Paper Towns~ A Continuation

Chapter 5. Road Trip

"Where are we driving to?"

"Away," I reply, not taking my eyes off the city road. It had begun to rain an hour ago, about the time when Margo and I began driving away from the dorm.

Silence fills the car.

"Well, that was awfully cryptic of you," Margo states.

I laugh. "Yeah, I suppose it was. To be honest, I have no freakin' clue where we're going. All I know is that as long as the police stay away from us, I'm happy." I give Margo a little glance. "Are you happy?"

I suppose it's a stupid question to ask her. I mean, we're both criminals on the run from the police, driving to God-knows-where. It's not exactly the definition of fun.

Margo lets out a small sigh. "Here's what I think: I think that running from the police is futile. Inevitably, they're going to catch us, and you know that, Q. You knew that all along, right from the beginning. I only figured that out an hour ago, when Lacey called the cops on us." She pauses. "I realized that there are billions of people on Earth, and chances are, one of them will recognize me as that psycho murderer and turn me in. And then, after that realization, I realized something else." She takes another pause, building the suspense in the air. "I realized...that I'm just another case to the police. I'm just another case that needs to be solved. Just some murderer who needs to be put down." Margo shakes her head. "This isn't what life should be like. Now, I'm not saying life should be all candy canes and puppies, either. That would be boring. Uninteresting. What I'm saying is that...I'm afraid. I'm beyond terrified. I don't want to go to jail. So, in answer to your question, no. I'm not particularly happy right now. But life could be a hell of a lot worse."

I've been trying to crack the case that is Margo Roth Spiegelman for years. Every single time I thought I came close to figuring out how her mind worked, it turns out that I've barely scratched the surface. The truth is, I'm never going to know who the real Margo is. Every human is an unsolvable mystery. And maybe -just maybe- we enjoy being that way. Still, I can't help but ask Margo one last question, in a futile attempt to figure out how her mind works. "You said that life could be a hell of a lot worse. How, in the current state that we're in, could it possibly be any worse?"

She smiles sadly. "I could lose you. And I don't want that to happen."

"I am in love with you, Margo Roth Spiegelman."

And she's at a loss for words, one of the few times I have ever seen that happen. Margo looks out of her side of the window and watches the small droplets of rain fall onto it.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable," I say, attempting to plow through the awkward silence. We stop at a red light and I look over my shoulder, trying to see if any cop cars are trailing us. One of the side affects of being a criminal is extreme paranoia.

"No, you didn't make me uncomfortable," Margo says plainly. "I just...don't think that this is the right time to profess your undying love towards me."

"What do you mean, this isn't the right time?" I ask, genuinely curious. "I don't think that there's a better time than now. As you said earlier, we're probably going to jail soon, so there's not really a whole lot of time left to 'profess my undying love' towards you."

Now I've really done it.

Margo raises an eyebrow. "So that's the only reason you said that to me? So you could have a make-out session before you get sent to jail?"

"Damn it, no! You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?" She shakes her head. "Never mind. Don't answer that. Just... drive."

"Margo, hold on a moment-"

"Just drive, Q."

So I continue to drive. "Where do you want to go?"

"Huh?"

"Earlier you asked me where we were going. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Somewhere...nice. Peaceful. I need a bit of peace in my life right now."

I begin to smile, because I know exactly where to go. And maybe, just maybe, I might be able to steal Margo's heart there.

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author's note: kind of a shortish chapter (oops). i wanted to get this road trip going and set up for the next chapter! vote/comment (it honestly makes my day)!