Alternate Endings

TIM 8

TIM (8): Scenario: What if Eve had agreed to run away with Chris when he first asked her to?

Chris sits up and thinks a minute.

"Hey, you wanna run away together?"

Eve blinks. She sets her pencil down and sits up to face Chris.

"What?"

"Not permanently or anything. Just for a weekend or something." Chris says, pulling Eve to him so that she was straddling him, "Some time when I'm not on tour and you aren't in school. Do you wanna just...run away together?"

A smile slowly makes its way across Eve's face, "I'd love to run away with you some day." She says.

"Or, you know, we could just do it now."

God, to run away with Chris. It would be so amazing to...Maybe she could...No, she couldn't...Could she?

"W-Well...I mean...if we were to run away together...where would we go?" Eve asks.

Chris pauses, then smiles and speaks as he thinks, "Well...It couldn't be too far away in case we absolutely had to come home for some reason...Maybe somewhere like New York City. It's only two hours away, but it's enough of a culture shock to seem like a completely different world in comparison to Scranton."

Eve purses her lips, "And...What would we do there?"

"Well, for starters, I'd take you out since we've actually never done that. I'd take you to a nice dinner at a great restaurant, I'd take you to see the Christmas lights in a rich neighborhood and the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and all the other tourist shit. A couple museums, whatever you want." Chris says, "And then, of course, we'd have the best hotel room available; on the top floor with an amazing view of the city. A place where at the end of the day, we can just relax, and...do other things." He says quietly before leaving soft, feather-like kisses on Eve's neck and jawline.

Eve leans her head back to give him more room. Her eyes flutter shut an she gives a small moan. If heaven did exist, this was it.

Eve swallows, "Is this a serious offer?"

"Is what?" Chris whispers against her neck.

"This...This running away to New York thing."

Chris looks up into Eve's eyes, surprised. He didn't think she'd actually consider doing it with him. Chris thought a moment. Would they be able to do this and get away with it?

"Yes." Chris says, "Yes, it is...Let's run away together."

"When?"

"This weekend."

Eve's eyes widen, "This weekend?"

"Yeah! I mean, I'd have to tell a couple people so my bandmates don't, like, think I'm dead or something, but I'll just tell them I have plans with you, I won't say what they are."

"B-But...How am I supposed to just disappear for a weekend? My dad will have a conniption!"

"Let me handle it."

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

Eve swallows, then exhales and presses her forehead to his.

"Yes." She says, "More than anyone else in this world."

"Then let me handle it. You'll be fine when we get back."

Eve takes a breath, then nods, "Okay." She says, "What's the plan?"

"Tomorrow morning, pack a bag and bring it here before your classes start. Then go to class, I'll pick you up afterword and we'll leave. It'll be somewhere between six-thirty and seven-thirty when we get there depending on traffic. We spend the weekend there and leave Monday morning so we can be back in time for you to get to class."