Best For Last || Jacob Elordi AU

old stories

present day
       As suggested, Sid was made to drive first. Whoever was driving at the time wasn't completely separated from everyone else, but were a good amount of feet away, and with the AC being so close and loud up there, they couldn't hear enough to participate in the conversation going on behind them. You learned that one of the main beds would obviously go to Arya and Dante, the two smaller ones would each be Jacob's and Sid's, and the other main bed... you had to share with Sabrina. For now, though, Sid adjusted the radio from the driver's seat, Arya and Dante sat on the edges of the main beds, Jacob lay calmly on his bed across from Sabrina sitting cross-legged on Sid's, and you sat at the tiny kitchen table a couple feet away.

"So, how'd you guys meet?" you spoke a few minutes after the previous conversation died down, directing your question between Arya and Sabrina. Arya perked up to answer, but after making eye contact with an equally excited Sabrina, let the other girl take this one.

"I asked her if she wanted to do a line with me at a party in high school," she recalled proudly, looking to her friend. You tried to hide the shock on your face with an amused smile, and she went on. "She asked me, get in line for what?"

Sabrina and Arya burst into laughter together, and Dante even fought a smile beside her while shaking his head.

"She was just so sweet," Sabrina continued. "I told her that her innocence was hilarious and we just kind of stuck together the rest of the night. Exchanged numbers, and yeah. Gotten closer with every year since."

"Wow," was the best you could do with a chuckle, but it was enough for them as they giggled back and forth doing imitations of each other the night they met. You were glad that Dante had been right, time was going by pretty fast. Granted it'd only been just under an hour, but this was very bearable. The rest of the group shared how they met the newlyweds-to-be, then Dante brought up personal stories with a few of you, ending with Jacob.

"Aye, Jake, remember that time at camp when the counselor purposely distracted us so the girls could pull pranks in our room?"

"Oh my god," Jacob's voice was finally enthusiastic, a slightly abashed smile forming on his face. "That was bullshit; someone put itching powder on my pillow."

"Bro there was itching powder in my underwear," Dante deadpanned.

Everyone else cackled while you attempted to conceal your laugh behind your hand and tried for as long as you could to avoid glancing up at the man who produced your favorite laugh. You were full of relief and anguish; what kind of person wasn't over somebody after nearly a decade? You were over him, were. But it seemed like laying your eyes on him once, even after all this time, was enough to undo all the work you'd done to forget him. You dreamt about him for 5 years after you two went no contact, and prayed he dreamt of you too. Though he'd blocked you, you'd even gotten desperate enough at one point to create a burner account just to see his photos update gradually. You told yourself it wasn't relief you felt over the years as he remained single, just surprise: pleasant surprise.

"It cool if I pull into the gas station at the next exit?" Sid's voice carried through the RV. "It's been 52 minutes but there won't be another one for like, 45 minutes."

"Yeah that's cool man go ahead," Dante stood to begin making his way to the front. "Pull in and we'll probably all take ten minutes in the bathroom and getting food anyway."

Arya cheered at the mention of snacks, and you silently celebrated with her. You watched the highway fly by and get further as you guys split off and took the exit onto the smaller roads and pulled into the first stop of the trip. Once the vehicle was in park, everybody immediately stood to exit, and stretched dramatically outside in the blaring sun. All the guys and Arya went into the store either for snacks or to prepay for gas, leaving just you and Sabrina leaned against the shady side of the RV.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," she began mischievously. "But did I catch you sneaking a peak at that Jacob guy on the bus?"

Your head snapped up and your heart sped a little; your initial reaction was wanting to be defensive, but she was right. No use lying if she clearly saw you. "Yeah, but, it's... just..." you said coolly, waving your hands all around to shoo the ideas in her head away.

"No you're totally good," she grinned as if you two had some unspoken inside joke you'd missed. "I get it girl, go 'head. I'm definitely fucking one of these guys before this is over."

You tried to match her enthusiastic giggle, and kept your fake smile as she made a kissy face paired with a peace sign and re-entered the RV. You wouldn't let yourself dwell on how that goal of hers made you feel. Dante and Arya had come out of the store hand in hand, followed then by Sid, and finally Jacob. You climbed back in after Sabrina, and the rest of the group soon followed, with the exception of your ex of course who took the driver's seat. While he took his hour long turn, the tension that had been there for you was gone. You were no longer wondering if he was looking at you, and being scared to look at him to check in case he was and he'd catch you. You hated this, it felt like your insecure high school self had risen back to the surface.

With him out of sight, though, he was much easier out of mind. Especially when you all started going around telling your wildest teenage memories, brought on by the story of how Arya and Sabrina became friends. Dante told his, which involved running out of detention one day and trying to hot-wire a car to get home, Sid's was sneaking out of his second story bedroom window to meet up with a girl he liked, and Sabrina's included more party drugs than you could name. All too soon, Jacob's hour was up and you all were pulling over again at a rest stop to stretch, switch all around, and let Dante take his turn as the driver. When you all settled again, Sabrina nestled into the bed boldly next to Sid, and turned to you, oblivious of his animated expression.

"Okay Y/N, your turn. What's one of your craziest memories as a teenager?"

You inhaled deeply and searched for absolutely nothing on the ceiling, aware that everyone's eyes were on you in anticipation. The best story that came to mind, was one that included Jacob. You bit the inside of your lip and tried to think, then decided to just leave his name out and start recalling that unpredictable night.

"Probably Halloween 2014," you began, and noticed another pair of eyes on you immediately. "I was out with my boyfriend, his parents finally let just us hang out since he got his license, and after we got done gallivanting the neighborhood, you know," everyone was intently listening and nodding. "We were in his car and wanted to watch our show on his phone, so we did, and so that we could hear the sound through the speakers, we left his car battery running. For an hour."

Everyone groaned all at once, knowing where this was going. You told them how, when you tried to start the ignition, there was nothing. You two were stuck in a Taco Bell parking lot 20 minutes before your curfew and two hours after his. After panicking and racking your brains for an hour, you called your mother and told her you were staying with Isabella Elordi that night. It wasn't her favorite idea, but she trusted you. Jacob had to call his friends at one in the morning to drive you guys four minutes away to his house, where his parents were long asleep. He hid you in their (thankfully, furnished) basement with a blanket and a pack of Capri suns. He kissed you goodnight and promised he'd find a way to fix everything by morning. He left, then an hour later was back: you two had sex for the third time ever that night. Of course, you left that part out of the story.

And in the morning, he somehow pulled it off. His parents charged his car battery, and when they were both at work, he drove you home without them knowing the first thing about it.