living the teenage dream!

So she wanted him to fasten the claps? Cliff blinked as she put the bra on, successfully covering her nipples from view. He was surprised she was being so forward but not exactly opposed to it. He still wondered in the back of his mind what any of this meant, but in the moment what did it matter? He and Cleo were together, kissing, touching each other like they had both obviously wanted, and here no one cared. No one but they had to know and it was kind of exciting to know that no one else would likely know what he and she got up to on this trip.

When she turned around to allow him to fasten the hooks he did so, his fingers lightly brushing the skin of her back. He couldn’t help but glance down at her butt as she wiggled it. He was distracted and almost forgot his original task. He glanced back at the bra. Right... putting this on.

”I don’t think I’ll ever have to put one of these on in my life,” He joked, though he cleared his voice afterwards since he felt like it had deepened. Maybe it was the sleep, maybe it was something else. He felt more confident facing her back and he started to fasten the hooks – one by one. Once they were on he stepped back, but not before sneaking his hand down her back a little to touch her skin. ”There you go.”

The idea of being the only person who was going to put a bra on Cleo was exciting. He felt special, like he was something important to her. And maybe he was. Maybe this – whatever they were – was special. He didn’t need to be her boyfriend or anything. He just wanted to be special. Once her breasts were covered again he eyed her up, watching her as she turned. When she tugged on the bottom of his shirt he blinked, and almost blushed at her implication. Instead, he kept his cool and removed the shirt from his body.

He’d never willingly stripped in front of a girl before. He had been walked in on by his mother, once or twice, but that definitely wasn’t the same as this. He grinned boyishly at Cleo, his hair still a mess, as he allowed her the same benefit she’d given him – to look at his body. It was so intriguing to actually feel like this around a girl. Around Cleo no less! He thought he’d be nervous and, though he was slightly nervous, he felt confident under her gaze.

Once the two got dressed, it was significantly less awkward than it was before. Even though they had done that last night, it wasn’t awkward! He felt like he had an inside joke with Cleo, something no one but either of them would likely ever know about, and that excited him. Cliff wore a simple outfit that he picked up from his suitcase. He was beginning to wonder if he’d packed enough clothes. Not oddly, he had yet to receive any concerned texts from his mother. He knew, if he did, he would tell her he was taking a long trip or over at Noah’s (and he’d convinced his buddy to cover for him if he needed). Still. Not a concerned text.

Whatever. She was probably busy with her new stupid family, anyway.

The two were at breakfast now. Behind them, people sat and mingled, eating. Cliff had a plate full of eggs, pancakes, French toast, bacon, and hash browns. He grinned over at Cleo as he took a seat and grabbed the ketchup, smothering his plate in it. He then shoved some food in his mouth and chewed loudly. A couple from the other night looked at his childish behavior and grinned. Cliff didn’t seem to notice.

”Innit good?” Cliff said, oblivious to his volume. To their left, the local news was on, loud enough to be heard but soft enough to be background noise. ”S’basically a buffet. We should get a box to wake with us too!”

Cliff continued to consume his breakfast, content to stay there and potentially go up for a second round. He was oblivious to the news. It didn’t matter to him – if it didn’t concern their path to Maine he didn’t care! He glanced over at Cleo as she nudged him and he looked at the TV. He froze as what he saw.

The man who had attacked them in the car appeared on the screen. He was last spotted not too far away from here, by the gas station they’d suggested he go to. That station was only a few miles from this hotel. Cliff felt his hands growing clammy as they detailed the fact the man was injured. He was stabbed in the shoulder. Would that stab would be traced to him? Would this guy be looking for them? For him?

Homicide.... homicide.... holy shit. Holy shit. He stabbed a murderer.

Cleo was telling him that they had to get out of there now, but he was numb, watching the report continue.

From witness reports stemming from 5 AM this morning, Marks was last seen walking alongside route 11. Residents of Parkridge are advised to stay inside if at all possible and to be wary of any Hitchikers who they may see along the road. Marks was last seen wearing the prison’s uniform. Now that he thought about it, Cliff heard sirens in the distance.

He pulled out his phone and opened google maps. According to it, they were staying on John Deer Drive, which was only a few streets away from route 11. Actually, the big road, North Cherry Street connected this road they were on to route 11. Was this guy looking for them? He would recognize the car, surely. The people in the room whispered to each other about staying safe and this criminal. Cliff finally looked at Cleo with a panic in his eyes.

”How did he get so close? We were – we were miles away,” he whispered. He nodded and got up. ”We need to get out things, check out, get food, and go. We can take interstate 40 out of here – we can go the back way too because I don’t wanna go the same way that this guy is,” he stood and gathered some little cereal boxes into his cargo shorts pockets. His heart was racing and it was as though he expected for this guy to turn up at any second to finish the job. He prayed this guy didn’t find the car and know where they were. Tennessee was quickly turning into his least favorite place to be.

Cliff still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that they now were on the run from this guy. He was last seen not too far away from where they are. He must have gotten here somehow – but how! They left the guy in the woods miles away! Had he taken a bus here? Had he hitchhiked? Cliff felt his throat closing up at the thought of either.

The two went up to their room and packed. Cliff took all of five minutes to pack, just throwing his crap into his suitcase and grabbing the keys off of the counter. He told Cleo he’d be down at the car when she would next see him and went down to the lobby. He approached the woman at the desk and informed her that he and his wife were going to be checking out. The woman seemed concerned at the frazzledness of Cliff’s state and, in his frantic mind, he couldn’t think of a plausible excuse to tell her so that her suspicions would alleviate.

He left the hotel and felt paranoia set in. What if this guy was behind the trees? In another car? He slowly approached Cleo’s mother’s car and saw no marks. There were no signs of forced entry or keying. Cliff quickly shoved his bags into the trunk and didn’t seem to notice Cleo until he heard the revving of the engine and glanced over to look at Cleo. He jumped, but then regained composure and ducked into the passenger seat. He glanced at Cleo and then at the GPS on his phone. ”Maybe we can go shopping a few states away from here,” He suggested. ”That guy could be anywhere around here. And he definitely, definitely won’t forget us.”

Cliff settled into his seat and stared out of the window. He was paranoid every man who they passed would be the suspect, who recognized them, who chased them down or got them associated with him somehow. Though Cliff knew he could not harm them, if it came out that he was the boy who stabbed him in the woods, he would be in trouble. No doubt he would be sent to prison, no doubt his mother would be called, and no doubt he would be in some deep shit. Cliff sat there in silence with his GPS automatically reading out directions for Cleo. He numbly nodded at her comment, even the comment about this trip being wild didn’t faze him.

He sat in silence until the phone rang – and he winced at the sound. He glanced at Cleo in the driver’s seat and blinked, the reality of the trouble they’d be in if the police somehow tied them to this man crashing over his shoulders.

”I –“ So that meant her mom was suspicious now? Fuck. Fuck, fuck, what were they going to do! He looked at the phone. They had to think of a reason... ”M – maybe you can say we were scared to drive at night so we – we camped out last night.” It was a lame excuse -- actually kind of close to the truth – but it was all he could think of. He ran his fingers through his hair. He felt tired even though he’d gotten an amazing night of rest last night. He pulled the strands of brown back behind his head and tied them into a knot. He stared at his reflection in the rear view and saw someone who he didn’t recognize. He blinked and he recognized himself again. Weird.

He let out a breath when they climbed up onto the highway. ”No way anyone could have followed us onto here without a car,” he said, relieved.

Cliff frowned when she said that her mom wouldn’t buy that. ”Seriously?” he groaned. Great. Fucking great. Why did parents suck so much? Why couldn’t they buy things easily? All they wanted to do was road trip and their stupid respective parents were too nosy about it. Cliff felt his mood shifting to anger as he sat there, frustrated.

”Can’t be anything with my family. She can ask my mom – teacher – and then she’ll be all suspicious. Uh – “ he tried to think, the feeling of elation from ascending to the highway and no longer being near that creepy murderer helping him think. ”Maybe we can say – we can say my work called me and I had to go in to handle some kind of – some kind of error about my pay that needed to be fixed right away.” he glanced over at Cleo. That would work, right?”

He watched as they passed cars by, feeling unnerved by the patrol officers on the sidelines, who were no doubt looking for the murderer guy. ”I’ll be able to breathe again when we’re out of this state.”

Cliff warily watched the troopers as they drove the car. What if Cleo’s mom thought that the car had been stolen? They had to call her back soon. He felt anxious at the idea of Cleo’s mom – Cleo’s mom and this murderer – they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Cliff prayed that they arrested this guy before they went on their return trip. That thought was just too terrifying to think about.

He turned on the radio, the country music station coming on. Not even the usually soothing sounds of his favorite genre could put Cliff’s mind at ease. He looked out the window, worried that at any instance they’d see the terrifying man in the rear view.

At some point, they stopped at a McDonalds for lunch. Cliff ordered a double cheeseburger that he could barely stomach due to the anxiety. Cleo called her mother and explained the false story that Cliff had coined – it worked, somehow. Cliff then packed up and it was his turn to drive them. Driving was even worse – he was still paranoid that he would slam into the same guy from before. They’d yet to cross state line – but then, finally, they did it. Tennessee was behind them.

Right over the border, Cliff pulled over to a rest stop. He felt so much better now. He told Cleo he was going to the bathroom and whisked himself off to do his business, leaving Cleo by the car to deal with gas fill-up. He decided to go to the little minimart inside – buying another pack of cigarettes and a candy bar. He was oblivious to the grey car outside, not three feet from Cleo’s mom’s car, surrounded by men in oversized coats who hid their faces.