𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐒, b.

[̲̅t][̲̅h][̲̅r][̲̅e][̲̅e] - jumping the gun

i open my eyes slowly to the darkness of the box car, realizing that jahseh hadn't woken up to open the doors yet.

jahseh.

my eyes widen as i realize that jahseh is still pressed against me, fast asleep. his soft snores assure me that he's in a deep sleep though, and i don't have to worry about him waking up anytime soon.

i attempt to slowly remove jahseh's hands from around me, but he just puts them right back where they were, groaning softly.

"stop it." he mumbles.

"i wanna check what time it is." i tell him, as an excuse to get out from his hold. "it's not time for us to get up yet." he mumbles.

"jahseh." i whine.

"fine." he mumbles, removing his arms from around me. i get up from where i am and realize that the train's still moving, so i open the sliding doors carefully, cautiously moving to ensure that i don't accidentally fall out of the train.

jahseh's still on the floor with his eyes closed, but i can tell that he's not asleep anymore.

"does the train make it's first stop soon?" i ask him.

"i don't know, what time is it?" jahseh asks, and i quickly burn red with embarrassment, realizing that i didn't check the time like i told him i was going to.

i grab my phone and check the time.

10:13 am.

"it's 10:13 am." i tell him. he hums, stretching a bit. "yeah, we should stop in fifteen minutes or so." his strained voice says, returning to his original resting position.

"we're gonna go to a pool and wash up." he says, finally opening his eyes to look at me. his dark brown eyes make my breath catch in my throat, and i just find myself staring back into them, as the sun flickers with every tree and power line that we pass by.

"mhm." is the only thing i can manage to get out, averting my eyes from his.

"did you bring a towel with you when you decided to run away?" jahseh asks with a smirk. "fuck, i knew i forgot something." i scold myself.

"that's okay, you can use mine." jahseh says with a yawn, sitting up. "wait-"

"don't freak out, it's clean." he says. "i get it washed."

"how do you wash it-"

"no questions." he groans in annoyance.

"sorry." i say, still fiddling with my fingers. "stop apologizing, you're killing me." he says, standing up and walking towards me. he wastes no time pulling me into a hug, rubbing my back. my eyes widen at the gesture, as i'm genuinely surprised by my actions.

"hug me back." he says lowly. i do as he says and wrap my arms around him, breathing in his scent. he smells surprisingly good for a kid that's been train hopping for months.

jahseh lets go of me and goes to a corner of the boxcar, pulling out a black backpack.

"all of my belongings, in here." he says, tossing the bag to me. i look at him before opening it up, and digging around, pulling a towel out when i feel its material.

"thank you." i say.

"yeah yeah." he waves me off.

i set the towel down, walking to my duffel bag and pulling my toothbrush and toothpaste out of it, along with a bottle of water.

i sit on the edge of the boxcar, watching as the scenery zooms past us at a terrifying rate, and the train chugs as fast as it can to its next destination.