Life is a Highway {open}

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau sighed and looked at the smoking van. Smoke was generally a bad thing, especially when it came from vehicles. The young man ran his hand through his short hair, letting out a long, slow breath. The sleeves of his denim shirt had been rolled up to expose most of his forearm, and there were smears of grease staining his fingertips already. This should have been easy enough: he'd taken this van out this way before, gigging at a few of the local towns. The trip wasn't even that far, not really; just to the nearest town out of Kalispell.

But the van was definitely dead. Like, super dead. Beau sighed again, going to the back of the van. He needed to get to the next town to get help for this, and there was no way that he was gonna leave his guitar in the back. Bad enough that he'd have to leave some of the other stuff, but there was no way that Beau would leave his precious guitar off to the side of the road.

Once he had his guitar in hand, Beau headed toward the side of the road. He looked up and down, feeling a little downhearted by the lack of traffic. That's what happened when you lived in Montana, though it did remind Beau a bit of home. Shrugging anyway, Beau waited for a vehicle to approach. As soon as it got without eyeshot, Beau would stick his hand out, thumb extended. Hitchhiking: the noblest of arts.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

At times like these, Erika hated having her own car. It meant her snobby excuse of a mother could pull the 'We bought you this car'-card to get her daughter to run around doing all sorts of errands. And in this case, delivering whatever the heck the box had contained to her mother's friend outside of Kalispell had taken up most of her day. Why couldn't one of her countless lines of other siblings to it? Oh right, because Erika was in enough trouble as it was with her plans for college, or maybe a job after graduation instead of putting on a smile, a dress and marry the first rich guy her mother could get her hands on.

Whatever, it didn't matter. Erika wasn't going to settle for that kind of life. Her mother could be as pissed as she wanted, but hey, maybe buttering her up by doing small favors like this could benefit her in the long run.

And the trip wasn't all for nothing. Her mother's friend was a party planner, a career Erika had already considered a million times for herself. Which was why the errand had taken to long - the poor woman got bombarded with questions after questions.

Finally on her way home, Erika blasted up the music on the radio and leaned back into her seat, both hands on the steering wheel and her lungs singing out the lyrics with all their might. Then the sight of someone sticking their hand out, clearly hitchhiking had her voice falling silent as she pulled over, turning the volume down. She scrolled down the window of her black BMW and stuck her head out, scrunching her nose, ''Need a ride?'', she asked, unable to keep the smirk off her lips as her eyes travelled to the broken down van.

Hopefully he wasn't a serial killer or anything. Then again, at least then she could rub it in her mother's face.

[Beau LaRoux]

The BMW slowed as it approached Beau, and the Southern boy couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He grinned at the girl as he jogged a little closer to the vehicle, only stopping for a moment to grab the guitar and make sure he had a good grip on the case. He got to that ten foot range and could already feel a little tingling, which he guessed would be his luck. Hopefully she wasn't some kind of mutant serial killer or something.

"I certainly could," said Beau, his eyes twinkling. "'specially since it's a pretty girl doin' the offerin'."

He winked at her and stepped a little closer. He didn't immediately burst into flame, and he didn't really feel too drastically different than he had a few moments ago. So either his instinct had been off, and it wouldn't be the first time that had happened, or her power was at least somewhat under control. Beau raised a hand to sort of shield his eyes and smiled up at her.

"Name's Beauregard LaRoux; folks call me Beau. I was headin' up the road to the next town," he said, gesturing with the guitar, "got a show an' all. Then the van decided it wanted to go up in flames," he gestured toward the vehicle, pulling a thumb, "so I certainly would appreciate the ride."

And he smiled again, clearly intent on politely waiting for a "hop on in" of some sort before he actually entered the van.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Normally, people would probably have rolled their windows up and drove away at such a sudden compliment; Really, it was kind of odd. But not this girl, oh no. She was as gullible and naive as they got, and his compliment were met with a smirk, ''I already offered, no need to be a suck up,'' she said with a cocked eyebrow and gave the van another glance.

Maybe he was hiding a bunch of kids in there?

Turning her attention back towards him as he spoke, Erika nodded slowly, unable to keep the amused grin off of her face, ''Wow, that's a mouthful,'' she laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. So, he was a musician, a struggling one probably by the look of his current ride. ''Well it's nice to meet you, Beau. I'm Erika Bellefonte.'' she added with a smile, ''I'm headed towards Kalispell, but if you want to go back to where you got from, I'd be more than happy to drive you. Maybe you could call someone to help with your...Car.'' she mused, finding this entire thing a little more amusing than what she probably should have.

Nodding towards the seat next to her, Erika started rolling her window back up and placed her hands back onto the steering wheel, once again pulling her attention to the radio.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Ain't suckin' up when it's true, ma'am," drawled Beau, adding a little wink. His introduction was returned in kind, which made Beau pause for a moment. Did she say Bellefonte? He'd ask about it when he got into the vehicle. Whichever way they were heading, they'd have some to kill, and they might as well spend it getting to know one another.

"Well, I was headin' out," admitted Beau, motioning, "but I ain't headin' anywhere now. I can call 'em up an' let 'em know to reschedule,' he winced. He didn't like to reschedule shows if at all possible, especially because it looked bad on him, but it wasn't like he had a whole mess of options right now. He hefted his guitar and walked around to the passenger side of the vehicle. He opened up, carefully moving the instrument into some sort of backseat position, or at least out of the way of his and Erika's feet, before settling in.

"that think ain't rightly mine," admitted Beau, nodding to the van. "It's jus' one they let me borrow for gigs an' all," he shrugged then reached to get himself buckled in. "Thanks again for the ride. An' I promise I ain't no creepy serial killer type, cross m' heart," he did so, grinning the whole time, then rested his arm near the window of the car, obviously getting comfortable quickly.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

His wink was met with a playful roll of her eyes and she shook her head slightly. Well, who was she to deny free compliments anyways?

''All right,'' Erika said with a smile. Well, maybe she should have been nice enough to actually turn the car around and drive him where he needed to be, but that seemed a little odd, even coming from her. But then again, it wasn't like she actually had anything else to do. She watched him from the corner of her eye as he made his way to the car, getting his instrument in and at last, sitting down.

Laughing at his comment, Erika cocked her eyebrow at him before nodding, ''Well, you should tell them to get you a better car next time,'' she pointed out with a smirk. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel and laughed again, before turning her had to look at him, ''One can never be too sure,'' Then again, if he was a serial killer she could always use her 'superpower' to like... Push him away. Yep, she was probably doomed to hell and back.

Starting the car, Erika pursed her lips before nodding to herself, ''You know what, since I don't have anything better to do, let's make it a road trip and I'll drive you to wherever you need. I need a little time away from Kalispell anyways.'' she finally said with a smile and turned the car around before stopping next to the van, ''Do you have everything you need?''

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau chuckled as he looked over at the still smoking van, "Don't think they give ya much choice when you're askin' to borrow a vehicle. I'm lucky I got that thing. Plus, it fits everythin' without really stressin'," Beau shrugged. He'd been on his share of awful vehicles before. That was part of the whole rambling, performing life. As was running into the occasional serial killer, though Beau hadn't gotten quite that lucky just yet. His father had, but Beau didn't generally tell that story to pretty girls he'd just met on the side of the road.

They had to get to know each other first.

The car started and Beau was getting settled. He then realized he should probably notify the bar owner that he wasn't going to make it, and he began wiggling, working his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He'd just gotten it out when he realized that they'd actually turned around. Beau twisted, trying to get a good look out the window. Yeah, she'd definitely turned the car around. Road trip?

"Uh, ain't like I don't appreciate the gesture, an' the town ain't far," he gestured in the direction they were facing, "but we'd have to get at least an amp outta there to," he nodded to the van, "though I guess we could throw it in the trunk..." he was already popping the seat belt, heading out and walking to the van, opening the doors to take a look around. There were a few other things here and there, but since space was a premium, Beau figured he'd settle for the amp. Most of the other stuff was just extra, though he did have a bag of spare clothing that he should probably grab too. Beau began pulling that bag out, as well as pulling one of the amps he knew actually worked toward the edge. That should be the bare minimum, and Beau wasn't going to put the girl out any more than he had to.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Nodding in agreement, Erika let out a small chuckle, ''I suppose you're right,'' she said and ran her fingers over the steering wheel. Okay, maybe she was just being picky, or spoiled, but she was thankful she had the car she had. She loved her car. Her sweet Viktor. And yes, she totally named her car.

Smiling, Erika didn't say much about his words and rather had the car stopped, patiently waiting for the guy to get his stuff. Really, she needed more hobbies. Especially since she offered to drive someone she barely knew to another town, just like that. Then again, if she participated in more, it would probably end up going out on her schoolwork. She was in too many clubs as it was, really, it took most of her free time away.

''Need any help?'', she called from the now open window and shrugged.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau looked over the stuff, trying to figure out what was absolutely necessary, what would be good to have around, and what he could leave at the side of the road. In actuality, since he'd only lugged the stuff that belonged to him, he didn't have a whole lot that he'd have to worry about. He adjusted the strap of his bag, pulling it further up his body and making sure it was all situated. Then he grabbed hold of the amp, dragging it as close to him as he could manage.

Beau nearly had it out of the van when he heard Erika calling. He looked over at her, grinning, "Ain't nothin' to worry 'bout; I got this," as if he'd really say anything to the contrary. He lurched back, dragging the amp with him. The sudden weight as the amp left the van dragged Beau's arms down a little, but he managed to adjust quick enough. Soon he was waddling/walking toward the car, rolling his arms to make things good and situated.

"Get the trunk open!" called Beau, jerking his head toward it, "an' I'll sling this thing right in there." The bag slid slightly, and Beau had to do a little dancing thing to try and get it back into position. It was times like this when he actually wished he had one of those more helpful abilities. Something like telekinesis would be great. He'd just have to think about it a little, and the bag would...

the bag slid back up his shoulders, and Beau's mind felt tingly. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to be a telekinetic, would ya?" he asked, perking his head up to try and look at her. Because otherwise they could very well be experiencing some kinda attack soon, and that would not be good.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

''All righty then,'' she mused as she shrugged. Well, it wasn't like she really minded or anything - she got to sit still while he did all the work. A woman's ultimate dream. Or something around the lines of that anyways. Turning up the volume of the stereo, Erika leaned her chin against the steering wheel and tapped her fingers a long with the music.

She did as she was told and opened the trunk, watching him from the corner of her eye before shrugging. She could only picture herself doing the same - though that would probably mean she'd have to drag her piano with her everywhere and that sounded like a hassle. Well, she did play the guitar too but that was a lot more private and fewer people knew about it. Besides, like her mother always said; It was more ladylike to play the piano. Blergh.

Blinking, Erika stuck her head out the window and scrunched her nose as she looked at him, ''Uh... Yeah?'' Was he a power sensor or something? If he was, he truly was a crappy one if it had taken him this long to figure it out. Unless, without her noticing it, it had molested the poor guy. ''It didn't feel you up, did it?'' she asked with a sheepish grin.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Yeah, that explains it," Beau shot back. It also made this whole carrying thing a lot easier. Beau didn't have extensive experience with telekinetics, but he had enough to figure out how to use it properly. He focused, pushing his energies into pushing up some of the stuff at the same time he lifted. He got it all into the trunk in one good lift. Well, everything but the guitar, which he already had tucked into the cab. Beau did have to work to adjust a few things, but he had to admit, this was one power that he was finding pretty darn useful. Didn't take long at all for him to finish packing up, and he nodded and smiled at the job, closing the trunk with his hands before coming along.

"Thanks again," he said as he opened the door and plopped back into his seat, "an' I was askin' 'cuz I pick up people's powers when I get close to them," he nodded and then flashed that smile of his at her, "an' your mind movin' stuff worked great for helpin' load up the trunk; only feelin' a bit tired, an' I reckon I'll get my wind back soon enough."

Since Beau was no longer driving. He did look at the van, frowning and feeling a little guilty. He patted at his clothes, eventually pulling out his phone. He knew a few local repair shops, having been here long enough and all, and he was already contacting some of them, letting them know. The fact that the license plate belonged to the school should be hint enough for any of the locals, but Beau didn't want to dump the problem in the academy's lap, even if they had just dropped it into his.

"I'm ready to head out whenever you are," he said, poking his head up, not entirely sure if Erika had been waiting for him or what.