Escapade | Daniel Seavey AU

03

I didn't sleep a wink last night. Not after Brennan had dropped me off, only to inform me that she'll be picking me up before five in the morning. It was Saturday, so I don't understand why she'd want me to be up at such an ungodly hour.

Nonetheless, I was too beat to protest and only waved her off, and pushed the door to my house open, to find my mom in her robe, seated by the dinner table that was placed close to the door of the house. She was worried, but I assured her that I fell asleep in the library and was locked in. I explained to her that I had a friend there, that helped me out and she only hugged me, before lightly hitting my arm so I'd never do it again.

I lied on my bed, but I didn't fall asleep. Even though Brennan and I only grabbed something to eat, being that far from where I usually go was quite... thrilling. I've always stuck by the rules, stuck with my roots and rarely ever stepped out of my comfort zone. I never thought with a simple twenty-minute drive and burger craving, I could feel a bit more alive.

Unfortunately, I know I can't stick around with her. This was probably something that would happen once and we'll go back to being strangers.

I hope so, though, I don't actually want to be associated with people like her. People that don't care about their future and would much rather live in the moment, not caring for consequences.

Glancing at the clock on my phone, I noticed it was ten minutes to ten and right on cue, a notification from my social media had appeared on my screen.

@brenntann sent you a message

brenntann: had to find a way to contact you

brenntann: you better be ready by five

seaveydaniel: and if im not? im tired brennan, i want to sleep

brenntann: no excuses, seavey, be ready

seaveydaniel: what are we even doing?

She only read the message, but never replied. I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose as I let out a low groan. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to sleep, I pushed myself off my bed and left my room quietly, making sure that my mom was still asleep. She wouldn't appreciate it if she found out I snuck out of the house at this hour. Sighing in relief to see that she was sound asleep, her snores confirming it, I headed downstairs and pulled on a pair of shoes before quietly stepping out of the house. The cool Portland air brushed past me, a shiver ran up my spine as I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.

Brennan's car pulled up not too long after I exited my home, quietly locking the door with my spare key and walking towards the passenger side of her vehicle. She unlocked the door, letting me enter, with a dimpled smile placed on her lips. She hadn't changed from her clothes of the previous night, but added a baseball cap that was placed backwards. "Miss me, Peter Pan?"

"Where are you taking me?" I ignored her question.

"You look uninterested for someone that willingly showed up," she reminded with a cock of her brow and the corner of her lips quirking up into a smirk. "But before we go, phone." She extended her hand for my phone, which I hastily placed on her palm. I watched as she added her phone number into my contacts, before handing it back to me. "Not one to always slide in the DMs, Seavey."

"Whatever, just get this over with."

"Lighten up, Danny-boy," she lightly punched my shoulder, "we're going to watch the sun rise—you should see it from cliff outside of town." I looked over to her, genuinely shocked by the words that came out of her mouth. At first glance, Brennan looked to be the stereotypical rebel and tom-boy—her tough demeanor that she displays in school, alongside her confidence never made me think that she might actually enjoy watching sunrises.

"What?" She asked, noticing my dumbfounded expression. "Is it that surprising? So surprising that you look like a fish out of water?" She rose a brow towards me, and faced the road. "I'm not always some tom-boy, Seavey." Her tone was no longer playful, but annoyed. "It sucks to know that you were actually judging a book by its cover."

I was taken aback by her words and felt guilty for my misjudgement. "I'm sorry, it's just... yeah, it's surprising, I admit."

"I know it is," she mumbled, then reached out to turn up the volume of the radio, the music filling up the air enough to have no space for a conversation.

_____

We arrived at the spot Brennan told me about about thirty minutes before the sun began rising. The walk up to her spot took almost twenty minutes if she hadn't found a shortcut beforehand, making it easier. Even though I rarely ever go out, and Brennan seemed to be the type to be fit with how active she is, I still was able to walk ahead of her, following the directions she yelled from behind. She was easily losing her breath. "Is it still far?" I asked her.

"Not really," she said, but I heard her mumble, "shouldn't have eaten that extra slice, Brennan—you sound like you're dying." I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

The spot was a clear area with only a few bumps on the ground as most of it was flat, and hung over the land below us, about a three feet drop. The view was spectacular though; the lights of the city dotted the space below us, a few moving lights indicating cars and stars still filled the night sky, with only a bit of the sun's rays peeping from the horizon.

"Thankfully, I brought something to drink," she grinned, referring to the bottle of beer she pulled from the inside of her jacket. My eyes immediately widened. Although I'm underaged, I've tasted alcohol before, but it was only the occasional wine that my parents prepared during last thanksgiving when they thought it would be fine—I never touched alcohol ever since because the after tase wasn't at all something I enjoyed. Brennan noticed my surprised look before extending the drink towards me, "Want some?"

"No thanks," I mumbled, looking forward to the sun that was beginning to rise.

"Alright then." I could see her in my peripheral vision, taking a long sip as if the stinging wasn't bad before she wiped her mout with the sleeve of her jacket, propping the bottle beside her.

"How did you even get ahold of that? You're 17, aren't you?" I asked her and she chuckled, shaking her head as if my queston was stupid.

"I'm turning 18 this year, Daniel—in two months," she told me.

"Oh... but you're still considered underaged," I reminded.

"Yeah, but a little bit of 3% alcohol won't do any harm to me, Daniel," she uttered, taking another swig. We sat in silence as the sun began slowly coming up; the red hues of the sun blended into the blue hues on the night sky, creating a purple in between. "I've always loved the color purple," I heard her sigh beside me, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up, "never was a fan of orange, though—weird color."

I furrowed my brows. "What?"

"Nothing." She's confusing, I thought. I looked back out on the sunrise, but felt my phone vibrate inside my pocket. My mom was calling. Hesitantly, I answered, "Hello mom?"

"Daniel James Seavey, where are you?" She asked, panic clear in her tone.

"I went out for a morning jog, mom, I'll be back in ten minutes." She then went on a rant that I shouldn't have left without telling her and that she was close to calling the police, especially from last night's events, but I assured her I was okay.

"Do you want to go?" I sighed, nodding and she quietly stood up, walking ahead of me.