long way home

highway blues

You look up from the radio to find Dream looking at you. "You look great tonight by the way." Dream says looking away shyly. What?, you think to yourself  " Um thank you Dream. That's really nice of you." The car falls silent, the last song on Dream's playlist fading out. You shift uncomfortably in your seat. You decide to reach again for your drink, throat now parched. Dream watching as your hand and goes for the drink. You notice. "Why are you doing that?" Dream shrugs his shoulders. Assuming he knows what you're talking about, you say, "You've been acting different ever since you came to pick me up." Dream looks out the window and huffs. "I know." 

I know? I know!?! That's all he has to say?  "Okay so first you stare at me for no reason multiple times, then you complement me, which you NEVER do, and now, when I bring up how differently you're acting, all you say is I know?" You wait for him to say something. Anything. But he doesn't. So neither do you. You both just sit there in silence like the beginning of the car ride. But this time, its more painful now that you know for sure that something is up. After deciding that the silence is becoming too much, you collect all of the trash from the food that you both just ate, and get out of the car. You walk across the parking lot to the trash can by the entrance to the building.

The purple and blue lights grow brighter and brighter as you get closer to the front of the building. Since blue and purple are some of your favorite colors, you decide to go inside to check out the interior design of the building. You are met with a 50's themed restaurant with checkerboard floors and dark blue stools that spin when you move on them at the bar. Neon pink signs with "Welcome in!" and "Diner" above it. Circular, marble tables with a cream finish are placed in the middle of the room with chairs with the same deep blue the stools that the bar have. All sorts of pictures and posters are covering the walls, full of diversity. G.I. Blues by Elvis Presley playing on the jukebox in the far corner. " I think this might be my favorite place ever.", you whisper to yourself. You make your way to the restroom, just now noticing how long you've been needing to go. 

After washing your hands and exiting the restroom, you head to the bar to order a chocolate milkshake. Looking up from your phone after shooting a text to Dream asking if he also wants a  drink, you find him sitting at the end of the bar resting against the wall. He looks stressed. You start to feel bad for asking him questions and telling him that he's been acting differently. You take the seat next to him. "Are you feeling okay? I can drive the rest of the way if you don't feel up to it." Dream raises his hand to call the waiter behind the bar over. "I'm sorry I was acting weird earlier. I know we haven't talked in a while and looking back on what happened in the car, how I acted, I just- I-I missed you. And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way." 

The waiter comes over to the both of you and askes you what you would like. Dream orders two chocolate milkshakes. The waiter goes back to the other end of the bar and starts preparing your drinks. "You didn't make me uncomfortable Dream. I just wasn't expecting you to complement me like that. You never do that. You know that right?" 

The waiter at the other end of the bar puts all of the ingredients into a turquoise blender and starts it. The loud noise makes it hard to hear what Dream his saying so he cuts his response short. He leans towards your left ear and says, "Yeah I know I don't give you complements. But not hanging out with you as much made me realize how much you mean to me." Tingles start from behind your ear and travel down the left side of your neck, then down your back. You never used to tingle like this with Dream- or with anyone for that matter. These feelings are new and different. You have no idea what they mean or where they came from. But a small part of you don't want them to go away.

The blender stops and you hear the clang of glasses. Two minutes later, the waiter brings two chocolate milkshakes to you and Dream.  It comes with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Just how you like it. "Thank you." you both say in unison. You shift on the stool to get on the same level as the bar and go for your drink. You raise your eyebrows in reaction to how delicious the chocolatey drink is. Dream looks at you and smiles, "You like it?" he asks already knowing your answer. "Do I like it? I love it! Why haven't you brought me here sooner? What the hell is wrong with you? I cant believe you kept this beautiful place away from me. How long have you known about this restaurant?" Dream laughs. This is the first time you get a genuine smile from Dream all night. 

You smile. Proud of yourself for finally being able to make him laugh for the first time in a while. " I would never hide anything this good from you Bailey. I just pulled up to random drive through like we used to do all the time. I figured you knew that already." You forgot about all of the random fast food adventures that you and Dream used to go on late night on the weekends. It was so much fun to not care too much about what you two ate. It didn't matter if the food was amazing or disgusting, you still enjoyed the time you spent with him. 

After finishing your milkshakes, you and Dream make your way back to his car. The parking lot is almost empty now. The people that were sitting on the tables and benches provided outside are now gone. There's a chilly late night breeze that sends shivers down your spine. Dream notices and as soon as the two of you get into the car, he turns on the heater. "So, where to next?" he asks with smile on his face. " I thought you were gonna bring me home. Didn't you say you were sleeping when I called you?" Dream puts on his favorite playlist and puts the car in reverse. "Yes I was asleep. But I'm awake now." Dream rests his hand on the back of the passenger headrest, which brings his body little closer to yours. His eyes have a sparkle to them that you haven't seen in a very long time. Its refreshing in a way. Just like him.  

While paying attention to backing out safely, he isn't paying that much attention to you. You take the position that he is in to let you eyes wander. You haven't seen him in a few months. Hes changed. Mentally and...physically. His shoulders are broader and his arms look more muscular than the last time you've seen him. You wonder how you didn't notice before how different his body looked. His nails have chipped black nail polish on them and there are three rings on each hand. He also is still wearing the matching friendship bracelet you made together in high school. "Now you're the one staring." he says, now pulling out of the parking lot and on to the now almost empty street and stopping at a red light. You look away shyly. You didn't mean to stare for too long. Just ended up unintentionally captivated. "I don't know what your talking about." you say trying to hide the fact that you are now boiling. Not from the heater, but from the feeling of Dream's piercing eyes gazing at you. 

You shift uncomfortably in your seat. "Admit it. You were staring." your cheeks grow hotter. "Oh come on Bailey. We both know you were. Just say that you like what you see." you can hear the grin tugging on his lips as he finished the last sentence. You look over at him. "Not until you do first." Dream scoffs and turns towards you. He inches his face closer to yours and says, "You would like that, wouldn't you?" his voices was soft and sweet. Almost hypnotizing. Mesmerizing even. You inch you face closer. Your faces are close now but not close enough for your lips to touch. Not just yet. With the same softness that Dream gave you, you hum, "You're right, I would. I bet you would love to hear me say it too." You watch him as his eyes fall from your eyes to your lips then back up and he pulls away as the light turns green. Dream lets out a shaky breath. You sit back, satisfied you got the last word.