#rufo: road trip part 2

[spooky-raccoon]

Road Trip (Part 2)

Rufo the Clown x Female Reader

Part 2 to Road Trip

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

           The curves of the roads seemed endless as we traveled through the country and mountainside roads.  It was pretty peaceful. and it was nice to have someone in the passenger seat with me, despite him being a stranger.  He seemed pretty enthusiastic about the music choice as we drove, talking about the various artists once in a while.  He even recommended some that I hadn’t heard yet if a song seemed similar to one that was playing.  I made a mental note of each one he mentioned to give them a look into. Sometimes I even heard him humming along and could see out of the corner of my eye his finger tapping on his knee to the beat.  

           We had decided that we were both pretty hungry and the next diner we saw we would stop at to grab a bite.  It didn’t take long to find one that wasn’t too shady looking which I was thankful for.  It was a small thing and had a fifties feel as we walked in with a large jukebox playing oldies.  Even the waitress was dressed up in a throwback uniform.  Overall, it had a cozy atmosphere which was perfect after our long drive.  The hostess seated us at a booth in the back but made sure we still had a window.  I already had an idea of what I wanted after taking a quick glance through the menu and Rufo didn’t take long to decide on his choice.

           “I’ll be right back doll.  Nature calling and all that jazz.”  Rufo did a quick nod toward the bathroom and I nodded back, putting my attention back to the menu as he got up.

           I must have thought he had come back rather quickly since I could sense and hear someone sitting in the seat across from me. I shut the menu, finally deciding on just a cheeseburger and fries with a shake to top it off.  When I went to give Rufo a greeting and cheesy joke about coming back really quick that’s when I realized it wasn’t him.

           Across from me was a pretty intimidating looking man with short brown hair.  His eyes were brown.  A lot of his outfit was beige and seemed pretty bland except for the round glasses that sat on his face which were a golden color.  He looked as if he popped out of a Sears catalog from the oldie days. He probably looked out of place in a crowd of normal looking folk but here he fit in really well.  My brow raised up in confusion as I looked to the people at other booths behind him to see if perhaps he had come from them and he had just gotten lost.  He didn’t seem to care that he was sitting on Rufo’s jacket though.

           “Ma’am, you and I need to chat a little bit and really quick.”  The man spoke and my attention went back to him.

           “Who on Earth are you and why do we need to talk?” I could see the twitch of annoyance on his face as if I should dare ask why a strange man needed to speak to me, but his smile came back.  To be honest, his smile was more unsettling than anything.  Something challenging and unsettled were at the corners it seemed to tug his lips upward.  Definitely far from sweet and endearing.

         “Jonathan Crowley is the name.  I’m a bit of a bounty hunter of sorts.  I’m here looking for the man that you’re traveling with.”  He didn’t seem to worried at that fact despite my eyes widening.  “He’s a dangerous being who I’ve been hunting around for a very, very long time.  I don’t want you getting mixed up into anything, so I need you to kindly tell me the direction he went in and where he’s going. I doubt he told you why he’s going to where he is going but I’m sure if he did you wouldn’t be alive, cupcake.”

          I blinked a few times in surprise.  I didn’t really expect a strange man to sit down at my booth but then again I didn’t expect an attractive man to ask me if he could hitchhike out west. Either way, I wasn’t going to budge on telling where Rufo was.

          “Listen, I don’t know who you are and why you need him.  I’m not going to tell you anything, so I suggest you just leave me be.”  I leaned back onto the table, my hand going around the glass of water to sip at. There was another hint of annoyance on his face.

         “If that’s how it is.”  Crowley pulled out a business card and something odd happened.  I couldn’t tell the strange feeling that swept over me as I took the card without my own accord.  “If anything happens out of the ordinary in anyway, just give me a call at any time.  I’ll always pick up.”  

          I flipped the card over a few times to read what was on either side as Crowley got up from the seat and moved with such ease through the small, packed diner to outside.  Something in me tucked it in my purse instead of tossing it in a nearby garbage can. Maybe I would give him a call just in case.  It couldn’t hurt.  As he said, just in case.  After all I had just met Rufo, but I didn’t want to downright call him an evil person or someone who had done horrible things.  I didn’t know the guy well enough to put that sort of judgment on him. For all I know the bounty could have been for something silly that he was going to work on settling after this job.

         My thoughts were broken when Rufo himself came strolling back to the booth.  His sleeves were now rolled up and I had to take my eyes away for a brief moment before I started to blush.  He had looked to his trench coat that had been resting at the side of the booth as if he realized it had moved when the other man had taken a seat.  The corner of his lip twitched, and he looked back to the menu, shutting it shortly after once he made his choice.  There wasn’t much chit chat between the two of us during the meal.  He would look around if someone behind us had made too much noise or if there was some sort of silence.  There was something on his mind and I didn’t feel like prying too much into it.  When it came time to leave he insisted on paying the tab, his wide and perfect grin on his face as he shooed away my hand that had my card.  I at least tossed a few bills on the table for the tip just before we got up and left. He offered to drive the rest of the way to the park we would stay at and despite the strange man who had sat down in the booth with me telling me that Rufo was dangerous, the tiredness in me agreed. Once we were back into the car we took off down the highway.

         It was nice being the passenger and things seemed to relax with Rufo as he got to drive, letting his mind wonder about the road ahead of him. He still hummed along to the music and would once in a while switch out the CD’s, asking it was alright with me each time.  I still couldn’t wrap my head around him being dangerous with how polite he was being, even if it was just a CD change.  He did drive like an old granny I noticed but that was it.

          A few hours passed and I noticed he was glancing in the mirrors more often.  I couldn’t help but look back as well just to see if there was maybe someone riding my trunk. They weren’t riding the trunk, but they were a bit closer than I would have liked.  It was a Thunderbird.  An older one from what I could tell.  I could see the look of annoyance grow more and more prominent on Rufo’s face.  I settled back into my seat, but I turned my head to him.

           “Everything alright, Rufo?”  My brow raised as I finally decided to ask and maybe see what was going on.

          “Just dandy.  Don’t worry about it doll.  Just hold on.”  I was confused until he slammed his foot on the gas pedal of my car and it roared as it went to match the speed he wanted.

          “Rufo!  What the hell are you doing?”  I grabbed onto the trusty oh-shit-handle and the side of my seat.  I shot him a glare and there was his own glare on his face. Something determined and fierce that sent a shiver down my spine. 

           “One.  Watch your language doll.  Two.  I’m finally getting closer to my next job after a week of trying and that old man thinks he can just barge in while I’m working.” He muttered under his breath, shaking his head.  “Just give me a couple minutes and we’ll be back to smooth sailing.  Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”  He turned his head to give me a smile, but something seemed off.  Something didn’t sit right on his face and I couldn’t tell what.  Maybe it was his eyes as they looked brighter than they had before though that could have just been the sun light.

         He was right though.  It didn’t take too long to lose the car behind us, and I was thankful that no state troopers were patrolling the area as we were going well over a hundred miles an hour.  I let out a sigh of relief when he got back to his old granny way of driving and finally let go of the handle.

         “Sorry doll, but we’re not gonna stop at a campsite tonight.  Just feel safer for the both of us if we stayed in hotel instead.”  He finally spoke after a bit and I couldn’t help but agree with him.  The man had given me an odd feeling when he had spoken to me at the diner and it didn’t help that he had been following behind the car.  I nodded and a gentle smile was on Rufo’s lips, pleased that I agreed with him.  “Make sure it’s a nice cozy one.  Don’t you worry.”

          It was getting close to ten at night and I could feel the exhaustion from the drive getting to me.  I was thankful when we finally pulled up into a hotel.  There were a couple and Rufo picked the best looking one.  It didn’t take long for us to get into our room and settled in for the night.  I had to break my eyes away from when he came out of the bathroom after he had changed. He had only put on a pair of sleep pants, leaving his torso bare.  He was pretty hairy and rather toned for his frame.  I could feel my cheeks starting to blush as I made myself look away though before I did I caught a glimpse of a slight smirk on his face in the mirror that hung over the basic hotel desk.  I focused on just getting to sleep for the night.  It felt good to be in my pajamas and in my own large bed.  He looked pretty relaxed too in his bed next to mine and soon he was snoring with his arm draped over his face.  It didn’t take too long for me to follow suit, the worries of the day melting away.