Chapter 38 – "I guess it means the universe wants us to be together."

Chapter Notes: This one's for every reader who's taken the time to write a review. Thank you!

Tuesday, August 26 – Friday, August 29, 2008

After their exuberant reunion on the sidewalk outside Darren's house, the boys forced themselves to tone things down for the rest of the evening, since Darren's parents were both home. Cerina and Bill welcomed Chris with open arms, and Chris was surprised at how pleased he was to see them again.

When it came time for bed, Chris retired to the guest room and waited for Darren to sneak down to join him. Once Darren had tiptoed into the room and eased the door closed, Chris grabbed him and flung him down on the bed. Darren landed with a surprised "oomph" and Chris pounced on him, kissing him wildly.

Darren made a low, desperate noise in the back of his throat, and Chris pulled away slightly. "Shh. I don't want to get caught."

"My parents' bedroom is way at the other side of the house, remember? They're not going to hear us."

"Honey, I don't think you realize how loud you get."

"Well whose fault is that?"

Chris smiled at him. "Hey, I'm not complaining. I love the sounds you make. I'd just rather hear them at a time when I'm not worried about your parents bursting in here and kicking me out on the street."

"You know my parents love you."

"Yeah, maybe, but they're Catholic. They believe in that whole 'wait until you're married' thing. Which, if those crazy Prop 8 hate-mongers have their way, may be never."

Darren looked at him, suddenly serious. "Have you thought about that? About us getting married someday?"

Chris felt flustered. "Umm… I know we've only been together as boyfriends for a couple of months, and we're only 18, and – "

Darren cut him off with a kiss. "I've thought about it, too, you know. As something in the future… And I know we're young, and in some ways we've only been together for a couple of months, but in other ways we've been together for ten years. So whatever happens with the laws, or whether we ever decide to make it official, I know I want to be with you."

Chris let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, moving forward to capture Darren's lips in a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The boys awoke early on Wednesday morning. Chris quickly silenced his alarm, which he'd set to go off in plenty of time for Darren to sneak back to his own room before his parents got up.

After a delicious breakfast, prepared by Cerina, the boys bid farewell to Darren's parents and headed for the car. "We've got a long trip ahead of us," Darren said. "Are you ready to do this?"

"So ready."

Darren tossed his bags in the trunk and hopped into the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt. Chris slipped behind the wheel. "Michigan, here we come…"

The boys drove 900 miles on the first day, taking interstate 80 all the way to Green River, Wyoming, where they stopped for the night at the Mustang Motel. According to Google Maps it was a 13-hour drive, but since they'd stopped several times for meals and to stretch their legs, it was nearly midnight by the time they checked in.

Chris was ready to collapse onto the bed, but Darren called to him from the bathroom, "Baby, there's a tub in here. Can you stay awake long enough to take a bath with me?"

Chris sighed. "Yeah, that would probably be good. I'm really stiff from sitting in the car all day."

"Don't sound so excited," Darren teased. "It's not like this is another first-time for us, or anything."

"Honey, if you think I've got the energy to do anything in that tub other than close my eyes and relax in the water, I'm sorry to say you're going to be disappointed."

Darren laughed. "Not all of our first times have to be about sex. Remember the octopus?"

Chris smiled, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's neck and kissing the tip of his nose. "I'm so glad you're the one I lost my octopus virginity with."

Darren brushed their noses together. "Come on – let's get out of these clothes and have a nice long soak."

On Thursday, they covered another 930 miles on I-80, stopping at the Super 8 Motel in Newton, Iowa. Once again, it was nearly midnight when they arrived, and this time both boys simply collapsed into bed.

On Friday morning Chris and Darren set off on the last leg of their journey. They were cruising along in companionable silence, somewhere outside of Kalamazoo, when it happened…

"Oh my god!" Darren cried suddenly, causing Chris to swerve. "Did you see that van?"

"Darren! Don't startle me like that! You almost made me hit the stupid van you're yelling about. I'm trying to keep my eyes on the road."

"No, seriously, look! Does that bumper sticker say 'CrissColferKlainePuppy'?"

Chris glanced over at the van that was keeping pace with his car in the lane next to them. It was completely covered in bumper stickers. Flitting his eyes back and forth between the highway and the bizarre vehicle, he saw, in addition to the bumper sticker Darren had already mentioned:

'gorgeoushazeleyes'

'SharinaNoLastName'

'defend17'

'dancewithcrisscolfer'

'writingmisfit'

'gleekheart'

'kurtofsky4eva'

'BrittishGleek98'

'Theelderwand'

'EmilyCCChilds'

'DCandCC3x05'

'Iwaldo16'

'Tigerfire136'

'awayfromfeelings'

'gleekygirl'

'justafantasyfor'

'Doyouwanttosuckmyredvine'

'gabriellealouca'

'littleelephant'

'Jaz-lil-bai-kay'

'Always Klaine'

'gayhighfivesandbowties'

'dcriss16'

'Starkidgleekfreak'

'gleegurl26'

'I Do'

'thatonegirl'

'DareBearLover527'

'dancewithcrisscolfer'

'ObsessiveGleeDisorder'

'klainerjamie8'

'gleektasticlove'

'youreyesarelikestarlight'

'renataqueiros'

'StruckByCrissColfer'

'Charmedmich'

'sjs2672'

'Josy Hummel'

'ChrisColfer96'

'crisssquared'

'cammie55'

'Cyndi'

'Jesse_02'

'RoswellDeluca'

'Charleygyrl'

'AnneCpc'

'lucy641'

'Iwannalooklikecolfer'

'DarkestAngel13'

'Lisa'

'KL7301'

'Ophelia Lokisdottir'

'twoccpbears'

'I hate mosquitos'

'amyosten'

'pheonix47'

'drasol18'

'Beth'

'Guest'

'navycorpsman2014'

'mshilly'

'Rochelle'

'GingerKaz'

'LivingThroughFables'

"Oh my god," Chris breathed. "This is so freaky. I feel like we're in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Do some of those bumper stickers have our names on them?"

"Yeah."

"But what does it mean?"

"I guess it means the universe wants us to be together."

"Or we've got some kind of crazed stalkers, and they're following us in the world's worst attempt at a stealth-van."

Darren grinned at him. "I like my theory better."

"Oh, so do I. I just think it's less likely, is all."

At that moment, the van pulled off at an exit. Chris watched, bemusedly, as it disappeared in his rear-view mirror.

"Did that just happen?"

"I think so."

"Weird."

"Yep. And totally awesome."

End Notes: As you may have guessed from this chapter, my reviewers (from this site and others) mean the world to me. Please be one of them.

P.S. For those of you who aren't familiar with California politics, during the summer of 2008, when this story takes place, gay men and lesbians were legally able to get married in the state. An initiative constitutional amendment – Proposition 8 – was placed on the ballot, with the aim of taking away the rights of gay men and lesbians to marry. Prop 8 passed in November 2008. It was subsequently challenged in court. You can watch Chris Colfer performing in an incredibly powerful staged reading of transcripts from the trial if you go to youtube and search for "Chris Colfer 8." After the Supreme Court ruling in June 2013, marriage equality was restored in California.