"C'mon, Tweek, we're going for a drive," Craig informs me simply, not even looking at me. I provide a normal twitch, but nonetheless drop everything I'm doing and follow him, getting into the passenger seat of his broken down Ford then buckling the seat belt. He pulls out of the driveway, heading down the road. Driving with Craig isn't at all like the nerve-wrecking experience that driving with my parents or the bus assures. It's not that his car is better; in fact, it's in worse state than my parents' BMW. It's not that there aren't as many bumps; they're pretty much everywhere the worn tires touch. It isn't even the radio, which instead of playing soothing classical music like my parents, plays the latest record of Linkin Park, very jumpy music indeed.
You'd think that driving with Craig and his rule of 'driving twenty miles past the speed limit when cops aren't around' would be a death wish, yet it's one of the only times I feel at peace. Why? The entire time, he holds my hand. As soon as he gets on the road, he pulls down my window and grabs my hand from across the arm rest, entwining our fingers. The cold, whipping air flies past my face, adding havoc to my already chaotic hair, yet it's absolutely calming. Every time I twitch, his thumb gently strokes the back of my palm. For the first few minutes, I nervously watch him in the corner of my eye, but his gaze never once moves from the dark road barely lit up by his headlights. After a while, I lay my head against the side of the car, looking out the window at the spinning trees, the twinkling stars, the hoping moon, and the occasional nighttime snow that falls at random times. Once I'm completely content, I close my eyes, taking in the scent of the mountain air and the sound of Craig singing along to 'Crawling in my Skin'.
Eventually, we reach our destination: Stark's Pond. When Craig first learned how to drive, which was age fourteen, he found a hill that towered over the pond, easily reached by cars. He took me there every so often, until we turned sixteen and got our licenses. He takes me even more now. The best part of the trips is how spontaneous they are; he simply tells me we're going and we go. No boundaries, no restrictions, completely worry free. This is HUGE for me. Were it anyone but Craig, I would practically twitching out of my pants. It's like his rough touch calms my body, promising me hopes no one else could.
We pull into the hill and he sets the car in park. It stalls and shutters until it finally hibernates, leaving the night still and silent. He's still holding my hand, stroking it, when he pushes up the arm rest, reaches towards me, and kisses my surprisingly calm lips. By this point, everything goes down hill. I start twitching and shaking like mad, pulling at my blond hair. I'm completely unconfident in my kissing abilities. I always manage to screw it up, whether I bite their lip or miss their mouth completely, I'll mess it up. Of course, I'm now vibrating the car, and this car isn't very stable, so Craig takes hold of me, trying to calm me as quick as possible. Soon, the task is deemed fruitless, and we get out the car to sit at the edge of the cliff where he can peacefully, or not, commence to soothing my nerves. He pulls me sideways into his lap, my legs over his, holding my trembling body tight, running his fingers shockingly easily throw my blond locks. He whispers soft nothings for a while, until he points out how bright the stars are and how wide the moon is.
I look up, having always been dazzled by the sky. Once again, Craig is right. The stars are shining in my eyes, reaching deep into my soul. The moon is even better, it's even more mysterious. So large and full tonight, I wonder if it's bigger than usual. My fidgets calm slowly as he rests his chin on my head, staring at the subject of my gaze. I sigh, signaling that I'm calm again. He gently tilts my chin up and bestows a soft kiss upon my lips, one that I couldn't mess up no matter how hard I tried. So supple, yet so controlling. This is his power on me. I feel his arms tighten around my waist as my arms cling around his neck. My aqua eyes flutter closed against my will, my heart beat at an abnormally calm rate. His emotion leaks into my mouth and fills me up, capturing me in its grip and tightening, immobilizing me.
Thus is his power.