Free Fallin' | Primrose & Periwinkle

[Sunshine and Whiskey]

It was finally that time.

Time for the duo to take a trip that they had planned since they were childhood friends. It was finally coming to fruition since they graduated high school, which seemed like the perfect time for a trip before they started to live separate lives. It was hard to imagine not having Elliot around since they had been around each practically since birth. It even made her a little sad, which was a clear observation based on her facial features. But nevertheless, she had to shake these current sad feelings away because she didn't want him to see her like this or anyone for that matter. Her hands zipped the last luggage bag and once that was done, she removed a checklist from her back pocket and went over it, checking off everything that she has accomplished already. Someone needs to be the organized one and clearly, it was going to be her.

She figured that Elliot could handle everything else that needed to be dealt with. Of course, they could also share the responsibility accordingly, as well.

Her eyes peered down to her apple watch to check the time and realized that it was almost noon, which made her speed up her pace a little. She told Elliot to be ready at noon and she'll pick him up since she didn't mind. With a sigh, she picked up her luggage to carry the bags down the stairs before laying them down on the floor. ❝Mom, Dad,❞ She called out while stepping inside of the dining room where both of her parents sat but got up to see her off. They all engaged in a group hug before her dad cupped her face in his hands. ❝You make sure to call us if you need anything,❞ He spoke while her head nodded in response before they both moved to retrieve her bags to take them to her vehicle, which was a maroon 2021 Tahoe and both of her parents stood on the porch. ❝Drive safe, Ashleigh!❞ Her mother called out, which made her roll her eyes upward because she was always safe. Or so, she thought that she was.

Ashleigh carefully drove out of the driveway before driving to the next block over, parking right in front of Elliot's yard. Her hand honked the horn, which blared kind of loud throughout his neighborhood. She even tapped a message on her apple watch to send to him. [You BETTER be ready ] Her eyes fluttered over to the door to see if she had seen him yet, already smiling because of the message that she just sent. Once his figure appeared through the door, she got out of her vehicle and walked over to the passenger side, shaking her head. ❝I swear, Eli,❞ She started, even mentioning the nickname she always called him. ❝You're going to be late for your own funeral.❞ Ashleigh stated jokingly while helping him put his bags in the back of her Tahoe then closed it. ❝Aren't you excited?❞ She questioned him with a slight squeal in her voice as she rocked on the balls of her feet.

If he wasn't excited, she certainly was because they could leave their hometown for several days and just enjoy each other's company. Ashleigh admitted to herself many times that she did like Elliot more than a friend but never said it out loud. Perhaps, this trip was also going to be a way for her to finally express her feelings openly to him. Hopefully, this trip isn't cut short whenever she decides to do so.​

 

[CaptainPeriwinkle]

It came as no surprise to anyone, but Elliot was running late once again. He had put off packing until the very last minute. Scrambling to grab clothes and shove them into his duffel bag, he tried to recount exactly what had found it's way into being packed for a trip he had known about for years. His long hair tied back in a pony tail as he quickly shoved a few pairs of underwear into his luggage just in case. He had already said goodbye to his parents, who left a few days ago on their own trip to celebrate their anniversary, though they had allowed Elliot and Ashleigh to use their cooler provided it came back in a similar state to how they lent it out. In addition to being consistently late for things, Elliot also had a track record of being hard on his own personal items.

Hearing the blaring of her horn outside, he shook his head. Ashleigh always liked to make her appearance known even if it meant embarassing him to his neighbors. Like his own tardiness though, he should have expected as much. Excitement for their trip had started months before the day they were set to leave, and many of their conversations recently had been about solidifying the itinerary for their journey. He thought they had a pretty good plan, though then again, plans seemed to fly by the wayside whenever the two of them were together. There was always some kind of trouble or distraction to shift their attention away from the task they were trying to complete.

Feeling pretty proud of himself he wasn't an hour late, he finally emerged through the front door. He had his old tattered duffel bag, of course, a backpack, a full cooler, and some camping gear. They had discussed sleeping in a tent as a possible option in case they needed to camp out somewhere. It never hurt to have a back up. His duffel bag had seen better days. The strap and some pretty sizeable holes had been patched up with duct tape, and one of the zippers had snapped off a decent while ago. Going from Dallas to Los Angeles would take them right along the Mexico border and through parts of New Mexico and Phoenix, Arizona. From there, they could decide if they realy wanted to stop in San Diego or take any other detours they saw fit. They were operating with a tentative plan and that was how the two seemed to like it.

It had been tough for his parents to allow him to go, though the mention of Ashleigh driving seemed to start changing their minds a little. His parents loved Ashleigh and for the most part, they had watched her grow up alongside their son. They had given her a graduation present as big as they had given their own son. It had been a battle to get Elliot through high school, and they were just happy a good influence like Ashleigh was who Elliot chose to associate with over some of the other options he had brought home throughout the years. After loading his gear into the car, he turned and gave Ashleigh a big hug. "It's okay, you'll be right there with me." He said before his smile grew. "I was born ready. You should know that" He said with a smile, not even bothering to acknowledge how some of his neighbors had come outside to see what all the ruckus was about and were now staring at them.

They had been inseperable and attached at the hip for as long as most could remember. Their friendship had really taken off in the third grade when Elliot had shared his mother's home baked brownies with her and they hadn't looked back since. Nights of homework, hanging out, and getting into trouble seemed to follow the two wherever they went. Elliot didn't want to think about the bad or the negatives. He didn't want to dwell on the fact that this was truly their last hurrah. When they returned, Ashleigh was to go off to some prestigious university, and Elliot would enroll in some trade school. Much to his parent's chagrin, grades had never been a huge part of Elliot's schooling career. "I made a playlist on Spotify with both of our song suggestions." He said with a beaming smile. "Shall we get going?"

 

[Sunshine and Whiskey]

Ashleigh's eyes widened at the big hug given to her by Elliot but she could literally melt inside of his arms. She tried her best to not show that her knees did buckle a little bit while her eyes went to the neighbors, who were staring at them probably from her horn honking. ❝I literally woke the neighborhood,❞ She stated with a laugh to follow those words and eventually broke the hug between them. ❝You were born ready alright,❞ Ashleigh mocked him. ❝You got all the songs I sent you on there?❞ She inquired because there was a very specific playlist that she needed in order to drive. It was a little weird to most people but without those songs, she'll lose her will to drive.

She tried her best not to think about coming back from this trip because they were going to be apart from each other. She was going to a university while Elliot was going to a trade school, even though she argued against his decision ever since they talked about it. Ashleigh urged Elliot to try a nearby community college, which was to no avail because his mind was obviously made up. It made her a little upset and sad at the same time but she was given no choice but to surrender, which she did for her own sake.

His next question snapped her mind back to reality as her head nodded in response to his question. ❝Yes, we shall.❞ She made a trek over to the driver's side of the vehicle and got inside, this time wrapping her seat belt around her. ❝Go ahead and sync your phone to bluetooth.❞ Ashleigh gave him free rein to control the first half of the trip while starting the engine up and carefully pulling away from the curb to start their adventure.

What an adventure it shall be once they get to their first destination. ❝Oh, I meant to ask,❞ She started once they reached a red light, which made her relax in her seat and loosen her grip on the steering wheel a little. ❝Did you want to share rooms or separate?❞ Her gaze floated over towards him to gauge his reaction to her question, which caused her to smirk. It didn't her either way but it was better to be safe than sorry once they got there. Ashleigh always liked to plan ahead before certain situations arises. ​

 

[CaptainPeriwinkle]

Grades and sports had never been his strong suit, but Ashleigh never seemed to mind. She was like a beam of sunlight whenever she entered any room, instantly lighting it up basically from her presence alone. He had spent a lot of long nights talking with her. Some subjects were light and sometimes they laughed about some nonsense one of them thought up. Other times, the subject was deeply personaly and emotional. Subjects could be dark and scary. No matter what, they could talk about anything. Well, almost anything. Much of what Elliot did and how he acted was because of Ashleigh, and when it donned on him that he was absolutely in love with his best friend it turned out that he was late to the party once more. His parents had been asking about why they weren't dating. His brother, his other friends at school, and even some of his teachers shared a similar sentiment. Unfortunately, he never had an answer for them. His answer was a lie. He did know why they weren't dating. A girl like Ashleigh would never go for a guy like him. She was perfect and could have anyone and he was below average at best at most things.

Nodding, he let out a laugh. "Yep, I got all of them. Even the ones you made sure to text me a hundred times." He said as he took a seat in the front seat of her car. Her car already recognized his phone, and it synced almost immediately. As the car started to move, he put their playlist on shuffle. The playlist itself was mostly her music. He didn't listen to much else. He did have random songs in the mix as well, mainly songs that would strike up memories from their past. Some songs had lent themselves to an inside joke that had spanned the length of their friendship. Other songs were as a result of some teasing when Ashleigh had gotten her first boyfriend. Elliot had elected not to put his secret passion of Mongolian Throat Singing metal on the playlist, and he was sure his friend would have thanked him in kind.

As they stopped at the red light and she posed her question, Elliot stopped to think for a moment. They had been sharing a bed in some capacity for awhile now. Every sleepover, no matter whose house it was at, they shared a bed with each other. Whenever they had gone on vacation with one or the other's family, they tended to share a same bed. Why was she asking? Did she not want to anymore? "I mean, I think in order to save money it might be best we get one room." He said, thinking outloud and glancing towards her. "Unless you want to have some space for all of your..." He paused, trying to think of exactly the right term. "...girl shit." He said finally. He thought it was a pretty good term.

There was a weird feeling in the air, and Elliot wondered if she felt it too. There was a certain electricity in that Chevy Tahoe. It caused Elliot to feel a strange mix of anxiousness and nervousness. This was their last hurrah. After this, as much as they said they would stay in touch, they would be busy with their own lives. If Elliot wanted to eventually go to school, he would have taken her up on her offer to go to the nearby community college. He would have been happy to, even if it meant taking classes he wouldn't ultimately use or need. He would have jumped at a chance to stay near her. They both knew that distance and time were going to do their damnedest to drive a wedge between them and, when it all came down to it, distance and time were going to win. Maybe it was anxiousness for the trip, and nervousness that everything was going to go well. Maybe it was nervousness that that trip was going to go well. If it was a disaster, then they would remember each other for the trip and not for the sleepless nights. It couldn't have been a multitude of different things, but Elliot's own theory was that it stemmed from something else...

 

[Sunshine and Whiskey]

❝I just had to make sure you got my songs on there or this trip wouldn't be happening,❞ Ashleigh stated towards Elliot while her fingers drummed on the steering wheel and the light turned green, which gave her the right away to go forth. She was still listening to him as he spoke though, nodding her head at his reply to her question. ❝I think one room should suffice, as well.❞ She agreed then rolled her eyes upward at him saying 'girl shit'. ❝If I need to do girl shit, I'll just kick you out until I'm done.❞ She added, practically ignoring the term that he just used but the annoyance was well delivered in her voice.

Ashleigh had remembered when they used to sleep over each other's homes or on family vacations, sharing a bed with each other, and even as hormones were developing within them, nothing happened. It wasn't really weird because they were like brother and sister but sometimes, she wished that they weren't that close so something could've or would've happened. She sighed softly through her parted lips while thinking about the nights she snuck over to his place, climbed through his window, and slept over in his bed and vice versa. It was nights that she didn't want to sleep alone or hear her parents debate over the stupidest things, which caused a lot of sleepless nights.

Something that she tried not to bother herself with during this getaway that they both were embarking on. But her change in demeanor was quite noticeable if Elliot was paying attention to her.

She snapped her fingers after thinking that she had forgotten to get some gas, which she did have enough to make it to the next town but it was best to be safe than sorry. ❝I should stop at the next gas station and get some gas,❞ She spoke aloud and saw one coming up in the distance, and that caused her to pull over quickly, pulling up to an available gas pump. ❝Go inside and get us some snacks. Get me some of those spicy Doritos that I like.❞ Ashleigh basically commanded her best friend before she jumped out of her vehicle to walk over to the side where the gas valve was, pay for the gas by credit card, and let the liquid pour inside.

Her eyes bounced from person to person, checking her surroundings even though she practically knew everyone that lived there. She silently hummed a tune to herself and almost jumped whenever the gas pump clicked loudly. Her feet took her back to the driver's side where she waited for Elliot, who finally emerged from the store. ❝Thought you had gotten lost.❞ Ashleigh said jokingly and hopped back inside of the Tahoe and waited for Elliot to do the same before she cranked it back up. ❝Where should we go first?❞

She didn't want to dictate which direction they would be heading in first, so she gave that option to her passenger and waited for his response as she was messing with the GPS. Her fingers pressed all the necessary buttons, then typed in the place that Elliot stated and onto the open road they were on again.​