The (Im)Perfect Escape

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

June 17th – 7:56 A.M.

As I twirl a strand of my hair, I tap my foot impatiently. I glance at the clock in the living room for what seems like the millionth time. Am I actually excited for this friendship outing? It’s been a while since I’ve actually been pumped for a social interaction. What’s sad is the fact that I’m actually eager to spend a whole day with the boy who called me a “pork chop.”

My tapping increases when my gaze finds its way back to the clock and realize it hasn’t even been a minute yet. Why are you so anxious, girl? Get a grip! I roll my eyes as I peek out the window again. When I don’t see the familiar shiny black metal in the driveway, I sigh and fiddle with the hem of my dress. Why was I even wearing this again? It’s so impractical…but adorable. No one can deny its adorableness.

My gaze travels back to the clock, and I stare it down until it finally moves to another minute. Anxious, I start to pace. What if he doesn’t show up? Unlikely, but totally possible. He was half asleep when I made that call. He may have fallen asleep again and not have even realized that he agreed to this outing. I’ve done that before. What if he doesn’t even want to go?

Frustrated by my thoughts, I plop down on the couch and take a few deep breaths. When did I get to be so paranoid? He was late for that party the other day, so maybe he’ll be late for this as well? Although, he hates parties, so that may have been why he came so late. What if he hates, like, all social outings, and he doesn’t want to come to this one even if it’s just the two of us? Holy shit…it’s just going to be the two of us? What did I get myself into?

Before I can start another tangent to go off on, I hear a honk outside. My eyes drift to the clock sitting on the mantle of the fireplace and see it’s officially eight o’clock. Swiftly, I grab my bag and race out the door, locking it behind me. After yanking the car door open, I slide in the passenger seat.

Noah raises his eyebrows at me. “In a hurry to get somewhere?”

I roll my eyes. “You told me to be punctual, so I was. I’m sure you would have given me some weird lecture if I wasn’t.”

He smiles and doesn’t answer. Instead, he just turns up the rock music on the radio and pulls out of the driveway. We start down the road, and the car is shrouded in a comfortable silence except for the music blaring. When he passes a sign telling me that we’re now leaving town, confusion starts to spread through me. We’re leaving town? I mean, I didn’t think there’s actually anything to do here, but still. Part of me was thinking that we were going to stay here to do something...I’m not sure what that something may have been, since there’s nothing to do except “party” here from what I saw.

I sneak a glance at Noah out of the corner of my eye. He’s dressed in plaid Bermuda shorts and another polo. That gives no indication where we’re going. It does give me the peace of mind that we’re not going hiking or to the gym. Yay?

I turn my gaze away from the window and look at him head-on this time. “You’re quite the conversationalist.”

“Thank you. I try my hardest.” He smirks.

“Where are we going?” My fingers itch to fiddle with the hem of my dress, as anxiety builds up in me again. “Driving me to some field in the middle of nowhere to ditch my body after you kill me? I did call you an axe-wielding psycho at one point and time.”

His eyes stay trained on the road. “I know. I remember. Fun times.”

“Noah, where are we going?” I cross my arms over my chest.