Missing You (Gawsten)

Where Are We?

There are no introductions. As soon as the car door slams shut with the three boys packed in the back seat, their bags on their laps, Kellin starts driving. He pulls away from the beginning of the driveway with a quick acceleration, and the car hits fifty-five miles per hour within a few seconds.

All the boys can see of Kellin is his shoulder-length black hair, his sharp eyes in the rear-view mirror, and his focused and quick hands on the steering wheel. He seems smaller than any of his passengers, but he has an aura about him that says he can hold his own against an opponent much bigger than himself.

"Where are we going?" Geoff asks. His voice is different. He sounds almost business-like. Awsten dislikes it.

"A safehouse in the next town over. Alex will meet us there," Kellin responds. He's blunt and doesn't say anything he doesn't have to.

Geoff decides to save his questions for Alex, and takes Awsten's hand. The purple-haired boy's hand is shaking consistently, and Geoff rubs his thumb over the back of it, trying to soothe his nerves. At least he's stopped crying.

The next town over is a small city nicknamed Hawk Town, and it has too many apartment complexes. All of them are run down, and it's a wonder they don't all file for bankruptcy. It's a highway town with nothing to offer except dirty gas station bathrooms and cheap fast food. Nothing memorable.

When Geoff was a kid, his dream was to throw a twin mattress into the back of a van- so he wouldn't have to deal with the shitty apartments- and be a waiter at a restaurant there. No one would ever find him- especially his dad. He never had the guts to do it. Maybe he would've if he hadn't found Awsten. Maybe, in a different universe, he would've taken Awsten with him. Maybe-

But none of that matters now. What matters now is he has Awsten next to him, safe and sound, and they have people looking out for them. They're gonna be okay. They just have to make it through this.

***

Kellin drives all the way to Hawk Town without stopping. He doesn't seem to flinch at the idea of five hour drives, which has Geoff questioning exactly who Alex has put him, his best friend, and his boyfriend in a car with. What does this guy do? Who even is he? Maybe he should've asked more questions when Alex called. Nonetheless, he trusts Alex with his life- Alex wouldn't put them in danger.

Not intentionally, at least.

The sun is rising, and Geoff watches the sky change color through the window to his left. Navy to peach. The sun is hot red, and the slowly-forming thick clouds are pastel pink, orange, and lavender.

Awsten is asleep, his head on Geoff's shoulder, and Otto is drifting in and out of consciousness while watching the world pass by through his window. After the first couple of hours, Awsten managed to calm down. The boys threw their bags into the back of the SUV soon after getting on the highway. They didn't dare change seats, though. They're staying together though this one. They also get the feeling that Kellin wouldn't appreciate someone sitting in the passenger seat.

Kellin hasn't spoken since he answered Geoff's question, and the brunet figures he prefers the silence.

"We'll be at the safehouse in ten minutes. You should wake them up. You can all sleep after you've been briefed," Kellin says, breaking the slightly chilled silence. His voice isn't commanding, but it doesn't leave an invitation for argument either. Geoff nods, catching the raven-haired boy looking at him in the rear-view mirror. Whatever Kellin does, he's good at it. His confidence in his position is easily seen in the way he holds himself.

Geoff shakes Awsten awake gently, and kisses the side of his head as he lifts it up. "Where?" Awsten mumbles out, confused and hazy with sleep. He rubs his eyes before opening them.

Casting a cautious look at the front seat, he grips Geoff's hand a little tighter. "Where are we?"

Otto wakes up from his back and forth with sleep and stretches. He looks to Geoff for the answer as well.

"Hawk Town," the brunet responds.

The three begin looking out of the windows to take in their surroundings. They're met with crumbling brick buildings and rusty cars. Rough-iron gates guard houses and cemeteries alike, and the grass is dead everywhere. A few run down restaurants and coffee shops fit in between gas stations and apartment buildings. Motels that look like they house the plague are strategically placed at the outer corners of town, while the houses and apartments become more frequent deeper into town.

Eventually, Geoff resorts to looking at Awsten, who's eyes are trained straight ahead through the windshield, to avoid the sights of the dying town. He's much prettier than anything this place has to offer.

"We're here," Kellin simply says before climbing out of the SUV. He's a bit smaller than any of the boys anticipated- even Awsten is taller than him.

"Get your things, Alex isn't here yet." Kellin says. He opens the back of the vehicle so the boys don't have to heave their bags over the seats, then goes to unlock the door. He has a somewhat professional personality, and Otto wonders if that's actually who he is or if he just acts like this while on the job.

The house is abandoned-looking. The neighborhood doesn't have streetlights, and most of the other houses look abandoned too. It's a two story house with shingles missing. The porch looks slightly unstable.

"The SUV looks out of place here, we should probably-" Geoff begins, seeing that the few other cars on the street are basically being held together with ducktape. The shiny black car is very attention-grabbing in this area.

"I know. I'll take care of it," Kellin interrupts. There's no malice in his voice, just a tone of 'I know how to do my job'. Hopefully he does.

Awsten, Otto, and Geoff make their way up the porch steps with their bags in hand, and follow Kellin into the dim house.

It smells of cardboard and stale air, and there's a thin layer of dust on everything. The lights take a second to turn on, and some of them flicker for a moment. This place hasn't been used in a while.

"Alex will be here shortly, I'm sure. Make yourselves at home," Kellin says, not to be welcoming or provide comfort, but more for the sake of excusing himself without seeming too rude. He disappears outside, and the SUV can be heard starting up and moving around to the back of the decrepit house. The raven-haired boy then comes back through the front door and goes up the stairs near the door.

The three remaining boys set their bags down next to the couch. No one sits on it, as no one wants to deal with a cloud of dust this early in the morning.

"Dude, what're we even doing here? This is crazy, and my boss is gonna freak," Otto begins. His sleep and panic fuzzed brain couldn't muster anything but blind willingness to follow a few hours before, but now they are in a run down house with a stranger who could kill people for a living for all they know- things are very different compared to a few hours ago.

"I'm not entirely sure, Otto. Alex will explain. We just have to wait," Geoff answers.

There's a faint voice upstairs. It sounds like Kellin is on the phone- probably trying to figure out where Alex is. Geoff pulls Awsten a little closer to him.

...