"Doesn't surprise me. Most places have some kind of hotel nearby." Phoenix sighed softly, leaning back against the seat. "Would you be alright with that? I don't want to keep you from the campus, if you'd rather stay there. I could probably call Savanna, she'd come down here as soon as possible." He offered in a soft tone, glancing up to her.
"I, no we can stay in a hotel. If need be that is," Cicada finished wrapping up his hand. There was no way she was actually comfortable staying in a hotel, but she could be fine. Absolutely. No problem. She gave him a soft, forced, smile as she looked up at him. She offered him his keys, "Come on, let's take it into the repair shop."
Phoenix nodded a little, taking the keys. Sighing weakly, he sat up and started the car once again. "It's still kind of early for dinner. Do you wanna walk around for a bit, to explore the town?" He offered lightly, listening to the car rattle. He reached over and turned the hazard lights on, before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Um, totally!" Cicada said with a believable amount of fake enthusiasm. She was worried if they explored the town her feet would start taking her down old trails and Phoenix might get curious. She leaned back in her seat with an almost death grip on her phone as she tried to relax.
"We'll probably have to wait until I fill out paperwork, and all that wonderful stuff. I'm really sorry this is happening, I just wanted to have a nice time tonight…" Phoenix muttered, carefully driving along. He kept his eyes peeled for the repair shop, glancing around. "What road is it on?"
"And we still can," Cicada said fake glancing down at her phone before pointing off to one of the side roads. She honestly did believe they would have a good night, even if the car was only one of their problems, "It should be to the right down that road."
"Right… you really think things will still be alright?" Phoenix asked softly, glancing over at her with a nervous look. He didn't seem really sure. But he tried to cover it up by turning his gaze back to fully on the road. "If it's much more of a disaster, I promise I'll make it up to you."
"You don't need to do that," Cicada responded with a forced laugh. She was relaxing a little bit but tensed up as she remembered that literally anyone could recognize her. Hopefully, they wouldn't though, "Not because it'll be alright, but because this is enough anyway."
"But I didn't even make it to where we were heading." Phoenix insisted, turning the corner. He pulled up into the parking lot, parking the car. "I really feel like I owe you a better date. This is complete disaster in my opinion."
"Well, if that's how you feel then maybe another date next weekend?" Cicada suggested as she saw him park the car. She would have to get out soon, fuck. Her eyes glanced around quickly trying to see if she spotted anyone who might recognize her. No? Okay, she was safe, "Come on let's head inside."
Phoenix had already begun to climb out, and glanced over to her when she gave both suggestions. "I'd happily take you out on another date." He told her softly, walking around the car after shutting his door. Gently he pulled the door open, holding a hand out to her. "You coming with me?"
"Yeah, of course," Cicada gave him a smile as she cautiously took his hand. She got out of the car and took a deep breath. He couldn't get to her, she was safe. Her smile turned a little lopsided, "Then after that, I can take you out on a date. So we're even."
"I can live for that." Phoenix gave a little smile, gently wrapping an arm over her shoulders. He noticed she seemed really off, and clearly she was trying really hard not to show him. So he wouldn't mention it right now. He'd try to get himself under control first. "Let me know if this is bugging you."
"Okay," Cicada leaned against him gently. She felt a lot better with Phoenix nearby, just being him. A genuine smile slipped onto her lips as she glanced up at him, "I'm really glad you're you."
Phoenix glanced down to her with an odd look, but let a little smile pull up. "And I'm glad you're you. I couldn't ask for a better girl, to be mine." He told her softly, kissing the top of her head. He kept his smile up still, reaching the door.
Cicada realized she probably shouldn't have said that aloud, but her smile grew as he responded and kissed her head. She glanced around the inside and didn't recognize anyone, good. They would be fine here, "And I really couldn't ask for a better boyfriend."
Phoenix felt his smile pull up a little more as he led her up to the front desk. "Do you wanna sit down, while I deal with this?" He asked softly, still loosely holding on to her. He didn't want to make her wait there, but she might prefer to stay closer to him in a coughnotcough new place.
"I," Cicada finally responded after weighing her options. If she sat down then more attention would get drawn to her, but if she stuck with Phoenix they were a faceless pair. She let out a slight breath, "Can I stay with you instead?"
"Of course, darling." Phoenix nodded a bit, kissing her once again before continuing up front. Quickly he explained the situation, and what he assumed was wrong with the car to the mechanic, and they were headed outside to go take a look. When Phoenix popped the hood of the car open, the man glanced over it with a soft sigh. "Yeah, I think you're gonna need to leave it here over night. I've got a couple things stacked up, and doubt I'll even get much of a chance to look over it. I wanna make sure I give it a good look, and not just guess."
Cicada stuck next to Phoenix keeping her head low. She bit her lip worryingly when she heard that it would have to stay here overnight. Even more so when she thought she spotted one of her exes friends on the phone with someone. Fuck, she really hoped it was just her mind playing tricks.
Phoenix noted that she had been keeping her gaze down, and seemed really quiet. Gently he wrapped his arm back around her to pull her close. "Is there any way it can be fixed by tomorrow? We both have college classes on Monday, down state." He told the man, gently rubbing Cicada's shoulder. "I honestly don't know. I need to take a better look at the problem. I'll have one of our best mechanics come and take a look at it as soon as possible. Don't count on going back for a day or so, in all honesty."
Cicada was really wound up and relaxed a little at his slight touch only to wind back up again hearing that they would be here for a day, maybe two. She, fuck, fuck fuck fuck! This couldn't be happening! She could feel a panic attack start to well up before forcing it back down. She couldn't do this now, not next to Phoenix. Nothing was wrong, everything was fine. Everything would be fine.
Phoenix could feel her tense up next to him, and glanced over to her. Something was up that she wasn't telling him. Unless it was just the fact that they'd be stuck there, that he understood. But he had a pretty simple solution to it, he could propose later. "Right. Is there paper work you need me to fill out?" He asked softly, trying to relax Cicada by rubbing her shoulders once more. "Mm, not until later. All I need is a phone number, until I get this figured out." The other man replied, shutting the car before pulling a pad of paper. "And maybe a name." Phoenix reached out, and neatly wrote his name and number down. "Right, thank you sir. I'm assuming we can leave this here, then?" He asked, handing the paper back before reaching for his keys.
Cicada relaxed a little before burying her head into his side and letting out a long breath. She just, she just needed to relax. Just because she was in her old town, with her old college that has her old friends and her ex, doesn't mean she would run into any of them. Her eyes closed and she attempted to focus on the moment though her mind was racing with worries.
Phoenix continued to rub her shoulder, not really bothered by her cuddliness. Though now was a decently inconvenient time. "Yeah, 'course you can. I can take your keys, and move it into the shop. If you have anything in there you need, I'd suggest getting it. We're suppose to lock up in a couple of hours." He told Phoenix in a light hum, reaching out for the keys. Phoenix handed them over, and nodded. "Thank you, sir." He nodded lightly, watching the other man walk off. "Alright, let's grab your bag. I need to grab a couple things, too."