𝙰 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎, 𝙰𝚗 𝚄𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 |𝚂𝙾𝙰|

🔹𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 2️⃣🔹

Staying true to his word to Lizzie, Connor had managed to scrounge up enough cash to help get bus tickets for her, JJ and Paige to Stockton, a town not too far from Charming itself, just in time before he had to return to Charming himself.

The fifteen-year-old had also managed to talk his mother into allowing him to take the same Greyhound bus to Stockton that Lizzie and her siblings would also be riding in albeit without revealing the extra information regarding Lizzie, JJ and Paige.

The former Mrs. Hale was slightly reluctant at first to give Connor her approval to take the bus instead of traveling by plane like he normally did. It was only after Connor pointed out to her that not only would it be slightly less expensive for him to travel by bus but that it would also be a lot more peaceful too that she finally relented and told him to make sure to text her or his father every 2 to 3 hours while he was on the bus.

Back to the present though.

Connor had just exchanged goodbyes with his mother who had dropped him off at the depot before she had to head to her job as a secretary at one of the town's two dental offices.

Before she had left him though, Connor's mother had reminded him once again of their agreement that he would make sure to text either her or his father every little bit while on the bus and that she fully expected him to inform her of his arrival in Charming.

He and Lizzie had agreed that she, Paige and JJ would meet him at the bus station right at the edge of town thirty minutes before their bus was set to depart from the town and head towards its destination.

Lizzie had decided that she and Paige would act like they were leaving for school like they normally did but once they met up with JJ at their usual meeting place, the three of them would head to the bus station.

Luckily, it had turned out that Bonnie had to leave for her job a bit earlier than normal that morning so the two sisters would be able to get out of the house with their bags without having to come up with a way to hide them away beforehand.

Just then, Connor caught sight of Lizzie entering the bus station, Paige and JJ right behind her.

The trio made their way across the small waiting area to where he was sitting. Lizzie and Paige both took a seat on his right side while JJ snagged the seat to his immediate left..

Lizzie quickly apologized for the fact that they were slightly late, explaining that she had almost forgotten something that would hopefully come in handy with their search for her aunt once they arrived in Charming.

"I also had to double check and make sure Paige here didn't accidentally forget her stuffed elephant. She's kinda protective of it since it was the last thing our mom gave her before, you know."

Connor assured the blonde girl that he understood and that they still had roughly about ten minutes before the bus was supposed to start boarding anyway.

"Cool. Oh before I forget, I actually packed some sandwiches and snacks for all of us to have on the ride. Nothing too fancy but I just figured that it would be a good way to save as much of ourur funds as possible."

"That's actually a brilliant idea, Liz. I mean, I know that my dad would have been fine with me using his card to buy myself snacks or whatever for the ride home but I think me buying food that could be enough for four people might make him a bit suspicious especially since I don't really tend to eat that much food by myself most of the time. "

Skip ahead to when the bus is about to cross from Nevada into California

As the bus continued to roll along the highway as it had been doing for the last eight hours, Lizzie and Connor were quietly talking between themselves about the item that the former had mentioned back in Albuquerque that might be able to aid in their search for her aunt once they reached Charming.

Paige and JJ were sitting together in the row across them, the former sleeping soundly in her big brother's embrace with her elephant tucked in the crook of her arm while the latter looked like he was struggling not to fall asleep just yet himself.

The two teens were trying to come up with a plan how to not let Connor's dad figure out that Lizzie and her siblings had actually run away from their foster home at least long enough for them to track down their aunt.

"So what I was thinking was if my dad does ask me about you guys when he picks me up at the bus stop, I can just tell him that you're in town to visit your aunt for a couple weeks while your mom and dad are out of town."

Lizzie wasn't too keen on the idea of Connor lying to his dad on her behalf but she knew deep down that it was the best option. After all, she knew that his dad had the authority to report her and her siblings as runaways meaning that there was a high chance that not only could they be sent back to Albuquerque but that the three of them could also potentially be separated from each other for who knows how long if that were to happen.

"Okay. I just hate that you're willing to lie to your dad for us, Connor. I get it though. I just don't want it to end up biting any of us in the butt later especially you."

"Yeah, I don't really like the idea of lying to my dad either. I'm willing to do it if it'll help keep you, Paige and JJ together though."

Glancing over at her siblings , Lizzie noticed both of them were now sound asleep as JJ had finally succumbed to sleep a few minutes prior while she had been conversing with Connor.

"Thanks, Connor. I really do appreciate it. I really don't wanna have to worry about possibly getting separated from my brother or sister if I don't have to."

(Paige's stuffed elephant that Lizzie mentions to Connor as the last thing that their mother gave her before she left their family)

A/N: I know that this was probably a bit of a meh chapter but I kinda wanted to focus a little more on Lizzie and Connor as characters as well as their developing relationship.

Speaking of Connor, any new theories about which Hale could possibly be his dad?

Hopefully, the next one will be a bit more eventful especially since it will kick off with the quartet's arrival in Charming as well as the introduction of some of our beloved SOA characters into the story.

Please feel free to vote and/or leave a comment below and let me know what you think of this particular chapter!

Hope you have a great day/afternoon/night wherever you are and stay safe!!
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