Roads and Romances | ✓

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it." -Eudora Welty

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     After driving four hours away from the Walgreens, Everett pulls into a gas station and drives up to a vacant pump."I'll go pay for the gas, yeah? It'll only take a minute."

     I watch his back as he jogs into the building, and I groan. Why does he have to be so hot? Why does he have to be in love with me? A summer fling was not on my list when I was planning this getaway. I just wanted to get away for about a month and just go back, only to graduate. After I snatched my diploma, I was going to book it out of there and head to college. It was a simple and efficient plan, a perfect way to escape my parents as quickly as possible.

     But here I am, taking a hormone-filled teenage boy who is in love with me along on my trip because he has the same issues as me.

     "You okay?"

     I jump in my seat and turn to the window, seeing a smirking Everett. "You looked kinda lost there, James. Where'd you go?"

     "Oh, hush, boy," I roll my eyes and pull my knees up to my chest. "Just fill my tank."

     He quickly pumps the gas, climbing back into the car once he is done. "I have a surprise for you," He tells me,smiling.

     "You do?" I say, trying to hide my excitement, and straighten in my chair. "What is it?"

     "It's your favorite," He pulls out a bag of Skittles from his pocket and passes it to me. "I figured we should celebrate the change with our favorites."

     "You remembered," I whisper, raising my eyebrows in shock. No one had ever bothered to learn my favorite anything, except for Hannah.

     "I did," He blushes, shyly smiling at me."Now, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

//

    As we continue our journey, we listen to any good station that we find and don't talk. Almost three hours have passed since we got candy.

     I hear a ringing within the car, but it's not my ringtone. My eyes narrow evilly and I turn to Everett. "Is that your phone I hear?"

     "That it is," He answers, glancing down at where it resides in the cup-holder. "Can you answer it?"

     My eyes grow wider, and I look at the screen. "But it's your dad."

     He shrugs nonchalantly and switches lanes. "Make something up."

     I grin wickedly at him, already forming a mini speech in my mind, and answer it. "Hello?"

     "Everett Jason Kennedy, why-"

     "I am sorry for the inconvenience," I interrupt his rambling, "but Everett is unavailable at the moment. He greatly desires my attention, so I sadly have to hang up.Please call again later." As I talk, I can hear Mr. Kennedy still fussing and blubbering on the other side of the phone call.

     I end the call, biting my lower lip, and meekly glance over at Everett. His eyes meet my own, and he immediate lets out a laugh. "You're too bad, Leo James, too bad."

     "Don't you mean too good?"I laugh before turning up the radio. The song "Call Me Maybe"by Carly Rae Jepsen suddenly blasts through the speakers. With a grin on my face, I start to sing loudly and dancing as much as I can in my chair.

     "My ears are burning!"He laughs, leaning away from me playfully. "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

     I raise an eyebrow, still singing at the top of my lungs. When he realizes that I'm not giving in, he joins me and starts to yell out the lyrics, incredibly off-key. A laugh escapes my lips, and I continue to sing and dance with him.

     Even when that song is over, we sing to every song that comes on after it. My stomach aches from laughing so much, and Everett's face is red. I can faintly hear my cell phone ring in the backseat, but I ignore it and turn back to him.

     "You okay?" He calls over the music, glancing over at me.

      I form a fake smile and nod slowly. "Yeah," I lie straight through my teeth, "I'm great."