Chapter Text
The busy stretch of the hallway nearly swallows Ekko as he tries to leave the university building. Students going in the opposite direction to their next class, some of them going out to the parking lot all the same. He didn't know what he expected, but he thought he was leaving the loud, crowded hallways in high school. Somehow, it felt worse.
He adjusts his bag strap on his shoulder the best he could with his massive text-books tucked underneath his arm. A folder full of research papers and random notes threatened to fall from his awkward grasp. It only made him more uncomfortable in this stuffed hall, because if it fell, everyone would step on his stuff.
Just make it to the car.
The reassuring sentence he's always repeating in his head when he's going back home. It wasn't actually that bad, he didn't live on campus. Nor did he live with his parents like some students. He had his own apartment, somehow. It was nice, having his own place to unwind at the end of the day. Or a place to study with no interruptions.
Studying and projects took up the majority of his time. Ekko didn't mind, he didn't have much going on anyways. But like any other, he still wanted a break from time to time. That's besides the point right now as he plans to go home and study. Not until after he microwaves himself some cheap coffee.
He finally makes it out of the hallway and into the entryway. The door closes behind him and almost completely drowns out the chatter from the hall. It's more of a hum now as he stands there. Ekko let's out a breathe, taking the time to adjust the heavy books in his hand. The folder almost slips before he's able to slide it back into his grasp. He unclips his lanyard from his belt loop and pulls his keys into his hand. The sun practically blinds Ekko as he pushes on the door and steps outside: A reminder of how early in the afternoon it still was. He groans, already feeling sweat form on his back.
Walking through the parking lot, he finds his car and unlocks it. He dropped his stuff into the backseat impatiently before closing the door shut. It lets out a creaking noise before clicking into place. He sometimes wonders if the door will come off its hinges while he's driving. The car is old, a silver Honda that gives him trouble starting up the engine from time to time, but nothing too damaging. It's the best he could do, and really his only option, so he deals.
He stepped into his car, turning his key into the ignition. It stutters a bit before finally starting up. A concerning screeching noise followed by the hum of the engine fills the car before he immediately turns up the AC as high as it could go. On the way out, he sees some familiar faces going to their cars and waves them goodbye. They wave back, all smiles and drenched in sweat. He's just thankful he doesn't have to be out there in the sun with them right now.
Slow music plays from the radio because he's too lazy to connect his phone with his own music right now. He's not really paying attention to it, anyways. He's more focused on getting a schedule in his head on what he'll study today, and how much. Having to study mechanical engineering, it also comes with projects that are essentially elementary school arts and crafts without the glues and glitters, in his opinion. Not to say they weren't hard, but sometimes his professor has him make the dumbest creations. Everyone starts somewhere, he guesses.
His thoughts are interrupted when he hears a pop coming from his car. Concerned, he turns down the radio and listens for any other noise. But he can just see the right side of his car getting lower in the front, slowly but surely. Ekko curses under his breath before looking around. Up ahead, there's a car repair shop with bright red paint covering the outside. Great, how lucky for him. He wasn't actually sure since he couldn't see- But if he had to guess, his tire just popped. To be sure, he'd have to check, but it was better to be in a place he could simply get it fixed all in one go.
So, he kept driving, feeling bad for his poor car as it struggled to drive on three good tires. He knew it could damage his rims, but he wasn't about to pay for a towing service when there was a repair shop right there.
He drove in, slowing down when he saw all the men working on cars outside the garage. Seriously, it was too hot for this. He wasn't sure where to go, so he settled close to the opened garage. A girl walks out from the building, using her left hand to shield the sun from her eyes. To be honest, he was stunned. She looked so different from everyone else he's seen so far working on the cars outside. Her blue hair rolled into twin buns on top of her head, a pink strand peaking out from the right one. A plain fitted black t-shirt clung to her slim frame, paired with stained denim overalls. One of the straps were unhooked and left to swing loosely behind her. When she got closer, he could see that her eyes are a bright shade of blue. Something so rare and one that he's never seen before in real life. She stands out, and he gets the impression that she likes to.
She approaches his car with a smile on her face. She leaned up against it, waiting for him to roll down his window. He did, greeting her with a smile. He wasn't exactly having the best day, but he could manage to give polite gestures. The sound of drills, hammering, machines cranking, and the chatter of men filled the air outside. There was also that unmistakable smell of motor oil mixed with rubber that every car shop has.
"Hey, mister!" She hums, gesturing a finger to the front of his car. "Looks like your tire couldn't stand being out in this heat, either."
He huffs out a laugh at that. "You could say that."
"No worries." She quickly drummed her fingers against the car. "Some ice cubes, a few industrial fans, it'll be as good as new."
"Woww.. Top service here, huh?" He could already tell that she was interesting. At least he didn't have someone come out that was going to spoil his mood.
"Only the best." She stood up straight. "Well, bonus points if it's coming from me."
He laughed and she pointed towards the open space in the right side of the opened garage. "It seems good enough to take a short drive on for now.. Could you drive it in over there for me?"
He looked over to where she was pointing and nodded. She smiled and gave a thumbs up, running over to that same place. Ekko drove in, the rock of his car making it a guilty ride.
She walked over to his side again, tucking a white cloth stained with black into her overalls pocket. She signaled him to get out, and he followed, closing the door behind him.
"So, just the tire giving you issues?" She started to walk, leaving him no choice but to walk behind her.
He playfully scoffed. "That whole car's an issue. But, yeah."
She giggled, opening the door that led into the main office. "Yeah, I get that. My car gives me so much trouble I'm thinking of just leaving it in the dumps somewhere. You wouldn't believe the amount of times I have to jump-start that thing."
"Oh, I could believe it alright."
She grinned, grabbing a clipboard from behind the desk in the small sitting area. "What, your car also oversleeping?"
He took the clipboard from her after she asked him to sign it. "All the time."
She hummed. "Well then, good thing I got loads of ice... and the industrial fans." She referenced, picking up a pink handheld fan covered in a variety of colorful stickers. Her blue nail polish stood out against it, chipped with time and effort. She turned it on, and it started blowing in her face. Not industrial, but he's sure it gets the job done. Ekko laughs again, he can't help but notice he's been genuinely doing that a lot in the short time he's known this girl.
✮
She leaned over the desk while she waited for him to finish checking his car in like a sick patient, ID and all. She had explained to him what kind of tire he had, how long it's going to take her to fix.. Which, wasn't long at all. For that, he's thankful. Then she got into expenses, and he was no longer thankful. Tires weren't a cheap thing, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. So, two fifty was just taken away from his monthly spending. That was nice.
As he finished up signing the papers, another worker entered the office. He walked over to where she was standing.
"You and that fan. I just know it has a name at this point." The man teased as he began to rummage through some boxes next to her.
"You're just jealous you don't have yourself a fan like mine. Tilly keeps me nice 'n cool."
The older man started laughing, straighting up with a spare part in his hand. Ekko tried to suppress his own laugh, covering it up with a cough.
"I knew it," He took up a pen from next to her. "I think the whole shops jealous of your fan. I'm sweating buckets out there."
"Nothing stopping you from getting your own, ya know?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm thinking I should. Don't tell the other guys, though, they'll steal it from my doorstep."
She grinned as he walked towards the door leading to the garage again. "Mmm, you got my word. As long as I get to decorate it."
"I don't think so." He said before closing the door behind him.
The girl giggled, holding the fan closer to her face. Ekko continued to look at her, jealous of the fan himself.
He eventually passed the clipboard back to her with all the information signed out. She took it, smiling at him.
"Alright," She put the papers away in a nearby drawer. "Wanna stay in here while I work on it, or come with me?"
He blinked, usually people at mechanic shops tell him to stay inside. Admittedly, he was always curious to see what they were doing out there. He is studying engineering, after all. Though that didn't specify cars, he still wanted to see. And also, he's curious about this girl in front of him.
"I could stand out there with you?"
She turned off her fan, placing it down onto the table again. "Yeah, sure! We could melt out there together."
He peaked with interest. "Sounds good."
She nodded, waving her hand for him to follow her. She went back out to the garage, heat automatically overwhelming him again. He could see a few other cars being fixed up, most of which had no drivers. Probably getting worked on for much longer than his. There were men chatting loudly to each other from across the way, talking about topics he didn't know about. Popped hoods being worked on in the sun; Car scratches being painted over in the garage; Cars being lifted higher into the air to work on who-knows-what.
She popped open the drivers door to his car and turned off his engine, retrieving his keys. She handed it over to him as he settled next to her at a reasonable distance. Her hand lightly stayed on the lanyard for a little longer, as if reading it.
"ZP University, huh? I hope you weren't on your way to class or anything." She looked at him with interest as she wheeled over a cart overflowing with tools and such. She picked up a pair of yellow and brown work gloves and slipped them on.
"Oh no, my classes ended for the day." He sighed. "I was gonna go home and study, though."
She giggled. "So, did the car give you a favor then, or nah?" She pushed the cart to the other side of his car to begin working.
He followed her over, looking at her steps. When he's close like this, he can smell that strong scent of motor oil and rubber from her, too. But, there's an undertone of something else. Something floral, almost citrus.
"When you put it that way, yeah." He grinned.
She bent down with a lug wrench in her hand, beginning to loosen the lug nuts on his tire. "So, what kinda studying did it relieve you of?"
"I'm studying engineering. Mechanical engineering."
She looked up at that, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "That's awesome! I'm studying engineering, too. Well, robotics."
So she was a college student, too. Studying engineering, and has a shitty car. They're pretty similar.
She chuckled. "You'd definitely have a good hand at my job, that's for sure."
"I guess I would." His smile grew. "Is robotics fun? I heard from some friends that coding is a pain in the ass."
She stood up, grabbing nearby jack that's yellow paint is chipping away greatly. "It depends. Coding a website, piece of cake. Coding and building a robot... Well."
"I figured. I had to do some basic coding for a project a while back, I sucked at it."
She positioned the jack underneath his car, beginning to crank it up with her foot. "You get used to it. Get some pretty cool stuff out of it, too. This one time, we had to make a robot that resembles us.." She giggled mid sentence, letting out a little snort. "I'm sorry, it's so stupid."
He laughed, too. "No, continue."
"Well, we had to make one that resembles us. You know, self portrait kinda thing without the crayons and glue,"
He was surprised to hear her say that. He thinks the same all the time, the simple projects that scream elementary with a fancy name tag.
"I made mine, gave it cute little blue hair 'n everything. And I programmed it to make a mad little face and fall over everytime you put trash in front of it."
Ekko chuckled, imagining it in his head. "That's adorable."
"You think? I still have it at home. Sometimes, I purposely put my crumpled papers in it's path whenever it's on."
"Annoying yourself, that's true art right there."
She laughed, bending down again to remove the lug nuts completely. "Yup," She hummed, carefully removing the flat tire from its place. "What about you? Any self portraits?"
"Nah, just the rocket ships." He joked. "Lotta repair work, surprisingly."
"And you couldn't change your own tire?"
He flushed suddenly. "Oh, well.."
She threw her head back in another laugh. "I'm just joking." She rolled in another tire, beginning to install it. "Making toy trains or whatever doesn't mean you magically get a massive hunk of rubber in your hands."
Ekko smiled, rubbing his arm. "I guess."
"So like, I'm interested then. What do you do in your free time?"
He thought about it. "Other than studying... I guess I play video games."
She giggled. "Classic. I play a bit, too. This little girl I babysit, she lovesss to play on her iPad. She convinced me to download this game on my phone to play with her, and I got hooked. Can't lie, I play it on my own sometimes."
"Hold up, you babysit?"
"Hell yeah I do. Whatever pays the rent."
"You're stronger than me. With college, too, you probably got your hands full."
"Mm, maybe. But don't worry, the babysitting is only on Sundays. So balancing work and school doesn't get too fussy."
"That's good. Hey, but at least your job seems pretty fun... Besides the sun. I work in a jewelry repair shop."
"Ooo.. That sounds fun, too! Get to see people's pretty- or ugly, necklaces,"
He huffed out a laugh at that.
",bracelets.." She gasped. "You get to see wedding rings, too? Or do those not need repairing?"
"Yeah, sometimes. Maybe a diamond popped outta place. But that's mostly for the cheap ones."
She giggled, biting her lip as she wiped some sweat off her forehead with her forearm. Sweat clung to her neck, strands of hair sticking to it. Her bangs were wet with her sweat, as well. He almost wishes he could offer her some water. He's sure he's no different, he could feel his shirt sticking to him. Could feel beads of sweat dripping down his face. Not the most ideal state for a first impression.
She retrieved new lug nuts from her cart and hand-screwed them on. She began to lower his car back down. As he watched her, he can't help but admire the way she keeps a conversation. The way they're talking like they've known each other for years. He doesn't get that very often. She was interesting, right from the start. He can't help but feel guilty he doesn't even know her name. She took her wrench again and tightened the lug nuts completely.
"What's your name, by the way?" He asked.
"It's Powder." She smiled at him. "Actually, what's yours?"
"Ekko."
"Ekko." She repeated. "Well, your cars all set and ready to go."
"Sweet, thank you so much."
"No problem." Powder took off her gloves and rested them back onto her cart. "Good luck on your studying." She sighed. "I gotta do some of my own later. You reminded me."
He took a look at the tire, and then to her. "Make sure to get some rest."
"Yeah, I will. Don't you worry. Sleeping is another hobby of mine." She smiled, looking to the door to the office. "I'm gonna go catch the air conditioning while I still can."
He chuckled. "Tilly's waiting for you."
Powders smile grew wider. "She is." She giggled before running off to the office door, waving him a goodbye.
Ekko waved back before hopping into his car. He couldn't get the stupid smile off his face the entire drive home.