Hold On Till May

"Where are you going?" Auroras mother snapped the second she got near the door. Aurora was startled, she didn't see her mom sitting alone in the dimly lit living room.

"Out," Aurora's attitude suddenly went from on-top-of-the-world to complete ruins as placed her hand on the doorknob. She raised her eyebrows and started to rub her neck out of frustration.

"It's 9 o'clock on a Thursday, daughter," Mallory said strictly.

"I'm going to see Alex, I'll be back before midnight." Aurora scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's a school night!" Her mom snapped. Aurora quickly turned the knob and stepped out of the door, waving behind her on her way out. As fast as she could in her heeled boots, she ran to her best friends car that was subtly parked in front of the house without the headlights on.

She opened up the passenger door and smiled. "Hi," she greeted him and giggled.

"I'm guessing she caught you?" Alex laughed and started the engine. Jimmy Eat World's Futures started playing lightly on the stereo. The friends smiled at each other and started driving away.

"She thinks she can mother me only when it comes to me leaving the house," Aurora sighed. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned her head on Alex's shoulder. He looked down at her and a corner of his lips went up to form a half smile while his heart started to flutter. Aurora felt safe when she was with Alex and he could sense that immediately.

"I hope she gets better for your sake," Alex smiled at her sympathetically. The girl frowned and turned up the music so everything in life was drowned out except for this moment. The fourth track came on and the pair was taken away on their half hour endeavor into the city of Baltimore.

Could it be that everything goes 'round by chance?
Or only one way that it was always meant to be?
You kill me, you always know the perfect thing to say
I know what I should do, but I can't just walk away
I can picture your face well
From the bar in my hotel, I wish I'd go to you
I pick up, put down the phone
Like your favorite Heatmiser song goes, it's just like being alone

Finally, they arrived to the harbor in the city. They both smiled, knowing that the rest of the night was going to be peaceful and nothing but. They walked out onto the boardwalk side-by-side, both nervous for no good reason. This was their favorite thing to do in the summer and autumn, just go sit by the boats and shoot shit for old times sake, remembering the days that Aurora's father would take the two out on his boat and go as far out as possible.

"You know, we didn't come out here all summer," Aurora stated as she sat down Indian style. She wasn't mad, she was just confused at how fast time goes by.

"We were here at the end of spring," Alex laughed at her. She shrugged and rolled her eyes at him. Alex sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, she gracefully placed her hand on his arm and looked out into the water. The city lights were reflecting off of the harbor, turning the water colors of purple, orange, yellow, red, and blue. She was always taken away by the view -- it left her breathless in a way.

Aurora looked down at her hand that was placed on Alex after a while. "So," she sighed.

"So?" He repeated.

"Don't take this the wrong way, okay?" Aurora said nervously and felt Alex's body tense up right away. She felt him nod behind her and she smiled a bit.

"Last weekend, at Rian's," she started but didn't know how to exactly continue, "I wasn't exactly asleep when you were talking to Jack." Alex sighed.

"What all did you hear?" He finally asked.

"Most of it, but I fell back asleep before you let anything else slip out, like you-know-what." She uncrossed her legs and turned around to face Alex. He looked shocked, but also looked disappointed that she had heard a word between the two friends. "Jack's right, you know." His eyes shot open and looked right to her. She started laughing -- not only at his reaction, but at her bluntness.

"About what?"

"Everything, okay? Let's stop pretending here." Alex shook his head and started to smile then finally pulled her into a hug which made them both fall backwards onto the wooden boardwalk.

"So where does this leave everything?" Alex asked while pushing a loose strain of hair behind Aurora's ear. She smiled and rolled to the side of him.

"I don't know, and right now, frankly, I don't care." Alex silently agreed to her words. Both of them slowly stood up, "Walk?" The two started heading away from the harbor and into the city lights, away from Alex's car.

+++

"It's almost 12:30," Alex commented while taking a sip of his Slurpee. "Should we start heading back?"

"I told mom I'd be home by midnight, so yes." They started walking down the street next to each other when Aurora came to a sudden halt.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked when he realized that the girl was several steps behind him.

"Come here," she demanded, pointing to the pavement next to her. The boy was confused but he did what he was told. "Thank you," Aurora whispered when Alex had arrived next to her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him as tight as possible. "For everything."

"You're my best friend and you always will be, so I don't see why you're thanking me. Fuck it, Princess, we might even be soul mates and I say that with confidence without any humility. You know why? Because I love you in every which way and nothing could come between us. So don't thank me for being here for you and wanting to take care of you -- or whatever else. Okay? I --"

Aurora cut him off and started laughing. "Just shut up and take my hand, Gaskarth." He smiled at her and laced his hand with hers and they started running. By the time they reached the car, they were out of breath and felt a rush of adrenaline come over both of them. They started smiling as Alex took his head and rested it on Aurora's shoulder by the drivers side door. They started laughing and both of their faces turned red.

"Let's go home," Alex said once they both had caught their breath from the unnecessary jog. "You're staying at my place tonight so your mom doesn't get her panties in an even bigger knot." She agreed and started walking towards her door to get in. They pulled out of the parking lot and started to go in the right direction when Alex started fiddling with the stereo. He put on "Night Drive" and grabbed her hand. Aurora felt her hand skip a beat as Baltimore's lights faded behind them in the distance. She placed her head against the window and just smiled at Alex until the song ended.

Come alive on the driver's side, so close I taste your breath
Your lips go dry, but they're sweet inside
Wine must go right to your head
It'd be easy if you get mad, but three fingers point back to you
We could stay here, stay out all night
No one will know us and the moonlight
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick, never wash you off my face
Hit me, I can take your cheap shots…