𝙿𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚎𝚜

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟼

You jogged down the steps of your apartment and made your way to Connie's beater car. It was parked just outside of your building, its yellowed headlights shining straight into your eyes. If the car were in any better condition you would have been seeing stars.

Connie barely gave you the chance to sit down before he sped off. You slammed the door shut and buckled yourself in. "What's the rush?"

"Dude, I am starving," he said. He dramatically clutched his stomach. "And you said you would be ready in a minute but it was definitely more like ten."

"Dude," you mocked. "It was only three minutes. Tops."

Connie ignored your comment with a 'psh' sound and a shake of his head. He reached down and handed you his tangled-up aux cord. He knew the drill. You took the cord without hesitation and found the late-night drive playlist the two of you carefully curated.

The playlist was made for these exact moments, the times when all you needed was shitty food and good company. Connie was your go-to man for that. It never took much convincing for him to pick you up for a drive. He never even asked you for gas money either. You offered once, but he insisted that he was your sugar daddy. You didn't know how to respond to that so you never had the conversation again.

Anyway, tonight's move was Wendy's. You practically started to drool when you thought over the menu in your head. "I'm getting a frosty, for sure."

"Obviously. You can't go to Wendy's without getting a chocolate frosty."

"I was going to get vanilla," you said. Connie made a gagging sound. "What? I always get vanilla."

"That's so boring." He hung his tongue out of his mouth in disgust. You shoved his arm and he laughed like a hyena.

Connie always took the back roads during your adventures. There were fewer cars, meaning that your impulsive friend could drive as fast as his little heart desired – even if it meant that you had to clutch onto the side of the car for your own safety. The hyena laughs continued whenever he saw the fear in your eyes. You had managed to become friends with some maniacs, didn't you?

Outside of his reckless driving, there was a quaintness to be found in rolling down the windows. You loved the balmy, nighttime air against your face. You and Connie could drive with the windows down for hours, talking about whatever it was that was on your minds.

When Sasha first introduced you to Connie, you never would have imagined the two of you would form this strange and special bond. Frankly, he came off as an idiot; someone who couldn't even pretend to be serious. Once you got to know him a bit, you learned that there were actually some layers to the guy. You respected the way he could use his goofy personality to cheer up his friends.

Connie collected your orders from the drive-thru and pulled the car into a dimly-lit parking spot. You kicked your feet up onto the dashboard and dipped a fry into your vanilla frosty.

"You ever dip nuggets in your frosties?" Connie asked.

You curled your lips at the thought. "Chicken and ice cream?"

He wore a baiting smile before snagging one of your chicken nuggets. He dunked it into his frosty and popped it into his mouth.

"Mmm. S'good." The sound of his chewing muffled his words.

"Gross," you giggled.

After finishing his frankensteined bite, he reached for the dial and lowered the music. With the windows rolled down, you could hear the crickets' song between every car that zoomed by on the freeway nearby.