Tosser~ a James Cook fanfic~

Effy~2

The rain hammered against the car roof, muffling the sound of the music blasting from Katie's carefully curated playlist. The windows were fogged up from the condensation, Emily and Naomi idly drawing shapes on their glass with their fingers. Pandora hummed along happily to the pop beat, swaying slightly in her seat.

Tess, who had been in the bathroom when everyone piled into the car, had ended up squeezed in the back row between JJ and Thomas. Occasionally, her gaze would catch Effy's in the rearview mirror. Effy's expression was as flat as ever, though her knuckles tightened on the wheel as Katie barked directions from the passenger seat.

"This is the turn!" Katie insisted, jabbing at the paper.

"No, it's not," Freddie said, leaning over her shoulder to squint at the map. "You're reading it wrong."

"I am not," Katie snapped. "It says to go left."

"It's upside down," Naomi said lazily from the seat beside her, her head resting against the window.

"It's not upside down!" Katie shot back. "Effy, just go left."

Emily leaned forward, sighing. "It's definitely upside down, Katie."

Effy sighed, her hands tightening on the wheel. "Someone just tell me where to go."

"Left," Katie said firmly.

"Straight," Freddie argued.

"Can we just pick one before we end up in Scotland?" Emily muttered, exasperated.

"This isn't the right way at all!" Katie groaned as Effy reluctantly turned left at the next intersection.

The sudden turn sent everyone sliding in their seats. Tess slammed into JJ, who let out a startled yelp, his crisp bag spilling onto the floor.

"Effy!" Tess shouted, grabbing at the headrest in front of her.

"Sorry," Effy said flatly, though there was a flicker of amusement in her tone.

JJ groaned, looking mournfully at his fallen crisps. "That was my last bag."

"Oh, the tragedy," Tess teased, smirking as she nudged him.

JJ narrowed his eyes at her, clearly considering a retort, but his attention was pulled by the buzz of Tess's phone. She glanced down at the screen, her stomach flipping when she saw the message:

Cook: Where the fuck did you fuck off to then?

Her thumb hovered over the screen for a moment before she hurriedly locked the phone, her heartbeat quickening when she noticed JJ and Thomas craning their necks to look.

Thomas scowled, folding his arms across his chest. JJ, meanwhile, looked conflicted, his gaze darting between her phone and her face. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then seemed to think better of it, retreating into his crisps instead.

The car rolled to a stop at a quiet intersection, rain hammering against the roof. Freddie leaned forward, squinting at the street signs. "Alright, so if this is...where are we, exactly?"

"We're lost," Naomi said matter-of-factly.

"We're not lost," Katie snapped, tossing the map onto the dashboard. "We're just...taking the scenic route."

Tess scoffed, "There's nothing scenic about this road"

"Or that petrol station" JJ said with a shudder

Katie's eyes darted to the petrol station, an idea forming "Great. Let's just stop there ok?"

The car groaned into motion again, the rain finally clearing up as Effy pulled into the sketchy-looking petrol station, deserted and ran down.