Fan Behavior (Georgenotfound)

Eight: "I have a while" - October 4

Lilac was at the point in her drive where she was thinking about what she was doing before she left. The answer, of course, was triple-checking her luggage.

"Oh my Lord." Andi had been so unbelievably fed up with Lilac, in the most loving way possible. "Lilac, you have everything."

"I just feel like I'm missing one specific thing," Lilac said, eyebrows furrowed as she zipped her suitcase closed for the third time. "Clothes, shoes, bathroom stuff, technology..." She counted off all of the categories of things to bring and the items in those categories aloud (for the third time), shrugging when she was complete. "I guess I do have everything."

"Which we knew," Andi reminded her, and Lilac chuckled at her righteous impatience.

"Alright, then. Let's go." Andi had insisted on seeing Lilac off, since she was driving directly from campus to the boys' house. Together, the two of them trekked down the stairs, Andi chatting nonstop to keep Lilac from going through her list of things a fourth time. Lilac put all of her luggage in the trunk once they got out to the car, plugging Sap and Clay's address into her GPS and connecting her phone to her car. After checking (much to Andi's chagrin) that she had everything one last time, Lilac took a deep breath and turned to her roommate.

"I suppose I'm off," Lilac said, and Andi slung an arm around Lilac's shoulders.

"The great highway awaits," She said, spreading her other arm in front of her. "Nothing but green and blue road signs, open road, and sweet-smelling southern breeze." Lilac raised an eyebrow, smiling as Andi stepped back.

"What are you, a travel brochure?" She retorted, and they shared a laugh.

"Have fun, and drive safe tomorrow," Lilac reminded Andi as she got into the car and turned it on. Andi planned to leave tomorrow to see her parents.

"Have fun and drive safe today," Andi returned, stepping onto the sidewalk as Lilac reversed carefully. Lilac waved before focusing her eyes completely on the road, pulling out of the parking space behind their dorm room and out onto the university streets. Andi waved at her until her car had disappeared behind the trees.

Now, Lilac's journey was about an hour from ending. It would, she was sure, be populated with the same things that the first hours had been- music played a little loudly, conversations with herself a little too frequently, and calls from Sap every other hour just to check in. Speaking of which, it was 3:58, meaning he would be calling in a bit. And not a second after four, Lilac's music was interrupted by his phone call.

"Are you posted by your phone on the hour?" Lilac asked as she accepted the call. "This time, you called me as soon as the hour changed."

"I'm doing what I said I was going to do," Sap replied, and Lilac couldn't really argue with that. "Still doing okay, still awake? Have you gotten out to stretch?"

"Yes, Dad," Lilac joked. "I stopped to walk around and get gas at a rest stop about half an hour ago, but I'm less than an hour away now, so I'm going to make it all the way there without stopping again." Sap hummed in approval.

"And you haven't been pulled over at all? No tickets?"

"No, for the 73rd time," Lilac chuckled. "My perfect driving record should remind you that I don't drive fast enough to warrant being ticketed."

"Good," Sap said, sounding satisfied. Sap had always been very particular about driving and always wanted to make sure his friends were safe in the car, which Lilac was not at all mad about. It was sweet, actually, though she'd never say it to him, lest he stop doing it.

"How's everyone down there?" Lilac asked, passing someone briefly in the fast lane.

"Excited to see you," Sap said, and her spirits were raised by the smile in his voice. "Clay and George are bouncing off of the freaking walls, they can't wait to meet you in real life."