💋Material Girl// Gossip Girl

26// City of Angels

The thing about expectations is that most of the time, someone else sets them for you, yet you feel they've been there all along and you can't wait to live up to them. But just because you know what's expected of you, doesn't mean you still can't surprise everyone. Nothing stays hidden for long, and you often find what you least expect is right in front of you: waiting to change everything forever.. whether you want to or not.

-Gossip Girl

I know someday I'll make it out of here, get away from the things I've been running from permanently. I won't have to hide anymore, not from: the pain, the fear, the love. Regardless, all three of those consist of fear, that's what's holding me back because I'm afraid.

The last three months have consisted of traveling all over California, starting from Ontario then heading up North. Once we reached Weed, California, we drove south along the coast and now head towards our last destination: Los Angeles. Motels were our sanctuary, a pungent smell of mildew lingered in the small rooms, the bed coils squealed within every movement, the sheets felt dirty and rough, and one had a man passed out in the tub who reeked of marijuana and other foul odors. Obviously there was a mistake between checkouts and bad room service. That was all when we were in the middle of the desert and from exhausted long drives. Once we arrived in the cities, we checked into suitable hotels with clean white sheets and modern TVs.

By the time we reached Santa Barbara, our wallets were as light as feathers. Whatever we had left was spent in the exorbitant but beautiful San Francisco, our stay there wasn't meant to last three weeks but we fell in love with the city. That's when I had to bring out my inheritance debit card, 'the golden card'. Now, the silhouette of Los Angeles city lies in front of us, concealed by a cloud of smog.

"I don't know why people rave about L.A so much, I mean just look at it. You can't even see it." Brandon chuckles, my companion of the three month road trip, the W in we.

"Because of celebrities and the movie industry." I say with a sigh.

"Remember when you wanted to be an actress?" He asks, a scorn grin across his face.

"Remember when you wanted to be the next star of Lisa Frank?" I retort.

Brandon's grin falters and he glances at me will dull eyes for a second before returning his eyes to the road.

"Wow, you didn't have to hit me with that." He huffs

"You were obviously mocking me." I remark

"Still hurt." He says as he pats his hand on his left peck.

I roll my eyes and divert them to the road as well, leaning back in the seat and resting my hand on my cheek. The sight of the city began to blur and fade away as my eyelids grew heavy.

OoOoO

A loud bang startled me, my eyes opened widely and my body jolted ever so slightly. A small spark of fear hangs on my chest as I search my surroundings, my eyes land of Brandon who smirks at me through the open window of the Jeep. He had slammed the car door "Have a nice nap, sleepyhead?" He asks, a smirk still playing on his lips.

"Delightful in fact" I respond, reaching for a small rolled up blanket on the floor and tossing it at his face. He caught it, of course, cat reflexes are strong in the Vikander family.

"We're here so get off your tiny ass so we can go sightseeing for like the tenth time." He says throwing the blanket back at me and walking to the back of the Jeep.

"What's there to see that we haven't seen already?" I ask

Brandon purses his lips as he pulls out his black backpack and rummages through it "Well, we can do something spontaneous, something we've never done before." He suggests.