So, I fix your cars....problem? (open) -- KEEP

[Lexine Sullivan]

It was another slow day and Lexi was busy nursing a hangover from another long night out on the town. Not that she minded the hangover of course, it was her own fault afterall but the fact that it was so slow was something that made it all the worse. She hated sitting around and doing nothing and she would even be happy to see that hunk of junk that keeps getting brought back every now and then by the pig of a male who seemed to think he could waste her time whilst trying to stare up her skirts or tops each and every time! A frown marred her lips before she was pulled out of her thoughts by a call from Bert.

"Girl get yer ass out here!" She looked up from where she had been sitting in the office, booted feet up on the desk and a magazine resting in her lap. Bert stood in the doorway, taking up most of the space with his large frame and a frown was across his face as he looked at the girl he could almost call his own daughter, but didn't in memory of his friend who had been killed so long ago. She was a troublesome girl, one who took everything under the sun but kept bouncing back stronger than ever. He wouldn't be surprised if one day she broke apart completely. But now was not the time to be thinking about it. "He's back, get on with it!"

Lexi stared at him for a moment before cursing loudly as she swung her legs down from their perch and stood up slowly, stretching herself out as she did so. She couldn't believe it! She had thoroughly jinxed herself hadn't she? Only a moment ago she had been cursing her boredom and then...this! She scowled at Bert as she stalked outside and was confronted by a great hulk of fat and sweat. She wrinkled her nose, listened to his stumbling explanation of why he was here before she made her way to his car.

"Can't believe this, stupid old man.." She muttered as she opened it up so she could look under the bonnet at the engine. Again! It didn't take her long to discover that there was nothing wrong with the damn thing, as per the usual but since she got paid for the work she might as well take her time on the thing. She straightened back up and gave a non committal shrug. "Could take a while, you might wanna go and get a drink or something." Then she stuck her head back under and ignored the two men who had been looking at her. Bert took the hint and led the male away from his employee, talking about some random non such and keeping his distracted.

Lexi stood upright again and looked behind her to make sure they had in fact gone before she gave a relieved sigh and sank against the vehicle for a moment. Why had she bothered coming to work today? She rubbed at her head for a moment before deciding it was time to get back to work...there was no time like the present afterall and since she couldn't have her fag yet she might as well get started on the piece of crap that was behind her. Wriggling slightly in her short denim shorts so that she was comfortable she bent back over and got to work. Anyone passing would have seen a pair of milky white legs clad in black cowboy boots, a pair of denim shorts with oil streaks over them and a crop top that didn't cover much of anything.

What she wouldn't give for something a little more exciting...

[Amos Artan]

Amos hates taking his cars to mechanics. He hates the idea of someone messing around with the workings of his cars, bashing around with wrenches and spanners trying to find out what's wrong. Amos would spend all day on his car, making sure all the pieces are set up perfectly to be put back in place and labelled so they don't get lost. But a mechanic, now for all he knows they just throw the pieces to one side and just fiddle around without any real skill. Unfortunately today there is a problemw ith his car that Amos is u able to fix himself so he has been forced to hand over his precious car to the garage. It has been in 'the shop' for a few days, the length of it been in there only making Amos feel all that more edgey about getting it back. The bill didn't bother him that much he could afford it, but what if the mechanics had done something to his car that would make it break soon and have him bringing it back in.

"Bet they'll make me pay for more than what was actually wrong with it, done 'extra stuff' that I could have done back in the garage. Like a wheel alignment or something really petty like vaccummed it". Sighing Amos walks into the mechanic garage and up to the front desk. He can hear someone working on a car but no one on the front counter. He rings a little bell on the counter and leans forward.He holds the receit paper for his car tightly in his hand, the piece of paper neatly folded as is Amos's fashion to keep every bit of important paper he has carefully folded and kept in near pristine condition as he has always been of the mindset that you never know when you might need something like a receit or a manual again after you've unpacked, put together and used the product you've bought.

Car

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi was brought out of her evil mutterings and thoughts when the small bell rang out at the front counter. Lifting her head up slightly and turning she had a good view of whoever it was standing there and was surprised to see a rather good looking bloke who obviously looked like he didn't belong anywhere near this neighborhood. She wondered idly whether he had a car in the place or whether he was going to bring one in- either way it had to be more interesting than this piece of junk she was currently working on. Straightening her body she chucked the wrench she had been using back into her tool box and made her way towards the reception where the interesting male stood waiting to be served.

She pushed open the door that connected the main garage to the waiting room cum reception and sauntered over to the desk before wiping her oily hands on the seat of her shorts- effectively coating the clothing with black stains that she knew she would never get out in a million years but she was far too lazy to carry a cloth around with her all the time and to be fair when she had a hangover like today she didn't really think about anything that sensible. Besides she had clothing just for this kind of work so she didn't care one way or the other if she ruined them. Clothes were pretty cheap if you knew where to go. As she leant up against the counter she gave what she hoped was a semi cheerful, if slightly stressed and annoyed smile. "Can I help you?"

She ignored the fact that she had a few dark smudges of oil on her cheeks and that her vibrant pink hair was tossed onto the top of her head in such a messy bun that it looked like it might tumble down her back at any given moment. Again her eyes looked over him, taking in the little details that most people wouldn't notice. He held a small piece of paper in his hands, neatly folded which almost made her lips twitch into an amused smile. He was most certainly not someone she had ever seen around here before....and with that paper that she assumed was a receipt showed that he was a customer. She wondered which was his car. There were only a few cars actually in the shop at the moment and since one of them belonged to the pig in the office with Bert, it narrowed it down to a gorgeous car that she had been drooling over ever since she had clamped her eyes on it and some old reliable thing that had seen better days but only ever broke down every now and then.

[Amos Artan]

He had expected to the person to be serving him to be male and middle aged, the person that does come out of the garage to serve him is certainly not either of those two. Now Amos certainly didn't think that women couldn't do the job of a mechanic, it's just that it's uncommon to see a female in this particular line of work. Then only sign of his amusement is a small twitch of a smile in the corner of his mouth. He has become quite adept at masking his true reactions, as he is often in court now-a-days, usually as a character wittness when a werewolf or member of DOGS has been brought on charges of some kind. He has to lie very well. It's fairly easy to tell that Amos doesn't fit in in this kind of area. For one thing he is a bit too jumpy; someone who has lived in the area perhaps their whole lives would be more relaxed, even during the day when vampires, his least liked race of supernaturals, can't come outside there is still the chance that a stray wolf or human could come up to Amos and mug him.

When he notices the smudges of grease on Lexi's cheeks Amos has to resist the strong urge to reach up and whipe the smudges away. Honestly he couldn't see himself working in a place like this, full of dirt, machinery and noise, he much prefered his nice clean office. His house is just as clean and organised; everything is where it should be, all the books, DVD's and CD's are ordered, he isn't really anal about that kind of thing he just likes things to be in order and where they should be.

The sound of her voice and her question brings Amos's attention to Lexi. "Ah yes you can. I'm here to pick up my car. I've got the papers here". He fumbles a little as he unfolds the piece of paper and puts it face up on the counter. "It's the red one, Firebird under the name Art". The only time Amos used his real name on documents unless they were for DOGS and he knew they wouldn't be going out of the building.

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi watched as he fumbled about with the paper in his hand and as he smoothed it onto the counter top her eyes looked over it. Well, there was Bert's scraggy hand writing, so it was most certainly one she hadn't booked in but it all looked to be in order and that was the important thing. Leaning down she pulled an old battered folder out from its place on the shelf and opened it up so she could run a finger down the list of scribbled names before finally resting at one. "Ah, yeah mostly just a tune up but you did have a few things rattling about that shouldn't have been," She gave a small grin before she picked up the biro that lay to her side and made a note next to the entry before slamming it closed and replacing it. Picking up the receipt she looked over it again before she placed that to the side on top of a few others that seemed to have been there for some time. She didn't work in the office and had no real joy for the filing and administration work that went on so she didn't tidy up after herself if she could help it- the problem was that Bert was just a lazy old man who didn't like it very much either!

"Should have known the old reliable one wasn't yours," She commented dryly as she made her way back to the connecting door. Opening it she held it open for him and raised an eyebrow. "I expect you want to make sure nothing has happened to your car?" She mentally added to herself that a guy like that in a place like this had to have been desperate and was probably thinking that they would have done all sorts to his baby and therefore charge for all the extras that needed doing. Now, Lexi liked money...hell it paid for things it shouldn't do but that was how she rolled. How she did not roll however was to charge these poor schmucks for everything they were worth! She had a lot more respect than that despite her appearances and she also loved her work too much to ever risk ripping someone off.

She led him towards the back of the semi large garage and pulled the sheet off the top so he could inspect it. "We changed your oil and water and gave it a little bit of a clean up but otherwise there wasn't anything majorly wrong with it. You had a few loose bearings and what not but otherwise its fine." She chucked the sheet down to the side so it wasn't in the way before looking at him and making a 'go on' gesture. "Its a beauty of a car, I enjoyed working on it, even if there wasn't much for me to do."

[Amos Artan]

"Yeah I thought it might have been something rattling around inside and I'd prefer that you guys deal with the insides of the car than myself. If it was changing the wheels, replacing the pistols or something like that I could have done it myself but the actual workings of the car is out of my league, rather have a pro fiddle around with that kind of stuff". Amos smiles a little. "You'd be the first to think that. Most look at me and think that I'd be in some slow and reliable junker that never goes above sixty. Oh how wrong they are. I love my cars, love working on them even though I shouldn't what with my back and knee problems". Amos had been thinking that the mechanics would probably do something extra on his car to squeeze some more money out fo him but now he isn't so sure that that's the case here. If the place had been a bit more... professional looking then yes Amos would have certainly expected to be ripped off.

"Thought it better to bring it here than one of the other mechanics around town, no offence but those places have a more professional look, yours however is more 'homely' look to it, as if there is actual work going on not just people pretending. Unless you heard me waiting out there and smeared some grease on your face and clothes". A joke of course. He opens the driver side door, sits down and starts the car, smiling at the sound of the engine. "You should have seen it when I first got it a few years ago, nothing but a shell and wheels, spent all my free time fixing it up. Then when this one was done I started working on two others".

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi had been standing just behind him with her hands tucked into her back pockets as she watched him inspect his car but as soon as he mentioned grease on her face she had moved forwards and bent over so she could look in the wing mirror before groaning. "Crap," before sighing and standing up with a shrug. Oh well, it would wash off and she didn't really mind all that much, after all, what was a little grease when she got to do something she rather enjoyed each day. Though now that it had been mentioned to her she really needed to stop wiping oil all over herself- some people found it rather gross and very unprofessional of her but what was to be expected? She was a grease monkey and proud of it. She finally turned her attention back to the male and gave a half smile.

"I'm not offended, I just work here," She looked around her at the piles of tools and tires and the odd oil stains on the concrete ground. He was right, this place was no professional looking place but they did their jobs and did them well and they always got repeat patronage. Which had to be a good thing right? Apart from a certain male who was still in the office with Bert...she could live without that. "But its home." For just a brief moment her eyes seemed to lighten up, become a little softer before it disappeared and the usual half interested half bored look came back. This was her home and not many people knew she rented a place above the shop- after all, not many people would think she would be the kind of girl to work in a place like this. She didn't care, she liked living so close to work (apart from the fact she didn't have to worry about being late)- and she had deemed herself the unspoken security. No little bastard would steal from this place if she had anything to say about it!

This time when the car purred to life the smile that crossed her face was a genuine one- and it changed her face completely, made it look a lot softer and warmer than usual and showed that she was only a young woman- before it went again. "Sounds good," If she did so herself....which she did. "You did a good job, not many people could get a car like this back to perfect working order...apart from the occasional hiccup of course." She ran her eye over the body of it as if making sure there were no flaws in the paint before looking at it. "Its a good feeling to work hard on something and then listen to it come alive. I wish I had a chance to do it more often, but I get my work cut out for me." She gave a one shouldered shrug, "Though I have fixed up one or two in my time and I have an old 'cycle I've been doing up for a while now." Like she had the time to actually sit around and fiddle about! Not to mention it cost money to do those things and what she did earn illegally was soon given away.

[Amos Artan]

"Good, glad I didn't offend you. I don't want you thinking I don't like the place, sure I could have gone to a dealership or some high end mechanic but then I'd have to deal with them been all upright and 'highclass' and they would have tried to squeeze every penny out of me that they could". Okay so his views on the place have changed since he first came here but a pretty girl and a smile can go a long way to changing a persons mind and that he is talking to Lexi and not the guy she works for helps, Amos feels a bit more relaxed about talking to Lexi, someone more around his own age than the owner would be. He smiles a little at her mention that 'work is home'. Though by her tone he can assume that she doesn't mean it in the same way he would, since Amos has spent many nights staying at work all through the night working on reports for his boss.

Amos gives her a sideways glance when Lexi smiles, if he knew her better he'd make a comment about how better she looked with a smile but since they had only just met Amos didn't want to come across as some kind of pervy creep. "I was holed up in the house for a long time while recovering from some injuries. I had a lot of spare time and tinkered to keep myself occupied. Started off as just fiddling with taking apart and putting back together remotes, phones and computers then I built up to more complicated stuff and then onto cars. Plus it helps that I have a sort of photographic memory for how things work. I'll read something and be able to remember what I've read whenever I need it next". It's the main thing that made him such a good 'receptionist'. He could follow someone and the remember exactly the time and locations the person was at with pefect detail, it also makes him appear less suspicious since he doesn't need to write things down.

"Well I haven't worked on bikes before, if I had I'd offer to give you a few tips on how you could fix anything you need to". He pauses for a moment. "Then again the workings are all pretty much the same, shouldn't be too hard if I get some reading done. I mean, I could take a look at it if you bring it 'round".

[Lexine Sullivan]

Lexi eyed the male as he spoke about his injury and fixing things up before she turned her head slightly away so she couldn't be accused of staring. He certainly wasn't like most other clients- for a start he was horribly polite and that threw her slightly. She was used to dealing with all manner of people in this place and she knew where she stood with pretty much all of them- usually meaning of course that if they said or did anything untoward she knew what to say or do but as soon as you throw someone a little more high class at her she clammed up. Not that she really had a problem with them of course, just the fact she didn't like the way they flaunted their money about and made themselves out to be better people. Finally he mentioned about helping her and she couldn't stop the frown that came across her lips.

"I'm capable of fixing it myself," She almost snapped at him but held her tongue knowing it would end up going against her if she did so. "I just don't get the time to do things like that. I spend all my time working." She shrugged as if it would lighten the mood. "Photographic memory is cool." She added as an after thought. Not that she cared. At all.

Her musings were broken however at the sound of heavy footsteps and she turned to look towards the reception door to find the male pig walking into the garage with a look of distaste on his face. Great. Just what she needed- a telling off for leaving his precious baby alone in the lot when she was supposed to be 'fixing it'. She moved so she was fully facing him and her face schooled into a neutral expression. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can explain why your cute tush isn't fixing my car?" He waddled up closer to them and she fought to hide her disgust.

"I was simply helping out this customer," She gestured to Amos before looking back at the male. "But I'll get right back on it in a minute."

"You'll get back on it right on little missy!" She twitched but otherwise said nothing before spinning on her heel and stalking off towards the door, passing Bert on the way. Throwing him a look she was out of the door without a backwards glance, followed closely by the fat slob who stared at her ass as he did so. Oh how she wanted to hit him...and how she wanted to talk shop a little more who could actually understand her love of machines! But no matter, it would have to wait for a little longer.

Bert looked at the man Lexi had been talking to, sizing him up before making a mental note to remember to tell her not to get so chatty with the people that came in. She might know how to look after herself on the streets but she really was naive most of the time and he knew that one day she would either break or someone would do it for her- and he wanted to make sure that didn't happen. "Sorry bout that," He nodded towards where the other two had gone. "But he was here first and I need her to get that fixed." He looked over the car and crossed his arms with a somewhat proud look on his face. "She fixed yours up pretty good."

[Amos Artan]

"Sorry, didn't mean to say that you couldn't fix it up, forget I said anything". -way to put your foot in it moron-. His habit of been polite and helpfull towards others, even people he hardly knows, often gets him into trouble at times, people think that he's trying to say that tehy can't do anythng themselves since he's always offering them help, more often than not it's a nervous habit; when Amos gets nervous he starts to talk a lot and usually doesn't think about what he's saying. "Working on my cars is my favourite way to just relax and unwind. Focus just on the car and how to fix it".

Amos glances up as Bert comes into the garage. At first look can tell that he wouldn't like this man, there is just something about him that puts him off. Then he speaks. "You can explain why your cute tush isn't fixing my car?". He has to stop himself from showing any signs of his dislike of how this man talks to Lexi. Been mentioned by Lexi and briefly having attention brought to him makes Amos shrink back a little into the car, he was fine talking to just Lexi but now there is someone else that is much bigger than him and could easily intimidate him. For whatever reason he is fairly comfortable around females but males just rub him the wrong way, perhaps because males are usually more aggressive and upfront compared to females.

The approach of the man makes his skin prickle a little as a slight wave of what could be fear washes over him. -keep calm, just nod and keep your answers short so you don't say anything stupid-. "Oh it's fine, he was here first so it's only fair that his car gets finished first". Even though he would have liked to have had Lexi stay so that he could continue talking to her rather than this man who just gives Amos a feeling that just isn't all that right. Maybe it was the way he had talked to Lexi, the way the other man had stared at her arse and this man had done nothing about it.

"Yeah I can't complain one bit about the works he did on the car, it didn't need anything major but I thought I'd better bring it in anyway rather than messing around with the inner workings of the car myself. She's a fine mechanic that's for sure, sure she gives the guys a run for their money". Feeling a little out of place in the garage Amos gets out of the car. "So how much do I owe you guys on the work you did?".

[Lexine Sullivan]

((Bert wasn't the one who said it to her...but never mind lol ^^;
Also I have no idea how much q tune up etc costs...I don't drive! So its a random figure- pretend its reasonable lol))

Bert looked over the man before him before his eyes moved towards the door out of the garage where the fat man could be seen disappearing outside- or just about anyway. Bah, what a horrible man but he helped pay the bills at the end of the day but still...Bert sometimes wished he didn't keep coming back nearly every other week and he knew Lexi hated it more than he did. She knew that the man only came here because she was attractive and only put up with it because life was hard and they weren't getting the customers they used to ever since a more high scale garage had opened up not all that far away. Ah well, never mind customers were customers at the end of the day and she would soon show her displeasure if it got too far.

At the male's words Bert crossed his arms over his slightly too large beer belly and nodded in agreement. "Well, she was taught by one of the best- her father was one hell of a mechanic and she picked it up quickly." His trained eye looked back over the car and still couldn't find any sort of flaw with the workings or the paint. He ought to give the girl a payrise...she was getting good at this and he supposed it might keep her away from her other doings that she thought he didn't know about. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later since he still had to sort this guy out and the one bothering his staff. "But you would be surprised...she's not often asked for." He made no mention that the reason for that was because she had a reputation around this place as being something of a trouble maker. Not that it was all her fault of course- he knew enough about what had happened in her family to know that if things had been different she would never have ended up the way she was. Poor kid he thought to himself, she really needed a break.

At being asked how much was owed he mentally calculated what the job had come to. "Well, there wasn't much to do...just a quick tune up and a bit of a clean..labour..." He mumbled as his brows creased before he finally spoke up, "£350 for the work done, includes labour and the general clean and tune up." It was a reasonable price...some places charged the bloody earth for what they had done. "And she loves your car, no wonder it looks like it just came from a show room." He joked as an after thought. His Lexi loved pretty things and even more so if they had a motor.

Meanwhile Lexi herself was bent over with her head stuck down in the engine trying to work out how she was going to get this heap of junk running again. She was so fed up of having to be the one to fix this car and even more fed up with being the one who had to be oggled every single time! She looked to the side to glare at the figure who was openly staring at her ass as the jean material stretched over it- ok so she had a great ass! That didn't mean he had to bloody stare so damn much! Eugh, one day she would hit the man....