Authors note: It's set at the end of season 3 I guess, they're in their last week of school and got the summer holidays to spend their last weeks together. Fairly steady relationship, sleeping with each other, love each other. Both might seem out of character but this is how I'm writing it. Songs which you might not have picked up on are Leaving on a Jet plane (that was in the first chapt too), Jack and Diane and No More Maybes.
Summary: Road trip baby.
Disclaimer: Don't own nothing. Includin the songs.
Let's go somewhere far together
She threw her heavy suitcase in the boot. It smelt of sugar and had brown chocolate stains on it from when she hid her lollies in the Grade Six camp but it was her favourite suitcase. Other than the chocolate stains, it looked brand new; she had barely used it. She saw Jess's suitcase. It was navy blue and the corners were worn away. It had still plane stickers on it with destinations on it that she never knew he had been to. Jess Mariano was written on it in big, faded child-like letters and it was covered in scratches and holes; it was a suitcase that had been used.
She shut the boot and went over and hugged her frowning mother. It was the first day of the summer and the first day of driving oh so far and pretending that they would never come back. Her mother did not want her to go but she did not care. She and Jess were going to drive anywhere they wanted and they were going to see so many things. Jess had seen most things and she had seen nothing except a few things but neither had seen things together. They did not have a plan. Maybe they would drive to Texas and then they would go to Disney World. Then they would go to Memphis to see hundreds of Elvis'. Or maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they would just drive to one place and stay for the whole summer. All they knew that they had some money and that some money would help them. They had packed a tent and blankets and planned to either to sleep in the car or the tent, they would try not to stretch their money to motels.
Her mother was still hugging her.
"Don't do anything that you wouldn't do."
"No mum."
"I really wish we could go to Europe together like we planned."
"Well you never followed up on the plan like I asked. And Jess got this all organised in a matter of days. He beat you."
"Yeah, a car, a tent, a blanket and clothes. That would've been so hard for him to organise."
She sighed and shook her head. She kissed her mother on the cheek and knew something had changed. She was maturing and didn't need her mother anymore. She was tired of her now. She was looking forward to two months without her.
She climbed into the car and grinned at Jess. He turned on the engine and she waved goodbye to her mother but stopped once he started to drive away. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. It was their adventure now. Theirs, with no one else part of it. Their adventure where they were going to drive away from it all.
She lifted opened her tired eyes and looked around at her surroundings. She had been napping. She had forgotten where she was. She remembered now. She was in Jess's car but she didn't know where they were. They had decided on going to Boston first and she supposed that's where they were driving to but all she could see were trees. The car smelt like cigarettes and empty Vanilla Coke bottles and butts were at her feet. She curled up closer on the plush padding that was spilling out of the sides of her seat. Her seatbelt was choking her and she twisted it back behind her; knowing it would cost her if they had an accident. She rolled down the window and breathed in the air and stared at the trees. She wondered what kind of life she would have if her road trip was in a car with leather seats and tan interior that said BMW everywhere. Jess was humming with Jack Johnson on the radio and for the first time since she woke up, she felt his presence. She turned to him.
"You're up, my sleepy beauty."
"It's sleeping beauty, not sleepy beauty."
"But you're not sleeping anymore, you just look sleepy."
"I like this song."
"I like it too."
"I like what he says. 'Everyone laughed at her joke. As if they'd never even heard it before. And maybe they were truly amused.' That's what people do, don't they. He says what true."
"That's the job of a songwriter."
"Yes."
They kept driving on and little was said. Soon they reached a point where the radio received no signal and it was truly quiet. Jess cleared his throat.
"Let's not say goodbye, Ror."
"What?"
"I don't want to say goodbye. I don't like goodbyes."
"Oh?"
"If I say goodbye, I don't know whether we'll ever see each other again."
"I doubt we will."
"I wish it was only a temporary goodbye. I wish I could I say goodbye and know I'll see you again in a few days.
"So kiss me and smile for me."
"Tell me that you'll wait for me."
"Hold me like you'll never let me go."
"Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane."
"Don't know when I'll be back again."
"Oh babe I hate to go."
She leaned over and held his hand.
"Oh babe I hate to go," He repeated.
They drove on and when they saw a truck stop, they pulled in and they both got out. She stretched her tired legs and smelt the smell of petrol. She took a deep breath in, she loved the smell. Jess went to fill up the car and she went in to restaurant and sat down at a booth and laid her head down on the table. The table was white plastic and sticky under her head and everything smelled like grease. The seats were red plush cushion, like the seats in Jess's car and the foam was coming out at tears and fork holes. It was empty and country music played on a tape cassette. She picked up the laminated menu. It was slippery with salt and tomato sauce from the last person and someone had scratched cuss words along the side it with a knife. Jess sat down beside her, not opposite her and buried his head in her neck.
The waitress wandered over and chewed what seemed to be tobacco and curtly said,
"What's your order?"
"Two large hamburgers with everything, two orders of hot chips and two large Cokes," Rory said politely.
"We've only got Pepsi," she mono-toned, repeating something that she said a hundred times a day.
"Two Sprites then" was Jess's muffled reply from Rory's neck.
"Whatever," the waitress said, walking away.
He lifted his head from her neck.
"You smell nicer than this place."
"Yes. Like Estee Lauder's 'Pleasures'".
"I like that perfume."
"You bought it for me."
"Yes, I know. Now whenever I smell it, it reminds of you."
"How many other girls have you smelt it on?"
"Don't worry; out of all of them, you're my favourite one."
"I should hope so."
"It's hot."
"I know, I'm all sticky."
"And when you're feeling icky and you're skin's all sticky," he sang.
"Don't you know that it's love baby? Oh, it's love and there are no maybes," she joined in.
"Oh that's all that's left baby. You, me and no more maybes. You, me and love baby."
"Oh baby, and never anymore maybes," she sang away softly.
She drummed her fingers on the table.
"There are always maybes."
"Yes I think so."
"Who lives in a world with no maybes?"
"A world that we don't live in Jess."
He shrugged. He was wearing faded blue baggy denim Lee's and a black Foo Fighters shirt. He wore big, clumsy Ethnies on his feet and a Yankees cap on his head and she never thought he looked more attractive.
Their food arrived and he ate speedily as he woofed down the chips and burger. She watched him and felt her love for him so strongly.
She placed her hand on his shoulder and giggled, as he turned to her with tomato sauce on his chin and beetroot hanging from his burger.
"What?" He said gruffly with his mouth full.
"You make me happy, you know that Jess?"
He grinned at her with a mouth full of burger and she cracked up.
She began to eat and they sat in the truck stop for a very long time, eating and laughing.
When they drove away, with a full tank and bellies, he carefully tried to bring the subject up again.
"No goodbyes okay Ror?"
"It doesn't matter."
"I think it does."
"It doesn't matter 'cas we're never leaving."
"Oh?"
"Yes, we're just driving around for the rest of our lives aren't we Jess remember?"
'Oh. Yes. I remember."
"I thought you did."
"I don't like pretending really, Ror."
"Really?"
"When I'm pretending, I know I'm pretending. I know what I'm doing isn't real and I know that it has to stop."
"Can't you just runaway from it all, never go back?"
"But that's it see, we aren't running away from it all, we are going back."
"Maybe we won't."
"No, we will. We will go back because you want to go to Harvard."
"Maybe I don't want to go to Harvard."
"No, that's the thing. You do want to go to Harvard."
"Jess, let's just forget about it okay?"
"But I can't."
"Jack, just scratch your head and do your best James Dean."
"Well you know Diane, we oughtta run out of the city."
"Baby, you ain't missin' no-thing."
"Oh yeah, life goes on."
He sighed.
"We're just two American kids doing the best we can, I guess."
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"And it's the right thing Jess. Just keep driving and try to forget okay? Always try to forget."
"Maybe."