Chapter 54: Picnic (Part 3)

The confrontation with Claire did leave some bumps in the rest of the trip as Ryan comforted Alex. While his parents maintained an awkward silence.

Ryan couldn't bear this weird atmosphere and tried to change it up.

Ryan - "Uh, dad, why don't you play some music on the car radio."

Nathan - "Good idea Ryan."

Nathan then switched on the radio as requested.

Radio Jockey - "Hi, I am your host Steven King. Can I request the caller to state his name and song request?"

(???) - "Hi, I am Sheldon Cooper. I request you play a song by a small-time singer, Ryan Williams. The song's name is "Can't feel my face" it has an amazing sound, and I feel it has gone under the radar for far too long."

Hearing those names and voices, Ryan couldn't help but gasp for air.

In the end, Ryan was forced to ask, "Nah, what's going on? This is too many things at once."

Nathan - "Wait, Ryan, isn't that your song?"

Alex - "It is? When did you make another song?"

Ryan replied calmly, "You know I went to the studio last month, so I recorded another song. I have no idea why it is being requested on the radio."

"Dad, is this you setting me up or something?"

Nathan - "No, I didn't do anything."

Amanda - "I remember we asked if you wanted us to promote it, and you said no need, so we left the matter there."

Alex - "So you kept this from me?"

Ryan - "No, it never came up, is all."

Nathan - "All right, everyone, calm down. It's about to start."

(If you aren't familiar with the song, I am speechless, just in case, though, Artist - The Weeknd, Drop date - June 8, 2015)

The song played on for a full three minutes and thirty-three seconds. In between, not only were Nathan and Amanda humming it but so was Alex with a blush.

Meanwhile, Ryan was lost in other thoughts, such as the names he heard, Steven King, aka King of Horror, and Sheldon Cooper, aka lead in Big Bang Theory.

Ryan, in his mind, couldn't help but ask the system, "Does Big Bang Theory exist in this universe?"

[Answer: Not currently sure need more information for verification.]

Being told that it wasn't confirmed made Ryan see hope that maybe there might genuinely be other shows linked with this universe.

Another thing that confused Ryan was if that was Sheldon, wasn't he supposed to be in Pasadena, California? What was he doing in Los Angeles?

Plus, did Sheldon even listen to Pop music? He knew that there was a mention of Taylor Swift in the show, but Weekend cough, his music wasn't necessarily the same.

There was also the name Steven King that Ryan needed to look up to as if this was him. Ryan didn't know how he would feel about writing Steven King's works.

The least Ryan could think of was donating a part of his work's money to the original author.

Having so many thoughts, Ryan decided to spend the two hundred points previously refunded by the system on Steven King.

Luckily for Ryan's conscious, this wasn't the same Steven king as the one he imagined but another person entirely. This let Ryan finally relax a bit.

The song ended, and everyone around Ryan finally reacted to his music.

Nathan - "Damn, that was a catchy song. If I had known you were also a good singer, I would have promoted this onto the billboard."

Amanda - "Yeah, it truly deserves to be up there."

Alex - "It was indeed even better than the last song, but I do have to ask what you mean in the chorus by I can't feel my face when I am with you."

Ryan - "I smile a lot when I am with this special someone, so much that my whole face goes numb."

Alex blushes and doesn't say another word.

The rest of the ride is relatively smooth, and they encounter no difficulties or unpleasantness.

After another twenty minutes, they soon reach the beautiful, calming forest filled with tall trees and the peaceful humming of birds.

This pleasant cool breeze also flows through the air making the weather enjoyable.

Nathan - "Looks like we selected quite a good day for a picnic."

Everyone exits the car and gets together to pick a reasonably good spot to set up a picnic site.

Luckily they soon found a quiet spot that was not too crowded, and after setting up the picnic site, Ryan and Alex sat down on a mat and enjoyed the view.

Nathan - "Come on guys, did we come so far to sit down? Let's move about and see the ever gree flora and fauna surrounding us."

Ryan - "All right, Dad."

They then moved around nearby the picnic site while Alex, their "expert," helped them understand the diverse flora and fauna.

After this, Ryan took out a box of Uno cards, and the group played Uno. The results? Ryan won twice, Alex won once, Amanda won thrice, and Nathan was left with zero wins.

They then enjoyed a decadent brunch as everyone was starting to get hungry.

Their brunch menu consisted off - French toast, Scrambled egg, Fried rice, Cinnamon rolls, and Chocolate cake.

They later relaxed on their foldable chairs and talked about various thought-provoking topics and gossip.

Soon a hyped-up day for Ryan came to a somewhat satisfying ending.

Meanwhile, inside a Xavier Institute for Higher Learning classroom, Deadpool and Professor X had just finished reading the chapter.

Deadpool - "Ha, this Chapter is so funny."

Professor X- "Why do you say so?"

Deadpool - "The Author said let's send them to picnic but had no idea what to do there."

"Not to mention, he said they were discussing thought-provoking topics while he had encountered writer's block. Classic."

Professor X - "It is indeed astonishing that one can encounter a block while writing."

Deadpool - "Of course, it is for you. After all, you have mind power, so you not knowing about it. Then again, weren't you a professor? You should have encountered one before your powers, right?"

Professor X - "What, professor? I was a cleaner before I got my powers."

Deadpool - "Oh yes, in this universe, you were just a cleaner, not a college professor, before becoming a mutant."

Deadpool and Professor X then wrote a thank you for the chapter on their phones and proceeded with their day.