#//probably gonna keep my headcanon gas station in georgia still

[gas-stxtion-a]

//so jerry's canon phone number has a mississippi area code... jack's has an arkansas one....

[erlenmeyertrash]

Road Trip

(sooOOoo this is my first ever little story headcanon prompt thing that I wrote! the thought just popped into my head- what if Thomas and the Sides went on a road trip?- and I had to get it out before it escaped my mind. It’s just a short bit of fluff + funny shenanigans- hope anybody who reads it likes it!)

word count: 1547 pairings: none cw: none (i think? if there are please let me know!)

--

“GOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNIIIING VIETNAAAAAAA-”

“WE LIVE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. IT IS FIVE FIFTEEN IN THE MORNING.”

“Well, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the air mattress.”

Logan rubbed his eyes, slowly sitting up from his place on the couch and glancing at the blurry mess of shapes on the floor in front of him. He groggily reached for his glasses on the side table, putting them on and blinking to find an already-dressed Roman, standing with his hands on his hips, grinning broadly down at the dark lump of blankets Logan could only assume was Virgil.

“The side is not important. It’s the fact that the sun is not out,” came the groan from the blanket mound. Roman rolled his eyes and gently nudged it with his foot, the beaming smile refusing to leave his face.

“Oh, come on, Sleeping Broody! When has the sun ever dictated your morning activity?”

“Anybody else want coffee?” Logan glanced up as Patton slowly ambled into the living room from the kitchen, hiding his yawn behind a steaming mug.

“I’d like some,” Logan replied, stretching.

“Did somebody say coffee?” Thomas stumbled down the stairs, hair sticking up wildly. Roman beamed at his friend, throwing his hands in the air dramatically as Thomas hit the bottom landing.

“IT’S ROAD TRIP TIME! Are you ready, Baby Driver?!”

“Not time yet. Coffee first.” Thomas smiled sleepily but pushed past him, nearly tripping over Virgil, who groaned and threw off the blankets. Logan stepped over his unruly mess and followed Thomas’ lead.

The boys had planned this trip for months now. It was a culmination of Roman’s wild thinking, Logan’s planning, Thomas and Patton’s unbridled enthusiasm and love of company, and Virgil’s agreement that if they didn’t do it now, they would probably get too busy to ever do it in the future (his “ever-present pessi-realism,” as Roman had so eloquently put it, had done little to dampen anybody’s mood and had only encouraged them to plan it as soon as possible). It was one of their last (but definitely not the last) great adventures before they started their senior year of college- the final obstacle before officially assimilating into the real world. Between internships, study abroad, and summer theatre programs, the five had carefully and skillfully managed to block out a full four weeks to take a quasi-cross-country road trip.

Through Logan’s love for excellent and meticulous planning, he had mapped every detail of their trip just short of the best gas stations (Patton had gently pulled the laptop from his hands that night and told him to get some much-needed rest). It involved just enough of everybody’s favorite type of fun- from museum tours to beach hopping to roaming city streets to stargazing and then some- and enough bonding downtime to keep the action and adventure in balance with what could be their last summertime relaxation.

Thomas poured two cups of coffee, handing one to Logan, who accepted it gratefully. He could hear Virgil’s muttered cursing as he clambered to his feet and headed off to get changed, much to Roman’s delight.

“Roman, you’re awfully excited for this,” Thomas commented with a grin. “I thought you’d want a bit more beauty sleep?”

“Oh, please! Who can sleep when I have the best road trip playlist ever planned out for us today?!” Roman whipped out his phone, eyes practically sparkling. “It’s got everything- from classic jams to Broadway tunes to the absolute best of modern radio rages from every genre. You guys are gonna love it. I even included things suited for our own little Brendon Worry here.”

“Honestly, Roman, I am quite impressed that you have yet to run out of insults for Virgil over the years,” Logan remarked. Roman grinned.

“You may be the smart one, but creativity is intelligence having fun.”

“I have fun!” Logan protested.

“Sure you do, Necktie.”

“Your chariot awaits, my good sir!” Roman dramatically flung open the door for Virgil, who glared at his companion before clambering into the backseat. Even though they were all pretty much the same size, Virgil was the leanest- meaning he would be sandwiched between Roman and Thomas for the first leg of the drive. Patton, being one of the safer early-morning drivers, would be accompanied up front by Logan, the most attentive navigator. They were using Roman’s “chariot-” a giant gold ‘06 Ford Expedition- to make the long haul up the eastern coast.

Roman hopped in after Virgil and shut the door, leaning into his friend’s space to grab the aux cord from the front. Patton started up the car as Roman playfully ruffled his hair from behind, and Logan checked everything off his list before they were set.

“Savannah, Georgia, here we come!” Patton sang as they headed out.

“You guys are not ready for this playlist,” Roman babbled excitedly, tapping away on his phone. Virgil groaned internally. Seriously? The sun still wasn’t technically “up” yet- the first red hues were just appearing on the horizon.

Virgil jumped nearly a foot out of his seat as a man’s yelling voice came blasting through the speakers. Roman bounced excitedly in his seat, and Thomas burst out laughing.

“SERIOUSLY, Roman?!” Virgil snarled, glaring over. Roman ignored him, instead joining into the first notes from The Circle of Life. Virgil huffed, pulling his hoodie over his head and jamming his headphones over his ears. This was not going to be a good ride if he had to put up with Sir Sing-A-Lot next to him the entire time.

“Oh, come on, Virgil!” Thomas nudged him gently. “Just sing along to a few of them!”

“Maybe once I actually wake up,” he retorted, sinking down and trying to drown out the most enthusiastic modern barbershop quartet to ever exist. He found himself accidentally mouthing a few of the words and glanced up suspiciously, making sure nobody had seen, before continuing to scroll through his phone. If he saw Logan beam up at Patton, he gave no notice.

Virgil had slowly turned off his own music once he realized Roman���s playlist wasn’t entirely Disney on steroids. He gave Roman a grateful grin when even a few of his favorite songs came on, and he even laughed out loud when they all sang along to Wake Me Up Inside with just as much gusto as they did to Defying Gravity. Roman kept encouraging him to sing, but Virgil- ever the shy one- was slightly embarrassed to do so. He mainly stuck to singing the backup parts and had yet to take over a solo like the others. Even Logan had surprised the others when Zero to Hero had come on- he suddenly sang out the first note with such perfect precision that Roman nearly missed the second Muse’s line.

After the final notes of When Will My Life Begin rang out, there was a quiet beat before a trumpet softly filtered through the speakers. Patton gasped, eyes widening, and Thomas’ face lit up with joy. Logan blinked before his face broke out into a familiar grin. Roman smiled broadly, and Virgil frowned for a second.

“Where it began, I can’t begin to knowin’,” Thomas started off, and it clicked. Virgil rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. Of course. They each began to harmonize as Thomas continued, Virgil even joining in here and there. As they followed the crescendo to the chorus, each one ‘reaching out’ to another, Virgil had an idea and smirked.

“Sweet Caroline-”

“BA- BA- BAAAAAAAA… GOOD TIIIIMES NEVERRRR SEEMED SOOO GOOOOODDDDD-”

The other four were stunned into silence as Virgil practically yelled out the interjection before flawlessly continuing to the next line.

“IIIII’VE BEEN INCLIIINED-BA- BA- BAAAAAAAA…. TO BEEELIEEEVE THERE NEVER WOOUULLLLDDD, but... now I…”

Virgil slowly trailed off as he realized nobody else had been singing and glanced around. They were all just… looking at him. Frozen. Even Patton was glancing away from the road, staring into the rearview mirror with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“What? Neil Diamond is a classic. Shut up,” he grumbled, sinking into his seat again and flipping his hoodie over his hair.

Silence.

And then-

Thomas snickered quietly. And that was it. The other four were gone.

Roman was doubled over in his seat, tears nearly streaming from his face. Logan had his head in his hands, shoulders shaking as he cracked up. Thomas had his head thrown back in his seat, his deep belly laugh cutting out over the others. Patton had to pull over and rest his head on the steering wheel, his high-pitched giggles proving too much to handle. Virgil stared at them in turn, cheeks blazing.

“He- you- I- you just- BA BA BAAA-” Roman could barely speak, cutting himself off with another howl of laughter. At his repetition of Virgil’s interjection, Thomas and Patton were sent into more peals of giggling.

“That was- the greatest thing- I never-” even Logan could barely speak, wiping his eyes under his glasses. “You just- and I didn’t- my god, that… that was the best thing!”

Virgil glanced at all of them and slowly began to join in until he, too, was doubled over in his seat.

Roman added the song to the playlist again. This was going to be the best road trip.