The Big Apple / 5SOS AU

1.1

They left.

Michael's 'silly' mistakes forced them to leave town.

Where would they go?

Most people in Michael, Calum, Luke, Ashton and Elsa's situation would end up staying somewhere nearby but stay aware of their surroundings.

In this case, Michael knew exactly where to go.

As they lugged their suitcases onto the train that would bring them across the country, Elsa made a to-do list in her 'Notes' app on her cherry red iPhone.

"Let me see the to-do list for a second." Michael commanded softly. Without warning Elsa, he deleted that 40-bullet to-do list that she had been making. He handed the phone back as if nothing had happened.

"Where's my to-do list?" Elsa panicked as she searched through every page of notes that she had.

"I deleted it."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Elsa said plainly. She couldn't get frustrated with Michael anymore. His previous actions caused her to have used all her frustration the last few weeks.

"This is a new start. We're starting fresh."

"What does that have to do with a to-do list?" Maybe she didn't run out of frustration...

"We're winging it!" Michael laughed as if what he said was the funniest thing in the world.

"Mike, we can't just wing it. These are our lives we're talking about." Luke defended her about the current situation.

"What's wrong with wing-"

"The train from Sebastopol, California to Chicago, Illinois is departing."

"Let's go then!" Michael's mood was annoying all of the boys and Elsa. This godforsaken train ride was entirely his fault. This spontaneous move was entirely his fault.

Michael practically skipped to some empty seats that were conveniently placed next to each other. Elsa decided that she would take the window seat. Michael decided that he just couldn't bear to be a seat apart from Elsa.

It was starting to sink in on all of them-that they would be stuck on a train for one whole day and 19 hours.

Elsa lay in her reclinable seat and thought through the next few days because Michael isn't the boss of her.

Luke lay in his reclinable seat thinking about how he might be able to find someone special in the place they were headed.

Calum lay in his reclinable seat wondering what kind of adventure they would take on when they reached their destination.

Ashton lay in his reclinable seat hoping his 'new life' would make him forget about his depressing past.

Michael lay in his reclinable seat with a smile on his face. One might think that Michael is just an obnoxious bastard. Some do think so. But Michael is misunderstood. His mind is clouded with guilt from his actions, which led them to leaving their small town of Sebastopol, California. He wanted to go into this fresh start with a positive attitude. He was staying positive for his friends. They were more like his saviors at the moment. If it wasn't for them, who knows where Michael might be.

They spent the next 43 hours sleeping on & off. When they were awake, they would play card games.

Two rules when playing card games with Michael Clifford:

1. No gambling.

2. No Poker.

On the reclinable seat across from Elsa was Ashton. She worried about him. She wasn't afraid to admit it either. She was protective over him, almost like an older sister.