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(Yup, it's a word.)
Spencer, not having time to buckle up, flew forward. He caught himself on a seat, so not much damage was done. His shoulder might hurt for a while, though.
"I'm good," he groaned, putting his thumb in the air.
The president claimed that he and Lily were all right.
//k thx
“Groaning ‘I’m good’ does not count,” Anya muttered, breathing heavily. “Are you guys sure you’re alright?” She twisted backwards to check, and she couldn’t stop a small moan of pain. (Because angst :P)
The president, not noticing, nodded. “I’m sure.”
//if you want me to change anything lemme know :)
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(You're fine 99.9% of the time. Lol.)
"Just caught myself a little too hard on the seat, is all," Spencer explained. He leaned forward from his spot on the floor to look at Anya, his eyes searching her face for the pain he knew she was hiding from them. "Are you okay?"
“Fine,” Anya said, too quickly. “Do we walk or try to salvage this thing?” She patted the steering wheel.
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Spencer looked at her for a moment more before sighing. "There might be extra tires in the trunk, but I don't know how many of the wheels went out nor how many we might have."
He pushed himself up with his good arm and opened the passenger side door to get out. "I'm going to check. The rest of you should stay in here."
Anya scoffed. “Because that’s likely.” She moved to open the door and climb out after him.
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"You are incredibly stubborn, you know that?" Spencer sighed when Anya joined him. He opened the door to the trunk to look for the tires and found two. "Hm. I hope only two of the tires need to be replaced," he muttered, as if to himself.
“I do,” Anya said, grinning. “And we may be able to get by on the two front tires being replaced… do you want me to do that? I can finally make use of that tedious semester on transportation I had to take.”
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"We could both do it. It would go much faster that way," Spencer suggested. "My father taught me how to change a tire when I was pretty young…" He trailed off, an odd look coming to his face. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he went back to looking at Anya with a small smile.
Anya noticed, but said nothing. “Works for me. I call left.” She walked over to that side.
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Spencer nodded and went to the right. He rolled the tire ahead of himself, then bent down to change it.
"I know you aren't as okay as you say you are, but I also know that I won't be able to get you to tell me unless you want to," he said suddenly. "Remember, I'm here if you need me."
“Mhmm,” Anya said distractedly, skewing the last bolt in. “Done! Haha, I beat you!”
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"Barely," Spencer grumbled, finishing right after Anya spoke. He stood and walked over to her, offering his hand to help her stand.
Anya looked at Spencer’s hand, then looked at his face, then placed her fingertips on his and basically stood up on her own. “Thank you, kind sir, for that much needed assistance,” she joked, smiling.
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Spencer snorted and rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to be polite, Anya. I know full and well how much you don't need me," he said, giving her a small smile. Suddenly feeling cheesy, he lifted Anya's hand to his lips and lightly kissed it. He winked, dropping her hand, and walked over to the driver's side door.
Anya flushed, then tamped it down, not wanting to seem like a flustered schoolgirl. She’d never had the privelage of truly being one, anyway. Instead, she allowed herself a small smile before getting in the passenger’s seat. “You sure you’re okay to drive?”
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"Yeah, I'm good now. Just needed a short rest," Spencer assured her, trying to hide the pleased smile that threatened to break out on his face from Anya's reaction. "We're almost there. Just about a half hour to go. If everything goes well, that is…" He muttered the last part under his breath so that the president and Lily wouldn't hear him.
Anya sighed. “Let’s think positive for once,” she suggested. “Though it won’t change anything, at least we won’t suffer twice.”
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Spencer nodded slowly as he brought the van to life and started down the road again. "True. There is no way we could be traced. No one has any idea where we are, except for HQ. We're safe."
“Knock on wood,” Anya added quickly, tapping the dash. “Or whatever this is, anyway.”
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"Right. 'Cause we wouldn't want to jinx it, would we?" Spencer asked rhetorically, giving Anya a look out of the corner of his eye.
“Pretty much,” Anya nodded. “Drive faster, would you? I’d like these tires to at least get us the rest of the way there.” She glanced back at Lily and the president, who were talking to each other animatedly.
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Spencer gave Anya a quick glare before turning his attention back to the road and speeding up.
"You think they're doing okay?" he mumbled so that the pair wouldn't hear.
Anya sighed. “They’re very good actors if they’re not.” She’d noticed the glare and hoped he was joking.
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"That is true," Spencer agree with a nod. "And from what I know of children, most aren't that great. Politicians, though, seem to be quite good."
“Good point,” Anya conceded, staring straight ahead through the windshield. “Though I suppose it could go either way, then, because I’m sure Lily had to have had some training of some sort on ‘How to Not Blurt Out State Secrets’.”
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(Windshield? Lol.)
"Unless they just don't tell her stuff like that," Spencer pointed out. He glanced at Anya through the corner of his eye. "We're almost there," he said, loud enough that their passengers would be able to hear.
//oh yeeeeaaaahhhhh
Thx
“Knock on whatever this is,” Anya added, rapping her knuckles on the dash again. Quieter, she told Spencer, “She’s made plenty of public appearances, though. But you’re right, she hasn’t ever really been in the spotlight….”
