The Road Ahead of Us

The next two and a half days were spent constantly driving. Most of the van would sleep, simply worn out by their long trip. Whenever who was driving got too tired to drive, they would pull over on the shoulder and switch with whoever happened to be awake. This way they got into Baltimore very quickly. All of them wanted their own beds and some relaxation. They pulled up to Alex and Rian's house around 6 in the evening.

"How about we go to dinner tonight? One last trip dinner before we go and hibernate for the next week." Zack suggested when they all sat around the large living room.

"Sounds good to me. We can go to that diner that we used to go to back in high school." Rian offered, making everyone agree. Everyone then decided to go back to their own place and meet up at the restaurant in two hours.

"Come on, Iz. I'll show you our temporary place." Kara said making Isabelle nod and follow her out of the house.

"I'll see you in a few hours." She told Alex who had followed her out. Alex nodded and leaned down to peck her lips.

"It'll be weird to not have you around, I'd gotten so used to you always being there." He said, making her smile.

"I'll see you soon though so it's not for long." She responded, earning a nod and another kiss in response.

"Alright, Alex, give me my best friend back. We have to go!" Kara yelled, having finished her own goodbye with Rian. Isabelle smiled and kissed Alex's cheek before following Kara across the street to where she had parked her car before the trip had started.

"So, I was thinking that we start apartment hunting tomorrow, what do you think? Just jump right into it." Kara said after she started the car and they began their way back to her place, or their place. The thought still made Isabelle smile, she was moving in with her best friend, it was exciting.

"Sounds good to me." Isabelle couldn't contain her smile. "I'm so excited." She said, making Kara giggle and nod.

"Me too. We are finally doing this, it's great!" The rest of the short car ride was spent talking about what certain things they wanted in their apartment. "So here we are! It's not much but it's decent."

"I like it." Isabelle told her, looking up at the simple brick building in front of them. Kara smiled and got out of the car. They got their bags from the back, they would have to come back for all of Isabelle's stuff, before they made their way up the stairs and into the apartment. After a quick tour of the place, they got the rest of Isabelle's stuff.

"Alright, you get settled in. We'll leave for dinner in about an hour and a half or so. I'll be in my room unpacking if you need me." Kara said, making Isabelle nod. After Kara disappeared in her own room, Isabelle looked around her new room.

Against the far wall was a full size bed with plain white sheets on it, above it was a small window, with only blinds across it. There were two small side tables with plain white lamps on them. There was a table and chair across the room, beside it the door to the closet. It was a very plain room but Isabelle wouldn't be here for long so it would do until then.

She spent the next forty five minutes or so unpacking all of her things. It was mostly clothes but she had a few pictures and other little knickknacks that Adam had packed for her. After she finished that she changed into blue jeans, a white strapless top, a black cardigan and her boots. She put on her usual makeup and jewelry, leaving her hair slightly wavy.

She ventured from her room and found Kara leaving her bedroom, now dressed in a blue striped top, black shorts and boots, her bag over her shoulder.

"Ready?" She asked the taller woman, who smiled and nodded. So they made their way from the apartment and back into her car. Due to a car accident on the freeway, and hitting just about every red light, they arrived at the diner twenty minutes later than the decided time. They pulled up to see the group, all of them already there, crowded beside the door, waiting on them. As they walked up everyone began to cheer and clap for their arrival.

"Shut up, there was traffic." Kara defended, walking over to Rian who was still clapping. Alex swept Isabelle up into his arms, pressing his lips to hers.

"I missed you." He told her after they separated. She smiled and pecked his lips before stepping away from him, fixing her shirt that had slid down during their embrace.

"It's only been a few hours, Alex." She told him as they linked hands and followed the group into the diner.

"So? Like I said before, I got used to having you around all the time." He told her, making her smile.