It’s the first thing he says after our first conversation, leaving home with our bags in the trunk and some blankets in the backseat. We discussed our route and our plans, our excitement and our hunger for new places to eat; everything we could possibly say about the trip. Now, he was ready for the longer conversations, or at least I’d hoped.

“Driving? We can switch if you’d like, baby.”

“It’s only been two hours,” Michael chuckles after checking the time. “I’m fine, Y/N. But I meant us, the amount of time we’ve spent together.”

“Yeah, it does feel that way. And it will be forever between us...maybe I…”

“Maybe when you come back from the job you got in Seattle? Dreams are too big to drop them for someone else, Y/N.”

“I didn’t think we’d talk about this so early,” I mumble nervously. “I mean we’re almost to Las Vegas.”

“Yeah...I know...I was just thinking about it while we were listening to music, me, you know, driving to see you and all, I was thinking,” he fixes his snapback and glances over at me, but only quickly.

“About what, Mikey? Nothing bad right?”

“‘Course not. You’re my favorite person in the world. I was just thinking about that, about how good you are to me, how much you’ve made me better. And you being far from California is just kind of scary.”

“Distance is nothing in plus I’ve done nothing, I’m just here to love you and give you kisses.”

“And gifts apparently, since you love to give me those.”

“Should’ve seen your face when I gave you that Pokèmon shot glass.”

“It’s in my bag for when we drink at the hotels.” He suddenly seems less tense at the float away from the subject he brought up, which was me, getting a job and moving away from home a week after we were to arrive back from the trip. I wanted his mind off of the distance that would be sure to come, because we had a full two weeks to be with each other, our minds far away from home.

I let the window down and feel the wind blow through my hair, grabbing his glasses from his mirror. I play with them as we talk about the world, animals, aliens and music, and all the things there were to discuss while his cellphone barely gave directions because it was just a straight drive. He laughed a lot and made terrible jokes, but it was the best way to kill time: being and speaking with someone you love. The thought of driving to find a home meant nothing, when Michael was all the home that I needed. Falling to silence as I turned the music up, all I could think about was letting him go before I took the flight to Seattle.

“Are you hungry?” Michael asks another hour later, pulling over at a Denny’s restaurant. I didn’t respond since there was no need and his stomach was already louder than the song he had on. He parks and pulls off his seatbelt, shifting his body over to look at me. “Do you not want Denny’s? We’ll probably have to wait two hours at a higher class restaurant.”

“I love Denny’s, Mikey, you know that.”

“Are you hungry though?”

“Hell yeah, I’m hungry.” He leans over the armrest and nuzzles his nose against mine, before going in for a kiss. I close my eyes and hear two clicks, the sound of my seat belt being taken off and the door being unlocked. “Hey!”

“Let’s go,” I follow him out of the car, walking closely behind him and grabbing his arm. He peers down at me and smirks, “Clingy much?”

“I just want a kiss, or I’m not going inside.”

“Or you’re not going inside? Huh, well, what would you like to eat, I’ll grab it for you to go.”

“Mikey!” He stares into my eyes and cups my face, kissing me gently and pulling me inside. We are assisted a booth in the back with no one around us and I feel comfortable and ready for more conversation, but Michael was just hungry. He checks his phone and notifications, texting back many people with a huge grin on his face but I don’t have much to look at. I just got Twitter and Facebook notifications, and I didn’t care for many people beside him and a close friend I had in New York. My only acquaintances were at work, and I was already done there, so my friend circle was very small, which made me a little anxious. The sound of my quiet sigh makes him turn his snapback around and look up at me for only a brief moment.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, I guess, nothing.”

“Okay,” he continues on his phone before showing me a funny photo. “Kaylie just sent this, it’s fucking hilarious right?”

“You still talk to Kaylie?” I sit up in my seat and thank the waitress for our drinks, we take our orders and I wait for him to say something. Kaylie was an ex friend of ours, who slept with my ex boyfriend and Michael before we were even together. He sips on his milkshake and shrugs nonchalantly. “I guess that’s a yes?”

“Yeah, as friends though, obviously.”

“Bet she started talking to you again when she found out that I was going to be moving to Seattle.”

“And after we discussed that we would try the long distance thing first,” Michael argues as if his actions are okay and he’s clueless to what Kaylie is up to.

“And I’m assuming you think it’s not going to work?”

“Does it ever? Really?” He glances down at his phone again and chuckles. “Baby, you’re thinking too far into this.”

“Too far into what, exactly? Were you with her a week ago?”

“What?”

“I just remember you saying you were going to hang out with Cal, but he was at the gym on his snapchat with Ashton, but I figured you were just running late to hang out with them. You weren’t with Luke either so…”

“So you’re watching everything I do now?”

“I just asked you a question, that’s all Mikey. We’re too early in this trip to be arguing.”

“But you started this shit with me, for what reason?”

“To find out if you were lying,” I raise my voice, side eyeing our surroundings only to remember we weren’t even being watched. “And I guess you were, already ready to dump me, I bet.”

“You’re fucking delusional, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I’m delusional because my boyfriend is lying to me. You know what? When we get our food, I want to go back home.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Michael raises his voice with furrowed eyebrows and the look in his eyes is full of hate. “You want to go back home, over something like this?”

“You’re talking to me like I’m a dog, ignoring what I’m fucking asking for, so yes, I want to go back home!” The waitress is at the corner of our section with a smile on her face and once she arrives and sets our plates down, I thank her and stare at Michael. “I didn’t get half of what I wanted answered.”

“Doesn’t matter now, Y/N, this road trip is over. And you can drive back.” He digs into his food and eats sloppily, but I don’t touch my plate. I just look at my phone with watery eyes and try not to let a tear escape my eye, but they were burning at this point.

“I just wanted a simple question answered,” I whisper.

“Yes, I was with her, Y/N,” he uses my name harshly along with the venom in his voice. “And no, I never thought the distance was going to work. But I thought we could spend these two weeks together without any shit like this, but if you want to go home now, honestly, I don’t care.”

“Because you were going to leave me?” He stops with the fork in his mouth and looks up at me and it’s hard for me to meet his eyes. “You could have said you didn’t want this to work before we planned all of this out, I would have understood.” My trembling voice and hot face already give away my lie and he rests with his eating for a moment.

“Eat your food, will you?” My face is met with hot tears and I become frustrated, rubbing at my eyes and standing up.