burning future;

hana kim. fifteen. they call me a mechanic. (no they don't.)

[devin-jameson]

Who you trying to kid, Kim?

[itshanakim]

Nobody! I rock at this driving thing, thank you very much.

[whaleyisms-blog]

Wait, what? You have a license? Why didn’t you say something sooner? And by sooner I mean when we left St. Clair’s because we could’ve used some better drivers a long time ago…

[itshanakim]

No, I don’t have a license. But I know how!

[itshanakim]

Nobody panic. I can drive.

[whaleyisms-blog]

“If we had a funeral, it’d be pretty sad,” he laughed bitterly, “no one would show up.” They lurched forward again, and he gripped the seat with one hand, Hana’s arm with the other. He immediately drew back from her again, mumbling, “Sorry. I just keep thinking we’re about to die.” 

He scratched the back of his head, “Yeah..consider your quote filled.”

[itshanakim]

“Pretty easy to clean up,” Hana mumbled, not entirely liking the vibe the conversation had taken, but knowing it was a topic that was kind of unavoidable among them. “And no need for all that food.” She laughed when he gripped her arm, reaching out with the same arm when he drew back to pat his shoulder comfortingly. “It’s perfectly okay. There are far worse people to be the last one to talk to me before my death than you. That’s a compliment, by the way.”

Hana leaned back in her seat. “I want food.”

[donaldredgrave]

He nearly mouthed the words along with her. He just knew she would say it.  “Of. Course.” He turned to her and shook his head but the playfulness on his lips assured her he wasn’t being serious. “I swear you like to poke me just to see how high my tolerance is. You think you’re slick but I see you, Hana Kim.”

[itshanakim]

Hana laughed happily and without any inhibitions, not caring much if she disturbed anyone else or woke them up. She had a feeling this was what Alfie wanted them to be feeling on this trip. That indescribable feeling when the sun streamed through the windows and made her feel so warm not only from the heat, but because this random bunch of orphans were truly her family. “I would never even deny that. I’ll own up to it proudly!”

[whaleyisms-blog]

“I think that’d be the last mistake that mistake we’d ever make,” he sighed, glancing up at the front. How had Devin managed to make the van take up two lanes? “Yeah, and I’d die quicker,” he conceded, “maybe none of us should wear seatbelts so we can all have better chances of dying upon impact instead of slowly and painfully.” Louis caught the bottle after it bounced off his head, tossing it back at her, “Only every day.”

[itshanakim]

“It’d make for a pretty interesting group funeral,” Hana mused darkly, though she grinned. Oddly enough, she didn’t mind Devin’s driving all that much, but it did leave some room to be improve. “That’s a cheerful thought. While we’re at it, why don’t we just stand the whole trip.” She deflected the bottle neatly, slapping it onto the ground in front of them. “Then consider this me filling my quota for the day.”

[donaldredgrave]

“That’s the worst one!” He sat up straight in his seat, hands in the air as if saying ‘I give up.’ He wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about the matter as he pretended to be, really he just found Hana and her mixed looks of pouting and mischief adorable. The more she did it, the more he wanted to laugh. He watched the van’s speedometer’s needle rise and felt himself calming down as he realized that so far, everyone was alive. Now, whatever quiet moment there was between them was broken by Donnie humming the tune to Fruit Salad. 

[itshanakim]

Hana immediately started to hum Fruit Salad under her breath, adopting her best innocent look as she drove along. She stopped though, genuinely afraid to annoy him when he was doing her a favor. Once she’d settled into a consistent speed, she finally noticed that he had started humming the tune himself, and grinning broadly, she started to sing along. “Fruit salad.....” she paused for a long moment until they reached a red light, before she shot him a glance. “Yummy yummy.”

[codybradfords]

“Alright, I get it. You’ve been conditioned your whole life to see motivational books in a negative light, not your fault. But I’m going to turn your world upside down, Hana ‘Houdini’ Kim, and show you what real motivation is. Someday.”

[itshanakim]

“More like motivational books have been conditioned to be crappy and I’m just observant. Do it. I triple dog dare you.”

[whaleyisms-blog]

“Ah, don’t underestimate Devin’s talents, I’m sure that he could get me out of this seatbelt without breaking a sweat,” he sighed, shaking his head. “same difference. He’s bad.” Louis laughs softly, chucking the napkin back at her, “It’s just a flesh wound.”

[itshanakim]

Hana wrinkled at her nose at him as if insulted. “Me underestimate Devin? Not a chance.” She glanced at his seatbelt, suddenly realizing she wasn’t wearing her own. “Those things get really uncomfortable really fast, so maybe he’d be doing you a favor.” Snorting, Hana grabbed an empty soda bottle from the seat beside her, chucking it instead. “Have I ever told you that you’re a nerd?”

[codybradfords]

"Crappy? Excuse me, are you saying you don’t have faith in me? Have we just gone full circle? Hana Kim.”

[itshanakim]

“Don’t take it personally. Have you ever actually heard of a motivational book that was any good? The answer to that would be no. I think we did. I’m sneaky like that, Cody Bradford.”

[whaleyisms-blog]

"It’s 2 o’clock, and don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything interesting, trust me," he adds, sighing. Louis likes boring most of the time. It’s comfortable, safe, and straightforward. But he could certainly do without Devin’s driving. "Luck you, I’m probably going to go flying out the window in a few seconds," he replied sardonically. He cracked open the waterbottle, taking a sip. "Of course, the second you’re not useful…" he drags his finger along his neck, "Eh, you’ll get over it."

[itshanakim]

“That’s morning for me,” Hana reminded him, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. She scoffed at him, letting out an incredibly ladylike burp. “That’s what seatbelts are for. And Devin’s not that bad, he’s just... enthusiastic.” Rolling her eyes, she picked up a balled up napkin nearby and chucked it at him. “Rude. What, get over my throat being slit? Yeah, I’ll try.”

[donaldredgrave]

"No. No." Donnie widened his eyes as he shook his head and dramatically placed a hand on her hand over the steering wheel as though this would help transmit how serious he was being. "No, Hana, no." He was trying to be serious, something he normally had no problem with, but his lips were beginning to stretch into a silly smile. “I hate those people, and I swear I’ve got every single song stuck in my head. It’s never going away.” He let go of her hand, taking note of just how nervous she was. “You’ve got this,” he offered in encouragement as she attempted to break. To her reaction he grinned, briefly turning to see if the rest of the group was even aware of the new driver. When it appeared they weren’t, he nodded towards the road. “Let’s keep going.”

[itshanakim]

Hana pouted at him, almost genuinely crestfallen that he wasn’t going to allow her to make a playlist of a children’s band, and she used the term band very generously. “Are you sure?” She started to hum, shooting him a mischievous glance. “Fruit Salad is an American classic!” She felt tension ease out of her body when he put his hand on hers, loosening her grip on the steering wheel just a little bit. “Yeah. I do.” Taking a deep breath, Hana started to let the van actually pick up some speed, reaching the speed limit comfortably. “This isn’t so bad.”

[codybradfords]

"Thanks, Han. I mean, with up-and-comers like you dealing with all the driving, I don’t have much left to do. I might have to take over as the van’s official motivational speaker or something, y’know, to regain my purpose. What do you think?"

[itshanakim]

“Maybe motivational speaking is your calling. You could speak at borderline nice hotels and write a crappy book. So I’m down for it.”

[imogenekelley-blog]

What, I don’t get anything in return for that? Tease.

[itshanakim]

I never said that.

[devin-jameson]

I’ve got Whaley to do all that shit for me, so i’m afraid that spot has already been taken up. Besides, i don’t think i’d ever ask you to do anything illegal on my behalf because as much as you got that good girl vibe going on strong, i have a feeling you might just start some sort of lecture and won’t stop. I need someone who can fix things; like phones, damaged electronic devices or build some sort of tools that can come in handy — and who’s better than our very own Bob the Builder?

[itshanakim]

Yeah, ‘cause I’m totally complaining about that. I’m not really a lecturer, more of a.... disapproving glance type of person. You know I only call you out on your crap when you put us in danger. Well I already do that willingly, so I think I can manage that for you.

[donaldredgrave]

“You’re the one who understood it,” he shot back with a small smile. “You are currently speaking to the brother of a once ten year old sister. I understand all references of all the old disney tv shows and movies. It’s a talent I’m not proud of.” He eased back into his seat as she readied herself to go and stepped on the accelerator. This wasn’t too bad. He had imagined a sudden pull forward. “Yeah, but the breaks aren’t, they’re the opposite. So to brake, it’s best to start from a distance to get this thing to start slowing down.”

[itshanakim]

"Well duh, Suite Life is a classic!" She smiled at that, never really having a hard time picturing Donnie as an older brother, despite his silent nature. She'd never met his sister, but if the way Donnie looked out for her was any indication, she imagined that her life hadn't been all that bad as long as she'd had her brother. "You should be proud of it. Do you know any songs by The Wiggles? We could make a playlist of them." She nodded, concentrating hard, her knuckles going a little white as she nervously clutched the steering wheel. She eased onto the break, the van giving a little jerk at first before she found the right amount of pressure. Eyes lighting up, she turned to Donnie briefly before starting out onto the actual road, confidence building. "Asians are bad drivers stereotypes can go to hell! I got this."

[whaleyisms-blog]

He cringed, listening to the way her joints cracked — that’s always been a pet peeve of his, when people crack their knuckles. It’s not really the sound, it’s the reminder of how vulnerable humanity is. “Thank god, could you hurry that up? I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” he laughed. “Um, yeah, could you grab me one of those water bottles?” He reached out his hand, adding, “You know, if you can drive this thing and repair it, you’re essentially running this entire operation. So, don’t go disappearing on us, yeah?”

[itshanakim]

Hana grinned at his obvious discomfort, stretching out her legs to let her knees pop for good measure before finally settling back down into her seat. "If you're going to wake me up, you have to deal with my morning routine. What time even is it? I feel like my body is permanently fused to this seat." She grabbed a water bottle, tossing it in his direction before opening her soda, drinking half of it in one long gulp. "Oh, I see. Just keeping me around for what I can do, not my actual self. Harsh." Nudging him with her elbow, she stretched out, resting her feet on the cooler. "Please, as if I'd go anywhere."