Chapter Text
The party was sick. Music, booze, it was great. Kissing Philip in front of everybody, finally… that was even better. All of the secrets, all of the hiding, it had all finally paid off. After the party had winded down, we had taken off. We headed back to my place, heading into the barn for some, ya know… relaxation… with tongue. Because what else would we do right after coming out to our school at a party? We barely made it into the barn before Philip started kissing me. Anyway.
We would still be doing that if Philip had not noticed the giant mass hidden in the back corner of the massive barn.
"What the heck is this thing?" He asked.
"Just an old car." I told him.
"What kind of car?" Philip asked, "This thing is huge."
"It's my dad's old car." I said, "An old muscle car. He's had it ever since he was a teenager. Since he was about nineteen. He and his older cousin got it and fixed it up. They used to race with it. Dad used to say that he was going to pass it on to me when I was old enough. I don't think he remembers saying it though."
"Were they any good?" Philip asked.
"Yeah, they were the best!" I said, a proud smile on my face, "That's why I started doing motocross. I watched their old races on tape, and wanted to do it too. Dad bought me a dirt bike when I was twelve. I've been doing it ever since."
"Why is it in here rotting away, then?" Philip asked in confusion, "Why not get it out and drive it?"
"It's been in here since my mom died." I revealed, "Right after the funeral, he pulled it in here and covered it up. It hasn't moved since. I used to catch him out here staring at it sometimes… Just lost in memories. We actually talked about her, ya know? Dad and me? When I was in the hospital after everything happened, we talked about her. Dad told me some stuff about how they met."
"Like what?" Philip asked.
"My dad took her last name." I revealed.
"Really?" Philip asked, shocked, "He doesn't seem the type to do that."
"No, he doesn't." I agreed, "My mom point blank refused give up her last name, and dad was so friggin whipped that he agreed to it."
"What else did he tell you?" Philip asked.
"Well, they met down in Georgia." I recounted, "That's where most of my family is from."
"Your dad doesn’t sound southern." Philip pointed out.
"He's lived up here for so long that he's mostly lost his accent." I said, "When he gets mad, though, that's when the accent shows through. Most of the family still lives down there. My Uncles, aunts, cousins, they all live down there. Haven't seen any of them in a while… Anyway. Dad's cousin, my namesake, introduced my dad to my mom. My dad was a bit of a showoff, so my mom knocked his ego down a few pegs before she agreed to go out with him. Their first date, they went to this bar, I can't remember what he said the name was, but they did. He drove them there in this. While they were there, somebody said something to my mom, and dad got mad and threw a punch. It sparked a brawl, they both ended up spending a night in jail."
Philip was laughing at this point.
"That's awesome." He said.
"Yeah." I agreed, "Dad's other cousin had to come bail them out. They were together ever since."
"What was his name?" Philip asked.
"Who?"
"The other cousin."
"Oh. Her." I corrected, "Her name's Daisy. Typical southern name, southern sass and attitude. I call her aunt, because I can't remember if she's a second or third cousin."
"Yeah, that does sound confusing." He agreed.
"Yeah, me and her were really close when I was a kid." I continued, "Dad, mom and I used to pile into this car, and we'd drive down south to visit. Most of the family lives on this farm in Georgia. Out in the boondocks outside of Hazzard. It's this tiny town, less than a thousand people, been ran by the same crooked Sherriff since the late eighties. Peaceful, really pretty place. Me and my aunt, we would go out in the morning and spend time with the animals, feed the chickens, milk the cows, that kind of thing. And we'd just talk the whole time. She would bring out a radio sometimes and we'd listen to old country music on it. It was great."
"Sounds like it…"
"It was."
We both turned towards the door, where Dad was standing watching us.
"Philip." He greeted gruffly.
"Mr. Waldenbeck." He greeted in return, a note of caution in his voice.
Dad approached us, and came to a stop next to the tarp-covered car. He reached out and placed his hand on the hood. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a small half-smile as he patted the hood.
"We got into so much trouble in this thing." Dad said, "We had a bit of a war going with the Sherriff. He was always trying to arrest us for something, even if he had to frame us to do it. This car, more often than not, got us out of trouble."
He chuckled for a second, before turning to me.
"Help me get the tarp off this thing." He said, "It's been sitting here too long."
So we did. Together, dad and I hauled the tarp off the car and threw it to the side.
"Do you think it's a bright enough color?" Philip asked, "I've never seen a bright orange Dodge Charger before."
"You probably never will again, either." Dad said, "Take it down to Georgia, though? Everybody knows this car. Back in the seventies and eighties, this thing was the bane of existence of every cop in the state. With me and the cousins at the wheel, nothing in the country could catch it."
Even with the tarp, the dust inside was an inch thick due to the windows being rolled down. All four tires were flat. The car was, like Philip had pointed out, a bright orange with a black 01 on each door. A large Confederate flag was painted on the roof, with the name "General Lee" on each side. Dad reached up and wiped the dust off the name fondly.
"Good to see you again, old friend." He said quietly, "Lukas, get me an air pump will ya? I'm gonna air the tires up, then I'm gonna try to get this thing out of here."
It was a quick job. It only took ten minutes to air the tires up, and Dad climbed through the window carefully to get inside. Philip and I shared a look of confusion, which Dad noticed immediately.
"The doors are welded shut." He answered.
"Why?" I asked.
"It's a race car." He answered simply and tried to start the engine. It barely cranked.
"The battery's probably flat." Philip guessed, "It's been in here for over a decade. Might need gas too."
"It does." Dad said, "I drained the tank when I parked it. Lukas, go pull the Land Rover around and get the jumper cables. Philip, grab those gas cans over there. He's a thirsty beast, one can ain't gonna be enough."
"You can drive?" Philip asked in surprise as he fetched the cans.
"Yeah. I have my license to drive a car and a bike." I answered.
I pulled the Land Rover in the barn and got the jumper cables out of the back. Dad raised the hoods and hooked up the cables while Philip poured the gas into the tank. Afterwards, he climbed back in.
"Move the Land Rover outside." He said as he inserted the keys into the ignition.
I pulled the Land Rover outside and parked it next to the house. Philip and I started walking back to the barn, when the engine of the car roared to life. It was so loud, that it made Philip jump because he wasn't expecting the sound. We watched as the car pulled slowly out into the sun for the first time in a decade. Dad steered it towards us, rumbling to a stop right beside us.
"You boys stay out of trouble." He directed, "I'm gonna go for a spin."
"We will." I said, "Have fun with that."
"Oh, believe me." Dad said, "I will. Stand back."
We did, and not a minute too soon. No sooner did we step back than he stomped on the gas. The back wheels spun, the engine roared, and the car lurched forward. He spun the wheel, sending the car into a spin. He circled us once before thundering off down the driveway at top speed. He honked the horn, and the first twelve notes of Dixie pierced the air as the car shrieked down the road.
"That horn, though…" I said.
"That's fucking stupid."
"I think it's cool." I argued, "It fits the car."
"Redneck love letter." Philip teased.
"So what if it is?" I shot back, "As family heirlooms go, it's savage."
"If you say so." He said, rolling his eyes at the use of my favorite words, "God help you if you had to drive that to school."
"I'd do it in a heartbeat." I challenged.
"Good luck fitting it in the parking spaces." Philip deadpanned, "It'll be like trying to park an aircraft carrier."
"HA." I snorted, gave him a playful shove.
"Still though," Philip said, "At least your dad seemed happier."
"Yeah, he did, didn't he?" I said, "I'm glad."
"How have things been between you two?" He asked.
"Better." I answered, "He doesn't act so awkward around me anymore. He doesn't drink anymore either. He actually asked me how we were doing a couple of days ago."
"He did?" Philip asked in shock, "Has hell frozen over?"
"I asked myself the same thing." I assured, "But, yeah. He asked. I told him things were good. Told him about my plan for the party. He told me to be careful, and call him if I need him for anything."
"Wow." Philip said, "He's taking this all really well, isn't he?"
"Well, he's had a month to get used to it." I pointed out.
"A month still isn't a long time, Lukas." Philip pointed out.
I didn't respond, and simply pulled Philip by the hand into the house. We plopped down on the couch, ad he immediately snuggled into my side.
"What do you think school is gonna be like tomorrow?" Philip asked.
"Well, nobody even looked at us wrong when we were acting like a couple at the party," I said, "It could go either way."
"Are you scared?" He asked.
"A-A little. Yeah." I admitted, "I hate that I am, but yeah."
"I'm a bit nervous too." Philip assured me, "Being nervous is nothing to be ashamed of."
"I'll protect you this time." I swore, "I promise. If anybody tries anything, or says anything to you, if they even look at you wrong…"
"As much as I love the protective boyfriend routine," Philip interrupted, "I think I can handle it if they do."
"Yeah well, you won't have to." I promised.
"Please don't start any fights if they do." He begged.
"No promises."
He replied by giving me kisses.
We must have fell asleep, because a few hours later the sound of a loud engine caused me to lurch awake, startling Philip.
"It's okay, it's just my Dad." I told him, before getting up to go meet Dad outside.
When I shut the door, Dad was just climbing out the window of the car. He had a wide grin on his face, and it made him look almost a decade younger.
"Have fun?" I asked.
"I haven't driven like that in years." He answered, "The old boy's still got it."
"What all did you do in it?" I asked.
"I had to make sure it wasn't gonna fall apart." Dad said, "Luke and I, well, we'd always take it out and do jumps with it to test the shocks… So I took it to the pond where you practice."
"You took it over a jump?" I blurted, "Are you nuts?"
"It's had worse, believe me." Dad waved off my concerns, "Luke and I jumped a river in it to get away from the cops once… actually we did that multiple times."
"You're fricken insane." I decided.
"Hey, you got my genes, kid." Dad teased, "What does that make you?"
"Not crazy enough to take a forty seven year old muscle car and drive it off a ramp." I countered.
"Yeah, do as I say not as I do." He said jokingly.
Then he held out the keys to me.
I looked between the keys and him in confusion.
"I told you when you were little that it was yours when you were ready for it." He said, "I think you're ready for it. Take good care of it."
I took the keys in my shaking hands.
"Thanks dad." I said, "Can I take Philip for a ride?"
"I filled the tank for you and everything." He said.
I stood there in shock. Dad walked past, patting me on the shoulder as he entered the house. I stared at the keys in my hand for a minute before following him inside. I went back into the living room, and shook Philip back awake.
"What is it?" He asked sleepily.
"Get up, dude." I said, jiggling the keys in front of his face, "We're going for a ride."