Chapter 1: Rides and Runaways

Author's Notes: For Calvin's solo ride, I recommend listening to "Killin' Floor" by Blues Saraceno. For his second one, I recommend "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" by Fall Out Boy.

Enjoy!
-the Seacopath

The morning broke over the Watterson household, and the harsh, abrasive noise of an alarm clock pierced the silence. The clock in question soon found a fist smashing into the top of it, cutting off the ringing alarm with a crunch. Calvin Watterson dragged himself out of bed and sluggishly dressed himself in his favorite red-and-black-striped t-shirt, and black pants. He slipped his feet into his bright red and black Converse high-tops, and tried vainly to tame his unruly blond hair.
"You know it's never gonna behave like you want it to," called a voice. On Calvin's bed, Hobbes the tiger also rose from sleep. The homicidal psycho jungle cat stretched languidly and settled back down in a comfier spot.
"Can't hurt to try though," Calvin muttered, opening his room door and heading downstairs. Two bowls of Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs later, and the morning was looking up.

Squeak…bzzt…squeak…bzzt…squeak…bzzt…
The garage echoed with the sounds of the socket wrench as Calvin worked on his motorcycle. Every so often, he turned to the tablet open on the floor beside him to consult the blueprints and schematics he downloaded, telling him how to upgrade the throttle response.
Just like building a model plane, he thought smugly to himself as he tightened another bolt. However, all too soon, Calvin's father rapped on the garage door. "Time for school! And don't be late again! Your mother and I have something important to tell you when you get home, and I don't want you getting detention today, no matter how much character it builds!"
Calvin sighed and picked up a screwdriver. Grumbling, he screwed the parts back into place and stood up.

Calvin shrugged on his black and orange leather jacket with a patch of a snarling tiger on the back. He mounted his motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson chopper he had built up from a burned-out frame he'd found in the junkyard. He'd finished building the bike with help from his dad months ago, but there was always room for improvement. At the turn of the key, the motorcycle growled to life, its headlight glowing orange. Calvin put the bike in gear and roared away from the house towards school.
The bike's big v-twin engine woke up people and pets, and even set off a car alarm. None of this concerned Calvin. The wind was blowing through his hair, the sky was cloudless, and it was a perfect day for a ride. As he blasted through the streets, Calvin's iPod played his 'Playlist of Awesome'

The loud guitars and heavy bass blasted in Calvin's ears as he stopped at a traffic light. Next to him sat a kid on a Vespa. A grin spread across Calvin's face as the lights began to change. He twisted the throttle, drawing a loud growl from his bike's v-twin engine, and as soon as the light changed, he dumped the clutch.
The black and orange Harley shot off the mark, leaving a long black line in its wake. Calvin hauled back on the handlebars, lifting the front wheel into the air. It had taken a lot of practice on small cheap bikes, and a lot of trial and error, to perfect the wheelie he was pulling now. The blond-haired teen roared through the streets toward school, finally easing off the throttle and letting the front wheel hit the ground when a corner began looming.

Calvin changed gears down and leaned smoothly into the corner, letting the big bike's centrifugal force keep him stuck to the road. As the corner straightened out, Calvin twisted the throttle and the bike shot forward. He kept this up for another mile; a dance of man and machine, leaning into corners and taking straights almost fast enough to make his head swell up like a balloon from the rushing air.
Five minutes later, Calvin turned a corner and roared up the school's long driveway. Even three months after he'd built it, Calvin's Harley still caught eyes at school. Perhaps it was because of how out of place the big chopper looked among the tiny pit bikes and Vespa scooters in the parking lot. Or it's just cause I painted it black and orange, and it looks damn cool, Calvin grinned to himself.

In fairness, the bike was beautiful. Bright orange trim all over the motorcycle made the black base paint even darker. The fenders and the gas tank had a single orange stripe running down their length, and the sides of the gas tank were adorned with an image of, obviously, a tiger. Calvin switched off his music and took his keys from the ignition. Walking across the parking lot, Calvin jumped as a loud horn blasted in his ear. The driver of a huge Ford F-350 slammed on the brakes and leaned out his window. "Hey Twinkie! Get the fuck outta the road!"
Calvin jumped back as the truck roared past him, and stood there, seething until another voice caught his attention. Susie Derkins walked up behind Calvin and punched him in the shoulder.

"Oww!" Calvin mock-groaned. "How do you even punch so strong? Is there something you're not telling me?" he smirked, as Susie's face turned red.
"Actually there is something I haven't told you, Calvin," Susie returned the smirk and leaned in. She grabbed Calvin's ear and twisted. "I've been taking Karate lessons, so I could kick your ass any time."
"I'd like to see you try," Calvin chuckled. "What's really up?" he asked curiously as Susie's smirk left her face.
"I overheard my mom talking to your mom on the way out the door this morning," Susie sighed. "It turns out she wants us to go to the prom together, and your mom was on board with the idea."
Calvin jumped and looked around in horror. "She can't do that!" he hissed. "Didn't you tell her about the contract we signed?"

Susie sighed again. "I didn't say anything to her; I just got out of there and ran to the bus. What are we going to do? My mom is a force of nature; when she gets an idea, there's no stopping her!"
Calvin thought for a moment. "Let's just hear our parents out, and then make our objections with a unified front, huh? I'll even give you a ride home so we can get it out of the way quickly."
Susie looked over to where Calvin's chopper sat, orange parts gleaming in the sun, and an idea bloomed in her head. "That sounds good. And when we get there, do your best to act like a jerk so my mom will reconsider! Trust me, the bike will help."
Now it was Calvin's turn to look offended. Susie quickly backtracked. "I mean, it makes you look more dangerous and tough and scary."
Calvin's smirk told Susie that she shouldn't have kept talking. Calvin swaggered off, grinning to himself. "Big, tough, scary rebel, that's me!"
Susie buried her head in her hands as the bell rang.

The day dragged on slower than a Venusian Slug-Man getting out of bed in the morning. Calvin sat at his desk and absently doodled, until his stupor was broken by his teacher.
"For the last time, Mister Watterson, pay attention!" Miss Wilson shouted, smacking her pointer on the board to accompany her last two words. Calvin jerked awake, but within five minutes, he'd started to zone out again. A few seats over, Susie glanced at Calvin, and jumped a little in shock as she saw what he was drawing. In the sketch, Susie sat astride Calvin's black and orange Harley-Davidson, her hair flowing in an imaginary breeze. She was dressed in a leather jacket that showed a bit too much cleavage, and skintight jeans that hugged her butt. On the gas tank of the drawn motorcycle was the word 'Rebel' in flowing cursive script. Susie snapped her attention back to her work, a blush creeping up her face despite her best efforts. Mercifully, the bell rang a minute later, and the mad stampede of students anxious to get home soon followed.

After about half an hour of waiting under a tree for Calvin's detention to finish, Susie looked up as a loud engine approached. Calvin roared up on his bike, looking every bit the rebel. A black cloth covered the lower half of his face, and a pair of Ray-Bans shielded his eyes. In stark contrast, his blond hair practically glowed in the sunlight. Calvin tossed Susie a helmet and patted the saddle behind him. "Climb on."
Susie put the helmet down and faced Calvin with her hands on her hips. "Where's your helmet?" Calvin pointed to the one on the grass.
"Oh," Susie nodded, before continuing. "Let's get something straight," she said sternly. "We are going straight to my house and you don't have a helmet, so no joyriding or dangerous stunts. After you drop me off, you can do all the crazy stuff you like."
"Sure," Calvin rolled his eyes under his shades. "I'll pull a huge wheelie…for the last five yards to my house next door. What's the point in that?"
Exactly," Susie smirked, picking up the helmet and her book bag as Calvin grumbled.

Across the parking lot, Moe and his crew, Andy, Steve and Mick, watched Calvin and Susie's conversation. "What do we do, Moe?" Andy said gormlessly.
Moe cracked his knuckles. "Let's teach the Twinkie a lesson 'bout standin' in my truck's way."
Moe's three cronies grinned as he climbed into the cab and started the engine. "Come on, morons!" he called down. "Get up here before those sissies get gone!"

Meanwhile, Susie strapped her book bag tightly to her back and grabbed onto Calvin's jacket with a grip like a vice. "Promise me I won't fall off," she said apprehensively. Calvin twisted the throttle and the bike let out a roar. Susie let out a small eep as the powerful motorcycle growled. Calvin twisted around and gave Susie a little smirk under his mask. "Relax. Just lean when I do, and don't worry about falling off. Also, there are loops on my jacket. Grab those."
Susie looked closely and saw a pair of leather loops just under the arms of Calvin's riding jacket. She grabbed them like handles as Calvin put the chopper into gear and smoothly pulled away.

Calvin's bike cruised down the driveway of the school, and Calvin gave Susie her first shock when he leaned over to the right. Susie tried to counter the lean, until Calvin pulled her down with him using the loop on his jacket. At the same time, the engine growled and the bike surged forward through the corner. As the initial shock wore off, Susie punched Calvin in the shoulder. "Don't scare me like that!" she shouted indignantly. He just shrugged and changed gear.
Several turns later, Susie found herself relaxing a little more and trusting Calvin not to flip them to a painful, skin-shredding demise. She stared curiously at the tiger patch adorning the back of Calvin's jacket, until a horn blared behind them.

Susie's head whipped around to see Moe's huge truck barreling down on them. She turned back to Calvin just as he nodded. "Hold on."
Susie grabbed the loops on Calvin's jacket again as he changed gear down and twisted the bike's throttle all the way open. The v-twin howled and the chopper leapt forward at a speed that slammed Susie's stomach against her spine.
In Moe's truck, Steve was getting a verbal blasting.
"What the hell was that?" Moe shouted. "You don't honk at the idiots you're about to run over! We'll never catch them now!" With that, he stomped the gas pedal to the floor, and his truck surged ahead.

Calvin's bike tore up the asphalt, engine roaring, Susie screaming as she held onto Calvin's jacket for dear life. Calvin controlled the bike like an extension of his own body, weaving in and out of traffic, at times almost scraping the pavement with his legs. A big-rig loomed ahead, and Calvin spied a section of straight, open road. Calvin leaned hard to the left and blasted past the rig, doing at least 90 miles an hour, on the wrong side of the road. Calvin cut right in front of the rig, eliciting a loud honk from the trucker. In the rear-view mirror, between the semi truck and a car, Calvin saw Moe's truck slow down; caught behind the rig and an old lady in the tiny Japanese hatchback. Even from that distance, there was no mistaking the fury on Moe's face.
A wide smirk spread across Calvin's face. "Hold on," he called to Susie again.
Susie's eyes widened. "Wait, what are you doing…" Just then, Calvin opened the throttle and hauled back on the handlebars.
"CALVIIIINNN!" Susie screamed as the chopper's front wheel lifted up. Calvin lifted his middle finger high in the air as he sped away from Moe and his cronies, before dropping out of the wheelie.

Moe ground his teeth as the Twinkie's bike disappeared around a corner. His cronies shrank in their seats, afraid to say anything for fear of incurring Moe's wrath. What they didn't see were the wheels turning in Moe's brain, thinking of a plan to get revenge on the Twinkie for embarrassing him and getting his truck stuck behind a goddamn old lady. This is gonna be delicious.

Author's Notes:
So, this is my first attempt at a Calvin and Hobbes fanfic. Please don't mince your words of praise or criticism, because I want to get better at this, and I can't do that without the help of you, the readers.
A few notes, in case anyone wants to start whining:

In this story, Calvin and Susie are both eighteen, so any romantic/sexy stuff is legal.

I had Calvin build his bike because I've seen too many stories where he is purely artistically inclined (drawing, writing, etc.)
I wanted to switch up his skill set a bit. Sure, he can still draw and create whole worlds in his head, but I wanted him to be able to do more. And as his Dad would say, "When you're building a project, you're building character." Also, I've seen too many stories where he rides a bicycle, or (shudder) a Vespa. I wanted something that sets Calvin apart from the rest of the shmucks at school. And let's face it; choppers are seriously badass. I'm sticking with this one.

I gave Moe a big attitude and a bigger truck because what says, 'Get outta my fucking way, you peasants' quite like a lifted Ford F-350 with a train horn on it? Answer: Not much.
We'll see more of Moe later on. I also made him a little smarter, so he's going to be a bit more of a challenge for Calvin to deal with. No sense making an invincible hero, right? (Spoilers)
Anyway, the next chapter is coming up very soon.
Till then,
-the Seacopath