unchained

three

Phil
8:48pm

I shoved my back-pack into the back seat of my car as Dan got into the passenger seat.
"How do you do it?" he finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence as I sat in the driver's seat, "Be so free, I mean."
My eyes darted in his direction, tracing and admiring every inch of his face under the warm, evening glow the sun was casting. Our surroundings were becoming increasingly darker. I was glad to hear the British accent I knew him speak with so well seep back into his voice slightly, or was it that I was just getting used to him again?
"You over-analyse things too much, Dan," I said softly, starting the engine and shooting him a smile, "you just need to let go a bit."

Within minutes we were on the motorway on our way to the closest fast food restaurant we could find. The engine hummed as we travelled fast down the near-empty road lit sparsely by regimented streetlamps from overhead. The motorway was wide and the quietude would typically make me feel uneasy, but there was something appealing about the somber air that filled the roads. I always loved the night.
The night is like a whole other unseen world to me, especially on clear nights such as this where the stars are visible like flecks of white paint across the sky.

The radio was playing quietly in the background and Dan had his left arm hoisted up on the door beside the window, looking out into the darkness. He was so still and peaceful. I wanted to capture this moment and keep it for myself. No Polaroid or video would capture his beauty as well as my mental image.

I saw the restaurant coming up in the distance, so I reached out towards the radio and changed to the CD, startling Dan slightly. I kept my eyes on the road suppressing a smirk, before turning up the volume and waiting for Dan to recognise the song. Suddenly, he caught on, and he gasped excitedly.
"Oh my God! You still listen to this?" He shrilled.
I felt a grin spread across my face, and I turned up the volume even higher than usual, so that it was blasting through the car. Dan was staring at me, completely agape.
"Of course I do," I replied.

Just as we drew closer to the restaurant, I rolled the windows down all the way, and I triggered the open-top roof. My car may be cheap and falling to pieces, but at least it was good for something. It had been my dad's at one time, and he had handed it over to me back in high school.
The roof began to fold backwards, revealing the navy-blue sky, and Dan propositioned himself up slightly to see view above. His curls were battling gently against the breeze, his white shirt clinging onto his figure as the force of the wind propelled forwards.
"Why did you do that, Phil?" He yelled excitedly in the wind and over the loud music. The song playing was 'Everywhere' by Fleetwood Mac, our favourite song in high school.
"Because we're alive, Dan," I shouted back, and I raised my left hand in the air whilst keeping my right on the steering wheel, feeling the force of the air brush against my palm. The wind entangled itself with my hair, blowing it back even further, and I shut my eyes for a second or two to bask in the euphoria.

I glanced at Dan, only to see him wearing a smile wider than I had ever seen him wear, and his eyes were glistening with both fear and amazement. "You're crazy!" He bellowed.
Then, he too raised his arms up slowly, as though on a rollercoaster, and he craned his head backwards in the breeze.
Either his smile was contagious, or I was still completely in awe of him - I couldn't help the warming sensation spreading across my chest and the smile that appeared once again on my lips as I watched him. Our yells were taken up by the wind as they dispersed into the night, but we didn't care.
This was the most free I had felt in a long time and I let all my troubles spill into the night.
I sped up a little.
"Jesus, Phil!" I heard Dan shriek. I just laughed, and he laughed too, nervously. After a few seconds, he began to ease back into the car seat.

"See," I shouted over the breeze once again, "how free do you feel right now?"
He responded with another grin, and he let his left arm hang over the car door, intertwining his fingers with the breeze.

As we approached our chosen place to eat, the final seconds of the song played, and I took a left turn off into the desolte car park.
The car park was almost post-apocalyptic, and there was not a single sign of life with the exception of two or three other cars spread out. I glanced at the car clock before we got out.
9:24pm.
"C'mon," I coaxed, hitting him gently on the arm, and we darted straight out of the car. Before I knew it, we had broken into a light jog, and suddenly we were running excitedly towards the deserted restaurant with not a care in the world.

Once inside, we saw how scarce business was. Apart from a couple huddled together in the corner and a waiter at the counter, we were the only two inside.
"I'll just have a cheeseburger, please," Dan began.
"Oh, come on," I rolled my eyes and jeered at him harmlessly, "you can do better than that. We'll take two large milkshakes, two double cheeseburgers and two large fries." I asserted, whilst taking my card out to pay.
He scoffed weakly.
"Let me," Dan said, taking out his own card.
I acquiesced.
There was no way I was refusing him when he looked so cute, his hair all entangled from the car ride, his dimples effortlessly on show, his brown eyes twinkling. No way.

***
a/n
hey guys let me know if you're enjoying this! it's going to get angsty soon and the plot will become a lot deeper so it should really start to take shape