Something I Need

2: On the Road

        Todd and Ricky immediately began conspiring against Fiona. She set up her ground rules as they occurred to her. The first rule was announced as she and Todd watched Ricky pack a bag. "No drinking or smoking." Ricky argued this rule was self-explanatory, what with Todd being extremely underage. 

        Fiona's next rule occurred to her while she was showering about twenty minutes later-- she'd insisted that she and Todd weren't wearing the right clothes for traveling, and then decided that she should wash her hair now, so she wouldn't have to wash it again until they arrived in California. "No rap music in the car!" she'd shouted over the running water.

        "Understood!" Ricky called back, slight laughter in his tone.

        The next rule came about while Fiona was climbing into the backseat of Ricky's car, now cuddled up in an oversized sweater and a pair of track shorts. "If you've got to fart, you have to crack and window. And apologize."

        "Fair enough," Ricky agreed, slipping the key into the ignition. He ruffled his hair a bit, checked his mirrors, and then turned to Todd, who looked small and fragile in the passenger seat, thin arms folded across his chest. "Ready?"

        "Ready," Todd confirmed, nodding with the sort of confidence born leaders and adventurers have. Ricky patted Todd on the shoulder, flicked on the radio, and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, shielding his eyes from the late morning sun.

        As Ricky pulled out of the driveway, Fiona settled in, pulling a book out of her backpack. She rested the spine in the gap between her legs, running her fingertips over the cover. Instead of reading, she watched their town fly past through the window, settling into the steady, smooth way Ricky drove. She drove with urgency and anxiety, jerky and calculating. Ricky drove like he knew what he was doing, the slightest bit of a rumble under the low sound of the engine.

        For a while, the only sound in the car was the music Ricky had chosen, a station that was playing older hits, from the late 90's. He hummed along, unashamed of the way his voice cracked over higher notes and consistently flowed in and out of tune. Fiona admired the simplicity in Ricky. He was so interesting to look at, all high cheek bones with the dark shadows of tattoos resting under the white fabric of his Beatles tee-shirt. His personality though, was so average, so refreshing and normal.

        "Can I add a rule?" Todd asked, eyeing his older sister suspiciously. He noted the way her book was open in her lap, but was still on the title page, her attention instead captured by the way Ricky's face scrunched in concentration, fumbling with the radio. She nodded absent-mindedly, blinking twice before turning her gaze to her brother. "You two can't fall in love."

        Ricky blushed, which wasn't what Fiona expected. She'd gotten used to the bluntness of her younger brother, and despite being embarrassed, knew this wasn't the the worst it was going to get; she knew Todd was completely serious. "I'll try my best," Ricky promised, eyes planted firmly on the road. He removed his left hand from the wheel to scratch at the back of his neck, chuckling nervously.

        "I will too," Fiona agreed, nodding solemnly. The car dipped into a thick silence after that.

        Somewhere around chapter three, Fiona fell asleep, book sliding out of her lap and onto the floor as she tucked in on herself, upper half swallowed in her sweater and legs bare and pale, with dark stubble littering the soft skin. Todd had his feet propped up on the dashboard, knees bent. His sketchbook was in his lap, and he doodled superheroes of his own creation, sketching out inventive weapons and naming them silly names. 

        Ricky had grown bored of humming along to the radio and was instead listening to a baseball game, frustrated by the slow pace and lack of action. Baseball had to be the worst sport to play, with all that standing around in the sun. He didn't recognize the name of either team, so he chose to cheer for the team that was already in the lead, pretending to understand the baseball jargon and what it meant that somebody had just stolen second base. (How was the game supposed to continue without one of the bases?)

        "Pull off here," Todd demanded, suddenly looking up from his sketchbook. "I have to pee."

        "There's nothing on the rest stop," Ricky argued. "How about the next one? It's only three miles away."

        "Do you want me to pee in here?" Todd asked, setting his sketchbook aside. "I'll do it."

        "Fine, pee on the ground," Ricky chuckled, taking the exit as Todd requested. They found themselves in a small neighborhood, filled with small, run-down houses and commercial buildings. 

        Ricky pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald's, only to find that it was closed. It was only noon, give or take a few minutes, so it being closed didn't make much sense. Todd didn't seem to care at all, though, and promptly climbed out of the car. He walked over the dying plants near the front door and went to work.

        Without the motion of the car, Fiona woke up, vision cloudy and limbs tight. "Where are we?"

        Ricky glanced back, eyes bright in amusement. "Maryland," he informed her. "It's only been about an hour."

        "Where's Todd?" Fiona asked, groggily eyeing his empty seat in confusion. Ricky nodded toward where Todd was standing, head tilted towards the sky as he relieved himself. She groaned, digging through her backpack and tugging out a bottle of peach scented hand sanitizer. "You couldn't find an actual bathroom?" 

        "He insisted," Ricky chuckled, shaking his head. "By the way, I figured we could sleep in Pennsylvania, if that's alright? Get an early start in the morning and do the last stretch all at once, maybe? Whatever the two of you want."

        Fiona nodded lazily, tugging the fabric of her sweater tighter around her body. "Think we could stop somewhere for lunch?"

        "Of course," Ricky said, eyes wide, like he'd only just realized that food still existed. Without his sunglasses, there was an extra level of vulnerability. He'd tossed them onto the dashboard the minute they'd left Milford; as they drove towards California, the sun shone behind them, not ahead. "Yeah, yeah, that's a great idea-- yeah, we could definitely do that. Like. Now? We could do that as soon as Todd comes back."

        For the first time since they'd asked Ricky to join them, Fiona saw something other than the calm-cool-collected Ricky Wu she'd been hearing about forever. He blushed, he stumbled on his words-- hell, he'd blushed when Todd mentioned the pair of them falling in love. In fact, Fiona had a feeling that all those young adult novels about enemies falling in love must've been complete bullshit; she knew in that moment that it was going to be hard to follow Todd's rule.