stared at them almost passing them up but there was a small voice in his head that had disagreed with the idea of just leaving them be. He had started the process of getting them done. Soapy water splashed onto the counter each time he dunked the dishes into the mess of filthy water before scrubbing them. Then rinse them again and set them on the towel to dry.

His mind was mush. He blamed it on the panic attack. He hadn't had one in ages and when they happened they messed him up badly. Sighing he wiped his hands on a towel before turning around to face the rest of the mess. There was so much to do and yet George didn't seem to have the time he needed.

He slowly tossed things into his garbage bag, slowly managing to pull into the living room. He really couldn't believe he had let it get this bad. He played soft music through his phone to help keep his mind clear of what had happened yesterday. His classes had gone relatively faster seeing as he had only his basic classes. He didn't mind though he did enjoy the work for his major.

Sighing, he seemed pleased with the space. Quickly tying off the bag and picking up the next garbage bag that sat near the garage door. Pressing open the door with his foot when both his hands were full and tossed it outside into the trash bins. Turning around to meet face to face with the garage.

The tarp lay where he had left it that morning when he left for classes. He stood there debating whether or not he should cover the broken vehicle backup though another idea popped up in his mind. He walked back into the house and to the kitchen counter, he rummaged through the drawers before he found what he was looking for. Heading back out to the garage, he got into the car and put the key into the ignition of the old Skyline. He moved the gear shift into neutral, it was a bit tough having not been touched in a while but he got it. The car doing a small jerk.

Being the only person doing this, George made sure to keep an eye behind him as he guided the car out of the garage before putting his foot on the brake and putting the car back into park. Climbing out he took a deep shaky breath as he looked at the beast in the light. The car was gonna take forever to bring back to life in George's mind. He didn't have access to a shop like he used to nor the cash to take it to one. So George started on the small things he could fix now. Going back into the garage he dug around in his toolboxes, finding the right things he needed before going and assessing what he needed to do on the front end. Popping the hood he examined the mess, he knew he didn't have the proper equipment to get the engine out, and even so, the metal around the heart of the car was dented in so even if he could get the engine out he was sure it would be a struggle getting it through the dents.

Sighing, George got to work, living in his own head as he tried to remember the right things he needed to do to get her in decent order, making a mental list of what he would need to purchase when he had the money.

Just as George was about to back out from leaning over the car, he heard a low whistle from somewhere around the car. Carefully moving out of the way from the hood, George took a step back and peeked around the car to see a boy roughly his age eyeing his car, impressed and curiosity burning in them that George took notice of.

"See something you like?" George asked the male and moved over to the other, wiping his hands off on his jeans.

"Hell ya I do man, look at this beauty, though I am curious to know her story to get those wounds all over her," The male said, starting to move around George's car, a small gasp could be heard when he got to her front end and it made George let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, Alex, though my friends call me Quackity," The boy said with a smile and stuck out his hand for George to shake. George eyed it before shaking Quackity's hand "and you are?" Quackity said when they both dropped their hands.

"George," George said shortly not really much to say after it as he and Quackity turned back to the car.

"So how did you get your hands on this car?" Quackity asked, going back to admiring George's immense project.

"That's a long story," George said, a small chuckle following as he moved around the car with Quackity. "I got her maybe 16 or 17. Parents didn't want me having anything too expensive, though they also did not want it breaking down. She was originally a little beat up but I got her to her former glory and now she's become a project again" George explained the memory springing back to mind as soon as he brought the reason he was putting her back together "gonna take me forever but all I got is tie anymore." He said with a shrug as he shoved his hands into his pockets unsure as to what to do

"She's definitely a mess, what happened to her to get like this?" Quackity asked, his voice a bit muffled as he leaned over the hood to inspect what George could only guess was what he had worked on when Quackity came over.

George took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat that uncomfortably grew at the question. "Uhh some idiot took a hard corner on her and lost control," he said partially lying as he moved to lean against the side of the car, arms crossed as he stared at Quackity though he could tell the male probably didn't believe in what he said.

"Was she in a race?" Quackity poked more and lifted his head to look back at George, who let out a chuckle.

"I guess you could say that, though not in town more like the backroads of this place," George said looking back towards the engine of the car "each car has its story and this one has hers" He added a lot more softly and his smile dropped before he took another deep breath.

"Ever raced on L.A's streets?" Quackity asked leaning forward on his hands now seeming to want to know more of the ex-street racers story though George wasn't willing to give up much. He shrugged "once or twice," George said with a smirk.

"Nice, ya know I've seen..." Quackity started when a voice spoke over his "Quackity we gotta get going, Nick wants the bike for a thing tonight" The voice came around the car and it was a boy, ruffled messy brown hair, baggy collared shirt, black jeans, and a hoodie tied around his waist. He had been looking at his phone.

"Karl meet George, George meet Karl, my boyfriend," He said softly the male lifting his head to wave slightly before going back to his phone.

"Well guess I'll see ya tomorrow," Quackity said moving to wrap his arm around Karl's waist.

"Tomorrow?" George asked, highly confused now, the words making Karl raise his head and give his boyfriend a look.

"Yea, I'm in your first and third classes," Quackity said with a soft smile which surprised George though he never really paid attention to the people within his classes.

The other two started walking to what George could assume would be their vehicle. He moved back into the shop to clean up his slight mess so he could roll the Nissan back into the cold building. He did a little bit more work, mainly his focus had been on the dents that lined her body, popping them out for her to get her shape again. This allowed him to actually open his eyes and see what he needed to fix both body-wise and paint job wise which luckily wasn't a lot.

Satisfied, George closed the bay door before crumpling the tarp, setting it in a corner before heading inside. Quickly he made a microwavable meal and went to sit on his couch. He pulled his laptop up off the coffee table and into his lap where he turned it on and slowly made a parts list. Starting off with the easiest to obtain and slowly marking off his list.

George looked at the time, seeing it late, and sighed. He didn't want to call it a night but he also had two-morning classes in the morning which he wasn't pleased with but he did get to work and help tutor students afterward so he did get paid. Setting his laptop onto the coffee table, George got up, tossing his trash into the garbage can before heading to his room, rubbing his eyes as his mind thought over today's events.