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crime
13th
Jun 2018
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the-easy-lay:

Sparks Fly

Chapter 5: Drive My Car

“I got another parking ticket today,” Brian said fretfully. “Can any of you give me a ride to school tomorrow?”

“Again? That’s the fourth one this year, Bri,” John said between mouthfuls of clam chowder.

“I left the car there and ran into the library to return some books. I was just gone for five minutes! And the street was deserted, for God’s sake. Anyway, they towed it away and now I’m deprived of transportation.”

“Maybe the meter maid has got a crush on you, and is looking for excuses to tow your heart away,” Roger teased and inwardly grinned at his cleverness. He loved songs about cars in general. No one at the table seemed to see the humor in it, though. Freddie rolled his eyes and whispered to him, “You’re one to talk.” John almost choked on his chowder.

Brian was also unamused. “I’m serious, guys. Can you lend me your car or give me a ride? Public transportation is rather inconvenient, they’ll recognize me and it will be such a scene.”

John shook his head. “Sorry, I’m seeing Veronica in the morning.”

“And my car has a broken, uh, carburetor, right! So you can’t take mine either,” Freddie said quickly, then added, “On the other hand, Rog has a perfectly functioning car that is his second-most adored thing in the world.”

“I wonder what’s in first place,” John said under his breath, but it didn’t escape Roger’s ears, and he kicked John in the shins under the dining table.

“That’s great! Will you let me borrow your car, Roger? Just for the morning. If you’re not busy, of course.”

Freddie smiled mischievously, “He also happens to be available in the morning, isn’t he? Why don’t you drive Brian, dear?”

“I thought I had to do the hoovering around the house tomorrow? And the dishes,” Roger objected.

“No, darling, fortunately you are relieved of your housework duties for tomorrow. Deaky will cover for you. What a convenient arrangement.”

“Wait, isn’t he seeing Veronica?” Brian questioned.

“Veronica will understand,” John said reassuringly, but Roger was fairly sure that he would be spending the entire morning laughing with Freddie and waiting until he came back to tease him about the private moments he had with Brian during the ride.

“Still, I can’t put Roger through so much trouble. Really, Rog, you can just stay at home and sleep. I promise I’ll be careful with your car, and it’s just for the morning, I’ll be back before lunch.”

Roger nodded, and the conversation was settled for five minutes as they all took large bites of pizza (vegetarian for Brian, extra cheesy for the others) and large sips of coke (Brian settled for still water). Then Freddie wiped his mouth with a napkin and brought it up again. “Come to think of it, Roger does have to run some errands tomorrow. He’ll have to get out of the house anyway.”

“What errands?” Roger asked warily, wondering what kind of excuses his pals will make up to set him up with Brian for what, a half-hour ride?

“Well, uhm, you can always come pick up our stage outfits at the dry-cleaner’s! It happens to be rather near Imperial, I think.”

“Oh yes, go grocery shopping and pick up some cheese and bread, will you?” John chimed in. “For breakfast, you know. Cheese on toast. Classic.”

“Well I can do it on my way ba-“

“Hush, Brian. It’s not your job. You will do it, won’t you, Roger?”

“Fine,” he relented. “Fine.” Brian smiled at him from across the table, and he accidentally smudged ketchup all over his cheek as the slice of pizza missed his mouth.


Roger was up at 6 sharp, which was too early an hour for him to function, but today he had to. He hastily brushed his teeth, get dressed and went into the kitchen. The cold morning air greeted him, and he felt very compelled to come back to the comfy single bed in his room. Brian was at the stove, frying vegan pancakes and humming a jolly little tune that Roger failed to recognize as he poured himself a cup of black coffee. He briefly considered adding milk and sugar, but decided against it. The more horrendous the taste, the better it worked to keep him awake.

“Good morning. I must say, it’s been a while since I saw you up this early.”

Roger grunted in response. Back in his college days, he used to skip all lectures that took place before 9 in the morning. “I’d be sleeping anyway,” he had reasoned, “better do it in the comfort of my bed.” Brian had found it very amusing, although there was a hint of disapproval in his smile.

“Want some pancakes?” Brian now slid a plate in front of him and sat down next to him at the table. “New and improved recipe. I’m sure it’s been a while since you last had breakfast.”

“I do have breakfast! Skipping breakfast is not good at all. I’m aware of the consequences,” Roger said defensively.

“By definition, though, breakfast should be before 10. After that it’s called brunch. So you do eat, but it’s not breakfast, it’s brunch.”

“Okay, you win.” Roger poured honey all over his pancakes, while Brian had them plain. “Do you always eat your pancakes like that? Isn’t that boring?”

“Well, it can be better, but we’re out of jam, and I don’t know where to get hold of that grapefruit jam. Seriously, though, how do they know that it’s my favorite?”

“Who?” mumbled Roger.

“My secret admirer. I don’t know anything about them. I reckon they’re lovely, though. I wish I could return the affection, or at least the favor.”

“You don’t have to. You deserve it. And you don’t even know who they are,” he reminded Brian. This was definitely among the weirdest things he had ever done, he realized, discussing his anonymous declarations of love with the recipient of said affection. Weird didn’t even begin to cover it. It was awkward and thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

“They know so much about me. These things are not exactly public knowledge, are they?” Brian was persistent. “Maybe if I looked closely enough, I might find some clues as to who they are.”

There was no doubt about that, Brian was one of the smartest people he had ever known. There were certainly many clues, many traces he had not thought of erasing. He swallowed the panic rising in his throat, “Yeah, but maybe it’s better not to. They want to stay anonymous for now. Maybe… they need some more time. And they’ll reveal themselves when they’re ready.”

Brian looked at him. “You really think so?”

“Just… stop wondering and finish your pancakes, Bri. You’ll be late.”


The drive took a bit longer than expected because of heavy traffic. Brian busied himself with the morning newspaper, while Roger busied himself with ideas for the next love note. They didn’t talk much, but the silence was comfortable. Roger knew Brian appreciated it as much as he did.

After dropping Brian off at the university, Roger headed to the confectionery shop he had visited a while ago to get more grapefruit jam. Then he went for a drive around his old neighborhood during their Smile days, until it was time to come back to pick Brian up.

When they got home they were welcomed by the sight of John and Freddie lounging on the couch with stupid grins on their faces. The house was not vacuumed, the dirty dishes were still piled up in the sink. “You slacked off,” Roger said in an accusing tone.

“Hello to you, too. Oh, where’s my cheese?”

“Yes, where are the clothes, Rog? What have you been doing?”

“The clothes are still being ironed, and the store is out of stock,” Roger replied sweetly, unfazed. “Sorry, folks.”

“But he found where the grapefruit jam is sold! He’s fantastic,” Brian interjected brightly. “Look! He got me like eight jars. Good stuff.” He then proceeded to the kitchen to put the jars on the top shelf of the cupboard, which was out of everyone’s reach but himself, all the while humming the happy tune that Roger still failed to recognize.

“Productive morning, huh?” Freddie smirked. “No need to thank us, dear. You know what, you’re exempted from your household duties until Brian gets his car back, and we’ve still got plenty of errands for you to run.”


In the following days, Freddie and John made sure to come up with excuses to send Roger out of the house every time Brian had to go to school. However, waking up early was just a once-in-a-while thing for Roger to accomplish. He would come into the kitchen in his pajamas and chewed on his pancakes drowsily as Brian consumed alarming amounts of sugary jam. Brian always offered to drive out of safety concerns (“Living is easy with eyes closed, but driving isn’t, Rog.”) and Roger would fall asleep in the front seat with his face pressed against the cool glass. Then he’d find a space to park the car and went back to sleep until Brian returned.


Roger woke up to the sound of knocking outside his door. His head was pounding, maybe it was because the knocking had been going on for so long that he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Freddie never bothered to knock, John would just knock once out of faux politeness and come in anyway, so that could only be one person.

“Good lord, just come in,” he called out. He wondered why Brian wanted to see him at this time. Brian got his car back yesterday, there was no need for Roger to be his chauffeur anymore.

Brian immediately opened the door and entered, a black silhouette in the darkness beside the bed. “Rog, look at this.” He pressed a piece of paper to Roger’s face. It was all blurry, though, and Roger’s brain was frozen - the knocking was still echoing inside.

“W-wait. What. What time is it. What’s this. Bri, I can’t see.”

“Half past six. And it’s a parking ticket. Look!” Brian said impatiently.

Something about the parking ticket sounded familiar. “Good lord. Another?”

“No, it’s not. Not a real one. I don’t know. Take a look, please.”

Roger blinked and sat up dazedly, pushing the sheets aside. Only then did it hit him. Oh God, he had forgotten all about this, the reason why he had sneaked out of the house at one o’clock the previous night. It was a regular parking ticket which was addressed to “Penguin” and said, “Baby you can drive my car, and maybe you’ll love me.” The handwriting, of course, wasn’t Roger’s, it belonged to the meter maid he had seen near Imperial one day when he was waiting for Brian, whom he had asked for a ticket to write his note on. She was rather impressed at his creativity and happily wrote the note for him.

“This was stuck on the windshield,” Brian explained. “Maybe it really is the meter maid.”

Roger stifled a yawn. “Maybe. I don’t care. It’s too early for this.”

Brian’s face fell. “Gosh, you’re right. Sorry for waking you. I was just so excited. Uhm, I’d better get going. Get back to sleep, then.”

Roger rolled over and pressed his face to the pillow, not bothering to reply. Brian exited and closed the door softly. However, he couldn’t go back to sleep. He was now wide awake, realizing that he actually preferred to sleep in the front seat of his car with Brian by his side.

Comments: Gotta love scheming Fred&Deaks! This chapter is my favourite so far - Brian remains oblivious, but adorably so, Roger gets too little sleep, and John and Freddie are too clever and funny for their own good. The story’s really taking shape now, and this part is sweet enough to give you a toothache!

1 week ago  &  10 notes
#fic #author: the-easy-lay #maylor #series: sparks fly #humour #<5k #pre-fame #wooing #sharing a flat #relationship: get together #roger: pining