Ed Sheeran One Shots

Drive

"Forever means forever."

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I can't believe we're doing this. I can't believe I'm  doing this. 

We're on the A1. I would say it's the final stretch, but that would be a lie. The A1 lasts for ages. 4 and a half hours of the 6 hour journey. We're about half way there now, though. Only 3 hours 37 minutes remaining, according to the SAT-NAV. Estimated time of arrival 4:52am. Perfect. 

I look to my left at her gorgeous sleeping face, resting against the cool glass of the window. I'm glad she's sleeping. She'll need it if she wants to see what we're travelling all this way for. 

I turn my head to face towards the endless stretch of tarmac and concrete snaking out in front of me. The artificial orange glow flies over us at the pass of each streetlamp; A comforting regular rhythm, interrupted every now and again by a faulty bulb. 

My stomach is a knot of mixed emotion. Excitement. Dread. Fear. Confidence. Anticipation. Nerves. Happiness. Sadness. Each feeling outweighed by its polar opposite. I run my hand through my hair, ruffling it slightly, followed by a yawn. I need to stay awake. I haven't slept at all  in the past 30 hours due to a mixture of built-up uncertainty - and certainty - for this. Although, come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had a decent nights sleep. God knows how long. 

Another yawn. I need to stay focused, alert, and in a safe-state to continue to drive without endangering the both of us. I check in the rear-view mirror doing a quick scan of the backseats, making sure we have everything we need. We'd be in a bit of a predicament if we didn't have everything, as its a bit late now to turn back and fetch what we've forgotten.

 Another 5 minutes go by and I decide that some music will help to keep me awake. After much struggle, I manage to plug the AUX cable into my phone one-handed, then quickly go into Spotify, and select the album containing the soundtracks to the entirety of the Twilight Saga films. I turn down the volume so as not to wake her, before pressing play. The car is filled with the relaxing ambient music from the cheesy vampire film series that she absolutely adores, and no matter how much I try to deny it, I do love it too. It's a good thing I do, as its a regularly repeated film set of ours to binge over a day or 2. 

"Bella's Lullaby" comes on. I wrote a version of this for her on guitar, to comfort her when she's in pain, or feeling low. To lull her to sleep, or just to absentmindedly pluck and strum when she doesn't have the energy to keep her eyes open to watch the films, or do anything, really. My fingers start moving, tapping, flicking and thudding the steering wheel, a reflex reaction to hearing these chords and melodies that are all too familiar to my calloused guitarists fingers. I begin to hum along too, anything to keep myself awake, and keep the worried feelings at bay. 

After a while, the SAT-NAV beeps, notifying me that we're halfway there. Estimated time of arrival is still the same as 37 minutes ago. This doesn't surprise me. The roads are eerily empty. This also doesn't surprise me. Only truck drivers, nocturnal people, and vampires would be out and about at this hour. Oh, and us, of course. 

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5 hours and 57 minutes. Thats how long we'e been driving for.  351 miles. That's how far we've come.  We're so close now, minutes away. A mile or so away. We're on the B1340 now, a winding road leading us to our destination. My heart is pounding.

The crunch of the sandy gravel under the tires grinds to a halt as I park the car, and put the hand brake on. The music stops, and the engine falls silent. Nothing else can be heard, except for the distant sound of what we came all this way for.