𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐃

CHAPTER SIX

Six

    "So, where are you dragging me off to, huh?" Nora asked with an amused tone as she sat in the passenger seat of Edison's car with the windows down and her blonde hair flowing rather ungracefully in the wind. Music was playing quietly, more just background noise harmonizing with the rhythm of the wind as they sped down the highway.

    Edison laughed, "It's a surprise, you'll like it I guarantee you."

    "Is it another meadow?"

    "No!" the girl laughed, her dark hair whipping in the wind. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, but that didn't stop her bangs from flying everywhere as she drove. "Just trust me!"

    "You seem to know too many secret locations in the middle of nowhere. Have you killed someone before?" the girl asked jokingly, her nose scrunching up as she laughed. Edison looked over at her and Nora could have sworn she saw just a glimmer of something in the other girl's eyes. Her gaze was cutting and curious and the way Edison's laugh settled as she cleared her throat and turned to keep her eyes on the road. Nora went silent as well, her eyes trained on the view outside her window instead of to her left.

    After a moment, both girls seemed to remember they had been having a conversation as Edison cleared her throat again to answer the question, "Uh, no, no murder. I just like to... get away. That requires places to get away to. I just seem to find them. Whenever I need to get out, I just drive and drive until I find something. Once you get out of town, it's heaven on earth. My favorite place to be. You seem like you could use a slice of that so I'm giving it to you. That's all."

    Those words seemed to replay in Nora's mind over and over again. Heaven on earth. Giving it to you. Her mind entertained the idea that this was how Edison made her moves on various girls, but something in her eyes was too genuine. Not just her eyes, but the way her smile grew as they got closer and closer to their location. The way she sang along to her favorite songs when they came on. These were her little corners of happiness and she was choosing to show them to Nora. Why? She had no idea. 

    "What are you thinking so hard about?" the girl next to her asked after just a moment too long of a silence. For two girls who were always talking, they were never this quiet. "Come on, focus on here, right now. Wind flowing through your hair, bomb ass music, just enjoy it. Let it last."

    "You're a sap."

    "I am allowed to enjoy life sometimes, you know," Edison scoffed, but there was an underlying humor in her tone. "I'm not used to there being much to enjoy, so I will take what I can get my hands on."

    Sighing, Nora turned around to face her even though her eyes were still simply trained on the road. "Why me? I mean, we really just started talking not even two days ago, we're barely friends. Yet, you seem to want to spend time with me and hang out with me and get to know me and be my friend. It's like this came out of nowhere. You caught me on one of the worst nights I've ever experienced and now all you want to do is spend time with me. You saw me at rock bottom, so why do you wanna mess with that?"

    "You think way too much," Edison laughed, but there was a sense of seriousness on her face that she was unable to completely mask. "I've always seen you, you know? I've always thought you were this super pretty, super popular, untouchable girl. I wanted to get to know you, I mean, I hear you talk in class pretty much every day for the last four years and the way your mind works is amazing, Nora. I've always wanted to be your friend, but I don't think I ever could."

    "Why do you say that?" the blonde scrunched up her face in confusion. She had been following along with most of what Edison was saying up until that very last sentence that had her mind and heart racing.

    Edison sighed as if she was pondering whether or not she should say the words that rest on the tip of her tongue. Just a single, aching moment passed before she spoke again. Her voice was just above a whisper and Nora could barely hear it, but hear it she did. "I don't think I could ever really be just your friend, Nora." She cleared her throat and spoke louder, "But um, you're straight and just dumped a total douchebag and not to mention we're all fucking stressed about college so, I am coming to terms with that and I am happy to be whatever you need me to be. Your company is all I'm happy to have. Besides, me and you are far from compatible. I am not your type of girl, trust me."

    The silence hung heavy in the air like a weary tune along with the roaring wind. Despite the ambiance around them, all Nora could hear were Edison's words replaying themselves in her mind.

    Nora wished she knew what she was thinking. Part of her wondered if this was some elaborate joke. Edison could not be serious. Edison liking her? Nora was not the girl's type, at all, anyone with eyes could see this. Something in her realized by the look on the other girl's face that this was no joke. She ached for words to leave her mouth and yet they all stuck to the sides of her throat, not knowing when or how to take shape in the form of a coherent thought. So, Nora didn't respond with words. She didn't want to respond with some disingenuine, "it's okay, we're friends" because that wasn't what she was feeling. In reality, she was completely and utterly lost as to how she was feeling. Instead of making up some bullshit consolation she didn't mean, her eyes gazed at Edison's arm resting on the center console while she drove with just one hand on the steering wheel. Her hand moved almost without any thought or instruction because it already knew where to go. Neither of them breathed a word as Nora reached over and interlaced their fingers on top of the center console. All Nora could pay attention to was how Edison gripped her right back as soon as their hands met. Squeezing reassuringly, Nora looked over at Edison with a smile before leaning her head against the edge of the open window.

    The noise and annoyance of life was silent in this small window of time. With their hands interlocked and the wind blowing through their hair, Nora's mind was clear. Just like Edison told her not even ten minutes ago: Let it last. So, Nora was letting it last. What that meant to her she was unsure of, but that wasn't something that needed to be figured out right now. This was her moment. Hers and Edison's. She didn't have to know what it meant, not now. Maybe not ever. This moment was a screencap in her mind as minutes passed and that was all it had to be. She was just lucky she got to enjoy it.