thunderstruck--

If you give me your heart, girl, well, you may never get it back, you said you'd never smile again, but oh no, here it comes                             Would you look at that? I finally found somethin' I'm good at

[jackacoop]

Blacked out-- --like Elvis in 1968                           like Johnny Cash any given day                                                                 like a Mach 1 Fastback Mustang

[jackacoop]

“I’d be lying if I wasn’t enticed by it either.” She told him with a little look to the side since she had to admit that there was something about this up and go road trip that had made her excited. She was going to leave the city and explore somewhere new. It wasn’t something that happened every day and she was more than willing to see where it lead her. “You’ll have to drag me back kicking and screaming,” she said with a little laugh as she rolled down her window and sighed contently. Road trips had always been her favorite thing, and she was glad to see that hadn’t changed. Watching him lean over her to read the glove department, she couldn’t help but smirk at the old ipod in his hands. “I like it,” she told him as she took it in her hands and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That, however, I can’t promise you.” With that, she began to scroll through his playlist.

“You know what they say about curiosity and cats.” He smiled over at her, before flicking on the blinker, pulling into the gas station they were approaching, “for your pants.” He said, he didn’t need to stop yet, they were still miles inside the state boarder, but he wasn’t going to make her sit there uncomfortable. “You have to promise.” He said pulling the truck to a stop in front of a gas pump. “This’ll only take me a minute.” 

[jackacoop]

“I meant sick, but I know some can take like a few days off, and I don’t see why that should be different for a principal, especially in a situation like this one.” She told him with a shrug of her shoulder, though she didn’t know much about the education system to speak much on it.

“I think maybe you’re thinking that this is effecting me way more than it should. I don’t need a vacation because some asshole on social media yelled at me. It’s part of the job. Sucks, but doesn’t mean I need time off. If someone needs time off for that they really need a change in profession.” He stated rather bluntly. He dealt with teenagers all day. If he had a problem with dealing with people acting like them, he was in the wrong profession. 

[she-wolvess]

send me ‘ ♡ / ♫ / ϟ ’ for a ship aesthetic of our muses ;

↳ J A C K S O N     C O O P E R     &     H I S     P U M P K I N S            “  And I, JACK! the Pumpkin King…   ”

[jackacoop]

You're gonna be so stubborn--You get that from your mother                                                     I already see it now, you weren't built for backing down

[jackacoop]

                      Sierra could see the pain on his face and felt guilty, knowing that the sort of pain he was going through was horrible. Breathing out slowly, she reached out and squeezed his hand a couple of time to let him know that she was there. “Put one of them away for a little while, give them to someone…” She suggested, “Then you don’t have to look at them.” Out of sight, out of mind, that’s how Sierra operated. “Oh—” She sighed, realising just how bad it was. “Then how about another drink?” The brunette asked, “That won’t hurt.”

Jackson watched intently as she moved her hand to over his. It was a weird gesture coming from her. She was brash, the breakdown was kind of like emotional whiplash. “I got extra drawers, it’s not that big of a deal.” It was already in the one that contained the batteries and all the other junk in the kitchen no living soul knew where to put. “Yeah.” He shrugged, it wasn’t something he wanted to revisit. Unless there was some miraculous divine intervention, but he had a feeling he wasn’t going to have any signs of god. “No-- another drink never hurts.” 

[jackacoop]

“Well, then you should take my word for it, shouldn’t you?” Devyn said with a small grin on her face as she comfortably positioned herself in the seat, propping a foot upon the dash. If she was going to stay in jeans until he chose to pull over, then she’d do so comfortably. With her gaze moving over him and then around the car, the one that she would be stuck in for a few hours — or days — she decided to simply embrace it. “Well, I’m leaning more towards the latter option but you have to admit that the least you could have done was, i don’t know, warn me that we were going so far away. It’s basically kidnap.” She said, wondering if he even registered that someone could have taken this seriously. Luckily, it was too good of an adventure to pass up. She loved road trips and the unknown, so she was more than willing to ride this one out. With a nod, she bit her lower lip and lowered her sunglasses. “Well, then. In the meantime, point me towards those CD’s of yours.”

“I am going to have to.” He said with a shrug. He couldn’t tell her she was wrong after all, he had no clue and he never would. He wasn’t made that way. “I like the spontaneity of the adventure. Even though it was nothing like that for him, he didn’t want to ruin it for her, and there was something about knowing all the details while someone else didn’t. Like Christmas morning when you knew what every present of the tree was. It was just as fun. “If you want to go back, I’ll stop and call you a cab.” He gave her another out, hoping she wouldn’t take it. “No CDs he said with a shrug, “however--” leaning across the truck and consequently over her lap, he popped open the top glovebox in his truck to reveal a classic iPod, stuffed with songs, and attached to a USB, “there’s a lot of shit on here, you’re not allowed to make fun of me.” 

[jackacoop]

Maybe one day you will – a statement in which Philip was more than ready to reject, but really, it just wasn’t worth the effort. With some, that topic of conversation could last longer than it ever needed to. So for now, he knew it was best just to give off an expression as a reply and let it be. That expression was a simple raise of his brows, accompanied by a nod or two. “Yeah, well– All of that is why you’re here? Drowning your stress in constant drinks? ‘Cause, like, I stand by that notion.”

“No, I’m not a big drinker.” Jackson shook his head, though lately, he’d drank more than the average person. If you asked him however, it was extreme circumstances so he was excused. “They do however, have a great burger, and well-- I can always eat.” 

[jackacoop]

“I don’t know,” Ella said nervously. “Like, thirty, thirty something? I guess I just thought people were teachers for like a decade at least before becoming a principal. But then again I don’t really know what I’m talking about. And if you became a principal recently my imagined timeline could still work.” She paused. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“The only thing you need to be a principal, is you need to have taught for three years and at least have a masters degree, then you need to be approved by the school board. I have a doctorate, and I taught for longer than that. I’ve been a principal at different schools for 7 years now. You don’t even know what you’re talking about. You shouldn’t pretend to do, especially when the person you’re talking to actually does know what they’re saying.” It was offensive. That he wasn’t riddled in grey hair, so he couldn’t have possibly been a principal? Bullshit. 

[jackacoop]

“I’m the oldest so it’s always been my job to be the protector. I guess that didn’t leave me a lot of time to be worried about what is cool.” Anthony replied, shrugging at Jack. Even as a kid he hadn’t been that concerned about trends and such.  “We all become ancient eventually, some of us just slower than others.”

“I have an older sister, but I feel like i still did more protecting than she did.” He was bigger, stronger-- he just fit the role. “You know what, that’s true.” 

[jackacoop]

“That’s right, you’re kind of the chief. Without you, nothing runs that correctly right. It’s almost unfair that teachers can take some time off but it doesn’t seem to be okay for the principals to do the same.”

“Well, we try to not let teachers take so many vacations either. They get school holidays, and that’s usually enough unless they are sick or something.” They had half the year off, they didn’t need vacations. “It’s really not all that bad though. It’s still a lot of time off.” 

[jackacoop]

“I don’t think that is only reserved for men. The things I could do to a burger when two am rolls around.” Her heard shook as if to say he didn’t want to know, but it was the truth nonetheless. Her gaze flickered towards him when he winked, smirking at the purposeful tone and hint behind said action. There was a lot to learn about him still, and she could swear he seemed to be a little more flirtatious than he was when drunk. Then again, he had been nursing a heartbreak at the time as well. “So, let me get this straight. You go to a dinner to grab my number from people who aren’t even supposed to give out personal information and then you just highjacked me on this thirteen hour trip. I’m actually worried you’re going to kidnap me and sell my organs, or maybe I’m just special because I would have never imagined you to be such a bad boy.” her brow wiggled then. A scoff came at his comment that was meant to make her feel better, she imagined. “I do look good, but you’re still going to have to stop on the side of the road so I can change. i will die if I stay a moment longer in these.” With that being said, she leaned back to grab a bag that contained some snacks and began to go through it.

“I am just talking from personal experience. I can’t say I know exactly what women want at 2 am.” Though, most of the time in his experience, was to be left alone because more likely than not they were sleeping but that was neither here nor there. “Yeah, that sounds like something I would do.” He was an in the moment kind of guy. He wasn’t just going to stop and ask for a number. That’s not how he worked, it never would be. He was just the kind of guy that was present. Maybe that’s why he was such a good song writer, because he had the experiences. “Hey. You can be worried, or you can just go with it.” He shrugged, “unless you are actually fearing for your life, in which case I can stop and just call you a cab for the way back, because I really do have to be in Nashville tomorrow and I would like to use the afternoon to sleep.” That way he’d be rested for the award show in the evening, and have enough energy for the after party, which was always the best part. “Well I have to stop and top off gas before we get out of the state, because I am that kind of paranoid so you’ll have a chance in approximately 30 miles.” 

[jackacoop]

“You forgot to ask a hot girl who brought you to a trampoline funland for her number, yet you remember something she randomly said about food.” Her head nodded, almost skeptical, though she still smiled. Things happened, and he’d went to the end of the world for her number, so she couldn’t exactly be mad about it. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.” She told him with a slight wink, only to sputter almost instantly when he told her where they were going. “You mean… we’re driving there? Isn’t that more than ten hours away? You could have told me that before I decided to wear jeans. Also, do you even have snacks? Please tell me you didn’t pick me up without a good array of snacks.”

“I was drunk. I wanted what any man, drunk or not, wants at 2 am, food.” He was that naive to think of only food. But at the end of the day, he was a dude. Dudes loved food and he was no exception. “No?” He questioned, jokingly, “then you should tell me what makes you feel better.” He copied her wink, thought it was a lot more purposeful. “Yeah. Cheaper than plane, and I like the drive.” He’d been more than once in recent history, but again, she didn’t know that, and he didn’t want to tell exactly what for until they were there. “Well, I mean, it’s 13 hours, but you look really nice in jeans if that makes it better.” He knew it probably wouldn’t but it was the thought that counted. “Duh. I’m a food guy. You can count on snacks.” He pointed to the back seat, “a feast.” 

[jackacoop]

“I can relate to that…” Liam responded with a thoughtful expression. They might have had very different jobs, but it was always the people involved making things more difficult. He never complained, of course, people needed help for different reasons — but sometimes it could become extremely frustrating. “Kids always do, but I’d say it’d be worth it, too.”

“I think everyone can.” It felt like the hard stuff was hard all the time lately. That was probably his personal life flooding the rest of it, but he was managing, or he liked to tell himself he was managing. “Yeah. I just have to be desperate enough first. Because at every holiday, you can be sure he’ll bring it up, and I am not sure I am ready for that yet.”

[jackacoop]

“I don’t know,” she said honestly as she peered out the front window while he drove. “After all, you kidnapping me isn’t that far of a stretch given how you randomly got my number off of someone else instead of just asking me for it when we saw one another.” But perhaps he’d forgotten — still, it had been sketchy. “Just so you know, it’s probably not the smartest thing to do since I know self-defence and I may, or may not, carry pepper spray on me at all times.”

“I was a little too drunk to remember to ask for it.” He said rather honestly, “but I did remember about that place you said, which they do have good food, so thanks for that.” It was weird, he was willing to admit that. “I also know self defense, in case you wondered.” He added, just as a tidbit of information, if only just so he could be toe-to-toe with her. “But in case you were wondering, we’re going to Nashville, it’s going to be a long drive, you can pick the music. At least for a little bit.” 

[jackacoop]

“Huh,” Ella said, somewhat surprised. She had assumed he was a guidance counselor or something, although she wasn’t sure why. “I hope this doesn’t sound too rude, but, aren’t you a little young to be a principal?”

“And exactly how old do you think I am?” He asked, “because you can’t say that just-- blindly.” He was old enough to have a PhD, he was old enough to have years of experience, he was old enough to have a 17 year old son. He was certainly old enough to be a principal. 

[jackacoop]

                       She shook her head, “No the best time to talk about me is when I’m here so I can catch you and the other big mouth in the act. That would be fun—” She assumed her name came up in conversation when he was with Sebastian, “I forget how bitchy men get when they’re together.” They were worse than women in many ways, at least they all knew they were gossipers. “I do know you had a kid when you were sixteen, how is be by the way?” Sierra didn’t know Liam, but she did know that he wasn’t in Lanford anymore. “Ah, so you were a clever teenager…” She rolled her eyes, letting out a small laugh as it faded once her started speaking about Ophelia. The brunette nodded occasionally, unable to feel helpless in a situation like his. The last thing she wanted was to interfere as she had only been in a similar one a few months ago; If anyone tried to interject themselves into her and Sebastian’s break up, she would’ve been mad. “Right…” Everything he said made sense, but it was still confusing. “I don’t know… Break up’s aren’t fun—” But they both knew that, “You never know what’s gonna’ happen in the future. Maybe a few months down the line, you’ll reconnect or something.” 

“I am still clever, as an adult. It didn’t wear off.” He said with a shrug. “No, they aren’t. I was getting ready to ask her to move in with me. I was trying to figure out a way to ask her-- and then well-- all of this happened, and now I have two spare keys.” He sighed, when he thought about it, it still hurt, so he did what he did best, he didn’t think about it. “I don’t want to.”