Engine's Ready to Explode
Title: Engine's Ready to Explode
Author: starsandsands
Rating: PG
Pairing: Andrew Garfield/Jesse Eisenberg
Summary: In which Jesse has a hard time teaching his little sister how to drive, Andrew helps and Hallie Kate is conniving. First posted TSN RPF fic ever, ~2500 words.
Disclaimer: Andrew and Jesse are their own people and belong to themselves. If either yourself or persons you know are mentioned in this header, turn away. The title belongs to Rihanna (from "Shut Up and Drive")
Author Notes: So I've been lurking in a lot of other fandoms (for a really long time) and this is one I finally convinced soporta to lurk in too. And then she texted me about how she wanted something written. Naturally I obliged. Most of this was written on my phone in spare moments of free time, so please forgive any remaining errors. As luck would have it, I finished on her birthday! \o/
Jesse isn't panicking, okay? If he were panicking he would be a complete and total mess and drooling and maybe he's hyperventilating a bit but he is not panicking.
But when Hallie Kate confuses the brake for the gas again he shouts, "Okay, we're done for the day!", reaching to unbuckle his seat belt and hop out of the car before he realizes that it would leave his sister all alone in the car.
"We haven't even gotten out of the driveway yet!" she exclaims, and that's true but it's his fault for thinking she could back out of the driveway the first time behind the wheel. Jesse checks to make sure her foot is on the actual brake before shifting harshly into park. He yanks the emergency brake up and reaches over to turn the ignition off but Hallie Kate beats him to it.
"You're a horrible instructor," she informs him, and he can't help but agree. The only reason he'd agreed to do this is because his mother had asked him to do so. Both of his parents were extremely busy with work and they figured that because Jesse had no real actual job (which is such BS, he gets paid and everything) he could teach his sister how to drive so that she could get her license as soon as possible.
Never mind that Jesse got his license at 19, and only then so that he could drive home from college for the holidays instead of waiting around like some loser outside of his dorm. He still prefers to get around by bicycle and only uses his car to go upstate to visit his family.
Hallie Kate huffs and stalks out of the car, throwing the house door open and tossing the keys onto the couch in the living room. When Jesse finally extricates himself from the car, swaying a bit from nerves, he can hear the furious tapping of her fingers on the keyboard of her phone, probably informing several people of how awful he is.
He tries to approach her but she just raises an eyebrow at him and keeps typing away at her phone, only occasionally pausing when it buzzes. He figures he can talk to her about it later, when he's not having heart palpitations.
After dinner that night, his mom corners him. "Jess, you actually have to let her drive so you can teach her."
"I know but what if she taps the gas too hard and wraps the car around a tree and she spends the last minutes of her life with splinters of wood and glass in her lungs silently crying for help, alone? Or what if some redneck idiot in a monster truck is speeding and she doesn't see him and he runs a red light and t bones her and she becomes paralyzed and has to get one of those wheelchairs you have to blow into a straw to move? Or-"
"Slow down Jesse, she has to get her license for any of that to happen," she tells him and that doesn't exactly help him feel any better. "Take her to a parking lot tomorrow, you can drive there and back, so she won't have to deal with other drivers. Just let her get used to the car, I'm sure it won't be as traumatic as the driveway incident."
He has horrific nightmares that night, of Hallie Kate running over an entire kindergarten class and driving the car into a lake while doing so.
: :
The next day they're sitting in the parking lot, Hallie Kate tapping her fingers on the wheel impatiently as Jesse makes her check her mirrors again. When he finally lets her shift into drive, she breathes something that sounds like "finally" and promptly begins to speed. Jesse slams on imaginary brakes when he sights a car pulling out of a parking space at the far end of the parking lot and Hallie Kate swears.
"Calm down I'm going eight miles an hour and that car is already on the street," she tells him which doesn't settle the awful feeling in his stomach.
"Five is a much more acceptable speed," he tells her in between deep breaths. "Why don't you go five?"
"Because the speed limit is ten," she says pointing at a sign.
"That's more of a suggested speed and I think that eight is much too fast. Also you should keep your hands on the wheel so we don't die."
She gently hits her head against the steering wheel and he can't hide his audible wince.
: :
He's been having the nightmares every night with a surprising amount of regularity, which means he gets even less sleep than usual. He's been feeling awful every day and so tired, but every time he closes his eyes he sees a slaughtered family of smurfs, flattened by the tires of the Honda that's older than Hallie Kate their parents gave her.
When he meets up with a group of friends for lunch, their concern practically radiates off of them.
"Jesse you look absolutely awful," Emma says, her usual peppy smile turned into a frown. "Are you getting any sleep?"
"No, I've been having really vivid nightmares and I can't sleep."
"Do you need to have your meds upped again?" comes from Justin.
"No, everything is under control."
"What are they about?" Andrew asks softly, and Jesse would really prefer not having this conversation with him, because it makes everything even more mortifying.
"Just, I'm supposed to be teaching Hallie Kate how to drive and I'm having a really hard time with it. I'm so worried I can't sleep."
"Harsh," Justin says, leaning back in his chair.
"Have you tried getting someone else to do it?" Emma asks.
"Nah, those teacher guys are a scam, getting money for something I could do myself for free. Plus I wouldn't trust them."
"It’s obviously bugging you a lot though, wouldn't you prefer someone else do it?" Andrew asks.
"Like who?"
"Me," he says, like he's offended Jesse didn't know he would be willing to do so. "I had to learn how to drive twice, and since I've probably been the last to take it, I have the most experience with how it is now."
: :
Jesse still kind of thinks Andrew’s offer is some kind of joke when one day, a few weeks after giving the offer, Andrew calls Jesse.
“So when do you want me to take Hallie Kate driving?” he asks, and Jesse almost starts choking.
“Y-you were serious?” Jesse sputters.
“As a heart attack,” Andrew confirms.
“When are you available?” he asks lamely.
“Whenever Hallie Kate wants to go, if it’s alright with you.”
“Yeah, uh, I’m supposed to take her out this weekend, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“How about Saturday, 10 o’clock?”
“AM or PM?” Jesse asks before he thinks about it, and wants to slap himself in the face.
“I think you know the answer to that,” Andrew replies, chuckling lightly.
“Umm, I’ll just call Hallie Kate after this to confirm. Do you want to pick me up so I can get you to my parent’s house?”
“I’ll pick you up at 8?”
“Sounds good to me.”
: :
Jesse watches through his fingers as his sister drives with Andrew in the passenger seat, until they turn at the end of the street and he can’t see his mother’s beaten up Honda any longer. He tries to take deep breaths, tries to convince himself that his sister won’t kill one of his closest friends who he maybe has a huge gigantic (and well-hidden) crush on.
When they pull up to the driveway, Jesse only winces a little as the engine revs as Hallie Kate tries to pull the parking brake up. When they get out of the car, neither of them looks any worse for the wear, and Hallie Kate is actually smiling.
“Thank you so much, Andrew!” she chirps, grinning at him, then looks at Jesse. “Thank you, Jess!” She bounces her way to the front door, blissfully.
“How did it go?” Jesse finds himself asking.
“It went alright for a first time driver,” Andrew says. “She only almost hit a few things like four, maybe five times.”
“Sorry,” Jesse mumbles apologetically.
“No worries, it was actually quite fun. Her enthusiasm is quite infectious,” he says with a lazy grin. “Now do you want to buy coffee for my frazzled nerves?”
Jesse practically jumps at the chance.
: :
A few weeks later, Jesse is reading on the couch at his parents’ house while his dad is in the yard, grilling something and his mom is in her office, still sorting through papers and looking through books. Hallie Kate is on the couch next to him, watching some horrible TV show when her phone buzzes and she types out a quick response. The phone keeps buzzing continually, so he naturally gets curious.
“Who are you texting?” he asks, trying not to peek over her shoulder.
“Andrew,” she says curtly, eyes trained on her phone’s screen.
“Oh, well that’s... nice,” Jesse replies, at a loss for words. Something starts to twist in his gut and it might be jealousy, but he’ll never ever admit it.
“We’re scheduling the next time he takes me out,” she explains, with a knowing look on her face. Jesse turns around, suddenly relieved about something he can’t quite put his finger on.
“Cool,” is all he says to her. She keeps texting Andrew until dinner, occasionally laughing. He doesn’t say anything after that.
Finally, after a dinner in which he didn’t even ask Hallie Kate for pepper, but instead asked their dad, even though it was right in front of her, Jesse’s little sister corners him.
“Are you jealous of me texting Andrew?” she asks, suspiciously eyeing him.
“No,” he says, and is maybe pouting just a little bit. Really a minimal amount.
“Oh my god you are!” she exclaims.
“No I am not,” Jesse hisses, and okay, maybe it came out wrong.
“Why? Is it because you’re in loooooooooooove with him?” she elbows him and he can’t stop the flush that rolls over his face. “You are!” she gasps and this is one of the worst moments of his life.
“Shut up,” he tells her, but the damage is already done. “Just- don’t say anything please, my life is lame enough without having one of my closest friends know I have a crush worthy of someone your age on him.”
“I won’t tell,” Hallie Kate tells him, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
“You have to promise.”
“I promise.”
“Swear it on Mom’s life,” Jesse says, knowing her tricks all too well.
“I swear on Mom’s life,” she repeats, but turns to her phone with a calculated grin. What has he done?
: :
Months later, Jesse is fidgeting in his seat, his knee bouncing with nervous energy, and Andrew places a hand so it will stop, almost unconsciously.
“There's nothing you can do now, Jess," he says, looking up from his magazine. His fingers are rubbing comforting circles on Jesse's upper leg, and Jesse stills a little more, carefully avoiding eye contact with Andrew as his face reddens. "She'll do fine," Andrew tells hims, sounding completely genuine, "just be patient."
Jesse kind of wants to scream, waiting in this seat is agony, especially being stuck in the DMV, and he doesn't know what he'll do if Hallie Kate passes. Technically she’s ready for it, both of his parents and Andrew agreed on that, but she’s still his little sister and the thought of her driving on her own scares him. What’s worse is if she doesn't pass, she'll be devastated, and that would break his heart.
When she finally comes back inside, she's kind of glowing, and Jesse's heart leaps into his throat. "I passed!" she exclaims, and he jumps into a hug with her, Andrew joining to make it a rather exuberant group hug.
When they pull away, Jesse can feel how flushed he is, but he puts away his embarrassment to share in her joy.
While they wait in line for her picture to get taken, she chatters on excitedly about her test.
The excitement starts to die down a little when she elbows Andrew in the ribs. "I passed my test, and you promised," she tells him, and Andrew gets a panicked look in his eye. Jesse is totally confused about the whole thing and looks between them as they have a silent battle of wills.
"Will you at least-"
"Alright I'll give you some privacy," she says, and turns towards the bathroom. "But by the time I get back-" Andrew nods, and she trots off.
"So uh what is this all about?" Jesse asks, befuddled.
Andrew fidgets a bit in his seat before he starts to answer. "We made a deal, and er, this sounds a bit silly but if she passed her test the first time, oh god, this is too embarrassing."
"No, tell me," he presses.
"She told me if she passed her drivers test the first time I'd have to-" Andrew pauses, looking away.
"Go on," Jesse prompts.
"I’d have to er, tell you about how I feel."
“About what?"
"About you!" Andrew almost shouts, and then he shuts his mouth with a snap, looking around to see if he’s drawn any attention to himself, which, he has.
"And uh, how is that?"
"I’mkindofridiculouslyinlikewithyou," Andrew breathes, and Jesse isn’t sure if he’s hearing him right.
"Come again?" he asks, his heart hammering away ridiculously fast.
"I'm... i-interested in you," Andrew stammers.
"Well, me too,” comes out rather softly, but Andrew definitely hears it.
"I mean like the go on dates kind," Andrew clarifies, like he can’t believe what he’s just heard.
"Oh. Well, are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Asking me on a date?" Jesse is about three seconds away from saying “duh” before Andrew replies.
"Are you accepting?"
Jesse can’t get the "Yeah," out fast enough, and Andrew breathes a sigh of relief.
"Well er, cool. So when would you like to-"
"Would now count?"
"If you want it to." It’s so ridiculous that Jesse leans forward and kisses him.
"I think that counts," a familiar voice says, and they jump a bit. "If I'm not mistaken, Andrew lives pretty close to here and I have a new license burning a hole in my pocket, so I think I’ll drive home and see you guys later." Hallie Kate smirks.
That plan is alright with Jesse, and from the looks of things, Andrew is okay with it too.
Author: starsandsands
Rating: PG
Pairing: Andrew Garfield/Jesse Eisenberg
Summary: In which Jesse has a hard time teaching his little sister how to drive, Andrew helps and Hallie Kate is conniving. First posted TSN RPF fic ever, ~2500 words.
Disclaimer: Andrew and Jesse are their own people and belong to themselves. If either yourself or persons you know are mentioned in this header, turn away. The title belongs to Rihanna (from "Shut Up and Drive")
Author Notes: So I've been lurking in a lot of other fandoms (for a really long time) and this is one I finally convinced soporta to lurk in too. And then she texted me about how she wanted something written. Naturally I obliged. Most of this was written on my phone in spare moments of free time, so please forgive any remaining errors. As luck would have it, I finished on her birthday! \o/
Jesse isn't panicking, okay? If he were panicking he would be a complete and total mess and drooling and maybe he's hyperventilating a bit but he is not panicking.
But when Hallie Kate confuses the brake for the gas again he shouts, "Okay, we're done for the day!", reaching to unbuckle his seat belt and hop out of the car before he realizes that it would leave his sister all alone in the car.
"We haven't even gotten out of the driveway yet!" she exclaims, and that's true but it's his fault for thinking she could back out of the driveway the first time behind the wheel. Jesse checks to make sure her foot is on the actual brake before shifting harshly into park. He yanks the emergency brake up and reaches over to turn the ignition off but Hallie Kate beats him to it.
"You're a horrible instructor," she informs him, and he can't help but agree. The only reason he'd agreed to do this is because his mother had asked him to do so. Both of his parents were extremely busy with work and they figured that because Jesse had no real actual job (which is such BS, he gets paid and everything) he could teach his sister how to drive so that she could get her license as soon as possible.
Never mind that Jesse got his license at 19, and only then so that he could drive home from college for the holidays instead of waiting around like some loser outside of his dorm. He still prefers to get around by bicycle and only uses his car to go upstate to visit his family.
Hallie Kate huffs and stalks out of the car, throwing the house door open and tossing the keys onto the couch in the living room. When Jesse finally extricates himself from the car, swaying a bit from nerves, he can hear the furious tapping of her fingers on the keyboard of her phone, probably informing several people of how awful he is.
He tries to approach her but she just raises an eyebrow at him and keeps typing away at her phone, only occasionally pausing when it buzzes. He figures he can talk to her about it later, when he's not having heart palpitations.
After dinner that night, his mom corners him. "Jess, you actually have to let her drive so you can teach her."
"I know but what if she taps the gas too hard and wraps the car around a tree and she spends the last minutes of her life with splinters of wood and glass in her lungs silently crying for help, alone? Or what if some redneck idiot in a monster truck is speeding and she doesn't see him and he runs a red light and t bones her and she becomes paralyzed and has to get one of those wheelchairs you have to blow into a straw to move? Or-"
"Slow down Jesse, she has to get her license for any of that to happen," she tells him and that doesn't exactly help him feel any better. "Take her to a parking lot tomorrow, you can drive there and back, so she won't have to deal with other drivers. Just let her get used to the car, I'm sure it won't be as traumatic as the driveway incident."
He has horrific nightmares that night, of Hallie Kate running over an entire kindergarten class and driving the car into a lake while doing so.
: :
The next day they're sitting in the parking lot, Hallie Kate tapping her fingers on the wheel impatiently as Jesse makes her check her mirrors again. When he finally lets her shift into drive, she breathes something that sounds like "finally" and promptly begins to speed. Jesse slams on imaginary brakes when he sights a car pulling out of a parking space at the far end of the parking lot and Hallie Kate swears.
"Calm down I'm going eight miles an hour and that car is already on the street," she tells him which doesn't settle the awful feeling in his stomach.
"Five is a much more acceptable speed," he tells her in between deep breaths. "Why don't you go five?"
"Because the speed limit is ten," she says pointing at a sign.
"That's more of a suggested speed and I think that eight is much too fast. Also you should keep your hands on the wheel so we don't die."
She gently hits her head against the steering wheel and he can't hide his audible wince.
: :
He's been having the nightmares every night with a surprising amount of regularity, which means he gets even less sleep than usual. He's been feeling awful every day and so tired, but every time he closes his eyes he sees a slaughtered family of smurfs, flattened by the tires of the Honda that's older than Hallie Kate their parents gave her.
When he meets up with a group of friends for lunch, their concern practically radiates off of them.
"Jesse you look absolutely awful," Emma says, her usual peppy smile turned into a frown. "Are you getting any sleep?"
"No, I've been having really vivid nightmares and I can't sleep."
"Do you need to have your meds upped again?" comes from Justin.
"No, everything is under control."
"What are they about?" Andrew asks softly, and Jesse would really prefer not having this conversation with him, because it makes everything even more mortifying.
"Just, I'm supposed to be teaching Hallie Kate how to drive and I'm having a really hard time with it. I'm so worried I can't sleep."
"Harsh," Justin says, leaning back in his chair.
"Have you tried getting someone else to do it?" Emma asks.
"Nah, those teacher guys are a scam, getting money for something I could do myself for free. Plus I wouldn't trust them."
"It’s obviously bugging you a lot though, wouldn't you prefer someone else do it?" Andrew asks.
"Like who?"
"Me," he says, like he's offended Jesse didn't know he would be willing to do so. "I had to learn how to drive twice, and since I've probably been the last to take it, I have the most experience with how it is now."
: :
Jesse still kind of thinks Andrew’s offer is some kind of joke when one day, a few weeks after giving the offer, Andrew calls Jesse.
“So when do you want me to take Hallie Kate driving?” he asks, and Jesse almost starts choking.
“Y-you were serious?” Jesse sputters.
“As a heart attack,” Andrew confirms.
“When are you available?” he asks lamely.
“Whenever Hallie Kate wants to go, if it’s alright with you.”
“Yeah, uh, I’m supposed to take her out this weekend, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“How about Saturday, 10 o’clock?”
“AM or PM?” Jesse asks before he thinks about it, and wants to slap himself in the face.
“I think you know the answer to that,” Andrew replies, chuckling lightly.
“Umm, I’ll just call Hallie Kate after this to confirm. Do you want to pick me up so I can get you to my parent’s house?”
“I’ll pick you up at 8?”
“Sounds good to me.”
: :
Jesse watches through his fingers as his sister drives with Andrew in the passenger seat, until they turn at the end of the street and he can’t see his mother’s beaten up Honda any longer. He tries to take deep breaths, tries to convince himself that his sister won’t kill one of his closest friends who he maybe has a huge gigantic (and well-hidden) crush on.
When they pull up to the driveway, Jesse only winces a little as the engine revs as Hallie Kate tries to pull the parking brake up. When they get out of the car, neither of them looks any worse for the wear, and Hallie Kate is actually smiling.
“Thank you so much, Andrew!” she chirps, grinning at him, then looks at Jesse. “Thank you, Jess!” She bounces her way to the front door, blissfully.
“How did it go?” Jesse finds himself asking.
“It went alright for a first time driver,” Andrew says. “She only almost hit a few things like four, maybe five times.”
“Sorry,” Jesse mumbles apologetically.
“No worries, it was actually quite fun. Her enthusiasm is quite infectious,” he says with a lazy grin. “Now do you want to buy coffee for my frazzled nerves?”
Jesse practically jumps at the chance.
: :
A few weeks later, Jesse is reading on the couch at his parents’ house while his dad is in the yard, grilling something and his mom is in her office, still sorting through papers and looking through books. Hallie Kate is on the couch next to him, watching some horrible TV show when her phone buzzes and she types out a quick response. The phone keeps buzzing continually, so he naturally gets curious.
“Who are you texting?” he asks, trying not to peek over her shoulder.
“Andrew,” she says curtly, eyes trained on her phone’s screen.
“Oh, well that’s... nice,” Jesse replies, at a loss for words. Something starts to twist in his gut and it might be jealousy, but he’ll never ever admit it.
“We’re scheduling the next time he takes me out,” she explains, with a knowing look on her face. Jesse turns around, suddenly relieved about something he can’t quite put his finger on.
“Cool,” is all he says to her. She keeps texting Andrew until dinner, occasionally laughing. He doesn’t say anything after that.
Finally, after a dinner in which he didn’t even ask Hallie Kate for pepper, but instead asked their dad, even though it was right in front of her, Jesse’s little sister corners him.
“Are you jealous of me texting Andrew?” she asks, suspiciously eyeing him.
“No,” he says, and is maybe pouting just a little bit. Really a minimal amount.
“Oh my god you are!” she exclaims.
“No I am not,” Jesse hisses, and okay, maybe it came out wrong.
“Why? Is it because you’re in loooooooooooove with him?” she elbows him and he can’t stop the flush that rolls over his face. “You are!” she gasps and this is one of the worst moments of his life.
“Shut up,” he tells her, but the damage is already done. “Just- don’t say anything please, my life is lame enough without having one of my closest friends know I have a crush worthy of someone your age on him.”
“I won’t tell,” Hallie Kate tells him, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
“You have to promise.”
“I promise.”
“Swear it on Mom’s life,” Jesse says, knowing her tricks all too well.
“I swear on Mom’s life,” she repeats, but turns to her phone with a calculated grin. What has he done?
: :
Months later, Jesse is fidgeting in his seat, his knee bouncing with nervous energy, and Andrew places a hand so it will stop, almost unconsciously.
“There's nothing you can do now, Jess," he says, looking up from his magazine. His fingers are rubbing comforting circles on Jesse's upper leg, and Jesse stills a little more, carefully avoiding eye contact with Andrew as his face reddens. "She'll do fine," Andrew tells hims, sounding completely genuine, "just be patient."
Jesse kind of wants to scream, waiting in this seat is agony, especially being stuck in the DMV, and he doesn't know what he'll do if Hallie Kate passes. Technically she’s ready for it, both of his parents and Andrew agreed on that, but she’s still his little sister and the thought of her driving on her own scares him. What’s worse is if she doesn't pass, she'll be devastated, and that would break his heart.
When she finally comes back inside, she's kind of glowing, and Jesse's heart leaps into his throat. "I passed!" she exclaims, and he jumps into a hug with her, Andrew joining to make it a rather exuberant group hug.
When they pull away, Jesse can feel how flushed he is, but he puts away his embarrassment to share in her joy.
While they wait in line for her picture to get taken, she chatters on excitedly about her test.
The excitement starts to die down a little when she elbows Andrew in the ribs. "I passed my test, and you promised," she tells him, and Andrew gets a panicked look in his eye. Jesse is totally confused about the whole thing and looks between them as they have a silent battle of wills.
"Will you at least-"
"Alright I'll give you some privacy," she says, and turns towards the bathroom. "But by the time I get back-" Andrew nods, and she trots off.
"So uh what is this all about?" Jesse asks, befuddled.
Andrew fidgets a bit in his seat before he starts to answer. "We made a deal, and er, this sounds a bit silly but if she passed her test the first time, oh god, this is too embarrassing."
"No, tell me," he presses.
"She told me if she passed her drivers test the first time I'd have to-" Andrew pauses, looking away.
"Go on," Jesse prompts.
"I’d have to er, tell you about how I feel."
“About what?"
"About you!" Andrew almost shouts, and then he shuts his mouth with a snap, looking around to see if he’s drawn any attention to himself, which, he has.
"And uh, how is that?"
"I’mkindofridiculouslyinlikewithyou," Andrew breathes, and Jesse isn’t sure if he’s hearing him right.
"Come again?" he asks, his heart hammering away ridiculously fast.
"I'm... i-interested in you," Andrew stammers.
"Well, me too,” comes out rather softly, but Andrew definitely hears it.
"I mean like the go on dates kind," Andrew clarifies, like he can’t believe what he’s just heard.
"Oh. Well, are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Asking me on a date?" Jesse is about three seconds away from saying “duh” before Andrew replies.
"Are you accepting?"
Jesse can’t get the "Yeah," out fast enough, and Andrew breathes a sigh of relief.
"Well er, cool. So when would you like to-"
"Would now count?"
"If you want it to." It’s so ridiculous that Jesse leans forward and kisses him.
"I think that counts," a familiar voice says, and they jump a bit. "If I'm not mistaken, Andrew lives pretty close to here and I have a new license burning a hole in my pocket, so I think I’ll drive home and see you guys later." Hallie Kate smirks.
That plan is alright with Jesse, and from the looks of things, Andrew is okay with it too.