Harrison Avenue // H.S.

Good Ol' Willie

This is a scene from Grey Street!

[Harry]

When my eyes open there is a moment where I have absolutely no idea where I am, how I've gotten here or why my neck is so sore.

My blurry vision makes out three things in the still slightly dark lighting. The first thing is that I know I'm in a car because I feel the seat buckle digging into my waist and I notice the slightly bumpy motion underneath the seat. The second thing is that the sun is starting to rise and it reminds me of the memory Elle told me when we got drunk on the hill, the one with her dad and the Bob Dylan song. The last thing I notice is Elle sitting in the driver's seat of what I remember is her mum's van and she's humming to the music that's playing in the background.

The dreamful state passes with this and I remember how I've gotten here and I realize why my neck is so sore. Elle woke me up by climbing onto the roof of Matt's house and knocking on my window while I was fast asleep.

I was only wearing pants and there was a brief moment when I thought she was someone who was going to kill me, so I screamed a much higher pitch scream than I'd like to admit. But once I realized it was her, and I convinced myself that Elle genuinely likes me in some form so she wasn't there to kill me, I was just grumpy instead.

But leave it to her to convince me to put on clothes in the middle of the night and meet her in what she described as her mum's stolen minivan. I honestly didn't have any choice but to do exactly what she asked. Not that she'd force me to no end, I just wouldn't have been able to resist it.

Apparently I fell back asleep though and because my head was slumped over in the passenger seat of this stolen minivan, it explains why I have a sore neck. I still don't know where I am though.

"Ellison," I yawn, pushing my hands up to the felted ceiling of the car. She looks over at me for a second before turning her eyes back to the road and the miniscule moment of it is enough to give me goosebumps.

"Yes?" she replies and her voice is soft and it feels a lot warmer sounding than what she typically gives me in the beginning of a conversation. Typically I have to work for it a little more.

"Why did you steal your mum's car?" I ask the question as I turn my body to observe the back of it, looking at the two rows of seats behind me and noticing how spotless the floors are.

"Because we're going on a road trip," she answers quickly, sounding sure of her response as she gives a little nod.

"To where?" I stretch out again, my hands grazing of the ceiling once more and my shirt rising up to expose a bit of skin above my jeans.

"The Badlands," she replies but because I'm tired and my knowledge of South Dakota, America in general, only goes so far I have no idea what she's talking about.

So I just shake my head with squinted eyes, hoping that it will help in some way.

"Harry," she turns to me again, making this face like I should know better but then changing it so the look is slightly more understanding. "The Badlands, they sort of look like a mini Grand Canyon."

When she says this I'm still a little unsure of what she's talking about but it rings more of a bell than it did before. So I just nod my head and hum a little, hoping if I think about it for long enough I'll at least convince her that I know what she's talking about.

"Oh yeah," I continue nodding. "Why couldn't we have just taken your car?"

She sounds annoyed with me for asking this question, which I find confusing even though I should expect it with Elle. I can't tell if she gets annoyed with me because I'm just annoying to her or if it's because she thinks I know what's going on in her head so when I say something like this, she's wondering why I'm not paying attention. It's hard to tell... and I don't know what's going on in her head 95% of the time anyways.