Get Your Kicks

I rolled my eyes as Darcy leaned across the front seat to talk to the boys, jabbing me in the stomach with her foot. I heard the beginnings of an absolutely. Of course Darcy was going to invite a bunch of guys to drive to Las Vegas with us.

“This is going to be the pottery party all over again,” I muttered, leaning forward and sliding the van door open.

“It is not!” Darcy turned back and smacked my arm.

At the beginning of the year this college freshman had invited Darcy to a party and she had dragged us along with her, spending every day leading up to it talking about how incredible college parties were. Except when we got there everyone was doing pottery and it turned out the guy was an art major. While I sincerely enjoyed the look on Darcy’s face, it was probably the single worst night of my senior year. I was not about to get stuck in a van with five high maintenance guys.

“We need to grab our things,” Louis kept staring at Ellie as he spoke.

“Do you need help?” Healey asked, already climbing passed me and getting out.

“No it’s okay, you don’t have to help,” Liam shook his head. Unfortunately for him Healey had already decided she was helping, so that was the end of it. Of course Darcy climbed out too, eager to help because I’m sure this was going to be one of those ‘best moments ever’. Ellie was still holding the steering wheel and Harry hung around the passenger side of the car to sweet talk Brenna.

I climbed to the back bench, leaning over to grab my sweatshirt from the back. I pulled it over my head, keeping my hood up and huddling into the corner of the seat. It was already late and I had been trying to sleep before.

“You look like a ten year old boy with your hood up,” Ellie laughed, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“She looks like a ten year old boy with the hood down too,” Brenna laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean!” I shouted leaning across the two seats to try and hit them. I heard Harry laugh when I keeled over the seat, leaning my head against the middle cushion, “forget it, I’m going to bed.”

“With your ass in the air?” Darcy climbed back in, smacking my bum as she did.

I whined and flopped back into my seat, pulling my hood back over my head, covering my short hair. They’d all made fun of me when I showed up after spring break with my hair cropped nearly as short as a buzz. I’d been dying it dark before that, since freshman year of high school, and I knew chopping it off was a risky decision. Now they constantly teased me about looking like a boy and bugging me about why I’d cut it off in the first place.

“Can I sit here?” Liam asked, climbing to the very back and hovering over where I was stretched out.

I moved my legs off the seat and sat properly next to him. They’d obviously caught on to the drop in temperature faster than I had, I still had shorts on and my legs felt like icicles.

“Too close!” I shouted as he began to sit down. He was obviously startled because he jumped a little, hitting his head on the roof of the car. I bit my lip to stop from laughing and I could hear Louis and Harry laughing from the front.

“Don’t take anything Schmidt says seriously,” Brenna called back.

Niall sat down on the other side of the Liam, leaning over to look at me, “Yer name’s Schmidt?”

“I’m transgender, that’s why my hair is so short,” I smiled.

“Seriously?” He looked so confused.

“I’m wearing short shorts and my hoodie says Pink on it…so no. Not really,” I shook my head, “I’m Taylor.”

Of course a chorus of introductions had to follow.

“I’m Brenna.”

“Healey.”

“Darcy,” and before she could answer, “that’s Ellie!”

“Nice to meet you ladies,” Harry grinned, “do you suppose we could start moving now that we’re all in the car?”

“Oh right, sure,” Ellie nodded, turning to face the road. She was going to get us all killed if she didn’t start paying attention to something other than Louis Tomlinson. I mean, aside from the fact that I’ve imagined us being best friends, he’s really not that gorgeous.

“Hopefully now that we’ve picked you guys up there won’t be any crazy axe murderer lurking on the path ready to kill us,” Healey commented, turning back to look at me.

“Shut up, you know I just re-watched American Horror Story…you can’t say shit like that!” I complained.

“Says the girl who told me yesterday that she knows exactly how she would murder someone if she ever decided to become a serial killer,” Darcy answered.

“That’s reassuring,” Liam mumbled.

“Oh don’t worry, I have no upper body strength, I wouldn’t kill guys.”

“What a relief,” he replied.

Despite my earlier plan of action I was not the first person to fall asleep. Probably because the glow of Liam’s phone was bright enough to light all of Asia. Zayn, Brenna, Healey, and Harry all fell asleep pretty fast and I could hear the beginnings of Niall drifting off too. Darcy was talking to Ellie and Louis about something I wasn’t going to strain myself to hear and Liam was like a friggin vampire. He didn’t even look remotely tired. His iPhone must have like five batteries in it because it just kept going and going.

I leaned my head against the back of the seat in front of me, closing my eyes and trying to listen to the song playing lightly from the speaker near me. I wanted to go to sleep too, it would have been nice. I was just to drifting off when the car stopped and Liam started jabbing me in the side.

“Excuse me.”

I turned my head to look at him smiling at me, “Yeah?”

“Can you plug this in?” He handed me a car jack and a wire, nodding to the car lighter that was on the wall.

“Sure, why not?” I took the wire and plugged it in, the light on his phone getting even brighter from the new surge of power. I sat up, leaning against the seat and looking out the window. We had stopped at a gas station and I could see Louis outside filling the tank.

“Who hasn’t driven yet?” Ellie asked, looking back at all of us. Apparently everyone was awake again…I was never going to catch a break.

“Tay,” Healey commented, looking back at me.

“No, I told you I don’t drive,” I answered.

“You moaned about getting your driver’s license and then you never walked anywhere and now all the sudden you won’t drive?” Darcy stated.

“That’s what I said!”

“I’ll drive,” Darcy answered, looking hurt that I’d snapped at her.

“I’m sorry Darc, I just…it makes me anxious,” I responded, running a hand through my short hair.

“It’s alright, I understand,” she nodded and got out of the car to switch places with Ellie.

Louis climbed back in after Ellie, sliding the door shut. Everyone resumed trying to fall asleep or talking quietly as Darcy started the engine and pulled out of the gas station. Niall had never woken up and I was just about to doze off when Liam’s phone buzzed and he resumed playing with it.

“What are you doing?” Liam hissed when I took the phone from his hands and stuffed it, still attached to the cord, into my back pocket.

“Stop with the phone, you’re not the friggin energizer bunny,” I snapped.

I leaned against the window, closing my eyes. I could practically hear Liam sulking next to me. Maybe this would turn into survivor and I could kick him off the island first. Except he was the cutest and then I’d be stuck by myself, watching Brenna and Harry ogle each other.