I Love You Because

October 19th

The night before my trip, I got no sleep.

I spent the entire night worrying, which was rather typical of me, and wondering just how well my plan was going to work. I already had Joe's number saved in my phone, so I could call him whenever, and I had my tickets, but...

I still felt uneasy.

I managed to stay awake until four in the morning before I passed out from pure exhaustion. When my alarm went off merely three hours later, I could hardly move. Heck, I couldn't even bring myself to reach over and turn it off, resulting in a very irritable Eric barging into my room in his pajamas, unplugging the clock altogether and grumbling about staying at university.

I dragged myself out of bed only because I knew Joe would be in the driveway at exactly eight o'clock, ready to give me a ride to the airport. The morning was a blur, and I was grateful that I had decided to pack my suitcase in my restlessness that night. I pulled on a simple, grey long-sleeved shirt and jeans, along with my favorite pair of converse. Knowing that I would regret it later, I skipped breakfast and wrote a quick note to my parents, saying I was at a friend's house. I then went straight outside.

After around ten minutes of waiting, I saw what I assumed was Joe's car pull up. I peeking through the windshield to have my suspicions confirmed. A very awake looking delinquent sat in the driver's seat, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the too loud music that I could hear from my spot in the garage. I hastily got to my feet and grabbed my stuff from the ground before walking over the passenger side door. I opened it warily, the loud base of the song pounding into my eardrums.

"Mind turning down the music? You'll wake the whole house," I said groggily, not caring how rude I sounded. I was simply too tired to bother being polite.

Joe smiled sweetly and innocently, which looked rather out of place on his heavily pierced features, before turning the volume even louder and backing up quickly, before driving away from the house like a maniac.

I couldn't help the yelp that escaped my lips. His driving was insane, borderline homicidal. My poor neighbor who was out for a morning jog almost died as Joe sped past them, disregarding the speed limit.

"Are you mad?" I exclaimed, clutching the door handle like my life depended on it. Which it probably did.

"Yes," Joe said, smile growing, and I was surprised to see true happiness in the expression. For such an intimidating guy, he could be really carefree and fun. "This is mild."

It took a second for that to sink in. After a split second of hesitation, I shrieked, "MILD?"

Joe shrugged, the movement causing the wheel to turn slightly to the right, and in turn causing the car to veer slightly. At this point, we were on the highway. The bright side was that his speeding wasn't so prominent now, but on the other hand, he was still speeding. And when I say that, I don't mean it lightly. I could feel the seat humming with acceleration.

After around twenty minutes, my breathing had returned to normal, and I decided to attempt making conversation.

"So, lovely weather, yes?" A grunt emitted from Joe in response.

Friendly conversation: Failed.

"Alright then," I muttered dejectedly.

The last thing I wanted to do was think, since that never got me anywhere productive. But with Joe's comfortable silence and my awkwardness, there was nothing else to do. Luckily, I was saved from having to confront my problems when my companion let out a little cough to get my attention."