Gravel grinds beneath the tires as Drew maneuvers his monster truck through the cluster of trees. I'm riding shotgun as Dillon, Clarice and Penny all chatter away in the backseat, Clarice shooting off girly screams any time we hit a large bump. That's just her though. She's an odd mix of female: she loves risky endeavors, but beware of the lioness that comes out if she were to break a nail in the process.

I scan the forest around us, loving the crisp quality of air this far into the trees. With the windows down, the cold breeze whipping around the inside of the vehicle, I feel free and alive. We haven't seen a road for the past half an hour, and the thrill of getting lost out here has my heart pumping with shots of adrenaline.

This is home to me. Being out in nature, enjoying the scenery and quiet. This is what I crave. School is overwhelming and suffocating—which is something that hasn't bothered me too much until this year. I'm not sure if it's just senioritis kicking in, urging me to get away as adulthood skips around in my very near future, or if it has something to do with Lynn being back in town.

That girl, as much as I'd like to just shove those memories into non-existence, I can't. I see her everywhere and it's driving me crazy. The day she left, she took something with her. It wasn't my heart, necessarily. It was never like that for us. We were always just friends. But we were close, and to have someone walk out of your life without even a simple 'goodbye' can scar a person. It's as if she took a chunk of me with her—my personality, my essence, something—because I haven't been the same guy since she left.

To say I'm a little pissed would be an understatement. To be honest, the idea of sparking up a friendship with her again churns my gut in the most uncomfortable way. I don't trust her and I'm not willing to give her a chance to crush me again.

So instead, I abandon thoughts of her by finding healthy ways of turning off my brain. So far, thrill-seeking seems to do the trick. When Lynn left, I sank into a dangerously dark place. Drugs and parties became my emotional suppressant, but when my mom started to notice the changes, she forced me to get my butt into gear. Thinking back, I'm embarrassed by my own stupidity. I mean, I was in eighth grade! What kid is so troubled at the age of fourteen that drugs become a necessity?

So after almost six months of therapy, I found new friends and gave up being a drug junkie in exchange for being an adrenaline junkie, and honestly, it's done wonders to my mental health. Had I really known who I was five years ago, pills never would have needed to control me. Sadly, my mom still doesn't quite approve of my life changes, scolding me for constantly risking my life. But since I'm not technically doing anything wrong or illegal, there's not much she can do.

Now, rather than being a deadbeat dope addict, I'm a closet country music loving, red bull drinking, say 'no' to skinny jeans kinda guy. (Side note: the skinny jeans preference does not apply to ladies. I love a girl in tight pants.)

In addition to these spectacular qualities, I'm also awesomely typical. I don't stand out as the school's heartthrob—even though, in my opinion, Benjamin Randolph doesn't either. I'm no star athlete—mainly because my kind of sports aren't high school appropriate. And I don't have ladies flocking after me every waking hour—thank the Lord. Though, there is a particular lady that I wouldn't mind getting a tad more attention from.

So, in short, I'm just an average guy. Jamie Gallagher: high school senior, and omelet-making extraordinaire. Don't argue me on that—it's the truth. My omelets are spectacular. Actually, speaking of omelets, I'm famished.

"Food!" Clarice suddenly belts from the backseat, her voice strained and weak as she feigns starvation. "Must. Have. Food!"

Apparently, our minds are on the same wave-length. I turn in my seat to face her, nodding in agreement.

"Same," I say, shifting back around to look out the window.

"Well, shoot guys," Drew grumbles, his eyes trained ahead as he fights the steering wheel, tires skidding against soil as he swerves to avoid trees. "You could have mentioned something a little sooner. We're literally in the middle of nowhere."

"Just turn around," Clarice offers, as if it's the simplest request in the universe.

I see Drew glance in the rearview mirror at Clarice, a grimace eating at his features. I smile at his obvious annoyance with her. Our feelings towards Clarice differ drastically. I love the girl like a sister, but Drew prefers to talk trash about her any chance he gets, which I don't fully understand. And as much as I don't understand where the venom between them began, I can't help but find humor in it. As heated as things get between them, I won't deny that it's highly entertaining.

"Fine," Drew says, his face dropping into a neutral, dangerous expression.

Uh oh.

And then he's shoving his foot into the clutch as he brakes, cranking the wheel to a hard left. His hand reaches for the e-brake, jerking it upward as the entire backend of the vehicle swerves behind us, pulling his truck into a flawless one-eighty. If I didn't trust this guy's driving skills so much, I would have beaten the living crap out of him. It's not as if we're driving in an open meadow or empty parking lot. No, we're in the forest, surrounded by trees.

"You idiot!" Clarice hollers, her hands gripping the seats in front of her, her fingers skimming my shoulder in the process.

I rotate my torso to find her eyes wild with fury and fear. I smile at her, delighted by the raw terror dancing in her gaze. She meets my eyes, and her face softens, a chuckle escaping her lips as she breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Dang it, Drew," she chastises, laughing to hide her panic. She slaps him on the shoulder before slumping back in her seat, crossing her arms as she pouts playfully.

"Chill," Penny says, nudging her friend in the side.

My eyes immediately flicker to Penny, admiring the calmness in her demeanor. It's as if nothing rattles her. In a way, it sends a rush of unease through my system because her tranquil reaction to almost everything in life reminds me of the calm before the storm. I worry that one day, her placidity will crack and an unrecognizable beast will emerge. But, until then, I'll continue to admire her as I silently ache for her to return even a smidgen of my affection.

As much as I'd hoped to get lost in these endless trees, Drew's mind works like a GPS. Within, forty minutes, we're back on the highway, headed towards the first fast food restaurant we can find. Unfortunately, Taco Bell wins out.

We all tumble from the truck like a rowdy group of uncontrollable teens, still high off the thrill of off-roading. We shove our way into the restaurant, hurrying through the line to order, and then falling into a booth at the back of the room.

"We going to head back out after this?" Penny asks, a hint of hopefulness in her tone.

She doesn't talk much about her home-life, but it seems she's happy to avoid returning there any chance she gets. When Dillon kills her joy by announcing that he's got to be home for their traditional Saturday night family dinner, her face falls.

"What if we just drop you off at home?" Penny suggests, her words gentle even though the question is rather insensitive.

"That's fine," Dillon agrees, his expression not giving away his chagrin. But I know Dillon well. He's my best friend, and I immediately spot the disappointment in the way he lifts a single shoulder as if shrugging off Penny's idea like it doesn't bother him at all.

"Why don't we just head out tomorrow?" I ask, feeling Dillon's thankful eyes on me. I shoot a quick nod of understanding in his direction before glancing around at the rest of the group.

"Sounds good," Clarice agrees. "My heart's had enough thrills for the day, thanks to you, you big idiot." She mutters the last part out of the side of her mouth, directing her heat towards Drew as she kicks him under the table.

"How about you just stay home tomorrow then?" Drew growls, shoving almost half of his taco into his gaping mouth.

Clarice huffs but doesn't respond.

"Dude," Penny sighs in irritation, "Can you two cut it out? I'm so sick of your pointless arguing." Then she turns her attention to me. "And yes, tomorrow will work."

With plans made for the next day, we finish our meals and then hop back into Drew's massive truck.

———

Monday arrives far too soon, though I'm not complaining. As much as I don't love school, I do love the opportunity to get out of the house. My dad's been hovering around lately, and it seems that no matter how much I plead with my mom to be done with the guy once and for all, she just can't help but hope for the best from him.

School used to be my safe haven when things were really bad between my parents... back in the day of verbal fights and emotional brokenness. I guess because of that, school is my safe haven. It's silly, I know, but at least the worst that I have to deal with in these crowded halls is the petty drama of immature teens.

I find Dillon pulling textbooks from his locker and I sling an arm over his shoulder.

"Hey, man," I say, startling him enough that he jolts back, knocking his head against his locker door.

"Morning," he says, rubbing at his wounded scalp. "Thanks for that," he grumbles, indicating my less than appreciated greeting.

"So," I begin, leaning my back against the lockers beside Dillon's. "It's almost the weekend, and I'm thinking that it's time for a little fun. How do you feel about heading to the dunes?"

The sand dunes we like to frequent aren't all that impressive, but they offer some good fun on the dirt bike. Drew enjoys taking his truck out there on occasion too. He loves watching his tires flip sand up behind his vehicle; says it makes him feel powerful, like he can control the earth. The guy's weird though, so it only makes sense that his mind works in weird ways too.

"Yeah," Dillon agrees, shutting his locker and pulling his bag over one shoulder. "Or, I was thinking about heading to Spratts Lake... maybe doing some canoeing in the Mississippi."

"Eh," I shrug.

Dillon is the most normal out of all of us, always seeking the tamer activities. Though, I can't say I'm opposed to the idea of canoeing. I guess I've just been needing to let out some steam, though I can't figure out why. For some reason, I've just got this ball of energy winding together in my gut, and it's in desperate need of some wild freedom.

"Okay, the plans are made," Penny suddenly interrupts, sidling up beside me, the warmth of her arm brushing against mine. I glance down, eyeing the connection, though she seems oblivious to it.

"What plans?" I question, catching her eye. She shoots me an excited smile that I'm having a hard time not twisting into a seductive smile in my mind. If only she'd actually look at me that way.

"Summer plans," she explains. "Okay, so, Clarice and I decided that we want to make the most of our summer. So, the day after graduation, we're all going on a road trip."

"We are?"

"What?"

Dillon and I share a glance of confusion before returning our attention to the enthusiastic girl in front of us. She's about to start giving us the details when Clarice and Drew join us. Then she has to rewind, clueing both in on what we're discussing.

"So," she continues once we're all on the same page. "This summer, we're going on a road trip. It's already been planned... well, most of it anyway. We thought you guys might want a say on some of the activities we do and sights we visit."

"Alright," I say, nodding slowly as I try to keep up. "What's the plan so far?"

"Well, like I said," she tucks her hair behind both ears before releasing one strap of her backpack and pulling it around her body so she can dig through it without taking it off. A moment later, she pulls out a crinkled piece of paper, holding it up with a look of victory on her bright face. I can't help but smile at the joy she's radiating. Of the five of us, she probably gets the most thrill out of our lifestyle and it's adorable to watch that passion ignite across her features.

"We would leave the day after graduation," she repeats now that we're all here to listen. She points at her paper, showing it around so we all can read it. "We'll start off by heading to New York where we'll visit the Appalachian mountains, maybe see Hudson Valley. From there we'll drive south, do some camping in the Carolina's before making our way to Florida—because you can't go on a road trip and not enjoy the ocean."

"Also, we're going to Disney World while we're there," Clarice adds, earning a scowl from Penny.

"That hasn't really been decided yet," Penny corrects.

"The whole trip hasn't been decided," Clarice argues, her drama claws coming out. "If you happen to remember, this trip was my parents' idea. So, I think I get a say on at least one activity. Without me, this little adventure wouldn't even be happening."

"Okay okay," Penny concedes, hands up in defense. "Dude," Penny sighs with a chuckle.

"Did you forget your Xanax this morning?" Drew mutters nonchalantly as he pretends to pick at his fingernails. A fist to his bicep has him recoiling away from Clarice's vengeful punch.

"Ouch," he hisses, rubbing his arm with a pout as he glares down the culprit.

"Anyway," Penny drawls, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "So, after Disney World," she puts extra emphasis on the two words, pointing a deliberate eye at Clarice before continuing, "we'll head to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and then drive up to Wyoming where we'll spend several days hiking and camping throughout Yellowstone."

"Good grief," I hear Dillon mutter beside me, clearly exhausted just thinking about the trip.

Penny ignores him and continues on. "Lastly, we'll drive through Vegas before ending the trip in Hollywood."

She sounds exceptionally proud of herself, her beaming smile reaching each one of us as she rotates her head back and forth so she can take in all of our expressions. Drew and I are definitely down for the adventure. Honestly, she had me with the words 'road trip' but now that I know what all she has planned, there's no way I could turn down this trip.

The fact that we'll all be graduates by then is even better; that means freedom. There will be no seeking permission for this trip because I'll be independent—no need for Mommy's say in the matter. Which is a good thing, because I can't image her agreeing to me going on a cross-country road trip with two girls.

"So, what," Dillon starts to say, his eyes focused on Clarice, "your parents are going to pay for this entire thing? Gas? Lodging? Food?"

"Seriously," Penny answers for her, "her dad's a cardiovascular surgeon and her mom's an attorney. I think they can afford it."

"I know they can afford it," Dillon responds, his words calm though I can sense the frustration he's hiding beneath the surface. "It just feels weird, you know? I mean, it's going to be thousands of dollars. Letting someone willingly spend that kind of money on us just doesn't feel right."

"I'd have to agree," I say, hating that I feel the same way but unable to deny it.

"Don't worry about it," Clarice assures. "My mom will easily spend a couple grand on a new purse, so this honestly isn't a big deal at all. It's not like we'll be staying in expensive hotels or anything—well, except for Vegas and Hollywood—but besides that, we'll literally be living out of tents. Besides, they want to do this for us. It's their graduation gift to us."

Well, when you put it like that...

Unable to argue her logic, the three of us exchange quick glances before we all shrug in agreement.

"How long will it take?" Dillon asks, his words cautious, his face pinched in an expected grimace.

"Two months... approximately," Penny answers, smiling at his discomfort.

"Sheesh," he sighs and then throws his hands up, giving in. "Whatever."

"Okay," Drew belts, slamming his hand against the lockers, his smile wider than my Grandma Beatrice's rear end. "Let's do this!"

I've been ready to graduate for the past four years, but now, I'm ready as ever!

Goodbye town, goodbye routine... goodbye Lynn.

----

Alright peeps! What are your thoughts on this chapter? It might have felt like a filler chapter, but I assure you, it was not. ;)

Anyway, I hope you liked getting to know Jamie's friends. What do you think of them? Who's your favorite?

Don't forget to VOTE!!! *mwah!*