Work Text:
“the scooby gang”
mom: GUYS WHERES ITEY
Itey, in fact, was looking for his friends in the Super America they had just been in. The group had stopped for snacks and gas, and Itey decided to stretch his legs and fill up his water bottle. Unknowingly, they had left without him while he was filling his water bottle, leaving him to fend for himself with a dead phone in the middle of Iowa.
“God, I fucking hate Iowa,” he murmured to himself, pacing the aisles, “I’m from New York City. Fucking New York City! You hear tons of shit about NYC, but none about Iowa. I wonder why. Oh, I know! It’s because Iowa shouldn’t even exist! Iowa is a fucking mistake disguised by the classic ‘midwest’ vibes. I fucking hate Iowa. I would say Iowa could go to hell, but it already is hell.”
“Iowa really ain’t that bad,” The gas station attendant said. Itey flushed considerably, but attempted to laugh it off.
“You sure? Because I’ve only been here for an hour and I already loathe it here,” Itey laughed out, trying not to offend the attendant. He used that as an opportunity to get a good look at him, and was taken aback by how cute he was for someone living in the middle of nowhere.
“You just move here?” He asked.
“Nah, I’m just passing through. I’m from-” Itey was cut off by the attendant.
“New York City. Fucking New York City! I’ve heard tons of shit about New York City,” the attendant light heartedly mocked, fashing Itey a smile, “‘m James. But you can call me Snitch,” He -Snitch- said. Snitch stuck out his hand, which Itey took.
“Ian, but preferably Itey,” Itey responded calmly.
“So, did your friends just abandon you here? Or are you alone,” Snitch asked, trying to help Itey’s situation.
“Why would you assume my friends abandoned me?” Itey retorted, raising one eyebrow. He could’ve sworn that Snitch blushed slightly.
“Cause no one paces around in a near deserted Super America talkin’ ‘bout how much they hate Iowa unless their friends abandoned them in the Super America,” He replied smoothly.
“Yeah, they left without me. Not sure if they’ve noticed yet, though,” Itey said, almost sadly.
“Can you text them or anything?” Snitch suggested.
“My phone’s dead, Snitch,” Itey stated as if it was obvious.
“You wanna use mine? Or, y’know, I could just sneak you a charger, on the house,” He finished with a wink.
“A charger would be nice, thanks,” He said, almost awkwardly. Itey waited as Snitch wandered off to the other end of the store until he came back with a phone charger.
“‘S a few outlets under the desk, Ites, if you wanna use those,” Snitch said.
“Thanks. And don’t call me Ites, Snitchy,” Itey fired back.
“What’d ya do to get stuck with a name like Itey in the first place, anyways? At least my name makes a lil’ bit of sense,” He asked innocently.
“I wish I knew, Snitch,” The boy admitted, gazing wistfully off into the distance. A moment passed, then both boys burst out with laughter.
“Let me know if you need a ride or something. My shift ends in about fifteen minutes,” Snitch offered, trying to flirt with the cute out of towner.
“Yeah. Sure. Thanks, Snitch,” Itey said, noticing that his phone was turning on. He quickly opened it to the groupchat after seeing too many notifications for his liking. He texted a quick reply, stating that he was alive and that the group didn’t need to turn around for him, and that he could catch up eventually, “Can I, uh, can I take you up on that ride offer?” He asked.
“Yeah. Where to?” Snitch replied.
“Saint Paul? Minnesota?” Itey stated like a question. Snitch glanced at the calendar that was hanging on the wall.
“I guess I could afford to take a day or two off. Family owns this place, and there’s no way in hell I could get fired. I have tried and failed many times,” He responded.
“The tell me, Snitch, about the many times you tried and failed to get fired so these-” Itey glanced at the clock on the wall “-twelve and a half minutes go by faster.” Snitch took a deep breath and began.
Exactly thirteen minutes later, Snitch had locked up, and the pair were walking out to Snitch’s beat up old truck.
“Ain’t she a beauty?” Snitch asked sarcastically, putting on a horrible southern accent, “A 1966 Ford pickup. Vintage. Fixed ‘er up myself so I could pick up fine gents like yall,” He laughed out, Itey joining him.
“Did you actually fix it up?” Itey asked innocently.
“Yeah. And it’s she, not it. Her name’s Donna and she can be a real bitch sometimes, but she’s worth it,” He said, ditching the accent.
“You named your truck,” The other boy began, his tone somewhat accusatory, “And you named it Donna, of all things.”
“She, not it. And her name’s Ma donna, but I just call her Donna ‘cause it’s shorter,” Snitch defended.
“I can’t believe you midwesterners,” Itey complained, but with a smile on his face.
“Do you want the ride or do you just want to complain about my lifestyle, Ites?” Snitch questioned, climbing into the truck. Itey went to protest the nickname, but decided against it and climbed into the truck alongside Snitch, and the two began their journey.
After about half an hour, Snitch and Itey had fallen into a comfortable silence, watching as the roads grew dark. Itey took the time to study the way that Snitch looked while concentrated on the road, his brow furrowed as his head subconsciously bobbed along to the 80s music softly playing from the car radio. Snitch broke the silence suddenly.
“Can we take a detour?” He asked.
“Where?” Itey replied.
“I wanna show you something. ‘S not out of our way or anything, it just might take a while,” Snitch responded.
“My friends won’t care if I’m gone for a few more hours than intended, so show me,” Itey demanded. Snitch pulled over and got out of the truck, but left it running. Itey, somewhat confused and bewildered, followed him.
Itey watched as Snitch uncovered the bed of the truck, revealing a few blankets and pillows that he began to spread out.
“No offense, but what the actual fuck are you doing?” He questioned, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Taking a detour, Ites. Well, I mean, it’s not an actual detour, but it’s a stop for a few hours. I figured, uh, since you were from the city, you ain’t seen stars the way they are out here, so I thought we could just stargaze for a bit,” Snitch said, somewhat embarrassed. It was dark, and he was hiding his face slightly, but Itey could’ve sworn he was blushing. Itey blushed slightly, too.
“Thanks, Snitch. I like you, y’know. You thought about me enough to stop for a few hours just so I could see the stars? That’s probably one of the most thoughtful things anyone’s done for me,” He admitted, certain that both of them were blushing. Snitch, now done laying out the blankets, climbed into and stretched out across the blankets, patting the space next to him for the other boy.
“I like ya too, Itey. Call me crazy, but is there something? Like, between you and me?” Snitch pondered as Itey settled in, resting his head on his chest.
“There could be, if you wanted it,” Itey responded as Snitch wrapped his arm around him.
“I want it, Ites. We’ve known each other for what, two hours? And you’ve already become the most exciting thing in my life. I mean, I’m from a small town in the middle of fucking nowhere where nothing ever happens and I’m the only trans or gay person, and then you come along talking about how much you hate Iowa. This is like something out of a Disney movie. Probably a commercial flop from the early 90s, but a Disney movie altogether,” He rambled.
“I want it too, James. You’re right, this is absolutely like some shitty Disney movie. You’re- I don’t know how to say this- you’re the only one who actually pays attention to me. My friends, the forgot me, which you already know, but even when I’m with them it’s like I’m alone. They’re always so wrapped up in each other that they probably wouldn’t notice if I just stopped talking to them. And then there’s my parents. The drunks who don’t give a flying fuck about me, who also wouldn’t notice if I was gone. I just- I like you, Snitch, a lot, and I’ve never had to do this before, but would you want to go out on a date somewhere? Like once we get to Saint Paul, do you want to get dinner somewhere? Or even a shitty 24/7 McDonalds would be enough for me,” Itey said, “I just don’t want to forget about you. And I don’t want you to forget about me like everyone else.”
“Yeah, the date would be nice,” said Snitch, “And I won’t forget about you. Ever. But for now, let’s just look at the stars.” He started tracing small circles on Itey’s back, the pair lying in an even more comfortable silence for what felt like a perfect eternity.