Just Don't Die

Lex

Lex sat inside Blaine's little truck, looking through his large selection of CDs. Once she picked out an album she had never heard of, she wondered if Blaine had picked this album before or after he had shifted time. She looked around the inside of the truck, trying to find some connection with the future in everything she saw. She saw trash from a nearby fast food place. Did he buy that out of nostalgia because it won't exist much longer? Was he saving it because the package would be collectible someday? It could be just trash, but Lex now found herself second-guessing anything having to do with Blaine.

She couldn't help but fantasize about Blaine. She had never thought he was unattractive before, but she had always considered him a friend. She had been seeing him in a different light since he told her everything, and the fact that he did tell her made her sure that they were more than just friends in the future. It also made her a little embarrassed over the slight crush she had been developing on Dom. She watched in awe as he quickly dropped the weight he had been gaining since she met him and replaced it with muscle mass like an Olympic athlete. Everything he was now was suddenly more than attractive to her. His dry sense of humor with an overabundance of quick wit and intelligence solidified her belief that they would eventually get married.

She knew that he said they were not married in the future, but she also knew that he was very specific in what he told her about the future. He always referred to where he came from in the past tense, and when she questioned him about it, he said that it was because that wasn't the future of this reality. She made the assumption only a few days after he had first revealed his secret. When she realized that it was factually accurate for him to say they were not married because this future hadn't happened yet. She never pushed him on the subject because she figured he would tell her eventually.

"You get suspended?" She asked as he opened the driver's side door and slid in. "It was enjoyable to see Mrs. Myers lose her shit, but even I didn't expect her to kick you out." She let out a guttural laugh. "She didn't even let you ask your question."

"They put me in AP classes," Blaine said flatly, staring ahead as if trying to look for something.

"What? They rewarded you for picking on the teachers? Although knowing the truth, it's not really fair of you."

"I know," he said in an unexpectedly humble tone, "I should have just dropped out."

"We talked about this, Blaine," Lex said, now staring at the gathering overcast through the windshield, "there is no benefit to you leaving before graduation. The whole relationship that you need with your parents would dissolve if you suddenly dropped out and moved away with no logical reason."

Lex also worried about her future. She knew that she would gladly drop out and follow Blaine without a second thought, but she knew that Blaine wouldn't allow that. Frankly, she got excited every morning she saw him because that meant he hadn't disappeared yet. She knew she would eventually find him, and they would live happily ever after, but she wasn't looking forward to any chance that he might leave her, even for a short time.

"Maybe you can use this to your advantage. I know money won't be a problem, but why don't you use your knowledge to help technology advance quicker or maybe bring some medical miracle that hasn't been invented yet? You know a lot, but maybe you can challenge the AP teachers to actually teach you something you don't already know. You know I'm in AP biology again next semester, right?"

"Yeah, they told me that. They told me Melanie would be there too. I think the counselor was using that to get me to agree to it."

She tried to read his face whenever he brought up Melanie. Personally, the thought of them being in the same room together made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She knew that he was completely head over heels for her just a few weeks ago, and it still bothered her to think about it. She wasn't as much worried about Blaine as she was about Melanie. Ironically, they had been best friends a few years ago, but the tension between them grew once Melanie became a sophomore. As much as Lex hated to admit it, she knew deep down that she felt superior to Melanie since she was a senior and Melanie was only a junior.

The tension turned to a complete falling out once they both decided they liked the same boy. It didn't matter that their jealousy was unfounded as the boy turned out to be Dom, who was infatuated with a new girl named Natalie. During their fight, they said things they could never take back or forgive each other for. Once Melanie started to date Blaine, Lex's closest friend, they allowed their anger to cool. They would never be able to return to the friendship they once had, but they were at least cordial to each other, if not friendly from time to time. The problem now was that Melanie was the ex, and Lex wanted Blaine.

"That should be interesting," Lex said, forcing a small smile.

"Yeah, another reason for me to just say to hell with it and leave," Blaine said, finally starting his old truck.

"Have you decided where you would go," Lex tried, trying to hide the panic in her voice.

"Not really. I want to just go travel. Maybe hit up Europe before the Euro messes up the exchange rate. Maybe we can meet up if you save up your graduation money." He said with his sarcastic half smile.

"You're not funny." She said looking out the window. "Where are we going?"

"I like your idea of challenging the teachers to actually teach me something I don't know. I heard the AP bio teacher is also a part-time professor at the Fort. I also may have told Mr. Ballard that I would accept his deal if he would overlook a few absences for you and me. It's Thursday, and he agreed not to report our absences today or tomorrow. So, road trip?"

"What about my mom?" She said as she looked over at Blaine, who was already holding out his cell phone. "What do I tell her?"

"We'll be back by Sunday. Does she still hate me?"

Lex's mom was a single parent and didn't necessarily dislike Blaine. She just thought he was a rude, lazy, irresponsible, and immature teenager. Until recently, that was absolutely true. Unfortunately for Lex, at this particular moment, her mom had not had a chance to meet the new and improved Blaine.

"I'll think of something to tell her. Where are we going?"

"You always said you wanted to travel. You got a passport?"