Laurance's POV
I lean against the car, watching Garroth exchange goodbyes with his family. It's gonna be a long four hour drive to get where we're going, so it's relatively early by my standards.
10:26. Early.
"Come visit any time you like, alright?" Zianna says after she finally lets go of her eldest son.
"Of course, mummy. And I'll make sure to call you more, don't worry."
I smile at this bright and happy family scene. Vylad glances over and walks toward me.
"Hey," I greet, rather casually.
"You have my number, right?"
I take out my phone: "Yup. Still here."
"Good. Just...don't forget that I'm here if you ever need to talk, alright?"
"Yeah." I grin at him. "Thanks, Vylad."
He smiles back and pulls me in for a hug. We've never been super close friends, but these past two weeks have made me think of him as more of a brother than ever before.
Garroth's real lucky to have a brother like him.
"Make sure to keep me posted." He pulls back with a mischievous grin. "I'm waiting for your relationship status to change."
"Ha ha." I roll my eyes. "Keep dreaming."
He smiles and steps back as Zianna comes over to hug me. I return it.
"You know you're always welcome here, Laurance," she tells me and I smile.
"Yeah. Thanks, Zianna."
"Mmhm!" She pulls back. "And you tell your parents not to overwork themselves, alright? Besides, I'd love to see the new baby!"
I laugh: "I'll make sure to tell them that. And to bring Caleb along next time they decide to visit."
"I hope they do!" She lets go of me. "See you soon, Laurance."
Garte had to leave earlier this morning to get to work, so we weren't really able to see him, but that's okay. He basically waved us off last night because he knew he wasn't going to be around at this time.
I look to Garroth who's just finished giving his baby brother a hug.
"You ready?" I ask him. He looks over at me and nods.
"Yup. Everything's in the back."
"Then, I guess we're off." I walk over to the drivers side and give one last wave. "See you both later!"
"Bye, you two. Have fun!" Zianna says.
"See ya! Keep me updated!" Vylad calls and I roll my eyes at him.
"Whatever, Vylad." I laugh and open my door.
"I'll call you later, mummy," Garroth says, climbing into his seat. I do the same and slam the door shut.
We pull out of the driveway and head through the neighborhood.
"You're gonna keep me in the dark until we're there, aren't you?"
I smirk, eyes focused on the road: "I'm gonna have to learn some new tricks 'cuz you're catching on too quick."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him turn his head to me, a jokingly frustrated look in his crystal blue eyes. I let out a laugh.
"You'll know soon," I tell him, though he still looks unconvinced. "Just don't ask too many questions you know I'm not gonna answer."
He rolls his eyes at that and leans back in his seat. After a minute, he makes his thinking face: pressing his lips into a straight line and squinting at open sky. I don't usually see this unless he's got something on his mind that's really bugging him.
"Is asking about that nightmare one of those questions?" he asks in almost a mumble. I feel instant goosebumps on my skin and a quick flash of crimson red across my vision that disappears as soon as it arrives.
"U-Uhhh..." I hesitate, but Garroth gets the message.
"Nevermind. Don't worry about telling me now."
"Thanks..."
"But you will tell me eventually, right?" he asks, concern lacing every inch of his voice. I manage a normal-looking smile and look him in the eyes.
"Promise."
He smiles back and I watch the road again.
"Good." He looks out, too. "'Cuz I really didn't want to cut your brain open and look for it myself."
"Like you would understand half the stuff that goes on in my head."
Garroth laughs: "Good point. Though at least I'd have some idea how your mind works."
"Am I really that hard to read?"
He tries to study my face, looking to pick out something. I just smirk again and he lets out a frustrated sigh.
"Very," he mutters.
"Good."
I glance over at him and see he's smiling.
"You just love to torture me, don't you?"
"I prefer the phrase, 'keeping you on your toes'."
"You're worse than Travis."
"I'm taking that as a compliment."
He rolls his eyes again and looks out his window. I continue driving, ready for whatever's coming next...
...because this will possibly be my greatest plan yet.
**********
I meant to upload this yesterday...but I couldn't figure out how to end it. Yeah, it's short, but I was kinda rushing so sorry if it isn't the best.
Okay, can I just talk about everything that happened yesterday for a minute? Because yesterday, not even joking, was probably the greatest day of my life.
So, I'm a My Hero Academia fan. Bakugou and Todoroki are my babies. But I got the see the movie Two Heroes last night and I screamed so much I lost my voice. Fangirl overload x 1,000,000+!
ALSO! If you don't know already, Jess started a new role play yesterday that I'm also screaming about because of reasons!! I don't wanna spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but if you're an older Aphmau fan, you will be very much pleased. And my absolute favorite character of all time came back home that episode. I am still crying the happiest of tears. I'm rewatching that episode before I go to bed.
Anyway, just wanted to fangirl for a bit. Have a good night/day depending on wherever you are in the world.
Keep Shipping!
~Emily💖