The Road Ahead of Us

"So are you two back together now?" Kara asked Isabelle as the two wandered through the semi crowded mall together. "If you say no, then I am going to slap the two of you." Isabelle laughed and shook her head.

"There will be no need to slap us then." Came Isabelle's answer, making Kara's face light up.

"You two got back together?!" She practically squealed, making a couple in front of them turn to stare, but Kara ignored them, grabbing onto her best friends arm.

"Yes, we did, Kara. Now come on, I want to find a cute outfit for dinner tonight." Isabelle said, pulling Kara into the Forever 21. The two friends then spent the next twenty minutes wandering around the entire store, looking through the many racks of clothes. Finally Kara settled on a pair of new jeans and a cute slouchy tee, while Isabelle found a cute dress. They then wandered from store to store, finding shoes and jewelry to go with their outfits.

"You know... I've been doing some thinking." Kara spoke up as they sat in the food court, munching on some food from Pei Wei.

"What about?" Isabelle questioned.

"Well.. I know that you said you were going to stay with Alex when we got back to Baltimore in a few days but... I've been thinking about you moving in with me instead. I mean... Rian is there all the time but he lives with Alex so I can kick him out." Isabelle frowned.

"Why can I not move in with Alex?" She questioned, making Kara sigh.

"I just feel that maybe... it wouldn't be good. I mean you two only just got back together. I feel that maybe it'd be better for you two to have some distance so you two don't immediately get on each others nerves, you know?" Kara told her, making her nod. Isabelle had to agree, she made a good point.

"Yeah... you might be right. Spending every second with Alex could get suffocating. Plus, you and I had always talked about getting an apartment together." Isabelle said, making Kara grin.

"I've been thinking about moving to a new place anyway. Mines just so small and drab, totally not me. You and I can go pick out the perfect place for just me and you." Isabelle had to admit, she was getting pretty excited for this. She had known Kara for years, way before her and Rian had gotten together, as she was basically the reason the two had met, and the two had always talked about getting an apartment together right after high school, before they of course then bought houses with their significant others.

"That'll be great! I'll tell Alex of the change of plans tonight." Isabelle said, both of the girls nodding. Soon, they finished their food and started to walk back to the hotel down the street.

"Let's get ready in my room, we can kick Rian out." Isabelle laughed and agreed. After making Rian go find somewhere else to hang out before dinner, the two girls put on their new outfits before doing each others hair and makeup.

"Yo!" They both jumped when suddenly four guys and two girls came walking into the room. Isabelle stood up from the bed where she had been putting on her shoes as her boyfriend walked over to her. She smiled at him. Boyfriend. She just couldn't believe he was hers again. It felt unreal. "We are hungry. Are you two done yet?" Jack questioned them. Kara stepped away from the mirror where she had been touching up her hair.

"Sure are. Let's go." So everyone began to file out of the room. Isabelle linked hands with Alex, smiling over at him.

"Have a good shopping trip with Kara?" Alex questioned her, making her nod. She then remembered how she agreed to move in with Kara, she had to tell Alex but she knew he would be upset.

"So me and Kara were talking about when we get back to Baltimore..." Isabelle started. They were far enough in the back of the group that they could privately talk. The other couples were lost in their own conversations. "And... we've decided to get a place together." She watched as his face fell, a frown creasing between his brows.

"Oh. Well that's cool. You two always talked about getting a place together back in high school." Isabelle could tell that he wanted to say more but was holding back. She sighed and squeezed his hand.

"I would love to move in with you, Alex, but Kara made me realize that it may be just a little too much right now. We only just got back together, ya know? Spending that much time together, living together already, may not be the best thing for our relationship." She explained to him. He nodded and smiled at her softly.

"As long as I can come over and see you whenever, I don't mind." She laughed and kissed his cheek.

"Of course." Dinner was a very loud affair. They were all telling stories, yelling at each other. Alex and Jack even got into a food war, throwing rolls and little packets of butter across the table at each other. It was good fun and as tomorrow would be the last real day of their road trip, and it would be spent packing up Isabelle's possessions, they were glad to close the trip with some fun.