richard hayden x reader (tommy boy)

ch 6

the three of you were back on the road again. you wiped tears in the back seat, both petrified and amused by tommy's antics.

"holy shit, that was awful! i mean, sure, he was a bastard, but that was a lot!" you cried. tommy hung his head in shame.

richard just shook his head, gritting his teeth as he muttered to himself, surely about tommy's ignorance.

after a long while of silence, tommy spoke up as you pulled into the gas station.

"she's a quart low!" he announced, commenting on the car's fuel. richard glared at tommy.

"oh, yeah? then guess what, open it back up and put it in! that's your penance for your little puppet show back there," richard spat. you crept out of the car, waiting for richard to get out.

"while you're at it, tommy, fill it up with gas, okay?" richard instructed demeaningly. "y/n and i are gonna go ask for directions to our next huge embarrassing failure."

tommy muttered something under his breath as the two of you left, but you didn't care to confront him on it. you were more interested in the candy section of the gas station.

as you went to look at all of the chocolate bars a small illinois gas station had to offer, richard approached the man behind the counter.

"hey, chief. could ya tell me how far it is to davenport?" you cringed at the condescending tone richard had already assumed. the man didn't even look up from his novel as he answered, "twenty-two mile."

richard bit his tongue, looking at the piece of paper he held. "i can't find it on this map."

the man seemed disinterested in richard's issue, still not raising his eyes from the pages. "well, get yerself a new map."

you cringed at the interaction, going back to selecting as many snacks as you could carry. bugles, kit-kats, funyuns, cow-tails, hershey's, the whole shebang. you figured whatever you didn't want to eat you could just feed to tommy.

richard sucked in a breath, still trying to reason with the man behind the counter. "well, it's gotta be on the map, davenport that is, because you say it's twenty-two mile away... and you're really smart, yet... it's not on the map."

as you carry your armfuls of snacks and candy up to set on the counter, you cringe at richard's attempt at reasoning with the man.

"i'm picking up on your sarcasm," he muses. richard grits his teeth. "i would hope so, 'cause i'm laying it on pre-tty thick." finally, the man looks up from his book, sighing.

"that's a map of illinois, which we are in," he points to the map richard provided him with. "on the border of iowa, which is where davenport is. twenty-two miles away," he explains, emphasizing the 's' in miles. "you're in the wrong state. get yerself a new map." you cringe at the interaction again.

richard bristles at the man's tone, clearing his throat. "well, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

the man looks at you, smiling halfheartedly while scanning your snacks briskly. you grin back slightly, fidgeting with your sleeves.

"thirty-two eighty." he gave the price, and richard rolled his eyes as he paid.

"jeez, y/n. i thought you were on my side about not eating in the car," he teased. you shrugged.

"i figured i needed some energy for our next big sales pitch. fifth times a charm, right?"

richard sighed, recalling the failures of this road trip so far. he turned back to the man. "so, how much do i owe you for gas?"

he checked the register, shrugging. "you didn't pump any."

richard exhaled, frustration evident on his face as the two of you left. you held the abundance of snacks in your arms, not wanting to bother the cashier for a bag. richard walked briskly to the car as you tried to balance the food, not wanting to drop anything.

"why didn't you pump any gas?" richard immediately confronted tommy, and you slipped into the back of the car. you let the snacks spill out of your arms onto the seat next to you. tommy breathed shakily, and you noticed how disheveled he seemed.

"they're all out! only got diesel, better go to the next station!" tommy explained quickly. you narrowed your eyes at him, knowing something was up. you grabbed one of the packs of beef jerky, handing it up to tommy. he took it quickly, palms sweaty.

richard sighed, shaking his head. he took notice of a scratch on his car door, trying to wipe it off. after resigning to cleaning it, he opened the door.

however, the driver's side door flew off as he grabbed it.

your eyes widened immediately, nearly choking on your candy.

"what'd you do?!" tommy exclaimed, passing the blame onto richard.

the man looked horrified, his prized car now missing an entire door.

you laughed, still shoving your face. "looks like eating in the car is the least of your worries!" you laughed. tommy giggled, and the two of you high-fived. richard groaned.

"do you two live to make my life miserable or something?" he sighed, entering the car.

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night had already fallen as the road trip continued, and you found yourself tired from the events of the day. you rested your head against the window, watching the streetlights pass you by. tommy was passed out in the front seat, holding a funyun in his hand like a baby holding a bottle in its sleep.

billy joel's and so it goes played on the radio, and you smiled to yourself.

"hey, richard," you called softly. he let out a sound of affirmation, not taking his eyes off the road. you took this as your sign to continue.

"this song bring back any memories?"

your eyes sparkled slightly, waiting for richard's answer.

you could see him suck in a breath before he spoke.

"yeah. how could i forget, they played it at our formal dance at the end of senior year. you knew all the words. you sang along louder than the music itself, everyone was staring at you. it was the first time most people had ever heard you speak." despite the 'embarrassed' tone richard had assumed, you could hear the fondness in his voice.

you laughed, leaning agaisnt the window again. "yeah. i had just broken up with rob about a month prior, he was the first guy i'd dated. prick. billy joel became my best friend to soothe the heartache of losing what i thought was 'my first love'. can you believe that?" you laughed to yourself, the absurdity of high school romance getting to you. "as dumb as it sounds, i'd felt like the song was written for me. i mean, you knew that. i'd told you that, i sang it in your car everyday when we drove around sandusky together. and then, at the dance, i felt like if i sang my heart out to it, even if i was ridiculous, that it'd show myself i didn't need to deal with that high school bullshit anymore. and yet, you stood there, watching me sing the whole thing. you put up with me that entire night, after i cried into your shoulder about rob being there with another girl. funny how things change, huh?" you rambled to yourself. richard didn't respond.

you sang along softly to the lyrics.

"...so i would choose to be with you
that's if the choice were mine to make
but you can make decisions too
and you can have this heart to break."

you smiled, resting your hands in your lap. as the piano played softly over richard's car speakers, you found yourself drifting off to sleep.

richard watched you in the rearview mirror, feeling his chest tighten at your solemn, sleepy smile.

he still couldn't bring himself to tell you that he'd requested the song for you at the dance that night.