A Gallagher Girls & The Listen Series Promptober

Corn Maze

Haven't read Gallagher Girls? Please do not continue if you wish to avoid spoilers. While this doesn't contain spoilers for Sarah's Full Circle Series, the dynamics are inspired by her writing of these four.

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out. Comments, feedback and any interaction are appreciated and loved!

Matthew Morgan POV / Timeline: Sometime before the Gallagher Girls Series/Sometime during the late 80s most likely?

Oct. 6th | Corn Maze

My best friend is actually insane. He's finally lost it. He's had one too many pieces of chocolate and the sugar has rotted his brain.

This has got to be what Joe's thinking about him, he just knows it. He can tell from the look on Joe's face. It's been stuck in the same glare in his rearview mirror since he switched spots with Rachel several hours ago.

Of course, that could be because of Matt's choice in music.

Or it's from Rachel constantly turning down said music to tell them about the history of the places they're passing. Only for Abby to ask for it turned up again five minutes later.

Or it's from Abby's constant chatter about nothing and everything and that (tiny) spill of her slurpee on Joe's lap.

Or maybe it's because Matt forgot to mention they would be driving all the way from Virginia to Nebraska.

With the girls.

All for the annual Hay Springs Fall Festival and not the op he had made up to get Joe in the car.

So really, it was hard to say what exactly was ticking Joe off so much, but either way, he looked like he wasn't his number one fan currently.

"So, explain this fall festival thing to me again?" Abby leaned forward, sucking on the remnants of her slurpee. Her lips bright cherry red as they chewed her straw in between the annoying suck and scrape the straw made against the paper cup.

Matt sighed, as Rachel turned the music down and Joe grumbled under his breath, "He's already told you ten times."

Abby sucked tighter on the straw and Rachel leaned her seat back slightly, bumping Joe, "And she'd like to hear it again. Go ahead Nebraska," she added sarcastically and made her eyes wide as she asked, "If that's alright with you Joe?"

Joe's knee digs into her seat and he readjusts but keeps his mouth shut.

Abby sucks the slurpee in his ear as she leans forward to turn the music up a smidge again.

Matt rubs his temple, "Right. So. It's put on by all the businesses and everyone has a booth. They serve food and drinks and there's games like ring toss and-"

Abby sucks louder and then pulls the straw away from her lips, a high pitched screech of straw on plastic top filling the car, "And why again? What's it all for?"

Rachel sighs this time, turning the music down again, and chimes in, "Abby. You've seen the Roseville fall carnival. What are you not comprehending?"

Abby sucks the bottom of her slurpee again, scraping at it with her straw and then comes back up for air and Joe leans his head on the window.

Matt's fingers tighten around the wheel, cracking his neck, "It's for the new season. Autumn. Halloween. There's cider and pumpkins and the kids get their faces painted and there's hay rides and so much corn in every form you can think of. Popcorn, grilled, kettle, there's a corn pit, a maze, corn husk dolls, popcorn balls and-"

Abby pauses him, her hand on his shoulder, "Did you say corn pit ?"

Rachel looks at him, "And maze ?"

Joe hits his head against the glass a few times and Matt wonders which form of corn he's curious about, nodding, "Yes."

The girls stare at him and Abby continues her slurping and Rachel frowns, "Maze? Like one you walk through?"

Slurrrp from Abby. A sigh from Rachel. A bang on the window from Joe.

Matt's eye twitches but he clears his throat, "Yup. Every year there's a new theme and design, and the farmers all get together and mow down the-"

Slurrrrrrrppp. Sigh. Bang.

He blinks and keeps going, "-different paths and there's a scavenger hunt and clues and at the center is this huge-"

Abby's slurping is so loud that he thinks it's inside his brain and Joe yells, throwing himself against the cool glass of his window, "Pull over. Pull over. I have to get out of this car. Now."

Matt looks at him worried in the rearview mirror, "Joe, come on, we're almost to-"

" Morgan. Pull the damn car over. "

He quickly does and Joe leaps out of the car before it's even in park and runs a few feet in front of the car in the grass. He's leaned over his knees, his chest huffing as he stands back up and grabs at his hair, staring at the deserted highway and then out to the fields of absolutely nothing. Matt wonders if he's trying to figure out where he can run to and just how far he'd get on only his legs.

Rachel leans on the console, her chin on her fist, "What's his problem? Hates corn?"

Matt opens his mouth to defend his friend when Abby slurps loudly in his ear again. He grabs the cup from her hand without thinking and both girls blink wide eyes at him as he gets out of the car and chucks the cup as far as he can, red slurpee remnants flinging in the air.

Joe watches Matt hang his head and then quietly walk to where the cup landed, grumbling something about littering. He shamefully picks it back up. He looks around too, maybe Joe's idea isn't crazy. They could walk the rest of the way and the girls could take the car and...

Joe pats his shoulder, "How much further?"

Matt rubs his jaw, "Bout an hour I'd say."

Joe closes his eyes, hits his shoulder twice, both of them bucking up and squaring their shoulders, back to the mission at hand.

Joe and him get back in the car, the crumpled cup in the front cup holder looking sad and sorry. It's quiet aside from Queen playing softly through the speakers for almost the whole tape. The longest it's been quiet in twenty four hours. It's pure bliss. He almost forgets they're all in the car with him.

Until Abby leans forward again, "So, this corn maze..."

Joe groans and Matt sighs.