Just Drive [old version]

[ chapter eighteen ]

i love you guys, you know that right? enough to be posting a (very long) chapter three hours after i get home because i can't sleep. yay for jet lag ._.

starting with this chapter, i'm going to be switching to present tense. all previous chapters will be slowly undergoing editing. just so you know. i'm not sure if switching tenses makes it sound more formal or not, but let me know what you think c:

Chapter Eighteen

            I suppose the streets of Ann Arbor in the late afternoon were nice enough, but I eventually grew tired of watching drunk people stumble out from happy hour bars while madly groping each other with little concern as to who was who. It was somewhat discouraging and somewhat disgusting.

            Quietly, I pick myself up from the little bench I was resting at and start making my way back to the car. Five minutes later, I shuffle up to the car half an hour before my predetermined reunion with Austin. It didn’t matter to me though. The car is a nice place to silently sob.

            Austin, as directed, arrives at the car half an hour later. “You’re here,” he says as he slides into the car. His voice, although smooth and friendly, fails to hide his surprise. I guess I have not given him many reasons to believe in me lately.

            “I am,” I reply calmly. It is the best I can do. “Buy anything nice?”

            He shrugs. “Not really, but I have some ideas of how we can spend our”—he pauses and purses his lips—“extra time today.” There is no need for him to say it. He is still tense about ending so early today, but he also knows I’m not exactly thrilled with him either. Nonetheless, he still has trouble hiding his distaste.

            “Let’s hear it.” I cross my arms and look up at him with a small, involuntary frown on my face. Since our sophomore year when he first noticed the somewhat-permanent expression, Austin has picked up on the habit of calling me Eeyore, given my love for childhood cartoons.

            “Well first,” he whispers, “I was thinking I could surprise you.”

            At that moment, every part of me wanted to fight back. I could tell he was trying to be charming, and it was working. Austin, by my theory, is a charmer by nature, and I, according to the same theory, am an impractical dreamer. The combination is rewardingly deadly. Of course, none of that mattered when I opened my mouth to say okay.

            Smiling, he steps out from his side of the car and strides up to mine. In one smooth motion, he opens the door and leads me out. “After you,” he says lightly.

            I hesitate before taking his hand. I’ve sat down in my bed at night before wishing for a moment like this. I have it now, but I know it’s not real.

            Oh fuck it, I think. I have the rest of this trip to be real. With an edge of ferocity, I snatch his hand and hold it tightly. I don’t ever want to let go.

            “I realized I’ve been kind of an asshole to you lately,” he admits as we’re walking. “I guess it kind of slipped my mind that you have your interests too.” A light blush starts to blossom above his cheekbones. It sounds so rehearsed, everything from the careful speech to the blush. It was too perfect.

            I grit my teeth. “No shit, Sherlock.”

            “Don’t be like that, Sam,” he says, pursing his lips. “I know how you act when you’re annoyed. You don’t need to rub it in any further.” He says the last part softly, as if it hurt.