Between the Lines

Eleven - Calvin

I have around an hour before I have to wait at the station, so I shower, freshen up, gather a few things, all in under 10 minutes. I waste no time, multitasking everything I'm doing so I can get out of the house as quickly as possible. I don't even stop to say goodbye or thank you to my parents. I slip out of the house then drive straight to the closest convenience store.

I haven't got much of an idea for tonight, but we'll need snacks and drinks. There aren't many foods that I know Oliver likes for sure, but I've heard him mention a few things, so I go off that. I do know he would drink monsters more than water, however. Scouring the isles, I pick up sweets, ice cream, energy drinks, chips, mini cakes... you name it, I have it. I don't care about how much I spend. I want to spoil him. It's what he deserves for his birthday, plus it's an excuse to spend money since he won't let me buy him something special.

The cashier looks at me like I have a problem, but I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't be the worst that they've seen. The number of teenagers I know that would buy things that no one wants to see bought together is far from a number you can count. I've known some strange people.

I get back in the car, slamming the door accidentally, pull out and enter the road. As soon as I'm out of the city, cruising down the last strip of road before the gate, I put more and more pressure on the accelerator, breaching the speed limit. I flick the high beams on and drop the windows, watching the dry grasslands pass me by. I only begin to shave speed off once I come to the gate. As I roll through, I can see the gleaming lights of The Middle past the looming concrete walls. It's not as spectacular as the city lights in the centre of Upper-class, but tonight, they're even more enticing. Once they let me through, and when there's distance between me and the gate, I step on it again.

I make sure I'm travelling at a respectable speed by the time I reach the outer streets of the Middle then take the quickest path to the station. I glance over at the display system, it's only 7:50 PM, so I have a lot of time to waste but I may as well do that at the station.

I coast the car into the station and notice a white sweater in the crowd. I try not and let my hopes soar. I know there's a high chance Oliver can't come, he doesn't get along with his mum at all, and there seems to be some other reason he doesn't want to sneak out. But I want to hope. I glance back at the stark white in the crowd and see messy hair and golden freckles. I pull into a park quickly, resulting in the shittiest park I've done in years, and almost forget to put the gear in park before I jump out of the car. Oliver hides his smile behind his phone as I walk closer to him, then he drops his hands and runs at me, flinging his arms around my shoulders. I picked him up in a hug.

"Hi!" He giggles.

I put him down but leave my arms around him. "How did you get out?" 

"I'..." He looks around, "I'll tell you later." It doesn't look like his answer could end in disaster, so I leave it. Oliver turns back to me, "So, what have you planned?"

"I can't say it's very romantic, but knowing you, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"Anything is romantic if you try hard enough."

I raise an eyebrow at him and take my arms away, "That's concerning because there are a LOT of things that definitely shouldn't be romantic." He shrugs, flashing me a proud smile. I roll my eyes. "Well," I say, attempting to recover from the derailed conversation, "should we go see what I have in mind?" I offer my hand, and he takes it. 

"Lead the way," he says.

I guided us back to the car. I can feel his excitement like electricity, but it doesn't feel dangerous, only contagious, travelling across our linked hands. I slide into the driver's seat and Oliver jumps in on the passenger side. I hid the snacks in the boot, so he has no clue.