「 ✦ ~ Eli ~ ✦ 」

(found in Eli's half-destroyed notebook, written in smudged blue ink)

Day... uh... maybe 12?
or 8. i don't know. time's fake. so are road signs apparently.
still running. still pretending i have a plan.
☁️💧 Weather forecast: 100% chance of regret.

So here's the thing:
I ran away.
No plan, no map, just pure ✨ panic ✨ and one backpack full of regrets and probably moldy snacks.
I figured i'd travel alone. easier that way.
less explaining, less trusting, less crying in front of strangers (y'know, normal survival stuff).

Then he showed up.
Kai.
The first time i saw him, he looked like one of those guys who's either running from the cops or the universe.
hood up, bag over his shoulder, that "don't talk to me" energy.
so of course i said: "hey, you heading somewhere?"
he said:

"Don't follow me."

and my brain went,
challenge accepted.

(★ cue dramatic lightning ★)
Now we're stuck traveling together - two disasters on legs - trying to survive rain, bad motels, and the awkward silence of people pretending they don't care.

but sometimes, he looks at me like he knows exactly what i'm running from.
and that's... scary.
because i haven't told him a thing.
not about home. not about why i left.

He keeps his secrets close, though.
like he's protecting something - or someone.
I don't know if i want to dig, or if i'm too afraid to find out what's buried.

still, we keep moving.
rain. motels. silence.
sometimes, it almost feels peaceful. like maybe if we just keep walking, we'll outpace the past.

"Don't follow me," he said.
but here i am.
following him anyway.

and the truth is... i think i'd rather run with him than be alone again.
☁️ two strangers. one storm. a thousand things unsaid. ☁️
☔ this isn't a love story.
☔ it's a survival one that might accidentally become one.
☔ if we don't kill each other first.