Chapter #2: The Drive

It was about 2 days after our plan to go to the lake house, and everybody would be going. The lake house was in Olympia, Washington, which was about 2 hours away. I had heard the mountainside up there was absolutely stunning. Our parents had agreed to going along with our plan, and we were leaving in half an hour. We were taking 2 vehicles. Brand would be driving his Camaro, and Stef would be driving her new car.

Data was running around the house, gathering all of his inventions. He was mumbling," You never know when you might need these. An adventure awaits us..."

Snow was helping me pack my clothes and other things. She had packed up earlier; she was really excited to go. " Aren't you excited?" Snow said, smiling.

" Yeah. I've never been to Olympia. I've heard that some people say that the gods and goddesses are seen up in the mountains," I replied. I loved Greek mythology. It truly amazed me.

" Keep dreaming. You're never gonna see a god or goddess up there. They're rare, ya know," Snow said, plopping down on my bed.

" Well...one can dream."

She rolled her eyes slightly. " No wonder you have the nickname Muse."

I heard a knock on my door. " Yeah?" I asked/yelled. The door opened and Snow said," Hey Brains!"

" Hey guys! Are you excited, too?" Brains asked. She was wearing knee-high shorts and a pretty tank-top with tan flats. Not too girly, no too tom-boy. I liked it. AND, it was even better that the sun was out today.

" Is it just me or does Mouth seem...different?" Snow asked. I looked at her. Oh no...it can't be...

" Nah. Not really. Why?" I asked. Snow shrugged.

" I don't know. Something about him seems...different..."she trailed off. I shrugged it off. Not completely, but for now, it was the best thing to do.

Data ran into my room. " Guys! They're here! Oh no! Have you seen-oh, hi, Dana,...Snow..." Data stopped and said. He kept on trying not to look over at Dana. Hm...

Dana noticed my suitcase was still unzipped and zipped it up for me. I was sitting in a chair with my feet on my desk. " Ok, seen what?" I asked.

" Oh! My Stobe Helmet!" Data exclaimed.

" Strobe helmet?" Snow asked.

" Yeah. It blinds your enemies with strobe lights so you can get away easily," Data explained.

" I think it's in the basement," I replied. He stood there for a few more seconds, staring at Dana. I picked up my plush toy teddy bear and threw it at Data. It hit his face and he looked at me. Snow began laughing. " Come on, go get it. We can't keep them waiting."

He nodded his head and left, blushing as Snow continued laughing. I got up and picked up up my shoulder bag and grabbed my suitcase's handle. " Ready?" I asked.

Dana picked up her purse and duffel bag while Snow picked up her shoulder bag and duffel bag. " Yup," Snow replied. We headed down the stairs and outside. Stef was pulled up on the curb, Mouth in the front seat with Stef in the drivers side.

" Get in the car, losers. We gonna go have some fun," he said coolly. Stef slapped the back of his head. " Why did you have to ride with me?" Stef asked.

I guessed Data would be riding with Brand, then. He was also pulled up behind Stef, Mikey and Chunk in the backseat while Andy was in the front with Brand. Data ran over to Brand's car.

Us girls pushed our stuff into the trunk and then got into the backseat. Brand drove over to us and pulled up by Stef's window. She grabbed the latch and rolled the window down. Andy had her window down.

" Are you guys ready to go or what?" Brand asked anxiously. Stef nodded and started the ignition. Mouth had a pair of sunglasses on, and he was pulling the 'cool-dude' of the group. He turned the stereo onto full blast, on some stupid and new rap song. Snow covered her ears and yelled," TURN THIS SHIT DOWN!"

Mouth began to bob his head up and down as Snow squinted her eyes shut. " Mouth, quit torturing my sister. That's my job!" Andy exclaimed.

" TURN IT UP!" Mouth yelled. Stef slapped his hand from the volume and said," Turn it down. It's my car, my rules." She turned down the volume and Snow opened her eyes and removed her hands from her ears, relieved. " Thank god. That was horrid," Snow said.

Stef drove off behind Brand, and she said," Dana, you pick a radio station."

She leaned forward and up to the stereo. She picked 105.7, the best rock channel. It was playing Cyndi Lauper, though. I leaned against the window pane in the car, watching the passing scenery. We were out of town by now, and we were driving along a forest.

Dana was sleeping with her head snapped upwards, but still leaning against the window. Snow was asleep on my shoulder. These girls slept easily, in a pretty short amount of time.

After about an hour of driving along, Brand had us stop at a restaurant. I shook Snow's shoulder, and she let out a small snort and woke up. Brains opened her eyes and bent her neck back into place. " How long was I out?" Snow asked.

" About an hour. Half the trip," I said. I unbuckled my seatbelt and said," Mouth, let us out!" He smirked and grabbed the handle, causing the seat to lean all the way back onto me. " HEY!" Snow yelled. He was squishing my legs. He put his hands behind his head and said," This is more comfortable."

I saw his comb in his jacket pocket. I snatched it away and hit his forehead with it. He sat up. " Hey, give that back right now," he said, seriously.

" Put your seat up then," Stef said for us. He began to mumble, but put his seat up anyways. I crawled out of the seat, and Snow took the comb. " Can I have my comb yet?" Mouth asked.

" I don't know," Snow began. She brushed her hair a few times. " I kinda like this comb." Mouth ran over to her. Snow ran away from him and into the restaurant.

Mikey walked coolly over to me. Oh god. Whenever he did that, he was gonna try to make a move or something. " Hey, Muse," Mikey said.

" Hey Mikey,"I replied in a slight monotone voice. He held out his arm. " Wanna go now?" Mikey asked. I nodded and looped my arm through Mikey's. He led us into the store and I said," Since when are you so flirty all of a sudden?"

He looked at me, with a fake look of defensiveness. " Since when am I not so flirty?" Mikey asked. I rolled my eyes. " I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth. I'm just wondering why you're so flirty all of a sudden..."

" It's just...I haven't been all romantic in a while..." Mikey trailed off. I shrugged. " It's alright with me. You don't have to be all lovey-dovey with me all the time. I'm not one of those girls," I said. He shrugged. " But you deserve it."

We got into the restaurant and I let go of Mikey's arm. He looked disappointed, but he wouldn't ever admit it. Especially to me. The restaurant had carpeting instead of hard-wood floors, and it was really clean, luckily. We found a big round table in the middle of the restaurant. I sat down in between Mikey and Snow, across from Brand, Andy, and Data. A waitress came over to us. " Hi guys! I'll be waiting you this afternoon, what would you like to drink?"

" Pepsi," Dana, Snow, and Andy said.

" Coke," Brand and me said.

" Mountain Dew," Chunk state along with the others.

" Ok, I'll be right back." She walked off. I had my hands under the table, and I felt Mikey grab my hand lightly. Mouth began playing with a straw. He twisted the wrapping on the end of his straw and then shot it straight at Brains's face. She turned to look at him, since she had been talking to Stef. " Jerk," she mumbled.

She wadded up the wrapper into a ball and threw it at his face. Snow still had the comb in her hands, and Mouth said," Hey! You never gave me my comb!" She smirked. " I told you. I like this comb. I may even keep it," she replied. Mouth made to leap at her, but Data sat him back down as the waitress came back. He began to check her out.

" Ok, here are your drinks, guys. Are you ready to order yet?" the waitress asked, pulling out her receipt book. brand nodded and we ordered from the menus. We had all ordered, except for Mouth. " Now what would you like, young man?" she asked.

" Well," Mouth said, leaning forward to look at her name tag. " Maria, you're pretty cute. I'll have your favorite meal from here." She raised an eyebrow. " Okay, then. They'll be ready in about 20 minutes," she said, walking away quickly.

" Great job, Mouth. Now she's gonna spit in our food, and now I'm gonna starve," Chunk complained. I rolled my eyes. Of course he was worrying about the food.

" Chunk, she'll only spit in Mouth's food," Snow assured.

" God, we can't take him anywhere," Stef said, rolling her eyes. Mouth sat back, satisfied. " Hey, she was cute. You can't blame me," Mouth defended himself.

" Mouth, you're half her age!" Snow argued. He shrugged his shoulders and Snow hit him on the head with his comb. " OW!" he yelled. Snow laughed lightly.

I looked down at my place mat. There was a maze on it. I traced my finger along the paths until finally, my finger made it to the home area. Finally, our food arrived, and I had to let go of Mikey's hand. I nibbled on my food for a while, and Mouth kept trying to steal my French fries. Finally, I said," QUIT IT!" He didn't. He reached over and tried to steal another, but I swatted his hand away. But, when his hand flew away, it hit Brand's soda glass and fell onto his lap. " AHH!" Brand yelled, getting up. The soda had spilled onto his crotch and it was on the carpet. It looked like he had wet himself.

The waitress named Maria ran over with a mop in her hand. She legit began to mop the carpet...I tried not to laugh. " Woah, I think Brand might need some Pampers," Mouth said, trying not to laugh. Brand shot him a glare. The lady walked off after mopping.

" Well...that's the first time I've ever seen someone mop a carpet," Snow said laughing. See, this is why we don't usually go places. We usually only went to the arcade and stuff.

The lady had set our bill on the table, as if saying 'I wish you would leave now'. Brand picked it up and said," I'll pay. You guys go back out to the cars." We nodded and got up. Once outside, Stef said," Have Andy ride with us. Take Mouth with you."

Andy headed over to Stef's car. Snow, Brains, and I got into the backseat while Andy and Stef got into the front. Brand finally came back out and hopped into his car. He started the car quickly and we left as fast as possible. I could hear Chunk complaining from the other car. " You know what, guys? I didn't get to finish my food! Now I really AM gonna starve!"

" Shut up Chunk!" the others yelled. We accelerated on, until finally, we arrived in Olympia. The town was just...beautiful. Lakes surrounded the area along with large and big trees. I knew we were staying outside of town, but still. We went through the town and went outside of town and into a forest. Finally, we reached a gravel path and headed down it.

At the end of the road, was a beautiful mountainside,and I mean beautiful. It looked like Mount Olympus. The lake was clear and the house was huge. It was just...breathtaking.