Eden wakes up the next morning with a severe headache and a buzzing in her lips. The former thanks to her desire to forget her unexplained mood swing and experience the most of that wedding reception; the latter thanks to the marvelous stranger snoring in the bed next to hers.

Wait, could Harry be classified as a stranger anymore?

Surely not. They'd been together for around a week now, shared countless vulnerable conversations, and then that magnetic kiss from last night.

An uncontrollable grin appears on Eden's lips, the elation momentarily overpowering the jackhammer playing hopscotch on her brain. The moment replays in her mind's eye like a scene from her favorite movie; a song she wanted to learn over and over again; a book she would never stop reading.

Harry had kissed her.

Or rather, she had kissed him and he had kissed her back.

I'm not willing to admit how many times I've thought about that happening as I fell asleep, she thinks to herself.

Shuffling noises to her right pull her from her thoughts. Her head rolls to see Harry turning over in his bed, pulling the covers tight around his lanky body as he moves to lay on his side. His face is turned to her, allowing her the chance to admire his peaceful face in the soft gold light filtering in through the sheer white curtains on her left. During the day, she found his expression often hardened; not necessarily due to a negative attitude, but more because of muscle memory. It gave him the appearance of always being heavy in thought. Brows pulled low over his prominent eyes, and said eyes narrowed while his fingers gently tugged at his bottom lip. She loved watching him do that; he'd done it a few times during their time on the road, when she managed to ask him a thought-provoking question.

But in sleep, it seems the tense state of his muscles is briefly forgotten. Granted, the crease on his forehead is still subtly there, but his face is more relaxed and one of his dimples is barely visible as he subconsciously smiles in his dreaming state. His lips are parted as he breathes deeply, air whooshing in through his mouth before rattling out his nose in a faint snore. He must be deep in sleep.

Eden wonders what he dreams about. Does he know she's dreamt about him?

The headache returns, mucking up any semblance of hope she had about staying in bed and observing Harry's peaceful sleep. She carefully rolls out of bed and tiptoes to the bathroom, where she's got a bottle of aspirin stashed in her makeup bag. She rinses her face off with cool water and ties her knotted hair back into a messy bun. Harry is still far from the waking world in the next room, so she slips on her shoes and wanders downstairs for a late breakfast.

She takes her time eating, curled up at a corner table by a window and staring out at the lovely blue morning. A few wispy clouds dot the sky overhead; in the distance lies a dark ring of clouds crowding the horizon, in the direction they'll be driving in. Eden smiles to herself, as she enjoys the sensation of driving through the rain.

Harry's words cross her mind. "From the moment I met you, all I've seen is bravery."

Could that be true? Harry doesn't come across as the kind of man to lie; he'd only known Eden for a short time, but she'd done her best to push herself while completing her list. Admittedly, Brave Eden would be the only Eden he knows.

But is this who she actually is?

Am I actually brave?

She hadn't noticed the apparent changes in herself until Harry had spoken those words to her. But he had no way of knowing they were changes he was pointing out. To him it was a statement of truth: she was brave, not evolving into a brave one.

Eden was never the person to initiate anything - and yet she'd quit her job, left home unexpectedly, and kissed a boy who'd been a stranger a week prior. Those things gave her a previously unknown sense of excitement, but was it genuine? When the list was complete and Eden was left to make her next move, where would she land on the spectrum of self?

Would she still be brave? Is she actually evolving, or just playing a deceitful role?

Would Harry still be proud of her?

Eden shifts uncomfortably in her seat, wondering if the crawling sensation on her skin is really just her shedding her fear.

***

Upon returning to the room she finds Harry hunched over on the side of his bed, head in his hands and groaning to himself. He flinches when the door swings shut behind Eden.

"Jesus," he hisses, locking his hands in his hair and pressing his forearms over his ears. "So aggressive."

"Morning, sunshine," she chirps. She fishes the bottle of aspirin out of her makeup bag and tosses it onto the bed next to him.

"Pills in a bottle sound like gunshots when you're hungover," he mutters, gingerly tipping out four aspirin and taking them dry.

"You ready to keep driving?" she asks, keeping her voice hushed; once Harry pointed out his raging hangover, she realized her own head is still thumping painfully.

He nods with another guttural groan. "Need to shower and pack first."

"Hurry up, Britain," she chirps, picking up a random shirt of his from the dresser and tossing it; it lands softly against his shoulder before crumpling to the bed. "We've got a waterfall to see."

It takes Harry a while to get moving but eventually he and Eden are dressed and ready to leave. They check out of the hotel and Eden ends up back behind the wheel, eager to keep moving after spending several days holed up in Fayetteville. Harry stays sprawled out in the backseat, sleeping through his hangover while Eden resumes their tracing of the I-95 N. She follows the highway for around three hours, landing them in Richmond, Virginia. It's late afternoon when they hit the city limits, and Harry is just beginning to stir from his nap as Eden drives past the 'Welcome to Richmond' sign.

"Hello there, Sleepyhead," she calls, eyeing him through the rear view mirror as he pulls himself into a sitting position.

"Hey," he grumbles, voice thick with sleep. His eyes squeeze shut, hands racking through his hair as he struggles to wake up. "Can I have some water?"

Eden passes him a water bottle from the front seat and he chugs half of it before speaking again. "What time is it?"

"Just after four," she answers, glancing at the dashboard clock. "How are you feeling?"

Harry leans against the driver's seat, eyes watching her through the mirror; she can feel his body heat radiating off of him, can catch brief whiffs of his subtle cologne on the air coming in through the vents. "Like rubbish, still."

"Maybe refrain from drinking for a while then, yeah?" she laughs softly.

"I'm so hungry," he laments, ignoring her words. "Are you? Can we stop soon?"

"Harry, with all these stops we're never going to get to Niagara Falls," Eden laughs.

"What happened to taking the scenic route?" he asks teasingly.

Eden fights a reluctant smile; those were her exact words. "Alright," she sighs in defeat. "Richmond should have some good places to eat at. What are you craving?"

"Greasy bar food," he answers immediately. "Best thing for a hangover."

Eden can't contain the exasperated exhale that brushes over her full lips. "We're both still recovering from one hell of a hangover and you want me to take you to a bar? You realize how ridiculous you sound, right?"

Harry's dimple reappears and her resolve weakens; she briefly wonders if he knows that flashing that thing is a surefire way to get what he wants from her. "All part of taking the scenic route, Eden. Virginia's bound to have some good dive bars round 'ere."

"Okay, okay, fine," she sighs quickly, though there's a smile building on her lips. "You win. Where's a good place to stop?"

A quick Google search on Harry's phone reveals a flurry of nearby bars and cafes; they eventually settle on one called The Sidewalk Cafe. The reviews look promising and in any case, Eden's stomach is beginning to rumble in protest.

Inside, the bar is coated with a thin layer of wispy smoke and the night crowd already seems to be coming out in droves. They cozy up at a tall table near a wall decorated with old posters and photographs of random celebrities who'd passed through. Eden studies the photos, able to pinpoint several faces: Hulk Hogan, Mick Fleetwood, and, to her surprise, Jennifer Lopez.

"She seems like the last person to come through here," Eden laughs, tapping the picture of JLO while Harry peruses the drink menu. Just as they've ordered food and settled into an easy conversation, the buzz of the bar is interrupted by a mic screeching. Across the room is a small stage, with a bearded man standing behind the microphone while someone else hooks up a giant box with a television behind him.

"Oh, ho!" Harry cries, an enthusiastic smile spreading across his features. Eden does her best not to stare at his dimples as he turns in his chair, watching the stage avidly. "Karaoke night. This just got ten times more interesting."

~~

hello hello! sorry for a bit of a wait between updates, i've been trying to catch up with schoolwork and other responsibilities. the semester is winding down, which means my time is also winding down and my to-do list is unfortunately getting bigger! but no worries, i'll always make time for our favorite pair of adventurers :) enjoy the update and stay tuned! sorry if it's not that exciting, needed a bit of filler to keep things moving.

(also i haven't edited this so pls be kind)

how's everyone's week been? did you do anything fun over the weekend? xx