I'm going back and rewriting old chapters, so this one is completely different to the original Shotgunning.
I think this one is a LOT better.
Also, expect more road trip AU's ;)

Also, characters from a musical bonding over musicals in my musical one shot book? M o r e l i k e l y t h a n y o u t h i n k
•••

Jeremy Heere has two phones.

One is his personal phone. It's where he calls his friends and his dad and the boss of his part time job at 7-11. And it's where he has downloaded all of the Papa *insert food here*-ia franchise.

The other one is a special phone. It barely rings, but when it does it blasts the Star Wars theme and dents Jeremy's heart racing. This isn't just a special phone, it's a phone more serious and important than you can imagine.

The phone rings at 2:57 am.
Jeremy wakes up immediately, grabbing the phone and answering it. His heart is racing from the shock of suddenly waking up and the cool night air nips his bare chest.

"Jeremy"

"Chloe" he says.

"We've found one"

"Text me the information I'm on my way"

Jeremy hangs up. He pulls out a large backpack from under his bed which is already half packed. He throws in a few pairs of underwear, along with his wallet and a few other essentials. He puts on some shorts, a striped t shirt, a cardigan and a cap, nearly running out the door without shoes.

He scrawls a note onto the kitchen table for his roommate. And with that he's out the door in less than fifteen minutes.

He reads Chloe's text as he walks to the bus stop. They're meeting on the outskirts of town and could be gone for about a week. Jeremy instantly regrets not packing more underwear.

So why is Jeremy meeting Chloe in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night because of a vague text message?

Jeremy Heere and Chloe Valentine are UFO enthusiasts. Serious UFO enthusiasts. They have studied paranormal sightings, taken interviews and even have an office space in Chloe's house dedicated to their red string boards and tin foil hats.

They've been doing it for so long with so much dedication, they're basically a business. Well, business is a stretch. They're more of a glorified fan club with a total of three and a half members.

The bus stop takes Jeremy to the outskirts of town, where he only has to walk half a mile to the meeting spot. He walks nonchalantly through the dark streets, airpods in his ears.

He reaches the meet-up point at around half three. A red car is parked on the side of the road.

I know what you're thinking,
"Jeremy! Don't go into the random car!"

And you would usually be right. But Jeremy knows that it's safe because of the sticker on the back window. I believe in Ugly Fucking Ostriches (and UFO'S of course)

A figure steps out from behind the car. Although they're parked under the illuminating streetlight, they managed to stay obscured from Jeremy's vision. Doesn't matter that Jeremy can't see him, he knows who it is.

"Jesus Christ" Jeremy hisses, pulling the earphones out of his ears and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"Where's Chloe?" He asks curtly as he approaches the car.

The figure steps properly into the light, his red hoodie highlighting like a beacon. He practically glares at Jeremy. His face drips with the sarcasm he has yet to speak.

"Not here. Clearly" Micheal Mell venomously enunciates.

"No shit- but where is she jackass?" Jeremy whips back, stepping into the ring of light.

As if on some coincidental cue, both of their phones buzz.

Chloe Valentine
I'm sick so I can't join you both on the trip. I knew if I told you immediately that I wasn't going, you wouldn't go. This is too big of a deal to pass on. So put your petty issues aside and hunt this thing for me. I don't care if you have to murder each other or compromise to death- you're going to that site.

Micheal scoffs, throwing his hands in the air.
"She fucking tricked us"

"She's not wrong" Jeremy admits. "I wouldn't've come if I knew you were coming. You're a fucking nightmare"

"You're not too spicy yourself, sugar"
Micheal eyes his car, squinting them in thought. He tongues the inside of his cheek.

"Fuck me with a samurai sword" He whispers to himself.
He sighs in defeat, walking over to the drivers seat.

"Throw your shit in the trunk. You're shotgunning" He says flatly.

"Wait what?" Jeremy says, halting Micheal as he climbs into the car.

Micheal sighs again, turning to Jeremy with a sarcastic smile.
"You're going to ride in the passenger seat. That's what it means to ride shotgun, m'kay?"

"M'kay" Jeremy mocks, walking into the passenger seat as Micheal rolls his eyes.

The car doors close, and the two enemies are trapped in the stuffy tin can of a car. Michael sharply turns on the ignition, the car coming to life. As Micheal slowly pulls off the side off the side of the road, Jeremy spots an aux cable connected to the stereo.

Micheal notices the pale hand reach for the cord and he slaps it away.
"Woah woah whah what are you doing?"

"I'm sticking on some music. All road trips require music" Jeremy says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"No you're not. Driver always picks the music"

"No shotgun always picks"

"According to whom?"

"Shotgun privileges state that the shotgun always picks the music"

"You just made that up"

"What no I didn't"

"Jeremy you didn't know what shotgunning was until half a minute ago. You're making up these bullshit privileges"

"Wow we're one minute into the trip and you're already attacking me"

"Fine. Why don't we . . . compromise like Chloe suggested?"

"Okay how do we do that?"

"How about . . . . okay I play my music on the aux for thirty minutes with no objections, then you play your music for thirty minutes? Deal?"

"Okay deal BUT ONLY IF I go first"

"Fine you needy child"

Jeremy smugly takes the aux cord, scrolling through his playlist. He smiles a little, picking a song. Immediately, the car fills with upbeat piano notes. He slowly cranks up the volume as the song begins to sing.

Micheal's sour face doesn't falter. He just accepts the song and focuses on driving down the practically empty highway. Well, he accepts it until a certain line.

"-but I should tell you that I think of you each night. I rub my nipples and start moaning with delight-"

"JEREMY THE FUCK?!" Micheal screeches over the music.

Jeremy laughs at his horror like Micheal's the weirdo. "Dude it's a musical of course some of the lyrics are weird"

"No this isn't a musical" Micheal turns down the music until it's a quiet murmur. "Musicals are about nuns and nannies and wholesome old fashioned things- and Disney movies! Disney is full of musicals but they never mention nipples!"

"Have you seriously never listened to a modern musical before? This is the new age of Broadway dude" Jeremy explains, sticking his foot against the glovebox so he can sit like a homosexual.

"What musical is this?"

"Dear Evan Hansen- really famous, won loads of awards"

"Well it's shit"

Jeremy is genuinely offended. He stares at Micheal with wide eyes and an open jaw. He turns up the volume.

"-all you gotta do is just believe you can be who you gotta be. Sincerely me! Are we done yet? Well I-"

Michael casually turn the volume back down.

Jeremy turns it back up.

Michael turns it down.

Jeremy turns it up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down-

"Need I remind you that I'm in charge of the stereo?" Jeremy snaps.

Michael doesn't say anything- just sort of huffs to himself. Jeremy happily hums along to the rest of the song. After a few minutes, the song changes. A similar, but more melodic song plays next. Jeremy spends his whole turn listening to songs from that musical. Since he plays them out of order and without context, Micheal gets more and more confused as time goes on.

Finally, the half hour is up. Michael takes a large swig of his coffee flask and grabs the aux cord. Unlike Jeremy, he plays a mix of different artists.

Instead of sweet and emotional musical songs, he dived right into loud and yell-like band music.

At first Jeremy just tunes it out like white noise, but he recognises the third or fourth song.

"Panic! At The Disco. Good to know that you do have some good taste" He remarks as Death Of A Bachelor starts to blast.

Michael doesn't take his eyes off the road, not even paying heed to Jeremy. Jeremy rolls his eyes in response. Jesus Christ- the one time I try to make friends with this guy.

Micheal's songs roll by, but Jeremy's turn can't come fast enough. All he wants is to listen to some musicals, is that so much to ask?

"I'm shotgunning" Jeremy states.

Micheal doesn't feel the need to respond since it was such an obvious statement. Jeremy pulls out his phone, quickly Googling.

Jeremy turns off his phone, turning to Micheal.
"Did you bring beer?"

"Why? You feeling frisky?" Micheal deadpans.

"Answer the question you jackass"

Micheal rolls his eyes.
"Yeah. There's a few cans in the cooler with the Pepsi and Mountain Dew and food"

"Hmm. Cool"
Without warning, Jeremy pops his seatbelt, reaching into the backseat.

"Jesus Jeremy stay in your seat until the end of the ride. I'm not gonna be responsible for your death!" Micheal exclaims at the sudden movement.

"One second one second!"

Rustling comes from the backseat, followed by a few grunts. Jeremy returns to the passenger seat with a can of brand-less beer. He puts his seatbelt back on (safety is important kids) and looks at his can gleefully.

"What are you doing?" Micheal says like the fed up parent he is.

"I'm shotgunning" Jeremy produces a Swiss Army knife from his pocket, popping out the blade.

Micheal's eyes go wide when he realises what he's doing.
"I swear to fucking god if you cut open that can in my car I will throw you into the road right now"

"Oh soothe your boobs, Mell. I know what I'm doing"

Jeremy does not know what he's doing.

He stabs the can, quickly plugging his mouth over the hole. He tilts his head back and chugs. Small sprays of the beer escape his mouth, leaking over the car. Micheal protests, but Jeremy keeps chugging until the can is empty.

"Boom!" Jeremy cries in triumph, throwing the can into the back. "I am the lord of Shotgunning in every way and context"

"You soaked my car in shitty alcohol just because it's called shotgunning?"

"Yup. And I'd fucking do it again" Jeremy smiles sarcastically.

Micheal mutters something under his breath. He silently wishes for Jeremy to just vanish so he can spend the rest of the trip in blissful silence.

"My half hour's up by the way" Micheal adds. "It's your turn for the music"

Jeremy takes the aux, scrolling through his playlist.
"So we already listened to all of Dear Evan Hansen, so let's try some Catch Me If You Can, shall we?"

Jazzy, bluesy music fills the car. Micheal focuses on the road but the catchy music can't help but sneak into his head. His fingers unconsciously tap along on the steering wheel.

A few songs later, Micheal stops the car outside a motel. The motel looks reasonably nice in the light of the moon. The green neon sign reads Sleepy Time Place, with a matching red sign that says vacancy. Micheal parks the car in the near empty parking lot, turning to Jeremy.

"We're gonna catch a few Zs now so I don't get tired and crash the car. If we want to get to the site before the hype we can only sleep for four hours- four and a half at the most. You go to reception and get us two rooms while I get our stuff. I don't care how you spend the four hours but I would advise sleep. Set an alarm and we're gone in four hours- I take any opportunity to abandon you so don't sleep in. Cool? Cool"

Micheal gets out of the car, going to the trunk to get their bags. Jeremy closes his gaping mouth, unsure how to react to that rapid fire of information. He decides to follow Micheal, getting his bag before going to the reception.

The receptionist is a goth girl who can't be older than Jeremy. She sits behind a plastic screen, playing on her phone.
Jeremy taps the plastic gently. She looks up at him through unrealistically long lashes.

"Hi I'd like two rooms for four to five hours please" Jeremy asks.

"That's a specific time frame but get off" She looks to the laptop on her right, tapping away on a few keys.

"We only have one room available, and I'll give it to you cheap since it's only for a few hours" she reaches under her desk before pulling out a room key.

"No no no. Sorry! Sorry. Sorry sorry" Jeremy insists. "I'm travelling with a guy I hate and we need separate rooms"

"Well. Learn to share"
She opens a small hatch in the window, sliding the room key over to Jeremy.
"That'll be twenty dollars"

Jeremy reluctantly returns outside to a grumpy, sleep deprived Micheal. He didn't notice how tired Micheal really is; bags hang under his hooded eyes and he can't help but yawn every five seconds.

Jeremy leads them to their second floor room silently, both of them too tired and annoyed to talk. But words are definitely spoken when they reach the room.

"Where's your room?" Micheal asks.

"This . . . is my room" Jeremy unlocks the door and steps inside.

"Okay, then where's my room?" Micheal steps into the lowly lit room behind him.

"This is also your room" Jeremy continues into the room, stopping at the bed.

Confused, Micheal steps next to him. He throws up his hands and sarcastically laughs.
"No. We are not sharing a room that only has one bed"

(Bet you guys didn't see the one bed thing coming)

"Okay micheal we could spend the next two and a half hours fighting about sharing a bed, or we could sleep; and I'm not getting back in that car with you sleep deprived so please cut this bullshit and just sleep in the fucking queen sized bed"

Micheal pouts, but gives in. He throws his bag on the ground as the two get changed. It's pretty low effort changing to be fair. Jeremy strips off his hoodie and jeans, leaving him in his shirt and boxers. Is he wearing socks? That's for you to decide.

Micheal puts on sweatpants- and that's it. He tells Jeremy that he can't sleep in a t-shirt and that's the end of it. They don't comment on how they're both half naked and just climb into bed.

They lie back to back as close to the edge as they can so they don't touch.

They stay like that for hours. Micheal can spot a digital clock on the bedside table. He watches the minutes turn into an hour, an hour into two.

All this long driving at early hours of the morning has really taken it out of Micheal; and yet, when he's finally resting on a comfortable-enough bed he can't sleep a wink.

His slow breathing syncs with Jeremy's, putting in into a peaceful trance. A state of sleepless meditation. This tranquility is broken by Jeremy moving behind him.

Jeremy flops onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. Micheal slowly looks over his shoulder to see Jeremy also wide awake.

"Can't sleep?" Micheal's voice is hoarse.

"No I'm sleeping right now can't you tell"

Micheal moves onto his back too, both boys staring upwards.

"I can't believe you're not sleeping when it was your idea to rest here" Micheal says quietly.

"I have insomnia" Jeremy says seriously.

"Oh" Silence falls upon them again.

"What's your excuse for staying awake?" Jeremy asks.

Micheal shrugs.
"I dunno, just can't sleep. I'm just a night owl I guess"

Jeremy sighs, sitting upright. He shuffled backwards so he's sitting against the headboard.
"I don't think either of us are getting sleep. What a waste of twenty dollars"

Micheal adjusts his sitting position so he's sitting next to Jeremy. They sit there for a couple minutes, neither of them sure what to say.

"To pass the time" Micheal slowly suggests. "Can you explain the plot to Dear Evan Hansen to me?"

Jeremy's mouth falls open in a smile. He laughs breathlessly.
"Dude, are you trying to bond with me?"

"Oh shut up. You were playing the songs on the way over and they were really good but I had no idea what was going on. So, can you just explain the story to me?"

Jeremy smiles smugly, getting himself comfortable.
"So the show starts with Evan Hansen on his bed writing an email-"

"-and then act one ends" Jeremy finishes.

Micheal, who had been hanging on to his every word, snaps back to reality.
"What happens next? What happens in act two?"

Jeremy looks at his charging phone to check the time.
"Sorry, that's going to have to wait. We were meant to wake up in ten minutes so we might as well get ready to go"

Jeremy slips off the bed, grabbing his bag and rummaging for clothes. Micheal follows suit and the pair get dressed.

They leave the room silently, returning to the car. Jeremy stops off at reception to give the girl the key. She pulls a face at him.

"Good morning. How were your few hours?"

"Good good yeah" Jeremy was never good at smalltalk.

"How did you enjoy the one bed?"

Jeremy goes to answer sincerely, when he sees her suggestive smirk.
"It's not like that and you know it"

She just laughs.
"Come back anytime"

"Only if you're paying" Jeremy leaves the dingy motel, stepping into the red PT cruiser parked outside.

Micheal barely notices his existence.

"Your turn to stick on music" he deadpans, putting on his seatbelt.

Jeremy shakes his head.
"No I stuck on Catch Me If You Can as we arrived here. It's your go"

"I'm not going to scam you out of this. It's your go to put on music" Micheal starts the car, pulling out of the parking lot.

A lightbulb goes off in Jeremy's head.
"Do you just want me to put on Dear Evan Hansen?"

"I don't care what you put on, it's your half hour" Micheal is great at speaking with zero emotion, despite the fact that he really wants to listen to Dear Evan Hansen.

Jeremy scrolls on his phone very quick, before the sound of guitar fills the car.

"Why should I play this game of pretend?"

The boys don't talk for the whole half hour. So they bonded in the middle of the night over an emotional musical and they still hate each other. Wow becoming friends is the worst.

•••
Yay I rewrote one of my least favourite chapters! I'm gonna write a part two where they actually go to the UFO site so stay tuned for that my dudes.

Anyways, I'm posting this during pride month so happy pride! Or if it's not June, happy whatever day of the week it is!

- Avery