Harvey looked over at the broken girl who lied curled up in a ball on the passenger side of his car.

He just didn't realized how strong she was until now.

For a straight month, she had been relentlessly bullied by Free, and the rest of the school who was on the Cannibals' side didn't help her out at all.

It took one prank to make her crack, and one phone call to make her shatter.

He didn't know exactly where he was taking her but they needed to drive up closer to Long Beach so they wouldn't miss another school day tomorrow. He remembered about that grassy field he used to drive up to when his parents used to fight, and he made a detour onto a dirt pathway and to the field.

Once he was in the middle, he shut the engine off and leaned back into his seat.

God, I didn't sign up for this bullshit! He thought, gripping his hair in despair. I didn't ask to bear the burden of some girl's cliché sob story.

Once those words sounds in his head, he wanted to slap himself. He was being so insensitive to her plight, and all he needed was to show her that he could trust her.

"Len?" He called out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lennon?"

She jolted at the feel of his hand touching his shoulder, and she gasped in shock.

"Hey, hey." He grabbed her tense shoulders and forced them to relax. "Calm down."

"Are we back in Long Beach?" She asked, sleep clearly still clouding her vision. Harvey couldn't help but notice how much of a kitten she resembled when she woke up; the disoriented bright eyes, and that cute sleepy face she had.

"No," he answered while unbuckling his seatbelt. "We left Calexico but we're at least two hours away from home."

Home, she thought to herself, before scoffing. I don't even know what that truly means anymore.

"Home is supposed to be a place of safety and comfort," she said, staring blankly out the windshield. "I don't even have that."

"Do you feel safe with me?" Harvey asked without thinking. He wanted to slap himself after those words left his mouth.

Lennon was quiet and her body was still as she continued to look outside the window. "No. You make me feel as if I have something to hold me back to this stupid place."

Harvey was silent, before he sighed. "Have you ever wondered why as kids we wanted to grow up so fast?"

"What?"

"Like as a little kid, didn't you ever snatch your hand away when crossing the street with your parents?" He asked, while turning to face her. "Or you always wanted to do things that would make you seem more adult like?"

She laughed and her eyes met his own. "I used to wear my mom's makeup and her clothes and pretend I was an adult all the time as a child. That was before my dad died and my mom started to hate me."

Harvey sensed the tone of the conversation took a wrong turn. "Well, being an adult is horrible honestly. We've tried to age so quickly but when we finally get to adulthood, it fucking sucks."

"You've got that right," she agreed. She leaned her head on the window. "I just want to get away from everything that goes on and have it go away."

"What if I did have something that could make everything go away for a bit?" Harvey suggested, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Please don't tell me you want me to get high," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Why not?" He whined, before grabbing her hand in both of his. "Please, it feels amazing to lose yourself just for a little while."

Lose myself, she thought with slight hope. I need that more than anything at the moment, more than my freedom.

"I'll have whatever you're having," she concluded, opening her palm out.

"Really?" He asked in surprise, his eyes wide. "I was only kidding-"

"Hurry before I change my mind." Harvey never moved so fast in his life.

"Well, uh I have a bunch of things..." He rummaged around the glove compartment. "But this will make you feel the most carefree."

He plucked an envelope from the messy compartment and slammed it shut. He then pulled out a tab with purple elephants printed all over it, and handed it to Lennon.

"This is a piece of paper," she told him in confusion. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

He laughed before placing the envelope back into the drawer. "You place the paper on your tongue and absorb the liquid on the paper."

Lennon did as he instructed, and placed the tab in her mouth.

She was ready to let go.

-----

"Harvey?"

"Yeah?"

"If this isn't what heaven is, I don't want to die."

They were at 24 hour diner, and for the past couple of hours she couldn't stop giggling.

Lennon could feel her heart racing even though she sat still and she could see Harvey floating midair in front of her.

"Harvey," she started, before looking in all directions. "What if the government could track us, but we could track the government too?"

He had to bite his fist to stop himself from busting out with laughter. Trippy Lennon was hilarious.

It was so ironic that her name was Lennon, yet she's never gotten high.

John would've been ashamed, he thought as he watched Lennon try and unscrew the cap of a bottle of ketchup.

"Harvey," she started again, "why is your skin turning blue?"

"It's because I am an alien," he humored her.

"Alien?!" She yelled while slamming her hands on the table. "Oh my god, we're all gonna die!"

"Lennon, shut up," he murmured while looking around the diner. Thankfully, they were the only ones in there, and the wait staff was inside the kitchen.

This is how it was for the past hours, but luckily her high would wear off any moment.

All he learned from this experience: drugs were not for Lennon at all. He didn't want her mixed up in this world, and the fact that he made her take acid was gnawing at his conscious.

"I'm tired, Harvey," she groaned, moving from her side of the booth to his. She sat in his lap and buried her face in his neck.

Then again, he thought, maybe I like Trippy Lennon just a tad bit more.

He kissed the side of her neck, making her moan in response to his scorching damp lips against her skin.

Lennon yanked him back up, and their eyes met before she kissed him on his open mouth. His heartbeat spiked, and his hands slid around her waist to turn her body around.

It was passionate, and Lennon could feel fireworks dancing behind her eyelids and under the surface of her skin. She never experienced something like this and it dazzled and dizzied her to the point of no return.

"Oh god," she breathed out, her eyes rolling into the back of my head as Harvey pressed kisses to area below her earlobe.

"What are you doing to me?" She murmured breathlessly, her eyes wide in wonder as he gazed up into her eyes.

"Funny," he replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I could ask you the same thing."

-----
a/n: I really don't like this chapter too much and the fact that I'm writing when I played a game yesterday and I have bruises and cuts is so idiotic and I want sleeeeeep

-rachel