Hey guys. Thanks to: LIVELAUGHLOVEANDREAD: Aw, shucks, thanks. No! Please don't die! ;) Thanks again. GODDESS OF IDIOTS: Thanksies! Will do;) ANNABETH THE WISE GIRL: Correct! ARIA MCLEAN GRACE: No Thalico, sorry. THoH kinda changed my opinion on them. BUT Jasper's coming up, don't worry! :) SONOFNEPTUNEJR: Yup! Oh no, sorry for, uh, making you pass out? Thanks for the warning, Rydan. MAILMYSELFTOYOU: Thank you! And yes, just once. I kinda half canceled it. I have no inspiration, even though I half ship Caleo, half ship Leyna. Thanks again! :D IZZYQUAGMIRE0907: Me too! Thankie! SEABREEZEDAUGHTEROFPOSEIDON: Thank you! Okay! ) CLARISSE DAUGHTER OF ARES: Thank you! Thank you! As long as you keep reviewing, you'll keep getting shout-outs! :D AUGUST1999: Ah, I'm sorry :( SINGEROFAPOLLO: I already planned to ;) I'm not sure yet, actually :) Neither really, maybe Friendship!Thuke or Friendship!Thalico, but Thalia's a maiden forever in my mind. Thank you so much! No worries ;) LMB111514: Well, you'll just have to find out! ;) Thanksies! HAILEESTOLL0330: Thank you bunches! :D LITTLEBASILISK: Dang it! I thought I was brill. I guess I wasn't, as you got it right, but it might not be for the reason you think. And yes, I am a Sherlockian :D PJOHOOFAN: Thank you so much! You're so sweet! Guest: Thankie! THEMIDNIGHTELITE: You'll just have to find out ;)

Enjoy, darlings!

We could flood the streets with love or light or heat whatever/ Lock the parents out, cut a rug, twist and shout/ Wave your hands/ Make it rain/ For stars will rise again…

~The Youth, MGMT

….

"Long time, no see, Katie-Kate. Looks like you missed me."

…

Katie's eyes widen and her head goes up so fast she gets whiplash.

Ignoring the annoyed travelers standing behind him, Travis smirks at her and leans against a small suitcase. "Are you gonna move your stuff or not?"

Katie rolls her eyes. "Since when are you going on this train?" But nevertheless, she shoves her laptop case under her knees.

He slides in the small seat, his long legs barely fitting in the small area between chairs. "I did try to tell you I was going to Stanford, if you recall…"

She feels her eyebrows arch as she thinks about when he could have meant. Was it that what he was going to say before she-? Nope, not going to even think the words. Katie already begins to feel her face flushing deep maroon.

The future botanist hides underneath her curls, but she can still see Travis's deepening smirk.

Willing her blush to vanish, Katie quickly logs online and switches on See I'm Smiling. She closes her eyes and pretends that nothing is wrong.

She hasn't felt this mortified because of a guy since middle school.

The train jerks to a start, and she sees Travis's blue eyes radically widen.

After trying to control her sputtering bottle of ginger ale, she glances at Travis. "You okay?"

Leaning his head back on the stiff fabric of his seat-pillow and closing his eyes, he mumbles. "Yeah. Didn't think it would be this bumpy."

Katie hesitates. "Have you ever been on a train before?"

Travis chuckles. "Nope."

Peeking down at her slightly flat ginger ale, she offers it to Travis. "Want some? My mother always said that flat soda helps an upset stomach."

Smiling weakly, Travis grabs the bottle and chugs about half of it. Opening his eyes, he glares at her. "That didn't help."

Katie shoots a glare right back. "I takes more than 0.5 seconds to work, so don't sass me. I am the queen of sass."

The blue-eyed boy arches his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

Finally earning her right to, Katie smirks in response. "Yup. Do you doubt me?"

Travis grins and raises his hands in surrender. "No, I trust you. Plus, I'm so sick, I have no sass-power to take over your tyranny."

Katie snorts. "Bolshevik."

"If I'm a Bolshevik, does that make you a Romanov? At least I don't starve my people to death." Travis says, challenge evident in his voice.

"We're not discussing this." Katie finalizes.

She's impressed with his knowledge of Russian history.

She's not going to tell him that, of course.

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes and Katie watches the southern Maine landscape fly by, the cities and cars and flowers soaring past so fast Katie barely identify them. She grasps the end of one of her curls and twirls it, green eyes focusing on the ground below them.

She feels eyes on the back of her head and turns quickly, but Travis has opened up to a page of Emerald Green.

"Uh, Travis? Why are you reading my book?"

Travis tosses the book down and- Is he blushing? "What are you talking about?"

Katie rolls her eyes and turns back to her laptop and turns the music up loud.

Five seconds later, the earphone is yanked from her ear.

Her hand twitches to her ear, throbbing, and she shoots a dirty look at Travis. "What was that for?"

Travis responds flatly, "Katie, I sat here for a reason. Talk to me, or something. I'm bored out of my freaking mind."

Katie yawns. "I'm not going to entertain you," At a second thought, she adds, "You're not offering up any suggestions either."

Travis smiles. "Uh, okay. What about Would You Rather?"

Katie grimaces. "I will, if you promise that the questions will not force me to answer neither. I've had bad experiences with paparazzo and that game."

Laughing, Travis rubs his hands together, as if wishing for a really intricate question. "I make no promises. Would you rather… Bungee jump across a volcano or bungee jump across the Grand Canyon?"

The green-eyed girl sighs. "First of all, Travis, your questions are invalid. You can't bungee jump across anything, you can walk across on a bungee wire. Now to answer your question, I would say bungee walk across a volcano, since you never specified whether or not the volcano had closed up."

Travis leans back on his seat like he's trainsick, but Katie knows he's just annoyed. "Katherine Gardner, can you not answer the questions logically? I don't need science lectures on a twenty-four hour trip."

Katie leans back on her seat too, but she reaches down and grabs her copy of Les Miserables. Soon enough, she dozes off.

She has a sleepless nap, but is awakened by a poke.

Travis is looking down at her with big blue eyes, and a large smirk that Katie wants to smack off his face.

"You were snoring, and I didn't want you to be embarrassed like you were in the train station." Travis whispers, and Katie sends him a sharp glare.

She pulls herself into a sitting position, and hopefully discreetly wipes a small line of drool from her mouth. She looks to Travis out of the corner of her eye and sees him trying his best not to crack up.

Jerk.

Katie wipes the sleep from her eyes, and Travis pokes her again.

"What?" She groans.

"I have another Would You Rather for you!" He exclaims and her eardrums throb in despair. Too loud for a girl who just woke up.

"No." Katie says, but Travis just smiles.

"Give this one a chance. Would you rather eat train food or fast for a day?"

Katie ponders that for a moment. "Well, train food is great if you like junk and you don't spill it all over yourself."

"That settles it." Travis peels himself off his seat and Katie follows.

The two walk through the aisle, trying not to stumble or fall on top of other people when the train stops, and hard.

Katie and Travis wobble, and Travis grabs her hand for support.

Katie thanks goodness that there wasn't an accident, just a simple crossing.

And also the fact that Travis is obviously balanced again.

And is still holding her hand.

Maybe this won't be such a bad trip after all.

How'd you like?