Cassette Girl
Fandom: Infinity Train
Relationships: Ryan Akagi / Cassette Girl (Portia Lockhart)
Characters Featured: Ryan Akagi, Min-Gi Park, Cassette Girl
Summary: Ryan makes good on his promise about the cassettes.
Notes: Quick Rundown on who Cassette Girl is because I have a lot of thoughts on her!
- She's the girl who asks Ryan if he had any cassettes for sale at the end of book 4
- In the wikia, she's only listed as "Teen Fan"
- My headcanons: Her name is Portia Lockhart, she's 17-18 years old, her dad is a traveling musician and sends her cassette tapes from all over the world wherever he goes, her mom is busy most of the time so her older half sister takes care of her, she was at the New York concert in book 4 because she wanted to travel out of Canada for her 18th birthday with her friends, she was pretty soft spoken and kept to her close friend circle in high school but is determined to put herself out there more (starting with the NY trip)
- Ryan and Min-Gi know her to some degree because she was in some of their classes (she's a grade below them) and she knows Min-Gi in particular because they were coworkers before he quit. (And she subsequently quit weeks later). They get to know her better after the first NY concert and become good friends over time.
Other Tags: this started off as a drabble now its a one-shot LMAO, Cassette Red, this isn't the train to nowhere performance this takes place a month or so later, while the guys are still in NY, ryan has two hands btw ;) , so they(mostly ryan) got the chance to spend more time with portia/cassette girl and get to know her better
"I really hope you didn't wrap every tape we're gonna sell individually," Min-Gi said, leaning over Ryan's shoulder. "I'm surprised we could get this many tapes to begin with."
"I'm not selling this one, it's a gift." Ryan said. He let the bow of the small package slip between two of his fingers over and over. He opened the top of the package slightly. A simple black cassette tape sat in the middle of the box, labeled “TRAIN TO NOWHERE: TO PORTIA LOCKHART.” There was a yellow note with a simple doodle of a girl with dark curly hair and the words “#1 CCJ Fan, from Ry!” tacked onto the bottom of the tape.
Just as he expected, like the last five times he’d checked that afternoon. And it was just what he’d expect to hand over to Portia when she showed up tonight as they’d agreed.
“We’ve been on the tour for a few months and you’ve already got a secret admirer? Is that who you’ve been running around the city with?" Min-Gi teased. He leaned even further over Ryan to get a closer look at the girl in the drawing. Ryan laughed and lightly nudged the taller man off of his shoulder.
"We’ve been getting to know each other since our first gig here. You'll know her when you see her, now help me put some of the tapes on the table!"
The two of them spent the time setting up the table perched in a corner of the room. Ryan draped a white banner over the front of the table, a painted recreation of the Chicken Choice Judy logo he spent an afternoon at Dumpty's scribbling on a placemat. Cassette tapes, all various colors, littered the table. A few curious teenagers start to gravitate towards the two. Ryan put the tiny gift in his jacket pocket and greeted the newcomers.
“Go find out when we’re on,” he whispered to Min-Gi, squeezing his shoulder. “I can handle things here for now.”
As Min-Gi went to look for the host, Ryan took a breath and put on a smile to greet the fans. They joked around for a bit, asked some questions, and some even bought a few cassettes from him. Min-Gi came back with a few slices of pizza and two sodas.
“We’re the last act,” Min-Gi told him. “I figured you’d want something to eat until then.”
Ryan grinned and took a slice and a drink from him. He gently patted the space where the gift rested and looked around. The area became more crowded as time went on and it was almost time for the open mic night to start. More people came and went by their table, and some came to buy tapes. A slight twinge of disappointment pricked at his throat, but he brushed it off. She might be running late, he figured. He turned to Min-Gi with a grin.
“We’re doing pretty well for tonight, " he commented. “Only a matter of time before all of New York knows who we are.”
“Did your ‘secret admirer’ show up?” Min-Gi asked amid dangling a slice of pizza over his mouth. Ryan sighed and shook his head.
“She seemed pretty interested in getting a cassette tape and wanted to know how soon she could get one.”
“Maybe she couldn’t make it tonight. But there’s another open mic session on the weekend. Maybe she’ll be there.” Min-Gi tried to assure him. Ryan shrugged. He was right. Ryan still wished he could surprise her tonight, but there were other gigs all over the city for them to attend. She’s got to be there at least one.
“In the meantime, we should get ready to knock everyone’s socks off tonight,” he said, his smile returning.
Ryan leaned back in his seat as the host approached the stage to kick off tonight’s open mic night. Interpretive dancers, slam poets, and comedians graced the stage that night, each followed by varying levels of applause. Ryan even found himself participating in someone’s magic show and received a red rose to take back with him. He pinned the rose on Min-Gi’s jacket, causing both of them to laugh.
Finally, it was time for their performance. Min-Gi left earlier on to get his keyboard set up while a group of tap dancers hit the climax of their performance, leaving Ryan to close out their table. As he got up to take his guitar out of his case, the tiny package in his jacket slipped out. He kneeled down to scoop it up and bumped into a pair of red and white sneakers.
“Are we too late?” someone asks. “We would’ve been here sooner if Iris hadn’t been holding the map upside down. Looks like we missed most of the event.”
Ryan rose to his feet to face the group in front of him. He recognized the scowling blond woman and her friends sitting at the table behind Portia at their first gig. They looked exhausted and worn out. And here was Portia, looking longingly at the now empty table Ryan was about to leave for his performance.
“Well, it’s not completely too late. Min and I were about to go on in a few minutes. Besides…I still have a little something left,” Ryan said, holding out the package. Portia’s eyes lit up and she reached out for the package. Her fingers briefly grazed his own as she took the gift from him. Her friends crowded around her as she opened the gift and smiled. Ryan could see her smile growing more bashful once she held up the little note on the tape. She gently pushed through her friends to face Ryan once more.
“Number one Chicken Choice Judy fan, huh?” she laughed. “Anyone I gotta watch out for competing for the top spot?”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that any time soon, Porsche,” he chuckled. Their laughter slowly died down, the murmur of the crowd replacing it soon after as the two stood there awkwardly. One of Portia’s friends whispered something behind her, and she looked up with a small grin.
“Still, I’m glad this night wasn’t a total bust. Thanks, Ryan.”
“Glad I’m the reason your night was at least somewhat saved,” Ryan said. “Fun’s not over yet, though.”
Ryan pulled his guitar out of his case and slung it over his shoulder. She pulled him into a quick hug, causing heat to rise to his face before he hugged her back gently. They pulled away soon after, Portia crossing her arms. Then she pensively leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“Good luck out there,” she whispered, getting swept away by her giggling friends before Ryan could process what had happened. He pressed his hand on the side of his face where she kissed him and broke out into a crooked grin.
“Ryan! We’re up!” Min-Gi came running up to him. He glanced between Ryan and the friend group running off into the larger audience and gave him a knowing chuckle before pulling him along towards the stage and the cheering crowd.