Born to be wild. (Callisto)

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

The summer had only just started and the restlessness that Shawn got from having nothing better to do was already setting in. Unlike the other adults and the jobs they had, Shawn's job gave him summers off. Granted calling Shawn an adult at most times was stretching it a bit. He knew this about himself, he was childish, rarely serious and far to silly to be called an adult. He was more like his students, with all the free time in the world during the summer. The notion of traveling for the summer crossed his mind.

He hadn’t ever been to America and with the all American students coming to Hogwarts this past year, Shawn was now a little curious. Still he couldn’t leave as easily as he used to. Actually it was more he just didn’t want to. Callisto had a normal job after all, she didn’t get summers off. While magic did make traveling faster he would still be away from her and that wasn’t something he wanted. She was also busy with the current outbreak of witches cold, or something like that. Shawn had luckily escaped being sick, he rarely got sick so that matter. Thankfully. Still he needed to pass his new found time somehow and as much as he wished to spend it with Callisto that wasn’t possible all the time.

A week into summer Shawn saw what was going to preoccupy his free time and it was a thing of beauty. A few days later Callisto was free from work and they decided to have a date. Shawn had decided to surprise her with his new project and asked her to meet him outside where she lived. There Shawn stood in normal clothes besides a leather jacket leaning on his new motorcycle waiting with a big smile on his face like a kid. It wasn’t exactly new but it was new to him at least. Finally Callisto came out, “What do you think? Pretty cool right?”

@callisto

[Deleted]

Callisto was exhausted, unsurprisingly. Mungos had been a mad house since the outbreak, and since Elaine was now out of the picture everyone had a moment of false security. The sickness, however, made that security vanish in a heartbeat. Callisto didn't used to be that scared of getting sick but now that she had more time with Sebastian and she had Shawn... she found herself terrified every time that she went into work. She hated feeling that way. But once she was there it was easy to just buckle down and work and let those feelings pass.

She was excited to see Shawn today though. Especially because it had been almost two weeks since school got out and she still hadn't seen him. She had kind of hoped to see more of him this summer, but it wasn't really possible to cut down on hours with this outbreak. 

She threw on a tank top and jeans, since it was a pretty nice day. Still, she had a jacket draped over her arm and her backpack on. She stepped outside, and as soon as she saw Shawn and what he was standing in front of her jaw dropped. "You've got to be f*cking kidding me," she said, shaking her head, eyes wide.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn did get somewhat of a kick out of it as he saw the surprised look upon Callisto’s faces. Him suddenly having a motorcycle did probably seem like a very unlikely thing, especially in a world where just appearing or floo was so much faster. Yet, the motorcycle wasn’t about getting anywhere fast. It was about enjoying the trip. It also gave him something to preoccupy himself while all the real adults he knew still had work. “I know right?!” Shawn got out excitedly. It was a kid showing off a new toy which this essentially was for Shawn. A new toy. “Sure, magic can get your around faster but this is just so much cooler.” He added looking back toward the motorcycle from Callisto. “And it’s fun to ride. She’s amazing isn’t she? Wanna go for a ride? I brought a helmet for you too.” Now looking back toward Callisto.

@callisto

[Deleted]

He was clearly excited, and she felt that emotion getting to her a little, too. Just in the sense that he was so happy, not so much that she was looking forward to being on that thing. He said this was cooler than magic, clearly not meant for speed alone. He said it was fun to ride, going on about how amazing 'she' was and asking if she wanted to go for a ride. She saw the second helmet resting on the back of the bike and she looked from it, to Shawn, to the helmet again, to Shawn again. "Um..." she walked forward slowly, assessing the bike as she did so. It looked safe enough, safer than a broom, honestly... 

She reached Shawn, tearing her eyes away from the bike to look at him. "Babe... do you really want me to?" her tone was soft, but not necessarily frightened, just cautious... but she'd do it if he really, really wanted her to.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn wouldn’t say that the look on Callisto’s face shared the same excitement as his. After asking if she wanted to have a ride there was a hesitation from her. Shawn wasn’t too surprised, this was Callisto after all. Shawn thought of fun first and about everything else second if at all sometime. Callisto on the other hand was far more practical. She was already probably weighting the safety issues and just how different and new riding on a motorcycle would be. He wouldn’t even be surprised if she was already planning out just what might happen. Callisto walked closer to him and asked if she really wanted her to ride it it with him. He had but he wasn’t about to force Callisto to go along with any of the craziness he ever planned. “A little but I’m not going to force you. It won’t be as fun if you’re not going to have fun too.” Shawn explained fully prepared for her not wanting to actually ride it but he was at least going to give it a shot. “We can just apparate to dinner or just walk, it's not too far. Plenty of boring modes of travel.” Shawn teased for a moment but honestly just being with Callisto was good enough for him.

@callisto

[Deleted]

He said he really wanted her to 'a little' but he wasn't going to force her. She understood his point about it not being fun without her having fun. He said they could just apparate to dinner, or just walk and teased about the 'boring' modes of travel. She sighed, taking another step up to him. She glanced at the bike one more time and took in a deep breath. Then she looked back at Shawn and leaned forward, raising onto her toes just enough to be able to kiss him. Normally her kisses were pretty tame and short. But she kissed him a little longer this time, trying to portray in that kiss that she trusted him, supported him, and really, really wanted to believe in his judgement right now.

She pulled back enough to breathe and nodded her head. "Okay. Let's ride on this thing. The second I say we have to stop," she lifted a finger to press it against the tip of his nose, "then we stop. Okay?"

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Callisto took a step closer toward him and his new bike, looking at the bike and then back at him. She leaned in and kissed him, something Shawn hadn’t been expecting. He also hadn’t been expecting it to last longer than normal. Or at least longer than the normal time frame of kisses from Callisto. He wasn’t about to complain as his hands found her waist while they kissed. She finally pulled back a bit and agreed to ride the bike with him but not before laying down some ground rule. All of which he was fine with. Shawn was easily agreeable for most things, more so when they involved Callisto and even more so after the after the kiss they just had.

“Okay, I one hundred percent agree.” Shawn nodded excited just to have Callisto agree to ride the bike with him. He knew it wouldn’t be her thing to being with but hoped she would like it after she gave it a try. “That being said, if you don’t say stop does that mean we can drive off into the sun set and never look back?” Shawn joked, or partly joked. He couldn’t just up and leave like he could when he got out of school. He had a job and responsibilities now, a life he thought would be boring but had its own joys he came to appreciate. “So all you have to do is think of it like a broom, at least if your just riding. Driving has a few more steps but you can drive it later if you want. After you learn you love it.”

Shawn got on the bike and put his helmet on, while he wasn’t exactly worried about getting hurt, he figured it would be easier on Callisto if he did take all the safety measures. “All you really have to do is put the helmet on and hold on, I got the rest.”

@callisto

[Deleted]

He said he 'more than one hundred percent' agreed, which just made her roll her eyes. He asked about the consequences of her never telling him to stop and she smirked a little, shaking her head slightly. "Not quite. I do have a family to take care of... but we can for tonight as long as we come back in the morning," she said, knowing that he was teasing but wanting to lay down the law anyway. He told her to think of the bike like a broom and she nodded, going into business mode immediately so she could focus on what he was explaining to her. She never really cared for riding brooms, but she had been trained to so that did make her feel a tad more in control, but also not at all. When he suggested that she could drive later once she 'learned to love it', she scoffed, but a nervous laugh also escaped her lips.

He got on the bike and he took a deep breath, nodding a lot as she prepped herself to follow suit. She climbed on the bike behind him, lifting the helmet as she did so and securing it tightly onto her head. She double checked, triple checked the strap and then wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly. "Okay, helmet on, holding on, it's all you baby," she said, trying to sound casual and suave but really she just sounded like a hamster being squeezed to death.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Callisto explained that she could never just up and leave, driving off into the horizon on a motorcycle. She had a family, not a mention a career and life too. Much like he couldn’t just disappear when he wanted to anymore and travel. Yet he loved his new life as a professor and of course the people he had in it now. “I can live with that.” Shawn agreed. He began to talk more about the motorcycle and he could tell Callisto was still nervous, even attempting to laugh a little when he suggested she might want to drive it once she was comfortable. “You laugh now but I’ll remind you of that laugh every time you ask to drive in the future.” Shawn said laughing a little more as he did doubt that would happen but a man could dream.

Callisto got on shortly after him as he spoke about what to do while they rode. She took the helmet and put it on before squeezing his waist. Callisto said she was ready and Shawn started the motorcycle. He hadn’t exactly been thinking that Callisto riding with him meant she would be holding onto him but it was indeed a very happy unintended consequence. “Okay I’ll go slow and steady. I’ll save the wheelies for next time.” He said with a smile as he slowly moved forward and picked up speed steadily. He was comfortable with driving the motorcycle, he wouldn’t have asked Callisto to ride with him if he hadn’t been sure. Now his only real worry was that it didn’t freak out Callisto too much.

The ride was pretty uneventful as far as Shawn was concerned, if he was alone or Callisto was more comfortable with the motorcycle he would have gone faster or taken turns quicker. Still her safety and comfort was more important at the moment. Shawn pulled into the parking lot of the nearby Italian restaurant and parked the motorcycle. “See, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” Shawn said with a smile finally looking back toward Callisto, hoping she would agree.

@callisto

[Deleted]

He said he could live with coming back by morning, for which she was grateful. Even when he was joking, she was glad he let her know everything was okay too. "Thank you, darling," she said softly. Then he laughed about her being nervous with it all, saying she'd want to drive it in the future. "Don't put all your eggs in that basket, Shawn," she wanred.

When the motorcycle started she felt her nerves flip around inside of her stomach. She held on tighter, and he said that he would go slow and steady, saving the tricks for next time. She didn't think that joke needed a response. Soon they were taking off and she was breathing slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth... until she wasn't. She was... calm. Going this fast didn't feel that fast, it was just similar to flying but more grounded. The thing she hated about flying was the height, not so much the speed. This felt... sturdy. And here, she had Shawn with her who she cared for beyond anything and she knew he would protect her. This wasn't that bad.

Then as they slowed down, she felt a little disappointed. They arrived at a restaurant and parked. She leaned to the side a little so she could see his grin and she nodded, "actually," she released him to reach out and take off her helmet, "it really wasn't. I'm... surprised."

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Callisto protested that he shouldn’t put all his hope behind her wanting to drive the motorcycle herself and Shawn just laughed. “We’ll see, you are full of surprises after all.” Shawn replied with a small smirk as he kissed her forehead. “And I am a betting man, some days at least.” He added as he pulled away before beginning to talk about the motorcycle and what to do while riding it.

As Callisto replied he now wished the restaurant had been further away. Surprised with how quickly she admitted to enjoying the ride. She was even smiling about it. “See, I knew you’d have fun. Pretty soon we’ll be needing to get you one and we’ll have our own little motorcycle gang.” The last part obviously was just him being silly but it was great to hear that she had actually had fun. “So do you want to go in and eat or just keep on driving?” Shawn asked almost teasingly just to see if she would actually say to or not.

@callisto

[Deleted]

He said they would see about her wanting to drive, because she was full of surprises and she was about to shake her head in protest, but then he kissed her forehead and she leaned into that instead. As for him being a betting man, she didn't comment on that... Once they were at the restaurant, he seemed incredibly pleased that she didn't mind the ride. But then he went off about getting her one too and she rolled her eyes so hard they almost vanished into the back of her head, "a gang? Is Mina the third member?" she froze, reaching out to grab his forearm, "Shawn do not get Mina a motorcycle, I swear to god babe," she warned intensely. Then he asked if she wanted to eat or keep driving she she answered rather quickly, "let's eat and then maybe we can ride again. I need something more in my stomach before trying a longer ride," she suggested.

shawn lesley ashcroft

[shawn lesley ashcroft]

Shawn laughed as Callisto almost pleadingly asked for Shawn not to get Mina a motorcycle so she could be part of his future motorcycle gang. “Hey, I promise not to get Mina a motorcycle but what she does on her own after seeing how cool we looked. Well, I can’t promise what she does on her own.” Shawn replied laughing as he could see Mina getting a motorcycle if she really wanted one. She wasn’t one to hold back. Callisto was the one more worried about safety and being practical. Callisto suggested that they eat first before going on another venture on the motorcycle which was fine. they were at the restaurant after all. “As you wish, our trusty steed will be here when we get back.” Shawn said taking the keys out, it also was magical set to not work if he wasn’t around. Magical anti-theft at its best. Shawn offered his hand as they started to walk into the restaurant. "Once we eat I can show up how to pop a wheelie, I haven't mastered it yet but I'm trying to impress this really pretty girl. Everything works when your trying to do that."

@callisto

[Deleted]

He laughed as she told him not to get Mina a motorcycle and she smiled. Honestly, she loved that laugh. He said he promised not to be the one to get it for her but he could not stop her after seeing how 'cool' he looked. She rolled her eyes, "I can't blame you for that, I guess," she muttered, chuckling a little too. But, really, Mina with a motorcycle was a truly horrific thought. She was definitely going to need to eat after that thought ran through her.

She patted the seat of the motorcycle as he turned it off, as if it was a horse and took his hand. She liked holding his hand. Every time he offered it she felt a little bit lighter. "Pop-a-what!?" that did not sound like something that she was even remotely interested in being a part of. "You... impressing pretty girls is exactly how pretty boys," she stopped walking to kiss his cheek, "get seriously injured."

shawn lesley ashcroft