Ah, the elusive oil filter!

None of the shops in his neck of the woods had an oil filter for this brand stankin’ new Yamaha bike that needed an oil filter, so Travis had to do some digging and make some phone calls to get the job done. The young bloke who had brought the bike into the shop on the back of his truck had said it would be hard to find, but Travis had done it. The place was in a bad part of Manhattan, but that didn’t really bother him. Sure, his truck was supped up, but it still wasn’t something most people would want to steal, being a 67… besides, it was doubtful they would get far with the anti-theft devices he had placed in his pride and joy… without using his ability to override it, the engine block would seize up if someone tried to start it.

Sometimes, being a mutant was fun.

But that aside, he found the shop, and was on his way back. This was the last order of the day, as business had picked up as the Holidays neared. A lot of people traveling to see family and such, so when the guy said he needed an oil change on a dirtbike, he had already deduced that the bike was bought, used, and needed it done so that it could be someone’s Christmas present. A nice touch, mind you, and as a bit of goodwill, he had fixed a small leak in the oil pump, which had a bad seal, and now had an oil filter in his hands. The shop was closed and it was starting to settle into the evening… dinner time… maybe a stop at a fast food joint on the way back… but on his way back, he couldn’t help but see a young woman huddled around a burning barrel trying to get warm.

He couldn’t help it… being alone all his life, having been raised an orphan, seeing stuff like that always made his heart break just a little because unless he had found his talent in mechanics, he would likely have been in the same situation. Without thinking, he found himself slowing to a stop under the overpass and pulling alongside the young woman. The truck’s thundering engine stopped, and he got out, moving next to the woman, who certainly seemed to be chilled to the bone, huddled next to what he realized wasn’t a fire, but the embers of one.

“Excuse me, miss. Would you like to go get a bite to eat?” Yep, there was Travis being blunt again… but his smile was one of genuine kindness. It was the holiday season after all, why not spread kindness to those who obviously needed it most.

Gwen took a deep breath as she stared off into the dyeing fire. Her belly was full and she still had enough money to get a hotel tonight. Tourists really were such pushovers. Gwen had spent all day just kind of chilling on the side of the road on a side street in Time Square and had made 300 dollars today thanks to their overly generous hands. People from New York knew the begging drill, but tourists where a whole ‘nother ball game. Gwen never took more than she needed but she knew some ‘homeless’ people who lived the high life just by spending their days in ratty clothes in Time Square and making thousands of dollars a day. Honestly if Gwen wanted to she could do the same thing, but she was far too nice for that. She actually kind of hated the guys that did begging as their job. Gwen did t because she had to. She couldn’t risk having a real life so she begged. It wasn’t the most dignified way of life but it was better then some. She generally had enough to eat and could find a roof to put over her head and that was really all that mattered to her.

Gwen let out an exasperated sigh as she heard the sounds of a vehicle pulling up next to her. This was never a good sign. It was either a cop come to make her go to a shelter or throw her in jail for the night ‘for her own good.’ Or it was some soft hearted person thinking they could help her. She did not want to be or need to be helped and she was totally prepared to tell them that. She was not some charity case that needed to be saved. She lived this life for a reason and it was none of their business so they could just bugger off.

“I’m actually quite full.” There was sarcasm and annoyance dripping from every word she said as she gave the guy a pissed off smile, “I don’t need you to save me thanks.”

The tone in the young woman’s voice told Travis that he wasn’t really welcome, but she was trying to at least appear polite. With an arresting smile, he countered flawlessly though. “Who said anything about saving you? I just wanted to take a beautiful woman to dinner, but seeing that you have eaten, how about a movie?” Travis had switched gears entirely now, not only due to her ‘I don’t want to be helped’ attitude, which he respected quite a bit as she wanted to take care of herself, but because of how he became lost in her eyes. She was truly beautiful, and it wasn’t like he got many opportunities like this in his line of work… after all, how many beautiful women went to a mechanic’s shop without the impressions that he was just a dumb grease monkey?

But, with the beautiful woman in front of her, he couldn’t help but try.

He decided to press the issue with just a sentence more, knowing that it might make the difference. “I heard there are some good one’s playing too, but it’s boring as hell to watch a movie by myself, no matter how good it is.” That comment should do the trick… if she still refused, he would back off, but it was his hope that she would either give him something to work off of and continue the conversation, or be put off to such an extent that it was obvious that pursuing it further was not a good idea. Apply too much pressure to anyone and they will recoil, regardless of kindness.

In the very least way, he hoped to at least make himself out to be less annoying, and through effect, less of the ‘knight in shining truck here to save the damsel by the barrel’ type thing he was originally working on. If he played his cards right, he could very well have himself the cashier/receptionist position that all his mechanic’s hated, filled by this very woman. But offering the young woman a job would wait… first, he had to get his foot in the door.

Gwen couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this man’s ridiculous attempt at saving this situation. It may have been her overly untrusting nature but seriously? What guy in his right mind picks up a girl on the side of the road? That is unless he was looking for a good time. “uhhuh… sure.” It only added insult to injery when he mentioned that there may be good ones. He really was a stupid boy. Did he really think she was that kind of girl? She was sitting here next to a smoldering can in tattered and worn skinny jeans, a baggy tee shirt, a green jacket that was one size too big and a pair of warn in converse. This guy really was an idiot if he thought she was going anywhere to do anything with him.

“Buddy I’m sorry but I’m not that kind of girl. I may be on the side of the road but does it look like I’m about to let you pay me to give you a good time. I don’t care if you take me out first. I may be living on the street but I will never be that desperate for money. Trust me.”

Gwen hopped off of the perch she had been sitting on and started walking away from the guy in a hurry. This was not her first time being accosted and would probably not be her last. Experience had taught her that these guys didn’t always take kindly to being turned down when they wanted something. At least she hadn’t been insulting this time. Or at least she hadn’t thought she had. As she walked she looked around, only turning her head slightly to not give away the fact that she was looking around for a weapon in case she head to defend herself against this guy that was blatantly bigger than her. There was nothing. She sped up ever so slightly. Close enough to a run without running so she could easily start running if she needed to. Her converse were worn for a reason.

Travis was in no way, shape, or form a very smooth individual.

This situation did nothing but prove how true that statement was, and in the same span of time it took to make the decision to try to get the young woman out of the cold, she was getting ready to flee. Travis took in a breath to react to her last statement, but it turned into a deep sigh as the young woman sped away. “SORRY!” he called after her, genuine in both tone and meaning. Running a hand across his face, he felt, and if the young woman looked back, looked, utterly humiliated and defeated. His only intent had been to spread a little good will towards another human being.

Slowly, so it didn’t look like he was chasing her, she start running, and her slip and hurt herself, he moved back to the driver’s side of the truck and opened the door. Climbing inside, he shut it again, and rested his forehead against the steering wheel, and waited. He was going to stay here for the next four or five minutes, waiting for her to clear the area and leave this particular event behind her before he started driving. After that, he would start to work his way back towards his shop, which was also the direction the young woman had been walking. He only hoped she had turned a corner somewhere so he didn’t give the impression that he was trying to run her down.

Idly, he wondered if he would ever see the young woman again, and if he did, what he would say. No use in thinking about something that would likely never happen though, and with the turn of a key, his truck thundered to life, and he moved a bit slower than the speed limit back towards his shop. It wasn’t like he was worried about someone hitting him anyway, his truck was built with the old style, out of full metal. Most of the fiberglass cars nowadays would actually get totaled from hitting his truck, instead of the other way around.