and the stars will all come out

chapter sixteen! ☆

A SIX AND A HALF HOUR DRIVE TO NASHVILLE WOULD'VE BEEN DAUNTING TO THE REGULAR PERSON, but as Landry's eyes shot open the following morning, she'd never been so excited for anything in her life.

Bursting with energy, she immediately rose from the mountain of pillows she'd constructed, then looked over at Dave's bed and called, "Good morning!"

Across from her, Dave was looking dishevelled, buried in blankets. She'd never seen him with his hair sticking up in all directions before, it was cute.

When he spoke, his voice was groggy.

"Morning..."

"Sleep well?" she prompted happily as she climbed out of bed.

Dave looked exhausted. "Something like that, yeah."

"Well, I can't wait to get on the road," Landry said happily as she started rummaging in her duffel bag for a change of clothes. "When's checkout time?"

"Eleven AM at the latest," he answered through a magnificent yawn, turning over in bed onto his back. He was slower than she'd ever seen him. "Don't worry, we got plenty of time."

"You can sleep in if you want," she offered. She was in a funny mood again - she felt as though if she stood still for too long, she would explode. "I can get the room ready."

"No, I'm good," Dave answered groggily, though he yawned loudly again, announcing the opposite. "Just need some coffee, that's all...you sleep good?"

"Like a log," Landry exclaimed, grinning.

I know, Dave pictured himself saying, but he kept quiet as he climbed out of bed.

☆

THEY HAD A LESS EXCITING BREAKFAST AT THE MCDONALD'S DRIVE THRU, AND SOON ENOUGH, THEY WERE BACK ON THE ROAD.

Something Dave found interesting was Landry was now writing avidly in a small, spiral-bound notebook, though her handwriting was far too scrawled to see what she was writing, and he had to keep his focus on the road anyway.

"Can I propose a deal?" Dave asked as it became evident the only thing they were going to see for the next few hours was an endless stretch of freeway, and Landry finally looked up. "What?"

He shrugged slightly, keeping his focus on the road ahead. "I mean, you asked me about my past yesterday, so can I ask about yours?'

Freezing cold dread immediately flooded Landry, and she fought to keep her face normal.

Calm down. It's not what you think it means.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, finally.

"Well, you never told me why you like Halloween so much," Dave started, and she immediately relaxed.

Smiling at the memory, she closed the notebook, deciding how she would tell the story.

"I mean, it's a bit of a funny story, actually. Hope was crazy into Halloween first, for a while. Last year's Halloween party was pretty fun."

She left it unsaid, but she was pretty sure Dave caught onto it anyway: this was before Hope had problems.

☆

HALLOWEEN 1997

Hope was grinning at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, about to raise a red solo cup to her lips. Music was blasting in their tiny apartment, the vanity was overcrowded with makeup bottles and brushes, and they were about to call a cab - this was the final look-over of their costumes before they headed out to this party.