JOHN DAVIS: PRE-GAME START
John ambled away from the gym, his arms feeling like melted jelly. Most days at the body improvement club were tough, but weights day was decidedly the worst. He could deadlift 250 lbs, but at the end of the day’s workout, when he was tired from squats and bench presses? Absolutely killer. He was sure he almost dropped the barbell on himself.
He grabbed the workout towel he had with him and wiped his brow, trying to get the sweat that wanted to drip down into his eyes. Unfortunately for John, he was only partly successful, and some rogue drops fell down into eyes anyway. With his eyes closed trying to rub out the sweat, he couldn’t exactly see where he was walking. A sudden jolt of pain in his shin brought him back to reality, and he rubbed the spot where it collided with the bench he just walked into. A slightly embarrassed blush lit up his cheeks, and he took a quick glance to check if anyone was around to see him. To his dismay, there was: one Juanita Reid, who had just turned the corner. While he liked Juanita, and would be chill in her presence at any other time, now wasn’t really his best moment.
John tore his hand away from his shin and corrected his posture, trying to at least look somewhat presentable. He’d heard all of the stories where someone was in front of their crush and did some stupid crap like trip or fart in front of them, and walking blindly into a bench sure felt like one of those moments. Okay, crush was a little too strong of a word, but he did harbor a quiet sort of admiration for her. The girl got hit with a career-ending injury, and instead of giving up, she worked through her injury to maintain her athleticism and physique she’d worked so hard on building. It was that kind of determination that brought success to people down the line, and John couldn’t help but develop a deep sense of respect for her. Plus, her tomboyish looks and cute smattering of freckles added a nice touch of charm in his books.
A thought suddenly smacked him upside the head. Homecoming was coming up, yeah? He still didn’t have a date, and right in front of him was someone who he was already close to, had ethics he admired, and looks he could certainly appreciate. Why not ask her? Well, he if he was going to ask her, he probably shouldn’t say that last bit. He knew she didn’t like people complimenting her appearance.
John thought of the most innocuous conversation opener he could, cleared his throat, and waved at Juanita.
“Hey Juanita! What’s up?”
Is it a date?
Tagging Gundham
"Oh... hey!"
Juanita struggled to maintain a poker face. She had definitely heard the squeak of athletic shoes coming to an abrupt stop and the sound of an impact, but it didn't take a detective to connect that dot with the pinkish-red mark on John's exposed shin. That wasn't particularly funny. But something about the way he was posing, like he wanted to pretend he was just casually standing in a hallway next to a bench for no reason, made her want to laugh a little. John was a pretty laid-back sort of guy, but she'd never really seen him get weird and flustered like this before. It was pretty endearing.
But, if he was trying to pretend it hadn't happened, he'd probably be embarrassed if she called attention to it, right? So she'd do her best to play along. The corner of her lip was edging slowly but upwards into a grin, so she decided to say words to keep her mouth occupied.
"I, uh, left my phone in my gym locker."
This was, technically, not a lie. She had left her phone, but she'd done it intentionally, since she'd been hoping to sneak in a little extra workout time after everybody else had left. Even though she'd been a part of the Body Improvement club for a while now, she still felt awkward working out with them. They all knew that she had an injury and that she shouldn't be pushing herself too hard. And if they caught her doing it, they'd... well, they'd say a lot of reasonable and helpful things that Juanita didn't want to listen to.
Her eyes kept wanting to drift down to the pinkening mark on his shin. Not because it was particularly interesting, but because trying hard not to pay attention to something made you want to pay attention to it even more. She looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"That was a pretty intense workout today, huh? "
Juanita struggled to maintain a poker face. She had definitely heard the squeak of athletic shoes coming to an abrupt stop and the sound of an impact, but it didn't take a detective to connect that dot with the pinkish-red mark on John's exposed shin. That wasn't particularly funny. But something about the way he was posing, like he wanted to pretend he was just casually standing in a hallway next to a bench for no reason, made her want to laugh a little. John was a pretty laid-back sort of guy, but she'd never really seen him get weird and flustered like this before. It was pretty endearing.
But, if he was trying to pretend it hadn't happened, he'd probably be embarrassed if she called attention to it, right? So she'd do her best to play along. The corner of her lip was edging slowly but upwards into a grin, so she decided to say words to keep her mouth occupied.
"I, uh, left my phone in my gym locker."
This was, technically, not a lie. She had left her phone, but she'd done it intentionally, since she'd been hoping to sneak in a little extra workout time after everybody else had left. Even though she'd been a part of the Body Improvement club for a while now, she still felt awkward working out with them. They all knew that she had an injury and that she shouldn't be pushing herself too hard. And if they caught her doing it, they'd... well, they'd say a lot of reasonable and helpful things that Juanita didn't want to listen to.
Her eyes kept wanting to drift down to the pinkening mark on his shin. Not because it was particularly interesting, but because trying hard not to pay attention to something made you want to pay attention to it even more. She looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"That was a pretty intense workout today, huh? "
V8 Characters:
Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds
Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds
Dang. It didn’t work.
John could tell that Juanita was struggling to keep a straight face. The slight grin and the fact that he could see her eyes trace their way down to his shin betrayed that his quick moves to compose himself had been more amusing than effective. It was pretty disheartening, to be frank. But since when did he let one screw-up bring down his entire operation? While it was a setback to be sure, he couldn’t just back away. It was just gonna take a little longer to reach the endgame.
“Yeah, weights day is always a killer. Every limb you got just kinda feels like jelly afterwards, y’know?”
As if to demonstrate, he weakly flexed his right arm, grunting as he did so. While it was muscular, a grueling combination of bench presses and deadlifts certainly did a number on it. He was gonna feel that burn for a while, especially in his back. Doing deadlifts at max weight after doing bench presses for 45 minutes wasn’t his brightest move. He couldn’t really bring himself to care too much, though. Soreness was ubiquitous when it came to exercise, and it would pass with enough stretching and rest, just like it always did.
Oops, he’d gotten lost in his thoughts. John shook his head lightly, as if to discreetly remove the distractions in his head. It was time to make a move. Despite his nature as an outgoing conversationalist, he’d always had a problem when it came to small talk. It was like the mediocre salad you’d get at a steakhouse that they used to make the perfectly medium rare strip steak all the more appetizing. Dang, he could really go for a-
Focus, John! He realized he’d let that train of thought derail as well, and briefly shook his head again to dispel the thoughts. Alright, now it was go time. He wouldn’t let another brain spew throw him for a loop again.
“Hey, Juanita, did you, uh, have any, uh, interest in going to homecoming...?”
“With me” was left unspoken. John’s face reddened, the paled, then reddened again. Did all of his willpower and determination mean jack squat when it came to talking to a potential date? Apparently it did. Crap. He hoped that Juanita would pick up on the implicit hint and connect the dots herself, but he wasn’t confident. So, he did the first thing that came to his mind: he simply stood around and waited.
John could tell that Juanita was struggling to keep a straight face. The slight grin and the fact that he could see her eyes trace their way down to his shin betrayed that his quick moves to compose himself had been more amusing than effective. It was pretty disheartening, to be frank. But since when did he let one screw-up bring down his entire operation? While it was a setback to be sure, he couldn’t just back away. It was just gonna take a little longer to reach the endgame.
“Yeah, weights day is always a killer. Every limb you got just kinda feels like jelly afterwards, y’know?”
As if to demonstrate, he weakly flexed his right arm, grunting as he did so. While it was muscular, a grueling combination of bench presses and deadlifts certainly did a number on it. He was gonna feel that burn for a while, especially in his back. Doing deadlifts at max weight after doing bench presses for 45 minutes wasn’t his brightest move. He couldn’t really bring himself to care too much, though. Soreness was ubiquitous when it came to exercise, and it would pass with enough stretching and rest, just like it always did.
Oops, he’d gotten lost in his thoughts. John shook his head lightly, as if to discreetly remove the distractions in his head. It was time to make a move. Despite his nature as an outgoing conversationalist, he’d always had a problem when it came to small talk. It was like the mediocre salad you’d get at a steakhouse that they used to make the perfectly medium rare strip steak all the more appetizing. Dang, he could really go for a-
Focus, John! He realized he’d let that train of thought derail as well, and briefly shook his head again to dispel the thoughts. Alright, now it was go time. He wouldn’t let another brain spew throw him for a loop again.
“Hey, Juanita, did you, uh, have any, uh, interest in going to homecoming...?”
“With me” was left unspoken. John’s face reddened, the paled, then reddened again. Did all of his willpower and determination mean jack squat when it came to talking to a potential date? Apparently it did. Crap. He hoped that Juanita would pick up on the implicit hint and connect the dots herself, but he wasn’t confident. So, he did the first thing that came to his mind: he simply stood around and waited.
"Homecoming?" she parroted.
This was, as far as she knew, the first time Juanita had ever been asked to homecoming - which didn't mean she hadn't gone; she did, every year, and always with a date. It was just that Juanita herself never seemed to get asked. Her breasts, on the other hand, got asked every year. Juanita herself had to play chaperone, which meant keeping them safely within the confines of her dress and taking them home with her at the end of the night instead of letting them wander off with her dates into motel rooms or the backseats of cars. It was a very unpopular role.
But just now, John had asked Juanita. He'd asked her eyes, and her face.
Or... had he? He'd just asked if she was interested in going, hadn't he? Did he really mean it, or was she just reading into things? One glance at the rapid red-white-red blush on his face, though, erased all doubt that the request was genuine. Juanita felt her own cheeks starting to burn a little, from sympathy.
"M-Me? I..."
Her mind whirled. John was a soldier, wasn't he? Soldiers were supposed to be gallant and protective, so maybe he'd be different from the other guys who asked her out. But... wasn't he... hadn't he said something in club about being into boys? Or was it boys and girls? She had a hard time remembering, but she could've sworn... Would he really ask her, if he was gay? Or maybe it was it a don't ask, don't tell thing? That would actually be a plus, since it'd take a lot of the pressure off.
Oh no. She was hesitating. He was waiting for an answer, and blurting out "Are you sure?" seemed like the wrong thing to do, so she said the first thing that came to mind.
"I... I'd love to. W-with you, I mean."
This was, as far as she knew, the first time Juanita had ever been asked to homecoming - which didn't mean she hadn't gone; she did, every year, and always with a date. It was just that Juanita herself never seemed to get asked. Her breasts, on the other hand, got asked every year. Juanita herself had to play chaperone, which meant keeping them safely within the confines of her dress and taking them home with her at the end of the night instead of letting them wander off with her dates into motel rooms or the backseats of cars. It was a very unpopular role.
But just now, John had asked Juanita. He'd asked her eyes, and her face.
Or... had he? He'd just asked if she was interested in going, hadn't he? Did he really mean it, or was she just reading into things? One glance at the rapid red-white-red blush on his face, though, erased all doubt that the request was genuine. Juanita felt her own cheeks starting to burn a little, from sympathy.
"M-Me? I..."
Her mind whirled. John was a soldier, wasn't he? Soldiers were supposed to be gallant and protective, so maybe he'd be different from the other guys who asked her out. But... wasn't he... hadn't he said something in club about being into boys? Or was it boys and girls? She had a hard time remembering, but she could've sworn... Would he really ask her, if he was gay? Or maybe it was it a don't ask, don't tell thing? That would actually be a plus, since it'd take a lot of the pressure off.
Oh no. She was hesitating. He was waiting for an answer, and blurting out "Are you sure?" seemed like the wrong thing to do, so she said the first thing that came to mind.
"I... I'd love to. W-with you, I mean."
V8 Characters:
Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds
Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds
If someone saw John Davis's face just moments before, they would've thought that he couldn't get any more red. "He looks like a lobster!" they'd say. Well, they would be wrong. When Juanita said yes- holy crap, she actually said yes- his heart skipped a beat and his blush grew even darker. He'd done it! He'd really done it! He'd never even asked someone on a date before, much less a date to homecoming. Come to think of it, he'd never even been to homecoming before, and he wasn't going to go alone! Awesome!
"Wha- you will? Hel- er, heck yeah!" he exclaimed excitedly, his deep baritone voice going a few pitches higher in the process of doing so.
He reached around to hug her before retracting his arms partway through. He didn't want to make thing awkward by giving Juanita an unwanted hug, but he realized he probably made it even more awkward by reaching for a hug and then backing out halfway. Crap! This is why he never did half-measures. It always ended up worse than if he went all the way or didn't do it at all.
"Uhhhh, so, yeah." Nice way to break the silence, champ. Real smooth moves you got there.
"So, uh, do you want to, uh, hang out sometime before homecoming?" He cringed so hard internally it almost showed externally.
"Wha- you will? Hel- er, heck yeah!" he exclaimed excitedly, his deep baritone voice going a few pitches higher in the process of doing so.
He reached around to hug her before retracting his arms partway through. He didn't want to make thing awkward by giving Juanita an unwanted hug, but he realized he probably made it even more awkward by reaching for a hug and then backing out halfway. Crap! This is why he never did half-measures. It always ended up worse than if he went all the way or didn't do it at all.
"Uhhhh, so, yeah." Nice way to break the silence, champ. Real smooth moves you got there.
"So, uh, do you want to, uh, hang out sometime before homecoming?" He cringed so hard internally it almost showed externally.
John's exuberant reaction caught Juanita off guard. Between the blush, the smile on his face, and the high-pitched voice, he was like a kid on Christmas morning - specifically, a kid on Christmas morning who'd just unwrapped a present they never expected to get. Juanita smiled a little bit, because it was very cute, and she had to stifle the temptation to giggle.
The attempted hug, though, froze her in place. Wh-What the heck was that? She'd had guys offer to hug her every now and again, and at first she hadn't minded because hugs were nice and stuff, but then she'd found out that guys would ask for that because they could feel things, and ever since then she'd become quite adept at dodging them (or faking a loud sneeze, which was usually gross enough to ruin the mood), but John had caught her a bit flat-footed here, but then he'd just... backed off out of nowhere, and... asked to hang out? What was that even supposed to mean?
"Um... yeah! I'd like that! We could go see a movie sometime. I heard Dune is pretty good, or there's the new James Bond one."
Shoot, was that too date-y? Those Bond movies had a lot of smut in them, and who knew what kinds of outer-space stuff the Dune people might get up to. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea. She did want to see Encanto, and Disney was always safely PG, but that wasn't coming out for another few weeks. So... course correction, quick!
"Or we could just... go for a walk down by the park? I have physio, so I try and get in some steps every day, and play Pokemon Go while I'm out..."
The attempted hug, though, froze her in place. Wh-What the heck was that? She'd had guys offer to hug her every now and again, and at first she hadn't minded because hugs were nice and stuff, but then she'd found out that guys would ask for that because they could feel things, and ever since then she'd become quite adept at dodging them (or faking a loud sneeze, which was usually gross enough to ruin the mood), but John had caught her a bit flat-footed here, but then he'd just... backed off out of nowhere, and... asked to hang out? What was that even supposed to mean?
"Um... yeah! I'd like that! We could go see a movie sometime. I heard Dune is pretty good, or there's the new James Bond one."
Shoot, was that too date-y? Those Bond movies had a lot of smut in them, and who knew what kinds of outer-space stuff the Dune people might get up to. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea. She did want to see Encanto, and Disney was always safely PG, but that wasn't coming out for another few weeks. So... course correction, quick!
"Or we could just... go for a walk down by the park? I have physio, so I try and get in some steps every day, and play Pokemon Go while I'm out..."
V8 Characters:
Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds
Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds