wouldnt it be nice ⟿ TITANS

(the bartender and) the thief

xvi. chapter sixteen

previously

"We're not gonna steal a car." His response, appearing finished to Sandy, made her sign in relief. "... We're gonna steal a motorcycle." 

The second part of his reply caught Sandy off guard - she froze as her mind processed it - giving Jason time to walk around her and over to the aforementioned bike. Her eyes were trained on him, watching his actions in disbelief. When she realised he was serious she made her way over, looking around for the bike's owner.

"Jason!" She whisper-shouted, "What are you doing? We can't steal this!"

Jason quickly glanced at her as he heard her approach but returned his attention back to the bike in front of him. "It's fine," He replied, the reassuring tone in his voice contradicted his next words, "I've done this plenty of times."

He wasn't lying. He had been hot-wiring cars for years, his experience covered a range of vehicles (including the previous bat-mobile - which made this bike a piece of cake). Jason's experience also meant he was well aware no one was paying him any attention - everyone was still focused on the bar explosion - so he spared no time to check his surroundings, especially when he realised Sandy was already doing it. She had her back to him, her head twisting left and right every few seconds to look for anyone who might be approaching.

The temperature had dropped and the cold was starting to set in making Sandy bounce on her toes and rub her arms to try and maintain some warmth. She could here Jason's movements from behind her, hoping he was almost done in hot-wiring the bike - she still didn't agree with his decision but she also didn't want the owner of the motorbike to spot Jason stealing it so keeping watch was the only option she had. That didn't mean that she wouldn't still complain about it.

"This is a bad idea," Sandy started muttering to herself "I've barely been outside in years and even I know this is a terrible idea." She huffed.

Jason laughed at the girls misery, "Look who's getting cocky!".

His words made Sandy pause. He was right and that shocked her. She'd known him, what? A day? Why was she so comfortable with him? Maybe because he knew about her? She'd spoken to a fair amount of people over her years and despite knowing they wouldn't find out about her powers unless she wanted them to, she had always been too overprotective of herself. Around Jason she could be herself, she could say how she felt and acted how she pleased with no fear of exposing her powers because they were already out there, already known.

That realization filled her both with relief and paranoia. There had been some comfort in hiding herself away, she had developed an alternate personality, she had rehearsed conversation, she'd practiced her reactions, she knew who she was - or least, knew who a fake version of herself was, and she knew that person better than she knew her real self. Now she would be in the open and she didn't know what to do.

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard Jason calling for her to 'put this on', followed by her head being squeezed and her vision partially blocked. She could fainting hear an engine roaring and span around to see Jason sat on the bike waiting for her.  Sandy soon understood she was wearing a helmet but failed to understand why Jason wasn't.

"Where's your helmet?"

"There was only one." Jason said, nonchalantly. She noted his generosity but was filled with the need to give the helmet back, quickly assuming that she would probably come out better in an accident than Jason. Before she had time to follow through with the action Jason has lent out and pulled her on the bike behind him and started the engine.

He gave Sandy no time to register what was happening, as she heard Jason tell her to 'hold on' - which sounded like it had been said with a grin - and then what could only be described as feeling like her body was being ripped from her head as the bike sped away. To ensure she didn't fly away she quickly grabbed the sides of her seat (much to Jason's disappointment).

Luckily the crowds of people surrounding them had quick enough reflexes that they didn't hit anyone (surprising with the speed Jason was driving) and they were soon on to the open road. Due to the time, the roads were fairly empty, which would have comforted Sandy had Jason not taken the opportunity to speed up even more and deciding now was the perfect time to practice tricks.

The sound of the wind was close to deafening but Sandy could ever so slightly hear Jason's voice calling to her. Leaning closer to him, she could just about make out what he was saying.

"You've gotta give me some directions sometime soon... because I have absolutely no idea where we are going!"

"What?! How am I supposed to know where Dick is? I thought you would have had some sort of a plan before stealing a motorbike and riding off into the night!"

"That was most of my plan! The other part was you giving me directions! Can't you track him or something?" Jason called back to her. Sandy hadn't considered that, no one could really blame her though as the speed they were traveling was almost disorientating. She tried to calm herself down, slowing her heartbeat back to it's normal pace. It took her a moment to settle once she closed her eyes, the fear of not being able to see being to set in. She convinced herself that Jason was perfectly capable of driving - even though she wasn't sure if she really believed it - and tried to focus of Dick's location. Her mind started to race, she saw flashes of different buildings and people. Her thoughts swirls around until they settled on one building.

"I found him! He's at an ACE Chemicals Factory? Do you know where that is?"

"No clue! Do you?"

Sandy tried to regain her focus again, this time focusing on details. Once she managed to piece together parts of the journey, she began calling out directions to Jason whilst trying to keep her focus on Dick's location.

"Okay, I think I've got it. Take the ... third left? On to ... Lincoln Street." She yelled, hoping Jason could hear her clearly over the strong winds.

"Lincoln Street. Got it!" He called back. Jason revved the engine and lifted the front wheel off the road, catching Sandy off guard while she didn't have full concentration on her surrounding. Her grip on the seat wasn't enough so she latched on to the next best thing - Jason. She screamed in fear until he set the bike upright again.

"What the hell was that?!" She cried at him. She stabled herself on the bike long enough that she could slap Jason on the head. He laughed in response, slowing down slightly to take the left as she had instructed.

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The drive to the factory took them out of the city meaning the journey became much simpler. Sandy had memorized the set of directions so she spent her time watching the world around her, relaying the information to Jason when needed. She had returned back to her original position of holding onto her seat and lent her head back as she gazed at the stars. She found she always felt calmer looking at the night sky, like someone was watching over her, watching over everyone for her, so she could relax.

Sandy couldn't be sure of the time, but it would be reasonable to assume that it was very late. The relaxation had melted into exhaustion and she began to yawn. She noted their location and called out the next direction to Jason, who gave a small nod in return. They had communicated this way for most of their journey, not out of disinterest in each other, rather the opposite. They both felt equally comfortable, enjoying the silence with one another.

Sandy had noticed that Jason would tap his fingers on the handlebars in rhythm, most likely humming a tune alongside it that Sandy couldn't hear. She would nod her head along to the silent beat, creating her own one in her head, wondering if it matched up with Jason's. He also had a tendency to watch her, or rather glance at her every so often, knowing she wouldn't be happy if she caught him with his eyes off the road. One of the wing mirrors had been perfectly angled so that he could see Sandy behind him, her peacefulness filled him with with a new sense of tranquility, so he took every moment he could to look back at her, unknowingly causing him to smile.

At the speed Jason had been driving (thanks to the severe lack of people on the road), they had managed to reach the edge of the country roads in no time, Sandy hoping that meant they would catch up to Dick before he could enter the factory alone. The rural surroundings had allowed Jason to relax his senses slightly, as the chances of them coming across any potential hazards were slim to none. Now their surroundings became littered with more and more buildings, collisions seems much more likely. However, that thought failed to cross either of the travelers minds. They also failed to notice the the dead end that they were quickly approaching.

Luckily, something in Sandy's brain clicked and made her more conscious of their location. She tilted her head forward, her focus moving from the stars to the building now only yards away from them. Her heart was in her mouth as she yelled Jason's name, hoping he would be able to turn the bike in time. His head shot up, his chest tightened at the fear in her voice, even more so when he saw the distance between them and the end of the road.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Jason forced his arms against the sandbars, his whole body leaning forwards in attempt to turn the bike as quick as possible. An arm was thrown around his waist in fear. He barely felt Sandy press her face against his back, not being able to watch their impending crash.

Through gritted teeth he yelled, as if the force of his voice could act as a barrier and repel them away. His grip on the handles turned his knuckles white, holding on with everything he had as the bike began tilting them away from the wall and the front wheel hit the curb. He squeezed his eyes shut and awaited the collision.




a/n - 29/12/2019 

im worried im making jason sound too soft???? i think ive said that already but its  a big concern bc i want it to stick to a jason fic and not sound like im just writing my own story if you get me?? 

(second update - 08/03/2020)