So glad you're back and still reading! I hope you're enjoying yourself as well as the mess Greg keeps finding himself in C:
It felt like the car ride had only just begun before Manny started bawling his eyes out about something stupid. Manny was blubbering about how Greg was taking up all the space on the seat they were sharing, when in fact, Greg was on the very edge, making sure not to be in Manny's area. His parents were, of course, taking his little brother's side like usual, which in the end caused them to have to stop on the edge of the road so Greg could take a seat in the back of the Van, which Rodrick was currently occupying.
The reason why he decided to sit next to Manny was so that he didn't have to be anywhere near Rodrick; he had even been willing to put up with Manny punching him. He didn't understand why it was he was the punching bag between both his siblings. A growing frustration was just blossoming in the pit of his stomach as he glowered.
His father had taken one of the back seats out so they could pack more of their luggage in the Van. That resulted in the back seat only having two spots instead of three, both right next to each other and smaller in size compared to the middle seat that Manny would now be hogging.
"That's not fair mom!" Greg whined out as he got out of the car and turned to his mother in the passenger's seat. She was currently trying hard to make Manny stop crying.
"He's five years old, and you two still treat him as if he's two. There's no room in the back for Rodrick and me. Put Manny in the back instead, and we'll take the middle seat!" Greg flailed his arms around, trying to prove his point of space.
"Greg, stop whining, you know how Manny is with the back, and I know how you are. You'll do this for me. You'll be the bigger brother, suck it up, and go in the back seat with Rodrick. I don't want to hear anything else about this. Now hurry up and take a seat, we don't want to get to the hotel too late." Firm tone and a sudden glare were all he needed to follow his mother's wishes.
Greg choked back a yell, wanting nothing more than to scream off into the distance at how much the world seemed to hate him. Like his mother had asked though, he sucked it up and stomped towards the back seat. Rodrick kept trying to trip him as he attempted crawling over him in the tight space. Pokes and jabs here and there from him were also inevitably going to accompany the bruise on his arm. As he plopped himself onto the back seat and his mother closed the door with the switch, they were finally off again.
Greg took hold of the seat belt and buckled himself in, resting his head on the back of the seat and closed his eyes. He let out a small squeak as a finger was jabbed into his side once more. He glanced over to Rodrick with a glare only to be thrown a grin. Greg shook his head and went back to trying to fall asleep. A few more jabs and poked were directed his way before a sigh left his lips.
'This is going to be a long ride, at least with Manny, it didn't hurt as much.' He thought to himself as another poke graced his side.
It had gotten dark out when Greg finally roused from his sleep; he hadn't even realized he had drifted off in the first place. A small yawn left his mouth as he tried lifting his head up only to realize a hand was holding his head in place. His head was also well-rested in the crook of somebody's shoulder and neck. Greg blinked a couple of times, trying to grasp the situation.
His body was slumped over at a strange angle, but it was surprisingly quite comfortable. His right hand was grasping a pants leg as his left arm slid over his abdomen. The grogginess was finally starting to leave his mind, and he realized that the person he was cuddling with was Rodrick. Greg felt his heart quicken as his breath get stuck in his throat.
Why hadn't Rodrick pushed him away yet? Or hit him upside the head and promised that his life would be a living hell again? Greg softly un-wrapped his fingers from the pant leg and slowly retreated it back to his side.
He was cautious because the soft breathing coming from the direction of his brother signaled that he, too, was still in the process of sleeping. Lifting his head, he slightly turned it to look at Rodrick and saw that his older brother had fallen asleep as he had.
It was strange, watching Rodrick sleep. His face was soft and void of all anger or frustration, and truthfully, it felt relaxing seeing him look this way for once.
Greg inspected his older brother's face, finally getting a chance without fear of being beaten up. Greg couldn't help but think how attractive Rodrick was. His lazily chopped dark brown hair spilled into his face and everywhere else. His lips were parted and Gregory could hear tiny fragments of snores every few often. He knew how much Rodrick liked to portray this bad-boy persona, the scary older brother that wasn't afraid of anything. It was honestly frustrating because Gregory knew that his older brother could have a gentler side to him, but the other always chose to go down the wrong route
Without knowing it, Greg's face was inching closer to his older brothers; those dark lips fascinated him, and the way air left and came back in. A little closer and he could- The Van came to a sudden halting stop. Greg grabbed hold of the seat in front of him so his face wouldn't connect with the back of the headrest. A large hand gripped his thigh; Rodrick had awoken with the sudden jolt of the car stop. Fingers were digging into his skin, which causes Greg to wince.
"We're here, boys! Wake up and let's go get tucked into the hotel room for a good rest, we're up at six A.M. tomorrow, bright and early so we can arrive at the camping site by 11 at the latest." Gregory cringed at his mother's overly active voice. She must have seen them sleeping, cuddled up to each other. No, they weren't doing that, Greg's head simply fell onto Rodrick's shoulder, where Rodrick's arm somehow ended up around him and holding his head in place. Greg groaned out and hit his head multiple times on the headrest of the seat in front of him.
"Come on, Greg, Rodrick, get out and help us unpack!" He vaguely heard his father yell out to them in that voice he tended to do to get them to move. Greg was about to start getting up when he noticed that Rodrick's hand was still wound tightly around his thigh. He turned his head with eyebrows furrowed, questioning gaze directed towards his older brother. His dark piercing gaze had a way of digging into his soul, and not wanting to drown, he shoved Rodrick's hand off and crawled over the taller male to get out of that suffocating Van that was causing his heart and body to do weird things.
Rodrick liked where he was; he was comfortable, and from the looks of it, so was Greg. Rodrick wasn't sleeping, maybe only partially, mostly just had his eyes closed so no one would feel a particular need to talk to him. He had stopped picking on Greg when that fluff of brown hair fell onto his shoulder and started tickling his neck. It was starting to get hard for him to hold back from touching his younger brother any way he could.
Rodrick had felt Greg move and wake from his sleep. A few seconds had passed his little brother still had not come to realize what position he took. Rodrick smirked at that, oblivious little Greg, to easily trusting.
Rodrick, being the devious one, kept up his play of feigning sleep, all the while having his eyes partially open enough for him to see Greg without him suspecting he was awake. Greg kind of just sat there, staring at him, trying to control his breathing. Rodrick let out a tiny snore.
Greg seemed hesitant from his view, almost like he was second-guessing himself, inching closer and closer. What was he playing? It was like Greg had been trying to kiss him.
Closer, just a little bit closer-
Frustrating gripping him as the car came to a sudden stop. He felt his breathing jump out of his throat as he was surged forward, his hand grasping onto the closest thing, which was Greg's thigh.
He steadied himself as he glared at his father for disrupting this significant moment; he wanted to see if Greg was going to try and kiss him. Rodrick just looked at Greg as his parents were talking, he vaguely saw his father take out Manny, and when Greg turned to him with that questionable look, he just wanted to take that face and smash his own against it. Rodrick wasn't sure if Greg wanted it. Greg was running on thin ice with how close Rodrick was and the way he kept looking at him. Rodrick heard Greg huff out and unbuckled his seat belt and start climbing over Rodrick to get out of the Van and help out their parents like the good little child he was.
Without even waiting, Rodrick pinched Greg's ass only to have his little brother squeak out and scramble himself out of the Van even quicker. An innocent smile was on his face as he, too, finally stretched his way out of the automobile. The glare that Greg was sending him was quite feeble, nowhere near as threatening as Greg thought it was. Like a little kitten thought it had a chance against a lion.
Rodrick passed by and shoved Greg with his side before going ahead and taking out the suitcases from the trunk. He took his own and looked at Greg and nudged his head, signaling for him to come to get his suitcase. Greg fumbled over to him and took hold of the grip on his bag. Rodrick ducked his head around to Greg as he started walking away and whispered out to him.
"Don't fall asleep." A jab in the ribs before Rodrick went on his way towards the hotel's front doors.
