It's Us Crew Oneshots

Dusty Night (Part Two)

"Sh*t," groaned Dick as the fuel gauge flashed a warning light for empty. He spotted a dirt road curving off to the side and pulled over. DDawn, who was the only one other than the driver that was awake, sat up as the man in front of him turned the ignition off. The scientist shoved the papers in his hands into the pocket on the back of the driver's seat.

"Pourquoi as-tu arrêté?" inquired DDawn. "Ne devrions-nous pas conduire pour trouver une station d'essence? Ou au moins aussi proche que possible de Hardlanding?"

Dick opened the car door and turned around furiously towards the French man behind him. "I don't understand what you're saying," he hissed, making DDawn scowl at his rude tone, "so shut up." He gestured to Dashlie. "Wake her up, will you?"

DDawn shook Dashlie awake, muttering to himself as Dick stepped out the car, "Écume américaine..." The woman yawned awake, her red eyes glistening with confusion at seeing they had yet to arrive at their destination. She looked out at Dick, seeing his silhouette lit up by the streetlights behind them.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily, leaning forward and speaking up so her friend outside could hear her. She watched as Dick's shadow stalked around the saloon before stopping in front of the car and sighing.

"We're about out of gas," he explained, Dashlie having to strain her ears to hear him him properly. "There's no spare gallon in the trunk, either." The woman sat back as Dick approached his open car door and sat down in his seat, his breath visible in the air as he sighed and shook his head. "So, we either drive until the car breaks down and we walk, or we wait here until sunrise and someone comes along to help us out."

DDawn grumbled to himself and sunk down in his seat, and Dashlie sat up, alarmed by what Dick had just suggested. "We can't wait until sunrise!" she cried, making Don flinch awake. "It'll be way too late and everyone we know and love will be dead! There will be no sunrise, you got that? So, I say someone can switch with you if you're tired of driving, or you can shut that door, turn us around, and head back up the road!"

Don rubbed his eyes as he watched the back-and-fourth between Dick and Dashlie. Dick scowled at the woman in the backseat. "Since when are you in charge, brat?" he hissed. Dashlie have a sarcastic chuckle and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?" she said. "You're asking me that? The emotionally-stunted manchild is seriously saying that to my face right now?"

The younger man in the passenger seat chuckled quietly to himself as he stretched, making the other two glance at him. "Oh, well look who's arguing now," he said. Dick and Dashlie stared at him for a while longer before Dashlie slammed Don's head into the dashboard, silencing the young man's amusement and making him recoil in pain.

"I don't need you bossing me around. You're acting like you're suddenly the president of the United States," Dick snapped at Dashlie, who rolled her eyes once again. "You can't tell me what I can and can't do."

"Oh, cry me a river," she said, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. "You clearly need to let off some steam, so why don't you go outside for a few minutes and calm down, okay? Then come back so we can finally move on."

The man stared at the woman, malice glowering behind his glasses. Finally, he grabbed the half-empty pack of Marlboro cigarettes out of the sedan's cup holder and ducked out the car. "Fine," Dick hissed at Dashlie through gritted teeth. "But only because I want to, not because you told me to."

The girl scoffed, muttering a sarcastic "Sure" before Dick slammed the car door shut. Dashlie sat back in her seat. "I guess I'll be the one driving since Mister Cranky-Pants is getting tired." She turned to DDawn and explained what happened, making him nod as the white-suited man watched Dick climb onto the roof of the car. Don rubbed his stinging forehead and sighed.

"I'm going to go see what his deal is," murmured the ginger as he opened his door. Dashlie sat up.

"He's probably just tired, Don," she said. "I'd leave him alone, but go ahead."

Don nodded and stepped out of the car, the soft sounds of crickets chirping filling the night air. The wind was a breath of fresh air after having been in that stuffy car for hours. Zipping up his jacket and gazing around at the starry sky, Don noticed a stream of smoke lit by the moonlight come from the person seated on top of the car. Sighing once again, the dark-skinned man walked around the sedan and hefted himself over the trunk of the car, clambering his way up to the hood and taking a seat beside his friend. The two remained in a comfortable silence before Dick spoke up.

"I'm sorry about Dashlie," he said, making Don glance at him. "About the whole... 'sexual feelings' thing. She's got a sick sense of humor."

Don watched as Dick took a drag from his cigarette and jetted smoke out his nose. "It's... fine," Don finally said. He looked up at the sky, and he heard Dick sigh beside him.

"It's not fine," he disagreed with a shake if his head. "She did the same thing to several people, which is why I always kept any romantic feelings I had away from her knowledge. She doesn't even know..."

Dick went silent as he chewed on the tip of his cigarette, and Don glanced at him once more. "She doesn't know what..?" he asked, and for a while, the amber-eyed man was sure his friend wouldn't answer.

"About... her..." Dick finally murmured. Don raised his eyebrows as smoke blew from his friend's mouth.

"And... do you like her..? This mystery woman..?"

The raven-haired man beside Don closed his eyes and gave a soft laugh. "Of course I do..."

"Does she like you back?" Don asked, and Dick's smile faded away as he looked at Don.

"No," he said. Don studied his friend's forlorn face before Dick looked away and laid back, closing his eyes. "But that's just life, I guess..." Nodding, Don observed the laces of his dirt-stained sneakers as silence fell between the two friends again. "What about you, Don?" The aforementioned man looked over his shoulder, grunting confusedly at Dick, who cracked an eye open to look at his friend. "Do you like somebody?"

He smiled softly and turned back, kicking a small pebble off the roof of the car. "Yeah, I do," confessed Don. Dick propped himself up by his elbows and watched the back of his shorter friend.

"Do they like you back?" asked Dick, who gave a feeble attempt at making a ring of smoke.

Don's heart clenched as he looked back at Dick, his expression unreadable. "No."