I'm following the map that leads to you

Ella hitched her backpack up on the shoulder as she stood at the side of the road, thumb out, trying to catch a ride. She wasn't having much luck though since she'd been there for half an hour with people just driving past her. She knew hitch hiking could be dangerous, but Ella always carried a pen knife on her, tucked into the back pocket of her shorts. She sighed softly as she began walking further down the road, still holding her thumb out.

Lucas ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a stressed sigh as he entered the small diner. He was there a little earlier than usual which was a surprise, but there was no point staying at the office any later when he was the only one in there. He was a regular at the diner now, going in there at all hours to grab coffee and a quick meal while he worked on his laptop. Thank god they had free wifi.

Asher hung up his phone angrily, tossing it into the cup holder with a frustrated sigh. He knew that inheriting his father's firm meant having to cope with more stress but Jesus, he didn't think he'd be this bad. The poor guy was on the brink of alcoholism with the amount of whiskey he drank at night while he was looking over contracts and different cases that needed to be properly dealt with before he handed them down. With his middle finger, Asher turned the volume of the radio up just a tad, fingers tapping on the wheel to whatever top 40 hit was playing. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl standing on the side of the road, thumb out as she was walking. He didn't know that was a real thing - hitchhiking. It was always that horror story him and his friends had told when they were younger but wow, it was real and this girl was doing it. Asher slowed up a bit and rolled the window of his Mustang down. "Where are you trying to go?" Yeah, it wasn't his brightest idea, but he didn't want her out alone.

---

Jase wiped down the last table before turning around at the sound of the bell. Of course it was him, yet she'd been too chicken to ask what the guy's name was. He'd been constantly in and out of the diner for the past eight months that Jase had worked there, and he was always clacking away on his laptop, too absorbed in whatever work he was doing to ever notice the other waitresses swooning over him. Jase tossed the rag to one of the busboys, offering him a slight nod as she slipped her pad from her front apron, pen already in hand while she approached his table. "G'mornin'," she greeted, "House special's half off if you leave a ten dollar tip for a special someone." She motioned towards her name tag and laughed a little bit, obviously joking.

Ella bit down on her lower lip, trying not to get frustrated because she knew what she was getting into when she just took off, but she really didn't want to end up walking to the next damn state. When she saw a car slowing down and stopping Bessie her, and damn it was a nice car, she felt a sense of relief flood through her because at least she could get a ride somewhere. "Dude, thank you!" She laughed as she opened the door and threw her backpack in the back of the car. She shrugged as she got in he passenger seat. "As far as you're willing to take me." She grinned.

Lucas stared down at his phone, frowning at a text his boss had sent him about another problem that Asher Steel had found with their contract to partner their firms. He didn't even want their firms to be partners anymore, he just wanted to kill Asher because he's been finding problems with the contracts for months no matter how many times Lucas remakes them. His head snapped up when he heard a soft voice, smiling a little at the joke she made. "I'll take the house special then please," he replied as he loosened his tie before taking it off. "Oh and a really large pot of coffee." He added with a little laugh.

Asher just sighed softly as she got in his car, knowing damn well he probably shouldn't have let her get in. He flipped his turn signal on before merging back onto the road, one hand resting on the wheel as he glanced over at her. "That's not a good enough answer," he replied with a frown, "I live thirty minutes outside of here. You either get dropped off before or I drive you ten minutes further and you figure it out yourself." Okay, he was a bit crabby as of now, but he didn't really mean for it to come out that harsh.

---

Jase nodded, jotting down his order. "One house special with a large pot of coffee and a ten dollar tip," she repeated, "I'll be back in a minute." She offered him a smile as she walked off back towards the kitchen window, tearing the slip of paper from the pad and pinning it to the line. A couple of the waitresses were peering at the guy through the little window, murmuring stuff about him with devilish grins and basically just staring. Jase shook her head at the two. "Guys, take a picture," she muttered, hopping up on the counter as one of them turned the radio on, "Or go talk to him."

Ella raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to laugh at his moody reply. "Sorry, boss," she said with a little shrug. She thought for a few moments, looking outside of the window. "Um, yeah just drop me ten minutes further and I can figure it out." She said with a nod, looking over at the guy, who unfortunately for her, was one of those people who look really good when they're kind of pissed off. "I'm Ella, by the way." She told him, a smile reappearing on her lips. Even though he wasn't going to drop her very far, she was still incredibly grateful. She'd

---

Lucas nodded, murmuring a soft thank you as she walked off. He shrugged his suit jacket off and rolled his sleeves up, because he really hated that he had to wear a suit all day. He went back to making another draft of the contact, working on it for about five minutes before sighing and leaning back in his chair. He didn't know how to please this Asher Steel when the guy didn't even know what he wanted from the partnership anyway. He decided to call it a night and closed his laptop, figuring he could go over the new contract with his boss the next day. He looked around the diner, glad that it was pretty quiet. It was the first time he'd be eating there without being glued to his laptop.

Asher tensed up a little at her term, hand gripping the wheel a tad tighter as he continued driving. "Sorry," he muttered, eyes focused on the road, "I've been a little on edge lately - I've got a lot of shit on my plate." When she introduced herself, Asher tore his eyes from the road to look at her, lips turning up a bit in an attempt at a casual smile. "Asher Steel."

---

Jase sang along to the song playing, smiling at the girls who turned the music up even louder. She slipped off of the counter and danced around a bit, hips swaying to the music as she neared the guy's table. He'd closed his laptop for the first time in...well, ever. Every time he came in, Jase swore he was always on that thing. "No work today?" She inquired when she was next to him, hips never faltering.

Ella only shrugged when the guy apologised, tilting her head slightly as she watched him speak. She took one look at his suit and understood. She let out a small laugh at his attempt at a smile, knowing it was forced but she appreciated the effort all the same. "Nice to meet you, Asher," she said, softly. "Thanks again for this." She added, looking back out of the window beside her. After a few moments, she spoke again. "So, work life or home life problems?" She asked him, being her usual nosy self.

---

Lucas rubbed his hands over his face and stifled a yawn, only just realising how fucking tired he was. There were times when he occasionally liked his work, but most of the time it stressed him out and made him angry as fuck. He looked over towards the kitchen, noticing the waitresses talking until his one slipped off her seat on the counter and started dancing around. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her, letting out a laugh when she carried on swaying her hips all the way over to his table. "Nope, not today. I need a break." He said simply with a tired smile, in reply to her.

Asher nodded slightly as she thanked him again, eyebrow raising at her question. Well, she was pretty straightforward, wasn't she? "You want the truth or a lie?" He asked, small smirk playing on his lips. He wouldn't mind giving her the truth. Asher didn't know if he was ever gonna see Ella again, so the truth wouldn't do a thing.

---

Jase offered a hand out to him, smile still on her face. "Dance with me then," she offered. There was really no one else in the diner - just the employees and him. No one in their right mind came in as early as he did. The rush mostly occurred during lunch and dinner, but breakfast was usually their slowest time. "Then I'll waive that ten dollar tip you owe me."

"The truth," Ella replied, looking back at Asher and biting down on her lower lip when she saw him smirking. "Maybe I can help," she offered. Sometimes it was good to vent to a complete stranger, even if they couldn't offer advice, she just liked having someone to listen. That, and it would be a lot more interesting than sitting in complete silence until he dropped her off.

---

Lucas raised an eyebrow when she held a hand out to him and told him to dance with her. He laughed, shaking his head because there was no way he was going to do that. He didn't want to embarrass himself, even if there were only a few people in the diner. "I am not dancing with you," he told her, a little smirk playing on his lips. "But I am willing to give you that tip and share my pot of coffee with you." He added afterwards, nodding towards the seat opposite him for her to sit.

Asher shrugged at her offer to help. Maybe in actuality he did need a bit of help. His home life wasn't perfect and neither was his work life, but he didn't have many friends to spill his heart out to. They wouldn't really understand what to say to him, yet it'd probably be something along the lines of 'tough it out' or 'just fucking fix it'. Yeah, so simple to do. "Well, let's start off easy," he began, glancing over at Ella, "I fell out of love with my wife six months ago."

---

Jase dropped her hand to her side, incredulous look on her face as he turned her invitation down. His added offer did make her sit, though, and she smiled at him. "I'll accept that," she said, wiggling her eyebrows as one of the waitresses brought out his food and set the pot of coffee on a trivet. Jase picked the upside down coffee cup up from the small plate, pouring herself a generous amount of coffee, fixing it up just the way she liked it. "You know, you've been coming in here religiously for a while, and I've never quite caught your name."

Ella raised her eyebrows in slight surprise when actually started to speak about his problems. She was expecting him to tell her to keep her big nose out of his business. Her jaw dropped a little when he said he fell out of love with his wife, because she was definitely not expecting that. She thought he'd tell her about an argument with his wife probably about their kids in private school or something. But shit, not that he didn't love her anymore. "Oh, well... um," she murmured, biting down on her lower lip as she looked at him and then shrugged. "I guess it just depends on you being brave enough to admit you don't want to live like that - with her anymore." She told him, fiddling with the hem on her denim shorts. "Or you just carry on like you are now."

---

Lucas couldn't help but grin softly as she sat down, and when the other waitress put his food and coffee on the table, he pushed his plate into the middle so she could share as well. "I do come here an awful lot," he nodded in agreement, sighing, because it was a little bit embarrassing. "My name is Lucas Baker and its nice to finally meet you properly." He said as he poured himself a coffee, adding in just a spoonful of sugar but no milk. He thought for a moment, trying to remember her name because he'd definitely heard it so many times, but like she noticed, he was always wrapped up in stuff on his computer. "Jase, right?" He asked, biting down on his lower lip, really hoping he was right.

"I'm pretty shitty, huh?" Asher asked, not bothering to look over at her. His situation was horrible, and he couldn't help but feel worse once he started talking about it. Anna didn't deserve how she was being treated - she deserved better, but he couldn't bring himself to letting her go. "My sister thinks I'm a huge dick," he said, bitter laugh slipping from his lips, "And I don't disagree."

---

Jase reached forward and plucked a piece of scrambled egg from the plate, sliding it between her lips. "It's nice to finally know your name, Lucas. It matches your face, if that makes any sense." She nodded when he got her name right, smile still on her face. "Yeah, Jason's my full name. Unfortunately, my parents were really hoping for a boy," Jase shrugged, "Can't win 'em all, right?" The more Jase looked at Lucas, the more attractive he became to her. Now that she could place a name to the face, she was able to finally say who she thought was attractive. Not him. Not the guy from the diner. But Lucas. And God did she wanna bang Lucas.

Ella could only shrug in reply. She couldn't call him a dick because she didn't know the full story and in a way she could sympathize with him because there is nothing worse than feeling trapped in a relationship. "Honestly, I don't think its fair to string her along." She said quietly, looking away from him and out the window. "But you need to do what makes you happy." She added, because she was the type of person to put her happiness first. Over the years, she'd learned the hard way that it had to be like that.

---

Lucas picked up a piece of toast, taking a large bite and trying not to laugh when she said his name matched his face. "Thank you?" He smirked, picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip of it. He had to admit, the diner made excellent coffee. "Jase is nice," he admitted, "different and it stands out." He said, and then took another bite of his toast. He liked the girl, she was funny and pretty and gods, why didn't he turn his laptop off sooner.

That's what Asher kept telling himself. It wasn't fair to keep Anna thinking that he still loved her, but there was no easy way to drop that sort of bomb on him. He couldn't lie his way out of this one, either. He'd done that plenty of times in the past, only to have it blow up in his face. "And that's by telling her," he concluded. Asher didn't know when he'd do it, but he knew in order to cut the stress in his life by half, that was a step he had to take.

---

"It's a compliment, I swear," Jase added, picking up the other piece of toast and taking a bit from it, accompanying it with a sip of coffee, "Why, thank you." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear with her free hand, eyes locked with his. He had the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen and wow, she was actually developing a crush on this man. "So, what business has you in here tearing your hair out everyday?"

Ella nodded, placing a gentle hand on Asher's arm even though she barely knew him. She could see how conflicted he felt by his feelings. She knew he didn't want to intentionally hurt his wife. "Just do it when you think the time is right." Ella said, rubbing Asher's arm lightly before pulling her hand away. "Maybe she'll understand," she shrugged, although she kind of doubted it. She'd be pissed and hurt if her husband just fell out of love with her.

---

Lucas took another sip of his coffee before placing it back down on the table. He took a bite of his toast and grinned back at Jase when she thanked him. "You're going to regret asking me this, its really boring." He said, taking another drink from his coffee before leaning back in his seat, watching Jase. "I work for a law firm that is trying to partner up with another one, a bigger and better one." He said. "I got given the lucky job of drawing up the contract but the managing director at the other firm keeps finding problems with it. I can't even tell you how many times I've re-written it, but he keeps saying he isn't happy with it." Lucas frowned, feeling all tense and frustrated again just from talking about it.

Asher let out a quiet sigh, applying pressure to the brake once they came up to a red light. He dug his heels into his hands and rubbed his eyes, letting his head rest back against the seat for a moment. "I've never been this stressed before," he mumbled, pushing a hand through his hair, "Enough about me, though. What about you, Ella? Why are you hitchhiking around town?"

---

Jase frowned as Lucas mentioned rewriting the contract countless times. That must've really sucked, having to keep doing all that work for some guy to keep shooting it down. "Screw him," she said with a wave of her hand, "If you're doing your best, keep doing your best. Don't let some asshole make you this frustrated and tense. I bet your knots have knots, Lucas."

"I'm sorry," Ella murmured, in reply to Asher. She felt bad for asking him in the first place, but she truly felt bad for him because he felt like that and had to deal with such a stressful and awful situation. She let out a little laugh, running her fingers through her hair and pushing it away from her face when he asked about her hitchhiking around town. "Um, okay, so I did everything my parents ever told me to do, right?" She started, looking over at him again. "I got the best grades in high school, did a bunch of extra curricular stuff to make my college applications look good and then I got a place at Stanford." She said, looking down at her hands that were resting in her lap. "I studied Psychology, graduated and now here I am." She shrugged. "I did everything they told me to do and realised I had never done anything for myself. I wasn't ready to settle down into a job, so I wanted to get away and just see everything."

---

Lucas let out a soft laugh when Jase said 'screw him', shrugging his shoulders at what she said next. It was hard to carry on every day when someone constantly second guessed his work. "They probably do," he admitted sheepishly. Even at the weekend he was working now. He hardly ever went to visit his family after getting his new job and moving out. He felt bad about it, but when they spoke on the phone they told him that they understood. "One day I might just tell him to fuck off," he said, a little cheeky smile appearing on his lips.

Asher couldn't help but chuckle at her opening question, motioning for her to continue on after that. He nodded along to her story, slowly letting off the brake so he could pull off. "That's understandable," he commented, "I wish I would've gotten time to discover myself and see everything. You're doing alright, Ella." He actually liked the fact that instead of settling into some boring job, she'd decided to keep moving to explore the world around her. That was really cool, in his honest opinion. "But out of all places, you start here?"

---

"I'm not too shabby at back massages," Jase offered, half joking and half serious. She felt bad that he was this young and this stressed out about his life already. Jase was still in college, community college - mind you, but her job at the diner on top of the homework she was still receiving was enough to drive her insane, yet here's this guy who's stuck rewriting a contract for some asshole who isn't accepting it. Yeah, she really felt for him. "Do it," Jase replied, smirk on her face, "And tell him he's nothing but a dirtbag."

Ella nodded, smiling a little and blushing for some strange reason when he kind of complimented her. Why was she blushing. Dammit Ella, calm down. "I actually started doing this about a week ago, but honestly I didn't think it through a lot because I really haven't got very far." She admitted, letting out a quiet, embarrassed laugh. "But I kind of like not thinking it through and doing things without thinking about it." She said with a grin.

Lucas raised an eyebrow when Jase mentioned she wasn't too bad at back massages because that sounded like an offer he would gladly accept. "I definitely would... if the money wasn't so amazing." He said with a shrug. He knew that with the money he was getting paid, he'd have to put up with a lot of shit, so he shouldn't complain much really. Especially since he's only been working there for three years and he's already bought his own apartment that is actually really fucking nice.