No really, I'm okay. I'm also a great liar.

emotional roadshow is actually just us eating doughnuts and playing word games

Annabelle swings around and climbs into the driver's seat, only to find a little daisy propped up on the steering wheel.

She picks it up, and beams like the sun. She shifts her hips so she's facing me, then leans forward and sticks it into the bun on the left side of my head.

I smile at her, and she pokes my cheek. "I will never, ever get over your cheeks, Hazel Ava Lily Danell. Or your seemingly infinite amount of middle names."

"And I will never, ever get over you, Annabelle Hope Lev-Damore. And I only have two. My parents couldn't decide which they like better, so they just gave me both." I shrugged.

She inserts her key into the car and starts the engine, then taps my shoulder.

"Buckle up, Hazel Ava."

I oblige, then pull out my stack of CDs. Annabelle looks over at me fleetingly, then reverses out of her cramped spot on the road.

The Stranger Things soundtrack starts coming out of the speakers, and Annabelle rolls her eyes fondly.

I stretch my arms into the backseat to get my things-for-the-road duffel bag. I pull out a crossword puzzle I printed from the paper and a pen.

"Hmm. Okay Annabelle. Riddle me this: what's a six-letter word for a threaded fastener?"

"A needle?"

"Looks good," I mumble, scribbling it down. "Five-letter word that means take turns?"

She tells me to hold on a second while she mutters to herself and counts on the fingers on her free hand once the road is empty.

"Share?"

"Wow, you're really good at this."

"Thanks. Now, if only I could make a living out of it."

Around an hour later, we've turned off the Stranger Things and put on Asking Alexandria, per Annabelle's request. And I've snuggled up to my polka-dotted travel pillow, my legs criss-cross applesauce on the seat and my shoes kicked off, now in the backseat of the truck.

Annabelle teases me sometimes about how I never wear matching socks, but to be honest I just don't care enough to be bothered about how my socks look. No one's even gonna see them, and the people who do shouldn't mind.

And anyway, Annabelle's one to talk. All she wears are cat socks. Always matching, but I've never seen her feet clad in something that is not an adorable feline.

Having exhausted the crossword puzzle, I move onto sudoku. Puzzles are really fun to play on car trips.

I open my backpack and pull out my Ziploc of Oreos, which I bring on every trip I go on. Annabelle opens her mouth fondly at me, and I pop one in, rolling my eyes at her.

I love long car rides.

And since it's basically summer, it's still really light outside, even if it is only five in the afternoon.

Another hour's passed. The clock reads 7:26. Annabelle decides to drive through for doughnuts and coffee.

So I'm sipping my coffee out of my travel mug (yes, I brought it; I bring it everywhere) and feeding Annabelle doughnuts because she can't take her hands off the steering wheel.

"You're so needy," I grumble, rolling my eyes fondly.

"Aw, you love me," she sings, smiling at the car beside her. Annabelle's a pretty ... instinctual driver. Not reckless like Jenna, but not calm like Jacob.

8:19. There's two more hours until we reach her house. Apparently I had fallen asleep, and my legs are dangling over the seat (no, they don't touch the floor; the seat's really high, okay?) , but when the coffee started to actually take effect I woke up.

Vessel's playing now, and I don't think Annabelle knows I'm up. She's just humming along and tapping the steering wheel, occasionally moving her head to a drum beat.

"Hey," I say, my voice a little scratchy from lack of use. I grab my mug and take a sip of the coffee. It's lukewarm now, but still good.

"Have a good nap?"

"Mmhmm." I raise myself up on my seat so I'm on her level, then lean over and pack her on the cheek.

She crinkles her eyes and quirks her lips up in response.

I'm never what I like

I'm double-sided

And I just can't hide

I kinda like it

When I make you cry

'Cause I'm twisted up

Inside

I pull my legs back up and cross them again, readjusting my neck pillow, which slid down behind my back.

There's one doughnut left in the box of six we got. I think it's filled with jelly. Annabelle for some reason doesn't like these, so I eat it.

She reaches over and pokes my cheek while I'm chewing. I swear, poking my cheeks is her favorite pastime.

"What?"

"I just like poking your cheeks. They've very squishy n' soft," she shrugs, turning back to the road. I blush, like I do every time. I'm not sure when (if ever) I'll get used to her showerings of compliments.

To distract us from my blushing problems, I pull my sudoku book back out and start solving a new puzzle.

9:57. We're almost at Annabelle's. We've gone off the empty highway and the smaller, streetlight-lit roads are making appearances. It's much quieter down here. Very peaceful.

Annabelle persuades me to put on Pretty. Odd. for the rest of the trip about twenty minutes ago, and I agree only with the notion that I would be able to skip Northern Downpour. I don't want Annabelle's family's first impression of me to be a sobbing wreck.

And finally, at 10:07 P.M., we pull into a driveway next to a cute little stone house with lights shining through curtains in the windows.

Annabelle pulls out the key and the car goes lifeless and silent. She grins over at me.

"Ready?"

I nod, and then she comes over to open my door. We grab our things and walk up the steps. Annabelle rubs my shoulder comfortingly, and then stretches out a hand to knock on the door.

a/n: the gif has nothing to do with the story but i thought y'all'd appreciate it so i have a gif of ryan ross bein' beautiful

also i posted this question on my wall but no one reads the messages i post on there, so 

if i wrote a phan stranger things au would anyone read it? please tell me if so/not because i won't post it if no one wants to read it