Ride Along

[Dave]

Jack Grayson had his seat tilted back, his feet on the dashboard, and his guitar across his lap. Kai Shepard has his seat up straight, his foot on the pedal, his hands on the wheel, and the head stock of Jack’s guitar pressing into his shoulder. The tuning pegs were digging in.

“Can you put that damn thing away?!” Kai blustered, pushing the guitar away slightly without taking his eyes from the road.

“No can do, bro. You know what today is.”

“What? No I don’t. It’s distracting. Come on.”

“Oh man, today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the release of one of the great albums of all time.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jack smiled. He accepted the question as an invitation and began strumming. Kai caught on quickly.

“Nirvana, huh?”

“That’s right, bro. The album that defines our generation. Sweet tunes. Either you put the CD on, or I’m gonna play it.”

“You do realise that the album came out before you were born, right?”

“Right.”

“And that I was only a couple months old when it came out?”

“Yeah.”

“So how does it define our generation if I was an infant and you were nothing but a twinkle in your father’s eye?”

“Because,” said Jack, huffing loudly. “It just is. Timeless classic. Can’t deny that, bro.”

“Yeah, true.”

Kai returned his full attention to the road, which again Jack interpreted as an invitation to continue playing. He strummed again, and then opened his mouth. Kai caught him out of the corner of his eye.

“Don’t you dare—“

“I’m so happy
Because today, I’ve found my friends
They’re in my head
I’m so ugly
But that’s okay, ‘cause so are yooouuu—“

“Another word of that song and you can walk the rest of the way.”

“Ugh, fine, ruin my fun then. I can see you smiling over there though. I know you love it.”

Jack reached over into the backseat, pushing his guitar into the open case, then turned back to look at the road. It was early evening, and they still had some driving to do to make it to the arena where the next Carnage was schedule to take place. Jack had spent most of the afternoon napping while Kai drove, and considered getting a few more minutes of sleep before it’d be his turn, but his own antics had woken him up. He absently stared at the fields going past, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“So, big debut this week.”

Kai broke the silence and Jack turned back to look at his friend. Ever responsible Kai, his eyes still firmly fixed on the road ahead.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, actually. I was thinking, maybe, you know, I should change my ring name. Go by something else in WWG.”

“You’ve always been Jack Grayson. Why would you change that? Don’t want to be on the international stage under your real name?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just – hey wait, do you think Jack Grayson’s actually my name?” Jack laughed. “Oh man, that’s too funny.”

“What?” Kai asked, shocked. “It’s not?”

“No, idiot. Man, your dad helped me pick it out for my SAC debut. I mean, do you know anyone in wrestling who actually uses their real name?”

“Uh, yeah. Heaps. Jabari and Jelari, Sarah, hell even Alfie’s using his name since losing his mask. And, well, my name isn’t Kai, but it’s part of my real name, so there’s that.”

“Wait. Your name is actually Hendrik Malakai Shepard, Junior?”

“Yeah. I was born with it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Kai punched Jack in the shoulder.

“Keep your eyes on the road, bro.”

“I am, just don’t be a dick. So, you don’t want to be Jack anymore?”

“I do, it’s just. Well. Maybe time to freshen it up. Speaking of dicks, I was thinking I could go by Dick Grayson.”

“Like Robin?”

“What?”

“You know, Batman and Robin. Robin’s real name. The first one.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

“The first Robin was named Dick Grayson, he came from a family of acrobats.”

“So you’re telling me it’s perfect?”

“Only if you call me Batman.”

The pair laughed again before returning to silence. Kai pulled over at a rest stop for a moment and left the car to get a quick bite to eat. Jack remained in the care in silence, not feeling hungry. After a few minutes, they were back on the road, and Kai noticed Jack looked deep in thought.

“I got it!” he suddenly shouted. The sudden jump made Kai swerve a small amount, but he quickly corrected, and there wasn’t enough traffic that it was a major concern.

“Got what?”

“My new ring name! I can drop the Grayson and become Shepard, and we could say we’re not best friends but we’re actually brothers!”

“But we’re not brothers.”

“Not cool, bro. Besides, that’s not the point. Lots of great tag teams call themselves brothers but they’re really not. People like Edge and Christian, the Dudleys, Kane and the Undertaker—“

“So does that mean you’d be Jack Shepard?”

“I guess so.”

“You can’t do that. Jack Shepard. Too many Lost flashbacks.”

“What?”

“That was the name of the main character on Lost.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“You know a lot about nothing, did you know that? I mean really, who knows all these things?”

“What? I like Batman and Lost, so what?”

“Maybe I could just combine the two names. Dick Shepard. Yeah, I like that.”

“That’ll make you popular in the community.”

“You think?”

“Oh yeah, guys will be lining up all across the world to meet the famous Dick Shepard.”

Jack looked back out the window again, watching as the last rays of sunlight dipped beyond the horizon. “Wait a minute.”

“There it is.”

“You meant the gay community!”

“Yeah.”

“So that name’s out of the question.”

“What have you got against the gays?”

This time, it was Jack who punched Kai. Kai didn’t swerve at all.

“**** it, I’m staying Jack Grayson.”

“That’s what I was hoping to hear.”

After another twenty minutes of driving, Kai pulled over again to refuel. Jack went inside to grab a drink, and came out and hopped in the driver’s seat. Kai paid, returned to the car, and they were off again. Kai had spent the better part of the afternoon driving and was looking forward to some sleep. Jack, of course, knew this, and wasn’t about to be left on his own for several hours while they finished their drive.

“So who are these Bucks they’ve got us against?”

Kai sighed. No rest for the wicked. “I don’t know. New guys, I think. You know, it’s funny, now I think about it. Last Carnage I main evented with the who’s who of WWG. Collins, Lord, Nobody, Larsen, Rayven. Everyone on that list is a big deal. Now you sign a contract, and tomorrow, instead of closing the show I’m practically opening it. Not only that, but I was supposed to be next in line for a World championship match, and instead I have to wait until Marcus Collins gets his? Things have been going downhill for me ever since you signed.”

“Relax, bro, it’s just one week. Beside, you heard the boss man. He wants Cloud9. So we’ll give it to him then come Christmas, we’ll be main eventing against each other with the World championship on the line.”

“What makes you so sure of that?”

“Okay, think of it like this. You’re on the cusp of becoming a bona fide main event player in WWG. I’m the new guy in the door. Instead of putting me against another new guy—“

“They’ve put you against two.”

“No, they’ve put me with you. Important distinction. If you’re the next big breakout star, then they’ve basically strapped me to your rocket, and we’re going to the mother **** moon, baby.”

“That’s an optimistic way of looking at things.”

“You know me, forever the optimist. So, Bucks are new guys too? That’s fine. We’ll roll through them, put Cloud9 on the international stage, and who knows where we go from there. You’ve got your shot coming up, me, I’ve got the introduction to do and then become my own man. So here’s the plan. We beat the crap out of these guys, you know, those things we do best. And then you beat Trine Larsen, Marcus Collins, or whoever it is to become the WWG World Champion. And I, the newcomer, work my way up to that level by beating Marcus Collins or Saitama Gomi or whoever I have to, to become the WWG Carnage Champion. Then we bring in the Kenyans, we bring in Leah and Alfie, we bring in whoever we want, we dominate, I get six wins on the Carnage belt and you versus me, the main event heard across the world.”

“Yep, you’re definitely an optimist.”

“These aren’t hopes or wishes, Kai. These are aspirations. Goals. You know that’s what I want. It’s been years since we went one on one. And the next time we do, I want something great to be on the line. I want to prove that I’m just as good as you.”

“Ha, now I know you’re joking. Keep dreamin’, bro. Speaking of which… wake me when we get there.”

“Don’t you go to sleep on me!”

“Jack, I drove for hours. Do you want me to be tired tomorrow night? Just a few hours sleep, that’s all I’m asking for.”

“Fine. Whatever. Just don’t snore, okay?”

Kai rolled over in his seat, turning his back slightly to Jack. Jack looked down the road ahead. The sunlight had completely faded, and the vast majority of what lay before him was shrouded it darkness, but, wide awake, he drove forward.

Under his breath, he started singing, almost humming, to himself more than anyone.

“I like it, I’m not gonna crack.
I miss you, I’m not gonna crack.
I love you, I’m not gonna crack.
I killed you, I’m not gonna crack.”