This is How it Goes

Christian ended up coming with us; he didn't want to stay by himself. So we stuffed him beside the window and Carson.
Before leaving, Steven had opened up my journal to the second page.
The second address.
And then he pushed the gas pedal, and away we went, towards the unknown.
While Carson and Christian got to know each other, Alex and I played a few rounds of thumb wars, rock paper scissors, and tic-tac-toe.
"When are we going to be there?" I grumbled, directing my question towards nobody in particular.
Steven took out his cell phone and checked the time. He put it down and looked at me from the rear view mirror. "In just about one or two hours." he answered.
I sighed. How long have I been in this cramped van anyway? Four hours? Five?
Alex put his muscular hand on my thigh. "You'll be fine." he whispered.
Then he picked up my hand and toyed with it for a minute, then intertwined our fingers.

A few hours later, we pulled into the driveway of an old abandoned house. It had torn, faded green siding, and missing shingles on the roof. And on the left side of the driveway, there was a short bus, labeled number 29 above the door. It didn't say which school it had come from.
"Stephen, where are we?" I asked
"This is the place we stayed at before going to your house." he answered.
"And where did you get the bus?"
"Let's just say that it's crazy what you can find in a junkyard these days." he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
I smiled.
"Yeah, well I'm going to go find some clothes in Carson's room that Christian will fit into." Aidan said.
"I'll go too. You might need me." I say, referring to the fact that most guys know nothing about clothes.
Inside, there was chipped paint, a few kitchen appliances, a couch, and a chair. Down a hallway, there looked to be about three or four rooms, which turned out to be a bathroom, and three rooms, the first having one mattress, the second and third having two mattresses each.
I followed Aidan until he stepped inside the third room and shuffled his feet towards a pile of clothes beside one mattress. "This is Carson's," he said in monotone voice, then walked over to the other makeshift bed and laid on it, his hands resting behind his head.
"Listen. I know you might hate me just because I chose Alex over you, but that doesn't mean that you need to avoid me." I was ready to launch into a big lecture, but instead, Aidan said something unexpected.
"Why did you choose him over me?"
That was it.
I couldn't do this anymore.
Me and Aidan. We were not friends.
So I walked towards the door, expecting him to let me go, but he grabbed my wrist.
How he got up so fast, I didn't know.
"Why did you choose him over me?" he repeated.
I shrugged.
We heard the door in the living area squeak open, and Penn yell out, "What's taking so long? We need to go someday!"
"Ok, hold on!" I yelled back.
I ripped my wrist out of Aidan's grasp and took the whole pile of clothes out to the bus.
I couldn't stand to be near him right now.

Transferring everything from the van to the car took about an hour, but we ended up putting duffel bags in the space under the bus, and bookbags in the front seats on the bus.
Penn and Aidan took their own seat, diagonally from the driver's seat, which Steven insisted on driving, at least until he got tired. Alex and I, of course, sat together in the way back, and across the aisle were Carson and Christain, still chattering away.
"I love you." I say to Alex.
"I love you, too."
I lean my head against Alex's shoulder and intertwine our fingers, and finally, letting myself sleep.

When I wake up, my iPod says the time is a few hours later. Alex is asleep now, and Penn is driving.
We finally pull into a driveway with a rundown shack. I wake Alex up.
Steven, Penn, Alex, and I all walk into the one room house while Aidan stays with the two younger ones.
"Hello?" I call out with a weak voice.
There's a clatter on the floor, that sounds like a pot hitting tile. And a teenage boy steps out of behind a torn up couch, ready to fight, with a baseball bat in hand.
And when his gaze lands on me, his bat slips out of his hand and his hard stare turns cold.
I knew instantly. This boy was not a stranger.
I knew everything about him. His age, his name.
And I knew that I should not be scared.
Because again, this boy was not a stranger.
I knew him.