(Sorry, my wifi cut off.)
Phoenix huffed, pushing the door open and getting out. "Right. Don't call anyone, though. I'd rather try fixing it myself." He muttered a bit, popping the hood open before shutting his door. As soon as he touched the hood, he hissed in pain and pulled his hand back. It was way too hot to be normal. After a couple of seconds, he quickly pushed it open to have smoke in his face. This was way worse than he had thought.
(That's fine!)
Cicada bit her lip worryingly as she watched the smoke billow from the hood. She made sure the car was turned off to help Phoenix figure out what was wrong, and to stop the smoke. She knew that they were close to a repair shop by the name of the gas station, she also knew they were close to her exes place. There was no way she was getting out of the car at this very moment.
Phoenix was muttering curse words under his breath, his hand still stinging from when he touched the hot car. A stupid mistake on his end. Kicking the curb, he ignored the pain going through both his hand and now his foot. He yanked the door open and dropped down in the front seat in frustration. "I've had this car for forever, and never had a problem. As soon as I go out of the city, it decides to give me crap." He continued to mutter, hitting his fist against the horn.
"Hey, hey," Cicada tried to calm him down. She could see he was getting frustrated and, with her current mental situation, wanting to diffuse it as quickly as possible. Her hand gently reached over to touch his shoulder, "There's a repair shop near here. If we can get it over then we can walk to wherever you wanted to go to dinner? Okay?"
Phoenix dropped his head into one of his hands, pinching his temple. "I know, I'm just… really annoyed. I've never, ever had a problem with this car. It's just my luck that today of all days it breaks down on me." He muttered softly, sighing a bit. Running his not hurt hand through his hair, he scanned over the dark red spot on the palm of his hand.
"Cars breakdown all the time," Cicada said spotting the red spot on his hand. She began to reach back for her bag as she asked, "We should bandage your hand up. Do you have a first aid kit in here?"
"Yeah, I know…" Phoenix muttered, glancing over to her when she started looking back. "I think so, but you really don't have to worry about me. But if you're going to insist, it should be in the glove compartment."
"I am going to insist, I know first hand how bad burns can get if you don't take care fo them," Cicada said turning around and going through his glove compartment. She was focusing on the conversation so she didn't have to focus on the situation, "Anyways, do you think the engine can get running so we can make it to the repair shop. It's a block from here, supposedly." She tacked the supposedly on the end to try and fix her more certain tone.
Phoenix nodded a bit, letting her do whatever she pleased at the moment. He was frustrated, and honestly needed her for the moment. While she worked on his hand he glanced up to her. "Sorry… I'm just being stupid. I'm pretty sure if I turn the hazard lights on, and take it slow, I can drive over to the repair shop. My concern is that it might take longer than we want to stay here."
"We, we," Cicada started hesitating. She didn't want it to come to that, but if they went to the other side of town… Yeah. Yeah, that should be fine. None of her old friends would know she was here. Her ex wouldn't know, no one would know, "We could always stay at a hotel overnight? I think when I was looking for the repair shop on my phone I saw a few hotels as well."
"Doesn't surprise me. Most places have some kind of hotel nearby." Phoenix sighed softly, leaning back against the seat. "Would you be alright with that? I don't want to keep you from the campus, if you'd rather stay there. I could probably call Savanna, she'd come down here as soon as possible." He offered in a soft tone, glancing up to her.
"I, no we can stay in a hotel. If need be that is," Cicada finished wrapping up his hand. There was no way she was actually comfortable staying in a hotel, but she could be fine. Absolutely. No problem. She gave him a soft, forced, smile as she looked up at him. She offered him his keys, "Come on, let's take it into the repair shop."
Phoenix nodded a little, taking the keys. Sighing weakly, he sat up and started the car once again. "It's still kind of early for dinner. Do you wanna walk around for a bit, to explore the town?" He offered lightly, listening to the car rattle. He reached over and turned the hazard lights on, before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Um, totally!" Cicada said with a believable amount of fake enthusiasm. She was worried if they explored the town her feet would start taking her down old trails and Phoenix might get curious. She leaned back in her seat with an almost death grip on her phone as she tried to relax.
"We'll probably have to wait until I fill out paperwork, and all that wonderful stuff. I'm really sorry this is happening, I just wanted to have a nice time tonight…" Phoenix muttered, carefully driving along. He kept his eyes peeled for the repair shop, glancing around. "What road is it on?"
"And we still can," Cicada said fake glancing down at her phone before pointing off to one of the side roads. She honestly did believe they would have a good night, even if the car was only one of their problems, "It should be to the right down that road."
"Right… you really think things will still be alright?" Phoenix asked softly, glancing over at her with a nervous look. He didn't seem really sure. But he tried to cover it up by turning his gaze back to fully on the road. "If it's much more of a disaster, I promise I'll make it up to you."
"You don't need to do that," Cicada responded with a forced laugh. She was relaxing a little bit but tensed up as she remembered that literally anyone could recognize her. Hopefully, they wouldn't though, "Not because it'll be alright, but because this is enough anyway."
"But I didn't even make it to where we were heading." Phoenix insisted, turning the corner. He pulled up into the parking lot, parking the car. "I really feel like I owe you a better date. This is complete disaster in my opinion."
"Well, if that's how you feel then maybe another date next weekend?" Cicada suggested as she saw him park the car. She would have to get out soon, fuck. Her eyes glanced around quickly trying to see if she spotted anyone who might recognize her. No? Okay, she was safe, "Come on let's head inside."
Phoenix had already begun to climb out, and glanced over to her when she gave both suggestions. "I'd happily take you out on another date." He told her softly, walking around the car after shutting his door. Gently he pulled the door open, holding a hand out to her. "You coming with me?"
"Yeah, of course," Cicada gave him a smile as she cautiously took his hand. She got out of the car and took a deep breath. He couldn't get to her, she was safe. Her smile turned a little lopsided, "Then after that, I can take you out on a date. So we're even."
"I can live for that." Phoenix gave a little smile, gently wrapping an arm over her shoulders. He noticed she seemed really off, and clearly she was trying really hard not to show him. So he wouldn't mention it right now. He'd try to get himself under control first. "Let me know if this is bugging you."
"Okay," Cicada leaned against him gently. She felt a lot better with Phoenix nearby, just being him. A genuine smile slipped onto her lips as she glanced up at him, "I'm really glad you're you."
Phoenix glanced down to her with an odd look, but let a little smile pull up. "And I'm glad you're you. I couldn't ask for a better girl, to be mine." He told her softly, kissing the top of her head. He kept his smile up still, reaching the door.
Cicada realized she probably shouldn't have said that aloud, but her smile grew as he responded and kissed her head. She glanced around the inside and didn't recognize anyone, good. They would be fine here, "And I really couldn't ask for a better boyfriend."
Phoenix felt his smile pull up a little more as he led her up to the front desk. "Do you wanna sit down, while I deal with this?" He asked softly, still loosely holding on to her. He didn't want to make her wait there, but she might prefer to stay closer to him in a coughnotcough new place.
"I," Cicada finally responded after weighing her options. If she sat down then more attention would get drawn to her, but if she stuck with Phoenix they were a faceless pair. She let out a slight breath, "Can I stay with you instead?"
"Of course, darling." Phoenix nodded a bit, kissing her once again before continuing up front. Quickly he explained the situation, and what he assumed was wrong with the car to the mechanic, and they were headed outside to go take a look. When Phoenix popped the hood of the car open, the man glanced over it with a soft sigh. "Yeah, I think you're gonna need to leave it here over night. I've got a couple things stacked up, and doubt I'll even get much of a chance to look over it. I wanna make sure I give it a good look, and not just guess."
Cicada stuck next to Phoenix keeping her head low. She bit her lip worryingly when she heard that it would have to stay here overnight. Even more so when she thought she spotted one of her exes friends on the phone with someone. Fuck, she really hoped it was just her mind playing tricks.
