Chapter 2: Be Good To Yourself

The moment Ferris opened the trunk he was met with a hard smack on the side of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Oh, you know exactly what for," Ilaria grumbled, stretching out her limbs. "No wonder your parents didn't get you a car—it's a wonder you even have your license." She made herself comfortable beside Cameron.

Ferris failed at hiding his amusement with a poorly made expression of naiveté. "I'll have you know that I'm a great driver," the boy snarked back, changing out of his disguise and stuffing it in the trunk. Underneath, he wore a white shirt and a dark yellow and black vest, pairing it with one of his well known leather jackets. He went and started replacing his dress shoes for a pair of white sneakers.

"Tell that to my concussion," she quipped before turning her attention to Sloane. "Ah, Sloane, my love, may I be so bold as to say how striking you look today?" She grabbed the younger girl's hand in her own.

Sloane red lips curved gracefully into a smile. "Not as enchanting as you, my dear Ilaria."

Ilaria sighed dreamily, batting her eyelashes. "Let's run away together, love!"

"I'll follow you anywhere!"

Ferris immediately started whining as he claimed the driver's seat once more, "But Sloane, dear, we're suppose to runaway together!"

The two girls burst out laughing, unable to keep up the act. Ilaria let Sloane have her hand back as the curly haired eighteen year old tried to find something to hold on to. She doubted she'd end up falling, but it never hurt anyone to be cautious. She glanced at Cameron out of the corner of her eye, finding that he was looking at her in concern. Ilaria gave him a reassuring smile in return, touched he was worried for her.

Cameron looked away to start fussing at Ferris. "Alright, you've had your fun, Ferris. Let's take the car back now."

There was a pause before Ferris gave his answer in the form of speeding off in the direction of the city—and farther away from the Frye residence.

Ilaria could tell the young Frye was biting the inside of his cheeks, giving his shoulder a soothing rub that lingered a little too long to be 'just friendly', but he didn't seem to notice. He was too busy worrying away the inside of his lip to give any real consideration.

Ilaria let her head fall back, enjoying the warm sun and cool breeze. She was glad that she wore her mother leather's jacket to knock off any chill that would have settled if she hadn't. She smiled, glad that Ferris had called her. She couldn't believe she would have gladly slept the day away.

"So, where to first, Bueller?" She asked over the roaring wind that whipped through her hair.

"Ya know, I haven't decided yet," laughed the senior, giving the accelerator more pressure.

"Yeah, well, wherever we go, we can't go to my dad's garage. His orders."


What seemed like in no time, Ferris pulled into a parking garage. Ilaria ran a hand through her hair as she, along with Sloane and Ferris, got out of the Ferrari. She looked at Sloane, gesturing to her hair and receiving a "it doesn't look bad, honestly".

"Wrong," announced Cameron, face stern as he cast a glance at what he could see of his surroundings.

"What?" Ferris inquired.

"Not here. We are not leaving the car here!"

"Why not?"

"I want the car home where it belongs."

"Cameron," Ilaria urged, motioning for the teen to get out of the car with a nod of her head.

Cameron shook his head, "No, let's go."

"What can happen in a garage?" Ferris asked, chagrined at his friend's behavior.

"It could get wrecked, stolen, scratched, breathed on wrong—a pigeon could shit on it."

Ilaria stepped closer to Cameron, offering him a calming smile and cool logic as she said, "Look, Cameron, nothing's going to happen. You're being paranoid, and I know—" she placed a hand on his, "I know that you have every right to worry, but trust me when I say that if anything, and I mean anything, happens to this car, we can drop it off at dad's garage and I'll fix it personally." It seemed her words had coaxed Cameron out of his jittery exterior as he looked at her with clear blue eyes that had her swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Just, please, Cameron, nothing bad will happen to the car," she continued after finding her voice again. She grinned when he sighed and moved out of the car. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "One of the hardest things I had to do actually," he muttered.

"Look, Cameron," Ferris cut in, "I'll give the guy a fiver to keep an extra eye on it, alright?"

"What guy?"

Ilaria looked in the direction that Ferris had nodded in and frowned, not liking the looks of this guy. It wasn't because of his thin face, straw hair pulled into a bun, or greasy looking goatee that caused her stomach to squirm in distrust, but his eyes. They were focused on the red Ferrari with an excited spark; as if Santa had came bearing gifts early.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Ferris greeted kindly. He was greeted with a strange look from the employee. "You speak English?"

Apparently questioning about that caused offense. "What country do you think this is?" The man snapped back, dark eyes now narrowed and glaring at the Bueller boy in front of him.

Ferris shrugged off the hostility and gave the man a five. "Okay, I want you to take extra special care of this vehicle."

"No problem." He grinned, showing his fair share of gold teeth. He went over to the Ferrari, his hand just an inch from opening the driver's door when Cameron's own shot out to stop him. For once, Ilaria couldn't blame him, eying the man with skepticism. "Trust me," the attendant asserted calmly.

"Com'on," Cameron bit out, looking at Ferris and trying to convince the other to change his mind with his eyes.

"Relax. You have nothing to worry about. I'm a professional."

"A professional what?" Cameron snapped, a faint impression of a vein appearing in his neck.

"Cameron," Ilaria murmured, tugging him away from the Ferrari and giving the guy a stern glare. "Everything will be fine."

The employee gave a grin and carefully slid into the seat, shooting them what he probably thought was a reassuring stare (but it ended up looking more like a leer) before driving off slowly and carefully. Soon, the Ferrari left their sight.

"See what a finski can do to a guy's attitude?" Came Ferris voice, and Ilaria knew that he was trying to help, but it didn't do anything to improve Cameron's mounting concern for his father's car. "Com'on!' He grabbed Sloane's hand and started down the sidewalk.

Ilaria wound her arm through Cameron's and led him out of the garage, following after Ferris and Sloane. Even when they gained some distance from the parking garage, the young Canali didn't drop her arm from the Frye's. Mostly because she liked the feeling and he wasn't shaking her off. He never did. Ilaria smiled to herself as she looked around; it'd be cool if she could see Chicago as a whole—

If this was a cartoon, a light bulb would have brightened above her head.

"Hey, Ferris!" Ilaria called, breaking from Cameron to shorten the bit of distance between them and Ferris and Sloane. "I think I know what our first stop should be," she continued at his expectant look.

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "Then lead the way, my dear cannoli!"

She rolled her eyes, cutting to the front, muttering a good natured "don't call me that".


"One-thousand-seven-hundred-and-twenty-nine-feet in total," Ilaria breathed, leaning against the railing and gazing over the city, "making Willis Tower, my friends, the tallest building in the world."

Ferris copied her. "From here, I swear I can see all of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and, my personal favorite, Indiana." Sloane was beside him, brown eyes focused on the slight sway of the other buildings.

Cameron was the only one who looked pale at the prospect of being so high up. In Ilaria's opinion, he looked like he was going throw up. "I don't feel too good," he drawled, trying his best to not think about the great distance between him and the ground below. Or about the car.

Ilaria smacked Ferris arm lightly, gesturing for him to follow her lead as she stepped onto the railing. He did, and as a expected so did Sloane. "Com'on, Cameron, step on the railing with us," Ferris directed.

After a few beats Cameron was beside Ilaria, copying them and pressing his forehead against the glass. His stomach lurched uncomfortably. A hand slipped into his, rubbing a thumb soothingly into his skin. He breathed a calming sigh, glancing at Ilaria out of the corner of his eye. If there was one thing that he could always count on, she would always be there to be the calm to his perturbed; that was only one of the many things he appreciated about her.

"The city looks so peaceful from up here," came Sloane smooth voice.

"Anything is peaceful from thirteen-hundred feet," joked Ferris, though not mockingly.

"I think I see my dad," Cameron muttered.

"We've got a lot to do. Let's go," Ferris announced and jumped off the railing. He helped Sloane off as Ilaria followed his lead.

Cameron was still leaning against the glass as Ferris and Sloane started onwards. "Shit!" Ilaria blinked at the other teen, brows furrowed. "That son of bitch is down there somewhere." She bit the inside of her cheek, grabbing his hand and tugging him down.

"Yeah, he is, but don't let that ruin your day, Cam," she said, gripping his hand tightly and leading him off in the direction that Sloane and Ferris took off in.


"I did not come with you to watch a bunch suits make deals," Ilaria muttered towards Bueller, giving him a blank look before she dropped into a chair and leaned her head back.

Ferris didn't crack back, causing Ilaria to lift her head and look over at him. He was staring at Sloane with a soft expression, and immediately, Ilaria looked away. "You want to get married?" He asked her.

Sloane shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Sure." There was amusement in her tone—she thought he was joking.

He wasn't. "Today?" She shook her head, blowing a short laugh out her nose. "I'm serious," he revealed. And he was.

"I'm not getting married," Sloane insisted, thinking about how ridiculous it sounded to get married at seventeen years old with another year of high school to deal with.

"Why not? Besides being too young, having no place to live, you being the only cheerleader with a husband, give me one good reason why not?" He countered, that gentle smile still plastered on his face, crinkling the edges of his eyes just right.

"I'll give you two," Cameron cut in, eyes that had been staring off just to the right were now on Ferris, "my mother and my father. They're married and they hate each other. You've seen them, am I right?" He threw a hand at both Ferris and Ilaria (who was feeling a bit jittery at being invited into this particular conversation).

"You're father's a toad and your mom's always wired out, but so what?" Ferris shrugged. "They're old. That's natural."

"It makes me puke," Cameron went on, a scowl on his face. "Seeing people treat each other like that. It's like the car—he loves the car and hates his wife."

An awkward silence settled over the four before Ilaria's voice finally cut in, "Well, I'll give you two reasons why you can still get married." She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing between Ferris and Sloane with a sad smile. "My father and mother."

That statement certainly had everyone retreating into their thoughts.


And whoop! There's chapter 2! I was suppose to upload this yesterday, but my connection is crap. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Heights terrify me, so there would be no way I would ever go up Willis Tower and lean against the glass—I would be too scared that it would give, but what about you guys? Would any of you do the same as Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron and lean against the glass? And what did you guys think about the chapter? What did you not like? Did you guys like the bit I added with the parents or nah?

Thank you guys for reading!