#rufo: road trip part 1

[spooky-raccoon]

Road Trip (Part 1)

Rufo x Female Reader

Part 1 to Road Trip

Tag List: @trig-loves-clowning-around @rottenhearts-and-sharpteeth

          After double checking my list and making sure everything was in place in the car, I was finally able to officially start my vacation.  I had been working my butt off to earn enough vacation time to properly enjoy the trip, so it felt good to finally sit down in the driver seat of my car.  With a wave to a friend who was watching my cat I set on out to see the sights I had planned out.  Town signs passed one after another and then finally state signs as I headed out west. I had been planning on camping in a few national state parks and get some photographs with my new camera that barely got any use these days. Poor thing had been so dusty when I pulled it out to get ready for the trip.  

         However, I guess things don’t always go as planned.  Definitely not according to plan.

          I had wrapped up my campsite at the first of many state parks and decided to take a few last pictures before I drove off. The morning was crisp but once the sun had started to come up the woods came to life with different creatures.  I even had a deer come up to me as I was putting my things away.  After giving it a carrot from the cooler and watching it run off I took off out of the park to head to my next destination on my list.  

         My car dinged a few times, letting me know it needed gas soon or it would leave me stranded at the side of the road.  Thankfully, I had found a gas station nearby that was just off the highway and nested in a grove of trees.  I pulled up to an available pump with my windows down and my Motown playlist playing from my speakers.  It wasn’t too loud, but others could definitely hear it. I looked around to see who else was around in this middle of nowhere.  There was a family sitting outside at the little fast food place attached to the gas station near an RV I guessed was theirs.  A few people at the pumps filling up their cars as well. Finally, against the wall of the building was a man with wavy black hair in a dark brown leather trench coat who had been watching the family until me.  He had looked over to see who the new person at the station was, his head tilting a little with a confused expression.

          I tried to pay him no mind as I turned off my car and went inside, having to walk past him.  I had met his gaze and nearly stopped in my tracks when I saw his face but made myself go inside instead.  As I browsed the snacks I kept thinking about his ice blue colored eyes and his sharp looking jaw that was framed by his curly hair.  He looked so serious yet something solemn was deep in his eyes.  I shook my head as I grabbed a few snacks and a cold drink, also paying to fill up my tank.  The door opened just as I was approaching it.  My hand had gone out to open it, but I could see that the man was keeping it open for me with other arm in a gesture toward my vehicle.  There was even a slight bow in his posture.  I gave him a small smile and a thank you before making my way to the car.

          I leaned against the side of the car as I pumped the gas after putting my snacks and drinks away, humming absentmindedly to the last song I had been listening to.  I was even tapping my fingers a little and I probably would have started bobbing side to side if I didn’t remind myself that I was at a gas station with people still around.  I was sort of lost in my own bubble and I hadn’t noticed that the man and I were the only two people left in the lot.  Or that he had decided to come up to me.

          “Forgive me if I’m wrong but was that Bobby Darin you were listening to when you pulled up?”  A pleasantly soothing voice came from my right and I turned to see the tall man leaning against the side of my car on the hood just a few feet from me, a soft smile toying at the corner of his mouth.  He looked the epitome of charming but there was still something off about him I couldn’t quite put my finger on.  “I haven’t heard anyone listen to Bobby Darin in a while, especially someone of your age.”

          “I love Bobby Darin and a lot of the old timey fellas. Especially Frank Sinatra.  He’s my favorite.”  I couldn’t help but to chuckle at his phrasing.  He didn’t look too old, maybe close to his early to mid-thirties.  “I’m (Y/N) by the way.  Nice to meet you.”

          “The name is Rufo. A pleasure to meet you, (Y/N). Not often I meet someone with good taste in music these days.  Frank’s also a personal of mine.”  He gave a small bow as he introduced himself which I chuckled a little at.  “I was curious if you would help a stranger out just a little bit.  Car broke done quite a way and wouldn’t get it back for some time which puts me in a pickle as I need to get to a job.  I need a ride and the old hitchhiking thumb hasn’t gotten me too far. I have money for gas, food, and hotels for along the way if it comes to having to stay at one.  I need to head pretty far out so if you can’t take me but a couple miles at the most I’d still be grateful.”

          I was a little surprised at the request, my brows raising a little and I couldn’t help but to jump a little when the pump finished as it made a ding along with a loud thud.  I always heard about nightmare stories of hitch hikers turning out to be some sort of crazed murderer but the man beside me didn’t give me any sort of odd vibe.  I put the pump back in its holster and I looked back to Rufo, a smile growing on my own face which only made his grow wider as if he already knew the answer.  The company would be nice to have, and he seemed friendly enough.  Besides, I kept myself protected and had a couple knives and my tire iron just in case.

          “No, no, that would be fine.  It’d be nice to have a passenger along my little road trip. I’m heading pretty far out west too, but I should warn you I’m camping at parks as well as some hotels.  I do have an extra sleeping bag if that’s alright with you.”  I gave him a small shrug, “If not, a hotel most of the way is alright.  Especially if we both need to shower.”

          “I haven’t done much camping in ages so that sounds quite nice actually.”  He grinned, large enough to see his perfect teeth that only made his smile ever more perfect itself.  As he did he adjusted himself so now he was standing at his full height.  He still towered over me.  “Let me go grab some stuff for the road and we can get on out of here.”  

          With that he turned to the gas station, going inside with a pep in his step and I could hear him whistling a jaunty tune. I settled back in the car to get it started and turning down the music in case Rufo wanted to talk during the drive but still listen.  He came back out after a little bit with a plastic bag that I could tell had a few snacks and some drinks.  We put some of the drinks in the cooler and he got cozy in the passenger seat next to me.

           Once he was buckled up I took off back down the road and getting onto the highway.  It didn’t take me long to explain my little ternary and I even showed him the plans in the notebook I had made for the trip so he could take a look over it.  As we chatted back and forth about some of the sights on the map I had marked I couldn’t help but think some questions to myself mentally. As Rufo got to talking more and more about some places he had experience with I couldn’t help but let my mind wonder now and again.  I shouldn’t have let my guard down, but I couldn’t help but curious about this man when he would get so enthusiastic about somewhere with that smile beaming on his face and with the way his eyes lit up.  There were things I really wanted to ask but I thought it would be rude, at least for now.  Maybe later in a few days on the trip I could ask him. There was such a strange air about him, but that only made that curious feeling worse.

           As I was asking myself a few questions about this man and this little adventure I was now starting myself on, but I never thought to ask myself:

           Knowing of what was to come, would I have still said yes?

[spooky-raccoon]

Road Trip (Part 6)

Rufo x Female Reader

Part 6 to Road Trip

Tag List: @rottenhearts-and-sharpteeth @trig-loves-clowning-around @the-clown-crypt @chii2blog @booklover2929

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         With the tent packed up and everything back into the car we finally made it to the Midwest.  We stopped in a small town for some lunch and to fill up the tank once more. Rufo had gone inside to pay for the gas and probably grab something to drink.  He was gone for a longer than usual, but we had been driving for a bit already and perhaps he needed a pit stop then make sure his legs were properly ready to go. However, when he came out he looked like he was in a hurry.  There was a mixture of annoyance and anger on his face as he approached me and the car. I went to ask him if everything was alright, but he just came around to me and grabbed me by the arm so he could drag me around the car.  Despite my protest and questioning he shoved me almost a little too roughly into the passenger seat then hurried himself into the driver seat.  He peeled out of the gas station and went off an exit that was making us go in a completely different direction.

        “Rufo!  What the hell is going on!?”  I finally managed to get the seat belt on me, clearly frustrated from his behavior.    We were heading a completely different way than planned which only spiked my confusion. That’s when I noticed something red on the spot of my arm he had grabbed me that had bled into my shirt.  It was wet and smelled irony like blood.  “Rufo.  What’s going on?”  My voice dropped and I looked to him.  I saw his hands covered in blood along the front of his shirt.  “What the fuck!?”

         “Ah, language doll.”  He held up a hand with a finger pointed up to silence me.  “And calm down.  Be thankful it’s not yours and the bastard deserved it anyways.”

         He looked calm, as if nothing was wrong, as if he wasn’t covered in someone else’s blood.  I pushed myself back into the far corner of my seat as I looked on at him. The thought of dialing 9-1-1 came to mind but what if he went after me next?  I was in easy reach of him and I didn’t know what he was capable of doing. That’s when he looked over at me. Something looked wrong with his skin. As if it didn’t fit too right like it had before.

         “Calm down.  I ain’t gonna kill ya.  I killed the bastard to protect us.”  He looked back ahead, wiping his bloody hands on a spot of his pants that didn’t have blood. “Had one of Crowley’s cards.  Saw it as I walked by and while he was taking his phone out to dial him.  Kept looking right at me as he fumbled with his phone.  Thankfully the clerk didn’t notice as I dragged the guy to the back to give him, well, a talk so to speak.”

         My heart was thudding in my chest and words were hard to find.  Maybe Crowley had been right.  Rufo was so calm about murdering someone, it was clear he had done it before.  Or maybe just aftershock of the first time? Or if he had before just how many times had he done it before?  I didn’t ask to find out.  I just stayed quiet in my seat and so did he.  Even when one of his favorite songs came on.

         “That wasn’t your first kill, was it?”  I finally spoke and my voice cracked a little at the end.  I could see Rufo shaking his head out of the corner of my eye.

        “Part of my job doll.  Get rid of the problems and any that pop up along the way.  Tie up loose ends that come up and would cause a lot more issues for me to fix later on.”  He glanced at me from the side of his eye.  “I can explain better when there’s no chance of anyone overhearing.”

        All I could do was nod.  I didn’t have anything else to say so I sat there.  Even when we passed by a state trooper I just sat there.  I didn’t particularly want to join in the body count and some morbid part of me was curious in his reasoning.  It was a few hours later when we found ourselves in a small town of less than a thousand people.  There wasn’t much too it but a few diners, a lot of antique stores and a single motel that we checked into without a worry.  Rufo had carried the bags in and I found myself sitting on one of the beds closets to the door.  With the bags set by their respective bed he turned to face me, taking off his jacket.

        “Who are you?”  I finally met his eyes.  Those stunningly icy blue eyes that still sent a shiver through my spine.  Even more so now than ever.

        “Still Rufo.”  He slipped his hands in his pockets as he spoke.  “Rufo the Clown to be more specific.  Though, I don’t always look like this.”  One hand gestured to his almost normal looking body and he chuckled as my brow raised.  “Guess I should show what I mean.”

         Before my eyes Rufo was starting the change. His skin was growing paler and paler by the second until he was titanium white.  His body hair and the hair on his head bled into a bright blue that popped against his skin.  My brow furrowed as I backed up on the bed, my heart pounding as the man before me grabbed his face with both hands.  With one fluid sweep he ripped his face clean off to reveal another right underneath.  I felt the scream bubbling in my throat as I looked this new face over.  Titanium white like the rest of his body.  Blue triangles above and below his eyes that looked like they were etched right into his skin.  And indeed, they had been as I noticed the cuts that extended past the corners.  Big red lips were over his mouth that pointed upward at the end, being topped with a red dot on each end.  On the tip of his nose sat a black dot to tie the whole look together.

       “What the fuck.”  Was all I could mutter out.  I kept whispering it under my breath as I couldn’t take my eyes away from the clown who stood before me.  “What the ever-loving fuck!?”

        “Language doll face.”  He held up a finger and I shut my mouth, nodding which made him smile. “Rufo the Clown.  Full time clown and problem solver.”  He slipped his hands back into his pockets as he paced the room.  “I was truthful when I said I’m the way to job out west.  Crowley just happened to get in the way.”

         “Is…is he like you?”  I finally managed to pipe up a few words and he tossed his head back in a laugh.

         “We’re both far from human.  I at least started out as human.  Crowley is a hunter of sorts.”  He turned to look at me.  “Far more dangerous than me and that’s saying a lot.  He’s not one to mess with.  It’s a lot of fun though if I gotta admit.”  Rufo cracked a smile and seeing it on his clown face sent my heart skipping a few beats. “He doesn’t want me getting to where I need to go but he’s keeping his distance it seems.”  There was a pondering look on his face, almost like a frown as he got deep into a thought.  He snapped his finger suddenly and made me jump.  “That’s it.”

        “What’s it, Rufo?”  I should be bolting out the door.  I should have been running to the police station we had driven past that wasn’t too far away.  But no, here I sat as I asked questions.

         “He’s not one for killing innocent bystanders if he can help it.  Even when he gets a little on the mad side.  He loves a good fight but only to those he’s after.  It’s you.”  He pointed at me as he got closer.  “He’s waiting until you’re out of the picture.”  Rufo walked around the small room as he laughed but then suddenly stopped in his tracks.  He turned to face me, holding his hands out to the side in a gesture.  “Wanna keep going out west with me (Y/N)?  Can still see all the sights you wanna see.  We can take all the time in the world.  I can understand if you don’t want to travel with a clown like me.”  He came up to me with his hands on resting on the bed on either side of me, leaning toward me.  “Whatcha say (Y/N)?  Keep enjoying the vacation and I’ll make sure you get back home safe and sound with Old Rufo?”

        He looked almost excited, but he was trying to hide it with a wide, smooth smile.  I could feel a headache starting as I was trying to take everything in, and I scooted back further on the bed.  His smile faltered for a moment when I moved but he tilted his head to the side as if to distract me from the slight quiver of his lip corner.

       “You aren’t going to kill me?  After telling me all this?  After showing me what you actually look like?”  The thought about running for the door came back to mind. I had been having fun though.  It had been so long since I had a lot of fun, especially with someone else.  But the thought of being murdered made the police station look rather tempting.

        “I already said I wasn’t goin to doll.  I would have killed you when we were all alone in that gas station when I first met you.  You piqued my curiosity though, especially when I saw a young thing like you blasting out some good old Bobby Darin.”  He shook his head and he stood back up.  “And I’m a man of my word.  I won’t kill you and I’ll make sure you get back home safe and sound after I get the job done.”

         “I… We should get some rest.  It’s been a long day for the both of us.”  I couldn’t meet his gaze as I slipped off the bed, going to my bag to grab some clothes to change into.  “I’m going to take a quick shower.”  My words were rushed as I went to the bathroom.

        I did make the shower quick but every second was filled with racing thoughts.  Maybe when he’s asleep I’ll go.  I could easily sneak my stuff out and take off.  But what if Crowley came after me since I knew about Rufo?  What if Rufo got so angry that he tracked me down for running off?  If Crowley was anything like Rufo, or worse, I couldn’t defend myself.  And I had been having fun with Rufo if I was being honest with myself.  He had even comforted me when my anxiety spiked during the storm.  Maybe he wasn’t all bad?  We could still have fun and he did say he would make sure I got back home safely.  Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad?  

        I left the bathroom with a slightly clearer mind, dressed in my sweatpants and a t shirt.  Rufo was still in his clown appearance, propped up on his bed with his pillows while flipping through the channel.  He didn’t pay me too much mind as I climbed into my bed.  He was still watching reruns of Cops when I fell asleep, curled up under the sheets.  I could only hope for a smoother day tomorrow.