- On A Night Like Tonight; Niall Horan -
- Sparks Fly (Taylor's Version); Taylor Swift - 

Aurora Holland

Katherine's hand slipped from mine as she walked to the chain-link fence, wrapping her fingers around the links. I couldn't see the expression on her face, but I imagine it's close to the same as mine looks.

The boys had yet to notice us, too focused on their game of frisbee. They had big smiles on their faces, Elijah laughing as Carter almost faceplanted into one of the two vehicles.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Katherine screeched out, catching their attention.

Elijah dropped the frisbee in his hands at the sight of us, his goofy smile growing bigger. He started to jog over, Carter following closely behind him.

"I see you've gotten my message," He spoke with a wink.

Katherine looked back at me, her eyes wide in shock. Her jaw was slack, just like mine had been. I closed mine, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What the fuck, dick?!" She exclaimed, rattling the chain link separating them. "We thought something happened to you!"

"I'm sorry!" He laughed, crouching away from the fence. "It worked though, didn't it?"

"Obviously, we thought something was wrong!" Katherine exclaimed, "I'm going to kill you!"

Elijah let out a loud laugh, to which Katherine responded by beginning to climb the fence. My eyes widened at the sight, watching as she dropped to the ground. It was a pretty big drop compared to our heights, but she did it as if it were nothing. She then began to chase after the tall boy, leaving me here alone on this side of the fence.

The sound of the fence moving caught my attention, and I looked in front of me to see Carter standing on the other side. His fingers looped through much like Katherine's had only moments before. "Hi baby," He said smoothly.

His hair was messy, probably from running his fingers through it as he played frisbee with Elijah. He wore a pullover hoodie and some sweats, but he still managed to look amazing.

"You realize you guys could have just asked us to meet here to hang out and we'd have come, right?" I asked, stepping up to the fence.

"Elijah's idea, not mine." He shrugged, "Besides, it did get you here pretty fast. How'd you get out of your mom's watch?"

"Told my dad I was staying at Katie's. We just so happened to leave before she got home from work." I said. "Seriously, I was scared."

Carter pouted, one of the cutest faces I've ever seen him make. He motioned with his head for me to step forward and I did, grabbing the fence with my hand.

He moved his hand, putting it over mine. It immediately warmed my cold fingers up, causing me to smile at the gesture.

"I'm sorry," He finally said. "I probably should've thought about how you guys would react to something like that. But to be fair, he just said he needed your help, not that he was in danger."

"I know," I responded. "But you have to realize who you're talking to."

Katherine and I both overthink just about everything, so it really was something they should've thought about. I'm not mad or upset, more so relieved than anything. I'd rather it have ended up being something non-threatening like this instead of them being in any danger, and Carter was right. They never said they were in danger, that they just needed us as soon as possible.

"I've missed you," He said, changing the subject.

"I've missed you too," I blushed, leaning my head against the fence.

My cheeks flushed even more as I felt him press his lips through the fence, kissing my forehead.

"Are you going to stand there all night or come over?" He then asked, causing me to take my head away from the fence.

"Where's the entrance?" I asked, looking to the sides for any type of opening to see where they pulled their cars through.

"There isn't," He answered, stepping away from the fence. "Come up."

"You want me to climb?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"It'll be okay, I'll catch you if you fall." He held his arms out, tilting from one foot to the other. "You're wasting daylight!"

"And if you don't? Catch me, I mean." I stepped back, moving the fence with my fingers lightly.

I know it'd be able to hold me because Katherine and I are close to the same size. I just don't really know whether or not I trust myself to climb over it. I'm quite clumsy, and the last thing I want to do is get stuck and fall to the ground or even take Carter down with me.

"You trust me, don't you?" Carter asked, causing my eyes to snap to his.

"Obviously," I sarcastically responded, earning an eye roll from him.

"If you trust me, climb. If you fall I'll catch you. And before you think about it, you won't take me down with you." He said.

"Too late, already thought about it," I told him as I lifted my hands, hooking them through the gaps. "Besides, if there isn't an entrance how did you guys get in with the cars? Who's truck is that?" I looked past him at the vehicles.

Elijah had brought his mom's mini-van, the same one we used to go to the party in Arrowway. The other vehicle, however, wasn't Carter's car. It was a brown truck, one I'd never seen at the Jackson residence before.

"It's my dad's. Well, one he got a couple of years ago and pretty's up in his free time." Carter answered, looking back at it. "He let me use it for tonight."

Instead of answering, I just chewed on my bottom lip as I looked up at the height of the fence. It wasn't super tall, but still tall enough that if I screw this up I could hurt myself. Also, what about the pointy things at the top? What if they rip my clothes? What if-

"Rory, baby, please stop thinking about it and get over here." Carter cut my thoughts off. My eyes snapped to his again, and I narrowed my eyes.

"Can you be a little more impatient? Please? I don't think you're impatient enough." I joked, tightening my grip.

He just smiled his beautiful smile, biting the inside of his lip. "Oh I could be so much more impatient," He said. 

I couldn't help but smile, shaking my head at his answer. "Fine, I'll try." I finally told him.

He smiled even bigger in response, and I tightened my grip as I began to pull my body up the fence. I went one foot after the other, making sure I had a good footing on the fence before pulling myself up higher.

I tried to not look down as I went, knowing I was going to freak myself out. When I did have to look down to change my footing I ignored the ground, my hands beginning to shake the further up I went.

I have no idea how Katherine was able to do this so easily. How she was able to just climb over it as if it were climbing in a tall truck. But then again, she might not be afraid of heights the way I am.

"You got this," Carter mumbled under his breath. He was watching carefully, and when he saw the fence begin to shake from how unsteady I was he gripped into it, making it easier to climb.

As soon as I got to the top, I took in a deep breath and straddled the top. I had one leg on the other side, one on the side I had just been standing on. I shut my eyes as I focused, trying to ignore the feeling of nervousness pooling in my stomach.

If I just don't look at how high I am, it'll be okay.

"One step at a time, baby," Carter told me. "I'm holding onto the fence. Just hold on as you swing the other leg over."

I did as he said, making sure I had a really good grip on the fence before bringing my other leg over. Once I did I began doing just as I did before, except this time moving down instead of up.

Just as I got about halfway, my foot slipped from the fence. This caused my other foot to lose its grip, and I was quick to slide down the side of the chain, my clammy hands slipping from the holes I was holding onto.

Carter caught me quickly, just as he said he would. It was a bit of an awkward catch and nothing like you see in the movies, his arms grabbing me wherever he could get so I didn't hit the ground roughly, but it was still better than hitting the dirty ground.

"Told you I'd catch you," He held me tighter, pressing his lips to my cheek. "Good job."

"Thanks," I mumbled, pulling myself from his grip. "Hurt my hand a bit though."

"Let me see," He was quick to grab it, his fingers running over the pink skin from rubbing against the fence. He pressed a kiss to it, which was what felt like the hundredth kiss since I got here. "Better?" He asked with his brows raised, and I just felt my cheeks heat up as I nodded.

"Remind me to never break the law with you," He added as we began walking over to where the vehicles were. "Took me a good ten minutes just to convince you to climb the fence. If it came to running away from something we'd be goners."

"'We'? I'd be the goner, not you." I told him.

"You really think I'd leave you? That hurts," He said as he pressed a hand to his chest, to which I just rolled my eyes at him.

"There you guys are! Took you long enough!" Elijah exclaimed, throwing the frisbee into the van. "We have enough time for two movies, if we're here later than I told my dad I'm going to have to do extra chores."

"I thought this place was rundown," Katherine commented.

She was sitting in the back of the van where the back was popped open. There were blankets and pillows inside of it, and I noticed she took her shoes off and was comfortably sitting in there.

"It was. But my dad owns it," Elijah answered. "He bought it and is in the middle of getting it working again. This is kind of a test run to see what needs to be worked on. Plus the inside where the concessions are isn't open at all."

"Well that's nice," I said, looking around.

The screens looked new, a big difference compared to what I saw when I looked inside the locked building. The little speakers and poles were recently replaced too, showing it was probably done after Elijah's dad bought the drive-in.

"Tell him he can start the movie," Carter told his best friend, pulling me along with him to the truck.

It was parked next to the van, parked backward so the bed was what was facing the screen.

"He's here?" Katherine asked as Carter pulled the end of it down, pulling at the blankets so it covered everything entirely.

The back of the truck was just like the back of the van, with blankets and pillows covering the bed. I noticed a couple of snacks and drinks as well toward the foot of the bed, some of which were snacks we have a lot when we have our own movie nights.

"Yeah. How do you think the movies were going to play?" Elijah asked, getting on his phone before climbing into the back of the van.

It was dark by now, the only light being the dim lights coming from the poles.

Carter grabbed my hand to catch my attention, tapping the end of the truck. "Hop in," He mumbled.

I smiled lightly as I nodded, awkwardly climbing in. I'm not very good at climbing into trucks, I look kind of idiotic flopping around like a fish out of water.

I know it's noticeable too, as Carter begins to laugh at my struggle, even going as far as lifting my left leg to push me in the truck fully.

"Don't judge me," I muttered, climbing further into the truck.

"Me? I'd never." He scoffed. He climbed in the back as if it were nothing, having already been laid down by the time I crawl to the top of the bed.

I slipped my shoes off and sat them at the foot of the truck, wiping the blanket of any dirt or pebbles that might have made their way onto the fabric.

Carter pulled a blanket from the side and laid it out, covering our legs. I'd forgotten how chilly it was outside due to being focused on climbing the fence, so I just pulled my jacket further on my shoulders.

The screen turned on, the usual intermission commercials playing. I'm assuming since this was a test run as Elijah said that there would be these and the previews, but not that I mind. I actually really enjoy those, finding the little cartoons for the intermission the cutest things.

Plus, the previews are always nice to me. It shows trailers for other movies, and sometimes I like to find new movies by watching them.

"What are we watching?" I asked softly.

I glanced over at the van, but I couldn't see either Elijah or Katherine. They were covered by the van itself, and the only way they could see me or Carter is if we sat up as the sides of the back of the truck covered us.

"Carrie," Carter said.

"That's the movie you mentioned at homecoming," I stated, to which he nodded.

"I told you I'd show you someday." He mumbled. He moved closer to me under the blanket, his warmth immediately covering me. I liked it, especially when he snaked one arm around my shoulders.

The other made its way around my stomach. He held me tightly, something I quite enjoyed.

Before Carter, I never really cuddled anyone at all. Especially not like this. But there's something about cuddling Carter that's so nice, I could stay in bed all day if he were there.

"We're also watching Joy Ride." He added, "But that's simply because Elijah said if I got to choose one movie then he got to choose the other."

"What's it about?" I asked, my eyes on the screen as we spoke.

"Something about a guy who makes a truck driver mad, I don't know. It's something Elijah enjoys so I'm sure we'll hear enough commentary during the movie." Carter shrugged. He trailed his fingers under my jacket sleeve and up my skin, causing goosebumps to form.

My skin tingled, butterflies erupting at the simple gesture but at the same time felt extremely nice. I glanced over to see Carter already looking at me, a soft smile on his face as he seemed to have been studying my features.

It made me feel insecure, so I just quickly looked back at the screen. It was playing trailers for a bunch of old movies, considering this movie came out quite a while ago. One time before, Carter mentioned it had come out around the '70s, but I'm not sure the exact year. He also went ahead and mentioned how there are multiple remakes, one being a TV movie and the other being one that was made in I believe 2013.

Or was it 2014?

I believe it was 2013, but I could be wrong. Movie trivia isn't something I'm good at unless it's one of my romance movies, but I could tell Carter's big on things like that. He seems to know a lot about the actors and actresses, even the minor characters whom you barely see the whole movie.

It just goes to show there's so much more to him than what most people see, and it's something I quite enjoyed every time we hung out. It was rare to hear Carter talk much, but whenever it was just us two hanging out he seemed to go on and on about scary movies.

Never did I ever think I'd be sitting here watching a scary movie in the middle of an abandoned drive-in with Carter, Katherine, and Elijah. I never thought I'd be comfortable doing it, either.

Being in the dark scares me, and so do scary movies. So usually, I'd have a panic attack sitting outside in the dark watching something scary. But I'm not, and I haven't even thought about the possibility of being murdered yet.

But then again, the movie has only started. I could be just jumping the gun and assuming that it'll be fine, but the moment the movie starts I might end up almost peeing myself due to how freaked out I am.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Carter asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"How'd you know I was thinking and not just watching the movie?" I asked, my tone just as soft as his was.

"I've spent enough time with you watching movies." He answered smoothly, "Not tell me, what's going through your pretty little head?"

"Just about how I haven't felt scared yet," I said.

"The movie's just starting," He responded.

"I know. But I tend to overhype myself up for things like this, and usually, I'd be doing my best to not faint from fear. But right now I don't feel any of that." I mumbled.

"Well I'm glad you're not fainting," Carter told me. He moved his hand from my sleeve, locking our fingers together. It was nice, and I don't think I'll ever get used to this feeling. "You look cute today," He then said, snuggling up to me further.

"Thank you," I said. I felt my cheeks heat up, and I felt nervous despite being in the dark. 

"The cutest," He then added. I didn't know what to say, not used to this type of affection.

So instead, I just found myself watching the movie. I watched as the girl got bullied, and it began to hit home.

Her name was Carrie - which was obvious from the title of the movie - and she was severely bullied. Nothing like I'm used to, at least before my life here at Point Prep. The only difference is I have people like Carter and Katherine around me, whereas she legitimately has nobody.

Much like at Point Prep. Besides Paige, I had nobody. And I barely had her, so I don't think you can even count that.

My eyes stayed on the screen, beginning to find myself intrigued by the movie. It was a slow-moving horror movie, one that doesn't have stuff happening almost immediately. This is nice, as it helps me get into the mood of the movie instead of instantly getting scared like I normally would.

Carter shifted to his back instead of cuddling up against me, pulling me to him so I was laying against him instead. I rested my head on his chest hesitantly, hoping he wouldn't mind the weight.

His arm rested over my back, moving underneath the jacket and onto the skin of my side underneath. My skin quickly raised with goosebumps, shocks of electricity flying through my body.

I could hear giggling coming from the van, showing that Elijah and Katherine weren't paying attention to the movie like we were. Elijah said something I couldn't quite understand to the girl, to which she laughed before the sound of slapping was heard.

It made me feel a bit awkward, but at least I wasn't the only one hearing it.

At one point during the movie, Elijah mocked something from the screen. I glanced over at Carter, whose lips were tightly pressed together.

"Have you ever heard of shutting the fuck up?" He asked as he sat up quickly. "There are other people here, you know?"

I leaned on my elbow, having moved because he did. He leaned one arm on the side of the truck, waiting for a response.

Elijah's head soon popped out of the side end of the van, his brows pushed together. "Huh, it's almost like I didn't ask, and I don't care." He smiled a toothy grin afterward, showing he was playing.

Carter looked around the truck before grabbing one of the shoes he'd slipped off. He chucked it as hard as he could without another blink, hitting Elijah square in the forehead.

"Fuck, you dick!" He exclaimed as he pulled back.

I could hear Katherine laugh and coo at him, probably comforting him. Carter laughed as he leaned back down, mirroring the way I was laying.

"Sorry for getting up so quickly, baby." He spoke softly to where only I could hear.

"Nice throw," I commented, earning another smile from him.

"You think so? You should see me throw a football." He smugly spoke, leaning the side of his head on his hand.

"I've yet to see you do that," I pointed out.

"You should, it'd be nice to look in the middle of the bleachers and see you there." He messed with the zipper on my jacket. "You could be my little cheerleader."

"Right," I said. "Maybe I should try out for cheerleading so you can actually see me cheer." It was a joke, but the way he frowned caused me to stop smiling. "Something wrong?"

"I don't like the idea of you being a cheerleader." He admitted.

"Why?" Part of me was afraid of the answer, but I spoke before thinking. I know sometimes I'm better off at just not knowing in general, and this might be one of those times.

"Because it's not you. I think you'd look so good, yes, but I don't think it's something you'd enjoy. Ashley's captain of the squad, she's got asshole girls on there like Paige, Maya, Gwen, and Cindy." He explained.

"I don't think I know Cindy," I mumbled.

"Be glad you don't. I don't think it's anything against you-" He used his free hand to rub my arm, his eyes on mine. "I just don't want you doing something you won't like. I'd rather look in the bleachers and see you cheering me on wearing one of your cute little blouses."

Knowing the reason why he wouldn't want me on the cheerleading squad made me feel much better. It wasn't anything to do with me not being good enough, but more not being my thing. He knew that, and I never once had to say anything to him.

"I was kidding anyway, the last thing I want to do is join the cheerleading squad," I mumbled, realizing I hadn't responded.

"If you end up deciding you want to - by all means," He pulled me a little bit closer. "It's just I've kind of picked up on who you are, Rory, and I don't think you'd enjoy it."

"I know," I said.

"Plus I only want you cheering for me, fuck everyone else." He added, causing me to laugh quietly at his statement.

It grew silent between us, the only sound being whatever conversation Katherine and Elijah were having on top of the movie playing. I'd long forgotten about it by now, having been too caught up in Carter to pay much attention to what was going on.

I could hear screaming, meaning the big part of the movie came. I glanced at the screen to see Carrie covered in blood, a look of shock written on her face as all of her classmates laughed at her.

I couldn't help but flinch as she suddenly began to move things with her mind, which I guess was part of the movie. She has telekinesis - or something like that.

The more the loud sounds came, the more I flinched. It wasn't scary, so to say, but more of the loud noises caused me to cringe a bit.

Carter chuckled from next to me, and I glanced over to see him watching me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," He responded. He was still smiling, his eyes crinkling at the sides lightly.

I felt nervous under his stare, but those thoughts soon vanished as I felt him press his lips to mine.

Our lips molded together perfectly, his free hand moving from my arm to my face. His hand was warm against my skin, my cheeks cold from the late-night weather.

This is the most public we've kissed, not including homecoming night. I guess that was a little more public the more I think about it, but there wasn't someone only a few feet away from us when we began to kiss.

Carter deepened the kiss, laying my back on the comfy blankets.

I don't think we've ever actually made out before. It's more of a kiss here and there every once in a while, nothing intense and intimate like this. Then again, I think kisses in general are pretty intimate, so this really just takes the cake.

My lips tingled as they pressed against Carter's soft ones, my mind no longer on the movie. He was quick to distract me from freaking out, despite the fact I wasn't really freaking out before.

Either way, it was nice, and I enjoyed it. I felt him move one of my hands to the back of his head, my fingers running through his soft hair smoothly. It had only been a few moments of kissing before he pulled away, breathing a little deeper than usual so he could catch his breath.

Just as he went to say something, we were interrupted.

"So I can't mock the movie but you can turn the drive-in into lover's lane, yeah?"

++

This book is going to be roughly around 78 chapters in total! So we're almost there :) There may be a few extra chapters here and there, but as of right now, there's only a total of 78. I'm so excited for what's to come!

* This chapter is not edited *