On the Other Side

First chaper in awhile, figured I should get some more done :P

"Okay, so we take a right up here, then a left three miles after then we'll be at the highway."

"No, we have to go left, then we go right after five miles which takes us to the highway."

"Dude, the map says-"

"You're holding it upside down!"

"No I'm not…oh…wait. My bad. Yeah, you're right."

My cheeks brightly flushed wth the humilation of making false accusations, I sorely handed Romeo the map. With a grunt of pride, he snatched the folded piece of paper from my hands.

"You're welcome," I snapped harshly. I had become increasingly offended and just plan pissed off at his rudeness. It had been a non-stop problem ever since we left that I had managed to avoid adressing. Though just becuase I wouldn't bring it up didn't mean I never was rude back.

His own cheeks brightened another shade as his pale lips barely squeaked out a sincere "thanks". I couldn't help but mumble a string of curses, expressing me lingering distaste for his attitude. Then, to my complete surprise, he looked at me with a smile, chuckling as if he had remembered a joke he heard a long time ago.

"What?" I demanded, suddenly feeling foolish. 

"Nothing," he giggled, shaking his head in amusement. I pursed my lips in a pouty manner, then immeditley dismissed the childish action. "So we should be crossing into Nebraska any day now. Once there we'll find a place to stay for awhile."

"How long is awhile?" I asked timidly.

He shrugged his shoulders and gentley placed te map back into his pocket. "About a month or two. Ya know, just long enough to think up our next move and make a more permanent solution. Plus I'll need to get a job to make some money. Then maybe I'll be able to support us a little better."

With that last sentence, our eyes quickly met. I felt my heart beat faster with anxiety, which only caused the color of humilation to return to my face. It sounded as if he were talking about a family. He must have realized this as well, because he quickly cleared himself.

"You know, until we find someone to take care of you."

"Oh, right," I sighed, unexpectedly dissapointed at this statement. We had already talked about this. Once we reached our final destination, we would go our seperate ways and try to restart our lives. It was a smart move, considering the authorities would be looking for a boy and girl traveling together. I just didn't want to be alone. I could never admit that to Romeo, though. I was sure my presence alone irritated him enough, he was probally ready to get rid of me. I couldn't blame him, I was just a tag-along, another burden to worry about in his attempts at freedom. 

We'd already been on the run for two and a half months, stealing small snacks from gas stations and working small favors for cash. It wasn't a grand life style, but we'd managed to avoid capture from the police by some odd miracle, so it was enough or us. I glanced over at Romeo, admiring his concentrated features as he glanced through the trees, searching for the highway-which was visible through the forest. He was so calm and cool, not at all worried about our dillema. Or at least, if he was worried, he was excellent at hiding it. 

"Alright, up here's our turn. We'll need to cross the road, but we have to be fast," he whispered, as if the trees or plants might hear us and work against our escape. We edged through the vegitation and burst out into the open, creeping closer to the road, preparing to cross the bustling crowded asphalt. I pushed my hair out of my eyes as the wind emitted from passing cars blew it into my face, preventing me from seeing. For what seemed like forever, cars continued to pass by. What in the hell was a highway doing this crowded?

"Here's our chance!" Romeo cried excitedly. "On the count of three! One….two…Three!"

I jolted forward, running at a swift speed acorss the burning pavement. As we crossed the line that seperated both lanes, the honking of a car broke through the silence, engouraging our feet to go faster. It wasn't until we reached the other side, panting out of exhaustion and relief, that I realized Romeo was gripping onto my hand. Had he been holding it that whole time we crossed? It must have been to make sure I would keep up…A self concious feeling suddenly swept over me as I began to doubt my speed. I jerked my sweaty hand away quickly, not wanting to gross him out. With a slightly hurt look, Romeo took a final breath of air and continued walking. Silently and obideintley, I followed him, too scared of what he might think of me to say a single word.

Author's Note

Eh kind of a slow chapter, nothing really important. But all the same I felt like I should write some more and NOT make the chapters massively long and boring :P