The night's break was pierced by the roar of Carrie's engine. The valley was still in a quiet contemplation, the streets lonely at this late hour. As midnight struck Elmore, one car in particular wound its way down the town's empty roads. Carrie's truck was the opposite of lonely; music blared from its speakers and bags branded Joyful Burger kept its back seats company. In its front seats, two young souls were positively screaming their hearts out.
"AND YOUUUU!" Carrie half sang, half yelled high in the air as her body lurched forward in her driver's seat. Her grip tightened around the steering wheel, and her foot pressed just a little deeper into the pedal of the car. Her thick platinum hair, styled in a wolf cut, blew slightly with the gust from her opened window. Her truck vibrated to the drums of the song, the bass so deep she could feel its rhythm shudder her bones.
Carrie's voice wove like thread with thick, heavy chords of the guitar. Her unabashed voice, wild and free, delineated the yearning passion she carried so guardedly in herself. It filled the air around her, its pitch contrasting the distorted instrumental in an enrapturing harmony. Her vocal tone was lower than most women's, yet feminine and husky all the same. Its deep, longing colors, rich with the turnings of her life, painted its beauty and freedom.
"DIDN'T SEE WHO I WAAASSS!" Darwin and Carrie now harmonized on the chorus. Darwin's voice was resonant, with a highness and clarity imbued in its tone. He sang with a lighter heart, and his voice intertwined with Carrie's and the music in a mesmerizing verse. The street lamps seemed to pass their truck in a blur, and each second spent driving under the light of one would capture Carrie in its brilliance. The next second, she would be shaden in a thick coat of near-black shadow, with only the faint moonlight to cast its ethereal glow on her skin. Carrie, however, was anything but ethereal; at this very moment, she seemed to be realer than the Earth itself.
It was the sheer reality of her presence that first awakened something in Darwin. His eye caught the lighting of her face, the subtle movements of her jaw and cheek, and he felt that something which had perhaps been there before. And suddenly he felt it hushed by uncertainty and fear and the mess of his disappointments, as it had always been for years before. This feeling came through his body in a single second, so casually and unknowingly that Darwin didn't even realize he felt it. The next second, it passed completely, save for a vestigial linger in his stomach that caught against himself whenever his eyes rested upon her.
The truck reached a red light, and its brakes pulled its motion to a halt. Carrie checked her phone; they were almost there. With this knowledge, her hand reached for the volume knob; fiddling with its turn until the music settled down at a more comfortable volume. Darwin looked at her with confusion on his face.
"Hey! I like that song!" He said, his tone slightly humorous.
"Shh, we're literally a minute away." Carrie's driving was far more focused; her eyes narrowed as the light turned green, making a turn left and a successive turn right onto a smaller, one lane road.
In their twenty minute drive, the pair had crossed basically the entirety of Elmore, and now entered its outskirts. They drove down the road, and Carrie pulled into a small gravel parking lot. Elmore's mountains, quite far from the city's interior where they lived, now loomed high over the area. Pine trees surrounded the parking lot and adjacent road, and a quaint office stood vacant nearby.
"Uh, where are we?" Darwin took in the sight of the forest and mountains, and felt a prick of fear run through his spine.
"I told you, it's a surprise." Carrie's words carried no reassurance for Darwin, and her face sported an almost devilish grin. She dug around the car, reaching under the truck's middle console to pull out a glass object and a small bag. Darwin raised his eyebrows, his mind turning. What would require such concealment… a moment later, his face lit with sudden understanding.
"You didn't tell me you were gonna smoke it up!" Darwin said, his voice playfully accusatory. Carrie let out a joking laugh.
"Jeez, dude, it's just weed," she laughed as she hit his arm, "are you gonna narc on me?"
"What? No!" Darwin started, but Carrie was already cracking up.
"I know, I know." She smiled. "You know, you can have some if you want," Carrie smirked. "You just gotta ask." Darwin hesitated, but by the time a response formed on his lips, Carrie was already out of the truck.
"Dude I love clouds so much." Carrie said as she looked up at the sky and sighed, stretching her arms and legs. Clouds completely overcasted the night sky; they were gray and moody, with streaks of yellow reflecting the city lights of Elmore. The air was laced with the aroma of petrichor. Darwin followed her, walking to an archway that interrupted a tall iron fence. Darwin peered at the arch, noticing a sign on the archway that read Elmore City Cemetery. He froze.
"You know this shit creeps me out!" Darwin joked, folding his arms looking up at the arch. He felt an unease in him, quiet yet present, that refused to dispel.
Carrie rolled her eyes. "You are suuuuch a bitch!" She teased, walking over to the archway.
"Do we have-" Darwin stopped, glancing into Carrie's eyes for just a second. They were teasing, slightly petulant, yet inviting and almost alluring. He unfolded his arms. "It can't be that bad." Darwin said, sighing with acquiescence. With that, he followed her as she walked them into the cemetery.
The pair sat together on a headstone; wide and made of a fine, polished stone. The surface was comfortably cool, the air around them ever so slightly humid. Carrie rested her bong on a flat space beside her, turning on her phone's flashlight to illuminate it. She delicately unpacked the contents of her bag.
Darwin watched her lay her rolling paper on the headstone, putting a tiny cylinder shaped object on one end of it. She pinched some weed in the paper before rolling the joint, packing it in and lighting it up.
Carrie took a hit, gazing up at the clouded sky as she exhaled. The small light of flame flickered off her face. Darwin couldn't help but notice the slender contours in her cheek and her neck, accentuated by the shadow her lighter casted. Putting it back in her pocket, she looked towards Darwin with a mischievous grin.
"Wanna hit?" She extended the joint to him, shifting her body to face him on the headstone. He sat next to her with his hands in his pockets, his eyes reflecting consideration. She paused in silence for a second. "It's alright, if you don't wanna then I'm chillin." She lowered her hand, holding the joint evenly between them.
"It's not that," he corrected, lowering his hands onto the surface of the headstone. He readjusted his weight, pulling his shirt forward to give his neck more breathing room. "I'm just, I dunno, I'm kinda scared. It's a little scary!" His large, tall frame postured up with his shoulders straightened.
Carrie nodded, grabbing his arm and rubbing. "Hey, I get it," she said. "Last thing I'd ever wanna do is pressure you, you know that." She smiled softly, her eyes warm and comforting.
"Well I do wanna try it," he said. "Alright, I'm not bitching out, pass me the joint. Do it before I actually bitch out."
She held it up to his mouth. "Take it in slow, we're not gonna smoke a ton. We literally have to drive back in a few hours." Darwin bent his back slightly, hunched over the joint with Carrie close to his side. He inhaled, the smoke flowing through his mouth and down into his lungs. His throat positively lit on fire.
Taking a few small coughs, he rubbed his mouth, tasting the smoke on his tongue. "I don't feel anything," he said, looking to his side where Carrie leaned.
"Yea, it takes a bit. One more hit and we're done for tonight." Darwin watched her smoke the joint; again noticing the beauty of her face. He felt his heart catch on his chest, its pulse heightened and musical. She passed him the joint, her body shifted close to his. He took it in his hand, feeling her arm brush against his as he held it. Carrie made no effort to move it, and so her arm stayed there, its warmth seemingly infinitely radiant against the cloth of his shirt. With another hit, going down much smoother this time, Darwin gave her the joint back.
Carrie got up with a light breath, stomping it on the ground in front of the headstone before sitting back down. She turned her head towards Darwin, glancing at him before looking up at the clouds. "So," she started, "whatchu thinkin about?"
"Not a lot right now," he said. "How long does this take to kick in?"
"Jeez, give it a minute!" She let out a small laugh, leaning close to Darwin. Her hand rested by his on the headstone, both of them supporting themselves on its smooth, polished stone. He felt time tick forward; looking between Carrie, their hands, and the clouds above.
The two sat in silence, listening to the faint rustle of pine stirred by the night's wind. Some minutes later, Carrie broke the silence with a giggle.
"What's so funny?" Darwin said, eyeing her with a smile.
"I dunno," she giggled again, now leaning forward to bury her face in her hands. "Ugh, I'm literally never giggly!"
Darwin, dumbfounded, felt equally humorous. He giggled as well.
Carrie shot her head up to glare at him. "Laughing at me now, huh?"
"No!" He choked out, breathless laughs sputtering from his mouth. He attempted to cover his idiotic grin with his palm, which only brought attention to it more.
"Fuck you!" She snickered, shaking his arm. "You. Are. Such. An. Asshole!"
Darwin doubled over in laughter, but when he managed to compose himself, he found Carrie utterly still.
She was rigid, turning to look at him with the grimmest expression he'd ever seen. "Shhhhhh," she said. She glanced back and forth before grabbing Darwin's shoulders, staring straight at him.
"...what?" His voice was nervous, hushed, and his eyebrows lowered in concern.
"You'll wake them up." Her face was like a statue, deadpanned and stolid. A few seconds passed between them.
"...who…" Darwin breathed out, clasping the sides of her face with his hands.
"...them." Carrie looked down, staring at the headstone they sat on before. After another second, she absolutely lost it, falling off the grave in wild laughter.
"Oh my god I hate you, I swear I hate you, I thought the cops pulled up, oh my god!" Darwin broke into a dumb chuckle, his body still shaking. He leaned to look at her, his breath stilled in his mouth at the sight of her body splayed on the grass below. She looked young, carefree, and gorgeous.
He laid down to join her, stretching out on the grass in front of the headstone. They stayed like that, occasionally giggling and glancing at the other, for what seemed like all the time in the world.
A while later, Carrie let out a contented sigh. Calmer now, and with the light aroma of soon-to-be rain filling more and more of the space around them, she spoke. "What's up," she started, turning on her side to face Darwin's frame. "How's life?"
He gazed at the clouds, shifting gray and reflecting a deeply beautiful yellow. "How is life," he spoke. "What is life?"
Carrie, still turned on her side, shifted up to lean her head on her hand. She looked down at Darwin, his face lost in the clouds. After another second, his eyes moved to look into hers. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
She shifted closer to him, her arm touching his head as she continued to lean on her side. Her face stilled, her mouth slightly open in a smile. "Like what?"
"Nothing," his gaze returned to the clouds. For a second, it held, before it quickly met her eyes again and darted back to the sky. "How's life? I dunno right now," he said.
Carrie's mouth closed, her smile small and inquisitive. "What's goin on?"
"I told you a few weeks back," he said with a sigh. "It's about Gumball."
Her face fell, her eyes still looking into his. She felt her shoulders loosen, and her smile dropped from her lips. "Ah."
"Yea," he took in a large breath, resting his hands under his head as he laid on the grass. "You know, they've just gotten closer since we talked, and I know you told me not to be insecure," he scratched his cheek before continuing, "but I just can't help it, you feel me?"
"Yea, I getchu," she said, breathing out and putting a small smile on her face.
"I just don't get it!" He sat up, pushing himself up the grass and crossing his legs to face her. She looked at him, still laying on her side as she had been earlier. "Okay, I get it, you're in love or whatever, and I think I've been pretty good about being supportive, ya know?"
"Mhm" she nodded, feeling the cool breeze on her skin.
"So it's like, I get just spending more time with her, but he's totally blown me off! Like, fucking earlier today, okay, this morning, you know how we usually go to school together, right?"
"Yup," she said.
"Okay, well he was all like 'Oh we're serious now, and I'm picking her up now, and you're not third wheeling', which is total bullshit, I'm not crazy right?" Darwin was ranting now, his hands gesticulating in the air as Carrie nodded along.
"No, you're not," she agreed.
"Yea, right?" He sighed. "I had to run to school! It was like twenty minutes away! I dunno, he doesn't even care how I feel right now, all he gives a shit about is his stupid relationship. And I want to be happy for him! But he can't treat me like this, seriously!" Darwin groaned, laying back down next to Carrie. They were closer; he could feel her arm slightly touching his. The feeling stilled the weather in his chest; it gave him clearance and solace. "Welp," he breathed out, his voice dropped in a thinly present disappointment. "I don't suppose it matters now."
"No, no," Carrie said. "You're right to feel that way." She moved her arm to fully touch his, smiling again. "Maybe talk to him, when you're ready."
"Yea, I'll get around to it," he said. "Sometime."
The clouds steepened in weight, and rain seemed to loom over them. It heightened the wistful, earthy smell of petrichor, and filled Darwin with a distinctly nature-esque mood. The trees and the distant mountains and the clouded sky and the late cool of the night all worked together to fill the air with a very unique atmosphere.
"I'm feeling really weirdly spiritual right now," Carrie said, looking up at the clouds with Darwin. "No, that's not the right word. Existential? Yea, existential."
"What's existential to you?" He said softly.
"I dunno, just the typa shit you think about at two in the morning, I guess," she said with a small, breathless laugh.
He jolted up, staring at her in shock. "Two fucking AM?" His voice was bewildered, panic thickly lacing his words.
"Yea, that's my guess. Actually, lemme check." She got out her phone, reading the time. "Two-Thirty, actually."
"Holy shit! We needa get home!" Darwin grabbed his head, completely stricken in a spell of anxiety.
"Jeez, relax, relax!" She didn't move from her position, simply turning her head to look at his face. "I thought you didn't have anything important to do tomorrow." She softly chuckled. "Or I guess today."
He slapped his forehead, laying back down. "No, I totally forgot about that test in Simian's class! Fuck! You remember?" He groaned, moving his head close to hers. "Third period?"
"Oh yeahhh, I did forget." Carrie pondered. "Well, did you do the readings?"
"Mostly, I had my little sis help me get a few of em done on time," he said. The cool dampness of the air soothed his nerves. "Ah, fuck it, I'll be fine."
"That's more like it!" She said, feeling the grass beneath her. "Hey, Gumball's class is before ours, right? Let's just ask him what's on the test." Her smile lightened, a grin forming on her face.
"Yea, definitely." Darwin said, looking back at the clouds.
"Hey, on that topic, you wanna ride with me to school?" She gazed at him, her body shifted towards him. For a second, he felt that all too familiar feeling capture his chest, and the weight of her presence seemed to stop his heart right there.
He tried to talk, but no sound escaped his mouth. He briefly paused before continuing. "Oh! Yea, actually I'd love that, definitely." He smiled warmly. "Thanks!"
"Yea, yea," she sighed, looking back at the sky. Her hidden grin was shining brightly on her face. She readjusted a spiked bracelet on her wrist, taking in the beauty of the night. For who knows how long, they again laid on the grass, passing the time mostly in silence, yet with the occasional exchange of existential thoughts.
Eventually, she got off the ground in a groan, checking her phone. The time read three in the morning. "Alright, we should be good now." She said, turning it off and slotting it in her pocket.
"For what?" He asked, looking up at her from the grass.
"To drive back." She reached in her pockets to feel for her baggie and car keys, confirming its presence to her satisfaction. "The high should definitely be over now."
"Oh, yeah." He snickered. "Hey, by the way, why did you bring that bong?"
She glanced at it, still resting by the headstone. "Ohhh shit! We never used it!" She sighed in disappointment. "Ah well. Probably for the best, being your first time and all." With that, she picked it up, walking slightly away from the grave. "You good to go?"
"Yea, just gimme a sec." He stretched on the ground, reaching his hand up to Carrie's. She helped him up, where he brushed the grass off his shirt before checking his pockets for his belongings. With them secured, he began walking with her back to the car.
By now, the first drops of rain began to sprinkle over Elmore. They felt them lightly touch their cheeks; still disparate, yet telling of the coming shower.
"Hey, thanks," he said, kicking a pinecone down the path through the wooded cemetery.
"For what?" She asked.
"Just hanging out with me, I guess." He put his hands in his pockets, feeling the warmth inside. "I know I haven't asked you a lot, since we usually just talk at school. For how long we've known eachother, it's a shame."
She smirked. "Just ask me to chill with you more, then. What makes you think I'll say no?"
"Nothing," he said, his shoulders falling in a subtle drop. He looked down to the dirt path, feelings flashing through his body. He felt his uncertainties once again, his memories of disappointments and confusion and unknowing. He then turned his thoughts to Gumball, his relationship with Penny, and his seeming abandonment of his brother. In that moment, Darwin felt a new resolution inside him. "I should. I will." he said, tenacity solid in his voice like iron.
"That's fun to hear," she said, bumping up against him. The height of her head barely reached his neck, and he in turn bumped into her, his large frame sending her a step or two away from him. She smiled in response, moving back to be close and next to him.
By the time they got to Carrie's truck, rain was steadily drizzling over the valley. They climbed in the car, too tired for words yet utterly gripped in emotion. Their faces were earnestly warm, filled with the simple joy of being around eachother. They stayed like that, starting the truck in contented silence, as she began the drive to drop Darwin off.