Solangelo One Shots

Just Drive

AU where Will is a taxi driver, just out of college. 

Will's POV

I heard the familiar squeak of my next passenger sliding into the backseat of my cab across the cheap fake black leather, a sound I had become accustomed to in the past six months I had been driving a New York taxi. Through my window I could see the black night sky, a single star poking its way through the barrier that was the New York City sky. I glanced up into the mirror, peering into the backseat to get a glimpse of my passenger. Sometimes it would be an old woman on the way to her husband's funeral and sometimes it would be a harried young couple, rushing to get to the hospital so the young woman could give birth. I never knew until I looked into the mirror. This time there was a pair of deep brown eyes staring back at me. At a first glance the eyes were cold and hard. If they were the windows to someone's soul, the windows would be shut tight. But I had a strange feeling that if you looked into those deep brown eyes for a long enough time they would become softer and kinder, and I had a feeling that they would shine when the person they were attached to was happy. Sometimes it was astounding how much you could infer about a person, just by looking into their eyes for a split second. 

"Where to, sir?" I asked, turning around and giving a cheesy tip of an imaginary hat. I was sure that there was a stupid smile on my face, the one that I always wore when I did the imaginary hat trick but clearly my passenger did not appreciate my talent. 

"Don't call me sir," the passenger, a boy of about my age said immediately. "Call me Nico, if you need to. And just go anywhere. Just drive." 

"Is there a certain amount of time you need me to drive for?" Nico thought about my question. 

"When does your shift end?" 

"One in the morning." 

"Drive until then. I don't care where you go. Drive in circles for all I care." 

"Are you aware how much money three hours of driving is going to cost you?" 

"I don't care!" Nico repeated. "I've got money. Just drive." He turned to face out the window, sneaking a pair of earbuds into his ears. I snuck another glimpse at him through the mirror. If you focused only on his shaggy black hair and pale face you might think he was poor. However, his clothes told a different story. I recognized the brand of the light jacket he wore, and I knew how expensive it must be. A small part of me wondered what a rich boy in New York was doing in my cab at eleven in the night, listening to music and looking out the window at the bustling nightlife. Then, another part of me told myself to start driving. Three hours of straight driving meant a lot of cash, and the bills wouldn't pay themselves. 

I peeled away from the sidewalk and into the traffic. The sound of beeping horns and people yelling filled the air but Nico seemed unperturbed by the racket. He sat in the back seat, as still as a statue. I turned onto a less busy street, one that I could drive on without getting yelled at every five seconds. We passed a tiny convenience store, the lights flickering. Inside, I could see a single employee, smoking a cigarette. Suddenly Nico bolted forward, putting a hand on my shoulder. 

"Stop the car!" He gasped. I brought my cab to a screeching halt, lurching forward in my seat. I looked wildly back at Nico, sure that some big emergency was happening but he calmly got out of the car. "Stay here," he instructed. "I'll be back." He ducked into the convenience store, grabbing a few things off the racks and ringing them up. He came back out with a bag, tossing me a tube of plain pringles and a coke. "I figured you'd be hungry," he stated, climbing back into the backseat. "Besides, you can't have a good car trip without snacks." He put his earbuds back in, and I got the sense that the strange, brief conversation was over. I cracked open the coke, taking a swig. After not having any kind of nourishment for the past seven hours it tasted amazing. I took a glance at the mirror to see Nico resting his head on the glass window pane, eating from a bag of doritos and bobbing his head gently, most likely to the beat of the music. I kept driving. 

At one I parked my car back at the same curb we had started at, and Nico hopped out, twisting his earbuds around his phone. "Thanks," he said. He fished around in his back pocket, pulling out three hundred dollar bills and handing them to me. They were a tiny bit crumpled and I stared at them in awe. "Keep the change," he said. "Will you be here tomorrow?" Speechless, I nodded. "Well, have a good night-" he paused. "What's your name?" 

"W- Will," I stammered, still in awe at the amount of money that had been handed to me just a few moments prior. 

"Well, have a good night Will and I'll see you tomorrow." He spun around, disappearing into the throng of people on the sidewalk. 

The next night I experimentally pulled up to the same curb I had met Nico at, wondering just slightly if the black haired boy would be there. Sure enough he was waiting on the sidewalk, clutching his phone and a pair of earbuds. He pulled open the door, sliding into the back seat and I heard the familiar noise of a body slipping into the cab. "Same thing as last night, please," he said, inserting his earbuds into his ears. Yet again, he didn't seem interested in talking. I had been hoping that Nico would reveal a bit more about himself tonight, like why he wanted me to drive him around for three hours and why he could afford to spend three hundred dollars on a taxi ride. But by the way he was staring silently out the window, his earbuds settled in his ears, it seemed unlikely. Heaving a sigh I pulled away from the curb once more as I drove off into the streets of the city at night. 

After an hour an a half of driving he stopped me at a tiny convenience store, a different one than last night. He hopped out, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "I'll only be a second," he promised before slipping into the store. I turned up the song on the radio, a pop song that I had heard a thousand times. It was still good, though. The music filled the silence until Nico returned, carrying the same load of snacks he had bought the previous night. He tossed me my pringles and coke and I noted that his earbuds weren't yet in. I figured that this was as good a time as any if I wanted to figure out this boy in my backseat. 

"Why are you doing this, anyway?" I asked, turning down the radio. Nico had made a move to put back in his earbuds but he stopped when he heard my question. 

"Doing what?" 

"All of this," I shrugged. "You bought me snacks, which none of my other passengers have ever done for me. For two nights in a row now you've asked me to just drive around the city for three hours, and you could afford to pay me three hundred dollars for a ride. You're not the average taxi cab passenger, I can tell you that. So who are you?" 

"You really want to know?" Nico asked with a slight chuckle. I furrowed my eyebrows. 

"Does that surprise you?" Nico shrugged. 

"Most of the people in my life are too busy to care about my life. But I guess if you really want to know, I'll tell you. My dad runs a huge business, and my mom died when I was a kid, so I never had much attention at any point in my life. To make up for that I'd get heaps of cash, but sometimes all I wanted was my dad's attention. It feels good to throw away his money on stuff like this. And I like taxis. My dad always claimed that 'people like us' didn't ride taxis. I like to think about all the other passengers who have ridden in this taxi, and what they're like." 

"Woah. That't intense." I gave a low whistle. Nico only shrugged. "What company does your dad run?" 

"Hades Inc." 

"Hades Inc?" I gasped. "That's the biggest company in the city, one of the biggest in the world!" 

"Sometimes I wish we were just a normal family," Nico responded. "It would be nice to have a dad who wants to spend time with you." 

"I want to spend time with you," I blurted out.

"You do?" Nico's eyes widened. 

"Yeah, you seem like a cool person to hang out with. We can go somewhere after my shift is over," I suggested. "There's this really cool twenty four hour restaurant near my apartment. I can give you a taste of what it's like to be an average new yorker, and you can tell me what it's like to grow up wildly rich. I've always wanted to know what it's like." 

"I'd love to," Nico grinned. 

"What do you want me to do until then?" Nico turned to face out his window, but this time he didn't put in his earbuds. 

"Just drive." 

Hi guys! I've been super busy so I'm sorry if this seems rushed or anything. I hope you liked it!

Nina