Aerins Arsenal

—“Ohh guys look! Look at the cows! Knox, do you see them? Look over there, Knox! Aren’t they so cool???” “Keep your eyes on the road, Charlie.” “But- but look at them!” “EYES. ON. THE. ROAD.”

—Anyone ever seen Shaking the Tree? Cuz Gale Hansen’s character Sully is also a reckless driver (which is what inspired this headcanon)

—It’s so bad that he even has Meeks praying in the wayback, and that guy is a man of science so he hardly ever prays.

—Only calms down when he sees Knox in the back of the car about to throw up. Charlie immediately takes that as his sign to take it easy for a while.

— @mariesrandomthoughts (I hope you don’t mind me tagging you here) this headcanon is so accurate.

—Eats a big ass meal while he’s driving and will take his hands off the wheel for a few seconds if he’s trying to season his food or unwrap something.

—IT SENDS THE WHOLE CAR INTO AN UPROAR and almost gives Knox a heart attack.

—Neil needs to reach over and take the wheel from him whenever he does this.

Neil Perry

—Passenger seat princess and also the group navigator. He has printed directions for every route, all the exits, and a few drop offs to the nearest pit stops.

—Everyone is practically begging him to take the wheel from Charlie because THEY DO NOT WANNA DIE!

—He was going to sit in the back with Todd, but Charlie insisted that his best buddy was up front with him.

—Offered the front passenger seat to Cam because Neil knows how carsick he can get, but again, Charlie wouldn’t accept anyone else to sit next to him other than his bestie.

—“Come on, Char, do you really want Cameron to throw up all over the back of the car?” “Well as long as it’s nowhere near me, I’m okay with it.” “Charlie… ITS GOING TO GET ALL OVER THE PLACE!” “Fine! Then get him a trash bag and everything will be grand!” “…Okay, but just so ya know, you will be the one to clean his vomit up if it gets anywhere.”

—He and Charlie are always fighting over who gets control over the radio. They’ve gotten into so many disputes over which songs they should listen to and Charlie has made threats to throw Neil’s music tapes out of the car window.

—Neil is constantly glancing over to the backseat where Todd is sitting so that he can check up on him. He just wants to make sure that his boyfriend is comfortable for the long car ride.

—Asks everyone whether it’s too hot or too cold in the car because he is in charge of regulating the temperature.

—Neil mainly asks for Todd, though, because he’s aware of how easily the poor boy can get cold if the air is up too high.

—Brings extra blankets for him (and the rest of the boys) just in case.

—Takes everyone’s feelings into consideration and respects bathroom breaks. Charlie gets a little pissy when somebody says that they need to go to the bathroom twenty minutes after they’ve already visited the rest stop. That said, the boys depend on Neil to convince him to stop again.

—“Jesus Christ, we literally just got back on the road!” “It’s okay, the nearest rest stop isn’t that far from where we are, Charlie.” “Yeah, but we aren’t gonna be making much progress if we keep stopping.” “We’re in no rush, and besides, we’ll be in and out. C’mon… I’ll buy you a pretzel~” “…Fine, we’ll stop again 🙄”

— Neil initiates car games like “I spy” or “I’m going on a picnic” to keep the mood up when they’re in traffic.

Knox Overstreet

—Sits in the backseat next to Todd. It’s so cute because the both of them can sit behind their boyfriends and yap with each other.

—Knox spends the majority of the car ride yelling at Charlie to slow down because Cam is right behind him in the wayback and he doesn’t want that boy puking all over the place.

—The thought of Cam throwing up makes Knox want to hurl, as well. Todd is trying his best to comfort Knox, while also keeping a distance from him because he doesn’t want to end up with puke splatter on his pants.

—Actually starts panicking when Charlie gets distracted on the road and starts swerving. He is gripping onto Neil’s shoulder, screaming at him to have Charlie pull over so that he can take over the wheel for the rest of the trip.

—Almost faints a few times because he thought he was gonna die #dramatickingalert

—Brings one of those neck pillows with him and sleeps for basically half of the trip (when Neil takes over driving, of course)

—Plays Scrabble with Todd in the backseat (but they gotta be careful as to not risk the pieces flying all over the place) Knox usually wins because he’s literally a walking dictionary.

—Gives Charlie shoulder massages from the backseat (but only when Charlie isn’t driving because that would serve as a distraction)

—Todd and Knox swap books for a few hours during their roadtrip. After they’re done reading, the two of them will give each other feedback on what they liked/didn’t like about the books.

—Plays with Charlie’s hair while he’s taking a nap in the front seat—the quietest few hours of the roadtrip (if you ignore Charlie’s loud snoring)

—ABSOLUTELY HATES IT WHEN CHARLIE LETS OUT THOSE GOD AWFUL FARTS 💀

— 👆Charlie jokingly tries to blame it on Knox every time he lets one loose.

—Threatens to smother Charlie to death with his neck pillow if he smells that rank odor come out of his ass again.

Todd Anderson

—Todd’s spot is right behind the driver’s seat, so Neil can easily reach over to him from the passenger’s seat and grab onto his hand or knee.

—Tries reading for the first half of the car ride but starts getting car sick from Charlie’s swerving so he eventually gives up on that.

—Gets very cold but won’t speak up about turning the AC down just in case the others boys want the air on.

—When Neil looks back at him and notices goosebumps forming on Todd’s skin he immediately turns the air off for a while.

—Needs to take a lot of bathroom breaks but holds it most of the time because he doesn’t want to be a burden and hold up the rest of the trip.

—Looks out the window and daydreams about random scenarios in his head. On the outside, Todd presents himself to be so sad and depressed but in reality he’s just vibing.

— 👆Neil does tend to get concerned tho whenever he sees Todd staring into space because he thinks he’s sad 😭

—Todd is always being asked by his boyfriend if he’s okay mid-daydream and it KILLS THE VIBE.

—Neil leave this poor boy alone he just wants to fantasize in peace.

—Tends to nod off on Knox’s shoulder which he gets really embarrassed about, but Knox doesn’t mind this at all.

—Watches other people in their cars and immediately diverts his gaze in a panic when he realizes that they’ve noticed him (he’s a people watcher ok? Todd is a curious boy)

—He writes a little poetry here and there, but gets mad when the car hits a bump in the road and it messes up his handwriting.

Richard Cameron

—Begs Charlie to let him sit up front. The thought of him sitting in the wayback of the car already makes him feel like he has to hurl.

—Charlie refuses, unfortunately. No matter how many attempts Cam has tried to convince Charlie to let him sit up front, it didn’t work.

—Ends up sitting in the wayback with Meeks and Pitts—directly behind Knox. At this point, Cam is literally praying that Charlie doesn’t drive too fast or unexpectedly swerve because if he does, that’s not gonna be good for the back of Knox’s seat.

—Keeps shouting at Charlie to slow down. Cam’s desperate demands get cut off by a gag that forces its way up his throat, and so that’s when Charlie decides that he no longer wants to test his luck.

—Hopes that sleep takes him before the nausea does, but when Cam closes his eyes, he’s too aware of the car moving underneath him so that doesn’t help at all.

—Chugs down room temperature bottles of water and that just ends up making him even more carsick.

—Pitts offers Cam his shoulder to rest on, which gives him a small sense of comfort but he still feels a little queasy.

—When Charlie makes a pit stop to get gas, Cam has to exit the car and go somewhere else for a while because the smell of gasoline only makes his stomach churn even more.

—Neil pays to get him a cinnamon sugar pretzel and blue lemonade from Auntie Anne’s, knowing that eating something will help calm his nausea.

—Asks Knox to roll down the window (the wayback doesn’t have any windows) every chance he gets so that he can have a fresh breath of air.

—Sadly, Steven’s ears start to pop on the highway so the windows can’t be kept down for long (plus it gets super windy and blows everything around inside of the car)

—Once, Charlie did let Cameron sit up front, but he ended up puking all over him, anyways.

Steven Meeks

—Usually the one who drives on the way back from the trip because Charlie is too tired (or hungover) to do it for the group.

—Meeks or Pitts play designated driver whenever the boys decide that they wanna go out drinking.

—Can’t drive super late at night because of his eyesight, so Meeks will often have Pitts drive at that point.

—Listens to music almost the whole car ride (regardless of whether or not he’s driving)

—Steven needs to listen to a specific playlist in order to drive, especially when he’s with other people because it calms his nerves.

—Nobody complains because they don’t wanna have to deal with an agitated Meeks.

—Curses under his breath in different languages whenever another driver pisses him off (he’s just quirky that way)

—If he’s not driving, then Steve is sitting in the wayback with Pitts and Cam—directly behind Todd.

—Gives his glasses to Pitts for safekeeping whenever he wants to take a nap.

—Ends up sleep talking, muttering random little facts that he’s read in books or learned over the years. The Poets start asking him questions about anything that comes to mind as if Meeks were some magic guru with all the answers to life.

—Brings those crystalite packets to sprinkle into his water. His favorite flavors are: Black Cherry Lime, Pomegranate Lemonade, and Peach Mango Green Tea.

Gerard Pitts

—Sits between Meeks and Cameron in the way back.

—Brings a few fidget toys with him because his adhd acts up at the most inconvenient times, especially when he’s sitting in the car for hours.

—Packs his own snacks, but is more than willing to share with the rest of the group.

—Likes playing the license plate game with Meeks.

—The first one to join in on every round of “I’m going on a picnic” whenever Neil initiates it. HE LOVES THAT GAME and memorizes every food in alphabetical order without fail.

—Since the wayback is a little too cramped for his long legs, Pitts will sometimes recline them on Meeks or Cameron’s laps so that he can have more space (neither of the gingers mind this)

—Monitors Cam’s car sickness and is the one to hold the trash bag if needed. He doesn’t complain about it and actually seems happy to be of assistance.

—Brings walky-talkies for everyone in the group, each with their own specific color: Charlie (red), Neil (forest green), Knox (purple), Todd (navy blue), Meeks (butterscotch), Cam (rosewood red 👈 this particular color causes some problems between him and Charlie because the latter keeps accidentally thinking that it’s his walky-talkie)

—Becomes co-pilot on their way back home from the trip. Meeks takes the wheel, while Pitts is in the passenger’s seat holding the map.

—Definitely less chaotic when those two are up at the front. Everyone in the car feels a little safer once Meeks and Pitts switch places with Charlie and Neil (although the former is a little salty about giving up his position as designated driver)