Roads and Romances | ✓

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"There is a kind of magicness about going far away and then coming back all changed." -Kate Douglas Wiggin

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     "I'm gonna pick up the pieces, and build a Lego house. If things go wrong, we can knock it down. My three words have two meanings, and one thing's on my mind. It's all for you."

     Everett and I hold hands across the cup holders and sing together as he drives the truck. I have my bare feet propped up on the dashboard, the sun beating down on them and warming them up.

     I smile as he sings incredibly off-key and run a hand through my long hair. "I like it when you smile," Everett tells me, meeting my gaze.

     I blush a deep red and turn towards the window. "Thank you," I say quietly, before speaking loudly. "Leo thinks she wants to do something very spontaneous."

     He laughs, turning the radio down a bit. "Was running away from home and traveling with a stranger not spontaneous enough for her?"

     I roll my eyes, whacking his arm. "Shush. I'm tired of the same old thing, the same old look, the same old routine.I want a change."

     "What do you have in mind?" He asks, raising his eyebrow and making me swoon.

     "I'm not quite sure yet. Is there any ideas in  that seemingly-empty brain up there?" I place a finger on his temple and laugh. He sighs, glancing over at me with an annoyed expression.

     "How about a tattoo?" He suggests.

     "No," I say quickly while shaking my head, "I hate tattoos."

     "Oh, really?" He quirks an eyebrow. "That's funny."

     I let out a groan, hanging my head back. "Please tell me you don't have a tattoo."

     "Sure thing. I don't have a tattoo."

     "But are you lying?"

     "Why don't you check for a tattoo?"

     My eyes narrow as he erupts in laughter. "You are the worst, you know that?"

     "So I've been told," He shrugs, looking over at me and laughing again.

     A grin suddenly breaks out across my face, and I start smacking his shoulder. "Everett, I've got it! I have an idea!Everett, guess!"

     "I don't know, you weirdo! Tell me!" He lets out a nervous chuckle, pushing my hands away from his arm.

     I lower my voice significantly, becoming very serious. My eyes focus on his face, which looks very scared. "I can dye my hair blonde. I'm totally dyeing my hair blonde."

    His expression changes from fear to joy, and he quickly takes the nearest exit. "That'll be awesome."

     We arrive at a Walgreens, and as soon as the car is parked, we run inside. He follows me straight to the hair care section, and I quickly pick out a blonde hair dye kit. I toss it to Everett, who catches it quickly, and he jogs to the counter.

     "I would like to purchases this bottle of blonde hair dye stuff," I hear him announce as I come up behind him.

     "Okay, but this isn't blonde," The cashier says, sending us a confused look. "It's red. The picture on the box is the color, you know."

     He glares at me playfully, pushing the box into my chest. "You are so colorblind."

     "I was just caught up in the moment!" I call over my shoulder as I run to switch colors. Grabbing the blonde dye,I return to the counter and set it on the top.

     "That'll be four sixteen," The cashier says lazily, examining her own split ends. Everett slides out his card,and her eyes widen. "Wow. You must have a lot of bank for a card this nice."

     "I guess so," He replies, his voice hard, and takes the box along with the card. "Let's go, Leo."

      He takes my hand, and we run to the store's bathroom in the back. As soon as the door is locked, I slide my head under the sink faucet and soak my hair with water.

     "I'm so ready for this," I grin as he mixes up the dye. "It's like a new beginning."

     I stand up straight and brush my hair as fast as I can so we don't lose more time than we need to. Everett spreads the bleach all over my head according to the instructions and wraps it with a waterproof cap.

    "It's says we have to wait forty minutes," He laughs. "I guess we'll be in here for a while."

     I close the lid on the toilet and sit, rubbing my palms on my jeans with a grin on my face. "I'm nervous but excited at the same time."

     "I'm sure it will look great," He sends me a sympathetic smile before jumping up onto the sink.

    After a long forty minutes, the timer on Everett's phone goes off, making us jump. I hop off the toilet seat and rush over to the sink, quickly putting my head under the faucet. "Go go go!" I feel the cold water running through my hair, and I wince.

     "Alright. Dry it, girl," He laughs and turns the water off.

     I push my head under the hand dryer and turn it on,trying to dry it as fast as possible. When it feels mostly dry in my fingers, I shut off the machine and straighten my back. "Does it look good?"

     When Everett turns around, his eyes widen, and he exhales softly. "It's gorgeous," He beckons with his finger for me to join him at the sink. With his hands over my eyes, he turns me around to face the mirror. "Okay. On my count, yeah? One,two, three."

     He takes his hands away, and my eyes fly open. The girl who stares back at me in the mirror is not me.

     That girl has blonde hair with slight highlights. She looks content and surprised. It appears as if she has her life together, and she isn't running away from her awful home. She's popular and cute and sweet and shy.

     But then, I realize: it is me.

     A grin appears on my lips and I let out a happy squeal."Oh my god, Everett, look at it. Just look at it."

     "I know," He smiles behind my head in the reflection, "it looks amazing." His arms wrap around my waist loosely.

     I shake with happiness and turn around without thinking, hugging him tightly. "I love it."

     "I love you," He laughs, hugging me back.

     I gasp quietly, letting go, and back away slowly. It's silent for a few minutes before I say, "Well, uh."

     "Yeah," He whispers, looking down at his feet.

     "Let's, uh, yeah. Let's go," I nod a few times, grabbing my things before unlocking the door. We exit the bathroom quickly, ignoring the weird looks from the cashier, and run back to the truck.

     "Mission accomplished," I laugh, looking at my hair in the car mirror as Everett drives. "I'm pretty proud of this."

     "You should be," He smiles contently over at me, "it looks great on you."