One-shot Collection

Road Trip

[So this one's a soulmate AU obviously]

{Road Trip}

Some people don't believe in fate, they think it's just some excuse for lazy people to give in to life's temptations. That may be true.. Well, in some other universe that is. Not here though, everyone I know believes in fate. They have to, after all, fate is how soulmates are decided in my world. Ever since I can remember, the concept of a soulmate has made my heart flutter. It nudged some hopeful part of me into believing that I belong, that I'll be happy one day.
Okay so here's how it works. Between the ages of 16-20, you get this.. Well it's hard to explain but it's like a magnetic feeling, that pulls you toward the other person. I haven't had it yet, but I know when I do, I'll be ecstatic! Anyway, the feeling can come from anywhere on the top half of your body, mostly it's in the arms or heads. Ohh.. I just can't wait to meet them! My soulmate that is.. I bet they're tall!

If you were wondering what that just was, it was my oral essay on soul mates, I wrote it when I was 14. I know, you can just feel the teen girl energy. And without further ado, back to the story.

"Are you ready yet mom?!" I yelled, cupping my hands to amplify the sound. Hopefully it would reach her on the other side of the house. "Just a minute!" she yelled back from her room, and I rolled my eyes. She was still busy backing for the trip. Mom, my brother James, grandpa and I were going on a road trip to see the Grand Canyon! I'd never been there before, so my mom orchestrated this whole trip for my 19th birthday. Pretty sweet right? Well it would be if she'd hurry up and finish packing.. We were already late to pick up my brother from university. It was about to get out for the summer, well it "was about to" a few hours ago.
I'd already packed my few bags last night, enough for the two long weeks it'll be to get there. Just us, stuck together in an old van. "If you don't hurry up, well never make it to grandpa's!" I yelled across the house as I pulled outside the last of my bags.

After an hour or so, we finally got moving thank god and we'd picked up James before he got stuck out in the summer heat wondering if we got in an accident or something. Grandpa Rick lived in a different state, a few away, so it took nearly 5 hours to get there. But that's what it was going to be like in the car for days on end, so I had to get used to it. The trunk ran out of space, as it appeared, James had packed a liiitle extra, so we had to fill the front seat with his stuff. James and I had to battle in Rock Paper Scissors to decide who would take grandpa's bags, vs. Grandpa. (as there were three rows of seats.) I, unfortunately, lost. So yippee, I get to spend extra time with gramps. It's not like I didn't like him, of course I did. The problem lied in the fact that I didn't know if I wanted to be stuck next to him all day.. Honestly, I didn't know him very well. We never really visited him, and mom never told me why. So I kinda lost out on all the childhood grandparents bonding experiences. Both my grandma's died before I was born, so I at least assumed that I'd be getting maximum time with my grandpa's to make up for it. But no, one of them we never saw (Rick) and the other had a stroke when I was young and wasn't exactly the best conversationalist.

When we got to grandpa's house, I was surprised to see that it was actually quite nice. Not mansion level nice, but homey. Better than where we lived. Our mom jumped out of the car as soon as she saw him exit the house and wave, smile on his face. They hugged, but James stayed in the car on his phone. "Don't you want to say hi?" I asked James as I opened the car door to do just that. He looked at me with an odd expression, then shook his head. I frowned. It was a bit weird that he wasn't talking. He was always so buoyant. I shrugged it off as car sickness and jumped out as well, smiling and hugging grandpa Rick as well. "I haven't seen you since you were…" he thought for a minute, "10?" he said unsurely, and I shrugged smiling back. "It's been a while." I added, and he nodded, patting my shoulder as I helped him with his bags. Once we put the bags in the car, he moved to the back seat and smiled happily at me. It was warm, almost made me feel fuzzy. It was odd for sure, but nothing I'd raise a brow at.
"So, what are you doing these days?" Rick asked as we started our journey to Arizona. I looked up from the sketchbook I was currently drawing in. "Oh well, drawing.. Studying art and all that." I shrugged nonchalantly but his eyes lit up. "I always knew you had talent! Ever since you could pick up a crayon you've been drawing." he said proudly, as if it were some great accomplishment. I blushed and looked back at my hallway decent sketch of a bird. "Oh, um, thanks." I said quietly, and he looked over my shoulder at what I was drawing. "Oh! I love birds!" he exclaimed, and I smiled wide. "Me too! They're so wonderful to draw!" I responded. "I bet, I love watching them from my porch in the morning." he said calmly, looking out the window as if he were searching for something. "I've always loved their colors.." he said quietly, and I raised a brow. Was he always like this? Instant switch on moods. Well I guess I couldn't blame him, I was also like that sometimes.
We talked for a while about random things, catching up, and I had to admit.. I really enjoyed it. He was essentially the grandparent I never got. And I was assuming he was thinking the same, just reversed. I knew our family wasn't big, we only had a few cousins and he didn't have a lot of children. So spending time with me like this must be rare in our family. That night at the motel, mom and James had practically fallen into the bed and passed out. I was a little tired, but not as much. I played on my phone a little, but when I realized I was bored as hell, I got up. I was going to get a snack from the mini fridge, but before I could my eyes caught the image of Rick standing outside, smoking on the shared deck outside of the motel rooms. I shrugged on a jacket and went to join him. As I opened the door, I inhaled a bit of smoke, and oddly it didn't feel bad. The door creaked and his eyes darted to me. He held out his box of cigarettes and I rolled my eyes. "That'll kill you, ya know." I said and he chuckled, retreating his hand. "Guess that means you don't want one then." he observed and I moved to stand beside him. The balcony overlooked nothing appended, just a parking lot and the small pool by the side with one fat man doing laps. I smiled. Such a site would surely be mundane to any normal person, and get grandpa was looking over the railing like the was overlooking the ocean. "Pretty night, huh?" I asked, tilting my head up to look at the much more appealing dark blue sky. The stars left something to be desired, with all the light pollution, but it was better than the look below. "Yep." he said simply, and smiled too. "You'll love the view when we get to the Canyon." he added, and I looked to him. "Ever been?" I asked, and he nodded, turning to me and putting out his cig. "Mhm. It's beautiful there, especially at night like this. When there's no clouds, the sky practically lights up!" he spoke with passion, smile widening at the sight of mine. "I can't wait." I leaned my cheek on my palm, not sure if I was feeling dreamy because of the tiredness or not. Just then, a yawn graced my lips. [Guess that's my answer.] I thought to myself and leaned against the railing. Just then, I felt a sort of.. Well I don't know how to describe it other than a small need to get closer to my grandpa. Specifically, my hand. I felt to tired to fight it and let my body move on its own, gently snuggling up to Ricks side and resting my arm beside his on the railing. I heard him shift slightly, but he didn't move away. We both looked out onto the desolate streets in the distance, mesmerized by it, or something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on.