Road Trip, Chapter Six
Author’s Note: I’m sure I’m bending all kinds of rules and fudging all sorts of canon to bring these two worlds together. Any mistakes are my own. Calendar wise, it’s July/August. Timing-wise for FNL, it’s the summer after Julie’s graduation from high school. Timing-wise for SPN, it’s some time during the middle of the first season.
Disclaimer: SPN and FNL are copyright of their respective copyright holders. I don't own anything here and am just doing this for fun.
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New Orleans, Louisiana
Tim woke up slowly, as though he was surfacing from a great depth. The sun slanting in through the blinds made him reluctant to open his eyes. When he finally did, he blinked a few times as the room came into focus.
He always hated these first few minutes of the morning, when he was temporarily disoriented and had to piece together where he was and how he got there. Then he saw Julie’s suitcase, which looked like it had exploded all over the bed, and it all came back to him. He was on Julie
Taylor’s epic road trip.
When he promised Coach that they would have separate rooms, he’d meant it. But he hadn’t reckoned on Julie not meaning it. When they pulled up in front of the All Saints Motel, Julie had reapplied her lip gloss and told him to keep his mouth shut.
He had dutifully followed her into the motel office, a narrow little room that smelled like mildew. Julie smiled at the guy behind the counter and given him some story about her parents being overprotective and in denial. She’d slid her fake ID over to him, along with a $20 bill. Then she’d extracted a promise from the guy that he would only take messages if her parents called.
“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Tim asked after they left the office. He turned the room key over in his hand, wondering why Julie would want to share a room with him in the first place.
“Of course it’s going to work. I’ve been calling them more often than they asked me to, to try to prevent their calling me. And if it doesn’t work, do you really think my dad’s going to drive all the way out here to drag me home, kicking and screaming?”
“Yeah, Taylor, actually, I do. In case you hadn’t noticed, your dad can be scary sometimes.”
Julie waved a hand dismissively. “He’s all bluster.”
Tim looked at Julie skeptically, then saw that they were in front of their room. He put the key in the door, unlocked it, then pushed it open.
“Why didn’t you want your own room anyway? Is it a money thing? Because I can pay for my own room, you know.”
Julie shook her head as she bounced down onto the bed that was furthest away from the door. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Yeah, sure, I promise.” Tim dropped his duffel bag on his bed.
“OK. I watched this Lifetime movie once about a creepy maintenance guy who kills women who check into their rooms alone. It was based on a true story and it freaked me out. Still does. So I’d just feel better not being alone.”
“That sounds more like Psycho than a true story.”
“Thanks, for putting that idea in my head. Now I’m not going to be able to shower.”
“Well, you know,” said Tim, looking over at Julie with a slow-burning smile, “I’d be willing to help you out.”
Julie rolled her eyes and then tossed a pillow at him. He tossed it back, but was surprised by the unexpected tangent his mind was taking. A little daydream involving Julie Taylor and a shower that was quite surprising. And something that, since they were going to be sharing a room, seemed like it was suddenly in the realm of possibility.
But in the cold light of morning, Tim knew that nothing was going to happen between him and Julie. She had gotten instantly and ridiculously infatuated with that Sam guy. The only good thing about Sam, as far as Tim was concerned, was that at least he wasn’t Dean.
Tim groaned and pulled himself into a sitting position. He noticed a styrofoam cup and a white paper bag on top of the television. He staggered over and found cold coffee, pastries, and a note from Julie saying that she’d be back in the early afternoon. He opened all of the sugar packets in the bag and dumped them into his coffee, which was the only way to make cold coffee drinkable.
Then he settled back onto his bed with his breakfast and the remote control. Still time to see the morning repeat of Sports Center before he had to start moving. But he’d forgotten that this time of year was the dead zone on Sports Center - all baseball. Home runs and strikeouts all looked the same to him.
Tim finished his breakfast, then had a shower and got dressed. He was still hungry, but he hoped that Julie would be back soon and they could get some real food somewhere. He supposed that he could leave her a note and go out on his own, but he found that he didn’t want to.
Hearing the low rumble of an engine, he looked up and watched the familiar Impala pull into the hotel lot. Tim got up and had a peak through the blinds, feeling a bit like their nosy elderly neighbor. But he figured he had a reason, since he’d promised Coach he’d look after Julie and now, here she was, spending time with a guy who could be a serial killer for all they knew.
That was the thing about living in a small town. At least you knew everyone. Knew what they were capable of. Knew what was inside of them. Guy might be a scumbag in Dillon, but at least you knew it.
Tim watched as Julie and Sam got out of the car. Sam leaned against the driver’s door, while Julie practically skipped around to his side. Her hair was loose and curly and she was wearing shorts, a tank top, and blue sneakers.
Julie came to a stop in front of Sam and Tim could see that the guy just had no moves at all. It was kind of sad, actually. He had this hot girl, leaning toward him, smiling, putting a soft hand on his arm while he was just standing there with his hands jammed in his pockets.
Maybe he just wasn’t that into her. That would be just fine with Tim. But then Julie said something that made Sam laugh and the way he looked at her then, Tim knew it was going to be nothing but trouble. A suspicion that was confirmed when the couple shared a long hug that ended with Julie on her tiptoes, stretching up to give Sam a quick kiss.
Tim had seen enough and he didn’t want to get caught. He threw himself down on the bed, hoping for casual and bored, and flipped the TV back on.
Thirty seconds later, Julie walked through the door, closed it and then leaned up against it like she was weak in the knees.
“You have a nice time on that dunce walk or whatever?” asked Tim.
Julie looked over at him, like she was snapping out of a daze. “What? Oh, yeah, it was great. Really great. Except we didn’t go on the walking tour.”
She floated over to the bed and started clearing it off.
“What you mean you didn’t go on the walk? Then what’ve you been doing for the last six hours?” asked Tim, a bit more gruffly than he’d intended.
Julie looked up at him, surprised, then laughed. “You sound like my dad. We showed up at the walking tour place, but not enough people were there to have a tour. They need like 8 or something and it was just me and Sam and this other lady. So Sam and I just had our own walking tour.”
“Your own walking tour? You just walked around New Orleans for hours?”
“Well, yeah, and we talked too. He had all kinds of great insights about John Kennedy Toole and he just knows a lot about literature in general. Oh, and he adores Tennessee Williams. We probably talked about A Streetcar Named Desire for two hours.”
Tim allowed himself a brief sigh of relief. They’d done nerdy things for six hours. Nothing to panic over or worry about. Tim drifted off into his own thoughts while Julie happily babbled away about all of the amazing things they’d seen and all the smart stuff Sam had said.
“So, uh, Taylor, what do you really know about this guy?” Tim asked when Julie finally took a breath.
Julie looked up from the shirt she was folding. “What are you talking about?”
“Sam. What do you really know about him?”
“He’s a good guy, Tim. Really, he is.”
“Yeah, but what do you know about him? Where’s he from? What’s he doing traveling around the country with his brother?”
Julie rolled her eyes. “You know, if I wanted to go on a road trip with my father, I would’ve asked him.”
“I’m just trying to look out for you,” said Tim with a shrug.
“Yeah, well, I don’t really appreciate it, Tim. I’m old enough to pick my own dates.”
Tim sighed. “Okay, fine. I’m just saying that someone who can’t even stay in a motel room by herself might want to think twice about just picking up strange men on the road.”
“Why should I when I apparently have you to do that for me. Paternalism went out of style at least forty years ago.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means that I can take care of myself. It also means that I will be seeing Sam again in Mobile and that you’re not going to hassle me about it. Understand?”
Jesus. Standing there, with her hands on her hips and her eyes all fierce, there was no doubting that she was Tami Taylor’s daughter. It was a little disconcerting. And more than a little hot.
He got up from the bed, his hands up in surrender. “OK, Taylor. Fine. I get it.”
“Where are you going?” she asked as he pulled open the door.
“To find some lunch. You want to come along?”
She shook her head. “No, Sam and I had lunch already.”
“Yeah, all right. I’ll be back later,” said Tim, closing the door behind him. It was only after the door clicked shut behind him that he realized he had no map or key. He shrugged and picked a direction, wanting only to put some space between him and their suddenly too-small hotel room.
Disclaimer: SPN and FNL are copyright of their respective copyright holders. I don't own anything here and am just doing this for fun.
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New Orleans, Louisiana
Tim woke up slowly, as though he was surfacing from a great depth. The sun slanting in through the blinds made him reluctant to open his eyes. When he finally did, he blinked a few times as the room came into focus.
He always hated these first few minutes of the morning, when he was temporarily disoriented and had to piece together where he was and how he got there. Then he saw Julie’s suitcase, which looked like it had exploded all over the bed, and it all came back to him. He was on Julie
Taylor’s epic road trip.
When he promised Coach that they would have separate rooms, he’d meant it. But he hadn’t reckoned on Julie not meaning it. When they pulled up in front of the All Saints Motel, Julie had reapplied her lip gloss and told him to keep his mouth shut.
He had dutifully followed her into the motel office, a narrow little room that smelled like mildew. Julie smiled at the guy behind the counter and given him some story about her parents being overprotective and in denial. She’d slid her fake ID over to him, along with a $20 bill. Then she’d extracted a promise from the guy that he would only take messages if her parents called.
“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Tim asked after they left the office. He turned the room key over in his hand, wondering why Julie would want to share a room with him in the first place.
“Of course it’s going to work. I’ve been calling them more often than they asked me to, to try to prevent their calling me. And if it doesn’t work, do you really think my dad’s going to drive all the way out here to drag me home, kicking and screaming?”
“Yeah, Taylor, actually, I do. In case you hadn’t noticed, your dad can be scary sometimes.”
Julie waved a hand dismissively. “He’s all bluster.”
Tim looked at Julie skeptically, then saw that they were in front of their room. He put the key in the door, unlocked it, then pushed it open.
“Why didn’t you want your own room anyway? Is it a money thing? Because I can pay for my own room, you know.”
Julie shook her head as she bounced down onto the bed that was furthest away from the door. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Yeah, sure, I promise.” Tim dropped his duffel bag on his bed.
“OK. I watched this Lifetime movie once about a creepy maintenance guy who kills women who check into their rooms alone. It was based on a true story and it freaked me out. Still does. So I’d just feel better not being alone.”
“That sounds more like Psycho than a true story.”
“Thanks, for putting that idea in my head. Now I’m not going to be able to shower.”
“Well, you know,” said Tim, looking over at Julie with a slow-burning smile, “I’d be willing to help you out.”
Julie rolled her eyes and then tossed a pillow at him. He tossed it back, but was surprised by the unexpected tangent his mind was taking. A little daydream involving Julie Taylor and a shower that was quite surprising. And something that, since they were going to be sharing a room, seemed like it was suddenly in the realm of possibility.
But in the cold light of morning, Tim knew that nothing was going to happen between him and Julie. She had gotten instantly and ridiculously infatuated with that Sam guy. The only good thing about Sam, as far as Tim was concerned, was that at least he wasn’t Dean.
Tim groaned and pulled himself into a sitting position. He noticed a styrofoam cup and a white paper bag on top of the television. He staggered over and found cold coffee, pastries, and a note from Julie saying that she’d be back in the early afternoon. He opened all of the sugar packets in the bag and dumped them into his coffee, which was the only way to make cold coffee drinkable.
Then he settled back onto his bed with his breakfast and the remote control. Still time to see the morning repeat of Sports Center before he had to start moving. But he’d forgotten that this time of year was the dead zone on Sports Center - all baseball. Home runs and strikeouts all looked the same to him.
Tim finished his breakfast, then had a shower and got dressed. He was still hungry, but he hoped that Julie would be back soon and they could get some real food somewhere. He supposed that he could leave her a note and go out on his own, but he found that he didn’t want to.
Hearing the low rumble of an engine, he looked up and watched the familiar Impala pull into the hotel lot. Tim got up and had a peak through the blinds, feeling a bit like their nosy elderly neighbor. But he figured he had a reason, since he’d promised Coach he’d look after Julie and now, here she was, spending time with a guy who could be a serial killer for all they knew.
That was the thing about living in a small town. At least you knew everyone. Knew what they were capable of. Knew what was inside of them. Guy might be a scumbag in Dillon, but at least you knew it.
Tim watched as Julie and Sam got out of the car. Sam leaned against the driver’s door, while Julie practically skipped around to his side. Her hair was loose and curly and she was wearing shorts, a tank top, and blue sneakers.
Julie came to a stop in front of Sam and Tim could see that the guy just had no moves at all. It was kind of sad, actually. He had this hot girl, leaning toward him, smiling, putting a soft hand on his arm while he was just standing there with his hands jammed in his pockets.
Maybe he just wasn’t that into her. That would be just fine with Tim. But then Julie said something that made Sam laugh and the way he looked at her then, Tim knew it was going to be nothing but trouble. A suspicion that was confirmed when the couple shared a long hug that ended with Julie on her tiptoes, stretching up to give Sam a quick kiss.
Tim had seen enough and he didn’t want to get caught. He threw himself down on the bed, hoping for casual and bored, and flipped the TV back on.
Thirty seconds later, Julie walked through the door, closed it and then leaned up against it like she was weak in the knees.
“You have a nice time on that dunce walk or whatever?” asked Tim.
Julie looked over at him, like she was snapping out of a daze. “What? Oh, yeah, it was great. Really great. Except we didn’t go on the walking tour.”
She floated over to the bed and started clearing it off.
“What you mean you didn’t go on the walk? Then what’ve you been doing for the last six hours?” asked Tim, a bit more gruffly than he’d intended.
Julie looked up at him, surprised, then laughed. “You sound like my dad. We showed up at the walking tour place, but not enough people were there to have a tour. They need like 8 or something and it was just me and Sam and this other lady. So Sam and I just had our own walking tour.”
“Your own walking tour? You just walked around New Orleans for hours?”
“Well, yeah, and we talked too. He had all kinds of great insights about John Kennedy Toole and he just knows a lot about literature in general. Oh, and he adores Tennessee Williams. We probably talked about A Streetcar Named Desire for two hours.”
Tim allowed himself a brief sigh of relief. They’d done nerdy things for six hours. Nothing to panic over or worry about. Tim drifted off into his own thoughts while Julie happily babbled away about all of the amazing things they’d seen and all the smart stuff Sam had said.
“So, uh, Taylor, what do you really know about this guy?” Tim asked when Julie finally took a breath.
Julie looked up from the shirt she was folding. “What are you talking about?”
“Sam. What do you really know about him?”
“He’s a good guy, Tim. Really, he is.”
“Yeah, but what do you know about him? Where’s he from? What’s he doing traveling around the country with his brother?”
Julie rolled her eyes. “You know, if I wanted to go on a road trip with my father, I would’ve asked him.”
“I’m just trying to look out for you,” said Tim with a shrug.
“Yeah, well, I don’t really appreciate it, Tim. I’m old enough to pick my own dates.”
Tim sighed. “Okay, fine. I’m just saying that someone who can’t even stay in a motel room by herself might want to think twice about just picking up strange men on the road.”
“Why should I when I apparently have you to do that for me. Paternalism went out of style at least forty years ago.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means that I can take care of myself. It also means that I will be seeing Sam again in Mobile and that you’re not going to hassle me about it. Understand?”
Jesus. Standing there, with her hands on her hips and her eyes all fierce, there was no doubting that she was Tami Taylor’s daughter. It was a little disconcerting. And more than a little hot.
He got up from the bed, his hands up in surrender. “OK, Taylor. Fine. I get it.”
“Where are you going?” she asked as he pulled open the door.
“To find some lunch. You want to come along?”
She shook her head. “No, Sam and I had lunch already.”
“Yeah, all right. I’ll be back later,” said Tim, closing the door behind him. It was only after the door clicked shut behind him that he realized he had no map or key. He shrugged and picked a direction, wanting only to put some space between him and their suddenly too-small hotel room.