How to Be a God [ManXMan]

Chapter Eighteen: Go the Distance

~Chapter Eighteen: Go the Distance~

"Uh, Swedish Fish or salted peanuts?"

Two small plastic bags are promptly shoved into my line of sight and I lean back a little to give myself a chance to actually see them. I have absolutely no idea why the red things are labeled as that, as they are not actual fish, but the peanuts look okay. However, I am not sure if I trust food from a rather dirty place like this gas stop. We might not have had the cleanest food stores in my time, but now that there are actual health regulations, I would rather only visit places that meet the criteria.

Apparently, my answer did not come quickly enough, as Jasper just grabs a few more bags before bringing them to the cash register. This is our third, and hopefully final, gas stop before our little trip ends and Jasper has had a total of six coffees since waking up this morning – three at his apartment, one before we officially left our city, and then two on the road. To say it has caused some jitteriness in my boyfriend is an understatement.

It is Sunday and we have been on the road for six hours. Unfortunately for Jasper, who has been driving since ten this morning, I do not know the way to his parents' house, nor do I have a license. And even if I did create a license with magic, I still would not know how to drive a car. At least horses can operate on their own; with a car, you have to remain constantly vigilant. There were three times that Jasper took his eyes off the road and nearly crashed into something, which a horse is unlikely to do, as it would know the difference between open space and another horse.

After using the spider-infested bathroom – Jasper had me use it first, to ensure there were no spiders hanging from the ceiling, waiting to jump on him – I return to the small white car next to one of three gas pumps. Once inside, I wait for Jasper to join me so we can continue on our way. It takes a minute, but he is soon speed walking out of the small store.

"Are there any spiders on me?" is the first thing he asks upon sitting down in the driver's seat. Jasper quickly turns towards me, giving me a view of his blue checkered shirt.

Though I want to point out that it is unlikely any insects got to him in the minute he was in there, I doubt he would appreciate it and instead make a show of looking him over for bugs. "Nothing," I tell him after a minute, to which he sighs in relief.

Fifty minutes of snow-covered roads and random wildlife sightings later, Jasper steers the car into the driveway of a house on the outskirts of Zanesville, Ohio. The nearest house is about half a kilometre away, with most of the surrounding area being woodland. The off-white house is wide and appears to have two floors, and though the garage is already full, there is plenty of space in the driveway for Jasper's car beside another.

"We beat Aaron," Jasper announces with a smug grin, referring to the younger of his two older brothers. The oldest is Trent, whose wife, Samantha, will also be in attendance. From what Jasper told me, Aaron usually brings his long-time girlfriend, but she is visiting her own parents and Aaron will be leaving the day after Christmas to join her for New Year's.

Exiting the car, I immediately move towards the trunk, where our two bags are waiting. Jasper tries to follow, but I shoo him towards the house with my hand. The two black duffel bags, though both packed full, are practically weightless and I have no trouble carrying them. Besides, now that I am actually able to do things with the curse gone, I am not missing any opportunities.

The curse disappeared completely two days ago, though I returned to work on Thursday since the only symptom was a mild headache at that point. My body feels perfectly fine now, which is a great relief. If the curse remained, I would have been unable to properly greet Jasper's family and probably would have had to go to mine.