Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 13: Sneaking Out Is Almost As Fun...

A few weeks later, it was the last week of school before Thanksgiving break. Nathan had driven Mia home, explaining to her they were going to complete a fear over the break. Nervous, but excited at the same time considering how well conquering other fears had gone, she was bouncing in her seat. Reaching a hand over, he gently pressed down on her thigh. Mia stopped her bouncing but was still internally ecstatic. When they reached her house she raced upstairs. Nathan trailed behind, stopping in the kitchen to grab a green apple.

In her room, Nathan sat on her queen-sized bed once again and held the jar as Mia reached a hand in. Unfolding it, Mia read aloud "Sneak out. Oh, this is going to be intense. What if I get caught? What do you even do when you sneak out? Just drink? What-"

Cutting her off, Nathan calmed her down. "Breathe Mia. What day works best for you to sneak out?" Mia thought about it for a minute. Obviously, Thursday and Friday wouldn't work. On Wednesday the Wilson's would wake up early to prep food for Thursday. "Sneaking out Monday would work best, my parents probably won't check on me that day."

"Ok, Monday it is. Now," he said as he placed the scrap of paper onto her bedside table, "what do you want to do?" After putting the jar back onto her shelf in the closet, Mia dragged him downstairs. They played a variety of board games for a few hours, eventually ordering a pizza and settling in for an episode of Criminal Minds. "So how did that guy know he was the killer just from the stutter? Seems kind of fake."

Mia sighed in frustration. "He's simply a profiling genius. Now shush as we watch the rest of the episode." Nathan obeyed, eventually screaming at the characters to run faster to stop the unsub from committing more arson. As Mia waved goodbye to Nathan who was heading home she couldn't help the feelings of nervousness and anticipation crawling over her like ants at a summer picnic. In a few days, she was going to sneak out of her house for the first time. This is going to be interesting.

☼⚜☼

At 2:45 am, Mia silently paced her room. Wondering if she should just call this entire thing off she opened her phone to text Nathan. Seeing he had sent her a text saying 'Be there in ten' she raced to the bathroom. After peeing and washing her hands, she stood in front of the mirror. You can do this! Sitting on her bed and lacing up her Docs, Mia received a text that he was parked down the street. Opening her window, she looked down at the ground and sent a silent prayer to the heavens. Making sure her phone and wallet were securely in her pocket, Mia swung her leg out of her window and onto the tree branch that was centimeters from her window. Testing the strength of the sturdy branch and seeing it held, she crawled the rest of the way onto it.

She slowly inched her way down the tree. Curse you second-floor bedroom, she thought as the bark gave her a splinter. Thankfully, sneaking back in would be easier since she had left the back door open. The only reason she hadn't left that way is the amount of noise it made. In the morning she could easily lie to her parents and tell them she had gone on a quick walk, but trying to explain to her parents why she was going on a walk at 3 am would be more difficult.

After landing on solid ground she made her way down the street to Nathan's car. Opening the passenger door, she got in with a smile. "Hey. That was exhilarating. I felt like a spy."

"Good morning Mia. If you consider this morning." Glancing over her outfit, he raised an eyebrow. She was dressed in all black, from her shoes, to her skinny jeans, to her hoodie. "You do realize that you're just sneaking out, not robbing a bank right?" Nathan, meanwhile, was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

"Where's the fun in not dressing up like I'm a criminal on a dangerous mission? Are you tired? I usually only stay up this late if a show or book is just too good."