Vanilla #21, Marmalade #30
Title: Better Mistakes
Story: The Gemini Occurrence
Rating: PG-13
Flavor(s): Vanilla #21: a dare; Marmalade #30: traffic light
Word Count: 470
Summary: 2021. "No dare is off limits" was said at some point during the friendship, and Mack really, really regrets that sometimes.
Notes: Devyn Lively, Macklin McDaniel. (My friend is staying with me, and the other night she was like, "What would it be like if Mack and Devyn took a road trip? Well, this is the brainchild of that.)
"Dude," Devyn groans and shifts in the passenger seat, curled in on himself. "What happened?"
"What?" Mack says, one arm draped over the steering wheel. "You got drunk. You passed out. Nothing's happened since then besides, like, a lot of driving." There's a mildly judgmental look on his face when Devyn finally squints up at him, bathed red in the light from the stop lights overhead. "Can't believe I thought this would be a good idea. I took two weeks off, Devmo. Two weeks, just to watch you sleep off too many beers in the passenger seat of my new car."
"Sorry, dude," Devyn says, laughing, as he forces himself to sit up. "But let me remind you, you were the one who said a road trip would be fun for us before my last year."
"Yeah, and I hate myself for it," Mack grumbles. The light above them finally changes to green, and he speeds through the intersection onto the empty road ahead.
"Hey," Devyn says, and after a minute of waiting, he reaches out to nudge Mack. "Hey, what are the odds of you driving with the headlights off for thirty seconds?"
Mack looks at Devyn out of the corner of his eye, his mouth somewhere between a smile and a scowl, and tells him, "One out of twenty."
Devyn grins and holds up a hand. "Alright, man! One, two, three..."
With shocking synchronicity, they both yell out the same number, "One!"
"Damn it!" Mack shouts, hitting the steering wheel hard enough with one hand that the horn goes off. "Alright, get the stopwatch up on your phone. And if we die, it's your goddamn fault, Lively."
"I'm ready, dude," Devyn says, holding the phone up for him to see. His thumb is hovering over the green start button, and the second Mack flips the headlights off, he hits the button.
"Ten seconds," Devyn announces, and Mack's gripping the steering while so hard that his knuckles are turning white in the eerie glow of Devyn's phone screen.
"Twenty seconds!" The car is bumping along a little, and Mack is moving the steering wheel back and forth, unsure which way is the safety of the road.
"Thirty, dude!" Devyn screeches, and the headlights are on as quickly as Mack can reach from them. They're halfway off the road, the right two wheels kicking up gravel.
"I hate you," Mack says and laughs. "God, I hate you." He eases the car back into the correct lane, giving himself a moment before he passes the speed limit again.
"You're the one who thought a road trip would be a good idea," Devyn points out. He leans back against the inside of the car door, smiling placidly. "So, what are the odds you actually stop at the next waffle house we see?"
Story: The Gemini Occurrence
Rating: PG-13
Flavor(s): Vanilla #21: a dare; Marmalade #30: traffic light
Word Count: 470
Summary: 2021. "No dare is off limits" was said at some point during the friendship, and Mack really, really regrets that sometimes.
Notes: Devyn Lively, Macklin McDaniel. (My friend is staying with me, and the other night she was like, "What would it be like if Mack and Devyn took a road trip? Well, this is the brainchild of that.)
"Dude," Devyn groans and shifts in the passenger seat, curled in on himself. "What happened?"
"What?" Mack says, one arm draped over the steering wheel. "You got drunk. You passed out. Nothing's happened since then besides, like, a lot of driving." There's a mildly judgmental look on his face when Devyn finally squints up at him, bathed red in the light from the stop lights overhead. "Can't believe I thought this would be a good idea. I took two weeks off, Devmo. Two weeks, just to watch you sleep off too many beers in the passenger seat of my new car."
"Sorry, dude," Devyn says, laughing, as he forces himself to sit up. "But let me remind you, you were the one who said a road trip would be fun for us before my last year."
"Yeah, and I hate myself for it," Mack grumbles. The light above them finally changes to green, and he speeds through the intersection onto the empty road ahead.
"Hey," Devyn says, and after a minute of waiting, he reaches out to nudge Mack. "Hey, what are the odds of you driving with the headlights off for thirty seconds?"
Mack looks at Devyn out of the corner of his eye, his mouth somewhere between a smile and a scowl, and tells him, "One out of twenty."
Devyn grins and holds up a hand. "Alright, man! One, two, three..."
With shocking synchronicity, they both yell out the same number, "One!"
"Damn it!" Mack shouts, hitting the steering wheel hard enough with one hand that the horn goes off. "Alright, get the stopwatch up on your phone. And if we die, it's your goddamn fault, Lively."
"I'm ready, dude," Devyn says, holding the phone up for him to see. His thumb is hovering over the green start button, and the second Mack flips the headlights off, he hits the button.
"Ten seconds," Devyn announces, and Mack's gripping the steering while so hard that his knuckles are turning white in the eerie glow of Devyn's phone screen.
"Twenty seconds!" The car is bumping along a little, and Mack is moving the steering wheel back and forth, unsure which way is the safety of the road.
"Thirty, dude!" Devyn screeches, and the headlights are on as quickly as Mack can reach from them. They're halfway off the road, the right two wheels kicking up gravel.
"I hate you," Mack says and laughs. "God, I hate you." He eases the car back into the correct lane, giving himself a moment before he passes the speed limit again.
"You're the one who thought a road trip would be a good idea," Devyn points out. He leans back against the inside of the car door, smiling placidly. "So, what are the odds you actually stop at the next waffle house we see?"