They didn't get far before Kiara asked, "Can you stop at a gas station?"

Sel glanced over at her. "...Why? Eric might know something's up, ya know."

Kiara nodded emphatically. "Yeah, yeah, I know all that, but I haven't gone to the bathroom since yesterday morning! This is an emergency!"

Sel's eyes widened. "How can you hold it in for that long?"

Needless to say, the two made a short pit stop. Unfortunately, women seem to be unable to leave a place where things (especially junk food) are sold without buying something first. Selana and Kiara are no exceptions to this law of nature. They left with a dozen donuts, Fritos, Pringles, Doritos, Cheetohs, Hershey's candy bars galore, a few packages of cookies, a twenty-four pack of Mountain Dew for Sel, and a chocolate Nesquik for Kiara (after all, as Sel put it, they didn't know how long they'd be on the road). As if that weren't enough, they also bought a newspaper and stopped to eat at McDonalds.

"Haven't you ever bought something before?" Kiara asked Sel over brunch.

"...Well...no... It's ok, I guess, but I hate to fork over all that green stuff," Sel admitted.

"You could use checks. Or a debit card."

Sel stared at Kiara in amazement. "Me? Keep my money in a bank? Utilize a bank's services? I've never walked into a bank without robbing it!"

Back on the road, Kiara finished the Funnies and, out of boredom, scanned over the rest of the newspaper. Then she sat bolt upright, her full attention focused on the words in front of her. "Hey, Sel, turn the music down."

Sel complied, although reluctantly, for the song that was playing was one of her favorites. "There isn't anything about me in there, is there?"

Kiara nodded, and then shrugged. "Sort of. But apparently the police think I'm working with you and Eric."

Sel, who had been taking a drink of Mountain Dew, made a sort of choking sound and came close to spewing the Dew all over. "...What?"

Kiara shrugged and read further into the article. "They found stuff in my house that linked me to you guys..."

Sel grabbed the newspaper from her and looked at it herself. "I can't believe it...and I look so bad in that picture they've got of me!"

Kiara was only half listening. "Somebody must've planted that evidence there...and it would've been this morning, too, because previously I had no other link to you--Sel, watch the road!"

Sel looked up just in time to dodge a passing semi. "Darn crazy drivers," she muttered under her breath. After she'd cooled down sufficiently, she glanced at the rearview mirror. "...Is it just me, or has that car been right behind us since we left Mickey-D's?"

Kiara turned in her seat and looked out the back window. "You're right; it has been. Come to think of it, wasn't that same car parked next to us? It's a shame I didn't think to look at who was inside…"

Selana looked into the rearview mirror again and a smirk slowly played across her face. "Don't worry. I know how to handle this. I'll stop at the next gas station and deal with this guy. But I want you to go inside; this could be a little dangerous."

Kiara, slightly confused, nodded and turned back around, though she checked the rearview mirror every two seconds or so for her own security.

After a few short minutes, they pulled into a gas station, and Kiara quickly got out. She stayed by the door so she could still see the car; she still didn't fully trust Selana, and she wanted to make sure that Sel didn't leave.

Selana waited in the car patiently until she saw the blue Mustang pull up beside her. In a few seconds a man stepped out of the car. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Well, at least according to Selana. By all accounts, he was tall, with a medium build; broad shoulders, built but toned muscles, the works. His tight black t-shirt accentuated his abdominal and pectoral muscles flawlessly, catching every ripple and undulation as he walked around toward the passenger's side of Selana's car. His t-shirt coupled with the fading denim jeans complemented his jet black hair and ocean blue eyes perfectly, and his dark complexion drew the eyes of every girl at the gas station.

Finally he slipped into the seat beside her, closing the door and giving Sel a quick grin. Selana averted her eyes, choosing to stare at the steering wheel instead of at him. After a few short moments of silence, she finally asked him, "Why were you following us?"

He smiled. "After all this time, I don't even deserve a 'hello'?" he said lightly, leaning closer.

She looked up and smiled at him. "Just answer my question, Nick, so I can get out of here," she answered sweetly.

He sighed. "All right. I was following you so I could see you again, and I planted evidence in Kiara's house so the kidnapping wasn't such a huge thing. Now do I get a kiss for helping?"

"You planted the false evidence in Kiara's house?"

"Yes. It was to help you out, you know…"

Selana nodded. "I know…but you'd better not tell her that; she's coming out here right now."

Kiara was probably the only girl in the gas station who remained unimpressed by Nick's display of confidence. His was good enough to look at, sure, but put him in an environment that required just a tiny bit of brainpower and he'd fall far in her eyes. She didn't need to actually meet him to know that. He was just like so many others—all brawn and no brains, as the saying went.

This was why she didn't even glance at him when he flashed her a cocky smile. He was nothing more than a pretty boy, a troublemaker, and currently she didn't need any more trouble than what she already had. Sel slid out of the car and met her by the gas pumps. "He's my boyfriend," she said quickly before Kiara could ask.

"How is that relevant to me?"

Thinking that perhaps Kiara was trying to hide a crush on Nick, Sel tried joking with her. "I just don't want you trying anything with him, that's all." There were no dancing sparks of laughter in Kiara's eyes to match those in Sel's, which quickly died down. "He can probably find us a place to stay for a little while," Sel continued in a more serious tone.

Kiara declined to ask why he had been following them, though her mind had already concocted several answers to that question. "I don't suppose he'll just be leaving his car here," she said in a chill voice.

"No, I suppose not. He'll follow us for a while until we get to the next city."

The rest of the trip stayed silent, for the most part. Selana felt like she should say something more about how Nick had planted evidence in her house, but she didn't want him to be angry with her once they talked again, so she kept her mouth shut. The silence was killing her, though, and she thought she made that very clear by constantly glancing at Kiara, but either Kiara didn't care or she didn't get it. But no matter what, Selana didn't want to have to be the one to break the silence. She prayed the trip wouldn't take too long.

Fortunately, the trip was a short one. Though Selana knew where Nick's house was (she'd been there numerous times), she took a side-trip to a hotel. She thought it was better if they were seen at one; in case Eric came here looking for them, he might think that they were staying for a few nights in a hotel.

Kiara stayed quiet the whole time. Even while Selana complained to the hotel clerk that their prices were too high and that she'd have to go to a cheaper hotel, Kiara seemed bored. Selana wondered if she was angry with her for having a boyfriend. But why would she be? She wasn't jealous, was she?

Kiara watched Sel in a detached sort of way, her mind wandering easily. Finally she walked up next to Sel and pulled out her checkbook. "How much?"

The two took what little they had up to their hotel room, #206. Sel didn't question Kiara about her long silence or her sudden willingness to pay for their room, although curiosity ate at her brain. Kiara flopped down onto the bed nearest the window, staring off into space. Uncomfortable around somebody who neither spoke a lot nor blamed everything on her, Sel sat at the foot of the other bed and flicked on the TV.

"We're not going to just stay in here for a week or whatever, I hope?"

Sel jumped nearly a foot into the air. Kiara laughed as Sel tried vainly to deny that she'd been startled, "I…um…I just…really tense…too much energy…"

"I love doing that to people," Kiara cut in, her slate gray eyes suddenly alive as could be. "You should've seen yourself! You looked so hilarious!" Then both were laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

A more comfortable, much shorter silence followed their recovery. Finally Sel broke it, "I'm bored…"

At first Kiara didn't answer, but after a few moments of short silence she answered, "Well, I'm sure you have a lot of 'catching up' to do with your boyfriend."

Selana couldn't help but notice the sarcastic tone in Kiara's voice. She must really be jealous, Selana thought. Even so, she reached for the phone. She hadn't seen Nick in months; it would be nice to talk to him again. And maybe they could order a pizza, too. She hadn't eaten since she was at Kiara's house.

After she had hung up, it dawned on Selana that she didn't even ask if it was all right with Kiara that Nick came over. Though she was the one who suggested it, she did say it pretty sarcastically. Sel was pretty sure that she and Nick would get pretty intimate, and she still didn't trust Kiara enough to ask her to leave the room. And even if Kiara had no intentions of leaving, Eric could have followed them.

"Um...what are you going to do? While Nick's over, I mean?" Selana asked tentatively.

Kiara shrugged. "I might go out for a while. I've got a few things to take care of...maybe go shopping or something..."

"But what if Eric followed us? Or somebody recognizes you from the newspaper? You could just stay here."

Kiara let out a little laugh. "And what, watch you and Nick make out or whatever? I'll be fine." She stood up with a finality to match her next words, "When should I be back?"

'Uh oh...' Sel thought. 'What now?'

"I'll call Nick back and tell him not to come," Selana said slowly, reaching for the phone as she spoke.

"No, don't bother. I don't want to get in the way," Katie answered calmly. Selana couldn't help but wonder if Katie actually wanted to get away from her. She obviously didn't understand how much of a threat Eric was.

"I've got a better idea," Selana said lightly, trying to hide her sudden nervousness. "How 'bout Nick takes us out to eat? I'm starving."

Kiara sat in the back seat of Nick's car, wishing there was some way she could get out of this. Sel sat up front with Nick, who hadn't told them where he'd be taking them. During the fifteen-minute drive, Kiara noted that most of Nick's talk centered on himself.

"Ooh! Italian! How did you know I wanted Italian?" squealed Sel as Nick pulled into a parking lot. 'Just like a school girl,' Kiara thought. 'But then again, you've acted that way before, so just shut up.'

"Lucky guess," smiled Nick, leaning over to place a quick kiss on Sel's lips.

Nick held the door open for them as they entered the restaurant called Carrabba's. An unsettling feeling rose in Kiara's stomach as she observed Nick giving the same cocky, 'you're my girl' kind of look to her that he gave to Sel. It would appear that her first impressions of him were correct. She felt even guiltier when she noticed Nick looking at her when Sel wasn't looking. Sel was completely oblivious to who Nick really was...and if she tried talking to her about this, Sel would just think she was jealous. Her leg started hurting as she imagined how Sel would feel when she found out...

When they were shown their seats, Kiara made sure to sit across from Nick and Selana. The hostess gave them menus and told them that their waitress would be there shortly.

Carrabba's was definitely meant to be a romantic restaurant. The lights were dim, giving the room a candlelit feeling. All the seating had plush, dark red cushioning. On the center of every table sat a vase with a few plastic roses that seemed almost real in the dim lights.

Not too long after they had been seated, their waitress arrived. She was small, with delicate features like that of a porcelain doll. She had chocolate-brown curls that bounced cheerfully as she walked. She wore a short-sleeved, low-cut black blouse and a short black skirt. Her nametag revealed her as Tina.

"Hi, my name's Tina and I'll be your waitress tonight," she said happily as she set down a glass of ice water for each of them. She took out a notepad and a pen. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"We'll have Forest Glen Forest Fire White Merlot," Nick answered without a second thought. He put an arm around Selana and pulled her closer. "I know that's your favorite wine."

Kiara rolled her eyes. She had seen the way Nick scanned over Tina like he had to her when they'd first met. She was starting to get fed up with Nick, but she didn't want to ruin Selana's night.

The night went on; the waitress came back with the wine and they ordered their meals. Nick and Selana talked a lot, but Kiara mostly listened. Obviously the couple had been dating since High school; Kiara wondered if Nick had been sleeping around since the start of their relationship.

Finally the waitress came with their meals. As she set down their plates, Kiara noticed Nick looking straight down her blouse. Now that was the last straw. Kiara stood up. "Can I speak to you a moment in private, Sel?"

Selana gave her a confused look. "But our food just got here."

"It can wait." Kiara glared at Nick, and went to the bathroom, assuming Sel would follow her.

Kiara heard the bathroom door close behind Sel and launched right into it before Sel could say anything. "I don't know if he's cheating on you, but he's sure thinking about it. Did you see him looking at that waitress? I swear he looked straight down her shirt. And when we were coming in here he was looking me over, if you know what I mean. And--"

"Do you think this is funny or something, ruining a perfectly good date with trying to make me think he's up to no good?" Angry smoke clouded Sel's eyes. "I knew you were jealous, but this is really low."

Uh oh. This was exactly what Kiara was afraid would happen. She forced herself to calm down. "I was trying to wait to talk to you about him, but now I doubt you would've listened even then. I'm not trying to get you to break up with him, just watch him. That's all."

Sel didn't look convinced, and as she turned to leave, Kiara could've sworn she heard Sel curse her.

That didn't go over so well.

Selana went back to the table in a contained rage. She slid into the booth next to Nick, hardly even noticing he was there. Kiara had nerve to say what she had said. She'd known her for hardly a day and already she was trying to steal her boyfriend, whom she'd just met hours ago.

Nick would never cheat on her. They'd known each other since Elementary school, and had been dating since High school. Of course, she'd dropped out (Eric's orders) and she and Nick lost touch for a few months, but they got back together as soon as possible. Anyways, Nick had made his intentions clear long ago: he wanted to marry her, but it just wasn't possible with Eric around. He couldn't possibly be interested in other girls.

A light hand on her thigh shook her from her thoughts. "Are you all right, honey? Your food's getting cold," Nick said softly.

Kiara had come back, and now she was looking at Selana expectantly, as if she hoped she would say something to Nick about what happened in the bathroom. Selana pushed her plate away, and said coldly, "I'm not hungry anymore." With that, she stood up and left the restaurant.

Kiara got up and followed her; Nick stayed behind long enough to pay the bill (and possibly flirt with the waitress, judging by the way they were talking to each other when Kiara looked back). She lagged back when nearing Nick's car, however; she doubted Sel really wanted to see her right then.

Nick unlocked the car and drove them back to the hotel, where Kiara went on ahead to the room while Sel and Nick stayed back for a while--to talk, or kiss, or whatever it was that they did in about 15 minutes. Taking advantage of this extra time, Kiara went into her room's bathroom, locked the door, and sat on the toilet staring into space. She finally pulled out her wallet and the picture therein. Just one short glance at the four words scrawled almost illegibly on the back, and then she firmly shoved memories and the picture back into their places.

The door slammed as Sel entered the room. Kiara decided that now would be a great time for a nice, long, hot bath--the longer she could avoid Sel, the better.

Selana started to get out of the car, but Nick held her back. "Selana, is everything all right?"

"Yes," she lied quickly. She didn't mind lying to Nick; the less he knew the better.

"Then what happened at the restaurant? What did Kiara say to you?"

"Nothing important." Selana averted her eyes and fingered the door handle nervously.

"Then why were you upset?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Selana growled, suddenly very angry with him. "You don't need to know everything, Nick. Just lighten up on me, O.K.?" She got out of the car and stormed into the lobby, ignoring Nick's protests.

Once she got up to her room, some of her anger had worn away, but she was still in no mood to talk to Kiara. She noticed that the bathroom door was closed. Good, she wouldn't need to deal with Kiara right away.

Fighting the sudden urge to just pitch herself off the balcony, Selana sat down on her bed. What she was hoping would be a romantic night with Nick turned out to be a disaster. The person she was hoping to save was turning into her worst enemy.

When Kiara got out of the bathroom, Sel was already in bed. Good. Maybe she could get out of Sel's hair sooner than she'd hoped. Kiara reached for Sel's keys, but hesitated. She'd hate to steal Sel's car…instead she grabbed Sel's cell phone and scribbled down its number on a piece of paper she found—just in case she ever needed to contact Sel again.

She grabbed a bag of Fritos before leaving the room, leaving her room key next to Sel's. She walked out of the lobby, onto the sidewalk, and hailed a cab…all without a second thought. She needed to get home, and soon.

In a more deserted part of town, she told the cabbie to stop. He did, and when she got out to supposedly pay him, she reached in with a quick punch to knock him out. He was slightly overweight and hard to drag, but she did so anyway and climbed in the cab. Now she had to find the yellow brick road to the Wizard of Oz.

Selana woke up a few hours later, feeling very refreshed. Her mood had lightened, and she even planned on apologizing to Kiara for the way she'd acted earlier. Assuming that Kiara had just decided to go for a walk or something, Selana turned on the TV and waited. It was only a few minutes until she spotted both room keys next to the TV. Where Kiara had gone, she didn't plan on coming back.

Cursing, Selana grabbed her car keys and the few items she wanted to take with her and headed out of the hotel. Checkout didn't matter; the room had already been paid for.

She doubted that Kiara would go home; why go there if Eric could still be there? She decided she'd keep going to the next city. Either way, Selana was not going home. If Kiara wanted to run into a death trap, then so be it. Sel assumed that Kiara would continue in the opposite direction to stay Eric. Even if she had returned home, if she gave away anything to Eric, Selana would already be on the road and it would be harder to find her. She'd probably have to abandon Eric's car, though. It was already risky to keep it this long. She'd just hijack another in the next city.

Before she drove out of the parking lot, the thought occurred to her that if she left now, Nick wouldn't know where she was. She dismissed the thought bitterly. Maybe Kiara had been right; Nick had just grown bored with her and was too much of a jerk to actually tell her it was over. No matter, perhaps she needed to move on, too.