~ ☼ ~

The open road had never felt so glorious. Probably because I was never behind the wheel. Now I understood why all those old guys, like the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen, had talked so highly about cars and motorcycles; I felt like I was on fire, indeed.

Could I drive? No. Well... not well. I could drive a little, having, like I said, gotten my permit and began my practice hours. And I also loved a good game of Mario Kart 64; I was the only person in my grade, last time I'd been invited to a birthday party, that could win at Banshee Boardwalk.

That had been in 4th grade, but still.

We drove and drove and drove, onwards out of Ohio, through to the border of Illinois. I'd set the mood with my courage, for once in my short life; Aria and Kiera were chattering away, and we'd even turned the radio on for real, blasting whatever song came on. Lucas was the only one who was quiet; while he talked with us, sure, he didn't have the same energy. He kept looking at Tityos' knife.

Finally, when we were about an hour outside of Illinois, Aria asked, "Hey, can we stop?" I need to stretch my legs."

"Yepperdoodles," I said, which is how you know I'd lost my mind.

I found the quickest rest stop, this one busy and hopefully free of ancient gods, and pulled into a parking space. As Aria reached for the door, Kiera stopped her, her good mood suddenly gone.

"Hey, wait," she said. "We've been driving non-stop for, like, 5 hours, right? And once we get to Chi-town, we'll have to go get the sword. Maybe we should slow down. Relax a little."

I wasn't against it, but I was curious why Kiera wanted it. She was the one who'd said we were gonna get back super quick. Aria must've been, too, because she quirked an eyebrow.

Kiera noticed; she shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. "I just... once the quest is over, things will change. Let's appreciate it while we can."

The words hit me in the heart; she said it with such unusual sincerity that I almost teared up. She was right, of course. Even with Alec and Riley, our friendship had changed a little once it wasn't just the three of us. And while i wanted to believe this new foursome of ours would stick together, as much as we could in the cabin system of CHB, I knew there was a chance that... despite our best attempts, we might become the Breakfast Club.

I looked between the four of us, feeling emotional. Lucas and his planning; Aria and her courage; Kiera and her sass; and me and my cleverness. I smiled softly at Ki.

"Sure," I said. "Let's all get out and take an hour or so."

Kiera shot me a grateful grin. "Perfect."

So Kiera, Aria, and I all went to the bathroom together. Afterwards, I used change I'd found in Tityos' cup holder to buy us all bags of plain pretzels (it was the cheapest thing, okay? It's not my first choice.) Aria and Kiera were still chattering, but I wanted to see how Lucas was, so I headed back out to him, food in hand.

He was sitting on the back of the tailgate, like we were at a football game. Luckily, he did not have the knife with him. I hopped up on the tailgate and handed him a bag.

"Got you a snack."

"Plain pretzels?" he asked. He took them, then smiled. "Sweet."

Okay, maybe he was the crazy one.

For a moment, we just sat there, and he didn't seem too upset. We ate our pretzels and swung our legs, the Midwestern sun slanting down on us. For a moment, I could almost pretend we were just normal teens, two kids from opposite cliques in a secret summer love story. Would we stay together once the school year came? Only time would tell.

Then my mind went back to New York. To the Quad-State area, really; to my real high school, and Camp Half-Blood. I could never be a Midwesterner. The Mid-Atlantic ran through my veins. But then, it ran through Lucas' too.

"What's up with that knife?" I asked, as Lucas finished his pretzels.

He paused from brushing his fingers off on his shorts. We'd all been wearing the same clothes for two and a half days straight now, and I knew we were objectively grody, but somehow even with the sweat on his neck and his shirt I thought he looked cute.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess I just feel weird having it."

"Yeah," I said. "I keep thinking about the fact that you don't have a weapon."

Lucas looked away, a little embarrassed. "Don't remind me."

I punched him in the arm, jokingly. Luckily, it was a different arm than the one Tityos had punched.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that," I said. "Not everyone's a fighter. We need scholars and artists, too."

He looked at me with a smile. "You think so?"

"I do," I said, smiling back.

For a moment, we just smiled at each other, and I forgot all my schemes of acting awkward on purpose or avoiding him. Because here we were, together.

Then he swallowed and looked away. I did too.

"That, um-" he said after another moment, this one awkward. "That was really awesome back there."

This lifted my mood again. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well," I said, blushing, "I am 'AJ Hood, Slayer of Beasts, Defender of Man.'"

Lucas blinked. It was what he'd called me when I returned from my quest last summer; we hadn't talked to each other since.

He looked at me, suddenly closer than ever. "You remember that?"

I can't explain what came over me in that moment. But, in a surge of adrenaline, like I knew what was coming next, I felt my eyebrows soften.

"I remember everything you say to me."

Then he kissed me.

I'd never been kissed before. But if this is what it was... if this is what it was, I understood. The thrill, the spark, the electricity. His smooth lips against my chapped ones. I kissed him back for a long, blissful, sun-filled moment.

Then he pulled away, and all I saw was the light coming through his brown waves. He smiled bashfully, and I smiled back.

"Well," he said, our favorite word. He sat back awkwardly, but in a good way. He did not sit far enough from me to worry. "Um... I'm glad we got to do that."

I blushed. "Me too."

He looked at me for a long moment, and I started to squirm under the weight of it. "Sorry," he said quickly. He cleared his throat. "Sorry-"

I kissed his cheek. "It's okay."

Now, when he looked at me, I met his gaze. For a moment, that's all it was; hazel eyes against gray, sunshine and wisdom.

When we got back on the road, I felt more alive than ever.

~ ☼ ~

A/N: So cute!! This reminds me of my first real crush <3 then again I freaking wrote it so ofc it does lmao

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