As Valentine stirred throughout the night, there was nothing but the soft chirp of crickets surrounding her. Luke drove for hours without her conscious company, but he was growing extremely tired as the sun began to show again. He knew that in some time the girl would wake up, and he would get back on the road then.
After driving through what felt like a dessert, Luke set his sights on a truck stop just barely in the parameters of an old run down town. He deemed it safe enough without a second thought and was soon sleeping in the car along with Valentine.
The brunette felt very grumpy upon first fluttering her eyes awake, annoyed by the sunlight that intruded on her luscious slumber. It wasn't until she remembered what exactly she was waking up to that she swallowed her anger and replaced it with worry.
She could hear him ever so slightly letting out snores, and she could easily assume her whereabouts to be remote to a rest stop. She wasn't really panicked by the unfamiliar, but rather the memory that seemed to linger over her like a gray cloud. She had kissed Luke Hemmings. She, herself, under no professional influence or manipulation, had told Luke to kiss her. The high from the almost wreck had worn off, and Valentine's head was leveling itself back out. With each passing second, she was understanding more and more of what she'd done.
"Oh my god," she whispered, widening her eyes as she took in Luke's position. He had his seat reclined, laid out on his back, and Valentine thought he looked hot. She couldn't shame herself more for the thoughts than she was in that moment. She was mortified at where her mind had gone upon seeing Luke fast asleep. His shirt had risen due to his arm being slung atop his head, and a little streak of skin was revealed to her.
She could hardly take her eyes away, until Luke's sixth sense kicked in. When he subtly peeked through his eyelids, he was greeted with a wide awake Valentine trying to play off being caught.
"Were you watching me sleep?" He grumbled, leaning his weight up and turning towards the girl who had since found something else to focus on. Well, she was trying at least. She had just panicked and decided on focusing her vision on the trees in front of them, as if a grizzly had peered its head out and engaged in a staring contest with her.
"No," she rushed out, her gaze unaltered.
"Well... uh..." Luke wasn't quite sure what to say. He didn't really understand the girl's strange behavior, and upon just waking up—he wasn't too ready to try and confront her about it.
"Shall we, then?" He asked, trying to get some sort of verbal affirmation from Valentine. She stayed silent though, only nodding her head a little so not to be impolite. Luke would soon realize that she was not a morning person, and that their kiss impacted her a lot more than he had expected.
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"There it is!" Valentine squealed, pointing out in front of her after a torturously extended period of time in which she stayed absolutely silent. She was too excited about what they were arriving upon, and she felt an overwhelming urge to jump out of her seat and yell in excitement.
At the tip of the girls finger, just a few yards ahead, stood a blue sign signaling that they had finally made it to California. Yellow flowers covered the right side of the sign, a pretty mixture of colors that Valentine had been looking forward to seeing. The car ride was becoming much too awkward, and Valentine was pleasantly surprised to learn that Luke was a really smart driver, and they ended up avoiding all of the traffic. She figured they wouldn't get there until later on in the evening, but they had arrived to the sign much sooner than expected.
"It's so pretty!" Valentine exclaimed, leaning her head against the window as they passed by the sign and it became just another speck behind them. Luke's smile was subtle, but definitely obvious enough for Valentine to catch on to.
"Are you tired?" The brunette asked, sounding genuinely concerned for the blonde who had developed darkened circles under his eyes.
"Little bit," he smiled back. He certainly was tired, but not tired enough to slow them down.
"I can drive if you want to take a nap," she suggested, sitting up in her seat to demonstrate how she would sit had she been the one driving. She extended her arms to mimic Luke's steering. After swerving it around a few imaginary times, Luke let out a thick chuckle, eyes still focused on the road ahead of him.
"If you're going to be swerving like that, you're not driving my moms car," Luke joked, not really meaning anything by the comment. Valentine saw the wit a little differently though, and she couldn't seem to stop laughing at it.
"It's not like you didn't literally rear end a delivery truck and then didn't call your mom!" She wheezed out between breathless laughs. Luke followed her shortly after, losing himself in the girls sense of humor. He was really starting to get to know her, in ways he hadn't before. He had literally kissed her a little over twenty four hours ago, and they hadn't even spoken since they'd woken up the following morning. He couldn't get out of his mind with all of the restless thinking going on, and he nearly swerved into the other lane while paying attention to the girl.
"Okay," she sat up, really this time.
"Pull over here," she grabbed the wheel, noting how drained Luke looked.
"I'm driving, alright?" She turned her head as Luke wordlessly pulled over where she had asked. He couldn't possibly tell her no, not with that hopeful glint in her eye. Not to mention the fact that he was indeed incredibly exhausted.
"Mmhm," he hummed, watching as she climbed out of the passenger seat. He had been in such a daze that time seemed to slip past him, and before he knew it—the girl was knocking on his window impatiently.
"Come on," she urged him, pulling his arm slightly to get him up and out of his seat. "Sorry," he mumbled, placing his hand over hers where it fell against his chest after he stood.
"Just sleepy," he shrugged, though with absolute certainty he was lying. He was so damn entertained by her, he couldn't even think straight. He could blame it on the lack of sleep, and maybe some of that would be valid. But at the end of the day, he was a sick puppy around her all the time, regardless the situation or day.
Once he had rounded his car to take a seat on the passenger side, Valentine got comfortable behind the wheel. She had never driven anything besides Adeline's Jeep, and her fathers two seater. Both were much larger than Liz Hemmings' minivan, and Valentine felt a little out of her element.
"Here," Luke leaned over once he got settled. He clicked a button that Valentine didn't really see, because she was too focused on how quickly he could get so close to her. His head wasn't far from her shoulder, and she felt the heat from his figure. Before she had the chance to get breathless and distracted, Luke removed his presence at once. Valentine noted the way the windshield wipers had turned on, and as if on cue, so did earth's urge to rain. Light sprinkling burdened the girl as she slowly pulled back into the road, keeping an eye out for passing cars.
"You have your license on you?" Luke asked, watching her timid movements. She definitely looked like an anxious driver to him, but he didn't want to assume too much. The girl was full of surprises, after all.
"License?" Valentine quickly shot her eyes towards the blonde who held a horrified expression, and back to the road in a matter of seconds.
"I'm kidding, I have my license in my backpack," she grinned, reveling in the low groan Luke emitted involuntary, some sign of relief or something.
"Thank god," Luke huffed, leaning back against his headrest. With the knowledge that the girl could actually drive legally, he let himself relax his previously tensed muscles.
"Hey Luke?" The girl called out, keeping her eyes trained ahead, but mind wandering now that she was in the hot seat and couldn't go on her phone for means of entertainment.
"Mmhm?" He hummed in response, despite being half asleep. He would never want to blatantly ignore her, so he gave his best go at staying awake while she spoke.
While the rain drizzled down on the window, Valentine felt like she was living inside of a sweet love song. One she could name, even. The comfort of her position and company felt so peaceful to her, and she leaned into the moment as she drove down an empty road that seemed to go on for miles and miles.
"We kissed," she whispered, childlike in the way that she was terrified of Luke's reaction to the simple statement. Though it should've been an easy piece of information for the two to agree on, Luke's heart sunk at the mention of it.
"Yeah, we did," he breathed out heavily, eyes closed and reclined in his seat.
"How does that make me feel?" She asked, voice small as ever. She wasn't quite sure what had come over her, but she wanted to ask all of her questions while she had the courage. "You? I can't tell you how to feel," Luke responded quickly, not giving it a second thought. He would never want Valentine to feel like she had to kiss him. Admittedly, the submission on her part had his heart fluttering, but that doesn't mean he'd ever want to push her to the point of controlling her.
"I mean... like... well, I know that. But I value your opinion as a significant peer. How do you think I should feel?" She asked, honesty spilling out of every hole on her body. She felt extremely vulnerable mumbling the words she usually wouldn't let slip out, but she didn't want to leave her questions unanswered.
"I'm not sure... are you asking how I hope you feel?" Luke asked, catching on to what she was getting at. Once realizing that he had been overthinking it, he spoke again before she had the chance to confirm his question.
"I hope you feel relieved. Because I feel relieved. It was something I'd been wanting to do for some time, but it never felt right. I felt very relieved to kiss you, and I'd hoped you'd feel the same," Luke explained, finally opening his eyes and sitting up a little to get a better view of her.
"I do... I feel relieved," she agreed quickly, not really needing to give it a second thought after being told so. She hadn't expected so much honesty from the blonde, and she certainly didn't know how to react. "You don't have to agree with me, Valentine," he pleaded with her, feeling guilty that she so easily complied with his wishes. It seemed that Valentine was only ever impressionable, or a force to be reckoned with—and there was no in between. He was still learning how to speak to her correctly, and he was still taking notes on her soul. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was trying.
This just so happened to be a time that Valentine was coming off as naive, though Luke would never use that word to describe her himself. He'd go for a more subtle approach, something along the lines of she shouldn't agree with everything I say so easily, she trusts me too much.
"I'm not just agreeing with you," she responded, turning to him at a red light. He looked drained of energy, but he was still so worried about hurting her, he looked so vulnerable all the same in her eyes.
"How do you feel, Valentine?"
"I do feel relieved, actually. I think... I'm scared of the way it makes me feel," she explained, a little shrug thrown on as the boy gazed deeply into her slightly panicked eyes.
"Do you like it?" Luke asked, as simply as he possibly could have. Though the question was as easy as two plus two, Valentine choked up on her answer regardless.
"I do."