Cookies 'n' Cream 21, Peppermint 3: Trucker Hat
Title: Trucker Hat
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Cookies 'n' cream 21 (offer), peppermint 3 (ring), My Treat (Aaron and Clara get engaged.), malt (Summer Challenge 128).
Word Count: 1500
Rating: PG.
Summary: Everyone's been asking if Clara's going to the show tonight.
Notes: Sort of a companion to Butterflies, only not really. If you're not familiar with the song Trucker Hat by Bowling for Soup, you may want to read the lyrics here real quick.
The last chords died away, and Aaron looked up at Ivy. "So what do you think?"
She looked at him thoughtfully for a while. "I think," she said, at last, "that you suck at playing the guitar."
Aaron made a heroic effort and did not throw things at her. Instead, he rolled his eyes. "Ivy, really, now is not the time to screw with me."
She shrugged an apology. "Okay. I think it's weird, but sweet. Good choice."
"She really likes this song," he said, and played nervously with the strings. "You think she'll like it?"
"Honestly, Aaron?" Ivy asked. "I think there is very little you could do that Clara wouldn't like."
"I devoutly hope so," Aaron said, and put the guitar down.
--
Aaron asked her that morning, "You're coming to the show tonight, right? I've got some songs I want to show off." He'd smiled rather bashfully, and Clara had laughed, kissed him, and assured him she would be there.
Ivy dropped by at lunch. Her clinic wasn't that far from Clara's building, and she often dropped in just to say hi and share cookies. Today, though... "Are you coming tonight?" she'd asked, through a mouthful of cookie. "'S gonna be fun. Lars promised they'd play some Elvis."
"Costello or Presley?" Clara had asked, just to see Ivy snort in derision. "Of course I'll be there."
"Good," Ivy said. "Have another cookie."
Clara had eyed her narrowly, but, no fool, had not passed up the cookie.
Nor had she complained when Lars, Gina, Penny, Jay, Jake, and Olivia had all found reasons to call or email her to ascertain whether or not she was coming to the show that night. She assumed that the gossip chain, usually operating at the speed of light or faster, had broken down in this one instance.
But it just got weird when Russell came around.
Clara ran into him just outside of her building, on her way home. He was so bundled up in coats and scarves and hats that she almost didn't recognize him, but she felt her eyebrows try to make a new home in her hair when she did. "Russell," she said. "Hi. Let me guess, you want to be sure I'm coming to the show tonight."
He opened his mouth, shut it again, and looked bashful. Russell, for reasons Clara could never comprehend, would battle with Ivy, try to smack Gina's ass, exchange insults with Danny and flirt with Olivia until she went red, but seemed to be slightly afraid of her. "Just walking here," he said, a little defensively. "Happened to be going this way. Thought I'd ask."
"Uh-huh," Clara said, feeling skeptical. "Tell me, Russell, why is everyone so invested in my coming to the show tonight?"
"It's a surprise," he said.
The last surprise had, to put it diplomatically, not ended well, or at least not as intended. Clara shook her head. "This isn't going to be another disaster like the thing with the bats, is it?"
Russell shrugged. "It's not my surprise."
"Uh-huh," she said, again. "Oh, boy. Well, I guess I better show up just to see what's going to go wrong this time."
He grinned at her, looking immensely relieved. "You won't regret it," he said. "Promise."
Clara nearly asked if that meant he wouldn't get drunk, and decided just in time that it was a nasty thing to say. Instead, she said, "Walk me home, then? I need to change out of my work clothes."
"Sure thing," Russell said.
--
The bar was about three-quarters full, a good-sized audience for Bedrock Drift. Clara had a seat at the table down in front that Ivy always claimed first thing, which always made her feel rather privileged. Ivy had explained that the table was really somewhere for the band to leave their stuff where it wouldn't be stolen, and that the people allowed to sit there were really no more than glorified babysitters, but it still felt kind of nice sitting up front and watching people stare enviously.
And she was close to Aaron. He was in the back, usually, keeping a steady beat on the drums, rocking out on a solo, or just occasionally playing around a little. She could always tell when he was messing around unscheduled, because Russell would toss back a little, almost undetectable glare that Aaron always just laughed off. Even if she didn't see the glare, she could tell from Aaron's smirk.
In fact, she realized with a faint start, she could tell just about everything that Aaron was going to do these days.
She hadn't been able to do that with someone since Kevin.
That thought soured her mood, and she hunched over her drink, defensively. Aaron wasn't Kevin. For one thing, Aaron was asexual. For another, he was... well, he was Aaron, with a mind so open he hardly drew any conclusions. He was pretty much incapable of the kind of stupid, willful ignorance Kevin had shown. He wouldn’t.
Didn't make her feel better, though. She sighed, and caught the sharp look Ivy gave her.
Before she could say anything, though, there was a rustle in front of them as the band shuffled around. To her surprise, Aaron got up and switched instruments with Jay. The drumsticks looked like toys in Jay's huge hands, which was almost funny, except that the guitar looked so wrong in Aaron's hands.
She leaned over and caught Ivy's attention. "Can he even play guitar?" she whispered.
"Not very well," Ivy whispered back. "But that's not what he's doing."
Clara blinked at her, but before she could get an explanation, Aaron had handed off the guitar to Jake, of all people, and was talking.
"Hey, guys," he said, and grinned at the audience. "My name is Aaron Kendall, I'm the drummer for Bedrock Drift. Tonight, though, with the kind assistance of my bandmates, I'm going to try something different." He fiddled with the microphone a little, and added, "Bear with me, I'm new at this."
That got a laugh from the audience. Clara leaned forward, curious. Was this the surprise everyone had been studiously not discussing?
He looked around at the rest of the band, got thumbs-up from the rest of the band. "Okay," he said. "This is Bowling for Soup's Trucker Hat."
Clara barely kept herself from squeaking. She loved Bowling for Soup, she especially loved Trucker Hat, and she loved it twice as much because it was kind of their song, in a twisted sort of way. They'd had their first dance to Trucker Hat. It was a funky kind of cover, light on the drums and heavy on the guitars, but Aaron sang it, start to finish, alone except for backup.
And for Clara, singing along under her breath. "I'll never go out of style on you, nothing really feels the way you do..."
Ivy was grinning by the time the band swung into the finish. "I knew you liked this song," she said.
"I love this song," Clara told her, and clapped until her hands hurt. "This was the best surprise ever."
"That wasn't the surprise," Ivy said.
Clara opened her mouth to ask what she meant by that and all of a sudden felt butterflies swarming up in her stomach again, like she'd swallowed an entire flock. No. He wasn't... was he? Her heart stuck in her throat; she closed her mouth, feeling giddy.
On stage, Aaron wasn't going back to the drums. Instead, he was fiddling around in his pockets. "So about a year ago," he said, "I met this really fantastic woman. I mean, she's amazing, the most amazing woman I've ever known. Somehow, through some miracle I'm not even going to question, she thinks I'm just as amazing as I think she is. Which is a pretty good definition of love, you think?"
Oh. God. He was. Clara clapped her hands over her mouth to keep the butterflies from spilling out.
Aaron was still talking. He'd gotten a small box out of his pocket, and was turning it over and over in his fingers. "Anyway. Clara, I'm really, really glad you showed up tonight, because this would look really stupid if you hadn't." He took a deep breath, then held the box out to her, sitting frozen in her seat. "Will you be my trucker hat?"
Clara took her hands away from her mouth, snatched the box out of his hand, and said, "I will be your trucker hat and I will be your goddamn parachute pants and if you call yourself the fat guy one more time I'm going to punch you."
That got a laugh from the audience, and cheers. Clara barely heard any of them, because she'd flown up out of her seat and was kissing Aaron and he was kissing her right back, her arms around his neck and his around her waist, and someone (probably Ivy) wolf-whistled.
"Hope you like the ring," Aaron said, when they broke apart.
"Screw the ring," Clara said, and kissed him again.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Cookies 'n' cream 21 (offer), peppermint 3 (ring), My Treat (Aaron and Clara get engaged.), malt (Summer Challenge 128).
Word Count: 1500
Rating: PG.
Summary: Everyone's been asking if Clara's going to the show tonight.
Notes: Sort of a companion to Butterflies, only not really. If you're not familiar with the song Trucker Hat by Bowling for Soup, you may want to read the lyrics here real quick.
The last chords died away, and Aaron looked up at Ivy. "So what do you think?"
She looked at him thoughtfully for a while. "I think," she said, at last, "that you suck at playing the guitar."
Aaron made a heroic effort and did not throw things at her. Instead, he rolled his eyes. "Ivy, really, now is not the time to screw with me."
She shrugged an apology. "Okay. I think it's weird, but sweet. Good choice."
"She really likes this song," he said, and played nervously with the strings. "You think she'll like it?"
"Honestly, Aaron?" Ivy asked. "I think there is very little you could do that Clara wouldn't like."
"I devoutly hope so," Aaron said, and put the guitar down.
--
Aaron asked her that morning, "You're coming to the show tonight, right? I've got some songs I want to show off." He'd smiled rather bashfully, and Clara had laughed, kissed him, and assured him she would be there.
Ivy dropped by at lunch. Her clinic wasn't that far from Clara's building, and she often dropped in just to say hi and share cookies. Today, though... "Are you coming tonight?" she'd asked, through a mouthful of cookie. "'S gonna be fun. Lars promised they'd play some Elvis."
"Costello or Presley?" Clara had asked, just to see Ivy snort in derision. "Of course I'll be there."
"Good," Ivy said. "Have another cookie."
Clara had eyed her narrowly, but, no fool, had not passed up the cookie.
Nor had she complained when Lars, Gina, Penny, Jay, Jake, and Olivia had all found reasons to call or email her to ascertain whether or not she was coming to the show that night. She assumed that the gossip chain, usually operating at the speed of light or faster, had broken down in this one instance.
But it just got weird when Russell came around.
Clara ran into him just outside of her building, on her way home. He was so bundled up in coats and scarves and hats that she almost didn't recognize him, but she felt her eyebrows try to make a new home in her hair when she did. "Russell," she said. "Hi. Let me guess, you want to be sure I'm coming to the show tonight."
He opened his mouth, shut it again, and looked bashful. Russell, for reasons Clara could never comprehend, would battle with Ivy, try to smack Gina's ass, exchange insults with Danny and flirt with Olivia until she went red, but seemed to be slightly afraid of her. "Just walking here," he said, a little defensively. "Happened to be going this way. Thought I'd ask."
"Uh-huh," Clara said, feeling skeptical. "Tell me, Russell, why is everyone so invested in my coming to the show tonight?"
"It's a surprise," he said.
The last surprise had, to put it diplomatically, not ended well, or at least not as intended. Clara shook her head. "This isn't going to be another disaster like the thing with the bats, is it?"
Russell shrugged. "It's not my surprise."
"Uh-huh," she said, again. "Oh, boy. Well, I guess I better show up just to see what's going to go wrong this time."
He grinned at her, looking immensely relieved. "You won't regret it," he said. "Promise."
Clara nearly asked if that meant he wouldn't get drunk, and decided just in time that it was a nasty thing to say. Instead, she said, "Walk me home, then? I need to change out of my work clothes."
"Sure thing," Russell said.
--
The bar was about three-quarters full, a good-sized audience for Bedrock Drift. Clara had a seat at the table down in front that Ivy always claimed first thing, which always made her feel rather privileged. Ivy had explained that the table was really somewhere for the band to leave their stuff where it wouldn't be stolen, and that the people allowed to sit there were really no more than glorified babysitters, but it still felt kind of nice sitting up front and watching people stare enviously.
And she was close to Aaron. He was in the back, usually, keeping a steady beat on the drums, rocking out on a solo, or just occasionally playing around a little. She could always tell when he was messing around unscheduled, because Russell would toss back a little, almost undetectable glare that Aaron always just laughed off. Even if she didn't see the glare, she could tell from Aaron's smirk.
In fact, she realized with a faint start, she could tell just about everything that Aaron was going to do these days.
She hadn't been able to do that with someone since Kevin.
That thought soured her mood, and she hunched over her drink, defensively. Aaron wasn't Kevin. For one thing, Aaron was asexual. For another, he was... well, he was Aaron, with a mind so open he hardly drew any conclusions. He was pretty much incapable of the kind of stupid, willful ignorance Kevin had shown. He wouldn’t.
Didn't make her feel better, though. She sighed, and caught the sharp look Ivy gave her.
Before she could say anything, though, there was a rustle in front of them as the band shuffled around. To her surprise, Aaron got up and switched instruments with Jay. The drumsticks looked like toys in Jay's huge hands, which was almost funny, except that the guitar looked so wrong in Aaron's hands.
She leaned over and caught Ivy's attention. "Can he even play guitar?" she whispered.
"Not very well," Ivy whispered back. "But that's not what he's doing."
Clara blinked at her, but before she could get an explanation, Aaron had handed off the guitar to Jake, of all people, and was talking.
"Hey, guys," he said, and grinned at the audience. "My name is Aaron Kendall, I'm the drummer for Bedrock Drift. Tonight, though, with the kind assistance of my bandmates, I'm going to try something different." He fiddled with the microphone a little, and added, "Bear with me, I'm new at this."
That got a laugh from the audience. Clara leaned forward, curious. Was this the surprise everyone had been studiously not discussing?
He looked around at the rest of the band, got thumbs-up from the rest of the band. "Okay," he said. "This is Bowling for Soup's Trucker Hat."
Clara barely kept herself from squeaking. She loved Bowling for Soup, she especially loved Trucker Hat, and she loved it twice as much because it was kind of their song, in a twisted sort of way. They'd had their first dance to Trucker Hat. It was a funky kind of cover, light on the drums and heavy on the guitars, but Aaron sang it, start to finish, alone except for backup.
And for Clara, singing along under her breath. "I'll never go out of style on you, nothing really feels the way you do..."
Ivy was grinning by the time the band swung into the finish. "I knew you liked this song," she said.
"I love this song," Clara told her, and clapped until her hands hurt. "This was the best surprise ever."
"That wasn't the surprise," Ivy said.
Clara opened her mouth to ask what she meant by that and all of a sudden felt butterflies swarming up in her stomach again, like she'd swallowed an entire flock. No. He wasn't... was he? Her heart stuck in her throat; she closed her mouth, feeling giddy.
On stage, Aaron wasn't going back to the drums. Instead, he was fiddling around in his pockets. "So about a year ago," he said, "I met this really fantastic woman. I mean, she's amazing, the most amazing woman I've ever known. Somehow, through some miracle I'm not even going to question, she thinks I'm just as amazing as I think she is. Which is a pretty good definition of love, you think?"
Oh. God. He was. Clara clapped her hands over her mouth to keep the butterflies from spilling out.
Aaron was still talking. He'd gotten a small box out of his pocket, and was turning it over and over in his fingers. "Anyway. Clara, I'm really, really glad you showed up tonight, because this would look really stupid if you hadn't." He took a deep breath, then held the box out to her, sitting frozen in her seat. "Will you be my trucker hat?"
Clara took her hands away from her mouth, snatched the box out of his hand, and said, "I will be your trucker hat and I will be your goddamn parachute pants and if you call yourself the fat guy one more time I'm going to punch you."
That got a laugh from the audience, and cheers. Clara barely heard any of them, because she'd flown up out of her seat and was kissing Aaron and he was kissing her right back, her arms around his neck and his around her waist, and someone (probably Ivy) wolf-whistled.
"Hope you like the ring," Aaron said, when they broke apart.
"Screw the ring," Clara said, and kissed him again.