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Lucy stood outside of the equestrian center, holding her light pink helmet loosely in one hand with her phone in the other. The girl was waiting for Johnny to finish his training for the day, seeing as he was her ride home. While she understood how hard the both of them had to practice for their various competitions.. She believed that he went a bit overboard at times. Lucy figured that there wasn't any point in trying to get him to stop seeing as he never listened.
Suddenly, a small chill went down her spine. Lucy could feel that someone was watching her, which she didn't like. She cautiously looked up from her phone, spotting a tall and rather intimidating man wearing a long, white coat. His blank and unreadable expression was what made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Should she go back inside and get Johnny? Scream? Her heart was beginning to pound as she worked herself up over her assumptions about the man's intentions.
For a while, Lucy and the strange man stared at each other in an awkward yet tense silence. When the man still hadn't made any sort of move, Lucy relaxed her tense stance a little and decided to finally speak up.
"Um… you've been staring at me for a while now. Can.. Can I help you?" She asked, voice sounding a bit nervous and shaky.
The man didn't respond right away, only letting out a small sigh before calmly walking up to Lucy with a hand in his jacket's pocket.
"Do you happen to know a Johnny Joestar?"
Her eyes narrowed a little at the question. It was a simple one, but she didn't know this man. Not to mention, Johnny gets pretty annoyed when strangers just come up to him and start talking.
"...Maybe. What do you need Johnny for?"
"It's concerning Jodio. He's locked up at the Speedwagon Foundation, and he said Johnny's the only one who can pick him up right now."
Lucy sighed and shook her head, looking back down at her cell phone to text Johnny and let him know what was going on. She figured it'd be quicker than calling him.
"Johnny's still practicing on Slow Dancer right now, but he should be finishing up soon. What did Jodio do this time? I hope it wasn't too bad…"
The man's expression darkened a bit as the brim of his… strange hat covered his eyes. That wasn't a good sign.
"Stole an arrow from the facility. He didn't get too far before he was caught, and he went quietly. Big surprise."
While Lucy wasn't too well-versed in the world of stands, she knew enough to know that the arrows were a pretty big deal when it came to them. At least, that's what she gleaned from accidentally hearing Giorno talk about them to Johnny.
"I would ask how he got in but.. it's partly my fault. He was asking me how to apply to volunteer since I get so many things in the mail about it. But… I genuinely thought he was getting better! He's been nicer lately, and less pushy."
Lucy winced upon seeing the little glare the man gave her, but eventually his face relaxed back into that neutral expression he had the entire time they were speaking.
" Good grief . Keep a better eye on that kid. I don't have the time to track down teenagers anymore."
"I try, but it's hard getting him to listen to anyone that isn't his mom."
Lucy smiled apologetically just as Johnny came rushing angrily out the building towards his car, swearing the entire time. The girl waved as she moved out of the way, and she came to a sudden realization as he peeled out of the parking lot with a screech of his tires; She probably should've gone with him. Lucy turned her attention back to Jotaro, lacing her fingers together in front of her.
"So.. um.. should we maybe go with him?" She suggested, tilting her head to the side a little.
"I don't think Jodio's going to spill anything if I'm there. Besides, I trust that Johnny'll tell me everything I need to know later." The man said simply.
"Oh. Well... Johnny was my ride home. We were just about to leave before you got here, actually."
"That's.. an issue," He said, seeming just a bit annoyed by the situation, "But fine. Johnny's my cousin and I vaguely know your father, so I'll stay with you until he gets back." The man concluded as his face relaxed.
"What's your name by the way? You never said." Lucy asked out of genuine curiosity, looking him over a few times. If he were acquainted with the people she was closest with, shouldn't she know of him already too? She felt that she did, and she felt a bit bad for not recognizing him way sooner.
"Jotaro."
Her eyes lit up. Yes, that name was familiar to her! Professor Jotaro Kujo's essays on marine life made a frequent appearance in her science class, seeing as her teacher was a fan. Something about that amused Lucy, but she didn't express that out loud. Instead, she just smiled.
"I'm Lucy. But, I guess you probably figured that out by now."
The grunt she received in response didn't tell her much, but she decided to keep pressing in order to avoid any awkward silence between them before Johnny returned. It was a bit nerve wracking since she wasn't much of a conversationalist herself, but she figured that maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Jotaro didn't seem mean or anything.
"Since you know Steven, do you know anything about the race he's hosting?"
That got Jotaro's attention, as his greenish eyes were fixed on Lucy. While his expression didn't change, he clearly wanted to know more.
"I don't think so. Outside of Johnny's races, I don't keep up with the horse racing world. It's not really my thing."
"This isn't just a simple horse race, Mr. Jotaro!" Lucy exclaimed, "It's supposed to be big! I think even a non racing fan would be interested."
"What's so special about it then?" Jotaro asked skeptically. Lucy cleared her throat, ready to go over the details that she helped Steven decide.
"It's going to start in California, and go all the way to New York. The prize is $50,000,000 and you can race using anything , so long as it's by land! There's all of these backers already too.. it's all so exciting."
Jotaro hummed thoughtfully.
"You know what? I think I heard some of the guys at the Foundation talking about it, actually."
"I'm not surprised. Steven said that they were eager to help fund it too. It surprised me but.. I'd take them over one of our other backers. Funny Valentine .. I've never trusted him. As a politician, you'd think that he'd be too busy for this stuff…"
"Not necessarily. Important people always attend events like these, whether it's to keep up appearances or just for fun."
"I guess… I just wish he didn't have to travel with me, Steven, and everyone else." Lucy shook her head then, looking down at her phone, "Oh! It looks like Johnny's on his way back with Jodio. They're not too far."
"Good grief. If he's already this close, then the kid's definitely speeding." Jotaro said, closing his eyes as he tipped the brim of his white cap down. At that, Lucy clicked her teeth.
"I always tell him to quit speeding…"
When Lucy looked up at Jotaro's face, she could see a slight hint of a smile. By the time she blinked, it was gone. Maybe she was just imagining things… She couldn't dwell on it for long though, as the screeching of tires caught her attention. She looked up to see Johnny's car parked in front of her and Jotaro. In the back seat, she could vaguely see Jodio sitting with his arms folded and a subtle pout upon his lips. He must've been scolded real badly by Johnny on the way here, unsurprisingly.
As she made her way to the car, Lucy was stopped by Jotaro.
"Hey. I'll probably be at the race to keep an extra eye out for things. Knowing my grandpa, he's gonna want to enter and I can't let him."
Lucy nodded at that. While the only age restriction the race had was that participants had to be at least sixteen, she understood the concern. She noticed that danger seemed to follow the Joestars wherever they went.. she had first hand knowledge of that from hanging out with Johnny, Jodio, and Dragona.
"We'll see you there then! I'll see if I can have Steven send you more details later."
With that said, Lucy climbed into the passenger seat of Johnny's car to get dropped off home.