None Of The Above

Chapter 2✔️

"As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen."
- Winnie The Pooh

***

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

The husky voice belonging to the stranger beside me wakes me from my slumber, the bright sunlight causing me to squint my eyes as I lazily run a hand through my hair.

"What do you mean?" I reply, yawning as I observe my surroundings.

We are driving along a seemingly empty highway, each side caged in by an endless forest as the sun peeks through the branches of the trees.

The stranger sitting next to me has still kept his hood up, effectively concealing his identity. Although, his voice sounds fairly young and his hands that are gripping the steering wheel aren't wrinkled or old.

My suspicions are that he must be quite young, and they are confirmed as he turns to look at me, his grey eyes complimenting the dark brown hair that peeks out of his hood.

"What do you think I mean? A total stranger jumped in my car last night and told me to drive, I think I deserve some sort of explanation."

I sigh. "What's your name?"

"You never answered the question."

"It's complicated," I reply, trying to act nonchalant.

"That's not an answer."

I huff. "Fine, well, you have to tell my what your name is first."

"It's not important." Now it's his turn to avoid eye contact.

"Okay. Nice to meet you, not important," I say sarcastically, smirking at his annoyed expression before sighing in defeat. "I was running from the cops because I graffitied the building next to my school. I bumped into you and thought I would ask for a ride, that's all. Are you happy now?"

"Well, there's a gas station coming up in a few miles. I'll drop you off there and you can call someone to take you home."

"Wait," I sit up. "C'mon, I don't want to go home."

"Too bad, I'm not going to be arrested for kidnapping some runaway," his voice holds no emotion, but it does hold a sense of faint sadness, if not exhaustion.

"I'm not a runaway, besides, we're probably the same age." I grumble, leaning back in my seat and propping my feat up on the dashboard.

"Feet off," he snaps his fingers and points to my feet on the dashboard.

I frown. "It's not like I'm going get it any dirtier than it already is."

"I don't care," he pushes down his hood, running hand through his hair.

"You're no fun," I tease.

"I am too fun," he snaps his head to me, and I take this time to properly study his face. He does seem to be about my age, maybe a year or two older, but his eyes show age, as if he's seen a lot. In fact, I can't help by notice that he's quite attractive, and dare I say it...cute?

"Oh, really? Show me how fun you can be," I challenge him with a quirk of my eyebrow.

"Alright, fine," he huffs, glancing nervously at me before he hesitantly takes his hands off the steering wheel; lifting up his legs so he can steer the wheel with his knees.

I laugh, throwing my head back as my eyes close. "Really? That's what you call fun?"

"Darn right," he looks at me incredulously, but unless it's my imagination, I can just make out a faint smile playing on his lips. "Not a lot of people can do that, kid. You should consider yourself privileged to have witnessed such talent."

"I'm not a kid," I sober up, smirking at him.

"Oh, really?" He questions, a smirk of his own stretching across his face. And I would be lying if I didn't say it was the cutest thing ever.

"For your information, I just turned eighteen." I boast, dramatically flipping my hair over my shoulder and inwardly cringing as I catch sight of my reflection in the rear view mirror. My strawberry blonde hair is ratted and tangled, and I grimace at the sight of the designer eye bags I'm sporting underneath my hazel eyes.

"Eighteen?" He looks quite surprised before shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't buy it."

"Well, you better buy it," I cross my arms and lean back in my seat. "I don't care what my mom says, I don't think I have a baby face."

He takes his eyes off the road, openly eyeing me up and down before his steel-grey eyes settle on my face.

"No, I agree with your mother," he smirks. "You definitely have a baby face."

"I do not!" I gasp, playfully hitting his arm as he laughs at me.

"Whatever you say, kid," he chuckles, a smile still resting on his face as he focuses back on the road. And as the silence consumes us, I realize how strange the reality of the situation is.

I have absolutely no idea who this man is; in fact, he could be a serial killer for all I know, yet I just had a joking conversation with him and we even teased each other as if we've been friends for ages. How strange.

Riiinnnggg

I jump in my seat, placing a hand over my heart as the obnoxious ringing of my cellphone fills the car.

"It's been ringing all morning; I'm surprised you never woke up to it sooner." The man straightens up, gesturing towards my discarded backpack that's laying on the floor of the car.

I dig around in my backpack, quickly turning off my phone and exhaling heavily.

"You're not going to answer it?" He quirks an eyebrow at me.

I chuckle. "I'm not that stupid."

"What'd you mean? Your parents are probably worried about you."

"Parent, you mean," I clear my throat. "I've never met my dad."

He looks down, muttering a quiet. "Oh."

Once again, we let silence envelop us, the only sound to be heard being the rusty engine of the truck as we continue to drive along the seemingly deserted highway.

"Where are we, anyway?" I turn to look at him, my eyes falling onto the faded logo of his sweatshirt. UNC?

"Well, to be perfectly honest," he glances over at me, our eyes meeting as he utters his next words.

"I have no idea."

***

Hey GUYS!! 600+ reads?! Can I just give all of  you a virtual hug? Cause you guys are freakin amazing. Don't forget to tell me what you thought about this chapter in the comments!
I love you guys!!
-Mae

PS: Do you guys like the cover up above?^^^ should I keep the one it's on now, or change it to that one? Tell me what you think ;)