2Author Note: Umm.. well I was listening to the song "Secret" by The Pierces from the Gossip Girl soundtrack, and it made me want to write. Of course, as is usual with me, this did not turn out the way I was thinking, but just became something else. Its a very simple story, but I figured that since i wrote it, I might as well share it.
Thanks for reading, and do review!
The names of the characters are a tribute (ish) to the people I met while I was in Glasgow. They made my trip worth remembering :)
Ten Days
James's POV:
"Stop right there!" the policeman yelled at the young man running ahead of him, but he just increased his speed.
I watched them both go by with a morbid sort of amusement. It was rare to see cops chasing anyone in this neighborhood, and so the scene interested me. It never occurred to me that this could have anything to do with me. I threw down some cash on the table for the coffee, and headed out of the cafe. I started my car, and drove away, wondering where to go, when I saw them again, the cop and the guy running ahead of him, and then I turned a corner, and then stopped when an idiot in a truck blocked my way.
The guy who had been running from the cop opened the back door of my car and dived in, slamming the door behind him.
The cop skidded around the corner just as the idiot in the truck in front of me moved aside, and I pulled out of there.
"Where do you want me to drop you?" I asked, and slowly the guy sat up. On closer inspection he looked quite young, with big blue eyes, and pale skin. He looked around, peered out the back of the car, and of course there was no sign of the cop. Then he whooped in joy, punching his fist into the roof of the car.
"OUCH!" he yelled, before bursting out into laughter. I rolled my eyes. Just my luck. Even someone who randomly jumped into my car had to be an idiot.
"Thanks man! You really saved me there!" he said cheerily, taking off the cap he had been wearing, and shaking out his long dark hair. Wait. Long hair?
Oh dear god! I had picked up a girl! I am such an idot to have not noticed that he was a girl sooner. It was glaringly obvious now. She was probably around my age, twenty or so, slender, and those blue eyes were something else.
She laughed again, full of exhilaration, and then she climbed over the seat to come sit next to me.
"Again, where do you want me to drop you off?" I asked testily, and she looked at me with thos emesmerizing eyes. I was sure she had no clue just how pretty she was.
"Anywhere away from any sort of cops would be good." she said with a shrug, and I sighed.
"I am heading out of town. Wanna come to another city then?" I asked spontaneously.
"Sure." she answered, and I smiled after god knows how long.
After that we rode in silence, she was busy looking out at the scenery, and I was busy deciding exactly where I wanted to go to. I had already picked a direction, East, but that did not really tell me which town to stop in.
After nearly an hour of silence, a phone buzzed, and we both checked ours. It turned to be hers, but that was not what made me stare. What made me stare was that she had a Acer liquid E ferrari limited edition. She did not take the call of whoever, and stuck the phone back in her pocket.
"Tacky, isn't it?" she asked me, and I showed her my phone. It was exactly the same as hers.
"Get out! That's so weird!" she said laughing.
"Agreed." I answered.
"Did someone gift that to you too?" she asked conversationally.
"Nah, I don't take gifts." I replied.
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
"Coz they're never free. People always expect something in return." I answered.
"Hummm.. now why could I have not met you before? That little bit of Zen could've saved me from a world of trouble." she said grinning.
"Like that cop?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Nopes. He was just for shits and giggles. I was bored, what can I say." she said shrugging, and this time I chuckled.
"Damn woman!" I said with a wicked grin, and she grinned back.
"Its Sofia." she told me.
"James." I said raising my fist, and she knocked hers against it.
"So where are we headed?" she asked, settling back, with her boot clad feet stretched out on the dashboard.
"No clue. I picked East. You can pick a town." I replied.
She burst out laughing again. "Dude! I never thought I'd meet someone as crazy as me. Where've you been hiding all my life?"
I rolled my eyes as her theatrics. "Must've missed you when I was busy destroying my parents dreams." I said shrugging and she laughed again, though this time it had a hollow sound to it. She was scarred by life as well, it would seem.
"No town. Let's go camping on a beach." she said suddenly.
I considered it, and then had to agree. Sounded like a damn good plan.
"Lets pick up supplies at the next city." I said and she nodded in agreement.
"Let me know if you get tired of driving, and we'll switch." she said pulling her cap over her eyes.
I said nothing as I continued to drive. I was looking forward to this road trip now, the way I hadn't looked forward to anything in years.
For the next nine days we were 'camping'. We went to different beaches, not staying anywhere for more than a night. We drank until we could not even sit straight in a chair, woke up to the mother of all hangovers, we swam at midnight, under the moonlight, and we even drove our car in the surf.
Through all that, we did not allow 'real life' to interfere. Both our phones were switched off, and neither of us had any intention to tell anyone where we were, or what we were upto.
Nine days later, we woke up in our little tent, on some random beach, and we knew it was time for our little escapade to end.
She looked at me and sighed.
"It's time to go home, eh?" and I knew it wasn't really a question.
"Yeah." I answered anyways.
We did not say another word as we packed everything up. The drive back to the city was also a quiet one. It had taken us nine days to get that far, and yet, it took only one day to get back. On the tenth day, we were back right where we had started.
"You wanna take all this with you?" I asked her, indicating the camping gear.
"Nah. You keep it for next time." she answered making me smile. We both knew that there was no chance of a next time. We did not even know each other's last names or phone numbers.
I dropped her off, right where I had found her, on that street corner, a small distance away from that cafe, and drove home.
Of course no one had even realized that I had been gone. The only ones worried had been my friends, but they knew better than to talk to my family. I switched on my phone, in the peace of my room, and scowled as I saw proof that it was indeed my phone. My last hope, of a switched phone letting us meet again was also ruined.
Today reality was really in my face, and it really sucked.
Sofia's POV:
A month had passed since my 'vacation', as my family liked to call it. None of them admit that what I had done was very close to running away from home, but I did not care. I had no wish to explain to them what I had been upto, and its not like anyone ever listened to me.
Now I was going to accompany them to a party. How could I even think of skipping such an important social event? I wondered, sarcasm dripping from my mental tone.
I was supposed to be dressed like a social butterfly, but that had made me gag, so I had chosen a simple black silk dress instead. This was the best I could do, and of course it wasn't good enough, but as always no one had any time to waste on me. Sometimes I wondered at the irony of my family, and at other times, was amused by it. Tonight though, I just wanted to be left alone. I was missing James.
We arrived at the party, and I was glad to be out of the limo and away from my family.
I stood at the side of the exceptionally annoying party.
"Oooh! You're back from your vanishing act?" one of the girls out of an entire group said to me, her tone full of snobbery. Seriously, bullying was so high school, but I guess they hadn't gotten the memo. I rolled my eyes. I could not remember her name, did not even want to know it, and she totally was not worth a reply.
"And what is that thing that you're wearing?" she said wrinkling her nose. I wondered how long it would take for them to be done their routine and leave.
"Tacky isn't it?" said a cool voice from behind me. No way. There was no way he was here. I whirled around to see him. Dressed in a tuxedo, but with a cravat, his hair slicked back, he looked like he fit right in here, but I knew he fit in just as well with the crowd at seedy bars, and punks on a beach.
"Lord James" the girl behind me squealed and I raised an eyebrow and mouthed "Lord?" and he gave me a sheepish grin.
"See! Even Lord James thinks you're tacky!" another woman behind me nearly screeched. I think everyone was looking at us now, not that I could spare them a look. All I could look at were his blue-gray eyes. He was tall, taller than my five feet seven inches by a good five inches, nicely built, and he looked amazing in a tux with his brown hair slicked back and looking nearly black.
James turned cold eyes to the girl. "I was not talking to you." he said dismissively, before dropping his arm around me.
"Come on Sofia, lets dance." he said, giving me a fleetingly cheeky look.
I rolled my eyes. Just my luck. The one guy that picked me up, had also had to be a high society idiot just like me. But then I looked into his eyes as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Three years Later:
"So what'll you be guys doing for your honeymoon?" one of our friends asked us at our engagement party.
"Road trip!" we both blurted at the same time, looked at each other and then burst out laughing.
"You two have too many weird inside jokes." the friend said rolling his eyes.
"You wanna blame someone then blame it on the ten days." I told him, and we walked off, leaving him looking highly confused.
"Road trip huh?" James asked, his voice teasing.
"Road trip for sure. Maybe we'll have it in America though." I told him and he gave me a nod, his eyes dancing with amusement, even as he leaned down to kiss me. We ignored the scandalized looks around us. You'd think that they would've gotten used to us after three years worth of craziness.
No matter, we had a lifetime worth of craziness ahead of us.