Griffin Campbell and Harper Dunn. Seventeen years old. Best friends. The two had done everything together since they met when they were thirteen years old. Now, it was past midnight and they were driving somewhere between Sulphur Springs, Louisiana and Denver, Colorado. They were on their way to Harper's childhood family cabin. She was driving Griffin's car, swaying along to the quiet music, while Griffin slept soundly in the passenger seat.
Harper eventually glanced over at her best friend, sleeping peacefully and smiled slightly before chuckling.
"Are you awake, Griff?" She asked. She sighed and shook him lightly. He jolted awake, staring at her blankly.
"What?" He asked, his tired voice shining through.
"You can't fall asleep, silly. That's like, the first rule of riding shotgun. You're in charge of music, directions, and keep me awake so I don't nod off and drive us off a cliff." Harper joked.
"Are you tired?" He asked. She sure didn't look tired. She looked as fresh as a daisy and he was aware that he was dozing off in the middle of their conversation.
"No, I'm wide awake, but I'm still bored. If you're gonna pass out, at least put on a podcast first. We've listened to the same Eminem album, six times now." Harper said.
"Its your favorite album." Griffin muttered tiredly.
"I do love that album. But if I listen to it one more time tonight, I'm gonna start to hate it. And I'm blaming you for making me fall out of love with my fave artist." Harper pouted.
"Well, we wouldn't want that, would we?" Griffin asked sarcastically. Harper chuckled before putting on her best exaggerated pouty face. "Fine, I'll stay awake."
"Thank you. I promise I'll let you go back to sleep in a bit, we just have to get to a stopping point first. I'd finish the drive tonight, but my ass hurts so bad right now. I've been sitting in the same position for almost 8 hours now. What kind of car doesn't have cruise control? Even my car has it, and it came out about a decade before yours." Harper teased.
"Oh, I'm sorry that my car sucks, princess." Griffin teased.
"Yeah, yeah. The point is, I need to stretch. I probably look like a shrimp right now, the way my body's bent." Harper said. Griffin looked her up and down.
"A little shrimpy." Griffin joked. Harper glared at him playfully. "Just joking. I feel fine."
"I bet you do feel fine. You've been riding passenger princess since four hours ago." Harper teased.
"You said you wanted to drive!" Griffin defended.
"I know, I'm only teasing. I love driving. I'd rather be where I'm at now, than in your position. I just need a break. And you are way to tired for me to put you on the wheel. Its not like I could pull over here anyways. These trees are so dense. If someone wanted to commit a crime, this would be where to do it." Harper joked.
"I could be trying to murder you right now." Griffin said sarcastically.
"You're too tired to even shift your weight right now, I'm pretty sure I'm safe." Harper said jokingly. He smiled lightly and brought himself to put on a new album.
***********
About an hour later, Harper pulled over onto a little overlook parking area. They put the back seats down and laid a thick blanket out over the area. They put some pillows down and climbed into the trunk, closing and locking the door behind them.
"Look at all the stars through the sunroof!" Harper exclaimed, astonished. Griffin looked up before looking over at Harper with a small smile. "Why are you staring?"
Griffin blushed and looked away.
"I'm not. But, thanks, for inviting me." Griffin said honestly.
"Thanks for coming. I wouldn't want to be out in the middle of nowhere with anyone but you, Griffin." Harper said honestly.
"What if I wanted to murder you out here?" Griffin joked again.
"You're still on that? For the last time, I'm not-" Harper was interrupted by Griffin's warm lips brushing against hers. "....scared of you. Wait, you just....why?"
"It just kind of happened. But, I like you, Harper. Like, a lot." Griffin admitted.
"Really?" Harper asked hopefully.
"I thought it was obvious." Griffin chuckled.
"It certainly was not obvious!" Harper exclaimed, smiling.
"Why do you think I was so excited for this trip?" Griffin asked.
"Because we're best friends, and I thought you wanted to see my favorite part of my childhood." Harper stated.
"That too, but I wanted to spend more time with you, Harp." Griffin explained. Griffin blushed before continuing. "C-can I kiss you again?"
He asked this nervously and Harper chuckle.
"Y-yes you can kiss me again." She said, mocking his stuttering. He playfully rolled his eyes before setting his lips on hers once again. She stopped him after a second. "Wait, I like you too. I realized I hadn't said it back."
"I know." Griffin smirked.
"What? How?" Harper asked concerned.
"Savannah told me about your seahorse conversation." Griffin laughed.
"Savannah Dillon, you pain in the ass." Harper muttered to herself and joined in his laughter.
"Besides, you look at me different. At least that's what Zoey says." Griffin said, remembering his sister's words.
"Yeah I guess I do." Harper agreed with a smile.
They kissed for a few minutes before looking up at the stars together, hand in hand.
"You're so cute." Harper said. Griffin raised his eyebrows.
"Oh?" He asked, smiling brightly.
"Yeah." She said, hugging him tightly. When they released they kissed for a few more minutes.
"Well, as much as I would love to stay up all night with you, Harp, if I don't go to sleep soon, I may pass out when we get to the cabin tomorrow." Griffin said, only half joking.
"Besides, if we don't get there by dinner time, my mom is gonna be pissed." Harper chuckled.
"Then its settled. Night Harp." Griffin said, kissing her cheek.
"Night Griff." She responded.
They soon fell asleep, snuggled into each others arms, underneath the star light.
WORD COUNT: 1021
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
