#huffs!!!!

           “you think i’d settle for anything less?” he was grinning from ear to ear as they piled into his shitty beater of a truck, bursting with a childish sort of excitement that he so rarely allowed himself to feel. he was hopeful for once, expecting the b e s t instead of the worst, and so utterly, dazzlingly in love. how could he be anything but happy to split this town, to pull away from his shitty asshole dad and spend his time with someone who actually meant something to him? who made things mean something, who made things o k a y . this was literally the best case scenario, and it was the first time in a long time that he didn’t find himself milling over the what-ifs.

              they had been talking about this for so long, just fucking off somewhere pretty and warm and lively, the exact opposite of this shithole town. nate had half expected her to back out, still not entirely grasping why she would want this with him of all people, but he had been tucking money away all the same, more than enough to keep them going for a while. until whatever tantrum his father was inevitably going to throw had passed, because he was sure he wouldn’t really disown him. probably. then he could go back to his usual drill of getting paid to keep his head down or whatever. he didn’t really care either way at this point; he would have done fucking anything to make this work.

               “so, i guess this is it. we’re fucking out of here!” he was still beaming, turning the key in the ignition and leaning over to kiss her. his heart felt like it was going to pound its way out of his chest, but in the best sort of way, certain that this was going to be the start of something so fucking good. they were going to do so much better, be so much happier. they deserved this. rachel especially. she deserved everything, as far as nathan was concerned. and then, he was pulling out of her driveway, speeding off down the street with a wild sort of laugh, glancing over at her every so often. it was dark, but the moon and the stars were bright enough to give him a reason to keep looking, and it really was the perfect night for something like this. but, in the dumbest, soppiest way, he figured that rachel could have made any night perfect. it didn’t take long for his hand to slide over, resting on her knee and squeezing affectionately, just happy for the bit of contact while he drove. “arcadia bay can kiss my ass.”