Nick,

Hey, it's Lindsay. I'm writing you because I can't sleep, and I've been thinking about you lately. Right now I'm sitting in a motel, writing this under a lamp. Kim is sleeping. I know we haven't talked to each other since that dance, but I hope there's no weird feelings. I kind of got the feeling that you were mad at me or something. I just want things to be normal. Maybe Daniel told you already, but Kim and I have been traveling with some people; deadheads, actually. I know, it's kinda lame, but we have been following them around, and going to some Grateful Dead concerts. It was fun for awhile, but I guess we miss home. Can you believe it? I can't. We ditched them, and came to this motel. We are heading back home in the morning. I hope you are well.

Your Friend,

Lindsay

After Lindsay finished writing, she folded the paper, and put it in an envelope. She had a lot of envelopes, because her parents told her to write them while she was at the University of Michigan, which she did. They were filled with lies, about what she was doing at the Academic Summit. She hoped to God that they were going to be able to get home without her parent's knowing what really happened. When she folded sealed the envelope she was debating whether or not to actually send it. She thought it sounded really stupid. There was so much more she wanted to say, but she just couldn't. She wanted to mention the fact they had no money, but she figured it was too risky. Nick might tell her parents. She wanted to explain what happened when they broke up, but she couldn't. What was done, was done, she thought to herself. Lindsay set aside her letter, climbed into bed, and turned off the light.

When morning came around, Kim had just gotten out of the shower, and was dressed, with her hair still wet. Lindsay was waking up, and it felt like she got hit by a bus.

"Finally." Kim said, "It's about time you got up. We gotta get going."

Lindsay blinked a few more times, and rubbed her eyes. Then suddenly she remembered that they had no money, and she didn't even tell Kim yet.

"Yeah," Lindsay mumbled, "Just let me get up."

"Well c'mon princess. We don't got all day." Kim stated.

Lindsay eventually got out of bed, and got a really quick shower. They didn't have a decent shower in two weeks, and it felt nice to finally be clean, she thought. They both got their things together, and were ready to leave, when Lindsay sat down on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Kim asked, confused.

"Kim, I have bad news."

Kim slowly sat down on the other bed, looking at Lindsay, "What is it?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"Someone stole my money."

"Excuse me?" Kim questioned.

"I don't know who it was, I guess it was just someone at the concert, but they took my money." Lindsay explained, "Unless you have it."

"Oh great, now I'm a thief." Kim huffed.

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Lindsay said, "I just thought maybe I gave it to you."

"Well you didn't." Kim stated, "Now what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Lindsay replied.

Kim sighed, and got up to walk around the room, nervously. She was biting her finger nails. Lindsay just stared off to the side of the room. Reality hit her. After a few minutes, Kim sat back down.

"Listen, there's only a few things we can do." Kim began, "We can call home, and get into a ton of trouble.."

Lindsay looked at her, waiting for more options.

"or, we can hitchhike." Kim suggested.

They tried hitchhiking once before, but it ended up being a disaster. They were in Ohio, hours away from home.

"I don't know, do you think hitchhiking is a good idea?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, we are aren't near home this time, so I don't think we will see any of your dad's friends out here." Kim laughed to herself.

Lindsay figured Kim had a point, but she also thought it could be more dangerous.

"Okay, fine, I'll do it." Lindsay nodded in agreement.

Kim got her things, and headed out the door. Lindsay picked up her things, grabbed her letter, and followed. Lindsay dropped the letter in a mailbox as they walked. They walked for a good distance, till they got to a highway. They both sat down, waiting for a car to pass by.

"Wow, this is like, the real thing, huh Lindsay?" Kim laughed, looking almost excited.

Lindsay looked at her with a nervous smile. As some cars passed by, Kim held out her thumb, with the hope that someone would pull over. Eventually someone did. It was a person with a small, somewhat dirty, dark blue car. Kim walked over to the car with confidence, and knocked on the passenger side window.

"Hey can you give us a ride?" Kim yelled into the car.

"I think that's why he pulled over Kim." Lindsay smiled, walking over with her things.

There was a younger man in the car, who looked to be in his twenties. He had dark hair, and dark eyes, and was fairly well dressed. He didn't look like someone who would be driving a shoddy looking car. The man got out, and walked around to the other side. Kim and Lindsay watched him.

"You ladies need a ride?" he asked, leaning his back against his car.

"Well, yeah." Kim smirked.

The man took out a cigarette. Lindsay watched his every move.

"Want one?" the man asked Lindsay.

"No, thanks." Lindsay replied, slightly appalled.

Kim opened the back seat of his car, without asking, and started gathering her things to put them in. Lindsay was feeling increasingly strange about the situation, but she started getting her things. The man watched them. Kim was organizing luggage in the back of the car.

"It would be nice to know where you're headed." he said to Lindsay, who was standing outside the car, waiting for Kim to get done.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry." Lindsay said shaking her head, "We're going to Michigan, Chippewa, Michigan. You can get us there right?" she hoped.

"I'm from Michigan myself." he said, "I don't know if I can get you to Chippewa, but I think it should be close enough." he smiled.

"Awesome." Lindsay replied.

The man put out his cigarette, and went back in the car.

Kim shut the door, and poked her head out of the backseat window, "You're gonna have to sit in the front Linds, there's not enough room back here."

"But-I-" Lindsay began, but Kim rolled up her window. Lindsay went to the passenger's side, and got in.

"So, what were you two doing on the side of the road?" the man asked, as he began to drive, "If you don't mind me asking." he added.

"We went to see the Grateful Dead." Lindsay replied.

'Deadheads?" he asked.

Lindsay laughed, "Not exactly, but we were on the road with some." she nodded.

"On the road with some." he mocked, "Now aren't you two cool." he said with a straight face.

Kim's mouth dropped some, and Lindsay looked at him, eyebrows bent.

"My name's Todd." he informed them, ignoring their reaction.

"I'm Lindsay, and that's Kim."

"Are you two hungry?" he asked, talking over Lindsay.

Lindsay looked back at her friend. Kim quickly nodded.

"Yeah, we're pretty hungry." Lindsay replied.

"Cool." Todd said.

They drove for a few more miles, before finding a diner to stop at for breakfast. Kim was the first one out of the car. Todd and Lindsay followed. When they got into the diner, they sat down at a booth.

"I don't know what I want." Kim whined.

"It's not a hard decision," Todd began, "Always go with the breakfast staple; bacon and eggs." he said, closing his menu.

Kim looked at him oddly.

"I'm gonna hit up the men's room." Todd said, getting up.

"Okay." Lindsay said, calmly.

Kim quickly leaned in, "Do you think he's gonna kill us?" she asked, with a strange smirk on her face.

"What? No." Lindsay replied quickly, looking over her menu at Kim.

Kim let out a laugh, "What do you think he's doing?" she asked, "Jerking off?" she laughed again, taking a sip of her chocolate milk.

"Kim. Shut up." Lindsay demanded, with a stern look on her face.

"Gosh, Lindsay, I was just kidding." Kim said, "What are we going to do after he drops us off?" she asked, seriously.

"I don't know. Do you think I'm gonna have to call my parents?"

"Maybe if we're close enough to home, I can call Daniel or something." Kim shrugged.

Their conversation was interrupted when Todd returned to the table, and sat back down next to Lindsay.

"So, Todd.." Kim looked at him.

Lindsay glanced at both of them, just waiting to be highly embarrassed.

"How old are you?" Kim asked. Lindsay relaxed.

Todd was pretending to drum with one unopened straw, "Twenty-one." he replied.

"Oh, he could by us alcohol." Kim sang jokingly.

"Are you in college?" Lindsay asked, ignoring Kim's joke.

"I was." Todd replied, "I quit to join a band, but we broke up. But, I've been thinking of going back."

Kim rolled her eyes, "Why does every guy wanna be in a band? They always suck, and end up breaking up, anyway."

"We were good. We were gonna make an album." Todd said.

"Ha, that's what they all say." Kim retorted.

"That sounds cool." Lindsay remarked. The waitress brought over their food, "What kind of music was it?"

"It was, but I think I want to be a writer." Todd said, getting ready to eat his bacon and eggs, "Our music was pretty experimental."

Kim was trying not to burst out in laughter, with her mouth full of food.

"You like to write?" Lindsay asked.

"I like a lot of things." Todd answered.

Lindsay stopped asking questions, and started eating. When they were done, the waitress brought over the check. Kim looked at Lindsay. They didn't have any money to pay for their food. Todd got out his wallet, and started picking out money.

"Hey Todd." Kim smiled, nicely.

"Yeah?" he replied, looking up at her.

"Do you think you could pay this for us?" Kim asked, "Someone stole our money, we'll totally pay you back, we can like, send it to you or something."

Todd looked at both of them, "I guess."

"Someone really did steal my money." Lindsay told him.

"It's cool, you can pay me back later." Todd said, getting up from the seat.

"Thanks" Lindsay said.

They got up, and went back to Todd's car. Todd continued to drive, and by early afternoon, they were finally back in the state of Michigan. It was getting hot in the car, so Lindsay rolled down her window. Lindsay looked out, admiring the landscapes that went by. She was feeling rather optimistic about the situation she and Kim got themselves in, thinking maybe her parents actually wouldn't find out about any of it.

"I can't wait to tell the guys about this." Kim laughed.

"Think they'll believe us?" Lindsay asked, looking back at her.

"Who cares." Kim snarled.

Todd looked over at them, "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I'm talking about Daniel and Ken." Kim said, "Oh, and Nick, right Lindsay?"

"Whatever." Lindsay said, nonchalantly.

"I don't know them. Who's Nick?" Todd asked.

"Of course you don't. Oh, and Nick is just this guy who's still obsessed with Lindsay." Kim replied.

"Shut up, Kim." Lindsay said, loudly, "He actually isn't obsessed with me." Lindsay shook her head, "He's dating someone. Happily, I might add." Lindsay told Todd.

"Yeah, okay, Lindsay." Kim mumbled.

"High school girls." Todd laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kim asked, angrily.

"Nothing." he replied.

"Let's just change the subject." Lindsay suggested. She looked out the window again.

"Good idea." Todd agreed.

"But, how did you know we were in high school?" Lindsay asked, curiously.

"It's not hard to tell." Todd smirked.

Lindsay sat thinking to herself, she didn't think she acted like an average high school girl. After all, they were curling their hair, and she was traveling...sort of. They all spent the next few hours almost silent. Lindsay and Kim at times falling asleep. They were somewhere in lower Michigan when the car stopped at a gas station. Lindsay got out of the car, and Todd was pumping gas. Kim got out to stretch her legs, and went into the convenience store.

"How far away are we?" Lindsay asked Todd. She walked over to where he was pumping gas.

"Well, we're a few hours away from Lansing, but I'm gonna need to sleep soon." Todd said, "We won't get there till tomorrow morning some time."

"That's about an hour away from Chippewa." Lindsay said out loud.

"Only an hour, maybe less, if you drive fast." Todd said.

"Yeah." Lindsay sighed, folding her arms, and resting against the car.

Suddenly there was a click, and Todd was done. He put back the handle, and closed the gas cover. Lindsay started wondering where they were going sleep.

"So, where do you plan on sleeping?" Lindsay asked.

"In my car." Todd replied, "Where do you think?"

Lindsay didn't say anything, she was thinking how uncomfortable that was going to be, and not just because she would be sleeping in a car seat.

"Let's go in, I'll get you something." Todd said, looking at her.

"Okay." Lindsay smiled.

They spent a few minutes inside the store, and then Lindsay and Todd came walking back out. Kim sat outside on the sidewalk eating chips.

"How did you buy those?" Lindsay asked.

"I stole 'em" Kim said in a matter-of-fact tone, and with her mouth full.

Todd and Lindsay both laughed, and sat down next to her.

"I'm pretty damn tired." Todd said, drinking a soda.

"I would be too, if I drove as long as you did." Lindsay said.

"I probably woulda fell asleep at the wheel." Kim laughed.

"Are you two in trouble or something?" Todd asked, surprising Lindsay and Kim.

"Well, kinda." Lindsay said, nervously moving around her soda, "See, I was suppose to go to the University of Michigan. It was this lame academic thing, but I don't know, I changed my mind." she explained, "I kind of didn't tell my parents."

"She's a genius." Kim blurted.

Lindsay hit her in the shoulder.

"That's cool." Todd commented, "Don't beat yourself up about it. I probably would have done the same thing."

Lindsay smiled, feeling almost relieved, that someone else would have done what she did. Kim got up, and dusted herself off.

"Now what?" Kim asked, looking at them.

"Bed." Todd said.

"Huh?" Kim asked.

"We are gonna sleep in the car for the night." Lindsay explained.

"What? Where? What if someone kills us? What if he kills us, or something?" Kim began yelling.

"Kim, calm down." Lindsay looked at her.

"I would have killed you in between your whining, hours ago." Todd joked.

When they were back in the car, Todd drove to an almost empty parking lot near by. He opened his window slightly, and adjusted his car seat.

Kim and Lindsay sat there, both feeling slightly frightened and awkward, as Todd tried sleeping on the drivers side.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight Linds." Kim said, trying to maneuver herself around the bags in the back seat. She eventually was able to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

"Yeah, goodnight Kim." Lindsay rolled down her window some, because it was warm out, and she wanted to feel like she could breath. She looked back at Kim, but her back was towards her. She then looked over at Todd, and began to think about how strange this all was. She looked at him, wondering if he was really asleep; she assumed he was. She felt vulnerable, and turned on her side, facing away from him. She was pretty uncomfortable, and knew she wasn't going to get a minute of sleep.

When Lindsay opened her eyes, the sun was shining, and it was already hot out. She looked at Kim and Todd, but they were both still sleeping. She was still exhausted, because she felt like she only had a few hours of sleep, but she couldn't be sure. She glanced at Todd; he was completely out. Lindsay decided not to wake anyone, and got out to stretch. When she was done, she got back in the car, and the squeaky noise of the door woke up Kim.

"He's still sleeping? God, I was hoping we would be there when I woke up." Kim groaned, "Somebody needs to wake him up. HEY! WAKE UP!" Kim started hitting him in the shoulder.

"God, Kim." Lindsay glared.

Todd woke up alarmed, "Woah, what happened?" he asked, looking disheveled.

Lindsay laughed, "Nothing. Kim just decided the best way to wake you was to beat you."

"Thanks for that." Todd said, sarcastically. He tried to get himself together, and eventually started driving once again.

Lindsay watched him; realizing that Todd was reasonably good looking. But she didn't want to linger on the thought, so she looked out the window, and wondered what they were going to do when they got to Lansing. After a few hours, Lindsay was being shoved.

"Wake up, Linds." Kim kept saying.

Lindsay woke up, and realized the car was stopped.

"What are we doing?" she asked, looking around, confused.

"Todd is lending me some change. I'm going to go call Daniel to pick us up here." Kim said, excitedly. Kim jumped out, and ran over to a pay phone.

Lindsay looked out the window, "Where the hell am I?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

"You're at a bus station in Lansing." Todd answered her.

Lindsay looked at him, "Oh."

"Why don't you get out, and stretch your legs?" he asked.

Lindsay complied, and got out. She was so tired of sitting. Kim was in the phone booth; they could see her talking. Todd got out from his side, and joined Lindsay by the car.

"Thanks for picking us up." Lindsay said, "We could've had a worse experience."

"Thanks I think?" Todd smirked.

"That was supposed to be a compliment." Lindsay smiled slightly.

"No problem. It was my pleasure." he smiled back.

Lindsay remembered that she needed to ask for an address, so she could pay him back for the expenses.

"Before I forget, what's your address? I want to make sure I pay you back." Lindsay asked, going into the back of the car to get a piece of paper, and pen.

"Thirteen West 5th street, Lansing." Todd replied, "But you can forget about paying me back, I changed my mind."

"Oh. Are you sure? Because I mean, I don't mind. After all, you did us a really big favor." Lindsay insisted.

"Don't worry about it. I enjoyed the company." Todd said.

Kim came walking back over to the car, "Daniel is on his way. He'll be here in about an hour." her face was squinted from the sun.

"Cool." Lindsay said.

They all stood for a moment in silence.

"I'm starving." Kim complained. Her stomach was making all kinds of noises.

Todd reached into his pocket, "Here go get yourselves something to eat."

"No, we couldn't take any more of your money." Lindsay refused.

"Let the guy do something nice." Kim said.

"It's cool, take it." Todd pressed.

"You aren't coming?" Lindsay asked, sounding disappointed.

"Nah, I gotta get going." Todd declined.

"Thanks." Kim said, taking the money.

"Yeah, thanks." Lindsay looked at him.

"No problem." he smiled, "See ya." he said, and walked to the drivers side of his car. He waved, and got in. Eventually driving off.

Lindsay and Kim watched him leave. Suddenly they were alone again, but with more hope than before, since they were more familiar with their surroundings. There was a map at the bus station with different places of interest someone traveling would need, they found a place to eat, and headed there.