The two boys reached the crest of the hill after about ten minutes of walking, though it felt like much less thanks to Mikey's "feel good" playlist. Sure, his playlist mainly consisted of angsty, depressing classic rock, but it was what made him happy. And isn't that the whole point of a "feel good" playlist? While Pete would regularly worry about what in the world he would talk about on such a long walk, especially with someone he barely knew, he was able to put off that embarrassment until they actually reached the cafe. He had attempted to make small talk, but neither of the two seemed too interested in the conversation, so Blue Oyster Cult was once again turned to to fill the silence.

"Well, here we are." Mikey stated, Pete letting out a small surprised grunt as the earbud was ripped from his ear.

"So we are." Said Pete as they walked into the shop, jumping in line to place their order. Though it was early, (at least in Pete's book) it was a Saturday after all, and the place was pretty full.

When they reached the front of the line, they placed their orders. Pete getting a "grande peppermint mocha, with whipped cream." And Mikey simply, "a black coffee." After which he added, "black, like my soul." With a grin, causing the other to snicker. Mikey generously offered to pay, saying Pete could, "get it next time." And that seemed to be the end of that.

With piping hot beverages in hand, the pair finally found a place to sit down and get to work. Mikey pulled out a small, colorful, paisley, spiral-bound notebook, and flipped to an empty page. "So," he started, uncapping his pen. "Let's start with a list of places we want to see, yeah?"

Pete nodded his approval. "Well, it seems you obviously have been mentally planning this trip for a while, so why don't you start, and I'll butt in if I have any strong opinions on something."

"Alright, that works for me..." He started listing off places, some cities, some countries, jotting things down as he spoke. "Paris, London, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, might as well head over to Spain while we're there, Denmark, Sweden..." he continued to rattle off places, most of which were in Europe, though a couple in Asia, such as India and Japan.

Pete just nodded along, barely keeping up with the whirlwind of speech from Mikey. "Yeah, this all sounds... great." He told him, still a little dumbfounded. "How about I just let you handle the itinerary stuff, and I... will join you for the ride? Helping where I can, of course."

Mikey nodded. "Works for me." He responded, finishing his last sip of coffee. "But first things first, let's just do a little road tripping, just around here in New England, maybe head over to Canada or New York." He suggested, already mentally planning his google searches for, "cheap hostels in Montreal."

Pete's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, that sounds great. What were you thinking?"

"Well, during the summer, I already promised my aunt I'd drive my cousins to camps and stuff in New Hampshire and Maine, but I was wondering if you'd want to go to New York City for the long weekend that's coming up soon?"

"That would be great!" He replied excitedly, his face lit up. "That's in, what, two weeks?

He nodded. "Yeah. And don't worry about hotels and stuff, I have a family friend we could stay with."

Pete's grin widened, he hadn't been to New York in years. "That's awesome, one second..." he got up and threw his empty cup away. "So, who's car are we taking?" He asked as he sat back down.

Mikey shrugged. "I guess it depends on which one's bigger," He ignored the smirk and eyebrow wiggle coming from Pete. How immature. "and more comfortable. Personally, I could probably get away with taking my family's little Mazda."

Pete thought back to his own car. It was a little, cheap, second-hand, silver Honda Civic. It certainly wasn't the most luxurious car, but he was happy with it. He was extremely proud of it for being the first car he'd bought with his own money. "Yeah, that'll probably be better than mine."

"Great! Then It's settled." Mikey grinned as the two walked out of the Starbucks. Little did he know of the embarrassment and lies his partner in crime would have to endure in his fast-approaching future. There was a reason he hadn't been back to the Big Apple in quite some time...

~

Published June 14, 2019